, 1874-11-04
4 LITERARY SENSATION.

A LITERARY SENSATION.
hIr. Robert Buchanan IL nothing II not sonsa-
tiona'. His hammered verso strains aftor tho
startling. His reyiewa breathe dodaueo of
common Bouso which he enormously regaras a.
commonplace. Flo 1ivos in tho n,idss of aort
Of literary Donnybrook Fair. Wherever no soes
IN idea ho hits It. The lust idea that occurred
to him was TINT tho civilized world rovorenccd
Goethe as gouius. Thereat lo ruBhal into
print. iii tho Neto Quarterly Magazine. in tho
attempt to show tho world that 1t was wrong and
he, tho ouly and would-be original Robert
buchanan, WAS right. Ais essay has destroyed
ono reputation, but this was not Gootho's.
Mr. Buchanan Is swcetly condosconding to bis
victim. Goethe was not d geniua, but ho
'would have made an excellent buaineas mau,
hrat-claaa artist, to1cralle parson, successful
actor, Or good dancing master" II III surely
pity that the German demi-god did not have this
kind mentor by him in his youth. Then he would
have taught Frankfort how to dance. Or played
for broad-and-buttor on tho Weimar STAGE or
thumpcd Lutheran theology out Of pulpit
cushion instead Of wasting his tI1no in writing
"WilLelm MeiBtor " aud "Faust, ,"-thoae stupid
efforts which the world icnorautly liked until
Robert buchanan rosa to set it right
It is worth whilo to briefly reviow the points
which this critic tries to make. As they come to
us, they may bo reduced to tllreo. Tho first ia
that Goetho's ono inspiration was !" the myHtery
Of sox." "God would not move Goethe, nor
could Nature nor revolution. nor aspiration. nor
intellectual love; mono Of theRo could directly
move l,im but put him in the society Of fair
wouan-titilato him ever 30 slightly by aonsu-
ous means and Goethe moved at once, o1paud-
cd, scared, found thousand ways Of expending
his activity on tho world st large" This idea
fluds natural birthplace in tho brain Of the
author of 1.-THE Fleshly School Of Poetry"
Every page of the great Gormau'a books
shows g Aoon delight in all that
wss natural. 4 thunderstorm fascinated him.
Ho delighted in climbing mountains, in roaming
through tho green shadows Of the Wcimar park.
All Ills aanseB wore allye. A beautiful woman
charmed him ike beautiful Landscape. Tic
"nyatory OF sex," OF which tho critic writes,
was his roal inspiration. His loves tho patonio
aud tho passionate, influenced ln, no doubt,
but it ia gross to style that influence Utilization
by Bonauoug moanB. 11e WAS scientific, as we'll
as poetic, thinker. sensuousuoss could scarco-
ly hayo spurred him on to acienti1o research.
Did q filtration with the Frau Won Stoin inspire
bis botanical study, and was mixing eycs at
Fredorika Lis preparation for Investigating op-
tics?
Mr. Duchanan's second charge ia thst Goethe
WAS theatrlcal. To mention this Is utmost to re-
futo 1t. Every reader knows tho poets intense
admiration for tho Greek models. An idoal moro
untheatrical could not bo found He, more than
auy other uaau rescued German thought from
tho oxcesses Of tho "sturm and Drang period.
His noblost poetry, we'll translated becomes
Emorsonian Engliah h,-suroly tho reverse OF all
that ia theatrical. The lines ha wroto In tho
mountain-hut, commencing
uDer allen Gipfen lat Ruh1
will probably never bo perfectly rendered unless
Emerson himself undertakes tie task Of trRns-
latlon. On tho other hand, Emeraon's exquisite
f0Aa9{
Thou caust not wayo thy staff In air,
Or dip thy paddle ln tho hike,
But 1t carves tho bow OF beauty there
And tle ripples In shyrne tho Car forsake,
sounds AZ though Goethe himsalf had written It.
Tho lust charge ia tho woll-worn ono OF sotf-
ishness, dsrogard OF tho iutereatB Of humanity,
etc. It IL true that Goethe did not belioyo In
ar1nod revolution, that lie thought all truo
progress must DO through individual eulightou-
mont, not national discord, and TINT he thero-
fore hold aloot from tho politics Of his timo.
What Of It. Whon BecluHion WAS tho condition
OF tho exercise Of hls gunius, shan we consuro
tho conduct which enriohod tho world With his
masterpieces? Wo are not such ardent sil-
mirrors OF tho Revolution Of '03 that NO cau cou-
aistontly rebuko him for failing to fall in loyo
with 1t.
Faults he had. So had he genius. In tho
aplenlor Of tho latter, the former aro 1oat. Ills
statue stands In the Worlds Pantheon No
critic can chisel into nothugness the seronoly-
beautiful faco OF tho frat Of modern writors.
Robert Duchenku's outory agalust dootbo ia a.
eitcctivo as tho 1og'a baying at tho moon.
=-=--.----4
The inevitable cur, by good behavior In En-
gland. succeeded In sofsentng tho hoars Of tho
Chancellor Of ths E1cuequaz 10 auoh IN Axtant