'Life of Erasmus Darwin', by Charles Darwin (1879)
(BV D6)
A small error in this book, first published in November 1879, gave rise to an infamous dispute between Samuel Butler and Charles Darwin. The book consists of a translation of an essay by the German scientist Ernst Krause and a long preliminary essay by Charles Darwin. The fault lay in Darwin’s assertion in his prefatory note that Butler’s Evolution, Old and New had appeared since the publication of Krause’s article on Erasmus Darwin. In fact, Krause had substantially revised his article after its original publication in Germany in February 1879, partly in response to Butler’s book (published in May). When Butler read the Life of Erasmus Darwin he was shocked to find numerous criticisms of his own work in Krause’s essay – which, in the light of the timescale described by Charles Darwin, implied that Krause had not only anticipated, but dismissed Butler’s ideas before they were even published. In consequence, Butler’s entire project appeared misguided, as well as obsolete.
Furious that his reputation had been compromised, Butler wrote to Darwin in January 1880 asking for an explanation. Darwin’s reply was swift, but muted; writing privately, he dismissed the error as an academic oversight and refused to correct the false impression it gave. This incensed Butler, and he doggedly pursued his grievance in the press and in his successive works on evolution.