i86c.] LETTER TO ASA GRAY. j^y 



they would make some quite new class, and not mammals ; 

 though possibly more intellectual ! I have not an idea that 

 you will care for this letter, so speculative. 



Most truly yours, 



C. Darwin. 



C. Darwin to Asa Gray. 



Down, Sept. 26 [i860]. 



.... I have had a letter of fourteen folio pages from 

 Harvey against my book, with some ingenious and new 

 remarks ; but it is an extraordinary fact that he does not 

 understand at all what I mean by Natural Selection. I have 

 begged him to read the Dialogue in next ' Silliman,' as you 

 never touch the subject without making it clearer. I look at 

 it as even more extraordinary that you never say a word or 

 use an epithet which does not express fully my meaning. 

 Now Lyell, Hooker, and others, who perfectly understand my 

 book, yet sometimes use expressions to which I demur. Well, 

 your extraordinary labour is over ; if there is any fair amount 

 of truth in my view, I am well assured that your great labour 

 has not been thrown away. . . . 



I yet hope and almost believe, that the time will come 

 when you will go further, in believing a very large amount of 

 modification of species, than you did at first or do now. Can 

 you tell me whether you believe further or more firmly than 

 you did at first ? I should really like to know this. I can 

 perceive in my immense correspondence with Lyell, who 

 objected to much at first, that he has, perhaps unconsciously 

 to himself, converted himself very much during the last six 

 months, and I think this is the case even with Hooker. This 

 fact gives me far more confidence than any other fact. 



