The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-22
EDWIN II. WHIpPLE.
Written for The indianapolis Journal.

that every other man you meet in Boston has
written book. Ii is city Of literary men,
where authorship is in the air, where nothing
seems more natural than for a man to coin his
thoughts into volume. The list of men in Bos-
ton and Cambridge who have seen their names
on the title pages Of books would be very long
one. A friend of mine going into the city on
the morning train, the other day. was accosted
Mr. A.. It's very good thing; every young
man ought to do it. / wrote book once my
SELF eOhl did you Mr.. R--f May ask
what was the title ef your workm 1T was a
treatise on book keeping
A few wellknown authors seem largely to
monopolize the public attention; but the stu
dious and thoughtful reader finds many who are
as well or better worth his attention. The very
qualities which make book popular are often
not those which make il best worth reading
For instance, here is Mr.. Edwin p Whipple,
who is well known to the readers Of thoughtful
and critical works as a scholarly and able
writer, whose books are credit to American
literature. His books are not sought for eagerly
at the public libraries, but for all that he has
done much that is worthy of attention. His
books are critical in their nature, and that
necessarily keeps them from becoming popular
All who love bright and instructive essays about
men and books will find in his writings what Is
more helpful to them than they will in those
of many more popular author.
Mr. Whipple was born in Gloucester, Mass
March s, 1919 He moved to Salem with his
widowed mother at an early age, and he passed
thr ough the high school in that city. At the
age of fifteen he became clerk in a Salem bank,
and even before this he had begun to write for
the papers. AT the age of eighteen he moved to
Boston, where he entered the Office Of large
brokers' firm. A year or two later he became
the superintendent of the news-room of the
Merchants Exchange in State street, which posi-
ton he continued to occupy until the year 1860
One of the leading institutions of Boston when
Whipple moved there was the Mercantile Lii
brary Association, which was one of the literary
centers Of the city. It possessed an excellent
library, it gave courses of lectures each winter,
and it did much other work for the education of
the people. Wbipple at once became an active
member. spending much of his time in the reading
OAthe best books Especially he gave himself with
enthusiasm to the study of English literature
from the time of Chaueer to that of Wordsworth.
He became member of club of six young
men belonging to the association, who met
weekly for debate, and for literary improvement
and whose meetings were called 1.-THE Attic
Whipple gave satirical poem before the asso-
citation, which was warmly received
He first came distinctly before the public as
an autlpr in an essay on Macauley, published in
the Boston Miscellany for February, 1843. He
had reached the age of twenty-four at this time,
and his paper betrays marked critical and lit
erary ability. In October of the same year he
appeared before the Library Association
with a lecture on the "Lives of
Authors" This was followed by yearly
lecture from him in the same place,
Dickens" "Wit and Humor,n "The Ludicrous
Side of Life" Genius, and other similar sub
jects. In 1850 he delivered before the munich
pal authorities at their invitation, lecture on
Washington, and the Principles of the Revo-
luton" His literary tastes and his critical
ability'also brought him into demand for the an
niveTsaries of the various colleges. and he gave
addresses at Brown, Amherst Dartmouth and
other institutions of learning
From about 1856, ON for twenty years or more,
Whipple was in frequent demand as a .yceum
lecturer. In those days ii was understood that
the lecture was means of instruction.
People attended the lyceum for knowi-
edge and not merely to be amused. The
days of the popular lecture had not yet come.
Whipple was good speaker, full of literary in
formation, with g. gift of talking about books
and literary men in an interesting manner, and
he enjoyed quite popularity. He had not the
reputation of Phillips Curtis or Beecher, but he
was one of the recognized lecturers of the day.
There was something more in his lectures than
mere rhetoric and eloquence; that pleases for the
moment but leaves no intellectual result behind
A keen insight irto the facts and principles of
lfe moral tone Of elevated and helpful thought,
and rich and noble body of sentiment find ex-
preston in all his lectures
Whpple's principal work has been done as a
critic He is not technical critic, a finder of
faults, or one given to the tearing TO pieces of
other mems work. He is a. genial, appreciative
and loving writer about books and literary men,
with a. genuine insight into what is best in the
great authors, and with remarkable power of
interpreting an author in his relations to the
spirit and the genius of his age. Macaalay de-
clared some of Whipple's ESSAYS to be among the
subtlest, and ablest and cearest that he had
ever read. Prescott said that no critic ever
treated his topics with more discrimination and
acuteness Miss Milford found that mis- ESSAYS
would bear comparison with any of the critical
writings of England. Even the London Speeta-
tor said that Whipple was ..one of the most
subtle, discriminating and profound of critics y
Such testimony as this is abundantly deserved,
as every one will testify who has read Whipple's
books with appreciation.
II criticism We're regarded at its true value in
this country, Whipple would be much more pop-
ular than he is now The love of merely popular
writing has made it impossible for such as he to
be accepted at their true worth. His critical
writing has been largely done in the pages of the
Christian Examiner and the North American
Review. For both those periodicals he began to
write at an early age, and he continued for many
years frequent contributor to their pages. In
more recent years many Of his best papers have
appeared in Harpers Magazine and the Atlantic
Monthly. Quite recently his papers on Emerson
and Matthew Arnold have attracted special at
tention
Two volumes Of his critical writings, under
the title of Essays and Reviews" appeared in