,,human ,,intercourse4     ,,by ,,philip
 ,,gilbert ,,hamerton1   ,,author ,,of  
,,the ,,intellectual ,,life1 ,a         
,,painter',s ,,camp1   ,,thoughts       
,,about ,,art1 ,,chapters ,,on          
,,animals1 ,,round ,,my   ,,house1 ,,the
 ,,sylvan ,,year ,,and ,,the ,,unknown  
,,river1   ,,wenderholme1 ,,modern      
,,frenchmen1 ,,life ,,of ,j4 ,m4 ,w4    
,,turner1 ,,the ,,graphic ,,arts1       
,,etching ,,and ,,etchers1   ,,paris    
,,in ,,old ,,and ,,present ,,times1     
,,harry ,,blount4     ,i love tranquil  
solitude1       ,and such society   ,as 
is quiet1 wise1 and good4               
,,shelley4     ,,boston3   ,,little1    
,,brown1 ,,and ,,company4   #ahih4      
,,author',s ,,edition4    ,university   
,press3   ,,john ,,wilson ,,and ,,son1  
,,cambridge4     ,to the ,memory of     
,emerson4   ,if ,i dedicate this book on
 ,human ,intercourse to the memory of   
one whose voice ,i never heard1 and to  
whom ,i never addressed a letter1 the   
seeming inappropriateness will disappear

 when the reader knows what a great and 
persistent influence he had on the whole
 course of my thinking1 and therefore on
 all my work4 ,he was told of this      
before his death1 and the acknowledgment
 gave him pleasure4 ,perhaps this public
 repetition of it may not be without    
utility at a time when1 although it is  
clear to us that he has left an immortal
 name1 the exact nature of the rank he  
will occupy amongst great men does not  
seem to be evident as yet4 ,the         
embarrassment of premature criticism is 
a testimony to his originality4 ,but    
although it may be too soon for us to   
know what his name will mean to         
posterity1 we may tell posterity what   
service he rendered to ourselves4 ,to me
 he taught two great lessons4 ,the first
 was to rely confidently on that order  
of the universe which makes it always   
really worth while to do our best1 even 
though the reward may not be visible2   
and the second was to have self-reliance
 enough to trust our own convictions and

 our own gifts1 such as they are1 or    
such as they may become1 without either 
echoing the opinions or desiring the    
more brilliant gifts of others4 ,emerson
 taught much besides2 but it is these   
two doctrines of reliance on the        
compensations of ,nature1 and of a      
self-respectful reliance on our own     
individuality1 that have the most       
invigorating influence on workers like  
myself4 ,emerson knew that each of us   
can only receive that for which he has  
an affinity1 and can only give forth    
effectually what is by birthright1 or   
has become1 his own4 ,to have accepted  
this doctrine with perfect contentment  
is to possess one's soul in peace4      
,emerson combined high intellect with   
pure honesty1 and remained faithful to  
the double law of the intellectual      
life--high thinking and fearless        
utterance--to the end of his days1 with 
a beautiful persistence and serenity4   
,so now ,i go1 in spirit1 a pilgrim to  
that tall pine-tree that grows upon the 

hill-top to the east of ,sleepy ,hollow1
 and lay one more wreath upon an honored
 grave4  ,june #bd1 #ahhd4              
,,preface4   ,when this book was begun1 
some years ago1 ,i made a formal plan1  
according to which it was to have been  
one long ,essay or ,treatise1 divided   
into sections and chapters1 and         
presenting that apparently perfect      
ordonnance which gives such an imposing 
air to a work of art4 ,i say apparently 
perfect ordonnance1 because in such     
cases the perfection of the arrangement 
is often only apparent1 and the work is 
like those formal pseudo-classical      
buildings that seem1 with their regular 
columns1 spaces1 and windows1 the very  
highest examples of method2 but you find
 on entering that the internal          
distribution of space is defective and  
inconvenient1 that one room has a window
 in a corner and another half a window1 
that one is needlessly large for its    
employment and another far too small4   
,in literature the ostentation of order 

may compel an author to extreme         
condensation in one part of his book and
 to excessive amplification in another1 
since1 in reality1 the parts of his     
subject do not fall more naturally into 
equal divisions than words beginning    
with different letters in the           
dictionary4 ,i therefore soon abandoned 
external rigidity of order1 and made my 
divisions more elastic2 but ,i went     
still further after some experiments1   
and abandoned the idea of a ,treatise4  
,this was not done without some regret1 
as ,i know that a ,treatise has a better
 chance of permanence than a collection 
of ,essays2 but1 in this case1 ,i met   
with an invisible obstacle that         
threatened to prevent good literary     
execution4 ,after making some progress  
,i felt that the work was not very      
readable1 and that the writing of it was
 not a satisfactory occupation4         
,whenever this happens there is sure to 
be an error of method somewhere4 ,what  
the error was in this case ,i did not   

discover for a long time1 but at last ,i
 suddenly perceived it4 ,a formal       
,treatise1 to be satisfactory1 can only 
be written about ascertained or         
ascertainable laws2 and human           
intercourse as it is carried on between 
individuals1 though it looks so         
accessible to every observer1 is in     
reality a subject of infinite mystery   
and obscurity1 about which hardly       
anything is known1 about which certainly
 nothing is known absolutely and        
completely4 ,i found that every attempt 
to ascertain and proclaim a law only    
ended1 when the supposed law was brought
 face to face with nature1 by           
discovering so many exceptions that the 
best practical rules were suspension of 
judgment and a reliance upon nothing but
 special observation in each particular 
case4 ,i found that in real human       
intercourse the theoretically           
improbable1 or even the theoretically   
impossible1 was constantly happening4 ,i
 remember a case in real life which     

illustrates this very forcibly4 ,a      
certain ,english lady1 influenced by the
 received ideas about human intercourse 
which define the conditions of it in a  
hard and sharp manner1 was strongly     
convinced that it would be impossible   
for her to have friendly relations with 
another lady whom she had never seen1   
but was likely to see frequently4 ,all  
her reasons would be considered         
excellent reasons by those who believe  
in maxims and rules4 ,it was plain that 
there could be nothing in common4 ,the  
other lady was neither of the same      
country1 nor of the same religious and  
political parties1 nor exactly of the   
same class1 nor of the same generation4 
,these facts were known1 and the        
inference deduced from them was that    
intercourse would be impossible4 ,after 
some time the ,english lady began to    
perceive that the case did not bear out 
the supposed rules2 she discovered that 
the younger lady might be an acceptable 
friend4 ,at last the full strange truth 

became apparent1--that she was          
singularly well adapted1 better adapted 
than any other human being1 to take a   
filial relation to the elder1 especially
 in times of sickness1 when her presence
 was a wonderful support4 ,then the     
warmest affection sprang up between the 
two1 lasting till separation by death   
and still cherished by the survivor4    
,what becomes of rules and maxims and   
wise old saws in the face of nature and 
reality8 ,what can we do better than to 
observe nature with an open1            
unprejudiced mind1 and gather some of   
the results of observation8  ,i am      
conscious of several omissions that may 
possibly be rectified in another volume 
if this is favorably accepted4 ,the most
 important of these are the influence of
 age on intercourse1 and the effects of 
living in the same house1 which are not 
invariably favorable4 ,both these       
subjects are very important1 and ,i have
 not time to treat them now with the    
care they would require4 ,there ought   

also to have been a careful study of the
 natural antagonisms1 which are of      
terrible importance when people1        
naturally antagonistic1 are compelled by
 circumstances to live together4 ,these 
are1 however1 generally of less         
importance than the affinities1 because 
we contrive to make our intercourse with
 antagonistic people as short and rare  
as possible1 and that with sympathetic  
people as frequent and long as          
circumstances will permit4  ,i will not 
close this preface without saying that  
the happiness of sympathetic human      
intercourse seems to me incomparably    
greater than any other pleasure4 ,i may 
be supposed to have passed the age of   
enthusiastic illusions1 yet ,i would at 
any time rather pass a week with a real 
friend in any place that afforded simple
 shelter than with an indifferent person
 in a palace4 ,in saying this ,i am     
thinking of real experiences4 ,one of my
 friends who is devoted to archological 
excavations has often invited me to     

share his life in a hut or a cottage1   
and ,i have invariably found that the   
pleasure of his society far overbalanced
 the absence of luxury4 ,on the other   
hand1 ,i have sometimes endured extreme 
ennui at sumptuous feasts in richly     
appointed houses4 ,the result of        
experience1 in my case1 has been to     
confirm a youthful conviction that the  
value of certain persons is not to be   
estimated by comparison with anything   
else4 ,i was always a believer1 and am  
so at this day more than ever1 in the   
happiness of genuine human intercourse1 
but ,i prefer solitude to the false     
imitation of it4 ,it is in this as in   
other pleasures1 the better we          
appreciate the real thing1 the less we  
are disposed to accept the spurious copy
 as a substitute4 ,by far the greater   
part of what passes for human           
intercourse is not intercourse at all1  
but only acting1 of which the highest   
object and most considerable merit is to
 conceal the weariness that accompanies 

its hollow observances4  ,one sad aspect
 of my subject has not been touched upon
 in this volume4 ,it was often present  
in my thoughts1 but ,i timidly shrank   
from dealing with it4 ,i might have     
attempted to show in what manner        
intercourse is cut short by death4 ,all 
reciprocity of intercourse is1 or       
appears to be1 entirety cut short by    
that catastrophe2 but those who have    
talked with us much in former years     
retain an influence that may be even    
more constant than our recollection of  
them4 ,my own recollection of the dead  
is extremely vivid and clear1 and ,i    
cultivate it by willingly thinking about
 them1 being especially happy when by   
some accidental flash of brighter memory
 a more than usual degree of lucidity is
 obtained4 ,i accept with resignation   
the natural law1 on the whole so        
beneficent1 that when an organism is no 
longer able to exist without suffering1 
or senile decrepitude1 it should be     
dissolved and made insensible of        

suffering2 but ,i by no means accept the
 idea that the dead are to be forgotten 
in order that we may spare ourselves    
distress4 ,let us give them their due   
place1 their great place1 in our hearts 
and in our thoughts2 and if the sweet   
reciprocity of human intercourse is no  
longer possible with those who are      
silent and asleep1 let the memory of    
past intercourse be still a part of our 
lives4 ,there are hours when we live    
with the dead more than with the living1
 so that without any trace of           
superstition we feel their old sweet    
influence acting upon us yet1 and it    
seems as if only a little more were     
needed to give us the touch of a        
vanished hand1 and the sound of a voice 
that is still4  ,closely connected with 
this subject of death is the subject of 
religious beliefs4 ,in the present state
 of confusion and change1 some causes of
 which are indicated in this volume1 the
 only plain course for honorable men is 
to act always in favor of truthfulness1 

and therefore against hypocrisy1 and    
against those encouragers of hypocrisy  
who offer social advantages as rewards  
for it4 ,what may come in the future we 
cannot tell1 but we may be sure that the
 best way to prepare for the future is  
to be honest and candid in the present4 
,there are two causes which are         
gradually effecting a great change1 and 
as they are natural causes they are     
irresistibly powerful4 ,one is the      
process of analytic detachment1 by which
 sentiments and feelings once believed  
to be religious are now found to be     
separable from religion4 ,if a ,french  
peasant has a feeling for architecture1 
poetry1 or music1 or an appreciation of 
eloquence1 or a desire to hear a kind of
 moral philosophy1 he goes to the       
village church to satisfy these dim     
incipient desires4 ,in his case these   
feelings and wants are all confusedly   
connected with religion2 in ours they   
are detached from it1 and only          
reconnected with it by accident1 we     

being still aware that there is no      
essential identity4 ,that is the first  
dissolving cause4 ,it seems only to     
affect the externals of religion1 but it
 goes deeper by making the consciously  
religious state of mind less habitual4  
,the second cause is even more serious  
in its effects4 ,we are acquiring the   
habit of explaining everything by       
natural causes1 and of trying to remedy 
everything by the employment of natural 
means4 ,journals dependent on popular   
approval for the enormous circulation   
that is necessary to their existence do 
not hesitate1 in clear terms1 to express
 their preference of natural means to   
the invocation of supernatural agencies4
 ,for example1 the correspondent of the 
,daily ,news at ,port ,said1 after      
describing the annual blessing of the   
,suez ,canal at the ,epiphany1 observes3
 ,thus the canal was solemnly blessed4  
,the opinion of the captains of the     
ships that throng the harbor1 waiting   
until the block adjusts itself1 is that 

it would be better to widen it4 ,such an
 opinion is perfectly modern1 perfectly 
characteristic of our age4 ,we think    
that steam excavators and dredgers would
 be more likely to prevent blocks in the
 ,suez ,canal than a priest reading     
prayers out of a book and throwing a    
golden cross into the sea1 to be fished 
up again by divers4 ,we cannot help     
thinking as we do3 our opinion has not  
been chosen by us voluntarily1 it has   
been forced upon us by facts that we    
cannot help seeing1 but it deprives us  
of an opportunity for a religious       
emotion1 and it separates us1 on that   
point1 from all those who are still     
capable of feeling it4 ,i have given    
considerable space to the consideration 
of these changes1 but not a             
disproportionate space4 ,they have a    
deplorable effect on human intercourse  
by dividing friends and families into   
different groups1 and by separating     
those who might otherwise have enjoyed  
friendship unreservedly4 ,it is         

probable1 too1 that we are only at the  
beginning of the conflict1 and that in  
years not immeasurably distant there    
will be fierce struggles on the most    
irritating of practical issues4 ,to name
 but one of these it is probable that   
there will be a sharp struggle when a   
strong and determined naturalist party  
shall claim the instruction of the      
young1 especially with regard to the    
origin of the race1 the beginnings of   
animal life1 and the evidences of       
intention in nature4 ,loving1 as ,i do1 
the amenities of a peaceful and polished
 civilization much better than angry    
controversy1 ,i long for the time when  
these great questions will be considered
 as settled one way or the other1 or    
else1 if they are beyond our            
intelligence1 for the time when they may
 be classed as insoluble1 so that men   
may work out their destiny without      
bitter quarrels about their origin4 ,the
 present at least is ours1 and it       
depends upon ourselves whether it is to 

be wasted in vain disputes or brightened
 by charity and kindness4               
,,contents4     ,,essay                 
,,page        ,i4 ,,on ,,the            
,,difficulty ,,of ,,discovering ,,fixed 
,,laws           #c       ,,ii4         
,,independence                          
#ab      ,,iii4 ,,of ,,passionate ,,love
                                   #cc  
,,iv4 ,,companionship ,,in ,,marriage   
#dd        ,v4 ,,family ,,ties          
#fc       ,,vi4 ,,fathers ,,and ,,sons  
#gh      ,,vii4 ,,the ,,rights ,,of     
,,the ,,guest                           
#ii     ,,viii4 ,,the ,,death ,,of      
,,friendship                            
#aaj       ,,ix4 ,,the ,,flux ,,of      
,,wealth                                
#aai        ,x4 ,,differences ,,of      
,,rank ,,and ,,wealth                   
#acj       ,,xi4 ,,the ,,obstacle ,,of  
,,language                              
#adh      ,,xii4 ,,the ,,obstacle ,,of  
,,religion                              
#afa     ,,xiii4 ,,priests ,,and ,,women

                                   #age 
,,xiv4 ,,why ,,we ,,are ,,apparently    
,,becoming ,,less ,,religious       #bje
       ,,xv4 ,,how ,,we ,,are ,,really  
,,becoming ,,less ,,religious           
#bae      ,,xvi4 ,,on ,,an              
,,unrecognized ,,form ,,of ,,untruth    
#bcb     ,,xvii4 ,,on ,a ,,remarkable   
,,english ,,peculiarity                 
#bci    ,,xviii4 ,,of ,,genteel         
,,ignorance                             
#bec      ,,xix4 ,,patriotic ,,ignorance
                                 #bfd   
,,xx4 ,,confusions                      
#bhj      ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,noble          
,,bohemianism                           
#bie     ,,xxii4 ,,of ,,courtesy ,,in   
,,epistolary ,,communication            
#cae    ,,xxiii4 ,,letters ,,of         
,,friendship                            
#ccf     ,,xxiv4 ,,letters ,,of         
,,business                              
#ced      ,,xxv4 ,,anonymous ,,letters  
#cgj     ,,xxvi4 ,,amusements           
#chc    ,,index                         

#djc     ,,human ,,intercourse4         
,,human ,,intercourse4     ,,essay ,i4  
,,on ,,the ,,difficulty ,,of            
,,discovering ,,fixed ,,laws4   ,a book 
on ,human ,intercourse might be written 
in a variety of ways1 and amongst them  
might be an attempt to treat the subject
 in a scientific manner so as to        
elucidate those natural laws by which   
intercourse between human beings must be
 regulated4 ,if we knew quite perfectly 
what those laws are we should enjoy the 
great convenience of being able to      
predict with certainty which men and    
women would be able to associate with   
pleasure1 and which would be constrained
 or repressed in each other's society4  
,human intercourse would then be as much
 a positive science as chemistry1 in    
which the effects of bringing substances
 together can be foretold with the      
utmost accuracy4 ,some very distant     
approach to this scientific state may in
 certain instances actually be made4    
,when we know the characters of two     

people with a certain degree of         
precision we may sometimes predict that 
they are sure to quarrel1 and have the  
satisfaction of witnessing the explosion
 that our own acumen has foretold4 ,to  
detect in people we know those          
incompatibilities that are the fatal    
seeds of future dissension is one of our
 malicious pleasures4 ,an acute observer
 really has considerable powers of      
prediction and calculation with         
reference to individual human beings1   
but there his wisdom ends4 ,he cannot   
deduce from these separate cases any    
general rules or laws that can be firmly
 relied upon as every real law of nature
 can be relied upon1 and therefore it   
may be concluded that such rules are not
 laws of nature at all1 but only poor   
and untrustworthy substitutes for them4 
,the reason for this difficulty ,i take 
to be the extreme complexity of human   
nature and its boundless variety1 which 
make it always probable that in every   
mind which we have not long and closely 

studied there will be elements wholly   
unknown to us4 ,how often1 with regard  
to some public man1 who is known to us  
only in part through his acts or his    
writings1 are we surprised by the sudden
 revelation of characteristics that we  
never imagined for him and that seem    
almost incompatible with the better     
known side of his nature6 ,how much the 
more1 then1 are we likely to go wrong in
 our estimates of people we know nothing
 about1 and how impossible it must be   
for us to determine how they are likely 
to select their friends and companions6 
,certain popular ideas appear to        
represent a sort of rude philosophy of  
human intercourse4 ,there is the common 
belief1 for example1 that1 in order to  
associate pleasantly together1 people   
should be of the same class and nearly  
in the same condition of fortune1 but   
when we turn to real life we find very  
numerous instances in which this fancied
 law is broken with the happiest        
results4 ,the late ,duke of ,albany may 

be mentioned as an example4 ,no doubt   
his own natural refinement would have   
prevented him from associating with     
vulgar people2 but he readily associated
 with refined and cultivated people who 
had no pretension to rank4 ,his own rank
 was a power in his hands that he used  
for good1 and he was conscious of it1   
but it did not isolate him2 he desired  
to know people as they are1 and was     
capable of feeling the most sincere     
respect for anybody who deserved it4 ,so
 it is1 generally1 with all who have the
 gifts of sympathy and intelligence4    
,merely to avoid what is disagreeable   
has nothing to do with pride of station4
 ,vulgar society is disagreeable1 which 
is a sufficient reason for keeping aloof
 from it4 ,amongst people of refinement1
 association or even friendship is      
possible in spite of differences of rank
 and fortune4  ,another popular belief  
is that men associate together when they
 are interested in the same things4 ,it 
would1 however1 be easy to adduce very  

numerous instances in which an interest 
in similar things has been a cause of   
quarrel1 when if one of the two parties 
had regarded those things with          
indifference1 harmonious intercourse    
might have been preserved4 ,the livelier
 our interest in anything the more does 
acquiescence in matters of detail appear
 essential to us4 ,two people are both  
of them extremely religious1 but one of 
them is a ,mahometan1 and the other a   
,christian2 here the interest in        
religion causes a divergence1 enough in 
most cases to make intercourse          
impossible1 when it would have been     
quite possible if both parties had      
regarded religion with indifference4    
,bring the two nearer together1 suppose 
them to be both ,christians1 they       
acknowledge one law1 one doctrine1 one  
,head of the church in heaven4 ,yes1 but
 they do not acknowledge the same head  
of it on earth1 for one accepts the     
,papal supremacy1 which the other       
denies2 and their common ,christianity  

is a feeble bond of union in comparison 
with the forces of repulsion contained  
in a multitude of details4 ,two nominal1
 indifferent ,christians who take no    
interest in theology would have a better
 chance of agreeing4 ,lastly1 suppose   
them to be both members of the ,church  
of ,england1 one of the old school1 with
 firm and settled beliefs on every point
 and a horror of the most distant       
approaches to heresy1 the other of the  
new school1 vague1 indeterminate1       
desiring to preserve his ,christianity  
as a sentiment when it has vanished as a
 faith1 thinking that the ,bible is not 
true in the old sense but only contains 
truth1 that the divinity of ,christ is a
 past issue1#a and that evolution is1 on
 the whole1 more probable than direct   
and intentional creation1--what possible
 agreement can exist between these two8 
,if they both care about religious      
topics1 and talk about them1 will not   
their disagreement be in exact          
proportion to the liveliness of their   

interest in the subject8 ,so in a realm 
with which ,i have some acquaintance1   
that of the fine arts1 discord is always
 probable between those who have a      
passionate delight in art4 ,innocent1   
well-intentioned friends think that     
because two men like painting1 they     
ought to be introduced1 as they are sure
 to amuse each other4 ,in reality1 their
 tastes may be more opposed than the    
taste of either of them is to perfect   
indifference4 ,one has a severe taste   
for beautiful form and an active        
contempt for picturesque accidents and  
romantic associations1 the other feels  
chilled by severe beauty and delights in
 the picturesque and romantic4 ,if each 
is convinced of the superiority of his  
own principles he will deduce from them 
an endless series of judgments that can 
only irritate the other4  ,seeing that  
nations are always hostile to each      
other1 always watchfully jealous and    
inclined to rejoice in every evil that  
happens to a neighbor1 it would appear  

safe to predict that little intercourse 
could exist between persons of different
 nationality4 ,when1 however1 we observe
 the facts as they are in real life1 we 
perceive that very strong and durable   
friendships often exist between men who 
are not of the same nation1 and that the
 chief obstacle to the formation of     
these is not so much nationality as     
difference of language4 ,there is1 no   
doubt1 a prejudice that one is not      
likely to get on well with a foreigner1 
and the prejudice has often the effect  
of keeping people of different          
nationality apart1 but when once it is  
overcome it is often found that very    
powerful feelings of mutual respect and 
sympathy draw the strangers together4   
,on the other hand1 there is not the    
least assurance that the mere fact of   
being born in the same country will make
 two men regard each other with         
kindness4 ,an ,englishman repels another
 ,englishman when he meets him on the   
,continent4#b ,the only just conclusion 

is that nationality affords no certain  
rule either in favor of intercourse or  
against it4 ,a man may possibly be drawn
 towards a foreign nationality by his   
appreciation of its excellence in some  
art that he loves1 but this is the case 
only when the excellence is of the      
peculiar kind that supplies the needs of
 his own intelligence4 ,the ,french     
excel in painting2 that is to say1 that 
many ,frenchmen have attained a certain 
kind of excellence in certain           
departments of the art of painting4     
,englishmen and ,americans who value    
that particular kind of excellence are  
often strongly drawn towards ,paris as  
an artistic centre or capital2 and this 
opening of their minds to ,french       
influence in art may admit other ,french
 influences at the same time1 so that   
the ultimate effect of a love of art may
 be a breaking down of the barrier of   
nationality4 ,it seldom happens that    
,frenchmen are drawn towards ,england   
and ,america by their love of painting1 

but it frequently happens that they     
become in a measure ,anglicized or      
,americanized either by the serious     
study of nautical science1 or by the    
love of yachting as an amusement1 in    
which they look to ,england and ,america
 both for the most advanced theories and
 the newest examples4  ,the nearest     
approach ever made to a general rule may
 be the affirmation that likeness is the
 secret of companionship4 ,this has a   
great look of probability1 and may      
really be the reason for many           
associations1 but after observing others
 we might come to the conclusion that an
 opposite law would be at least equally 
applicable4 ,we might say that a        
companion1 to be interesting1 ought to  
bring new elements1 and not be a        
repetition of our own too familiar      
personality4 ,we have enough of         
ourselves in ourselves2 we desire a     
companion who will relieve us from the  
bounds of our thoughts1 as a neighbor   
opens his garden to us1 and delivers us 

from our own hedges4 ,but if the        
unlikeness is so great that mutual      
understanding is impossible1 then it is 
too great4 ,we fancy that we should like
 to know this or that author1 because we
 feel a certain sympathy with him though
 he is very different from us1 but there
 are other writers whom we do not desire
 to know because we are aware of a      
difference too excessive for            
companionship4  ,the only approximation 
to a general law that ,i would venture  
to affirm is that the strongest reason  
why men are drawn together is not       
identity of class1 not identity of race1
 not a common interest in any particular
 art or science1 but because there is   
something in their idiosyncrasies that  
gives a charm to intercourse between the
 two4 ,what it is ,i cannot tell1 and ,i
 have never met with the wise man who   
was able to enlighten me4  ,it is not   
respect for character1 seeing that we   
often respect people heartily without   
being able to enjoy their society4 ,it  

is a mysterious suitableness or         
adaptability1 and how mysterious it is  
may be in some degree realized when we  
reflect that we cannot account for our  
own preferences4 ,i try to explain to   
myself1 for my own intellectual         
satisfaction1 how and why it is that ,i 
take pleasure in the society of one very
 dear friend4 ,he is a most able1       
honorable1 and high-minded man1 but     
others are all that1 and they give me no
 pleasure4 ,my friend and ,i have really
 not very much in common1 far less than 
,i have with some perfectly indifferent 
people4 ,i only know that we are always 
glad to be together1 that each of us    
likes to listen to the other1 and that  
we have talked for innumerable hours4   
,neither does my affection blind me to  
his faults4 ,i see them as clearly as if
 ,i were his enemy1 and doubt not that  
he sees mine4 ,there is no illusion1 and
 there has been no change in our        
sentiments for twenty years4  ,as a     
contrast to this instance ,i think of   

others in which everything seems to have
 been prepared on purpose for facility  
of intercourse1 in which there is       
similarity of pursuits1 of language1 of 
education1 of every thing that is likely
 to permit men to talk easily together1 
and yet there is some obstacle that     
makes any real intercourse impossible4  
,what the obstacle is ,i am unable to   
explain even to myself4 ,it need not be 
any unkind feeling1 nor any feeling of  
disapprobation2 there may be good-will  
on both sides and a mutual desire for a 
greater degree of intimacy1 yet with all
 this the intimacy does not come1 and   
such intercourse as we have is that of  
simple politeness4 ,in these cases each 
party is apt to think that the other is 
reserved1 when there is no wish to be   
reserved but rather a desire to be as   
open as the unseen obstacle will allow4 
,the existence of the obstacle does not 
prevent respect and esteem or even a    
considerable degree of affection4 ,it   
divides people who seem to be on the    

most friendly terms2 it divides even the
 nearest relations1 brother from        
brother1 and the son from the father4   
,nobody knows exactly what it is1 but we
 have a word for it1--we call it        
incompatibility4 ,the difficulty of     
going farther and explaining the real   
nature of incompatibility is that it    
takes as many shapes as there are       
varieties in the characters of mankind4 
,sympathy and incompatibility1--these   
are the two great powers that decide for
 us whether intercourse is to be        
possible or not1 but the causes of them 
are dark mysteries that lie undiscovered
 far down in the abysmal deeps of       
personality4     ,,essay ,,ii4          
,,independence4   ,there is an illusory 
and unattainable independence which is a
 mere dream1 but there is also a        
reasonable and attainable independence  
not really inconsistent with our        
obligations to humanity and our country4
  ,the dependence of the individual upon
 the race has never been so fully       

recognized as now1 so that there is     
little fear of its being overlooked4    
,the danger of our age1 and of the      
future1 is rather that a reasonable and 
possible independence should be made    
needlessly difficult to attain and to   
preserve4  ,the distinction between the 
two may be conveniently illustrated by a
 reference to literary production4      
,every educated man is dependent upon   
his own country for the language that he
 uses2 and again1 that language is      
itself dependent on other languages from
 which it is derived2 and1 farther1 the 
modern author is indebted for a         
continual stimulus and many a suggestion
 to the writings of his predecessors1   
not in his own country only but in far  
distant lands4 ,he cannot1 therefore1   
say in any absolute way1 ,my books are  
my own1 but he may preserve a certain   
mental independence which will allow him
 to say that with truth in a relative   
sense4 ,if he expresses himself such as 
he is1 an idiosyncrasy affected but not 

annihilated by education1 he may say    
that his books are his own4  ,few       
,english authors have studied past      
literature more willingly than ,shelley 
and ,tennyson1 and none are more        
original4 ,in these cases idiosyncrasy  
has been affected by education1 but     
instead of being annihilated thereby it 
has gained from education the means of  
expressing its own inmost self more     
clearly4 ,we have the true ,shelley1 the
 born ,tennyson1 far more perfectly than
 we should ever have possessed them if  
their own minds had not been opened by  
the action of other minds4 ,culture is  
like wealth1 it makes us more ourselves1
 it enables us to express ourselves4    
,the real nature of the poor and the    
ignorant is an obscure and doubtful     
problem1 for we can never know the      
inborn powers that remain in them       
undeveloped till they die4 ,in this way 
the help of the race1 so far from being 
unfavorable to individuality1 is        
necessary to it4 ,claude helped ,turner 

to become ,turner4 ,in complete         
isolation from art1 however             
magnificently surrounded by the beauties
 of the natural world1 a man does not   
express his originality as a            
landscape-painter1 he is simply         
incapable of expressing anything in     
paint4  ,but now let us inquire whether 
there may not be cases in which the     
labors of others1 instead of helping    
originality to express itself1 act as a 
check to it by making originality       
superfluous4  ,as an illustration of    
this possibility ,i may take the modern 
railway system4 ,here we have the labor 
and ingenuity of the race applied to    
travelling1 greatly to the convenience  
of the individual1 but in a manner which
 is totally repressive of originality   
and indifferent to personal tastes4     
,people of the most different           
idiosyncrasies travel exactly in the    
same way4 ,the landscape-painter is     
hurried at speed past beautiful spots   
that he would like to contemplate at    

leisure2 the archologist is whirled by  
the site of a ,roman camp that he would 
willingly pause to examine2 the         
mountaineer is not permitted to climb   
the tunnelled hill1 nor the swimmer to  
cross in his own refreshing1 natural way
 the breadth of the iron-spanned river4 
,and as individual tastes are           
disregarded1 so individual powers are   
left uncultivated and unimproved4 ,the  
only talent required is that of sitting 
passively on a seat and of enduring1 for
 hours together1 an unpleasant though   
mitigated vibration4 ,the skill and     
courage of the horseman1 the endurance  
of the pedestrian1 the art of the       
paddler or the oarsman1 are all made    
superfluous by this system of travelling
 by machines1 in which previous labors  
of engineers and mechanics have         
determined everything beforehand4       
,happily1 the love of exercise and      
enterprise has produced a reaction of   
individualism against this levelling    
railway system1 a reaction that shows   

itself in many kinds of slower but more 
adventurous locomotion and restores to  
the individual creature his lost        
independence by allowing him to pause   
and stop when he pleases2 a reaction    
delightful to him especially in this1   
that it gives him some pride and        
pleasure in the use of his own muscles  
and his own wits4 ,there are still1     
happily1 ,englishmen who would rather   
steer a cutter across the ,channel in   
rough weather than be shot through a    
long hole in the chalk4  ,what the      
railway is to physical motion1 settled  
conventions are to the movements of the 
mind4 ,convention is a contrivance for  
facilitating what we write or speak by  
which we are relieved from personal     
effort and almost absolved from personal
 responsibility4 ,there are men whose   
whole art of living consists in passing 
from one conventionalism to another as a
 traveller changes his train4 ,such men 
may be envied for the skill with which  
they avoid the difficulties of life4    

,they take their religion1 their        
politics1 their education1 their social 
and literary opinions1 all as provided  
by the brains of others1 and they glide 
through existence with a minimum of     
personal exertion4 ,for those who are   
satisfied with easy1 conventional ways  
the desire for intellectual independence
 is unintelligible4 ,what is the need of
 it8 ,why go1 mentally1 on a bicycle or 
in a canoe by your own toilsome         
exertions when you may sit so very      
comfortably in the train1 a rug round   
your lazy legs and your softly capped   
head in a corner8  ,the ,french ideal of
 good form is to be undistinguishable   
from others2 by which it is not         
understood that you are to be           
undistinguishable from the multitude of 
poor people1 but one of the smaller     
crowd of rich and fashionable people4   
,independence and originality are so    
little esteemed in what is called good  
society in ,france that the adjectives  
indpendant and original are constantly  

used in a bad sense4 ,il est trs        
indpendant often means that the man is  
of a rude1 insubordinate1 rebellious    
temper1 unfitting him for social life4  
,il est original1 or more               
contemptuously1 ,c'est un original1     
means that the subject of the criticism 
has views of his own which are not the  
fashionable views1 and which therefore  
7whatever may be their accuracy7 are    
proper objects of well-bred ridicule4   
,i cannot imagine any state of feeling  
more destructive of all interest in     
human intercourse than this1 for if on  
going into society ,i am only to hear   
the fashionable opinions and sentiments1
 what is the gain to me who know them   
too well already8 ,i could even repeat  
them quite accurately with the proper   
conventional tone1 so why put myself to 
inconvenience to hear that dull and     
wearisome play acted over again8 ,the   
only possible explanation of the        
pleasure that ,french people of some    
rank appear to take in hearing things1  

which are as stale as they are          
inaccurate1 repeated by every one they  
know1 is that the repetition of them    
appears to be one of the signs of       
gentility1 and to give alike to those   
who utter them and to those who hear1   
the profound satisfaction of feeling    
that they are present at the mysterious 
rites of ,caste4  ,there is probably no 
place in the whole world where the      
feeling of mental independence is so    
complete as it is in ,london4 ,there is 
no place where differences of opinion   
are more marked in character or more    
frank and open in expression2 but what  
strikes one as particularly admirable in
 ,london is that in the present day 7it 
has not always been so7 men of the most 
opposite opinions and the most various  
tastes can profess their opinions and   
indulge their tastes without            
inconvenient consequences to themselves1
 and there is hardly any opinion1 or any
 eccentricity1 that excludes a man from 
pleasant social intercourse if he does  

not make himself impossible and         
intolerable by bad manners4 ,this       
independence gives a savor to social    
intercourse in ,london that is          
lamentably wanting to it elsewhere4     
,there is a strange and novel pleasure  
7to one who lives habitually in the     
country7 in hearing men and women say   
what they think without deference to any
 local public opinion4  ,in many small  
places this local public opinion is so  
despotic that there is no individual    
independence in society1 and it then    
becomes necessary that a man who values 
his independence1 and desires to keep   
it1 should learn the art of living      
contentedly outside of society4  ,it has
 often occurred to me to reflect that   
there are many men in ,london who enjoy 
a pleasant and even a high social       
position1 who live with intelligent     
people1 and even with people of great   
wealth and exalted rank1 and yet who1 if
 their lot had been cast in certain     
small provincial towns1 would have found

 themselves rigorously excluded from the
 upper local circles1 if not from all   
circles whatsoever4  ,i have sometimes  
asked myself1 when travelling on the    
railway through ,france1 and visiting   
for a few hours one of those sleepy     
little old cities1 to me so delightful1 
in which the student of architecture and
 the lover of the picturesque find so   
much to interest them1 what would have  
been the career of a man having1 for    
example1 the capacity and the           
convictions of ,mr4 ,gladstone1 if he   
had passed all the years of his manhood 
in such a place4  ,it commonly happens  
that when ,nature endows a man with a   
vigorous personality and its usual      
accompaniment1 an independent way of    
seeing things1 she gives him at the same
 time powerful talents with which to    
defend his own originality2 but in a    
small and ancient city1 where everything
 is traditional1 intellectual force is  
of no avail1 and learning is of no use4 
,in such a city1 where the upper class  

is an exclusive caste impenetrable by   
ideas1 the eloquence of ,mr4 ,gladstone 
would be ineffectual1 and if exercised  
at all would be considered in bad taste4
 ,his learning1 even1 would tend to     
separate him from the unlearned local   
aristocracy4 ,the simple fact that he is
 in favor of parliamentary government1  
without any more detailed information   
concerning his political opinions1 would
 put him beyond the pale1 for           
parliamentary government is execrated by
 the ,french rural aristocracy1 who     
tolerate nothing short of a determined  
monarchical absolutism4 ,his religious  
views would be looked upon as those of a
 low ,dissenter1 and it would be        
remembered against him that his father  
was in trade4 ,such is the difference1  
as a field for talent and originality1  
between ,london and an aristocratic     
little ,french city1 that those very    
qualities which have raised our ,prime  
,minister to a not undeserved           
pre-eminence in the great place would   

have kept him out of society in the     
small one4 ,he might1 perhaps1 have     
talked politics in some caf with a few  
shop-keepers and attorneys4  ,it may be 
objected that ,mr4 ,gladstone1 as an    
,english ,liberal1 would naturally be   
out of place in ,france and little      
appreciated there1 so ,i will take the  
cases of a ,frenchman in ,france and an 
,englishman in ,england4 ,a brave       
,french officer1 who was at the same    
time a gentleman of ancient lineage and 
good estate1 chose 7for reasons of his  
own which had no connection with social 
intercourse7 to live upon a property    
that happened to be situated in a part  
of ,france where the aristocracy was    
strongly ,catholic and reactionary4 ,he 
then found himself excluded from good   
society1 because he was a ,protestant   
and a friend to parliamentary           
government4 ,reasons of this kind1 or   
the counter-reasons of ,catholicism and 
disapprobation of parliaments1 would not
 exclude a polished and amiable         

gentleman from society in ,london4 ,i   
have read in a biographical notice of   
,sidney ,dobell that when he lived at   
,cheltenham he was excluded from the    
society of the place because his parents
 were ,dissenters and he had been in    
trade4  ,in cases of this kind1 where   
exclusion is due to hard prejudices of  
caste or of religion1 a man who has all 
the social gifts of good manners1       
kind-heartedness1 culture1 and even     
wealth1 may find himself outside the    
pale if he lives in or near a small     
place where society is a strong little  
clique well organized on definitely     
understood principles4 ,there are       
situations in which exclusion of that   
kind means perfect solitude4 ,it may be 
argued that to escape solitude the      
victim has nothing to do but associate  
with a lower class1 but this is not easy
 or natural1 especially when1 as in     
,dobell's case1 there is intellectual   
culture4 ,those who have refined manners
 and tastes and a love for intellectual 

pursuits1 usually find themselves       
disqualified for entering with any real 
heartiness and enjoyment into the social
 life of classes where these tastes are 
undeveloped1 and where the thoughts flow
 in two channels1--the serious channel1 
studded with anxieties about the means  
of existence1 and the humorous channel1 
which is a diversion from the other4    
,far be it from me to say anything that 
might imply any shade of contempt or    
disapprobation of the humorous spirit   
that is ,nature's own remedy for the    
evils of an anxious life4 ,it does more 
for the mental health of the middle     
classes than could be done by the most  
sublimated culture2 and if anything     
concerning it is a subject for regret it
 is that culture makes us incapable of  
enjoying poor jokes4 ,it is1 however1 a 
simple matter of fact that although men 
of great culture may be humorists 7,mr4 
,lowell is a brilliant example71 their  
humor is both more profound in the      
serious intention that lies under it1   

and vastly more extensive in the field  
of its operations than the trivial humor
 of the uneducated2 whence it follows   
that although humor is the faculty by   
which different classes are brought most
 easily into cordial relations1 the     
humorist who has culture will probably  
find himself  l'troit with humorists who
 have none1 whilst the cultured man who 
has no humor1 or whose humorous         
tendencies have been overpowered by     
serious thought1 is so terribly isolated
 in uneducated society that he feels    
less alone in solitude4 ,to realize this
 truth in its full force1 the reader has
 only to imagine ,john ,stuart ,mill    
trying to associate with one of those   
middle-class families that ,dickens     
loved to describe1 such as the ,wardle  
family in ,pickwick4  ,it follows from  
these considerations that unless a man  
lives in ,london1 or in some other great
 capital city1 he may easily find       
himself so situated that he must learn  
the art of being happy without society4 

,as there is no pleasure in military    
life for a soldier who fears death1 so  
there is no independence in civil       
existence for the man who has an        
overpowering dread of solitude4  ,there 
are two good reasons against the        
excessive dread of solitude4 ,the first 
is that solitude is very rarely so      
absolute as it appears from a distance2 
and the second is that when the evil is 
real1 and almost complete1 there are    
palliatives that may lessen it to such a
 degree as to make it1 at the worst1    
supportable1 and at the best for some   
natures even enjoyable in a rather sad  
and melancholy way4  ,let us not deceive
 ourselves with conventional notions on 
the subject4 ,the world calls solitude  
that condition in which a man lives     
outside of society1 or1 in other words1 
the condition in which he does not pay  
formal calls and is not invited to state
 dinners and dances4 ,such a condition  
may be very lamentable1 and deserving of
 polite contempt1 but it need not be    

absolute solitude4  ,absolute solitude  
would be the state of ,crusoe on the    
desert island1 severed from human kind  
and never hearing a human voice2 but    
this is not the condition of any one in 
a civilized country who is out of a     
prison cell4 ,suppose that ,i am        
travelling in a country where ,i am a   
perfect stranger1 and that ,i stay for  
some days in a village where ,i do not  
know a soul4 ,in a surprisingly short   
time ,i shall have made acquaintances   
and begun to acquire rather a home-like 
feeling in the place4 ,my new           
acquaintances may possibly not be rich  
and fashionable3 they may be the rural  
postman1 the innkeeper1 the             
stone-breaker on the roadside1 the      
radical cobbler1 and perhaps a mason or 
a joiner and a few more or less untidy  
little children2 but every morning their
 greeting becomes more friendly1 and so 
,i feel myself connected still with that
 great human race to which1 whatever may
 be my sins against the narrow laws of  

caste and class1 ,i still unquestionably
 belong4 ,it is a positive advantage    
that our meetings should be accidental  
and not so long as to involve any of the
 embarrassments of formal social        
intercourse1 as ,i could not promise    
myself that the attempt to spend a whole
 evening with these humble friends might
 not cause difficulties for me and for  
them4 ,all ,i maintain is that these    
little chance talks and greetings have a
 tendency to keep me cheerful and       
preserve me from that moody state of    
mind to which the quite lonely man      
exposes himself4 ,as to the substance   
and quality of our conversations1 ,i    
amuse myself by comparing them with     
conversations between more genteel      
people1 and do not always perceive that 
the disparity is very wide4 ,poor men   
often observe external facts with the   
greatest shrewdness and accuracy1 and   
have interesting things to tell when    
they see that you set up no barrier of  
pride against them4 ,perhaps they do not

 know much about architecture and the   
graphic arts1 but on these subjects they
 are devoid of the false pretensions of 
the upper classes1 which is an          
unspeakable comfort and relief4 ,they   
teach us many things that are worth     
knowing4 ,humble and poor people were   
amongst the best educators of           
,shakspeare1 ,scott1 ,dickens1          
,wordsworth1 ,george ,eliot4 ,even old  
,homer learned from them touches of     
nature which have done as much for his  
immortality as the fire of his wrathful 
kings4  ,let me give the reader an      
example of this chance intercourse just 
as it really occurred4 ,i was drawing   
architectural details in and about a    
certain foreign cathedral1 and had the  
usual accompaniment of youthful         
spectators who liked to watch me        
working1 as greater folks watch         
fashionable artists in their studios4   
,sometimes they rather incommoded me1   
but on my complaining of the            
inconvenience1 two of the bigger boys   

acted as policemen to defend me1 which  
they did with stern authority and       
promptness4 ,after that one highly      
intelligent little boy brought paper and
 pencil from his father's house and set 
himself to draw what ,i was drawing4    
,the subject was far too difficult for  
him1 but ,i gave him a simpler one1 and 
in a very short time he was a regular   
pupil4 ,inspired by his example1 three  
other little boys asked if they might do
 likewise1 so ,i had a class of four4   
,their manner towards me was            
perfect1--not a trace of rudeness nor of
 timidity either1 but absolute          
confidence at once friendly and         
respectful4 ,every day when ,i went to  
the cathedral at the same hour my four  
little friends greeted me with such     
frank and visible gladness that it could
 neither have been feigned nor mistaken4
 ,during our lessons they surprised and 
interested me greatly by the keen       
observation they displayed2 and this was
 true more particularly of the bright   

little leader and originator of the     
class4 ,the house he lived in was       
exactly opposite the rich west front of 
the cathedral2 and ,i found that1 young 
as he was 7a mere child71 he had        
observed for himself almost all the     
details of its sculpture4 ,the statues1 
groups1 bas-reliefs1 and other ornaments
 were all1 for him1 so many separate    
subjects1 and not a confused enrichment 
of labored stone-work as they so easily 
might have been4 ,he had notions1 too1  
about chronology1 telling me the dates  
of some parts of the cathedral and      
asking me about others4 ,his mother     
treated me with the utmost kindness and 
invited me to sketch quietly from her   
windows4 ,i took a photographer up      
there1 and set his big camera1 and we   
got such a photograph as had been deemed
 impossible before4 ,now in all this    
does not the reader perceive that ,i was
 enjoying human intercourse in a very   
delicate and exquisite way8 ,what could 
be more charming and refreshing to a    

solitary student than this frank and    
hearty friendship of children who caused
 no perceptible hindrance to his work1  
whilst they effectually dispelled sad   
thoughts8  ,two other examples may be   
given from the experience of a man who  
has often been alone and seldom felt    
himself in solitude4  ,i remember       
arriving1 long ago1 in the evening at   
the head of a salt-water loch in        
,scotland1 where in those days there    
existed an exceedingly small beginning  
of a watering-place4 ,soon after landing
 ,i walked on the beach with no         
companion but the beauty of nature and  
the long1 long thoughts of youth4 ,in a 
short time ,i became aware that a       
middle-aged ,scotch gentleman was taking
 exercise in the same solitary way4 ,he 
spoke to me1 and we were soon deep in a 
conversation that began to be           
interesting to both of us4 ,he was a    
resident in the place and invited me to 
his house1 where our talk continued far 
into the night4 ,i was obliged to leave 

the little haven the next day1 but my   
recollection of it now is like the      
memorandum of a conversation4 ,i        
remember the wild romantic scenery and  
the moon upon the water1 and the steamer
 from ,glasgow at the pier2 but the real
 satisfaction of that day consisted in  
hours of talk with a man who had seen   
much1 observed much1 thought much1 and  
was most kindly and pleasantly          
communicative1--a man whom ,i had never 
spoken to before1 and have never seen or
 heard of since that now distant but    
well-remembered evening4  ,the other    
instance is a conversation in the cabin 
of a steamer4 ,i was alone1 in the depth
 of winter1 making a voyage by an       
unpopular route1 and during a long1 dark
 night4 ,it was a dead calm4 ,we were   
only three passengers1 and we sat       
together by the bright cabin-fire4 ,one 
of us was a young officer in the        
,british navy1 just of age2 another was 
an anxious-looking man of thirty4       
,somehow the conversation turned to the 

subject of inevitable expenses2 and the 
sailor told us that he had a certain    
private income1 the amount of which he  
mentioned4 ,i have exactly the same     
income1 said the man of thirty1 but ,i  
married very early and have a wife and  
family to maintain2 and then--as we did 
not know even his name1 and he was not  
likely to see us again--he seized the   
opportunity 7under the belief that he   
was kindly warning the young sailor7 of 
telling the whole story of his anxieties
 in detail4 ,the point of his discourse 
was that he did not pretend to be poor1 
or to claim sympathy1 but he powerfully 
described the exact nature of his       
position4 ,what had been his private    
income had now become the public revenue
 of a household4 ,it all went in        
housekeeping1 almost independently of   
his will and outside of his control4 ,he
 had his share in the food of the       
family1 and he was just decently        
clothed1 but there was an end to        
personal enterprises4 ,the economy and  

the expenditure of a free and           
intelligent bachelor had been alike     
replaced by a dull1 methodical1         
uncontrollable outgo2 and the man       
himself1 though now called the head of a
 family1 had discovered that a new      
impersonal necessity was the real       
master1 and that he lived like a child  
in his own house4 ,this1 he said1 is the
 fate of a gentleman who marries on     
narrow means1 unless he is cruelly      
selfish4  ,frank and honest             
conversations of this kind often come in
 the way of a man who travels by        
himself1 and they remain with him       
afterwards as a part of his knowledge of
 life4 ,this informal intercourse that  
comes by chance is greatly undervalued1 
especially by ,englishmen1 who are      
seldom very much disposed to it except  
in the humbler classes2 but it is one of
 the broadly scattered1 inestimable     
gifts of ,nature1 like the refreshment  
of air and water4 ,many a healthy and   
happy mind has enjoyed little other     

human intercourse than this4 ,there are 
millions who never get a formal         
invitation1 and yet in this accidental  
way they hear many a bit of entertaining
 or instructive talk4 ,the greatest     
charm of it is its consistency with the 
most absolute independence4 ,no         
abandonment of principle is required1   
nor any false assumption4 ,you stand    
simply on your elementary right to      
consideration as a decent human being   
within the great pale of civilization4  
,there is1 however1 another sense in    
which every superior person is greatly  
exposed to the evil of solitude if he   
lives outside of a great capital city4  
,without misanthropy1 and without any   
unjust or unkind contempt for our       
fellow-creatures1 we still must perceive
 that mankind in general have no other  
purpose than to live in comfort with    
little mental exertion4 ,the desire for 
comfort is not wholly selfish1 because  
people want it for their families as    
much as for themselves1 but it is a low 

motive in this sense1 that it is        
scarcely compatible with the higher     
kinds of mental exertion1 whilst it is  
entirely incompatible with devotion to  
great causes4 ,the object of common men 
is not to do noble work by their own    
personal efforts1 but so to plot and    
contrive that others may be industrious 
for their benefit1 and not for their    
highest benefit1 but in order that they 
may have curtains and carpets4  ,those  
for whom accumulated riches have already
 provided these objects of desire seldom
 care greatly for anything except       
amusements4 ,if they have ambition1 it  
is for a higher social rank4  ,these    
three common pursuits1 comfort1         
amusements1 rank1 lie so much outside of
 the disciplinary studies that a man of 
studious habits is likely to find       
himself alone in a peculiar sense4 ,as a
 human being he is not alone1 but as a  
serious thinker and worker he may find  
himself in complete solitude4  ,many    
readers will remember the well-known    

passage in ,stuart ,mill's              
autobiography1 in which he dealt with   
this subject4 ,it has often been quoted 
against him1 because he went so far as  
to say that a person of high intellect  
should never go into unintellectual     
society1 unless he can enter it as an   
apostle1 a passage not likely to make   
its author beloved by society of that   
kind2 yet ,mill was not a misanthropist1
 he was only anxious to preserve what   
there is of high feeling and high       
principle from deterioration by too much
 contact with the common world4 ,it was 
not so much that he despised the common 
world1 as that he knew the infinite     
preciousness1 even to the common people 
themselves1 of the few better and higher
 minds4 ,he knew how difficult it is for
 such minds to retain their higher      
principles unimpaired1 and how at least 
with respect to the persons and affairs 
of their own day they insensibly adopt  
the modes of feeling and judgment in    
which they can hope for sympathy from   

the company they keep4  ,perhaps ,i may 
do well to offer an illustration of     
this1 though from a department of       
culture that may not have been in       
,mill's view when he wrote the passage4 
,i myself have known a certain painter  
7not belonging to the ,english school7  
who had a severe and elevated ideal of  
his art4 ,as his earnings were small he 
went to live in the country for economy4
 ,he then began to associate intimately 
with people to whom all high aims in    
painting were unintelligible4 ,gradually
 he himself lost his interest in them   
and his nobler purposes were abandoned4 
,finally1 art itself was abandoned and  
he became a coffee-house politician4    
,so it is with all rare and exceptional 
pursuits if once we allow ourselves to  
take1 in all respects1 the color of the 
common world4 ,it is impossible to keep 
up a foreign language1 an art1 a        
science1 if we are living away from     
other followers of our pursuit and      
cannot endure solitude4  ,it follows    

from this that there are many situations
 in which men have to learn that        
particular kind of independence which   
consists in bearing isolation patiently 
for the preservation of their better    
selves4 ,in a world of common-sense they
 have to keep a little place apart for a
 kind of sense that is sound and        
rational but not common4  ,this         
isolation would indeed be difficult to  
bear if it were not mitigated by certain
 palliatives that enable a superior mind
 to be healthy and active in its        
loneliness4 ,the first of these is      
reading1 which is seldom valued at its  
almost inestimable worth4 ,by the       
variety of its records and inventions1  
literature continually affords the      
refreshment of change1 not to speak of  
that variety which may be had so easily 
by a change of language when the reader 
knows several different tongues1 and the
 other marvellous variety due to        
difference in the date of books4 ,in    
fact1 literature affords a far wider    

variety than conversation itself1 for we
 can talk only with the living1 but     
literature enables us to descend1 like  
,ulysses1 into the shadowy kingdom of   
the dead4 ,there is but one defect in   
literature1--that the talk is all on one
 side1 so that we are listeners1 as at a
 sermon or a lecture1 and not sharers in
 some antique symposium1 our own brows  
crowned with flowers1 and our own       
tongues loosened with wine4 ,the        
exercise of the tongue is wanting1 and  
to some it is an imperious need1 so that
 they will talk to the most uncongenial 
human beings1 or even to parrots and    
dogs4 ,if we value books as the great   
palliative of solitude and help to      
mental independence1 let us not         
undervalue those intelligent periodicals
 that keep our minds modern and prevent 
us from living altogether in some other 
century than our own4 ,periodicals are a
 kind of correspondence more easily read
 than manuscript and involving no       
obligation to answer4 ,there is also the

 great palliative of occasional direct  
correspondence with those who understand
 our pursuits2 and here we have the     
advantage of using our own tongues1 not 
physically1 but at least in an          
imaginative way4  ,a powerful support to
 some minds is the constantly changing  
beauty of the natural world1 which      
becomes like a great and ever-present   
companion4 ,i am anxious to avoid any   
exaggeration of this benefit1 because ,i
 know that to many it counts for        
nothing2 and an author ought not to     
think only of those who have his own    
mental constitution2 but although       
natural beauty is of little use to one  
solitary mind1 it may be like a living  
friend to another4 ,as a paragraph of   
real experience is worth pages of       
speculation1 ,i may say that ,i have    
always found it possible to live happily
 in solitude1 provided that the place   
was surrounded by varied1 beautiful1 and
 changeful scenery1 but that in ugly or 
even monotonous places ,i have felt     

society to be as necessary as it was    
welcome4 ,byron's expression1--    ,i   
made me friends of mountains1  and      
,wordsworth's1        ,nature never did 
betray   ,the heart that loved her1  are
 not more than plain statements of the  
companionship that some minds find in   
the beauty of landscape4 ,they are often
 accused of affectation1 but in truth ,i
 believe that we who have that passion1 
instead of expressing more than we feel1
 have generally rather a tendency to be 
reserved upon the subject1 as we seldom 
expect sympathy4 ,many of us would      
rather live in solitude and on small    
means at ,como than on a great income in
 ,manchester4 ,this may be a foolish    
preference2 but let the reader remember 
the profound utterance of ,blake1 that  
if the fool would but persevere in his  
folly he would become wise4  ,however   
powerful may be the aid of books and    
natural scenery in enabling us to bear  
solitude1 the best help of all must be  
found in our occupations themselves4    

,steady workers do not need much        
company4 ,to be occupied with a task    
that is difficult and arduous1 but that 
we know to be within our powers1 and to 
awake early every morning with the      
delightful feeling that the whole day   
can be given to it without fear of      
interruption1 is the perfection of      
happiness for one who has the gift of   
throwing himself heartily into his work4
 ,when night comes he will be a little  
weary1 and more disposed for tranquil   
sleep than to danser jusqu' au jour chez
 l'ambassadeur de ,france4  ,this is the
 best independence1--to have something  
to do and something that can be done1   
and done most perfectly1 in solitude4   
,then the lonely hours flow on like     
smoothly gliding water1 bearing one     
insensibly to the evening4 ,the workman 
says1 ,is my sight failing8 and lo the  
sun has set6  ,there is but one         
objection to this absorption in worthy  
toil4 ,it is that as the day passes so  
passes life itself1 that succession of  

many days4 ,the workman thinks of       
nothing but his work1 and finds the time
 all too short4 ,at length he suddenly  
perceives that he is old1 and wonders if
 life might not have been made to seem a
 little longer1 and if1 after all1 it   
has been quite the best policy always to
 avoid ennui4     ,,essay ,,iii4  ,,of  
,,passionate ,,love4   ,the wonder of   
love is that1 for the time being1 it    
makes us ardently desire the presence of
 one person and feel indifferent to all 
others of her sex4 ,it is commonly      
spoken of as a delusion1 but ,i do not  
see any delusion here1 for if the       
presence of the beloved person satisfies
 his craving1 the lover gets what he    
desires and is not more the victim of a 
deception than one who succeeds in      
satisfying any other want4  ,again1 it  
is often said that men are blinded by   
love1 but the fact that one sees certain
 qualities in a beloved person need not 
imply blindness4 ,if you are in love    
with a little woman it is not a reason  

for supposing her to be tall4 ,i will   
even venture to affirm that you may love
 a woman passionately and still be quite
 clearly aware that her beauty is far   
inferior to that of another whose coming
 thrills you with no emotion1 whose     
departure leaves with you no regret4    
,the true nature of a profound passion  
is not to attribute every physical and  
mental quality to its object1 but rather
 to think1 ,such as she is1 with the    
endowments that are really her own1 ,i  
love her above all women1 though ,i know
 that she is not so beautiful as some   
are1 nor so learned as some others4 ,the
 only real deception to which a lover is
 exposed is that he may overestimate the
 strength of his own passion4 ,if he has
 not made this mistake he is not likely 
to make any other1 since1 whatever the  
indifferent may see1 or fail to see1 in 
the woman of his choice1 he surely finds
 in her the adequate reason for her     
attraction4  ,love is commonly treated  
as if it belonged only to the flowering 

of the spring-time of life1 but strong  
and healthy natures remain capable of   
feeling the passion in great force long 
after they are supposed to have left it 
far behind them4 ,it is1 indeed1 one of 
the signs of a healthy nature to retain 
for many years the freshness of the     
heart which makes one liable to fall in 
love1 as a healthy palate retains the   
natural early taste for delicious       
fruits4  ,this freshness of the heart is
 lost far more surely by debauchery than
 by years2 and for this reason worldly  
parents are not altogether dissatisfied 
that their sons should sow their wild   
oats in youth1 as they believe that this
 kind of sowing is a preservative       
against the dangers of pure love and an 
imprudent or unequal marriage4 ,the     
calculation is well founded4 ,after a   
few years of indiscriminate debauchery a
 young man is likely to be deadened to  
the sweet influences of love and        
therefore able to conduct himself with  
steady worldliness1 either remaining in 

celibacy or marrying for position1      
exactly as his interests may dictate4   
,the case of ,shelley is an apt         
illustration of this danger4 ,he had at 
the same time a horror of debauchery and
 an irresistible natural tendency to the
 passion of love4  ,from the worldly    
point of view both his connections were 
degrading for a young gentleman of rank4
 ,had he followed the very common course
 of a real degradation and married a    
lady of rank after ten years of         
indiscriminate immorality1 is it an     
unjust or an unlikely supposition that  
he would have given less dissatisfaction
 to his friends8  ,as to the permanence 
of love1 or its transitoriness1 the     
plain and candid answer is that there is
 no real assurance either way4 ,to      
predict that it will certainly die after
 fruition is to shut one's eyes against 
the evident fact that men often remain  
in love with mistresses or wives4 ,on   
the other hand1 to assume that love is  
fixed and made permanent in a magical   

way by marriage is to assume what would 
be desirable rather than what really is4
 ,there are no magical incantations by  
which ,love may be retained1 yet        
sometimes he will rest and dwell with   
astonishing tenacity when there seem to 
be the strongest reasons for his        
departure4 ,if there were any ceremony1 
if any sacrifice could be made at an    
altar1 by which the capricious little   
deity might be conciliated and won1 the 
wisest might hasten to perform that     
ceremony and offer that acceptable      
sacrifice2 but he cares not for any of  
our rites4 ,sometimes he stays1 in spite
 of cruelty1 misery1 and wrong2         
sometimes he takes flight from the      
hearth where a woman sits and grieves   
alone1 with all the attractions of      
health1 beauty1 gentleness1 and         
refinement4  ,boys and girls imagine    
that love in a poor cottage or a bare   
garret would be more blissful than      
indifference in a palace1 and the notion
 is thought foolish and romantic by the 

wise people of the world2 but the boys  
and girls are right in their estimate of
 ,love's great power of cheering and    
brightening existence even in the very  
humblest situations4 ,the possible error
 against which they ought to be clearly 
warned is that of supposing that ,love  
would always remain contentedly in the  
cottage or the garret4 ,not that he is  
any more certain to remain in a mansion 
in ,belgrave ,square1 not that a garret 
with him is not better than the vast    
,vatican without him2 but when he has   
taken his flight1 and is simply absent1 
one would rather be left in comfortable 
than in beggarly desolation4  ,the poets
 speak habitually of love as if it were 
a passion that could be safely indulged1
 whereas the whole experience of modern 
existence goes to show that it is of all
 passions the most perilous to happiness
 except in those rare cases where it can
 be followed by marriage2 and even then 
the peril is not ended1 for marriage    
gives no certainty of the duration of   

love1 but constitutes of itself a new   
danger1 as the natures most disposed to 
passion are at the same time the most   
impatient of restraint4  ,there is this 
peculiarity about love in a             
well-regulated social state4 ,it is the 
only passion that is quite strictly     
limited in its indulgence4 ,of the      
intellectual passions a man may indulge 
several different ones either           
successively or together2 in the        
ordinary physical enjoyments1 such as   
the love of active sports or the        
pleasures of the table1 he may carry his
 indulgence very far and vary it without
 blame2 but the master passion of all   
has to be continually quelled1 the      
satisfactions that it asks for have to  
be continually refused to it1 unless    
some opportunity occurs when they may be
 granted without disturbing any one of  
many different threads in the web of    
social existence2 and these threads1 to 
a lover's eye1 seem entirely unconnected
 with his hope4  ,in stating the fact of

 these restraints ,i do not dispute     
their necessity4 ,on the contrary1 it is
 evident that infinite practical evil   
would result from liberty4 ,those who   
have broken through the social          
restraints and allowed the passion of   
love to set up its stormy and variable  
tyranny in their hearts have led        
unsettled and unhappy lives4 ,even of   
love itself they have not enjoyed the   
best except in those rare cases in which
 the lovers have taken bonds upon       
themselves not less durable than those  
of marriage2 and even these unions1     
which give no more liberty than marriage
 itself gives1 are accompanied by the   
unsettled feeling that belongs to all   
irregular situations4  ,it is easy to   
distinguish in the conventional manner  
between the lower and the higher kinds  
of love1 but it is not so easy to       
establish the real distinction4 ,the    
conventional difference is simply       
between the passion in marriage and out 
of it2 the real distinction would be    

between different feelings2 but as these
 feelings are not ascertainable by one  
person in the mind or nerves of another1
 and as in most cases they are probably 
much blended1 the distinction can seldom
 be accurately made in the cases of real
 persons1 though it is marked           
trenchantly enough in works of pure     
imagination4  ,the passion exists in an 
infinite variety1 and it is so strongly 
influenced by elements of character     
which have apparently nothing to do with
 it1 that its effects on conduct are to 
a great extent controlled by them4 ,for 
example1 suppose the case of a man with 
strong passions combined with a selfish 
nature1 and that of another with        
passions equally strong1 but a rooted   
aversion to all personal satisfactions  
that might end in misery for others4    
,the first would ruin a girl with little
 hesitation2 the second would rather    
suffer the entire privation of her      
society by quitting the neighborhood    
where she lived4  ,the interference of  

qualities that lie outside of passion is
 shown very curiously and remarkably in 
intellectual persons in this way4 ,they 
may have a strong temporary passion for 
somebody without intellect or culture1  
but they are not likely to be held      
permanently by such a person2 and even  
when under the influence of the         
temporary desire they may be clearly    
aware of the danger there would be in   
converting it into a permanent relation1
 and so they may take counsel with      
themselves and subdue the passion or fly
 from the temptation1 knowing that it   
would be sweet to yield1 but that a     
transient delight would be paid for by  
years of weariness in the future4       
,those men of superior abilities who    
have bound themselves for life to some  
woman who could not possibly understand 
them1 have generally either broken their
 bonds afterwards or else avoided as    
much as possible the tiresomeness of a  
tte--tte1 and found in general society  
the means of occasionally enduring the  

dulness of their home4 ,for short and   
transient relations the principal charm 
in a woman is either beauty or a certain
 sweetness1 but for any permanent       
relation the first necessity of all is  
that she be companionable4  ,passionate 
love is the principal subject of poets  
and novelists1 who usually avoid its    
greatest difficulties by well-known     
means of escape4 ,either the passion    
finishes tragically by the death of one 
of the parties1 or else it comes to a   
natural culmination in their union1     
whether according to social order or    
through a breach of it4 ,in real life   
the story is not always rounded off so  
conveniently4 ,it may happen1 it        
probably often does happen1 that a      
passion establishes itself where it has 
no possible chance of satisfaction1 and 
where1 instead of being cut short by    
death1 it persists through a            
considerable part of life and embitters 
it4 ,these cases are the more           
unfortunate that hopeless desire gives  

an imaginary glory to its own object1   
and that1 from the circumstances of the 
case1 this halo is not dissipated4  ,it 
is common amongst hard and narrow       
people1 who judge the feelings of others
 by their own want of them1 to treat all
 the painful side of passion with       
contemptuous levity4 ,they say that     
people never die for love1 and that such
 fancies may easily be chased away by   
the exercise of a little resolution4    
,the profounder students of human nature
 take the subject more seriously4 ,each 
of the great poets 7including1 of       
course1 the author of the ,bride of     
,lammermoor1 in which the poetical      
elements are so abundant7 has treated   
the aching pain of love and the tragedy 
to which it may lead1 as in the deaths  
of ,haide1 of ,lucy ,ashton1 of ,juliet1
 of ,margaret4 ,in real life the powers 
of evil do not perceive any necessity   
for an artistic conclusion of their     
work4 ,a wrinkled old maid may still    
preserve in the depths of her own heart1

 quite unsuspected by the young and     
lively people about her1 the            
unextinguished embers of a passion that 
first made her wretched fifty years     
before2 and in the long1 solitary hours 
of a dull old age she may live over and 
over again in memory the brief delirium 
of that wild and foolish hope which was 
followed by years of self-repression4   
,of all the painful situations          
occasioned by passionate love1 ,i know  
of none more lamentable than that of an 
innocent and honorable woman who has    
been married to an unsuitable husband   
and who afterwards makes the discovery  
that she involuntarily loves another4   
,in well-regulated1 moral societies such
 passions are repressed1 but they cannot
 be repressed without suffering which   
has to be endured in silence4 ,the      
victim is punished for no fault when    
none is committed2 but she may suffer   
from the forces of nature like one who  
hungers and thirsts and sees a fair     
banquet provided1 yet is forbidden to   

eat or drink4 ,it is difficult to       
suppress the heart's regret1 ,ah1 if we 
had known each other earlier1 in the    
days when ,i was free1 and it was not   
wrong to love6 ,then there is the       
haunting fear that the woful secret may 
one day reveal itself to others4 ,might 
it not be suddenly and unexpectedly     
betrayed by a momentary absence of      
self-control8 ,this has sometimes       
happened1 and then there is no safety   
but in separation1 immediate and        
decided4 ,suppose a case like the       
following1 which is said to have really 
occurred4 ,a perfectly honorable man    
goes to visit an intimate friend1 walks 
quietly in the garden one afternoon with
 his friend's wife1 and suddenly        
discovers that he is the object of a    
passion which1 until that moment1 she   
has steadily controlled4 ,one outburst  
of shameful tears1 one pitiful          
confession of a life's unhappiness1 and 
they part forever6 ,this is what happens
 when the friend respects his friend and

 the wife her husband4 ,what happens    
when both are capable of treachery is   
known to the readers of ,english        
newspaper reports and ,french fictions4 
,it seems as if1 with regard to this    
passion1 civilized man were placed in a 
false position between ,nature on the   
one hand and civilization on the other4 
,nature makes us capable of feeling it  
in very great strength and intensity1 at
 an age when marriage is not to be      
thought of1 and when there is not much  
self-control4 ,the tendency of high     
civilization is to retard the time of   
marriage for men1 but there is not any  
corresponding postponement in the       
awakening of the passions4 ,the least   
civilized classes marry early1 the more 
civilized later and later1 and not often
 from passionate love1 but from a cool  
and prudent calculation about general   
chances of happiness1 a calculation     
embracing very various elements1 and in 
itself as remote from passion as the    
,proverbs of ,solomon from the ,song of 

,songs4 ,it consequently happens that   
the great majority of young gentlemen   
discover early in life that passionate  
love is a danger to be avoided1 and so  
indeed it is2 but it seems a peculiar   
misfortune for civilized man that so    
natural an excitement1 which is capable 
of giving such a glow to all his        
faculties as nothing else can give1 an  
excitement which exalts the imagination 
to poetry and increases courage till it 
becomes heroic devotion1 whilst it gives
 a glamour of romance to the poorest and
 most prosaic existence1--it seems1 ,i  
say1 a misfortune that a passion with   
such unequalled powers as these should  
have to be eliminated from wise and     
prudent life4 ,the explanation of its   
early and inconvenient appearance may be
 that before the human race had attained
 a position of any tranquillity or      
comfort1 the average life was very      
short1 and it was of the utmost         
importance that the flame of existence  
should be passed on to another          

generation without delay4 ,we inherit   
the rapid development which saved the   
race in its perilous past1 but we are   
embarrassed by it1 and instead of       
elevating us to a more exalted life it  
often avenges itself for the refusal of 
natural activity by its own corruption1 
the corruption of the best into the     
worst1 of the fire from heaven into the 
filth of immorality4 ,the more this     
great passion is repressed and expelled1
 the more frequent does immorality      
become4  ,another very remarkable result
 of the exclusion of passionate love    
from ordinary existence is that the idea
 of it takes possession of the          
imagination4 ,the most melodious poetry1
 the most absorbing fiction1 are alike  
celebrations of its mysteries4 ,even the
 wordless voice of music wails or       
languishes for love1 and the audience   
that seems only to hear flutes and      
violins is in reality listening to that 
endless song of love which thrills      
through the passionate universe4 ,well  

may the rebels against ,nature revolt   
against the influence of ,art6 ,it is   
everywhere permeated by passion4 ,the   
cold marble warms with it1 the opaque   
pigments palpitate with it1 the dull    
actor has the tones of genius when he   
wins access to its perennial            
inspiration4 ,even those forms of art   
which seem remote from it do yet confess
 its presence4 ,you see a picture of    
solitude1 and think that passion cannot 
enter there1 but everything suggests it4
 ,the tree bends down to the calm water1
 the gentle breeze caresses every leaf1 
the white-pated old mountain is visited 
by the short-lived summer clouds4 ,if1  
in the opening glade1 the artist has    
sketched a pair of lovers1 you think    
they naturally complete the scene2 if he
 has omitted them1 it is still a place  
for lovers1 or has been1 or will be on  
some sweet eve like this4 ,what have    
stars and winds and odors to do with    
love8 ,the poets know all about it1 and 
so let ,shelley tell us3--    ,i arise  

from dreams of ,thee    ,in the first   
sweet sleep of night1    ,when the winds
 are breathing low    ,and the stars are
 shining bright3    ,i arise from dreams
 of thee1    ,and a spirit in my feet   
,has led me--who knows how8--    ,to thy
 chamber-window1 ,sweet6    ,the        
wandering airs they faint    ,on the    
dark1 the silent stream2    ,the champak
 odors fail    ,like sweet thoughts in a
 dream2    ,the nightingale's complaint 
,it dies upon her heart1    ,as ,i must 
die on thine    ,o belovd as thou art6  
,,essay ,,iv4  ,,companionship ,,in     
,,marriage4   ,if the reader has ever   
had for a travelling-companion some     
person totally unsuited to his nature   
and quite unable to enter into the ideas
 that chiefly interest him1 unable1     
even1 to see the things that he sees and
 always disposed to treat negligently or
 contemptuously the thoughts and        
preferences that are most his own1 he   
may have some faint conception of what  
it must be to find one's self tied to an

 unsuitable companion for the tedious   
journey of this mortal life2 and if1 on 
the other hand1 he has ever enjoyed the 
pleasure of wandering through a country 
that interested him along with a friend 
who could understand his interest1 and  
share it1 and whose society enhanced the
 charm of every prospect and banished   
dulness from the dreariest inns1 he may 
in some poor and imperfect degree       
realize the happiness of those who have 
chosen the life-companion wisely4       
,when1 after an experiment of months or 
years1 the truth becomes plainly evident
 that a great mistake has been          
committed1 that there is really no      
companionship1 that there never will be1
 never can be1 any mental communion     
between the two1 but that life in common
 is to be like a stiff morning call when
 the giver and the receiver of the visit
 are beating their brains to find       
something to say1 and dread the gaps of 
silence1 then in the blank and dreary   
outlook comes the idea of separation1   

and sometimes1 in the loneliness that   
follows1 a wild rebellion against social
 order1 and a reckless attempt to find  
in some more suitable union a           
compensation for the first sad failure4 
,the world looks with more indulgence on
 these attempts when it sees reason to  
believe that the desire was for         
intellectual companionship than when    
inconstant passions are presumed to have
 been the motives2 and it has so        
happened that a few persons of great    
eminence have set an example in this    
respect which has had the unfortunate   
effect of weakening in a perceptible    
degree the ancient social order4 ,it is 
not possible1 of course1 that there can 
be many cases like that of ,george      
,eliot and ,lewes1 for the simple reason
 that persons of their eminence are so  
rare2 but if there were only a few more 
cases of that kind it is evident that   
the laws of society would either be     
confessedly powerless1 or else it would 
be necessary to modify them and bring   

them into harmony with new conditions4  
,the importance of the case alluded to  
lies in the fact that the lady1 though  
she was excluded 7or willingly excluded 
herself7 from general society1 was still
 respected and visited not only by men  
but by ladies of blameless life4 ,nor   
was she generally regarded as an immoral
 person even by the outer world4 ,the   
feeling about her was one of regret that
 the faithful companionship she gave to 
,lewes could not be legally called a    
marriage1 as it was apparently a model  
of what the legal relation ought to be4 
,the object of his existence was to give
 her every kind of help and to spare her
 every shadow of annoyance4 ,he read to 
her1 wrote letters for her1 advised her 
on everything1 and whilst full of       
admiration for her talents was able to  
do something for their most effectual   
employment4 ,she1 on her part1 rewarded 
him with that which he prized above     
riches1 the frank and affectionate      
companionship of an intellect that it is

 needless to describe and of a heart    
full of the most lively sympathy and    
ready for the most romantic sacrifices4 
,in the preceding generation we have the
 well-known instances of ,shelley1      
,byron1 and ,goethe1 all of whom sought 
companionship outside of social rule1   
and enjoyed a sort of happiness probably
 not unembittered by the false position 
in which it placed them4 ,the sad story 
of ,shelley's first marriage1 that with 
,harriett ,westbrook1 is one of the best
 instances of a deplorable but most     
natural mistake4 ,she is said to have   
been a charming person in many ways4    
,harriett1 says ,mr4 ,rossetti1 was not 
only delightful to look at but          
altogether most agreeable4 ,she dressed 
with exquisite neatness and propriety2  
her voice was pleasant and her speech   
cordial2 her spirits were cheerful and  
her manners good4 ,she was well         
educated1 a constant and agreeable      
reader2 adequately accomplished in      
music4 ,but in spite of these qualities 

and talents1 and even of ,harriett's    
willingness to learn1 ,shelley did not  
find her to be companionable for him2   
and he unfortunately did discover that  
another young lady1 ,mary ,godwin1 was  
companionable in the supreme degree4    
,that this latter idea was not illusory 
is proved by his happy life afterwards  
with ,mary so far as a life could be    
happy that was poisoned by a tragic     
recollection4#c ,before that miserable  
ending1 before the waters of the        
,serpentine had closed over the wretched
 existence of ,harriett1 ,shelley said1 
,every one who knows me must know that  
the partner of my life should be one who
 can feel poetry and understand         
philosophy4 ,harriett is a noble animal1
 but she can do neither4 ,here we have a
 plain statement of that great need for 
companionship which was a part of       
,shelley's nature4 ,it is often         
connected with its apparent opposite1   
the love of solitude4 ,shelley was a    
lover of solitude1 which means that he  

liked full and adequate human           
intercourse so much that the            
insufficient imitation of it was        
intolerable to him4 ,even that sweetest 
solitude of all1 when he wrote the      
,revolt of ,islam in summer shades1 to  
the sound of rippling waters1 was       
willingly exchanged for the society of  
the one dearest and best companion3--   
,so now my summer-task is ended1 ,mary1 
,and ,i return to thee1 mine own heart's
 home2    ,as to his ,queen some victor 
,knight of ,fary1        ,earning bright
 spoils for her enchanted dome4         
,nor thou disdain that1 ere my fame     
become    ,a star among the stars of    
mortal night        7,if it indeed may  
cleave its native gloom71      ,its     
doubtful promise thus ,i would unite    
,with thy beloved name1 thou child of   
love and light4    ,the toil which stole
 from thee so many an hour        ,is   
ended1 and the fruit is at thy feet4    
,no longer where the woods to frame a   
bower        ,with interlaced branches  

mix and meet1        ,or where1 with    
sound like many voices sweet1           
,waterfalls leap among wild islands     
green        ,which framed for my lone  
boat a lone retreat      ,of moss-grown 
trees and weeds1 shall ,i be seen3      
,but beside thee1 where still my heart  
has ever been4  ,it is not surprising   
that the companionship of conjugal life 
should be like other friendships in     
this1 that a first experiment may be a  
failure and a later experiment a        
success4 ,we are all so fallible that in
 matters of which we have no experience 
we generally commit great blunders4     
,marriage unites all the conditions that
 make a blunder probable4 ,two young    
people1 with very little conception of  
what an unsurmountable barrier a        
difference of idiosyncrasy may be1 are  
pleased with each other's youth1 health1
 natural gayety1 and good looks1 and    
fancy that it would be delightful to    
live together4 ,they marry1 and in many 
cases discover that somehow1 in spite of

 the most meritorious efforts1 they are 
not companions4 ,there is no fault on   
either side2 they try their best1 but   
the invisible demon1 incompatibility1 is
 too strong for them4  ,from all that we
 know of the characters of ,lord and    
,lady ,byron it seems evident that they 
never were likely to enjoy life         
together4 ,he committed the mistake of  
marrying a lady on the strength of her  
excellent reputation4 ,she has talents  
and excellent qualities1 he said before 
marriage2 as if all the arts and        
sciences and all the virtues put        
together could avail without the one    
quality that is never admired1 never    
understood by others1--that of simple   
suitableness4 ,she was a kind of pattern
 in the ,north1 and he heard of nothing 
but her merits and her wonders4 ,he did 
not see that all these excellencies were
 dangers1 that the consciousness of them
 and the reputation for them would set  
the lady up on a judgment seat of her   
own1 from which she would be continually

 observing the errors1 serious or       
trivial1 of that faulty specimen of the 
male sex that it was her lofty mission  
to correct or to condemn4 ,all this he  
found out in due time and expressed in  
the bitter lines1--    ,oh6 she was     
perfect past all parallel      ,of any  
modern female saint's comparison        
99       99       99       99       99  
,perfect she was4  ,the story of his    
subsequent life is too well known to    
need repetition here4 ,all that concerns
 our present subject is that ultimately1
 in the ,countess ,guiccioli1 he found  
the woman who had1 for him1 that one    
quality1 suitableness1 which outweighs  
all the perfections4 ,she did not read  
,english1 but1 though ignorant alike of 
the splendor and the tenderness of his  
verse1 she knew the nature of the man2  
and he enjoyed in her society1 probably 
for the first time in his life1 the most
 exquisite pleasure the masculine mind  
can ever know1 that of being looked upon
 by a feminine intelligence with clear  

sight and devoted affection at the same 
time4 ,the relation that existed between
 ,byron and the ,countess ,guiccioli is 
one outside of our morality1 a revenge  
of ,nature against a marriage system    
that could take a girl not yet sixteen  
and make her the third wife of a man    
more than old enough to be her          
grandfather4 ,in ,italy this revenge of 
,nature against a bad social system is  
accepted1 within limits1 and is an all  
but inevitable consequence of marriages 
like that of ,count ,guiccioli1 which1  
however they may be approved by custom  
and consecrated by religious ceremonies1
 remain1 nevertheless1 amongst the worst
 7because the most unnatural7           
immoralities4 ,all that need be said in 
his young wife's defence is that she    
followed the only rule habitually acted 
upon by mankind1 the custom of her      
country and her class1 and that she     
acted1 from beginning to end1 with the  
most absolute personal abnegation4 ,on  
,byron her influence was wholly         

beneficial4 ,she raised him from a mode 
of life that was deplored by all his    
true friends1 to the nearest imitation  
of a happy marriage that was accessible 
to him2 but the irregularity of their   
position brought upon them the usual    
,nemesis1 and after a broken            
intercourse1 during which he never could
 feel her to be really his own1 he went 
to ,missolonghi and wrote1 under the    
shadow of ,death1--    ,the hope1 the   
fear1 the jealous care1      ,the       
exalted portion of the pain    ,and     
power of love1 ,i cannot share1         
,but wear the chain4  ,the difference   
between ,byron and ,goethe in regard to 
feminine companionship lies chiefly in  
this1--that whilst ,byron does not seem 
to have been very susceptible of        
romantic love 7though he was often      
entangled in liaisons more or less      
degrading71 ,goethe was constantly in   
love and imaginative in his passions1 as
 might be expected from a poet4 ,he     
appears to have encouraged himself in   

amorous fancies till they became almost 
or quite realities1 as if to give       
himself that experience of various      
feeling out of which he afterwards      
created poems4 ,he was himself clearly  
conscious that his poetry was a         
transformation of real experiences into 
artistic forms4 ,the knowledge that he  
came by his poetry in this way would    
naturally lead him to encourage rather  
than stifle the sentiments which gave   
him his best materials4 ,it is quite    
within the comprehensive powers of a    
complex nature that a poet might lead a 
dual life2 being at the same time a man1
 ardent1 very susceptible of all        
passionate emotions1 and a poet1        
observing this passionate life and      
accumulating its results4 ,in all this  
there is very little of what occupies us
 just now1 the search for a satisfactory
 companionship4 ,the woman with whom he 
most enjoyed that was the ,baroness von 
,stein1 but even this friendship was not
 ultimately satisfying and had not a    

permanent character4 ,it lasted ten or  
eleven years1 till his return from the  
,italian journey1 when she thought him  
cold1 and her resource was--reproaches4 
,the resource was more feminine than    
felicitous4 ,instead of sympathizing    
with him in his sorrow at leaving       
,italy1 she felt the regret as an       
offence2 and perhaps it was2 but a      
truer1 nobler nature would surely have  
known how to merge its own pain in      
sympathy with the pain of one beloved4  
,he regretted ,italy2 she was not a     
compensation to him2 she saw this1 and  
her self-love suffered4#d ,and so it    
ended4 ,he offered friendship in vain2  
he had wounded the self-love of a vain  
woman4 ,goethe's longest connection was 
with ,christiane ,vulpius1 a woman quite
 unequal to him in station and culture1 
and in that respect immeasurably        
inferior to the ,baroness von ,stein1   
but superior to her in the power of     
affection1 and able to charm and retain 
the poet by her lively1 pleasant        

disposition and her perfect constancy4  
,gradually she rose in his esteem1 and  
every year increased her influence over 
him4 ,from the precarious position of a 
mistress out of his house she first     
attained that of a wife in all but the  
legal title1 as he received her under   
his roof in defiance of all the good    
society of ,weimar2 and lastly she      
became his lawful wife1 to the still    
greater scandal of the polite world4 ,it
 may even be said that her promotion did
 not end here1 for the final test of    
love is death2 and when ,christiane died
 she left behind her the deep and       
lasting sorrow that is happiness still  
to those who feel it1 though happiness  
in its saddest form4  ,the misfortune of
 ,goethe appears to have been that he   
dreaded and avoided marriage in early   
life1 perhaps because he was            
instinctively aware of his own tendency 
to form many attachments of limited     
duration2 but his treatment of          
,christiane ,vulpius1 so much beyond any

 obligations which1 according to the    
world's code1 he had incurred1 is       
sufficient proof that there was a power 
of constancy in his nature2 and if he   
had married early and suitably it is    
possible that this constancy might have 
stayed and steadied him from the        
beginning4 ,it is easy to imagine that a
 marriage with a cultivated woman of his
 own class would have given him1 in     
course of time1 by mutual adaptation1 a 
much more complete companionship than   
either of those semi-associations with  
the ,frau von ,stein and ,christiane1   
each of which only included a part of   
his great nature4 ,christiane1 however1 
had the better part1 his heartfelt      
affection4  ,the case of ,john ,stuart  
,mill and the remarkable woman by whose 
side he lies buried at ,avignon1 is the 
most perfect instance of thorough       
companionship on record2 and it is      
remarkable especially because men of    
great intellectual power1 whose ways of 
thinking are quite independent of       

custom1 and whose knowledge is so far   
outside the average as to carry their   
thoughts continually beyond the common  
horizon1 have an extreme difficulty in  
associating themselves with women1 who  
are naturally attached to custom1 and   
great lovers of what is settled1 fixed1 
limited1 and clear4 ,the ordinary       
disposition of women is to respect what 
is authorized much more than what is    
original1 and they willingly1 in the    
things of the mind1 bow before anything 
that is repeated with circumstances of  
authority4 ,an isolated philosopher has 
no costume or surroundings to entitle   
him to this kind of respect4 ,he wears  
no vestment1 he is not magnified by any 
architecture1 he is not supported by    
superiors or deferred to by             
subordinates4 ,he stands simply on his  
abilities1 his learning1 and his        
honesty4 ,there is1 however1 this one   
chance in his favor1 that a certain     
natural sympathy may possibly exist     
between him and some woman on the       

earth1--if he could only find her1--and 
this woman would make him independent of
 all the rest4 ,it was ,stuart ,mill's  
rare good-fortune to find this one      
woman1 early in life1 in the person of  
,mrs4 ,taylor2 and as his nature was    
intellectual and affectionate rather    
than passionate1 he was able to rest    
contented with simple friendship for a  
period of twenty years4 ,indeed this    
friendship itself1 considered only as   
such1 was of very gradual growth4 ,to be
 admitted1 he wrote1 into any degree of 
mental intercourse with a being of these
 qualities1 could not but have a most   
beneficial influence on my development2 
though the effect was only gradual1 and 
many years elapsed before her mental    
progress and mine went forward in the   
complete companionship they at last     
attained4 ,the benefit ,i received was  
far greater than any ,i could hope to   
give4444 ,what ,i owe1 even             
intellectually1 to her1 is in its detail
 almost infinite4  ,mill speaks of his  

marriage1 in #ahea 7,i use his words71  
to the lady whose incomparable worth had
 made her friendship the greatest source
 to him both of happiness and of        
improvement during many years in which  
they never expected to be in any closer 
relation to one another4 ,for seven and 
a half years1 he goes on to say1 that   
blessing was mine2 for seven and a half 
only6 ,i can say nothing which could    
describe1 even in the faintest manner1  
what that loss was and is4 ,but because 
,i know that she would have wished it1  
,i endeavor to make the best of what    
life ,i have left and to work on for her
 purposes with such diminished strength 
as can be derived from thoughts of her  
and communion with her memory4444 ,since
 then ,i have sought for such           
alleviation as my state admitted of1 by 
the mode of life which most enabled me  
to feel her still near me4 ,i bought a  
cottage as close as possible to the     
place where she is buried1 and there her
 daughter 7my fellow-sufferer and now my

 chief comfort7 and ,i live constantly  
during a great portion of the year4 ,my 
objects in life are solely those which  
were hers2 my pursuits and occupations  
those in which she shared1 or           
sympathized1 and which are indissolubly 
associated with her4 ,her memory is to  
me a religion1 and her approbation the  
standard by which1 summing up as it does
 all worthiness1 ,i endeavor to regulate
 my life4  ,the examples that ,i have   
selected 7all purposely from the real   
life of well-known persons7 are not     
altogether encouraging4 ,they show the  
difficulty that there is in finding the 
true companion4 ,george ,eliot found    
hers at the cost of a rebellion against 
social order to which1 with her         
regulated mind and conservative         
instincts1 she must have been by nature 
little disposed4 ,shelley succeeded only
 after a failure and whilst the failure 
still had rights over his entire        
existence4 ,his life was like one of    
those pictures in which there is a      

second work over a first1 and the       
painter supposes the first to be        
entirely concealed1 which indeed it is  
for a little time1 but it reappears     
afterwards and spoils the whole4        
,nothing could be more unsatisfactory   
than the domestic arrangements of       
,byron4 ,he married a lady from a belief
 in her learning and virtue1 only to    
find that learning and virtue were hard 
stones in comparison with the daily     
bread of sympathy4 ,then1 after a vain  
waste of years in error1 he found true  
love at last1 but on terms which        
involved too heavy sacrifices from her  
who gave it1 and procured him no        
comfort1 no peace1 if indeed his nature 
was capable of any restfulness in love4 
,goethe1 after a number of attachments  
that ended in nothing1 gave himself to  
one woman by his intelligence and to    
another by his affections1 not belonging
 with his whole nature to either1 and   
never in his long life knowing what it  
is to have equal companionship in one's 

own house4 ,stuart ,mill is contented1  
for twenty years1 to be the esteemed    
friend of a lady married to another1    
without hope of any closer relation2 and
 when his death permits them to think of
 marriage1 they have only seven years   
and a half before them1 and he is       
forty-five years old4  ,cases of this   
kind would be discouraging in the       
extreme degree1 were it not that the    
difficulty is exceptional4 ,high        
intellect is in itself a peculiarity1 in
 a certain sense it is really an        
eccentricity1 even when so thoroughly   
sane and rational as in the cases of    
,george ,eliot1 ,goethe1 and ,mill4 ,it 
is an eccentricity in this sense1 that  
its mental centre does not coincide with
 that of ordinary people4 ,the mental   
centre of ordinary people is simply the 
public opinion1 the common sense1 of the
 class and locality in which they live1 
so that1 to them1 the common sense of   
people in another class1 another        
locality1 appears irrational or absurd4 

,the mental centre of a superior person 
is not that of class and locality4      
,shelley did not belong to the ,english 
aristocracy1 though he was born in it2  
his mind did not centre itself in       
aristocratic ideas4 ,george ,eliot did  
not belong to the middle class of the   
,english midlands1 nor ,stuart ,mill to 
the ,london middle classes4 ,so far as  
,byron belonged to the aristocracy it   
was a mark of inferiority in him1 owing 
to a touch of vulgarity in his nature1  
the same vulgarity which made him       
believe that he could not be a proper   
sort of lord without a prodigal waste of
 money4 ,yet even ,byron was not centred
 in local ideas2 that which was best in 
him1 his enthusiasm for ,greece1 was not
 an essential part of ,nottinghamshire  
common sense4 ,goethe lived much more in
 one locality1 and even in a small      
place2 but if anything is remarkable in 
him it is his complete independence of  
,weimar ideas4 ,it was the ,duke1 his   
friend and master1 not the public       

opinion of ,weimar1 that allowed ,goethe
 to be himself4 ,he refused even to be  
classed intellectually1 and did not     
recognize the vulgar opinion that a poet
 cannot be scientific4 ,in all these    
cases the mental centre was not in any  
local common sense4 ,it was a result of 
personal studies and observations acting
 upon an individual idiosyncrasy4  ,we  
may now perceive how infinitely easier  
it is for ordinary people to meet and be
 companionable than for these rare and  
superior minds4 ,ordinary people1 if    
bred in the same neighborhood and class1
 are sure to have a great fund of ideas 
in common1 all those ideas that         
constitute the local common sense4 ,if  
you listen attentively to their         
conversations you will find that they   
hardly ever go outside of that4 ,they   
mention incidents and actions1 and test 
them one after another by a tacit       
reference to the public opinion of the  
place4 ,therefore they have a good      
chance of agreeing1 of considering each 

other reasonable2 and this is why it is 
a generally received opinion that       
marriages between people of the same    
locality and the same class offer the   
greatest probability of happiness4 ,so  
they do1 in ordinary cases1 but if there
 is the least touch of any original     
talent or genius in one of the parties1 
it is sure to result in many ideas that 
will be outside of any local common     
sense1 and then the other party1 living 
in that sense1 will consider those ideas
 peculiar1 and perhaps deplorable4      
,here1 then1 are elements of dissension 
lying quite ready like explosive        
materials1 and the merest accident may  
shatter in a moment the whole fabric of 
affection4 ,to prevent such an accident 
an artificial kind of intercourse is    
adopted which is not real companionship1
 or anything resembling it4  ,the reader
 may imagine1 and has probably observed 
in real life1 a marriage in which the   
husband is a man of original power1 able
 to think forcibly and profoundly1 and  

the wife a gentle being quite unable to 
enter into any thought of that quality4 
,in cases of that kind the husband may  
be affectionate and even tender1 but he 
is careful to utter nothing beyond the  
safest commonplaces4 ,in the presence of
 his wife he keeps his mind quite within
 the circle of custom4 ,he has1 indeed1 
no other resource4 ,custom and          
commonplace are the protection of the   
intelligent against misapprehension and 
disapproval4  ,marriages of this unequal
 kind are an imitation of those equal   
marriages in which both parties live in 
the local common sense2 but there is    
this vast difference between them1 that 
in the imitation the more intelligent of
 the two parties has to stifle half his 
nature4 ,an intelligent man has to make 
up his mind in early life whether he has
 courage enough for such a sacrifice or 
not4 ,let him try the experiment of     
associating for a short time with people
 who cannot understand him1 and if he   
likes the feeling of repression that    

results from it1 if he is able to stop  
short always at the right moment1 if he 
can put his knowledge on the shelf as   
one puts a book in a library1 then      
perhaps he may safely undertake the long
 labor of companionship with an         
unsuitable wife4  ,this is sometimes    
done in pure hopelessness of ever       
finding a true mate4 ,a man has no      
belief in any real companionship1 and   
therefore simply conforms to custom in  
his marriage1 as ,montaigne did1 allying
 himself with some young lady who is    
considered in the neighborhood to be a  
suitable match for him4 ,this is the    
mariage de convenance4 ,its purposes are
 intelligible and attainable4 ,it may   
add considerably to the dignity and     
convenience of life and to that         
particular kind of happiness which      
results from satisfaction with our own  
worldly prudence4 ,there is also the    
probability that by perfect courtesy1 by
 a scrupulous observance of the rules of
 intercourse between highly civilized   

persons who are not extremely intimate1 
the parties who contract a marriage of  
this kind may give each other the mild  
satisfactions that are the reward of the
 well-bred4 ,there is a certain pleasure
 in watching every movement of an       
accomplished lady1 and if she is your   
wife there may also be a certain pride4 
,she receives your guests well2 she     
holds her place with perfect            
self-possession at your table and in her
 drawing-room2 she never commits a      
social solecism2 and you feel that you  
can trust her absolutely4 ,her private  
income is a help in the maintenance of  
your establishment and so increases your
 credit in the world4 ,she gives you in 
this way a series of satisfactions that 
may even1 in course of time1 produce    
rather affectionate feelings4 ,if she   
died you would certainly regret her     
loss1 and think that life was1 on the   
whole1 decidedly less agreeable without 
her4  ,but alas for the dreams of youth 
if this is all that is to be gained by  

marriage6 ,where is the sweet friend and
 companion who was to have accompanied  
us through prosperous or adverse years1 
who was to have charmed and consoled us1
 who was to have given us the infinite  
happiness of being understood and loved 
at the same time8 ,were all those dreams
 delusions8 ,is the best companionship a
 mere fiction of the fancy1 not existing
 anywhere upon the earth8  ,i believe in
 the promises of ,nature4 ,i believe    
that in every want there is the promise 
of a possible satisfaction4 ,if we are  
hungry there is food somewhere1 if we   
are thirsty there is drink4 ,but in the 
things of the world there is often an   
indication of order rather than a       
realization of it1 so that in the       
confusion of accidents the hungry man   
may be starving in a beleaguered city   
and the thirsty man parched in the      
,sahara4 ,all that the wants indicate is
 that their satisfaction is possible in 
nature4 ,let us believe that1 for every 
one1 the true mate exists somewhere in  

the world4 ,she is worth seeking for at 
any cost of trouble or expense1 worth   
travelling round the globe to find1     
worth the endurance of labor and pain   
and privation4 ,men suffer all this for 
objects of far inferior importance2 they
 risk life for the chance of a ribbon1  
and sacrifice leisure and peace for the 
smallest increase of social position4   
,what are these vanities in comparison  
with the priceless benefit1 the         
continual blessing1 of having with you  
always the one person whose presence can
 deliver you from all the evils of      
solitude without imposing the           
constraints and hypocrisies of society8 
,with her you are free to be as much    
yourself as when alone2 you say what you
 think and she understands you4 ,your   
silence does not offend her2 she only   
thinks that there will be time enough to
 talk together afterwards4 ,you know    
that you can trust her love1 which is as
 unfailing as a law of nature4 ,the     
differences of idiosyncrasy that exist  

between you only add interest to your   
intercourse by preventing her from      
becoming a mere echo of yourself4 ,she  
has her own ways1 her own thoughts that 
are not yours and yet are all open to   
you1 so that you no longer dwell in one 
intellect only but have constant access 
to a second intellect1 probably more    
refined and elegant1 richer in what is  
delicate and beautiful4 ,there you make 
unexpected discoveries2 you find that   
the first instinctive preference is more
 than justified by merits that you had  
not divined4 ,you had hoped and trusted 
vaguely that there were certain         
qualities2 but as a painter who looks   
long at a natural scene is constantly   
discovering new beauties whilst he is   
painting it1 so the long and loving     
observation of a beautiful human mind   
reveals a thousand unexpected           
excellences4 ,then come the trials of   
life1 the sudden calamities1 the long   
and wearing anxieties4 ,each of these   
will only reveal more clearly the       

wonderful endurance1 fidelity1 and      
fortitude that there is in every noble  
feminine nature1 and so build up on the 
foundation of your early love an        
unshakable edifice of esteem and respect
 and love commingled1 for which in our  
modern tongue we have no single term1   
but which our forefathers called        
worship4     ,,essay ,v4  ,,family      
,,ties4   ,one of the most remarkable   
differences between the ,english and    
some of the ,continental nations is the 
comparative looseness of family ties in 
,england4 ,the apparent difference is   
certainly very great2 the real          
difference is possibly not so great4 ,it
 may be that a good deal of that warm   
family affection which we are constantly
 hearing of in ,france is only          
make-believe1 but the keeping-up of a   
make-believe is often favorable to the  
reality4 ,in ,england a great deal of   
religion is mere outward form2 but to be
 surrounded by the constant observance  
of outward form is a great practical    

convenience to the genuine religious    
sentiment where it exists4  ,in boyhood 
we suppose that all gentlemen of mature 
age who happen to be brothers must      
naturally have fraternal feelings2 in   
mature life we know the truth1 having   
discovered that there are many brothers 
between whom no sentiment of fraternity 
exists4 ,a foreigner who knows ,england 
well1 and has observed it more carefully
 than we ourselves do1 remarked to me   
that the fraternal relationship is not  
generally a cause of attachment in      
,england1 though there may be cases of  
exceptional affection4 ,it certainly    
often happens that brothers live        
contentedly apart and do not seem to    
feel the need of intercourse1 or that   
such intercourse as they have has no    
appearance of cordiality4 ,a very common
 cause of estrangement is a natural     
difference of class4 ,one man is so     
constituted as to feel more at ease in a
 higher class1 and he rises2 his brother
 feels more at ease in a lower class1   

adopts its manners1 and sinks4 ,after a 
few years have passed the two will have 
acquired such different habits1 both of 
thinking and living1 that they will be  
disqualified for equal intercourse4 ,if 
one brother is a gentleman in tastes and
 manners and the other not a gentleman1 
the vulgarity of the coarser nature will
 be all the more offensive to the       
refined one that there is the           
troublesome consciousness of a very near
 relationship and of a sort of          
indefinite responsibility4  ,the        
frequency of coolness between brothers  
surprises us less when we observe how   
widely they may differ from each other  
in mental and physical constitution4    
,one may be a sportsman1 traveller1 man 
of the world2 another a religious       
recluse4 ,one may have a sensitive1     
imaginative nature and be keenly alive  
to the influences of literature1        
painting1 and music2 his brother may be 
a hard1 practical man of business1 with 
a conviction that an interest in        

literary and artistic pursuits is only a
 sign of weakness4  ,the extreme        
uncertainty that always exists about    
what really constitutes suitableness is 
seen as much between brothers as between
 other men2 for we sometimes see a      
beautiful fraternal affection between   
brothers who seem to have nothing       
whatever in common1 and sometimes an    
equal affection appears to be founded   
upon likeness4  ,jealousy in its various
 forms is especially likely to arise    
between brothers1 and between sisters   
also for the same reason1 which is that 
comparisons are constantly suggested and
 even made with injudicious openness by 
parents and teachers1 and by talkative  
friends4 ,the development of the        
faculties in youth is always extremely  
interesting1 and is a constant subject  
of observation and speculation4 ,if it  
is interesting to on-lookers1 it is     
still more likely to be so to the young 
persons most concerned4 ,they feel as   
young race-horses might be expected to  

feel towards each other if they could   
understand the conversations of         
trainers1 stud-owners1 and grooms4  ,if 
a full account of family life could be  
generally accessible1 if we could read  
autobiographies written by the several  
members of the same family1 giving a    
sincere and independent account of their
 own youth1 it would probably be found  
in most cases that jealousies were      
easily discoverable4 ,they need not be  
very intense to create a slight fissure 
of separation that may be slowly widened
 afterwards4  ,if you listen attentively
 to the conversation of brothers about  
brothers1 of sisters about sisters1 you 
will probably detect such little        
jealousies without difficulty4 ,my      
sister1 said a lady in my hearing1 was  
very much admired when she was young1   
but she aged prematurely4 ,behind this  
it was easy to read the comparison with 
self1 with a constitution less          
attractive to others but more robust and
 durable1 and there was a faint         

reverberation of girlish jealousy about 
attentions paid forty years before4     
,the jealousies of youth are too natural
 to deserve any serious blame1 but they 
may be a beginning of future coolness4  
,a boy will seem to praise the talents  
of his brother with the purpose of      
implying that the facilities given by   
such talents make industry almost       
superfluous1 whilst his own more        
strenuous efforts are not appreciated as
 they deserve4 ,instead of soothing and 
calming these natural jealousies some   
parents irritate and inflame them4 ,they
 make wounding remarks that produce evil
 in after years4 ,i have seen a         
sensitive boy wince under cutting       
sarcasms that he will remember till his 
hair is gray4  ,if there are fraternal  
jealousies in boyhood1 when the material
 comforts and the outward show of       
existence are the same for brothers1    
much more are these jealousies likely to
 be accentuated in after-life1 when     
differences of worldly success1 or of   

inherited fortune1 establish            
distinctions so obvious as to be visible
 to all4 ,the operation of the          
aristocratic custom by which eldest sons
 are made very much richer than their   
brethren can scarcely be in favor of    
fraternal intimacy4 ,no general rule can
 be established1 because characters     
differ so widely4 ,an eldest brother may
 be so amiable1 so truly fraternal1 that
 the cadets instead of feeling envy of  
his wealth may take a positive pride in 
it2 still1 the natural effect of        
creating such a vast inequality is to   
separate the favored heir from the      
less-favored younger sons4 ,i leave the 
reader to think over instances that may 
be known to him4 ,amongst those known to
 me ,i find several cases of complete or
 partial suspension of intercourse and  
others of manifest indifference and     
coolness4 ,one incident recurs to my    
memory after a lapse of thirty years4 ,i
 was present at the departure of a young
 friend for ,india when his eldest      

brother was too indifferent to get up a 
little earlier to see him off1 and said1
 ,oh1 you're going1 are you8 ,well1     
good-by1 ,john6 through his bedroom     
door4 ,the lad carried a wound in his   
heart to the distant ,east4  ,there is  
nothing in the mere fact of fraternity  
to establish friendship4 ,the line of   
,in ,memoriam1--    ,more than my       
brothers are to me1  is simply true of  
every real friend1 unless friendship    
adds itself to brotherhood1 in which    
case the intimacy arising from a        
thousand details of early life in       
common1 from the thorough knowledge of  
the same persons and places1 and from   
the memories of parental affection1 must
 give a rare completeness to friendship 
itself and make it in these respects    
even superior to marriage1 which has the
 great defect that the associations of  
early life are not the same4 ,i remember
 a case of wonderfully strong affection 
between two brothers who were daily     
companions till death separated them2   

but they were younger sons and their    
incomes were exactly alike2 their       
tastes1 too1 and all their habits were  
the same4 ,the only other case that     
occurs to me as comparable to this one  
was also of two younger sons1 one of    
whom had an extraordinary talent for    
business4 ,they were partners in trade1 
and no dissension ever arose between    
them1 because the superiority of the    
specially able man was affectionately   
recognized and deferred to by the other4
 ,if1 however1 they had not been        
partners it is possible that the        
brilliant success of one brother might  
have created a contrast and made        
intercourse more constrained4  ,the case
 of ,john ,bright and his brother may be
 mentioned1 as he has made it public in 
one of his most charming and interesting
 speeches4 ,his political work has      
prevented him from laboring in his      
business1 but his brother and partner   
has affectionately considered him an    
active member of the firm1 so that ,mr4 

,bright has enjoyed an income sufficient
 for his political independence4 ,in    
this instance the comparatively obscure 
brother has shown real nobility of      
nature4 ,free from the jealousy and envy
 which would have vexed a small mind in 
such a position he has taken pleasure in
 the fame of the statesman4 ,it is easy 
to imagine the view that a mean mind    
would have taken of a similar situation4
 ,let us add that the statesman himself 
has shown true fraternal generosity of  
another kind1 and perhaps of a more     
difficult kind1 for it is often easier  
to confer an obligation than to accept  
it heartily4  ,it has often been a      
subject of astonishment to me that      
between very near relations a sensitive 
feeling about pecuniary matters should  
be so lively as it is4 ,i remember an   
instance in the last generation of a    
rich man in ,cheshire who made a present
 of ten thousand pounds to a lady nearly
 related to him4 ,he was very wealthy1  
she was not2 the sum would never be     

missed by him1 whilst to her it made a  
great difference4 ,what could be more   
reasonable than such a correction of the
 inequalities of fortune8 ,many people  
would have refused the present1 out of  
pride1 but it was much kinder to accept 
it in the same good spirit that dictated
 the offer4 ,on the other hand1 there   
are poor gentlefolks whose only fault is
 a sense of independence1 so farouche   
that nobody can get them to accept      
anything of importance1 and any good    
that is done to them has to be plotted  
with consummate art4  ,a wonderful light
 is thrown upon family relations when we
 become acquainted with the real state  
of those family pecuniary transactions  
that are not revealed to the public4    
,the strangest discovery is the widely  
different ways in which pecuniary       
obligations are estimated by different  
persons1 especially by different women4 
,men1 ,i believe1 take them rather more 
equally2 but as women go by sentiment   
they have a tendency to extremes1 either

 exaggerating the importance of an      
obligation when they like to feel very  
much obliged1 or else adopting the      
convenient theory that the generous     
person is fulfilling a simple duty1 and 
that there is no obligation whatever4   
,one woman will go into ecstasies of    
gratitude because a brother makes her a 
present of a few pounds2 and another    
will never thank a benefactor who allows
 her1 year by year1 an annuity far      
larger than is justified by his         
precarious professional income4 ,in one 
real case a lady lived for many years on
 her brother's generosity and was openly
 hostile to him all the time4 ,after her
 death it was found that she had        
insulted him in her will4 ,in another   
case a sister dependent on her brother's
 bounty never thanked him or even       
acknowledged the receipt of a sum of    
money1 but if the money was not sent to 
the day she would at once write a sharp 
letter full of bitter reproaches for his
 neglect4 ,the marvel is the incredible 

patience with which toiling men will go 
on sending the fruits of their industry 
to relations who do not even make a     
pretence of affection4  ,a frequent     
cause of hostility between very near    
relations is the restriction of         
generosity4 ,so long as you set no limit
 to your giving it is well1 you are     
doing your duty2 but the moment you fix 
a limit the case is altered2 then all   
past sacrifices go for nothing1 your    
glory has set in gloom1 and you will be 
considered as more niggardly than if you
 had not begun to be generous4 ,here is 
a real case1 out of many4 ,a man makes  
bad speculations1 but conceals the full 
extent of his losses1 and by the        
influence of his wife obtains important 
sums from a near relation of hers who   
half ruins himself to save her4 ,when   
the full disaster is known the relation 
stops short and declines to ruin himself
 entirely2 she then bitterly reproaches 
him for his selfishness4 ,a very short  
time before writing the present ,essay  

,i was travelling1 and met an old       
friend1 a bachelor of limited means but 
of a most generous disposition1 the     
kindest and most affectionate nature ,i 
ever knew in the male sex4 ,i asked for 
news about his brother4 ,i never see him
 now2 a coldness has sprung up between  
us4--,it must be his fault1 then1 for ,i
 am sure it did not originate with      
you4--,the truth is1 he got into money  
difficulties1 so ,i gave him a thousand 
pounds4 ,he thought that under the      
circumstances ,i ought to have done more
 and broke off all intercourse4 ,i      
really believe that if ,i had given him 
nothing we should have been more        
friendly at this day4  ,the question how
 far we are bound to allow family ties  
to regulate our intercourse is not      
easily treated in general terms1 though 
it seems plainer in particular cases4   
,here is one for the reader's           
consideration4  ,owing to natural       
refinement1 and to certain circumstances
 of which he intelligently availed      

himself1 one member of a family is a    
cultivated gentleman1 whose habitual    
ways of thinking are of rather an       
elevated kind1 and whose manners and    
language are invariably faultless4 ,he  
is blessed with very near relations     
whose principal characteristic is loud1 
confident1 overwhelming vulgarity4 ,he  
is always uncomfortable with these      
relations4 ,he knows that the ways of   
thinking and speaking which are natural 
to him will seem cold and uncongenial to
 them2 that not one of his thoughts can 
be exactly understood by them2 that his 
deficiency in what they consider        
heartiness is a defect he cannot get    
over4 ,on the other hand1 he takes no   
interest in what they say1 because their
 opinions on all the subjects he cares  
about are too crude1 and their          
information too scanty or erroneous4 ,if
 he said what he felt impelled to say1  
all his talk would be a perpetual       
correction of their clumsy blunders4 ,he
 has1 therefore1 no resource but to     

repress himself and try to act a part1  
the part of a pleased companion2 but    
this is wearisome1 especially if        
prolonged4 ,the end is that he keeps out
 of their way1 and is set down as a     
proud1 conceited person1 and an unkind  
relative4 ,in reality he is simply      
refined and has a difficulty in         
accommodating himself to the ways of all
 vulgar society whatever1 whether       
composed of his own relations or of     
strangers4 ,does he deserve to be blamed
 for this8 ,certainly not4 ,he has not  
the flexibility1 the dramatic power1 to 
adapt himself to a lower state of       
civilization2 that is his only fault4   
,his relations are persons with whom1 if
 they were not relations1 nobody would  
expect him to associate2 but because he 
and they happen to be descended from a  
common ancestor he is to maintain an    
impossible intimacy4 ,he wishes them no 
harm2 he is ready to make sacrifices to 
help them2 his misfortune is that he    
does not possess the humor of a ,dickens

 that would have enabled him to find    
amusement in their vulgarity1 and he    
prefers solitude to that infliction4    
,there is a ,french proverb1 ,les       
cousins ne sont pas parents4 ,the exact 
truth would appear to be rather that    
cousins are relations or not just as it 
pleases them to acknowledge the         
relationship1 and according to the      
natural possibilities of companionship  
between the parties4 ,if they are of the
 same class in society 7which does not  
always happen71 and if they have        
pursuits in common or can understand    
each other's interests1 and if there is 
that mysterious suitableness which makes
 people like to be together1 then the   
fact of cousinship is seized upon as a  
convenient pretext for making           
intercourse more frequent1 more         
intimate1 and more affectionate2 but if 
there is nothing to attract one cousin  
to another the relationship is scarcely 
acknowledged4 ,cousins are1 or are not1 
relations just as they find it agreeable

 to themselves4 ,it need hardly be added
 that it is a general though not an     
invariable rule that the relationship is
 better remembered on the humbler side4 
,the cousinly degree may be felt to be  
very close under peculiar circumstances4
 ,an only child looks to his cousins for
 the brotherly and sisterly affection   
that fate has denied him at home1 and he
 is not always disappointed4 ,even      
distant cousins may be truly fraternal1 
just as first cousins may happen to be  
very distant1 the relationship is so    
variable and elastic in its nature4     
,unmarried people have often a great    
vague dread of their future wife's      
relations1 even when the lady has not   
yet been fixed upon1 and married people 
have sometimes found the reality more   
terrible even than their gloomy         
anticipation4 ,and yet it may happen    
that some of these dreaded new relations
 will be unexpectedly valuable and      
supply elements that were grievously    
wanting4 ,they may bring new life into a

 dull house1 they may enliven the       
sluggish talk with wit and information1 
they may take a too thoughtful and      
studious man out of the weary round of  
his own ideas4 ,they may even in course 
of time win such a place in one's       
affection that if they are taken away by
 death they will leave a great void and 
an enduring sorrow4 ,i write these lines
 from a sweet and sad experience4#e     
,intellectual men are1 more than others1
 liable to a feeling of dissatisfaction 
with their relations because they want  
intellectual sympathy and interest1     
which relations hardly ever give4 ,the  
reason is extremely simple4 ,any special
 intellectual pursuit is understood only
 by a small select class of its own1 and
 our relations are given us out of the  
general body of society without any     
selection1 and they are not very        
numerous1 so that the chances against   
our finding intellectual sympathy       
amongst them are calculably very great4 
,as we grow older we get accustomed to  

this absence of sympathy with our       
pursuits1 and take it as a matter of    
course2 but in youth it seems strange   
that what we feel and know to be so     
interesting should have no interest for 
those nearest to us4 ,authors sometimes 
feel a little hurt that their nearest   
relations will not read their books1 and
 are but dimly aware that they have     
written any books at all2 but do they   
read books of the same class by other   
writers8 ,as an author you are in the   
same position that other authors occupy1
 but with this difference1 which is     
against you1 that familiarity has made  
you a commonplace person in your own    
circle1 and that is a bad opening for   
the reception of your higher thoughts4  
,this want of intellectual sympathy does
 not prevent affection1 and we ought to 
appreciate affection at its full value  
in spite of it4 ,your brother or your   
cousin may be strongly attached to you  
personally1 with an old love dating from
 your boyhood1 but he may separate you  

7the human creature that he knows7 from 
the author of your books1 and not feel  
the slightest curiosity about the books1
 believing that he knows you perfectly  
without them1 and that they are only a  
sort of costume in which you perform    
before the public4 ,a female relative   
who has given up her mind to the keeping
 of some clergyman1 may scrupulously    
avoid your literature in order that it  
may not contaminate her soul1 and yet   
she may love you still in a painful way 
and be sincerely sorry that you have no 
other prospect but that of eternal      
punishment4  ,i have sometimes heard the
 question proposed whether relations or 
friends were the more valuable as a     
support and consolation4 ,fate gives us 
our relations1 whilst we select our     
friends2 and therefore it would seem at 
first sight that the friends must be    
better adapted for us2 but it may happen
 that we have not selected with great   
wisdom1 or that we have not had good    
opportunities for making a choice really

 answering to our deepest needs4 ,still1
 there must have been mutual affinity of
 some kind to make a friendship1 whilst 
relations are all like tickets in a     
lottery4 ,it may therefore be argued    
that the more relations we have1 the    
better1 because we are more likely to   
meet with two or three to love us       
amongst fifty than amongst five4  ,the  
peculiar peril of blood-relationship is 
that those who are closely connected by 
it often permit themselves an amount of 
mutual rudeness 7especially in the      
middle and lower classes7 which they    
never would think of inflicting upon a  
stranger4 ,in some families people      
really seem to suppose that it does not 
matter how roughly they treat each      
other4 ,they utter unmeasured reproaches
 about trifles not worth a moment's     
anger2 they magnify small differences   
that only require to be let alone and   
forgotten1 or they relieve the monotony 
of quarrels with an occasional fit of   
the sulks4 ,sometimes it is an irascible

 father who is always scolding1         
sometimes a loud-tongued matron shrieks 
in her fierce volubility4 ,some children
 take up the note and fire back         
broadside for broadside2 others wait for
 a cessation in contemptuous silence and
 calmly disregard the thunder4 ,family  
life indeed6 domestic peace and bliss6  
,give me1 rather1 the bachelor's lonely 
hearth with a noiseless lamp and a book6
 ,the manners of the ill-mannered are   
never so odious1 unbearable1            
exasperating1 as they are to their own  
nearest kindred4 ,how is a lad to enjoy 
the society of his mother if she is     
perpetually nagging and nattering at    
him8 ,how is he to believe that his     
coarse father has a tender anxiety for  
his welfare when everything that he does
 is judged with unfatherly harshness8   
,those who are condemned to live with   
people for whom scolding and quarrelling
 are a necessary of existence must      
either be rude in self-defence or take  
refuge in a sullen and stubborn         

taciturnity4 ,young people who have to  
live in these little domestic hells look
 forward to any change as a desirable   
emancipation4 ,they are ready to go to  
sea1 to emigrate4 ,i have heard of one  
who went into domestic service under a  
feigned name that he might be out of the
 range of his brutal father's tongue4   
,the misery of uncongenial relations is 
caused mainly by the irksome            
consciousness that they are obliged to  
live together4 ,to think that there is  
so much space upon the earth1 that there
 are so many houses1 so many rooms1 and 
yet that ,i am so unfortunate as to be  
compelled to live in the same lodging   
with this uncivilized1 ill-conditioned  
fellow6 ,to think that there are such   
vast areas of tranquil silence1 and yet 
that ,i am compelled to hear the voice  
of that scolding woman6 ,this is the    
feeling1 and the relief would be        
temporary separation4 ,in this1 as in   
almost everything that concerns human   
intercourse1 the rich have an immense   

advantage1 as they can take only just so
 much of each other's society as they   
find by experience to be agreeable4     
,they can quietly1 and without rudeness1
 avoid each other by living in different
 houses1 and even in the same house they
 can have different apartments and be   
very little together4 ,imagine the      
difference between two rich brothers1   
each with his suite of rooms in a       
separate tower of the paternal castle1  
and two very poor ones1 inconveniently  
occupying the same narrow1 uncomfortable
 bed1 and unable to remain in the       
wretched paternal tenement without being
 constantly in each other's way4        
,between these extremes are a thousand  
degrees of more or less inconvenient    
nearness4 ,solitude is bad for us1 but  
we need a margin of free space4 ,if we  
are to be crowded let it be as the stars
 are crowded4 ,they look as if they were
 huddled together1 but every one of them
 has his own clear space in the         
illimitable ether4     ,,essay ,,vi4    

,,fathers ,,and ,,sons4   ,there is a   
certain unsatisfactoriness in this      
relation in our time which is felt by   
fathers and often avowed by them when   
they meet1 though it does not occupy any
 conspicuous place in the literature of 
life and manners4 ,it has been fully    
treated by ,m4 ,legouv1 the ,french     
,academician1 in his own lively and     
elegant way2 but he gave it a volume1   
and ,i must here confine myself to the  
few points which can be dealt with in   
the limits of a short ,essay4  ,we are  
in an interregnum between two systems4  
,the old system1 founded on the stern   
authority of the father1 is felt to be  
out of harmony with the amenity of      
general social intercourse in modern    
times and also with the increasing      
gentleness of political governors and   
the freedom of the governed4 ,it is     
therefore1 by common consent1 abandoned4
 ,some new system that may be founded   
upon a clear intelligence of both the   
paternal and the filial relations has   

yet to come into force4 ,meanwhile1 we  
are trying various experiments1         
suggested by the different characters   
and circumstances of fathers and sons1  
each father trying his own experiments1 
and we communicate to each other such   
results as we arrive at4  ,it is obvious
 that the defect here is the absence of 
a settled public opinion to which both  
parties would feel bound to defer4      
,under the old system the authority of  
the father was efficiently maintained1  
not only by the laws1 but by that       
general consensus of opinion which is   
far more powerful than law4 ,the new    
system1 whatever it may be1 will be     
founded on general opinion again1 but   
our present experimental condition is   
one of anarchy4  ,this is the real cause
 of whatever may be felt as             
unsatisfactory in the modern paternal   
and filial relations4 ,it is not that   
fathers have become more unjust or sons 
more rebellious4  ,the position of the  
father was in old times perfectly       

defined4 ,he was the commander1 not only
 armed by the law but by religion and   
custom4 ,disobedience to his dictates   
was felt to be out of the question1     
unless the insurgent was prepared to    
meet the consequences of open mutiny4   
,the maintenance of the father's        
authority depended only on himself4 ,if 
he abdicated it through indolence or    
weakness he incurred moral reprobation  
not unmingled with contempt1 whilst in  
the present day reprobation would rather
 follow a new attempt to vindicate the  
antique authority4  ,besides this change
 in public opinion there is a new       
condition of paternal feeling4 ,the     
modern father1 in the most civilized    
nations and classes1 has acquired a     
sentiment that appears to have been     
absolutely unknown to his predecessors3 
he has acquired a dislike for command   
which increases with the age of the son2
 so that there is an unfortunate        
coincidence of increasing strength of   
will on the son's part with decreasing  

disposition to restrain it on the       
father's part4 ,what a modern father    
really desires is that a son should go  
right of his own accord1 and if not     
quite of his own accord1 then in        
consequence of a little affectionate    
persuasion4 ,this feeling would make    
command unsatisfactory to us1 even if it
 were followed by a military promptitude
 of obedience4 ,we do not wish to be    
like captains1 and our sons like        
privates in a company2 we care only to  
exercise a certain beneficent influence 
over them1 and we feel that if we gave  
military orders we should destroy that  
peculiar influence which is of the most 
fragile and delicate nature4  ,but now  
see the unexpected consequences of our  
modern dislike to command6 ,it might be 
argued that there is a certain advantage
 on our side from the very rarity of the
 commands we give1 which endows them    
with extraordinary force4 ,would it not 
be more accurate to say that as we give 
orders less and less our sons become    

unaccustomed to receive orders from us1 
and if ever the occasion arises when we 
must give them a downright order it     
comes upon their feelings with a        
harshness so excessive that they are    
likely to think us tyrannical1 whereas  
if we had kept up the old habits of     
command such orders would have seemed   
natural and right1 and would not have   
been less scrupulously obeyed8  ,the    
paternal dislike to give orders         
personally has had a peculiar effect    
upon education4 ,we are not yet quite   
imbecile enough to suppose that         
discipline can be entirely dispensed    
with2 and as there is very little of it 
in modern houses it has to be sought    
elsewhere1 so boys are placed more and  
more completely under the authority of  
schoolmasters1 often living at such a   
distance from the father of the family  
that for several months at a time he can
 exercise no direct influence or        
authority over his own children4 ,this  
leads to the establishment of a peculiar

 boyish code of justice4 ,boys come to  
think it not unjust that the            
schoolmaster should exercise authority1 
when if the father attempted to exercise
 authority of equal rigor1 or anything  
approaching it1 they would look upon him
 as an odious domestic tyrant1 entirely 
forgetting that any power to enforce    
obedience which is possessed by the     
schoolmaster is held by him vicariously 
as the father's representative and      
delegate4 ,from this we arrive at the   
curious and unforeseen conclusion that  
the modern father only exercises strong 
authority through another person who is 
often a perfect stranger and whose      
interest in the boy's present and future
 well-being is as nothing in comparison 
with the father's anxious and continual 
solicitude4  ,the custom of placing the 
education of sons entirely in the hands 
of strangers is so deadly a blow to     
parental influence that some fathers    
have resolutely rebelled against it and 
tried to become themselves the educators

 of their children4 ,james ,mill is the 
most conspicuous instance of this1 both 
for persistence and success4 ,his way of
 educating his illustrious son has often
 been coarsely misrepresented as a      
merciless system of cram4 ,the best     
answer to this is preserved for us in   
the words of the pupil himself4 ,he said
 expressly3 ,mine was not an education  
of cram1 and that the one cardinal point
 in it1 the cause of the good it        
effected1 was that his father never     
permitted anything he learnt to         
degenerate into a mere exercise of      
memory4 ,he greatly valued the training 
he had received1 and fully appreciated  
its utility to him in after-life4 ,if ,i
 have accomplished anything1 he says1 ,i
 owe it1 amongst other fortunate        
circumstances1 to the fact that through 
the early training bestowed on me by my 
father ,i started1 ,i may fairly say1   
with an advantage of a quarter of a     
century over my contemporaries4  ,but   
though in this case the pupil's feeling 

in after-life was one of gratitude1 it  
may be asked what were his filial       
sentiments whilst this paternal         
education was going forward4 ,this      
question also is clearly and frankly    
answered by ,stuart ,mill himself4 ,he  
says that his father was severe2 that   
his authority was deficient in the      
demonstration of tenderness1 though     
probably not in the reality of it2 that 
he resembled most ,englishmen in being  
ashamed of the signs of feeling1 and by 
the absence of demonstration starving   
the feelings themselves4 ,then the son  
goes on to say that it was impossible   
not to feel true pity for a father who  
did1 and strove to do1 so much for his  
children1 who would have so valued their
 affection1 yet who must have been      
constantly feeling that fear of him was 
drying it up at its source4 ,and we     
probably have the exact truth about     
,stuart ,mill's own sentiments when he  
says that the younger children loved his
 father tenderly1 and if ,i cannot say  

so much of myself ,i was always loyally 
devoted to him4  ,this contains the     
central difficulty about paternal       
education4 ,if the choice were left to  
boys they would learn nothing1 and you  
cannot make them work vigorously by the 
sole force of persuasion and soft words4
 ,therefore a severe discipline has to  
be established1 and this severity is    
incompatible with tenderness2 so that in
 order to preserve the affection of his 
children the father intrusts discipline 
to a delegate4  ,but if the objection to
 parental education is clear in ,mill's 
case1 so are its advantages1 and        
especially the one inestimable advantage
 that the father was able to impress    
himself on his son's mind and to live   
afterwards in his son's intellectual    
life4 ,james ,mill did not abdicate1 as 
fathers generally do4 ,he did not       
confine paternal duties to the simple   
one of signing checks4 ,and if it is not
 in our power to imitate him entirely1  
if we have not his profound and accurate

 knowledge1 if we have not his          
marvellous patience1 if it is not       
desirable that we should take upon      
ourselves alone that immense            
responsibility which he accepted1 may we
 not imitate him to such a degree as to 
secure some intellectual and moral      
influence over our own offspring and not
 leave them entirely to the teaching of 
the schoolfellow 7that most influential 
and most dangerous of all teachers71 the
 pedagogue1 and the priest8  ,the only  
practical way in which this can be done 
is for the father to act within fixed   
limits4 ,may he not reserve to himself  
some speciality8 ,he can do this if he  
is himself master of some language or   
science that enters into the training of
 his son2 but here again certain        
difficulties present themselves4  ,by   
the one vigorous resolution to take the 
entire burden upon his own shoulders    
,james ,mill escaped minor              
embarrassments4 ,it is the partial      
education by the father that is         

difficult to carry out with steadiness  
and consistency4 ,first1 as to place of 
residence4 ,if your son is far away     
during his months of work1 and at home  
only for vacation pleasures1 what1 pray1
 is your hold upon him8 ,he escapes from
 you in two directions1 by work and by  
play4 ,i have seen a ,highland gentleman
 who1 to avoid this and do his duty to  
his sons1 quitted a beautiful residence 
in magnificent scenery to go and live in
 the dull and ugly neighborhood of      
,rugby4 ,it is not convenient or        
possible for every father to make the   
same sacrifice1 but if you are able to  
do it other difficulties remain4 ,any   
speciality that you may choose will be  
regarded by your son as a trifling and  
unimportant accomplishment in comparison
 with ,greek and ,latin1 because that is
 the school estimate2 and if you choose 
either ,greek or ,latin your scholarship
 will be immediately pitted against the 
scholarship of professional teachers    
whose more recent and more perfect      

methods will place you in a position of 
inferiority1 instantly perceived by your
 pupil1 who will estimate you           
accordingly4 ,the only two cases ,i have
 ever personally known in which a father
 taught the classical languages failed  
in the object of increasing the son's   
affection and respect1 because1 although
 the father had been quite a first-rate 
scholar in his time1 his ways of        
teaching were not so economical of      
effort as are the professional ways2 and
 the boys perceived that they were not  
taking the shortest cut to a degree4    
,if1 to avoid this comparison1 you      
choose something outside the school     
curriculum1 the boy will probably       
consider it an unfair addition to the   
burden of his work4 ,his view of        
education is not your view4 ,you think  
it a valuable training or acquirement2  
he considers it all task-work1 like the 
making of bricks in ,egypt2 and his     
notion of justice is that he ought not  
to be compelled to make more bricks than

 his class-fellows1 who are happy in    
having fathers too indolent or too      
ignorant to trouble them4 ,if1          
therefore1 you teach him something      
outside of what his school-fellows do1  
he does not think1 ,i get the advantage 
of a wider education than theirs2 but he
 thinks1 ,my father lays an imposition  
upon me1 and my school-fellows are lucky
 to escape it4  ,in some instances the  
father chooses a modern language as the 
thing that he will teach2 but he finds  
that as he cannot apply the school      
discipline 7too harsh and unpaternal for
 use at home71 there is a quiet1 passive
 resistance that will ultimately defeat 
him unless he has inexhaustible         
patience4 ,he decrees1 let us suppose1  
that ,french shall be spoken at table2  
but the chief effect of his decree is to
 reveal great and unsuspected powers of 
taciturnity4 ,who could be such a tyrant
 as to find fault with a boy because he 
so modestly chooses to be silent8       
,speech may be of silver1 but silence is

 of gold1 and it is especially beautiful
 and becoming in the young4  ,seeing    
that everything in the way of           
intellectual training is looked upon by 
boys as an unfair addition to           
school-work1 some fathers abandon that  
altogether1 and try to win influence    
over their sons by initiating them into 
sports and pastimes4 ,just at first     
these happy projects appear to unite the
 useful with the agreeable2 but as the  
youthful nature is much better fitted   
for sports and pastimes than middle-age 
can pretend to be1 it follows that the  
pupil very soon excels the master in    
these things1 and quite gets the upper  
hand of him and offers him advice1 or   
else dutifully 7but with visible        
constraint7 condescends to accommodate  
himself to the elder man's inferiority2 
so that perhaps upon the whole it may be
 that sports and pastimes are not the   
field of exertion in which paternal     
authority is most likely to preserve a  
dignified preponderance4  ,it is        

complacently assumed by men of fifty    
that over-ripe maturity is the superior 
of adolescence2 but an impartial balance
 of advantages shows that some very     
brilliant ones are on the side of youth4
 ,at fifty we may be wiser1 richer1 more
 famous than a clever boy2 but he does  
not care much for our wisdom1 he thinks 
that expenses are a matter of course1   
and our little rushlights of reputations
 are as nothing to the future electric  
illumination of his own4 ,in bodily     
activity we are to boyhood what a       
domestic cow is to a wild antelope2 and 
as boys rightly attach an immense value 
to such activity they generally look    
upon us1 in their secret thoughts1 as   
miserable old muffs4 ,i distinctly      
remember1 when a boy1 accompanying a    
middle-aged gentleman to a country      
railway station4 ,we were a little late1
 and the distance was long1 but my      
companion could not be induced to go    
beyond his regular pace4 ,at last we    
were within half a mile1 and the steam  

of the locomotive became visible4 ,now  
let us run for it1 ,i cried1 and we     
shall catch the train6 ,run8--he run1   
indeed6 ,i might as well have asked the 
,pope to run in the streets of ,rome6   
,my friend kept in silent solemnity to  
his own dignified method of motion1 and 
we were left behind4 ,to this day ,i    
well remember the feelings of           
contemptuous pity and disgust that      
filled me as ,i looked upon that most   
respectable gentleman4 ,i said not a    
word2 my demeanor was outwardly         
decorous2 but in my secret heart ,i     
despised my unequal companion with the  
unmitigated contempt of youth4  ,even   
those physical exertions that elderly   
men are equal to--the ten miles' walk1  
the ride on a docile hunter1 the quiet  
drive or sail--are so much below the    
achievements of fiery youth that they   
bring us no more credit than sitting in 
a chair4 ,though our efforts seem so    
respectable to ourselves that we take a 
modest pride therein1 a young man can   

only look upon them with indulgence4    
,in the mental powers elderly men are   
inferior on the very point that a young 
man looks to first4 ,his notion of      
cleverness1 by which he estimates all   
his comrades1 is not depth of thought1  
nor wisdom1 nor sagacity2 it is simply  
rapidity in learning1 and there his     
elders are hopelessly behind him4 ,they 
may extend or deepen an old study1 but  
they cannot attack a new one with the   
conquering spirit of youth4 ,too late6  
too late6 too late6 is inscribed1 for   
them1 on a hundred gates of knowledge4  
,the young man1 with his powers of      
acquisition urging him like unsatisfied 
appetites1 sees the gates all open and  
believes they are open for him4 ,he     
believes all knowledge to be his        
possible province1 knowing not yet the  
chilling1 disheartening truth that life 
is too short for success in any but a   
very few directions4 ,confident in his  
powers1 the young man prepares himself  
for difficult examinations1 and he knows

 that we should be incapable of the same
 efforts4  ,not having succeeded very   
well with attempts to create intercourse
 through studies and amusements1 the    
father next consoles himself with the   
idea that he will convert his son into  
an intimate friend2 but shortly         
discovers that there are certain        
difficulties1 of which a few may be     
mentioned here4  ,although the          
relationship between father and son is a
 very near relationship1 it may happen  
that there is but little likeness of    
inherited idiosyncrasy1 and therefore   
that the two may have different and even
 opposite tastes4 ,by the law or        
accident of atavism a boy may resemble  
one of his grandfathers or some remoter 
ancestor1 or he may puzzle theorists    
about heredity by characteristics for   
which there is no known precedent in his
 family4 ,both his mental instincts and 
processes1 and the conclusions to which 
they lead him1 may be entirely different
 from the habits and conclusions of his 

father2 and if the father is so utterly 
unphilosophical as to suppose 7what     
vulgar fathers constantly do suppose7   
that his own mental habits and          
conclusions are the right ones1 and all 
others wrong1 then he will adopt a tone 
of authority towards his son1 on certain
 occasions1 which the young man will    
excusably consider unbearable and which 
he will avoid by shunning the paternal  
society4 ,even a very mild attempt on   
the father's part to impose his own     
tastes and opinions will be quietly     
resented and felt as a reason for       
avoiding him1 because the son is well   
aware that he cannot argue on equal     
terms with a man who1 however amiable he
 chooses to be for the moment1 can at   
any time arm himself with the formidable
 paternal dignity by simply taking the  
trouble to assume it4  ,the mere        
difference of age is almost an          
insuperable barrier to comradeship2 for 
though a middle-aged man may be         
cheerful1 his cheerfulness is as water  

unto wine in comparison with the        
merriment of joyous youth4 ,so exuberant
 is that youthful gayety that it often  
needs to utter downright nonsense for   
the relief of its own high spirits1 and 
feels oppressed in sober society where  
nonsense is not permitted4 ,any elderly 
gentleman who reads this has only to    
consult his own recollections1 and ask  
himself whether in youth he did not     
often say and do utterly irrational     
things4 ,if he never did1 he never was  
really young4 ,i hardly know any author1
 except ,shakspeare1 who has ventured to
 reproduce1 in its perfect absurdity1   
the full flow of youthful nonsense4 ,the
 criticism of our own age would scarcely
 tolerate it in books1 and might accuse 
the author himself of being silly2 but  
the thing still exists abundantly in    
real life1 and the wonder is that it is 
sometimes the most intelligent young men
 who enjoy the most witless nonsense of 
all4 ,when we have lost the high spirits
 that gave it a relish1 it becomes very 

wearisome if prolonged4 ,young men      
instinctively know that we are past the 
appreciation of it4  ,another very      
important reason why fathers and sons   
have a difficulty in maintaining close  
friendships is the steady divergence of 
their experience4  ,in childhood1 the   
father's knowledge of places1 people1   
and things includes the child's         
knowledge1 as a large circle includes a 
little one drawn within it4 ,afterwards 
the boy goes to school1 and has comrades
 and masters whom his father does not   
personally know4 ,later on1 he visits   
many places where his father has never  
been4  ,the son's life may socially     
diverge so completely from that of the  
father that he may really come to belong
 to a different class in society4 ,his  
education1 habits1 and associates may be
 different from those of his father4 ,if
 the family is growing richer they are  
likely to be 7in the worldly sense7 of a
 higher class2 if it is becoming poorer 
they will probably be of a lower class  

than the father was accustomed to in his
 youth4 ,the son may feel more at ease  
than his father does in very refined    
society1 or1 on the other hand1 he may  
feel refined society to be a restraint1 
whilst he only enjoys himself thoroughly
 and heartily amongst vulgar people that
 his father would carefully avoid4      
,divergence is carried to its utmost by 
difference of professional training1 and
 by the professional habit of seeing    
things that follows from it4 ,if a      
clergyman puts his son into a           
solicitor's office1 he need not expect  
that the son will long retain those     
views of the world that prevail in the  
country parsonage where he was born4 ,he
 will acquire other views1 other mental 
habits1 and he will very soon believe   
himself to possess a far greater and    
more accurate knowledge of mankind1 and 
of affairs1 than his father ever        
possessed4  ,even if the son is in the  
father's own profession he will have new
 views of it derived from the time at   

which he learns it1 and he is likely to 
consider his father's ideas as not      
brought down to the latest date4 ,he    
will also have a tendency to look to    
strangers as greater authorities than   
his father1 even when they are really on
 the same level1 because they are not   
lowered in his estimate by domestic     
intimacy and familiarity4 ,their opinion
 will be especially valued by the young 
man if it has to be paid for1 it being  
an immense depreciation of the paternal 
counsel that it is always given         
gratuitously4  ,if the father has       
bestowed upon his son what is considered
 a complete education1 and if he himself
 has not received the same complete     
education in his youth1 the son is      
likely to accept the conventional       
estimate of education because it is in  
his own favor1 and to estimate his      
father as an uneducated or a            
half-educated man1 without taking into  
much account the possibility that his   
father may have developed his faculties 

by mental labor in other ways4 ,the     
conventional division between educated  
and uneducated men is so definite that  
it is easily seen4 ,the educated are    
those who have taken a degree at one of 
the ,universities2 the rest are         
uneducated1 whatever may be their       
attainments in the sciences1 in modern  
languages1 or in the fine arts4  ,there 
are differences of education even more  
serious than this1 because more real4 ,a
 man may be not only conventionally     
uneducated1 but he may be really and    
truly uneducated1 by which ,i mean that 
his faculties may never have been drawn 
out by intellectual discipline of any   
kind whatever4 ,it is hard indeed for a 
well-educated young man to live under   
the authority of a father of that kind1 
because he has constantly to suppress   
reasons and motives for opinions and    
decisions that such a father could not  
possibly enter into or understand4 ,the 
relationship is equally hard for the    
father1 who must be aware1 with the     

lively suspicion of the ignorant1 that  
his son is not telling him all his      
thought but only the portion of it which
 he thinks fit to reveal1 and that much 
more is kept in reserve4 ,he will ask1  
,why this reserve towards me8 and then  
he will either be profoundly hurt and   
grieved by it at times1 or else1 if of  
another temper1 he will be irritated1   
and his irritation may find harsh       
utterance in words4  ,an educated man   
can never rid himself of his education4 
,his views of the most ordinary things  
are different from the views of the     
uneducated4 ,if he were to express them 
in his own language they would say1     
,why1 how he talks6 and consider him a  
queer chap2 and if he keeps them to     
himself they say he is very close and   
shut up4 ,there is no way out of the    
dilemma except this1 that kind and      
tender feelings may exist between people
 who have nothing in common             
intellectually1 but these are only      
possible when all pretence to paternal  

authority is abandoned4  ,our           
forefathers had an idea with regard to  
the opinions of their children that in  
these days we must be content to give   
up4 ,they thought that all opinions were
 by nature hereditary1 and it was       
considered an act of disloyalty to      
ancestors if a descendant ventured to   
differ from them4 ,the profession of any
 but the family opinions was so rare as 
to be almost inconceivable2 and if in   
some great crisis the head of a family  
took a new departure in religion or     
politics the new faith substituted      
itself for the old one as the hereditary
 faith of the family4 ,i remember       
hearing an old gentleman 7who           
represented old ,english feeling in     
great perfection7 say that it was       
totally unintelligible to him that a    
certain ,member of ,parliament could sit
 on the ,liberal side of the ,house of  
,commons4 ,i cannot understand it1 he   
said2 ,i knew his father intimately1 and
 he was always a good ,tory4 ,the idea  

that the son might have opinions of his 
own was unthinkable4  ,in our time we   
are beginning to perceive that opinions 
cannot be imposed1 and that the utmost  
that can be obtained by brow-beating a  
son who differs from ourselves is that  
he shall make false professions to      
satisfy us4 ,paternal influence may be  
better employed than in encouraging     
habits of dissimulation4  ,m4 ,legouv   
attaches great importance to the        
religious question as a cause of        
division between fathers and sons       
because in the present day young men so 
frequently imbibe opinions which are not
 those of their parents4 ,it is not     
uncommon1 in ,france1 for ,catholic     
parents to have unbelieving sons2 and   
the converse is also seen1 but more     
frequently in the case of daughters4 ,as
 opinions are very freely expressed in  
,france 7except where external          
conformity is an affair of caste71 we   
find many families in which ,catholicism
 and ,agnosticism have each their open  

and convinced adherents2 yet family     
affection does not appear to suffer from
 the difference1 or is1 at least1       
powerful enough to overcome it4 ,in old 
times this would have been impossible4  
,the father would have resented a       
difference of opinion in the son as an  
offence against himself4  ,a very common
 cause of division between father and   
son1 in old times1 was the following4   
,the father expressed a desire of some  
kind1 mildly and kindly perhaps1 yet    
with the full expectation that it should
 be attended to2 but the desire was of  
an exorbitant nature1 in this sense1    
that it involved something that would   
affect the whole course of the young    
man's future life in a manner contrary  
to his natural instincts4 ,the father   
was then grievously hurt and offended   
because the son did not see his way to  
the fulfilment of the paternal desire4  
,the strongest cases of this kind were  
in relation to profession and marriage4 
,the father wished his son to enter into

 some trade or profession for which he  
was completely unsuited1 or he desired  
him to marry some young lady for whom he
 had not the slightest natural affinity4
 ,the son felt the inherent difficulties
 and refused4 ,then the father thought1 
,i only ask of my son this one simple   
thing1 and he denies me4  ,in these     
cases the father was not asking for one 
thing1 but for thousands of things4 ,he 
was asking his son to undertake many    
thousands of separate obligations1      
succeeding each other till the          
far-distant date of his retirement from 
the distasteful profession1 or his      
release1 by his own death or hers1 from 
the tedious companionship of the unloved
 wife4 ,sometimes the concession would  
have involved a long series of          
hypocrisies1 as for example when a son  
was asked to take holy orders1 though   
with little faith and no vocation4      
,peter the ,great is the most           
conspicuous example in history of a     
father whose idiosyncrasy was not       

continued in his son1 and who could not 
understand or tolerate the separateness 
of his son's personality4 ,they were not
 only of independent1 but even of       
opposite natures4 ,peter was active1    
curious1 and energetic4 ,alexis was     
contemplative and reflective4 ,he was   
not without intellectual ability1 but he
 liked a quiet life4 ,he preferred      
reading and thinking4 ,at the age when  
,peter was making fireworks1 building   
boats1 and exercising his comrades in   
mimic war1 ,alexis was pondering over   
the ',divine ,manna1' reading the       
',wonders of ,god1' reflecting on       
,thomas  ,kempis's ',imitation of       
,christ1' and making excerpts from      
,baronius4 ,while it sometimes seemed as
 if ,peter was born too soon for the    
age1 ,alexis was born too late4 ,he     
belonged to the past generation4 ,not   
only did he take no interest in the work
 and plans of his father1 but he        
gradually came to dislike and hate      
them4444 ,he would sometimes even take  

medicine to make himself ill1 so that he
 might not be called upon to perform    
duties or to attend to business4 ,once1 
when he was obliged to go to the launch 
of a ship1 he said to a friend1 ',i     
would rather be a galley-slave1 or have 
a burning fever1 than be obliged to go  
there4'#f  ,in this case one is sorry   
for both father and son4 ,peter was a   
great intelligent barbarian of immense  
muscular strength and rude cerebral     
energy4 ,alexis was of the material from
 which civilization makes priests and   
students1 or quiet conventional kings1  
but he was even more unlike ,peter than 
gentle ,richard ,cromwell was unlike    
authoritative ,oliver4 ,the             
disappointment to ,peter1 firmly        
convinced1 as all rude natures are1 of  
the perfection of his own personality1  
and probably quite unable to appreciate 
a personality of another type1 must have
 been the more bitter that his great    
plans for the future required a         
vigorous1 practically minded innovator  

like himself4 ,at length the difference 
of nature so exasperated the ,autocrat  
that he had his son three times         
tortured1 the third time in his own     
presence and with a fatal result4 ,this 
terrible incident is the strongest      
expression known to us of a father's    
vexation because his son was not of his 
own kind4  ,another painful case that   
will be long remembered1 though the     
character of the father is less known to
 us1 is that of the poet ,shelley and   
,sir ,timothy4 ,the little that we do   
know amounts to this1 that there was a  
total absence of sympathy4 ,sir ,timothy
 committed the very greatest of paternal
 mistakes in depriving himself of the   
means of direct influence over his son  
by excluding him from his own home4     
,considering that the supreme grief of  
unhappy fathers is the feebleness of    
their influence over their sons1 they   
can but confirm and complete their      
sorrow by annihilating that influence   
utterly and depriving themselves of all 

chance of recovering and increasing it  
in the future4 ,this ,sir ,timothy did  
after the expulsion from ,oxford4 ,in   
his position1 a father possessing some  
skill and tact in the management of     
young men at the most difficult and     
wayward period of their lives would have
 determined above all things to keep his
 son as much as possible within the     
range of his own control4 ,although     
,shelley afterwards returned to ,field  
,place for a short time1 the scission   
had been made2 there was an end of real 
intercourse between father and son2 the 
poet went his own way1 married ,harriett
 ,westbrook1 and lived through the rest 
of his short1 unsatisfactory existence  
as a homeless1 wandering dclass4  ,this 
,essay has hitherto run upon the        
discouraging side of the subject1 so    
that it ought not to end without the    
happier and more hopeful considerations4
  ,every personality is separate from   
others1 and expects its separateness to 
be acknowledged4 ,when a son avoids his 

father it is because he fears that the  
rights of his own personality will be   
disregarded4 ,there are fathers who     
habitually treat their sons with        
sneering contempt4 ,i have myself seen a
 young man of fair common abilities     
treated with constant and undisguised   
contempt by a clever1 sardonic father   
who went so far as to make brutal       
allusions to the shape of the young     
man's skull6 ,he bore this treatment    
with admirable patience and unfailing   
gentleness1 but suffered from it        
silently4 ,another used to laugh at his 
son1 and called him ,don ,quixote       
whenever the lad gave expression to some
 sentiment above the low ,philistine    
level4 ,a third1 whom ,i knew well1 had 
a disagreeable way of putting down his  
son because he was young1 telling him   
that up to the age of forty a man might 
have impressions1 but could not possibly
 have opinions4 ,my father1 said a      
kind-hearted ,english gentleman to me1  
was the most thoroughly unbearable      

person ,i ever met with in my life4     
,the frank recognition of separate      
personality1 with all its rights1 would 
stop this brutality at once4 ,there     
still remains the legitimate power of   
the father1 which he ought not to       
abdicate1 and which is of itself enough 
to prevent the freedom and equality     
necessary to perfect friendship4 ,this  
reason1 and the difference of age and   
habits1 make it impossible that young   
men and their fathers should be         
comrades2 but a relation may be         
established between them which1 if      
rightly understood1 is one of the most  
agreeable in human existence4  ,to be   
satisfactory it must be founded1 on the 
father's side1 on the idea that he is   
repaying to posterity what he has       
received from his own parents1 and not  
on any selfish hope that the descending 
stream of benefit will flow upwards     
again to him4 ,then he must not count   
upon affection1 nor lay himself out to  
win it1 nor be timidly afraid of losing 

it1 but found his influence upon the    
firmer ground of respect1 and be        
determined to deserve and have that1    
along with as much unforced affection as
 the son is able naturally and easily to
 give4 ,it is not desirable that the    
affection between father and son should 
be so tender1 on either side1 as to make
 separation a constant pain1 for such is
 human destiny that the two are         
generally fated to see but little of    
each other4  ,the best satisfaction for 
a father is to deserve and receive loyal
 and unfailing respect from his son4    
,no1 this is not quite the best1 not    
quite the supreme satisfaction of       
paternity4 ,shall ,i reveal the secret  
that lies in silence at the very bottom 
of the hearts of all worthy and         
honorable fathers8 ,their profoundest   
happiness is to be able themselves to   
respect their sons4     ,,essay ,,vii4  
,,the ,,rights ,,of ,,the ,,guest4   ,if
 hospitality were always perfectly      
practised it would be the strongest of  

all influences in favor of rational     
liberty1 because the host would learn to
 respect it in the persons of his       
guests1 and thence1 by extension of     
habit1 amongst others who could never be
 his guests4  ,hospitality educates us  
in respect for the rights of others4    
,this is the substantial benefit that   
the host ought to derive from his       
trouble and his outlay1 but the         
instincts of uncivilized human nature   
are so powerful that this education has 
usually been partial and incomplete4    
,the best part of it has been           
systematically evaded1 in this way4     
,people were aware that tolerance and   
forbearance ought to be exercised       
towards guests1 and so1 to avoid the    
hard necessity of exercising these      
qualities when they were really         
difficult virtues1 they practised what  
is called exclusiveness4 ,in other      
words1 they accepted as guests only     
those who agreed with their own opinions
 and belonged to their own class4 ,by   

this arrangement they could be both     
hospitable and intolerant at the same   
time4  ,if1 in our day1 the barrier of  
exclusiveness has been in many places   
broken down1 there is all the greater   
need for us to remember the true        
principle of hospitality4 ,it might be  
forgotten with little inconvenience in a
 very exclusive society1 but if it were 
forgotten in a society that is not      
exclusive the consequences would be     
exactly the opposite of what every      
friend of civilization most earnestly   
desires4 ,social intercourse1 in that   
case1 so far from being an education in 
respect for the rights of others1 would 
be an opportunity for violating them4   
,the violation might become habitual2   
and if it were so this strange result   
would follow1 that society would not be 
a softening and civilizing influence1   
but the contrary4 ,it would accustom    
people to treat each other with         
disregard1 so that men would be hardened
 and brutalized by it as schoolboys are 

made ruder by the rough habits of the   
playground1 and urbanity would not be   
cultivated in cities1 but preserved1 if 
at all1 in solitude4  ,the two views    
concerning the rights of the guest may  
be stated briefly as follows3--  #a4    
,the guest is bound to conform in all   
things to the tastes and customs of his 
host4 ,he ought to find or feign        
enjoyment in everything that his host   
imposes upon him2 and if he is unwilling
 to do this in every particular it is a 
breach of good manners on his part1 and 
he must be made to suffer for it4  #b4  
,the guest should be left to be happy in
 his own way1 and the business of the   
host is to arrange things in such a     
manner that each guest may enjoy as much
 as possible his own peculiar kind of   
happiness4  ,when the first principle   
was applied in all its rigor1 as it     
often used to be applied1 and as ,i have
 myself seen it applied1 the sensation  
experienced by the guest on going to    
stay in certain houses was that of      

entirely losing the direction of        
himself4 ,he was not even allowed1 in   
the middle classes1 to have any control 
over his own inside1 but had to eat what
 his host ordered him to eat1 and to    
drink the quantity of wine and spirits  
that his host had decided to be good for
 him4 ,resistance to these dictates was 
taken as an offence1 as a crime against 
good fellowship1 or as a reflection on  
the quality of the good things provided2
 and conversation paused whilst the     
attention of the whole company was      
attracted to the recalcitrant guest1 who
 was intentionally placed in a situation
 of extreme annoyance and discomfort in 
order to compel him to obedience4 ,the  
victim was perhaps half an invalid1 or  
at least a man who could only keep well 
and happy on condition of observing a   
certain strictness of regimen4 ,he was  
then laughed at for idle fears about his
 health1 told that he was a             
hypochondriac1 and recommended to drink 
a bottle of port every day to get rid of

 such idle nonsense4 ,if he declined to 
eat twice or three times as much as he  
desired1 the hostess expressed her      
bitter regret that she had not been able
 to provide food and cookery to his     
taste1 thus placing him in such a       
position that he must either eat more or
 seem to condemn her arrangements4 ,it  
was very common amongst old-fashioned   
,french bourgeois in the last generation
 for the hostess herself to heap things 
on the guest's plate1 and to prevent    
this her poor persecuted neighbor had to
 remove the plate or turn it upside     
down4 ,the whole habit of pressing was  
dictated by selfish feeling in the      
hosts4 ,they desired to see their guests
 devour voraciously1 in order that their
 own vanity might be gratified by the   
seeming appreciation of their things4   
,temperate men were disliked by a       
generation of topers because their      
temperance had the appearance of a      
silent protest or censure4 ,the         
discomfort inflicted by these odious    

usages was so great that many people    
either injured their health in society  
or kept out of it in self-defence1      
though they were not sulky and          
unsociable by nature1 but would have    
been hearty lovers of human intercourse 
if they could have enjoyed it on less   
unacceptable terms4  ,the wholesome     
modern reaction against these dreadful  
old customs has led some hosts into     
another error4 ,they sometimes fail to  
understand the great principle that it  
is the guest alone who ought to be the  
judge of the quantity that he shall eat 
and drink4 ,the old pressing hospitality
 assumed that the guest was a child1 too
 shame-faced to take what it longed for 
unless it was vigorously encouraged2 but
 the new hospitality1 if indeed it still
 in every case deserves that honored    
name1 does really sometimes appear to   
assume 7,i do not say always1 or often1 
but in extreme cases7 that the guest is 
a fool1 who would eat and drink more    
than is good for him if he were not     

carefully rationed4 ,such hosts forget  
that excess is quite a relative term1   
that each constitution has its own      
needs4 ,beyond this1 it is well known   
that the exhilaration of social         
intercourse enables people who meet     
convivially to digest and assimilate1   
without fatigue1 a larger amount of     
nutriment than they could in dull and   
perhaps dejected solitude4 ,hence it is 
a natural and long-established habit to 
eat and drink more when in company than 
alone1 and the guest should have the    
possibility of conforming to this not   
irrational old custom until1 in ,homer's
 phrase1 he has put from him the desire 
of meat and drink4  ,guests have no     
right whatever to require that the host 
should himself eat and drink to keep    
them in countenance4 ,there used to be a
 belief 7it lingers still in the middle 
classes and in country places7 that the 
laws of hospitality required the host to
 set what was considered a good example1
 or1 in other words1 to commit excesses 

himself that his friends might not be   
too much ashamed of theirs4 ,it is said 
that the ,emperor ,william of ,germany  
never eats in public at all1 but sits   
out every banquet before an empty plate4
 ,this1 though quite excusable in an old
 gentleman1 obliged to live by rule1    
must have rather a chilling effect2 and 
yet ,i like it as a declaration of the  
one great principle that no person at   
table1 be he host or guest1 ought to be 
compelled to inflict the very slightest 
injury upon his own health1 or even     
comfort4 ,the rational and civilized    
idea is that food and wines are simply  
placed at the disposal of the people    
present to be used1 or abstained from1  
as they please4  ,it is clear that every
 invited guest has a right to expect    
some slight appearance of festivity in  
his honor4 ,in coarse and barbarous     
times the idea of festivity is          
invariably expressed by abundance1      
especially by vast quantities of        
butcher's meat and wine1 as we always   

find it in ,homer1 where princes and    
gentlemen stuff themselves like savages2
 but in refined times the notion of     
quantity has lost its attraction1 and   
that of elegance takes its place4 ,in a 
highly civilized society nothing conveys
 so much the idea of festivity as plenty
 of light and flowers1 with beautiful   
table-linen and plate and glass4 ,these1
 with some extra delicacy in cookery and
 wines1 are our modern way of expressing
 welcome4  ,there is a certain kind of  
hospitality in which the host visibly   
declines to make any effort either of   
trouble or expense1 but plainly shows by
 his negligence that he only tolerates  
the guest4 ,all that can be said of such
 hospitality as this is that a guest who
 respects himself may endure it silently
 for once1 but would not be likely to   
expose himself to it a second time4     
,there is even a kind of hospitality    
which seems to find a satisfaction in   
letting the guest perceive that the best
 in the house is not offered to him4 ,he

 is lodged in a poor little room1 when  
there are noble bedchambers1 unused1 in 
the same house2 or he is allowed to hire
 a vehicle in the village1 to make some 
excursion1 when there are horses in the 
stables plethoric from want of exercise4
 ,in cases of this kind it is not the   
privation of luxury that is hard to     
bear1 but the indisposition to give     
honor4 ,the guest feels and knows that  
if a person of very high rank came to   
the house everything would be put at his
 disposal1 and he resents the slight put
 upon his own condition4 ,a rich        
,english lady1 long since dead1 had a   
large mansion in the country with fine  
bedrooms2 so she found a pleasure in    
keeping those rooms empty and sending   
guests to sleep at the top of the house 
in little bare and comfortless chambers 
that the architect had intended for     
servants4 ,i have heard of a ,french    
house where there are fine state        
apartments1 and where all ordinary      
guests are poorly lodged1 and fed in a  

miserable salle  manger4 ,an aggravation
 is when the host treats himself better 
than his guest4 ,lady ,b4 invited some  
friends to a country-house2 and they    
drove to another country-house in the   
neighborhood in two carriages1 one      
containing ,lady ,b4 and one friend1 the
 other the remaining guests4 ,her       
ladyship was timid and rather selfish1  
as timid people often are2 so when they 
reached the avenue she began to fancy   
that both carriages could not safely    
turn in the garden1 and she despatched  
her footman to the second carriage1 with
 orders that her guests 7amongst whom   
was a lady very near her confinement7   
were to get out and walk to the house1  
whilst she drove up to the door in      
state4  ,a guest has an absolute right  
to have his religious and political     
opinions respected in his presence1 and 
this is not invariably done4 ,the rule  
more generally followed seems to be that
 class opinions only deserve respect and
 not individual opinions4 ,the question 

is too large to be treated in a         
paragraph1 but ,i should say that it is 
a clear breach of hospitality to utter  
anything in disparagement of any opinion
 whatever that is known to be held by   
any one guest present1 however humble   
may be his rank4 ,i have sometimes seen 
the known opinions of a guest attacked  
rudely and directly1 but the more       
civilized method is to do it more       
artfully through some other person who  
is not present4 ,for example1 a guest is
 known to think1 on important subjects1 
very much as ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer     
does2 then the host will contrive to    
talk at him in talking about ,spencer4  
,a guest ought not to bear this         
ungenerous kind of attack4 ,if such an  
occasion arises he should declare his   
opinions plainly and with firmness1 and 
show his determination to have them     
respected whilst he is there1 whatever  
may be said against them in his absence4
 ,if he cannot obtain this degree of    
courtesy1 which is his right1 let him   

quit the house and satisfy his hunger at
 some inn4 ,the innkeeper will ask for a
 little money1 but he demands no mental 
submission4  ,it sometimes happens that 
the nationality of a foreign guest is   
not respected as it ought to be4 ,i     
remember an example of this which is    
moderate enough to serve as a kind of   
type1 some attacks upon nationality     
being much more direct and outrageous4  
,an ,english lady said at her own table 
that she would not allow her daughter to
 be partially educated in a ,french     
school1 because she would have to       
associate with ,french girls1 which1 you
 know1 is undesirable4 ,amongst the     
guests was a ,french lady1 and the      
observation was loud enough for         
everybody to hear it4 ,i say nothing of 
the injustice of the imputation4 ,it    
was1 indeed1 most unjust1 but that is   
not the point4 ,the point is that a     
foreigner ought not to hear attacks upon
 his native land even when they are     
perfectly well founded4  ,the host has a

 sort of judicial function in this way4 
,the guest has a right to look to him   
for protection on certain occasions1 and
 he is likely to be profoundly grateful 
when it is given with tact and skill1   
because the host can say things for him 
that he cannot even hint at for himself4
 ,suppose the case of a young man who is
 treated with easy and rather           
contemptuous familiarity by another     
guest1 simply on account of his youth4  
,he is nettled by the offence1 but as it
 is more in manner than in words he     
cannot fix upon anything to answer4 ,the
 host perceives his annoyance1 and      
kindly gives him some degree of         
importance by alluding to some          
superiority of his1 and by treating him 
in a manner very different from that    
which had vexed him4  ,a witty host is  
the most powerful ally against an       
aggressor4 ,i remember dining in a very 
well-known house in ,paris where a      
celebrated ,frenchman repeated the      
absurd old ,french calumny against      

,english ladies1--that they all drink4  
,i was going to resent this seriously   
when a clever ,frenchwoman 7who knew    
,england well7 perceived the danger1 and
 answered the man herself with great    
decision and ability4 ,i then watched   
for the first opportunity of making him 
ridiculous1 and seized upon a very      
delightful one that he unwittingly      
offered4 ,our host at once understood   
that my attack was in revenge for an    
aggression that had been in bad taste1  
and he supported me with a wit and      
pertinacity that produced general       
merriment at the enemy's expense4 ,now  
in that case ,i should say that the host
 was filling one of the most important  
and most difficult functions of a host4 
,this ,essay has hitherto been written  
almost entirely on the guest's side of  
the question1 so that we have still     
briefly to consider the limitations to  
his rights4  ,he has no right to impose 
any serious inconvenience upon his host4
 ,he has no right to disturb the        

ordinary arrangements of the house1 or  
to inflict any serious pecuniary cost1  
or to occupy the host's time to the     
prejudice of his usual pursuits4 ,he has
 no right to intrude upon the privacy of
 his host4  ,a guest has no right to    
place the host in such a dilemma that he
 must either commit a rudeness or put up
 with an imposition4 ,the very courtesy 
of an entertainer places him at the     
mercy of a pushing and unscrupulous     
guest1 and it is only when the          
provocation has reached such a point as 
to have become perfectly intolerable    
that a host will do anything so painful 
to himself as to abandon his hospitable 
character and make the guest understand 
that he must go4  ,it may be said that  
difficulties of this kind never occur in
 civilized society4 ,no doubt they are  
rare1 but they happen just sufficiently 
often to make it necessary to be        
prepared for them4 ,suppose the case of 
a guest who exceeds his invitation4 ,he 
has been invited for two nights1 plainly

 and definitely2 but he stays a third1  
fourth1 fifth1 and seems as if he would 
stay forever4 ,there are men of that    
kind in the world1 and it is one of     
their arts to disarm their victims by   
pleasantness1 so that it is not easy to 
be firm with them4 ,the lady of the     
house gives a gentle hint1 the master   
follows with broader hints1 but the     
intruder is quite impervious to any but 
the very plainest language4 ,at last the
 host has to say1 ,your train leaves at 
such an hour1 and the carriage will be  
ready to take you to the station half an
 hour earlier4 ,this1 at any rate1 is   
intelligible2 and yet ,i have known one 
of those clinging limpets whom even this
 proceeding failed to dislodge4 ,at the 
approach of the appointed hour he was   
nowhere to be found6 ,he had gone to    
hide himself in a wood with no companion
 but his watch1 and by its help he took 
care to return when it was too late4    
,that is sometimes one of the great uses
 of a watch4     ,,essay ,,viii4  ,,the 

,,death ,,of ,,friendship4   ,a sad     
subject1 but worth analysis2 for if     
friendship is of any value to us whilst 
it is alive1 is it not worth while to   
inquire if there are any means of       
keeping it alive8  ,the word death is   
correctly employed here1 for nobody has 
discovered the means by which a dead    
friendship can be resuscitated4 ,to hope
 for that would be vain indeed1 and idle
 the waste of thought in such a bootless
 quest4  ,shall we mourn over this death
 without hope1 this blank annihilation1 
this finis of intercourse once so sweet1
 this dreary and ultimate conclusion8   
,the death of a friendship is not the   
death of a person2 we do not mourn for  
the absence of some beloved person from 
the world4 ,it is simply the termination
 of a certain degree and kind of        
intercourse1 not of necessity the       
termination of all intercourse4 ,we may 
be grieved that the change has come2 we 
may be remorseful if it has come through
 a fault of our own2 but if it is due   

simply to natural causes there is small 
place for any reasonable sorrow4        
,friendship is a certain rapport between
 two minds during one or more phases of 
their existence1 and the perfection of  
it is quite as dependent upon what is   
not in the two minds as upon their      
positive acquirements and possessions4  
,hence the extreme facility with which  
schoolboys form friendships which1 for  
the time1 are real1 true1 and           
delightful4 ,school friendships are     
formed so easily because boys in the    
same class know the same things2 and it 
rarely happens that in addition to what 
they have in common either one party or 
the other has any knowledge of          
importance that is not in common4       
,later in life the pair of friends who  
were once comrades go into different    
professions that fill the mind with     
special professional ideas and induce   
different habits of thought4 ,each will 
be conscious1 when they meet1 that there
 is a great range of ideas in the       

other's mind from which he is excluded1 
and each will have a difficulty in      
keeping within the smaller range of     
ideas that they have now in common2 so  
that they will no longer be able to let 
their whole minds play together as they 
used to do1 and they will probably feel 
more at ease with mere acquaintances who
 have what is now their knowledge1 what 
are now their mental habits1 than with  
the friend of their boyhood who is      
without them4  ,this is strongly felt by
 men who go through a large experience  
at a distance from their early home and 
then return for a while to the old place
 and old associates1 and find that it is
 only a part of themselves that is      
acceptable4 ,new growths of self have   
taken place in distant regions1 by      
travel1 by study1 by intercourse with   
mankind2 and these new growths1 though  
they may be more valuable than any      
others1 are of no practical use1 of no  
social availableness1 in the little     
circle that has remained in the old     

ways4  ,then there are changes of temper
 that result from the fixing of the     
character by time4 ,we think we remain  
the same1 but that is one of our many   
illusions4 ,we change1 and we do not    
always change in the same way4 ,one man 
becomes mellowed by advancing years1 but
 another is hardened by them2 one man's 
temper gains in sweetness and serenity  
as his intellect gains in light1 another
 becomes dogmatic1 peremptory1 and      
bitter4 ,even when the change is the    
same for both1 it may be unfavorable to 
their intercourse4 ,two merry young     
hearts may enjoy each other's company1  
when they would find each other dull and
 flat if the sparkle of the early       
effervescence were all spent4  ,i have  
not yet touched upon change of opinion  
as a cause of the death of friendship1  
but it is one of the most common causes4
 ,it would be a calumny on the          
intelligence of the better part of      
mankind to say that they always desire  
to hear repeated exactly what they say  

themselves1 though that is really the   
desire of the unintelligent2 but the    
cleverest people like to hear new and   
additional reasons in support of the    
opinions they hold already2 and they do 
not like to hear reasons1 hitherto      
unsuspected1 that go to the support of  
opinions different from their own4      
,therefore a slow divergence of opinion 
may carry two friends farther and       
farther apart by narrowing the subjects 
of their intercourse1 or a sudden       
intellectual revolution in one of them  
may effect an immediate and irreparable 
breach4  ,if the character is formed1   
says ,stuart ,mill1 and the mind made up
 on the few cardinal points of human    
opinion1 agreement of conviction and    
feeling on these has been felt at all   
times to be an essential requisite of   
anything worthy the name of friendship  
in a really earnest mind4 ,i do not     
quote this in the belief that it is     
absolutely true1 but it expresses a     
general sentiment4 ,we can only be      

guided by our own experience in these   
matters4 ,mine has been that friendship 
is possible with those whom ,i respect1 
however widely they differ from me1 and 
not possible with those whom ,i am      
unable to respect1 even when on the     
great matters of opinion their views are
 identical with my own4  ,it is certain1
 however1 that the change of opinion    
itself has a tendency to separate men1  
even though the difference would not    
have made friendship impossible if it   
had existed from the first4 ,instances  
of this are often found in biographies1 
especially in religious biographies1    
because religious people are more pained
 and wounded by difference of opinion   
than others4 ,we read in such books of  
the profound distress with which the    
hero found himself separated from his   
early friends by his new conviction on  
this or that point of theology4         
,political divergence produces the same 
effect in a minor degree1 and with more 
of irritation than distress4 ,even      

divergence of opinion on artistic       
subjects is enough to produce coolness4 
,artists and men of letters become      
estranged from each other by            
modifications of their critical         
doctrines4  ,differences of prosperity  
do not prevent the formation of         
friendship if they have existed         
previously1 and can be taken as         
established facts2 but if they widen    
afterwards they have a tendency to      
diminish it4 ,they do so by altering the
 views of one of the parties about ways 
of living and about the multitude of    
things involving questions of expense4  
,if the enriched man lives on a scale   
corresponding to his newly acquired     
wealth1 he may be regarded by the other 
as pretentious beyond his station1      
whilst if he keeps to his old style he  
may be thought parsimonious4 ,from      
delicacy he will cease to talk to the   
other about his money matters1 which he 
spoke of with frankness when he was not 
so rich4 ,if he has social ambition he  

will form new alliances with richer men1
 and the old friend may regard these    
with a little unconscious jealousy4  ,it
 has been observed that young artists   
often have a great esteem for the work  
of one of their number so long as its   
qualities are not recognized and        
rewarded by the public1 but that so soon
 as the clever young man wins the       
natural meed of industry and ability his
 early friendships die4 ,they were often
 the result of a generous indignation   
against public injustice1 so when that  
injustice came to an end the kindness   
that was a protest against it ceased at 
the same time4 ,in jealous natures it   
would no doubt be replaced by the       
conviction that public favor had        
rewarded merit far beyond its deserts4  
,in the political life of democracies we
 see men enthusiastically supported and 
really admired with sincerity so long as
 they remain in opposition1 and their   
friends indulge the most favorable      
anticipations about what they would do  

if they came to power2 but when they    
accept office they soon lose many of    
these friends1 who are quite sure to be 
disappointed with the small degree in   
which their excessive hopes have been   
realized4 ,there is no country where    
this is seen more frequently than in    
,france1 where ,ministers are often     
criticised with the most unrelenting and
 uncharitable acerbity by the men and   
newspapers that helped to raise them4   
,changes of physical constitution may be
 the death of friendship in this way4 ,a
 friendship may be founded upon some    
sport that one of the parties becomes   
unable to follow4 ,after that the two   
men cease to meet on the particularly   
pleasant occasions that every sport     
affords for its real votaries1 and they 
only meet on common occasions1 which are
 not the same because there is not the  
same jovial and hearty temper4 ,in like 
manner a friendship may be weakened if  
one of the parties gives up some        
indulgence that both used to enjoy      

together4 ,many a friendship has been   
cemented by the habit of smoking1 and   
weakened afterwards when one friend gave
 up the habit1 declined the cigars that 
the other offered1 and either did not   
accompany him to the smoking-room or sat
 there in open and vexatious            
nonconformity4  ,it is well known1 so   
well known indeed as scarcely to require
 mention here1 that one of the most     
frequent and powerful causes of the     
death of bachelor friendships is        
marriage4 ,one of the two friends takes 
a wife1 and the friendship is at once in
 peril4 ,the maintenance of it depends  
upon the lady's taste and temper4 ,if   
not quite approved by her1 it will      
languish for a little while and then    
die1 in spite of all painful and visible
 efforts on the husband's part to       
compensate1 by extra attention1 for the 
coolness of his wife4 ,i have visited a 
,continental city where it is always    
understood that all bachelor friendships
 are broken off by marriage4 ,this rule 

has at least the advantage of settling  
the question unequivocally4  ,simple    
neglect is probably the most common of  
all causes deadly to                    
friendship1--neglect arising either from
 real indifference1 from constitutional 
indolence1 or from excessive devotion to
 business4 ,friendly feelings must be   
either of extraordinary sincerity1 or   
else strengthened by some extraneous    
motive of self-interest1 to surmount    
petty inconveniences4 ,the very         
slightest difficulty in maintaining     
intercourse is sufficient in most cases 
to insure its total cessation in a short
 time4 ,your house is somewhat difficult
 of access1--it is on a hill-side or at 
a little distance from a railway        
station3 only the most sincere friends  
will be at the trouble to find you      
unless your rank is so high that it is a
 glory to visit you4  ,poor friends     
often keep up intercourse with rich ones
 by sheer force of determination long   
after it ought to have been allowed to  

die its own natural death4 ,when they do
 this without having the courage to     
require some approach to reciprocity    
they sink into the condition of mere    
clients1 whom the patron may indeed     
treat with apparent kindness1 but whom  
he regards with real indifference1      
taking no trouble whatever to maintain  
the old connection between them4        
,equality of rank and fortune is not at 
all necessary to friendship1 but a      
certain other kind of equality is4 ,a   
real friendship can never be maintained 
unless there is an equal readiness on   
both sides to be at some pains and      
trouble for its maintenance2 so if you  
perceive that a person whom you once    
supposed to be your friend will not put 
himself to any trouble on your account1 
the only course consistent with your    
dignity is to take exactly the same     
amount of pains to make yourself        
agreeable to him4 ,after you have done  
this for a little time you will soon    
know if the friendship is really dead2  

for he is sure to perceive your neglect 
if he does not perceive his own1 and he 
will either renew the intercourse with  
some empressement or else cease from it 
altogether4  ,in early life the right   
rule is to accept kindness gratefully   
from one's elders and not to be         
sensitive about omissions1 because such 
omissions are then often consistent with
 the most real and affectionate regard2 
but as a man advances towards middle-age
 it is right for him to be somewhat     
careful of his dignity and to require   
from friends1 whatever may be their     
station1 a certain general reciprocity4 
,this should always be understood in    
rather a large sense1 and not exacted in
 trifles4 ,if he perceives that there is
 no reciprocity he cannot do better than
 drop an acquaintance that is but the   
phantom and simulacrum of ,friendship's 
living reality4  ,it is as natural that 
many friendships should die and be      
replaced by others as that our old      
selves should be replaced by our present

 selves4 ,the fact seems melancholy when
 first perceived1 but is afterwards     
accepted as inevitable4 ,there is1      
however1 a death of friendship which is 
so truly sad and sorrowful as to cast   
its gloomy shadow on all the years that 
remain to us4 ,it is when we ourselves1 
by some unhappy fault of temper that    
might have been easily avoided1 have    
wounded the kind breast of our friend1  
and killed the gentle sentiment that was
 dwelling happily within4 ,the only way 
to be quite sure of avoiding this great 
and irretrievable calamity is to        
remember how very delicate friendly     
sentiments are and how easy it is to    
destroy them by an inconsiderate or an  
ungentle word4     ,,essay ,,ix4  ,,the 
,,flux ,,of ,,wealth4   ,we become      
richer or poorer2 we seldom remain      
exactly as we were4 ,if we have         
property1 it increases or diminishes in 
value2 if our income is fixed1 the value
 of money alters2 and if it increased   
proportionally to the depreciation of   

money1 our position would still be      
relatively altered by changes in the    
fortunes of others4 ,we marry and have  
children2 then our wealth becomes less  
our own after every birth4 ,we win some 
honor or professional advancement that  
seems a gain2 but increased expenditure 
is the consequence1 and we are poorer   
than we were before4 ,amidst all these  
fluctuations of wealth human intercourse
 either continues under altered         
conditions or else it is broken off     
because they are no longer favorable to 
its maintenance4 ,i propose to consider1
 very briefly1 how these altered        
conditions operate4  ,we have to        
separate1 in the first place1           
intercourse between individuals from    
intercourse between families4 ,the      
distinction is of the utmost importance1
 because the two are not under the same 
law4  ,two men1 of whom one is extremely
 rich and the other almost penniless1   
have no difficulty in associating       
together on terms agreeable to both when

 they possess intellectual interests in 
common1 or even when there is nothing   
more than an attraction of idiosyncrasy2
 but these conditions only subsist      
between one individual and another2 they
 are not likely to subsist between two  
families4 ,intercourse between          
individuals depends on something in     
intellect and culture that enables them 
to understand each other1 and upon      
something in character that makes them  
love or respect each other4 ,intercourse
 between families depends chiefly on    
neighborhood and similarity in style of 
living4  ,this is the reason why        
bachelors have so much easier access to 
society than men with wives and         
families4 ,the bachelor is received for 
himself1 for his genius1 information1   
manners2 but if he is married the       
question is1 ,what sort of people are   
they8 ,this1 being interpreted1 means1  
,what style do they live in8 ,how many  
servants do they keep8  ,whatever may be
 the variety of opinions concerning the 

doctrines of the ,church of ,rome1 there
 is but one concerning her astuteness4  
,there can be no doubt that she is the  
most influential association of men that
 has ever existed2 and she has decided  
for celibacy1 that the priest might     
stand on his merits and on the power of 
the ,church1 and be respected and       
admitted everywhere in spite of         
notorious poverty4  ,mignet1 the        
historian1 was a most intimate and      
constant friend of ,thiers4 ,mignet1    
though rich in reality1 as he knew how  
to live contentedly on moderate means1  
was poor in comparison with his friend4 
,this inequality did not affect their   
friendship in the least2 for both were  
great workers1 well qualified to        
understand each other1 though ,thiers   
lived in a grand house1 and ,mignet in a
 barely furnished lodging high up in a  
house that did not belong to him4       
,mignet was a bachelor1 and they were   
both childless men2 but imagine them    
with large families4 ,one family would  

have been bred in the greatest luxury1  
the other in austere simplicity4        
,children are keenly alive to these     
distinctions2 and even if there had been
 neither pride in the rich house nor    
envy in the poorer one the contrast     
would have been constantly felt4 ,the   
historical studies that the fathers had 
in common would probably not have       
interested their descendants1 and unless
 there had been some other powerful bond
 of sympathy the two families would have
 lived in different worlds4 ,the rich   
family would have had rich friends1 the 
poorer family would have attached itself
 to other families with whom it could   
have exchanged hospitality on more equal
 terms4 ,this would have happened even  
in ,paris1 a city where there is a      
remarkable absence of contempt for      
poverty2 a city where the slightest     
reason for distinction will admit any   
well-bred man into society in spite of  
narrow means and insure him immunity    
from disdain4 ,all the more certainly   

would it happen in places where money is
 the only regulator of rank1 the only   
acknowledged claim to consideration4  ,i
 once knew an ,english merchant who was 
reputed to be wealthy1 and who1 like a  
true ,englishman as he was1 inhabited   
one of those great houses that are so   
elaborately contrived for the exercise  
of hospitality4 ,he had a kind and      
friendly heart1 and lived surrounded by 
people who often did him the favor to   
drink his excellent wines and sleep in  
his roomy bedchambers4 ,on his death it 
turned out that he had never been quite 
so rich as he appeared and that during  
his last decade his fortune had rapidly 
dwindled4 ,being much interested in     
everything that may confirm or          
invalidate those views of human nature  
that are current in ancient and modern  
literature1 ,i asked his son how those  
who were formerly such frequent guests  
at the great house had behaved to the   
impoverished family4 ,they simply       
avoided us1 he said2 and some of them1  

when they met me1 would cut me openly in
 the street4  ,it may be said with      
perfect truth that this was a good      
riddance4 ,it is certain that it was so2
 it is undeniable that the deliverance  
from a horde of false friends is worth a
 considerable sum per head of them2 and 
that in itself was only a subject of    
congratulation1 but their behavior was  
hard to bear because it was the evidence
 of a fall4 ,we like deference as a     
proof that we have what others respect1 
quite independently of any real         
affection on their part2 nay1 we even   
enjoy the forced deference of those who 
hate us1 well knowing that they would   
behave very differently if they dared4  
,besides this1 it is not certain that an
 impoverished family will find truer    
friends amongst the poor than it did    
formerly amongst the rich4 ,the relation
 may be the same as it was before1 and  
only the incomes of the parties altered4
  ,what concerns our present subject is 
simply that changes of pecuniary        

situation have always a strong tendency 
to throw people amongst other           
associates2 and as these changes are    
continually occurring1 the result is    
that families very rarely preserve the  
same acquaintances for more than a      
single generation4 ,and now comes the   
momentous issue4 ,the influence of our  
associates is so difficult to resist1 in
 fact so completely irresistible in the 
long run1 that people belong far less to
 the class they are descended from than 
to the class in which they live4 ,the   
younger son of some perfectly           
aristocratic family marries rather      
imprudently and is impoverished by      
family expenses4 ,his son marries       
imprudently again and goes into another 
class4 ,the children of that second     
marriage will probably not have a trace 
of the peculiarly aristocratic          
civilization4 ,they will have neither   
the manners1 nor the ideas1 nor the     
unexpressed instincts of the real       
aristocracy from which they sprang4 ,in 

place of them they will have the ideas  
of the lower middle class1 and be in    
habits and manners just as completely of
 that class as if their forefathers had 
always belonged to it4  ,i have in view 
two instances of this which are         
especially interesting to me because    
they exemplify it in opposite ways4 ,in 
one of these cases the man was virtuous 
and religious1 but though his ancestry  
was aristocratic his virtues and his    
religion were exactly those of the      
,english middle class4 ,he was a good   
,bible-reading1 ,sabbath-observing1     
theatre-avoiding ,evangelical1 inclined 
to think that dancing was rather sinful1
 and in all those subtle points of      
difference that distinguish the         
middle-class ,englishman from the       
aristocratic ,englishman he followed the
 middle class1 not seeming to have any  
unconscious reminiscence in his blood of
 an ancestry with a freer and lordlier  
life4 ,he cared neither for the sports1 
nor the studies1 nor the social         

intercourse of the aristocracy4 ,his    
time was divided1 as that of the typical
 good middle-class ,englishman generally
 is1 between business and religion1     
except when he read his newspaper4 ,by a
 combination of industry and            
good-fortune he recovered wealth1 and   
might have rejoined the aristocracy to  
which he belonged by right of descent2  
but middle-class habits were too strong1
 and he remained contentedly to the     
close of life both in that class and of 
it4  ,the other example ,i am thinking  
of is that of a man still better        
descended1 who followed a profession    
which1 though it offers a good field for
 energy and talent1 is seldom pursued by
 gentlemen4 ,he acquired the habits and 
ideas of an intelligent but dissipated  
working-man1 his vices were exactly     
those of such a man1 and so was his     
particular kind of religious scepticism4
 ,i need not go further into detail4    
,suppose the character of a very clever 
but vicious and irreligious workman1    

such as may be found in great numbers in
 the large ,english towns1 and you have 
the accurate portrait of this particular
 dclass4  ,in mentioning these two cases
 ,i am anxious to avoid                 
misinterpretation4 ,i have no particular
 respect for one class more than        
another1 and am especially disposed to  
indulgence for the faults of those who  
bear the stress of the labor of the     
world2 but ,i see that there are        
classes1 and that the fluctuations of   
fortune1 more than any other cause1     
bring people within the range of        
influence exercised by the habits of    
classes1 and form them in the mould1 so 
that their virtues and vices afterwards1
 besides their smaller qualities and    
defects1 belong to the class they live  
in and not to the class they may be     
descended from4 ,in other words1 men are
 more strongly influenced by human      
intercourse than by heredity4  ,the most
 remarkable effect of the fluctuation of
 wealth is the extreme rapidity with    

which the prosperous family gains       
refinement of manners1 whilst the       
impoverished family loses it4 ,this     
change seems to be more rapid in our own
 age and country than it has ever been  
before4 ,nothing is more interesting    
than to watch this double process2 and  
nothing in social studies is more       
curious than the multiplicity of the    
minute causes that bring it about4      
,every abridgment of ceremony has a     
tendency to lower refinement by         
introducing that sans-gne which is fatal
 to good manners4 ,ceremony is only     
compatible with leisure4 ,it is abridged
 by haste2 haste is the result of       
poverty2 and so it comes to pass that   
the loss of fortune induces people to   
give up one little observance after     
another1 for economy of time1 till at   
last there are none remaining4 ,there is
 the excellent habit of dressing for the
 evening meal4 ,the mere cost of it is  
almost imperceptible1 except that it    
causes a small additional expenditure in

 clean linen2 but1 although the         
pecuniary tax is slight1 there is a tax 
on time which is not compatible with    
hurry and irregularity1 so it is only   
people of some leisure who maintain it4 
,now consider the subtle influence1 on  
manners1 of the maintenance or          
abandonment of this custom4 ,where it is
 kept up1 gentlemen and ladies meet in a
 drawing-room before dinner prepared by 
their toilet for the disciplined        
intercourse of well-regulated social    
life4 ,they are like officers in        
uniform1 or clergymen in canonicals3    
they wear a dress that is not without   
its obligations4 ,it is not the luxury  
of it that does this1 for the dress is  
always plain for men and often simple   
for ladies1 but the mere fact of taking 
the trouble to dress is an act of       
deference to civilization and disposes  
the mind to other observances4 ,it has  
the further advantage of separating us  
from the occupations of the day and     
marking a new point of departure for the

 gentler life of the evening4 ,as people
 become poorer they give up dressing    
except when they have a party1 and then 
they feel ill at ease from the          
consciousness of a white tie4 ,you have 
only to go a little further in this     
direction to arrive at the people who do
 not feel any inclination to wash their 
hands before dinner1 even when they     
visibly need it4 ,finally there are     
houses where the master will sit down to
 table in his shirt-sleeves and without 
anything round his neck4 ,people who    
live in this way have no social         
intercourse whatever of a slightly      
ceremonious kind1 and therefore miss all
 the discipline in manners that rich    
people go through every day4 ,the higher
 society is a school of manners that the
 poor have not leisure to attend4  ,the 
downward course of an impoverished      
family is strongly aided by an element  
in many natures that the discipline of  
high life either subdues or eliminates4 
,there are always people1 especially in 

the male sex1 who feel ill at ease under
 ceremonial restraints of any kind1 and 
who find the release from them an       
ineffably delightful emancipation4 ,such
 people hate dressing for dinner1 hate  
the forms of politeness1 hate gloves and
 visiting-cards1 and all that such      
things remind them of4 ,to be rid of    
these things once for all1 to be able to
 sit and smoke a pipe in an old gray    
coat1 seems to them far greater and more
 substantial happiness than to drink    
claret in a dining-room1 napkin on knee4
 ,once out of society1 such men have no 
desire to enter it again1 and after a   
very short exclusion from it they belong
 to a lower class from taste quite as   
much as from circumstances4 ,all those  
who have a tendency towards the         
philosophy of ,diogenes 7and they are   
more numerous than we suppose7 are of   
this manner of thinking4 ,sometimes they
 have a taste for serious intellectual  
pursuits which makes the nothings of    
society seem frivolous1 and also        

consoles their pride for an apparent    
dchance4  ,if it were possible to get   
rid of the burdensome superfluities of  
high life1 most of which are useless    
encumbrances1 and live simply without   
any loss of refinement1 ,i should say   
that these philosophers would have      
reason on their side4 ,the complicated  
apparatus of wealthy life is not in     
itself desirable4 ,to convert the simple
 act of satisfying hunger into the      
tedious ceremonial of a state dinner may
 be a satisfaction of pride1 but it is  
assuredly not an increase of pleasure4  
,to receive as guests people whom we do 
not care for in the least 7which is     
constantly done by rich people to       
maintain their position7 offers less of 
what is agreeable in human intercourse  
than a chat with a real friend under a  
shed of thatch4 ,nevertheless1 to be    
totally excluded from the life of the   
wealthy is to miss a discipline in      
manners that nothing ever replaces1 and 
this is the real loss4 ,the cultivation 

of taste which results from leisure     
forms1 in course of time1 amongst rich  
people a public opinion that disciplines
 every member of an aristocratic society
 far more severely than the more        
careless opinion of the hurried classes 
ever disciplines them4 ,to know the     
value of such discipline we have only to
 observe societies from which it is     
absent4 ,we have many opportunities for 
this in travelling1 and one occurred to 
me last year that ,i will describe as an
 example4 ,i was boating with two young 
friends on a ,french river1 and we spent
 a ,sunday in a decent riverside inn1   
where we had djener in a corner of the  
public room4 ,several men of the        
neighborhood1 probably farmers and small
 proprietors1 sat in another corner     
playing cards4 ,they had a very decent  
appearance1 they were fine              
healthy-looking men1 quite the contrary 
of a degraded class1 and they were only 
amusing themselves temperately on a     
,sunday morning4 ,well1 from the        

beginning of their game to the end of it
 7that is1 during the whole time of our 
meal71 they did nothing but shout1 yell1
 shriek1 and swear at each other loudly 
enough to be heard across the broad     
river4 ,they were not angry in the      
least1 but it was their habit to make a 
noise and to use oaths and foul language
 continually4 ,we1 at our table1 could  
not hear each other's voices2 but this  
did not occur to them4 ,they had no     
notion that their noisy kind of         
intercourse could be unpleasant to      
anybody1 because delicacy of sense1     
fineness of nerve1 had not been         
developed in their class of society4    
,afterwards ,i asked them for some      
information1 which they gave with a real
 anxiety to make themselves of use4     
,some rich people came to the inn with a
 pretty carriage1 and ,i amused myself  
by noting the difference4 ,their manners
 were perfectly quiet4 ,why are rich    
people quiet and poorer ones noisy8     
,because the refinements of wealthy     

life1 its peace and tranquillity1 its   
leisure1 its facilities for separation  
in different rooms1 produce delicacy of 
nerve1 with the perception that noise is
 disagreeable2 and out of this delicacy1
 when it is general amongst a whole     
class1 springs a strong determination so
 to discipline the members of the class 
that they shall not make themselves     
disagreeable to the majority4 ,hence    
lovers of good manners have a preference
 for the richer classes quite apart from
 a love of physical luxury or a snobbish
 desire to be associated with people of 
rank4 ,for the same reason a lover of   
good manners dreads poverty or          
semi-poverty for his children1 because  
even a moderate degree of poverty 7not  
to speak of the acute forms of it7 may  
compel them to associate with the       
undisciplined4 ,what gentleman would    
like his son to live habitually with the
 card-players ,i have described8        
,,essay ,x4  ,,differences ,,of ,,rank  
,,and ,,wealth4   ,the most remarkable  

peculiarity about the desire to         
establish distinctions of rank is not   
that there should be definite gradations
 amongst people who have titles1 but    
that1 when the desire is strong in a    
nation1 public opinion should go far    
beyond heralds and parchments and       
gazettes1 and establish the most minute 
gradations amongst people who have      
nothing honorific about them4  ,when    
once the rule is settled by a table of  
precedence that an earl is greater than 
a baron1 we simply acquiesce in the     
arrangement1 as we are ready to believe 
that a mandarin with a yellow jacket is 
a much-to-be-honored sort of mandarin2  
but what is the power that strikes the  
nice balance of social advantages in    
favor of ,mr4 ,smith as compared with   
,mr4 ,jones1 when neither one nor the   
other has any title1 or ancestry1 or    
anything whatever to boast of8 ,amongst 
the many gifts that are to be admired in
 the fair sex this seems one of the most
 mysterious1 that ladies can so         

decidedly fix the exact social position 
of every human being4 ,men soon find    
themselves bewildered by conflicting    
considerations1 but a woman goes to the 
point at once1 and settles in the most  
definite manner that ,smith is certainly
 the superior of ,jones4  ,this may     
bring upon me the imputation of being a 
democrat and a leveller4 ,no1 ,i rather 
like a well-defined social distinction  
when it has reality4 ,real distinctions 
keep society picturesque and            
interesting2 what ,i fail to appreciate 
so completely are the fictitious little 
distinctions that have no basis in      
reality1 and appear to be instituted    
merely for the sake of establishing     
differences that do not naturally exist4
 ,it seems to be an unfortunate tendency
 that seeks unapparent differences1 and 
it may have a bad effect on character by
 forcing each man back upon the         
consideration of his own claims that it 
would be better for him to forget4  ,i  
once dined at a country-house in        

,scotland when the host asked one of the
 guests this question1 ,are you a       
land-owner8 in order to determine his   
precedence4 ,it did so happen that the  
guest owned a few small farms1 so he    
answered ,yes2 but it struck me that the
 distinction between a man who had a    
moderate sum invested in land and one   
who had twice as much in other          
investments was not clearly in favor of 
the first4 ,could not the other buy land
 any day if he liked8 ,he who hath gold 
hath land1 potentially4 ,if precedence  
is to be regulated by so material a     
consideration as wealth1 let it be done 
fairly and plainly4 ,the best and       
simplest plan would be to embroider the 
amount of each gentleman's capital in   
gold thread on the breast of his        
dress-coat4 ,the metal would be         
appropriate1 the embroidery would be    
decorative1 and the practice would offer
 unequalled encouragement to thrift4    
,again1 ,i have always understood in the
 most confused manner the distinction1  

so clear to many1 between those who are 
in trade and those who are not4 ,i think
 ,i see the only real objection to trade
 with the help of ,m4 ,renan1 who has   
stated it very clearly1 but my          
difficulty is to discover who are       
tradesmen1 and1 still more1 who are not 
tradesmen4 ,here is ,m4 ,renan's account
 of the matter3--      ,our ideal can   
only be realized with a ,government that
 gives some     clat to those who are   
connected with it and which creates     
distinctions outside of wealth4 ,we feel
 an antipathy to a society in     which 
the merit of a man and his superiority  
to another can only be     revealed     
under the form of industry and commerce2
 not that trade and     industry are not
 honest in our eyes1 but because we see 
clearly that     the best things 7such  
as the functions of the priest1 the     
magistrate1     the savant1 the artist1 
and the serious man of letters7 are the 
inverse of the industrial and commercial
 spirit1 the first duty of     those who

 follow them being not to try to enrich 
themselves1 and never     to take into  
consideration the venal value of what   
they do4  ,this ,i understand1 provided 
that the priest1 magistrate1 savant1    
artist1 and serious man of letters are  
faithful to this first duty2 provided   
that they never take into consideration 
the venal value of what they do2 but    
there are tradesmen in the highest      
professions4 ,all that can be said      
against trade is that its object is     
profit4 ,then it follows that every     
profession followed for profit has in it
 what is objectionable in trade1 and    
that the professions are not noble in   
themselves but only if they are followed
 in a disinterested spirit4 ,i should   
say1 then1 that any attempt to fix the  
degree of nobleness of persons by the   
supposed nobleness of their occupations 
must be founded upon an unreal          
distinction4 ,a venal clergyman who does
 not believe the dogmas that he defends 
for his endowment1 a venal barrister1   

ready to prostitute his talents and his 
tongue for a large income1 seem to me to
 have in them far more of what is       
objectionable in trade than a country   
bookseller who keeps a little shop and  
sells note-paper and sealing-wax over   
the counter2 yet it is assumed that     
their occupations are noble occupations 
and that his business is not noble1     
though ,i can see nothing whatever in it
 of which any gentleman need be in the  
slightest degree ashamed4  ,again1 there
 seem to be most unreal distinctions of 
respectability in the trades themselves4
 ,the wine trade has always been        
considered a gentlemanly business2 but  
why is it more respectable to sell wine 
and spirits than to sell bread1 or      
cheese1 or beef8 ,are not articles of   
food more useful to the community than  
alcoholic drinks1 and less likely to    
contribute to the general sum of evil8  
,as for the honesty of the dealers1 no  
doubt there are honest wine-merchants2  
but what thing that is sold for money   

has been more frequently adulterated1 or
 more mendaciously labelled1 or more    
unscrupulously charged for1 than the    
produce of ,european vintages8#g        
,another wonderful unreality is the     
following4 ,people desire the profits of
 trade1 but are unwilling to lose caste 
by engaging in it openly4 ,in order to  
fill their pockets and preserve their   
rank at the same time they engage in    
business anonymously1 either as members 
of some firm in which their names do not
 appear1 or else as share-holders in    
great trading enterprises4 ,in both     
these cases the investor of capital     
becomes just as really and truly a      
tradesman as if he kept a shop1 but if  
you were to tell him that he was a      
tradesman he would probably resent the  
imputation4  ,it is remarkable that the 
people who most despise commerce are the
 very people who bow down most readily  
before the accomplished results of      
commerce2 for as they have an           
exaggerated sense of social             

distinctions1 they are great adorers of 
wealth for the distinction that it      
confers4 ,by their worship of wealth    
they acknowledge it to be most          
desirable2 but then they worship rank   
also1 and this other cultus goes with   
the sentiment of contempt for humble and
 plodding industry in all its forms4    
,the contempt for trade is inconsistent 
in another way4 ,a man may be excluded  
from good society because he is in      
trade1 and his grandson may be admitted 
because the grandfather was in trade1   
that is1 through a fortune of commercial
 origin4 ,the present ,prime ,minister  
7,gladstone7 and the ,speaker of the    
,house of ,commons 7,mr4 ,arthur ,peel7 
and many other men of high position in  
both ,houses may owe their fame to their
 own distinguished abilities2 but they  
owe the leisure and opportunity for     
cultivating and displaying those        
abilities to the wits and industry of   
tradesmen removed from them only by one 
or two generations4  ,is there not a    

strange inconsistency in adoring wealth 
as it is adored1 and despising the      
particular kind of skill and ability by 
which it is usually acquired8 ,for if   
there be anything honorable about wealth
 it must surely be as evidence of the   
intelligence and industry that are      
necessary for the conquest of poverty4  
,on the contrary1 a narrowly exclusive  
society despises the virtue that is most
 creditable to the nouveau riche1 his   
industry1 whilst it worships his wealth 
as soon as the preservation of it is    
compatible with idleness4  ,there is a  
great deal of unreal distinction in the 
matter of ancestry4 ,those who observe  
closely are well aware that many        
undoubted and lineal descendants of the 
oldest families are in humble social    
positions1 simply for want of money to  
make a display1 whilst others usurp     
their coats-of-arms and claim a descent 
that they cannot really prove4 ,the     
whole subject is therefore one of the   
most unsatisfactory that can be1 and all

 that remains to the real members of old
 families who have not wealth enough to 
hold a place in the expensive modern    
aristocracy1 is to remember secretly the
 history of their ancestors if they are 
romantic and poetical enough to retain  
the old-fashioned sentiment of birth1   
and to forget it if they look only to   
the present and the practical4 ,there   
is1 indeed1 so little of the romantic   
sentiment left in the country1 that even
 amongst the descendants of old families
 themselves very few are able to blazon 
their own armorial bearings1 or even    
know what the verb to blazon means4     
,amidst so great a confusion the        
simplest way would be not to think about
 rank at all1 and to take human nature  
as it comes without reference to it2 but
 however the ancient barriers of rank   
may be broken down1 it is only to erect 
new ones4 ,english feeling has a deep   
satisfaction in contemplating rank and  
wealth combined4 ,it is that which it   
likes1--the combination4 ,when wealth is

 gone it thinks that a man should lock  
up his pedigree in his desk and forget  
that he has ancestors2 so it has been   
said that an ,english gentleman in      
losing wealth loses his caste with it1  
whilst a ,french or ,italian gentleman  
may keep his caste1 except in the most  
abject poverty4 ,on the other hand1 when
 an ,englishman has a vast fortune it is
 thought right to give him a title also1
 that the desirable combination may be  
created afresh4 ,nothing is so striking 
in ,england1 considering that it is an  
old country1 as the newness of most of  
the great families4 ,the aristocracy is 
like ,london1 that has the reputation of
 being a very ancient city1 yet the     
houses are of recent date4 ,an          
aristocracy may be stronger and in      
better repair because of its newness2 it
 may also be more likely to make a      
display of aristocratic superiorities1  
and expect deference to be paid to them1
 than an easy-going old aristocracy     
would be4  ,what are the superiorities1 

and what is the nature of the deference8
  ,the superiority given by title       
depends on the intensity of             
title-worship amongst the public4 ,in   
,england that religion is in a very     
healthy and flourishing state1 so that  
titles are very valuable there2 in      
,france the sense of a social hierarchy 
is so much weakened that titles are of  
infinitely less value4 ,false ones are  
assumed and borne with impunity on      
account of the general indifference1    
whilst true and authentic titles are    
often dropped as an encumbrance4 ,the   
blundering ignorance of the ,french     
about our titles1 which so astonishes   
,englishmen1 is due to a carelessness   
about the whole subject that no         
inhabitant of the ,british ,islands can 
imagine4#h ,in those islands title is of
 very great importance because the      
people have such a strong consciousness 
of its existence4 ,in ,england1 if there
 is a lord in the room every body is    
aware of it4  ,superiority of family1   

without title1 is merely local2 it is   
not understood far from the ancestral   
home4 ,superiority of title is national2
 it is imperfectly appreciated in       
foreign countries4 ,but superiority of  
wealth has the immense advantage over   
these that it is respected everywhere   
and can display itself everywhere with  
the utmost ostentation under pretext of 
custom and pleasure4 ,it commands the   
homage of foolish and frivolous people  
by possibilities of vain display1 and at
 the same time it appears desirable to  
the wise because it makes the gathering 
of experience easy and human intercourse
 convenient4  ,the rich man has access  
to an immense range of varied           
situations2 and if he has energy to     
profit by this facility and put himself 
in those situations where he may learn  
the most1 he may become far more        
experienced at thirty-five than a poor  
man can be at seventy4 ,a poor man has a
 taste for boating1 so he builds a      
little boat with his own hands1 and     

paints it green and white1 with its     
name1 the ,cock-,robin1 in yellow4      
,meanwhile his good wife1 in spite of   
all the work she has to do1 has a kindly
 indulgence for her poor ,tom's hobby1  
thinks he deserves a little amusement1  
and stitches the sail for him in the    
evenings4 ,he sails five or six miles up
 and down the river4 ,sir ,thomas       
,brassey has exactly the same tastes3 he
 builds the ,sunbeam2 and whilst the    
,cock-,robin has been doing its little  
trips1 the ,sunbeam has gone round the  
world2 and instead of stitching the     
sails1 the kind wife has accompanied the
 mariner1 and written the story of his  
voyage4 ,if after that you talk with the
 owners of the two vessels you may be   
interested for a few minutes--deeply    
interested and touched if you have the  
divine gift of sympathy--with the poor  
man's account of his doings2 but his    
experience is small and soon told1      
whilst the owner of the ,sunbeam has    
traversed all the oceans and could tell 

you a thousand things4 ,so it naturally 
follows in most cases1 though the rule  
has exceptions1 that rich men are more  
interesting people to know than poor men
 of equal ability4  ,i remember being   
forcibly reminded of the narrow         
experience of the poor on one of those  
occasions that often happen to those who
 live in the country and know their     
poorer neighbors4 ,a friend of mine1    
with his children1 had come to stay with
 me2 and there was a poor woman1 living 
in a very out-of-the-way hamlet on a    
hill1 who had made me promise that ,i   
would take my friend and his children to
 see her1 because she had known their   
mother1 who was dead1 and had felt for  
her one of those strong and constant    
affections that often dwell in humble   
and faithful hearts4 ,we have a great   
respect for this poor woman1 who is in  
all ways a thoroughly dutiful person1   
and she has borne severe trials with    
great patience4 ,well1 she was delighted
 to see my friend and his children1     

delighted to see how well they looked1  
how much they had grown1 and so on2 and 
then she spoke of her own little ones1  
and showed us the books they were       
learning in1 and described their        
dispositions1 and said that her husband 
was in full work and went every day to  
the schist mine1 and was much steadier  
than he used to be1 and made her much   
happier4 ,after that she began again1   
saying exactly the same things all over 
again1 and she said them a third time1  
and a fourth time4 ,when we had left1 we
 noticed this repetition1 and we agreed 
that the poor woman1 instead of being   
deficient in intelligence1 was naturally
 above the average1 but that the extreme
 narrowness of her experience1 the total
 want of variety in her life1 made it   
impossible for her mind to get out of   
that little domestic groove4 ,she had   
about half-a-dozen ideas1 and she lived 
in them1 as a person in a small house   
lives in a very few rooms4  ,now1       
however much esteem1 respect1 and       

affection you may have for a person of  
that kind1 you will find it impossible  
to enjoy such society because           
conversation has no aliment4 ,this is   
the one great reason why cultivated     
people seem to avoid the poor1 even when
 they do not despise them in the least4 
,the greater experience of the rich is  
united to an incomparably greater power 
of pleasant reception1 because in their 
homes conversation is not interfered    
with by the multitude of petty domestic 
difficulties and inconveniences4 ,i go  
to spend the day with a very poor       
friend1 and this is what is likely to   
happen4 ,he and ,i can only talk without
 interruption when we are out of the    
house4 ,inside it his children break in 
upon us constantly4 ,his wife finds me  
in the way1 and wishes ,i had not come1 
because she has not been able to provide
 things exactly as she desired4 ,at     
dinner her mind is not in the           
conversation2 she is really occupied    
with petty household cares4 ,i1 on my   

part1 have the uncomfortable feeling    
that ,i am creating inconvenience2 and  
it requires incessant attention to      
soothe the watchful sensitiveness of a  
hostess who is so painfully alive to the
 deficiencies of her small              
establishment4 ,if ,i have a robust     
appetite1 it is well2 but woe to me if  
my appetite is small1 and ,i must       
overeat to prove that the cookery is    
good6 ,if ,i accept a bed the sacrifice 
of a room will cause crowding elsewhere1
 besides which ,i shall be a nuisance in
 the early morning hours when nothing in
 the mnage is fit for the public eye4   
,whilst creating all this inconvenience 
to others1 ,i suffer the great one of   
being stopped in my usual pursuits4 ,if 
,i want a few quiet hours for reading   
and writing there is only one way3 ,i   
must go privately to some hotel and hire
 a sitting-room for myself4  ,now       
consider the difference when ,i go to   
visit a rich friend6 ,the first         
delightful feeling is that ,i do not    

occasion the very slightest             
inconvenience4 ,his arrangements for the
 reception of guests are permanent and  
perfect4 ,my arrival will scarcely cost 
his wife a thought2 she has simply given
 orders in the morning for a room to be 
got ready and a cover to be laid at     
table4 ,her mind is free to think about 
any subject that suggests itself4 ,her  
conversation1 from long practice1 is as 
easy as the style of a good writer4 ,all
 causes of interruption are carefully   
kept in the background4 ,the household  
details are attended to by a regiment of
 domestics under their own officers4    
,the children are in rooms of their own 
with their governesses and servants1 and
 we see just enough of them to be       
agreeable4 ,if ,i desire privacy1       
nothing is more easily obtained4 ,on the
 slightest hint a room is placed at my  
disposal4 ,i remember one house where   
that room used to be a splendid library1
 full of the books which at that time ,i
 most wanted to consult2 and the only   

interruption in the mornings was the    
noiseless entrance of the dear lady of  
the house1 always at eleven o'clock     
precisely1 with a glass of wine and a   
biscuit on a little silver tray4 ,it is 
not the material luxury of rich men's   
houses that a wise man would desire2 but
 he must thoroughly appreciate their    
convenience and the varied food for the 
mind that they afford1--the books1 the  
pictures1 the curiosities4 ,in one there
 is a museum of antiquities that a large
 town might envy1 in another a          
collection of drawings1 in a third a    
magnificent armory4 ,in one private     
house in ,paris#i there used to be      
fourteen noble saloons containing the   
arts of two hundred years4 ,you go to   
stay in ten rich houses and find them   
all different2 you enjoy the difference1
 and in a certain sense you possess the 
different things4 ,the houses of the    
poor are all alike1 or if they differ it
 is not by variety of artistic or       
intellectual interest4 ,by the habit of 

staying in each other's houses the rich 
multiply their riches to infinity4 ,in a
 certain way of their own 7it is not    
exactly the way of the early            
,christians7 they have their goods in   
common4  ,there are1 no doubt1 many     
guests in the houses of the rich who    
care little for the people they visit1  
but much for the variety and            
accommodation1--guests who visit the    
place rather than the owner2 guests who 
enjoy the cookery1 the wines1 the       
shooting1 and who would go to the house 
if the owner were changed1 exactly as   
they continue to patronize some         
pleasantly situated and well-managed    
hotel1 after a change of masters4 ,i    
hardly know how to describe these people
 in a word1 but it is easy to           
characterize their entertainers4 ,they  
are unpaid innkeepers4  ,there are also 
people1 apparently hospitable1 who care 
little for the persons they invite1--so 
very little1 indeed1 that we do not     
easily discover what motive they have   

for inviting them4 ,the answer may be   
that they dislike solitude so much that 
any guest is acceptable1 or else that   
they want admirers for the beautiful    
arrangements and furniture of their     
houses2 for what is the use of having   
beautiful things if there is nobody to  
appreciate them8 ,hosts of this class   
are amateur exhibitors1 or they are like
 amateur actors who want an audience1   
and who will invite people to come and  
listen1 not because they care for the   
people1 but because it is discouraging  
to play to empty benches4  ,these two   
classes of guests and hosts cannot exist
 without riches4 ,the desire to be      
entertained ceases at once when it is   
known that the entertainment will be of 
a poor quality2 and the desire to       
exhibit the internal arrangements of our
 houses ceases when we are too poor to  
do justice to the refinement of our     
taste4  ,the story of the rich man who  
had many friends and saw them fall away 
from him when he became poor1 which1    

under various forms1 reappears in every 
age and is common to all literatures1 is
 explained by these considerations4     
,bucklaw does not find ,lord ,ravenswood
 a valuable gratuitous innkeeper2 and   
,ravenswood is not anxious to exhibit to
 ,bucklaw the housekeeping at ,wolf's   
,crag4  ,but quite outside of parasite  
guests and exhibiting entertainers1     
there still remains the undeniable fact 
that if you like a rich man and a poor  
one equally well1 you will prefer the   
rich man's hospitality for its greater  
convenience4 ,nay1 more1 you will       
rightly and excusably prefer the rich   
man's hospitality even if you like the  
poor man better1 but find his household 
arrangements disagreeable1 his wife     
fagged1 worn1 irritable1 and ungracious1
 his children ill-bred1 obtrusive1 and  
dirty1 himself unable to talk about     
anything rational on account of family  
interruptions1 and scarcely his own     
better and higher self at all in the    
midst of his domestic plagues4#aj       

,there is no nation in the world that   
has so acute a sense of the value1      
almost the necessity1 of wealth for     
human intercourse as the ,english       
nation4 ,whilst in other countries      
people think ,wealth is peace of mind1  
wealth is convenience1 wealth is la vie 
lgante1 in ,england they silently accept
 the maxim1 ,a large income is a        
necessary of life2 and they class each  
other according to the scale of their   
establishments1 looking up with         
unfeigned reverence to those who have   
many servants1 many horses1 and gigantic
 houses where a great hospitality is    
dispensed4 ,an ordinary ,englishman     
thinks he has failed in life1 and his   
friends are of the same opinion1 if he  
does not arrive at the ability to       
imitate this style and state1 at least  
in a minor degree4 ,i have given the    
best reasons why it is desired2 ,i      
understand and appreciate them2 but at  
the same time ,i think it deeply to be  
deplored that an expenditure far beyond 

what can be met by the physical or      
intellectual labor of ordinary workers  
should be thought necessary in order    
that people may meet and talk in        
comfort4 ,the big ,english house is a   
machine that runs with unrivalled       
smoothness2 but it masters its master1  
it possesses its nominal possessor4     
,george ,borrow had the deepest sense of
 the ,englishman's slavery to his big1  
well-ordered dwelling1 and saw in it the
 cause of unnumbered anxieties1 often   
ending in heart-disease1 paralysis1     
bankruptcy1 and in minor cases          
sacrificing all chance of leisure and   
quiet happiness4 ,many a land-owner has 
crippled himself by erecting a great    
house on his estate1--one of those huge1
 tasteless buildings that express       
nothing but pompous pride4 ,what wisdom 
there is in the excellent old ,french   
adage1 ,a petite terre1 petite maison6  
,the reader may remember ,herbert       
,spencer's idea that the display of     
wealth is intended to subjugate4 ,royal 

palaces are made very vast and          
magnificent to subjugate those who      
approach the sovereign2 and all rich and
 powerful people use the same means1 for
 the same purpose1 though in minor      
degrees4 ,this leads us to the price    
that has to be paid for intercourse with
 persons of great rank and wealth4 ,may 
we not suspect that there is a heavy    
price of some kind1 since many of the   
best and noblest minds in the world     
either avoid it altogether or else      
accept it cautiously and only with a    
very few rich men whom they esteem      
independently of their riches8  ,the    
answer is that wealth and rank expect   
deference1 not so much humble and       
slavish manners as that intellectual    
deference which a thinker can never     
willingly give4 ,the higher the rank of 
the personage the more it is considered 
ill-bred to contradict him1 or even to  
have an opinion of your own in his      
presence4 ,this1 to a thinker1 is       
unendurable4 ,he does not see that      

because a person is rich and noble his  
views on everything must be the best and
 soundest views4  ,you1 my dear         
,aristophilus1 who by your pleasing     
manners are so well fitted for the very 
best society1 could give interesting    
answers to the following questions3     
,have you never found it advisable to   
keep silence when your wealthy host was 
saying things against which you inwardly
 protested8 ,have you not sometimes gone
 a step further1 and given a kind of    
assent to some opinion that was not your
 own8 ,have you not1 by practice1       
attained the power of giving a still    
stronger and heartier assent to what    
seemed doubtful propositions8  ,there is
 one form of this assent which is deeply
 damaging to character4 ,some great     
person1 a great lady perhaps1 unjustly  
condemns1 in your presence1 a public man
 for whom you have a sincere respect4   
,instead of boldly defending him1 you   
remain silent and acquiescent4 ,you are 
afraid to offend1 afraid to lose favor1 

afraid that if you spoke openly you     
would not be invited to the great house 
any more4  ,sometimes not a single      
individual but a class is attacked at   
once4 ,a great lady is reported to have 
said that she had a deep objection to   
,french literature in all its branches4 
,observe that this expression of opinion
 contains a severe censure on all       
,french authors and on all readers of   
,french literature4 ,would you have     
ventured to say a word in their defence8
 ,would you have dared to hint1 for     
example1 that a serious mind might be   
none the worse for some acquaintance    
with ,montesquieu and ,de ,tocqueville8 
,no1 sir1 you would have bowed your head
 and put on a shocked expression of     
countenance4  ,in this way1 little by   
little1 by successive abandonments of   
what we think1 and abdications of what  
we know1 we may arrive at a state of    
habitual and inane concession that      
softens every fibre of the mind4        
,,essay ,,xi4  ,,the ,,obstacle ,,of    

,,language4   ,the greatest impediment  
to free intercourse between nations is  
neither distance nor the differences of 
mental habits1 nor the opposition of    
national interests2 it is simply the    
imperfect manner in which languages are 
usually acquired1 and the lazy          
contentment of mankind with a low degree
 of attainment in a foreign tongue when 
a much higher degree of attainment would
 be necessary to any efficient          
interchange of ideas4  ,it seems        
probable that much of the future        
happiness of humanity will depend upon a
 determination to learn foreign         
languages more thoroughly4              
,international ill-will is the parent of
 innumerable evils4 ,from the           
intellectual point of view it is a great
 evil1 because it narrows our range of  
ideas and deprives us of light from     
foreign thinkers4 ,from the commercial  
point of view it is an evil1 because it 
leads a nation to deny itself           
conveniences in order to avoid the      

dreaded result of doing good to another 
country4 ,from the political point of   
view it is an enormous evil1 because it 
leads nations to make war upon each     
other and to inflict and endure all the 
horrors1 the miseries1 the              
impoverishment of war rather than make  
some little concession on one side or on
 both sides that would have been made   
with little difficulty if the spirit of 
the two countries had been more         
friendly4 ,may we not believe that a    
more general spirit of friendliness     
would result from more personal         
intercourse1 and that this would be the 
consequence of more thorough linguistic 
acquirement8  ,it has always seemed to  
me an inexpressible misfortune to the   
,french that they should not be better  
acquainted with ,english literature2 and
 this not simply from the literary point
 of view1 but because on so many        
questions that interest active minds in 
,france it would be such an advantage to
 those minds to be able to see how those

 questions have appeared to men bred in 
a different and a calmer atmosphere4 ,if
 the ,french read ,english easily they  
might often avoid 7without ceasing to be
 national7 many of those errors that    
result from seeing things only from a   
single point of view4 ,i know a few     
intelligent ,frenchmen who do read our  
most thoughtful writers in the original1
 and ,i can see what a gain this        
enlarged experience has been to them4   
,on the other hand1 it is certain that  
good ,french literature may have an     
excellent effect on the literary        
training of an ,englishman4 ,the careful
 study of that clear1 concise1 and      
moderate ,french writing which is the   
most perfect flower of the cultivated   
national mind has been most beneficial  
to some ,english writers1 by making them
 less clumsy1 less tedious1 less        
verbose4  ,of commercial affairs it     
would be presumptuous in me to say much1
 but no one disputes that international 
commerce is a benefit1 and that it would

 not be possible without a class of men 
who are acquainted with foreign         
languages4 ,on this class of men1 be    
they merchants or corresponding clerks1 
the commercial intercourse between      
nations must depend4 ,i find it stated  
by foreign tradesmen that if they were  
better acquainted with the ,english     
language much trade that now escapes    
them might be made to pass through their
 hands4 ,i have myself often observed1  
on a small scale1 that transactions of  
an international character have taken   
place because one of the parties        
happened to know the language of the    
other1 when they would certainly not    
have taken place if it had been         
necessary to make them through an agent 
or an interpreter4  ,with regard to     
peace and war1 can it be doubted that   
the main reason for our peaceful        
relations with the ,united ,states lies 
in the fact of our common language8 ,we 
may have newspaper quarrels1 but the    
newspapers themselves help to make every

 question understood4 ,it is far harder 
to gain acceptance for ,english ideas in
 ,france1 yet even our relations with   
,france are practically more peaceful   
than of old1 and though there is intense
 jealousy between the two countries1    
they understand each other better1 so   
that differences which would certainly  
have produced bloodshed in the days of  
,pitt1 cause nothing worse than inkshed 
in the days of ,gladstone4 ,this happy  
result may be attributed in great part  
to the ,english habit of learning       
,french and going to ,paris or to the   
south of ,france4 ,we need not expect   
any really cordial understanding between
 the two countries1 though it would be  
an incalculable benefit to both4 ,that  
is too much to be hoped for2 their      
jealousy1 on both sides1 is too         
irritable and too often inflamed afresh 
by new incidents1 for neither of them   
can stir a foot without putting the     
other out of temper2 but we may hope    
that through the quietly and constantly 

exerted influence of those who know both
 languages1 war may be often1 though    
perhaps not always1 avoided4            
,unfortunately an imperfect knowledge of
 a foreign language is of little use1 as
 it does not give any real freedom of   
intercourse4 ,foreigners do not open    
their minds to one who blunders about   
their meaning2 they consider him to be a
 sort of child1 and address to him easy 
things to understand4 ,their confidence 
is only to be won by a demonstration of 
something like equality in intelligence1
 and nobody can give proof of this      
unless he has the means of making his   
thoughts intelligible1 and even of      
assuming1 when the occasion presents    
itself1 a somewhat bold and             
authoritative tone4 ,people of mature   
and superior intellect1 but imperfect   
linguistic acquirements1 are liable to  
be treated with a kind of condescending 
indulgence when out of their own        
country1 as if they were as young in    
years and as feeble in power of thought 

as they are in their knowledge of       
foreign languages4  ,the extreme rarity 
of that degree of attainment in a       
foreign language which deserves to be   
called mastery is well known to the very
 few who are competent to judge4 ,at a  
meeting of ,french professors ,lord     
,houghton said that the wife of a       
,french ambassador had told him that she
 knew only three ,englishmen who could  
speak ,french4 ,one of these was ,sir   
,alexander ,cockburn1 another the ,duke 
of ,bedford1 and we may presume the     
third to have been ,lord ,houghton      
himself4 ,amongst men of letters ,lord  
,houghton only knew one1 ,henry ,reeve1 
the editor of the ,edinburgh ,review and
 translator of the works of ,de         
,tocqueville4 ,he mentioned ,lord       
,arthur ,russell as an example of       
accomplishment1 but he is quasi ,french 
by l'esprit1 education1 and marriage4   
,on reading the report of ,lord         
,houghton's speech1 ,i asked a          
cultivated ,parisian lady 7who knows    

,english remarkably well and has often  
been in ,england7 what her own          
experience had been4 ,after a little    
hesitation she said it had been exactly 
that of the ,french ambassadress4 ,she1 
also1 had met with three ,englishmen who
 spoke ,french1 and she named them4 ,i  
suggested several others1 and amongst   
them some very learned scholars1 merely 
to hear what she would say1 but her     
answer was that their inadequate power  
of expression compelled them to talk far
 below the level of their abilities1 so 
that when they spoke ,french nobody     
would suppose them to be clever men4    
,she also affirmed that they did not    
catch the shades of ,french expression1 
so that in speaking ,french to them one 
was never sure of being quite accurately
 understood4  ,i myself have known many 
,french people who have studied ,english
 more or less1 including several who    
read ,english authors with praiseworthy 
industry1 but ,i have only met with one 
or two who can be said to have mastered 

the language4 ,i am told that ,m4       
,beljame1 the learned ,professor of     
,english ,literature at the ,sorbonne1  
has a wonderful mastery of our tongue4  
,many ,french professors of ,english    
have considerable historical and        
grammatical knowledge of it1 but that is
 not practical mastery4 ,in general1 the
 knowledge of ,english attained by      
,french people 7not without more labor  
than the result would show7 is so poor  
and insufficient as to be almost        
useless4  ,i remember an accidental     
circumstance that put into my hands some
 curious materials for judging of the   
attainments of a former generation4 ,a  
,belgian lady1 for a reason that has no 
concern with our present subject1 lent  
me for perusal an important packet of   
letters in the ,french language written 
by ,english ladies of great social      
distinction about the date of ,waterloo4
 ,they showed a rough familiarity with  
,french1 but no knowledge of its finer  
shades1 and they abounded in glaring    

errors4 ,the effect of this             
correspondence on my mind was that the  
writers had certainly used 7or abused7  
the language1 but that they had never   
condescended to learn it4  ,these and   
other experiences have led me to divide 
progress in languages into several      
stages1 which ,i place at the reader's  
disposal in the belief that they may be 
convenient to him as they have been     
convenient to me4  ,the first stage in  
learning a language is when every       
sentence is a puzzle and exercises the  
mind like a charade or a conundrum4     
,there are people to whom this kind of  
exercise is a sport4 ,they enjoy the    
puzzle for its own sake and without any 
reference to the literary value of the  
sentence or its preciousness as an      
utterance of wisdom4 ,such people are   
much better adapted to the early stage  
of linguistic acquirement than those who
 like reading and dislike enigmas4  ,the
 excessive slowness with which one works
 in this early stage is a cause of      

irritation when the student interests   
himself in the thoughts or the          
narrative1 because what comes into his  
mind in a given time is so small a      
matter that it seems not worth while to 
go on working for such a little         
intellectual income4 ,therefore in this 
early stage it is a positive            
disadvantage to have eager literary     
desires4  ,in the second stage the      
student can push along with the help of 
a translation and a dictionary2 but this
 is not reading1 it is only aided       
construing4 ,it is disagreeable to a    
reader1 though it may be endured by one 
who is indifferent to reading4 ,this may
 be made clear by reference to other    
pursuits4 ,a man who loves rowing1 and  
who knows what rowing is1 does not like 
to pull a slow and heavy boat1 such as  
an ordinary ,scottish ,highlander pulls 
with perfect contentment4 ,so a man who 
loves reading1 and knows what reading   
is1 does not like the heavy work of     
laborious translation4 ,this explains   

the fact which is often so              
unintelligible to parents1 that boys who
 are extremely fond of reading often    
dislike their classical studies4        
,grammar1 prosody1 philology1 so far as 
they are the subjects of conscious      
attention 7which they are with all      
pedagogues71 are the rivals of          
literature1 and so it happens that      
pedagogy is unfavorable to literary art4
 ,it is only when the sciences of       
dissection are forgotten that we can    
enjoy the arts of poetry and prose4     
,if1 then1 the first stage of           
language-learning requires rather a     
taste for solving puzzles than a taste  
for literature1 so ,i should say that   
the second stage requires rather a turn 
for grammatical and philological        
considerations than an interest in the  
ideas or an appreciation of the style of
 great authors4 ,the most favorable     
state of mind for progress in this stage
 is that of a philologist2 and if a man 
has literary tastes in great strength1  

and philological tastes in a minor      
degree1 he will do well1 in this stage1 
to encourage the philologist in himself 
and keep his love of literature in      
abeyance4  ,in the third stage the      
vocabulary has become rich enough to    
make references to the dictionary less  
frequent1 and the student can read with 
some degree of literary enjoyment4      
,there is1 however1 this remaining      
obstacle1 that even when the reader     
knows the words and can construe well1  
the foreign manner of saying things     
still appears unnatural4 ,i have made   
many inquiries concerning this stage of 
acquirement and find it to be very      
common4 ,men of fair scholarship in     
,latin tell me that the ,roman way of   
writing does not seem to be really a    
natural way4 ,i find that even those    
,latin works which were most familiar to
 me in youth1 such as the ,odes of      
,horace1 for example1 seem unnatural    
still1 though ,i may know the meaning of
 every word1 and ,i do not believe that 

any amount of labor would ever rid me of
 this feeling4 ,this is a great         
obstacle1 and not the less that it is of
 such a subtle and intangible nature4#aa
  ,in the fourth stage the mode of      
expression seems natural1 and the words 
are perfectly known1 but the sense of   
the paragraph is not apparent at a      
glance4 ,there is the feeling of a      
slight obstacle1 of something that has  
to be overcome2 and there is a          
remarkable counter-feeling which always 
comes after the paragraph is mastered4  
,the reader then wonders that such an   
obviously intelligible page can have    
offered any opposition whatever4 ,what  
surprises us is that this fourth stage  
can last so long as it does4 ,it seems  
as if it would be so easily passed1 and 
yet1 in fact1 it is for most persons    
impassable4  ,the fifth stage is that of
 perfection in reading4 ,it is not      
reached by everybody even in the native 
language itself4 ,the reader who has    
attained it sees the contents of a page 

and catches their meaning at a glance   
even before he has had time to read the 
sentences4  ,this condition of extreme  
lucidity in a language comes1 when it   
comes at all1 long after the mere       
acquisition of it4 ,i have said that it 
does not always come even in the native 
tongue4 ,some educated people take a    
much longer time than others to make    
themselves acquainted with the contents 
of a newspaper4 ,a clever newspaper     
reader sees in one minute if there is   
anything of importance4 ,he knows what  
articles and telegrams are worth reading
 before he separates the words4  ,these 
five stages refer only to reading1      
because educated people learn to read   
first and to speak afterwards4          
,uneducated people learn foreign        
languages by ear in a most confused and 
blundering way4 ,i need not add that    
they never master them1 as only the     
educated ever master their native       
tongue4 ,it is unnecessary to go through
 the stages of progress in conversation1

 as they are in a great degree dependent
 upon reading1 though they lag behind   
it2 but ,i will say briefly that the    
greatest of all difficulties in using   
foreign languages is to become really   
insensible to the absurdities that they 
contain4 ,all languages1 ,i believe1    
abound in absurd expressions2 and a     
foreigner1 with his inconveniently fresh
 perceptions1 can hardly avoid being    
tickled by them4 ,he cannot use the     
language seriously without having first 
become unconscious of these things1 and 
it is inexpressibly difficult to become 
unconscious of something that has once  
provoked us to laughter4 ,again1 it is  
most difficult to arrive at that stage  
when foreign expressions of politeness  
strike us no more and no less than they 
strike the native2 or1 in other words1  
it is most difficult for us to attach to
 them the exact value which they have in
 the country where they prevail4 ,french
 forms seem absurdly ceremonious to     
,englishmen2 in reality1 they are only  

convenient1 but the difficulty for an   
,englishman is to feel that they are    
convenient4 ,there are in every foreign 
tongue two classes of absurdities1--the 
real inherent absurdities to which the  
natives are blinded by habit1 though    
they are seen at once to be comical when
 attention is directed to them1 and the 
expressions that are not absurd in      
themselves but only seem so to us       
because they are not like our own4  ,the
 difficulty of becoming insensible to   
these things must be especially great   
for humorous people1 who are constantly 
on the look-out for subjects of odd     
remarks4 ,i have a dear friend who is   
gifted with a delightful genius for     
humor1 and he knows a little ,french4   
,all that he has acquired of that       
language is used by him habitually as   
material for fun1 and as he is quite    
incapable of regarding the language as  
anything but a funny way of talking1 he 
cannot make any progress in it4 ,if he  
were asked to read prayers in ,french   

the idea would seem to him incongruous1 
a mingling of frivolous with sacred     
things4 ,another friend is serious in   
,french because he knows it well1 and   
therefore has become unconscious of its 
real or apparent absurdities1 but when  
he is in a merry mood he talks ,italian1
 with which he is much less intimately  
acquainted1 so that it still seems droll
 and amusing4  ,many readers will be    
already familiar with the idea of a     
universal language1 which has often been
 the subject of speculation in recent   
times1 and has even been discussed in a 
sort of informal congress connected with
 one of the universal exhibitions4      
,nobody now looks forward to anything so
 unlikely1 or so undesirable1 as the    
abandonment of all the languages in the 
world except one4 ,what is considered   
practicable is the selection of one     
language as the recognized international
 medium1 and the teaching of that       
language everywhere in addition to the  
mother tongue1 so that no two educated  

men could ever meet without possessing  
the means of communication4 ,to a       
certain degree we have this already in  
,french1 but ,french is not known so    
generally1 or so perfectly1 as to make  
it answer the purpose4 ,it is proposed  
to adopt modern ,greek1 which has       
several great advantages4 ,the first is 
that the old education has familiarized 
us sufficiently with ancient ,greek to  
take away the first sense of strangeness
 in the same language under its modern  
form4 ,the second is that everything    
about modern arts and sciences1 and     
political life1 and trade1 can be said  
easily in the ,greek of the present day1
 whilst it has its own peculiar interest
 for scholars4 ,the third reason is of  
great practical importance4 ,greece is a
 small ,state1 and therefore does not   
awaken those keen international         
jealousies that would be inevitably     
aroused by proposing the language of a  
powerful ,state to be learned1 without  
reciprocity1 by the youth of the other  

powerful ,states4 ,it may be some time  
before the ,governments of great nations
 agree to promote the study of modern   
,greek1 or any other living language1   
amongst their peoples2 but if all who   
feel the immense desirableness of a     
common language for international       
intercourse would agree to prepare the  
way for its adoption1 the time might not
 be very far distant when statesmen     
would begin to consider the question    
within the horizon of the practical4    
,let us try to imagine the difference   
between the present ,babel-confusion of 
tongues1 which makes it a mere chance   
whether we shall be able to communicate 
with a foreigner or not1 and the sudden 
facility that would result from the     
possession of a common medium of        
intercourse6 ,if it were once agreed by 
a union of nations 7of which the present
 ,postal ,union may be the forerunner7  
that the learning of the universal      
language should be encouraged1 that     
language would be learned with a zest   

and eagerness of which our present      
languid linguistic attempts give but a  
faint idea4 ,there would be such        
powerful reasons for learning it6 ,all  
those studies that interest men in      
different nations would lead to         
intercommunication in the common tongue4
 ,many books would be written in it1 to 
be circulated everywhere1 without being 
enfeebled and falsified by translation4 
,international commerce would be        
transacted by its means4 ,travelling    
would be enormously facilitated4 ,there 
would be such a gain to human           
intercourse by language that it might be
 preferred1 in many cases1 to the       
old-fashioned international intercourse 
by means of bayonets and cannon-balls4  
,,essay ,,xii4  ,,the ,,obstacle ,,of   
,,religion4   ,human intercourse1 on    
equal terms1 is difficult or impossible 
for those who do not belong to that     
religion which is dominant in the       
country where they live4 ,the tendency  
has always been either to exclude such  

persons from human intercourse          
altogether 7a fate so hard to bear      
during a whole life-time that they have 
often compromised the matter by outward 
conformity71 or else to maintain some   
degree of intercourse with them in      
placing them at a social disadvantage4  
,in barbarous times such persons1 when  
obstinate1 are removed by taking away   
their lives2 or if somewhat less        
obstinate they are effectually deterred 
from the profession of heretical        
opinions by threats of the most pitiless
 punishments4 ,in semi-barbarous times  
they are paralyzed1 so far as public    
action is concerned1 by political       
disabilities expressly created for their
 inconvenience4 ,in times which pride   
themselves on having completely emerged 
from barbarism political disabilities   
are almost entirely removed1 but certain
 class-exclusions still persist1 by     
which it is arranged 7whilst avoiding   
all appearance of persecution7 that     
although heretics are no longer banished

 from their native land they may be     
excluded from their native class1 and   
either deprived of human intercourse    
altogether1 or left to seek it in       
classes inferior to their own4  ,the    
religious obstacle differs from all     
other obstacles in one remarkable       
characteristic4 ,it is maintained only  
against honest and truth-speaking       
persons4 ,exemption from its operation  
has always been1 and is still1 uniformly
 pronounced in favor of all heretics who
 will consent to lie4 ,the honorable    
unbeliever has always been treated      
harshly2 the unbeliever who had no sense
 of honor has been freely permitted1 in 
every age1 to make the best use of his  
abilities for his own social            
advancement4 ,for him the religious     
obstacle is simply non-existent4 ,he has
 exactly the same chances of preferment 
as the most orthodox ,christian4 ,in    
,pagan times1 when public religious     
functions were a part of the rank of    
great laymen1 unbelief in the gods of   

,olympus did not hinder them from       
seeking and exercising those functions4 
,since the establishment of             
,christianity as a ,state religion1 the 
most stringently framed oaths have never
 prevented an unscrupulous infidel from 
attaining any position that lay within  
reach of his wits and his opportunities4
 ,he has sat in the most orthodox       
,parliaments1 he has been admitted to   
,cabinet councils1 he has worn royal    
crowns1 he has even received the mitre1 
the ,cardinal's hat1 and the ,papal     
tiara4 ,we can never sufficiently admire
 the beautiful order of society by which
 heretic-plus-liar is so graciously     
admitted everywhere1 and                
heretic-plus-honest man is so cautiously
 and ingeniously kept out4 ,it is1      
indeed1 even more advantageous to the   
dishonest unbeliever than at first sight
 appears2 for not only does it open to  
him all positions accessible to the     
orthodox1 but it even gives him a       
noteworthy advantage over honest        

orthodoxy itself by training him daily  
and hourly in dissimulation4 ,to be kept
 constantly in the habit of             
dissimulation on one subject is an      
excellent discipline in the most        
serviceable of social arts4 ,an atheist 
who reads prayers with a pious          
intonation1 and is exemplary in his     
attendance at church1 and who never     
betrays his real opinions by an         
unguarded word or look1 though always   
preserving the appearance of the        
simplest candor1 the most perfect       
openness1 is1 we may be sure1 a much    
more formidable person to contend with  
in the affairs of this world than an    
honest ,christian who has never had     
occasion to train himself in habitual   
imposture4 ,yet good ,christians        
willingly admit these dangerous1        
unscrupulous rivals1 and timidly exclude
 those truthful heretics who are only   
honest1 simple people like themselves4  
,after religious liberty has been       
nominally established in a country by   

its lawgivers1 its enemies do not       
consider themselves defeated1 but try to
 recover1 through the unwritten law of  
social customs and observances1 the     
ground they have lost in formal         
legislation4 ,hence we are never sure   
that religious liberty will exist within
 the confines of a class even when it is
 loudly proclaimed in a nation as one of
 the most glorious conquests of the age4
 ,it is often enjoyed very imperfectly1 
or at a great cost of social and even   
pecuniary sacrifice4 ,in its perfection 
it is the liberty to profess openly1 and
 in their full force1 those opinions on 
religious subjects which a man holds in 
his own conscience1 and without         
incurring any kind of punishment or     
privation on account of them1 legal or  
social4 ,for example1 a really sincere  
member of the ,church of ,england enjoys
 perfect religious liberty in           
,england4#ab ,he can openly say what he 
thinks1 openly take part in religious   
services that his conscience approves1  

and without incurring the slightest     
legal or social penalty for so doing4   
,he meets with no hindrance1 no         
obstacle1 placed in the path of his     
worldly life on account of his religious
 views4 ,true liberty is not that which 
is attainable at some cost1 some        
sacrifice1 but that which we can enjoy  
without being made to suffer for it in  
any way4 ,it is always enjoyed1 to the  
full1 by every one whose sincere        
convictions are heartily on the side of 
authority4 ,sincere ,roman ,catholics   
enjoyed perfect religious liberty in    
,spain under ,ferdinand and ,isabella1  
and in ,england under ,mary ,tudor4     
,even a ,trappist who loves the rule of 
his order enjoys the best kind of       
liberty within the walls of his         
monastery4 ,he is not allowed to neglect
 the prescribed services and other      
obligations2 but as he feels no desire  
to neglect them he is a free agent1 as  
free as if he dwelt in the ,abbaye de   
,thlme of ,rabelais1 with its one rule1 

,fay ce que vouldras4 ,we may go        
farther1 and say that not only are      
people whose convictions are on the side
 of authority perfectly free agents1    
but1 like successful artists1 they are  
rewarded for doing what they themselves 
prefer4 ,they are always rewarded by the
 approval of their superiors and very   
frequently by opportunities for social  
advancement that are denied to those who
 think differently from persons in      
authority4  ,there are cases in which   
liberty is less complete than this1 yet 
is still spoken of as liberty4 ,a man is
 free to be a ,dissenter in ,england and
 a ,protestant in ,france4 ,by this we  
mean that he will incur no legal        
disqualification for his opinions2 but  
does he incur no social penalty8 ,the   
common answer to this question is that  
the penalty is so slight that there is  
nothing to complain of4 ,this depends   
upon the particular situation of the    
,dissenter1 because the penalty is      
applied very differently in different   

cases1 and may vary between an          
unperceived hindrance to an undeveloped 
ambition and an insurmountable obstacle 
to an eager and aspiring one4 ,to       
understand this thoroughly1 let us ask  
whether there are any positions in which
 a member of the ,church of ,england    
would incur a penalty for leaving it4   
,are there any positions that are       
socially considered to be incompatible  
with the religious profession of a      
,dissenter8  ,it will be generally      
admitted that royal personages do not   
enjoy any religious liberty at all4 ,a  
royal personage must profess the ,state 
religion of his country1 and it is so   
well understood that this is obligatory 
and has nothing to do with the          
convictions of the conscience that such 
personages are hardly expected to have  
any conscience in the matter4 ,they take
 up a religion as part of their         
situation in the world4 ,a princess may 
abjure her faith for that of an imperial
 lover1 and if he dies before marriage  

she may abjure her adopted faith2 and if
 she is asked again in marriage she may 
abjure the religion of her girlhood a   
second time without exciting comment1   
because it is well understood that her  
private convictions may remain          
undisturbed by such changes1 and that   
she submits to them as a necessity for  
which she has no personal               
responsibility4#ac ,and whilst princes  
are compelled to take up the religion   
which best suits their worldly          
interests1 they are not allowed simply  
to bear the name of the ,state ,church  
but must also conform to its services   
with diligent regularity4 ,in many cases
 they probably have no objection to     
this1 as they may be really             
conscientious members of the ,state     
,church1 or they may accept it in a     
general way as an expression of duty    
towards ,god 7without going into        
dogmatic details71 or they may be ready 
and willing to conform to it for        
political reasons1 as the best means of 

conciliating public opinion2 but however
 this may be1 all human fellowship1 so  
far as religion is concerned1 must1 for 
them1 be founded on deference to the    
,state religion and a conciliatory      
attitude towards its ministers4 ,the    
,court circulars of different countries 
register the successive acts of outward 
conformity by which the prince          
acknowledges the power of the national  
priesthood1 and it would be impossible  
for him to suspend these acts of        
conformity for any reason except        
illness4 ,the daily account of the life 
of a ,french sovereign during the       
hunting season used to be1 ,his ,majesty
 heard mass2 ,his ,majesty went out to  
hunt4 ,louis ,,xviii4 had to hear mass  
like his ancestors2 but after the long  
,high ,mass which he was compelled to   
listen to on ,sundays1 and which he     
found extremely wearisome1 he enjoyed a 
compensation and a consolation in       
talking impiously to his courtiers1 and 
was maliciously pleased in shocking     

pious people and in forcing them to     
laugh against their conscience1 as by   
courtly duty bound1 at the blasphemous  
royal jests4 ,this is one of the great  
evils of a compulsory conformity4 ,it   
drives the victim into a reaction       
against the religion that tyrannizes    
over him1 and makes him anti-religious1 
when without pressure he would have been
 simply and inoffensively non-religious4
 ,to understand the pressure that weighs
 upon royal personages in this respect1 
we have only to remember that there is  
not a sovereign in the whole world who  
could venture to say openly that he was 
a conscientious ,unitarian1 and would   
attend a ,unitarian place of worship4   
,if a ,king of ,england held ,unitarian 
opinions1 and was at the same time      
scrupulously honest1 he would have no   
resource but abdication1 for not only is
 the ,king a member of the ,anglican    
,church1 but he is its living head4 ,the
 sacerdotal position of the ,emperor of 
,russia is still more marked1 and he can

 no more avoid taking part in the       
fatiguing ceremonies of the orthodox    
,greek religion than he can avoid       
sitting on horseback and reviewing      
troops4  ,the religious slavery of      
princes is1 however1 exclusively in     
ceremonial acts and verbal professions4 
,with regard to the moral side of       
religion1 with regard to every religious
 doctrine that is practically favorable 
to good conduct1 exalted personages have
 always enjoyed an astonishing amount of
 liberty4 ,they are not free to hold    
themselves aloof from public ceremonies1
 but they are free to give themselves up
 to every kind of private               
self-indulgence1 including flagrant     
sexual immoralities1 which are readily  
forgiven them by a loyal priesthood and 
an admiring populace1 if only they show 
an affable condescension in their       
manners4 ,surely morality is a part of  
,christianity2 surely it is as          
unchristian an act to commit adultery as
 to walk out during service-time on     

,sunday morning2 yet adultery is far    
more readily forgiven in a prince1 and  
far easier for him1 than the merely     
negative religious sin of abstinence    
from church-going4 ,amongst the great   
criminal sovereigns of the world1 the   
,tudors1 ,bourbons1 ,bonapartes1 there  
has never been any neglect of           
ceremonies1 but they have treated the   
entire moral code of ,christianity as if
 it were not binding on persons of their
 degree4  ,every hardship is softened1  
at least in some measure1 by a          
compensation2 and when in modern times a
 man is so situated that he has no      
outward religious liberty it is         
perfectly understood that his conformity
 is official1 like that of a soldier who
 is ordered to give the ,host a military
 salute without regard for his private  
opinion about transubstantiation4 ,this 
being understood1 the religious slavery 
of a royal personage is far from being  
the hardest of such slaveries4 ,the     
hardest cases are those in which there  

is every appearance of liberty1 whilst  
some subtle secret force compels the    
slave to acts that have the appearance  
of the most voluntary submission4 ,there
 are many positions of this kind in the 
world4 ,they abound in countries where  
the right of private judgment is loudly 
proclaimed1 where a man is told that he 
may act in religious matters quite      
freely according to the dictates of his 
conscience1 whilst he well knows1 at the
 same time1 that unless his conscience  
happens to be in unison with the        
opinions of the majority1 he will incur 
some kind of disability1 some social    
paralysis1 for having obeyed it4  ,the  
rule concerning the ceremonial part of  
religion appears to be that a man's     
liberty is in inverse proportion to his 
rank4 ,a royal personage has none2 he   
must conform to the ,state ,church4 ,an 
,english nobleman has two churches to   
choose from3 he may belong to the       
,church of ,england or the ,church of   
,rome4 ,a simple private gentleman1 a   

man of good family and moderate         
independent fortune1 living in a country
 where the laws are so liberal as they  
are in ,england1 and where on the whole 
there is so little bitterness of        
religious hatred1 might be supposed to  
enjoy perfect religious liberty1 but he 
finds1 in a practical way1 that it is   
scarcely possible for him to do         
otherwise than the nobility4 ,he has the
 choice between ,anglicanism and        
,romanism1 because1 though untitled1 he 
is still a member of the aristocracy4   
,as we go down lower in the social      
scale1 to the middle classes1 and       
particularly to the lower middle        
classes1 we find a broader liberty1     
because in these classes the principle  
is admitted that a man may be a good    
,christian beyond the pale of the ,state
 ,churches4 ,the liberty here is real1  
so far as it goes1 for although these   
persons are not obliged by their own    
class opinion to be members of a ,state 
,church1 as the aristocracy are1 they   

are not compelled1 on the other hand1 to
 be ,dissenters4 ,they may be good      
,churchmen1 if they like1 and still be  
middle-class ,englishmen1 or they may be
 good ,methodists1 ,baptists1           
,independents1 and still be respectable 
middle-class ,englishmen4 ,this permits 
a considerable degree of freedom1 yet it
 is still by no means unlimited freedom4
 ,the middle-class ,englishman allows   
dissent1 but he does not encourage      
honesty in unbelief4  ,there is1        
however1 a class in ,english society in 
which for some time past religious      
liberty has been as nearly as possible  
absolute1--,i mean the working          
population in the large towns4 ,a       
working-man may belong to the ,church of
 ,england1 or to any one of the         
dissenting communities2 or1 if he does  
not believe in ,christianity1 he may say
 so and abstain from religious hypocrisy
 of all kinds4 ,whatever his opinions1  
he will not be regarded very coldly on  
account of them by persons of his own   

class1 nor prevented from marrying1 nor 
hindered from pursuing his trade4  ,we  
find1 therefore1 that amongst the       
various classes of society1 from the    
highest to the humblest1 religious      
liberty increases as we go lower4 ,the  
royal family is bound to conform to     
whatever may be the dominant religion   
for the time being2 the nobility and    
gentry have the choice between the      
present dominant faith and its          
predecessor2 the middle class has1 in   
addition1 the liberty of dissent2 the   
lower class has the liberty1 not only of
 dissent1 but also of abstinence and    
negation4 ,and in each case the increase
 of liberty is real2 it is not that     
illusory kind of extension which loses  
in one direction the freedom that it    
wins in another4 ,all the churches are  
open to the plebeian secularist if he   
should ever wish to enter them4  ,we    
have said that religious liberty        
increases as we go lower in the social  
scale4 ,let us consider1 now1 how it is 

affected by locality4 ,the rule may be  
stated at once4 ,religious liberty      
diminishes with the number of           
inhabitants in a place4  ,however humble
 may be the position of the dweller in a
 small village at a distance from a     
town1 he must attend the dominant church
 because no other will be represented in
 the place4 ,he may be in heart a       
,dissenter1 but his dissent has no      
opportunity of expressing itself by a   
different form of worship4 ,the laws of 
his country may be as liberal as you    
please2 their liberality is of no       
practical service in such a case as this
 because religious profession requires  
public worship1 and an isolated family  
cannot institute a cult4  ,if1 indeed1  
there were the liberty of abstinence the
 evil would not be so great4 ,the       
liberty of rejection is a great and     
valuable liberty4 ,if a particular kind 
of food is unsuited to my constitution1 
and only that kind of food is offered   
me1 the permission to fast is the       

safeguard of my health and comfort4 ,the
 loss of this negative liberty is       
terrible in convivial customs1 when the 
victim is compelled to drink against his
 will4  ,the ,dissenter in the country  
can be forced to conform by his employer
 or by public opinion1 acting           
indirectly4 ,the master may avoid       
saying1 ,i expect you to go to ,church1 
but he may say1 ,i expect you to attend 
a place of worship1 which attains       
precisely the same end with an          
appearance of greater liberality4       
,public opinion may be really liberal   
enough to tolerate many different forms 
of religion1 but if it does not tolerate
 abstinence from public services the    
,dissenter has to conform to the        
dominant worship in places where there  
is no other4 ,in ,england it may seem   
that there is not very much hardship in 
this1 as the ,church is not extreme in  
doctrine and is remarkably tolerant of  
variety1 yet even in ,england a         
conscientious ,unitarian might feel some

 difficulty about creeds and prayers    
which were never intended for him4      
,there are1 however1 harder cases than  
those of a ,dissenter forced to conform 
to the ,church of ,england4 ,the ,church
 of ,rome is far more extreme and       
authoritative1 far more sternly         
repressive of human reason2 yet there   
are thousands of rural places on the    
,continent where religious toleration is
 supposed to exist1 and where1          
nevertheless1 the inhabitants are       
compelled to hear mass to avoid the     
imputation of absolute irreligion4 ,a   
man like ,wesley or ,bunyan would1 in   
such a position1 have to choose between 
apparent ,romanism and apparent         
,atheism1 if indeed the village opinion 
did not take good care that he should   
have no choice in the matter4  ,it may  
be said that people should live in      
places where their own form of worship  
is publicly practised4 ,no doubt many do
 so4 ,i remember an ,englishman         
belonging to a ,roman ,catholic family  

who would not spend a ,sunday in an     
out-of-the-way place in ,scotland       
because he could not hear mass4 ,such a 
person1 having the means to choose his  
place of residence1 and a faith so      
strong that religious considerations    
always came first with him1 would compel
 everything to give way to the necessity
 for having mass every ,sunday1 but this
 is a very exceptional case4 ,ordinary  
people are the victims of circumstances 
and not their masters4  ,if a villager  
has little religious freedom he does not
 greatly enlarge it when he becomes a   
soldier4 ,he has the choice between the 
,church of ,england and the ,church of  
,rome4 ,in some countries even this very
 moderate degree of liberty is denied4  
,within the present century ,roman      
,catholic soldiers were compelled to    
attend ,protestant services in ,prussia4
 ,the truth is that the genuine military
 spirit is strongly opposed to          
individual opinion in matters of        
religion4 ,its ideal is that every      

detail in a soldier's existence should  
be settled by the military authorities1 
his religious belief amongst the rest4  
,what may be truly said about military  
authority in religious matters is that  
as the force employed is perfectly well 
known1--as it is perfectly well known   
that soldiers take part in religious    
services under compulsion1--there is no 
hypocrisy in their case1 especially     
where the conscription exists1 and      
therefore but slight moral hardship4    
,certainly the greatest hardship of all 
is to be compelled to perform acts of   
conformity with all the appearance of   
free choice4 ,the tradesman who must go 
to mass to have customers is in a harder
 position than the soldier4 ,for this   
reason1 it is better for the moral      
health of a nation1 when there is to be 
compulsion of some kind1 that it should 
be boldly and openly tyrannical2 that   
its work should be done in the face of  
day2 that it should be outspoken1       
uncompromising1 complete4 ,to tyranny of

 that kind a man may give way without   
any loss of self-respect1 he yields to  
force majeure2 but to that viler and    
meaner kind of tyranny which keeps a man
 in constant alarm about the means of   
earning his living1 about the           
maintenance of some wretched little     
peddling position in society1 he yields 
with a sense of far deeper humiliation1 
with a feeling of contempt for the      
social power that uses such miserable   
means1 and of contempt for himself also4
     ,,essay ,,xiii4  ,,priests ,,and   
,,women4   ,,part ,i4--,,sympathy4      
,women hate the ,inexorable4 ,they like 
a condition of things in which nothing  
is so surely fixed but that the rule may
 be broken in their favor1 or the hard  
decision reversed4 ,they like concession
 for concession's sake1 even when the   
matter is of slight importance4 ,a woman
 will ask a favor from a person in      
authority when a man will shrink from   
the attempt2 and if the woman gains her 
point by entreaty she will have a keen  

and peculiar feminine satisfaction in   
having successfully exercised what she  
feels to be her own especial power1 to  
which the strong1 rough creature1 man1  
may often be made to yield4 ,a woman    
will go forth on the most hopeless      
errands of intercession and persuasion1 
and in spite of the most adverse        
circumstances will not infrequently     
succeed4 ,scott made admirable use of   
this feminine tendency in the ,heart of 
,mid-,lothian4 ,jeanie ,deans1 with a   
woman's feelings and perseverance1 had a
 woman's reliance on her own persuasive 
powers1 and the result proved that she  
was right4 ,all things in a woman       
combine to make her mighty in           
persuasion4 ,her very weakness aids her2
 she can assume a pitiful1 childlike    
tenderness4 ,her ignorance aids her1 as 
she seems never to know that a decision 
can be fixed and final2 then she has    
tears1 and besides these pathetic       
influences she has generally some       
magnetism of sex1 some charm or         

attraction1 at least1 in voice or       
manner1 and sometimes she has that      
marvellous--that all but                
irresistible--gift of beauty which has  
ruled and ruined the masters of the     
world4  ,having constantly used these   
powers of persuasion with the strongest 
being on this planet1 and used them with
 such wonderful success that it is even 
now doubtful whether the occult feminine
 government is not mightier than the    
open masculine government1 whilst it is 
not a matter of doubt at all1 but of    
assured fact1 that society is ruled by  
queens and ladies and not by kings and  
lords1--with all these evidences of     
their influence in this world1 it is    
intelligible that women should willingly
 listen to those who tell them that they
 have similar influence over            
supernatural powers1 and1 through them1 
on the destinies of the universe4 ,far  
less willingly would they listen to some
 hard scientific teacher who should say1
 ,no1 you have no influence beyond this 

planet1 and that which you exercise upon
 its surface is limited by the force    
that you are able to set in motion4 ,the
 ,empress ,eugnie had no supernatural   
influence through the ,virgin ,mary1 but
 she had great and dangerous natural    
influence through her husband2 and it   
may be true1 what is asserted1 that she 
caused in this way a disastrous war4 ,an
 exclusively originating ,intelligence1 
acting at the beginning of              
,evolution1--a setter-in-motion of a    
prodigious self-acting machinery of     
cause producing effect1 and effects in  
their turn becoming a new complexity of 
causes1--an ,intelligence that we cannot
 persuade because we are born millions  
of years too late for the first impulse 
that started all things1--this may be   
the ,god of the future1 but it will be a
 distant future before the world of     
women will acknowledge him4  ,there is  
another element in the feminine nature  
that urges women in the same direction4 
,they have a constant sense of          

dependence in a degree hardly ever      
experienced by men except in            
debilitating illness2 and as this sense 
of dependence is continual with them and
 only occasional with us1 it becomes1   
from habit1 inseparable from their      
mental action1 whereas even in sickness 
a man looks forward to the time when he 
will act again freely for himself4 ,men 
choose a course of action2 women choose 
an adviser4 ,they feel themselves unable
 to continue the long conflict without  
help1 and in spite of their great       
patience and courage they are easily    
saddened by solitude1 and in their      
distress of mind they feel an imperious 
need for support and consolation4 ,our  
valors are our best gods1 is a purely   
masculine sentiment1 and to a woman such
 self-reliance seems scarcely           
distinguishable from impiety4 ,the      
feminine counterpart of that would be1  
,in our weakness we seek refuge in ,thy 
strength1 ,o ,lord6  ,a woman is not    
satisfied with merely getting a small   

share in a vast bounty for the general  
good2 she is kind and affectionate      
herself1 she is personally attentive to 
the wants of children and animals1 and  
cares for each of them separately1 and  
she desires to be cared for in the same 
way4 ,the philosopher does not give her 
any assurance of this whatever2 but the 
priest1 on the contrary1 gives it in the
 most positive form4 ,it is not merely  
one of the doctrines of religion1 but   
the central doctrine1 the motive for all
 religious exercises1 that ,god cares   
for every one of us individually2 that  
he knows ,jane ,smith by name1 and what 
she is earning a week1 and how much of  
it she devotes to keeping her poor      
paralyzed old mother4 ,the philosopher  
says1 ,if you are prudent and skilful in
 your conformity to the laws of life you
 will probably secure that amount of    
mental and physical satisfaction which  
is attainable by a person of your       
organization4 ,there is nothing in this 
about personal interest or affection2 it

 is a bare statement of natural cause   
and consequence4 ,the priest holds a    
very different language2 the use of the 
one word love gives warmth and color to 
his discourse4 ,the priest says1 ,if you
 love ,god with all your soul and with  
all your strength ,he will love and     
cherish you in return1 and be your own  
true and tender ,father4 ,he will watch 
over every detail and every minute of   
your existence1 guard you from all real 
evil1 and at last1 when this earthly    
pilgrimage shall be over1 ,he will      
welcome you in ,his eternal kingdom4    
,but this is not all2 ,god may still    
seem at too unapproachable a distance4  
,the priest then says that means have   
been divinely appointed to bridge over  
that vast abyss4 ,the ,father has given 
us the ,son1 and ,christ has instituted 
the ,church1 and the ,church has        
appointed me as her representative in   
this place1--me1 to whom you may come   
always for guidance and consolation that
 will never be refused you4  ,this is   

the language for which the ears of a    
woman thirst as parched flowers thirst  
for the summer rain4 ,instead of a      
great1 blank universe with fixed laws1  
interesting to savans but not to her1   
she is told of love and affection that  
she thoroughly understands4 ,she is told
 of an affectionate ,creator1 of ,his   
beloved and loving ,son1 of the tender  
care of the maternal ,church that ,he   
instituted2 and finally all this chain  
of affectionate interest ends close to  
her in a living link1--a man with soft1 
engaging manners1 with kind and gentle  
voice1 who takes her hand1 talks to her 
about all that she really cares for1 and
 overflows with the readiest sympathy   
for all her anxieties4 ,this man is so  
different from common men1 so very much 
better and purer1 and1 above all1 so    
much more accessible1 communicative1 and
 consolatory6 ,he seems to have had so  
much spiritual experience1 to know so   
well what trouble and sorrow are1 to    
sympathize so completely with the       

troubles and sorrows of a woman6 ,with  
him1 the burden of life is ten times    
easier to bear2 without his precious    
fellowship1 that burden would be heavy  
indeed6  ,it may be objected to this1   
that the clergy do not entirely teach a 
religion of love2 that1 in fact1 they   
curse as well as bless1 and foretell    
eternal punishment for the majority4    
,all this1 it may be thought1 must be as
 painful to the feelings of women as    
,divine kindness and human felicity must
 be agreeable to them4 ,whoever made    
this objection would show that he had   
not quite understood the feminine       
nature4 ,it is at the same time kinder  
and tenderer than the masculine nature1 
and more absolute in vindictiveness4    
,women do not generally like the        
infliction of pain that they believe to 
be undeserved2#ad they are not generally
 advocates for vivisection2 but as their
 feelings of indignation against        
evil-doers are very easily aroused1 and 
as they are very easily persuaded that  

severe punishments are just1 they have  
often heartily assented to them even    
when most horrible4 ,in these cases     
their satisfaction1 though it seems to  
us ferocious1 may arise from feeling    
themselves ,god's willing allies against
 the wicked4 ,when heretics were burnt  
in ,spain the great ladies gazed calmly 
from their windows and balconies on the 
grotesque procession of miserable       
morituri with flames daubed on their    
tabards1 so soon to be exchanged for the
 fiery reality4 ,with the influence that
 women possess they could have stopped  
those horrors2 but they countenanced    
them2 and yet there is no reason to     
believe that they were not gentle1      
tender1 affectionate4 ,the most         
relentless persecutor who ever sat on   
the throne of ,england was a woman4 ,nor
 is it only in ages of fierce and cruel 
persecution that women readily believe  
,god to be on the side of the oppressor4
 ,other ages succeed in which human     
injustice is not so bold and            

bloodthirsty1 not so candid and honest1 
but more stealthily pursues its end by  
hampering and paralyzing the victim that
 it dares not openly destroy4 ,it places
 a thousand little obstacles in his way1
 the well-calculated effect of which is 
to keep him alive in impotent           
insignificance4 ,in those ages of weaker
 malevolence the heretic is quietly but 
carefully excluded from the best        
educational and social advantages1 from 
public office1 from political power4    
,wherever he turns1 whatever he desires 
to do1 he feels the presence of a       
mysterious invisible force that quietly 
pushes him aside or keeps him in shadow4
 ,well1 in this milder1 more coldly     
cruel form of wrong1 vast numbers of the
 gentlest and most amiable women have   
always been ready to acquiesce4#ae  ,i  
willingly pass from this part of the    
subject1 but it was impossible not to   
make one sad reference to it1 for of all
 the sorrowful things in the history of 
the world ,i see none more sorrowful    

than this1--that the enormous influence 
of women should not have been more on   
the side of justice4 ,it is perhaps too 
much to expect that they should have    
placed themselves in advance of their   
age1 but they have been innocent        
abettors and perpetuators of the worst  
abuses1 and all from their proneness to 
support any authority1 however corrupt1 
if only it can succeed in confounding   
itself with goodness4  ,as the          
representatives of a ,deity who tenderly
 cares for every one of ,his creatures1 
the clergy themselves are bound to      
cultivate all their own powers and gifts
 of sympathy4 ,the best of them do this 
with the important result that after    
some years spent in the exercise of     
their profession they become really and 
unaffectedly more sympathetic than      
laymen generally are4 ,the power of     
sympathy is a great power everywhere1   
but it is so particularly in those      
countries where the laity are not much  
in the habit of cultivating the         

sympathetic feelings1 and timidly shrink
 from the expression of them even when  
they exist4 ,i remember going with a    
,french gentleman to visit a lady who   
had very recently lost her father2 and  
my friend made her a little speech in   
which he said no more than what he felt1
 but he said it so elegantly1 so        
delicately1 so appropriately1 and in    
such feeling terms1 that ,i envied him  
the talent of expressing condolence in  
that way4 ,i never knew an ,english     
layman who could have got through such  
an expression of feeling1 but ,i have   
known ,english clergymen who could have 
done it4 ,here is a very great and real 
superiority over us1 and especially with
 women1 because women are exquisitely   
alive to everything in which the        
feelings are concerned1 and we often    
seem to them dead in feeling when we are
 only awkward1 and dumb by reason of our
 awkwardness4  ,i think it probable that
 most readers of this page will find1 on
 consulting their own recollections1    

that they have received warmer and      
kinder expressions of sympathy from     
clerical friends than from laymen4 ,it  
is certainly so in my own case4 ,on     
looking back to the expressions of      
sympathy that have been addressed to me 
on mournful occasions1 and of rejoicing 
on happy ones1 ,i find that the clearest
 and most ample and hearty utterances of
 these feelings have generally come     
either from clergymen of the ,church of 
,england1 or priests of the ,church of  
,rome4  ,the power of sympathy in       
clergymen is greatly increased by their 
easy access to all classes of society4  
,they are received everywhere on terms  
which may be correctly defined as easily
 respectful2 for their sacred character 
gives them a status of their own1 which 
is neither raised by association with   
rich people nor degraded by friendliness
 with the poor or with that lower middle
 class which1 of all classes1 is the    
most perilous to the social position of 
a layman4 ,they enter into the joys and 

sorrows of the most different orders of 
parishioners1 and in this way1 if there 
is any natural gift of sympathy in the  
mind of a clergyman1 it is likely to be 
developed and brought to perfection4    
,partly by arrangements consciously     
devised by ecclesiastical authorities1  
and partly by the natural force of      
circumstances1 the work of the ,church  
is so ordered that her representatives  
are sure to be present on the most      
important occasions in human life4 ,this
 gives them some influence over men1 but
 that which they gain by it over women  
is immeasurably greater1 because the    
minds of women are far more closely and 
exclusively bound up in domestic        
interests and events4  ,of these the    
most visibly important is marriage4     
,here the priest has his assured place  
and conspicuous function1 and the       
wonderful thing is that this function   
seems to survive the religious beliefs  
on which it was originally founded4 ,it 
seems to be not impossible that a       

,church might still survive for an      
indefinite length of time in the midst  
of surrounding scepticism simply for the
 purpose of performing marriage and     
funeral rites4 ,the strength of the     
clerical position with regard to        
marriage is so great1 even on the       
,continent1 that1 although a woman may  
have scarcely a shred of faith in the   
doctrines of the ,church1 it is almost  
certain that she will desire the        
services of a priest1 and not feel      
herself to be really married without    
them4 ,although the civil ceremony may  
be the only one recognized by the law1  
the woman openly despises it1 and       
reserves all her feelings and emotions  
for the pompous ceremony at the church4 
,on such occasions women laugh at the   
law1 and will even sometimes declare    
that the law itself is not legal4 ,i    
once happened to say that civil marriage
 was obligatory in ,france1 but only    
legal in ,england2 on which an ,english 
lady attacked me vehemently1 and stoutly

 denied that civil marriage was legal in
 ,england at all4 ,i asked if she had   
never heard of marriages in a           
,registrar's office4 ,yes1 ,i have1 she 
answered1 with a shocked expression of  
countenance1 but they are not legal4    
,the ,church of ,england does not       
recognize them1 and that is the legal   
church4  ,as soon as a child is born the
 mother begins to think about its       
baptism2 and at a time of life when the 
infant is treated by laymen as a little 
being whose importance lies entirely in 
the future the clergyman gives it       
consequence in the present by admitting 
it1 with solemn ceremony1 to membership 
in the ,church of ,christ4 ,it is not   
possible to imagine anything more likely
 to gratify the feelings of a mother    
than this early admission of her        
unconscious offspring to the privileges 
of a great religious community4 ,before 
this great initiation it was alone in   
the world1 loved only by her1 and with  
all its prospects darkened by original  

sin2 now it is purified1 blessed1       
admitted into the fellowship of the holy
 and the wise4 ,a certain relationship  
of a peculiar kind is henceforth        
established between priest and infant4  
,in after years he prepares it for      
confirmation1 another ceremony touching 
to the heart of a mother when she sees  
her son gravely taking upon himself the 
responsibilities of a thinking being4   
,the marriage of a son or daughter      
renews in the mother all those feelings 
towards the friendly1 consecrating power
 of the ,church which were excited at   
her own marriage4  ,then come those     
anxious occasions when the malady of one
 member of the family casts a shadow on 
the happiness of all4 ,in these cases   
any clergyman who unites natural        
kindness of heart with the peculiar     
training and experience of his          
profession can offer consolation        
incomparably better than a layman2 he is
 more accustomed to it1 more authorized4
 ,a friendly physician is a great help  

and a great stay so long as the disease 
is not alarming1 but when he begins to  
look very grave 7the reader knows that  
look71 and says that recovery is not    
probable1 by which physicians mean that 
death is certain and imminent1 the      
clergyman says there is hope still1 and 
speaks of a life beyond the grave in    
which human existence will be delivered 
from the evils that afflict it here4    
,when death has come1 the priest treats 
the dead body with respect and the      
survivors with sympathy1 and when it is 
laid in the ground he is there to the   
last moment with the majesty of an      
ancient and touching form of words      
already pronounced over the graves of   
millions who have gone to their         
everlasting rest4#af   ,,part ,,ii4     
,,art4  ,i have not yet by any means    
exhausted the advantages of the priestly
 position in its influence upon women4  
,if the reader will reflect upon the    
feminine nature as he has known it1     
especially in women of the best kind1 he

 will at once admit that not only are   
women more readily moved by the         
expression of sympathy than men1 and    
more grateful for it1 but they are also 
more alive to poetical and artistic     
influences4 ,in our sex the sthetic     
instinct is occasionally present in     
great strength1 but more frequently it  
is altogether absent2 in the female sex 
it seldom reaches much creative force1  
but it is almost invariably present in  
minor degrees4 ,almost all women take an
 interest in furniture and dress2 most  
of them in the comfortable classes have 
some knowledge of music2 drawing has    
been learned as an accomplishment more  
frequently by girls than by boys4 ,the  
clergy have a strong hold upon the      
feminine nature by its sthetic side4    
,all the external details of public     
worship are profoundly interesting to   
women4 ,when there is any splendor in   
ritual the details of vestments and     
altar decorations are a constant        
occupation for their thoughts1 and they 

frequently bestow infinite labor and    
pains to produce beautiful things with  
their own hands to be used in the       
service of the ,church4 ,in cases where 
the service itself is too austere and   
plain to afford much scope for this     
affectionate industry1 the slightest    
pretext is seized upon with avidity4    
,see how eagerly ladies will decorate a 
church at ,christmas1 and how they will 
work to get up an ecclesiastical bazaar6
 ,even in that ,church which most       
encourages or permits sthetic industry1 
the zeal of ladies sometimes goes beyond
 the desires of the clergy1 and has to  
be more or less decidedly repressed4 ,we
 all can see from the outside how fond  
women generally are of flowers1 though  
,i believe it is impossible for us to   
realize all that flowers are to them1 as
 there are no inanimate objects that men
 love with such affectionate and even   
tender solicitude4 ,however1 we see that
 women surround themselves with flowers1
 in gardens1 in conservatories1 and in  

their rooms2 we see that they wear      
artificial flowers in their dress1 and  
that they paint flowers in water-color  
and on china4 ,now observe how the      
,church of ,rome and the ,ritualists in 
,england show sympathy with this        
feminine taste6 ,innumerable millions of
 flowers are employed annually in the   
churches on the ,continent2 they are    
also used in ,england1 though in less   
lavish profusion1 and a sermon on       
flowers is preached annually in ,london1
 when every pew is full of them4  ,it is
 well known that women take an unfailing
 interest in dress4 ,the attention they 
give to it is close1 constant1 and      
systematic1 like an orderly man's       
attention to order4 ,women are easily   
affected by official costumes1 and they 
read what great people have worn at     
levees and drawing-rooms4 ,the clergy   
possess1 in ecclesiastical vestments1 a 
very powerful help to their influence4  
,that many of them are clearly aware of 
this is proved by their boldness and    

perseverance in resuming ornamental     
vestments2 and 7as might be expected7   
that ,church which has the most         
influence over women is at the same time
 the one whose vestments are most       
gorgeous and most elaborate4 ,splendor1 
however1 is not required to make a      
costume impressive4 ,it is enough that  
it be strikingly peculiar1 even in      
simplicity1 like the white robe of the  
,dominican friars4  ,costume naturally  
leads our minds to architecture4 ,i am  
not the first to remark that a house is 
only a cloak of a larger size4 ,the     
gradation is insensible from a coat to a
 cathedral3 first1 the soldier's heavy  
cloak which enabled the ,prussians to   
dispense with the little tent1 then the 
tent1 hut1 cottage1 house1 church1      
cathedral1 heavier and larger as we     
ascend the scale4 ,he has clothed       
himself with his church1 says ,michelet 
of the priest2 he has wrapped himself in
 this glorious mantle1 and in it he     
stands in triumphant state4 ,the crowd  

comes1 sees1 admires4 ,assuredly1 if we 
judge the man by his covering1 he who   
clothes himself with a ,notre ,dame de  
,paris1 or with a ,cologne ,cathedral1  
is1 to all appearance1 the giant of the 
spiritual world4 ,what a dwelling such  
an edifice is1 and how vast the         
inhabitant must be6 ,all proportions    
change2 the eye is deceived and deceives
 itself again4 ,sublime lights1 powerful
 shadows1 all help the illusion4 ,the   
man who in the street looked like a     
village schoolmaster is a prophet in    
this place4 ,he is transfigured by these
 magnificent surroundings2 his heaviness
 becomes power and majesty2 his voice   
has formidable echoes4 ,women and       
children are overawed4  ,to a mind that 
does not analyze but simply receives    
impressions1 magnificent architecture is
 a convincing proof that the words of   
the preacher are true4 ,it appears      
inconceivable that such substantial     
glories1 so many thousands of tons of   
masonry1 such forests of timber1 such   

acres of lead and glass1 all united in  
one harmonious work on which men        
lavished wealth and toil for            
generations1--it appears inconceivable  
that such a monument can perpetuate an  
error or a dream4 ,the echoing vaults   
bear witness4 ,responses come from      
storied window and multitudinous        
imagery4 ,when the old cosmogony is     
proclaimed to be true in ,york ,minster1
 the scientists sink into insignificance
 in their modern ordinary rooms2 when   
the acolyte rings his bell in ,rouen    
,cathedral1 and the ,host is lifted up1 
and the crowd kneels in silent adoration
 on the pavement1 who is to deny the    
,real ,presence8 ,does not every massive
 pillar stand there to affirm sturdily  
that it is true2 and do not the towers  
outside announce it to field and river1 
and to the very winds of heaven8  ,the  
musical culture of women finds its own  
special interest in the vocal and       
instrumental parts of the church        
service4 ,women have a direct influence 

on this part of the ritual1 and         
sometimes take an active share in it4   
,of all the arts music is the most      
closely connected with religion1 and it 
is the only one that the blessed are    
believed to practise in a future state4 
,a suggestion that angels might paint or
 carve is so unaccustomed that it seems 
incongruous2 yet the objection to these 
arts cannot be that they employ matter1 
since both poets and painters give      
musical instruments to the angels1--    
,and angels meeting us shall sing       
,to their citherns and citoles4         
,worship naturally becomes musical as it
 passes from the prayer that asks for   
benefits to the expression of joyful    
praise2 and though the austerity of     
extreme ,protestantism has excluded     
instruments and encouraged reading      
instead of chanting1 ,i am not aware    
that it has ever gone so far as to      
forbid the singing of hymns4  ,i have   
not yet touched upon pulpit eloquence as
 one of the means by which the clergy   

gain a great ascendency over women4 ,the
 truth is that the pulpit is quite the  
most advantageous of all places for any 
one who has the gift of public speaking4
 ,he is placed there far more favorably 
than a ,member of ,parliament in his    
place in the ,house1 where he is subject
 to constant and contemptuous           
interruptions from hearers lounging with
 their hats on4 ,the chief advantage is 
that no one present is allowed either to
 interrupt or to reply2 and this is one 
reason why some men will not go to      
church1 as they say1 ,we may hear our   
principles misrepresented and not be    
permitted to defend them4 ,a ,bishop1 in
 my hearing1 touched upon this very     
point4 ,people say1 he remarked1 that a 
preacher is much at his ease because no 
one is allowed to answer him2 but ,i    
invite discussion4 ,if any one here     
present has doubts about the soundness  
of my reasoning1 ,i invite him to come  
to me at the ,episcopal ,palace1 and we 
will argue the question together in my  

study4 ,this sounded unusually liberal1 
but how the advantages were still on the
 side of the ,bishop6 ,his attack on    
heresy was public4 ,it was uttered with 
long-practised professional eloquence1  
it was backed by a lofty social         
position1 aided by a peculiar and       
dignified costume1 and mightily aided   
also by the architecture of a           
magnificent cathedral4 ,the doubter was 
invited to answer1 but not on equal     
terms4 ,the attack was public1 the      
answer was to be private1 and the       
heretic was to meet the ,bishop in the  
,episcopal ,palace1 where1 again1 the   
power of rank and surroundings would be 
all in the prelate's favor4  ,not only  
are clergymen privileged speakers1 in   
being as secure from present            
contradiction as a sovereign on the     
throne1 but they have the grandest of   
all imaginable subjects4 ,in a word1    
they have the subject of ,dante1--they  
speak to us del ,inferno1 del           
,purgatorio1 del ,paradiso4 ,if they    

have any gift of genius1 any power of   
imagination1 such a subject becomes a   
tremendous engine in their hands4       
,imagine the difference between a       
preacher solemnly warning his hearers   
that the consequences of inattention may
 be everlasting torment1 and a          
politician warning the ,government that 
inattention may lead to a deficit6 ,the 
truth is1 that however terrible may be  
the earthly consequences of imprudence  
and of sin1 they sink into complete     
insignificance before the menaces of the
 ,church2 nor is there1 on the other    
hand1 any worldly success that can be   
proposed as a motive comparable to the  
permanent happiness of ,paradise4 ,the  
good and the bad things of this world   
have alike the fatal defect1 as subjects
 for eloquence1 that they equally end in
 death2 and as death is near to all of  
us1 we see the end to both4 ,the secular
 preacher is like a man who predicts a  
more or less comfortable journey1 which 
comes to the same end in any case4 ,a   

philosophic hearer is not very greatly  
elated by the promise of comforts so    
soon to be taken away1 nor is he        
overwhelmed by the threat of evils that 
can but be temporary4 ,hence1 in all    
matters belonging to this world only1   
the tone of quiet advice is the         
reasonable and appropriate tone1 and it 
is that of the doctor and lawyer2 but in
 matters of such tremendous import as   
eternal happiness and misery the utmost 
energy of eloquence can never be too    
great for the occasion2 so that if a    
preacher can threaten like peals of     
thunder1 and appal like flashes of      
lightning1 he may use such terrible     
gifts without any disproportionate      
excess4 ,on the other hand1 if he has   
any charm of language1 any brilliancy of
 imagination1 there is nothing to       
prevent him from alluring his hearers to
 the paths of virtue by the most lavish 
and seductive promises4 ,in short1 his  
opportunities in both directions are of 
such a nature that exaggeration is      

impossible2 and all his power1 all his  
charm1 are as free to do their utmost as
 an ocean wave in a tempest or the      
nightingale in the summer woods4  ,i    
cannot quit the subject of clerical     
oratory without noticing one of its     
marked characteristics4 ,the priest is  
not in a position of disinterested      
impartiality1 like a man of science1 who
 is ready to renounce any doctrine when 
he finds evidence against it4 ,the      
priest is an advocate whose life-long   
pleading must be in favor of the ,church
 as he finds her1 and in opposition to  
her adversaries4 ,to attack adversaries 
is therefore one of the recognized      
duties of his profession2 and if he is  
not a man of uncommon fairness1 if he   
has not an inborn love of justice which 
is rare in human nature1 he will not    
only attack his adversaries but         
misrepresent them4 ,there is even a     
worse danger than simple                
misrepresentation4 ,a priest may        
possibly be a man of a coarse temper1   

and if he is so he will employ the      
weapons of outrage and vituperation1    
knowing that he can do so with impunity4
 ,one would imagine that these methods  
must inevitably repel and displease     
women1 but there is a very peculiar     
reason why they seldom have this effect4
 ,a highly principled woman is usually  
so extremely eager to be on the side of 
what is right that suspension of        
judgment is most difficult for her4 ,any
 condemnation uttered by a person she is
 accustomed to trust has her approval on
 the instant4 ,she cannot endure to wait
 until the crime is proved1 but her     
feelings of indignation are at once     
aroused against the supposed criminal on
 the ground that there must be clear    
distinctions between right and wrong4   
,the priest1 for her1 is the good       
man1--the man on the side of ,god and   
virtue2 and those whom he condemns are  
the bad men1--the men on the side of the
 ,devil and vice4 ,this being so1 he may
 deal with such men as roughly as he    

pleases4 ,nor have these men the        
faintest chance of setting themselves   
right in her opinion4 ,she quietly      
closes the avenues of her mind against  
them2 she declines to read their books2 
she will not listen to their arguments4 
,even if one of them is a near relation 
whose opinions inflict upon her what she
 calls the deepest distress of mind1 she
 will positively prefer to go on        
suffering such distress until she dies1 
rather than allow him to remove it by a 
candid exposition of his views4 ,she    
prefers the hostile misrepresentation   
that makes her miserable1 to an         
authentic account of the matter that    
would relieve her anguish4   ,,part     
,,iii4--,,association4  ,the association
 of clergymen with ladies in works of   
charity affords continual opportunities 
for the exercise of clerical influence  
over women4 ,a partnership in good works
 is set up which establishes interesting
 and cordial relations1 and when the    
lady has accomplished some charitable   

purpose she remembers for long          
afterwards the clergyman without whose  
active assistance her project might have
 fallen to the ground4 ,she sees in the 
clergyman a reflection of her own       
goodness1 and she feels grateful to him 
for lending his masculine sense and     
larger experience to the realization of 
her ideas4 ,there are other cases of a  
different nature in which the           
self-esteem of the lady is deeply       
gratified when she is selected by the   
clergyman as being more capable of      
devoted effort in a sacred cause than   
women of inferior piety and strength of 
mind4 ,this kind of clerical selection  
is believed to be very influential in   
furthering clerical marriages4 ,the lady
 is told that she will serve the highest
 of all causes by lending a willing ear 
to her admirer4 ,every reader will      
remember how thoroughly this idea is    
worked out in ,jane ,eyre1 where ,st4   
,john urges ,jane to marry him on the   
plain ground that she would be a        

valuable fellow-worker with a           
missionary4 ,charlotte ,bront was1      
indeed1 so strongly impressed with this 
aspect of clerical influence that she   
injured the best and strongest of her   
novels by an almost wearisome           
development of that episode4  ,clerical 
influence is immensely aided by the     
possession of leisure4 ,without         
underrating the self-devotion of        
hard-working clergymen 7which is all the
 more honorable to them that they might 
take life more easily if they chose71 we
 see a wide distinction1 in point of    
industry1 between the average clergyman 
and the average solicitor1 for example4 
,the clergyman has leisure to pay calls1
 to accept many invitations1 and to talk
 in full detail about the interests that
 he has in common with his female       
friends4 ,the solicitor is kept to his  
office by strictly professional work    
requiring very close application and    
allowing no liberty of mind4  ,much     
might be said about the effect of       

clerical leisure on clerical manners4   
,without leisure it is difficult to have
 such quiet and pleasant manners as the 
clergy generally have4 ,very busy men   
generally seem preoccupied with some    
idea of their own which is not what you 
are talking about1 but a leisurely man  
will give hospitality to your thought4  
,a busy man wants to get away1 and      
fidgets you2 a man of leisure dwells    
with you1 for the time1 completely4     
,ladies are exquisitely sensitive to    
these differences1 and besides1 they are
 generally themselves persons of        
leisure4 ,overworked people often       
confound leisure with indolence1 which  
is a great mistake4 ,leisure is highly  
favorable to intelligence and good      
manners2 indolence is stupid1 from its  
dislike to mental effort1 and ill-bred1 
from the habit of inattention4  ,the    
feeling of women towards custom draws   
them strongly to the clergy1 because a  
priesthood is the instinctive upholder  
of ancient customs and ceremonies1 and  

steadily maintains external decorum4    
,women are naturally more attracted by  
custom than we are4 ,a few men have an  
affectionate regard for the sanctities  
of usage1 but most men only submit to   
them from an idea that they are         
generally helpful to the maintenance of 
order2 and if women could be supposed   
absent from a nation for a time1 it is  
probable that external observances of   
all kinds would be greatly relaxed4     
,women do not merely submit passively to
 custom2 they uphold it actively and    
energetically1 with a degree of faith in
 the perfect reasonableness of it which 
gives them great decision in its        
defence4 ,it seems to them the ultimate 
reason from which there is no appeal4   
,now1 in the life of every organized    
,church there is much to gratify this   
instinct1 especially in those which have
 been long established4 ,the recurrence 
of holy seasons1 the customary          
repetition of certain forms of words1   
the observance at stated intervals of   

the same ceremonies1 the adherence to   
certain prescribed decencies or         
splendors of dress1 the reservation of  
sacred days on which labor is suspended1
 give to the religious life a charm of  
customariness which is deeply gratifying
 to good1 order-loving women4 ,it is    
said that every poet has something      
feminine in his nature2 and it is       
certainly observable that poets1 like   
women1 are tenderly affected by the     
recurrence of holy seasons1 and the     
observance of fixed religious rites4 ,i 
will only allude to ,keble's ,christian 
,year1 because in this instance it might
 be objected that the poet was secondary
 to the ,christian2 but the reader will 
find instances of the same sentiment in 
,tennyson1 as1 for example1 in the      
profoundly affecting allusions to the   
return of ,christmas in ,in ,memoriam4  
,i could not name another occupation so 
closely and visibly bound up with custom
 as the clerical profession1 but for the
 sake of contrast ,i may mention one or 

two others that are completely          
disconnected from it4 ,the profession of
 painting is an example1 and so is that 
of literature4 ,an artist1 a writer1 has
 simply nothing whatever to do with     
custom1 except as a private man4 ,he may
 be an excellent and a famous workman   
without knowing ,sunday from week-day or
 ,easter from ,lent4 ,a man of science  
is equally unconnected with traditional 
observances4  ,it may be a question     
whether a celibate or a married clergy  
has the greater influence over women4   
,there are two sides to this question4  
,the ,church of ,rome is1 from the      
worldly point of view1 the most astute  
body of men who have ever leagued       
themselves together in a corporation2   
and that ,church has decided for        
celibacy1 rejecting thereby all the     
advantages to be derived from rich      
marriages and good connections4 ,in a   
celibate church the priest has a        
position of secure dignity and          
independence4 ,it is known from the     

first that he will not marry1 so there  
is no idle and damaging gossip about his
 supposed aspirations after fortune1 or 
tender feelings towards beauty4 ,women  
can treat him with greater confidence   
than if he were a possible suitor1 and  
then can confess to him1 which is felt  
to be difficult with a married or a     
marriageable clergy4 ,by being decidedly
 celibate the clergy avoid the possible 
loss of dignity which might result from 
allying themselves with families in a   
low social position4 ,they are simply   
priests1 and escape all other           
classification4 ,a married man is1 as it
 were1 made responsible for the decent  
appearance1 the good manners1 and the   
proper conduct of three different sets  
of people4 ,there is the family he      
springs from1 there is his wife's       
family1 and1 lastly1 there is the family
 in his own house4 ,any one of these may
 drag a man down socially with almost   
irresistible force4 ,the celibate priest
 is only affected by the family he      

springs from1 and is generally at a     
distance from that4 ,he escapes the     
invasion of his house by a wife's       
relations1 who might possibly be vulgar1
 and1 above all1 he escapes the         
permanent degradation of a coarse and   
ill-dressed family of his own4 ,no      
doubt1 from the ,christian point of     
view1 poverty is as honorable as wealth2
 but from the worldly point of view its 
visible imperfections are mean1         
despicable1 and even ridiculous4 ,in the
 early days of ,english ,protestants the
 liberty to marry was ruinous to the    
social position of the clergy4 ,they    
generally espoused servant-girls or a   
lady's maid whose character had been    
blown upon1 and who was therefore forced
 to give up all hope of catching the    
steward4#ag ,queen ,elizabeth issued    
special orders that no clergyman should 
presume to marry a servant-girl without 
the consent of the master or mistress4  
,one of the lessons most earnestly      
inculcated on every girl of honorable   

family was to give no encouragement to a
 lover in orders2 and if any young lady 
forgot this precept she was almost as   
much disgraced as by an illicit amour4  
,the cause of these low marriages was   
simply poverty1 and it is needless to   
add that they increased the evil4 ,as   
children multiplied and grew1 the       
household of the priest became more and 
more beggarly4 ,holes appeared more and 
more plainly in the thatch of his       
parsonage and in his single cassock4    
,his boys followed the plough1 and his  
girls went out to service4  ,when       
clergymen can maintain appearances they 
gain one advantage from marriage which  
increases their influence with women4   
,the clergyman's wife is almost herself 
in holy orders1 and his daughter often  
takes an equally keen interest in       
ecclesiastical matters4 ,these          
clergywomen1 as they have been called1  
are valuable allies1 through whom much  
may be done that cannot be effected     
directly4 ,this is the only advantage on

 the side of marriage1 and it is but    
relative2 for a celibate clergy has also
 its female allies who are scarcely less
 devoted2 and in the ,church of ,rome   
there are great organized associations  
of women entirely under the control of  
ecclesiastics4 ,again1 there is a lay   
element in a clergyman's family which   
brings the world into his own house1 to 
the detriment of its religious          
character4 ,the sons of the clergy are  
often anything but clerical in feeling4 
,they are often strongly laic1 and even 
sceptical1 by a natural reaction from   
ecclesiasticism4 ,on the whole1         
therefore1 it seems certain that an     
unmarried clergy more easily maintains  
both its own dignity and the distinction
 between itself and the laity4          
,auricular confession is so well known  
as a means of influencing women that ,i 
need scarcely do more than mention it2  
but there is one characteristic of it   
which is little understood by           
,protestants4 ,they fancy 7judging from 

,protestant feelings of antagonism7 that
 confession must be felt as a tyranny4  
,a ,roman ,catholic woman does not feel 
it to be an infliction that the ,church 
imposes1 but a relief that she affords4 
,women are not naturally silent         
sufferers4 ,they like to talk about     
their anxieties and interests1          
especially to a patient and sympathetic 
listener of the other sex who will give 
them valuable advice4 ,there is reason  
to believe that a good deal of informal 
confession is done by ,protestant       
ladies2 in the ,church of ,rome it is   
more systematic and leads to a formal   
absolution4 ,the subject which the      
speaker has to talk about is that most  
interesting of all subjects1 self4 ,in  
any other place than a confessional to  
talk about self at any length is an     
error2 in the confessional it is a      
virtue4 ,the truth is that pious ,roman 
,catholic women find happiness in the   
confessional and try the patience of the
 priests by minute accounts of trifling 

or imaginary sins4 ,no doubt confession 
places an immense power in the hands of 
the ,church1 but at an incalculable cost
 of patience4 ,it is not felt to weigh  
unfairly on the laity1 because the      
priest who to-day has forgiven your     
faults will to-morrow kneel in penitence
 and ask forgiveness for his own4 ,i do 
not see in the confessional so much an  
oppressive institution as a convenience 
for both parties4 ,the woman gets what  
she wants1--an opportunity of talking   
confidentially about herself2 and the   
priest gets what he wants1--an          
opportunity of learning the secrets of  
the household4  ,nothing has so         
powerfully awakened the jealousy of     
laymen as this institution of the       
confessional4 ,the reasons have been so 
fully treated by ,michelet and others1  
and are in fact so obvious1 that ,i need
 not repeat them4  ,the dislike for     
priests that is felt by many            
,continental laymen is increased by a   
cause that helps to win the confidence  

of women4 ,observe1 the laymen say1 with
 what art the priest dresses so as to   
make women feel that he is without sex1 
in order that they may confess to him   
more willingly4 ,he removes every trace 
of hair from his face1 his dress is half
 feminine1 he hides his legs in         
petticoats1 his shoulders under a       
tippet1 and in the higher ranks he wears
 jewelry and silk and lace4 ,a woman    
would never confess to a man dressed as 
we are1 so the wolf puts on sheep's     
clothing4  ,where confession is not the 
rule the layman's jealousy is less acrid
 and pungent in its expression1 but it  
often manifests itself in milder forms4 
,the pen that so clearly delineated the 
,rev4 ,charles ,honeyman was impelled by
 a layman's natural and pardonable      
jealousy4 ,a feeling of this kind is    
often strong in laymen of mature years4 
,they will say to you in confidence1    
,here is a man about the age of one of  
my sons1 who knows no more concerning   
the mysteries of life and death than ,i 

do1 who gets what he thinks he knows out
 of a book which is as accessible to me 
as it is to him1 and yet who assumes a  
superiority over me which would only be 
justifiable if ,i were ignorant and he  
enlightened4 ,he calls me one of his    
sheep4 ,i am not a sheep relatively to  
him4 ,i am at least his equal in        
knowledge1 and greatly his superior in  
experience4 ,nobody but a parson would  
venture to compare me to an animal 7such
 a stupid animal too67 and himself to   
that animal's master4 ,his one real and 
effective superiority is that he has all
 the women on his side4  ,you poor1     
doubting1 hesitating layman1 not half so
 convinced as the ladies of your family1
 who and what are you in the presence of
 a man who comes clothed with the       
authority of the ,church8 ,if you simply
 repeat what he says1 you are a mere    
echo1 a feeble repetition of a great    
original1 like the copy of a famous     
picture4 ,if you try to take refuge in  
philosophic indifference1 in silent     

patience1 you will be blamed for moral  
and religious inertia4 ,if you venture  
to oppose and discuss1 you will be the  
bad man against the good man1 and as    
sure of condemnation as a murderer when 
the judge is putting on the black cap4  
,there is no resource for you but one1  
and that does not offer a very cheering 
or hopeful prospect4 ,by the exercise of
 angelic patience1 and of all the other 
virtues that have been preached by good 
men from ,socrates downwards1 you may in
 twenty or thirty years acquire some    
credit for a sort of inferior goodness  
of your own1--a pinchbeck goodness1     
better than nothing1 but not in any way 
comparable to the pure golden goodness  
of the priest2 and when you come to die1
 the best that can be hoped for your    
disembodied soul will be mercy1         
clemency1 indulgence2 not approbation1  
welcome1 or reward4     ,,essay ,,xiv4  
,,why ,,we ,,are ,,apparently ,,becoming
 ,,less ,,religious4   ,it has happened 
to me on more than one occasion to have 

to examine papers left by ladies        
belonging to the last generation1 who   
had lived in the manner most esteemed   
and respected by the general opinion of 
their time1 and who might1 without much 
risk of error1 be taken for almost      
perfect models of ,english gentlewomen  
as they existed before the present      
scientific age4 ,the papers left by     
these ladies consisted either of        
memoranda of their private thoughts1 or 
of thoughts by others which seemed to   
have had an especial interest for them4 
,i found that all these papers arranged 
themselves naturally and inevitably     
under two heads3 either they concerned  
family interests and affections1 or they
 were distinctly religious in character1
 like the religious meditations we find 
in books of devotion4  ,there may be    
nothing extraordinary in this4          
,thousands of other ladies may have left
 religious memoranda2 but consider what 
a preponderance of religious ideas is   
implied when written thoughts are       

entirely confined to them6 ,the ladies  
in question lived in the first half of  
the nineteenth century1 a period of     
great intellectual ferment1 of the most 
important political and social changes1 
and of wonderful material progress2 but 
they did not seem to have taken any real
 interest in these movements4 ,the      
,bible and the commentaries of the      
clergy satisfied not only their         
spiritual but also their intellectual   
needs4 ,they seem to have desired no    
knowledge of the universe1 or of the    
probable origin and future of the human 
race1 which the ,bible did not supply4  
,they seem to have cared for no example 
of human character and conduct other    
than the scriptural examples4  ,this    
restfulness in ,biblical history and    
philosophy1 this substitution of the    
,bible for the world as a subject of    
study and contemplation1 this absence of
 desire to penetrate the secrets of the 
world itself1 this want of aspiration   
after any ideal more recent than the    

earlier ages of ,christianity1 permitted
 a much more constant and uninterrupted 
dwelling with what are considered to be 
religious ideas than is possible to any 
active and inquiring mind of the present
 day4 ,let it be supposed1 for example1 
that a person to whom the ,bible was    
everything desired information about the
 origin of the globe1 and of life upon  
it2 he would refer to the ,book of      
,genesis as the only authority1 and this
 reference would have the character of a
 religious act1 and he would get credit 
for piety on account of it2 whilst a    
modern scientific student would refer to
 some great modern paleontologist1 and  
his reference would not have the        
character of a religious act1 nor bring 
him any credit for piety2 yet the       
prompting curiosity1 the desire to know 
about the remote past1 would be exactly 
the same in both cases4 ,and ,i think it
 may be easily shown that if the modern 
scientific student appears to be less   
religious than others think he ought to 

be1 it is often because he possesses and
 uses more abundant sources of          
information than those which were       
accessible to the ancient ,jews4 ,it is 
not his fault if knowledge has          
increased2 he cannot be blamed if he    
goes where information is most copious  
and most exact2 yet his preference for  
such information gives an unsanctified  
aspect to his studies4 ,the study of the
 most ancient knowledge wears a         
religious aspect1 but the study of      
modern knowledge appears to be          
non-religious4  ,again1 when we come to 
the cultivation of the idealizing       
faculties1 of the faculties which do not
 seek information merely1 but some kind 
of perfection1 we find that the very    
complexity of modern life1 and the      
diversity of the ideal pleasures and    
perfections that we modern men desire1  
have a constant tendency to take us     
outside of strictly religious ideals4   
,as long as the writings which are held 
to be sacred supply all that our        

idealizing faculties need1 so long will 
our imaginative powers exercise         
themselves in what is considered to be a
 religious manner1 and we shall get     
credit for piety2 but when our minds    
imagine what the sacred writers could   
not or did not conceive1 and when we    
seek help for our imaginative faculty in
 profane writers1 we appear to be less  
religious4 ,so it is with the desire to 
study and imitate high examples of      
conduct and character4 ,there is no     
nobler or more fruitful instinct in man 
than a desire like this1 which is       
possible only to those who are at once  
humble and aspiring4 ,an ancient ,jew   
who had this noble instinct could       
satisfy it by reading the sacred books  
of the ,hebrews1 and so his aspiration  
appeared to be wholly religious4 ,it is 
not so with an active-minded young      
,englishman of the present day4 ,he     
cannot find the most inspiriting models 
amongst the ancient ,hebrews1 for the   
reason that their life was altogether so

 much simpler and more primitive than   
ours4 ,they had nothing that can        
seriously be called science2 they had   
not any organized industry2 they had    
little art1 and hardly any secular      
literature1 so that in these directions 
they offer us no examples to follow4    
,our great inspiriting examples in these
 directions are to be found either in   
the ,renaissance or in recent times1 and
 therefore in profane biography4 ,from  
this it follows that an active modern   
mind seems to study and follow          
non-religious examples1 and so to differ
 widely1 and for the worse1 from the    
simpler minds of old time1 who were     
satisfied with the examples they found  
in their ,bibles4 ,this appearance is   
misleading2 it is merely on the surface2
 for if we go deeper and do not let     
ourselves be deceived by the words      
sacred and profane1 we shall find that  
when a simple mind chooses a model from 
a primitive people1 and a cultivated one
 chooses a model from an advanced       

people1 and from the most advanced class
 in it1 they are both really doing the  
same thing1 namely1 seeking ideal help  
of the kind which is best for each4     
,both of them are pursuing the same     
object1--a mental discipline and        
elevation which may be comprised under  
the general term virtue2 the only       
difference being that one is studying   
examples of virtue in the history of the
 ancient ,jews1 whilst the other finds  
examples of virtue more to his own      
special purpose in the lives of         
energetic ,englishmen1 ,frenchmen1 or   
,germans4  ,a hundred such examples     
might be mentioned1 for every occupation
 worth following has its own saints and 
heroes2 but ,i will confine myself to   
two4 ,the first shall be a ,french      
gentleman of the eighteenth century1 to 
whom life offered in the richest        
profusion everything that can tempt a   
man to what is considered an excusable  
and even a respectable form of idleness4
 ,he had an independent fortune1        

excellent health1 a good social         
position1 and easy access to the most   
lively1 the most entertaining1 the most 
amiable society that ever was1 namely1  
that of the intelligent ,french nobility
 before the ,revolution4 ,there is no   
merit in renouncing what we do not      
enjoy2 but he enjoyed all pleasant      
things1 and yet renounced them for a    
higher and a harder life4 ,at the age of
 thirty-two he retired to the country1  
made a rule of early rising and kept it1
 sallied forth from his house every     
morning at five1 went and shut himself  
up in an old tower with a piece of bread
 and a glass of water for his breakfast1
 worked altogether eleven or twelve     
hours a day in two sittings1 and went to
 bed at nine4 ,this for eight months in 
the year1 regularly1 the remaining four 
being employed in scientific and        
administrative work at the ,jardin des  
,plantes4 ,he went on working in this   
way for forty years1 and in the whole   
course of that time never let pass an   

ill-considered page or an               
ill-constructed sentence1 but always did
 his best1 and tried to make himself    
able to do better4  ,such was the great 
life of ,buffon2 and in our own time    
another great life has come to its      
close1 inferior to that of ,buffon only 
in this1 that as it did not begin in    
luxury1 the first renunciation was not  
so difficult to make4 ,yet1 however     
austere his beginnings1 it is not a     
light or easy thing for a man to become 
the greatest intellectual worker of his 
time1 so that one of his days 7including
 eight hours of steady nocturnal labor7 
was equivalent to two or more of our    
days4 ,no man of his time in ,europe had
 so vast a knowledge of literature and  
science in combination2 yet this        
knowledge was accompanied by perfect    
modesty and by a complete indifference  
to vulgar distinctions and vain         
successes4 ,for many years he was the   
butt of coarse and malignant            
misrepresentation on the part of enemies

 who easily made him odious to a shallow
 society2 but he bore it with perfect   
dignity1 and retained unimpaired the    
tolerance and charity of his nature4    
,his way of living was plain and frugal2
 he even contented himself with narrow  
dwellings1 though the want of space must
 have occasioned frequent inconvenience 
to a man of his pursuits4 ,he           
scrupulously fulfilled his domestic     
duties1 and made use of his medical     
education in ministering gratuitously to
 the poor4 ,such was his courage that   
when already advanced in life he        
undertook a gigantic task1 requiring    
twenty years of incessant labor2 and    
such were his industry and perseverance 
that he brought it to a splendidly      
successful issue4 ,at length1 after a   
long life of duty and patience1 after   
bearing calumny and ridicule1 he was    
called to endure another kind of        
suffering1--that of incessant physical  
pain4 ,this he bore with perfect        
fortitude1 retaining to the last his    

mental serenity1 his interest in        
learning1 and a high-minded patriotic   
thoughtfulness for his country and its  
future1 finding means in the midst of   
suffering to dictate long letters to his
 fellow-citizens on political subjects1 
which1 in their calm wisdom1 stood in   
the strongest possible contrast to the  
violent party writing of the hour4      
,such was the great life of ,littr2 and 
now consider whether he who studies     
lives like these1 and wins virtue from  
their austere example1 does not occupy  
his thoughts with what would have been  
considered religious aspirations1 if    
these two men1 instead of being         
,frenchmen of the eighteenth and        
nineteenth centuries1 had happened to be
 ancient ,jews4 ,if it had been possible
 for so primitive a nation as the       
,jewish to produce men of such steady   
industry and so large a culture1 we     
should have read the story of their     
lives in the ,jewish sacred books1 and  
then it would have been a part of the   

popular religion to study them1 whereas 
now the study of such biography is held 
to be non-religious1 if not 7at least in
 the case of ,littr7 positively         
irreligious4 ,yet surely when we think  
of the virtues which made these lives so
 fruitful1 our minds are occupied in a  
kind of religious thought2 for are we   
not thinking of temperance1             
self-discipline1 diligence1             
perseverance1 patience1 charity1        
courage1 hope8 ,were not these men      
distinguished by their aspiration after 
higher perfection1 by a constant desire 
to use their talents well1 and by a     
vigilant care in the employment of their
 time8 ,and are not these virtues and   
these aspirations held to be parts of a 
civilized man's religion1 and the best  
parts8  ,the necessity for an           
intellectual expansion beyond the limits
 of the ,bible was felt very strongly at
 the time of the ,renaissance1 and found
 ample satisfaction in the study of the 
,greek and ,latin classics4 ,there are  

many reasons why women appear to be more
 religious than men2 and one of them is 
because women study only one collection 
of ancient writings1 whilst men have    
been accustomed to study three2         
consequently that which women study 7if 
such a word is applicable to devotional1
 uncritical reading7 occupies their     
minds far more exclusively than it      
occupies the mind of a classical        
scholar4 ,but1 though the intellectual  
energies of men were for a time         
satisfied with classical literature1    
they came at length to look outside of  
that as their fathers had looked outside
 of the ,bible4 ,classical literature   
was itself a kind of religion1 having   
its own sacred books2 and it had also   
its heretics1--the students of          
nature1--who found nature more          
interesting than the opinions of the    
,greeks and ,romans4 ,then came the     
second great expansion of the human     
mind1 in the midst of which we ourselves
 are living4 ,the ,renaissance opened   

for it a world of mental activity which 
had the inappreciable intellectual      
advantage of lying well outside of the  
popular beliefs and ideas1 so that      
cultivated men found in it an escape    
from the pressure of the uneducated2 but
 the new scientific expansion offers us 
a region governed by laws of a kind     
peculiar to itself1 which protect those 
who conform to them against every       
assailant4 ,it is a region in which     
authority is unknown1 for1 however      
illustrious any great man may appear in 
it1 every statement that he makes is    
subject to verification4 ,here the      
knowledge of ancient writers is         
continually superseded by the better and
 more accurate knowledge of their       
successors2 so that whereas in religion 
and learning the most ancient writings  
are the most esteemed1 in science it is 
often the most recent1 and even these   
have no authority which may not be      
called in question freely by any        
student4 ,the new scientific culture is 

thus encouraging a habit of mind        
different from old habits1 and which in 
our time has caused such a degree of    
separation that the most important and  
the most interesting of all topics are  
those upon which we scarcely dare to    
venture for fear of being misunderstood4
  ,if ,i had to condense in a short     
space the various reasons why we are    
apparently becoming less religious1 ,i  
should say that it is because knowledge 
and feeling1 embodied or expressed in   
the sciences and arts1 are now too fully
 and too variously developed to remain  
within the limits of what is considered 
sacred knowledge or religious emotion4  
,it was possible for them to remain well
 within those limits in ancient times1  
and it is still possible for a mind of  
very limited activity and range to dwell
 almost entirely in what was known or   
felt at the time of ,christ2 but this is
 not possible for an energetic and      
inquiring mind1 and the consequence is  
that the energetic mind will seem to the

 other1 by contrast1 to be negligent of 
holy things1 and too much occupied with 
purely secular interests and concerns4  
,a great misunderstanding arises from   
this1 which has often had a lamentable  
effect on intercourse between relations 
and friends4 ,pious ladies1 to whom     
theological writings appear to contain  
almost everything that it is desirable  
to know1 often look with secret         
misgiving or suspicion on young men of  
vigorous intellect who cannot rest      
satisfied with the old knowledge1 and   
what such ladies vaguely hear of the    
speculations of the famous scientific   
leaders inspires them with profound     
alarm4 ,they think that we are becoming 
less religious because theological      
writings do not occupy the same space in
 our time and thoughts as they do in    
theirs2 whereas1 if such a matter could 
be put to any kind of positive test1 it 
would probably be found that we know    
more1 even of their own theology1 than  
they do1 and that1 instead of being     

indifferent to the great problems of the
 universe1 we have given to such        
problems an amount of careful thought   
far surpassing1 in mental effort1 their 
own simple acquiescence4 ,the opinions  
of a thoughtful and studious man in the 
present day have never been lightly come
 by2 and if he is supposed to be less   
religious than his father or his        
grandfather it may be that his religion 
is different from theirs1 without being 
either less earnest or less enlightened4
 ,there is1 however1 one point of       
immense importance on which ,i believe  
that we really are becoming less        
religious1 indeed on that point we seem 
to be rapidly abandoning the religious  
principle altogether2 but the subject is
 of too much consequence to be treated  
at the end of an ,essay4     ,,essay    
,,xv4  ,,how ,,we ,,are ,,really        
,,becoming ,,less ,,religious4   ,the   
reader may remember how1 after the long 
and unsuccessful siege of ,syracuse1 the
 ,athenian general ,nikias1 seeing his  

discouraged troops ill with the fever   
from the marshes1 determined to raise   
the siege2 and that1 when his soldiers  
were preparing to retreat1 and striking 
their tents for the march1 there        
occurred an eclipse of the moon4        
,nikias1 in his anxiety to know what the
 gods meant by this with reference to   
him and his army1 at once consulted a   
soothsayer1 who told him that he would  
incur the ,divine anger if he did not   
remain where he was for three times nine
 days4 ,he remained1 doing nothing1     
allowing his troops to perish and his   
ships to be shut up by a line of the    
enemy's vessels chained together across 
the entrance of the port4 ,at length the
 three times nine days came to an end1  
and what was left of the ,athenian army 
had to get out of a situation that had  
become infinitely more difficult during 
its inaction4 ,the ships tried to get   
out in vain2 the army was able to       
retreat by land1 but only to be harassed
 by the enemy1 and finally placed in    

such distress that it was compelled to  
surrender4 ,most of the remnant died    
miserably in the old quarries of        
,syracuse4  ,the conduct of ,nikias     
throughout these events was in the      
highest degree religious4 ,he was fully 
convinced that the gods concerned       
themselves about him and his doings1    
that they were watching over him1 and   
that the eclipse was a communication    
from them not to be neglected without a 
breach of religious duty4 ,he1          
therefore1 in the spirit of the most    
perfect religious faith1 which we are   
compelled to admire for its sincerity   
and thoroughness1 shut his eyes         
resolutely to all the visible facts of a
 situation more disastrous every day1   
and attended only to the invisible      
action of the invisible gods1 of which  
nothing could be really known by him4   
,for twenty-seven days he went on       
quietly sacrificing his soldiers to his 
faith1 and only moved at last when he   
believed that the gods allowed it4  ,in 

contrast with this1 let us ask what we  
think of an eclipse ourselves1 and how  
far any religious emotion1 determinant  
of action or of inaction1 is connected  
with the phenomenon in our experience4  
,we know1 in the first place1 that      
eclipses belong to the natural order1   
and we do not feel either grateful to   
the supernatural powers1 or ungrateful1 
with regard to them4 ,even the idea that
 eclipses demonstrate the power of ,god 
is hardly likely to occur to us1 for we 
constantly see terrestrial objects      
eclipsed by cast shadows2 and the mere  
falling of a shadow is to us only the   
natural interruption of light by the    
intervention of any opaque object4 ,in  
the true theory of eclipses there is    
absolutely no ground whatever for       
religious emotion1 and accordingly the  
phenomenon is now entirely disconnected 
from religious ideas4 ,the consequence  
is that where the ,athenian general had 
a strong motive for religious emotion1 a
 motive so strong that he sacrificed his

 army to the supposed will of ,heaven1 a
 modern general in the same situation   
would feel no emotion and make no       
sacrifice4  ,if this process stopped at 
eclipses the result would be of little  
importance1 as eclipses of the celestial
 bodies are not frequently visible1 and 
to lose the opportunity of emotion which
 they present is not a very sensible    
loss4 ,but so far is the process from   
stopping at eclipses1 that exactly the  
same process is going on with regard to 
thousands of other phenomena which are  
one by one1 yet with increasing         
rapidity1 ceasing to be regarded as     
special manifestations of ,divine will1 
and beginning to be regarded as a part  
of that order of nature with which1 to  
quote ,professor ,huxley's significant  
language1 nothing interferes4 ,every one
 of these transferrences from           
supernatural government to natural order
 deprives the religious sentiment of one
 special cause or motive for its own    
peculiar kind of emotion1 so that we are

 becoming less and less accustomed to   
such emotion 7as the opportunities for  
it become less frequent71 and more and  
more accustomed to accept events and    
phenomena of all kinds as in that order 
of nature with which nothing interferes4
  ,this single mental conception of the 
unfailing regularity of nature is doing 
more in our time to affect the religious
 condition of thoughtful people than    
could be effected by many less          
comprehensive conceptions4  ,it has     
often been said1 not untruly1 that      
merely negative arguments have little   
permanent influence over the opinions of
 men1 and that institutions which have  
been temporarily overthrown by negation 
will shortly be set up again1 and       
flourish in their old vigor1 unless     
something positive can be found to      
supply their place4 ,but here is a      
doctrine of a most positive kind4 ,the  
order of nature is invariably according 
to regular sequences4 ,it is a doctrine 
which cannot be proved1 for we cannot   

follow all the changes which have ever  
taken place in the universe2 but1       
although incapable of demonstration1 it 
may be accepted until something happens 
to disprove it2 and it is accepted1 with
 the most absolute faith1 by a          
constantly increasing number of         
adherents4  ,to show how this doctrine  
acts in diminishing religious emotion by
 taking away the opportunity for it1 let
 me narrate an incident which really    
occurred on a ,french line of railway in
 the winter of #ahhb4 ,the line1 on     
which ,i had travelled a few days       
before1 passes between a river and a    
hill4 ,the river has a rocky bed and is 
torrential in winter2 the hill is       
densely covered with a pine forest      
coming down to the side of the line4    
,the year #ahhb had been the rainiest   
known in ,france for two centuries1 and 
the roots of the trees on the edge of   
this pine forest had been much loosened 
by the rain4 ,in consequence of this1   
two large pine-trees fell across the    

railway early one morning1 and soon     
afterwards a train approached the spot  
by the dim light of early dawn4 ,there  
was a curve just before the engine      
reached the trees1 and it had come      
rapidly for several miles down a        
decline4 ,the driver reversed his steam1
 the engine and tender leaped over the  
trees1 and then went over the embankment
 to a place within six feet of the rapid
 river4 ,the carriages remained on the  
line1 but were much broken4 ,nobody was 
killed2 nobody was seriously injured4   
,the remarkable escape of the passengers
 was accounted for as follows by the    
religious people in the neighborhood4   
,there happened to be a priest in the   
train1 and at the time when the shock   
took place he made what is called a     
pious ejaculation4 ,this1 it was said1  
had saved the lives of the passengers4  
,in the ages of faith this explanation  
would have been received without        
question2 but the notion of natural     
sequences--,professor ,huxley's order   

with which nothing interferes--had      
obtained such firm hold on the minds of 
the townsmen generally that they said   
the priest was trying to make           
ecclesiastical capital out of an        
occurrence easily explicable by natural 
causes4 ,they saw nothing supernatural  
either in the production of the accident
 or its comparative harmlessness4 ,the  
trickling of much water had denuded the 
roots of the trees1 which fell because  
they could not stand with insufficient  
roothold2 the lives of the passengers   
were saved because they did not happen  
to be in the most shattered carriage2   
and the men on the engine escaped       
because they fell on soft ground1 made  
softer still by the rain4 ,it was       
probable1 too1 they said1 that if any   
beneficent supernatural interference had
 taken place it would have maintained   
the trees in an erect position1 by      
preventive miracle1 and so spared the   
slight injuries which really were       
inflicted1 and which1 though treated    

very lightly by others because there    
were neither deaths nor amputations1    
still caused suffering to those who had 
to bear them4  ,now if we go a little   
farther into the effects of this        
accident on the minds of the people who 
shared in it1 or whose friends had been 
imperilled by it1 we shall see very     
plainly the effect of the modern belief 
in the regularity of natural sequences4 
,those who believed in supernatural     
intervention would offer thanksgivings  
when they got home1 and probably go     
through some special religious          
thanksgiving services for many days     
afterwards2 those who believed in the   
regularity of natural sequences would   
simply feel glad to have escaped1       
without any especial sense of gratitude 
to supernatural powers4 ,so much for the
 effect as far as thanksgiving is       
concerned2 but there is another side of 
the matter at least equally important   
from the religious point of view1--that 
of prayer4 ,the believers in            

supernatural interference would         
probably1 in all their future railway   
journeys1 pray to be supernaturally     
protected in case of accident1 as they  
had been in #ahhb2 but the believers in 
the regularity of natural sequences     
would only hope that no trees had fallen
 across the line1 and feel more than    
usually anxious after long seasons of   
rainy weather4 ,can there be a doubt    
that the priest's opinion1 that he had  
won safety by a pious ejaculation1 was  
highly favorable to his religious       
activity afterwards1 whilst the opinion 
of the believers in the natural order   
with which nothing interferes was       
unfavorable both to prayer and          
thanksgiving in connection with railway 
travelling8  ,examples of this kind     
might easily be multiplied1 for there is
 hardly any enterprise that men         
undertake1 however apparently           
unimportant1 which cannot be regarded   
both from the points of view of         
naturalism and supernaturalism2 and in  

every case the naturalist manner of     
regarding the enterprise leads men to   
study the probable influence of natural 
causes1 whilst the supernaturalist      
opinion leads them to propitiate        
supernatural powers4 ,now1 although some
 new sense may come to be attached to   
the word religion in future ages1 so    
that it may come to mean scientific     
thoroughness1 intellectual              
ingenuousness1 or some other virtue that
 may be possessed by a pure naturalist1 
the word has always been understood1    
down to the present time1 to imply a    
constant dependence upon the            
supernatural2 and when ,i say that we   
are becoming less religious1 ,i mean    
that from our increasing tendency to    
refer everything to natural causes the  
notion of the supernatural is much less 
frequently present in our minds than it 
was in the minds of our forefathers4    
,even the clergy themselves seem to be  
following the laity towards the belief  
in natural law1 at least so far as      

matter is concerned4 ,the ,bishop of    
,melbourne1 in #ahhb1 declined to order 
prayers for rain1 and gave his reason   
honestly1 which was that material       
phenomena were under the control of     
natural law1 and would not be changed in
 answer to prayer4 ,the ,bishop added   
that prayer should be confined to       
spiritual blessings4 ,without disputing 
the soundness of this opinion1 we cannot
 help perceiving that if it were        
generally received it would put an end  
to one half of the religious activity of
 the human race2 for half the prayers   
and half the thanksgivings addressed to 
the supernatural powers are for material
 benefits only4 ,it is possible that1 in
 the future1 religious people will cease
 to pray for health1 but take practical 
precautions to preserve it2 that they   
will cease to pray for prosperity1 but  
study the natural laws which govern the 
wealth of nations2 that they will no    
longer pray for the national fleets and 
armies1 but see that they are well      

supplied and intelligently commanded4   
,all this and much more is possible2 but
 when it comes to pass the world will be
 less religious than it was when men    
believed that every pestilence1 every   
famine1 every defeat1 was a chastisement
 specially1 directly1 and intentionally 
inflicted by an angry ,deity4 ,even now1
 what an immense step has been made in  
this direction6 ,in the fearful         
description of the pestilence at        
,florence1 given with so much detail by 
,boccaccio1 he speaks of l'ira di ,dio a
 punire la iniquit degli uomini con     
quella pestilenza2 and he specially     
implies that those who sought to avoid  
the plague by going to healthier places 
in the country deceived themselves in   
supposing that the wrath of ,god would  
not follow them whithersoever they went4
 ,that is the old belief expressing     
itself in prayers and humiliations4 ,it 
is still recognized officially4 ,if the 
plague could occur in a town on the     
whole so well cared for as modern       

,london1 the language of ,boccaccio     
would still be used in the official     
public prayers2 but the active-minded   
practical citizens would be thinking how
 to destroy the germs1 how to purify air
 and water4 ,an instance of this        
divergence occurred after the ,egyptian 
war of #ahhb4 ,the ,archbishop of ,york1
 after the battle of ,tel-el-,kebir1    
ordered thanksgivings to be offered in  
the churches1 on the ground that ,god   
was in ,sir ,garnet ,wolseley's camp and
 fought with him against the ,egyptians1
 which was a survival of the antique    
idea that national deities fought with  
the national armies4 ,on this a ,member 
of ,parliament1 ,mr4 ,george ,palmer1   
said to his constituents in a public    
meeting at ,reading1 ,at the same time  
,i cannot agree with the prayers that   
have been made in churches4 ,though ,i  
respect the consciences of other men1 ,i
 must say that it was not by ,divine    
interference1 but from the stuff of     
which our army was made and our great   

ironclads1 that victory was achieved4 ,i
 do not quote this opinion for any      
originality in itself1 as there have    
always been men who held that victory   
was a necessary result of superior      
military efficiency1 but ,i quote it as 
a valuable test of the change in general
 opinion4 ,it is possible that such     
views may have been expressed in private
 in all ages of the world2 but ,i doubt 
if in any age preceding ours a public   
man1 at the very time when he was       
cultivating the good graces of his      
electors1 would have refused to the     
national ,deity a special share in a    
military triumph4 ,to an audience       
imbrued with the old conception of      
incessant supernatural interferences1   
the doctrine that a victory was a       
natural result would have sounded       
impious2 and such an audience1 if any   
one had ventured to say what ,mr4       
,palmer said1 would have received him   
with a burst of indignation4 ,but ,mr4  
,palmer knew the tendencies of the      

present age1 and was quite correct in   
thinking that he might safely express   
his views4 ,his hearers were not        
indignant1 they were not even grave and 
silent1 as ,englishmen are when they    
simply disapprove1 but they listened    
willingly1 and marked their approbation 
by laughter and cheers4 ,even a         
clergyman may hold ,mr4 ,palmer's       
opinion4 ,soon after his speech at      
,reading the ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4 ,haweis said 
the same thing in the pulpit4 ,few      
people1 he said1 really doubt that we   
have conquered the ,egyptians1 not      
because we were in the right and they   
were in the wrong1 but because we had   
the heaviest hand4 ,the preacher went on
 to say that the idea of ,god fighting  
on one side more than another in        
particular battles seemed to him to be a
 ,pagan or at most a ,jewish one4 ,how  
different was the old sentiment as      
expressed by ,macaulay in the stirring  
ballad of ,ivry6 ,we of the religion had
 no doubt about the ,divine interference

 in the battle1    ,for our ,god hath   
crushed the tyrant1 our ,god hath raised
 the slave1    ,and mocked the counsel  
of the wise1 and the valor of the brave2
    ,then glory to his holy name from   
whom all glories are1    ,and glory to  
our ,sovereign ,lord1 ,king ,henry of   
,navarre6  ,the way in which the great  
mental movement of our age towards a    
more complete recognition of natural    
order is affecting human intercourse may
 be defined in a few words4 ,if the     
movement were at an equal rate of       
advance for all civilized people they   
would be perfectly agreed amongst       
themselves at any one point of time1 as 
it would be settled which events were   
natural in their origin and which were  
due to the interposition of ,divine or  
diabolical agency4 ,living people would 
differ in opinion from their            
predecessors1 but they would not differ 
from each other4 ,the change1 however1  
though visible and important1 is not by 
any means uniform1 so that a guest      

sitting at dinner may have on his right 
hand a lady who sees supernatural       
interferences in many things1 and on his
 left a student of science who is firmly
 convinced that there are no            
supernatural interferences in the       
present1 and that there never have been 
any in the past4 ,private opinion1 out  
of which public opinion slowly and      
gradually forms itself1 is in our time  
in a state of complete anarchy1 because 
two opposite doctrines are held loosely1
 and one or the other is taken up as it 
happens to seem appropriate4 ,the       
interpositions of ,providence are       
recognized or rejected according to     
political or personal bias4 ,the ,french
 ,imperialists saw the ,divine vengeance
 in the death of ,gambetta1 whilst in   
their view the death of ,napoleon ,,iii4
 was the natural termination of his     
disease1 and that of the ,prince        
,imperial a simple accident1 due to the 
carelessness of his ,english companions4
 ,personal bias shows itself in the     

belief1 often held by men occupying     
positions of importance1 that they are  
necessary1 at least for a time1 to      
fulfil the intentions of ,providence4   
,napoleon ,,iii4 said in a moment of    
emotion1 ,so long as ,i am needed ,i am 
invulnerable2 but when my hour comes ,i 
shall be broken like glass6 ,even in    
private life a man will sometimes think1
 ,i am so necessary to my wife and      
family that ,providence will not remove 
me1 though every newspaper reports the  
deaths of fathers who leave their       
families destitute4 ,sometimes men      
believe that ,providence takes the same 
view of their enterprises that they     
themselves take2 and when a great       
enterprise is drawing near to its       
termination they feel assured that      
supernatural power will protect them    
till it is quite concluded1 but they    
believe that the enterprises of other   
men are exposed to all the natural      
risks4 ,when ,mr4 ,gifford ,palgrave was
 wrecked in the sea of ,oman1 he was for

 some time in an open boat1 and thus    
describes his situation3 ,all depended  
on the steerage1 and on the balance and 
support afforded by the oars1 and even  
more still on the ,providence of ,him   
who made the deep2 nor indeed could ,i  
get myself to think that ,he had brought
 me thus far to let me drown just at the
 end of my journey1 and in so very      
unsatisfactory a way too2 for had we    
then gone down1 what news of the event  
off ,sowadah would ever have reached    
home1 or when8--so that altogether ,i   
felt confident of getting somehow or    
other on shore1 though by what means ,i 
did not exactly know4 ,here the writer  
thinks of his own enterprise as         
deserving ,divine solicitude1 but does  
not attach the same importance to the   
humbler enterprises of the six          
passengers who went down with the       
vessel4 ,i cannot help thinking1 too1 of
 the poor passenger ,ibraheem1 who swam 
to the boat and begged so piteously to  
be taken in1 when a sailor loosened his 

grasp by main force and flung him back  
into the sea1 where he disappeared      
forever4 ,neither can ,i forget the four
 who imprudently plunged from the boat  
and perished4 ,we may well believe that 
these lost ones would have been unable  
to write such a delightful and          
instructive book as ,mr4 ,palgrave's    
,travels in ,arabia1 yet they must have 
had their own humble interests in life1 
their own little objects and            
enterprises4  ,the calculation that     
,providence would spare a traveller     
towards the close of a long journey may 
be mistaken1 but it is pious2 it affords
 an opportunity for the exercise of     
devout emotion which the scientific     
thinker would miss4 ,if ,mr4 ,herbert   
,spencer had been placed in the same    
situation he would1 no doubt1 have felt 
the most perfect confidence that the    
order of nature would not be disturbed1 
that even in such a turmoil of winds and
 waters the laws of buoyancy and        
stability would be observed in every    

motion of the boat to the millionth of  
an inch2 but he would not have          
considered himself likely to escape     
death on account of the important nature
 of his undertakings4 ,mr4 ,spencer's   
way of judging the situation as one of  
equal peril for himself and his humble  
companions would have been more         
reasonable1 but at the same time he     
would have lost that opportunity for    
special and personal gratitude which    
,mr4 ,palgrave enjoyed when he believed 
himself to be supernaturally protected4 
,the curious inconsistency of the common
 ,french expression1 ,c'est un hasard   
providentiel is another example of the  
present state of thought on the         
question4 ,a ,frenchman is upset from a 
carriage1 breaks no bones1 and stands   
up1 exclaiming1 as he dusts himself1 ,it
 was un hasard vraiment providentiel    
that ,i was not lamed for life4 ,it is  
plain that if his escape was            
providential it could not be accidental 
at the same time1 yet in spite of the   

obvious inconsistency of his expression 
there is piety in his choice of an      
adjective4  ,the distinction1 as it has 
usually been understood hitherto1       
between religious and non-religious     
explanations of what happens1 is that   
the religious person believes that      
events happen by supernatural direction1
 and he is only thinking religiously so 
long as he thinks in that manner2 whilst
 the non-religious theory is that events
 happen by natural sequence1 and so long
 as a person thinks in this manner1 his 
mind is acting non-religiously1 whatever
 may be his religious profession4 ,to   
study the universe as it is manifested  
to us2 to ascertain by patient inquiry  
the order of the manifestations2 to     
discover that the manifestations are    
connected with one another after regular
 ways in time and space2 and1 after     
repeated failures1 to give up as futile 
the attempt to understand the power     
manifested1 is condemned as irreligious4
 ,and meanwhile the character of        

religious is claimed by those who figure
 to themselves a ,creator moved by      
motives like their own2 who conceive    
themselves as seeing through ,his       
designs1 and who even speak of ,him as  
though ,he laid plans to outwit the     
,devil6  ,yes1 this is a true account of
 the way in which the words irreligious 
and religious have always been used and 
there does not appear to be any         
necessity for altering their            
signification4 ,every event which is    
transferred1 in human opinion1 from     
supernatural to natural action is       
transferred from the domain of religion 
to that of science2 and it is because   
such transferrences have been so        
frequent in our time that we are        
becoming so much less religious than our
 forefathers were4 ,in how many things  
is the modern man perfectly irreligious6
 ,he is so in everything that relates to
 applied science1 to steam1 telegraphy1 
photography1 metallurgy1 agriculture1   
manufactures4 ,he has not the slightest 

belief in spiritual intervention1 either
 for or against him1 in these material  
processes4 ,he is beginning to be       
equally irreligious in government4      
,modern politicians have been accused of
 thinking that ,god cannot govern1 but  
that is not a true account of their     
opinion4 ,what they really think is that
 government is an application of science
 to the direction of national life1 in  
which no invisible powers will either   
thwart a ruler in that which he does    
wisely1 or shield him from the evil     
consequences of his errors4  ,but though
 we are less religious than our         
ancestors because we believe less in the
 interferences of the supernatural1 do  
we deserve censure for our way of       
understanding the world8 ,certainly not4
 ,was ,nikias a proper object of praise 
because the eclipse seen by him at      
,syracuse seemed a warning from the     
gods2 and was ,wolseley a proper object 
of blame because the comet seen by him  
on the ,egyptian plain was without a    

,divine message8 ,both these opinions   
are quite outside of merit1 although the
 older opinion was in the highest degree
 religious1 and the later one is not    
religious in the least4 ,such changes   
simply indicate a gradual revolution in 
man's conception of the universe1 which 
is the result of more accurate          
knowledge4 ,so why not accept the fact1 
why not admit that we have really become
 less religious8 ,possibly we have a    
compensation1 a gain equivalent to our  
loss4 ,if the gods do not speak to us by
 signs in the heavens2 if the entrails  
of victims and the flight of birds no   
longer tell us when to march to battle  
and where to remain inactive in our     
tents2 if the oracle is silent at       
,delos1 and the ark lost to ,jerusalem2 
if we are pilgrims to no shrine2 if we  
drink of no sacred fountain and plunge  
into no holy stream2 if all the special 
sanctities once reverenced by humanity  
are unable any longer to awaken our dead
 enthusiasm1 have we gained nothing in  

exchange for the many religious         
excitements that we have lost8 ,yes1 we 
have gained a keener interest in the    
natural order1 and a knowledge of it at 
once more accurate and more extensive1 a
 gain that ,greek and ,jew might well   
have envied us1 and which a few of their
 keener spirits most ardently desired4  
,our passion for natural knowledge is   
not a devout emotion1 and therefore it  
is not religious2 but it is a noble and 
a fruitful passion nevertheless1 and by 
it our eyes are opened4 ,the good ,saint
 ,bernard had his own saintly qualities2
 but for us the qualities of a ,de      
,saussure are not without their worth4  
,saint ,bernard1 in the perfection of   
ancient piety1 travelling a whole day by
 the lake of ,geneva without seeing it1 
too much absorbed by devout meditation  
to perceive anything terrestrial1 was   
blinded by his piety1 and might with    
equal profit have stayed in his monastic
 cell4 ,de ,saussure was a man of our   
own time4 ,never1 in his writings1 do   

you meet with any allusion to           
supernatural interferences 7except once 
or twice in pity for popular            
superstitions72 but fancy ,de ,saussure 
passing the lake of ,geneva1 or any     
other work of nature1 without seeing it6
 ,his life was spent in the continual   
study of the natural world2 and this    
study was to him so vigorous an exercise
 for the mind1 and so strict a          
discipline1 that he found in it a means 
of moral and even of physical           
improvement4 ,there is no trace in his  
writings of what is called devout       
emotion1 but the bright light of        
intelligent admiration illumines every  
page2 and when he came to die1 if he    
could not look back1 like ,saint        
,bernard1 upon what is especially       
supposed to be a religious life1 he     
could look back upon many years wisely  
and well spent in the study of that     
nature of which ,saint ,bernard scarcely
 knew more than the mule that carried   
him4     ,,essay ,,xvi4  ,,on ,,an      

,,unrecognized ,,form ,,of ,,untruth4   
,in the art of painting there are two   
opposite ways of dealing with natural   
color4 ,it may be intensified1 or it may
 be translated by tints of inferior     
chromatic force4 ,in either case the    
picture may be perfectly harmonious1    
provided only that the same principle of
 interpretation be consistently followed
 throughout4  ,the first time that ,i   
became acquainted with the first of     
these two methods of interpretation was 
in my youth1 when ,i met with a         
,scottish painter who has since become  
eminent in his art4 ,he was painting    
studies from nature2 and ,i noticed that
 whenever in the natural object there   
was a trace of dull gold1 as in some    
lichen1 he made it a brighter gold1 and 
whenever there was a little rusty red he
 made it a more vivid red4 ,so it was   
with every other tint4 ,his eye seemed  
to become excited by every hue1 and he  
translated it by one of greater         
intensity and power4  ,now that is a    

kind of exaggeration which is very      
commonly recognized as a departure from 
the sober truth4 ,people complain that  
the sky is too blue1 the fields too     
green1 and so on4  ,afterwards ,i saw   
,french painters at work1 and ,i noticed
 that they 7in those days7 interpreted  
natural color by an intentional lowering
 of the chromatic force4 ,when they had 
to deal with the splendors of autumnal  
woods against a blue sky they           
interpreted the azure by a blue-gray1   
and the flaming gold by a dull russet4  
,they even refused themselves the more  
quiet brightness of an ordinary         
wheat-field1 and translated the yellow  
of the wheat by an earthy brown4        
,unlike falsehood by exaggeration1 this 
other kind of falsehood 7by diminution7 
is very seldom recognized as a departure
 from the truth4 ,such coloring as this 
,french coloring excited but few        
protests1 and indeed was often praised  
for being modest and subdued4  ,both    
systems are equally permissible in the  

fine arts1 if consistently followed1    
because in art the unity and harmony of 
the work are of greater importance than 
the exact imitation of nature4 ,it is   
not as an art-critic that ,i should have
 any fault to find with a               
well-understood and thoroughly          
consistent conventionalism in the       
interpretation of nature2 but the two   
kinds of falsity we have noticed are    
constantly found in action outside of   
the fine arts1 and yet only one of them 
is recognized in its true character1 the
 other being esteemed as a proof of     
modesty and moderation4  ,the general   
opinion1 in our own country1 condemns   
falsehood by exaggeration1 but it does  
not blame falsehood by diminution4      
,overstatement is regarded as a vice1   
and understatement as a sort of modest  
virtue1 whilst in fact they are both    
untruthful1 exactly in the degree of    
their departure from perfect accuracy4  
,if a man states his income as being    
larger than it really is1 if he adopts a

 degree of ostentation which 7though he 
may be able to pay for it7 conveys the  
idea of more ample means than he really 
possesses1 and if we find out afterwards
 what his income actually is1 we condemn
 him as an untruthful person2 but lying 
by diminution with reference to money   
matters is looked upon simply as        
modesty4  ,i remember a most respectable
 ,english family who had this modesty in
 perfection4 ,it was their great        
pleasure to represent themselves as     
being much less rich than they really   
were4 ,whenever they heard of anybody   
with moderate or even narrow means1 they
 pretended to think that he had quite an
 ample income4 ,if you mentioned a man  
with a family1 struggling on a pittance1
 they would say he was very comfortably 
provided for1 and if you spoke of       
another whose expenses were the ordinary
 expenses of gentlemen1 they wondered by
 what inventions of extravagance he     
could get through so much money4 ,they  
themselves pretended to spend much less 

than they really spent1 and they always 
affected astonishment when they heard   
how much it cost other people to live   
exactly in their own way4 ,they         
considered that this was modesty2 but   
was it not just as untruthful as the    
commoner vice of assuming a style more  
showy than the means warrant8  ,in      
,france and ,italy the departure from   
the truth is almost invariably in the   
direction of overstatement1 unless the  
speaker has some distinct purpose to    
serve by adopting the opposite method1  
as when he desires to depreciate the    
importance of an enemy4 ,in ,england    
people habitually understate1 and the   
remarkable thing is that they believe   
themselves to be strictly truthful in   
doing so4 ,the word lying is too harsh a
 term to be applied either to the       
,english or the ,continental habit in   
this matter2 but it is quite fair to say
 that both of them miss the truth1 one  
in falling short of it1 the other in    
going beyond it4  ,an ,english family   

has seen the ,alps for the first time4  
,a young lady says ,switzerland is nice2
 a young gentleman has decided that it  
is jolly4 ,this is what the habit of    
understatement may bring us down        
to1--absolute inadequacy4 ,the ,alps are
 not nice1 and they are not jolly2 far  
more powerful adjectives are only the   
precise truth in this instance4 ,the    
,alps are stupendous1 overwhelming1     
magnificent1 sublime4 ,a ,frenchman in  
similar circumstances will be           
embarrassed1 not by any timidity about  
using a sufficiently forcible           
expression1 but because he is eager to  
exaggerate2 and one scarcely knows how  
to exaggerate the tremendous grandeur of
 the finest ,alpine scenery4 ,he will   
have recourse to eloquent phraseology1  
to loudness of voice1 and finally1 when 
he feels that these are still           
inadequate1 he will employ energetic    
gesture4 ,i met a ,frenchman who tried  
to make me comprehend how many ,english 
people there were at ,cannes in winter4 

,il y en a--des ,anglais--il y en       
a1--then he hesitated1 whilst seeking   
for an adequate expression4 ,at last1   
throwing out both his arms1 he cried1   
,il y en a plus qu'en ,angleterre6  ,the
 ,english love of understatement is even
 more visible in moral than in material 
things4 ,if an ,englishman has to       
describe any person or action that is   
particularly admirable on moral grounds1
 he will generally renounce the attempt 
to be true1 and substitute for the high 
and inspiring truth some quiet little   
conventional expression that will       
deliver him from what he most           
dreads1--the appearance of any noble    
enthusiasm4 ,it does not occur to him   
that this inadequacy1 this insufficiency
 of expression1 is one of the forms of  
untruth2 that to describe noble and     
admirable conduct in commonplace and    
non-appreciative language is to pay     
tribute of a kind especially acceptable 
to the ,father of ,lies4 ,if we suppose 
the existence of a modern               

,mephistopheles watching the people of  
our own time and pleased with every kind
 of moral evil1 we may readily imagine  
how gratified he must be to observe the 
moral indifference which uses exactly   
the same terms for ordinary and heroic  
virtue1 which never rises with the      
occasion1 and which always seems to take
 it for granted that there are neither  
noble natures nor high purposes in the  
world4 ,the dead mediocrity of common   
talk1 too timid and too indolent for any
 expression equivalent either to the    
glory of external nature or the         
intellectual and moral grandeur of great
 and excellent men1 has driven many of  
our best minds from conversation into   
literature1 because in literature it is 
not thought extraordinary for a man to  
express himself with a degree of force  
and clearness equivalent to the energy  
of his feelings1 the accuracy of his    
knowledge1 and the importance of his    
subject4 ,the habit of using inadequate 
expression in conversation has led to   

the strange result that if an           
,englishman has any power of thought1   
any living interest in the great        
problems of human destiny1 you will know
 hardly anything of the real action of  
his mind unless he becomes an author4   
,he dares not express any high feelings 
in conversation1 because he dreads what 
,stuart ,mill called the sneering       
depreciation of them2 and if such       
feelings are strong enough in him to    
make expression an imperative want1 he  
has to utter them on paper4 ,by a       
strange result of conventionalism1 a man
 is admired for using language of the   
utmost clearness and force in           
literature1 whilst if he talked as      
vigorously as he wrote 7except1 perhaps1
 in extreme privacy and even secrecy    
with one or two confidential companions7
 he would be looked upon as scarcely    
civilized4 ,this may be one of the      
reasons why ,english literature1        
including the periodical1 is so abundant
 in quantity and so full of energy4 ,it 

is a mental outlet1 a drivatif4  ,the   
kind of untruthfulness which may be     
called untruthfulness by inadequacy     
causes many strong and earnest minds to 
keep aloof from general society1 which  
seems to them insipid4 ,they find frank 
and clear expression in books1 they find
 it even in newspapers and reviews1 but 
they do not find it in social           
intercourse4 ,this deficiency drives    
many of the more intelligent of our     
countrymen into the strange and         
perfectly unnatural position of         
receiving ideas almost exclusively      
through the medium of print1 and of     
communicating them only by writing4 ,i  
remember an ,englishman of great        
learning and ability who lived almost   
entirely in that manner4 ,he received   
his ideas through books and the learned 
journals1 and whenever any thought      
occurred to him he wrote it immediately 
on a slip of paper4 ,in society he was  
extremely absent1 and when he spoke it  
was in an apologetic and timidly        

suggestive manner1 as if he were always 
afraid that what he had to say might not
 be interesting to the hearer1 or might 
even appear objectionable1 and as if he 
were quite ready to withdraw it4 ,he was
 far too anxious to be well-behaved ever
 to venture on any forcible expression  
of opinion or to utter any noble        
sentiment2 and yet his convictions on   
all important subjects were very        
serious1 and had been arrived at after  
deep thought1 and he was capable of real
 elevation of mind4 ,his writings are   
the strongest possible contrast to his  
oral expression of himself4 ,they are   
bold in opinion1 very clear and decided 
in statement1 and full of               
well-ascertained knowledge4     ,,essay 
,,xvii4  ,,on ,a ,,remarkable ,,english 
,,peculiarity4   ,in ,de ,tocqueville's 
admirable book on ,democracy in ,america
 there is an interesting chapter on the 
behavior of ,englishmen to each other   
when they meet in a foreign country3--  
,two ,englishmen meet by chance at the  

antipodes2 they are surrounded     by   
foreigners whose language and mode of   
life are hardly known to     them4      
,these two men begin by studying each   
other very curiously and with a     kind
 of secret uneasiness2 they then turn   
away1 or1 if they meet1 they     are    
careful to speak only with a constrained
 and absent air1 and to     say things  
of little importance4      ,and yet they
 know nothing of each other2 they have  
never met1 and     suppose each other to
 be perfectly honorable4 ,why1 then1 do 
they take     such pains to avoid       
intercourse8  ,de ,tocqueville was a    
very close observer1 and ,i hardly know 
a single instance in which his faculty  
of observation shows itself in greater  
perfection4 ,in his terse style of      
writing every word tells2 and even in my
 translation1 unavoidably inferior to   
the original1 you actually see the two  
,englishmen and the minute details of   
their behavior4  ,let me now introduce  
the reader to a little scene at a       

foreign table d'hte1 as described with  
great skill and truth by a well-known   
,english novelist1 ,miss                
,betham-,edwards3--      ,the time1     
,september2 the scene1 a table d'hte    
dinner in a     much-frequented ,french 
town4 ,for the most part nothing can be 
more     prosaic than these daily       
assemblies of ,english tourists bound   
for     ,switzerland and the ,south1 and
 a slight sprinkling of foreigners1 the 
two elements seldom or never blending2 a
 visitant from another planet     might1
 indeed1 suppose that between ,english  
and ,french-speaking people     lay such
 a gulf as divides the blond ,new       
,englander from the swarth     ,african1
 so icy the distance1 so unbroken the   
reserve4 ,nor is there     anything like
 cordiality between the ,english        
themselves4 ,our imaginary     visitant 
from ,jupiter would here find matter for
 wonder also1 and     would ask himself 
the reason of this freezing reticence   
among the     ,english fellowship4 ,what

 deadly feud of blood1 caste1 or        
religion     could thus keep them apart8
 ,whilst the little knot of ,gallic     
travellers at the farther end of the    
table straightway fall into             
friendliest talk1 the long rows of      
,britons of both sexes and all ages     
speak only in subdued voices and to the 
members of their own family4  ,next1 let
 me give an account of a personal       
experience in a ,parisian hotel4 ,it was
 a little1 unpretending establishment   
that ,i liked for its quiet and for the 
honest cookery4 ,there was a table      
d'hte1 frequented by a few ,french      
people1 generally from the provinces1   
and once there came some ,english       
visitors who had found out the merits of
 the little place4 ,it happened that ,i 
had been on the ,continent a long time  
without revisiting ,england1 so when my 
fellow-countrymen arrived ,i had foolish
 feelings of pleasure on finding myself 
amongst them1 and spoke to them in our  
common ,english tongue4 ,the effect of  

this bold experiment was extremely      
curious1 and to me1 at the time1 almost 
inexplicable1 as ,i had forgotten that  
chapter by ,de ,tocqueville4 ,the       
new-comers were two or three young men  
and one in middle life4 ,the young men  
seemed to be reserved more from timidity
 than pride4 ,they were quite startled  
and frightened when spoken to1 and made 
answer with grave brevity1 as if        
apprehensive of committing themselves to
 some compromising statement4 ,with an  
audacity acquired by habits of          
intercourse with foreigners1 ,i spoke to
 the older ,englishman4 ,his way of     
putting me down would have been a       
charming study for a novelist4 ,his     
manner resembled nothing so much as that
 of a dignified ,english minister1--,mr4
 ,gladstone for example1 when he is     
questioned in the ,house by some young  
and presumptuous member of the          
,opposition4 ,a few brief words were    
vouchsafed to me1 accompanied by an     
expression of countenance which1 if not 

positively stern1 was intentionally     
divested of everything like interest or 
sympathy4 ,it then began to dawn upon me
 that perhaps this ,englishman was      
conscious of some august social         
superiority2 that he might even know a  
lord2 and ,i thought1 ,if he does really
 know a lord we are very likely to hear 
his lordship's name4 ,my expectation was
 not fulfilled to the letter1 but it was
 quite fulfilled in spirit2 for in      
talking to a ,frenchman 7for me to hear7
 our ,englishman shortly boasted that he
 knew an ,english duchess1 giving her   
name and place of abode4 ,one day when  
,i was at ---- ,house ,i said to the    
,duchess of ----1 and he repeated what  
he had said to ,her ,grace2 but it would
 have no interest for the reader1 as it 
probably had none for the great lady    
herself4 ,shade of ,thackeray6 why wast 
thou not there to add a paragraph to the
 ,book of ,snobs8  ,the next day came   
another ,englishman of about fifty1 who 
distinguished himself in another way4   

,he did not know a duchess1 or1 if he   
did1 we were not informed of his good   
fortune2 but he assumed a wonderful air 
of superiority to his temporary         
surroundings1 that filled me1 ,i must   
say1 with the deepest respect and awe4  
,the impression he desired to produce   
was that he had never before been in so 
poor a little place1 and that our       
society was far beneath what he was     
accustomed to4 ,he criticised things    
disdainfully1 and when ,i ventured to   
speak to him he condescended1 it is     
true1 to enter into conversation1 but in
 a manner that seemed to say1 ,who and  
what are you that you dare to speak to a
 gentleman like me1 who am1 as you must 
perceive1 a person of wealth and        
consideration8  ,this account of our    
,english visitors is certainly not      
exaggerated by any excessive            
sensitiveness on my part4 ,paris is not 
the ,desert2 and one who has known it   
for thirty years is not dependent for   
society on a chance arrival from beyond 

the sea4 ,for me these ,englishmen were 
but actors in a play1 and perhaps they  
afforded me more amusement with their   
own peculiar manners than if they had   
been pleasant and amiable4 ,one result1 
however1 was inevitable4 ,i had been    
full of kindly feeling towards my       
fellow-countrymen when they came1 but   
this soon gave place to indifference2   
and their departure was rather a relief4
 ,when they had left ,paris1 there      
arrived a rich ,french widow from the   
south with her son and a priest1 who    
seemed to be tutor and chaplain4 ,the   
three lived at our table d'hte2 and we  
found them most agreeable1 always ready 
to take their share in conversation1    
and1 although far too well-bred to      
commit the slightest infraction of the  
best ,french social usages1 either      
through ignorance or carelessness1 they 
were at the same time perfectly open and
 easy in their manners4 ,they set up no 
pretensions1 they gave themselves no    
airs1 and when they returned to their   

own southern sunshine we felt their     
departure as a loss4  ,the foreign idea 
of social intercourse under such        
conditions 7that is1 of intercourse     
between strangers who are thrown        
together accidentally7 is simply that it
 is better to pass an hour agreeably    
than in dreary isolation4 ,people may   
not have much to say that is of any     
profound interest1 but they enjoy the   
free play of the mind2 and it sometimes 
happens1 in touching on all sorts of    
subjects1 that unexpected lights are    
thrown upon them4 ,some of the most     
interesting conversations ,i have ever  
heard have taken place at foreign tables
 d'hte1 between people who had probably 
never met before and who would separate 
forever in a week4 ,if by accident they 
meet again1 such acquaintances recognize
 each other by a bow1 but there is none 
of that intrusiveness which the         
,englishman so greatly dreads4  ,besides
 these transient acquaintanceships      
which1 however brief1 are by no means   

without their value to one's experience 
and culture1 the foreign way of         
understanding a table d'hte includes the
 daily and habitual meeting of regular  
subscribers1 a meeting looked forward to
 with pleasure as a break in the labors 
of the day1 or a mental refreshment when
 they are over4 ,nothing affords such   
relief from the pressure of work as a   
free and animated conversation on other 
subjects4 ,of this more permanent kind  
of table d'hte1 ,mr4 ,lewes gave a      
lively description in his biography of  
,goethe3--      ,the ,english student1  
clerk1 or bachelor1 who dines at an     
eating-house1 chop-house1 or hotel1 goes
 there simply to get his     dinner1 and
 perhaps look at the ',times4' ,of the  
other diners he knows     nothing1 cares
 little4 ,it is rare that a word is     
interchanged between     him and his    
neighbor4 ,quite otherwise in ,germany4 
,there the same     society is generally
 to be found at the same table4 ,the    
table d'hte     is composed of a circle 

of habitus1 varied by occasional        
visitors     who in time become1        
perhaps1 members of the circle4 ,even   
with     strangers conversation is      
freely interchanged2 and in a little    
while     friendships are formed over   
these dinner-tables1 according as       
natural     tastes and likings          
assimilate1 which1 extending beyond the 
mere hour     of dinner1 are carried    
into the current of life4 ,germans do   
not rise     so hastily from the table  
as we1 for time with them is not so     
precious2 life is not so crowded2 time  
can be found for quiet     after-dinner 
talk4 ,the cigars and coffee1 which     
appear before the     cloth is removed1 
keep the company together2 and in that  
state of     suffused comfort which     
quiet digestion creates1 they hear      
without     anger the opinions of       
antagonists4  ,in this account of       
,german habits we see the repast made   
use of as an opportunity for human      
intercourse1 which the ,englishman      

avoids except with persons already known
 to him or known to a private host4 ,the
 reader has noticed the line ,i have    
italicized1--,even with strangers       
conversation is freely interchanged4    
,the consequence is that the stranger   
does not feel himself to be isolated1   
and if he is not an ,englishman he does 
not take offence at being treated like  
an intelligent human being1 but readily 
accepts the welcome that is offered to  
him4  ,the ,english peculiarity in this 
respect does not1 however1 consist so   
much in avoiding intercourse with       
foreigners as in shunning other ,english
 people4 ,it is true that in the        
description of a table d'hte by ,miss   
,betham-,edwards1 the ,english and      
foreign elements are represented as     
separated by an icy distance1 and the   
description is strikingly accurate2 but 
this shyness and timidity as regards    
foreigners may be sufficiently accounted
 for by want of skill and ease in       
speaking their language4 ,most ,english 

people of education know a little       
,french and ,german1 but few speak those
 languages freely1 fluently1 and        
correctly4 ,when it does happen that an 
,englishman has mastered a foreign      
tongue1 he will generally talk more     
readily and unreservedly with a         
foreigner than with one of his own      
countrymen4 ,this is the notable thing1 
that if ,english people do not really   
dislike and distrust one another1 if    
there is not really a deadly feud of    
blood1 caste1 or religion to separate   
them1 they expose themselves to the     
accusation of ,john ,stuart ,mill1 that 
everybody acts as if everybody else was 
either an enemy or a bore4  ,this       
,english avoidance of ,english people is
 so remarkable and exceptional a        
characteristic that it could not but    
greatly interest and exercise so        
observant a mind as that of ,de         
,tocqueville4 ,we have seen how         
accurately he noticed it2 how exactly   
the conduct of shy ,englishmen had fixed

 itself in his memory4 ,let us now see  
how he accounted for it4  ,is it a mark 
of aristocracy8 ,is it because our race 
is more aristocratic than other races8  
,de ,tocqueville's theory was1 that it  
is not the mark of an aristocratic      
society1 because1 in a society classed  
by birth1 although people of different  
castes hold little communication with   
each other1 they talk easily when they  
meet1 without either fearing or desiring
 social fusion4 ,their intercourse is   
not founded on equality1 but it is free 
from constraint4  ,this view of the     
subject is confirmed by all that ,i     
know1 through personal tradition1 of the
 really aristocratic time in ,france    
that preceded the ,revolution4 ,the     
old-fashioned facility and directness of
 communication between ranks that were  
separated by wide social distances would
 surprise and almost scandalize a modern
 aspirant to false aristocracy1 who has 
assumed the de1 and makes up in morgue  
what is wanting to him in antiquity of  

descent4 ,i believe1 too1 that when     
,england was a far more aristocratic    
country than it is at present1 manners  
were less distant and not so cold and   
suspicious4  ,if the blame is not to be 
laid on the spirit of aristocracy1 what 
is the real cause of the indisputable   
fact that an ,englishman avoids an      
,englishman8 ,de ,tocqueville believed  
that the cause was to be found in the   
uncertainty of a transition state from  
aristocratic to plutocratic ideas2 that 
there is still the notion of a strict   
classification2 and yet that this       
classification is no longer determined  
by blood1 but by money1 which has taken 
its place1 so that although the ranks   
exist still1 as if the country were     
really aristocratic1 it is not easy to  
see clearly1 and at the first glance1   
who occupies them4 ,hence there is a    
guerre sourde between all the citizens4 
,some try by a thousand artifices to    
edge their way in reality or apparently 
amongst those above them2 others fight  

without ceasing to repel the usurpers of
 their rights2 or rather1 the same      
person does both2 and whilst he         
struggles to introduce himself into the 
upper region he perpetually endeavors to
 put down aspirants who are still       
beneath him4  ,the pride of aristocracy1
 said ,de ,tocqueville1 being still very
 great with the ,english1 and the limits
 of aristocracy having become doubtful1 
every one fears that he may be surprised
 at any moment into undesirable         
familiarity4 ,not being able to judge at
 first sight of the social position of  
those they meet1 the ,english prudently 
avoid contact4 ,they fear1 in rendering 
little services1 to form in spite of    
themselves an ill-assorted friendship2  
they dread receiving attention from     
others2 and they withdraw themselves    
from the indiscreet gratitude of an     
unknown fellow-countryman as carefully  
as they would avoid his hatred4  ,this1 
no doubt1 is the true explanation1 but  
something may be added to it4 ,an       

,englishman dreads acquaintances from   
the apprehension that they may end by   
coming to his house2 a ,frenchman is    
perfectly at his ease on that point by  
reason of the greater discretion of     
,french habits4 ,it is perfectly        
understood1 in ,france1 that you may    
meet a man at a caf for years1 and talk 
to him with the utmost freedom1 and yet 
he will not come near your private      
residence unless you ask him2 and when  
he meets you in the street he will not  
stop you1 but will simply lift his      
hat1--a customary salutation from all   
who know your name1 which does not      
compromise you in any way4 ,it might    
perhaps be an exaggeration to say that  
in ,france there is absolutely no       
struggling after a higher social        
position by means of acquaintances1 but 
there is certainly very little of it4   
,the great majority of ,french people   
live in the most serene indifference as 
regards those who are a little above    
them socially4 ,they hardly even know   

their titles2 and when they do know them
 they do not care about them in the     
least4#ah  ,it may not be surprising    
that the conduct of ,americans should   
differ from that of ,englishmen1 as     
,americans have no titles2 but if they  
have not titles they have vast          
inequalities of wealth1 and ,englishmen 
can be repellent without titles4 ,yet1  
in spite of pecuniary differences       
between ,americans1 and notwithstanding 
the ,english blood in their veins1 they 
do not avoid one another4 ,if they meet 
by accident1 says ,de ,tocqueville1 they
 neither seek nor avoid one another2    
their way of meeting is natural1 frank1 
and open2 it is evident that they hope  
or fear scarcely anything from each     
other1 and that they neither try to     
exhibit nor to conceal the station they 
occupy4 ,if their manner is often cold  
and serious1 it is never either haughty 
or stiff2 and when they do not speak it 
is because they are not in the humor for
 conversation1 and not because they     

believe it their interest to be silent4 
,in a foreign country two ,americans are
 friends at once1 simply because they   
are ,americans4 ,they are separated by  
no prejudice1 and their common country  
draws them together4 ,in the case of two
 ,englishmen the same blood is not      
enough2 there must be also identity of  
rank4  ,the ,english habit strikes      
foreigners by contrast1 and it strikes  
,englishmen in the same way when they   
have lived much in foreign countries4   
,charles ,lever had lived abroad1 and   
was evidently as much struck by this as 
,de ,tocqueville himself4 ,many readers 
will remember his brilliant story1 ,that
 ,boy of ,norcott's1 and how the young  
hero1 after finding himself delightfully
 at ease with a society of noble        
,hungarians1 at the ,schloss ,hunyadi1  
is suddenly chilled and alarmed by the  
intelligence that an ,english lord is   
expected4 ,when they shall see1 he says1
 how my titled countryman will treat    
me1--the distance at which he will hold 

me1 and the measured firmness with which
 he will repel1 not my familiarities1   
for ,i should not dare them1 but simply 
the ease of my manner1--the foreigners  
will be driven to regard me as some     
ignoble upstart who has no pretension   
whatever to be amongst them4  ,lever    
also noted that a foreigner would have  
had a better chance of civil treatment  
than an ,englishman4 ,in my father's    
house ,i had often had occasion to      
remark that while ,englishmen freely    
admitted the advances of a foreigner and
 accepted his acquaintance with a       
courteous readiness1 with each other    
they maintained a cold and studied      
reserve1 as though no difference of     
place or circumstance was to obliterate 
that insular code which defines class1  
and limits each man to the exact rank he
 belongs to4  ,these readings and       
experiences1 and many others too long to
 quote or narrate1 have led me to the   
conclusion that it is scarcely possible 
to attempt any other manner with        

,english people than that which the very
 peculiar and exceptional state of      
national feeling appears to authorize4  
,the reason is that in the present state
 of feeling the innovator is almost sure
 to be misunderstood4 ,he may be        
perfectly contented with his own social 
position2 his mind may be utterly devoid
 of any desire to raise himself in      
society2 the extent of his present      
wishes may be to wile away the tedium of
 a journey or a repast with a little    
intelligent conversation2 yet if he     
breaks down the barrier of ,english     
reserve he is likely to be taken for a  
pushing and intrusive person who is     
eager to lift himself in the world4     
,every friendly expression on his part1 
even in a look or the tone of his voice1
 simply the ease of his manner1 may be  
repelled as an impertinence4 ,in the    
face of such a probable                 
misinterpretation one feels that it is  
hardly possible to be too distant or too
 cold4 ,when two men meet it is the     

colder and more reserved man who always 
has the advantage4 ,he is the rock2 the 
other is the wave that comes against the
 rock and falls shattered at its foot4  
,it would be wrong to conclude this     
,essay without a word of reference to   
the exceptional ,englishman who can pass
 an hour intelligently with a stranger1 
and is not constantly preoccupied with  
the idea that the stranger is plotting  
how to make some ulterior use of him4   
,such ,englishmen are usually men of    
ripe experience1 who have travelled much
 and seen much of the world1 so that    
they have lost our insular distrust4 ,i 
have met with a few of them1--they are  
not very numerous1--and ,i wish that ,i 
could meet the same fellow-countrymen by
 some happy accident again4 ,there is   
nothing stranger in life than those very
 short friendships that are formed in an
 hour between two people born to        
understand each other1 and cut short    
forever the next day1 or the next week1 
by an inevitable separation4#ai         

,,essay ,,xviii4  ,,of ,,genteel        
,,ignorance4   ,all virtue has its      
negative as well as its positive side1  
and every ideal includes not having as  
well as having4 ,gentility1 for those   
who aspire to it and value it1 is an    
ideal condition of humanity1 a superior 
state which is maintained by selection  
amongst the things that life offers to a
 man who has the power to choose4 ,he is
 judged by his selection4 ,the genteel  
person selects in his own way1 not only 
amongst things that can be seen and     
handled1 such as the material adjuncts  
of a high state of civilization1 but    
also amongst the things of the mind1    
including all the varieties of          
knowledge4  ,that a selection of this   
kind should be one of the marks of      
gentility is in itself no more than a   
natural consequence of the idealizing   
process as we see it continually        
exercised in the fine arts4 ,every work 
of fine art is a result of selection4   
,the artist does not give us the natural

 truth as it is1 but he purposely omits 
very much of it1 and alters that which  
he recognizes4 ,the genteel person is   
himself a work of art1 and1 as such1    
contains only partial truth4  ,this is  
the central fact about gentility1 that  
it is a narrow ideal1 impoverishing the 
mind by the rejection of truth as much  
as it adorns it by elegance2 and it is  
for this reason that gentility is       
disliked and refused by all powerful and
 inquiring intellects4 ,they look upon  
it as a mental condition with which they
 have nothing to do1 and they pursue    
their labors without the slightest      
deference or condescension to it4 ,they 
may1 however1 profitably study it as one
 of the states of human life1 and a     
state towards which a certain portion of
 humanity1 aided by wealth1 appears to  
tend inevitably4  ,the misfortune of the
 genteel mind is that it is carried by  
its own idealism so far away from the   
truth of nature that it becomes divorced
 from fact and unable to see the        

movement of the actual world2 so that   
genteel people1 with their narrow and   
erroneous ideas1 are sure to find       
themselves thrust aside by men of robust
 intelligence1 who are not genteel1 but 
who have a stronger grip upon reality4  
,there is1 consequently1 a pathetic     
element in gentility1 with its          
fallacious hopes1 its certain           
disappointments1 so easily foreseen by  
all whom it has not blinded1 and its    
immense1 its amazing1 its ever          
invincible ignorance4  ,there is not a  
country in ,europe more favorable than  
,france for the study of the genteel    
condition of mind4 ,there you have it in
 its perfection in the class qui n'a    
rien appris et rien oubli1 and in the   
numerous aspirants to social position   
who desire to mix themselves and become 
confounded with that class4 ,it has been
 in the highest degree fashionable1     
since the establishment of the          
,republic1 to be ignorant of the real   
course of events4 ,in spite of          

overwhelming evidence to the contrary1  
genteel people either really believed or
 universally professed to believe during
 the life-time of the ,count de         
,chambord1 that his restoration was not 
only probable but imminent4 ,no belief  
could have been more destitute of       
foundation in fact2 and if genteel      
people had not been compelled by        
gentility to shut their eyes against    
what was obvious to everybody else1 they
 might have ascertained the truth with  
the utmost facility4 ,the truth was     
simply this1 that the country was going 
away further and further from divine    
right every day1 and from every sort of 
real monarchy1 or one-man government1   
and was becoming more and more attached 
to representative institutions and an   
elective system everywhere2 and what    
made this truth glaringly evident was   
not only the steadily increasing number 
of republican elections1 but the        
repeated return to power of the very    
ministers whom the party of divine right

 most bitterly execrated4 ,the same     
class of genteel ,french people affected
 to believe that the end of the temporal
 power of the ,papacy by the foundation 
of the ,italian kingdom was but a       
temporary crisis1 probably of short     
duration2 though the process which had  
brought the ,papacy to nothing as a     
temporal sovereignty had been slow1     
gradual1 and natural1--the progressive  
enfeeblement of a theocracy unable to   
defend itself against its own subjects1 
and dependent on foreign soldiers for   
every hour of its artificial survival4  
,such is genteel ignorance in political 
matters4 ,it is a polite shutting of the
 eyes against all facts and tendencies  
that are disagreeable to people of      
fashion4 ,it is unpleasant to people of 
fashion to be told that the ,france of  
the future is more likely to be governed
 by men of business than by kings and   
cardinals2 it is disagreeable to them to
 hear that the ,pope is not to do what  
he likes with the ,roman people2 and so1

 to please them1 we are to pretend that 
we do not understand the course of      
recent history1 which is obvious to     
everybody who thinks4 ,the course of    
events has always proved the blindness  
of the genteel world1 its incapacity to 
understand the present and forecast the 
future2 yet still it goes on in the old 
way1 shutting its eyes resolutely       
against surrounding facts1 and making   
predictions that are sure to be         
falsified by the event4 ,such a state of
 mind is unintelligent to the last      
degree1 but then it is genteel2 and     
there is always1 in every country1 a    
large class of persons who would rather 
be gentlemanly than wise4  ,in religion1
 genteel ignorance is not less          
remarkable than in politics4 ,here the  
mark of gentility is to ignore the      
unfashionable churches1 and generally to
 underestimate all those forces of      
opinion that are not on the side of the 
particular form of orthodoxy which is   
professed by the upper class4 ,in       

,france it is one of the marks of high  
breeding not to know anything about     
,protestantism4 ,the fact that there are
 such people as ,protestants is         
admitted1 and it is believed that some  
of them are decent and respectable      
people in their line of life1 who may   
follow an erroneous religion with an    
assiduity praiseworthy in itself1 but   
the nature of their opinions is not     
known1 and it is thought better not to  
inquire into them4  ,in ,england the    
gentry know hardly anything about       
,dissenters4 ,as to the organization of 
dissenting communities1 nobody ever     
hears of any of them having bishops1 and
 so it is supposed that they must have  
some sort of democratic system4 ,genteel
 knowledge of dissenting faith and      
practice is confined to a very few      
points1--that ,unitarians do not believe
 in the ,trinity1 that ,baptists have   
some unusual practice about baptism1 and
 that ,methodists are fond of singing   
hymns4 ,this is all1 and more than      

enough2 as it is inconceivable that an  
aristocratic person can have anything to
 do with ,dissent1 unless he wants the  
,nonconformist vote in politics4 ,if    
,dissenters are to be spoken of at all1 
it should be in a condescending tone1 as
 good people in their way1 who may be   
decent members of the middle and lower  
classes1 of some use in withstanding the
 tide of infidelity4  ,i remember a lady
 who condemned some eminent man as an   
atheist1 on which ,i ventured to object 
that he was a deist only4 ,it is exactly
 the same thing1 she replied4 ,being at 
that time young and argumentative1 ,i   
maintained that there existed a         
distinction3 that a deist believed in   
,god1 and an atheist had not that       
belief4 ,that is of no consequence1 she 
rejoined2 what concerns us is that we   
should know as little as possible about 
such people4 ,when this dialogue took   
place the lady seemed to me unreasonable
 and unjust1 but now ,i perceive that   
she was genteel4 ,she desired to keep   

her soul pure from the knowledge which  
gentility did not recognize2 she wanted 
to know nothing about the shades and    
colors of heresy4  ,there is a          
delightful touch of determined ignorance
 in the answer of the ,russian prelates 
to ,mr4 ,william ,palmer1 who went to   
,russia in #ahdj with a view to bring   
about a recognition of ,anglicanism by  
,oriental orthodoxy4 ,in substance1     
according to ,cardinal ,newman1 it      
amounted to this3 ,we know of no true   
,church besides our own4 ,we are the    
only ,church in the world4 ,the ,latins 
are heretics1 or all but heretics2 you  
are worse2 we do not even know your     
name4 ,it would be difficult to excel   
this last touch2 it is the perfection of
 uncontaminated orthodoxy1 of the pure  
,russian religious comme il faut4 ,we1  
the holy1 the undefiled1 the separate   
from heretics and from those lost ones1 
worse than heretics1 into whose         
aberrations we never inquire1 we do not 
even know your name4  ,of all examples  

of genteel ignorance1 there are none    
more frequent than the ignorance of     
those necessities which are occasioned  
by a limited income4 ,i am not1 at      
present1 alluding to downright poverty4 
,it is genteel to be aware that the poor
 exist2 it is genteel1 even1 to have    
poor people of one's own to pet and     
patronize2 and it is pleasant to be kind
 to such poor people when they receive  
our kindness in a properly submissive   
spirit1 with a due sense of the immense 
distance between us1 and read the tracts
 we give them1 and listen respectfully  
to our advice4 ,it is genteel to have to
 do with poor people in this way1 and   
even to know something about them2 the  
real genteel ignorance consists in not  
recognizing the existence of those      
impediments that are familiar to people 
of limited means4 ,i cannot understand1 
said an ,english lady1 why people       
complain about the difficulties of      
housekeeping4 ,such difficulties may    
almost always be included under one     

head1--insufficiency of servants2 people
 have only to take more servants1 and   
the difficulties disappear4 ,of course  
the cost of maintaining a troup of      
domestics is too trifling to be taken   
into consideration4 ,a ,french lady1 in 
my hearing1 asked what fortune had such 
a family4 ,the answer was simple and    
decided1 they had no fortune at all4 ,no
 fortune at all6 then how can they      
possibly live8 ,how can people live who 
have no fortune8 ,this lady's genteel   
ignorance was enlightened by the        
explanation that when there is no       
fortune in a family it is generally     
supported by the labor of one or more of
 its members4 ,i cannot understand1 said
 a rich ,englishman to one of my        
friends1 why men are so imprudent as to 
allow themselves to sink into money     
embarrassments4 ,there is a simple rule 
that ,i follow myself1 and that ,i have 
always found a great safeguard1--it is1 
never to let one's balance at the       
banker's fall below five thousand       

pounds4 ,by strictly adhering to this   
rule one is always sure to be able to   
meet any unexpected and immediate       
necessity4 ,why1 indeed1 do we not all  
follow a rule so evidently wise8 ,it may
 be especially recommended to struggling
 professional men with large families4  
,if only they can be persuaded to act   
upon it they will find it an unspeakable
 relief from anxiety1 and the present   
volume will not have been penned in     
vain4  ,genteel ignorance of pecuniary  
difficulties is conspicuous in the case 
of amusements4 ,it is supposed1 if you  
are inclined to amuse yourself in a     
certain limited way1 that you are stupid
 for not doing it on a much more        
expensive scale4 ,charles ,lever wrote a
 charming paper for one of the early    
numbers of the ,cornhill ,magazine1 in  
which he gave an account of the dangers 
and difficulties he had encountered in  
riding and boating1 simply because he   
had set limits to his expenditure on    
those pastimes1 an economy that seemed  

unaccountably foolish to his genteel    
acquaintances4 ,lever will ride such    
screws6 ,why won't he give a proper     
price for a horse8 ,it's the stupidest  
thing in the world to be under-horsed2  
and bad economy besides4 ,these remarks1
 ,lever said1 were not sarcasms on his  
skill or sneers at his horsemanship1 but
 they were far worse1 they were harsh   
judgments on himself expressed in a     
manner that made reply impossible4 ,so  
with his boating4 ,lever had a passion  
for boating1 for that real boating which
 is perfectly distinct from yachting and
 incomparably less costly2 but richer   
acquaintances insisted on the superior  
advantages of the more expensive        
amusement4 ,these cockle-shells1 sir1   
must go over2 they have no bearings1    
they lee over1 and there you are1--you  
fill and go down4 ,have a good decked   
boat1--,i should say five-and-thirty or 
forty tons2 get a clever skipper and a  
lively crew4 ,is not this exactly like  
the lady who thought people stupid for  

not having an adequate establishment of 
servants8  ,another form of genteel     
ignorance consists in being so          
completely blinded by conventionalism as
 not to be able to perceive the         
essential identity of two modes of life 
or habits of action when one of them    
happens to be in what is called good    
form1 whilst the other is not accepted  
by polite society4 ,my own tastes and   
pursuits have often led me to do things 
for the sake of study or pleasure which 
in reality differ but very slightly from
 what genteel people often do2 yet1 at  
the same time1 this slight difference is
 sufficient to prevent them from seeing 
any resemblance whatever between my     
practice and theirs4 ,when a young man1 
,i found a wooden hut extremely         
convenient for painting from nature1 and
 when at a distance from other lodging  
,i slept in it4 ,this was unfashionable2
 and genteel people expressed much      
wonder at it1 being especially surprised
 that ,i could be so imprudent as to    

risk health by sleeping in a little     
wooden house4 ,conventionalism made them
 perfectly ignorant of the fact that    
they occasionally slept in little wooden
 houses themselves4 ,a railway carriage 
is simply a wooden hut on wheels1       
generally very ill-ventilated1 and      
presenting the alternative of foul air  
or a strong draught1 with vibration that
 makes sleep difficult to some and to   
others absolutely impossible4 ,i have   
passed many nights in those public      
wooden huts on wheels1 but have never   
slept in them so pleasantly as in my own
 private one4#bj ,genteel people also   
use wooden dwellings that float on      
water4 ,a yacht's cabin is nothing but a
 hut of a peculiar shape with its own   
special inconveniences4 ,on land a hut  
will remain steady2 at sea it inclines  
in every direction1 and is tossed about 
like ,gulliver's large box4 ,an ,italian
 nobleman who liked travel1 but had no  
taste for dirty ,southern inns1 had four
 vans that formed a square at night1    

with a little courtyard in the middle   
that was covered with canvas and served 
as a spacious dining-room4 ,the         
arrangement was excellent1 but he was   
considered hopelessly eccentric2 yet how
 slight was the difference between his  
vans and a train of saloon carriages for
 the railway6 ,he simply had saloon     
carriages that were adapted for common  
roads4  ,it is difficult to see what    
advantage there can be in genteel       
ignorance to compensate for its evident 
disadvantages4 ,not to be acquainted    
with unfashionable opinions1 not to be  
able to imagine unfashionable           
necessities1 not to be able to perceive 
the real likeness between fashionable   
and unfashionable modes of life on      
account of some external and superficial
 difference1 is like living in a house  
with closed shutters4 ,surely a man1 or 
a woman either1 might have as good      
manners1 and be as highly civilized in  
all respects1 with accurate notions of  
things as with a head full of illusions4

 ,to understand the world as it really  
is1 to see the direction in which       
humanity is travelling1 ought to be the 
purpose of every strong and healthy     
intellect1 even though such knowledge   
may take it out of gentility altogether4
  ,the effect of genteel ignorance on   
human intercourse is such a deduction   
from the interest of it that men of     
ability often avoid genteel society     
altogether1 and either devote themselves
 to solitary labors1 cheered principally
 by the companionship of books1 or else 
keep to intimate friends of their own   
order4 ,in ,continental countries the   
public drinking-places are often        
frequented by men of culture1 not       
because they want to drink1 but because 
they can talk freely about what they    
think and what they know without being  
paralyzed by the determined ignorance of
 the genteel4 ,in ,england1 no doubt1   
there is more information2 and yet      
,stuart ,mill said that general society 
as now carried on in ,england is so     

insipid an affair1 even to the persons  
who make it what it is1 that it is kept 
up for any reason rather than the       
pleasure it affords4 ,all serious       
discussion on matters in which opinions 
differ being considered ill-bred1 and   
the national deficiency in liveliness   
and sociability having prevented the    
cultivation of the art of talking       
agreeably on trifles1 the sole          
attraction of what is called society to 
those who are not at the top of the tree
 is the hope of being aided to climb a  
little higher4 ,to a person of any but a
 very common order in thought or        
feeling1 such society1 unless he has    
personal objects to serve by it1 must be
 supremely unattractive2 and most people
 in the present day of any really high  
class of intellect make their contact   
with it so slight and at such long      
intervals as to be almost considered as 
retiring from it altogether4 ,the loss  
here is distinctly to the genteel       
persons themselves4 ,they may not feel  

it1 they may be completely insensible of
 it1 but by making society insipid they 
eliminate from it the very men who might
 have been its most valuable elements1  
and who1 whether working in solitude or 
living with a few congenial spirits1 are
 really the salt of the earth4          
,,essay ,,xix4  ,,patriotic ,,ignorance4
   ,patriotic ignorance is maintained by
 the satisfaction that we feel in       
ignoring what is favorable to another   
nation4 ,it is a voluntary closing of   
the mind against the disagreeable truth 
that another nation may be on certain   
points equal to our own1 or even1 though
 inferior1 in some degree comparable to 
our own4  ,the effect of patriotic      
ignorance as concerning human           
intercourse is to place any one who     
knows the exact truth in the unpleasant 
dilemma of having either to correct     
mistakes which are strongly preferred to
 truth1 or else to give assent to them  
against his sense of justice4           
,international intercourse is made      

almost impossible by patriotic          
ignorance1 except amongst a few highly  
cultivated persons who are superior to  
it4 ,nothing is more difficult than to  
speak about one's own country with      
foreigners who are perpetually putting  
forward the errors which they have      
imbibed all their lives1 and to which   
they cling with such tenacity that it   
seems as if those errors were1 in some  
mysterious way1 essential to their      
mental comfort and well-being4 ,if1 on  
the other hand1 we have any really      
intimate knowledge of a foreign country1
 gained by long residence in it and     
studious observation of the inhabitants1
 then we find a corresponding difficulty
 in talking reasonably about it and them
 with our own countrymen1 because they1 
too1 have their patriotic ignorance     
which they prize and value as foreigners
 value theirs4  ,at the risk of turning 
this ,essay into a string of anecdotes1 
,i intend to give a few examples of     
patriotic ignorance1 in order to show to

 what an astonishing degree of          
perfection it may attain4 ,when we fully
 understand this we shall also          
understand how those who possess such a 
treasure should be anxious for its      
preservation4 ,their anxiety is the more
 reasonable that in these days there is 
a difficulty in keeping things when they
 are easily injured by light4  ,a       
,french lady who possessed this treasure
 in its perfection gave1 in my hearing1 
as a reason why ,french people seldom   
visited ,england1 that there were no    
works of art there1 no collections1 no  
architecture1 nothing to gratify the    
artistic sense or the intelligence2 and 
that it was only people specially       
interested in trade and manufactures who
 went to ,england1 as the country had   
nothing to show but factories and       
industrial products4 ,on hearing this   
statement1 there suddenly passed before 
my mind's eye a rapid vision of the     
great works of architecture1 sculpture1 
and painting that ,i had seen in        

,england1 and a confused recollection of
 many minor examples of these arts not  
quite unworthy of a studious man's      
attention4 ,it is impossible to         
contradict a lady2 and any statement of 
the simple truth would1 in this         
instance1 have been a direct and        
crushing contradiction4 ,i ventured on a
 faint remonstrance1 but without effect2
 and my fair enemy triumphed4 ,there    
were no works of art in ,england4 ,thus 
she settled the question4  ,this little 
incident led me to take note of ,french 
ideas about ,england with reference to  
patriotic ignorance2 and ,i discovered  
that there existed a very general belief
 that there was no intellectual light of
 any kind in ,england4 ,paris was the   
light of the world1 and only so far as  
,parisian rays might penetrate the      
mental fog of the ,british ,islands was 
there a chance of its becoming even     
faintly luminous4 ,it was settled that  
the speciality of ,england was trade and
 manufacture1 that we were all of us    

either merchants or cotton-spinners1 and
 ,i discovered that we had no learned   
societies1 no ,british ,museum1 no      
,royal ,academy of ,arts4  ,an ,english 
painter1 who for many years had         
exhibited on the line of the ,royal     
,academy1 happened to be mentioned in my
 presence and in that of a ,french      
artist4 ,i was asked by some ,french    
people who knew him personally whether  
the ,english painter had a good         
professional standing4 ,i answered that 
he had a fair though not a brilliant    
reputation2 meanwhile the ,french artist
 showed signs of uneasiness1 and at     
length exploded with a vigorous protest 
against the inadmissible idea that a    
painter could be anything whatever who  
was not known at the ,french ,salon4 ,il
 n'est pas connu au ,salon de ,paris1   
donc1 il n'existe pas--il n'existe pas4 
,les rputations dans les beaux-arts se  
font au ,salon de ,paris et pas         
ailleurs4 ,this ,frenchman had no       
conception whatever of the simple fact  

that artistic reputations are made in   
every capital of the civilized world4   
,that was a truth which his patriotism  
could not tolerate for a moment4  ,a    
,french gentleman expressed his surprise
 that ,i did not have my books          
translated into ,french1 because1 said  
he1 no literary reputation can be       
considered established until it has     
received the consecration of ,parisian  
approval4 ,to his unfeigned astonishment
 ,i answered that ,london and not ,paris
 was the capital city of ,english       
literature1 and that ,english authors   
had not yet fallen so low as to care for
 the opinion of critics ignorant of     
their language4  ,i then asked myself   
why this intense ,french patriotic      
ignorance should continue so            
persistently2 and the answer appeared to
 be that there was something profoundly 
agreeable to ,french patriotic sentiment
 in the belief that ,england had no     
place in the artistic and intellectual  
world4 ,until quite recently the very   

existence of an ,english school of      
painting was denied by all patriotic    
,frenchmen1 and ,english art was        
rigorously excluded from the ,louvre4#ba
 ,even now a ,french writer upon art can
 scarcely mention ,english painting     
without treating it de haut en bas1 as  
if his ,gallic nationality gave him a   
natural right to treat uncivilized      
islanders with lofty disdain or         
condescending patronage4  ,my next      
example has no reference to literature  
or the fine arts4 ,a young ,french      
gentleman of superior education and     
manners1 and with the instincts of a    
sportsman1 said in my hearing1 ,there is
 no game in ,england4 ,his tone was that
 of a man who utters a truth universally
 acknowledged4  ,it might be a matter of
 little consequence1 as touching our    
national pride1 whether there was game  
in ,england or not4 ,i have no doubt    
that some philosophers would consider1  
and perhaps with reason1 that the       
non-existence of game1 where it can only

 be maintained by an army of keepers and
 a penal code of its own1 would be the  
sign of an advancing social state2 but  
my young ,frenchman was not much of a   
philosopher1 and no doubt he considered 
the non-existence of game in ,england a 
mark of inferiority to ,france4 ,there  
is something in the masculine mind1     
inherited perhaps from ancestors who    
lived by the chase1 which makes it look 
upon an abundance of wild things that   
can be shot at1 or run after with horses
 and dogs1 as a reason for the greatest 
pride and glorification4 ,on reflection1
 it will be found that there is more in 
the matter than at first sight appears4 
,as there is no game in ,england1 of    
course there are no sportsmen in that   
country4 ,the absence of game means the 
absence of shooters and huntsmen1 and   
consequently an inferiority in manly    
exercises to the ,french1 thousands of  
whom take shooting licenses and enjoy   
the invigorating excitement of the      
chase4 ,for this reason it is agreeable 

to ,french patriotic sentiment to be    
perfectly certain that there is no game 
in ,england4 ,when ,i inquired what     
reason my young friend had for holding  
his conviction on the subject1 he told  
me that in a country like ,england1 so  
full of trade and manufactures1 there   
could not be any room for game4  ,one of
 the most popular of ,french songs is   
that charming one by ,pierre ,dupont in 
praise of his vine4 ,every ,frenchman   
who knows anything knows that song1 and 
believes that he also knows the tune4   
,the consequence is that when one of    
them begins to sing it his companions   
join in the refrain or chorus1 which is 
as follows3--    ,bons ,franais1 quand  
je vois mon verre    ,plein de ce vin   
couleur de feu    ,je songe en          
remerciant ,dieu    ,qu'ils n'en ont pas
 dans l',angleterre6  ,the singers      
repeat qu'ils n'en ont pas1 and besides 
this the whole of the last line is      
repeated with triumphant emphasis4  ,we 
need not feel hurt by this little       

outburst of patriotism4 ,there is no    
real hatred of ,england at the bottom of
 it1 only a little malice of a harmless 
kind1 and the song is sometimes sung    
good-humoredly in the presence of       
,englishmen4 ,it is1 however1 really    
connected with patriotic ignorance4 ,the
 common ,french belief is that as vines 
are not grown in ,england1 we have no   
wine in our cellars1 so that ,english   
people hardly know the taste of wine2   
and this belief is too pleasing to the  
,french mind to be readily abandoned by 
those who hold it4 ,they feel that it   
enhances the delightfulness of every    
glass they drink4 ,the case is precisely
 the same with fruit4 ,the ,french enjoy
 plenty of excellent fruit1 and they    
enjoy it all the more heartily from a   
firm conviction that there is no fruit  
of any kind in ,england4 ,pas un fruit1 
said a countryman of ,pierre ,dupont in 
writing about our unfavored island1 pas 
un fruit ne mrit dans ce pays4 ,what1   
not even a gooseberry8 ,were the plums1 

pears1 strawberries1 apples1 apricots1  
that we consumed in omnivorous boyhood  
every one of them unripe8 ,it is        
lamentable to think how miserably the   
,english live4 ,they have no game1 no   
wine1 no fruit 7it appears to be        
doubtful1 too1 whether they have any    
vegetables71 and they dwell in a        
perpetual fog where sunshine is totally 
unknown4 ,it is believed1 also1 that    
there is no landscape-beauty in         
,england1--nothing but a green field    
with a hedge1 and then another green    
field with another hedge1 till you come 
to the bare chalk cliffs and the dreary 
northern sea4 ,the ,english have no     
,devonshire1 no valley of the ,severn1  
no country of the ,lakes4 ,the ,thames  
is a foul ditch1 without a trace of     
natural beauty anywhere4#bb  ,it would  
be easy to give many more examples of   
the patriotism of our neighbors1 but    
perhaps for the sake of variety it may  
be desirable to turn the glass in the   
opposite direction and see what ,english

 patriotism has to say about ,france4   
,we shall find the same principle at    
work1 the same determination to believe 
that the foreign country is totally     
destitute of many things on which we    
greatly pride ourselves4 ,i do not know 
that there is any reason to be proud of 
having mountains1 as they are           
excessively inconvenient objects that   
greatly impede agriculture and          
communication2 however1 in some parts of
 ,great ,britain it is considered1      
somehow1 a glory for a nation to have   
mountains2 and there used to be a firm  
belief that ,french landscape was almost
 destitute of mountainous grandeur4     
,there were the ,highlands of ,scotland1
 but who had ever heard of the          
,highlands of ,france8 ,was not ,france 
a wearisome1 tame country that          
unfortunately had to be traversed before
 one could get to ,switzerland and      
,italy8 ,nobody seemed to have any      
conception that ,france was rich in     
mountain scenery of the very grandest   

kind4 ,switzerland was understood to be 
the place for mountains1 and there was a
 settled but erroneous conviction that  
,mont ,blanc was situated in that       
country4 ,as for the ,grand-,pelvoux1   
the ,pointe des crins1 the ,mont ,olan1 
the ,pic d',arsine1 and the ,trois      
,ellions1 nobody had ever heard of them4
 ,if you had told any average ,scotchman
 that the most famous ,bens would be    
lost and nameless in the mountainous    
departments of ,france1 the news would  
have greatly surprised him4 ,he would   
have been astonished to hear that the   
area of mountainous ,france exceeded the
 area of ,scotland1 and that the height 
of its loftiest summits attained three  
times the elevation of ,ben ,nevis4  ,it
 may be excusable to feel proud of      
mountains1 as they are noble objects in 
spite of their inconvenience1 but it    
seems less reasonable to be patriotic   
about hedges1 which make us pay dearly  
for any beauty they may possess by      
hiding the perspective of the land4 ,a  

hedge six feet high easily masks as many
 miles of distance4 ,however1 there is a
 pride in ,english hedges1 accompanied  
by a belief that there are no such      
things in ,france4 ,the truth is that   
regions of large extent are divided by  
hedges in ,france as they are in        
,england ,another belief is that there  
is little or no wood in ,france1 though 
wood is the principal fuel1 and vast    
forests are reserved for its supply4 ,i 
have heard an ,englishman proudly       
congratulating himself1 in the spirit of
 ,dupont's song1 on the supposed fact   
that the ,french had neither coal nor   
iron2 and yet ,i have visited a vast    
establishment at the ,creuzot1 where ten
 thousand workmen are continually       
employed in making engines1 bridges1    
armor-plates1 and other things from iron
 found close at hand1 by the help of    
coal fetched from a very little         
distance4 ,i have read in an ,english   
newspaper that there were no singing    
birds in ,france2 and by way of         

commentary a hundred little ,french     
songsters kept up a merry din that would
 have gladdened the soul of ,chaucer4   
,it happened1 too1 to be the time of the
 year for nightingales1 which filled the
 woods with their music in the          
moonlight4  ,patriotic ignorance often  
gets hold of some partial truth         
unfavorable to another country1 and then
 applies it in such an absolute manner  
that it is truth no longer4 ,it is quite
 true1 for example1 that athletic       
exercises are not so much cultivated in 
,france1 nor held in such high esteem1  
as they are in ,england1 but it is not  
true that all young ,frenchmen are      
inactive4 ,they are often both good     
swimmers and good pedestrians1 and1     
though they do not play cricket1 many of
 them take a practical interest in      
gymnastics and are skilful on the bar   
and the trapeze4 ,the ,french learn     
military drill in their boyhood1 and in 
early manhood they are inured to fatigue
 in the army1 besides which great       

numbers of them learn fencing on their  
own account1 that they may hold their   
own in a duel4 ,patriotic ignorance     
likes to shut its eyes to all           
inconvenient facts of this kind1 and to 
dwell on what is unfavorable4 ,a man may
 like a glass of absinthe in a caf and  
still be as energetic as if he drank    
port wine at home4 ,i know an old       
,french officer who never misses his    
daily visit to the caf1 and so might    
serve as a text for moralizing1 but at  
the same time he walks twenty kilomtres 
every day4 ,patriotic ignorance has its 
opportunity in every difference of      
habit4 ,what can be apparently more     
indolent1 for an hour or two after      
djener1 than a prosperous man of        
business in ,paris8 ,very possibly he   
may be caught playing cards or dominoes 
in the middle of the day1 and severely  
blamed by a foreign censor4 ,the        
difference between him and his equal in 
,london is simply in the arrangement of 
time4 ,the ,frenchman has been at his   

work early1 and divides his day into two
 parts1 with hours of idleness between  
them4  ,many examples of those numerous 
international criticisms that originate 
in patriotic ignorance are connected    
with the employment of words that are   
apparently common to different nations1 
yet vary in their signification4 ,one   
that has given rise to frequent         
patriotic criticisms is the ,french word
 univers4 ,french writers often say of  
some famous author1 such as ,victor     
,hugo1 ,sa renomme remplit l'univers2 or
 of some great warrior1 like ,napoleon1 
,il inquita l'univers4 ,english critics 
take up these expressions and then say1 
,behold how bombastic these ,french     
writers are1 with their absurd          
exaggerations1 as if ,victor ,hugo and  
,napoleon astonished the universe1 as if
 they were ever heard of beyond our own 
little planet6 ,such criticism only     
displays patriotic ignorance of a       
foreign language4 ,the ,french          
expression is perfectly correct1 and not

 in the least exaggerated4 ,napoleon did
 not disquiet the universe1 but he      
disquieted l'univers4 ,victor ,hugo is  
not known beyond the terrestrial globe1 
but he is known1 by name at least1      
throughout l'univers4 ,the persistent   
ignorance of ,english writers on this   
point would be inexplicable if it were  
not patriotic2 if it did not afford an  
opportunity for deriding the vanity of  
foreigners4 ,it is the more remarkable  
that the deriders themselves constantly 
use the word in the same restricted     
sense as an adjective or an adverb4 ,i  
open ,mr4 ,stanford's atlas1 and find   
that it is called ,the ,london ,atlas of
 ,universal ,geography1 though it does  
not contain a single map of any planet  
but our own1 not even one of the visible
 hemisphere of the moon1 which might    
easily have been given4 ,i take a       
newspaper1 and ,i find that the late    
,president of the ,royal ,society died  
universally respected1 though he was    
known only to the cultivated inhabitants

 of a single planet4 ,such is the power 
of patriotic ignorance that it is able  
to prevent men from understanding a     
foreign word when they themselves employ
 a nearly related word in identically   
the same sense4#bc  ,the word univers   
reminds me of universities1 and they    
recall a striking example of patriotic  
ignorance in my own countrymen4 ,i      
wonder how many ,englishmen there are   
who know anything about the ,university 
of ,france4 ,i never expect an          
,englishman to know anything about it2  
and1 what is more1 ,i am always prepared
 to find him impervious to any          
information on the subject4 ,as the     
organization of the ,university of      
,france differs essentially from that of
 ,english universities1 each of which is
 localized in one place1 and can be seen
 in its entirety from the top of a      
tower1 the ,englishman hears with       
contemptuous inattention any attempt to 
make him understand an institution      
without a parallel in his own country4  

,besides this1 the ,universities of     
,oxford and ,cambridge are venerable and
 wealthy institutions1 visibly          
beautiful1 whilst the ,university of    
,france is of comparatively recent      
origin2 and1 though large sums are      
expended in its service1 the result does
 not strike the eye because the         
expenditure is distributed over the     
country4 ,i remember having occasion to 
mention the ,academy of ,lyons to a     
learned doctor of ,oxford who was       
travelling in ,france1 and ,i found that
 he had never heard of the ,academy of  
,lyons1 and knew nothing about the      
organization of the national university 
of which that academy forms a part4     
,from a ,french point of view this is   
quite as remarkable an example of       
patriotic ignorance as if some foreigner
 had never heard of the diocese of      
,york1 or the episcopal organization of 
the ,church of ,england4 ,every         
,frenchman who has any education at all 
knows the functions of academies in the 

university1 and which of the principal  
cities are the seats of those learned   
bodies4  ,as ,englishmen ignore the     
,university of ,france1 they naturally  
at the same time ignore the degrees that
 it confers4 ,they never know what a    
,licenci is1 they have no conception of 
the ,agrgation1 or of the severe ordeal 
of competitive examination through which
 an ,agrg must have passed4 ,therefore1 
if a ,frenchman has attained either of  
these grades1 his title is              
unintelligible to an ,englishman4       
,there is1 no doubt1 great ignorance in 
,france on the subject of the ,english  
universities1 but it is neither in the  
same degree nor of the same kind4 ,i    
should hardly call ,french ignorance of 
the classes at ,oxford patriotic        
ignorance1 because it does not proceed  
from the belief that a foreign          
university is unworthy of a ,frenchman's
 attention4 ,i should call ,french      
ignorance of the ,royal ,academy1 for   
example1 genuine patriotic ignorance1   

because it proceeds from a conviction   
that ,english art is unworthy of notice1
 and that the ,french ,salon is the only
 exhibition that can interest an        
enlightened lover of art4 ,that is the  
essence of patriotism in ignorance1--to 
be ignorant of what is done in another  
nation1 because we believe our own to be
 first and the rest nowhere2 and so the 
,english ignorance of the ,university of
 ,france is genuine patriotic ignorance4
 ,it is caused by the existence of      
,oxford and ,cambridge1 as the ,french  
ignorance of the ,royal ,academy is     
caused by the ,french ,salon4           
,patriotic ignorance is one of the most 
serious impediments to conversation     
between people of different nationality1
 because occasions are continually      
arising when the national sentiments of 
the one are hurt by the ignorance of the
 other4 ,but we may also wound the      
feelings of a foreigner by assuming a   
more complete degree of ignorance on his
 part than that which is really his4    

,this is sometimes done by ,english     
people towards ,americans1 when ,english
 people forget that their national      
literature is the common possession of  
the two countries4 ,a story is told by  
,mr4 ,grant ,white of an ,english lady  
who informed him that a novel 7which she
 advised him to read7 had been written  
about ,kenilworth1 by ,sir ,walter      
,scott2 and he expected her to recommend
 a perusal of the works of ,william     
,shakespeare4 ,having lived much abroad1
 ,i am myself occasionally the grateful 
recipient of valuable information from  
,english friends4 ,for example1 ,i      
remember an ,englishman who kindly and  
quite seriously informed me that ,eton  
,college was a public school where many 
sons of the ,english aristocracy were   
educated4  ,there is a very serious side
 to patriotic ignorance in relation to  
war4 ,there can be no doubt that many of
 the most foolish1 costly1 and          
disastrous wars ever undertaken were    
either directly due to patriotic        

ignorance1 or made possible only by the 
existence of such ignorance in the      
nation that afterwards suffered by them4
 ,the way in which patriotic ignorance  
directly tends to produce war is readily
 intelligible4 ,a nation sees its own   
soldiers1 its own cannons1 its own      
ships1 and becomes so proud of them as  
to remain contentedly and even wilfully 
ignorant of the military strength and   
efficiency of its neighbors4 ,the war of
 #ahgj-ga1 so disastrous to ,france1 was
 the direct result of patriotic         
ignorance4 ,the country and even the    
,emperor himself were patriotically     
ignorant of their own inferior military 
condition and of the superior ,prussian 
organization4 ,one or two isolated      
voices were raised in warning1 but it   
was considered patriotic not to listen  
to them4 ,the war between ,turkey and   
,russia1 which cost ,turkey ,bulgaria   
and all but expelled her from ,europe1  
might easily have been avoided by the   
,sultan2 but he was placed in a false   

position by the patriotic ignorance of  
his own subjects1 who believed him to be
 far more powerful than he really was1  
and who would have probably dethroned or
 murdered him if he had acted           
rationally1 that is to say1 in          
accordance with the degree of strength  
that he possessed4 ,in almost every     
instance that ,i am able to remember1   
the nations that have undertaken        
imprudent and easily avoidable wars have
 done so because they were blinded by   
patriotic ignorance1 and therefore      
either impelled their rulers into a     
foolish course against their better     
knowledge1 or else were themselves      
easily led into peril by the temerity of
 a rash master1 who would risk the      
well-being of all his subjects that he  
might attain some personal and private  
end4 ,the ,french have been cured of    
their most dangerous patriotic          
ignorance1--that concerning the military
 strength of the country1--by the war of
 #ahgj1 but the cure was of a costly    

nature4  ,patriotism has been so        
commonly associated with a wilful       
closing of the eyes against unpleasant  
facts1 that those who prefer truth to   
illusion are often considered           
unpatriotic4 ,yet surely ignorance has  
not the immense advantage over knowledge
 of having all patriotism on her side4  
,there is a far higher and better       
patriotism than that of ignorance2 there
 is a love of country that shows itself 
in anxiety for its best welfare1 and    
does not remain satisfied with the vain 
delusion of a fancied superiority in    
everything4 ,it is the interest of      
,england as a nation to be accurately   
informed about all that concerns her    
position in the world1 and it is        
impossible for her to receive this      
information if a stupid national vanity 
is always ready to take offence when it 
is offered4 ,it is desirable for        
,england to know exactly in what degree 
she is a military power1 and also how   
she stands with reference to the naval  

armaments of other nations1 not as they 
existed in the days of ,nelson1 but as  
they will exist next year4 ,it is the   
interest of ,england to know by what    
tenure she holds ,india1 just as in the 
reign of ,george the ,third it would    
have been very much the interest of     
,england to know accurately both the    
rights of the ,american colonists and   
their strength4 ,i cannot imagine any   
circumstances that might make ignorance 
more desirable for a free people than   
knowledge4 ,with enslaved peoples the   
case is different3 the less they know   
and the greater1 perhaps1 are their     
chances of enjoying the dull kind of    
somnolent happiness which alone is      
attainable by them2 but this is a kind  
of happiness that no citizen of a free  
country would desire4     ,,essay ,,xx4 
,,confusions4   ,surely the analytical  
faculty must be very rare1 or we should 
not so commonly find people confounding 
together things essentially distinct4   
,any one who possesses that faculty     

naturally1 and has followed some        
occupation which strengthens it1 must be
 continually amused if he has a humorous
 turn1 or irritated if he is irascible1 
by the astounding mental confusions in  
which men contentedly pass their lives4 
,to be just1 this account ought to      
include both sexes1 for women indulge in
 confusions even more frequently than   
men1 and are less disposed to separate  
things when they have once been jumbled 
together4  ,a confusion of ideas in     
politics which is not uncommon amongst  
the enemies of all change is to believe 
that whoever desires the reform of some 
law wants to do something that is not   
legal1 and has a rebellious1 subversive 
spirit4 ,yet the reformer is not a      
rebel2 it is indeed the peculiar        
distinction of his position not to be a 
rebel1 for there has never been a real  
reformer 7as distinguished from a       
revolutionist7 who wished to do anything
 illegal4 ,he desires1 certainly1 to do 
something which is not legal just at    

present1 but he does not wish to do it  
so long as it remains in the condition  
of illegality4 ,he wishes first to make 
it legal by obtaining legislative       
sanction for his proposal1 and then to  
do it when it shall have become as legal
 as anything else1 and when all the most
 conservative people in the kingdom will
 be strenuous in its defence as part and
 parcel of the law of the land4         
,another confusion in political matters 
which has always been extremely common  
is that between private and public      
liberty4 ,suppose that a law were       
enacted to the effect that each ,british
 subject without exception should go to 
,mass every ,sunday morning1 on pain of 
death1 and should take the ,roman       
,catholic ,sacrament of ,holy           
,communion1 involving auricular         
confession1 at ,easter2 such a law would
 not be an infringement of the sensible 
liberty of ,roman ,catholics1 because   
they do these things already4 ,then they
 might say1 ,people talk of the tyranny 

of the law1 yet the law is not          
tyrannical at all2 we enjoy perfect     
liberty in ,england1 and it is most     
unreasonable to say that we do not4 ,the
 ,protestant part of the community would
 exclaim that such a law was an         
intolerable infringement of liberty1 and
 would rush to arms to get rid of it4   
,this is the distinction between private
 and public liberty4 ,there is private  
liberty when some men are not interfered
 with in the ordinary habits of their   
existence2 and there has always been    
much of such private liberty under the  
worst of despotisms2 but there is not   
public liberty until every man in the   
country may live according to his own   
habits1 so long as he does not interfere
 with the rights of others4 ,here is a  
distinction plain enough to be evident  
to a very commonplace understanding2 yet
 the admirers of tyrants are often      
successful in producing a confusion     
between the two things1 and in          
persuading people that there was ample  

liberty under some foreign despot1      
because they themselves1 when they      
visited the country that lay prostrate  
under his irresistible power1 were      
allowed to eat good dinners1 and drive  
about unmolested1 and amuse themselves  
by day and by night according to every  
suggestion of their fancy4  ,many       
confusions have been intentionally      
maintained by political enemies in order
 to cast odium on their adversaries2 so 
that it becomes of great importance to a
 political cause that it should not bear
 a name with two meanings1 or to which  
it may be possible to give another      
meaning than that which was originally  
intended4 ,the word ,radical is an      
instance of this4 ,according to the     
enemies of radicalism it has always     
meant a political principle that strikes
 at the root of the constitution2 but it
 was not that meaning of the word which 
induced the first ,radicals to commit   
the imprudence of adopting it4 ,the term
 referred to agriculture rather than    

tree-felling1 the original idea being to
 uproot abuses as a gardener pulls weeds
 up by the roots4 ,i distinctly remember
 my first boyish notion of the          
,radicals4 ,i saw them in a sort of     
sylvan picture1--violent savage men     
armed with sharp axes1 and hewing away  
at the foot of a majestic oak that stood
 for the glory of ,england4 ,since then 
,i have become acquainted with another  
instance of the unfortunate adoption of 
a word which may be plausibly perverted 
from its meaning4 ,the ,french          
republican motto is ,libert1 galit1     
,fraternit1 and to this day there is    
hardly an ,english newspaper that does  
not from time to time sneer at the      
,french ,republicans for aspiring to    
equality1 as if equality were not       
impossible in the nature of things1 and 
as if1 supposing an unnatural equality  
to be established to-day1 the operation 
of natural causes would not bring about 
inequality to-morrow4 ,we are told that 
some men would be stronger1 or cleverer1

 or more industrious than others1 and   
earn more and make themselves leaders2  
that children of the same parents1      
starting in life with the same fortunes1
 never remain in precisely the same     
positions2 and much more to the same    
purpose4 ,all this trite and familiar   
reasoning is without application here4  
,the word galit in the motto means      
something which can be attained1 and    
which1 though it did not exist in       
,france before the ,revolution1 is now  
almost a perfect reality there1--it     
means equality before the law2 it means 
that there shall not be privileged      
classes exempt from paying taxes1 and   
favored with such scandalous partiality 
that all posts of importance in the     
government1 the army1 the magistracy1   
and the church are habitually reserved  
for them4 ,if it meant absolute         
equality1 no ,republican could aim at   
wealth1 which is the creation of        
inequality in his own favor2 neither    
would any ,republican labor for         

intellectual reputation1 or accept      
honors4 ,there would not even be a      
,republican in the gymnastic societies1 
where every member strives to become    
stronger and more agile than his        
fellows1 and knows that1 whether in his 
favor or against him1 the most striking 
inequalities will be manifested in every
 public contest4 ,there would be no     
,republicans in the ,university1 for has
 it not a hierarchy with the most marked
 gradations of title1 and differences of
 consideration and authority8 ,yet the  
,university is so full of ,republicans  
that it is scarcely too much to say that
 it is entirely composed of them4 ,i am 
aware that there are dreamers in the    
working classes1 both in ,france and    
elsewhere1 who look forward to a social 
state when all men will work for the    
same wages1--when the ,meissonier of the
 day will be paid like a sign-painter1  
and the sign-painter like a             
white-washer1 and all three perform each
 other's tasks by turns for equality of 

agreeableness in the work2 but these    
dreams are only possible in extreme     
ignorance1 and lie quite outside of any 
theories to be seriously considered4    
,religious intolerance1 when quite      
sincere and not mixed up with social    
contempt or political hatred1 is founded
 upon a remarkable confusion of ideas1  
which is this4 ,the persecutor assumes  
that the heretic knowingly and          
maliciously resists the will of ,god in 
rejecting the theology which he knows   
that ,god desires him to receive4 ,this 
is a confusion between the mental states
 of the believer and the unbeliever1 and
 it does not accurately describe either1
 for the believer of course accepts the 
doctrine1 and the unbeliever does not   
reject it as coming from ,god1 but      
precisely because he is convinced that  
it has a purely human origin4  ,are you 
a ,puseyite8 was a question put to a    
lady in my hearing2 and she at once     
answered1 ,certainly not1 ,i should be  
ashamed of being a ,puseyite4 ,here was 

a confusion between her present mental  
state and her supposed possible mental  
state as a ,puseyite2 for it is         
impossible to be a real ,puseyite and at
 the same time to think of one's belief 
with an inward sense of shame4 ,a       
believer always thinks that his belief  
is simply the truth1 and nobody feels   
ashamed of believing what is true4 ,even
 concealment of a belief does not imply 
shame2 and those who have been          
compelled1 in self-defence1 to hide     
their real opinions1 have been ashamed1 
if at all1 of hiding and not of having  
them4  ,a confusion common to all who do
 not think1 and avoided only with the   
greatest difficulty by those who do1 is 
that between their own knowledge and the
 knowledge possessed by another person  
who has different tastes1 different     
receptive powers1 and other             
opportunities4 ,they cannot imagine that
 the world does not appear the same to  
him that it appears to them4 ,they do   
not really believe that he can feel     

quite differently from themselves and   
still be in every respect as sound in   
mind and as intelligent as they are4    
,the incapacity to imagine a different  
mental condition is strikingly          
manifested in what we call the          
,philistine mind1 and is one of its     
strongest characteristics4 ,the true    
,philistine thinks that every form of   
culture which opens out a world that is 
closed against himself leaves the votary
 exactly where he was before4 ,i cannot 
imagine why you live in ,italy1 said a  
,philistine to an acquaintance2 nothing 
could induce me to live in ,italy4 ,he  
did not take into account the difference
 of gifts and culture1 but supposed the 
person he addressed to have just his own
 mental condition1 the only one that he 
was able to conceive1 whereas1 in fact1 
that person was so endowed and so       
educated as to enjoy ,italy in the      
supreme degree4 ,he spoke the purest    
,italian with perfect ease2 he had a    
considerable knowledge of ,italian      

literature and antiquities2 his love of 
natural beauty amounted to an insatiable
 passion2 and from his youth he had     
delighted in architecture and painting4 
,of these gifts1 tastes1 and            
acquirements the ,philistine was simply 
destitute4 ,for him ,italy could have   
had no meaning4 ,where the other found  
unfailing interest he would have        
suffered from unrelieved ennui1 and     
would have been continually looking     
back1 with the intolerable longing of   
nostalgia1 to the occupations of his    
,english home4 ,in the same spirit a    
,french bourgeois once complained in my 
hearing that too much space was given to
 foreign affairs in the newspapers1 car1
 vous comprenez1 cela n'intresse pas4   
,this was simply an attribution of his  
personal apathy to everybody else4      
,certainly1 as a nation1 the ,french    
take less interest in foreign affairs   
than we do1 but they do take some       
interest1 and the degree of it is       
exactly reflected by the importance     

given to foreign affairs in their       
journals1 always greatest in the best of
 them4 ,an ,englishman said1 also in my 
hearing1 that to have a library was a   
mistake1 as a library was of no use2 he 
admitted that a few books might be      
useful if the owner read them through4  
,here1 again1 is the attribution of one 
person's experience to all cases4 ,this 
man had never himself felt the need of a
 library1 and did not know how to use   
one4 ,he could not realize the fact that
 a few books only allow you to read1    
whilst a library allows you to pursue a 
study4 ,he could not at all imagine what
 the word library means to a            
scholar1--that it means the not being   
stopped at every turn for want of light1
 the not being exposed to scornful      
correction by men of inferior ability   
and inferior industry1 whose only       
superiority is the great and terrible   
one of living within a cabfare of the   
,british ,museum4 ,i remember reading an
 account of the establishment of a      

,greek professorship in a provincial    
town1 and it was wisely proposed1 by one
 who understood the difficulties of a   
scholar remote from the great libraries1
 that provision should be made for the  
accumulation of books for the use of the
 future occupants of the chair1 but the 
trustees 7honest men of business1 who   
had no idea of a scholar's wants and    
necessities7 said that each professor   
must provide his own library1 just as   
road commissioners advertise that a     
surveyor must have his own horse4  ,one 
of the most serious reasons why it is   
imprudent to associate with people whose
 opinions you do not wish to be made    
responsible for is that others will     
confound you with them4 ,there is an old
 ,latin proverb1 and also a ,french one1
 to the effect that if a man knows what 
your friends are1 he knows what you are 
yourself4 ,these proverbs are not true1 
but they well express the popular       
confusion between having something in   
common and having everything in common4 

,if you are on friendly terms with      
clergymen1 it is inferred that you have 
a clerical mind2 when the reason may be 
that you are a scholar living in the    
country1 and can find no scholarship in 
your neighborhood except in the         
parsonage houses4 ,you associate with   
foreigners1 and are supposed to be      
unpatriotic2 when in truth you are as   
patriotic as any rational and           
well-informed creature can be1 but have 
a faculty for languages that you like to
 exercise in conversation4 ,this kind of
 confusion takes no account of the      
indisputable fact that men constantly   
associate together on the ground of a   
single pursuit that they have in common1
 often a mere amusement1 or because1 in 
spite of every imaginable difference1   
they are drawn together by one of those 
mysterious natural affinities which are 
so obscure in their origin and action   
that no human intelligence can explain  
them4  ,not only are a man's tastes     
liable to be confounded with those of   

his personal acquaintances1 but he may  
find some trade attributed to him1 by a 
perfectly irrational association of     
ideas1 because it happens to be         
prevalent in the country where he lives4
 ,i have known instances of men supposed
 to have been in the cotton trade simply
 because they had lived in ,lancashire1 
and of others supposed to be in the     
mineral oil trade for no other reason   
than because they had lived in a part of
 ,france where mineral oil is found4    
,professional men are usually very much 
alive to the danger of confusion as     
affecting their success in life4 ,if you
 are known to do two things1 a confusion
 gets established between the two1 and  
you are no longer classed with that ease
 and decision which the world finds to  
be convenient4 ,it therefore becomes a  
part of worldly wisdom to keep one of   
the occupations in obscurity1 and if    
that is not altogether possible1 then to
 profess as loudly and as frequently as 
you can that it is entirely secondary   

and only a refreshment after more       
serious toils4 ,many years ago a        
well-known surgeon published a set of   
etchings1 and the merit of them was so  
dangerously conspicuous1 so superior1 in
 fact1 to the average of professional   
work1 that he felt constrained to keep  
those too clever children in their      
places by a quotation from ,horace1--   
,o laborum   ,dulce lenimen6  ,to       
present one's self to the world always  
in one character is a great help to     
success1 and maintains the stability of 
a position4 ,the kings in the           
story-books and on playing cards who    
have always their crowns on their heads 
and sceptres in their hands1 appear to  
enjoy a decided advantage over modern   
royalty1 which dresses like other people
 and enters into common interests and   
pursuits4 ,literary men admire the      
prudent self-control of our literary    
sovereign1 ,tennyson1 who by his        
rigorous abstinence from prose takes    
care never to appear in public without  

his singing robes and his crown of      
laurel4 ,had he carelessly and          
familiarly employed the commoner vehicle
 of expression1 there would have been a 
confusion of two ,tennysons in the      
popular idea1 whilst at present his name
 is as exclusively associated with the  
exquisite music of his verse as that of 
,mozart with another kind of melody4    
,the great evil of confusions1 as they  
affect conversation1 is that they       
constantly place a man of accurate      
mental habits in such trying situations 
that1 unless he exercises the most      
watchful self-control1 he is sure to    
commit the sin of contradiction4 ,we    
have all of us met with the lady who    
does not think it necessary to          
distinguish between one person and      
another1 who will tell a story of some  
adventure as having happened to ,a1 when
 in reality it happened to ,b2 who will 
attribute sayings and opinions to ,c1   
when they properly belong to ,d2 and    
deliberately maintain that it is of no  

consequence whatever1 when some         
suffering lover of accuracy undertakes  
to set her right4 ,it is in vain to     
argue that there really does exist1 in  
the order of the universe1 a distinction
 between one person and another1 though 
both belong to the human race2 and that 
organisms are generally isolated1 though
 there has been an exception in the case
 of the ,siamese twins4 ,the death of   
the wonderful swimmer who attempted to  
descend the rapids of ,niagara afforded 
an excellent opportunity for            
confounders4 ,in ,france they all       
confounded him with ,captain ,boyton1   
who swam with an apparatus2 and when    
poor ,webb was sucked under the         
whirlpool they said1 ,you see that1     
after all1 his inflated dress was of no 
avail4 ,fame of a higher kind does not  
escape from similar confusions4 ,on the 
death of ,george ,eliot1 ,french readers
 of ,english novels lamented that they  
would have nothing more from the pen    
that wrote ,john ,halifax1 and a        

cultivated ,frenchman expressed his     
regret for the author of ,adam ,bede and
 ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin4#bd  ,men who have
 trained themselves in habits of        
accurate observation often have a       
difficulty in realizing the confused    
mental condition of those who simply    
receive impressions without comparison  
and classification4 ,a fine field for   
confused tourists is architecture4 ,they
 go to ,france and ,italy1 they talk    
about what they have seen1 and leave you
 in bewilderment1 until you make the    
discovery that they have substituted one
 building for another1 or1 better still1
 mixed two different edifices           
inextricably together4 ,foreigners of   
this class are quite unable to establish
 any distinction between the ,houses of 
,parliament and ,westminster ,abbey1    
because both have towers2 and they are  
not clear about the difference between  
the ,british ,museum and the ,national  
,gallery1 because there are columns in  
the fronts of both4#be ,english tourists

 will stay some time in ,paris1 and     
afterwards not be able to distinguish   
between photographs of the ,louvre and  
the ,htel de ,ville4 ,we need not be    
surprised that people who have never    
studied architecture at all should not  
be sure whether ,st4 ,paul's is a       
,gothic building or not1 but the wonder 
is that they seem to retain no          
impressions received merely by the eye4 
,one would think that the eye alone1    
without knowledge1 would be enough to   
establish a distinction between one     
building and another altogether         
different from it2 yet it is not so4  ,i
 cannot close this chapter without some 
allusion to a crafty employment of words
 only too well understood already by    
those who influence the popular mind4   
,there is such a natural tendency to    
confusion in all ordinary human beings  
that if you repeatedly present to them  
two totally distinct things at the same 
time1 they will1 before long1 associate 
them so closely as to consider them     

inseparable by their very nature4 ,this 
is the reason why all those branches of 
education that train the mind in        
analysis are so valuable4 ,to be able to
 distinguish between accidental         
connections of things or characteristics
 and necessary connections1 is one of   
the best powers that education bestows  
upon us4 ,by far the greater number of  
erroneous popular notions are due simply
 to the inability to make this          
distinction which belongs to all        
undisciplined minds4 ,calumnies1 that   
have great influence over such minds1   
must lose their power as the habit of   
analysis enables people to separate     
ideas which the uncultivated mingle     
together4  ,insufficient analysis leads 
to a very common sort of confusion      
between the defectiveness of a part only
 and a defect pervading the whole4 ,an  
invention 7as often happens7 does not   
visibly succeed on the first trial1 and 
then the whole of the common public will
 at once declare the invention to be    

bad1 when1 in reality1 it may be a good 
invention with a local defect1 easily   
remediable4 ,suppose that a yacht misses
 stays1 the common sort of criticism    
would be to say that she was a bad boat1
 when1 in fact1 her hull and everything 
else might be thoroughly well made1 and 
the defect be due only to a             
miscalculation in the placing of her    
canvas4 ,i have myself seen a small     
steel boat sink at her anchorage1 and a 
crowd laugh at her as badly contrived1  
when her only defect was the unobserved 
starting of a rivet4 ,the boat was      
fished up1 the rivet replaced1 and she  
leaked and sank no more4 ,when          
,stephenson's locomotive did not go     
because its wheels slid on the rails1   
the vulgar spectators were delighted    
with the supposed failure of a          
benefactor of the human species1 and set
 up a noise of jubilant derision4 ,the  
invention1 they had decided1 was of no  
good1 and they sang their own foolish   
gaudeamus igitur4 ,stephenson at once   

perceived that the only defect was want 
of weight1 and he immediately proceeded 
to remedy it by loading the machine with
 ballast4 ,so it is in thousands of     
cases4 ,the common mind1 untrained in   
analysis1 condemns the whole as a       
failure1 when the defect lies in some   
small part which the specialist1 trained
 in analysis1 seeks for and discovers4  
,i have not touched upon the confusions 
due to the decline of the intellectual  
powers4 ,in that case the reason is to  
be sought for in the condition of the   
brain1 and there is1 ,i believe1 no     
remedy4 ,in healthy people1 enjoying the
 complete vigor of their faculties1     
confusions are simply the result of     
carelessness and indolence1 and are     
proper subjects for sarcasm4 ,with      
senile confusions the case is very      
different4 ,to treat them with hard1    
sharp1 decided correction1 as is so     
often done by people of vigorous        
intellect1 is a most cruel abuse of     
power4 ,yet it is difficult to say what 

ought to be done when an old person     
falls into manifest errors of this kind4
 ,simple acquiescence is in this case a 
pardonable abandonment of truth1 but    
there are situations in which it is not 
possible4 ,then you find yourself       
compelled to show where the confusion   
lies4 ,you do it as gently as may be1   
but you fail to convince1 and awaken    
that tenacious1 unyielding opposition   
which is a characteristic of decline in 
its earlier stages4 ,all that can be    
said is1 that when once it has become   
evident that confusions are not careless
 but senile1 they ought to be passed    
over if possible1 and if not1 then      
treated with the very utmost delicacy   
and gentleness4     ,,essay ,,xxi4      
,,the ,,noble ,,bohemianism4   ,amongst 
the common injustices of the world there
 have been few more complete than its   
reprobation of the state of mind and    
manner of life that have been called    
,bohemianism2 and so closely is that    
reprobation attached to the word that ,i

 would gladly have substituted some     
other term for the better ,bohemianism  
had the ,english language provided me   
with one4 ,it may1 however1 be a gain to
 justice itself that we should be       
compelled to use the same expression1   
qualified only by an adjective1 for two 
states of existence that are the good   
and the bad conditions of the same1 as  
it will tend to make us more charitable 
to those whom we must always blame1 and 
yet may blame with a more or less       
perfect understanding of the causes that
 led them into error4  ,the lower forms 
of ,bohemianism are associated with     
several kinds of vice1 and are therefore
 justly disliked by people who know the 
value of a well-regulated life1 and1    
when at the worst1 regarded by them with
 feelings of positive abhorrence4 ,the  
vices connected with these forms of     
,bohemianism are idleness1 irregularity1
 extravagance1 drunkenness1 and         
immorality2 and besides these vices the 
worst ,bohemianism is associated with   

many repulsive faults that may not be   
exactly vices1 and yet are almost as    
much disliked by decent people4 ,these  
faults are slovenliness1 dirt1 a degree 
of carelessness in matters of business1 
often scarcely to be distinguished from 
dishonesty1 and habitual neglect of the 
decorous observances that are           
inseparable from a high state of        
civilization4  ,after such an account of
 the worst ,bohemianism1 in which1 as   
the reader perceives1 ,i have extenuated
 nothing1 it may seem almost an act of  
temerity to advance the theory that this
 is only the bad side of a state of mind
 and feeling that has its good and      
perfectly respectable side also4 ,if    
this seems difficult to believe1 the    
reader has only to consider how certain 
other instincts of humanity have also   
their good and bad developments4 ,the   
religious and the sexual instincts1 in  
their best action1 are on the side of   
national and domestic order1 but in     
their worst action they produce         

sanguinary quarrels1 ferocious          
persecutions1 and the excesses of the   
most degrading sensuality4 ,it is       
therefore by no means a new theory that 
a human instinct may have a happy or an 
unfortunate development1 and it is not a
 reason for rejecting ,bohemianism1     
without unprejudiced examination1 that  
the worst forms of it are associated    
with evil4  ,again1 before going to the 
raison d'tre of ,bohemianism1 let me    
point to one consideration of great     
importance to us if we desire to think  
quite justly4 ,it is1 and has always    
been1 a characteristic of ,bohemianism  
to be extremely careless of appearances1
 and to live outside the shelter of     
hypocrisy2 so its vices are far more    
visible than the same vices when        
practised by men of the world1 and      
incomparably more offensive to persons  
with a strong sense of what is called   
propriety4 ,at the time when the worst  
form of ,bohemianism was more common    
than it is now1 its most serious vices  

were also the vices of the best society4
 ,if the ,bohemian drank to excess1 so  
did the nobility and gentry2 if the     
,bohemian had a mistress1 so had the    
most exalted personages4 ,the ,bohemian 
was not so much blamed for being a      
sepulchre as for being an ill-kept      
sepulchre1 and not a whited sepulchre   
like the rest4 ,it was far more his     
slovenliness and poverty than his graver
 vices that made him offensive to a     
corrupt society with fine clothes and   
ceremonious manners4  ,bohemianism and  
,philistinism are the terms by which1   
for want of better1 we designate two    
opposite ways of estimating wealth and  
culture4 ,there are two categories of   
advantages in wealth1--the intellectual 
and the material4 ,the intellectual     
advantages are leisure to think and     
read1 travel1 and intelligent           
conversation4 ,the material advantages  
are large and comfortable houses1 tables
 well served and abundant1 good coats1  
clean linen1 fine dresses and diamonds1 

horses1 carriages1 servants1 hot-houses1
 wine-cellars1 shootings4 ,evidently the
 most perfect condition of wealth would 
unite both classes of advantages2 but   
this is not always1 or often1 possible1 
and it so happens that in most          
situations a choice has to be made      
between them4 ,the ,bohemian is the man 
who with small means desires and        
contrives to obtain the intellectual    
advantages of wealth1 which he considers
 to be leisure to think and read1       
travel1 and intelligent conversation4   
,the ,philistine is the man who1 whether
 his means are small or large1 devotes  
himself wholly to the attainment of the 
other set of advantages1--a large house1
 good food and wine1 clothes1 horses1   
and servants4  ,the ,philistine         
gratifies his passion for comfort to a  
wonderful extent1 and thousands of      
ingenious people are incessantly        
laboring to make his existence more     
comfortable still1 so that the one great
 inconvenience he is threatened with is 

the super-multiplication of             
conveniences4 ,now there is a certain   
noble ,bohemianism which perceives that 
the ,philistine life is not really so   
rich as it appears1 that it has only    
some of the advantages which ought to   
belong to riches1 and these not quite   
the best advantages2 and this noble     
,bohemianism makes the best advantages  
its first aim1 being contented with such
 a small measure of riches as1 when     
ingeniously and skilfully employed1 may 
secure them4  ,a highly developed       
material luxury1 such as that which     
fills our modern universal exhibitions  
and is the great pride of our age1 has  
in itself so much the appearance of     
absolute civilization that any proposal 
to do without it may seem like a return 
to savagery2 and ,bohemianism is exposed
 to the accusation of discouraging arts 
and manufactures4 ,there is a physical  
side to ,bohemianism to be considered   
later2 and there may1 indeed1 be some   
connection between ,bohemianism and the 

life of a red ,indian who roams in his  
woods and contents himself with a low   
standard of physical well-being4 ,the   
fair statement of the case between      
,bohemianism and the civilization of    
arts and manufactures is as follows3 the
 intelligent ,bohemian does not despise 
them2 on the contrary1 when he can      
afford it1 he encourages them and often 
surrounds himself with beautiful things2
 but he will not barter his mental      
liberty in exchange for them1 as the    
,philistine does so readily4 ,if the    
,bohemian simply prefers sordid idleness
 to the comfort which is the reward of  
industry1 he has no part in the higher  
,bohemianism1 but combines the          
,philistine fault of intellectual apathy
 with the ,bohemian fault of standing   
aloof from industrial civilization4 ,if 
a man abstains from furthering the      
industrial civilization of his country  
he is only excusable if he pursues some 
object of at least equal importance4    
,intellectual civilization really is    

such an object1 and the noble           
,bohemianism is excusable for serving it
 rather than that other civilization of 
arts and manufactures which has such    
numerous servants of its own4 ,if the   
,bohemian does not redeem his negligence
 of material things by superior         
intellectual brightness1 he is half a   
,philistine1 he is destitute of what is 
best in ,bohemianism 7,i had nearly     
written of all that is worth having in  
it71 and his contempt for material      
perfection has no longer any charm1     
because it is not the sacrifice of a    
lower merit to a higher1 but the blank  
absence of the lower merit not          
compensated or condoned by the presence 
of anything nobler or better4           
,bohemianism and ,philistinism are alike
 in combining self-indulgence with      
asceticism1 but they are ascetic or     
self-indulgent in opposite directions4  
,bohemianism includes a certain         
self-indulgence1 on the intellectual    
side1 in the pleasures of thought and   

observation and in the exercise of the  
imaginative faculties1 combining this   
with a certain degree of asceticism on  
the physical side1 not a severe         
religious asceticism1 but a disposition1
 like that of a thorough soldier or     
traveller1 to do without luxury and     
comfort1 and take the absence of them   
gayly when they are not to be had4 ,the 
self-indulgence of ,philistinism is in  
bodily comfort1 of which it has never   
enough2 its asceticism consists in      
denying itself leisure to read and      
think1 and opportunities for            
observation4  ,the best way of          
describing the two principles will be to
 give an account of two human lives that
 exemplified them4 ,these shall not be  
described from imagination1 but from    
accurate memory2 and ,i will not have   
recourse to the easy artifice of        
selecting an unfavorable example of the 
class with which ,i happen to have a    
minor degree of personal sympathy4 ,my  
,philistine shall be one whom ,i        

sincerely loved and heartily respected4 
,he was an admirable example of         
everything that is best and most worthy 
in the ,philistine civilization2 and ,i 
believe that nobody who ever came into  
contact with him1 or had dealings with  
him1 received any other impression than 
this1 that he had a natural right to the
 perfect respect which surrounded him4  
,the younger son of a poor gentleman1 he
 began life with narrow means1 and      
followed a profession in a small        
provincial town4 ,by close attention and
 industry he saved a considerable sum of
 money1 which he lost entirely through  
the dishonesty of a trusted but         
untrustworthy acquaintance4 ,he had     
other mishaps1 which but little         
disturbed his serenity1 and he patiently
 amassed enough to make himself         
independent4 ,in every relation of life 
he was not only above reproach1 he was  
much more than that3 he was a model of  
what men ought to be1 yet seldom are1 in
 their conduct towards others4 ,he was  

kind to every one1 generous to those who
 needed his generosity1 and1 though     
strict with himself1 tolerant towards   
aberrations that must have seemed to him
 strangely unreasonable4 ,he had great  
natural dignity1 and was a gentleman in 
all his ways1 with an old-fashioned     
grace and courtesy4 ,he had no vanity2  
there may have been some pride as an    
ingredient in his character1 but if so  
it was of a kind that could hurt nobody1
 for he was as simple and               
straightforward in his intercourse with 
the poor as he was at ease with the     
rich4  ,after this description 7which is
 so far from being overcharged that ,i  
have omitted1 for the sake of brevity1  
many admirable characteristics71 the    
reader may ask in what could possibly   
consist the ,philistinism of a nature   
that had attained such excellence4 ,the 
answer is that it consisted in the      
perfect willingness with which he       
remained outside of every intellectual  
movement1 and in the restriction of his 

mental activity to riches and religion4 
,he used to say that a man must be      
contentedly ignorant of many things1 and
 he lived in this contented ignorance4  
,he knew nothing of the subjects that   
awaken the passionate interest of       
intellectual men4 ,he knew no language  
but his own1 bought no books1 knew      
nothing about the fine arts1 never      
travelled1 and remained satisfied with  
the life of his little provincial town4 
,totally ignorant of all foreign        
literatures1 ancient or modern1 he was  
at the same time so slightly acquainted 
with that of his own country that he had
 not read1 and scarcely even knew by    
name1 the most famous authors of his own
 generation4 ,his little bookcase was   
filled almost exclusively with          
evangelical sermons and commentaries4   
,this is ,philistinism on the           
intellectual side1 the mental inertness 
that remains contentedly ignorant of    
almost everything that a superior       
intellect cares for4 ,but1 besides this1

 there is also a ,philistinism on the   
physical side1 a physical inertness2 and
 in this1 too1 my friend was a real     
,philistine4 ,in spite of great natural 
strength1 he remained inexpert in all   
manly exercises1 and so had not enjoyed 
life on that side as he might have done1
 and as the ,bohemian generally         
contrives to do4 ,he belonged to that   
class of men who1 as soon as they reach 
middle age1 are scarcely more active    
than the chairs they sit upon1 the men  
who would fall from a horse if it were  
lively1 upset a boat if it were light1  
and be drowned if they fell into the    
water4 ,such men can walk a little on a 
road1 or they can sit in a carriage and 
be dragged about by horses4 ,by this    
physical inertia my friend was deprived 
of one set of impressions1 as he was    
deprived by his intellectual inertia of 
another4 ,he could not enjoy that close 
intimacy with nature which a ,bohemian  
generally finds to be an important part 
of existence4  ,i wonder if it ever     

occurred to him to reflect1 in the      
tedious hours of too tranquil age1 how  
much of what is best in the world had   
been simply missed by him2 how he had   
missed all the variety and interest of  
travel1 the charm of intellectual       
society1 the influences of genius1 and  
even the physical excitements of healthy
 out-door amusements4 ,when ,i think    
what a magnificent world it is that we  
inhabit1 how much natural beauty there  
is in it1 how much admirable human work 
in literature and the fine arts1 how    
many living men and women there are in  
each generation whose acquaintance a    
wise man would travel far to seek1 and  
value infinitely when he had found it1  
,i cannot avoid the conclusion that my  
friend might have lived as he did in a  
planet far less richly endowed than     
ours1 and that after a long life he went
 out of the world without having really 
known it4  ,i have said that the        
intelligent ,bohemian is generally a man
 of small or moderate means1 whose      

object is to enjoy the best advantages  
7not the most visible7 of riches4 ,in   
his view these advantages are leisure1  
travel1 reading1 and conversation4 ,his 
estimate is different from that of the  
,philistine1 who sets his heart on the  
lower advantages of riches1 sacrificing 
leisure1 travel1 reading1 and           
conversation1 in order to have a larger 
house and more servants4 ,but how1      
without riches1 is the ,bohemian to     
secure the advantages that he desires1  
for they also belong to riches8 ,there  
lies the difficulty1 and the ,bohemian's
 way of overcoming it constitutes the   
romance of his existence4 ,in absolute  
destitution the intelligent ,bohemian   
life is not possible4 ,a little money is
 necessary for it1 and the art and craft
 of ,bohemianism is to get for that     
small amount of money such an amount of 
leisure1 reading1 travel1 and good      
conversation as may suffice to make life
 interesting4 ,the way in which an      
old-fashioned ,bohemian usually set     

about it was this3 he treated material  
comfort and outward appearances as      
matters of no consequence1 accepting    
them when they came in his way1 but     
enduring the privation of them gayly4   
,he learned the art of living on a      
little4    ,je suis pauvre1 trs pauvre1 
et vis pourtant fort bien    ,c'est     
parce que je vis comme les gens de      
rien4#bf  ,he spent the little that he  
had1 first for what was really          
necessary1 and next for what really gave
 him pleasure1 but he spent hardly      
anything in deference to the usages of  
society4 ,in this way he got what he    
wanted4 ,his books were second-hand and 
ill bound1 but he had books and read    
them2 his clothes were shabby1 yet still
 they kept him warm2 he travelled in all
 sorts of cheap ways and frequently on  
foot2 he lived a good deal in some      
unfashionable quarters in a capital     
city1 and saw much of art1 nature1 and  
humanity4  ,to exemplify the true theory
 of ,bohemianism let me describe from   

memory two rooms1 one of them inhabited 
by an ,english lady1 not at all         
,bohemian1 the other by a ,german of the
 coarser sex who was essentially and    
thoroughly ,bohemian4 ,the lady's room  
was not a drawing-room1 being a         
reasonable sort of sitting-room without 
any exasperating inutilities1 but it was
 extremely1 excessively comfortable4    
,half hidden amongst its material       
comforts might be found a little        
rosewood bookcase containing a number of
 pretty volumes in purple morocco that  
were seldom1 if ever1 opened4 ,my       
,german ,bohemian was a steady reader in
 six languages2 and if he had seen such 
a room as that he would probably have   
criticised it as follows4 ,he would have
 said1 ,it is rich in superfluities1 but
 has not what is necessary4 ,the carpet 
is superfluous2 plain boards are quite  
comfortable enough4 ,one or two cheap   
chairs and tables might replace this    
costly furniture4 ,that pretty rosewood 
bookcase holds the smallest number of   

books at the greatest cost1 and is      
therefore contrary to true economy2 give
 me1 rather1 a sufficiency of long deal 
shelves all innocent of paint4 ,what is 
the use of fine bindings and gilt edges8
 ,this little library is miserably poor4
 ,it is all in one language1 and does   
not represent even ,english literature  
adequately2 there are a few novels1     
books of poems1 and travels1 but ,i find
 neither science nor philosophy4 ,such a
 room as that1 with all its comfort1    
would seem to me like a prison4 ,my mind
 needs wider pastures4 ,i remember his  
own room1 a place to make a rich        
,englishman shudder4 ,one climbed up to 
it by a stone corkscrew-stair1          
half-ruinous1 in an old medival house4  
,it was a large room1 with a bed in one 
corner1 and it was wholly destitute of  
anything resembling a carpet or a       
curtain4 ,the remaining furniture       
consisted of two or three rush-bottomed 
chairs1 one large cheap lounging-chair1 
and two large plain tables4 ,there were 

plenty of shelves 7common deal1         
unpainted71 and on them an immense      
litter of books in different languages1 
most of them in paper covers1 and bought
 second-hand1 but in readable editions4 
,in the way of material luxury there was
 a pot of tobacco2 and if a friend      
dropped in for an evening a jug of ale  
would make its appearance4 ,my ,bohemian
 was shabby in his dress1 and           
unfashionable2 but he had seen more1    
read more1 and passed more hours in     
intelligent conversation than many who  
considered themselves his superiors4    
,the entire material side of life had   
been systematically neglected1 in his   
case1 in order that the intellectual    
side might flourish4 ,it is hardly      
necessary to observe that any attempt at
 luxury or visible comfort1 any         
conformity to fashion1 would have been  
incompatible1 on small means1 with the  
intellectual existence that this ,german
 scholar enjoyed4  ,long ago ,i knew an 
,english ,bohemian who had a small      

income that came to him very            
irregularly4 ,he had begun life in a    
profession1 but had quitted it that he  
might travel and see the world1 which he
 did in the oddest1 most original       
fashion1 often enduring privation1 but  
never ceasing to enjoy life deeply in   
his own way1 and to accumulate a mass of
 observations which would have been     
quite invaluable to an author4 ,in him  
the two activities1 physical and mental1
 were alike so energetic that they might
 have led to great results had they been
 consistently directed to some private  
or public end2 but unfortunately he     
remained satisfied with the existence of
 an observant wanderer who has no       
purpose beyond the healthy exercise of  
his faculties4 ,in usefulness to others 
he was not to be compared with my good  
and admirable ,philistine1 but in the   
art of getting for himself what is best 
in the world he was by far the more     
accomplished of the two4 ,he fully      
enjoyed both the physical and the       

intellectual life2 he could live almost 
like a red ,indian1 and yet at the same 
time carry in his mind the most recent  
results of ,european thought and        
science4 ,his distinguishing            
characteristic was a heroic contempt for
 comfort1 in which he rather resembled a
 soldier in war-time than any           
self-indulgent civilian4 ,he would sleep
 anywhere1--in his boat under a sail1 in
 a hayloft1 under a hedge if belated1   
and he would go for days together       
without any regular meal4 ,he dressed   
roughly1 and his clothes became old     
before he renewed them4 ,he kept no     
servant1 and lived in cheap lodgings in 
towns1 or hired one or two empty rooms  
and adorned them with a little portable 
furniture4 ,in the country he contrived 
to make very economical arrangements in 
farmhouses1 by which he was fed and     
lodged quite as well as he ever cared to
 be4 ,it would be difficult to excel him
 in simple manliness1 in the quiet      
courage that accepts a disagreeable     

situation or faces a dangerous one2 and 
he had the manliness of the mind as well
 as that of the body2 he estimated the  
world for what it is worth1 and cared   
nothing for its transient fashions      
either in appearances or opinion4 ,i am 
sorry that he was a useless member of   
society1--if1 indeed1 such an eccentric 
is to be called a member of society at  
all1--but if uselessness is blamable he 
shares the blame1 or ought in justice to
 share it1 with a multitude of most     
respectable gentlemen and ladies who    
receive nothing but approbation from the
 world4  ,except this fault of          
uselessness there was nothing to blame  
in this man's manner of life1 but his   
want of purpose and discipline made his 
fine qualities seem almost without      
value4 ,and now comes the question      
whether the fine qualities of the       
useless ,bohemian may not be of some    
value in a life of a higher kind4 ,i    
think it is evident that they may1 for  
if the ,bohemian can cheerfully         

sacrifice luxury for some mental gain he
 has made a great step in the direction 
of the higher life1 and only requires a 
purpose and a discipline to attain it4  
,common men are completely enslaved by  
their love of comfort1 and whoever has  
emancipated himself from this thraldom  
has gained the first and most necessary 
victory4 ,the use that he will make of  
it depends upon himself4 ,if he has high
 purposes1 his ,bohemianism will be     
ennobled by them1 and will become a most
 precious element in his character2 and 
if his purposes are not of the highest1 
the ,bohemian element may still be very 
valuable if accompanied by              
self-discipline4 ,napoleon cannot be    
said to have had high purposes1 but his 
,bohemianism was admirable4 ,a man who1 
having attained success1 with boundless 
riches at his disposal1 could quit the  
luxury of his palaces and sleep         
anywhere1 in any poor farmhouse1 or     
under the stars by the fire of a        
bivouac1 and be satisfied with poor     

meals at the most irregular hours1      
showed that1 however he may have        
estimated luxury1 he was at least       
entirely independent of it4 ,the model  
monarch in this respect was ,charles    
,,xii4 of ,sweden1 who studied his own  
personal comfort as little as if he had 
been a private soldier4 ,some royal     
commanders have carried luxury into war 
itself1 but not to their advantage4     
,when ,napoleon ,,iii4 went in his      
carriage to meet his fate at ,sedan the 
roads were so encumbered by wagons      
belonging to the ,imperial household as 
to impede the movements of the troops4  
,there is often an element of           
,bohemianism where we should least      
expect to find it4 ,there is something  
of it in our ,english aristocracy1      
though it is not called ,bohemianism    
here because it is not accompanied by   
poverty2 but the spirit that sacrifices 
luxury to rough travelling is1 so far1  
the true ,bohemian spirit4 ,in the      
aristocracy1 however1 such sacrifices   

are only temporary2 and a rough life    
accepted for a few weeks or months gives
 the charm of a restored freshness to   
luxury on returning to it4 ,the class in
 which the higher ,bohemianism has most 
steadily flourished is the artistic and 
literary class1 and here it is visible  
and recognizable because there is often 
poverty enough to compel the choice     
between the objects of the intelligent  
,bohemian and those of ordinary men4    
,the early life of ,goldsmith1 for      
example1 was that of a genuine          
,bohemian4 ,he had scarcely any money1  
and yet he contrived to get for himself 
what the intelligent ,bohemian always   
desires1 namely1 leisure to read and    
think1 travel1 and interesting          
conversation4 ,when penniless and       
unknown he lounged about the world      
thinking and observing2 he travelled in 
,holland1 ,france1 ,switzerland1 and    
,italy1 not as people do in railway     
carriages1 but in leisurely intercourse 
with the inhabitants4 ,notwithstanding  

his poverty he was received by the      
learned in different ,european cities1  
and1 notably1 heard ,voltaire and       
,diderot talk till three o'clock in the 
morning4 ,so long as he remained        
faithful to the true principles of      
,bohemianism he was happy in his own    
strange and eccentric way1 and all the  
anxieties1 all the slavery of his later 
years were due to his apostasy from     
those principles4 ,he no longer         
estimated leisure at its true value when
 he allowed himself to be placed in such
 a situation that he was compelled to   
toil like a slave in order to clear off 
work that had been already paid for1    
such advances having been rendered      
necessary by expenditure on ,philistine 
luxuries4 ,he no longer enjoyed humble  
travel but on his later tour in ,france 
with ,mrs4 ,horneck and her two         
beautiful daughters1 instead of enjoying
 the country in his own old simple      
innocent way1 he allowed his mind to be 
poisoned with ,philistine ideas1 and    

constantly complained of the want of    
physical comfort1 though he lived far   
more expensively than in his youth4 ,the
 new apartments1 taken on the success of
 the ,good-natured ,man1 consisted1 says
 ,irving1 of three rooms1 which he      
furnished with mahogany sofas1          
card-tables1 and bookcases2 with        
curtains1 mirrors1 and ,wilton carpets4 
,at the same time he went even beyond   
the precept of ,polonius1 for his       
garments were costlier than his purse   
could buy1 and his entertainments were  
so extravagant as to give pain to his   
acquaintances4 ,all this is a desertion 
of real ,bohemian principles4 ,goldsmith
 ought to have protected his own        
leisure1 which1 from the ,bohemian point
 of view1 was incomparably more precious
 to himself than ,wilton carpets and    
coats of ,tyrian bloom4  ,corot1 the    
,french landscape-painter1 was a model  
of consistent ,bohemianism of the best  
kind4 ,when his father said1 ,you shall 
have #hj a year1 your plate at my table1

 and be a painter2 or you shall have    
#d1jjj to start with if you will be a   
shop-keeper1 his choice was made at     
once4 ,he remained always faithful to   
true ,bohemian principles1 fully        
understanding the value of leisure1 and 
protecting his artistic independence by 
the extreme simplicity of his living4   
,he never gave way to the modern rage   
for luxuries1 but in his latter years1  
when enriched by tardy professional     
success and hereditary fortune1 he      
employed his money in acts of fraternal 
generosity to enable others to lead the 
intelligent ,bohemian life4  ,wordsworth
 had in him a very strong element of    
,bohemianism4 ,his long pedestrian      
rambles1 his interest in humble life and
 familiar intercourse with the poor1 his
 passion for wild nature1 and preference
 of natural beauty to fine society1 his 
simple and economical habits1 are enough
 to reveal the tendency4 ,his plain     
living and high thinking is a thoroughly
 ,bohemian idea1 in striking opposition 

to the ,philistine passion for rich     
living and low thinking4 ,there is a    
story that he was seen at a             
breakfast-table to cut open a new volume
 with a greasy butter-knife4 ,to every  
lover of books this must seem horribly  
barbarous1 yet at the same time it was  
,bohemian1 in that ,wordsworth valued   
the thought only and cared nothing for  
the material condition of the volume4 ,i
 have observed a like indifference to   
the material condition of books in other
 ,bohemians1 who took the most lively   
interest in their contents4 ,i have also
 seen bibliophiles who had beautiful    
libraries in excellent preservation1 and
 who loved to fondle fine copies of     
books that they never read4 ,that is    
,philistine1 it is the preference of    
material perfection to intellectual     
values4  ,the reader is1 ,i hope1 fully 
persuaded by this time that the higher  
,bohemianism is compatible with every   
quality that deserves respect1 and that 
it is not of necessity connected with   

any fault or failing4 ,i may therefore  
mention as an example of it one of the  
purest and best characters whom it was  
ever my happiness to know4 ,there was a 
strong element of noble ,bohemianism in 
,samuel ,palmer1 the landscape-painter4 
,from time to time1 according to his    
son1 he forsook his easel1 and travelled
 far away from ,london smoke to cull the
 beauties of some favorite country side4
 ,his painting apparatus was complete1  
but singularly simple1 his dress and    
other bodily requirements simpler still2
 so he could walk from village to hamlet
 easily carrying all he wanted1 and     
utterly indifferent to luxury4 ,with a  
good constitution it mattered little to 
him how humble were his quarters or how 
remote from so-called civilization4 ',in
 exploring wild country1' he writes1 ',i
 have been for a fortnight together1    
uncertain each day whether ,i should get
 a bed under cover at night2 and about  
midsummer ,i have repeatedly been       
walking all night to watch the mystic   

phenomena of the silent hours4' ,he     
enjoyed to the full this rough but not  
uncomfortable mode of travelling1 and   
was better pleased to take his place1   
after a hard day's work1 in some old    
chimney corner--joining on equal terms  
the village gossip--than to mope in the 
dull grandeur of a private room4  ,here 
are two of my ,bohemian elements1--the  
love of travel and the love of          
conversation4 ,as for the other         
element1--the love of leisure to think  
and read1--it is not visible in this    
extract 7though the kind of travel      
described is leisurely71 but it was     
always present in the man4 ,during the  
quiet1 solitary progress by day and     
night there were ample opportunities for
 thinking1 and as for reading we know   
that ,palmer never stirred without a    
favorite author in his pocket1 most     
frequently ,milton or ,virgil4 ,to      
complete the ,bohemian we only require  
one other characteristic1--contentment  
with a simple material existence2 and we

 are told that the painting apparatus   
was singularly simple1 the dress and    
other bodily requirements simpler still4
 ,so here we have the intelligent       
,bohemian in his perfection4  ,all this 
is the exact opposite of ,philistine    
common sense4 ,a ,philistine would not  
have exposed himself1 voluntarily1 to   
the certainty of poor accommodation4 ,a 
,philistine would not have remained out 
all night to watch the mystic phenomena 
of the silent hours4 ,in the absence of 
a railway he would have hired a         
carriage1 and got through the wild      
country rapidly to arrive at a good     
dinner4 ,lastly1 a ,philistine would not
 have carried either ,milton or ,virgil 
in his pocket2 he would have had a      
newspaper4  ,some practical experience  
of the higher ,bohemianism is a valuable
 part of education4 ,it enables us to   
estimate things at their true worth1 and
 to extract happiness from situations in
 which the ,philistine is both dull and 
miserable4 ,a true ,bohemian1 of the    

best kind1 knows the value of mere      
shelter1 of food enough to satisfy      
hunger1 of plain clothes that will keep 
him sufficiently warm2 and in the things
 of the mind he values the liberty to   
use his own faculties as a kind of      
happiness in itself4 ,his philosophy    
leads him to take an interest in talking
 with human beings of all sorts and     
conditions1 and in different countries4 
,he does not despise the poor1 for1     
whether poor or rich in his own person1 
he understands simplicity of life1 and  
if the poor man lives in a small        
cottage1 he1 too1 has probably been     
lodged less spaciously still in some    
small hut or tent4 ,he has lived often1 
in rough travel1 as the poor live every 
day4 ,i maintain that such tastes and   
experiences are valuable both in        
prosperity and in adversity4 ,if we are 
prosperous they enhance our appreciation
 of the things around us1 and yet at the
 same time make us really know that they
 are not indispensable1 as so many      

believe them to be2 if we fall into     
adversity they prepare us to accept     
lightly and cheerfully what would be    
depressing privations to others4 ,i know
 a painter who in consequence of some   
change in the public taste fell into    
adversity at a time when he had every   
reason to hope for increased success4   
,very fortunately for him1 he had been a
 ,bohemian in early life1--a respectable
 ,bohemian1 be it understood1--and a    
great traveller1 so that he could easily
 dispense with luxuries4 ,to be still   
permitted to follow art is enough1 he   
said2 so he reduced his expenses to the 
very lowest scale consistent with that  
pursuit1 and lived as he had done before
 in the old ,bohemian times4 ,he made   
his old clothes last on1 he slung a     
hammock in a very simple painting-room1 
and cooked his own dinner on the stove4 
,with the canvas on his easel and a few 
books on a shelf he found that if       
existence was no longer luxurious it had
 not yet ceased to be interesting4      

,,essay ,,xxii4  ,,of ,,courtesy ,,in   
,,epistolary ,,communication4   ,the    
universal principle of courtesy is that 
the courteous person manifests a        
disposition to sacrifice something in   
favor of the person whom he desires to  
honor2 the opposite principle shows     
itself in a disposition to regard our   
own convenience as paramount over every 
other consideration4  ,courtesy lives by
 a multitude of little sacrifices1 not  
by sacrifices of sufficient importance  
to impose any burdensome sense of       
obligation4 ,these little sacrifices may
 be both of time and money1 but more of 
time1 and the money sacrifice should be 
just perceptible1 never ostentatious4   
,the tendency of a hurried age1 in which
 men undertake more work or more        
pleasure 7hardest work of all67 than    
they are able properly to accomplish1 is
 to abridge all forms of courtesy       
because they take time1 and to replace  
them by forms1 if any forms survive1    
which cost as little time as possible4  

,this wounds and injures courtesy itself
 in its most vital part1 for the essence
 of it is the willingness to incur that 
very sacrifice which modern hurry       
avoids4  ,the first courtesy in         
epistolary communication is the mere    
writing of the letter4 ,except in cases 
where the letter itself is an offence or
 an intrusion1 the mere making of it is 
an act of courtesy towards the receiver4
 ,the writer sacrifices his time and a  
trifle of money in order that the       
receiver may have some kind of news4    
,it has ever been the custom to commence
 a letter with some expression of       
respect1 affection1 or good will4 ,this 
is graceful in itself1 and reasonable1  
being nothing more than the salutation  
with which a man enters the house of his
 friend1 or his more ceremonious act of 
deference in entering that of a stranger
 or a superior4 ,in times and seasons   
where courtesy has not given way to     
hurry1 or a selfish dread of unnecessary
 exertion1 the opening form is          

maintained with a certain amplitude1 and
 the substance of the letter is not     
reached in the first lines1 which gently
 induce the reader to proceed4          
,afterwards these forms are felt to     
involve an inconvenient sacrifice of    
time1 and are ruthlessly docked4  ,in   
justice to modern poverty in forms it is
 fair to take into consideration the    
simple truth1 so easily overlooked1 that
 we have to write thirty letters where  
our ancestors wrote one2 but the        
principle of sacrifice in courtesy      
always remains essentially the same2 and
 if of our more precious and more       
occupied time we consecrate a smaller   
portion to forms1 it is still essential 
that there should be no appearance of a 
desire to escape from the kind of       
obligation which we acknowledge4  ,the  
most essentially modern element of      
courtesy in letter-writing is the       
promptitude of our replies4 ,this       
promptitude was not only unknown to our 
remote ancestors1 but even to our       

immediate predecessors4 ,they would     
postpone answering a letter for days or 
weeks1 in the pure spirit of            
procrastination1 when they already      
possessed all the materials necessary   
for the answer4 ,such a habit would try 
our patience very severely1 but our     
fathers seem to have considered it a    
part of their dignity to move slowly in 
correspondence4 ,this temper even yet   
survives in official correspondence     
between sovereigns1 who still notify to 
each other their domestic events long   
after the publication of them in the    
newspapers4  ,a prompt answer equally   
serves the purpose of the sender and the
 receiver4 ,it is a great economy of    
time to answer promptly1 because the    
receiver of the letter is so much       
gratified by the promptitude itself that
 he readily pardons brevity in          
consideration of it4 ,an extremely short
 but prompt letter1 that would look curt
 without its promptitude1 is more polite
 than a much longer one written a few   

days later4  ,prompt correspondents save
 all the time that others waste in      
excuses4 ,i remember an author and      
editor whose system imposed upon him the
 tax of perpetual apologizing4 ,he      
always postponed writing until the delay
 had put his correspondent out of       
temper1 so that when at last he did     
write1 which somehow happened           
ultimately1 the first page was entirely 
occupied with apologies for his delay1  
as he felt that the necessity had arisen
 for soothing the ruffled feelings of   
his friend4 ,it never occurred to him   
that the same amount of pen work which  
these apologies cost him would1 if given
 earlier1 have sufficed for a complete  
answer4 ,a letter-writer of this sort   
must naturally be a bad man of business1
 and this gentleman was so1 though he   
had excellent qualities of another      
order4  ,i remember receiving a most    
extraordinary answer from a             
correspondent of this stamp4 ,i wrote to
 him about a matter which was causing me

 some anxiety1 and did not receive an   
answer for several weeks4 ,at last the  
reply came1 with the strange excuse that
 as he knew ,i had guests in my house he
 had delayed writing from a belief that 
,i should not be able to attend to      
anything until after their departure4   
,if such were always the effect of      
entertaining friends1 what incalculable 
perturbation would be caused by         
hospitality in all private and public   
affairs6  ,the reader may1 perhaps1 have
 met with a collection of letters called
 the ,plumpton ,correspondence1 which   
was published by the ,camden ,society in
 #ahci4 ,i have always been interested  
in this for family reasons1 and also    
because the manuscript volume was found 
in the neighborhood where ,i lived in   
youth2#bg but it does not require any   
blood connection with the now extinct   
house of ,plumpton of ,plumpton to take 
an interest in a collection of letters  
which gives so clear an insight into the
 epistolary customs of ,england in the  

fifteenth and sixteenth centuries4 ,the 
first peculiarity that strikes the      
modern reader is the extreme care of    
almost all the writers1 even when near  
relations1 to avoid a curt and dry      
style1 destitute of the ambages which   
were in those days esteemed an essential
 part of politeness4 ,the only exception
 is a plain1 straightforward gentleman1 
,william ,gascoyne1 who heads his       
letters1 ,to my ,uncle ,plumpton be     
these delivered1 or ,to my ,uncle       
,plumpton this letter be delivered in   
hast4 ,he begins1 ,uncle ,plumpton1 ,i  
recommend me unto you1 and finishes1    
,your nephew1 simply1 or still more     
laconically1 ,your4 ,such plainness is  
strikingly rare4 ,the rule was1 to be   
deliberately perfect in all epistolary  
observances1 however near the           
relationship4 ,not that the forms used  
were hard forms1 entirely fixed by usage
 and devoid of personal feeling and     
individuality4 ,they appear to have been
 more flexible and living than our own1 

as they were more frequently varied     
according to the taste and sentiment of 
the writers4 ,sometimes1 of course1 they
 were perfunctory1 but often they have  
an original and very graceful turn4 ,one
 letter1 which ,i will quote at length1 
contains curious evidence of the        
courtesy and discourtesy of those days4 
,the forms used in the letter itself are
 perfect1 but the writer complains that 
other letters have not been answered4   
,in the reign of ,henry ,,vii4 ,sir     
,robert ,plumpton had a daughter1       
,dorothy1 who was in the household of   
,lady ,darcy 7probably as a sort of maid
 of honor to her ladyship71 but was not 
quite pleased with her position1 and    
wanted to go home to ,plumpton4 ,she had
 written to her father several times1   
but had received no answer1 so she now  
writes again to him in these terms4 ,the
 date of the letter is not fully given1 
as the year is wanting2 but her parents 
were married in #adgg1 and her father   
died in #aebc1 at the age of seventy1   

after a life of strange vicissitudes4   
,the reader will observe two leading    
characteristics in this letter1--that it
 is as courteous as if the writer were  
not related to the receiver1 and as     
affectionate as if no forms had been    
observed4 ,as was the custom in those   
days1 the young lady gives her parents  
their titles of worldly honor1 but she  
always adds to them the most            
affectionate filial expressions3        
,to the right worshipfull and my most   
entyerly beloved1 good1 kind     father1
 ,sir ,robart ,plompton1 knyght1 lying  
at ,plompton in ,yorkshire1     be thes 
delivered in hast4      ,ryght          
worshipfull father1 in the most humble  
manner that ,i can ,i     recommend me  
to you1 and to my lady my mother1 and to
 all my brethren     and sistren1 whom  
,i besech almyghtie ,god to mayntayne   
and preserve in     prosperus health and
 encrese of worship1 entyerly requiering
 you of     your daly blessing2 letting 
you wyt that ,i send to you mesuage1 be 

,wryghame of ,knarsbrugh1 of my mynd1   
and how that he should desire you     in
 my name to send for me to come home to 
you1 and as yet ,i had no     answere   
agane1 the which desire my lady hath    
gotten knowledg4     ,wherefore1 she is 
to me more better lady than ever she was
 before1     insomuch that she hath     
promysed me hir good ladyship as long as
 ever     she shall lyve2 and if she or 
ye can fynd athing meyter for me in this
     parties or any other1 she will     
helpe to promoote me to the uttermost   
of her puyssaunce4 ,wherefore1 ,i humbly
 besech you to be so good and     kind  
father unto me as to let me know your   
pleasure1 how that ye will     have me  
ordred1 as shortly as it shall like you4
 ,and wryt to my lady1     thanking hir 
good ladyship of hir so loving and      
tender kyndnesse     shewed unto me1    
beseching hir ladyship of good          
contynewance thereof4     ,and therefore
 ,i besech you to send a servant of     
yours to my lady and     to me1 and show

 now by your fatherly kyndnesse that ,i 
am your child2     for ,i have sent you 
dyverse messuages and wryttings1 and ,i 
had never     answere againe4 ,wherefore
 yt is thought in this parties1 by those
     persones that list better to say   
ill than good1 that ye have litle       
favor unto me2 the which error ye may   
now quench yf yt will like you     to be
 so good and kynd father unto me4 ,also 
,i besech you to send me a     fine hatt
 and some good cloth to make me some    
kevercheffes4 ,and thus ,i     besech   
,jesu to have you in his blessed keeping
 to his pleasure1 and     your harts    
desire and comforth4 ,wryten at the     
,hirste1 the xviii day of     ,maye4    
,by your loving daughter1               
,,dorythe ,,plompton4  ,it may be worth 
while1 for the sake of contrast1 and    
that we may the better perceive the lost
 fragrance of the antique courtesy1 to  
put the substance of this letter into   
the style of the present day4 ,a modern 
young lady would probably write as      

follows3--      ,,hirst1 ,may #ah4      
,,dear ,,papa1--,lady ,darcy has found  
out that ,i want to leave her1 but she  
has kindly promised to do what she can  
to find something else for me4     ,i   
wish you would say what you think1 and  
it would be as well1 perhaps1     if you
 would be so good as to drop a line to  
her ladyship to thank     her4 ,i have  
written to you several times1 but got no
 answer1 so people     here say that you
 don't care very much for me4 ,would you
 please send     me a handsome bonnet   
and some handkerchiefs8 ,best love to   
mamma and     all at home4              
,your affectionate daughter1            
,,dorothy ,,plumpton4  ,this1 ,i think1 
is not an unfair specimen of a modern   
letter4#bh ,the expressions of worship1 
of humble respect1 have disappeared1 and
 so far it may be thought that there is 
improvement1 yet that respect was not   
incompatible with tender feeling2 on the
 contrary1 it was closely associated    
with it1 and expressions of sentiment   

have lost strength and vitality along   
with expressions of respect4 ,tenderness
 may be sometimes shown in modern       
letters1 but it is rare2 and when it    
occurs it is generally accompanied by a 
degree of familiarity which our         
ancestors would have considered in bad  
taste4 ,dorothy ,plumpton's own letter  
is far richer in the expression of      
tender feeling than any modern letter of
 the courteous and ceremonious kind1 or 
than any of those pale and commonplace  
communications from which deep respect  
and strong affection are almost equally 
excluded4 ,please observe1 moreover1    
that the young lady had reason to be    
dissatisfied with her father for his    
neglect1 which does not in the least    
diminish the filial courtesy of her     
style1 but she chides him in the        
sweetest fashion1--,show now by your    
fatherly kindness that ,i am your child4
 ,could anything be prettier than that1 
though the reproach contained in it is  
really one of some severity8  ,dorothy's

 father1 ,sir ,robert1 puts the         
following superscription on a letter to 
his wife1 ,to my entyrely and right     
hartily beloved wife1 ,dame ,agnes      
,plumpton1 be this ,letter delivered4   
,he begins his letter thus1 ,my deare   
hart1 in my most hartily wyse1 ,i       
recommend mee unto you2 and he ends     
tenderly1 ,by your owne lover1 ,robert  
,plumpton1 ,kt4 ,she1 on the contrary1  
though a faithful and brave wife1 doing 
her best for her husband in a time of   
great trial1 and enjoying his full      
confidence1 begins her letters1 ,right  
worshipful ,sir1 and ends simply1 ,by   
your wife1 ,dame ,agnes ,plumpton4 ,she 
is so much absorbed by business that her
 expressions of feeling are rare and    
brief4 ,sir1 ,i am in good health1 and  
all your children prays for your daly   
blessing4 ,and all your servants is in  
good health and prays diligently for    
your good speed in your matters4  ,the  
generally courteous tone of the letters 
of those days may be judged of by the   

following example4 ,the reader will     
observe how small a space is occupied   
with the substance of the letter in     
comparison with the expressions of pure 
courtesy1 and how simply and handsomely 
regret for the trespass is expressed3-- 
,to his worshipful ,cosin1 ,sir ,robart 
,plompton1 ,kt4      ,right reverend and
 worshipful ,cosin1 ,i commend me unto  
you as hertyly     as ,i can1 evermore  
desiring to heare of your welfare1 the  
which ,i     besech ,jesu to continew to
 his pleasure1 and your herts desire4   
,cosin1 please you witt that ,i am      
enformed1 that a poor man somtyme       
belonging to mee1 called ,umfrey ,bell1 
hath trespased to a servant of          
youres1 which ,i am sory for4           
,wherefore1 ,cosin1 ,i desire and       
hartily     pray you to take upp the    
matter into your own hands for my sake1 
and     rewle him as it please you2 and 
therein you wil do1 as ,i may do that   
may be plesur to you1 and my contry1 the
 which ,i shalbe redy too1 by     the   

grace of ,god1 who preserve you4        
,by your own kynsman1                   
,,robart ,,warcopp1 of ,warcoppe4  ,the 
reader has no doubt by this time enough 
of these old letters1 which are not     
likely to possess much charm for him    
unless1 like the present writer1 he is  
rather of an antiquarian turn4#bi  ,the 
quotations are enough to show some of   
the forms used in correspondence by our 
forefathers1 forms that were right in   
their own day1 when the state of society
 was more ceremonious and deferential1  
but no one would propose to revive them4
 ,we may1 however1 still value and      
cultivate the beautifully courteous     
spirit that our ancestors possessed and 
express it in our own modern ways4  ,i  
have already observed that the          
essentially modern form of courtesy is  
the rapidity of our replies4 ,this1 at  
least1 is a virtue that we can          
resolutely cultivate and maintain4 ,in  
some countries it is pushed so far that 
telegrams are very frequently sent when 

there is no need to employ the          
telegraph4 ,the ,arabs of ,algeria are  
extremely fond of telegraphing for its  
own sake3 the notion of its rapidity    
pleases and amuses them2 they like to   
wield a power so wonderful4 ,it is said 
that the ,americans constantly employ   
the telegraph on very trivial occasions1
 and the habit is increasing in ,england
 and ,france4 ,the secret desire of the 
present age is to find a plausible      
excuse for excessive brevity in         
correspondence1 and this is supplied by 
the comparative costliness of           
telegraphing4 ,it is a comfort that it  
allows you to send a single word4 ,i    
have heard of a letter from a son to a  
father consisting of the ,latin word    
,ibo1 and of a still briefer one from   
the father to the son confined entirely 
to the imperative ,i4 ,these miracles of
 brevity are only possible in letters   
between the most intimate friends or    
relations1 but in telegraphy they are   
common4  ,it is very difficult for      

courtesy to survive this modern passion 
for brevity1 and we see it more and more
 openly cast aside4 ,all the long       
phrases of politeness have been         
abandoned in ,english correspondence for
 a generation1 except in formal letters 
to official or very dignified           
personages2 and the little that remains 
is reduced to a mere shred of courteous 
or affectionate expression4 ,we have    
not1 it is true1 the detestable habit of
 abridging words1 as our ancestors often
 did1 but we cut our phrases short1 and 
sometimes even words of courtesy are    
abridged in an unbecoming manner4 ,men  
will write ,dr4 ,sir for ,dear ,sir4 ,if
 ,i am dear enough to these             
correspondents for their sentiments of  
affection to be worth uttering at all1  
why should they be so chary of          
expressing them that they omit two      
letters from the very word which is     
intended to affect my feelings8    ,if  
,i be dear1 if ,i be dear1  as the poet 
says1 why should my correspondent       

begrudge me the four letters of so brief
 an adjective8  ,the long ,french and   
,italian forms of ceremony at the close 
of letters are felt to be burdensome in 
the present day1 and are gradually      
giving place to briefer ones2 but it is 
the very length of them1 and the time   
and trouble they cost to write1 that    
make them so courteous1 and no brief    
form can ever be an effective substitute
 in that respect4  ,i was once placed in
 the rather embarrassing position of    
having suddenly to send telegrams in my 
own name1 containing a request1 to two  
high foreign authorities in a corps     
where punctilious ceremony is very      
strictly observed4 ,my solution of the  
difficulty was to write two full        
ceremonious letters1 with all the formal
 expressions unabridged1 and then have  
these letters telegraphed in extenso4   
,this was the only possible solution1 as
 an ordinary telegram would have been   
entirely out of the question4 ,it being 
rather expensive to telegraph a very    

formal letter1 the cost added to the    
appearance of deference1 so ,i had the  
curious but very real advantage on my   
side that ,i made a telegram seem even  
more deferential than a letter4  ,the   
convenience of the letter-writer is     
consulted in inverse ratio to the       
appearances of courtesy4 ,in the matter 
of sealing1 for example1 that seems so  
slight and indifferent a concern1 a     
question of ceremony and courtesy is    
involved4 ,the old-fashioned custom of a
 large seal with the sender's arms or   
cipher added to the importance of the   
contents both by strictly guarding the  
privacy of the communication and by the 
dignified assertion of the writer's     
rank4 ,besides this1 the time that it   
costs to take a proper impression of a  
seal shows the absence of hurry and the 
disposition to sacrifice which are a    
part of all noble courtesy2 whilst the  
act of rapidly licking the gum on the   
inside of an envelope and then giving it
 a thump with your fist to make it stick

 is neither dignified nor elegant4      
,there were certain beautiful           
associations with the act of sealing4   
,there was the taper that had to be     
lighted1 and that had its own little    
candlestick of chased or gilded silver1 
or delicately painted porcelain2 there  
was the polished and graven stone of the
 seal1 itself more or less precious1 and
 enhanced in value by an art of high    
antiquity and noble associations1 and   
this graven signet-stone was set in     
massive gold4 ,the act of sealing was   
deliberate1 to secure a fair impression1
 and as the wax caught flame and melted 
it disengaged a delicate perfume4 ,these
 little things may be laughed at by a   
generation of practical men of business 
who know the value of every second1 but 
they had their importance1 and have it  
still1 amongst those who possess any    
delicacy of perception4#cj ,the reader  
will remember the sealing of ,nelson's  
letter to the ,crown ,prince of ,denmark
 during the battle of ,copenhagen4 ,a   

wafer was given him1 says ,southey1 but 
he ordered a candle to be brought from  
the cockpit1 and sealed the letter with 
wax1 affixing a larger seal than he     
ordinarily used4 ',this1' said he1 'is  
no time to appear hurried and informal4'
 ,the story is usually told as a        
striking example of ,nelson's coolness  
in a time of intense excitement1 but it 
might be told with equal effect as a    
proof of his knowledge of mankind and of
 the trifles which have a powerful      
effect on human intercourse4 ,the       
preference of wax to a wafer1 and       
especially the deliberate choice of a   
larger seal as more ceremonious and     
important1 are clear evidence of        
diplomatic skill4 ,no doubt1 too1 the   
impression of ,nelson's arms was very   
careful and clear4  ,in writing to      
,french ,ministers of ,state it is a    
traditional custom to employ a certain  
paper called papier ministre1 which is  
very much larger than that sent to      
ordinary mortals4 ,paper is by no means 

a matter of indifference4 ,it is the    
material costume under which we present 
ourselves to persons removed from us by 
distance2 and as a man pays a call in   
handsome clothes as a sign of respect to
 others1 and also of self-respect1 so he
 sends a piece of handsome paper to be  
the bearer of his salutation4 ,besides1 
a letter is in itself a gift1 though a  
small one1 and however trifling a gift  
may be it must never be shabby4 ,the    
,english understand this art of choosing
 good-looking letter-paper1 and are     
remarkable for using it of a thickness  
rare in other nations4 ,french love of  
elegance has led to charming inventions 
of tint and texture1 particularly in    
delicate gray tints1 and these papers   
are now often decorated with embossed   
initials of heraldic devices on a large 
scale1 but that is carrying prettiness  
too far4 ,the common ,american habit of 
writing letters on ruled paper is not to
 be recommended1 as the ruling reminds  
us of copy-books and account-books1 and 

has a mechanical appearance that greatly
 detracts from what ought to be the     
purely personal air of an autograph4    
,modern love of despatch has led to the 
invention of the post-card1 which1 from 
our present point of view1 that of      
courtesy1 deserves unhesitating         
condemnation4 ,to use a post-card is as 
much as to say to your correspondent1   
,in order to save for myself a very     
little money and a very little time1 ,i 
will expose the subject of our          
correspondence to the eyes of any clerk1
 postman1 or servant1 who feels the     
slightest curiosity about it2 and ,i    
take this small piece of card1 of which 
,i am allowed to use one side only1 in  
order to relieve myself from the        
obligation1 and spare myself the        
trouble1 of writing a letter4 ,to make  
the convenience absolutely perfect1 it  
is customary in ,england to omit the    
opening and concluding salutations on   
post-cards1 so that they are the ne plus
 ultra1 ,i will not say of positive     

rudeness1 but of that negative rudeness 
which is not exactly the opposite of    
courtesy1 but its absence4 ,here again1 
however1 comes the modern principle2 and
 promptitude and frequency of           
communication may be accepted as a      
compensation for the sacrifice of       
formality4 ,it may be argued1 and with  
reason1 that when a man of our own day  
sends a post-card his ancestors would   
have been still more laconic1 for they  
would have sent nothing at all1 and that
 there are a thousand circumstances in  
which a post-card may be written when it
 is not possible to write a letter4 ,a  
husband on his travels has a supply of  
such cards in a pocket-book4 ,with      
these1 and his pencil1 he writes a line 
once or twice a day in train or         
steamboat1 or at table between two      
dishes1 or on the windy platform of a   
railway station1 or in the street when  
he sees a letter-box4 ,he sends fifty   
such communications where his father    
would have written three letters1 and   

his grandfather one slowly composed and 
slowly travelling epistle4  ,many modern
 correspondents appreciate the          
convenience of the post-card1 but their 
conscience1 as that of well-bred people1
 cannot get over the fault of its       
publicity4 ,for these the stationers    
have devised several different          
substitutes4 ,there is the ,french plan 
of what is called ,un ,mot  la ,poste1 a
 piece of paper with a single fold1     
gummed round the other three edges1 and 
perforated like postage-stamps for the  
facility of the opener4#ca ,there is the
 miniature sheet of paper that you have 
not to fold1 and there is the card that 
you enclose in an envelope1 and that    
prepares the reader for a very brief    
communication4 ,here1 again1 is a very  
curious illustration of the sacrificial 
nature of courtesy4 ,a card is sent2 why
 a card8 ,why not a piece of paper of   
the same size which would hold as many  
words8 ,the answer is that a card is    
handsomer and more costly1 and from its 

stiffness a little easier to take out of
 the envelope1 and pleasanter to hold   
whilst reading1 so that a small         
sacrifice is made to the pleasure and   
convenience of the receiver1 which is   
the essence of courtesy in              
letter-writing4 ,all this brief         
correspondence is the offspring of the  
electric telegraph4 ,our forefathers    
were not used to it1 and would have     
regarded it as an offence4 ,even at the 
present date 7#ahhd7 it is not quite    
safe to write in our brief modern way to
 persons who came to maturity before the
 electric telegraph was in use4  ,there 
is a wide distinction between brevity   
and hurry2 in fact1 brevity1 if of the  
intelligent kind1 is the best           
preservative against hurry4 ,some men   
write short letters1 but are very       
careful to observe all the forms2 and   
they have the great advantage that the  
apparent importance of the formal       
expressions is enhanced by the shortness
 of the letter itself4 ,this is the case

 in ,robert ,warcopp's letter to ,sir   
,robert ,plumpton4  ,when hurry really  
exists1 and it is impossible to avoid   
the appearance of it1 as when a letter  
cannot be brief1 yet must be written at 
utmost speed1 the proper course is to   
apologize for hurry at the beginning and
 not at the end of the letter4 ,the     
reader is then propitiated at once1 and 
excuses the slovenly penmanship and     
style4  ,it is remarkable that          
legibility of handwriting should never  
have been considered as among the       
essentials of courtesy in               
correspondence4 ,it is obviously for the
 convenience of the reader that a letter
 should be easily read2 but here another
 consideration intervenes4 ,to write    
very legibly is the accomplishment of   
clerks and writing-masters1 who are     
usually poor men1 and1 as such1 do not  
hold a high social position4            
,aristocratic pride has always had it   
for a principle to disdain1 for itself1 
the accomplishments of professional men2

 and therefore a careless scrawl is more
 aristocratic than a clean handwriting1 
if the scrawl is of a fashionable kind4 
,perhaps the historic origin of this    
feeling may be the scorn of the ignorant
 medival baron for writing of all kinds 
as beneath the attention of a warrior4  
,in a cultured age there may be a reason
 of a higher order4 ,it may be supposed 
that attention to mechanical excellence 
is incompatible with the action of the  
intellect2 and people are curiously     
ready to imagine incompatibilities where
 they do not really exist4 ,as a matter 
of fact1 some men of eminent            
intellectual gifts write with as        
exquisite a clearness in the formation  
of their letters as in the elucidation  
of their ideas4 ,it is easily forgotten1
 too1 that the same person may use      
different kinds of handwriting1         
according to circumstances1 like the    
gentleman whose best hand some people   
could read1 whose middling hand the     
writer himself could read1 and whose    

worst neither he nor any other human    
being could decipher4 ,legouv1 in his   
exquisite way1 tells a charming story of
 how he astonished a little girl by     
excelling her in calligraphy4 ,his      
scribble is all but illegible1 and she  
was laughing at it one day1 when he     
boldly challenged her to a trial4 ,both 
sat down and formed their letters with  
great patience1 as in a writing class1  
and it turned out1 to the girl's        
amazement1 that the scribbling          
,academician had by far the more        
copperplate-like hand of the two4 ,he   
then explained that his bad writing was 
simply the result of speed4 ,frenchmen  
provokingly reserve their very worst and
 most illegible writing for the         
signature4 ,you are able to read the    
letter but not the signature1 and if    
there is not some other means of        
ascertaining the writer's name you are  
utterly at fault4  ,the old habit of    
crossing letters1 now happily abandoned1
 was a direct breach of real1 though not

 of what in former days were            
conventional1 good manners4 ,to cross a 
letter is as much as to say1 ,in order  
to spare myself the cost of another     
sheet of paper or an extra stamp1 ,i am 
quite willing to inflict upon you1 my   
reader1 the trouble of disengaging one  
set of lines from another4 ,very        
economical people in the past generation
 saved an occasional penny in another   
way at the cost of the reader's eyes4   
,they diluted their ink with water1 till
 the recipient of the letter cried1     
,prithee1 why so pale8  ,the modern     
type-writing machine has the advantage  
of making all words equally legible2 but
 the receiver of the printed letter is  
likely to feel on opening it a slight   
yet perceptible shock of the kind always
 caused by a want of consideration4 ,the
 letter so printed is undoubtedly easier
 to read than all but the very clearest 
manuscript1 and so far it may be        
considered a politeness to use the      
instrument2 but unluckily it is         

impersonal1 so that the performer on the
 instrument seems far removed from the  
receiver of the letter and not in that  
direct communication with him which     
would be apparent in an autograph4 ,the 
effect on the mind is almost like that  
of a printed circular1 or at least of a 
letter which has been dictated to a     
short-hand writer4  ,the dictation of   
letters is allowable in business1       
because men of business have to use the 
utmost attainable despatch1 and 7like   
the use of the lead pencil7 it is       
permitted to invalids1 but with these   
exceptions it is sure to produce a      
feeling of distance almost resembling   
discourtesy4 ,in the first place1 a     
dictated letter is not strictly private1
 its contents being already known to the
 amanuensis2 and besides this it is felt
 that the reason for dictating letters  
is the composer's convenience1 which he 
ought not to consult so obviously4 ,if  
he dictates to a short-hand writer he is
 evidently chary of his valuable time1  

whereas courtesy always at least seems  
willing to sacrifice time to others4    
,these remarks1 ,i repeat1 have no      
reference to business correspondence1   
which has its own code of good manners4 
,the most irritating letters to receive 
are those which1 under a great show of  
courtesy1 with many phrases and many    
kind inquiries about your health and    
that of your household1 and even with   
some news adapted to your taste1 contain
 some short sentence which betrays the  
fact that the whole letter was written  
with a manifestly selfish purpose4 ,the 
proper answer to such letters is a brief
 business answer to the one essential   
sentence that revealed the writer's     
object1 not taking any notice whatever  
of the froth of courteous verbiage4  ,is
 it a part of necessary good breeding to
 answer letters at all8 ,are we really1 
in the nature of things1 under the      
obligation to take a piece of paper and 
write phrases and sentences thereupon   
because it has pleased somebody at a    

distance to spend his time in that      
manner8  ,this requires consideration2  
there can be no general rule4 ,it seems 
to me that people commit the error of   
transferring the subject from the region
 of oral conversation to the region of  
written intercourse4 ,if a man asked me 
the way in the street it would be       
rudeness on my part not to answer him1  
because the answer is easily given and  
costs no appreciable time1 but in       
written correspondence the case is      
essentially different4 ,i am burdened   
with work2 every hour1 every minute of  
my day is apportioned to some definite  
duty or necessary rest1 and three       
strangers make use of the post to ask me
 questions4 ,to answer them ,i must make
 references2 however brief the letters  
may be they will take time1--altogether 
the three will consume an hour4 ,have   
these correspondents any right to expect
 me to work an hour for them8 ,would a  
cabman drive them about the streets of  
,london during an hour for nothing8     

,would a waterman pull them an hour on  
the ,thames for nothing8 ,would a       
shoe-black brush their boots and        
trousers an hour for nothing8 ,and why  
am ,i to serve these men gratuitously   
and be called an ill-bred1 discourteous 
person if ,i tacitly decline to be their
 servant8 ,we owe sacrifices--occasional
 sacrifices--of this kind to friends and
 relations1 and we can afford them to a 
few1 but we are under no obligation to  
answer everybody4 ,those whom we do     
answer may be thankful for a word on a  
post-card in ,gladstone's brief but     
sufficient fashion4 ,i am very much of  
the opinion of ,rudolphe in ,ponsard's  
,l',honneur et l',argent4 ,a friend asks
 him what he does about letters3--      
,rudolphe4          ,je les mets        
,soigneusement en poche et ne rponds    
jamais4     ,premier ,ami4      ,oh6    
vous raillez4     ,rudolphe4 ,non pas4  
,je ne puis pas admettre   ,qu'un       
importun m'oblige  rpondre  sa lettre1  
,et1 parcequ'il lui plat de noircir du  

papier   ,me condamne moi-mme  ce fcheux
 mtier4     ,,essay ,,xxiii4  ,,letters 
,,of ,,friendship4   ,if the art of     
writing had been unknown till now1 and  
if the invention of it were suddenly to 
burst upon the world as did that of the 
telephone1 one of the things most       
generally said in praise of it would be 
this4 ,it would be said1 ,what a gain to
 friendship1 now that friends can       
communicate in spite of separation by   
the very widest distances6  ,yet we have
 possessed this means of communication1 
the fullest and best of all1 from remote
 antiquity1 and we scarcely make any use
 of it--certainly not any use at all    
responding to its capabilities1 and as  
time goes on1 instead of developing     
those capabilities by practice in the   
art of friendly correspondence1 we allow
 them to diminish by disuse4  ,the      
lowering of cost for the transport of   
letters1 instead of making friendly     
correspondents numerous1 has made them  
few4 ,the cheap postage-stamp has       

increased business correspondence       
prodigiously1 but it has had a very     
different effect on that of friendship4 
,great numbers of men whose business    
correspondence is heavy scarcely write  
letters of friendship at all4 ,their    
minds produce the business letter as by 
a second nature1 and are otherwise      
sterile4  ,as for the facilities        
afforded by steam communication with    
distant countries1 they seem to be of   
little use to friendship1 since a       
moderate distance soon puts a stop to   
friendly communication4 ,except in cases
 of strong affection the ,straits of    
,dover are an effectual though imaginary
 bar to intercourse of this kind1 not to
 speak of the great oceans4  ,the       
impediment created by a narrow sea is1  
as ,i have said1 imaginary1 but we may  
speculate on the reasons for it2 and my 
own reflections have ended in the       
somewhat strange conclusion that it must
 have something to do with sea-sickness4
 ,it must be that people dislike the    

idea of writing a letter that will have 
to cross a narrow channel of salt-water1
 because they vaguely and dimly dread   
the motion of the vessel4 ,nobody would 
consciously avow to himself such a      
sympathy with a missive exempt from all 
human ills1 but the feeling may be      
unconsciously present4 ,how else are we 
to account for the remarkable fact that 
salt-water breaks friendly communication
 by letter8 ,if you go to live anywhere 
out of your native island your most     
intimate friends cease to give any news 
of themselves4 ,they do not even send   
printed announcements of the marriages  
and deaths in their families4 ,this does
 not imply any cessation of friendly    
feeling on their part4 ,if you appeared 
in ,england again they would welcome you
 with the utmost kindness and           
hospitality1 but they do not like to    
post anything that will have to cross   
the sea4 ,the news-vendors have not the 
same delicate imaginative sympathy with 
the possible sufferings of rag-pulp1 so 

you get your ,english journals and find 
therein1 by pure accident1 the marriage 
of one intimate old friend and the death
 of another4 ,you excuse the married    
man1 because he is too much intoxicated 
with happiness to be responsible for any
 omission2 and you excuse the dead man1 
because he cannot send letters from     
another world4 ,still you think that    
somebody not preoccupied by bridal joys 
or impeded by the last paralysis might  
have sent you a line directly1 were it  
only a printed card4  ,not only do the  
writers of letters feel a difficulty in 
sending their manuscript across the sea1
 but people appear to have a sense of   
difficulty in correspondence            
proportionate to the distance the letter
 will have to traverse4 ,one would infer
 that they really experience1 by the    
power of imagination1 a feeling of      
fatigue in sending a letter on a long   
journey4 ,if this is not so1 how are we 
to account for the fact that the rarity 
of letters from friends increases in    

exact proportion to our remoteness from 
them8 ,a simple person without          
correspondence would naturally imagine  
that it would be resorted to as a solace
 for separation1 and that the greater   
the distance the more the separated     
friends would desire to be drawn        
together occasionally by its means1 but 
in practice this rarely happens4 ,people
 will communicate by letter across a    
space of a hundred miles when they will 
not across a thousand4  ,the very       
smallest impediments are of importance  
when the desire for intercourse is      
languid4 ,the cost of postage to        
colonies and to countries within the    
postal union is trifling1 but still it  
is heavier than the cost of internal    
postage1 and it may be unconsciously    
felt as an impediment4 ,another slight  
impediment is that the answer to a      
letter sent to a great distance cannot  
arrive next day1 so that he who writes  
in hope of an answer is like a trader   
who cannot expect an immediate return   

for an investment4  ,to prevent         
friendships from dying out entirely     
through distance1 the ,french have a    
custom which seems1 but is not1 an empty
 form4 ,on or about ,new ,year's ,day   
they send cards to all friends and many 
acquaintances1 however far away4 ,the   
useful effects of this custom are the   
following3--  #a4 ,it acquaints you with
 the fact that your friend is still     
alive1--pleasing information if you care
 to see him again4  #b4 ,it shows you   
that he has not forgotten you4  #c4 ,it 
gives you his present address4  #d4 ,in 
case of marriage1 you receive his wife's
 card along with his own2 and if he is  
dead you receive no card at all1 which  
is at least a negative intimation4#cb   
,this custom has also an effect upon    
written correspondence1 as the printed  
card affords the opportunity of writing 
a letter1 when1 without the address1 the
 letter might not be written4 ,when the 
address is well known the card often    
suggests the idea of writing4  ,when    

warm friends send visiting-cards they   
often add a few words of manuscript on  
the card itself1 expressing friendly    
sentiments and giving a scrap of brief  
but welcome news4  ,here is a suggestion
 to a generation that thinks friendly   
letter-writing irksome4 ,with a view to 
the sparing of time and trouble1 which  
is the great object of modern life      
7sparing1 that is1 in order to waste in 
other ways71 cards might be printed as  
forms of invitation are1 leaving only a 
few blanks to be filled up2 or there    
might be a public signal-book in which  
the phrases most likely to be useful    
might be represented by numbers4  ,the  
abandonment of letter-writing between   
friends is the more to be regretted     
that1 unless our friends are public     
persons1 we receive no news of them     
indirectly2 therefore1 when we leave    
their neighborhood1 the separation is of
 that complete kind which resembles     
temporary death4 ,no word comes from the
 dead1 and no word comes from those     

silent friends4 ,it is a melancholy     
thought in leaving a friend of this     
kind1 when you shake hands at the       
station and still hear the sound of his 
voice1 that in a few minutes he will be 
dead to you for months or years4 ,the   
separation from a corresponding friend  
is shorn of half its sorrows4 ,you know 
that he will write1 and when he writes  
it requires little imagination to hear  
his voice again4  ,to write1 however1 is
 not all4 ,for correspondence to reach  
its highest value1 both friends must    
have the natural gift of friendly       
letter-writing1 which may be defined as 
the power of talking on paper in such a 
manner as to represent their own minds  
with perfect fidelity in their friendly 
aspect4  ,this power is not common4 ,a  
man may be a charming companion1 full of
 humor and gayety1 a well of knowledge1 
an excellent talker1 yet his            
correspondence may not reveal the       
possession of these gifts4 ,some men are
 so constituted that as soon as they    

take a pen their faculties freeze4 ,i   
remember a case of the same congelation 
in another art4 ,a certain painter had  
exuberant humor and mimicry1 with a     
marked talent for strong effects in     
talk2 in short1 he had the gifts of an  
actor1 and1 as ,pius ,,vii4 called      
,napoleon ,i41 he was both commediante  
and tragediante4 ,any one who knew him1 
and did not know his paintings1 would   
have supposed at once that a man so     
gifted must have painted the most       
animated works2 but it so happened 7from
 some cause in the deepest mysteries of 
his nature7 that whenever he took up a  
brush or a pencil his humor1 his tragic 
power1 and his love of telling effects  
all suddenly left him1 and he was as    
timid1 slow1 sober1 and generally       
ineffectual in his painting as he was   
full of fire and energy in talk4 ,so it 
is in writing4 ,that which ought to be  
the pouring forth of a man's nature     
often liberates only a part of his      
nature1 and perhaps that part which has 

least to do with friendship4 ,your      
friend delights you by his ease and     
affectionate charm of manner1 by the    
happiness of his expressions1 by his    
wit1 by the extent of his information1  
all these being qualities that social   
intercourse brings out in him as colors 
are revealed by light4 ,the same man1 in
 dull solitude at his desk1 may write a 
letter from which every one of these    
qualities may be totally absent1 and    
instead of them he may offer you a piece
 of perfunctory duty-writing which1 as  
you see quite plainly1 he only wanted to
 get done with1 and in which you do not 
find a trace of your friend's real      
character4 ,such correspondence as that 
is worth having only so far as it       
informs you of your friend's existence  
and of his health4  ,another and a very 
different way in which a man may        
represent himself unfairly in           
correspondence1 so that his letters are 
not his real self1 is when he finds that
 he has some particular talent as a     

writer1 and unconsciously cultivates    
that talent when he holds a pen1 whereas
 his real self has many other qualities 
that remain unrepresented4 ,in this way 
humor may become the dominant quality in
 the letters of a correspondent whose   
conversation is not dominantly humorous4
  ,habits of business sometimes produce 
the effect that the confirmed business  
correspondent will write to his friend  
willingly and promptly on any matter of 
business1 and will give him excellent   
advice1 and be glad of the opportunity  
of rendering him a service1 but he will 
shrink from the unaccustomed effort of  
writing any other kind of letter4       
,there is a strong temptation to blame  
silent friends and praise good          
correspondents2 but we do not reflect   
that letter-writing is a task to some   
and a pleasure to others1 and that if   
people may sometimes be justly blamed   
for shirking a corve they can never     
deserve praise for indulging in an      
amusement4 ,there is a particular reason

 why1 when friendly letter-writing is a 
task1 it is more willingly put off than 
many other tasks that appear far heavier
 and harder4 ,it is either a real       
pleasure or a feigned pleasure1 and     
feigned pleasures are the most wearisome
 things in life1 far more wearisome than
 acknowledged work4 ,for in work you    
have a plain thing to do and you see the
 end of it1 and there is no need for    
ambages at the beginning or for a       
graceful retiring at the close2 but a   
feigned pleasure has its own observances
 that must be gone through whether one  
has any heart for them or not4 ,the     
groom who cleans a rich man's stable1   
and whistles at his work1 is happier    
than the guest at a state dinner who is 
trying to look other than what he is1--a
 wearied victim of feigned and formal   
pleasure with a set false smile upon his
 face4 ,in writing a business letter you
 have nothing to affect2 but a letter of
 friendship1 unless you have the real   
inspiration for it1 is a narrative of   

things you have no true impulse to      
narrate1 and the expression of feelings 
which 7even if they be in some degree   
existent7 you do not earnestly desire to
 utter4  ,the sentiment of friendship is
 in general rather a quiet feeling of   
regard than any lively enthusiasm4 ,it  
may be counted upon for what it is1--a  
disposition to receive the friend with a
 welcome or to render him an occasional 
service1 but there is not1 commonly1    
enough of it to be a perennial warm     
fountain of literary inspiration4       
,therefore the worst mistake in dealing 
with a friend is to reproach him for not
 having been cordial and communicative  
enough4 ,sometimes this reproach is     
made1 especially by women1 and the      
immediate effect of it is to close      
whatever communicativeness there may be4
 ,if the friend wrote little before     
being reproached he will write less     
after4  ,the true inspiration of the    
friendly letter is the perfect faith    
that all the concerns of the writer will

 interest his friend4 ,if ,james1 who is
 separated by distance from ,john1      
thinks that ,john will not care about   
what ,james has been doing1 hoping1     
suffering1 the fount of friendly        
correspondence is frozen at its source4 
,james ought to believe that ,john loves
 him enough to care about every little  
thing that can affect his happiness1    
even to the sickness of his old horse or
 the accident that happened to his dog  
when the scullery-maid threw scalding   
water out of the kitchen window2 then   
there will be no lack1 and ,james will  
babble on innocently through many a     
page1 and never have to think4  ,the    
believer in friendship1 he who has the  
true undoubting faith1 writes with      
perfect carelessness about great things 
and small1 avoiding neither serious     
interests1 as a wary man would1 nor     
trivial ones that might be passed over  
by a writer avaricious of his time4     
,william of ,orange1 in his letters to  
,bentinck1 appears to have been the     

model of friendly correspondents2 and he
 was so because his letters reflected   
not a part only of his thinking and     
living1 but the whole of it1 as if      
nothing that concerned him could        
possibly be without interest for the man
 he loved4 ,familiar as it must be to   
many readers1 ,i cannot but quote a     
passage from ,macaulay3      ,the       
descendants of ,bentinck still preserve 
many letters written by     ,william to 
their master1 and it is not too much to 
say that no person     who has not      
studied those letters can form a correct
 notion of the     ,prince's character4 
,he whom even his admirers generally    
accounted the     most frigid and       
distant of men here forgets all         
distinctions of rank1     and pours out 
all his thoughts with the ingenuousness 
of a schoolboy4     ,he imparts without 
reserve secrets of the highest moment4  
,he explains     with perfect simplicity
 vast designs affecting all the         
governments of     ,europe4 ,mingled    

with his communications on such subjects
 are other     communications of a very 
different but perhaps not of a less     
interesting kind4 ,all his adventures1  
all his personal feelings1 his     long 
runs after enormous stags1 his carousals
 on ,st4 ,hubert's ,day1 the     growth 
of his plantations1 the failure of his  
melons1 the state of his     stud1 his  
wish to procure an easy pad-nag for his 
wife1 his vexation     at learning that 
one of his household1 after ruining a   
girl of good     family1 refused to     
marry her1 his fits of sea-sickness1 his
 coughs1     his headaches1 his         
devotional moods1 his gratitude for the 
,divine     protection after a great    
escape1 his struggles to submit himself 
to     the ,divine will after a         
disaster1 are described with an amiable 
garrulity hardly to have been expected  
from the most discreetly sedate         
statesman of his age4 ,still more       
remarkable is the careless effusion     
of his tenderness1 and the brotherly    

interest which he takes in his          
friend's domestic felicity4  ,friendly  
letters easily run over from sheet to   
sheet till they become ample and        
voluminous4 ,i received a welcome       
epistle of twenty pages recently1 and   
have seen another from a young man to   
his comrade which exceeded fifty2 but   
the grandest letter that ,i ever heard  
of was from ,gustave ,dor to a very old 
lady whom he liked4 ,he was travelling  
in ,switzerland1 and sent her a letter  
eighty pages long1 full of lively       
pen-sketches for her entertainment4     
,artists often insert sketches in their 
letters1--a graceful habit1 as it adds  
to their interest and value4  ,the      
talent for scribbling friendly letters  
implies some rough literary power1 but  
may coexist with other literary powers  
of a totally different kind1 and1 as it 
seems1 in perfect independence of them4 
,there is no apparent connection between
 the genius in ,childe ,harold1         
,manfred1 ,cain1 and the talent of a    

lively letter-writer1 yet ,byron was the
 best careless letter-writer in ,english
 whose correspondence has been published
 and preserved4 ,he said dreadful is the
 exertion of letter-writing1 but by this
 he must have meant the first overcoming
 of indolence to begin the letter1 for  
when once in motion his pen travelled   
with consummate naturalness and ease1   
and the exertion is not to be perceived4
 ,the length and subject of his         
communications were indeterminate4 ,he  
scribbled on and on1 every passing mood 
being reflected and fixed forever in his
 letters1 which complete our knowledge  
of him by showing us the action of his  
mind in ordinal times as vividly as the 
poems display its power in moments of   
highest exaltation4 ,we follow his      
mental phases from minute to minute4 ,he
 is not really in one state and         
pretending to be in another for form's  
sake1 so you have all his moods1 and the
 letters are alive4 ,the transitions are
 quick as thought4 ,he darts from one   

topic to another with the freedom and   
agility of a bird1 dwelling on each just
 long enough to satisfy his present     
need1 but not an instant longer1 and    
this without any reference to the       
original subject or motive of the       
letter4 ,he is one of those perfect     
correspondents qui causent avec la      
plume4 ,men1 women1 and things1 comic   
and tragic adventures1 magnificent      
scenery1 historical cities1 all that his
 mind spontaneously notices in the      
world1 are touched upon briefly1 yet    
with consummate power4 ,though the      
sentences were written in the most      
careless haste and often in the         
strangest situations1 many a paragraph  
is so dense in its substance1 so full of
 matter1 that one could not abridge it  
without loss4 ,but the supreme merit of 
,byron's letters is that they record his
 own sensations with such fidelity4     
,what do ,i1 the receiver of a letter1  
care for second-hand opinions about     
anything8 ,i can hear the fashionable   

opinions from echoes innumerable4 ,what 
,i do want is a bit of my friend        
himself1 of his own peculiar            
idiosyncrasy1 and if ,i get that it     
matters nothing that his feelings and   
opinions should be different from mine2 
nay1 the more they differ from mine the 
more freshness and amusement they bring 
me4 ,all ,byron's correspondents might  
be sure of getting a bit of the real    
,byron4 ,he never describes anything    
without conveying the exact effect upon 
himself4 ,writing to his publisher from 
,rome in #ahag1 he gives in a single    
paragraph a powerful description of the 
execution of three robbers by the       
guillotine 7rather too terrible to      
quote71 and at the end of it comes the  
personal effect3--      ,the pain seems 
little1 and yet the effect to the       
spectator and the     preparation to the
 criminal are very striking and         
chilling4 ,the first     turned me quite
 hot and thirsty1 and made me shake so  
that ,i could     hardly hold the       

opera-glass 7,i was close1 but was      
determined to see as     one should see 
everything once1 with attention72 the   
second and third     7which shows how   
dreadfully soon things grow             
indifferent71 ,i am     ashamed to say1 
had no effect on me as a horror1 though 
,i would have     saved them if ,i      
could4  ,how accurately this experience 
is described with no affectation of     
impassible courage 7he trembles at first
 like a woman7 or of becoming emotion   
afterwards1 the instant that the real   
emotion ceased6 ,only some pity         
remains1--,i would have saved them if ,i
 could4  ,the bits of frank criticism   
thrown into his letters1 often quite by 
chance1 were not the least interesting  
elements in ,byron's correspondence4    
,here is an example1 about a book that  
had been sent him3--      ,modern       
,greece--good for nothing2 written by   
some one who has never     been there1  
and1 not being able to manage the       
,spenser stanza1 has     invented a     

thing of his own1 consisting of two     
elegiac stanzas1 an     heroic line and 
an ,alexandrine1 twisted on a string4   
,besides1 why     modern8 ,you may say  
modern ,greeks1 but surely ,greece      
itself is     rather more ancient than  
ever it was4  ,the carelessness of      
,byron in letter-writing1 his total     
indifference to proportion and form1 his
 inattention to the beginning1 middle1  
and end of a letter1 considered as a    
literary composition1 are not to be     
counted for faults1 as they would be in 
writings of any pretension4 ,a friendly 
letter is1 by its nature1 a thing       
without pretension4 ,the one merit of it
 which compensates for every defect is  
to carry the living writer into the     
reader's presence1 such as he really is1
 not such as by study and art he might  
make himself out to be4 ,byron was      
energetic1 impetuous1 impulsive1 quickly
 observant1 disorderly1 generous1       
open-hearted1 vain4 ,all these qualities
 and defects are as conspicuous in his  

correspondence as they were in his mode 
of life4 ,there have been better        
letter-writers as to literary art1--to  
which he gave no thought1--and the      
literary merits that his letters possess
 7their clearness1 their force of       
narrative and description1 their        
conciseness7 are not the results of     
study1 but the characteristics of a     
vigorous mind4  ,the absolutely best    
friendly letter-writer known to me is   
,victor ,jacquemont4 ,he1 too1 wrote    
according to the inspiration of the     
moment1 but it was so abundant that it  
carried him on like a steadily flowing  
tide4 ,his letters are wonderfully      
sustained1 yet they are not composed2   
they are as artless as ,byron's1 but    
much more full and regular4 ,many       
scribblers have facility1 a flux of     
words1 but who has ,jacquemont's weight 
of matter along with it8 ,the           
development of his extraordinary        
epistolary talent was due to another    
talent deprived of adequate exercise by 

circumstances4 ,jacquemont was by nature
 a brilliant1 charming1 amiable talker1 
and the circumstances were various      
situations in which this talker was     
deprived of an audience1 being often1 in
 long wanderings1 surrounded by dull or 
ignorant people4 ,ideas accumulated in  
his mind till the accumulation became   
difficult to bear1 and he relieved      
himself by talking on paper to friends  
at a distance1 but intentionally only to
 one friend at a time4 ,he tried to     
forget that his letters were passed     
round a circle of readers1 and the idea 
that they would be printed never once   
occurred to him3--      ,en crivant     
aujourd'hui aux uns et aux autres1 j'ai 
cherch  oublier     ce que tu me dis de 
l'change que chacun fait des lettres    
qu'il reoit     de moi4 ,cette pense    
m'aurait retenu la plume1 ou du moins1  
ne     l'aurait pas laisse couler assez 
nonchalamment sur le papier pour en     
noircir1 en un jour1 cinquante-huit     
feuilles1 comme je l'ai fait4444     ,je

 sais et j'aime beaucoup causer  deux2  
trois1 c'est autre chose2     il en est 
de mme pour crire4 ,pour parler comme je
 pense et sans     blague1 il me faut la
 persuasion que je ne serai lu que de   
celui      qui j'cris4  ,to read these  
letters1 in the four volumes of them    
which have been happily preserved1 is to
 live with the courageous observer from 
day to day1 to share pleasures enjoyed  
with the freshness of sensation that    
belongs to youth and strength1 and      
privations borne with the cheerfulness  
of a truly heroic spirit4  ,this ,essay 
would run to an inordinate length if ,i 
even mentioned the best of the many     
letter-writers who are known to us2 and 
it is generally by some adventitious    
circumstance that they have ever been   
known at all4 ,a man wins fame in       
something quite outside of              
letter-writing1 and then his letters are
 collected and given to the world1 but  
perfectly obscure people may have been  
equal or superior to him as             

correspondents4 ,occasionally the       
letters of some obscure person are      
rescued from oblivion4 ,madame de       
,rmusat passed quietly through life1 and
 is now in a blaze of posthumous fame4  
,her son decided upon the publication of
 her letters1 and then it became at once
 apparent that this lady had            
extraordinary gifts of the observing and
 recording order1 so that her testimony1
 as an eye-witness of rare intelligence1
 must affect all future estimates of the
 conqueror of ,austerlitz4 ,there may be
 at this moment1 there probably are1    
persons to whom the world attributes no 
literary talent1 yet who are cleverly   
preserving the very best materials of   
history in careless letters to their    
friends4  ,it seems an indiscretion to  
read private letters1 even when they are
 in print1 but it is an indiscretion we 
cannot help committing4 ,what can be    
more private than a letter from a man to
 his wife on purely family matters8     
,surely it is wrong to read such        

letters2 but who could repent having    
read that exquisite one from ,tasso's   
father1 ,bernardo ,tasso1 written to his
 wife about the education of their      
children during an involuntary          
separation8 ,it shows to what a degree a
 sheet of paper may be made the vehicle 
of a tender affection4 ,in the first    
page he tries1 and1 lover-like1 tries   
again and again1 to find words that will
 draw them together in spite of         
distance4 ,not merely often1 he says1   
but continually our thoughts must meet  
upon the road4 ,he expresses the fullest
 confidence that her feelings for him   
are as strong and true as his own for   
her1 and that the weariness of          
separation is painful alike for both1   
only he fears that she will be less able
 to bear the pain1 not because she is   
wanting in prudence but by reason of her
 abounding love4 ,at length the tender  
kindness of his expressions culminates  
in one passionate outburst1 poi ch' io  
amo voi in quello estremo grado che si  

possa amar cosa mortale4  ,it would be  
difficult to find a stronger contrast   
than that between ,bernardo ,tasso's    
warmth and the tranquil coolness of     
,montaigne1 who just says enough to save
 appearances in that one conjugal       
epistle of his which has come down to   
us4 ,he begins by quoting a sceptical   
modern view of marriage1 and then       
briefly disclaims it for himself1 but   
does not say exactly what his own       
sentiments may be1 not having much ardor
 of affection to express1 and honestly  
avoiding any feigned declarations3--    
,ma ,femme vous entendez bien que ce    
n'est pas le tour d'vn galand     homme1
 aux reigles de ce temps icy1 de vous   
courtiser  caresser     encore4 ,car ils
 disent qu'vn habil homme peut bien     
prendre femme3 mais     que de          
l'espouser c'est  faire  vn sot4        
,laissons les dire3 ie me     tiens de  
ma part  la simple faon du vieil aage1  
aussi en porte-ie     tantost le poil4  
,et de vray la nouuellet couste si cher 

iusqu'     ceste heure  ce pauure estat 
7 si ie ne say si nous en sommes  la    
dernire enchere7 qu'en tout  par tout   
i'en quitte le party4 ,viuons     ma    
femme1 vous  moy1  la vieille ,franoise4
  ,if friendship is maintained by       
correspondence1 it is also liable to be 
imperilled by it4 ,not unfrequently have
 men parted on the most amiable terms1  
looking forward to a happy meeting1 and 
not foreseeing the evil effects of      
letters4 ,something will be written by  
one of them1 not quite acceptable to the
 other1 who will either remonstrate and 
cause a rupture in that way1 or take his
 trouble silently and allow friendship  
to die miserably of her wound4 ,much    
experience is needed before we entirely 
realize the danger of friendly          
intercourse on paper4 ,it is ten times  
more difficult to maintain a friendship 
by letter than by personal intercourse1 
not for the obvious reason that         
letter-writing requires an effort1 but  
because as soon as there is the         

slightest divergence of views or        
difference in conduct1 the expression of
 it or the account of it in writing     
cannot be modified by kindness in the   
eye or gentleness in the tone of voice4 
,my friend may say almost anything to me
 in his private room1 because whatever  
passes his lips will come with tones    
that prove him to be still my friend2   
but if he wrote down exactly the same   
words1 and a postman handed me the      
written paper1 they might seem hard1    
unkind1 and even hostile4 ,it is strange
 how slow we are to discover this in    
practice4 ,we are accustomed to speak   
with great freedom to intimate friends1 
and it is only after painful mishaps    
that we completely realize the truth    
that it is perilous to permit ourselves 
the same liberty with the pen4 ,as soon 
as we do realize it we see the extreme  
folly of those who timidly avoid the    
oral expression of friendly censure1 and
 afterwards write it all out in black   
ink and send it in a missive to the     

victim when he has gone away4 ,he       
receives the letter1 feels it to be a   
cold cruelty1 and takes refuge from the 
vexations of friendship in the toils of 
business1 thanking ,heaven that in the  
region of plain facts there is small    
place for sentiment4     ,,essay ,,xxiv4
  ,,letters ,,of ,,business4   ,the     
possibilities of intercourse by         
correspondence are usually              
underestimated4  ,that there are great  
natural differences of talent for       
letter-writing is certainly true2 but it
 is equally true that there are great   
natural differences of talent for oral  
explanation1 yet1 although we constantly
 hear people say that this or that      
matter of business cannot be treated by 
correspondence1 we never hear them say  
that it cannot be treated by personal   
interviews4 ,the value of the personal  
interview is often as much              
over-estimated as that of letters is    
depreciated2 for if some men do best    
with the tongue1 others are more        

effective with the pen4  ,it is presumed
 that there is nothing in correspondence
 to set against the advantages of       
pouring forth many words without effort1
 and of carrying on an argument rapidly2
 but the truth is1 that correspondence  
has peculiar advantages of its own4 ,a  
hearer seldom grasps another person's   
argument until it has been repeated     
several times1 and if the argument is of
 a very complex nature the chances are  
that he will not carry away all its     
points even then4 ,a letter is a        
document which a person of slow         
abilities can study at his leisure1     
until he has mastered it2 so that an    
elaborate piece of reasoning may be set 
forth in a letter with a fair chance    
that such a person will ultimately      
understand it4 ,he will read the letter 
three or four times on the day of its   
arrival1 then he will still feel that   
something may have escaped him1 and he  
will read it again next day4 ,he will   
keep it and refer to it afterwards to   

refresh his memory4 ,he can do nothing  
of all this with what you say to him    
orally4 ,his only resource in that case 
is to write down a memorandum of the    
conversation on your departure1 in which
 he will probably make serious omissions
 or mistakes4 ,your letter is a         
memorandum of a far more direct and     
authentic kind4  ,appointments are      
sometimes made in order to settle a     
matter of business by talking1 and after
 the parties have met and talked for a  
long time one says to the other1 ,i will
 write to you in a day or two2 and the  
other instantly agrees with the         
proposal1 from a feeling that the matter
 can be settled more clearly by letter  
than by oral communication4  ,in these  
cases it may happen that the talking has
 cleared the way for the letter1--that  
it has removed subjects of doubt1       
hesitation1 or dispute1 and left only a 
few points on which the parties are very
 nearly agreed4  ,there are1 however1   
other cases1 which have sometimes come  

under my own observation1 in which men  
meet by appointment to settle a matter1 
and then seem afraid to cope with it1   
and talk about indifferent subjects with
 a half-conscious intention of          
postponing the difficult one till there 
is no longer time to deal with it on    
that day4 ,they then say1 when they     
separate1 ,we will settle that matter by
 correspondence1 as if they could not   
have done so just as easily without     
giving themselves the trouble of        
meeting4 ,in such cases as these the    
reason for avoiding the difficult       
subject is either timidity or indolence4
 ,either the parties do not like to face
 each other in an opposition that may   
become a verbal combat1 or else they    
have not decision and industry enough to
 do a hard day's work together2 so they 
procrastinate1 that they may spread the 
work over a larger space of time4  ,the 
timidity that shrinks from a personal   
encounter is sometimes the cause of     
hostile letter-writing about matters of 

business even when personal interviews  
are most easy4 ,there are instances of  
disputes by letter between people who   
live in the same town1 in the same      
street1 and even in the same house1 and 
who might quarrel with their tongues if 
they were not afraid1 but fear drives   
them to fight from a certain distance1  
as it requires less personal courage to 
fire a cannon at an enemy a league away 
than to face his naked sword4  ,timidity
 leads people to write letters and to   
avoid them4 ,some timorous people feel  
bolder with a pen2 others1 on the       
contrary1 are extremely afraid of       
committing anything to paper1 either    
because written words remain and may be 
referred to afterwards1 or because they 
may be read by eyes they were never     
intended for1 or else because the       
letter-writer feels doubtful about his  
own powers in composition1 grammar1 or  
spelling4  ,of these reasons against    
doing business by letter the second is  
really serious4 ,you write about your   

most strictly private affairs1 and      
unless the receiver of the letter is a  
rigidly careful and orderly person1 it  
may be read by his clerks or servants4  
,you may afterwards visit the recipient 
and find the letter lying about on a    
disorderly desk1 or stuck on a hook     
suspended from a wall1 or thrust into a 
lockless drawer2 and as the letter is no
 longer your property1 and you have not 
the resource of destroying it1 you will 
keenly appreciate the wisdom of those   
who avoid letter-writing when they can4 
,the other cause of timidity1 the       
apprehension that some fault may be     
committed1 some sin against literary    
taste or grammatical rule1 has a        
powerful effect as a deterrent from even
 necessary business correspondence4 ,the
 fear which a half-educated person feels
 that he will commit faults causes a    
degree of hesitation which is enough of 
itself to produce them2 and besides this
 cause of error there is the want of    
practice1 also caused by timidity1 for  

persons who dread letter-writing        
practise it as little as possible4  ,the
 awkwardness of uneducated              
letter-writers is a most serious cause  
of anxiety to people who are compelled  
to intrust the care of things to        
uneducated dependants at a distance4    
,such care-takers1 instead of keeping   
you regularly informed of the state of  
affairs as an intelligent correspondent 
would1 write rarely1 and they have such 
difficulty in imagining the necessary   
ignorance of one who is not on the spot1
 that the information they give you is  
provokingly incomplete on some most     
important points4  ,an uneducated agent 
will write to you and tell you1 for     
example1 that damage has occurred to    
something of yours1 say a house1 a      
carriage1 or a yacht1 but he will not   
tell you its exact nature or extent1 and
 he will leave you in a state of anxious
 conjecture4 ,if you question him by    
letter1 he will probably miss what is   
most essential in your questions1 so    

that you will have great difficulty in  
getting at the exact truth4 ,after much 
trouble you will perhaps have to take   
the train and go to see the extent of   
damage for yourself1 though it might    
have been described to you quite        
accurately in a short letter by an      
intelligent man of business4  ,nothing  
is more wonderful than the mistakes in  
following written directions that can be
 committed by uneducated men4 ,with     
clear directions in the most legible    
characters before their eyes they will  
quietly go and do something entirely    
different1 and appear unfeignedly       
surprised when you show them the written
 directions afterwards4 ,in these cases 
it is probable that they have           
unconsciously substituted a notion of   
their own for your idea1 which is the   
common process of what the uneducated   
consider to be understanding things4    
,the extreme facility with which this is
 done may be illustrated by an example4 
,the well-known ,french savant and      

inventor1 ,ruolz1 whose name is famous  
in connection with electro-plating1     
turned his attention to paper for       
roofing and1 as he perceived the defects
 of the common bituminous papers1       
invented another in which no bitumen was
 employed4 ,this he advertised          
constantly and extensively as the       
,carton non bitum ,ruolz1 consequently  
every one calls it the ,carton bitum    
,ruolz4 ,the reason here is that the    
notion of papers for roofs was already  
so associated in the ,french mind with  
bitumen1 that it was absolutely         
impossible to effect the disjunction of 
the two ideas4  ,instances have occurred
 to everybody in which the consequence  
of warning a workman that he is not to  
do some particular thing1 is that he    
goes and does it1 when if nothing had   
been said on the subject he might1      
perchance1 have avoided it4 ,here are   
two good instances of this1 but ,i have 
met with many others4 ,i remember       
ordering a binder to bind some volumes  

with red edges1 specially stipulating   
that he was not to use aniline red4 ,he 
therefore carefully stained the edges   
with aniline4 ,i also remember writing  
to a painter that he was to stain some  
new fittings of a boat with a           
transparent glaze of raw sienna1 and    
afterwards varnish them1 and that he was
 to be careful not to use opaque paint  
anywhere4 ,i was at a great distance    
from the boat and could not superintend 
the work4 ,in due time ,i visited the   
boat and discovered that a foul tint of 
opaque paint had been employed          
everywhere on the new fittings1 without 
any glaze or varnish whatever1 in spite 
of the fact that old fittings1 partially
 retained1 were still there1 with mellow
 transparent stain and varnish1 in the  
closest juxtaposition with the hideous  
thick new daubing4  ,it is the evil of  
mediocrity in fortune to have frequently
 to trust to uneducated agents4 ,rich   
men can employ able representatives1 and
 in this way they can inform themselves 

accurately of what occurs to their      
belongings at a distance4 ,without      
riches1 however1 we may sometimes have a
 friend on the spot who will see to     
things for us1 which is one of the      
kindest offices of friendship4 ,the most
 efficient friend is one who will not   
only look to matters of detail1 but will
 take the trouble to inform you         
accurately about them1 and for this he  
must be a man of leisure4 ,such a friend
 often spares one a railway journey by a
 few clear lines of report or           
explanation4 ,judging from personal     
experience1 ,i should say that retired  
lawyers and retired military officers   
were admirably adapted to render this   
great service efficiently1 and ,i should
 suppose that a man who had retired from
 busy commercial life would be scarcely 
less useful1 but ,i should not hope for 
precision in one who had always been    
unoccupied1 nor should ,i expect many   
details from one who was much occupied  
still4 ,the first would lack training   

and experience2 the second would lack   
leisure4  ,the talent for accuracy in   
affairs may be distinct from literary   
talent and education1 and though we have
 been considering the difficulty of     
corresponding on matters of business    
with the uneducated1 we must not too    
hastily infer that because a man is     
inaccurate in spelling1 and inelegant in
 phraseology1 he may not be an agreeable
 and efficient business correspondent4  
,there was a time when all the greatest 
men of business in ,england were        
uncertain spellers4 ,clear expression   
and completeness of statement are more  
valuable than any other qualities in a  
business correspondent4 ,i sometimes    
have to correspond with a tradesman in  
,paris who rose from an humble origin   
and scarcely produces what a            
schoolmaster would consider a passable  
letter2 yet his letters are models in   
essential qualities1 as he always       
removes by plain statements or questions
 every possibility of a mistake1 and if 

there is any want of absolute precision 
in my orders he is sure to find out the 
deficiency1 and to call my attention to 
it sharply4  ,the habit of not          
acknowledging orders is one of the worst
 negative vices in business             
correspondence4 ,it is most             
inconveniently common in ,france1 but   
happily much rarer in ,england4 ,where  
this vice prevails you cannot tell      
whether the person you wish to employ   
has read your order or not2 and if you  
suppose him to have read it1 you have no
 reason to feel sure that he has        
understood it1 or will execute it in    
time4  ,it is a great gain to the writer
 of letters to be able to make them     
brief and clear at the same time1 but as
 there is obscurity in a labyrinth of   
many words so there may be another kind 
of obscurity from their paucity1--that  
kind which ,horace alluded to with      
reference to poetry1--      ,brevis esse
 laboro   ,obscurus fio4  ,sometimes one
 additional word would spare the reader 

a doubt or a misunderstanding4 ,this is 
likely to become more and more the      
dominant fault of correspondence as it  
imitates the brevity of the telegram4   
,observe the interesting use of the word
 laboro by ,horace4 ,you may1 in fact1  
labor to be brief1 although the result  
is an appearance of less labor than if  
you had written at ease4 ,it may take   
more time to write a very short letter  
than one of twice the length1 the only  
gain in this case being to the receiver4
  ,letters of business often appear to  
be written in the most rapid and        
careless haste2 the writing is almost   
illegible from its speed1 the           
composition slovenly1 the letter brief4 
,and yet such a letter may have cost    
hours of deliberate reflection before   
one word of it was committed to paper4  
,it is the rapid registering of a slowly
 matured decision4  ,it is a well-known 
principle of modern business            
correspondence that if a letter refers  
only to one subject it is more likely to

 receive attention than if it deals with
 several2 therefore if you have several 
different orders or directions to give  
it is bad policy to write them all at   
once1 unless you are absolutely         
compelled to do so because they are all 
equally pressing4 ,even if there is the 
same degree of urgency for all1 yet a   
practical impossibility that all should 
be executed at the same time1 it is     
still the best policy to give your      
orders successively and not more quickly
 than they can be executed4 ,the only   
danger of this is that the receiver of  
the orders may think at first that they 
are small matters in which postponement 
signifies little1 as they can be        
executed at any time4 ,to prevent this  
he should be strongly warned at first   
that the order will be rapidly followed 
by several others4 ,if there is not the 
same degree of urgency for all1 the best
 way is to make a private register of   
the different matters in the order of   
their urgency1 and then to write several

 short notes1 at intervals1 one about   
each thing4  ,people have such a        
marvellous power of misunderstanding    
even the very plainest directions that a
 business letter never can be made too  
clear4 ,it will1 indeed1 frequently     
happen that language itself is not clear
 enough for the purposes of explanation 
without the help of drawing1 and drawing
 may not be clear to one who has not    
been educated to understand it1 which   
compels you to have recourse to         
modelling4 ,in these cases the task of  
the letter-writer is greatly simplified1
 as he has nothing to do but foresee and
 prevent any misunderstanding of the    
drawing or model4  ,every material thing
 constructed by mankind may be explained
 by the three kinds of mechanical       
drawing1--plan1 section1 and            
elevation1--but the difficulty1 is that 
so many people are unable to understand 
plans and sections2 they only understand
 elevations1 and not always even these4 
,the special incapacity to understand   

plans and sections is common in every   
rank of society1 and it is not uncommon 
even in the practical trades4 ,all      
letter-writing that refers to material  
construction would be immensely         
simplified if1 by a general rule in     
popular and other education1 every      
future man and woman in the country were
 taught enough about mechanical drawing 
to be able at least to read it4  ,it is 
delightful to correspond about          
construction with any trained architect 
or engineer1 because to such a          
correspondent you can explain everything
 briefly1 with the perfect certainty of 
being accurately understood4 ,it is     
terrible toil to have to explain        
construction by letter to a man who does
 not understand mechanical drawing2 and 
when you have given great labor to your 
explanation1 it is the merest chance    
whether he will catch your meaning or   
not4 ,the evil does not stop at         
mechanical drawing4 ,not only do        
uneducated people misunderstand a       

mechanical plan or section1 but they are
 quite as liable to misunderstand a     
perspective drawing1 as the great       
architect and draughtsman               
,viollet-le-,duc charmingly exemplified 
by the work of an intelligent child4 ,a 
little boy had drawn a cat as he had    
seen it in front with its tail standing 
up1 and this front view was stupidly    
misunderstood by a mature bourgeois1 who
 thought the animal was a biped 7as the 
hind-legs were hidden71 and believed the
 erect tail to be some unknown object   
sticking out of the nondescript         
creature's head4 ,if you draw a board in
 perspective 7other than isometrical7 a 
workman is quite likely to think that   
one end of it is to be narrower than the
 other4  ,business correspondence in    
foreign languages is a very simple      
matter when it deals only with plain    
facts1 and it does not require any very 
extensive knowledge of the foreign      
tongue to write a common order2 but if  
any delicate or complicated matter has  

to be explained1 or if touchy           
sensitiveness in the foreigner has to be
 soothed by management and tact1 then a 
thorough knowledge of the shades of     
expression is required1 and this is     
extremely rare4 ,the statement of bare  
facts1 or the utterance of simple wants1
 is indeed only a part of business      
correspondence1 for men of business1    
though they are not supposed to display 
sentiment in affairs1 are in reality    
just as much human beings as other men1 
and consequently they have feelings     
which are to be considered4 ,a          
correspondent who is able to write a    
foreign language with delicacy and tact 
will often attain his object when one   
with a ruder and more imperfect         
knowledge of the language would meet    
with certain failure1 though he asked   
for exactly the same thing4  ,it is     
surety possible to be civil and even    
polite in business correspondence       
without using the deplorable commercial 
slang which exists1 ,i believe1 in every

 modern language4 ,the proof that such  
abstinence is possible is that some of  
the most efficient and most active men  
of business never have recourse to it at
 all4 ,this commercial slang consists in
 the substitution of conventional terms 
originally intended to be more courteous
 than plain ,english1 ,french1 etc41 but
 which1 in fact1 from their mechanical  
use1 become wholly destitute of that    
best politeness which is personal1 and  
does not depend upon set phrases that   
can be copied out of a tradesman's model
 letter-writer4 ,anybody but a tradesman
 calls your letter a letter2 why should 
an ,english tradesman call it your      
favor1 and a ,french one votre honore8  
,a gentleman writing in the month of    
,may speaks of ,april1 ,may1 and ,june1 
when a tradesman carefully avoids the   
names of the months1 and calls them     
ultimo1 courant1 and proximo2 whilst    
instead of saying by or according to1   
like other ,englishmen1 he says per4    
,this style was touched upon by ,scott  

in ,provost ,crosbie's letter to        
,alexander ,fairford3 ,dear ,sir--,your 
respected favor of #beth ultimo1 per    
favor of ,mr4 ,darsie ,latimer1 reached 
me in safety4 ,this is thought to be a  
finished commercial style4 ,one         
sometimes meets with the most           
astonishing and complicated specimens of
 it1 which the authors are evidently    
proud of as proofs of their high        
commercial training4 ,i regret not to   
have kept some fine examples of these1  
as their perfections are far beyond all 
imitation4 ,this is not surprising when 
we reflect that the very worst          
commercial style is the result of a     
striving by many minds1 during several  
generations1 after a preposterous ideal4
  ,tradesmen deserve credit for         
understanding the one element of        
courtesy in letter-writing which has    
been neglected by gentlemen4 ,they value
 legible handwriting1 and they print    
clear names and addresses on their      
letter-paper1 by which they spare much  

trouble4  ,before closing this chapter  
let me say something about the reading  
of business letters as well as the      
writing of them4 ,it is1 perhaps1 a     
harder duty to read such letters with   
the necessary degree of attention than  
to compose them1 for the author has his 
head charged with the subject1 and      
writing the letter is a relief to him2  
but to the receiver the matter is new1  
and however lucid may be the exposition 
it always requires some degree of real  
attention on his part4 ,how are you1    
being at a distance1 to get an indolent 
man to bestow that necessary attention8 
,he feels secure from a personal visit1 
and indulges his indolence by neglecting
 your concerns1 even when they are also 
his own4 ,long ago ,i heard an ,english 
,archdeacon tell the following story    
about his ,bishop4 ,the prelate was one 
of that numerous class of men who loathe
 the sight of a business letter2 and he 
had indulged his indolence in that      
respect to such a degree that1 little by

 little1 he had arrived at the fatal    
stage where one leaves letters unopened 
for days or weeks4 ,at one particular   
time the ,archdeacon was aware of a     
great arrear of unopened letters1 and   
impressed his lordship with the         
necessity for taking some note of their 
contents4 ,yielding to a stronger will1 
the ,bishop began to read2 and one of   
the first communications was from a     
wealthy man who offered a large sum for 
church purposes 7,i think for building71
 but if the offer was not accepted      
within a certain lapse of time he       
declared his intention of making it to  
that which a ,bishop loveth not--a      
dissenting community4 ,the prelate had  
opened the letter too late1 and he lost 
the money4 ,i believe that the          
,archdeacon's vexation at the loss was  
more than counterbalanced by            
gratification that his hierarchical     
superior had received such a lesson for 
his neglect4 ,yet he did but imitate    
,napoleon1 of whom ,emerson says1 ,he   

directed ,bourrienne to leave all       
letters unopened for three weeks1 and   
then observed with satisfaction how     
large a part of the correspondence had  
disposed of itself and no longer        
required an answer4 ,this is a very     
unsafe system to adopt1 as the case of  
the ,bishop proves4 ,things may dispose 
of themselves in the wrong way1 like    
wine in a leaky cask1 which1 instead of 
putting itself carefully into a sound   
cask1 goes trickling into the earth4    
,the indolence of some men in reading   
and answering letters of business would 
be incredible if they did not give clear
 evidence of it4 ,the most remarkable   
example that ever came under my notice  
is the following4 ,a ,french artist1 not
 by any means in a condition of         
superfluous prosperity1 exhibited a     
picture at the ,salon4 ,he waited in    
,paris till after the opening of the    
exhibition and then went down into the  
country4 ,on the day of his departure he
 received letters from two different    

collectors expressing a desire to       
purchase his work1 and asking its price4
 ,any real man of business would have   
seized upon such an opportunity at once4
 ,he would have answered both letters1  
stayed in town1 and contrived to set the
 two amateurs bidding against each      
other4 ,the artist in question was one  
of those unaccountable mortals who would
 rather sacrifice all their chances of  
life than indite a letter of business1  
so he left both inquiries unanswered1   
saying that if the men had really wanted
 the picture they would have called to  
see him4 ,he never sold it1 and some    
time afterwards was obliged to give up  
his profession1 quite as much from the  
lack of promptitude in affairs as from  
any artistic deficiency4  ,sometimes    
letters of business are read1 but read  
so carelessly that it would be better if
 they were thrown unopened into the     
fire4 ,i have seen some astounding      
instances of this1 and1 what is most    
remarkable1 of repeated and incorrigible

 carelessness in the same person or     
firm1 compelling one to the conclusion  
that in corresponding with that person  
or that firm the clearest language1 the 
plainest writing1 and the most legible  
numerals1 are all equally without       
effect4 ,i am thinking particularly of  
one case1 intimately known to me in all 
its details1 in which a business        
correspondence of some duration was     
finally abandoned1 after infinite       
annoyance1 for the simple reason that it
 was impossible to get the members of   
the firm1 or their representatives1 to  
attend to written orders with any degree
 of accuracy4 ,even whilst writing this 
very ,essay ,i have given an order with 
regard to which ,i foresaw a probable   
error4 ,knowing by experience that a    
probable error is almost certain if     
steps are not taken energetically to    
prevent it1 ,i requested that this error
 might not be committed1 and to attract 
more attention to my request ,i wrote   
the paragraph containing it in red      

ink1--a very unusual precaution4 ,the   
foreseen error was accurately committed4
     ,,essay ,,xxv4  ,,anonymous        
,,letters4   ,probably few of my mature 
readers have attained middle age without
 receiving a number of anonymous        
letters4 ,such letters are not always   
offensive1 sometimes they are amusing1  
sometimes considerate and kind1 yet     
there is in all cases a feeling of      
annoyance on receiving them1 because the
 writer has made himself inaccessible to
 a reply4 ,it is as if a man in a mask  
whispered a word in your ear and then   
vanished suddenly in a crowd4 ,you wish 
to answer a calumny or acknowledge a    
kindness1 and you may talk to the winds 
and streams4  ,anonymous letters of the 
worst kind have a certain value to the  
student of human nature1 because they   
afford him glimpses of the evil spirit  
that disguises itself under the fair    
seemings of society4 ,you believe with  
childlike simplicity and innocence that1
 as you have never done any intentional 

injury to a human being1 you cannot have
 a human enemy1 and you make the        
startling discovery that somewhere in   
the world1 perhaps even amongst the     
smiling people you meet at dances and   
dinners1 there are creatures who will   
have recourse to the foulest slanders if
 thereby they may hope to do you an     
injury4 ,what can you have done to      
excite such bitter animosity8 ,you may  
both have done much and neglected much4 
,you may have had some superiority of   
body1 mind1 or fortune2 you may have    
neglected to soothe some jealous vanity 
by the flattery it craved with a        
tormenting hunger4  ,the simple fact    
that you seem happier than ,envy thinks 
you ought to be is of itself enough to  
excite a strong desire to diminish your 
offensive happiness or put an end to it 
entirely4 ,that is the reason why people
 who are going to be married receive    
anonymous letters4 ,if they are not     
really happy they have every appearance 
of being happy1 which is not less       

intolerable4 ,the anonymous             
letter-writer seeks to put a stop to    
such a state of things4 ,he might go to 
one of the parties and slander the other
 openly1 but it would require courage to
 do that directly to his face4 ,a letter
 might be written1 but if name and      
address were given there would come an  
inconvenient demand for proofs4 ,one    
course remains1 offering that immunity  
from consequences which is soothing to  
the nerves of a coward4 ,the envious or 
jealous man can throw his vitriol in the
 dark and slip away unperceived--he can 
write an anonymous letter4  ,has the    
reader ever really tried to picture to  
himself the state of that man's or      
woman's mind 7for women write these     
things also7 who can sit down1 take a   
sheet of paper1 make a rough draft of an
 anonymous letter1 copy it out in a very
 legible yet carefully disguised hand1  
and make arrangements for having it     
posted at a distance from the place     
where it was written8 ,such things are  

constantly done4 ,at this minute there  
are a certain number of men and women in
 the world who are vile enough to do all
 that simply in order to spoil the      
happiness of some person whom they      
regard with envy1 hatred1 malice1 and   
all uncharitableness4 ,i see in my      
mind's eye the gentleman--the man having
 all the apparent delicacy and          
refinement of a gentleman--who is       
writing a letter intended to blast the  
character of an acquaintance4 ,perhaps  
he meets that acquaintance in society1  
and shakes hands with him1 and pretends 
to take an interest in his health4      
,meanwhile he secretly reflects upon the
 particular sort of calumny that will   
have the greatest degree of             
verisimilitude4 ,everything depends upon
 his talent in devising the most        
credible sort of calumny1--not the      
calumny most likely to meet general     
credence1 but that which is most likely 
to be believed by the person to whom it 
is addressed1 and most likely to do     

injury when believed4 ,the anonymous    
calumniator has the immense advantage on
 his side that most people are prone to 
believe evil1 and that good people are  
unfortunately the most prone1 as they   
hate evil so intensely that even the    
very phantom of it arouses their anger1 
and they too frequently do not stop to  
inquire whether it is a phantom or a    
reality4 ,the clever calumniator is     
careful not to go too far2 he will      
advance something that might be or that 
might have been2 he does not love le    
vrai1 but he is a careful student of le 
vraisemblable4 ,he will assume an       
appearance of reluctance1 he will drop  
hints more terrible than assertions1    
because they are vague1 mysterious1     
disquieting4 ,when he thinks he has done
 enough he stops in time2 he has        
inoculated the drop of poison1 and can  
wait till it takes effect4  ,it must be 
rather an anxious time for the anonymous
 letter-writer when he has sent off his 
missive4 ,in the nature of things he    

cannot receive an answer1 and it is not 
easy for him to ascertain very soon what
 has been the result of his enterprise4 
,if he has been trying to prevent a     
marriage he does not know immediately if
 the engagement is broken off1 and if it
 is not broken off he has to wait till  
the wedding-day before he is quite sure 
of his own failure1 and to suffer       
meanwhile from hope deferred and        
constantly increasing apprehension4 ,if 
the rupture occurs he has a moment of   
,satanic joy1 but it may be due to some 
other cause than the success of his own 
calumny1 so that he is never quite sure 
of having himself attained his object4  
,it is believed that most people who are
 engaged to be married receive anonymous
 letters recommending them to break off 
the match4 ,not only are such letters   
addressed to the betrothed couple       
themselves1 but also to their relations4
 ,if there is not a doubt that the      
statements in such letters are purely   
calumnious1 the right course is to      

destroy them immediately and never      
allude to them afterwards2 but if there 
is the faintest shadow of a doubt--if   
there is the vaguest feeling that there 
may be some ground for the attack--then 
the only course is to send the letter to
 the person accused1 and to say that    
this is done in order to afford him an  
opportunity for answering the anonymous 
assailant4 ,i remember a case in which  
this was done with the best results4 ,a 
professional man without fortune was    
going to marry a young heiress2 ,i do   
not mean a great heiress1 but one whose 
fortune might be a temptation4 ,her     
family received the usual anonymous     
letters1 and in one of them it was      
stated that the aspirant's father1 who  
had been long dead1 had dishonored      
himself by base conduct with regard to a
 public trust in a certain town where he
 occupied a post of great responsibility
 towards the municipal authorities4 ,the
 letter was shown to the son1 and he was
 asked if he knew anything of the       

matter1 and if he could do anything to  
clear away the imputation4 ,then came   
the difficulty that the alleged betrayal
 of trust was stated to have occurred   
twenty years before1 and that the ,mayor
 was dead1 and probably most of the     
common councillors also4 ,what was to be
 done8 ,it is not easy to disprove a    
calumny1 and the onus of proof ought    
always to be thrown upon the            
calumniator1 but this calumniator was   
anonymous and intangible1 so the son of 
the victim was requested to repel the   
charge4 ,by a very unusual and most     
fortunate accident1 his father had      
received on quitting the town in        
question a letter from the ,mayor of a  
most exceptional character1 in which he 
spoke with warm and grateful            
appreciation of services rendered and of
 the happy relations of trust and       
confidence that had subsisted between   
himself and the slandered man down to   
the very termination of their           
intercourse4 ,this letter1 again by a   

most lucky accident1 had been preserved 
by the widow1 and by means of it one    
dead man defended the memory of another4
 ,it removed the greatest obstacle to   
the marriage2 but another anonymous     
writer1 or the same in another          
handwriting1 now alleged that the       
slandered man had died of a disease     
likely to be inherited by his posterity4
 ,here1 again1 luck was on the side of  
the defence1 as the physician who had   
attended him was still alive1 so that   
this second invention was as easily     
disposed of as the first4 ,the marriage 
took place2 it has been more than       
usually happy1 and the children are     
pictures of health4  ,the trouble to    
which anonymous letter-writers put      
themselves to attain their ends must    
sometimes be very great4 ,i remember a  
case in which some of these people must 
have contrived by means of spies or     
agents to procure a private address in a
 foreign country1 and must have been at 
great pains also to ascertain certain   

facts in ,england which were carefully  
mingled with the lies in the calumnious 
letter4 ,the nameless writer was        
evidently well informed1 possibly he or 
she may have been a friend of the       
intended victim4 ,in this case no       
attention was paid to the attack1 which 
did not delay the marriage by a single  
hour4 ,long afterwards the married pair 
happened to be talking about anonymous  
letters1 and it then appeared that each 
side had received several of these      
missives1 coarsely or ingeniously       
concocted1 but had given them no more   
attention than they deserved4  ,an      
anonymous letter is sometimes written in
 collaboration by two persons of        
different degrees of ability4 ,when this
 is done one of the slanderers generally
 supplies the basis of fact necessary to
 give an appearance of knowledge1 and   
the other supplies or improves the      
imaginative part of the common          
performance and its literary style4     
,sometimes one of the two may be        

detected by the nature of the references
 to fact1 or by the supposed writer's   
personal interest in bringing about a   
certain result4  ,it is very difficult  
at the first glance entirely to resist  
the effect of a clever anonymous letter1
 and perhaps it is only men of clear    
strong sense and long experience who at 
once overcome the first shock4 ,in a    
very short time1 however1 the phantom   
evil grows thin and disappears1 and the 
motive of the writer is guessed at or   
discerned4  ,the following brief        
anonymous letter or one closely         
resembling it 7,i quote from memory7 was
 once received by an ,english gentleman 
on his travels4      ,,dear ,,sir1--,i  
congratulate you on the fact that you   
will be a     grandfather in about two  
months4 ,i mention this as you may like 
to     purchase baby-linen for your     
grandchild during your absence4 ,i am1  
,sir1 yours sincerely1          ,a      
,,well-,,wisher4  ,the receiver had a   
family of grown-up children of whom not 

one was married4 ,the letter gave him a 
slight but perceptible degree of        
disquietude which he put aside to the   
best of his ability4 ,in a few days came
 a signed letter from one of his female 
servants confessing that she was about  
to become a mother1 and claiming his    
protection as the grandfather of the    
child4 ,it then became evident that the 
anonymous letter had been written by the
 girl's lover1 who was a tolerably      
educated man whilst she was uneducated1 
and that the pair had entered into this 
little plot to obtain money4 ,the matter
 ended by the dismissal of the girl1 who
 then made threats until she was placed 
in the hands of the police4 ,other      
circumstances were recollected proving  
her to be a remarkably audacious liar   
and of a slanderous disposition4  ,the  
torture that an anonymous letter may    
inflict depends far more on the nature  
of the person who receives it than on   
the circumstances it relates4 ,a jealous
 and suspicious nature1 not opened by   

much experience or knowledge of the     
world1 is the predestined victim of the 
anonymous torturer4 ,such a nature jumps
 at evil report like a fish at an       
artificial fly1 and feels the anguish of
 it immediately4 ,by a law that seems   
really cruel such natures seize with    
most avidity on those very slanders that
 cause them the most pain4  ,a kind of  
anonymous letter of which we have heard 
much in the present disturbed state of  
,european society is the letter         
containing threats of physical injury4  
,it informs you that you will be done   
for or disabled in a short time1 and    
exhorts you in the meanwhile to prepare 
for your awful doom4 ,the object of     
these letters is to deprive the receiver
 of all feeling of security or comfort  
in existence4 ,his consolation is that a
 real intending murderer would probably 
be thinking too much of his own perilous
 enterprise to indulge in correspondence
 about it1 and we do not perceive that  
the attacks on public men are at all    

proportionate in number to the menaces  
addressed to them4  ,as there are       
malevolent anonymous letters intended to
 inflict the most wearing anxiety1 so   
there are benevolent ones written to    
save our souls4 ,some theologically     
minded person1 often of the female sex1 
is alarmed for our spiritual state      
because she fears that we have doubts   
about the supernatural1 and so she sends
 us books that only make us wonder at   
the mental condition for which such     
literature can be suitable4 ,i remember 
one of my female anonymous              
correspondents who took it for granted  
that ,i was like a ship drifting about  
without compass or rudder 7a great      
mistake on her part71 and so she offered
 me the safe and spacious haven of      
,swedenborgianism6 ,others will tell you
 of the great pain with which they have 
read this or that passage of your       
writings1 to which an author may always 
reply that as there is no ,act of       
,parliament compelling ,british subjects

 to read his books the sufferers have   
only to let them alone in order to spare
 themselves the dolorous sensations they
 complain of4  ,some kind anonymous     
correspondents write to console us for  
offensive criticism by maintaining the  
truth of our assertions as supported by 
their own experience4 ,i remember that  
when the novel of ,wenderholme was      
published1 and naturally attacked for   
its dreadful portraiture of the drinking
 habits of a past generation1 a lady    
wrote to me anonymously from a locality 
of the kind described bearing mournful  
witness to the veracity of the          
description4#cc ,in this case the       
employment of the anonymous form was    
justified by two considerations4 ,there 
was no offensive intention1 and the lady
 had to speak of her own relations whose
 names she desired to conceal4 ,authors 
frequently receive letters of gently    
expressed criticism or remonstrance from
 readers who do not give their names4   
,the only objection to these            

communications1 which are often         
interesting1 is that it is rather       
teasing and vexatious to be deprived of 
the opportunity for answering them4 ,the
 reader may like to see one of these    
gentle anonymous letters4 ,an unmarried 
lady of mature age 7for there appears to
 be no reason to doubt the veracity with
 which she gives a slight account of    
herself7 has been reading one of my     
books and thinks me not quite just to a 
most respectable and by no means        
insignificant class in ,english society4
 ,she therefore takes me to task1--not  
at all unkindly4      ,,dear ,,sir1--,i 
have often wished to thank you for the  
intense pleasure     your books have    
given me1 especially the ',painter's    
,camp in the     ,highlands1' the       
word-pictures of which reproduced the   
enjoyment1     intense even to pain1 of 
the ,scottish scenery4      ,i have only
 now become acquainted with your        
',intellectual ,life1'     which has    
also given me great pleasure1 though of 

another kind4 ,its     general fairness 
and candor induce me to protest against 
your judgment     of a class of women   
whom ,i am sure you underrate from not  
having a     sufficient acquaintance    
with their capabilities4      ',women   
who are not impelled by some masculine  
influence are not     superior1 either  
in knowledge or in discipline of the    
mind1 at the age     of fifty to what   
they were at twenty-five4444 ,the best  
illustration of     this is a sisterhood
 of three or four rich old maids4444    
,you will     observe that they         
invariably remain1 as to their          
education1 where they     were left by  
their teachers many years before4444    
,even in what most     interests        
them--theology1 they repeat but do not  
extend their     information4'      ,my 
circle of acquaintance is small1        
nevertheless ,i know many women         
between twenty-five and forty whose     
culture is always steadily              
progressing2 who keep up an acquaintance

 with literature for its own     sake1  
and not 'impelled' thereto 'by masculine
 influence2' who1 though     without    
creative power1 yet have such capability
 of reception that     they can         
appreciate the best authors of the day2 
whose theology is not     quite the     
fossil you represent it1 though ,i      
confess it is for but a     small number
 of my acquaintance that ,i can claim   
the power of     judicially estimating  
the various schools of theology4        
,without being specialists1 the more    
thoughtful of our class have such     an
 acquaintance with current literature   
that they are able to enter     into the
 progress of the great questions of the 
day1 and may even     estimate the more 
fairly a ,gladstone or a ,disraeli for  
being     spectators instead of actors  
in politics4      ,i have spoken of my  
own acquaintances1 but they are such as 
may be     met within any middle-class  
society4 ,for myself1 ,i look back to   
the     painful bewilderment of         

twenty-five and contrast it with        
satisfaction     with the brighter      
perceptions of forty1 finding out 'a    
little more1     and yet a little more1 
of the eternal order of the universe4'  
,one     reason for your underrating us 
may be that our receptive powers only   
are in constant use1 and we have little 
power of expression4 ,i dislike         
anonymous letters as a rule1 but as ,i  
write as the representative of a        
class1 ,i beg to sign myself1           
,yours gratefully1             ,,one    
,,of ,,three ,,or ,,four ,,rich ,,old   
,,maids4      ,november #ac1 #ahhc4     
,letters of this kind give no pain to   
the receiver1 except when they compel   
him to an unsatisfactory kind of        
self-examination4 ,in the present case  
,i make the best amends by giving       
publicity and permanence to this clearly
 expressed criticism4 ,something may be 
said1 too1 in defence of the passages   
incriminated4 ,let me attempt it in the 
form of a letter which may possibly fall

 under the eye of the ,rich ,old ,maid4 
,,dear ,,madam1--,your letter has duly  
reached me1 and produced feelings of    
compunction4 ,have ,i indeed been guilty
 of injustice towards a class so        
deserving of respect and consideration  
as the ,rich ,old ,maids of             
,england8 ,it has always seemed to me   
one of the privileges of my native      
country that such a class should        
flourish there so much more amply and   
luxuriantly than in other lands4        
,married women are absorbed in the      
cares and anxieties of their own        
households1 but the sympathies of old   
maids spread themselves over a wider    
area4 ,balzac hated them1 and           
described them as having souls          
overflowing with gall2 but ,balzac was a
     ,frenchman1 and if he was just to  
the rare old maids of his native        
country 7which ,i cannot believe7 he    
knew nothing of the more numerous       
old maids of ,great ,britain4 ,i am not 
in ,balzac's position4 ,dear     friends

 of mine1 and dearer relations1 have    
belonged to that kindly     sisterhood4 
,the answer to your objection is simple4
 ,the ,intellectual ,life was     not   
published in #ahhc but in #ahgc4 ,it was
 written some time before1     and the  
materials had been gradually            
accumulating in the author's mind       
several years before it was written4    
,consequently your criticism is of     a
 much later date than the work you      
criticise1 and as you are forty in      
#ahhc you were a young maid in the times
 ,i was thinking of when     writing4   
,it is certainly true that many women of
 the now past     generation1           
particularly those who lived in         
celibacy1 had a remarkable     power of 
remaining intellectually in the same    
place4 ,this power is     retained by   
some of the present generation1 but it  
is becoming rarer     every day because 
the intellectual movement is so strong  
that it is     drawing a constantly     
increasing number of women along with   

it2 indeed     this movement is so      
accelerated as to give rise to a new    
anxiety1 and     make us look back with 
a wistful regret4 ,we are now beginning 
to     perceive that a certain excellent
 old type of ,englishwomen whom we      
remember with the greatest affection and
 respect will soon belong as            
entirely to the past as if they had     
lived in the days of ,queen             
,elizabeth4 ,from the intellectual point
 of view their lives were hardly        
worth living1 but we are beginning to   
ask ourselves whether their             
ignorance 7,i use the plain term7 and   
their prejudices 7the plain term        
again7 were not essential parts of a    
whole that commanded our respect4       
,their simplicity of mind may have been 
a reason why they had so much           
simplicity of purpose in well-doing4    
,their strength of prejudice may        
have aided them to keep with perfect    
steadfastness on the side of     moral  
and social order4 ,their intellectual   

restfulness in a few clear     settled  
ideas left a degree of freedom to their 
energy in common     duties that may not
 always be possible amidst the          
bewildering theories     of an unsettled
 and speculative age4                   
,faithfully yours1             ,,the    
,,author ,,of ,,the ,,intellectual      
,,life4     ,,essay ,,xxvi4             
,,amusements4   ,one of the most        
unexpected discoveries that we make on  
entering the reflective stage of        
existence is that amusements are social 
obligations4  ,the next discovery of    
this kind is that the higher the rank of
 the person the more obligatory and the 
more numerous do his so-called          
amusements become1 till finally we reach
 the princely life which seems to       
consist almost exclusively of these     
observances4  ,why should it ever be    
considered obligatory upon a man to     
amuse himself in some way settled by    
others8 ,there appear to be two         
principal reasons for this4 ,the first  

is1 that when amusements are practised  
by many persons in common it appears    
unsociable and ungracious to abstain4   
,even if the amusement is not           
interesting in itself it is thought that
 the society it leads us into ought to  
be a sufficient reason for following it4
  ,the second reason is that1 like all  
things which are repeated by many people
 together1 amusements soon become fixed 
customs1 and have all the weight and    
authority of customs1 so that people    
dare not abstain from observing them for
 fear of social penalties4  ,if the     
amusements are expensive they become not
 only a sign of wealth but an actual    
demonstration and display of it1 and as 
nothing in the world is so much         
respected as wealth1 or so efficient a  
help to social position1 and as the     
expenditure which is visible produces   
far more effect upon the mind than that 
which is not seen1 it follows that all  
costly amusements are useful for        
self-assertion in the world1 and become 

even a means of maintaining the         
political importance of great families4 
,on the other hand1 not to be accustomed
 to expensive amusements implies that   
one has lived amongst people of narrow  
means1 so that most of those who have   
social ambition are eager to seize upon 
every opportunity for enlarging their   
experience of expensive amusements in   
order that they may talk about them     
afterwards1 and so affirm their position
 as members of the upper class4  ,the   
dread of appearing unsociable1 of       
seeming rebellious against custom1 or   
inexperienced in the habits of the rich1
 are reasons quite strong enough for the
 maintenance of customary amusements    
even when there is very little real     
enjoyment of them for their own sake4   
,but1 in fact1 there are always some    
people who practise these amusements for
 the sake of the pleasure they give1 and
 as these people are likely to excel the
 others in vivacity1 activity1 and      
skill1 as they have more entrain and    

gayety1 and talk more willingly and     
heartily about the sports they love1 so 
they naturally come to lead opinion upon
 the subject and to give it an          
appearance of earnestness and warmth    
that is beyond its real condition4      
,hence the tone of conversation about   
amusements1 though it may accurately    
represent the sentiments of those who   
enjoy them1 does not represent all      
opinion fairly4 ,the opposite side of   
the question found a witty exponent in  
,sir ,george ,cornewall ,lewis1 when he 
uttered that immortal saying by which   
his name will endure when the           
recollection of his political services  
has passed away1--,how tolerable life   
would be were it not for its pleasures6 
,there you have the feeling of the      
thousands who submit and conform1 but   
who would have much to say if it were in
 good taste to say anything against     
pleasures that are offered to us in     
hospitality4  ,amusements themselves    
become work when undertaken for an      

ulterior purpose such as the maintenance
 of political influence4 ,a great man   
goes through a certain regular series of
 dinners1 balls1 games1 shooting and    
hunting parties1 races1                 
wedding-breakfasts1 visits to great     
houses1 excursions on land and water1   
and all these things have the outward   
appearance of amusement1 but may1 in    
reality1 be labors that the great man   
undertakes for some purpose entirely    
outside of the frivolous things         
themselves4 ,a ,prime ,minister scarcely
 goes beyond political dinners1 but what
 an endless series of engagements are   
undertaken by a ,prince of ,wales6 ,such
 things are an obligation for him1 and  
when the obligation is accepted with    
unfailing patience and good temper1 the 
,prince is not only working1 but working
 with a certain elegance and grace of   
art1 often involving that prettiest kind
 of self-sacrifice which hides itself   
under an appearance of enjoyment4       
,nobody supposes that the social        

amusements so regularly gone through by 
the eldest son of ,queen ,victoria can  
be1 in all cases1 very entertaining to  
him2 we suppose them to be accepted as  
forms of human intercourse that bring   
him into personal relations with his    
future subjects4 ,the difference between
 this ,prince and ,king ,louis ,,ii4 of 
,bavaria is perhaps the most striking   
contrast in modern royal existences4    
,prince ,albert ,edward is accessible to
 everybody1 and shares the common       
pleasures of his countrymen2 the        
,bavarian sovereign is never so happy as
 when in one of his romantic and        
magnificent residences1 surrounded by   
the sublimity of nature and the         
embellishments of art1 he sits alone and
 dreams as he listens to the strains of 
exquisite music4 ,has he not erected his
 splendid castle on a rock1 like the    
builder of ,the ,palace of ,art8    ,a  
huge crag-platform1 smooth as burnish'd 
brass        ,i chose4 ,the ranged      
ramparts bright    ,from level          

meadow-bases of deep grass              
,suddenly scaled the light4    ,thereon 
,i built it firm4 ,of ledge or shelf    
,the rock rose clear1 or winding stair4 
,my soul would live alone unto herself  
,in her high palace there4  ,the life of
 the ,king of ,bavaria1 sublimely serene
 in its independence1 is a long series  
of tranquil omissions4 ,there may be a  
wedding-feast in one of his palaces1 but
 such an occurrence only seems to him   
the best of all reasons why he should be
 in another4 ,he escapes from the       
pleasures and interests of daily life1  
making himself an earthly paradise of   
architecture1 music1 and gardens1 and   
lost in his long dream1 assuredly one of
 the most poetical figures in the       
biographies of kings1 and one of the    
most interesting1 but how remote from   
men6 ,this remoteness is due1 in great  
part1 to a sincerity of disposition     
which declines amusements that do not   
amuse1 and desires only those real      
pleasures which are in perfect harmony  

with one's own nature and constitution4 
,we like the sociability1 the ready     
human sympathy1 of the ,prince of       
,wales2 we think that in his position it
 is well for him to be able to keep all 
that endless series of engagements1 but 
has not ,king ,louis some claim upon our
 indulgence even in his eccentricity8   
,he has refused the weary round of false
 amusements and made his choice of ideal
 pleasure4 ,if he condescended to excuse
 himself1 his ,apologia pro vit sua     
might take a form somewhat resembling   
this4 ,he might say1 ,i was born to a   
great fortune and only ask leave to     
enjoy it in my own way4 ,the world's    
amusements are an infliction that ,i    
consider myself at liberty to avoid4 ,i 
love musical or silent solitude1 and the
 enchantments of a fair garden and a    
lofty dwelling amidst the glorious      
,bavarian mountains4 ,let the noisy     
world go its way with its bitter        
wranglings1 its dishonest politics1 its 
sanguinary wars6 ,i set up no tyranny4  

,i leave my subjects to enjoy their     
brief human existence in their own      
fashion1 and they let me dream my dream4
  ,these are not the world's ways nor   
the world's view4 ,the world considers  
it essential to the character of a      
prince that he should be at least       
apparently happy in those pleasures     
which are enjoyed in society1 that he   
should seem to enjoy them along with    
others to show his fellow-feeling with  
common men1 and not sit by himself1 like
 ,king ,louis in his theatre1 when      
,tannhauser is performed for the royal  
ears alone4  ,of the many precious      
immunities that belong to humble station
 there are none more valuable than the  
freedom from false amusements4 ,a poor  
man is under one obligation1 he must    
work1 but his work itself is a blessed  
deliverance from a thousand other       
obligations4 ,he is not obliged to      
shoot1 and hunt1 and dance against his  
will1 he is not obliged to affect       
interest and pleasure in games that only

 weary him1 he has not to receive       
tiresome strangers in long ceremonious  
repasts when he would rather have a     
simple short dinner with his wife4      
,branger sang the happiness of beggars  
with his sympathetic humorous           
philosophy1 but in all seriousness it   
might be maintained that the poor are   
happier than they know4 ,they get their 
easy unrestrained human intercourse by  
chance meetings1 and greetings1 and     
gossipings1 and they are spared all the 
acting1 all the feigning1 that is       
connected with the routine of imposed   
enjoyments4  ,avowed work1 even when    
uncongenial1 is far less trying to      
patience than feigned pleasure4 ,you    
dislike accounts and you dislike balls1 
but though your dislike may be nearly   
equal in both cases you will assuredly  
find that the time hangs less heavily   
when you are resolutely grappling with  
the details of your account-books than  
when you are only wishing that the      
dancers would go to bed4 ,the reason is 

that any hard work1 whatever it is1 has 
the qualities of a mental tonic1 whereas
 unenjoyed pleasures have an opposite   
effect1 and even though work may be     
uncongenial you see a sort of result1   
whilst a false pleasure leaves no result
 but the extreme fatigue that attends   
it1--a kind of fatigue quite exceptional
 in its nature1 and the most            
disagreeable that is known to man4  ,the
 dislike for false amusements is often  
misunderstood to be a puritanical       
intolerance of all amusement4 ,it is in 
this as in all things that are          
passionately enjoyed1--the false thing  
is most disliked by those who best      
appreciate the true4  ,what may be      
called the truth or falsehood of        
amusements is not in the amusements     
themselves1 but in the relation between 
one human idiosyncrasy and them4 ,every 
idiosyncrasy has its own strong         
mysterious affinities1 generally        
distinguishable in childhood1 always    
clearly distinguishable in youth4 ,we   

are like a lute or a violin1 the tuned  
strings vibrate in answer to certain    
notes but not in answer to others4  ,to 
convert amusements into social customs  
or obligations1 to make it a man's duty 
to shoot birds or ride after foxes      
because it is agreeable to others to    
discharge guns and gallop across fields1
 is an infringement of individual       
liberty which is less excusable in the  
case of amusements than it is in more   
serious things4 ,for in serious things1 
in politics and religion1 there is      
always the plausible argument that the  
repression of the individual conscience 
is good for the unity of the ,state2    
whereas amusements are supposed to exist
 for the recreation of those who        
practise them1 and when they are not    
enjoyed they are not amusements but     
something else4 ,there is no single     
,english word that exactly expresses    
what they are1 but there is a ,french   
one1 the word corve1 which means forced 
labor1 labor under dictation1 all the   

more unpleasant in these cases that it  
must assume the appearance of           
enjoyment4#cd  ,surely there is nothing 
in which the independence of the        
individual ought to be so absolute1 so  
unquestioned1 as in amusements4 ,what   
right have ,i1 because a thing is a     
pleasant pastime to me1 to compel my    
friend or my son to do that thing when  
it is a corve to him8 ,no man can       
possibly amuse himself in obedience to a
 word of command1 the most he can do is 
to submit1 to try to appear amused1     
wishing all the time that the weary task
 was over4  ,to mark the contrast       
clearly ,i will describe some amusements
 from the opposite points of view of    
those who enjoy them naturally1 and     
those to whom they would be indifferent 
if they were not imposed1 and hateful if
 they were4  ,shooting is delightful to 
genuine sportsmen in many ways4 ,it     
renews in them the sensations of the    
vigorous youth of humanity1 of the      
tribes that lived by the chase4 ,it     

brings them into contact with nature1   
gives a zest and interest to hard       
pedestrian exercise1 makes the sportsmen
 minutely acquainted with the country1  
and leads to innumerable observations of
 the habits of wild animals that have   
the interest without the formal         
pretensions of a science4 ,shooting is a
 delightful exercise of skill1 requiring
 admirable promptitude and perfect      
nerve1 so that any success in it is     
gratifying to self-esteem4 ,sir ,samuel 
,baker is always proud of being such a  
good marksman1 and frankly shows his    
satisfaction4 ,i had fired three        
beautifully correct shots with ,no4 #aj 
bullets1 and seven drachms of powder in 
each charge2 these were so nearly       
together that they occupied a space in  
her forehead of about three inches4 ,he 
does not aim at an animal in a general  
way1 but always at a particular and     
penetrable spot1 recording each hit1 and
 the special bullet used4 ,of course he 
loves his guns4 ,these modern           

instruments are delightful toys on      
account of the highly developed art     
employed in their construction1 so that 
they would be charming things to        
possess1 and handle1 and admire1 even if
 they were never used1 whilst the use of
 them gives a terrible power to man4    
,see a good marksman when he takes a    
favorite weapon in his hand6 ,more      
redoubtable than ,roland with the sword 
,durindal1 he is comparable rather to   
,apollo with the silver bow1 or even to 
,olympian ,zeus himself grasping his    
thunders4 ,listen to him when he speaks 
of his weapon6 ,if he thinks you have   
the free-masonry of the chase1 and can  
understand him1 he talks like a poet and
 lover4 ,baker never fails to tell us   
what weapon he used on each occasion1   
and how beautifully it performed1 and   
due honor and advertisement are kindly  
given to the maker1 out of gratitude4   
,i accordingly took my trusty little    
,fletcher double rifle ,no4 #bd1 and    
running knee-deep into the water to     

obtain a close shot ,i fired     exactly
 between the eyes near the crown of the 
head4 ,at the reports of     the little 
,fletcher the hippo disappeared4  ,then 
he adds an affectionate foot-note about 
the gun1 praising it for going with him 
for five years1 as if it had had a      
choice about the matter1 and could have 
offered its services to another master4 
,he believes it to be alive1 like a dog4
      ,this excellent and handy rifle   
was made by ,thomas ,fletcher1 of       
,gloucester1 and accompanied me like a  
faithful dog throughout my     journey  
of nearly five years to the ,albert     
,nyanza1 and returned with     me to    
,england as good as new4  ,in the list  
of ,baker's rifles appears his bow of   
,ulysses1 his ,child of a ,cannon1      
familiarly called the ,baby1 throwing a 
half-pound explosive shell1 a lovely    
little pet of a weapon with a recoil    
that broke an ,arab's collar-bone1 and  
was not without some slight effect even 
upon that mighty hunter1 its master4    

,bang went the ,baby2 round ,i spun like
 a weather-cock with the blood          
flowing from my nose1 as the recoil had 
driven the top of the hammer     deep   
into the bridge4 ,my ,baby not only     
screamed but kicked viciously4          
,however ,i knew the elephant would be  
bagged1 as the half-pound shell     had 
been aimed directly behind the shoulder4
  ,we have the most minute descriptions 
of the effects of these projectiles in  
the head of a hippopotamus and the body 
of an elephant4 ,i was quite satisfied  
with my explosive shells1 says the      
enthusiastic sportsman1 and the great   
beasts appear to have been satisfied    
too4  ,now let me attempt to describe   
the feelings of a man not born with the 
natural instinct of a sportsman4 ,we    
need not suppose him to be either a     
weakling or a coward4 ,there are strong 
and brave men who can exercise their    
strength and prove their courage without
 willingly inflicting wounds or death   
upon any creature4 ,to some such men a  

gun is simply an encumbrance1 to wait   
for game is a wearisome trial of        
patience1 to follow it is aimless       
wandering1 to slaughter it is to do the 
work of a butcher or a poulterer1 to    
wound it is to incur a degree of remorse
 that is entirely destructive of        
enjoyment4 ,the fact that somewhere on  
mountain or in forest poor creatures are
 lying with festering flesh or shattered
 bones to die slowly in pain and hunger1
 and the terrible thirst of the wounded1
 and all for the pleasure of a          
gentleman1--such a fact as that1 when   
clearly realized1 is not to be got over 
by anything less powerful than the      
genuine instinct of the sportsman who is
 himself one of ,nature's own born      
destroyers1 as panthers and falcons are4
 ,the feeling of one who has not the    
sporting instinct has been well         
expressed as follows by ,mr4 ,lewis     
,morris1 in ,a ,cynic's ,day-dream3--   
,scant pleasure should ,i think to gain 
,from endless scenes of death and pain2 

',twould little profit me to slay    ,a 
thousand innocents a day2    ,i should  
not much delight to tear    ,with       
wolfish dogs the shrieking hare2        
,with horse and hound to track to death 
,a helpless wretch that gasps for       
breath2    ,to make the fair bird check 
its wing1    ,and drop1 a dying1        
shapeless thing2    ,to leave the joy of
 all the wood    ,a mangled heap of fur 
and blood1    ,or else escaping1 but in 
vain1    ,to pine1 a shattered wretch1  
in pain2    ,teeming1 perhaps1 or doomed
 to see    ,its young brood starve in   
misery4  ,hunting may be classed with   
shooting and passed over1 as the        
instinct is the same for both1 with this
 difference only that the huntsman has a
 natural passion for horsemanship that  
may be wanting to the pedestrian        
marksman4 ,an amusement entirely apart  
from every other1 and requiring a       
special instinct1 is that of sailing4   
,if you have the nautical passion it was
 born with you1 and no reasoning can get

 it out of you4 ,every sheet of         
navigable water draws you with a        
marvellous attraction1 fills you with an
 indescribable longing4 ,miles away from
 anything that can be sailed upon1 you  
cannot feel a breeze upon your cheek    
without wishing to be in a sailing-boat 
to catch it in a spread of canvas4 ,a   
ripple on a duck-pond torments you with 
a teazing reminder of larger surfaces1  
and if you had no other field for       
navigation you would want to be on that 
duck-pond in a tub4 ,i would rather have
 a plank and a handkerchief for a sail1 
said ,charles ,lever1 than resign myself
 to give up boating4 ,you have pleasure 
merely in being afloat1 even without    
motion1 and all the degrees of motion   
under sail have their own peculiar charm
 for you1 from an insensible gliding    
through glassy waters to a fight against
 opposite winds and raging seas4 ,you   
have a thorough1 intimate1 and          
affectionate knowledge of all the       
details of your ship4 ,the constant     

succession of little tasks and duties is
 an unfailing interest1 a delightful    
occupation4 ,you enjoy the manual labor1
 and acquire some skill not only as a   
sailor but as ship's carpenter and      
painter4 ,you take all accidents and    
disappointments cheerfully1 and bear    
even hardship with a merry heart4       
,nautical exercise1 though on the humble
 scale of the modest amateur1 has       
preserved or improved your health and   
activity1 and brought you nearer to     
,nature by teaching you the habits of   
the winds and waters and by displaying  
to you an endless variety of scenes1    
always with some fresh interest1 and    
often of enchanting beauty4  ,now let us
 suppose that you are simple enough to  
think that what pleases you1 who have   
the instinct1 will gratify another who  
is destitute of it4 ,if you have power  
enough to make him accompany you1 he    
will pass through the following         
experiences4  ,try to realize the fact  
that to him the sailing-boat is only a  

means of locomotion1 and that he will   
refer to his watch and compare it with  
other means of locomotion already known 
to him1 not having the slightest        
affectionate prejudice in its favor or  
gentle tolerance of its defects4 ,if you
 could always have a steady fair wind he
 would enjoy the boat as much as a coach
 or a very slow railway train1 but he   
will chafe at every delay4 ,none of the 
details that delight you can have the   
slightest interest for him4 ,the sails1 
and particularly the cordage1 seem to   
him an irritating complication which1 he
 thinks1 might be simplified1 and he    
will not give any mental effort to      
master them4 ,he cares nothing about    
those qualities of sails and hull which 
have been the subject of such profound  
scientific investigation1 such long and 
passionate controversy4 ,you cannot     
speak of anything on board without      
employing technical terms which1 however
 necessary1 however unavoidable1 will   
seem to him a foolish and useless       

affectation by which an amateur tries to
 give himself nautical airs4 ,if you say
 the mainsheet he thinks you might have 
said more rationally and concisely the  
cord by which you pull towards you that 
long pole which is under the biggest of 
the sails1 and if you say the starboard 
quarter1 he thinks you ought to have    
said1 in simple ,english1 that part of  
the vessel's side that is towards the   
back end of it and to your right hand   
when you are standing with your face    
looking forwards4 ,if you happen to be  
becalmed he suffers from an infinite    
ennui4 ,if you have to beat to windward 
he is indifferent to the wonderful art  
and vexed with you because1 as his host1
 you have not had the politeness and the
 forethought to provide a favorable     
breeze4 ,if you are a yachtsman of      
limited means and your guest has to take
 a small share in working the vessel1 he
 will not perform it with any cheerful  
alacrity1 but consider it unfit for a   
gentleman4 ,if this goes on for long it 

is likely that there will be irritation 
on both sides1 snappish expressions1 and
 a quarrel4 ,who is in fault8 ,both are 
excusable in the false situation that   
has been created1 but it ought not to   
have been created at all4 ,you ought not
 to have invited a man without nautical 
instincts1 or he ought not to have      
accepted the invitation4 ,he was a      
charming companion on land1 and that    
misled you both4 ,meet him on land      
again1 receive him hospitably at your   
house4 ,i would say forgive him6 if     
there were anything to forgive1 but it  
is not any fault of his or any merit of 
yours if1 by the irrevocable fate of    
congenital idiosyncrasy1 the amusement  
that you were destined to seek and enjoy
 is the corve that he was destined to   
avoid4  ,i find no language strong      
enough to condemn the selfishness of    
those who1 in order that they may enjoy 
what is a pleasure to themselves1       
deliberately and knowingly inflict a    
corve upon others4 ,this objection does 

not apply to paid service1 for that is  
the result of a contract4 ,servants     
constantly endure the tedium of waiting 
and attendance1 but it is their form of 
work1 and they have freely undertaken   
it4 ,work of that kind is not a corve1  
it is not forced labor4 ,real corves are
 inflicted by heads of families on      
dependent relations1 or by patrons on   
humble friends who are under some       
obligation to them1 and so bound to them
 as to be defenceless4 ,the father or   
patron wants1 let us say1 his nightly   
game at whist2 he must and will have it1
 if he cannot get it he feels that the  
machine of the universe is out of gear4 
,he singles out three people who do not 
want to play1 perhaps takes for his     
partner one who thoroughly dislikes the 
game1 but who has learned something of  
it in obedience to his orders4 ,they sit
 down to their board of green cloth4    
,the time passes wearily for the        
principal victim1 who is thinking of    
something else and makes mistakes4 ,the 

patron loses his temper1 speaks with    
increasing acerbity1 and finally either 
flies into a passion and storms 7the    
old-fashioned way71 or else adopts1 with
 grim self-control1 a tone of insulting 
contempt towards his victim that is even
 more difficult to endure4 ,and this is 
the reward for having been unselfish and
 obliging1 these are the thanks for     
having sacrificed a happy evening6  ,if 
this is often done by individuals armed 
with some kind of power and authority1  
it is done still more frequently by     
majorities4 ,the tyranny of majorities  
begins in our school-days1 and the      
principal happiness of manhood is in    
some measure to escape from it4 ,many a 
man in after-life remembers with        
bitterness the weary hours he had to    
spend for the gratification of others in
 games that he disliked4 ,the present   
writer has a vivid recollection of what1
 to him1 was the infinite dulness of    
cricket4 ,he was not by any means an    
inactive boy1 but it so happened that   

cricket never had the slightest interest
 for him1 and to this day he cannot pass
 a cricket-ground without a feeling of  
strong antipathy to its level surface of
 green1 and of thankfulness that he is  
no longer compelled to go through the   
irksome old corve of his youth4 ,one of 
the many charms1 to his taste1 of a     
rocky mountain-side in the ,highlands is
 that cricket is impossible there4 ,at  
the same time he quite believes and     
admits everything that is so            
enthusiastically claimed for cricket by 
those who have a natural affinity for   
the game4  ,there are not only sports   
and pastimes1 but there is the long     
reverberating echo of every sport in    
endless conversations4 ,here it may be  
remarked that the lovers of a particular
 amusement1 when they happen to be a    
majority1 possess a terrible power of   
inflicting ennui upon others1 and they  
often exercise it without mercy4 ,five  
men are dining together1 and three are  
fox-hunters4 ,evidently they ought to   

keep fox-hunting to themselves in       
consideration for the other two1 but    
this requires an almost superhuman      
self-discipline and politeness1 so there
 is a risk that the minority may have to
 submit in silence to an inexhaustible  
series of details about horses and foxes
 and dogs4 ,indeed you are never safe   
from this kind of conversation1 even    
when you have numbers on your side4     
,sporting talk may be inflicted by a    
minority when that minority is incapable
 of any other conversation and strong in
 its own incapacity4 ,here is a case in 
point that was narrated to me by one of 
the three convives4 ,the host was a     
country gentleman of great intellectual 
attainments1 one guest was a famous     
,londoner1 and the other was a sporting 
squire who had been invited as a        
neighbor4 ,fox-hunting was the only     
subject of talk1 because the squire was 
garrulous and unable to converse about  
any other topic4  ,ladies are often     
pitiable sufferers from this kind of    

conversation4 ,sometimes they have the  
instinct of masculine sport themselves1 
and then the subject has an interest for
 them2 but an intelligent woman may find
 herself in a wearisome position when   
she would rather avoid the subject of   
slaughter1 and all the men around her   
talk of nothing but killing and         
wounding4  ,it is natural that men      
should talk much about their amusements1
 because the mere recollection of a true
 amusement 7that for which we have an   
affinity7 is in itself a renewal of it  
in imagination1 and an immense          
refreshment to the mind4 ,in the midst  
of a gloomy ,english winter the         
yachtsman talks of summer seas1 and     
whilst he is talking he watches1        
mentally1 his well-set sails1 and hears 
the wash of the ,mediterranean wave4    
,there are three pleasures in a true    
amusement1 first anticipation1 full of  
hope1 which is    ,a feast for promised 
triumph yet to come1  often the best    
banquet of all4 ,then comes the actual  

fruition1 usually dashed with           
disappointments that a true lover of the
 sport accepts in the most cheerful     
spirit4 ,lastly1 we go through it all   
over again1 either with the friends who 
have shared our adventures or at least  
with those who could have enjoyed them  
had they been there1 and who 7for vanity
 often claims her own delights7 know    
enough about the matter to appreciate   
our own admirable skill and courage4    
,in concluding this ,essay ,i desire to 
warn young readers against a very common
 mistake4 ,it is very generally believed
 that literature and the fine arts can  
be happily practised as amusements4 ,i  
believe this to be an error due to the  
vulgar notion that artists and literal  
people do not work but only display     
talent1 as if anybody could display     
talent without toil4 ,literary and      
artistic pursuits are in fact studies   
and not amusements4 ,too arduous to have
 the refreshing quality of recreation1  
they put too severe a strain upon the   

faculties1 they are too troublesome in  
their processes1 and too unsatisfactory 
in their results1 unless a natural gift 
has been developed by earnest and       
long-continued labor4 ,it does indeed   
occasionally happen that an artist who  
has acquired skill by persistent study  
will amuse himself by exercising it in  
sport4 ,a painter may make idle sketches
 as ,byron sometimes broke out into     
careless rhymes1 or as a scholar will   
playfully compose doggerel in ,greek1   
but these gambols of accomplished men   
are not to be confounded with the       
painful efforts of amateurs who fancy   
that they are going to dance in the     
,palace of ,art and shortly discover    
that the muse who presides there is not 
a smiling hostess but a severe and      
exigent schoolmistress4 ,an able ,french
 painter1 ,louis ,leloir1 wrote thus to 
a friend about another art that he felt 
tempted to practise3--      ,etching    
tempts me much4 ,i am making experiments
 and hope to show you     something     

soon4 ,unhappily life is too short2 we  
do a little of     everything and then  
perceive that each branch of art would  
of itself     consume the life of a man1
 to practise it very imperfectly after  
all4444 ,we get angry with ourselves and
 struggle1 but too late4 ,it was     at 
the beginning that we ought to have put 
on blinkers to hide from     ourselves  
everything that is not art4  ,if we mean
 to amuse ourselves let us avoid the    
painful wrestling against insuperable   
difficulties1 and the humiliation of    
imperfect results4 ,let us shun all     
ostentation1 either of wealth or talent1
 and take our pleasures happily like    
poor children1 or like the idle angler  
who stands in his old clothes by the    
purling stream and watches the bobbing  
of his float1 or the glancing of the fly
 that his guileful industry has made4   
,,index4     ,absinthe1 ,french use1    
#bgc4    ,absurdity1 in languages1 #aeg4
    ,academies1 in a university1 #bge4  
,accidents1 ,divine connection with     

7,essay ,,xv471 #bah-bbb4               
,acquaintances3 new and humble1 #ba1    
#bb2     chance1 #bc-bf2     met in     
travelling 7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb   
passim4    ,adaptability3 a mystery1 #i2
     in life's journey1 #dd2     to     
unrefined people1 #gb4    ,adultery1    
overlooked in princes1 #afh4            
,affection3 not blinding to faults1 #aj2
     how to obtain filial1 #ih2     in  
the beginning of letters1 #caf4         
,affinities1 mysterious1 #bhh4    ,age3 
affecting human intercourse1 ix2        
outrun by youth1 #hf-ic passim2         
affecting friendship1 #aab2     senility
 hard to convince1 #bic1 #bid2          
middle and old1 #cjb2     kind letter to
 an old lady1 #cde4    ,agnosticism1    
affecting filial relations1 #ic4        
,agriculture3 under law1 #bbh2     and  
,radicals1 #bhb4    ,albany1 ,duke of1  
his associations1 #e4    ,albert        
,nyanza1 ,baker's exploits1 #cib4       
,alexis1 ,prince1 sad relations to his  
father1 #ie1 #if4    ,alps3 first sight1

 #bce2     grandeur1 #bga4              
,americans3 artistic attraction1 #h2    
inequalities of wealth1 #bdh2           
behaviour towards strangers1 #bdi2      
treated as ignorant by the ,english1    
#bgg2     under ,george ,,iii41 #bgi2   
use of ruled paper1 #cbh4               
,amusements3 pursuit of1 #bg2           
sympathy with youthful1 #hh2            
out-door1 #cjb1 #cjc2     praise for    
indulgence not deserved1 #cdb2     in   
general 7,essay ,,xxvi471 #chc-dja2     
obligatory1 #chc2     expensive and     
pleasurable1 #chd2     laborious1 #che2 
princely enjoyments1 #chf1 #chg2        
poverty not compelled to practise1 #chh2
     feigned1 #chh1 #chi2     converted 
into customs1 #chi2     should be       
independent in1 #cij2     shooting1     
#cia-cic2     boating1 #cid-cif2        
selfish compulsion1 #cig2     tyranny of
 majorities1 #cih2     conversational   
echoes1 #cih1 #cii2     ladies not      
interested1 #cii2     three stages of   
pleasure1 #cii1 #djj2     artistic      

gambols1 #djj2     to be taken naturally
 and happily1 #dja4    ,analysis3       
important to prevent confusion 7,essay  
,,xx471 #bhj-bid passim2     analytical 
faculty wanting1 #bhj1 #bib-bid4        
,ancestry3 aristocratic1 #abc2          
boast1 #acj2     home1 #ach2     less   
religion1 #bad4    ,angels1 and the     
arts1 #aia4    ,anglicanism1 and        
,russian ,church1 #beg1 #beh4           
,angling1 pleasure of1 #dja4            
,animals1 feminine care1 #agg4          
,annuities1 affecting family ties1 #fh1 
#fi4    ,answers to letters1 #ccd1 #cce4
    ,anticipation1 pleasure of1 #cii1   
#djj4    ,antiquarianism1 author's1     
#cbc4    ,apollo1 a sportsman compared  
to1 #cia4    ,arabs3 use of telegraph1  
#cbc2     collar-bone broken1 #cib4     
,archology3 a friend's interest1 x2     
affected by railway travel1 #ad4        
,architecture3 illustration1 vii1 xii2  
studies in ,france1 #ag1 #bc1 #bd2      
connection with religion1 #ahi1 #aij1   
#aib2     ignorance about ,english1     

#bfe2     common mistakes1 #bia2        
letters about1 #cfe4    ,aristocracy3   
,french rural1 #ah1 #ai2     ,english   
laws of primogeniture1 #ff2     ,english
 instance1 #abc1 #abd2     discipline1  
#abh2     often poor1 #ace1 #acf2       
effect of deference1 #adf1 #adg2     a  
mark of8 #bdf1 #bdg2     ,norman        
influence1 #bea1 #beb2     antipathy1 to
 ,dissent1 #bef1 #beg2     sent to      
,eton1 #bgg2     and ,bohemianism1 #cji2
     dislike of scholarship1 #cca1 #ccb4
     7,see ,rank47    ,aristophilus1    
fictitious character1 #adf4    ,armies3 
national ignorance1 #bgg-bgi2           
monopoly of places in ,french1 #bhc4    
7,see ,war47    ,art3 detached from     
religion1 xii2     affecting friendship1
 #f1 #h2     ,claude and ,turner1 #ac2  
chance acquaintances1 #bc1 #bd2         
purposes lowered1 #bh1 #bi2             
penetrated by love1 #db1 #dc2           
affecting fraternity1 #fd2              
friendship1 #aac1 #aad2     lifts above 
mercenary motives1 #acb2     literary1  

#aed2     adaptability of ,greek        
language1 #aeh2     preferences of      
artists rewarded1 #afe2     affecting   
relations of ,priests and ,women 7,essay
 ,,xiii4 part ,,ii471         #ahg-aie1 
passim2     exaggeration and diminution1
 both admissible1 #bcb1 #bcc2     result
 of selection1 #bec2     ,french        
ignorance of ,english1 #bfe1 #bff1 #bfg2
     antagonized by ,philistinism1 #bhe1
 #bhf1 #cja2     not mere amusement1    
#djj4     7,see ,painting1 ,sculpture1  
,turner1 etc47    ,asceticism1 tinges   
both the ,philistine and ,bohemian1     
#bii1 #cjj4     7,see ,priesthood1      
,roman ,catholicism1 etc47              
,association3 pleasurable or not1 #c2   
affected by opinions1 #e1 #f2     by    
tastes1 #g1 #h2     ,london1 #bj2     of
 a certain ,french painter1 #bh2        
between ,priests and ,women 7,essay     
,,xiii4 part ,,iii471 #aie-bjd passim2  
among travellers 7,essay ,,xvii471      
#bci-beb2     leads to misapprehension  
of opinions1 #bhg1 #bhh4     7,see      

,companionship1 ,friendship1 ,society1  
etc47    ,atavism1 puzzling to parents1 
#hh4    ,atheism3 reading prayers1 #afc2
     apparent1 #agc2     confounded with
 ,deism1 #beg4     7,see ,god1          
,religion1 etc47    ,attention3 how     
directed in the study of language1 #aed2
     want of1 #aig4    ,austerlitz1     
battle1 #cej4     7,see ,napoleon ,i47  
,austria1 ,empress1 #ahj4    ,authority1
 of fathers 7,essay ,,vi471 #gh-ih      
passim4     7,see ,priests47            
,authors3 illustration1 #i2             
indebtedness to humbler classes1 #bb1   
#bc2     relations of several to women1 
#df et seq42     sensitiveness to family
 indifference1 #gd2     in society and  
with the pen1 #bcg1 #bch2     a         
procrastinating correspondent1 #cag2    
anonymous letters1 #cgh4     7,see      
,hamerton1 etc47    ,authorship1        
illustrating interdependence1 #ab4      
7,see ,literature1 etc47                
,autobiographies1 revelations of        
faithful family life1 #fe4    ,autumn   

tints1 #bcc4    ,avignon1 ,france1      
burial-place of ,mill1 #ec4             
,bachelors3 independence1 #bf2     dread
 of a wife's relations1 #gc2     lonely 
hearth1 #gf2     friendship destroyed by
 marriage1 #aae1 #aaf2     reception    
into society1 #abj2     eating-habits1  
#bdd4     7,see ,marriage1 ,wives1 etc47
    ,baker1 ,sir ,samuel1 shooting1     
#cij-cib4    ,balzac1 his hatred of old 
maids1 #cha4    ,baptism1 religious     
influence1 #ahd1 #ahe4     7,see        
,priesthood47    ,baptists3 in ,england1
 #agj2     ignorance about1 #beg4       
7,see ,religion47    ,barbarism1        
emerging from1 #afa4     7,see          
,civilization47    ,baronius1 excerpts  
by ,prince ,alexis1 #ie4    ,barristers1
 mercenary motives1 #acb1 #acc4         
,bavaria1 king of1 #che-chg4    ,bazaar1
 charity1 #ahh4    ,beard1 not worn by  
priests1 #bjb4    ,beauty3 womanly      
attraction1 #ch1 #ci2     sought by     
wealth1 #bii4    ,bedford1 ,duke of1    
knowledge of ,french1 #aea4    ,belgium1

 letters written at the date of         
,waterloo1 #aec4    ,beljame1 his       
knowledge of ,english1 #aeb4    ,bell1  
,umfrey1 in old letter1 #cbc4           
,benevolence1 priestly and feminine     
association therein1 #aie1 #aif4        
7,see ,priests1 etc47    ,ben ,nevis1   
and other ,scotch heights1 #bga4        
,bentinck1 ,william1 letters to1 #cdd1  
#cde4    ,betham-,edwards1 ,amelia1 her 
description of ,english bad manners1    
#bdj1 #bde4    ,bible3 faith in1 #f2    
allusion to ,proverbs and ,canticles1   
#da2     reading1 #abc2     ,babel1     
#aei2     commentaries studied1         
authority1 #bjf2     examples1 #bjh2    
narrow limits1 #baa1 #bab2              
commentaries and sermons1 #cjb4         
7,see ,religion1 etc47    ,bicycle1     
illustration1 #ae4    ,birds1 in        
,france1 #bgb4    ,birth1 priestly      
connection with1 #ahd1 #ahe4     7,see  
,priests1 ,women47    ,black cap1       
illustration1 #bjd4    ,blake1 ,william1
 quotation about ,folly and ,wisdom1    

#ca4    ,blasphemy1 royal1 #afg4        
7,see ,immorality1 etc47    ,boating3   
affected by railways1 #ad2     ,french  
river1 #abh2     rich and poor1 #ach1   
#aci2     comparison1 #aed2     ,lever's
 experience1 #bfj2     mistaken         
judgments1 #bib1 #bic2     not enjoyed1 
#cjb2     sleeping1 #cjg2     on the    
,thames1 #cce2     painting a boat1     
#cei2     amusement1 #cid-cif4     7,see
 ,yachts1 etc47    ,boccaccio1 quotation
 about pestilence1 #bbb4                
,bohemianism3 ,noble 7,essay ,,xxi471   
#bie-cad2     unjust opinions1 #bie2    
lower forms1 #bif2     social vices1    
#big2     sees the weakness of          
,philistinism1 #bih2     how            
justifiable1 #bii2     imagination and  
asceticism1 #cjj2     intimacy with     
nature1 #cjb2     estimate of the       
desirable1 #cjc2     living             
illustration1 #cjd2     furniture1      
mental and material1 #cje2     an       
,english ,bohemian's enjoyment1 #cjf2   
contempt for comfort1 uselessness1 #cjg2

     self-sacrifice1 #cjh2     higher   
sort1 #cji2     of ,goldsmith1 #cji1    
#caj2     ,corot1 ,wordsworth1 #caa2    
,palmer1 #cab1 #cac2     part of        
education1 #cac1 #cad2     a painter's1 
#cad4     7,see ,philistinism47         
,bonaparte ,family1 criminality of1     
#afh4     7,see ,napoleon ,i47          
,books3 how far an author's own1 #ac2   
in hospitality1 #adb2     refusal to    
read1 #aie2     indifference to1 #bhf1  
#bhg2     cheap and dear1 #cjd1 #cje2   
,wordsworth's carelessness1 #caa2       
binding1 #cei4     7,see ,literature1   
etc47    ,bores1 ,english dread of1     
#bde4     7,see ,intrusion47    ,borrow1
 ,george1 on ,english houses1 #ade4     
,botany1 allusion1 #aff4    ,bourbon    
,family1 criminality of1 #afh4          
,bourrienne1 ,fauvelet de1 ,napoleon's  
secretary1 #cfg4    ,boyton1 ,captain1  
swimming-apparatus1 #bij4    ,boys3     
,french1 #bc1 #bd2     ,english         
fraternal jealousies1 #ff2              
education1 and differences with older   

people1 #gh-ih passim2     roughened by 
play1 #ajj2     friendships1 #aaa4      
7,see ,brothers1 ,fathers1 ,sons1 etc47 
,brassey1 ,sir ,thomas1 his yacht1 #ach1
 #aci4    ,brevity1 in correspondence1  
#cbd-cca1 #cfa4    ,bright1 ,john1 his  
fraternity1 #fh4    ,british ,museum3   
ignorance about1 #bff2     library1     
#bhg2     confused with other buildings1
 #bia4     7,see ,london47    ,bront1   
,charlotte1 her ,st4 ,john1 in ,jane    
,eyre1 #aif4    ,brothers3 divided by   
incompatibility1 #aj2     ,english      
divisions1 #fc2     idiosyncrasy1 #fd2  
petty jealousy1 #fe1 #ff2     love and  
hatred illustrated1 #fg2     the        
,brights1 #fh2     money affairs1 #fi2  
generosity and meanness1 #gj2           
refinement an obstacle1 #ga2     lack of
 fraternal interest1 #gd2     riches and
 poverty1 #gg4     7,see ,boys1         
,friendship1 ,sons1 etc47    ,buffon1   
,georges ,louis ,leclerc de1 his noble  
life1 #bji1 #baj4    ,buildings1        
literary illustration1 vii4             

,bulgaria1 lost to ,turkey1 #bgh4       
,bull-fights1 women's presence1 #ahj4   
7,see ,cruelty47    ,bunyan1 ,john3     
choice in religion1 #agc2               
imprisoned1 #aha4    ,business3         
affecting family ties1 #fd1 #fg2        
affecting letter-writing1 #cdb1 #cdc2   
,letters of 7,essay ,,xxiv471 #ced-cfi2 
orally conducted or written1 #ced-ceg2  
stupid agents1 #ceh1 #cei2     talent   
for accuracy1 #cfj2     acknowledging   
orders1 #cfa2     apparent carelessness1
 one subject best1 #cfb2     knowledge  
of drawing important to explanations on 
paper1 #cfc1 #cfd2     acquaintance with
 languages a help1 #cfd2     commercial 
slang1 #cfe2     indolence in           
letter-reading has disastrous results1  
#cff-cfi4     7,see ,correspondence47   
,byron1 ,lord3 on ,friendship1 #cj2     
,haide1 #ci2     marriage relations1    
#df1 #dh-ej1 #ee-eg2     as a           
letter-writer1 #cde-cdi2     careless   
rhymes1 #djj4     ,calumny3 caused by   
indistinct ideas1 #bib2     in letters1 

#cgj-cgg4    ,cambridge ,university1    
#bge1 #bgf4    ,camden ,society1        
publication1 #cah4    ,cannes1 anecdote1
 #bce4    ,cannon-balls1 national       
intercourse1 #afj4     7,see ,wars47    
,canoe1 illustration1 #ae4              
,card-playing3 incident1 #abh1 #abi2    
,french habit1 #bgc2     kings1 #bhi2   
laborious1 #cig4    ,carelessness1      
causing wrong judgments1 #bic4          
,caste3 as affecting friendship1 #d2    
not the uniting force1 #i2     ,french  
rites1 #af2     ,english prejudice1 #ai2
     sins against1 #bb2     among       
authors1 #df-ef2     kinship of ideas1  
#fg2     ease with lower classes1 #fd2  
really existent1 #abd1 #abe2     loss   
through poverty1 #acf2     among        
,english travellers1 #bdj-bdb1 #bde1    
#bdf4     7,see ,classes1 ,rank1        
,titles1 etc47    ,cat1 drawing by a    
child1 #cfd4    ,cathedrals3 drawing a  
,french1 #bc1 #bd2     imposing1 #ahi1  
#aij1 #aib4    ,celibacy3 ,shelley's    
experience1 #cd2     in ,catholic       

,church1 #abj2     clerical1 #aih-bja2  
of old maids1 #cgi-chb4     7,see       
,clergy1 ,priests1 ,wives1 etc47        
,censure1 dangerous in letters1 #ceb1   
#cec4    ,ceremony3 dependent on        
prosperity1 #abe1 #abf2     fondness of 
women for1 #aig1 #aih2     also #ahg-aie
 passim4     7,see ,manners1 ,rank1     
etc47    ,chamberlain1 the title1 #acg4 
,chambord1 ,count de1 restoration       
possible1 #bed1 #bee4    ,channel1      
,british1 illustration1 #ad4    ,charles
 ,,ii41 women's influence during his    
reign1 #aha4    ,charles ,,xii41 his    
hardiness1 #cjh4    ,chaucer1 ,geoffrey1
 on birds1 #bgb4    ,cheltenham1 ,eng41 
treatment of ,dissenters1 #ai4          
,chemistry1 illustration1 #c4           
,cheshire1 ,eng41 a case of generosity1 
#fh4    ,children3 recrimination with   
parents1 #ge2     as affecting parental 
wealth1 #aai2     social reception1     
#abj2     keenly alive to social        
distinctions1 #aba2     imprudent       
marriages1 #abc2     a poor woman's1    

#aci2     interruptions1 #adj1 #ada2    
ignorance of foreign language makes us  
seem like1 #aea2     feminine care1     
#agg2     of clergy1 #bjj1 #bja2     cat
 picture1 #cfd2     pleasures of poor1  
#dja4     7,see ,boys1 ,brothers1       
,marriage1 ,sons1 etc47    ,chinese     
mandarins1 #acj4    ,chirography1 in    
letters1 #cca-ccc4    ,christ3 his      
divinity a past issue1 #f2     ,church  
instituted1 #agh1 #agi2     ,dr4        
,macleod on1 #ahf2     limits of        
knowledge in ,jesus' day1 #bac4         
7,see ,church1 ,religion1 etc47         
,christianity3 as affecting intercourse1
 #e1 #f2     its early disciples1 #adb2 
preferment for adherence1 #afb1 #afc2   
morality a part of1 #afh1 #afi2         
state churches1 #agj2     in poetry1    
#aih2     early ideal1 #bjf4     7,see  
,roman ,catholicism1 etc47              
,christmas3 decorations1 #ahh2     in   
,tennyson1 #aih4     7,see ,clergy1     
,priesthood1 ,women47    ,church3       
attendance of hypocrites1 #afc2         

compulsory1 #agb2     instituted by ,god
 in ,christ1 #agh1 #agi2     influence  
at all stages of life1 #ahc-ahf2        
sthetic industry1 #ahh2     dress1 #ahi2
     buildings1 #aij2     menaces1 #aic2
     partisanship1 #aid2     power of   
custom1 #aih2     authority1 #bjc4      
7,see ,religion1 ,roman ,catholicism1   
etc47    ,church of ,england3 as        
affecting friendship1 #f2     freedom of
 members in their own country1 instance 
of ,dissenting         tyranny1 #afd2   
dangers of forsaking1 #afe2     bondage 
of royalty1 #aff1 #afh2     adherence of
 nobility1 #afi1 #agj1 #agc2     of     
working-people1 #agj1 #aga2             
compulsory attendance1 liberality1 #agb1
 #agc2     ribaldry sanctioned by its   
head1 #aha2     priestly consolation1   
#ahc2     the legal church1 #ahe2       
ritualistic art1 #ahh-aij2     a        
bishop's invitation to a discussion1    
#aib2     story of a bishop's indolence1
 #cff1 #cfg2     ,french ignorance of1  
#bge4     7,see ,england1 ,christ1 etc47

    ,cipher1 in letters1 #cbf4          
,civility4 7,see ,hospitality47         
,civilization3 liking for1 xiii2        
antagonism to nature in love-matters1   
#da2     lower state1 #gb2     affected 
by hospitality1 #ajj2     material      
adjuncts1 #bec2     physical1 #bih2     
duty to further1 #bii2     forsaken1    
#caj4     7,see ,barbarism1             
,bohemianism1 ,philistinism1 etc47      
,classes3 ,differences of ,rank 7,essay 
,x471 #acj-adg passim2     affected by  
religion 7,essay ,,xii471 #afa-agd2     
limits1 #bej2     in connection with    
,gentility 7,essay ,,xviii471 #bec-bfc  
passim4     7,see ,caste1 ,ceremonies1  
,rank1 etc47    ,classics1 study of1 in 
the ,renaissance1 #bab4    ,claude1     
helps ,turner4 7,see ,painters1 etc47   
,clergy3 mercenary motives1 #acb1 #acc2 
more tolerant of immorality than of     
heresy1 #afh2     belief in natural law1
 #bba2     dangers of association with1 
#bhg4     7,see ,priesthood1 ,religion1 
etc47    ,clergywomen1 #bjj1 #bja4      

,clerks1 their knowledge an aid to      
national intercourse1 #adi1 #aej4       
7,see ,business1 ,languages1 etc47      
,coats-of-arms3 usurped1 #ace2     in   
letters1 #cbf1 #cbg4     7,see ,rank47  
,cockburn1 ,sir ,alexander1 knowledge of
 ,french1 #aea4    ,cock ,robin1 boat1  
#ach4     7,see ,boating47    ,coffee1  
satire on trade1 #acc1 #acd4    ,cologne
 ,cathedral1 #aij4    ,colors1 in       
painting1 #bcb1 #bcc4    ,columbus1     
,voltaire's allusion1 #bgd4    ,comet1  
in ,egyptian war1 #bbi4     7,see       
,superstition47    ,comfort1 pursuit of1
 #bg1 #bih1 #bii4     7,see             
,philistinism47    ,commerce1 affected  
by language1 #adh-aej1 #aei1 #afj4      
7,see ,business1 ,languages1 etc47      
,communism1 threats1 #cgg4    ,como1    
,italy1 solitude1 #ca4                  
,companionship3 how decided1 #d2        
affected by opinions1 #e1 #f2     by    
tastes1 #g1 #h2     in ,london1 #bj2    
with the lower classes1 #ba-bc2         
chance1 #bd-bf2     intellectual        

exclusiveness1 #bg1 #bh2     books1 #bi2
     nature1 #cj2     in ,marriage      
7,essay ,,iv471 #dd-fb2     travelling1 
absence1 #dd2     intellectual1 #de2    
instances of unlawful1 #df1 #dg2        
failures not surprising1 #dh2     of    
,byron1 #di1 #ej2     ,goethe1 #ea1 #eb2
     ,mill1 #ec1 #ed2     discouraging  
examples1 #ee1 #ef2     difficulties of 
extraordinary minds1 #eg2               
artificial1 #eh2     hopelessness of    
finding ideal associations1 #ei2        
indications and realizations1 #fj2      
trust1 #fa1 #fb2     hindered by        
refinement1 #ga1 #gb2     affected by   
cousinship1 #gc2     parents and        
children 7,essay ,,vi471 #gh-ih passim2 
,death of ,friendship 7,essay ,,viii471 
#aaj-aah2     affected by wealth and    
poverty 7,essays ,,ix4 and ,x471        
#aai-adg passim2     between ,priests   
and ,women 7,essay ,,xiii471 #age-bjd4  
7,see ,association1 ,friendship1 etc47  
,comradeship1 difficult between parents 
and children1 #hi4     7,see            

,association1 etc47    ,concession3     
weakening the mind1 #adg2     national1 
#adh2     feminine liking1 #age4        
,confessional1 the3 influencing women1  
#bja-bjc2     a supposititious          
compulsion1 #bha4     7,see ,religion1  
etc47    ,confirmation1 priestly        
connection with1 #ahe4     7,see        
,women47    ,confusion3 7,essay ,,xx471 
#bhj-bid2     masculine and feminine1   
#bhj2     political1 #bhj-bhd2          
rebels and reformers1 #bhj2     private 
and public liberty1 #bha2     ,radicals1
 #bhb2     galit1 #bhc2     religious1  
#bhd1 #bhe2     ,philistines and        
,bohemians1 #bhe-bhg2     confounding   
people with their associates1 #bhg1     
#bhh2     vocations1 #bhh1 #bhi2        
persons1 #bij2     foreign buildings1   
#bia2     inducing calumny1 #bib2       
caused by insufficient analysis1 #bib1  
#bic2     about inventions1 #bic2       
result of carelessness1 indolence1 or   
senility1 #bic1 #bid4    ,consolation1  
of clergy1 #agi-ahc4     7,see          

,religion47    ,construing1 different   
from reading1 #aed4     7,see           
,languages47    ,continent1 the3 family 
ties1 #fc2     friendship broken by     
marriage1 #aaf2     religious           
liberality1 #agc2     marriage1 #ahd2   
flowers1 #ahh1 #ahi2     confessional1  
#bjb1 #bjc2     exaggeration1 #bcd1     
#bce2     table-manners of travellers1  
#bdj-beb passim2     drinking-places1   
#bfb4     7,see ,france1 etc47          
,controversy1 disliked1 xiii4           
,conventionality3 affecting personality1
 #ae-ag2     genteel ignorance          
engendered by1 #bfj-bfb4     7,see      
,courtesy1 ,manners1 etc47              
,conversation3 chance1 #bf2     compared
 with literature1 #bi2     study of     
languages1 #aef2     at table d'hte1    
#bci-bdi2     among strangers1 #bdg-beb 
passim2     useless to quote1 #bia2     
,goldsmith's enjoyment1 #cji4           
,convictions1 our own to be trusted1    
iii1 iv4    ,copenhagen1 battle1 #cbg4  
,cornhill ,magazine1 ,lever's article1  

#bei1 #bfj4    ,corot 7,jean ,baptiste  
,camille71 his ,bohemianism1 #caj1 #caa4
    ,correspondence3 akin to            
periodicals1 #cj2     ,belgian letters1 
#aec2     ,courtesy of ,epistolary      
,communication 7,essay ,,xxii471        
#cae-cce2     introductions and number  
of letters1 #caf2     promptness1 #cag1 
#cah2     ,plumpton ,letters1 #cah-cbc2 
brevity1 #cbd2     telegraphy and       
abbreviations1 #cbe2     sealing1 #cbf1 
#cbg2     peculiar stationery1 #cbh2    
post-cards1 #cbi2     un mot  la poste1 
#ccj2     brevity and hurry1 #cca2      
handwriting1 #ccb2     crossed lines1   
ink1 type-writers1 #ccc2     dictation1 
outside courtesy1 #ccd2     to reply or 
not reply8 #cce2     ,letters of        
,friendship 7,essay ,,xxiii471 #ccf-cec2
     a supposed gain to friendship1     
#ccf2     neglected1 #ccg2              
impediments1 #cch2     ,french cards1   
#cci2     abandonment to be regretted1  
#cdj2     letter-writing a gift1 #cda2  
real self wanted in letters1 #cdb2      

letters of business and friendship1     
#cdc2     familiarity best1 #cdd2       
lengthy letters1 #cde2     ,byron's1    
#cdf-cdh2     ,jacquemont's1 #cdi2      
the ,rmusat letters1 #cej2     ,bernardo
 ,tasso's1 ,montaigne's1 #cej2          
perils of plain speaking1 #ceb1 #cec2   
,letters of ,business 7,essay ,,xxiv471 
#ced-cfi2     differences of talent1    
#ced2     repeated perusals1 #cee2      
refuge of timidity1 #cef2     letters   
exposed1 literary faults1 omissions1    
#ceg2     directions misunderstood1     
#ceh1 #cei2     acknowledging orders1   
#cfa2     slovenly writing1 one subject 
in each letter1 #cfb2                   
misunderstanding through ignorance1     
#cfc2     in foreign languages1 #cfd2   
conventional slang1 #cfe2     careful   
reading necessary1 #cff2     unopened   
letters1 #cfg2     epistles half-read1  
#cfh2     a stupid error1 #cfi2         
,anonymous ,letters 7,essay ,,xxv471    
#cgj-chb2     common1 #cgj2             
slanderous1 #cga2     vehicle of        

calumny1 #cgb2     written to betrothed 
lovers1 #cgc2     story1 #cgd2          
written in collaboration and with pains1
 #cge2     an expected grandchild1 #cgf2
     torture and threats1 #cgg2         
kindly and critical1 #cgh-chb4          
,corve3 allusion1 #cdb2     definition1 
#chi1 #cij1 #cif1 #cig4     7,see       
,amusements47    ,cottage1 love in a1   
#ce1 #cf4    ,court-circulars1 #aff1    
#afg4    ,courtesy3 its forms1 #abg-abi2
     idioms1 #aeg2     in ,epistolary   
,communication 7,essay ,,xxii471        
#cae-cce2     in what courtesy consists1
 #cae2     the act of writing1 phrases1 
#caf2     promptitude1 #cag2            
instance of procrastination1 #cag1 #cah2
     illustrations1 in the ,plumpton    
,correspondence1 of ancient courtesy1   
#cah-cbc1 #cca2     consists in modern  
brevity1 #cbd2     foreign forms1 #cbe2 
by telegraph1 #cbf2     in little       
things1 #cbg2     in stationery1 #cbh2  
affected by postal cards1 #cbi1 #ccj2   
in chirography1 #cca1 #ccb2     affected

 by type-writers1 #ccc2     for show    
merely1 #ccd2     requiring answers1    
#cce4     7,see ,manners1 ,classes1     
etc47    ,cousins3 ,french proverb1     
general relationship1 #gb2     lack of  
friendly interest1 #gd4     7,see       
,brothers1 etc47    ,creuzot1 ,french   
foundry1 #bgb4    ,cricket3 not played  
in ,france1 #bgb2     author's dislike1 
#cih4     7,see ,amusements47           
,crimean ,war1 caused by ignorance1     
#bgh4     7,see ,war47    ,criticism3   
intolerant of certain features in books1
 #hi2     in ,byron's letters1 #cdg2    
in anonymous letters1 #cgi2             
explained by a date1 #cha4    ,cromwell1
 ,oliver1 contrasted with his son1 #if4 
,culture and ,philistinism1 #bhe-bhg4   
,customs3 upheld by clergy1 #aig1 #aih2 
amusements changed into1 #chc1 #chd1    
#chi4     7,see ,ceremonies1 ,courtesy1 
,rank1 etc47     ,daily ,news1 ,london1 
illustration of natural law vs4         
religion1 xii4    ,dancing3 ,french     
quotation about1 #ca2     religious     

aversion1 #abc2     not compulsory to   
the poor1 #chh4     7,see ,amusements1  
etc47    ,dante1 his subjects1 #aib4    
,daughters1 their respectful and        
impertinent letters1 #cai-cba4     7,see
 ,fathers1 ,sons1 ,women1 etc47         
,death3 termination of intercourse1 x1  
xi2     from love1 #ci2     ,byron's    
lines1 #ej2     ingratitude expressed in
 a will1 #fi2     of wife's relations1  
#gc2     of ,friendship 7,essay         
,,viii471 #aaj-aah2     not personal1   
#aaj2     of a ,french gentleman1 #ahb2 
priestly connection with1 #ahd-ahf1     
#bjc2     of absent friends1 #cch2      
,french customs1 #cci2     silence1     
#cdj4     7,see ,priests1 ,religion47   
,debauchery1 destructive of love1 #cd4  
,deference1 why liked1 #abb4     7,see  
,rank1 etc47    ,deism1 confounded with 
,atheism1 #beg4     7,see ,god1         
,religion1 etc47    ,delos1 oracle of1  
#bbi4    ,democracies1 illustration of  
broken friendships1 #aad1 #aae4         
,democracy3 accusation of1 #aca2        

confounded with ,dissent1 #beg4         
7,see ,nationality1 etc47    ,denmark1  
the crown-prince of1 #cbg4              
,dependence1 of one upon all1 #ab4      
,de ,saussure1 ,horace ,benedict1 his   
life study1 #bcj1 #bca4    ,despotism1  
provincial and social1 #ag4     7,see   
,tyranny47    ,de ,tocqueville1 ,alexis 
,charles ,henri ,clerel3 allusion1 #adg2
     translation1 #aeb2     on ,english 
unsociability 7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb
 passim4    ,devil3 priestly opposition1
 #aie2     belief in agency1 #bbd2      
,god's relation to1 #bbh4     7,see     
,clergy1 ,superstition1 ,religion1 etc47
    ,devonshire1 ,eng41 its beauty1     
#bgj4    ,dickens1 ,charles3 his        
middle-class portraitures1 #bj2     his 
indebtedness to the poor1 #bb2          
humor1 #gb4    ,dictionary1 references1 
#aee4     7,see ,languages47            
,diderot1 ,denis1 ,goldsmith's          
interview1 #cji4    ,dignity1 to be     
maintained in middle-life1 #aag4        
,diminution1 habit in art and life      

7,essay ,,xvi471 #bcb-bch4     7,see    
,exaggeration47    ,diogenes1 his       
philosophy1 #abg4    ,discipline3 of    
children1 #gh-ih passim2     delegated1 
#hc2     mental1 #bjh2     of self1     
#cjh4    ,discord1 the result of high   
taste1 #f4    ,dishonesty1 part of      
,bohemianism1 #bif4    ,disraeli1       
,benjamin1 female estimate1 #chj4       
,dissenters3 ,french estimate1 #ah1 #ai2
     ,english exclusion1 #ai1 #bef2     
liberty in religion1 #afd1 #afe2        
position not compulsory1 #agj2     small
 towns1 #aga-agc4     7,see ,church of  
,england1 etc47    ,dissipation3 among  
working-men1 #abd2     in ,france1 #bgb1
 #bgc4     7,see ,wine1 etc47           
,distinctions forgotten 7,essay ,,xx471 
#bhj-bid passim4     7,see ,confusion47 
,divorce1 causes of1 #ch4     7,see     
,marriage1 ,women1 etc47    ,dobell1    
,sidney1 social exclusion1 #ai4    ,dog1
 rifle compared to1 #cib4     7,see     
,amusements47    ,dominicans1 dress1    
#ahi4     7,see ,religion1 etc47        

,dominoes in ,france1 #bgc4     7,see   
,amusements47    ,don ,quixote1         
illustration of paternal satire1 #ig4   
,dor1 ,gustave1 his kind and long       
letter1 #cde4    ,double1 ,lopold1 home1
 #adb4    ,dover ,straits1 #ccg4        
,drama3 power of adaptation1 #gb2       
amateur actors1 #adc4    ,drawing3 a    
,french church1 #bc1 #bd2     aid to    
business letters1 #cfc1 #cfd4     7,see 
,painters1 etc47    ,dreams1 outgrown1  
#fj4    ,dress3 connection with manners1
 #abf1 #abg2     ornaments to indicate  
wealth1 #aca2     feminine interest1    
#ahg2     clerical vestments1 #ahg1     
#ahh1 #aih2     sexless1 #bjb1 #bjc2    
of the ,philistines1 #big1 #bih2        
,bohemian1 #cjd-cjg1 #cac1 #cad4        
7,see ,women47    ,driving1 sole        
exercise1 #cjb4    ,drunkenness3 part of
 ,bohemianism1 #bif2     in best        
society1 #big4     7,see ,table1 ,wine1 
etc47    ,duelling1 ,french1 #bgc4      
,du ,maurier1 ,george1 his satire on    
coffee-dealers1 #acc1 #acd4    ,dupont1 

,pierre1 song about wine1 #bfh1 #bfi1   
#bgb4     ,ear1 learning languages by1  
#aef4     7,see ,languages47    ,easter3
 allusion1 #aih2     confession1 #bha4  
,eccentricity3 high intellect1 #ef2     
in an artist1 #cjg2     claims          
indulgence1 #chg4    ,eclipse1          
superstitious view1 #bae-bag1 #bbi4     
,economy1 necessitated by marriage1 #bf4
     7,see ,wealth47    ,edinburgh      
,review1 editor1 #aeb4    ,editor1 a    
procrastinating correspondent1 #cag4    
,education3 similarity1 #aj2            
affecting idiosyncrasy1 #ac2            
conventional1 #ae2     effect upon      
humor1 #bj2     literary1 derived from  
the poor1 #bb2     affected by change in
 filial obedience1 #hj-hh2     home1 #ha
 et seq42     authority of teachers1    
#ha1 #hc2     divergence of parental and
 filial1 #hd2     special efforts1 #he2 
divergent1 #ij-ib2     profound lack of1
 #ia2     never to be thrown off1 #ib2  
of hospitality1 #ii1 #ajj2     the      
effect on all religion 7,essay ,,xv471  

#bae-bca passim2     knowledge of       
languages1 #bde2     of ,tasso family1  
#cej1 #cea4     7,see ,languages1 etc47 
,egypt3 ,suez ,canal1 xii2              
illustration of school tasks1 #he2      
war of #ahhb1 #bbb-bbd1 #bbi4    ,eliot1
 ,george3 hints from the poor1 #bb2     
her peculiar relation to ,mr4 ,lewes1   
#de1 #df1 #ee1 #ef2     often confounded
 with other writers1 #bij4              
,elizabeth1 ,queen3 order about the     
marriage of clergy1 #bjj2     her times1
 #cha4     7,see ,celibacy47            
,emerson1 ,ralph ,waldo3 the dedication1
 iii1 iv2     anecdote of ,napoleon1    
#cfg4    ,england3 newspaper reports1   
#da2     a ,french woman's knowledge of1
 #ajg2     respect for rank1 #acf2      
title-worship1 #acg2     estimate of    
wealth1 #add-adf2     slavery to houses1
 #ade2     ,french ideas slowly         
received1 #aej2     religious freedom1  
#afd-afh1 #agb2     two religions for   
the nobility1 #afi1 #agj1 #agc2     a   
most relentless monarch1 #ahj2     women

 during reign of ,charles ,,ii41 #aha2  
marriage rites1 #ahd1 #ahe2             
aristocracy1 #bdf2     ,a ,remarkable   
,peculiarity 7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb2
     meeting abroad1 #bci2     reticence
 in each other's company1 #bdj2         
anecdotes1 #bda1 #bdb2     dread of     
intrusion1 #bdc1 #bdd2     freedom with 
foreigners and with compatriots1 #bde2  
not a mark of aristocracy1 #bdf2        
fear of meddlers1 #bdg2     interest in 
rank1 #bdh2     reticence outgrown1     
#bdi2     ,lever's illustration1 #bej2  
exceptions1 #bea2     ,saxon and ,norman
 influence1 #bea1 #beb2     ,dissenters 
ignored1 #bef1 #beg2     general        
information1 #bfc2     ,french ignorance
 of art and literature in1 #bfe-bfg1    
#bfi2     game1 #bfh2     mountains1    
#bgj1 #bga2     landscapes1 #bgj2       
,church1 #bge2     supposed law about   
attending the ,mass1 #bha2     homes    
longed for1 #bhf2     the architectural 
blunders of tourists1 #bia2             
,philistine lady1 #cjd2     painter and 

,philistine1 #cjf2     letters in the   
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries1      
#cah-cba2     use of telegraph1 #cbc2   
letters shortened1 #cbe2                
letter-paper #cbh2     post-cards1 #cbi1
 #ccj2     communication with ,france1  
#ccg2     trade habits1 #cfa1 #cfe2     
reading of certain books not compulsory1
 #cgh2     old maids1 #cha2     winter1 
#cii4     7,see ,church of ,england1    
,france1 etc47    ,english ,language3   
ignorance of1 a misfortune1 #adi1 #aej2 
familiar knowledge unusual in ,france1  
#aea-aec2     forms of courtesy1 #aeg2  
conversation abroad1 #bdj2              
,bohemian1 #bie2     literature1 #cje2  
bad spelling1 #cfj1 #cfa2     no synonym
 for corve1 #chi2     nautical terms1   
#cif4     7,see ,england1 etc47         
,english ,people3 ,continental          
repulsion1 #g2     artistic attraction1 
#h2     undervaluation of chance        
conversations1 #bf2     looseness of    
family ties1 #fc2     ashamed of        
sentiment1 #hb2     feeling about       

heredity1 #ic2     one lady's empty     
rooms1 #ajd2     another's incivility1  
#ajf2     a merchant's loss of wealth1  
#aba1 #abb2     deteriorated aristocrat1
 #abc2     letters by ladies1 #aec2     
no consoling power1 #ahb2               
gentlewomen of former generation1 #bje1 
#bjf2     where to find inspiriting     
models1 #bjh2     companions of ,prince 
,imperial1 #bbe2     understatement a   
habit1 #bcd-bch2     a lady's ignorant  
remark about servants1 #beh1 #bei2      
ignorance of ,french mountains1 etc41   
#bgj-bga2     fuel and iron1 #bgb2      
universities1 #bge1 #bgf2     patronage 
of ,americans1 #bgg2     anonymous      
letter to a gentleman1 #cgf4    ,ennui3 
banished by labor1 #cb2     on          
shipboard1 #cif4    ,enterprise1        
affecting individualism1 #ad4    ,envy1 
expressed in anonymous letters1 #cga4   
,epiphany1 annual ,egyptian ceremony1   
xii4     7,see ,science1 ,superstition1 
etc47    ,epithets1 ,english1 #bce4     
,equality3 affecting intercourse1 #bdf2 

galit1 #bhb1 #bhc4     7,see ,rank1     
,ignorance47    ,equestrianism1 affected
 by railways1 #ad4    ,etching1         
,leloir's fondness for1 #dja4           
,etheredge1 ,sir ,george1 his ribaldry1 
#aha4    ,eton ,college1 allusion1 #bgg4
    ,eugnie1 ,empress3 her influence    
over her husband1 #agf2     his regard1 
#bbe4    ,europe3 vintages1 #acc2       
influence of ,littr1 #baj2              
,southern1 #bdj2     allusion1 #bed2    
,turkey nearly expelled1 #bgh2          
latest thought1 #cjf2     cities1 #cji2 
,william of ,orange1 on complications1  
#cdd2     communistic disturbances1     
#cgg4     7,see ,england1 ,france1 etc47
    ,evangelicism1 ,english             
peculiarities1 #abc4     7,see          
,dissenters1 etc47    ,evans1 ,marian4  
7,see ,george ,eliot47    ,evolution1   
theory of1 #agf4    ,exaggeration1 the  
habit in art and life 7,essay ,,xvi471  
#bcb-bch4     7,see ,diminution47       
,exercise3 love of1 #ad2     in the     
young and the old1 #hf1 #hg4     7,see  

,amusements47    ,experience3 value1    
#cj2     needed to avoid dangers in     
letter-writing1 #ceb4    ,extravagance3 
part of ,bohemianism1 #bie2             
,goldsmith's1 #caj4     ,family3 ,ties  
7,essay ,v471 #fc-gg2     looseness in  
,england1 #fc2     brotherly coolness1  
#fd2     domestic jealousies1 #fe2      
laws of primogeniture1 #ff2             
instances of strong attachment1 #fg2    
illustrations of kindness1 #fh2         
pecuniary relations1 #fi2     parsimony1
 #gj2     discomfort of refinement1 #ga2
     cousins1 #gb2     wife's relations1
 #gc2     indifference to the           
achievements of kindred1 #gd2     aid   
from relatives1 domestic rudeness1 #ge2 
brutality1 misery1 #gf2     home        
privations1 #gg2     ,fathers and ,sons 
7,essay ,,vi471 #gh-ih2     intercourse1
 to be distinguished from individual1   
#aai1 #abj2     rich friends1 #aba2     
false1 #abb2     children's marriages1  
#abc2     old1 #ace1 #acf2     clerical1
 #aii1 #bjj2     subjects of letters1   

#bje2     regard of ,napoleon ,,iii41   
#bbe4     7,see ,brothers1 ,sons1 etc47 
,fashion1 transient1 #cjg4    ,fathers3 
separated from children by              
incompatibility1 #aj2     by            
irascibility1 #ge2     by brutality of  
tongue1 #gf2     and ,sons 7,essay      
,,vi471 #gh-ih2     unsatisfactory      
relation1 interregnum1 #gh2     old and 
new feelings and customs1 #gi2          
commanding1 #hj2     exercise of        
authority1 #ha2     ,mill's experience1 
#hb2     abdication of authority1 #hc2  
personal education of sons1 #hd1 #he2   
mistakes of middle-age1 #hf2            
outstripped by sons1 #hg2     intimate  
friendship impossible1 #hh2             
differences of age1 #hi2     divergences
 of education and experience1 #ij1 #ia2 
opinions not hereditary1 #ib1 #ic2      
the attempted control of marriage1 #id2 
,peter the ,great and ,alexis1 #ie2     
other illustrations of discord1 #if2    
satire and disregard of personality1    
#ig2     true foundation of paternal    

association1 #ih2     death of a ,french
 parent1 #ahb2     a letter1 #cai-cbb4  
,favor1 fear of loss1 #adg4             
,ferdinand and ,isabella1 religious     
freedom in their reign1 #afd4           
,fiction3 love in ,french1 #da2         
absorbing theme1 #db2     in a library1 
#cje4    ,fletcher1 ,thomas1 firearms   
made by1 #cia1 #cib4    ,florence1      
,italy1 pestilence1 #bbb4    ,flowers3  
illustration1 #agi2     church use1     
#ahh2     ,flower ,sunday1 #ahi4        
7,see ,women1 etc47    ,fly1 artificial1
 #cgg4    ,fog1 ,english1 #bgj4         
,foreigners3 associations with1 #g2     
view of ,english family life1 #fc2      
in travelling-conditions 7,essay        
,,xvii471 #bci-beb passim2              
association leads to misapprehension1   
#bhg2     in ,england1 #bia4            
,fox-hunting1 #ahj1 #cih1 #cii4         
7,see ,amusements1 ,sports1 etc47       
,france3 a peasant's outlook1 xii2      
social despotism in small cities1       
#ag-ai2     pleasant associations in a  

cathedral city1 #bc1 #bd2     political 
criticism1 #aae2     noisy card-players1
 #abh1 #abi2     disregard of titles1   
#acf1 #acg2     adage about riches1     
#ade2     ,english ideas slowly         
received1 #aej2     travel in ,southern1
 #aej2     religious freedom1 #afe2     
marriage1 #ahd2     railway accident1   
#bah-bbj2     the ,imperialists1 #bbe2  
feudal fashions1 #bdf2     obstinacy of 
the old rgime1 #bed-bef2     mountains1 
#bga2     vigor of young men1 #bgb1     
#bgc2     universities1 #bge1 #bgf2     
equality attained by ,revolution1 #bhc2 
bourgeois complaint of newspapers1 #bhf2
     mineral oil1 #bhh2     confusion of
 tourists1 #bia2     ,goldsmith's       
travels1 #cji1 #caj2     landscape      
painter1 #caj2     end of ,plumpton     
family1 #cbc2     use of telegraph1     
#cbc2     letters shortened1 #cbe2      
letter-paper1 #cbh2     post-cards1     
#ccj2     chirography1 #ccb2     ,new   
,year's cards1 #cci2     carton non     
bitum1 #ceh1 #cei2     habits of        

tradesmen1 #cfj1 #cfa1 #cfe2     the    
,salon1 #cfg2     old maids1 #cha2     a
 corve1 #chi1 #cij2     ,leloir the     
painter1 #dja4     7,see ,continent1    
etc47    ,fraternity1 fraternit1 #bhb1  
#bhc4     7,see ,brothers47    ,freedom3
 national1 #bgi2     public and private 
liberty confounded1 #bha1 #bhb4         
,french ,language3 teaching1 #he2       
ignorance a misfortune1 #adi1 #aej2     
rare knowledge of1 by ,englishmen1 #aea1
 #aeb2     letters by ,english ladies1  
#aec2     forms of courtesy1 #aeg2      
prayers1 #aeh2     as the universal     
tongue1 #aeh1 #aei2     ,english        
knowledge of1 #bde2     univers1 #bgc1  
#bgd4     7,see ,languages47    ,french 
,people3 excellence in painting1 and    
relations to ,americans and             
,english1 #g2     an ideal of good form1
 #ae2     old conventionality1 #af-ah2  
love in fiction1 #da2     family ties1  
#fc2     proverb about cousins1 #gb2    
unbelieving sons1 #ic2     bourgeois    
table manners formerly1 #aja1 #ajb2     

state apartments1 #aje2     incivility  
towards1 at an ,english table1 #ajf2    
girls1 #ajf2     a woman's clever       
retort1 #ajg2     literature condemned  
by wholesale1 #adg2     royal daily     
life1 #afg2     power of consolation1   
#ahb2     examples of virtue1 #bjh2     
old nobility1 #bji2     ,buffon and     
,littr1 #bji-baa2     hazard            
providentiel1 #bbg2     painters1 #bcb1 
#bcc2     overstatement1 #bcd1 #bce2    
sociability with strangers contrasted   
with the ,english want of it            
7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb passim2     a
 widow and suite1 #bdb1 #bdc2           
discreet social habits1 #bdg1 #bdh2     
a disregard of titles1 #bdh2     a weak 
question about fortune1 #bei2           
ignorance of ,english matters1 #bfe-bgj2
     wine-song1 #bfh1 #bfi2     fuel and
 iron1 #bga1 #bgb2     seeming vanity of
 language1 #bgc1 #bgd2     conceit cured
 by war1 #bgh2     communist dreamers1  
#bhd2     proverb1 #bhg2     confusion  
of persons1 #bij4    ,friendship3       

supposed impossible in a given case1    
viii1 ix2     real1 x2     how formed1  
#d2     not confined to the same class1 
#e2     affected by art and religion1   
#f2     by taste and nationality1 #g1   
#h2     by likeness1 #h2     with those 
with whom we have not much in common1   
#i1 #aj2     affected by                
incompatibility1 #aj2     ,byron's      
comparison1 #cj2     affecting illicit  
love1 #da2     akin to marriage1 #dh2   
elective affinity1 #ge2     ,death of   
7,essay ,,viii471 #aaj-aah2     sad     
subject1 no resurrection1 definition1   
#aaj2     boyish alliances1 growth1     
#aaa2     personal changes1 #aab2       
differences of opinion1 #aac2     of    
prosperity1 financial1 professional1    
political1 #aad2     habits1 marriage1  
#aae2     neglect1 poor and rich1 #aaf2 
equality not essential1 acceptance of   
kindness1 new ties1 #aag2     intimacy  
easily destroyed1 #aah2     affected by 
wealth 7,essays ,,ix41 ,x471 #aai-adg   
passim2     by language1 #adi2          

between ,priests and ,women 7,essay     
,,xiii471 #age-bjd passim2     formed   
with strangers1 #bea2     leads to      
misunderstood opinions1 #bhg1 #bhh2     
disturbed by procrastination1 #cag2     
,letters of1 7,essay ,,xxiii471         
#ccf-cec2     infrequency1 #ccf2        
obstacles1 #ccg2     the sea a barrier1 
#cch2     aid of a few words at ,new    
,year's1 #cci2     death-like silence1  
#cdj2     charm of manner not always    
carried into letters1 #cda2     excluded
 by business1 #cdb2     cooled by       
reproaches1 #cdc2     all topics        
interesting to a friend1 #cdd2          
affection overflows in long letters1    
#cde-cea2     fault-finding dangerous1  
#ceb1 #cec2     journeys saved1 #cfj4   
7,see ,association1 ,companionship1     
,family1 etc47    ,fruit1 ignorance     
about ,english1 #bfi1 #bgj4             
,fruition1 pleasure of1 #djj4    ,fuel1 
,french1 #bgb4    ,furniture3 feminine  
interest in1 #ahg2     regard and       
disregard 7,essay ,,xxi471 #bie-cad     

passim2     ,goldsmith's extravagance1  
#caj4     7,see ,women47     ,gambetta1 
his death1 #bbe4    ,game3 in ,england1 
#bfg1 #bfh1 #bgj2     elephant and      
hippopotamus1 #cib4     7,see ,sports47 
,games1 connection with amusement1 #che1
 #cig4     7,see ,cards1 etc47          
,garden1 illustration1 #i4    ,gascoyne1
 ,william1 letters1 #cah1 #cai4         
,generosity3 affecting family ties1 #fi1
 #gj2     of a ,philistine1 #cja4       
,geneva ,lake1 as seen by different     
eyes1 #bcj1 #bca4    ,genius1 enjoyment 
of1 #cjc4    ,gentility3 ,genteel       
,ignorance 7,essay ,,xviii471 #bec-bfc2 
an ideal condition1 #bec2               
misfortune1 #bed2     ,french noblesse1 
#bee2     ignores differing forms of    
religion1 #bef1 #beg2     poverty1 #beh2
     inferior financial conditions1     
#bei1 #bfj2     real differences1 #bfa2 
genteel society avoided1 #bfb2          
because stupid1 #bfc4    ,geography3    
,london ,atlas1 #bgd2     work of       
,reclus1 #bia4     7,see ,ignorance47   

,geology1 allusion1 #aff4     7,see     
,science47    ,george ,,iii41 colonial  
tenure1 #bgi4    ,germany3 models of    
virtue1 #bjh2     hotel fashions1 #bdd2 
a ,bohemian and scholar1 #cjd-cjf4      
,german ,language1 ,english knowledge1  
#bde4    ,gladstone1 ,william ,e43 the  
probable effect of a ,french training1  
#ag1 #ah2     indebtedness to trade1    
#ace2     ,lord1 #acg2     foreign      
troubles ending in inkshed1 #aej2       
allusion1 #bda2     use of post-cards1  
#cce2     female estimate1 #chj4        
,glasgow1 steamer experience1 #be4      
,gloucester1 ,eng41 manufactory of      
rifles1 #cia1 #cib4    ,god3 of the     
future1 #agg2     personal care1 #agh1  
#agi2     against wickedness1 #ahj2     
,divine love1 #agh-aha1 #ahf1 #ahg2     
interference with law 7,essay ,,xv471   
#bae-bca passim2     human motives1     
#bbh4     7,see ,religion1 etc47        
,gods3 our valors the best1 #agg2       
siege of ,syracuse1 #bae-bag4     7,see 
,superstition47    ,godwin1 ,mary1      

relations to ,shelley1 #df-dh4          
,goethe3 ,faust's ,margaret1 #ci2       
relation to women1 #df1 #ej1 #ef1 #eg2  
,life1 #bdd4    ,gold3 in embroidery to 
indicate wealth1 #aca2     color1 #bcb1 
#bcc4    ,goldsmith1 ,oliver1 his       
,bohemianism1 #cji1 #caj4               
,gormandizing1 #ajc4     7,see ,table47 
,government3 feminine1 #agf2            
scientific1 #bbi4    ,grammar3 ,french  
knowledge of1 #aeb2     rival of        
literature1 #aed2     in correspondence1
 #cef1 #ceg4     7,see ,languages1 etc47
    ,gratitude3 a sister's want of1 #fi2
     hospitality not reciprocated1 #abb4
    ,greece3 ,byron's enthusiasm1 #ej1  
#eg2     story of ,nikias1 #bae-bag2    
advance of knowledge1 #bcj2     ,byron's
 notice of a book1 #cdh4    ,greek      
,church3 ,czar's headship1 #afh2     the
 only true1 #beh4     7,see ,church of  
,england1 etc47    ,greek ,language3    
teaching1 #hd2     fitness as the       
universal language1 #aeh1 #aei2     in  
the ,renaissance1 #bab2                 

professorship and library1 #bhg2        
doggerel1 #djj4     7,see ,languages47  
,groom1 true happiness in a stable1     
#cdc4    ,guests3 ,rights of 7,essay    
,,vii471 #ii-aji2     respect1          
exclusiveness1 #ii2     two views1 #ajj2
     conformity insisted upon1 #aja2    
left to choose for himself1 #ajb2       
duties towards a host1 generous         
entertainment1 #ajc2     parsimonious   
treatment1 #ajd2     illustrations1     
ideas to be respected1 #aje2            
nationality also1 #ajg2     a host the  
ally of his guests1 #ajg2               
discourtesy towards a host1 #ajh2       
illustration1 #aji2     among rich and  
poor1 #adj-add4    ,guiccioli1          
,countess1 her relations to ,byron1 #di1
 #ej4    ,guillotine1 ,byron's          
description1 #cdg4    ,gulliver's       
,travels1 allusion1 #bfa4               
,gymnastics3 by young ,frenchmen1 #bgb2 
aristocratic monopoly1 #bhc4     7,see  
,amusements1 etc47     ,habits3 in      
language1 #aeg2     ,french discretion1 

#bdg1 #bdh4    ,hamerton1 ,philip       
,gilbert3 indebtedness to ,emerson1 iii1
 iv2     plan of the book1 vii-ix2      
omissions1 ix2     the pleasures of     
friendship1 x2     on death1 x1 xi2     
a liking for civilization and all its   
amenities1 xii2     thoughts in ,french 
travel1 #ag et seq42     pleasant       
experience in studying ,french          
architecture1 #bc1 #bd2     conversation
 in ,scotland1 #bd1 #be2     in a       
steamer1 #be1 #bf2     acquaintance with
 a painter1 #bh2     belief in ,nature's
 promises1 #fj et seq42     what a      
sister said1 #fe2     the love of two   
brothers1 #fg2     delightful experience
 with wife's relations1 #gc2            
experience of hospitable tyranny1 #ajj  
et seq42     ,parisian dinner1 #ajg2    
experience with friendship1 #aac2       
noisy ,french farmers1 #abh1 #abi2      
,scotch dinner1 #aca2     country       
incident1 #aci1 #adj2     questioning a 
,parisian lady1 #aeb2     ,waterloo     
letters1 #aef2     how ,italian seems to

 him1 #aee2     incident of ,scotch     
travel1 #agc2     visit to a bereaved   
,french lady1 #ahb2     travel in       
,france1 #bai2     lesson from a        
painter1 #bcb2     snubbed at a hotel1  
#bdj-bdb2     a ,french widow on her    
travels1 #bdb1 #bdc2     a lady's       
ignorance about religious distinctions1 
#beg2     personal anecdotes about      
ignorance between the ,english and      
,french1         #bfe-bgi passim2       
translations into ,french1 #bfg2        
,puseyite anecdote1 #bhd1 #bhe2         
conversations heard1 #bia2     boat     
incident1 #bib1 #bic2                   
life-portraits1 #cjj-cjh2     experience
 with procrastinators1 #cag1 #cah2      
residence in ,lancashire1 #cah2         
interest in ,plumpton family1 #cbc1     
#cbd2     telegraphing a letter1 #cbf2  
experience with un mot  la poste1 #ccj2 
his boat wrongly painted1 #cei2     his 
,parisian correspondent1 #cfj1 #cfa2    
efforts to ensure accuracy1 #cfh1 #cfi2 
a strange lady's anxiety for his        

religious condition1 #cgh2     his      
,wenderholme1 #cgh2     anonymous letter
 answered1 #cgi-chb2     dislike of     
cricket1 #cih4    ,harewood1 ,earl of1  
#cbc4    ,haste1 connection with        
refinement and wealth1 #abe1 #abf4      
7,see ,leisure47    ,hastings1 ,marquis 
of1 his elopement1 #cba4    ,haweis1 ,h4
 ,r41 sermon on ,egyptian war1 #bbd4    
,hedges3 ,english1 #bgj1 #bga2          
sleeping under1 #cjg4    ,hell1 element 
in oratory1 #aib1 #aic4     7,see       
,priests47    ,heredity1 opinions not   
always hereditary1 #ib-ig4    ,heresy3  
banishment for1 #afa2     disabilities1 
#afb et seq42     punishment by fire1   
#ahj2     pulpit attack1 #aib2          
shades in1 #beg1 #beh2     resistance to
 ,god1 #bhd4     7,see ,roman           
,catholicism1 etc47    ,highlanders1    
their rowing1 #aed4    ,hirst1 ,eng41   
letters from1 #cbj1 #cba4    ,history1  
,french knowledge of1 #aeb4    ,holland1
 ,goldsmith's travels1 #cji4    ,home3  
,family ,ties 7,essay ,v471 #fb-gg2     

a hell1 #gf2     crowded1 #gg2          
absence affecting friendship1 #aaa2     
,french1 #adb2     ,english 7,essay     
,x471 #acj-adg passim2     the          
confessional1 #bjb2     nostalgia1 #bhf4
    ,homer3 indebtedness to the poor1   
#bb2     on the appetite1 #ajc4         
,honesty1 at a discount1 #afb1 #afc1    
#agj4    ,honor1 in religious           
conformity1 #afb4    ,horace3           
familiarity with1 #aee2     quoted1     
#bhi1 #cfa4    ,horneck1 ,mrs41         
,goldsmith's friend1 #caj4              
,horseback3 illustration1 #afh1 #bfj2   
luxury1 #bih4    ,hospitality3 7,essay  
,,vii471 #ii-aji2     help to liberty1  
#ii2     an educator for right or wrong1
 #ajj2     opposite views1 #ajj2        
tyranny over guests1 #aja2     reaction 
against old customs1 #ajb2     a host's 
rights1 some extra effort to be         
expected1 #ajc2     disregard of a      
guest's comfort1 #ajd2     instances1   
opinions to be respected1 #aje2     host
 should protect a guest's rights1 #ajf2 

anecdote1 #ajg2     invasion of rights1 
#ajh2     glaring instance1 #aji2       
affected by wealth1 #adj-add2     excuse
 by a procrastinator1 #cah4     7,see   
,guests47    ,hosts1 rights and duties  
7,essay ,,vii471 #ii-aji passim4        
7,see ,hospitality47    ,houghton1      
,lord1 his knowledge of ,french1 #aea1  
#aeb4    ,housekeeping3 ignorance of    
cost1 #beh1 #bei2     cares1 #cha4      
,houses3 effect of living in the same1  
ix2     big1 #ade2     evolution of     
dress1 #ahi2     movable1 #bfa1 #bfb2   
damage1 #ceh4    ,hugo1 ,victor1 use of 
a word1 #bgc1 #bgd4    ,humanity3       
obligations to1 #ab2     future         
happiness dependent upon a knowledge of 
languages1 #adh et seq4    ,humor3 in   
different classes1 #bj2     lack of it1 
#gb2     in using a foreign language1   
#aeg1 #aeh2     not carried into letters
 and pictures1 #cdj-cdb4    ,hungarians1
 their sociability1 #bdi4    ,hurry1 to 
be distinguished from brevity in        
letter-writing1 #cca4    ,husbands3     

narration of experience1 #be1 #bf2      
unsuitable1 #dj2     relations of noted 
men to wives1 #dd-fb passim2            
compulsory unions1 #id-ih2              
old-fashioned letter1 #cbb2     use of  
post-cards1 #cbi1 #ccj2     privacy of  
letters1 #cej2     ,montaigne's letter1 
#cea1 #ceb4     7,see ,wives1 etc47     
,hut3 suggestions of a1 #bfa1 #bfb2     
for an artist1 #cad4    ,huxley1 ,thomas
 ,henry1 on natural law1 #bag1 #bai4    
,hypocrisy3 to be avoided1 xi-xiii2     
in religion 7,essay ,,xii471 #afa-agd   
passim2     not a ,bohemian vice1 #bif4 
,ibraheem1 lost at sea1 #bbf4    ,ideas1
 their interchange dependent upon       
language1 #adh4    ,idiosyncrasy3 its   
charm1 #i2     in art and authorship1   
#ab1 #ac2     nullified by travel1 #ad1 
#ae2     affecting marital happiness1   
#dh-fb passim2     affecting family     
ties1 #fd2     wanted in letters1 #cdg2 
in amusements1 #chi2     congenital1    
#cif4    ,ignorance3 ,genteel 7,essay   
,,xviii471 #bec-bfc2     among ,french  

royalists1 #bed1 #bee2     in religion1 
#bef1 #beg2     in regard to pecuniary  
conditions1 #beh1 #bei2     of likeness 
and unlikeness1 #bfj1 #bfa2             
disadvantages1 #bfb2     drives people  
from society1 #bfc2     ,patriotic      
7,essay ,,xix471 #bfd-bgi2     a narrow 
satisfaction1 #bfd2     ,french         
ignorance of ,english art1 #bfe1 #bfg2  
of ,english game1 #bfh2     of ,english 
fruit1 #bfi2     ,english errors as to  
mountains1 #bgj1 #bga2     fuel1 manly  
vigor1 #bgb1 #bgc2     word universal1  
#bgd2     universities1 #bge1 #bgf2     
literature1 #bgg2     leads to war1     
#bgg1 #bgh2     not the best patriotism1
 #bgi2     unavoidable1 #cja2           
contented1 #cjb2     of gentlewomen1    
#cha1 #chb4     7,see ,nationality1     
etc47    ,imagination1 a luxury1 #cjj4  
,immorality3 too easily forgiven in     
princes1 #afh2     considered essential 
to ,bohemianism1 #bie4     7,see ,vice47
    ,immortality3 connection with music1
 #aia2     menaces and rewards1 #aic4   

7,see ,priests1 etc47    ,impartiality1 
not shown by clergy1 #aid4              
,impediments1 to national intercourse   
7,essay ,,xi471 #adh-afj4               
,impertinence1 ease of manner mistaken  
for1 #bej4    ,incompatibility3         
inexplicable1 #aj2     one of two great 
powers deciding intercourse1 #aa4       
7,see ,friendship1 etc47                
,independence3 7,essay ,,ii471 #ab-cb2  
illusory and real1 influence of         
language1 #ab2     illustrations1 #ac2  
railway travel destructive to1 #ad2     
conventionality and ,french ideas of    
good form1 #ae2     social repressions  
and ,london life1 #af2     local        
despotism1 #ag2     the ,french rural   
aristocracy1 #ah2     illustrations and 
social exclusion1 #ai2     humor and    
domestic anxiety1 society not essential1
 #bj2     palliations to solitude1      
outside of society1 absolute solitude1  
#ba2     rural illustrations1 #bb2      
incident in a ,french town1 #bc2     one
 in ,scotland1 #bd2     on a steamer1   

#be2     ,english reticence1 #bf2     an
 evil of solitude1 pursuits in common1  
#bg2     illustration from ,mill1       
deterioration of an artist1 #bh2        
patient endurance1 the refreshment of   
books1 #bi2     companionship of nature1
 #cj2     consolation of labor1 #ca2    
an objection to this relief1 #cb2     a 
fault1 #fi2     of ,philistines and     
,bohemians 7,essay ,,xxi471 #bie-cad    
passim4     7,see ,society1 etc47       
,independents1 the1 in ,england1 #agj4  
,india3 a brother's cold farewell1 #fg2 
relations of ,england1 #bgi4            
,indians1 their ,bohemian life1 #bih1   
#cjf4    ,individualism1 affected by    
railways1 #ac-ae4    ,individuality1    
reliance upon our own1 iv4              
,indolence3 destroying friendship1 #aaf2
     stupid1 #aig2     causes wrong     
judgment1 #bic2     part of             
,bohemianism1 #bie2     in business1    
#cef2     in reading letters1 #cff-cfi4 
,indulgences1 affecting friendship1     
#aae4    ,industry3 to be respected1    

#acb2     professional work1 #aif2      
,buffon's and ,littr's1 #bji1 #baj2     
ignorance about ,english1 #bfe1 #bff2   
of a ,philistine1 #cjj2     in          
letter-writing1 #cef4    ,inertia1 in   
middle-life1 #cjb4    ,infidelity3      
affecting political rights1 #afb1 #afc2 
withstood by ,dissent1 #beg4    ,ink3   
dilution to save expense1 #ccc2     red1
 #cfi4    ,inquisition1 the1 in ,spain1 
#ahj4    ,inspiration1 in ,jacquemont's 
letters1 #cdh4    ,intellectuality3 a   
restraint upon passion1 #ch2            
affecting family ties1 #gc1 #gd2     its
 pursuits1 #abg2     denied to ,england1
 #bfe1 #bff1 #bfg2     ambition for1    
#bhc2     the accompaniment of wealth1  
#big2     outside of1 #cja2     enjoyed1
 #cjf4    ,intelligence3 the supreme1   
#agf1 #agg2     connection with leisure1
 #aig4    ,intercession1 feminine       
fondness for1 #age1 #agf4               
,intercourse4 7,this subject is so      
interwoven with the whole work that     
special references are impossible47     

,interdependence1 illustrated by        
literary work1 #ab4    ,interviews1     
compared with letters1 #ced-ceg4        
,intimacy3 mysteriously hindered1 #aj2  
with nature1 #cjb4    ,intolerance1 of  
amusements1 #chi4    ,intrusion1 dreaded
 by the ,english1 #bdc1 #bdg4           
,inventions1 why sometimes misjudged1   
#bib1 #bic4    ,irascibility1 in        
parents1 #ge1 #gf4    ,iron1 in ,france1
 #bgb4    ,irving1 ,washington1 on      
,goldsmith1 #caj4    ,isolation3        
affecting study1 #bh1 #bi2              
alleviations1 #bi-ca4     7,see         
,independence47    ,italian ,language3  
,latin naturalized1 #aee2     merriment 
in using1 #aeh4    ,italy3 ,byron's     
sojourn1 #ej2     ,goethe's1 #ea1       
titles and poverty1 #acf2               
overstatement a habit1 #bcd2     papal  
government1 #bee1 #bef2                 
travelling-vans1 #bfa1     allusion1    
#bga2     why live there1 #bhe1 #bhf2   
tourists1 #bia2     ,goldsmith's        
travels1 #cji2     forms in             

letter-writing1 #cbe4     ,jacquemont1  
,victor1 his letters1 #cdh-cej4         
,james1 an imaginary friend1 #cdc1 #cdd4
    ,jardin des ,plantes1 ,buffon's     
work1 #bji4    ,jealousy3 national1 #g2 
domestic1 #fe1     youthful1 effect of  
primogeniture1 #ff2     between ,england
 and ,france1 #aej2     ,greece need not
 awaken1 #aei1     excited by the       
confessional1 #bjb1 #bjc2     in        
anonymous letters1 #cga4    ,jerusalem1 
the ,ark lost1 #bbi4    ,jewelry3 worn  
by priests1 #bjb2     enjoyment of1     
#big4    ,jews3 not the only subjects of
 useful study1 #bjg1 #bjh1 #baa2        
,god of ,battles1 #bbd2     advance of  
knowledge1 #bcj4     7,see ,bible47     
,john1 an imaginary friend1 #cdd1 #cde4 
,jones1 an imaginary gentleman1 #acj4   
,justice3 feminine disregard1 #ahj2     
connection with priesthood1 #aid4       
,keble1 ,john1 ,christian ,year1 #aih4  
,kempis1 ,thomas 1 his great work1 #ie4 
,kenilworth1 anecdote1 #bgg4            
,kindness1 how to be received1 #aag4    

,kindred3 affected by incompatibility1  
#aj2     ,family ,ties 7,essay ,v471    
#fc1 #gg2     given by ,fate1 #ge4      
7,see ,sons1 etc47    ,kings3 divine    
right1 #bee2     on cards1 #bhi2        
courtesy in correspondence1 #cag2     a 
poetic figure1 #chf1 #chg4     7,see    
,rank1 etc47    ,knarsbrugh1 ,eng41     
#cbj4    ,knyghton1 ,henry1 quotation1  
#bea4     ,lakes1 ,english1 #bgj4       
,lancashire1 ,eng43 all residents not in
 cotton-trade1 #bhh2     residence1     
#cah1     drinking-habits1 #cgh4        
,land-ownership1 #aca4    ,landscape3   
companionship1 #ca2     ignorance about 
the ,english1 #bgj4    ,languages3 as   
affecting friendship1 #g2               
similarity1 #aj2     influences         
interdependence1 #ab2     study of      
foreign1 #bi1 #hd1 #he2     ignorance   
of1 an ,obstacle 7,essay ,,xi471        
#adh-afj2     impediment to national    
intercourse1 #adh2     mutual ignorance 
of the ,french and ,english1 #adi2      
commercial advantages1 ,american        

kinship1 #aej2     an imperfect         
knowledge induces reticence1 #aea2      
rarity of full knowledge1 #aeb2         
illustrations1 first stage of learning a
 tongue1 #aec2     second1 #aed2        
third1 fourth1 #aee2     fifth1 learning
 by ear1 #aef2     absurdities1 idioms1 
forms of politeness1 #aeg2     a        
universal speech1 #aeh2     ,greek      
commended1 #aei2     advantages1 #afj2  
one enough1 #cja1 #cje2     acquaintance
 with six1 #cjd2     foreign letters1   
#cfd1 #cfe4    ,latin3 teaching1 #hd2   
construction unnatural1 #aee2     in the
 ,renaissance1 #bab2     church1 #beh2  
proverb1 #bhg2     poetry1 #bhi2     in 
telegrams1 #cbd2     ,horace1 #cfa2     
corrogata1 #cij4    ,laws3 difficult to 
ascertain1 viii2     human resignation  
to1 xi2     of ,human ,intercourse      
7,essay ,i471 #c-aa2     fixed knowledge
 difficult1 #c1     common belief1 #d2  
similarity of interest1 #e2     may     
breed antagonism1 #f2     national      
prejudices1 #g2     likeness begets     

friendship1 #h2     idiosyncrasy and    
adaptability1 #i2     intimacy slow1    
#aj2     law of the pleasure of human   
intercourse still hidden1 #aa2          
fixed1 #agi2     feminine disregard1    
#ahd2     quiet tone1 #aic2             
regularity and interference 7,essay     
,,xv471 #bae-bca passim2     legal      
distinctions1 #bhj1 #bha4    ,laymen1   
contrasted with clergy1 #aha1 #ahb4     
,lectures1 one-sided1 #bi4    ,legouv1  
,m43 on filial relations1 #gh2          
religious question1 #ic2     anecdote of
 chirography1 #ccb4    ,leisure3 its    
connection with refinement1 #abe1 #abf2 
varying in different professions1 #aif1 
#aig4    ,leloir1 ,louis1 fondness for  
etching1 #dja4    ,lent1 allusion1 #aih4
    ,letters4 7,see ,correspondence47   
,lever1 ,charles3 quotation from ,that  
,boy of ,norcott's1 #bdi1 #bej2         
finances misunderstood1 #bei1 #bfj2     
boating1 #bei1 #cid4    ,lewes1 ,george 
,henry3 relation to ,marian ,evans1 #de2
     quotation from ,life of ,goethe1   

#bdd4    ,lewis1 ,sir ,george           
,cornewall1 immortal saying1 #che4      
,l',honneur et l',argent1 quotation1    
#cjd1 #cce4    ,liberality3 ,french lack
 of1 #ah1 #ai2     induced by           
hospitality1 #ii1 #ajj2     apparent1   
#agc4    ,liberty3 in religion 7,essay  
,,xii471 #afa-agd2     private and      
public1 #bha1 #bhb2     libert1 #bhb1   
#bhc2     with friends in letters1 #cec4
    ,libraries3 value1 #bhf1 #bhg2      
narrow specimens1 #cjb4    ,lies1 at a  
premium1 #afb1 #afc4    ,life3          
companionship for1 #dd-fb2     enjoyed  
in different ways1 #cjf4    ,likeness1  
the secret of companionship1 #h4        
,limpet1 an illustration of incivility1 
#ajh4    ,literature3 conventional1 #ae2
     influence of the humbler classes1  
#bb1 #bc2     softens isolation1 #bi1   
#ca2     deaths from love1 #ci2         
affecting fraternity1 #fd2     youthful 
nonsense not tolerated in books1 #hi2   
superiority to mercenary motives1 #acb2 
advantages of mutual national knowledge1

 #adi-aec2     rivals in its own domain1
 #aed2     not necessarily religious1   
#aih2     ,english periodical1 #bcg2    
ignorance about ,english1 #bfg2     and 
,philistinism1 #bhf1 #bhg2              
singleness of aim1 #bhi2     ,english1  
#cje2     not an amusement1 #djj4       
,littr1 ,maximilien ,paul mile1 his     
noble life1 #bji-baa4    ,livelihood1   
anxiety about1 #bj4    ,london3 mental  
independence1 #af-ah2     solitude      
needless1 #bj2     ,mill's rank1 #ef2   
old but new1 #acf2     ,flower ,sunday1 
#ahi2     pestilence improbable1 #bbb2  
,the ,times1 #bdd2     centre of        
,english literature1 #bfg2     business 
time contrasted with that of ,paris1    
#bgc2     buildings1 #bia2     ,palmer  
leaving1 #caj2     cabman1 #cce2     a  
famous ,londoner1 #cii4    ,lottery1    
illustrative of kinship1 #ge4    ,louis 
,,ii41 amusements1 #chf-chh4    ,louis  
,,xviii41 impiety1 #afg4    ,louvre3    
,english art excluded1 #bfg2            
confounded with other buildings1 #bia4  

,love3 of nature1 #cj2     ,passionate  
7,essay ,,iii471 #cc-dc2     nature1    
blindness1 #cc2     not the monopoly of 
youth1 debauchery1 #cd2     permanence  
not assured1 #ce2     in a cottage1     
perilous to happiness1 socially limited1
 #cf2     restraints1 higher and lower1 
#cg2     varieties1 selfishness1 in     
intellectual people1 #ch2     poetic    
subject1 dying for1 #ci2     old maids1 
unlawful in married people1 #dj2        
,french fiction1 early marriage         
repressed by civilization1 #da2         
passion out of place1 the endless song1 
#db2     natural correspondences and    
,shelley1 #dc2     in marriage1 #dd-fb2 
some family illustrations1 #fc-gg2      
wife's relations1 #gc2     paternal and 
filial 7,essay ,,vi471 #gh-ih passim2   
between friends 7,essay ,,viii471       
#aaj-aah2     divine1 #agh1 #agi2       
family1 #bje4     7,see ,brothers1      
,family1 etc47    ,lowell1 ,james       
,russell1 serious humor1 #bj4    ,lower 
,classes1 the3 ,english rural1 #bb2     

rudeness1 #ge2     religious privileges1
 #agj1 #aga4    ,luxury1 material1 #bih4
     7,see ,philistinism47    ,lyons1   
,france1 the ,academy1 #bge4            
,macaulay1 ,t4 ,b41 quotations1 #aha1   
#bjj1 #bbd1 #cdd1 #cde4    ,macleod1    
,dr4 ,norman1 his sympathy1 #ahf1 #ahg4 
,magistracy1 ,french1 #bhc4             
,mahometanism1 as affecting intercourse1
 #e4    ,malice3 harmless1 #bfi2     in 
letters1 #cga-cgg4    ,manchester1      
,eng41 life there1 #ca4    ,manners3    
affected by wealth1 #abe-abi2     by    
leisure1 #aig2     by aristocracy1 #bdf4
     7,see ,courtesy1 etc47             
,manufactures3 under fixed law1 #bbh2   
ignorance about ,english1 #bfe1 #bff1   
#bfh4    ,marriage3 responsibility      
increased1 #be1 #bf2     or celibacy8   
#cd2     ,shelley's1 does not assure    
love1 #ce2     following love1 #cf2     
irregular1 #cg2     restraints of       
superior intellects1 #ch2     love      
outside of1 #dj2     early marriage     
restrained by civilization1 #da2        

philosophy of this1 #db2                
,companionship in 7,essay ,,iv471       
#dd-fb2     life-journey1 #dd2          
alienations for the sake of intellectual
 companionship1 #de2     illustrations1 
#df1 #dg2     mistakes not surprising1  
#dh2     ,byron1 #di1 #ej2     ,goethe1 
#ea1 #eb2     ,mill1 #ec1 #ed2          
difficulty in finding true mates1 #ee2  
exceptional cases not discouraging1 #ef2
     easier for ordinary people1 #eg2   
inequality1 #eh2     hopeless           
tranquillity1 #ei2     youthful dreams  
dispelled1 #fj2     ,nature's promises1 
how fulfilled1 #fa2     ,i thee worship1
 #fb2     wife's relations1 #gc2        
filial obedience1 #id-ig2     destroying
 friendship1 #aae2     affecting        
personal wealth1 #aai2     social       
treatment1 #abj2     of children1 #abc2 
effect of royal religion1 #aff2     and 
of lower-class1 #aga2     civil and     
religious1 #ahd1 #ahe2     clerical1    
#aif1 #aih-bja2     of absent friends1  
#cch2     ,french customs1 #cci2        

,montaigne's sentiments1 #cea1 #ceb2    
slanderous attempts to prevent1         
#cga-cge2     household cares1 #cha2    
breakfasts1 #che1 #chf4     7,see       
,women1 etc47    ,mask1 a simile1 #cgj4 
,mediocrity1 dead level of1 #bcf4       
,mediterranean ,sea1 allusion1 #cii4    
,meissonier1 ,jean ,ernest ,louis1 his  
talent1 #bhd4    ,melbourne1 ,bishop of1
 #bba4    ,men1 choose for themselves1  
#aig4     7,see ,marriage1 ,sons1       
,women1 etc47    ,mephistopheles1       
allusion1 #bce4    ,merchants1          
connection with national peace1 #adi1   
#aej4    ,mrime1 ,prosper1              
,correspondence1 #cba4    ,metallurgy1  
under fixed law1 #bbh4    ,methodists1  
the3 in ,england1 #agj2     hymns1 #beg4
    ,michelet1 ,jules3 on the ,church1  
#ahi1 #aij2     on the confessional1    
#bjb1 #bjc4    ,middle ,classes3        
,dickens's descriptions1 #bj2     rank  
of some authors1 #ef2     domestic      
rudeness1 #ge2     table customs1 #ajc2 
religious freedom1 #agj2     clerical   

inferences1 #ahc4     7,see ,classes1   
,lower ,class1 etc47    ,mignet1        
,franois ,auguste ,marie3 friendship    
with ,thiers1 #abj2     condition1 #aba4
    ,military ,life3 illustration1 #ba2 
filial obedience1 #hj2     religion1    
#abc2     religious conformity1 #afi2   
antagonistic to toleration1 #agc1 #agd2 
,french1 #bgb2     allusion1 #cjj1 #cjg4
    ,mill1 ,john ,stuart3 social        
affinities1 #bj2     aversion to        
unintellectual society1 #bg1 #bh2       
relations to women1 #ec-ee2     social  
rank1 #ef2     education by his father1 
#ha-hd2     on friendship1 #aab1 #aac2  
on sneering depreciation1 #bcg2     on  
,english conduct towards strangers1     
#bde2     on social stupidity1 #bfc4    
,milnes1 ,richard ,monckton4 7,see ,lord
 ,houghton47    ,milton1 ,john1         
,palmer's constant interest1 #cac4      
,mind1 weakened by concession1 #adg4    
,misanthropy1 appearance of1 #bg4       
,montaigne1 ,michel3 marriage1 #ei2     
letter to wife1 #cea1 #ceb4             

,montesquieu1 ,baron1 allusion1 #adg4   
,months1 trade terms for1 #cfe4         
,morris1 ,lewis1 ,a ,cynic's ,day-dream1
 #cic4    ,mothers1 loud-tongued1 #ge4  
7,see ,children1 ,women1 etc47          
,mountains3 climbing affected by        
railways1 #ad2     quotation from       
,byron1 #cj2     in pictures1 #dc2      
glory in ,england and ,france1 #bgj1    
#bga2     ,mont ,blanc1 where situated1 
#bga4    ,mozart1 ,johann ,chrysostom   
,wolfgang ,amadeus1 allusion1 #bhi4     
,muloch1 ,dinah ,maria1 confounded with 
,george ,eliot1 #bij4    ,music3        
detached from religion1 xii1 xiii2      
voice of love1 #db2     affecting       
fraternity1 #fd2     connection with    
religion1 #aia2     illustration of     
harmony1 #chi4     ,nagging1 by parents1
 #gf4    ,napoleon ,i43 and the         
,universe1 #bgc1 #bgd2     privations1  
#cjh2     mot of the ,pope1 #cda2       
,rmusat letters1 #cej4    ,napoleon     
,,iii43 death1 son1 #bbe2     ignorance 
of ,german power1 #bgh2     losing      

,sedan1 #cjh4    ,nationality3          
prejudices1 #g2     to be respected at  
table1 #ajf1 #ajg2     different        
languages an obstacle to intercourse    
7,essay ,,xi471 #adh-afj2     mutual    
ignorance 7,essay ,,xix471 #bfd-bgi     
passim4    ,national ,gallery1 ,london1 
#bia4    ,nature3 compensations1 iv2    
causes1 xii2     laws not deducible from
 single cases1 #d2     inestimable      
gifts1 #bf2     beauty an alleviation of
 solitude1 loyalty1 #cj1 #ca2           
opposed to civilization in love-matters1
 #da2     universality of love1 #db1    
#dc2     promises fulfilled1 #fj-fb2    
revival of study1 #bab2     laws fixed  
7,essay ,,xv471 #bae-bca passim2     ,de
 ,saussure's study1 #bcj1 #bca2         
expressed in painting1 #bcb1 #bcc2      
nearness1 #cjc-cad passim2     her      
destroyers1 #cic4    ,navarre1 ,king    
,henry of1 #bbd4    ,navy1 a young      
officer's acquaintance1 #be1 #bf4       
,neglect1 destroys friendship1 #aaf4    
,nelson1 ,lord3 the navy in his time1   

#bgi2     letter in battle1 #cbg1 #cbh4 
,nerves1 affected by rudeness1 #abh1    
#abi4    ,new ,england1 a blond native1 
#bdj4    ,newspapers3 on nature and the 
supernatural1 xii2     adultery reports 
in ,english1 #da2     personal interest1
 #abd2     regard for titles1 #acg2     
quarrels between ,english and ,american1
 #aej2     reading1 #aef2     on        
royalty1 #aff1 #afg2     deaths in1     
#bbe2     ,english and ,french          
subservience to rank1 #bdh2     a       
bourgeois complaint1 #bhf2     crossing 
the seas1 #ccg1 #cch4    ,new ,year's1  
,french customs1 #cci4    ,niagara      
,rapids1 #bij4    ,night1 ,palmer's     
watches1 #cab4    ,nikias1 a military   
leader1 his superstition1 #bae-bag1     
#bbi4    ,nineteenth ,century1 earlier  
half1 #bje1 #bjf4    ,nobility3 the     
,english have two churches to choose    
from1 #afi-aga1 #agc2     opposition to 
,dissent1 #bef1 #beg4    ,nonconformity1
 ,english1 #bef1 #beg4     7,see        
,dissent1 etc47    ,normans1 influence  

of the ,conquest1 #bea1 #beb4           
,oaths1 no obstacle to hypocrisy1 #afb4 
,obedience1 filial 7,essay ,,vi471      
#gh-ih4    ,observation1 cultivated1    
#bij1 #bia4    ,obstacles3 of ,language1
 between nations 7,essay ,,xi471        
#adh-afj2     of ,religion 7,essay      
,,xii471 #afa-agd4    ,occupations1     
easily confused1 #bhh1 #bhi4    ,oil1   
mineral1 #bhh4    ,old ,maids1 defence1 
#cgi-chb4    ,olympus1 unbelief in its  
gods1 #afb4    ,oman1 sea of1 #bbf4     
,opinions3 not the result of volition1  
xiii2     of guests to be respected1    
#aje1 #ajf2     changes affecting       
friendship1 #aab1 #aac4    ,orange1     
,william of1 correspondence1 #cdd1 #cde4
    ,oratory1 connection with religion1 
xii1 #aia-aie4    ,order of the         
,universe1 to be trusted1 iii4          
,originality3 seen in authorship1 #ab2  
how hindered and helped1 #ac1 #ad2      
,french estimate1 #ae4    ,orthodoxy1   
placed on a level with hypocrisy1 #afb1 
#afc4    ,ostentation1 to be shunned in 

amusements1 #dja4    ,oxford3 opinion of
 a learned doctor about ,christ's       
divinity1 #f2     ,shelley's expulsion1 
#if2     its antiquity1 #bge1 #bgf4     
,paganism3 hypocrisy1 and preferment1   
#afb2     gods and wars1 #bbd4          
,paget1 ,lady ,florence1 curt letter1   
#cba4    ,pain1 feminine indifference   
to1 #ahj4    ,painters3 taste in travel1
 #ad2     deterioration of a1 #bh2      
discovering new beauties1 #fj2          
,corot1 #caj1 #caa2     ,palmer1 #cab2  
one in adversity1 #cad2     gayety not  
in pictures1 #cda2     sketches in      
letters1 #cde2     of boats1 #cei2      
lack of business in ,french painter1    
#cfg1 #cfh2     idle sketches1 #djj2    
,leloir1 #dja4    ,painter's ,camp in   
the ,highlands1 #cgi4    ,painting3     
fondness for it a cause of discord1 #f2 
,french excellence1 #h2                 
interdependence1 #ac2     high aims1    
#bh2     palpitating with love1 #dc2    
affecting fraternity1 #fd2     none in  
heaven1 #aia2     not necessarily       

religious1 #aih2     copies1 #bjc2      
two methods1 #bcb1 #bcc2     convenient 
building1 #bfa2     ignorance about     
,english1 #bfe-bfg2     not merely an   
amusement1 #djj4     7,see ,art1 etc47  
,paleontology1 allusion1 #bjf4          
,palgrave1 ,gifford1 saved from         
shipwreck1 #bbf-bbh4    ,palmer1        
,george1 a speech1 #bbc4    ,palmer1    
,samuel1 his ,bohemianism1 #cab1 #cac4  
,palmer1 ,william1 in ,russia1 #beg1    
#beh4    ,paper1 used in correspondence1
 #cbh4    ,paradise3 the arts in1 #aia2 
affecting pulpit oratory1 #aic4         
7,see ,priests47    ,paris3 an artistic 
centre1 #h2     incivility at a dinner1 
#ajg2     effect of wealth1 #aba2       
elegant house1 #adb2     ,english       
residents1 #aej2     a lady's reply     
about ,english knowledge of ,french     
language1 #aeb2     ,notre ,dame1 #aij2 
,jardin des ,plantes1 #bji2     hotel   
incident1 #bdj-bdb2     not a desert1   
#bdb2     light of the world1 #bff1     
#bfg1 #bgd2     resting after djener1   

#bgc2     confusion about buildings1    
#bia2     an illiterate tradesman1 #cfj1
 #cfa2     the ,salon1 #cfg4            
,parliament3 illustration of heredity1  
#ic2     indebtedness of members to     
trade1 #ace2     infidelity in1 #afb2   
superiority of pulpit1 #aia2     ,george
 ,palmer1 #bbc2     questions in1 #bda2 
,houses1 #bia4    ,parsimony3 affecting 
family ties1 #gj2     in hospitality1   
#ajd1 #aje4    ,patriotism3 obligations1
 #ab2     ,littr's1 #baj2     ,patriotic
 ,ignorance 7,essay ,,xix471 #bfd-bgi2  
places people in a dilemma1 #bfd2       
anecdotes of ,french and ,english       
errors1 about art1 literature1          
mountains1 landscapes1 fuel1 ore1       
schools1 language1 #bfe-bgg2            
ignorance leading to war1 #bgg-bgi2     
suspected of lacking1 #bhg-bhh4         
,peace1 affected by knowledge of1       
languages1 #adh-aej1 #afj4              
,peculiarity1 of ,english people towards
 each other 7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb4 
,pedagogues1 their narrowness1 #aed4    

,pedestrianism3 as affected by railways1
 #ad2     in ,france1 #bgb1 #bgc2       
not enjoyed1 #cjb4    ,peel1 ,arthur1   
his indebtedness to trade1 #ace4        
,pencil1 use1 when permissible1 #ccc4   
,periodicals1 akin to correspondence1   
#cj4    ,persecution1 feminine sympathy 
with1 #hj1 #aha4    ,perseverance1      
,buffon's and ,littr's1 #bji1 #baj4     
,personality3 its abysmal deeps1 #aa2   
repressed by conventionality1 #ae2      
accompanies independence1 #ag2          
affecting family ties1 #fc-gg passim2   
paternal and filial differences1 #gh-ih 
passim2     its frank recognition1 #ih2 
confused1 anecdotes1 #bhi1 #bij4        
,persuasion1 feminine trust in1 #age4   
,pestilence1 ,god's anger in1 #bbb4     
,peter the ,great1 sad relations to his 
son1 #ie1 #if4    ,philistinism3        
illustrative stories1 #bhe1 #bhf2       
defined1 #big2     passion for comfort1 
#bih2     asceticism and indulgence1    
#bii1 #cjj2     a life-portrait1        
#cjj-cjc2     estimate of life1 #cjc2   

an ,english lady's parlor1 #cjd1 #cje2  
contrast1 #cjf2     avoidance of        
needless exposure1 #cac4    ,philology3 
a rival of literature1 #aed2            
favorable to progress in language1 #aee4
    ,philosophy3 detached from religion1
 xii2     rational tone1 #aic4          
,photography3 a ,french experience1 #bd2
     under fixed law1 #bbh4             
,physicians3 compared with priests1     
#ahf2     rational1 #aic2     ,littr's  
service1 #baj4    ,picturesque1 regard  
for the1 #g4    ,piety3 and law 7,essay 
,,xv471 #bae-bca passim2     shipwreck1 
#bbf1 #bbg4    ,pitt1 ,william1 foreign 
disturbances in his day1 #aej4    ,pius 
,,vii41 on ,napoleon1 #cda4    ,play1   
boyish friendship in1 #aaa4             
,pleasures1 three in amusements1 #cii1  
#djj4    ,plebeians1 in ,england1 #bea1 
#beb4    ,plumpton ,correspondence1     
#cah-cbc1 #cca4    ,poetry3 detached    
from religion1 xii2     of love1 #db2   
dulness to1 #dg2     ,shelley's1 #dg2   
,byron's1 #ej1 #cde-cdi2     ,goethe's1 

#ea2     and science1 #eg2     ,tennyson
 on ,brotherhood1 #fg2     lament1 #gc2 
art1 #aed2     music in heaven1 #aia2   
,keble1 #aih2     ,battle of ,ivry1     
#bbd2     ,french1 #bfh1 #bfi2          
,latin1 loyalty of ,tennyson1 #bhi2     
,french couplet1 #cjd2     in a library1
 #cje2     ,if ,i be dear1 #cbe2        
,horace1 #cfa2     ,palace of ,art1     
#chf2     quotation from ,morris1 #cic2 
line about anticipation1 #cii4          
,poets3 ideas about the harmlessness of 
love1 #cf2     avoidance of practical   
difficulties1 #ci2     love in natural  
scenery1 #dc4    ,politics3             
conventional1 #ae2     ,french          
narrowness1 #ah1 #ai2     coffee-house1 
#bh2     inherited opinions1 #ic2       
opinions of guests to be respected1     
#aje1 #ajf2     affecting friendship1   
#aac-aae2     affected by ignorance of  
language1 #adh1 #aej1 #afj2             
adaptation of ,greek language1 #aeh2    
disabilities arising from religion1     
#afa-agd2     divine government1 #bbi2  

genteel ignorance1 #bed-bef2     votes  
sought1 #beg2     affected by national  
ignorance1 #bgg-bgi2     distinctions   
confounded1 #bhj-bhd2     verses on     
letter-writing1 #cce4    ,ponsard1      
,franois1 quotations1 #cjd1 #cce4       
,popes3 their infidelity1 #afb2         
temporal power1 #bee1 #bef4     7,see   
,roman ,catholicism1 etc47    ,popular  
,notions1 often wrong1 #bib4            
,postage1 cheap1 #ccf4    ,postal       
,union1 a forerunner1 #aei4             
,post-cards1 affecting correspondence1  
#cbi1 #ccj1 #cce4    ,poverty3 allied   
with shrewdness1 #bb2     affecting     
friendship 7,essay ,,ix471 #aaf1        
#aai-abi2     priestly visits1 #ahc2    
,littr's service1 #baj2     ignorance   
about1 #beh-bfj2     ,french rhyme1     
#cjd2     not always the concomitant of 
,bohemianism1 #cji2     not despised1   
#cad2     in epistolary forms1 #cag4    
,prayers3 reading in ,french1 #aeh2     
averting calamities1 #bbj-bca passim4   
,prejudices3 about great men1 #d2       

national1 #g2     of ,english           
gentlewomen1 #chb4    ,pride3 of a wife1
 #ei2     in family wealth1 #ff2        
refusal of gifts1 #fh2     in shooting1 
#cij4    ,priesthood3 ,priests and      
,women 7,essay ,,xiii471 #age-bjd2      
meeting feminine dependence1 #agh2      
affectionate interest1 #agi2            
representing ,god1 #ahb2     sympathy1  
#ahc2     marriages and burials1 #ahd2  
baptism and confirmation1 #ahe2         
death1 #ahf2     ,queen ,victoria's     
reflections1 #ahf1 #ahg2     sthetic    
interest1 #ahh2     vestments1 #ahi2    
architecture1 #aij2     music1 #aia2    
oratory and dignity1 #aib2     heaven   
and hell1 #aic2     partisanship1 #aid2 
association in benevolence1 #aie2       
influence of leisure1 #aif2     custom  
and ceremony1 #aig2     holy seasons1   
#aih2     celibacy1 #aii2     marriage  
in former times1 #bjj2     sceptical    
sons1 #bja2     confessional1 #bjb2     
assumption of superiority1 #bjc2        
perfunctory goodness1 #bjd4             

,primogeniture1 affecting family ties1  
#ff4    ,privacy3 of a host1 to be      
respected1 #aji2     in letters1 #cej1  
#ceg4    ,procrastination3 in           
correspondence1 #cah1 #cai1 #cef2       
anecdotes1 #cff-cfi4    ,profanity1     
definition1 #bjh4    ,professions1      
contrasted with trades1 #acb1 #acc4     
,progress1 five stages in the study of  
language1 #aec-aeg4    ,promptness3 in  
correspondence1 #caf1 #cag1 #cbi2     in
 business1 #cfh4    ,propriety1 cloak   
for vice1 #big4    ,prose3 an art1 #aed2
     eschewed by ,tennyson1 #bhi4       
,prosody1 rival of literature1 #aed4    
,protestantism3 in ,france1 #ai1 #afe1  
#bef2     ,prussian tyranny1 #agc2      
exclusion of music1 #aia2     clerical  
marriages1 #bjj1 #bja2     auricular    
confession1 #bja-bjc2     liberty       
infringed1 #bha4    ,providence and ,law
 7,essay ,,xv471 #bae-bca passim4       
,prussia3 ,protestant tyranny1 #agc2    
a soldier's cloak1 #ahi2     military   
strength1 #bgh4    ,public ,men1 wrong  

judgment about1 #d4    ,punch's         
,almanack1 quoted1 #acc4    ,pursuits1  
similarity in1 #aj4    ,puseyism1       
despised1 #bhd1 #bhe4    ,puzzle1       
language regarded as a1 #aec1 #aed4     
,rabelais1 quotation1 #afe4             
,racehorses1 illustration1 #fe4         
,radicalism1 definition1 #bhb1 #bhc4    
,railways3 affecting independence1      
#ac-ae2     meditations in a ,french1   
#ag2     story in illustration of       
rudeness1 #ajh1 #aji2     distance from1
 #aaf2     ,french accident1 #bah-bbj2  
moving huts1 #bfa1 #bfb2                
,stephenson's locomotive1 #bic2         
allusion1 #cji2     journeys saved1     
#cfj2     compared to sailing1 #cie4    
,rain3 cause of accident1 #bai2         
prayers for1 #bba4    ,rank3 a power for
 good1 #e2     conversation of ,french  
people of1 #af2     pursuit of1 #bg2    
discrimination in hospitality1 #ajd2    
affecting friendship1 #aaf2             
,differences 7,essay ,x471 #acj-adg2    
social precedence1 #acj2     land and   

money1 #aca2     trades and professions1
 #acb-ace2     unreal distinctions1     
#ace2     to be ignored1 #acf2          
,english and ,continental views1 #acf1  
#acg2     family without title1 #ach2   
affecting hospitality1 #aci-ade2        
price1 deference1 #ade-adg2     ,english
 admiration1 #bda1 #bdb1 #bdh1 #bdi-beb2
     connection with amusement1 #chc-dja
 passim4    ,rapidity1 in               
letter-writing1 #cbd1 #cbe4    ,reading1
 in a foreign language1 #aed-aeh4       
,reading1 ,eng41 speech1 #bbc1 #bbd4    
,reasoning1 in letters1 #chd1 #che4     
,rebels1 contrasted with reformers1     
#bhj4    ,recreation1 the purpose of    
amusement1 #chi4    ,reeve1 ,henry1     
knowledge of ,french1 #aeb4             
,reformers1 and rebels1 #bhj1 #bha4     
,refinement3 affecting family harmony1  
#fd2     companionship1 #ga2            
enhanced by wealth1 #abe1 #abf4         
,religion3 affecting human intercourse1 
xi-xiii2     detached from the arts1    
xii2     affecting friendship1 #e1 #f2  

conventional1 #ae2     ,cheltenham      
prejudice1 #ai2     formal in ,england1 
#fc2     affecting fraternity1 #fd2     
affecting family regard1 #gd2           
clergyman's son1 #ij1 #ia2     family   
differences1 #ic1 #id2     to be        
respected in guests1 #aje1 #ajf2        
destroying friendship1 #aac2            
,evangelical1 #abc2     personal        
deterioration1 #abd2     mercenary      
motives1 #acb1 #acc2     title-worship1 
#acg2     an ,obstacle 7,essay ,,xii471 
#afa-agd2     the dominant1 #afa2     a 
hindrance to honest people1 #afb2       
dissimulation1 #afc2     apparent       
liberty1 #afd2     social penalties1    
#afe2     no liberty for princes1 #aff2 
,french illustration1 #afg2     royal   
liberty in morals1 #afh2     official   
conformity1 #afi2     greater freedom in
 the lower ranks1 #agj2     less in     
small communities1 #aga2     liberty of 
rejection and dissent1 #agb2     false  
position1 #agc2     enforced conformity1
 #agd2     ,priests and ,women 7,essay  

,,xiii471 #age-bjd2     of love1 #agh1  
#agi2     ,why we are ,apparently       
becoming ,less ,religious 7,essay       
,,xiv471 #bje-bad2     meditations of   
ladies of former generation1 #bje2      
trust in ,bible1 #bjf2     idealization1
 #bjg2     ,nineteenth ,century         
inquiries1 #bjh2     ,buffon as an      
illustration1 #bji2     ,littr1 #baj2   
compared with ,bible characters1 #baa2  
the ,renaissance1 #bab2     boundaries  
outgrown1 #bac2     less theology1 #bad2
     ,how we are ,really becoming ,less 
,religious 7,essay ,,xv471 #bae-bca2    
superstition1 #bae2     supernatural    
interference1 #baf1 #bag2     idea of   
law diminishes emotion1 #bah2           
railway accident1 #bai2     prayers and 
accidents1 #bbj2     future definition1 
#bba2     penitence and punishment1     
#bbb2     war and ,god1 #bbc2           
natural order1 #bbd2     ,providence1   
#bbe2     salvation from shipwreck1     
#bbf2     un hazard providentiel1 #bbg2 
irreligion1 #bbh2     less piety1 #bbi2 

devotion and science1 #bcj2     wise    
expenditure of time1 #bca2     feuds1   
#bdj2     genteel ignorance of          
established churches1 #bee-beh2         
,french ignorance of ,english ,church1  
#bge2     distinctions confounded1 #bha1
 #bhb2     intolerance mixed with social
 contempt1 #bhd1 #bhe2     activity     
limited to religion and riches1 #cja2   
in old letters1 #cbj1 #cba1 #cbc2       
female interest in the author's welfare1
 #cgg1 #cgh2     in theology1 #cgi1     
#chj4     7,see ,church of ,england1    
,methodism1 ,protestantism1 etc47       
,rmusat1 ,mme4 de1 letters1 #cej4       
,renaissance1 expansion of study in the1
 #bab4    ,renan1 ,ernest1 one objection
 to trade1 #acb4    ,republic1 ,french1 
#bed1 #bhc1 #bhd4    ,residence1        
affecting friendship1 #aaf4    ,respect3
 the road to filial love1 #ih2     why  
liked1 #abb2     in correspondence1     
#caf4    ,restraints1 of marriage and   
love1 #cf1 #cg4    ,retrospection1      
pleasures of1 #djj4    ,revolution1     

,french1 #bji1 #bdf1 #bhc4     7,see    
,france47    ,riding1 ,lever's          
difficulties1 #bfj4    ,rifles3 in      
hunting1 #cia-cic2     names1 #cib4     
,rights4 7,see different heads1 such as 
,hospitality1 ,sons1 etc47    ,robinson 
,crusoe1 illustration1 #ba4    ,rock1   
simile1 #bea4    ,roland1 his sword     
,durindal1 #cia4    ,roman ,camp1 site1 
#ad4    ,roman ,catholicism3 its effect 
on companionship1 #f2     seen in rural 
,france1 #ai2     illustration of the   
,pope1 #hg2     infidel sons1 #ic2      
wisdom of celibacy1 #abj2     infidel   
dignitaries1 #afb2     liberty in       
,spain1 #afd2     royalty hearing ,mass1
 #afg2     military salute to the ,host1
 #afi2     recognition in ,england1     
#afi1 #agj1 #agc2     ,continental      
intolerance1 #agb1 #agc2     a          
conscientious traveller1 #agc2          
oppression in ,prussia1 #agc2           
tradesmen compelled to hear ,mass1 #agd2
     ,madonna's influence1 #agf2        
priestly consolation1 #ahc2     use of  

art1 #ahh-aij2     ,dominican dress1    
#ahi2     cathedrals1 the ,host1 #aij2  
astuteness1 celibacy1 #aii2     female  
allies1 #bjj2     confessional1 #bja1   
#bjb2     feudal tenacity1 #bee2        
,protestantism ignored1 #bef2           
,romanism ignored by the ,greek ,church1
 #beh2     compulsory attendance1 #bhb4 
7,see ,priesthood1 ,religion1 etc47     
,romance3 like or dislike for1 #g2      
glamour of love1 #db4    ,rome3 people  
not subjected to the papacy1 #bee1 #bef2
     ,byron's letter1 #cdg4             
,rossetti1 on ,mrs4 ,harriett ,shelley1 
#df4    ,rouen ,cathedral1 #aij4        
,royal ,academy1 ,london1 #bff1 #bgf4   
,royal ,society1 ,london1 #bgd4         
,royalty1 its religious bondage1        
#aff-afi1 #aga4    ,rugby1 residence of 
a father1 #hd4    ,ruolz1 the inventor1 
his bituminous paper1 #ceh1 #cei4       
,russell1 ,lord ,arthur1 his knowledge  
of ,french1 #aeb4    ,russia3 religious 
position of the ,czar1 #afh2            
orthodoxy1 #beg1 #beh2     war with     

,turkey1 #bgh4     7,see ,greek         
,church47     ,sabbath1 its observance1 
#abc4    ,sacredness1 definition of1    
#bjh4    ,sacrifices3 demanded by       
courtesy1 #cae1 #caf2     in            
letter-writing1 #cbi-cca2     to        
indolence1 #cfh4    ,sahara1            
love-simile1 #fj4    ,saint ,bernard1   
qualities1 #bcj1 #bca4    ,saint        
,hubert's ,day1 carousal1 #cde4         
,saints1 in every occupation1 #bji4     
,salon1 ,french1 #bff1 #bgf1 #cfg4      
,sarcasm3 lasting effects1 #ff2         
brutal and paternal1 #ig4    ,satire4   
7,see ,sarcasm47    ,savagery1 return   
to1 #bih4     7,see ,barbarism1         
,civilization47    ,saxons1 influence in
 ,england1 #bea1 #beb4    ,scepticism3  
and religious rites1 #ahd1 #ahe2     in 
clergymen's sons1 #bja4     7,see       
,heresy47    ,schools1 prejudice against
 ,french1 #ajf4    ,schuyler's ,life of 
,peter the ,great1 #if4    ,science3    
study affected by isolation1 #bi2       
and poetry1 #eg2     superiority to     

mercenary motives1 #acb2     in         
language1 #aed2     adaptation of ,greek
 language to1 #aeh2     illustration1   
#aff2     cold1 #agf1 #agh1 #aij2       
disconnected with religion1 #aih2       
affecting ,bible study1 #bjf2           
connection with religion 7,essay ,,xv471
 #bae-bca passim4    ,scolding1 #ge1    
#gf4    ,scotland3 a chance             
acquaintance1 #be1 #bf2     gentleman's 
sacrifice for his son1 #hd2     incident
 in a country-house1 #aca2     religious
 incident in travel1 #agc2     a        
painter's hint1 #bcb2     the           
,highlands1 #bga2     scenery1 #cgi2    
cricket impossible1 #cih4    ,scott1    
,sir ,walter3 indebtedness to the poor1 
#bb2     ,lucy of ,lammermoor1 #ci1     
#adc1 #add2     ,jeanie ,deans1 #age2   
supposed ,american ignorance of1 #bgg2  
quotation from ,waverley1 #cbg2         
,provost's letter1 #cfe4    ,sculpture3 
warmed by love1 #db1 #dc2     none in   
heaven1 #aia2     ignorance about       
,english1 #bfe4     7,see ,art1 etc47   

,seals on letters1 #cbf-cbh4            
,secularists3 in ,england1 #aga2        
tame oratory1 #aic4    ,sedan1 cause of 
lost battle1 #cjh4    ,seduction1 how   
restrained1 #ch4    ,self-control1 grim1
 #cig4    ,self-esteem1 effect of       
benevolence in developing1 #aif4        
,self-examination1 induced by letters1  
#chj4    ,self-indulgence1 of opposite  
kinds1 #bii1 #cjj4    ,self-interest3   
affecting friendship1 #aaf2     at the  
confessional1 #bjb4    ,selfishness3    
affected by marriage1 #bf2     desire   
for comfort1 #bg2     affecting passion1
 #ch2     in hosts1 #aja1 #ajb2     in a
 letter1 #ccd2     in amusements1 #cig4 
,sensuality1 connection with            
,bohemianism1 #bif4    ,sentences1      
reading1 #aef4    ,sentiment1 none in   
business1 #cec1 #cfd4    ,separations3  
between friends1 #aaa-aah2              
letter-writing during1 #cch2     ,tasso 
family1 #cej1 #cea4    ,sepulchre1      
whited1 #big4    ,sermons3 one-sided1   
#bi2     in library1 #cjb4    ,servants3

 marriage to priests1 #bjj2     often   
needful1 #bei2     concomitants of      
wealth1 #big1 #bih2     none1 #cjg2     
in letters1 #cbd2     anonymous letter1 
#cgf2     hired to wait1 #cig4          
,severn ,river1 #bgj4    ,sexes3        
pleasure in association1 #c2            
passionate love1 #cd2     relations     
socially limited1 #cf1 #cg2             
antagonism of nature and civilization1  
#da2     in natural scenery1 #dc2       
inharmony in marriages1 #dd-fb passim2  
sisters and brothers1 #fe2              
connection with confession1 #bja-bjd2   
lack of analysis1 #bhj2     ,bohemian   
relations1 #bif1 #big4    ,shakspeare3  
indebtedness to the poor1 #bb2          
,juliet1 #ci2     portraiture of        
youthful nonsense1 #hh2     allusion by 
,grant ,white1 #bgg2     ,macbeth and   
,hamlet confused1 #bij2     ,polonius's 
advice applied to ,goldsmith1 #caj4     
,shelley1 ,percy ,bysshe3 his study of  
past literature1 #ac2     passionate    
love1 #cd2     marriages1 #ce1 #df-dh1  

#ee1 #ef2     quotation1 #dc2           
disagreement with his father1 #if1 #ig4 
,ships3 passing the ,suez canal1 xii2   
interest of ,peter the ,great1 and      
dislike of his son1 #he2     at siege of
 ,syracuse1 #bae2     of war1 #bgg1     
#bgh2     as affecting correspondence1  
#ccg2     drifting1 #cgh2     fondness  
for details1 #cid4    ,shoeblack1       
illustration1 #cce4    ,shyness1        
,english1 #bde4    ,siamese ,twins1     
allusion1 #bij4    ,silence1 golden1    
#he4    ,sin1 affecting pulpit oratory1 
#aic4    ,sir1 the title1 #acg4         
,sisters3 affection1 #fc-gg passim2     
jealousy of admiration1 #fe2            
pecuniary obligations1 how regarded1    
#fi4    ,slander3 by rich people1 #adf1 
#adg2     in anonymous letters1         
#cgj-cgg4    ,slang1 commercial1 #cfe4  
,slovenliness1 part of ,bohemianism1    
#bif4    ,smith1 an imaginary gentleman1
 #acj4    ,smith1 ,jane1 an imaginary   
character1 #agh4    ,smoking3 affecting 
friendship1 #aae2     ,bohemian         

practice1 #cje4    ,snobbery1 among     
,english travellers1 #bdj-bdb4          
,sociability3 affecting the appetite1   
#ajb2     ,english want of 7,essay      
,,xvii471 #bci-beb2     in amusements1  
#chc1 #chd4    ,society3 good1 in       
,france1 #ae1 #af2     eccentricity no  
barrier in ,london1 #af-ah2             
exclusion1 #ba1 #bb2     unexpectedly   
found1 #bc-bf2     alienation from      
common pursuits1 #bg1 #bh2     aid to   
study1 #bi-ca2     restraints upon love1
 #cf1 #cg2     laws set aside by ,george
 ,eliot1 #de1 #df1 #ee2     ,goethe's   
defiance1 #eb1 #ef1 #eg2     rights of  
hospitality1 illustrated 7,essay        
,,vii471 #ii-aji2     aristocratic1     
#abd2     affected by rank and wealth   
7,essay ,x471 #acj-adg passim2     and  
by religion 7,essay ,,xii471 #afa-agd   
passim2     ruled by women1 #agf2       
tyranny1 #aha2     clerical leisure1    
#aif1 #aig2     inimical to ,littr1     
#baj2     absent air in1 #bcg2          
affected by ,gentility 7,essay          

,,xviii471 #bec-bfc2     secession of   
thinkers1 #bfb1 #bfc2     intellectual1 
#cjc2     usages1 #cjd2     outside of1 
#cjg4    ,socrates1 allusion1 #bjd4     
,solicitors1 their industry1 #aif4      
,solitude3 social1 #ai2     dread1 #ba2 
pleasant reliefs1 #bb-bf2     serious   
evil1 #bg2     sometimes demoralizing1  
#bh2     affecting study1 #bi2          
mitigations1 #bi-ca2     preferred1 #ca2
     forgotten in labor1 #ca1 #cb2      
picture of1 #dc2     ,shelley's         
fondness1 #dg2     free space necessary1
 #gg2     dislike prompting to          
hospitality 7q4 v471 #adc4    ,sons3    
separated from fathers by               
incompatibility1 #aj2     escape from   
paternal brutality1 #gf2     ,fathers   
and 7,essay ,,vi471 #gh-ih2     change  
of circumstances1 #gh2     former       
obedience1 #gi2     orders out of       
fashion1 #hj2     outside education1    
#ha2     education by the father1       
#hb-he2     rapidity of youth1 #hf1 #hg2
     lack of paternal resemblance1 #hh2 

differing tastes1 #hi2     fathers      
outgrown1 #ij2     changes in culture1  
#ia2     reservations1 #ib2             
differing opinions1 #ic2     oldtime    
divisions1 #id2     an imperial son1    
#ie2     other painful instances1 #if2  
wounded by satire1 #ig2     right basis 
of sonship1 #ih4     7,see ,family1     
,fathers1 etc47    ,sorbonne1 the1      
professorship of ,english1 #aeb4        
,southey1 ,robert1 ,life of ,nelson1    
#cbg4    ,spain3 religious freedom1     
#afd2     heretics burned1 #ahj4        
,speculation1 compared with experience1 
#cj4    ,speech1 silvern1 #he4          
,spelling1 inaccurate1 #cfj4     7,see  
,languages1 etc47    ,spencer1 ,herbert3
 made the cover for an assault upon a   
guest's opinions1         #ajf2     on  
display of wealth1 #ade2     confidence 
in nature's laws1 #bbg4    ,spenser1    
,edmund1 his poetic stanza1 #chd4       
,sports3 often comparatively            
unrestrained1 #cf2     affecting        
fraternity1 #fd2     youth fitted for1  

#hf2     roughening influence1 #ajj2    
affecting friendship1 #aae2             
aristocratic1 #abd2     among the rich1 
#adc2     ignorance about ,english1     
#bfg1 #bfh2     concomitant of wealth1  
#big2     not enjoyed1 #cjb2            
,william of ,orange's1 #cde2            
connection with amusement1 #che-dja     
passim4    ,springtime of love1 #cd4    
,stanford's ,london ,atlas1 #bgd4       
,stars1 illustration of crowds1 #gg4    
,steam1 no help to friendship1 #ccg4    
,stein1 ,baroness von1 relations to     
,goethe1 #ea-ec4    ,stephenson1        
,george1 his locomotive not a failure1  
#bic4    ,stowe1 ,harriet ,beecher1 her 
works confounded with ,george ,eliot's1 
#bij4    ,strangers1 treatment of by the
 ,english and others 7,essay ,,xvii471  
#bci-beb         passim4    ,stream1    
illustration from the impossibility of  
upward flow1 #ih4    ,strength1         
accompanied with exercise1 #cjb4        
,studies3 affecting friendship1 #aaa2   
literary and artistic1 #djj1 #dja4      

,subjugation1 the motive of display of  
wealth1 #ade4    ,suez ,canal1 and      
superstition1 xii4    ,sunbeam1 yacht1  
#ach1 #aci4    ,sunday3 ,french         
incident1 #abh1 #abi2     allusion1     
#aih2     supposed law1 #bha4     7,see 
,sabbath47    ,sunset1 allusion1 #ca4   
,supernaturalism 7,essay ,,xv471        
#bae-bca passim2     doubts about1 #cgg1
 #cgh4    ,superstition and religion    
7,essay ,,xv471 #bae-bca passim4        
,surgeon1 an artistic1 #bhi4    ,sweden1
 king of1 #cjh4    ,swedenborgianism1   
commended to the author1 #cgh4          
,swift1 ,jonathan1 ,gulliver's box1     
#bfa4    ,swimming3 affected by         
railways1 #ad2     in ,france1 #bgb4    
,switzerland3 epithets applied to1 #bce2
     tourists1 #bdj2     ,alps1 #bga2   
,goldsmith's travels1 #cji2     ,dor's  
travels1 #cde4    ,sympathy3 with an    
author1 #i2     one of two great powers 
deciding human intercourse1 #aa2     of 
a married man with a single1 #be1 #bf2  
between parents and children 7,essay    

,,vi471 #gh-ih passim2     between      
,priests and ,women 7,essay ,,xiii4 part
 ,i471 #age-ahf passim4    ,symposium1  
antique1 allusion1 #bi4    ,syracuse1   
siege1 #bae-bag1 #bbi4     ,table3 its  
pleasures comparatively unrestrained1   
#cf2     former tyranny of hospitality1 
#aja1 #ajb2     modern customs1 appetite
 affected by sociability1 #ajb2         
excess not required by hospitality1     
#ajc2     ,french fashion1 #aje2        
instances of bad manners1 #ajf1 #ajg1   
#abf-abh2     rules of precedence1 #acj1
 #aca2     matrons occupied with cares1 
#adj1 #ada2     among the rich1 #adc2   
tyranny1 #agb2     ,english manners     
towards strangers contrasted with those 
of other         nations 7,essay        
,,xvii471 #bci-beb2     djener1 #bgc2   
among the rich1 #big2     talk about    
hunting1 #cih1 #cii4    ,talking1       
contrasted with writing1 #ced-ceg4      
,tasso1 ,bernardo1 father of the poet1  
his letters1 #cej1 #cea4    ,taylor1    
,mrs41 relations to ,mill1 #ec-ee4      

,telegraphy3 under fixed law1 #bbh2     
affecting letters1 #cbd1 #cbe1 #cca1    
#cfa2     anecdote1 #cbf4    ,telephone1
 illustration1 #ccf4    ,temper1        
destroys friendship1 #aab1 #aah4        
,temperance1 sometimes at war with      
hospitality1 #ajb-ajd4    ,tenderness1  
in letters1 #cbj1 #cbb4    ,tennyson3   
study of past literature1 #ac2     line 
about brotherhood1 #fg2     religious   
sentiment of ,in ,memoriam1 #aih2       
loyalty to verse1 #bhi2     ,palace of  
,art1 #chf1 #djj4    ,thackeray1        
,william ,makepeace3 ,rev4 ,honeyman in 
,the ,newcomes1 #bjc2     ,book of      
,snobs1 #bdb4    ,thames ,river1 #bgj1  
#cce4    ,theatre3 avoidance1 #abc2     
,english travellers like actors1 #bdb2  
gifts of a painter1 #cda4    ,thlme1    
,abbaye de1 its motto1 #afe4            
,thierry1 ,augustin1 ,history of ,norman
 ,conquest1 #bea1 #beb4    ,thiers1     
,louis ,adolphe1 friendship with        
,mignet1 #abj1 #aba4    ,time1 forgotten
 in labor1 #ca1 #cb4    ,timidity1      

taking refuge in correspondence1 #cef1  
#ceg4    ,titles3 table precedence1     
#acj2     estimate in ,england and on   
the ,continent1 #acf1 #acg2     ,british
 regard1 #bda1 #bdb1 #bdh-beb passim2   
,french disregard1 #bdh4    ,tolerance3 
induced by hospitality1 #ii2     of     
amusements1 #chi4    ,towneley ,hall1   
library1 #cah4    ,trade3 ,english and  
social exclusion1 #ai2     foolish      
distinctions1 #acb-ace2     connection  
with national peace1 #aej2              
adaptation of ,greek language1 #aeh2    
interference of religion1 #aga1 #agd2   
ignorance about ,english1 #bfe1 #bff1   
#bfh2     ,lancashire1 #bhh2            
careless tradesmen1 #cfj1 #cfa2         
slang1 #cfe4    ,translations3 disliked1
 #aed2     of ,hamerton into ,french1   
#bfg4    ,transubstantiation3 private   
opinion and outward form1 #afi2         
poetic1 #aij4     7,see ,roman          
,catholicism1 etc47    ,trappist1       
freedom of an earnest1 #afd1 #afe4      
,travel3 railway illustration1 #ac-ae2  

marriage simile1 #dd2     affecting     
fraternity1 #fd2     affecting          
friendship1 #aaa2     facilitated1 #afj2
     in ,arabia1 #bbf2     unsociability
 7,essay ,,xvii471 #bci-beb2     in     
vans1 #bfa1 #bfb2     confusion of      
places1 #bia2     dispensing with       
luxury1 #cjj2     an untravelled man1   
#cja2     not cared for1 #cjb2     cheap
 conveyances1 #cjd2     books of1 #cje2 
,goldsmith's1 #cji4    ,trees1 and      
,radicals1 #bhb1 #bhc4    ,trinity1     
denial of1 #beg4    ,truth1 violations  
7,essay ,,xvi471 #bcb-bch4    ,tudor    
,family3 ,mary's reign1 #afd2           
criminality1 #afh2     ,mary's          
persecution1 #ahj4    ,turkey1 war with 
,russia1 #bgh4    ,turner1 ,joseph      
,mallord ,william1 aided by ,claude1    
#ac4    ,type-writers1 effect on        
correspondence1 #ccc4    ,tyranny3 of   
religion 7,essay ,,xii471 #afa-agd2     
meanest form1 #agb1 #agd2     of        
majorities1 #cih4     ,ulysses3 literary
 simile1 #bi2     ,bow of1 #cib4        

,understatement4 7,see ,untruth47       
,union of languages and peoples1        
#adh-aej4    ,unitarianism3 no ,european
 sovereign dare profess1 #afg1 #afh2    
difficulty with creeds1 #agb2           
ignorance about1 #beg4    ,united       
,states1 advantage of having the same   
language as ,england1 #aej4             
,universe1 univers1 #bgc-bge4           
,universities3 degrees1 #ia2     ,french
 and ,english1 #bge1 #bgf2     ,radical 
members1 #bhd4    ,untruth3 an          
,unrecognized ,form of 7,essay ,,xvi471 
#bcb-bch2     two methods in painting1  
#bcb2     exaggeration and diminution1  
#bcc2     self-misrepresentation1 #bcd2 
overstatement and understatement        
illustrated in travelling epithets1     
#bce2     dead mediocrity in            
conversation1 #bcf2     inadequacy1     
#bcg2     illustration1 #bch4           
,vanity3 national 7,essay ,,xix471      
#bfd-bgi passim2     taking offence1    
#bgi2     absence1 #cja4    ,vice3 of   
classes1 #abd1 #abe2     devilish1 #aie2

     part of ,bohemianism1 #bie1 #bif2  
of best society1 #big4    ,victoria1    
,queen3 quotation from her diary1 #ahf1 
#ahg2     her oldest son1 #che4         
,violin1 illustration1 #chi4            
,viollet-le-,duc1 anecdote1 #cfd4       
,virgil1 ,palmer's constant companion1  
#cac4     7,see ,latin47    ,virgin     
,mary1 her influence1 #agf4     7,see   
,eugnie1 etc47    ,virtue3 of classes1  
#abd1 #abe2     priestly adherence1     
#aie2     definition1 #bjh2             
,buffon's and ,littr's1 #baa4           
,visiting1 with rich and poor1 #aci-add4
    ,vitriol1 in letters1 #cga4         
,vituperation1 priestly1 #aid4          
,vivisection1 feminine dislike1 #ahj4   
,voltaire3 quotation about ,columbus1   
#bgd2     ,goldsmith's interview1 #cji4 
,vulpius1 ,christiane1 relations to     
,goethe1 #eb1 #ec4     ,wagner1         
,richard1 his ,tannhaser1 #chh4         
,wales1 ,prince of1 laborious           
amusements1 #che-chg4    ,warcopp1      
,robert1 in ,plumpton letters1 #cbc1    

#cca4    ,wars3 affected by study of    
languages1 #adh-aej1 #aea1 #afj2        
,eugnie's influence1 #agf2     divine   
connection1 #bae-bbd2     caused by     
national ignorance1 #bgg1 #bgh4         
,waterloo1 battle1 #aec4    ,wave1      
simile1 #bea4    ,wealth3 affecting     
fraternity1 #ff2     affecting domestic 
harmony1 #gg2     destroying friendship1
 #aad1 #aaf2     ,flux of 7,essay       
,,ix471 #aai-abi2     property variable1
 influence of changes1 #aai2     access 
of bachelors and the married to society1
 #abj2     instances of friendship      
affected by poverty1 #aba2     false    
friends1 #abb2     imprudent marriages1 
#abc2     middle-class instances of     
contentment1 #abd2     aid to           
refinement1 #abe2     dress1 #abf2      
cards1 and other forms of courtesy1     
superfluities1 #abg2     discipline of  
courtesy1 #abh2     rural manners in    
,france1 #abi2     ,differences 7,essay 
,x471 #acj-adg2     social precedence1  
#acj2     land-ownership1 #aca2         

trade1 #acb-acd2     nouveau riche and  
ancestry1 #ace2     titles1 #acf1 #acg2 
varied enjoyments1 #ach1 #aci2          
hospitality1 #adj-add2     ,english     
appreciation1 #add-adf2     undue       
deference1 #adf1 #adg2     overstatement
 and understatement1 #bcd2              
assumption1 #bdb2     plutocracy1 #bdf1 
#bdg2     ,american inequalities1 #bdh2 
genteel ignorance1 #beh-bfj2     two    
great advantages1 #big1 #bih2     small 
measure1 #bih2     connection with      
,philistinism and ,bohemianism1         
#bii-cad2     employs better agents1    
#cei1 #cfj2     connection with         
amusements1 #chc-dja4     7,see         
,poverty1 etc47    ,webb1 ,captain1 lost
 at ,niagara1 #bij4    ,weeds1          
illustration of ,radicalism1 #bhb4      
,weimar3 ,goethe's home1 #eb1 #eg2      
,duke of1 #eg4    ,wenderholme1         
,hamerton's story1 #cgh4    ,wesley1    
,john1 choice in religion1 #agc4        
7,see ,methodism47    ,westbrook1       
,harriett1 relation to ,shelley1 #df1   

#dg1 #ig4    ,westminster ,abbey1       
mistaken for another building1 #bia4    
,white1 ,richard ,grant1 story1 #bgg4   
,whist1 selfishness in1 #cig4           
,william1 emperor of ,germany1 table    
customs1 #ajc4    ,wine3 connection with
 hospitality1 #aja-ajc1 #aba2           
traders in considered superior1 #acc2   
ignorance about ,english use1 #bfh1     
#bfi1 #bgj2     port1 #bgc2             
concomitant of wealth1 #big1 #bih2      
simile1 #cfg4     7,see ,table1 etc47   
,wives3 a pitiful confession1 #da2      
,george ,eliot's position1 #de1 #df2    
relations to noted husbands1 #dg-fb2    
dread of a wife's kindred1 #gc2         
unions made by parents1 #id-ih2         
destroying friendship1 #aae1 #aaf2      
tired1 #add2     regard of ,napoleon    
,,iii41 #bbe2     old letters1 #cbb2    
gain from post-cards1 #cbi1 #ccj2       
privacy of letters1 #cej2               
,montaigne's letter1 #bea1 #beb4        
7,see ,marriage1 ,women1 etc47    ,wolf1
 priestly1 #bjc4    ,wolseley1 ,sir     

,garnet1 victory1 #bbb1 #bbc1 #bbi4     
,wood1 ,french use of1 #bgb4    ,women3 
friendship between two1 viii1 ix2       
absorption in one1 #cc2     beauty's    
attraction1 #cc1 #ch1 #ci2     passion  
long preserved1 #dj2     relations to   
certain noted men1 #dd-fb passim2       
sisterly jealousy1 #fe2     governed by 
sentiment1 #fi2     adding to home      
discomfort1 #ge1 #gf2     ,english      
incivility1 #ajf2     ,french incivility
 to ,english1 and defence1 #ajf2        
social acuteness1 #acj2     ,priests and
 ,women 7,essay ,,xiii471 #age-bjd2     
dislike of fixed rules1 #age2           
persuasive powers1 ruling society1 #agf2
     dependence1 advisers1 #agg2        
love1 #agh2     gentleness1 #agi2       
sympathy with persecution1 #ahj2        
harm of both frivolity and seriousness1 
#aha2     injustice of female sex1      
anxiety for sympathy1 #ahb2             
sensitiveness1 #ahc2     services       
desired at special times1 #ahd2         
motherhood1 #ahe2     consolation1 #ahf2

     sthetic nature1 #ahg2     fondness 
for show1 #ahh2     dress1 #ahi2        
churches1 #aij2     worship in music1   
#aia2     eloquence1 #aib2     eager for
 the right1 #aid2     obstinacy1 #aie2  
association in benevolence1 #aif2       
love of ceremony1 #aig2     festivals1  
#aih2     confidence in a clergyman1    
#aii2     marriage formerly disapproved1
 clergywomen1 #bjj2     relief in       
confession1 #bja1 #bjb2                 
gentlewomen's letters1 #bje1 #bjf2      
,french1 among strangers1 #bdb1 #bdc2   
want of analysis1 #bhj2     strong      
theological interest1 #cgg-chj2     old 
maids1 #cgi-chb2     gentlewomen1 #cha1 
#chb2     not interested in sporting    
talk1 #cii4     7,see ,marriage1 ,wives1
 etc47    ,word1 power of a1 #aah4      
,wordsworth3 indebtedness to the poor1  
#bb2     on ,nature's loyalty1 #cj2     
instance of his uncleanness1 #caa4      
,work1 softens solitude1 #ca1 #cb4      
,working-men4 7,see ,lower ,classes47   
,world1 possible enjoyment of1 #cjc4    

,worship3 word in wedding-service1 #fb2 
limited by locality1 #aga-agd2          
musical1 #aia2     expressions in       
letters1 #cba4    ,writing1 a new       
discovery supposed1 #ccf4    ,wryghame1 
message by1 #cbj4    ,wycherley1        
,william1 his ribaldry1 #aha4           
,yachting1 #beh1 #bei1 #bib1 #ceh4      
7,see ,boating47    ,york3 ,minster1    
#aij2     archbishop1 #bbb2     diocese1
 #bge4    ,yorkshire1 letter to1 #cbj4  
,youth3 contrasted with age1 #hg-hi2    
nonsense reproduced by ,shakspeare1 #hi2
     insult1 #ajg2     in friendship1   
#aaa1 #aab2     acceptance of kindness1 
#aag2     semblance caused by ignorance 
of a language1 #aea4     ,zeus1 a hunter
 compared to1 #cia4   ,,the ,,end4      
,university ,press3 ,john ,wilson  ,son1
 ,cambridge4     ,,footnotes3  #a ,an   
expression used to me by a learned      
,doctor of ,oxford4  #b ,the causes of  
this curious repulsion are inquired into
 elsewhere in this volume4  #c ,the     
exact degree of blame due to ,shelley is

 very difficult to determine4 ,he had   
nothing to do with the suicide1 though  
the separation was the first in a train 
of circumstances that led to it4 ,it    
seems clear that ,harriett did not      
desire the separation1 and clear also   
that she did nothing to assert her      
rights4 ,shelley ought not to have left 
her1 but he had not the patience to     
accept as permanent the consequences of 
a mistaken marriage4  #d ,lewes's ,life 
of ,goethe4  #e ,only a poet can write  
of his private sorrows4 ,in prose one   
cannot sing1--    ,a dirge for her1 the 
doubly dead1 in that she died so young4 
#f ,schuyler's ,peter the ,great4  #g   
,that valiant enemy of false            
pretensions1 ,mr4 ,punch1 has often done
 good service in throwing ridicule on   
unreal distinctions4 ,in ,punch's       
,almanack for #ahhb ,i find the         
following exquisite conversation beneath
 one of ,george ,du ,maurier's          
inimitable drawings3      ,grigsby4 ,do 
you know the ,joneses8      ,mrs4       

,brown4 ,no1 we--er--don't care to know 
,business people1 as a     rule1        
although my husband's in business2 but  
then he's in the ,coffee                
business1--and they're all ,,gentlemen  
in the ,coffee business1 you     know6  
,grigsby 7who always suits himself to   
his company74 ,really1 now6     ,why1   
that's more than can be said of the     
,army1 the ,navy1 the ,church1     the  
,bar1 or even the ,house of ,lords6 ,i  
don't wonder at your being     rather   
exclusive6  #h ,i am often amused by the
 indignant feelings of ,english         
journalists on this matter4 ,some       
,french newspaper calls an ,englishman a
 lord when he is not a lord1 and our    
journalists are amazed at the           
incorrigible ignorance of the ,french4  
,if ,englishmen cared as little about   
titles they would be equally ignorant1  
and two or three other things are to be 
said in defence of the ,french          
journalist that ,english critics never  
take into account4 ,they suppose that   

because ,gladstone is commonly called   
,mr4 a ,frenchman ought to know that he 
cannot be a lord4 ,that does not follow4
 ,in ,france a man may be called        
,monsieur and be a baron at the same    
time4 ,a ,frenchman may answer1 ,if     
,gladstone is not a lord1 why do you    
call him one8 ,english almanacs not only
 say that ,gladstone is a lord1 but that
 he is the very ,first ,lord of the     
,treasury4 ,again1 why am ,i not to     
speak of ,sir ,chamberlain8 ,i have seen
 a printed letter to him beginning with 
',sir1' which is plain evidence that    
your ',sir' is the equivalent of our    
,monsieur4 ,a ,frenchman is surely not  
to be severely blamed if he is not aware
 that the ,first ,lord of the ,treasury 
is not a lord at all1 and that a man who
 is called a ,sir inside every letter   
addressed to him has no right to that   
title on the envelope4  #i ,that of ,m4 
,lopold ,double4  #aj ,i need hardly say
 that this is not intended as a         
description of poor men's hospitality   

generally1 but only of the effects of   
poverty on hospitality in certain cases4
 ,the point of the contrast lies in the 
difference between this uncomfortable   
hospitality1 which a lover of pleasant  
human intercourse avoids1 with the easy 
and agreeable hospitality that the very 
same people would probably have offered 
if they had possessed the conveniences  
of wealth4  #aa ,italian1 to me1 seems  
,latin made natural4  #ab ,so far as the
 ,state and society generally are       
concerned2 but there are private        
situations in which even a member of the
 ,state ,church does not enjoy perfect  
religious liberty4 ,suppose the case 7,i
 am describing a real case7 of a lady   
left a widow and in poverty4 ,her       
relations are wealthy ,dissenters4 ,they
 offer to provide for her handsomely if 
she will renounce the ,church of        
,england and join their own sect4 ,does 
she enjoy religious liberty8 ,the answer
 depends upon the question whether she  
is able to earn her own living or not4  

,if she is1 she can secure religious    
freedom by incessant labor2 if she is   
unable to earn her living she will have 
no religious freedom1 although she      
belongs1 in conscience1 to the most     
powerful religion in the ,state4 ,in the
 case ,i am thinking of1 the lady had   
the honorable courage to open a little  
shop1 and so remained a member of the   
,church of ,england2 but her freedom was
 bought by labor and was therefore not  
the same thing as the best freedom1     
which is unembittered by sacrifice4  #ac
 ,the phrase adopted by ,court          
journalists in speaking of such a       
conversion is1 ,the ,princess has       
received instruction in the religion    
which she will adopt on her marriage1 or
 words to that effect1 just as if       
different and mutually hostile religions
 were not more contradictory of each    
other than sciences1 and as if a person 
could pass from one religion to another 
with no more twisting and wrenching of  
previous beliefs than he would incur in 

passing from botany to geology4  #ad    
,the word generally is inserted here    
because women do apparently sometimes   
enjoy the infliction of undeserved pain 
on other creatures4 ,they grace         
bull-fights with their presence1 and    
will see horses disembowelled with      
apparent satisfaction4 ,it may be       
doubted1 too1 whether the ,empress of   
,austria has any compassion for the     
sufferings of a fox4  #ae ,i have       
purposely omitted from the text another 
cause for feminine indifference to the  
work of persecutors1 but it may be      
mentioned incidentally4 ,at certain     
times those women whose influence on    
persons in authority might have been    
effectively employed in favor of the    
oppressed were too frivolous or even too
 licentious for their thoughts to turn  
themselves to any such serious matter4  
,this was the case in ,england under    
,charles ,,ii4 ,the contrast between the
 occupations of such women as these and 
the sufferings of an earnest man has    

been aptly presented by ,macaulay3--    
,the ribaldry of ,etherege and          
,wycherley was1 in the presence and     
under     the special sanction of the   
head of the ,church1 publicly recited by
     female lips in female ears1 while  
the author of the ',pilgrim's           
,progress' languished in a dungeon1 for 
the crime of proclaiming the     gospel 
to the poor4  ,this is deplorable       
enough2 but on the whole ,i do not think
 that the frivolity of light-minded     
women has been so harmful to noble      
causes as the readiness with which      
serious women place their immense       
influence at the service of constituted 
authorities1 however wrongfully those   
authorities may act4 ,ecclesiastical    
authorities especially may quietly count
 upon this kind of support1 and they    
always do so4  #af ,since this ,essay   
was written ,i have met with the        
following passage in ,her ,majesty's    
diary1 which so accurately describes the
 consolatory influence of clergymen1 and

 the natural desire of women for the    
consolation given by them1 that ,i      
cannot refrain from quoting it4 ,the    
,queen is speaking of her last interview
 with ,dr4 ,norman ,macleod3--      ,he 
dwelt then1 as always1 on the love and  
goodness of ,god1 and on his            
conviction that ,god would give us1 in  
another life1 the means to     perfect  
ourselves and to improve gradually4 ,no 
one ever felt so     convinced1 and so  
anxious as he to convince others1 that  
,god was a     loving ,father who wished
 all to come to ,him1 and to preach of a
 living     personal ,saviour1 ,one who 
loved us as a brother and a friend1 to  
whom     all could and should come with 
trust and confidence4 ,no one ever      
raised and strengthened one's faith more
 than ,dr4 ,macleod4 ,his own     faith 
was so strong1 his heart so large1 that 
all--high and low1 weak     and strong1 
the erring and the good--could alike    
find sympathy1 help1     and consolation
 from him4      ,how ,i loved to talk to

 him1 to ask his advice1 to speak to him
 of my     sorrows and anxieties4  ,a   
little farther on in the same diary ,her
 ,majesty speaks of ,dr4 ,macleod's     
beneficial influence upon another       
lady3--      ,he had likewise a         
marvellous power of winning people of   
all kinds1     and of sympathizing with 
the highest and with the humblest1 and  
of     soothing and comforting the sick1
 the dying1 the afflicted1 the          
erring1 and the doubting4 ,a friend of  
mine told me that if she were     in    
great trouble1 or sorrow1 or anxiety1   
,dr4 ,norman ,macleod was the     person
 she would wish to go to4  ,the two     
points to be noted in these extracts    
are3 first1 the faith in a loving ,god  
who cares for each of ,his creatures    
individually 7not acting only by general
 laws72 and1 secondly1 the way in which 
the woman goes to the clergyman 7whether
 in formal confession or confidential   
conversation7 to hear consolatory       
doctrine from his lips in application to

 her own personal needs4 ,the faith and 
the tendency are both so natural in     
women that they could only cease in     
consequence of the general and most     
improbable acceptance by women of the   
scientific doctrine that the ,eternal   
,energy is invariably regular in its    
operations and inexorable1 and that the 
priest has no clearer knowledge of its  
inscrutable nature than the layman4  #ag
 ,these quotations 7,i need hardly say7 
are from ,macaulay's ,history1 ,chapter 
,,iii4  #ah ,the difference of interest 
as regards people of rank may be seen by
 a comparison of ,french and ,english   
newspapers4 ,in an ,english paper1 even 
on the ,liberal side1 you constantly    
meet with little paragraphs informing   
you that one titled person has gone to  
stay with another titled person2 that   
some old titled lady is in poor health1 
or some young one going to be married2  
or that some gentleman of title has gone
 out in his yacht1 or entertained       
friends to shoot grouse1--the reason    

being that ,english people like to hear 
about persons of title1 however         
insignificant the news may be in itself4
 ,if paragraphs of the same kind were   
inserted in any serious ,french         
newspaper the subscribers would wonder  
how they got there1 and what possible   
interest for the public there could be  
in the movements of mediocrities1 who   
had nothing but titles to distinguish   
them4  #ai ,since this ,essay was       
written ,i have come upon a passage     
quoted from ,henry ,knyghton by         
,augustin ,thierry in his ,history of   
the ,norman ,conquest3--      ,it is not
 to be wondered at if the difference of 
nationality 7between     the ,norman and
 ,saxon races7 produces a difference of 
conditions1 or     that there should    
result from it an excessive distrust of 
natural     love2 and that the          
separateness of blood should produce a  
broken     confidence in mutual trust   
and affection4  ,now1 the question      
suggests itself1 whether the reason why 

,englishman shuns ,englishman to-day may
 not be traceable1 ultimately1 to the   
state of feeling described by ,knyghton 
as a result of the ,norman ,conquest4   
,we must remember that the avoidance of 
,english by ,english is quite peculiar  
to us2 no other race exhibits the same  
peculiarity4 ,it is therefore probably  
due to some very exceptional fact in    
,english history4 ,the ,norman ,conquest
 was exactly the exceptional fact we are
 in search of4 ,the results of it may be
 traceable as follows3--  #a4 ,norman   
and ,saxon shun each other4  #b4 ,norman
 has become aristocrat4  #c4 ,would-be  
aristocrat 7present representative of   
,norman7 shuns possible plebeian        
7present representative of ,saxon74  #bj
 ,it so happens that ,i am writing this 
,essay in a rough wooden hut of my own1 
which is in reality a most comfortable  
little building1 though stuffy luxury is
 rigorously excluded4  #ba ,at present  
it is most inadequately represented by a
 few unimportant gifts4 ,the donors have

 desired to break the rule of exclusion1
 and have succeeded so far1 but that is 
all4  #bb ,these1 of course1 are only   
examples of vulgar patriotic ignorance4 
,a few ,frenchmen who have really seen  
what is best in ,english landscape are  
delighted with it2 but the common       
impression about ,england is that it is 
an ugly country covered with usines1 and
 on which the sun never shines4  #bc    
,the ,french word univers has three or  
four distinct senses4 ,it may mean all  
that exists1 or it may mean the solar   
system1 or it may mean the earth's      
surface1 in whole or in part4 ,voltaire 
said that ,columbus1 by simply looking  
at a map of our univers1 had guessed    
that there must be another1 that is1 the
 western hemisphere4 ,paris est la plus 
belle ville de l'univers means simply   
that ,paris is the most beautiful city  
in the world4  #bd ,a ,french critic    
recently observed that his countrymen   
knew little of the tragedy of ,macbeth  
except the familiar line ,to be or not  

to be1 that is the question6  #be ,i    
never make a statement of this kind     
without remembering instances1 even when
 it does not seem worth while to mention
 them particularly4 ,it is not of much  
use to quote what one has heard in      
conversation1 but here are two instances
 in print4 ,reclus1 the ,french         
geographer1 in ,la ,terre  ,vol         
d',oiseau1 gives a woodcut of the       
,houses of ,parliament and calls it     
,l',abbaye de ,westminster4 ,the same   
error has even occurred in a ,french art
 periodical4  #bf ,rodolphe1 in         
,l',honneur et l',argent4  #bg ,in the  
library at ,towneley ,hall in           
,lancashire4  #bh ,in ,prosper ,mrime's 
,correspondence he gives the following  
as the authentic text of the letter in  
which ,lady ,florence ,paget announced  
her elopement with the last ,marquis of 
,hastings to her father3--      ,dear   
,pa1 as ,i knew you would never consent 
to my marriage with ,lord     ,hastings1
 ,i was wedded to him to-day4 ,i remain 

yours1 etc4  #bi ,for those who take an 
interest in such matters ,i may say that
 the last representative of the         
,plumptons died in ,france unmarried in 
#agdi1 and ,plumpton ,hall was          
barbarously pulled down by its          
purchaser1 an ancestor of the present   
,earls of ,harewood4 ,the history of the
 family is very interesting1 and the    
more so to me that it twice intermarried
 with my own4 ,dorothy ,plumpton was a  
niece of the first ,sir ,stephen        
,hamerton4  #cj ,sir ,walter ,scott had 
sympathy enough with the courtesy of old
 time to note its minuti very closely3--
      ,after inspecting the cavalry1    
,sir ,everard again conducted his nephew
     to the library1 where he produced a
 letter1 carefully folded1              
surrounded by a little stripe of        
flox-silk1 according to ancient         
form1 and sealed with an accurate       
impression of the ,waverley             
coat-of-arms4 ,it was addressed1 with   
great formality1 ',to ,cosmo     ,comyne

 ,bradwardine1 ,esq41 of ,bradwardine1  
at his principal mansion of             
,tully-,veolan1 in ,perthshire1 ,north  
,britain4 ,these--by the hands of       
,captain ,edward ,waverley1 nephew of   
,sir ,everard ,waverley1 of             
,waverley-,honour1 ,bart4'--,waverley1  
chap4 vi4  ,i had not this passage in   
mind when writing the text of this      
,essay1 but the reader will notice how  
closely it confirms what ,i have said   
about deliberation and care to secure a 
fair impression of the seal4  #ca ,a    
very odd but very real objection to the 
employment of these missives is that the
 receiver does not always know how to   
open them1 and may burn them unread4 ,i 
remember sending a short letter in this 
shape from ,france to an ,english lady4 
,she destroyed my letter without opening
 it2 and ,i got for answer that if it   
was a ,french custom to send blank      
post-cards she did not know what could  
be the signification of it4 ,such was   
the result of a well-meant attempt to   

avoid the non-courteous post-card6  #cb 
,besides which1 in the case of a ,french
 friend1 you are sure to have notice of 
such events by printed lettres de faire 
part4  #cc ,i need hardly say that there
 has been immense improvement in this   
respect1 and that such descriptions have
 no application to the ,lancashire of   
to-day2 indeed1 they were never true1 in
 that extreme degree1 of ,lancashire    
generally1 but only of certain small    
localities which were at one time like  
spots of local disease on a generally   
vigorous body4  #cd ,littr derives corve
 from the ,low-,latin corrogata1 from   
the ,latin cum and rogare4