Famous Freemasons - Erasmus Darwin
ERASMUS DARWIN - INTRODUCTION
Erasmus Darwin is one of the greatest underrated geniuses in history - Some scholars rate him as high as England's equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci.
The grandfather of evolutionist Charles Darwin, Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802) was born December 12, 1731, at Elston Hall, near Newark, in the county of Nottingham. The son of Robert, a retired lawyer, and Elizabeth Hill Darwin, he was educated at Chesterfield School from 1741 to 1750 and studied at Cambridge University from 1750 to 1754. Darwin attended medical school at Edinburgh University from 1750 to 1756.
He was initiated in 1754 into the St. David's Lodge No. 36, Edinburgh. Before moving south he had been 'made a Mason' in the famous Time Immemorial Lodge of Cannongate Kilwinning, No. 2, of Scotland. Which is confirmed in the book "The centenary celebration of the Tyrian" records - 'But he was a Mason after all. I learn, on enquiry, that he was a member of the " Cannon-gate Kilwinning Lodge, No. 2, of Scotland," which claimed great antiquity.'
These two daughters were raised in Darwin's household, and he later helped them establish a school for girls in Ashbourne. Victorian society was later scandalized by his conduct, but it's not hard to imagine that plenty of his contemporaries and social equals also had illegitimate children; what was so shocking about Dr. Darwin was that he looked after his.
In 1775, Darwin met Elizabeth Pole, daughter of Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore, and wife of Colonel Edward Pole (1718-1780); but as she was married, Darwin could only make his feelings known for her through poetry. When Edward Pole died, Darwin married Elizabeth and moved to her home, Radbourne Hall, four miles (6 km) west of Derby. The hall and village are these days known as Radbourne. In 1782, they moved to Full Street, Derby. They had four sons, one of whom died in infancy, and three daughters.
Darwin died suddenly on 18 April 1802, weeks after having moved to Breadsall Priory, just north of Derby. His body is buried in All Saints Church, Breadsall.
Erasmus Darwin is commemorated on one of the Moonstones, a series of monuments in Birmingham.
Best known today as the grandfather of the biologist Charles Darwin, Erasmus Darwin was a philosopher, poet, scientist and one of the greatest physicians of his time. Well informed on all aspects of late 18th-century science and medicine, he had advanced ideas on cosmology and evolution which he recorded in verse of a high quality.
EXAMPLES OF HIS INVENTIONS
One of Erasmus Darwin's greatest passions was invention, which he was positively compulsive about. He was the inventor of several devices, though he did not patent any. He believed this would damage his reputation as a doctor, and encouraged his friends to patent their own modifications of his designs.
He made many discoveries for which he was well-known in his time, and today's science owes a debt, amongst which are:
He developed a model of the atmosphere that was not overturned until the 1950s.
He correctly identified sugars and starches as the byproducts of plant "digestion,"
He recognized the importance of nitrates and phosphorus in sustaining vegetation
and, decades before their actual discovery, predicted the existence of stomata; after coating leaves with oil and
observing their subsequent death, he concluded that they must breathe through tiny pores.
He experimented with the use of air and gases to alleviate infections and cancers in patients. A Pneumatic Institution
was established at Clifton in 1799 for clinically testing these ideas.
He conducted research into the formation of clouds, on which he published in 1788. He also inspired Robert Weldon's
Somerset Coal Canal caisson lock.
He successfully used electricity to reduce tumours in a patient
If Erasmus Darwin's accomplishments seem unbelievable, he might have owed something to his circle of equally ingenious
friends. For decades, he belonged to a largely informal club known as the Lunar Society of Birmingham, which he had founded
with a group of pioneering industrialists and natural philosophers. Some of the other luminaries in the club were -
Matthew Boulton, the industrialist and partner of
James Watt, 1767, the improver of steam engine
Josiah Wedgwood, the potter, and Charles Darwin's other grandfather
Joseph Priestly, the preacher, philosopher and discoverer of oxygen
Dr. William Small, 1765, man of science, formerly Professor of Natural Philosophy at the College of William and Mary,
where Thomas Jefferson was an appreciative pupil
Richard Lovell Edgeworth, 1766, inventor
James Keir, 1767, pioneer of the chemical industry
Thomas Day, 1768, eccentric and author
Dr. William Withering, 1775, the death of Dr. Small left an opening for a physician in the group.
William Murdoch the discoverer of Coal gas and the inventor of gas lighting
Darwin also established a lifelong friendship with Benjamin Franklin, who shared Darwin's support for the American and French
revolutions. The Lunar Society was instrumental as an intellectual driving force behind England's Industrial Revolution.
There is no doubt that Erasmus Darwin was an accomplished scientist, physician, botanist, inventor, naturalist, best-selling
author, philosopher and poet. He maintained correspondences with many of the great thinkers and explorers of his day, including
Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks. He developed his own theories, conducted exhaustive research to support his ideas, and did
this all while maintaining one of the most successful medical practices in all of England.
Erasmus Darwin made his living as a doctor, accommodating wealthy clients with house calls and tending to the poor at no
charge. Though he may have prescribed opium a bit liberally (many doctors did), he promoted sanitation, vaccinations, and
temperance.
His grandson Charles Darwin wrote,
"He was much in advance of his age in his ideas as to sanitary arrangements such as supplying towns with pure water, having
holes made into crowded sitting and bed-rooms for the constant admission of fresh air, and not allowing chimneys to be closed
during summer."
Among his accomplishments noted were -
A master of verse, he penned The Loves of the Plants and screeds of poems for his family and friends; his poetry
influenced the work of Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley.
He commemorated the achievements of astronomer William Herschel in verse.
He translated the works of Linnaeus with obsessive attention to detail.
He advocated education for women and despised slavery.
He openly sympathized with the colonies in the American Revolution, writing to a friend, "I hope Dr. [Benjamin] Franklin
will live to see peace, to see America recline under her own vine and fig-tree, turning her swords into plough-shares."
After the war, Erasmus Darwin was elected to the American Philosophical Society".
Decades, if not centuries, ahead of his time, Erasmus Darwin did ground breaking research on plants, recognizing the function of
photosynthesis and its great importance in the survival of all life. His meticulous translation of Linnaeus's works into English
made them accessible to a much wider audience, and no doubt influenced the studies of many young botanists to come.
He was also a great advocate of biological evolution, and laid much of the theoretical groundwork that his grandson, Charles
Darwin, would later use in his theory of evolution.
DARWINS CHARACTER AND BELIEFS
Darwin was a good humored, larger than life character known for his wit, charm and forthrightness. He was energetic and
sociable, the type of person that turns any gathering into a party. He possessed a bad stammer but this did not seem to
adversely affect his public speaking ability. Indeed it was often said that the stammer aided his delivery by giving him time to
choose his words more precisely and by causing listeners to attend more carefully. When one well-meaning young man asked
him if he found the stammer inconvenient, Darwin answered:
"No sir, it gives me time for reflection and saves me from asking impertinent questions."
CHARITY
Much of the philosophy central to Erasmus Darwin's medical beliefs is laid out in his treatise on animal life called "Zoonomia."
Although his views were loaded down with incorrect 18th century ideas and assumptions, and some of his treatments seem
strange, almost barbaric to us today, he was generally able to improve the lives of many of his patients using common-sense
ideas such as a balanced diet, the practice of basic hygiene and the cleaning and dressing of wounds. He was considered
progressive in that he believed in a connection between his patient's state of mind and their general health, and was one of the
first physicians to espouse sympathetic treatment of mental patients, who at the time were kept in deplorable conditions.
He showed similar compassion towards the poor and homeless, whom he treated without fee, and charged others only what they
could afford.
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
The Lunar group were stout abolitionists, yet they knew that their own neighbourhood was far from innocent. Darwin wrote in
appalled tones to Wedgwood: "I have just heard that there are muzzles or gags made at Birmingham for the slaves in our
islands. If this be true, and such an instrument could be exhibited by a speaker in the house of commons, it might have great
effect."
Two of his poems against slavery are to be found in Temple of Nature.
Canto II
8. Slavery: ll. 421-30
Hear, oh, Britannia! potent Queen of isles,
On whom fair Art and meek Religion smiles,
How Africa's coasts thy craftier sons invade
With murder, rapine, theft - and call it Trade!
The slave, in chains, on supplicating knee
Spreads his wide arms and lifts his eyes to thee,
With hunger pale, with wounds and toil oppress'd,
˜Are we not brethren?" Sorrow chokes the rest.
Air! bear to heaven upon thy azure flood
Their innocent cries! - Earth! cover not their blood!
Canto III
20. Slavery: ll. 442-48
E'en now in Africa's groves, with hideous yell
Fierce Slavery stalks, and slips the dogs of hell;
From vale to vale the gathering cries rebound,
And sable nations tremble at the sound!
Ye bands of Senators! whose suffrage sways
Britannia's realms, whom either Ind obeys;
Who right the injured and reward the brave,
Stretch your strong arm, for ye have power to save!
8. Slavery: ll. 421-30
Hear, oh, Britannia! potent Queen of isles,
On whom fair Art and meek Religion smiles,
How Africa's coasts thy craftier sons invade
With murder, rapine, theft - and call it Trade!
The slave, in chains, on supplicating knee
Spreads his wide arms and lifts his eyes to thee,
With hunger pale, with wounds and toil oppress'd,
˜Are we not brethren?" Sorrow chokes the rest.
Air! bear to heaven upon thy azure flood
Their innocent cries! - Earth! cover not their blood!
Canto III
20. Slavery: ll. 442-48
E'en now in Africa's groves, with hideous yell
Fierce Slavery stalks, and slips the dogs of hell;
From vale to vale the gathering cries rebound,
And sable nations tremble at the sound!
Ye bands of Senators! whose suffrage sways
Britannia's realms, whom either Ind obeys;
Who right the injured and reward the brave,
Stretch your strong arm, for ye have power to save!
He settled in 1756 as a physician at Nottingham, but met with little success and so moved the following year to Lichfield near Birmingham to try to establish a practice there. A few weeks after his arrival, using a novel course of treatment, he restored the health of a young man whose death seemed inevitable. This ensured his success in the new locale.
His medical skills quickly earned him a wide reputation that extended even to London, where King George III is reported to have sought his services as a personal physician. Throughout his career Darwin maintained a thriving medical practice and treated impoverished patients at no charge.
Darwin married Mary Howard in December of 1757. They had four sons and one daughter, two of whom (a son and a daughter) died in infancy. Their third son, Robert, became the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin.
The first Mrs. Darwin died in 1770. A governess, Mary Parker, was hired to look after Robert. By late 1771, employer and employee had become intimately involved and together they had two illegitimate daughters: Susanna Parker (1772-1856) and Mary Parker Jr (1774-1859)
His medical skills quickly earned him a wide reputation that extended even to London, where King George III is reported to have sought his services as a personal physician. Throughout his career Darwin maintained a thriving medical practice and treated impoverished patients at no charge.
Darwin married Mary Howard in December of 1757. They had four sons and one daughter, two of whom (a son and a daughter) died in infancy. Their third son, Robert, became the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin.
The first Mrs. Darwin died in 1770. A governess, Mary Parker, was hired to look after Robert. By late 1771, employer and employee had become intimately involved and together they had two illegitimate daughters: Susanna Parker (1772-1856) and Mary Parker Jr (1774-1859)
A horizontal windmill, which he designed for Josiah Wedgwood (who would be
Charles Darwin's other grandfather).
A carriage that would not tip over (1766).
A steering mechanism for carriages that would be adopted for cars 130 years later
(1759).
A 'Talking Machine', essentially a mechanical larynx made of wood, silk, and
leather, amazed and delighted his guests more than a century before Edison's
phonograph. It's invention was fueled by his interest in the origin of language, the
partially completed model fooled some first-time listeners into thinking they heard
real a person saying "mama" or "papa", (at Clifton in 1799).
A chair to straighten the spine, which was much needed by young ladies who
suffered injuries from too tight lacing of stays.
A canal lift for barges.
A mechanical bird to study the principal of flight
A copying machine which allowed him to duplicate documents long before anyone
had heard of Xerox. (1778)
A variety of weather monitoring machines.
An artesian well (1783).
A steam car ("a fiery chariot")
A wire-drawn ferry;
A rocket engine - In notes dating to 1779, Darwin made a sketch of a simple
hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine, with gas tanks connected by plumbing and pumps
to an elongated combustion chamber and expansion nozzle, a concept not to be
seen again until one century later.
EDUCATION OF WOMEN
Darwin was also the author of the social reform treatise A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education in Boarding Schools, 1797. The last two leaves of Darwin's A plan for the conduct of female education in boarding schools (1797) contain a book list, an apology for the work, and an advert for "Miss Parkers School". The school advertised on the last page is the one he set up in Ashbourne, Derbyshire for his two illegitimate children, Susanna and Mary.
Darwin regretted that a good education had not been generally available to women in Britain in his time, and drew on the ideas of Locke, Rousseau, and Genlis in organising his thoughts. Addressing the education of middle class girls, Darwin argued that amorous romance novels were inappropriate and that they should seek simplicity in dress. He contends that young women should be educated in schools, rather than privately at home, and learn appropriate subjects. These subjects include -physiognomy, physical exercise, botany, chemistry, mineralogy, and experimental philosophy. They should familiarize themselves with arts and manufactures through visits to sites like Coalbrookdale, and Wedgwood's potteries; they should learn how to handle money, and study modern languages. Darwin's educational philosophy took the view that men and women should have different, but complementary capabilities, skills, spheres, and interests. In the context of the times, this program may be read as a modernising influence
DEMOCRACY -ONE MAN ONE VOTE
Erasmus Darwin was likely a deist, a fervent believer in democracy, and a practitioner of what some would call "free love." These characteristics were tolerated, if not admired, while England enjoyed social stability. Once the British found themselves at war with Napoleon, however, the free-thinking Francophile's ideas looked dangerously subversive, and his fellow Englishmen were not amused. As England's population became more anti-intellectual, he quickly fell out of favor. As a result, his contributions to science were underestimated, and his words were largely misquoted then satirized for a century afterwards.
One publication, the Anti-Jacobin, released a lengthy poem, The Loves of the Triangles, aimed squarely at Erasmus Darwin's poetry and ideas. Writers at the Anti-Jacobin clobbered Erasmus Darwin's poetry as a way of attacking his "seditious" ideas, such as his opposition to slavery, and his conviction that all adult males (never mind females) deserved the right to vote, even if they didn't own substantial amounts of property - an idea that would continue to horrify England's upper crust when Charles Darwin contemplated his own evolutionary ideas. Science historian Patricia Fara (no fan of Erasmus Darwin's poetry) remarks:
"Darwin took practical steps to help others and improve Britain. In turning to poetry, he did not simply step aside from his previous path through life, but began trying to achieve his ideals in a different way. . . . The Anti-Jacobin satirists, on the other hand, were wedded through self-interest to stability. They set about undermining his political mission by attacking him at his weakest point 'his heroic couplets' and so encouraged critics to ignore the substance of his arguments."
SEX AND MORALITY
His concept of morality with regards to sex was no doubt governed by his belief that the strongest of any group of animals would sire the most offspring, and so improve the breed. Therefore his ideas and beliefs on this matter were very liberal, even in today's world. However, he proved during his life that he believed in taking full responsibility for his action.
SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
THE BLACK HOLES AND BIG BANG THEORY
Contemporary literature dates the cosmological theories of the Big Bang and Big Crunch to the 19th and 20th centuries. However Erasmus Darwin had speculated on these sorts of events in The Botanic Garden, A Poem in Two Parts: Part 1, The Economy of Vegetation, 1791:
Darwin was also the author of the social reform treatise A Plan for the Conduct of Female Education in Boarding Schools, 1797. The last two leaves of Darwin's A plan for the conduct of female education in boarding schools (1797) contain a book list, an apology for the work, and an advert for "Miss Parkers School". The school advertised on the last page is the one he set up in Ashbourne, Derbyshire for his two illegitimate children, Susanna and Mary.
Darwin regretted that a good education had not been generally available to women in Britain in his time, and drew on the ideas of Locke, Rousseau, and Genlis in organising his thoughts. Addressing the education of middle class girls, Darwin argued that amorous romance novels were inappropriate and that they should seek simplicity in dress. He contends that young women should be educated in schools, rather than privately at home, and learn appropriate subjects. These subjects include -physiognomy, physical exercise, botany, chemistry, mineralogy, and experimental philosophy. They should familiarize themselves with arts and manufactures through visits to sites like Coalbrookdale, and Wedgwood's potteries; they should learn how to handle money, and study modern languages. Darwin's educational philosophy took the view that men and women should have different, but complementary capabilities, skills, spheres, and interests. In the context of the times, this program may be read as a modernising influence
DEMOCRACY -ONE MAN ONE VOTE
Erasmus Darwin was likely a deist, a fervent believer in democracy, and a practitioner of what some would call "free love." These characteristics were tolerated, if not admired, while England enjoyed social stability. Once the British found themselves at war with Napoleon, however, the free-thinking Francophile's ideas looked dangerously subversive, and his fellow Englishmen were not amused. As England's population became more anti-intellectual, he quickly fell out of favor. As a result, his contributions to science were underestimated, and his words were largely misquoted then satirized for a century afterwards.
One publication, the Anti-Jacobin, released a lengthy poem, The Loves of the Triangles, aimed squarely at Erasmus Darwin's poetry and ideas. Writers at the Anti-Jacobin clobbered Erasmus Darwin's poetry as a way of attacking his "seditious" ideas, such as his opposition to slavery, and his conviction that all adult males (never mind females) deserved the right to vote, even if they didn't own substantial amounts of property - an idea that would continue to horrify England's upper crust when Charles Darwin contemplated his own evolutionary ideas. Science historian Patricia Fara (no fan of Erasmus Darwin's poetry) remarks:
"Darwin took practical steps to help others and improve Britain. In turning to poetry, he did not simply step aside from his previous path through life, but began trying to achieve his ideals in a different way. . . . The Anti-Jacobin satirists, on the other hand, were wedded through self-interest to stability. They set about undermining his political mission by attacking him at his weakest point 'his heroic couplets' and so encouraged critics to ignore the substance of his arguments."
SEX AND MORALITY
His concept of morality with regards to sex was no doubt governed by his belief that the strongest of any group of animals would sire the most offspring, and so improve the breed. Therefore his ideas and beliefs on this matter were very liberal, even in today's world. However, he proved during his life that he believed in taking full responsibility for his action.
SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
THE BLACK HOLES AND BIG BANG THEORY
Contemporary literature dates the cosmological theories of the Big Bang and Big Crunch to the 19th and 20th centuries. However Erasmus Darwin had speculated on these sorts of events in The Botanic Garden, A Poem in Two Parts: Part 1, The Economy of Vegetation, 1791:
Roll on, ye Stars! exult in youthful prime,
Mark with bright curves the printless steps of Time;
Near and more near your beamy cars approach,
And lessening orbs on lessening orbs encroach;
Flowers of the sky! ye too to age must yield,
Frail as your silken sisters of the field!
Star after star from Heaven's high arch shall rush,
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush,
Headlong, extinct, to one dark center fall,
And Death and Night and Chaos mingle all!
Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm,
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form,
Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame,
And soars and shines, another and the same
Mark with bright curves the printless steps of Time;
Near and more near your beamy cars approach,
And lessening orbs on lessening orbs encroach;
Flowers of the sky! ye too to age must yield,
Frail as your silken sisters of the field!
Star after star from Heaven's high arch shall rush,
Suns sink on suns, and systems systems crush,
Headlong, extinct, to one dark center fall,
And Death and Night and Chaos mingle all!
Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm,
Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form,
Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame,
And soars and shines, another and the same
In the "Economy of Vegetation", whose four Cantos address the spirits of Fire, Earth, Water and Air, Darwin modestly set out to chart the progress from elemental chaos to the modern world. One can understand how young poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge and chemists such as Humphrey Davy were equally bowled over. The poem explodes into life with a vision of the creation of the universe, presaging the 20th century "Big Bang" theory. Milton meets Herschel, at the thrilling command:
"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"
Astonish'd Chaos heard the potent word: -
Through all his realms the kindly Ether runs,
And the mass starts into a million suns;
Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst,
And second planets issue from the first;
Bend, as they journey with projectile force,
In bright ellipses bend their reluctant course;
Orbs wheel in orbs, round centres centres roll,
And form, self-balanced, one revolving Whole.
Astonish'd Chaos heard the potent word: -
Through all his realms the kindly Ether runs,
And the mass starts into a million suns;
Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst,
And second planets issue from the first;
Bend, as they journey with projectile force,
In bright ellipses bend their reluctant course;
Orbs wheel in orbs, round centres centres roll,
And form, self-balanced, one revolving Whole.
THE FISSION THEORY - formation of the Moon from the Pacific Ocean
His great grandson, Sir George Darwin, is credited with the "fission hypothesis" theory that the moon was originally part of the earth, but Erasmus seems to have got their first. This is from his work, The Temple of Nature.
Gnomes! how you shriek'd! when through the troubled air
Roar'd the fierce din of elemental war;
When rose the continents, and sunk the main,
And Earth's huge sphere exploding burst in twain.-
Gnomes! how you gazed! when from her wounded side
Where now the South-Sea heaves its waste of tide,
Rose on swift wheels the Moon's refulgent car,
Circling the solar orb, a sister star,
Dimpled with vales, with shining hills emboss'd,
And roll'd round Earth her airless realms of frost.
EVOLUTION
Darwin's The Temple of Nature traces the development of life and offers his views on evolutionary theory. Posthumously published in 1803, the work had originally been called The Origin of Society, a title the publisher considered too inflammatory as it could be construed as anti-religious. In the work Darwin held that all life originated in the sea and can be traced back to a single common ancestor. He also outlined how species diversified in response to environmental factors.
Organic Life beneath the shoreless waves
Was born and nurs'd in Ocean's pearly caves;
First forms minute, unseen by spheric glass,
Move on the mud, or pierce the watery mass;
These, as successive generations bloom,
New powers acquire, and larger limbs assume;
Whence countless groups of vegetation spring,
And breathing realms of fin, and feet, and wing.
and later on he writes:
Cold gills aquatic form respiring lungs,
And sounds aerial flow from slimy tongues.
Many of Darwin's ideas on evolutionary theory were earlier discussed in the treatise Zoomania, or, the Laws of Organic Life, published in two volumes in 1794 and 1796. Containing an outline of Darwin's extensive medical knowledge, the first volume considers a number of biological and medical subjects, including sleep and instinct, and offers a discussion of evolutionary principles. Darwin investigated such aspects of the problem as how organisms pass through transitional stages, how sexual competition impacts the development of species, and how one species can give rise to another. In the second volume of Zoomania Darwin classified diseases and recommended methods of treatment for each.
Zoonomia (1794-1796), contains a system of pathology and a chapter on 'Generation'. In the latter, he anticipated some of the views of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, which foreshadowed the modern theory of evolution. Erasmus Darwin's works were read and commented on by his grandson Charles Darwin the naturalist. Erasmus Darwin based his theories on David Hartley's psychological theory of associationism. The essence of his views is contained in the following passage, which he follows up with the conclusion that one and the same kind of living filament is and has been the cause of all organic life:
"Would it be too bold to imagine, that in the great length of time, since the earth began to exist, perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind, would it be too bold to imagine, that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one living filament, which THE GREAT FIRST CAUSE endued with animality, with the power of acquiring new parts, attended with new propensities, directed by irritations, sensations, volitions, and associations; and thus possessing the faculty of continuing to improve by its own inherent activity, and of delivering down those improvements by generation to its posterity, world without end!"
NATURAL SELECTION
Erasmus Darwin also anticipated natural selection in Zoonomia mainly when writing about the "three great objects of desire" for every organism: "lust, hunger, and security." Another remarkable foresight written in Zoonomia that relates to natural selection is Erasmus' thoughts on how a species propagated itself. Erasmus' idea that "the strongest and most active animal should propagate the species, which should thence become improved" was almost identical to the future theory of survival of the fittest.
TWO OF HIS MEDICAL DISCOVERIES
There are many medical discoveries and theories that are noted in the books and poetry that Erasmus Darwin wrote. In fact there are far to many to select for this article, except for in my research I found two major discoveries that are current today.
The respiratory function of the placenta
Erasmus Darwin, described the placenta as the respiratory organ of the fetus. He was thus able to provide an answer to a question posed by William Harvey:
"Why is not the foetus in the womb suffocated for want of air, when it remains there even to the tenth month without respiration: yet, if it be born in the seventh or eighth month, and has once respired, it becomes immediately suffocated for want of air, if its respiration be obstructed."
The excerpt below from Darwin's edition of Zoonomia published in 1796 answers the question.
"The placenta is an organ for the purpose of giving due oxygenation to the blood of the fetus; which is more necessary, or at least more frequently necessary, than even the supply of food." (SOURCE: http://www.conradsimon.org/ErasmusDarwin1801.html)
On tying and cutting the umbilical cord
Darwin's observations on management of the umbilical cord at birth remain relevant to the very common practice today of immediate ligation in order to obtain cord blood samples. He wrote:
"Another thing very injurious to the child is the tying and cutting of the navel string too so on, which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise the child is much weaker than it ought to be, a part of the blood being left in the placenta which ought to have been in the child and at the same time the placenta does not so naturally collapse, and withdraw itself from the sides of the uterus, and is not therefore removed with so much safety and certainty." SOURCE: http://fn.bmj.com/content/88/4/F346.full
POLITICS
Erasmus Darwin was likely a deist, a fervent believer in democracy, and a practitioner of what some would call "free love." These characteristics were tolerated, if not admired, while England enjoyed social stability. Once the British found themselves at war with Napoleon, however, the free-thinking Francophile's ideas looked dangerously subversive, and his fellow Englishmen were not amused. As England's population became more anti-intellectual, he quickly fell out of favor. As a result, his contributions to science were underestimated, and his words were largely misquoted then satirized for a century afterwards.
Although Charles Darwin sought to re-establish his grandfather's good name, his own successes and controversies, and his daughter's prudish editing (16 per cent of the book) would prevent the world from remembering Erasmus Darwin as one of the greatest minds humanity has ever produced.
To really understand his to contribution and foresight is to look at a simple list of what his great mind encompassed.
A SIMPLE LIST
Seventy Five subjects in which Erasmus Darwin contributed significant ideas, pioneered technology or made valid predictions. From "The essential writings of Erasmus Darwin" Desmond King-Hele, (1968).
1) abolition of slavery 2) adiabatic expansion 3) aesthetics 4) afforestation
5) air travel 6) animal camouflage 7) artesian wells 8) artificial insemination
9) aurorae 10) biological adaptation 11) biological pest control 12) canal lifts (locks)
13) carriage design 14) cemeteries 15) centrifugation 16) cloud formation
17) compressed air 18) copying machines 19) educational reform
20) electrical machines 21) electrotherapy 22) evolutionary theory
23) exercise for children 24) fertilizers 25) formation of coal
26) geological stratification 27) hereditary disease 28) individuality of buds
29) insecticides 30) language 31) light verse 32) limestone deposits
33) manures 34) materialism 35) mental illness 36) microscopy 37) mimicry
38) moon's origin 39) nerve impulses 40) night airglow 41) nitrogen cycle
42) ocular spectra 43) organic happiness 44) origin of life 45) outer atmosphere
46) phosphorous 47) photosynthesis 48) Portland vase 49) rocket motors
50) rotary pumps 51) secular morality 52) seed-drills 53) sewage farms
54) sexual reproduction 55) speaking machines 56) squinting 57) steam carriages
58) steam turbines 59) struggle for survival 60) submarines 61) survival of the fittest
62) telescopes 63) temperance 64) timber production 65) travel of seeds
66) treatment of dropsy 67) ventilation 68) versifying science 69) warm and cold fronts
70) water closets 71) water machines 72) wind-gauges 73) windmills 74) wind
75) women's emancipation
SOURCE OF LIST ABOVE: http://www.angelfire.com/ri/skibizniz/darwin.html
PRESENT DISCOVERIES PROVE ERASMUS DARWIN WAS CORRECT
RECENT PLANT DISCOVERY BACKS ERASMUS DARWIN
In researching the previous article on Erasmus Darwin I came upon the following statement
"In 1800, Erasmus published a treatise on plant life called "Phytologia". Once again, this work shows understanding far beyond its time. It covers almost every aspect of plant biology including almost perfect functional descriptions of asexual reproduction (its advantages and disadvantages), stomata, vascular bundles, photosynthesis, plant nutrition, fertilization of soil and the nitrogen cycle. It also contains some remarkable predictions, such as the use of sugar beets instead of cane in temperate climates, sewage farms, "no till" agriculture, artesian well irrigation, biological control of pest species and commercial logging of hardy conifers in non-arable areas. Perhaps the most glaring mistake is the idea that honey is a plant storage product that bees steal without benefit to the plant. Remarkably, despite having a reasonable understanding of reproduction in plants, Erasmus never makes the connection that insects can act as pollinators. Another idea that seems a little strange to us is Erasmus's insistence that plants have similar emotional lives to those of animals, experiencing pleasure, fear and fatigue in much the same way as ourselves. He tries to defend this view by embarking on a search for the location of a simple "brain" in plant tissues, but admits that he is unable to find it. Elsewhere, Erasmus makes similar attempts to demonstrate that plants are but a low form of animal, likening the collection of buds that make up a plant to the collection of polyps that make up a coral colony."
Of course Conventional wisdom expounds its well-known fact that plants do not have feelings. However, amongst the huge number of correct predictions and ideas it is predictable that (Erasmus) Darwin would have some wrong, and the highlighted text above is surely another example. Well actually that answer has been challenged and with 3 recently published articles which may prove Erasmus Darwin (partially) right. Conventional wisdom (of the time) has most likely once again been proved wrong.
Plants Can Tell When They are Being Eaten - By Dan Nosowitz on October 20, 2014
Eating a leaf off a plant may not kill it, but that doesn't mean the plant likes it. The newest study to examine the intelligence (or at least behavior) of plants finds that plants can tell when they're being eaten -- and send out defenses to stop it from happening.
Read here
So those people who have believed all along that by speaking to plants one encourages better plants might not be far away from the truth. However, it is obvious that our level of intelligence is not to be compared with other creatures and now we must add 'and plants'. As those of us who were born in the computer era cannot understand the requirements of the victorian era, is it any wonder that we have very limited understanding of plant behaviour and thought processes. I know that I can never understand what fish want when out fishing, so how can I relate to a plant.
If a little sceptical about a well grounded farming magazine picking up on this research, I draw your attention to two other very recent articles.
Plants can actually take care of their offspring
Read here
Researchers find ferns communicate with one another to decide gender
Read here
On reading those articles you might consider the statement "It seems plants are capable of doing some things as well as humans and some things we can't do."
Might Erasmus Darwin have hit the jackpot once again.
SOURCES OF REFERENCES
The following sources were also referred to and/or had text extracted, possibly edited for grammatical purposes and quoted to make up this biographical article on Erasmus Darwin, Famous Freemason.
Erasmus Darwin - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopeedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin
The life and times of Erasmus Darwin - With special attention to his possible influence on the work of Charles Darwin and on the conflict between conservatism and modernism. By Robert Day, The Ohio State University
http://www.angelfire.com/ri/skibizniz/darwin.html
Erasmus Darwin - From Encyclopaedia Britannica -- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/151960/Erasmus-Darwin
'More Subtle than the Electric Aura': Georgian Medical Electricity, the Spirit of Animation and the Development of Erasmus Darwin's Psychophysiology PAUL ELLIOTT* -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2329858/
Erasmus Darwin - http://www.strangescience.net/erasmus.htm
Erasmus Darwin -- http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/history/
Contents of the Additional Notes - THE TEMPLE OF NATURE by Martin Priestman --
http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/darwin_temple/addnotes/addnotes_contents.html
His great grandson, Sir George Darwin, is credited with the "fission hypothesis" theory that the moon was originally part of the earth, but Erasmus seems to have got their first. This is from his work, The Temple of Nature.
Gnomes! how you shriek'd! when through the troubled air
Roar'd the fierce din of elemental war;
When rose the continents, and sunk the main,
And Earth's huge sphere exploding burst in twain.-
Gnomes! how you gazed! when from her wounded side
Where now the South-Sea heaves its waste of tide,
Rose on swift wheels the Moon's refulgent car,
Circling the solar orb, a sister star,
Dimpled with vales, with shining hills emboss'd,
And roll'd round Earth her airless realms of frost.
EVOLUTION
Darwin's The Temple of Nature traces the development of life and offers his views on evolutionary theory. Posthumously published in 1803, the work had originally been called The Origin of Society, a title the publisher considered too inflammatory as it could be construed as anti-religious. In the work Darwin held that all life originated in the sea and can be traced back to a single common ancestor. He also outlined how species diversified in response to environmental factors.
Organic Life beneath the shoreless waves
Was born and nurs'd in Ocean's pearly caves;
First forms minute, unseen by spheric glass,
Move on the mud, or pierce the watery mass;
These, as successive generations bloom,
New powers acquire, and larger limbs assume;
Whence countless groups of vegetation spring,
And breathing realms of fin, and feet, and wing.
and later on he writes:
Cold gills aquatic form respiring lungs,
And sounds aerial flow from slimy tongues.
Many of Darwin's ideas on evolutionary theory were earlier discussed in the treatise Zoomania, or, the Laws of Organic Life, published in two volumes in 1794 and 1796. Containing an outline of Darwin's extensive medical knowledge, the first volume considers a number of biological and medical subjects, including sleep and instinct, and offers a discussion of evolutionary principles. Darwin investigated such aspects of the problem as how organisms pass through transitional stages, how sexual competition impacts the development of species, and how one species can give rise to another. In the second volume of Zoomania Darwin classified diseases and recommended methods of treatment for each.
Zoonomia (1794-1796), contains a system of pathology and a chapter on 'Generation'. In the latter, he anticipated some of the views of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, which foreshadowed the modern theory of evolution. Erasmus Darwin's works were read and commented on by his grandson Charles Darwin the naturalist. Erasmus Darwin based his theories on David Hartley's psychological theory of associationism. The essence of his views is contained in the following passage, which he follows up with the conclusion that one and the same kind of living filament is and has been the cause of all organic life:
"Would it be too bold to imagine, that in the great length of time, since the earth began to exist, perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind, would it be too bold to imagine, that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one living filament, which THE GREAT FIRST CAUSE endued with animality, with the power of acquiring new parts, attended with new propensities, directed by irritations, sensations, volitions, and associations; and thus possessing the faculty of continuing to improve by its own inherent activity, and of delivering down those improvements by generation to its posterity, world without end!"
NATURAL SELECTION
Erasmus Darwin also anticipated natural selection in Zoonomia mainly when writing about the "three great objects of desire" for every organism: "lust, hunger, and security." Another remarkable foresight written in Zoonomia that relates to natural selection is Erasmus' thoughts on how a species propagated itself. Erasmus' idea that "the strongest and most active animal should propagate the species, which should thence become improved" was almost identical to the future theory of survival of the fittest.
TWO OF HIS MEDICAL DISCOVERIES
There are many medical discoveries and theories that are noted in the books and poetry that Erasmus Darwin wrote. In fact there are far to many to select for this article, except for in my research I found two major discoveries that are current today.
The respiratory function of the placenta
Erasmus Darwin, described the placenta as the respiratory organ of the fetus. He was thus able to provide an answer to a question posed by William Harvey:
"Why is not the foetus in the womb suffocated for want of air, when it remains there even to the tenth month without respiration: yet, if it be born in the seventh or eighth month, and has once respired, it becomes immediately suffocated for want of air, if its respiration be obstructed."
The excerpt below from Darwin's edition of Zoonomia published in 1796 answers the question.
"The placenta is an organ for the purpose of giving due oxygenation to the blood of the fetus; which is more necessary, or at least more frequently necessary, than even the supply of food." (SOURCE: http://www.conradsimon.org/ErasmusDarwin1801.html)
On tying and cutting the umbilical cord
Darwin's observations on management of the umbilical cord at birth remain relevant to the very common practice today of immediate ligation in order to obtain cord blood samples. He wrote:
"Another thing very injurious to the child is the tying and cutting of the navel string too so on, which should always be left till the child has not only repeatedly breathed but till all pulsation in the cord ceases. As otherwise the child is much weaker than it ought to be, a part of the blood being left in the placenta which ought to have been in the child and at the same time the placenta does not so naturally collapse, and withdraw itself from the sides of the uterus, and is not therefore removed with so much safety and certainty." SOURCE: http://fn.bmj.com/content/88/4/F346.full
POLITICS
Erasmus Darwin was likely a deist, a fervent believer in democracy, and a practitioner of what some would call "free love." These characteristics were tolerated, if not admired, while England enjoyed social stability. Once the British found themselves at war with Napoleon, however, the free-thinking Francophile's ideas looked dangerously subversive, and his fellow Englishmen were not amused. As England's population became more anti-intellectual, he quickly fell out of favor. As a result, his contributions to science were underestimated, and his words were largely misquoted then satirized for a century afterwards.
Although Charles Darwin sought to re-establish his grandfather's good name, his own successes and controversies, and his daughter's prudish editing (16 per cent of the book) would prevent the world from remembering Erasmus Darwin as one of the greatest minds humanity has ever produced.
To really understand his to contribution and foresight is to look at a simple list of what his great mind encompassed.
A SIMPLE LIST
Seventy Five subjects in which Erasmus Darwin contributed significant ideas, pioneered technology or made valid predictions. From "The essential writings of Erasmus Darwin" Desmond King-Hele, (1968).
1) abolition of slavery 2) adiabatic expansion 3) aesthetics 4) afforestation
5) air travel 6) animal camouflage 7) artesian wells 8) artificial insemination
9) aurorae 10) biological adaptation 11) biological pest control 12) canal lifts (locks)
13) carriage design 14) cemeteries 15) centrifugation 16) cloud formation
17) compressed air 18) copying machines 19) educational reform
20) electrical machines 21) electrotherapy 22) evolutionary theory
23) exercise for children 24) fertilizers 25) formation of coal
26) geological stratification 27) hereditary disease 28) individuality of buds
29) insecticides 30) language 31) light verse 32) limestone deposits
33) manures 34) materialism 35) mental illness 36) microscopy 37) mimicry
38) moon's origin 39) nerve impulses 40) night airglow 41) nitrogen cycle
42) ocular spectra 43) organic happiness 44) origin of life 45) outer atmosphere
46) phosphorous 47) photosynthesis 48) Portland vase 49) rocket motors
50) rotary pumps 51) secular morality 52) seed-drills 53) sewage farms
54) sexual reproduction 55) speaking machines 56) squinting 57) steam carriages
58) steam turbines 59) struggle for survival 60) submarines 61) survival of the fittest
62) telescopes 63) temperance 64) timber production 65) travel of seeds
66) treatment of dropsy 67) ventilation 68) versifying science 69) warm and cold fronts
70) water closets 71) water machines 72) wind-gauges 73) windmills 74) wind
75) women's emancipation
SOURCE OF LIST ABOVE: http://www.angelfire.com/ri/skibizniz/darwin.html
PRESENT DISCOVERIES PROVE ERASMUS DARWIN WAS CORRECT
RECENT PLANT DISCOVERY BACKS ERASMUS DARWIN
In researching the previous article on Erasmus Darwin I came upon the following statement
"In 1800, Erasmus published a treatise on plant life called "Phytologia". Once again, this work shows understanding far beyond its time. It covers almost every aspect of plant biology including almost perfect functional descriptions of asexual reproduction (its advantages and disadvantages), stomata, vascular bundles, photosynthesis, plant nutrition, fertilization of soil and the nitrogen cycle. It also contains some remarkable predictions, such as the use of sugar beets instead of cane in temperate climates, sewage farms, "no till" agriculture, artesian well irrigation, biological control of pest species and commercial logging of hardy conifers in non-arable areas. Perhaps the most glaring mistake is the idea that honey is a plant storage product that bees steal without benefit to the plant. Remarkably, despite having a reasonable understanding of reproduction in plants, Erasmus never makes the connection that insects can act as pollinators. Another idea that seems a little strange to us is Erasmus's insistence that plants have similar emotional lives to those of animals, experiencing pleasure, fear and fatigue in much the same way as ourselves. He tries to defend this view by embarking on a search for the location of a simple "brain" in plant tissues, but admits that he is unable to find it. Elsewhere, Erasmus makes similar attempts to demonstrate that plants are but a low form of animal, likening the collection of buds that make up a plant to the collection of polyps that make up a coral colony."
Of course Conventional wisdom expounds its well-known fact that plants do not have feelings. However, amongst the huge number of correct predictions and ideas it is predictable that (Erasmus) Darwin would have some wrong, and the highlighted text above is surely another example. Well actually that answer has been challenged and with 3 recently published articles which may prove Erasmus Darwin (partially) right. Conventional wisdom (of the time) has most likely once again been proved wrong.
Plants Can Tell When They are Being Eaten - By Dan Nosowitz on October 20, 2014
Eating a leaf off a plant may not kill it, but that doesn't mean the plant likes it. The newest study to examine the intelligence (or at least behavior) of plants finds that plants can tell when they're being eaten -- and send out defenses to stop it from happening.
Read here
So those people who have believed all along that by speaking to plants one encourages better plants might not be far away from the truth. However, it is obvious that our level of intelligence is not to be compared with other creatures and now we must add 'and plants'. As those of us who were born in the computer era cannot understand the requirements of the victorian era, is it any wonder that we have very limited understanding of plant behaviour and thought processes. I know that I can never understand what fish want when out fishing, so how can I relate to a plant.
If a little sceptical about a well grounded farming magazine picking up on this research, I draw your attention to two other very recent articles.
Plants can actually take care of their offspring
Read here
Researchers find ferns communicate with one another to decide gender
Read here
On reading those articles you might consider the statement "It seems plants are capable of doing some things as well as humans and some things we can't do."
Might Erasmus Darwin have hit the jackpot once again.
SOURCES OF REFERENCES
The following sources were also referred to and/or had text extracted, possibly edited for grammatical purposes and quoted to make up this biographical article on Erasmus Darwin, Famous Freemason.
Erasmus Darwin - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopeedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin
The life and times of Erasmus Darwin - With special attention to his possible influence on the work of Charles Darwin and on the conflict between conservatism and modernism. By Robert Day, The Ohio State University
http://www.angelfire.com/ri/skibizniz/darwin.html
Erasmus Darwin - From Encyclopaedia Britannica -- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/151960/Erasmus-Darwin
'More Subtle than the Electric Aura': Georgian Medical Electricity, the Spirit of Animation and the Development of Erasmus Darwin's Psychophysiology PAUL ELLIOTT* -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2329858/
Erasmus Darwin - http://www.strangescience.net/erasmus.htm
Erasmus Darwin -- http://www.erasmusdarwin.org/history/
Contents of the Additional Notes - THE TEMPLE OF NATURE by Martin Priestman --
http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/darwin_temple/addnotes/addnotes_contents.html
