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THE

PILGRIM’

S PROGRESS

TO CULTURE

By PHILIP GIBBS

Edited by HELEN QRAMP

PHILADELPHIA

THE JOHN C . WINSTON COMPANY

19 15

TURNS IN THE PATH

1 . WANTED : A GUIDE

2 . THE STUDY OF BIOGRAPHY .

3 . BOO"S WHICH MUST BE READ

4 . THE READING OF HISTORY .

5 . THE HIGHWAY OF ENGLISH LITERA

TURE .

6 . THE INFLUENCE OF‘

POETRY

7. THE EDUCATION OF ART .

8 . THE CHARM OF MUSIC

9 . SERMONS IN STONES .

10 . ENGLISH NOVELS AND NOVELISTS .

1 1 . ON THE STUDY OF HUMAN NATURE . 1 15

12 . THE ADVANTAGES OF TRAVEL 123

13 . THE ART OF CONVERSATION 129

FIRST TURN

Wanted : A Guide

THERE are many young men nowadays whohave a very sensible knowledge of their ownignorance . They have had a certain amountof schooling—the minimum required ; andnow their education Is supposed to be complete ;for they are wage-earners and business men,

with no more need to learn . And yet whatis the sum of their knowledge? Let us see .

They can do a bit of arithmetic, sufficient

anyway to carry them through the everydayaffairs of life . They also know a thing or twoabout geography

,at least of_ their own country.

As for history,they know the names of the

kings and queens of England and the presidentsof the United States—or most of them- and afew Old

“ chestnuts such as Henry VIII havingsix wives—or eight

,was it?—and King John

losing the Crown Jewels in theWash— probablythrough the dishonesty of his washerwoman .

When they were at school they did a littleparsing

,a little Euclid

,a little algebra

,a little

of sundry other things ; but the memory ofthem has passed with the schooldays .

5

W A N T E D : A G U I D E

A"NOWLEDGE OF IGNORANCESo the clear-headed young man

,who is

frank enough to admit his deficiencies,wakes

up one day and says,How densely ignorant

I am"” Then he sighs and turns to the latestsensational story in his newspaper . Deepdown In his heart he has a longing to know morethan he does . He knows at least that beyondhis own ken is a realm of knowledge

,vast and

wonderful . Now and again he comes acrossa man who seems to have traversed a partat least of this knowledge-world—a man whosemind seems filled with a great store of preciousfacts

,who has become intimate with the

thoughts of the Immortals,who considers the

problems of life with a wisdom learned from alarge experience of the literature of past andpresent ages

,and who is called by public

Opinion a Cultured Man.

The young man,deploring his own ignorance,

is conscious Of an immeasurable gulf betweenhimself and this cultured acquaintance . It isnot a gulf caused by wealth or social position,but a superiority of mental attainments . Ouryoung friend knows that nowadays knowledgeis not the monopoly of the rich

,nor even of the

so-called leisure classes , but is open, free frombarrier

,to every individual soul . And so he

sighs, feeling that he ought, and wishing to6

goodness he could,acquire some of that liberal

education which makes his cultured friend somuch better and stronger and broader apersonality than himself.

WHERE IS THE GUIDE?

But the fact is,he does not have the least

idea how to go to work,where to begin

,or how

to begin,what direction to take

,what goal to

aim at . He is like a traveler who sets out to finda treasure

,but has no map to tell him where to

go,and no guides to lead him. Before him is a

vast forest disclosing innumerable mazy paths .There is no sign-post to point out the highway,and if he ventures into one of the by-paths thereis every chance that he wi ll go wandering aboutin an unprofitable quest leading nowhere inparticular. So

,rather than take the risk

,he

makes up his mind that the treasure can gohang

,and turns back to his cottage to smoke

his pipe—sans treasure,sans trouble .

Exactly is it with regard to Culture . A

young man se es stretching before him inimagination an infinitude of subjects

,an

infinitude of books . Where shall he begin,how make his choice

,what aim for? He makes

one or two attempts, but is disheartened . He

goes to a public library and turns over thepages of the catalogue

,but stands appalled at

7

W A N T ED : A G U I D E

the Vista before him .

“ I take all knowledgefor my province

,

” said Francis Bacon ; butthe modern student Shakes his head and wisheshe knew the trick of the thing .

You Will see such a fellow wander round thereading-room of a library

,gazing wistfully

at the shelves,and eyeing the backs of the

volumes . At last he seems attracted by sometitle

,and takes out the book to dip into it,

but lays it down presently with a grimace .He realizes the utter futility of plunginghaphazard into a study

,having he knows not

how many offshoots,and leading he knows not

Whither. So he turns his back on the library,and goes to watch a baseball game or a movingpicture Show.

NOW,there is wasted talent . There is an

ambition rotting for something to feed on.

There is a man resting in his dense ignorance,

who,if he had been put on the right track,

might have added to the store of the world’sknowledge

,and would have certainly broadened

his ownmind and heart by self-culture . Thereare thousands of such fellows today. Whatthey want is a guide along the path to culture,“a guide

,philosopher

,and friend

,

”who will

point out to them what goal to aim for, and howto attain it without vain meanderings in wrongdirections .

8


THE LONG PILGRIMAGE

In the following pages I propose,as far as

my own experience will extend,to act as a

guide along the Pilgrim’s Way to Culture . Iwant to gather round me all those youngmen and women who start

,as I started

,as

ignorant as an ordinary school educationgenerally leaves one . I want to Show whatsubjects should be taken up first

,and how

studied ; which methods are best suited forself-tuition

,and which best to avoid . Those

who have read the Pilgrim’s Progress by John

Bunyan will remember how Christian in hisjourney to the Delectable Mountains fell intothe Slough of Despond

,and afterwards encoun

te re d Giant Despair . Now ,I want my

Pilgrims to avoid these stumbling-blocks,and

I shall show them how to avoid the snares andpitfalls /O

‘n the way . I shall guide them

gradually farther and farther along the road,

showing how they may,by perseverance and

energy,be come possessors of that priceless

treasure which may be gained by all who treadthe Pilgrim’s Way.

WHAT Is THE GOAL?

For what is culture? It does not mean quitethe same thing as knowledge . A man mayhave a vast deal of knowledge and yet little

9


culture .

but culture Belongs to thOsefacts at their right worth

,andWhose character

has been‘

moulded by them . The man whoseeks mere knowledge may become hard andnarrow

,a lumber-room for the accumulation

of intellectual stock, a miser hoarding up goldthat

,without circulation

,is as valueless as dust .

But the cultured man puts all his attainmentsto their highest use ; they not only broaden andelevate his own mind

,but they have a radiating

influence upon all about him .

The“ practical man who looks with

pessimism upon the outlook of the nation willsay

,

“Hang your culture"We don’t wantcultured men, but specialists . True enough ,we do want Specialists . I am one of those whobelieve in specialists . I like a man who knowshis subject as well as it can be known

,who has

explored it to its farthest boundary—whetherit be electricity or steam

,bacteriology or

book-binding . But I am firmly of"

Opinionthat in ninety-nine cases out of a hundredthe Specialist can find time to be cultured.

It is a mistake to think that most people areoverworked . On the contrary

,most people

have a fair share of leisure, and it depends onthemselves Whether they spend it profitablyor otherwise .

10


THE CULTURED MAN

Our practical friend is wrong when he saysHang your culture"” We do want culturevery badly. It is the thing we want most inlife

,and worth more than the invention of the

steam-engine or Wireless telegraphy . The

object of mankind Should beb —the aspirationof all wise, reforming men is—to raise thestandard of the race

,to bring men a little

nearer to the angels,a little farther from the

brutes Then let uS get culture . Le t usdevelop every side of our nature broadly

,

equably,not producing a race of specialists

each with some moral or mental bump abuormally developed

,nor handing down to the next

generation characteristics that will producesuch a state of things as foreshadowed in Mr .

H . G . Wells’ Anticipations . The cultured manis educated all around ; his nature is wellpoised

,melodious and Whole . His soul is

receptive of all the refining influences of life,

responsive always to beauty of thought andform

,color and sound . The baser promptings

of his being have been crushed under heel by awisdom learned from intercourse with theintellectuals of many an age and nation . He isa cOnsiderate man because he can look atque stions from many points Of View

,a kindly

man because books have taught him sympathy1 1

W A N T ED : A G U I D E

for many sorts of character,a “

clubbableman”

(as Doctor Johnson phrased it) becausehe has in his brain a store of pleasant andprofitable knowledge which he gives out whenwanted for the benefit of others.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE

This is What I mean by culture,and it is in

the pursuit of such a character as this that IWant my friends to follow me along that roadI have called the Pilgrim’s Way. My guidance,such as it is

,will be a practical one . I shall

not talk rhetorical fiumme ry to tickle the earsof my audience

,but shall endeavor to put on

paper some advice that will help self-students toavoid much stumbling and blundering. I shallmention books that are reliable as well asstimulating. This question of authoritiesis most difficult . What vain hours have beenspent on the study of books that have provedWorthless"What praiseworthy efforts havebeen led astray by the consul tation of wrongauthorities"Of the making of books there isno end

,and of modern books more than half

are absolutely without merit . How difficultit is

,then

,for students without a guide to

select the right books— not difficult, but nextto impossible . I propose

,then

,to act as a

guide,as far as I can

,to self-taught students

12


who will proceed with me along the Pilgrim’sWay.

'

It happens that I have come into closetouch with all sorts and conditions

“

of books,

some good and many bad . The knowledgethat I have is at the disposal of my reade rs.

13

SECOND TURN

The Study of Biography

THE WORLD’S LEADERS

I advise all young men and’

women, at theoutset of their career, to begin by studying thebiographies of some of the greatest charactersin the world’s history . There is no other formof literature which is so stimulating as biography. I am ignorant? I am uncultured?I have no guiding principles

,no ambitions

,no

philosophy? Very well , let me see what mannerof men and women were these people who didbig things in their time . What were themotives which animated them? How did theyovercome the Obstacles in their path? Whatwas their outlook upon life, and how far didtheir force of character carve out their fortunes? HOW far was their character mouldedby their surroundings

,by the circumstances

of their time and the accidents of fate? Onecannot read the biographies of remarkablepersons without acquiring some of theirphilosophy and their ideals, and without,perhaps unconsciously but none the less surely,storing up some Of their force .

14

S T U D Y O F B I O G R A P H Y

THE LOO"ING-GLASS OF LIFEPlutarch

,who wrote biographies eighteen

centuries ago,prefaced one of them by the

following Wise words,which are as true today

as then —“It was

,

” he said,

“ for the sake ofothers that I first commenced writing biographies ; but I find myself proceeding andattaching myself to it for my own, the virtuesof these great men now serving me as a sortof looking-glass in which I may see how toadjust and adorn my own life . Indeed

,it can

be compared to nothing but daily living andassociating together ; we receive , as it were , inour inquiry, and entertain each successiveguest, View

The ir stature and the ir qualitie s,’

and select from their action all that is noblestand worthiest to know.

Ah , what gre ater pleasure could we have ’

or What more effective means to one’s moralimprovement? Democritus tells us we oughtto pray that of the phantasms appearing in thecircumambient air

,such may present them

selves to us as are propitious,and that we may

rather meet with those that are agreeable toour natures, and are good, than the evil and

15


the unfortunate ; which is simply introinto philosophy a doctrine untrue inand leading to endless superstitions .method

,on the contrary

,is,by

history and by the familiaritywriting

,to habituate my memory to reEeivG

and retain images of the best and Wonthfieficharacters . I thus am enabled to freefrom any ignoble , base , or Vicious imprecontracted from the contagion Of ill-companythat I may be unavoidably engaged in, bythe remedy of turning my thoughts in a

happy and calm temper to view these nobleexamples .”

When we read the life-stories of men andwomen

,we ourselves participate to some

extent in their own experiences . Insensiblywe place ourselves in the situations in whichthey found themselves

,and the problems which

confronted them seek their solution in our ownbrains ; their difficulties, their stumblings ,their triumphs become personal lessons, bywhich we may get a wider experience of lifethan comes to us in our ordinary vocations,so that when the time comes when we are

called upon for some momentous decision,

or to pursue some special line of conduct ,we have a precedent to guide us to the rightcourse .

S’

sII“

16

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S TU D Y O F B I O G R A P H Y

and he described them with some of thatintimacy that Boswell did Johnson ; so that wemodem s may dine in company with suchheroes as Coriolanus

,Cicero, Alexander and

Caesar ; we may meet them on familiar terms,

listen to their private discourses in the hourof unbending

,walk with them in the market

place, stand by their side in the Forum , andstudy them in their days both of adversity andtriumph . Wh en We read Plutarch’s I/I

'

ves,

we not only enter the company of the greatestof Greece and Rome

,but we are, as I have said ,

receiving impressions that have moulded thecharacters of great men and women throughe ighteen centuries of history ; if we be likewisemoulded who shall sayWhat work

,great or lit

tle,we may not be able to accomplish with such

an influence? I, for one , will not se t a limit .

A PANEGYRIC OF GREAT MEN

Next to this immortal book I recommendthe reading of Carlyle’s Heroes and Hera

Worship . It is a book inspired by more than aspark of divine fire . It came red-hot fromthe soul of a man who was himself somethingof a hero, and who , therefore, had more thanan ordinary insight into the true meaning ofheroism

,into What constitutes a great man .

A large topic, says Carlyle, is this subject of18

S TU D Y O F B I O G R A P H Y

Heroes,wide as universal history itself, for

the history of what man has accomplishedin this world is

,at the bottom, the history

of the great men who have worked here .

“They were the leaders of men

,these great

ones ; the modelers, patterns, and, in a widesense

,creators of whatsoever the general mass

of men contrive to do or to attain ; all thingsthat we se e standing accomplished in theworld are properly the outer material result

,

the practical realization and embodiment of

thoughts that dwelt in the great men sent intothe world ; the soul of the whole world

’s history,

it may justly be considered, were the historyof these .

”Then, in a fine glow Of enthusiasm,

Carlyle indites the panegyr ic of a Great Man.

He is the living light ountain,which it is

good and pleasant to be near ; the light whichenlightens

,which has enlightened the darkness

of the world,and this not as a kindled lamp

only,but rather as a natural luminary Shining

by the gift of heaven ; a flowing light-fountain ,as I say

,of native original insight

,of manhood

and heroic nobleness,in whose radiance all

souls feel that it is well with them .

”

MEN WHO FOUGHT AND WON

Next—to those who have not already doneso—I would say, read the biographies in S elf

19


he lp by Samuel Smiles . Fifteen years agoit would have been superfluous to have re commended a book which had found a place inevery household

,but there are fashions in

books as in most things,and what is read by

everyone today is Often forgotten by ne arlyeveryone a decade later. Yet Se lfhe lp is a

work that has raised a good many men fromthe bottom to the topmost rung of the ladde r.With Plutarch’s Lives of the AncientHeroes EEG

Smiles’ Lives of Modern Heroes, a man maylook the world in the face without blinking, andknow the mission he has set his mind tomTo some of my readers no doubt S e lfhe lpswillappeal more closely than old Plutarch ; Iancertainly young men and women with moreambitions than attainments , with a goal inView but many Obstacles in the way

,will take

heart when they see how some of the noblestwork has been achieved in the face of stupendous difficulty— how men , poor , uncultivate d ,powerless at the start

,have carved their way

through every barrier and snatched victoryfrom the grasp of every foe .

MEN OF IDEALSThe lives of the Saints Should be studied;apart from any religious or doctrinal point ofView . Whether we believe in miracles or

20


whether we don’t, whether we call ourselvesProtestants , Catholics, or Jews , the life-storiesof the men and women who by their Virtue

,

courage,and enthusiasm upheld the Christian

faith and led people to higher and nobler aims,

who,for their ideal’s sake

,dared all things and

suffered all things,who made manyblunders ,

perhaps,and whose pure gold was mixed

,

maybe,with not a little earthly dross

,should

be read reverently and studied carefully by allwho would shape their souls into a noble andheroic pattern . For the lives of such men asAugustine, Bernard,

’ Francis of Assisi,Francis

of Sales bring home to one the truth that outof the commonest clay may be wrought thenoble and heroic

,and that

,in the circum

stances of everyday life:“ the common round

,

the trivial task,

” may be found a field for theexercise of every phase of character

,from the

basest of the base to the highest of the high .

NO little of the interest in both ancient andmodern history depends upon the pen picturesof men and women which lighten and humanizeits pages . Who

,for instance

,can forget the

portrait of Queen Elizabeth in Green’s History,

one of the most remarkable pieces of characteranalysis in all published literature? And suchworks asHolinshed ’

sChronicle ,C larendon’SHis

toryof theRebe llion,Burne t’s History of HisOwn

21


Time, and Shakespeare

’s historical plays havean interest due to the portraits of individualseven more than to their historical facts . Thisis also true of Macaulay’s History, and to still

greater extent of Carlyle’s French Revolution.

A GREAT CRITIC

Macaulay’s Essays, including the biographies of such great men as Chatham

,C live

,and

Warren Hastings,are among the masterpieces

of biographical art,and will give to students

who have never before read any of Macaul ay’swritings the Macaulay enthusiasm,

” whichat one time or another is bound to be caughtby all lovers of literature . Johnson’

s Lives ofthe Poets are worth reading, not so much forhis criticism of their poetry

,as for his delinea

tion of their characters . His biography of

Richard Savage is one of the finest efforts ofEnglish prose . Dr . Johnson’s own Life , byBoswell

,is a liberal education in itself ; and

those who listen to the conversations on athousand problems of life

,philosophy and

literature,as held by the Doctor and his

distinguished circle of friends,and chronicled

by the faithful Boswell , will find they have aWider outlook upon the world of thought, andthat by keeping company with these wits andphilosophers they have gained some of the

22


culture that comes from the society of learned,

noble,and eloquent men .

The field of biography in America,though

not so rich as that of England,is still a splendid

treasure-house for the student who wouldread and

,reading

,learn to live . Biographies

of Washington , Lincoln, John Quincy Adams,Henry Clay, Patrick Henry, Daniel Webster,Thomas Jefferson

, Grant , Le e , Longfellow,

Emerson,Thoreau

,Phillips Brooks

,and a host

of others lead the reader not only to a be tterunderstanding of our national life but to a finerconception of the fundamental problems of allliving and a closer grasp of the great realitiesof his own life .No form of biographical composition is of

more abiding interest than t he autobiography,in which a man unlocks the very doors of hisheart

,and such books as St . Augustine’s

Confessions , the spiritual history of a greatintellect

,mastered and moulded by religion ;

Cardinal Newman’s Apologia , hardly lessvaluable as a spiritual confession ; De Quincey

’sConfessions of an Opium Eater, one of thestrangest books in our language ; and Goethe

’sself-revealing Dichtung und Wahrheit are sofull of inspiration and stimulus that one who isseeking culture rather than knowledge canscarcely dare to pass them by .

23

THIRD TURN

Books which Must be Re ad

THE GREATEST BOO"SIn the world’s literature there is a certain

number of books,which

,since they first came

from the brains andl

h earts of their authors,

have been beacons of light to countless menand women

,whose characters have been

impregnated"with their influence, and whose

life-work has been shaped accordingly . Ofsuch books there is not a multitude . Theymay be set up in a row on a fair-sized bookshelf . They are like the foundations of a hugeand lofty building

,piled high upon a narrow

base .

‘For a vast number Of our modern

books owe their origin to these . From th esegreat sources of literature have flowed (if Imay change my metaphor) innumerable riverswith innumerable tributaries, traversing somany realms Of knowledge that many a manand woman is content with living a lifetime insome backwater

,never exploring

,perhaps

never hearing of the great reservoirs from whichmost of our modern Wisdom has come . But

this is a watery simile,and lest I should damp

my readers I will leave it .24

W H I C H”

M U S T B E R E A D

appreciate the motive of my suggestions,that

is, that I am dealing with books formative ofcul ture in the highest sense

,and not of mere

knowledge . They must also bear in mind thatother articles will follow dealing with otherphases of culture

,and that therefore my present

list has its well-defined limitations .Foremost I name the Bible

,and I here

recommend it purely as literature . It is toolittle regarded in this light

,yet the Old and

New Testaments contain the most splendidbody of national literature that mankind hasyet produced . For its literature alone , thatis to say

,for the beauty Of its language

,for the

sublimity of its poetry,for its grandeur of

thought,apart altogether from its religion

,

many books of the Bible should be read andre -read

,and learned by heart

,so that they

Sink deep into the soul . Apart again from itsreligion

,it is full of practical wisdom

,and the

philosophy of life . The characters portrayedin its pages are living types Of men and women

,

and though they existed when the World wasyoung

,their hearts were Very much as ours are

today—their temptations,frailties

,struggles

,

sin,heroism

,and hopes but prototypes of our

Own. We Of English s pe e ch have a pricelessheritage in the translation of the wr itings to ourown tongue, for Bible English is most pure,

26

W H I C H M U S T BE R E A D

most practical,most grand

,and if a man would

clothe his thoughts in noble words,if he would

tune his ear to stately rhythm,let him read and

learn the Psalms of David,the Book of Isaiah,

the Canticles Of Solomons

AN IMPERIAL PHILOSOPHER

I will now mention a wonderful book by oneof the noblest of pagans—The Meditations ofMarcus Aure lius . This man was an emperorof Rome when there was but one great empirein the world . A man of vast power, a manbeset with the cares of a worldly ruler

,he yet

was simple and humble,and beneath the

Imperial purple,too often covering a prodigy

of cruelty,lust and pride, beat a pagan heart

so pure,so full of charity

,so free from any

baseness,that we can point to few Christian

rulers worthy to rank beside him . His reignwas a troubled one ; he had to defend theboundaries of his empire from hordes of

barbaric invaders,his throne from usurpers

of his own household,bii t in the council

chamber and in the camp he kept a mind at

peace with itself. His meditations werewritten on the fields of war. They wereprobably not intended for publication

,and are

simply the Emperor’s commonplace bookwherein he entered his reflections

,disconnected

27

W H I C H M U S T B E R E A D

and fragmentary,on the problems of life and

eternity They breathe a spirit Of wisdom.

We see here the naked soul of a man set‘in thehighest place of the earth

,but realizing his own

infinite insignificance , acknowledging humblythat his imperial dignity was but tinsel in theeyes of the All-wise , and that he was but a manwho must live his little life and die . Read this“ commonplace book” so full of practicalphi losophy . It might have been writtenyesterday

,SO fresh is its teaching

,for there is

some knowledge that is always young . I amtempted to quote some of its splendid counsel

,

but I have only space for a few grains of'

hiswisdom .

SCATTERED THOUGHTS“ It is the custom of people to go to unfre

quented places and country places, and theseashore and the mountains for retirement ;and this you often earnestly desired . But

,

after all,this is but a vulgar fancy, for it is in

your power to withdraw into yourself wheneveryou desire . NOW ,

one’S mind is a place the

most free from crowd and noise in the world,

if a man’s thoughts are such as to ensure himperfect tranquillity within, and this tranquillity consists in the good ordering of the mind.

Your way is therefore to make frequent use28


of this retirement, and refresh your Virtue

in it . ”“NOW

,a social temper was that for which

man was principally designed .

“That which is not for the interest Of the

whole swarm is not for the interest Of a singlebee .

”

“ It is a royal thing to be ill-spoken of forgood deeds .”

“The best way Of revenge is not to imitate

the injury.

”

Here is a noble n ew of true charity :“Some men

,when they do you a kindness

,

at once demand the payment of gratitude fromyou ; others are more modest than this .However

,they rememb er the favor and look

upon you as their debtor in this. A third sortshall scarce know what they have done . Theseare much like a vine

,which is satisfied by

being fruitful in its kind,and bears a bunch

of grapes Without expecting any thanks for it .A fleet horse and greyhound do not make anoise when they have done well

,neither a bee

when she has made a little honey. Now

we shoul d imitate those who are so Obligingas hardly to reflect on their beneficence .

”

Here is a fine satire on the affectation of

Virtue“How fulsome and hollow does that man

29

W H I C H M U ST B E R E A D

look who cries—‘I am resolved to deal straightforwardly with you .

’ Hark you,friend

,what

need of all this flourish? Le t your actionsspeak ; your face ought to vouch for yourspeech . I woul d have Virtue look out of theeye, no less apparently than love does in thesight of the beloved . I would have honestyand sincerity so incorporated with the constitution

,that it Should be discoverable by the

senses .

THE GLORIES OF GREECE AND ROME

Next onmy list I give the name of Homer .How extraordinary is it that so few peoplenowadays

,outside the schools and universities

,

dream of reading that most glorious Of epicpoems

,the I liad

,and its sequel the Odyssey"

Here is the fount of poetry . Here is a poemthat has stirred the hearts of heroes to actionSince the world was young. Homer was thebard Of the Greeks (or rather of the Achaians)in the time Of all their freshness

,when their

civilization was in its youth,bound by the

rites of a religion which was the most beautifulform Of nature-worship, when personal heroismwas most lofty

,and when man’s primeval

passions,appetites

,and conduct were governed

by a healthiness Of body and soul and a simplecode of moral laws that constituted the state

30

W H I C H M U S T BE R E A D

into a nursery Of noble manhood . Homerwas probably unconscious of his own powers .Like Shakespeare

,he had that S implicity which

comes from highest genius . He did notcriticize his age, standing apart from it . Hewas his age ; and all its ideals, its grace Ofthought, its imaginative religion, its love of

beauty and bravery were summed up in him .

His poem is a mirror of that old state in whichmen’s manners were not fettered by convention

,

but in naked freedom . Nature was very muchwith them . The earth and its fruits

,the sky

and its mysteries,the air and its terrors spoke

to them more nearly than to modern mankindwith its artificiality. And men’s hearts weremore bared to one anot her, So that the characte rs of Homer are , like those of the Bible,types of man’s nature stripped of its outerhusk .

Greatest Of Latin , as Homer is greatest ofGreek poets—Virgil has deathless renown .

His fEneid,though not so dramatic as the

I liad, has a beauty and a charm all its own. Itis the charm of exquisite art rather than thecry of nature , of poetry serene , harmonious ,and haunting . It has been well said of himby a modern critic (J . W. Mackail) :

“WhatVirgil has in a degree that no other poet hasever equalled

,is pity ; the sense of

‘tears in

W H I C H M U S T B E R EAD

things,’ to which in the most famous of his

single verses (ZEne id I , 1462) he has givenimperishable expression, and which fills withstrange insight and profound emotion thoselonely words and pathetic half-lines where hehas sounded the depths of beauty and sorrow

,

Of patience and magnanimity, of honor in life

and hope beyond death .

”

POPULAR PHILOSOPHY

I will now name a book Of far differentcharacter and scope

,but 'one full Of homely wit

and wisdom,that is

,"Esop’s Fables . fEsop

lived some Six hundred years B . C .,but he i s

another proof t hat man’s nature is Very muchnow as it was long years ago . This Phrygianslave

,as he is said to have been

,was at home

in the animal world . He saw that the be astsof the field possess many of the characteristicsof human beings

,and in the spirit of satire he

let his imagination have free rein , and narrateda number Of witty tales in which the loweranimals talk and act in much the same way asthe lords of creation . Among them are thecrafty ones

,the simple

,the greedy, the treach

e rous,the vain-glorious

,the miserly and the

prodigal ; and beneath his animal allegoriesfriend JEsop has many a hard hit at the vicesand frailties of human nature . For centuries

32


that if any man shall look into these memorials,

he will find that I have said all,or indicated

al l . What I cannot express,the same I point

at with my finger ; I leave nothing to bedesired or divined of me .” “

A pleasantfantasy this is of mine . Many things I wouldbe loth to tell a particular man

,I utter to the

whole world ; and concerning my most secre tthoughts and inward knowledge

,I send my

dearest friends to a stationer’s shop .

” He is

absolutely frank, hiding nothing, exaggeratingnothing

,telling his virtues and his vices with

the same impartial pen . Having leisure,and

being taken with the itch of scribbling,he

found himself “wholly unprovided of subject ;and, void of other matter

,I have presented

myself unto myself for a subject to write andargument to descant upon . It is the onlybook in the world of this kind and of a Wildextravagant design .

”The book, however, is

much more than an autobiography,and his

Essays deal with somany subjects of philosophy,art, and literature, his quaint imaginingsexplore so many realms of thought, his mindis busied with so many points and problemsof life

,that his work may be read and re -read

with ever fresh delight,and with some mental

and moral profit always to be got . His

writings were “ done into English by John

34


Florio in the reign of Elizabeth , and it is thistranslation which is most full Of homely vigorand the grace of Simple speech .

ELIZABETHAN GENIUS

Bacon had not that flashing,brilliant wit Of

Montaigne . He did not skim lightly overmany subjects

,suggesting a thought

,revealing

an inspiration , exploring beyond the boundariesof mere reason , and leading his reader a willO

’-the-Wisp dance through the thought-world ;but Bacon had a profound genius

,with little

humor,but a piercing vision for the truth of

things . His Essays led men’s thoughts into

new regions,and the modern world owes not a

little of its civilization to his wise and pregnantutterances . His English

,too

,is stately and

sober,Simple but severe

,clear and concise,

so that those who wish to speak and writewith grace Should study his eloquent periods .On the Pilgrim’s Way to Culture there must

be a long halt when'

we come to Shakespeare’shospitable gifts . For he has been , and mustalways be ; the one to whom all thinking mindsturn for inspiration

,for knowledge , and

enchantment . Not to know his charactersis to be ignorant of much in human nature

,

not to have heard his glorious verse is to bedeaf to the beauty of language , for he was the

35


master-mind who revealed the hidden secretsof the human heart

,the poet who crystallized

our language into its noblest form and mouldedit to the expression of the sublimest thought.

REMAR"ABLE WOR"SI must not linger too long on this topic

, and

as in my next article I want to start from a newsign—post along the Pilgrim’s Way

,I will

conclude with a brief mention of other booksOf vast influence upon mankind .

The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas aKempis,is a wonderful picture Of the perfect Christianlife . It is an ideal which no doubt has neverbeen reached by mortal man

,but an ideal

which points the way to a higher and noblerlife than the ordinary slipshod course ’twixtbirth and death . Thousands have obtainedthe deepest solace from the work

,thousands

have endeavored to base their conduct uponits teaching. Therefore, whether or not wedisagree with its doctrine, its writings shouldbe studied w ith reverence .Dante’s Divine Comedy breathes out the

spirit of medieval idealism,yet today

,in this

modern world,there are men whose heart

strings are vibrated by the deathless song of thethirteenth century bard as by no other writerof any

'

age or nation . Dante himself is a

36


character who stands out of the surroundingblackness of his age with a certain dazzlingglamour. But

,apart from this

,his poem is

profoundly impressive to the imagination ;and though the lovely melody of the Italiantongue is largely lost in our harder English

,

in such a translation as Longfellow’s (not themost accurate

,but the most poetical) the

Divine Comedy may be read with infinitedelight and with that wondering and reve ren

tial awe which is the key-note of its effect .The ArabianNights lifts the curtain to a new

realm of imagination,and casts a spell upon

the reader,who

,once having reveled in the

Eastern glow of its‘

pages, never loses thememory of its enchantment

,nor quite escapes

the haunting glamour of its adventures . Bun

yan’s Pi lgrim’s Progress is another work that

will not die . The English people would not bethe same had it never been written

,and to many

a man and woman,since the tinker dreamed his

dream,the wonderful al legory has been a solace

in the hour of grief and despair,a warning in the

hour of temptation,and a guide along the

Pilgrim’s Way to a Better Land . There ismuch in the book that is bigoted and anti

quated , but as a whole it still remains a monument of genius .

37

FOURTH TURN

The Re ading of History

THE VALUE OFH ISTORY

The student with any pretension towardsself-culture must set apart a fair amount oftime to the study of history. Now

,there are

many young men and women who think thereis a good deal of nonsense about this . Theydon’t understand how it can profit them togrub up facts about old kings and queens

,

statesmen and soldiers, to say nothing of thepeople who are as dead as door nails (or, asDickens said

,

“ as dead as coffin withwhom the modern World has no concern .

Nevertheless,history must be studied by all

who want to be “up

-to-date .

” For what doesthat rather absurd but much beloved phrasemean? I take it that a person who. has thegood or bad fortune to live in this presentyear of grace is only worthy Of his age if herealizes in more than a vague manner that hehas nineteen centuries Of the Christian erabehind him

,and

,still farther backffCountless

other eras . If a man does not know somethingof the lessons painfully worked out during the

38

R E A D I N G O F H I S T O R Y

world’s length of life , if he is so ignorant ofhistory that instead Of being able to draw uponthe accumulated experience of the centuries

,

he has to blunder through from the beginningwith no other experience than his Own poor

,

petty life affords,then he is in no way “

up-to

date,

” in no way a twentieth-century individual

,but must date his existence from the

Year 1 .

This I think is the true value of history .

It enables us to regard modern problems witheyes that look backward as well as forward .

This is how many would-be reformers and so

called politicians go hope lessly wrong . Theydon’t know their history .

‘

Theylaunch out intoschemes

,build up fine theories

,institute far

reaching measures,which

,had they but

studied the annals Of other ages,they would

know to be futile or dangerous,because they

run counter to human nature,to the laws of

economic history,or to a nation’s inherited

character.This is not all that is to be got from the study

of history. It is a great source of strength inthe building of character

,and not only strength ,

but breadth and refinement . A man is sohopelessly narrow if he is ignorant of history"He is like a horse in blinkers

,looking only

straight forward and seeing neither to right

39


nor left . He is like a country bM pkin, be

fore the reign of newspapers,who with his back

to the town pump laid down the law uponlife in general and the town in particular .History is the interpreter of many phases of

modern life that otherwise are hidden and haveno meaning. It gives interest to much thatwould otherwise be dull

,and throws a glamour

Of romance over much that would be commonplace . The student of history has his eyesopened to a thousand little details of everydaylife which go unnoticed by the uninitiated

,but

each of which to him suggests a delightful trainof thought

,stretching from now backward to

past ages . The name of a street furnisheshim with a text for a mental sermon

,for it

tells him perhaps that here (as at GiltspurStreet

,London) rode knights to the tourney

in the smooth field (or Smithfie ld) in the age ofchivalry . The names over the shop-doorsremind him perhaps (as the French names atCanterbury) that here was a colony of thriving,skilful Huguenots

,whom a silly king drove

out of his country by a silly'

edict that sent hisbe st men to a foreign foe . Walking over afield that is called Athelney he remembers thata certain king came to hide here during thedark days of his reign

,and made it a strong

hold, from which he issued at length to defeat40

R EAD I N G'

O E H I S T O R Y

judging every nation by our own standard , northinking that because a thing is American it isright, because it is foreign it is wrong, butrather giving us the desire to learn and profitfrom all that is best among Other people inother lands , and to stamp out all that comparesunfavorably in our own national character .Apart from all this there is in history a

source of immeasurable pleasure,of pure

enjoyment,which none will realize but those

who have delved into the annals of the past,

who have let their imaginations roam in acertain period of history

,who have become

fami liar with old-time characters, and lingeredlongingly over old-time speech, who , for nopurely practical purpose

,have built up in their

minds a complete picture of the age, and takenfresh delight in hunting up every fact that willadd a new detail to their knowledge . Thiskind of study

,of course

,may only be for those

who have the leisure to pursue it ; and for thosewho cannot linger over details , but must covera wide ground speedily

,I will now give a few

general hints .

AMERICAN HISTORY

Of course a student Should begin by getting aknowledge Of his own country’s history, andthere are many interesting volumes to draw

42


upon,from Washington Irving’s fanciful His

tory of N ew York to the serious works ofPrescott

,Motley, Bancroft , Parkman , Fiske,

John Bach McMaste r and Woodrow Wilson .

It is a good plan for the student to take upcertain epochs and phases of history and tostudy them separately

,but he must never lose

sight of the fact that there is an unbrokencontinuity of history and that no one may sayhere began and there ended a certain historicalperiod .

ENGLISH HISTORY

American history naturally leads back intoEnglish history

,and as an elementary book

,

but one nevertheless which shows the glamourof history and teaches the intimate connectionwhich the modern world has with the past

,I

recommend H. O . Arnold-Foster’s History ofEngland. John Richard Green’s ShortHistoryof the English People is a work that should beread very early in one’s historical course . Itgets rid of that pernicious idea that historymerely deals with kings and battles

,with the

bang of the big drum,and the record of glorious

Victories mingled with a few distressing defeats .Green traces the development of the people ,and their gradual emancipation from barbarismto feudalism

,from feudalism to freedom

,telling

43


in Vivid chapters that have all the glow of

romance the story of great movements,such as

the struggle between Church and Crown,the

rise of Parliament, and the growth of commerce.Macaulay and Froude are historians who wrotewith a pen dipped in glowing colors

,and for

this reason they must be read with caution,

‘the

student keeping his judgment in check, nor

allowing it to be carried away by the prejudiceof the writers . Neve rthe le ss

, ,the se two I have

named,by their fire

,their enthusiasm

,their

wonderful style,bring forth that infinite charm

of history which throws a spell over the mindand leads one on to furthe r study.

WORLD-WIDE HISTORY

Too much time should not be given to thehistory Of the United States and Britain

,the

object of the student being to get a broad andcomprehensive survey of every country andevery age . It is necessary to get away fromthe habit of regarding one’s country as thecenter of the universe, by studying the rise ofnew nations with new ideals and new-bornenergy . The student should take the history ofthe world on broad lines

,tracing the rise and fall

of empires,the intermingling of races and their

division into nations,the great invasions from

east to west, the gradual emergence from

44


barbarism to civilization, the great centers ofthe world’s trades

,the early republics and

commonwealths,the story of ancientGreece and

Rome , of medieval Venice , of modern Europe,of the old-world East and the new-worldWest .

THE OLD CHRONICLERS

I always advocate that students of historyshould do some reading of original authorities .For instance

,the brief and terse narrative of

the Saxon Chronicles is deeply interesting asbeing the actual contemporary record of theevents occurring during the reigns of theSaxon kings . The Chronicle of Ingu lph,though partly discredited

,contains much that

is authentic and valuable,and narrates in a

graphic and detailed manner one of the mostsplendid though almost forgotten episodes ofearly English history

,the last stand of Earl

Algar and a band of Saxon nobles against theoverwhelming hordes of Danes . Walsinghamis the best authority for the pe riod of the B lackDeath and Peasants’ War and the ChroniclesofHolinshed (compiled by various writers) werethe source from which Shakespeare learnedall his history and the authorities he followedwith absolute fidelity in his great historicalplays

,from King J ohn to Henry VIII . Frois

sart, too , is worth reading diligently, and to45


studyhiswritings is pure enjoyment, for he was,

par excellence,the chronicler of chivalry

, and

his pages are aglow with daring deeds,Of

gallant tourneys, of hard-fought skirmishes and

long-resisted sieges, of sorties and encounters

in which the flowers of knighthood displayedtheir prowess

,when such sturdy war-dogs as

Chandos and Talbot on the one side facedsuch doughty champions as Du Gue sclin andMontmorency on the other .

ECONOMIC HISTORY

If students have time to devote to thissubject, there is a valuable and fascmatingfield of study to be pursued in economichistory . It was Thorold Rogers who firstdirected historians to this important branchOf their science . His great work The Historyof Agricu lture and Prices

,and his Economic

Interpretation of History, paved the way for ane w method of investigation which wouldthrow much light upon the most interestingperiods o f history. Economic history dealswith subjects which to some may appear atfirst sight unworthy of attention from bistorians

,the laws relating to food and material

welfare,the fluctuations of national resources,

and the supply anddemand of national commod

ities . Yet such investigation is most valuable46


in the interpretation Of the forces underlyinggreat epochs or incidents of history ; and in thedevelopment or decline of agriculture andindustry

,one may realize most clearly the

absolute continuity Of history and the causeswhich contribute to the power or weakness

,the

prosperity or downfall of nations .Finally

,I would say that to stimulate the

imagination and to appreciate to the full thedelight of getting in touch with the past

,

frequent visits to museums and libraries arevery necessary

,so that one may actually see

with one’s own eyes the arms and armor,the

domestic utensils and ornaments , the coins,

dresses,and documents which were handled

by the men and women of long ago . In thesame way visits to historic buildings and placesimpress upon one’s mind the actuality Of thethings about which one has been reading, andbuild up in one ’s imagination a true pictureof the past . Helpful also to a high degree arethe collections Of portraits in our great galleries

,where one may study the “ living images ”

of the men and women who played big partsin our country’s history . TO the student whostudies history in such a way, using his int-elligence

,his imagination and his judgment , it is

a subject of life-long charm and of imme asur

able value in the direction of true culture .

47

FIFTH TURN

Th e Highway of English Lite rature

The wayfarer who sets out on the journeyto culture must realize that it is a long road

,

and not to be traversed at post haste . But

I warrant there are few ways so pleasant,or so

fragrant with choice flowers,as the Highway

of English Literature . And those who walkthere shall meet companions who will becomelife long friends, men and women of goldenspeech

,and thoughts that like the morning

sun reveal the beauty of nature , and pierce themists that conceal the wonders and the gloriesOf God and man .

English literature should be studied not inparts

,disconnected

,fragmentary, but as one

great Whole,having its beginnings in the first

minstrel notes of Saxon singers, getting strengthand volume as the ages pass, one generationinspired by its forerunner, and itself inspiringthat which follows ; embodying the spirit of

the time,and passing from one phase of

thought to another phase evolved from it

the sober,staid Saxon merging into the more

48

E N G L I S H L I T E R A T U R E

Abbess Hilda invited him to live in the religioushouse, where his time might be well spent insinging still further of the Bible story . Verygrand and stately is Caedmon’s poem

,and

though few may understand it in its Old Saxon,

there are plain English renderings which allmay read and enjoy. After Caedmon cameBede

,called the Venerable

,who spent his life

in the Monastery of Jarrow,and there acquired

a great fame as a teacher,so that from all parts

of the kingdom came scholars to sit at his feet,

eager to learn about the laws of Nature andthe history of the World . Bede delved deepinto Latin literature , which was then the key toknowledge , and he added to his learning a keenobservation of the world as he found it . He

it was who compiled the first English text—bookof natural science ; but the greatest of hisworks was his Ecclesiastical History of the

English People , which was in reality the firstHistory of England . This great writer wasfollowed by Aldhelm

,who wrote sacred songs

,

and sang them to his harpIng on bridges and inpublic ways

,so that the people should stop to

listen and get “health to their minds .” Greaterthan he was Alfred

,who translated many

Latin books into the English (or Saxon) tongue ,among others being the work Of Boethius

,The

Consolations of Philosophy.

50

EN G L I S H L I T ER A T U R E

THE AGE OF CHAUCER

Geoffrey Chaucer was one Of the first write rsOf English after it had emerged from the ruggedbut virile Saxon , and had taken to itself a newvocabulary and a new grace from the NormanFrench . Chaucer Was a type of all that wasbest in the England of that day

,an open-eyed

,

hearty,cheerful soul

, with a hatred of shamand cant

,and a love of manliness

,and of Dame

Nature who breeds such manliness . His quickeyes took in all the foibles of the time

,and if

we would know how our fourteenth-centuryforefathers thought and talked and worked

,

if we 'would roam in that medieval world whereromance jostled with coarse commonplace

,

and high ideals rubbed shoulders with lowmanners

,when chivalry was next—door neigh

bor to knavery, and when human nature wasmuch as it is now

,save that there were less

checks upon the hand and tongue,and civiliza

tion was nearer to semi-barbarism— then readthe Canterbury Tales , which reflect a trueimage of the time in all its details . Chaucer

,

though incomparable,was not the only poet

of his age ; and William Langland, in his Visionof Piers P lowman, upheld the honors of theEnglish tongue

,and left a work of true and

pregnant genius . John Wyclif,who also

lived at this time,did for Engl ish prose what51

E N G L I S H L I T E R A T U R E

Chaucer had done for English poetry,and

students would do well to read some of hissober, stately writing, which is the precursor ofthe wonderful grandeur of sound and rhythm

,

known to all of us in the English Bible . Sir

John Mandeville is another great prose writerof this time

,and his famous volume of Trave ls

,

which was the book best beloved by the readersof those days

,is an excellent example of Old

English .

Sir Thomas More’s beautiful dream of

Utopia is the best prose work of the e arlysixteenth century

,and it is a pleasant thing

to think that it is as popular today as when itfirst delighted and astonished the re adingworld .

THE ELIZABETHAN PERIOD

The Elizabethan Period was the Golden Ageof English Literature . Al l students shouldread Shakespeare

’s Predecessors, by J . A.

Symonds,in which one may learn how even

Shakespearehimself,great sunamidst attendant

stars,did not rise in solitary glory, but gained

inspiration,knowledge

,method, from men who

had come before him,and left to him their

heritage of work . His work rises immeasurablyhigher than the highest among a cluster of

contemporary giants , and there is no need for

52

EN G L I S H L I T E R A T U R E

me to add more words here . But there areother splendid names, which glitter in a noblegalaxy— among them Spenser

,whose Faerie

Queene is the most beautiful allegory inmedieval literature— men who made the English stage the school of thought

,manners and

imagination , where the people went to see

popular foibles parodied , to see the nation’s

history enacted on the narrow compass of astage

,and the many phases of human nature

depicted for their entertainment and instruction . Here

,too

,the sonorous roll of blank verse

tuned their ears to the witchery of rhythm,and

art,improving on nature

,lifted men’s hearts to

higher ideals,and broadened them with wider

aims .The Elizabethan Age was quick with life .

The veil had but shortly been lifted from theNew World

,and the spirit of adventure

,of

conquest and daring breathed fresh h ealth intothe souls Of men . England was in a lustyyoung manhood . He r children had wanderedfar into new seas , and brought back tales ofwondrous lands

,of wealth and beauty past the

bounds of thought . Life’s everyday world wastinged with the glamour of romance

,and hearts

be at high with great ambitions, while mindswere filled with bright fantastic dreams . All

this is reflected in the literature of the period .

53


In Raleigh’s stirring prose and tuneful lyrics,in Sydney’s pastorals

,in Wotton

’s love-songs

,

in Wyatt’s and Surrey’s sonnets,in the plays of

the Elizabethan dramatists,in the stories of

Lodge and Lyly,in Bacon’s new philosophy

,

this spirit of the New World of romance andfantasy and gallantry animates and pervadesall their work

,and gives it an atmosphere of

its own to which no other period of Englishliterature may be likened .

STUART AND HANOVER

In the following reigns of James and Charlesthe glories of Elizabeth were not maintained

,

though there are a few sweet singers,such as

pious George Herbert whose quaint and purethoughts are like some bubbling fountain in aCloister garden . Robert Herrick

,too

,has left

us some ballads which have perennial charmand sweetness

,while gay and profligate Sedley

and Rochester have given us some gallantlove-songs that reveal perhapsmore sentimentthan true passion : In the seventeenth centuryone great name marks a new epoch in literature,the name of John Milton, whose mighty verserolls sonorous and solemn like glorious organmusic

,and Whose sublime thoughts lift one a

little nearer to the heavens,a little farther

from the earth . His mind was steeped in

54


classic lore , and he first gave to the Englishlanguage the chaste and chiseled grace ofLatin verse . Nothing In our literature is morebeautiful than his elegiac poem Of Lycidas,nothing more sadly Sweet than his I l Penseroso,nothing more joyous than L’

Al legro, nothingmore sublime than his immortal epic ParadiseLost.

Jeremy Taylor’s Holy Living and HolyDying were great prose works that bringEnglish literature to the opening of the eighte enth century . During an almost barrenperiod Dryden Was the one great poet

,and

though he had not that divine affiatus which isthe spirit of high poetic genius

,he had stately

polished grace,a classic culture

,and, restrained

fancy,which gives a worthy rank to his work

in the gre at body of our literature . In thiscentury was the rise of the English topicalessay

,the forerunner of the novel . Steele and

Addison entered into a partnership thatbrought delight into every cultured Englishhome

,and among their bright

,witty and

eloquent papers in The Spectator and The

Tatler there are many worthy of being learnedby heart for their purity of style and eleganceof thought . To this period belong Swift’smasterpiece of imagination and satire

,Gu lliver

’s

Trave ls,and Goldsmith’s beautiful, wise, and

55

EN G L I S H L I T E R A T U R E

humorous prose drama of English home life,

The Vicar of Wakefie ld, as well as his delightfulpoems and plays

,The Deserted Village , The

Trave ller,The Good-NaturedMan

,and the still

popular She Stoops to Conquer . Nor must Iforget to mention the world-famous RobinsonCrusoe of Daniel Defoe .

In the middle of the eighteenth centuryRichardson wrote his novel Pame la

,which

,in

Spite of its sickly sentiment,gave the reading

public a craving for fiction dealing with contem

porary manners and life . Fielding eclipsedRichardson by his J oseph Andrews and TomJ ones

,two of the greatest masterpieces of

literature,though tainted by the contemporary

coarseness of humor and freedom of speech .

Then Smollett came into the field with RoderickRandom and Peregrine Pickle , and these threenovelists were the originals from which Thackcray

,Lytton

,Dickens

,and many authors Of

lesser note drew their inspiration, and whichthey made their models .

ALE"ANDER POPEIn poetry the early eighteenth century was a

period of stagnation,in which all freedom of

fancy and naturalness of language wereblighted by the artificial influence of the Frenchschool . The man who led the way back to

56


liam Cowper also has an honorable niche in the“ poet’s corner ” as author (among other goodworks) of that dear soul J ohn Gi lpin, who , asJohns on said of Garrick, added to the gaietyof nations .Dr . Johnson

,who wielded a profound

influe nce upon his time,is notable nowadays

not so much for his ownwritings, which thoughsonorous

,eloquent

,and learned

,have not

much living interest,but for his conversations

as recorded by Boswell,his faithful friend and

scribe .

In the nineteenth century we reach anotherGolden Age of poetry

,so rich in melodious

singers that to enumerate their names wouldfil l many lines

,and among whom I will now only

mention Sir Walter Scott , Samuel Coleridge,William Wordsworth

,Thomas Campbell ,

Thomas Moore,Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe

Shelley,John Keats

,Thomas Hood , Robert

Browning and his wife,Dante Gabriel Rossetti ,

and Alfred Tennyson .

To this period belongs also the luxurianceof the English novel

,which I am taking as a

special subject later on in this book .

LITERATURE IN AMERICA

The eighteenth century in America saw theworks Of Jonathan Edwards, the J ournal of

58

EN G L I S H L I T ER A T UR E

the Quaker, John Woolman, which delightedCharles Lamb

,and the Autobiography of

Benjamin Franklin,a better representative

of the prevalent temper of the colonies,fil led

with shrewd Wisdom .

Early in the ninete enth century appearedthe first works Of Washington Irving

,who has

been called the Father of American Literature,

” and who was the first American writerto receive serious recognition abroad . To

those who enjoy a finished style and lambent ,genial humor

,Irving i s still one of the most

delightful of all essayists. The Spy, first of thenovels of James Fenimore Cooper

,was pub

lished in 1821 . It laid the foundation for anew literature for the new country by showingthe romance which attaches to the pioneer andto the Indian . COOper, however, belongedin Spirit more to the eighteenth century thanto the nineteenth , and it was not until about1838 that American literature came into itsown. Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne , Poe ,Longfellow

,Lowell and Holmes all be long

to this brilliant period, whi le the latter half ofthe nineteenth century saw the work of themasterful poet Of democracy

, Walt Whitman ,and Of at least two world-famous novelistsHenry James and William Dean Howells .Samuel L . Clemens (Mark Twain) holds a

59

E N G L I S H L I T ER A T U R E

unique and unquestioned place as a humorist,

and there are many others worthy to appearon the bookshelves of him who would knowand love the best in literature .

60

SI"TH TURN

The Influence of Poe try

I am afraid that the love of poetry is losingits grip of pe ople’s hearts, and that the tendeney nowadays is to

‘

look upon our greatheritage of national verse as something quitesuitable for school misses and young curates

,

but wholly unprofitable and trifling for men andwomen who take life seriously. There are

,Of

course, a certain number of quiet souls who goto poetry for recreation and consolation ; thereare also a number of literary persons who studythe poets in a professional way ; but I think itis a fact

,at least so far as my Own Observation

goes,that among the great bulk of people there

are few who read,and—less who learn by heart,

the lovely thoughts enshrined in lovely language by the poets of our own and othernations

THE GROVES THAT THE MUSE HAUNTS

And yet now,above all times, it is fitting

that we should read poetry, and learn poetry.

For in the toil and stress of the modern worldmen’s thoughts and aspirations are apt to bewholly sordid

,or at least wholly material .

61

I N F L U EN C E O F P O E T R Y

The competition of the t1me,1s keen

,and

,in the

struggle,men

‘and women have little opportun

ity for cultivating the softer,more imaginative

side of nature . Then,again

,life has become

more complicated—not with deeper problems,

but rather with a myriad trivialities of timefilling and time-wasting . Nowadays, too , weare more gregarious . The rush from the landto the great cities-” dense hives of human beingsbrought into intimate contact by work and

pleasure— has taken away a good deal of thesoul’s loneliness

,and therefore a good deal of

its poetry. For true poetry is rarely found ina crowd . The poet must retire apart tocommune with his Own soul

,to gaze from afar

at human strife . In the drawing—room filledwith the lightest of chatter , in the restaurantwith the loud banter Of business men

,in the

music-hall with the swish of ballet girls’ skirtsand the snigger of light—headed fops, the Museof Poetry does not come , but enters onl y thesilent room where the solitary student sitsat his desk

,or whispers in the ear of him who

paces the lonely path with but earth and skyand wind beneath

,above

,and around him .

THE SONG AND THE DEED

The training of the modern world tends tomake us hard

,practical

,skeptical of all senti

62


ment , still more of sentiment bordering on

emotion . There has come a spirit of cynicismover the world

,something too of the Old

stoicism,which prefers to shrug shoulders at

evil and virtue , to laugh at ideals, to jeer atbeauty of thought and phrase . A fig forbeauty

,

” says our friend the man in thestreet

,

” “ give me utility . We can’t make thenation pay on principles Of poetry and such likehumbug .

”

And yet the man is wrong. It is preciselyon the principles of national poetry that greatnations have been built up . For the poetshave been the source of inspiration that hasfilled the hearts of the people . Their wordshave nerved the people’s right arms to do thework of civilization and nation-building. Bythe enthusiasm kindled through their fieryeloquence the people have pressed onward , bythe laws laid down in ballad and lyric thepeople have moulded their characters

,by the

sentiment sung by the nation’s singers thepeople have tuned their hearts . Poetry isindeed the voice of the nation’s heart . The

poetry of every age sums up the Spirit of thatage . Here we find the wisdom

,the philosophy,

and the prophecy of the time . In our nationalpoetry we find our national ideals .Does not gay Richard Lovelace

,in his love

63


song to Lucasta,give us the ideals of love and

honor which governed the chivalry of his ageand nation?

Te ll me not, swe e t, I am unkind,That from the nunnery

Of thy chaste bre ast and quie t mindTo war and arms I fly .

True , a new mistre ss now I chaseThe first foe in the fie ld ;

And with a stronger love embraceA sword, a horse , a sh ie ld.

Ye t this inconstancy is suchAs you ,

too,shall adore

I could not love the e , dear, so much,Loved I not honor more .

’

There in those two lines is expressed theideal Of an age when a knight had to tearhimself from love’s embraces to the sternerduties of the field .

OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE

So if we would know what animate d ourforefathers

,from what standpoint they looked

at life and the duties of life,we must go to the

poetry which they have left as a heritage .Here is enshrined the wisdom Of our race—a

wisdom learned through hard toil , hardfighting, hard suffering ; a wisdom worked out

64


THE THINGS THAT MATTER

In poetry we find the broad,elemental

principles of life . The trivial,the artificial

,the

conventional , the whole atmosphere Of modernshoddiness, vulgarity and supe rficiality, is

stripped off,and the naked soul remains

unfettered in the nature-world . For thisreason is it so necessary that we men andwomen of today should drink deep at thefount of poe try. For we must not fritter awayour souls upon things of no account . We mustget face to face with the problems of life, andwrestle out their solution at all costs . Wemust—unless we would descend in the scalefind out the things that matter and the thingsthat don’t matter . I/ff does not matter, forinstance

,if I gain the whole world

,and lose

my own soul . It does not matter if I knowall the science of mathematics, and yet amignorant of my own heart. It does not matterif I lead my nation to world supremacy

,if it is

at the cost of its honor and moral sense . But

the things that do matter,these we learn in

poetry. We find the meaning of Life andDeath

,of Truth and Love, of Hope and

Joy and Despair, of beauty in man and

nature, of all those w hisperings of another

world which lead men on with courage andhope through the fight of life to the crown

66

I N F L U E N C E O F P O E T R Y

of peace . Al l this have poets told,for they

are the Truth-tellers .

THE SPIRIT OF POETRY

Apart from the high philosophy which thosewho know how may learn from poetry

,we may

all get illimitable benefit from the reading ofthe poets . Poetry gives the sweetness andtenderness to one’s character Without whichone is hard and unsympathetic . It teachescharity and simplicity

,faith and honor

,good

fellowship and friendliness, love of beauty inform and sound and color, in character andSpeech . From poetry we may learn to becontented with little, to prefer a peacefulmind to the uncertainty of wealth and fame .

What does Old Sir Henry Wotton say?

How happy is be born and taughtThat serve th not another’

s will,Whose armor is his_hone st thoughtAnd simple truth his utmost skill"Whose passions not his masters are ,Whose soul is still prepared for death,

Untied unto th e world by care

Of public fame or private breath .

Who envie s none that chance doth raise ,Nor V ice hath eve r understood ;

HOW de epe st wounds are given by praise ,Nor rules of state , but rules of God .

67


Who hath his lif e from rumors fre ed,

Whose conscience is his strong re tre at,

Whose state can ne ither flatterers fe edNor ruin make Oppre ssors gre at .

Who God doth late and e arly prayMore of His grace than gifts to lend,

Who ente rtains th e harmle ss dayWith a re ligious book or friend .

This man is fre ed from servile bondsOf hope to rise or fe ar to fall ;

Lord of himse lf though not of landsAnd having nothing, ye t hath al l .

Af ter a day’s work,perhaps in uncongenial

surroundings,perhaps among people Of vulgar

thoughts and vulgar speech,busy with work

that has in it nothing nobler,purer, or more

elevating than that it is work,it is an excellent

thing to read a little poetry of an evening, andto refresh one’s jaded soul with the melodyof rhythmic language wedded to bright fancy .

The dust of the day falls from one’s spirit,cleansed in the pure stream Of poetry ; and allthings commonplace

,sordid

,trivial

,ugly, are

left behind for the realm of thoughts ethereal ,ennobling

,solacious .

68

I N F L U E N C E O F P O E T

Eve r le t the Fancy roam,

Ple asure neve r is at home .

At a touch swe e t ple asure me lte thLike to bubble s when rain pe lte th ;

Then le t winged Fancy wander,Though the thought still spre ad beyond her.

Open wide the mind’s cage-door,

She ’ll dart forth,and cloudward soar"

SEVENTH TURN

Th e Education of Art

THE ORIGIN OF ART

Art Is as necessary to mankind as social lawsor physical requirements . In the very earlieststages of man’s progress to civilization

,in the

most primitive races now existing in the world,

art is to be found in its origin and elementarystate . It is in its simplest form the outwardexpression of the soul’s emotions . Paint ing,sculpture

,singing

,music of every kind, dancing,

and even a certain kind of literature,first had

their use in relieving the pent-up feelings of

man,according as he was actuated by love

,

joy,fear

,or religious emotion . Love was the

greatest charm that led men to cultivate allforms of what we call art . The desire to pleasethe women-folk was the spur that drove thefirst artists onward in search of beauty of formand sound and color . We have but to studythe habits of birds and beasts to see to Whatpurpose they exercise the art . We shall findthat the nightingale

,king of carolers

,pours

out its ecstasy of quivering song to woo thetimid listening female in the thicket . We shall

70

E D U C A T I O N O F AR T

find that the fine plumage of cock-birdsexercises much the same influence upon thefemale breasts of the feathered flirts as awell-cut coat and immaculate trousers doamong the ladies of a higher creation

,and with

more justification . So students of savagetribes find that art is cultivated for the samepurpose ; and the young chief adorns his blackbody w ith artistic tattoo designs, learns themusic of the tom-tom

,and practices intricate

dance-steps (all various kinds Of art) in orderto win the graces of some dusky bride . Religiousemotion stimulates art in a similar and almostas influential a way ; the first rude sketches onrocks

,the first rough carvings in stone or

wood,the first paintings in crude color

,being

to represent the wild man’s conception of thedeity or deities, who in some dim way he feelsmust control the wondrous workings of theworld around him . This is not a theory but ascientific fact

,and I need not carry the thought

further than to explain that as in the earlieststages of humanity art is an expression of everykind of emotion, so as mankind progresses inknowledge and intellect, and refinement of

sensation,art also progresses

,and, from

expressing the great primary and elementalemotions

,gives expression now to the highest

conceptions,the most delicate and subtle

71

ED U C A T I O N O F ART

forms of emotion,and the most various and

multitudinous phases Of imagination (which isan outcome of emotion) of which the humancivilized mind is capable .

THE INFLUENCE OF EMOTION

Therefore,when this is admitted

,it will at

once be seen What a powerful influence artmust have towards the highest forms of culture .For one of the essential elements of true cultureis the education of the mind and the refinementOf the mind

,so that it shall be in harmony with

and respond to the noblest emotions of noblesouls . Some people may Object to the wordemotion

,and say

,give me intellect

,cold and

clear and practical unbiased by such a false,

fickle thing as that . But this is to ignore theattributes of human nature

,to leave out of one’s

calculation the fact that our emotional feelingsare the source of all imagination, and of manyOf the most glorious ideals of beauty that arethe light and joy of an otherwise gloomy world.

The man,therefore

,who wishes to gain a

broad culture must not by any means ignoreart . Fortunate is he if he lives in a town wherethere is a good art gallery

,and wise is he if

(unl ike too many swine before whom pearlsare scattered) he avails himself of it to its fullextent .

72


There the gloomy skies and the preponderanceof indoor life induced the painters to put upontheir canvas the most glowing colors and themost skilful efiects of light

,so that their

pictures might be like choice gems for thedecoration of the rooms . This was the chiefcause of the essentially difl

'

e rent characteristicsbetween the Italian and the German and Dutchschools . The Southerners were idealists,expressing great conceptions and imaginativevisions ; the Northerners were content to lavishtheir artistic skill upon reproductions of thedomestic scenes and Of the homely naturein which they lived .

THE FIRST OIL PAINTERS

The genius of the Italian painters was suitedto the process called fresco

,a certain technical

manner of mural painting ; and in this mediumthe early masters

,C imabue

,Giotto, and , later,

Michael Angelo, Raphael , and Le onardo da

Vinci produced many great works . It was totwo Northern painters that the honor is dueof discovering the process called oil-paintlngthe brothers Hubert and John VanEyck . Theyproved how in every way it possessed greatadvantages over the processes hitherto in

vogue,a greater depth

,luminosity and variety

of color being obtainable,besides the

74

ED U C A T I O N O F AR T

immensely valuable quality of allowing analmost unlimited means of altering

,retouching

,

and perfecting,instead of the rapidity ne ce s

sary in such a process as fresco . From the twoFlemings the secret was carried to Flandersand Italy

,and during the first half of the

sixteenth century Oil painting was firmlyestablished . Raphael adopted it, and hisgenius showed the marvelous heights of beautyand power which it might be made to express .Bellini was less gifted

,but handed down the

tradition to Titian,whose sublime genius still

lives in works which modern painters studywith loving admiration

,copy with reverent

care,but cannot equal either in perfection of

color,in majesty Of conception

, or consummatemastery of technique . Giorgione is anothergreat name that is one of the glories of theItalian school . The —Flemish painter Rubensand the Spanish Velasquez, each in theirway

,produced paintings of unrivaled power ;

and the Dutch school,among whom are

the renowned names of Teniers,Matsys

,

Maas,and Peter de Hooch (to mention

but a few) , excelled in the productionof works of art in which mastery of technique was almost as admirable as thesoaring imagination of their Italian contem

porarie s .

75


THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF PAINTING

There was practically no English school ofpainting until the reign of Charles I

,who was

the most gifted royal patron,and who had the

good taste and the good sense to attract tohis cOuntry foreign painters of high repute tobe a source of inspiration to national artists .Vandyck was the greatest among them,

andthey were followed by the brilliant but lessworthy painter Sir Peter Lely . Hogarth Was

the first great origina l English painter,and

he was largely influenced by the Dutch school,

but worked out his own line and developedhis art in his own manner . Sir Joshua Re ynoldswas a disciple of the Italian school

,a painter

who believed in tradition and set himself thetask of importing and giving to his Englishmodels the grace and dignity and glamour thatare the characteristics of the school from whichhe drew his inspiration . Gainsborough believedless in tradition and more in studying directfrom nature . He was greater than Reynoldsbecause more truthful . He did not striveto embellish his portraits with his own fancy,but to draw out from them all that was best ,beautiful

,and sympathetic in themselves .

In the National Gallery of London there is agroup of pictures by Gainsborough that areunsurpassed in charm and truthfulness . To

76

E D U C A T I O N'

O F AR T

study them is to understand what art meanswhen genius is behind it , and one looks notmerely at the outer mask of his models

,but into

the soul s beaming from their eyes . Turnercast aside all rules , all fetters of tradition andconventionality. He was the first of impressionists

,and strove to put upon his canvas

,

not the reproduction of things that are , but ofthings as we see them

, or at least, as he sawthem . He was not only a painter but a poet

,

not a realist but an idealist . He could seebeauty where others would only see ugliness .

He put into his pictures the wonders of lightand atmosphere which pass by unnoticed bythose who look out of keen but unspiritual eyes .Constable , on the contrary, was content withnature as he found it

,and as it was

,without

putting into it his own spirituality . He loveda homely English scene and painted it withDutch fidelity

,but

"

with a freshness andoriginality all his own. He founded a school oflandscape painters which has had its followingof disciples stretching from his time to our own

,

and the French painters drew their inspirationfrom him for their own school of rustic art .

THE PRE-RAPHAELITES

For a time France became the center of theart world

,and British painters went there for

77


their training . But 'the famous Pre -RaphaeliteBrotherhood, originated by Rossetti under theinfluence of

,though not in partnership with

,

Ford Madox Brown,rescued British art from

a fatal tendency to mere prettiness and meretricious flashine ss . The Pre -Raphaelite s en

de avored to apply to modern painting theprinciples of the early masters, that is, theprinciples of truthfulness and fidelity tonature . Madox Brown,

Holman Hunt,Ro s

setti, Mil lais, and Burne—Jones, were founders

of this new school ; and although at the timeof its origin they and their art were treated bythe most heated abuse from critics

,painters

,

and the public,

~ they were soon joined bynumerous brilliant disciples

,and exercised a

profound influence upon modern art in thiscountry and abroad . Millais himself cameto see that to adhere rigidly to all the tenets Ofthe “

Brotherhood ” was to impose voluntarilylimitations upon his genius

,and to ignore the

lessons of time . He therefore emancipatedhimself from its fetters

,but maintained all

that was truest and best in its doctrine . He

was followed by other disciples of the Brotherhood” ; but, in spite of its decline, the influenceof the Pre -Raphaelite school is still to be seenIn the works of many of the best Englishpainters .

78

ED U C A T I O N O F AR T

PAINTING IN AMERICA

American painting at the present day followsno school

,and is infinitely various in its motive

and treatment . Outside of the brilliant workof Sargent and Whistler, however, it is in thenewer and wider fields of landscape paintingand mural decoration that we have done most .Unfortunately we are not as a nation artistic,and there are only a select few who care tospend a leisure hour once or twice a weekin the study of pictures

,even when a great

public gallery containing some of the world’smasterpieces stands in their way with opendoors . Foreigners come to gaze with awe atthe glorious works, while those who possessthem as a national heritage

,pass by with care

less indifference .

Pictures are not only a source of immenseenjoyment to those wh o

,having eyes

,see

,but

they stimulate the imagination and lead thesoul to high re alms of spiritual beauty

,giving

one new ideals , new conceptions of nature ,lifting the veil from the mysteries Of light andatmosphere

,and filling one with the most

delicate emotions that exquisite color anddivine form give to the man whose mind hasbeen trained to receive them and to respond tothem .

79

EIGHTH TURN

Th e Charm of Music

We have it on the authority Of Shakespeare,

through the mouth of his character Lorenzo,

that

The man who hath no music in himse lf,Nor is not mov

’d with concord of swe e t sounds,Is fit for tre asons, stratagems, and spoils :Th e motions of his spirit are dull as night

,

And h is affections dark as ErebusLe t no such man be trusted .

”

This is no doubt an exaggerated View of theinfluence of music upon men’s character

,and

I would not advocate , nor would Shakespearehave advocated

,in a strictly literal sense

,that

a man without an ear for music should be triedbefore a jury of twelve honorable citizens andtaken to the place whence he came and therebanged by the neck till he die .

”

ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT

Nor can it be said even that music alwayshas an elevating e fie ct upon the character

,for

it is lamentably true that some of the finest

80

C H A RM O F M U S I C

nificent sonatas, or Mendelssohn one Of hisgraceful “ songs without words,

” he was notrapt in ecstatic visions

,but in an ecstasy of

sensuous sound,and his soul was moved not by

high aspirations and lofty conceptions Of

righteousness,heroism

,or duty, but throbbed

with a flood of glorious measured harmony,so

satisfying his psychological desire for rhythm,

and his material sensibility to sound,that it

may have seemed to him as if his soul werelifted to celestial heights .In saying this I do not wish to degrade the

power and influence of music . On the con

trary, my intention in writing this article is tosum up the subl ime influence of music ; but Ithink everyone should realize that it appealsprimarily to the senses

,and therefore should

not expect musicians to be more virtuous or

more etherealized than their fellow-men .

A UNIVERSAL HARMONY

But music has an infinite power as a meansOf recreation for the weary mind

,and is a

source of probably the keenest and purestsensuous enjoyment of any that delights thesoul of man . From the bottom of my heartI pity a man or woman whose ears are deaf tomusic , for they lose one of the greatest meansby which one’s life may be sweetened . One

82

C H A R M O F M U S I C

may turn in every mood to music and findsympathy that soothes one or stimulates oneat his will . In time of sorrow

,when the world

weighs heavily and a discord breaks the melodyof life

,the man who c an turn to some little

instrument and make it give expression to thecry of pain which would otherwise remainlocked in a dumb inarticulate soul

,will find

some such relief as the pain-racked physicalbody soothed by a nerve-deadening Opiate .

And so with joy, seeking expression for itsexuberance of emotion . Music will carry awaythe spirit on a flood of rippling notes thatexhi larate the senses and harmonize with one’semotions as nothing else can . But apartfrom extremes of sorrow and joy

,music is an

accompaniment to everyday life that mankindcould ill spare . The world is full of music ,which even though unskilled and inartistic ,yet in its spontaneity and in its power Of

stirring one’s sense of harmony,is a source of

enjoyment not less great,because for the most

part unconscious . The song of the birds, thehumming of the insects

,the lowing of cattle,

the rippling of a brook,the wind through the

tree s,is nature’s music ; and the universal

melody is increased by the light-hearte d singingof a maid at her work

,the whistling of a

schoolboy,the chimes Of a church-bell , the

83


whirling notes of a piano-organ,and the

thousand and one strains without which lifewould be deaf and dumb . It is true that suchmelody may not be according to the highestrules of art

,but it may affect us as fully as the

greatest work Of genius. A few notes hummedin a light mood vibrate the chords within us ,and our imagination may idealize the melodyimperfectly rendered into most glorious harmony .

MUSIC AT HOME

We in this country suffer from the imputation of being an unmusical race . In Italy

,

that land of song, the peasants speak to one

another for the hour together in a melodioussing-song that is very pleasant to the ear .No doubt the climate is in their favor, andthey are born with deep musical voices thatinvite them to carol like the birds. Yet theGermans, a Northern race, take precedence inthe world of music . Still

,I think we are

improvmg In this respect,and there are now

very few homes in which a piano at leastcannot be found .

I think that every child Should, if possible , be

given an opportunity of learning some instrument

,and given a good musical education,

unless it is seen that he or she is hopelessly

84

C HA RM O F M U S I C

without an ear for music . It is a great sourceOf enjoyment and recreation in home life .It is delightful to me to go into a family whereeach member is proficient upon some instrument

,and se e the mother

,for instance

,seated

at the piano with her sons and daughtersgrouped around her

,joining in a pleasant

discourse of sweet sounds .Of course

,of all the instruments

,the human

voice is the most perfect,and the one that has

the greatest power over man’s heart . A giftedsinger rendering some lovely song

,in which the

words express some poetic thought to whichthe notes are

'

in sympathetic harmony,holds

his audience captive to his breath,thrilling

them with the emotions which he expresses,

stirring them with the passion of his own soul .Shakespeare

,a musician of most exquisite

ear,has explained in many lovely lines the

wonderful influence which music has uponhuman nature .To realize the magic influence of music to itsful lest extent one must hear it in an untram

me led mood,not in the prosaic atmosphere

of a concert-room,but in nature’s spacious halls .

SOFT STILLNESS AND THE NIGHT

I remember one summer’s evening,a year

or two ago,I was lying upon a barge in a reach

85


of the Thames near Gravesend . The sunwas setting in the west

,flooding the water with

a golden light,and the red sails of a fleet of

barges, waiting idly for the turning tide,

seemed bathed in blood,while the sky was like

a placid sea,studded with golden islets . Not

a sound came along the river save the splash ofthe ripples against the vessel’s side Thensuddenly floating across the water

,from some

unknown source,came a melody which se t my

heart vibrating with a weird emotion . It wasbut a simple glee sung by some women ’svoices

,and

,though the singers were nearly a

mile away,behind the bend of the rive r, .I could

hear every word distinctly :

A boat, a boat, haste o’er th e fe rry

,

And le t’s be gay, and le t’s be me rry .

Never in my life have I been so stirred by anystrain of music

,yet I could not tell why

,save

that , as Lorenzo said in The Merchant ofVenice

,

Soft stillne ss and th e night be come the touche s of

swe e t harmony .

”

When the boat came into sight I saw it wasladen with‘a merry party of holiday-makerstwo lads and four bouncing

,bonny lassies .

86


Commonplace and unethereal,yet in the

distance on that summer eve their clear voiceshad sounded like a harmony from angelicspheres .

THE PLEASURES OF MEDIOCRITY

There is a somewhat common tendencyamong people who attend good concerts andappreciate fine music

,finely rendered

,to

disparage any amateur performance which doe snot reach a professional excellence

,and to

discourage any effort to render Simple musicin a simple manner. I have no sympathy withthese superfine critics .I appreciate the performances of great

musicians as well as any,but that does not

spoil my enjoyment for the music of the homecircle . A piece from one of Sullivan’s operas,one of Handel’s simple but majestic harmonies,one of Chopin’s easier valses

,one of Grieg

’s

lullabies,any good piece of music performed by

someone who makes no pretence to Vie withPaderewski

,but rendered with

‘fair accuracy

and fair“

expression,is eminently pleasing to

me and to many another . And one of thegood old songs

,or

,for the matter of that

,one

of the good new songs,may give immense

enjoyment to its hearers,though sung by a

voice that cannot boast an equality with Patti

87


or Caruso . No one need sigh because theyCannot scale the topmost summit of perfection,but should be satisfied with a pleasing mediocrity. Life without music would be like aworld without sun , and if we cannot all begreat musicians

,let us at least be moderate

0 116 8 .

88

S ERM O N S I N S T O N E S

to the antiquity of the race from which thisWestern woman had sprung

,where yesterday

is merged into today,and today stretches back

to yesterday,and whose stones Speak with a

Voice that echoes through the ages of time .

But though to every man and woman greatcathedrals

,churches

,castles

,and manors

,

must teach lessons of no little worth, and

breathe out a spirit that must be elevating,it

is not everyone who has the knowledge requisitefor the full understanding of all that thesebuildings can teach

,nor for the full enjoyment

of their historical interest and their artisticbeauties . Those only who have studied atleast the principles of architecture can appre

ciate to the full the immeasurable and wonderful wealth of interest that historic buildingsafford .

THE HISTORY OF BUILDING

Architecture is one of the most fascinatingof studies . It comes in contact with everydaylife in a very practical way

,and yet carries

with it an infinity of art, science, poetry,history

,and romance It gives to life a new

and extensive interest,and as there is hardly

a town or village in this country which does notafiord many examples Of architectural styles,so also there are few who would not find a

90

S E RM O N S IN S T O N E S

study Of architecture lift them above thecommonplace and prosaic .TO ordinary uneducated eyes an old churchor cathedral is only regarded as a whole

,and

only the general effect observed . But to thetrained eye there are a thousand details to bestudied

,and a thousand points of interest

which are passed unnoticed by the majority .

Perhaps it is the delicate fan-tracery of thevaulting of a Perpendicular church

, or thefoliated moulding of an Early English capital

,

some grotesque gargoyle,or a squint for the

convenience of lepers,a four-centered arch or

Norman doorway ; no matter in what churchthat has survived the hand of time

,there are

always features of architectural interest to beregarded .

One of the most interesting branches of thesubj ect is the historical evolution Of theGothic style

,which in Europe was in vogue

from the eleventh to the Sixteenth century.

To anyone who has studied its principles itis a matter of little difficulty to ascertain thedate of any church, or Of any part of a church ,to within five years ; and any students ofarchitecture will bear me out in saying thatsome of their most delightful hours have beenspent in considering all the features of anancient building in order to arrive at a

91

S ERM O N S I N S T O N E S

well-founded conclusion as to its proximatedate .

Nor is it less delightful to trace this evolutionof medieval architecture through all itstransitions from the Norman to the EarlyEnglish, from the Early English to Decorated,and from the Decorated to the Perpendicularstyles . There are many buildings in thiscountry which contain examples of every styleand of every transition

,and there are also

many that are perfect examples of one style,so that there is no difliculty for the student ofarchit ecture to find specimens with which tobear out his book-learning.

NORMAN ARCHITECTURE

There are, for instance, a large number of

splendid examples Of the pure Norman stylestill existing in England

,of which

,to mention

but a few,I may cite the cathedrals of Canter

bury,Peterborough

,Durham

,and parts of

Winchester and Lincoln ; while all visitorsto the Tower of London will remember thechapel of St . John on the second floor of theWhite Tower, which is the earliest example Ofpure Norman work in England

,the great

Keep of the Tower having been erected byWilliam the Conqueror in 1078 . In Scotland,Kirkwall Cathedral is the finest example

,and

92

S E RM O N S I N S T O N E S

this style may also be seen in the abbeys OfDunfermline

,Kelso

,and Jedburgh . The

Norman style was originated by the Northmenunder Duke Rollo and his sons soon after theirconquest of the North of France

,where

,not

satisfied with the little churches then commonin that country

,they wished to raise monu

ments Of a splendor that would be worthy Oftheir conquest . Some Of their ideas theyobtained from the Germans , but they adoptedthe plan of the Roman Basilica of central andside aisles

,and at the east end they always

placed a semi-circular apse . In England,however

,where the style was introduced at the

Conquest,instead of having a circular apse,

a square east end was usually preferred .

It is easy enough to distinguish the chiefcharacteristics of this style . It is notable formassiveness and a grand simplicity. The

pil lars dividing the aisles from the nave arecubical and of large circumference . A squaretower is a feature generally introduced

,and

the interior ornaments are simple but variousand effective

,such as the zigzag

,nail—head,

billet,etc . The capitals are, in the early

Norman style, of the cushion character. The

windows and doors have semi-circular archedheads

,and the roof Of the nave is generally

wooden,the side aisles alone being vaulted .

93

S E R M O N S I N S T O N E S

THE EARLY ENGLISH STYLE

The transition from Norman to EarlyEnglish came with the pointed arch

,which was

found to be of far better use for vaulting thanthe Old semi-circular arch

,which Often had to

be supported by heavy buttresses . The

principles Of Gothic pointed architecture ,known as Early English, were fully developedin the twelfth century . Gothic was not theinvention Of a single individual

,but a gradual

and necessary development from structuralrequirements . The alterations in structurenaturally brought with them alterations of

decoration and detail . We now have the

narrow lancet windows,high gables and roofs ,

and simple pinnacles and spires . ‘ Instead of

the heavy Norman buttresses we have themshallow

,and the shafts of the piers, which were

formerly SO massive, are now slender, eithersirnple or clustered . The capital , which isbell-shaped

,is now ornamented with foliage,

and the mouldings are well defined and givestrong light and shade . Salisbury Cathedralis a perfect example Of this style, and it mayalso be seen in the nave and transepts of

Westminster Abbey,in the choir of Glasgow,

and the remains of Elgin Cathedral , to mentionbut a few. This style commenced towards theend of the twelfth century, and merged into a

94


transitional state at the end of the thirte enth .

This transition is noticeable in the windowtracery and ornamentation .

In the Decorated style which follows,the

windows are divided by a number of thin“mullions

,

” and the upper portions are fil ledwith tracery

,which in the early condition of

the style were geometrical forms,such as

combinations of circles,trefoils and quatre

foils . Later on the tracery departed from itsgeometrical lines

,and became more flowing

and intricate . In the same way conventionalornaments were abandoned

,and the sculptors

lavished their imaginative genius upon makingthe stones alive with natural forms and figures .From about 1270 to 1375 are the dates for thismost beautiful of Gothic styles, and among theleading examples I may cite the nave of YorkCathedral and the choir Of Lincoln .

THE PERPENDICULAR STYLE

We now come to the Perpendicular style ,which is easy enough to distinguish . Straightlines are now prevalent

,and the flowing

tracery of the windows gives way to perpendicular divisions Of the lights . The walls areoften decorated with rectilineal paneling,and the doorways have square heads overpointed arches . Here we sometimes find what

95


is known as the four-centered arch, but theglory of the style is the exquisite fan-traceryof the vaulting

,such as that in Henry VII

’

s

Chapel , Westminster. We also get the beautiful ornamented open timber roofs

, of whichWestminster Hall

,built in the reign of Richard

II,is the largest and most perfect example .

This style prevailed from the end of the

fourteenth to the middle of the sixteenthcentury

,and its latter characteristics are some

times denom mated as Tudor . In France theGothic style was completed by the Flamboyant,so called from the flame -like tracery of thewindows

,etc . ; but though this style is some

times surprisingly effective,as a general rule

it is technical skil l run riot, and more calculatedto show the cleverness Of the mason than theartistic sense of the architect .Here

,then

,is the barest outline of the history

of Gothic architecture,suffic1ent perhaps to

give a glimpse of the fascination of the subje ct .But the student of architecture may lookforward to years of pleasant study withoutexhausting all that is to be learned .

Ammican architects have produced someme ritorious work in recent years , the mostcharacteristic result being the sky-scraperswhich modern necessity has forced into certaincities . The Woolworth Building, in New York

96

TENTH TURN

English Nove ls and Nove lists

AS I have saId on a previous page,the nine

te enth century was marked by the evolutionand luxuriance of the novel . It is a form of

literature to which everyone now turns, not

only for amusement and light reading,but for

education in modern philosophy,in scientific

theories, and the latest religion evolved from theheated and imaginative brainof some modern

prophetess who issues her prophetic utterancesin a neatly-bound volume . The modern novel

,

in fact,is as various in style and subject as the

whirling thoughts that pass through the brainOf man . Unfortunately modern novels arenot so rich in quality as in quantity. TO putit plainly

,out Of the abundant harvest that

the ever-recurring publishing seasons bringforth

,all but one in a hundred (or thereabouts)

are of no more worth than to while away aleisure hour or two when the brain is fagged,and wants mere recreation of an easy and agreeable kind . There IS plenty Of talent nowadaysnever more so throughout the story Of our

literature . But talent is not genius, and tospend more than an hour or two a week on the

98

N O V E L S AN D N O V E L I S T S

readingof talented trivialities, however pleasantthey may be, is to waste precious hours thatmight be more profitably spent in deeper andwiser reading.

Fortunately, however, there are many novelsof more than ephemeral interest, and to readthem, and re -read them, is to gain a broadculture of heart and head . Being an omniv

orous novel-reader myself, it is not for “me todecry their worth . On the contrary

,my pen

runs willingly into a panegyric in their honor,

to tell of their soothing influence upon thejangled nerves after a day of worry

,to tell Of

their Wizard’s spell which lifts the mind fromthe ruck of everyday commonplace to newrealms of fancy and enchantment

,to name the

characters who are more real in the mind thanmany with whom we walk and talk, and friendsOf fiction so dear that we would hardly changethem for beings in the flesh

,to conjure up the

bright and pregnant thoughts with which theyhave stocked our otherwise dull and barrenminds

,to sum up the knowledge of human

nature and of the greater world that lies withoutthe circumscribed area Of our Own little sphere .

JANE AUSTEN

Jane Austen is the name that comes firstamong the great novelists of the nineteenth

'

99

N O V E L S"

AN D'

N O V EL I S T S

century, and it outshines many of those thatcome after her. He r novels are among the firste xamples of the English domestic story

,and it

is doubtful whether they have ever beenequaled or surpassed within the rather narrowlimits, of their class . She described humannature as she found it

,and trying no high

flight of fancy, portrayed with unerring insight,impartial truth and bright humor, the characters of the men and women whom she ”met inher quiet cultured life at Steventon

,in Hamp

shire, of which her father was the rector . SOprecocious may genius "be that by the time

she had reached her twenty-second year, be fare

‘

the sweet charm of girlhood had quite ripenedinto the fulness of womanhood , she had writtentwo of her best books, S ense and S ensibilityand Pride and Prejudice . She died when shewas only forty-two

,by which time she had

written Mansfie ld Park and Emma, Northanger

Abbey and Persuasion, the last two be ingpublished the year after her death

,when

,for

the first time,the authorship of the whole

series was known to the world at large . She wasmodest of her own accomplishments, andwrote of

“ the little bit (two inches wide) ofivory on which I work with so fine a brush asproduces little effect after so much labor .”

Yet so great an author as Sir Walter Scott100


have read Ivanhoe , Kenilworth, The Talisman,

Quentin Durward,The Fair Maid of P erth,

and The Fortunes of Nige l , history itself has adifferent meaning

,and we are brought in

closer touch with the ways and deeds of ourforefathers . Though Sir Walter was no subtlepsychologist

,and could not put his finger on the

pulse of the ordinary man or woman,whose

wild beating,in spite of outward calm

,may

reveal the secret passions Of the heart,he

knew human nature in its broad aspects,and

could portray it with strength as well ashumor . There are many fine portraits in hislong gallery

,and I, for one , would not miss the

friends I have made in Waverley, Rob Roy, GuyMannering, Peveril of the P eak, The Bride ofLammermoor

,not to mention all the long list

of these splendid historical novels .

CHARLES DIC"ENSDickens was a genius . Of another sort

,less

trained and more luxuriant,a child of modern

city life,having in his own soul the inefiaceable

impression of its tragedies and of its pathos,as

well as of its comicality,which

,often enough,

goes hand in hand with tragedy. He knew thelife of the city clerk

, of the small shopkee per,of the lawyer’s drudge , and of all the types ofwhat is called the lower-middle class, better

102


than any man living, for he had been broughtup in it , and his nature was like wax to receiveimpressions, and cast—iron to retain them . He

had an amazing eye for all that is odd andeccentric in human nature

,those queer little

tricks Of speech and manner and dress,which

,

though seemingly superficial to the character,

betray something of its secrets . Above all,he

was an emotional man . As a child in Londonthe iron had entered into his soul

,and his heart

always throbbed in revolt Of the misery andsordidness of the poorer classes of the gre atcity. He was stirred to indignation at thetyranny of rich over poor, of strong over weak,Of Vice over Virtue . And he had a tender,almost womanish heart

,that loved to linger

over the domestic joys and sorrows of the

people . Best of all,perhaps

,he had an exuber

ant sense of humor which shed a golden glowover the most commonplace and sordid scene,and transfigured the veriest counter-jumper

”

or cockney into a being of irresistible drollery.

There are some who say that the fame ofDickens is dying

,and that his works will not

outlast this generation except as literary relics .It would be a shame upon us if it were so ; but

the publishers of his novels deny the statementand say that

,according to the sales

,neve r have

his books been more widely read . I cannot

103

N O V E L S AND N O V E L I S T S

imagine the mind who can find no enjoymentin Dickens . There must be something wrongin it—some crank

,or cross-grained humor

,for

if there is such a thing as imagination,as

comedy, as pathos, thenDickens must be the

master to whom all must do honor.

W . M . THAC"ERAYContemporary and equal in high rank with

Dickens was William Makepeace Thackeray.

The two novelists were Very different intemperament and literary style—Dickensalmost rioting in imagination, laying on hiscolors thick ; Thackeray more classic andcultured

,gaining his force by restraint rather

than exuberance ; Dickens the scribe of thelower classes

,Thackeray of the upper classes ;

Dickens the attacker of social evils, Thackerayof society vices ; Dickens the ruthless enemyof middle-class tyranny and of lower-classselfishness

,Thackeray of upper-class snobbery

and Of genteel villainy . Dickens revealed thehuman heart by men’s‘e xterior mannerisms,and by their action under stress of a masterpassion . Thackeray delved deeper, and showedthe everyday workings of the human heartitself beneath the mask presented to the world .

His imagination was less luxuriant, but his artmore subtle . Vanity Fair is a masterpiece Of

104

N O V E L S AN D“

N O V E L I S T S

capacity for good or evil . Yet together withthis temperament of the preacher she hadhumor as well as sarcasm

,and infinite tender

ness as well as strength . There are few storiesin the English language SO great asAdam Bede

,

S ilas Marner, The Mil l on the Floss, M iddle

march,Danie l Deronda, and Scenes from

Clerical I/ife .

EDWARD BULWER LYTTON

With these names we have exhausted themost splendid on the list of nineteenth-centurynovelists

,and now we must descend somewhat .

Bulwer Lytton is one in the next rank , and

although in his temperament there was a gooddeal of the charlatan and the sentimental ist,it seems unkind to say so in View of theimmensely entertaining novels he has left forour enjoyment . I confess that I have neverbeen more enthralled by fiction than when Iread his splendid trio—The Car tons, My Nove l ,and Whatwill He do with it? They are brilliantimitations of the masterpieces of Fielding,Sterne

,and Smollett and what is much to their

honor if not to their genius, they are not disfigured by the coarse humor of the earlierEnglish novels . Personally I do not caremuch for his prodigies of sentiment—N ightand Morning, Alice , and Ernest Maltravers,

106


but I acknowledge as Old favorites his stirringhistorical romances

,The Last of the Barons,

and Harold,and his idealistic but very charming

novel of‘Kene lm Chillingly.

A CLUSTER OF BRIGHT NAMES

Charlotte Bronte had the true hall-mark of

genius,sincerity

,and enthusiasm . J ane

Eyre is a marvelous piece of work, mostmarvelous when we consider the narrow envi

ronm ent and the limited experience of itsauthor . Shirley also shows extraordinaryimagination and power

,though not to be

compared to the almost titanic force of Wuth

ering Heights, by Charlotte’s sister Emily,

which is as gruesome a piece of realism as anyof Z ola’s .Anthony Trollope and Wilkie Collins comein the third-rate rank

,though the first produced

some very entertaining and artistic novels,and

the latter holds the highest rank in sensationalfiction

,which has a crowd of modern disciples,

many of them of very Objectionable character .I must say a good Word or two for SamuelLover and Charles Lever, whose rollickingIrish stories are the best cure I know for themegrims . There are few such downright goodfellows as Handy Andy, Harry Lorrequer, andCharles O

’Ma lley. Harrison Ainsworth,too

,

107


was a friend of my boyhood,for whom I still

keep a warm corner in my heart . J ack

Sheppard has been called the most dangerousbook ever written

,and I confess

,when I read

it at the age of thirteen,I had a temporary

ambition to be a professional burglar . But

that passed"His Tower of London holds itsown still

,and there are few books out of his

long list which I did not devour and enjoy inearlier days . Greater than he , . however

,was

Charles Reade,whose masterpiece

,The Cloister

and the Hearth,I have just read again with

immense pleasure . It is a big thing to saybut I don’t think Scott wrote anything finer

,

nor in some ways quite so fine . His other booksare far below this in merit

,but many Of them

are as powerful as they are realistic . CharlesKingsley’s Westward Ho"is worthy of namebeside The Cloister and the Hearth, and hisHypatia and Hereward the Wake are almost asfine . I do not much care for his Alton Locke ,though it contains some powerful writing .

NOVELISTS OF LATTERDAY REPUTE

Now I come to more modern writers,and I

use the little space left to me to give but a wordor two to the best of them . Mrs . Oliphant andMrs . Craik are two writers who did honor totheir sex

,and J ohn Halil

’ax

,Gentleman, by

108

NO V E L S AN D N O V E L I S T S

nothing without charm and delightful entertainment .

NOVELISTS OF TODAY

Greatest Of living novelists is Thomas Hardy .

His novels are not always wholesome,and to

my mind his Views of social morality arestrangely warped at times . Nevertheless, hehas true poetic genius

,and there is no man

alive in closer touch with nature Indeed,his prose has the melting charm of poetry,and his pictures of woodland scenery areexquisite and flawless . Some people call hima realist

,but he is not . He is an idealist if

ever there was one,and his Wessex folk are

transfigured by the glamour of his glowingimagination . Hall Caine began by writingliterature

,and has degenerated into sensational

melodrama . Rudyard Kipling hardly ranksas a novelist

,his title to renown being based

more on his poetical works and short stories.But his I/ight that Failed is almost great, and"im

,though not a novel In the ordinary sense

of the word,is a masterly picture Of Indian

life . Stanley Weyman is a good Englishimitator of Al exandre Dumas, without thefire of his genius . Anthony Hope is alwaysentertaining

,and Gilbert Parker’s French

Canadian stories have a charm all then own .

1 10

N O V E L S AN D'

N O V E L I S T S

J . M . Barrie has a very subtle knowledge of thehuman heart

,and can paint a woman’s portrait

with much grace and tenderness ; while ifS entimental Tommy is not more autobiographythan fiction, then Barrie has even more imagination than I give him credit for . Zangwill

’

s

Jewish stories Show great power, though theyare terribly sad . Conan Doyle has done somegood honest work

,and although his Sherlock

Holmes, which ranks first in popular favor, isnot the highest form of fiction

,English litera

ture has been enriched by the addition of The

White Company and Rodney S tone , which areboth admirable novels . Rider Haggard willlive always on the reputation Of King Solomon

’s

M ines and She . A. T . Quiller-Couch , knownalso as “

Q,has maintained the highest tradi

tions of English style,and his west-country

stories are wholesome,fresh

,and charming . He

may also rank as the best short-story writerof the day. Maurice Hewlett has so steepedhimself in the spirit of Old-time romance thathis historical novels impress one with a senseof absolute truthfulness . For pure entertainment Arnold

,Bennett has s carcely an equal ,

and H. G . Wells, though not a great nove list,cannot be neglected because his works areso brimful of thought and so stimulating tothe man or woman who would dip into the

1 1 1


surging stream of this wondrous twentiethcentury .

THE AMERICAN NOVEL

In the nineteenth century in America wefind James Fenimore Cooper and NathanielHawthorne, both already mentioned . Cooperreceived his literary impulse from Scott, andhis novels, Of which The Spy, The Pioneer,The Last of the Mohioans and The Pilot aremost popular, are Vivid romances of enduringappeal . Hawthom e

’s novels are romantic

also in their appeal , but they are better written ,in a style of e xquisite delicacy, with rare pathosand humor

,and a psychological inte re st that

was an altogether new note in fiction. The

Scarlet Letter and The House of the S even

Gables should not be omitted from any goodreading list, for this New England writer

,who

inherited the gravity of his Puritan ancestorswithout their superstitions, is one Of the greatmasters Of English prose .Of modern realistic writers many might be .

profitably read—Henry J ames, William DeanHowells, EdithWharton,RobertHerrick,Winston Churchill, Jack London in his be st work,Ernest Poole

,and a few others . The strength

of Henry James is in psychological analysis,and the convincing lifelikeness of his characters,“

1 12


whose first novel, a

“

story of New York, TheHarbor, brought almost instant recognition .

Here,then, is a list of names Of the most

renowned novelists,from the beginning of the

nineteenth century to the present day,whose

works have a profound influence upon modernthought.

1 14

ELEVENTH TURN

On th e Study of Human Nature

THE STAGE OF LIFE

There is no branch of knowledge so generallyignored as the one I have alluded to in the abovetitle . Yet there are few so essential to man’shappiness

,and few so fruitful of true philosophy.

Most of us go through life with our eyes Shut,

or only half-opened to the great drama beingplayed around us . The majority of men andwomen are blind spectators of life’s shiftingscenes of tragedy and comedy, of life ’s epicpoem , of its heroic meter, and of its plain,unvarnished prose .

“All the world’s a s tage,

and men and women merely playe rs,

” but eachplays his little part

, e ach has his entrance,mouths his speech , and take s his exit withoutstudying the characters allotte d to his fellows .Thus— to carry the simile further— it happensthat men and women often come in at thewrong one . When a fellow-actor is playinghis tragedy they set his poor nerves a-j anglingwith their pitiless burlesque

,and when some

merry-hearted low—comedy men are cuttingtheir capers and splitting their sides withlaughter up comes a Melancholy Jacques, with

1 15

S T U D Y O F H U M A N N A T U R E

his mouth drawn down at corners,and his

visage woe-begone like a death’s-head at afeast . It is like a pantomime rehearsal withouta stage-manager . Everybody says the rightthing at the wrong time . Nobody listens toanybody else . Only one or two spectatorsin the gallery watch the various parts beingplayed

,and distinguish between the actors .

They alone can see that the noise Of the pantomime is deafening the noble words of somefirst-rate actor, and that some small partsare being played excellently well . But I haveworn out my theatrical simile, and those whodo not see the allegory will be gaping until Iwrite more soberly.

THE DANGER OF INTROSPECTION

Most Of us nowadays are too introspective .It’s an excellent thing to have a care for one’sown immortal soul

,but one can be too busy

even with such a business . It’s a good thingto remember other people’s souls . I think itis a very general tendency among people

,and

especially among young people,to be always

withdrawing to the inner chamber of their ownconsciousness

,either for the purpose of sweep

ing it clean or garnishing it with bright daydreams , or , perhaps, in order to Sit in thesolitary state of their Own council chamber

,

1 16


study Of books . But,in saying this

,I do not

wish to decry the value of reading, but ratherto maintain that the art—“ the Master Art ”

Of how to live,is best learned by studying the

varied characters of the men and wome n withwhom o ne rubs shoulders every day, who to usrepresent the world

,and ‘upon whose good

fellowship and service we so much depend .

How,

Often one hears the cry, Oh,this

prosaic,this deadly dull world"Romance is

gone,and the reign Of Humdrum is with us . ”

This is true enough for those who think so .

For those who have eyes but see not,the world

is dull ; for those who do not look beyond theirown noses

,life is humdrum and prosaic.

But for those who,having eyes

,know how to

use them,for those who

,having ears

,can hear

,

life under the most homely conditions,in its

dreariest aspect,within the narrowest bounds

,

is always a drama, and too often a melodramaso full of broken hearts and tragedy

,so startling

in its intensity of passion, so thrilling to thescale of one’s emotion

,that the student of human

nature , realizing al l this, will be apt to rejoicewhen the play is over and he can go to rest .

THE SECRETS OF THE HEART

Romance"We need not look far to find it .

It is in the life of our next-door neighbor . We

1 18


ourselves may be a living farce, or tragedy, or

heroic poem . That hollow-eyed,grizzle

haired man who perhaps is our employer,

perhaps our clerk,hides in his heart the

remembrance of a dead wife,hides his sorrow

by an outward gruffness that makes men shunhis company. That worn-looking, plainlydressed woman

,who is our washerwoman or

landlady,is battling heroically against ill

health and poverty,to keep the wolf from the

door for her invalid husband . That smilingold fellow

,with the cheery

,wrinkled old face

,

who sweeps a crossing near our house,smiles

and bids a cheery “ good morning,

” though hisbones are twitched with ague—smiles

,though

he is hungry and we well-fed—smiles, thoughhe has nothing to smile for, God knows, beyondthe courage and faith that bids him keepcheerful against all odds. That fellow with thestammer and the pock-marked face

,the fellow

whose nerves set him a-trembling at a suddenquestion

,is not an Object for ridicule . He is

a hero,though he does not look like one. He

has fought the drink devil with both hands,

and the fight,though he has won

, has left itsmark on him . That maid-servant of ours,with the red hair and nose “ tip-tilted up toheaven

,

” may look commonplace enough,but

her heart is awhirl with romance,and her head

1 19


chock-full of dream fancies—for love,the knight

in white armor,has come to her in the guise of

a butcher-boy, and mistresses may scold, andmasters swear, but she—and he

'

-care not atoss for all the world as long as love is true.

ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS OF MEN

As a humble student of human nature,I can

vouch for the fact that more interesting thanall the books ever written

,more fascinating

than any science built up by the Skill of man,

is that human document which may be readin the stree ts

,in the dingy back rooms of the

poor as well as in the salons of the wealthy .

I have always been an interested Observer ofmy fellow men and women . As a chil d Iwatched and listened

,and made mental notes

about the people I met and saw ; and now,in

railway trains or’buses

,wherever there are

people’s faces to observe,and their tongues

go a-wagging

,my eyes and ears are busy. Arid

this I will say—which is a comforting refle c

tion—that the closer knowledge one gets of thehuman heart

,the nearer one gets to the real ,

inmost character of people, the more one isreconciled to human nature . Especially isthis so with the lower classes. In my ownlittle wanderings I have penetrated into somerather out-of-the-way phases of society, and

120


article about him,and I count it a pleasant

memory that my words were read by someperson out in India

,who

,feeling touched by the

man’s optimism,sent a nice little cheque

,

addressed to “The blind man who stands at

the bottom of the alley,” in such-and-such a

place . I give these instances because they area few little experiences of my own

,which have

proved to me that all wisdom does not lie inbooks

,and that among the very poor

,in the

ordinary sense of the word,may be found many

riches of another kind .

The student of human nature,if he has any

love for his study,will find he needs no other

key to unlock its secrets than sympathy. Thatis the only premium that must be paid. I havenot had a very varied experience Of life

,but

even to me,people—strangers often— have told

their life-stories and their secret troubles,for no

other reason than that I seemed ready to listen .

I have a friend—nay,more than a friend , my

father—who has made the most surprisingfriendships on the spur of the moment , encountered the strangest adventures in ordinary citylife

,and listened to extraordinary confidence s

from people who have never set eyes on him before

,and perhaps never will again . Adventures

are to the adventurous,the man who can listen

will hear,and theman who observes will se e .

122

TWELFTH TURN

Th e Advantage s of Trave l

IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS“Home-keeping youth have ever homely

Wits,

” said friend Valentine in The Two Gentlemen of Verona . This statement is not to beaccepted without modification

,for our Shakes

peare,and Burns

,and many another “ home

keeping youth,

”have had more wit than a

thousand,or a hundred thousand

,individuals

who have done the Grand Tour . Still , there issome truth in it

,and generally speaking the

man who has stepped beyond his own littlelocal world

,who has seen other nations

,other

cities,other manners than his own

,is a broader

,

larger-souled being than he who judges men andmatters from the standard of his petty parish .

And nowadays what facilities we have fortravel compared with th e days of our greatgrandfathers"In the good old times a journeyfrom London to Edinburgh

,from New York

to Philadelphia,aye

,from any town fifty miles

distance to any other,was not to be undertaken

without fear and trembling on the part of thetimid

,and with much will-making and prepara

123

A D V A N T A G E S O F T R A V E L

tion by even the most intrepid of travelers .And no wonder"For who could face withequanimity the prospect of a fifty-mile journeyon a lumbering old coach, with perhaps anoutside seat

,an east wind biting one’s ears and

nose,a gentleman highwayman at the turning

of a lonely road,a wheel OH in a malignant

rut,and other items of an equally disturbing

character? In those days, too, only a man of

wealth could dream of long journeys, unless hewere wil ling to trudge on shanks’ mare (andthere are worse modes of travel than that) , forone didn’t travel in those days at the rate oftwo cents a mile .

But now,

“Nous avons chang"tout ce la"”

we have changed all that— as Moliere’s doctorremarked . Travel becomes cheaper everyday

,and the home-keeping youth is hard put

to it to find an excuse . Such enterprisingtourist

,

agents as Messrs . Cook and Sons,and

the healthy competition of the railway andsteamboat companies

,have made the man in

the street a traveler,and converted the world

into a “umversal exhibition with a cheap

entrance ticket .

OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY

I have a poor opinion of young men whoalways spend their holidays in the same place

,

124


bile myself,and know the joy Of skimming

along a level road with the wind in one’s teeth,

and a broad View ahead when one’s eyes se estraight to the horizon . Still , by nature I ama tramp, and every other tramp is my brother .I do not like to be hampered by a machine

,nor

fettered to the highroad . I am Of a discursiveand digressive turn of mind, and hate a

straight road as a weariness to the flesh . WhenI am out for the day with the world before me

,

I am a meande rer . When I see a little by-pathwhere the trees on either side clasp theirbranches in close embrace, and the undergrowth straggles across with the luxurianceOf an unfrequented way

,when a rabbit scuttles

to its burrow, and the blackbird calls to itsmate

,there are ten chances to one that I accept

such a seductive invitation, and abandon thestraight way. Then to lie on my back in theSun by the side

"

of a brook,or just outside the

shade of a spreading tree, to listen to themelodious humming of nature’s tiny organists

,

or the swee t swish of the trickling stream as itstirs the rushes by its bank, are interruptionsto my day’s journey too frequent to Obtainthe sanction of an automobile tourist.I admit

,however

,that much may be said

for both the automobile and the railroad , andAmerica is so vast that one must accept these

126


means of locomotion if one would really seethe country. A five -day journey carries onefrom New York to San'Francisco

,and even in a

short time one may see many of the interestingplaces that lie between . People travel all overthe world and find no city so wonderful as New

York with its gigantic Skyscrapers ; they visitAsia to study forgotten civilizations

,when Red

skins still live on the western plains and cliffdwellings reveal strange stories of the past ;they long for the Alps without realizing thatthe supreme miracle of Nature awaits them inthe Grand Canyon of Arizona.

ACROSS THE MILL POND

As I have said,one’s own country affords

plenty of charm and interest and instructionto the traveler

,but I

_

want to advocate alsothe merits of foreign travel . And what asource of infinite fascination is a trip abroadto the man or woman who all the year round,save for that brief spell

,is a stay-at-home . It

opens up a new world to one . Everything isso different

,so fresh

,so full of interest . One’s

first trip abroad enlarges one’s character to nomean extent . One’s mental focus is readjusted

,one’s mind is filled with fresh pictures .

Though it may not be so good for one’s bodilyhealth

,compared to a seaside holiday at home ,

127


a fortnight abroad is wonderfully invigoratingand inspiring to one’s spirit . The people, thelanguage

,the customs, the dress, are al l

different,and therefore all interesting.

And now half a dozen words of advice . Ifyou decide to spend your holidays abroad,acquire before you start at least an elementaryknowledge of the language , history, literature,and habits of the country to which you aregoing

,and your enjoyment will be tenfold.

128

AR T O F C O N V E R S A T I O N

jerking out ill-formed and disconnected sentenoes that but barely express our thoughts .The man of culture of the olden time had moredignity Of language . It may have been moreartificial

,it may have hidden rather than

revealed his inmost thought (though this isdoubtful) , but there was a fine grace in theturn of his phrase, as there was in the flourishof his three-cornered hat and the easy eleganceOf the bow with which be greeted his friend .

Conversation was then looked upon as an art,

not onl y Worth cultivating, but indeed as oneOf the most necessary branches of education .

A man might be wicked— the flesh is weak andthe heart Of man is prone to evil— but to be adull dog in company was an unpardonableOffence that ostracized a man from society .

The French carried conversation to itsfinest pitch in the days immediately beforethe great Revolution . In the clubs Of thephilosophers

,whose destructive theories were

to plunge their nation into a whirlpool of

anarchy,in the salons of charming women like

Madame Ge offrin, Mdlle . de l ’Espinasse and

Madame de Stael , at the little dinners” of

literary men and patrons like the Barond

’HOlbach,conversation was the only purpose,

and the sole attraction of gatherings which wereattended by the keenest and brightest wits,

130

AR T O F C O N V E R S A T I O N

the most bril liant personalities not only offl am e but of Europe .In these salons Of Old France the conversation that made the long evening seem like , abrief minute sparkled with a constant gaietyand a brilliance kept alive by quick rallyingrepartee

,by pungent epigram, by bright

anecdote, by keen flash of wit, leavened sometimes by an undercurrent Of dee per thoughtand a revelation of that new philosophywhichwas to shake the foundations of the old world .

In England also there were coteries in whichthe art of conversation excelled . ConversationflourishedandsawgoldendayswhenShakespeareand Ben Jonson met at the “Mermaid ,

” andwhen

,as one who heard those rare encounters

Of genius has reported, Jonson’s eloquence was

like a heavy Spanish galleon, while Shakespearewas like an English frigate that tacked aboutswiftly

,throwing in Shot on every side of the

enemy. Conversation was golden, too, in thosesame glorious Elizabethan days when WalterRa leigh

,Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser

were brilliant stars in the Court Of Queen Bess ;in the clubs of Queen Anne

’s days,when Dr.

Johnson spoke like an oracle—ungainly, snuffy,grease-stained

,but nevertheless an oracle with

words of golden wisdom—with such literaryworthies as “

Noll Goldsmith,the patient

131

AR T O F C O N V E R S A T I O N'

Boswell,the fiery Garrick and the bright-eyed

Joshua Reynolds ; when Addison, Steele andSwift discussed papers for The Tatler; and inthe latter days when Alfred Tennyson

,Arthur

Hallam and that reverend jester Brookefie ldmade soaring thought the boon . companionof side -splitting laughter .

INTELLECTUAL DELIGHT

These are some of the famous circles whereconversation has reached its highest pitch of

excellence ; but always in the world, and still ,there have been

,and are

,little companies of

men and women in which this delightful artis on no vulgar plane . What greater pleasureis there than to enter such a circle ; to listento the rallying banter of bright wit, to standby whil e two well-matched minds fight out aduel on the tilting-ground of argument withthe skil l and vigor and with the courteousgrace of well-trained combatants ; to follow thethread of discourse

,which leads on to a hundred

different subjects,wending maze-like in and

out,yet never broken or disconnected . But

conversation is best when only two tongueshave the wagging. NO enjoyment is there

greater among life’s few real pleasures than

that which two friends may have who,unl ock

ing the little door which leads to the inner

132

AR T O F C O N V ER S A T I O N

and general rules which may be set down in ourtextbook. The person who wishes to becomea master of the art must first store his mindwith much varied knowledge. To talkmerelyfine phrases without solid information behindthem (and such a thing is possible and frequent)is to create an instrument of torture for all whocome within earshot of that clacking. Thisknowledge should not be of books only

,but of

men and things . More valuable even thanknowledge is thought—thought developed bymeditation

,by wrestlings in secre t with some

Of the problems of life and the soul,by keen

and patient observation of the little things aswell as the big things of existence

,by an

inquiring and interested mind upon eve ryday .

subjects. It is good to have a memory foranecdotes

,lines from the poets and quotations

from great writers. A lively anecdote,a happy

quotation,to illustrate a passing topic of

conversation,lends a brightness and piquancy

that is not to be lightly valued . On the otherhand

,to have a limited stock of old anecdotes,

a repertory of famil iar “ quotes,

”and to trot

them out glibly in every company is to labeloneself Bore in letters of advertising size .Preserve me from any such"It must never be forgotten that good conver

sation also means good listening . A one -sided

134


conversation is an impertinence . of the talkerand a martyrdom of the listener. It is like a

game of tennis with the balls always servedfrom one court and never returned . The manwho monopolizes the conversation is to be putdown as a public enemy. On the other hand,a man must not be afraid of having his littlesay

,of holding the stage awhile with a good

set speech . Conversation which is a merevolleying of one-phrase sentences keep’

s one’snerves on the jig.

THE UNFAILING RECIPE

Next among the ingredients of good conversation I recommend humor as the best seasoning . It irradiates a conversation ; like the sunshining upon a town

,it turns all to gold . The

best of humor is that good-tempered, happysort which sees the ludicrous in the commonplace

,comicality in inconveniences

,and touches

every topic with a quaint ridicule . Men andwomen of this quality are benefactors to their

Then must you add to the recipe a bountifulsupply of sympathy. In conversation theremust be a quick response of sentiment betweenthe speakers . Each must enter into the other’3mood ; and , as as tringed instrument vibratesto the touch of the musician

,so should a speaker


feel that he has stirred the chords in the heartsof his company.

And now for two maxims to round off thismonologue. Remember that speech must betrained continually

,if one would express one’s

thoughts felicitously. When Dr . Johnson wasasked for the secret of his eloquence

,he said

that he had always made it a rule to utter hisideas in the most careful , clear, and appropriatelanguage he could find . Remember also thatto speak well one must live well

,for speech is

the expression of one’s character ; and although

that is a witty epigram which says, spe e ch j s

given us to conceal our thoughts ,” it is not a

true one, and a man who would hide his real

self must keep silent. I say again,to speak

well one must live well ; and he who wouldexcel in conversation must first find charityand sympathy andmodesty,which three Virtuesgo far to make a man a good fellow and a

gentleman.

136

W IN S T O N ’S H AN DY C LA S S I

AINSWORTH , H .

74 Windsor Castl e200 Th e Towe r of London228 Old St . Paul ’s

ANDERSEN , HANS

175 Fairy Tale sARNOLD , MATTHEW

138 PoemsAURELIUS , MARCUS

82 The Me ditationsAUSTEN, JANE

53 Sense and Sensibility103 Pride and Pre judice190 Emma193 Mansfie ld Park

BACON , FRANCIS1 67 Essays

BALZAC , HONORE DE221 Old Fathe r Goriot

BARHAM , REV . R . H .

7 1 Th e Ingoldsby LegendsBEACONSFIELD , LORD

183 VivianGreyBLACKMORE , R . D .

176 Lorna Doone

BRONTE, CHARLOTTE7 Shirleyl 1 Jane Eyre64 Villette

BRONTE. THE SISTERS9 1 Agne s Grey , Th e Profe ssor , and Poems

BROWNING , MRS . E . B .

67 Poems—Se rie s I1 27 Poems—v Se rie S II

BROWNING , ROBERT156 Poems

W IN S T O N ’S HANDY C LA S S I C S

BURNS , ROBERT1 64 Poems

CARLYLE , THOMAS6 1 He roe s and He ro-Worship109 Sartor R e sartus

1 14 French Revolution—I1 15 French Revolution—II1 55 Past and Pre sent

CARROLL, LEWIS8 1 Alice inWonde rland

COLLINS , WILKIE18 Th e Woman inWh ite20 NO Name130 Th e Moonstone

COOPER , FENIMORE134 Th e De e rslaye r1 88 Th e Pathfinde r

CRAIK , MRS .

5 John Halifax, Gentlemen80 A Noble Life1 37 A Life for a Life

DARWIN , CHARLES69 Voyage Of th e Be agle149 On th e Origin ofwh e Spe cie s

DAUDET , ALPHONSE1 82 Tartarian of Tarascon

DE QUINCEY , THOMAS75 Th e Confe ssions o f an Opium Eate r

DICKENS , CHARLES1 David COpp e rfie ld14 Gre at Expe ctations29 Barnaby Rudge33 Olive r Twist35 A Tale o f Two Citie s3 6 Th e Old Curiosity Shop37 Nicholas Nickl eby

W I N S TO N ’S HANDY‘C LA S S I C S

DICKENS , CHARLES (Continued)38 Pickwick Pape rs39 Ske tche s by Boz40 Dombey and Son4 1 Ame rican Note s42 Hard Time s43 A Child’

s History of England44 Christmas Books45 Reprinte d Pie ce s46 Martin Chuzzlewit47 Bleak House48 Little Dorrit49 Maste r Humphrey’

s Clock, e tc .

50 Storie s and Ske tche s73 Our Mutual Friend1 54 Th e Uncomme rcial Trave lle r220 EdwinDrood

DODD , WILLIAM1 69 Th e Be autie s of Shake speare

DOMAS . ALE"ANDRE62 Th e Thre e Muske te e rs1 23 Twenty Ye ars Afte r132 Count of Monte-Cristo (Vol . I)1 33 Count of Monte -Cristo (Vol . II)1 60 Th e Black Tulip1 65 Margue rite de Valois1 73 Vicomte de Brage lonne1 78 Louise de Valliere185 Th e Man in th e IronMask1 99 Th e Forty-five Guardsmen206 Chicot th e J e ste r2 14 Le Chevalie r de Maison Rouge

ELIOT , GEORGE3 Adam Bede13 Th e Mill on th e Floss1 9 S ilas Marne r

32 Scene s Of C le rical Life68 Romola96 Fe lix Holt223 Middlemarch—I224 Middlemarch—II

EMERSON , R . W .

99 Essays and Repre sentative M en

W I N S T O N ’S HANDY C LAS S

LAMB , CHAS . AND MARY76 Tale s from Shake spe are

LEVER , CHARLES148 Harry Lorreque r

LONGFELLOW , H . W .

65 PoemsLOVER , SAMUEL

60 Handy AndyLYTTON , LORD

27 Th e Last of th e Barons5 5 Th e Last Days of Pompen77 Rienz i87 Harold126 Th e

‘Caxtons

1 52 Eugene Aram19 1 My Nove l204 De ve reux2 1 6 Night and Morning229 Kene lm Chillingly

MACAULAY, LORD1 18 Historica l Essays1 1 9 Misce llane ous Essays

MARRYAT , CAPTAIN84 Mr . Midshipman Easy1 95 Th e Children Of th e N ew Fore st

MELVILLE , WHYTE85 Th e Gladiators1 05 Th e Inte rpre te r145 Th e Que en’

s Marie s1 96 Ce rise21 2 Kate Coventry

OLIPHANT MRS .

102 MISS Majoribanks

PALGRAVE , F . T .

95 Th e GoldenTreasuryPOE . EDGAR ALLAN

201 Tales of Myste ry and Imagination

W IN S TO N ’S HANDY C LA S S I C S

READE , CHARLES9 It is Neve r TOO Late to Mend21 Cloiste r and th e He arth5 2 Hard Cash1 36 Pe g W offington and Christie Johnston1 50 Love M e

‘Little , Love M e Long

1 70 Put Yourse lf in His Place23 1 Griffith Gaunt

RUSKIN , JOHN70 Se s

ta

fie

t

and Lilie s and th e Political Economy'

0 r

78 Unto This Last and Th e Two PathsSCOTT, SIR WALTER

2 Kenilworth1 2 Th e Talisman22 Ivanhoe5 8 Wave rly63 He art Of Midlothian90 Old Mortality1 01 Poems1 12 Bride of Lamme rmoor1 17 Th e Fair Maid Of Pe rth1 3 1 Guy Manne ring139 Rob Roy1 53 Th e Monaste ry1 57 Th e Abbot1 63 Th e Antiquary1 68 Red Gauntle t1 74 Fortune s of Nige l1 77 Woodstock1 80 Th e Pirate1 87 QuentinDurward1 94 Peve ril Of th e 'Pe ak203 Th e Black Dwarf and Legend of Montrose208 Anne of G e ie rste in

2 1 9 St . Ronan’

s W e ll232 Castle Dange rous and th e Surgeon’

s Daughte rSHAKESPEARE , WILLIAM

1 89 Trage die s230 Comedie s

SOUTHEY , ROBERT1 1 1 Th e Life Of Ne lson

W IN S T ON ’S HANDY CLAS S I

TENNYSON, LORD25 Poems

THACKERAY, W . M .

23 Henry Esmond34 Vanity Fair66 Th e New com e s

83 Th e Virginians1 20 Adventure s of Philip1 21 Pendennis1 44 Ye l lowp lush Pape rs1 5 1 Four Ge orge s1 58 Christmas Books1 71 Love l th e W idowe r1 81 Barry Lyndon, e tc .

1 84 Th e Book o f Snobs1 92 Th e Gre at Hoggarty Diamond1 98 Th e Paris Ske tch Book205 Th e Irish Ske tch Book207 Roundabout Pape rs

TROLLOPE , ANTHONY79 Barche ste r Towe rs1 00 Fram l ey Parsonage1 47 Orley Farm1 59 Th e Clav e rings

WOOD , MRS . HENRY10 East Lynne1 6 Th e Channings26 Mrs . Halliburton’

s Trouble s30 Dane sbury House5 1 Ve rne r ’

s Pride210 Lord Oakburn’

s Daughte rsYONGE , C . M .

93 Th e He ir of Re dclyffe1 66 Th e Dove in th e Eagle ’

s Ne st21 3 A Book of Golden De e ds

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