O XF O R D E D I TI O N

E SS A Y S B Y

M A T T H EW A R NO L D
INC LUD N I G

ES S A Y S IN C R I T I C I SM; 1 865
O N T R A NSLA T I NG HO M E R
(W IT H w NEW MA N S R EPLY )
’
F . .

A ND F IV E O T HE R ES SA Y S
NO W F O R T HE F IR ST TI M E COLL ECT ED

HU MPH REY MILFO R D

O XF O RD U NIVERSIT Y P RESS
L O NDO N EDIN B U RGH G LA SG O W
NEW YO RK T O R O N T O M E L B OU R N E B O M BA Y
1 9 1 4
 OXF OR D E D I TI O N

E SS A Y S B Y

M A T T H EW A R NO L D
INC LU D NI G

E SSAY S IN C R I T I C I SM , 1 865

ON T R A NSL A T I NG HO M E R
(W IT H F . W NEVY M A N S
.
’
RE PLY )
A ND F IVE OT HE R E SSAY S
NO W F O R T HE F IR ST TI ME C OLL E CT ED

HU MPH REY MILF O RD

O XF O RD U NIVER SIT Y P RESS
L O N DO N EDIN B U RG H GLA SG O W
NEW YO RK T O R O N T O M E L B OUR N E B O M BAY ‘

1 9 4
1
 O XF O R
D : HORA CE HAR T

R
P INT E R T O T HE R
U NI VE S IT Y

UNIVERSITY TORONTO

al /
y
 C O N T EN T S

E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M , 1 865

(Here reprinted fro m th e S econd Edition o f 1 8 69 )

PR A CEF E

TH F UN C
E N CR C M H PR
TI O N T MOF ITI I S AT T E E SE T I E

TH L E R IN LUENC
IT E ACA M
AR Y F E OF DE IE S

M UR C D G U ERIN
A I E E

EU EN G D G U ERIN
IE E

H N CH H N
EI R I EI E

P A N ND ME D
CA A L R L US S N M N IA EV A E IG IO E TI E T

J U R
O BE T

S PIN O ZA A ND THE B IB L E
M AR CU S A UR ELIUS
ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER , 1 8 6 1 —2

LE CT URE I
L E CT UR E II
LE CT UR E III
H OMERIC TR A NSLA T ION IN THEO RY A ND P RA CT IC E A R EPLY
‘

T o MA TTH EW A R NOL D B Y F RA NC IS W N E W M A N 1 86 1 .
,

L A ST W ORDS A LECT UR E GIV EN A T O XF ORD R Y M A TT HEW

.

ARN LD O , 1 8 62

FIVE ESS A YS HITH ERT O UNCO LL ECTED

DR . S AN
T LE CTUR N H J WI H CHUR CH
L EY S
’
ES O T E E S

ON THE M ODE RN EL M E E NT IN L IT E RA UR
T E

O B ERMA NN
SA INTE B E UV E
-
ESS A Y S I N C R I T I C I S M

[R eprinted fro m Second Edition ,

1 8 69]
 PR EF A C E T O S EC O N D EDI T I O N

SEV ER A L of the Essays which are here collecte d and

reprinted had the good or the bad fortune to be m u ch
criticised at the time of their first appearance I am n o t .

n o w going to inflict u pon the reader a reply to those

criticisms ; for one o r tw o explanations whic h are desir

able I shall elsewhere perhaps be able so me day to find
, , ,

an opport un ity ; but inde ed it not in my nature some

is ,
—
, ,

of my critics woul d rather say not in my power — to disp ute , ,

o n behalf o f any opinion even my o w n very obstina tely , , .

To try and approach tru th o n o ne S ide after another ,

not to strive o r cry nor to persist in pressing forward o n

, ,

any one side with violence and sel Wil it is onl y th u s

,
f l — -
, ,

it see ms to me that mortals may hope to gain any vision

,

of the mysterio us God dess whom we shall never see except ,

in o utline but only th u s even in o utline He who will do

,
.

nothing but fight impet u o usly tow ards her on his o wn ,

o ne favo urite partic ular line is inevitably destined to

, , ,

run his he ad into the folds of the black robe In which Sh e

is wrapped .

So it is not to reply to my critics that I write this preface ,

bu t to prevent a mis un derstanding o f which certain ,

phrases that some o f them u se make me appreh ensive .

Mr Wright o n e o f the many translators o f Homer has

.
, ,

p ublished a Letter to the Dean of C anterb ury complaining ,

o f some remarks of mine uttered now a long While ago , ,

on h is version o f the Ilz ad O ne cannot be always studyin g

'

one s own works an d I w as really under the impre ssion

’
, ,
4 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
till I saw Mr Wright s complaint th at I had spoken of him
.
’
,

with all respect Th e reader may j udge of my astonish

.

men t there fore at finding from Mr Wri ght s pamph let

, , , .
’
,

that I h ad declared with m uch solemnity that th ere is not

any proper reason for his existing That I never said ; .
’

bu t on looking back at my Le ct ures on translating Homer

, ,

I find that I did say not that Mr Wri ght but th at ,

.
,

Mr Wright s version of th e Iliad repeating in the main th e

.
’
,

merits and defects of C owper s version as Mr Sotheby s ’

, .
’

repeated those o f Pe pe s version had if I migh t be par ’

, ,

dome d for saying so no proper re as on for existing Else

,
.

where I expressly spoke o f the merit of his version ; but

I confess that the phrase q ualified as I h ave S hown abou t , ,

its want of a proper reason for existing I u se d Well the , .

,

phrase had perhaps to o m uch vivacity ; we have all o f

, ,

u s a right to exist w e an d o ur works ; an unpop ul ar

,

author sho ul d be the last person to call in question this

right So I gladly withdraw the o fiending phrase and
.
,

I am sorry for ha ving u sed it ; Mr Wrigh t however .

, ,

woul d perhaps be more ind ul gent to my vivacity if he ,

considered that we are none o f us likely to be lively mu ch

longer My vivacity is but the last sparkle o f flame before
.

we are all in the dark the last glimpse of colour before we ,

all go into drab — the drab o f the earnest prosaic practical

, , , ,

a usterely literal future Y es the world will soon be th e .

,

Philistines and then with every voice not of th under

’
, , ,

S ilenced an d the whole earth fille d an d ennobled every

,

morning by the magnificent roaring of the young lions of

the Daily T elegraph we shall all yawn in o n e another s ’

faces with the dismallest th e most u ni m

,

peachable gravi ty , .

B u t I ret urn to my design in writin g th is Preface .

That design w as after apologising to Mr Wright for my

, .

V ivacity of five years ago to beg him and others to let ,

me bear my own b urdens without sad dling the great and ,

 P R EFACE 5

famo us U niversity to which I have the honour to b elong , ,

with any p ortion o f them What I mean to deprecate .

is s uch phrases as his professorial assault his assertions

, ,
’

iss u ed ex cathedra the sanction o f his name as the repre

,
’

ve o f poetry and so o n Proud as I am o f my ’

sen t ati ,
.

connection with the University of O xford I can truly say

1
, ,

that knowing h o w unpop ul ar a task o ne is u ndertaking

when one tries to p ull o ut a few more stops in that powerf u l
but at present somewhat narrow toned organ the modern -
,

Eng lishman I have always so ught to stand by myself

, ,

and to compro mise others as little as possible Besides .

th is my native modesty is s uch that I have always been

, ,

shy of ass uming the hono urable style o f Professor beca use ,

this is a title I share with so many distinguished men ,

Professor Pepper Professor Anderson Professor Frickel , , ,

an d others W h o adorn it I feel m u ch more than I do

,
—
, ,
.

However it is not merely o ut o f modesty that I prefer

,

to stand alone and to concentrate o n myself as a plain

, ,

citizen of the rep ublic o f letters and n o t as an o ffic e ,

bearer in a hierarchy the whole responsibility for all ,

I write ; it is m u ch more o ut o f genuine devotion to the

University o f O xford for which I feel and always mu st , ,

feel the fondest the most reverential attachment In an

, , .

epoch o f dissol ution and transformation s uch as that o n ,

which we are n o w entere d habits ties and associations , , ,

are inevitably broken up the action o f individu als becomes ,

more distinct the shortcomings errors heats disp utes

, , , , ,

which necessaril y attend individu al action are brought ,

into greater prominence Wh o would n o t gladly keep .

clear from all these passing clouds an augu st institution

, ,

which was there before they arose and which will be there ,

when they have blown over

Wh e n t he a b w as w rit te n t h e aut h or
o ve sti ll h ad th e Ch air o f
P o e tr y at xf
O o rd, w hic h h e h as since v ac at e d .
6 ESSAY S IN CR ITICISM
It is tru e the Saturday Review maintains that o ur epoch
,

o f transformation is finished ; that w e have found o ur

phil osophy ; that the British nation h as searched all
anchorages for the spirit and has finally anchored itself , ,

in the fulness o f perfected knowledge o n Benthamism ,

.

This idea at first made a great impression o n me not onl y

becau se it is so consoling in itself but also becau se it ,

explained a phenomenon which in the s ummer o f last

year had I confess a good deal troubled me At that
, , .

time my avocations led me to travel almost daily on o ne

o f the Great Eastern Lines — the Woodford Branch ,
.

Every one knows that the m urderer M iiller perpetrated , ,

his dete stable act o n the North Lo ndon R ailway close ,

by Th e English mid dle class o f which I am myself

.
,

a feeble unit travel on the Woodford Branch in large

,

numbers Wel the demoralisation o f o ur class the

. l ,
—
,

class which (the newspapers are constantly saying it so ,

I may repeat it without vanity ) h as done all the great

th ings which have e v er been done in England the
'
—
,

demoral isation I say o f o ur class cau sed by the B o w

, , ,

tragedy w as something bewilderin g Myself a tran sc en

, .

de n t alist (as the Saturday R eview knows ) I escaped the ,

infection ; and day after day I u sed to ply my agitated

, ,

fellow travellers with all the consolations which my

-

transcendentalism wo ul d naturally suggest to me I re .

minded them how C aesar refused to take precautions

against assassination becau se life was not worth having
,

at the price o f an ignoble solicitude fo r it I re minded .

them what insignificant atoms we all are in the life o f the

world . Suppose the wors t to happen I said addressing ,
’
,

a portly j eweller from Cheapside s uppose even yourself

t o be the victim ; ll n y a p as d ho mme necessaire
A
’
We ’
.

shoul d miss yo u fo r a day or two upon the Woodford

Branch but the great mundane movement woul d still go
 P R EFA CE ‘
7

o n, the gravel walks o f your villa would still be rolled ,

dividends wo uld still be paid at the Bank o mnib uses wo uld ,

still run there would still be the o ld crush at the corner o f

,

Fenchurch Street A ll was of no avail N othing coul d

.
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moderate in the bosom o f the great En glish middl e class

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their passionate absorbing almost blood thirsty clinging

, ,
-

t o li
fe At the moment I tho ught this over concern a little
.
-

unworthy ; but th e Saturday R eview s uggests a to u ching

explanation of it What I took fo r the i gnoble clinging

.

to life of a comfortable worldling w as perhaps only th e , , ,

ardent longing of a faithful Benthamite traversing an age ,

still dimme d by the last mists o f transcendentalism to be ,

spared long eno ugh to see his religion in the full and final
blaze o f its tri umph This respectable man whom I .
,

imagin ed to be goin g up to London to serve his shop ,

o r to buy shares o r to atten d an Exeter Hall meeting

, ,

o r to assist at the deliberations o f the Marylebone Vestry ,

w as perhaps in real tr uth on a pio u s pilgrimage to

, , , ,

obtain from Mr Bentham s exec utors a sacred bone o f his

.
’

great dissected master

,

And yet after all I cannot but think that the Saturday
, ,

R eview has here for on ce fallen a victim to an idea

, , ,

a beautif ul bu t del uding i dea and that the British nation ,

—

has not yet so entirely as the reviewer seems to imagme

, ,

fo und the last word o f its philosophy N c we are all .

,

seekers still ! seekers often make mistakes and I wish ,

mine to redound to my own discre dit onl y an d not to ,

to uch O xford Beautif ul city ! so venerable so lovely

.
, ,

so u nravag ed b y the fierce intellect u al life of o ur cent ury

so se rene

Th ere are o ur y o ung barbarians all at play 1 ’

A nd yet steeped in sentiment as sh e lies spreading h er

, ,

gardens to the moon light an d whispering from her towers ,

8. SS AYS IN CRITICISM
E

th e last enchantments of the Middle Age wh o will deny ,

that O xford b y her ineffable charm keeps ever call ing us

, ,

nearer t o the t r ue goal o f all of us to the ideal to per , , _

fe c tio n ,
—to beauty in a word which is onl y truth seen
, ,

from an oth er side — nearer perhaps than all the sc ience

, ,

of Tiibingen Adorable dreamer whose heart h as been

.
,
l

so romantic w h o hast given thyself so pro digally given ,

thyself to sides and to heroes not mine onl y ne v er to ,

the Philistines home of lost causes and forsaken beliefs , ,

and unpop ular names an d impossible loyalties

, what
example co ul d ever so inspire us to keep down the Philistine
in ourselves what teacher co uld ever so save us from that
,

bondage t o which we are all prone that bondage which ,

Goeth e in those incomparable lines on the death o f Schill er

, ,

makes it his friend s highest praise (and nobly did Schiller

’

deserve the praise ) to ha v e left mil es o ut o f sight behind

him the bondage of was uns alle bandigt M S
-
,

Sh e wil l forgive me even if I ha v e unwittingly drawn

,

upon her a sh ot or two aime d at h e r unworthy so n ; for

She is genero us and the cau se in wh ich I fight is after all

, , ,

hers Apparitions o f a day what is o ur p uny warfare

.
,

against th e Philistines compared with the warfare which

,

this qu een o f romance has been waging agai nst them for
'

centuries and will w age after we are go ne 2

,
‘
 THE F UNCT I ON OF C R I T IC I S M A T
THE PR ES ENT T I M E

MA Y obj ections have been made to a proposition which

N
,

in some remarks o f mine o n translating Homer I ventured ,

to put forth a proposition abou t criticism and its impor ,

tance at the present day I said : O f the literature o f .

France and Germany as o f the intellect o f Europe in ,

general the main e ffort for now many years has been
, , ,

a critical e ffort the endeavour in all branches of know ,

ledge theology philosophy history art science to see

, , , , , ,

the obj ect as in itself it really is I added that ow ing .

’
,

1 0 to the operation in English literat u re o f certain ca u ses ,

almost th e last thing fo r which one would come to English

literature is j ust that very thing which n e w Europe most
desires —criticism ,
and th at the power and val ue o f
English literat ure was thereby impaire d More than o n e .

rej oin der declare d th at the import ance I here assigned to

criticism was excessive and asserted the inh erent superiority
,

of th e creati v e effort of the h uman spirit over its critical

effort An d the other day having been led by an
.
,

excellent notice o f Wordsworth p ub lished in the North

1

2 0 B ritish R evi ew to turn again to his bio graphy I fo und

, , ,

in the words o f this great man whom I for one mu st , , ,

always listen to with the profoundest respect a sentence ,

passe d o n the critic s b usiness which s eems to j ustify’

,

1
I l k
h e p t hin ing th at a practic e, co mmo n in Eng and during
cann o t l
l y ll f ll
t h e ast ce ntur , an d sti o o w e d in ran ce , o f prin tin a n o tice o f t his
g F
k ind a n o ti
-
ce a c o mp by
e te nt critic — t o ser e as an intro ductio n t o v
k vv v
, ,

an e min e nt au t h o r s w o r s, migh t be re i e d amo n us w it h ad an ta e

’
g g .

To intro duce all su cce e ding e ditio ns o f W o rdsw o rth Mr Sh airp s n o tice ’
, .

(it is pe rmitte d, I h o pe t o mentio n his name ) migh t it see ms t o me ,

x ll ly v f v
, ,

e ce e n t se r e ; it is writte n ro m t h e o int o f ie w o f an admirer,

Day, o f a discip e, an d t h at i l gh t
s ri but t e n t h e discip e must be a so , g l l
as in t his c ase h e i s, a cri l
t ic , a man o f e t te rs, no t , as t o o o ft en h appe ns,
so me re at i l
on or r f q lfi
iend with no u a i c atio n fo r his t as e cept a fectio n k x f
for his auth o r .
10 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
every possible disparagement of it Wordsworth says in .

o n e of h is letters

Th e writers in these p ublications (the R eviews ) ,

while they prosec ute their inglorio us employment can ,

n o t be s upposed to be in a state of mind very favo urable

for being a ffected by the finer influences of a thing so p ure
as gen uine poetry
’
.

And a trustworthy reporter of his conversation qu otes

a more elaborate j udgment to the same effect
Wordsworth holds the critical power very lo w infinitely 1 0
-
,

lower than the inventive and he said to day that if the -

qu antity o f time cons umed in writin g critiques o n the

works of others were given to original composition of ,

whatever kind it mi ght be it would be m uch better em ,

ployed ; it wo uld make a man fin d o ut sooner his o w n

level and it would do infinitely less mischief A false o r
,
.

maliciou s critic ism may do mu ch inj ury t o the minds o f

others ; a st upid invention either in prose or verse is , ,

quite harml ess .

’

It is almost to o m uch to expect of poor h uman nature 2 0 ,

that a man capable of prod ucing some e fiec t in one line o f

literature sho ul d for the greater good of society v o lun
, , ,

t arily doom himself t o impoten c e an d obsc urity in another .

Still less is this to be expected from men addicted to th e

‘
composition of th e false o r mali c ious criticism o f which ,
’

Wordsworth speaks However e v erybody woul d admit

.
,

th at a false o r malicio us criticism had better never have

been written Everybo dy too wo uld be willing t o admit
.
, , ,

as a general proposition that the critical fac ul ty is lower,

than the inventive B u t is it true that criticism is really so

.
,

in itself a baneful an d in j uriou s employment ; is it true

,

that all time given to writin g c ritiques o n the works o f

others wo uld be m uch better employed if it were given to
ori ginal c omposition of whatever kind this may be ? IS
,

it tru e that Johnson had bette r have gone o n prod u cing

more Irenes inste ad o f writing h is L ives of the Po ets nay ,

is it certain that Wordsworth himself w as better employed

in making his Ecclesiastical Sonn ets than when he made ,

his celebrated Preface so full o f criticism and criticism

, ,

o f the works o f others Wordsworth w as hi mself a great 40

critic and it is to be sincerely regretted that he has not
,
12 SS AYS IN CRITICISM
E

An d I say current at the time n o t merely accessible at ,

the time for creative literary geni us does not principally

S how itself in discovering n ew ide as ; that is rather th e
b usin ess o f the phil osopher : the grand work o f literary
g en iu s i s a work of synthe s is and exposition not of analysis ,

and discovery its gift lies in the fac ulty of being happily
inspired by a certain intellectual and spiritu al atmosphere ,

by a certain order o f ideas when it finds itself in them ;

,

of dealin g divinely with these ideas presenting them in ,

th e most effective and attractive combinations making 1 0 ,

—

beautif ul works with th em in sh ort B ut it m ust have

, .

the atmosphere it m ust find itself amidst the order of

,

ideas in order to work freely and th e se it is not so e asy

,

to c ommand This is w h y great creative epochs in litera

.

ture are so rare ; this is why there is so m uch that is

u nsatisfactory in the pro duc tio r is o f many men of real
g eni u s ; beca u se for t h e creation o f a ma st er work of -

literat ure two powers mu st conc ur the power of the man ,

an d the power o f the moment and the man is not eno u gh ,

witho ut the moment ; the creative power h as for its 20 ,

happy exercise appointed elements and those elements

, ,

are n o t in its o wn control .

Nay they are more within the control of the critical

,

power It is th e b u siness of the criti c al —power as I said

.
,

in the words already qu o te d in all branch es o f know ,

le dge theology ph ilosoph y h istory art science to see

, , , , , ,

t h e obj e c t as in itself it really is Th u s it tends at last

’
.
, ,

to make an intellectual situ ation of which the c reative

power can profitably avail itself It tends to establish an .

order o f i deas if not absolutely tr ue yet tru e by com 30

, ,

parison with that wh ich it displaces ; t o make th e best

i deas pre v ail Presently th ese new ideas reach society
.
,

t h e to u ch o f tr uth is the to u ch of life and there is a stir ,

and growth everywhere o ut of this stir and growth come

,

the creative epochs of literat ure .

O r to narrow o ur range an d quit these considerations o f

, ,

the general march of genius an d o f society considerations ,

which are apt to become too abstract and impalpable ,

every one can see that a poet fo r instance ought to know , ,

life and th e world before dealing with them in poetry ; 4 0

and life and t h e worl d being in modern times very com , ,
 THE F UNCTION O F CRITICIS M 13

plex things the creation of a modern poet to be worth

, ,

m uch implies a great critical effort behind it ; else it

,

m ust be a comparatively poor barren and short lived , ,

-

a ffair This is why Byron s poetry had so little end urance

.
’

in it and Goethe s so m u ch ; both Byron and Goethe

’
,

had a great productive power but Goethe s w as nou rished ,

’

by a great critical e ffort provi ding the true materials for

it and Byron s was not Goethe knew life and the world
,
’
,

th e poet s necessary s u bjects m u ch more c o mpreh en

’
,

1 0 Si ve ly an d th oro u ghly than Byron He knew a great .

deal more of th em and he knew them m u ch more as they

,

really are .

It has long seemed to me that the b u rst o f creative

activity in o ur literature through the first qu arter of this ,

century h ad abo ut it in fact something premature and

, , ,

th at from this cau se its prod uctions are doomed most of ,

them in spite of the sanguine hopes which accompanie d

,

and do still accompany them to prove hardly more lasting ,

than the prod uctions o f far less splendid epochs A nd .

2 0 this premat u reness comes from its havin g proceeded with

o u t having its proper data witho u t s u fficient materials to ,

work with In other w ords the English poetry o f the first

.
,

qu arter o f this century with plenty o f energy plenty o f

, ,

creative force did not know enough This makes Byron

,

so empty of matter Shelley so incoherent Wordsworth

, ,

even profound as he is yet so wanting in completeness

, ,

and variety Wordsworth cared little for books and

.
,

disparaged Goethe I admire Wordsworth as he is so

.
, ,

mu ch th at I cannot wish him di fferent ; and it is vain ,

3 0 no do ubt to imagin e s u ch a man di fferent from what he

,

is to s uppose that he cou ld have been different ; but

,

s urely the o n e thing wanting to make Wordsworth an even

greater poet than h e is his thought richer and his in ,
—
,

fluen c e o f wider application was that he should have read ,

—

more books among th em no doubt th ose o f that Goethe

, , ,

whom he disparage d with o ut reading him .

B ut to speak of books an d rea ding may easily lead to

a mis understanding here It was not really books and .

reading th at lacke d to o ur poetry at this epoch Shelley ,

40 h ad plenty of rea ding C oleridge had immense reading

, .

Pin ar and ophocles as we all say so glibly and often

d S —
,
I4 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
with so littl e discernment o f the real import of what w e
are saying— h ad not many b o oks ; Shaks are w as no
deep reader True ; but in the Greece 0 Pindar and
.

Soph ocles in the En land of Shaks are the poet lived

,
g ,

in a c urrent of ideas in the highest e gree animating an d

nourishing to the creative power ; society w as in the ,

fullest meas ure permeated by fresh th ought intelligent

, ,

an d alive ; an d t h is state of thin gs is the tru e b as is for

t h e creative power S exer c ise in th is it finds its data its
’
-
,

materials tr uly ready fo r its hand all the books an d 1 0

, ,

reading in the world are only valu able as th ey are helps

to this Even when this does n o t actually exist books
.
,

and readin g may enable a man to constru ct a kind o f

semblance o f it in h is o wn mind a world o f knowledge ,

and intelligence in which he may live and work : this is

by no means an equivalent t o th e artist for the nationally , ,

difi u se d life and tho u ght o f th e epochs o f Sophocles or

Sh akspe are but besides that it may be a means of pre
, ,

p a ratio n for s u c h epochs it does really constit u te if many

, ,

share in it a quickening and s ustaining atmosphere o f 20

,

g reat v al u e S u ch
. an atmosphere the many si d ed learnin g
-

and the lon g and widely combine d critical effort of Germany-

formed for Goethe wh en he lived and worked Th ere was

,
.

n o national glow of life an d tho u ght there as in the Athens ,

of Pericles o r the England o f Elizabeth That w as th e .

poet s weakness B ut th ere w as a sort o f equivalent for

,
’
.

it in th e complete c ulture and unfettered th inkin g of a large

body o f Ge rmans That was his strength In th e England
. .

of th e first qu arter o f th is century th ere w as neither ,

a national glow o f life an d th o ugh t such as we h ad in th e 30 ,

age of Elizabeth nor yet a c ult ure an d a force of learnin g

,

an d criticism s uch as were t o be fo und in Germany

, .

Th erefore th e c reative power o f poetry wante d for s ucc ess ,

in th e high est sense materials and a basis ; a thorough,

interpretation of the world was necessarily denied to it .

At first sight it seems strange that o u t of the immense

stir of the French R evolution and its age sh ould n o t have
come a crop of works o f geni u s equ al to th at wh ich came
o ut of the stir of the great prod u ctive time of Greece o r ,

o u t of that o f the R enaissance with its powerful episo de 40 ,

the R eformation B ut the truth is that the stir o f the

.
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICISM 15

French R evolution took a charac ter which essentially

distinguished it from s uch movements as th ese These
,
.

were in the main disinterestedly intellectu al and spiritual

, ,

movements movements in which the hu man spirit looked

for its satisfaction in itself and in th e increased play o f its
o wn activity : the French R evolution to ok a political ,

ractical character Th e movement which went o n in

prance under the o ld regime from 1 7 00 to 1 7 89 w as far
.

, ,

more really akin than that o f the R evolution itself to the

1 0 movement o f the R enaissance ; the France o f Voltaire
an d R o usseau told far more po w e rqy u pon the mind o f
Europe than the France of the R evol ution Goethe .

reproached this last expressly with havin g thrown quiet

c ulture back N ay and the tru e key to h o w much in o ur
.
’
,

Byron even in o ur Wordsworth is this l— that they had

, ,

their source in agreat movement o f feelin g not in a great ,

movement o f mind Th e French R evolution however

.
, ,

that object of so much blind love and so m uch b lind

hatred — found undoubtedl y its motive power in the
,
-

2 0 intelligence o f men and not n their practical sense — this

i
is what distinguishes it from the English R evolution of
Ch arles th e First s time ; this is what makes it a more
’

spiritu al event th an o ur R evolution an event o f mu ch more ,

powerful and world wide interest though practically less

-
,

s uccessful it appeals t o an order o f ideas which are

-

universal certain permanent

, , 1 7 8 9 asked o f a thing Is it
.
,

rational 1 642 asked o f a thing Is it legal o r when it

, ,

went furthest Is it according to conscience

, Th is is the
English fashion ; a fashion to be treate d within its o w n ,

3 0 sphere with the highest respect

, for its s uccess within its ,

own sphere has been prodigio u s B ut what is law in o n e

, .

place is not law in another ; what is law here to d ay

, ,

is not law even here to morrow ; and as for conscience

-
,

what is bin ding on o ne man s cons c ienc e is n o t binding

’

o n another s th e old woman who threw her stool at the

’

h ead of the s urpliced minister in St Gile s s C h urch at .

’

Edinb ur gh obeyed an imp u lse t o which millions o f the

hu man race may be permitted to remain strangers B ut .

the p rescriptions o f reason are absolu te u nchanging o f , ,

40 univ ersal validity
; to co unt by tens is th e easiest w ay of
nting f f—ith at is a proposition of which every one fro m
‘

co u
,
16 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
here to the Antipodes feels the force ; at least I Sh o ul
, ,
f

say so if w e di
,
d not live in a co un try where it is n o r in:
possible that any morning w e may find a letter in th
T imes declaring that a dec imal coin age is an abs urdity
That a whole nation Sho ul d have been penetrated with an
enth u siasm for p ure reason and with an ardent zeal for ,

making its prescriptions tri umph is a very remarkable ,

thing when w e consider h o w little of mind or anythin g so

, ,

worth y and quickening as mind comes into the moti v es ,

wh i ch alone in general impel great masses of men In 1 (

, , .

spite of the extravagant direction given to this enth usiasm ,

in spite o f th e crimes an d follies in wh i c h it lost itself ,

th e French R evol u tion derives from th e force tru th an d , ,

u ni v ersality of the i deas which it took for i ts law an d ,

from th e pas sion with which it coul d inspire a multitude

for these ideas a unique and still livin g power ; it is— it
,

will probably long remain the greatest th e most animating —

,

event in history A nd as no S incere passion for th e things

.
,

o f the mind even tho u gh it t urn o ut in many respects an

,

u nfort unate passion is ever qu ite throw n away and quite 2 b

,

barren of good France h as reaped from hers one fruit the

, ,

natural and legitimate fru it though not precisely the grand ,

fruit she expe c te d ; sh e is the c ountry in Europe where

th e p eop le is most alive .

B ut the mania fo r giving an immediate political and

pra ctical application to all these fine ideas of th e reason
w as fatal Here an Englishman is in his element on th is
.

th eme we can all go on for hours A n d all we are in the .

habit of saying on it h as undoubtedly a great deal of tru th .

I deas cannot be too mu ch prized in an d for th emsel v es 3 0 ,

cannot be too mu ch li v ed with ; bu t to transport them

abr uptly into th e world o f politics an d practice violently ,

to re v olutionise th is worl d to th eir biddin g th at is quite ,

—

another th ing Th ere is th e world of i deas an d th ere is

.

th e worl d of pra c tice th e Fren ch are often fo r s uppressing

th e one and th e English the oth er bu t neith er is to be ,

suppressed A member of th e Hou se of C ommons said to

.

me th e oth er day : Th at a th ing Is an anomaly I consider '

,

to be no obj ection to it whatever I v entu re to think he .

’

was wrong ; th at a thing is an anomaly is an obj ection 40

to it but absolutely and in the sphere of ideas
, it is not
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICIS M 17

a c ce ssarily u nd e r
,
s u ch and s u ch circ u mstances o r at s u ch ,

a d u ch a mo ment an objection to it in the sphere o f

p s ,

p
ol itics and practice Jc ubert h as said beau tifully :
C est la force e t le droit q
.

ui ré glen t to utes choses dans le

’

monde la force en attendant le droit (Force and right .

’

are the governors o f this world force till ri gh t is ready ) .

F o rce till right is ready and till right is ready force the , ,

existing order o f things is j u stified is the legitimate rul er

, , .

B ut right is something moral and implies inward rec o gni ,

10 tion fr e e assent o f the w ill ; we are not re ady for right

, ,

ri g h t so ,
far as we are concerned i s n o t re ady u ntil we have
, ,
—

attained this sense of seeing it and willing it Th e way .

in which fo r us it may chan ge an d transform force the ,

existing order of things an d become in its t urn the , , ,

l egitimate rul er of the world w ill depend on the way in

Which wh en o ur time comes we see it an d will it There
,

.
, ,

fore for other pe ople enamoured of their o wn newly dis

cerned right to attempt to impose it upon us as ours and
, ,

violently to s ubstitute their right fo r o ur force is an act ,

i
n of tyra n ny an d to be resisted
,
It sets at no ught the .

Sec ond great half o f o ur maxim fo rce t ill right is ready

,

'
!

.
,

This w as the gran d error o f the French R evol ution and

its movement of ideas by quitting the intellectu al sphere
,

and r ushing furio u sly into the political sphere ran indeed , , ,

a prodigious and memorable co urse but prod uced no s uch ,

intelle c tu al fruit as the movement of i deas o f the R enais

sance and create d in opposition to itself what I may call
, , ,

an ep och of concentration Th e great force of that epo c h .

o f concentration w as En gland and the great voi c e o f that

3 0 epoch o f concentration w as B urke It is the fashion to .

treat B urke s writings on the French R evol ution as s uper

’

ann u ate d and conqu ered by the event ; as the eloq u ent
but unphilosophical tirades o f bigotry and prej u dice .

I will not deny that they are often disfig ured by the
violence an d passion o f the moment and that in some ,

directions B urke s view was bo unded an d his observation

’
,

therefore at faul t but on the whole and for those who can ,

make the nee dful corrections what distinguishes these ,

writings is their profo und permanent fr uitful phil osophical

, , ,

40 truth ; they contain the tru e philosoph y o f an epoch of

concentration dissipate the heavy atmosphere which its
,

0
18 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
o wn nature is apt to engender roun d it and make its ,

resistance rational instead o f mechanical .

B ut B urke is so great beca u se almost alone in England , ,

he brings though t to bear u pon politi c s he saturates ,

politics with tho ugh t ; it is h is ac cident that h is ideas

were at the service o f an epo ch of c onc entration not o f ,

an epoch o f expansion it is his characteristic that h e so

li v ed by i deas an d h ad s uch a so urc e o f them wellin g up
,

within him that he co uld float even an epo ch o f con

,

centration and English T ory politics with them It does 1 0 .

n o t h u rt him that Dr Price an d th e Libera ls were enraged

.

with h im it does n o t even h urt him th at George the Third

an d the T ories were enchante d with h i m His greatness .

is that he lived in a world whi ch neither English Liberalism

nor English Toryism is apt to enter — the world of ideas ,

not the world o f c atchwords an d party habits So far is .

it from being really true of h im that h e to party gave u p

wh at was meant fo r mankind that at th e very end o f his ,
’

fierce struggle with the French R evol ution after all his ,

in v ectives against its false pretensions h ollowness and 2 0 , ,

m adness with his sin c ere c onviction o f its mis chie v ou sness
, ,

he can close a memorandu m o n th e best means o f combat

in g it some o f th e last pages he ever wro te
,
th e T ho ugh ts ,
—

o n F renc h A ffairs in D e cember,

l 7 9 1 — wit h these strikin g
,

words
Th e evil is stated in my opinion as it exists
, Th e ,
.

remedy m u st be wh ere power w isdom an d information , , ,

I hope are more unite d with goo d intentions th an th ey

,

c an be with me I h a v e done with th is s ubje c t I belie v e

.
, ,

for e v er It has gi v en me many anxiou s moments fo r3 0

.

t h e last two years If a great change is to be made in

.

h uman fi
a airs, th e minds of men w ill be fitted to it ; the
general op i feeling s w ill draw that way Every
n ions and .

fear ,
every h op e w ill fo rw ard it ; and th en th ey w h o p ersis t
in opp osing th is mighty cu rren t in h uman af f a irs w ill app r
e a ,

rath er to resist th e decrees of P ro vidence itself than th e mere ,

designs of men Th ey w ill n ot be reso lu te and firm bu t

.
,
’
p erverse an d o bstin ate .

That
return o f B urke upon himself h as always seemed ‘
.

to me o n e of th e finest th in gs in English literat ure or 40 ,

indeed in any literat ure That is what I call living by

.
20 SS A YS
E IN CRITICISM
it obeys an in stinct prompting it to tr to know the best
that is known and thought in the wory d irrespectively of ,

practice politics and everythin g o f the kind and to val ue

, ,

knowledge and thought as they approac h this best withou t ,

the intrusion of any other considerations whate ver This .

is an instinct fo r which there is I think little original , ,

sympath y m the practical English nat ure and what there ,

w as o f it h as ndergone a long ben u mbing perio d of blight

u
and s uppression in the epoch o f c oncentration which
followed the Frenc h R e v olu tion .

B ut epochs o f concentration cann ot well end ure fo r ever

epochs o f expansion in the due course o f thin gs follow
, ,

them Such an epoch of expansion seems to be O ening

in th is country In the first place all danger o f a p
.

. ostile
forcible press ure of foreign ideas upon o ur practi c e has long
disappeared ; like the traveller in the fable therefore w e , ,

begin to wear o ur cloak a little more loosely Then with .

,

a long peace the ide as o f Europe steal gradually and

,

amicably in and mingle though in infi nitesimally small

, ,

q u antities at a time with o ur own notions Then t o o 2 0

,
.
, ,

in spite o f all that 1 8 said abo ut the absorbin g and bru tal
ising infl uence o f o ur passionate material progress it seems ,

t o me indisp utable that this progress is l ikely thou gh not ,

certain to lead in the end to an apparition o f intellectu al

,

life ; and that man after he has made himself perfectly

,

c omfortable an d h as now t o determine what t o do with

himself next may begin to remember that he has a mind

, ,

and th at the min d may be made th e source o f great pleas ure .

I grant it is mainly th e privilege of faith at present to , , ;

discern this en d to o ur railways o ur b u siness and o ur 3 0 , ,

fort une making ; but we shall see if here as elsewhere

-
, ,

faith is n o t in the end the true prophet Our ease o ur .

,

travelling and o ur unboun de d liberty to hold j ust as hard

,

and sec urely as we please to the pra c tice to which o ur

notions have given birth all tend to beget an inclination,

to deal a little more freely with these notions themsel v es ,

to canvass them a little to penetrate a little into th eir

,

real nature F lutterin gs of curio sity in the foreign sense

.
,

o f the word appear amon gst u s an d it is in these

, ,

criticism mu st look to find its account Criti cism first ; 40 .

a time of true creative activity perhaps — which as I have , , ,

 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICIS M 21

said must inevitably be preceded amongst us by a time of

,

criticism — hereafter when criticism has done its work

, ,
.

It 1 s of the l ast importance that English criticism shoul d .

clearly discern what r ule fo r its co urse in order to avail ,

itself of the field now opening to it and to pro du ce fruit for ,

the f ut ure it ought to take Th e rul e may be s u mmed up

,
.

in o n e word —d isinterestedn ess ,

And h o w is criticism to.

show disintereste dness By keeping aloof from practice ;

by resol utely following the law o f its o wn nature which is ,

1 0 to be a free play o f the mind on all s ubj ects which it

tou ches by steadily refusing to lend itself to any of those
u lterior political practical considerat ions abo u t i deas which
, ,

plenty o f people will be s ure to attach to them which ,

perhaps ought often to be att ached to them which in this ,

c o u ntry at any rate are certain to be attached to them q u ite

s uffi ciently but which criticism has reall y nothing to do

,

with Its b usiness is as I have said simply to know the

.
, ,

best that is known and thought in the world and by in its ,

turn making this known to create a c urrent of tr ue an d

,

20 fresh ideas Its b usiness is to do this with inflexible honesty

.
,

with due ab ility but its b usiness is to do n o more and to ,

leave alone all questions of practical consequ ences and

applications questions which wil l never fail to have due
,

prominence given to them Else cri ticism besides being .

,

really false to its o wn nature merely continues in the o ld ,

rut which it has hitherto followed in this co u ntry and will ,

certainl y miss the chance n o w given to it F o r what is at .

present the bane o f criticism in this country ? It is that

practical considerations cling to it and stifle it it s ubserves
30 interests n o t its o w n o u r or gans o f criticism are org ans of

men and parties having practical ends to serve and with ,

them those practical ends are the first thing and the play of
mind the second so m u ch play o f min d as is compatible
with th e prosec ution o f those practical ends is all that is
wanted An organ like the R evu e des Deuce M ondes having
.
,

fo r its main f un c tion to u nderstand and u tter the best that

is known and tho ught in the world existing it may be said , , ,

as j ust an organ for a free play o f the mind w e have not ; ,

but we have the Edinburgh R eview existing as an organ o f ,

40 the o ld Whigs and for as m uch play o f mind as may s uit

,

its being that ; w e have the QuarterlyReview existing as an ,

22 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
organ o f the Tories and for as m uch play o f mind as may
,

s uit its being that we have the B ritish Q uarterly R eview ,

existing as an organ o f the political Dissente rs and for as ,

m u ch play o f mind as may s uit its bein g that w e have the

T imes existing as an organ of the common satisfied well
, , ,

to do Englishman and for as m uch play o f min d as may

-
,

s uit its being th at A nd so o n th rough all th e vario u s

.

fractions political an d religiou s of o ur so ciety every

, ,

fraction has as s u ch its organ of c riti cism but the notion

, , ,

of combin in g all fractions in the c ommon pleas ure o f a free 1 0

disinterested play of mind meets with no favo ur Directly .

this play o f mind wants to have more scope an d to forget ,

the press ure o f practical considerations a little it is checked , ,

it is made to feel the chain w e saw this the other day in

th e extinction so much to be regrette d of the Home and
, ,

F oreign R eview ; perhaps in no organ of criticism in this

country w as there so m uch knowledge so m u ch play of ,

mind ; but these co ul d no t save it : the Dublin R eview

s ubordinates play o f mind t o the practical b u siness o f
English an d Irish C atholicism and lives It m u st needs 2 0
, .

be th at men should act in sects and parties that each of ,

th ese sects and parties shoul d have it s organ and sho ul d ,

make this organ s ub serve the interests o f its action but

it would be well t o o that there shoul d be a criticism n o t
, , ,

t h e minister of these interests not t h eir enemy but abso , ,

lu t e ly an d entirely indepen dent of them N 0 other criticism .

will ever attain any real authority o r make any real w ay

towards its end — the creatin g a c urrent o f true and fresh
,

i deas .

It is because criticism h as so little kept in the pure intel 3 0

lectu al sphere h as so little detached itself from practice
, ,

has been so directly polemical an d controversial that it has ,

so ill accomplishe d in this co untry its best spirit u al work

, ,

which is to kee p man from a self satisfaction wh ich is -

retarding an d vulgarisin g to lead him towards perfection , ,

by making his mind dwell upon what is excellent in itself ,

and the absolute beauty and fitness of things A polemi c al .

practical criticism makes men blind even to th e ideal imper

fec t io n o f their practice makes them will ingly assert its
,

ideal perfection in order the better to sec ure it against 40

“

attack and clearly this is narrowing and b aneful for the m .

 THE FUNCTION O F CR ITICIS M 23
“

If they were reass ured o n the practical side spec ul ative ,

considerations of ideal perfection they migh t be bro ught to

entertain and their spiritu al h oriz on wou ld thu s grad u ally
,

widen M r Adderley says to the Warwickshire farmers

. .

Talk o f the improvement of breed Wh y the race we ,

ourselves represent the men an d women the o ld An glo

, ,

Saxon race are the best breed in the whole world

,
Th e .

absence of a too enervating c limate t o o u nclouded skies and , ,

a too luxuriou s nature has prod uced so vigorous a race of

,

0 people and has rendered u s so s u perior to all the world

’
.
,

Mr R oeb uck says to the Sheffield c utlers

.

I look around me and ask what is the state of England

Is not property safe Is n o t every man able to say what he
likes C an yo u not walk from one en d o f Englan d to the
oth er in perfect sec urity ? I ask yo u whether the world ,

over o r in past history there is anything like it N othing

, .

I pray that o ur u nrivalled happiness may last

’
.

No w obvio u sly there is a peril for poor h u man nat ure in

words and thoughts of s u ch ex uberant self satisfaction -
,

2 0 u ntil we fin d ourselves safe in the streets of the Celestial

City
.

v
Das w e nige ersc h win det e ic h t de m l ic Bl k e

v l
Der v o rwarts sie h t , wie ie n oc h fi brig bl ibt
e

says Goethe the little that is done seems nothing when we

look forward and see how m uch we have yet to do Clearly .

th is is a better line of reflection for weak h umanity so long ,

as it remains on this earthly field of labo ur and trial B ut .

neith er Mr Adderley nor Mr R oeb u ck is by nat ure inac

. .

cessible to considerations o f this sort They only lose sigh t .

3 0 of them owing t o the controversial li fe we all le ad and the ,

practic al form which all spec ul ation takes with us They .

have in view opponents whose aim is not ideal but practical ,

an d in their zeal to uph ol d their own practice against these

innovators they go so far as even to attrib ute to th is
,

practice an ideal perfection Somebody has been wanting .

to introduce a six pound franchise o r to abolish ch urch

-
,

rates o r to collect agric ultural statistics by force or to

, ,

diminish local self government Ho w nat ural in reply to

-
.
,

s uch proposals very likely improper o r ill timed to go a

,
-
-
,

40 little be yond the mark and to sa sto utly S u ch a race

y , ,
24 S AYS
ES IN CRITICIS M
of people as w e stand so s uperior to all the world Th e ,

o ld An glo Saxon race the best breed in the whole worl d

-
,

I pray th at o ur unri v alled happiness may l ast I ask yo u

wh eth er the world over or in past history there is anythin g
, ,

like it 1 A n d so long as criticism answers th is dith yramb

by insistin g that th e o ld Anglo Saxon race wo ul d be still -

more s uperior t o all oth ers if it h ad no ch urch rates o r th at -

,

o u r u nrivalled happine ss wo u l d last yet lon ger with a si x

pound fran ch i se so long will th e strain Th e best breed in

, ,

t h e whole world swell louder and lo uder everything i deal 1 0 ,

and refining will be lost o u t o f sight and both the assa i led ,

and their criti c s w ill remain in a sphere t o say th e truth , ,

perfectly unvital a sphere in which spiritu al progression is

,

impossible B ut let criticism lea ve ch urch rates an d the

.
-

franchise alone and in t h e most candid spirit with ou t a

, ,

single l urking th ought o f practical innovation confront with ,

o ur dith yramb th is para graph o n which I st umble d in a

newspaper soon after readin g Mr R oeb uck .

A shocking child m urder h as j ust been c ommitted at

Nottin gham A girl named Wragg left the workhouse there 2 0
.

o n Sat ur day morning with her yo un g ill e gitimate ch i ld .

Th e chil d w as soon afterwards fo un d dead o n M appe rly

Hil ls having been strangled Wragg is in c u stody
,
. .
’

N othing but that ; bu t in j uxtapo sition with th e absolute ,

e ulogies o f Mr Adderley an d Mr R oeb uck h o w eloquent

. .
, ,

how s uggesti v e are th ose few lines Our o ld An glo Saxon -

breed t h e best in th e wh ole world

,
—h o w m u c h th at is
harsh and ill f av oured th ere is in th is best ! Wragg If we
-

are to talk o f ideal perfection o f the best in th e whole ,

world has any o n e reflected what a tou ch o f grossness in 3 0

,
’

o ur race what an original sh ortco min g in th e more delicate

,

spiritu al perceptions is sh own by t h e natural growth ,

amongst u s o f s uch hi deou s names — Higginbottom , ,

St iggin s B ugg ,
In Ionia and Attica th ey were l u ckier in
this respect th an the best race in the world by the
Iliss us there was no Wragg poor thing And o ur ,

u nrivalle d happiness —wh at an element of grimness ,

bareness and h ideousness mixes with it and bl urs it ; the

,

workho u se the dismal M apperly Hills —how dismal th o se

, ,

who have seen them wi remember the gloom the smoke 40

ll —
, ,

th e col d th e stran gled illegitimat e child

, I ask yo u
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICIS M 25

whether ,
the world over o r in past history there is anything ,

like it Perhaps not o ne is inclined t o answer ; but at

,

an y rate ,
in that case the worl d is very m u ch to be pitied
,
.

A n d the final to uch —sh ort bleak and inh u man Wragg
, , ,

is in custo dy Th e sex lost in th e confusion of o ur u nrivall e d

.

happiness o r (sh all I say the s uperflu ou s Christian name

lopped o ff by the strai ghtforward vigour of o ur o ld Anglo
Saxon breed There is profit for the spirit in s uch contrasts
as t h is criticism serves the cau se of perfection by estab
1 0 lishi n g them .By eluding sterile conflict by refusing to ,

remain in the sphere where alone narrow and relative c o n

c e ti
p o n s have any worth and validity criticism may diminish ,

its momentary importance but onl y in this way has it

,

a chance o f gaining admittance for those wider and more

perfect conceptions to wh ich all its d uty is really owed .

Mr R oeb u ck will have a po o r opinion o f an adversary who

.

replies to his defiant songs o f triu mph only by m urm uring

un der hi s breath Wragg is in custo dy
,
bu t in no other way
will these songs o f tri umph be indu ced gradu ally t o moder
0 ate themselves to e t rid o f what in them is excessive and
g,

o ffensive and to fa ll into a soft er and truer key

,
.

It w ill be said that it is a very s ubtle and indire ct action

wh i ch I am th u s pres cribing for criticism an d that by em ,

brac ing in this manner the Indian virtu e o f detachment

an d aban doning t h e sphere o f practical life it condemns ,

itself to a slow and obsc ure work Slow and obsc ure it may
.

be bu t it is the onl y proper work of criticism Th e mass

, .

o f mankin d wi ll never have any ardent zeal for seeing thin gs

as they are very inadequ ate ideas will always satisfy them .

30 O n these inadeq u ate ideas reposes and m u st repo se the , ,

general practice of the world That is as m u ch as saying

.

th at whoe v er sets himself to se e things as they are will fin d

himself one o f a very small circle but it is onl y by this
small circle resol utely doing its o wn work that adequ ate
i deas will ever get c urrent at all Th e rush and roar o f .

practical l ife will always ha v e a dizzying and attrac ting

effect upon the most c ollected spectator an d tend to draw ,

him into its vortex most of all wi ll this be the case where
that life is so powerf ul as it is in England B ut it is only by .

40 remaining coll ecte d and refu sing to lend himself to the

,

p oint o f view of the

p ractical m an that the critic can do th e
,
26 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
practical man any service and it is onl y by the greate st
sincerity in p u rs uing h is o w n course and by at last con ,

vin c i n g even the practical man of his sincerity that he can ,

escape misun derstandin gs whi ch perpetually th reaten him .

For the practical man is not apt fo r fine distinctions and ,

yet in these distinctions truth an d the hi ghest c ulture

greatly find their ac c ount B ut it is not easy to lead a .

practical man unless yo u reass ure him as to yo ur prac tical

—

intentions yo u ha v e n o chance o f leading him to see th at

,
—

a thing wh ich he h as always been used to look at from one 1 0

side only wh ich he greatly v al ues and which looked at
, , ,

from th at side more than deserves perhaps all the prizing

, , ,

and admiring whi c h he bestows upon it th at th is thing ,

—
,

looked at from another side may appear m uch less bene ,

fic en t an d bea utif ul an d yet retain all its claims to o ur

,

practical allegiance Where sh all we fin d langu age inno

.

cent eno ugh how shall we make the S potless p urity o f o ur

,

intentions evident eno ugh to enable u s to say to th e ,

politi c al Englishman th at th e British C onstitution itself ,

wh ich seen from the practical side looks s uch a magnifi c ent 2 0
, ,

organ of progre ss an d v irtue s e en from the spec ul ative side , ,

—
with its c ompromises its love o f facts its horror of , ,

theory its studied avoidance o f c lear th ough ts — that seen

, , ,

from this side o ur au gu st Constitution sometimes looks

, ,

forgive me s h ade of Lord Somers a c olossal mach ine

-
,
—

fo r th e man u fa c t u re o f Ph ilistines 2 How is C obbett to say

‘

th is and not be mis un derstood blac kened as h e is with th e ,

smoke of a lifelong c onflic t in th e fiel d of political practice

h o w 1 8 Mr C arlyle to say it an d not be mis u n derstood after
.
,

his furiou s rai d into this fiel d with h is L atter dayPamp hlets 30
h w
o 1 8 Mr R u skin after his p ugnacio s political economy
.
,
u 2
‘

I say th e criti c m ust keep o ut of the re gion o f imme diate

,

practi c e in th e political social h u manitarian sphere if he

, , ,

wants to make a be ginning for that more free speculativ e

treatment o f things which may perh aps o n e day make its
,

benefits felt even in this sphere but in a natural an d th ence ,

irresistible mann er .

Do wh at he will however the critic will still remain

, ,

expose d to frequ ent misunderstandings an d nowhere so ,

muc h as in th is country For h ere people are partic ul arly 40.

indisposed even to comprehend that without this fre e

28 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
I still from time to time hear grumbling round me That
, , .

storm arose o ut of a mis understanding almost inevitable .

It is a res ult o f no little c ulture to attain to a clear perception

th at science an d re ligion are t w o wh olly different thin gs
th e m ultit ude will for ever confuse them but h appily th at ,

is o f n o great real importance for while the multitude ,

imagin es itself to live by its false science it does really live ,

by its tru e religion Dr Colenso however in his first . .

, ,

vol ume did all he coul d t o stren gth en th e c onf usion and to
1
,

make it dangerous He did th is with th e best intentions 1 0

.
,

I freely admit and With the most candid i gnorance that th is

,

w as th e nat ural effect of what he was doing ; but says ,

Jc u bert Ignorance which in matters o f morals extenu ates

, ,

the crime is itself in intellectu al matters a crime o f the

, , ,

first order I criti c ised Bish op Co le n so s spec ul ative

.
’ ’

conf usion Immediately there w as a cry raise d

. Wh at
is this here is a liberal attacking a liberal Do no t yo u .

belong to the movement ? are not yo u a friend of truth ?

Is n o t Bishop Colenso in p urs uit of truth then speak w ith

proper respe c t o f h is book Dr Stanley is anoth er friend 2 0 . .

of tru th an d yo u speak with proper respect o f his book ;

,

why make th e se invi diou s differences both books are

excellent admirable liberal Bishop Co lenso s perhaps the
, ,
’

most so because it is the boldest and will have th e best

, ,

practic al c onseq uenc es fo r the liberal c au se Do yo u want .

t o enco u ra ge t o th e att ack of a broth er liberal h is an d yo ur , ,

an d o ur impla c able enemies t h e Ch u rch and S tate R eview o r ,

th e R ecord — th e Hi gh Ch urch rh ino c eros an d the Evangeli

,

cal hyaena Be silent th erefore ; o r rather speak speak , ,

as lo ud as ever yo u can and go into ecstasies over th e eighty 3 0 ,

an d odd pi geons
’
.

B ut criticism cannot follow this coarse and indiscriminate

metho d It is unfortun ately possible for a man in p urs uit
.

Nay I c ann o t f b o r ear re pe at i

ng yemo re fo r his e ne t and t h at
t o n ce b fi
f l k
, ,

of his re ade rs, t his se nte nc e ro m my o rigin a re mar s u po n him The re

is tru th of scienc e and truth of religio n truth of science do es no t become
truth of religio n till it is made religio us A n d I w i add L e t u s h a e all ll v
f f l
.

t h e science t h ere is ro m t h e me n o f scie nc e ro m t h e me n o f re i i

g on
v l
let u s h a e re igio n
b k l y
.

1
It h as ee n said I ma e it a crime against ite rar criticism and t h e
l
high er cu ture t o atte m t t o in o rm t h e ign o rant
’
f
Nee d I po int o ut t h at
by b fi f
.

t h e ignorant are not i orme d ein co n rme d i

g n a c o n usio n
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICIS M 29

of truth to write a book which reposes upon a false c o n

ce ti
p o n. Even the practical conseq u ences of a book are to
g en uine criticism no recommendation of it i f the book 1 s , ,

in the highest sense bl un dering I see that a lady who ,

.

herself t o o is in p urs uit of truth and who writes with great

, , ,

ability but a little t o o m uch perhaps under the influence

, , ,

o f the practical spirit of the Eng lish liberal movement ,

classes Bishop C olenso s book and M R enan 8 together in ’

.
’
,

her s urvey of the religiou s state o f Europe as facts of the ,

‘
1 0 same order works both o f them of great importance ; ’
, , ,
‘
great ability power and skil l ; Bishop C olenso s perhaps
, ,
’
, ,

th e most powerf ul ; at least Miss Co bbe gives special ,

expression to her gratitude that to Bishop Colenso has been ‘

g iven the strength to grasp and the co urage to teach tr u ths , ,

o f s u ch deep import In the same way more than o ne ’

.
,

pop ular writer has compared him to Lu ther No w it IS j ust .

this kind of false estimate which the critical spirit is it ,

seems to me bound to resist It is really the strongest

, .

possible proof of the lo w ebb at which in England the , ,

2 0 critical spirit is that while the critical hit in th e religiou s

,

literature o f Germany is Dr Strauss s book in that of .

’
,

France M R enan s book the book of Bishop C olenso is the

.
’
,

c ritical hit in the religio u s literat ure of England Bishop .

Co le n so s book reposes o n a total misconception o f th e

’
!

e ssential elements o f the reli gio u s problem as that problem ,

is n o w presented for sol ution To criticism therefore .

, ,

which seeks to have the best that is known and tho ught o n
this problem it is however well meant of no importance
, , ,

whatever M R enan s book attempts a n ew synthesis of

. .
’

3 0 the elements f u rnished to u s by the Fo ur Gospels It .

attempts in my O pinion a synthesis perhaps premature

pe rhaps impossible certam not s uccessful U p to the
, , , ,

, .

present time at any rate we mu st acquiesce in F le ury s ’

’

sente nce on s uch recastings o f the Gospel story : Q u ico nq

, ,

ue -

magin e la p ou vo ir mieux corire n e l entend p as M R enan

’ ’
s i
’

.
, .

had himself passed by anticipation a like sentence o n his

o w n work when he said :
, If a n ew presentation o f the
character of Jesu s were offered to me I wo ul d not have it ; ,

its very clearness woul d be in my opinion the best proof , ,

40 o f its ins uffi ciency His friends may with perfect j ustice
.

rej oin that at the sight o f the Holy Land and of the actual ,
30 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
scene o f the Gospel story all the c urrent of M R enan s -
, .
’

tho ughts may have naturally changed and a new c asting ,

of that story irresistibly s uggested itself to him and that ,

this is j ust a case for applying Cicero s maxim Change of ’

mind is n o t inconsistency nemo do ctus u nq

— uam mu tatio n em
co nsiliiinconstantiam dixit esse Nevertheless for criticism .
, ,

M R enan s first tho ught m u st still be the truer o ne as long

.
’
,

as his new castin g so fails more f ully to commend itself more ,

f ully (to u se Coleri dge s happy ph rase about the Bible ) to ’

fi n d u s Still M.R enan s attempt is for criticism

. of the 10
’
, ,

most real interest and importance s ince with all its diffi , ,

c ulty a fresh synthesis of the New Testament data n o t

, ,
—

a making w ar on them in Voltaire s f ashion not a leaving ,

’
,

them o ut o f mind in the world s fashion but the p utting ,

’
,

a n ew construction upon them the taking them from un der ,

the o ld adoptive traditional unspirit ual point of view and

, , ,

placi g them nder a new one is the very essence o f the

n u —
,

religio u s problem as n o w presented and only by efforts in

,

th is direction c an it receive a sol ution .

Again in the same spirit in which sh e j udges Bishop 20

,

C olenso Miss Gobbe like so many earnest liberals o f o ur

, ,

practical race both here and in America herself sets vigor

, ,

o usly abo ut a positive reconstr u ction o f reli gion about ,

making a religion o f the f ut ure o ut o f hand o r at least ,

setting abou t making it we m ust not rest she and they ,

are always thinking and saying in negati v e criticism we , ,

m ust be creative and constructive ; hence we have s uch

works as her re c ent R eligious Duty an d works still more ,

considerable perhaps by oth ers whi ch will be in every

, , ,

one s mind These works often have mu ch ability th e y so

‘
’
.

often spring o ut of sincere convictions and a sinc ere wish ,

to do g oo d an d they sometimes perhaps do good Their , , .

fault is (if I may be permitted to say so ) o n e which th ey

have in common with the British C olle ge of Health in the ,

New R oad Every o n e kn ows the British C olle ge o f

.

Health it is that b uilding with the lion and the statue o f

the Goddess Hygeia before it at least I am s ure about the ,

li on though I am not absol utely certain abo ut the Goddess

,

Hygeia This b uilding does credit perhaps t o the resources

.
, ,

o f Dr Morrison and hi
. s disciples but it falls a good deal 40
short o f one s idea of what a British C ollege of Health ought
’
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICISM 31

to be In England where we hate p ublic interference and

.
,

love individual enterprise we have a whole crop o f places ,

like the British C olle ge of Health the grand name witho u t

the grand thing U nl uckily creditable to individu al enter
.
,

prise as they are they tend to impair o ur taste by making

,

u s for get what more gran diose noble o r bea u tif ul character , ,

properly belongs to a p ubli c institution Th e same may be .

sai d of the religions of the f uture of Miss Co bbe and oth ers .

Creditable like the British C ollege o f Health to the

, ,

1 0 reso urces o f their a u thors they yet ten d to make u s forget,

what more grandiose noble o r beautiful character properly

,

belongs to religio u s constru ctions Th e historic religions .

,

with all th eir faults have had this it certainly belongs to

,

t h e reli gio u s sentiment when it tr u ly flowers to have this

, ,

and we impoverish o ur spirit if we allow a religion of the

f uture w ith o ut it What th en is th e duty o f criticism here
.

To take the practical point o f view to appla u d the liberal ,

movement and all its works its New R oad religions of the ,
-

f ut ure into the bargain — for their general u tility s sake ?

,
’

2 0 By no means but to be perpetu ally dissatisfied with these

’

works while they perpetu ally fall short of a high and

,

perfect ideal .

For criticism th ese are elementary laws but they never

,

can be pop ular and in this co untry they have been very
,

little followed an d o ne meets w ith imm ense obstacles in

,

foll owing them Th at is a reason for asserting them again

.

an d again . Criticism mu st maintain its independence of

the practical spirit and its aims Even with well meant .
-

efforts of the practical spirit it m ust express dissatisfaction ,

3 0 if in the sphere o f the ideal they seem impoverishing and

limiting It mu st not h urry on to the goal because o f its
.

practical importance It m u st be patient and know h o w

.
,

to wait ; and flexible and know how to attach itself to ,

th ings an d how to withdraw from them It must be apt to .

study an d praise elements that for the fulness o f spiritu al

perfection are wanted even though they belong to a power
,

which in the practical sphere may be malefic ent It m u st .

be apt to discern the spiritu al shortcomings o r ill usions o f

powers that in the prac tical sphere may be beneficent And .

40 t his witho ut any notion o f favo u ring o r inj uring in the prac ,

tical sphere o ne power o r the other without any notion of

,
32 E SS A YS IN CRITICISM
playing o ff in this sphere o ne power against the other
, , .

When o ne looks for instance at the English Divorce Co urt

, , ,
-
an instit u tion which perhaps h as its practical c o n v e ni
e n c e s bu t whi c h in the ideal sphere is so hideo u s ;
,

institution which neither makes divorce impossible n o r

makes it decent which allows a man to ge t rid of his wife
, ,

or a wife o f her h usband but makes them drag one another ,

first for the p ubli c e dificatio n thro ugh a mire of un utter

, ,

able infamy when one looks at th is charming institution

,
—
,

I say with its crowded benches its newspaper reports and 1 0

, ,
-
,

its money compensations this institution in which the gross

-
,

unregenerate British Philistine h as in deed stamped an

image o f himself — o ne may be per mitted to fin d th e mar
,

riage theory of C atho licism refreshing an d elevating

-
Or .

when Protestantism in virtue of its s upposed rational and,

intell ect ual origin gi v es the law to c riticism to o magis

,

t e rially criticism may and m u st remin d it that its preten

,

sions in this respe ct are ill usive and do it harm th at the

, ,

R eformation w as a moral rath er th an an intellect u al event

that Luther s th eory o f grac e no more exactly re flects th e 20
’

min d of the spirit than B o ssuet s ph ilosophy of history ’

reflects it and that there is no more antecedent probability

of the Bish op o f Durham s stock of i deas being agreeable to ’

perfect reason than of Pope Pius the N inth B ut critic ism

’
.

will not o n that ac co un t forget th e ach ievements o f Pro

te st an tism in th e prac tical an d moral sph ere ; nor that ,

even in th e intellec tu al sph ere Protestantism though in , ,

a blind an d stu mbling manner c arried forward the R e ,

naissance while C ath olicism threw itself violently across

,

its path . 30

I lately heard a man of th o ugh t and energy contrastin g the

want o f ardour and movement whi ch he now found amongst
yo ung men in this country with what h e remembered
‘
in his own yo u th twenty years ago What reformers
,
.

‘
we were then ! he exclaimed ; what a zeal we h ad !
h o w we canvassed every institution in Ch urch an d State
an d were prepare d to remodel them all on first principles !
He was inclin ed to regret as a spiritu al flaggi ng th e l ull , ,

which he saw I am disposed rather to regard it as a pause

.

in wh i ch th e turn to a new mode o f spiritual progress is 40

being accomplishe d Everyth in g was long seen by the .
,
 THE FUNCTION O F CRITICIS M ‘

33

young and ardent amongst u s in inseparable connection ,

with politics and practical life we have pretty well ex

hansted the benefits of seeing things in this c o nn ec tion w e y

have got all that can be got by so seeing the m Let u s try .

a more disinterested mo de o f seeing th em ; let us betake

o urselves more to the serener life o f the mind and spirit .

This life too may h ave its excesses and dangers

, ,
but they
are not for u s at present Let u s think o f quietly enlarging .

o ur stock of tr u e and fresh i deas and not as soon as we get , ,

no an idea o r half an idea be r un ning o ut with it into the ,

street and trying to make it rule there Our i deas will in

,
.
,

the end shape the world all the better for maturing a little
,
.

Perhaps in fifty years time it will in the English Hou se o f ’

C ommons be an obj ection to an institution that it is an

anomaly and my friend the Member o f Parliament will
,

sh udder in his grave B ut let u s in the meanwhile rather

.

endeavo ur that in twenty years time it may in English ’

,

literature be an objection to a proposition that it is absurd

,
.

That wi ll be a chan ge so vast that the imagination almost ,

120 fails to grasp it A b in tegro saeclorum nascitur ordo

. .

If I have insisted so much o n the course which criticism

must take where politics and religion are concerned it is ,

b ecause where these b urning matters are in question it is

, ,

most likely to go astray I have wished above all to in sist .

, ,

o n the attitu de whi c h criticism should adopt towards

everything o n its right tone and temper o f mind Then .

comes the question as t o the subj ect matter which criticism -

should most seek Here in general its cou rse is determined

.
, ,

for it by the idea which is the law of its being the idea o f
30 a disinterested endeavo u r to learn and propagate the best
that is known and tho ught in the world and th u s to estab ,

lish a c u rrent o f fresh an d tru e ideas By the very nature o f .

things as England is not all the world mu ch o f the best

, ,

that is known and thought in the world cannot be of Eng

lish growth m ust be foreign ; by the natu re o f things
, ,

again it is j u st this that we are least likely to know while

, ,

English tho ught is streaming in u pon u s from all sides and

takes excellent care that we shall n o t be ignorant of its
existence the English critic therefore must dwell much , ,

40 on forei gn tho u ght and with partic ular heed o n any part
,

of it w hich while significant and fr uitf ul in itself is for any

AR NOLD
, , ,

D
 34 SS AYS
E IN CRITICISM
eason specially likely to escape him Again j udging is often
r .
,

S poken o f as the critic s o ne b usiness an d so in some sense

’

it is but the j udgment whic h almost inse nsibly forms

itself in a fair an d clear mind along with fresh knowle dge , ,
is the val u able o n e an d thu s kn owle dge and e v er fresh ,

knowle dge m ust be the criti c s great concern for himself

,
’

and it is by c omm unicating fres h kn owle dge an d letting ,

h is own j udgment pass along with it but in sensibly an d ,

—
,

in th e second place not th e first as a sort of c ompanion and ,

cl ue not as an abstract lawgiver th at he will generally do 1 0

, ,
—

most good to his readers Sometimes no do ubt for t h e .

, ,

sake of establishing an auth or s place in literature an d h is ’

,

relation to a central standard (an d if this is not done h o w ,

are w e to get at o ur best in the world criti cism may have to

.

deal with a s ubj ect matter so fa miliar t h at fres h knowle dge

is o ut of the q uestion an d th en it mu st be all j udgment ; an
,

enunciation and detail ed applic ation o f principles Here .

t h e great safegu ard 1 8 never to let oneself become abstract ,

always to retain an intimate an d lively consciousness of the

truth o f what one is saying and the moment this fails u s 20
, , ,

to be s ure th at something is wrong Still un der all circ um .

,

stance s th is mere j udgment and application of principles

,

is in itself not th e most satisfactory work to the critic

, ,

like mat h emati c s it is tautological and cannot well give u s

, , ,

like fres h learning the sense o f creati v e activity

, .

B ut stop some o n e will say all t his talk is o f no practical

,

u se to us w h atever
-
this criticism of yours is n o t what w e
have in o ur minds when w e speak of criticism wh en we
speak o f criti cs and criti c ism we mean critics an d criticism ,

o f the c urrent Englis h literat ure of the day wh en yo u offer 30

to tell criticism it s function it is to th is criticism th at we
,

expe ct yo u to address yourself I am sorry for it for I am .

,

afraid I must disappoint these expectations I am bound .

by my o w n definitio n o f criti cism a disin terested endeavour

‘

to learn an d p rop agate th e best th at is known and though t in

the world . Ho w mu ch of current
English literature comes
‘
into this best that 1 8 known and though t 1 n the world
Not very much , I fear certainl y less , at th is moment , th an
o f the c urrent literat ure of France or Germany Well , th en ,
m
.

am I to alter my definition of criticis m, in order t o eet th e 40

requirements o f a number of practising Eng lis h critics ; who ,
36 E SS AYS IN CR ITICIS M
a ctivity ; a sense w h ich a man o f insi ght and conscience
will prefer to what he might derive from a poor starve d , ,

fragmentary inadeq u ate creation And at some epochs

,
.

no other creation is possible .

Still in fu ll measu re the sense o f creative activity

, ,

belongs onl y to genu ine creation ; in literature w e m ust

never forget that B ut what true man o f letters ever can
.

forget it It is no s uch common matter for a gifted nature

to come into possession o f a c urrent o f true and living ideas ,

and to produce ami dst the inspiration o f them that we are 1 0 ,

likely t o u nderrate it Th e epochs o f Aeschyl us and Shak

.

speare make u s feel their pre —eminence In an epo c h like .

those is no do ubt the true life o f a literature there is the

, ,

pro mised land towards which criticism can only beckon

, .

That promised land it will n o t be o urs to enter and we shall ,

die in the wilderness : but to ha v e desire d to enter it to ,

have sal uted it from afar is already perhaps the best

, , ,

distinction among contemporaries it will cer tainly be the

best title to esteem with posterity .
 THE L I T ER A R Y I NF LU ENC E OF
A CADEM I ES

IT is impossible to put down a book like the history o f

the French Academy by Pellisso n and D O livet wh ich
,
’
,

M Charles Livet has lately re e dited without being led to

.
,

reflect u pon the absence in o ur o w n country o f any in stitu

, ,

tion like the French Academy u pon the probable cau ses o f
,

this absence and upon its res ults A thousand voices will
,
.

be ready to tell u s that this absence is a signal mark of o ur

national su periority that it is in great part owing to this
absence that the exhilarating words of Lord Macaul ay ,

1 0 lately given to the worl d by his very clever nephew Mr ,

.

Trevelyan are so profo u n dl y tru e

,
It may safely be sai d
t h at the literature n o w extant in the English lang u age is o f
far greater val ue than all the literature which three h undred
years ago was extant in all the lang u ages o f the worl d t o
gether I daresay this is so onl y remembering Spinoza s
’ ’
.
,

maxim that t h e two great banes o f h umanity are self

c onceit an d the laziness com i ng from self conceit I th ink it -
,

may do us good instead of resting in o ur pre eminence with

,
-

perfe ct sec urity to look a little more closely why this is so

, ,

2 0 and w h ether it is so witho u t any limitations .

B ut first of all I m u st give a very fe w wor ds to the o u t

ward history of the French Academy Abou t the year .

1 629 seven or ei ght persons in Paris fond o f literature

, , ,

formed themselves into a sort of little cl ub to meet at o n e

another s houses an d discu ss literary matters Their meet
’
.

ings got talked o f and C ardinal R ichelieu th en minister and

, ,

all powerf ul heard o f them He himself h ad a noble

, .

p assion for letters and for all fine c ul ture he was interested
,

by what he heard o f the nascent society Himself a man in .

3 0 the grand style if ever man was he h ad the insight to

, ,

perceive what a potent instrument o f the grand style was

here to his hand It was the beginning of a great century
.
38 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
for France the seventeenth men s minds were working
,
’
,

the French lang uage w as forming R ichelie u sent to ask .

the members o f the new society whether they woul d be

willing to become a body with a p ublic character holding ,

reg ular meetings N ot witho ut a little hesitation for

.
—
,

apparently they found themselves very well as they were ,

an d these seven o r eight gentlemen o f a social an d literary

turn were not perfectly at their c ase as to what the great
and terrible minis ter co uld want with them —they c o n
,

sented Th e favou rs o f a man like R ichelie u are not easily 1 0

.

refused whether they are honestly meant o r no but this

,

favour o f R i c helieu s w as meant q uite honestly Th e’

.

Parliament however had its do ubts o f this Th e Parlia

, ,
.

ment had none o f R ichelie u s enth usiasm about letters and ’

c ulture ; it w as jealou s of the apparition o f a new p ublic

bo dy in the State above all o f a bo dy calle d into existence ,

by R ichelie u Th e King s letters patent establishing and

.
’
,

authorizing t h e n e w society were grante d early in 1 63 5 ,

but by t h e o ld constit ution o f France these letters patent

, ,

require d the verification of the Parliament It w as two 20 .

years and a half towards the autumn o f 1 63 7 — before the

,
—
,

Parliament wou l d give it ; and it then gave it onl y after

pressing solicitations an d earnest as s urances o f the inn ocent
,

intentions of the young Academy Jo co se people said that .

t h is society with its mission to p urify an d embellish th e

,

langu age fille d with terror a bo dy o f lawyers like the French

,

Parliament the stronghold of barbarous j argon and o f

,

chi c ane .

This improvement o f the langu age w as in tru th the

declared grand aim for th e operation s o f th e Academy Its 3 0 .

statu tes o f foun dation approve d by R i c helieu before the

,

royal e dict establish ing it was issu e d say expressly Th e ,

Ac ademy s principal function sh all be to work with all t h e

’

c are an d all t h e diligence possible at giving s u re rul es t o o u r

langu age an d ren dering it p ure eloquent and capable

, , ,

o f treating the arts an d sciences Th is zeal fo r making

’
.

a nation s great instrument o f thought —its langu age

’
, ,

correct and worthy is undoubte dly a sign full o f promise

, ,

a wei ghty earnest o f future power It is sai d th at R ichelieu .

h ad it in his min d t h at French shoul d s u cceed Latin in its 40

g eneral ascen d ency as Latin had s ucceeded
, Greek ; if it
 THE LITER ARY INFL UENCE O F AC ADEMIES 39

w as so , even this wish h as to some extent bee n fulfil led

-
.

B ut , at any rate , the ethical infl u ences of style in lang u age ,

—its close relations , so often pointe d o u t , with chara c ter ,
— are most important R ichelieu a man o f high c ul ture
.
, ,

and at the same time o f great c haracter felt them pro f

, , ,

fo un dl y and that he s h oul d have sought to regularise ,

strengthen an d perpetu ate them by an institution for per

,

fec tin g lang u age is alone a striking proof of his governing

,

spirit and o f his geniu s .

This w as not all he had in his mind however Th e n ew , .

Academy now enlarged to a bo dy o f forty members and

, ,

meant to contain all the chief literary men o f France w as ,

t o be a literary tribun al Th e works o f its members were to

.

be brou gh t before it previou s to p ublication were to be ,

criticised by it an d finall y if it saw fit to be p ublis h ed with

, , ,

its de c lared approbation Th e works o f other writers not

.
,

members of the Academy might also at the requ est of , ,

these write rs th emselves be passe d under the Academy s ,

’

re view Besi des this in essays and disc ussions the Aca
.
,

0 demy examined an d j udged works already p ublishe d ,

whether by living o r dead authors and literary matters in ,

general Th e celebrate d opinion o n C orneille s Cid de

’
.
,

li v ere d in 1 63 7 by the Aca demy at R ichelieu s urgent ’

req uest when this poem which stro l ly occ upied p ublic
attention had been attacked by M dd gcudéry shows how
, ,

, .
,

full y R ichelie u designed his new creation to do d uty as

a s upreme co urt of literature and how early it in fact be gan ,

t o exercise this f unction O ne who h ad know n R ichelieu

1
.

declared after the C ardinal s death that he h ad projected

,
’
,

3 0 a yet greater instit u tion than the Academy a sort of grand ,

European college o f art science an d literatu re a Pry , , ,

tane um where the chief authors of all Europe shoul d

,

be gathered together in o n e central home there to live ,

in sec urity leis ure and h onour ; that w as a dream

, ,
—

which will not bear to be p ulle d abou t t o o rough ly B ut .

the proj ect o f form ing a hi gh court o f letters fo r France

w as no drea m ; R ichelie u in great meas u re f ul fill ed it .

This is what the Aca demy by its idea really is ; this is , ,

what it has always tended to become ; this is what it

40 h as from time to time really been ; by being or tendin
, , g ,
1
L a Mesnardiére .
40 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
to b e this far ,
more
than even by what it h as done for
the lang u age it is of s u ch importance in France To
,
.

give the law the tone to literature and th at tone a high

, ,

one is it s b usiness
,
R ichelie u meant it says M Sainte
.
,
’
.

Be u ve to be a haut jury — a j ury the most c h oice

, ,
’

and a u thoritative that co ul d be fo un d o n all important

literary matters in question before the p ublic ; to be as ,

it in fact became in the latter half o f the eighteenth

cent ury a sovereign organ o f opinion
,
Th e duty .
’

‘
o f t h e Aca demy is says M R enan maintenir la deli
,
’
.
,

catesse de l es ri
p t f ran
’
cais — to keep the fine q u ality o f
the French spirit u nimpaire d ; it represents a kind o f
maitrise en fait de bo n to n the authority of a recognized —

master in matters o f tone and taste All ages says .

,
’

M R enan again have h ad t h eir inferior literature ; but

.
,

th e great danger of o ur time is that t h is inferior literat u re

tends more an d more to get the upper place No o n e .

h as the same advantage as t h e Aca demy for fi gh ting against

this mischief th e Aca demy which as he says elsewhere , , ,

has even spe cial faci lities for creating a form of intellectu al
c ulture w hich shall imp ose itself on all aro und M Sainte .
’
.

Be u ve an d M R enan are both o f them very keen sig h ted

.
, ,
-

critics an d they show it si gnally by seizing an d p utting

so prominently forward t h is c h ara cter o f the French
Academy .

Such an effort to se t up a r ecognise d a uthority impos ing ,

o n u s a high stan dard in mat ters o f intellect an d taste ,

has many enemies in human nature We all o f u s like .

to go o ur o wn way and n o t to be forced o ut o f the atmo

,

sphere o f commonplace habitu al to most o f us w as u ns

al le bdn digt says Goethe das Gemeine We like t o h e
,
’
,
.
’

s uffered to lie comfortably in the o ld straw o f o ur habits ,

especially o f o ur intellectu al habits even though this ,

straw may n o t be very clean and fine B ut if the e ffo rt to .

limit this fre edom o f o ur lower nature finds as it does ,

an d m u st fi n d enemies in h uman nature it finds also

, ,

auxiliaries in it Out of the four great parts says Cicero

.
, ,

o f t h e ho n estum o r goo d whi c h forms the matter o n which

, ,

ofli ci um o r h u man du ty fin ds employment o n e is the fixin g

, , ,

of a mo dus and an o rdo a measure an d an order to fash ion , ,

and wholesomel y constrain o ur action in or der to li ft it ,

 THE LITERAR Y INF LUENCE O F A CA DEMIES 41

above the level it keeps if left to itself and to bring it ,

nearer to perfection Man alone o f living creatures he

says goes feelin g af ter q uid sit ordo q uid sit q
.
,

uod dece at ,

in factis dictisq ue q
, ,

ui mod u s — the discovery of an o rder a ,

l aw o f good taste a measure for his wor ds an d actions

,
.

O ther creatures submissively follow the law o f their nature

man alone has an impulse lea ding him to set up some other
l aw to control the bent o f his nat u re .

This hol ds good o f co urse as to moral matters as well

, , ,

1 0 as i ntell ectu al matters : an d it is o f moral matters that

w e are generally thinking when we affirm it B u t it hol ds .

g ood as to intellect u al m atters too N o w probably .

, ,

M Sainte Beu v e h ad n o t these words o f C icero in his

.
-

mind when he made about the French nation the assertion , ,

I am going to qu ote but for all that the assertion leans , , ,

for s upport o n e may say u pon the truth conveye d in those

, ,

words o f Cicero an d w o n derfufly illu strates an d confirms

,

them . In France says M Saints Beu ve the first ,

’
.
-
,

consideration for u s is not whether we are amu sed and

0 pleased by a work o f art o r min d nor is it whether we are ,

touched by it What we seek above all to learn is whether

.
,

w e w ere righ t in being am u se d with it an d in applau ding it , ,

an d in bein g move d by it Those are v ery remarkable

’
.

words and they are I believe in the main quite true A

, , , .

Frenchman has to a considerable degree what one may call

, ,

a conscience in intellectu al matters ; he has an active

belief that there is a right and a wrong in them that he ,

is bound to honour an d obey the right that he is disgraced ,

by cleaving to the wrong All the world has o r professes .

,

3 0 to have t his conscienc e in moral matters Th e word

, .

co nscience has become almost confined in pop ular u se , ,

to the moral sphere becau se this lively s u sceptibility of ,

feeling is in the moral sphere so far more common than

, ,

in the intellectu al sphere t h e li v elier in the moral sphere , ,

t h is s usceptibility is the greater becomes a man s rea diness

,
’

to a dmit a high standard o f action an ideal authoritatively ,

correcting his everyday moral habits here such willing , ,

a dmission o f authority is due to sensitiveness o f conscience .

An d a like deference to a standard higher than one s o w n ’

40 habit u al stan dar d in intellect u al matters a like respectful

'

re cognition of a s uperior ideal is cause d in the intellectual , ,

42 ESS A YS IN CRITICIS M
sphere by sensitiveness o f intelli gence Those whose in
, .

te llige n ce is q uickest openest most sensitive are readiest

, , ,

with this deference tho se whose intelligence is less delicate

and se nsiti v e are less disposed to it Well n o w w e are o n .
,

the road to see w h y the French have their Academy and

we have nothing o f the kin d .

What are the essential characteristics of the spirit o f

o u r nation ? No t certainl y an open and clear mind
, , ,

not a quick and flexible intelligence Our greatest admirers .

wo ul d n o t claim fo r us that w e ha v e these in a pre eminent -

de gree they mig h t say th at we h ad more of them than o ur

detractors gave u s credit for ; bu t they wo ul d n o t assert
th em to be o ur e ssential characte ristics They woul d rather .

allege as o ur chief spiritu al characteristics energy and

, ,

honesty and if w e are j udged fa v o urably and positively

, ,

n o t invi dio usly and ne gatively o ur chief ch a racteristics ,

are no doubt these e nergy and honesty not an open an d

, ,
-
,

clear mind n o t a quick and flexible intelligence O pen

, .

ness o f mind and flexibility of intell igence were very signal

c haracteristi c s o f the Athenian people in an c ient t imes ;

e v erybody will feel th at O penness o f mind an d flexibility

.

of intelligence are remarkable c h aracteristi c s o f the Frenc h

people in mo dern times at any rate they strikingly , ,

c h aracterise them as c ompare d with u s ; I th ink every

body o r almost everybody will feel that I will not n o w
, , .

ask what more t h e Athenian or the French spirit h as th an

this nor what s h ortcomings either o f them may have as
,

a set o ff against this all I want now to point o ut is that

-

they have this an d th at we have it in a muc h lesser degree

,
.

Let me remark howe v er that not onl y in the moral

, ,

sphere but also in the intellectu al and spiritu al sphere

, ,

energy and h onesty are most important an d fruitful

qu alities ; that fo r instance o f what w e call geni us
, , ,

energy is the most essential part So by assignin g to .

,

a nation energy an d honesty as its ch ief spiritu al c h arac

te ristic s — by ref u sing to it as at all eminent character
, ,

istics openness o f min d an d flexibility of intelligence

, ,

w e do not by any means as some people might at first ,

s u ppose relegate its importance and its power o f manifesting

,

itself with effect from the intellectu al to the moral sp h ere .

We only indicate its probable special line of s ucc essful

44 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
consecrate and maintain them and therefore a nation , , ,

with an eminent turn for th em naturally establishes

academies So far as ro utine an d authority tend to embar
.

rass energy and in ventive genius ac ademies may be said ,

to be obstruc tive to energy and inventive genius and to ,

'

th is extent t o th e h uman spirit s general advance B ut

,
’
.

then this evil is so m uch c ompensated by the propaga

tion o n a large scale o f the mental aptitudes an d demands
, ,

which an open mind an d a flexible intelli gence naturally

engender geni us itself in the long run so greatly finds 1 0
, , ,

its ac co unt in this propagation an d bodies like the French ,

Academy have such power fo r promoting it t h at the general ,

advance of the h uman spirit is perhaps on the whole , ,

rather furthe red than impede d by their existence .

Ho w m uch greater is o ur nation in poetry t h an prose

h o w m u ch better in general do t h e pro du ctions o f its
, ,

spirit show in the qualities o f genius than in the qu alities

-

o f intelligence ! O ne may constantly remark this in the

work of indivi duals how m uch more striking in general , ,

does any En glishman o f some vig o u r o f min d but by 2 3

,
—
,

no means a poet seem in his verse than in his prose !

,
—

No do ubt h is vers e s uffers from the same defects which

impair his prose an d he cann ot express himself with
,

real s u ccess in it ; but h o w m uch more powerf ul a per

so n age does h e appear in it by dint of feeling an d o f , ,

originality an d movement o f i deas th an when he is writing ,

prose ! With a Frenc h man o f like stamp it is j u st the ,

reverse : set him to write poetry he is limited artificial , , ,

an d impotent set him to write prose he is free natural , , ,

an d effecti v e Th e power of Fren c h literat u re is in its 30

.

prose writers t h e power of English literatu re is in its p o ets

-
, .

Nay many o f th e celebrate d Frenc h poets depend wholly

,

for th eir fame u pon t h e qu alities o f intelligence wh ich they

ex hibit qu alities wh ich are th e distin c ti v e s upport o f
,
—

prose many o f t h e celebrate d English prose writers depend -

wholly for their fame u pon th e qu alities of genius and

imagination w hic h they exh ibit —qu alities which are t h e ,

distinctive s u pport o f poetry B ut as I have sai d the .

, ,

qu alities of genius are less transferable th an the qu alities

of intelligenc e ; less can be imme diately learne d an d 4
appropriate d from their pro du ct they are less direct and
 THE LITER ARY IN FL UENCE O F A C ADEMIES 45

stringent intellectu al agencies though they may be more ,

beautiful an d divine Sh akspe are and o ur great Eliz abethan

.

group were certainl y more gifted writers than C orneille

an d his gro u p ; but what was the sequ el to this great
lite rature this literat ure o f geniu s as we may call it
, , ,

stretching from Marlow to Milton What did it lea d up

to in English lite rature To o ur provincial an d secon d
rate literat ure o f the ei ghteenth century What o n the .
,

other han d w as the sequel to t h e literature of the Frenc h

,

great century to this literature o f intelligence as by

,
’
, ,

comparison with o ur Elizabeth an literature we may c all ,

it ; what did it lead u p to To the French literat ure o f

the eighteenth century o ne o f the most powerful an d ,

per v asive intellectu al agencies th at have ever existed th e ,

g reatest E u ropean force o f the ei ghteenth cent ury In .

s cience again we h ad Newton a geniu s of the very highest

, , ,

order a type o f genius in scienc e if ever there was o n e O n

, , .

the continent as a sort o f counterpart to Newton there

, ,

w as Leib nitz ; a man it seems to me (tho u gh o n these

,

20 matters I speak u nder correction ) o f m u c h less creative ,

energy o f geniu s mu ch less power o f divination than

,

Newton but rather a man of admirable intelligence a

, ,

type o f inte lligence in science if ever there was one , .

Well an d what did they each directly le ad up t o in science

,

What w as the intellectu al generation that sprang from

each o them
f ? I onl y repeat what the men o f science
have themselves pointe d o ut Th e man o f genius was .

continued by the English analysts of th e eighteenth

century comparatively powerless and obscure followers
,

3 0 of the renowne d master ; the man o f intelligence was

continue d by s u ccessors like Bernouill i Eul er Lagrange , , ,

and Laplace the greatest names in modern mathematics

, .

Wh at I want the rea der to see is that th e question as ,

to the u tility of aca demies to the intellectu al life o f a

nation is n o t s ettle d when we say fo r instance O h we , ,

have never h ad an academy and yet we have confesse dl y , , ,

a very great literature It still remains to be asked :

.
’

What sort of a great literature a literature great in the

speci al qu alities of geniu s o r great in the special qu alities
,

40 of intelligen c e ? If in the former it is by no means

’
,

sure that either o ur literature o r the general intellectu al ,

46 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
life of o ur nation has got already with out academies all , , ,

that academies can give Both the one and th e other .

may very well be somewhat wanting in th ose qu alities o f

intelli gence o ut of a lively sense for whic h a body like
,

t h e French Ac ademy as I have sai d springs and which , , ,

s uch a body does a great deal to spread and confirm .

Our literat u re in spite o f the geni u s manifeste d in it

, ,

may fall sh ort in form metho d precision proportions , , , ,

arrangement — all o f th em I have said things where

, , ,

inte lligenc e proper c omes in It may be comparatively 1 0 .

weak in prose th at branc h o f literature w h ere intelligence

,

proper is so to speak all in all In this branc h it may show

, ,
.

many grave faults to which the want o f a q uick flexible ,

intelligence and o f the strict standard which s u ch an

,

intelligence tends t o impose makes it liable ; it may be ,

f ul l o f hap hazard cru deness provincialism eccentricity , , , ,

violence bl undering It may be a less stringent and effective

,
.

inte llectu al agency both u pon o ur o wn nation and upon ,

t h e worl d at large than other litera tures which show less ,

g eni u s perhaps
,
b u t more intelligence , .

Th e righ t concl u sion certainl y is that w e should try

so far as w e can to m
,

ake up o ur shortc o mings ; and that

,

t o this end instead o f always fi x ing o ur tho ughts upon

,

the points in which o ur literature and o ur intellectu al ,

life generally are strong we sh o u ld from time to time

, , , ,

fix them u pon th ose in wh ch they are weak and so learn i

,

to perceive clearly what w e h ave to amen d What is o ur .

se c ond great spiritu al characteristic — o ur honest y — go o d , ,

for if it is not good for this

,
B ut it will — I am s ure it ,

wil l —more and more as time g o es on be found good for 3 0

, , ,

th is .

Well then an institution like the French Academy

, , ,

an institution owing its existence to a national bent to

wards the things of the mind towards c ulture towards , ,

clearness correctness and propriety in thinking and

,
.

speaking and in its t urn promoting this bent sets

, , , ,
-

standards in a number o f directions and creates in all , ,

these directions a force o f edu cated Opinion checking , ,

and reb ukin g those wh o fall below these standards o r wh o ,

se t th em at no ught Ed ucated opinion exists here as in 40 .

France ; but in France the Ac ademy serves as a sort o f

 THE LITER ARY INFL UENCE O F A C ADEMIES 47

centre and rallying point t o it and gives it a f orce which

-
,

it h as no t got here Wh y is all the journeyman work o f

.
-

li terature as I may call it so m u ch worse done here than

, ,

it is in F rance I do n o t wish to h urt any one s feelings ’

bu t s urely this is so Think o f the difference between

.

o ur books of reference and those of the Fren c h between ,

o u r bio graphical di c tionaries (to take a striking instance )

an d theirs think o f the difference between the translations

o f the classics t u rne d o u t for M r B o h n s libr ary and those
’
.

turne d o ut for M Nisard s co llec tion As a general rule

.
’
,

hardl y any one amongst u s w h o knows French an d German ,

well woul d u se an English book o f reference when he

,

could get a French o r German one ; or woul d look at an

En glish prose translation o f an ancient a u thor when he
c o uld ge t a French o r German o n e It is not th at there .

do n o t e x ist in England as in France a n u mber of people , ,

perfectly well able to discern what is good in th ese things , ,

from what is bad an d preferring what is good but they

,

are isolated they form no powerful body o f opinion they

, ,

are not strong enough to set a standard up to which even ,

the j o urneyman work o f literature m ust be brought if it

-
,

is to be vendible I gnorance and charlatanism in work

.

o f this kind are always trying to pass o f f their wares as

excellent and to cry down criticism as the voice o f an
,

insignificant over fastidiou s minority they easily pers uade

,
-

the m ultitude that this is so when the minority is scattered

abo ut as it is here not so easily when it is banded together
as in the French Academy So again with freaks in dealing .
, ,

with lang uage ; certainl y all s u ch freaks tend to impair

: 3 0 the power and bea u ty of langu age ; and how far more
common they are with us than with the French ! To
take a very familiar instance Every one h as noticed .

th e w ay in which the T imes chooses to spell the word

dio cese it always spells it dio cess deriving it I s uppose
1
, , ,

from Z eus and census Th e Journal des Debats mi ght ’

j ust as well write dio ce ss instead o f dioc ese but ,

’

imagine the Journal des Débats doing so ! Imagin e an

ed ucate d Frenchman ind ul ging himself in an ortho
g raph ical i f h i sort in face o f the grave respect
'

t
’

an c o t s ,

1
Th Tim
e h a n w (1 8 68) ab andon d t hi p lling and ad t d
es s o e s s e o
p e
th e o rdi
n ary o ne .
48 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
with which the Academy and its dictionary invest th e
French lang uage ! Some people will s ay these are little
things ; they are no t ; they are o f bad example They .

tend to spread the banef ul notion that there is no such

thing as a hi gh correct standard in intellectual matters
,

that every o ne may as well take his o wn way ; they are

e severe discipline necessary fo r all
confirm u s in habits of wil ful ness an d
which h urt o ur m inds an d damage o ur ,

credit with seriou s people Th e late Mr Donaldson w as 1 0 . .

c ertainly a man of great ability and I w h o am n o t an , ,

O rientalist do not prete nd to j udge h is Jashar ; but

,

let the reader observe th e form which a foreign O rientalist s ’

j udgment o f it nat urally takes M R enan calls it a tentative . .

malh eu reuse a failure in short this it may be or it may

, , ,

not be I am no j udge B ut he goes o n It is astonishing

.

that a recent artic le (in a French periodical he means ) ,

shoul d have brought forward as the last word o f German

exegesis a work like this compose d by a doctor o f the ,

University o f Cambridge and universally condemned by 20 ,

German critics Y o u see what he means to imply : an

.
’

extravagance o f this sort could never have come from

Germany where there is a great force of critical Opinion
,

controlling a learne d man s vagaries and keepin g him ’

,

strai ght ; it comes from th e native home o f intelle ctual

eccentri city o f all kinds from England from a doctor
1—
, ,

o f the U niversity of C ambri ge an d I daresay he woul d

d —
,

not expect m uc h better th ings from a doctor o f th e

University of O xford Again after speaking o f what .
,

G ermany and France have done for the history Of Mahomet 30

America and England M R enan goes o n have also ,
’
.
,

occ upied themselves with Mahomet He mentions .

’

Wash ingt on Irving s L ife of M aho met which does not

’
, ,

he says evince m u ch o f an historical sense a sen timent

h istoriq
, ,

bu t he proc eeds this book shows ’

u e fort é levé , ,

a real pro gress when o ne thinks that in 1 82 9 Mr Charles

, .

Forster p ublished tw o thick volu mes which enchanted ,

A iti d l I m w g i yi g th t M
1
cr c ec are s a ro n n sa n a R e nan 8 angu age l’

impli t hi ll t hi k t h t t h x
.

I ti
es s. h d
s n a ere is a s a e, a nuance o f e pressio n,
i M R l g g w hi h d M plyt hi ; b t f y
’
n e nan 8 an u a e , c oes s u , I c o n e ss, t he o nl
lly l q t iM R lf
.

p r w
e so n h t t h
o can re a se e suc a ues io n s . e nan hi mse .
 THE LITER A RY INFL UENCE O F A C ADEMIES 49

the English reverends to make o ut that Mahomet w as

,

the little horn o f the h e go at that figures in the eighth

~ ~

chapter o f Daniel and that the Pope was the great horn
,
.

Mr Forster founded o n this in geniou s parallel a whole

.

philosophy o f history according to which the Pope repre

,

sented the Western corruption o f Christianity and Mahome t ,

the Eastern ; thence the striking resemblances between

Mah o metanism and Popery And in a note M R enan ’
. .

adds : This is the same Mr Charles Forster who is th e .

1 0 a u thor o f a mysti fic atio n abou t the Sinaitic inscriptions ,

in which he declares he finds the primitive langu age A s .

’

mu ch as t o say : It is an Englishman be s urprised at no ,

extravagance If these innuendoes had no ground and

.
’
,

were made in hatred and malice they woul d not be wort h ,

a moment s attention ; bu t they co me from a grave

’

O rientalist o n his own subj ect and they point to a real

, ,

fact —the absence in this country o f any forc e of educated

, ,

literary and scientific opinion making aberrations like ,

those o f the au thor of Th e On e Primeval L angu age o ut o f the

20 qu estion . No t onl y the au thor o f su ch aberrations often ,

a very clever man su ffers by the want of check by the

, ,

n o t bein g kept strai gh t and spends force in vain o u a '

false road which under better disciplin e he might have

, , ,

used with profit on a tr u e o n e ; bu t all his adherents ,

both reverends and others s u ffer t o o and the general , ,

rate o f information and j udgment is in th is way kept low .

In a production which we have all been reading lately ,

a produc tion stamped througho u t with a literary qu ality

very rare in this country and of which I shall have a ,

30 word to say presently u rban ity in this produ ction the

,
—
,

work o f a man never to be named by any son o f O xford

without sympathy a man who alone in O xford o f his
,

g eneration alone ,o f many generations c onveyed to u s ,

in h is geniu s that same ch arm that same in eflable senti ,

ment which this exqu isite place itself c onveys —I mean

, ,

Dr Newman — an expression is frequ ently u sed which is

.
,

more common in theolo gical than in literary langu age ,

but which seems to me fitted to be o f general service ;

the n o te o f so and so the note o f catholicity the note o f
, ,

40 antiq uity the note o f sanctity and so on Adoptin g this

, , .

expressive word I say that in the b ulk o f the intell ec tual

,
w ow 3
50 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
work of a nation which h as no centre no in tell ectual
,

metropolis like an ac e Sainte B eu ve s -

’

f
so v e re i
g n or

which w e m ust not make of too m u ch importance but whi ch ,

is nevertheless indispensable ; fo r it brings us o n to the

, ,

platform where alone the best and highest inte llectual work
can be sai d fairly to begin Work done after men have 1 0
.

reach ed this platform is classical and that is the only work

which in the long run can stand A ll th e scoriae in the
, , .

work of men of great geni us who have not lived o n this

platform are due to their not having li v ed o n it Geni us
, .

raises them to it by moments and the portions o f their ,

work wh ich are immortal are done at these moments ;

bu t more o f it wo ul d have been immortal if they h ad not
reached this platform at moments onl y if they had had ,

,
the c ult ure wh i c h makes men live there .

Th e less a literat u re h as felt th e influ en c e of a s upposed 2 0

centre o f correct information correct j udgment correct , ,

taste the more w e shall find in it this note o f provinciality

,
.

I have shown the note o f provinciality as caused by remote

ness from a centre of correct information O f course the .
,

note o f provin ciality from the want o f a centre o f correct

taste is still more visible and it is also still more common
,
.

For here great— even th e greatest powers of mind most —

fail a man Great powers o f mind will make him inform

.

himself thoroughly great powers o f mind will make him

,

think profoundl y even with i gnorance and platitude all 30

,

roun d h im but not e v en great powers of min d will keep

his taste an d style perfectly soun d an d s ure if h e is left too ,

m u ch t o himself with no soverei gn organ of opinion

, ,
’

in th ese matters near him Ev en men like Jeremy Taylor

,
.

and B urke s uffer here Take th is passage from T aylor s

.
’

fun eral sermon on Lady C arbery

So ha v e I seen a river deep and smooth passing , ,

with a still foot and a sober face and payin g to the fiscus , ,

the great exchequ er o f the sea a trib ute large and full ,

an d har d by it a little brook skipping and making a 40

, ,

noise upon its u nequ al and neighbour bottom and after

52 E S S AYS IN CRITICISM
dis gustfu l amo urs and sends his chil dren to the hospital
,

o f fo un dling s
’
.

O r this
I confess I never lik ed this contin u al talk o f res istance
,

and revolution or the practice of making the extreme

,

medicine o f the constitution its daily bread It renders .

the habit o f society dangero usly valetudinary it is taking

periodical doses of merc ury s ublimate and swallowin g
dow n repe ated provocatives o f cantharides to o ur love o f
liberty ’
10

I say that 1 8 extravagant prose ; prose to o much s uffered

to ind ulge its caprices ; pro se at to o great a distance from
the centre o f good taste ; prose in short with the note , ,

of provinciality People mayreply it is rich and imagina

.
,

tive ; yes that is just it it is A siatic prose as the ancient

, , ,

critics wo ul d have said ; prose somewhat barbarously

rich and overloaded B ut the tr ue prose is Attic prose . .

Well but Addison s prose is Attic prose Where then

,
’
.
, ,

it may be asked is the note o f provinciality in Addison

,

I answer in the c o mrho nplac e of his ideas

,
1
This is a 20 .

matter worth remarkin g Ad dison claims to take leading .

rank as a moralist To do that yo u m ust have ideas of .

,

the first order o n your s ubject — the best ideas at any , ,

rate attainable in yo ur time as we ll as be able to express

, ,
-

them in a perfectly soun d and s ure style Else yo u show .

your distanc e from the c entre of i deas by your matter ,

y o u are provincial by yo u r matter tho u h

g y o u may no t ,

be provinci al by yo ur style It is comparatively a small .

matter to express oneself well if o n e will be content with ,

1
A critic says x l
t his is parado ica , and urges t h at man sec o n d-rate y
v
F re nc h ac ade micians h a e u ttere d t h e most c o mmo np ac e ide as po ssi e l bl
y F v
.

I agree t h at man sec o n d rate re nc h ac ade micians h a e u tte re d t h e

m b
most c o m o nplace ideas possi le ; but ddiso n is no t a sec o nd rate A
man He is a man o f t h e o rder, I will no t say o f ascal , but at any rate P
B y V v q
.

of L a ru ere an d au e nargu es ; w h y do es h e n o t e ual t h e m

b fi
I say, ec ause Of t h e me dium in w hic h h e nds himse , t he atm osph e re lf
lv k
in w hich h e i es an d w o r s ; an atmosph ere w hic h tells un a o ura fv bly
ll f v bly
,

o r rat h er tends to te u n a o ura (for t h at is t h e truer w ay o f pu ttin g

yl l
it ) e it h er u po n st e o r e se u po n ideas ; te nds t o ma e e e n a man o f k v
g r ea t a b y
ilit e i
t h er a C lyl
M r l L M
ar e o r e se a o rd ac aul a y
b v v L M ly y
. .

’
It is t o be o ser e d. h o w e er, t h at o rd ac au a s st le h as i n
ff
its t urn su ere d by fhis ailure in ide as, and t his canno t be said o f
Addi ’
so n s.
 THE LITER ARY INFLUENCE O F A CADEMIES 53

no t expressing much with expressing only trite ide as th e ,

problem is t o express n ew an d profoun d ideas in a perfectly

sound and classical style He is the tru e classic in every .
,

age w h o does that No w Addison has not o n his s ubj ect

, .
,

o f morals the force o f ideas o f the moralists o f the first

,

class — th e classical moralists ; he has not the best i deas

,

attainable in o r about h is time an d which were so to speak , , ,

in the air then to be seiz ed by the finest spirits he is not

,

to be compared for power searchin gness o r delicacy O f , ,

1 0 tho ught to Pascal o r L a Bru yere o r Va u venarg u es ;

, ,
he ,

is rath er o n a level in this respect with a man like Mar , ,

monte l therefore I say he h as the note of provinciality, ,

as a moralist he is pro vincial by his matter though not ,

by his style .

To ill u strate what I mean by an example Addison .

,

writin g as a moralist o n fix edn ess in religiou s faith says ,

Those w h o delight in readin g books o f controversy

do very seldom arrive at a fixed an d settled habit o f
faith Th e doubt which w as laid revives again and
.
,

20 shows itself in n e w di ffic ul ties ; and that generall y fo r

this reason because the min d which is perpe tu ally tossed
,
—
,

in controversies and disp u tes is apt to forget the re as ons ,

which h ad once set it at rest and t o be disquieted with ,

any former pe rplexity when it appears in a n ew shape o r ,

is started by a different han d

’
.

It may be said that is cl as sical English perfect in l ucidity

, , ,

me as ure and propriety I make no obj ection ; but in

, .
,

my turn I say that the i dea expresse d is perfectly trite

,

an d barren and that it is a note o f provinciality in A ddison

, ,

so in a man whom a nation p uts forward as o n e o f its great

moralists to have no profounder an d more striking idea

,

to produce o n this great s ubject C ompare o n the same .

,

s ubject these words o f a moralist really o f the first order

, ,

really at th e centre by his ideas — Joubert ,

L e xpé rien ce de beau co u p d o pinio n s donne a l e sprit

’ ’ ’

beaucoup de flexibilité e t l affermit dans cell es qu il croit ’ ’

le s meill e ures
’
.

With what a flash o f light that to uches the s ubj ect !

how it sets us thinking ! what a genuine contrib ution to
40 moral science it i s

In short where there is no centre like an academy if

, ,
54 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
yo u have geni us and powerf ul ideas yo u are apt not to ,

have the best style going ; if yo u have prec ision o f style

an d not geni us o u are apt not to have the best ideas
y ,

go mg .

Th e provincial spirit , again exaggerates the valu e o f ,

its i de as fo r want o f a hi gh standard at hand by which

to try them O r rather for want of s u ch a standard it
.
, ,

gives o n e idea to o m uc h prominence at th e expense o f

others ; it orders its ideas amiss ; it is h urried away by
fancies ; it likes and dislikes too passionate ly t o o ex 1 0 ,

c lu siv e ly Its admiration weeps hysterical tears and its

.
,

disapprobation foams at the mo uth So we get th e erup tive .

and the aggressive manner in literature ; th e former

prevails most in o ur criticism the latter in o ur news ,

pape rs For n o t having the l u ci dity of a large an d

.
,

centrally placed intelligence the provin cial spirit h as n o t

,

its gracio u sness ; it do es not pers uade it makes w ar ; ,

it h as n o t urbanity th e tone o f the city o f the centre

, , ,

the tone which always aims at a spirit u al an d intelle ct ual

effect and not excl uding th e u se o f banter never disj oins 20
, ,

ban ter i tself from poli teness from felicity B ut the ,

.

provincial tone is more violent and seems to aim rather ,

at an effect upon th e blood and senses than upon th e

spirit and inte llect ; it loves hard hitting rather than -

pers uading Th e newspaper with its party spirit its

.
, ,

th orough go ingn ess its resol u te avoidance o f sh ades and

-
,

distinctio ns its short high ly charged heavy s h otte d

, ,
-
,
-
,

articles its style so unl ike th at style lenis minimégu e p er

,

tinax — easy and not t o o violently insisting which the ,

-

ancients so m uch admire d is its tru e literat ure ; the 30 ,

provincial spirit likes in the newspaper j ust w h at makes

the newspaper s uch bad foo d for i j ust wh at made
t —
,

Goeth e say when he was pressed h ard about the im

,

morality of Byron s poems that after all they were not

’
, , ,

so immoral as the newspapers Th e Fren ch talk o f the .

bru talite des j ourn aux anglais

’
Wh at strikes them comes .

from the necessary inh erent tendencies o f newspaper

writing not being checke d in England by any centre of
intelligent and urbane spirit but rather stimul ated by ,

coming in cont act with a pro vin cial spirit Even a news 40 .

paper like the Saturday Review that o ld friend o f all of us , ,

 THE LITER A RY IN FL U ENCE O F A C ADEMIES
a newspaper expressly aiming at an immunity from the
c ommon newspaper spirit aiming at being a sort of organ
-
,

of reason —and by th u s a im ing it merits great gratit ude

, , ,

and has done great goo d — even the S aturday R eview

‘

, ,

replying to some foreign criticism o n o ur precautions

against invasion falls into a strain o f this kind :
,
‘
To do this to take these pre a tions seems to
’
( c u )
us eminently worthy o f a gre at nation an d to talk of i t
'

as unworthy of a great nation seems to u s eminently ,

0 worthy o f a great fool

’
.

There is what th e F rench mean when they talk of the

brutalité des jou rn aux ang lais there is a style certainl y as
far removed from urbanity as possible a style with ,
—

what I call the note o f provinciality And the same .

note may not unfreq u ently be observ ed even in the ideas

of this newspaper f ull as it is of thought and cleverness
,

certain ideas allowe d to become fixed ideas to prevail ,

too absol u tely I will not spe ak of the immediate present

"

.
,

bu t to go a little while ba c k it h ad the critic who so

, ,

disliked the Emperor o f th e French ; it h ad the critic

who so dislike d the s ubj ect of my present remarks
a c ademies it had the critic who was so fond of the German
element in o ur nation and indee d everywhere who , , ,

ground his teeth if o ne said Charlemagne instead o f Ch arles ,

th e Great an d in short saw all things in Te u to nism as

‘

, , , ,

Malebranche saw all things in God C ertainly any o n e may .

fairly find faults in the Emperor Napoleon or in academies ,

and merit in the Ge rman element but it is a note o f th e

provincial spirit n o t to hold ideas o f this kind a little more
so easily to be so devo ured by them to s u ffer them t o become
, ,

crotchets .

In England there needs a miracle o f genius like Shak

speare s to produ ce balance of mind and a miracle of
’
,

intellectu al delicacy like Dr Newman s to prod u ce urbanity .

’

o f style How prevalent all ro und u s is the want o f balance

.

o f mind and u rbanity of style Ho w m u ch do u btless it , ,

is to be fo und in ourselves in ea c h of us but as h uman ,

-
,

nat ure is constituted every one can see it clearest in his

,

conte mporaries There above all we should consider it

.
, , ,

40 beca u se they and we are exposed to the same infl u ences ;

and it is in the best of one s contemporaries that it is
’
56 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M

most w orth considering because o ne then most feels th e ,

harm it does when o ne sees wh at they woul d be without it

, .

Th ink of the diffe rence between Mr R u skin exercising h is .

geni us and Mr R uskin exercising his intelligence consider

,
.

t h e tr u th and beau ty o f this

G o o ut in the spring time among the m ead ows that
,
-
,

slope from th e shores of the Swiss lakes t o the roots o f

th eir lower mou ntains There mingled with th e taller .
,

g entians an d t h e w h ite narciss u s t h e grass grows d eep and ,

free ; and as yo u follow th e winding mou ntain paths 1 0 ,

beneath arc hing bough s all veiled and dim with blossom ,

—paths t h at for e v er droop and rise over the gree n banks

and mo un ds sweeping down in scented u nd ulation ste ep ,

to the bl u e water st udded here and there with n e w mown

,
-

heaps filling all the air with fainter sweetness look up

, ,
-

towards the higher hills where the wave s o f everlasting ,

green roll silently into their long inlets among the shadows
of t h e pines .

There is what th e geni us the feeling the temperament , ,

in Mr R usk in th e original and incommunicable part 20

.
, ,

h as to do with ; and h o w exq uisite it is ! All the critic

co ul d possibly s uggest in the w ay of obj ection wo ul d be , , ,

perh aps that Mr R uskin is th ere trying to make prose

, .

do more than it c an perfectly do th at what he is there

attempting he will never except in p o etry be able to , ,

accomplish to his o w n entire satisfaction : but he acc o m

p lish es so m u ch that the critic may well hesitate t o s u ggest
even this Place besi de th is charmin g passage anoth er
.
,

a passage abou t Sh akspe are s names wh ere th e intelligence ’

,

an d j u dgment of Mr R u skin t h e acq u ired trained com 30

.
, , ,

munic able part in h im are brought into play — and se e , ,

t h e difference
O f Sh akspe are s names I will afterwards speak at
’

more length th ey are c uriou sly often barbarously —

mixed o ut of variou s traditions and langu ages Three .

o f th e clearest in meaning have been already notic ed .

”
De s demona B S u i m ise rab
vU le fort e is also
ai u n —
ov a ,

plain eno ugh O th ello is I believe

. t h e c aref ul ; all, ,

t h e calamity o f the trage dy arising from the single flaw

an d error in h i s magnificently collecte d stren gt h
”
O phelia 40 .
,

serv iceableness t h e tru e , lost w ife o f Hamlet is marked

, ,
 THE LITER ARY INFL UENCE O F A C ADEMIES 57

as having a Greek name by that of her brother Laerte s ,

‘

and its signification i s once exquisitely all uded t o in that

brother s last word o f her where her gentle preciou sness
’
,

is oppos ed to the u selessness o f the ch urlish c lergy

A ministering angel shall my sister be when thou liest ,
”
howling .Haml et is I believe connected in some way , ,
”
with h omely the entire event o f the tragedy turning on
,

betrayal O f home d uty Hermione pill ar l ike .

-

(h e l d
o s 3X xp j s 6 T ita nia ( r j
vonn )
'

the
‘
n rv ,

queen Benedict and Beatrice blessed and blessing ,

Valentine and Prote u s enduring o r strong (valens) , ,

and changeful Iago and Iachimo have evidently the

.

same root— probably the Spanish Iago Jacob the , ,

”
s upplanter .

N o w reall y what a piece of extravagance all that is

, ,

I will not say that the m ea ning o f Sh akspeare s names ’

I
( p u t asi de the q u estion as to the correctness o f Mr .

R uskin s etymologies ) has no e ffect at all may be entirely

’
,

lost sight o f but to give it that degree o f prominence is

to throw th e reins to one s whim to forget all moderation
’
,

and proportion to lose the balance o f one s mind altogether

,
’
.

It is to sh ow in one s criticism to th e highest excess th e ’

, ,

note o f pro vinciality .

Again there is Mr Palgrave certainl y endowed with a

, .
,

very fine critical tact ; h is Go lden Treasury ab u ndantly

prove s it Th e plan of arrangement which he devised
.

for that work the mo de in wh ich he foll owed his plan

,

o ut, nay o ne might even say merely the j uxtaposition

, , ,

in p urs u ance of it o f tw o s u ch pieces as those of Words ,

30 wort h an d Shelley which form the 2 8 5 th and 2 8 6th in

h is collection show a delicacy o f feeling in these matters
,

which is quite indisp utable an d very rare An d his notes .

are f ul l Of remarks which show it too Al l the more .

striking conj oined with so m u ch j u stness of perception

, ,

are certain freaks and violences in Mr Palgrave s criticism .

’
,

mainl y imp utable I th ink to the critic s isolated position

, ,
’

in this co untry to his feeling himself too m u ch left to

,

take h is o wn w ay t o o mu ch withou t any central authority

,

representing high c ulture an d so und j udgment by which ,

40 h e may be on the o n e hand confirmed as against th e

, ,

ignorant on the other held in respect when he himself

, ,
58 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
is inclined take liberties
to . I
‘

mean s uch things as this

not e on Mil ton s line ’
,

b ad par
Th e great Emat hian co n q u ero r e s e

When Thebe s w as destroyed Alexander ordered the ,

ho use of Pindar to be spared He was as incap able of .

app rec iating the p o et as L ou is XI V of app reciating R ac in e;

bu t even the n arro w and barbarian mind of A lex an der
co u ld u nderstand the adva n tag e of a sh o wy ac t of homage
to p o etry A note like that I call a freak o r a violence ;
.
’

if this disparaging view of Alexander and Lo uis XIV so in ,

u nlike the c urrent view is wrong ii the c u rrent view

, ,
—

is after all the t ru er one o f them —the note is a freak

, , , .

B u t even if its disparaging view is right the note is a

, ,

violence ; for abandoning the tr ue mode of intellectu al

,

action pe rs u asion the instilment o f conviction it simply

—
, ,
—

asto unds and irritates the heare r by contradicting withou t !

a word o f proof o r preparation his fixed and famil iar ,

notions ; and this is mere v iolence In either case the .

,

fitness the measure the centrali ty which is the soul of

, , ,

all good criticism is lost and th e note of pro vinciality zr

, ,

shows itself
Th u s in the fa m
.

ous Handboo k marks of a fine power of ,

perc eption are everywhere dis cernible but so t o o are , , ,

marks of th e want o f s ure balance of the check and s upport ,

-

afforded by knowing one speaks before goo d and severe

j udges Wh en Mr Palgrave dislikes a thing he feels no
. .
,

pressure constrainin g him either to try his dislike closely

o r to express it moderately ; he does not mince matters ,

he gives his dislike all its own way ; both his j udgment
and his style wo u l d gain if he were u n der more restraint cc .

Th e style which has filled London with the dead monotony

o f Gower o r Harley Streets o r the pale commonplace o f ,

Belgravia Tyburnia an d Kensington ; which h as pierced

,

Paris an d Madrid with the feeble frivolities o f the R ue

R ivoli an d the Strada de T oledo He dislikes the archi ’
.

tecture o f the R u e R ivoli and he p uts it on a level with the

,

arch itecture of Belgravia and Gower Street ; he l umps

them all toget her in o n e condemnation he loses sight o f th e ,

shade the distinction which is everything here ; th e

, ,

distinction namely that the architecture of the R ae R ivoli 40

‘

, ,
60 ESS AYS IN CR ITICISM
speaking before a promisc uo us m ultitude with the few ,

good j u dges so scattered th rou gh it as to be powerless ;

th erefore he h as no calm confi dence and no self control
,
-

he relies on the strength o f h is l ungs he knows th at big

words impose o n the mo b and that e v en if he is o utrageou s , , ,

most o his a dienc e are apt to be a great deal more so

f u 1
.

Again th e first two vol umes o f Mr Kinglake s Invasion

, .
’

of th e Cri mea were certainly among t h e most s uccessf ul

an d renowned English books o f o ur time Th eir style w as .

one of the most renowned things about them and yet 11 0 W ] ,

c onspi c u o u s a fa ul t in Mr Kinglake s style is th is over ’

.

charge o f wh ich I have been speaking Mr James Gordon .

Bennett o f the New York Herald says I belie v e th at th e

, , , ,

highest achievement o f the h u man intellect is what he calls

a good editorial This is not quite so ; but if it were
.
’
,

so o n what a height wo ul d these t w o vol u mes by Mr King

, .

lake stand I ha v e already spoken o f th e Atti c and th e

Asiatic styles besides th ese th ere is the C orinthian style , .

Th at is th e style for a good editorial and Mr Kinglake

’
.
,

has really reach ed perfection in it It h as not th e warm .

glow blithe movement and soft pliancy o f life as th e

, , ,

Attic style h as ; it h as not the over heavy rich ness and -

encumbered gait of the Asiatic style it h as glitter without

warmth rapi dity withou t ease effectiveness without
, ,

c h arm Its c h aracte risti c is th at it h as no soul all it exists

.
,

for is to get its ends to make its points to damage its

, , ,

adversaries to be admir ed to tri u mph A style so bent on

, , .

effect at t h e expense of so ul simplicity an d delicacy , ,

a style so little studiou s o f the charm of th e great mo dels

so far from classic tru t h an d grace m u st s urely be sai d to ,

have the note of provinciality Yet Mr Kinglake s talent . .

’

is a really eminent one and so in harmony with o ur in te l ,

lectu al habits an d tendencies that to th e great b ul k o f , ,

English people the faul ts of his style see m its merits ;

,

all the more needful th at criticism sh oul d n o t be dazzled

by them but sh o ul d try closely th is th e form o f his work
, , .

Th e matter o f th e work is a separate th ing an d indeed , ,

th is h as been I believe with drawn from discu ssion

, , ,

1
Wh en I wro te bf
t his I h ad e o re me t h e rst e ditio n o f Mr a gra e s fi Pl v ’

b
.

Handboo k I am ound t o say t h at in t h e se c o nd e ditio n much stro ng

l b x f
.

anguage h as e e n e pu nge d, an d w h at re mains, so t e ne d .

 THE LITER ARY INF L UENCE OF A CA DEllfl ES 61

Mr Kinglake de claring that this m ust and shall stay as it is

.
,

and that he is resolved like Pontius Pilate to stand by what

, ,

he h as written And here I m ust say he seems to me to

.
, ,

be q uite right O n the breast o f the huge Mississippi o f

.

falsehood call ed history a foam bell more or less is o f no

,
-

consequence B ut he may at any rate c ase and soften

.
, ,

his style .

We mu st not compare a man o f Mr Kinglake s literary .

’

tal ent with French writers like M de Bazanco urt We . .

1 111 11 8 13 compare him with M Thiers An d what a s u periority

. .

in style has M Thiers from being formed in a good school

.
,

with severe traditions wholesome restraining infl uences

,

Ev en in this age o f Mr James Gor don Bennett his style .

,

h as nothing Corinthian abo u t it its li ghtness and brightness ,

make it almost Attic It is not q uite Attic however ;

.
,

it h as no t the infallible s ureness o f Attic taste Sometimes .

his h e ad gets a little hot with the f u mes of patriotism and ,

then h e crosses th e line he loses perfect meas ure he declaims

, , ,

he raises a momentary smile France condemned a etre .

0 l e ffro i du monde do n t el le m — C aesar ’

’ ’

p ou rrait etre l a ou r , ,

who se exquisite simplicity M Thiers so m u ch admires .

,

woul d not h ave written like that Th ere is if I may be .

,

all owed to say so the sli ghtest possible tou ch o f fatuity

,

in s uch lang uage — o ithat fail ure in good se nse which comes
,

from to o warm a self satisfaction B ut compare this -

.

langu age with Mr Kin glake s Marshal St Arnaud dis

.
’
.

missed from the presence of Lord R aglan o r Lord Stratford

cowed and pressed down u nder th eir stern reproofs ,

o r u nder the maj esty o f the great Elchi s C anning brow an d ’

so tigh t mercil ess lips

, Th e fail ure in good sense and goo d
taste there reaches far beyond what the Frenc h mean
by fatuity ; they wo ul d call it by another word a word ,

expressing blank defect o f intelligence a word for which ,

w e ha v e n o exact eq ui v alent in En gh sh — béte It is the , .

difference betw een a venial momentary good tempered , ,

-

excess in a man o f the world o f an amiable and social

, ,

weakness v anity ; and a seriou s settle d fierce narrow

—
, , , , ,

provincial mis c onception o f the whole relative val ue o f

one s o wn th ings and th e things o f others So baneful to
’
.

40 the style o f even the cleverest man may be the total want o f

checks .
62 SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
E

In all I have said I do not pretend that the examples

,

gi v en prove my rul e as to the infl uence of acade mies ;

th ey only ill ustrate it Examples in plenty might very .

likely be fo und to se t against them the truth o f the rule ,

depends no doubt o n whether the balance of all th e

, ,

examples is in its favour or not ; but actu all y to strike

this balanc e is always o ut o f the q uestion Here as every .
,

where else the rule the idea if true co mmends itself to

, , , ,

the j udicio us and then the examples make it clearer still

,

to them This is the re al use of examples and this alone 10

.
,

is the p urpose which I have meant mine to serve There is .

also another side to the whole q uestion —as to the limiting ,

an d prej udicial O peration w hich academies may have ; bu t

this side o f the q uestion it rather behoves the French n o t ,

us to st udy
, .

Th e reader will ask for some pra c ti c al c oncl usion abo ut

the establishment of an Academy in this co untry and ,

perhaps I shall hardly give him the one he expects B ut .

nations have their o wn modes of acting and these modes ,

are n o t easily changed they are even consecrated when 20 ,

great things have been done in them When a literature .

h as prod u ced Sh akspe are and Milton when it has even ,

prod u ced Barrow and B urke it cannot well abandon its ,

traditions ; it can hardl y begin at this late time of day , ,

with an instit ution like the French Academy I think .

academies with a limited special s cientific scope in th e, , ,

v ariou s lines o f intellectu al work academies like that o f ,

—

Berlin for instance — w e with time may and probably

, , ,

shall establish A nd no doubt they will do good ; no

,
.

doubt th e presenc e of s u ch infl uential centres of correct as

information will tend to raise the standard amongst us
for what I have called the journ eyman work of literature -
,

an d to free us from the scan dal o f s u ch biograp hical

di c tionaries as Ch almers s o r s u ch translations as a recent
’
,

o n e o f Spinoza o r perhaps s u ch philological freaks as

, ,

Mr Forster s abo ut the o n e primeval langu age B ut an

.
’
.

ac ademy quite like the French Academy a sovereign ,

o rgan o f the highest literary opinion a recognised a u thority ,

in matters O f intellectual tone and taste we shall hardly ,

have an d perhaps w e ought not to wish to have it B ut

,
.

then every o ne amongst us with any turn fo r literature

 THE LITER ARY INFLUENCE O F A CA DEMIES 63

will do well to remember to what shortcomings and

excesses which s uch an academy tends to corr ect w e are
, ,

liable ; and the more liable o f co urse fo r n o t having it

, , .

He wil l do well co nstantly to try himself in respect of these ,

steadily to widen his c ul ture severely to check in himself

,

the provin cial spirit ; and he will do this the better the more
he keeps in mind th at all mere glorification by o urselves
of ourselves o r o ur literature in the strain o f what at the
, ,

beginning of these remarks I qu oted from Lord Macaul ay

, ,

is both v ulgar and besides being v ulgar retarding

, , , .
 MAU R I CE DE G U ER IN
I W IL L not p resume to say that I n o w know the French
lang uage well ; but at a time when I knew it even less
well than at present some fifteen years ago — I remember
—
, ,

pestering those abo ut me with this sentence the rhyt hm of ,

which had lodged itself in my head and which with the , ,

strangest pronunciation possible I kept perpetu ally de

claiming : L es dieua: jaloua: ont enfoui q uelq
,

e p art les
u
té mo ign ages de la descendance des cho ses ; ma is bo rd
au
de qu el Ocean o n t-ils rou lé la p ierre qil u es couvre , 0 M acaree
These words come from a sh ort composition c alled
t h e Cen tau r of which the a uthor Georg es Ma urice de
, ,
-

G uerin died in the year 1 83 9 at the age of twenty eight

, ,
-
,

without having p ublished anything In 1 84 0 Madame .

,

San d bro ught o ut the Cen taur in the R evue des Deux
M ondes w ith a short notice o f its au thor and a few extra c ts
, ,

from his lette rs A year o r tw o afterwards sh e reprinted

.

these at the end of a volume o f her novels ; and there it

w as that I fell in with them I w as so m u ch stru ck with
.

t h e Cen taur th at I waited anxio u sly to hear something

more of its auth or and o f what he h ad left but it w as not
,

till the other day— twenty years after th e first p ublication

of th e Centaur in the R evue des Deuce M o ndes that my ,

anxiety was satisfied At th e e nd o f 1 860 appeared two

vol u mes with the title M au rice de Gu erin R eliq
.

,
uiae , ,

c ontaini ng th e Cen taur several poems of G uerin his j ournals

, , ,

an d a nu mber of his letters collected and e dite d by a ,

de v ote d friend M Tre bu tie n an d prece de d by a notice

, .
,

o f G uerin by the first O f living c ritics M Sainte Be u ve ,

.
-
.

Th e grand power o f poetry is its interpretative power ;

by which I mean not a power o f drawing o ut in black so
,

an d white an explanation o f the mystery o f the univ erse ,

bu t th e power of so dealing with things as to awaken in

us a w o n de rq y f ull new and intimate sense o f them
, , ,

and o f o ur relations with them When this sense is awak .

 MAURICE DE GU ERIN 65

ene d in us as to obj ects witho u t u s we feel ourselves

, ,

to be in contact with the essential nat ure o f those objects ,

to be no longer bewildere d and oppressed by them but ,

to have their secret and to be in harmony with them ; ,

and this feeling calms and satisfies u s as no other can .

Poetry indeed interprets in another way besides this ;

, ,

bu t one of its two ways O f interpreting o f exercising its ,

highest power is by awakening this sense in u s I will

,
.

no t n o w inq u ire whether this sense is ill u sive whether it ,

can be proved not to be ill usive whether it does absol utely , ,

make u s possess the real nature o f things ; all I say is ,

that poetry can awaken it in us and that to awaken it ,

is one o f the highest powers o f poetry Th e interpretations .

o f science do not give u s this intimate sense o f obj ects

as th e interpretations o f poetry give it ; they appeal to

a limited fac ulty an d not to the whole man It is n o t
,
.

Linnae u s or C avendish or C uvier who gives u s the tru e

, ,

sense of animals o r water o r plants who seizes their

, , ,

secret for u s who makes u s participate in their life it is

,

Sh akspe are with his

,

da fo dils f
bf
T h at c o me e o re t h e sw a o w dare s, ll an d ta k e
Th e winds o f arc h w ith e aut M b y
it is Wordsworth with his ,

v oi
ce h e ard
In spring -time ro m t h e c uc o o - f k b ird,
B k
re a i l
ng t h e sie nce o f t h e se as
Amo ng t h e arth est e rides f Hb
it is Keats , with his
mo ingv w aters at t h e ir priest i lk e tas k
Of co d l a bl utio n ro un d Eart h
’
s h uman sh o res

it is Chateaubriand with his cime indéterminée des forets

,

it is Sen anco ur with his mountain birch tree

, Cette -

éco rce blan che , lisse ci crevassé e cette tige agreste ces
branch es q ’
u i s inclin ent vers la la mo bilité des feuilles terre
et tou t cet abando n simp licité de la nature, attitude des deserts
, .

Eminent manifestations o f this magi c al power o f poetry

are very rare and very precio us the compositions of
G ué rin manifest it I th ink , in singul ar eminence
, No t .

h is poems , strictly so called his verse , — so m uch as his -

AR L
,

NO D
66 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
prose ; his poems in general take fo r their vehicle that
favo urite metre o f French poetry th e Alexandrine ; an d , ,

in my j udgment I confess they have thu s as compared

, ,

with his prose a great disad v antage to start with In

, .

prose the c haracter o f the vehicle for the composer s

,
’

thoughts is not determine d beforehand ; every composer

h as to make his o w n vehicle an d w h o h as ever done this
more admirably than the great prose writers o f France -
,

Pascal Boss u et Fenelon Voltaire ? B ut in verse the

, , ,

composer h as (with comparatively narrow liberty o f 1 0

modification ) to accept his vehicle ready made it is -

therefore o f vital importance to him that he shoul d find

at his disposal a v ehi cle adeq u ate to convey the highest
matters o f poetry We may e v en get a decisive test o f
.

the poetical power of a langu age and nation by ascertainin g

h o w far t h e prin cipal poetical vehicle which they have
employ ed h o w far (in plainer words ) th e established
,

national metre for high poetry is adequ ate o r inadequ ate , .

It seems to me that th e established metre of this kind

in France —the Alexandrine is inadeq u ate ; that as 20
,
—
,

a vehicle fo r high poetry it is greatly inferior to the hexa

meter or to t h e iambics of Greece (fo r example ) o r to the ,

blank verse of Englan d Therefore the man of genius who .

u ses it is at a disa dvantage as compared with the man O f

g eni u s who has for c on v eyin g h is t h o u gh ts a more adequ ate

vehicle metrical or not R acine is at a disadvantage as
,
.

compare d with Sopho cles or Sh akspe are an d h e is likewise ,

at a disa dvantage as compare d with Bossuet Th e same .

may be sai d o f o ur o wn p o ets of the eighteenth century ,

a century which gave th em as th e main ve hicle for their 30

hi gh poetry a metre inadequ ate (as mu ch as the French
Alexandrine an d nearly in t h e same way ) for this poetry
, ,

t h e ten syllable co u plet

-
It is worth remarking that the
.
,

English poet of t h e ei ghteenth cent ury who se compositions

wear best a d give o e the most entire satisfaction Gray
n n —
, ,

— hardl y u ses t h at co u plet at all this abstinence however , ,

limits Gray s pro ductions to a few short compositions

’
,

an d (exquisite as these are ) he is a poetical nat ure repressed

an d wit h o u t free iss u e For English poetical pro duction
.

o n a gre at scale for an English poet deployin g all the forces 40

,

of his genius the ten syllable co uplet w as in the eighteenth

,
-
,
68 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
in Brittany , aro un d th e well kn own A bbé L amenn ais, -

a singular gathering At a lonely place , La henaie , he . C

had fo unded a reli gio u s retreat , to which disciples , attracte d
by his powers o r by h is reputation repaire d Some came , .

with the intention of preparing themselves for the e ccle si

c al profession
ast i ot h e rs merely to profit by the society
and disco urse o f so distinguished a master Among the .

inmates were men whose names have since become known

to all E urope — L ac o rdai re and M
,
de Montalembert .

there were others who have acquired a reputation not 1 0

, ,

European in dee d bu t co nsiderable — the A bbe Ge rbe t

, , , ,

the Abbé R ohrbacher others w h o have never quitte d the ,

shade o f private life Th e winter o f 1 8 3 2 w as a period .

of crisis in the religio us world O f France : L ame nn ais s ’

rupture with R ome the condemnation o f h is opinions by

,

the Pope and his revolt against that condemnation were

, ,

imminent Some o f his followers like L aco rdaire had

.
, ,

already resolved not to cross the R u bicon with their leader ,

not to go into rebellion against R ome they were preparing

to separate from him Th e society of La C henaie w as soon 20
.

to dissolve but s uch as it is shown to u s for a moment

, ,

with its vol untary character its simple and severe life in ,

common its mixt ure o f lay and clerical mem bers the genius
, ,

of its chiefs the sincerity o f it s dis ciples — above all its

, , ,

paramo unt fervent interest in matters of spiritual and reli

g ions concernment it offers a most instr u
,
ctive
—
spectacle .

It is not the spe ctacle we most o f us think to find in France ,

the France w e have imagine d from common English notions ,

from the streets o f Paris from novels it shows us how , ,

wherever there is greatness like that o f France there are , ,

as its fo undation treasures o f fervo ur p ure mindedness

, ,
-
,

an d spirit u ality somewhere whether w e know of them o r ,

not a store o f that which Goethe c alls Halt — since

-

greatness can never be fo unde d upon frivolity and c o r

ruption .

O n th e evening o f the 1 8th o f December in this year

1 8 3 2 M de L amenn ais was talking to those assembled
, .

in the sitting room of La Chenaie o f his recent j ourney

-

to Italy He talked with all h is usual animation

. bu t ,
’

writes one of his hearers a Breton gentleman M de , , .

Marzan I soon became inattentive and absent being

, ,
 MAURICE DE GU ERIN 69

struck with the reserved attit ude o f a young stranger some

twenty two years o ld pale in face his black hair already
-
, ,

thin over h is temples with a so uthern eye in which , ,

brightness and melancholy were mingled He kept himself .

somewhat aloof seeming to avoid notice rather than t o

, .

court it All the o ld faces of friends which I found abou t

.

me at this my re entry into the circle o f La C henaie failed

to occ upy me so m u ch as the sight of this stranger looking ,

o n listening observi ng and saying nothing ’

, ,

Th e unknown was Maurice de Guerin O f a noble

,

10 .

but poor family having lost his mother at six years O ld

, ,

he h ad been brought up by his father a man saddened ,

by his wife s death and au sterely religious at the chateau

’
, ,

o f L e C ayla in Langu edoc

,
His childhood w as n o t gay ; .

he had not the society o f other boys ; and solitude the ,

sight of his father s gloom and the habit of accompanying

’
,

the cure o f the parish o n his rounds among the sick an d

dying made him prematurely grave and familiar with
,

sorrow He went to sch ool first at Toul ouse th en at the

.
,

2 0 C oll ege Stanislas at Paris with a temperament almost as ,

un fit as Shell ey s for common school li fe His youth was

’
.

ardent sensitive agitated an d unhappy In 1 8 3 2 he

, , , .

proc ured admission to La Ch enaie to brace his spirit by

the teaching o f L amenn ais and to decide whether his ,

religious feelings would determine th emselves into a dis

tinct religious vocation Strong and deep religiou s feelings
.

he had implanted in him by nature developed in him by

, ,

the circ umstances of his childhood but he had also (and

here is the key to his character ) that temperament which
30 opposes itself to the fix edn e ss o f a religio u s vocation o r of ,

any vocation of which fix edness is an essential attrib ute ,

a temperament mobile inconstant eager thirsting for new

, ,
‘
impressions abhorring rules aspiring to a renovation
, ,

without end ; a temperament common enough among

artists but with which few artists who have it to the same
, ,

degree as G uerin u nite a serio usness and a sad intensity

,

lik e his After leaving school and before going to La

.
,

Chenaie he h ad been at home at Le C ayla with h is sister

,

Eugenie (a w o nderfufly gifted person whose genius so ,

40 competent a j udge as M Sainte Be u ve is inclined to pro .

nounce even s uperior to her b rother s) and h is sister ’

70 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
Eugé nie friends With o ne o f these friends he had fallen
’
s .

in love — a sligh t and transient fancy but which h ad

, ,

already c alled h is poetical powers into exercise ; and his

poems and fragments in a certain green note book (le ,
-

Cah ier Vert) which he long contin u ed to make the deposi

tory o f his tho ughts and which became famous among his ,

friends he bro ught with him to La Ch enaie There he

, .

fo und among the youn ger members o f the Soc iety several
w h o like himself h ad a secret passion for poetry and
, ,

literature ; with these he became intimate and in his 1 0 ,

letters and j o urnal w e find him occ upied now with a lite rary ,

commerce establish ed with these friends n o w with the ,

fortunes fast comin g to a crisis of the Society and n o w

, , ,

with that fo r the sake o f which he came to La Ch enaie ,

his religious progress and the state o f h is so ul .

O n Ch ristmas day 1 83 2 having been then three weeks

-
, ,

at La Ch enaie he writes th us of it to a friend of h is family

, ,

M de Bayne
.

La Ch enaie is a sort o f oasis in the midst of the steppes

of Brittany In front o f the ch ateau stretches a very 20
.

large garden c ut in tw o by a terrace with a lime avenue

, ,

at the e nd of which is a tiny chapel I amextremely fond .

o f this little oratory where o ne breathes a twofold pe ace , ,

the p eace o f solit ude and the peace of the Lord When .

spring comes we shall walk to prayers between two borders

o f flowers O n the east side and only a few yards from
.
,

t h e ch ateau sleeps a small mere between two woods

, ,

wh ere the birds in warm weather sing all day long and
th en ri ght left o n all sides — woods woo ds everywhere
”

—
, , , , , ,

w oo ds It looks desolate j u st now that all is bare and the 30

.

woods are r ust colo ur and un der this Brittany sky which , ,

is always clo uded and so lo w that it seems as if it were

g oing to fall o n yo u r he ad bu t as soon as spring comes ,

t h e sky raises itself u p th e woo ds come to li fe again and , ,

everything w ill be ful l o f charm .

’

O f what La Ch enaie will be when spring comes he h as

a foretaste o n the 3 rd o f March .

To day (he writes in his j o u rnal ) has enchant ed me

-
.

For the first time for a long while the sun has shown
himself in all his beau ty He has made the b uds o f th e 40 .

leaves and flowers swell and he has waked up in me a ,

 MAURICE DE GU ERIN 71

tho usand happy tho ughts Th e clo uds ass ume more and .

more their light and graceful shapes and are sketching , ,

over the blue sky the most charming fancies Th e woods

, .

have n o t yet go t their leaves but they are taking an ,

indescribable air o f life and gaiety which gives the m ,

quite a n ew physiognomy Everything is getting re ady .

for the great festival o f N ature .

Storm and snow adj o urn this festival a little longer .

On the 1 1 th o f March he writes

0 It has snowed all night I have been to look at o ur .

primroses each o f them had its small load o f snow and ,

was bowin g its he ad under its b urden These pretty .

flowers with their rich yellow colour had a charmin g

, ,

effect under their white hoo ds I saw whole tufts o f .

them roofed over by a single block o f snow ; all these

laughing flowers th u s shro uded and leaning one upon
another made o ne th ink of a gro up of youn g girls s urprised
,

by a shower and sheltering under a white apron

,
.
’

Th e b urst o f spring comes at last th ou gh late O n the , .

90 5 th of April we find G uerin sitting in the sun to penetrate

himself to th e very marrow with the divine spring O n .
’

t h e 3 rd o f May o n e can a c t u ally see the progress o f the

,

g reen it has made a start from the garden to the shr u b

be rie s it is getting the u pper hand all along the mere ;
”

it leaps o ne may say from tree to tree from thicket t o

, , ,

thicket in the fields and o n the hill sides and I can see
,
-

it alre ady arrived at the forest edge and beginning to

spre ad itself over the broad back o f the forest Soon it .

will have overrun everything as far as the eye can reach ,

so and all those wide spaces between here an d the horizon

l
a

will be moving and so unding like one vast sea a sea o f ,

emerald .
’

Finally o n the 1 6th of May he writes to M de Bayne

, , .

‘
that the gloomy and bad days— bad b e cause they bring
temptation by th eir gloom are thanks to God and the ,
—
,

spring over ; and I see approa ch ing a long fil e of shining

,

and happy days to do me all the good in th e world This

, .

‘
Brittany o f ours h e c ontinues gives o n e the idea o f th e
,
’
,

greyest and most wrinkled o ld woman possible s uddenl y

40 ch anged back by the to u c h o f a fairy s wand into a rl ’
1
gi
o f twenty and one o f th e loveliest in the world ;
, the fine
72 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
weath er has so de cked and beautified the dear old co untry .
’

‘
He felt however the cloudiness and cold o f the dear o ld
, ,

co untry with all the sensitiveness o f a child o f the So uth

’
.

‘
Wh at a difference he cries between the sky o f Brittany ,
’
, ,

even o n th e finest day and the sky of o ur South 1 Here ,

the s ummer has even o n its h igh days and holidays some , ,

th ing mournful overcast and stinted about it It is like , ,

.

a miser w h o is making a show ; there is a niggardliness in

h is magnificence Give me o ur Langu edoc sky so bountiful .
,

of ligh t so blue so largely vaulted ! And somewhat 1 0

, ,

later complaining o f the sh ort and dim sunlight o f a

,
‘
Febr uary day in Paris What a s unshine he exclaims ,
’
,

to gladden eyes acc ustomed to all the wealth o f light o f

th e So uth — aua larges ci libéral es eff ons de lumi
usi ére du !

ciel da M idi .

In the long winter of La Chenaie h is great reso urce

was lite rat ure O ne h as often heard th at an educated
.

Frenchman s reading seldom goes m uch beyond French

’

an d Latin and that he makes th e auth ors in these two

,

langu ages his sole literary standard This may or may 20 .

not be tru e o f Frenchmen in general but there c an be no ,

q uestion as to the width o f the readin g of G uerin and his

friends and as t o the range o f th eir literary sympathies
,
.

O ne o f the circ le Hippolyte la Mo rv o nn ais —a poet wh o , ,

p ublished a v ol ume of verse and died in the prime of ,

life — had a passionate admiration for Wordsworth and

, ,

h ad even it is said ma de a pilgrimage to R ydal Mo unt

, ,

to visit him and in G uerin s o wn reading I find besides ’

,

the French names o f Bernardin de St Pierre Chateau .

,

briand Lamartine and Victor Hugo the names o f Homer 30

, , , ,

Dante Sh akspe are Milton and Goeth e ; and he q uotes

, , ,

both from Greek an d from English auth ors in the ori ginal
His literary tact is beautiqy fine and true
.

‘
Every .

‘
poet he writes to h is sister has his o wn art o f poetry
,
’
,

writte n o n the groun d of his own soul ; th ere is no other .

Be constantly observing Nature in her smallest details ,

an d then write as the c urrent o f yo ur th o ughts guides

y o u that is
—
all B u t wit h all t his freedom from the .
’

b ondage o f forms an d r ules G uerin marks with perfect ,

precision the fau lts of th e free French literature o f h is

time the—
,
li tter at u re faci le — and j udges the romantic
'

,
 MAURICE DE a R IN 73

school and its prospects like a master that youthf ul

li terature which h as put forth all its blossom prematurely ,

and has left itself a helpless prey t o the ret urning frost ,

stimulated as it has been by the b u rning sun o f o ur centu ry ,

by this atmosphere charged with a perilou s heat which ,

h as over h astened every sort of development and will

-
,

most likely redu ce to a handful o f grains the harvest

of o ui age And the pop lar a thors those whose
!
u . u
’
—
,

name appears once and disappears for ever whose books , ,

0 unwelcome to all serio u s people welcome to the rest o f ,

the world to novelty h unters and novel readers fill with

,
- -
,

vanity these vain soul s and then falling from hands , ,

heavy with the langu or o f satiety drop fo r ever into the ,

gulf o f oblivion and those more noteworthy the , ,

writers of books celebrated and as works of art deserv , , ,

ing celebrity but which have in them not o ne grain o f

,

that hidden manna n o t one o f those sweet and whole ,

some tho ughts which nourish the h uman soul and refresh
it when it is weary these he treats with s u ch severity ,
’
—

th at he may in some sense be described as he describes ,

himself as invoking with his whole heart a classical

,

restoration He is best described however not as a

.
’
, ,

partisan o f any school but as an ardent seeker for that ,

m o de o f e xpression which is the most natural happy

’

, ,

and tru e He writes to his sister Eug enie

.

I want yo u to reform your system of composition ; it

is t o o loose t o o vague too L amartinian Y our verse is
, ,
'

too sing song ; it does not talk enough Form for yo ur

-
.

self a style of your o wn which shall be your real expression , .

so Stu dy the French lang u age by attentive reading making ,

it yo ur care to remark constru ctions tu rns o f expression , ,

delicacies o f style but without ever adopting the manner ,

o f any master In the works o f th ese masters w e m u st

.

learn o ur language but w e must use it each in o ur own ,

fashion 1
.
’

It w as n o t however to perfect h is li terary j udgment

, ,

that G uerin come to La Ch enaie Th e religious feeling .

,

which w as as much a part o f his essence as the passion

1
P art of t h ese e xtdate r o m a ti
rac ts me a itt e a te r uerin s f l l f G ’

re side nce at La C l
h enaie ; but a re ad , amidst t h e re adings and c o n y
versatio ns of L a Ché naie , his iterar udgment w as per e ct l o rme d yj f ly f .
74 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
for N ature and the literary instinct shows itself at moments ,

j eal o us o f th e se its rivals and alarmed at their predo min

,

ance Like all powerful fee lings it wants to exclude every

.
,

feeling and to be absolute O ne Friday in April .

,

after he h as been delighting himself with the shapes o f the

clo uds and the progress o f the spring he s uddenly bethinks ,

himself that the day is Good Fri day and exclaims in his ,

diary :
My God what is my soul about that it can thus go
,

r unning after s uc h f ugiti v e delights on Good Friday on 1 4 ,

this day all filled with thy death and o ur redemption

There is in me I kn ow not what damnable spirit that ,

awakens in me strong disconte nts and is for ever prompt ,

in g me to rebel against the holy exercises and the devo u t

collectedn ess o f so ul which are the meet preparation for
th ese great solemnities o f o ur faith O h h o w well can .

I trace here the o ld leaven from which I have no t yet ,

perfectly cleare d my so ul 1
And again in a letter to M de Marzan
,
O f what my .
,

God are w e made he cries that a little verdure and 2

, ,
’
,
1 4

a few trees shoul d be enough to ro b us of o ur tranquillity

and to distract u s from thy love ? And w riting three ,

days after Easter Sunday in h is j ournal he records the , ,

reception at L a Ch enaie o f a fervent neophyte in words ,

which seem to convey a c overt blame o f his o wn want of

fervency :
Th ree days have passed over o ur heads since the great
festival O ne anniversary the less for u s yet to spend
.

o f the death an d res urre c tion of o ur Savio ur ! Every

year thu s bears away with it its solemn festivals ; when 3 1

will the everlasting festival be here I have been witness

o f a most to u ching si h t ; Fran cois has bro u g h t u s o n e
g
of his friends whom he has gained to the faith This .

neophyte j oined u s in o ur exercises durin g th e Holy week ,

an d o n Easter day he re c eived the comm union with us

-
.

Fran cois w as in raptures It is a trul y good work which.

he has th us done Fran cois is quite young hardly twenty

.
,

years o ld ; M de la M is th irty an d is married There is

someth ing most touch ing an d be autiqy s imple In M de
.
. .
,

la M letting himself th u s be brought to G o d by quite 4

. 1

a young man and to see friendship o n Francois s side

!

,
’
,
76 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
O verpowered by the asc endency L amenn ais, G uerin, of
in spite o f h is h esitations , in spite o f his confession to
himself that af ter a three weeks close scrutiny o f his
’

s o ul in the ho pe of finding the pearl o f a re ligio u s vocation

,

hidden in some corner o f it he had failed to find what

.

’
,

he sought , took , at the end o f Augu st , 1 83 3 , a decisive ,

step He j oined the religio us order which L amenn ais

.

had founded B ut at th is very moment the deepening

.

displeasure o f R ome with L amenn ais determined the

Bishop o f R ennes t o break up, in so far as it w as a religious
congregation , the Society o f La h enaie , t o transfer the C
novices to Ploermel and to place them under other s uper
,

intendence In Septe mber , L amenn ais w h o had not

.
,

yet ceased wri tes M de Marz an a fervent C atholic to

,
’
.
, ,

be a Christian and a priest took leave o f h is beloved ,

colony o f L a Ch enaie with the anguish o f a general wh o ,

disban ds his army down to the last recruit and withdraws ,

annihilated from the field of battle G uerin went to .

’

Ploermel B ut here in the secl usion of a real religious

.
,

house he instantly perceived h o w alien to a spirit like :

,

his —a spirit which as he himself says somewhere had

, , ,

need o f the O pen air wanted to see the sun and the flowers
, ,
’

— w as the constraint and monotony of a monastic life

,

when L amenn ais s geni us w as no lon ger present to enliven

’

this life for him O n the 7 th o f O ctober he renounce d

.

the novitiate believing h imself a partisan of L amenn ais

,

in his quarrel with R ome reproaching the life he had left ,

with demanding passive obedience instead o f trying t o

p u t in pr actice the admirable alliance of order with liberty ,

and o f variety with unity and declarin g th at fo r h is a

‘

s ,
’
,

part he preferred takin g the chances of a life of adventure

,

to submitting himself to be g m tied ’

ar ro tte a
p r u n regle en t —
,

hand and foot by a set of rul es In real tru th a life o f .

’
,

ad v enture o r rather a life free to wander at its o wn will

, ,

w as that to which his nature irresistibly impelled him .

For a career of adventure the inevitable field was Paris ,

.

B ut before this career be gan there came a stage the , ,

smoothest perhaps and the most happy in the short

, ,

life of Gué rin M la M o rv o nn ais o ne of his L a Ch enaie

. .
,

friends some years older than G uerin and married to

—
,

a wife o f singul ar sweetness and charm —h ad a house by ,

 MAURICE DE GU ERIN 77

the seaside at the mouth o f o ne o f the beautif ul rivers of

Brittany the Argu enon He asked Guérin when he left
,
.
,

Plo ermel to come and stay with him at this place called
’

, ,

Le Val de l A rgu en o n and G uerin spent the winter o f

’
,

1 83 3 4 th ere
— I grudge every word about Le Val and
.

its inmates whi c h is not G u erin s own so charming is

’
,

the picture he draws of them so truly does his talent ,

fin d itse lf m its best vein as he draws it .

How full o f goodness (he writes in his j ou rnal o f ’

‘
0 the 7 th o f December ) is Providence to me ! For fear
the sudden passage from the mild and temperate air of
a religiou s life to the torrid clime o f the world should be
too trying for my soul it h as conducted me after I have
, ,

left my sacred shelter to a house planted o n the frontier

,

between the two regions where without being in solit ude , , ,

one is not yet in the world a ho use whose windows look

on th e o n e side towards the plain where the tu mult o f
men is ro cking o n the other tow ards the wilderness where
,

the servants o f God are chantin g I intend to write down .

10 the record o f my soj o u rn here for the days here spent are ,

full of happiness an d I know that in the time to come

,

I shall often turn back to the story of these past felicities .

A man pious and a poet ; a woman whose spirit is in

, , ,

such perfect sympathy with his that yo u woul d say they

had but one being between them ; a child called Marie ,

like her mother and who sends like a star the first rays
, , ,

of her love and tho ught thro ugh the white cloud o f infancy
a simple life in an o ld fashioned ho use ; the ocean which ,

comes morning and evening to bring us its harmonies ;

30 and lastly
46 a wanderer wh o descends from C armel and is
,

g oing o n to Babylon an d who has lai

, d down at this t h res
hold his staff and his sandals to take his seat at the ,

hospitable table — here is matter to make a biblical poem

of if I coul d onl y describe things as I can feel them 1
,

Every line w ritten by G uerin during this stay at Le Val

is worth qu oting but I have onl y room for o ne extract
,

more
Never (he writes a fortnight later o n the 2 0th o f
, ,

never have I tasted so inwardly and deeply

040 the happiness o f home life All the little details o f this
-
.

life whic h In th eir s uccession make up the day are to me ,

78 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
so many stages of a continu o u s ch arm carri ed from one
e n d o f t h e day to the other Th e morning greeting which
.
,

in some sort renews the pleas ure o f the first arrival for ,

the words with which o ne meets are almost the same and ,

the separation at night through the hours of darkne ss

,

and uncertainty does not ill represent longer separations

,

th en breakfast during which yo u have the fresh enj oyment

,

o f having met to gether agai n the stroll afterwards when ,

w e go o u t and bid Nat u re good mornin g ; the ret urn and -

setting to work in an o ld panelled Chamber looking o ut on ]

the se a inac cessible to all the stir o f the ho use a perfect
, ,

sanctu ary o f labo ur ; dinner to which w e are called not , ,

by a bell which re minds one too m uch o f sch o o l o r a great

, .

ho use but by a pleasant voice the gaiety the merriment

, , ,

the talk flitting from o ne s ubj ect t o another and never

dropping so long as the meal lasts ; the crackl in g fire of
dry branches to which w e draw o ur chairs directly after
wards the kind words that are spoken round the warm
,

flame which sings while w e talk ; and then if it is fine , ,

the walk by the seaside when the se a has fo r its visitors 2

,
1 1

a mother with her child in her arms th is child s father ,

’

and a stranger e ach o f these t w o last with a stick in h i

, s

hand ; th e rosy lips of the little girl which keep talking ,

at the same time with the waves now and th en te ars ,

—

shed by her and cries o f c hildish fright at the edge of the

sea ; o ur though ts the father s and mine as we stand
,
’
,

an d look at t h e mother an d c h il d smilin g at one another ,

o r at the chi l d in tears an d the mother trying to comfort

it by her c aresses and exhortations the O cean going o n ,

all the while rollin g up h is waves and noises ; the dead

bough s which we go and c ut here and there o u t o f the , ,

c opse woo d to make a q uick an d bri ght fire when w e get

-
,

home — th is little taste o f the woodman s calling which

,
’

brings u s c loser to Nature and makes u s think o f M Feli s .

’

eager fondness for the same work the hours o f study and
poetical flow which c arry u s to s upper time ; this meal -
,

which summons u s by the same gentle voice as its pre

decessor an d which is passed a mi d the same j oys o nl y
, ,

less loud becau se e v ening sobers e v erything tones every

, ,

t h ing down ; then o ur evening u shered in by th e blaze 40 ,

of a c h eerf ul fire and which with its alternations o f reading

,
 MA URICE DE GUERIN 79

and talking brings u s at last to bed time to all th e - —

charms of a day so spent add the dreams which follow it ,

and your imagination will still fall far short O f these home
j oys in their delightful reality .
’

I said the foregoing shoul d be my last extract but w h o ,

could resist this picture o f a Janu ary evening o n the coast

o f Brittany
A ll the sky is covered over with grey clo u ds j u st silvered
at the edges Th e sun w h o departe d a few minu tes ago
.
, ,

0 has left behind him eno u gh light to temper fo r awhile the

black shadows and to soften down as it were the approach
, , ,

o f ni ght Th e winds are h ushed an d the tranquil ocean

.
,

sends up to me when I go o ut o n the doorstep to listen

, ,

onl y a melodiou s murmur which dies away in th e soul like ,

a beautif ul wave on the beach Th e birds the first to obey .

,

th e noct urnal i n fl u ence make their w ay towards the woods , ,

and yo u hear the r ustle o f their wings in the clo uds Th e .

copses which cover the whole hill side o f Le Val which -

, ,

all the day time are alive with the c hirp o f th e wren the
-
,

laughin g whistle o f the woodpecker and the di fferent notes

1
,

of a multitu de o f birds have no longer any sou nd in their ,

paths an d thickets unl ess it be the prolonged high call ,

o f the blackbirds at play with one another and chasing

o ne another after all the other birds ha ve their heads safe

,

under their win gs Th e noise O f man always the last to

.
,

be silent dies grad u ally o ut over the face o f the fields

, .

Th e general m urmu r fades away and o n e hears hardly ,

a sound except what comes from the villages and haml ets ,

in which up till far into the night there are cries o f

, ,

no children an d barking of dogs Silence wraps me roun d .

everyt hing seeks repose except this pen o f mine which ,

perhaps disturbs the rest of some living atom asleep in

a crease o f my note book for it makes its light scratching -
,

as it puts down these idle tho ughts Let it stop then ! .

,

fo r all I write have written or shall write will never be

, , ,

worth setting against the sleep o f an atom .

’

O n th e 1 st o f Febru ary we find him in a lodging at

Paris . I enter the world (s u ch are the last words written
in his j ournal at Le Val) with a secret horror His .
’

dp k r laugh ay W hit f S lb rn ; and h r i

’
1
Th w e oo ec e s, s s e o e o e e e s

Guerin , in B ri
tt an y , con fi mi g hi t
r n s esti mo n y .
80 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
o utward history fo r the next five years is soon told He .

fo und himself in Paris poor fasti dio us and with health

, , ,

wh ich already no do ubt felt the obsc ure presence o f the

, ,

malady o f which he died — c ons umption O ne of his Brit , .

tany acq uaintances i ntrod u ced him to editors trie d to ,

engage him in the periodical literat ure of Paris ; and so

unmi s takeable w as G uerin s talent that even his first essays
’
,

were immediately accepted B ut G uerin s genius was o f .

’

a kind which un fitte d him to get his bread in this manner .

At first he w as pleased with the notion of living by h is 1

pen ; je n ai q ’ ’
u d écrire he says to his sister I have,
’
,

onl y got to write B u t to a nature like his endu ed with

.
’
,

the passion fo r perfection the necessity to prod uce to , ,

prod uce constantly t o prod uce whether in the vein or o ut

,

of th e vein to prod uce something good or bad or middling

, ,

as it may happen but at all events someth ing —is the most
, ,

intolerable of tortures To escape from it h e betook him

.

se lf to that common but most pe rfidio us refuge of men o f

letters that ref uge to which Goldsmith and poor Hartley
,

C oleri dge had betaken th emselves before him —the pro ,

fessio n of teaching In September 1 8 3 4 he procu red an

.
, ,

engagement at the C ollege Stanislas where he h ad himself ,

been ed u cated It w as vacation time and all he h ad to

.
-
,

do w as to teach a small class composed of boys w h o did

n o t go home for the h oli days —in his own words scholars , ,

left like sick sheep in the fold while the rest o f th e flock ,

are frisking in t h e fields After th e vacation he w as kept

.
’

o n at th e C ollege as a s u pern u merary Th e master o f

-
.

t h e fifth class h as asked for a month s leave of absence ;

’

I am taking his place and by this work I get o ne h undred

,

franc s I have been looking abo ut for p up ils to give

pri v ate lessons to and I have foun d three or four Sc hool
,
.

work and private lessons together fill my day from half

past seven in the morning til l h alf past nine at nigh t -
.

Th e colle ge dinner serves me for b reakfast and I go and ,

dine in th e e v enin g at twenty fo ur so u s as a yo un g man -

,

beginning life sh oul d To better h is position in the hier

.
’

arc h y of p ublic teachers it w as necessary th at he sho uld ‘

take th e degree of agrege es lettres corresponding to o ur
’
-
,

degree of Master o f Arts and to h is hea v y work in teac h 40

ing th ere w as th us added that o f preparing fo r a severe
,
 MA URICE DE G UERIN 81

examination Th e drudgery o f this life w as very irksome

.

to him although less ins upportable than the drudgery o f

,

the profession o f letters inasmu ch as to a sensitive man ,

like Guerin t o silence h is geniu s is more tolerable than t o

,

hackn ey it Still the yoke wore him deeply and he had

.
,

moments of bitter revolt he continued however to bear , ,

it with resol ution and o n the whole with patience fo r

, ,

four years O n the 1 5 th of November 1 8 3 8 he married

.
, ,

a young Creole l ady o f some fortune Mademoiselle C aroline ,

0 de Gerv ai n whom to use his o w n words Destiny who

, ,
’
, ,

loves these s urprises has wafted from the farthest Indies ,

into my arms Th e marriage was happy and it ens ure d

.
’
,

to Guerin liberty and leis ure bu t now the blind F u ry

with the abhorred sh ears was hard at hand C onsumption .

declared itself in him I pass my life he writes with his ,

’
,

o ld playfuln ess and calm to his sister o n the 8 th o f April , , ,

1 83 9
, within my bed c urtains and wait patiently enough , ,

thanks to C aro s goodness books and dreams for the

1 ’
, , ,

recovery which the s unshine is to bring with it In search .

’

o of this s u nshine he was taken to his native co u ntry

s Lan ,

g ue d o c bu t,
in vain He die d at Le C ayla on the. 1 9 th o f
J ul y 1 8 39
, .

Th e vicissit udes of his inward l ife during these five

years were more considerable His O pinions and tastes .

un derwent great or what seem to be great changes

,
He , .

came t o Paris the ardent partisan of L amenn ais even in

April 1 83 4 after R ome h ad finally condemned L amenn ais
, , ,

TO night there wil l go forth from Paris he writes ’

-
, ,
‘
with his face set to the west a man whose every step ,

10 I wo ul d fain foll ow
1 and who ret urns to the desert for ,

which I sigh M Feli departs this evening for La Ch enaie

. . .
’

B ut in O ctober 1 8 3 5 I ass ure yo u he writes to h is ’

, , ,
‘
sister I am at last weaned from M de L amenn ais o ne
, .

does not remain a babe an d s u ckl ing for ever ; I am

perfectly freed from h is i nflu ence Th ere was a greater .
’

change than this In 1 83 4 the main cau se o f Guerin s

.
’

aversion to the literature o f th e French romantic school ,

was that this literature having h ad a religio u s origin had ,

‘ ‘
c ease d to be religio u s : it has forgotten he says the ’
, ,

40 ho use an d the a dmonitions of its Father B ut his friend

’
.
,
1
His w ife
AR L
.

NO D Q
82 SS A Y S
E IN C RITICIS M
M de Marzan tells us o f a deplorable revol ution which
.
, ,

by 1 8 3 6 h ad taken place in him G uerin h ad become

,
.

intimate with the chiefs of this very literature ; he no

longer went to ch urch ; the bond o f a common faith ,

in wh ich o ur friendship had its birth existed between us ,

no longer Th en again
.
’
this interregnu m w as not , ,

destined to last R econverted to his o ld faith by s uffering

’
.

an d by t h e pio us e fforts of h i s siste r Eu genie G uerin died ,

a C atholic His feelings abo ut so ciety underwent a like

.

ch ange After entering the world with a secret horror 1 ’

.
,

after c o ngratulatinri himself when h e had been some month s

g
at Paris on bein g diseng aged from the so cial tu mult o ut ,

o f t h e reach of tho se blows whic h when I li v e in the thick ,

o f the worl d bruise me irritate me o r u tterly cru sh me

’
, , , ,

M Sainte Beu ve tells us of him tw o years afterwards

.
-
, ,

appearin g in so ciety a man o f the worl d elegant e v en , ,

fash ionable a talker w h o co ul d hold his own against the

most brilliant talkers of Paris .
’

In fe w natures howe ver is there really s uch essential , ,

co nsistency as in G uerin s He says o f himself in t h e 2 ’

.
,

very be ginning o f his jo urnal : I o w e everyt hing to

poetry fo r th ere is no other name to give to the sum
,

total o f my tho ughts I o w e to it whatever I now ha ve

p ure lofty and soli d in my so ul I o w e to it all my con
, ,

solations in the past ; I shall probably o we to it my

f uture .
’
Poetry the poeti c al i nstin c t w as in dee d the
, ,

basis o f h is nature but to say so t h u s absolutely is not

quite eno ugh O ne aspe c t of poetry fascinated Guerin s
.
’

imagination and hel d it prisoner Poetry is the inter .

p re t re ss o f the nat u ral worl d and s h e is the interpretress ,

o f the moral worl d ; it was as the interpretress o f the

natural world th at sh e ha d Guerin for her mouth piece To .

make magically near an d real the life o f Nature an d ,

man s life only so far as it is a part of that Nature was

’
,

his fac ul ty a fac ulty o f naturalistic not of moral inter ,

p re t at io n T his fac
. u lty always has f o r its basis a pec uliar

temperament an extraordinary delicacy o f organisation

,

an d s u sceptib ility to impressions ; in exercising it the

poet is in a great degree passive (Wordsworth th u s speaks
o f a wi se p assi ven ess) he aspires to be a sort o f human 4 1

Aeolian h arp catch in g an d rendering every rustle o f

-
,
84 E SS A Y S IN CRITICIS M
fell ow citizens of o ur farms and hamlets with us ; but
-

they take their flight in a h e ave n w hic h is bo un dless but ,

the hand o f Go d alone gives and measures to them their

daily food but they build their nests in the heart o f the
,

t hick b ushes or hang them in the height o f the trees So

,
.

wo uld I to o live hovering ro und society and having

, , , ,

always at my back a field o f liberty vast as the sky .

’

In the same spirit he longed fo r travel When one .

is a wande rer he writes to his sister o ne feels that o ne

,
’

f ul fils the true condition of hu manity And the last entry 1 0 .

in his jo urnal is Th e stream o f travel is full o f delight .

Oh w h o will se t me a drift o n t his Nile

,
.

Assuredly it is n o t in this temperament th at the active

virtues have their rise O n the contrary this temperament .
, ,

considered in itself alone in disposes for the discharge o f ,

them So mething morbid and excessive as manifested

.
,

in Guerin it undo ubtedl y has In him as in Keats and

,
.
, ,

as in another yo uth o f geni u s whose name but the other , ,

day unh eard o f Lo rd Ho ughton has so graceful ly

,

written in the story f English poetry Davi d Gray 21

hi o —
, ,
»

the temperament the talent itse lf is deeply influenced

, ,

by their mysteriou s malady the temperament is devouring

it uses vital power to o hard and to o fast paying the ,

penalty in long ho urs o f unutterable exhaustion and in

premature death Th e intensity o f Guerin s depression is
.
’

described to u s by Gu erin hi mself with the same in co mpar

able to uch with which he describes happier feelings far
oftener than any pleasurable sense o f his gift he h as the
sense profo un d near immense o f my misery o f my
, , , ,

inward poverty And again : My inward misery gains 3(

.
’

u po n me I no longer dare look with in An d o n anoth er ’

.

day o f gloom he does look within an d here is the terrible ,

analysis
Craving un quiet seeing only by glimpses my spirit
, , ,

is stricken by al those ills which are the sure fruit of

l

a yo uth doomed never to ripen into manh oo d I grow o ld .

and wear myself o ut in the most futile mental strainings ,

an d make no progress My head seems dying and when .

,

th e win d blows I fancy I feel it as if I were a tree blowing , ,

th ro ugh a nu mber o f with ered branches in my to p Stu dy

is intolerable to me or rather it is q
.

uite o ut o f my power
, .
 MA URICE DE CU RRIN 85

Mental work brings o n no t drowsiness but an irritable , ,

and nervous disgust which drives me o ut I know not where , ,

into the streets and p ublic places Th e Sprin g whose .

,

delights used to come every year stealthily and mysterio u sly

to charm me in my retreat cru shes me this year un der ,

a weight of s udden hotness I shoul d be glad o f any .

event which delivered me from the situ ation in which

I am If I were free I woul d embark fo r some distant
.

c o untry where I co uld begin life anew

’
.

10 Su ch is t his temperament in the frequent ho urs when

the sense o f its own weakn ess and isolatio n cru shes it to
the groun d Certainly it was not for Guerin s h appiness
.
’
,

o r for Keats s as men co unt happiness to be as they were

’
.
, ,

Still the very excess and predominance o f their tempera

ment h as given to the fruits o f their geniu s a unique
brilliancy and flavo ur I have said that poetry interprets .

in two ways ; it interprets by exp ressing with magical

felicity the physiognomy and movement of the o utward
worl d and it interprets by expressing with inspire d
, ,

20 conviction the ideas and laws o f the inward world of man s

’
,

moral and spiritual nat ure In other words poetry is .

,

interp retative both by having natural magic in it an d by ,

having moral profundity In both ways it illuminates .

man it gives him a satisfying sense o f reality it reconciles

him with himself and the universe Thu s Aeschyl u s s
’
.

‘ ‘
8pd a n
0
'

9 iv and his d fiprdu v

v 7 ra 6
' ’
are alike v o

interpretative Sh akspe are interprets both when he says ,

.

‘
F ll m yu an a l
g o rious m o rning h a v e I see n,
Fl tt t h a er e mo u nt ain -
t o ps w ith so v ran eye

30 and when he says ,

‘
Th e re s a di init
’
v y th at sh apes o u r e n ds,
R ll
o u gh h e w t h e m-
as w e w i
’
.

These great poets unite in themsel ves t h e fac u lty of bo th

kin ds o f interpretation the naturalistic and the moral , .

B ut it is observable that in the poets who unite both kinds ,

t h e latter (the moral ) u su ally en ds by making itself the

master In Sh akspe are the two kinds seem wonderfully
.

t o balance one another ; bu t even in him the balance

leans his expression te nds to become too little sensu o u s
w an d simple too m u ch inte llect u alised
,
Th e same thing .
86 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
may be yet more strongly affirmed O f Lu cretius and of
Wordsworth In Shelley there is not a balance of the tw o
.

gifts nor even a co existence o f them but there is a passion

,
-
,

ate straining after them both and this is what makes ,

Shelley as a man so interesting : I will n o t n o w inquire

, ,

h o w m uch Shelley achieves as a poet but whatever he ,

achieves he in general fails to achieve natural magic

,

in his expression ; in Mr Palgrave s charming Treasury .

’

may be seen a gallery o f his fail ures B ut in Keats and

1
.

Guerin in whom the fac ulty O f naturalistic interpretation 1 0

,

is overpoweringly predominant the natural magic is pe rfect ; ,

when they speak o f the worl d they speak like Adam namin g
by divine inspiration the creatures ; their expression corre
spo n ds with the thing s essential reality Even be tween
’
.

Keats and Guerin however there is a distinction to be , ,

drawn Keats has above all a sense o f what is pleasureable

.
, ,

and open in the life o f Nature for him sh e is the A lma

Parens his e xpression h as therefore more than Guerin s
’
, , ,

something ge nial o utward and sensuous Guerin has , ,

.

above all a sense o f what there is adorable and secret in 20

t h e life o f Nature ; for him sh e is the M agna Parens ;
his expression has therefore more than Keats s so met h ing
’
, , ,

mystic inward and profo und

, , .

So he lived like a man possessed ; with his eye not o n

h is o wn career not o n the p ublic not on fame but o n the
, , ,

Isis whose veil h e h ad uplifte d He p ublished nothing : .

‘
Th ere is more power an d beauty he writes in the well ’
, ,

kept se cret o f one s self an d one s thoughts than in the ’

-
’
,

display o f a whole heaven that o n e may have inside o n e

’
.

My spirit he answers the friends who urge him to write so

,
’
,

is o f the home keeping order and has n o fanc y for adven

-
,

ture literary adventure is above all distaste ful to it for

th is indeed (let me say so without the least self sufficiency )
,
-
,

1
C
mpare fo r e
o l hi Li W itt i th E g x amp e , Hill s nes r en n e u ane an s,
’

t A t m
,
’
w ith K e ats s Ode (G ld T y pp 2 5 6
o Th
u u n o en reasur e

l tt pi ; th f I will
.
, ,

a er d N t
ec e ren ers m ti t d h a ure t e or er r es o ren er er. no
d y h w v
en o t h t S h ll y h
e e r,t l m gi i hi hyt h m ; w h t
a e e as n a ura a c n s r a
I d y i th t h h it i hi l g g It l w y
,

en s, a e as m t m th t n s an ua e. a a s see s o e a
th igh t ph
e r f S h ll y g i w t h ph
s ere or f m i e t f e
’
s e n us as e s e re o us c , no o

p t
oe r y t h m di m f e d h e m u t b t t m ot t h mso un s e ca n as e r, u o as er e o re

diffi l t m di m f w d h h
cu e uit h oi t ll t l for s gh e as n e er n e e c ua o rc e e n o u n or
san ity g h
e no u .
 MA URICE DE GUERIN 87

it h as a contempt Th e literary career seems to me unreal

.
,

both in its own essence and in the rewards which o ne seeks

from it and therefore fatally marred by a secret abs urdity
’
.
,

His acquaintances and among them distinguished men o f

'

lette rs ful l o f admiration fo r the originality and delicacy

,

o f hi s talent laughed at his self depreciation warmly

,
-
,

assured him o f his powers He received their assurances .

with a mournful incredulity which contrasts c uriously ,

with the self assertion o f po or David Gray whom I j ust

-
,

0 no w mentioned It see ms to me intolerable he write s ‘ ’

.
, ,

to appear to men other than o n e appears to Go d My .

worst torture at this moment is the over estimate which -

generous friends form o f me We are tol d that at the last .

j udgment the secret o f all consciences will be laid bare to

the universe woul d that mine were so this day and that ,

every passer by co uld see me as I am !

-
High above ’

‘
my head he says at another time far far away I seem
,
’
, , ,

to hear the murmur o f that world o f thought and feeling

to which I aspire so often but where I can never attain ,
I .

10 thi nk o f those o f my o w n age who have wings strong eno ugh

to reach it but I think of them witho u t jealo usy and as
, ,

men on earth contemplate the e le ct an d their felicity A n d .

’
,

criticising his o wn compo sition When I begin a subject , ,

‘
my se lf conceit (says this exquisite artist ) imagines
-

I am doing wonders ; and when I h ave fin ished I se e ,

nothin g but a wretched made u p imitation composed of -

,

odds and ends of colour stolen from other people s palettes ’

,

and tastelessly mixed together o n mine Such w as his

’
.

p assi on f p
o r erfec tio n his disdain for all poetical
,
work n o t
so perfectly adequ ate and felicito u s Th e magic of expression t o .

which by the force of this passion he w o n his w ay will make ,

the name o f Maurice de Guerin remembere d in literat ure .

I have already mentioned th e Centaur a sort o f prose ,

poem by Guerin which Madame Sand p ublished after

,

his death Th e idea o f this composition came to him

.
,

M Sainte Be uve says in the course o f some visits which

.
-
,

he made with his friend M Trebutien a learned antiqu arian, .

, ,

to the Mu se u m o f Antiq uities In the Lo u vre Th e free and .

wil d life which th e Greeks expressed by s u ch creations as

40 the Centau r h ad as we might well expect a strong char m
, ,

for him ; under the same inspiration he compose d a

88 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
B acch ante whi ch w as meant by him to form part o f a prose
,

poem o n the adventures o f Bacch u s in India R eal as w as .

the affinity which G uerin s nat ure h ad fo r these s ubj ects ’

,

I doubt whether in treatin g th em he would have found

, ,

the full and final employment o f his talent B ut the beauty .

o f his Cen taur i s extraordinary ; in its whole conception

and expression this piece h as in a wonderf ul degree that
natural magic o f which I have said so m uch and the ,

rhythm h as a charm which bewitches even a foreigner .

An o ld Centaur o n his mo untain is s upposed to relate 1 1

to Melamp us a h uman q u estioner the life o f his youth
, , .

U ntranslate able as the piece is I shall concl ude with som e ,

extracts from it

THE C ENTA U R .

I h ad my birth in the caves o f these mou ntains Like .

the stream o f this vall ey whose first drops tri ckle from ,

some weeping rock in a deep cavern the first moment of ,

my life fell in the darkness o f a remote abode and without ,

breaking the silence When o ur mothers draw near to the .

time o f their delivery th ey withdraw to the caverns and 21 , ,

in the depth o f the loneliest of th em in the thi ckest o f its ,

g loom bring
,
forth witho u t u ttering a plaint
,
a fru it sile n t ,

as t h emselves Their p uissant milk makes u s s urmo u nt

.
,

without weakness o r dubiou s stru ggle th e first difliculties ,

o f life an d yet w e leave o ur caverns later than yo u yo u r

cradles Th e reason is th at we have a doctrine that th e
.

early days o f existence shoul d be kept apart an d enshrouded ,

as days fill ed with th e presence o f th e gods Nearly the .

whole term o f my growth was passed in the darkness

wh ere I was born Th e re c esses o f my dwelling ran so far 30
.

u n der th e mo u ntain t h at I sho uld n o t have known o n which

,

side was th e exit h ad n o t the winds when th ey sometimes

, ,

made th eir way thro ugh th e opening sent fresh airs in , ,

an d a s u dden tro u ble Sometimes too my mother came .

, ,

back to me having about her the odours o f the valleys

, ,

or streaming from the waters whi ch were her haunt Her .

returning th us witho ut a word said o f the valleys o r th e

,

ri v ers but with th e emanations from th em hanging abou t

,

her troubled my spirit and I moved up an d down restlessly

, ,
 MA URICE DE GU ERIN 89

in my darkness What is it I cried

. this o utsi de , ,

world whith er my mother is borne an d what reigns there ,

”
in it so potent as to attract her so often ? At these
moments my o w n force began to make me u nquiet I felt .

in it a power which coul d not remain idle ; and betaking

myself either to toss my arms o r to gallop backwards an d
forwards in the spaciou s darkness o f the cavern I tri ed to ,

make o ut from the blows which I dealt in the empty space ,

or from the transport o f my course throu gh it in what ,

0 di rection my arms were meant to reach o r my feet to bear ,

me Since that day I have woun d my arms round the b ust

.
,

of Centaurs and round the body o f heroes and round

, ,

the trunk o f oaks ; my hands have assayed the rocks ,

th e waters plants witho u t nu mber and the s ubtlest impres

, ,

sions o f the air fo r I u plift them in the dark and still

,
—

nights to catch t h e breaths o f wind an d to draw signs ,

whereby I may aug ur my road my feet look O Melam ,

—
,

p u s ,h o w worn they are 1 And yet all ben u mbed as I am ,

in this extremity o f age there are days when in broad , ,

30 s unl ight o n the mo u ntain tops

,
I renew these gall o pings
-
,

o f my yo u th in the cavern and with the same object , ,

brandish ing my arms and employing all the fleetn ess which
yet is left to me .

O Melamp u s tho u who wo uldst know the life

, the of

Centaurs wherefore have the gods willed that th y steps

,

should lead thee to me the oldest and most forlorn o f

,

them all It is long since I have ceased to practise any

part o f their life I quit no more this mountain s u mmit
.
,

to which age has confined me Th e point o f my arrows n o w .

so serves me onl y to u proot some to u gh fibre d plant ; the -

tranquil lakes know me still but the rivers have forgotten ,

me I will tell thee a little o f my youth but these re c o lle c

.

tions iss uing from a worn memory come like the drop so f
, ,

a niggardly libation poure d from a damaged urn .

Th e c ourse o f my yo uth was rapid an d f ull o f agitation .

Movement was my life an d my steps knew no bou nd

, .

One day when I was following the course o f a valley

seldom entered by the C entaurs I discovered a man ,

making his way u p the stream side o n the opposite bank -

.

40 He was the first w h om my eyes had lighted o n I despise d

90 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
him .Behold I cried at th e u tmost but the half of , ,

what I am ! Ho w short are his steps ! and his mo v ement h o w

full of labour ! Do ubtless he is a Centaur overthrown by
the gods and red u ced by them to drag himself along thus
, .

Wanderi ng along at my o wn will like the rivers feeling ,

wherever I went the presence o f Cybele whether in the bed ,

of the valleys o r o n the height of the mountains I bounded

, ,

whither I would like a blind and chainl ess life B ut when , .

Night filled with the charm o f the gods overtook me on

, ,

the slopes o f the mo u ntain sh e gui ded me to th e mouth of 10 ,

the caverns and there tranquill ised me as sh e tranquillises

,

the billows o f the se a Stretched across th e thresh old of .

my retreat my flanks hi dden within the cave and my head

, ,

under the open sky I watched the spectacle of the dark , .

Th e se a gods it is said q uit d uring th e

-
,
urs of darkness ,

their palaces under the deep they seat t e mse lv e s o n the

promontories and their eyes wander over the expanse of
,

the waves Even so I kept watch having at my feet an

.
,

expanse of life like the hushed se a My regards had free .

range and travell ed to the most distant points Like 20

, .

se a beaches whic h never lose their wetness

-
the line of ,

mou ntains to the west retained the imprint o f gleams not

perfectly wiped o ut by the shadows In that q u arter still .

s urvi v ed in pale clearness mountain s ummits naked and

, ,
-

p ure Th ere I be held at o n e time th e god Pan descend

.
,

ever solitary at another the choir o f the mysti c di v inities ,

o r I saw pass some mo u ntain nymph charm stru ck by the - -

night Sometimes the eagles o f Mo u nt O lymp u s traversed

.

th e u pper sky an d were lost to view among the far off

,
-

c onstellations or in t h e s h ade o f th e dreaming forests

,
.

Tho u pursu est after wisdom O Melamp u s which is , ,

the science o f th e will of the gods ; and tho u ro ame st

from people to people like a mortal driven by the destinies .

In the times when I kept my night watch es before the -

caverns I have sometimes believed that I w as about to

,

s urprise the tho ught of the sleeping Cybele and th at the ,

moth er of the gods betrayed by her dreams woul d let fall , ,

some of h er se c rets but I have never made o ut more than

sounds wh i ch faded away in th e m u rm ur of nigh t o r words ,

inarti c ulate as th e b ubbling o f the rivers .

 EUG ENI E DE G U ER IN
WHO that h ad spoken o f Maurice de Guerin co uld refrain
from speaking o f h is sister Eugén ie , the most devoted o f
sisters , o n e o f the rarest and most beautiful o f souls ?
The re is nothin g fixed , no duration no vitality in the
,

sentiments o f women towards one another ; their attach

ments are mere pretty bows o f ribbo n and no more , .

In all the friendships o f women I observe this slightness

o f the tie . I know n o instance to the contrary , even in
history . Orestes an d Pylades have no sis ters
’
So sh e
.

h erself spe aks o f the friends hips o f her o wn se x But i .

Electra can attach herself to O

restes , if not to hryso C
themis And to her brother Maurice , Eugénie de Guérin
.

w as Pylades and Electra in o n e .

Th e name o f M aurice de Guerin , — that yo un g man so

gifte d, so attractive , so careless o f fame , an d so early
snatched away w h o died at twenty nine who , says his
-

‘
sister , let wh at he did be lost with a carelessness so
unj ust t o himse lf , se t no value on any o f his o w n pro
du ct io n s, an d departe d hence witho u t reaping t h e rich
harvest whic h seeme d his due w h o in spite o f his s
,

immaturity , in spite o f his fragility , exercise d su ch a charm

‘
furnishe d to others so mu c h o f th at which all live by ,

that some years after his death his sister fo und in a co untry
ho use wh ere he use d to stay , in the jo urnal o f a yo ung girl
who h ad not known him, but who heard her famil y spe ak
o f him , his name , the date o f his death an d these wor ds ,
,

il etait leur vie (he was their life ) whose talent , exquisite
’

as t h at o f Keats , with less o f sunligh t abundance , and

,

facility in it than that o f Keats , but with more o f distinc

tion an d power , had that winning , delicate
happy turn o f expression
-
is be gin ning to be well
 EU E G NIE DE GU ER IN 93

was alive sh e placed her whole joy in the flowering of this

,

gifted nature when he w as dead sh e had no other tho ught ,

than to make the world know him as sh e knew him Sh e .

o utlived him nine years and her cherishe d task fo r those ,

years was to rescu e the fragments o f her brother s composi ’

tion to collect them to get them published In p urs uing

, ,
.

th is task she had at first cheering hopes o f success sh e

had at last baffling and bitter disappointment He r .

earth ly business w as at an end ; she died Ten ye ars .

afterwards it was permitted to the love of a frien d

, ,

M Trebutien to effect for Maurice s memory what the lo v e

.
,
’

of a sister had failed to accomplish B ut those w h o read .

,

w ith delight and admiration t h e jo urnal and letters o f ,

Maurice de Guerin co uld not but be attracted and tou ched

by this sister Eugenie who met them at every page Sh e ,
.

see med hardly less gifted hardly less interesting than , ,

Maurice himself An d presently M Tre butie n did for the

. .

sister what he had done for the brother He published the .

journal o f Mdl le Eugenie de Guerin and a few (too few

.
, ,

o alas ! ) of her letters Th e bo ok has made a profo und

1
n .

impression in France and the fame which she so ught only

for her brother n o w crowns the sister also .

Parts of Mdlle de Guerin s jo urnal were several years

.
’

ago printed for private circ ul ation an d a writer in the ,

Natio nal R eview h ad the good fortu ne to fall in with

them Th e bees o f o ur English criticism do not often
.

roam so far afield for their honey and this critic deserves ,

thanks for having fiitte d in his quest o f blossom to foreign

parts and for having settled u pon a beautiful flower fo un d
,

3 0 there . He had the discernment t o see that Mdl le de Guerin .

w as well worth speaking of and he spoke o f her with feelin g ,

and appreciation B ut that as I have said w as several

.
, , ,

years ago even a tru e and feelin g homage needs to be

from time to time renewed if the memory o f its object ,

is to endure ; and criticism must not lose t h e occasion

offered by Mdl le de Guerin s jo urnal being for the first
.
’

time p ublished to the world o f directing notice once more ,

to this religio us and beautif ul character .

Eugenie de Guerin was born in 1 805 at the ch atea u ,

Av l o u me o f t h e se l
h as ust ee n ro ugh t o ut
a so , j b
M Tre butie n b by
b k l y
, . .

One g o o d oo . at e ast i
n t h e lite rat ure o f t h e e ar 1 8 65
.
94 E SS A YS IN CR ITICIS M
of Le C ayla in Langue doc Her family tho ugh reduced
, .
,

in circ umstances w as noble and even when o ne is a saint

,

o n e cannot q uite for get that o n e comes of the stock o f the

Gu arini o f Italy o r t h at o ne c oun ts among one s ancestors

,
’

a Bishop o f Senlis w h o had the marshalling o f the French

,

order o f battle o n t h e day o f Bo uvines Le C ayla w as a .

solitary plac e with it s terrace looking down u po n a stream

,
‘
bed and valley o n e may pass days there witho u t seeing

any livin g thing but the sheep without hearing any livin g ,

thing but t h e birds M de Gué rin Eugenie s father 1 ’

.
,
’
,

lost h is wife when Eugenie w as t hirteen years old and ,

Maurice seven ; he w as left with fo ur children —Eugenie , ,

Marie Ere mbe rt and Mauric e — o f whom Eugenie w as the

, , ,

eldest an d Maurice w as the yo ungest Th is yo un gest

,
.

child whose beauty and delicacy h ad made him t h e object

,

o f his mother s most anxio us fon dness was commende d

’
,

by her in dying to the care o f his sister Eugé nie Maurice .

at eleven years old went to school at Toul ouse then he went

t o the Co llege Stanislas at Paris then he became a member
o f the religio u s society which M de L ame nn ai s had forme d a .

at La C hen aie in Brittany afterwards he lived chiefly at

Paris returning to Le Cayla at the age of twenty nine
, ,
-
,

to die Distance in tho se days w as a great obstacle to

.
, ,

frequent meetings o f the separated members o f a H ench

family o f narrow means Maurice de Guerin w as seldom .

at Le Cayla after he had once quitte d it tho ugh his few ,

visits to his home were long ones ; but he passed five

years the period o f his sojo urn in Brittany and o f his
—
, ,

first settlement in Paris With o ut co ming h ome at all ,

-
.

In spite o f the check from these absences in spite o f th e ,

more seriou s check from a temporary alteration in Maurice s ’

reli gio us feelings the union between the brother an d

,

sister w as wonderful ly close and firm For they were knit .

to gether not only by the tie o f blood and early attachment

, ,

but also by the tie o f a common geni u s We were says ’

.
,

Eugenie t w o eyes lookin g o ut o f o n e head Sh e on her

’
.
, ,

part bro ugh t to her love for her brother the devote dn ess
,

o f a woman the intensity o f a recl use almost the solicit u de

, ,

o f a mot h er Her home duties pre vente d her from followin g

.

t h e Wis h whic h often arose in her to join a religio us

, ,

sisterhoo d There is a trace j ust a trace o f an early

.
— ‘

, ,
-
96 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
on its banks the plains where nature is p uissant and gay
I have seen royal an d antique dwellings all marked by ,

memories which have their place in the mo urnful legend

o f humanity — Chambor d Blois Amboi se Chenonceaux ;
,

, , , ,

then the to w ns o n the two banks of the river — O rleans , ,

To urs Sau mur Nantes ; an d at the end o f it all the

, , , ,

O cean ru mbling From these I pas sed back into the interior
.

o f the co un try as far as Bo urges and Nevers a region

, ,

o f vast woodlands in which m urm urs of an i mmense ran e

, g
an d f ulness (ce beau to rren t de ru m eu rs as w ith an expre s 10
, ,

sion worthy of Wordsworth he elsewhere calls them ) ,

‘
prevail and never cease Words whose charm is like .
’

that of the so unds of the m urmuring forest itself and ,

who se reverberations like theirs die away in the infinite , ,

distance o f the so ul .

Maurice s life w as in the life of nat ure and the passion

’
,

for it cons u med him ; it would have been strange if his

accent had not caught more o f the so ul o f nature than
Eugenie s accent whose life w as elsewhere Y o u will
’
.
,

find in him Maurice says to his sister o f a friend whom 20

,
’

he was re c o mmendin g to her yo u will fin d in him that ,

which yo u love and which suits yo u better than anyt hin g

,

else l onction l efiw ion la mysticité

,
—
’
,
’
Unction the ,
.
’
,

pouring o ut of the so ul the rapture of the mystic were , ,

dear to Mauri ce also but in him the bent o f his geni us

g ave even t o those a special d irection of it s o w n In .

Eugénie they took the direction most native an d familiar

to them their object was the religious l ife .

A nd yet if o ne analyses this beautif ul and most interesting

,

character quite to the bottom it is not exactly as a saint ,

that Eugénie de Guerin is remarkable Th e ideal saint .

is a nature like Saint Francois de Sales or Fenelon a nature

of i n e flable sweetness an d serenity a nature in which ,

struggle and revolt is over an d the whole man (so far as ,

is possible to human infirmity ) swallowed u p in love .

Saint Theresa (it is Mdll e de Guerin herself w h o reminds .

us o f it ) endured twenty years -o f unacceptan ce and o f

repul se in her prayers yes but the Saint Theresa whom ,

Christe ndom knows is Saint Theresa repulsed no longer !

it is Saint Theresa accepted rejoicing in love radiant , ,

with ecstasy Mdlle de Guérin is not o ne of these saints

. .
 E U GENIE ’

DE GUERIN 97

arrived at perfect sweetness and calm steeped in ecstasy ,

there is something primitive indo mitable in her which , ,

sh e govern s indee d but which chafes which revolts ;

, , ,

so mewhere in the depths o f that strong nature there is

a struggle an impatience an inquietude an ennui which
, , , ,

endures to the end and which leaves o n e when o n e finally

, ,

closes her jo urnal with an imp ression o f profoun d melan

,

There are days she writes to her brother when ’

c h o ly .
, ,

one s nature rolls itself up and becomes a hedgehog If

’
, .

’ I had yo u here at t his moment here close by me h o w I , ,

sho ul d prick yo u ! h o w sharp and hard ! Poor so ul ,

poor so ul sh e cries o ut to herself another day what

,
’
,

is the matter what wo uld yo u have 2 Where is that which

,
‘

will do yo u goo d Everyt hing is green everything is ,

in bloom all th e air has a breath o f flowers Ho w beautiful

,
.

it is well I will go o ut No I sho ul d be alone and all

,
.
, ,

this beauty when o ne is alone is worth nothing What

, , .

shall I do then R ead write pray take a basket of sand , , ,

o n my head like that her mit saint and walk with it 2 Yes
‘
-
, ,

) work work !
,
keep busy the bo dy which does mischief to
the soul I have been t o o little occ upie d to day and that -
,

is bad fo r o n e an d it gives a cert ain enn ui which I have in

,

me time to ferment .
’

A certain ennui which I have in me her wo und is there ‘

In vain sh e follows the counsel o f Fenelon If Go d tires

y o,
u tell h im that h e tires you No do u bt sh e obtained great .
’

and frequent solace an d restoration from prayer : Thi s

mornin g I w as s u ffering well at present I am calm and , ,

this I owe to faith simply to faith to an act of faith I

, , .

0 can thin k of death and ete rnity witho u t tro u ble witho u t ,

alarm O ver a deep o f sorrow there floats a divine calm

.
,

a s uavity which is the work o f Go d onl y In vain h ave I

'

tried other t hings at a time like this : nothing human

co mforts the so ul nothing human upholds it
,

Al f ’
e n ant il f aut sa mere
Am f
,

on ame il au t mo n Dieu .

Still the ennui reappears bringin g with it ho urs o f nu ,

utterable forlornn ess and making her cling to her o ne ,

great earthl y happiness — her affection for her brother , ,

w wit h an intenseness an anxiety a desperation in which

ARN LD
, ,
O
H
98 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
there is something morbi d and by which sh e is occasionally ,

carried into an irritability a jealo u sy which sh e herself , ,

is the first indeed to cens ure which sh e severely represses

, , , ,

but w hich nevert h eless leaves a sense o f pain .

Mdlle de Guerin s admirers have compared her to

.
’

Pascal and in some respects the comparison is j ust B ut

, .

sh e cannot exactly be classe d with Pascal any more ,

th an With Saint Francois de Sales Pascal is a man and .

,

the inexhaustible power and activity o f his mind leave

him no leis ure for ennui He has not the sweetness an d 1 1
.

serenity of the perfe c t saint ; he is perhaps der strenge , , ,

kranke Pascal— the severe mo rbid Pascal — as Goethe (an d

, ,
’
,

strange to say Go ethe at twenty three an age which

,
-
,

us u ally feels Pas c al s c harm most profo undly ) calls him

’

but the stress an d movement of t h e lifelong conflic t

wage d in him between his so ul and his reason keep him
full of fire full o f agitation and keep his re ader who
, , ,

witnesses this conflict animated an d ex cited ; the sense

,

o f forlornness an d dejec ted weariness which cling s to

Eug enie de Guerin does not belong to Pascal Eugé n ie g .

de Guerin is a woman an d lon gs for a state o f firm h appi

,

ness for an affection in whic h sh e may repo se the inward

,

bliss o f Saint Theresa o r Fenelon wo uld have satisfied her

denie d this she cannot rest satisfie d with the tri u mphs of
,

self abasement with th e sombre jo y of tramplin g the pri de

-
,

o f life an d o f reason u nderfoot o f re duc ing all h u man h o pe ,

an d joy to i n si
g n ific an ce ; sh e re peats t h e ma gnificent
words o f Bossuet words which both C atholicism and
,

Protestantism have u ttere d with indefati gable iteration

O n trou ve au fond de to u t le vi de e t le né ant— at the bottom
of everything one finds emp tiness and no th ingness, — ’
but sh e

feels as every
,
one but the true mystic must
ever feel their ,

inc urable sterility .

Sh e resembles Pascal however by the clearness and , ,

firmness of her intelligence going straight and instinctively ,

to the bottom o f any matter sh e is dealing with and express ,

ing herself abo ut it with incomparable precision ; never

fumbling with what she has to say never imperfectly ,

seizing o r imperfectly presenting her th ought And to .

this admirable precision sh e joins a ligh tness of to uch ,

a feminine ease an d grace a flowing fa ,

1 00 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
w as penetrate d b y the power of religion religion was the
master influen ce o f her life sh e derived i mmense consola
-

tions from religion sh e earnestly strove to conform her

,

whole nature t o it if there w as an element in her which

religion co uld not perfectly reach perfectly transmute , ,

sh e groaned over this element in her sh e chid it sh e , ,

made it bo w Al most every thought in her w as bro ugh t

.

into harmony with religion and what fe w thoughts were

not thus bro ught into harmony were bro ught into sub
je c tion . 19

Then her affection for her brother ; and this

sh e h ad ,

t o o tho ugh perhaps there might be in it something a little

,

over eager a little to o absolute a little to o s usceptible

-
, , ,

w as a p ure a devoted affection ,

It was not only passionate .
,

it w as tender It w as tender pliant and self sacrificing

.
, ,
-

to a degree that not in o n e natu re o ut o f a tho usand — o f ,

natures with a mind and will like hers is found attainable ,

-
.

Sh e th u s united extr aordinary power o f intelligence extra ,

ordinary force o f character and ext raordinary strength o f ,

affection and all these under the control of a deep religious 20

feeling .

This is what makes her so remarkable so interesting , .

I shall try and make her speak for herself that sh e may ,

s h ow u s the characteristic sides of her rare nature with

her o wn inimitable to uch .

It must be remembere d that her journal is written for

Maurice only in her lifetime no eye but his ever saw it .

Cecin est p as p ou r te p ublic sh e writes me

’ ’ ’ ’
c est de l inti , ,

c est de l dme c est p our a n This is not for t h e p ublic

’ ’ ’ ’
.
,

it c ontains my inmost tho ughts my very soul ; it is for ,

A n d Mauri c e this o n e was a kind o f second self to

’
o ne .
, ,

her .We see things with the same eyes what yo u find
beautiful I fin d beautifu l Go d has made o ur souls o f o ne
,

piece A n d th is genuine confidence in her broth er s sym

.
’ ’

pathy gives to the entries in her journal a naturalness an d

simple freedom rare in such compositions Sh e felt that .

he would understand her and be interested in all th at sh e ,

wrote .

O ne of the first pages of her journal relates an incident

o f th e home life o f L e C ayla the smallest detail o f which
-
,

Maurice liked to h ear ; and in relating it sh e brings this

1 02 ESSAYS IN CRITICIS M
all my ti me Ho w could I make it otherwise ? I am
“

sure I do not know ; and besides my duty i s in t his sort , ,

o f life and I have no wish to escape from it

’
.
,

Among these occupations o f the patriarchal life of

the ch atelaine o f L e C ayla intercourse with the poor fills
a pro minent place
To day sh e writes on the 9 th o f December
’
-
, 1 83 4 , ,

I have been warming myself at every fireside in the

village It is a ro un d which Mimi and I often make an d in
.
,

which I take pleasure To day w e have bee n seeing sick 10 .

-

people and holding forth on doses and sick room drinks

,
-
.

Take this do that ; an d they attend to u s j ust as if

,

w e were the doctor We prescri bed shoes for a little thing

.

w h o w as amiss from having gone barefoot to the brother ,

w h o with a bad headache w as lying quite flat w e prescribe d

, , ,

a pillow the pillow did him goo d but I am afraid it will ,

hardly c ure him He is at the be gin ning o f a bad feverish

.

cold and these poor people li ve in the filth o f their hovels

like animals in their stable ; th e bad air poisons them .

When I come home to Le C ayla I seem to be in a pal ace 20 .

’

Sh e had books too ; not in abun dance not for the , ,

fancying them the list o f her library is small and it is ,

enlarged slowly and with diffic ulty Th e L etters of Sain t .

Theresa w hich she had long wished to get sh e sees in

, ,

t h e hands of a po or servant girl before sh e can pro c ure -

,

th em for herself What t h en 2 is h e r comment

. very ‘

likely sh e makes a better u se o f t h em than I co ul d B ut ‘

.
’

sh e h as the Imi tatio n the Sp iritual Works of Bossu et and,

Fenelon the L ives of the Saints C orneil le R acine An dré

, , , ,

Chenier an d Lamartine Madame de Stael s book o n 30

,
’

Germany and French translations of Sh akspe are s plays

,
’
,

O ssian the Vicar of Wakefield Sc ott s Old M ortality an d

, ,
’

R edgau ntlet an d the Promessi Sp osi o f Manzoni

,
Above .

all sh e has her o wn mind her me ditations in th e lonely

,

fiel ds o n the o ak grow n hill side o f Th e Seven Springs

,
- -

her meditations and writing in her own room her chambrette , ,

her delicieux chez mo i where every night before she goes

’

, ,

to bed she opens the window to look o ut u pon the sky

, ,

t h e balmy moonl it sky of Languedoc This life o f rea ding .

,

thinking and writing was the life sh e like d best the life 40
, ,

that most truly suited her I find writing h as become .

1 04 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
yo ur friend finds so soothing so unspeaka bly te nder ,

None of th em come from me I feel my o wn aridity ; .

but I feel to o that Go d when he will can make an ocean

, , , ,

flo w u pon this be d o f san d It is the same with so many .

simple souls from wh ich proceed the most admirable things

,

because they are in direct relation with Go d witho ut false ,

science and witho ut pride And thu s I am grad ually losing .

my taste for books I say to myself What can th ey

teach me which I shall not o ne day kn ow in Heaven let
Go d be my maste r and my st u dy here
him so and I find myself the better for it I read little
, .

I go o ut little I plunge myself in the inward life Ho w .

in finite are the sayings doings feelings events o f that life !, , ,

O h if yo u could but see them B ut what a vails it to make

,

them known God alone sho uld be admitted to the sanc

tu ary o f the so ul
’
.

Beautifully as sh e says all this o ne cannot I thin k , , ,

read it witho ut a sense o f disquietu de with o ut a presenti ,

ment that this ardent spirit is forcing itself from it s

natural bent that the be atitude o f the true mystic will 2(
,

ne ver be its earthl y portion A n d yet h o w simple and .

c h arming is her pict ure of the life of religion w hich sh e

c h ose as her ark o f refuge and in which sh e desired to ,

place all h e r h appiness

Cloaks clogs u mbrellas all the apparatu s o f winter
, , , ,

went with u s this morning to An dilla c where w e ha ve ,

passe d th e wh ole day ; some o f it at the c ur é s ho use ’

,

the rest in church How I like this life o f a co untry .

Simday with its a c tivity its jo urneys to c hurch it s li ve

, , ,

line ss ! Y o u find all yo ur nei gh bo urs o n t h e roa d ; yo u 3£

have a c u rtsey from every woman yo u meet and th en , ,

as yo u go along such a talk about th e po ultry t h e sheep

, ,

an d cows the good man an d t h e c hil dren ! My great

,

deligh t is to gi ve a kiss to t h ese c hildren and see them ,

run away an d hide t h eir bl us hing fa c es in their mother s

’

g own T
. hey are alarme d at las d o u maiselos
1
as at a being ’

o f another world One o f these little things said the other

.

day to its gran dmother w h o was talkin g o f coming t o see ,

M inino yo u m u stn t go to that castle ; there is

’
us : ,

a black hole the re ”

What is the reason that in all ages in
.

Th e y o ung lad y .
 E U GENIE DE GUERIN 1 05

the no ble s ch ate au h as been an objec t o f terror 15 Is it

’
'

because o f the horrors that were committed there in o ld

times I s uppose so .
’

This vague h orror o f the ch ateau still lingering in the ,

min d o f the B en ch peasant fifty years after he has storme d

it is indeed c urio us and is o n e o f the thousand indications
, ,

h o w unlike aristocracy o n the Continent h as been t o

aristo cracy in England B ut t his is one o f the great matters
.

with which Mdlle de Guerin wo uld n o t have u s occupie d

.

let us pass to the su bject o f Christmas in Languedoc

Christmas is c ome ; the beautiful festival the o ne I ,

love most and which gives me the same joy as it ga v e

,

the shepherds o f Bethl ehem In real truth one s whole .

,
’

so ul sings with joy at this beautiful co ming o f Go d u pon

earth a coming which here is anno unced on all sides of
—
,

us by mu sic an d by o ur charming naolalet 1

Nothing at .

Paris can give yo u a notion o f what C hristmas is with us .

Y o u have not even the midnight mass We all of us -

.

went to it papa at o ur head on the most pe rfect night

, ,

ao possible Never was there a finer sky th an o u rs was t h at

.

midni ght — so fin e that papa kept perpetu ally throwing

back the h oo d o f his cloak that he might look up at the ,

sky .Th e gro und was white with he ar frost but we -

,

were not col d be sides the air as w e met it w as warmed , , ,

by the bun dles o f blazing torchwood which o ur servants

c arried in front o f u s to light u s o n o ur way It w as .

delightful I do ass ure yo u ; and I sho uld like yo u to

,

have seen us there o n o ur road to church in those lanes ,

with the bu shes along their banks as white as if they were

eo in flower Th e boar frost makes t h e most lovel y flowers
'

< -
. .

We saw a long spray so beautiful that we wanted to take

it with us as a garland for the communion table but it -
,

melted in o ur hands : all flowers fade so soon ! I w as

very sorry abo ut my garland ; it was mo urnful to see it
drip away an d ge t smaller an d smaller every minute
’
.
,

Th e religio u s life is at bottom everywhere alike ; but

it is c urio us to note the variousness o f its setting and o ut
ward circu mstance C atholicism has these so different
.

from Protestantism and in C atholicism these accessories

A p uliar pe a] rung at Christmas tim by the h ur h bells of
ec - e c c
La gu d
n e oc.
1 06 ESS A YS IN CRITICISM
ha ve it cannot be denied a nobleness and amplitude
, ,

which in Protestantism is often wanting to them In .

C atholicism they ha ve from the antiquity o f this form o f ,

reli gion from its pretensions to universality from its really

, ,

wide s pread prevalence from its sens uo usness something

-
, ,

European a ugu st and imaginative in Protestantism they

, ,

often have from its inferiority in all these respects some

, ,

t h ing provin cial mean and prosaic In revenge Protes , , .

,

t ant ism h as a future before it a prospe ct o f growth in ,

alliance with the vital movement o f modern society 1

while Catholicism appears to be bent on widening t he
breach between itself an d the mo dern spirit to be fatally ,

losing itself in the m ultiplication o f dogmas Mariolatry , ,

and mira cle mongerin g B ut the style and circ umstance

-
.

o f act u al C at h oli c ism is grander than i

t s present tendency ,

an d the style an d c ir c u mstance of Protestantism is meaner

than its ten dency While I was reading the jo urnal o f .

Mdlle de Guerin t h ere c ame into my hands the memoir

.
,

and poems o f a yo un g Englishwoman Miss Emma Tatham ; ,

an d o n e co ul d n o t but be stru ck with the singular contrast

which the two lives —in their settin g rath er than in th eir ,

inh erent quality — present Miss Tatham had not certainly

, .
, ,

Mdl le de G uerin s talent but sh e h ad a sincere vein o f

.
’
,

poeti c feeling a genuine aptitude for composition Both

,
.

were fervent C hristians an d so far the two lives have , , ,

a real resemblance ; but in the setting of them what , ,

a difference Th e Fren c hwoman is a C atholic in Langue

do c the English woman is a Protestant at Margate
Margate that brick and mortar image o f English Protes
,
- -

t an tism representing it in all its prose all its un c o me li 31

, ,

ness let me add all its sal ubrity Between the external
—
, , .

form an d fashion o f these two lives between the C atholic ,

Mdl le de Guerin s nadalet at the Langue doc Christmas

.
’
,

her chapel of moss at Easter time her daily reading o f the -

,

life o f a saint c arrying her to the most diverse times

, ,

places and pe oples h e r qu oting when she wants to fix

, ,
—
,

her min d upon the stanchn ess which th e religiou s aspirant

needs the words o f Saint M ace do niu s to a hunter Whom he
,

met in the mountains I pursue after Go d as yo u pursue , ,

after game —her quoting when sh e wants to break 4a

,
’
,

a vill age girl o f disobedience to her mother the story o f ,

1 08 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
by
the ylive which
is glad to st ud y — o ne

n est q
.
,

sh e says twice in her jo u rnal

’ ’
u une ,

expansion du rep enti r da ns l amou r and her wee kly ’

jo urney to the confessional in the little church o f C ahuz ac

is her cher p elerinage the little church is the place where
she h as la issé tant de miséres .
’

This morning sh e writes o n e 2 8th of November I

’
, , ,

was up before daylight dresse d quickly said my prayers , , ,

an d started with Marie for C a h u za c When we got there .

,

the chapel w as occ upie d which I w as not sorry for I like ,

.

not to be hurried and to have time before I go in to lay

, , ,

bare my so ul before Go d T his often takes me a long time .

,

because my tho ughts are apt to be flying abo ut like these

autu mn leaves At ten o clock I w as on my kn ees liste
.
’
,

to words t h e most salutary that were ever spo ken ; a

I went away feelin g myself a better being Every burden
, .

thrown o ff leaves us with a sense o f brigh tness ; and when .

the soul has lai d down the load of its sins at God s feet ’
,

it feels as if it had wings What an admirable thing is .

confession ! What co mfort what li gh t what strength is , ,

.

g i v en me every time after I have sai d I ha ve sinn ed ,

.
’

This blessing o f confession is the greater sh e says the , ,

more the heart o f the priest to whom we confide o ur repen

”
tance is like that divine heart which h as so loved u s “
.

T his is what attac h es me to M Bories M Bo ries w as ’

. . .

the cure of her parish a man n o longer yo ung an d of whose

, ,

loss when he w as abo ut to leave th em sh e t h u s speaks

, ,

What a grief fo r me h o w much I lose in losing this

faithful guide o f my conscience heart and mind of my , , ,

whole self whic h God has appointe d to be in his c h arge

, ,

and which let itself be in his c harge so gladly He kn ew

t h e resolves whic h Go d h ad put in my heart an d I had need ,

of his help to follow them Our new curé c annot supply his .

place : he is so yo ung an d then he seems so inexperience d,

'

so undecided ! It needs firmness to pluck a soul o ut o f

the mi dst o f the worl d and to uphold it against the assaul ts
,

of flesh and bloo d It is Saturday my day for going to

.
,

C ahuzac I am j ust going there perhaps I shall come back ,

more tranquil Go d h as always given me some goo d thing

.

there in that chapel where I h ave left behind me so many

mis eries .
’
 UG ENIE
E DE GU ER IN 1 09

Such is confession for h e r when the priest is worthy

and when he is not worthy she knows how to separate
, ,

the man from the office

‘
To day I am going to do something which I dislike
-

but I will do it with God s help Do not t hink I am o n

’
.
,

my w ay to the stake ; it is only that I am going to confess

to a priest in whom I have not confidence but who is t h e ,

only one here In this act o f religion the man must always
.

be separated from the priest and sometimes the man ,

must be annihilated
’
a .

Th e same clear sense the same freedom from s u per ,

stitio n shows itself in all her religiou s life

, Sh e tell s us .
,

to be s ure h o w once when she w as a little girl she stained

, , ,

a new frock and o n praying in her alarm to an image o f

, , ,

the Virgin which h ung in her room saw th e stains vanish ,

e ven the au sterest Protestant will not j udge s u ch Mario

latry as this very harshl y B ut in general the Virgin .
, ,

Mary fills in the religio us parts of her j ournal no pro

, ,

minent place ; it is Jes us not Mary ‘

O h how well has , .
,

0 Jes u s said C ome unto me all ye that labour and are

.
,

heavy laden It is only there onl y in the bosom of Go d

.
, ,

that w e can rightly weep ri ghtly rid o urselves o f o ur ,

burden And again : Th e mystery o f s uffering makes

.
’

one grasp the belief o f something to be expiated some ,

thing to be won I see it in Jes u s Christ the Man of

.
,

Sorrow It was n ecessary that the S on of M an sho u ld

.

suffer . T hat is all we know in the tro u bl e s an d calamities

of life .
’

A nd w h o h as ever spoken o f j u stification more impres

so Sivel
y and pio us ly than M dl le de G u erin s peaks o f it when .
, ,

after reckoning the number of minu tes sh e has lived sh e ,

exclaims
My Go d what have we done with all these minutes
,

of ours which tho u too wilt o n e day reckon Will there

, , ,

be any of them to cou nt for eternal life ? will there be

many o f them ? will there be o ne o f them ? If tho u ,

O Lord wil t be extreme to mark what is done amiss

, ,

O Lord who may abide it

, This close scr utiny o f o ur
time may well make us tremble all o f u s who have advanced ,

40 more than a few s teps in life ; for God will j u dge us other

wise th an as he j udges the lilies of the field I have never .

1 10 ES S A YS IN CRITICIS M
been able to understand th e sec urity o f those who place
th eir whole reliance in presenting themselves before God
, ,

upon a good conduct in the or dinary relations o f h uman

life As if all o ur duties were confined with in the narrow
.

sphere of this world To be a good parent a go o d child , ,

a good citizen a go o d brother or sister is not enough to

, ,

procure entrance into the kingdom of heaven God .

demands other thin gs besides t h ese kindly social virtues ,

o f him whom he means to crown with an eternity of glory

’
.

And with th is zeal fo r the spirit and power of religion

, ,

what pru dence in her co unsels o f religio u s pr actice wh at

discernment what meas ure ! , Sh e h as been speakin g o f
t h e c h arm of the L ives of the S aints an d sh e goes o n ,

Notwithstanding th is the L ives of th e S aints s eem to ,

me for a great many people dangerou s reading I woul d

, , .

not recommend them to a yo ung girl o r even to some ,

women w h o are no longer young What one re ads h as .

s uch power o v er o ne s feelings ; and these e v en in seek

_
’
,

ing G o d sometimes go astray

,
Alas we have seen it in .
,

poor O s case What care one o ught to take with a young

.
’
.

person with what sh e reads what sh e writes her society , , ,

her prayers all of them matters which demand a mother s

—
,
’

tender wat c hfulness ! I remember many things I did at

fourteen which my mother h ad sh e li v ed wo uld not
, , ,

have let me do I wo uld have done anything for God s

.
’

sake I would have cast myself into an oven an d assuredly ,

things like that are not God s will h e is not pleased by ’

t h e h urt one does to one s health thro ugh that ardent but
’

ill regulated piety which while it impairs the body often

-
, ,

leaves many a faul t flourishing A nd therefore Saint 3 .

, ,

Francois de Sales used to say to the nuns who asked h is

leave to go barefoot
”
C hange yo ur brains an d keep your
shoes .

Meanwhile Mauri c e in a five years absence and amid ,

’
,

the distractions o f Paris lost or seemed to his sister to , ,

lose something o f his fondness for his home and its in

,

mates ; he certainl y lost h is early reli giou s h abits and

feelings It is o n this latter loss th at Mdlle de Guerin s
. .
’

j ournal oftenest touches —with infi nite delicacy but with ,

infinite anguish : 4A
O h th e agony o f being in fear fo r a soul s salvation
,
’
,
1 12 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
stayed with h im and h is wife fo r some months afterwards .

Her j o urnal recomm ences in April 1 8 3 9 ; zealously as

sh e h ad promoted her brother s marriage cordial as were
’
,

her relations with her sister in law it is evident that - -

,

a sense o f loss o f loneliness invades her and sometimes

, , ,

weighs her down Sh e writes in her j o urnal o n the 4th of

.

May
God knows when w e shall see o ne another again !
My o wn Ma urice m ust it be o ur lot to live apart to find
, ,

that this marriage which I had so m uch share in bringing

,

about which I hoped wo uld keep us so m u ch together

, ,

leaves us more as under than ever For the present and

for the f uture this troubles me more than I can say
, .

My sympathies my inclinations carry me more towards

, ,

y o u than towards any other member of o ur family I have .

the misfort une to be fonder of yo u than o f anythin g el se

in the world and my heart had from o f o ld built in yo u
,

its happine ss . Y outh gone and life declining I looked ,

forward to q uitting the scene with Maurice At any time .

o f life a great affect ion is a great happiness ; the S pirit

comes to take refuge in it entirely O delight and j oy .

whic h will never be yo ur sister s portion ! O nly in the ’

direction o f God shall I find an iss u e fo r my heart to love

as it h as the notion o f loving as it h as the power o f loving
From su ch co mplamings in which there is u ndoubtedly
.
,

something morbi d — complainings which she herself blamed ,

to which sh e seldom ga v e w ay but wh ich in presenting , ,

her character it is not j u st to put wholly o ut o f sight

, ,

sh e w as call ed by the news o f an alarming ret urn o f h e r

brother s illne ss For some days the entries in the j ournal

’
.

‘
show her agony o f appreh ension He coughs h e coughs .
,

still ! Those words keep echoing for ever in my ears and ,

p urs ue me Wherever I go ; I c annot look at the leaves o n

the trees with out thinking that th e winter will come ,

then the consumptive die Then sh e went to him .

’

brought h im ba ck by slow stages to Le C ayla dying , .

die d o n th e 1 9 th of J u ly 1 8 3 9 ,
.

Thenceforward the energy of life ebbe d in her but

main ch ords of her being the chord o f affection , ,
 G
EU ENIE DE GUERIN
“

1 13

a deeper and finer so und than ever Always sh e saw befor e .

‘ ‘
her that beloved pale face ;
,
that beautif ul head with ,

all its different expressions smiling speaking s uffering , , , ,

dying regarded her always

,
’

I have seen his coffi n in the same room in the same ,

spot where I remember seeing when I was a very little ,

girl his cradle when I was brought home from Gaill a c

, , ,

where I was then staying for his christening This christen

, .

ing was a grand o n e f ul l o f rej oicing more than that of

, ,

i any o f the rest o f u s specially marked I enj oyed mys elf .

greatly and went back to Gaillac next day charmed with

, ,

my new little brother Tw o years afterwards I came home

.
,

and brought with me for him a frock o f my o w n making .

I dressed him in the frock and took him o ut with me ,

along by the warren at the north o f the ho use and there ,

he walke a few steps alone his first walking alone

d —
, ,

and I ran with delight to tell my mother the news :

“ ”
Maurice Maurice has beg un to walk by himself !
,

R ecollections which coming back to day break one s

’
, ,

o h eart

Th e shortness and s uffering of her brother s life filled ’

her w ith an agony o f pity Poor belo v ed so ul yo u have

.
,

had hardly any happiness here below you r life has b e en

so short yo u r repose so rare
, 0 God u ph ol d me stablish .
, ,

my heart in thy faith ! Al as I have too little of th is ,

s upporting me ! How we have gazed at him and loved

him and kissed him
, his wife and we his sisters ; he
,
—
, ,

lying lifeless in his bed his head o n the pillow as if h e

,

were asleep ! Then we followe d him to the ch urchyard ,

o to the grave to his last resting place an d praye d over him -

, , ,

and wept over him ; and we are here again an d I am ,

writing to him again as if he were staying away from

,

home as if he were in Paris My beloved one can it be

, .
, ,

shall we never see o ne another again on earth

B ut in heaven —an d here tho u g h love and hope finally
,

prevail ed the very passion of th e sister s longing some

,
’

times inspired tort uring inquietudes

I am broken down with misery I want to see him . .

Ev ery moment I pray to G o d to grant me this grace .

to Heaven the worl d of spirits is it so far from u s

, O depth , ,
0 mystery of the other life which separates u s ! I who
A RN LD O
I
,
1 14 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
w as eagerly anxio us abo ut him wh o wanted so to know
so ,

all that happened t o him wherever he may be now it

—
, ,

is over ! I follow him into the three abodes : I stop

wistf ully before the place o f b liss I pass o n t o the place
of s uffering to the gul f of fire My God my G o d no !
-
.
, ,

No t t h ere let my brother h e n o t there An d he is not

his so ul th e so ul o f Mauri c e among the lost
,
horrible ,

fear n o ! B ut in p urgato ry where the so ul is cleansed

, ,

by s uffering where the failings of the heart are expiated

,

the doubti ngs of the spirit the half yiel dings to evil ? ,
-

Perhaps my brot h er is th ere and s uffers and calls to us ,

amidst his anguish of repentanc e as he used to call to us ,

a mi dst his bo dily s uffering : Help me yo u who lo v e “

,

me . Y es beloved one by prayer I wi ll go and pray ;

, , .
.

prayer h as b een s uch a power to me and I will pray to ,

the end Prayer ! O h ! and prayer for the dead ; it is

.

the de w o f p urgatory .
’

O ften alas th e gracio us de w wo ul d not fall ; th e air

, ,

o f her so u l w as parche d the ari d wind which w as some ,

where in the depths o f her being blew Sh e marks in her , .

j o urnal the first of May this return o f the lo v eliest month ,

in the year o nl y to keep up the o ld habit ; even the

,
’

month of May c an no longer give her any pleas ure : Tout

est change all is changed Sh e is c rushe d by th e misery
— .
’

w hich has nothing good in it t h e tearless dry misery , , ,

wh ich br uises th e h eart like a h ammer .

’

I am dying to e v erything I am dying o f a slow moral .

agony a c ondition o f unutterable s u ffering Lie there my

, .
,

poor j o urnal ! be forgotten with all this world which is

fading away from me I will write here no more until a .

I come to life again u ntil G o d re awakens me o ut of this -

tomb in which my so ul lies b urie d Ma urice my beloved .

,

it was not th us with me when I h ad you Th e th ought

of Maurice coul d revi v e me from t h e most profo und de pre s
sion to have him in the world was enough for me With .

Maurice to be b urie d alive woul d have not seemed dull

,

to me .
’

A n d as a b urden to this f unereal strain the old vide cl

, ,

n éant o f Boss u et profo un d solemn sterile , , ,

So bea u tiful in th e morning an d in th e evening that ! , ,

how t h e th ough t disenchants one and turns one from the ,

 HE I NR IC H HEI NE
I KNOW not if I deserve that a laurel wreath sho uld -

o ne day be laid o n my coffin Poetry dearly as I have .

,

loved it has always been to me bu t a divine plaything

, .

I ha v e never attac h ed any great val ue to p o etical fame ;

and I tro uble myself very little whether people praise my
verses or blame them B ut lay o n my coffin a swo rd for
.

I w as a brave sol dier in the w ar o f liberation o f humanity .

’

Heine h ad h is f ull share of love of fame and cared q uite ,

as m uch as h is brethren of the gen us irritabile whether

people praise d his verses o r blamed them A n d he was ] . 9

v ery lit tle o f a hero Posterity will certainly decorate his

.

tomb with t h e emblem of the laurel rather than with the

emblem o f the sword Still for his contemporaries fo r us
.
, , ,

for the Europe of the present century he is significant ,

chiefly fo r the reason which he himself in the words j ust

q u oted assi gns He is significant because he w as if not
.
,

pre eminently a brave yet a brilliant a most effective

-
, ,

soldier in the war of liberation of h u manity .

To as c ertain the master c urrent in the literat ure o f an

-

epoch and to distinguish this from all minor c urrents is

, ,

o n e o f t h e criti c s hi gh est f u nctions in disch arging it he

’

shows how far h e possess es the most indispensable q u ality

o f his o fiice j u stness of spirit Th e living writer who
,
— .

h as done most to make England acq u ainte d with German

authors a man o f geni us but to whom pre cisely this o ne
, ,

q uality o f j ustness o f spirit is perhaps wanting — I mean ,

Mr C arlyle seems to me in th e res ult o f his labo urs o n

.
,
—

German literature to a fford a proof h o w very necessary to

the critic this q u ality is Mr C arlyle h as spoken admirably
. .

o f Goethe but then Goethe stands before all men s eyes

’
,

the manifest centre o f German literature ; and from this

c entral so urce many rivers flo w Which o f these ri v ers is .

the main stream which o f th e courses o f spirit wh i ch we

see active in G o ethe is the co urse which will most infl u en c e
the f ut ure and attract and be continue d by the most
,
 H EINRICH H EINE 1 17

powerf ul of Goethe s s uccessors — that is the ques tion

’
.

Mr C arlyle attaches it seems to me far to o m u ch impor

.
, ,

tance to the romantic school o f Germany —Tieck Novalis , , ,

Jean Paul R ichter an d gi v es to these writers really

,
—
,

g if ted as two at any,

rate of t h em are an und u e prom, ,

inence . These writers and others with aims and a general

,

tendency the same as theirs are not the real inheritors ,

and contin u ators of Goethe s power ; the c u rrent o f their

’

activity is not the main c urrent o f German literature after

i Goe th e .Far more in Heine s works flows this main ’

current Heine far more than Tieck or Jean Paul R ichter

, ,

is the contin u ator of that which in Goeth e s varied activity

’
, ,

is th e most powerf ul and vital o n Heine of all German ,

authors who s urvived Goethe incomparably the largest ,

po rtion o f Goethe s mantle fell I do not forget that w h en

’
.

Mr C arlyle was dealing with German literat ure Heine

.
, ,

th ough he was clearly risen above the horizon had not ,

shone forth with all his strength ; I do not forget to o , ,

that afte r ten o rtwenty years many things may come o u t

1 plai .n be fo re the critic w hich before were har d to be dis
cerned by him ; and ass uredly no one would dream o f
imp uting it as a faul t to Mr C arlyle that twenty years .

ago he mistook the central c u rrent in German literat ure ,

overlooked t h e rising Heine and att ached u nd ue impor ,

tance to that romantic school which Heine was to destroy ;

one may rather note it as a misfort une sent perhaps as ,

a delicate chastisement to a critic who man o f geni u s , ,

—

as he is and no o n e recognises his geni u s more admiringly

,

than I do — has for the f unctions o f the critic a little to o

, , ,

0 m u ch o f the self will and eccentricity o f a gen uine so n of

‘

Great Britain .

Heine is noteworthy becau se he is the most important ,

German su ccessor and continu ator o f Goethe in Goethe s ’

'

activity And which o f Goethe s .

’

His line of activity as a soldier

—

of h u manity .
’

hardly have admitted this affilia

118 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
a little in the dark nigh t o f Germany so that the red ,

c urtains o f a German th rone or tw o caught fire but the

o ld watchmen w h o do the police of the German king doms
, ,

are already bringing o ut th e fire engines and will keep the -

,

candl es closer snuffed fo r the f uture Poor fast bound .

,
-

German people lose not all h eart in thy bonds ! Th e

,

fas hionable c oating o f ice melts o ff from my heart my soul ,

q uivers and my eyes b urn and th at is a disadvantageous ,

state o f thin gs for a write r w h o should control h is s ubject

,

matter and k eep himself beautifully objective as the ! ,

artistic school woul d ha v e us and as Goethe has done ; ,

he h as come to be eighty years o ld doing this and minister , ,

and in good condition — poor German people that is thy

greatest man
B u t hear Goethe himself If I were to say what I had
really been to the Germans in general and to the yo ung ,

German p o ets in parti c ular I should say I had been their ,

’
liberato r .

Modern times find themsel v es with an immense sys tem

of i nstit utio ns establish ed facts accre dited dogmas c us f
, , ,
-

toms r ules which have come to them from times not

, ,

mo dern In this system their life has to be carried for

.

ward yet they have a sense th at this system is not o f

their o w n creation th at it by no means corresponds exactly
,

with the wants of th eir actu al life that for them it is , , ,

c u stomary n o t rational
,
Th e awakenin g of this se ns e is
.

th e awakening o f the modern spirit Th e modern spirit is .

n o w awake almost everywhere ; the sens e o f want of

correspondence between the forms o f m o dern Europe and
its spirit between the n ew w ine of the eighteenth and
,

nineteenth centuries and the o ld bottles o f the eleventh

,

and twelfth centuries o r even o f the sixteenth an d seven

,

t ee nth almost every one now per c eives ; it is no longer

,

dangerou s to affi rm that this want of corresponden ce

exists ; people are even beginnin g to be shy of denying?
it To remo v e this want o f correspondence is beginning
.

to be the settled endeavour o f most persons of good sense .

Dissolvents of the o ld European system o f dominant i deas

an d facts w e m u st all be all o f u s who have any power of
,

working ; what we have to study is that we may n o t be

acrid dissolvents of it .
1 20 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
far off as ever It w as the year 1 8 3 0 the German sovereigns
.

h ad passe d the pre c eding fifteen years in breaking th e ’

promises of free dom they h ad made to their s ubjects when

t h ey wanted their help in th e final struggle with N apoleon .

Great events were happening in France ; the re v ol ution ;

defeated in 1 8 1 5 h ad arisen from its defeat and w as
, ,

wresting from its adversaries the power Heinrich Heine .

,

a young man of geni us born at Hamb urg and with all the , ,

c ult ure of Germany but by race a Je w with warm ,

sympathies for France whose revol ution h ad given t o its 1 ,

ra c e the ri ghts of citizenship and whose r ule h ad been as , , .

is well known pop ular in the R hine provinces where he

, ,

passed his you th ; with a passionate admiration for th e

g reat F rench E mperor with a passiona te contempt for
,
the
soverei gns who h ad o v erthro w n h im for their agents and , ,

fo r their poli c y — Heinrich Heine was in 1 8 3 0 in n o h u mo u r

,

for any s uch gradual process of liberation from the o ld

order o f things as that which Goethe had followed His .

counsel w as for open w ar .

weapon the pen in his hand he

, , ,

his l ife in o n e fierce battle What was that .

re ader will ask It w as a life and death battle

.

tinism .

P h ilistin ism — we have

the expression in English no t .

Perhaps we have not th e word because we have so m u ch

o f the thing At Soli I imagine they did not talk of
.
, ,

solecisms and here at the very h e ad qu arters of Goliath

,
-
,

nobody talks o f Philistinism Th e French have adopted .

th e term ép icier (grocer ) to desi gnate the sort o f being ,

whom the Germans designate by the term Philistine but 3

t h e Fren ch term — besides that it casts a sl ur u pon a re
,

spe c t abl e class composed o f living an d s u s c eptible members

, ,

wh ile the ori ginal Philistines are dead and b uried long ago ,

— is really I th ink in itself m uch less apt an d expressi v e

, ,

th an the German term Efforts ha v e been made to obtain .

in English some term equivalent to Ph ilister o r ép icier

Mr C arlyle has made several s uch efforts
. respectability
w t its th o u sand gigs he says well the occ upant of
i h —
,
’
,

every o n e of these gigs is Mr C arlyle means a Philistine , .

,
.

However the word resp ectable is far too valuable a word s

,

to be th us perverted from its proper meaning ; if th e

 H EINRICH H EINE 1 21

English are ever to have a wor d for th e thing we are speak

ing o f — and so pro digio us are the changes which the
,

modern spirit is introducing th at even we English shall ,

perhaps o ne day come to want s uch a word, —I think we

h ad m u ch better take the term Philistin e itself .

Ph ilistin e m u st have ori ginally meant , in the mind o f

those who invented th e nickname a strong dogged nu , , ,

enlightened opponent o f th e chosen people of the children ,

o f t h e ligh t
. Th e party of change t h e wo u l d be remo dellers ,
-

I of the o ld tra ditional Eu ropean or der , the invok ers of reason

against c ustom , th e representatives of the modern spirit in

every sph ere where it is applicable , regarded themselves ,
with the rob u st self co nfi de n ce nat u ral to reformers as
-

a chosen people as children o f the light They regarded

,
.

th eir adversaries as h u mdru m people slaves to ro utine , ,

ene mies to ligh t stu pi d an d oppressive but at the same ,

time very strong Th is explains the love which Heine

.
,

th at Pal adin o f the m o dern spirit has for France ; it ,

explains the preference which he gives to France over ‘

Germany : th e French he says are the chosen people

,
’
,

of th e n e w religion its first gospels and dogmas have been

,

drawn u p in t h eir lang u age Paris is the new Jerusalem ,

and the R hine is the Jordan which di v i des the consecrated

land o f freedom from the land o f the Philistines He .
’

means that the French as a people have shown more

, ,

accessibility to ideas th an any other people that pre scrip

tion and routine have h ad less hold u pon them than upon
any oth er people that they have shown most readiness
to move an d to alter at the bidding (real or s u pposed ) of
no reason . This explains too the detestation which Heine
, ,

h ad for the English I might settle in England he says ,

’
,
‘
in his exile if it were n o t that I shoul d find there two
,

things coal smoke and Englishmen ; I cannot abide

,
-

either What he hated in th e English was the acht

.
’ “

brittisch e B e sch rank th e it as he calls it the genuin e

—
,
’
,

B ritish n arro wness In truth the English profou ndly as

.
, ,

th ey have modified the o ld Middle Age order gre at as is -

,
‘ '

the liberty which they have se c ured for themselves have ,

in all their changes proceede d to u se a familiar expression

, ,

49 by th e r ul e o f th u mb what was intolerably inconvenient

to them they have s u pressed and as the have s uppressed
p y ,
1 22 SS AYS
E IN CRITICISM
it no t because it w as irrational but because it w as prac
, ,

tically inconvenient they have seldom in s uppressing it

,

appealed to reason but always if possible to some pre

, , ,

cedent o r form or letter which served as a convenient

, , ,

instru ment fo r their p urpose and whi ch saved them from ,

the nece ssity of rec urring to general principles They have .

th us become in a certain sense of all people the most

, ,

inaccessible to ideas
inac c essible to them because of their want o f familiarity
,

with them and impatient of them because they have go t

o n so well witho u t t h em that t h ey despise those w h o not
, ,

having go t o n as well as themselves still make a fuss for ,

what they themselves have done so well Without B ut .

there h as certainl y follow ed from henc e in this country , ,

somewhat o f a general depre ssion of p ure intelligence

Philistia h as come to be th ought by u s th e tru e Land of
Promi se and it is anything but th at ; th e born lover o f
‘

i deas the born hater o f c ommonplaces m ust feel in this

, ,

c o untry that the sky over his head is o f brass and iron
,
.

Th e enth u siast fo r the i dea for reason val ues reason th e 20 , , ,

id ea in and for th em selves h e val u es them irrespectively

, ,

o f the practical conveniences w h ich their tri u mph may

obtain fo r him and the man w h o regards th e possession

o f th ese pr actical con v enien c es as something s u f fi cient in
itself something which compensates for the absence or
,

s urrender of the idea o f reason is in his eyes a Ph ilistine

, , , ,
.

This is why Heine so often an d so mercilessly attacks th e

liberals ; mu ch as he hates con ser v atism h e h ates Philistinism
even more an d Whoever attacks conservatism itself ignobly
, ,

not as a child o f light n o t in th e name o f the i dea is

, ,

a Phil istine Our C obbett is th us for him m u ch as he dis

.
,

liked o ur clergy and aristocracy whom C obbett attacked ,

a Philistine with six fingers o n e v ery hand an d o n every foot

si x toes fo u r an d tw e n t y in n u mber :
,
-
a Ph ilistine the staff ,

of whose spear is like a weaver s beam Th u s h e speaks ’

.

o f him
While I translate Co bbett s words the man ’
,

comes bodily before my mind s eye as I saw ’

,

th at uproario u s dinner at th e Crown and Anchor

with his scol ding red face and h is radical
venomou s hate mingles with a mocking e
1 24 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
myself with o ur time and its interests to try and shake ,

the poor German Hodge o ut of h is thousand years sleep ’

in h is hole What good did I get by it Hod ge opened

his eyes onl y to s h u t them again immediately he yawned
, ,

only to be gin snoring again th e next minu te louder th an

ever ; he stretched his sti ff ungainly limbs only to sink ,

down a gain directly afterwards and lie like a dead man ,

in th e o ld bed of his a c c ustomed habits I m ust h ave rest .

bu t where am I to fin d a restin g place In Germany I c an -

no longer stay .
’
10
Th is is Heine s jestin g acco unt of his o wn efforts to
’

ro use Ge rmany : n o w for his pathetic account o f th em ;

it is because he unites so m u c h w it with so mu ch pathos
’

that he is so effective a writer

Th e Emperor Charles the Fifth sate in sore straits in ,

the Tyrol encompassed by his enemies All h is knigh ts

, .

an d co u rtiers h ad forsaken him not o ne came to h is h elp

’

I know not if he had at that time the c h eese fa c e with

which Holbein has painted h im for u s B u t I am s ure .

that u nder lip o f his with its conte mpt fo r man kind stu ck
-
, ,

o u t even more than it does in his portraits How co uld be .

but contemn the tri be which in the s unshine of his prosperity

h ad fawned o n him so devote dl y and now in his dark , ,

distress left him all alone ?

, Then s uddenly his door
opened and th ere came in a man in dis guise and as he
, , ,

threw bac k his c loak th e Kaiser recognised in him h is

,

faithf ul C onr ad v o n de r R osen the court jeste r This ,

.

man brought h im co mfort and co unsel and he w as th e ,

co urt j ester !
0 German fatherland ! dear German people ! I am at
th y C onrad von der R osen Th e man whose proper bu si
.

ness was to am u se th ee and who in good times should

,

h ave c atere d only for thy mirth makes h is way into thy ,

prison in time of need here u nder my cloak I bring thee , ,

thy sceptre an d crown ; dost th o u not recognise me my ,

Kaiser ? If I cannot free th ee I will at least comfort ,

thee an d thou sh alt at least have one with thee w h o w ill

'

prattle with thee abou t thy sorest affliction and whisper ,

courage to thee an d love thee and whose best j oke and

, ,

best bloo d shall be at thy service For thou my people 41 .

, ,

art the tru e Kaiser the true lord of the land thy Will is
,
 H EINRICH HEINE 1 25

sovereign and more legitimate far than that p urple Tel

,

est no tre p lai sir which invokes a divine right with n o

,

be t te r warr ant than the an o in tings of shaven and shorn

j ugglers ; thy will my people is the sole rightful source
, ,

o f power . Th o ugh now tho u liest down in thy bonds yet ,

in the e nd will th y rightful c au se pre v ail ; the day of

deliverance is at hand a n ew time is beginning My
,
.

Kaiser the night is over an d o ut there glows the r uddy

, ,

dawn .

C onrad von der R osen my fool thou art mistaken ; , ,

perhaps tho u takest a headsman s gleaming axe for the ’

”
sun an d the re d o f dawn is o nl y blood .

N 0 my Kaiser it is the sun th o u gh it is rising in the

, , ,

west ; these six tho u sand years it has always risen in

”
the east it is high time th ere sho uld come a change .

C onrad von der R osen my fool tho u hast lost the , ,

bells o ut of thy re d cap and it has now s u ch an odd look , ,

that red cap o f thine !

Ah my Kaiser thy distress has made me shake my
, ,

head so hard and fierce that t h e fool s bells have dropped ,

’

”
off my cap the cap is none the worse for that .

“
C onrad von der R osen my fool what is that noise , ,

o f breaking and cracking o u tsi de there

Hu sh that is the saw and the carpenter s axe and ’
,

soon the doors o f thy prison will be b urst open and thou ,

Wilt be free my Kaiser ,

Am I then really Kaiser Ah I forgot it is the fool , ,

wh o tell s me so
Oh sigh not my dear master the air of thy prison
, , ,

1 30 makes thee so despon ding ! when once tho u hast go t thy

rights again thou w ilt feel once more the bold imperial
,

blood in thy veins and tho u wilt be proud like a Kaiser

, ,

and violent an d gracio u s ,

an d un j u st and smiling and , , ,
”
ungratef ul as princes are
, .

Conrad von der R osen my fool when I am free what , , ,

wilt tho u do then

I will then sew n ew b ells on to my cap .

And h o w shall I recompense thy fidelity

Ah dear master by no t leaving me to die in a ditch l
, ,

40 I wish to mark Heine s place in modern European ’

li terat ure the scope of his activity and his val ue I cannot
, , .
1 26 ESS AYS IN CRITICISM
at tempt to give here a detail ed acco unt of his life or ,

a description o f his separate works In May 1 83 1 he .

, ,

went o v er his Jordan the Rhine and fixed himself in h is , ,

n e w Jeru salem Paris There henceforward he lived

, .
, , ,

going in general to some Frenc h watering pl ace in the -

s u mmer but making o nl y one or two short visits to Ger

,

many during the rest o f his life His works in verse and .
,

prose s u cceeded each other withou t stopping a collected

,

edition of them filling seven closely printe d octavo vol umes

,
-
,

has been p ublished in A meric a 1

in the coll ected editions 1c '

o f fe w people s works i s there so little to skip Those w h o

’
.

wish for a single good spe c imen of him sh oul d read his
first important work the work which made his reputation , ,

t h e R eisebilder or Travelling Sketch es , prose and

verse wit and seriousness are mingled in it and the
, , ,

mingling o f these is characteristic o f Hein e and is nowhere ,

to be seen practised more naturally and happil y than in

h is R eisebilder In 1 847 his health which till then h ad
.
,

always been perfectly good gave w ay He had a kind of , .

paralytic stroke His mal ad y pro v ed to be a softening 2!

.

o f the spinal marrow : it w as inc urable ; it made rapid

progress In May 1 84 8 not a year after his first attack
.
, , ,

he went o ut o f doors for the last time ; but his disease

took more than eight years to kill him F o r nearly eight .

years he lay helpless o n a cou ch with the u se o f his limbs ,

gone wasted almost to the proportions o f a child wasted

, ,

so that a woman co ul d carry him abo u t the sight of o ne

eye lost that o f the other greatly dimmed and requiring
, , ,

t h at it might be exercised to ha v e th e palsied eyelid lifted ,

and hel d u p by the fin ger ; all this an d s uffering besi des 31 , ,

this at short intervals p aroxysms o f nervous agony

, , .

I have said he w as not pre eminently bra v e ; but in th e -

asto nishi n g force o f spirit w ith which he retained his

activity of mind even his gaiety amid all his s uffering
and went on composing with undimmish ed fire to the last
, , ,

he was trul y brave Nothing could clog that aerial light .

ness Po u vez vou s siffler

. his doctor asked him o n e
-

day when he w as almost at his last gasp

, siffler as ,
’

every o ne knows h as the double meaning o f to whistle ,

‘

A co l
mp e te e ditio n h as at l
ast appeare d in G er man y
.
1 28 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
trul y literary charac ter It took the character o f an
,
.

intrepid application o f the modern spirit to lite rature To .

the ideas with which the b urning questions of modern '

l ife fil led him he made all his s ubj ect matter minister
,
-
.

He tou che d all the great points in the career o f the h uman
race and here he but followed the tendency o f the wi de
,

c ulture o f Germany ; but he tou ched th em with a wand

which brought them all un der a ligh t where the modern
eye cares most t o see them and here he gave a lesson to ,

th e c ul t ure o f Germany — so wi de so impartial that it is 10

, , ,

apt to become slack and powerless and to lose itself in ,

its materials for want o f a strong central idea ro und which

t o gro up all its other ideas So the mystic an d romantic .

s c hool o f Germany lost itse lf in the Middle Ages was ,

o v erpowered by their infl uence came to r uin by its vain ,

dreams of renew ing them Heine with a far profo under .

,

se nse o f the mystic and romanti c c h arm of th e Middle

Age than Goerre s or Brentano o r Arnim Hein e the chief
, , ,

romantic poet of Germany is yet also m uc h more than ,

a romantic poet ; he is a great modern poet he is n o t zt ,

conquered by the Mi ddle A ge he has a talisman by which ,

he c an feel — alon g with but above the power of th e

,

fascinatin g Middle A ge itself —the power of modern ,

i deas .

A French critic of Heine thinks he has said eno ugh

in saying that Heine procl aimed in German countries ,

with h e at of drum the i deas of 1 7 8 9 an d th at at the

, ,

ch eerful noise o f his dr um the ghosts of the Mi ddl e A ge

took to flight B ut th is is rather too Ih ench an account
.

o f the matter Germany that v ast mine of ideas h ad 3(

.
, ,

no nee d to import i deas as s uch from any foreign country

, ,

an d if Heine h ad carrie d i deas as s u ch from France int o , ,

Germany h e woul d but ha v e been carrying coals to N ew

,
e

castle B ut th at for whi ch France far less me ditative than

.
,

Germany is eminent is the prompt ardent and practical

, , , ,

application of an idea when sh e seize s it in all departments

, ,

o f h u man activity whic h a dmit it A n d that in which .

Germany most fails and by failing in wh ich sh e appears

,

so helpless and impotent is j u st the practical application ,

o f her inn u merable i deas

‘
Wh en C andide says Hei ne 4< .
,
‘
himself came to Eldorado he saw in th e streets a number
, ,
 H EINRIC H H EINE 1 29

of boys who were playin g with gold n uggets instead o f -

marbles This degree o f l u xury made him imagine that

.

they mu st be the kin g s chil dren and he was not a little

’
,

astonished when he found th at in El dorado gol d nu ggets -

are o f no more val u e than marbles are with u s and th at ,

schoolboys play with them A simil ar thing happened .

to a friend o f min e a forei gner when he came to Germany

, ,

an d first rea d German books He was perfectly astounded .

at the wealth of ideas whi ch he found in them bu t he soon

0 re marked that i deas in Germany are as plentif ul as gol d
nuggets in Eldorado and that those writers whom he had
,

taken fo r intellectu al princes were in reality only common ,

sch ool boys Heine was as he call s himself a C hild of

-
.
’
, ,

the French R evol ution an Initiator because he vigorou sly

,
’
,
’

assured the Germans that ideas were not counters o r marbles ,

to be playe d with for their own sake becau se he exhibite d

in literature modern ideas applied with the utmost fre edom ,

clearness and originality An d therefore he declare d

,
.

that the great task o f his life had been the endeavour to
establish a cordial relation between France and Germany .

It is becau se he th u s operates a j un ction betwee n the

French spirit an d German ideas and German c ulture
, ,

that he founds something new opens a fresh period and , ,

deserves the attention o f criticism far more th an th e

German poets his contemporaries who merely continu e ,

an old period till it expires It may be predicted that in .

the literature o f other countries too the French spirit , ,

is destined to make its infl u ence felt as an element in ,

—
,

alliance with the native spirit o f novelty and movement , ,

se as it has made its i nfl u ence felt in German literat u re ;

(

fifty years hence a critic will be demonstratin g to o ur

g ran dch il dren how this phenomenon has come to pass .

We in England in o ur great b urst o f literat ure during

,

th e first th irty years of the present cent u ry h ad n o mani ,

fe st atio n o f the modern spirit as this spirit manifests ,

itself in Goethe s works o r Heine s And the reason is

’ ’
.

not far to seek We had neither th e German wealth of

.

ideas nor the French enth u si asm for applying i deas

, .

There rei gned in the m as s o f the nation th at in v eterate

40 inac cessibility to i deas that Philistinism — to use the, ,

German nickname which reac ts even o n the in divid ual

-

ARN LD
O
K
,
1 80 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
genius that is exempt from it In o ur greatest literary .

ep o ch that o f the Elizabethan age English society at

, ,

large w as accessible t o ideas w as permeated by th em , ,

w as vivified by them t o a degree which h as never been

,

reached in England since Hence the uniq u e greatness .

in English literature o f Sh akspe are and h is contempo

raries ; they were po w erfufly upheld by the intellectu al
life o f their nation ; they applied freely in literature th e
th en modern ideas —the ideas o f the R enaissance and th e
,

R eform ation A few years afterwards the great English

.

middl e class th e kernel of the nation the class whose

, ,

intelligent sympathy had upheld a Sh akspe are entered ,

the prison o f Pu ritanism and h ad the key turned o n ,

its spirit there fo r tw o h u ndre d years He en largeth .

a nation says Job and straiten eth it again

, ,
In the literary .

movement o f the beginnin g of the nineteenth century

the signal attempt t o apply freely the modern spirit w as
made in England by t w o members o f the aristocratic
class Byron an d Shell ey Aristocracies are as such
,
.
, ,

naturally impenetrable by i deas ; but their in dividual sw

members have a hi gh courage an d a turn for breaking
bou nds ; and a man o f geni us w h o is the h o rn child of ,

the i dea happening to be born in the aristocratic ranks

, ,

c h afes against the obstacles which prevent him from free ly

developin g it B u t Byron an d Shelley did not su cceed
.

in th eir attempt freely to apply th e modern spirit in English

literature th ey c o ul d not s u cceed in it th e resistance to
baffle th em the want of intelli gent sympathy t o gui de an d
,

u phol d them were too great Their literary creation

, .
,

compared w ith the literary creation o f Sh akspeare and so

Spenser compare d with the literary creation o f Goethe
,

an d Heine is a fail u re ,Th e best literary creation o f th at

.

time in England procee de d from men w h o did not make

t h e same bol d attempt as Byron an d Shelley What in .
,

fact was the career o f the ch ief English men o f letters

, ,

their contemporaries Th e greatest of them Wordsworth , ,

retired (in Mi ddle A ge phrase ) into a monastery I mean

-
.
,

he plunged himself in the inward life he vol untaril y cut ,

himself o ff from the mo dern spirit C oleri dge took to opium . .

Scott became th e h istoriograph er royal o f fe u dalism .

Keats passionately gave himself up to a sensu ou s geni us ,

1 32 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
o ut laughing Since
that day I have never been able to
.

hear la religion mentioned witho ut feelin g a tremor run ,

thro ugh my back an d my cheeks grow red with shame , .

’

O r in that co mment o n the fate of Professor Saalfeld who ,

had been addicted to writing furio us pamphl ets agains t

N apo leon an d w h o w as a professor at t tingen a great
, ,

seat according to Heine o f pe dantry and Philistinism

, ,

It is c urio us says Heine the three greatest adversaries

,
’
,

o f Napoleon have all of them ende d miserably Castlereagh .

c ut his o wn throat ; Lo uis the Ei ghteenth rotte d u po n it

h is throne and Professor Saalfeld is still a professor at
G ott m It is impossible to go beyond that
’
ge n . .

What wit again in that saying which every o ne h as

, ,

heard : Th e Englishman loves liberty like his lawf ul

wife the Frenchman loves her like his mistress th e
, ,

Ge rman loves her like h is o ld gran dmother B ut the .

’

t urn Heine gives to this incomparable saying is not so

well known and it is by that t urn he shows himself the
born poet he is full o f delicacy and tendern ess of ine x
—
, ,

h aust ible reso urce infinitely new and striking ,

And yet after all no o ne can ever tell how things

, ,

may t u rn o ut Th e grumpy Englishman in an ill temper

.
,
-

with his wife is capable of some day putting a rope ro un d

,

her neck and takin g her to be sol d at Smith fie ld Th e

, .

inconstant Frenchman may become unfaithf ul to his

a dore d mistress an d be seen fluttering abo ut the Palais
B ut th e Germa n w ill n ever q
,

R oyal after another u ite.

abando n his o ld grandmo th er h e will always keep for her ,

a nook by the chimney c orner where she can tell h e r -

,

fairy stories to the liste ning c hildren .

’

Is it possible to to u ch more delicately an d happily both

t he weakness an d the strength o f Ge rmany pe dantic -
,

simple enslave d free ri dic ulo us a dmirable Germany ?

, , , ,

A n d Heine s verse his L ieder ? Oh the co mfort

’
,
—
, ,

after dealing with French people o f geni us irresistibly ,

impelle d to try an d express themselves in verse launc hing ,

o u t into a deep w hich destiny h as sown with so many

rocks for them —the comfort o f comin g to a man o f
,

geni u s w h o finds in verse his freest and most perfe ct

,

expression whose voya ge over the deep o f poetry destiny

,

makes smooth After th e rhythm to u s at any rate with , , ,

 H EINRIC H H EINE 1 33

th e German p aste in o ur composition so deeply ,

un sat is '

fying , of
‘
Ah ! q
ue me dite s -
v o us, e t qv ue o us ime
dit mo n r
Q ue dit le cie a l l b’
au e et l a flamme a l a flamme
,

what a blessing to arrive at rhyt hms like

‘
Ta e , k o h, k
t a e t h o se ips aw a l y
ly f
,

Th at so sw ee t w ere orsw o rn

‘ ’
Sie hst se h r sterbeblasslic h aus,
Doc h ge tro st ! du ist z u b H au s

in which one s so u l can take pleasure ! Th e magic of

’

Heine s poetical form is incomparable ; he chiefly u ses

’

a form o f o ld German popular po etry a ballad form whic h ,

-

h as more rapi dity and gra c e than any ballad form o f o urs -

he e mploys this form with the most exquisite ligh tness

an d ease an d yet it has at the same time the inborn
,

fuln ess pathos and o ld world charm c i all true forms of

'

-
, ,

popul ar poetry T hu s in Heine s poetry too o n e per

.
’
, ,

p e t u all y blen ds the impression o f French modernism and

20 clearness with that of German sentiment and fulness ;
,

an d to give this blen de d impression is as I h ave said , ,

Heine s great characteristic To feel it o ne must read

’
.
,

him ; he gives it in his form as Well as in his contents ,

an d by translation I can only reprod uce it so far as his

c ontents give it B ut even the conte nts of many of his
.

poems are capable o f giving a certain sense o f it He ro '

.
,

fo r instance is a poem in which he makes his profession

,

o f faith to an innocent bea utiful so ul a sort of Gretchen , ,

the child o f some simple mining people having their h u t

1 3 0 among the pines at the foot of the Hartz Mo untains w h o ,

reproaches him with n o t hol ding the o ld articles o f t h e

Christian creed
Ah my child while I was yet a little bo y while I yet
, , ,

sate u pon my mother s knee I believe d in Go d the Father

’
, ,

w h o ru les up there in Heaven good and great ,

Who created the be au tiful earth and the beautifu l ,

men and women thereon ; who ordained for sun moon , ,

an d stars their co u rses .

When I got bigger my child I comprehended yet a , ,

 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
great deal more than this and comprehended and grew , ,

in telligent an d I believe o n the So n also

O n the beloved So n w h o love d u s and revealed , ,

love to us and fo r his reward as always happens was , ,

crucified by the people .

‘
No w when I am grown up ha ve read m uch have
, , ,

travelled m uch my heart swells within me an d with my

, ,

whole heart I believe o n th e Ho ly Ghost .

Th e greatest miracles were o f his working and stil l ,

greate r miracles doth he even no w work ; he b urst in 11

s under the oppressor s stronghold and he burst in s under
’
,

the bondsman s yoke ’

.

He heals o ld death wo un ds an d renews the o ld right

-
,

al l mankind are o n e race o f noble equals before him .

5
He chases away the evil clo u ds and the dark cobwebs
o f the brain which have spoilt love an d joy fo r us w h ich
, ,

day and night have lo u red o n us .

A tho usan d knig h ts well harnessed h as the Holy , ,

Ghost chosen o ut to fulfil his will and he h as put co urage ,

into their so uls .

Their good swords flash their bright banners wave ; ,

what tho u wo ul dst give m uc h my c hild to look upon

, , ,

s uch gallant knights

Well o n me my c h il d look kiss me and look bol dl y
, , , ,

u pon me o n e of those knights o f the Holy Ghost am I

’
.

One has only to turn over the p ages o f his Romancero ,

—a collection o f poems written in the first years o f hi s

illn ess with his whole power an d charm still in them and
, ,

not like his latest poems o f all painfull y to uc h ed by th e

, ,

air o f his M atraz z en gruft his mattress grave — to see 30

-
,
-
,
’

Heine s width o f range ; the most varied figures succee d

’

one another R h ampsinitus Edith with the Swan Ne c k

,
—
, ,

Charles the First Marie Antoinette King Da vid a heroine

, , ,

o f M abi lle Melis e n da o f Tripoli R ichard C oeur de Lion

, , ,

Pedro the Cruel F irdusi Cortes Dr Dollinger but , , ,

.
-

never does Heine attempt to be h ubsch o bjectiv beautifull y ,

objective to become in spirit an o ld Egyptian o r an

,
’
,

o ld Hebrew o r a Mi ddle A ge knight o r a Spanish adve n

,
-
,

t u rer o r an English royalist he always remains Heinri c h

,

Heine a so n o f the nineteenth c entury To gi ve a notion 40

,
.

of h i s to ne I will q u ote a few sta nz as at the end o f the

 1 36 E SS A YS IN CR ITICIS M
Not unfrequently to o he sends a sc ullion to them
, ,

with garbanzos an d then the yo ung gentlemen know that

,

it is Su n day in Spain
'

B ut it is not Sun day every day an d garbanzos do ,

n o t come every day and the master of the ho unds gives

them the t reat of his w h ip .

For the master o f the ho unds who has un der his ,

s uperinten dence the kennels and the pack an d the nephews ,

’

cage also ,

Is the unfort unate husband o f that lemon faced 1 - :

woman with the white ru ff whom we remarke d to d ay at ,

din ner .

A n d sh e scol ds so sharp that often her h u sband ,

snatches h is whip and ru shes down he re and gives it to

w

, ,

t h e dogs and to the poor little boys .

B ut his majesty h as expressed his disapproval of

s uch proc e e dings an d h as gi ven orders that for the future
,

h is neph ews are to be treated differently from the dogs .

He h as determined no longer to entrust the dis ci

p l inin g o f his nephews to a mercenary str anger b u t to 20
,
‘

carry it o ut with his o wn hands ”

.

Do n Diego stopped ab ruptly ; fo r the seneschal of

the castle joine d u s and politely expressed his hope
,

that we h ad dine d to o ur satisfaction .

’

O bser ve h o w t h e irony of the whole o f that finishing ,

with the grim innuen do o f the last stanza but o n e is at ,

once truly masterly an d truly mo dern .

N 0 ac c o unt o f Heine is c omplete which does not notice

the Jewish ele ment in him His race he treated with .

the same free dom with which he treate d everyt hing else 30 ,

but he deri ve d a great forc e from it an d no one kn ew ,

t his better t h an he himself He has ex cellently pointed .

o ut h o w in the sixt eenth c ent u ry t h ere was a do u ble

renaissance a Helle nic renaissance an d a Hebrew renais

,
-

sance — an d how both h a ve been great powers ever since

,
.

He himself h ad in him both the spirit of Gree c e an d t h e

spirit of Ju daea ; both these spirits reac h the infinite ,

whi c h is th e tru e goal o f all poetry an d all art — th e ,

Greek spirit by beauty t h e Hebrew spirit by s u blimity

,
.

By his perfe c tion of literary form by his love o f c learness 40 , ,

by h is love o f beauty Heine is Greek by his intensity

, ,
 H EINRICH H EINE 1 37

‘
by his untamableness by h is longing which cannot be ,

uttered ,
’
he is Hebrew Yet what Hebre w ever treated .

the things of the Hebrews like this

There lives at Hamb u rg in a o n e roomed lodging in ,
-

the Baker s Broa d Walk a man whose name is Moses

’
,

Lump ; all the week he goes abo ut in wind an d rain ,

with his pack o n his back to earn his few shillings but ,

when o n Friday evening he comes home he finds the ,

candlestick with seven candl e s li ghted and the table ,

i covered with a fair white cloth and he p uts away from ,

him his pack and his cares and he sits down to table ,

with his squ inting wife and yet more squinting da ughter ,

and eats fish wit h them fish which has been dressed in ,

beautiful white garlic sauce sings therewith the grandest ,

psalms of King David rejoices with his whole heart over ,

the deliverance o f the children o f Israel o ut o f Egypt ,

rejoices to o that all the wicked ones w h o have done

, ,

th e chil dren o f Israel h u rt ha v e ended by taking them ,

selves o ff that King Pharaoh Nebuchadnezzar Haman , , ,

i A nti o c h u s Tit u s an d all s u ch people are well dead while

, , , ,

he Moses Lump is yet alive an d eating fish with wife and

, , ,

daughter and I can tell yo u Doctor the fish is delicate , ,

an d the man is happy he h as n o call to torment himself , ,

abo ut c ulture he sits contented in his religion and in his

,

green bed gown like Diogenes in his tu b he contemplates

-
, ,

with satisfac tion his can dles which he o n no acco unt will ,

sn uff for himself and I can te ll yo u if the can dles burn ,

a little dim an d the snu ffers woman whose bu siness it is

,
-
,

to sn u ff them is not at hand an d R othschil d the Great

, ,

0 were at that moment to come in with all his brokers bill , ,

dis c o unte rs agents an d c hief c lerks with whom he conqu ers

, , ,

the world an d R othschil d were to say :

,
Moses Lu mp ,

ask of me what favo u r o u will and it shall be grante d

y ,

u — Do ctor I am convinced Moses Lu mp wo uld

yo ; , ,

quietly answer : Snu ff me those can dles ! and R oth

sc h il d the Great wo ul d exclaim with a dmiration : If I
”
R othsc hil d I wo ul d be Moses Lu mp
,
.

Heine shows u s his own people by its comic

the po em o f the P rincess Sabbath he shows it to
more serio u s si de Th e Princess Sabbath the .
,

Princess pearl and flower o f all beauty fair as

, ,
1 38 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
the Q ueen o f Sh eba Solomon s bosom friend that bl ue ,
’
,

sto c king from Ethiopia w h o wanted to shine by her esp rit ,

an d with her Wise rid dl es m ade herself in the long run a

bore (with Heine the sarcastic turn is never far o ff) ,

this princess h as fo r her betrothed a prince whom sorcery

h as transformed into an animal o f lower race the Prince ,

Israel .

A do g with the desires of a do g he wallows all the ,

week long in the filth and refu se o f life amid st the jeers ,

o f the boys i n the st reet .

B ut every Friday eve ning at the twilight ho u r sud , ,

denly the magic passes o ff and the dog becomes on ce ,

more a hu man being .

A man with t h e feelings o f a man with head and ,

hea rt raised aloft in festal garb in almost clean garb he

, , ,

enters the halls of his Father .

Hail beloved hall s o f my royal Father Ye tents o f

,

Jacob I kiss with my lips yo u r holy door posts

,
-

Still mo re he shows u s this serio u s si de in his bea utiful

poem o n Je h uda ben Halevy a po et belonging to the ,
.

great golden age o f the Arabian O ld Spanish Jewish

-
, ,

school o f poets a conte mporary o f the tro u badours

’

He to o the hero Who mwe sing — Je h uda ben Halevy

,

-
, , ,

to o had h is lady love

, but sh e w as of a special sort
-
.

Sh e w as no Lau ra whose eyes mortal stars in the , , ,

cathedral o n Goo d Friday kin dle d that world renowned -

flame .

Sh e w as no c h atelaine w h o in the blooming glo ry o f ,

her youth preside d at to u rneys and awarde d th e Victor s ,

’

crown . a
No cas uistess in the Gay Science w as sh e no lady ,

do ctrinaire w h o deli vere d her oracles in the j udgment

,

chamber o f a Co u rt o f Lo ve .

Sh e whom the R abbi loved w as a w o e begone poor

, ,
-

darlin g a mo urning pictu re of desolation

,
an d h er
name w as Je rusalem .
’

Jchu da ben Halevy like the Crusaders makes his , ,

pilgrimage to Jerusalem and th ere ami d the ruins sings , ,

a song o f Sion which h as become famou s among his

people 444

That lay of pe arled tears is the wide famed Lament -

,
1 40 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
pale and thin ’

as sacrificial wafers ,
o r as shadows by
Cocyt u s .

Ou r Go d is strong In his hand he u pholds sun , moon ,

.

and stars ; th rones break , nations reel to an d fro , when

he knits his forehead .

Our Go d loves m u sic the voice o f the harp and the ,

song o f feasting but the so un d of church bells he hates , -

as he hate s the grunting of pigs .

’

Nor mu st Heine s sweetest note be unh eard — his

’
,

plaintive note his note of melancholy Here is a strain ]

, .

w hich came from him as he lay in the winte r night on , ,

his mattress gra v e at Paris and let h is tho u ghts wander

-
,

home to Germany the great c hild entertaining herself

, ,

with her Christmas tree Tho u tookest

- —h e cries to
.
’
,
’

the German exile ,

Tho u tookest thy flight towards s unshine and happi

ness ; nake d and po or re turne st tho u back Ge rman .

tr uth German shirts — o ne gets them wo rn to tatters in

, ,

forei gn parts .

Deadly pale are thy looks ; but take comfort thou ,

art at home ; o ne lies warm in Ge rman earth warm as ,

by the o ld pleasant fireside .

Many a o ne alas ! became crippled and co uld get

, ,

ho me no more : longingly he stretches o ut h is arms

G o d have mercy u pon him
Go d ha v e merc y u pon him for what remain o f the days
o f the years of h is life are fe w an d evil Can it be that .

I still actu ally exist My body is so shrunk that there is

hardl y anyt hing o f me left but my voice and my be d makes ,

me t h ink o f the melodiou s gra ve of th e enchanter Merlin

whic h is in the forest o f B ro ce lian d in Brittany under hi gh ,

oaks whose tops s hine like green flames to heaven Ah .

,

I envy t h ee those trees brother Merlin an d their fresh

, ,

waving for over my mattress grave here in Paris no green -

leaves ru stle an d early and late I hear nothing but the

rattle o f c arriages hammering scol ding an d the jingle
, , ,

o f the piano A gra v e witho ut rest death without t he

.
,

privileges of the departe d w h o h a ve no longer any nee d to,

spen d money or to write letters o r to c ompose books

, ,
.

What a melan c holy situ ation

He die d and has left a ble mished name ; with his
,
 H EINRICH H EINE 1 41

crying faults his intemperate s usceptibility his unsern

,
-
,

ul o usn e ss in passion his inconceivable attacks o n his

p ,

ene mies his still more inconceivable attacks o n his frien ds

, ,

his want of generosity his sensu ality his incessant mo c king, , ,

—h o w co uld it be otherwise Not onl y was he not o ne o f

Mr C arlyle s respectable people he was profo undly
‘ ’
e
.
,

disrespectable ; and n o t even the merit o f not being

.

ia Philistine can make u p for a man s being that To his

’
, .

intellectual deliverance there was an addition o f some

(

t thing else wanting and that something else was somet hing
,

immen se ; the o ld fash ione d laborio u s eternally needf u l

g -
, ,

amoral deliverance Goethe says that he was deficient

.

ii n love ; to me his weakness seems to be not so mu ch

a deficiency in love as a defi c iency in self respect
i in ,
-
,

itrue dignity o f character B ut o n t his negative side o f ;

aone s criticism o f a man o f great geni u s I fo r my part

’
, ,

i w h en I have once clearly marked that this negative side

iis and m ust be there have no pleas ure in dwe lling I ,

.

prefer to say o f Heine something positive He is not an

1

ade q
.

t uat e interpreter of the modern world He is o nl y .

1 a brilliant sol dier in the war of liberation o f h umanity .

B ut s u ch as he is he is (an d posterity to o I am quite s ure

, , , ,

will say this ) in the European poetry of that qu arter o f

,
.

a century which follows the death o f Goethe incomparably ,

the most important fig ure .

What a spendthrift o ne is tempted to cry is Nature , ,

With what prodigality in the march o f generations sh e , ,

employs human power c ontent to gather almost always

i

little res ul t from it someti mes none ! Look at Byron , ,

) that Byron whom the present

t
generation o f Englishmen
are forgetting ; Byron the greatest natural force the , ,

greatest elementary power I cannot but think whic h has , ,

appeared in o ur literature since Sh akspe are And what .

became o f this won derful pro duction o f nature ? He

shattere d himself he inevitably shattere d himself to
,

pie ces a gainst the huge black c lo u d toppe d interminable

, , ,
-
,

pre c ipice of British Philistinism B ut Byron it may be .

,

sai d was eminent o nly by his geni u s only by h is inborn

, ,

force an d fire he had n o t the intellectu al equipment o f

wa r s upreme mo dern poet except for his genius he was an
ordinary nineteenth century English gentleman with little
-
,
1 42 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
c ult ure and with no ideas Well th en look at Heine Hei
.
, .

had all the c ulture o f Germany in his head fermente d

t h e i deas o f modern Eu rope A n d what have w e got frc
.

Heine A half result for want o f moral balance and

, ,

nobleness o f soul and character That is what I sa

.

there is so m u ch power so many seem able to run well

, ,

many give promise o f running well ; so fe w rea c h the go

so few are chosen . Ifan y are called few cho sen
, .
1 44 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
to the flames He will fin d an immense Catholic work
.
,

the c ollec tion o f the Abb é Migne lording it o ver th at ,

w h ole re gion reducing to in significan ce the feeble Pro

,

testant forces which hang upon its skirts Protestantism .

is dul y represente d indeed the librarian knows his ,

bu siness too well to s uffer it to be otherwise ; all the

varieties o f Protestantism are there there is t h e Library
o f An lo C atholic Theology learne d de c oro u s exemplary
g
-
, , , ,

but a little uninteresting th ere are the works o f Calvin ,

rigid militant menacing ; there are the works of Dr 1

, , .

Chalmers the Scotc h thistle valiantly doing duty as the

,

rose o f Sharon but keeping something very Scotch abo ut it

,

all the time there are the works of Dr Charming the last .
,

word o f religio u s p h ilosophy in a land where every one

h as some c ul t u re and whe re s u perior i ties are disco unte
n an c e d the flower of moral and inte lligent me diocrity
,
-
.

B ut h o w are all these divided against o ne another an d ,

h o w tho ugh they were all united are they dwarfe d by the
, ,

C atholic Le viathan their nei ghbo ur ! Majestic in its blue

,

an d gold u nity this fills shelf after shelf an d compartment 2

,

after compartment its right mo untin g up into heaven ,

among the white folios o f the A cta Sanctorum its left ,

plunging down into hell among the yellow octavos of the

L aw Digest E v erythin g is there in that imme n se Patro logiae
Cu rsu s Comp letus in that E ncyclop edie Th éo logiq
.
,

u e t h at
’

Nou velle Encyclop édie T h eo logiq

, ,
‘
ue t h at Tro isieme E ncyclo ,

p ed ic T h eo lo gi u e
g religion p hilosophy history bio grap h,
y , , ,

arts sciences bibliograph y gossip Th e work embraces

, , ,
.

the wh ole r an ge of hu man interests like o ne of the great

Mi ddl e Age C athe drals it is in itself a stu dyfor a life Like a
-
,
.

the net in Sc ript ure it drags everything to lan d bad and, ,

g oo d lay
,
a n d ecclesiastical sacre d an d profane so that , ,

it be but matter o f human concern Wi de embracing as .

-

the power whose pro duc t it is ! a power for h isto ry at ,

any rate eminently th e Ch urch not pe rhaps the Church

, , ,

o f the fu t u re but in disp u tably the C hu rc h o f the past

, ,

an d in t h e past the C hurc h o f t h e mul tit u de

, ,
.

This is why the man o f imagination nay an d t h e —

,

philosoph er to o in spite o f her propensity to burn him

,

will always have a weakness for t h e Cath olic Churc h ; 41:

be cause o f the rich treasures o f hum an life whic h have
 PAGA N A ND MEDI E A VAL SENTIMENT 1 45

been stored within her pale Th e mention o f other religio us .

bodies o r of their leaders at once calls up in o u r mind the

, ,

th ought o f men o f a definite type as their adh erents the

mention o f C atholicism s uggests no s uch special following .

Anglicanism s uggests the English episcopate C alvin s ’

name s uggests Dr C an dlish ; Ch alme rs s the Duke o f

.
’
,

Argyll ; Channing s Boston society but C atholicism

’
,

suggests what shall I say all the pell mell o f the men
—
,
— -

an d women o f Sh akspe are s plays T his ab undance the

’
.

iA bbé Mi g n e s collection’
fait hf u lly reflects People talk of .

this o r that work which they wo uld choose if they were ,

to pass their life with o nl y o ne ; for my part I think I

woul d choose the Abbé Mign e s collection Q uicq uid agu n t
’
.

homin es — everything as I have said is there

, ,
Do not ,
.

seek in it splendo ur of form perfection o f editing ; its ,

paper is common its type ugly its editing in di fferent its

, , ,

printing careless Th e greatest and most baffling crowd

.

o f misprints I ever met with in my life occ urs in a very

important page o f the introduction t o the Dictio nnaire des

aA p ocr yp h es B u t this
. is j u st what yo u have in the world ,

quantity rather than quality Do n o t seek in it impartiality .

,

the critical spirit in rea ding it yo u mu st do the criticism

fo r yo urself it loves criticism as little as the world loves
it Like the world it chooses to have things all its o wn
.
,

w ay to a b u se it s adversa r
, y to back its o wn notion thro ugh,

t hick and t hin t o put forward all the pros fo r it s o wn notion

, ,

to s uppress all the contras it does j ust all that the world
do e s and all that the critical shrin ks from O pen the
,

.
,

Diction naire des Erreurs Socia les Th e religio u s persson

1 0 tions o f Henry the Eighth s and Edward the Sixth s
’ ’

time abate d a little in the reign o f Mary to break o ut ,

again with new fury in the rei gn o f Elizabeth There is .

’

a s ummary o f the history o f reli giou s persec ution un der

t h e Tu dors B ut h o w unreasonable to reproach the
Abb é Migne s work with wantin g a criticism which by
’
, ,

the ve ry nature o f things it cannot have and no t rather , ,

to be grate ful to it fo r it s abu ndan ce its variety it s infinite , ,

suggestiveness its happy adoption in many a delicate

, ,

circ umstance o f the urbane tone and temper o f the man

,

0 of th e world inste ad of the acrid tone and temper of the

,

fan ati c
ARN LD
O
 E SS AYS IN cam cisM

Still , in spite o f their fascinations the contents o f this ,

c ollection sometimes ro u se the critical spirit wit hin one .

It happened that lately after I h ad bee n thinking mu ch

,

o f Marc us Aureli u s and his times I took down the Dic ,

tion na ire des Origines du Christianisme to see W hat it ,

h ad to say abo u t paganism an d pagans I fo un d much

what I expecte d I read the article R evelatio n Evangeliq
.

. ue , ,

sa Néc essité There I fo un d what a sink o f iniquity was

the wh ole pagan world h o w o ne R oman fe d his oysters
o n hi s slaves h o w another put a slave to de ath that ]
,

a c u rious friend might see what dying w as like ; how

Galen s mother tore and bit her waitin g women when she
’
-

w as in a passion with them I fo und this acco unt o f th e

.

religion of paganism : Pagan ism invented a mob o f

divinities with the most hateful c haracter and attribute d ,

to them the most monstro us and abo minable crimes It .

personified in them drun kenness incest kidn apping , , ,

adultery sensuality very cruelty and rage ’

, , ,
A nd , .

I fo und that from this religion there followed s uch practice

as w as to be expected What m u st naturally have been z
the state o f morals un der the influence o f s uc h a religion ,

which penetrated with its o wn spirit the pu blic life the ,

family life an d the indivi du al life of antiquity

,

Th e colo urs in t his pictu re are lai d o n very thick and ,

I fo r my part cannot believe that any human societies ,

with a religion an d practice s uch as those j ust described ,

co ul d ever have endured as th e societies o f Greece an d

R ome en dure d still less have done what the societies
,

o f Gree c e an d R ome did We are not brought far by

.

descriptions o f the vices of great c ities or e v en of indi a ,

vidu als driven mad by u nbo un ded means of self in dul gence -
.

Fe udal an d aristocratic life in Christendom has pro duced

horrors of selfishness and cruelty not s urpasse d by the
g ran dee of pa gan R ome ; an d t h en a gain in antiq uity , ,

there is Marc u s Aureliu s 8 moth er to set against Galen s

’ ’
.

Eminent examples of vice an d virt u e in in di vidu als pro v e

little as to th e state o f societies What under the first .
,

emperors w as th e condition of the R oman poor upon the

,
1 48 SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
E

get to yo u Praxin o e thro ugh all the crowd and all the
, ,

carriages N othing but heavy boots nothing but men in

.
,

un iform And what a j o urney it is My dear child yo u

.
,

reall y live too far off .

Praxino e — It is all that insane h usband o f mine

. He .

h as chosen to come o ut here to the end o f t h e worl d ,

an d take a hole of a pl ace fo r a ho use it is n o t — o n ,

—
,

urpose that yo u and I mi ght not be neighbo urs He

p .

is always j ust the same —anything to quarrel with o ne !

anything for spite !
Gorgo — My dear don t talk so o f yo ur husband befo re
’
,

t h e little fellow Just see h o w astonished he looks at yo u

. .

Never mind Zo pyrio my pet sh e is not talking abo ut papa

, , ,
.

P rax ino e — Go o d heavens . the child does really un der

stand .

Gorgo —Pretty papa

.

Praxino e —Th at pretty papa o f his the other day

.

(tho u g h I told h im beforehan d t o mind what he w as

a bo ut ) when I sent him to a shop to buy soap and rouge

, ,

bro u ght me home salt instead — stupid great big inter 2 , , ,

minable animal
Go rgo — Mine is j ust the fellow to him
. B ut never .

mind n o w get o n yo ur things and let us be o ff to the palace

,

to see the Adonis I hear the queen s decorations are ’

.

something splendid .

P raxino a In grand people s ho uses everyt hing is

’
—

grand What things yo u have seen in Alexandria What

.

a deal yo u will have to tell t o anybo dy w h o h as never

been here
Ga m a — Come w e o ught to be going ,
a .

P raxinoa — Every day is holiday to people w h o have

nothing to do Eun o e pick up yo ur work and take care
.
, ,

lazy girl how yo u leave it lying about again ; the cats

,

find it j ust the bed they like Come stir yourself fetc h .
, ,

me some water quick I wante d the water first and t h e

, ,

g irl brings me the soap Never mind give it me N ot . .

all that extra vagant ! No w po ur ut the water stupid

,
o — .

w h y don t yo u take care o f my dress That will do

’
.

I have go t my hands wash e d as it please d Go d Where .

is th e key o f the large wardrobe Bring it here 4 - <

q uick
 PAGA N A ND MEDIAE VAL SENTIMENT 1 49

Gorgo — can t think how well that dress

Prax in o e , yo u
’
,

made full as yo u ve got it s uits yo u Tell me how mu ch

’
.
, , ,

did it cost —t h e dress by itself I mean

,
.

Don t talk of it Gorgo : more than eight

’
Pra x i no e — .
,

guineas of good h ard money And abo ut the work on it .

I have almost worn my life o u t .

Gorg o — . Well yo u couldn t have done be tter

,
’
.

P ra x i n o e — Thank yo u Bring me my shawl and put .

,

my hat properly o n my head — properly No child (to .

,

ttle boy) I am not going t o take yo u there s a bogy ’

10 her li ,

o n horseback who bites ,

Cry as much as yo u like I m
.
’

not going to have yo u lamed fo r life No w we ll start .

’
.

N urse take the little o ne and amu se him call the do g in

, ,

an d shut the street door (Th eyg o ou t-

) Good heavens
. .

wh at a crow d of people Ho w on earth are we ever to get

th rough all this They are like ants : yo u can t co u nt
’

them My dearest Gorgo what will bec ome o f u s here

.
,

are the royal Horse Gu ards My good man don t ride ’

.
,

over me Lo ok at that bay horse rearing bolt u pright

20 what a vicio u s o n e Ean c e yo u mad girl do take care , ,

that horse will certainl y be the death of the man o n his

back Ho w glad I am n o w that I left the child safe at home !
.
,

Gorgo —A l l right Praxin o e we are safe be hind them

.
, ,

and they have gone o n to where they are statione d .

Praxinoe — Well yes I be gin to revive again

.
, ,
From .

the time I was a little girl I have h ad more horror o f

horses an d snakes than of anything in the worl d Let .

us get o n here s a great crowd coming t h is way u pon us

’
.

Gorgo (to an o ld woman ) —Mother are yo u from t h e .

,

ao pal ace
Old Woman — Y e s, my dears .

m
Ga a — Has o n e a tolerable chan c e of getting there
Old Woman — M y pretty yo u ng lady , the Greeks go t
to Troy by dint of trying hard trying will do anyt hin g
in this world .

Gorgo — Th e o ld creature h as delivered herself o f an

oracle and depart ed .

Pra no e
x i — Women can tell yo u everything abou t
everyt hing Jupiter s marriage with Juno not excepted
’
, .

40 G org o —Lo ok , Prax inoe , what a squeeze at the palace

.

g ate s!
1 50
. E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
Praxinoe — Tremen do us
Gorgo ; Take hold o f me ,
an d yo u
_
Eun oe take hold
,
hold o r
,
o f Eutych is l— tight ,

yo u ll be lost Here we go in all together Hol d tight

’
. .

t o u s Eu n o e Oh dear ! o h dear ! Gorgo there s my

’
, , , ,

scarf torn right in two For heaven s sake my good man .

’
, ,

as yo u hope to be saved take care o f my dress ,

Stranger — I ll do what I can but it doesn t depend

’ ’
.
,

u pon me .

P raxino a — Wh at heaps o f people ! Th ey p ush like a

drove o f pigs .

S trang er — Don t be frightened ma am w e are all

' ’ ’
.
, ,

rigll t .

P raxin o e May yo u be all right my dear sir to the

—
, ,

last day yo u live fo r the care yo u have taken o f us ! ,

What a kind consi derate man ! There is Euno e jammed

,

in a squeeze Pu sh yo u goose pu sh ! C apital ! We

.
, ,

are all o f u s the ri ght side of the door as the bridegroom ,

sai d when he h ad locked himself in with the bride .

Gam a — Prax in o e come this w ay Do but look at that ,

.

work h o w deli c ate it is h o w exq uisite ! Why th ey sc

,
-
,

mi gh t wear it in h eaven .

P rax ino e — Hea v enly patrone ss o f needlewomen what ,

hands we re hire d to do that work Wh o designed those

beau tif ul patterns ? They seem to stand u p and mo ve
abo ut as if they were real — as if they were living things
, ,

an d not nee dl ework Well man is a won derf ul creature ! .

,

A n d look look h o w charming he lies th ere on his silver

, ,

co u ch with j u st a soft down on h is c heeks that beloved

, ,

Adonis Adonis wh om one loves even though he is

—
, , ,

dead
A o th er S tr g
n an e r — Y o u wretched women do stop yo ur .
,

incessant chatter Like turtles yo u go on for ever They , .

are eno ugh to kill o ne with their broad lingo — nothing ,

bu t a, a ,
a .

Go rgo Lord where does t h e man c ome from ? What

-
,

is it to yo u if we are chatterboxes ? O rder about yo ur

o w n servants Do yo u give orders to Syra c u san women
If yo u want to know we came ori ginally from C orinth as , ,

Belleroph on did ; we speak Peloponnesian I s uppose .

Dorian women may be allowe d to h a v e a Dorian ac c ent 8 .

P rax in o e — O h honey sweet Proserpine let u s h ave n o

,
-
,
1 52 SS AYS
E IN CRITICISM
And there are b uilt for him green bowers with wealth of
te nder anise and little boy loves fl utter about over th em
,
-
,

like young nightingales trying their n ew wings o n th e tree ,

from bo ugh to bo ugh Oh t h e ebony the gold the eagle .

, , ,

o f white ivory that bears aloft his c up bearer t o Kronos -

born Ze us ! A nd up there see ! a second cou ch strewn ,

for lovely Adonis scarlet coverlets softer than sleep itself

,

(so Mil etus and the Sa mian wool grower will say) Cypris -

h as hers and the rosy armed Adonis h as h is that ei ghteen

,
-
,

or nineteen year o ld bridegroom His kisses will not

- -
.

wo u nd th e hair o n his lip is yet light

, .

No w C ypris good night w e leave thee with thy bride

, ,
-
,

groom ; but to morrow mornin g with the earliest dew

-
, ,

w e will o ne and all bear him forth to where the waves

S plash upon the se a strand and letting loose o ur locks , ,

and letting fa ll o ur robes with bosoms bare w e will set , ,

up this o ur melodio u s strain :

,

Beloved Adonis alone o f t h e demigods (so men say)

,

thou art permitted to visit both us and Acheron !

lo t had neither Agamemnon nor th e mighty moonstru ck a ,

h ero Aj ax nor Hector the first born o f He cuba s twenty

’
-
,

c h il dren n o r Patrocl us nor Pyrrh u s w h o came home from

, ,

Troy nor those yet earlier Lapithae and the sons o f Deu
,

calion nor the Pelasgians the root o f Argos an d o f Pelops

, ,
’

isle Be graciou s to us now loved Adonis and be favour

.
, ,

able to u s for t h e year to come ! Dear to u s h ast thou

been at th is coming dear to u s shalt th ou be w h en th ou
,
”
comest again .

Th e poem concl udes with a c h aracte ristic speech from

Gorgo :
Prax in o e certainl y women are wonderf ul t h ings
, Th at .

l u cky woman to know all th at and l uckier stil l to have

s u c h a splendi d voice An d n o w we m u st se e abo ut
g ettin g home My h u sband has
. not h ad his dinner Th at .

man is all vinegar and nothing else ; and if yo u keep him

,

waiting for his dinner h e s dangerou s to go near Adieu ,

’
.
,

precious Adonis an d may yo u find us all well when yo u

,

come next year !

So with t h e hymn still in her ears says th e incorrigible
, ,

Gorg o .

B ut what a hymn that is O f religio us emotion in o ur ,

 PAGAN A ND MEDIAEVAL S ENTIMENT 1 53

c eptation o f the words and o f the comfort springing

a c ,

from religio u s emotion not a particle And yet many ,

.

elements o f religiou s emotion are contained in the beautiful

story of Ado nis Symbolically treated as the tho u ghtful
.
,

man might treat it as th e Greek mysteries undoubtedly ,

treated it this story was capable o f a noble and tou ching

,
.

application and could le ad the soul to elevating and c o n

,

soling thoughts Adonis w as the sun in his s u mmer and

.

in his winter course in his time o f tri umph and his time of
,

but in his time o f tri u mph still moving towards his

defeat in his time of defeat still returning towards his
,

triumph Thus he became an emblem o f the power o f life

.

and the bloom o f beau ty the power of h u man li fe and the , ,

bloom of human beauty hastening inevitably to diminution ,

and decay yet in that very decay fin ding

,

H
‘
o pe , and a re no v atio n w ith o ut e nd .
’

nothing of this appe ars in the story as prepared for

m ultit ude in
is not devoid
consoling nothing that ,

us Th e religio us cere .

monies o f Christendom even o n occasion o f the most ,

j oyful and mun dane matters present the m ul titude with ,

strains o f profoundl y religiou s ch aracter s u ch as the ,

Ky m e eleison and the T e Deu m B ut this Greek hym n to

'

Adonis adapts itself exactly to the tone and t emper o f

a gay and ple as ure loving m ultitude —o f light hearted-
,
-

people like Gorgo and Praxin o e whose moral nature is

, ,

| 30 m u ch o f the same calibre as that o f Ph i ll in a in Goethe s

’

Wilhelm M cister people wh o seem never made to be

,

serious never m ad e to be sick o r sorry And if they

, .
,

happen to be sick o r sorry what will they do then B ut ,

that w e have no right to ask Phill in a within the enchanted .

,

bounds of Goethe s novel Gorgo and Praxino e within the

’

, ,

enchanted bo unds of Th eo critu s s poem never will be sick ’

,

and sorry never can be sick an d sorry

, Th e i deal cheerf ul .
, ,

sens uous pagan life is no t sick or sorry No ; yet its

, .

natural e nd is in the sort o f life which Pompeii and Her

40 c ulane u m bring so vividly before n s a life which b —
y no , .
1 54 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
means in itself s uggests the th ought of horror and misery ,

which even in many ways gratifi es the senses and th e

, ,

un derstanding but by the very intensity and unremitting

ness o f its appeal to t h e senses and th e understanding by ,

its stim ulating a single side o f u s to o absol utely ends by ,

fati guing and revolting u s ; ends by leaving us with

a sense o f confinement o f oppression —with a desire for , ,

an u tter change for c louds storms effusion and relief

, , , .

In the beginning of the thirteenth century when the ,

clouds and storms h ad come when the gay sensuous : ,

pagan life w as gone when men were not living by th e ,

senses and understandin g when they were lookin for the

g ,

speedy comin g of Antichrist there appeared in Italy to , ,

t h e north o f R ome in the bea u tif ul U mbrian co u ntry at,

the foot of the Apennines a fig ure of the most magi cal '

power and charm St Francis His cent ury is I think , . .

, ,

t h e most interesting in the history o f C hristianity after

its primitive age more interesting than even the century
,

o f t h e R eformation and o n e of the chief fi gu res per h aps ,

t h e very chief to whi c h this interest atta c h es itself is

, ,
)
'
t

St Francis
. A nd why
. Because of the profound pop ul ar
instin ct which enabled him more than any man since th e ,
'

primitive age to fit reli gion for pop ular use He brough t

, .

re li gion to the people He fo unded the most popular bo dy .

of ministers o f religion that h as ever existe d in the Church .

He transforme d monachism by u prooting the stationary

monk deli v ering him from th e bondage of prope rty and
, ,

sending him as a mendi c ant friar to be a stranger and

, ,

soj ourner n o t in th e wil derness but in th e most crowded

, ,

h au nts o f men to c onsole them an d to do t h em good

,
.

This pop ul ar instinct of his is at th e bottom of h is famo us

m arriage with poverty Po v erty and s u ffering are th e co n .

dition of th e people th e m ul tit ude the immense maj ority , ,

of mankind and it was towards th is p eop le th at h is soul

y earne d .He listens it was sai d o f h im to t h ose t o ,
’
,

wh om God himself will not listen .

’

So in ret u rn as no other man h e was listened to When

,
.

an U m brian town or village heard of his appro a ch th e ,

whole pop ul ation went o ut in j oyf ul procession to meet

h im with green bo u gh s flags m u si c and son gs of gl ad
, , , ,

ness Th e master w h o began with two dis ciples c oul d in

.
, ,
156 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
which doth s u stain us and keep us and bringeth forth ,

divers fr uits an d flowers o f many colo urs an d grass

, , .

Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one

another fo r his love s sake and w h o endure weakness and
’
,

trib ulation blessed are they w h o peaceably shall endure ,

fo r tho u 0 most Highest sh alt give them a crown !

, ,

Praised be my Lord for o ur sister the death of the ,

body from whom no man escapeth Woe to him who

, .

dieth in mortal sin ! Blessed are they who are found

walking by thy most holy will fo r the second death shall ,

have no po w er to do them harm ,

.

Praise ye and bless ye the Lord and give thanks unto

, ,

him and serve him with great h umility

,
.
’

It is nat ural that man should take pleasure in his senses .

B u t it is nat ural also that he sho uld take refuge in his

, ,

heart and M aginatio n from his misery A nd wh en one .

thinks what h uman life is for the vast maj ority o f man
kind h o w little of a feast fo r their senses it can possibly
,

be o ne u nderstands th e charm for them o f a refu ge o ffered

,

in the heart and imagination Above all when o n e think“ .

,

what h u man life was in the Middle Ages one u nderstands ,

the charm of su ch a refuge .

No w the poetry o f Th e o critus s hymn is poetry treating

’
,

t h e worl d ac c ording to the demand o f the senses ; the

poetry of St Francis s hymn is poetry treating the world
.
’

a c cording to the demand o f the heart and imagination .

Th e first takes the world by its o u tward sensible si de

Th e first admits
,

t h e second by its inward symbolical si de ,

.

as m u c h of t h e worl d as is pleas ure giving ; t h e second -

admits the wh ole world ro ugh and smooth painful and a , ,

pleas ure giving all alike but all tran sfigure d by the power
, ,

of a spiritu al emotion all brou gh t u nder a law o f s upe r ,

sens u al love havin g its seat in th e soul It can th us

,
.

even say : Prais ed be my Lord for ou r sister the death ,

’
e bo dy
f
o th .

B ut th ese very words are perhaps an indi c ation , ,

w e are to u ching u pon an extreme When .

we c an put o ur finger upon the paga

extreme A nd when w e read of Mont
.

stigma ta ; w h en we rea d o f the

caused sufferings o f the end of St
,
.
 PAGAN A ND MEDIAEVA L SENTI ENT M 1 57

fin d even saying I have sinned against my b rother

him ,

the ass meaning by these words that he had been to o

,
’

hard u pon his o wn body when we find him assailed even ,

himself by the do u bt whether he who had destroyed

,

himself by the severity o f his penances co uld fin d mercy

in eternity we can put o ur finger on the mediaeval
,
’

Ch ristian sentiment in its extreme Human nature is .

neither all senses and understanding n o r all heart and ,

imagination Pompeii w as a sign that fo r humanity at

.

large the measure o f sensualism had been over passed ; -

St Francis s do ubt w as a sign that fo r hu manity at large the

’
.

measure o f spiritualism had been over passed Humanity -

.
,

in its violent rebound from one extreme had swung from ,

Pompeii to Monte Alverno but it w as s ure not to stay

Th e R enaissance in part a return towards the pagan
is, ,

spirit in the special sense in which I have be en u sing the

,

word pagan a return towards the life o f the senses an d

,

the understanding Th e R eformation o n the other han d

.
, ,

is the very opposite to this in Luther there is nothing

Greek o r pagan vehemently as he attacked the adoration
of St Francis Luther h ad himself so mething of St Francis
.
,
.

in him he w as a th ou sand times mo re akin to St Francis .

than to Theocrit s or to Voltaire Th e R eformation I do

u — .

no t mean the i nferior piece given un der that name by ,

Henry the Eighth and a second rate company in this -

,

island but the real R eformation the Ge rman R eformation

, , ,

Luther s R eformation— w as a reaction o f the moral an d

’

spiritu al se n se against the carnal and pagan sense it was

3 30 a reli io u s re vival like St Francis s bu t t his time against
’
g .
,

the Chu rch of R ome n o t within her fo r the carnal an d ,

pagan sense had now in the government o f the C hurch ,

o f R ome herse lf its prime representative ,

B ut the grand .

reaction against the rule of the heart and imagination the ,

strong return towards the rule o f the senses an d understand

ing is in the eighteenth century
, A n d this rea c tion has .

had no more brilliant champion than a man o f the nine

t ee n th o f whom I have already spoken
, a man who coul d
feel not o nl y the pleasurableness but the poetry o f the
40 1ife o f the senses (and the life o f the senses has its deep

poetry ) a man w h o in his very last poem divided the

'

, ,
158 SS AYS IN CRITICISM
E

whole worl d into barbarians and Greeks —Heinri ch ,

’

Heine No man has reproached the Monte Al verno extreme

.

in sentiment the C hristian extreme the heart and imagina

, ,

tion su bj ugating the sen ses and u nderstanding more bitterly ,

than Heine n o man h as extolled the Pompeii ext reme th e ,

pagan extreme more rapturo u sly ,

.

All thro ugh the Middle Age these sufferings this fever , ,

this over tension lasted ; an d w e mode m s still feel in all

-

o ur limbs the pain and weakness from them Even those .

o f us w h o are c u re d have still to live with a hospital

atmosphe re all aro un d u s an d fin d o u rselves as wretched ,

in it as a strong man among the sick Some day o r other .

,

when humanity shall have got quite well again when the ,

body and soul shall have made their peace together the ,

facti tio us quarrel w hich Christianity h as cooked up between

them will appear something hardly comprehensible Th e .

fairer and happier generations offspring o f unfettered ,

unions that will rise u p an d bloom in the atmosphere of

,

a religion o f pleasure will smile sa dl y w h en they th ink of

,

their poor ancestors whose life w as passed in melancholy 2!

,

abstinence from the joys of this beautiful earth and who ,

faded away into spectres from the mortal compression ,

which they put upon the warm and glowing emotions o f

sense Y e s with assurance I say it o ur de scendants will
.
, ,

be faire r and happier than w e are for I am a believer in

pro gress an d I hol d Go d to be a kind being who has
,

intende d man to be happy .

’

That is Heine s sentiment in the prime of life in the

’
, ,

glow o f acti vity ami d the brilliant whirl o f Paris I will

,
.

no more blame it than I blamed the sentiment of the 30

Greek hymn t o Adonis I wish to de ci de nothing as o f my .

o w n a uthority the gre at art o f criticism is to get oneself

o ut o f the way and to let hu manity deci de Well the .
,

sentiment o f the reli gion o f pleasure has muc h that is

nat ural in it humanity will gladly accept it if it c an live
by it to live by it o n e mu st never be sick o r sorry and ,

the old ideal limited pagan worl d never I have sai d was
, , , , ,

sick or sorry never at least s h ows itself to us sick or sorry

,

‘
Wh at pipes an d tim re b l s ! w h at w id l ec stas y! ’

For o ur im agination Gorgo ,

an d Praxinoe cross the h um an 49
1 60 E S S AYS IN CRITICIS M
plague were banishe d from society and had to keep at ,

a distance from every human being Like living corpses .

,

in a grey gown reaching down to the feet and with the ,

hood bro ught over their face they went abo ut carrying , ,

in their hands an enormo u s rattle called Saint Lazarus s ,

’

rattle With this rattle they gave notice o f their approach

.
,

that every o ne mig h t have time to get o ut o f their w ay .

This poor clerk then whose poetical gift the Limburg

, ,

C hronicle extols w as a leper and he sate moping in th e

, ,

dismal deserts o f his misery w hilst all Ge rmany gay and ] , ,

tuneful w as praising his songs

,
.

Sometimes in my so mbre visions of the night I imagine

, ,

that I se e before me the poor leprosy stricken clerk of the -

Limburg C hronicle and then from under his grey hood his
,

distressed eyes look o ut u pon me in a fixed and stran ge

fashion ; but the next inst ant he disappears and I hear ,

dying away in the distance like the e c h o of a dream the ,

dull creak o f Saint Lazaru s s rattle

’
.

We have come a long way from Theocritu s there th e

expression o f that h as nothing of the clear positive happy , , ,

pagan character ; it h as m uc h more the c h aracter o f one

o f the in dete rminate grotesq ues o f the sufi e ri ng Mid dl e
Age Profo undness an d power it h as though at the same
.
,

time it is no t trul y poetical it is n o t natural eno ugh fo r

that there is to o much waywardness in it to o much
, ,

bravado B ut as a c ondition of sentiment to be popular

.
,

to be a c omfort fo r the mass o f mankind u nder t h e pressure ,

o f calamity to live y what a manifest failure is this

b —
, ,

last word o f the religion o f pleas ure ! On e man in man y

millions a Heine may c o nsole himself and keep himself
, , ,

erect in s u ffering by a colossal irony o f this sort by cover

,

ing himself an d the universe with the re d fire o f this sinister

,

mockery but the many millions cannot — c annot if they ,

wo uld That is where the sentiment o f a religion o f sorrow

.

h as such a vast advantage over the sentiment of a reli gion

of pleasu re ; in it s power to be a general po pul ar religio us , ,

sentiment a st ay for the mass o f mankind whose lives

, ,

are fu ll o f har ds hip It really su cceeds in con veying far

.

more jo y far more o f what the mass o f mankind are so

,

muc h witho ut th an its ri val I do not mean joy in pros 40

,
.

e c t o nl y but joy in pos session act u al enjoyment o f t h e

p , ,
 PAGA N A ND MEDIAEVAL SENTIMENT 1 61

w orld Me diae val Christianity is reproached with its

.

gloom and austerities ; it assigns the material world says ,

Heine to the devil B ut yet what a ful ness o f delight

,
.

does St Francis manage to draw from this mate rial world

.

itself and from its commonest and most universally

,

enjoyed elements — sun air earth water plants ! His

, , , , ,

hymn expresses a far more cordial sense o f happiness even ,

in the material world than the hymn o f Theocritu s It

,
.

is this which made the fort une o f C hristianity — its gla d ,

) ness n o t i
,
t s sorrow not its assigning the spiritual world
to Christ and the material world t o the devil but it s ,

drawing from the spiritu al world a sou rce o f jo y so ab un

dant that it ran over u pon the material world and trans
figu red it .

I have said a great deal of harm o f paganism and ,

taking paganism to mean a state o f things which it is

commonl y taken to mean and w hich did really exist no , ,

more harm than it well deserved Yet I must not end .

witho ut reminding the reader that before this state o f ,

1 th ings appe ared the re was an epoch in Greek life— in

,

life— o f the highest possible beauty and value an

which alone goes far towards making Greece the
we mean when we speak o f Gree ce — a co untry ,

hardl y less important to mankind than Judaea Th e poetry .

o f later paganism lived by the senses an d un derstanding

the poetry o f mediaeval Christianity lived by the heart

and imagination B ut the main element o f the modern
.

spirit s life is neither the senses and understanding nor

’
,

the heart and imagin ation it is the im aginative reason .

to And there i s a cent ury in Greek life — the cent u ry preceding ,

th e Peloponn esian war from abo u t the year 5 3 0 B c to

,
. .

abo ut the year 430 in which poetry made it see ms to

,
-
,

me the noblest the most successful effort sh e has ever

, ,

made as the priestess o f the imaginative reason o f the ,

element by which the modern spirit if it wo ul d live right , ,

h as chiefly to live O f this effort o f which the fou r great

.
,

names are Simonides Pindar Aeschylu s Sophocles I mu st

, , , ,

no t n o w attempt more than the bare mention ; but it is

right it is necessary after all I have said to indicate it
, , , .

o No do u bt that effort w as imperfect Perhaps everyt hin g .

,

take it at what point in it s existence yo u will carries

A RN LD O
M
,
1 62 ES S AYS IN CRITICISM
within itself the fatal law o f its own ulterior development .

Perhaps even of the life o f Pindar s time Pompeii w as the

,
’
,
.

inevitable bo urne Perhaps the life o f their beautiful

.
,

Greece co uld n o t afford to its poets all that fulness o f varie d

experience all that power o f emotion which
, ,

the h e a vy
an d t h e w e ar w eigh t
ll bl
Of all t h is uninte igi e w o r d

affords to the poet o f after times Perhaps in Sophocles -

.

the thinking power a little overbalances the religiou s sense

-
,

as in Dante the reli gio u s sense overbalances th e thinking

power Th e p resent h as to make its o w n poetry and not
.
,

even Sophocles and h is compeers an y more than Dante ,

an d Sh akspe are are eno u gh for it ,

That I will no t dis .

p ute ; no r will I se t u p the Greek poets from Pindar to ,

Sophoc les as objects of blin d worship

, B u t n o other .

po ets so well show t o the poetry o f the p resent the w ay

it must take ; no other poets have lived so m uch by the
imaginative reason ; n o other poets have made their work
so well bal ance d n o other poets who have so well satisfie d ,

the thinking power have so wel l satisfie d the religious 2

-
,
'

sense :
O h ! that my lot may lead me in the path o f holy
innocence o f word and dee d the path which au gust laws ,

ordain laws that in the highest empyrean had their birth

;

, ,

o f whic h Heaven i s the father alone neither did the race ,

of mortal men beget them nor shall oblivion ever put ,

them to sleep Th e power of Go d is mighty in them and

.
,

g roweth not o ld .
’

Let St Francis— nay o r Luther either— beat that l

.
,
1 64 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
O f a geni us this kind Josep h Joubert I am now
of , ,

going to speak His name is I believe almost unknown

.
, ,

in Engl and ; and even in France h is native country it , ,

is n o t famo us M Sainte Be u ve h as given o f him o ne o f

. .
-

his incomparable portraits bu t — besides that even ,

M Saints B e uve s writings are far less known amongst

.
-
’

u s than they deserve to be — e very co unt has its 0 ,

p o int o f view from which a remarkable aut or may most

profitably be seen and studied .

Joseph Jo u bert w as born (and his date shoul d be re l o - '

marke d) in 1 7 5 4 at Montigna c a little town in Perigord

, , .

His father w as a doctor with small means and a large

family and Jo seph the eldest h ad his o wn w ay to make , ,

in the world He w as for eight years as pupil first and

.
, ,

afte rwards as an assistant master in the public scho ol of -

,

To ulo u se then managed by the Jes uits W h o seem to have

, ,

left in him a most favo urable opinion not only o f their ,

tact and address but of their really good qu alities as

,

teac he rs and directors Compelled by the weakness of .

h is health to give up at twenty tw o the profession o f so ,

-
,

teaching he passed tw o impo rtant years o f his life in hard

,

st udy at home at Montignac an d came in 1 7 7 8 to try

,

his fort une in the lite rary world o f Paris then perhaps the ,

most tempting field which h as ever yet presente d itself to

a young man o f letters He knew Di derot D Al e mbe rt .
,
’
,

Marmo nte l Laharpe h e became intimate with o n e of t h e

,

celebrities o f the next literary generation then like himself , , ,

a young man Chateau briand s friend the futu re Grand

,
—
’
,

Master o f the U niversity Fontanes B ut even then it

began to be remarked o f him th at M Jou bert s inq
.
, , ,
’
u iétait 30
de p erfection bien p lus q
.
,

u e de glo ire c ared far more abo ut

perfecting himself than abo ut making himself a rep uta

tion . His severity o f morals may perhaps have been
’

ren dered easier to him by the delicac y o f his health but

the delicacy o f his health will not by itself acco unt for his
chan geless preference o f being to seeming knowing to ,

showing studying to publis hing for wh at te rrible public

, .

performers have some invalids bee n ! This preference he

retaine d all thro ugh his life and it is b this that he is
He h as chosen Ch at e auh
,

characterised . rian d (adopting ,

’

Epic uru s s famo us words ) said o f him

’
to h ide h is life ,
.
’
 J CUB ERT 1 65

Of a life which its owner was be nt o n hiding the re can be

but little to tell Yet the o nl y tw o public incidents o f
.

Joubert s life slight as they are do all concerned in them

’
, ,

so m uch credit that they deserve mention In 1 7 90 the .

Co nstit uent Asse mbly made the office o f j ustice o f the

peace elective throughout France Th e people o f Montignac .

retain ed such an impression of the character o f their yo ung

townsman — o n e o f Plutarch s men o f virt ue as he had
,
’
,

live d amongst them simple st dio s severe th at

u u
,
—
, , , ,

1 1 0 tho ugh he had left them for years they electe d him in ,

his absence witho u t his knowing anything abo u t it Th e .

appointment little suited Jo u bert s wis h es o r tastes but ’

at s uch a moment he thought it wrong to declin e it He .

held it fo r two years the legal term discharging its duties

, ,

with a firmness an d inte grity which were long remembered

an d then when he went o ut o f office his fellow townsmen
, ,
-

-
re elected him B ut Jo u bert tho u ght that he had n o w
.

accomplished his duty towards them and he went back ,

to the retirement w hich he loved That seems to u s .

1 20 a little episode o f the gre at French R evol u tion worth

remembe ring Th e sage who w as asked by the king why

.
,

sages were seen at the doors o f kings but not kings at the ,

doors o f sages replied that it was because sages knew

, ,

what w as good fo r them an d kings did no t B ut at Mo n

, .

tignac the king— for in 1 7 90 the people in France w as king

with a vengeance— knew what w as good for him and came ,

to the do or o f the sage .

Th e other in c ident w as this When Napoleon in 1 809 .

, ,

reorganised the pu blic instru ction o f France fo u nded the ,

so U niversity and ma de M,
de Fontanes its Grand Master .
,

Fontanes had to submit to the Emperor a list o f persons

to form the co uncil o r governing bo dy of the new U niversity .

Third o n his list after two distinguished names Fontanes

, ,

pl aced the u nkn own name o f Jou bert This name he .

,
’

s‘aid in his accompanying memorandum to the Emperor ,

is not known as the two first are and yet this is th e

nomination to whi c h I attach most importance I have .

known M Jo u bert all my life

. His character and inte lli .

g ence are o f the very highest order I shall rejoice if your .

Majesty will accept my guarantee fo r him Napoleon .

’

tru ste d his Grand Master and Jc ube rt became a councillor

,
1 68 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
of the University It is something that a man elevated
.
,

to the high est posts o f State sho ul d not forget his obsc u re ,

friends ; o r that if he remembers and places them he

, ,

sho uld regard in placing them their merit rather than their
o bsc urity It is more in the eyes o f tho se whom the
.
,

necessities real o r s u pposed of a political syste m have

, ,

long familiarised with s uch cynical disre gard o f fitness in

the distribution of office to see a minister and his master ,

alike z ealou s in gi vin g away places t o give them to the

, ,

best men to be fo un d .

Between 1 7 92 an d 1 809 Jo ubert had married His life

,
.

w as passed between Villene u ve sur Yo nne where his wife s

’
-
,

famil y lived a pretty little Burgu ndian town by which

-
,

the Lyons railro ad n o w passes —and Paris Here ,

.
,

a ho use in the R ue St Honoré in a room very high up .

-
, ,

and a dmitting plenty o f the li ght which he so loved ,

a room from whi c h he saw in his o w n words a great , ,

deal o f sky an d very little earth — among the treasures

’
,

o f a library collecte d with infinite pains taste an d skill , , ,

f rom which every book he thought ill of w as rigidly ex 20

el uded — h e never wo uld po ssess either a complete Voltaire
,

o r a complete R o u sseau — the happiest ho urs o f his life ,

were passe d In the circle o f o ne o f those women who

.

leave a sort o f perf ume in literary history and w h o have ,

the gift o f inspiring s uccessive generations o f readers with

an i describable regret not to have known them Pauline
n —
,

de Montmorin Ma dame de Bea umont —h e had become

, ,

intimate with nearly all which at that time in the Paris ,

w orld o f letters o r of society was most attractive an d ,

promising Amongst his acqu aintances o ne only misses 30

.
'

the names o f Ma dame de Stael an d Benjamin Constant ;

neither o f them w as to his taste and with Madame de ,

Sta el he always refu sed to be c ome acqu ainted he tho ught

she had more vehemence than truth an d more heat than ,

light Years went o n and his frien ds be came c onspic uous

.
,

au thors o r statesmen but Jc u bert remained in the shade .

His constitu tion was o f s uch fragility that h o w he lived

so long o r accomplished so m uch as he did is a wonder ;
, ,

his soul h ad fo r its basis o f operations hardly any body

, ,

at all both from his stomach and from his chest he seems 40
to have had constant s uffering tho ugh he lived by rul e , ,
1 68 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
inbo rn his constant amenity He lived till the year 1 824
, . .

O n the 4th o f May in that year he died at t h e age of ,

seventy A day o r t w o after his death M de Chateau

.
, .

briand inserte d in the Jou rm l des Debuts a short notice

o f him perfect fo r i
,
ts feeling grace an d propriety On , , .

n e vit cla ns la mémo ire du mo nde he says and says truly

q
, ,

u e pa r des trava u x p ou r l e mo mle a man can live in the

world s memory only by what he h as done fo r the worl d
’
.
’

B ut Chateaubriand u se d the privilege whic h his great name

gave him to assert delicately but firml y Jou bert , ,
’

and rare merits an d to tell the world what manner o f man

,

had j ust left it .

Jo u bert s papers were acc umulate d in boxes and drawers

’
.

He had not meant them for p ublication ; it w as very

diffi c ult to sort them and to prepare them fo r it Madame .

Jo u bert his widow h ad a scru ple abo ut giving them

, ,

a p u blicity which her husban d sh e felt wo ul d never ha ve , ,

permitte d B ut as her own end approached the natural

.
, ,

desire to leave o f so remarkable a spirit some enduring

memorial some ,

tion o f the li ving who were so fast passing away made her ,

yield to the entre aties o f his friends and allow the ,

bu t for private circ ulation only o f a vol u me o f ,

ments Chateau brian d e dited it ; it appe ared in 1 83 8

.
,

fo u rteen years afte r Jo ube rt s death Th e volume attrac ted

’
.

the attention o f th ose who were best fitted to appreciate it ,

and profo un dl y impresse d them M Sainte Beu ve gave . .

-

o f it in t h e R evu e des Deu x M mul es the admirable noti ce

, ,

o f which I have alrea dy spoken ; an d so m u ch c u riosity

w as excited abo u t Jo u bert that the collection o f his fra g 30
,

ments enl arged by many a dditions w as at last pu blishe d

, ,
.

fo r the benefit o f the world in general It has since been .

twice reprinte d Th e first o r preliminary c h apter h as some

.

fanciful ness and affectation in it the rea der shoul d begin

with the second .

I have likened Jo ubert to Coleridge ; an d in deed th e

points o f resemblance between the two men are numero us .

Both o f them great and celebrate d talkers Jc u bert attract ,

:

ing pilgrims to his upper chamber in the R ue St Ho no ré .

~

as Co leridge attracte d pil gr ims to Mr Gilman s at High 40

’
.

gate ; both o f them desultory and incomplete writers ,

 J 0 UB ERT 1 69

here they had an o utward likeness with o ne another: Bo th

o f the m passionately devoted t o reading i n a class o f
boo ks and t o thinking o n a class o f s ubjects o ut of th e
, ,

beaten line of the reading and tho ught o f their day both
o f t h em ardent st u dents and critics o f o l d literat ure poetry , ,

and the metaphysics o f religion ; both o f them c u riou s

explorers o f words and o f the latent significance hidden
,

under the pop ular u se o f them both o f them in a certain ,

sense conservative in religion and politics by antipathy to

, ,

19 the narrow and shall ow foolishness o f vulgar mo dern liberal

ism — here they had their inward and real likeness B ut that .

in which the essence o f their likeness consisted is this ,

that they both h ad from nature an ardent impulse fo r

seeking the genuine truth o n all matters they thought
abo ut and a gift for finding it an d recognising it when it
,

w as fo und To have the impulse for seeking this truth is

.

much rarer than most people think to have the gift fo r

finding it is I need not say very rare indeed By this
, ,
.

they have a spiritu al relationship o f th e c losest kind with

n o one another an d they become each of them a so u rce of
, , ,

stimulu s and progress for all o f u s .

Coleridge had less delicacy and penetration than Jc u bert ,

but mo re richness and power his produ ction tho ugh far ,

inferior to what h is natu re at first seemed to pro mise w as ,

abundant and varied Yet in all his production h o w much

.

is there to dissatisfy us ! How many reserves must be

made in praising eith er his poetry o r his criticism o r his , ,

phil osophy ! Ho w little either o f his poetry o r o f his ,

“

c riticism o r o f his philosophy can we expect permanently

, ,

to stand B ut that w hich will stan d of Coleridge is this

the stimul us o f his continu al effort —no t a moral effort for , ,

he had no morals — but o f his c ontinu al instinctive effort

, ,

c rowne d often with ri c h s u ccess to get at an d t o lay bare

,

the real tru th o f his matter in hand whether that matter ,

were literary o r ph ilosop h ical o r political o r religiou s ;

, , ,

an d t his in a co u ntry where at that moment s u ch an effort

w as almost u nknown ; where the most powerful minds
threw themselves upon poetry which conveys truth , ,

indeed but conveys it indirectly ; and where ordinary

,

40 minds were so habit u ated to do witho u t thinking altogether

,

to re g ard considerations o f estab lished ro utine and practical

170 E SS AYS IN CR ITICIS M
c onvenience as paramo unt that any attempt to introduce ,

within the domain o f these the dist urbing element of

tho ught they were prompt to resent as an o utrage
, .

Coleri dge s great action lay in his supplying in England

’
,

for many years and under critical circ u mstances by the ,

spectacle o f this effort o f his a stimul us to all min ds in , ,

the generation which grew u p ro und him capable of ,

pro fiting by it His action will still be felt as long as the

.

nee d for it continues when with the cessation o f t h e nee d , ,

the action to o h as ceased Coleridge s memory in spite o f 1 ,

’
,
1

the disesteem— nay repugnance— which his character may

,

an d m ust inspire will yet for ever remain invested with

,

that interest and gratitude which invests the memory of

fo unde rs .

M de Ré musat indeed reproaches C oleridge with his

.
, ,

j g
u em e nts sau gr enu s ; the c riticism of a gifted tr uth
finder o ught not to be saugrenu so on this reproach we
m ust pau se for a moment Saugrenu is a rather vu lgar .

Fren c h word bu t like many other vulgar words very

, , ,

expressive u se d as an epithet fo r a j udgment it means 20 ,

somet hing like i mp udently absurd Th e literary j udg .

ments o f o ne nation about another are very apt to be

saugrenus it is certainly tru e as M Sainte Be u ve remarks ,
.
-

in answer to Goethe s complaint against the French that

’

they have underval ue d Du Bartas that as to the estimate ,

of i t s o wn a uthors every nation is the best j udge ; the

p o si tive estimate o f them be it un derstoo d n,
o t o f c o urse , , ,

t h e estimate o f them in comparison with the authors o f

other nations Therefore a foreigner s j udgments about
.
’

t h e intrinsic merit o f a nation s au thors will generally 30

’
,

when at complete variance with that nation s o w n be ’

,

wrong ; but there is a permissible wrongness in these

matters an d to that pe rmissible wrongness there is a limit
,
.

Wh en that limit is excee de d the wrong j udgment becomes ,

more than wrong it becomes saugrenu o r impu dently

, ,

absurd F o r instance the high estimate whi c h the French

.
,

have o f R acine is probably in great measure deserve d o r ,

to take a yet stron ger case e ven the high estimate w hic h ,

Jou bert h ad o f the Abb é Delille is probably in great

measure deserved ; but the co mmon disparagin g j udg 40
ment passe d o n R acine by English readers is not saugrenu ,
1 72 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
fee l that those are not the accents of a trumpery rhetorician ,

but o f a rich and puissant nat ure — the cry o f the dying ,

lion ? I repeat it C hateaubriand is most ignorantly ,

u nderrate d in England ; and we English are capable o f

rating him far more corre c tly if we knew him better .

Still C hatea ubriand h as s u c h real and great faults he

, ,

falls so decide dly beneath the rank o f the trul y greatest

authors that t h e depreciatory j udgment pa ssed o n him
,

in England tho ugh i gnorant and wrong can hardly be

, ,

sai d t o transgress the limits o f permissible ignorance it 1

is not a j ugement saugrenu B ut when a critic denies .

g eni u s to a lite rat u re which h as p ro du ced Boss uet and

Moli ere he passes the bo unds and Coleridge s j udgments
,
’

o n Fre nch literat u re an d the F rench geniu s are undo u btedly ,

as M de R é musat calls them saugrenus

.
, .

And yet s uc h is the impetuosity o f o ur poor human

,

nat ure s uch its proneness to ru sh to a decision with

,

imperfect knowledge that his ha ving delivered a saugrenu ,

j udgment o r tw o in h is life by no means proves a man

no t to have had in comparison with his fellow men in n

q
,

g enera l a re markable, gift fo r tru th or dis u a lifie s him for ,

being by virtue o f that gift a sour ce of vital stimulus for

, ,

us . Jo ubert had far less smoke and turbid vehemence in

him than Co leridge ; he h ad also a far keener se nse o f
what w as absu rd B ut Jo u bert can write to M Mo lé (the
. .

M M o lé who w as afterwar ds Lo uis Philippe s well known

’
-
..

minister ) : A s t o yo u r Milton whom the merit o f the ,

Abb é Delille (the Abb é Delille translate d Paradise L ost)

makes me admi re and with wh om I h ave nevertheless ,

still plenty o f fault to fin d w h y I sho ul d like to know so , , ,

are yo u scan dalise d that I ha ve not enabled myself to

read him I don t understan d th e language in w hich he
’

writes an d I don t m uch care to If he is a poet o ne

,
’
.

cannot put up with even in the prose o f the yo unger ,

R acine am I to blame for t h at 2 If by force yo u mean

‘
,

beauty manifesting itself with power I maintain that th e ,

Abb é Delille h as more forc e than Milton That to be sure .

’
, ,

is a pe t ulant o u tb urst in a private letter ; it is not like

(

Coleri dge s a deliberate propo sition in a printed philo

’
,

sop hical essay B ut is it possible to imagine a mo re 40

.

p erfect specimen o f a s au gren u j udgment ? It is e ven

 JOU B ERT 173

worse than Cole ridge s because it is saugr nu With reasons

’
,
e .

That , however does no t prevent Jc u bert from having

,

been really a man o f extraordinary ardo ur in the search

for truth and o f extraordinary fineness in the perception
,

of it ; an d so w as Coleridge .

Joubert had around him in France an atmosphere o f

literary philosophical and reli giou s opinion as alien to
, ,

him as that in England was to Coleridge This is what .

makes Jc u bert too so remarka ble and it is o n this accou nt

, , ,

rea der to remark h is date He w as born .

in 1 824 He w as thus in the fulness o f .

beginning o f the present century at the ,

epoch o f Napoleon s consulate Th e French criticism o f

’
.

that day— the criticism o f Laharpe s s uccessors o f Geoffroy ’

,

and his colleagues in the Journal des Débats had a dry

—

ness very unlike the telling vivacity o f the early Edinburgh

reviewers their contemporaries but a fundamental narrow
, ,

ness a want o f ge nuine insight much o n a par with theirs

,
'

, .

Jou bert like Coleridge h as no respe ct for the do minant

, ,

20 oracle he treats his Ge o ffroy with abo ut as little deference

'

as Coleridge treats his Je flre y Geo ffroy he says o f an ’

'

.
,

article in t h e Journal des Débats criticising C hateau briand s ’

Gen ie da Christianisme Geoffroy in th is article begins

by holding o ut h is paw prettily eno ugh but he ends by
a volley o f kicks which lets the whole worl d se e but to o
,

c learly the fo ur iron shoes o f the fo ur foote d animal

’
-
.

Th ere is however in France a sympathy with intellectu al

, ,

activity for its o wn sake and fo r the sake o f its inherent,

ple asure able n e ss and be au ty keener than any w hich exists ,

n o in England and Jc ubert had more e ffect in Paris ;

though his conversation w as his only weapon and Coleridge ,

wielded besides s conversation s pen than Coleridge

h i hi —
,

had o r coul d have in London I mean a more imme diate .

, ,

appreciable effect an effect not only u pon the young and

enthusiastic to whom the future belongs but u pon forme d
, ,

an d important personages to whom the present belongs ,

and w h o are actually moving society He owed this partly .

to his real advantages over Coleridge If he had as I have .

,

already sai d less power and richness than his English

,

40 parallel he had more tact and penetration

,
He w as more . .

p ossible than C oleridge his doctrine w a s more intelli gi ble

174 E SS AYS IN CR ITICISM
than Coleridge s more receivable A nd ye t with Jo ubert
’
, .
,

the striving after a cons ummate and attractive clearness

o f exp ression came from n o mere frivolo us dislike o f labo ur
and inability for going deep but was a part of his nati ve ,

love o f truth and perfection Th e delight of his life h e .

found in truth and in the satisfaction which the enjoying

,

o f tru th gives t o the s irit and he tho ught the tru th w as

never really and wort ly said so long as the least cloud
'

, ,

clumsiness and repulsiveness h ung abo ut the expression

,

o f it.

Some o f his best passages are t h ose in which he u pholds

this doctrine Even metaphysics he would not allow to
.

remain diffic ult an d abstract so long as they spoke

a professional jargon the langu age o f the schools he
, ,

maintained and w h o shall gainsay him

—
,
—that meta
physics were imperfect ; o r at any rate had not yet , ,

reached their ideal perfection .

Th e true science o f metaphysics he says c onsists ’

, ,

no t in renderin g abstra c t that whic h is sensible but in ,

re ndering sensible t hat which is abstract apparent that 20

which is hidden imaginable if so it may be that which , ,

is only intel li gible ; an d intelligible finally that which , ,

an ordin ary attention fail s to seize

’
.

And therefore
Distru st in books on metaphysics words which h ave
, ,

not been able to ge t currency in the worl d and are only ,

calc ulate d to form a spe cial language .

’

Nor wo ul d he s uffer common words to be employe d in

a special sense by the sc h ools
Whi c h is the best if o ne w ants to be u seful an d to be 30
,

really understood to get one s words in the worl d or to

,
’
,

get t h em in the s c h ools 2 I maintain th at the good plan is

‘

t o employ words in their pop ular sense rather than in

th eir p hilosophic al s ense ; an d the better plan still to ,

employ them in th eir natural sense rather than in th eir

popular sense By their natural sense I mean th e popul ar
.
,

an d universal acceptation o f them bro ught to that w hic h

in this is essential and invariable To prove a thing by .

definition proves nothing if the definition is pu rely p hilo ,

so phical ; fo r s uch definitions only bind him who makes 40

them To prove a thing by definition when the definition
.
,
176 SS A YS
E IN CRITICIS M
what o ne says in such wo rds looks more tru e for o f all ,

the wo rds in use none are so clear as those which we call

,

co mmon words and clearness is so e minently o ne o f the

characte ristics o f truth that often it even passe s fo r truth
,

itself .
’

These are n o t in Jo u bert me re co unsels o f rhetoric ;

, ,

they come from his acc urate sense o f pe rfection from his ,

having clearly se i zed the fine and j ust idea th at beauty

and light are properties o f truth and that truth is inco m ,

p le te ly exh ibited if it is exhibited w itho u t be a uty and 1 (

light
Be profo und with clear terms and not with obsc ure
te rms What is difficult will at last become easy but as
.

o n e goe s deep into things o ne m ust still kee p a charm , ,

and o ne must carry into the se dark depths o f thought ,

into which spec ulation h as only rec ently penetrated the ,

pure and antique clearness o f centuries less learned than

o urs but with more light in them
, .
’

And elsewhere he speaks of those spirits lovers of ,

light w h o when they have an idea to put forth bro c d sc

, , ,

long over it first and wait patiently till it shines as Buffon

, ,

enjoined when he defined geni us to be the aptitude fo r

,

patience spirit s w h o know by experience that the driest

-

matte r and the dullest words hide within them the germ
and spark o f so me brightness like those fairy nuts in ,

which we re fo und diamonds if o n e broke the shell and

w as the ri ght person ; spirits w h o maintain that to see ,

and exhibit t hings in be auty is to see and show things ,

as in their essence they really are an d not as they exist ,

fo r the eye o f the careless w h o do n o t look beyond the 30 ,

o utside ; spirits hard to satisfy because o f a keen sighted ,

-

ness in them which makes them discern but t o o clearly

,

both the mo dels to be followed and those to be shunne d

spirits active thou gh me ditative who cannot rest except ,

in solid truths and whom only beauty can make happy

,

spirits far less concerne d fo r glory than fo r perfection ,

because their art is long and life is short often die ,

witho ut leaving a monument h aving had their o wn inward ,

sense o f life and fruitfulness fo r their best reward .

’

No doubt there is so mething a little to o ethereal in all 40

this something which reminds o ne o f Jo ube rt s physic al
,
’
 JOU B ERT 177

want of b ody and s ub stance no do ub t if a man wishes ,

to be a great au thor it is to consider too c u rio usly to

, ,

consider as Jc u bert did it is a mistake to spe nd so much

of one s time in setting up one s ideal standard o f perfec
’ ’

tion and in conte mplating it Jou be rt himself knew this

, .

very well : I cannot buil d a ho use for my ideas said he ,

’

I have trie d to do witho ut words and words take their ,

revenge o n me by their difficulty If there is a man u pon .

’

earth tormented by the c urse d de sire to get a whole book

10 into a page a whole page into a phrase and this phrase
, ,

into o ne word that man is myself ,

— I can sow but I .
’
,

cannot build Jo u bert however makes no claim to be

.
’
, ,

a great author ; by re nouncing all ambitio n to be this ,

by no t trying to fit his ideas into a ho use by making no ,

c ompromise with words in spite o f their diffic ulty by ,

bein g quite single minded in his purs uit o f perfection

-
,

perhaps he is enabled to get close r to the truth of the objects

o f his st u dy an d to be o f more service to u s by setting ideals
, ,

than if he had compo se d a celebrate d work I do ubt .

so whether in an elaborate work o n the philosophy o f religion

, ,

he wo ul d h ave got his ideas abo u t religion to shine to ,

use his o wn expression as they shine when he utters them ,

in perfec t fre e dom Penetration in these matters is value

.

less witho ut so ul and so ul is valueless witho ut penetration

,

both o f these are delicate qu alities and even in those w h o , ,

have them easily lost the charm o f Jcu bert is that he

, ,

has and keeps both

O ne sho uld be fearful of being wrong in poetry when
one thinks differently from the poets an d in religion when
two one thinks differently from the saints ,

There is a great difference between taking fo r idols

Mahomet and Luther and bowing down be fore R o u sseau ,

an d Volta ire People at any rate imagined they were

.

obeying Go d when they followed Mahomet and the ,

Scriptu res when they hearkene d to Lu ther And perhaps .

o n e o ught n o t t o o mu ch to disparage that inclination

which leads mankind to put into the hands o f those
whom it thinks the friends of God the direction and
gove rnment o f its heart and mind It is the subjection .

0 40 t o irreligio u s spirits w hich alone i s fatal and in the f ul l e st , ,

sense o f the word depraving

ARN LD
.
,
O
N
17 8 ESS AYS IN CRITICISM
May I say it ? It is not hard to know God provided ,

o n e will not force oneself to define him .

Do not bring into the domain o f reaso ning that which

belo ngs to o ur i nnermost feeling State tru ths o f senti .

ment and do n o t try to prove them There is a danger

, .

in s u ch proofs fo r in arguing it is necessary to treat that

which is in question as something problematic no w that
which w e acc u stom ourselves to treat as problematic ends
by appearin g to u s as really do ubtful In thin gs that .

are visible an d palpable never pro ve what is belie ve d i ,

already ; in things that are certain and mysterio us ,

mysterio us by their greatness and by their nature —make ,

people believe them an d do not pro ve them ; in th ings ,

t h at are matters o f practice and duty c ommand and do , ,

n o t explain Fear Go d h as ma de man y men pio us ;

”
.
,

t h e pro ofs of the existence o f Go d have ma de many me n

atheists From the defence springs the attack the
.

advocate begets in his hearer a wish to pick holes and

men are almost always led o n from the desire to con ,

t radict the doctor to the desire to contradict the doctrine 2

,
.

Make tru th lo vely and do no t try to arm her mankind

,

will t h en be far le ss inclined to contend with her .

Why is even a bad pre acher almost always heard by

the pio u s with pleasure B ecause he ta lks to th em about
w hat th ey love B ut yo u who have to expo und religion
.

to the c hildren o f this worl d yo u who have to spe ak to ,

them o f that wh ich they onc e love d perhaps o r which ,

they wo ul d be glad to love remember that t h ey do no t

—
,

love it yet and to make them love it take heed to speak

, , ,

with po wer .

Y o u may do what yo u like mankind will believe no ,

o n e bu t Go d ; and he o nl y can pe rs u ade mankin d who

believes that God has spo ken to him No o ne can gi ve .

faith unl ess he h as faith the pe rsu a de d persuade as the ,

indulgent disarm .

Th e o nl y happy people in the world are the good

man the sage and the saint ; but the saint is happier
, ,

than either o f the others so much is man by his nature ,

formed fo r sanctity .
’

Th e same delicacy and penetration which he here shows 110

in speaking o f the inward e ssence o f religion Joube rt ,
1 80 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
hold o f a n ation what may be called the religious humours
,

o f nations difie r
’
.

So the British and North American Puritans are the

children o f the O ld Testament as Joachim o f Flora and ,

St Francis are the chil dren o f the Ne w

. And does not .

the following maxim exactly fit the Church o f England ,

o f w hich Jo ubert certainly never tho ught when he w as

writing it 3 Th e auste re sects excite the most enthusiasm

‘

at first ; but the temperate sects have always been the

most durable .
’

And these remarks o n the Jansenists and Jesuits ,

interesting in themselves are still more inte rest ing becau se ,

they to uch matte rs w e c annot well know at first h and ,

and which Jou bert an impartial observer h ad h ad the , ,

means o f stu dying closely We are apt to think o f the .

Jansenists as having faile d by reason o f their merits ;

Jo u bert shows u s h o w far their fail ure w as due to their
defects
We o ught to lay stress u pon what is clear in Scripture ,

and to pass quic kly o ver what is obsc ure to light up what 20
in Scripture is tro uble d by what is serene in it ; what ,

p uzzles and chec ksthe reason by what satisfies the reason ,

.

Th e Jan se nists have done j ust t h e reverse They lay stress .

u pon what is u ncertain obsc ure afflicting an d they pass , , ,

lightly over all the rest they eclipse the l uminous and
c o n soling tru ths o f Script u re by putting between u s and ,

them its opaque and dism al tru th s For example Many .

,

are calle d there is a clear truth F e w are chosen

there is an obs cure truth We are chil dren o f wrath .

there is a sombre clou dy terrifying tru th ,

We are all so ,

the c hil dren of Go d I c ame no t to call the ri ghteo us ,

bu t sinners to repent ance there are truths which are

full o f clearness mil dness serenity li gh t Th e Jansenists
, , ,
.

tro u ble o ur cheerful ness and she d no che ering ray o n o ur ,

trou ble They are not however to be condemned for

.
, ,

what they say because what they say is true but they are
,

to be con de mned fo r what they fail to say fo r that is true ,

too truer even than the other ; that is its truth is

,
-
, , ,

easier for us to seize ful ler ro under and more complete , , ,

.

Theology as the Jansenists exhibit her has but the half 40

, ,

o f her disk
’
.
 J OU B ERT 181

Again
‘
Th e Jansenists erect grace into a kind o f fourth
person of the Trinity Th ey are witho ut t hinking o r .
,

intending it Q uate rnit arian s St Paul and St Augustine

,
. . .
,

to o exc l u sively st udied have done all the misc hief

,
Instead .

of grace sayhelp s ucco ur a divine i nfluence a dew o f

, , ,

h eaven ; then o n e can come to a right un derstanding .

Th e word grace is a sort of talisman all the baneful ,

spell o f which c an be broken by translating it Th e trick o f .

1 0 personi fying words is a fatal so urce of misc hief in theology ’

.

On ce more
Th e Jansenists tell me n to love Go d ; the J es uits
make men love him Th e doc trine o f these last is full
.

o f loosenesses ,
o r if yo u will
,
of errors ; still — singul ar , ,

as it may seem it is undeniable — they are the better

, ,

directors o f soul s .

Th e Jan se mst s have carried into religion more tho ught

than the Jes uits and they go deeper they are faster bo und
with its sacred bonds They have in their way of thinking
, ,

3 20 an austerity w hich incessantly constrains the will to keep

the path o f duty ; all the habits of their understanding ,

in short are more Christian B ut they seem to love Go d

, .

witho ut a ffection and solel yfrom re ason from duty from

, , ,

j ustice Th e Jes uits o n the other hand seem to love

.
, ,

him from p ure inclination ; o ut o f admiration gratitude , ,

tenderness for the ple as ure o f loving him in short In ,

.

their books o f devotion yo u find joy because with the ,

Jesuits nature and religion go hand in hand In the books .

o f the Jan se nist s there i s a sadness an d a moral constraint ,

so be cau se with the J an se n i st s religion is for ever tryin g t o

p ut nat u re in bo nds .
’

Th e Jes uits have su ffered an d deservedl y s uffere d , ,

plenty of discredit from what Jo u be rt gently calls their

loosenesses let them have the merit of their amiability .

Th e most characte ristic tho u ghts o n e can quote from

write r are always his thou ghts on matte rs like these
the maxims o f Jo ubert o n p urely literary s ubjects
also have the same p ur ed and s u btle delicacy they show
,
g
the same sedulo u sness in him to preserve pe rfectly tru e
40 the balance of his so ul Let me begin with this which
.
,

c ontains a tru th to o m any people fail to perce ive .

1 82 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
Ignorance which in matte rs o f morals exte nuat es
,

the crime is itself in matte rs o f literature a crime o f

, , ,
’

the first o rder .

’

And here is another sentence worthy o f Goethe to , ,

clear the air at one s entrance into the region o f litera ’

t u re
With the fever o f the sense s the delirium o f the ,

passions the weakn e ss o f the spirit with the storms of

,

the passing time and with the great sco urges o f human
life — hunger thirst dishonour disease s and death 1 0
, , , , , ,

au thors may as long as they like go o n mah n g novels

which shall barro w o ur hearts but the soul says all the
”
while Y o u hurt me
,
.

And again
Ih ct io n h as no b usine ss t o e xist u nless it is more
'

beautiful than reality Certainly the monst ro sities of .

fiction may be fo und in the booksellers sho ps yo u buy ’

them there fo r a certain nu mber of francs and yo u talk ,

o f them for a certain n u mber o f days but they have no

o

pl ace in lite rature becau se in lite rature t h e o ne aim of 20

,

art is the beautiful O nce lose sight of that and yo u have .

,

the mere frightfu l reality .

’

That is j u st the ri ght criticism to pass on these mo n

st ro sitie s th ey have no p lace in literature and those ,

w h o produce them are not reall y men o f letters One .

wo uld think that this w as eno ugh to deter from such

pro duction any man o f genuine ambition B ut most o f .

u s alas
,
are what we must be not what we o ught to be , ,
—n o t even what we know w e o u ght to be .

Th e following o f which the first part re minds o n e o f 3 0

,
‘
Wordsworth s sonnet If tho u indee d derive thy light
’
,

from heaven excellently defines the true salutary function

,
’

o f literat ure an d t h e limits of this function

,

Whether o ne is an eagle o r an ant in the intellectual ,

world seems to me not to matter mu ch ; the essential

,

t hing is to have one s place marke d th ere one s station ’

,
’

assigne d an d to belong decide dly to a re gular and whole

,

some order A small talent if it keeps within it s limits

.
,

an d rightly f ulfils it s task may reach t h e goal j u st as well ,

as a greater o n e To acc ust o m mankind to pleasu res 40

.

which depend neither upo n the bo dily appetites no r upon

1 84 ESS A YS IN CRITICISM
h is doctrine s O ne mu st no t look to the form in him
.
,

but to the matte r , which is exquisite He o ught to be .

re ad with a dire c t view of prac tice ’

.

Eng lish people have h ardl y ears to hear the praises of

Boss uet , and the Boss uet of Jou bert is Bossuet at his
very be st but this is a far tru er Boss uet than the de
c laimer Boss uet of Lord Macaulay , himself a born
rhetori cian if ever the re w as o n e
,

Boss uet employs all o ur i dioms as Homer employed ,

all the diale c ts Th e langu age of kings o f statesmen 1 0

.
, ,

and o f warriors the language b f the people and o f the

st udent o f the co untry and o f the schools o f the sanctu ary
, ,

an d o f the co u rts o f l aw the o ld and the ne w the trivial ,

and the sta te ly the quiet an d the reso unding —h e turns

, ,

all to h is use and o ut of all this he makes a style simple , ,

grave majesti c
,
His ideas are like his words varie d
.
, , ,

co mmon and s u blime together Times an d doctrines in .

all the ir m ultitude were ever before his spirit as things ,

an d w o rds in all their m ultit u de were ever before it He .

is n o t so much a man as a hu man nature with the te mper 20 ,

ance o f a saint the j ustice o f a bishop the prudence of a

, ,

doctor and the mi ght o f a great spirit

, .
’

After this on Boss uet I m ust quote a criticism on ,

Ra cine to show that Jo u bert did n o t indiscri min ately

,

wo rship all the Frenc h go ds o f the grand centu ry

Those who find R acine eno ugh for them are poor
souls and poor wits they are so uls and wits which have
never got beyon d the callow an d boarding school stage -
.

Admirable as no dou bt he is for his skill in having made

, ,

poetical the most hu m dru m sentiments and the most 30

mi ddling sort o f passions he can yet stan d us in ste ad ,

o f nobo dy bu t himself He is a superior writer and in .

, ,

li terat ure that at once puts a man o n a pinnacle B ut he

,
.

is not an inimitable writer .

’

And ag ain : Th e talent o f R acine is in h is works ,

but R acine himself is not there Th at is why he himse lf .

became disgu ste d with them Of R ac ine as of his .

’
,

an cients the genius lay in taste His ele gance is perfe ct

,
.
,

bu t it is not s u preme like that o f Virgil And indeed ’

,
.
, ,

there is something sup reme in an elegance which exercises 40

Such a fas cination as Virgil s does ; which makes one ’
 JCUBERT 1 85

ret urn to h is poe ms again and again long after o ne thinks ,

o n e h as done with them which makes them o ne o f those

‘
books that to u se Jou bert s words l ure the reader back
,
’
,

t o them as the proverb says good wine l u res back the wine
,

bibber And the highest prai se Jou bert can at last find
.
’

fo r R acine is this that he is the Virgil o f the ignorant

,
’
R acine est te Virgile des igno rants .

Of Boileau Jou bert says

,
too Boileau is a po werfu l
,

poet but onl y in the world o f half po e try Ho w tru e

,
.
’

s that of Pope also An d he a dds Neither Boileau s ’

ia i
n
po e try no r Racine s flows from the fountain head
’
No -
.
’

Englishman controverting the exaggerated French estimate

,

of the se poets could desire to u se fitter words

,
.

I will end with some remarks o n Voltaire and R ou sseau ,

re marks in which Jo u bert e minently shows h is prime

merit as a critic —the so undn ess and completeness o f
,

his j udgments I mean that he has the fac ulty o f j u dging

.

with all th e powers o f his mind and so ul at work together

in due combination ; an d h o w rare is t his fac ulty ! h o w
20 sel dom i s it exercised towards writers w h o so powerful ly
as Voltaire and R ou sseau stimul ate an d call into activity
a single side in u s
Voltaire s wits came to their maturity twenty years
’

sooner than the wits of other men and remained in full ,

vigour thirty years longer The charm which o ur style .

in general gets from o ur ideas his ideas get from his ,

style Volt aire is s o metimes afflicted sometimes strongly

.
,

moved ; but seriou s he never is His very graces have .

an effrontery abo u t them He h ad correctness of j u dgment .

,

3 0 live l iness o f imagin ation nimble wits quick taste and , , ,

a moral sense in ruins He is t h e most debau ched of spirits

.
,

an d the worst o f him is that one gets deba u ched along with
him If he had been a wise man and h ad had the self
.
,

discipline o f wisdom beyond a do u bt half his wit woul d

,

have be en gone ; it needed an atmosphere of licence in

order to play freely Those pe ople who read him every.

day create for themselves by an invincible law the

, , ,

nece ssity o f li king him B ut those people who having .

,

g iven u p reading him gaze steadily down u pon the in flu ,

“

40 e n ce s w hich hi s spirit h as shed abroad find themselves in ,

simple j u sti ce and d ut y co mpe lle d to detest him It is .

1 86 ESS AYS IN C RITICIS M
impossi ble to be satisfied with him, and impossi ble not to
be fascinated by him .
’

Th e literary sense in us is apt to rebel a gainst so severe

a j u dgment o n su ch a charmer o f the literary sense as
Voltaire and pe r aps w e En glish are no t very liable to
,
h
catch Voltaire s vices , while o f some of his merits we have
’

signal need ; st ill , as t h e real definitive j udgment o n

Voltaire Jou be rt s is undou btedly the true o ne It is
,
’
.

nearly identical with that o f Goethe Jou bert s sentence .

’

o n R o u s sea u is in so me respects more favo u rable

That weight in the speaker (auctoritas) which the

ancients talk o f is to be fo und in Bossuet more than in
,

any other French author ; Pascal to o h as it and L a , , ,

Bruyere even R o usse au h as something o f it but Voltaire ,

not a pa ticle I c
r an .understand h o w a R o usseau I
—

mean a Ro usseau c ured o f his faults— might at the prese nt

day do m uc h good and may even come to be greatly
,

wante d ; but under no circ umstan c es can a Voltaire be

of any use .
’

Th e pec uliar power of R o u ssea u s style h as never been 20

’

better hit o ff than in the following p assage

R o u ssea u imparted if I may so speak bow els of , ,

feeling to the words he u sed (don na des entrailles d tous

les mo ts) an d po ure d into them s u ch a charm sweetness
, ,

so penetrating energy so p uiss ant that his writings have

, ,

an effect u pon the so u l something like that o f those illicit

ple asu res w h ich steal away o ur taste and intoxicate
o u r reason
’
.

Th e final j u dgment however is severe and j ustlysevere

, , ,

Life with o ut actions life entirely resolve d into 30

affections and half sens ual tho ughts -
do nothingness -

setting up for a virt ue c owardliness with volu ptu o u sness

fierc e pri de with nul lity un derneath it the strutting phr ase
o f the most sens u al o f va gabon ds w h o has ma de his

q
,

system o f p hilosop h y an d c an give it elo uently forth

t h ere is R o u sseau A piety in whic h there is no religion ,

a se verity which brings c orru ption with it ; a dogmati sm ’

w h i c h serves to ruin all aut h ority : there is R o usseau 3
philosophy To all ten der ardent and elevate d natu res , , ,

I say O nly R ousseau can detach yo u from religion and 40 ,

only true relig ion can c ure yo u o f R o usseau .

’
1 88 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
L et us have j u stice , and th en w e sha ll have enough liberty .

Th e wise man will never refu se to echo those words ; but

t h en , su ch is the impe rfection o f human governments ,

that almost always , in order to get j ustice , o ne has first

to sec ure libe rty .

I do not hol d up Jo u bert as a very astonishing and

powerful geni us but r at h er as a delig h tful an d e difying
,

g eni u s I. have n o t care d t o exhibit him a s a sayer of

brilliant epi grammatic things s uch things as Notre vie , ,

e st du vent tiss u les dettes abrégent la vie celui

q u i a de l imag i
n a t
’
io n san s ér u dition a de s ailes e t n a ’

p a s d e pieds (O ur l f
i e is w ov en w ind d eb ts ta ke fro m
f
li e the man of imagina tio n w itho u t learning has wings
and no ) thof
eetu gh for
,
s u ch sayi n gs he is famo u s In t h e .

first place the French language is in itself so favourable

,

a vehicle fo r s uch sayings that the making them in it has

,

the less merit at least h alf the merit o ugh t to go not to ,

the maker of the sayin g but to th e Frenc h langu age In

,
.

the second place t h e pec ul iar beauty o f Jou bert is not

,

there it is not in what is excl u sively intellectual it is 20 ,

—

in the union of sou l with intellect and in the deli ghtful , ,

satisfying res ult which this union produces Vivre c est .

,
’

penser e t sentir so n ame le bo nhe ur est de sentir son

ame bonne toute vé rité nue e t crue n a pas assez passe ’

par l ame’
les hommes n e sont j u stes q u e n v e rs c e u x
’

q u i
’
ls aiment (T h e essen ce
’
o l
f fi e lies in th in king a n d be in g
’
con scio us o f o n e s soul
ha pp in ess is th e sense o
f on e s

so u l being go od if a tru th is nud e and crude, that is a p ro of

it has no t been steep ed lo ng eno ugh in th e sou l ; man
can no t even be j ust to hi s ne i ghbo u r, u nl ess h e lo ves h im) ; 3 0
it is m uch rather in sayings like these that Jou bert s best ’

and innermost nature manifests itself He is th e most .

prepossessing an d convincing of witnesses to t h e goo d of

loving li ght Be c au se he sincerely lo ed light , and did not
. v
prefer to it an y little private darkness of his o w n , h e fo und
li ght his eye was single , an d therefore his whole bo dy was
f ull of li ght And be cau se h e was ful l of li ght , he was also
.

full o f happiness In spite o f his in firmities, in spite o f h is

.

s u fferings , in spite o f his obsc urity , h e was the happiest

man alive his life was as c h arming as his thoughts For 40 .

certainly it is natural that the love o f light which is alrea dy , ,

 JOU B ERT 1 89

in me me asure the possession o f light sho uld irradiate

'
'

so , ,

and beatify the whole life o f him w h o h as it There is .

something u nnatural and shocking W here as in the case o f ,

Co leridge it does not Jc ubert pains us by no such contra

, .

diction the same penetration o f spirit which made him

s uch delightful company to h is friends served also to make ,

him perfect in his o w n personal life by enabling him always ,

t o per c eive and do what w as right he love d and sought

light till he be came so habitu ated to it so acc ustomed ,

11 0 to the joyfu l testimony o f a good conscience that to u se , ,

his o wn words he co uld no longer exist without t his

, ,

and w as obliged to live without reproa c h if he would live

witho ut misery .
’

Jo u bert was not famo us whil e he lived and he will not ,

be famo u s now that he is dead B ut before we pity him .

,

for t his let u s be s ure what w e mean in literature by

, , ,

famous There are the famou s men o f genius in literature

.
,

— the Homers Dantes Sh aks e are s o f them we need not

, p ,

speak their praise is fo r ever and ever Then there are .

2 0 the famo u s men o f abil ity in literat u re : their praise is

in their own generation An d what makes this difference .

Th e work of the two orders o f men is at the bottom the same ,

— a criticism o li
f fe T h e end and aim .o f all literat u re ,

if o ne considers it attentively is in truth noth ing but t h at , , ,

.

B ut the criticism which the men o f geni u s pass u pbn hu man

life is pe rmanently acceptable to mankind ; the criticism
which the men of ability pass u pon hu man life is transitorily
acceptable Between Sh akspe are s criticism o f human
.
’

life and Scribe s the difference is there — the o ne is per

’

3 0 man ent ly acceptable the other transito rily Whence, .

then I repeat t his difference

, ,
It is that the acceptable
ness o f Sh akspe are s c riticism depends u pon its in herent
’

tru th the acceptableness o f Scribe s u pon its suiting ’

itself by its s ubject matter ideas mode o f treatment

,
-
, , ,

to the taste o f the generation that hears it B ut the taste .

and ideas o f o n e generation are not those o f the next This .

next generation in its turn arrives first its sharpshooters

—
,

its quick witted audacio us light troops then the ele ph an

-
,

tine main body Th e imposing arrayo fits predecessor it co n

.

40 fidentl
y assail s ri dd l es it with,b ul lets passes over i t s body , .

It goes hard then with many once popul ar reputations ,

1 90 E SS A YS IN CRITICISM
with many authorities once oracular O nly tw o kinds o f .

a uthors are safe in the general havoc Th e first kind are .

the great abo unding fount ains o f truth whose criticism ,

o f life is a so urce o f ill umination and joy to the whole

hu man race fo r ever the Homers the Sh akspe are s ,

-
, .

These are the sacred personages whom all civilise d warfare ,

respects Th e second are those whom the o ut skirmishers

.
-

o f the n ew generation its forerun ners — quick witted , ,

-

soldiers as I have sai d the select o f the army — recognise

, , , ,

tho ugh the bulk o f their comrades be h ind might not as 1 0 ,

o f the same famil y and character with the sacred personages ,

exercising like them an immortal function and like them ,

inspiring a permanent interest They snatch them up .

,

and se t them in a place o f shelter where the o n c oming ,

-

multitude may not overwhelm them These are th e .

Jc uberte They will never like the Sh akspe are s co mmand

.
, ,

the homage o f the multitude ; but they are safe ; the

multitu de will n o t trample them down Except these .

t w o kinds no au thor is safe ,

Let us consider fo r example .
, ,

Jo u bert s famo us contemporary Lord Jeffrey All his 20

’
, .

vivacity and accomplishment avail him nothing ; o f the

true critic he had in an eminent degree no quality except ,

o n e — c uriosity
, Curiosity he had but he had no gift for
.
,

tru th he cannot illuminate and rejoice us no inte lligent

o u t ski
-
rniish e r o f the new generation cares abo u t him ,

cares to put him in safety ; at this moment w e are all

passing over his body Let u s c onsider a greater than .

Jeffrey a c ritic whose reputation still stands firm wi ll

,
—
,

stand many people think for ever the great apostle

, , ,
—

o f the Philistines Lord Macaulay Lord Macaulay was 3 0

,
.
,

as I have already said a bo rn rhetorician ; a splendid ,

rhetorici an dou btless and beyond that an English , , ,

rhetorician also an ho nest rhetorician ; still beyond the

, ,

apparent rhetori c al truth of things he never coul d penetrate

for their vital truth for what the French call the vraie
,
.

vérité he had absolutely no organ

,
therefore his reputation ,

brilliant as it is is not secure R hetoric so good as his

,
.

excite s and gives pleasure ; but by pleasure alone yo u “

cannot permanently bind men s spirits to yo u Truth ’

.

illuminates and gives joy and it is by the bond of joy 40 , ,

not of pleasure that men s spirits are indissolubly held

,
’
.
 S PINOZA A ND THE B I B L E .

BY the sentence o f the angels by th e decree o f the ,

saints,
w e an athematise c ut off c urse and execrate
, , ,

Baru ch Spinoza in the presence of these sacred books

,

with the six hun dred an d thirteen precepts which are

writte n therein with the anathema wherewith Joshua
,

anathematise d Jeric ho with t h e cursin g wherewith Elisha

c ursed the chil dren and with all the cursings whic h are
written in the Book o f the Law : c ursed be he by day ,

an d c u rsed by night ; c urse d when he lieth down an d ,

c u rsed when he riseth up cursed when he goeth o ut and 1 0 ,

c ursed when he cometh in the Lord pardon him never

the wrath and fury o f the Lord burn u pon this man and ,

bring upon him all the c urse s which are written in the
Book of the Law Th e Lord blot o ut h is name u nder
.

heaven Th e Lord set him apart fo r destru ction from all

.

the tribes o f Israel with all the c urses o f the firmament

,

which are written in the Book o f this Law There .

s h all no man spe ak to him n o man write to him no man , ,

show him any kindness no man stay u nder the same roof ,

with him no man come nigh him

,
20
.
’

With these amenities the c urrent compliments of ,

theological parting the Jews o f the Portuguese synagogue

,

at Amst erdam to ok in 1 65 6 (an d no t in 1 660 as h as till

now be en comm onl y suppose d) their leave o f their erring
brother Baru ch o r Bene dict Spinoza They remaine d
,
.

c hil dren o f Israel and he became a c hil d o f mo dern

,

Europe .

That w as in 1 65 6 and Spinoza died in 1 67 7 at the early

, ,

age o f forty four Glory had not found him o ut His

-
. .

short life— a life o f unbroken diligence kindliness and 30 , ,

purity— w as passed in seclusion B ut in spite o f that .

seclu sion in spite o f the shortness o f his career in spite

, ,

o f the hostility o f the dispensers o f renown in the ei ghteenth

century —o f Voltaire s disparagement and Bayle s detrae

,
’ ’
 S PINO ZA A ND THE BI BLE 1 93

tion —
,
spite o f the repellent form which he h as given
in
to his principal work in spite of the exterior semblance
,

o f a rigid dogmatism alien to the most essential tendencies

o f modern philosophy in spite finally o f the immense

, , ,

weigh t of disfavour cast u pon him by the long repeated -

charge o f atheism Spinoza s name h as silently risen in

,
’

importance the man and his work have attracte d a ste adily
,

increasing notice and bid fair to become soon what they

,

deserve t o become in the history o f modern philosophy

,
-
,

1 1 0 the central point o f interest An avowed translation o f

.

o ne o f h is works — his T rac

,
tatus T h eo lo gico P o liticus —has -
,

at last made its appearance in English It is the principal .

work which Spinoza p ublished in his lifetime ; his boo k

o n et hics the work on which his fame rests is posthu mo u s
, , .

Th e English translator h as not done his task well Of .

the character o f his version there can I am afraid be no , ,

do u bt o n e s u ch passage as the following is decisive

I co nfess that wh ile w ith them (the theologians ) I

,

have never
‘
been able sufiiciently to admire the un atho med f
20 mysteries of Scrip ture, I have still fou nd th em giving utteranc e
to no thing bu t A risto telian and P lato nic sp eculatio ns, artfully
dressed up an d c u nningly accommodated to Holy Writ ,
lest the speakers sho ul d show themselves to o plainl y to
belong to the sect o f the Grecian heathens Nor was it .

eno ugh for th ese men to di scourse w ith th e Greeks they have
further taken to raving w ith th e Hebrew p rop h ets
’
.

Th is pro fe sse s to be a translation o f these words of

‘

Spinoza : Patcor , eos nunqu am satis mirari po tuisse

Scripturae pro fundissima myste ria att ame n praeter
30 A rist o te lic o ru m vel Pl at o nic o ru m spe cul atio n e s nihil
do cuisse video , atque his, n e gentiles se ct ari vide re n tu r,
Scripturam ac co mmo dav erunt No n satis his fuit c um .

Grae cis insani re , se d pro ph et as c um iisde m deliravisse

After o n e s uch specimen o f a translator s
’ ’
v o lue run t .

force the experienced reader has a sort of instinct that he

,

may as well close the book at once with a smile o r a sigh , ,

according as he happens to be a follower o f the weeping

o r o f the laughing p hilosopher If in spite o f t his instinct
.
, ,

h e persists in going o n with the English version of the

40 Tractatus Theo logi co P o liticus he will find many more
-
,

such specimens It is not however my intention to

.

ARN LD
, ,

O 0
1 94 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
fill my space with t h ese or with strictures upon their ,
“

auth or I prefer to remark that he renders a service to

.
,

literary history by pointing o ut in his preface h o w to , ,

Bayle may be traced the disfa vo ur in which the name of

Spinoza w as so long held ; that in his observations on ,

t h e system o f the C h urch o f Engl and he shows a laudable ,

freedom from the prej udices of ordinary English Liberals

o f that advanced school to which he clearly belongs ;
an d lastly that tho ugh he manifests little fa miliarity with
, ,

Latin he seems to have considerable familiarity with 1 0

, .

p hilo sophy and to be well able to follow and comprehend

,

spec ul ative reasoning Let me advise him to unite his .

forces with those o f some o ne w h o h as that acc urate

knowle dge o f Latin which he himself h as not and then , ,

perhaps o f that union a really good translation of Spinoza

,

will be the result And having given him this advice let
.
, ,

me again turn fo r a little to the Tractatus Th eo lo gica

, ,

Po liticas itself .

This work as I have already said is a work o n the

, ,

interpretation o f Scripture it treats of the

—
,

w as it exactly which Spinoza tho ught abo ut the Bible and

its inspiration That will be at the present moment , ,

the central point o f interest fo r the English readers o f his

Treatise No w it is to be observed that j ust on this
.
, ,

very point the Treati se interesting and remarkable as it ,

is will fail to satisfy t h e reader

,
It is impo rtant to seize .

t his notion quite firmly and not to quit hold o f it while ,

s reading Spinoza s work Th e scope o f that work

’
o ne i .

is this Spinoza sees that the life an d practice of Christian

.

nations professing the re ligion of the Bible, are not th e 3 0

due fruits o f the religion of the Bible he sees onl y hatred ,

bitterness an d strife where he might have expected to

, ,

se e love joy and pea c e in believing

, ,
and he asks himself
the reason of this Th e reason is he says that these people
.
, ,

misun derstand their Bible Well then in his conclusion .

, , ,

I will write a Tractatus Theo lo gico P o liticus I will show -

.

these people that taking the Bible for granted taking it

, , ,

to be all which it asserts itself to be taking it to have all ,

t h e au thority w hich it claims it is not what they imagine ,

it to be it does not say wh at they imagine it to say I will 40

,
.

s h ow them what it really does say an d I will show them ,

1 96 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
circ umstances o f the speaker of ten imagine the prophets to ,

assert things which they do not .

Th e prophets clearly declare them selves to have received

the revelation o f Go d through the means o f words and
images — not as C hrist thro ugh immediate communication
, ,

o f the mind with the mind o f Go d Therefore the prophets .

excelled other men by the power and vividness of their

representing and imagining facul ty not by the perfection ,

o f their mind This is w h y they perceived almost every

.

thing t hro ugh figures and express the mselves so variously 1 0

, ,

and so improperly concerning the nature o f Go d Moses

, .

imagined that Go d co ul d be seen and attributed to him ,

the passions o f anger and jealo usy Micaiah imagined h im

sitting o n a throne with the host o f heaven o n his right and
,

left hand ; Daniel as an o ld man with a white garment ,

and white hair Ezekiel as a fire the disciples o f Ch rist

thought they saw the Spirit o f Go d in the form o f a dove
the apostles in the form o f fie ry tongues .

Whence then co ul d the p rophets be certain o f the

, ,

truth o f a revelation which they received through the 20

imagination and not by a mental process
,
for only an -

idea can carry the sense o f its o wn certainty along with it ,

no t an imagination To make the m certain o f the truth

.

o f what w as revealed to them a reasoning process came in ,

they had to rely o n the testi mony o f a sign ; and (above

all ) o n the testimony o f their o wn conscience that they were ,

goo d men and spoke for God s sake Either testimony

,
’
.

w as incomplete witho ut the other Even the good prophet .

nee ded fo r his message the confi rmation o f a sign but the
bad prophet the utterer o f an immoral doctrine had no 3 0
, ,

certainty for his doctrine no truth in it even though , ,

he confirmed it by a si gn Th e testimony o f a good conscience

.

w as therefore the prophet s grand so urce o f certitude

’
.
, ,

Even t his however was only a moral certitude not

, , ,

a mathematical for no man can be perfectly sure o f his

o wn goodness .

Th e power o f imagining the power of feeling what good ,

ness is an d the habit of practising goodness were therefore

, ,

the sole essential qualifications of a tru e prophet B ut .

for th e purpose o f the message the revelation which Go d 40 , ,

designe d him to convey these qualifications were enough,

.
 SPIN OZ A A ND THE BI BLE 1 97

Th e su m and s ubstance o f this revelation w as simply

B elieve in God, and lead a good li e To be the organ o f this
‘

f .

revelation did not make a man more learned it left his

,

scientific kn owledge as it found it This explains the .

contradictory and spec ulatively false opinions abo ut Go d,

and the laws of nature which the patriarchs the prophets
, , ,

the apostles enter tained Abraham and the patriarch s .

kn ew God onl y as El Sadai the power which gives to every ,

man that which s uffices him ; Moses kn ew him as Jehovah ,

1 0 a self existe nt bei

-
ng but imagined him with the passions
,

of a man Samuel imagin ed that God could not repent of

.

his sentences Jere miah that he could Joshu a o n a day ,

.
,

o f great victory the gro und b eing white with hail seein g
, ,

the daylight last longer than us ual and imaginatively ,

seizing this as a special sign of the help divinely promised

to him declared that the sun w as standing still To be
,
.

obeyers of God themselves and inspired leaders of others ,

to obedience and good life did not make Abraham and ,

Moses metaphysicians or Josh u a a natural philosopher , .

2 0 Hi s revelation no more changed the spec ulative opinions

of each prophet than it changed his temperament or
,

style Th e wrathful Elisha required the natural sedative o f

.

m usic before he co uld be the messenger o f good fortune to

,

Jeh o ram Th e high bred Isaiah and N ah u m have the style

.
-

proper to their condition and the rustic Ez ekiel and Amos ,

the style proper to theirs We are not therefore bound to .

pay heed to the specul ative opinions o f this o r that prophet ,

for in uttering these he spoke as a mere man onl y in ex

h o rting his hearers to obey God and lead a good life was
30 he the or an o f a divine revelation
g .

To know and love God is the highest bless edness of

man and o f all men alike to this all mankind are c alled
, ,

and not any o ne nation in partic ular Th e divine law .

,

properly so named is the method of life fo r attaining

,

this hei ght of h uman blesse dness : this law is universal ,

written in the heart and o ne for all mankind Human, .

law is the method o f life fo r attaining and preservin g

temporal sec urity and prosperity this law is di c tated by
a lawgiver an d every nation h as its own In the case
, .

40 of the Jews this law was dictated b y revelation thro ugh

'

, , ,

th e prophets ; its f un damental precept w as to ob ey God

1 98 E S S AYS IN CRITICISM
and to keep h is c ommandments and it is therefore in , ,

a secondary sense calle d divine but it w as neverth eless

, , ,

framed in respect o f temporal things onl y Even the trul y .

moral and di v ine precept o f this law to practise fo r Go d s ,

’

sake j ustice and mercy towards one s neighbour meant ’

,

for the Hebrew of the O ld Testament his Hebrew neighbour

only and h ad respect to the concord and stability o f the
,

Hebrew co mmonwealth Th e Jews were to obey G o d and .

to keep his commandments that they might continue ,

long in the land given to them and that it m ight be well 1 0 ,

with them there Th eir election w as a temporal o ne and

.
,

laste d onl y so long as their State It is n o w over and the .

onl y election the Jews n o w have is that o f the p ious the ,

remnan t which takes pl ace and h as always tak en place

, , ,

in every other nation also Scripture itself teach es that .

there is a un iversal divine law that this is common to all ,

nations alike and is the law which truly confers eternal

,

blesse dness Solomon the wisest o f the Jews knew this

.
, ,

l aw as the fe w wisest men in all nations have ever known

,

it but for the mass o f the Jews as for the mass o f man 20 ,

kind everywhe re this law was hidden and they h ad no

, ,

notion o f its moral action its vera vita which conducts to ,

eternal blessedness except so far as this action w as enj oined

,

u pon them by the prescriptions o f their temporal l aw .

When the ruin o f their State bro ugh t with it the ruin o f
their temporal law they wo uld have lost altogether their
,

onl y cl ue to e ternal bless edness .

C hrist came when that fabric o f the Jewish State for ,

the sake o f which the Jewish law existed w as about to ,

fall and he proclaimed the universal divine law A fiertain 30 .

moral action is prescribed by this law as a certain moral ,

a ction w as prescribe d by the Jewish law : but he who

trul y c onceives the universal divine law conc eives God s ’

decrees adequ ately as eternal truths and for him moral ,

a ction has liberty and self knowledge while the prophets -

o f the Jewish law inadequ ately conceived God s decrees

’

as mere rul es and commands and for them moral a ction ,

h ad no liberty and no self knowledge Christ w h o beheld-

.

th e decrees o f G o d as Go d himself beholds them — as ,

eternal truths proclaimed the love o f God and the lo v e 40

,
— .

o f o ur neighbo ur as co mmands onl y bec a use o f the ignorance ,

200 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
and v ery simple
Th e precept to lo e G o d an d o ur nei gh
. v
bo ur Th e precepts o f the first chapter of Isaiah
. Wash
y o u ,
make yo u clean ; pu t away t h e evil o f yo ur doin g s
from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to do
well ; seek j udgment ; relieve the o p ressed j udge th e
fatherless ; plead for the wi dow ’
he precepts o f th e .

Sermon o n the Mo unt , which add to the foregoing the

inj unction that w e sh o uld cease to do evil an d learn to do
well , n o t to o ur brethren and fellow citizens onl y , but to -

all mankind It is by following these precepts that belief

.
10

in God is to be shown if we believe in him we shall keep ,

his commandment and this is h is commandment that we ,

love o ne another It is be c ause it c ontains these prec epts

.

that the Bible is properly call ed the Word o f God in spite ,

of i ts containing m uc h that is mere history and like all , ,

history sometimes tru e sometimes false ; in spite o f its

, ,

containing m u ch that is mere reasoning and like all , ,

reasoning sometimes sound sometimes hollow Th ese

, ,
.

precepts are also the pre cepts o f the universal divine law
w ritten in o ur hearts ; an d it is onl y by this that the 20
divinity of Script ure is establishe d by its containing -
,

namely pre cepts identical with those of this inl y written

,
-

and self proving law This law was in th e worl d as St John

-
.
, .

says before the do ctrine o f Moses or the doctrine o f Christ

,
.

A n d what nee d w as there then for these doctrines Be , ,

c a u se the worl d at large knew not this ori ginal divine

law in which prec epts are i deas an d the belief in God the
, ,

knowle dge an d contemplation o f him R eason gives u s .

this law reason tell s u s that it leads to e ternal blesse dness

, ,

and that those w h o follow it h ave no nee d o f any other 3 0 .

B u t reason c o u ld not have tol d u s th at the moral a c tion o f

t h e universal divine law followe d not from a sense of ,
—

its intrinsic goodnes s tr uth an d ne c essity but simply in

-

, ,

proof o f obe dience (for both the Old an d New Testament

are but o n e long dis cipline o f obe dienc e ) simply becau se ,

it is so commanded by Moses in virt u e o f th e covenant ,

simply be c au se it is so commande d by Ch rist in virt ue of

his e and passion c an lead to eternal blessedness which
lif —
, ,

means fo r reason eternal knowle dge R eason could not

, , .

have told u s this an d this is what the Bible tells us This 40

, .

is that thin g which h ad been kept secret since the fo und s

 S PINO ZA A ND THE BI BLE 201

tion of the worl d It is th u s that by means o f the foolish

.
’

ness o f the worl d God confo unds the wise and with things ,

that are not brings to nought things that are O f the truth .

o f the pro mise th u s made to obe dience w itho u t knowle dge ,

w e can have no mathematical certainty for w e can have

a mathematical certainty onl y o f things deduced by
reason from elements which she in herself possesses .

B u t w e can have a moral certain ty o f it a certainty s uch

as the prophets had themselves ar ising o u t of the goodness ,

1 0 and p ureness o f those to whom this revelation has been

made and rendered possible fo r us by its c o ntradic ting
'

no principle s of reason It is a great comfort to believe it

.

becau se as it is onl y the very small minority who can ,

p urs ue a virt uous life by the sole g uidance of reason we ,

s h oul d unl ess w e had this testimony o f Scripture be in

, ,

do ubt respecting the salvation of nearly the whole h uman

rac e f
It follows from this that philosophy has her o wn inde
pendent sphere and theology hers and that neither
’

, ,

2 0 h as the righ t to invade an d try to s u bd u e the ot h er .

Theology deman ds perfect obe dience ph ilosophy perfect ,

knowle dge the obe dience demanded by theology and

the knowledge demanded by philosophy are alike saving .

A s spec ulative opinions abou t God th eology requires only ,

s u ch as are indispensable to the reality o f this obe dience

t h e belief that G o d is that he is a rewarder o f them that
,

seek him and that the proof o f seeking him is a go o d life

, .

Th ese are the f u ndamentals o f faith and they are so clear ,

an d simple that none o f the inacc uracies provable in the

30 Bible narrative the least affect them and they have ,

in dubitably come to us un c o rrupted He who holds them

'

may make as the patriarc hs and prophets did other spec ul a

, ,

tions about Go d most erroneo us and yet their faith is ,

complete and saving N ay beyond these f undamentals

.
, ,

spe c ul ative opinions are pio u s or impio u s not as they are ,

true or false but as they confi rm o r shake th e believer in

,

t h e practice of obedience Th e tru est spec u lative opinion

.

abou t th e nature of God is impiou s if it makes its

hol der rebelliou s ; the falsest spec ulative opinion is pio u s
40 if it makes him obedient Governments shoul d never .

render themselves the tools o f ecclesiastical ambition by

202 E SS AYS IN CR ITICISM
promul gating as fundamentals o f the national Ch urch s ’

faith more than these and should concede the fullest ,

liberty o f spec ulation .

B u t the mul titude which respects only what astonish es

, ,

terrifies and overwhelms it by n o means takes this simple

, ,

view o f its o wn religion To the m ultitude religion seems

.
,

imposing onl y when it is s ubversive o f reason confirmed ,

by miracles conveyed in doc uments materially sacred

,

and infallible and doomin g to damnation all without its

,

pale B ut this religion o f the multitude is no t the religion 1 0

.

which a tru e inte rpretation of Scripture finds in Scripture .

R eason tells us that a miracle — understanding by a miracle ,

a breac h o f the laws of nature — is impossible and that to , ,

think it possible is to dishonour God fo r the laws o f nature

are the laws o f God and to say that God violate s the laws
,

o f nat ure is to say that he violate s his o wn natu re R eason .

sees t o o that mir acles can never attain their professe d

, ,

obj ect — that of bringing us to a high er knowledge o f

,

God ; since o ur knowle dge o f God is rais ed onl y by perfect :

ing and clearing o ur conceptions and the alleged design 20 ,

o f miracles i s to baffle them B ut neither does Scripture .

anywhere assert as a general truth that miracles are

, ,

possible Indeed it asserts the contrary ; fo r Jeremiah

.
,

declares that N ature follows an invariable order Scrip .

t ure however like N ature herself does not lay down

, , ,

s pec ul ative propositions (Scrip tura definitiones non tradit ,

u t nec etiam natu ra) It relates matters in s uch an order

.

and with such phraseology as a speaker (often not perfectly

instru cted himself ) who wanted to impress his hearers
with a lively sense o f God s greatness and goodness woul d so ’

naturally employ ; as Moses for instance relate s to the , ,

Israelites the p assage o f the R ed Sea without any mention

o f the east wi nd which attended it and which is brough t ,

accidentally t o o ur knowledge in another place So that to .

know exactly what Scripture means in the relation o f each

seeming miracle w e ought to know (besi des the tropes and
,

phrases o f the Hebrew lang uage ) the circ umstances an d ,

also — since every one is swayed in his manner o f presenting

,

facts by h is o wn preconceived opinions and we have seen ,

what those o f the prophets were — the preconcei v e d 40 ,

Opinions o f each speaker B ut this mode o f interpreting .

204 ESS AYS IN CRITICIS M
in which the s ubj ect is through out treated h is work ,

undeniably is most inte resting and stim ul ating to th e

general c ulture of Europe Th ere are alle ged contradictions .

in Script ure an d the question which th e general culture

o f Europe ,
inform ed of this asks with real interest is ,

What th en ? Spinoza addresses himself to this question .

A ll secon dary points o f criticism he tou ches with the u tmost

ossible brevity He points o ut that Moses coul d never
pave written And the Canaanite w as then in th e land
.

’
,

because the C anaanite w as in the land still at the death of 1 0

Moses He points o ut th at Moses coul d never have written
.

There arose n o t a prophet since in Israel like u nto Moses

’
.

He points o ut h o w s uch a passage as These are the kings ,

that reign ed in Edom before there reigned any king o ver the
children of Israel clearly indicates an author writing not
,
’

before the times o f the Kin gs He points o ut h o w the .

account o f Og s iron bedstead : O nly Og the kin g of

’ ‘

Bashan remained o f the remnant of giants ; behold his ,

be dstead w as a be dstead o f iron is it not in R abbath of

the children o f Ammon — probab ly indicates an author 20
writing after Davi d had taken R abbath and foun d there ,

ab undance of spoil amongst it this iron bedstead the

,
’
,

g igantic relic of another age He points o u t how the lang u a.

g e
o f this passage and o f s u c h a passage as that in the Book
,

o f Sam u el . Beforetime in Israel when a man went to ,

inquire o f Go d th us he spake : C ome an d let u s go to th e

,

s e er ; fo r he that Is now calle d proph et was aforetime calle d

se er — is c ert amly the langu age o f a writer describing th e
events of a long past age and n o t the language of a con ,

temporary B ut he devotes to all this no more space than 3 0

.

is absol utely necessary He apologises for delayin g over .

s u ch matters so long non est cur circa h aec diu detin ear
.

no lo taediosd lection e lectorem detinere F o r him the in t e re st .

ing question is not whether the fanatical devotee of the

,

letter is to contin ue for a longer or for a shorter time to

, ,

believe that Moses sate in th e land of Moab writing th e

description o f his o wn death but what he 1 s to believe when ,

he does no t believe this Is he to take fo r the gui dance o f

.

a great gloss put upon the Bible by th eologians ,

wh o ,
not content with going mad themselves with Plato
and Aristo tle want to make Christ and th e prophets go
,
 PINO ZA
S A ND THE BI BLE 205

mad with them the Bible itself ? Is he to be

’
to o , — or

presented by h is national ch urch with metaphysical

formularies for his creed o r with the real fundamentals ,

o f C hristianity If with the former religion will never ,

produ ce its due fr uits A few elect will sti ll be saved

.

but th e vast maj ority o f mankind will remain witho ut

grace and witho u t good works hateful and hating one ,

another Therefore he calls urgently upon governments

.

t o make the national ch urch what it sho ul d be Th is .

11 0 is the concl u sion of the Whole matter for him a fervent

appeal to the State to save us from the untoward generation
,

o f metaphysical Article makers An d therefore anticipating

-
.
,

Mr Gl adstone he call ed his book Th e Church in its

.
,

R elations with the State

’
.

Such is really the scope o f Spinoza s work He p urs ues ’

.

a great obj ect and p ursues it with signal ability but it is

,

important to observe that he does not give us his o w n

opinion about the Bible s fundamental character He ’
.

takes the Bible as it stands as he might take the phenomena ,

20 of nat ure and he discusses it as he fin ds it R evelation

, .

differs from nat ural knowledge he says not by being more , ,

divine o r more certain than natural knowledge but by ,

being conveyed in a different way ; it di ffers from it

because it is a knowledge of which the laws o f h u man
nature considered in themselves alone cannot be the
cau se . What is really its cau se he says we need n o t
’
, ,

here inquire (verum n ec nobis jam op us est p rop h eticae

cognitioni s causam sci re) for we take Scripture which , ,

contains this revelation as it stands and do not ask h o w

, ,

30 it arose (do cumento rum causas n i h il curamus) .

Proceeding o n this principle Spinoza leaves the attentive ,

reader somewhat baffled and disappointed clear as is his ,

way o f treating his subj ect an d remarkable as are the ,

conclu sions with which he presents u s He starts we feel .

, ,

from what is to him a hypothesis and we want to know ,

what he really thinks about this hypothesis His greatest .

novelties are all Within limits fixed fo r him by this hypo

thesis He says that the voice which calle d Samu el w as an
.

imaginary voice ; he says that the waters o f the R ed Se a

40 retreated before a stron wind he says that the Sh u n am
g
mi te s son was revived by the natural h eat of Elisha s
’ ’
206 ESS AYS IN CRITICISM
body ; he says that the rainbow which was made a sign
to Noah appeared in the ordinary co urse o f nature Scrip .

ture itself rightly interpreted says he affirms all this

, , , , .

B u t he asserts that the voice which u ttered the command

ments o n Mount Sinai w as a real voice a vera vox He says , .
,

indeed that this voice could not really give to the Israelites
,

that proof wh i ch they imagined it ga v e to them o f the

existence of God and that God on Sinai w as dealing with
,

the Israelites onl y according to th eir imperfect kn owledge .

Still he asserts the voice to have been a real o n e and fo r 1 0

this reason that w e do violence to Scripture if w e do not
,

admit it to have been a real o ne (nisiScrip turae vim inferre

veli mus ,
o mnino co ncedendu m est, Israé litas vera m vo ce m
audivi
sse ) attentive re
.a der wantsTh e
t o know what
Spinoza himself tho u ght abo ut this vera vox and its
possibi lity ; he is mu ch more inte rested in knowing this ,

than in knowing what Spinoz a considered Scripture to

affirm abou t the matter .

Th e feeling o f perplexity th us caused is not diminished

by the language of the chapte r on miracles In this chapter 20 .

Spinoza broadly affi rms a miracle t o be an impossibility .

B ut he hi mself contrasts the method of demonstr ation

a priori by which he claims to have established this
,

proposition with the method which he has pursu ed in

,

treating o f prophetic revelation This revelation he ,

’

says is a matter o ut o f h uman reach and therefore I w as

, ,

bound to take it as I found it M o nere vo lo me alia ’

q
.
,

pro rsus miracu la processisse

methodo uam circa
circa

q
,

ro
p p h etiam u o d etiam co nsu lto feci gu ia de p roph etid
q q q
, ,

uando uidem i a ca/ tu m humanum su erat et ua ti

p s p p es o 3 0

mere th eologica est nihil afiirmare n egue etiam scire p oteram

, ,

in guo ip sa po tissimum constiterit nisi ex fu ndament is ,

revela tis reader feels that Spinoza procee ding o n

. Th e ,

a hypothesis h as presented him with the assertion of

,

a miracle and afterwards procee ding dp riori h as presente d

, , ,

him with the assertion th at a miracle is impossible He .

feels that Spinoza does no t adequately reconcile these tw o

assertions by declaring that any event really miracul ous if ,

fo und recorded in Scripture must be a spurio us addition ,

made to Scripture by sacril egious men Is then he asks 40 .

’
, , ,

the vera vo w of Mount Sinai in Spinoza s opinion a spurio us ’

208 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
worth o f their o wn indepe ndent of t h e silence o r am biguity
,

o f their a uthor u po n a point o f cardinal im ortance F ew

p .

candid people will read h is r ules o f interpretation witho ut

exclaiming that they are the very dictates o f good sense ,

that they have always believed in them ; an d without

adding after a moment s reflection that they have passe d
,
’
,

their lives in violating them And what can be more .

interesting than to find that perhaps the main cause

o f the decay o f the Jewish polity w as o n e o f w hich from
o ur English Bible which enti rely mist ranslates the 2 6th 1 0
,

verse of the 2oth chapter o f Ezekiel we hear nothing , ,

the perpetual reproac h o f impurity and rejection cast

u pon the mass o f the He b rew nation by the excl u sive
priesthood o f the tribe o f Ic vi ? What can be more
suggestive after Mr Mill and Dr Stanl ey have been
, . .

telling us h o w great an element of strength to the Hebrew

nation w as the institution o f prophets than to hear from ,

the ablest o f Hebrews h o w this i nstitution seems to him

to have be en to his nation o ne o f her main elements o f
weakness No intelligent man can rea d the Tractatus 20
Th eo logico P o liticus witho u t being profo un dl y instru cte d
-

by it but neither can he read it without feeling that as ,

a spe cul ative work it is to use a French military expression

, , ,

in the air that in a certain sense it is in want o f a base

, ,

and in want o f s upports that t his base and these supports

are at any rate not to be fo und in the work itself and if
, , , ,

th ey exist must be so ught fo r in other works o f the

,

auth or .

Th e genuine spe c ul ative opinions o f Spinoza which

p

the Tractatus Theo logico Po liticas but imperfectly reveals 3 0

-

may in his Ethics and in his Letters be found se t forth

clearly It is however the business of criticism to deal
.
, ,

with every independent work as with an independent

whole an d instead o f establishing between the Tractatus
, ,

Th eo logico Po liticas and the Ethics of Spinoza a relation

-

whi c h Spinoza himself h as n o t establish e d — to seize in , ,

dealing with the Tractatus Th eo logico Po liticas the impor -

,

tant fact that this work has its so urce not in the axioms ,

and definitions o f the Ethics but in a hypothesis ,

Th e .

Ethics are no t yet translate d into English an d I have not 40 ,

h ere to speak of them Then will be the right time fo r

.
 S P INO ZA A ND THE B I BLE 209

criticism to try and seize the special character and tendencies

o f that remarkable work when it is dealing with it directly , .

Th e criticism o f the Ethi c s is far t o o serio u s a task t o be

undertaken inci dentally an d merely as a s u pplement to ,

the criticism o f the Tractatus Th eo logico Po liticus Never -

.

t h e le ss o n certain governing i deas o f Spinoza which receive

, ,

their systematic expression indee d in t h e Ethics and on , , ,

which the Tractatus Th eologico Po liticus is not formally -

base d but which are yet never absent from Spinoza s

’
,

1 0 mind in the composition of any work which breathe thro u gh ,

all his works and fil l them with a pec uliar e ffect and power
, ,

I have a word o r two t o say .

A philosopher 8 real po wer over mankin d resi des no t

’

in his metaphysical formul as but in the spirit and ten ,

de n cie s w hich have led him to a dopt those formul as .

Spinoza s critic therefore h as rather to bring to li gh t

’
, ,

that spirit and those tendencies o f his author than to ,

exhibit his metaphysical formul as Propositions abo ut .

su bstance pass by mankind at large like the idle wind ,

20 which mankind at large regar ds not ; it will n o t even ‘

liste n to a word abo u t these propositions u nless it first ,

learns what their author w as driving at with them and

.

fin ds that t his object o f his is one with which it sympathises ,

o ne
,
at any rate which commands its attention A nd
, .

mankind is so far right that th is object o f the autho r

is really as h as been said that which is most important
, , ,

that which sets all his work in motion that which is the ,

sec ret o f his attraction fo r other minds which by different , ,

ways pursue the same object

,
.

Mr Mauri c e seeking fo r the cause o f Goethe s great

’
30 .
,

a dmiration for Spinoza t hinks that he fin ds it in Spinoza s ,

’

Hebrew geni us He spoke o f Go d says Mr Maurice

.
,
’
.
,
‘
as an act ual being to t h ose who h ad fancie d him a name
,

in a book Th e c hild o f the circumcision h ad a message

.

for Lessing and Goethe which the pagan schools o f philo

sophy co uld n o t bring This seems to me I confess .
’
, ,

fanciful An inte nsity and impressiveness which came to

.
,

him from his Hebrew nature Spinoza no do ubt h as but ,

the t w o thin gs which are most remarkable abo ut him and ,

40 by which as I think h e c hiefly im pressed Goethe

, ,
seem ,

to me not to come to him from h is Hebrew nature at all

ARN LD
,

O p
2 10 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
—I mean his denial o f final cau ses an d his stoicism , ,

a stoi c ism not passive but active F o r a mind like Go ethe s

’
.
, ,

— a mind p rofo un dl y impartial an d passionately aspiring

after the science not o f men onl y but o f u niversal nature

, ,

the popular philosophy whic h explains all things by refer

ence to man an d regards u niversal nature as existin g fo r
,

the sake o f man an d even o f certain c lasses o f men w as

, ,

u tterly rep ul sive Unchecke d this phil osophy woul d

.
,

gladly maintain that the donkey exists in order that the

invalid C hristian may ha ve donkey s milk before break 1 0 ’

f ast an d su ch views of natu re as t his were exactly what

Go ethe s whole so ul abhorred Creation he tho ught
’
.
, ,

sho uld be made o f st erner stuff ; he desire d to rest the

donkey s existence o n larger gro un ds More than any
’
.

philosopher w h o h as e ver li ve d Spinoza satisfied him here ,

.

Th e ful l exposition o f the co unte r doctrine to the popular -

do c trine of fin al cause s is to be fo und in the Ethics but

this denial o f fi nal cau ses w as so essential an element o f
all Spinoza s thinking that w e shall as has been sai d
’
,

alrea dy find it in the work with which we are here c o n 20

,

cerne d the Tractatus T h eologico Po liticas and indee d

,
-
, , ,

permeating that work and all his works From the Trac .

tatus T h eo logico Po liticas one may take as good a general

-

statement o f this denial as any which is to be found in

t h e Ethics
De u s nat uram dirigit pro ut e jus le ges u niversales non
, ,

a u tem pro ut h u man ae naturae partic ulares le ges e xigunt

ade o q
,

u e De u s non soliu s h u mani generis se d t o t iu s nat urae ,

rationem h abet (G od . d
’
irects na tu re ac co rding as th e ,

universal f
laws o but no t accordi
na ture, ng a s th e p articu lar 30

laws of h uman na ture re uire q

and so God has regard, no t
,

of the hu ma n race on ly, b u t of entire na tu re ) .

A n d, as a pendant to t his denial by Spinoza o f final

causes , comes his stoicism :
Non stude mu s, u t natura nobis , se d contra ut nos
naturae pare amu s (Our desire is not that nature may
’
.

o bey us, b u t, o n th e contrary, that w e ma y o bey natu re ) .

Here is the second source o f his attractiveness for

G oethe ; an d Goet h e is but the eminent representative
o f a w h ole or der o f min ds whose a dmiration has ma de 40

Spinoza s fa me Spinoza first impresses Goethe and any

’
,
.
212 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
the same thing whic h the Hebrew and C hristian religions
mean by the love o f Go d He makes the love o f Go d to .

consist in the knowle dge o f Go d ; and as we kn ow Go d ,

o nly thro ugh h is manifestation o f himself in the laws o f

all nature it is by knowing these laws that w e love Go d
, ,

and the more we know them the more w e love h im This .

may be true but this is not what the Christian means by

,

the love o f Go d Spinoza s ideal is th e intellectual life

.
’

the C hristian s ideal is the religio us life Betwe en the t wo

’
.

c ondi tio ns there is all the difference which the re is between 1 0

the bein g in love and the following with delighted com
, ,

prehension a re asoning o f Plato F o r Spin o z a undo ubte dl y

, .
, ,

the crown o f the intellectual life is a transport as fo r t h e ,

saint the cro wn o f the religio us life is a transport but th e

t w o transports are n o t the same .

This is true yet it is true also that by thus crowning , ,

the intellectu al life with a sacre d transport by thus retain ,

ing in philosophy a mid the discontente d mu rmurs o f all,

the army o f atheism the name o f Go d Spinoza maintains , ,

a profo und aflinit y with that which is truest in religion 20 ,

and inspi res an indestructible inte rest One o f his admirers .

,

M Van Vlo te n has recently p ublished at Amsterdam

.
,

a supplementary vol ume to Spinoza s works containing ’

,

the interesting doc ument o f Spinoza s sentence of e x co m ’

munic at io n from which I have already qu oted and co n

, ,

taining besi des several lately fo un d works alle ge d to be

, ,

Spinoza s w hich seem to me to be o f do ubtful au thenticity

’
, ,

an d even if a uthentic
,
of no great importance M Van ,
. .

Vlo te n (w h o let me be permitte d to say in passing writes

, ,

a Latin which wo ul d make o ne think that the art o f writing 30

Latin mu st be n o w a lost art in the cou ntry o f L ipsius) is
very anxiou s that Spinoza s unscientific retention o f the ’

name o f Go d should n o t a fflict his readers with any doubts

as to his pe rfect scientific orthodoxy
It is a great mistake he c ries to disparage Spino z a ,
’
,

as merely one o f the dogmatists before Kant By keeping .

the name o f Go d while he did away with his person and

,

c haracter he h as done himself an inj usti ce Those w h o

, .

look to the bottom o f things will see that long ago as , ,

he lived he had even then reached t h e point to which th e 40

,

post Hegelian philosophy an d the study of natural s cience

-
 S PINO ZA A ND THE B IB LE 21 3

b
h as only j ust ro ught o u r o w n times Lei nit z expressed . b
his apprehension lest those w h o did away with final ca u se s
shoul d do away with Go d at the same time B ut it is in .

his having done away with final causes , and w ith God
along w ith th em, that Spino z a s tru e merit consists
’ ’
.

No w it m u st be remarked that to use Spinoza s de nial

’

o f final cau ses in order to identify him with the C oryphaei

o f atheism , is to make a false u se o f Spinoza s denial o f
’

fin al causes , j u st as t o use his assertion o f the all impor -

10 tance o f loving Go d to identify him with the saints wo uld

be to make a false u se o f his assertion o f the all importance -

o f loving Go d He is no more to be identified with the

.

post Hegelian philosophers than he is to be identified with

-

St Augustine
. U nction , indeed , Spinoza s writings have
.
’

not t h at name does no t precisely fit any quality which

they exhibit And yet so all important in the sphere o f
.
,
-

religious thought is the power o f e dific atio n that in this ,

sphere a great fame like Spino z a s can never be foun ded ’

w itho ut it A cou rt o f literature can never be very severe

.

o to Voltaire with that inimitable wit and clear sense o f

h is he c annot write a page in which the ful lest head may
,

no t find somet hing s uggestive still becau se with all h is ,

wit and clear sense he handles religiou s ideas wholly

,

witho ut the power o f e dificatio n his fame as a great ,

man is equivocal Strauss h as treated the question o f

.

Script ure miracles with an ac uteness and fulness which

even to the most i nformed minds is instructive ; but
becau se he treats it wholly without the power o f e dific a
tion h is fame as a serio us thinker is equivocal B ut in
, .

so Spinoza there is no t a trace either o f Voltaire s passion for

’

mockery o r o f Strauss s passion fo r demolition His whole

’
.

soul w as fil led with desire o f the love and knowledge o f

G o d and o f that only
, Philosophy always proclaims her
.

self o n the w ay to the summum bo num but t o o often o n

the road sh e seems to forget her destination and sufle rs ,

her hearers to forget it also Spinoza never forgets his

.

destination Th e love o f Go d is man s highest happiness

’

and blesse dness and the final end and aim o f all human
,

actions — Th e s upreme rewar d fo r keeping God s Word is

’

40 that Word itself— n amely t o know him and with free w ill
,

an d p ure and constant heart love h im these sentences

2 14 E S S AYS IN CRITICISM
are the keynote to all he pro duc e d an d were the inspira ,

tion o f all h is labo urs This is w h y he turns so sternly upon

.

the wors ppers

h i o f the letter the edito rs o f the M asora
—
, ,

the editor o f the Record — because their doctrine i mpe rils

o u r love and knowled e o f Go d What he cries o ur
g .
,

knowledge o f Go d to depend u pon these perishable things ,

which Moses can dash t o the gro und and break to pieces
like the first tables o f sto ne o r o f which the originals can ,

be lost like the original bo ok o f the Covenant like the ,

original book o f the L aw o f Go d like the book o f the 1 0 ,

Wars o f Go d which can come to u s confused imper ,

feet miswritten by copyists tampered with by doctors !

, ,

And yo u acc use others o f impiety ! It is yo u who are

impiou s to believe that God would c ommit the treasure
,

o f t h e tru e record o f hi mself to any s u bstance less enduring

than the heart 1

An d Spino z a s life w as not u nwo rthy o f this elevated
’

strain A p h ilosopher w h o professed that kn owle dge w as

.

its o wn reward a devote e w h o professed that the love o f

,

Go d w as it s o wn reward t his philosopher and this devotee 20 ,

believe d in what he said Spino z a led a life the most .

spotless perhaps to be fo und among the lives o f philo

, ,

sophers he lived simple studious even tempe red kind ; , ,

-
,

declining honours declinin g ric h es declining notoriety

, ,
.

He w as poor and his admirer Simon de Vries sent him tw o

,

tho usand flo rin s h e refuse d them Th e same friend left

-
.

him his fortune h e retu rned it to the heir He w as

— .

aske d to de dicate o n e of his works to the magnificent

patron o f letters in his century Louis the Fourteenth ,

he declined His great work his Ethics p ublishe d after 3 0

.
, ,

his death he gave inj unctions to h is friends to p u blish

,

anonymously for fear he s h oul d give his name to a school

,
.

Trut h he t h o ught sho ul d be ar no man s n ame

’
, ,
A nd .

fin al ly Unless he said I h ad known that my writings

, ,
’
,

wo uld in the e nd advance the c au se o f true reli gion I woul d ,

have suppresse d them — tacuissem It w as in this spirit ,

.
’

that he live d ; an d this spirit gives to all he writes not

exactly unction — I h ave already sai d so but a kind of
, ,
-

sa c re d solemnity Not o f t h e same order as t h e saints he

.
,

yet follows t h e same service Dou btles s thou art our F ather 40 ,

th o ugh A brahambe igno rant ofus, andIsrael ackno wledge us no t .

216 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
his faults ) o f truest geni u s that Germany h as prod uc ed
since Goeth e — a man with faults as I have said imm ense
, , ,

faults the greatest o f t h em being that he could reve rence

,

so little —reverenced Spinoza Hegel s i nfluence ran o ff ’

.
,

him like water : I have see n He gel he cries seate d ,

’
,

with his doleful air o f a hatc hing hen u pon h is unhappy

e ggs and I have heard s ismal d cking Ho w easily
,
hi d u —

o n e can cheat oneself into thinking that o n e understan ds

everythin g when o ne h as learnt only h o w to constru ct

,

dialectical formul as B ut o f Spinoza Heine sai d : His 1 0 ,

life w as a copy o f the life o f his divine kin sman Jesus ,

C hrist .
’

A nd therefore when M Van Vlo te n violently presses

, .

the parallel with t h e post Hegelians o ne feels that t h e

.
-
,

parall el with St Au gustine is the far truer one Compared

. .

with the so l dier o f irreligion M Van Vlo te n woul d have .

him to be Spinoza is religious,

It is true o ne may say .
,
’

t o the wise an d devo u t C hristian Spinoza s conception

’
,

o f beatitu de i s no t yo u rs and c annot satisfy yo u ; but

,

W hose conception o f beatitude wo ul d yo u accept as satis 20

fyin g No t even that o f the devo u te st o f yo ur fellow
C h ristians Fra Angelico the sweetest and most inspired
.
,

o f devo u t so uls h as given u s in his great pict ure o f t he

, ,

Last Judgment his conception o f beatitu de Th e elect

,
.

are going round in a ring o n long grass u nder l aden fruit

trees ; t w o o f t h em more restless th an the oth ers are
, ,

flying up a battlemente d street a street blank with all ,

-

t h e enn u i o f t h e M i ddle Ages Across a gulf is visible for .

,

t h e dele c tation o f t h e saints a blazin g c aldro n in w hic h

'

Beelzebu b is sou sin g the damne d Th is is hardl y more 3 0 .

“
yo ur conception o f beatitude t h an Spinoza s is B ut in ’
.

my Father s h o use are many mansions

’
only to reac h ,

any o ne o f t h e se mansions th ere are nee ded the wings o f ,

»
a genuine sacre d transport o f an immortal longing ,
“ ,

These wings Spinoza h ad an d becau se he had them his , ,

o w n langu age a bo u t himself abo u t his aspirations an d his ,

c o urse are tru e his foot is in t h e vera vita h is eye o n

, ,

the be atific vi sion .

 MA R CUS AUR EL I US

MR . MIL L says in his book o n Liberty that Christian

, ,

morality is in great part merely a protest against paganism

it s ideal is negative rather than positive passive rather ,

than active He says that in certain most important

.
’
, ,
‘
respects ,
it falls far below t h e best morality o f the
ancients No w the object o f systems of morality is to
.
’
,

take possession o f human life t o save it from being aban ,

do n e d t o passion o r allowed to drift at hazard to give it ,

happiness by establishing it in the practice o f virt ue and

1 0 t his object they seek t o attain by prescribing t o hu man
life fixed principles o f action fix ed rules o f conduct In ,
.

its uninspire d as well as in it s inspired moments in it s ,

days o f langu or and gloom as well as in it s days o f su n

s hine and energy hu man life h as thus always a clue to
,

follow and may always be making w ay towards its goal

, .

C hristian morality has not failed to supply to human life

ai ds o f this sort It h as supplied them far more abun dantly
.

than many o f its criti c s imagine Th e most e xquisite .

doc u ment after those o f the Ne w Testament o f all the

, ,

2 0 doc u ments the C hristian spirit h as ever inspired — the ,

Imita tion — by no means contains the whole o f C h ristian

,

morality ; nay the disparagers o f this morality woul d

,

think t h emselves s ure o f tri umphin g if o n e agree d t o look

for it in the Imitation only B ut even the Imitation is .

full o f passages like these Vita sine proposito languida

e t vaga e st ; O mni die renovare de be mus propositu m
nostru m dicentes : nu nc ho die peric o te incipiamus quia
, ,

nihil e st quod h acte nu s fe cimu s Se c un du m proposit u m

nostru m est c ursu s pro fe ctus nostri R aro etiam un u m
3 0 viti u m
pe rfe c t e v in c imu s e t ad q dianum profe ctum no n
u o ti ,

ac c e n dimur Semper aliqui d certi pro po n e n dum est

Tibi ipsi viol entiam frequ enter fac (A life witho ut
is
langu id, dri h — Ever da w e o u h t
a u
p pr o se
f g
t
ain t ing y y g
to renew ou r pu rp ose, saying to oursel ves This day let us
21 8 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
ma ke a sound beginn ing, fo r what we ha ve h itherto do n e is
nought — 0 u r improvement is in p rop ortion to our p ur
p ose —
W e h a rdl y eve r m a n a ge to get comp letely rid even of
one fault, and do no t set o ur h earts on daily i mprovement
A lways p lace a definite p urp ose before thee Get the habit
'

o
f m asterin g th in e inc l inat i
o n ) Th ese are moral precepts
.
,

and moral pre ce pts o f the best kind A s rules to h old .

possession o f o ur conduct an d to keep u s in the right

,

cou rse through o utward tro ubles and inward perplexity ,

they are equal to the best ever furnishe d by the great 1 0

maste rs o f morals — Epictetu s o r Marcus Aurelius
, .

B ut moral rul es apprehended as i deas first and then

, ,

rigoro usly followe d as laws are and mu st be fo r the sage

, , ,

onl y Th e mass o f mankind have neither force o f intelle ct

.

eno ugh to apprehend them clearly as ideas nor force o f ,

characte r enou gh to follow them strictly as laws Th e .

mass of mankind can be carrie d along a course full o f

h ardship for the nat ural man can be borne over t h e ,

tho usand impe diments o f the narrow w ay only by the ,

tide o f a joyful an d bo unding emotion It is impossible 20 .

to rise from reading Epictetu s o r Marc u s Aureli u s with o u t

a sense o f restrain t and melancholy without feelin g that ,

the burden laid u pon man is well nigh greater than he -

can bear Honour to the sages who have felt this an d

.
,

yet have h o m e it ! Yet even fo r the sage this sense of

, ,

labo ur an d sorrow in h is marc h towar ds t h e goal constitu tes

a relative inferiority the noblest so uls o f whatever cree d ,

the pagan Empe docles as well as t h e C hristian Paul have ,

insiste d o n the necessity o f an inspiration a joyful emotion , ,

to make moral action perfect ; an obsc ure in dication of 30

this necessity is the o ne drop o f truth in th e ocean o f
verbiage with whic h the controversy o n j ustification by
faith h as floode d the worl d B ut for the ordinary man
.
, ,

this sense o f l abour an d sorrow constitutes an absolute

disqu alifi c ation ; it paralyses him ; u n der the wei ght o f
it he cannot make way towards the goal at all Th e
,
.

paramo un t virtue of reli gion is that it h as lighted up ,

morality that it h as su pplied t h e emotion an d inspiration

nee dfu l for carryin g the sage along the narrow way perfectly ,

fo r carrying the ordinary man along it at all Even the 40 .

religions with most dross in them h ave h ad something o f

22 0 E SSAY S IN CRITIC
JS M

this maxim with an inspiration which wonderf t catch es

th e hearer an d makes him act upon it It is becau se .

Mr Mill h as attained to the pe rception of truths o f this

.

nat re that he is instead o f bein g like the school from

u ,
—
, ,

w ch h procee s doomed to sterility a writer o f dis

hi e d ,
—
,

tin guish ed mark an d infl u ence a writer deserving all ,

attention and resp ect ; it is (I must be pardoned for

saying ) because he is no t suffi ciently leavened with th em ,

that he falls j ust short o f being a great writer .

That which gives to the moral writings o f the Emperor 1 0

Marc us Aureli us their pec uliar character and charm is ,

their being suffused and softened by something o f this

very sentiment whence Christian morality draws its best
power Mr Long h as re cently p ub lished in a convenient
. .

form a translation o f these writings and h as thus enabled ,

English readers t o j udge Marc us Aureliu s for themselves ;

he h as rendered his co untrymen a real servi c e by so doing .

Mr Long s rep utation as a scholar is a s ufficient gu arantee

.
’

o f the general fidelity and acc u racy of hi s translation ;

o n these matte rs besi des I am hardly entitl ed to speak 20
, , ,

and my praise is of no value B ut that for which I and the .

rest o f the unl earned may venture t o praise Mr Lo ng is .

this that he treats Marc u s Aureli us s writings as he treats ’

,

all the other remains o f Greek and R oman antiquity whi ch

he to uches n o t as a dead an d dry matte r of learning but
, ,

as doc u ments with a si de o f modern applicability and

living interest and valu able mainl y so far as th is side in
,

them can be ma de clear th at as in his notes on Pl utarch s ’

R oman Lives he deals with the mo dern epoch o f C aesar

an d C icero not as foo d for schoolboys bu t as foo d for men 30
, , ,

and men engaged in the c urrent of contemporary life and

action so in h is remarks and essays on Marc u s Aureliu s
,

he treats this truly modern stri v er and th inker n o t as

a Classical Dictionary hero but as a present source from
,
‘
which t o draw example o f life and instru ction o f manners ,
.
’

Why may n o t a so n o f Dr Arnol d say what mi ght naturally

.
,

here be sai d by any oth er critic that in this lively and ,

fruitful w ay o f consi dering the men and affairs o f ancient

Greece and R ome Mr Long resembles Dr Arnold
, . .

O ne o r tw o little complaints however I have against 4 , ,

Mr Long and I will get th em o ff my mind at on c e In

.
,
.
 M A R CUS AUR ELIUS 221

th e first place wh y co uld h e not have fo und

,

j uster terms t o describe the translation o f his

predecessor Jeremy C ollier the redoubtable enemy o f
,
—
,

sta ge play3 — than these ,

a most coarse an d vul gar copy
o f t h e original A s a matter o f taste a translator sho ul d ,

deal leniently with his predecessor but p utting that o ut

of the q u estion Mr Long s l angu age is a great deal too
, .
’

hard Most English people w h o knew Marc us Aurelius

.

before Mr Long appeared as his intro du cer knew him

.
,

1 0 thro u gh Jeremy C ollier And the acqu aintance o f a man

.

like Marc u s Aureli us is su ch an imperishable benefit that ,

o ne can never lose a p ec uliar sens e o f obligation towards

the man w h o confers it Apart from th is claim upon one s .

’

tenderness however Jeremy Collier s version deserves

, ,
’

respect for its genuine spirit an d vigour th e spirit and ,

vigo ur of the age of Dryden Jeremy Collier too lik e .

,

Mr Long regarded in Marc us Aureli u s the living moralist

.
, ,

an d not the dead classic and his warmth o f feelin g gave

to his style an impetu osity and rhyt hm which from Mr .

20 Long s style I do not blame it on that acco unt are absent

’
( ) .

Let us place the tw o side by side Th e impressive opening .

o f Marc us Aureliu s s fifth book Mr Long translates th us

’
.
,

In the morning when thou risest unwillingly let this ,

thought be present I am rising to the work o f a hu man

being Wh y then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do
.

the things for which I exist and for which I w as bro ught
into the world O r have I been made for this to lie in ,

the bed clothes and keep ntyself warm — B ut this is more

-

pleasant Dost tho u exist then to take thy pleasure an d

— .
,

3 0 not at all fo r action or exertion 3

Jeremy C ollier has

5
When yo u find an unwil lingness to rise early in the
morning make this sh ort speech to yourself :
, I am
g etting u p n o w to do the b u siness o f a man ; and am
I o ut o f humour for goin g abou t that which I w as made
fo r and for the sake o f whi ch I was sent into the world
,

Was I then designed for no thing but to doze and batten

beneath the counterpane ? I thought action had b een
”
the end o f your being .

40 In another s trikin g passage again Mr Long has , , .

N o longer wander at hazard ; for neither wilt tho u

222 SS AYS
E IN CRITICISM
read thy o w n memoirs nor the acts of the ancient R omans
,

and Hell enes and the selections from books which tho u
,

wast reservin g fo r thy o ld age Hasten then to the end .

which thou hast before th e e and throwin g away idl e , ,

hopes come t o thine o wn aid if tho u carest at all fo r

, ,

thyself while it is in thy power

, .
’

Here his despised predecessor has

Don t go to o far in yo ur books an d o vergrasp yo urself
’ ‘
.

Alas yo u h ave n o time left to peruse your diary to read

, ,

over the Greek and R oman history : come don t flatter 1 0 ,

’

and deceive yo urself ; look to the main chance to the ,

end and design of reading and mind life more th an notion : ,

I say if yo u have a kindness for yo ur person drive at the

, ,

practice and help yo urself fo r that is in your o wn ower , .

’

It s eems to me that here for style and force eremy

Coll ier can (to say the least) perfectly stand comparison
with Mr Long Jeremy C ollier s real defect as a translator
. .
’

is not h is coarseness and vul garity but his imperfect ,

acq uaintance with Gree k ; this is a serious defect a fatal ,

o ne ; it renders a translation like Mr Long s necessary 20 .

’
.

Jeremy Co llier s work will n o w be forgotten and Mr Long

’
, .

stands master o f th e field ; but he may be content at any ,

rate to leave his predecessor s grave unh arm ed even if

,
’
,

he will no t throw upon it in passing a handful o f kindl y , ,

earth .

Another complaint I have against Mr Lo ng is that he .

,

is not q uite i diomatic and simple eno ugh It is a little .

formal at least if not p edanti c to say Ethic and Dialectic

, , , ,

instead of Eth ics an d Dialectics and to say Hellenes and

‘
, ,

R omans instea d o f Greeks an d R omans An d why t o o 30

’
.
, ,

— the name o f Antonin u s be ing preocc upied by Antoninus

Pi us —will Mr Lo ng call his author Marc us A n to ninus
, .

instea d of Marcu s A urelius Small as these matters

appear they are important when o ne h as to deal with the
,

general p ublic an d not with a small circle of scholars ;

,

and it is t h e general ublic that the translator of a short

masterpiece on mora s s u ch as is the book o f Marc us ,

Aureliu s should have in view his aim sh oul d be to make

,

Marc us Aureli u s s work as pop ul ar as the Imitation and

’
,

Marc u s Aureli us s name as familiar as Socrates s In 40

’ ’
.

rendering o r naming him therefore p unctilious acc uracy , ,

2 24 E SS A YS IN CRITICIS M
Plato h as this charm and he wh o reads them in a transla
,

tion however acc urate loses it and loses m uch in losing

, , ,

it ; but the Greek of Marc us Aureli us like the Greek of ,

the Ne w Testament an d even more than the Greek o f the

,

Ne w T estament is wanting in it If o n e co ul d be ass ured

, .

that th e English Testament were made perfectly ac curate ,

o n e might be almost content never to open a Greek Testa

ment again ; and Mr Long s version o f Marc us Aureli us

,
.
’

being what it is an English man w h o reads to live and

, ,

does n o t live to read may henceforth let the Greek original 1 0

,

repose upon its she lf

Th e man whose tho u ghts Mr Long h as th u s faith qy
.

reproduced is perhaps the most beautiful figure in history

, .

He is o ne o f those consoling and hope inspiring marks -

,

which s tand for ever to remind o ur weak an d easily dis

c o uraged r ace h o w hi gh h u man g oodn ess an d perseveran c e

have once been carrie d an d may be carried again Th e , .

interest o f mankind is pec uliarly attracted by examples

of signal goodness in high places ; fo r that testimony t o
t h e worth o f goodness is the most strikin g which is borne 20
by those to wh om all the means o f pleas ure and self
indulgence lay open by th ose w h o had at their c ommand
,

the kingdoms of the world and the glory of th em Marc us .

Aureli us w as the ruler o f the grandest o f empires and he

was o ne o f the best of men Besides him history presents .
,

one o r tw o other sovereigns eminent for their goodness ,

s uch as Saint Lo uis o r Alfred B ut Marc us Aurelius h as .

,

fo r us modem s this great s uperiority in interest over

,

Saint Lo uis or Alfre d that he li v ed an d acted in a state

,

of so ciety mo dern by its essential charac teristics in an 3 0 ,

epo c h akin to o ur o wn in a brilliant c entre of c ivilisation

,
.

Traj an talks o f o ur enlightened age j ust as glibly as the

Times talks o f it Marc us Aureli u s thus becomes for us
.

a man like o urselves a man in all things tempted as w e are

,
.

Saint Lo uis inhabits an atmosphere o f mediaeval Cath o

lic ism which the man o f th e nineteenth cent ury may
,

admire indeed may even passionately Wish to inhabit but

which strive as he w il l he cannot really inhabit : Alfred
, , ,

, ,

belongs to a state o f society (I say it with all deference to

t h e S aturday R eview criti c w h o keeps s u ch jealou s wat c h 40
over the hono ur of o ur Saxon anc estors ) h alf barbaro us .
 MA RCUS AUR ELIUS 22 5

Neither Alfred nor Saint Lo uis can be morally and intel

lec t ually as near to u s as Marc u s Aureli us .

Th e record of the o utward life o f this ad mirab le man

h as in it little of striking incident He was born at R ome .

o n the 2 6th o f April in the year 1 2 1 o f the Christian era, .

He was nephew and so n in law to his predecessor o n the - -

throne Antoninus Pi us When Antonin u s died he w as

,
.
,

forty years o ld but from the time o f his earliest manhood

,

he h ad assisted in admin istering p ublic affairs Then after .

,

1 0 his u ncle s death in 1 6 1 fo r nineteen years he reigned as

’
,

emperor Th e barbarians were pressing o n the R oman

.

frontier and a great part of Marc us Aureliu s s nineteen

,
’

years o f reign w as pa ss ed in campaigning His absences .

from R ome were numerous and long we hear o f him in

As ia Minor Syria Egypt Greec e ; but above all in the
, , , , ,

c o un tries on the Dan u be where the war with th e barbarian s ,

w as goin g o n —in Au stria Moravia H ungary

,
In these , , .

co untries m uch o f his Jo urnal seems to have been written

parts o f it are dated from them and there a few weeks ,

20 before his fift

y ninth birthday he fell sick and died
1
-
Th e , .

record o f him o n which h is fame chiefly rests is the record

of h is inward life — h is Jou rnal or Commentaries o r M edita
, , ,

tions or T ho ugh ts for by all these names has the work

, ,

been called Perhaps the most interesting of the records

.

of his o utward life is that which the first book o f this work
s upplies where he gives an account o f his ed ucation recites
, ,

the names o f those to whom h e is indebted for it and ,

enumerat es his obligations to each o f them It is a refresh .

ing and consoling picture a priceless treas ure for those , ,

30 w h o
,
sick of the wil d and dreamlike trade of blood and
guile which seems to be nearly the whole o f what history
’
,

h as to O ffer to o ur view seek eagerly for that s ubstratu m ,

of right think ing an d well doing which in all ages m ust -

s urely have somewhere existed for Without it th e continu ed ,

life o f h umanity woul d have been impossible From my .

mother I learnt piety and ben eficence and abstinence not ,

onl y from evil deeds but even from evil thoughts ; and
further simplicity in my way o f living far removed from
, ,

the habits o f the rich Let us remember that the next .

’
,

1
He die d on th e 1 7 th of M arc h , A D . . 1 80 .

AR L
NO D
Q
2 26 ES S AYS IN CRITICIS M
time w e are reading the sixth satire o f J uven al From my .

t utor I learnt (hear it ye t utors of princes

, endurance
of labour and to want little and to work with my o wn hands
, , ,

and not to meddle with other people s affairs and not to ’

,

be ready to listen to slander Th e vices an d foibles o f the .

’

Greek sophist o r rhetorician th e Graeculus esuriens— are

—

in everybody s mind but he who reads Marc us Aurelius s

’ ’

acco unt o f his Greek teac hers and masters will un derstand ,

h o w it is that in spite o f the vices an d foibles o f in dividu al

,

Graecu li the ed u cation of the h u man rac e owes to Gree ce 1 0

,

a debt which can never be overrated Th e vagu e and .

colo urless praise o f history leaves o n the mind hardly

any impre ssion o f Antoninus Pi us : it is onl y from the
private memoranda o f his nephew th at we learn what
a disciplined hard workin g gentle wi se virt uo u s man he
,
-
, , ,

w as ; a man w h o perhaps interests mankind less th an

, ,

h is immortal nephew only becau se he h as left in writing

no record o f hi s inn er life — c aret q uia vate sacro
, .

O f the o utward life and circ umstances of Marc us Aureli us ,

beyond these notices which he has himself s upplied there 20 ,

are few o f m u ch interest and importance Th ere is the .

fine anecdote o f h is speech when he heard o f th e assassina

tion o f the revolted A vidius C assi us against whom he was ,

m arching ; he was so rry he said to be deprived of the

, ,

p le as u re ofp ardo n ing h im And there

. are one or two more
anec dotes of him which show the same spirit B ut the .

great record for the o utward life of a man who h as left

s u ch a record o f his lofty inward aspirations as th at whi ch
Marc u s Aureliu s has left is the clear consenting v oice of
,

a ll h is contemporaries — h i gh an d low friend an d enemy 3 0

, , ,

pagan and Christian — in praise o f his sincerity j ustice

, , ,

an d go o dness Th e world s charity does not err o n the si de

’
.

o f excess an d here w as a man o c c u pying the most con

,

spi cu o us station in the worl d an d professing the hi gh est ,

possible standard of condu ct yet t h e world w as obliged —

to declare that he walk ed worthily of his profession Long .

after his death his b u st w as to be seen in th e houses Of

,

private men through th e wi de R oman empire it may be

the v ul gar part o f h u man nature which b u sies itself with
the semblance and doings o f living sovereigns it is its nobler 40 ,

part which busies itself with those of the dead these b usts
22 8 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
of the spirit and holiness of the Christian saints ordering ,

th eir ex termination becau se he loved darkness rather than

light Far from this the Christianity which these emperors
.
,

aimed at repressing was in their conception of it some , ,

thing philosophicall y conte mptible politicall y subversive , ,

and morall y abominable A s men th ey sincerely regarded

.
,

it m uch as well conditioned people with us regard Mor

-
, ,

monism ; as r ulers they regarded it m u ch as Liberal states

,

men with u s regard the Jes uits A kind o f Mormonism

, , .
,

constitu ted as a vast secret society with obsc ure aims O f 1 0 ,

political and social s u bversion w as what Antoninus Pi u s and ,

Marc us Aureli us belie v ed themselves to be repressing wh en

they p unished Christians Th e early Christian apologists .

again and again d eclare to us under wh at odio us imputations

the C hristians lay h o w general w as the belief that these
,

imputations were well gro unded h o w sincere w as the horror

-
,

which the belief inspired Th e m ul titude convinced that

.
,

the Christians were atheists w h o ate hu man flesh and

tho ught inc est no crime displayed against them a f ury
,

so passionate as t o embarrass and alarm their r ul ers Th e 20 .

severe expressions o f T acitus ex itiabilis sup erstitio— o dio ,

human i gen eris co nvicti show h o w deeply t h e prej u dices

,

of th e m ul titude imbu ed the ed u cated class also O ne .

asks oneself with astonishment h o w a doctrine so benign

as that o f Christ can have incurred misrepresentation so
monstrous Th e inner and moving cause of th e misrepre
.

se n t atio n lay no dou bt in this that Ch ristianity was

, , ,
—

a new spirit in th e R oman world destined to act in that ,

world as its dissolvent and it was ine v itable that Chris

t ianity in the R oman worl d like demo c r acy in th e mo dern 3 0
,

world like every new spirit with a similar mission assigne d

,

to it should at its first appearance occasion an instinctive

,

sh rinking an d rep ugnance in th e worl d wh ich it w as to

dissolve Th e o u ter an d palpable causes of the mis
.

representation were for the R oman p u b lic at large the

, ,

confo unding o f the Christians with the Jews that isolate d , ,

fierce and stubborn race whose stubbornness fierc e

, , ,

ness and isolation real as they were th e fancy o f a

, , ,

civilised R oman yet further exaggerated ; the atmosph ere

o f mystery and novelty which s urro unded the Christian 40

ri tes ; the very simplicity o f Christian theism — fo r the

 MARCUS AUR ELIUS 229

R o man statesman , the character o f sec ret assemblages

C
which the meetings o f the hristian community wore ,
un der a State -system as j ealo u s o f una uthorised associa
tions as the State -system o f modern France .

A R oman o f Marc us Aureli us s time and position co ul d

’

no t well se e the C
hristians except through the mist o f
these prej udices Seen through s u ch a mist , the hristians
. C
appeare d with a thou sand faul ts not their o wn : but it
h as not been s ufficiently remarked that fa u lts , really their
10 o w n , many of them ass uredl y appeared with besides fa ul t s ,

especiall y likely t o strike s u ch an observer as Marc us

Aureli u s , and to confirm him in the prej udices o f his race ,
station and rearing We look back upon C hristianity after
, .

it h as proved what a future it bore Within it and for u s the ,

sole representatives o f its early str uggles are the p ure and
devote d spirits thro ugh whom it proved this ; Marc u s
Aureli us saw it with its f uture yet unshown and with the ,

tare s among its professed progeny not less conspic u o us than

th e wheat Who can doubt that among the professing C hris
.

20 tians of the second cent ury as among the prof essing C hris
,

tians o f the nineteenth there was plenty o f folly plenty o f

, ,

rabid nonsense plenty o f gross fanaticism who will even

,

venture to affirm that separated in great meas ure from th e

,

intellect and civilisation o f the w orl d for o n e o r two

centuries Christianity wonderful as have been its fr uits
, , ,

h ad the development perfectly worthy of its inestimable

germ ? Who will venture to affirm that by the alliance ,

o f Christianity with the virt u e and intelli ence o f men

g
like the Antonines o i the best produ ct o f Greek and
—
,

30 R oman civilisation while Greek and R oman civi lisation

,

h ad yet life and power — C hristianity an d the worl d as

, ,

well as the Antonines themselves woul d n o t have b een ,

gainers ? Th at alliance was no t to be —the Antonines

li v ed and died with an utter misconception of Christianity

C hristianity grew up in the C atacombs n o t on the Palatine,
.

Marc us Aureli us inc urs no moral reproach by having

a uthorised the p u nishment o f the Christians ; he does
not thereby become in the least what we mean by a
p ersecu tor O ne may concede that it w as impossible fo r
.

40 hi m to see C hristianity as it really w as —as impossibl e

as fo r even th e modera te and sensi b l e Fle ury to see th e
2 30 ESS A YS IN C IT R ICIS M
Antonines as they really were — O ne may conced e that
the point of view from which C hristianity ap peared some
thing anti c ivil and anti social which th e State had the
- -
,

fac ulty to j udge and the duty to s uppress w as inevitably ,

his Still however it remains true that this sage w h o

.
, , , ,

m ade perfection his aim and reason his law did Christianity ,

an immense inj ustice and reste d in an idea of State ,

at trib u tes which w as ill usive And this is in tru th .

, ,

characteristic o f Marc us Aureli us that he is blameless , ,

yet in a certain sense unfortunate ; in his charac ter 1 0

, , ,

beau tif ul as it is there is somethin g melancholy circ u m

, ,

scribed and ineffect u al

, .

F o r o f his havin g s uch a so n as C ommo dus too one , ,

m ust say that he is not to be blam ed o n that acco unt ,

but that he is unfort unate Disposition and temperament .

are inexplicable things ; there are natures o n which the

best ed ucation and example are thrown away ; excellent
fathers may have with o ut any fault o f theirs inc urably
, ,

vicio u s sons It is to be remembered also th at C ommod us

.
, ,

was left at the perilou s age o f nine teen master o f the world 20
, ,

while his father at that age w as but beginning a twenty

, ,

years apprenticeship to wis dom labo ur and self command

’
, ,
-
,

u nder the sheltering teachership of his u ncle Antonin u s .

C ommodus w as a princ e apt to be led by favo uri tes and

if the story is true which says that he left all through h is ,

rei gn t h e Ch ristians untro ubled an d ascribes this lenity

, ,

to the infl uence of his mistress Marcia it shows that he ,

co ul d be led to goo d as well as t o evil for s uch a nature -

to be left at a critical age with absol ute power and wh olly ,

witho ut good counsel an d direction was the more fatal 3 0 , .

Still o n e cannot help wishing that t h e example o f Marc us

Aureli u s could have availed more with his o wn onl y so n ;
o n e cannot but th i nk that with s u ch virtue as his there
s h o ul d go too th e ardour which removes mountains
, , ,

and that the ardour which remo v es mountains might have

e v en won C ommo dus : the word ineffectual again rises
to one s mind ; Marcu s Aureli u s saved his o wn soul by
’

his ri ghteo u sness and he co u l d do no more,

Happy .

th ey w h o can do this 1 but still h appier who can do more !

, ,

Y et when one passes from h is outward to his inward 40

,

life when o ne t urns over the pages of his M editations

, ,
2 32 E SS AYS IN CRITICISM
tho ugh ts ? with perfect ope nness thou
'

mediately answer This o r That so that ,

it shoul d be plain that everything in thee is simple and

benevolent and s uch as befits a social animal and o ne that
, ,

cares not fo r tho ughts about sens u al enj oyments o r any ,

rivalry o r envy and s uspicion o r anything else for which ,

thou wo ul dst bl ush if tho u shouldst say thou hadst it in

thy mind .
’

So with a stringent practicalness worthy o f Franklin

, ,

he discourses on his favourite text L et no thing be done ro ,

withou t a p urp o se B ut it is when he enters th e region

.

where Frankl in cannot foll ow him when he utters his ,

thoughts on the ground motives o f h uman action that -

‘

he is most interesting that he becomes th e u nique the -

,

incomparable Marc us Aureli us Ch ristianity uses lang uage .

very liable to be mis understood wh en it seems to tell men

to do good not certainl y from the v ulgar motives o f
, , ,

worldly interest or v anity o r lo v e of h uman praise but

, , ,

that th eir Fath er which seeth in secret may reward them

openly .Th e motives of reward an d p u nish ment have 20
’

come from the misconception o f lang uage of this kind

, ,

to be strangely overpress ed by many Christian moralists ,

to the deterioration and disfig urement of Christianity .

Marc us Aureli us says tr ul y and nobly ,

O ne man wh en he has done a ser vi c e to another is

, ,

re ady to set it down to his a c count as a favo ur conferred .

Another is not ready to do th is but still in his o wn mind ,

he th inks o f the man as his debtor an d he knows what h e ,

has done A third in a manner does not even know what

.

he h as done but h e is like a vine which has p roduced grap es 3 0

, ,

and seeks f o r no thing more f

ater it h as o nce p ro duced its
r
p p
o er f ru ita horse w.h en h e has run a do g when he
As ,

h as cau ght th e game a bee wh en it has made its honey , ,

so a man wh en h e h as done a go o d act does not call o ut ,

for oth ers to come an d see but h e goes on to another act , ,

as a vine goes o n to pro duce again th e grapes in season .

Must a man th en be o ne o f th ese who in a mann er acts

, , ,

thu s with ou t obser v ing it 7 Y es .

’

A n d ag ain
Wh at more dost tho u want when thou hast done a man 40
a service ? Art thou not content that thou hast done
 MA RCU S AURELIUS 2 33

s om ething confor mable to thy nature and dost thou seek ,

t o be paid for it just as i

f the eye
,
demanded a recomp ense

f o r seeing, o r th e f eet f
or walking 2
‘

Christianity in order to match morality

, .
this strain of ,

h as to correct it s apparent o ffers o f external reward and ,

to say The kingdom of Go d is w ithin you .

I have said that it is by its accent o f emotion

that the
morality o f Marcu s Aureli us acquires a special chara cter ,

and reminds o n e o f Ch ristian morality Th e sentences o f .

1 0 Seneca are stim ul ating to the intell ect the sentences

o f Epictet u s are fortifying to the character the sentences
o f Marc u s Au reli u s find their way to the so ul I have .

said that religiou s emotion has the power to light up

morality the emotion o f Marc us Aureli us does not quite
light up his morality but it s uffuses it it h as n o t power
,

to melt the clouds of e ffort and au sterity quite away ,

bu t it shin es thro u gh them and glo rifies them it is a spirit ,

not so m uch o f gladness and elation as o f gentleness an d ,

sweetness a delicate and tender sentiment which is less ,

2 0 than j oy and more than resignation He says that in his .

youth he learned from Maximus o n e o f his teachers cheer , ,

f ulness in all circ umstances as well as in illness and a just

admix tu re in th e mo ral ch aracter o f sweetn ess and dignity
and it is this very ad mixture of sweet ness with his dignity
which makes him so beautif ul a moralist It enables him .

to carry even into his O bservation o f nature a delicate

pe netration a sympathetic tenderness worthy o f Words
, ,

w o rth ; the spirit of s u ch a remark as the following has

hardly a parallel so far as my knowledge goes in the whole
, ,

3 0 ran e of Greek an d R oman literat ure

g
Figs when they are quite ripe gape open and in the
, ,

ripe olives the very circ u mstanc e o f their being near to

rottenness adds a pec uliar beauty to the fruit And .

the ears of corn bending dow n and the lion s eyebrows ,

’
,

and the foam w hich flows from the mo u th o f wild boars ,

an d many other things — tho ugh they are far from being
,

beautif ul in a certain sense still becau se they come

, ,
—
,

in the course of nature have a beauty in them and they

, ,

please the mind so that if a man sh ould have a feeling

40 and a deeper insight with respect to the things which are
produc ed in th e universe there is hardly anything which
,
2 34 E SS AYS IN CR ITICIS M
comes in the course o f nature which will no t seem to h im to
be in a manner disposed so as to give pl e as ure .
’

B ut it is when his strain passes to directly moral s u bject s

that his deli c acy and sweetness lend to it the greatest charm .

L e t tho se w h o can feel the bea u ty o f spirit u al refinement

re ad this the reflection o f an emperor w h o priz ed mental
,

s uperiority highly
Tho u sayest Men cannot admire the sharpness o f
,
”
thy wits Be it so but there are many other things o f
.

which thou canst n o t say I am not formed for them by 1 0 ,

nature Show those q u alities then w hich are altogether

.
, ,

in thy power — sinc eri ty gravity enduranc e of labo ur

, , , ,

a v ersion to pleasure conte ntment with thy portion and

,

with fe w things benevolence frankness n o love of s uper

, , ,

fl uity f reedom from trifling magnanimity

, Dost tho u , .

not see h o w many q u alities th o u art at once able to exhibit ,

as t o which t h ere is no exc u se o f nat ural incapacity an d

u nfi t n ess an d yet tho u sti ll remainest vol untarily below
,

t h e mark O r art th ou compelled th ro ugh being defec ti vely ,

f urnished by nat ure to m urm ur and t o be mean and t o 2 0

, , ,

flatte r and to find faul t with thy poor body and to try
, ,

t o please men and to make great display an d to be so

, ,

restless in thy min d N o indeed but thou mi gh test have ,

been deli v ered from th ese thin gs long ago O nl y if in .

,

tr uth thou canst be charged with being rath er slow and dul l
o f comp rehension tho u m ust exert thyself abo u t this also
, ,

n o t neglecting n o r yet taking pleas ure i n thy du lness

’
.

Th e same sweetness enables h im to fix h is mind when ,

he sees the isolation and moral death cau sed by sin not ‘

on t h e ch eerless tho ugh t o f the misery of this condition 3 0 ,

bu t o n t h e inspiritin g th o ught that man is blest with the

power to escape from it
Su ppose that tho u h ast det ache d thyself from the
natural u nity —fo r th ou wast made by nature a part but
, ,

n o w tho u hast c u t t h yself o ff — yet h ere is this bea u tif ul ,

provision that it is in th y power again to unite thyself

,
.

God has allowed th is to no other part after it h as been ,

—

separated an d cut as u nder to come together again B ut ,

.

c onsi der the goo dness with which he h as privile ged man

fo r he h as put it in his power when he h as been separated 40 , ,

t o return an d to be un ited and to res u me his place

’
.
23 6 ESS AYS IN CRITICISM
help and inspiration nothing hindered me from forthwith
, ,

living according to nature thou gh I still fall short of ,

it through my o w n faul t and through not obse rving th e ,

admonitions o f Heaven and I may almost say its direct , , ,

instru ctions that my body h as held o ut so long in s uch

a kind o f life as mine ; that though it w as my mother s ’

lo t to die yo un g sh e spent the last years o f her life with

,

me that whenever I wished to help any man in his need ,

I w as ne v er told that I had no t the means o f doing it

th at when I h ad an inclination to philosophy I did not 1 0
, ,

fall into the hands o f a sophist .

’

A nd as he dwelt with gratit ude o n th e se helps and

,
-

bl essin gs vouchsafed to him his mind (so at least it , , ,

seems t o me ) woul d sometimes revert with aw e to the

perils and temptations of th e lonely height where he
stood to the lives O f Tiberi us C aligula Nero Domitian
, , , , ,

in their hi deou s blackness and ruin ; and then he wrote

down for himself s uch a warning entry as this significant ,

and terrible in i ts abr uptness

A black character a womanish c haracter a stubborn 20
, ,

character bestial childish animal stupid counterfeit

, , , , , ,

sc urril ous fraudul ent tyrannical

, ,

O r this
About what am I n o w employing my so ul O n every
occasion I m ust ask myself this question an d enquire , ,

What have I n o w in th is part o f me which th ey call th e

rul ing principle and whose soul h ave I n o w
,
that o f -

a chil d o r of a youn g man or o f a weak woman o r o f

, , ,

a tyrant o r o f o n e o f th e lower animals in the service o f

,

man o r o f a wil d beast

,

Th e c h aracter he wished to attain he knew well and ,

be au tift he has marked it and marked too his sense , , ,

o f shortcoming

Wh en thou hast ass ume d these names good modest ,

—
, ,

true rational equ al minded magnanimous take c are

, ,
-
, ,
—

that thou dost n o t change these names ; and if thou ,

sho uldst lose them quickly return to them If th o u

,
.

maintainest thyself in possession o f these names with ou t

desirin g that others shoul d call thee by them thou wilt ,

be another being a n d wilt enter o n another life

,
For t o 40 .

c ontin ue to be such as tho u hast hitherto b ee n and to b e ,

 MAR CUS A UR ELIUS 237

torn in pieces and de filed in s u ch a life is the character ,

of a very stupid man and o ne overfond o f his life and , ,

those half devoured fighters with wild beasts w h o

-
,

tho ugh covered with wo unds and gore still entreat to be kept
to the follo w ing day tho u gh they w ill be exposed in the same
,

state to the same claws and bites Th erefore fix thyself in the .

possession o f these few names and if thou art able to abide

in them abide as if thou wast removed to th e Happy Islands
,
.
’

F o r all his sweetness and serenity however man s

’
, ,
‘
1 0 po int o f l ife between two infinities (o f that expression
Marc us Aureli us is the real owner ) was to him anything
but a Happy Island and the performances o n it he saw ,

through no veils of ill usion Nothing 1 s in general more .

!

gloomy and monotonou s than declamations o n the hollow

ness and transitoriness o f h uman life and grande ur : but
here too the great charm o f Marc u s Aureli us his emotion
, , , ,

comes in to relieve the monotony and to break thro ugh

the gloom ; and even o n this eternally u sed topic he is
imaginative fresh and strikin g
, ,

20 C onsider for example the times o f Vespasian Tho u

, , .

wilt see all these things people marryin g bringing up , ,

children sick dying warring feasting trafficking cultiv at

, , , , , ,

ing the gro und flattering obstinately arrogant su specting

, , , ,

plotting wishing fo r somebody to die gru mbling about th e

, ,
‘

present loving heaping up treas ure desiring to be cons uls

, , ,

or kings Well then that life of these people no longer

.
,

exists at all Again go to the times of Traj an All is again

.
, .

the same Th eir life too is gone B ut chiefly thou sho uldst
. .

think o f those whom tho u hast thyself known distracting

30 t h emselves abo u t i dl e thin gs neglecting to do what was in ,

accordance w ith their proper constitu tion and to hold ,

firml y to this and to be content with it .

’

Again
‘
Th e things which are m u ch val u ed in life are empty ,

and rotten and trifling and people are like little dogs
,

biting o ne another and little chil dren qu arrelling crying

, , ,

an d th en straightway la ughing B ut fidelity and modesty .

, ,

and j ustice an d tru th are fled

, ,

U p to Olympus frbm th e wide -spread e art h .

«10 What then is there which still detains thee here ‘

2
23 8 SS AYS
E IN CRITICIS M
And once more
Look down from above o n the co untless herds o f
men and their co untless solemnities and the infinitely
, ,

varied voyagings in storms and calms and the differences ,

among those w h o are born w h o live together and die , , .

And consider t o o the life lived by others in olden time ,

and the life n o w lived among barbarou s nations and ,

h o w many know not even thy name and h o w many will ,

soon forget it and h o w they w h o perhaps n o w are praising

,

thee will very soon blame th ee and that neither a posth u 1 0 ,

mo us name is of any val ue nor reputation no r anyt hing , ,

else .
’

He recognised , indeed that (to use h is o wn words ) ,

the prime principle in man s constitution is the social ’

and he laboured sincerely to make n o t onl y his acts towards

h is fellow men but his tho ughts also s uitable to this
-
, ,

conviction
When th o u w ish e st to delight thyself think o f th e ,

virt ues of those who live with thee ; fo r i nstance th e ,

activity of one and the mo desty of another and the 20

, ,

liberality of a thi rd and some other good q u ality o f a

,

fo urth .
’

Still it is hard for a p u re an d tho ughtful man to live

,

in a state o f rapture at the spectac le afford ed to him by

h is fellow c reat ures above all it is hard when s uch a man
-
,

is placed as Marc u s Aureli us was placed and has h ad t h e ,

meanness an d perversity of his fellow creat ures th ru st -

,

in no common meas ure upon his notice has had time , ,

—
,

after time to experience h o w within ten days tho u wilt

,

seem a go d to those to whom th ou art now a beast and an 30

ape His tr ue strain of th ough t as to his relations with
.
’

h is fellow men is rather the followin g He has been e n u me

- .

rating the hi gh er consolations wh i c h may support a man

at the approach o f death an d he goes o n
B ut if t h o u requ irest also a v u lgar kind o f c o m
,

fort
which sh all reac h thy h eart thou wil t be made best ,

reconciled t o death by O bserving the obj ects from whi ch

thou art going to be remove d and th e morals o f those ,

with whom thy soul will no longer be mingled For it is .

no way right t o be offended with men but it is thy duty 40 ,

to care for th em and to bear with them gently and yet

24 0 E SS AYS IN CRITICIS M
not irresistibly cogent when it is th us absol utely used ,

Marc us Aureli us gives a turn which makes it true and

u sef ul when he says : Th e ruling part o f man can
,

make a material for itself o ut O f that which opposes it ,

as fire lays h old of what falls into it an d ris e s hig h er by ,

means of this very material ; — when he says : What

else are all things except exercises for the reason ? Per
severe then until tho u shalt have m ade all things thine
o wn , as the stomach which i s strengthened makes all

things its o wn as the blazing fire makes flame and bright 1 0

,

ne ss o ut o f everyt h ing that is thrown into it — when h e

says Tho u wilt not cease to be miserable ti
. ll thy min d
is in su ch a condition that what l ux ury is to those who , ,

enj oy pleas ure s uch shall be to thee in every matter

, ,

which pre sents itself the doing o f th e th ings which are

,

conformable to man s constitution ; for a man ought to

’

consider as an enj oyment everything which it is in h is

power to do according to his own nature —and it is in ,

h is power everywhe re In this sense it is indeed most ’

.
, ,

tr ue that all things have bee n made for the sake of 20

rational beings th at all things work togeth er for
g o od .
’

In general however the action Marc us Aureli us pre

, ,

scribes is action which every sound nature must recognise

as right and the motives h e assigns are motives whi c h
,

every clear reason m ust recognise as valid A nd so he .

remains the especial friend and comforter o f all clear headed -

an d scr up ul o u s yet pure hearted and upward stri v ing

,
- -

men in those ages most especially that walk by sight not

, ,

by faith and yet have no open vision : he cannot give 3 0

,

s u ch soul s perh aps all they yearn for but he gives th em

, , ,

m u ch and what he gives them they can receive , .

Y et n o it is n o t for what he thu s gives th em that such

,
‘

so ul s love him most it is rather becau se of th e emotion

which lends to his v oice so touching an accent it is because ,

he too yearns as th ey do fo r something unattained by him .

What an aflinity for Christianity h ad this persecutor o f

t h e Christians ! the effu sion of Christianity its relieving ,

tears its happy self sacrifi ce were the very element o ne

,
-
, ,

feels fo r which his soul longed they were near him they 40
,
.
,

bru shed him he to uched them h e passed them by O ne

, , .
 MAR CUS AUR EL IUS 24 1

feels too that the Marc us Aurelius o ne reads must still

, ,

have remained even h ad Christianity been fully known

,

to him in a great meas ure himself ; he woul d have been

,

no Justin but h o w wo ul d Christianity have affec ted him

in what meas ure woul d it have changed him Granted
that he might have fo und lik e the A logi in ancient and
,

modern times in the most beautiful o f the Gospels the

, ,

Gospel which h as leavened C hristendom most powerf ul ly ,

the Gospel of St John t o o mu ch Greek metaphysics too

.
, ,

1 0 m uc h granted that this Gospel might have looked

gn osis
to o like what he knew already to be a total s urprise to him
what then would he have said to the Sermon o n the Mo unt
, , ,

to the twenty sixth chapter o f St Matthew what would

-
.

have become o f his notions o f the ex itiabilis sup erstitio ,

o f the obstinacy of the C hristians V ain question !

yet the greatest charm of Marc u s Aurelius is that he makes
us ask it We see him wise j ust self governed tender
.
, ,
-
, ,

thankf ul blameless yet with all this agitated stretching

, , , ,

o ut hi s arms fo r so mething b eyond — tendentemgue manus ,

20 ri ac ulteri
p ori
s a more .

AR L
NO D
 IT has more than once b een s uggested to me that I sho uld
translate Homer That is a task for which I have neither
.

t h e time nor the co urage ; bu t the s uggestion le d me to

regard yet more closely a poet whom I h ad already long
studied and fo r one o r two years the works o f Homer were
,

seldom o ut o f my hands Th e study of classical literature

.

is probably o n th e decline but whatever may be the fate

,

o f this st u dy in general ,
it is certain that as instru ction
spreads and the nu mber o f readers in ére ases attention will ,

1 0 be more and more directe d to the poetry of Homer not ,

indeed as par t of a classical cou rse but as the most im ,

portant poetical monument existing Even within the last .

ten years two fresh translations of the Iliad have appeared

in England : one by a man o f great ability and genuine
learning Professor Newman the oth er by Mr Wrigh t th e
, .
,

conscientio u s and painstaking translator o f Dante It may .

safely be asserte d th at neither o f th ese works will take rank

as th e stan dar d translation o f Homer ; that the task o f
rendering him will still be attempte d by oth er translators .

20 It may perhaps be possible to ren der to these some service ,

to save them some loss of labour by pointing o ut rocks on

,

which their pre decessors have split and the right obj ects o n
,

which a translator of Homer sh ould fix his attention .

It is dispute d what aim a translator sho uld propose to

,

himself in dealing with his original Even this preliminary

.

is not yet settle d O n one si de it is said that the tran sla

.
,

tion o ught to be s uch that the reader should if possible , ,

forget th at it is a translation at all and be l ulle d into the

,

ill usion that he is rea ding an original work ; something

‘
30 origi nal (if the translation be in En glish ) from an English
’
, ,

hand Th e real original is in this case it is said taken

.
’
, ,

as a basis on which to rear a poem that shall affect o ur

co u ntrymen as the original may be conceived to have
affe cte d its n atural h e arers O n the o th erh an d Mr New man
.
’
, .
,
2 46 ON TR A NS LATIN G HO MER
wh o states the foregoin g d o ctrine only to conde mn it de ,
‘
clares that he aims at precise ly the opposite : to retain
every pec uliarity o f the original so far as he is able with , ,

the greater care the mo re fo reign it may happ en to be ; so

that it may never be forgotten th at he is imitating and ,

imitating in a different material Th e translator s first .

’ ’

d uty says Mr Newman is a historical o ne t o be faithful

,
’
.
, .
’

Probably both sides wo uld agree that the translator s first ’

du ty is to be faithf ul but th e q uestion at issu e between

them is in what faithf ulness consists
,
.

My o ne obj ect is to give prac tical advice to a translator

and I shall not the least concern myself with theories o f
t ranslation as s uch B ut I a dv ise the translator not to try .

to rear on the basis o f the Iliad a poem that shall affect ,

o u r co untrymen as the ori ginal may be conceived to have

affec ted its natural h e arers ; and fo r this simple reason ,

that w e cannot possibly tell h o w the Iliad affected its

n at ural heare rs It is probably meant merely that he ’
.

s h o ul d try to affect Eng lishmen powerfull y as Homer ,

affec ted Greeks powerf ully ; but this dire ction is n o t eno ugh 2 0 ,

and can give no real gui dance For all great poets affect .

th eir heare rs powerf ull y but the effect o f one poet is o ne ,

thin g that o f another poet another thing it is o ur

,

translator s b usiness to reprod uce th e effect o f Homer

’
’

an d the most powerful emotion of the u nlearne d En glis h

re ader can never assure him whether he h as repro du ce d
this o r wheth er he h as produced something else So again
,
.
, ,

he may foll ow Mr Newman s directions h e may try t o be .

’
,
‘
faithf ul he may retain every pec uliarity of his ori ginal
,
’

but w h o is to ass ure him w h o is to ass ure Mr Newman 30 ,

.

himself that when he has done this he has done that fo r

, , ,

which Mr New man enj oins th is to be done adh ere d

.
,

closely t o Homer s manner and habit of th o ught E vi

’

den t ly th e translator nee ds some m ore pra c ti c al directions

th an these N o one can tell him how Homer affected t h e
.

Greeks but th ere are those who can tell him how Ho mer
a ffects th em Th ese are scholars who possess at the same
.
,

time with knowle dge o f Greek a dequate poetical taste and ,

feeling No translation will seem to th em o f much worth

.

compared with the original ; but they alone can say 40 ,

whether th e translation prod uces more or less the same

2 48 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER
with lear ning with ingenuity nay with genius ; but they
, , ,

have tw o inconveniences o ne general for all wh o approach

them one parti c ular for the t ra nslator Th e general
, .

inconvenience is that there really exist no data fo r deter

,

mining them Th e partic ul ar inconvenience is that th eir

.
,

sol ution by the translator even were it p ossible co uld be , ,

o f n o benefit to his translation .

I advise him again n o t to tro uble himself with construct

, ,

ing a special voc ab ulary for his u se in transl ation ; with

excl udin g a certain cl ass o f English words and with 1 0 ,

confining himself to another class in obedience to any ,

theory abo ut the pec uliar qualities o f Homer s style ’

.

Mr Newman says that the entire dialect of Homer being

.

essentially archaic that o f a translator o ught t o be as m u ch

,

Saxo N orman as possible and o w e as little as possible to

-
,

the elements thrown into o ur language by classical learning .

’

Mr N ewman is unfortun ate in the observance of his o wn

.

theory for I continu ally find in his translation words o f

Latin origin which seem to me quite alien to the simpli c ity
,
-

o f Homer responsive fo r instance which is a favourite 2 0 ’

, ,

word o f Mr Newman to represent the Homeric au fléu s :

.
,
ei evo

G re at H ec t o r o f t he mo t l y h lm th p k t h
e e us s a e o er resp onsive.

B ut t h us respo ns ively t o him p k g d lik Al x

s a e o -
e e ander .

A nd the word celestial again in the grand address of ,

’
,

Ze us to the horses of Achilles ,

Y o u, w h o are b o rn celestial, f
ro m El d an d De ath e x e mpte d !

seems to me in th at place exactly to j ar upon th e feeling as

too bookish B ut apart from the question of Mr Newman s
.
, .
’

fidelity to h is o w n th eory s uch a th eory seems to me both ,

dangero u s for a translator an d false in itself Dangero u s .

for a translator becau se wherever one finds s u ch a th eory ,

announce d (and one finds it pretty often ) it is generally

, ,

followe d by an explosion o f pe dantry an d pedantry is of

all th ings in the worl d the most un Homeric False in -
.

itself because in fact we o w e to the Latin element in o ur

, ,

langu age most o f that very rapidity an d clear decisiveness

by which it is contradistinguish ed from the German and in ,

sympathy with the langu ages o f Greece and R ome so that

to limit an English translator O f Homer to words o f Saxon
 L ECTUR E I 2 49

origin is to deprive him o f one of h is special advantages for

translating Homer In V oss s well known translation o f .
’
-

Homer it is precisely the qu alities of h is German langu age

,

itself something heavy and trailing both in the stru cture of

,

its sentences and in the words o f which it is compos ed ,

which prevent his translation in spite of the hexameters , ,

in spite of the fi delity from creating in u s the impression ,

c reated by the Greek Mr Newman s prescription if ’

. .
,

followe d wo uld j u st strip the English translator of the

,

1 0 a dvantage which h e has over Voss .

Th e frame of mind in which we approach an a u thor

infl u ences o ur correctness O f appreciation O f him ; an d
Homer should be approache d by a translator in the simplest
frame of mind possible Modern sentiment tries to make .

t h e ancient not less than the modern world its o w n but

against modern sentiment in its applications to Homer the
translator if h e wo ul d feel Homer truly and u nless he
,
—

feels him truly how can he render him trul y — cannot be

,

too m uch o n h is guard F o r example : the writer of an .

2 0 interesting article o n English translations o f Homer in the

,

last nu mber of th e Natio nal R eview qu otes I se e with , , ,

a dmiration a criticism of Mr R u skin o n the u se of the

, .

epith et t m C c life giving in that beautiful passage

c v
’
oo ,
-
,
’
,

in the third book o f the Iliad wh ich follows Helen s ,

’

mention o f her brothers C astor and Poll ux as alive though ,

th ey were in truth dead

’
i pdro ro b 8 6617 1 ¢ vo f§o os ala
‘ ’
ars ( s 144 1 6 e
’
eu A a xe barp om
’
a bdi, n
a y EV fl
a lCl 7 a } m
‘
Th e poet , says Mr R uskin , has t o speak o f the earth
’
.

30 in sa dness but he will not let that sadness affect o r change

his tho ugh t of it N o though C astor an d Poll u x be dead
.
,

yet the earth is o ur mother still fr uitful life giving This

— ’
, ,
-
.

is j ust a specimen of that sort o f application o f modern

sentiment to th e ancients , against whi ch a st udent who ,

wis h es t o feel th e ancients truly c annot too resol utely ,

defend himself It reminds one as

. alas so m u ch o f , ,

Mr R uskin s writin g reminds one of th ose words of the most

.
’
,

delicate o f living critics C omme tout genre de compo si

tion a so n éc ueil partic ulier celui da genre romanes ue, , q
1
Il iad, ii1 24 3 . .
2 50 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
’
c est le faux eader may feel moved as he reads it ;
.
’
Th e r
but it is not the less an example of le fa ux in criticism
it is false It is n o t tru e as to that partic ular passage th at
.

.
, ,

Homer call ed the e arth dua s because though he had oo ,

to s peak o f the earth in sa dn ess; he wo ul d not let that sadness

chang e o r affect his tho ught o f it but consoled himself by ,
’

considering th at the earth is o ur mother still — fruitful , ,

life giving It is not true as a matter o f general criticism

-
.
’
, ,

that this kin d of sentimentality eminently modern inspires , ,

Homer at all From Homer an d Polygnotus I every day 1 0

.

learn more clearly says Goethe that in o ur life here ,

’
,

above gro un d w e have properly speaking to enact Hell 1

, ,

— if th e stu dent m ust absol utely have a key note to the -

Iliad let him take this o f Goethe an d se e what he can do

, ,

with it it will n o t at any rate like the tender pantheism , ,

o f Mr R u sk in falsify fo r him the whole strain of

.
,

Homer .

These are negative cou nsels ; I come t o the positive .

When I say the translato r o f Homer shoul d above all be

,

enetrated by a sense of four qualities o f his author — that 20

pe is eminently rapid ; that he is e minently plain and
dire ct both in the evol u tion o f his tho ught an d in t h e
expression o f it that is both in his syntax and in h is words
, ,

th at he is eminently plain an d direct in the s ubstance o f

his though t that is in his matter and i deas an d finally
, , ,

th at he is eminently noble I probably seem to be sayin g —

wh at is too general to be o f m uch service to anybody .

Y et it is stri c tly true that for want of dul y penetrating ,

themselves with the first name d qu ality o f Homer h is -

,

rapidity Cowper and Mr Wrigh t ha v e fail ed in rendering 30

,
.

him that for want o f dul y appreciating the second named

,
-

q u ality his plainness and dire ctness o f style and diction

, ,

Pope and Mr Sotheby have failed in rendering him that

.

for want of appreciating the third his plain ness an d ,

directness of ideas Ch apman h as failed in ren derin g him ;

,

wh ile for want o f appreciating the fourth his nobleness , ,

Mr Newman who has clearly seen some o f the faults o f

.
,

h is predecessors has yet faile d more conspic u o u sly than

,

any of them .

C oleridge says in h is strange language speaking o f the 40

, ,

B riefwechsel z wisch en S chiller und Go ethe, vi

, 2 30 .
25 2 ON TR ANS LATING H O ME R
he rendered him amiss Th e similitude of Milton s manner .
’

to that of Homer is s u ch he says that no person familiar ’

, ,

with bo th can read either witho ut being reminded o f

the other and it is in those breaks and pau ses to which
,

the numbers o f the English poet are so m u ch indebted

both fo r their di gnity and variety that he chiefly copies the ,

Grecian It wo uld be more true to say Th e unlikeness

.
’

of Milto n s manner to that of Homer is s uch that no person

’
,

fam iliar with bo th can read either without being struc k with
h is difference from the other an d it i
s in his breaks an d 1 0

pauses that the English poet is most unlike the Gre cian .
’

Th e in v ersion and pre gnant conciseness o f Milton or

Dante are do u btless most impressive q u alities o f style ;
, ,

but they are the v ery O pposites o f the directness an d flo w

in gn e ss o f Homer w h ich he keeps alike in passages of the
,

simplest narrati v e and in those o f th e deepest emotion

, .

N ot only for example are th ese lines o f Cowper un

, ,

Homeri c
So nu mero us see m
’
d t h ose fire s t h e an s e t w ee n b k b
Of X ant h us, a i bl z
n g, an d t h e ee t o f reec e fl G
In prosp e c t all o f Tro ; y
where the position o f the word bla zing gives an entirely ‘ ’

un Homeri o movement to this simple passage describing

-
,

the fires of th e Troj an camp outsi de o f Troy but th e

following lines in that v ery hi ghly wrought passage where
,
-

the horse of Achil les answers his master s reproaches fo r ’

havin g left Patrocl us on the field o f battle are equ ally ,

un Homeric
-

F or l nott di t h ro u gh s o th or ar ness o n us
A gh t h g bl h v Ili m
u c th i
ar e am e, a e u
’
s so ns ne ar s
St ipt f m P t l h ld ; b t G d ’
r ro a roc us s ou e rs u a o
M t hl i b ttl ff p i g f b igh t h i d
a c ess n a e, o s rn o r a r
’

Lt him t
a o na, di g i t h con e n n n e v an
Sl w f t h gl y
e f th
,
hi f f T y
or e or o e c e o ro .

Here e v en the first inversion have Ili um s sons thine ,

’

arms Stript from Patroclu s sh oul ders gi v es th e rea der ’

,
’

a sense o f a movement not Homeric ; and the sec ond

inversion a Go d him contending in the van Slew gives
, ,
’

this sense ten times stronger Instead o f moving on with out .

check as in rea ding the original the reader twice finds 40

, ,

h imself in rea ding the translation bro ugh t up and checked

, ,
.
 LECTUR E I 25 3

Homer moves with the same simplicity and rapidity in th e

hi ghl y wro ught as in the simple passage
-
.

It is in vain that C owp er insists o n his fidelity : my

chief boast is that I have adhered closely t o my original
the matter found in me whether the reader like it o r not , ,

is found also in Homer and the matter n o t found in me ,

h o w mu ch soever the reader may a dmire it is fo und only ,

in Mr Pope To s uppose that it is fi delity to an original to

’
. .

give its matte r unl ess yo u at the same time give its manner
,

1 0 or rather t o s uppose that o u can really give its matter at

, y
,

all unl ess yo u c an give its manner is j ust the mistake o f

, ,

o ur pre R aphaelite school o f painters

-
who do not under ,

stand that the pec uliar effect of nat ure resides in the whole
an d not in the parts SO the pec ul iar effect o f a poet .

resides in his manner and movement not in his words ,

taken separately It is well known h o w conscientiously .

literal is Cowper in h is translation o f Homer It is well .

know n h o w extravagantly free is Pope

SO le t it be !
20 P o rte nts an d pro digies are l ost on me :

that is P e pe s rendering the words

’
of ,

Ed 06 ,
’
"
Gi wn/ revew i ; o bbé ri o e xp j
’
i/ n 14 0 1 rz/c ro an r

Xanthus , wh y pro ph esiest t h o u my death t o me t h o u nee dest no t at all

yet o n the whole Pope s translation o f the Iliad is more

, ,
’

Homeric than C owper s for it is more rapid ’

, .

Pope s movement however though rapid is not of the

’
, , ,

same kin d as Homer s and here I come to the real o bjec ’

tion to rhyme in a translation of Homer It is commonl y .

said that rhyme is to be abandoned in a translation of

8 0 Homer because the exi gences o f rhyme to quote Mr
, ,
’
.

Newm an positively forbid faithfu lness

, because a j ust
translation of any ancient poet in rhyme to qu ote C owper ,
’
,

is impossible This however is merely an accidental

’
.
, ,

obj ection to rhyme If this were all it might be s upposed .

,

that if rhym es were more ab undant Homer coul d be ,

adequately translated in rhyme B ut this is not so there .

is a deeper a s ubstantial obj ection to rhyme in

,

o f Homer It is that rhyme inevitably tends to pair lines

.
,

Iliad, xi
x, 420.
254 ON TR ANSLATIN G H OM ER
which in the original are indepe ndent and th us the move ,
~

ment of the poem is changed In these lines of Chapman .

,

fo r instance from Sarpe do n s spe ech to Glauc us 1 11 th e

’
, ,

twelfth book o f the Iliad

0
if ee ping ac fi r e n d, k b k
l k b k f
Wo u d ee
p
ac age ro m us and de at h , an d t h at w e mi h t no t wrac
g k
lf f
,

In t his i e 8 h uman se a at all , but t hat de e rring no w

v
We sh unn d de at h e e n— no r w o ul d I h a t his ain a our sh o w ,
’
lf v vl
l fy f lly
No r g o ri a o sh t h ee t o ad ance ;
so , to w i v
B ut since we must go , t h o u h n o t h e re , and t h at esides t h e c h anc e b
’
Pro pos d no w , t h ere are ni
te ate s, 85 0 f .

Here the necessity of making the line ,

No r g l ify f lly
or a o so , to w ish t h ee to ad ance ; v
rhyme with the line which follows it entirely changes and ,

spoils the movement of the passage .

61 6 m y ain ds tvl rpcbro w i paxo lp rjv

’
0

0 61 6 K6 a t 0 1 0 71 0 4 41 146
4 is q
Neithe r w o u d I m se go l y lf f ort h to figh t wit h th e f o re most
l l b ttl
,

No r w o u d I urge t h ee o n to e nte r th e g o rio us a e

says Ho mer there he stops and begins an opposed move

,
20

ment
fipes ide arciaw Gavdroco
’

7
2 1 11 82 —t3t t d
y p x
'

B ut— fo r a t h o usa nds f ates of deat h stan d c ose l to us a wa l y s

this line in which Homer wishes to go away with the m ost

,

marked rapi dity from the line before Chapman is forced , ,

by the necessity of rhyming intimately to connect with the ,

line before .

B ut si
nce we must go , t h o ugh no t h ere , an d t h at besides th e c h ance

the moment th e word chance strikes o ur ear w e are irre ,

sistibly carried back t o advance an d to the whole previo us 3 0

line which according t o Homer s o wn feelin g w e ought to
, ,
’
,

have left behind us entirely and to be moving farther and ,

farther away from .

R hyme certainl y by intensifying antithesis

, ,

se paration and this is precisely what Pope does but this

,

balanced rhetorical antithesis though very efiective is , ,

1
Iliad, KIJ, 32 1 .
2 56 ON TR ANSLATING H O MER
e xhibitin g the English aristocracy at its very height o f
c ul t ure lofty spirit and greatness towards the middle of
, , ,

the last cent ury I quote it secondly because it seems to

.
, ,

me to ill ustrate Goethe s saying which I mentioned that ’

,

o ur li fe in Homer s view of it represents a conflict and

,
’
,

a hell ; and it brings o ut too what th ere is tonic an d , ,

fortifying in this doctrine I q uote it lastly becau se it .

, ,

sh ows that the passage is j ust one of those in translatin g

which Pope wi ll be at his best a passage of strong emotion ,

and oratorical movement not of simple narrative o r 1 0 ,

description .

Pope translates the passage th u s

C l d ll
ou a l d t h gl my rav
a o ur c re e u e e oo e
W hic h l l
ms n o e ss t h e e ar u t h an t e ra
c ai f fl b v e,
F or l f
ust o f ame I sh o u d n o t ain l
dare v ly
fi
In g h ting e ds, n o r ur e fil g th y lt w so u o ar
B u t since , a as ig no e a e l bl g m t m us co e,
Dise ase , and de at h s ne o ra i x bl d m ;
’
e oo
lf
T h e i e w hic h o t h e rs pay, le t us be st o w ,
v
A n d gi e t o ame w h at w e t o f n at ure o we .

N othing co uld better exhibit Pope s prodigio us talent and ’

nothing to o co ul d be better in its o wn way B ut as

, , .
,

Bentley said Y o u m ust not c all it Homer

, One fee ls .
’

that Homer s thought h as passed through a literary and

’

rhetorical cru cible and come o ut hi ghl y intellectualised ;

,

come o ut in a form which strongly impresses u s indeed , ,

but w h i ch n o longer impresses us in the same way as

wh en it w as uttered by Homer Th e antithesis of the last .

two lines
l
Th e ife w hic h o t h ers pay, l e t us be sto w ,
v
A n d gi e t o ame w h at w e t o f n ature o w e

is exc ellent and is j ust s uited to Pope s h eroic couplet but

,
’

neith er the antithesis itself , nor the couplet which conveys

it is s uite d to th e fe eling or to the movement o f th e
,

Homeri c t p a o z .

A literary an d intellect u alised langu age is however in its , ,

o w n way well s uited to gran d matters and Pope with ,

a langu age o f this kind an d his o w n admirable talent ,

comes o ff well enough as long as h e h as passion or oratory , ,

or a great crisis to deal with Even here as I have been 40

,
.
,

pointing o ut he does n o t render Homer but he an d his

,
 LECTURE I 257

style are in themselves strong It is when be Ec omes to .

level passages passages o f narrative o r descripti on that

, ,

he and his style are sorely tried and prove themselves ,

‘

weak A perfectly plain direct style can o f course convey

.

the simplest matter as naturally as the grandest indeed it ,

m u st be harder for it o n e wo uld say to convey a grand

, ,

matter worth ily and nobly than to convey a common ,

matte r as alone s u c h a matter shoul d be conveyed plainl y

, ,

and simply B ut th e style o f R asselas is incomparably

.

1 0 bette r fitted to describe a sage philosophising than a sol dier

lighting his camp fire Th e style o i Pope is n o t the style
-
.
-

o f R asselas ; bu t it is equ ally a literary style equ ally ,

,

unfi t te d to describe a simple matter with the plain nat ural

ness o f Homer .

Every o n e kn ows the passage at the e n d o f the eighth

book o f the Iliad w h ere th egfires o f the Troj an encamp
, ‘
‘

ment are likene d to the stars: It is very far from my wish ”

“

to hold Pope up to ri dic ule so I shall not qu ote the com ,

menc ement o f the passag e which in the original is o f great

“

20 and celebrated bea u ty and in translating which Pope h as

,

been sin gul arly and notoriou sly fortunate B ut the latter .

part o f the passage where Homer leaves th e stars and

, ,

c omes t o the Troj an fires treats o f the plainest most , ,

matter o i fact s u bj ect possible and deals with this as

- -
, ,

Homer always deals with every s ubj ect in the plaines t ,

an d most strai ghtforward style So many in n umber .

,

between the ships and the streams of Xanth u s shone forth ,

in front of Troy the fires kin dled by the Troj ans There were .

kindled a tho usand fires in the plain ; and by each one

so there sat fifty men in the li ght of the blazin g fire A nd .

the horses m unching white barley and rye an d standing

, ,

b y the chariots waited for the brigh t throned Morning

,
1 -

In Pope s translation this plain story becomes th e

’
,

following :
So m an ames yfl bf
e o re pro u d I io n a e, l bl z
b
A n d righ te n g immerin g l
ant h us w i t h t heir ra X y s
l fl
T h e o ng re ect io ns o f t h e dist ant res fi
Gl e am o n t h e w a s, an d t re m ll e o n t h e spires bl
l ky l
.

A t h o usan d pies t h e dus h o rro rs gid,

A nd sh o o t a sh ad
’
yl
ustre o er t h e e d fil .

I liad, viii 5 60
, .

m o rn
S
258 ON TR ANS LATING H O M ER
F ll fift y
u uards e ac h fl mi g pil
a tt d n e a en
by fit t hi k fl h
,

Wh m o se u e re d a rm s, s, c as es se n d ;
L d igh ou ne t he c o urse rs o e r
’
t h eir h e aps o f c o rn,
A nd arde nt warrio rs w ait t h e risi
ng mo rn .

It is fo r passages of this sort , which , after all , form the b ulk

o f a narrative poe m , that Pope s style i In elevated
’
s so bad .

passages he is powerf ul as Homer is powerf ul , th ough n o t

,

in the same w ay ; but in plain narrative wh ere Homer is ,

still powerful an d deligh tful , Pope , by the inh erent faul t of

h is style is ineffective and o ut of taste
, Wordsworth says 1 0 .

somewh ere , that wherever Virgil seems to have composed

‘
with his eye o n the obj ect , Dryden fails to render him
’
.

‘
Homer invariably c omposes with h is eye on the obj ect ’
,

whether the obj ect be a moral o r a material o ne : Pope

composes with h is eye on h is style into which he translates ,

his obj ect whatever it is

, That therefore which Homer .
, ,

c onveys to us imme diate ly Pope conveys to us through ,

a medi um He aims at turning Homer s sentiments

.
’

pointedl y and rhetorically at investing Homer s descrip ’

tion with ornament and dignity A sentiment may be 20 .

ch anged by being put into a pointed and oratorical form ,

yet may still be very effective 1 11 that form ; but a descrip

tion the moment it takes its eyes o ff that which it is to
,

describe and begins to think o f orn amenting itself is

, ,

worthless .

Therefore I say the translator o f Homer sho ul d pene

, ,

trate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness

o f Homer s style ; o f the simplicity with which Homer s
’ ’

thou gh t is evolved an d expresse d He has Pope s fate .

’

before his eyes to show him What a divorce may be create d 30

,

even between th e most gifted translator and Homer by an

artificial evolution o f though t and a literary cast o f style .

Ch apman s style is not artificial an d literary like Pope s

’ ’
,

nor his movement elaborate and self retardin g like t h e -

Miltonic movement o f C owper He is plain spoken fresh .

-
, ,

vigorou s and to a certain degree rapid an d all these are

, ,

Homeric qu alities I cannot say that I think th e movement

.

o f his fo urteen syllable line which h as been so muc h

-
,

c ommen ded Homeric but o n this point I shall have more

,

to say by an d by when I come to speak of Mr Newman s 40

,
.
’

metrical exploits B ut it is not distinctly anti Homeric

.
-
,
2 60 ON TR ANSLATIN G H O MER
selves is no t less remarkable B ut as e minently as Homer
,
.

is plain so eminently is the Elizabethan literature in

,

g eneral an d C hapman
,
m parti c ul ar fancif ul Steep ed in , .

h um o urs and fantasticality up to it s very lips the Eliza ,

bethan age newly arrived at the free u se o f the h uman

,

fac ulties after their long term of bondage and delighting

to exercise them freely suffers from its o wn extravagance ,

in this first exercise o f them can hardl y brin g itself to see ,

an obj ect q uietly or t o describe it temperately Happily .

,

in the translation o f the Bible the sacred character o f their ,

original inspired the translators with su ch respect that ,

they did not dare to give the rein to their o wn fancies in

dealing with it B ut in dealing with works o f profane
.
,

lite rature in dealin g with poetical works above all which

, ,

highly stim ul ated them o ne may say that the min ds o f ,

the Elizabethan translators were too active that they coul d

not forbear importing so much o f th eir o wn and this o f ,

a most pec uliar and Elizabethan character into their ,

original that they e ffaced the character of the original

,

itself .

Take merely the opening pages to C hapman s translation

’
,

the introductory verses and the dedications Y o u will ,

.

find
An A g m f t h m f u Dr
n a ra o e na e o o r e ad Pi
r nce,
My m t g i dos d M rac o us an sacre ece nas,
a
H y Pi fW l
e nr r n ce o a es,
O S Hy P
ur Lif
unn , e r, e ac e , e,

Henry so n o f Jam es the First t o whom the work

, , is
dedicated Then comes an a ddress
.
,

F
To th e sacre d o unt ain o f rin c es, P
S l
o e Empress o f e au t an d irtue , B y V A nne Qu ee n
Of l Eng an d, & c .

All the Middle Age with its grotesqueness its conceits , , ,

its irrationality is still in these opening pages ; they by

,

themselves are sufficient to indicate to u s what a gulf

divides C hapman from the clearest so ul d o f poets from -
’
,

Homer almost as great a gulf as that which divides him

from Voltaire Pope h as been sneered at fo r saying that
.

Chapman writes somewhat as o n e might imagine Homer

‘

himself to have written before he arrived at years of 40

discretion B ut the remark is excellent Homer expresses
’
.
 IIEKIFIH
RJB I 26 1

himself like a man o f adul t reason Chap man lik e a man ,

whose reason has n o t yet cleared itself F o r instance if .

,

Homer had had to say o f a poet that h e hope d his merit ,

w as n o w abo u t to be fully established in the opinion o f

good j udges he w as as incapable o f saying this as Chapman
,

says it Though truth in her very nakedness sits in so

deep a pit that from Gades to Aurora and Ganges few
, , ,

eyes can sound her I hope yet those few here will so,

discover and c o nfirm that the date being o ut o f her darkness

1 0 in this morning o f o ur poet he shall n o w gird his temples ,

with the sun — I say Homer was as incapable o f saying ,

this in that manner as Voltaire himself woul d have been

,
.

Homer inde ed h as actu ally an affinity with Voltaire in

, ,

the unrivalled clearness and straightforwardness of his

thinking in the w ay in whi c h he keeps to o ne thought at
a time and p uts that thought forth in its complete natural
,

plainness instead of being led away from it by some fancy

,

striking him in connexion with it and b eing beg uiled to ,

wander o ff with this fancy till his ori gin al though t in its ,

2 0 nat ural reality k nows him no more What coul d better

, .

show us h o w gifted a race w as this Gree k race 2 Th e same ‘

member o f it h as no t onl y the power o f profoundl y tou ching

th at natural heart o f humanity which it is V oltaire s ’

weakness that he cannot reach but can also address the ,

un derstanding with all V oltaire s admirab le si mplicity and

’

rationality .

My li mits will not allow me to do more than shortly

illustrate from Chapman s version o f the Iliad What I mean
,
’
,

when I speak of this vital difference between Homer and

so an Elizabethan poet in the qu ality o f their tho u ght be
tween the plain simplicity o f the thought o f the o n e and ,

the c urio us complexity o f the thought o f the other A s in .

Pope s case I carefully abstain from choosing passages fo r

’
,

the express p urpose of making Chapman a pear ridic ul ous

Chapman like Pope merits in himself a respect though
, , ,

he t o o like Pope fails to render Homer

, , .

In that tonic speech o f Sarpedon of which I have said ,

so m uch Homer yo u may remember h as

, , ,

( I ,uév ya , mi k e/4 0 V wepl é re

‘
p
c vy r
'

p ,
’
aid 61) 11 0 0 .0 1 e dy1i 7 . 1 1

(c acao?
2 62 ON T R NSEA TING A H O MER
if, indee d, but o nce this a e a
’

b t tl v id d o e
v lv l
,

We were fo r e er t o i e W ith o ut gro wing o l d and immo rt a

Chapm an cann ot be satisfied with this ,

but must add a fancy
to it
if k ee pi
back ng
Wo ul d kee b ac k a8ge fro m u s and de at h , an d that w e mi
ght not wrack
p ,

fe 8 h uman sea at all

In this li

and so o n Again ; in another p assage which I have before

q
.

u oted where Ze u,s says to the hors e s o f Pele us

mp6) ? 8611 6 11 IIi j i/63
'
i
'

7 1 ( i 1 1

mn i} ;
’ '
O n nit 6 iarbv dfi po)
i 7 dflavcirw 7 45
4

Wh y gave w e yo u to ro a y lPl e eus, to a mo rta l but ye are With o ut

o l d age , mmo rta
an d i l
Ch apman sophisticates th is into :
Wh g v w y t m t l king a e e ou
’
a or a w h e n immm tality
,

9
An incap ac ity o f age so digni
fies yo ur s tates

Again in the speech o f Achi lles to his horses where ,

Ach illes ac cording to Homer says si mply Take heed that

, , ,

ye bring yo ur master safe back to the host o f the Dan aan s ,

in some other sort than the last time when the battle is 20 ,

ende d C hapman sophisticates this into

,
’

When with bloo d, for this day s

’
fast observed, revenge shall yield
Our heart satiety, b ring us o f
f .

In Hector s famou s spee ch again at his p arting from

’
, ,

An dromache Homer makes him say N or does my o wn

,

heart so bid me (to keep safe beh ind the walls ) since I
,
’
,

have learned to be staunch always an d to figh t among the ,

foremost o f the Troj ans b usy o n beh alf of my father s great ,

’

glory and my o wn
,
2
In Ch apman s hands this b ecomes .
’ ’

Th e Spirit I rst did re at h e fi b

v
Did ne er teac h me t h at ; mu c h e ss, since t h e co nt empt o f de ath l
l
Was sett e d 1 11 me , and my mind knew wh at a w orthy w as,
Whose ofiiee is to lead in fight, and give no dang’er p ass
‘ .

Witho ut imp ro vement In this re must Hecto r 8 trial .

Here mus t his cou ntry, fath er, rierzds , be in him made divine .

Y ousee h o w ingeniou sly Homer s plain th ough t is to rmented ’

,

as the French woul d say here Homer goes o n : For ,

.

1 I liad, x vn, 443 . Iliad, vi

, 444 .
 I M U S T repeat what I said in beginning , that the translator
o f Homer o ught ste a dily to keep in mind where lies the

real test o f the s uccess o f his translation , what j ud ges he

is t o try to satisfy He is to try to satisfy scho lars, b ecau se
.

scholars alone have the means o f really j udging h im A .

s cholar may be a pedant , it is tr ue , an d then his j udgment

will be worthl ess ; but a scholar may also have poe tical
feeling and then he can j udge him truly whereas all the
,

poetical feeling in the world will n o t enable a man wh o is

not a scholar to j udge him truly F o r the translator is to 1 0 .

reprod u ce Homer and the scholar alone h as the means o f

,

knowing that Homer w h o is to be repro du ced He knows .

him but imperfectly fo r he is separate d from him by time

, ,

race and lang u age but he alone knows him at all Yet
, .

p eople speak as if there were t w o real trib unals in th is

matter the scholar s trib unal and that o f the general

—
’
,

p ublic They speak as if the scholar s j udgment w as o n e

.
’

thing and the general p ub li c s j udgment another ; both

,
’

w ith their shortcomings both with th eir liability to error

,

bu t both to be re garded by the translator Th e translator 2 0 .

w h o mak e s verbal literalness his chief care will says a ’

,

writer in th e National R eview whom I have already qu ote d ,

be appreciated by the sch olar acc ustomed to test a trans

l ation ri gi dl y by comparison with the origin al to look ,

erh aps with excessive c are to finish in detail rather th an

"

poldness and general e ffect an d find pardon even fo r a

,

version that seems bare and bald so it be s cholastic and ,

faithful B ut if the s cholar in j u dging a translation looks

.
’
,

t o detail rath er th an to general effect he j u dges it pedanti ,

c ally and i ll Th e appeal however lies not from th e 3 0

.
, ,

pedantic scholar to the general p ublic whi ch can only like

o r dislike Chapman s version o r Pope s o r Mr Newman s
’
, , .
’
,

but cannot judge th em ; it lies from the pedantic scholar to

the scholar wh o is not pedantic wh o knows that Homer is ,

Homer by his general e ffect and not by his single words

, ,

and wh o de mands but one t h ing i n a translation — that it

 LECTUR E II 2 65

shall ,
nearly as possible reprod uce for him the general
as ,

efi ect o f Homer This then remains the o n e proper aim

.
, ,

o f the translator to reprod u ce on the intelligent scholar ,

as nearly as possible the general e f fect o f Ho mer Except

,
.

so far as he reprod u ces this he loses his labour even tho u gh, ,

he may make a spirited Iliad of his o w n like Pope o r , ,

translate Homer s Iliad word for word like Mr Newman

’
,
. .

If his proper aim were to stimul ate in any mann er possible

the general p ublic he might be right in following Pope s
,
’

1 0 example ; if his prope r aim were to help schoolboys to

construe Homer he might be right in following Mr New
,
.

man s B ut it is not his proper aim is I repeat it yet

’
.
,

once more to reprod uce o n the intelligent scholar as

, ,

nearly as he can the general effect o f Homer

,
.

Wh en therefore C owper says My chief bo ast is that

, , ,

I have adhered closely to my original when Mr Newm an .

says My aim is to retain every pec uliarity o f the original

, ,

to be faithful exactly as is the case with the draughtsman

,

o f the Elgin marbles ; their real j udge onl y replies : It may

20 be so : reprod u ce then u pon u s repr o d uce the effect o f Homer , ,

as a good copy reprod u ces the effect o f the Elgin marbles

’
.

When again Mr Newman te lls us that by an exhaustive

, , .

process o f argument and experiment he has found a metre

which is at once the metre of the mbdern Greek epic and ,
’

a metre lik e in moral geniu s to Homer s metre his j udge ’

,

has still but the same answer for him : It may be so

reproduce then o n o ur ear something o f the effect produ ce d
b y the movement of Homer .
’

B ut what is the general e ffect which Homer prod u c e s o n

3 0 Mr. New man himself because when w e know this we , ,

shall know whether he and his j udges are agreed at th e

outset wh ether w e may expe ct him if he can reprodu ce
, ,

the effect he feels if his hand does not betray him in the
,

exec ution t o satisfy his j udges and to s u cc e ed If howe ver

, .
, ,

M r Newman s impression from Homer is something q uite

.
’

different from that of his j u dges then it can hardl y be ,

expected that any amount o f labour o r talent will enable

him to reprodu ce fo r them their Homer .

Mr Newman does not leave u s in doubt as to the general

.

40 effect which Homer makes upon him A s I ha v e told yo u .

what is the general e ffect which Homer makes upon me

2 66 ON TR ANS LATING H O MER
that o f a most rapidl y moving poet that o f a poet most ,

plain and direct in his style that o f a poet most plain and ,

direct in h is ideas that of a poet e minently noble — so

,

Mr Newman tells us h is general impression of Homer

. .

‘
Homer s style he says is direct pop ul ar forcible
’
,
’
, , , ,

quaint flowing garrul o u s

, , Again Homer rises and .
’

sink s with h is s ubj ect is prosaic when it is tame is lo w

, ,

when it is mean .
’

I lay my finger on four words in these two sentences o f

Mr N ewman and I say that the man w h o coul d apply those 1 0
.
,

words to Homer can never render Homer trul y Th e four

words are these ; q
.

uain t garru lo us p rosaic low Sear c h , , ,

.

th e English lang u age fo r a word whi c h does not apply to

Homer and yo u could n o t fix o n a better than q
,
uaint ,

unl ess perhaps yo u fixed o n one o f the other three .

Again ; to translate Homer s uitably says Mr Newman ,

’
.
,

w e nee d a diction s ufficiently antiq u ated t o obtain pardon

o f the reader fo r i t s freq u ent homeliness I am con ’
.

c erned he says again with the artistic problem o f

’
, ,

obtaining a plausible aspect o f moderate antiquity While 20 ,

remaining e asily intelligible And again he speaks o f .

’
, ,

the more antiqu ated style s uited to this s ubj ect Q u aint .
’

antiqu ated — but to whom Sir Th omas Browne is

qu aint and the diction o f Chauc er is antiqu ated : does
,

Mr Newman s uppose that Homer seemed qu aint t o

.

S ophocles when he rea d him as Sir Thomas Browne seems

, ,

q u aint t o u s when we read him or that Homer s diction

,
’

s eeme d antiqu ate d to Soph ocles as Ch au cer s diction se ems ,

’

antiqu ated to u s B ut we cannot really know I c onfess , ,

h o w Homer seemed to Sophocles well then to those who 3 0 ,

can tell us how he seems to them to the li ving sch olar to , ,

o u r onl y present witness o n th is matter — does Homer

make o n the Provost o f Eton when he rea ds him th e , ,

impression of a poet qu aint an d antiqu ate d does he make

this impression on Professor Thompson o r Professor Jo w ett ,

When Sh akspe are says Th e princ es orgu lous meaning , ,

’

the prou d princ es w e say This is antiqu ate d

,
’
when ,

he says of the Troj an gates that they , ,

Wit h me ssy st ap esl

A n d c o rres o nsiv e an df lfilli g b lt u n o s
Sp err up t h e so ns of Tr y o
2 68 ON T R A NS LATIN G H O MER
and so o n No w the manner of that composition I c all
.

g a rr u lo u s ; every o n e will feel it t o be g arru lo u s ; every

one will understand What is meant when it is called
g arr u lo us Then I a
. s k the scholar — d o es Homer s manner ’

e ver make u pon yo u I do n o t say the same impression o f , ,

its garru lity as that assage but does it make ever fo r o ne

p , ,

moment an impression in the slightest w ay resembling in

, ,

th e remotest degree akin to the impression made by that ,

p assage o f the medi aeval poet ? I have no fear o f the answer .

I follow the same method with Mr Newman s tw o other 1 0 .

’

epithets prosaic an d lo w
, Homer rises and sinks with his
, .

subj ect says Mr New man ; is prosaic when it is tame

’
.
, ,

is lo w when it is mean First I say Homer is never in ’

.
, ,

any sense to be with truth call ed prosaic he is never to

,

be call ed lo w He does not rise and sink with his s ubj ect ;
.

o n the contrary his manner invests his s ubj ect whatever

, ,

his s ubj ect be with nobleness Then I look fo r an author

, .

o f whom it may with tr uth be sai d that he rise s and ,

sinks with his subj ect is prosaic when it is tame is lo w , ,

when it is mean Defoe is eminently s uc h an au thor o f 20

.
’

Defoe s mann er it may with perfect precision be said that

’
,

it follows his matter ; his lifelike composition takes its

c haracte r from the facts which it conveys not from the ,

nobleness o f the composer In M o ll F landers and Co lonel .

Jac k Defoe is undo ubtedly prosaic when his s ubj ect is

,

tame lo w when his su bject is mean Does Homer s manner

,
.
’

in the Iliad I ask the s ch olar ever make upon him an impres
, ,

sion at all like the impression made by Defoe s mann er in ’

M o ll F landers and Co lonel Jac k Does it n o t o n the con ,

t rary leave him with an impression o f nobleness even when 3 0

, ,

it deals with Thersites o r with Irus

Well then Homer is neither qu aint nor garrulous nor
, , ,

prosaic nor mean ; and Mr Newman in seein g him so

, .
, ,

sees him differently from those w h o are to j udge Mr New .

man s rendering o f him By pointin g o ut h o w a wrong

’
.

conc eption o f Homer affects Mr Newman s translation .

’
,

I hope to place in still clearer li ght those four cardinal

truths which I pronounce essential fo r him wh o would have
a right conception o f Homer ; that Homer is rapid that h e ,

is plain and direct in word and style that h e is pl ain and 40 ,

direct in his ideas and that h e is noble , .

 LECTUR E II 2 69

Mr Newman says that in fixing o n a style for s uitably

.

rendering Homer as he conceives him he alights on th e

delicate line which separates the q uain t from the gro tesq
, ,
’
ue .

I ought to be qu aint he says I o ugh t not to be grotesqu e

,
’
,
.
’

This is a most un fort unate sentence Mr Newman is . .

grotesque which he himself says he ought not to be ; and

,

he ought not to be quaint which h e himself says he ought ,

to be .

No t wo person s will agree says Mr Newman as to ,

’
.
,

1 0 where the quaint ends an d the grotesqu e begins and

perhaps this is true B ut in order to avoid all ambiguity
.
,

in the use o f the tw o words it is eno ugh to say that most , ,

persons wo uld call an expression w hich produced o n them

a very strong sense o f its incongruity an d which violently
s urprised them grotesq
,

u e ; and an e x pression which pro

, ,

duce d o n them a slighter sense o f its incongruity and w hich

more gently s urprise d them q
,

uaint U sing the two words ,

.

in this manner I say that when Mr Newman translate s

, ,
.

Helen s words t o Hector in the sixth book

’
,

’
w mp ‘
’ '
A dsp i
eye o , s xax o yr
jxci
v ov
,
bupvo ea ,

O br t h o er th ou of me wh o a m a mischie f w ki g
- or n
A bi g h
, ,

nu m n orro r

grotesque that is he expresses himself in a manner

h e is ,

which produces o n us a very strong sense o f it s incongruity ,

and which violently surprises us I say again that when .

, ,

Mr Newman translates the common line

.
,

’ ’ "
Thu 6 fi pe ifier irrevra il iyas -
ao v ai
v s Elc‘rwp

G re at H ec t o r o f the mo t l y h lm t h
e e en spa e k t o h er respo nsi v
e

‘
or the common expression sum 5, 86 A xa dapper /1 1 1 co z ,
I

gr e av d Achaians
’
h e is qu aint ; that is he expresses him
-
,

self in a manner which pro duces o n u s a s lighter sense o f

incongruity and which more gently surprises us B ut
, .

violent and gentle s urprise are alike far from the scholar s ’

spirit when he reads in Homer 69 am r d

p x
j o r x vi/ K vo v , ,
”
KO
p vflai
v s E rwp o r ii jj
r
‘
b s A xx
a
‘
i T hese
, expressions
,
e
’
xv at e
’
to .

n o mo re seem o dd t o him than the simplest expres

sions in English He is n o t more checked by any feeling
.

1
Iliad, vi, 3 44 .
270 ON T R A NS LATIN G H O MER
of strangene ss strong o r weak w h en he reads them t han
, , ,

when h e rea ds in an English book the painte d savage ,

’

or,
the phlegmatic Du tchman Mr Newman s renderings .
’
.
’

o f them m u st therefore be w ro ng expressions in a t ran sl a

, ,

tion of Homer ; becau se they excite in t h e scholar their ,

only competent j u dge a feeling quite alien to that excited ,

in him by what t h ey profess t o render .

Mr Newman by expressions o f this kind is false to his

.
, ,

origin al in t w o ways He is fal se to him inasmu c h as he .

is ignoble fo r a noble air and a grotesque air t h e air of 1 0 , ,

the address ,

p eio , m es m
E nxdvo v, bxpvo éaans
'

A cie
p op

and the air of the ad dress ,

b misc hief -w o r ing k

‘

0, ro t h er th o u of me w h o am a
A bi g h
,

nu m n o rro r

are j ust contrary the o ne to the other and he is false to

him inasmuc h as he is o dd ; fo r an o dd dic tion like Mr .

Newman s and a perfectly plain nat ural diction like Homer s

’ ’
,

dappe r gre av d Achaians and éii jp b A xa t — are

-
’
x vr i es
’
io ,

also j ust contrary the o n e to the other Where indeed 20 .

, ,

Mr Newman got his diction with whom he can have live d

.
, ,

what c an be his test o f antiquity an d rarity fo r words are ,

questions w hich I ask myself with bewilderment He h as .

prefixed to his translation a list o f what he calls the more

antiqu ated or rarer words which he h as used In t his list .

appear o n t h e o ne hand s uch words as doughty grisly

, , , ,

lusty no isome ravin w hic h are familiar o ne wo uld think

, , , , ,

to all the worl d o n the other han d s u ch words as bragly , ,

meaning Mr Newman te lls us pro u dl y fin e

,
. bulkin a , ,

c alf m a mass I am concerne ’

p lu p an d so on , d 30 .
,

says Mr Newman with the artistic problem o f attaining

.
,

a plau sible aspe ct o f moderate antiquity while remaining ,

easily intelligible B ut it seems to me that lusty is no t .

’

antiqu ated an d that bragly is not a word readily un der

stoo d That this word in dee d an d bulkin may have a
.
, , ,

plausible aspect o f mo derate antiquity I admit but that ,

’

th ey are easily intelligible I deny ,

’
.

Mr Newman s syntax h as I say it with pleasu re a much

.
’
, ,

more Homeric c ast th an his vo cabulary his syntax the ~

,
2 72 ON TR ANS LATIN G HO MER
sa
y , this erroneo u s analogy T h e moral qu alities of .

Homer s style says Mr Newman being like to those of

’
,
’
.
,

t h e English balla d w e need a metre o f the same geni u s , .

O nly those metres which by the very possession o f these ,

q u alities are liable t o degenerate into doggerel are suitable ,

to reproduce the ancient epic Th e style o f Homer he .

’
,
’

‘
says in a passage which I have befo re qu oted , i s direct ,

popular forcible qua int flowing garrulo u s in all these

, , , ,

respects it is similar to the o ld English balla d Mr Ne w .

’
.

man I need no t say is by no means alone in this opinion 1 0

, , .

Th e most really an d t ruly Homeric o f all the creations

o f t h e English m u se is says Mr Newman s critic in the ’ ’
.
,

National R eview the ballad poe try o f ancient times

,
-

and the association between metre and s u bject is o ne that

it wo ul d be true wi sdom to preserve It is confessed .
’
,
’

says C hapman s last editor Mr Hooper that the fo urteen

’
,
.
,
‘
syllable v erse (that is a ballad verse ) is pe culiarly fitting
,
’
,
-
,

fo r Homeric translation And the e ditor o f Dr M aginn s ’ ’

. .

clever and popular Homeric B allads ass umes it as o ne o f

h is a uthor s gre ate st and most in disp utable merits that he 20
’
,

w as the first w h o co nscio usl y realised to himself the truth

that Greek ballads can be really represented in En glish onl y
by a similar measure .
’

This propositio n that Homer s poetry is ballad p o etry

’
-
,

analogou s to the well known ballad poetry of the English - -

an d other nations h as a certain small po rtion o f tru th in it

, ,

and at o ne time p robably served a u seful pu rpose when it ,

w as employe d to discre dit the a rtificial and literary manner

in whic h Pope and his school rendere d Homer B ut it h as .

been so extravagantly over u sed the mistake which it w as so -

,

useful in combating h as so entirely lost the p u blic favo u r ,

that it is now muc h more important to insist o n the large

p art o f error containe d in it than to extol it s small part o f ,

truth It is time to say plainl y that whatever the admirers

.
‘

o f o ur o l d ballads may t hink the supreme form o f epi c ,

poetry the genuine Homeric mould is n o t t h e form o f the

, ,
.

Ballad o f Lord Bateman I ha ve myse lf s h own the broad .

difference between Milton s mann er and Homer s

’ ’
but ,

after a co urse o f Mr Newman and Dr Maginn I turn ro un d . .

,

in desperation upo n them and u pon the balladists who have 40

misle d them and I exclaim : Compared with yo u Milto n
, ,
 L ECTUR E 1 1 2 73
’

isHo mer s do uble th ere is whatever yo u may think

’
, , te n
tho usand times more o f the real strain o f Homer in ,

Bli d Th
n amyri
s, an d blin d M so nide s,
e
A n d Tiresias, an d P hi neus, pro ph ets o ld

t han in ,

No w Ch ri t
s t h ee sa e ,v t h o u pro u d porter,
No w Chri ts th ee sa v e an d see
1

Whil e t h e t in k er did dine , h e h ad p l ty

en of wine .

10 Homer is not only rapid in movement simple in

Fo r ,

style plain in lan guage natural in tho ught ; he is also and

, , ,

above all no-ble I have advised the translator no t to go

,
.

into the vexeld question o f Homer s identity Y e t I will ’

.

j u st remind him that the grand argument o r rather n o t

—
, ,

argument fo r the matter affords no data fo r arguing but

, ,

the grand so urce from which conviction as we read the ,

Iliad keeps pressing in upon us that there is o ne po et o f

, ,

the Iliad ne Homer is precisely this nobleness o f the

o —
,

poet this grand manner w e feel that the analogy drawn

,

20 fro m other joint compositions doe s n o t hold good here ,

be cause those works do not bear like the Iliad the magic , ,

stamp o f a master and the moment yo u have anything less

than a masterwork the cc o peration o r consolidation o f ,
-

several poe ts becomes possible for talent is no t uncommon ,

the moment yo u have much less than a maste rwork they ,

become easy fo r mediocrity is everywhere I can imagine

, .

fifty B radie s join ed with as many Tates to make the Ne w

Version of the Psalms I can imagine several poets having .

contributed to any o ne o f the o ld English ballads in Percy s ’

so collection I can imagin e several poets posse ssing like

.
, ,

Chapman the Eli z abethan vigo ur and the Elizabethan

,

m annerism unite d with Chapman to produce h is ve rsion o f

,

the Iliad I can imagine several poets with the literary

.
,

kn ack o f the twelfth century united to produce the Nibe ,

lungen L ay in the form in which w e have it— a work which

the Ge rmans in their joy at discovering a national epic o f
,

1
F
th ero ma ad b ll of King Esimere in , P y erc
’
s q
R eli ues f
o A ncient
English Po etry ; i, 69 (e dit . of
1
R eli ues q : i, 241
A L
.

RNO D
27 4 ON TR ANS LATING H O MER
t heir have rate d vastly hi gh er than it de serve s And
o wn , .

l astly t h o ugh Mr Newman s translation o f Homer bears

’
.
,

the strong mark o f his o wn idiosyncrasy yet I can imagine ,

Mr Newman and a school o f adepts trained by him in his

.

art o f poetry jointly re ducing that work so t h at A ristar

chus himself shoul d have diffi c ulty in pronouncing which
, ,

lin e w as the master s and whic h a pupil s B ut I cannot

’
,
’
.

imagine several poets o r o ne poet joined with Dante in , ,

t h e composition o f his Inferno tho ugh many poets have ,

taken for their s ubject a descent into Hell Many artists 1 0 .

,

again have represente d Moses but there is onl y o ne Mo ses

,

o f Michael Angelo So the ins urmo untable obstacle to

.

believing the Iliad a consolidated work o f several poets is

this— th at the work o f great masters is unique and the
Iliad h as a great maste r s genuine stamp an d that stamp
’
,

is the grand style .

Poets w h o cann ot work in the grand style instinctively ,

seek a style in which their c omparative inferiority may feel

itself at ease a mann er whic h may be so to speak in dul
, , ,

gent to their inequ alities Th e ballad style offers to an epic 20.

-

poet quite unable to fil l the canvas of Homer o r Dante o r

, , ,

Milton a canvas which he is capable o f fil ling Th e ballad

,
.

meas ure is quite able to give due effect to the vigour and
spirit which its employer when at his very best may be able , ,

t o exhibit an d when he is n o t at his best when he is a

, ,

little trivial o r a little dull it will no t betray him it will no t

, , ,

bring o ut his weaknesses into broad relief This is a c o n .

ve nie n ce bu t it is a convenien c e which the ballad style -

purchases by resigning all prete nsions to the highest to the ,

g rand manner It is tru e of i

. ts movement as it is no t tru e 30 ,
‘
o f Homer s that it is liable to degenerate into doggerel
’ ’
.
,

It is tru e o f its moral qualities as it is no t true o f Homer s ,

’ ’
,

th at qu aintne ss and garrulity are among them It is .

true o f its employers as it is no t true o f Homer that they

, ,

rise and sink w ith their s u bject are prosaic when it is ,

tame are lo w when it is mean F o r this reason the ballad

,
.
’

st yle and the ballad meas u re are e minently i nappropriate to

-

render Homer Homer s mann er and movement

.
’

always both noble and powerful the ballad manner and -

mo vement are ofte n either jaunty and smart so not noble ; 40 ,

o r jog trot and h umdrum so n o t powerful

-
, .
27 6 ON TR ANSLATIN G H O MER
Poor wretched beasts fo r a s as This expression j ust ,
’
e .

illustrates the diffe rence between the ballad man ner and -

Homer s Th e ball ad mann er— Chapman s manner— is

’
.
-
’
,

I say pitched sen sibly lower than Homer s Th e ballad

’
.
,

manner requires that an expression shall be plain and

natural and then it asks no more Homer s manner
,
.
’

requires that an e xpression shall be plain and natural ,

bu t it also requires that it shall be noble A as s is

’
.

as plain as simple as ,
Poor wretched beasts but it is
also noble which Poor wretched beasts is not
,
Poor .

wretched beasts is in truth a little over familiar : but this , ,

-

is no objection to it fo r the ballad manner ; it is good -

eno ugh for the o ld English ballad good enough for the ,

Nibelu ngen L ay good eno ugh for C hapman s Iliad good

,
’
,

eno u gh fo r Mr Ne w man s Iliad good eno ugh fo r Dr

.
’
,
.

Maginn s Homeric B allads but it is no t good eno ugh fo r

’
,

To feel that Chapman s measure tho ugh natural is n o t ’

, ,

Homeric that tho ugh tolerably rapid it h as no t Homer s

, ,
’

rapidity that it h as a jogging rapi dity rather than a flo w 20

ing rapidity and a movement familiar rather than nobly
easy one h as only I think to read half a do z en lines in any
, , ,

part o f his version I prefer to keep as mu ch as po ssible to .

passages which I have already noticed so I will quote the ,

conclusion o f the nineteenth boo k where Achill es answers ,

h is horse Xanthus w h o h as prophesied his death to him 1

,
.

A hill f g c es, ar in ra e,
Thus answ d him — It fit t th
ere th p dly t p g s no ee us ro u o resa e
My v t h w I k w my lf it my f t t f ll
o er ro no se is a e o a
f m P h t hi f t h ll f il t v t h g ll
.

Thus f ar y t t
ro h t a e a a e s a a o en er a
Till mi v t t hne d Th w d
en id h f ll t h
o usan id d s.— e se o r s sa e e o o rr ee ds,
G v d df l ig l d f thrigh t m d fly hi
,
’
a e re a u s na h fd t, an or a e s o ne -
oo s ee ds.

For what regards the mann ero f this passage the words ,
‘
Achill es Th u s answered him and I kn ow myself it is ,
’
.

my fate to fall Th u s far from Phthia are in Homer s ,

’ ’

manner and all the rest is o ut o f it B ut fo r what regards

,
.

its movement : wh o after being j olted by Chapman ,

through su ch verse as this

Th ese w o rds said, h e e to h o rrid dee ds, f ll
Gv
a e fl
dre ad u signa , an d o rt hrigh t made l ’
f
his o ne -h o o d stee ds fly f 40

1
Iliad, xi
x, 41 9 .
 LECTU R E II 27 7

does
wh o not feel the vital difference of the movement of
Homer
6 15a , It a l i v b
rr a ro rs
p
'
idxwv 3x6 pdnmxa s im mus ?

To pass from Ch apman to Dr Maginn His Homeric . .

B allads are vigorou s an d genuine poems in their o w n way

they are n o t one continu al falsetto like the pinchbeck ,

R oman B allads o f Lord Macaulay ; but j u st because they

are ballads in their manner and movement j ust because , ,

t o u se the words o f his applauding editor Dr Maginn h as , .

‘
10 consciously reali sed to himself the tr uth that Greek
ballads c an be reall y re prese nted in English only by
a similar mann er — j u st for this very reason they are not
at all Homeric they have n o t the least in the world the
,

manner o f Homer There is a celebrate d incident in the .

nineteenth b o ok o f the Odyssey the recognition by the o ld ,

nurse Euryc leia o f a scar o n the leg o f her master Ulysses ,

w h o h as entered his o wn ball as an unkn own wanderer ,

and whose fee t sh e h as been set to wash Then sh e came .

ne ar says Homer and began to wash her master and

,
’
,

20 straightway sh e recognised a scar which he had go t in

former days from the white tusk o f a wild boar when he ,

went to Parnassus unto Au tolyc us and the sons o f Au to

lyc us his mother s father and brethren Th is really
1 ’ ’
, .
,

represented by Dr Maginn in a meas ure similar to .

,

Homer s becomes
’
,

A n d scarc e ly
h ad sh e egun t o w ash b
Ere sh e w as aw are o f t h e gris gash ly
Ab v o e hi s nee t h at l ay k
f l b
.

It w as a w o un d ro m a wid o ar s t o o th ,
’

All P on arn assus

’
l
s o pe ,

Wh ere h e we nt t o h unt in t h e da y s of his y o u th

Wit h his mo t h er s sire ’

and so ‘o n That is the tru e ballad manner no one can

.
-
,

deny a ll o n Parnassu s slope is I was going to say the ’ ’

, ,

true ballad slang but never again shall I be able to read

-
,
’ A] ’ "
vi e d
’ ’
i xO éo v
'
g 6 ap aao v l o vaa ( i/ a
’
av rt r
'
ca 8 cv
OU A UV
'

w i tho u t having the detestable dance of Dr M aginn .

’
s,

A n d scarce ly h ad sh e b e gu n t o w as h
Ere sh e w as aw are o f t h e gris ly g ash

1
Odyssey, xix, 3 92 .
27 8 ON TR A NSL ATING H O MER
j g
i ging in my ears to spoil the effec t of Homer and to , ,

torture me To apply that mann er and that rhythm to

.

Homer s incidents is no t t o imitate Homer but to travesty

’
, ,

him .

Lastly I come to Mr Newman His rhyt hm like Chap . .

,

man s and Dr Maginn s is a ball ad rhythm but with

’ ’
-
.
, ,

a modification o f his o w n Holding it he tel ls us as ’

.
, ,

an axiom that rhyme m u st be abandoned he found o n

, ,
’
,

abandoning it an unpleasant void until he gave a do uble

,

ending t o the verse In short inste ad of saying .

’
,

G d p pl
oo eo e all wit h o ne acc o rd
Giv e ear u nto my tale ,
Mr Newman wo uld
. say,

G dpoo e o ple all with o ne acc o rd

Giv e ear un t o my sto ry .

A recent A merican write r gravely observes that fo r his 1

c o untrymen this rhyt hm h as a di sadvantage in being like

the rhythm o f the American national air Y ankee Doo dl e ,
’

and th us provoking ludicro us associations Y ankee .

Doodle is n o t o ur national air : fo r u s Mr Newm an s 20 .

’

rhythm h as not this di sadvantage He himself gives us .

several plau sible reasons w h y this rhythm of h is really

ought to be s u ccessful : let us examin e h o w far it is s u ccessful .

Mr Newman j oins to a bad rhythm so bad a diction

.
,

th at it is diffic ult to distinguish exactly whether in any

given passage it is h is words o r his measure which prod u ces
a total impression o f s u ch an unpleasant kind B ut .

with a little attention w e may analyse o ur total impression ,

and find the share which each element has in pro du cing it .

To take the passage which I have so ofte n mentioned 3 0 ,

Sarpedo n s speech to Glau c u s Mr Newman translates

’
. .

this as foll ows

O g ntl fri n d if th u and I fr m t hi n unt r api g
e e e o o s e co e
’
sc n
H r aft r migh t f r v r b fr m Eld and D ath x mpt d
, ,

e e e o e e e o e e e e

th w ul d fi gh t m ng t h f r m t
’
A h a nl y g d n t I in
s e v o s, o so o o a o e o e os
v bl b l
,

Nor liefly t h ee w o ul d I ad ance to man e nn o in g att e - .

No w —sith te n th o usand sh apes o f De at h do any g ait pursue u s -

v l v f bl
,

Which ne er m o rt a may e ade t h o u h sly o f o o t an d nim e

d gl y l gI y yi l d t
,

Onward ! an or e t u s e arn, or or m e o so e o ne .

1
Mr M arsh , in his L ectures
. on the English L anguage, New Y o rk,
2 80 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER
Here Mr Ne w man call s Xanthus Ch estnut indeed as he
.
, ,

c alls Bali us Sp o tted and Po darga Sp ry foo t ; which is as ,

-

if a F renchman were to call Miss Ni ghtingale M adlle .

R ossign o l o r Mr Bri ght M Clair

, And several other . . .

expressions too yelling held afront single h o ofed

, ,
’
,
’
-
’

— leave t o sa the very le ast m u ch to be desired S till

y , , .
,

for Mr Newman the diction of this p assage is p ure All

.
, .

the more clearly appears the profound vice of a rhythm ,

which with comparatively fe w faults o f words can leave

, ,

a ense of s uch incurable alienation from Homer s manner 1 0 ’

s Myself right surely know als o that tis my doom to ’

perish compared With th e w mi

,
’
id Ka i
rr s j m , ev 7 01 . o o. t a o
‘
, o a .

p ipes
’
cv 0a 8 e
’ ’
a Oai—
r
of Ho mer
B ut deep seated is the difference betwee n the ballad
-

manner and Iymer s that even a man o f the highest

so

powers even a man o fthe greatest vigo ur o f spirit and o f

,

tr e gen s the Coryphae us o f ball adists Sir Walter Scott

u iu —
,

-
fails With a manner o f this kind t o produ ce an e ffect at
-

all like the effect of Homer I am not so rash declares .

,
’

Mr Newman as to say that if freedom be given t o rhyme 20

.
,

as in Walter Scott s poetry Walter Scott by far the ’

-
,

most Ho meric o f o ur poets as in another place he calls ,

’

him a genius may n o t arise wh o will translate Homer

into the melodi es of M armion Th e tru ly classical and .
’

truly romantic says Dr Maginn are one ; the moss

’
.
, ,

trooping Nestor reappears in th e moss trooping heroes o f -

Perc y s R eliq
’
u es an d a description by Scott which he ,

q u otes he calls graphic and therefore Homeric

,
He .
’

forgets o ur fourth axiom that Homer is not only graphic

—

he is also noble and h as the grand style Human nature 3 0

, .

u n der like circ u mstances is probably in all a ges m u ch the

same an d so far it may be sai d that the truly c lassical
an d the tru ly romantic are o ne bu t it is o f little use to
tell us this becau se w e know the h uman nature o f other
,

ages onl y through the representations of them whi ch h ave

come down to us and the c lassical an d the romantic ,

m o des o f representation are so far from being o n e that ,

’

they remain eternall y distinct and have c reated fo r us ,

a separation between th e tw o worl ds which they respectively

represent Th erefore to c all Nestor the moss trooping 40
.
-

Nestor is abs urd b ecause though Nestor may possibly , ,

 LECTUR E II 2 81

have been mu ch the same sort of man as many a moss

trooper he has yet come to us through a mode of representa
tion so unl ike that o f Percy s R eliq
,

ues that instead of ’

, ,

reappearing in the moss trooping heroes of these poems -

,

he e x ists in o ur imagination as something utterly u nlike

th em and as belonging to another world So the Greeks
, .

in Sh akspe are s T ro ilus and Cressida are no longer the

’

Greeks whom we have known in Homer b ecause they ,

come to u s through a mode of representation o f the romantic

world B ut I must not forget Scott
. .

I s uppo se that when Scott is in what may be call ed ful l

ballad s w ing no o ne will hesitate to pronounce his manner
,

neither Homeric nor the grand manner When he says

, .
,

for instance ,

y
I do no t rh me t o t h at du elf ll
W h o c anno t image t o him se 1
lf
and so on any scholar will feel that th is is not Homer s
,
’

manner B ut let u s take Scott s p o etry at its best and

.
’

when it is at its best it is undo ubtedly very good indeed

,

Tunsta ll lies de ad u po n t h e e d, fil
l bl
His ife - o o d st ains t h e spo t ess shie d l l
Edmun d is do w n— my li fe is re t f
Th e A l l
dmira a o ne is e t lf
S ly
.

L e t t an e c h arge with spur o f fire

C
With h ester c h arge , an d anc ashire, L
F ll
u u po n S l ’
co t an d s c e ntra h o st, l
v y
Or ic t o r an d Eng an d s o st
’ 1
l l .

That is no doubt as vigorou s as possible as spirited as

, , ,

possible it is exceedingly fine poetry And still I say it .

,

so is n o t in the gran d manner and therefore it is not like ,

’
Homer s poetry N ow how shall I make him who doubts
.
,

this feel that I say tru e ; that these lines o f Scott are
essentially neither in Homer s style nor in the grand ’
,

style ? I may point o ut to him that the movement of

’
Scott s lines while it is rapid is also at the same time what
, ,
‘
the French call saccade its rapidity is j erky ; whereas
’
’

Homer s rapidity is a flowing rapi dity B ut this is some .

thing external and material ; it is but the outward and

visible sign o f an inward and spiritu al diversity I may .

40 disc u ss w h at in the abstract constit u tes the grand style

,
; ,

1
M armio n, c anto vi
, 38 .
1
M armio n, cant o v i
, 29 .
2 82 ON TR A NS LATING H O M ER
but that sort o f general disc u ssion never much helps o ur
j udgment of particul ar instances I may say that the .

pre sence or ab sence o f the grand style can onl y be Spiritu

ally dis c erned ; and this is tru e but to plead th i s looks ,

like e v ading the diffic ulty My best w ay is to take eminent .

specimens o f the grand style and to put them side by side ,

with this of Scott For example when Homer says .

,

dA A oi, 111 01 0 1 , Ohms m l 0 15

1
T l?) 6A v > 1 ea1 oi
p irws ;
x irea ms x a l Hdr o nk o s 611 6 1 0 60 n ob l er d elvwfl
-
'

q 5

i
p , 1 u

that is in the grand style . When Virgil ays

s

Disce puer virtu te m

,

F o rtunam e x aliis 1
, ex me v eru m qlb
ue a o rem ;

that is in th e grand style . When Dante says

L fl
l o e e , e t v o pei do c i po mi
asc io l
Pro messi a me per l o erac e Du ca ; v
Ma fino al c e ntro pria co n ie u c h io t o mi
’ ’
v
that is in the grand style . When Milton says
His f or m h ad no t ye t l o st
All h ina
e r o ri
g h tness, lb no r appe ar (1
’

L th e ss an arc h an e rui
’
n d, an d the x
d
e cess
Of gl y or o bsc ure
‘

that fin ally is in the grand style N ow let any o n e after

, , .

repeating to himself these four passages repeat again the ,

passage o f Scott and he will perceive that there is some

,

thin g in style whi c h th e fo ur first have in common an d ,

which the last is without an d th is something is precisely

the grand mann er It is no disrespect to Sc ott to say that
.

he does not attain to this mann er in his poetry to say so ,

is merely to say that he is not amon g th e fi v e or six s upreme

poets o f th e world Am ong th ese he is not ; bu t bein g 3 0
.
,

Be co nte nt , go o d fi r e n d, die a sol th ou w h y l ame ntest t h o u t h y

se lf on
’
t his wise P atro c us, l t o o , die d, w h o w as a far e tter t h an b
th o u — Iliad, xx i 1 06
F y l bl l ff
. .
,
‘
1
ro m me o u ng man e arn no e ne ss o f so u an d tru e e o rt

l f
, ,

ro m o t h e rs
’
e arn su cce ss — A eneid x i
i, 43 5
l v l b l
.
.
,

I e a e t h e ga l o f itte rness,
1
I go fo r t h e app e s o f swee tness
an d

pro mise d u n t o m e m y a it h ul by f f G uide but far as th e centre it eh o e s b v

fi
me rst t o al f l ’
-
Hell, x v i, 6 1
. .

Paradise L o st, 1, 5 9 1 .
2 84 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER
natural so are they Homer is spirited so are they but
, ,

Homer is s ustainedly noble and they are not Homer and , .

t h ey are both o f them natural and therefore to uching and ,

stirring but the grand style which is Homer s is something ,

’
,

mo re than to uching and stirring it can form the character ,

it is edifying Th e old English balladist may stir Sir Philip

.

Sidn ey s heart like a tru mpet an d this is mu ch

’
but ,

Home r but the fe w artists in the grand style can do more ;

, ,

they can refine the raw natural man they can transmute ,

him So it is not witho u t cau se that I say and say again 1 0

.
, ,

to the translator o f Homer : Never for a moment suffer

yo urself to forget o ur fourth fundamental propo sition ,

Homer is no ble For it is seen h o w large a share this

.
’

nobleness h as in produ cin g that general effect of his which ,

it is the main busin ess o f a translator to reproduce .

I shall have to try your patience yet once mo re u pon this

s ubject and then my task will be completed I have shown
, .

what the fo ur axioms respectin g Homer which I have laid

down exclude what they bid a translato r no t to do I have
, ,

still to show what they s upply what positive help they can 20 ,

give to the translator in his work I will even with their .

,

aid myself try my fo rtune with some of those passages o f

,

Homer which I have already noticed no t indee d with any

confidence that I more than othe rs can succeed in ade
q y
u a te l rendering Homer b ut in the h e pe o f satisfying ,

competent j u dges in the h Ope o f making it clear to the

,

future translato r that I at any rate foll ow a right method

, ,

an d that in c omin g short I come short from weakness o f

, ,

exec ution not from original vice o f design This is w h y I

,
.

have so long occ upie d myself with Mr Newman s version 3 0 .

’

that apart from all faults o f execution h is ori ginal design

, ,

w as wrong and that he h as done u s the good ser vice o f

,

declarin g that design in it s naked wrongness To bad .

practice h e h as prefixe d the bad theory which made the

practice bad he h as given us a false theory in his preface ,

an d he has exemplifie d the bad e ffects of that fa lse theory

in his translation It is bec au se his starting point is so bad
.
-

th at he ru ns so badly and to save others from taking so

false a starting point may be t o save t h em from running so
-
,

futile a co urse . 40

Mr Newman indeed says in his preface that if any one

.
, , ,
 LECT URE II 28 5

dislikes his translation he has his easy remedy to keep

,

aloof fro m it B ut Mr Newman is a writer o f considerable

’
. .

an d deserved rep u tation ; be is also a Professor of the

University o f London an institution which by its position
,

and by it s merits acquires every year greater i mportance .

It wo ul d b e a very grave thing if the authority of so eminent

a Professor led his stu dents to misconceive entirely the
c hief work o f the Greek world ; that work which whatever ,

the other works of classical antiquity have to give u s gives ,

1 0 it more ab undantly than they all Th e eccentricity t o o .

, ,

the arbitrariness o f which Mr Newm an s conception of

,
.
’

Homer o ffers so signal an example are not a pecul iar failing ,

of Mr Newman s o wn ; in varyin g degrees they are the

.
’
,

great defect o f English intellect the great blemish o f ,

English literat ure Our literat ure o f the eighteenth cent ury
.
,

the literature o f the school o f Dryden Addison Pope , , ,

Johnson is a long reaction against this eccentricity t his

, ,

arbitrariness : that reaction perished by its o wn fault s ,

and its enemies are left once more masters o f the field It .

20 is m u ch more likely that any new English version o f Homer

will have Mr Newman s faults than Pope s Our present
.
’ ’
.

literature which is very far certainl y from having the

, , ,

spi rit and power of Elizabethan geniu s yet h as in it s OWn ,

way these faul ts eccentri c ity and arbitrariness quite as

, ,

muc h as the Elizabethan lite rature ever had They are .

the cau se that while u pon none perhaps o f the modern

, , ,

literatures h as so great a sum o f force been expended as

u pon the English literat u re at the present hour this
,

literature regarded not as an object of mere literary interest

,

8 0 but as a li ving intellect u al instrument ranks only third in

,

European effect and importance among the literat ures o f

Europe it ranks after the literatures o f France and
Ge rmany O f these tw o literatu res as o f the intellect o f
.
,

Eu rope in general the main effort fo r now many years h as

, , ,

been a critical effort the endeavo ur in all b ranches o f ,

knowle dge— theology philosophy history art science

, , , ,

to se e the object as in itself it really is B ut owing to the .

,

presence in English literature o f this eccentric an d arbitrary

spirit owing to the strong tendency o f English writers to
,

40 bring to the consider a tion o f their object some individu al

fancy almost the last thing for which one wo uld come
,
28 6 ON TR A NS LATING HO MER
t o English literatu re is j u st that very thing no w
Europe most desire s— criticism It is u seful to notice an y
.

signal manifestation o f those faults which thu s li mit and

,

impair the action o f o ur literature And therefore I have

.

pointe d o ut h o w widely in translating Homer a man

, , ,

even o f real ability and learning may go astray unless ,

he brings to the stu dy o f this clearest of poets o ne quality

in which o ur English au thors with all their great gift s
, ,

are apt to be somewhat wanting—j— simple l ucidity o f mind .

2 88 ON TR A NSL A TIN G H O MER
of them have merit some o f t h em very h igh merit others ,

a lower merit but even in these points they have none o f

them precisely the same kind o f merit as Homer and ,

therefore the ne w tran slator even if he can i mitate them ,

in their good points will still n o t satisfy his j udge the ,

scholar w h o asks him fo r Homer an d Homer s kind o f merit

,
’
,

o r at least fo r as m uch o f them as it i

, , s possible to give .

So the translator really h as no good model before him fo r

any part o f his work and h as to invent everything fo r him ,

self He is to be rapi d in movement plain in speech 1 0

.
, ,

simple in tho ught and noble and ho w he is to be either ,

rapid o r plain o r simple o r noble no o ne yet h as shown

, , , ,

him I shall try to day to establish some practical su gge s

.
-

tions w hich may help the translator o f Homer s poetry to ’

comply with the fo ur grand requirements which we make o f

him .

His version is to be rapi d ; an d o f co urse to make a ,

man s poetry rapid as to make it noble nothing can serve

’
, ,

him so much as to have in h is o wn nature rapi dity an d

nobleness It is the sp irit that q
, ,

u ickeneth
. and n o o ne will 20
so well render Homer s swift flo wi n g movement as he
’
-

w h o h as himself somethin g o f the swift moving spirit o f -

Homer Yet even this is n o t quite eno ugh Pe pe certainl y

. .

had a quick and darting spirit as he h ad also real noble , , ,

ness yet Pope does no t render the movement o f Homer .

To re n der this the tran slator m u st have besides his nat ural ,

qu alifications an appropriate metre ,

.

I have sufficiently shown w h y I think all forms o f o ur

ballad metre uns uited to Homer It seems to me to be
-
.

beyond question that for epic poetry onl y three metres 3 0 , ,

can seriou sly claim to be acco unte d c apable o f the grand

style TWO o f these will at once o c r t every ne the
. c u o o —

ten syllable o r so called heroic co u plet and blank verse

-
,
-
, , .

I do not add to these th e Spenserian stanza alth ough ,

Dr Maginn whose metri c al e c centricities I h ave alrea dy

.
,

criticised pronoun ces this stanza the one righ t measure fo r

,

a translation of Homer It is enough to observe that if .

,

Pope s couplet with the simple system o f correspondences

’
,

that it s rhymes introduce c hanges the movement of Homer , ,

in which no such correspondences are found an d is therefore 40 ,

a bad meas ure fo r a translator of H o m er t o employ Sponsor s ,

’
 LECTUR E III 2 89

stanz a with its far more in tricate syste m of co rrespo n

,

de n ces mu st change Homer s movement far more profo undly

’
,

and must therefore be for the translator a far worse measure

than the couplet o f Pope Yet I will say at the same time .
, ,

that the verse of Spenser is more fl ui d slips more easily ,

an d quickl y along than the verse of almost any other ,

English poet .

By thi th th w g s h d t e n or ern a o ner a se

Hi v f l d t m b hi d t h t df t
s se en- o ea e n e s ea as star

Th t w i a w v y t v
as w tn o ce an a es e ne er e
d t h ligh t f m f
,

B t fi m i fi t
u d r s x , an se n e ro ar
all t h at
1
To in t h e wide dee p w andering are ;

one cannot but feel that English verse has not often moved
with the fl uidity and sweet ease o f these lines It is possible .

that it may have been this qu ality of Spenser s poetry which ’

made Dr Maginn think that the stanza o f Th e F aery Qu een

.

must be a good meas ure for rendering Homer This it .

is n o t : Spenser s verse is fl uid and rapid no do ubt but

’
, ,

there are more ways than one o f being fl uid and rapid and ,

2 0 Homer is fl uid and rapi d in q u ite anoth er way than Spenser .

Spenser s manner is no more Homeric than is the manner

’

of the o ne modern inheritor of Spenser s beautiful gift ’

the poet who evidently caught from Spenser his sweet an d

,

easy slipping movement an d who has exquisitely employed

-
,

it a Spenserian geni us nay a geni u s by nat ural endow , ,

ment richer probably than even Spenser that light which

sh ines so unexpected and without fellow in o ur century an ,

Eli z abethan born too late the early lost and a dmirably ,

gifted Keats .

30 I s ay then that there are really bu t three metres — the ten

syllable couplet blank verse and a third metre which I will

, ,

not yet name but which is neither the Spenserian stanza

,

nor any form of balla d verse— between which as vehicles -

,

fo r Homer s poetry the translator has t o make his choice

’
, .

Every o n e will at once remember a thou sand passages in

which both the ten syllable co uplet an d blank verse prove
-

themselves to have nobleness U ndo ubtedly the movement .

and manner of this

S till rai f r g d th uppli ating v i

se o oo e s c o ce ,
B ut l v ea e to H v ea en t he me asure an d th e ch o i
ce

1
The F aery Queen , Cant o 11 , Stanz a 1
ARN L
.

O D
U
2 90 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O M ER
are noble . Undo ubte dly the movement and manner of
,

t his
High on a thro ne o f t o al state , w hic h far
Ou t hs o ne th e w e a t h o l
rmus and o f In d O
are noble also B ut the first is in a rhymed metre and the
.

unfitn ess o f a rhym e d metre fo r rendering Homer I have

alre ady shown I will obser v e too that the fine couplet
q
.
, ,

which I ha v e u oted comes o ut o f a satire a didactic poem ,

and that it 1 8 in di dactic poetry that the ten syllable couplet -

h as most s ucc e ssf ul ly essayed the grand style In narrative 1 0 .

p oetry this metre h as s ucceeded best when it essayed

a sensibly lower style the style o f Chaucer fo r instan ce , , ,

whose narrative manner tho ugh a very good an d so und ,

manner is certainly neither t h e grand manner nor th e

,

manner o f Homer .

Th e rhymed ten syllable co uplet being th u s excl uded -

,

blank verse o ffers itself for th e translator s use Th e first ’

.

kind o f blank v erse whi ch nat urally occ urs t o u s is the

blank verse o f Milton which h as been employed with more , ,

o r less m o dification by Mr C ary in translatin g Dante by 2 0

,
.
,

Cowper and by Mr Wri ght in translating Homer Ho w

,
. .

noble this metre is in Milton s hands h o w complete ly it ’

,

shows i tself capable of the grand nay o f the grandest style , , ,

I need not say To this metre as used in th e Paradise

.
,

L ost o ur co untry owes the glory o f having prod u ced o n e o f

,

the onl y tw o poetical works in th e grand style whi ch are to

be fo und in th e modern langu ages th e Divine Comedy of
Dant e is the other England an d Italy here stand alone .

Spain France and Germany h a v e prod u ced great poets

, , , ,

but neith er C al deron nor C orneill e nor Schiller nor even 30 , , ,

Goethe h as prod u ced a body of poetry in the tru e grand

,

style in the sense in which the style o f the body of Homer s

,
’

poetry o r Pindar s o r Sophocles s is grand B ut Dante

,
’
,
’
, .

h as an d so has Mil ton

, and in this respect Milto n po s
sesses a distinction which even Sh akspe are u ndo u bte dl y ,

the s upreme p o etical power in o ur literature does not share ,

him N ot a tragedy of Sh akspe are but contains

.

passages in the worst o f all styles the afle cted style and , ,

the grand style although it may be harsh o r obsc ure or

, - , , ,

cum bro u s o r o ver labo ured i , s n ev er affected In spite 4c

-
, .
,
2 92 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O M ER
the thirty ninth word in the sente nce that h e will give u s th e
-

key to it the word of action the verb Milton says

, , .

O for t h at w arning o ice, w hic h h e , w h o sawv

Th e p A
oc a p se , h e ard c ly
ry in h e a e n a o u d v l
he is not satisfied unl ess he can tell u s all in one sentence
, , ,

and without permitting himself to act u ally mention the

name that the man w h o h ad the warning voice w as the
,

same man w h o saw the Apocalypse Homer wo uld ha v e .

said O for that warning voice which Jo hn heard —and if

, ,

it had s uite d him to say that John also saw th e Apocalypse 1 0 ,

he would have given us that in another sentence Th e .

e ffect of this all usi v e and compresse d manner o f Milton is ,

I nee d not say often very powerful ; and it is an effect

,

which other great poets have often so ught to obtain m u ch

in the same w ay Dante is f ull of it Horace is full o f it ,

bu t wherever it exists it is always an u n Ho meric effect ,

~
.

Th e losses o f the hea v ens

‘
says Horace fresh moons ,
’
,

speedily repair ; w e when we have gone down where the ,

piou s E neas where the rich Tull us and A ncus are— pu lvis
, ,

et u mbra su mus He never actu ally says wh ere we go to 20

1 ’
.

he only indicates it by saying that it is that place where

iEn e as Tul l us and A n cus are
, B u t Homer when he has
, ,
.
,

to speak of going down to the grave says defin itely is , ,

« ,

HA 5 Th e immortals S hall
’
— 2 '
8i dfld r rW lul
1 0 LO V 71 ( w ov va o e o va

send thee to th e Elysian p lain an d it is not till

after he h as definitely sai d this that he adds that it is , ,

there that the abo de o f departe d worthies is place d : 56 h

f r969
a /P ddp O S
(
J Where the yellow bair d R h adaman
a a l/ U
‘ -
’

th us is Again Hora c e h aving to say th at p unishment

.
’
,

sooner or later overtakes crime says it th u s 30 ,

Rar ant d nt m l tum ‘ o ec e e e sce e s

Dese ruit pe de P o e n a cl au do .
l

Th e though t itself o f these lines is familiar enough to

Homer an d Hesio d ; but neither Homer nor Hesio d ,

in expressing it c o ul d possibly have so complicate d its

,

expression as Horace complicates it and p urposely c o m ,

plicates it by his use of the word deseruit I say that th is

,
.

complicated evolution o f th e thought n ecessarily c o m

movement and rh thm of a poet d that
'

p lic at es t h e y ; an

Odes, IV, vu , 13 . Odyssey, iv, 5 6 3 .

3
Odes, III, 11 , 31.
 LECT URE III 2 93

the Mil tonic blank verse of co urse the first model o f blank ,

verse which s u ggests itself to an English translator o f

Homer bears the strongest marks of s uch complication
, ,

an d is therefore entirely u nfit t o render Homer .

If blank verse is used in translating Homer it m ust be ,

a blank verse o f which Englis h poetry naturally swayed ,

m uch by Milton s treatment of this metre o ffers at present

’
,

h ardly any examples It m ust not be C owper s blank verse

.
’
,

w h o has st u died Milton s pregnant manner with s u ch effect

’
,

1 0 that having to say o f Mr Th rockmorton that he spares his

, .

avenue altho ugh it is the fashion with other people to cut

,

down theirs he says that B ene v o lus reprieves Th e obsolete

,

prolixity of shade It m ust n o t be Mr Tennyson s blank

.
’
.
’

verse .

F or all e xp e rie ncew h ere throis an arc h ,

’

Gl eams t h at u ntrav cll d w o r d, w h o se di

’
st anc e l f ades
v
F o r e e r and fo r e er, as w e ga e v z
it is no blame to the tho ught of those lines which belongs ,

to another order o f ideas t h an Homer s but it is true that ’

, ,

20 Homer wo ul d certainly have sai d o f them It is to con ,

sider too c urio usly t o consider so It is no blame to their .

’

rhyth m which belongs to another order o f movement than

,

Homer s bu t it is true that th ese three lines by themselves

’
, ,

take up nearly as m u ch time as a whole book o f the Iliad .

No the blank verse used in rendering Homer m ust be a

blank verse of which perhaps the best specimens are to be
found in some of the most rapid passages of Sh akspe are s ’

plays— a blank v erse which does not dovetail its lines into
o n e another an d w hich habit u ally ends its lines with mono
,

3 0 syllables Su ch a blank verse migh t no do ubt be very

.

rapi d in its movement an d mi ght perfectly adapt itself to,

a tho ught plainly and directly evolved ; and it would be

interesting to see it well applie d to Homer B ut the trans .

lator who determines to u se it must no t conceal from ,

himself that in order to pour Homer into the moul d of

this metre he will have entirely to break him up and melt
,

him down with the hope o f then s u ccessful ly composing

,

him afresh and this is a process which is f ull o f risks It .

may no doubt be the real Homer that iss ues new from it
, ,

40 it is n o t certain beforehand that it cannot be the real

Homer as it is certain that from the mould o f Pope s
,
’
294 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
co uplet o r Cowpe r s Mil tonic verse it cannot be the real
’

Homer that will 1 ssue ; still the chances o f disappointment ,

are great Th e res ult o f s uch an attempt to renovate the

.

o ld poet may be an Z Eso n ; but it may also and more ,

probably will be a Pelias , .

When I say this I point to the metre which seems to

,

me to gi v e the translator the best chance of preserving the

general effe ct of Homer— that third metre which I have
not yet exp ressly named the hex ameter I know all that
, .

is said against t h e use of hexame t ers in English poe try ; 1 0

but it comes only to this that among us they ha v e n o t , ,
-
,

yet b een u sed o n any considerable scale with su ccess .

S olvitur ambulando : this is an obj ection which can best

be met by p roducing g o od English hexame ters And there .

is no reason in the nat ure o f the English lang u age w h y it

sho ul d not adapt itself to hexamete rs as well as the German
lang uage does nay the English language from its greater
, ,

rapidity is in itself better s uite d than the German for them

, .

Th e hexameter whether alone or with the pentameter

, ,

possesses a movement an expres sion which no metre 20

, ,

hitherto in common use amon gst us possesses and which ,

I am convinced English poetry as o ur mental wants ,

m ultiply will not always be content to forgo Applied to

, .

Homer this metre affords to the translator the immense

,

s upport of keeping him more nearly than any other metre

to Homer s movement ; and since a poet s movement
’
,
’

mak es so large a part of h is general effect an d to repro ,

d uce this general e ffect is at once the translator s indis ’

p ensable b usiness an d so di ffic ult for him it is a great ,

thing to have this part o f yo ur m o del s general e ffect so ’

already given yo u in yo ur metre instead o f h aving to get ,

it entirely for yo urself .

Th ese are general consideratio ns ; bu t t h ere are also one

o r t w o partic ul ar co n si derations whi c h co nfirm me i n the
opinion that for translating Homer into English verse the
hexameter sho ul d be use d Th e most s u ccessful attempt .

hitherto made at rendering Homer into English th e ,

at tempt in which Homer s general effe ct h as been best ’

retained is an attempt made in the hexameter meas ure

,
.

It is a version o f the famous lines in the third book o f 40

th e Iliad which end with that mention o f C astor and
,
2 96 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
some degree reprodu ces for me the original effect of Ho mer .

it is the best and it is in hexameters ,

.

This is o ne o f the partic ul ar considerations that inclin e

me to prefer the hexameter for translating Homer to o ur , ,

established metres There is another Most of yo u prob . .

,

ably have some knowledge o f a poem by Mr Clough

, .
,

The B oth ie of Top er na fuosich a long vacation pastoral - -

,
-
,

in hexamete rs Th e general merits o f that poem I am not

.

going to disc uss it is a serio comic poem and therefore -

, , ,

o f essentially different nat ure from the Ili ad Still in tw o 1 0 .

things it is more than an y other English poem which I can

,

call to mind like the Iliad ; in the rapidity o f its move

,

ment and the plainne ss and directness o f its style Th e

,
.

tho ught in th is poem is often c uriou s and s ubtle and that ,

is no t Homeric th e diction is often gro tesque and that ,

is not Homeric Still by its rapidity o f movement and .

, ,

plain and direct manner of presenting the tho ugh t however

c urio us in itself this poem which being as I say a serio , ,

comic poem h as a right to be grotesque is grotesque tru ly , ,

not like Mr Newman s version o f th e Iliad falsely Mr 20

, .
’
, . .

Clo ugh s odd epith ets Th e grave man nick named Adam
’
,
-
,
’

Th e hairy Al drich and so o n grow vitally an d appear

’
, ,

nat urally in their pl ace ; while Mr Newman s dapper .

’

g re av d Achaians ’
and motley helmed Hector have,
all
’
-
,
’

the air o f being me chanically elaborate d and artificiall y

stuck in Mr Clough s hexameters are excessively need
. .
’
,

lessly ro ugh : still owing to t h e native rapi dity o f this ,

meas ure and t o the dire ctness o f style which so well allies
,

itself w ith it his composition pro duces a sense in th e

,

reader whi ch Homer s composition also prod uces an d 3 0 ’

,

which Homer s translator o ugh t to eprod e the sense

r u
’
c —

o f havin g within short limits of time

, a large portion of ,

h uman life presented to h im instead o f a small portion ,

.

Mr Clough s h exameters are as I have j u st sai d to o

.
’
, ,

ro ugh an d irregular ; an d indee d a goo d mo del o n any ,

consi derable scale o f this metre th e English translator , ,

will nowh ere fin d He m ust n o t follow the m o del o ffered .

by Mr Longfellow in his pleasing and pop ul ar poem of

.

Evangeline ; for the merit o f th e manner and movement

o f Evangeli ne when they are at their best is to be ten derly 40
, ,

elegant ; an d their fault w hen they are at their worst , ,

 LECTUR E III 2 97

is to b e l umbering but Homer s defect is not l umbering ’

ness neither is te nder elegance his excell ence Th e lumber

,
.

ing effect o f most English hexameters is caused by their

being m uch t o o dactylic ; the translator m ust learn to
1

use spondees freely Mr Clough has done this but he h as

. .
,

not s ufficiently observed anoth er r ul e which the translator

cannot follow too strictly ; and that is to have no lines ,

which will not as it is familiarly said read themselves

, , .

This is o f the l ast importance fo r rhythms with w hich the

1 0 ear o f the English p u blic i s n o t thoro u ghly acq u ainte d .

Lord R e desdale in two papers on the s ubj ect o f Greek

,

and R oman metres has some good remarks o n the o u t

,

rageous disregard of qu antity in which English verse ,

tr usting to its force o f accent is apt to indulge itself Th e , .

predominance o f accent in o ur language is so great that it ,

woul d be pe dantic not to avail oneself o f it ; and Lord

R e des dale s uggests r ul es which might easily be p u shed t o o
far Still it is undeniable that in English hexameters we
.
,

g enerally force the q u antity far too m u ch ; we rely o n

20 j u stification by accent with a sec urity which is excessi v e .

B ut not onl y do we ab u se accent by shortening long

syllables an d lengthening short ones we perpetu ally
c om mit a far worse fa ult by req uiring the removal of the ,

accent from its natural place to an unnat ural o ne in order ,

to make o ur line scan This is a fault even when o ur .

,

metre is one which every English reader knows and when ,

w e can see what w e want an d can correct the rhythm

according to o ur wish altho ugh it is a fault which a great
master may sometimes commit knowingly to pro du ce
30 a desire d effect as Milton changes the natural accent o n
,

the word Tiresias in the line

A n d Tiresias an d P hi ne us, pro ph e ts old

and then it ceases to be a faul t and becomes a b eauty , .

B ut it is a real faul t when C hapman has ,

By him th g l d n thr n d Q u n l pt th Q u n f D iti ;

e o e -
o
’
ee s e , e ee o e es

1
F o r inst ance v
in a e rsio n (I e ie e , b l v by
t h e ate Mr oc h art ) o f l L k
H H A
.

o mer s de scri ti
’
p o n of th e
part ing o f ec t o r an d n dro mac h e , t h ere
occ urs, in t h e fi l
rst fiv e ines, bu t o ne spo n dee e sides t h e nec essar b y
spo n dees i x
n t h e si t h p ac e : i l
n t h e c o rrespo n di ng fiv e i nes o f o me r l H
t h ere o ccur te n See Eng lish Hexameter Translations, 2 44
.
.
2 98 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
for in this line t o make it scan yo u have to take away th e
, ,

accent from the word Q ueen o n ,

and to place it o n thron d which w o ’

,

accented and yet after all yo u get no pec uliar effect or , ,

beauty of cadence to reward yo u It is a real fault when .

,

Mr New man h as
.

In f atu ate ! oh t h at th o u w ert l o rd to so me o t he r ar m y

for here again the re ader is required not for any spe cial ,

advantage to himself but simply to save Mr Newman , .

tro uble to place the accent o n the insignificant word 1 0

,

wert where it h as no b usiness whatever

, B ut it is a still .

greater fault when Spenser h as (to take a striking in

, ,

stance ) ,

Wo t ye why his mo th er with a v il h

e at h c o v ere d his f ace

for a hexameter because here not onl y is the reader

causele ssly req uired to make havoc with the natural
ac centu ation o f th e line in order to ge t it to run as a hexa
meter but also h e in nine c ases o ut of ten wil l be utterly , ,

at a loss h o w to perform the process require d and the lin e ,

will remain a mere monster fo r him I repe at it is advis 20 .

,

able to constr uct all ve rses so that by reading them natur

ally that is according to the sense and legitimate accent
—
,

-
t h e re ader gets the ri ght rhythm bu t fo r English ,

hexameters that they be so construc te d is in dispensable

,
.

If th e h exameter best helps the translator to the Homeric

rapidity what style may best h elp him to the Homeric
,

plainness an d directness It is the merit of a metre

appropriate to your s ubj ect th at it in some degree s uggests ,

an d carries wit h itself a style appropriate to the s u bj ect

the elaborate an d self retarding style wh ich c omes so so -
,

naturally wh en yo ur metre is th e Mil tonic blank verse ,

does n o t come nat urally with the hexameter ; is indeed , ,

alien to it O n the other hand th e hexameter has a natural

.
,

dignity whi c h repels both th e j aunty style and th e jo g trot -

style to both of which the ballad meas ure so easily lends

,
-

itself Thes e are great advantages and perh aps it is

.

nearly eno ugh to say to the translator w h o u ses th e hexa

meter that he c annot to o religiou sly follow in style the , ,

inspiration o f his metre He will find that a loose and .

300 ON TR ANSLA TIN G H O MER
here does n o t lose dignity by this idiomatic w ay o f ex
pressing him self any more th an Sh akspe are loses it by
,

neglecting to confer o n both the blessings of a regular

g overnment : neither loses di gnity bu t ea c h gives that ,

impression of a plain direct and natural mode o f speaking

, , ,

which Homer too gives and which it is so important as

, , , ,

I say that Homer s translator sho ul d s ucceed in giving

,
’
.

C owper calls blank v erse a style farther removed th an

rhyme from the vernac ul ar idiom bo th in the lang uage ,
.

itself and in the arrangement o f it and j ust in propor 1 0

tion as blank verse is removed from the vernac ular i diom ,

from that idiomatic style which is o f all styles the plain est
and most natural blank verse is uns uited to render Homer
,
.

Sh akspe are is not only i diomatic in his grammar or

style he is also i diomatic in his words or diction ; and
,

h ere too h is example is val u able for th e translator o f

, ,

Homer Th e translator m ust not indee d allow himself

.
, ,

all the liberty that Sh akspe are allows himself ; fo r

Sh akspe are sometimes u ses expressions which pass per
fec tly well as he u ses them because Sh akspe are thinks 20 ,

so fast and so powerf ull y that in reading him we are ,

borne over single words as by a mighty c urrent ; but if ,

o ur min d were less excite d— and w h o may rely on excitin g

o ur mind like Sh aks e are they wo ul d c h eck u s T o —

p .

gr nt and sweat under a weary load

u — that does perfectly
well where it comes in Sh akspe are but if th e translator
of Homer w h o will hardl y have wo und o ur minds up to
,

the pitch at wh ich th ese words o f Haml et find them were ,

to employ when he has to speak o f one o f Homer s h eroes

,
’

u n der the load o f calamity this fig u re o f grunting and 30 ,

sweating w e should say He Newman ises and his diction , ,

woul d offend us For he is to be noble ; and no plea o f

.

wish ing to be plain and natural can get him exc u se d from
being th is onl y as he is to be also like Homer perfectly
, , ,

simple an d free from artificiality and as the use o f i dio ,

matic expressions un doubte dly gives this effect he sho ul d

1
,

1
Our k l
n o w e dge o f H o mer s’
G ki
h ard suc h as t o e na e us t o
re e s ly bl
p ro n o u nc e u eqit
c o n de nt fiw h at is idiolym a t ic in his dict io n , an d w h at

is no t , any more t h an in his grammar but I see m t o m se c e ar t o y lf l ly

p x
re c o gnise an idio mat ic st am in su c h e pre ssio ns as roA vn edew wok ep o vs,
’

r w ala: dam afws a f

’
m 6
'

xi 010 3 iv y eaaw i n ci W
v, 8 6 ; 0 fi 0 39 , 9 4 '

7
'

3 1 9 x v , ;
 LECTUR E III 301

be as idiomatic
.
he can be witho ut ceasing t o be noble
as .

Therefore the idiomatic lang uage of Sh akspeare s uch

—
‘ ‘
language as prate of his wh ereabou t j ump the life
h is q
,

to come th e damnation of his taking ofi u ietas -

make with a bare bo dkin — shoul d be caref ul ly observed

by the translator o f Homer although in every case he will ,

have to deci de for himself whether the u se by him o f , ,

Sh akspe are s liberty will o r will not clash with his in

’
,

dispensable d u ty of nobleness He will find o n e English .

1 0 book and o n e only where as in the Iliad itself perfe ct, , ,

plainness o f speech is allied with perfect nobleness ; and

that book is the Bible N o o ne c o uld see this more clearly .

than Pope saw it : This p ure an d noble simpli c ity he ,

’

‘
says is nowhere in s u ch perfection as in the Scripture
,
‘
an d Homer yet even with Pope a woman is a fair ’
,

a father is a sire and an old man a reveren d sage and,

’
,
’

so o n through all the phrases o f that pse udo Aug ustan -

,

and most unbiblical vocab ulary Th e Bible however is ,

.
-
, ,

u ndo ubtedl y the grand mine o f diction fo r the translator

2 0 of Homer ; and if he knows how to discriminate truly
,

between what will s uit him and what will not the Bible ,

may afford h im also inval u able lessons o f style .

I said that Homer besi des being plain in style and ,

diction w as plain in th e q u ality of his thought It is

,
.

possible that a tho ught may be expressed with i diomatic

plainness and yet not be in itself a plain thought F o r
, .

example in Mr Clough s poem already mentioned the

, .
’
, ,

style and diction is almost always i diomatic and plain but ,

the tho ught itself is often of a qu ality which is not plain

30 it is curiou s B ut t h e grand instance of the u nion of
.

idiomatic expression with c urio us o r diffic ult tho ught is

in Sh akspe are s poetry Such indeed is the force and
’
.
, ,

power o f Sh akspe are s idiomatic expression that it gives ’

,

an e ffe c t o f clearness and vividness even t o a thought

which is imperfect and incoherent ; for instance when ,

Haml et says ,

To ta k e ar ms against a se a o f tro u bl es

KdW Gt V , 7xi
1x,
; lt A o ro n e v ew x ix , 1 49 ; an d man
'
'

o t h ers Th e first y
q v
.
,
u o te d e x pressio n, T o A vrra ew dp‘yah e o vs wo k ép o vs, see ms t o me t o h a e
S '
'

j b ‘
ust a ou t t h e same de gree o f ree do m as t h e j ump t h e i e t o c ome
’
f lf
l l
,
‘
fi f t his mo rt a co i, o f Sh akspeare
’
or the sh u le o .
302 ON TR ANS LATING H O MER
the fig ure there is undoubtedly most fa ulty it by no ,

means runs o n four legs ; but the thing is sai d so freely

and i diomatically that it passes This however is not
, .
, ,

a point t o which I n o w want to call your attention I want

y o u t o remark in Sh akspe are a
,n d others only that which ,

w e may dire c tly apply to Homer I say then that in .

, ,

Sh akspe are the tho ught is often wh ile most idiomatically ,

u tte red nay while good an d so und in itself yet o f a q u ality

, , ,

which is c urious and diffic ult ; and th at this quality of

thought is someth ing entirely un Homeric For example 1 0 -
.
,

when Lady Macbeth says ,

M m y th e or e w arder o f t h e b rain ,
S h ll b f m
,

a e a u e, an d t h e rec e ipt o f re aso n

A limb k ly ec on

this fi e is a perfectly so un d and c orrect fig ure n o doubt ,

Mr ht e v en calls it a happy figure ; but it is a

fi cult fi
.

di i gure : Homer woul d not have used it Again .

,

when Lady Ma cbeth says

,
,

Wh e n yo u durst do it, t h e n yo u w e re a man ;

A n d, t o be mo re t h an w h at yo u we re , yo u w o u d l
B e so much mo re t h e man

the th o ught in the tw o last o f these lines is when yo u ,

seize it a perfectly clear thought and a fine thought but

, ,

it is a curious thought : Homer wo uld not have u sed it .

These are favo urable instances of the u nion o f plain style

and words with a tho ugh t not plain in qu ality bu t take
stronger instances o f th is union let th e thou gh t be not
—

onl y not plain in qu ality but high ly fancif ul ; and yo u ,

h ave the Elizabethan conceits ; yo u have in spite o f ,

idiomatic style and i diomatic diction everything which is 3 0 ,

most nu Homeric ; yo u have such atro cities as this o f

-

Chapman :
F ate sh a ll f il t v
a o e nt h er ga ll
ll
Ti mine ve nt t h o usands .

I say the poets of a nation which has produced s uch

,

a conceit as that must p urify themselves seven times in

,

t h e fire before they can hope to render Homer They .

m u st expel their nature with a fork and keep crying to ,

o n e another night and day : Homer not onl y moves

3 04 ON TR A NS LATING H O MER
th is o f the disciples , What is this that he saith a little ,

whil e w e cannot tell what he saith Homer s Greek .

’ ’
,

in each of the places qu oted reads as naturally as any o f

,

those English passages : the expression no more call s

away the attention from the sense in the Greek than in
the English B ut when in order to render literally in
.
,

English o n e o f Homer s do uble epithets a strange un

’

familiar adj ective is invented— s uch as voice dividing -

for p ép dv — an improper sh are o f the re ader s attention

o
’

is nec essarily diver ted to this ancillary word t o this word 1 0 ,

which Homer never in tended sho ul d receive so mu ch

notice and a total effect q uite different from Homer s is ’

th us prod uced Therefore Mr Newman th ough he does

. .
,

n o t p urp o se ly import li ke Chapman conceits of his o wn

, ,

into the Iliad does actually import them for the result o f
,

his sing ular diction is t o rai se ideas and odd ideas not , ,

raised by the corresponding diction in Homer ; and Chap

man himself does no more C owper says I have ca u tio usly
.
‘
,

avoi ded all te rms o f new invention with an ab undance o f ,

which persons of more ingenuity than j udgment have 20

not e nriched o ur language but enc umbered it and this
criticism so exactly h its the diction of Mr Newman that .
,

o n e is irresistibly le d to imagine his present appearance in

the flesh to be at least h is second .

A translator cannot well have a Homeric rapidity style , ,

diction and q u ality of th o ught witho u t at the same time

, ,

h avin g what is the res u lt of these in Homer — nobleness .

Therefore I do not attempt to lay down any ru les for

obtaining this effect o f nobleness— the e ffe c t too of all , ,

others th e most impalpable the most irreducible t o rule 30

, ,

an d which most depends o n the in divid u al personality o f

th e artist So I proc ed at once to give yo u in concl usion
.

e , ,

o n e o r t w o passages in w hich I ha v e trie d to foll ow those

principles o f Homeric translation which I have laid dow n .

I give them it m ust be remembered not as spe cimens o f

, ,

perfect translation but as specimens of an attempt to

,

translate Homer o n certain principles ; specimens which

may very aptly ill ustrate those principles by falling short ,

as well as by s u ccee ding .

I take first a passage o f which I have already spoken 40 ,

the comparison o f the Troj an fires to the stars Th e first .

 LECTUR E 11 1

p ar t o f th at pas sage is I have said of splendid bea u ty ; , ,

and t o begin with a lame version o f that woul d be the ,

height o f impru dence in me It is the last and more level .

part with wh ich I shall concern myself I have already .

qu oted C ow per s version o f this part in order to show yo u

’

h o w unlike his stiff and Miltonic manner o f telling a plain

story is to Homer s easy and rapi d manner ’

S n m r u o m d th
u fir th b ank b tw n
e o s se e
’
o se es e e ee
Of X
ant h u s, a i bl z
n g , an d t h e fl ee t o f G re ec e ,
In pro spe ct all o f Tro y
I nee d n o t
continue t o the end I have also quoted Pope s ’
.

version of it to show yo u h o w unlike h is ornate and arti

,

ficial manner is to Homer s plain an d natural manner

’

So man ames yfl e o re bf
pro u d Il io n a e, bl z
b
A n d righ te n g imme ring l
ant h us with t h eir ra X y s ;
l fl
Th e o ng re ec tio ns o f t h e dist ant res fi
Gle am o n t h e w a s, an d tre m ll
e o n t h e spi
res bl
and m uch more of the same kind I want to show yo u .

that it is possible in a plain passage of this sort to keep

, ,

2 0 Homer s simplicity witho u t being heavy and d u ll and to

’

keep h is dignity without bringing in pomp and ornament .

A s n u mero u s as are the stars o n a clear night s ays ’

'

Homer ,

So sh o ne f o rt h ,
in ro nt o f Tro , f t h e be d o f y by
ant h us, X
Be tw ee n t h at an d t h e shi ps, t h e Tro ans numero us res
’
j fi
l k fi by
.

In t h e p ain t h ere w ere indl e d a t h o u san d res e ac h o ne

Th ere sate fif y
t me n , in t h e ru ddy igh t o f t h e fire l
By t h e ir c h ario ts st o o d t h e ste e ds, an d c h amp d t h e w hite
’
-

ar e b ly
l
Whie th eir maste rs sate by
t h e fire , and w aite d fo r o rning M .

30 Here in order to keep Homer s effect of perfect plainness

,
’

and di rectness I repeat th e word fires as he repeats r p i

, 7 v 0 ,

w thout scruple altho ugh in a more elaborate and literary

i

style of poe try this rec urrence of th e same word would be

a fau lt to be avoide d I omit the epithet of Morning and .
, ,

whereas Homer says that the steeds waite d fo r Morning ,

’

I prefer to attrib u te this expectation of Morning to the

master and not to the horse Very likely in this particul ar .
,

as in any other sin gle particular I may be wrong : what ,

I wish yo u to remark is my endeavour afte r ab solute

40 plainness o f speech my care to avoid anything which may
ARN LD
,
O
3 06 ON TR A NS LATING HOM ER
the least check o r s urprise the reader whom Homer doe s
not check o r s urprise Homer s lively pe rsonal fam
,

iliarity .
’

with war and with the w ar horse as his master s com

,
-
’

panion is s uch that as it s eems to me his attrib uting to

, , ,

the o ne the other s feelings comes to u s quite naturally ; ’

but from a poet witho ut this familiarity the attrib ution

, ,

strikes as a little u nnatural and therefore as everything ,

the least unnatural is un Homeric I avoid it -

, .

Again ; in the ad dress o f Ze us to the horses of Achilles ,

C owper has
Jv o t h e ir grie w ith pit , an d his ro ws
e saw f y b
Sh a w ithin himse t h u s, pe nsi e , said lf v
l f by f v
.

A h h ap ess pair ! w h e re o re gi t di ine

Were ye to e e us v e n, a mo rt a ing, Pl '

lk
Y lv o urse f
es i mmo rt and ro m age e e mpt 7 x
There is no want of di gnity here as in the versions o f ,

Chapman and Mr Ne w man which I have alre ady q uoted .

,

but the whole e ffe c t is m u c h t o o slo w Take Pope .

No r Jv
disdaine d to c ast a pit ing o o
o e y l k
l l
Whie t h us re e nting t o t h e stee ds h e spo e k
y l
.

n h app U
c o urse rs o f immo rt a strain !
x f
E e mpt ro m age and de at h ess n o w in ain l v
y
Did w e o ur race o n mort a man e st o w l b
O y l nl l
a as ! t o sh are in mo rta w oe
,

Here there is no want either o f dignity o r rapidity but all ,

is too artificial No r Jove dis dained for instance is .

,
’
,

a very artificial an d literary w ay o f rendering Homer s ’

words and so is co ursers o f immortal strain

, , .
’

’ ’
di ye iddm, ék enas Kpomwv
’
M vpo p évw 6 dpa 1
“

y
A nd w ith pit t h e so n o f aturn saw t h e m e w aiing S b l
k b
,

A nd h e sh o o his h e ad, an d t h u s address d his o wn osom

’

A h , u nh app pair, t o y
e eus w h y did w e gi e yo u, Pl v
l
T o a mo rta 1? but ye are wit h o ut o l d age an d immo rt a l
v y
.

Was it t h at ye , w it h man, mi h t h a e o ur t h o u san ds o f so rro ws

F o r t h an m an in dee d, t h ere re at h es n o wre tc h e der cre ature ,
Of l v v b
,

ng an d mo i
’
all i i ng t hi ngs, t h at o n e art h are re at h i ng .

Here I will observe th at th e u se of o w n in the second ,

’

line fo r the last syllable of a dac tyl and the u se of To a

, , ,
’

in the fourth fo r a complete spondee though they do n o t

, , ,

I think actu ally spoil the run o f the hexamete r are yet 40
, ,

undo ubtedl y instances of that over reliance on accent and -

,
3 08 ON TR A NS LATING H OM ER
Ex p ede Hercnlem : yo u see j ust what th e manner
Mr Sotheby , o n the other hand ,
.
(to ta k e a disciple
Pope instead of Pope himself ) begins th us ,

Wh at m v th m v my mind b rav H ct r said

o es ee , o es
’
e e o
y b ly
, ,
’
Y e t Tro s u p raidin g sc o rn I dee p dre ad,
lk lv
If i e a s a e w h ere c h ie s w ith c hie s e ngage , f f
H f
, ,

Th e warrio r ec to r ears t h e w ar to w age

l
.

No t th us my h eart inc in es ’
.

From that speci men too yo u can easily divine what with
, , ,

s uch a manner will bec ome o f the whole passage B ut 1 0

, .

Homer h as neither
What moves thee , mo v
es my mind
no r h as he
All th ese t hy an io us x c are s are a so l mine .

H m i 211 0 2 7 61 66 mivra b m, m
' ’

1i i
x/ av dA Ad pdA ai
r/ds

that is what Homer h as that is his style and movement if , ,

o n e co uld but catc h it Andromache as yo u know has .

, ,

b een entreating He ctor to defend Troy from within the

walls instea d of exposing his life and with his o w n life
, , , ,

the safety of all those dearest to him by fighting in the 20 ,

Open plain Hector replies .

Wo man I to o take t h o ug h t fo r this but th en I b ethink me

W h at t h e Tro j an men an d Tro j an w o men migh t murmur
,

k b f b l
,

If li e a co ward I skulk d e hind, apart ro m t h e att e

’

vl
.

No r w o ul d my o wn h e art le t me my h e art , w hic h h as bid me be a iant

Al y l y fi fi j
w a s, and a w a s gh t ing amo ng t h e rst o f t h e Tro ans,
B y P
us f f
fo r riam s ame an d my o w n , in s ite o f th e u ture
’

p
ll l
.

F o r th at day w i co me , my so u is assur d o f its c o ming ,

ll y ll
It wi co me , w h en sacre d Tro sh a go t o destruc t io n ,
y lk P
Tro , and w ar i e ri l P
am to o , an d t h e pe o p e o f riam
f ll j
.

A nd ye t no t t h at grie , w hich t h e n wi be , o f t h e Tro ans,

Mv f
o e s me so mu c h — n o t He cu ba s gri
’
Pe , nor f
am my at h e r s,
ri
’

y b v l l
Nor my bre thren s, man and ra e , w h o th en wil be ying
’

In th e bl yoo d b f f
du st , e ne at h t h e ee t o f t h e ir o e me n
f b z A
A s t h y grie , w h e n , in te ars, so me ra e n -c o at e d c h aian
S l y f
h al transpo rt t h ee aw a , and th e day o f th y ree do m be e nde d
l k l A
.

Th en, pe rh aps, t h o u sh a t w o r at th e o o m o f ano th er, in rgo s,

b l ll M
Or ear pais to th e w e o f essais, o r Hype reia,
S ly
o re agai ll by
nst th y wi , y
st ro ng Ne cessi
’
t s o rde r
l k f ll
.

A nd so me man may say, as h e o o s and see s th y te ars a ing

S ee, the w ife of Hector, that great p re eminent captain
Of the horsemen of Troy, in the day they fo ught for their city .
 LECTUR E III

80 so me man w il l
grie wi redou esay ; and t h en t h y f ll bl
A t th y w ant o f a man i e me , to sa e th ee ro m o ndage lk v f b .

B ut le t me be dead, an d th e earth be mo un de d a o e me, bv

Ere I h ear th y cries, and t h y capti it t o d o f v y l .

Th e main qu estion whether or no this version repro ,

d uces for him the movement and general e ffect o f Homer

,

better than other versions o f the same passage I leave

1
,

fo r the j udgment of the scholar B ut the partic ul ar .

points in which the operation o f my o wn rul es is mani

,

1 0 fe ste d are as follows

,
In the secon d line I leave o ut the .

epithet o f the Troj an women éh a m h s altogether In xe

’
er ov , .

the sixth line I put in five words in spite o f the fut ure ,
’

which are in the original by implication onl y and are not ,

th ere actu ally expressed This I do becau se Homer as .

, ,

I have before said is so remote from one who reads him ,

in English that the English translator m ust be even

,

plainer if possible and more u nambi guous than Homer

, ,

himself th e connexion of meaning must be even more

,

distinctly marked in the translation than in the original .

20 For in the Greek lang u age itself there is something which

brings o n e nearer to Homer which gives o n e a clue to his ,

thought which makes a hin t enough ; but in th e English

,

langu age this sense of n e am ess this clue is gone ; hints , ,

are ins ufficient everything mu st be stated with f ull dis

,

t in ctn e ss In the ninth line Homer s epithet for Priam is

.
’

’
ev pp M w e armed with goo d ashen spear say the dic
, ,
’

tio n aries ashen speared translates Mr Newman follow -

,
’
.
,
‘
ing h is o wn r ule to retain every pec uliarity of his original
— I sa
y on the other hand that m r ki has not the ’

, w , ev e
‘ ‘
30 effect o f a pec uliarity in the ori gin al while ashen ’
,
‘
s peared has the effect o f a p e c uliarity in English and
’ ’
,
‘
warlike is as markin g an equivalent as I dare give fo r
’

e
’
iJ
M Miew for fear o f disturbing the balance o f expres
,

sion in Homer s sentence In th e fourt eenth line again’

.
, ,

I tran slate xah x rw w by brazen coated Mr ko t

‘
v v . .

Newman meaning to be perfectly literal translates it by

, ,

brazen cloak d an expression which comes to the reader

’
,
’

o ddly and unnat urally while Homer s word comes to him

’
,

quite naturally but I venture t o go as near to a literal

1
Dr H awtre y l l
h as trans ate d thie passage ; bu t h ere , h e h as no t,
a so
k b
.

I th in , een so success u as i n hi s
‘
fl
e en o n th e wa s o f Tro
’
Hl ll y .
3 10 ON TR A NS LATING H OM ER
rendering as brazen coated because a coat of brass is -
,
’

fa miliar to u s all from the Bible and familiar too as , , ,

distinctly specifie d in connexion with the wearer Finall y .

,

let me farther ill ustrate from the twentieth line the val u e
which I att ach in a q uestion of diction t o the a uthority
, ,

of the Bible Th e word pre eminent occ urs in that line

.
-

I w as a little in do ubt whether that w as not to o bookish

an expression to be u sed in rendering Homer as I can ,

imagine Mr Newman to ha v e been a little in do ubt whether

.

his responsively accoste d for d/ fldp a S wp drqwas 1 0

‘
,
’
A et /O oo e
'

n o t too b o okish an expression L e t u s both I say cons ult .

, ,

o ur Bibles Mr Newman will nowhere find it in his Bible

.

that Davi d for instance resp o nsively accosted Goliath

, ,

bu t I do find in mine th at the ri ght hand o f the Lor d

hath the p re eminence -
and forthwith I u se pre eminent -

witho ut scruple My Bibliolatry is pe rhaps excessive

.

and no do ubt a tru e poetic feeling is t h e Homeric trans

lator s best guide in the u se o f words ; but where this
’

feeling doe s not exist or is at fau lt I th ink he cannot do

, ,

better than t ake for a mechanical g ui de Cruden s Con 2 0 ’

-

co rdanc e To be s ure here as elsewhere the consulter

.
, ,

m ust know h o w to cons ult— m ust know h ow very sligh t

a variation o f word o r circ umstance makes the difference
betw een an authority in h is favour an d an authority ,

which gives him no countenance at all ; for instance the ,

Great simplet o n l (for ”ey 5 9 ) Of Mr Newman e

. 1 0 77 1 0 .
,

and the Th o u fool of the Bible are something alike ,

but Tho u fool is very gran d an d Great simpleton ,

is an atrocity So t oo C h apman s Poor wretched beasts

.
, ,
’

is pitched many degrees too low but Sh akspe are s Poor 30 ’

venomo u s fool Be angry an d despatch is in the grand style

,
.

O ne more piece of translation an d I have done I will ,

.

take the passage in which both Chapman and Mr Newman .

have already so m u c h excite d o ur astonishment the ,

passage at th e e n d o f the nineteenth book o f the Iliad ,

t h e dialo gu e between Achilles and h is horse Xanth us after ,

t h e death of Patrocl u s Achille s be gins .

X B li b th y f f m d d f P d g !
anth u s an d a us o e ar a -
’
see o o ar a
th t y b i g y m t h m t t h h t f t h A giv
,

See a e rn o ur as e r o e o e os o e r es
In som th
e o t th y l t w h th b ttl i d d
e r so r an o ur as en e a e s en e

t l v h im b h i d l l k P l
,
’
A nd no ea e p t h p i i e t n , a co r se o n e a n, e a ro c us.
31 2 ON TR A NSL A TIN G H OM ER
Schlegel s version o f Sh akspeare : I for my part would
’
, ,

sooner read Sh akspe are in the French prose translation ,

and that is saying a great deal but in th e Ge rman poets ’

hands Sh akspeare so often gets especially where he is ,

h umoro us an air of what the French call n iaiserie ! an d

,

can anything be more un Sh akspe arian than that Again -

Mr Hayward s prose translation o f the first part o f F aust

.
’

so good that it makes o ne re gret Mr Hayward sho uld have .

abandoned the line o f translation fo r a kind o f literature

which is to say the least somewhat sli gh t — is not likely 1 0
, ,

to be s urpassed by any translation in verse B ut poe ms .

like the Iliad which in the main are in one manner may
, , , ,

hope to find a poetical translator so g ifted and so trained as

to be able t o learn that o ne manner and to reprod uce it , .

O nl y the poet w h o would reproduce this must c ultivate in

,

him self a Greek virtu e by no means common among the

moderns in general and the English in partic ul ar— mo dera
,

tio n .F o r Homer h as not o nl y the English vigo ur he h as ,

the Greek grace ; and when o ne observes the boistero us ,

rollickin g w ay in which his English admirers— even men 20

of geni us like the late Professor Wilson— love to talk o f
,

Homer and his poetry o ne cannot help feeling that there,

is no very deep comm unity o f nature between them and

t h e obj ect o f their enth u siasm It is very well my go o d .
,

friends I always imagine Homer saying to them if he

,
’
,

co ul d h ear them : yo u do me a great deal of honour bu t ,

someh ow or oth er yo u prai se me to o like barbarians For .

’

Homer s gran de ur is not the mixed and turbi d grande ur

’

o f the great poets of the nort h o f th e a u thors o f Oth ello ,

an d F aust ; it is a perfect a lovely gran de ur Certainly 30

, .

his poetry h as all the energy and po wer o f the poetry o f

o ur r uder c limate s but it h as besides the p u re lines of an
Io ni an h ori z on th e li q
, ,

uid clearnes s of an Ionian sky

, .
HO M ER I C TR A N S L A T I O N IN
T HEO RY A ND PR A C T I C E
A R EPLY TO MATTH EW ARNO LD ESQ
, .

PRO F ESSOR O F P O ETRY O XF ORD

,

B Y FR A NCIS W NEWMAN
.

A TRA NS LATOR O F THE IL IA D

316 H O MERIC TR ANS LATIO N
I di ffer in Tas te from Mr Arnold it is very diffic ul t to find
.
,

the s cholars trib unal even if I ac knowledged its absolute

’
,
’

j uri sdiction but as regards Erudition this diffi c ul ty does ,

not occ ur and I shall fully reply to the numerou s dog

,

matisms by which he settles the c ase against me .

B ut I m ust first avow t o the re ader my o w n moderate

pretensions Mr Arnold be gins by instilling tw o errors
. .

which he does not commit himself to assert He says that .

my work wi ll no t take rank as the standard translation o f

Homer but o ther translations will be made as if I thought 1 0
,
—

otherwi se If I have se t the example of the right direction

in which translators o ught to aim of course those w h o ,

follow me will improve upon me and s upersede me A man .

would be rash indeed to withhold h is version of a poem of

fifteen tho usand lines until he h ad to h is best ability
, , ,

imparte d to them all th eir final perfec tion He might spe nd .

the leis ure o f h is life upon it He woul d possibly be in his

.

grave before it could see the light If it then were p ublished .

,

and it w as fo unded o n any n ew principle there woul d be no ,

one to defend it from the attacks o f ignoranc e and prej udice 20 .

In the nature o f th e case h is wisdom is to elaborate in the

,

first instance all th e hi gh and noble parts carefully and get ,

t h rough the inferior part s somehow ; leaving of nec essity

very mu ch to be done in s uccessive editions if possibly it ,

please general taste s ufficiently to re ac h them A .

and inte lligent c ritic will test s u ch a work mai nl y o r solely

by th e most noble parts an d as to the rest will co nsider
, , .

whether the metre and style adapts itself naturally to them

also .

Next Mr Arnold asks Wh o is to ass ure Mr Newman 30

, .
,
.
,

that when he h as tried to retain every peculiarity o f his

origin al he h as done that for which Mr Newman enj oins
,
.

this to be done adhere d closely to Homer s mann er and

,
—
’

habit o f thought Evidently the translator needs more

practical directions than th ese Th e tendency of this is .
’
,

t o s u ggest t o the reader that I am n o t aware of the diffic ulty

o f righ tly applyin g good principles whereas I have in th is
very connexion said expressly that even when a translator ,

h as got right p rinciples he is liable to go wrong in the detail

,

o f their application This is as tru e o f all the principles 40

.

which Mr Arnold can p ossib ly gi ve as of those whi ch I have

.
,
 HOW TO CRITICI ZE IT 317

ven ; nor do I for a moment ass ume that in writing

'

fift een thousand lines of verse I have not made hundreds

,

o f blo ts .

At the same time Mr Arnold h as overlook ed the point o f

.

my remark Nearly every translator before me h as know

.

ingly p urp osely habitu ally shru nk from Homer s tho ugh ts
’
, ,

and Homer s manner Th e reader will afterwards see

’
.

whether Mr Arnold does n o t j ustify them in their course

. .

It is not for those w h o are p urposely u nfaithful to taunt me

11 0 with the d iffic ulty o f being tr ul y faithf ul .

I have alleged and against Mr Arnold s flat denial

, ,
.
’
,

I deliberately repeat that Homer rises and sink s with his

,

s ubj ect and is often homely o r prosaic I have professed

,
.

as my principle t o follow my original in this matter

,
It is .

u nfair to expect o f me grande ur in trivial passages If in .

any place where Homer is co nfessedly grand and noble ,

I have marred and r uined his greatness let me be reproved , .

B u t I shall h ave occasion to protest that Stateliness is not ,

Grandeur Picturesqueness is not Stately Wild Beauty is

, ,

2 0 not to be confo u n ded with Elegance : a Forest h as its

swamps and brushwood as well as its tall trees , .

Th e d uty of one w h o p ublishes his cens ures o n me is to ,

select noble greatly admired passages and confront me both

, ,

with a prose translation o f the original (for the p ublic cannot

g o to the Greek ) and also with that which he j u d ges to be
a more s uccessful version than mine Translation being .

matte r o f compromise and being certain to fall below the

,

original when this is o f the high est type o f grande ur ; the

,

question is not What translator is perfect but Wh o is

, ,

30 least imperfect 1 Hence the onl y fair test is by comparison

‘
,

when comparison is possible B ut Mr Arnold has not put . .

me to this test He h as qu oted two very short passages

.
,

and various single lines half lines and single words from , ,

me ; and chooses to tell his readers that I ruin Homer s ’

nobleness when (if his cens ure is j ust ) he might make

,

them feel it by quoting me upon the m ost admire d pieces .

No w with the warmest sincerity I say — If any English ,

reader after perusin g my version o f four or five eminently

,

noble passages of s ufficient length side by side with those ,

40 of other translators an d (better st i ll ) with a prose version

,

also finds in them high qu alities which I have destroyed

,
318 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
I am foremost to advise him t o sh ut my book or to cons ult ,

it only (as Mr Arnold s uggests) as a schoolboy s help to

.
’

constr ue if s uch it can be My sole obj ect is to bring

,
’
.
,

Homer before the unl earned p ublic I seek no self

g lorification the sooner I am s uperseded by a really
better translation the greater will be my ple as ure
, .

It w as not until I more closely read Mr Arnold s o w n .

’

versions that I understood how necessary is h is rep ugnance

,

to mine I am unwilling t o speak of his metrical e fforts

. .

I shall not say more th an my argument strictly demands 1 0 .

It here s uffices t o state the simple fact th at for awhile ,

I serio usly do ubted whether he meant his first spec imen fo r

metre at all He seems distinctly t o say he is going to
.
,

gi v e u s English Hexameters b u t it w as long before I co ul d

be lie v e that he had writte n the following for that metre
So sh o ne f o rth ,
in ro nt o f Tro , f th e be d o f y by
ant h us, X
Bet w ee n t h at and t h e sh i ps, t h e Tro ans nume ro us res
’
j fi
l l fi by
.

In t h e p ain t h e re w e re kind e d a t h o u sand res e ac h o ne

Th e re sate fif y
t me n, in t h e ru dd igh t o f t h e fire yl
By b ly
.

th e ir c h ario ts sto o d t h e stee ds , and ch amp d t h e w hite

’
ar e 20
l by M
,

Whie th e ir maste rs sate th e fire , an d w aite d fo r o rning .

I sincerely tho ught this w as meant for prose at length

,

the tw o last lines opened my eyes He do es mean them for .

Hexameters ! Fire (= fe uer ) with him is a spondee o r

trochee Th e first line I n o w see begins with three
.
, ,

(q u antitative ) spondees and is meant to be spondaic

,
in the
fifth foot B e d of Between In the
.
, are meant fo r , ,
’
—

s po ndees So are There sate B y their th ough Troy ,

’ ’
, ,

by the w as a dactyl Ch amp d the white is a dactyl

’ ’ ’
. .

‘
metrical exploits amaze Mr Arnol d (p 25 8) but so ’
. .

my courage is ti midity itself compared to his .

His second specimen stands th u s :

A n d with pity th n f S aturn aw t h m b w ailing
e so o s e e
k b
,

A nd h e sh oo his h ead, and t h us addre ss d his o wn o so m

’

A h , u nh app pair ! t o y e e u s w h y di Pl
d w e gi e yo u, v
l
To a m o rt a ? but ye are with o u t o l d age and immo rta l
v y
.

Was it t h at ye w ith man , migh t h a e o ur t h o usan ds o f so rro w s

b
F o r t h an man in dee d t h e re reath es n o wre t ch e der c re ature ,
Of l v
all i i v
n gs, t h at o n e art h are
ng t hi re athing and mo i ng b .

Upon this he apologizes fo r To a intended as a spondee 40 ,

’

in the fourth line and dress d his o wn for a dactyl in the

,
-
’
3 20 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
meters A s matter o f c uriosity as erudite sport s uch
.
, ,

experiments may have their val ue I do not mean to express .

indiscriminate disapproval mu ch less conte mpt I have , .

myself privately tried th e same in Alcaics ; and fin d the

chief obj ection to be not that the task is impossible bu t
, ,

that to exec ute it well is too diffi c ult fo r a langu age like o urs ,

overl aden with consonants and aboun ding with syllables ,

neither distinc tly long n o r distinctly short but o f every ,

intermediate len gth Singing t o a tune w as essential to

.

keep even Gree k or R oman poetry to tr ue time ; to the 1 0

En glish lan guage it is o f tenfold necessity B ut if time is .

abandoned (as in fact it always is ) and the prose accent h as

, ,

to do d uty fo r the ict us me tric us the moral geniu s o f the ,

metre is f undamentally s ubvert ed What previou sly w as .

steady d uplicate time march time as Professor Blac kie -

,
’

calls it) vacillates between dup licate and triplicate With .

Homer a dactyl h ad nothing in it more tripp ing than a

,

spondee a c rot chet followed by tw o qu avers belongs to as

g rave an anthem as t w o crotchets B u t Mr Arnol d h imself . .

(p. 2 7 7 ) calls the introd u ction o f anap aests by D r Maginn 20 .

‘
into o ur ballad meas ure a detestable dance : as in ,

A nd sc arc e ly
h ad sh e egun to w ash , b
Ere sh e w as aw are of th e gris gash ly .

I will not as sert that this is everywhere improper in th e

Odyssey but no part o f the Iliad occ urs to me in whic h
it is proper and I have totally excluded it in my o w n
,

practice I notice it but once in Mr Gladstone s spec imens

. .
’
,

an d it certainly o f
fends my taste as o ut of harmony with
the gravity of the rest viz , .

My ships sh a ll b ou nd in th e mo rning s igh t ’

l .

In Sh akspe are we have i th and o th for monosyllables but

’ ’ ’ ’
,

(so scr u p ulo u s am I in the m idst o f my atrocities I

never dream o f s uch a liberty myself mu ch less o f avowed ,
‘
anap aests So far do I go in the opposite direction as to
.

prefer to make su ch words as Danai victory three syllables

,

, ,

whic h even Mr Gladstone and Pope accept as dissyllabic

. .

Some reviewers have call ed my metre lege solutu m ; which

is as ri dic u lo us a mistake as Horace made concerning
Pindar That in passing B ut surely Mr Arnold s severe
.
, . .
’
 THE JI G O F H EXAMETERS 321

blow at Dr . Maginn rebounds with do uble force upon him

self .

To Pl ’
e eus w h y did w e g i e yo u v
f
Hé c iibas grie no r riam my ath er s
‘ ’ ’
P f
Th o usands of sorro w s

cannot be a less detestable jig than that o f Dr Maginn . .

An d this obj ection hol ds against every accent u al hexameter ,

even to those of Longfellow or Lockhart if applied to grand ,

poetry F o r bombast in a wil d whimsical poem Mr

.
, , .

1 0 Clo ugh has proved it to be highly appropriate ; an d I

think the more rollicking is Mr Clough (if only I under
,
.

stand the word ) the more s u ccessful his metre Mr Arnold

, . .

himself feels what I say against dactyls for o n this very ,

’

g ro u nd he advises largely s u perseding them by spondees

an d since what he calls a spon dee is any pair of syllables o f
which the former is accentu able his precept amounts to ,

this that the hexameter be converte d into a line o f six

,

accentual trochees with free liberty left of diversifying it in

, ,

any foot except the last by Dr Maginn s detestable , .

’

2 0 dance What more severe condemnation of the metre is

’
.

imaginable than this mere description gives ? Six trochees ’

seems to me the worst possible foundation fo r an English

metre I cannot imagine that Mr Arnold will give the
. .

sligh test weight to this as a j udgment from me ; but I do ,

a dvise him to search in Samson A gon istes Thalaba , ,

Kehama an d Shell ey s works for the phenomenon

’
, , .

I have elsewhere insiste d bu t I here repeat that fo r , ,

a long poem a trochaic beginning o f the verse is most un

natural an d vexatious in English be cau se so large a nu mber ,

30 of o ur sentences be gin with u naccented syllables an d the ,

vigo ur of a tro ch aic line eminently depends o n the p urity of

'

its initial tro chee Mr Arnold s feeble trochees already

. .
’

qu ote d (from B etween to T o a) are all the fatal result o f

’ ’

defying the tendencies of o ur lan gu age .

If by happy combination any s ch olar could compose fifty

such En glish h exameters as wo ul d convey a livin g likeness ,

o f th e Vir gilian metre I sho u l d appla u d it as val u able for

,

i nitiating s choolboys into that metre but there its utility

woul d e n d Th e meth od coul d not be profitably used for
.

40 translating Homer or Vir gil plain ly beca u se it is impossible ,

to say fo r whose service s u ch a translationwo uld be exec u ted

ARN LD
.

O Y
Those who can read the ori ginal will never care to read
through any translation ; and the unlearned look o n all ,
e v en the best hexameters whether from Southey Lockhart
, , ,

or Longfellow as o dd and disagreeable prose Mr Arnold

, . .

deprecates appeal to pop ular taste we ll h e may yet if the

u nlearned are to be o ur a udience w e cannot defy them , .

I myself before venturing t o print so ugh t to ascertain

, ,

h o w unlearne d women and chil dren wo uld accept my verses .

I co uld boast h o w children and half e du cate d women have -

extolled them h o w gree dily a workin g man h as inquired 1 0

for them witho ut kn owing w h o w as th e translator ; but
,

I well know that th is is q uite ins ufficient to establish the

merits of a translation It is nevertheless one point . .

Homer is pop ular is one o f the very few matters o f fact

,
’

in this contro v ersy o n which Mr Arnold and I are agreed . .

En glish h exameters are not pop ul ar is a truth so obvio u s

’
, ,

that I do not yet believe h e will deny it Therefore .

Hexameters are not the metre for translating Homer .

Q E D
. . .

I cannot but thi nk that the very respe c table s cholars w h o 20 ,

pertinaciously adhere to the notion that English hexa

meters have someth ing epical in them ha v e no vivi d ,

feel in g o f t h e difference between Accent an d Q u antity :

an d t h is is the less wonderf ul since so very few persons
,

have ever actu ally heard qu antitati v e verse I have ; by .

listenin g t o H un garian poems rea d to me by my friend ,

Mr Francis Pulsz ky a native Magyar He h ad not fin ish ed

.
, .

a sin gle page before I complaine d gravely of th e monotony

,
.

He replie d So do we c omplain o f it and th en showe d O

me by turning the pages that the poet c ut the knot which he 30

, ,

could not untie by frequ ent changes o f his metre Whether

, .

it was a change of mere len gth as from Iambic senarian to,

Iambic dimeter o r implie d a fundamental change of time ,

as in m u sic from common to minuet time I cannot say -

.

B u t to my ear noth ing but a t u ne can ever save a qu antita

, ,

tive metre from h ideous monotony It is like strumming .

a pie c e of very simple music on a sin gle note No r onl y so .

but the most beau tif ul of anthems after it has been re ,

p e at e d a h u n dred times on a h u n dre d s u ccessive verses ,

be gins to pall on th e ear Ho w m uch more woul d an entire 40

.

book of Homer if chant ed at one sitting I have the con

,
3 24 H O M ERIC TR ANS LATION
the theory to him still th e loss o f the Digam m ,a destroys to
him t h e tru e rhythm o f Homer I s h all recur to both .

q uestions below I here add that o ur English pronuncia

.

tion even o f Virgil often so r uins Virg il s o wn q

,

u antities that
’
,

th ere is something either o f del usion o r of pedantry in o ur

scholars self compla cency in the rhyt h m which they elicit
’
-
.

I think it fort unate fo r Mr Arnold that he h ad no t .

,

courage to translate Homer for he m ust have faile d

to make it acceptable to th e u nlearned B ut if t h e p u blic .

ear prefers ballad metres still (Mr Arnold ass umes ) the 1 0 , .

scholar is with him in th is whole controversy Nevertheless .

it gradu ally comes o ut that neither is this the case but he ,

himself is in the minority P 3 1 2 he write s When one . .

,

observes the boistero us rollicking way in which Homer s ’

English admirers— even men of ge niu s like the late Pro ,

fo ssor Wilson— love to talk of Homer and his poetry o n e ,

cannot h elp feeling that t h ere is no very deep community

of nature between them and the object of their enthu siasm .
’

It does not occ ur to M r Arnold th at the defe c t of perception

.

lies with himself and that Homer h as more sides than he has 20
,

disco v ered He deplores that Dr Maginn and others whom

. .
,

he names err with me in belie v ing t h at o ur ballad style is

, ,
-

the nearest approximation to th at o f Homer ; and avows

that it is time to say p lainl y (p 2 7 2 ) that Homer is not o f .

the ballad type So in p 2 7 1

-
this p op ular but it is time
. .
,
-
, ,

to say this erroneo u s analogy

,
between the ballad an d
Homer Sinc e it is reser v ed for Mr Arnol d to turn the tide
. .

o f opinion since it is a t ask not yet ach ieved but remains ,

to be achieved by his auth oritative enunciation he con

fesses that hith erto I have with me th e s uffrage o f scholars 30 .

With this confession a little more diffide n ce woul d be ,

becomin g if diffi den ce were possible to th e fanaticism with

,

wh ich h e idolizes hexameters P 2 9 8 he says Th e . .

,

hexameter h as a natural dignity wh ich repels both th e ,

j aunty style and the jo g trot style & c The translator -

, .

who u ses it can no t too religiously fo llo w the IN PIR A TI N OF S O

HI S M ETR EInspiration from a metre which has no
,
’
&c .

recognised type from a metre which th e heart and sou l ‘

of the nation ignores I believe if th e metre c an inspire ,

anythin g it is to frolic and gambol with Mr Clough 40

,
. .

Mr Arnold s English hexameter cannot be a h igher in

.
’ ‘
 E PIC A ND BALLAD 3 25

spiration to him than the tru e hexameter w as to a Greek :

,

yet that metre inspired strains of totally different essential

ge nius and merit .

B ut I claim Mr Arnold himself as co nfessing that o ur

.

ball ad metre is epical when he says that Scott is bastard

,

epic I do not admit that his qu otations from Scott are at

.
’

all Scott s best nor anything like it but if they were it

’
, ,

wo ul d only prove something against Scott s geni us o r talent ’

,

nothing about his metre Th e K in p a firmor . r pm s were i

-
t
'
7 e

1 0 probably very inferior to the Ili ad but no o ne wo uld o n

that account call them o r th e F rogs and M ice bastard epic -
.

N 0 one would call a bad tale o f Dryden or of Crabbe bastard

epic Th e application o f the word to Scott virt u ally con
.

ce des what I assert Mr Arnold also calls Macaulay s

. .
’

ballads pinchbeck but a man nee ds to prod u ce some

thing very noble h i mself before he can afford thus to sneer
,

at Macaulay s Lars Porsena

’
.
’

Before I enter o n my own metrical exploits I must get ,

’

2 0 rid of a disagreeable topic Mr Arnold s rep ugnance to them ’

. .

h as led him into forms of attack which I do not know how ,

to characterize I shah state my complaints as c oncisely as

.

I can and so leave them

, .

. 1 I do not seek for any similarity of sou nd in an English

accentu al metre to that of a Greek qu antitative metre ;
besides that Homer write s in a highly vocaliz ed tongu e ,

while o urs is o v erfilled with consonants I have disowne d .

this notion of simil ar rhythm in the strongest terms (p xvii .

o f my Preface ) expressly beca u se some critics had imp u ted

,

this aim to me in the case of Horace I s ummed up It .

3 0 is not a udible sameness of metre but a likeness of moral

,

g eni u s which is to be aimed at I contrast the audible to .

’

t h e moral Mr Arnol d s uppresses this contrast and writes

. .
,

as follows p 2 65 , . Mr Newman tell s us th at he has found

. .

a metre like in moral geniu s to Homer s His j udge has still ’

.

the same answer repro du ce TH EN o n ou r ear something

of th e e ffect pro duce d by th e movemen t o f Homer ”
He .

rec urs to the same fallacy in p 2 7 9 For whose EA R do . .

those two rhythms pro duce impressions of (to use M r New .

man s own words) similar moral geni us “

His re ader
’

40 will nat urally s uppose that like in moral geni us is with

‘
me an eccentric phrase for like in musical cadence Th e .
’
32 3 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
onl y likeness to the ear which I have admitted is that the , ,

one and th e other are primitively made for music That .

,

Mr Arnold knows is a matter o f fact Whether a bal lad be

.
, ,

well or ill written If he pleases he may hol d the rhythm .

,

o f o ur metre t o be necessarily inferior to Homer s and t o his

’

o wn but when I f ully explained in my prefac e what were

my tests o f like moral ge ni us I cannot understand his ,
’

s uppre ssing them and perverting the sense of my words ,

.

2 In p 27 5 Mr Arnold q u otes C hapman s translation

’
. . .
,

of 5 B l d. Poor wret ched beasts (of Achill es horses ) o n

a ,
’
,

whi ch he comments severely He does no t qu ote me . .

Yet in p 3 06 after exhibiting Cowper s translation of the

.
,
’

same passage he adds Th ere is no want o f dignity here

, ,

as in the versions of C hapman and of M r Newman wh ich

I have al ready q
.
,

Th u s he leads the reader to believe

’
uo led .

t h at I have the same phrase as Chapman ! In fact my ,

translation is
Ha ! w hy o n e e u s, mo rta Pl l prin ce,
B esto w e d w e you , u nh a pp y!
If he had done me the j ustice of q uoting it is possible that 20 ,

some readers wo ul d not ha v e tho ught my rendering intrin

c ally wantin g in dignity o r less noble t h an Mr Arnol d s
’ ’
si ,
.

o wn which is ,

A h ! u nh app y pair ! to Pl e eus

1
w h y did w e g iv e y o u,
To a mo rta l
In p 2 7 6 he with very gratuito us ins ul t remarks that
.
, ,

Poor wretch ed beasts is a little overfamiliar ; bu t this is

n o obj e ction to it for the ballad manner 2
it is good en ou gh -

f or M r Newman s Iliad . &c Yet I myself have ’

,
.
’

no t t h o ught it g o o d eno ugh fo r my Iliad .

3 In p 3 1 0 Mr Arnol d gives his own translation o f the

. .
, .

disco urse between Achilles and his horse and prefac es it

with the words I will take the passage in w hich both ,

Chapman and Mr Newman have already so much ex cited ou r .

1
bl v
If I h ad u se d su ch a do u e dati e , as t o e eu s t o a mo rt a , w h at Pl l ’

l v
w o u d h e h a e said o f my s nt a y x
z
B ll
a ad-ma nner ! v l b ll
Th e pre a e nt a ad-metre is t h e o mmo n e tre C M
o f o ur P sal m t unes an d ye t h e assu me s t h at w h ate e r is i s me t re
n t hi v
mu st be o n th e same e e lvl v f
I h a e pro e sse d ( re p ) t h at o ur existing P f x
b ll
. .
. .

o o r and mean, are no t my pat tern

’
o ld a ads are and
p .
3 28 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
catalog ue in short for all early though t
1 —
,
Mr Arnold ,
. .

appears to forget tho ugh he cannot be ignorant that prose , ,

c omposition i s later t h an Homer an d that in the epical ,

days every initial effort at prose history w as carried on in

Homeric do ggerel by the Cyc poets w h o traced the history ,

o f Troy ab ovo in consec utive chronology I say he is .

,

merely inadvertent he cannot be ignorant th at the , , ,

Homeric metre like my metre s ubserves prosaic thought , ,

with the utmost facility but I hold it to be not in adver ,

tence but blindness when he does not see that Homer s 1 0

, ,
’

s is a line o f as thoro ughl y unaffected

’
T a 8 d rap a fid/ '
l i cv o
‘

s as any v erse o f Pythagoras or Horace s

’
o ratio p edestri

Sati res B ut o n diction I defer to speak ti ll I have finished

.
,

the topic of metre .

I do not say tha t any meas ure is faultless Every .

meas ure h as it s foible mine has that fault which every

uniform line m ust have — it is liable to monotony This is , .

evaded of co urse as in the hexameter or rath er as in

Milton s 1ine —first by varying the C aes ura —se c ondly by
’
, , , ,

varying certain feet within narrow an d well understoo d 20 ,

limits thirdly by irregu larity in the strength o f acc ents

—
, ,

fo urthly by varying the weigh t of the unaccented syllables

,

also A ll the se things are nee de d fo r the mere sake of

.
,

breaking un i f o rmity I will not h ere assert that Homer s .

’

many marve llous freedoms s u ch as nfidh A v 9 ,

‘
ex ov
’
7 ro
'
o ,

were dictat ed by this aim like those in the Paradise L ost ,

but I do say th at it is most un j u st most unintelligent in

, , ,

critics to prod uce single lines from me an d c riticize them

, ,

1
As a lit
y I pp d th
e rar t y f l
c urio sit d vi w a en e se n e nce o a e arne re e er
i g t hi m t
c o nc e rn n f C mpb ll It is m t fit f i t d i g
e re o a e s a e re or n ro uc n
y thi g t l ti g y thi g ; m t th t thi g
.

an n or ran s a l n t an n a e re a no n ca n e eva e , o r
dg d
e ra e, imp p il ; i w hi h ll
or bj t will
rove, d l ik
or s o n c a su ec s so u n a e.

A th m f E lid l di g ti l f m th T im
eo re o uc di l g a f m ea n ar c e ro e es, a a o ue ro
th l t v l ld ll b d d t it with th ligh t t p ibl
,

e was ne no e co u a e re u ce o e s es o ss e

v b l lt ti f G khx mt
,

[Q it t
’ ’
er a a e ra o n. Sh k p u e rue o ree e a e er or a s eare s
l i It i i t i th m t ] T
ne . s a v r ue h mill ll w l d b g i t
n e e re s o su c a a ou e rs
th ta m ca it di g i th t h d
e n e ar p d th an gh it w ld n no ra n a a o nce asse rou ou

t i ti q lity
,

h m
u ig
an ity dt t g i
n en u h e ver Thi w it e ec a a n a c arac er s c ua
’
s r a
t h t E gl i h b ll d m t
.

i
s t
a s out m i t i a n a ner i th igh t f a n s a a e re s e r o ne or

t l ti g H m
ran s a ly m h w h h t hi y t t h f t th t
n o er : on so e o e s u s s e es o e ac a

C mpb ll i b ll d m t — S d t x v b
, ,
’
a e s s y t
a a g t d d e re a o sa e ra a an an a sur
lik t h th gh ym by p d f l rning
,

asse rti o ns, e ese , ou an o n o u s, c an, a ara e o ea

l f b ki v
,

d m h d m g t th
o uc a a e o e sa e o a oo n erse .
 M ANAGEM ENT O F CAESUR A 3 29

as rough or weak instead o f examining them and present

,

in g th em as part o f a mass Ho w wo uld Sh akspe are stand .

this sort o f test 3 nay o r Milton ? Th e metrical laws o f

‘
,

a long poem cann ot be the same as o f a sonnet : single

verses are organic elements o f a great whole A crag mu st .

not be c ut like a gem Mr Arnold should remember . .

Aristotle s maxim that pop ular eloquenc e (and s uch is

’
,

Homer s ) sho uld be broad rough and highly coloured like

’
, ,

scene painting not polished into delicacy like miniature

,
.

1 0 B ut I speak n o w o f metre not yet of diction In any ,

.

long an d pop ular poem it is a mistake t o wish every line

to conform se v erely to a few types but to claim th is o f
a translator of Homer is a doubly u nintelligent exaction ,

when Homer s o wn liberties transgress all bounds many

’

o f the m being fee bly disg uise d by later do uble spellings as ,

iws f r invented for his special ac c ommodation

’
e , ( o ,
.

Th e Homeric verse has a rhythmical advantage over

mine in less rigidity o f caes ura Though the Hexameter .

w as ma de o ut of two Doric lines yet no division o f sense , ,

20 no pa u se of the voice or tho u gh t is exacted between them ,

.

Th e chasm between two English verses is deeper Perhaps .

,

on the side o f syntax a fo ur ! three English metre drives ,

harder towards monotony than Homer s o wn verse F o r ’

.

oth er reasons it lies under a like disadvantage compared

, ,

with Milton s metre Th e secondary caes uras possible in

’
.

the four feet are o f course less nu merous than those in the
five feet an d the three foot verse has still less variety
,
-
.

To my taste it is far more pleasing that the short line

,

rec ur less reg ul arly ; j ust as the par oemiac o f Greek ,

30 anap aests i s less pleasant in the Aristophani c tetrameter ,

than when it comes frequent but not expecte d This is .

a main reason why I prefer Scott s free metre to my o w n ’

yet witho ut rhyme I have not fo und how to u se his

, ,

freedom Mr Arnold wrongly s upposes me to have over

. .

looke d his main and j ust obj ections to rhyming Homer ;

viz that so many Homeric lines are intrinsically made for
.

isolation In p ix o f my Preface I c alle d it a fatal embar

. .

rassment B ut the obj ection applies in its f u ll strengt h

.

onl y against Pope s rhymes not against Walter Scott s ’

,
’
.

40 Mr Gladstone has n o w laid before the p ublic his o wn

.

specimens of Homeric translation Their dates range from .

3 30 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
1 83 6 to It is possible th at he h as as strong a dis
1 85 9 .

taste as Mr Arnol d fo r my version

. fo r he totall y i gnore s
the archaic the r ugge d th e boisterous element in Homer
, , .

B ut as to metre he gives me his f ull s u ffrage

, He has .

lines with fo ur accents with three an d a few with tw o ; , ,

not one with fi v e O n the whole h is metre his cadences

.
, , ,

h is varying rhymes are those o f Scott He h as more

, .

trochaic lines th an I approve He is truthf ul to Homer .

on many si des and (s uch is the delicate grace and variety

admitte d by the rhyme ) his verses are more pleasing than 1 0
mine I do not hesitate to say that if all Homer coul d ,

be put before the p ublic in th e same style equ ally well

.

w ith his best pieces a translation exec u ted o n my principles

,

co ul d not live in the market at its si de ; and certainly

I should spare my labo ur I add that I myself prefer the .
,

former piec e which I q uo te to my o wn e ven wh ile I see ,

h is defects for I hold that his graces at which I cannot ,

afford to aim more than make up fo r his losses After

,
.

this confession I frankly contr ast his rendering of the two

,

noblest passages wi th mine that the reader may see what 20 , ,

Mr Arnold does not show my weak and strong sides

.
,

GL A D ST O NE , Iliad iv , 42 2
As when the bill w g th o a e rs f ast
Wit h l w d ll
s o an su e n ro ar

B the nea th k th w
e ee n no r e ste rn bl ast
Ag i t t h e so un ding sh o re
a ns
Fi t f
rs ar at se a it rears its c re st,
Th enb u rsts u po n t h e e ac h , b
Or with pro u d arc h an d sw e ing reast,
1
ll b
W h ere h e ad ands o utw ard re ach ,
1
l
It smite s t h e ir st re ngth , and e o w ing flings b ll
lv f m f ;
It s si er oa a ar

S t o, d t hi k t h D
s e rn an c e anaan ki g n s
ldi m h d t w
,

A d n so e rs arc e o ar

E h l d g v hi m
.

ac th w d
ea er a e s en e or

E h w ac i d p i il h
arr o rd ee n s e n ce e ar

S m t th y m ld t t k n
.

’
o h d th
u e e arc ou cou s no e

Th y w f p ki g m
,

e m e re a ass o s ea n en

A d t h y t d i m ti l migh t
n as e s ro e n ar a

Th i fli k i g m h t b k t h l igh t
,

e r c er n ar s s o ac e .

1
I thi k h h
n mi t k th
e as mmit f t h w v f
s a en h dl d e su o e a e or a ea an an d

i gl d by th w d O b t I
,

h as m da e a sn ipt i i t tw
e e scr on n o o, e or r u n ow

con fi my g d t th m t
ne re ar dg
o l ff t f th tyl
e e re an enera e ec o e s e.
33 2 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
G L AD N Ili d i 403 ST O E, a x x, .

H gi g l w h i b h d
an n o s au urn ea ,

S w pi g with hi m t h g d
ee n s ane e ro un
F m b ll h d
,

ro th h ie nea s co ar s e
X th h k ! v i h th f d
,

an us, ar a o ce a o un
X th f th fl hi g f t
,

an us o e as n ee

Whit m d H e g v t h
e ar
’
d er a e e so u n

L d A hill t g d fl t !
.

or c es, s ro n an ee

Tr tus w will b
us, th h m ;e e ar ee o e
Y et me th nigh t h y day o f do o m 3
co
No doo m o f o urs but do o m t h at stan ds
B yF
,

Go d and migh t ate s c o mmands

’

l l k
.

w as no t t hat w e w e re s o w o r s ac
Pt la roc us lay a co rpse , h is ac b k
All stri t o f arms
p Tro an h ands by j
L b
.

T h e princ e o f go ds, w h o m e t o are,

Le to w it h th e owi ng h ai fl
r,
f fi
He o rw ard h ting did t h e dee d,
A nd ga e to v g
e c to r g o r s mee d
’
l y
l ll
.

In to i fo r t h ee , w e wi no t sh un
A ’ ’
gainst e e n Ze ph r s reat h t o ru n, y b
S f
w i test o f w inds : but all in ain : v
By god and man sh a t t h o u be s ain
’
l l
k
.

He spa e : and h ere , h is w o rds amo ng,

b
Erin nys o und his a te ring to ngu e fl .

Be gi nning with Achilles s speech I render the passage ’

,

parall el to Gla dstone th u s .

Ch nut an d Sp tt d ! n b l pair ! farfam u br d f Spryf t !

‘ -
es o e o e o s oo o oo
In o th er guise no w ) o nde r y o ur c h ari
t o resc u e o te e r
i
ye
B k
ac to t h e t ro o p o Danai, b l
e n w e h a e do ne w i
wh th att e v
l v l lf P l
No r ea e him de ad u po n t h e e , as ate ye e t at ro c us fi ld ’

yk
.

B ut him th e dapple fo o te d ste e d unde r t h e o e ac c o ste d

’
b y
(A nd dro o p d his au u rn h e ad aside straigh tw a lland t h ro th e c o ar
f ll v yk
His u mane , stre aming to t h e gro u nd, o er t h e o e w as scatte r d ’

J v
Him uno , w h ite arm d go dde ss, t h e n w ith o ic e o f man e ndo wed
’

No w and again w e e ri v ly ll v v
wi sa e and mo re t h an sa e t h ee ,
Dre ad u fl A ll
chi es ! ye t fo r t h ee ly t h e de ad day appro ach e th
l y bb F ly
.

No t o urs t h e gu it but migh t G o d and stu o rn ate are gu it

by l f l
.

No t t h e s o w ness o f o u r e e t o r du ne ss o f o u r spi rit

f
Th e Tro ians did t h y armo ur strip l P l
ro m sh o u de rs o f atroc us ;
xl L
B u t t h e e a te d go d, fo r w h o m brigh th air d at o na t rav ail d,
’ ’

l f k l y v H
S e w him amid t h e o re most ran s and g o r ga e to ec to r
l k v b z y
.

No w w e , in c o u rsin g, pac e w o u d ee p e e n w ith re e e o f Z e ph r,

y y lf f
Which spe e diest t h e say t o be : but fo r t h se t is ate d ’

By y
h an d o f h e ro an d o f go d in migh t strife t o pe rish
’

k v F v
.

So much h e spa e t h e re at his o ice t h e uries st o pp d fo r e er

’
.

N ow if any fool ask Wh y does not Mr Gladstone trans

, .

late all Homer any fool can reply with me Because he is ,

 M R ARNO LD S DICTA
.
’
33

Chancellor the Exchequer A man who h as talents and

of .

acquirements adequ ate to translate Homer well into rhyme ,

is almost certain to have other far more urgent calls fo r

the exercise o f s uch talents .

SO m u ch of metre At length I come to the topic of

.

Diction where Mr Arnol d an d I are at variance not only

,
.

as to taste but as to the main facts o f Greek literature

, .

I had calle d Homer s style q u aint and garru lou s ; and

’

said that he rises and falls with his s ubj ect being prosaic ,

1 0 when it i s tame an d low when it is mean I adde d no

‘
.
,

proof for I did not dream that it was nee ded Mr Arnold . .

not onl y absol utely denies all this an d denies it without ,

proof ; but adds that these assertions prove my inc o m

,

p e te n ce and,
acco u nt for my total and conspic u o u s fail u re .

His whole attack upon my diction is grounded o n a passage

wh i ch I m ust qu ote at len gth ; for it is so conf used in
logi c th at I may otherwise be tho ugh t to garble it pp
, , .

2 66 2 6 7
, .

Mr Newman speaks o f the more antiquated style

.

20 s uited to this s ubj ect Q u aint ! Antiqu ated ! but to

.

whom ? Sir Thomas Browne is qu aint and the diction ,

of C haucer is antiqu ate d does Mr Newman s uppose that .

Homer seeme d q uaint to Sophocles as Chaucer s diction ,

’

seems antiqu ated to us ? B ut we c annot really know ,

I c onfess l) h o w Homer seemed to Sophocles Well then

, .
,

to th ose who can tell u s h o w he seems to them to the ,

living s cholar to o ur onl y present witness o n this matte r

,

— does Homer make o n the Provost of Eton when h e reads

q
,

him the impression o f a p oet u aint and antiqu ated ?

,

30 does he make this impression o n Professor Thompson o r

Professor J o w ett ? Wh en Sh akspe are says Th e princes ,
”
orgulous meaning the proud princes we say This
, , ,
”
i antiqu ated When he says of the Troj an gates that
ticv
.
,

With massy st ap es l
‘
A nd co rre spo nsiv e and u f lfilli g b lt
n o s
Sp err u p t h e so ns o f Tro y,

we say, This
is both qu aint and antiquated B ut does .

Homer ever compose in a language whi ch produces o n ,

40 the s c holar at all th e same impression as this lang u a ge

wh ich I have quoted from Sh akspe are ? Never once .

334 H O MERIC TR ANS L ATION
Sh akspe are is q uaint an d antiq u ated in the lines which
I have j u st qu oted bu t Sh akspe are nee d I say it can ,

compose wh en he likes wh en h e is at h is best in a lang uage

, , ,

perfectly simple perfectly intelligible ; in a language

, ,

whi ch in spi te of th e two cent uries and a half which par t

,

its a uthor from u s stops or s urprises u s as little as the

,

lan gu age of a contemporary And Homer h as not Sh ak .

speare s variations Homer always composes as Sh ak

’
.
,

speare composes at his best Homer is always simple an d

intelligible as Sh akspe are is often Homer is never quaint 1 0
.

an d antiq u at ed as Sh akspe are is sometimes

’
, .

If Mr Arnol d were to lay before none but O xford

.

students assertions concerning Greek literature so start

lin gly erroneo us as are here contained it wo uld not con ,

cern me to refu te or protest against them Th e yo ung men .

wh o read Homer a n d Sophocles a nd T h u cydides — nay , ,

t h e boys w h o read Homer an d Xenophon —woul d know ,

h is statements to be a gainst the most notorio us and

elementary fact : and th e Professors whom he qu otes , ,

wo ul d only lose c re dit if they sanctione d the u se h e makes 20 ,

of their names B ut when he p ublishes th e book for th e

.

u nlearned in Gree k among whom I m u st incl ude a great ,

number of editors of magazines I find Mr Arnold to do , .

a p ublic wrong to litera ture and a private wrong to my ,

book If I am silent s uch editors may easily believe that

.
,

I have made an enormou s bl under in treating the dialect

of Homer as antiqu at ed If th ose w h o are oste nsibly .

scholars th us assail my version an d the great maj ority o f

, ,

magazines an d re views ignore it its existence can never ,

become known to the p ublic ; or it will exist no t to be 30

rea d bu t to be despise d with out being opened ; and it
,

mu st perish as many meritoriou s books perish I but lately .

pi cke d up— new and for a fraction of its price at a se c ond -

h an d stall a translation of the Iliad by T S Bran dreth Esq

,

. . .
, ,

(Pickering Lon don ) into C owper

,
s m etre which is
, as ’
, ,

I j udge immensely s uperior to C owper Its date is 1 846

,
.

I h ad never heard of it It seems to have perish ed un .

criticize d unreproved unwept unknown I do not wis h

, , , .

my progeny to die of negle c t tho ugh I am willin g that it ,

s h ould be slain in battl e — However j ust because I address 40 ,

myself to th e p ublic un learned in Greek and be cause ,

3 36 H O MERIC TR A NS LA TION
mon lo ndis libbard withou ten muchel be antiq uated o r
, , , ,

foreign and are t rfiofda o for t eido v do min o ; for do e s

, , ,

ijv r e fo r w e, a rr
jy for a r
fi , re x eea m fo r 7 60 0 1 9
’
,
for 7 0 30 86 ,
n o h ées fo r W OM O L, p eo cm v s for u era E d for ci m for Aet
'
v di
yj fl
i fi ,
‘ ‘
y , , ,
w
and five h u ndred others , — less antiq u ate d or less foreign ?
Homer h as archaisms in every variety some rath er recent
to the Ath enians , and carrying their minds ba ck onl y to
Solon , as fla m h fio c fo r fia mfAcw; others hars h er , yet varying
as dialect still , as Eelvos for Eevo s, 7 1 s for iripta, til/ OGMOGLS for
‘
’ '

x e x h v di for 10 1 0 5 or a x o vo o v d for
oil /
a , d s r
,
a
p v s O a
u wo s O I
‘
v v o s 1“
,

va t eroi o w es for waf er /r es o r o uco vw es others varying in the

root , like a new language , as a do /o; for wh o ii‘ro s, 1 67 1 19 for ’

fl o
w er 1 0
y
/ , 7 5 f o r 86 6 1 1 , u nder which head are heaps o f strange

W ol ds , as dmyv, xwo pa t , Bio s, Knh a, yeuflh wxe, yew o , 1 rérro v,

‘ ’ ’
‘

e t c e tc
. Finally co mes a goodly lo t o f words which to this
.

day are most u ncertain in sense My learned colleague

.

Mr Malden h as printed a paper o n Homeric words , mis

.

u nderstood by the later poets B uttman n h as written an

.

octavo vol ume — (I have the English translation , —con tain

ing 5 48 p ages) — to dis c u ss 1 06 ill e x plaine d Homeric words 20 .

Some of these Sophocles may have understood, tho ugh we

do not ; but even if so , t h ey were not the less antiqu ated to
him If there had been any perfect traditional understand
.

in g of Homer , we sho uld not nee d to deal wit h so many

words by elaborate argu ment n the face of th e Iliad alone
. O
every learner mu st know h o w many diffic ul t adje ctives
occur I write down on the sp ur o f the moment and with out
reference , xpijyvo v, dpyds, dbw o s, drrro s, aint 0 9 , vapo , ’rave d, w
’
‘ - '

’
eih irro des, j fi
h i fi h exrwp,
‘
r a ro s,

y
'
a i t h uj f, O L ah o e t s,
y
'
i
‘
o wpo s,
n
‘
w i -
n e ves
”
n det o s
,
‘
.If 30

Mr Arnold thought h imself wiser than all the world of

.

Greek scholars , h e woul d not appeal to th em , but wou ld

s urely enlighte n u s all he wou ld tell me , fo r instanc e ,
.

what ( M ore; means , which Liddell and Scott do not

pretend to u nderstand ; o r 1796 0 9 , o f which they give
t h ree di fferent explanations B ut he does not write as.

claiming an independent opinion , wh en he flatly opposes

me and sets me down ; he does but u se s urreptitiously th e
‘
name of th e living scholar against me ’
.

v
B ut I h a e only be gun to describe the marked ch asm 40
often separating Homer s dialect from everything Attic
’
.
 H O MER S G R AMM ATIC AL
’
FOR S M 3 37

It h as a wide diversity of grammatical inflections far beyond ,

s uch vowel changes o f dialect as answer to o ur provincial

pronunciations This be gins with new case endings to the
.

nouns ; in 0 0 8 pa— proceeds to very peculiar pro

-
1, -
ev,
-
e, «

nominal forms —and then to strange o r irregular verbal

inflections infinitiv e s in 7 m »
, imperfects in m ,
-e < e,

prese nts in 9w and an immensity of strange adverbs an d

-
a ,

conj unc tions In Thiersch s Greek Grammar after the

.
’
,

Ac cidence of common Greek is ad de d as s upplement an

11 0 Homeric Grammar : an d in it the Homeric No un and
Verb occ upy (in the English Translation ) 2 06 octavo pages .

Wh o ever h eard of a Spenserian Grammar ? Ho w many

pages co ul d be needed to explain C hau cer s grammatical ’

deviations from modern English Th e bare fact of

Thiersch having written so copio u s a grammar will enable
even th e unl earned to u nderstand the monstrous mis
representation o f Homer s dialect on which Mr Arnold ’
, .

h as based h is condemnation of my Homeric diction No t .

wis hing to face the plain and undeniable facts which I have
20 here reco unted Mr Arnold makes a confession that we
.
,

know nothing about them ! and then appeals to three

learned men whether Homer is antiqu ated to them — and ,

expounds this to mean in telligible to them ! Well if they ,

h a ve learned modern Greek o f co urse the y may u nderstand ,

it but Attic Greek alone wi ll not teach it to them Neither .

will it teach them Homer s Greek Th e difference o f the ’

—

two is in some directions so vast that they may de serve to ,

be called two lang uages as m u ch as Portugu ese and

Spanish .

30 Much as I have written a large side of th e arg ument ,

remains still untouched Th e orthography of Homer was .

revol utionized in adapting it to Hellenic use and in the ,

proc ess n o t onl y were the grammatical forms tampered

with but at least o ne c onsonant w as s uppressed I am
, .

s ure Mr Arnold has heard of the Digamma though he does

.
,

not see it in the c urrent Homeric text By the re establish .

-

ment o f this letter no small addition woul d be made to the

,

oddity o f the sound to the ears o f Sophocles That the .

unl earned in Greek may understand this I add that what , ,

40 with us is written eo ika c iho n oin os h ekas eorga eei p

,
e e le li , , , , ,

xnd were with the poet w ew o ika w iko n w ine s w eka s (or
ARN LD
, , , ,

O Z
33 8 H O MERIC TR ANS LATIO N
sw ekas wewo rga, and so with very ewei e
p , ew eli d
x n;
1

many other words in which either the metre o r the gram ,

matic al formation helps u s to detect a lost c onsonant and ,

t h e analo gy o f ot h er dialects or lang u ages ass ures us th at it

is w which h as been lost Nor is this all but in certain .

words sw seems to have vanished What in o ur text is ho i .

,

heo s helcuros were probably wo i and swo i w eoe and swec s

, , , ,

swe kuros Moreover the received spelling of many other

.

words is corru pt fo r instance deos deido ika eddeisen , , , ,

p e ridd eisas add ees Th e tr u,

e root m u st ha v e h ad .the form 10

dwe o r dre or dhe That the consonant lost w as really w

.
,

is as serted by B enfe y from th e Sanscrit doish Hence the .

tru e fo rms are dweos dedwoika edw eisen etc Next th e

, , ,
.
,

initial 1 of Homer had in some words a stronger pronuncia

tion whether M o r
, as in M ural M i a aym M w ros ,
c
-
,
‘ ‘
,

Mw fiw I h ave met w ith the opinion that the consonant

a ve .

lost in arms is not w but k ; and that Homer s kanax is ’

c onnec ted with En lish ki n T h relations o f w er on

g g e g .
,

wewo rga wrex ai to English work and wrought m ust strike

, ,

e very o ne but I do not here press the phenomena of the 20

Homeri c r (altho ugh it be c ame br in strong E o lism )
,

because the y do not differ from those in Atti c Th e Attic

forms nem u W m for M Mdm etc point to a time
.

-
e a, c e , .
,

wh en the initial A o f the roots w as a double letter A .

root M B woul d explain Homer s EW B If M approached

a
2 ’
e.

to its Welsh sound that is to Xx it is not wonderful that , , ,

s uch a pronunciation as q tpfi W fiwp w as possible bu t o ev

it is singul ar th at th e {58am XM p g o f Attic is written M p g a c

’

a c

in o ur Homeric text though th e metre needs a double ,

consonant Su ch phenomena as XMapés and M pos ifiw 30

. a , e
’

an d K w { an d w f ppa an d 3p y p i and y i
' ’

e , a u a, e ua c 0 e, a a a a,
, l

for r am ; and Zwf s with Swim» need to be reconsidered

EA - e o,
’
c ,

in connection Th e is D EA m o f o ur Homer w as perhaps

- . e
‘
( u; (

as 5 M d o : when M w as c hanged into A

o they c o mpe n ,

1
By co rru pti
ng th e past te nse s o f w elisso in to a a se si miarit to t h e fl l y
past te nse s o f eleliz o , t h e o ld e dit o rs su pe rimpo se d a ne w and a se se nse fl
l
o n t h e atte r er v b ll l
w hic h sti h o ds its p ac e in o ur dict io narie s, as it l
v
de ce i e d t h e ree s t h e mse esG k lv
lk F j b
.

Th at A A in A ttic w as so un de d i e re nc h I mou illée, is u dge d pro

bl by
a e l
t h e earn e d w rite r o f t h e art ic e L ( e nn w h o urges l P y
t h at p amo v is fo r ” ay, and co mpares <v m
o wi th fo lio , aM o W1 th a lco,
'

dA A with sali .
3 40 H O ME RIC TR ANS LA TION
up these phenomena in Mr Arnold as a warning to all .

scholars of the pit o f delusion into which the y will fall if

, ,
‘
th ey all ow themselves to talk fine about the Homeri c
1 h yth m as no w heard and the duty of a translator to ,

rep rod uce something o f it .

It is not merely the so und and the metre of Homer which ,

are impaired by the loss o f h is radical w in ext reme c ases

the sense also is conf used Th us if a scholar be asked .
,

what is the meaning o f rar in the Iliad he w ill ha v e ’

ea c
’
o

to reply If it stands fo r eweisato it means he w as like , , ,

’

and 1 8 related to the Engli sh root wis and wit Germ wi ss ,

.
,
‘
Lat vid ; but it may also mean he went — a very eccentric
.
,

Ho me rism — in which case w e sho uld perhaps write it

eyei sato as in old English w e have he yode or yede instead of
,

he go ed gaed since to o the c urrent roo t in Greek and Latin

, ,

i (go ) may be accepted as ye answering to Ge rman geh ,

English go Th us tw o words eweisato

.
-
lie w as like , , ,

eyei sato he went are c onfoun d ed in o ur text I will add

, ,
’
.
,

that in the Homeric

—fiJre w e Ox/ ea ( ) eia¢ — Il 2 8 7 )
'

(
‘

y .

— & d a o 52 ( i m l (l l 4, 1 3 8 )
-
p yk o a I
t a 1 11 : .

my ear misses the consonant tho ugh Mr Arnold s (it s eems ) ,

.
’

does not If we were ordere d to read dat ting in C haucer

.

for that thing it wo ul d at first s urprise u s as grotesque

,

but after this obj ection h ad vanish ed w e sho ul d stil l feel it ,

antiqu ated Th e c onfusion of th ick and tick thread and

.
’
,

tread may ill u strate the possible effe c t o f dropp ing the w in
,

Homer I observe that B enfey s Greek R oot Lexicon h as

.
’

a list of 454 digammated words most of which are Homeri c ,

.

B u it is quite nee e ss to press the arg ment to

t dl u its f ll
u 30 .

If as mu c h learning h ad been spent o n the double A and

o n the y and h of Homer as on the dig amma it might , ,

perhaps n o w be conce ded th at we ha v e lost not o ne but , ,

three o r four con sonants from h is text That A in Am» or .

A i w as ever a complex so un d in Greek I see nothing to

o o ,

indicate ; hence th at A and the X o f A ur l M pd seem t o ,

a , a s,

have been different consonants in Homer as l and ll in ,

Wels h A s to h and y I assert nothing except that critics

.
,

appear too h astily to infer th at if a c onsonant h as disap ,

p e are d it m u st,
needs be w It is cre di ble that t h e Greek 40 .
 HO MERIC R H YTHM 34 1

h w as once strong eno ugh to stop hiatus or elision as the ,

Eng lish , and m u ch more the Asiatic h Th e late r Greeks .

,

afte r turning the character H into a vowel see m to have ,

had no idea o f a consonant h in the mi ddl e o f a word n o r ,

any means o f writing the consonant y Since G passes .

through gh into the sounds h w g f (as in English and , , , ,

German is obviou s ) it is easy to confound them all under

,

the compendious word digamma I should be gl ad to .

’

know that Homer s form s were as well u nderstood by ’

1 0 modern scholars as Mr Arnol d lays down . .

O n his qu otation from ‘

Sh akspe are I remark 1
‘
Or , , .

g ul o u,
s from French orgu eille u x is intelligible to all ,
’

w h o know French and is comparable to Sicilian words in

,

ZEsch ylus 2 It is contrary to fact t o say that Homer has

. .
,

n o t words and words in great plenty as unintelligible to

, ,

later Greeks as orgul ou s to us 3 Sp err fo r B ar as

, . .
, ,

Sp lash for F lash is m uc h less than the diversity which

,

separates Homer from the spoken Attic What is m pég for . o

-
x

tx
p p
‘
o s to compare with fifl é g for u mp ég ? 4 Mr
ai Arnold ,
. .

20 (as I u nderstand him ) blames Sh akspe are fo r being some

times antiqu ated I do not blame him nor yet Homer for ,

the same but neither can I admit the contrast which he

asserts He says : Sh akspe are can compose when he i
.
,
s

at his be st in a langu age perfectly inte lligible in spite of

, ,

the two centuries and a h alf which part him from u s .

Homer has no t Shaksp eare s variations he is never anti ’ ’

q u a te d ,as S h ak spe are is sometimes I certainly find the .

’

very same variations in Homer as Mr Arnold finds in , .

Sh akspe are My reader unlearned in Greek might hastily

.

3 0 i nfer from the facts j ust laid before him that Homer is ,

always equ ally strange to a p urely Attic ear : but it is not so .

Th e dialects o f Greece did indeed differ stron gly as broad ,

Sc otch from English yet as we know B urns is sometimes ,

perfectly intelligible to an Englishman sometimes quite ,

unintelligible In spite of Homer s o ccasional wide receding ’

.

from Attic speech he as often comes close to it For , .

instance in the first piece qu oted above from Gl adst o ne

the simile occupying five (Homeric ) lines woul d almost go
, ,

down 1 11 Sophocles if the Tragedian had chosen to use t h e

,

40 metre . There is but one o ut and o ut Homeric word in it

(
’
c w a a m ir p s)
e o and even that is used once in an ZEsch yle an
3 42 H O MERIC TR ANSLATION
c h orus There are no strange inflections and not a single
.
,

digamma is sensibly lost Its peculiarities are only i for ‘

-
. c

é for 6 and S r for 86 which co ul d not embarrass th e

’ ’ ’
-
a , e v v e e ,

hearer as to the sense I myse lf reprod uce m u ch the same .

res ult Th us in my translation of these five lines I have

.

the antiqu ated wo rds blo re for blast harryfor harass (harrow , ,

w orry) and the antiq u ate d participle ho ven from heave as

, ,

clo ven wo ven from clea ve w eave

, Th e whole h as thu s j ust ,
.

a tinge o f antiquity as had the Homeric passage to the ,

Attics witho ut any need o f aid from a Glossary B ut at 1 0

, .

other tim e s the aid is occasionally convenient j ust as in ,

Homer o r Sh akspe are .

Mr Arnold plays fallacio usly o n the words familiar and

.

u nfam iliar Homer s words may have been familiar to the

.
’

Athe nians (ie ofte n heard ) even when they were no t

. .
,

understoo d but at most were g uessed at, ,o r when being , ,

u nderstood they were still felt and known to be u tterly

,

foreign O f course when th us familiar they c o ul d n o t

.
‘
, ,
’

s urprise the Athe nians as Mr Arnold complains that my , .

renderings s urprise the English Let mine be heard as 20 .

Pope or even C owper h as been heard and no one will be ,

s urprised .
’

Antiqu ated words are u nde rstood well by some ill by ,

others not at all by a third class hence it is difiicult t o

,

decide the limits of a glossary Mr Arnold spe aks scorn . .

f ull y o f me (he wonde rs with whom M r Newman can have

, . ,

lived ) that I u se the wo rds which I u se an d explain th ose

, ,

which I explain He cens ures my little Gl o ssary for con f

.
,

taining th ree words which he did not know and some ,

others whi ch he says are familiar to all the world It is 3 0

, , ,
.
’

clear he will never want a stone to throw at me I s uppose

,
.

I am often guilty o f keeping low company I have fo und .

ladie s— whom no o ne would guess to be so ill ed u cated -

,

who yet do not distinctly know what lusty means but h a v e

an u ncomfortable feeling that it is very near to lustful ; and
u n derstand grisly o nl y in the sense o f griz z led grey Great , .

numbers mistake the sense of B uxom Imp Dapper de plo r , , ,

ably I no more wrote my Glossary th an my translation

.

for persons so highly ed uc ated as Mr Arnold . .

B u t I m u st proceed to remark Homer might have been 40

as unintelligible to Pericles as was the court poet of king ,
3 44 H O MERIC TR A NS LATION
obtruding what may remind o ne o f a cat o r stoat I hold .

sp u tter to be epical be cause it is strong but sp it is feeble

1
,

an d mean In p assing I observe that the universal praise

.
,

g iven to C hapman as Homeric (a praise which I have

too absol utely repeated perhaps th rough false shame o f ,

depreciating my only rival ) is a testimony to me that I

righ tly appreciate Homeric style ; for my style is C hapman s ’

softened p urged of conceits and made far more melodious

,
.

Mr Arnold leaves me to wonder h o w with his disgu st

.
, ,

at me he can avoid feeling tenfold disgust at Chapman ; 1 0

,

and t o wonder also what h e means by so blankly con ,

t radicting my statement that Homer is q u aint and w h y he

so vehemently resents it He does not vou chsafe t o me .

o r to h i s readers o n e particle o f disproof o r of explanation .

I regard it as q u aint in Homer to call Juno white arm d -

’

goddess and large ey d (I ha v e not rendered s am ; ox ey d

’ ’
- -
. c ,

beca u se in a case of do u bt I shrank to obtru de anything so

g rotesq u e to u s ) It is q u aint to sa y . the lord of bri gh t ,

haired J uno lighte ns for it lightens or my heart in

my shaggy bosom is divided for I doubt qu aint 20 ,
’

to call waves wet milk white blood dusky horses single , , ,

~

ho ofed a hero s hand broad words winged Vul c an L o b

’
, f o o t , ,

( K Mv n i
é lw o
) a maiden
-
o f a i
vr ankled the Greeks w el lgreav d
,
-
,
’
,

a s pear longshado wy battle and cou ncil man en no bling ,

-
,

one s knees dear and many other epithets Mr Arnold

’
, . .

most gratuitously asserts that the sense o f these h ad

evaporated t o th e Ath enians If that were tru e it would .
,

not si gnify to th is argument A a puim s (possessed by an . t o

elf o r daemon) so lost its sense in Attic talk that although ,

[ Esch ylus h as it in its tru e meaning some college tu tors 3 0 ,

( I am told ) render 3 San

gu in in Plato my very g ood< sir e ,

This is s urely no good reason for mistranslatin g t h e word in

Homer If Mr Arnold could prove (what he certai nl y
. .

cannot ) th at Sophocles had forgotten th e derivation o f

m u 7,558 9 and évp p x ng and u nderstood by th e former
’
E /7 5
. e t ,
‘
nothing but ful l armed and by the latter (as he says )
nothing but warlike this woul d not j ustify his blame of ,
’

1
M n wh e an b ar b l h in p try n w aday pr t‘nd th at
o c
‘

e e c
’
oe o s e e
l y H l
,
’ ’
o me r s dr o wn “ t o be
’ ?
spu tte r is in de ic ate Th e fin d e egant ,
l f
. .

b ut sp utter— n o t ! No o ne w o u d gue ss ro m M r Ne w man s co arse

’

H
.

phrase s h o w el egant is o mer

 Q U AINTNESS O F H O MER 345

me for rendering the words c orrectly If the whole Greek .

nation by long familiarity h ad become inobservant of

Homer s od dities (conceding this fo r the moment ) that
’
,

also would be no fault o f mine That Homer is extremely .

pec uliar even if the Greeks had become deadened to the

,

sense of it the proof o n all sides is overpowering

,
.

It is very q u aint to say the outwork (o r r ampart ) ,

o f the teeth inste ad of the lips If Mr Arnol d will ’

. .

call it portentou s in my English let him prod u ce some ,

1 0 s h adow o f reason for denying it to be portento u s in Greek .

Many phrases are so qu aint as to be almost untranslatable ,

as u j m p q
,
SB ro( deviser o f fear ? ) j f
m a rw
’

p
o 6 7
o to3 (deviser 1 7 7 4

of outcry others are qu ain t to the verge o f being

comical as to call a man an eq ,
ui p o ise (d rd h a r s ) to a v o

god and to praise eyes for having a curl in them It is

,
1
.

q u aint to make J uno call J upiter Z é rar (grimmest-

a v e

direst whether sh e is in good or bad hu mour with him ,

and to call a Vision ghastly when it is sent with a pleasant ,

message It is astonishingly qu aint to tell how many oxen

.

20 every fringe o f Athene s a egis w as worth It is qu aint to ’

—

call Patrocl us a great simpleton for not foreseeing that ,

’

he woul d lose his life in ru shing to the resc u e o f his cou ntry
men (I cannot receive Mr Arnold s suggested Biblical
. .
’

correction Thou fool which he th inks grander : first ,

because grave moral reb uke is utterly o ut o f place ; secondl y ,

be a se the Greek cannot mean this it means infantine

c u —

simplicity and has precisely the colour of the word which

,

I have used ) It is qu aint to say

— Patroclu s kindl ed
.

a great fire godlike man ! or Autom edon held u p the

, ,

30 meat divin e Achill es slic d it qu aint to address a young ’

,

friend as O h pippin
2
or O h softheart or Oh
p e t whichever is the tr u e translation It is q u aint to .

1
In a No te v l k d by m th
to my trans atio n (o
iti ) I l er o o e o re an o ne cr c
h v xpl i d l y d f lly b t t v y t ly p h p
’
a e e a ne cur -e c are u u no er ac cu ra e er a s as
t b f f t h Hi d l dy t w h i h I f d
, ,

Ih d a m t h pi t
no e o re e e c ure o e n oo a o c re erre
Th w h l ll d th l ; f it i
.

e pp y lid w h
o e u p m yb er e e en o en , a e ca e e c ur or s
h p d lik b ff l h h vi g
,
’ ’
s a e Thie a t f é m B pp
u a o s o rns. s acc o u n s or A o A ec a o s, a n
a curly y lid e e
’

d it d w p tty w ll i d i g it O g tl
.

I th gh t I h d t ou a o ne o n re e n ren er n en e
A ld b k m f th i with t t lli g m wh t
,

fi d
r en M r rno re u es e or s, ou e n e a
w h t i my f lt O th i g i rt i th t th G k
.

I ough t t y o sa or a s au ne n s ce a n, a e ree
li
, .

i m t dd
s os dp o an e cu ar.
3 46 H O MERIC TR A NS LATION
compare Aj ax to an ass whom boys are belabouring U lysses ,

to a pet ram Agamemnon in tw o lines to three gods and in

, ,

the third line to a b ull ; the Myrmidons to wasps Ach ill es ,

to a gramp us chasi little fishes Antilochu s to a wolf

which kills a dog a n gruns away Menelaus striding over
,

Patrocl us 8 body to a heifer defending her firstborn It is

’
.

q u aint to say that Menelaus w as as brave as a bloods ucking

fly t h at Agamemnon s sobs came thick as flash es o f
,
’

li gh tning and that the Troj an mares wh ile ru nning , ,

g roane d like o v erflow ing rivers A ll s uch similes come .

from a mind quick to discern similarities but very dull to ,

feel inco ngru ities unaware therefore that it is on a verge

where the s ublime easily tu rns into the l udicro us a mind -

and h eart inevitably q uaint to the very core What is it in .

Vul can —when h e wo ul d comfort h is mother under J upiter s

,
’

threat to make j okes abo ut the severe mauling which he

,
—

himself formerly re ceived and h is terror lest sh e should be

,

n o w beaten ? Still more q u aint (if ro llicking is not the

word ) is the ad dress by wh ich Jupiter tries t o ingratiate
,

hi mself w ith J uno : viz he recounts to her all his unl awf ul 20
.

amo urs dec laring that in none o f them w as he so smitten

,

as n o w I have not enough of the y w l as injd a the

. e /a c ei ,

barbarian simpleheartedness needed by a reader of Homer , ,

to ge t ro gh this speech with gravity Wh at shall I c all

t h u —

it — certainl y m u ch worse than qu aint that the poet ,

-

adds : J upiter w as more enamoured than at h is sto len

‘
embra c e in t h eir first bed secretly from their dear parents ’

B u t to develop Homer s inexh au stible q u aintnesses o f

’
,

which Mr Arnold denies the existence seems to me t o need

.
,

a long treatise It is not to be expe c ted that one who is so

.
,

blind to s uperficial facts so very prominent as those which

I have recounted should retain any delicate perception of
,

t h e highl y colo u red intense and very eccentric diction of

, ,

Homer even if he has ever u nderstood it which he forces

, ,

me to doubt He sees nothin g o dd in 69

.
p nxd x vi/ Ka x o vo v,

o r in K é/ a th ou do gfly He replaces to his imagina

‘
UV L vt ,

tion the flesh and blood of the noble barbarian by a dim

feeble spiritless outline .

I have not ad du ce d in proof of Homer s qu aintness the

,
’
,

monstrous simile given to u s in Iliad 1 3 7 54 ; viz Hector 40 ,

.

darted forward screaming like a snowy mountain and ,

3 48 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
the mere metaphor conte nting him Homer says
G zi g
a n v y id i f hi f
aro und o n e gl er s e, n as on o an e a e,

W hi h f ll h v f wl t h y y t th i k
’
c o a th
ea en s o e sa o sc an e ear s ee nest

y w h n l f ti t h wift h
, , ,

Wh ose e e, t th e p th
o es e no e s are esc a e
L ki g mid l f l d b h
,

ur n a t t igh t t it h
-
a ea th -c a us u s ra a e so use

k d g ip d th qi kly i v it pi it
,

U i g ; d with
ne rr n an c ro o e r e o u c re e s s r .

I fee l this long simile to be a dist urbance of the Logical

balance s uch as bel o ngs to the lively eye o f the savage
, ,

whose observation is intense his concentration of reasoning ,

powers feeble Without this w e sho ul d never have got 1

.
,

anyth ing so picturesq ue .

Homer ne v er sees things in the same proportions as we

se e them To omit his di gre ssions and w h at I may call
.
,

his impertinencies in order t o give to his argument that ,

’

wh ich Mr Arnold is pleased to call the proper balance

.
,
’

is t o val u e o ur o w n logi c al minds more than his pict uresq ue 1

,

but i llogical mind .

Mr Arnold says I am not q u aint but grotesque in my

.
, ,

rendering o f OQ p xrj d I do n o
KU Vt hold the phrase
Ka xo vo v .

to be q u aint : to me it is excessively coarse When : .

J upi ter calls J uno a bitch o f co urse h e means a snarling ,

’

c ur ; hence my rendering vixen (or sh e fo x ) is there ,

-
,

perfect since w e say vix en of an irascible woman B ut

, .

Helen h ad no s u ch evil tempers and beyond a doubt sh e ,

meant to ascribe imp urity to herself I have twice com .

mitted a pio u s fraud by making her call herself a vixen

’
,

wh ere bitch is th e onl y faithful rendering ; and Mr .

Arnold instead of thanking me for throwin g a th in veil

,

over Homer s deformity assails me fo r my phrase as

’
,

intolerably grotesqu e .

He furth er forbids me to invent new compo und adj ectives ,

as fair th ro n d ril l bestre am d because th ey strike u s as

’ ’
- -
,

new tho ugh Homer s epithets (he says ) did not so strike
,
’

t h e Greeks hence they derange attention from the main

1
It is v y er si
ngu ar th at l
ld im gi h p Mr
t t Gl d t a s o ne sh o u a ne su c a oe o
h v l H t lly p t
.

m ’
.

a e no e y f I t e t
o r co o ur.
g i t h i t i g o a ro es a a ns s urn n o er s

p i
a nt i g i t
n s l d p i
l d w
n oi g I beali v t h t
e nc 7 A 6 i g y
ra n s. e e e a avx s s re

( i
l
s v e r ree n
g é
) x pg t bl ; d th t pd m o l k ue l w t an a n vo s, ee -co o ur,
’
as oo

ly l f
,

m ean a w df yp t
or t
o r ant f g oe s, e ar t h ‘
or a e , o u se or re e n e re o re

d ty f pq ly l v ’
Ka h w
i

xx pé d
w s it
oe s i h
u p i or t p p a la vo eo v s sure e ur e e,

il t
.

’
an d i oé mi
o ei th a x
/1 0V e V o e se a.
 NO VELTY O F EX P R ESSION 349

question I h old this doctrine of his (conc edin g his fact

.

fo r a moment ) t o be destru ctive o f all translation whatever ,

into prose o r poetry When Homer tells us that Achil les s

.
’

horses were munchin g lotu s and parsl ey Pope renders it by ,

‘
the horses grazed and does not say on what U sing Mr
,
’
. .

Arnold s principles he might defend himself by argu ing :

’
,

Th e Greeks being familiar with s u ch h o rsefo od were not

, ,

stru ck by it as n ew as my reader woul d be I was afraid

, .

of telling him what th e horses were eating lest it shoul d ,

to derange the balance o f his mind and inj u rio u sly divert him ,

from the main idea o f the sentence B ut I find readers .

’
, ,

are indignant o n learning Pope s s uppression they feel that ’

he h as defrauded them o f a piece of interestin g information .

— In short h o w can an Englishman read any G reek com

position ari
,

d be a ffected byit as Greeks were 3 In a piece ‘

o f Eu ripides my ima ginat ion is cau ght by many things ,

which he never intended o r calculated for the prominence

which they actu ally get in my mind This o r that abs urdity .

in myt hology which passed with him as matter o f co urse

, ,

20 may monopolize my main attention Our minds are not .

passive recipients o f this o r that poet s infl u ence bu t the ’

,

poet is the material o n which o ur minds actively work If .

‘
an unl earned reader thinks it very odd o f Homer (the
‘
first time he hears it ) to call Aurora fair th ro n d so does ’
,
’

a boy learning Greek think it o dd t o call her dp s ev o vo .

Mr Arnold ought to blot every odd Homeric epithet o u t

.

of h is Greek Homer (or never lend the copy t o a youthf ul

learner) if he desire me to exp unge fair th ro n d from the -
’

translation Nay I think he should conceal that th e M o m

.
,

30 ing was este emed as a god dess tho u gh sh e h ad no altars ,

or sa c rifice It is all o dd B ut th at is j u st why people

. .

want to read an English Homer to know all his oddities

—
, ,

exac tly as learned men do He is the phenomenon to be .

st udied His pec uliarities pleasant o r unpleasant are to

.
, ,

be made known pre c isely becau se o f his great eminence and

,

his s ubstantial deeply seated worth Mr Arnold writes . .

like a timi d biograph er fearf ul to let too mu ch o f his friend

,

c ome o u t So mu c h as to the s u bstance A s to mere words

. .
,

h ere also I hold the very reverse of Mr Arnold s doctrine

’
. .

I do not feel free to translate tpa nfi ng by heaven o vo x

kissing p recisely because Sh akspe are has used the l ast

,
’
3 50 H O MERIC TR A NS LATION
word It is h is prope rty as Eii npid s iii/ n h ing dd pa
.
, xv e , i c , xv i vei ,

&c are Homer s property I coul d not use it without

’

being felt to q
. .
,

uo te Sh akspe are which woul d be highly ,

inappropriate in a Homeric translation B ut if nobody .

had ever yet used the phrase heaven kissing (o r if it -

were c urre nt witho ut any proprietor ) then I should be quite

fre e to u se it as a rendering o f tp mj m I cannot assent o a vo x .

to a critic killing the vital powers of o ur tongue If Shak .

speare migh t in v ent the compo und hea v en kissing o r -

,
’

man e nnobling so might William Wordsworth o r Matthew 1 0

-
,
’

Arnold and so might I Inspiration is n o t dead nor yet

.
,

is the English langu age .

Mr Arnold is slow to unde rstand what I think very

.

ob v ious Let me then put a c ase What if I were to scol d

. .

a missionary for rendering in Feej ee the phrase kingdom

of heaven and Lamb o f God acc urately also saints
an d other words ch aracteristic of the New T estamen t ? I
mi gh t u rge against him This and that so unds very odd
to the F ee jee s : that cannot be ri ght for it did no t see m odd ,

to the Nicene bish ops Th e latter had forgotten th at zo

.

sa aa z meante a kin gdgm they took the p h rase king

dom o f God colle c tively t o mean the C h urch
. Th e .
’

phrase did not s urprise them A s to Lambs the F e ejee s .

,
’

are not acc ustomed to s acrifice and cannot be expe c ted to ,

know o f themselves wh at Lamb of God means as ,

Hebrews did Th e co urtiers o f Constantine thought it

.

very natural to be called 61w fo r they were accustomed to

think every baptised person 17 s ; but to th e baptised ( 10

courtiers of Feej ee it really seems very odd to be called

Y o u dist urb the balance of their j udgment
’
sai nts . .

Th e missionary might reply Y o u seem to be ashamed

o f the od dities o f the Gospel I am not They grow o ut . .

of i ts excellences and cannot be separated By avoiding .

a few eccentric phrases yo u will do little to remo v e the

deep seated eccentricity of its very essence Odd and
-
.

eccentric it will remain unl ess yo u despoil it o f its heart

, ,

an d red uce it to a fashionable philosophy And j u st so do ’

.

I reply to Mr Arnold Th e Homeri c style (whether it be

. .

th at of an individ ual o r of an age ) is peculiar is odd if , ,

’

Mr Arnold like the word to the very core Its e c ce ntri 40

.
,
.

c ities in epith e t are mere e fflo resc e n c e s of i t s e ssential

35 2 H O MERIC TR ANSLATION
ennobling c ombat or combat which ennobles man the ,
’

no v elty is so nearly on a par that he cannot condemn o ne ,

and justi f the other on this score Even Po pe falls far .

short o f e fal se taste which wo ul d plane down every

Homeric prominence for he prizes an elegant epithet like
silver foo ted however n e w and odd
-
’

m s uch a Homer as M r Arnold s specimens and

.
,
’
.

principles wo ul d give u s no o ne coul d learn anything ; ,

no one co uld have any motive for reading the translation .

He smooths dow n the stamp of Homer s coin till nothing 1 0 ’

,

is left even fo r microscopic examination When he forbids .

me (p 3 03 ) to let my reader know that Homer calls horses

.

single h oofed of co urse he would s uppress also the

-
,
’

epith ets white milk d usky blood dear kn ees dear ,

’
,
’
,
’

life & c His process obliterates everything characteris tic

,
’
.
,

great or small .

Mr Arnold condemns my translating certain names o f

.

horses He says (p 2 80 )
. Mr Newman call s Xanth us . .

Ch esn u t as he calls Bali us Sp o tted and Po darga

which is as if a Frenchman were to call Miss Nigh tingale 20
M dlle R ossigno l or Mr B right M Clair He is very ’
. .
, .

wanting in discrimination If I h ad translated Hector int o .

Possessor or Agamemnon into Highmind his cens ure wo ul d

be j ust A Miss White may be a bru nette a Miss Brown
.
,

may be a blonde : we utter the pro mr names of men and

women withou t any remembrance oith eir intrinsic mean
ing B u t it is di fferent with many names o f domesti c
.

animals We never call a do g Sp o t unl ess he is spotted

.
,

nor without consciousness th at th e name expresses his

pe c uliarity No one woul d gi v e to a black horse the name 3 0
.

Chesnut ; nor if h e h ad called a chesnut horse by th e

,

name Chesnut woul d he ever forget the meaning of the ,

name whil e he u s ed it Th e Greeks called a ch esnut horse .

x an tho s and a spotted horse balios therefore until ,

Mr Arnold pro v es t h e contrary I believe that they never

.
,

read the names of Achilles s two horses without a sense of ’

th eir meaning Hence th e names ough t to be translated

.

while He ctor and Laomedon ought n o t Th e same reason .

in g applies to Po darga t h o u gh I do not certainl y under ,

stand py s I h ave taken it to mean sprightly

a
’
o . 40 .

‘
Mr Arnol d fu rth er asserts that Homer is never garr u
.
,
 GARRULITY O F H O M ER 35 3

lous Al lowing that t o o many others agre e w ith me he attri

.
’
,

b utes o ur error to giving t o o m u ch weight to a sentence in

Horace ! I admire Horace as an o de writer but I do no t -
,

revere him as a critic any more th an as a moral philosopher

, .

I say that Homer is garr ul ou s because I se e and feel it , .

Mr Arnold p uts me into a most u nwelcome position

. .

I have a right t o say I have some enthu siasm for Homer

, .

In the mi dst o f nu mero u s u rgent calls of d u ty and taste ,

I devoted every possible qu arter o f an hour for tw o years

1 1 0 and a half to translate t h e Ili ad toiling u nremittingly in ,

my vacations and in my walks and goin g to large expenses ,

o f money in order to pu t the book before the unl earned

,

and this though I am n o t a Professor of Poetry n o r even

,

of Greek Yet now I am forced to appear as Homer s

.
’

disparager and accu ser B ut if Homer were always a poet ,

he coul d not be what he is so many other things beside

, ,

poet As the Egyptians paint in their tombs processes o f

.

art not becau se they are beau tiful or grand but from
, ,

a mere love of imitatin g so Homer narrates perpetu ally

20 from a mere love of chatting In how t h oro u ghly Egyptian .

a way does he tell the process of c utting up an ox and

making kebab; the process of bringing a boat to anchor an d
caref ully putting by the tackle the process o f taking o ut
a sh awl from a c hest where it lies at th e very bottom !
,
‘

With what glee he repeats th e secret talk of the gods ;

and can tell all abo u t the toilet o f J u no Every partic ular .

o f trifling actions comes o u t with him as the opening o f , ,

a door o r box with a key He tells who made J uno s —

.
’

earrings o r veil o r the shield of Aj ax— the history o f Aga

30 m e mn o n s breastplate
’
— an d in w h at detail a hero p u ts o n
his pieces o f armo ur I would not press the c hattiness o f
.

Pandaru s Glaucu s Nestor ZEneas in th e midst o f battle

, , , ,

I might press his description o f wou nds Inde ed I have .

said enou gh and more than e nough against Mr Arnold s

, , .
’

novel uns upporte d paradoxi cal assertion B ut this is

, ,
—

conn ected with another subject I call ed Homer s manner .

’

direct Mr Arnold (if I understand) would s upersede

.

‘
this by his o wn epithet rapid B ut I cannot admit the .
’

exch ange Homer is often the opposite o f rapid A mpli

. fic a .

tion is his characteristic as it m u st be o f every impro ,

visat o re every pop ul ar orator : condensation indeed is

ARNOLD
, , ,

A a . ,
35 4 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
improper for anyth ing but written style — writ ten to be ,

read privately B ut I re gard as Homer s worst defe c t his

.
’
,

lingering over scenes o f endl ess carnage and painfu l wounds .

He knows to half an inch where one hero hits anoth er an d

h o w deep They arm
. they approach they encounter :
w e have to listen t o stereotype details again and again .

‘
Su ch a style is anyt hing but rapid Homer s garru lity ’ ’
.

often leads him into it ; yet he can do far better as in ,

a part of the figh t over Patro clus s body and other ’

,

splendid passages .
10

Garrulity ofte n vents itself in expletives Mr Arnold . .

selects fo r animadversion this line o f mine (p .

A th u and fir al ng th plain I ay that nigh t w r gl aming

o s es o e , s , e e e .
’

He says : This may be the genuine style o f ball a d p oetry ,

but it is no t th e style o f Homer I reply my use o f ’

.

expletives is moderate indeed compared to Homer s ’

.

Mr Arnold writes as if quite u naware th at s u ch words

.
,

as the intensely prosaic dpa an d its abbreviations dp t

’
, ,
a,

with 8 5 h aiku
T OL, 7 6 , 7 ,
in vv m p overflow,
in epic style ; , , ,

and that a p upil w h o h as mastered th e very copiou s stock 20

o f Attic particles i s taken q u ite aback by the extrava gant
,

number in Homer Our expletives are generally more

.

o ffensive becau se longer My principle is to admit onl y

, .
,

s uch expletives as add energy and savour of antiquity To , .

the feeble expletives o f mean ditties I am no t prone I .

once heard from an eminent cou nsellor the first lesson of

young lawyers in th e followin g doggerel
,

He l l
W h o h o ds his an ds in fee ,
q k q v
Nee d ne ith e r u a e n o r u i e r
ForI h mbly u iv l ky co nce e, oo e, do ye see
H h l d hi l d f
e o v
s s an s or e er .

Th e h u mbly concei ving certainl y ou tdoes Homer Yet .

if t h e poet h ad ch osen (as he migh t have chosen ) to make

Po lydamas or Glau c u s say

c n reyevo s "fo r“ BamM j-o s,

” ’
s e we rpd
'
O an
m
’ '

a i d 7 0 1 , 0 11 1 0 9 dvfip ovr dp 7
peuei o v re ¢ oBe¢ra z

a} pdAa yap ;Sa e ds k

p réo z
a‘
m y w at er dpo vpas

I rather think t h e following woul d be a fair prose rendering

Whoso h ath been entrusted with a demesne under pledge
356 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
I bethink me what the Troj an men and Troj an women
might m urm ur Sacred Troy shall go to destruction
.
’
Or .
’

bear pails to the well o f Mo sseis Se e the wife o f Hector .

’
, ,

that great pre e minent captain of the horsemen of Troy

-
,

in the day theyfought for their city : fo r who was captain ,

in the day on w hich Let me be dead and the earth

be mounded abo v e me ere I hear thy cries and thy , ,

captivity to ld of
1
By no slow pace o r want of swift ness
.
’

ofou rs did the Troj an s o b the arm Patrocl s ’

2
tain to stri
p s o f u .

Here I am destined to perish far from my father and 1 0 ,

mother dear fo r all that I wil l not & c Dare they n o t , ,

’
.

enter the fight o r stand in the co uncil o f heroes all for fear
, ,

o f the shame and the taunts my crime has awakened O ne

w h o regards all this to be high poetry — e mphatically ,

no ble may well think or 8 d ap t / s o r w ith

,
’
-
f
’
r e A cvo

him there came forty black galleys o r the broiling of the ,

’

b eef collops to be s uch When Mr Arnold regards no

,
. .

‘
want o f swiftness of ours for all that in the sense of ,
’

‘
nevertheless ; all o fear i e because o the fear
f r f — no t ,
’
. .

to be prosaic my readers however ignorant o f Greek will 20

—
, ,

dispe nse with further argument from me Mr Arnold s ’

. .

inability to discern prose in Greek is not to be tru sted .

B ut I see something more in this phenomenon Mr Arnold . .

is an original poet and as s u ch certainl y u ses a diction , ,

far more elevated than he here p uts forward to represent

Homer He c alls his Homeric diction p lain and simp le
. .

Interp reting these words from the c ontrast o f Mr Arnold s .

’

o wn poems I claim hi s s uffrage as o n my side t h at Homer

, ,

is often in a style m u ch lower t h an what the modem s

esteem to be oeti c al B ut I protest that he carri es it se
very much t o o p
.
,

ar and levels the noblest down to the most

,

negligent style o f Homer Th e poet is no t always so .

ignoble as the u nlearned migh t infer from my critic s

,
’ ’

1
He
pare s do w n ékk flO/xofo (th e dragging aw a o f a w o man t he y by
h air) into c apt i it e tte r surev y
is my igno e B e rsion : Ere ly bl v
’
t h at I se e t h ee dragg d away, and h ear th y sh rie o f anguish
’
k
yll bl S f ly
.

3
He means o urs fo r tw o s a es wi t ness o f o urs is sure
l A ll y ll y
.

u ngrammat i ca a
g’ e o f my o wn o n e o f m y o wn a e s
f b
.

but a ath e r o f mine , is a surd, sin ce each h as but o ne fat er I

f v y lf b y
.

c o n e ss I h a e m se ee n se du ced int o writing th ose t wo e es o f

’ ‘
v
his t o a o id tho se h is t w o e ye s but I h a e sinc e co nde mne d and v
l
,

a te re d it .
 H O MER S L O WER
’
L
STY E 35 7

specimens He never drops so low as Sh akspeare yet if

.

he were as s ustained as Virgil o r Milton he would with it ,

lose his v ast s uperiority over these his rich variety That
,
.

the whole first book of the Iliad is pitched lower than the
rest though it h as vigorou s descriptions is denote d by the
, ,

total absence o f simile in it : for Homer s kindling is always

’

indicated by simil e Th e second book rises o n the first

.
,

until the catalogu e o f ships which (as i f to atone for its flat
,

ness ) is u shered in by five consecutive si mil es In the third .

and fourth b ooks th e poet continues to rise and almost ,

c ul minates in the fifth but then seems to restrain himself ,

lest nothing grander be left for Achilles Al though I do .

not believe in a unity of au thorship between the Odyssey

and the Iliad yet in the Iliad itself I see s u ch unity that
, ,

I cannot doubt its negligences to be from art (Th e

.
.

monstrou s speech o f Nestor in the 1 1 th book is a case by

itself About 1 00 lines have perhaps been added later for
.
,

reasons other than literary ) I observe that j ust before the

.

poet is abo ut to bring o ut Achil les in his utmost splendour ,

20 h e has three qu arters o f a book comparatively tame with

-
,

a ridic ul ous legend told by Agame mnon in order to cast his

o wn sins u pon Fate If Sh akspeare introd uces coarse
.

wrangling buflo o n ery o r mean s u perstition no o ne claims

, , ,

o r wishes t his to be in a high diction o r t ragic rhyth m and

w h y sho ul d any one wish s u ch a thing from Homer o r
Homer s translator
’
I find nothing here in the poet to
apologize for ; but mu ch cau se for indignation wh en the ,

unlearned p ublic is misled by translators or by critics to

expect delicacy and elegance o ut o f place B ut I beg the .

30 unl earned to j udge for himself whether Ho mer can have

intended s uch lines as the following for poetry and whether ,

I am bound to make them any better than I do

v
Th en isiting h e urge d e ach man with w o rds,
M l
esth e s an d Gl
aucu s and M
e do n an d Th ersi o ch us l
A
A n d ste ro pae u s and De iseno r and H
ippo th o u s
A nd Ph o rkys an d Chro mius an d EnnOmus t h e augur .

He has lines in plenty as little elevated If they came often

.

in masses it woul d be best t o translate the m into avowed

,

pro se but since gleams of poetry break o ut amid what is

flattest I have no choice but to i mi tate Homer in retaining
,
3 58 H OM ERIC TR A NS LATION
a u niform but easy and unpretending metre Mr Arnold
, . .

‘
calls my metre s lipshod if it can rise into grande ur
when needful the epithet is a praise, .

O f course I hold the Iliad to be generally noble and

grand Very many o f the p o et s conceptions were grand to
.
’

him mean to us : especially is he mean and absurd in

,

scenes of conflict between the gods Besides he is dis .

,

g usting and horrible occasionally in word and th ought ; as

‘
when Hec uba wishes to cling on Achilles and eat up h is
liver when (as Jupiter says ) J 11 11 0 wo uld gladly eat 1 0
Priam s chil dren raw when J u piter hanged Juno up and
fastened a pair of anvils to her feet also in the description
of dreadf ul wo unds and the treatment which (Priam says ) ,

do give t o an old man s corpse Th e descriptions o f ’

.

can and Thersite s are ignoble ; so is the mode o f mourn

ing fo r Hector adopted by Priam so is the treatment o f
the pop ulac e by Ul ysses w hich does but reflect the mann ers ,

o f the day I am not n o w blaming Homer for these things

.

but I say no treatment can elevate the s ubj ect the trans
lator m ust n o t be expected to make noble what is n o t so 20
intrinsicall y .

If any o n e think that I am disparaging Homer let me ,

re min d him o f the horrid grossnesses o f Sh akspe are which

'

yet are not allowed to lessen o ur admiration o f Sh akspe are s ’

grande ur Th e Homer of t h e Iliad is morally p ure and

.

often very tender but to expect refinement and universal

delicacy o f expression in that stage o f civilization is quite
anachronistic and unreasonable A s in earlier England so .
,

in Homeric Greece even high poetry partook o f the coarse,

ness of society This w as probably inevitable precisely 3 0

. .
,

because Greek epic poetry w as so n atural .

Mr Arnold says that I make Homer s nobleness emi

.
’

u en tly igno ble This s uggests to me to q u ote a passage

.
,

not because I thin k myself partic u l arly s u ccessf ul in it but ,

becau se the poet is evidently aim ing to be grand when his ,

mightiest hero puts forth migh ty boastings offensive to ,

some o f the gods It is th e speech of Ach ill es over the

.

de ad body o f Asteropaeu s (Iliad xxi Wheth er I make ,

it ignoble by my diction o r my metre the reader must j udge

, ,
.

L ie as t h o u art
’
Tis h ard fo r t h e e t o st ri e against t h e v l
c h i dren 40
Of v v
.

e rmatching Saturn s so n,
’ ’
o t h o o ffspring o f a R i er.
3 60 H O ME RIC TR ANS LATION
‘
te ristic ally ) to say my h ear
sot i n my bo som is d i vided ,
’

fo r I do u bt So I will speak what my h eart in my

.
’

‘
bo som bids me So Homer makes men think
’ ’
-
. r l
ip ,
xa ci c e va

Ka i —
r
‘
xa Ound ci
‘
in their heart and mind ; and depri v es
y,

them o f mind and so ul Al so : this appeared to him .

’

in his mind to be the best co un sel Mr Arnold ass umes ’

. .

tones o f great s uperiority but every schoolboy knows that

difi u se ne ss is a disting uishing characteristic o f Homer .

Again the poet s epithets are often selected by their cou ve

,
’

nie n ce fo r his metre sometimes perhaps even appropriated 1 0

for n o other cau se N o o ne has ever given any better .

reason w h y Diomedes and Menelaus are almost excl usively

called B ij ya d except that it s uits the metre This
,
o v a o c, .

belongs t o the improvisatore the negligent the ball ad style , ,

.

‘
Th e word aw n ing whi c h I with others render ashen ,

speared is said o f Priam of Panth us and o f sons o f

,
’
, ,

Pan th u s Mr Arnold reb ukes me p 3 09 fo r violating my

. .
, .
,

o wn principles I say o n the oth er hand that Op/ A w ’

.
, , ( LG L

h as no t the e fle c t of a pe c ul iarity in t h e original while

1
,

ashen speared has the e ffect of a pec uliarity in the 20

-

English an d warlike is as markin g an e quivalent as

I dare gi v e for aw a r for fear of disturbing the balance of e ,

o n in Homer s sente nce Mr Arnold cannot write ’ ’

ex p ressi . .

a sentence o n Greek witho u t showing an ignorance hard ,

to exc use in o ne who th u s comes forward as a vitu perating

censor Warlike is a word c urrent in th e lips an d books o f
.

all Englishmen at l a s; 9 is a word never used never I

believe in all Gre ek literature by any o ne but H
.
, ,

, omer If ,
.

he does but t urn t o Liddell an d Scott he will see their ,

statement that the Attic form / h i s is only to be found 30

, ev i e a

in grammars He is here as always wrong in his facts

.
, ,
.

Th e word is most s ingul ar in Greek more singul ar by far

than ash en spe ar d in English becau se it is more obsc ure
-
’
, ,

as is its spe cial application to one o r two persons and in

truth I have doubte d wheth er we any better understand
Eumelian Priam than Ge re nian Nestor —M r Arnold . .

pre sently imp utes to me the opinion that X r w means ‘

i e
'

a cloak which h e do es n o t disp u te : but if I h ad th ought it

,
’

1
Of ur n p uliarity f phra h a th fi ct f p uli ity n a
co se o ec o se s e e e o ec ar o

man f
w h o h as impe r e c t ac u ain tan ce with t h e de icac ies q l l
o f a. ang uage
wh o, fo r instance, t h in s t h at é k
ep o s means 60 0 A : mq
 P ECULI AR EPITH ETS 361

necessary t o be literal I m ust have rendered Xa x rw s ,

o t
’
ve

brazen shirted He s uggests to me the rendering braz en

-
.
f

c oated which I have used in l l 4 2 8 5 and elsewhere

’
. .
, ,

I have also u sed brazen clad and I now prefer brazen -

,
’

mail d
’
I here Wish onl y to press that Mr Arnold s criti
.
’
.
’

sm proceeds o n a false fact: Homer s epithet w as n o t ’

ci

a familiar word at Athens (in any other se nse than as

B urns o r Virgil may be familiar to Mr Arnold ) but was .
,

strange unknown even to their poets hence his demand

,

1 0 that I shall u se a word already familiar in English poetry

is dou bly b aseless Th e later poets o f Greece have plenty
.

o f words beginning with X M bu t this one word is a o

excl usively Homer s — Everyt hing that I have n o w said

’
,

may be repeated still more pointedly concerning film y/ 28 9 1. 6 ,

inasmuch as directing attention to leg armour is peculiarly -

qu aint N o o ne in all Greek literature (as far as I know )

.

names the word but Homer and yet Mr Arnold t urns o n .

me with his ever reiterated ever u ns upported assertions , ,

and cens ures o f course ass uming that the scholar is with
,

20 him I have no theory at han d to explain why he regar ds

.
( ,

his o w n word to s uffice witho ut attempt at proof ) Th e .

epithet is intensely peculiar ; and I observe that Mr Arnold .

has not dared to s uggest a translation It is clear to me .

that he is ash am ed o f my poet s odditie s and has no mode ’

of escaping from them but by bl untly denying facts .

Equ ally pec ul iar to Homer are the words v wi pa d rrh s vet ,
T a v ire o

and twenty others — e qu ally un known to Attic the peculiar

,

compound MfiSns (adopted from Homer by Pindar )

,
ue ,

about all which he carps at me o n false grou nds B ut . .

3 0 I pass t h ese an d speak a little more at length abo u t n p

’
, s e o rre .

Will the reader allow me to vary these tedio u s details by ,

imagining a conversation between the Aristophanic Socrates

and his c lownish p upil Stre siades I s u ppose the philo
p .

sopher to be instru cting him in the higher Greek Homer ,

being th e text .

Soc No w Stre ppy tell me what p p n s d dpwm means 2

’ ‘
.
, e o e v t

S trep Let me see : t at m st mean half faced

’ ’
.
p m s ? h u ,
ue o -
.

S o c N onsense sill y fell ow : t hink again

.
, .

S trep Well then : n p half eyed squinting ’

- e -
. e ons , , .

40 Soc N o .
y o u are playing th e fool it is not o ur 6 in 11

dil p a Kdr rrp v but another sort o f in

/o l, cz
‘
o , .
362 H OME RIC TR A NS LATION
Why yo u yesterday told me that w mra w as
Strep .
, o
‘
wine faced and a 00 ra blaz ing fac ed something like
-
, 1 1 -
,

o ur a idi
oi b .

Ah ! well : it is not so wonderful that yo u go wrong

Soc . .

It is true there is also p gl m p ip fl ll Those migh t

, o r
,
e
’
o , VO l .

mislead yo u ; is rather pec ul iar No w cannot yo u .

t hink o f any charac teristic o f mankind which p p rr s will

’
, e o e

express How do men differ from other animals

.

Strep I have it ! I heard it fr o m your youn g friend

.

Eu clid man is a cooking animal 1 0 ’

M p gl rri 1 Grm s
' ’
. e o / ec v 1 1/ i e ,
.

Soc Y o u st upid lo ut
. what are yo u at ? Wh at do yo u
mean
Strep Why ; p ll from 1 l
. I distrib ute ,
sa u ce
'
LC O l , 1 1 , , .

Soc No n o : {film h as the 6 1 with radical immovable

.
, y 11,

9 in it but here 5 is the root and g is movable 71 , .

Strep No w I ha v e go t it ; ,m pw I distrib u te 6 6 5 j uice

’
.
, , 71 1 ,

rennet .

S oc Wre tched man ! yo u m u st forget yo ur larder and

.

yo ur dairy if ever yo u are to learn grammar C ome

,
— .
,

Streppy leave rustic words and think o f the langu a e o f 2 0

the g o ds Did yo u ever hear o f the brilliant goddess C
,

.
-
irce
and o f her m KuArp or .
'

S trep O h yes ; Circe and her beau tiful face .

Soc Itold yo u no
.
yo u forgetf ul fellow It is A N O TH E R , .

01 1 No w I will ask yo u in a di fferent w ay Do yo u know

. .

why w e call fishes M or ; e

S trep I s u pose be ca use they are cased in scal e s

p .
,
.

S oc That s n o t it
. i —
(A n d yet I am n o t s ure Perhaps .

the fellow is right after all — Well we will not speak any
more o f m m s B ut did yo u never hear in Euripides m3 0
.
, ,

o .
, oi

£34 y ywv i 6
0 e What does that mean 2
e v
‘
-
7 1 01
‘

Strep I am n o t able to shout o ut

. 3 ,
(11 7 1 0 1 1 0 1

S oc No no Stre ppy : but Euripides often uses 5 m

.
, ,
7 .

takes it from Homer and it is akin to é n o t to our 6 ,

rr, 71

an d m u ch less t o n What does mymean 2 iro

-
01.
”
(
‘

S trep It means s u ch lines as the diviners sing

. .

S oc So it does in Attic bu t Ho mer u ses it for pnuam

.
, ,

words indeed we also sometimes .

S trep Y es ye s I do know it All is right

.
, ,
. .

Soc I think yo u do
. well and 6 1 means a voice 95 mm 40 .
, 11 ,
1 .

S trep How yo u learned men like t o p uz z le us 1 I often

.
3 64 HOMERIC TR ANS LATION
beca use we all know what vo ice means but they had to be ,

taugh t s cholastically what 6m meant ; nor woul d easily

g ess that in p p d had a sense differing from 6 1 in
’
u c o / , 11

alum/
r 19 11 idi /
r
, i11
p l
r 0 1 , d
xp /
a tr Finally since
o f vri o /
,
’
o .
,
’

p p
e on e
s is only fo u n d in the pl ural it remains an open ,

q uestion whether it does not mean speaking variou s

,

lang uages Mr Arnold will find that Stephanus and Scap ula
.
’
.

treat it as doubtful though Liddell and Scott do not ,

name the second interpretation I desired to leave in the .

English all the uncertainty o f the Greek : bu t my critic 1 0

is unenc u mbered with s uc h cares .

Hitherto I have been u nwillingly thrown into nothing

but antagonism to Mr Arnold who thereby at least ad ds .
,

tenfold val ue to his praise and makes me pro ud when he ,

declares that the structure o f my sentences is good and

Homeric For this I give the credit to my metre which
.
,

alone confers on me this cardinal advantage B ut in t urn .

I will compliment Mr Arnold at the expense of some other .

critics He does know and they do not the difference of

.
, ,

fl ow ing and sm oo th A mo untain torrent

. is flowing bu t 20 ,

often very ro ugh ; s uch is Homer Th e staircases of .

Neptune on th e canal of Langu edoc are smooth but do ,

not flow : yo u have to descend abruptly from each level

to the next It woul d be unj u st to say absol utely that s uch
.
,

is Pope s smoothness yet often I feel this cens ure would

’
, ,

not be too severe Th e rhyme forces him to so frequ ent

.

a change o f the nominative that he becomes painfully ,

discontin u o u s wh ere Homer is what Aristotle calls long

,
‘

link ed At th e same time in o ur langu age in order to

.
’
, ,

impart a flowin g style good stru cture does n o t s uffice 3 0 ,

.

A principle is nee ded unknown to the Greeks ; viz the ,

.

natural divisions o f the sentence oratorically must coincide ,

with the di v isions o f the verse musically To attain this .

always in a long poem i s very diffic u lt to a translator who

,

is scrupul ou s as to tampering with the sense I have not .

always been su ccessful in this B ut before any critic passes .

o n me the general sentence that I am deficient in flo w ’

,

let him count up the proportion o f instances in which he

can j ustly make the complaint and mark whether they ,

o ccu r in ele v ated passages .

I shall now speak of the peculiarities of my diction under ,

 A NTIQ U E EN GLIS H 3 65

three hea ds 1 old or antiqu ated words 2 coarse words

. .

expressive of o utward actions but having no moral colour ,

3 words o f which the sense h as degenerated in modern days

1 Mr Arnold appears to regard what is antiq
. .

. . u ated as
igno ble I think him as u s ual in f undamental error In
.
, , .

general the nobler words come from ancient style and ,

in no case can it be said that o ld words (as s uch ) are ignoble

To introd u ce s u c h terms as w hereat th erefro m q
.

u o th be , , ,

ho lden steed erst anon anent into the midst o f style which
, , , , ,

1 0 in all other respects is modern and prosaic wo ul d be like to ,

that which w e often hear from half ed u cated people Th e -

.

want o f harmony makes us regard it as low minded and -

u nco uth From this cau se (as I suspect ) h as stolen into

.

Mr Arnold s mind the fallacy that the words themselves

.
’
,

are u ncouth B ut the word sare excellent if onl y they are

1
.
,

in proper keeping with the general styl e No w it is very —

possible that in some passages few o r many I am open to

, , ,

the charge o f having mixed old and n ew style u nskilful ly

but I cannot admit that the o ld words (as s u ch ) are ignoble .

2 0 No o ne so speaks o f Spenser s dialect nay nor o f Thomson s ;

’ ’
, ,

although with Thomson it w as ass umed exactly as by me , ,

but to a far greater extent and withou t any s u ch necessity ,

as urges me A s I have stated in my preface a broad

.
,

tinge of antiquity in the style is essential to make Homer s ,

’

barbaric p uerilities and eccentricities less offensive (Even .

Mr Arnold would ad mit this if he admitted my facts but

.
,

he denies that there is anything eccentric antiqu e qu aint , , ,

barbaric in Homer : that is h is only way of resisting my

conclusion ) If Mr Gladstone were able to give his valu able
. .

30 time to work o u t an entire Ili ad in his refined modern style ,

I feel confident that he woul d find it impossible to deal

1
Id n t ot h at M r Arno l d h a any righ t t r pr a h m b au
o see s o e o c e, ec se
n t kn w S p n r w rd bragly (whi h I may h av u d
.

’
eh d o es o o e se s o c e se
t wice in th e Iliad) , o r Dr de n y
w o rd p u mp, fo r a mass
’
Th e o rmer
s l ’
f
l
.

is so ne ar in so u nd t o brag an d braw , t h at an Eng ish man w h o is o nc e

l
to d th at it means pro u d
’
ly
fine, o ugh t th enc e o rward t o find it e r f v y
ll bl
inte igi e l bl
t h e atte r is a n o e m o di c atio n o f t h e u gar lump Th at fi vl
y
.

h e c an c arp as h e doe s against t h ese w o rds and against bulkin (= o u ng

b l k l bl
ul o c ) as u ni gi e , is a te st imo n h o w itt e I h a e impo sed o f
nte l i y l l v
ffi l y
di cu t o n my re aders Th o se w h o no w lambkin c anno t find bulkin k
v y bv l P l
.

S
e r h ard ince w riting th e a o e , I see a e arne d write r in t h e hio
l lM ll by l l
.

o gica u se u m i ustrat es lm ; th e o l d Eng i sh ph rase a p ump

’
o f Spe ars.
3 66 H O MERIC TR ANS LATION
faithfully w ith th e eccentric ph raseology and with the
negligent parts of the poem I have th e testimony o f an .

u nfriendly reviewer that I am the first and on ly translator

,

that h as dared to give Homer s constant epithets and not ’

conceal his forms o f tho ught o f course I coul d not have

done this in modern style Th e lisping o f a child is well .

enough from a child but is disgusting in a ful l grown man

,
-
.

C owpe r and Pope systematically cut o u t from Homer what

ever they cannot make state ly and harmonize with modern ,

style even Mr Brandreth often shri nk s though he is brave 1 0

.
,

enough to say oar eyed Juno Who t h en can do ubt the ex

-
.

treme unfi tness o f their metre and o f their modern diction

My opposers ne v er fairly meet the argument Mr Arnold . .
,

when most gratuitou sly censuring my mild rendering of

x vv ds xa xop nxdvo v do es no tdare to suggest any
English fo r it himsel f . Even Mr . Brandreth skips it It is .

n o t merely offensive simplest

words but the purest and
phrases as a man s
,
’
dear life , dear knees or his
tightly ’
,

b uil t house are a stumbling block to translators No

,
’
-
.

stro nger proof is necess ary o r perhaps is possible than 20 , ,

these phenomena give that t o shed an antiqu e h u e over ,

Homer is o f first necessity to a translator : Without it in ,

ju sti ce is done both t o the reader and to the poet Whether .

I have managed the styTe well is a separate question and , ,

is matter o f detail I may have sometimes done well

.
,

sometimes ill but I claim that my critics shall j udge me

from a broader ground and shall n o t pertinaciou sly go o n
,

c omparin g my vers ion with modern style and condem ning ,

me as (what they are pleased to call ) inelegant because ,

it is n o t like refined modern poetry when it specially 30 ,

avoids to be su ch They never deal thus with Thomson

.

o r Ch atterton any more than with Sh akspe are o r Spenser

, .

There is no sharp distinction possible between the foreign

and the antiqu ated in language Wh at is obsolete with us .
,

may still live somewhere as what in Greek is called Poetic ,

or Homeric may at t h e same time be living Aeolic So

,
.
,

whether I take a Word from Spe nser or from Scotland is ,

generally unimportant I do n o t remember more than four

.

Scotch words which I have occasionally adopted fo r co n

,

v enien c e ; viz C allant yo u ng man ; C anny right minded ; 40 -

.
, ,

B e nny h andsome ; to Skirl to cry sh rilly

,
A trochaic , .
3 68 H O ME RIC TR A NS LATION
t ive s derived from them indicative of strong physical ac tion , .

F o r these words (which I make no dou bt Mr Arnold , , .

regards as ignoble plebeians ) I claim Q uiritarian rights : ,

but I do n o t wish them to displace patricians from high

service Such verbs as sw eat haul p lump maul yell bang
.
, , , , , ,

sp lash smash thump tug scud sp raw l sp an k & c

, , , I hold , , , , .
,

( in the ir p urely physical sense ) to be eminently epical for

the epic revels in descriptions o f violent action to which
they are s uited Intense m usc ular exertion in every form
.
,

inte nse physical action o f the s urrounding elements with 1 0 ,

i ntense ascription o r description of size o r colour

together make u p an immense fraction of the poem To .

c ut o u t these words i s t o emasc ulate the epic Even Pope .

admits s u ch words My eye in turning his pages w as j ust .

n o w caught by : They t ug they sweat Who will say ’

.
,

that tug sweat are admissible but bang smash

,
’
, ,
’
,
’

sp u tter are inadmissible Mr Arnold resents my saying .

that Homer is often homely He is homely expressly .

because he is natural Th e epical diction admi ts both the .

g igantesq u e and the homely it inexorably ref u s e s the c o n 2 0

v e n tio n al u nder which i
,
s comprised a vast mass of w h at

some wrongly call elegant B ut while I j u stify the use of .

homely words in a primary physical I deprecate them in ,

a secondary moral se nse Mr Arnold clearly is d ul l to this . .

distinction o r he woul d not u tte r against me the following

,

tau nt p 3 00
,
.

To grun t and sweat u nder a weary load does perfectly

well where it c omes in Sh akspe are : but if the translator o f
Homer w h o will hardly have wound up o ur minds to the
,

pitch at which these words o f Haml et find them were t o so ,

employ when he h as to speak o f Homer s heroes un der the

,
’

load of calamity this figure of grun ting and sweating

, ,
’

w e sho uld say He Newmaniz es

’
.
,

Mr Arnold here not onl y makes a mistake he propagates

.
,

a slander ; as if I h ad ever used s u ch words as grunt and

sweat morall y If Homer in t h e Iliad spoke of grunting
.

swin e as h e does o f sweating steeds so sh ould I A s t h e

, ,
.

c oarse metaph ors here q u oted from Sh akspe are are u tterly
opposed to Homer s style to obtru de them o n him woul d ’
,

be a gross offence Mr Arnold sends his readers away w ith 40

. .

the belief that this is my practice though he h as not dared ,

 COARSE METAPHO R 3 69

to a ssert it I bear s uch coarseness in Sh akspeare not

.
,

b ecause I am wound up to a high pitch by him borne ,

away by a mighty c urrent —(which Mr Arnold with .

,

ingenio us unfairness to me ass umes to be certain in a ,

re ader of Sh akspe are and all but impossible in a reader of

Homer) but because I know that in Sh akspe are s time all
—
,
’

lite rature w as coarse as was the speech o f courtiers and of

,

the qu een herself Mr Arnold imp utes to me Sh akspe are s

. .
’

c oarseness from which I instinctively shrink ; and when

,

his logic leads to the concl u sion he Sh akspe ariz es he

,

‘ ’
, ,

with grat uitous rancour turns it into he N e w maniz es .

’

Some words which with the Biblical translators see m to

have been noble I shoul d n o t now dare t o use in the
,

primitive sense F o r instance His iniquity shall fall

.
,

upon his own p ate Y et I think p ate a good metaphorical

.
’

word and have used it o f the se a waves in a bold passage -

, ,

Il xiii 7 9 5
.
,

y
Th e n on rush d t h e , w ith we igh t and mass
’
i e t o a t ro u o us W h ir lk bl l
w in d,
f l Jv
20 Which ro m t h e t h un de rc o u d o f o e do w n o n t h e c h ampaign plu mpe th ,
A nd do t h t h e rin b yfl
oo d r wit h an u n e arth
e st i b u pro ar : ly
Th e n in t h e e v erbraw ling se a ul man a ill o w spl ash e th ,f l y b
H ll
o o w , an d bl
a d with h o ar p ate , o n e raci y
ng a te r o t h e r f .

mighty "
Is t h ere really no c urrent here to sweep
,

f petty criticism
of
I have a remark on the strong physical word plumpe th
here u s ed It is fundamentally Mil ton s pl umb down he
.
’

drops ten thousand fathom deep ; p lumb and p lump in

this sense are clearly the same root I c onfess I h ave not .

3 0 been able t o find the verb in an o ld writer th o u h it is so

g ,

common now Old writers do not say to plumb down

.
,
’

but to drop pl u mb down Perhaps in a second e dition ’

.

(if I reach t o it ) I may alter t h e words to pl u mb

,

droppeth on this groun d ; but I do t urn sick at the mawk

ish n e ss o f critics o n e of whom who o ug h t to know better
, , ,

tells me th at the word p lu mp reminds him of the crinolined

hoyden o f a boarding school If he h ad said It is t o o
-
,

l ke
i t h e p ase a sailor o f a peasant — o f a schoolboy
h r o f —
, , ,

this obj ection woul d be at least intelligible However .

word is inte nded to express the vio len t imp act of a body
descending from aloft —an d it do es expr e ss it
ARN LD
, .

O B b
370 11 0 111111 10 TR ANS L ATIO N

Mr Ar nold cens ures me for representing Achil lesasyelling

. .

He is depicted by the poet as in the most violent ph ysical

rage boiling over w ith passion and wholly un co nt ro uled
, .

He smacks h is tw o thig h s at once he rolls on the gro und ,

W he d fil his hair with d t he rends it

,
ué ; a e a r /
e es us
, y F y t

he grinds his teeth fire flashes from his eyes but— h e may
not yell that woul d not be comme il fau t We shall agree
,
’
,

that in peace nothing so becomes a h ere as modest still

ness ; but that Pele us so n insatiate of combat full o f the ’
, ,
’

fiercest pent up passion sho uld vent a little o f it in a yell 1 0

-
, ,

seems to me q uite in place That the Greek 1 1w is not . 0

necessarily t o be so rendered I am aware but it is a very ,

vigoro us word like peal and shriek neither o f which would

,

here s uit I sometimes render it skirl but battle yell

.
-

is a rec eived rightf ul phrase Achill es is not a stately .

Virgilian p ius A eneas but is a far Wil der barbarian ,

.

After Mr Arnold h as laid u pon me the sins o f Sh akspe are

.
,

he amazes me by ad din g p 3 0 1 Th e idiomatic lang u age , .

”
o f Sh akspe are — su ch langu a ge as , prate o f his whereabou t ,

m
“
j” p
u t h e life to come t h e damnation o f hi s tak in g 20
q
,
”
of f, u ie tu s m ak e with a bare b o dkin sho u l d be care ,

f ully observed by the translator o i Homer ; although in

every c ase he will have t o decide for himself whether th e ,

use by him of Sh akspeare s liberty will o r will not clash

’
, , ,

with his indispensable duty o f nobleness .

’

O f the Sh akspearianisms here italicized by Mr Arnold .

,

there is n o t one wh ich I coul d endure to adopt His .

whereabo ut I regard as the flatte st prose (Th e word

,
’
.

p r ate is a plebeian w hi ch I ad m it in its own l o w places b u t

h o w Mr Arnol d can approve of it consistently with his 30
.
,

attacks o n me I do not understand ) Damnation and , .

T aking o ff (fo r G u ilt and Murder ) an d J ump I absol u tely

-
, ,

rej ect and quietu s make woul d be nothing but an

u t terly inad missible q uo tatio n from Sh akspe are Ju mp as .

an ac tive verb is to me monstrous but Jump is j ust th e ,

sort o f modern prose word which is not noble L eap B ou nd .

, ,

for great action S kip F risk Gambo l for smaller are all good
, , , , ,
.

I have shown against Mr Arnold (1 ) th at Homer was .

,

o ut and o u t
-
antiqu ated to the Athenians even when
-
,

perfe ctly u nderstood by th em ; (2 ) th at his conc eptions 40 ,

similes p h raseology and epithets are habituall y qu aint

, ,
372 H O MERIC TR A NS LATION
always s uit and wench is the natural word I do not
, .

know that I have used it three time s but I claim a right o f ,

u sing it and protest against allowing the heroes o f slang to

,

deprive us o f ex cellent words by t h eir perverse mis use If .

the imaginations o f some men are always in satire and in

l o w slang so m uch the worse for t h em
, but the more W e
yield to s uch demands the more will be exac ted I expect , .
,

before long to be told that brick is an ignoble word meaning

, ,

a j oll y fell ow and that sell cut are o ut o f place in Homer

, ,
.

My metre it seems is inad missible with some because it is 10

, , ,

the metre o f Y ankee Doodl e ! as if Homer s metre were ’

n o t that o f the M argites Every noble poem is liable to be .

travestied as the Iliad and Aeschyl us and Sh akspeare have

,

been Every b urlesq ue writer uses the noble metre and

.
,

caricatures the noble style Mr Arnold says I m ust n o t . .

,
‘
render ra ém x s trailing ro b d because it reminds him
v rr o -
’
,
’

‘
of long petticoats sweeping a dirty pavement What a .
’

confession as to th e state o f his imagination ! Why no t o f ,

‘
a q ueen s robe trailing o n a marble pavement ? Did he
’ ’

never read 20
’

11 2V éxevev éavov narpes 155 6 1 Y

'
weie v xar
‘
érr 0

I have digress ed : I return to words which have been

mis understood A second word is o f more importance
.
,

Imp which properly means a Graft Th e best translation .

of I An to m m n is O imp Leda for ’

ds E i d f !
y
()
p s a vo o , ,

neither bud o f Leda nor scion o f Leda satisfy me ,

’

‘ ‘
m u ch less sprig o r sh oot o f Le da Th e theological
’ ’
.

Writers so often u se d the p h rase imp o f Satan for c h ild

‘ ‘ ’

o f the devil that (since B unyan the vul gar no longer

’
,

u nderstand t h at imp means scio n child and s uppose it to 3 0 , ,

mean little de vil A R eviewer has omitted to give his ’

.

unl earned rea ders any explanation o f the word (tho ugh I
carefully explained it ) an d call s down their indignation upon
me by his cens ures which I hope proceeded from careless ,

ness and ignorance

E ven in Spenser s Fairy Q ueen the word retains its right
’

ful and noble sense

Well w o rt h y imp ! t h en said the l dy
a , &c .
,

and in North s Plutarch ’

,
‘
He took up on him to protect him from them
- all, and 40
 MISUS ED WOR DS 37 3

not to su ffer so goodly an imp [Alcibiades] to lo se the good

fruit of h is youth .
’

Dryden u ses the verb To imp to graft insert , ,

.

I w as q uite aware that I claim ed o f my readers a certain

strength o f mind when I bid them to forget the defile men t s
,

which vul garity has shed over the noble word Imp and ,

carry their imaginatio ns back tw o o r three centuries bu t I

did not calc ulate that any critic woul d call Dainty grotesqu e .

This word is equivalent in meaning to Delicate and Nice ,

but h as precisely the epical character in whi c h both those

words are deficient F o r instance I say that after the.
, ,

death o f Patrocl us the coursers stood motionl ess

, ,
’

Dro o ping tbward th e gro un d th e ir h eads an d l

do wn th eir p ainti e v
y lid
,

e e s
k
Did w arm tears tric l e t o th e gro und th e ir c h ario te er ewailing b
v yk
.
,

De filed were th eir dainty manes o e r th e o e strap dro pping ,

-
.

A critic who objects to this has to learn English from my ,

translation Does he imagine that Dainty can mean

.

nothing bu t over particul ar as to food -

20 In th e compound Dainty ch eek d Homer shows his o w n -

’
,

epic pec u liarity It is imitated in the similar word m dpg c

. ez
’
o

applied to the Gorgon Medusa by Pindar bu t no t in the

Attics I have somewhere read that the ru dest conception
.
,

of female beauty is that o f a brilliant red p lump cheek

s uch as an English clown admires ( was this What Pindar ”

meant the second stage looks to the delicacy o f tint

in the cheek ; (this is Homer s e ipp ; th e third looks ’
xa a o

to shape (this is the ail/ 1 35 9 of the Attics the formo sus of

1 0 11 0 ,

the Latins and is seen in the Greek sc ul pture ) the fourth

,

30 and highest looks to moral expression this is the idea of

Christian Europe That Homer rests exclusively in th e
.

second or semibarbaric stage it is not for me to say but as , , ,

far as I am able to give to the readers o f my translation

,

materials fo r th eir own j udgment From the vagu e word .

1528 9 sp ecies ap p earan ce it cannot be positively inferred

0 , , ,

Whether th e poet h ad an eye for Shape Th e epithets c url .

eyed and fine ankled decid edly s uggest that he had excep t
-

th at his application o f the former to the entire nation o f th e

Gree ks makes it seem to be o f foreign tradition and as ,

40 unreal as brazen mailed -

.
 H OMERIC TR A NS LATIO N
Anoth er word which h as been ill understood and ill used - -
,

is dapp er O f the epith et dappe rgre av d fo r éii my ts I

.
’
x u

certainl y am n o t enamoured but I have no t yet foun d a ,

better rendering It is easier to carp at my phrase than t o

.
,

sug est a better Th e word dapp er in Dut ch = German

.

tap er ; and like the Scotch braw o r brave means with u s

fi g
ne a,
llant elegant I have read,
the line o f an o ld poet .
,

Th e da ppe r w o rds w hic h lv

o e rs use ,

‘
for eleg ant I s uppo se ; and so the dapper does and
,
’

dapper elv es o f Mil ton m ust refer to elegance o r refine d 1 0

beauty What is th ere igno ble in s uch a word
.
1
Elegant
‘
and pretty are inadmissible in epic poetry : dapper
’

is logically eq uivalent and has the ep ic colour Neither , .

‘ ”
fair n o r co mely here s uit A s t o the school trans
’
.

lation w ellgre av d every common Englishman o n hear

’
,
’

ing th e sound receives it as w e llgrie ve d and t o me it is ,

’

very u npleasing A part o f the mischief a large part o f

.
,

it is in th e word greave for dapp er girdled is o n th e Whole

,
-

well received B ut what else can we say fo r greave 9

-
.

leggings gambados 2 ‘

Muc h perhaps remains to be learnt concerning Homer s ’

perpetu al epithets My very learned coll eag ue Go ldstiicker

.
,

Professor o f Sanscrit is convinced that the epithet cow eyed ,

-

o f the Homeric J uno is an echo o f the notion o f Hin doo

‘
poets that (if I remember his state ment ) the s unbeams are
,

the co ws o f heaven Th e sacred qu alities o f the Hindoo .

’

c o w are perhaps not to be forgotten I have myself be en .

str uck by the phrase S rr r s rdpr r as akin to the idea u e

'
eo no o o

th at the Ganges falls from Mount Meru the Hindoo O lymp us ,

.

Also the meaning o f two other epithets h as been reveale d 3 0

t o me from the pictures o f Hindoo ladies First curl eyed .
,
-
,

t o w hich I have referred above ; secondl y ro syfingered ,

-

A urora F o r Aurora is an Eastern lady

. an d as s u ch , ,

h as the tips o f her fin gers dyed rosy red whether by henna -

,

o r by some more brilliant dr ug Wh o shall say th at the .

kings and warriors o f Homer do not derive from the East

t h eir epithet Jove nurt u re d o r th at this o r that g od dess
-

is not called gol den throned o r fair throned in allu sion - -

1
I b ov th at L rd Lytt lt n r nd r Milt n dapp r lf by s me
se r e o e o e e s o
’
s e e a

ftly m vi g
,
’
so o n .
376 H O MERIC TR A NS LATION
not to be grand Nicolas of R ussia may have been s tately
.

like Cowper Garibaldi is grand like the true Homer

, A .

diplomatic address is stately ; it is not grand no r often ,

noble To e xpect a translation o f Homer to be pervadingly

.

elegan t is abs u rd
, Homer is not s uch any more than is th e ,

side o f an Alpine mo untain Th e elegant and the pic

t ure sq
.

ue are sel dom identical however mu ch o f de licate ,

be auty may be inte rstudded in the picturesque but thi s

h as always got plenty of what is shaggy and u ncou th ,

Witho ut which contrast the full delight o f beauty woul d not 1 0

be attained I think Moore in his charac teristic way tells
.

of a beauty
S hining n hining n by n h ad w mad tend r
o s o o s o e e
ll l v f ll l l
, , ,

Ti o e a s as ee p in t h e sa meness o f sp e ndour .

Such certainl y is no t Homer s His beauty when at its ’

.
,

height is wild beauty it smells o f the mountain and the

,
'

se a . If he be compared to a noble animal it is no t to su ch ,

a spru ce ru bb ed dow n Newmarket racer as o ur smooth -

translators woul d pretend but to a wild horse o f the Do n ,

C ossac ks and if I inste ad o f this present to the reader 20 , ,

nothing but a Dandie Dinmont s pony this as a first ’

, ,

approximation is a valuable step towards the tru e solution

, .

Before the best translation o f th e Iliad of which o ur lan

gu age is capable can be prod u ced the English public has
, ,

to u nlearn th e false notion of Homer which his deliberately

fa i thless v e rsi
fi e rs have infu sed C hapman s conceits un fit .
’

his translation for instru cting the p ublic even if his rh yth m ,

j olted less if his stru cture were simpler and his dialect
, ,

more intelligible My version if allowed to be read will.

, ,

prepare the public to receive a version better than mine I so .

regard it as a question abou t to open hereafter whether a ,

translator of Homer ough t not to adopt the o ld dissyllabic

landis ho undis h artis & c
,
instead of o ur modern un
, , .
,

melodiou s lands ho unds harts wheth er th e ye o r y before

, ,

the past participle may not be restore d th e want of which

confoun ds th at participle with the past tense Even the .

final eu o f th e pl ural o f verbs (w e dancen th ey singen etc )

-
, ,
.

still s ubsists in Lancashire It deserves consi deration .

wheth er by a few s u ch slight grammatical retrogressions

into antiquity a translator o f Homer mi ght n o t add mu ch 41)
melody t o h is poem an d do g ood service to the langu age .
 O N TR A NSL A TING HO M ER
LAS T WOR DS

A LECTUR E GIV EN A T O XFOR D

B Y MATTH EW ARNO L D
‘ l
Mu ti, qui pe rse q
uuntur me , et t ribul ant me a test imo niis no n
l v
de c ina i .
’
3 80 ON TR ANS L ATIN G H O M ER
himself by B u ffon was a wise o ne His own career indeed .
, ,

admirably shows the wisdom o f it That career w as as .

gloriou s as it w as serene ; but it owed to its serenity no

sma ll part of i t s glory Th e reg ularity and comple te nes s
.

with which he grad ually b uilt up the great work which he

h ad designed the air o f eq u able majesty whi c h he shed
,

over it struck powerf ully the imagination of his con

,

tem poraries and s urrounded B ution s fame with a culiar ’

He is said Frederick the geat o f

,

respect and dignity .

,
’

him the man w h o h as best de served the great celebrity 1 0

,

which he h as acquired And this regularity o f prod u c .

’

tion this eq u ableness of te mper he maintained by his

, ,

resol ute disdain o f personal controversy .

B uffo n s example seems to me worthy o f all imitation

’
,

and in my humble w ay I mean always to follow it I never .

have replied I never will reply to any literary assailant

, ,

in s uch enco unters tempers are lost th e world laughs and , ,

tr uth is not served Le ast o f all sho uld I thi nk o f using

.

this C h air as a place from which to carry on s uc h a co n

flic t . B ut when a learned an d estimable man thinks he zo
h as reason to complain o f langu age used by me in this
C hain— when he attrib utes to me intentions and feelings
towards him which are far from my heart I o w e him some ,

explanation —and I am bound to o to make the explana

, , ,

tion as p ublic as the words which gave offence Th is is .

the reason w h y I revert once more to the s ubject of trans

lating Homer B ut being thus brought back to th at s ubject
.
,

and n o t wis hing to occ u py yo u solely with an explanation

which after all is Mr Newman s affair and mine not the
, .
’
,

p u blic s I shall take the opportunity n o t certainly to 30

,
—
,

enter into any conflict with any one but to try to establish ,
-

o ur o ld friend the coming translator o f Homer yet a little

, ,

firmer in the positions which I hope w e have n o w secured

for him ; to protect him against the danger of relaxing ,

in the confusion of dispute his attention to those matte rs ,

which alone I consider important fo r him ; to save him

from losing sight in the dust of the attacks delivered over
,

it o f the real body o f Patroclus He will probably when

,
.
, ,

he arrives requite my solicitude very ill and be in haste

, ,

to disown h is benefactor : but my interest in him is so 40

sin cere th at I can disregard h is probable ingratitude .
 LAST WOR DS 381

First however for the explanation Mr New man h as

'

. .
, ,

p ublishe d a reply t o the remarks which I made o n his

translation o f the Iliad He seems to think that the .

resp e ct which at the o utset o f those remarks I professed

for him m ust have been professed ironically he says that
‘
I use forms o f attack against him which he does not
know h o w to characterize that I speak sco rnft of
‘
him treat him with gratuito us insul t grat uitou s ranco ur
, ,

that I propagate slariders against him that I wish to ,

1 0 damage h im with my readers stimul ate my readers ’

to ,

to despise him He is entirely mistaken I respect

. .

Mr Newman sincerely ; I respect him as one o f the few

.

learned men we have o n e o f the few wh o love learning

,

for its o wn sake this respect for him I had before I read
hi s tra n slation of the Iliad I retaine d it while I was co m ,

mentin g o n that translation I have not lost it after read ,

ing his reply A ny vivacities of expression which may

.

have given him pain I sincerely regret and can only ,

ass ure him that I used them with out a thought o f insult
20 or ranco ur When I took the liberty of creating the verb
.

to Newmanise my intentions were no more rancoro us

,

than if I had said to M ilton ise when I exclaimed in my ,

astonishment at his vocab ulary With whom can Mr , .

Newman have lived ? I meant merely to convey, in

—

a familiar form of speech the sense o f bewilderment o ne ,

h as at finding a person to whom words o n e tho ught all

the world knew seem strange and words o n e thought ,

entirely strange intelligible Y et this simple expression

, .

o f my bewilderment Mr Newm an constru es into an acc usa.

30 tion that he is often guilty o f keeping low company ’

,

and says that I shall never want a stone to throw at

him And what is stranger still one o f his friends gravely
’
.
,

tells me that Mr Newman live d with the fell ows o f

.

Balliol A s if that m ade Mr Newman s glossary le ss

.
’
.
’

inex ph c able to me ! As if he coul d have got his glossary

from the fellows o f Balliol As if I coul d believe that the .
,

members o f that distinguish ed society — o f whose dis ,

course no t so many years afterwards I myself w as an

, ,

unworthy hearer were in Mr Newman s time so far ’

— .
,

40 removed from the Attic p urity of speech which w e all o f

us admired that when o ne of them called a calf a bulki
, n ,
 3 82 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER
the rest easily understood him ; o r w h en he wanted ,
'

‘
to say that a newspaper article w as proudly fin e it ’
-
,

mattered little whether he said it w as that or bragly !

No ; h is having lived with the fellows o f Balliol does n o t
explain‘
Mr Newman s glo
. ssary to me I will
’
no lon ger .

ask with whom he can have lived since that gives him ,

o ffence ; but I m ust still declare that where he got his

test o f rarity o r intelligibility fo r words is a mystery to me .

That however does not prevent me from entertainin g

, ,

a very sincere respect for Mr Newman and since he 1 0 .

,

doubts it I am glad to rei terate my expression o f it B ut

, .

the tr uth of the matter is this : I unici edl y ad mire

Mr Newman s abi lity and learning ; but think in his
’
.

translation of Homer he h as employed that ab ility and

learning q uite amiss I think he h as chosen quite the .

wrong field for turning his ability an d learning to acco unt .

I th ink that in England partly from the want o f an ,

Acad emy partly from a national habit of intellect to

,

which that want o f an Academy is itself du e there exists ,

t o o little o f what I may call a p u blic force of correct literary 2 0

opinion possessing within certain limits a clear sense of
,

what is right and wrong sound and unso und and sharply , ,

recalling men of ability and learning from any flagrant

misdirection of these their advantages I think even that .
, ,

in o ur co untry a powerful misdirection of this kind is

ofte n more likely t o s ubj ugate and pervert opinion than ,

o t o be checked and corrected by it 1

Hence a chaos o f .

fal se tendenc ies wasted e fforts impotent conclusions

, , ,

works which o ught never t o have been undertaken Any .

o n e w h o can intro du ce a little order into t his chaos by 3 0

establishing in any qu arter a single so und rule of criticism ,

a single rul e wh ich clearly marks What is right as right ,

and what is wrong as wrong does a good de ed and his ,

1
f l f
It is t h e ac t , t h at sc h o ars o f astidio us re n e men t , but o f a udg fi j
k l
me nt w hich I t hin far mo re mascu ine th an Mr rn o d s, h a e passe d
’
A l v
l l
.

a most e nc o uragi ng se nte n c e o n arge spe ci me ns o f my t rans at io n I at

Bf v
.

p res e n t c o un t e igh t su c h n am es e o re e nturi ng t o pri nt , I so ugh t

l l
.

to asce rtain h o w un earned w o me n and c hil dre n w o u d ac cept my

v erses l b l
I co u d o ast h o w c hidren and h a e ducate d w o men h a e lf v
x ll ly k q
.

e t o ed t h em, h o w gree di a wo r ing man h as i n ui re d fo r t h e m,

w it h o u t k
n o wi ng w h o w as t h e t ran s at o r — l
M R NEW A N 8 R ep ,
’
. . M ly
pp . 3 1 5 , 3 2 2 .
3 84 ON TR A NS LATING H O M ER
SoMr Newman may see h o w wi de spread a danger it
.
-

is to which he h as as I think in se tting himself to tran

, , ,

slate Ho mer fallen a prey He may be well satisfied if

, .

he can escape from it by paying it th e trib ute o f a single

work only He may j udge h o w unlikely it is that I shoul d
.

desp ise him fo r once falling a prey t o it I know far .

too well h o w exposed to it w e all are ; h o w exposed to it

I myself am At this very moment for example I am
.
, ,

fresh from reading Mr Newman s reply to my lectures

.
’
,

a re ply f ull o f that er udition in which (as I am so often 1 0

and so good nat uredly reminded but indeed I know it
-
,

witho ut being reminded ) Mr N cwman is immeas urably my .

s uperior Well the demon that p u shes us all to o ur ruin

.
,

is even no w prompting me to follow Mr Newman into .

a disc ussion abo ut the digamma and I know not what ,

providence holds me back And some day I have no .

,

do ubt I shall lect ure o n the lang u age o f the Berbers and
, ,

give him his entire revenge .

B ut Mr Newman does no t confine himself to co m

.

plain ts o n h is o wn behalf he complai ns o n H o mer s behalf 20

,
’

too He says that my statements about Greek literature

.

are agains t the most notorio us and elementary fact ;

that I do a pubh c wrong to literature by p ublishing
them ; and that the Professors to whom I appe aled in
my three Lectures wo ul d only lose credit if they sanc
,

tio ned the use I make o f their names He does these ’

.

eminent men the kindness of adding however that , ,

W hether they are pleased with this parading o f their

names in behalf o f paradoxical error he may well doubt , ,
’

and that until they endorse it themselves he shal l treat 30 ,

my process as a pi ece o f forgery He proc e eds to discuss .

’

my statements at great length and with an erudition and ,

ingenuity which nobody can admire more than I do And .

he ends by saying that my ignorance is great .

Al as ! th at is very tru e Mu ch as Mr Newman w as . .

mistaken when he talk ed o f my rancour he is entirely ,

right when he talk s o f my i gnorance And yet per v erse .

,

as it see ms to say so I sometimes fin d myself wishing

, ,

when dealin g with these matters o f poetical criti cism that ,

my i gnorance were even greater th an it is To h andl e 40 .

these matters properly there is need ed a poise so perfect ,

 LAST W OR DS 3 85

that the least overweight in any direction tends to destroy

the balance Te mper destroys it a crotchet destroys it
.
, ,

even erudition may destroy it To press to the sense o f .

the thing itself with which one is dealing no t to go o ff o n ,

some collateral iss u e abou t the thing is the hardest matter ,

in the world Th e thing itself with which o n e is here

.

dealing — the critical perception o poetic truth is o f all

,
f —
,

things the most volatile el usive and evanescent by even , ,

pressing to o impetuously after it o n e runs the risk of losing ,

1 0 it
. Th e critic o f poetry sho ul d have the finest tact the ,

nicest moderation the most free flexible and elastic

, ,

spirit imaginable he should be indeed the ondoyant e t

divers the undu lating and diverse being o f Montaigne
,
’
.

Th e less he can deal with his object simply and freely ,

the more things he has to take into account in dealing

with it the more in short he h as to encu mber himself
,
—
, , ,

so m u ch the greater force o f spirit he ne eds to retain his

elasticity B ut o ne cannot exactly have this greater force
.

by wishing fo r it so for the force o f spirit o ne h as the

, ,

20 10 ad pu t u pon it is often heavier than it will well bear .

Th e late Duke of Wellington said of a certain pe er that

‘
it was a great pity h is ed ucation had been so far t o o
mu ch for his abilities In like manner o ne often sees ’
.
,

erudition o ut o f all proportion to its owner s critical fac ul ty ’

.

Little as I know therefore I am always apprehensive in

, , ,

dealing with poetry lest even that little should prove t o o

,

mu ch for my abilities .
’

With this consciousness o f my own lack o f learning ,

nay with this sort o f acquiescence in it with this belief

, ,

30 that fo r the labo urer in the field o f poetical criticism

learning has its disadvantages — I am not likely to disp ute ,

with Mr Newman about matters o f erudition All that he

. .

says o n these matters in his R eply I read with great

interest in general I agree with him but only I am sorry ,

t o say up to a certain point

,
Like all learned men acc us .
,

t e med to desire definite r ules he draws his concl usions too ,

absol utely he wants to incl ude to o m uch under his rules

he does n o t qu ite perceive that in poetical criticism the
shade the fine distinction is everything and that wh en
, , ,

40 h e h as once missed this in all he says he i s in tr u th but ,

beating th e air For instance : because I think Ho mer

.

ARNOLD 0 c
3 86 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
noble he imagines I m u st th ink him elegant and in fac t
,

he says in plain wo ds that I o think him se that to

r d —
,

me Ho mer see ms pervadingly elegant B ut he does no t .

’
.

Virgi is elegant
l pe rvad ingly elegant
,
— even in passages ,
’

o f the highest emotion

0 , u b1 c amI
Spe rc h eos q ue , e t vi ni
rgi bus bacch ata n cite nis I
y
Ta ge ta 1 1

Even there Virgil tho ugh o f a divine el egance is still

, ,

elegant : but Homer is n o t elegant ; the word is quite 1 0

a wrong o ne t o apply to him and Mr Newman is q uite , .

right in bla ming any one he finds so applying it Again .

arguing agai nst my assertion that Homer is not qu aint he ,

says : It is q u aint to call wa v es wet milk white blo o d , ,

dusky horses single hoofed words winged Vul c an L o b

,
-
fo o t , ,

( K M urr Siwo) a spear

o v lo,
ngsh ad o w y and s o o n I find ,
’
.

I know n o t h o w many distinctions to draw here I do .

not think it q u aint to call waves wet or mil k white o r , ,

W ords winged ; but I do think it q u aint to call horses

si ngle hoofed o r V ulcan L o b
-
, foo t o r a spear lo ng shad o wy , .

A s to calling blood dusky I do not feel q uite s ure I will ,

tell Mr Newman my opinion when I see the passage in

.

which he calls it so B u t then again becau se it is qu aint

.
, ,

to call Vulcan L o bfoo t I cannot admit that it w as q u aint

,

t o call him K M rr Blw no r that beca u se it is q u aint to

v o o v ,

call a spear longshadowy it w as qu aint to call it 8 1 x6 , 0 1

crm Here Mr Newman s erudition misleads him : he

o v. .
’

knows the literal valu e o f the Gree k so well that he thinks ,

h is literal rendering identical with the Greek and that the ,

Greek mu st stand or fall along with his rendering B ut 3 0 .

the real question is not wheth er he h as given u s so to

, ,

speak f ull change fo r the Greek bu t how h e gives us our

, ,

c h ange : we want it in gold an d he gives it us in copper , .

Again : It is qu aint says Mr Newman to address ,

.
,

a young friend as O Pippin ! — it is qu aint to compare

Aj ax t o an ass whom boys are belabouring Here too .
’
, ,

Mr Newman goe s mu ch t o o fast and his category o f

.
,

qu aintness is too comprehensive To ad dress a young .

1
O f r th fi l d f Th aly and th tr am f Sp r h i ! Oh
o e e s o ess e s e s o e c e os
ll l v
fo r t h e hi s a i e with t h e dances of th e L aco nian maidens , t h e hi ll s of
Taygetus 1 — Georgics, ii, 4 8 6 .
3 88 ON TR A NS LATING H O M ER
to the Ho meric colo ur ; and I maintain that forward ,

in mass the Troj ans pitch d would be an irreprovable ’

,

rendering He actu ally gives u s all that as if it were

.
’

a piece o f scientific deduction ; and as if at the e nd he , ,

had arrived at an incontrovertible conclu sion B ut in .

,

truth one cannot settle these matters q uite in this w ay

, .

Mr Newman s general ru le may be tr ue o r fal se (I dislike

.
’

to meddl e with general r ules ) bu t every part in what ,

follows m ust stand or fall by itself and its soundness o r ,

u nso undness has nothing at all to do with the tru th o r 1 0

falseho o d o f Mr Newman s general rule He first gives .
’
.
,

as a strict rendering of the Greek Th e Troj ans knocked ,

forward (o r th umped b utted forward) in close pack

, , , .
’

I need no t say that as a strict rendering o f the Greek ,

this is good —all Mr Newman s strict renderings of the

, .
’

Gree k are s ure to be as s u ch good but in close pack , , ,

’

for 1 1 1 5 1 see ms to me to be what Mr Newman s

1 0 1 ,
.
’

re nderin are not always an excellent p oetical render ,

—

ing o f t e Greek ; a tho u sand times be tter certainly , ,

than C owper s embattled close Well but Mr Newman 20

’
.
’
, .

“
goes o n : I believe that forward in pack the Troj ans ,

p it ch d wo ul
’
d not be
,
really u nfaithf ul to the Homeric
colo ur Here I say the Homeric colour is half washe d
.
’
, ,

o ut o f Mr Newman s happy rendering of d M s ; while ’ ’

. o ee

in pitc h d fo r wp ir rt ’
the literal fidelity o f the o v a v,

first rendering is gone while certainly n o Homeric colo u r ,

h as come in its place Finally Mr Newman concl udes : .

, .

I maintain that forward in mass the Troj ans pitch d “ ’

,
’

would be an irreprovable rendering Here in what .

’
,

Mr Newman fancies h is final moment of tri u mph Ho meric ao

.
,
'

colour an d literal fidelity have alike abandoned him

-

altogether ; the l ast stage of his translation is m u ch

worse than the second an d immeasurably worse than the ,

first .

All this to show that a looser easier method than Mr , .

Newman s mu st be taken if we are to arrive at any good

’
,

res ul t in these questions I n o w go on to follow Mr New . .

man a little further not at all as wishing to dispu te with

. ,

him but as seeking (and this is the tru e fruit w e may

gather fromcriticisms u pon us) to gain hints from him for 40
,

the e st ablishment o f some u seful truth about o ur subject ,

 LAST W OR DS 3 89

even when I think him wrong I still retain I confess .

, ,

my conviction that Homer s characteristic qu alities are ’

rapidity o f movement plainness o f words and style

, ,

simplicity and directness o f ideas and above all noble , , ,

ness the grand manner Whenever Mr Newman drops

, . .

a word awakens a train o f thought which leads me to see

, ,

any o f these characteristics more clearly I am grateful t o ,

him ; and o n e o r two s uggestions o f th is kind which he

affords are all that now having expre ssed my sorrow
, ,
—

1 0 that he sho uld have misconceived my feelings towards

him and pointed o ut what I think the vice o f his method

,

o f criticism I have to notice in his R eply

,
—
.

Suc h a s uggestion I find in Mr Newman s remarks on

’
.

my assertion that the translator o f Homer m u st n et ad o pt

a qu aint and antiqu ated style in rendering him because ,

the impression which Homer makes upon the living scholar

is not that o f a poet qu aint and antiqu ated bu t that of ,

a poet perfectly simple perfectly intelligible I added

,
.

that we cann ot I confess really know how Homer seemed

, ,

20 to Sophocles but that it is impossible to me to believe

,

that he seemed to him qu aint and antiqu ate d Mr New . .

man asserts on the other hand that I am abs urdly wrong

, ,

here ; that Homer seemed o ut and o ut qu aint and

antiqu ated to the Athenians ; that every sentence of
him was more o r less antiqu ated to Sophocles who could ,

no more help feeling at every instant the foreign and

antiqu ate d ch aracter of the poetry than an Englishman ,

can help feeling the same in reading B urn s s poe ms And ’

.
’

not only does Mr Newman say this but he h as managed

.
,

30 thoro ug hly to convince some of his readers o f it Homer s ’

.

Greek says o ne o f them certainly seeme d antiqu ate d to

,
’
,

the historical times of Greece M r Newman taking a far . .

,

broader historical and philological view than Mr Arnol d .

,

stoutly maintains that it did seem so A nd another says .

’

Do u btless Homer s dialect and diction were as hard and

’

obsc ure to a later Attic Greek as C hau cer t o an Englishman ,

’
o f o ur day .

Mr Newman goes o n to say that n o t onl y was Homer

.
,

antiqu ated relatively to Pericles but he is antiqu ated to ,

40 the living scholar

; and indeed is in himself absolu te ly
, ,

antique b eing the poet of a barbarian age He te lls us

, .
’
3 90 ON TR ANSL A TIN G H O MER
of his nexhaustible quaintnesses of his very eccentric
i ,
’

diction ; and he infers o f course that he is perfec tly , ,

right in rendering him in a qu aint and antiqu ate d style .

N o w this q uestion Whether o r no Homer see med ,

—

q uaint and antiquated to Sophoc les — I call a delightful ,

q uestion to raise It is no t a barren verbal disp ute it is

.

a qu estion drenched in matter to use an ex pressmn o f ,

’

Bacon ; 9 q uestion f ul l o f flesh and blood and o f which

.
,

the scru tiny though I still think w e cannot settle it

,

ab sol ute ly may yet give u s a directly u sef ul res ult To 1 0

, .

scru tinise it may lead u s t o see more clearly what sort o f

a style a modern translator o f Homer o ught to adopt .

Ho mer s verses were some o f the first words which

’

a young Athenian heard He heard them from h is mother .

o r hi s n u rse before he went to school ; and at school ,

when he went there he w as constantly oc c upied with ,

them So m uch did he hear o f them that Socrates pro

.

pose s in the interes ts o f morality to have selections from

, ,

Homer made and placed in the hands of mothers and

,

n urses in h is model rep ublic in order that o f an auth or 20

, ,

with whom they were s ure to be so perpet ually conversant ,

the young might learn o nl y those parts which might do

them good His language w as as familiar to Soph ocles
.
,

w e may be q uite s ure as the lang uage o f the Bible is ,

to u s .

N ay more Homer s langu age w as n o t o f course in the

,
.
’
, ,

time o f Sophocles the spoken o r written langu age o f

,

ordinary life any more than the langu age o f the Bible
, ,

any more than the langu age o f poetry is with us ; but

fo r o n e great species o f composition — epic poetry —i
,

t was 30 ,

still the current langu age ; it w as the langu age in which

every o ne who made that sort of poe try c omposed Every .

o n e at Athens w h o dabbled in epic poetr not only under

y ,

stood Homer s lang u age — h e possessed it He possessed

’
,
.

it as every o ne w h o dabbles in poetry with us possesses ,

what may be call e d the poetical vocab ul ary as distinguished ,

from the vocab ulary o f common speech and of modern

prose I mean s u ch expressions as p erch ance for p erhap s
, ,

sp ake for sp o ke aye for ever don for p ut on charme

,
d for , ,

ch arm d and tho u sands o f others

’
,
40 .

I might go to B urns and C haucer and taking words , ,

3 92 ON TR ANS LATIN G H O MER
offe r a parallel to it ; fo r the transl ator s p urpose they ’

o ffer none Th e question is n o t whether a diction is

.
,

antiq u ated for c urrent spee c h but whether it is antiqu ated ,

for that partic ul ar p urp o se for which it is employed .

A diction that is antiq u ated fo r common speech and com

mon pr o se may very well not be antiqu ated for poe try o r
,

certain special kinds of prose Peradventure there s h all .

be ten fo und there is not antiqu ated for Biblical prose ,

’
,

though for conversati on o r for a newspaper it is antiqu ated .

Th e tr umpet spake not to the arm ed throng is not 1 0 ’

,

antiquated for poetry altho ugh w e should n o t write in ,

a letter he sp ake to me o r say the British soldier

, ,
’
,

is armed with the Enfi e ld rifle B ut when langu age is .

’

antiq uated for that partic ular p urpose for which it is

employed as numbers of Chau cer s words fo r instance
—
,
’
, ,

are antiq u ated fo r poetry —s uch langu age is a bad re pre ,

v e of lang u age whic h like Homer s was never ’

se n t ati , ,

antiq u ated for t h at partic ular p urpose for which it w as

employed I imagine that t m h w for
. in a e

Homer no more so unded antiquated to Soph o cles than 20

, ,

armed for arm d in Milton so u n ds antiq u ated t o u s

’
,
bu t ,

Mr Newman s withou te n and muchel do so und to us anti

’

q
.

u ate d even for

,
po etry and therefore they d o not corre ,

sp e nd in their effect upon us with Homer s words in their ’

e ffect u pon Sophocles When C haucer who u ses s uch .

,

words is to pass c urrent amongst u s to be familiar to u s

, , ,

as Homer w as familiar to the Ath enians he h as to be ,

modernis ed as Wordsworth an d others set to work to

,

modernise h im but an Athe nian no more needed to have

Homer mo dernise d than we need to have the Bible so ,

mo dernise d o r Wordsworth himself,

.

Th erefore when Mr Newman s words bragly bulkin and

’
,
.
, ,

t h e rest are an establishe d possession o f o ur minds as

, ,

Homer s words were an established possession o f an

’

Athenian s mind he may use th em ; but not till then

’
,
.

C hau cer s words th e words of B urns great poets as these

’
, ,

were are yet n o t thu s an establish e d possession o f an

,

Englishman s min d an d t h erefore they m u st not be u sed

’
,

in rendering Homer into English .

Mr Newman has been misled j ust by doing that which 40

.

his admirer praises him for doing by taking a far b roader

‘
,
 LAST WOR DS 3 93

historical and philological view than mine Precisely ’

.

because he h as done this and h as applied the philo ‘

,

logical view where it w as not applicable but where the

’
,
‘
poetical view alone was rightly apph c able he has fallen
’
,

into error .

It is the same with him in h is remarks o n the diffi cul ty

and obsc urity o f Homer Homer I say is perfectly plain .
, ,

in speech simple and intelh gible A nd I infer from this

, ,
.

that his translator t o o ought to be perfectly plain in

, ,

speech simple and intelligible ought no t to say fo r

, , , ,

instance in rendering,

q pdxqi dw w p
’ '
O v re‘
x e a s ar éAAo u v s xv ez av

Nor liefly thee wo ul d I advance to man ennobling battle -

,
’

— and t hings of that kind Mr Newman hands me a list . .

of some twenty hard words invokes B uttmann Mr , ,

.

Malden and M B enfey and asks me if I think myself

, .
,

wiser than all the world o f Greek scholars and if I am ,

re ady to s upply the deficiencies of Liddell and Scott s ’

L ex ico n B u t here again Mr Newman errs by not , ,

.

2 0 perceiving that the q u estion is o n e n o t o f scholarship bu t ,

o f a poetical translation o f Homer This I say sho uld .

, ,

be perfectly simple and intelligible He re ph e s by .

te lh n g me that iMrr S g and 7 11 9 are hard e o e , 0 1 11 0 61

words Well but what does he infer from that

.
,
That
the poetical translator in his rendering of them is to , ,

g ive u s a sense o f the di f

f ic ulties of the scholar an d so is ,

to make his translation obscure ? If he does not mean

that h o w by bringing forward these hard words does he
, , ,

tou ch the question whether an English v ersion o f Homer

3 0 sho ul d be plain o r not plain ? If Homer s poetry as ’
,

poetry is in its general effect o n the poetical reader per

,

fe ctly simple and int elh gible the uncertainty o f the ,

sch olar about the true meaning of certain words can never
c hange t his general effect R ather will the poetry o f .

Homer make u s forget his hilo lo gy than his philology

make u s forget his poetry I
,

t may even be affirme d that .

every o ne w h o reads Homer perpetu ally fo r the sake o f

enj oying his poetry (and no o ne w h o does not so read him
wil l ever translate him well ) comes at last to form a per ,

40 fe ctly clear sense in h i s o wn mind for every important

3 94 ON TR A NSLATING H O MER
word in Ho mer s uch as 88 69 o r 31 38 9 whatever , 1 1 11 , 1 1 11 7 0 ,

t h e scholar s do ub ts abo u t the word may be A n d this

’
.

se nse is present to his mind with perfect clearness and

fulness whene v er the word rec urs although as a scholar
, ,

he may kn ow that he cannot be s ure whether this sense

is the right o n e o r n o t B ut poetically he f eels clearly .

abo ut the word altho ugh philologically he may no t Th e

, .

scholar in him may hesitate hke the father in Sheridan s ,

’

play ; but the reader o f try in him is hke the governor

fixed Th e same thin g hr
, ,

.
pp e ns to u s with o ur o w n lan 10

gu age Ho w many words occur in the Bible fo r instance

.
, ,

t o which tho usands o f hearers do n o t feel s u re they attach

the rec ise real meaning ; but they make o ut a meaning
for t em o ut o f what materials they have at h and ; and
the words heard o v er and over again come to convey this
, ,

meaning with a certainty which poetically is adeq u ate ,

tho ugh no t philo lo cally Ho w many h ave attached

!

a clear and poetic y adeq uate sense to the beam and

the mo te tho ugh not precisely the right o ne ! Ho w
,
’

clearly again have reade rs go t a se nse from Mil ton s 20

, ,
’

words grate o n their scrannel pipe s who yet might have

, ,
’

been p uzzled to write a co mmentary on the word scrannel

for the dictionary ! So w e get a clear sense from 68 69 1 1 11

as an epithet fo r grief after ofte n meeting with it and ,

finding o ut all w e can about it even though that all be ,

philologically in s ufficient : so w e get a clear sense from

as an epithet for cows A nd this his clear poetical .

sense abo u t the wo rds n o t hi s phil ological u ncertainties

,

abo ut them is what the translator h as to convey Words

,
.

h ke brag ly an d bul kin offer n o parall el t o these words 30

because the reader from his entire want of familiarity ,

with the words brag ly and bu lkin has no clear sense o f ,

them poetically .

Perplex ed by his knowledge o f the phil ological aspect o f

Homer s langu age enc u mbered by h is o wn learning Mr
’
, , .

Newman I say misses the poetical aspect misses that

, , ,

with which alone w e are here concerned Homer is odd .

,
’

he persists fixin g h is eyes o n his o wn philological analysis

,
’
o f , m f and p p r
ia e , f an d K v r Slw
’
and
e o l,n o t o n these o v,

words in their synthetic charac ter — j ust as Professor 40

Max Miiller going a h ttle farther back and fixing his
, ,
3 96 ON TR ANSL ATING H O MER
o ne gets n o fruit see king a positive resul t — th e el ucidation ,

and e st abh sh me nt o f one s ideas —o ne may get m u ch ’

.
,

Even bad criticis ms may th u s be made s uggestive and

fruitful I declared in a former lecture on this s ubj ect my
.
, ,

conviction that c riticism is not the strong point o f o ur

national l iterat ure Well even the bad criticis ms o n o ur .
,

present topic which I meet with serve to ill ustrate this con ,

vi c tio n fo r me A n d th us one is enabled even in reading

.
,

remarks which for Homeri c criticism for their immediate ,

s ubject have no val ue — Which are far too personal in spirit

, , ,

far t o o immoderate in temper and far too heavy handed in ,

-

style for the deh cate matte r they ha v e to treat — still to

, ,

gain light and confirmation fo r a serious idea and to follow

the Baconian inj unction semp er aliq
,

uid addiscere always to , ,

be ad ding to one s sto c k o f observation and knowledge

’
.

Yes even when w e have to do with writers w h o — to qu ote

, ,

the words o f an exq uisite critic the m as te r o f us all in ,

criti c ism M Sainte Be uve remind us when they handle

, .
-
,
—
,

s uch s ubj e cts as o ur present o f R omans of the fourth o r ,

fifth cent ury coming to hold forth all at random in African

, , ,

style o n papers fo un d in th e desk o f Aug ustus Maecenas o r

, , ,

Pol io e ven then w e may instru ct o urselves if w e may

l —
,
’

regard ideas and not persons even then w e may enable

ourse lves t o say with the same critic describing the effect
,

made u pon him by D A rge nso n s M emoirs : My taste is ’ ’

re volted b t I learn somet h in g

u ,
— Je su is choq ué mais j e ,
’
suis instru it .

B u t let u s pass to c riticisms which are s ug gestive directly

and n o t t h u s in directly o nl y criticisms by examining
which w e may be bro ught nearer to what immediately
interests us the right way of tran slating Homer
,
-
.

I said that Homer did not rise and sink with his s ubject ,

w as never to be c all e d prosaic an d low This gives s urprise .

to many persons who obj ect that parts o f the Iliad are ,

certainly pitch ed lower than others and who remind me o f ,

a number of absolutely level passages in Homer B ut I .

never denied that a subj ect must rise and sink , that it mu st
have it s elevated and its level regions all I deny is that a ,

poet can be said to rise and sink when all that he as a poet , ,

can do is perfectly well done when he is e rfe ctly sound

,
4

and good that is perfect as a poet in the evel regions o f

, , ,
 LAST WOR DS 3 97

b
h is s u ject as well as in its elevated regions Inde ed , what .

distinguishes the greatest masters o f poetry from all others

is, that they are perfectly sound and poetical in these level
regions o f their s u bj ect ; in these regions which are the
great diffic ul ty o f all poets bu t the very greatest , which they
never quite know wh at to do with A poet may sink in .

these regions by being falsely grand as well as by being low

he s inks in short whenever he does not treat his matter
, , ,

whatever it is in a perfectly good and poetic w ay B ut

,
.
,

so long as he treats it in t his way he cannot be sai d t o sink , ,

whatever his matter may do A passage of the simplest .

narrative is qu oted to me from Homer 1

’
dzrpvvev se fleas re v fr o cxéyevo s irre eaaw ,
- '

q ‘
M eaGA v re, I A afik dv r e, M ebo v ra r e, e epaio
é
' '
v re
'

and I am asked whether Homer does n o t sink there ; ,

w hether he can have inten ded s u ch h u es as those for

poetry My answer is Those h nes are very good poe try
indeed poe try o f the best class in that p lace B ut when
, , .

Wordsworth having to narrate a very plain matte r tries

, ,

30 no t to sink in narrating it tries in short to be what is falsely

1 , , ,

call ed poetical he does sink although he sinks by being

, ,

pompous not by being low , .

Onward w dr v b n ath th Ca tl augh t

e o e e e e s e c

Whil e M l B idg l
,

cro ssi
ng agda en r e, a g impse of Cam,
A nd at the H o o p ah gh te d f m , a ous inn .

That last hn e shows excellently how a poet may sink with

his s u bject by resolving n o t to sink with it A page or two .

further o n , th e s ubject rises to grandeur , and then Words

worth is nobly worthy of it
30 Th e ante ch ape l w h ere t h e st atue st o o d
Of N wt l f
,

e on with his prism and sie nt ac e ,

Th e mar e inde bl x of a min d fo r e v er
Vy
o aging t h ro ugh strang e se as o f th o ugh t , l
a o ne .

B ut the s upreme poet is he who is thoroughl y sound and

poetical ahke when his s ubject is grand and when it is
, ,

plain with him the s ubj ect may sink but never the poet , .

B ut a Dutch painte r does n o t rise and sink with his sub

— Defoe in M oll F landers does n o t rise and sink with
je ct , , ,

1
Iliad, xv n , 21 6 .
3 98 ON TR A NSL A TIN G H O MER
his s ubject , — in so far as an artist cannot be said to sink who
is so und in his treatment o f h is s ubject , however plain it is
yet Defoe , yet a Dutch painter , may in o ne sense be said to
s ink with their s ubj ect , because though sound in their treat «

ment o f it , they are not p o etical , — poetical in the tru e , n o t

t h e false sense o f the word because , in fact , they are not
in the grand style Homer can in no sense he said to sink
.

his s u bject , beca u se his so undness h as something more

than h te ral naturalness abou t it be cause h is soundness is
the soundness of Homer , o f a at epic poet bec au se , in
fact , he is in the grand style 0 he sheds over the simplest
.

matte r he to uches the charm o f his grand manner he

makes everything noble Nothing h as raised more ques .

t io nin g among my c ritics than the se words , —n o ble, th e

g r an d style. People complain that I do not define these
words s ufficiently , that I do no t tell them enough abo ut
them . Th e grand style , but what is the grand style -

-
they cry some with an inch n atio n t o be h e ve in it , but
p uzzled others moc kingly and with increduh t Alas
the grand style is the last matter in the world or verbal 2
definition to deal with adequ ate ly ne may say of it as is . O
said o f faith O
ne must feel it in order to know what it is ’
.

B ut , as o f faith , so too o n e may say of nobleness , o f the

grand style Woe to those w h o know it n o t et this Y
expression , though indefinable , h as a charm ; o ne is the
better fo r considering it bonum est, no s hic esse nay , o ne
loves to try to explain it though o n e knows that o ne must
,

speak imperfe ctly F o r th e se then w h o ask the question

.
, , ,

- What is the grand style — with sincerity I will try to ,

make some answer inadequ ate as it mu st be F o r those 3

, .
1

w h o ask it mockingly I have n o answer except to repeat t o ,

them with compassionate sorrow the Gospel words

, ,
— Y e shah die in yo ur sins
M o riemini i p ecc
n atis vestris ,
.

B ut let me at any rate have the pleasure o f again giving

, , ,

before I begin to try and define the grand style a specimen ,

of what it is :
Standing n arth n t rapt ab v th p l
o e o o e e o e,
M f lv
,

o re sa e with mo rta
I si
ng oice , unch anged
To h o arse o r mute , t h o ugh fall n o n e i da s,
’
vl y
On vl
e i da s th o ugh y ’
a u, and e i to ngues f ll vl .

There is the grand style in perfection and any one wh o h as

400 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
of both styles he h as the grand style which arises fro m
simph city and he h as the grand style which arises from
,

severity and from him I will ill ustrate them both In a .

former lecture I pointed o ut What that severity o f poetical

style is which comes from saying a thing with a kind o f
,

intense compression o r in an ill usive brief almost haughty

, , ,

w ay as if the poet s min d were c harged with so many and

’
,

s uch grave matters that he woul d not deign to treat any one
,

o f them e xph c i
tly O f this severity the last h n e o f the
.

foll owing stanza o f the Purgato ryis a good example Dante 11 .

h as been telling Forese that Virgil h ad g uided him thro ugh

Hell and he goes on
,
1

Indi m h an t ratto eu li suo i c o n o rt i,

’
f
Sl
a e ndo e rigi rando la o ntagna i
Che drizz a vo i che il mo ndo fece to rti .

Thence hath his co mfortin g aid led me up, ch mbing and

circh ng the Mo un tain , wh ich straigh tens you who m the world
made croo ked ’
These last words , la Montagna che driz z a
.

vo iche il mo ndo ece to rti,

’
f
the Moun tain wh ich straightens
you who m th e wo rld made croo ked, fo r the Mo untain o f
’
—

Purgatory, I call an excellent specimen of the grand style in

severity W
here the poet s mind is too f ull charged to suffer
,
’

k
him to spea more e xph citly B ut the very next stanz a is a .

beautiful speci men of the grand style in simph city, where

a noble nature and a poetical gift unite to u tter a thing with
the most limpid plainness and clearness 2

f
Tanto dic e di armi sua co mpagna
Ch io sare l a do e fia eatrice ;
’
v B
Q v v
ui i co n ie m ch e se nz a lui rimagna .

So long Dante continues so long he (Virgil ) saith he a

,
’
,

will bear me company until I shall be there where Beatrice

,

is there it behoves that Without him I remain B ut the .

’

noble simplicity o f that in the Itah an no words of mine can

Both these styles the simple and the severe are trul y
, ,

grand the severe see ms pe haps

r the grandest so long as
, , ,

w e atte nd most to the great perso nah ty to the noble nat ure , ,

in the poet it s au thor the simple seems the grandest when

1
Purgato ry, ii,
xxi 1 24 . xxiii 1 2 7
, .
 LA ST WOR DS 40 1

we attend most to the exquisite faculty to the poetical gift ,

.

B ut the simple is no do ubt t o be preferred It is the more .

magical in the other there is somethin g intellect u al some ,

thing which gives scope for a play o f thought which may

exist where the poetical gift is eith er wanting or present in
onl y inferior degree the severe is mu ch more imitable and ,

this a h ttle spoils its c harm A kind o f semblance o f this .

style keeps Y o ung going one may say through all the nine , ,

parts of th at most indifferent production th e NightTho ughts ,

.

B ut the grand style in simph city is ini mitab le

‘
aiuw dadd kns

bit éyevr 0 5 1 A lamd 11 a HnA ei,

"
q
' ’ ’ ’
o

q
’ ’ ’

o ti
’
r e 1 rap dun de ; Kci c A yo vrai adv Bpo ré w
é ‘ '

b fi v inr prarov o i axefv, 0 2 re real xpvaamnik wv

' ' '
-
A o e

.
’

[ teM ropie vdv e V 5pe¢ o w dy

,
It al Ev E
i
M
n ra m Ao zs
‘

dio o 1
w
’

v ais .

There is a h mpidn e ss in that a want of sah ent points to , ,

seize and transfer which makes imitation impossible except

’

, ,

by a genius akin to the geni us which prod uced it .

Greek simph city and Greek grace are inimitable but it

'

is said that the I liad may still be ball ad poetry while in -

finitely su perior to all other ballads and th at in my speci , ,

mens o f Engh sh ballad poetry I have been unfair Well -

,
.
,

no doubt there are better things in Engh sh ball ad poetry -

than
Ne w Ch rist th e e sa v e, t h o u pro u d po rter .

but the real strength of a chain they say is the strength of , ,

its weakest link and what I was trying to show yo u was ,

that the English ballad style is not an instrument of eno ugh -

so compass and force to correspond t o the Greek hexamete r

that owing to an inherent weakness in it as an epic style it
, ,

e asil y ru ns into o ne o f two faults — either it is prosaic and ,

humdrum o r trying to avoid that faul t and to make itself

, , ,

h ve ly (se faire vij) it becomes pert and j au nty To show

, .

that th e passage abou t King Adl and s porter serves very

,
’

well B ut these degradations are not proper to a true epi c

.

instrument s uch as the Greek hexameter, .

1
A t im f ll t
secure e e o Pl
t h e lo t ne ith e r o f e e us t h e so n o f E ac us,
f th g d hk C dm
no r o e o -
e a us b
h o w e it th ese are said t o h a e h ad, o f all v
m tal th
or p m s, fh e su re e o appi ness, w h o h e ard th e go den -sno o de d use s l M
ig
sn f th m th
o ne o e on e mo untai P
n ( eh o n ) , t h e o th er i
n se en-gate d v
Th b
,
’
e es.
ARN L O D
402 ON TR A NS LATIN G H OME R
Y ou may say if yo u hke when yo u find Homer s verse
, ,
’
,

even in desc ribing the plainest matter neither humdru m n o r ,

jaunty that this is because he is so inco mparably better a

,

poet than other balladists because he is Homer B ut take , .

the whole range o Greek epic poetry take the later poets
f —
, ,

the poets of th e last ages o f this poetry many of them most ,

indifferent — Co luth u s Tryph io do rus Q uint us o f Smyrna

, , , ,

No nnus Never will yo u find in th is inst ru ment o f the

.

hexameter even in their hands the vices of the ball ad style

, ,
-

in the weak moments of this last everywhe re th e hexa 1 0

me ter —a noble a truly epical instrument rather resists
, , ,
—

the weakness o fits employer than lends i tself to it Q uintu s .

o f Smyrna i s a poe t o f merit bu t certainl y not a poe t of a ,

high order with him too epic poetry whether in the , , ,

charac te r o f its prosody o r in that of its diction is no longer ,

the epic poetry o f e arh e r and better times nor epic poetry ,

as again restored by No nn us but even in Q uintu s o f

Smyrna I say the hexamete r is sti ll th e hexameter
, ,
it is
a style which the ballad style even in the hands o f better -
,

poets cannot rival And in the hands o f inferior poets the 20

,
.
,

ballad style sinks to vices of which the hexameter even in

-
,

the hands o f a Tryphio do rus never can become guilty , .

B ut a critic W hom it is impossible t o read w ith o ut plea

,

s ure and the d isguise o f whose initials I am s ure I may be

,

allowed t o penetrate — M r Spedding — says that he denies .

altogether that the metrical movement of the Engh sh hexa

meter h as any re semblance to that o f the Greek O f course .
’
,

in that case if the two metres in no respect correspond

, ,

praise accorded to the Greek hexameter as an epical instru

ment will not extend t o the Engh sh Mr Spedding seeks 30 . .

to e stabh sh his proposition by pointing o ut that the syste m

o f accent u ation differs in the Engh sh and in the Virgilian

hexameter that in the first the ac c ent and the long ,

syllable (o r what h as to do duty as s u ch ) coincide in the ,

second they do not He says that we cannot be so s ure o f

.

the ac c ent with which Greek verse should be read as o f that

with which Latin should but that the lines o f Homer in
which the accent and the long syllable coincide as in the
En gh sh hexameter are certainl y very rare ,
He s uggests a .

type of En gh sh hexameter in agreement with the Virgilian 40

model and formed o n the s upposition that qu antity is as
,
404 ON TR A NSL ATING HOM E

absol ute tr uth o f their general propositions respecting

accent and quantity I have nothing to do it is most ,

interesting and instructive to me to hear such propositions

discussed when it is Mr Munro or Mr Sped
, w h o dis . .

c usses them ; but I have st rictly limited myse in these

lec tures to the h umble function o f giving practi cal advice
to the translator o f Homer He I still think must n o t .
, ,

follow so confi dently as makers o f English hexameters

have hitherto followed Mr Munro s maxim — q
,

u an tity may
’
.
, ,

be utterly discarded He m ust not like Mr Longfellow 1 0

.
, .
,

make seventeen a dactyl in spite o f all the length o f its last

syllable even tho ugh he can plead that in counting w e lay
,

the accent o n the first syll able o f this word He may be .

far from attaining Mr Speddin g s nicety o f ear may be ’

-

while q s a dactyl q
.

unable to feel that uantity i ui ddity is a ,

tribrach and that rap idl y is a word to which w e find no

,
’

parallel in Latin — but I think he mu st brin hi mself to

distinguish with Mr Speddin between t o erw e aried ’ ’

g
.
, ,
‘
eyelid and the wearied eyelid as be ing the o ne a correct
, , ,

ending for a hexameter the other an ending ,

q uantity in it ; instead o f finding with Mr Munro that ,

.
,
‘
th is distinction conveys to his mind no inte lligible idea ’

He m ust temper his belief in Mr Munro s ct m q

di u — uantity .
’
,

must be tterly discarded by mixing with it a be lief in this

u —
,

other d ctum o the same author two or more consonants

i f —
,

take lo ng er time in enunciating than on e

1
.

S ub st anti
al ly v
h o we er, in t h e uestio n at issue e tween Mr q unro b M
M l
.
,

and Mr S
po dding , I agree with Mr unro B t h e ita icised w o rds 1 11
f ll y x
. . .

‘
t h e o o wing se nte nce , Th e rh t h m o f t h e irgilian h e amete r de
nds e ntire ly
o n caesura, p ause, an d a du e arrange me nt o f w o rds, h e
’

hi s to uch ed, i t see ms t o me , in t h e c o nstit utio n o f t his h e ame te r, t h e x

l
c entra l i nt w hic h Mr Spe ddin g misses Th e ac ce nt , o r h eigh tened
$ x b bly f
, . .

to ne, o f 1irgil in reading his o wn h e ame te rs, w as pro a far ro m

b ei ng th e same t as t h e ac c e nt o r stress with whic h w e read th e m
l ff V l l b bly
.

irgi s mo ut h , w as pro a
’
Th e genera e e ct eac h i ne , i n th ere
f o re so me thi ng wi d e
ly ff f
di e rent ro m W h at Mr Spe dding assumes it to
v b l
.

re ading w as so me thi
’
ha e ee n : an an cie nt s ac c e ntu a ng w hic h
ll
a o w ed th e metri ca eat o f t h e lb ati L l
n ine t o be far more pe rce pti e bl
l
t h an o ur ac c entua re ading a o ws it to be ll
q y x
.

On th e uestio n as to t h e real rh thm o f th e ancient h e amete r, Mr

q bl f
.

Newman h as 1 11 his R ep ly a page uite admira e fo r orce and precisio n

H l b y v
.

ere h e i s i n h is e e ment, an d hi s a i lit and acu te ness h a e t h eir

ro pe r sc o pe B ut it is t rue t h at t h e mo dern reading o f th e ancie nt
hx x
.

e ameter i s W hat th e mo dern h e amete r h as to i mitate, and th at th e

 LA ST W OR DS 40 5

apt in general to be vague and impalpable

Criticis m is so ,

that when it gives us a solid and definite possession su ch as ,

is Mr Spedding s parallel o f the Virgilian and the English

’
.

hexameter with their difference o f accentuation distinctly

marked w e cannot be t o o grateful to it It is in the way in
,
.

which Mr Speddin g proceeds to press his concl usions from

.

the parallel which he h as drawn o ut that his criticism seem s ,

to me t o come a little short Here even he I think shows .

, ,

(if he will allow me t o say )

so a little o f that want o f p liancy
1 0 and s u ppleness so common among critics but so dangero u s ,

to their criticism he is a little t o o absolute in imposin g his

metrical laws he t o o m u ch forgets the excellent maxi m of
,

Menander so applicab le to literarycriticism

,

KaA bv o f minor o pofip

’ ’
i h” 6 6 spay
f s r o bs voyo vs
May dxptBGs, o v/fopdv m p
s ( ail/ erac
'

‘
laws are admirable things ; but he w h o keeps his eye
t o o closely fix ed u pon them ru ns the risk o f becoming ,

let us say a purist Mr Sp odding is pro bably mist aken

,
. .
'

in supposing that Virgil pronounced his hexameters as

20 Mr Spe ddin g prono unces them
. He is almost certainl y .

mistaken in supposing that Homer prono unced his hexa

meters as Mr Spedding pronou nces Virgil s B ut this as
’
. .
,

I have said is not a qu estion for u s to treat ; all w e are

,

here concerned with is the imitation by the English ,

hexameter o f the ancient hexameter in its efiect upon a s

,

modem s Suppose we concede to Mr Speddin g that his

. .

parallel proves o ur accentuation of the English and o f the

Vir gilian hexameter to be different what are we to con
c lude from that how will a criticism — n o t a formal but , ,

30 a s u bstantial criticism — deal with s u ch a fa c t as t h at ? ,

Will it infer as Mr Spedding infers that the English

, .
,

hexameter therefore m ust not pretend to reprodu ce

, ,

better than other rh yt hms the movement o f Homer s ’

hexameter for u s that there can be no correspondence at

all between the movement o f these two hexameters ;
that if we want to have s u ch a correspondence we must
, ,

abandon the c urrent English hexameter altogether and ,

Eng li h r ading f th Virgilian h x am t r is a Mr Sp dding d

s e o e rib e e e s e esc es
b by th l x am t
.

it Wh y this re ading h as no t e e n imitate d e Eng ish h e e er,

v x
.

I ha e tried to po int out in th e te t .

40 8 ON TR A NSL ATIN G H O MER
adopt in its place a new hexameter o f Mr Spedding s .
’

Anglo Latin type s ub stitute for lines like the

-

Cl arly th rest I be h ld f th dark y d n f A haia

e e o o e -
e e so s o c

o f Dr Hawtrey lines like the

.
,

P i rocess o n , co mp elx l
me o dies pau e
s q uantit y ac ce nt,
Aft Vi gili
, , ,

er r an re ce de nt an d ra t in o rde r
p p c ice , .

of Mr Spedding To i nfer this is to go as I have com

.
, ,

plained o f Mr Newman fo r sometimes going a great deal

.
,

too fast I th ink prudent criticism m ust certainly recognise

.
,

in the c urrent En glish hexameter a fact which cannot so 1 0 ,

lightly be se t aside ; it m ust acknowledge that by this

hexameter the English ear the genius of the English ,

lang uage have in t h eir o w n w ay adopted have translated

, , , ,

for themselves the Ho meric hexameter and that a rhyt hm

which h as th us grown up which is th us in a mann er the , , ,

prod uction o f nat ure h as in its general type something ,

nece ssary and inevitabl e something which admits change ,

only Within narrow limits which precl udes change that is ,

sweeping and essential I think therefore the prudent .

, ,

critic will regard Mr Spedding s proposed revol ution as 20 .

’

simply impracticable He will feel that in English poetry .

the hexameter if u sed at all m u st be in the main the , , , ,

Eng lish hexameter n o w c urrent He will perceive that its .

having come into existence as the representative o f the

Homeric hexameter proves it to have for th e English , ,

e ar a certain correspondence with the Homeric hexa

,

meter although this c orrespondence may be from t h e

, ,
.

difference o f the Greek an d English lang u ages necessarily ,

incomplete This incompleteness he will endeavour as

.
1
,

1
S h min r h ang I hav att mpt d by a i nall y hifting n
uc a o c e e e e o cc s o s l
fi f x f fi yll bl
,

th e rst t h e h e ame te r, t h e ac c e n t ro m t h e rst s

o ot o f a e to t h e
sec o n d In t h e c urre nt Eng ish h e ame te r, it is o n t h e l rst x Mr fi
lly bv
. . .

Spe dding, w h o pro po se s radic a to su e rt th e c o nsti t utio n o f t his

x
h e ame te r, see ms n o t to u nde rstand t h at an y o ne c an pro pose t o m o di fy
it partia ; lly
h e c an c o m pre h e nd re o ut io n in t h is me tre , but no t vl
f
re o rm c co rdin A
g h e as s m e h o w I c an ly ring m se tko sa ,
y B é b y lf
fif y
.

me n ,
’
t wee n t h at and t h e sh ips, o r Th ere sat t o r h o w I c an

l
re co ncie suc h o rci f
ng o f t h e acce nt wit h my o wn ru e , t h at
‘
he a l x
mete rs mu st read th emselves ’
re se nt P ly
h e sa s t h at h e c ann o t e ie e y bl v
l v
.

I do pro no u nce t h ese w o rds so , but t h at h e t hinks I ea e o ut th e ac ce nt

fi f l
in th e rst o ot a to geth er, and th us ge t an h e amete r with o n fiv e x ly
408 ON TR A NSLATING H O M ER
short it is itself and no t Mr Spedding s new hexamete r
, , .
’
,

that 18 a qu estion which I whose only b usiness is to give

practical ad vice to a translator am not bound to answer ;
,

but I will n o t decline to answer it nevertheless I will .

sug est to Mr Spodding that as I have alread y said the

.
, ,

u em hexameter is merely an atte mpt to imitate the

cf fe ct of the ancient hexamete r as read by us modem s ; ,

that the great obj ect o f its imitation h as bee n the hexa
mete r o f Homer ; that o f this hexamete r s uch lines as
t h ose which Mr Spedding declares to be so rare even in 1 0
.
,

Homer but which are in tr uth so common — lines in whi c h

, ,

the q u antity and the reader s accent coincide — are for ’

, ,

the English reader j ust from that simplicity (for him) o f

,

rhythm which they o w e to this very coinci dence the ,

maste r t -
that so m uch is this the case that one may ,

again an again notice an English reader o f Homer in ,

lines W he re his V irgilian accent wo ul d not coincide

with t e q uantity abandoning this accent and reading
the lines (as w e say) by q
, ,

u antity reading them as if he ,

were scanning them ; Wh il e foreigners neglect o ur Virgilian 20

accent even in reading Virgil read even Virgil by qu antity , ,

making the accents coincide with the long syllables And .

no do ubt the hexamete r o f a kindred langua e the German

base d o n this mode o f re ading the ancient exameter h as
h ad a powerf ul i nfl uence u pon the type o f its English
H ,
,

fe llow B ut all this shows h o w extremely powerful accent

.

is for us modem s since w e find not even Greek and Latin

,

q u antity perceptible enough without it Yet in these .

language s where w e have been acc ustomed always to

,

look fo r it it is far more perceptible to u s English men than 3 0

,

in o ur o w n langu age where w e have n o t been acc ustome d

,

to look for it A nd here is the true reason why Mr Sped

. .

ding s hexameter is n o t and cannot be the current English

’

hexameter even tho ugh it is based o n th e accentu ation

,

which Englishmen give to all Virgil s lines and t o many ’

,

o f Homer s — that t h e qu antity which in Greek o r Latin

’

words w e feel o r imagine w e feel even though it be un

, ,

s upported by accent we do not feel o r imagine w e feel m

,

Engh sh words when it is thus unsu pported For example

,
.
,

in repeating the Latin lin e , 40

Ipsa tibi blando fundent unabul a floress c ,
 LA ST WOR DS 409

an English man feels the length of the second syll a le b of

fu nd en t,
altho u gh he lays the accent o n the first ; but in
repeating Mr Speddin g s line ,
’
.

S oftly m th lumb r cl ing th rw ari d y lid

co e s e os
’ ’
o e e e e e ,

the English ear full o f the accent o n the first syllable of

,

clo sing h as really no sense at all of any length in its second

,
.

Th e metrical beat o f the line is th u s quite destroye d .

So when Mr Spedding proposes a n ew Anglo Virg ilian

.
-

hexameter he proposes an impossibi lity when he denies

1 0 altogether that the metrical movement o f the English

hexamete r has any resemblance to that o f the Greek he ,

’

denies too m u ch ; when he declares that were every ,

other metre impossible an attempt to translate Homer ,

into English hexameters might be permitted bu t that such ,

an attemp t h e h imself w ou ld n ever read he exhibits it ’

, ,

see ms to me a little o f that obd uracy and over vehemence

,
-

in liking and disliking a remnant I s uppose o f o ur

—
, , ,

insul ar ferocity to which English criticism is so prone

—
, .

He ought to be enchanted to meet with a goo d atte mpt

2 0 in any metre even tho ugh he wo uld never h ave ad vised
,

it even th ou gh its s u c c ess be contrary t o all his expecta

,

tions ; for it is the critic s first du ty prior even to his ’

,
-

du ty o f stigmatising what is bad— to w elcome everything

that is go od In welcoming th is he must at all times be
.
,

re ady like the C hristian convert even to b urn what he

, ,

u sed to worship and to worship what he used to b urn

, .

Nay but he need not be thus inconsistent in welcoming it

,

he may retain all his principles : principles endure cir ,

c u mst an ces change absol ute s u ccess is one thin g relative ,

30 s u ccess another R elative s u ccess may take place u nder

.

t h e most diverse conditions an d it is in appreciating the

good in even relative s u ccess it is in taking int o accou nt ,

the ch ange o f circ umstances that the critic s j udgment ,

’

is test ed t h at his versatility must display itself He is to

, .

keep his idea of the best o f perfection and at the same , ,

time to be willingly accessible to every second best which

offers itself So I enj oy the ease and beau ty of Mr Spe d
. .

ding s stanza
’
,

Th ere with t o all t h e go ds in o rde r due

40 I welcome it in the absence , of equ ally g o od poe try in

410 ON TR A NS LATING H O MER
another metre although I still think the st anz a unfit to
,
l

render Homer thoro ughl y well although I still thin k other ,

metres fit to render him better So I concede to Mr . .

Spedding that every form o f translation prose or verse , ,

mu st more o r less break up Homer in order to reprod uce

him but then I urge that that form which needs to break
him up le ast is to be preferred So I concede to him that .

t h e test proposed by me for the translator — a competent ,

scholar s j udgment whether the translation more o r less

’

reprod uces for him the e ffect o f the original is not per 1 0 ,
—

fe ctly satisfactory but I ad opt it as the be st w e can get ,

as the only test capable o f being really applied for Mr .

Speddin g s pro po sed s u bstit ute — the translation s making

’
,

the same effec t more o r less u pon the unl earned which
, ,

the original makes upon the scholar — is a test which can ,

never really be applied at all These tw o impressions .

,

th at o f the scholar and that of the unl earn ed reader

, ,

can prac tically never be acc urately c ompared they are

, , ,

and m ust remain like those lines we read o f in Euclid

, ,

which tho ugh prod uced ever so far can never meet S0 20
, , .
,

again I concede that a good verse translation of Homer

,
-
,

l
A s I w e c o me ano th e r mo re rec e nt atte mpt in stan a — Mr Wo rs e s z ly ’

v ly
.
,

e rsio n o f t h e Odyssey in pe nse r s me asure

’
S Mr Wo rs e do es me
k
. .

t h e h o n o ur to no t ic e so me re mar s o f mine o n t his me a sure : I h ad

sai y
d t h at its greate r intric ac made it a w o rse measu re t h an e e n t h e v
yll bl
te n -s a e c o u p e t t o e mp ol fo r re nde ring ly
o mer He po ints o ut H
l l
. ,

in answ e r, t h at t h e mo re c o mp ic ate d th e co rre spo nde nce s in a po et ic a

l b v
me asu re t h e e ss o trusi e and a so ute are t h e rh b l
es
’
This is
b ly k v k
.
,

t rue , an d su t re mar e d but I ne er de nie d t h at t e single sh o c s

y l
o f rh me in t h e c o up e t w e re mo re stro ng lyfelt t ha n t h ose i n t h e st an a z
f q
I said t ha t t h e mo re re uent re c urre nc e o f t h e same rh me , in t h e y
z
stan a ly
necessari made t h is measure m o re intricate Th e stan a z
k H b ly f
.
,

o me r s mat te r ye t mo re ar i
’
re pac s trari , an d t h e re o re c hange s his
v
mo e ment ye t mo re radic a , t h an th e co up e t lly c co rdi ng , I
imaginel A ly
f l H bl
.

a ne are r appro ac h t o a pe r e c t t rans at io n o f o me r i s po ssi e in

l l
t h e c o up e t , w e l man a ed, t h an in t h e stan a, h o w e e r w e manage d z v ll
l l y ly z
.

B u t me anw h ie Mr o rs e — a
pp in g t h e pe n se ria n st a n a t h at S
b fl
.
, ,

e au t i u ro manti c me asure , t o t h e mo st ro mant i c poe m o f t h e anci ent

l k
w o r d ; ma i ng t his st an a z y l
ie d him, t o o (w h at it ne e r ie de d t o v y l
By ro n ) its t reasures o f u idit fl y
an d swee t e ase ; a o e all, ringing to bv b
k ly l kl v
,

h is t as a t ru t i a nse an d s i l — h as r o du c e d a e rsi o n of
p o e c se p
l
,

t h e Odyssey mu ch t h e mo st p easing o f t h ose h ith e rt o pro duc e d, and

l
w h ic h is de i h tfu l t o read
i ll
.

F o r th e pu lic t his may w e be en o ugh , nay, mo re t h an e no ugh but

v
fo r t h e critic e en t h is is no t yet u ite e n o ugh q .
4 12 ON TR AN SLATIN G H O ME R
the general p ublic Yet a version o f Homer in hexameters
.

o f the Evang el i ne type wo ul d not satisfy the j u dicio us n o r ,

is the definite estab lishment o f this type to be defi red ;

and o ne would regret that Mr Longfell ow should even to .
,

pop ularise the hexamete r give the immense labour required ,

fo r a translation o f Homer when o ne co uld n o t Wish his ,

work to stand Rather it is t o be wished that by the

.
,

efforts o f poets like Mr Longfellow in original poetry .

,

and the effo rts o f less distingui shed poets in the task o f
translation the hexamete r may grad u ally be made familiar
,

t o the ear of the English p ublic ; at the same time that

there grad ually ari ses o ut o f all these efforts an improved
, ,

type o f this rhythm ; a type which some man o f geniu s

may sign with the final stamp and employ in rendering ,

Homer ; an hexamete r which may be as s uperior t o Vosse s ’

as Sh akspe are s blank verse i s s uperior Schiller s

’ ’
to .

I am inclined t o believe that all this travail will actually

take place because I believe that modern poetry is actu ally
,

in want o f s u ch an instru ment as the hexameter .

In the meantime w h ether this rhyt hm be destined to

,
'

s uccess o r n o t let us ste adily keep in mind what originally

,

made us turn to it We t urned t o it because w e required

.

certain Homeric characteristics in a translation o f Homer ,

and be ca use all other rhythms seemed t o find from different ,

causes great diffic ul ties in satisfyin g this o ur req uirement

,
.

If the h examete r is impossible if o ne o f these other rhyt hms ,

must be used let us keep this rhythm always in mind o f

,

o u r req u irements and o f it s o wn fa u lts let u s compel it to ,

get rid of these latter as m uch as possible It may be .

ne cessary to have recourse t o blank verse but then blank

verse mu st de Cowperise itself m u st get rid o f the habits
-
,

o f stiff self retardation which make it say

-
Nat fewer
shone for So many sho ne
,
’
Homer moves swiftly .
’

blank verse can move swiftly if it likes bu t it m ust remember ,

that the mo v ement o f s uc h lines as

A th u and fir w r burning and by a h
o s es e e , e c

is j ust the slow movement w hich makes u s despair o f it .

Homer moves with noble ease blank verse m ust n o t be

s uffered to forget that the movement o f
Cam th y n t v r from sweet La da mon
e e o o e ce e
is ungai nl y Homer s expression o f his tho ught is simple
.
’

as lig h t : w e know h o w blank verse a f

fects s uch loc utions as
While th e stee ds mo uth d their co rn
’
f
aloo

and s uch modes of expressing one s tho ught are so phisti ’

c ated and artificial

-
.

O ne sees h o w nee dful it is to direct inc essantly the

English translator s at tention to the essential characteristics
’

o f Homer s poetry when so accomplished a person as Mr

’
.
,

Spedding recognising these characteristics as indeed

,

Homer s ad mitting th em to be essential is led by the

’
, ,

ingrained habits and tendencies o f English blank verse

thus repeatedly to lose sight o f them in translating even
a few lines O ne sees this yet more clearly when Mr
.
,
.

Spedding taking me to task for saying that the blank

,

verse u sed for rendering Homer must n o t be Mr Tenny .

son s blank verse declares that in most o f Mr Tennyson s

’
,
’
.
’

blank verse all Homer s essential characteristics rapi dity ’

,

o f movement l l im li i d
p ain ness of words an
,d sty e s p c ty a n ,

directness of ideas and above all nobleness o f manner are

, , , ,

as conspic u o u s as in Homer himself This shows it seems

’
.
,

to me how hard it is fo r English readers o f poetry even th e

, ,

most accomplished to feel deeply and permanently what ,

Greek plainness o f thought and Greek simplicity o f expres

sion really are : they ad mit the importance o f these
qualities in a general way but they have no ever present ,

sense o f them and they easily attrib u te them to any

,

poetry which h as other excellent qu alities and which they

very m uch ad mire No do ubt there are plainer thin gs m
,

Mr Tennyson 8 poetry than the three lin es I qu oted ; in

.
’

choosing them as in choosing a specimen o f ballad poetry

,
-
,

I wished to bring o ut clearly by a strong instance the , ,

qualities of thought and style to which I was calling atten

tion ; but when Mr Speddin g talks o f a plainness o f .

thought like Homer s o f a plainness o f speech like Homer s ’

,
’
,

and says that he finds these constantly in Mr Tennyson s .

’

e try I answer that these I do not find there at all

p o
, .

dr Tennyson is a most distinguished and charming poet

but the very essential characte ristic of his poetry is it s ee ms ,

to me an extre me s ubtlety and c urio us elab orateness o f

,

tho ugh t an extreme sub tlety and c urio us ela b ora teness
,
41 4 ON TR ANSLATIN G H O MER
of expression In the best and most charac te ristic pro
.

du ctio n s o f h is geni us these characteristics are most ,

prominent They are marked characteristics as w e have

.
,

seen o f the Elizabethan poets they are marked though

, ,

not the esse ntial characteristics o f Sh akspe are himself

, .

U nder the infl uences o f the nineteenth century u nder ,

wholl y new co nditions o f thought and c ulture they mani ,

fest themselves in Mr Te nnyson s poe try in a wholly .

’

n ew w ay B ut they are still there

. .
Th e e ssential bent o f .

his poetry is towards s uch expressions as

No w lie s th e Eart h all Danae to t h e st ars

’
O e r th e sun s righ t
’
b e ye
Dre w th e v ast e yl e id o f an in c o ud ky l
Wh e n th e c ai
rn d mo unt ain w as
’
a sh ado w, sunn
’
d
Th e w o r d to l pe ace again

f
Th e re sh yo u ca
ptains fiash d t h e i
’
r g itte ring te e th l
Th e h uge ush b e arde d b
aro ns hea e d an d ew v bl
He b are d th e k n o t te d c o umn o f l his t hro at ,
v q
T h e massi e s uare o f h is h e ro ic re ast , b
A nd arms o n w h ic h t h e st anding musc e sle pe d l
’
b k
A s sl c pe s a wil d ro o o er a it t e sto ne , l l
R unmng t oo e h e me nt v
to rea u po n it ly b k
And this of speaking is the least p lain the most
w ay ,

un Homeric which can possibly be conceived Homer

,
.

presents his thou ght t o yo u j u st as it Wells from the source

o f his mi nd : Mr Tennyson careful ly distils h is thought
.

before he will part with it Hence comes in the expres .

,

sion of th e thought a h eightened an d elaborate air In

, .

Homer s poetry it is all natural thoughts in natural words

’

in Mr Tennyson s poetry it is all distilled thoughts in

.
’

distill ed words Exactly this heightenin g and elaboration

.

may be observed in Mr Spod ding s .

’

Wh il e th e stee ds mouth d their co rn aloof

’

an expression w ch m ht have been Mr ennyson s ’

( hi ig T ) .
,

o n which I have already commented and to one w h o is

penetrated with a sense o f the real simplicity of Homer 4 ,
41 6 ON TR A NSLA TINO H OM E R
A nd sh e h i
s ni ece He ft l k d t
o en oo e a th em,
f m k th m m f
.

‘
A nd o te n t h o ugh t ’
’
, I ll a e e an an d wi e .

Th e simplicity of the first o f these p assages is simplicité ;

that of the second simp lesse Let us take the end o f the , .

same tw o poems first o f M ichael , ,

Th tt ag w hi h w a nam d t h Ev ning S tar

e co e c s e e e

l
Is go ne -t h e p o ughsh are h as ee n th ro ugh t h e gro un d b
On w hic h it sto o d ; great c hanges h a e ee n wro ugh t v b
b
In all th e neigh o urh oo d : ye t t h e o ak is e t lf
b
Th at grew e side t h e ir doo r : an d th e remains
Of fi
t h e un nish ed sh ee o d may be seen fl
B e side t h e oi
ste ro us b
roc k o f reen -h e ad h G G yll .

A nd no w, o f Dora
So th o se o ur a o de f b
With in o ne h o use to ge th e r ; and as e ars y
f
We nt o rward, ar to o an o t h er mate : M y k
lv
B ut Do ra i ed unmarrie d t i h e r deat h ll .

A heedless critic may call both o f these passages simple

if he will Simple in a certain sense they both are but
.
, ,

between the simplicity of the tw o there is all the difference 2

that there is between the simplicity o f Homer and the
simplicity o f Mosch us .

B ut — whether the hexameter establish itself o r n o t

, ,

whether a truly simple and rapid blank verse be obtained

o r not as the vehicle for a standard English translation
,

o f Homer — I feel s ure that this vehicle wil l not be furnished

,

by the ballad form O n this question about the ballad .

character o f Homer s poetry I see that Professor Blackie ’

,

proposes a compromise : h e s uggests that those wh o say

Homer s poetry is p ure ballad poetry and those wh o deny
’
-
,

that it is ballad poetry at all shoul d split the difference

-
,

between them ; that it should be agreed that Homer s ’

poe ms are ballads a little but not so mu ch as some have ,

said I am very sensible to the courtesy o f the terms in

.

which Mr Blac kie invites me to this compro mise ; but

.

I cannot I am sorry to say accept it ; I cann ot allow

, ,

that Homer s poetry is ballad poetry at all A want o f

’
-
.

capacity for su stained nobleness seems to me inherent in

t h e ballad form when employed for epic poetry
-
,
Th e more .

w e examin e this proposition the more c ertain I think 4 , , ,

:

Will it become to us Let us but observe h o w a great .

 LA ST WOR DS 41 7

p oet ,
having to deliver a narrative very weighty an d
serious instinctively shrinks from the ballad form as from
,

a form not commens urate with his s ubj ect matter a form ,

t o o narrow and shall ow for it and seeks for a form which ,

has more amplitude and impressiveness Every o ne know s .

the L ucy Gray and the R uth of Wordsworth Both poem s .

are excellent bu t the s ubj ect matte r of the narrative o f -

R u th is m u ch more wei gh ty and impressive to t h e poet s

’

o w n feeling than t h at o f t h e narrative o f M y Gr ay for ,

which latter in its unpretending simplicity the ballad

, ,

form is quite adequ ate Wordsworth at the time he com

.
,

pos ed R u th his great time h is annus mirabilis abou t

,
—
, ,

8
l 00 —
,
strove to be simple it was his mission to be
simple he loved the ball ad form he cl ung to it b ecause -
, ,

it was simple Ev en in R u th he trie d o ne may say to u se

.
, ,

it ; h e would have u se d it if he coul d : but t h e gravity o f

his matter is too m u ch fo r this somewh at slight form ; he
is obliged to give to his form more amplitude more a u gust ,

ness to shake o ut its folds

, .

Th e w re t ch ed parent s all t h at nigh t

We n t sh o ut in g far an d w ide ;
B ut t h e re w as n e it h e r so un d n o r sigh t
To se rv e t h e m fo r a guide .

That is beautiful no doubt and the form is adequ ate to

, ,

the s ubject matter B ut take th is on t he other hand

-
.
,

v
I, t o o , h a e passe d h e r o n t h e hi s ll
l l ll
,

S n g h e r itt e w at e r-mi s
e t ti
By spo uts an d f
n s w id
o un t ai l
S uch sm a ll y
machin e r as sh e t u rn d,
Ere sh e h ad w e pt , e re sh e h ad mo u rn d,
’

Ay o un g and h app ch i d y l .

Wh o does not perceive how greater f ulness and weight

th e
o f his matter has here c ompelle d the tru e an d feelin g poet
to adopt a form of more vo lume th an t h e simple ballad
form
It is of narrative poetry that I am speaking the ques
tion is abou t th e u se o f the ballad form fo r this I say -
.

for this poetry (when in the grand style as Homer s ,

’

is) t h e ballad form is entirely inadequ ate

-
_
an d t h at
Homer s translator m ust not adopt it becau se it eve n
’

ARN LD
,

O E e
41 8 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
leads him by its o wn weakness away from the grand
, ,

style rather t h an towards it We mu st remember that th e .

_

matter o f narrative poetry stands in a different relation

to the vehicle which conveys it — is n o t so independent of ,

this ve hicle so absorbing an po werful in itself as th e

d,
—
,

matter o f p urely emotional poetry When there comes in .

po etry what I may call the lyrical cry this transfigures ,

e verythin g makes everything grand ; the simplest form

,

may be here even an ad vantage be cau se the flame o f the ,

emotion glows thro ugh and through it more easily To .

g o again for an ill ustration to Wordsworth o ur grea t -

poet s ince Milto n by h is performance as Keats I th ink

, , , , ,

is o ur great poet by his gift and promise in one o f his -

stanz as to th e C uckoo w e ha v e ,

A nd I can iste n t o th ee ye t l
Can lie upo n t h e ain l
l
A nd iste n , t i I do get ll
Th at go de n time again l .

He re the lyrical cry though taking the simple ballad form

,
-
,

is as gran d as the lyrical cry coming in poetry of an ampler

form as grand as the
,

A n in no cent lif e, ye t far ast ra y!

of Ru th as the
Th e re is a co f
m o rt in th e st re ngt h o f lv
o e

of M ichael In this way by the oc currence of this lyrical

.
,

cry the ball ad poets th emselves rise sometimes th o ugh

,
-
,

not so often as o ne mig h t perhaps have hoped to th e ,

grand style .

0 l an g, l an g may th eir l adies sit,

Wi f
th e ir ans in t o th e ir h an d,
’

Or e re t h e see Sir at ric y p e n c e P kS

Co me saii ng t o t h e l
and l .

0 l l
may t h e adie s stan d
an g, an g l
l b
,

Wi t h e ir go d co m s in t h eir h air
’

l
,

W ait in g fo r th eir ain de ar o rds,

F o r th e y ll ’
se e t h e m n ae mai
r .

B ut from this impressiveness form when its of th e ballad -

,

s u bje ct matter fills it over an d o v er again — is indeed in

-
, ,

i tself all in all one m ust not infer its effectiveness w h en

, ,
-
420 ON TR A NS LATING H O M ER
(and here si nce I have bee n reproached with underval uing
,

Lord Macaulay s L ays of A ncient Rome let me frankly say

’
,

that to my mind a man s power to dete c t the ring of false

, ,
’

metal in those Lays is a good measure of his fitness to give

an opi nion abo ut poetical matters at all ) — I say Lord ~

Macaulay s ’

To all me n upo n th is
th e e art h

De ath co me t h soo n o r l at e ,

it is hard to read without a cry of pain B ut with H omer .

‘
it is very different This noble barbarian this savage 1 0 .
,
’

with the lively eye — whose verse Mr Newman thinks ,

’
.
, ,

‘
wo uld affect u s if w e coul d hear the li ving Homer like
, ,

an elegant and simple melody from an African of th e

Gold Co ast —is never more at home never more nobly
.

’
, ,

himse lf than in applying profo und ideas to his narrative

, .

As a poet he belongs — narrative as is his poetry and , ,

early as is his date t o an incomparably more developed

—
,

spiritu al an d intell ectu al order than the balladists o r th an ,

Scott and Macaulay he is here as m u ch to be distinguished -

from them and in the same w ay as Milton is to be dis 20

, ,

tin hed from them He is inde ed rather to be classe d .

, ,

w it Mil ton than with the ball adist s and Scott fo r w h at

he h as in common w ith Mil ton —the noble and profound ,

application o f ideas to life is the most e ssential part o f ,

poetic greatness Th e most essentiall y grand and charac

.

te rist ic things o f Homer are s u ch things as

érArjv b, o l ov nw
' ’ ’ I
ris i m
é mo s Bporbs dM o s,
‘ ’
dvbpds fl at bopé vo ro n o r? o ré ya xe i
p bpéyeaOac
or as
M ora/rev bMBio v
l i ’
tax? a , t yépo v, 7 0 wp v uév ( i
c il at .
2

or as
b ydp ir exkcbo av ro 0 5 0 2 beixo im Bpo row w ,
’

( y
"
m m
’ ’
vv yévo vs
'
airro i be 1 d e es ei
(d d b
‘
r
e w x y v

v
A nd I h a e en dured — t h e i e w h e re o n o so u upo n t h e e arth lk f l
y l l
,

hath ye t e n dured, — t o c arr t o my ips t h e h an d o f h im w h o s ew my

l xx v
.

’ -
c hi d . Il iad, i , 50 5 .

2
Nay an d th o u t o o , o ld man, in t im e s past w e rt, as w e h e ar,
h app y ’—
xx v
Il iad, i , 5 43 In t h e o rigin a t his in e fo r mi
n g e d path o s l l l
y vl v H
.
. ,

an d di n it is pe rh aps wi t h o u t a ri a e en i n o me r
g
v y l
.
,

F o r so h a e t h e go ds spun o ur destin t o u s w re t ch e d m o rta s

lv y lv bl
,

but t h e t h emse e s are with o ut tro u e

’
th at w e sh o ul d i e in so rro w
xx v
.

—Il iad .
_
i , 5 2 5.
 L A ST WORDS

and o f these the tone is given far better than ,

a nything
of the balladists by s uch things as the ,

1 0 no piange a v : si
‘
dentro impie t ra1
P iange an e i v ll
of Dante or the
F all n Ch
’
e ru bl t o be w e a ki s misera bl e

I s uppose I m ust before I concl ude say a word or two

, ,

abou t my o w n hexameters and yet trul y o n s uch a topic , ,

1 0 I am almost ashamed to tro u ble yo u Fro m those perish .

able object s I feel I can trul y say a most O riental detach

’

, ,

ment Y o u yo urselves are Witnesses h o w little importance

.
,

when I of ered them to yo u I claimed or them h o w

f f —
, ,

h umble a fu nction I designed them to fill I offered them ‘

.
,

not as specimens of a competing translation of Homer ;

but as illustrations of certain c anons which I had been
trying to establish for Homer s poetry I said that these ’
.

canons they might very well ill ustrate b y failing as well

as by su c ceed ing : if they ill ustrate them in any manner ,

20 I am satisfied I was thinking o f the f uture translator o f

.

Homer and trying to let h im see as clearly as possi b le

,

what I meant by th e combination of characteristics which

I assi gned o Homer s poetry by saying that this poetry
t —
’
,

w as at once rapi d in movement plain in Words and style , ,

simple and direct in its ideas and noble in manner I do ,

.

n o t s uppose that my o w n hexameters are rapid in move .

ment plain in words and style simple and direct in their

, ,

i deas and noble in manner ; but I am in hopes that

,

a translator reading them with a genuine interest in h is

,

t o s u bj ect an d witho u t the slig h test grain o f per sonal feeli n

, g ,

may see more clearly as he reads them what I meant by , ,

sayin g that Homer s poe try is all these I am in hope s

’
.

that h e may be able t o seize more distinctly when he has ,

before him my
So sh one f o rt h , in f ro n t o f Tro y by th
, e bed o f t h e X an th us

or my
Ah, un h app yp air, to Pl e e us W h y did w e gi v e yo u

I w e pt no t : so o f st o n e gre w I W ithin — the

y w e pt
’
— Hell x xxiii
' ‘

lyl l ligh tly l

. .
,
’
49 (Car e s Trans ati
o n, s a te red) .
 42 2 ON TR A NS LATING H O M ER
or my
So h e spa k e , and b ttl dro v e w it h a c ry his stee ds into a e

the exact points which I wish to him avoid in C owper s ’

S m o num d th fi t h b k b tw
e ro us see e o se res e an s e ee n

or in Pope s ’

Unh ppy a c o urse rs o f immo rt a l strai

n

o r in Mr Newman s
’
.

He k
spa e , and y lli g
e n , he d l f
a- ro n t h is l
ng e -bo o te d
si h o rses .

At the same time there may be innumerable points in min e

which he o ught to avoid also O f the merit o f his o wn 1 0 .

compositions no co mposer can be admitted the j udge .

B ut th us h um b ly u sef ul to the f ut ure translator I sti ll

hope my hexameters may prove and he it is above all , ,

whom o ne h as to regard Th e general p ub lic carries away .

little from disc ussions of th is kind except some vag ue ,

notion th at o ne advocates English hexameters o r that o ne ,

has attacked Mr Newman O n the mind o f an adversary

. .

o ne never makes the faintest impression Mr Newman . .

reads all o ne can say abo ut diction and his last word o n
:

the s ubj ect is that he regards it as a q uestion about to 2(

,

open hereafter whether a translator o f Homer ought not

,

to adopt the o ld dissyllabic landis houndis hartis (for , ,

lands hounds harts ) and also the fin al en o f the pl ural

, , ,

o f verbs (w e dancen they singen & c ) which still sub

, , .

sists in Lancashire A certain critic reads all o ne can say

.
’

about style and at the e nd o f it arrives at the inference

,

that after all there is some style grander than the grand
, ,

style itself since Sh akspe are has not the grand mann er
, ,

and yet has the s upremacy over Milton another critic

reads all o ne can say about rhythm and the result is that at , ,

he th inks Scott s rhythm in the description o f the death

’
,

o f Marmion all the better for being saccadé because t h e

, ,
‘
dying ej ac ulations o f Marmion were likely t o be jerky
’
.

How vain to rise up early and to take rest late from any , ,

z eal fo r proving t o Mr Newman that he m ust not in trans .

,

l ating Homer say ho undis and danc en ; or to the first o f

,

the tw o critics above qu oted that o ne poet may be a greater -

,

p o etical for ce tha n ano ther and yet have a more u neq u al ,
424 ON TR A NS LATIN G H O MER
c ommunities o ffers so sad a spectacle he never mingled
, , .

He h ad not yet traduced his friends n o r flattered his ,

ene mi es nor disparaged what he admired nor praised

, ,

What he despised Th ose w h o knew him well h ad the

.

conviction th at even with time these literary arts woul d

, ,

never be h is His poem o f which I before spoke h as

“

.
, ,

some admirable Homeric qualities o ut o f doors fresh - - -

ness l ife naturalness b u oyant rapidity Some of the

, , , .

‘
expressions in that poem Dangerous Corrievreckan
,
-

Wh ere ro ads are un kn o wn to L och Nevish —c ome back l ,

’
l

n o w to my ear with the tru e Homeric ring B ut that in .

him of whi c h I think oftenes t is the Homeric simplicity

,

o f his literary life .

F I VE ESS A Y S HI T HERT O
U NC O L L EC T ED
42 8 THE JEWIS H CHURCH
He gel is an eternal series of intellectu al acts It sees that
—
.

this life treats all things religion incl uded with entire
, ,

free dom as s ubject matte r fo r thought as el ements in

-
,

a vast movement o f spec ulation Th e few w h o live thi s .

life stand apart and have an existence separate from that

,

of the mass of mankind ; they address an imaginary

a udience o f their mates ; the region which they inhabit
is the laboratory wherein are fashioned the n ew intellectu al
i deas which from time to time take their place in the
, ,

world Are th ese fe w j ustified in the sight o f God in so 1 0

.
, ,

living That is a qu estion which literary criticism must

not attempt to answer B ut s uch is the worth o f intell ect
.
,

s u ch the benefit which it proc ures for man th at criticism , ,

itself the creation of intellect cannot but recognise this

,

p u rely int e llect u al l fe

i when rea l
,
ly followed as j u stified ,

so far as the j urisdiction o f criticis m extends and even ,

ad mirable Th ose they regard as reall y following it who

.
,

s h ow the power of mind to animate and carry forward the

intellectu al movement in which it consists No do ubt
.
'

.
,

many boast o f li v ing this life of in habiting this p urely 20

,

intellectu al region w h o cannot really breathe its air they

,

vai nl y profess themselves able to live by thought alone ,

an d to dispense with reli gion : the life o f the many an d ,

not the life o f the few would ha v e been the right one fo r
,

t h em They follow the life of the few at their own peril

. .

N o doubt th e ric h and the great unsoftened by s u ffering , ,

hardened by enj oyment craving after novelty imagining

, ,

t h at they see a distinction in th e freedom of mind with

whi c h the born thinker treat s all things and belie ving th at ,
~

all distinctions nat urally belong to t h em have in every 30 ,

age been prone to treat religion as somet h ing which the

m ul tit e wanted b t they themselves

u d u ,
did n o t— to affe c t
freethinking as a kind o f aristocrati c pri v ilege while in ,

fact for any real mental o r moral life at all th eir frivolity
, ,

entirely disqu alifie d them They too profess the life of

.
, ,

t h e few at t h eir o w n peril B ut the few do really remain

. ,

w h ose life wh ose ideal whose demand is thought and

, , , ,

thought only : to the communic ations (however bold) o f

t h ese few with o n e another through the ages criticism ,

assi gns t h e ri gh t o f passin g freely . 40

B ut t h e world o f th e few— the world of spe c ulative life

 THE J EWIS H C HURCH 4 29

is no t the world o f the many the world of religio us life ; ,

the thoughts o f the former cannot properly be transferre d

to the latter cannot be called true in the latter except
, ,

o n certain conditions It is not for literary criticism to

.

se t forth adequ ately the religio u s li fe yet what e v en as ,

criticism it sees o f this life it may say R eligiou s life

, ,
‘

resides n o t in an incessant movement o f i deas bu t in ,

a feeling whi ch attaches itself to certain fixe d obj ects .

Th e re h gio u s life o f C hristendom has th u s attached itself

1 0 to the acts and wor ds an d death of C h rist as recorded
, , ,

in the Gospels an d expoun de d in the Epi stles o f the New

Testament and to the main h istories t h e prophe c ies and ,

the hymns o f the O ld Testament In relation to these .

obj ects it has adopted certain intell ectu al ideas s u ch are

, ,

ideas respecting the being of God the laws of nature t h e , ,

freedom o f human will the character o f prophecy the , ,

ch aracter of inspiration B ut its essence t h e essence o f

.
,

C hristian life consists in the ardour the love the self

, , , ?

renouncement the ineffable aspiration with which it throws

,

20 itself u pon th e objects of its attachment t h emsel ves not ,

in th e intellectu al ideas whi c h it holds in relation to

them Th ese ideas belong to another sphere the sphere
.
,

o f spec ul ative li fe o f intellect of p u re tho u ght ; trans

, ,

planted into the sphere o f religiou s life they h ave no ,

meaning in them no vitality no truth unl ess they adj u st

, , ,

th emselves to the conditions o f that hie unl ess they allow ,

it to p urs u e its cou rse freely Th e moment this is forgotten

.
,

the moment in the sphere of the reh gio us life u nd u e

prominence is given to the intellectu al i deas wh ich are
3 0 here bu t accessories the moment t h e first pla c e is not iven
, g
to t h e emotion which is here th e prin ciple th at moment ,

t h e essence o f the re li giou s life is violated confusion and

falsehoo d are introd uce d into its sp h ere A n d if n o t onl y .
,

is u nd u e prominence in this sp h ere given to intellect u al

ideas but th ese ideas are so presented as in themselve s
,

violently to j ar with the religiou s feeling then the con ,

f usion is a thou sand times worse confo unded the falsehood ,

a thou sand times more glaring .

Th e earth mo ves said Galileo speaking as a philosopher

’
, ,

4 0 1 11 t h e sphere of p u re tho u ght in w hich ideas ha v e an ,

absolute val ue ; and he said the truth ; be was a great

4 30 THE J EWIS H CH UR CH
thinker because he perceived this tru th ; he w as a great
man becau se he asserte d it in spite o f persec ution It w as .

th e theologians insisting u pon transplanting his i dea into

,

t h e worl d of t h eology and placin g it in a false connexion

,

th ere w h o were g uil ty o f folly B ut if Galileo himself

, .
,

q uitting the sphere o f mathematics comin g into the sphere ,

of religion h ad placed th is thesis o f his in j uxtaposition

,

with t h e Book o f Joshu a had applied it so as to impair ,

t h e val u e of the Book o f Jos h u a for the religio u s life o f

Christendo m to make th at book regarded as a tiss ue o f 1 0
,

fi c tions for which no blame indeed attached to Josh ua

, ,

because he never meant it for anyt hing else —then Galileo

woul d have himself placed his id ea in a false connexion ,
‘
an d wo ul d have deserved cens u re : h is th e earth mo ves
’

in spite of its absol ute tru th wo uld have become a false ,

hood Spinoza again speaking as a p ure thinker to pure

.
, ,

thinkers n o t concernin g himself wh eth er what he said

,

impaired or confirmed t h e power and virt ue of the Bible

for the act u al religiou s life of Christendom but p urs uing ,

a spec ulative demonstration said : Th e Bible contain s 20 ,

m u ch that is mere history and like all history sometimes , , ,

true sometimes fal se

,
B ut we m u st bear in mind tha t
.
’

Spinoza did n o t prom u lgate this thesis in immediate con

n e x io n with the religio u s life o f his times bu t as a spec ul a ,

ti v e idea he uttered it not as a reli giou s teacher but as ,

an independent philosoph er and he left it as Galileo left ,

his to filter down gradu ally (if tru e ) into the common
,

thought of mankin d and to adj ust itself th rough other

, ,

a gency than h is to their religiou s life Th e Bishop of

, .

Natal does no t speak as an independent philosop h er as 30 ,

a p ure thinker ; if he did and if h e spoke with power in ,

th is capac ity literary c riticism woul d I have already said

, , ,

have no rig h t to condemn him B ut he spe aks actu ally .

an d a v owe dly as by virt u e o f his o fiic e h e w as almost

’

inevitably constrained to speak as a religiou s teacher to ,

th e religio u s world Well then any intellectu al i dea whi ch

.
, , ,

speaking in this capacity he promulgates he is bound to , ,

place in its ri ght connexion with th e reh gio us life he is ,

bound to make harmonise with that life he is bo und ,

not to magn ify to the detriment o f that life : else 40 ,

in the sph ere o f that life it is false He takes an ih ,

.
43 2 THE JEWIS H C H URCH
still in their du e order and makes his hearers so esteem
,

them ; w h o shutting h is mind against no ide as brough t

,

by the spirit o f h is time sets th ese ideas in the sp h ere

, ,

o f the re h gi o u s life in their ri ght prominence and still

, ,

p uts that first wh ich is first w h o u nder the press ure o f ,

n e w tho u ghts keeps t h e centre o f the reh gio us life where

,

it should be Th e be st distinction of Dr Stanley s lect ures

. .
’

is that in t h em he s h ows himself s u ch a teacher O thers .

will prai se th em and deservedly praise them fo r their

, ,

eloquence their varied information ; for enabling u s to 1 0

,

g ive s u ch form an d s u bstance to o u r impressions from Bible

history To me t h ey see m admirable ch iefly by the clear
.
,

perception which they exhibit o f a religiou s teacher s tru e ’

bu siness in dealing with the Bible Dr Stanley speaks . .

o f t h e Bible to the re ligio u s world and he S peaks of it ,

so as to maintain the sense of the di v ine virt u e of the

Bible unimpaired so as to bring o ut th is sense more f ul ly
, .

He speaks o f th e deli v erance o f the Israelites o ut of t h e

land of Egypt He does not dilate u pon th e diffic ul ty of
.

u nderstanding h o w the Israelites sho uld have departe d 20

harnessed but he points o u t h o w t h ey are t h e o nl y
nation in ancient or modern times whi ch th rowing o ff , ,

t h e yoke o f slavery claims no merit no victory of its o w n :

, ,

There is no Marath on no R e gill u s no T o u rs no Morgarten

, , , .

All is from abo v e noth ing from t h emselves

,
He mentions .
’

the diffi c u lty o f conceiving the migration of a whole nation

under s u ch circ u mstances as those of the Israelites th e ,

proposal to red u ce t h e nu mbers of the text from

t o 600 armed men ; h e mentions t h e diffic ul ty o f deter
mining th e exac t plac e of t h e passage of the R ed Se a 30
"

but h e qu ickly dismisses these considerations to fix th e

mind o n the essential features of this great deliverance
o n the Almi gh ty th rough the dark an d terrible night
, ,

with the enemy pressing close behind an d th e driving seas

o n either si de leadin g his people like s h eep by the h an ds
,

of Moses and Aaron h is pe ople c arryin g with them from

,

that ni gh t th e abiding impression that this deliveranc e

the first and greatest in th eir history was effe c ted not by —

th eir own power but by th e power o f God He tells

,
.
’

the reader how with re gard to all t h e topographi c al 40

,

details of the Israelite j o u rney we are still in t h e condition

,
 THE JE WIS H C H URC H 43 3

of discoverer s bu t inste ad o f impressing u pon him as

,

an inference from this th at the Bible narrative is a creation

su ch as the Iliad and Odyssey he reminds him with tru th , , ,

how s uspense as to the exact details o f form and locality

is the most fitting approach for the consideration o f the
presence of Him who has made darkness His secret place ,

his pavilion roun d abo u t Him with dark water and t hic k ,

clouds to cover them Everywhere Dr Stanl ey thu s seeks

.
’
.

to gi v e its du e prominence to that for which the religio us

no l i fe really val ues the Bible If the J ewish religion is .

characterized in an eminent degree by the dimn ess o f its

conception o f a future life Dr Stanley does not fin d ,
’
.

here like Warb urton matter for a baffling contrast between

, ,

Jewish and pagan religion bu t he finds fresh proof o f the ,

grand edifying fact o f Jewish history the co nscio usne ss o f ,

t h e li v ing act u al presence of God Himself

,
a tru th in the —
,

limited conceptions o f this yo uthf ul nation too vast to

admit o f any rival truth however preciou s He speaks
, .

o f the call o f Sam u el What he finds to dwell o n in this call

.

1 20 is n o t the exact nat ure of the voice that called Sam u el on ,

which Spinoza specul ates so c uriou sly it is the image of

childlike devoted continu ou s goodness which Samu el s
, , ,
’ ’

childhood brings before u s the type which Samuel offers

of holiness o f growth of a new cre ation without co n
, ,

version He speaks of the Prophets and he avows that

.
’
,

the Bible recognizes revelation and inspiration

outside the circle o f the chosen people ; but he makes
it h is b usiness no t to redu ce in virtu e o f this a v owal the , ,

greatness and significance of Hebrew prophecy but t o set ,

3 0 that greatness an d significance in clearer lig h t than ever To .

the greatness and significance o f what he calls the negative

side o f that prophecy its attacks o n the falsehoods and
—

s uperstitions which endeavoured to take the pl ace o f God

he does‘du e j ustice but he reser v es the chief prominence
fo r its positive side — the assertion of the spiritu ality t h e ,

morality of God His j u stice His goodn ess His love

, , , .
’

Everywhere he keeps in min d the p urpose for whi c h

the religiou s life seeks th e Bible— to be enlarged and
strengthened not to be straitened an d perpl e xed He
, .

seizes a tru th of criticism when he says that the Bible

narrati v e whatever inacc uracies o f numbers the O riental
ARN LD
,

O F f
43 4 THE J EWIS H CH URCH
tendenc y to amplification may have introd uced into it ,

remains a s u bstantially historical work— not a work h ke

Homer s poems ; but to this proposition which merely
’
, ,

so stated is a tru th o f c riticism and nothing more he

, ,

assigns no u nd ue pro min ence he knows that a mere tru th

o f criticism is not as s u ch a tr uth for the re h gio us life
, , .

Dr Stanley thu s gives a lesson not o nl y to the Bishop

.

o f Natal but to the Bishop o f Natal s adversaries Many ’

.
,

o f these ad v ersaries themselves exactly repeat the Bishop s

’

error in this that they gi v e a wholly undue prominence 1 0

, ,

in connexion with the reli gio us life to certain intellectu al ,

propositions o n which the essence and vitality o f th e

,

religio us life in n o way depends Th e Bishop devotes .

a vol ume to the e xhibition of s uch propositions an d he ,

is cens urable becau se ad dressing the reli gio u s world he , ,

exhibits his propositions so as to confu se the religious life

by them not to strengthen it He seems to ha v e so con
, .

f used it in many o f his hearers that they like himself , ,

ha v e forgotten in what it really consists Puzzled by t h e .

Bishop s s ums terrified at the conclu sion h e draws from 20

’
,

them they in their bewilderment seek for safety in

, , ,

attacking the s ums themsel v es instead of p utting th em

,

o n one si de as irrelevant an d rej ecting t h e concl u sion ,

dedu ced from them as untru e Here is a Bishop many .

,
’

of Dr Stanley s brethren are now cryin g in all parts of

.
’

En gland here is a B ishop who has learnt among the

Zul us that only a certain nu mber of people can stand in
a doorway at once and th at no man can eat eighty eigh t
,
-

pigeons a day and who tells us as a consequence th at

, , ,

the Pentate u ch is all fiction which however the author 30 , , ,

may very likely have composed with ou t meaning to do

wrong and as a work of poetry like Homer s
,
Well ,
’
.
’
,
’

o n e can imagine Dr Stanley answerin g them y o u

. cannot ,

think that ! No they reply ; and yet the Bishop s ,

’ ’

s ums p uzzle us an d we want th em disproved A nd power

,
.

ful answers we know are preparing An adversary worthy

, ,
.

o f the Bishop will soon appear ,

Ex o riare q
s n o st ris e x
ali u i o ssibus u lt or !

He when he comes will make mince meat of the Bishop s

, ,
-
’

cal cul ations Th ose great truth s so necessary to o ur sal v a 40

.
,

tion wh ich the Bis h op ass ails will at h is h ands recei v e

, ,
4 36 THE JEWIS H C H URC H
‘
helps them to settle the vexed q uestion o f the p recise
time wh en the Book o f De ute rono my ass umed its p resent
form ’
— that which elaborates an octa v o v ol ume o n the
arithmetical diffi c ul ties of the Bible with the concl usion ,

that the Bible is as u nhistorical as Homer s poetry o r that ’

,

makes u s feel th at these diffic ul ties melt away

before the simple pathos and lofty spirit o f the Bible
itself 1 Such critics as this critic o f Dr Stanl ey are those .

w h o co mmend the Bishop of Natal for speaking the

‘
tru th w h o say that liberals of every shade o f opinion 1 0
,
’

are indignant with me fo r reb uking him Ah ! these .

li berals — the power fo r good they have h ad and lost ,

the power for good they will yet again have and yet again ,

lose ! Eternal bondsmen of phrases and catchwords will ,

they never arrive at the heart of any matte r but always ,

keep m uttering ro und it their s illy shibboleths h ke an

incan tation There is tru th o f science and tru th o f
religion truth o f science does not become tru th o f religion
u ntil it is made to harmonize with it Appli ed as the laws .

o f nat ure are applied in the Essays and R eviews applied 20 ,

as a rithmetical calc ulations are app lied in the Bishop of

Natal s work truths o f science e v en s upposin g them to
’
, ,

be ‘s uch lose their tru th and the u tterer o f them is not

, ,

a fearle ss speaker o f truth but at best a blunderer

,
’
, , .

Allowin g two feet in width for each full grown man nine -
,

men coul d j ust have stood in front of the Tabernacle .

’

A priest co uld not h ve eate n daily eig h ty eight pigeons

fo r his o w n portion
a‘
,

in the most holy place ”

And as
,

.
,

a conclusion from all this : In writing t h e sto ry o f the

Exod us from the ancient legends o fh is people the Script ure 30 ,

writer may have had no more consciousness o f doing wrong ,

o r o f practis i
ng historical deception than Homer had or , ,

any o f the early R oman ann ah sts ‘Heaven and earth .

’
,

what a gospel ! Is it this which a fearless speaker of

truth m ust b urst if h e cannot utter Is this a message
which it is w o e t o h im if he does not preac h — this a testi
mony which he is straitened till he can deliver
I am to ld that the Bishop o f N atal explains t o those
w h o do not know it that the Pentate u ch is no t to be
,

m ad a s an a uthenti c histo ry but as a narrative fu ll of 40

,

divine instr uction in morals and religion : I wish to lay

 THE JEWIS H CH URC H 43 7

a side all ridic ule into which literary criticism to o readily

,

falls while I expre ss my unfeigned conviction that in h is

,

o w n heart the Bishop o f N atal honestly believes this and ,

that he originally meant to convey this to h is readers .

B ut I cens ure h is book because it entirely fails to convey

th is I censure it because while it impresses strongly o n
.
,

the re ader that the Pentateu ch is n o t to be re ad as an

authentic narrative it so entirely fails to make him feel
,
’

that it is a narrative full o f divine instru ction in morals

1 0 an d religion I cens ure it becau se addressed to the
’
.
, ,

re h gio us world it p uts the n o n essential part o f the Bible

,
-

so pro minent and the essential so m u ch in the bac kgro u nd

, ,

and having established this false proportion hol ds such

, ,

language about the Bible in consequence of it that inste ad , ,

o f serving the religio us li fe it confuses it I do not blame

, .

the Bishop o f Natal s doctrine for its novelty o r heterodoxy

’

— literary criticism takes no acco unt o f a doctrine s novelty ’

o r heterodoxy ; I said expressly that Mr Jow ett s Essay ’

.

w as fo r literary criticism j ustifi ed by its unction

,
I said
,

2 0 that the Bishop o f N atal s book w as cens urable b e ca u se

’
, ,

proclaiming what it did it proclaimed no more be cau se, ,

not taking rank as a bo ok o f p ure spec ul ation inevitably ,

taking rank as a religio us book for the religiou s worl d ,

fo r th e gre at maj ority o f mankind it t reated its s ubj ect ,

un edi fyingly. Address what d o ctrine yo u like to the

religious world be as unortho dox as yo u will literary
, ,

criticism has no authority to bl ame yo u : onl y if you r ,

doctrine is evidently not adap ted to the needs o f the

reli giou s life if as yo u present it it tends to confound
—
, ,

30 that life rather than to strengthen it literary criticism has ,

the right to che c k you for it at once pe rceives that your

d o ctrine as yo u present it is false Was it nevertheless
, ,
.
, ,

your duty to put forth that doctrine since yo u believe d ,

it to be true Th e honoured au thority o f the Archbishop

o f Dublin i s invoke d to decide that it w as Which duty .

comes first for a man the d uty o f proclaiming an in

—

adequ ate idea o r the duty o f making an inadequ ate i de a

,

adequ ate B ut this di ffic ult qu estion w e n eed not resolve

it is enou gh that if it is a man s d uty to announce even
,
’

40 h i s inadeq u ate i deas it is the duty o f criticism to tell h i m

th at they are inade q
,

u ate .
4 38 THE J EWIS H C H URCH
B ut again it is said th at th e Bishop o f Natal s b ook
, ,
’

will in th e e nd have a good effect by loosening the s uper

, , ,

st i tio u s attac hment with which the mass of t h e English

religious worl d clings to the letter o f the Bible and th at it ,

deserves from criticism indulgence o n this groun d I c an .

not tell what may in the e n d be the e ffe ct of th e Bishop

, ,

o f N atal s book u pon the religio us life o f this co untry

’
It s .

natural immediate e ffect may be seen by any o n e w h o will

take the trouble o f looking at a newspaper calle d Public
Op inio n in which the Bishop s book is the theme of a great 1 0
’
,

continu o us correspondence Th ere week afte r week the .

, ,

critical genius o f o ur nation discovers itself in captivating

n udity ; and there in the letters o f a terrible athl ete of
,

R eason w h o signs himself Eagle Eye the natural imme

’
-
, ,

diate effect o f the Bishop s book may be ob served

’
Its .

natural ultimate effect woul d be I think to continue in , , ,

another form the excessive care o f the English religious

,

world for that which is not o f the real essence o f the Bible :
as this world h as fo r years been prone to say We are ,

the salt of the earth because w e believe that every syllable 20

,

and letter of the Bible is the direct u tte rance o f the Most
High so it wo uld naturally after imbibing the Bishop
,
’
,

of N atal s infl uence be inclin ed to say We are the salt

’
, ,

of the earth because w e believe that the Pentateu ch is

,

u nhistorical Whether they believe the o n e or the other

’
.
,

what they shoul d learn to say is : We are unprofitable

servants the religious life is beyond B ut at all events .
’
, ,

literary criticism wh ich is th e g uardian o f literary truth

, ,

must j udge books accordin g to their intrinsic merit an d

proximate nat ural e ffect not according to th eir possible so ,

u tility and remote contingent e f fect If th e Bishop of .

N atal s demonstrations ever pro du c e a sal utary e ffect u pon

’

t h e religio u s life of England it will be after some o n e else , ,

or he himself has s upp lie d th e now missing power of

,

e di fic atio n for literary criticism his book as it at present ,

stands must always remain a censurable production

,
.

Th e situ ation o f a clergyman active minded as well as ,

-

piou s is I freely admit at the present moment o ne o f

, , ,

g reat d iffic ulty Intel l ect u al ideas.are not the essence of

t h e religious life still the reh gio us l ife connects itself as 40 ,

I have said with certain intellectual i deas an d all intel

, ,
4 40 THE J EWIS H C H URC H
most dangero us to him W it h o ut professional ruin an d even ,

to ex h ibit u nction as he g oes alon g there is no reason to ,

ex ult at the feat he wo ul d probably have exhibite d more

u nction still if he had not h ad to ex h ibit it upon the tight
rope Th e time at last comes for the State the collec tive
.
,

nation to intervene Some reconstru ction of the English

, .

Ch ur c h a reconstr uction hardl y less important than that

,

wh ich to ok plac e at the R eformation is fast becoming ,

inevitable It will be a delicate a most diffic ul t task ;

.
,

an d t h e reconstr uction o f the Protestant C h urches of 10

Germany offers an example o f what is to be avoided rather
than o f what is to be followe d .

Still so divine so indestr uctible is th e power of

, ,

C hristianity— so immense the power of transformation

afforde d to it by its s ublime maxim Th e letter killeth , ,

bu t the spirit giveth life that it will ass uredly ever be

’
,

able to adapt itself to n ew c onditions and in connexion , ,

with intellect u al i deas change d or developed to enter upon ,

s uccessive stages o f progr e ss It will even s urvive th e

.

handling of liberals of every sh ade of Opinion B ut it 20

‘
.
’

wi ll not do this by losing its essence by becoming s u ch ,

a Ch ristianity as th ese liberals imagine the Christianity ,

n o t Mysterio us o f T oland ; a C hristianity consisting o f

half a dozen intellectu al propositions an d half a dozen ,

moral rules de duce d from them It will do it by retaining .

the re ligious life in all its depth and fulness in c onnexion

w ith n ew inte llect u al i deas an d t h e latter will never have
meaning for it until they h a v e been harmoniz ed with th e
former and the religiou s tea ch er who presents the latter
,

to it without harmonizing th em with the former will 30

, ,

never ha v e fulfil led his mission Th e religious life existe d

.

in the C h urch o f the Middl e Ages as it exists in th e ,

Churches o f Protestantism nay what monument of th at ,

life have the Protestant C hurches pro duced wh ich for its ,

m ost essential q u alities its tenderness its spiritu ality its

, , ,

ine ffable yearning is comparable to th e Imita tio n Th e

,
.

critical i deas of t h e sixteenth century broke up th e Church

of the Mi ddle Ages resting o n the basis of a priesthood
,

with s upernatural power of interpreting the Bible B ut .

Luth er was a great reli giou s reformer not because h e made 40 ,

himself the organ of these i deas themselves negative not , ,

 THE JEWIS H CH URC H 44 1

becau se he shattered th e i dol of a me diatory pries thood ,

bu t b eca use be reconcile d these i deas with the re hg io us

life because he ma de the religious life feel that a positive
,

an d fru itf ul concl usion w as to be draw n from them —the ,

concl usion that each man mu st work o ut his o wn salva

tion with fear and trembling Protestantism has formed .
’

the notion that every syllable and letter o f the Bible is

the direct utterance of the Most High Th e critical ideas .

o f o ur cent ury are forcing Pro t estantism away from this

1 0 proposition ,
un tru e like t h e proposition that the Pope is
infallible but the religious reformer is not he who rivets
o ur minds u pon the un tru th o f this proposition wh o ,

bewilders the religiou s life by insisting on the inte llectu al

blunder of which it has been gu ilty in entertaining it he
is the man w h o makes us feel th e f uture which undoubtedly
exists for the reh gio us life in the absence o f it .

Makes us all feel not the mul titude only I am reproached

,
.

with wishing to make free thinking an aristocratic privilege

-
,

while a false religion is throw n to the m ultitude to keep

2 0 it quiet an d in this co untry where the mul titude is in—
,

the first place particularly averse to being call ed the m ulti

,

tude and in th e second by its natural spirit of honesty

, , ,

partic ul arly averse to all underhand selfish schemin g ,

s uch an impu tation is readily snatched up and carries ,

m uch odium with it I will n o t seek to remove that o di um

.

by any flattery by saying that I th ink we are all o ne

,

enl igh tened p ublic together N 0 there is a multitu de .

, ,

a m ul titu de made up o ut o f all ranks : probably in no

country— so m u ch has o ur national life been carried o n by
30 means of parties and so inevitably does party spirit in
,
-
,

regardin g all things put the consi deration of their intrinsi c

,

reason and tru th second and n o t first — is the m ultitude

,

more unintelli gent m ore narrow minde d and more pas

,
'

-
,

si o n ate t h an in this Perhaps in no country in the world

.

is so m u ch nonsense so firmly believed B ut those o n .

whose behalf I demand from a religiou s spe aker e dificatio n

are more than this m ultitude ; and their cause and that
o f the m ultit u de are o n e They are all th ose who acknow
.

le dge th e nee d o f the reh gio us life Th e fe w whom literary .

40 criticism re gards as exempt from all concern with e di fic a

tion are far fewer than is commonly s upposed Those
, .
44 2 T HE JEWIS H CH URCH
whose life is all in th o ught an d to wh om therefore literary
, , ,

criti cism concedes the right of treating religion with abso l ute
free dom as p ure matter fo r though t are not a great class
, , ,

bu t a few indivi du als Let them think in peace these

.
,

sublime solitaries ; they have a right to their liberty

Churches will never concede it t o them ; literary criticism
will never deny it to them From his austere isolation .

a born thin ker like Spinoza cries with warnin g solemnity

t o the wo ul d be thinker what from his a u stere isolation
, ,

a born artist like Mich ael Angelo cries to the woul d be 1 0 ,

-

artist C anst thou drink o f t h e c up that I drink of ? ’

Those w h o persist in the thinker s life are far fewer even

’
,

than those w h o pe rsist in the artist s O f th e educated ’

.

minority far the greatest number retain their demand

,

u pon the religio u s li fe They share indeed the c ul ture

.
, ,

o f their time they are c urious to know the n ew ideas of

,

th eir time ; their o wn c ulture is adv ance d in so far as ,

those i deas are novel striking an d j u st This course they

, , .

follow whether they feel o r not (what is certainl y tru e )

, ,

that this satisfaction o f their curiosity this culture o f 20 ,

t h eirs is not witho u t its dangers to the reli giou s life

, Thu s .

th ey go o n being inform ed gath ering intellectual ide as at ,

their o wn peril min ding as Marcus Aureli us reproached

, ,

himse lf with too long minding life less th an notion , .

’

B ut the moment th ey enter th e sph ere of religion t h ey ,

to o ask an d nee d to be e difi e d not informe d only Th ey , .

inevitably su ch is the law o f th e religiou s life take the

, ,

same attitude as t h e least instructed Th e reh gio us voi ce

-
.

that speaks to them m ust have th e tone o f the spiritu al

worl d : the inte lle ctual i deas presente d t o th e m m ust be 30 ‘

made to blend with th e religious life .

Th e worl d may not se e t his bu t cannot a clergyman ,

se e it C ann ot be see that speaking to th e reli gious life , ,

he may honestly be silent about matters which he cannot

yet u se to e dific atio n an d o f which therefore the religious
, , ,

life does not want to hear ? Does he not see that h e is

even bound to take ac c ount o f th e circumstances o f his
hearers and th at information which is only fruitless to
,

t h e reli giou s life o f some o f his hearers may be worse th an ,

fruitless confounding to the religiou s life o f oth ers of 40

, ,

th em 3 C ertainl y Ch ristianity has n o t two doctrines o ne

‘
, ,
4 44 THE JEWIS H CH URCH
intelle ctual definition of the death o f Ch rist has yet suc
c e eded in placin g it, for the religious life in so true an
,

aspe ct as the s ublime ej acul ation of the Litany O Lamb

of God that takest away the sins o f the world have mercy
, ,

u pon u s
A n d yo u are masters in Israel and know not these
,

things and yo u require a voice from the world o f lite rature

to tell them to yo u Those w h o ask nothing better than
to remain silent o n s uch topics who have to quit their
,

o w n sphere to speak of them ,

w h o cannot to uch them 1 0
without being reminded that they survive those w h o
touch e d them with far different power yo u compel in the
, ,

mo re interest o f letters o f intelligence o f general c ulture

, , ,

to proclaim tru ths which it was your function to have

m ade familiar And when yo u have th us forced the very
.
,

stones to cry o ut and the dumb to speak yo u call them

, ,

singul ar becau se th ey kn ow these tr uths and arrogant

,

because they declare them i

 DA NT E A ND B EA T R IC E

[F raser s M agaz in e,
’
May 1 8 63 ]
T HO SE critics who allegorize the Divine Co medy, wh o
exaggerate o r rather who mistake the s upersens u al
, , ,

element in Dante s work who redu ce to nothing the’

,

sensible and human element are hardly worth refuting ,

.

They know nothing o f the necessary laws under which

poetic genius works o f the inevitable conditions under ,

which t h e creations of poetry are produced B ut in their .

,

turn those other critics err hardl y less Widely w h o ex ag

, ,

gerate o r rather wh o mistake the h u man an d real element

, , ,

1 0 in Dante s poem ; w h o se e in s u ch a passion as that o f

’
,

Dante fo r Beatrice an a ffection belonging to the sphere o f

,

actu al domestic life fitte d to s ustain the wear and tear,

of o ur ordinary daily existence Into the error o f these .

s ec ond critics an accomplish e d recent translator o f Dante ,

Mr Theodore Martin seems t o me t o have fallen

. He has
,
.

ever present to his min d when he speaks of the Beatrice ,

whom Dante a dored Wordsworth s picture o f ,

’

f
Th e pe r ect w o man, no p anned bly l
T o w arn, t o co m o rt , an d c o mman d ; f
A nd ye t a spirit sti , an d righ t ll b
With something o f an ange igh t ll .

He is ever qu oting these lines in c onnexion with Dante s ’

Beatrice ever ass imilating to this pi ct ure Beatrice as

Dante conceive d her ; ever attrib utin g to Dante s passion
’

a character identical with that o f the a ffection which

Wordsworth in th e poem from which these lines are taken
, ,

meant t o portray Th e affection h ere portraye d by Words

.

worth is I grant a s ubstantial h u man affection inhabiting

, , ,

the domain o f real life at the same time that it is poetical ,

30 and bea u t i
ful B ut in order to give this fle sh and bloo d
.
- -

c haracter to Dante s passion fo r Beatrice what a task has

’
,

Mr Martin to perform how m uch is he o bh ged to imagine

.

how much to sh ut his eyes to or to disbelieve ! Not per ,

44s D ANTE A ND B EA TR ICE
ceiving that the vital imp ulse o f Dante s soul is towards ’

reverie an d spiritu al vision ; that the task Dante sets himself

is not the task of reconciling poetry and reality of giving to ,

eac h its due part of s upplementing the one by the other ;

,

but the task o f sa c rificin g the worl d to the spirit of making ,

the spirit all in all of effacing the worl d in presenc e of the

,

spiri t — M r Martin seeks to find a Dante admirable and

.

c omplete in the life of the worl d as well as in the li fe o f the

spirit ; an d when he c annot find him he invents him Dante , .

saw the worl d and use d in his poetry what he had seen
,
10

fo r he w as a born artist B ut he was essentially aloof .

from the world and not c omplete in the life o f the worl d
,

for he w as a born spirit ualist and solitary Keeping in .

o u r min ds this h is double character we may seize the

, ,

exact truth as to h is relations with Beatrice and steer ,

a ri ght c o urse between th e error of those who deh terah z e

them to o m u ch on the o ne hand and that of those who
, ,

literalize them to o m uch on th e other ,

.

Th e Divin e Comedy I have already said is no alle , ,

g ory , and Beatrice no mere person ifi cation o f theolo gy 20 .

Mr Martin is quite righ t in saying that Beatrice is th e

.

Beatrice whom men turne d roun d to gaze at in the streets

o f Florence that sh e is no allegorical ph antom no ’ ‘

fic tion p urely ideal He is quite right in saying that .

’

Dante .worships no phantoms that his passion for ,

’

Beatri c e w as a real passion and that his love poetry does ,

-

not deal in the attrib utes of celestial charms He was .

’

an artis t o n e o f th e greatest artists and ar abhors what

— t

is v agu e hollow ; and impalpable

, .

Eno ugh to make this fully manifest we h ave in the Vita 3 0

Nuo va Dante there records how a boy o f ten he first
.
, ,

saw Beatrice a girl of nine dresse d in crimson ; how

, , ,

a second time he saw her nine years later passin g along

, , ,

t h e street dressed in white between two la dies ol der than

, ,

h erself an d how sh e salu te d him

,
He re c ords h o w after .

wards sh e once denie d him her salutation he re c ords th e

profoun d impression which at her fath er s death th e grief ,
’
,

and beauty o f Beatrice made on all th ose w h o visite d h er

he re c ords h is meetin g with her at a party after h er
marriage his emotion an d how some ladies p resent 40
, , ,

observing his emotion ma de a mock of him to th at most ,

448 D ANTE A ND B EATRICE
chivalrous passion in general an d of Dante s divinization ,
’

o f Beatrice in partic ular misled by imagining this worship ,

fo r woman as they call it to be something which it w as

’
, ,

not something invol v ing modern relations in social life

,

betwee n the tw o sexes— insist upon makin g o ut o f Dante s ’

a doration o f Beatrice a s ubstantial modern love story and -

,

o f arran ging Dante s real life so as to t urn it into the

’

proper sort o f real life for a worshipper o f woman to

lead Th e few real incidents o f Dante s passion enumerated
.
’
,

in the Vita Nuova s uffi cient to give to his great poem the 1 0
,

basis which it req uired are far t o o scanty to give to s uch ,

a love story as this the basis which it requires therefore

-

they m ust be developed and amplifie d Beatrice was .

a living woman and Dante h ad seen her ; but sh e m ust

,

become
T h e c reat ure no t to o brigh t and go o d
F o r h uman nat ure s dai
’
o o d, ly f
of Wordsworth s poem sh e must become p ure flesh and
’

blood— beautiful yet s ubstantial and moulded of that, ,

’

noble h umanity wherewith Heaven blesses n o t unfre 20 ,

q uently o ur common earth Dante had saluted Beatrice

,
.
’
,

had spoken t o her but this is n o t enough he has s urely

omitte d to record partic ulars : it is scarcely credible
that he shoul d no t have foun d an opportunity o f directly
declarin g h is attachment ; for in position education , ,

an d appea ran c e he w as a man worth any woman

’
an d his ,

f ace at that time o f h is life m ust have been eminently

engagin g Th erefore it seems strange that h is love should
.
’

not have foun d its issue in marriage ; for he loved

Beatrice as a man loves and with th e passion that naturally 30 ,

perseveres to the possession o f its mistress .

’

However his love did no t fin d its iss ue in marriage

,
.

Beatrice married Messer Simone dei Bardi to whom says , ,

Mr Martin her hand h ad been perhaps ligh tly or to

.
, ,

please her parents pl edge d in ignorance o f the deep and

, ,

noble passion which sh e h ad inspire d in the yo ung poet s

.

heart B ut sh e certainl y coul d not have been insensible

.
’

to his profound tenderness an d passion although whether

sh e kn ew o f it before h e r marriage an d wh ether sh e , ,

either then or afterwards gave it her countenance and 40 ,

 A
D NTE A ND B EATRICE 449

approval and returned it in any way and in what degree

, ,

— q uestions which Mr Martin says naturally s uggest

,
.
,

themselves — are he confesses questions fo r solving which

, ,

the materials are most scanty and unsatisfactory Un .

’

‘
questionably he adds it startles and grieves us to find
,
’
,
“
Beatrice takin g part with h e r friends in laughing at Dante
when he was overcome at first meeting her after her
”
marriage . B ut there may h e thinks have been cau ses ,
’
,

for th i s — causes for which in j ustice to her allowance m ust , ,

1 0 be ma de even as w e see that Dante ma de it Then again

' ’
, ,
.
,

as to Messer Simone dei Bardi s feeli n gs abo u t this attach

’

ment o f Dante to his wife It is true says Mr Martin .

,
’
.
,

that we h ave no direct information o n this poin t bu t

the love o f Dante was of an order t o o p ure and noble
to oc casion distru st e v en if the p urity of Beatrice h ad not
,

placed her above s uspicion ; but Dante did what onl y

a great and manly nature coul d have done — h e triumphed
over his pain he uttered no complaint ; his regrets were
‘
b uried within his o wn heart At the same time Mr Martin .
’
.

‘
20 thinks ,
it is contrary to h uman nature that a love unfed
by any tokens o f favour should retain all its original force
and without wrong either to Beatrice o r Dante we may
concl ude that an understanding was come to between them ,

which in some meas ure soothed his heart if it did not ,

satisfy it And sooner or later before Beatrice died we

.
’
, ,

cannot doubt that there came a day when words passe d

between them whi ch helpe d to reconcil e Dante to the doom
that severed her from his side during her all t o o brief
soj ourn o n earth when the pent up heart of the poet
,
-

so swept down the barriers within which it had so long

stru ggled and he ,

C ugh t up t h w h l f l v and utt r d it

a e o e o o e, e
’

b v
,

Th e n ade adie u fo r e e r,

if not to her yet to all those words which it w as n o longer

,

meet shoul d be spoken to another s wife ’

.
’

B ut Dante married as well as Beatrice and so Dante s

’
,

married life has t o be arranged also It is says Mr Martin .

, .
,

only those who have observed little o f h uman nature or ,

o f their o w n hearts who will think that Dante s marria e

’
, g
40 with Gemma Donati argue s again st the dep th o f sincerity
ARN LD
O
G g
4 50 D A NTE A ND B EATRICE
of his first love Why sho uld he not have so ught the
.

solace and the s upport of a generous woman s nature w h o ’

, ,

knowing all the truth w as yet content with s uch affection,

as he w as able to brin g to a secon d love N or w as that

ne c essarily small Ardent and affectionate as his nature
.

w as the sympathies of s uch a woman m u st have elicit ed

,

from him a satisfacto ry response while at the same time , ,

witho ut prej udi c e to the wife s claim o n his regard h e ’

,

migh t entertain his heavenward dream o f the departe d

Beatrice Th e tra dition is h owever th at Dante did not 1 0
.
’
, ,

li v e happily with h is w ife ; and some h ave thought th at

he means to c ast a disparaging reflection on his marriage
in a passage of the Purgato ry I need not say that this .

sort o f thing wo uld never do for Mr Martin s hero— that .

’

‘
hero who can do nothing inconsistent with the p urest
respect to her w h o h ad been the wedded wife o f another ,

on the one hand or with his regard for the m o ther o f his
,

c hil dren o n the other Accordingly are w e to ass ume ’ ’

.
, , ,

Mr Martin cries that the woman w h o gave herself to

.
,

him in th e f ull knowledge th at she was not the bride of 20

his im agination was not regarde d by him with the esteem
,

which her de v otion was calc ulated to inspire It is quite

‘
impossible Dante was a tru e h earte d gentleman an d
.
-
,

c o u l d never have spoken sli ghtingly of her on whose breast

h e h ad fo und comfort ami d many a sorrow an d who h ad ,

borne to h im a nu merou s progeny— the last a Beatrice .

’

Donna Gemma was a generou s an d devoted woman and

’
,

she and Dante th orough ly understoo d each other .

’

Al l this has as applie d t o real personages the grave

, ,

defect of being entirely o f Mr Martin s o wn imaginin g so

’
.

B u t it h as a still graver defect I think as applied to , ,

Dante in being so singu larly inappropriate to its obj ect

,
.

Th e grand impracticable Solitary with keen senses and

, ,

ardent passions for nature h ad made h im an artist and

—
,

art mu st be as Milton says sensu o u s and impassioned

, ,

but wit h an irresistible bent to the inward life th e life of ,

imagination vision and e c stasy ; with an inh erent im

, ,

patience o f t h e o utward life th e life of distraction j ostlin g , , ,

mutu al concession ; t h is man of a h umour which made

h im har d to ge t on wit h says Petrarc h melancholy an d 40 ’
,

pensive says Boccaccio ; by nature ab stracted and t aci

,
’
45 2 ANTE
D A ND B EATRICE
and ch anged my life this man took himself from me and ,

gave himself to othe rs .

When that I had mounted from flesh to spirit and ,

beauty and spirit we re increased un to me I w as to him ,

less dear and less acceptable .

He turned his steps to go in a w ay not true p ursuing ,

afte r false images of good which f ulfil nothing o f th e ,

promises which they give .

Neither availed it me that I obtained inspirations t o

be granted me whereby both in dream an d otherwise 1 0
, , ,

I called him back so h ttle heed paid he to them .

So deep he fell that for h is salvation all means came

, ,

short except to show him the people o f perdition

, .

Th e hi gh de cree o f G od wo ul d be broken co uld Lethe ,

be passed and that so fair aliment tasted without some

, ,

scot paid o f repentance wh ich po urs forth tears , .

’

Here indeed and in a somewhat similar p assage o f the

, ,

next canto Mr Martin thinks that the obvious all usion

, .

is to certain moral shortcomings occasional s lips o f which , ,

(th o ugh he treats Boccaccio s imp u tation as monstrou s and 20

’

incredible ) Dante with his strong and ardent passions, ,

having like meaner men to figh t the perennial conflict

, ,

betwee n flesh and spirit had sometimes h e s upposes been ,

’
, ,

g u ilty .An Italian commentator gives at least as tr u e an

interpretation of these passages when he says that in
th em Dante makes Beatrice as th e representative of ,

theology lament that he s h ould have left the study of

,

divinity in which by the grace o f Heaven he migh t have

—
, ,

attaine d admirable pro ficien cy to immerse himself in civil —

affairs with the parties o f Florence B ut the real truth 3 0 ’

'

is th at all the life o f the world its pleas ures its b usiness
, , , ,

its parties it s politi c s all is ah ke h ollow and miserable to

, ,

Dante in comparison with the i nward life the ecstasy of ,

t h e divine vision every way which does n o t lead strai ght

towards this is for him a via non vera ; every good thing
but this is for h im a false image o f good fu lfin none ,

o f the promises which it gives fo r th e excellency o f th e

knowle dge o f this he counts all things but loss Beatrice .

leads him t o th is herself symbolizes for him the ineffable

beauty and p urity fo r which h e longs Even to Dante at 40 .

twenty one when he yet sees the living Beatrice with his
-
,
 DA NTE A ND B EATRICE 45 3

eyes she already symbolizes this for him sh e is already

, ,

n o t the creat ure not too bright and good o f Wordswort h,

but a spirit far more than a woman to Dante at twenty

fiv e composing the Vita Nu ova sh e is still more a spirit
to Dante at fifty when his character h as taken it s bent
, ,

when his geni u s is come to his p erfection when he is

,

composing his immortal poem sh e is a spirit altogether

, .
 ON THE M ODER N EL EM ENT IN
L I T ER AT UR E s “
i
[M ac milla n
’
s M agaz ine , February 1 8 69]

[Wh at f ll w w d l iv do o s i g asl l t i th P t y
e e re as an nau ura e c ure n e oe r

Ch i t Oxf d It w
ara orv p i t d b t t h pp d t th t im as n e er rn e u e re a e are a e e
v l mm t it f m
.
,

se e ra co iti w h h d ith
en s o n h d it
ro h d cr cs o a e er ear or e ar

b t it It w m t t b f ll w d d mpl t d by
, ,

re p t or s a ou as e an o e o o e an co e e a c o urse
f l t d v l pi g t h bj t ti ly d m f th w
.

o ec ures e e o n e su ec en re an so e o e se e re
iv b k ff b f k l
,

g B t th
en u w e c o u rse I d m yas w d gro en o ec au se o un no e e
ffi i t f t t i g i lid w y m y p ti f th bj t
.

insu c en or re a n n a so a an or o ns o e su ec
ch o se n Th i g l le t h w v
nau ura t t i g p t i
ec ure , f t h o e e r, re a n a or on o e

bj t wh my k wl dg w p h p l i ffi i t d w h
.

su ec e re no e e as er a s ess nsu c en an e re

b id my h b tt bl t h lp th m lv t f m th i
,

es es w eare rs e re e er a e o e e se es o u ro e r
ow k wl dg i h p i t d N
n no e e, s f l th imp rf ti f thi
e re rn e O o ne ee s e e ec on o s
k t h y d g liz i g m d f t tm t m th I d
.

s e c an e ne ra n od t
e o rea en o re an o an no
on ly i th i m d f t tm t l t my t t w th it w l v
s s o e o rea en ess o as e n o an as e e en

y b
e ars a o ,
g t t h t yl t u w h i h i t h te s f t h d
e t t h
oo, t h c s a o e o c o r ra er an
th e
l ex i t yl
o t er,w hi h Is ah v l i l t t b d a e on s nce e arn o a an o n.
N v th l
s e c
g
h vi g w itt m h f l t b t H ll i m d H b i m
“

e er e ess, a n r en uc o a e a ou e en s an e ra s
d H ll i m b i g t m y p pl lm t mpty
,

an e en s e n o m an mp d eo e a os an e na e co are
w ith H b i m I p i t t hi l t
e ra s w ith t h h p t h t it m y
rn s v ec ure e o e a a ser e ,

b d f ll ill t ti t giv
,

i th
n e a f th se nce o o er an m ti u f er u s ra o ns, o e so e no on o
th H ll
e i pi it
e d it w k
en c s rd f t h i ig ifi
an s i th h i t y
o r s, an o e rs n c ance n e s or
of th v l ti f th h m piit i g
e e o u on o l e u an s r n e nera

M A
.

is related in o n e o f those legends which ill ustrate the

IT
history o f B uddh ism that a c ertain dis ciple once presente d ,

himse lf before his master B uddh a w ith the desire to be , ,

permitted to undertake a mission of pe cul iar difficulty .

Th e compassionate teacher represented to him the obstacles

to be s urmo unted an d the risks to be run Po urn a — so .

the dis ciple was call ed— insisted an d replied with equal , ,

hu mility and adroitness to th e s uc cessive obje ctions of ,

his adviser Satisfied at last by his answers of th e fitness

.

o f his dis c iple B uddha accorded to him the desired per

,

mi ssion ; and dismis sed him to his task with these remark
able words nearly identi c al with those in which he h imself
,

is said to have been admonished by a divinity at th e

outset o f his o wn career Go then O Po urn a are his , ,
’

words ; having been delivered deliver ; having bee n ,

45 6 ON THE M O DERN ELEMENT IN LITER ATUR E
and complex pre sent and behind it a copious and complex ,

past ; it arises becau se the present age exhibits to the

,

individu al man w h o contemplates it the spectacle o f

a v ast m ultit ude of facts awaiting and inviting his com
prehension Th e deliverance cons ists in man s c o mpreh en
.
’

sion o f this present and past It begins when o ur mind .

begins to enter into possession o f the general ideas which

are the law of this vast m ultitude o f facts It is perfect .

when we have acq uired that harmonious acquiescence o f

m ind which w e feel in contemplating a grand spectacle 10
m
that is intelligible to u s ; when w e have le m at iOnt
irritation o f mind which we feel in presence o f an immense ,

moving confused spe c tacle which wh ile it perpetu ally

, ,

excite s o ur c u riosity perpetu ally baffles o ur co mpre h en

,

8 1 0 11 .

This , then is what distinguishes certain epochs in the

,

history of the h u man race and o ur o wn amongst the ,

number — o n the one hand the presence of a significant ,

s pe c tacle to contemplate ; on the other hand th e desire ,

to find the tr ue point of v iew from whi ch to contemplate 20

t h is spectacle He who has fou nd th at point of view he
.
,

w h o adeq u ately c ompre h ends t his spectacle has risen to ,

the compre h ension of h is age : h e w h o c ommunicates that

point o f view to his age h e w h o inte rprets to it that ,

spectacle is one o f h is age s intell e c tu al deliverers

,
’
.

Th e spectacle the facts presented for t h e c o mpreh e n

, ,

sion of the present age are indee d immense Th e facts ,

.

consist o f t h e events th e institutions the sciences th e , , ,

arts the literatures in wh ich hu man life has manifested

, ,

itself up to the present time : t e ct acl e tive 30

M d eve r
y w here t h ere is connexion ,

everywhere th ere is il l u stration : no single event no ,

single literature is adequ ately compre h ended ex c ept in

,

its relation to other events to oth er literatures Th e ,

.

literature of ancient Greece th e lite rature of th e Ch ristian ,

Middl e Age so long as they are regarded as two isolated

,

literatures tw o isolated growt hs o f th e h u man spirit are

, ,

not adequ ately comprehended ; and it is adequ ate com ‘

prehension wh ich is t h e demand of th e p resent age We .

m ust c ompare the illustriou s Chancellor of C ambridge 40

—
,
1

Th e l ate Pi r nce Co nso rt .

 ON THE M O DERN ELEMENT IN LITER ATUR E 45 7

said the other day to his hearers at Mancheste r w e m u st ,

compare the works o f other ages with those o f o ur own

age and country that while we feel proud o f the immense
,

development o f knowledge and power o f prod u ction which

w e possess w e may learn h u mil ity in contemplating the
,

refinement o f feeling and intensity of thought manifested

in the works o f the older schools To know h o w others .
’

stand that w e may know h o w we ourselves stand ; and

,

t o know h o w w e o urselves stand that we may correct ,

1 0 o ur mistakes and achieve o ur deh v e ran c e —that is o ur

problem .

,
B ut all facts all the elements o f the spe ctacle before
,

us have n o t an equ al val u e— do not merit a like attention

,

and it is well that they do not for n o man woul d be ,

adequ ate t o the task o f thoroughl y mastering them all .

Some have more significance for u s others have less ; ,

some merit o ur u tmost attention in all their details others ,

it is s uffi cient to comprehend in their general character ,

and th en th ey may be dismisse d .

20 What facts t h en let u s ask o urselves what elements of

, , ,

the spectacle before u s will naturall y be most inte restin g

,

to a h ighly develope d age like o ur o w n to an age making ,

the demand which we have described for an intellectu al

deliverance by means of the complet e intelligence o f its
o wn situ ation ? E vi dently the other ages similarly ,

develope d and making the same demand

, And what past .

h te rat ure wi ll nat urally be most interesting t o s u ch an

age as o ur o w n ? Evidently the literatures which have ,

most s u c c essfull y solved for their ages the problem which

30 o c c u pies o urs the literatures which in their day and for
their o wn nation h a v e adequ ately c omprehended have ,

adequ ately represented the spectac le before th em A signi

, .

fic an t a hig h ly de v elope d a c ul minating epo c h on t h e

,
-
, ,

o n e hand — a comprehensi v e a commens u rate an a deq u ate

, , ,

literatu re o n t h e oth er th ese will naturally be the O bjects

, ,
—

o f deepest interest to o ur modern age Su ch an epoch .

and s u c h a literat ure are in fact mo dern in the same , , ,

sense in which o ur own age and literature are modern

th ey are founded u pon a ric h past and upon an instru ctive
40 fu lness of experience .

It may however happen that a great epoch is without

, ,
45 8 ON THE M O DERN ELEM ENT IN LITER ATUR E
a perfectly adequ ate literature ; it may hap pe n that
a great age a great nation has attained a remarkable
, ,

f ulness o f political and social development withou t in ,

t e lle ct ually taking the complete meas ure o f itself witho u t ,

adeq u ately representing that development in its literature .

In this case the epoch the nation itself wil l stil l be an

, , ,

object of the greatest interest to u s ; but the literature

will be an obj ec t o f less interest to u s : the facts the ,

material spec tacle are there but the contemporary view

,

o f the facts the i ntellect ual interpretation are inferior and 10

inadeq
, ,

u ate.

It may happen o n the other hand that great authors

, , ,

that a powerf ul literature are fo un d in an age and natio n,

less great and powerf ul than themselves it may happen

that a literat ure that a man o f geni us may arise adequate
, ,

to the representation of a greater a more h ighl y developed ,

-

age than that in which they appear it may h appen th at

a literature completely interprets its epoch and yet has ,

something o v er that it h as a force a ri chness a geniah ty , , ,

a power o f view whi c h the materials at its disposition are 20

ins ufficient adeq uately to employ In s u ch a case the .
,

literature will be more interesting to u s than the epoch .

Th e inte rpreting power the i ll uminating an d revealing

,

intellect are th ere ; but the spectacle o n which they

,

throw their li ght is not f ully wort h y o f them .

A nd I shall not I hope be tho ugh t to magnify to o

, ,

m u ch my offi c e if I add th at it is to th e poeti cal literature

,

o f an age that we m u st in general look for the most

, ,

perfect the most adequ ate interpretation o f that age

, ,

for t h e performance of a work wh i ch demands the most 30

energetic and harmonious activity o f all the p owers o f the
mind Be c ause th at ac tivity o f the whole mind
.
,

is old and knowled ge is inert ; that energy

c

e cts combines amplifies and animates is in ’

, , , ,

its high est stretch and in its most energetic

What we seek therefore what will most enlighten us
, , ,

most contrib ute to o ur intellectu al deliverance is the ,

u nion of two things ; it is the c o existence the simul 40 -

,

t an e o u s appearance of a great epoch and a great literat ure

,
.
460 ON THE M ODERN ELEMENT IN LITER ATURE
testimony of an immortal work —o f the history o f Th ucy
dides Th e Athenians first
. he says— speakin g o f the ,

gradual development o f Grecian society up to th e period

when the Peloponnesian wa r c ommenced the Athenians
first left o ff the habit o f wearing arms : that is this ,

mark o f s uperior civilization h ad in the age o f Pericles , ,

bec ome general in Greece h ad long been visible at Athens , .

In the time o f Elizabeth o n the other hand the wearing , ,

of arms w as universal in England and throughout Europe .

Again the conveniences the ornaments the lux uries o f 1 0

, , ,

life h ad become common at Athens at the time o f

,

w e are spe akin B u t there h ad been an advance even

.

beyond t his ; t ere h ad been an advance to that pe rfec

'

tion that pro riety o f taste which prescribes the excess

,

o f ornament t e extrava ance o f l ux u ry Th e At h enians

g
, .

h ad given up Th u cydides says had g iven up altho ugh

, , ,

not very long before an extra v aganc e of dress and an ,

excess o f personal ornament whi ch in the first flush of ,

newly discovered l ux ury h ad been adopted by some o f ,

the richer classes Th e h ei gh t of civilization in th is respect 20

.

see ms to have been attained there was general elegan ce

and refinement of life and there w as simpli city Wh at , .

w as the case in this respect in the Elizabethan age Th e

s cholar C asaubon w h o settled in England in the reign of
,

James I bears evidence to the want h e re even at that

, ,

time o f con v eniences o f life which were already to be

,
'

met with o n the continent o f Europe O n the other hand .

,

t h e taste for fantasti c for excessi v e personal adornment , ,

to which th e portraits of the time bear testimony is ,

admirably set forth in the work o f a great novelist who se ,

was also a very truthf ul antiqu arian in the Ken ilworth —

o f Si r Walter Scott We all remember t h e description

.
,

in th e thirteenth and fourteenth ch apters o f the second

v olu me of Kenilworth o f the barbarou s magnificence the , ,

fierc e vanities o f the dress o f the period

,
’
.

Pericles praises the Athenians that they h ad discovered

so u rces o f recreation fo r the spirit t o co u nterbalance the
labours of th e body c ompare these compare the pleasures
.
,

which charmed t h e whole b o dy o f the Athenian people

through the yearly round of their festivals with th e pop ular 40
shows and pastimes in Kenilworth We have freedo m . ,
’
 ON THE M O DERN E E L MENT IN LITER ATUR E 46 1

‘
says Pericles for individ ual diversities of opinion and
,

c h aracter we do not take offence at the tastes and habits

of o ur neighbour if they differ from o ur own Y es in .
’
,

Greece in the Athens of Pericles there is toleration ;

, ,

bu t in England in t h e England of the sixteenth cent ury

,
— the Pu ritans are then in full growt h So that with .

regard to these characteristics o f civilization o f a modern

spirit which we h ave hitherto enu merated the s uperiority , ,

it wil l be admitted rests with the age of Pericles

, .

10 Let us pass t o what we said was the supreme charac

t e ristic o f a highly developed a modern age— the manifesta
,

tion of a critical spirit the endeavou r after a rational

,

arrangement and appreciation o f facts Let u s consider .

o n e o r two o f the passages in the masterly introd u ction

which Th u cydides the contemporary o f Pericles has

, ,

prefixed to his history What was h is motive in choosing

.

the Peloponnesian War fo r his s u bject Becau se it w as ,

in his opinion the most important the most instru ctive

, ,

event which h ad up to that time happened in the history

, ,

2 0 of mankin d . What is his e ffort in th e first twenty three -

chapters o f his history To place in their correct point of

view all the facts wh ich h ad brought Grecian society to
the point at which that dominant event found it t o strip
these facts o f their exaggeration t o examine them critically , .

Th e enterprises u ndertaken in the early times o f Greece

were o n a mu ch smaller scale than had been commonly
s upposed Th e Greek chiefs were indu ced to combine in
.

th e expedition a gainst Troy not by their respect for an ,

oath taken by th em all when s uitors to Helen but by ,

so their respect for the prepon derating i nfl u ence of Aga

memnon ; the siege o f Troy h ad been protracted not so
mu ch by the valo ur of the besiege d as by the inadequ ate
mode o f warfare necessitated by the want o f funds of th e
besiegers N o doubt Thu cydi des criticism of the Troj an
.
’

w ar is not perfect ; bu t observe how in t h ese and many

other points h e labours to correct pop ular errors to assign ,

their tru e character t o facts complaining as he does so , , ,

o f men s habit o f uncri tical reception o f c urrent stories

’
.

‘
So little a matter o f care to most men he says is the ’
, ,

40 search after tru th and so inclined are they to take u any

,
‘
p
st ory whic h is ready t o their hand He himself h e ’ ’
.
,
462 ON THE M O DERN L M ENT
E E IN LITER ATURE
continues h as endeavoured to give a tru e picture and
, ,

believes th at in the main he has done so F o r some readers .

his history may want the charm of the uncritical half ,

fab ulous narratives o f earlier wri ters ; bu t for s uch as

desire to gain a clear knowledge o f the past and t h ereby ,

o f the f ut ure also which will s urely after th e course o f

, ,

h u man th ings represent a gain hereafter if not the very

, ,

image yet t h e near resemblance of the past if s uch shall

,
—

j udge my work to be profitable I shall be well conte nt , .

’

What lang uage shall we properly c all th is It is 1 0

modern lang uage ; it is the langu age of a thou ghtful
philosophic man o f o ur own days ; it is the langu age of
B urke or Nieb uhr assigning t h e true aim of history And .

yet Th ucydides is no mere literary man ; no isolated

thinker speaking far over the heads of his hearers to
,

a future age— no he was a man of action a man of the ,

world a man of his time He represents at its best indeed

,
.
, ,

bu t he represents the general intelli gence of his age an d

,

nation ; o f a nation the meanest citizens of which could

follow with comprehension the profoundly tho ughtful 20
speeches of Pericles .

Let us n o w tu rn for a contrast to a historian o f the

Elizabethan age also a man of great mark an d ability
, ,

also a man o f action also a man o f the world Sir Walter , ,

R alegh Sir Walter R alegh writes the History of the World

.
,

as Th u cydides has written the History of the Pelop onn esian

War let u s hear his langu age let u s mark his point of
view let u s see what problems o c cur to him for sol ution .

Seeing h e says that we digress in all th e ways o f o ur

’
, ,

lives yea seeing the l ife o f man is noth ing else but digres 30
—
,

sion I may be the better exc u s ed in w riting their liv es and

—

actions What are th e preliminary facts which he dis

.
’

c u sses as Th u cydides disc usses th e Troj an War and th e

,

early naval power o f Crete an d wh ich are to le ad up to ,

his main inq u iry Z O pen th e table of contents of h is first

‘

vol ume Y o u will find :

. Of the firmamen t and o f the ,

waters above the firmame nt and whether there be any ,

c rystalline Heaven or any primu m mobile Y o u will

,
.

th en find : O f Fate and that the stars have great ,

infl uenc e and that th eir operations may di v ersely be 40

,

prevented or furthered Then yo u come to two entire .

’
4 64 ON THE M O DERN E E L M ENT IN LITER ATUR E
epoch adequately interpreted by it s highest literature ?
No w the pec uliar characteristic of the highest literature
,

— the poetry— o f the fifth centu ry in Greece before the

Christian era is its adeq u acy

,
th e pec uliar characteristic
o f the poetry o f Sophocles i s its cons u mmate its unrivalled
adeq
,

uac y that it represents the highl y developed human

nature o f that age— human nature developed in a number
o f di rections politically socially reli gio usly morally
, , , ,

developed— in its complete st and most harmonio u s develop

ment in all these directions while there is shed over th is 1 0
poetry the charm o f that noble serenity which always
accompanies true insight If in the body o f Athenians o f .

that time there w as as we have said the u tmost energy

, ,

o f mat ure manhood p ublic and pri v ate , the most entire
freedom the most unprej udiced and intelligent observa
,

tion o f h uman affairs— in Sophocles there is the same

energy the same maturity the same freedom the same
, , ,

intelligent obse rvation but all th ese idealized and glorified

by the grace and lig h t sh ed over them from the noblest
poetical feeling An d therefore I have ventured to say o f 20
.

Sophocles that he saw life ste adil y and saw it whole

’
, , .

Well may w e understand h o w Pericle s— h o w the great

statesman whose aim w as it h as be en said to realize in , ,

Athens the idea which h e h ad c onceived o f human great

ness and w h o partly s u cceed in his im sh oul d ha v e
,
’
e d a —

been drawn t o th e great poet wh ose works are the noblest

reflection o f his s u ccess .

I assert th erefore th ough the detail ed proof o f the

, ,

assertion must be reserved for other opport un ities th at , ,

if the fifth century in Greece before o ur era is a Signifi cant 30

an d modern epoc h the poetry o f that epoch the poetry
,
—

of Pin d ar Aesc h yl u s
,
an d S ophocles — is an adequ ate
,

representation and interpretation of it .

Th e poetry of Aristop h anes is an adeq u ate representa

tion o f it also Tru e t h is poetry regards h u manity from
.
,

the comic side ; but there is a comi c side from wh ich to

regard humanity as well as a tragic o n e ; and th e dis
tinction o f Aristophanes is to h ave regarded it from th e
tru e point of view on the comic si de He t o o h ke Sophocles .
, ,

regards the h uman nature of his time in it s full est develop 40

ment the boldest creations of a rioto u s imagination are
 ON THE M ODERN E E L M ENT IN LITER ATUR E 465

in Aristophanes as h as been j ustly said based always

, ,

u pon the fo undation of a serio us tho ught politics ed uca ,

tion so cial life literature— all the great mo des in which

, ,

the hu man life of his day manifested itself are the sub —

je c t s of his tho u ghts and of his penetrating comment ,

.

Th ere is shed therefore over his poetry the charm the

, , ,

vital freshness which is felt when man and his relations

,

are from any side adequ ately and th erefore genially re , ,

garded Here is the tru e difference between Aristophanes

.

1 0 and Menander There has been preserved an epitome of

.

a comparison by Pl utarc h between Aristophanes and

Menander in which the grossness o f the former the
, ,

exquisite truth to life and felicity o f observation of the

latter are strongly insisted upon ; an d the preference of
,

the refined the learne d the intell igent men o f a later

, ,

period for Menander lo udly proclaime d What should .

take a man o f refinement to the theatre asks Pl utarch ,

’
,

except to see one of M enande r s plays ? When do yo u ’

see the theatre filled with c ultivate d persons ex c ept wh en ,

2 0 Menan der is acte d an d he is the favo u rite refreshment

’
,

he continues to the overstraine d mind o f the laboriou s

,

philosopher And every one knows the famou s line o f

.
’

trib ute to this poet by an enthu siastic admirer in antiquity

0 Life and Menander whi c h o f yo u painte d the oth er ,

We remember too how a great English statesman is said

, ,

to have declared that there was no lost work o f antiquity

which he so ardentlydesired to recover as a play of Menander .

Yet Menander has perished and Aristophanes h as survive d , .

And to what is this to be attrib uted To the instinct o f

30 self preservation in h u manity Th e h u man race has the
-
.

strongest the most in vincible tendency to live to develop

, ,

itself It retains it clings to what fosters its life what

.
, ,

favours its development t o the literature which exhibits ,

it in its vigour ; it rej ects it abandons what does not ,

foster its development the literature which exhibits it ,

arrested and decayed No w between the times o f Sophocles .

,

and Menander a great check h ad befallen the development

o f Gree c e —the fail ure of the Athenian exp e dition to

Syrac u se and the consequent termination o f the Pelo

,

40
p o nn esian War in a res ult unfavo urable to Athens Th e .

free expansion o f her growth was checked ; o n e o f th e

ARNOL D Hh
4 66 ON THE M O DERN L M
E E E NT IN LITER ATURE
noblest c hannels of Athenian l ife that of political activity , ,

had beg un to narrow and to dry up Th at w as the true .

catastroph e o f the ancient world ; it w as then that the

oracles o f the ancient World shoul d h ave become silent ,

and that its gods should have forsaken th eir temples ;

for from that date the inte llectual and spiritu al life of
Greece w as left without an adequ ate material basis of
political and practi c al l ife and both began inevitably to
de c ay Th e opport u nity o f th e ancient worl d w as then
.

lost never to return for neither th e Mace donian n o r the 1 0

,

R oman worl d whi c h possesse d an a deq u ate material basis

, ,

posse ssed like the Athens o f earlier times an adequ ate

, ,

inte llect and so ul to inform and inspire them and there

w as left of th e ancient worl d when C hristianity arrived , ,

o f Gree c e onl y a hea d with o u t a body and o f R ome o nl y ,

a bo dy with o ut a so ul .

It is Athens after this check after this dim inutib n of ,

vitality it is man with part of his life sh orn away refine d

,
-
,

and intelli gent in deed but sceptical fri v olo u s an d dis

, , ,

sol ute —whi ch the poetry o f Menander represented Th e 20

, .

c ultivated the accomplish ed mi gh t applaud the dexterity

, ,

the perfection of the representation might prefer it to —

the free genial delineation o f a more living time with

which they were no longer in sympathy B ut the instinct .

of hu manity ta ught it that in th e o n e poetry there was

,

the seed o f life in th e other poetry the seed of death ;

,

and it has resc ued Aristophanes while it h as left Menander ,

to his fate .

In the flowering period of the life o f Greece therefore , ,

w e have a c ulminatin g age o n e o f the flowering periods 30

,

of the life o f the h uman ra c e in th e poetry of that age

we have a li terature commens urate with its epoch It is .

most perfectly c ommens urate in the p o etry o f Pindar ,

Aeschylus Sophocles Aristoph anes these th erefore will

, , , ,

be the s upremely interesting obj e cts in this literature ;

but the sta ges in h t e rature which led u p to this point of
perfection the stages in literature which led downward
,
.

from it will be deeply interesting also A distinguishe d

,
.

person w h o h as lately been oc c upyin g himself with

,
1

Homer has remarked th at an undue preference is given 40

, ,

1
Mr
. Gl adsto ne .
 4 68 ON THE M ODERN E E L M ENT IN LITER ATURE
begin with a great poet a great I h ilo so Iher
m In the case of Thu cydides I c alledatterf
i t. , ,

. tio n
to t h e fact that his habit of min d his mode of dealing ,

with questions were mo dern ; that they we re those o f an

,

enlightened reflecting man among o urselves Let me call

, .

atte ntion to the exhibition in Lu creti us o f a mo dern feeling

not less remarkable than the modern tho ught in Th u cydi des .

Th e p redominance o f tho u gh t o f reflection in mode rn , ,

epochs is not witho ut its penalties ; in the unsound in ,

t h e over tasked in the over sensitive it h as prod u ce d th e 1 0

-
,
-
,

most painf ul th e most lamentable res ul ts it has produced

,

a state of fee ling u nknown to less enligh tened but perhaps

healthier epochs the feeling of depression the feeling of
—
,

enn u i Depression an d ennui th e se are the characteristics

.

stamped o n h o w many o f the representative works o f

modern times they a re also the c h aracteristics stamped
o n the poem of Lu creti u s O ne o f the most powerful the .
,

most solemn passages of the work of Lu cretiu s o ne o f th e ,

most powerful th e most solemn passages in th e literature

,

o f the whole world is the we ll known concl u sion of the 20

,
-

third book With masterly to uches he exhibits th e lassi

.

t ude th e inc urable te di um w h ich p urs ue men in their

,

am u sements with indignant ir o ny h e u pbrai ds them for

the c owardice with whi c h they c ling to a life which for
most is miserable to a life wh ich contains for the most ,

fortunate nothing but the old dull round of the same

,

u nsatisfying obj e c ts for ever presente d A man rush es .

abroa d he says becau se he is sick o f being at home ;

,
’
,

and s uddenly c omes home again becau se he finds himself

no whit easier abroa d He posts as fast as his horses can 30 .

take him t o his country seat : when h e has got there he -

hesitates what to do o r he throws h imself down moodily

to sleep an d seeks forgetf u lness in that
,
or he makes th e
best of his way back to town again with th e same spee d
as he fle d from it Thu s every one flies from hi mself . .
’

What a pictu re o f ennui! o f the disease of the most modern

societies the most advance d civilizations ! 0 man he
, ,
’

ex claims again the li ghts of the world Sc ipio Homer

, , , ,

Epic uru s are dead wilt th ou hesitate and fret at dying

, ,

whose life is wellnigh dea d whilst thou art yet alive who 40
c o nsumest in sleep the greater part of thy span and when ,
 ON T HE M ODERN ELEMENT IN LITER ATUR E 4 69

awake dro nest and c ease st not to dream ; and carriest

about a m ind troubled with baseless fear and canst n o t ,

find what it is that aileth thee when thou staggere st h ke

a drunken wre tch in the press o f thy cares and w eltere st ,

hither and thither in the unsteady wandering o f thy

spirit ! And again : I have seen nothing more than
’

y o u have already seen he makes N at

, ure
’
say to man t o ,

invent for you r amusement ; eadem sunt omnia semp er

all things continue the same fo r ever .
’

10 Y es Lu cretiu s is mo dern ; but is he adequ ate ? And i

,

h o w can a man adequ ate ly interpret the activity o f his

age when h e is not in sympathy with it Think o f the
varied the ab undant th e wide spe ctacle o f the R oman
, ,

life o f his day ; think o f its fulness o f occ upation its ,

energy of effort From these Lu cretiu s withdraws him

.

self and bids his disciples to with draw themselves ; he

,

bi ds them to leave the b usiness of the worl d and to apply ,

th emselves n aturam cognoscere rerum— to learn the nature

o f things but there is no peace no cheerfulness fo r him 3
,

2 0 either in the world from which he comes o r in the solit ude ,

to which he goes With stern e ffort with gloomy despair

.
, ,

he seems to rivet his eyes on the elementary reality the ,

nake d framework o f the world becau se the world in its

,

f ul ness and movement is t o o exciting a spectacle fo r his

discomposed brain He seems to feel the spectacle o f it
.

at once terrifying and all uring ; an d to deliver himself

from it he has to keep perpetu ally repeating his formula
o f disenchantment an d annih ilation In rea ding him yo u .
,

understand the tradition whi c h represents him as ha v ing

so be e n driven m ad by a poison a dministere d as a love
c harm by his mistress and as having composed his great
,

work in the intervals of his madness Lucretiu s is ; there ?

q
.

fore overstraine d gloom weigh te d morbid ; and he w h

, ,
-
,

is morbi d is no a dequ ate interpreter o f his age .

I pass to Virgil ; to the poetical name which o f all

poetical names has perhaps had the most prodigiou s
fort une the name which for Dante for the Middl e Age , ,

represente d the perfection o f classical antiquity Th e .

perfection o f classical antiquity Virgil does not repr esent

but far be it from me t o add my voice t o those which have
decrie d h is geni us nothing that I shall say is o r c an ,
47 0 ON THE M O DERN ELEMENT IN LITER ATUR E
ever be inconsistent with a profo und an almost afiec
, ,

t io n ate veneration for him B ut w ith respect to him as .

,

with respect to Lucreti u s I shall freely ask the question

Is h e adeq
, ,

uate Does he repre se nt the epoch in which he

lived th e mighty R oman worl d o f his time as the great
, ,

poets o f the great epoch o f Greek l ife represente d theirs ,

in all its fulness in all its si gnificance ,

From the very form itself o f his great poem the A eneid , ,

o ne wo uld be le d to a u g ur that thi s w as impossible Th e .

epic form as a form fo r representing conte mporary o r 1 0

,

nearly contemporary events h as attaine d in th e poems , ,

o f Homer an u nmatche d an immortal s u ccess ; the epic

, ,

form as employe d by learned poets fo r the reproduction

o f the events o f a past age has atta ine d a very consi derable

s uccess B ut for th is p urpose fo r the poetic treatment o f

.
,

the events o f a past age t h e epic form is a less vital form ,

than the dramatic form Th e great poets of th e modern .

period o f Gree ce are ac c ordingly as w e have seen the , ,

dramatic poets Th e c hief o f thes e — Aeschyl u s Sophocles

.
, ,

Euripi des Aristophanes have s urvive d th e distinguishe d 20

,
—

epic poets o f th e same period— Pan yasis Ch o e rilus An ti , ,

mach us— tho ugh praise d by the Alexan drian critics have ,

perished in a common destru ction with the undistinguished .

A n d what is the reason o f this It is that the dramatic ,

form exhibits above all the actions of man as strictly

, ,

determined by h is thoug h ts and feelings it exhibits there ,

fore what may be always accessible always intelligible

, , ,

always interestin g B ut t h e epic form takes a wi der range

.

it represents n o t only the th o ugh t an d passion of man ,

th at which is universal an d eternal but also th e forms o f 30

'

outward life th e fash ion of manners th e aspects o f nature

, , ,

that which is local or transient To exhibit a dequ ately .

what is local and transient onl y a witness a contem , ,

p o rar y can,
s u ffi ce In t h e reco n structi o n by learning an d
.
,

antiquarian ingenuity o f th e lo c al and transient features ,

o f a past age in their representation by o n e who is not

,

a witness o r contemporary it is impossible to feel the ,

liveliest kind o f interest What for instance is the most .

, ,

interesting portion of the A ene id — the portion where ,

Virgil seems to be moving most freely and therefore to 40 ,

be most animated most forcible Precisely that portion

,
47 2 ON THE M ODERN L M ENT IN LITER ATURE
E E

men in the best ages have never been thoroughl y satisfied

w ith Horace If h uman life were complete without faith
.
,

witho ut enth usiasm withou t energy Horace hke Menan , , ,

de r ; wo uld be the perfect interpreter of h u man life : but it

is not to the best t o the most living sense of humanity
, ,

it is not ; and because it is not Horace is inadequ ate , .

Pedants are tiresome men of reflection and enth usiasm ,

are unhappy and morbid therefore Horace is a sceptical

man of th e worl d Men of action are with out ideas men
.
,

o f t h e world are frivolo u s and sceptical therefore Lucreti us 1 0

is pl unged in gloom and in s te m sorrow So hard nay .
, ,

so impossible for most me n is it to develop t h emselves in

their entireness to rej oice in the variety the movement ,

o f h u man life w ith the chil dren of the worl d to be serio u s

over the depth the significance o f h u man life with the
,

wise ! Horac e warms himself before the transient fire o f

h uman animation and h uman pleasure while he can an d ,

is onl y se rious when he reflects that the fire m ust soon

go out
Damna tame n c ele res re parant c o e lestia l u nae
No s , u bi dec idimus

For nature there is renovation but for man there is ,

none ! — it is exq uisite but it is not interpretative and ,

fortifying .

In the R oman world then we have found a highly , ,

modern a deeply si gnificant an inte resting period

, ,

a period more significant and more interesting because ,

ful ler than the great perio d of Gree c e but w e have not
,

a commensurate literature In Greece we h ave seen .

a h i ghly m o dern a most significant an d interesting period 30

, ,

alth ough on a scale o f less magnitude and importance

than th e great period of R ome ; but th en c o existing ,
-

with the great ep o ch of Greece there is what is wanting to

that o f R ome a c ommensurate , an interesting literature
,
.

Th e intellectu al h istory of o ur race cannot be clearly

u n derstood W ith o u t applying to other a ge s nations an d , ,

literatures the same method o f inquiry which we have

been here imperfe ctly applying to wh at is called classical
antiquity B ut enough h as at le ast been said perh aps to
.
, ,

establish the absol ute the enduring interest o f Greek 40 ,

li terature an d above all of Greek poetry

, , ,
.
 OB ER MA NN

[The A ca demy O ctober 0 , ,

THE most recent e dition o f Obermann lies before me the ,

date o n its title page being 1 863 It is I believe the

-
.
, ,

fourth edition which has been p ublishe d the book made

its first ap pe arance in 1 8 04 three editions and n o t large ,

editions have sufficed for the demand o f sixty years Y et

,

.
,

th e book has lived tho ugh with but this obsc ure life
, ,

and is not likely to die Ma dame George Sand and Monsie ur

.

Saints Be u ve h ave spoken in prose mu ch an d excellently

-

o f the book an d its a u thor It may be in the recoll e ction .

1 0 of some who rea d this that I have spoken o f Oberman n in

verse if not well at least ab undantly It is to h e wishe d

, , .
,

however that O bermann sh oul d also speak to English

,

readers for himself ; an d my present desi gn is to take

those tw o or th ree points Where he is most significant and
interesting and t o present some of his deliverances on
,

th ose points in h is o w n words .

It may be convenient however that first I shoul d , ,

repeat here the short sketc h which I have already given

elsewhere o f the uneventful life of the personage whom
2 0 we ca ll O bermann His real name is Sen an co ur In th e
. .

book whi ch occ upies ns a vol ume o f letters o f which the

,
—

writer call ing himself O bermann and writin g chiefly from

, ,

Sw itzerland delivers h is tho ughts abo ut G o d nat ure and

, , ,

t h e h u man so ul — it is Se n anc o ur himself who speaks

un der O bermann 8 name Etienne Pivert de Sen an co ur
.
,

a Frenchman although having in his nature mu ch that

,

we are acc u stome d to consider as by no means French ,

was born in 1 7 7 0 w as traine d for the priesthood and

, ,

passe d some time in the seminary o f St Sulpice broke .

,

30 away from his tra i ning and co untry to live some years in
Switzerland where he married came b ack t o France in
, ,

middle life and followed thenceforward the career of

,

a man o f letters but with hardly any fame or s uccess

, .
47 4 O B ERMANN
His marriage w as not a happy one He died an old man .

in 1 846 desiring that o n his grave might be placed these

,
‘
words only : Etern ité deviens mon asile , .
’

Of the letters o f O bermann the writer s profound inward ,

’

ness his austere and sad sincerity and his delicate feelin g
, ,

for nature are as I have elsewhere remarked the dis

, , ,

t in guish in g chara c teristics His constant inwardn ess his .

,

unremitting occ upation with t h at q u estion whic h ha u nte d

S Bernard B ernarde ad q
t
.
— d venisti — distin guish him
ui ,

from Goethe and Wordsworth whose study of this qu estion 1 0 ,

is relieved by the tho usan d distractions o f a poetic interest

in nature and in man His se vere sincerity distinguish es .

him from R o u ssea u C hatea ubriand o r Byron who in

, , ,

their dealing with this question are so often attitudinising

an d thinking of the effe c t of what they say o n the p ubli c
His a q
.

uisite feelin g fo r nat ure tho ug h always dominate d

I:g inward self c—
m
,

ou ve g by h is me lanchnlys yet
mfrbfd
-

distm
fi

fe sh i mplf h bso rbe d in philo

' '

g u isl si
sophi c al or religious concerns and places him in the rank ,

o f men o f poetry an d imagination Let me try to show 20 .

these three main characteristi c s of Sen an c o ur from his

o w n words .

A Frenchman coming immediately after the eighteenth

,

century and the Frenc h R evolution too clear heade d and ,

-

austere for any su ch sentimental C atholic re action as that

with which Ch ateaubriand cheated himself and yet from , ,

t h e very profoun dn ess and meditativeness o f his nature ,

religiou s Sen an co ur felt to the uttermost the bare and

,

bleak spiritual atmosphere into wh ich he was born Neither .

to a German nor to an Englishman perhaps woul d s u c h 30 , ,

a sense o f absolute religious denudatio n h ave then been

possible o r s uch a plainn ess
,
therefore ,

in th eir way of speaking of it O nl y to a Frenchman were .

th ese possible ; but ami d wars b ustle an d the glory of , ,

t h e grande natio n few Frenchmen h ad me ditativeness and

seriousness eno ugh for them Sen an co ur was o f a character .

to feel his spiritu al position to feel it with out dream or

mfl w m
,

ill usion and to feel also tlw

, ,
l ,

inward basis life w as weariness an d vanity an d th e ordinary ,

c o ng hf
i d l r e to in e a m to
'

itibhé so d
'

idé f a c o e n t y u g d u c an 40

master him self an d to be bu sy in it quite hollow r

,
.
47 6 OB E R MA NN

intelligence , light , the eternal b ecame nothing more than

—

t h e h u sband of J uno harmony fruitful ness the bond of , ,

all living things became nothing more than the mistress of

,

Adonis ; im perishable wisdom came to be distinguished

onl y through her o w l the great i deas o f immortality and
retrib ution consisted in the fear o f t urning a wheel and ,

the hope of strolling in a green woo d Th e indivisible .

divinity w as parcelled into a h ierar c hical m ultit u de torn

by miserable passions the fruit of the geni u s of primitive
mankind the emblems of the laws of the uni v erse h ad 1 0
, ,

de generated into s uperstitio u s usages which the children

in gre at cities turned into ridic ule .
’

Paul at Athens mi ght have se t forth in words not unlike ,

these the degradation o f the U nknown God now fo r t h e

,

religion o f which Paul was a minister

A moral be lief was wante d beca u se p ure morality was
,

g one o ut o f men s knowled ge dogmas were wanted

’
,

which sho uld be profo u nd and perhaps unfathomable but ,

n o t by any means do gmas whic h sho u l d be abs ur d becau se ,

intel ligence was spreadin g more and more All reli gions 20 .

being s unk into degradation there was needed a religion

,

of maj esty and answering to man s effort to elevate his

,
’

so ul by th e idea o f a God o f all t h ings There were needed .

reli gio u s rites which sho u ld be imposing not too common , ,

obj ects of desire mysteriou s yet simple rites wh ich

,

seemed t o belong to a h igher world and wh i ch yet a man s ,

’

reason sho u l d accept as nat u rally as his heart Th ere was .

needed in short what only a great geni u s coul d institute

, , ,

and what I can onl y catch glimpses of .

B u t yo u h ave fabricated patched experimented 30

, , ,

altered renewed I know not what incoh erent m ultitude

o f trivial c eremonies an d do gmas more fitted to scan dalize ,

the weak than to edify them This d ubio us mixture yo u .

have j oined to a morality sometimes false often exceed ,

in gly noble and almost always au s tere ; t h e o n e single

,

point in which yo u have shown saga city Y o u pass some .

h u ndre ds of years in arrangin g all this by inspiration ;

and yo ur slowly b uilt work indu striously repaired but
, ,

with a radical fault in plan is so made as to last ,

h ardl y longer than the time d uring which yo u h ave been 40

accomplishing it .
’
 O B ER MA NN 47 7

There is a passage to be meditated by the new Oe cu

menical C ouncil No t that Senanco ur h as a trace o f the
Voltairian bitterness against C hristianity o r against ,

C atholicism which to him represented Christianity

So far am I from having any prej udice against C hris
tian it y that I deplore I may say what the maj ority o f
, , ,

its zealou s adherents never th emselves think o f deploring .

I co uld willingly j oin th em in lamenting the loss o f C hris

tianity but there is this difference between u s that they ,

1 0 regret it in the form into w h ich it settle d nay in the , ,

form even which it wore a century ago whereas I cannot

, ,

consider s u ch a C hristianity as that was to be mu ch worthy

of regret .
’

He owns that religion has done much ; but si la ,

religion a fait des grandes choses c est avec des moyens ,

’

immenses Disposing of s u ch means it o ught to have

’
.
,

done m u ch more R emark he says that for t h e ed u cated

.
, ,

class religion is one of the weakest o f the motive powers -

they live by ; and then ask yourself whether it is n o t

20 abs u rd that there sho u ld be only a t e nth part o f o ur race
l

ed u cated That religion should be o f u se as some restraint

.

to the ignorant and brutal mass of mankind shows he , ,

thinks not so m u ch the beneficen ce o f religion as the

,

state of utter c onfusion and misery i nto which mankind

h as in spite of religion drifted
, ,

I admit t h at the laws o f civil society prove to be not

restraint enough for this m ul titude to which we give no
training abou t which we never trouble o ur heads which
, ,

we bring into the world and then leave to the chance o f

30 ignorant passions and of habits o f low deba u chery This .

only proves that there is mere wretchedness and confusion

un der the apparent calm of vast states that the science
o f politics in the tr u e sense o f the term is a stranger to
, ,

o ur worl d where diplomacy an d financia l admi nistration

,

produ ce prospe rity to be s ung in poems and win victories ,

to fig ure in gazettes .
’

This concern for the state and prospects o f what are

called the masses is perpet ually rec urring with Sen anco ur
it came to him from his sing ular l ucidity and plain dealing -
,

40 for it was no commonplace with his ti me and conte mporaries

,

as it is with o urs There are men he says and he w as

’
.
, ,
47 8 O B ER MANN
o ne of them w h o cannot be h appy except among men
,

w h o are contented w h o feel in t h eir o wn persons all the

enjoyment and s uffering they witness and wh o cannot be ,

satisfied with themselves except they contrib ute to the

order of the world and to man s welfare Arrange one s ’
.
’ ’

life h o w o ne will he says in another plac e who can

,
’
,

answer for its being any happier so long as it is and m ust ,

be sans acco rd avec les cho ses , et p assée au milieu des p eup les
sou fi rans Thi s f e elin g ret u rns a g a in an d again
Ineq u ality is in the nature of t h ings ; but yo u h ave 1 0
increased it o ut of all meas ure , wh en yo u o ught , o n th e
contrary , to have studied to red uce it Th e prodigies o f .

your industry m ust s urely be a baneful work o f superfluity,

if yo u have neither time no r fac ulties fo r doing so many
things which are indispensable Th e mass o f mankind is .

v
brutal , foolish , gi en er to its passions ; all you r ills
f
come rom th is causa
cg
ith e r do not bring men into e x is
tence , if yo u do , give th em an existence which is
fi
,

h u ma
B u t as deep as his sense that t h e time w as o ut o f j oint , 20
w as the feelin g o f this Hamlet that he h ad no power to
set it right Vos dou leurs o ut fletri mon dme, he says ’
'

Y
o ur miseries have worn o ut my soul ; th ey are
intolerable because they are obj ectless Y our pleas ures
,
.

are ill usory fugitive ; a day s uffices for knowing them

,

an d abandoning them I inquired of myself for happiness

.
,

with my eyes open ; I sa it w as not made for

isola I proposed 1 o se w h o

th e y h ad not leis ure t o concern them

' ‘

selves with it I asked the m ultitude in its w ear and tear 30

.

of misery and the great of earth under their load of ennui

,

they answered me We are wretched to day but we shall -

,

enj oy oursel v es t o morrow For my part I know that

-
.
,

the day which is coming will only tread in the footsteps

o f the day w hich is gone before
’
.

B ut a root of fail ure powerlessness and ennui there , , ,

certainly was in th e constitution of Sen anco ur s o wn ’

nature so th at unfavourable as may have been his

,

time we sho uld err in attributing to any outward circum

,

stances th e whole o f the discouragement by which h e is 40

pervaded He himself knew this well and h e never seeks
.
,
480 O B ER MA NN
of perfect astonish ment Th e mids ummer rains had kept
.

u p the waters which the melting snow in the J ura had

previously swollen Th e space between the lake and the
.

Th iele w as almost enti rely flooded ; the highest spots

formed islands o f p astu re amidst the expanse o f waters
.

r uffl ed wit h t h e fresh breeze of morning Th e waves of .

the lake could be made o ut in the distance driven by the ,

wind against the half flo oded bank Some goats and -

.

cows with their herdsman w h o made a r ustic m u sic with

, ,

a h orn were passing at the moment over a tongue of 1 0

,

land left dry be tween the floode d plain and the Thiele .

Stones se t in the parts where it w as worst going sup

ported this nat ural cau seway o r filled up gap s in it the
pastu re t o which the docile animals were proceeding was
n o t in sight and to see their slow and irresol ute advan c e
, ,

o n e wo ul d have said they were abo u t to get o u t into the

lake and be lost there Th e h eig h ts o f An et and the thi ck

.

woods o f Jule mo n t rose o u t of t h e waters like a desert “

island witho u t an inhabitant Th e h illy c hain o f V uilly .

ed ged the lake o n the horizon To the south this ch ain 20 .

,

stretched away behind the slopes o f Montmirail ; and

farther o n than all these objects sixty leag ues o f eternal ,

snows stamped the whole co untry with t h e inimitable

majesty of those bold lines o f nat ure which give to places

s u blimity .
’

He dines at the toll house by the river bank and afte r

- -
,

passing the afternoon there goes o ut again late in the ,

evening :
Th e moon h ad not yet risen my path lay beside the
green waters o f the Thiele I h ad taken the key of my 30 .

lo dging that I might come in when I liked without being

tied to a particul ar hour B ut feeling inclined to muse . ,

an d findin g the nig h t so warm t h at there w as no hards h ip

in being all night o ut o f doors I took the road to Saint ,

Blaise I left it at a little village called Marin which h as

.
,

t h e lake to the so u th o f it I descended a steep bank .

,

an d got u pon the s h ore o f the lake where its ripple came
up and expired Th e air was calm
. not a sail was to be
seen o n th e lake Every o ne was at rest ; some in the
.

forgetfulness of their toils others in the forgetful ness o f 40

,

their sorrows Th e moon rose ; I remained there ho urs

. .
 O B ERMANN 481

Towards morning , the moon shed over earth and waters

the ineffable melancholy o f her last gleams N ature seems .

u nspeakably grand when pl unged in a long reverie o n e

, , ,

hears the was h ing o f t h e waves u pon a solitary strand ,

in th e calm o f a night still enkindled and l u minou s with

t h e settin g moon .

Se nsibility w hich no words can express c harm and ,

torment of o ur vain years vast consciousness o f a nature

everywhere greater t h an we are and everywhere impene ,

1 0 trabl e ! all embracing passion ripened wisdom deli ciou s

-
, ,

self abandonment — everything th at a mortal heart can

-
,

c ontain o f life weariness an d yearning

-
I felt it all I ex , ,

p e rie n c ed it all in this,

memorable nig h t I have ma de an .

omino us step towards th e age of decline I have swallowed

u p ten years o f life at once Happy the simple whose
.
,

heart is always yo ung 1

There in o n e o f t h e ho urs which were at once the
,

inspiration an d the enervation o f Sen an c o ur s life we ’

,

leave him It is possible that an age breaking with the

.
,

2 0 p ast ,
an d incline d to te ll it the most naked tr u ths may ,

take more pleas ure th an its predecessors in O bermann s ’

bleak frankness and may even gi v e him a kind o f celebrity

,
.

Neverth eless it may be predicted with

very celebrity if he gets it will have
, ,

thing maimed incomplete and uns u ccessful about it

, ,

and that his intimate friends will still be bu t a few as ,

they have hitherto been These few will never fail him
. .

AR L NO D
 SA I NT E B EU VE -

[Th e A cade my , November 13,

T HI S is neither the time nor the place to attempt any

complete accou nt of th e remarkable man whose pen b usy ,

to t h e e n d and to t h e e nd charming and instructing u s

, ,

h as within the last fe w weeks dropped from his h and for

ever A fe w words are all th at th e occasion allows and it
.
,

is hard not to make them wo rds o f mere regret and e ulogy .

Most of what is at t h is moment written about him is in

t h is strain and v ery nat urally the worl d has some arrears
,

to make u p to him an d n o w if ever it feels this

,
Late , , .
,

and as it were by a cc i dent he c ame to his due estimation 1 0

,

in Franc e here in England it is only with in the last ten

years that he c an be said to h a v e been p u blicly known at
all We w h o write these lines knew h im long and owed
.

him m uc h someth in g o f th at debt we will endea v our to

pay not as w e o u rse lve s migh t be most inclined by
, , ,

follo w ing the imp ulse of th e hou r and simply praising him ,

bu t as he himself wo uld have preferr e d by recalling what

, ,

in sum h e c hiefly w as and what is t h e essential scope of

,

h is effort an d working .

Sh ortly before Sainte R e u ve s death appeared a new 20

’
-

e dition of his Portraits Co n temp orains one of his earlier ,

works of whi c h th e c ontents date from 1 83 2 and 1 8 3 3

, ,

before h is method an d mann er of c riticism were finally

formed B ut the n e w edition is enrich ed with notes and
.

reto u ch es adde d as t h e vol u mes were going through the

press and which bring o ur communications w ith him down
,

to these v ery latest month s o f his life Among t h em is .

a comment on a letter o f Madame George Sand in wh ic h ,

she h ad spoken of t h e admiration excite d by one of his

articles I leave this as it stands says h e because the 30
. ,
’
,

sense and th e co nne ction of th e passage require it ; but ,

p erso nn e ne sait mieux q ue mo i d q

u oi s en
’
ten ir sur le
merite abso lu de
’
ces articles q
ui son t tou t au p lus, et méme
Causeries in s uc h fas hion an d if this alone were regarded ,

o n e mi ght allow onese lf to lea v e to h i s work the h u mbler

rank wh ich h e assigns to it B ut the esteem inspired by .

h is work remains an d grows while the vog u e of all works

,

of poe try and art bu t the best and t h e high pitched ,

-

admiration which goes with v og ue diminish and disappear ,

an d t h is redresses the balance Five an d twenty years .

- -

ago it wo ul d have seemed abs urd in France to plac e , ,

Sainte Be u ve as a Fren c h au thor o n a le v el with Lamartine

-
, , .

Lamartine h ad at that time still his vogue and though 1 0 ,

ass uredly no Moliere o r Milton h ad fo r th e time o f his ,

v og ue th e halo whi c h s urrou nds properly none but great

poets like these To this Sainte Be u v e cannot pretend
.
-
,

bu t what does Lamartine retain o f it now ? It wo ul d stil l

be absu rd to place Sainte Be u ve o n a level with Moli ere
-

or Milton is it any longer abs urd to place him o n a level

with Lamartine o r e v en abo v e him ? In other words
, ,

excellent work in a lower kind c ounts in t h e long run

above work which is short of excellence in a higher first
rate criticism has a permanent valu e greater t h an that o f 20
any but first rate works of poetry an d art
-
.

A nd Sainte B e u ve s criticism may be called first rate

’
- -
.

His c uriosity w as u nbo un ded and he was born a naturalist , ,

carrying into letters so often t h e mere domain o f rheto ri c

,

an d f u tile am usement t h e i deas and metho ds o f scientifi c

,

nat ural inquiry A nd th is he did while keeping in perfec

.

tion the ease o f movement an d charm o f to u ch wh ich belong

to letters properly so c all ed and which gi v e them their ,

u niq ue power o f universal penetration an d o f propagan dism .

Man as he is and as his history and th e produ ctions of his 30

, ,

spirit show him was the object o f his study and inte rest
,

he stro v e to find the real data with whi ch in dealin g with ,

man an d his affairs we have to do Beyond th is study

,
.

he did not go — to fin d th e real data B ut h e w as deter

,
.

mined they shoul d be th e real data an d not fictitious and ,

conventional data if he coul d help it Th is is what in

,
.
,

o ur j u dgment disting uish es him an d makes his work of

, ,

singular u se an d i nstru ctiveness Most o f u s thin k that w e .

alre ady possess t h e data required an d ha v e onl y to pro ,

c ee d to deal wit h h u man affairs in the li gh t o f t h e m 4o .

.

T h is is as is well known a thoro u ghl y Englis h pers u asion

, ,
.
 S A INTE B EU VE
- 485

It is what makes u s s uc h keen politicians it is an hono ur

.

to an English man we say to take part in political strife

, ,
.

‘
Solomon says o n the other hand It 1 s an honour to a man
, ,

to cease from strife but every fool will be meddling , ,

’

an d Sainte Be u ve hel d with Solomon Many o f u s again .

, ,

h ave principles an d c onnections which are all in all to u s ,

an d w e arrange data to s u it them a book a c h aracter —

, ,

a period o f history we see from a point o f view given by

,

o ur principles an d connections an d to the requ irements ,

1 0 of t his point o f view we make t h e book the c h aracter the , ,

period adj u st themselves Sainte Beuve never did so

, .
-
,

an d criticis ed with u nfailin g ac u teness those w h o di d

q
.

Toc ueville arrivait avec son mou le to ut prit la réalité

’ ’
é d
'

ny rép o nd p as, et les ch oses n e se p r te n t p as y en trer .

M de Tocqu eville commands mu ch more sympathy in

.

England than his critic , an d t h e ery mention of him will v

awaken impressions unfavourable to Sainte Beu ve ; fo r -

the French Liberals h ono ur Tocqu eville an d at heart

dislike Sainte Beu ve and people in England always take
-

2 0 t h eir c u e fr o m the Fren c h Liberals For th at very reason .

ha v e we boldly selected for qu otation this criti cism o n

him be c ause t h e course criti cised in T ocqu evill e is pre
,

ci se ly the co u rse with w hic h an Englis h man wo ul d sym

p a t hise an d which h,
e wo ul d be apt to take himself while
Sainte Be u ve in criticising h im shows j u st th e tendency
-
, ,

which is his ch aracteristic and by whi c h h e is of u se to ,

us . Tocq u eville as is well known fin ds in the ancient

, ,

regime all the germs o f the centralisation which the French

R evol ution de v elope d an d establishe d This c entrali
sa .

3 0 tion is his b u gbear as it is t h e b u gbear o f English Liberal

,

ism ; and directly h e finds it th e system where it appears ,

is j udged Dislikin g therefore t h e French R evol ution for

.
, ,

its centralisation and then finding centralisation in th e

,

ancient regime also he at onc e sees in this discovery , ,

‘
mille mo tifs no u veaux de h azr l
’
ancien régi me .
’
How
entirely does every Englishman abo u nd here as the French ,

say in T ocqu evill e 8 sense h o w faithf ully have all En glish

’
, ,

men repe ate d and re echoed T ocqu evil le s book o n the -

’

ancient regime ever since it was p ublish ed ; h o w incapable

40 are t h ey o f s u pplyin g or of imagin ing the need of s u pplying
, ,

any corre ctive to it B ut hear Sainte Be uve :

486 S AIN TE B EUVE -

Dans so n e ffroi de la centralisation l au te ur en vient ’

q
,

a mé c o nn aitre de grands bienfaits d é uité dus aR ichelie u

’

e t a Lo u is XIV Homme du pe uple o u bourgeois so us

.
,

Lo uis XIII n e valait il pas mie ux avoir affaire a nu -

intendant a l homme du roi u a un go uv em eur de

,
’ ’

, q
provinc e a q uelq ue duc d Epe rn o n
’
Ne maudissons pas
q
,

c eux a u i no u s de v ons le s commencements de l égalit é

’

devant la loi la premi ere é bau che de l o rdre moderne q

, ui
’

no us a affranchis no us e t nos p ere s e t le tiers é tat to ut -

entier de c ette q uantité de petits tyrans q

, ,

, ui co u vraient 1 0
le so l grands sei g ne urs o u hobereaux
’
, .

Th e point o f view o f Sa inte Be uve is as little that o f -

a glowing Revol u tionist as it is that o f a chagrine d Liberal

it is that o f a man w h o seeks the tru th abo ut the ancient
regime and it s instit utions an d w h o instinctively seeks to ,

correct anything strained and arranged in the representa

tion o f them Vo yo ns les ch ases dc l h isto ire telles q
’ ’
. u elles
’ ’
se so n t assees
p .

At the risk o f offending th e prej udi c es o f English readers

we have th u s gone fo r an example o f Sainte B eu v e s 20 -
’

e ssential meth od to a sp h ere where his application o f it

makes a keen impression and created for him in h is , ,

lifetime warm enemies and detractors In that sphere it

, .

is not easily permitted to a man to be a naturalist bu t ,

a nat uralist Sainte Be uve c o uld n o t help being always-

.

Ac cidentally at the e nd of his life he gave delight to the

, ,

Libe ral opinion o f h is own c ountry and o urs by his famo u s

spee ch in the Senate on be h alf o f free th o ugh t He did .

bu t follow his instin c t h owever of opposing in wh atever , , ,

mediu m he was t h e c urrent o f th at mediu m when it 30

,

seemed ex c essi v e and tyran no us Th e extraordinary social .

po wer o f French C atholicism makes itself specially felt in

an assembly like the Senate An elderly Frenc h man of .

the uppe r class is apt to be not unfrequently a man of , ,

pleas ure reformed or exha ust ed an d the deference o f

, ,

s uch a personage to repression an d C ardinals is generally

excessi v e Th is w as enough to rouse Sainte B e u ve s oppo
.
-
’

si tio n ; bu t he wo ul d have h ad the same tendency to oppose

the he ad y c urrent o f a medium where mere Liberalism
reigned where it was Professor Faw c ett and not the “F
, ,

Archbishop of B o rdeaux w h o took the bit in h is tee th , 5 .

.