Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-04-22
The Decline OF Literature.

From the Saturday Resiow.
"rhe stage is fashionable. science IL
fashionable. art is fashionable, but lit
erature Is not fashionable" an acute
American critic OF English society wrote
last year. is it not true, and, what is
more, does not literature deserve that
il should be true? The people who
"please the town." az old writer's say,
are not, in the old sense, men of letters.
These used TO be the wits now the
wits are painters, actors, newspaper re.
porters carried TO higher journalistic
power, or popular preachers. Litcra.
ture has ceased to be witty, aud there
fore. and naturally, it has ceased to be
fashionable. 1t may seem paradoxical
to talk of the decline Of literature at n
time when "of making many books
there is no end" But that sentence OF
the Wise Mans contains the very gist
OF the charge against modern English
literature. Authors are, indeed. busy
making books" rather than with lit.
erary composition ia the true and old
sense of the words. a glance at the
most popular books of each season will
prove the truth OF this pessimisic asser.
ton. The books that succeed best.
apart of course from sermons. are of
four or five classes, and are chiefly forms
OF journalism. There are pamphlets or
tracts, big or little, on Questions of the
day Such works, for example. as the
Duke of Argyll's "Reign OF jaw" las it
has been unkindly styled about the
Afghan question are on the same foot.
ing "a the newest and most advanced
or most reaciionary theological specula.
ton. These things are really pamph.
lets they are written for the minute.
rather than for the hour or the day, or
we may say that they are monumental
leading articles, and they live but for
the life of leading article.
The second of the great classes of
modern books which are not literature
consists OF "pcturesgue reporting
or reportnRe, as the French contemptu.
ously call it--in disguise. Then there
Is the mass of works OF fiction which
are In no sense works OF art. Again
there are the countless manuals and
hand books which are published in
series Mr.. Tozer. the dissenting
buttermsn in Salem Chapel. said that
the congregation liked course" of
sermons. Apparently the public also
likes a "scries." and there are few his
torical, scientific, literary, or even phil.
osophlcal fields on which many nocks
of series are not browsing. Setting
apart the journalistic work OF big
pamphlets. OF long specials, OF novels
which are pot boilers, and of manuals
and primers, how much literature is
left among the books Of year. Alas.
1t would be "A short and invidious calcu.
lation Ihat settled this question. Out OF
about two hundred volumes of poetry,
the topic of poetry is too painful 10 he
fully discussed out of some nine hun.
dred novels, and few collections of
| essays, to which 1879 gave birth, how
many will be remembered in lssJg
Every one may make the reckoning for
himself. Every one knows whether
modern life IL made more brilliant. aud
whether it is likely to be made more
permanent. by modern literature. Per.
haps not more than two or three men
with the true literary gift have in late
years gone down into the mark et. place.
and lighted up with their wit the busi.
ness and the questions OF the day. In
science some have distinguished them.
selves thus; in politics and social dis.
cussion We can only think of the name
OF the author Of "Friendship's Garland"
The causes Of the decline OF literature
are not far TO seek. Hurry aud impa.
tience, and the crowd Of commercial
and scientific interests, leave no time
for the delicate sense of pleasure in ex.
quisite workmanship. in language truly
just and appropriate, in polish Of style,
IN viyacity OF wit. in the humor which
should never be absent from discussion.
Literature can only recover its place
when the world regains its leisure