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tealinGood morning, Internet. Today, and for the next month and a half, I would like to introduce you to the most wonderful person who ever lived, Dr. Edward A. Wilson of Cheltenham, 1872-1912. I went 28 years without a hero but it was worth the wait, because Bill (as he was known to his Antarctic colleagues) is solid gold from top to bottom, has been a life-changing inspiration to me, and I think the world would be a better place for getting to know him better.
For the next while I'm handing him the reins of my blog, posting quotes from his letters and journals, and quotes from others writing about him, to give you a sense of his character. I'll try to sprinkle it with photos and drawings as well when I can. If this shift of gears bothers you, the usual rounds of radio links and prattling will resume in May, but I solicit your patience; you may find it worth your time.
There is no one better to introduce him than Apsley Cherry-Garrard, his protege in the South and chronicler of the expedition they shared in The Worst Journey in the World. That book was published in 1922, but in 1948 Cherry wrote a postscript, which included this paean to Wilson:
For the next while I'm handing him the reins of my blog, posting quotes from his letters and journals, and quotes from others writing about him, to give you a sense of his character. I'll try to sprinkle it with photos and drawings as well when I can. If this shift of gears bothers you, the usual rounds of radio links and prattling will resume in May, but I solicit your patience; you may find it worth your time.
There is no one better to introduce him than Apsley Cherry-Garrard, his protege in the South and chronicler of the expedition they shared in The Worst Journey in the World. That book was published in 1922, but in 1948 Cherry wrote a postscript, which included this paean to Wilson:
In such a world, violent, angry, and tired, Wilson sets a standard of faith and work. In a world which destroys itself and beauty, desperately and impotently desiring peace, he helps ...
We have missed him ever since he died. But you must find him: his voice, it is a quiet voice, is for those who listen ...
He had the quiet mind. That feeling he could communicate to others. Such men do occur in history, but they are very rare, and when they do happen they are among the great ones of our race. ... Such a man is followed willingly, and quite literally, to the uttermost ends of the earth.
Glory? He knew it for a bubble: he had proved himself to himself. He was not worrying about glory. Power? He had power.
It is not in my power to put him into that stream of thought which runs like a thread of gold through the more hopeful side of history and religion, and leads through happiness, sorrow and much pain to beauty – beauty without any bitterness at all.
