<.
•
LETTERS TO HOGG
LETTERS
FROM
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
TO
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG.
WITH NOTES BY W. M. ROSSETTI AND
H. BUXTON FORMAN.
VOLUME I.
London : Privately Printed.
1897.
!:"li .l;«w
ts to cetttfg
that of this book
Thirty Copies only have been Printed
387170
CONTENTS.
VOL. I.
LETTER I.
Field Place, Horsham.
Thursday -, 2Qtk December, 1810 . 3
LETTER II.
Field Place, Horsham.
Sunday, 2.yd December , 1810 . . 10
LETTER III.
Field Place, Horsham.
Wednesday, 261 k December, 1810 . 15
LETTER IV.
Field Place, Horsham.
Friday, 2$t/i December •, 1810 . . 20
VOL. I. b
viii CONTENTS.
PAGE
LETTER V.
Field Place, Horsham.
Wednesday, 2nd January, 1811 . 23
LETTER VI.
Field Place, Horsham.
Thursday, yd January, 1811 . . 27
LETTER VII.
Field Place, Horsham.
Sunday, &h January, 1811 . . 33
LETTER VIII.
Field Place, Horsham.
Friday, \\thjanuary, 1811 . . 42
LETTER IX.
Field Place, Horsham.
Saturday, \2th January, 1811 . . 50
LETTER X.
Field Place, Horsham.
Monday, \^th January, 1811 . . 58
CONTENTS. ix
PAGE
LETTER XI.
Field Place, Horsham.
Wednesday, i6t/i January ', 1811 . 61
LETTER XII.
Field Place, Horsham.
Thursday, lythjamiary, 1811 . 63
LETTER XIII.
Field Place, Horsham.
Wednesday, 2yd January, 1811 . 65
LETTER XIV.
15, Poland Street, London.
April, 1811 . . •«.,--.. . 68
LETTER XV.
15, Poland Street, London.
Thursday, \%th April, 1811 . .71
LETTER XVI.
15, Poland Street, London.
Wednesday, 2tf/i April, 1811 . . 73
x CONTENTS.
PAGE
LETTER XVII.
15, Poland Street, London.
Friday, 2$rd April, 1811 , „ . 81
LETTER XVIII.
Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.
Sunday, 28^ April, 1811 * . 89
LETTERS.
LETTERS
TO
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG.
LETTER I.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
December 2Oth, 1 8 1 o.
[Thursday.]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The moment which announces your
residence, I write.
There is now need of all my art ; I
must resort to deception.
My father called on Stockdale in
4 LETTERS TO
London, who has converted him to
sanctity. He mentioned my name, as
a supporter of sceptical principles. My
father wrote to me, and I am now
surrounded, environed, by dangers, to
which compared the devils who be-
sieged St. Anthony were all inefficient.
?They attack me for my detestable
•principles ; I am reckoned an outcast ;
yet I defy them, and laugh at their in-
. effectual efforts.
Stockdale will no longer do for me.
Stockdale's skull is very thick, but I
am afraid that he will not believe my
assertion ; indeed, should it gain credit
with him,) should he accept the offer of
publication, there exist numbers who
will find out, or imagine, a real
tendency ; and booksellers possess
more power than we are aware of in
impeding the sale of any book containing
opinions displeasing to them. I am dis-
posed to offer it to Wilkie and Robinson,
Paternoster Row, and to take it there
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 5
myself; they published Godwin's works,
and it is scarcely possible to suppose
that any one, layman or clergyman,
will assert that these support Gospel
doctrines. If that will not do, I must
print it myself. Oxford, of course, would
be most convenient for the correction
of the press.
Mr. L.'s* principles are not very
severe ; he is more a votary to Mammon
than God.
O ! I burn with impatience for the
moment of the dissolution of intoler-
ance ; it has injured me ! I swear on the
altar of perjured Love to revenge myself
on the hated cause of the effect which
even now I can scarcely help deploring.
Indeed, I think it is to the benefit of
society to destroy the opinions which
can annihilate the dearest of its ties.
Inconveniences would now result
from my owning the novel which I have
* "L." is probably the initial of some Oxford printer
or publisher.
C
6 LETTERS TO
in preparation for the press. I give
out, therefore, that I will publish no
more ; every one here, but the select
few who enter into my schemes, believe
my assertion. I will stab the wretch
in secret. Let us hope that the wound
which I inflict, though the dagger be
concealed, will rankle in the heart of
the adversary.
My father wished to withdraw me
from college : I would not consent to it.
There lowers a terrific tempest; but I
stand as it were, on a pharos, and smile
exultingly at the vain beating of the
billows below.
So much for egotism !
Your poetry pleases me very much ;
the idea is beautiful, but I hope the
contrast is not from nature. The verses
on the Dying Gladiator are good, but
they seem composed in a hurry. I am
composing a satirical poem : I shall
print it at Oxford, unless I find, on
visiting him, that R[obinson] is ripe for
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 7
printing whatever will sell. In case of
that, he is my man.
It is not William Godwin who lives
in Holborn : it is John, no relation to
the other.
As to W.,* I wrote to him when in
London, by way of a gentle alterative.
He promised to write to me when he had
time, seemed surprised at what I had said,
yet directed to me as " The Reverend " :
his amazement must be extreme.
I shall not read Bishop Prettyman,
or any more of them, unless I have
some particular reason. Bigots will not
argue ; it destroys the very nature of the
the thing to argue ; it is contrary to faith.
How, therefore, could you suppose that
one of these liberal gentlemen would
listen to scepticism, on the subject even
of St. Athanasius's sweeping anathema?
* "W." seems to have been some person of public
note to whom Shelley had written on religious topics
(especially the Athanasian creed) in a tone which,
though sceptical, was also grave, and which misled
" W." into supposing his correspondent to be a clergy-
man.
LETTERS TO
I have something else to tell you, and
I will in another letter.
Love ! dearest, sweetest power ! how
much are we indebted to thee ! How
much superior are even thy miseries to
the pleasures which arise from other
sources ! How much superior to "fat,
contented ignorance " is even the agony
which thy votaries experience ! Yes,
my friend, I am now convinced that a
monarchy is the only form of govern-
ment (in a certain degree) which a
lover ought to live under. Yet in this
alone is subordination necessary. Man
is equal, and I am convinced that
equality will be the attendant on a
more advanced and ameliorated state
of society. But this is assertion, not
proof, — indeed, there can be none.
Then you will say, " Excuse my be-
lieving it." Willingly.
St. Irvyne is come out ; it is sent to
you at Mr. DayrelFs ; you can get one
in London by mentioning my name to
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 9
Stockdale. You need not state your
own ; and, as names are not now in
scribed on the front of every existing
creature,* you run no risk of discovery
in person, if it be a crime or a sin to
procure my Novel.
How can you fancy that I shall ever
think you mad? Am not /the wildest,
the most delirious, of Enthusiasm's off-
spring? On one subject I am cool,
toleration ; yet that coolness alone
possesses me that I may with more
certainty guide the spear to the breast
of my adversary, with more certainty
ensanguine it with the heart's blood of
Intolerance — hated name !
Adieu. Down with Bigotry ! Down
with Intolerance ! In this endeavour
your most sincere friend will join his
every power, his every feeble resource.
Adieu.
To T. /. Hogs,
Lincoln s Inn Fields.
* An allusion probably to the brand of Cain.
D
io LETTERS TO
LETTER II.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
December 2yd, 1810.
[Sunday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The first desire which I felt on
receiving your letters was instantly to
come to London, that a friend might
sympathise in those sorrows which are
beyond alleviation.* That I cannot do
this week ; on Sunday or Monday next
I will come, if you still remain in town.
Why will you add to the never-dying
remorse which my egotising folly has
occasioned (for which, so long as its
fatal effects remain, never can I forgive
myself), by accusing yourself of a feeling,
* The lady who was so disturbing Shelley's mind at
this time was his cousin, Harriet Grove.
THOMA S JEFFERSON HOGG. 1 1
as intrusive, which I cannot but regard
as another part of that amiability which
has marked your character since first I
had the happiness of your friendship ?
Where exists the moral wrong of seeking
the society of one whom I loved ?
What offence to reason, to virtue, was
there in desiring the communication of a
lengthened correspondence, in order that
both, she and myself, might see if, by
coincidence of intellect, we were willing
to enter into a closer, an eternal union ?
No, it is no offence to reason or virtue ;
it is obeying its most imperious dictates,
— it is complying with the designs of
the Author of our nature. Can this be
immorality? Can it be selfishness, or
interested ambition, to seek the happi-
ness of the object of attachment ? I am
sure your own judgment, your own
reason, must answer in the negative.
Let me now ask you — what reason was
there then for despair, even supposing
my love to have been incurable ?
12 LETTERS TO
Her disposition was, in all probability,
divested of the enthusiasm by which
mine is characterized : could therefore
hers be prophetic? She might not be
susceptible of that feeling, which arises
from an admiration of virtue when
abstracted from identity.
My sister attempted sometimes to
plead my cause, but unsuccessfully.
She said : —
" Even supposing I take your repre-
sentation of your brother's qualities and
sentiments (which, as you coincide in
and admire, I may fairly imagine to be
exaggerated, although you may not be
aware of the exaggeration), what right
have /, admitting that he is so superior,
to enter into an intimacy which must
end in delusive disappointment when
he finds how really inferior I am to the
being which his heated imagination has
pictured ? "
This was unanswerable, particularly
as the prejudiced description of a sister,
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 1 3
who loves her brother as she does,
might, indeed must, have given to her
an erroneously exalted idea of the
superiority of my mental attainments.
You have said that the philosophy
which I pursued is not uncongenial
with the strictest morality. You must
see that it militates with the received
opinions of the world. What, therefore,
does it offend but prejudice and super-
stition ; that superstitious bigotry, in-
spired by the system upon which at pres-
ent the world acts, of believing all that
we are told as incontrovertible facts ?
I hope that what I have said will
induce you to allow me still, and all
the more, to remain your friend.
I hope that you will soon have an
opportunity of seeing, of conversing
with, Elizabeth.
How sorry I am that I cannot invite
you here now ! I will tell you the
reason when we meet. Believe me, my
dear friend, when I assert that I shall
E
J4 LETTERS TO
ever continue so to you. 7 have reason
to lament deeply the sorrows with
which fate has marked my life. I am
not so deeply debased by it, however,
but that the exertions for the happiness
of my friend shall supersede considera-
tions of narrower and selfish interest,-—
but that his woes should claim a sigh
before one repining thought arose at
my own lot. I know the cause of all
human disappointment, — worldly pre-
judice ; mine is the same. I know also
its origin, — bigotry.
Adieu. Write again. Believe me
your most sincere friend. Adieu.*
P. B. S.
To T.J. Hogg,
Lincoln s Inn Fields.
* Elizabeth Shelley, referred to in the foregoing
letter and so often in this volume, was the poet's eldest
sister, born considerably within two years of the date
of his birth. At the time of this correspondence she
was just over sixteen years and a half old. The next
sister, Mary, was only thirteen and a half.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 1 5
LETTER III.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
December 2 6th , 1 8 1 o .
[ Wednesday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Why do you express yourself so
flatteringly grateful to me, when I
ought to experience that sensation
towards you in the highest manner of
which our nature is capable ? Why do
you yet suppose that ) ou have offended
against any of those rules for our
conduct which we ought to regard with
veneration ?
What is delicacy ? Come, I must be
severe with myself; I must irritate the
wound which I wish to heal.
Supposing the object of my affections
1 6 LETTERS TO
does not regard me, how have you
transgressed against its dictates? in
what have you offended? What is
delicacy ? Let us define it, in the
light in which you take it. I conceive
it to be that inherent repugnance to in-
juring others, particularly as regarding
the objects of their dearer preference,
which beings of superior intelligence
feel. In what then, let me ask again,
if / do not think you culpable, in what
then have you offended ? Tell me,
then, my dear friend, no more of
" sorrow," no more of " remorse," at
what you have said. Circumstances
have operated in such a manner that
the attainment of the object of my
heart was impossible, whether on ac-
count of extraneous influences, or from
a feeling which possessed her mind,
which told her not to deceive another,
not to give him the possibility of dis-
appointment. I feel I touch the string
which, if vibrated, excites acute pain ;
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 17
but truth, and my real feelings which I
wish to give you a clear idea of, over-
come my resolve never to speak on the
subject again. It is with reluctance to
my own feelings that I have entered
into this cold disquisition, when your
heart sympathizes so deeply in my
affliction. But for Heaven's sake
consider, and do not criminate your-
self; do not wrong the motives which
actuated you upon so feeble a ground
as that of delicacy. I do this, I say this,
in justice as well as friendship ; I de-
mand that you should do justice to
yourself, — then no more is required to
give you at all events a consciousness
of rectitude.
I read most of your letters to my
sister; she frequently enquires after
you, and we talk of you often. I do
not wish to awaken her intellect too
powerfully ; this must be my apology
for not communicating all my specu-
lations to her.
i8 LETTERS TO
Thanks, truly thanks for opening
your heart to me, for telling me your
feelings towards me. Dare I do the
same to you ? I dare not to myself ;
how can I to another, perfect as he may
be ? I dare not even to God, whose
mercy is great. My unhappiness is ex-
cessive. But I will cease; I will no
more speak in riddles, but now quit for
ever a subject which awakens too
powerful susceptibilities for even
negative misery. But that which in-
jured me shall perish ! I even now by
anticipation hear the expiring yell of
Intolerance !
Pardon me. My sorrows are not so
undeserved as you believe ; they are ob-
trusive to narrate to myself ; they must
be so to you. Let me wish you an
eternity of happiness.
I wish you knew Elizabeth ; she is a
great consolation to me ; but, if all be
well, my wishes on that score will soon
be accomplished. On Monday night
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 19
you will see me. I cannot bear to
suffer alone. Adieu. I have scarce a
moment's time, only to tell you how
sincerely I am your friend.*
* This letter contains an expression of great value in
dealing with an important matter of textual criticism :
' ' I feel I touch the string which, if vibrated, excites
acute pain." This seems to settle the question whether
Shelley was capable of using vibrate as a transitive
verb. This he is said to have done in the Ode to
Liberty. In the words
A glorious people vibrated again
The lightning of the nations,
the use of the word is precisely the same j and the
occurrence of the phrase in this letter leaves but little
hope that he really meant the first sentence of the Ode
to end at again.
20 LETTERS TO
LETTER IV,
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
December, 28/7;, 1810.
[Friday.}
MY DEAR FRIEND,
The encomium of one incapable of
flattery is indeed flattering. Your dis-
crimination of that chapter is more just
than the praises which you bestow on
so unconnected a thing as the romance*
taken collectively. I wish you very
much to publish a tale ; send one to a
publisher.
Oh, here we are in the midst of all
the uncongenial jollities of Christmas !
When you are compelled to contribute
to the merriment of others — when you
* St. Irvync.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 2 1
are compelled to live under the severest
of all restraints, concealment of feelings
pregnant enough in themselves — how
terrible is your lot ! I am learning
abstraction, but I fear that my pro-
ficiency will be but trifling. I cannot,
dare not, speak of myself. Why do
you still continue to say, " Do not des-
pond " — that "You must not despair'7?
I admit that this despair would be
unauthorized, when it was rational to
suppose that at some future time
mutual knowledge would awaken reci-
procity of feeling.
Your letter arrived at a moment
when I could least bear any additional
excitement of feelings. I have suc-
ceeded now in calming my mind, but
at first I knew not how to act. In-
decision, and a fear of injuring another
by complying with what perhaps were
the real wishes of my bosom, distracted
me. I do not tell you this by way of
confession of my own state; for I
G
22 LETTERS TO
believe that I may not be sufficiently
aware of what I feel, myself, even to
own it to myself. Believe me, my dear
friend, that my only ultimate wishes
now are for your happiness and that of
my sisters. At present a thousand
barriers oppose any more intimate
connexion, any union, with another, —
which, although unnatural and fettering
to a virtuous mind, are nevertheless
unconquerable.
I will, if possible, come to London
on Monday,* certainly some time next
week. I shall come about six o'clock,
and will remain with you until that
time the next morning, when I will tell
you my reasons for wishing to return.
Adieu. Excuse the shortness of this,
as the servant waits. I will write on
Sunday.t
Yours most sincerely.
* December -$T.st, 1810.
t December $oth, 1810. No letter written by
Shelley under this date is at present forthcoming.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 23
LETTER V.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January 2nd) 1811.
[ Wednesday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I cannot come to London before
next week. I am but just returned to
Field Place from an inefficient effort.
Why do you, my happy friend, tell me
of perfection in love ? Is she not gone ?
And yet I breathe, I live ! But adieu
to egotism ; I am sick to death at the
name of self.
Oh, your theory cost me much re-
flection ; I have not ceased to think of
it since your letter came, which was
put into my hands at the moment of
24 LETTERS TO
departure on Sunday morning.* Is it
not, however, founded on that hateful
principle ? Is it j^ which you propose
to raise to a state of superiority by your
system of eternal perfectibility in love ?
No ! Were this frame rendered eternal,
were the particles which compose it,
both as to intellect and matter, inde-
structible, and then to undergo torments
such as now we should shudder to
think of, even in a dream, — to undergo
this, I say, for the extension of happi-
ness to those for whom we feel a vivid
preference, — then would I love, adore,
idolize your theory — wild, unfounded
as it might be. But no. I can conceive
neither of these to be correct. Con-
sidering matters in a philosophical light,
it evidently appears (if it is not treason
to speak thus coolly on a subject so
deliriously ecstatic) that we were not
destined for misery. What, then, shall
happiness arise from ? Can we hesitate ?
* December 30^, 1810.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 25
Love, dear love! And, though every
mental faculty is bewildered by the
agony which is in this life its too
constant attendant, still is not that very
agony to be preferred to the most
thrilling sensualities of epicurism ?
I have wandered in the snow, for I
am cold, wet, and mad. Pardon me,
pardon my delirious egotism ; this really
shall be the last.
My sister is well ; I fear she is not
quite happy on my account, but is
much more cheerful than she was some
days ago. I hope you will publish a
tale ; I shall then give a copy to
Elizabeth, unless you forbid it. I
would do it not only to show her what
your ideas are on the subject of works
of imagination, and to interest her,
but that she should see her brother's
friend in a new point of view. When
you examine her character, you will
find humanity, not divinity, amiable as
the former may sometimes be. How-
H
26 LETTERS TO
ever, I, a brother, must not write
treason against my sister; so I will
check my volubility. Do not direct
your next letter to Field Place, only to
Horsham.
To-morrow I will write more
connectedly.
Yours sincerely.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 27
L E T T E R V I.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX,
January 3n/, 1811.
[Thursday.]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Before we deny or believe the exist-
ence of anything, it is necessary that
we should have a tolerably clear idea
of what it is.* The word " God," a
* This letter (of January -$rd, 1811) is of some
importance in the history of Shelley's religious opinions.
It shows that the youth who, on the z^t/t of March,
1811, was expelled from Oxford as author and dis-
tributor of The Necessity of A theism^ could, even as
late as the ^rd of January in the same year, argue
ypnloinilv in TifVinlf ' — F'lr'itlv of the immorlrilitv of fhf>
sary antecedent to that immortality ; at the same time
he would eliminate the word "God" from the field of
discussion. This is sufficiently consonant with what is
propounded in the Notes to Qiieen Mab, printed (not
published) in 1813.
28 LETTERS TO
vague word, has been, and will con-
tinue to be, the source of numberless
errors, until it is erased from the no-
menclature of philosophy. Does it
not imply " the soul of the universe, —
the intelligent and necessarily benefi-
cent actuating principle ? This it is im-
possible not to believe in. I may not
be able to adduce proofs ; but I think
that the leaf of a tree, the meanest
insect on which we trample, are in
themselves arguments, more conclusive
than any which can be advanced, that
some vast intellect animates infinity.
If we disbelieve this^ the strongest
argument in support of the existence
of a future state instantly becomes
annihilated. I confess that I think
Pope's
"All are but parts of a stupendous whole "
something more than poetry. It has
ever been my favourite theory. For
the immortal soul " never to be able to
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 29
die, never to escape from some shrine
as chilling as the clay-formed dungeon
which it now inhabits " — is the future
punishment which I can most easily
believe in.
Love, — love infinite in extent, eternal
in duration, yet (allowing your theory
in that point) perfectible — should be
the reward. But can we suppose that
this reward will arise spontaneously, as
a necessary appendage to our nature ?
or that our nature itself could be
without cause — a first cause, — a God.
When do we see effects arise without
causes ? What causes are there without
correspondent effects ?
Yet here I swear — and as I break
my oaths, may Infinity, Eternity, blast
me — here I swear that never will I
forgive Intolerance ! It is the only
point on which I allow myself to
encourage revenge. Every moment
shall be devoted to my object, which
I can spare ; and let me hope that it
i
30 LETTERS TO
will not be a blow which spends itself,
and leaves the wretch at rest, — but
lasting, long revenge ! I am con-
vinced, too, that it is of great dis-
service to society, — that it encourages
prejudices which strike at the root of
the dearest, the tenderest, of its ties.
Oh how I wish /were the avenger ! —
that it were mine to crush the demon,
to hurl him to his native hell, never to
rise again, and thus to establish for
ever perfect and universal toleration !
I expect to gratify some of this insati-
able feeling in poetry.
You shall see — you shall hear — how
it has injured me. She is no longer
mine ! she abhors me as a sceptic, as
what she was before ! O Bigotry ! when
I pardon this last, this severest of thy
persecutions, may Heaven (if there be
wrath in Heaven) blast me ! Has
vengeance, in its armoury of wrath,
a punishment more dreadful ? — Yet
forgive me, I have done ; and were
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 31
it not for your great desire to know
why I consider myself as the victim of
severer anguish, that I could have
entered into this brief recital.*
I am afraid there is selfishness in
the passion of love, for I cannot avoid
feeling every instant as if my soul was
bursting. But I will feel no more : it
is selfish. I would feel for others ; but
for myself — oh how much rather would
I expire in the struggle ! Yes, that
were a relief! Is suicide wrong? I
slept with a loaded pistol and some
poison last night, but did not die.
I could not come on Monday, my
sister would not part with me ; but I
must — I will — see you soon. My
sister is now comparatively happy ;
she has felt deeply for me. Had it
not been for her — had it not been for
a sense of what I owed to her, to you
— I should have bidden you a final
farewell some time ago. But can the
* This imperfect sentence must mean " I could not,"
&c. The that has no business there.
32 LETTERS TO
dead feel ? Dawns any day-beam on
the night of dissolution ?
Pray publish your tale ; demand one
hundred pounds for it from any pub-
lisher— he will give it in the event. It
is delightful, it is divine ! Not that I
like your heroine : but the poor Mary
is a character worthy of Heaven — I
adore her ! *
Adieu, my dear friend,
Your sincere,
P. B. S[HELLEY.]
P.S. — W 1 has written. I have
read his letter : it is too long to answer.
I continue to dissipate Elizabeth's
melancholy by keeping her, as much
as possible, employed in poetry. You
shall see some to-morrow. I cannot
tell you when I can come to town. I
wish it very much.
* Perhaps the early verses written by Shelley,
named To Mary, who died in this opinion, may refer
to the "Mary" of Hogg's MS. novel. There is no
known person, actually connected with Shelley's bio-
graphy, to whom those verses can refer.
t See ante, p. 7.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 33
LETTER VII.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January 6th, 1811.
{Sunday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Dare I request one favor for myself
— for my own sake ? Not the keenest
anguish which the most unrelenting
tyrant could invent should force me to
request from you so great a sacrifice
of friendship. It is a beloved sister's
happiness which forces me to this.
She saw me when I received your
letter of yesterday. She saw the con-
flict of my soul. At first she said
nothing : and then she exclaimed,
K
34 LETTERS TO
" Re-direct it,* and send it instantly
to the post ! " Believe me, I feel far
more than I will allow myself to ex-
press, for the cruel disappointments
which I have undergone. Write to
me whatever you wish to say. You
may say what you will on other sub-
jects : but on that I dare not even
read what you would write. Forget
her?
What would I not have given up to
have been thus happy ? t I thought I
knew the means by which it might
have been effected. Yet I consider
what a female sacrifices when she re-
turns the attachment even of one whose
faith she supposes inviolable. Hard is
the agony which is indescribable, which
is only to be felt. Will she not en-
counter the opprobrium of the world ?
* Shelley, it would seem, received a letter from
Hogg, and guessed that it referred to the painful
subject of Miss Grove. Elizabeth induced him to
return this letter, unread, to Hogg himself.
t "Thus happy" seems to mean not "so happy as
to forget her," but " so happy as to make her mine."
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 35
and, what is more severe (generally
speaking), the dereliction and con-
tempt of those who before had avowed
themselves most attached to her. I
did not encourage the remotest sus-
picion. I Was convinced of her truth,
as I was of my own existence. Still,
was it not natural 'in her (even although
she might return the most enthusiastic
prepossessions arising from the consci-
ousness of intellectual sympathy) —
ignorant as she was of some of my
opinions, of my sensations (for un-
limited confidence is requisite for the
existence of mutual love) — to have
some doubts, some fears? Besides,
when in her natural character, her
spirits are good, her conversation
animated ; and she was almost, in
consequence, ignorant of the refine-
ments in love which can only be
attained by solitary reflection.
Forsake her ! Forsake one whom
I loved ! Can I ? Never ! — But she
36 LETTERS TO
is gone — she is lost to me for ever;
for ever.
There is a mystery which I dare not
to clear up ; it is the only point on
which I will be reserved to you. I
have tried the methods you would
have recommended. I followed her.
I would have followed her to the end
of the earth, but If you value
the little happiness which yet remains,
do not mention again to me sorrows
which, if you could share in, would
wound a heart which it now shall be
my endeavour to heal of those pains
which, through sympathy with me, it
has already suffered.
I will crush Intolerance ! I will, at
least, attempt it. To fail even in so
useful an attempt were glorious.
I enclose some poetry : — *
* The correct title of this poem, it seems, is On an
Icicle that clung to the Grass of a Grave, — not The
Tear, as formerly printed in editions of Shelley's
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 37
Oh ! take the pure gem to where southerly
breezes.
Waft repose to some bosom as faithful as
fair.
In which the warm current of love never
freezes,
As it rises unmingled with selfishness there,
Which, untainted by pride, unpolluted by care,
Might dissolve the dim icedrop, might bid it
arise,
Too pttre for these regions, to gleam in the
skies.
Or where the stern warrior, his country defend-
ing,
Dares fearless the dark-rolling' battle to
pour,
Or o'er the fell corpse of a dread tyrant bend-
ing,
Where patriotism red with his guilt -reeking
gore
Plants liberty's flag on the slave-peopled shore,
With victory's cry, with the shout of the free,
Let it fly, taintless spirit, to mingle with thee.
For I found the pure gem, when the day beam
returning,
Ineffectual gleams on the snow-covered plain,
poems. The true title explains sufficiently the mean-
ing of the first few lines in a composition without much
value other than biographical.
L
38 LETTERS TO
When to others the wished-for arrival of morn-
ing
Brings relief to long visions of soul-racking
pain j
But regret is an insult — to grieve is in vain :
And why should we grieve that a spirit so fair
Seeks Heaven to mix with its own kindred
there ?
But still 'twas some spirit of kindness descend-
ing
To share in the load of mortality* s woe,
Who over thy lowly -built septtlchre bending
Bade sympathy's tenderest tear-drop to flow.
Not for thee, soft compassion, celestials did
know,
But if angels can weept sure man may repine,
May weep in mute grief o'er thy low- laid
shrine.
And did I then say, for the altar of glory,
That the earliest, the loveliest of flowers I'd
entwine,
Tho' with millions of blood- reeking victims
'twas gory,
Tho' the tears of the widow polluted its
shrine,
Tho' around it the orphans, the fatherless
pine ?
Oh ! Fame, all thy glories I'd yield for a tear
To shed on the grave of a heart so sincere.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 39
I am very cold this morning, so you
must excuse bad writing, as I have been
most of the night pacing a churchyard.
I must now engage in scenes of strong
interest.
You see the subject of the foregoing.
I send it, because it may amuse you.
Your letter has just arrived ; I will send
W 's * to University, when I can
collect them. If it amuses you, you
can answer him ; if not, I will.
I will consider your argument against
the Non-existence of a Deity. Do you
allow that some supernatural power
actuates the organization of physical
causes ? It is evident so far as this,
that, if power and wisdom are employed
in the continual arrangement of these
affairs, this power, £c., is something
out of the comprehension of man, as
he now exists ; at least if we allow that
the soul is not matter. Then, admit-
ting that this actuating principle is
* See ante, pp. 7 and 32.
40 LETTERS TO
such as I have described, admitting
it to be finite, there must be something
beyond this, which influences its ac-
tions ; and all this series advancing
(as, if it does in one instance, it must
to infinity) must at last terminate, in
the existence which may be called a
Deity. And, if this Deity thus in-
fluences the actions of the Spirits (if
I may be allowed the expression) which
take care of minor events (supposing
your theory to be true), why is it not
the soul of the Universe ? in what is it
not analogous to the soul of man ?
Why too is not gravitation the soul of
a clock ? I entertain no doubt of the
fact, although it possesses no capabili-
ties of variation. If the principle of
life (that of reason put out of the
question, as in the cases of dogs,
horses, and oysters) be soul, then
gravitation is as much the soul of a
clock as animation is that of an oyster.
I think we may not inaptly define Soul
THOMA S JEFFERSON HOGG. 4 1
as "the most supreme, superior, and
distinguished abstract appendage to
the nature of anything."
But I will write again : my head is
rather dizzy to-day, on account of
not taking rest, and a slight attack of
typhus.
Adieu, I will write soon.
Your sincerest
PERCY B. SHELLEY.*
To T. J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
* The morbid passage at the top of page 39, about
pacing a churchyard all night, is interesting in so far as
it may have been the recollection of that incident
which furnished the poet with the germ of the fine
lines in Alastor —
I have made my bed
In charnels and on coffins, where black death
Keeps record of the trophies won from thee,
Hoping to still these obstinate questionings
Of thee and thine, by forcing some lone ghost
Thy messenger, to render up the tale
Of what we are.
M
42 LETTERS TO
LETTER VIII.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January nth, 1 8 1 1.
[Friday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I will not now consider your little
Essay, which arrived this morning ; I
wait till to-morrow. It coincides ex-
actly with Elizabeth's sentiments on
the subject, to whom I read it. Indeed
it has convinced her ; although, from
my having a great deal to do to-day, I
cannot listen to so full an exposition
of her sentiments on the subject as I
would wish to send you. I shall write
to you to-morrow on this matter ; and,
if you clear up some doubts which yet
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 43
remain, dissipate some hopes relative
to the perfectibility of man, generally
considered as well as individually, I
will willingly submit to the system, —
which at present I cannot but strongly
reprobate.
How can I find words to express my
thanks for such generous conduct with
regard to my sister ? * With talents
and attainments such as you possess,
to promise what I ought not perhaps
to have required, what nothing but a
dear sister's intellectual improvement
could have induced me to demand !
What can I say on the subject of your
letter concerning Elizabeth? is it not
dictated by the most generous and
disinterested of human motives ? I
have not shown it to her yet ; I need
not explain the reason. On this point
you know all.
* The words "generous conduct" must refer to the
inditing and despatching of the " Little Essay," for the
clearing up of some of Elizabeth's hazy speculative
ideas — and a general promise of intellectual aid to her.
44 LETTERS TO
There is only one affair * of which I
will make the least cloud of mystery ;
it is the only point on which I will be a
solitary being. To be solitary, to be
reserved, in communicating pain, surely
cannot be criminal ; it cannot be con-
trary to the strictest duties of friend-
ship.
She is gone ! She is lost to me for
ever ! She is married ! t Married to
a clod of earth ! She will become as
insensible herself ; all those fine capa-
bilities will moulder !
Let us speak no more on the sub-
ject. Do not deprive me of the little
remains of peace which yet linger, that
* No doubt the affaire dc cocnr with Miss Harriet
Grove.
f This letter announces that Harriet Grove "is
married." But it appears that in fact she did not
marry until about August of the same year [see
Rossetti's Memoir oj 'Shelley ', p. 26]. The letter seems
to be correctly dated in January, and the discrepancy
is a startling one. Perhaps the likeliest way of account-
ing for it is to suppose that Shelley, in saying that
Harriet Grove was married, really meant that she had
definitely engaged herself to marry, and was therefore
virtually married. Or perhaps the words to be have
been accidentally omitted in transcription.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 45
which arises from endeavours to make
others happy.
The Poetry which I sent you alluded
not to the subject of my nonsensical
ravings. I hope that you are now
publishing one of your tales. L. *
would do it, as well as any one ; if you
do not choose to publish a book at
Oxford, you can print it there, and I
will engage to dispose of five hundred
copies. S professes to be ac-
quainted with your family ; hinc illcz
lacrymce !
I attempted to enlighten my father.
Mirabile dictu^ he for a moment lis-
tened to my arguments. He allowed the
impossibility (considered abstractedly)
of any preternatural interferences by
Providence : he allowed the utter in-
credibility of witches, ghosts, legendary
miracles. But, when I came to apply
the truths on which we had agreed so
harmoniously, he started at the bare
* See p. 5.
46 LETTERS TO
idea of some facts, generally believed,
never having existed, and silenced me
with an equine argument ; in effect with
these words — " I believe, because I do
not believe."
My mother imagines me to be on the
high road to Pandemonium ; she fancies
I want to make a deistical coterie of all
my little sisters : how laughable !
You must be very solitary at Oxford.
I wish I could come there now ; but,
for reasons which I will tell you at
meeting, it is delayed for a fortnight,
I have a Poem * with Mr. L ,
which I shall certainly publish ; there
is some of Elizabeth's in it. I will
write to-morrow. I have something
to add to it ; and, if L has any
idea, when he speaks to you, of pub-
lishing it with my name, will you tell
him to leave it alone till I come.
* This "Poem" may very probably have been the
introuvable Poetical Essay on the Existing State of
Things.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 47
Yes ! the arms of Britannia victorious arc
bearing
Fame, triumph , and glory, wherever they
speed,
Her Lion his crest o^er the nations is rearing.
Ruin follows, it tramples the dying and
dead,
Thy countrymen fall, the blood-reeking bed
Of the battle-slain sends a complaint-breath-
ing sigh,
It is mixed with the shoutings of Victory.
Old Ocean to shrieks of despair is resounding,
It washes the terror-struck nations with
gore,
Wild Horror the fear-palsied earth is astound-
ing,
And murmurs of fate fright the dread-con-
vulsed shore.
The Andes in sympathy start at the roar,
Vast sEtna, alarmed, leans his flame-gloiv-
ing brow,
And huge Teneriffe stoops with his pinnacled
snow.
The ice mountains echo, the Baltic, the Ocean,
Where Cold sits enthroned on his column of
snows,
Even Spitzbergen perceives the terrific commo-
tion,
48 LETTERS TO
The roar floats on the whirlwind of sleet, as
this blows
Blood tinges the streams as half-frozen they
flow,
The meteors of war lurid flame thro* the
air.
They mix their bright gleam with the red
polar star.
All are brethren, and even the African bending
To the stroke of the hard-hearted English-
man^ rod,
The courtier at Luxury's palace attending.
The senator trembling at Tyranny's nod,
Each nation which kneels at the footstool of
God,
All are brethren — then banish distinction
afar,
Let Concord and Love heal the miseries of
War!
These are Elizabeth's. She has
written many more, and I will show
you at some future time the whole of
the composition. I like it very much,
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 49
if a brother may be allowed to praise a
sister. I will write to-morrow.
Yours with affection,
P. B. S.
Can you read this ?
To T.J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
50 LETTERS TO
LETTER IX.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January I2thy 1811.
[Saturday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Your letter, with the extremely
beautiful enclosed poetry, came this
morning. It is really admirable ; it
touches the heart : but I must be al-
lowed to offer one critique upon it. You
will be surprised to hear that I think it
unfinished. You have not said that
the ivy, after it had destroyed the oak,
as if to mock the miseries which it
caused, twined around a pine which
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 51
stood near.* It is true, therefore, but
does not comprehend the whole truth.
As to the stuff which I sent you, I
write all my poetry of that kind from
the feelings of the moment ; if therefore
it neither has allusion to the sentiments
which rationally might be supposed to
possess me, or to those which my situ-
ation might awaken, it is another proof
of that egotizing variability, which I
shudder to reflect how much I am in its
power.
To you I dare represent myself as I
am : wretched to the last degree. Some-
times one gleam of hope, one faint soli-
tary gleam, seems to illumine the dark-
ened prospect before me — but it has
vanished. I fear it will never return.
My sister will, I fear, never return the
attachment which would once again
bid me be calm. Yes ! In this alone
* This may possibly imply an embittered reference
to the affair of Miss Grove : she being shadowed forth
in the ivy, Shelley in the oak, and her husband in the
pine.
52 LETTERS TO
is my feeble anticipation of peace
placed ! But what am I ? Am I not
the most degraded of deceived enthusi-
asts ? Do I not deceive myself? I
never, never can feel peace again !
What necessity is there for continu-
ing in existence ? " But Heaven !
Eternity ! Love ! " My dear friend, I
am yet a sceptic on these subjects :
would that I could believe them to be
as they are represented ; would that I
could totally disbelieve them ! — But
no ! That would be selfish. I still
have firmness enough to resist this last,
this most horrible of errors. Is my
despair the result of the hot sickly love
which inflames the admirers of Sterne
or Moore ? * It is the conviction of
unmerited unkindness ; the conviction
that, should a future world exist, the
object of my attachment would be as
miserable as myself, is the cause of it.
* Not Thomas Moore, but Dr. John Moore, author
of Zelnco and Mordaunt.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. S3
I here take God (and a God exists)
to witness, that I wish torments which
beggar the futile description of a fancied
hell would fall upon me, provided I
could obtain thereby that happiness
for what I love which, I fear, can never
be ! The question is, What do I love ?
It is almost unnecessary to answer.
Do I love the person, the embodied
identity, if I may be allowed the ex-
pression ? No ! I love what is superior,
what is excellent, or what I conceive to
be so ; and I wish, ardently wish, to be
profoundly convinced of the existence
of the Deity, that so superior a spirit
might derive some degree of happiness
from my feeble exertions : for love is
heaven, and heaven is love. You think
so too, and you disbelieve not the ex-
istence of an eternal, omnipresent
Spirit.
Am I not mad ? Alas ! I am ; but
I pour out my ravings into the ear of
a friend who will pardon them.
p
54 LETTERS TO
Stay ! I have an idea. I think I
can prove the existence of a Deity — a
First Cause. I will ask a materialist,
How came this universe at first ? He
will answer, " By chance." What
chance ? I will answer in the words of
Spinoza : " An infinite number of atoms
had been floating from all eternity in
space, till at last one of them fortuit-
ously diverged from its track, which,
dragging with it another, formed the
principle of gravitation, and in conse-
quence the universe." What cause
produced this change, this chance ?
For where do we know that causes
arise without their correspondent
effects ? At least we must here, on so
abstract a subject, reason analogically.
Was not this then a cause^ was it not a
first cause ? Was not this first cause
a Deity ? Now nothing remains but
to prove that this Deity has a care ; or
rather that its only employment con-
sists in regulating the present and future
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 55
happiness of its creation. Our ideas
of infinite space, &c. are scarcely to be
called ideas, for we cannot either com-
prehend or explain them ; therefore the
Deity must -be judged by us from attri-
butes analogical to our situation. Oh
that this Deity were the soul of the
universe, the spirit of universal, im-
perishable love ! Indeed I believe
it is.
But now to your argument of the
necessity of Christianity. I am not
sure that your argument does not tend
to prove its unreality. If it does not,
— you allow, you say, that love is the
only true source of rational happiness.
One man is capable of it ; why not all ?
The Gullibility of man preterite I
allow ; but because men are and have
been cullible, I see no reason why they
should always continue so. Have there
not been fluctuations in the opinions
of mankind ? and, as the stuff which
soul is made of must be in every one
56 LETTERS TO
the same, would not an extended sys-
tem of rational and moral unprejudiced
education render each individual cap-
able of experiencing that degree of
happiness to which each ought to
aspire, more for others than self?
Hideous, hated traits of Superstition!
Oh Bigots ! how I abhor your influence !
They are all bad enough. But do we
not see Fanaticism decaying ? Is not
its influence weakened, except where
Faber, Rowland Hill, and several
others of the Armageddon heroes,
maintain their posts with all the
obstinacy of long-established dogma-
tism ? How I pity them ! how I
despise, hate them !
Stockdale knows Mr. D. would
publish your tale. I am beyond mea-
sure anxious for its appearance.
Adieu. Excuse my mad arguments ;
they are none at all, for I am rather
confused, — and fear, in consequence
of a fever, they will not allow me
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 57
to come * on the 26th ; but I will.
Adieu.
Your affectionate friend,
P. B. S.
You can enclose to Timothy Shelley,
Esq., M.P.
To T.J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
* To Oxford, no doubt, via London.
58 LETTERS TO
LETTER X.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
Jamtary i^th, 1811.
[Monday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Your letter and that of W * came
to-day ; yours is excellent, and, I think,
will fully (in his own mind) convince
Mr. W . I enclosed five sheets of
paper full this morning, and sent them
to the coach with yours. I sat up all
night to finish them. They attack his
hypothesis in its very basis, which, at
some future time, I will explain to
you ; and I have attempted to prove,
from the existence of a Deity and of
Revelation, the futility of the supersti-
* See pp. 7, 32, and 39.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 59
tion upon which he founds his whole
scheme.
I was sorry to see that you even
remotely suspected me of being
offended with you. How I wish that
I could persuade you that it is im-
possible !
I am really sleepy. Could you sup-
pose that I should be so apathetic as
ever to sleep again till my last slumber ?
But be it so, and I shall take a walk in
St. Leonard's Forest to dissipate it.
Adieu. You shall hear from me to-
morrow.
Your sincere friend,
P. B. S.
Stockdale has behaved infamously
to me : he has abused the confidence I
reposed in him in sending him my
work ; and he has made very free with
your character, of which he knows
nothing, with my father. I shall call
60 LETTERS TO
on Stockdale on my way, that he may
explain. May I expect to see your
Tale printed?
To T.J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 61
LETTER XL
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January \6tk, 1811.
[ Wednesday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
You will hear from me to-morrow.
I have to-day scarcely time but to tell
you that I do not forget you. You tell
me that it will show greatness of soul
to rise after such a fall as mine. Ah,
what pain must I feel when I contra-
dict the flattering view which you have
taken of my character ! Do I not
know myself? Do I not feel the
acutest poignancy of mortification,
amounting to actual misery ? Alas, I
must, with Godwin, say that in man,
R
62 LETTERS TO
imperfect as he now exists, there is
never a motive for action unmixed ;
that the best has its alloy, the worst is
commingled with virtue.
What does my mortification arise
from ? Surely not wholly for myself,
nor wholly for the happiness of the
being whom I have lost. Did I know,
were I convinced, that I felt for no-
thing but Her, no self-reproach would
tell me that my pangs were disgraceful.
But now, when I fear, when I feel, that,
in spite of myself, regret for the high
happiness I have lost is mingled with
the other consideration, do I feel too
that it is disgraceful, degrading !
Adieu. I will write to-morrow,
P. B. SHELLEY.
To T.J.Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 63
LETTER XII.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
January I7//&, 1811.
\Thursday.]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I shall be with you as soon as
possible next week. You really were
at Hungerford, whether you knew it
or not. You tell me nothing about
the tale which you promised me. I
hope it gets on in the press. I am
anxious for its appearance.
Stockdale certainly behaved in a
vile manner to me ; no other book-
seller would have violated the con-
fidence reposed in him. I will talk
to him in London, where I shall be
64 LETTERS TO
on Tuesday. Can I do anything for
you there ?
You notice the peculiarity of the
expression " My Sister " in my letters.*
It certainly arose independent of con-
sideration, and I am happy to hear that
it is so.
Your systematic cudgel for block-
heads is excellent. I tried it on with
my father, who told me that thirty
years ago he had read Locke, but
this made no impression. The " equus
et res" are all that I can boast of; the
"pater" is swallowed up in the first
article of the catalogue.
You tell me nothing of the tale ; I
am all anxiety about it. I am forced
hastily to bid you adieu.
P. B. SHELLEY.
To T.J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
* The "peculiarity" was, presumably, that Shelley
who had four sisters, spoke of " my sister" — Elizabeth
— as if he had only one. See note at p. 14.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 65
LETTER XIII.
FIELD PLACE,
HORSHAM, SUSSEX.
[January 2yd, i8ll.
Wednesday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
You are all over the country. I
shall be at Oxford on Friday or Satur-
day evening. I will write to you from
London.
My father's prophetic prepossession
in your favour is become as high as
before it was to your prejudice.
Whence it arises, or from what cause,
I am inadequate to say ; I can merely
state the fact. He came from London
full of your praises ; your family, that
of Mr. Hogg, of Norton House, near
s
66 LETTERS TO
Stockton-upon-Tees. Your principles
are now as divine as before they were
diabolical. I tell you this with extreme
satisfaction, and, to sum up the whole,
he has desired me to make his compli-
ments to you, and to invite you to
make Field Place your head-quarters
for the Easter vacation. I hope you
will accept of it. I fancy he has been
talking in town to some of the northern
Members of Parliament who are ac-
quainted with your family. However
that may be, I hope you have no other
arrangement for Easter which can in-
terfere with granting me the pleasure of
introducing you personally here.
You have very well drawn your line
of distinction between instinctive and
rational motives of action. The former
are not in our own power. Yet we
may doubt if even these are purely
selfish, — as congeniality, sympathy, un-
accountable attractions of intellect,
which arise independent frequently of
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 67
any considerations of your own inter-
est, operating violently in contradiction
to it, and bringing on wretchedness,
which your reason plainly foresees, —
which yet, although your judgment dis-
[apjproves of, you take no pains to ob-
viate. All this is not selfish. And surely
the operations of reason, of judgment,
in a man whose judgment is fully con-
vinced of the baseness of any motive,
can never be consonant with it.
Adieu. Your affectionate,
P. B. SHELLEY.
To T.J. Hogg,
University College,
Oxford.
68 LETTER TO
LETTER XIV.
To JOHN HOGG, ESQ.*
15, POLAND STREET,
LONDON.
[April, 1811.]
SIR,
I accompanied (at his desire) Mr.
Jefferson Hogg to Mr. C., who was
entrusted with certain propositions to
be offered to my friend. I was there
extremely surprised — no less hurt than
surprised — to find my father, in his
interview with Mr. C., had, either un-
advisedly or intentionally, let fall ex-
* Father of T. Jefferson Hogg.
JOHN HOGG. 69
\
pressions which conveyed an idea
that Mr. Jefferson Hogg was the
" original corruptor " of my principles.
That on this subject (notwithstanding
his long experience) Mr. T. Shelley
must know less than his son, will be
conceded ; and I feel it but justice
(in consequence of your feelings, so
natural after what Mr. C. communi-
cated) positively to deny the assertion.
I feel this tribute, which I have paid
to the just sense of horror you enter-
tain, to be due to you as a gentleman.
I hope my motives stand excused to
your candour.
Myself and my friend have offered
concessions * ; painful, indeed, they are
to myself, but such as on mature con-
sideration we find due to our high
sense of filial duty.
Permit me to request your indul-
* Concessions relating (at all events in part) to the
conditions under which the intimacy between Hogg
and Shelley was to be continued henceforward.
70 LETTERS TO
gence for the liberty I have taken in
thus addressing you.
I remain your obedient humble
servant,
P. B. SHELLEY.*
To John Hogg, Esq.,
Norton,
Stockton-on- Tees.
* In the interval between the despatch of letter No.
XIII. and letter No. XV. much had happened. Shel-
ley had at length rejoined Hogg at College ; and the
tendency of the two youthful minds towards audacity
of enquiry, so evident in this correspondence, had blos-
somed out into that portentous tract The Necessity of
Atheism. This, though issued anonymously, was
known to be by Shelley, who indeed distributed copies
ostentatiously. Questioned by the Master of Univer-
sity College as to the authorship, he declined to answer.
Hogg was questioned in like manner, and in like man-
ner refused information. On the 25th of March, 1811,
both youths were summarily expelled, not, ostensibly,
for the publication of the tract, but for contumaciously
refusing to answer questions. They went together to
London and lodged together ; but before the next
letter was written, not only had Hogg left London,
but Shelley had become acquainted with Harriet West-
brook, her sister Eliza, and her father, a retired coffee-
house keeper, — Harriet being then sixteen years old,
and at the Clapham school where the Misses Shelley
were resident.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 71
LETTER XV.
15, POLAND STREET,
LONDON.
April iSt/i, 1811.
{Thursday.}
MY DEAR FRIEND,
Certainly this place is a little soli-
tary ; but, as a person cannot be quite
alone when he has even got himself
with him, I get on pretty well. I
have employed myself in writing
poetry ; and, as I go to bed at eight
o'clock, time passes quicker than it
otherwise might.
Yesterday I had a letter from Whit-
ton * to invite me to his house ; of
course, the answer was negative. I
* Whitton was the legal adviser of Mr. Timothy
Shelley.
72 LETTERS TO
wrote to say that I would resign all
claim to the entail, if he * would allow
me two hundred pounds a-year, and
divide the rest among my sisters.
Of course he will not refuse the offer.
You remark that, in Lord Mount
Edgecumbe's hermitage, I should have
nothing to talk of but myself; nor
have I anything here, except I should
transcribe t\\e.jeux-(T esprit of the maid.
Mr. Pilfold has written a very civil
letter ; my mother intercepted thatt
sent to my father, and wrote to me
to come, enclosing the money. I, of
course, returned it.
Miss Westbrook has this moment
called on me, with her sister. It cer-
tainly was very kind of her.
Adieu. The post goes.
Yours,
P. B. S.
To T. J. Hogg,
Ellesmcre.
* The reference here is, of course, to Shelley's father,
t Probably a letter by Shelley repeating his offer re
,£200.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 73
LETTER XVI.
LONDON.
April 24.1 '/i, 1811.
[ Wednesday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
You have (with wonderful sagacity,
no doubt) refuted an argument of
mine, the very existence of which I
had forgotten. Something singularly
conceited, no doubt, by the remarks
you make on it. "Fine flowery
language," you say. Well, I cannot
help it : you see me in my weakest
moments. All I can tell you of it is
that I certainly was not " laughing," as
you conjecture. This circumstance
may go against me. I do not know
that it will, however, as I have by no
u
74 LETTERS TO
means a precise idea of what the subject
of this composition was.
" The Galilean is not a favourite of
mine," a French author writes. (The
French write audaciously — rashly.)
"So far from owing him any thanks
for his favours, I cannot avoid con-
fessing that I owe a secret grudge to
his carpentership (charp enteric). The
reflecting part of the community — that
part in whose happiness we philo-
sophers have so strong an interest —
certainly do not require his morality,
which, where there is ho vice, fetters
virtue. Here we all agree. Let this
horrid Galilean rule the Canaille then !
I give them up." And / give them
up. I will no more mix politics and
virtue, they are incompatible.*
* I think this remark must arise out of some con-
siderations set forth in Godwin's Political Justice^ to
the effect that virtue can be promoted by political
institution. Shelley, it is evident, had heretofore rallied
to that opinion ; but he now, after discussion with
Hogg, relinquishes it. Who was this "French
author"? — Voltaire, or one of that connection?
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 75
My little friend Harriet Westbrook
is gone to her prison-house.* She is
quite well in health ; at least so she
says, though she looks very much
otherwise. I saw her yesterday. I
went with her and her sister to Miss
H.'s,t and walked about Clapham
Common with them for two hours.
The youngest is a most amiable girl ;
the eldest is really conceited, but very
condescending. I took the sacrament
with her on Sunday. J
You say I talk philosophically of her
"kindness" in calling on me. She is
very charitable and good. § I shall
always think of it with gratitude, be-
cause I certainly did not deserve it,
and she exposed herself to much
possible odium. It is scarcely doing
her a kindness — it is perhaps inducing
* Mrs. Fenning's school at Clapbam.
t Apparently some friend of the Westbrook's, resid-
ing near Harriet's schoolhouse.
l -2ist, 1811.
, .
§ "She" must, to judge from the general context,
mean Harriet \ though it seems at first sight rather to
mean her sister Eliza^ the elder Miss Westbrook.
76 LETTERS TO
positive unhappiness — to point out to
her a road which leads to perfection,
the attainment of which, perhaps, does
not repay the difficulties of the pro-
gress. What do you think of this?
If trains of thought, development of
mental energies, influence in any
degree a future state ; if this is even
possible — if it stands on at all securer
ground than mere hypothesis ; then is
it not a service ? — Where am I gotten ?
Perhaps into another ridiculous argu-
ment. I will not proceed ; for I shall
forget all I have said, and cannot, in
justice, animadvert upon any of your
critiques.
I called on John Grove * this morn-
ing. I met my father in the passage,
and politely enquired after his health.
He looked as black as a thunder-cloud,
and said " Your most humble servant ! "
I made him a low bow, and, wishing
* A cousin of Shelley's, and brother of Harriet
Grove, living in Lincoln's Inn.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 77
him a very good morning, passed on.
He is very irate about my proposals.*
I cannot resign anything till I am
twenty-one. I cannot do anything;
therefore I have three more years
to consider of the matter you men-
tioned.
I shall go down to Field Place soon.
I wait for Mr. Pilfold's arrival, with
whom I shall depart. He is resolved
(the old fellow) that I shall not stay at
Field Place. If I please— as I shall
do for some time — I will. This reso-
lution of mine was hinted to him :
" Oh, then I shall take his sister away
before he comes." But I shall follow
her, as her retirement cannot be a
secret. This will probably lead me
to wander about for some time. You
will hear from me, however, wherever
I am.
If all these things are useless, you
* The "proposals" as to money-matters — mentioned
in the preceding letter.
78 LETTERS TO
will see me at York, or at Ellesmere if
you still remain there. " The scenery
excites mournful ideas." I am sorry
to hear it ; I hoped that it would have
had a contrary effect. May I indulge
the idea that York is as stupid as
Oxford ? And yet you did not wander
alone amid the mountains. I think I
shall live at the foot of Snowdon.
Suppose we both go there directly.
Do not be surprised if you see me at
Ellesmere. Yes, you would, for it
would be a strange thing. I am now
nearly recovered.*
Strange that Florian could not see
the conclusions from his own reason-
ing ! How can the hope of a higher
reward, stimulating the action, make it
virtuous, if the essence of virtue is dis-
interested ? as all, who know anything
of virtue, must allow, as he does allow.
How inconsistent is this religion ! How
" Recovered," it would seem, from a college strain.
See letter dated Afril zQtft, 1811.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 79
apt to pervert the judgment, and finally
the heart, of the most amiably-inten-
tioned who confide in it !
I wish I was with you in the moun-
tains ; could not we live there ?
Direct to 15 Poland Street. I write
to-morrow to York.
Your affectionate friend,
P. B. S.
Your B * is worse than stupid ;
he is provoking. Have you really
no one to associate with — not even a
peasant, a child of nature, a spider?
" And this from the hermit, the philo-
sopher ! " Oh, you are right to laugh
at me !
I finished the little poem, one stanza
of which you said was pretty ; it is, on
the whole, a most stupid thing, as you
will confess when I some day inflict a
* Apparently the college friend with whom Hogg had
left London, and gone to Ellesmere. Was he the
Burden mentioned elsewhere in Shelley's correspond-
ence?
8o LETTERS TO
perusal of it on your innocent ears.
Yet I have nothing to amuse myself
with ; and, if it does not injure others,
and you cannot avoid it, I do not see
much harm in being mad. You even
vindicate it in some almost inspired
stanzas, which I found among my
transcriptions to-day.
Adieu, I am going to Miss West-
brook's to dinner. Her father is out.
I will write to-morrow.*.
To T.J.Hogg,
Ellesmere.
* No letter written upon the following day, April
25/f/z, 1811, is at present forthcoming. It is evident
from the last paragraph of the foregoing that Eliza,
aged 30 or so, and Harriet, aged 16, were at least not
averse to a little defiance of Mrs. Grundy. Hence,
still smarting from the loss of Harriet Grove and
breathing out threatenings and slaughter against In-
tolerance, Shelley gladly seized a chance of obtaining,
as he thought, colleagues in his warfare. See espe-
cially p. 90.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 81
LETTER XVII.
15, POLAND STREET,
LONDON.
April 26th, 1811.
[Friday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I indulge despair. Why do I so ?
I will not philosophize. It is perhaps
a poor way of administering comfort to
myself to say that I ought not to be in
need of it. I fear the despair which
springs from disappointed love is a
passion, — a passion, too, which is least
of all reducible to reason. But it is a
passion, it is independent of volition ;
it is the necessary effect of a cause,
which must) I feel, continue to operate.
Wherefore, then, do you ask Why I
Y
82 LETTERS TO
indulge despair ? And what shall I tell
you which can make you happier, which
can alleviate even solitude and regret ?
Shall I tell you the truth ? Oh you are
too well aware of that, or you would
riot talk of despair ! Shall I say that
the time may come when happiness
shall dawn upon a night of wretched-
ness ? Why should I be a false prophet
if I said this ? I do not know, except
on the general principle that the evils
in this world powerfully overbalance its
pleasures ; how, then, could I be justi-
fied in saying this ? You will tell me
to cease to think, to cease to feel ; you
will tell me to be anything but what I
am ; and I feel I must obey the com-
mand before I can talk of hope.
I find there can be bigots in philo-
sophy as well as in religion ; I, per-
haps, may be classed with the former.
I have read your letter attentively. Yet
all religionists do judge of philosophers
in the way which you reprehend. Faith
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 83
is one of the highest moral virtues, —
the foundation, indeed, upon which all
others must rest \ and religionists think
that he who has neglected to cultivate
this has not performed one third of the
moral duties, as Bishop Warburton dog-
matically asserts. The religionists, then,
by this very Faith, without which they
could not be religionists, think the most
virtuous philosopher must have neg-
lected one third of the moral duties !
If, then, a religionist, the most ami-
able of them, regards the best philo-
sopher as far from being virtuous, has
not a philosopher reason to suspect the
amiability of a system which inculcates
so glaringly uncharitable opinions ?
Can a being amiable to a high degree
— possessed, of course, of judgment,
without which amiability would be in
a poor way — hold such opinions as
these ? Supposing even they were sup-
ported by reason, they ought to be
suspected as leading to a conclusion
84 LETTERS TO
ad absurdum ; since, however, they
combine irrationality and absurdity
with effects on the mind most opposite
to retiring amiability, are they not to be
more than suspected ? Take any system
of religion, lop off all the disgusting ex-
crescences, or rather adjuncts ; retain
virtuous precepts ; qualify selfish
dogmas (I would even allow as much
irrationality as amiability could swallow,
but uncombined with immorality and
self-conceitedness) ; do all this, and /
will say, It is a system which can do no
harm, and, indeed, is highly requisite
for the vulgar. But perhaps it is best
for the latter that they should have it
as their fathers gave it them ; that the
amiable, the enquiring should reject it
altogether.
Yet I will allow that it may be con-
sistent with amiability, when amiability
does not know the deformity of the
wretched errors, and that they really
are as we behold them. I cannot
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 85
judge of a system by the/ flowers which
are scattered here and there ; you omit
the mention of the weeds, which grow
so high that few botanists can see the
flowers ; and those who do gather the
latter are frequently, I fear, tainted
with the pestilential vapour of the
former.
The argument of supremacy is really
amiable, without that, I should give
up the remotest possibility of success.
Yet that applies but to the existence
of a Creator, that is inconsequential :
the enquirer here, the amiable enquirer,
does not pause at the world, lest she
should be left supreme ; she advances
one step higher, — not being aware, or
not caring to be aware, of the infinity
of the staircase which she ascends.*
This is irrational^ but it is not unami-
able, — it does not involve the hateful
consequences of selfishness, self-con-
* To see exactly what Shelley meant by these some-
what nebulous phrases, we sadly need Hogg's letter.
86 LETTERS TO
ceitedness, and the subserviency of
faith to the volition of the believer,
which are necessary to the existence
of " a spurious system of theology."
A religionist^ I will allow, may be
more amiable than a philosopher,
although in one instance reason is
allowed to sleep, that amiability may
watch. Yet, my dear friend, this is
not Intolerance ; nor can that odious
system stand excused on this ground,
as its very principle revolts against the
dear modesty which suggests a derelic-
tion of reason in the other instance. I
again assert — nor perhaps are you pre-
pared to deny, much as your amiable
motion might prompt you to wish it —
that religion is too often the child of
cold prejudice and selfish fear. Love
of a Deity, of Allah, Bramah (it is all
the same), certainly springs from the
latter motive ; is this love ? You know
too well it is not. Here I appeal to
your own heart, your own feelings. At
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 87
that tribunal I feel that I am secure.
I once could almost tolerate intoler-
ance,— it then merely injured me.
Once it merely deprived me of all
that I cared for, touching myself, on
earth ; but now it has done more, and
I cannot forgive.
Eloisa said ; "I have hated myself,
that I might love thee, Abelard."
When I hear a religionist prepared
to say so, as her sincere sentiments,
I then will allow that in a few in-
stances the virtue of religion is separ-
able from the vice.
" She is not lost for ever " ! How I
hope that may be true ! But I fear
/ can never ascertain, I can never
influence an amelioration, as she does
not any longer permit a "philosopher"
to correspond with her. She talks of
duty to her Father. And this is your
amiable religion !
You will excuse my raving, my dear
friend : you will not be severe upon my
88 LETTERS TO
hatred of a cause which can produce
such an effect as this.
You talk of the dead : " Do we not
exist after the tomb ? " — It is a natural
question, my friend, when there is
nothing in life : yet it is one on
which you have never told me any
solid grounds for your opinions.
You shall hear from me again soon.
I send some verses. I heard from F.
yesterday. All that he said was : u My
letters are arrived. — G. S. F."
My dear friend,
Your affectionate,
P. B. SHELLEY.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 89
LETTER XVIII.
LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS,
LONDON.
April, 2%th, 1811.
[Sunday. ]
MY DEAR FRIEND,
I am now at Grove's. I don't know
where I am, where I will be. Future,
present, past, is all a mist : it seems as
if I had begun existence anew, under
auspices so unfavourable. Yet no !
That is stupid.
My poor little friend * has been ill :
her sister sent for me the other night.
I found her on a couch, pale. Her
father is civil to me, very strangely :
the sister is too civil by half. She
* Harriet Westbrook.
A A
90 LETTERS TO
began talking about V Amour. I philo-
sophized : and the youngest said she
had such a headache that she could
not bear conversation Her sister then
went away, and I stayed till half-past
twelve. Her father had a large party
below, he invited me : I refused.
Yes! The fiend, the wretch, shall
fall ! * Harriet will do for one of
the crushers, and the eldest (Emily), t
with some taming, will do, too. They
are both very clever, and the youngest
(my friend) is amiable. Yesterday she
was better. To-day her father com-
pelled her to go to Clapham, whither I
have conducted her ; and I am now re-
turned.
Why is it that, the moment we two
are separated, I can scarcely set bounds
to my hatred of intolerance ? Is it feel-
ing ? is it passion ? I would willingly
* "The fiend, the wretch " = Intolerance.
t " Emily " can only have been Eliza. Possibly
the elder Miss Westbrook may have borne both names,
though the latter is the only one that has been recorded.
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 91
persuade myself that it is neither ; will-
ingly would I persuade myself that all
that is amiable, all that is good, falls by
its prevalence, and that 7 ought un-
ceasingly to attempt its destruction.
Yet you say that millions of bad are
necessary for the existence of a few
pre-eminent in excellence. Is not this
a despotism of virtue, which is incon-
sistent with its nature ? Is it not the
Asiatic tyrant who renders his territory
wretched to fill his seraglio ? the shark
who must glut his maw with millions of
fish in order that he may exist ? I
have often said that I doubted your
divinities ; and, if this inference follows
the established hypothesis of their
existence, I do not merely doubt, but
hope that my doubts are founded on
truth.
I think, then, that the term " supe-
rior "* is bad, as it involves this horrible
* Hogg would seem to have been writing of men as
" superior " to women.
92 LETTERS TO
consequence. Let the word "perfect,"
then, be offered as a substitute ; to
which each who aspires may indulge
a hope of arriving ; or rather every one
(speaking of men) may hope to contri-
bute to woman's arrival, which, in fact,
is themselves advancing ; although, like
the shadow preceding the figure, or the
spiral, it always may advance, and never
touch.
My sister does not come to town,
nor will she ever, at least I can see no
chance of it. I will not deceive my-
self ; she is lost, lost to everything ;
Intolerance has tainted her, — she talks
cant and twaddle. I would not venture
thus to prophesy without being most
perfectly convinced in my own mind of
the truth of what I say. It may not be
irretrievable ; but yes, it is ! A young
female who only once, only for a short
time, asserted her claim to an unfettered
use of reason, bred up with bigots, hav-
ing before her eyes examples of the
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 93
consequences of scepticism, — or even
of philosophy, which she must now
see to lead directly to the former. A
mother who is mild and tolerant, yet
narrow-minded. How, I ask, is she to
be rescued from its influence ?
I tell you, my dear friend, openly the
feelings of my mind, the state of its con-
victions on every subject ; this, then, is
one, and I do not expect that you will
say, " It must be so painful to your
feelings that I hope you will never
again mention it." I do not expect
you to say : " I had rather you were
under a pleasing error ; it is not a
friendly act to dissipate the mists which
hide a frightful prospect."
On other subjects you have soared
above prejudices ; you have investi-
gated them, terrible as they may have
appeared, and resolved to abide by the
result of that investigation. And you
have abided by it. Why then should
there yet remain a subject on which
B B
94 LETTERS TO
you profess yourself fearful to enquire?
I will not allow you to say "incom-
petent." Error cannot in any of its
shapes be good ; I cannot conceive the
possibility.
You talk of the credulity of man-
kind, its proneness to superstition, that
it ever has been a slave to the vilest of
errors. Is your inference necessary, or
direct, that it ever will continue so ?
You say that " I have no idea how
society could be freed from false
notions on almost every subject."
No ; nor would the first man in the
world, supposing that there ever was
one, at the moment of his arriving to
his estate, have any conception how a
fertile piece of land would look with-
out weeds. He stares at it, and thinks
it is least of all fitted for his con-
veniences ; when a stricter searching
into its nature would convince him
that it was calculated to contribute to
them, with a sufficient proportion of
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 95
labour, more than the barer land which
appeared clear.
Dares the lama, most fleet of the sons of the
wind,
The lion to rouse from his skull-covered lair ?
When the tiger approaches, can the fast-fleet-
ing hind
Repose trust in his footsteps of air ?
No. Abandon' d he sinks in a trance of de-
spair :
The monster transfixes his prey :
On the sand flows his' life-blood away,
Whilst India's rocks to his death-yells reply,
Protracting the horrible harmony.
Yet the fowl of the desert, when danger en-
croaches,
Dares fearless to perish, defending her brood,
Though the fiercest of cloud-piercing tyrants
approaches,
Thirsting — aye thirsting — for blood,
And demands, like mankind, his brother for
food ; —
Yet more lenient, more gentle, than they, —
For hunger, not glory, the prey
Must perish. Revenge does not howl o'er the
dead,
Nor ambition with fame crown the murderer's
head.
96 LETTERS TO
Though weak as the lama that bounds on the
mountains,
And endued not with fast-fleeting footsteps of
air,
Yet, yet will I draw from the purest of
fountains,
Though a fiercer than tiger is there ;
Though, more dreadful than death, it scatters
despair,
Though its shadow eclipses the day,
And the darkness of deepest dismay
Spreads the influence of soul-chilling terror
around,
And lowers on the corpses, that rot on the
ground.
They came to the fountain to draw from its
stream
Waves too pure, too celestial, for mortals to
see ;
They bathed for a while in its silvery beam,
Then perished, and perished like me.
For in vain from the grasp of the Bigot I flee ;
The most tenderly loved of my soul
Are slaves to his hated control.
He pursues me, he blasts me ! 'Tis in vain
that I fly !
What remains but to curse him, — to curse him,
and die ?
THOMAS JEFFERSON HOGG. 97
There it is — a mad effusion of this
morning !
I had resolved not to mortgage,* be-
fore you left London ; I told you that
1 should divide it with my sisters, and
leave everything else to fate.
Your affectionate friend,
P. B. S.
* Cf. p. 72.
c c
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
BERKELEY
Return to desk from which borrowed.
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
MAR18196634
11023*6692 RC(
Jtere Books
and
Special
Colle
LD 21-100ra-9,'48(B399sl6)476
Rare Books
and
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11