Pise 10 octobre 1856
Mon cher Monsieur,
J’avais bien appris à mon grand regret par le Genal. Sabine votre voyage en Suisse presque en même temps que nous; ce qui m’a faire penser lorsque les savants font des voyages de plaisir pendant les vacances ils devraient bien faire connaitre d’avance aux amis, leur itineraire. Je n’ai pas beaucoup vu, ni medité cette fois sur les glaciers: ce que me frappe le plus maintenant dans ce grand et obscure phenomène de Physique terrestre, c’est le mouvement de masse de tout un glacier, depuis son commencement a sa fin au milieu de tant de tortuosités et de variations de la section et de la forme du lit. Cela ferait bien penser que Forbes à raison et l’état de la glace des glaciers qui est je crois imbibée d’eau pourrait bien se concilier avec le principe fondamental de sa theorie. Je lirai avec grand plaisir votre mémoire sur ce sujet.
Je viens d’achever mon Cours d’Electro Physiologie qui est ainsi la nouvelle Edition depuis si longtemps annoncée du Traité des Phenomènes Electrophysiologiques. J’avais désiré beaucoup une occasion pour rendre justice aux travaux de M. du Bois Reymond et je remercie la Providence de me l’avoir accordée, tout en faisant un ouvrage qui est plein de nouvelles expériences coordonnées entre elles. J’espère que vous recevez régulierement à la Royal Institution le Nuovo Cimento: ce Cours se compose de cinq longues Leçons qui ont parues successivement dans ce journal. Je serais bien content de pouvoir vous envoyer des Extraits des parties nouvelles rédigés en français pour le Philosophical Magazine; mais absolument je n’ai, du moins dans le moment, ni le temps ni la patience pour cela. D’ailleurs ce cours doit paraitre traduit en français en 1857. Quant aux Memoires sur le disque tournant d’Arago je crois qu’il est impossible d’en donner une analyse ou d’en faire un Extrait. C’est un memoire complet dont la traduction dans les Annales de Phys. et de Chim. Doit paraitre dans le cahier de Novembre ou de Decembre prochain; je suis maintenant comme je vous le disais, sur le diamagnétisme, et j’espere bien que si nous ne tombons pas d’accord sur les conclusions, celà n’empecherà pas à tous les deux de continuer a y travailler sans troubler nos rapports d’amitié auxquels j’attache une grande importance.
Veuillez me rappeler aux bons souvenirs de M. Faraday /et M. Sabine /2 et me croire avec estime et attachement. | C.Matteucci
P.S. J’ai demandé un appareil semblable au vôtre a M. Leyser de Leipsik. Auriez-vous la bonté de lui écrire et de l’envoyer aussi parfait que possible et dans le moindre delai possible?3
Pisa 10th October 1856.
My dear Sir,
I had indeed learnt from Genal Sabine to my greatest regret that your trip to Switzerland was almost at the same time as ours; it made me think that when scientists take leisure trips during the holidays, they ought to let their friends know in advance of their itinerary. I have neither seen much, nor thought much about glaciers:4 now what strikes me the most about this grand and obscure phenomenon of terrestrial physics is the mass movement of an entire glacier, from its origin to its end amidst so many tortuosities and variations of the section and the shape of the bedrock. It seems to me that Forbes could be right and that the condition of ice in the glaciers, which is, I believe drenched in water,5 could well be reconciled with the fundamental principle of his theory. I will read with much pleasure your memoir on this subject.6
I have just finished my ‘Course on Electro-Physiology’ which thereby forms the new edition of the long announced Treatise on Electro-Physiological’ phenomena.7 I had much desired an opportunity to do justice to Mr DuBois Reymond’s work and thank Providence for allowing me to do so while publishing a work that is full of new experiments, coordinated together. I hope that you regularly receive Nuovo Cimento at the Royal Institution:8 this Course is composed of five long lectures that were published in this journal9 one after the other. I would be very happy to be able to send you excerpts of the new parts written in French for the Philosophical Magazine; but by all means I have not, at least not at the moment, the time nor the patience for this. Also this Course will be published in French in 1857.10 As for my memoir on Arago’s turning disk,11 I believe it is impossible to give an analysis of it or to summarize it. It is a complete memoir from which the translation in the Annales de Phys. et de Chim. must be published in the issue of the next November or next December; I am now, like I told you, working on diamagnetism, and I hope that if we end up disagreeing about the conclusions, this will not prevent the two of us from continuing to work on it without troubling our friendly relationship on which I attach much value.
Would you mind remembering me to Mr Faraday and Mr Sabine and receive my sincere esteem and affection. | C.Matteucci
P.S. I have asked for a device similar to yours from M. Leyser in Leipzig.12 Would you have the kindness to write to him and send it to me as perfect as possible and as soon as possible?
RI MS JT/1/M/60
The letter is not in Matteucci’s handwriting, but in his wife’s or a secretary’s hand. The postscript and signature are, however, in Matteucci’s usual scrawl.
et de M. Sabine: interpolation in Matteucci’s hand.
P.S: J’ai demandé…delai possible: This postscript is in Matteucci’s handwriting.
thought much about glaciers: This might also be translated as ‘meditated while on the glaciers’, an image reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s painting, ‘Wanderer above the sea of mist’ (1818).
drenched in water: or, ‘full of water’.
your memoir on the subject: presumably Matteucci means a paper on glaciers that Tyndall was yet to write.
Treatise on Electro-Physiological phenomena: Matteucci was referring to his just–completed lectures at the University of Pisa: Lezioni di Electrofisiologia (Torino: Paravia, 1856), and to his later work Corso di Electrofisiogia in sei Lezioni (Torino: Castellano e Vercellino, 1861).
at the Royal Institution: see letter 1123, n.3.
published in this journal: The Pisan lectures cited in note 6 also appeared in Nuovo Cimento, 3 (1856), pp. 359–85; and 4 (1856), pp. 5–34, 177–92.
French in 1857: C. Matteucci, Cours de Électro-physiologie (Paris: Mallet-Bachelier, 1858).
Arago’s turning disk: See letter 1277, n. 13.
M. Leyser of Leipzig: Georg Leyser, the University of Leipzig’s instrument maker. See letter 1139, n. 2.
Please cite as “Tyndall1286,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on