The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-04-27


" LAssommoir." It can be no otherwise with
the most opulont and nsoont Of nabobe. or with
the most oppressive Of autocrats. The naked
fact that wealth is 80 seldom employed with the
dsintcrcstcd philanthropy OF q Howard. or
power with tho wise bene1cenco OF n Marc Au-
relius. might soon TO carry with II the proof
OF specific and Irresistible temptations incident
to such exceptional conditions But II may
safely be affirmed that Victor Hugo is tho first
Republican leader who has vcntured to press
home this obvious truth to the French Prolcta-
riat. and to enforce upon them the expedlency.
tho duty. the moral dignity and beauty Of apply
ing to the excuses and deficiencies OF their
political opponents the same principles OF in
depreciation and apology to which they appeal
on their own behalf.
Victor Hugo does not forget how often he has
figured in less suspicious times as the passion
ate denouncer OF those who sit In the high
places and as the prophet OF chastisement TO
come. In some fervid strophes he gives ex-
preston to the invctcrate rancor and hunger
after revenge OF those who have suffered too
acutely from the abuses OF power to scare them
with tho eye of n philosopher. The bitter stu
dent OF the world he says. finds himself beset
by implacable facts. and crushed beneath the
stupendous ugness Of history Grief-smitton
by the dolefu spectacle OF the wave Of human
IVY luNfbbunl1 tulNfTeu On Nne hHllb Ittl-
wrought to Indignation and savage rlgor by tho
eternal divorce Of right and law. by the mex
orable triumph OF sword and axe-he forgets
the circumspectlon and sobriety Of the analyst
and sees positive turpitude whore the patient
Darwinian would discern nothing but ill-for-
tune. To such one " the crown is Il
crime. tho right divine OF kings hor-
rible miasma. For four thousand years
the claim OF privilege and OF authority
has racked and strangled mankind. In all
those centuries humanity has sobbed and
ground It's teeth. and now that breath is found
to curse we must not ask II TO pick its words
In the night Of It's infinite anguish we must not
expect It to descry ray OF eXtenuaton. and.
after ALL every monarch. whatever history may
style him. ia but n fold Of the vast winding sheet
in which the groupings and striyings Of man
have been stincd and inferred. Tho best Of
them wiring groans. draw blood. Traian pro-
scribcs. Titus assassinatcs: they are all akin.
wolves and lions. While the people in its death
agony. swings from the gibbet. no strand Of the
rope can he deemed innocent While the world
lies in irons. each link has its share in the
crime OF the chain. Can there be indeed such
thing as good an estimablo king No.. said
Epctetus and Plato; No. said John at Patmos:
and Zeno said Why. yes good kings as there are
good axes Even on the whtest oft the Bourbons.
on Henry ~. the verdict will run He was not
bad man. no. but he was king. Yea. no kings
are good or kinds the statement involves n IA
grant contradiction In terms all are contained
in each. each is implied in ALL Let them ex-
plate. then. in tho dctcstation Of the race the
wrongdoing Of forty centuries. All are branded
on the forehead with history's bloody hand
imprecatons on them ALI" 1t is just here. after
thus setting forth the sombre indictment. that
Victor Hugo strikes the keynote OF his poem.
1t is precisely this CORPORATE atrocity. he tolls
us. this frightiul iteration and universally In
the abuse Of power which suggested a species
OF fatality. and shook his vcngeiul purpose 10y
iniusing doubt OF responsibility. Yes" he
goes on. find myself smittcn with strange
inscrutable pity, grooming over the unioward
fate Of kings. doubling whether the austere
judgment Of posterity Is right, whether history
has arrested the real culprit. whether these
men after all whom we dub kings were at bot
tom worse than others. Is 1t not the fatal air
of Rome which engenders the Caesars Must
not Memphis and Thebes continue TO spawn
Pharaohs so long as the veil Of Isis is hung be-
fore mans reason2 Is II not the tainted atmos-
phere Of the throne which begets the Tudor in
London. and Belus In Babylon2 No human
being Is born fiend begotten half flesh. half
marble. He who fashioned humanity did not
plant the tiger. the snake. the rat In the child
whose dimpled fingers clutched sweetly it,
mothers gown. No il the heart is frozen It's
II the souls wing is broken. you yourself have
bruised and crushed It within cage; II this or
that man Is hideous. It's because his plastic ma
ture has been flung into q mould Of deformity
and crime"
After all whose fault Is IT," he continues
that child is born upon nthrone2 What has
he done. this poor innocent. that he must needs
be transformed by the iron force OF crcum-
stances into the curse Of his kind. into the
chimera OF history. environed by all spectres
shapes and appliances OF horror2 Must he
alone then. ye thinkers. be condemned for sue
cumbing 10 his environment. while you alb
solve the man-eating Maori. the Papuan. tho
Ashanti. and the KafIlr that washes his asse-
gai In blood2 You can pity the gypsy who
knows no country. the landless MouIik Of Mus
cow. the Kyot OF Coromandel; you can find
pleas for their shortcomings-the wolf the doc.
the ass. you say obeys his instinct You can
even follow the iail-birG to his cell. measure
his skull. spell out his story. and sue for mercy
to the homicide. the ravisher. and the thief.
And can you not perceive that the despot is
more fatally immeshed in the trammcls Of his
surroundings than is the beggar; that his pur-
Pile robe and the ragged coat are all one in the
night; that in the dense shadow wherein man
is plunged by his brutal instincts. where lies
tempt him and truth eudes him. he who shares
the paupers ignorance ought 10 share likewise
his excuseF
These are general cons lderations whose effect.
in the authors luminous and vigorous imagery,
is. Of course. very rudely outlined in prose
paraphrase; but they are enforced by the por-
trayal in detail Of the opposite example fur
nished by the career Of Louis XIV. Tho remem-
! brance of the old monarchy still rankles in the
French people, because its restoration is still
/ tho object Of Vaccinations. And "a the one
name that commends the white nag 10 France is
| that Of Henry ". so the name Of Louis XIV. is
| identified with all that Is most loathsome and
detestAbe and formidable in the ancieii
regime. Yet OF the whole dynasty. this member
owed least Of his execrable offences to heredity.
and most TO his environment Next TO the FIRST
Bourbon sovereign. he was the most happily
gifted OF his line that lived to Ill the throne 1t
may be doubted whether even his kinsman
the Regent Orleans. had quicker natural parts
or had received more adequate train
ing OF the intellect Compared to his
great grandfather. Louis XIV, he might
It'll