"If America talked of American projects with such exaggerated insinuation of her power, & her wealth &c, she would be simply insufferable"

Stanley, Henry Morton, African explorer (1841-1904). Autograph letter signed.

€ 8,500.00

A sharp letter revealing Stanley's sensitivity to cultures other than his own and his desire to impart this on others. To Robert Stein, criticizing his correspondent's remarks about the French, Germans, Americans and the English: "It is impossible to read your article without coming to the conclusion that you are an accomplished writer, & I feel immensely flattered at being asked to endorse what has been so ably & eloquently argued. I am sorry however to say that my rude common sense prevents me from approving your suggestion. I am neither pro-German, or pro-French and I distinctly see that the ideas you broach will not please Frenchmen nor indeed any American or Englishman who is of clean unbiassed mind, & I doubt, whether the higher class of Germans will regard them as wise. I cannot divest my mind quite from the suspicion that there is some irony concealed in your proposals, & if I were a Frenchman I feel I should be furiously angry. You may be innocent of all intention to provoke Frenchmen, but it is too evident your exaggerated ideas of German[y] might border perilously near being offensive. If America talked of American projects with such exaggerated insinuation of her power, & her wealth &c, she would be simply insufferable, & no lover of Germany would care to put ideas in her mouth which would estrange the good will of every nation. Germany is too rich & powerful to need such language to impress her greatness & her value as one of the foremost among the nations. As yet she feels the need of more land, but if out of inordinate conceit she proclaims her greedy love of it & wantonly promotes discord to indulge it, she will end in making herself as detested as the French did previous to 1870-71 [...]".

On his imprinted stationery; very scattered spotting.