The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-12
SOME NEIV BOOKs.


to recognize that his political prunumv. whose
deductions suppose scin-hnc-s 10 be- the con
trolling motive II human conduct, fails tu cV-
plain all the phenomena uf life hence he ac,orls
INDEPENDENT functions to such qualities ~ the
Imagination, sympathy, and sentiment in gem
cral. 1t would be folly for the contemporaries.
"i Wiibcrfui,c, Lloyd Garrison, and Wendell
Phillips to undcrrate the practical outrrowth uf
enthusiasm, or to deny that legislation has been
moulded in some decisive WAYS by what may he
called emotional politics. Where convictions
are enforced by coquencc, a large measure Of
influence is certain yet there il no class i'm the
community whose credit * fraupht with more
Inconvenience or even danger than those poti-
cal dcalists whose diagnosis Is often admirable
but whose therapeutics ara iniudicious and I'M
Trustworthy. The ouielyings of such eNtrnvagant
philosophers among whom Miss ANNt prcKiN-
son must be classed like the Utupias Of Plato.
Rousseau, aud Sir Thomas More. may be resuricd
to for suggestion or Inspiration, but to account
them In any sense manuals Of statecraft. ~ they
were accounted by the French lawci,ers of W.
might involve US in some farcical dculmas
Miss Dickinson, with her new book. 4 Pdgino
Inr'ament (OssooH, belongs to that school "
intuifioniats which avows itself dissatisfied with
the authority and methods of human reason.
The smoking tripod " the Dniphic Pythia she
would probably esteem seat II honor. being
able to discover n enthusiasm species of MI cher
wisdom. Amid her somewhat gddy gyritions
through the sphere OF political and social
science, abe appears scrcncly inadvcrteut To- the
laws Of inference AMI the facts or experience.
and rarely descenls To rcfltc the advocates ~
less ethereal and prisna'ic opinions Tho fac, 10
that assertion and iteration are he'tor adaiied
than diHcriirs to the purposcs ~ a prophet. and
II IL obvious that Mis- Dickinson aHccts. IN
some sort, the character " a Sihyl. rnhuppily
| for pT
all In the minor key, and their rueful tone Of
profound pessimlsm would not discredit a fe-
male jeremiah.
The outlook " ~" Rcpphlic IN the dawn OF
its second century Nis Dickinson finds over
cast aud omigou-. II Is not, however, the par
aly1iuf results NJ prcporcrous nnanclaI pol-
icy, or the ubqlty of Official corruption, which
mainly arouse her approximations These vista
tion@ she regards apparently ~ acute di-tempsrs
which, under fdynraAlr conditions might easily
be -loArhcl tway-mere symptoms Of ina; I'M
paired Vitality and inward atrophy whose dag
nosi- she undertakes to give. In ignorance and
| ndihereniism Miss DicNinsun sees the canAer
which IL wasting the national lifc. and she ciie-
| with junction., some statistics that lend a color
to her melancholy forcbodin-s
Out of tWenty-oight millions ~ people, ten
years Of age and upward, 70 appears that some
i've aud half millions can neither read nor
| Wittc w httiltf dNu now lar the ratio OF the IL
hterate to the Instructed il progressive. what IL
was for instance ten, twenty and thirty years
ago to what extent its augmentation, II any. il
| cOincdent with the increase 81 pouulaiion due
To emlgrlnts, or to still more important factor
the children Of emigrants, Miss Dickinson does
not stay to inquire. Again. it seems 20 he enough
! for her that som, Of the Northern state. Of Ger
many which sanction system OF compulsory
education can show smaller proportion of ie-
| nornuce among their sIblects She credits the
schoolmaster and compulsory schools with the
| Triumphant issue Of the Franco Pru..ian war as
| II the value of that clp,aiion might not be
| questioned which contiiyes to dc,cl1p tho snl-
der at the expense Of the citizen. While Miss
| birNn~on eNiols the trained Intelligence WHICH
c"hlhtreh ~ Sedan, - lcious Germans regard
tho tioNiea'ion OF military glory to which that
trained Intelligence ha- sncr'imrod. as having
postponed for half century the ascendancy Of
| liberal institutions.
Miss Dickinson has no patience with that
| form of udiderentism which dcrl nos To particle
pate In the conduct Of party politics. and hecinp-
tics the yials Of scorn on those futile individuals
who forget or neglect 10 vote. II is natural tina,
she and her sister champions ~ female suffrage
should feel certain dis-Ist ~ sceiu- the object
Of their passionate cnd"ayor uuleryalped and
facility renowned. We have been told that mon
~ brains and Integrity Withdraw from primary
"a
tLcnscIve. ,oapsr,it.,i i,,. ,....,.,.,,,..
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died. I'm Nj. D,rLIu.ot,. ,,,..,..., ~, .,,'l''.u
expansion, Of our nulli, ,'l -,.,,, ,. ,.',I
co,ntel ever, ur,..,..,iy. ,,.,.. g., ...... d..
rudimeuts Of education TIA. ,l.uit, o., ,..I
wrtc, and cipher would measUrahly eliminate
she thinks the vices and n,s.i,ns ,yb,, IA ,,..i
tute the Instruments of d.ns.,.,,,os and tho
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n "tvr,nnv of m,i.ri,,o," t,.,,,,o, ,,
tr,dt.,i,n In farm. -. lane, ~. 49,.