Jack London? Charmian London? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. writer Jack London is best known for the novel “The Call of the Wild” and the short story “To Build a Fire”. Apparently, London adhered to a materialistic philosophy, and he was skeptical of an afterlife. When describing the end of life he used a vivid analogy to a smashed mosquito. Would you please help me to find his precise quotation together with a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: Jack London died in 1916. In 1921 his wife, Charmian London, published “The Book of Jack London” which included an excerpt from a letter that he wrote to a friend on June 25, 1914. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
“. . . I have always inclined toward Haeckel’s position. In fact, ‘incline’ is too weak a word. I am a hopeless materialist. I see a soul as nothing else than the sum of the activities of the organism plus personal habits, memories, experiences, of the organism. I believe that when I am dead, I am dead. I believe that with my death I am just as much obliterated as the last mosquito you or I smashed.”
“I have no patience with fly-by-night philosophers such as Bergson. I have no patience with the metaphysical philosophers.”
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In May 1922 the “Oakland Tribune” of California published an article about Jack London by Edward B. Payne. An excerpt from London was reprinted:2
“I am a hopeless materialist I see a soul as nothing else than the sum of the activities of the organism, plus personal habits, memories, experiences of the organism. I believe that when I am dead I am dead. I believe that with my death I am just as much obliterated as the last mosquito you or I smashed.”
In 1926 the “Overland Monthly” of San Francisco, California published an article titled “Jack London’s Philosophy of Life” by Calvin B. Houck. An excerpt from the letter was reprinted. Thus, the quotation achieved further distribution.3
In 1945 Ira D. Cardiff published the collection “What Great Men Think of Religion” which included an excerpt of London’s letter:4
JACK LONDON, Contemporary American Writer
. . . I believe that when I am dead, I am dead. I believe that with my death I am just as much obliterated as the last mosquito you and I smashed. . .
In conclusion, Jack London deserves credit for this quotation. He used it in a letter in 1914. It reflected his viewpoint two years before his death.
Image Notes: Portrait of Jack London from the 1903 book “Little Pilgrimages Among the Men Who Have Written Famous Books: Second Series” by E. F. Harkins. Illustration of a mosquito from a 1910 book. These images are in the public domain. The images have been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Jonathan Lighter whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration.
- 1921, The Book of Jack London by Charmian London, Volume 2 of 2, Chapter 40: The Last Summer 1916, Letter To: Ralph Kasper, Letter Date: June 25, 1914, Quote Page 363, The Century Company, New York. ( The first “Haeckel” was misspelled as “Haekel”) (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1922 May 13, Oakland Tribune, Jack London’s Spirit Sends Message Communication Stirs Continents by Edward B. Payne, Quote Page 1, Column 7, Oakland, California. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1926 May, Overland Monthly, Volume 84, Number 5, Jack London’s Philosophy of Life (Part 2) by Calvin B. Houck, Start Page 136, Quote Page 141, San Francisco, California. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1945 Copyright, What Great Men Think of Religion, Compiled by Ira D. Cardiff (Ira Detrich Cardiff), Entry: Jack London, Quote Page 240,The Christopher Publishing House, Boston, Massachusetts. (Verified with scans) ↩︎