Ɛpsilon

WCP2544

Letter (WCP2544.2434)

[1]1

[1866?]2

My dear Wallace

Many thanks for your book.3 I am neither shocked nor disposed to issue a commission of lunacy against you[.]

It may be all true for anything I know to the contrary [2] but I really cannot get up any interest in the subject.

I never cared for gossip in my life; and disembodied gossip such as these worthy ghosts supply their friends with, is not more interesting to me [3] than any other.

As for investigating the matter — I have half a dozen investigations of infinitely greater interest to me — to which any spare time I may have will be devoted.

I give it up for the same reason I abstain from [4] chess — it's too amusing to be fair work and too hard work to be amusing.

Ever yours faithfully | T. H. Huxley4 [signature]

[illeg.]

Novr 27th 1866

1
In ARW’s handwriting “Miracles ‘Scientific Aspects’.”
2
In pencil by unknown hand, “1866? Before 1 Dec. 1866”.
3
Wallace, A. R. 1866. The scientific aspect of the supernatural. London: F. Farrah.
4
Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895). British biologist and author, known as "Darwin's Bulldog".

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP2544.2434)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Lester, Ahren [2014-04-07] Transcription checked by Lucas, Paula [2020-03-19] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Published letter (WCP2544.7673)

[1] [p. 187]

[? November, 1866.]

Dear Wallace,— I am neither shocked nor disposed to issue a Commission of Lunacy against you. It may be all true, for anything I know to the contrary, but really I cannot get up any interest in the subject. I never cared for gossip in my life, and disembodied gossip, such as these worthy ghosts supply their friends with, is not more interesting to me than any other. As for investigating the matter, I have half-a-dozen investigations of infinitely greater interest to me to which any spare time I may have will be devoted. I give it up for the same reason I abstain [2] [p. 188] from chess— it's too amusing to be fair work, and too hard work to be amusing.— Yours faithfully, T. H. HUXLEY1

1
Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895). British biologist and author, known as "Darwin's Bulldog".

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP2544.7673)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Abouhawas, Abid [2020-06-09] Transcription checked by Siewert, Betsy [2020-10-30]

Please cite as “WCP2544,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2544