Henri Bergson (1859-1941)
Series of approx. 106 autograph letters and one autograph postcard signed ('H. Bergson') to Herbert Wildon Carr, mostly Paris, 24 January 1909 - 1 August 1930
In French. A few with envelopes; with a typed letter signed by Emile Meyerson, 6 May 1925. Provenance: Phillips, 24 March 2000, lot 201.

A substantial series to the chief English advocate for Bergson's philosophy. The letters often discuss the translations of Bergson's works into English: in 1910 frequent letters concern the translation (by Arthur Mitchell, 1911) of Bergson's major and most influential work, L'Évolution créatrice (1907), on which Carr advised, going as far as detailed verbal corrections at the proof stage: Bergson discusses central concepts such as 'élan vital' and 'instinct' and nuances in the translation of individual words, and elucidates passages which may be ambiguous; after having initially characterised Mitchell's work as 'médiocre', Bergson is delighted by the result of Carr's efforts to improve it, declaring after publication 'La traduction est décidément de premier ordre'. Carr''s own translation of L'Énergie spirituelle (as Mind-Energy: Lectures and Essays, London: Macmillan, 1920), is later the subject of similarly detailed discussion, with Bergson especially focused on chapter 1 ('puisque c'est le seul que tous les lecteurs lisent'). Amongst other subjects, Bergson frequently expresses his pleasure in reading Carr's articles and books, especially those devoted to himself, noting that Carr's Henri Bergson: the philosophy of change (1911) makes his views 'plus accessibles à la moyenne des esprits cultivés qu’elles ne l’étaient dans mon texte à moi’; and there is interesting discussion in letters of 1920-21 of Carr's work on Einstein's theory of relativity (27 January 1920), which inspires Bergson's own book on the same subject (2 November 1920), in which he seeks to connect Einstein's relativity with his own conception of 'durée réelle': 'je cherche sur quels points précis ma « durée » peut rejoindre le « temps » de la théorie de la relativité ; et c’est là une question tout-à­-fait fuyante et glissante’ (19 July 1921). Amongst occasional discussions of other philosophers, Bergson initially mentions his qualified admiration for Bertrand Russell, later reacting with dismay to a critical article by him, ‘jamais je n’aurais cru qu’un esprit aussi bien doué à tant d’égards pût être aussi radicalement incapable d’entrer dans la pensée d’autrui … L’exposé qu’il prétend faire de mes idées est un contre-sens presque perpétuel’ (18 August 1913). Letters from the period of the First World War frequently allude to its crushing effect on Bergson's philosophical work: 'Cette guerre m'a absorbé tout entier depuis quatre ans, et j’ai complètement négligé la spéculation pure’ (24 September 1918).