WCP4645

Letter (WCP4645.4961)

[1]

Down.

Beckenham, Kent.

3 August [1872]

My dear Wallace

I hate controversy, chiefly perhaps because I do it badly; but as Dr Bree accuses you of "blundering", I have thought myself bound to send the enclosed letter to Nature; that is if you in the least desire it. In this case please post it.— If you do not at all wish it, I sh[oul]d rather prefer not sending it, & in this case please to tear it up—

And I beg you to do the same, if you intend answering Dr Bree yourself, as you will do it incomparably better than I sh[oul]d—

Also please to tear it up if you don't like the letter.

My dear Wallace | yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin. [signature]

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP4645.4961)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-11-20] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15]

Author’s draft (WCP4645.5124)

[1]1, 2

For Mr W. I hate controversy3, perhaps [one illeg. struck through] chiefly perhaps because I do it badly; but as Dr Bree4 accuses you of "blundering", I have thought myself bound to send the enclosed letter5 to Nature; that is if you in the least desire it. [MS blotted] If you do not at all desire it, I sh[oul]d rather prefer not sending it & in this case please tear it up. —

Wallace | Aug 3[r]d.8

1
Page 1 is numbered 147 in the upper right-hand corner by the repository.
2
"Wallace | Aug 3[r]d." is written in pencil in an unknown hand at the bottom of page 1.
3
ARW had published a critical review of Bree's book An Exposition of Fallacies in the Hypothesis of Mr. Darwin (Bree, C. R. 1872. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.) in Nature (Wallace, A. R. 1872. The Last Attack on Darwinism. 6: 237-239), to which Bree replied in a letter of 27 July stating that Darwin was wrong about the early pedigree of man (Bree, C. R. 1872. Bree on Darwinism. Nature. 6: 260). Darwin’s letter of 3 August in support of ARW and clarifying his own view was also published in Nature (Darwin, C. 1872. 6: 279).
4
Bree, Charles Robert (1811-1886). British physician and zoologist.
5
Darwin’s letter of 3 August 1872 (Bree on Darwinism. Nature. 6: 279; Burkhardt, F., et al. (Eds). 2013. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [pp. 338-339]).

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Author’s draft (WCP4645.5124)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Lord, Annette [2012-12-17] Transcription checked by Barton, Michael [2020-06-09]

Published letter (WCP4645.6050)

[1] [p. 272]

Down

August 3 [1872]

My dear Wallace,—I hate controversy, chiefly perhaps because I do it badly; but as Dr. Bree accuses you of "blundering," I have throught myself bound to send the [2] [p. 273] enclosed letter1 to Nature, that is, if you in the least desire it. In this case please post it. If you do not at all wish it, I should rather prefer not sending it, and in this case please tear it up. And I beg you to do the same, if you intend answering Dr. Bree2 yourself, as you will do it incomparably better than I should. Also please tear it up if you don't like the letter.—My dear Wallace, yours very sincerely,

Ch. Darwin.

1
Footnote (presumably to letter that was aforementioned) but not visible on the scan.
2
Bree, Charles Robert (1811-1886). British physician and zoologist.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP4645.6050)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Sherwood, Danni [2020-06-09] Transcription checked by Lo, Yen [2020-10-30]

Please cite as “WCP4645,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4645