Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 998

ERASMUS DARWIN (1731-1802) The botanic garden; A poem, in two parts. Part I. Containing The economy of vegetation. Part II. The loves of the plants. Printed for J. Johnson 1791 Part I, [2nd ed.]; Part II, 3rd ed. Pt. I: xii, 214, 126 [2] pp., 10 plates (1 fold. (front.)); Pt. II: [4] ix, 197 pp., 10 plates (front.). 27.3 cm.

Darwin, physician, physiologist, philosopher, and poet, studied at Cambridge and Edinburgh and practiced medicine at Nottingham, Lichfield, and Derby. Recognized as one of England's leading physicians, he was also known for his inventions which included a highly successful horizontal windmill, an improved drill plough, a continuous-flow rotary pump, and a speaking machine, as well as plans and designs for a steam turbine, a more efficient water-closet, canal lifts, telescope optics, and carriages. In addition to his early work on evolution (see No. 999), Darwin enumerated the principles of artesian wells and of fertilizers, discovered how clouds form, gave a remarkably accurate description of photosynthesis, and championed the humane treatment of those suffering from mental illnesses. His intellectual prowess made him one of the foremost figures in the Lunar Society, one of the best known intellectual circles of the time. Although Darwin made significant contributions to the arts and sciences of his day, his achievements have largely been overshadowed by those of his grandson, Charles (see No. 1724 ff.). One of Darwin's many interests was botany and he established a small botanic garden at his residence in Lichfield both for the study of plants and to grow his own medicinal herbs. The present poetic work resulted from this interest and brought him immediate fame as a poet. The economy of vegetation first appeared in 1791 and was in reality an introduction to and course of instruction in a broad range of scientific and technological subjects. Its 2400 lines of rhyming couplets are explained in a lengthy series of explanatory footnotes. The loves of the plants was published first in 1789, and presented an allegorical account of the Linnean system of plant classification and explained in verse how the various classes of plants are fertilized. Desmond King-Hele commented in his Essential writings of Erasmus Darwin (London, 1968) that the poem "took all scientific knowledge as its subject, and Darwin succeeded in communicating the information in terms that even the literary men like Horace Walpole could understand and applaud. It is an achievement that has never been rivalled" (p. 132). The University of Iowa Libraries' copy has the signature of W. M. Thackeray on the cover's end paper and the title page of Part II. It is probable that it was once owned by the physician and surgeon, William Makepeace Thackeray (1770-1849), rather than the novelist with the same name (1811-1863).

See Related Record(s): 999 1724

Cited references: Cushing D56 (1790 ed.); Osler 4702 (1791 ed.); Waller 11493 (1825 ed.); Wellcome II, p. 432

Gift of William B. Bean, M.D