GE to John Chapman, Coventry, 18 September [1851]
Title
GE to John Chapman, Coventry, 18 September [1851]
Title
GE to John Chapman, Coventry, 18 September [1851]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
John Chapman
Date(s)
- 1851-09-18
Place
COVENTRY
Letter Content
GE to John Chapman, Coventry, 18 September [1851]
MS: Wellesley. Endorsed: Miss Evans '51. Hitherto unpublished.
Rosehill | September 18.
My dear Friend
The subject of the enclosed letters 998 shall be sacred with me.
I think Call's plan -- of a condensed translation -- the best possible in the hands of a person having the requisite judgment and power of writing. It is true that Harriet Martineau's style is admirably adapted for the people, clear, spirited, idiomatic, but I should have less confidence in the equal fitness of her calibre of mind for rendering a trustworthy account of Comte's work. I should augur much greater depth in Call -- knowing nothing of him, however, beyond his poetry 999 and a letter or two. But, as Miss M. intimates, the question of what you are to do in the matter turns upon this other question -- Does Call's version fulfil the conditions demanded by her and Mr. Lombe's views? -- is it one fitted for circulation among the people? That you can only ascertain by stating the whole case to him -- as I suppose you have done. If he had the prospect of seeing his work ushered into the world by Mr. Lombe's £500 he would perhaps not object to send a specimen to the parties interested. It would be a shame for his labour to be wasted if it be of the right kind. Miss Martineau disclaims any egotism in the affair, but she evidently thinks no one can be so fit for the work as herself. This I doubt -- nor do I think her name in the title-page would be of much value now -- at least not more than "a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge" 1000 as the case may be.
Find out the quality of Call's translation if possible -- and if it be satisfactory use your influence on his side -- of course with all possible delicacy towards Harriet Martineau, who after all is an admirable woman worth twenty of the people who are sniffing at her.
The Combes are still here 1001 -- Mrs. Bray in bed -- and I rather bored.
Yours faithfully
M. E.
MS: Wellesley. Endorsed: Miss Evans '51. Hitherto unpublished.
Rosehill | September 18.
My dear Friend
The subject of the enclosed letters 998 shall be sacred with me.
I think Call's plan -- of a condensed translation -- the best possible in the hands of a person having the requisite judgment and power of writing. It is true that Harriet Martineau's style is admirably adapted for the people, clear, spirited, idiomatic, but I should have less confidence in the equal fitness of her calibre of mind for rendering a trustworthy account of Comte's work. I should augur much greater depth in Call -- knowing nothing of him, however, beyond his poetry 999 and a letter or two. But, as Miss M. intimates, the question of what you are to do in the matter turns upon this other question -- Does Call's version fulfil the conditions demanded by her and Mr. Lombe's views? -- is it one fitted for circulation among the people? That you can only ascertain by stating the whole case to him -- as I suppose you have done. If he had the prospect of seeing his work ushered into the world by Mr. Lombe's £500 he would perhaps not object to send a specimen to the parties interested. It would be a shame for his labour to be wasted if it be of the right kind. Miss Martineau disclaims any egotism in the affair, but she evidently thinks no one can be so fit for the work as herself. This I doubt -- nor do I think her name in the title-page would be of much value now -- at least not more than "a graduate of Oxford or Cambridge" 1000 as the case may be.
Find out the quality of Call's translation if possible -- and if it be satisfactory use your influence on his side -- of course with all possible delicacy towards Harriet Martineau, who after all is an admirable woman worth twenty of the people who are sniffing at her.
The Combes are still here 1001 -- Mrs. Bray in bed -- and I rather bored.
Yours faithfully
M. E.
Signature
M. E.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to John Chapman, Coventry, 18 September [1851], Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/92782