Culture: A Dialogue, within The Fortnightly Review, vol. 8, issue 11

Culture: A Dialogue, within The Fortnightly Review, vol. 8, issue 11

Harrison, Frederic

London: Virtue & Co., 1867. The Fortnightly Review, vol. 8, issue 11, 1867-11-01. pp. 603-14

Internet Archive

1867

George Eliot to Frederic Harrison, 7 November 1867. “I suppose it is rather superfluous for me as one of the public, to thank you for your article in the Fortnightly. But "le superflu" in the matter of expression is "chose si nécessaire" to us women. It seems to me that you have said the serious things most needful to be said in a good humoured way, easy for everybody to read. I have not been able to find Matthew Arnold's article again, but I remember enough of it to appreciate the force of your criticism. Only in one point I am unable to see as you do. I don't know how far my impressions have been warped by reading German, but I have regarded the word "culture" as a verbal equivalent for the highest mental result of past and present influences. Dictionary meanings are liable rapidly to fall short of usage. But I am not maintaining an opinion -- only stating an impression.” GEL 4: 395

Harrison, Frederic, Culture: A Dialogue, within The Fortnightly Review, vol. 8, issue 11, George Eliot's Reading, George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/57739

https://georgeeliotarchive.org/files/original/ed089f8f4b6b97e48a964d2bda2ba7df.pdf