2 00 
A. C. Seward. 
The correspondence between the two friends began in December, 
1843, soon after Hooker’s return from the Antarctic voyage. It is 
interesting to note that in his first letter Darwin asked Hooker to 
study his botanical collections from the Galapagos Islands, the 
Islands which exerted so strong an influence on Darwin’s views in 
regard to species. “ I was so struck,” wrote Darwin to Hooker in 
1844, “with the distribution of the Galapagos organisms, &c., &c., 
that I determined to collect blindly every sort of fact, which could 
bear any way on what are species.” 1 It was to Hooker that his 
new ideas on the origin of species were first communicated. The 
earlier letters contain numerous references to the immutability of 
species, the origin of new forms, and similar subjects. Hooker’s 
botanical knowledge, his cautious and doubting attitude towards 
Darwin’s as yet partially formulated views played an important 
part in the construction of the “ Origin of Species.” The frank 
interchange of opinions was a powerful stimulus as well as a source 
of pleasure to both, though it is impossible to form more than a 
general estimate of the influence exerted by each on the other. 
“Again I thank you,” wrote Darwin in 1858 “for your invaluable 
assistance . . . Adios, you terrible worrier of poor theorists.” 
And later in the same year, “ You may say what you like, but you 
will never convince me that I do not owe you ten times as much as 
you can owe me.” In another letter Darwin wrote, “My dear old 
friend, a letter from you always does me a world of good. And, the 
Lord have mercy on me, what a return I make.” 3 
The following passages are quoted from letters written in the 
years preceding the publication of the “Origin.” In 1844 Darwin 
wrote to Hooker, “ but in my most sanguine moments, all I expect 
is that I shall be able to show even to sound Naturalists, that there 
are two sides to the question of the immutability of species;—that 
facts can be viewed and grouped under the notion of allied species 
having descended from common stocks.” 4 In the following year he 
wrote, “ All of what you kindly say about my species work does not 
alter one iota my long self-acknowledged presumption in accumulating 
facts and speculating on the subject of variation, without having 
worked out my due share of species. ... I never perceived but one 
fault in you, and that you have grievously, viz., modesty; you form 
an exception to Sydney Smith’s aphorism, that merit and modesty 
1 L. and L., Vol. II, p. 23. 
2 M. L., Vol. I, p. 105. 
3 M. L., Vol. II, p. 272. 
4 h. and L., Vol. II., p. 29. 
