Ɛpsilon

To J. D. Hooker   6 December [1860]1

[Down]

Dec 6th.

My dear Hooker.

Get hold of Macmillan for Fawcetts article on the Origin, for he quotes your splendid speech at Oxford with admirable effect.—2 He alludes to Huxley, the Bishop & the Ape.—3 He evidently thinks the discussion at Oxford was first rate

C. D

1
Dated by the reference to Henry Fawcett’s article on Origin (Fawcett 1860).
2
The final paragraph of Fawcett’s essay quoted a passage said to be taken from Hooker’s speech at the Oxford meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science defending CD and his views (Fawcett 1860, p. 92): I knew of this theory fifteen years ago; I was then entirely opposed to it; I argued against it again and again; but since then I have devoted myself unremittingly to natural history; in its pursuit I have travelled round the world. Facts in this science which before were inexplicable to me became one by one explained by this theory, and conviction has been thus gradually forced upon an unwilling convert.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-3011,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-3011