William Colenso : The Man and the Work, 1811-1899

Abstract

In collecting the material tor this thesis the chief difficulty has been that the greater portion of the data comes directly from Mr. Colenso himself, and has therefore to be treated carefully. Unquestionably his diaries were made up years aftetwards from rough notes taken at the time, hence allowance must be made for chronological errors and occasional divergences from minute historical fact. In making any estimation of his diaries a marked peculiarity of Mr. Colenso must be taken into account - he refused to admit himself to be wrong and his diaries contain lengthy justifications of his conduct which may by no means be accepted in their entirety. Colenso judged himself by a standard all his own, one which makes it difficult for an observer first to understand and then to form an impartial judgment.