Faraday to Capel Henry Berger1   9 July 1864

The Green | Hampton Court | 9 July 1864

Sir

I must ask you to accept the answer which I gave on the former occasion2. I have already made my declaration in print as well as in the Theatre of the Royal Institution3 and I do not desire to change my position. I am glad to see the names of so many who are to a certain degree like minded but I feel that to sign the declaration would be to me an alteration of and weakening my own position as it now stands[.]

I am Sir | Your Very faithful Servant | M. Faraday

Capel H. Berger Esqr | &c &c &c

1
Capel Henry Berger (1839–1868, J.Chem.Soc., 1869, 22: iv-v). Chemist and paint maker.
2
This refers to the ‘Declaration of the Students of the Natural Sciences’ which argued that in the final analysis no difference would be found between the Bible and scientific knowledge. The Declaration was propagated by a group based at the Royal College of Chemistry, including Berger, who wanted as many scientific men as possible to sign; see Gay (2007). Another of the group, the Assistant Chemist at the College, 1860–1871, Herbert McLeod (1841–1923, ODNB), had visited Faraday on 15 April 1864 asking for his signature, but had received the same answer as here. McLeod, Dairy, entry for 15 April 1864.
3
Faraday (1854b).

Bibliography

FARADAY, Michael (1854b): Observations on Mental Education, London.

Please cite as “Faraday4478,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday4478