Cambridge Library CoLLeCtion Books of enduring scholarly value Darwin Two hundred years after his birth and 150 years after the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’, Charles Darwin and his theories are still the focus of worldwide attention. This series offers not only works by Darwin, but also the writings of his mentors in Cambridge and elsewhere, and a survey of the impassioned scientific, philosophical and theological debates sparked by his ‘dangerous idea’. The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin This three-volume life of Charles Darwin, published five years after his death, was edited by his son Francis, who was his father’s collaborator in experiments in botany and who after his death took on the responsibility of overseeing the publication of his remaining manuscript works and letters. In the preface to the first volume, Francis Darwin explains his editorial principles: ‘In choosing letters for publication I have been largely guided by the wish to illustrate my father’s personal character. But his life was so essentially one of work, that a history of the man could not be written without following closely the career of the author.’ Among the family history, anecdotes and reminiscences of scientific colleagues is a short autobiographical essay which Charles Darwin wrote for his children and grandchildren, rather than for publication. This account of Darwin the man has never been bettered. Cambridge University Press has long been a pioneer in the reissuing of out-of-print titles from its own backlist, producing digital reprints of books that are still sought after by scholars and students but could not be reprinted economically using traditional technology. The Cambridge Library Collection extends this activity to a wider range of books which are still of importance to researchers and professionals, either for the source material they contain, or as landmarks in the history of their academic discipline. Drawing from the world-renowned collections in the Cambridge University Library, and guided by the advice of experts in each subject area, Cambridge University Press is using state-of-the-art scanning machines in its own Printing House to capture the content of each book selected for inclusion. The files are processed to give a consistently clear, crisp image, and the books finished to the high quality standard for which the Press is recognised around the world. The latest print-on-demand technology ensures that the books will remain available indefinitely, and that orders for single or multiple copies can quickly be supplied. The Cambridge Library Collection will bring back to life books of enduring scholarly value across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and in science and technology. The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Including an Autobiographical Chapter Volume 2 Charles Darwin Edited by Francis Darwin CAmBrIDgE UnIVErSITy PrESS Cambridge new york melbourne madrid Cape Town Singapore São Paolo Delhi Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, new york www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108003452 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009 This edition first published 1887 This digitally printed version 2009 ISBn 978-1-108-00345-2 This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH (1874?) BY CAPTAIN I.. DARWIN, R.E. ENGRAVED FOR THE 'CENTURY MAGAZINE,' JANUARY 1883. frontispiece, \'ol, II. FROM A NOTE-BOOK OF 1837. led to comprehend true affinities. My theory would give zest to recent & Fossil Comparative Anatomy : it would lead to study of instincts, heredity, & mind heredity, whole meta- physics, it would lead to closest examination of hybridity & generation, causes of change in order to know what we have come from & to what we tend, to what circumstances favour crossing & what prevents it, this and direct examination of direct passages of structure in species, might lead to laws of change, which would then be main object of study, to guide our speculations. facsimile of a page from a note "book of 1837. (See transcript opposiip") THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES DARWIN, INCLUDING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL CHAPTER. EDITED BY HIS SON, FRANCIS DARWIN. IN THREE VOLUMES:—VOL. II. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1887. All Rights Reserved.