Personality of William James

Through the courtesy of the "Atlantic Monthly," we are permitted to reprint the following appreciation of the personality of the late Professor William James M.'69, which is an extract from an article by Dr. James Jackson Putnam, '66 in the December number. Dr. Putnam was a classmate of Professor James at the Harvard Medical School, where he is now a professor.

"Throughout the abundant social life of William James he was so frank and so obviously friendly that it was impossible to take offence at anything he said, and this made it easier for him than for most men to strike the personal note in human intercourse. He could get at once upon a footing which made a basis of intimacy, if occasion called for this; a footing which, in any case, left each new acquaintance feeling the gates of his own mind unlocked for him. He said jokingly, one day, that when he met a new person he asked him first his age and then his income, and this was almost literally true. Furthermore, these friendly relationships that he was so ready to establish did not always end with social courtless. Generous in deed as he was in word and thought, he gave without stint, now, perhaps, a contribution of money to a friend in need, now a book from his library, now time and friendly counsel, offered to show appreciation and sympathy or to meet distress. This sense of kindliness was thoroughgoing. He had made it a principle, so he told me, to abstain from unfavorable personal criticism unless called for by some need. It was a rare event to hear him pass an unfriendly judgment, and he disliked to hear it done by others. He appreciated keenly the peculiarities of his acquaintances, and could characterize them with accuracy and wit. But such comments were always kindly or marked by a light and playful touch, devoid of sting.

"In conversation both William James and his father had a delightful sense of humor, a similar richness of vocabulary, and an equal individuality in its use. A peculiarity of both was the habit of delaying speech for an instant, while the mind was working and the telling sentence was framing itself for utterance--a brief interval during which the lips would gather slightly, as for a sort of smile, and the eyes and faces take on an indescribable expression of great charm. Then would burst forth one of those longer or shorter epigrammatic or aphoristic sayings which their friends all recall so well, full of meaning, full of kindliness and humor, never sarcastic, but always keen. Occasionally, too, they were full of fiery wrath. This James humor has often been referred to as of Irish origin. If so, it certainly throve well on American soil. It pointed also to the wide vision of real culture and to experience with men and books, thus showing itself to be cosmopolitan or universal, rather than racial. Certainly old and young, rich and poor, foreigner and native, appreciated its great charm and penetration. Sometimes a mere trifle would call out one of these rich, explosive extravaganzas of speech. I remember listening one day with trepidation when Mr. James, Sr., gathered his face into a half-humorous, half-thundery expression and then rolled out a series of denunciations on the people who would use the word 'quite' in the sense of 'not quite'."