Herbert Spencer to GE, Derby, 30 September 1859
Title
Herbert Spencer to GE, Derby, 30 September 1859
Title
Herbert Spencer to GE, Derby, 30 September 1859
Sender
Herbert Spencer
Recipient
George Eliot
Date(s)
- 1859-09-30
Place
Derby
Letter Content
Herbert Spencer to GE, Derby, 30 September 1859
MS: British Museum.
7 Wilmot Street, Derby, | 30 September 59.
Dear Friend
At length I have read Adam Bede -- finished it last night in considerable alarm at the probable consequences of having read a volume and a half in the day: consequences however which were not so bad as I expected.
It was true that when I got it at Derby immediately on its publication, I was obliged to speedily relinquish it by a state which forbad reading. It was true that while in town I made many fruitless efforts to get a copy. It was true that on my return to Derby I was delayed in getting a copy until just when the conclusion of the article on Geology 476 had brought on an attack of giddiness, which greatly alarmed me. And it is true that since that time I have until now had no opportunity of getting hold of it.
And now that I have read it what am I to say. That I have read it with laughter and tears and without criticism. Knowing as you do how constitutionally I am given to fault finding, you will understand what this means. That I who am so little given to enthusiastic admiration, should not know how adequately to say how much I admire, will give you some idea of my feeling respecting it. It comes up to my ideal of a work of art -- possesses all the requisite qualities in due balance; which is more than I can say of any fiction I ever read. But especially I am delighted with its thorough genuineness. Every bit of dialogue gives one the impression of its having been actually spoken; and all the little details of event and description have that kinship to the scene which &unknown;give one&unknown; produce the impression of being an eye-witness. I find too that its beauties are much more numerous than can be taken in at a first reading. Various passages which I have re-read this morning delight me more even than they did at first. And then let me not forget the moral effect. I feel greatly the better for having read it; and can scarcely imagine any one reading it without having their sympathies widened and their better resolves strengthened. Not only in the interests of literature but in the interests of progress I hope that we shall have many more such books from you. 477
I have been much annoyed by the misunderstanding that has recently been disclosed. 478 I should feel it as a serious misfortune if anything were to dissolve our friendship. That I had given any reasons for such suspicions as those you and Lewes entertained I was quite unaware. When in town I had been to see you as often as I thought you would like, though not so often as I should have liked myself; and I did not know that my manner had altered. Taking for granted however that you are more likely to be good judges on that point than I am, I may name what seems a probable explanation. During the last 18 months I have been &unknown;more than usual&unknown; much away from town; and from that and perhaps other causes we have seen less of each other than usual. Now I always find that after much absence I contract a certain awkward restraint in behaviour towards friends, which it takes some little time to rub off; and perhaps when, after such absence, I see them but seldom and for a short time, it does not get rubbed off at all. This is the only cause I can conceive for the change of behaviour of which I was unconscious.
Yours as ever | very sincerely
Herbert Spencer.
MS: British Museum.
7 Wilmot Street, Derby, | 30 September 59.
Dear Friend
At length I have read Adam Bede -- finished it last night in considerable alarm at the probable consequences of having read a volume and a half in the day: consequences however which were not so bad as I expected.
It was true that when I got it at Derby immediately on its publication, I was obliged to speedily relinquish it by a state which forbad reading. It was true that while in town I made many fruitless efforts to get a copy. It was true that on my return to Derby I was delayed in getting a copy until just when the conclusion of the article on Geology 476 had brought on an attack of giddiness, which greatly alarmed me. And it is true that since that time I have until now had no opportunity of getting hold of it.
And now that I have read it what am I to say. That I have read it with laughter and tears and without criticism. Knowing as you do how constitutionally I am given to fault finding, you will understand what this means. That I who am so little given to enthusiastic admiration, should not know how adequately to say how much I admire, will give you some idea of my feeling respecting it. It comes up to my ideal of a work of art -- possesses all the requisite qualities in due balance; which is more than I can say of any fiction I ever read. But especially I am delighted with its thorough genuineness. Every bit of dialogue gives one the impression of its having been actually spoken; and all the little details of event and description have that kinship to the scene which &unknown;give one&unknown; produce the impression of being an eye-witness. I find too that its beauties are much more numerous than can be taken in at a first reading. Various passages which I have re-read this morning delight me more even than they did at first. And then let me not forget the moral effect. I feel greatly the better for having read it; and can scarcely imagine any one reading it without having their sympathies widened and their better resolves strengthened. Not only in the interests of literature but in the interests of progress I hope that we shall have many more such books from you. 477
I have been much annoyed by the misunderstanding that has recently been disclosed. 478 I should feel it as a serious misfortune if anything were to dissolve our friendship. That I had given any reasons for such suspicions as those you and Lewes entertained I was quite unaware. When in town I had been to see you as often as I thought you would like, though not so often as I should have liked myself; and I did not know that my manner had altered. Taking for granted however that you are more likely to be good judges on that point than I am, I may name what seems a probable explanation. During the last 18 months I have been &unknown;more than usual&unknown; much away from town; and from that and perhaps other causes we have seen less of each other than usual. Now I always find that after much absence I contract a certain awkward restraint in behaviour towards friends, which it takes some little time to rub off; and perhaps when, after such absence, I see them but seldom and for a short time, it does not get rubbed off at all. This is the only cause I can conceive for the change of behaviour of which I was unconscious.
Yours as ever | very sincerely
Herbert Spencer.
Signature
Herbert Spencer.
Citation
Herbert Spencer, Herbert Spencer to GE, Derby, 30 September 1859, 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/95140