Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1882-06-07


Naturally, his active perceptions
aud epigrammatic style of enuncia
ton, combined with the absence OF
fluent smoOt hness of style, made bis
poems rough aud strong, rather than
musical aud flowing, notwithstand
ing his ideal tendencies, and some.
times mystical and obscure. The
"Brahma,' for instance, when il ap.
neared, was as obscure To the aver.
age reader as the riddle of the
sphinx. 1t weighs also against his
poetry that be rarely INDUCED in
sentiment or followed any guide but
the dictate Of the intellect. lie il
To poetry what Wagner is to music.
Both seek 10 express the actual lite
of the werld dominated by the in
tellectual. The melody of verse to
the one like the melody of music to
the other is not n succession of
pleasant sounds, but the essence Of
life itself controlled by the head in.
stead OF gushing exuberantly from
the heart.
Rrligiously he had no system. He
has been called atheist, pan,heist,
or drist, according a. people under.
stood his writings, but he had no
creed or system in religion. tor it
was not in his nature to classify
anything in details. Religion came
to him like everything else in great
truths, which he tersely enuncidtcd,
leaving others to group them to.
gcther AMI try to fnd out what
manner of man he was in religion.
And yet his ideal nature kept him
true To Il first great cause, which in
one ct his ESSAYS he beautifully
states "Cnlovcly, nay frightiul, is
the solitude of the soul which Is
without God in the world Aud
again: This chill, bouseless, faith
erlesS, aimless Cain, the man who
hears only the sound of his own
Footsteps in Gods Respondent crca.
ton
The great thinkers Of our time are
rapidly passing away. 1t is no com.
mon loss that our own country has
suffered within u few weeks in the
death of Iohglellow, who has so
beautifully sung the songs of the
heart, aud now III the death of En-.
rrson, the great apostle OF truth
with beauty. Who are TO
wear their manifest
Mr.. Whipple says the style OF
Emerson ais in the incest harmony
with the character of his thought.
II is condensed almost to abruptncss.
Occasionally he purchases compre.
hcns;on AT the expense of cicarnrss,
and his mrrits ~ u writer consist
rather i'll II choice of words than III
the connection of sentences, though
his diction is vitalized hy the
presence OF powerful creative Gle
ment. Tue singular beauty and in
tense Significance of his language
demonstrate that he not only has
something to say, but knows exact
~ how to say it. Flnency. however,
il out of the question in a style
which combines such austpre ec0no.
my of words with the determination
to load every word with vital mean.
ing Mr.. buckingham says Ali,
thoughts are few and pregnant;
Capable of iudaitc expansion, illus
traiion and application. They crop
out on almost every page of bis
characteristic writings; are iterated
aud reiterated in every form Of
speech, aud put into gems of ex.
preston that may be worn on any
part OF the person. His prose and
poetry are aglow with them; they
make his essays oracnlar and his
verse prophetic. BY virtue of them
his b-st books belong to the sacred
literature of the race; by virtue of
them. bnt tor the lack of artistic