Scientifiques," which contain several articles about my views; so I send
you copies for the chance of your liking to see them.

LETTER 457. A.R. WALLACE TO CHARLES DARWIN. Holly House, Barking, E.,
January 27th, 1871.

Many thanks for your first volume (457/1. "The Descent of Man".), which
I have just finished reading through with the greatest pleasure and
interest; and I have also to thank you for the great tenderness with
which you have treated me and my heresies.

On the subject of "sexual selection" and "protection," you do not yet
convince me that I am wrong; but I expect your heaviest artillery will
be brought up in your second volume, and I may have to capitulate. You
seem, however, to have somewhat misunderstood my exact meaning, and I
do not think the difference between us is quite so great as you seem to
think it. There are a number of passages in which you argue against the
view that the female has in any large number of cases been "specially
modified" for protection, or that colour has generally been obtained by
either sex for purposes of protection. But my view is, as I thought
I had made it clear, that the female has (in most cases) been simply
prevented from acquiring the gay tints of the male (even when there was
a tendency for her to inherit it), because it was hurtful; and that,
when protection is not needed, gay colours are so generally acquired
by both sexes as to show that inheritance by both sexes of colour
variations is the most usual, when not prevented from acting by Natural
Selection. The colour itself may be acquired either by sexual selection
or by other unknown causes.

There are, however, difficulties in the very wide application you give
to sexual selection which at present stagger me, though no one was or
is more ready than myself to admit the perfect truth of the principle or
the immense importance and great variety of its applications.

Your chapters on "Man" are of intense interest--but as touching my
special heresy, not as yet altogether convincing, though, of course, I
fully agree with every word and every argument which goes to prove
the "evolution" or "development" of man out of a lower form. My ONLY
difficulties are, as to whether you have accounted for EVERY STEP of the
development by ascertained laws.

I feel sure that the book will keep up and increase your high
reputation, and be immensely successful, as it deserves to be...

LETTER 458. TO G.B. MURDOCH. Down, Marc