Wallace's views on militarism and seances
Full transcription
Parkstone, Dorset.
Nov[embe]r. 20th. 1898
My dear Violet
The enclosed letter from Will came today, and as it was 4 days
later than ours we opened it to have the last news. He had just got
his log hut when he wrote to us & it has gone to Hurst. I
ordered the book for you immediately & it was sent, but what
you want to read books on
"German Pedagogy" for, when you have the thing itself to study,
"all alive and growing", I cannot quite see. I should have thought
reading any book, newspapers, & magazines (I suppose there are
German mag[azine]s.) would
have been more useful to a beginner. I also ordered the Tea
Merchants - Moose Brothers - to send you their Foreign List for tea, sent
carriage & duty paid, so Frau rector will[page
2]be able to order some herself next time. What we have is the
best mixed Ceylon and China
tea.
I have just finished reading - "The Cross Roads" - by F. Montresor
- a very interesting and well written story, and am now just
beginning - "On the Face of the Waters" -
Some time back the Ed. of a Paris paper called "L'Humanité
Nouvelle", sent me 4 questions, as to the causes and evils of War
and Militarism, and the best and most effective Remedies - I have
at length found time to write a short article on the subject, and
am now copying in it out to send, and I suppose they will translate
it as it will be published with a lot of others in French &
Italian. I really bring in Socialism indirectly, as I maintain that
the fundamental cause of War is the existence and almost absolute
power of Ruling and Military Classes, to whom War brings
profit, power, excitement, and the means of ever increasing their
power and finding places for their friends& relatives. Then I
admit that there is good as well as evil in Militarism, and
show that the good arises from the organisation, the training, the cooperation, the brotherly life, and the Espirit-de-corps, & point out
that all these good effects
arise not from the fighting but from the preparation for all that
work done by the soldier,
and that the same good effects on character would arise from an
equally effective industrial organisation, - whose
purpose & ultimate
effects would be as completely good as those of war are
completely bad! I think that is a good and rather new argument for
Socialism!
Miss Chant with Miss. Comber & her niece, are having weekly
séances, & have
already got the table to tip, and move, and roll about and fall
over, and they are very much astonished. Also they have had words
and sentences spelt out by a wine glass on which they put their
fingers with the letters of the A.B.C. placed all round it, and it
was towards each letter even when they do not look at them and once
when the letters were placed face-downwards! The
Nietsche [sic] member of the E.& S. was not amusing, but
interesting as giving us an account of N[ietzsch]e. & his own
writings. You can't have all plum cake! There has been
nothing in the paper lately of interest. When there is I will send
one, and a "Clarion" or something. You have not told us a word of
what Mr. Ackland is like, what he has come for &c. &c.
Illuminate us!
Your affectionate Pa
[signed]
Alfred R. Wallace
Toolbox
Contact us
For enquiries about the Wallace Collection please email the library
Search this collection
Wallace Letters Online
View high resolution scans and transcripts of Alfred Russel Wallace's correspondence, including all surviving letters between him and Charles Darwin.