The Letters of William James, Vol. 2James, William
Philosophy
The Letters of William James, Vol. 2
James, William
Intellectuals -- United States; James, William, 1842-1910; Philosophers -- United States; Psychologists -- United States
Alice and I had a jovial time at sweet little Stanford University. It
was the simple life in the best sense of the term. I am glad for once to
have been part of the working machine of California, and a pretty deep
part too, as it afterwards turned out. The earthquake also was a
memorable bit of experience, and altogether we have found it
mind-enlarging and are very glad we ben there. But the whole
intermediate West is awful--a sort of penal doom to have to live there;
and in general the result with me of having lived 65 years in America is
to make me feel as if I had at least bought the right to a certain
capriciousness, and were free now to live for the remainder of my days
wherever I prefer and can make my wife and children consent--it is more
likely to be in rural than in urban surroundings, and in the maturer
than in the _rawrer_ parts of the world. But the first thing is to get
out of the treadmill of teaching, which I hate and shall resign from
next year. After that, I can use my small available store of energy in
writing, which is not only a much more economical way of working it, but
more satisfactory in point of quality, and more lucrative as well.
Now, J. C., when are you going to get at writing again? The world is
hungry for your wares. No one touches certain deep notes of moral truth
as you do, and your humor is _köstlich_ and _impayable_. You ought to
join the band of "pragmatistic" or "humanistic" philosophers. I almost
fear that Barrytown may not yet have begun to be disturbed by the rumor
of their achievements, the which are of the greatest, and seriously I du
think that the world of thought is on the eve of a renovation no less
important than that contributed by Locke. The leaders of the new
movement are Dewey, Schiller of Oxford, in a sense Bergson of Paris, a
young Florentine named Papini, and last and least worthy, W. J. H. G.
Wells ought to be counted in, and if I mistake not G. K. Chesterton as
well.[67] I hope you know and love the last-named writer, who seems to
me a great teller of the truth. His systematic preference for
contradictions and paradoxical forms of statement seems to me a
mannerism somewhat to be regretted in so wealthy a mind; but that is a
blemish from which some of our very greatest intellects are not
altogether free--the philosopher of Barrytown himself being not wholly
exempt. Join us, O Jack, and in the historic and perspective sense your
fame will be secure. All future Histories of Philosophy will print your
name.
But although my love for you is not exhausted, my type-writing energy
is. It communicates stiffness and cramps, both to the body and the mind.
Nevertheless I think I have been doing pretty well for a first attempt,
don't you? If you return me a good long letter telling me more
particularly about the process of your recovery, I will write again,
even if I have to take a pen to do it, and in any case I will do it much
better than this time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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