GE to Charles Bray, London, 6 February [1854]
Title
GE to Charles Bray, London, 6 February [1854]
Title
GE to Charles Bray, London, 6 February [1854]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Charles Bray
Date(s)
- 1854-02-06
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Charles Bray, London, 6 February [1854]
MS: Yale. Extracts published: Cross, I, 320.
Cambridge Street | February 6.
Dear Friend
In the last number of the Scotsman which I send you, there was a report of a speech by Dr. Guthrie at the Education Meeting, containing a passage which I meant to have copied. He is speaking of the impossibility of teaching morality with the "Bible shut" and says that in that case the teacher would be obliged to resort to "congruity and the fitness of things," about which the boy knows nothing more than that the apple is fit for his mouth. What is wanted to convince the boy of his sin is "Thou, God, seest me" and "Thou bleeding Lamb, the best morality is love of thee"!! This is too good to be lost. I want it to go into the Leader, 434 and I write to beg of you -- I know it is troublesome, but, as Mr. Chapman says, "the cause demands it not I" -- to send me this passage either cut out of the paper or copied.
Tell Cara she is pronounced to be quite wrong about Miss Martineau's rendering of Comte. Herbert Spencer, who never praises but upon compulsion and who has no knowledge of the original to help him, 435 says that it appears to him perfectly lucid, and that the difficulty lies in the matter, not in the form.
Mr. Lewes came a few minutes after you left, and desired me to tell you that he was sorry to miss you. With love to Cara,
Ever yours affectionately
Marian Evans.
MS: Yale. Extracts published: Cross, I, 320.
Cambridge Street | February 6.
Dear Friend
In the last number of the Scotsman which I send you, there was a report of a speech by Dr. Guthrie at the Education Meeting, containing a passage which I meant to have copied. He is speaking of the impossibility of teaching morality with the "Bible shut" and says that in that case the teacher would be obliged to resort to "congruity and the fitness of things," about which the boy knows nothing more than that the apple is fit for his mouth. What is wanted to convince the boy of his sin is "Thou, God, seest me" and "Thou bleeding Lamb, the best morality is love of thee"!! This is too good to be lost. I want it to go into the Leader, 434 and I write to beg of you -- I know it is troublesome, but, as Mr. Chapman says, "the cause demands it not I" -- to send me this passage either cut out of the paper or copied.
Tell Cara she is pronounced to be quite wrong about Miss Martineau's rendering of Comte. Herbert Spencer, who never praises but upon compulsion and who has no knowledge of the original to help him, 435 says that it appears to him perfectly lucid, and that the difficulty lies in the matter, not in the form.
Mr. Lewes came a few minutes after you left, and desired me to tell you that he was sorry to miss you. With love to Cara,
Ever yours affectionately
Marian Evans.
Signature
Marian Evans.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Charles Bray, London, 6 February [1854], 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/92150