New-York tribune., 1886-03-21
A MODERN THINKER.
RECORD OF sELF-DIssECTIoN.

"A
,,rr1,s JorRNAI. The Jo,una, Inttp,e of HfHRI
FpvpvRIC AMIEi. Translated, with an lntlouuouoh
M Xxi, 4S7. Macmillan Il Co.
THO Louynal Jntime of Henri Frederic Amiel was
,ubIisbcd at Geneva In 1882, the year after the
authors death 1t was read with extraordinary
interest and has taken place IN literature "Hcu
,be translator aptlv compares with that Of OOei-
mann and that of Maurice dc Gu6rm. Nothing ID
hmiers nublic career warranted the world in eX-
recting such a legacy The Journal was his one pos
thumou. success following life of faliuTe' Io
oublisbed a few poems but they had little real
.oluo He filed professoTshp at Geneva WIN
only p,olernt, ability and he shut himself out OF
3bc cultivated Gcnevese society when ne "ou'u
have euiovca and adorned by accepting tins nncon-
genial appointment from political party Win
which he was wholly out of sympathy Aluohg LIS
friends he was known as man OF brli'lahl lh'eI-
lert. sound scholarship and extensive accomplish
uents who ought TO have made great tgurc III
nl,;c of letters il he had put his gifts to any
fe1ious use But although he lived to the age Oh
sixty he disappointed all their hopes. Latent
genius" lie says. is but presumption. Every
tbin., that can bc is bound TO come INTO beng, and
what never comes into being is nothing" mat is
true in certain sense Anicl possessed iemarRaole
powcrs Of mind. but they were neutralned by n
fatal weakness OF will. "What lack above all
4lng;" he writes ais character, will. pdlVldu-
aitvn "To love- to dream 10 feel, to learn 10 uil-
derstanda'l these arc possible to me II only may
be dispensed from wiling His friends were
wroup Il. .ercfore The latent genius in which they
believed did not exist. The first element O' '"o
power to achieve is the power 10 Will
But the man who was Incapable Of producing any
thing for the pubic had nevertheless an uncohqucI-
able literary instinct the dreamer sought one oi
b,s dearest delights in prolonged and careful work.
,.rt,rg fC
vhica Constitutional incptitudc. aggravated by IN
dplrcDcc I'm vicious habit Of mind, prevented his
evbib;t-rg ~ the world and he left mass OF no
f.vcr than seventeen thousand manuscript PAGES
III which, glung with incidents OF his paolo course
lie had recorded his reflections upon religion pm
loso7v art politics. society. and letters ii IS from
this enormous accumulation OF laborous lie that
tie contents of the present volume have been &C.
1cc4,E. Il ie limos siblc TO think without PAIN OF
tie long and for the most part useless hours "h'h
must have been spent over these pages, the wasted
e.c,-y. the improbable culture; but If only
small par. of the volumuoUs iolrnal is TO survive
That mart m least IS exquisite enough t. prove that
1bc yrritor did not live in vain. Mrs Ward has not
ou'v Given rs lcautiful translation, rendering the
delicate though. in pure graceful and easy Ing
N.h br- in her elaborate Introduction she las made
osuccessful study of her author, and pointed ont
with singular djstnctnoss the secret OF his weak
nc~, and tie qualities which have commented the
.JYy47I 10 sucn sudden favor A'nicTs reflections
lavaa CAarmiu. su5tlctS aud precision, so that
tlev are always % source of intellectual enjoyment
k,ta Wien We perceive. as we often do, that tH'y
arise from false views of lie and philosophy Bui
4bo chief interest of the IoUa0i lies in its psyche
lo.;.,l revelations Perhaps man in any age has
evc.nallcl Amlcl in the analysts oI his own sonl
tic ,.r,r!ctc exploration OF ms deepest and most
elusive feelings: AVID as h"roprc-cnt7 in one I'-
sacct type Of mental disturbance which is hacon-
ing NOV, and Iaole common, It happens that IN h.
merIe,, -elfl.-cyton many Others see Their
hear, .a.3 bare
Totoach fr-tupou the ,-ermatters--his literary
Ci.t.1.-U. are u.Vuy- marked ly cc.talu o'-tihc-
MON of which tine French alone seem 10 know Tie
Uho,c secret. AcUtcuc,s. sympathy, and power oi
pru.iailuc arc brought TO the opposition NOT so
much oi the details of an authors work as OF ms e.
seutial characteri,tics and thi- is done VITA a
ouirur-- and ucatlc~s OF touch and grace OF style
winch show the mater hand of al artist. 1t is
1cma,iab's TACT that the tendency to oVeI-rcIne-
mont in criticism which was Amicls fatal snare IS
never apparent in his estimates of literature, nor
doe il show much in his remarks upon art; IN boJh
cases the ..sthetc sense OF form was strong enough
10 save him. Hi Judgment of poitical conditions
yya,IaarRcl 10y some keen ballpcroeptions but IT
was hating and iuconcld-ve. swayed always Icy
1..9us....on against democracy, which was panty
remission from msteria alis.c theories of progress
TcSas extremely sensitive to the mlucnres Of
lyu7seapa. flowers sunsLinc cloud, mountains,
rivers. and the sounds Of natulc and lie described
such tlrg- with tie arlor of q lover if not always
the result of fastidiou5 taste, and partly
with the INSIGHT Of a poet. In the scntcntious aud
epirram,ratic Past Of which French literature
contain, $50 many brilliant examples, he was often
hanpv although some Of those included in the pres
ent volume owe whatever value they have to their
ter.a and wcll-closon language. collection OF
Paste taken from the journal, was published IN
Amers lifetime
lie had an incxhaustblo thirst for knowledge
combined with q remarkable aptitude Tor sustained
thought. Both characteristics Were strengthened
by few years residence in Germany, where he be
came absorbed in speculative philosophy. "
friend who knew hin. well remembers having heard
linn speak with deep emotion Of that lot'y serenity
fIi,oa which lie had experienced whCneycr, in the
early morning before dawn, with his read'nglaiAp
lcsida him. he had found himself penetrating once
more into the region of pure thought, conversmg
with ideas cnioyiug the inmost life of thinGs.'" IN
his passion for TIE absolute he lost all effective in
teicst in practical life, and gradually the capacity
for action. "Thcrc Is rcp0oc for the mind except
In the absolute" he writes in the JoWn0l " for
feeling except IN the infinite; for the soul except IN
the divine Nothing finite is true, IS interesting, Is
worthy to fix my attention. All that Is particular
is exclusive. and all that is exclusive rcpclS me.
There IS nothing nom u-oIclusve but the All my end
is communion with Being through the whole OF
Being We have said that he lost all "encctiYe
interest in practical things; II he could have lost
interest in them altogether lie might have been
happy But unfortunately this intellectual yolnpt-
nary, who gave himself up to long dcbauches OF
thought was painfully eager for the life Of action
for which he was making himsclfmore and more un-
Sit. He longed to accomplish something in the
rr.rld. Nc lnnrad for q vito and Children and