Written at Railway speed – | May 29th 1847.
My Dear Tom
En passant1 as the French say I may observe, that the frigid ‘dear Sir’ is unnecessary when you write to me – my name is Tyndall – I have about 10 minutes to respond to your epistle it is now twilight and candles are scarce here – Richardson informed me of his victory. I was sincerely glad to learn that Mr Carter settled it without resorting to extremities – I will look sharply after my compatriots in Ferguson Street2 when I return – I am astonished and confounded – and am almost disposed to chime in with the thread-bare cry of the depravity of human nature –
Geology is a most interesting study, but a hammer and chisel and a bona fide ramble amid crags and quarries are indispensable to a thorough knowledge of it – Hall must read Past and present3 once more – to deduce Carlyle’s ideas of religion from the work is impossible – he purposely avoids touching upon religious theories, and insists on the general principles of earnestness of soul and energy of action – Your question regarding Bulwers statements4 is by no means foolish – It gratifies me much to find that you dont allow such passages to slip through your intellect like sand through an hour glass – The subject is purely speculative, and I have for some time shut my eyes against such matters comforting myself with the sentiment of Saint Paul5 ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’6 your opinion of the happiness of heaven seems to be that it is infinite – tested by this Bulwers theory falls – but Bulwer will grant you no such postulate – his idea of happiness has a relation to man’s capability for enjoying it – take for instance the happiness of sense – many animals have but one or two senses – gratify these to their utmost power of enjoyment and you make the animal perfectly happy; but the gratification of these two senses would not be perfect happiness to an animal possessing five senses such as man – If we apply the illustration to the immaterial world we can readily conceive a capacity for enjoyment increasing ad infinitum as if sense after sense were added still supposing the being in each stage of its existence to be perfectly happy, that is enjoying happiness to the full extent of his power of enjoying it – this I think was Bulwers idea and certainly it accords with my views more nearly than the heavenly Chartism7 which you seem to advocate – you are a leveller and would contract the enjoyments of a Newton in the world of spirits to the span of Cowper’s8 peasant9
‘Who knew and knew more her bible true
A truth the brilliant Frenchman10 never knew’11
I write hastily and may therefore be obscure but I know I write to a man who can brush away a cloud –
I’m not a fellow who would deliberately catch a bull by the horns – I shall most certainly avoid a collision with that Skircoat gentleman12 – if he be all you describe him I shall be happy to be permitted to call him ‘friend’. Good bye my dear Tom
& believe me | Most sincerely yours, Tyndall
Kindest regards to your mother13 and brother14 – present my sincere thanks in return for their kind wishes | J.T.
RI MS JT/1/HTYP/1
RI MS JT/1/T/510
En passant: in passing (French).
compatriots in Ferguson Street: Ferguson Street was the location of Mr and Mrs Wright’s boarding house in Halifax, where Tyndall lodged.
must read Past and present: T. Carlyle, Past and Present (London: Chapman and Hall, Ld., 1843).
question regarding Bulwer’s statement: possibly a reference to the writings of Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-73), an English writer and politician (ODNB). Bulwer-Lytton was the author of several novels, including Paul Clifford (1830), which famously began ‘It was a dark and stormy night’. It is unclear which of Bulwer’s works Tyndall might be referring to.
Saint Paul: also called the Apostle Paul, to whom fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are attributed.
‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’: Genesis 18:25. Tyndall was mistaken when he referred to this quote as a statement from the writings of St Paul.
the heavenly Chartism: Chartism was a national British movement in support of the People’s Charter of 1838. It was highly active from 1838-48. The People’s Charter, whose proponents became known as Chartists, demanded democratic reform of the political system but had been rejected by Parliament.
Cowper’s: William Cowper (1731-1800), English poet and hymn-writer (ODNB).
Cowper’s peasant: William Cowper’s poem ‘Truth’ focuses on a female peasant.
the brilliant Frenchman: a reference to Voltaire; Cowper’s poem compares Voltaire to an English peasant.
‘Who knew...never knew’: W. Cowper, ‘Truth’, 327-8: ‘Just knows, and knows no more, her Bible true – | A truth the brilliant Frenchman never knew’.
that Skircoat gentleman: not identified; possibly someone from the Skircoat Green district of Calderdale, near Halifax.
regards to your mother: Hannah Oates Hirst.
regards to your … brother: Thomas Hirst had three living elder brothers (ODNB); it is unclear which brother Tyndall was referring to in this letter.
Please cite as “Tyndall0329,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0329