Apes, Angels, and Victorians;: The Story of Darwin, Huxley, and Evolution

416 Pages·1972·9.02 MB·English

by  William Irvine

By William Irvine
"WAI-TER BAGEHOT
THE UNIVERSE OP G.B.S.
APES, ANGELS, AND VICTORIANS
What is the question nowplaced before society with a
assurance the most astounding! The question is this Is man
an afe or an angel? My Lord, I am on the side ofthe angels.
Benjamin Disraeli, ina speech at Oxford, 1864
Apes,
and
Angels,
Victorians
The
Story of
Darwin, Huxley, and
Evolution
WILLIAM IRVINE
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO
APES, ANGE:LS, AND VICTORIANS
Copyright 1955 by William Irvine. All rights in this book
are reserved. It may not be used for dramatic, motion-, or
talking-picture purposes without written authorization from
the holder of these rights. Nor may the book or parts thereof
be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission
in writing, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews. For information, address the
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., Trade Department, 330
West 4zd Street, New York 36, New York
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 54-11269
Published bytheMcGraw-Hill Book Company,Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
For Richard foster Jones
7 wish to than\ the Imperial College of Science for allowing me
to read the Huxley Papers, and the American Philosophical Society
for allowing me to read the Charles Darwin Papers. I wish also to
than\ the Cambridge University Library for sending memicrofilms
of many unpublished Darwin letters, as well as of the manuscript
of his "Autobiography!' I am grateful to all three of these institu-
tions for permission to quote from their collections of unpublished
materials.
1 am indebted to Lady Nora Barlow for aiding me to gain ac-
cess to Darwin letters and manuscripts, to Professor Arthur Giese
for checking some of my expositions of biological principles, and
to Dr. Walter C.Alvarezfora valuableletteron Darwin'sill-health.
CONTENTS
PARTI
/. Revolution in a Classroom 3
A
2. Scientific Odyssey 9
3. A Prophet in His Own Country 26
4. The Tale of an Unlikely Prince 42
A
5. Premeditated Romance 57
6. Barnacles and Blasphemy 67
+fi The MostImportant Boo\ of the Century 83
8. Convulsions of the NationalMind 101
An
9. Interlude: Huxley, Kingsley,
and the Universe 127
Human
&f. Skeletons in Geological Closets 135
*TT Orchids, Politics, and Heredity 151
The
Z2. Subject of Subjects 178
Am
JTJ. "I Not the Least Afraid of Death" 203
PART
II
14+ An Eminent Victorian 233
The
75. MetaphysicalSociety 247
16. The Educator 264
77, Triumphal Progress 289
zS. TA<? Pleasant Avocation of War 311
/p. '77 JF##/ Cultivcr NotreJardin" 331
Notes 360
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Facing page
Charles Darwin and the Beagle 50
Charles and Emma Darwin in 1840 51
Darwin and Huxley in the 1850*5 82
Vanity Fair's Darwin and Huxley, 1871 83
Lyell, Wallace, Gray, and Hooker 210
Darwin and the house at Downe 211
Huxley and the house at Marlborough Place 242
Huxley and the residence at Hodeslea 243
Part One