CHAPTER 12. METAPHYSICAL MATTER.

January 12, 1836.

"My dear friend, have you heard who entered Jackson Bay this early morning? Have you had the chance to hear whose ship dropped anchor in Sydney Harbour?"

"Human gossip is not idle, Mr. Godwin—this news reached my ears a little while ago, but... can I not question its truth and its veracity? As you can see, Mr. Godwin, I do not entirely trust human words, and even less do I trust the human mouths that produce them. In my being, human gossip is perceived as a peculiar, extraordinarily frail, and sick entity—with every moment of its life, it does not at all get better but becomes more and more unwell... Initially being blind, after a few moments, or rather a few words, it already acquires other, extremely negative characteristics, such as deafness, lameness, or even muteness... but, but one thing I know perfectly... never, truly never, with the exception of deliberate, often political, actions, does this initially frail, sick entity acquire positive characteristics, regardless of time and regardless of various circumstances."

"His name is Charles Darwin. The ship on which this gentleman arrived in our parts is called none other than the "Beagle"—the very "Beagle" that was directly involved in the coronation of George IV, the very "Beagle" that..."

"Mr. Godwin, please tell me more about the man whose name you mentioned a little earlier. A ship is just a tool: on its deck, for some reason and for some purpose, people are present—so to which category of people does this, as I know, young man belong?"

"He is on the deck of the "Beagle" more for a purpose than for a reason, although... his lineage is capable of claiming the opposite! He is the son of a very well-known English physician, an English Dioscorides, who, moreover, devotes a significant amount of time to various scientific experiments. As a physician, he is accustomed to studying everything empirically... as a physician, he is used to dissecting the physical matter of this sublunary world, and after the necessary, appropriate actions, to diligently mend it: he acts in a similar manner with the metaphysical matter that exists in this sublunary world—it must be admitted, with considerable success. And the Royal Society of London could not but appreciate this. The grandfather of this Mr. Charles Darwin, Erasmus Darwin, was, in truth, nothing more and nothing less than a great-grandson of the Renaissance—his talents were boundless: he was, to a significant extent, greater as a scientist, as a doctor, and as a person than his fourth child, namely the aforementioned father of Charles Darwin. Many of those who have spent a lot of time in the society of this young man, with a single voice, invariably assert that this amazing traveler is nothing more and nothing less than a precise copy, nothing more and nothing less than a cast of his multifaceted, by the nature of his knowledge and feelings, blood grandfather..."

"But why, why this journey for him? After all, his ancestors, being not only skillful physicians but also, just as importantly, very sensible scientists... would hardly... have undertaken this kind of journey! He could have, like those mentioned earlier, lived his entire life in England, becoming no less great than his grandfather or his father! Do Darwins need to travel to become great? They, like the date palms described by Linnaeus, extend their uncommonly life-loving roots deep into the earth's surface—into the earth's surface of England!.."

"That's so, Mr. Howard, that's so, however... Mr. Charles Darwin intends to become significantly greater, substantially more famous, and, importantly, more significant than his grandfather and his father. A combined thirst not only for fame and greatness but also for the significance of his actions has accumulated in his blood, in his veins... a combined thirst which, in turn, consisted of the desires of his grandfather, the desires of his father, as well as his own, most significant and extremely fantastic, aspirations: as many claim, he fervently desires to acquire a great number of specific, clear, and by no means ambiguous answers to no fewer questions, continuously created by his exceptional mind. Thus, by publicly declaring, in a formally confirmed form, the answers acquired by his mind to these questions, Mr. Charles Darwin intends with his own hands, as well as his own mind, without the help of the name, mind, and hands of his father, to create his own name, separate from Erasmus and Robert Darwin. Charles Darwin carries on his shoulders, or if you will, on his back, a heavy burden—the burden of the greatness, fame, and names of his close blood ancestors: he wants to bear it to the same extent that he wants to throw it off—it does not allow him to become something more than those mentioned before, and at the same time... without it, he would be nobody! His ancestors set certain points—points that, according to many, he will be forced to surpass... As for him, Mr. Charles Darwin, as far as I know, he is not at all attracted by the prospect of setting a certain point, destined for him by fate itself, significantly farther than his ancestors—he wants to create a new path, he wants to create a new doctrine, he wants to create new knowledge! According to the majority of remarkable local residents, he arrived in Sydney, as one of the places of his journey, for this very reason. According to the majority of unremarkable people living in Sydney today, Mr. Charles Darwin arrived in these places to significantly develop, expand, and substantiate the knowledge of his grandfather. Other residents of the area claim that this young man is acquiring certain information, as well as considerable knowledge, to become a writer—his notes, in their opinion, will serve him as a good support..."