Ɛpsilon

WCP2897

Letter (WCP2897.2787)

[1]1

Mariemont,

Edgbaston.

15. Jany 1908

Dear Dr. Wallace

I am reading your little book on Mars.2 I have no fault to find with it, but I want to ask 2 biological questions which often occur to me. Pray do not answer if it is troublesome or if you are too busy.

1. Have we reason to assert the intelligent life of some kind could not exist at say 100o or other very low temperature?

2. Have we grounds for asserting that carbonic acid breathing creature could not be either locomotory or intelligent?

Yours very truly | Oliver Lodge3 [signature]

1
In ARW’s handwriting, "Answd Jany 18th".
2
Wallace, A. R. 1907. Is Mars habitable? A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's Book "Mars and its canals," with an alternative explanation. London and New York: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
3
Lodge, Oliver Joseph (1851-1940). British Physicist. Principal of the University of Birmingham (1900-1920).

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2897.2787)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Benny, Ruth [2015-02-03] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-02-03] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP2897,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2897