RECORD: Darwin, C. R. [1870-1871]. Draft of Descent, Ch. 1, folio 14. CUL-DAR157.14. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 4.2023. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volume CUL-DAR157 consists of Darwin book draft leaves that were preserved by the family. The text of the draft corresponds to Descent 1: 43.


[14]

(14

Ch. I.

have some notion of zoological affinities, for those kept by Brehm exhibited a strong, though mistaken, instinctive dread of innocent lizards & frogs.

[CUl-DAR157.15] (The principle of Imitation is strong in man, & especially with man in a barbarous state. But no universal voluntarily imitating as Desor *(5) has well remarked, no animal voluntarily imitates an any action performed by his master, until in ascending the scale we come to monkeys, which are well known to be ridiculous imitators. (a) (text) But from information given me which I have received from Prof. Asa Gray, that I have reason to believe that puppies nursed by cats learn to lick their feet & thus to clean their faces. Singin Birds certainly imitates the song of other birds, & parrots are notorious mockers.

(Hardly any faculty is more important


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 22 July, 2023