428 HOOKER'S POSITION AS BOTANIST 



When we review these varied activities, extending through 

 out the long life of Sir Joseph Hooker, it is not difficult t< 

 account for the pre-eminent position which he held arnon; 

 his contemporaries. This estimate will be an enduring one 

 For the quality and extent of the systematic work is sue] 

 that its effect must be felt wherever Flowering Plants ar 

 denned and classified. On the other hand, the originalit 

 of the generalisations on Geographical Distribution, and o 

 the Species Question, has lifted current opinion into ne^ 

 channels, and so altered it that his place in the History c 

 Human Thought is for ever assured. 1 



1 Foreign opinion has been aptly called a court of contemporary posterit; 

 Recalling this, it is interesting to record that soon after Hooker's death he w; 

 selected by the Japanese as ' one of the twenty-nine Heroes of the World thi 

 Modern Time has produced.' — L. H. 



