George Tyrrell's Letters

Excerpt from George Tyrrell's Letters

To many the name of George Tyrrell is SO familiar that any account of his life may seem super?uous  to many, but not to all. Furthermore, the years of stress through which the world has lately passed have dulled the memory of many events that stood out conspicuously in times when thought was not at a discount and action all that signified. The story of the, Modernist movement was hardly ended before the Great War began a crisis during which deeper and more abiding interests were inevitably suspended in favour of ques tions materially urgent and imperative. But [even were Modernism generally remembered, Modernism is far from being all in the life of Tyrrell. Indeed it may be said that Modernism did a certain amount of injustice to his memory, in so far as it overshadowed other sides of his work and his character. He was a Modernist, and he gave a portion of his life to the prosecution of that movement but he was other things besides -he was a man of unusual spiritual insight of moral acumen of keen human sympathy and psychological Skill of literary power and percep tion; of abounding humour and fun. He had been a missioner and a confessor before he was a writer; he was the friend of many for whom his orthodoxy or unorthodoxy had little importance.