To J. D. Hooker 14 February [1860]1
Down Bromley Kent
Feb. 14
My dear Hooker
I succeeded in persuading myself for 24 hours that Huxley’s lecture was a success. Parts were eloquent & good & all very bold, & I heard strangers say “what a good lecture”. I told Huxley so; but I demurred much to time wasted in introductory remarks; especially to his making it appear that sterility was a clear & manifest distinction of species,2 & to his not having even alluded to the more important part of subject. He said that he had much more written out, but time failed.3 After conversation with others & more reflection I must confess that as an Exposition of the doctrine the Lecture seems to me an entire failure.— I thank God I did not think so, when I saw Huxley; for he spoke so kindly & magnificently of me, that I could hardly have endured to say what I now think.
He gave no just idea of natural selection. I have always looked at this doctrine of Nat. Selection as an hypothesis, which if it explained several large classes of facts would deserve to be ranked as a theory deserving acceptance; & this of course is my own opinion.— But, as Huxley has never alluded to my explanation of Classification, Morphology Embryology &c, I thought he was thoroughily dissatisfied with all this part of my Book. But to my joy I find it is not so & that he agrees with my manner of looking at subject; only that he rates higher than I do the necessity of Natural Selection being shown to be a vera causa always in action.— He tells me he is writing long Review in Westminster.—4
It was really provoking how he wasted time over the idea of a species as exemplified in Horse5 & over Sir J. Hall’s old experiment on marble.—6 Murchison was very civil to me over my Book after Lecture, in which he was disappointed.—7
I have quite made up my mind to savage onslaughts; but with Lyell, you, & Huxley I feel confident we are right & in long run shall prevail. I do not think Asa Gray has quite done you justice in beginning of Review of me.8 The Review seemed to me very good, but I read it only hastily.
I am very glad to hear that you are thinking of a general work—do not be in a hurry.9 Do give a resume on propagation of Crytogamic plants: it would interest general reader & pocket your pride & compile! It will be a precious difficult Book to write.—
When we meet I will pay 14s with thanks.— What a poor sneaking fellow L. Reeve must be.—10
Adios | I am tired. | Your affect | C. Darwin
Henslow comes here tonight for 2 or 3 days. He is going to Anniversary of Geolog. Soc.— By the way I fancy I shall be cut up by Phillips.11
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1855–60. Flora Tasmaniæ. Pt 3 of The botany of the Antarctic voyage of HM Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror, in the years 1839–1843, under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross. 2 vols. London.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Summary
Huxley’s Royal Institution lecture on Origin [10 Feb 1860, Not. Proc. R. Inst. G. B. 3 (1858–62): 195–200] an "entire failure" as an exposition of CD’s doctrine.
R. I. Murchison very civil.
CD counts Lyell among the converted.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2696
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 115: 40
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2696,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2696.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 8