(Vol. ix., p. 496.)
In an article contained in the Number of "N. & Q." for May the 27th last,
and signed C. MANSFIELD INGLEBY, an inconsiderate, not to say a coarse
attack has been made upon me, which might have been spared had the writer
sought a private explanation of the matters upon which he has founded his
charge.
He asks, "How has Mr. Green discharged the duties of his solemn trust? Has
he made any attempt to give publicity to the _Logic_, the 'great work' on
_Philosophy_, the work on the Old and New Testaments, to be called _The
Assertion of Religion_, or the _History of Philosophy_, all of which are in
his custody, and of which the first is, on the testimony of Coleridge
himself, a finished work?... For the four works enumerated above, Mr. Green
is responsible."
Now, though, by the terms of Coleridge's will, I do not hold myself
"responsible" in the sense which the writer attaches to the term, and
though I have acted throughout with the cognizance, and I believe with the
approbation of Coleridge's family, yet I am willing, and shall now proceed
to give such explanations as an admirer of Coleridge's writings may desire,
or think he has a right to expect.
Of the four works in question, the _Logic_--as will be seen by turning to
the passage in the Letters, vol. ii. p. 150., to which the writer refers as
"the testimony of Coleridge himself"--is described as _nearly_ ready for
the press, though as yet _unfinished_; and I apprehend it may be proved by
reference to Mr. Stutfield's notes, the gentleman to whom it is there said
they were dictated, and who possesses the original copy, that the work
never was finished. Of the three parts mentioned as the components of {544}
the work, the _Criterion_ and _Organon_ do not to my knowledge exist; and
with regard to the other parts of the manuscript, including the _Canon_, I
believe that I have exercised a sound discretion in not publishing them in
their present form and _unfinished_ state.
Of the alleged work on the Old and New Testaments, to be called _The
Assertion of Religion_, I have no knowledge. There exist, doubtless, in
Coleridge's handwriting, many notes, detached fragments and marginalia,
which contain criticisms on the Scriptures. Many of these have been
published, some have lost their interest by the recent advances in biblical
criticism, and some may hereafter appear; though, as many of them were
evidently not intended for publication, they await a final judgment with
respect to the time, form, and occasion of their appearance. But no work
with the title above stated, no work with any similar object--except the
_Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit_--is, as far as I know, in existence.
The work to which I suppose the writer alludes as the _History of
Philosophy_, is in my possession. It was presented to me by the late J.
Hookham Frere, and consists of notes, taken for him by an eminent shorthand
writer, of the course of lectures delivered by Coleridge on that subject.
Unfortunately, however, these notes are wholly unfit for publication, as
indeed may be inferred from the fact, communicated to me by Coleridge, that
the person employed confessed after the first lecture that he was unable to
follow the lecturer in consequence of becoming perplexed and delayed by the
novelty of thought and language, for which he was wholly unprepared by the
ordinary exercise of his art. If this _History of Philosophy_ is to be
published in an intelligible form, it will require to be re-written; and I
would willingly undertake the task, had I not, in connexion with
Coleridge's views, other and more pressing objects to accomplish.
I come now to the fourth work, the "great work" on _Philosophy_. Touching
this the writer quotes from one of Coleridge's letters:
"Of this work something more than a volume has been dictated by me, so
as to exist fit for the press."
I need not here ask whether the conclusion is correct, that because
"something more than a volume" is fit for the press, I am therefore
responsible for the whole work, of which the "something more than a volume"
is a part? But--shaping my answer with reference to the real point at
issue--I have to state, for the information of Coleridge's readers, that,
although in the materials for the volume there are introductions and
intercalations on subjects of speculative interest, such as to entitle them
to appear in print, the main portion of the work is a philosophical
_Cosmogony_, which I fear is scarcely adapted for scientific readers, or
corresponds to the requirements of modern science. At all events, I do not
hesitate to say that the completion of the whole would be requisite for the
intelligibility of the part which exists in manuscript.
I leave it then to any candid person to decide whether I should have acted
wisely in risking its committal to the press in its present shape. Whatever
may be, however, the opinion of others, I have decided, according to my own
conscientious conviction of the issue, against the experiment.
But should some farther explanation be expected of me on this interesting
topic, I will freely own that, having enjoyed the high privilege of
communion with one of the most enlightened philosophers of the age--and in
accordance with his wishes the responsibility rests with me, as far as my
ability extends, of completing his labours,--in pursuance of this trust I
have devoted more than the leisure of a life to a work in which I hope to
present the philosophic views of my "great master" in a systematic form of
unity--in a form which may best concentrate to a focus and principle of
unity the light diffused in his writings, and which may again reflect it on
all departments of human knowledge, so that truths may become intelligible
in the one light of Divine truth.
Meanwhile I can assure the friends and admirers of Coleridge that nothing
now exists in manuscript which would add materially to the elucidation of
his philosophical doctrines; and that in any farther publication of his
literary remains I shall be guided, as I have been, by the duty which I owe
to the memory and fame of my revered teacher.