Los Angeles daily herald., 1874-11-24
MINE. SOUL AND HEART.
A CRITICISM or the Prize Essay.

and Heart" it struck me that the
author had laid herself open to con-
siderable amount of criticism. Some
of my ideas on the subject have VEN.
tured to give below.
To commence ut the beginning: 'Iu
former times the idea of suffering was
almost invariably connected with au-
thorshipn etc. That is to say that an
ordinary person trying to realize to
himself the sullerings that people in
former times had to endure, would
".almost invariably" have those con-
nected with authorship brought before
his mind. A statement like the above
is simply ridiculous; non-literary peo-
pie of whatever class thinking of the
sufIerings endured by any people or
class of people, would probably in the
first instance think of those endured
by some particular sect or class for
which that period had been remarka-
bic; or, in the absence of such partic-
ular class or sect, their attention would
probably he drawn to those which,
through the backward state of civil
izatiOn, people of their own class had
suffered, or if wealthy people, to the
sufferings of the poorer classes. Least
of all, with the general run of people,
would the idea Of suffering be connect
ed with authorship, for, having no
experience themselves of what unsuc-
cessful authors suffer and learning
principally of the successful ones
through their writings, etc, and know
ing how large the proportion is of lazy
scribblers to the really meritorious
writers, they would be moro inclined
70 hi l. tl,n h.,I n,.H IN al
reward and that though some prob
ably had not met with the success
they deserved, that doubtless the ma
jority had by q vagabond, gOod-for-
nothing life well deserved the troubles
they may have endured. Why should
the idea of suffering be connected more
with authors than with painters, sculp-
tors, musical composers, etc, etc. who
have had probably just as much to
suffer. The writer goes on to say that
"others' were equally impecunious,"
but that these often lacked the ere
fined sensibilities which are indispcn-
sable to writer's of lofty sentiments
Must not painters, sculptors, musical
composers and others have equally
refined sensibilities in order to excel?
Again, it appears that these people of
refined sensibilties sometimes secured
to themselves a comfortable exist
ence' by can advocacy of principles
utterly revolving to their natures"
An author who could so debase his
talents could not be possessed of very
"refined sensibilities."
"And was not this pain greater than
physical suffering could be"' Why
then endure this pain OF their own
making; these people of "refined SEN
sibilities" were not obliged to accept
this comfortable existence No
doubt there are many ordinary people
who wonld prefer dishonest compe-
tence to honest poverty, but then their
sensibilities, 1 am afraid, would not
be very refined. The writer can have
but small experience of authorship
to say that now "the world readily
recognizes the claims of writers upon
its liberalty, and maintains them not
only in comfort but in luxury" AT
the present day there are, of course,
very many more writers than in
former times, and consequently con
,idcroblU uIVrc euffcrines .,na ons thot
class, and although the successful
ones often do live i'm comfort and lux
ury, still the unsuccessful ones do not
stand in any better position at present
than they did in earlier times.
"The poet ~ s. yet allows him.
self to become gloomy and morose.o
think most of us who have read po-
etry and the lives of poets must know
that such is not generally the case.
Again is it not II very strong state
ment to make that "n0ne have the
nobler, higher attributes so fully de-
veloped as those who have been re-
fined through suffering?o No doubt
some of those possessing the highest
attributes hdUe suffered much, but are
there not just as many others equally
gifted who have not gone through any
great amount of suffering?
But for the agony of some hapless
creature whose very life blood was
wrung forth drop by drop in its pro-
duction." What II number OF drops
of life blood and what agony such
men as Shakespeare, Ghethe, Milton,
Schiller Byron and Moore must have
had! what men ofironmould they must
have been to have lived as long rs
they individually did through this
drop by drop process! yet the histories
of their lives do not seem to say that
they were stronger than other men.
The reading of poetry does not al
ways cause pain as the writer OF
"Mind, Soul and Heart" would have
us imagine; in fact think / am JUS
titled in saying that pleasure is much
more connected with poetry than
pain, nor is it necessary to have ones
mind in that state of acute and painful
sensitiveness described by the author
of "Mind Soul and Heat" in order to
appreciate the beauties of any partic-
ular poem. 44f agsL H. -.
Thinking of something, it often oc-
ours to us that we have done or
thought of thai particular thing be-
fore, and yet we cannot think when
or how; so the author says, and it is
undoubtedly the case; but why take
it for granted that this thought or
deed should have happened in some
" former state of existence? 1t is
much more likely that we have
thought of something similar or done
some similaraction long time before,
probably one not of sufficient impor-
lance to stamp itself firmly on our
mind, but just enough to remind us of
it when we again have such thought
or do like action. Even should we
have acted in q similar manner in n
former state of existence or had a SIM
liar thought whom in that state, is it
not going rather far to say that 'prob-
ably of all the punishment LAID upon
man for his first disobedicncc, this is
the most painfuP' =? se utHY
No doubt men in future ages Will
see many things which they now see
Gas through q glass darkly.' Science
is making such wonderful strides,
notably within late wears that such q