Hookertookthelineofcompleteimpartiality，soasnottocommitLindley。）averygoodone，andwassomuchstruckwithitthatIsentittoLyell。ButIassumed，asamatterofcourse，thatitwasLindley’s。NowthatIknowitisyours，Ihavere—readit，and，mykindandgoodfriend，ithaswarmedmyheartwithallthehonourableandnoblethingsyousayofmeandit。IwasagooddealsurprisedatLindleyhittingonsomeoftheremarks，butIneverdreamedofyou。Iadmireditchieflyassowelladaptedtotellonthereadersofthe’Gardeners’Chronicle’;butnowI
admireditinanotherspirit。Farewell，withheartythanks……Lyellisgoingatmanwithanaudacitythatfrightensme。Itisagoodjoke;heusedalwaystocautionmetoslipoverman。
[Inthe\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"，January21，1860，appearedashortletterfrommyfatherwhichwascalledforthbyMr。Westwood’scommunicationtothepreviousnumberofthejournal，inwhichcertainphenomenaofcross—
breedingarediscussedinrelationtothe’OriginofSpecies。’Mr。
Westwoodwroteinreply（February11）andadducedfurtherevidenceagainstthedoctrineofdescent，suchastheidentityofthefiguresofostrichesontheancient\"Egyptianrecords，\"withthebirdaswenowknowit。Thecorrespondenceishardlyworthmentioning，exceptasoneoftheveryfewcasesinwhichmyfatherwasenticedintoanythingresemblingacontroversy。]
ASAGRAYTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Cambridge，Mass。，January5th，1860。
MydearHooker，Yourlastletter，whichreachedmejustbeforeChristmas，hasgotmislaidduringtheupturningsinmystudywhichtakeplaceatthatseason，andhasnotyetbeendiscovered。Ishouldbeverysorrytoloseit，fortherewereinitsomebotanicalmems。whichIhadnotsecured……
TheprincipalpartofyourletterwashighlaudationofDarwin’sbook。
Well，thebookhasreachedme，andIfinisheditscarefulperusalfourdaysago;andIfreelysaythatyourlaudationisnotoutofplace。
ItisdoneinaMASTERLYMANNER。Itmightwellhavetakentwentyyearstoproduceit。Itiscrammedfullofmostinterestingmatter——thoroughlydigested——wellexpressed——close，cogent，andtakenasasystemitmakesoutabettercasethanIhadsupposedpossible……
Agassiz，whenIsawhimlast，hadreadbutapartofit。HesaysitisPOOR——VERYPOOR！！（entrenous）。Thefact[is]heisverymuchannoyedbyit，……andIdonotwonderatit。TobringallIDEALsystemswithinthedomainofscience，andgivegoodphysicalornaturalexplanationsofallhiscapitalpoints，isasbadastohaveForbestaketheglaciermaterials……andgivescientificexplanationofallthephenomena。
TellDarwinallthis。IwillwritetohimwhenIgetachance。AsIhavepromised，heandyoushallhavefair—playhere……ImustmyselfwriteareviewofDarwin’sbookfor’Silliman’sJournal’（themoresothatI
suspectAgassizmeanstocomeoutuponit）forthenext（March）No。，andI
amnowsettingaboutit（whenIoughttobeeverymomentworkingtheExpl[oring]ExpeditionCompositae，whichIknowfarmoreabout）。Andreallyitisnoeasyjob，asyoumaywellimagine。
IdoubtifIshallpleaseyoualtogether。IknowIshallnotpleaseAgassizatall。IhearanotherreprintisinthePress，andthebookwillexcitemuchattentionhere，andsomecontroversy……
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，January28th[1860]。
MydearGray，Hookerhasforwardedtomeyourlettertohim;andIcannotexpresshowdeeplyithasgratifiedme。Toreceivetheapprovalofamanwhomonehaslongsincerelyrespected。Andwhosejudgmentandknowledgearemostuniversallyadmitted，isthehighestrewardanauthorcanpossiblywishfor;andIthankyouheartilyforyourmostkindexpressions。
Ihavebeenabsentfromhomeforafewdays，andsocouldnotearlieransweryourlettertomeofthe10thofJanuary。Youhavebeenextremelykindtotakesomuchtroubleandinterestabouttheedition。Ithasbeenamistakeofmypublishernotthinkingofsendingoverthesheets。Ihadentirelyandutterlyforgottenyourofferofreceivingthesheetsasprintedoff。ButImustnotblamemypublisher，forhadIrememberedyourmostkindofferIfeelprettysureIshouldnothavetakenadvantageofit;
forIneverdreamedofmybookbeingsosuccessfulwithgeneralreaders;I
believeIshouldhavelaughedattheideaofsendingthesheetstoAmerica。
（InalettertoMr。Murray，1860，myfatherwrote:——\"IamamusedbyAsaGray’saccountoftheexcitementmybookhasmadeamongstnaturalistsintheUnitedStates。Agassizhasdenounceditinanewspaper，butyetinsuchtermsthatitisinfactafineadvertisement！\"ThisseemstorefertoalecturegivenbeforetheMercantileLibraryAssociation。）
Aftermuchconsideration，andonthestrongadviceofLyellandothers，I
haveresolvedtoleavethepresentbookasitis（exceptingcorrectingerrors，orhereandthereinsertingshortsentences）andtouseallmystrength，WHICHISBUTLITTLE，tobringoutthefirstpart（formingaseparatevolumewithindex，etc。）ofthethreevolumeswhichwillmakemybiggerwork;sothatIamveryunwillingtotakeuptimeinmakingcorrectionsforanAmericanedition。Ienclosealistofafewcorrectionsinthesecondreprint，whichyouwillhavereceivedbythistimecomplete，andIcouldsendfourorfivecorrectionsoradditionsofequallysmallimportance，orratherofequalbrevity。IalsointendtowriteaSHORT
prefacewithabriefhistoryofthesubject。TheseIwillsetabout，astheymustsomedaybedone，andIwillsendthemtoyouinashorttime——
thefewcorrectionsfirst，andtheprefaceafterwards，unlessIhearthatyouhavegivenupallideaofaseparateedition。YouwillthenbeabletojudgewhetheritisworthhavingtheneweditionwithYOURREVIEWPREFIXED。
Whateverbethenatureofyourreview，IassureyouIshouldfeelitaGREAThonourtohavemybookthuspreceded……
ASAGRAYTOCHARLESDARWIN。
Cambridge，January23rd，1860。
MydearDarwin，Youhavemyhurriedlettertellingyouofthearrivaloftheremainderofthesheetsofthereprint，andofthestirIhadmadeforareprintinBoston。Well，alllookedprettywell，when，lo，wefoundthatasecondNewYorkpublishinghousehadannouncedareprintalso！IwrotethentobothNewYorkpublishers，askingthemtogivewaytotheAUTHORandhisreprintofarevisededition。IgotananswerfromtheHarpersthattheywithdraw——fromtheAppletonsthattheyhadgotthebookOUT（andthenextdayIsawacopy）;butthat，\"iftheworkshouldhaveanyconsiderablesale，wecertainlyshallbedisposedtopaytheauthorreasonablyandliberally。\"
TheAppletonsbeingthusoutwiththeirreprint，theBostonhousedeclinedtogoon。SoIwrotetotheAppletonstakingthemattheirword，offeringtoaidtheirreprint，togivethemtheuseofthealterationsintheLondonreprint，assoonasIfindoutwhattheyare，etc。etc。AndIsentthemthefirstleaf，andaskedthemtoinsertintheirfutureissuetheadditionalmatterfromButler（AquotationfromButler’s’Analogy，’ontheuseofthewordnatural，whichinthesecondeditionisplacedwiththepassagesfromWhewellandBacononpageii，oppositethetitle—page。），whichtellsjustright。Sotherethematterstands。IfyoufurnishanymatterinadvanceoftheLondonthirdedition，Iwillmakethempayforit。
Imaygetsomethingforyou。Allgotiscleargain;butitwillnotbeverymuch，Isuppose。
Suchlittlenoticesinthepapershereashaveyetappearedarequitehandsomeandconsiderate。
IhopenextweektogetprintedsheetsofmyreviewfromNewHaven，andsend[them]toyou，andwillaskyoutopassthemontoDr。Hooker。
Tofulfilyourrequest，IoughttotellyouwhatIthinktheweakest，andwhatthebest，partofyourbook。Butthisisnoteasy，nortobedoneinawordortwo。TheBESTPART，Ithink，istheWHOLE，i。e。，itsPLANandTREATMENT，thevastamountoffactsandacuteinferenceshandledasifyouhadaperfectmasteryofthem。Idonotthinktwentyyearstoomuchtimetoproducesuchabookin。
Styleclearandgood，butnowandthenwantsrevisionforlittlematters（page97，self—fertilisesITSELF，etc。）。
Thenyourcandouriswortheverythingtoyourcause。Itisrefreshingtofindapersonwithanewtheorywhofranklyconfessesthathefindsdifficulties，insurmountable，atleastforthepresent。Iknowsomepeoplewhoneverhaveanydifficultiestospeakof。
ThemomentIunderstoodyourpremisses，Ifeltsureyouhadarealfoundationtoholdon。Well，ifoneadmitsyourpremisses，Idonotseehowheistostopshortofyourconclusions，asaprobablehypothesisatleast。
Itnaturallyhappensthatmyreviewofyourbookdoesnotexhibitanythinglikethefullforceoftheimpressionthebookhasmadeuponme。UnderthecircumstancesIsupposeIdoyourtheorymoregoodhere，bybespeakingforitafairandfavourableconsideration，andbystandingnon—committedastoitsfullconclusions，thanIshouldifIannouncedmyselfaconvert;norcouldIsaythelatter，withtruth。
Well，whatseemstometheweakestpointinthebookistheattempttoaccountfortheformationoforgans，themakingofeyes，etc。，bynaturalselection。SomeofthisreadsquiteLamarckian。
ThechapteronHYBRIDISMisnotaWEAK，butaSTRONGchapter。Youhavedonewondersthere。Butstillyouhavenotaccounted，asyoumaybeheldtoaccount，fordivergenceuptoacertainextentproducingincreasedfertilityofthecrosses，butcarriedoneshortalmostimperceptiblestepmore，givingrisetosterility，orreversingthetendency。Verylikelyyouareontherighttrack;butyouhavesomethingtodoyetinthatdepartment。
Enoughforthepresent……Iamnotinsensibletoyourcompliments，theveryhighcomplimentwhichyoupaymeinvaluingmyopinion。YouevidentlythinkmoreofitthanI
do，thoughfromthewayIwrite[to]you，andespecially[to]Hooker，thismightnotbeinferredfromthereadingofmyletters。
IamfreetosaythatIneverlearntsomuchfromonebookasIhavefromyours，thereremainathousandthingsIlongtosayaboutit。
Everyours，ASAGRAY。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
[February？1860]……NowIwilljustrunthroughsomepointsinyourletter。Whatyousayaboutmybookgratifiesmemostdeeply，andIwishIcouldfeelallwasdeservedbyme。Iquitethinkareviewfromaman，whoisnotanentireconvert，iffairandmoderatelyfavourable，isinallrespectsthebestkindofreview。AbouttheweakpointsIagree。Theeyetothisdaygivesmeacoldshudder，butwhenIthinkofthefineknowngradations，myreasontellsmeIoughttoconquerthecoldshudder。
PraykindlyrememberandtellProf。WymanhowverygratefulIshouldbeforanyhints，information，orcriticisms。Ihavethehighestrespectforhisopinion。IamsosorryaboutDana’shealth。Ihavealreadyaskedhimtopaymeavisit。
Farewell，youhavelaidmeunderaloadofobligation——notthatIfeelitaload。Itisthehighestpossiblegratificationtometothinkthatyouhavefoundmybookworthreadingandreflection;foryouandthreeothersI
putdowninmyownmindasthejudgeswhoseopinionsIshouldvaluemostofall。
MydearGray，yoursmostsincerely，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Ifeelprettysure，frommyownexperience，thatifyouareledbyyourstudiestokeepthesubjectoftheoriginofspeciesbeforeyourmind，youwillgofurtherandfurtherinyourbelief。Ittookmelongyears，andIassureyouIamastonishedattheimpressionmybookhasmadeonmanyminds。Ifeartwentyyearsago，Ishouldnothavebeenhalfascandidandopentoconviction。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[January31st，1860]。
MydearHooker，Ihaveresolvedtopublishalittlesketchoftheprogressofopiniononthechangeofspecies。WillyouorMrs。HookerdomethefavourtocopyONEsentenceoutofNaudin’spaperinthe’RevueHorticole，’1852，page103，namely，thatonhisprincipleofFinalite。Canyouletmehaveitsoon，withthoseconfoundeddashesoverthevowelsputincarefully？AsaGray，Ibelieve，isgoingtogetasecondeditionofmybook，andIwanttosendthislittleprefaceovertohimsoon。IdidnotthinkofthenecessityofhavingNaudin’ssentenceonfinality，otherwiseIwouldhavecopiedit。
Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——IshallendbyjustalludingtoyourAustralianFloraIntroduction。
Whatwasthedateofpublication:December1859，orJanuary1860？Pleaseanswerthis。
MyprefacewillalsodofortheFrenchedition，whichIBELIEVE，isagreedon。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
February[1860]……Asthe’Origin’nowstands，Harvey’s（WilliamHenryHarveywasdescendedfromaQuakerfamilyofYoughal，andwasborninFebruary，1811，atSummerville，acountryhouseonthebanksoftheShannon。HediedatTorquayin1866。In1835，HarveywenttoAfrica（TableBay）topursuehisbotanicalstudies，theresultsofwhichweregiveninhis’GeneraofSouthAfricanPlants。’In1838，ill—healthcompelledhimtoobtainleaveofabsence，andreturntoEnglandforatime;in1840hereturnedtoCapeTown，tobeagaincompelledbyillnesstoleave。In1843heobtainedtheappointmentofBotanicalProfessoratTrinityCollege，Dublin。In1854，1855，and1856hevisitedAustralia，NewZealand，theFriendlyandFijiIslands。In1857Dr。Harveyreachedhome，andwasappointedthesuccessorofProfessorAllmantotheChairofBotanyinDublinUniversity。Hewasauthorofseveralbotanicalworks，principallyonAlgae。——（FromaMemoirpublishedin1869。））isagoodhitagainstmytalkingsomuchoftheinsensiblyfinegradations;andcertainlyithasastonishedmethatI
shouldbepeltedwiththefact，thatIhadnotallowedabruptandgreatenoughvariationsundernature。Itwouldtakeagooddealmoreevidencetomakemeadmitthatformshaveoftenchangedbysaltum。
HaveyouseenWollaston’sattackinthe’Annals’？（’AnnalsandMagazineofNaturalHistory，’1860。）Thestonesarebeginningtofly。ButTheologyhasmoretodowiththesetwoattacksthanScience……
[IntheaboveletterapaperbyHarveyinthe\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"，February18，1860，isalludedto。HedescribesacaseofmonstrosityinBegoniafrigida，inwhichthe\"sport\"differedsomuchfromanormalBegoniathatitmighthaveservedasthetypeofadistinctnaturalorder。
Harveygoesontoarguethatsuchacaseishostiletothetheoryofnaturalselection，accordingtowhichchangesarenotsupposedtotakeplacepersaltum，andaddsthat\"afewsuchcaseswouldoverthrowit[Mr。
Darwin’shypothesis]altogether。\"Inthefollowingnumberofthe\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"SirJ。D。HookershowedthatDr。HarveyhadmisconceivedthebearingoftheBegoniacase，whichhefurthershowedtobebynomeanscalculatedtoshakethevalidityofthedoctrineofmodificationbymeansofnaturalselection。MyfathermentionstheBegoniacaseinalettertoLyell（February18，1860）:——
\"Isendbythispostanattackinthe\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"，byHarvey（afirst—rateBotanist，asyouprobablyknow）。Itseemstomeratherstrange;
heassumesthepermanenceofmonsters，whereas，monstersaregenerallysterile，andnotofteninheritable。Butgranthiscase，itcomesthatI
havebeentoocautiousinnotadmittinggreatandsuddenvariations。HereagaincomesinthemischiefofmyABSTRACT。InthefullerMS。Ihavediscussedaparallelcaseofanormalfishlikethemonstrousgold—fish。\"
WithreferencetoSirJ。D。Hooker’sreply，myfatherwrote:]
Down，[February26th，1860]。
MydearHooker，YouranswertoHarveyseemstomeADMIRABLYgood。Youwouldhavemadeagiganticfortuneasabarrister。WhatanomissionofHarvey’saboutthegraduatedstateoftheflowers！ButwhatstrikesmemostisthatsurelyI
oughttoknowmyownbookbest，yet，byJove，youhavebroughtforwardeversomanyargumentswhichIdidnotthinkof！Yourreferencetoclassification（viz。IpresumetosuchcasesasAspicarpa）isEXCELLENT，forthemonstrousBegonianodoubtinalldetailswouldbeBegonia。Ididnotthinkofthis，noroftheRETROGRADEstepfromseparatedsexestoanhermaphroditestate;norofthelessenedfertilityofthemonster。Prohpudortome。
TheworldwouldsaywhatalawyerhasbeenlostinaMEREbotanist！
Farewell，mydearmasterinmyownsubject，Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
IamsoheartilypleasedtoseethatyouapproveofthechapteronClassification。
IwonderwhatHarveywillsay。Butnoonehardly，Ithink，isableatfirsttoseewhenheisbeateninanargument。
[Thefollowinglettersrefertothefirsttranslation（1860）ofthe’OriginofSpecies’intoGerman，whichwassuperintendedbyH。G。Bronn，agoodzoologistandpalaeontologist，whowasatthetimeatFreiburg，butafterwardsProfessoratHeidelberg。Ihavebeentoldthatthetranslationwasnotasuccess，itremainedanobvioustranslation，andwascorrespondinglyunpleasanttoread。Bronnaddedtothetranslationanappendixofthedifficultiesthatoccurredtohim。Forinstance，howcannaturalselectionaccountfordifferencesbetweenspecies，whenthesedifferencesappeartobeofnoservicetotheirpossessors;e。g。，thelengthoftheearsandtail，orthefoldsintheenameloftheteethofvariousspeciesofrodents？Krause，inhisbook，’CharlesDarwin，’page91，criticisesBronn’sconductinthismanner，butitwillbeseenthatmyfatheractuallysuggestedtheadditionofBronn’sremarks。AmoreseriouschargeagainstBronnmadebyKrause（op。cit。page87）isthatheleftoutpassagesofwhichhedidnotapprove，as，forinstance，thepassage（’Origin，’firstedition，page488）\"Lightwillbethrownontheoriginofmanandhishistory。\"Ihavenoevidenceastowhethermyfatherdidordidnotknowofthesealterations。]
CHARLESDARWINTOH。G。BRONN。
Down，February4[1860]。
DearandmuchhonouredSir，Ithankyousincerelyforyourmostkindletter;Ifearedthatyouwouldmuchdisapproveofthe’Origin，’andIsentittoyoumerelyasamarkofmysincererespect。IshallreadwithmuchinterestyourworkontheproductionsofIslandswheneverIreceiveit。Ithankyoucordiallyforthenoticeinthe’NeuesJahrbuchfurMineralogie，’andstillmoreforspeakingtoSchweitzerbartaboutatranslation;forIammostanxiousthatthegreatandintellectualGermanpeopleshouldknowsomethingaboutmybook。
IhavetoldmypublishertosendimmediatelyacopyoftheNEW（Secondedition。）editiontoSchweitzerbart，andIhavewrittentoSchweitzerbartthatIgaveupallrighttoprofitformyself，sothatIhopeatranslationwillappear。Ifearthatthebookwillbedifficulttotranslate，andifyoucouldadviseSchweitzerbartaboutaGOODtranslator，itwouldbeofverygreatservice。Stillmore，ifyouwouldrunyoureyeoverthemoredifficultpartsofthetranslation;butthisistoogreatafavourtoexpect。Ifeelsurethatitwillbedifficulttotranslate，frombeingsomuchcondensed。
AgainIthankyouforyournobleandgeneroussympathy，andIremain，withentirerespect，Yours，trulyobliged，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Theneweditionhassomefewcorrections，andIwillsendinMS。someadditionalcorrections，andashorthistoricalpreface，toSchweitzerbart。
HowinterestingyoucouldmaketheworkbyEDITING（Idonotmeantranslating）thework，andappendingnotesofREFUTATIONorconfirmation。
ThebookhassoldsoverylargelyinEngland，thataneditorwould，I
think，makeprofitbythetranslation。
CHARLESDARWINTOH。G。BRONN。
Down，February14[1860]。
MydearandmuchhonouredSir，Ithankyoucordiallyforyourextremekindnessinsuperintendingthetranslation。Ihavementionedthistosomeeminentscientificmen，andtheyallagreethatyouhavedoneanobleandgenerousservice。IfIamprovedquitewrong，yetIcomfortmyselfinthinkingthatmybookmaydosomegood，astruthcanonlybeknownbyrisingvictoriousfromeveryattack。Ithankyoualsomuchforthereview，andforthekindmannerinwhichyouspeakofme。IsendwiththislettersomecorrectionsandadditionstoM。Schweitzerbart，andashorthistoricalpreface。IamnotmuchacquaintedwithGermanauthors，asIreadGermanveryslowly;
thereforeIdonotknowwhetheranyGermanshaveadvocatedsimilarviewswithmine;iftheyhave，wouldyoudomethefavourtoinsertafoot—notetothepreface？M。Schweitzerbarthasnowthereprintreadyforatranslatortobegin。Severalscientificmenhavethoughttheterm\"NaturalSelection\"good，becauseitsmeaningisNOTobvious，andeachmancouldnotputonithisowninterpretation，andbecauseitatonceconnectsvariationunderdomesticationandnature。IsthereanyanalogoustermusedbyGermanbreedersofanimals？\"Adelung，\"ennobling，would，perhaps，betoometaphysical。Itisfollyinme，butIcannothelpdoubtingwhether\"WahlderLebensweise\"expressesmynotion。ItleavestheimpressiononmymindoftheLamarckiandoctrine（whichIreject）ofhabitsoflifebeingall—
important。Manhasaltered，andthusimprovedtheEnglishrace—horsebySELECTINGsuccessivefleeterindividuals;andIbelieve，owingtothestruggleforexistence，thatsimilarSLIGHTvariationsinawildhorse，IF
ADVANTAGEOUSTOIT，wouldbeSELECTEDorPRESERVEDbynature;henceNaturalSelection。ButIapologisefortroublingyouwiththeseremarksontheimportanceofchoosinggoodGermantermsfor\"NaturalSelection。\"Withmyheartfeltthanks，andwithsincererespect，Iremain，dearSir，yoursverysincerely，CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOH。G。BRONN。
Down，July14[1860]。
DearandhonouredSir，Onmyreturnhome，afteranabsenceofsometime，Ifoundthetranslationofthethirdpart（TheGermantranslationwaspublishedinthreepamphlet—
likenumbers。）ofthe’Origin，’andIhavebeendelightedtoseeafinalchapterofcriticismsbyyourself。Ihavereadthefirstfewparagraphsandfinalparagraph，andamperfectlycontented，indeedmorethancontented，withthegenerousandcandidspiritwithwhichyouhaveconsideredmyviews。Youspeakwithtoomuchpraiseofmywork。Ishall，ofcourse，carefullyreadthewholechapter;butthoughIcanreaddescriptivebookslikeGaertner’sprettyeasily，whenanyreasoningcomesin，IfindGermanexcessivelydifficulttounderstand。AtsomeFUTUREtimeIshouldverymuchliketohearhowmybookhasbeenreceivedinGermany，andImostsincerelyhopeM。Schweitzerbartwillnotlosemoneybythepublication。MostofthereviewshavebeenbitterlyopposedtomeinEngland，yetIhavemadesomeconverts，andSEVERALnaturalistswhowouldnotbelieveinawordofit，arenowcomingslightlyround，andadmitthatnaturalselectionmayhavedonesomething。Thisgivesmehopethatmorewillultimatelycomeroundtoacertainextenttomyviews。
Ishalleverconsidermyselfdeeplyindebtedtoyoufortheimmenseserviceandhonourwhichyouhaveconferredonmeinmakingtheexcellenttranslationofmybook。Praybelieveme，withmostsincererespect，DearSir，yoursgratefully，CHARLESDARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，[February12th，1860]……IthinkitwasagreatpitythatHuxleywastedsomuchtimeinthelectureonthepreliminaryremarks;……buthislectureseemedtomeveryfineandverybold。Ihaveremonstrated（andheagrees）againsttheimpressionthathewouldleave，thatsterilitywasauniversalandinfalliblecriterionofspecies。
Youwill，Iamsure，makeagranddiscussiononman。IamsogladtohearthatyouandLadyLyellwillcomehere。Prayfixyourowntime;andifitdidnotsuituswewouldsayso。Wecouldthendiscussmanwell……
HowmuchIowetoyouandHooker！IdonotsupposeIshouldhardlyeverhavepublishedhaditnotbeenforyou。
[ThelecturereferredtointhelastletterwasgivenattheRoyalInstitution，February10，1860。ThefollowingletterwaswritteninreplytoMr。Huxley’srequestforinformationaboutbreeding，hybridisation，etc。
Itisofinterestasgivingavividretrospectofthewriter’sexperienceonthesubject。]
CHARLESDARWINTOT。H。HUXLEY。
Ilkley，Yorks，November27[1859]。
MydearHuxley，Gartnergrand，Kolreutergrand，butpapersscatteredthroughmanyvolumesandverylengthy。Ihadtomakeanabstractofthewhole。Herbert’svolumeonAmaryllidaceaeverygood，andtwoexcellentpapersinthe’HorticulturalJournal。’Foranimals，noresumetobetrustedatall;
factsaretobecollectedfromalloriginalsources。（ThiscautionisexemplifiedinthefollowingextractfromanearlierlettertoProfessorHuxley:——\"Theinaccuracyoftheblessedgang（ofwhichIamone）ofcompilerspassesallbounds。MONSTERShavefrequentlybeendescribedashybridswithoutatittleofevidence。Imustgiveoneothercasetoshowhowwejollyfellowswork。ABelgianBaron（Iforgethisnameatthismoment）crossedtwodistinctgeeseandgotSEVENhybrids，whichheprovedsubsequentlytobequitesterile;well，compilerthefirst，Chevreul，saysthatthehybridswerepropagatedforSEVENgenerationsinterse。Compilersecond（Morton）mistakestheFrenchname，andgivesLatinnamesfortwomoredistinctgeese，andsaysCHEVREULhimselfpropagatedtheminterseforsevengenerations;andthelatterstatementiscopiedfrombooktobook。\"）
IfearmyMS。forthebiggerbook（twiceorthriceaslongasinpresentbook），withallreferences，wouldbeillegible，butitwouldsaveyouinfinitelabour;ofcourseIwouldgladlylendit，butIhavenocopy，socarewouldhavetobetakenofit。Butmyaccursedhandwritingwouldbefatal，Ifear。
Aboutbreeding，Iknowofnoonebook。IdidnotthinkwellofLowe，butI
cannamenonebetter。YouattIlookatasafarbetterandMOREPRACTICAL
authority;butthenhisviewsandfactsarescatteredthroughthreeorfourthickvolumes。IhavepickedupmostbyreadingreallynumberlessspecialtreatisesandALLagriculturalandhorticulturaljournals;butitisaworkoflongyears。THEDIFFICULTYISTOKNOWWHATTOTRUST。Nooneortwostatementsareworthafarthing;thefactsaresocomplicated。IhopeandthinkIhavebeenreallycautiousinwhatIstateonthissubject，althoughallthatIhavegiven，asyet，isFARtoobriefly。Ihavefounditveryimportantassociatingwithfanciersandbreeders。Forinstance，IsatoneeveninginaginpalaceintheBoroughamongstasetofpigeonfanciers，whenitwashintedthatMr。BullhadcrossedhisPouterswithRuntstogainsize;andifyouhadseenthesolemn，themysterious，andawfulshakesoftheheadwhichallthefanciersgaveatthisscandalousproceeding，youwouldhaverecognisedhowlittlecrossinghashadtodowithimprovingbreeds，andhowdangerousforendlessgenerationstheprocesswas。Allthiswasbroughthomefarmorevividlythanbypagesofmerestatements，etc。ButIamscribblingfoolishly。Ireallydonotknowhowtoadviseaboutgettingupfactsonbreedingandimprovingbreeds。GotoShowsisoneway。ReadALLtreatisesonanyONEdomesticanimal，andbelievenothingwithoutlargelyconfirmed。ForyourlecturesIcangiveyouafewamusinganecdotesandsentences，ifyouwanttomaketheaudiencelaugh。
Ithankyouparticularlyfortellingmewhatnaturaliststhink。Ifwecanoncemakeacompactsetofbelieversweshallintimeconquer。IamEMINENTLYgladRamseyisonourside，forheis，inmyopinion，afirst—
rategeologist。Isenthimacopy。Ihopehegotit。IshallbeverycurioustohearwhetheranyeffecthasbeenproducedonPrestwich;Isenthimacopy，notasafriend，butowingtoasentenceortwoinsomepaper，whichmademesuspecthewasdoubting。
Rev。C。Kingsleyhasamindtocomeround。Quatrefageswritesthathegoessomelongwaywithme;saysheexhibiteddiagramslikemine。Withmostheartythanks，Yoursverytired，C。DARWIN。
[IgivetheconclusionofProfessorHuxley’slecture，asbeingoneoftheearliest，aswellasoneofthemosteloquentofhisutterancesinsupportofthe’OriginofSpecies’:
\"Ihavesaidthatthemanofscienceisthesworninterpreterofnatureinthehighcourtofreason。Butofwhatavailishishonestspeech，ifignoranceistheassessorofthejudge，andprejudicetheforemanofthejury？Ihardlyknowofagreatphysicaltruth，whoseuniversalreceptionhasnotbeenprecededbyanepochinwhichmostestimablepersonshavemaintainedthatthephenomenainvestigatedweredirectlydependentontheDivineWill，andthattheattempttoinvestigatethemwasnotonlyfutile，butblasphemous。Andthereisawonderfultenacityoflifeaboutthissortofoppositiontophysicalscience。Crushedandmaimedineverybattle，ityetseemsnevertobeslain;andafterahundreddefeatsitisatthisdayasrampant，thoughhappilynotsomischievous，asinthetimeofGalileo。
\"Buttothosewhoselifeisspent，touseNewton’snoblewords，inpickinguphereapebbleandthereapebbleontheshoresofthegreatoceanoftruth——whowatch，daybyday，theslowbutsureadvanceofthatmightytide，bearingonitsbosomthethousandtreasureswherewithmanennoblesandbeautifieshislife——itwouldbelaughable，ifitwerenotsosad，toseethelittleCanutesofthehourenthronedinsolemnstate，biddingthatgreatwavetostay，andthreateningtocheckitsbeneficentprogress。Thewaverisesandtheyfly;but，unlikethebraveoldDane，theylearnnolessonofhumility:thethroneispitchedatwhatseemsasafedistance，andthefollyisrepeated。
\"Surelyitisthedutyofthepublictodiscourageanythingofthiskind，todiscreditthesefoolishmeddlerswhothinktheydotheAlmightyaservicebypreventingathoroughstudyofHisworks。
\"TheOriginofSpeciesisnotthefirst，anditwillnotbethelast，ofthegreatquestionsbornofscience，whichwilldemandsettlementfromthisgeneration。Thegeneralmindisseethingstrangely，andtothosewhowatchthesignsofthetimes，itseemsplainthatthisnineteenthcenturywillseerevolutionsofthoughtandpracticeasgreatasthosewhichthesixteenthwitnessed。Throughwhattrialsandsoreconteststhecivilisedworldwillhavetopassinthecourseofthisnewreformation，whocantell？
\"ButIverilybelievethatcomewhatwill，thepartwhichEnglandmayplayinthebattleisagrandandanobleone。Shemayprovetotheworldthat，foronepeople，atanyrate，despotismanddemagogyarenotthenecessaryalternativesofgovernment;thatfreedomandorderarenotincompatible;
thatreverenceisthehandmaidofknowledge;thatfreediscussionisthelifeoftruth，andoftrueunityinanation。
\"WillEnglandplaythispart？Thatdependsuponhowyou，thepublic，dealwithscience。Cherishher，venerateher，followhermethodsfaithfullyandimplicitlyintheirapplicationtoallbranchesofhumanthought，andthefutureofthispeoplewillbegreaterthanthepast。
\"Listentothosewhowouldsilenceandcrushher，andIfearourchildrenwillseethegloryofEnglandvanishinglikeArthurinthemist;theywillcrytoolatethewofulcryofGuinever:——
’Itwasmydutytohavelovedthehighest;
ItsurelywasmyprofithadIknown;
ItwouldhavebeenmypleasurehadIseen。’\"]