, 1874-03-22
VGl-TAlRE.


VGLTAlRE.
81 PROF. WILLIAM MATHEWS, or THE uS1sEhs17'
OF CHICAGO.
Looking at q copy OF yolsaises writings IN
bookstore the other day,-seTenty-dve volumes
octayo,-we were struck as never oe1ofe "att
his vouminousness and versatility. Voltalre
Was unquestionabiy tho
GREATEST ogS1Us or Els AdE,-
the eve OF eishteeuth-century illumination,
or. At least, OF the latter half OF it,-and
the most perfect incarnation and representative
of the French esprit that ever lived. His works,
which hsd almost unparalleled sale in his life
time are library Of themselves. He is not
ouly one OF the most v01uminons booll-w1iters,
but one of the cheapest. and that, not from lack
of demand but the CONTRARY. Though nearly a
century has elapsed since that brilliant light ap-
pa1ently went out in Franco, it still burns on,
and will continue to do 80 till tho darkness it
ves Reut to djspel 10 forever dssspated. In the
realm Of letters, Yol.aire was one Of the great
.nonarchs !; In style, he still remains ono OF the
chief potentates. But mere literary skill how
eser exquisite. though backed By encyclopedia
luowledge and productiveness, would not hive
1.saaa Elm the power he was had he not been
Gao Of the worlds living forces.
Mr. John Morley, his latest and ablest
biographer, has justly said that Voltaire was
sTUPESDous poTER,
nc. only because his expression WAS 1ncompara-
bly lucid. or even because his sight was exquis-
ilcly keen and clear, but because he saw mnny
nex things, after which the spirits Of others
rsro unconsciouEly cropping and dumbly yea1n-
ing. He was tho champion OF the oppressed,--
tho mouthpiece Of the millions who had for ages
been ground to the dust. Unlike Fonteoelle,
who Was brilliant and farsighted, but cold and
timid, he shrank from no danger, YES appalled,
b no odds or difficulty. Wherever the battle
ragged most fezcaly, bis cleaning ax might ba
eecn; he vas always in the very front and centre
Of the fight. It ia true the battle was demoral-
izel by it's virulence; but, aa mr. Morley peril
Eenly asks, " Is this worse than to haye it de-
lnoE.lzed By cowardice Of heart or understand
Ing, when each controversial man-at-arms is
eager to have it thought that he wears the colofB
Of the other side; when the lheologian would
fain pass for nationalist, and the free-thinkerfor
person with his own orthodo1ies it you only
knew them; and when rhiloaophic can1or and
intelligence are supposed to have hit their final
shmax in the doctrine that everything is both
true aud false at the same time2"
Regarded merely as an author, it is to his
ASTONISHING VERSATILITY OF MIND
that Yoltaire owes his fame, rather than to any
oae work. He excelled in tragedy yet in the
utmost height, torrent, and whirlwind OF his /!
passion, he never for moment rivals Corneille, |
CT vies IN tenderness and pathos with Racine. |
Fluency he has, and an abundance Of correct |
hess, elegance, and grace but he never unseals |
those deep-hidden fountains OF thought, aud !
feeling, aud music, which flow 80 freely at the !
Tavug Of Shakspeare's wand To name his
principal epic, ala Henriade," in the game !
breath with the " ;Eueid " or '1Paradise Lost"
would be the sererest OF criticisms. biting
satlrist, he never draws blood with 80 polished |
lancet as Boleau, nor convu1ses with laughter !
like Rabelais. With enormous comic powers, he !
ret could not write hrst-rate comedy for the |
:tage; he had vivacity and bustling sprigbtli-
hess, but he lacked the concentrated feeling,
he psofundity OF vision, the vivid consciousness
II contrasts, which are necessary to the produc-
ion OF great comedy. Voltairo had wit,
'euclration, SARCASM, cynicism, spleen; but
'ho feels that he ever SAW, much
nas brooded over, the dark, cayarnous
egions OF hunnn nature? Without this re
nay bhye, as his biographer obserEes, brilliant |
leasaniry OF surprise, inimitable caricatu1e, e1-
client comedy Of society, but. Of the veritable /
omely Of human character aud life, nothing. |
Is = historian, he caunot be compared with Bos-
uet, De Thou. or Thierrv; and yet as model
+ style. Of art, and Of composition. his Life
Charles XII" leaves them all behind For
lstory as generally written before his time, be
I'd
PROFOUND CONTEMPT.
1t is nothing" he said, "but 4 parcel Of
ricEs that We play the dead As for por-
nits Of men, they are nearly all the creations
fancy; It's a monstrous piece OF chaf1atanrv |
pretend to paint parsonage With whom you
Ave never lived" Voitaire was one Of the first
riters to recognize the great historical princi-
q, that. besides the conspicuous men, the lead
s of a generation, there is a hidden power Of
hich they are the unconscious instruments-a ]
owing current on whose flood they are borne. |
marked an epoch in historical writing when
declared. in the first paragraph OF the life Of
ouis XIV, that he proposed to himself great .
objsct than an account OF that life that he q
signed to paint for the instruction of posteri- i
, not the deeds Of one man, but the spirit Of c
en-. II would rather have Details" he de- q
ared, "about Racine and Despreaux, Moliere, I
,ssret, Desca1tea, than would about the bat I +