t you
go a little way with me. You will think it presumptuous, but I am well
convinced from my own mental experience that if you keep the subject at
all before your mind you will ultimately go further. The present volume
is a mere abstract, and there are great omissions. One main one, which
I have rectified in the foreign editions, is an explanation (which has
satisfied Lyell, who made the same objection with you) why many forms do
not progress or advance (and I quite agree about some retrograding). I
have also a MS. discussion on beauty; but do you really suppose that for
instance Diatomaceae were created beautiful that man, after millions of
generations, should admire them through the microscope? (97/1. Thwaites
(1811-82) published several papers on the Diatomaceae ("On Conjugation
in the Diatomaceae," "Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist." Volume XX., 1847, pages
9-11, 343-4; "Further Observations on the Diatomaceae," loc. cit., 1848,
page 161). See "Life and Letters" II., page 292.) I should attribute
most of such structures to quite unknown laws of growth; and mere
repetition of parts is to our eyes one main element of beauty. When any
structure is of use (and I can show what curiously minute particulars
are often of highest use), I can see with my prejudiced eyes no limit to
the perfection of the coadaptations which could be effected by Natural
Selection. I rather doubt whether you see how far, as it seems to me,
the argument for homology and embryology may be carried. I do not look
at this as mere analogy. I would as soon believe that fossil shells were
mere mockeries of real shells as that the same bones in the foot of a
dog and wing of a bat, or the similar embryo of mammal and bird, had
not a direct signification, and that the signification can be unity of
descent or nothing. But I venture to repeat how much pleased I am that
you go some little way with me. I find a number of naturalists do
the same, and as their halting-places are various, and I must think
arbitrary, I believe they will all go further. As for changing at once
one's opinion, I would not value the opinion of a man who could do so;
it must be a slow process. (97/2. Darwin wrote to Woodward in regard to
the "Origin": "It may be a vain and silly thing to say, but I believe
my book must be read twice carefully to be fully understood. You will
perhaps think it by no means worth the labour.") Thank you for telling
me about the Lantana (97/3. An exotic species of L