Chapter XI: Part VII: Characteristics (2)

He belonged to our common humanity. No caste or acquired pride or unapproachable intellectualism cut him off from the people. His simple humanness made him one with us all. And his humanity was singularly comprehensive. It led him, for instance, to investigate the subject of suffering in animals. He noticed that all good men and women rightly shrank from giving pain to them, and he set himself to prove that the capacity for pain decreased as we descended the scale of life, and that poets and others were mistaken when they imputed acute suffering to the lower creation, because of the very restricted response of their nervous system. Even in the case of the human infant, he concluded that only very slight sensations are at first required, and that such only are therefore developed. The sensation of pain does not, probably, reach its maximum till the whole organism is fully developed in the adult individual. "This," he added, with that characteristic touch which made him kin to all oppressed people, "is rather comforting in view of the sufferings of so many infants needlessly sacrificed through the terrible defects of our vicious social system."

To Wallace pain was the birth-cry of a soul's advance--the stamp of rank in nature is capacity for pain. Pain, he held, was always strictly subordinated to the law of utility, and was never developed beyond what was actually needed for the protection and advance of life. This brings the sensitive soul immense relief. Our susceptibility to the higher agonies is a condition of our advance in life's pageant.

Take another instance. Amongst his numerous correspondents there were not a few who decided not to take life, for food, or science, or in war. One young man who went out with the assistance of Wallace to Trinidad and Brazil to become a naturalist, and to whom he wrote many letters[70] of direction and encouragement, gave up the work of collecting--to Wallace's sincere disappointment--and came home because he felt that it was wrong to take the lives of such wondrous and beautiful birds and insects. Another correspondent, who had joined the Navy, wrote a number of long letters to Wallace setting forth his conscientious objections to killing, arrived at after reading Wallace's books; and although Wallace endeavoured from prudential considerations to restrain him from giving up his position, he nevertheless wholly sympathised with him and in the end warmly defended him when it was necessary to do so. The sacrifice, too, of human life in dangerous employments for the purpose of financial gain, no less than the frightful slaughter of the battlefield, was abhorrent to Wallace and aroused his intensest indignation. Life to him was sacred. It had its origin in the spiritual kingdom. "We are lovers of nature, from 'bugs' up to 'humans,'" he wrote to Mr. Fred Birch.

By every means he laboured earnestly to secure an equal opportunity of leading a useful and happy life for all men and women. He championed the cause of women--of their freer life and their more active and public part in national service. He found the selective agency, which was to work for the amelioration he desired, in a higher form of sexual selection, which will be the prerogative of women; and therefore woman's position in the not distant future "will be far higher and more important than any which has been claimed for or by her in the past." When political and social rights are conceded to her on equality with men, her free choice in marriage, no longer influenced by economic and social considerations, will guide the future moral progress of the race, restore the lost equality of opportunity to every child born in our country, and secure the balance between the sexes. "It will be their (women's) special duty so to mould public opinion, through home training and social influence, as to render the women of the future the regenerators of the entire human race."

He was acutely anxious that his ideals should be realised on earth by the masses of the people. He had a large and noble vision of their future. And he had his plan for their immediate redemption--national ownership of the soil, better housing, higher wages, certainty of employment, abolition of preventable diseases, more leisure and wider education, not merely for the practical work of obtaining a livelihood but to enable them to enjoy art and literature and song. His opposition to Eugenics (to adopt the word introduced by Galton, which Wallace called jargon) sprang from his idealism and his love of the people, as well as from his scientific knowledge. On the social side he thought that Eugenics offered less chance of a much-needed improvement of environment than the social reforms which he advocated, whilst on the scientific side he believed that the attempt, with our extremely limited knowledge, to breed men and women by artificial selection was worse than folly. He feared that, as he understood it, Eugenics would perpetuate class distinctions, and postpone social reform, and afford quasi-scientific excuses for keeping people "in the positions Nature intended them to occupy," a scientific reading of the more offensive saying of those who, having plenty themselves, believe that it is for the good of the lower classes to be dependent upon others. "Clear up," he said to the present writer one day, when we drifted into a warm discussion of the teachings of Eugenists; "change the environment so that all may have an adequate opportunity of living a useful and happy life, and give woman a free choke in marriage; and when that has been going on for some generations you may be in a better position to apply whatever has been discovered about heredity and human breeding, and you may then know which are the better stocks."

"Segregation of the unfit," he remarked to an interviewer after the Eugenic Conference, at which much was unhappily said that wholly justified his caustic denunciation, "is a mere excuse for establishing a medical tyranny. And we have enough of this kind of tyranny already ... the world does not want the eugenist to set it straight.... Eugenics is simply the meddlesome interference of an arrogant scientific priestcraft."

Thus his radicalism and his so-called fads were born of his high aspirations. He was not the recluse calmly spinning theories from a bewildering chaos of observations, and building up isolated facts into the unity of a great and illuminating conception in the silence and solitude of his library, unmindful of the great world of sin and sorrow without. He could say with Darwin, "I was born a naturalist"; but we can add that his heart was on fire with love for the toiling masses. He had felt the intense joy of discovering a vast and splendid generalisation, which not only worked a complete revolution in biological science, but has also illuminated the whole field of human knowledge. Yet his greatest ambition was to improve the cruel conditions under which thousands of his fellow-creatures suffered and died, and to make their lives sweeter and happier. His mind was great enough and his heart large enough to encompass all that lies between the visible horizons of human thought and activity, and even in his old age he lived upon the topmost peaks, eagerly looking for the horizon beyond. In the words of the late Mr. Gladstone, he "was inspired with the belief that life was a great and noble calling; not a mean and grovelling thing that we are to shuffle through as we can, but an elevated and lofty destiny."

* * * * *

But we must not be tempted into further disquisition. As he grew older the public Press as well as his friends celebrated his birthdays. Congratulations by telegram and letter poured in upon him and gave him great pleasure. Minor poets sang special solos, or joined in the chorus. One example may be quoted:

ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE

8TH JANUARY, 1911

A little cot back'd by a wood-fring'd height,
Where sylvan Usk runs swiftly babbling by:
Here thy young eyes first look'd on earth and sky,
And all the wonders of the day and night;
O born interpreter of Nature's might,
Lord of the quiet heart and seeing eye,
Vast is our debt to thee we'll ne'er deny,
Though some may own it in their own despite.
Now after fourscore teeming years and seven,
Our hearts are jocund that we have thee still
A refuge in this world of good and ill,
When evil triumphs and our souls are riv'n;
A friend to all the friendless under heav'n;
A foe to fraud and all the lusts that kill.

O champion of the Truth, whate'er it be!
World-wand'rer over this terrestrial frame;
Twin-named with Darwin on the roll of fame;
This day we render homage unto thee;
For in thy steps o'er alien land and sea,
Where life burns fast and tropic splendours flame.
Oft have we follow'd with sincere acclaim
To mark thee unfold Nature's mystery.
For this we thank thee, yet one thing remains
Shall shrine thee deeper in the heart of man,
In ages yet to be when we are dust;
Thou hast put forth thy hand to rend our chains,
Our birthright to restore from feudal ban;
O righteous soul, magnanimous and just!

W. BRAUNSTON JONES.

Sir William Barrett, one of Wallace's oldest friends, visited him during the last year of his life, and thus describes the visit:

In the early summer of 1913, some six months before his death, I
had the pleasure of paying another visit and spending a delightful
afternoon with my old friend. His health was failing, and he sat
wrapped up before a fire in his study, though it was a warm day.
He could not walk round his garden with me as before, but pointed
to the little plot of ground in front of the French windows of his
study--where he had moved some of his rarer primulas and other
plants he was engaged in hybridising--and which he could just
manage to visit. His eyesight and hearing seemed as good as ever,
and his intellectual power was undimmed....

Dr. Wallace then, pointing to the beautiful expanse of garden,
woodland and sea which was visible from the large study windows,
burst forth with vigorous gesticulation and flashing eyes: "Just
think! All this wonderful beauty and diversity of nature results
from the operation of a few simple laws. In my early unregenerate
days I used to think that only material forces and natural laws
were operative throughout the world. But these I now see are
hopelessly inadequate to explain this mystery and wonder and
variety of life. I am, as you know, absolutely convinced that
behind and beyond all elementary processes there is a guiding and
directive force; a Divine power or hierarchy of powers, ever
controlling these processes so that they are tending to more
abundant and to higher types of life."

This led Dr. Wallace to refer to my published lecture on "Creative
Thought" and express his hearty concurrence with the line of
argument therein; in fact he had already sent me his views, which,
with his consent, I published as a postscript to that lecture.

Then our conversation turned upon recent political events, and it
was remarkable how closely he had followed, and how heartily he
approved, the legislation of the Liberal Government of the day.
His admiration for Mr. Lloyd George was unfeigned. "To think that
I should have lived to see so earnest and democratic a Chancellor
of the Exchequer!" he exclaimed, and he confidently awaited still
larger measures which would raise the condition of the workers to
a higher level; and nothing was more striking than his intense
sympathy with every movement for the relief of poverty and the
betterment of the wage-earning classes. The land question, we
agreed, lay at the root of the matter, and land nationalisation
the true solution. In fact, ever since I read the proof-sheets of
his book on this subject, which he corrected when staying at my
house in Kingstown, I have been a member of the Land
Nationalisation Society, of which he was President.

Needless to say, Dr. Wallace was an ardent Home Ruler and Free
Trader,[71] but on the latter question he said there should be an
export duty on coal, especially the South Wales steam coal, as our
supply was limited and it was essential for the prosperity of the
country--and "the purchaser pays the duty," he remarked. I
heartily agreed with him, and said that a small export duty _had_
been placed on coal by the Conservative Government, but
subsequently was removed. This he had forgotten, and when later on
I sent him particulars of the duty and its yield, he replied
saying that at that time he was so busy with the preparation of a
book that he had overlooked the fact. He wrote most energetically
on the importance of the Government being wise in time, and urged
at least a 2s. export duty on coal.

We talked about the question of a portrait of Dr. Wallace being
painted and presented to the Royal Society, which had been
suggested by the Rev. James Marchant, to whom Dr. Wallace
referred, when talking to me, in grateful and glowing
terms.--W.F.B.

Perhaps it should be added to Sir William Barrett's reminiscences that the movement which was set on foot to carry out this project was stayed by Wallace's death.

During the last years of his life his pen was seldom dry. His interest in science and in politics was fresh and keen to the closing week. He wrote "Social Environment and Moral Progress" in 1912, at the age of 90. The book had a remarkable reception. Leading articles and illustrated reviews appeared in most of the daily newspapers. The book, into which he had put his deepest thoughts and feelings upon the condition of society, was hailed as a virile and notable production from a truly great man. After this was issued, he saw another, "The Revolt of Democracy," through the press. But this did not exhaust his activities. He entered almost immediately into a contract to write a big volume upon the social order, and as a side issue to help, as is mentioned in the Introduction, in the production of an even larger book upon the writings and position of Darwin and Wallace and the theory of Natural Selection as an adequate explanation of organic evolution. Age did not seem to weaken his amazing fertility of creative thought, nor to render him less susceptible to the claims of humanity, which he faced with a noble courage. In nobility of character and in magnitude, variety and richness of mind he was amongst the foremost scientific men of the Victorian Age, and with his death that great period, which was marked by wide and illuminating generalisations and the grand style in science, came to an end.

Apart altogether, however, from his scientific position and attainments, which set him on high, he was a noble example of brave, resolute, and hopeful endeavour, maintained without faltering to the end of a long life. And this is not the least valuable part of his legacy to the race.

When Henslow died, Huxley wrote to Hooker: "He had intellect to comprehend his highest duty distinctly, and force of character to do it; which of us dare ask for a higher summary of his life than that? For such a man there can be no fear in facing the great unknown; his life has been one long experience of the substantial justice of the laws by which this world is governed, and he will calmly trust to them still as he lays his head down for his long sleep." Let that also stand as the estimate of Wallace by his contemporaries, an estimate which we believe posterity will confirm. And to it we may add that death, which came to him in his sleep as a gentle deliverer, opened the door into the larger and fuller life into which he tried to penetrate and in which he firmly believed. If that faith be founded in truth, Darwin and Wallace, yonder as here, are united evermore.

* * * * *

I am writing these concluding words on the second anniversary of his death. Before me there lies the telegram which brought me the sad news that he had "passed away very peacefully at 9.25 a.m., without regaining consciousness." He was in his ninety-first year. It was suggested that he should be buried in Westminster Abbey, beside Charles Darwin, but Mrs. Wallace and the family, expressing his own wishes as well as theirs, did not desire it. On Monday, November 10th, he was laid to rest with touching simplicity in the little cemetery of Broadstone, on a pine-clad hill swept by ocean breezes. He was followed on his last earthly journey by his son and daughter, by Miss Mitten, his sister-in-law, and by the present writer. Mrs. Wallace, being an invalid, was unable to attend. The funeral service was conducted by the Bishop of Salisbury (Dr. Ridgeway), and among the official representatives were Prof. Raphael Meldola and Prof. E.B. Poulton representing the Royal Society; the latter and Dr. Scott representing the Linnean Society, and Mr. Joseph Hyder the Land Nationalisation Society. A singularly appropriate monument, consisting of a fossil tree-trunk from the Portland beds, has been erected over his grave upon a base of Purbeck stone, which bears the following inscription:

ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, O.M.
Born Jan. 8th, 1823, Died Nov. 7th, 1913

A year later, on the 10th of December, 1914, his widow died after a long illness, and was buried in the same grave. She was the eldest daughter of Mr. William Mitten, of Hurstpierpoint, an enthusiastic botanist, and in no mean degree she inherited her father's love of wild flowers and of the beautiful in nature. It was this similarity of tastes which led to her close intimacy and subsequent marriage, in 1866, with Wallace. Their married life was an exceedingly happy one. She was able to help him in his scientific labours, and she provided that atmosphere in the home life which enabled him to devote himself to his many-sided enterprises. And nothing would give him more joy than to know that this book is dedicated to her memory.

Soon after Wallace's death a Committee was formed (with Prof. Poulton as Chairman and Prof. Meldola as Treasurer) to erect a memorial, and the following petition was sent to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey:

We, the undersigned, earnestly desiring a suitable national
memorial to the late Alfred Russel Wallace, and believing that no
position would be so appropriate as Westminster Abbey, the
burial-place of his illustrious fellow-worker Charles Darwin,
petition the Right Reverend the Dean and Chapter for permission to
place a medallion in Westminster Abbey. We further guarantee, if
the medallion be accepted, to pay the Abbey fees of £200.

ARCH. GEIKIE
WILLIAM CROOKES
A.B. KEMPE
E. RAY LANKESTER
D.H. SCOTT
D. PRAIN
A.E. SHIPLEY
RAPHAEL MELDOLA
P.A. MACMAHON
JOHN W. JUDD
OLIVER J. LODGE
E.B. POULTON
A. STRAHAN
H.H. TURNER
J. LARMOR
W. RAMSAY
SILVANUS P. THOMPSON
JOHN PERRY
JAMES MARCHANT (Hon. Sec.)

To which the Dean replied:

_The Deanery, Westminster, S.W. December 2, 1913._

Dear Mr. Marchant,--I have pleasure in informing you that I
presented your petition at our Chapter meeting this morning, and a
glad and unanimous assent was accorded to it.

I should be glad later on to be informed as to the artist you are
employing; and probably it would be as well for him and you and
some members of the Royal Society to meet me and the Chapter and
confer together upon the most suitable and artistic arrangement or
rearrangement of the medallions of the great men of science of the
nineteenth century.

Nothing could have been more satisfactory or impressive than the
document with which you furnished me this morning. I hope to get
it specially framed.--Yours sincerely,

HERBERT E. RYLE.

Mr. Bruce-Joy, who had made an excellent medallion of Dr. Wallace during his lifetime, accepted the commission to fashion the medallion for Westminster Abbey, and it was unveiled, by a happy but undesigned coincidence, on All Souls' Day, November 1 1915, together with medallions to the memory of Sir Joseph Hooker and Lord Lister. In the course of his sermon, the Dean said--and with these words we may well conclude this book:

"To-day there are uncovered to the public view, in the North Aisle of the Choir, three memorials to men who, I believe, will always be ranked among the most eminent scientists of the last century. They passed away, one in 1911, one in 1912, and one in 1913. They were all men of singularly modest character. As is so often observable in true greatness, there was in them an entire absence of that vanity and self-advertisement which are not infrequent with smaller minds. It is the little men who push themselves into prominence through dread of being overlooked. It is the great men who work for the work's sake without regard to recognition, and who, as we might say, achieve greatness in spite of themselves.

"Alfred Russel Wallace was a most famous naturalist and zoologist. He arrived by a flash of genius at the same conclusions which Darwin had reached after sixteen years of most minute toil and careful observation.... It was a unique example of the almost exact concurrence of two great minds working upon the same subject, though in different parts of the world, without collusion and without rivalry.... Between Darwin and Wallace goodwill and friendship were never interrupted. Wallace's life was spent in the pursuit of various objects of intellectual and philosophical interest, over which I need not here linger. All will agree that it is fitting his medallion should be placed next to that of Darwin, with whose great name his own will ever be linked in the worlds of thought and science.

"All will acknowledge the propriety of these three great names being honoured in this Abbey Church, even though it be, to use Wordsworth's phrase, already

'Filled with mementoes, satiate with its part
Of grateful England's overflowing dead.'

"These are three men whose lifework it was to utilise and promote scientific discovery for the preservation and betterment of the human race."