Anthony Trollope to GHL, Waltham Cross, 24 December 1864
Title
Anthony Trollope to GHL, Waltham Cross, 24 December 1864
Title
Anthony Trollope to GHL, Waltham Cross, 24 December 1864
Sender
Anthony Trollope
Recipient
George Henry Lewes
Date(s)
- 1864-12-24
Place
Waltham Cross
Letter Content
Anthony Trollope to GHL, Waltham Cross, 24 December 1864
MS: Yale. Published: The Letters of Anthony Trollope, ed. B. A. Booth, 1951, pp. 160-161.
Waltham House, | Waltham Cross.
4 December 1864.
My dear Lewes.
I cannot deny that I am disappointed and grieved by your letter; but you are not to suppose that I shall either find fault with you or argue with you. I know well how these things go, and do not think that a man is open to censure because he changes his views. 631 I am not one of those who suppose that a mans mind should be subject to no hestitations, -- to no vacillating influences. Men who are strong enough never to be so subject are distasteful to me. Haud ignarus dubitationis, dubitantibus succurrere disco. 632 So much I say, to quell any fear that you may have that I should condemn you, -- believing that you would not willingly be condemned by one who regards you as well as I do.
But having said this I must go on to declare that I greatly regret your defection. I have felt the necessity of the aid of some one who would know what he was about in arranging the work of such a venture as we propose; and I have also felt, -- more strongly perhaps than I can explain to you, -- that to make the affairs comfortable to myself the person selected for the above described purpose should be one with whom I could hold close friendly intercourse. I do not care to put myself at the beck of any one whom I do not know, or whom, when known, I may not like.
I would recommend you, for your own sake, to come to the meeting on Thursday. It would, I think, be better that you should state your own withdrawal, than that I should do so for you. As to that, however, you can make up your mind and let me know your intention.
Yours always faithfully
Anthony Trollope.
Give all kind remembrances of the season to your wife. I feel that I ought to congratulate her upon your decision.
MS: Yale. Published: The Letters of Anthony Trollope, ed. B. A. Booth, 1951, pp. 160-161.
Waltham House, | Waltham Cross.
4 December 1864.
My dear Lewes.
I cannot deny that I am disappointed and grieved by your letter; but you are not to suppose that I shall either find fault with you or argue with you. I know well how these things go, and do not think that a man is open to censure because he changes his views. 631 I am not one of those who suppose that a mans mind should be subject to no hestitations, -- to no vacillating influences. Men who are strong enough never to be so subject are distasteful to me. Haud ignarus dubitationis, dubitantibus succurrere disco. 632 So much I say, to quell any fear that you may have that I should condemn you, -- believing that you would not willingly be condemned by one who regards you as well as I do.
But having said this I must go on to declare that I greatly regret your defection. I have felt the necessity of the aid of some one who would know what he was about in arranging the work of such a venture as we propose; and I have also felt, -- more strongly perhaps than I can explain to you, -- that to make the affairs comfortable to myself the person selected for the above described purpose should be one with whom I could hold close friendly intercourse. I do not care to put myself at the beck of any one whom I do not know, or whom, when known, I may not like.
I would recommend you, for your own sake, to come to the meeting on Thursday. It would, I think, be better that you should state your own withdrawal, than that I should do so for you. As to that, however, you can make up your mind and let me know your intention.
Yours always faithfully
Anthony Trollope.
Give all kind remembrances of the season to your wife. I feel that I ought to congratulate her upon your decision.
Signature
Anthony Trollope.
Citation
Anthony Trollope, Anthony Trollope to GHL, Waltham Cross, 24 December 1864, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/91717