GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 30 November 1868
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 30 November 1868
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 30 November 1868
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray
Date(s)
- 1868-11-30
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 30 November 1868
MS: Yale. Extract published: Cross, III, 67-68.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
November 30. 68.
My dear Cara
It is delightful news that the Sydenham house is let, and that your anxieties are so far diminished. But please remember that what I said refers to any Christmas, or any time in the calendar, which finds us all above-ground. 839
I like to think of your painting the physiological charts, 840 although they tire your eyes a little, for you must be sure that the good of each work is of a kind that goes deep into young lives. "Fearfully and wonderfully made" 841 are words quite unshaken by any theories as to the making, and I think a great awe in the contemplation of man's delicate structure, freighted with terrible destinies, is one of the most important parts of education. A much-writing acquaintance of ours one day expressed his alarm for "the masses," at the departure of a religion which had terror in it. Surely terror is provided for sufficiently in this life of ours -- if only the dread could be directed towards the really dreadful!
It is a very pretty picture that you have made for me of the hour on Sunday morning -- an hour which I have often shared in old days. 842 Tell Mr. Bray he must consider any book of mine that he likes reading as an "allotropic" condition of the old troublesome Marian, and take the later form as some amends for the earlier.
When one has a pain over the left eye and a palpitation of the heart, it is desirable to know that one's life may be some little good or pleasure to others. Always, dear Cara
Yours lovingly
Marian.
MS: Yale. Extract published: Cross, III, 67-68.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
November 30. 68.
My dear Cara
It is delightful news that the Sydenham house is let, and that your anxieties are so far diminished. But please remember that what I said refers to any Christmas, or any time in the calendar, which finds us all above-ground. 839
I like to think of your painting the physiological charts, 840 although they tire your eyes a little, for you must be sure that the good of each work is of a kind that goes deep into young lives. "Fearfully and wonderfully made" 841 are words quite unshaken by any theories as to the making, and I think a great awe in the contemplation of man's delicate structure, freighted with terrible destinies, is one of the most important parts of education. A much-writing acquaintance of ours one day expressed his alarm for "the masses," at the departure of a religion which had terror in it. Surely terror is provided for sufficiently in this life of ours -- if only the dread could be directed towards the really dreadful!
It is a very pretty picture that you have made for me of the hour on Sunday morning -- an hour which I have often shared in old days. 842 Tell Mr. Bray he must consider any book of mine that he likes reading as an "allotropic" condition of the old troublesome Marian, and take the later form as some amends for the earlier.
When one has a pain over the left eye and a palpitation of the heart, it is desirable to know that one's life may be some little good or pleasure to others. Always, dear Cara
Yours lovingly
Marian.
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, London, 30 November 1868, 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/93305