Ɛpsilon

WCP2244

Letter (WCP2244.2134)

[1]

April 30/70

My dear Mr Wallace

I thank you very much for your contributions,1 many of which I have reread in their new form with as much pleasure as I did their old.

That on the action of N. S.2 on man,3 still strikes me as the most original & suggestive. That on its "limits"4 I had not seen, it seems to me to be [2] wonderfully acute,5 that I cannot do find it altogether satisfactory — but the fact is that in the present condition of the human sensorium6 the subject is beyond full treatment.

Very sincerely yrs

Jos. D. Hooker7 [signature]

1
Wallace, A. R. 1870. Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection. A Series of Essays. London: Macmillan & Co.
2
“action of N. S.” encircled in pencil presumably by ARW.
3
Wallace, A. R. 1870. The Development of Human Races under the Law of Natural Selection. (Pages following title page are headed "The Action of Natural Selection on Man"). Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection. A Series of Essays. London: Macmillan & Co.[pp. 302-331]. "action of N.S" is circled in pencil in an unknown hand.
4
Wallace, A. R. 1870. The Limits of Natural Selection as Applied to Man. Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection. A Series of Essays. London: Macmillan & Co. [pp. 332-371].
5
“acute”, encircled in pencil presumably by ARW.
6
“sensorium”, encircled in pencil presumably by ARW.
7
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer. Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1865-85. President of the Royal Society 1873-78.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2244.2134)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-02-21] Transcription checked by Congerton, John [2019-02-21] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Lucas, Paula18/04/2026 [2022-07-19]

Please cite as “WCP2244,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2244