WCP2112

Letter (WCP2112.2002)

[1]

73 Harley St. W.

13 November 1868

Dear Wallace

The translations of my works, of which I have had a list made, seems to be confined to one translation of the "Principles" in French1 by Mme. Meulien2 which Arago3 superintended, which had a very large circulation — one German edition of the same;4 three French translations of the "Elements",5 the first by Mme Meulien under the auspices of Arago, — two German translations of the "Elements";6 one Spanish translation of the "Elements".7

Perhaps it would be better not to dwell much on this subject, [2] because you could not give such an array as Hooker8 gave of the translations of Darwin’s "Origin of Species"9, still, it is certain that the large editions of my foreign translations which have penetrated into Italy, Holland, Scandinavia &c, have had a much wider influence than the mere languages of the translations would imply!

My "Antiquity of Man"10 has been well translated into French11 and German,12 as mentioned in the list.

The American sale of all my works has been as [3] great probably as in this country, including almost every successive edition[.]

Among the Diplomas, 50 in number sent to me from different Foreign Societies, there is one from the ancient university of Jena,13 in which I do not think I had any personal friend, which pleased me much, and which might perhaps be alluded to. It was addressed to me to me as 'Carolo Lyell Geologiae Reformatori Celeberrimo'. I may perhaps show it to you when you call here. It will be necessary to take care not to mention any thing in such a way [4] as would imply that you had been getting up an éloge [French: eulogy] from documents provided by me[.] I have not yet read Haeckel’s chapter on Lyell and Darwin,14 to which the latter called my attention, but I will see whether you could make use of it.

I believe I told you how well my 3 Geological Works got on at Murray’s15Annual Sale — the number of volumes sold being nearly 1200 — the average price of each to the public being about 16s/. I heard with much pleasure of the award of the Gold Medal,16 because the outsiders who cannot judge of themselves are reasonably influenced by such a deliberate compliment paid to you by adepts.

ever truly yours | Cha Lyell [signature]

1
Lyell. C. 1843-1848. Principes de Géologie, ou Illustrations de cette Science Empruntées aux Changements Modernes que la Terre et ses Habitants ont Subis. (trans. T. Meulien). 4 vols. Paris: Langlois et Leclercq.
2
Meulien, Tullia (fl. 1840). French translator of scientific works.
3
Arago, Dominique François Jean (1786-1853). French physicist and astronomer.
4
Lyell, C. 1832-1834. Lehrbuch der Geologie. Ein Versuch, die früheren Veränderungen der Erdoberfläche durch noch jetzt wirksame Ursachen zu erklären (trans. C. Hartmann). 3 vols. Quedlinburg & Leipzig: Basse.
5
Lyell, C. 1839. Elements de Géologie (trans. T. Meulien). Paris: Langlois & Leclerq; Lyell, C. 1864. Eléments de Géologie ou Changements Anciens de la Terre et de ses Habitants, Tels Qu'ils Sont Représentés par les Monuments Géologiques. (trans. J. Ginestou). 2 vols. Paris: Garnier Frères; Lyell, C. 1867. Eléments de Géologie ou Changements Anciens de la Terre et de ses Habitants, Tels Qu'ils Sont Représentés par les Monuments Géologiques, Traduit de l'anglais sur la sixième édition. Paris: Garnier Frères.
6
Lyell, C. 1839. Elemente der Geologie (trans. C. Hartmann). Weimar: Voigt; Lyell, C. 1849. Grundsätze und Elemente der Geologie. Nach der 7ten und 2ten Auflage der englischen Originale und nach anderen neueren Hülfsmitteln bearbeitet. (trans C. Hartmann). Weimar: Voigt.
7
Lyell, C. 1847. Elementos de Geologia (trans. D. Joaquín Ezquerra del Bayo). Madrid: Yenes.
8
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer.
9
Darwin, C. R. 1859. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London, UK: John Murray.
10
Lyell, C. 1863. The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man with Remarks on Theories of the Origin of Species by Variation. London: John Murray.
11
Lyell, C. 1864. L'Ancienneté de L'Homme : Prouvée par la Géologie et Remarques sur les Théories Relatives à L'Origine des Espèces par Variation. (trans. M Chaper). Paris: Ballière et fils.
12
Lyell, C. 1867. Das Alter des Menschengeschlechts auf der Erde und der Ursprung der Arten durch Abänderung, nebst einer Beschreibung der Eiszeit in Europa und Amerika. (trans. L. Büchner). Leipzig: Thomas.
13
The University of Jena was established in February 1858 with a charter obtained from Emperor Ferdinand I. The reputation of the university peaked under the auspices of Duke Charles Augustus, when it included Gottlied Fichte, Frederick Schiller and G. W.F. Hegel on its teaching staff. (Oergel, M. 2016. Jena 1789-1819: Ideas, Poetry, and Politics. 219-239. In: Hamilton, P (Ed). The Oxford Handbook of European Romanticism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [p.222]).
14
Haeckel, E. H. P. A. 1868. 'Entwickelungstheorie von Lyell und Darwin.' Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte. Gemeinverständliche Wissenschaftliche Vorträge Über die Entwicklungslehre im Allgemeinen und Diejenige von Darwin, Goethe, und Lamarck im Besonderen. Berlin: G. Reimer. pp. 99-116.
15
Murray, John (1808-1892). British publisher who embarked on a career in the family publishing house at 50 Albemarle Street, London. Notably published the Quarterly Review and Darwin's Origin of Species
16
Lyell refers to the proposed nomination of ARW for the Royal Society's Gold medal. ARW was awarded a Royal Society Medal on November 30th 1868 (Sabine, E. 1869. Anniversary Meeting. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 17. 133-154 [148]).

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2112.2002)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Cooper, Rod [2013-04-10] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-04-10] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2020-09-15]

Please cite as “WCP2112,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2112