A PKOTAGONIST OF EVOLUTION 427 



the drama of the birth of Evolutionary Theory which gives him 

 a permanent place in the History of Human Thought. He was 

 an almost life-long friend of Charles Darwin. He was the first 

 confidant to whom the Species Theory was entrusted. Except- 

 ing Wallace, he was its first whole-hearted adherent. He 

 was also Darwin's constant and welcome adviser and critic, 

 drawing upon his unrivalled knowledge of botanical detail 

 as evidence for, or check upon, the advancing theoretical 

 position. The published letters of Darwin reveal in a way 

 that none of the completed works of Darwin or of Hooker could 

 have done, the steps in the growth of the great generalisation, 

 and the part in it which Hooker himself took. We read of 

 the doubt of one or the other : the gradual accumulation of 

 material facts : the criticisms and amendments in face of new 

 evidence : and the slow progress from tentative hypothesis 

 to assured belief. We ourselves hav.e grown up since the clash 

 of opinion for and against the mutability of species died down. 

 It is hard for us to understand the strength of the feelings 

 aroused : the bitterness of the attack by the opponents of 

 the theory, and the fortitude demanded from its adherents. 

 It is best to obtain evidence on such matters at first hand ; 

 and this is what is supplied by the correspondence between 

 Darwin and Hooker. From the letters it is clear that his 

 friendship, advice, and alliance were of incalculable benefit 

 to Darwin himself, who summed this up in the words : * You 

 have represented for many years the whole great public to 

 me.' But while this in itself gives Hooker his natural place 

 in history, it must never be forgotten that he himself upheld 

 in the ' Flora Tasmaniae ' the mutability of species, and based 

 his opinion, as Darwin stated, on * his own self-thought.' 

 Among botanists Hooker was in fact the Protagonist of 

 Evolution. His influence during that stirring period, though 

 quiet, was far-reaching and deep. His work was both critical 

 and constructive. His wide knowledge, his keen insight, his 

 fearless judgment were invaluable in advancing that intellectual 

 revolution which found its pivot in the mutability of species. 

 The share he took in it was second only to that of his life-long 

 friend, Charles Darwin. 



