[page] 279

Bree on Darwinism

PERMIT me to state—though the statement is almost superfluous—that Mr. Wallace, in his review of Dr. Bree's work,¹ gives with perfect correctness what I intended to express, and what I believe was expressed clearly, with respect to the probable position of man in the early part of his pedigree. As I have not seen Dr. Bree's recent work, and as his letter is unintelligible to me, I cannot even conjecture how he has so completely mistaken my meaning: but, perhaps, no one who has read Mr. Wallace's article, or who has read a work formerly published by Dr. Bree on the same subject as his recent one, will be surprised at any amount of misunderstanding on his part.

CHARLES DARWIN

August 3

¹ Wallace 1872. Charles Robert Bree (1811-1886), physician, zoologist and anti-Darwinian. Bree 1872. See LL 3: 167. Raphael Meldola also replied to Bree in a letter following Darwin's. It can be read in the image view. See the important notes to this letter in Correspondence vol. 20.