Herbert Spencer to GE, London, [5 December 1878]
Title
Herbert Spencer to GE, London, [5 December 1878]
Title
Herbert Spencer to GE, London, [5 December 1878]
Sender
Herbert Spencer
Recipient
George Eliot
Date(s)
- 1878-12-05
Place
London
Letter Content
Herbert Spencer to GE, London, [5 December 1878]
MS: Balliol College, Oxford. Hitherto unpublished.
Athenaeum Club | Pall Mall
Thursday.
Dear Friend
I have hesitated these several days whether to write -- feeling strongly how utterly vain are words.
I can but dimly conceive what such a parting must be, even in an ordinary case. Still more dimly can I conceive what it must be in a case where two lives have been so long bound together so closely, in such multitudinous ways. But I can conceive it with clearness enough to enable me to say, with more than conventional truth, that I grieve with you.
ever yours sincerely
Herbert Spencer.
MS: Balliol College, Oxford. Hitherto unpublished.
Athenaeum Club | Pall Mall
Thursday.
Dear Friend
I have hesitated these several days whether to write -- feeling strongly how utterly vain are words.
I can but dimly conceive what such a parting must be, even in an ordinary case. Still more dimly can I conceive what it must be in a case where two lives have been so long bound together so closely, in such multitudinous ways. But I can conceive it with clearness enough to enable me to say, with more than conventional truth, that I grieve with you.
ever yours sincerely
Herbert Spencer.
Signature
Herbert Spencer.
Citation
Herbert Spencer, Herbert Spencer to GE, London, [5 December 1878], 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/95141