Ɛpsilon

WCP2956

Letter (WCP2956.2846)

[1]

29, THURLOE PLACE,

SOUTH KENSINGTON.

Thickness Cottage

Felixstow [sic]

Suffolk

July 6th [1909]1

Dear Mr. Wallace,

It was very kind of you to write to me and your letter2 has given me great pleasure. It is a matter of deep satisfaction to me that you should consider that I spoke well & worthily of Darwin3 & his work for there is no one whose [2] judgment and understanding in that matter is equal to yours. I must say that I felt a keen pleasure in saying plainly and straightly which I did on so great & public occasion in the face of some of those who were present —viz — De Vries,4 Hubrecht,5 Bateson,6 Le Dantec,7 Edmond Perrier,8 Marcus Hartog9 & even Frank Darwin10 who seems to suffer from a sort of [3] ante-patriotic or ante-parental bias. The really imprudent & foolishly-conceited person amongst these snarling dogs, is Bateson. In his essay11 in the Darwin volume12 he says that by & bye (when he gives the word!) the time may come to discuss the origin of species — but that it has not yet come!

Such insane insolence is really an indication of brain-disease.

I suppose that the efforts of this crowd to lower Darwin and elevate themselves — are a natural and regular phenomenon. By & bye they [4] will be absolutely forgotten — their mere names even unremembered — as happened to Mivart13 and George Romanes14 — and there will remain still unbroken still giving mental nourishment, direction & example to future generations — Darwin and his works with you and your works close by his side.

It is pouring with rain but fresh & sweet here in the country — where I am staying alone for a month. I hope soon to give up London altogether. Please remember me very kindly to Mrs Wallace15 & believe me most truly yours | E. Ray Lankester16[signature]

1
In pencil by unknown handwriting.
2
The letter has not been found.
3
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).
4
de Vries, Hugo (1848-1935). Dutch botanist and geneticist, best known for his rediscovery of the work of Gregor Mendel (along with Carl Correns and Erich von Tschermak) in the late 1890’s.
5
Hubrecht, Ambrosius Arnold Willem (1853-1915). Dutch zoologist.
6
Bateson, William (1861-1926). Pioneering British geneticist and supporter of the work of Gregor Mendel. One of the key figures behind the modern synthesis in evolutionary biology.
7
Le Dantec, Félix-Alexandre (1869-1917). French biologist and philosopher of science.
8
Perrier, Edmond (1844-1921). French zoologist. Held posts at the Muséum d’histoire naturelle from 1867; became director in 1900. Declared his acceptance of the theory of evolution in 1879 and became its principal defender in France. (DCP)
9
Hartog, Marcus Manuel (1851-1924). Natural historian and educator.
10
Darwin, Francis ("Frank") (1848-1925). British botanist; 3rd son of Charles Robert and Emma Darwin.
11
Bateson, William. 1909. Heredity and Variation in Modern Lights. See note 12.
12
Seward, A. C. 1909. Darwin and modern Sicence: Essays in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and of the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The origin of species. Cambridge University Press.
13
Mivart, St. George Jackson (1827-1900). British physician, zoologist and Roman Catholic polemicist.
14

Rolleston, George (1829-1881). British physician and zoologist.

Romanes, George John (1848-1894). Canadian-born British evolutionary biologist and physiologist.

15
Wallace (née Mitten), Annie (1846-1914). British. Wife of ARW; daughter of William Mitten.
16
Lankester, Edwin Ray ("Ray") (1847-1929). British authority zoology. Made important contributions to comparative anatomy, embryology, parasitology, and anthropology.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2956.2846)]

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

Revision history

Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-05-05] Transcribed by Powell, Jane [2015-06-05] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP2956,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2956