MATTHEW JOSEPHSON
GAYLORDSVILLE
CONNECTICUT

Aug.29,1938

Mr. Robert Penn Warren
Southern Review,
University, La.

Dear Mr. Warren,

It suddenly occurred to me that I would like to
write an essay-review, one of those in which you
have space to turn around and complete a thought,
(which is not the case in weekly papers) for your
excellent quarterly. The Letters of Henry Adams, Vol. II,
are announced; and in a short time the very valuable
letters of Lincoln Steffens will be issued (by Harcourt.)
The period would be chiefly 1896-1917, and its political-
social themes, subject of a new book I am working on.
I find that these briefer forays often help me crystal-
lize ideas.

I have been enjoying the Southern Review.

P.S. Seeing Caroline Tate again, after years, at a
party in this corner of the world made me think of
the S.R. But either I am blind, or the S.R. hardly
seems "agrarian" at all.

Oct.10,1938

Dear Mr. Warren,

Your letter in reply to my proposal for an ess-
say arrived after considerable delay--no doubt
on account of university vacations, which I hadn't
thought of. L'acking word from you, I yielded
to the invitation of another editor and contracted
to write on Henry Adams for him.

Thus I am in a muddle and must beg off, as the
simplest way out. (These things seem to happen oc-
casionally when one lives in the country and com-
munications have a slow, rustic or academic gait.)
Fortunately the disaster seems a minor one, as I hope,
since you report a plethora of mss on hand.

There is still the volume of Lincoln Steffens'
Letters to be accounted for, the book to appear
at the end of this month. I happen to have seen
galleys of this, and its surprisingly good and pert-
inent material. But perhaps we had better work
over another idea, later on, when the Southern Review
is not congested. At the moment, looking ahead to
next Spring, I don't know how my work shapes up, or
how much time off I will have from "work in progress."

Forgive me, if I seem to have muddled things up.

GAYLORDSVILLE
CONNECTICUT

Jan. 27, 1939

Dear Mr. Warren,

As to the question of an essay for the
Southern Review, I have been thinking hard. (This
is no easy thing nowadays).

Here is one idea that may be suitable
for your paper. While preparing material for a book
on politics and literature, I became interested in
old Brooks Adams, the younger brother of Henry,
author of "The Law of Civilization and Decay," (1895)
and "Theory of Social Revolution" (1913). Brooks Adams
worked hard to fashion a "science of history," and
quite clearly had a larger influence on his brother
than is realized. In fact Brooks's theories concerning
the rise-and-fall of civilizations represent a piece
of pioneering long before the German, Spengler; are also
far more pertinent today than those of the dyspeptic
Henry. In fact it is fairly startling to read passages
out of his 1895 work in 1939. He has never been done
justice to--except by Parrington who studies him much
more than he does H. Adams, and by Charles Beard. He has
been overshadowed.

B. Adams was a diverting digression for me:
I found he was related to Henry Cabot Lodge, and was
a close friend of Theodore Roosevelt whose "education"
in politics and history he had strongly influenced at
various times. They were "intellectuals" at the outset,
of course, and he strongly colored their views of
the detestably commercial i.e. unmilitary character
of our society as it was developing, and its predestined
decline into socialism-chaos-unless something
was done pretty quick.

In the 1890's also, men thought about
history very earnestly, especially men of leisure whose
families had played a leading part in the past. A fascina-
ting game, which Brooks Adams played better than most.
To attempt prophecy seemed both feasible and important, as it seems again today, by analyzing social forces
or energies. The Adamses were especially endowed with
the historical sense, for good reason. I thought of
appraisingly Brooks's character and two chief works and
pointing out their surprising validity today. For instance
the positive forecast of a military organization of
great powers rather than a social-democratic one, for
our time! B.A. also forecast a sort of "New Deal". A
most curious fellow and a queer scholar. Let me know
soon. Also closing dates.