Letter from Charles S. Peirce to William James
(New York, 01.05.1877)



 
Spanish translation & annotations
Previous/Next

 

Brevoort House
New York, May 1, 1877

My dear Willie,

All the rivalship which is likely to exist between us two, I don't think will ever touch our friendship. It is true you express yourself rather strongly and I infer you are in love, & in successful love; in the which I rejoice. What a difference as Choate says "whether the courses of the sun are sinking slowly to rest wearied with the journey of a thousand years [that's me] or just bounding-over the orient unbreathed [that's you.]" At my time, I can afford to be rather more disinterested than you profess to be (& I don't want you to be any more so, mind you) & I should be more glad if you got what you want so much than if I did, who want it so little.

 

I am in process of moving & was forced to come here for the night. Imagine my disgust at seeing in the Herald this morning that Prof. C. S. Peirce of Harvard College is sojourning at the Brevoort. Particularly as I am rather ashamed of my partiality for the Brevoort. But I have always come here for many years; I am known to every waiter etc. & find myself at home. It is frequented by a class of people very comme il faut but not in my line. I insensibly put on a sort of swagger here which I hope I have no where else, & which is designed to say "You are a very good fellow in your way; who you are I don’t know & I don't care, but I you know am Mr. Peirce distinguished for my varied scientific acquirements but above all for my extreme modesty in which respect I challenge the world." I notice that if one goes into the niceties, scarcely any one is totally

 

 
without swagger & those few the dryness is disagreeable. Required an essay on good taste in swaggering.

You don't say how your father & the rest of them are—I had lately a letter from H. James Jr.

Your loving,

C. S. P.


Transcription by Izaskun Martínez (2016)
Una de las ventajas de los textos en formato electrónico respecto de los textos impresos es que pueden corregirse con gran facilidad mediante la colaboración activa de los lectores que adviertan erratas, errores o simplemente mejores transcripciones. En este sentido agradeceríamos que se enviaran todas las sugerencias y correcciones a sbarrena@unav.es
Proyecto de investigación "La correspondencia del tercer viaje europeo de Charles S. Peirce (septiembre-noviembre 1877)"

Fecha del documento:2 de noviembre 2016
Última actualización: 19 de septiembre 2022
[Main Page]