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    Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
    Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
    Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
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    Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)

    By Charles Darwin

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    This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of Charles Darwin’.

    Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Darwin includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

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    * The complete unabridged text of ‘Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)’
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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPublishdrive
    Release dateJul 17, 2017
    ISBN9781788776257
    Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
    Author

    Charles Darwin

    Charles Darwin was an English naturalist and author best-known for his revolutionary theories on the origin of species, human evolution, and natural selection. A life-long interest in the natural world led Darwin to neglect his medical studies and instead embark on a five-year scientific voyage on the HMS Beagle, where he established his reputation as a geologist and gathered much of the evidence that fuelled his later theories. A prolific writer, Darwin’s most famous published works include The Voyage of the Beagle, On the Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin died in 1882, and in recognition of his contributions to science, is buried in Westminster Abbey along with John Herschel and Isaac Newton.

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      Book preview

      Erasmus Darwin by Charles Darwin - Delphi Classics (Illustrated) - Charles Darwin

      The Complete Works of

      CHARLES DARWIN

      VOLUME 18 OF 36

      Erasmus Darwin

      Parts Edition

      By Delphi Classics, 2015

      Version 1

      COPYRIGHT

      ‘Erasmus Darwin’

      Charles Darwin: Parts Edition (in 36 parts)

      First published in the United Kingdom in 2017 by Delphi Classics.

      © Delphi Classics, 2017.

      All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published.

      ISBN: 978 1 78877 625 7

      Delphi Classics

      is an imprint of

      Delphi Publishing Ltd

      Hastings, East Sussex

      United Kingdom

      Contact: sales@delphiclassics.com

      www.delphiclassics.com

      Charles Darwin: Parts Edition

      This eBook is Part 18 of the Delphi Classics edition of Charles Darwin in 36 Parts. It features the unabridged text of Erasmus Darwin from the bestselling edition of the author’s Complete Works. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. Our Parts Editions feature original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of Charles Darwin, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily.

      Visit here to buy the entire Parts Edition of Charles Darwin or the Complete Works of Charles Darwin in a single eBook.

      Learn more about our Parts Edition, with free downloads, via this link or browse our most popular Parts here.

      CHARLES DARWIN

      IN 36 VOLUMES

      Parts Edition Contents

      The Books

      1, Introduction to ‘The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle’

      2, The Journal of Researches

      3, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs

      4, Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle

      5, Geological Observations on South America

      6, A Monograph of the Sub-Class Cirripedia

      7, A Monograph of the Fossil Lepadidae

      8, On the Tendency of Species to Form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection

      9, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

      10, On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects

      11, On the Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants

      12, The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication

      13, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex

      14, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

      15, Insectivorous Plants

      16, The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom

      17, The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species

      18, Erasmus Darwin

      19, The Power of Movement in Plants

      20, The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Through the Action of Worms

      21, The Foundations of the Origin of Species

      Pamphlets, Essays and Other Short Pieces

      22, Questions About the Breeding of Animals

      23, Geology: A Manual of Scientific Enquiry

      24, Recollections of Professor Henslow, in Jenyns, Memoir of the Rev. John Stevens Henslow

      25, Queries About Expression

      26, Report of the Royal Commission on the Practice of Subjecting Live Animals to Experiments for Scientific Purposes

      27, A Biographical Sketch of an Infant Mind

      28, In Weismann, Studies in the Theory of Descent

      29, Essay on Instinct

      30, Inheritance

      The Letters

      31, The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin

      32, More Letters of Charles Darwin

      The Autobiographies

      33, Darwin: His Life Told in an Autobiographical Chapter

      34, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin

      The Criticism

      35, The Criticism

      The Biography

      36, Life of Charles Darwin by G. T. Bettany

      www.delphiclassics.com

      Erasmus Darwin

      IN KRAUSE, ERASMUS DARWIN.

      In 1879, a scientific biography of Erasmus Darwin (Figure 1; 1731-1802), Charles Darwin’s grandfather, was published (Figure 2). It contained an extensive personal biography (127 pages), written by Charles Darwin, as introduction, called a Preliminary Notice.  This was based on papers which were only available to the family.  The principal part of the volume was written by the German biologist, Ernst Krause, The Scientific Works of Erasmus Darwin, and had already been published in the journal Kosmos.  It was translated into English for this book by William Sweetland Dallas.  In fact, Darwin’s preliminary notice is longer than Krause’s account.

      The first edition was extensively edited by Henrietta Litchfield, Darwin’s daughter, prior to publication – 16% of Darwin’s contribution was removed. The second edition (1887; edited by his son, Francis) was published with a few additional changes, but it was not until 2003 that Darwin’s full text was restored, in an edition edited by Desmond King-Hele, and published by Cambridge University Press.

      Figure 1:  Portrait of Erasmus Darwin by Joseph Wright of Derby (1792)

      Figure 2:  The title page of the first edition of Krause’s biography of Erasmus Darwin.

      CONTENTS

      SECOND EDITION, 1887

      PREFACE.

      NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

      PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

      THE SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF ERASMUS DARWIN. BY ERNST KRAUSE.

      SECOND EDITION, 1887

      PREFACE.

      IN the February number, 1879, of a well-known German scientific journal, ‘Kosmos,’ Dr. Ernst Krause published a sketch of the life of Erasmus Darwin, the author of the ‘Zoonomia,’

      ‘Botanic Garden,’ and other works. This article bears the title of a ‘Contribution to the history of the Descent-Theory;’ and Dr. Krause has kindly allowed my brother Erasmus and myself to have a translation made of it for publication in this country. (Mr. Dallas has undertaken the translation, and his scientific reputation, together with his knowledge of German, is a guarantee for its accuracy.)

      As I have private materials for adding to the knowledge of Erasmus Darwin’s character, I have written a preliminary notice. These materials consist of a large collection of letters written by him; of his common-place book in folio, in the possession of his grandson Reginald Darwin; of some notes made shortly after his death, by my father, Dr. Robert Darwin, together with what little I can clearly remember that my father said about him; also some statements by his daughter, Violetta Darwin, afterwards Mrs. Tertius Galton, written down at the time by her daughters; and various short published notices. To these must be added the ‘Memoirs of the Life of Dr. Darwin,’ by Miss Seward, which appeared in 1804; and a lecture by Dr. Dowson on Erasmus Darwin, Philosopher, Poet, and Physician, published in 1861, which contains many useful references and remarks. (Since the publication of Dr. Krause’s article, Mr. Butler’s work, ‘Evolution, Old and New, 1879,’ has appeared, and this includes an account of Dr. Darwin’s life, compiled from the two hooks just mentioned, and of his views on evolution.)

      NOTICE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

      THE PRESENT differs in no important respect from the first edition. The title-page has been altered, a footnote has been added to the preface, and a table of contents to the biographical part of the book has been appended. A few points require correction.

      Since the publication of the first edition some further knowledge of the Darwin family has been gained through the researches of the American genealogist Colonel Chester. (Further researches in the same subject are now being made by Mr. H. F. Burke, Somerset Herald. The results will appear in a forthcoming part of Dr. Howard's Miscellanea Genealogica.) Mr. Darwin's papers show that he intended to erase the first five lines on page 1 and replace them by the following passage:—

      Erasmus Darwin was descended from a family of yeomen who lived for several generations on their own land, apparently of considerable extent, at Marton in Lincolnshire. The great-grandson of the first Darwin of whom we know anything, seems to have been a loyal man, for in his will made in 1584 he bequeathed 3s. 4d. 'towards the settynge up of the Queene's Majesties armes over the quearie (choir) door in the parishe Churche of Marton' His son William, born about 1575, possessed a small estate at Cleatham, at no great distance from Marton. He considered himself a gentleman, bore arms and married a lady. It was this William who served James I. as told in the 1st Edition.

      P. 2. Erasmus Earle (from whom Erasmus Darwin probably derived his Christian name) should have been described as of Heydon Hall in Norfolk, and as representing Norwich in the Long Parliament.

      The allusion to William Alvey Darwin (.) is misleading: it should have added that be was the ancestor of the elder branch of the family, the present possessors of Elston Hall.

      At  it is said that Dr. R. W. Darwin received no pecuniary assistance beyond £20 from his father and a like sum from his uncle.

      It appears however from papers in the possession of Mr. Reginald Darwin that he got £1000 under his mother's settlement, and £400 from his aunt Susannah Darwin.

      At  some account is given of Erasmus Darwin's contributions to medicine. To these an interesting addition may now be made on the authority of Dr. Norman Moore. It appears that some progress towards the discovery of the relation of albuminuria to dropsy had been made before the time of Bright. Van Helmont and Cotunnius knew something of the matter, and Erasmus Darwin in quoting Cotunnius adds his own observations on mucilaginous diabetes in a case of what was clearly anasarca due to renal disease. These observations are mentioned as being of importance by Dr. John Blackall, who in 1795 observed in the wards of St. Bartholomew;s Hospital a case of dropsy associated with albuminuria, and who showed, in 1813 that in a certain type of dropsy, albuminuria is present. Finally about 1827 Bright showed how renal disease was the cause of albuminuria, and thus completed a valuable advance in medical knowledge. Erasmus Darwin;s share in the evolution of our knowledge on this subject was not large, but it seems that he was on the verge of showing that his mucilaginous diabetes was what is now known as albuminuria.

      The epitaph in Breadsall Church is given at . A similar inscription has been recently placed in Lichfield Cathedral.

      ERASMUS DARWIN, M.D., F.R.S.

      PHYSICIAN, PHILOSOPHER, AND POET,

      AUTHOR OF THE 'ZOONOMIA,' ' BOTANIC GARDEN,' AND OTHER WORKS.

      A SKILFUL OBSERVER OF NATURE,

      VIVID IN IMAGINATION, INDEFATIGABLE IN RESEARCH,

      ORIGINAL AND FAR-SIGHTED IN HIS VIEWS.

      HIS SPECULATIONS WERE MAINLY DIRECTED TO PROBLEMS

      WHICH WERE AFTERWARDS MORE SUCCESSFULLY SOLVED BY HIS

      GRANDSON

      CHARLES DARWIN,

      AN INHERITOR OF MANY OF HIS CHARACTERISTICS.

      He was born A.D. 1731. He resided in the city of Lichfield from A.D. 1756 to A.D. 1781. He died A.D. 1802, and was buried at Breadsall, Derbyshire.

      His first wife MARY, daughter of CHARLES HOWARD, lies buried in the Close.

      These lines are inscribed beneath a bust erected in memory of Erasmus Darwin by his grandson Mr. Francis Galton.

      F. D.

      OCTOBER, 1887.

      PRELIMINARY NOTICE.

      ERASMUS DARWIN was descended from a Lincolnshire family, and the first of his ancestors of whom we know anything was William Darwin, who possessed a small estate at Cleatham. (The greater part of the estate of Cleatham was sold in 1700. A cottage with thick walls, some fish-ponds and old trees, alone show where the Old Hall once stood. A field is still called the Darwin Charity, from being subject to a charge, made by the second Mrs. Darwin, for buying gowns for four old widows every year.) He was also yeoman of the armoury of Greenwich to James I. and Charles I. This office was probably almost a sinecure, and certainly of very small value. He died in 1644, and we have reason to believe from gout. It is, therefore, probable that Erasmus, as well as many other members of the family, inherited from this William, or some of his predecessors, their strong tendency to gout; and it was an early attack of gout which made Erasmus a vehement advocate for temperance throughout his whole life.

      The second William Darwin (born 1620) served as Captain-Lieutenant in Sir W. Pelham’s troop of horse, and fought for the king. His estate was sequestrated by the Parliament, but he was afterwards pardoned on payment of a heavy fine. In a petition to Charles II. he speaks of his almost utter ruin from having adhered to the royal cause, and it appears that he had become a barrister. This circumstance probably led to his marrying the daughter of Erasmus Earle, Serjeant-at-law; and hence Erasmus Darwin derived his Christian name.

      The eldest son from this marriage, William (born 1655), married the heiress of Robert Waring, of Wilsford, in the county of Nottingham. This lady also inherited the manor of Elston, which has remained ever since in the family.

      This third William Darwin had two sons — William, and Robert who was educated as

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