IheartilyhopethatyourTorquayworkmaybesuccessful。GivemykindestremembrancestoFalconer，andIhopeheisprettywell。HookerandHuxley（withMrs。Huxley）wereextremelypleasant。ButpoordearHookeristiredtodeathofmybook，anditisamarvelandaprodigyifyouarenotworsetired——ifthatbepossible。Farewell，mydearLyell，Yoursaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[April13th，1860]。
MydearHooker，Questionsofprioritysooftenleadtoodiousquarrels，thatIshouldesteemitagreatfavourifyouwouldreadtheenclosed。（（Myfatherwrote（\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"，1860，page362，April21st）:\"IhavebeenmuchinterestedbyMr。PatrickMatthew’scommunicationinthenumberofyourpaperdatedApril7th。IfreelyacknowledgethatMr。MatthewhasanticipatedbymanyyearstheexplanationwhichIhaveofferedoftheoriginofspecies，underthenameofnaturalselection。IthinkthatnoonewillfeelsurprisedthatneitherI，norapparentlyanyothernaturalist，hadheardofMr。Matthew’sviews，consideringhowbrieflytheyaregiven，andthattheyappearedintheappendixtoaworkonNavalTimberandArboriculture。IcandonomorethanoffermyapologiestoMr。Matthewformyentireignoranceofthispublication。Ifanyothereditionofmyworkiscalledfor，Iwillinserttotheforegoingeffect。\"Inspiteofmyfather’srecognitionofhisclaims，Mr。Matthewremainedunsatisfied，andcomplainedthatanarticleinthe’SaturdayAnalystandLeader’was\"scarcelyfairinalludingtoMr。Darwinastheparentoftheoriginofspecies，seeingthatIpublishedthewholethatMr。Darwinattemptstoprove，morethantwenty—nineyearsago。\"——\"SaturdayAnalystandLeader\"，November24，1860。）IfyouthinkitproperthatIshouldsendit（andofthistherecanhardlybeanyquestion），andifyouthinkitfullandampleenough，pleasealterthedatetothedayonwhichyoupostit，andletthatbesoon。Thecaseinthe\"Gardeners’Chronicle\"seemsaLITTLEstrongerthaninMr。Matthew’sbook，forthepassagesarethereinscatteredinthreeplaces;butitwouldbemerehair—splittingtonoticethat。Ifyouobjecttomyletter，pleasereturnit;butIdonotexpectthatyouwill，butI
thoughtthatyouwouldnotobjecttorunyoureyeoverit。MydearHooker，itisagreatthingformetohavesogood，true，andoldafriendasyou。
Iowemuchforsciencetomyfriends。
ManythanksforHuxley’slecture。Thelatterpartseemedtobegrandlyeloquent……Ihavegoneover[the’Edinburgh’]reviewagain，andcomparedpassages，andIamastonishedatthemisrepresentations。ButIamgladIresolvednottoanswer。Perhapsitisselfish，buttoanswerandthinkmoreonthesubjectistoounpleasant。IamsosorrythatHuxleybymymeanshasbeenthusatrociouslyattacked。Idonotsupposeyoumuchcareaboutthegratuitousattackonyou。
Lyellinhisletterremarkedthatyouseemedtohimasifyouwereoverworked。Do，pray，becautious，andrememberhowmanyandmanyamanhasdonethis——whothoughtitabsurdtilltoolate。Ihaveoftenthoughtthesame。YouknowthatyouwerebadenoughbeforeyourIndianjourney。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，April[1860]。
MydearLyell，IwasverygladtogetyournicelongletterfromTorquay。ApressofletterspreventedmewritingtoWells。Iwasparticularlygladtohearwhatyouthoughtaboutnotnoticing[the’Edinburgh’]review。HookerandHuxleythoughtitasortofdutytopointoutthealterationofquotedcitations，andthereistruthinthisremark;butIsohatedthethoughtthatIresolvednottodoso。IshallcomeuptoLondononSaturdaythe14th，forSirB。Brodie’sparty，asIhaveanaccumulationofthingstodoinLondon，andwill（ifIdonotheartothecontrary）callaboutaquarterbeforetenonSundaymorning，andsitwithyouatbreakfast，butwillnotsitlong，andsotakeupmuchofyourtime。Imustsayonemorewordaboutourquasi—theologicalcontroversyaboutnaturalselection，andletmehaveyouropinionwhenwemeetinLondon。DoyouconsiderthatthesuccessivevariationsinthesizeofthecropofthePouterPigeon，whichmanhasaccumulatedtopleasehiscaprice，havebeendueto\"thecreativeandsustainingpowersofBrahma？\"InthesensethatanomnipotentandomniscientDeitymustorderandknoweverything，thismustbeadmitted;
yet，inhonesttruth，Icanhardlyadmitit。Itseemspreposterousthatamakerofauniverseshouldcareaboutthecropofapigeonsolelytopleaseman’ssillyfancies。ButifyouagreewithmeinthinkingsuchaninterpositionoftheDeityuncalledfor，Icanseenoreasonwhateverforbelievinginsuchinterpositionsinthecaseofnaturalbeings，inwhichstrangeandadmirablepeculiaritieshavebeennaturallyselectedforthecreature’sownbenefit。ImagineaPouterinastateofnaturewadingintothewaterandthen，beingbuoyedupbyitsinflatedcrop，sailingaboutinsearchoffood。Whatadmirationthiswouldhaveexcited——adaptationtothelawsofhydrostaticpressure，etc。etc。ForthelifeofmeIcannotseeanydifficultyinnaturalselectionproducingthemostexquisitestructure，IFSUCHSTRUCTURECANBEARRIVEDATBYGRADATION，andIknowfromexperiencehowharditistonameanystructuretowardswhichatleastsomegradationsarenotknown。
Everyours，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——TheconclusionatwhichIhavecome，asIhavetoldAsaGray，isthatsuchaquestion，asistouchedoninthisnote，isbeyondthehumanintellect，like\"predestinationandfreewill，\"orthe\"originofevil。\"
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[April18th，1860]。
MydearHooker，Ireturn——’sletter……SomeofmyrelationssayitcannotPOSSIBLYbe——’sarticle（The’EdinburghReview。’），becausethereviewerspeakssoveryhighlyof——。Poordearsimplefolk！Mycleverneighbour，Mr。Norman，saysthearticleissobadlywritten，withnodefiniteobject，thatnoonewillreadit。AsaGrayhassentmeanarticle（’NorthAmericanReview，’
April，1860。\"ByProfessorBowen，\"iswrittenonmyfather’scopy。Thepassagereferredtooccursatpage488，wheretheauthorsaysthatweoughttofind\"aninfinitenumberofothervarieties——gross，rude，andpurposeless——theunmeaningcreationsofanunconsciouscause。\"）fromtheUnitedStates，clever，anddeadagainstme。Butoneargumentisfunny。
Thereviewersays，thatifthedoctrineweretrue，geologicalstratawouldbefullofmonsterswhichhavefailed！Averyclearviewthiswriterhadofthestruggleforexistence！……IamgladyoulikeAdamBedesomuch。Iwascharmedwithit……
Wethinkyoumustbymistakehavetakenwithyourownnumbersofthe’NationalReview’mypreciousnumber。（ThisnodoubtreferstotheJanuarynumber，containingDr。Carpenter’sreviewofthe’Origin。’）Iwishyouwouldlook。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，April25th[1860]。
MydearGray，IhavenodoubtIhavetothankyouforthecopyofareviewonthe’Origin’inthe’NorthAmericanReview。’Itseemstomeclever，andIdonotdoubtwilldamagemybook。Ihadmeanttohavemadesomeremarksonit;butLyellwishedmuchtokeepit，andmyheadisquiteconfusedbetweenthemanyreviewswhichIhavelatelyread。Iamsuretherevieweriswrongaboutbees’cells，i。e。aboutthedistance;anylesserdistancewoulddo，orevengreaterdistance，butthensomeoftheplaceswouldlieoutsidethegenerativespheres;butthiswouldnotaddmuchdifficultytothework。
Thereviewertakesastrangeviewofinstinct:heseemstoregardintelligenceasadevelopedinstinct;whichIbelievetobewhollyfalse。
Isuspecthehasnevermuchattendedtoinstinctandthemindsofanimals，exceptperhapsbyreading。
Mychiefobjectistoaskyouifyoucouldprocureformeacopyofthe\"NewYorkTimes\"forWednesday，March28th。ItcontainsAVERYSTRIKING
reviewofmybook，whichIshouldmuchliketokeep。Howcuriousthatthetwomoststrikingreviews（i。e。yoursandthis）shouldhaveappearedinAmerica。Thisreviewisnotreallyuseful，butsomehowisimpressive。
Therewasagoodreviewinthe’RevuedesDeuxMondes，’April1st，byM。
Laugel，saidtobeaverycleverman。
Hooker，aboutafortnightago，stayedhereafewdays，andwasverypleasant;butIthinkheoverworkshimself。Whatagiganticundertaking，I
imagine，hisandBentham’s’GeneraPlantarum’willbe！Ihopehewillnotgettoomuchimmersedinit，soasnottosparesometimeforGeographicalDistributionandothersuchquestions。
Ihavebeguntoworksteadily，butveryslowlyasusual，atdetailsonvariationunderdomestication。
MydearGray，Yoursalwaystrulyandgratefully，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，[May8th，1860]……Ihavesentforthe’CanadianNaturalist。’IfIcannotprocureacopyI
willborrowyours。IhadaletterfromHenslowthismorning，whosaysthatSedgwickwas，onlastMondaynight，toopenabatteryonmeattheCambridgePhilosophicalSociety。Anyhow，Iammuchhonouredbybeingattackedthere，andattheRoyalSocietyofEdinburgh。
IdonotthinkitworthwhiletocontradictsinglecasesnorisitworthwhilearguingagainstthosewhodonotattendtowhatIstate。Amoment’sreflectionwillshowyouthattheremustbe（onourdoctrine）largegeneranotvarying（seepage56onthesubject，inthesecondeditionofthe’Origin’）。ThoughIdonottherediscussthecaseindetail。
Itmaybesheerbigotryformyownnotions，butIprefertotheAtlantis，mynotionofplantsandanimalshavingmigratedfromtheOldtotheNewWorld，orconversely，whentheclimatewasmuchhotter，byapproximatelythelineofBehring’sStraits。Itismostimportant，asyousay，toseelivingformsofplantsgoingbacksofarintime。Iwonderwhetherweshalleverdiscoverthefloraofthedrylandofthecoalperiod，andfinditnotsoanomalousastheswamporcoal—makingflora。IamworkingawayovertheblessedPigeonManuscript;but，fromonecauseoranother，Igetonveryslowly……
ThismorningIgotaletterfromtheAcademyofNaturalSciencesofPhiladelphia，announcingthatIamelectedacorrespondent……ItshowsthatsomeNaturaliststheredonotthinkmesuchascientificprofligateasmanythinkmehere。
MydearLyell，yoursgratefully，C。DARWIN。
P。S。——Whatagrandfactabouttheextinctstag’shornworkedbyman！
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[May13th，1860]。
MydearHooker，IreturnHenslow，whichIwasverygladtosee。Howgoodofhimtodefendme。（AgainstSedgwick’sattackbeforetheCambridgePhilosophicalSociety。）Iwillwriteandthankhim。
AsyousaidyouwerecurioustohearThomson’s（Dr。ThomasThomsontheIndianBotanist。HewasacollaborateurinHookerandThomson’sFloraIndica。1855。）opinion，Isendhiskindletter。Heisevidentlyastrongopposertous……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，[May15th，1860]……HowpaltryitisinsuchmenasX，YandCo。notreadingyouressay。Itisincrediblypaltry。（TheseremarksdonotapplytoDr。Harvey，whowas，however，inasomewhatsimilarposition。Seebelow。）Theymayallattackmetotheirhearts’content。Iamgotcase—hardened。AsfortheoldfogiesinCambridge，itreallysignifiesnothing。Ilookattheirattacksasaproofthatourworkisworththedoing。Itmakesmeresolvetobuckleonmyarmour。Iseeplainlythatitwillbealonguphillfight。ButthinkofLyell’sprogresswithGeology。OnethingIseemostplainly，thatwithoutLyell’s，yours，Huxley’sandCarpenter’said，mybookwouldhavebeenamereflashinthepan。Butifweallsticktoit，weshallsurelygaintheday。AndInowseethatthebattleisworthfighting。Ideeplyhopethatyouthinkso。DoesBenthamprogressatall？IdonotknowwhattosayaboutOxford。（HishealthpreventedhimfromgoingtoOxfordforthemeetingoftheBritishAssociation。）Ishouldlikeitmuchwithyou，butitmustdependonhealth……
Yoursmustaffectionately，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，May18th[1860]。
MydearLyell，IsendaletterfromAsaGraytoshowhowhotlythebattleragesthere。
AlsoonefromWallace，veryjustinhisremarks，thoughtoolaudatoryandtoomodest，andhowadmirablyfreefromenvyorjealousy。Hemustbeagoodfellow。PerhapsIwillenclosealetterfromThomsonofCalcutta;notthatitismuch，butHookerthinkssohighlyofhim……
HenslowinformsmethatSedgwick（Sedgwick’saddressisgivensomewhatabbreviatedin\"TheCambridgeChronicle\"，May19th，1860。）andthenProfessorClarke[sic]（ThelateWilliamClark，ProfessorofAnatomy，myfatherseemstohavemisunderstoodhisinformant。IamassuredbyMr。J。W。
Clarkthathisfather（Prof。Clark）didnotsupportSedgwickintheattack。）madearegularandsavageonslaughtonmybooklatelyattheCambridgePhilosophicalSociety，butHenslowseemstohavedefendedmewell，andmaintainedthatthesubjectwasalegitimateoneforinvestigation。SincethenPhillips（JohnPhillips，M。A。，F。R。S。，born1800，died1874，fromtheeffectsofafall。ProfessorofGeologyatKing’sCollege，London，andafterwardsatOxford。Hegavethe’Rede’
lectureatCambridgeonMay15th，1860，on’TheSuccessionofLifeontheearth。’TheRedeLecturerisappointedannuallybytheVice—Chancellor，andispaidbyanendowmentleftin1524bySirRobertRede，LordChiefJustice，inthereignofHenryVIII。）hasgivenlecturesatCambridgeonthesamesubject，buttreateditveryfairly。HowsplendidlyAsaGrayisfightingthebattle。Theeffectonmeofthesemultipliedattacksissimplytoshowmethatthesubjectisworthfightingfor，andassuredlyI
willdomybest……Ihopealltheattacksmakeyoukeepupyourcourage，andcourageyouassuredlywillrequire……
CHARLESDARWINTOA。R。WALLACE。
Down，May18th，1860。
MydearMr。Wallace，IreceivedthismorningyourletterfromAmboyna，datedFebruary16th，containingsomeremarksandyourtoohighapprovalofmybook。Yourletterhaspleasedmeverymuch，andImostcompletelyagreewithyouonthepartswhicharestrongestandwhichareweakest。TheimperfectionoftheGeologicalRecordis，asyousay，theweakestofall;butyetIampleasedtofindthattherearealmostmoregeologicalconvertsthanofpursuersofotherbranchesofnaturalscience……Ithinkgeologistsaremoreeasilyconvertedthansimplenaturalists，becausemoreaccustomedtoreasoning。
Beforetellingyouabouttheprogressofopiniononthesubject，youmustletmesayhowIadmirethegenerousmannerinwhichyouspeakofmybook。
Mostpersonswouldinyourpositionhavefeltsomeenvyorjealousy。Hownoblyfreeyouseemtobeofthiscommonfailingofmankind。Butyouspeakfartoomodestlyofyourself。Youwould，ifyouhadmyleisure，havedonetheworkjustaswell，perhapsbetter，thanIhavedoneit……Agassizsendsmeapersonalcivilmessage，butincessantlyattacksme;
butAsaGrayfightslikeaheroindefence。Lyellkeepsasfirmasatower，andthisAutumnwillpublishonthe’GeologicalHistoryofMan，’andwillthendeclarehisconversion，whichnowisuniversallyknown。IhopethatyouhavereceivedHooker’ssplendidessay……YesterdayIheardfromLyellthataGerman，Dr。Schaaffhausen（HermannSchaaffhausen’UeberBestandigkeitundUmwandlungderArten。’Verhandl。d。Naturhist。Vereins，Bonn，1853。See’Origin，’HistoricalSketch。），hassenthimapamphletpublishedsomeyearsago，inwhichthesameviewisnearlyanticipated;butIhavenotyetseenthispamphlet。Mybrother，whoisaverysagaciousman，alwayssaid，\"youwillfindthatsomeonewillhavebeenbeforeyou。\"
Iamatworkatmylargerwork，whichIshallpublishinaseparatevolume。
Butfromill—healthandswarmsofletters，Igetonveryveryslowly。I
hopethatIshallnothaveweariedyouwiththesedetails。Withsincerethanksforyourletter，andwithmostdeeplyfeltwishesforyoursuccessinscience，andineveryway，believeme，Yoursincerewell—wisher，C。DARWIN。
CHARLESDARWINTOASAGRAY。
Down，May22nd1860。
MydearGray，AgainIhavetothankyouforoneofyourverypleasantlettersofMay7th，enclosingaverypleasantremittanceof22pounds。Iaminsimpletruthastonishedatallthekindtroubleyouhavetakenforme。IreturnAppleton’saccount。ForthechanceofyourwishingforaformalacknowledgmentIsendone。IfyouhaveanyfurthercommunicationtotheAppletons，prayexpressmyacknowledgmentfor[their]generosity;foritisgenerosityinmyopinion。Iamnotatallsurprisedatthesalediminishing;myextremesurpriseisatthegreatnessofthesale。NodoubtthepublichasbeenSHAMEFULLYimposedon！fortheyboughtthebookthinkingthatitwouldbeniceeasyreading。IexpectthesaletostopsooninEngland，yetLyellwrotetometheotherdaythatcallingatMurray’sheheardthatfiftycopieshadgoneinthepreviousforty—eighthours。Iamextremelygladthatyouwillnoticein’Silliman’theadditionsinthe’Origin。’Judgingfromletters（andIhavejustseenonefromThwaitestoHooker），andfromremarks，themostseriousomissioninmybookwasnotexplaininghowitis，asIbelieve，thatallformsdonotnecessarilyadvance，howtherecannowbeSIMPLEorganismsstillexisting……IhearthereisaVERYseverereviewonmeinthe’NorthBritish，’byaRev。Mr。Dunns（ThisstatementastoauthorshipwasmadeontheauthorityofRobertChambers。），aFreeKirkminister，anddabblerinNaturalHistory。IshouldbeverygladtoseeanygoodAmericanreviews，astheyareallmoreorlessuseful。Yousaythatyoushalltouchonotherreviews。Huxleytoldmesometimeagothatafteratimehewouldwriteareviewonallthereviews，whetherhewillIknownot。Ifyoualludetothe’Edinburgh，’praynoticeSOMEofthepointswhichIwillpointoutonaseparateslip。Inthe\"SaturdayReview\"（oneofourcleverestperiodicals）
ofMay5th，page573，thereisanicearticleon[the’Edinburgh’]review，defendingHuxley，butnotHooker;andthelatter，Ithink，[the’Edinburgh’
reviewer]treatsmostungenerously。（InalettertoMr。Huxleymyfatherwrote:\"Haveyouseenthelast\"SaturdayReview\"？Iamverygladofthedefenceofyouandofmyself。IwishthereviewerhadnoticedHooker。Thereviewer，whoeverheis，isajollygoodfellow，asthisreviewandthelastonmeshowed。Hewritescapitally，andunderstandswellhissubject。
Iwishhehadslapped[the’Edinburgh’reviewer]alittlebitharder。\"）
Butsurelyyouwillgetsickuntodeathofmeandmyreviewers。
Withrespecttothetheologicalviewofthequestion。Thisisalwayspainfultome。Iambewildered。Ihadnointentiontowriteatheistically。ButIownthatIcannotseeasplainlyasothersdo，andasIshouldwishtodo，evidenceofdesignandbeneficenceonallsidesofus。
Thereseemstometoomuchmiseryintheworld。IcannotpersuademyselfthatabeneficentandomnipotentGodwouldhavedesignedlycreatedtheIchneumonidaewiththeexpressintentionoftheirfeedingwithinthelivingbodiesofCaterpillars，orthatacatshouldplaywithmice。Notbelievingthis，Iseenonecessityinthebeliefthattheeyewasexpresslydesigned。
Ontheotherhand，Icannotanyhowbecontentedtoviewthiswonderfuluniverse，andespeciallythenatureofman，andtoconcludethateverythingistheresultofbruteforce。Iaminclinedtolookateverythingasresultingfromdesignedlaws，withthedetails，whethergoodorbad，lefttotheworkingoutofwhatwemaycallchance。NotthatthisnotionATALL
satisfiesme。Ifeelmostdeeplythatthewholesubjectistooprofoundforthehumanintellect。AdogmightaswellspeculateonthemindofNewton。Leteachmanhopeandbelievewhathecan。CertainlyIagreewithyouthatmyviewsarenotatallnecessarilyatheistical。Thelightningkillsaman，whetheragoodoneorbadone，owingtotheexcessivelycomplexactionofnaturallaws。Achild（whomayturnoutanidiot）isbornbytheactionofevenmorecomplexlaws，andIcanseenoreasonwhyaman，orotheranimal，maynothavebeenaboriginallyproducedbyotherlaws，andthatalltheselawsmayhavebeenexpresslydesignedbyanomniscientCreator，whoforesaweveryfutureeventandconsequence。ButthemoreIthinkthemorebewilderedIbecome;asindeedIprobablyhaveshownbythisletter。
MostdeeplydoIfeelyourgenerouskindnessandinterest。
Yourssincerelyandcordially，CHARLESDARWIN。
{Herefollowmyfather’scriticismsonthe’EdinburghReview’:
\"WhataquibbletopretendhedidnotunderstandwhatImeantbyINHABITANTSofSouthAmerica;andanyonewouldsupposethatIhadnotthroughoutmyvolumetouchedonGeographicalDistribution。HeignoresalsoeverythingwhichIhavesaidonClassification，GeologicalSuccession，Homologies，Embryology，andRudimentaryOrgans——page496。
HefalselyapplieswhatIsaid（toorudely）about\"blindnessofpreconceivedopinions\"tothosewhobelieveincreation，whereasI
exclusivelyapplytheremarktothosewhogiveupmultitudesofspeciesastruespecies，butbelieveintheremainder——page500。
HeslightlyalterswhatIsay，——IASKwhethercreationistsreallybelievethatelementalatomshaveflashedintolife。HesaysthatIdescribethemassobelieving，andthis，surely，isadifference——page501。
Hespeaksofmy\"clamouringagainst\"allwhobelieveincreation，andthisseemstomeanunjustaccusation——page501。
Hemakesmesaythatthedorsalvertebraevary;thisissimplyfalse:I
nowheresayawordaboutdorsalvertebrae——page522。
Whatanilliberalsentencethatisaboutmypretensiontocandour，andaboutmyrushingthroughbarrierswhichstoppedCuvier:suchanargumentwouldstopanyprogressinscience——page525。
HowdisingenuoustoquotefrommyremarktoyouaboutmyBRIEFletter[publishedinthe’Linn。Soc。Journal’]，asifitappliedtothewholesubject——page530。
Howdisingenuoustosaythatwearecalledontoacceptthetheory，fromtheimperfectionofthegeologicalrecord，whenIoverandoveragain[say]
howgraveadifficultytheimperfectionoffers——page530。\"]
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，May30th[1860]。
MydearHooker，IreturnHarvey’sletter，IhavebeenverygladtoseethereasonwhyhehasnotreadyourEssay。Ifeareditwasbigotry，andIamgladtoseethathegoesalittleway（VERYMUCHfurtherthanIsupposed）withus……
IwasnotsorryforanaturalopportunityofwritingtoHarvey，justtoshowthatIwasnotpiquedathisturningmeandmybookintoridicule（A
\"serio—comicsquib，\"readbeforethe’DublinUniversityZoologicalandBotanicalAssociation，’February17，1860，andprivatelyprinted。Myfather’spresentationcopyisinscribed\"Withthewriter’sREPENTANCE，October1860。\"），notthatIthinkitwasaproceedingwhichIdeserved，orworthyofhim。ItdelightsmethatyouareinterestedinwatchingtheprogressofopiniononthechangeofSpecies;Ifearedthatyouwerewearyofthesubject;andthereforedidnotsendA。Gray’sletters。ThebattleragesfuriouslyintheUnitedStates。Graysayshewaspreparingaspeech，whichwouldtake11/2hourstodeliver，andwhichhe\"fondlyhopedwouldbeastunner。\"Heisfightingsplendidly，andthereseemstohavebeenmanydiscussionswithAgassizandothersatthemeetings。Agassizpitiesmemuchatbeingsodeluded。Asfortheprogressofopinion，Iclearlyseethatitwillbeexcessivelyslow，almostasslowasthechangeofspecies……Iamgettingweariedatthestormofhostilereviewsandhardlyanyuseful……
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，Fridaynight[June1st，1860]……HaveyouseenHopkins（WilliamHopkinsdiedin1866，\"inhisseventy—
thirdyear。\"HebeganlifewithafarminSuffolk，butultimatelyentered，comparativelylateinlife，atPeterhouse，Cambridge;hetookhisdegreein1827，andafterwardbecameanEsquireBedelloftheUniversity。Hewaschieflyknownasamathematical\"coach，\"andwaseminentlysuccessfulinthemanufactureofSeniorWranglers。NeverthelessMr。Stephensays（’LifeofFawcett，’page26）thathe\"wasconspicuousforinculcating\"a\"liberalviewofthestudiesoftheplace。Heendeavouredtostimulateaphilosophicalinterestinthemathematicalsciences，insteadofsimplyrousinganardourforcompetition。\"Hecontributedmanypapersongeologicalandmathematicalsubjectstothescientificjournals。Hehadastronginfluenceforgoodovertheyoungermenwithwhomhecameincontact。TheletterwhichhewrotetoHenryFawcettontheoccasionofhisblindnessillustratesthis。Mr。Stephensays（’LifeofFawcett，’page48）
thatby\"thistimelywordofgoodcheer，\"Fawcettwasrousedfrom\"histemporaryprostration，\"andenabledtotakea\"morecheerfulandresolutetone。\"）inthenew’Fraser’？thepublicwill，Ishouldthink，finditheavy。Hewillbedeadagainstme，asyouprophesied;butheisgenerallyciviltomepersonally。（’Fraser’sMagazine，’June1860。Myfather，nodoubt，referstothefollowingpassage，page752，wheretheReviewerExpresseshis\"fullparticipationinthehighrespectinwhichtheauthorisuniversallyheld，bothasamanandanaturalist;andthemoreso，becauseintheremarkswhichwillfollowinthesecondpartofthisEssayweshallbefoundtodifferwidelyfromhimasregardsmanyofhisconclusionsandthereasoningsonwhichhehasfoundedthem，andshallclaimthefullrighttoexpresssuchdifferencesofopinionwithallthatfreedomwhichtheinterestsofscientifictruthdemands，andwhichwearesureMr。Darwinwouldbeoneofthelasttorefusetoanyonepreparedtoexerciseitwithcandourandcourtesy。\"Speakingofthisreview，myfatherwrotetoDr。AsaGray:\"Ihaveremonstratedwithhim[Hopkins]forsocoollysayingthatIbasemyviewsonwhatIreckonasgreatdifficulties。
Anyone，bytakingthesedifficultiesalone，canmakeamoststrongcaseagainstme。Icouldmyselfwriteamoredamningreviewthanhasasyetappeared！\"AsecondnoticebyHopkinsappearedintheJulynumberof’Fraser’sMagazine。’）Onhisstandardofproof，NATURALsciencewouldneverprogress，forwithoutthemakingoftheoriesIamconvincedtherewouldbenoobservation……Ihavebegunreadingthe’NorthBritish’（May1860。），whichsofarstrikesmeasclever。
Phillips’sLectureatCambridgeistobepublished。
Allthesereiteratedattackswilltellheavily;therewillbenomoreconverts，andprobablysomewillgoback。Ihopeyoudonotgrowdisheartened，Iamdeterminedtofighttothelast。Ihear，however，thatthegreatBucklehighlyapprovesofmybook。
IhavehadanotefrompoorBlyth（EdwardBlyth，1810—1873。Hisindomitableloveofnaturalhistorymadehimneglectthedruggist’sbusinesswithwhichhestartedinlife，andhesoongotintoseriousdifficulties。AftersupportinghimselfforafewyearsasawriteronFieldNaturalHistory，heultimatelywentouttoIndiaasCuratoroftheMuseumoftheR。AsiaticSoc。ofBengal，wherethegreaterpartofhisworkinglifewasspent。HischiefpublicationswerethemonthlyreportsmadeaspartofhisdutytotheSociety。Hehadstoredinhisremarkablememoryawonderfulwealthofknowledge，especiallywithregardtothemammaliaandbirdsofIndia——knowledgeofwhichhefreelygavetothosewhoasked。Hisletterstomyfathergiveevidenceofhavingbeencarefullystudied，andthelonglistofentriesafterhisnameintheindexto’AnimalsandPlants，’showhowmuchhelpwasreceivedfromhim。Hislifewasanunprosperousandunhappyone，fullofmoneydifficultiesanddarkenedbythedeathofhiswifeafterafewyearsofmarriage。），ofCalcutta，whoismuchdisappointedathearingthatLordCanningwillnotgrantanymoney;soImuchfearthatallyourgreatpainswillbethrownaway。Blythsays（andheisinmanyrespectsaverygoodjudge）thathisideasonspeciesarequiterevolutionised……
CHARLESDARWINTOJ。D。HOOKER。
Down，June5th[1860]。
MydearHooker，Itisapleasuretometowritetoyou，asIhavenoonetotalkaboutsuchmattersaswewriteon。ButIseriouslybegyounottowritetomeunlesssoinclined;forbusyasyouare，andseeingmanypeople，thecaseisverydifferentbetweenus……
Haveyouseen——’sabusivearticleonme？……Itoutdoeseventhe’NorthBritish’and’Edinburgh’inmisapprehensionandmisrepresentation。Ineverknewanythingsounfairasindiscussingcellsofbees，hisignoringthecaseofMelipona，whichbuildscombsalmostexactlyintermediatebetweenhiveandhumblebees。Whathas——donethathefeelssoimmeasurablysuperiortoalluswretchednaturalists，andtoallpoliticaleconomists，includingthatgreatphilosopherMalthus？Thisreview，however，andHarvey’sletterhaveconvincedmethatImustbeaverybadexplainer。
NeitherreallyunderstandwhatImeanbyNaturalSelection。Iaminclinedtogiveuptheattemptashopeless。Thosewhodonotunderstand，itseems，cannotbemadetounderstand。
Bytheway，Ithink，weentirelyagree，exceptperhapsthatIusetooforciblelanguageaboutselection。Ientirelyagree，indeedwouldalmostgofurtherthanyouwhenyousaythatclimate（i。e。variabilityfromallunknowncauses）is\"anactivehandmaid，influencingitsmistressmostmaterially。\"Indeed，IhaveneverhintedthatNaturalSelectionis\"theefficientcausetotheexclusionoftheother，\"i。e。variabilityfromClimate，etc。TheverytermSELECTIONimpliessomething，i。e。variationordifference，tobeselected……
Howdoesyourbookprogress（Imeanyourgeneralsortofbookonplants），I
hopetoGodyouwillbemoresuccessfulthanIhavebeeninmakingpeopleunderstandyourmeaning。Ishouldbegintothinkmyselfwhollyinthewrong，andthatIwasanutterfool，butthenIcannotyetpersuademyself，thatLyell，andyouandHuxley，Carpenter，AsaGray，andWatson，etc。，areallfoolstogether。Well，timewillshow，andnothingbuttime。
Farewell……
CHARLESDARWINTOC。LYELL。
Down，June6th[1860]……Itconsolesmethat——sneersatMalthus，forthatclearlyshows，mathematicianthoughhemaybe，hecannotunderstandcommonreasoning。BythewaywhatadiscouragingexampleMalthusis，toshowduringwhatlongyearstheplainestcasemaybemisrepresentedandmisunderstood。Ihavereadthe’Future’;howcuriousitisthatseveralofmyreviewersshouldadvancesuchwildarguments，asthatvarietiesofdogsandcatsdonotmingle;andshouldbringuptheoldexplodeddoctrineofdefiniteanalogies……Iambeginningtodespairofevermakingthemajorityunderstandmynotions。EvenHopkinsdoesnotthoroughly。Bytheway，I
havebeensomuchpleasedbythewayhepersonallyalludestome。Imustbeaverybadexplainer。IhopetoHeaventhatyouwillsucceedbetter。