tailieunhanh - SAMUEL BUTLER'S CANTERBURY PIECES

As the following dialogue embodies the earliest fruits of Butler's study of the works of Charles Darwin, with whose name his own was destined in later years to be so closely connected, and thus possesses an interest apart from its intrinsic merit, a few words as to the circumstances in which it was published will not be out of place. Butler arrived in New Zealand in October, 1859, and about the same time Charles Darwin's ORIGIN OF SPECIES was published. Shortly afterwards the book came into Butler's hands. He seems to have read it carefully, and meditated upon it | SAMUEL BUTLER S CANTERBURY PIECES by Samuel Butler Contents Darwin on the Origin of Species A Dialogue Barrel-Organs Letter 21 Feb 1863 Letter 14 Mar 1863 Letter 18 Mar 1863 Letter 11 Apr 1863 Letter 22 June 1863 Darwin Among the Machines Lucubratio Ebria A note on The Tempest The English Cricketers DARWIN ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES Prefatory Note As the following dialogue embodies the earliest fruits of Butler s study of the works of Charles Darwin with whose name his own was destined in later years to be so closely connected and thus possesses an interest apart from its intrinsic merit a few words as to the circumstances in which it was published will not be out of place. Butler arrived in New Zealand in October 1859 and about the same time Charles Darwin s ORIGIN OF SPECIES was published. Shortly afterwards the book came into Butler s hands. He seems to have read it carefully and meditated upon it. The result of his meditations took the shape of the following dialogue which was published on 20 December 1862 in the PRESS which had been started in the town of Christ Church in May 1861. The dialogue did not by any means pass unnoticed. On the 17th of January 1863 a leading article of course unsigned appeared in the PRESS under the title Barrel- Organs discussing Darwin s theories and incidentally referring to Butler s dialogue. A reply to this article signed A .M. appeared on the 21st of February and the correspondence was continued until the 22nd of June 1863. The dialogue itself which was unearthed from the early files of the PRESS mainly owing to the exertions of Mr. Henry Festing Jones was reprinted together with the correspondence that followed its publication in the PRESS of June 8 and 15 1912. Soon after the original appearance of Butler s dialogue a copy of it fell into the hands of Charles Darwin possibly sent to him by a friend in New Zealand. Darwin was sufficiently struck by it to forward it to the editor of some magazine which has not been identified .