From J. D. Hooker [25 January 1869]1
Royal Gardens Kew
Monday
Dear Darwin
Just one last thought anent genetic characters of no value to the plant–: is not the fact, that characters of primary value in system are so often of no use, an argument in favour of your conclusion, that such characters as are of no use if not in any way detrimental, are not necessarily eliminated, but may be retained ad infinitum—2
On the other hand, is it not an argument against the theory of characters acquired by the individual being hereditary—thus—if hereditary modifications that never come into play, do not die out; is it likely that non hereditary modifications brought into play by the individual (for its own special use) should be transmitted?—
I dare say you have put all this in the Origin,—& I have forgot it.
We dined at the Lyell’s the other day & I was put in Elysium between that lovely Mrs Norton who I met at your house, & took down, whose face is nearest an Angel’s (barring the Nose) of any I ever saw, in a dream.—& Miss Symonds, daur of the Pendock man, such a nice girl—with the lovely name of “Hyacinthe”.3 Poor old Murchison was there, looking rather “got up”— he is a good old soul. & now that he wears a stick in the house, he looks quite picturesque, with his star & high cravat.4 The Huxleys & Lady Eastlake5 & Leonard Lyell were there, no one else; & it was a delightful little party.— Lyell complained of a cold, but looked remarkably well— I wish he would not babble to me about the Copley medal. I do hate it. & it is such bad taste. & all the more as, on my soul, I would rather not have the Copley than have it with the draw-back of an after-dinner speech at the R.S. anniversary.6
We go to a tremendous wedding at Bury St. Edmunds this week, of our old friend the Rev C. Babington, of Cambridge, now Rector of Cockfield in Suffolk. it is to be a wonderful affair I hear. We go to Cockfield on Wednesday, & I return on Thursday night to Kew.7
Ever yrs affec | J D Hooker
Have you seen a curious notice of the Cannibal tribes of S. Africa, very horrid—printed in S. Africa.8
See p 490 of Appendix Dr Spencer on Materialism.9
Footnotes
Bibliography
ODNB: Oxford dictionary of national biography: from the earliest times to the year 2000. (Revised edition.) Edited by H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. and index. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Summary
Does not fact that characters important in systematics are often of no use, corroborate CD’s view that such characters, if not detrimental, may persist ad infinitum?
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Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6608
- From
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kew
- Source of text
- DAR 103: 8–9
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6608,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6608.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17