The Book, Cat, & Cat Book Lovers Almanac

of historical trivia regarding books, cats, and other animals. Actually this blog has evolved so that it is described better as a blog about cats in history and culture. And we take as a theme the advice of Aldous Huxley: If you want to be a writer, get some cats. Don't forget to see the archived articles linked at the bottom of the page.

December 12, 2011

December 12, 1731

Erasmus Darwin (December 12, 1731 to April 18, 1802) was an English doctor, and the center of an intellectual community in Lichfield,(Staffordshire) where all manner of fresh ideas about natural science and society were debated by humane and intelligent people, in settings of  bourgeois refinement. Erasmus Darwin, the grandfather of Charles Darwin, himself spoke of the connectedness of all life, and even formulated a statement about evolution. Also, this exemplar of the English Enlightenment referred 

"In his Zoonomia (1794) [to]... the efficient cause of the various colors of the eggs of birds and of the hair and feathers of animals which are adapted to the purpose of concealment....'Thus the snake, and wild cat, and leopard are so colored as to resemble dark leaves and their light interstices '"

This particular formulation was actually found in a book about Lamarck titled: Lamarck, the founder of evolution: his life and work : with translations of his writings on organic evolution (1901) by Alpheus Spring Packard.


 

No comments: