The Press.
London, England, 1858-01-09 00:00:00

Yittraturt.

The Political Economy of Art. By John
Ruskin, M.A. London : Smith and Elder.
Mn. RVSKIN could not, probably, take up his
pen on any subject, however remote from
those to which he has specially devoted him-
self, without being often original, often pro-
found, often eloquent, and always sincere and
intelligible. These qualities, however, though
they will make a writer highly suggestive and
entertaining, will hardly at the present day
enable him to set up for a teacher, without
some proof that he has mastered the labours
of his predecessors in the particular field
which he now undertakes to cultivate. It is
impossible to feel perfect confidence in our
instructor, unless we are made sensible that
he has been through the same mental difficul-
ties as ourselves, and that ho has foreseen
and provided against the objections that may
lie in our path. In his " Addenda" to the
two lectures before us, Mr. Ruskin no doubt
considers that all requisite help of this kind
has been given. But the point of view from
which he regards social and economical ques-
tions is so different from that of the rest of
mankind, tbat one half his readers will only
be enabled to sympathise with him by a strong
mental effort, while the other half will feel
something very like incredulity and disgust.
All men, it has been said, are born either Pla-
tonists or Aristotelians ; and every one who
has been accustomed to recognise the distinc-
tion will unhesitatingly refer the author of
"Modern Painters" to the former category.
At the base of this character lie an expansive
benevolence, a deep hatred of evil, and, above
all, of ignorance. Such men will gladly lead
their fellows by the hand as little children ;
but are ready to punish them also as little
children if they prove indocile. They have a
tendency to regard the world, not as a huge,
unwieldy orb which we must make the best of,
but as a sort of humming-top which can be
brought into harmony with the eternal fitness
of things by a sufficient amount of flagellation.
They cannot bear to see this machine out of
order in the minutest particular, and they will
in consequence try to set everybody right.
They seize their notions clearly and apply
them to circumstances with a vigorous logic,
but they are not apt to refer to historical or
inductive confirmation. It would be easy to
describe the class at greater length, but its
prominent features are soon indicated, and
among them few persons will fail to see the
characteristics of Mr. Ruskin.
The purpose of his present volume—which
was chiefly delivered in the form of two lec-
tures at Manchester—is "to show what kind
" of labour " accumulations of artistic trea-
sures " represent, and how this labour may in
" general be applied and economised so as to
" produce the richest results." He deals with
the inquiry under four heads :—I. Discovery,
or the means of producing among us the
greatest amount of artistic capacity; 11. Appli-
cation, or the kind of work—(as to variety,
difficulty, or durability)—to which the artist
should be directed ; 111. Accumulation, or the
manner in which the result of such work
should be brought together; IV. Distribution,
or the best way of placing art within the reach
of all classes, whether by public galleries or
decreased cost of production. In working out
the details of this scheme, Mr. Ruskin shows
his usual clearness of conception and force of
style.; and although, as we have intimated, he
can lay no claim to a thorough study of
political economy, he seems to have grasped
some of its main principles firmly enough,
and to have steered clear of some mistakes
likely to beset a writer who ventures out of
his own province. But, however truly be may
have viewed the tendencies of certain economic
laws, his whole scheme appears to us to
be vitiated by his misconception of tho
objects and duties of Governinent—which
he seems to consider ought to interfere with
the operation of these laws to a degree which
we believe would be as much condemned by
theory as it would be found pernicious in
Practice. Take, for instance, the following