WCP5731

Published letter (WCP5731.6591)

[1] [p. 177]

TO MR. H. JAMYN BROOKE1

Old Orchard, Broadstone, Wimborne.2 December 2, 1910.

Dear Sir, — Your "monistic" system3 is to me a system of mere contradictory words. You begin with three things — then you say they are correlated with one substance — co-extensive with the universe. This you cannot possibly know, and it is about as intelligible and as likely to be true as the Athanasian Creed!4 — Yours truly, | ALFRED R. WALLACE.

1
Brooks, Henry Jamyn. The most well-known Henry Jamyn Brooks (ARW misspelt the name of the writer of 'The Elements of Mind') is the portrait artist. The recipient of this letter, however, is probably a different individual.
2
Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset. ARW lived here from 1902 until his death in 1913. Beccaloni, G. W. 2008. Wallace timeline. The Alfred Russel Wallace Website. <http://wallacefund.info/wallace-timeline> [accessed 29 March 2019]
3
Brooks, H. Jamyn 1902. The Elements of Mind; Being an Examination Into the Nature of the First Division of the Elementary Substances of Life. New York and Bombay: Longmans, Green & Co. The book was reviewed in The Monist. µ 1902. Book Review. The Elements of Mind; Being an Examination Into the Nature of the First Division of the Elementary Substances of Life. By H. Jamyn Brooks. The Monist, Vol. 13, No. 1 (October 1902). [pp. 153-154]
4
The Athanasian Creed is a Christian document dealing with the Trinity and the Incarnation. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2007. The Athanasian Creed. Encyclopaedia Britannica. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Athanasian-Creed> [accessed 27 March 2019]

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP5731.6591)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Ghosh, Susan [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP5731,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP5731