Herbert Spencer an Ernst Haeckel, London, 24. September 1870
37 Queen’s Gardens
Bayswater,
London. W.
24th Sept. 1870
My dear Sir,
On my return from the country after an absence of more than two months, I found waiting for me a copy of your Naturliche Schopfungsgeschichte, which you have been so good as to send me. Thank you very much for it. I wish its contents were accessible to me without difficulty. But entirely ignorant as I am of German, I shall be || obliged to get the help of someone else, before I can make myself acquainted with the many ideas of great interest to me which it no doubt contains. Germany is forwarding greatly the doctrine of evolution. I wish we had here as many equally active and equally learned workers.
Have you among your students and disciples in Jena, any young man who is adequately instructed in the general doctrine of Evolution, || and who is interested in its Sociological applications, and who would be likely to undertake the task of preparing for me classified and tabulated materials? Until recently, I have had as Secretary a young scotchman, whose main occupation has been that of getting up for me all the facts presented by the uncivilized races, and arranging these in a systematic form, facilitating comparison and generalization. Unfortunately for me, after || working two years and a half, and getting through something like two thirds of the work, he has been appointed Professor at Madras. He is to a complete for me, while in India, that division of the general work which he has already mainly done; and he is also to undertake the second great division – a like systematic statementb of the phenomena presented by the extinct civilized races. But I want someone else to undertake to do the same thing for the existing civilized races. c Whoever does this for me must be familiar with German, French, and English; || in which languages exist most of the historical works whence his facts will have to be drawn. As I have already implied, he must have such familiarity with the doctrine of evolution as that he may readily see things from the evolution point of view. And he should have a certain amount of original faculty, that he may discern the significance of that he reads. His advantages would be these:
– d In the shape of direct renumeration he would have £70 a year, sitting-room, bedroom and fire. He would have con-||siderable part of the day to himself - seven hours per day being the time mye late assistant worked for me. And beyond this, he would have the advantages that f when these classified and tabulated phenomena are published (the first division is already in the press) his name would appear on the title page compiler, and he would have half-profits after the expenses of publication were paid.
If any young man well fitted for such a position is known to you, I shall be much obliged if you would put me in communication with him.
Very sincerely yours
Herbert Spencer
a gestr.: continue; b gestr.: presentation; eingef.: systematic statement; c gestr.: It; d gestr.: and; e gestr.: by; eingef.: my; f gestr.: his