GHL to Lord Amberley, London, 14 October 1865
Title
GHL to Lord Amberley, London, 14 October 1865
Title
GHL to Lord Amberley, London, 14 October 1865
Sender
George Henry Lewes
Recipient
Lord Amberley
Date(s)
- 1865-10-14
Place
London
Letter Content
GHL to Lord Amberley, London, 14 October 1865
672
MS: The Bertrand Russell Archives, McMaster University. Published: The Amberley Papers, 2 vols., 1937, I, 432-433.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
4 October 65.
My Lord
The paper on Young England, according to my conception of it, could only be written effectively by a young man, because it should set forth what the young men really think, and not what their seniors think they think, or think they ought to think. It is a subject which demands above all things sincerity, and with the courage to speak plainly the talent to speak effectively: two qualities which I recognized in your lordship, and which led me to hope that you might undertake the task.
The young men of our day have their own views of political social and religious questions -- views in advance of and sometimes divergent from those of their seniors -- adumbrating an ideal which may or may not be practicable but which at any rate must be the guide for them. It is important for them and for the public to know what it is they aim at -- what are the serious hopes and convictions which animate them.
I presume that you are sufficiently acquainted with the views of your own contemporaries -- especially of your own class -- certainly of your own personal convictions; and I cannot but think that you would fix public attention by a statement of your mental attitude, should your leisure and inclination permit it.
At the risk of appearing intrusive I have thus recurred to the subject which I will now leave to your lordship's consideration
And remain | My Lord
Your lordship's obedient servant
G. H. Lewes.
The Rt. Honble Viscount Amberley
672
MS: The Bertrand Russell Archives, McMaster University. Published: The Amberley Papers, 2 vols., 1937, I, 432-433.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
4 October 65.
My Lord
The paper on Young England, according to my conception of it, could only be written effectively by a young man, because it should set forth what the young men really think, and not what their seniors think they think, or think they ought to think. It is a subject which demands above all things sincerity, and with the courage to speak plainly the talent to speak effectively: two qualities which I recognized in your lordship, and which led me to hope that you might undertake the task.
The young men of our day have their own views of political social and religious questions -- views in advance of and sometimes divergent from those of their seniors -- adumbrating an ideal which may or may not be practicable but which at any rate must be the guide for them. It is important for them and for the public to know what it is they aim at -- what are the serious hopes and convictions which animate them.
I presume that you are sufficiently acquainted with the views of your own contemporaries -- especially of your own class -- certainly of your own personal convictions; and I cannot but think that you would fix public attention by a statement of your mental attitude, should your leisure and inclination permit it.
At the risk of appearing intrusive I have thus recurred to the subject which I will now leave to your lordship's consideration
And remain | My Lord
Your lordship's obedient servant
G. H. Lewes.
The Rt. Honble Viscount Amberley
Signature
G. H. Lewes.
Citation
George Henry Lewes, GHL to Lord Amberley, London, 14 October 1865, 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/94867