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Charles George Gordon

British army officer and administrator

Major-General Charles George Gordon CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator. He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army. However, he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the "Ever Victorious Army", a force of Chinese soldiers led by European officers which was instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, regularly defeating much larger forces. For these accomplishments, he was given the nickname "Chinese Gordon" and honours from both the Emperor of China and the British.

Quotes

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  • [N]o novels or worldly books come up to the Sermons of McCheyne or the Commentaries of Scott.
    • Letter to his sister, Augusta (1854), quoted in M. A. Gordon, Letters of General C. G. Gordon to His Sister (1888), p. 2
  • [T]he whole secret of our trouble is want of love to God. If we have it to Him, we shall find it impossible not to have it to others. I can say, for my part, that backbiting and envy were my delight, and even now often lead me astray, but, by dint of perseverance in prayer, God has given me the mastery to a great degree; I did not wish to give it up, so I besought Him to give me that wish; He did so, and then I had the promise of His fulfilment. I am sure this is our besetting sin; once overcome it, and there will be no cloud between God and ourselves. God is love—not full of love, but love itself. The law is love; possessed of love, we shall find our other temptations fall from us like scales. We are all dreadfully prone to evil-speaking, but God is all-powerful against it; it is opposed to His nature, so He hates it. I pray for those I most envy, and the feeling leaves me at once.
    • Letter to his sister, Augusta (12 June 1866), quoted in M. A. Gordon, Letters of General C. G. Gordon to His Sister (1888), p. 3
  • I have learned with equal pain and indignation that the Khedive and his subordinate officers have permitted the resuscitation of the slave-trade in Darfour and the other provinces of central and equatorial Africa, and that fresh parties of slave-hunters are forming at Obeyed in Kordofan, and that every order which I gave concerning the suppression of this abomination has been cancelled... This news is very disheartening, especially when one realises the immense misery which will ensue to the remains of these poor tribes of helpless negroes.
    • Statement (April 1880), quoted in The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C.B. at Kartoum (1885), p. xxi
  • Some say that the people of Candahar desire our rule. I cannot think that any people like being governed by aliens in race or religion. They prefer their own bad native Governments to a stiff, civilized Government, in spite of the increased worldly prosperity the latter may give.
    • Letter to The Times (23 February 1881), p. 8
  • We may be sure that at Candahar the spirit which induced children to kill or to attempt to kill our soldiers in 1879, &c., still exists, though it may be cowed. We have trouble enough with the fanatics of India; why should we go out of our way to add to their numbers?
    • Letter to The Times (23 February 1881), p. 8
  • The judgments on this land [Egypt] are on account of its cruelties in respect to the slave trade.
    • Journal entry (13 September 1884), quoted in The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C.B. at Kartoum (1885), p. 25
  • I dwell on the joy of never seeing Great Britain again, with its horrid, wearisome dinner parties and miseries. How we can put up with those things passes my imagination! It is a perfect bondage. At those dinner parties we are all in masks, saying what we do not believe, eating and drinking things we do not want, and then abusing one another. I would sooner live like a Dervish with the Mahdi, than go out to dinner every night in London.
    • Journal entry (24 October 1884), quoted in The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C.B. at Kartoum (1885), p. 228
  • If the Mahdi has got the Bahr Gazelle, and we evacuate the Soudan in his favour, the Anti-Slavery Society may as well close their office as to the suppression of the slave-trade in these parts, especially if we leave him the steamers.
    • Journal entry (25 October 1884), quoted in The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C.B. at Kartoum (1885), p. 233
  • As for the slave trade, the Mahdi will be ten times worse than Zubair.
    • Journal entry (8 November 1884), quoted in The Journals of Major-Gen. C. G. Gordon, C.B. at Kartoum (1885), p. 300

Quotes about General Gordon

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  • General Gordon is one of our national treasures (cheers), and I do not think Her Majesty's Government had any right rashly to expose our national treasures. (Renewed cheers.) I do not think that since the days of knight-errantry in the dark ages such an expedition was ever undertaken. And I think it was about equally wise as the expeditions of the knights errant. (Hear, hear.)
    • Lord Cairns, speech in the House of Lords (12 February 1884), quoted in The Times (13 February 1884), p. 6
  • What I then learned makes it necessary to considerably modify the earlier chapter dealing with the Gordon episode. I feel that it will be impossible for me to sacrifice all the fine phrases and pleasing paragraphs I have written about Gordon, but Cromer was very bitter about him and begged me not to pander to the popular belief on the subject. Of course there is no doubt that Gordon as a political figure was absolutely hopeless. He was so erratic, capricious, utterly unreliable, his mood changed so often, his temper was abominable, he was frequently drunk, and yet with all he had a tremendous sense of honour and great abilities, and a still greater obstinacy.
    • Winston Churchill to Lady Randolph (30 March [1899]), quoted in Randolph S. Churchill, Winston S. Churchill, Volume I: Youth 1874–1900 (1966), p. 440
  • In the Gordon case we all, and I rather pro-eminently, must continue to suffer in silence. Gordon was a hero, and a hero of heroes; but we ought to have known that a hero of heroes is not the proper person to give effect at a distant point, and in most difficult circumstances, to the views of ordinary men.
    • William Ewart Gladstone, letter to a former colleague (10 January 1890), quoted in John Morley, The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Volume III (1903), pp. 168-169
  • Gordon was certain[ly] a hero—the very embodiment of British chivalry and pluck. At the same time, he behaved recklessly and with very small regard to his own country.
    • Edward Walter Hamilton, diary entry (11 February 1885), quoted in The Diary of Sir Edward Walter Hamilton 1880–1885, Volume II 1883–1885, ed. Dudley W. R. Bahlman (1972), pp. 793-794
  • Much as I like and respect him, I must say he is "not all there". Whether it is religion, or vanity, or softening of the brain—I don't know, but he seems to be alternately arrogant and slavish, vain and humble, in his senses and out of them. It's a great pity.
    • Robert Hart to James Campbell (11 August 1880), quoted in Immanuel C. Y. Hsü, The Ili Crisis: A Study of Sino-Russian Diplomacy 1871–1881 (1965), p. 133
  • Of all the people whom I have met with in my life, he and Darwin are the two in whom I have found something bigger than ordinary humanity—an unequalled simplicity and directness of purpose—a sublime unselfishness.
    • Thomas Henry Huxley to Sir John Donnelly (16 February 1885), quoted in Leonard Huxley, Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley, Vol. II (1900), pp. 94-95
  • Two days ago I met Sir H. Robinson, who, of course had very much to do with Gordon in S. Africa. He had a very strong objection to him and said, "When I heard he had been appointed, I said that I knew the Govt. had chosen a man for their servant who would prove their master: and a mad one too." He said that he had been sent to deal with an awful brute among the natives who was brought to face him with great difficulty. As soon as he saw him, however, Gordon fell upon his neck and called him a brother in Christ; which was quite contrary to official precedent. Robinson added that there was no one so undecided in word or so decided in action: that he would telegraph one thing in the morning, another thing in the evening, and a third thing on the next day. The only other person I have met who knew him was Sir Bartle Frere, who said that he was impossible to deal with; "Tell him a thing's for his interest, he'll do the opposite; tell him it's his duty and nothing will keep him from doing it, and doing it the shortest way."
    • Cecil Spring Rice, letter (1884), quoted in The Letters and Friendships of Sir Cecil Spring Rice: A Record, Volume I, ed. Stephen Gwynn (1929), p. 33
  • I also heard from the same source that the reason he can't get on with English people is that he can't get over an aversion to anyone who works for money. He doesn't separate it into another art, like Plato. I wish he did. The man who told me this said at the end, "He is without the three strongest passions which make men good or bad—the love of money, the love of fame and the love of women."
    • Cecil Spring Rice, letter (1884), quoted in The Letters and Friendships of Sir Cecil Spring Rice: A Record, Volume I, ed. Stephen Gwynn (1929), p. 34
  • Warrior of God, man's friend—not here below,
    But somewhere dead far in the waste Soudan—
    Thou livest in all hearts, for all men know
    This earth hath borne no simpler, nobler man.
    • Alfred, Lord Tennyson, quoted in Henry J. Jennings, Lord Tennyson 1809–1892: A Biographical Sketch (1892 ed.), p. 161
  • I read with regret that the authorities intend to remove the statue of Gordon from Trafalgar Square and send it down to Sandhurst. I hope the decision is not irrevocable. His memory is not specially suited to inspire young officers with zeal for discipline and obedience to orders.
    On the other hand, he is a true national hero; his strange and tragic story is deeply written across our political and imperial annals; his personality and genius were unique, and will always remain a source of pride to Englishmen.
  • Gordon's character was unique. Simple-minded, modest, and almost morbidly retiring, he was fearless and outspoken when occasion required. Strong in will and prompt in action, with a naturally hot temper, he was yet forgiving to a fault. Somewhat brusque in manner, his disposition was singularly sympathetic and attractive, winning all hearts. Weakness and suffering at once enlisted his interest. Caring nothing for what was said of him, he was indifferent to praise or reward, and had a supreme contempt for money. His whole being was dominated by a Christian faith at once so real and so earnest that, although his religious views were tinged with mysticism, the object of his life was the entire surrender of himself to work out whatever he believed to be the will of God.
  • A long life of isolation, under circumstances well calculated to disturb coolness of head, has, I fear, told upon his reasoning powers. His nerve is perfectly unshaken, but his judgment is no longer in balance, and, if I am rightly informed, his very devoutness is dangerous; for he has taught himself to believe, more or less, that in pursuing this course or that, he is but obeying inspiration.
  • For years I have followed General Gordon's course with constantly increasing interest, wonder, and admiration, and I have felt his death as a great personal bereavement. A Providential man, his mission in an unbelieving and selfish age revealed the mighty power of faith in God, self-abnegation, and the enthusiasm of humanity. For centuries no grander figure has crossed the disk of our planet. Unique, unapproachable in his marvelous individuality, he belongs to no sect or party, and defies classification or comparison. I should be sorry to see his name used for party purposes, for neither Conservative nor Radical has any special claim upon him... We Americans, in common with all English-speaking people, the world over, lament his death, and share his glorious memory.
    • John Greenleaf Whittier to Charles C. Reed (4 March 1885), quoted in Samuel T. Pickard, Life and Letters of John Greenleaf Whittier, Volume II (1894), p. 706
  • But as respects Charles Gordon, I cannot withdraw my admiration from the man, while I disapprove of his warlike methods. I learned much of him from my friend, Dr. Williams, who knew him well in China, and who thought him one of the most generous and self-sacrificing men he ever knew. Still later, I have read of his labors in the Soudan to suppress the dreadful slave trade, and it seems to me that he went to Khartoum once more really on an errand of peace, and I am not sure that he would not have succeeded if the English army had not invaded the Soudan. It is not probable that I shall write a poem on his life and death, but I thought of it, and intended to express my admiration of his faith, courage, and self-abnegation, while lamenting his war training and his reliance on warlike means to accomplish a righteous end. As it is, he was a better man than David or Joshua—he was humane and never put his prisoners into brick-kilns nor under hammers. And he believed in a living God, who reveals himself now as in the old time.
  • I once travelled from Alexandria with an Italian bishop who was on his way from Khartoum to Rome. I talked to him about Gordon, supposing that there could be little in common between a man of Gordon's somewhat narrow evangelical views and a Roman Catholic prelate, but the bishop expressed the greatest admiration for him. I asked if he could account for the cause of Gordon's extraordinary influence over the natives of Africa. To my surprise he replied simply: "His chastity." The possession of this quality, which was absolutely incomprehensible to the Arab, seemed to raise him to the position of a mystical and almost divine character.
  • A few days afterwards I returned to London and received a message that Lord Salisbury wished to see me. When I presented myself to him he said at once, "What can you tell me about Gordon?" Remembering what I had just heard in Paris and knowing my Foreign Office friends, I said, "I am sure they have told you that Gordon is mad"; at which Lord Salisbury smiled and I saw that I was right. "Well," I continued, "I should never recommend your lordship to send Gordon on a delicate diplomatic mission to Paris, or Vienna, or Berlin: but if you want some out-of-the-way piece of work to be done in an unknown and barbarous country, Gordon would be your man. If you told him to capture Cetewayo, for instance, he would get to Africa, mount on a pony with a stick in his hand, and ask the nearest way to Cetewayo's kraal, and when he got there he would sit down and have a talk with him!"
  • The last day I ever saw poor dear Charles Gordon, the day he left England never to return, he told me he mentioned three men in his daily prayers, and that one of those three was me. He was an old and valued friend, but I always felt, and more than ever feel now, that I was never worthy to pipe-clay his belt for him.
  • Gordon's journals are splendid, I delight in an eccentric man upsetting the odds which routine, formality, "Foreign" and other offices always have on their side, and making the latter appear ridiculous.
    • George Wyndham to his sister, Mary Elcho (25 July 1885), quoted in Letters of George Wyndham 1877–1913, Vol. I (1915), p. 96
  • Thirteen years later the Mahdi's empire was abolished forever in the gigantic hecatomb of Omdurman; after which it was thought proper that a religious ceremony in honour of General Gordon should be held at the palace at Khartoum. The service was conducted by four chaplains—of the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist persuasions—and concluded with a performance of 'Abide with Me'—the General's favourite hymn—by a select company of Sudanese buglers. Every one agreed that General Gordon had been avenged at last. Who could doubt it? General Gordon himself, possibly, fluttering, in some remote Nirvana, the pages of a phantasmal Bible, might have ventured on a satirical remark. But General Gordon had always been a contradictious person—even a little off his head, perhaps, though a hero; and besides, he was no longer there to contradict … At any rate, it had all ended very happily—in a glorious slaughter of 20,000 Arabs, a vast addition to the British Empire, and a step in the Peerage for Sir Evelyn Baring.
  • Soldier of God, man’s friend, not here below,
      But somewhere dead far in the waste Soudan,
    Thou livest in all hearts, for all men know
      This earth has borne no simpler, nobler man.
    • Alfred, Lord Tennyson, "Epitaph on General Gordon"
      • Soldier of God, man’s friend, and tyrant’s foe,
          Now somewhere dead far in the waste Soudan,
        Thou livest in all hearts, for all men know
          This earth has never borne a nobler man.
        • "In the Gordon Boys’ National Memorial Home, near Woking"
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