The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-06-30
Poetry as a Religion.
A Criticism on the Latest Culture-The-
DRY Of Matthew Arnold.
london News.[

DRY OF MaCCQ0W ArnOlQ.
London News.[
In the introduction to Selections from the
English Poets" Mr.. Arnold expounds his ma
ture ideas about the comparative value of poe
try, philosophy and religion. Our religion and
be, "shadowy dreams, false semblances of
knowledge" 1--WE shall wonder at ourselves
for having taken them seriously" More and
more must poetry interpret life for us, con-
sole and sustain us, and in short, assume all
the functions which it has previously shared
with phil osophy and religion. The most OBJ
vious reply to this theory is like that which,
was made to M. jesse. Mr.. Arnold is poet,
an admirable and delightful poet, even as M.
jesse was jewelIer, and he naturally magni-
fes his Office Unfortunately this reply would
only contain half truth, for it is long since
he has chosen to interpret life for us and sus-
tain and console us by new verse, while as a
critic and philosopher he is still active We
do not disparage his criticism and philosophy
when we say that his poetry is called to higher
destinies than his friendships Garland"
and that "Empedocles'' and the 'Sick King in
Bokhara" must outlive, by many generations
his Culture and Anarchy" But Mr.. Ar
nold's sayings, even when men differ from
them, have the gift of making them reflect,
and this hard saying about religion and poetry
will bear good deal of reflection.
1t is difficult to know where to begin with
objections to Mr.. Arnold's theory that as the
race advances, as certain facts and dogmas are
discredited, poetry will take religions place.
The speculative and the practical difficulties
are both very numerous and very cogent. To
begin with the former, it seems an eminently
illogical thing to make hard and fast distinc-
tions between religion and philosophy and
poetry. These things cannot surely be divided
and set asunder as easily as their names are
pronounced. From the dimmest beginnings of
mans curiosity about the world land its ma
ker, they have been blended and interdepen-
dent Even now in an age of specialism and
division Of labor, we do not know that any one
but Mr.. Arnold has tried to put asunder three
forms of human expression which nature has
Joined together. 1t matters not whether we
look at the historic origins or at the last mod
ern forms of religion, philosophy, poetry
They are all interviewer and coexistent. In
the commencement Of things the earliest poems
were probably hymns and oracles. The hex
8motof, the most pOU0ub luobIuluoub VI duCl0uG
song was invented in the service of religion.
The last of all the old oracles-the oracle
which told Julian that the lovely Delphian
fame had fallen, that Apollo had no longer a
home, that the babbling water was silent
that last oracle was delivered in hexametric
verse. The praise of the GODS and guesses at
the nature Of things, and at the commence
ment of the world, make most of the material
Of early poetry. Poetry and religion were as
closely intertwined in Greece as the woollen
fllet, the ivy and the acanthus wound about
vase for ibations. The poet sang the hymns
of Apollo; and Demeter, the priest. replied to
the devotee in sonorous verse. The philoso-
pher unfolded his doctrine, like Empedocles,
In hexameters. 1t may Dc sald mat this
and religion under the same temple roof was
only q necessary result of the limited faculties
Of early men. Their children soon invented a
prose style, and poetry, philosophy and re-
nH snc lent group. But mere glance at mod
ern song will show that the connection is un-
dissolved and indissoluble. Mr.. Matthew Ar
nold's own description of poetry "a description
which wedo not think very happy !.ES makes for
Of life," and surely religion and philosophy
are Just as much criticisms of life. The points
of view from which the three modes of mind
regard life are not the same, but vet the criti-
cisms cannot be kept distinct Wordsworth
has almost as much religion as poetry in his
song. Mr.. Arnold talks of Homer's "criti-
cism Of life," but religious ideas are as mex
tricably interviewer in homer's thoughts
about existence, as n,I in Kee pie or in
supposed for q moment that the religious
ideas of Wordsworth could be exploded,
that his religious facts and dogMas could be
discredited, would not the consoling power of
his poetry be lost? The superstition can scarce
~ be fashioned even in fancy, Tor the religious
ideas that are common to all the worlds great
poets, to all phi yates, are incapable of being
demolished. And least of all can they be de-
molished by our PHILOSOPHERS, if Mr.. Arnold is
right in his estimates OF our PHILOSOPHERS
vain shows of knowledge" Yet if we
compelled to fancy world empty of all its most
austere and sincere poetry. The men who
lived in such world would regret that Dante
with his great line about Gods will, Gin which
is our peace" and Homer with his gods, latter
whom all men yearn," had fr,ttered away their
minds on baseless and exploded theological fig
ments. Probably the only poetry to survive
would be epicurean and idyllic poetry. the
quatrains of Omar Khayam, the ight-hearted
idylls Of Theocritus. Mr.. Arnold lays much
stress on the necessity of sincerity in poetry.
Sincere atheists would enjoy the sincere deni-
ais of the Persian, the happy recklessness of
the Syracusan, who "cares for none of these
things" Omar's criticism of life would be the
only true criticism.
Amoment's halt, momentary taste
OF being, from the well beside the waste.
II any one says that the men of the future
world Of irreligion will excuse the religion in
our poetry as hist orical necessity of ignorant
times, we may answer that Mr.. Arnold dis
parages the historic estimate of poetry
Thus, it seems that Dante, Wordsworth and
Homer will mean no more, when religion is
abolished, than criticism of Titian's coloring
means to blind man.
There are plenty of other speculative objec-
tions to Mr.. Arnold's theory. The practical
ccarra1y napd tn hn cfota
appeals to only small proportion of men and
women. Publishers and minor poets know
how small the proportion is that modern writ
ings reach; but even Homer and Shakespeare
are comparatively unpopular. Religion on
the other hand appeals to all the world. Grant
oven the grain of a chance that certain dogmaS
are true; permit the glimmer of hope, and
tho whole world is moved to Its profoundest
deeps. Even now, the millions who do not
hold that 1--WE are most hopeless who had once
most hope, and most beliefess who had once
believed" exceed by untold myriads the num-
bers of people who find any consolation in po-
otry. Poetry is an art, like any other; an
"adornment of life," as Mr.. Arnold's favorite
jority Of men, system Of duty, Of law, of mys-
terry, Of eternal hope and fear, the one thing
in the world of supreme importance. We can
not see 80 far into the future as to catch
glimpse Of the time when all this will be
changed. The death of all known religions
would be no true twilight of the gods" New
croeds would be born, new hopes would allure.
When Mr.. Arnold offers the people poetry in
place of religion, he certainly does not offer a
snake In place of fish; but he resembles the
French Princess who asked how the people
could be so silly as to starve; if bread was
scarce excellent cakes could be bought for half
franc. Poetry is an excellent cake; but the
people, il religion were taken away, would
seek vainly for the half francs worth of taste
which makes poetry attainable food.