To Thomas Archer Hirst1

My Dear Tom

Were I your sweetheart I should begin to call you faithless, and if I refrain from doing so it is a proof of my faith, a faith which refuses to measure you by the accomplishments of your steelnib. are you dead my boy or dumb? I have incurred the displeasure of a kind friend of mine here (Prof. Waitz2) purely on account of my unorthodoxy as regards the paying of visits – what would he think of you – I doubt not his philosophic brain would discover some special purgatory where you and similar transgressors must one day luxuriate on fire and brimstone.

So Emerson has given out his Representative Men.3 I have read snatches of these lectures here and there: they appear to be excellent. but Emerson that is is somewhat different from Emerson that was – his writings have latterly approached what the Germans call the objective. Shakespeare is the best specimen of this style, and Goethe next; in these writings you cannot discover the predilection or bias of the writers – their individuality is totally merged in their office of reporters to nature. they are mirrors reflecting back what they see without increase or diminution, and permitting their own feelings (the subjective) to impart no shade or coloring to the picture. True such men are not without their deep convictions as may be gathered from an occasional burst now and then, as in Emerson when he says of Napoleon ‘It was the nature of things, the eternal law of man and the world that ruined him’4 this objective way of thinking appears to me to be higher and happier than the subjective, tho’ in comparison with the latter it may appear cold and unenthusiastic. It is more like a natural force accomplishing the sublimest ends without apparent effort. I have watched between times the transition from the subjective to the objective in my own individual case. The last 6 months have taught me a good deal in this respect – for some time I struggled against it, loving my former self as fondly as a tory loves an old institution; I often exclaimed in spirit ‘how can I give thee up Ephraim!’5 but in truth Ephraim is not given up at all – he was the substratum of something else which in its turn will doubtless become a substratum also.

What has Carlyle been doing lately – he has written a pamphlet on the times?6 I have read a half and half, apologetic article on the subject in the Truth Seeker,7 and turned with great pleasure from the writers remarks to his extracts. They appear to me to need no apology – They appear to me to be the full free utterance of a brave soul, By Heaven I should die of inanity in this world of fustian8 were I not aroused by such voices now and then! – But you have read that article from Caliban;9 Caliban one would gather is the writer of both articles, but if so, Caliban here is not Caliban there – he wrote the review after dinner10 – I have not read a more refreshing scrap for some time than that 1st letter of his11 – I shook my ribs with laughter to see myself so exquisitely pictured, and my eye glistened as the boy’s intuition predicted – it is ludicrous in the extreme, but I felt an irresistible desire to throttle Caliban when done and maul him soundly out of pure love. Es Kann vielleicht [mit] meiner Irlandischen Natur zusammenhangen.12

Early in July I expect to be in England. I have just finished a solid piece of work Tom which will appear in the Philosophic Magazine for June.13 A short memoir has already appeared in the March number.14 I have lately sent, at his request, a statement of qualifications, accompanied by testimonials to the Government Inspector of Railways;15 and hope by his agency to creep into some berth where I may have an opportunity of following up my studies. my last investigation has been of infinite value to me, nature has stood here and there at the gaps and corners of the enquiry pointing in this direction and in that, and seeming to smile down upon me the promise ‘I will reward you my son if you persevere’ to speak plainly I see a rich unexplored field before me and my object now is to fix myself in a position to cultivate it. Mr Edmondson has written to me to know when I will return,16 and whether I am engaged. If I can avoid it, however, I will not go to Queenwood.17

RI MS JT/1/T/893

[18 April12 May 1850]: this letter was enclosed with letter 0401, and written at least a week earlier. Hirst wrote ‘May – 1850’ on the outside, indicating when he received both. We are not sure about the date of writing, but believe it to be late April. Tyndall’s complaints about Hirst’s not using his steelnib (writing utensil) suggest that he had not recently received any letter, placing this letter before 23 April when 0398 should have reached Marburg. Allusions to Carlyle and Emerson read like replies to 0398, putting this after 23 April, though the discussion could reflect Tyndall’s and Hirst’s ongoing common interest in the authors.

Prof. Waitz: Theodor Waitz (1821–64), professor of philosophy at Marburg, usually described as a psychologist and anthropologist. He became unhappy with Tyndall for his failure to attend his psychology lectures (Journal, 15 March 1850 (JT/2/13b/480)).

Representative Men: cited letter 0398, n. 30.

‘It was … ruined him.’: from ‘Napoleon; or; The Man of the World’ in Emerson, Representative Men (ibid), p. 252.

‘how can I give thee up Ephraim!’: Hosea 11:8, ‘How shall I give thee up, Ephraim?’

Pamphlet on the times: Tyndall probably referred to the first of Carlyle’s Pamphlets (see letter 0398, n. 20).

a half and half …Truth Seeker: an article on Carlyle written by Hirst under the pseudonym ‘N.E.P.’ in Truth Seeker, 2 (1850), pp. 101–5 (see also letter 0398, n. 21). Here Tyndall believed this article, along with another, to have been written by ‘Caliban’ and only later realized that it was written by Hirst. In letter 0404, Hirst confirmed his authorship.

fustian: inflated, turgid, or inappropriately lofty language (OED).

that article by Caliban: see n. 7. Tyndall recorded reading the article in his journal entry for 18 April 1850: ‘Received some Truth Seekers. In one is an article from Caliban on Carlyle. The fellow riddled me out bodily before my own eyes’ (JT/2/13b/486).

he wrote the review after dinner: see n. 7. Tyndall was indicating the change in tone between the two articles.

1st. letter of his: Caliban’s article.

Es Kann vielleicht … zusammenhangen: ‘It can perhaps have something do with my Irish nature’ (German).

a solid piece ... for June: cited letter 0403, n. 2.

A short memoir … march number: cited letter 0395, n. 22.

a statement of qualifications, … Inspector of Railways: the Government Inspector of Railways was Captain George Wynne, Tyndall’s mentor and patron, whom he had asked for employment advice and assistance.

when I will return: Edmondson hoped that Tyndall would return to Queenwood, where he had taught in the year 1847–8 before going to Germany

Queenwood: letter ends abruptly without closing. Tyndall broke off and continued in letter 0401, as that letter explains.

Please cite as “Tyndall0400,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 28 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0400