RECORD: Mengden, Nicolai Alexandrovitch (Baron) to Francis Darwin. 1882. CUL-DAR198.140. (John van Wyhe ed., 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed and edited by John van Wyhe 2.2026. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library. The folder CUL-DAR198 contains letters, mostly to Francis Darwin, regarding his appeals for letters from Darwin in order to create Life and letters (1887).

The letter from Darwin to Mengden stating "Science has nothing to do with Christ" was a sensation when it was published in 1882 and very widely reprinted around the world. See Mengden to Darwin 2 April 1879 and Mengden to Darwin 3 June 1879, Correspondence vol. 27.

Darwin, C. R. 1882. [Letter to N. A. von Mengden "Science has nothing to do with Christ", 1879]. In Ernst Haeckel, Die Naturanschauung von Darwin, Goethe und Lamarck. Vortrag in der ersten öffentlichen Sitzung der fünfundfünfzigsten Versammlung deutscher Naturforscher und Aerzte zu Eisenach am 18. September 1882. Jena: G. Fischer, p. 60. Text F1998
French: PDF F3427 German: Image PDF F2530

Darwin, C. R. 1882. Mr. Darwin and revelation. Pall Mall Gazette (23 September): 2. Text Image PDF F1973
French: Text F3419 German: Text F1998 Spanish: Text PDF F3360

Lewins, Robert. 1882. Mr. Darwin and Professor Haeckel. Journal of Science 3d ser. 4: 751-752. Text Image A304

See 1882 letters from Mengden to Francis Darwin in CUL-DAR198.137, CUL-DAR198.139 and CUL-DAR198.140. Francis Darwin's firm refusal of permission to publish the letter by his father is in CUL-DAR198.138.

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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 26 February, 2026