Item 12 - Letter from Thomas Robert Malthus

E. I. Coll. - Thanks WW for his present ['Astronomy and General Physics Considered with Reference to Natural Theology', 1833]: 'I can assure you now with perfect sincerity that I have been quite delighted and much instructed by many parts of the work. Perhaps the very early portion of the volume is not quite so good as the rest; but the great mass is excellent; and on the whole it appears to me that you have brought forward very valuable materials for your purpose, and have arranged and applied them in a very masterly and striking manner. The proof of design are indeed every where and so apparent that it is hardly possible to add much to the force of the argument as stated and illustrated by Paley; but still it is gratifying to contemplate the new illustrations which the almost infinite variety of nature furnishes, and these you have brought forward in abundance'. TRM is not quite so sure about the smaller work WW sent ['On the Uses of Definitions', 1832]: 'I confess I was a little alarmed at it at first; and thought it was an attack upon my definitions in Political Economy, which I certainly do not consider as useless. I agree with you in thinking that new definitions of terms are not always necessary to get at truth; and that the most exact definitions are not so much the causes as the consequences of our advances in knowledge. At the same time, I should say, that in regard to this latter position, they act and react upon each other, and that without some understanding as to the meaning of the words used the advances in knowledge would be very slow, though it might still be quite true that you would not arrive at the very best definitions, till a very great progress had been made. You yourself refer to some definitions which you acknowledge to be useful though they might subsequently give way to others more complete. In Political Economy subsequent to the work of Adam Smith, it might be expected that some facts had been classed which required names in order that we might refer to them, and talk of them; and what I have done chiefly has been to adhere to his meaning of these names, where he had not himself used them in different sense. Surely you must agree with me in the utility of persuading people if possible to use the same terms in same senses. However, TRM understands that WW's attack was on Richard Whately and not him - 'so I will say no more'.