This is wonderful. Captain (and Governor) Robert FitzRoy comes off in Darwin's writings as a profoundly decent man, and this is seconded by what I have read of his history in New Zealand, where he attempted to defend the rights of the indigenous and beleaguered Maori people against colonists and was abused for his actions. That Larry Kaplan gives him his voice in a fine example of songwriting is also profoundly decent.

Captain Fitzroy is fascinating in that he believed in progress, science, and clove to his understanding of Biblical Scripture all at the same time. I won't run the risk of belittling him by putting him in a pigeonhole as 'transitional'. I much prefer to think of him as a 'man in full' doing his best to resolve his ideals with the world of change he not only found himself in, but participated in. He and Charles Darwin had opportunity to discuss all these issues, and they did, and they had disagreements in plenty. But they had breath and minds and utilized them to the full.

I salute Larry Kaplan for his great choice of subject and verses.