Derry J F
Institute of Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Ashworth Labs, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Endeavour. 2009 Mar;33(1):35-8. doi: 10.1016/j.endeavour.2009.01.005. Epub 2009 Feb 20.
The long-term marital dance of Emma and Charles Darwin was set to the routine beat of an almost daily piano recital. Emma was a proficient pianist, and so a quality instrument was a welcome and appropriate house-warming present for their first marital home in London. That same piano accompanied the Darwins on their move to Downe before being upgraded for a newer model, which is still there, whilst another, cheaper piano may have played in Charles Darwin's work, particularly on earthworms. Whilst he lamented his own lack of musicality, Darwin revelled in his wife's prowess, a capacity that he recognised could be inherited, not least through observation of his own children. The evolution of musicality, he reasoned, was rooted in sexual attraction as a form of communication that preceded language.
爱玛和查尔斯·达尔文的长期婚姻生活伴随着几乎每日一次的钢琴演奏会这一常规节奏。爱玛是一位技艺娴熟的钢琴家，所以一架高品质的钢琴是他们在伦敦的首个婚姻住所受欢迎且合适的乔迁礼物。那架钢琴陪伴着达尔文一家搬到了唐屋，之后被更新型号的钢琴取代，那架更新的钢琴仍在那里，而另一架更便宜的钢琴可能在查尔斯·达尔文的工作中发挥了作用，尤其是在研究蚯蚓方面。尽管达尔文哀叹自己缺乏音乐才能，但他陶醉于妻子的高超技艺，他认识到这种能力是可以遗传的，尤其是通过观察自己的孩子。他推断，音乐才能的进化源于作为一种先于语言的交流形式的性吸引力。
