Creator
John Muir
Recipient
friend
Transcription
[Page 1]
Oakland Jan 13th 1874
My dear friend. I am very sorry to hear that your uncle is dead. He was a father to you and the loss is terrible and I sympathize with you in your great affliction all the more because he was a friend of mine of that kind that one depends on instinctively. These trials are among the very [ ] that our common Father lays upon us, acting as they always do, with crushing grief for a time yet resulting in the case of all good and pure souls in a production of greater faith and power to accomplish the true end of our existence because however dark and mysterious some of our experiences may be, this truth yet remains universal and eternal “God is Love” and the upshot of all our griefs as well as joys will be our greatest good.
Death is a necessary result of life. We grow and decay like plants. Yet death does not mean half so much as we are taught to believer. Your uncle yet lives and is not farther from you than before. Be cheerful then and trustful the sun will warm you and cheer you
"[Page 2]
a thousand friends visible and invisible are ready to comfort and sustain you, every existence in nature is in league with every pure soul. The greatest misfortune that can possibly follow your affliction is your being driven in upon yourself separated from the rest of the universe of [ ]. You need the human and terrestrial love wh is but a form of the divine love and you will find it in all forms and in all places throughout the dominions of God. May our Father cheer and uphold you. I hope that you will feel assured of my [ ] sympathy because I am ever Your friend John Muir
Remember me to Mrs. Knox. Mrs. Carr send love to you [ ] and will be very happy to see you here."
Location
Oakland, [Calif.]
Date Original
1874 Jan 13
Source
Original letter dimensions: 25 x 20 cm.
Recommended Citation
Muir, John, "1874 Jan 13 JM to unknown p1" (1874). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 4824.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/4824
Resource Identifier
muir00_022-let
File Identifier
MSS 307 Muiriana
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyrighted
Copyright Statement
The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Copyright Holder
Muir-Hanna Trust
Copyright Date
1984
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
