Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-12-17
Novel Reading.

, A great deal has recently been said. an
it need hardly be added that q great deal {
nonsense has been talked, as to the relation
between art and morality 1t cannot b
. denied, however that some curious problem
IN easulstry arise whea We attempt to la
down aay dehnlte propositions upon th
subject. Amongst the various argument
which now and then come to the surface
one which may deserve some thought in a
era which, from one point of view, may b
called the age of novel reading. Som
worthy persons regard. or used to regard
, all study of fiction as vice, with the eI
ception. perhaps, OF those ictions whicl
have distinct moral or religious purpose
This doctrine has pretty much gone out 0
fashion. along with a good many othe
prejudices. good and bad. Aud indeed, i
delight IN sll forms of storytelling i
wrong, We must admit that the human rae,
not only is. but always has been, and al
ways will be, hopelessly vicious. The gen
eral condemnation, however, was supported
bya specific theory in which there may per
haps be some kernel Of truth. The theory
Is that indulgence in sentiment which nee
cessarlly leads to no action must be I'M juri.
Gus. " eep over real sufferer, and your
tears may lead you to do something to rem
edY his misfortune. Weep over an imagin
airy sufferer, and you must necessarily ac-
qure habit OF weeping without acting
IL Is dangerous to cultivate sentiment
which can never ind the natural channel
Of active beneyolence The man who
catches Sterne's capacity for weeping over
a dead donkey especially a fcticious dead
donkey-will end by falling into Sterne 5
social duties. The feelings are precious
things. and If We wasttully eXpend them
! upon mere nonentities, we shall ind that We
have none left for the rough work of daily
life. Ii Is much pleasanter to weep IN an
easy chair. and congratulate ourselves upon
our exquisite sensl bility, than TO encounter
all the disgusting details which beset the
practical philanthropist. The man. there
fore, who is always indulging in the pleas
ures OF imaginary grief, naturally becomes
eteminate and luxurious. His feelings
become an end instead of means /; and
nobody can be more hard-hearted in actual
liie than some who have the keenest appre-
citation OF beautiful sentiment in the ideal
world.
| We must admit that this doctrine Is not
without facts to confirm, at any rate, its
| partial trath. The type which it regards
as the natural product of artistic indul
gence Is one which really exists and is suf-
hciently offensive. The thoroughbred sen
tlmentalist Is often callOus in actual life
Sterne. as We have said, and Rousseau
weeping over the beauty of natural atfec
tiOns and abandoning his children. are
familiar examples and we might possibly
lind some nearer to our own day. But 1t is
obvious that the theory requires very mar
row limitations. Stated absolutely. it
would lend TO absurd results The habit
Of eultiyating the emotions by imaginary
indulgence leads. it would seem to imply,
to weakening of the emotions as forces in
active life Ii we apply this to the converse
case We should become paradOxical. a
man certainly does not get rid OF vicious
propensItles by the same method. The
reader of Immoral literature IS not general
ly person of strict virtue in his practice
to study cynical and irreverent books is
not, as a rule, the best mode of learning to
govern ones actions by regard for the pur-
est and holies: motives. Mr.. Swinburne
makes the ingenious remark that Nycher-
ley was so flthy-minded a writer that he
would probably at this day have been Sc
we're censor Of morals and we presume that,
by the same rule, the purity of Milton or
Banyan shows that they would now have
dabbled in the most questionable topics
but when We do not want TO be epigram-
matte we do not lind this rule Oi oppOslies
exempllhed in practice. IL Is equally clear,
again, that the best of mankind are apt 10
delight in solitary medtati0ns which are
not Immediately translated into action.
People whose lives are continued emb0di-
ment of love 20 their fellow creatures may
yet ind time TO cultivate their emotions by
the study oil the nObler forms Of art and lit
erature, and are much the weaker for their
indulgence. 1t Is. therefore. pslpabiy er
-nn h.. L =
Of force which may either be applied Ia
drive the machinery OF active LIE, or DIS
siDated in imaginary indulgence and OF
which. consequently, what Is applied ln
one sphere must be lost in the other. Some
less rude hypothesis is necessary before Nc
can approach to anything like AL accurate
statement Of the case.
One consideration Is tOlerably obvious
The pleasure which We receive from read
ing novel, for example. IL due only in
part to the indulgence to sympathetic emo
tions. When We read Haoeriy. We have the
pleasure, it IS true, of weeping over the
SORROWS OF Flora NJ Iyor. and of feeling a
glow of loyalty to the unfortunate Pretend
er But We also imbibe, with more or less
consciousness. Scott's theories about man
and nature. We learn to appreciate the
beauties Of lake and moor. We look
through his eyes at manly and simple char
acters, or We come to understand what
were the passions which really NOV
ed human beings q century aud half ago. /
IN other words, though Scott Is not inten-
tiOnslly didactic, he unconsciously impresses |
upon Us certain psychological, moral and /
esthetical views as distinctly as though he |
were preaching series Of propositions. in
stead Of setting before Us number of sym
bois. ltwould be easy enough to translate
his pictorial representations into logic. |
and TO work out the process by which |
Scott romances. when assimilated by other |
minds, where TRANSMITTED into set Of def !
mite philosophical or theological theories. |
In this sense even more trivial novelist |
than Scott may become more effective |
preacher than many official expounders OF |
doctrine BY placing ourselves at his point |
OF view We learn TO adopt his theories We |
associate certain characters with the seuti- !
ments which he attributes to them We
regard certain typical figures with rever
ence OF rldlcule, as the case may he. and
ind ourselves in possession ot whole
body of preudices. and consequently OF the
code OF opinions which they imply before
We have drawn any explicit references. or
gone through any conscious process OF rea-
sOning whatever. By such means the
uuU-L dEllsllC NEllCI. VIM
has no intention Of inculcating any definite
moral whatever, may in fact be most
potent preacher and nobody who cOnsid-
ers the influence exercised by the greatest
literary names can doubt that the artistic
Of a given set of ideas has often
been far more effective than the phil0sopi-
cal analysis Of loglcians. In this sense,
therefore, there is no difficulty in under
standing how the stady OF fiction which Is
read merely with view Of killing time.
Bot the study OF any of the greater writer's
tends to strengthen or weakea certain IN
portaut associations of idea to make us
regard truly noble types Of character with
affection. or look upon them as ridiculous
or repulsiye. The novelist teaches lessons as
etfectuslly as the metaphyscian. the moral
ist. or the political economist, though in
less defaite terms There is no difficulty
in understanding why the study OF his
books should produce good or bad moral
t fleet, than in understanding why the study
of any art or philosophy may be effective,
though divorced from immediate practice.
We may learn in general terms what is
good and evil, and what are the penalties
and rewards Of vice and virture without
applying the doctrine TO
facts. The emotion does not Immediately
expeud itself in work but it raises the mind
to that temperature at which impressions
may be indelibly stamped on it.
In this way. therefore. though q man
may not be stimulated to any definite good
action by his reading, though he may not
Immediately rush out to volunteer in good
cause or put down handsome subscrip-
tion to benevolent society. his moral ma
ture NAV be enriched and imulated He
gains new set of associations with OBJ
jects previously uninteresring. The scenery
which has been dumb or inarticulate be-
gins to talk with him with the voice of
Scott or Wordsworth. He learns precisely
as he would learn from the society of an
intelligent companion who points out OBJ
jects of interest previously unnoticed. But
it may still be asked whether further re-
suit may not occasionally follow. There
is the familiar case of the lover who liked
To be parted from his mistress. in order that
be mis III have the pleasure of writing sen
timenlal letters about the pangs Of separs-
tion Ia like manner. when Dickens was
,aa III Epuiaud u1eeu ayer the wrauua I