Joseph McCabe an Ernst Haeckel, 16. November 1906
16, Elm Grove.
Cricklewood.
London N.W.
Nov. 16/06
Dear D. Haeckel,
Many thanks, once more, for the books you have sent me. I will draw publisher’s attention to Dr. Dodd’s work, though they may not find it sufficiently full of new matter after Bölsche’s work. For myself it contains many new facts, as well as an interesting point of view. The new issue of the Lebenswunder looks well. I often press our English publishers to reproduce the more artistic German bindings of || books, but they are frightfully conservative.
We are still going ahead very well here. At the last Congress of the Church of England the bishop-president announced in the most solemn terms that the church is “now faced with the alternative of reform or ruin”. There was great consternation – but not a single proposal of reform, except that one of the finest scholars in the Church (Stubbs, the historian) said the only hope of salvation for the Church of England was to embrace Socialism! They are at their wits’ end. You may conscientiously have || the satisfaction of knowing that the Riddle has done most of all in bringing about the crisis. We have just completed the sale of 110,000 copies. I am just going to revise it for a new edition. It was my first translation, & is very faulty, especially as I did not know much zoology then.
I am just now translating A. Kalthoff’s Entstehung des Christenthum’s. It is a very good study.
I notice again in the new book a reference to a „phylogenetic faculty” at Jena. Is there such a thing as a degree in evolution generally? I wish there were, as || I am working over the whole ground- astronomy to sociology – & might some day try for it. Here the put in the way of a man of mature age (I was 39 a few days ago!) are ludicrous, if he wants to try for a degree.
However, I am busily employed bringing the results of science to the people, especially in lantern lectures. I have more than 100 to give this winter. I have lectured on the evolution of man with your pictures 40 times already. We have also already sold 30,000 copies of the cheap edition of the work. Si muove!
I hope your health keeps good & with kindest regards remain
Yours very truly
Joseph McCabe