Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-03-20
OUR NATIONAL LITERATURE.
SOME CaARACrERHTfCS AND co"-
TRAsTS or AMERICAN AND
sN0LNa POErRY.
Estracts From Paper Road by John w. APP
p,s, Es.,.. Beiors she C'losoph'c society.
Lancaster, pa, Friday, the finn OF
March, iss0-The wholesome
Tone oS American Verse.


are Europeans except In the accident OF citi
zenship thai aside from the works Of Em
erson aud Walt whitman, a chapter upon
American literature would be OF necessity,
mot u criticism, but prophecy"
IL must no admitted, indeed, that our liter.
ature has not defined Itself as that OF Eng
land has. Nor could0it be expected, any
more than we would look for the character
of youth to be defined like that OF manhood
or old age. Our country In still In Its youth
II IN making history rather than interpreting
II; II is passing through what msy be
called u formative period
AN the means OF action,
The shapeless masses, the materials,
Lie every hero about us !"
and we cannot look for a clearly defined ma
tional literature until this period Is passed
and our nationality becomes complete.
But to the extent that our nationality is
formed have we not produced national lit
eraturo Chaucer was distinctively a ma.
tional poet, although the English nation was
then only in the early stages OF It's growth.
A distinct nationality is n different thing
from complete nationality. SO q distinct
national literature il a different thing from
complete national literature. And We may
contend that we have national literature,
although 1t has not yet come TO perfection.
Edmund Clarence Stedman, better au-
thority than Professor Dowden, says "The
literary product OF this new people differs
from the literary product of the English or
of any other people OF the old world, but not
~ the product OF Italy Is Italian, of France,
French" We are not TO look for absolute
novelty In structure, language or theme"
but for an Americansm which Ia dis
played in quality OF tone and in faithful ex.
preston OF the dominant popular moods"
His verdict IL Z" A reverent feeling, eman-
cipated from dogma and imbued with grace,
underlies the wholesome morality OF our ma
tional poets. No country has possessed
group equal in talent that has presented
more willingly whatsoever things are pure,
lovely and OF good report"
Glancing somewhat externally at our liter
ature, we find that our country has been by
no means backward In authorship. Almost
the entire domain of letters has been trav-
ersed.
II we go to the realm of theology we lind
an abundance OF writers, with Eliot, Will
iams Edwards, Hopkins, Claiming, Schaff,
Nevin and others The theological was our
first literary development one OF the first
issues OF tho press at Cambridge I'm 1639 was
the I" Bay Psalm Book" Then followed
tracts on witchcraff, wonders OF the invisible
world, &c, &c. IL we turn to our statesmen
and orators, we are confronted with an es-
pecially numerous group, with Otis, Adams,
Henry, Hamilton, Jefferson, Webster, Clay,
Calhoun, Everett, Choate, Seward, Sumner,
Garrison, Phillips and others-an entirely
HeId of noetrv we see Ton,fa,iow Rrvant
Whittier, Holmes, Lowell and other lesser
lights. And so on, in all the various realms
of literature, In philosophy, in history, ju-
risprudcnce, fiction, journalism-whereve
E,,a,,..,t., A., a. ,,.. -. -. - ~, " -
i1sPe'''y in s,ooo ~ In''oi oay ms .oo a,ne,-
that as people we are beginning TO feel like
praying to be delivered from the daily de-
"h 'oNh VI "." IiihhArohh'
viewed, now, more especially with refer
ence 10 the tone or spirit OF our literature, il
NAV bs said i'm a general way that II nor
t,,ys ,sc,ti.rIv ,nr. h,n,y and b.aithfu,
, ne, -, -.
pic'uio n..,ia ,' % ln., , wne,noa .',sm9u % ~
aiier
RI, ,,....,o.o l., ,,. , ,,,. 49,
London fog obscures the vision or oppresses
the feeling. Vice and misery are not 30
much our themes as virtue and happiness
Mans dignity and high destiny are helt up
iainy. Lofty ideals are set before us as ca.
pabie OF being realized in the life of the
humblest No cruel theories, which tell us
that the weak must die that the strong NAV
i've tbot tha nilIion. ,nust Toll anI ,yeap
-. ~, - - -, A., .. - -, - = ~
la " sa.sim 80 ayidt}y ~ g. 'Ss .s p,p,S,
of pI fnoa here h1;eh, ,ha miami a, I tbs pary
banp III. mr,h rh. 'U norsa Of s'n a. aoos "S,
"a vet II resi- I NO NO heavily upon us '''' "0'
~ " -, " % 80 ~ rI"' - =, -.
Eongiellow's So psalm ain OF Life" " and his
The humblest of Gods creatures Is taught
that he can be (" a hero in the strife that
- -, -,
Lives OF great men All remind us
And denartinp, leave behind ns
Footprints ON the sands of time.'
,Cx,a,sio.,, Ia o,i,I n oo,ar .,rat,, m. q, oo,, a,
,..., -. w. ,.,.,, ~ I,';',a hoi.,,aa uoIii,''.
down 10 us from tne alplne nelShts, Gazing
us nm higher and higher i'm lies various
struggles. ~ typlhes mans triumph anu
victory III uea,n, anu LAceislor IN iouhu
alike upon tne Ups OF poyhoou, youil, man,
hoou ana oiu age, III All conuitiohs anu
spneres w ne, ~ ~, one opstac.e atel ahotner
even death itseii,ls surmounted, untii tns re.
nta,,ra ,,Dra haa, ,,t,s,, ;s rnnna an,-nara
.T,sr. In IN, ,wu,,ht coa ana GRAZ
Iiieiess, but beautiful, he lay,
And IRON M me sky' serene and far
Excelsior" '''
The same poet sings:
Above thy head, through rifted Clouds, there
shines
giorion' STAR De patient Irnst thy star y
In the same strain sweet whittier sings
"Ah, well, Tor US all some sweet hope lies
Deepiy psrisa th eor.I.a,ar ron human imam, eyes
Roll the stone from the grave awavw
What a serene and beau,,fuI f,;tb In IN.
rsoiitv of the snirit world In on oSa,Iow 4,
.s Ras;onation :" -
!. Thsre ,s no nock howsvsr ws,c,e, ,rs
tended,
But one dead lamb Is there