New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-03-24
THE BOSTON HEBE7ICS.
ups HOWE BEFORE THE RADICAL cLUB-LiM-
ITATIONS.

CHEEKY rooms No. Is Chestnutst Where 'he oiees
beresy gather togetherwent TO hear Mrs. julia ward
s}ove whose name is, perhaps, more Significant thah
that of almost any other American woman-poet essay
st lecturer reformer graceful lady, gracious wife ana
mother-read paper on Limitations an anutieucai
subject for this most Unlimited OF women
waiting for the essayis to take her seat, we glanced
around to see what the promise OF good things to
come. and discovered William Ellery Claiming John
Weiss Col Higginson, D. A. Wasson Frank sanborn tho
Rev Jacob Manning and other strong men, beside nate
Field the and kindly and the voice which 10
music Nora Perry with her golden hair and her thought
full face Miss Peabody, whose pleasant amplitude Is
always welcome. Mrs Lodge. the nObcsse OF whose Ola
blood obges many generous deeds and scores oi
other representative people, beside those who go TO near
what the representative people have TO say fresen'S
Mrs Howe, refined patriotic and stately. moved 10 he'
CHAIR and the pleasant buzz of talk was hushed TO listen
TO the pleasanter voice which told us OF our
LIMITATIONS"
Limitations she said is OF the words OF God He
has whispered 1t storms and seasons to babes ana
blossoms TO great men and great human fe she TOOK
ND the word and whispered it IN her turn 10 tho poet
meditating endless trOphes TO the capitalist intent upon
endless ingots, the Of pleasure Unsuitable Ill I'll
qualifications. TO the petist pouring out unmeasureu
prayers psams TO the girl with her lovers the chd
with his sugarplums the scholar with his books IL
word OF time indeed, but OF all time Our life begins
with Imitation AS babies We are privileged 10 he upon
level surface hands and feet ard eyes, 10
shrek when in PAIN to appeal for FOOD ana 10 take
when offered But very slowly and grudginey are the
liberties OF the animal accorded u.s. yet more Slowly
those Of the human beng. Our human endowment com
prses q little power Of discrimination, little memory
by which to-day peced out with yesterday ana niue
power OF inference by which tomorrow prepared rom
to-day. To these We may add little courage htte
love for our offspring, and fondness for the men ana
places frequent, feeble idea OF music vacilatins
industrial impulse, desire that something unseen may
be greater than We and that something seen may 20
smaller Now with the infinite behind before, ana all
about u.s. what On infnitesma outfit is this wberewlh
| TO begin our housekeeping.
To the man in q Wilderness all things belong-sRy,
water air. sunshine treesbut this liberty and fulness
are savage civ Man and the universe regard each
other with voice to interpret between Them linen
the instinct OF labor the man TO work lie clears
his field builds his house, and shuts himself In that the
elements may no longer visit him with unnliugated I'D
crafty. After awhile he invites another to snare MS
house. and SO divides all the goods he possesses, but
dividing also his labors, finds himself the gamer "heh
children come less than half the goods must suffice and
the one must labor for the many But bread mulupes
faster than labor and joy than either Then comes oher
men to settle with their wives and children MAKING
neghborhood; and out of neighbohood grow the llna
tons and supplies OF neghborhoOd The days become SO
full that OF time Is needed ana CLOCKS ana
watches answer demand Provided after awhile with
material comforts, begin TO do our mental and spir-
tua work. and again those directions our lmi
not be confoundabe with each other, since, II neither
your consciousness your mode Of action were dheI
ent from mine. neither Of us could say g am
We know not how much of the value Of what we do
may result from not doing OF It, FOrbeaanco
is an element of every perfect performance When VIC
| thank a for giving us one poem, We very often
thank him giving ten. One shall be better be-
riended ALSO with few intmates than with many, and
more love shall grow Of great affection than out
OF hundred easy kings The greater the power the
more imperous the necessity for its limitation Every
life has its possible maximum, attanable only IN ono
way; and each ono has his task which is not the |
task of &c. il you desire to live well with me-
have need Of me- and allow me to have need OF you For
each life exists IDEAL and all efforts to attain ideal
perfection praseworthy We will not, therefore,
sheer at woman because she pads her figure, or re-
places her teeth hair striving to reach the phys
ical ideal Of what she should be.
Using music as an illustration Of limitations she gave
the history Of some great musical movement, in which
soprano is the queen but in which each voice main
tains place. The soprano and rs and scatters
notes precons diamond dust; the tenor who knows
her intention meets and supports her; the conrao,
and subject maid OF honor follows three notes be-
hind royal lady, and the basso the basis and founda
ton Of all things says "Here set up my everlasting
rest the basso" Like the singers, each OF us in
the great harmony Of life has his place and his lima
ton a given number Of men there can be only one
first man-one Shakespeare. Dante, Garibald-but each
strive to be his own best Our birth makes one
Limitation. breeding another. Our profession limits
us TO one function, marriage to one partner.
THE DISCUSSION
The conversation which followed this essay from which
the memorable limitations Of your columns forbid TO
quote farther, opened by AIr. Claiming He had |
been In the Parthenon, and the image OF Athena
very dazzling When the shone on 1t II not easy
TO crtcise. He had been gazing anew on Athena this
morning. After this gitering compliment he ventured
to suggest that instead Of limitations conditions
OF life The word perpetually coming TO him while Mrs
Howe spoke relation. Space only the comprehend
ing bosom Of the divine, and must find IN 1t for
relations Homer wanted world to I'LL with his |
immortal singing The ambition OF the great ruler ia TO
be great principle Of order in nature or the universe
To a great saint only infinite world suffice When
you say this of poet ruler saint you it also Of your
self. The aspiration of every is infinite. but always
his endeavOr must be limited.
Col Higgnson supposed 1t merit in essay either 10
convince or to bring antagonisc feeling. He |
found himself kicking against Mrs. Howe's theory
thought that she must mean 10 be the presentation OF
one side OF the subject only He objected TO oyermuch
consideration of limitations orof prospective disappont
ments-felt with Thoreau that he did not want to |
practice resignation in advance OF the necessity for it,
1t was clearly undesirable that trees should grow so high
as to lift their boughs the sky but not much trouble
seemed taken by Nature to prevent it, To his thinking
limitations had their in being something to struggle
against and these struggles against bounds are Illus
trated by all things. The very baby IN arms struggles
against its mothers bounul breast and sacred knees
Nature is mother against whom we struggle. Some
OF us would wOsted TO be and die failures, but
let struggle long IIe believed III vast
power enhance the gifts Of nature even physically
spiritually, how much When Shakespeare comes |
INTO the world his greatest work Is TO show what Infinite
things man can do And other men, not shakespeare
have spoken single sentences which would emancpate
whole planets, whole generations OF life See Bryant