OAK SILKWORMS [From the Times, October 24, 1862. Reprinted in Arrows of the Chace, vol. ii. p. 232.1 To the Editor of the "Times" GENEVA, Oct. 20th [1862]. SIR,-In your excellent article of October 17, on possible substitutes for cotton, you say "it is very doubtful whether we could introduce the silkworm with profit." The silkworm of the mulberry tree, indeed, requires a warmer climate than ours, but has attention yet been directed to the silkworm of the oak? A day or two ago a physician of European reputation, Dr. L. A. Gosse, was speaking to me of the experiments recently made in France in its acclimatization. He stated to me that the only real difficulty was temporary-namely, in the importation of the eggs, which are prematurely hatched as they are brought through warm latitudes. A few only have reached Europe, and their multiplication is slow, but once let them be obtained in quantity and the stripping of an oak coppice is both robe and revenue. The silk is stronger than that of the mulberry tree, and the stuff worn of it more healthy than cotton stuffs for the wearer, it also wears twice as long. This is Dr. Gosse's report-likely to be a trustworthy one-at all events, it seems to me worth sending you. I remain your obedient servant, J. RUSKIN. TURNER AND CLAUDE [This letter was printed in Igdrasil, June Ruskiniana, Part i., 1890, p. 27 (No. 15). been traced.] 1890, vol. i. p. 209, and thence in The original publication has not GENEVA, February 16th, 1863. MY DEAR SIR,-I regret that your letter did not reach me till yesterday, owing to my absence from England. It is seldom that falsehoods are so direct, pure, and foundationless as those which you have given me this opportunity of contradicting. Every year of my life shows me some higher and more secret power in Turner, and deepens my contempt for Claude. I believe at this moment the Pre-Raphaelite school of painting (centred in England, but with branches in other countries) to be the only vital and true school of painting in Europe; and its English leader, Dante G. Rossetti, to be, without any compare, the greatest of English painters now living. Make any use of this letter, and of these statements, that you please; but permit me to express my regret that they should be necessary. Either my works are entirely worthless, or they are, at least in some measure, what they profess to be throughout, demonstrations or illustrations of truths: no expressions of opinion. If I have not shown that Turner is 1 [See Vol. XVII. p. lxi.] 2 [Compare Vol. XXVII. pp. 99, 195, 314; and see Vol. XX. p. 49 (§ 36).] greater than Claude (quite infinitely greater), my life has been wasted. And if I have, inquiries as to my opinions, present or past, are surely irrelevant. Whether I have or not, the facts are ascertainable (else there is no art of painting); and the question is not what any one thinks, but what is the truth of the matter. Believe me, my dear Sir, yours very truly, J. RUSKIN. "THE CROWN OF WILD OLIVE” [This and the following letter were sent to the editor of Igdrasil (November 1890, vol. ii. p. 64) by Mr. Henry Beaumont, of Upcote, Shepherd's Hill, Highgate. Miss Tattersall, then at school, had written asking Ruskin to explain some passages in his writing-probably Ethics of the Dust, § 70; in illustration of which, Ruskin may have referred to Crown of Wild Olive, §§ 129 seq. (see Vol. XVIII. pp. 286, 490-492). In reply he sent her The Crown of Wild Olive and the first of these letters. The letters were reprinted (Nos. 97 and 98) in Ruskiniana, Part i., 1890, p. 92.] MY DEAR MISS TATTERSALL,-I hope you will get the "Crown of Olive" soon after this note. When you have looked at the passages I told you of, write again to say if you are still puzzled. (2) Truly yours, J. RUSKIN. DENMARK HILL, S., 15th December, 1866. MY DEAR MISS TATTERSALL,-I fear I must have expressed myself very imperfectly in those books to lead you thus in difficulties. Of course our duties are continually painful to us, and can only be done through perpetual pain; but in exact proportion as the character becomes perfect the duty becomes first painless, then delightful; and an angel's duties are certainly not painful to him, nor the duties of the servants of God, who "seek His face continually." The lesson which you practically have to draw is not that you are to give up your duties because they are painful, but to practise them till they are pleasant. Of course, suffering inflicted on us by others must be borne patiently; but it is no more a part of our duty to seek for it than to seek martyrdom. The great mistake I wished to guard you and my other girl-readers against was that of thinking that mere self-denial-as such-was necessarily a virtue. It is a virtue only when you desire what you should not. It is a virtue in a malicious person to deny themselves, and not speak maliciously. But it is not a virtue in a loving person not to speak lovingly. I hope this will become clearer to you in time. But do not puzzle about it. If you always do what you feel to be right, you will soon see clearly what is right. Yours truly, 1 [1 Chronicles xvi. 11 (hitherto misprinted "see").] J. RUSKIN. TO AN AUTOGRAPH COLLECTOR [From the Detroit Free Press, May 26, 1883, addressed to Mr. H. T. Taverner.] DENMARK HILL, 20th June, '67. MY DEAR SIR,-I often think a series of autographs might be much more interesting if one tried to get two or three (possibly enough, of living people) written with divers pens-and in divers tempers. If you ever get hold of any of my directions to refractory engravers, please, at all events, don't keep that. Always very truly yours, J. RUSKIN.1 AN OBJECT OF CHARITY [From the Daily Telegraph, January 22, 1868. Reprinted in Arrows of the Chace, vol. ii. p. 271. The Daily Telegraph of January 21, 1868, contained a leading article upon the following facts. It appeared that a girl, named Matilda Griggs, had been nearly murdered by her seducer, who, after stabbing her in no less than thirteen different places, had then left her for dead. She had, however, still strength enough to crawl into a field close by, and there swooned. The assistance that she met with in this plight was of a rare kind. Two calves came up to her, and disposing themselves on either side of her bleeding body, thus kept her warm and partly sheltered from cold and rain. Temporarily preserved, the girl eventually recovered, and entered into recognizances, under a sum of forty pounds, to prosecute her murderous lover. But she loved much," and, failing to prosecute, forfeited her recognizances, and was imprisoned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for her debt. "Pity this poor debtor," wrote the Daily Telegraph, and in the next day's issue appeared the following letter, probably not intended for the publication accorded to it. Ruskin's letter was the subject of a cartoon in Judy, January 29, 1868, entitled "Nature and Art, respectfully dedicated to Matilda Griggs," representing Ruskin fondling two calves.] 1 [Ruskin was often "drawn" by autograph-hunters; but ultimately eluded them. "An Autograph Fiend" in "his Confessions" (Spare Moments, March 12, 1892) "took the trouble to read one of Ruskin's books and then wrote to him, asking him to explain a difficulty." The reply was:— "DEAR SIR,-What you cannot understand in my book is not meant for you. Do not trouble your head about it.-Faithfully yours, "J. RUSKIN." In an article entitled "Ways of the Autograph Hunter," in Tit-Bits, March 27, 1886, it is said: "I was a long time getting a letter from Mr. Ruskin, but it came at last. I asked his opinion as to what were the best theological works for a young member of the Church of England to improve her mind with. His reply was this: 'I have no time to write to you at any length, and I take no interest in any young ladies who study theology.' In 1894 the following letter was received by an author who sent his book: "Mr. Ruskin has received Mr. Thatcher's letter and enclosure. Mr. Ruskin never thanks authors for sending him their books; he never sends his own to strangers" (Daily News, October 23, 1894). Finally, see a Circular about requests for autographs, below, p. 652.] To the Editor of the "Daily Telegraph" DENMARK HILL, S., Jan. 21, 1868. SIR,-Except in Gil Blas, I never read of anything Astræan1 on the earth so perfect as the story in your fourth article to-day. I send you a cheque for the Chancellor. If 40, in legal terms, means 400, you must explain the further requirements to your impulsive public. I am, Sir, your faithful servant, J. RUSKIN. TRUE EDUCATION [From the Pall Mall Gazette, January 31, 1868. Reprinted in Arrows of the Chace, vol. ii. pp. 177-178 (where line 1 on p. 497 was misprinted by the omission of the words "the children entrusted"). The Pall Mall Gazette of January 27 contained a leader on "Compulsory Education," and that of January 29 one upon a speech of the Bishop of Oxford on the same subject, made at a meeting] in connexion with the National Society, held at Tunbridge Wells on the preceding day. In the Gazette of January 30 appeared a letter referring to these articles, headed "Sixty Years Ago," and signed "One who has walked four miles to the Parish School." It described the writer's early home, situate in some lowland parish north of the Tweed, and divided into five or six estates, such as "Whinnyhills" and "Weary-faulds," the lairds of which were shortly called "Whinny" or "Weary" after their properties. In this primitive village, where supervision, much less compulsion, in education was never heard of, "no child grew up without learning to read," and the morals of the parish were on the whole good; the children quarrelled, but did not steal.-The reader will remember that the second title of Waverley is "Tis Sixty Years Since," and that "Waverley Honour" is the scene of parts of the book. For a summary (with references) of Ruskin's views on education, see Vol. XXVII. PP. lx. seq.] To the Editor of the "Pall Mall Gazette" DENMARK HILL, S., Jan. 31, 1868. SIR, -The letter you published yesterday from a parish schoolboy of "Sixty Years Since" at Weary-faulds (confirmed as it would be doubtless in all practical respects by testimony of English boys educated at Waverley Honour) has my hearty sympathy; but I am wearier than any tenant of Weary-faulds of seeing this subject of education always treated as if "education" only meant teaching children to write or to cipher or to repeat catechism. You know, Sir-as you have shown by your comments on the Bishop of Oxford's last speech on this subject, and you could not at present use your influence more beneficially than by farther showingthat the real education-the education which alone should be compulsory -means nothing of the kind. It means teaching children to be clean, active, honest, and useful. All these characters can be taught, and cannot be acquired by sickly and ill-dispositioned children without being taught; but they can be untaught to any extent, by evil habit and example at home. Public schools, in which the aim was to form character faithfully, [See above, p. 315 n.] 1 would return the children entrusted to them in due time to their parents, worth more than their "weight in gold." That is the real answer to the objections founded on economical difficulties. Will you not make some effort, Sir, to get your readers to feel this? I am myself quite sick of saying it over and over again in vain. I am, Sir, your faithful servant, J. RUSKIN. USURY AND THE JEWS [This letter was written to Mr. Henry F. Barnett, of Bowden, in reply to one in which he had commented on the words in a letter of Ruskin's (Vol. XVII. p. 530), “A youth at college loses his year's income to a Jew," etc., as implying ill-feeling against the Hebrew race. The letter was printed in the Leisure Hour, November 2, 1868, p. 751. Reprinted in Igdrasil, September 1890, vol. i. pp. 345– 346; and thence (No. 62) in Ruskiniana, Part i., 1890, pp. 63-64.] DENMARK HILL, 12th August, 1868. SIR,-Permit me, in reply to your courteous letter, to assure you that I had no purpose of suggestion injurious to your nation when I employed the word "Jew" for "usurer" in the letter you refer to. But you must remember that the Gentile prejudice which was appealed to and rendered almost ineffaceable by the greatest of our writers, is founded not only on the history of your nation, but on the peculiarity of its law. For as the Jews are forbidden by their law to take money of each other, but may take it of Gentiles, the fact of their ever taking it is virtually a profession of hostility to us, and eternal separation from us, which we are too apt in thought, and sometimes in word, to answer with reproach. You are wholly at liberty to make any use you please of this letter. I am, Sir, your faithful servant, J. RUSKIN. GERALD MASSEY'S POEMS [From vol. i. p. ii. of My Lyrical Life: Poems Old and New, by Gerald Massey, 1889. The letter is not dated; it is included among other "Opinions," some of which are dated 1869. Massey lived for a time at Brantwood, and dated the dedication of a volume of his poems from that address in May 1860.] [1869.] DEAR MR. MASSEY,-I rejoice in acknowledging my own debt of gratitude to you for many an encouraging and noble thought, and expression of thought, and my conviction that your Poems in the mass have been a helpful and precious gift to the working classes (I use the term in its highest and widest sense) of the country; few National Services can be greater than that which you have rendered. Believe me, gratefully yours, 1 [See above, on Shylock, p. 423 n.] |