, 1844-11-16
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Authorship.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Authorship.
1t is mentioned that NJ. Theirs is
TO receive half a million Of francs, or
nInety-ttree thousand dollars, for bis
new History Of the Consulate and
Empire Of France, in ten octave vol.
umes. This fact exhibits in Il strong
light the progress of civilization, by
which the public pay for the works Of
the mind. The examples Of SUPER
Iatlve remuneration for literary pro
duction are 10 unfrequent in past
history; but the rewards have been
through the means OF regal or arisio-
cratic patronage. The poet sold his
independence to his patron for n sum
in expectation; and the hattery, if fe-
licitous. and contained in a work Of
renown. was signally recompensed,
so far as gold can pay a man for ~
ing. The price. by Augustus 10 Vir-
gil. for the prostitution of his poeti-
cal pen. is larger pay than the best
magazine remuneration 10 authors Of
our time. 1t may be shrewdIv sur-
missed that Shakspeare's neat little
puff of Queen Elizabeth did not 90
without its reward. The poets dedi-
cation TO lis early noble p iron was
sufficiently humble TO be paid for
well.
But the days ale weilnirh over
when authors cringe 10 titled patrons.
Tie great author now works rot fu5
a royal or noble hou%, hio potr"m>
are mankind. lfhe has the true stuff
in his composition, he need not fear
of success. What he puts forth will,
if good and great. have It's Effects
No true idea, when uttered. is lost.
All praises. pufs, laudatory criticism
all the machinery for hnlstering up
a reputation by %cliques, combinations,
and partisan aids, help it not. These
means may cheat people out of mon
ey, they may degrade the writer to
the level Of the specializing trader,
but they caunot illustrate his genius,
if he have it, or place his name in an
Immortal sphere, byond the worlds
changes and corrup,lons.
When we look at the means taken
TO make literary regulations among
authors, we are sickened at the folly,
vanity, and avarice displayed. and yet
we have 10 pity the poor scribes who
must make auame 10 sell their wares;
so they raise 4 mist before the public
eye TO swell their puny proportions
toa seeming magnitude, az the small
man on the mountaintop is reflected
as the colossus in the clouds above.
But such authorship is as the lying
priestcraft which pulls wires and
makes thunder. No divinity stirs it;
and hence it dies as falsehood dies.
The authorship of this country for
the most part is not by men. 1t is
the spawn of institutions. We pick
up a book, and we arc not permitted
10 Judge OF its intrinsic merits by a
name, or without the name OF
lis author. We are bulIied at the ut
set into an admiration of the author,
Some swelling title meets the eve.
conferred by God knows whom-per-
haps by one of the fifty colleges that
are running a scrubrace for the pur
ses of trumpery honors. All that is
won of this means is a mockery Of
truth--what avails it in the scale of.
immortality which awaits genius2 Is
human heart and the human head
be cheated into a belief that a
name is a thing2 When we see mys
tic capital letters attached to the
name of an author, we are ready 10
exclaim. Thou, poor wretch. dost
thou dream Of fame by such meansg
Art thou not a mar made npright?-
Why play the lame beggarl Why
and ask f~avols, as thou art sus,
aimed by the merest sticks ofconven.
ioRalism-the clutches Of custom9
f thoU art TO walk forth a great man
Imong nations-if glory is to arch
he sky of futurity. thinkest thou
hat the cheap dlspensations of men
oer tbop {byoaIT Will anal ,L..s /