Houma Ceres. [volume] (Houma, Parish of Terrebonne, La.) 1855-18??, 1855-11-08
THURSDAY, November s, 1855.
Is Criticism the Fame of kitcr;a-
lurG!

SIUiCtsIIl, IL IL CtiSu SdtOs luC bNilC VA
cur latest literature. Quite req,ently we
hear the iatnentation that that the intellect
Of the are is broken up into eddies and
whirlpools, and manifests its greatest en-
er2y in sucking the products Of mere Gre
alive times and positive. minds into the
vortex Of analysis, devouring that it may
understand. 1t is easy to see that there
are aspects Of the as: which provoke
this Judgment. and which explain. though
they hardly Justify, such fear. 1t might
be sl,cwn, without ,much difficulty, that
even now, that there is no trigh,ii.l &C. Of
original or constructive thought, and that
criticism need net starve on The charities
Of the modern press.
But, not to dwell on the last point.
however deplorable may be the excess Of
criticism, no one viii imagine that liiera-
ture is endangered by an excess Of good
critics. Many Of the gentlemen who as
sumo the title, men distinguished by no
sympa,t,ies and no breadth Of taste, and
who endeavor to avenge themselves for
conscious poverty Of invention by iiippant
smartness in the tone both of their pa.
tronage of the genius which they dare
not challenge, and for their contempt for
the mediocrity which they think it safe to
spare, nigh. be spared without de.riment
to the dignity or interest Of letters. Nei.
ther are those who work we'll after their
kind in detecting the defects and flaws,
the false quantities and inharmonious lines
which often soils the finest works of ge-
Mus entitled to more respect. either for
the nobility Of their works. or for the pow.
ers Of mind that are requisite to their per-
ormance. We know that opposition to
evil, and absorbing love Of goodness, sus.
gest widely different spiritual states, and
SO man may be capital connoisseur Of
trivial blcmishes, without possessing a
large measure Of appreciative taste. A
literary weasel, on however large scale
Of development, who has the surest intel.
lect and the sharpest teeth for mice, al.
though a useful, is by no means a vene<a.
Die parsonage.
But q true critic is as rare and as ser.
viceable as good writer. We but feebly
symbolic his Office when we say that he
is as necessary as the assayer who tests,
pur;fies, and coins the gold. If we do no,
have some men whose taste and iudg.
ment may be trusted as true scale and
accurate weights, genuine genius canno,
receive the proper stamp, nor be honor.
ed for what it is. Most persons who as.
sumo the critical function, are untitled 70,
their work, because they have the bac
scale Of sectarian or conventional taste
and the false weights Of caprice, PARTIAL.
ties. friendship, and prejudice. When
therefore, a man who is born critic ap.
pears, and assumes, as by instinct, the ju.
dicial robe-a man whose eye is SHARP
and healthy, and whose brain is capable
Of receiving deep and clear impre ssions
from various quarters Of the literary world
let him be welcomed With JOY, and in-
stalled upon the bench. II respect the
man" said Plato, ''who knows how t.
distinguish accurately, and tell the differ.
ences in things"
And we repeat, that whatever be the
perils which at present beset literature
an excess of such minds is not one o.
them. Not only are such men more
needed now than they have ever been,
owing to the contempt Of rules and limo.
vations in taste, and the Babel babble o.
dialects that characterize the world of let.
ters, but their office harmonizes with what
is most prominent and praiseworthy in the
spirit and mission Of the age. We res.
pect science, now. The intellect of the
world is fired with an ambition for dis
covery, which Is harnessed and curbed BY
severe rules. To study physica! facts