Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- THE LIFE OF ERASMUS DARWIN BY CHARLES DARWIN
- Synopsis
- Map of the Midland counties
- Preface
- The Life of Erasmus Darwin
- Charles Darwin's References
- Notes on the text, by the editor
- Appendix A Chronology of Erasmus Darwin's life
- Appendix B Selective family tree
- Appendix C Selected books and papers
- Appendix D Outline of Ernst Krause's essay
- Appendix E Linking page numbers in the 1879 book with those in the proofs
- Acknowledgements
- Index
The Life of Erasmus Darwin
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- THE LIFE OF ERASMUS DARWIN BY CHARLES DARWIN
- Synopsis
- Map of the Midland counties
- Preface
- The Life of Erasmus Darwin
- Charles Darwin's References
- Notes on the text, by the editor
- Appendix A Chronology of Erasmus Darwin's life
- Appendix B Selective family tree
- Appendix C Selected books and papers
- Appendix D Outline of Ernst Krause's essay
- Appendix E Linking page numbers in the 1879 book with those in the proofs
- Acknowledgements
- Index
Summary
As the character of a man depends in some degree on the circumstances under which he has been brought up, it will be advisable to give a very short account of the family to which Erasmus Darwin belonged. It is more important to show to what extent a man inherits and transmits his characteristic qualities; for every addition, however small, to our knowledge on this head is a public benefit, as well as spreading a belief in inheritance.
{As the name Darwin is an unusual one, I may mention that in the Cottonian Library, now in the British Museum, there is a large and very rare book, on the History of Lichfield; and in this book the antiquary, Sir R. Cotton, who was born in 1570 and died in 1631, made the following entry: “This Booke was found in the thatch of an House at Clifton-Campville, in the demolishinge thereof. And was brought to mee by Mr. Darwin”. Clifton-Campville is near Tamworth, in Staffordshire. Whether the Mr. Darwin who made this discovery was a member of the family we do not know.}
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 [Richard Darwin] bequeathed 3s. 4d.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Charles Darwin's 'The Life of Erasmus Darwin' , pp. 7 - 91Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002