New-York tribune., 1884-01-03
MATTHEW ARNOLD.
HIS POSITION AS POET AND CRITIC.

gator of so many capital instances. He,
too, is necessarily critical whatever ms
ultimate conclusion or reconciliation, and ne takS
courage and confidence from the sight of this brill
liant writer, who knowing English life so muc,l
better than he can hope TO do. is yet struck
with so many of the same pecuhaTltes' ana inanc9 IN
80 many of the same reflections 1t is not the SUE
Of the critical effort AZ large that IS most N
ing to-day to the attentive outsiders II Is not ny
flexibty of English taste, the SureneSs OF EnsilHu
Judgment, the faculty of reproducing IN lher ln,eS-
rtv the impressions made by works of art ana ter-
atuTe, that most fixes the attention OF thoSe VINO
look to what the English mind IS ABOUT. ~ may
appear odd that an American shouidmake Inls re-
mark proceeding as he does from country IN
which high diScernment in such matters has as vet
only made beginning. superior criticism IN me
United States, is at present not written; us; ike
great many superior things, only spoken; there,
fore know not why anatVe of that country Sloulu
take note of the desuctude of this sort Of accom-
pishment in England, unless il be that III EnglanH
he naturally expects great things. lie IS struck
with the immense number OF reviews uat aIe
published with the numberof vehicles lor PnpIClN'
Tor discussion. But with the lghtneSs OF the Eng
lsh touch in handling literary and artistic ques-
tiOns he is not SO much struck nor with a CORE
sponding interest IN the manner, the meaning, the
quality Of an artistic effort. corrupted Il should aHd
he perhaps may be by communlcationS stI more more
foreign than those he has enjoyed on me oIheT sue
of the Atlantic, and good deal more torclD!e OF
am afraid that what am coming to IN SAYING that
Matthew Arnold as an English winter, rs dear 10
the soul OF The OUTSIDER IS the al i"'I dc"sS U,u5
equally visible doubtless, to all lCdGeSl
that he reminds the particular outsider VINO writes
these lines land who feels at moments that ne mas
so little claim TO the title just the least Dt OF lc
great Sainte-Beuve. Many people DO not care m Ior
Sainte-Beuve; they hold that his method was uil-
scientific his temper treacherOus his ylctTesOme,
and that his subjects were too often unnteieslllg.
But those who do care for him deeply, and cultivate
the belief, and the hope, that they shall never
weary of him; I; so that as ii is obviously only my
limited personal sentiment that with this
slider IN general l venture TO express; may
is fbe degree 10 which he resembles Santc-B Beuye.
This resemblance exists III Matthew Arnold, "lth
many disparites and differences not Ony uoes ne az
ways speak of the authOrOfC with cstcemand
admiration but he strikes the lover OF Sante-BCuNe
as having really taken lessons of him, as possessing
part of his great quality-cloSeneSs OF contact TO
his subject. do not III the least mean by thlS tat
MIR. Arnold is an mitatOr that he IS reflector
pale or intense, OF another genus M ne hSS sS,a
genius. quality all hls own ana ne mas III some
respects a largeness of horizon which Sante-BeuNe
never reached. The horizon of Sainte-Bcrye was
French aud we know what infinite blue distances
the French see there but that of Matthew Arnold,
as l have hintcd, is European, more than
ought TO be enough for an Amcrcan that Sainte-
Beuve had no ideas at all about America; whereas
Mr.. Arnold has a great many; winch ne Is engaged
at the moment at which write in collatlng with
the reality. Nevertheless SaiGteBeuNe. too, on MS
side had his larger movement; he had OF course
his larger activity, which indeed, II VIII appear 10
many that MIR. Arnold might have elnuiated II u
had not been for certain amonnt OF mlsdlreCted
effort, There is one side on which many readers
will never altogether do Justice to Mathe" Arnold
the side which we see him as the author OF II.
Paul and ProteStantism and even OF many portions
of" Literature and Dogma they WllIheTefceaNt 10
regret that he should have spent 50 much tlmc ana
ingenuity in discussing the difercnccS-SeYeIal OF
which, after all, are 50 special, 50 aTmualN-he-
tween Dis5cnters and Anglicans should not rather
have gwen these earnest hours to the nteTpTe auoh
of literature There is something dry and dusty IN
The atmosphere of such discussions which accords
i'll with the fresh tone Of the man of letters, the
artist. II must be added that in Mr., Anods case
his interest in religious ideas his constant, charac
terstic sense of the reality of religion. d. :.
The effect of Mr.. AnOlds writings Is or course
difficult to gauge; but it seems evident that
the thoughts and judgments of Englishmen
about "a g9Sd g9S cdaSS bR Wa+Ss tRe9 c Gif
cism is better, lighter more sympathetic
more informed in consequence OF certain things ne
has said. lie has perceived and tGIt SO many sly,
disnterestcd thrusts that belonged to The Office, to
has made them his care, made them
iiatterihg JUNCTION Mr.; Arnold, may l think
lay to his soulthat with all his hghtness of form
with q certain jauntncss and lrrcSponslblIty
of which he has been accused, as if he
affected ,candOr aud simplicity almost
interest of life, to the charm of knowledge
for a great many of these plain people among whom
the number of the expressive phrases to which he
has given circulation, none has had
wider currency than his application
and light. Assuredly it may be said that that note
has revbrated that it has done Somethlng.ln the
realm of discusson-toward making ciyillty the
fashion and facilitating the exchange of
ideas They appear TO have become, moro
accessible. They brstle rather less with mu-
gained in ciearness in the great middle region in
which Phstlni.ra Is supposed 10 anlGS; LIN E
multitude of gayly ycO0red lanterns. whGh not0niy
have a charming, a really festive effect but which
wasin the volume entitled Culture and Anarchy"
published in $50, and perhaps his most ingenious
and suggestive production, that he offered ms most
celebrated definitions and exposed himself
most TO- the penalties winch inc gen
sa critic M is fCs59TPsdb To6 Pe has % called 5o%n c
displeasuro of the Dssenters but in the extremely
witty volume to which allude he made 1t a matter
of honor with society at large to retaliate But IT
has been Mr. ArnOld'S good fortune from
the first that he has been fedaud stimulated by crit
icism hisantag0nst i'm ephTase be is fOndof quot
inr from Burke has ever been his helper
Reionder and refutaton have always furnished
him with texts and examples, and offered spring
board as it were, to bis pOlemlca agility. lie has
had the further advantage that though IN his con-
siderate, bautcrng way disputant, having con-
who frequently attacks, he has never lost his good
humOr, never shown tOnch OF the Odam t"eo01,c"m,
nor ceased to play fair. This incOTgiDle foudnesS
for his joke doubtless has had something to do with
the rePrOach sometimes made him that he is
not serious, that be does not really care Tor ihe
causes for which he pleads, that he Is talkGr an
artist even a charming humorist, but not philOsO-
pher, nor reforner, nor teacher. lie has been
charged with having no practical advice to oier.
To these allegations he wOu perhaps plead guilty,
forhe hasueVcT pretended to have body OF doctrine
nor to approach the public with an iufal Iblc
nostrum. He has been the plain man that we have
alluded 10, he has been only skirmIsher ana
suggester. 1t is certain that good many taliaGles
aud preiudices limplng abOut with one OF his
light darts sticking TO them For myself, when |
have heard il remarked that he is not practical,
the answer has seemed to be that there is surely
nothing more practical than to combine that degree
of wit with that degree of good feeling, and that
degree of reason with both of them 1t is quite
enough TO the point to be one of the two or three
best English prose-writeIs of ones day. There is
nothing more practical, in short, than
n one praises culture and desires to for
ward IT. to speak in the tone and with the
spirit and inpartiaity of culture. The Dssenters,
Ibelieve hold that Mr.. Arnold has not been impair
tial accuse him Of misrepTcsentiug them of making
the absurd proposal that they shall come Oyerto the
Church merely because from the church window, asit
,E1r thnir chanels and cOnyentcles interleTe with