To Bryn[jolf] J[akob] Hovde
Via Santo Stefano Rotondo, 6
Rome. October 18, 1949
Dear Dr. Hovde,
Your request for a contribution to the book of tributes to John Dewey reaches me too late. You evidently did not know that I have been living in Italy for many years. Moreover, in spite of repeated suggestions to the contrary, I have thought it better not to figure among the many admirers who have arranged this demonstration for Dewey’s ninetieth birthday. It is not the sort of thing to which I am naturally drawn, and there are particular reasons in this case why I should abstain from any expressions of regard and admiration that might seem perfunctory, or inadequate.
Yours sincerely,
G Santayana
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book Eight, 1948-1952. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.
Location of manuscript: Morris Library, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale