Ɛpsilon

To F. H. Hooker   31 January [1868]1

Down, | Bromley. | Kent S.E.

Jan. 31st

My dear Mrs. Hooker

I must have the pleasure of thanking you, in which Emma joins, for your very kind note of congratulation. The whole affair has given us intense satisfaction, & no doubt we who have lived in Cambridge appreciate the honour more fully than any outsider can do.—2 George will try for a fellowship at Trinity, but will not, I believe, be content with a drone’s life, though what he will do we are not yet quite decided.3 The more I read on Education the more difficult it seems to come to any definite conclusion, what is the best course; & I am rather inclined to think that real education does not begin till after school & college days; at least I am sure this was the case with myself.—4

With many thanks, pray believe me, | My dear Mrs. Hooker | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from F. H. Hooker, [26 January 1868] (Correspondence vol. 16).
2
See Correspondence vol. 16, letter from F. H. Hooker, [26 January 1868]. George Howard Darwin was second wrangler at Cambridge in 1868, that is, he was second in the final examination for the mathematical tripos (Cambridge University calendar 1868).
3
George was elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in autumn 1868, after which he studied law in London from 1869 to 1872 (ODNB).
4
Hooker had read a collection of essays that criticised the traditional classical education in English schools and universities (Farrar ed. 1867; see Correspondence vol. 16, letter from F. H. Hooker, [26 January 1868] and n. 4).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10822,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10822