New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-06-15


the feelings into which from that vast deep oceanic
spring. the human boul. the beautiful does not send
its frctifyng tides. There is hight In history but
is Illuminated by its CLEAN. Only through the beau
tiful can truth attain its full stature only through
the beautiful can the heart be perfectly purlned
only with vision purged by thebeautiu can anything
be seen in its totally All other faculties IT. makes
prolific it ia the mental generator. Ii helps 70
unvail and then Yields. the link between the visible
and tho invisible 1t inspires feeling (which Is
ever the source of deepest insight to discover eA-
ccllence 1t quckens the mind 10 creative ACTIVITY;
il is for ever striving upward Without tho spirit
ual fervor of tho beautiful, your religion Is narrow
and supersttious, your science cramped and mortal,
your life unrpenod. In the mind 1t kindlcs flame
that discloses the divinity there is in all things.
Lightning bares to the awed vision the nghtshroud-
ed earth more vivid than lightning tho flash of the
beautiful reveals to the soul the presence or Col.
In answer to the question, What Is poetry
which forms the subject OF an interesting chapter
Mr. Calvert premises that the seat OF poetry IL
in the mind Every form OF human lie Is
tho domain Of poetry, but this domain can
not be entered without tho inner light which
transfgures whatever it falls upol, reveal
ing something of the secret mystery OF being.
1.-The elementary feelings OF our nature, when In
healthfu function, capable OF emitting spnitdai
light and when exalted to their pi!est actioi 40
and must emit such, the inward IRE sending forth
clear fame unmixcd with smoke. To perceive tius
light, and still more, to have your path Illuminated
thereby impe the present activity Of some of the
higher human senslbilites and to be 50 organized
as 10 be able to einbody in words, after having lm-
agined pcrsonageS, conditions, and cojunollohS
whence this light shall fash ana snie the sensi-
bilities of others, implies besides vivid synpathies
and delight in the beautiful, susceptibility to the
manifestations OF moral and intellectual lilo winch
is enjoyed only by him ia whom the nober elements
of being are present in such intensity proportions and
quality. and IRE so eoaminged that he reproduce
life Itself with translucent ruthfuncss he becoming
through this exa,ting susceptibility, poet or maker."
The wealth of human life consists in funess and
richness Of feeling. 1t is the function OF the poet
10 refine this fullneso to purify this richness. to
disti the essence out of tais wealth, by revealing
the subtle possibilities of feeling and bringing Ia
light their hidden divinity. Merely TO embody i'll
verse the scenes and emations of human life Is not
his Office but to exhibit the spiritual beauty and
power that are possible to each. The poet should
be the glosier, not the mere reporter OF humanity
His business is not with facts such, but with the
truth Of feeling. His mission is ideal, TO elevate
tho soul from the prosac, the lnlicl. the indI-
yislua TO the universal, the b0undcss, the infinite
| when we begin TO speak of poetry, the higher
genuine poet is w,hout one or more of these, and
"A great poet must have most of them. Thence
the thought of tie poet is pitched on high key,
and even in poets Of power the poetry Of page
is sometimes shown merely by the sustained toac of
the sentiment, giving out no jets Of FIRE, having
no passages salient with golden cnbcssings.
| Through sympathy and sense of beauty, the poet
gets nearer to the absolute nature of things; and
thence, with little Of imagery or coloring, or passion,
through this holy influence he becomes poetic,
| depicting by rc-creating the object or Icohng or
condition, and rising naturally into rhythmic
| lines and sentences, the best substance asking
for and readily obtaining, the most suitable form
of words Yet a poet of inward resources can
seldom write page without there beng heard
a note or bar or passage of the finer melody"
In many respects the chapter Oh Sainte-Beuve as
a critic may be regarded as the most attractive i'll
the volume, presenting an admirable view of the
merit of that writer with an acute analysis of the
PRINCIPLES on which they rrpose. The supreme ele-
ment of NJ. Sainte-Beuve's critical power in Mr..
Calvcrt'S opinion, is the faculty OF admiration
This he describes the product Of the nobicr SCH
slbilities-a virtue which is the sole condition of
appreciating and enjoying literary excellence. " lie
who is not woll endowed with these higher senses
is not bad criticize is no critic at all. Not only
can he not discern the good there is i'll a man
or a work, he can as little discover and
expose the bad" For deficiencies imply fail
ure to reach q certain fallness, and they can
not be detected without idea of the full and
complete. "The man so meagerly furnished as 20
hold no such idea, is but carper, not critic. To
know the bad denotes knowledge of the good; III
criticism as in morals righteous indignation can
only fash from a shock to pnre feeling" Sympathy
with the writer of good book is one of the sources
OF sound Judgment and even OF know ledge You
cannot Judge of man or book argues Mr. Calvert,
without some feeling, and to judge well you
must have much fellOw-feeng. The literary critic
needs especial sympathy with the nohler productions
Of literature OF this sympathy NJ. Sainte-Benve
gives overlooking evidence. He possessed III rare
perfection the fine instincts of Literature which drew
him toward its consunmats blooms. Has keen
sense of excellence led him to rejoice in every variey
of manifestation that bore the stamp of beauty or
power Even his severest Judgments We're deprived
of their sting by tho temper i'll which they were
pronounced. Ill, never failed to recognize positive
merit even in the midst Of defects aud blcmishes.
In tho general tone there is a clear humanity,
seemly gcntlemanncss."
Mr. CARLYLE is another f;ivorite of the author,
whose services as an intellectual benefactor are
gratefully recognized, and whose influence Oh CO.
temporary thought and cultivation is discussed
in a few well-weghc1 and weighty sentences.
" How many quickening chapters has lac not added
10 the gospel of freedom = Flushed are his vol
umes with generous pulses with delicate sympa-
thies. From many a page what cordialities step
forth to console and to fortify us what divine
depths we come upon; what sudden vistas of sun
shine through tempestshaken shadows; what bursts
of splendor through nebulous mutterines. mich
has he helped the eIfsanchisenent of the spirit
Well do remember the thirst wherewith, more than
thirty years ago. / seized the monthly Frazer