The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1886-03-18
The Classic STYLE.

There is no better illustration of the
reserve. the pass;onless transparency
AID ,,Girefe Of the classic style of mar
rative than that which is given Us in the
Acts Of the Apostles; not the work of q
recognized classic author, bat besuti-
fully classic in its pure obje ectivity, its
absence of personal cOloring. In that
wonderful arrative OF Paul's shipwreck
the narrator closes his account of an
anxious night with these words: '"Then
fearing lest they should have fallen
upon rocks. they cast four anchors out
OF the stern. and wished for the day"
Fancy o modern writer dealing with
such a then G! How he would enlarge
OF the rack:ng suspense, the tortures of
expectation, endured by the storm-tossed
company through the weary hours of a
night which threatened instant destruc-
ton! How he would dwell ON the mo-
mentary dread of the shock which should
! shatter the frsil bark and engulf the
devoted crew, the angry pillows hunger
ing for their prey, eyes strained to catch
the first glimnaer of returning light. etc.
All which the writer of the Acts cou-
veys in the single phrase, "And wished
for the day
Clear, unimpassioned, impartial pre-
sentation OF the subject, whether fact or
fiction, whether done in prose or verse,
is the prominent feature of the classic
style. The modern writer gives you not
| SO much the things themselves as his
impression of them. You are compelled
to see them through his eyes: that is,
through his feelings and reflections.
The ancients present them in their own
-
| seem TO have possessed other powers of
seeing than the modern, who, as Jean
Paul says, stands with an intellectual
spyglass behind his own eyes. Certainly
| theS possessed the art of so placing their
| object as not to have their own shadow
fall upon it.
The difference is especially noticeable
| in poetry. where each style unfolds itself
more fully and both are perfected in
| their several kinds. Ancient poetry is
characterized by sharp delineations OF
individual objects, modern poetry by
the color it gives to things and the SEN
| tinlents it associates with them.
The healthy nature OF the ancients
cared little for anything beyond the
/ visible world in which they moved. The
finer their organization, the clearer the
impressions which they received from
| surrounding objects. The modern, es-
tranged from nature, is thrown back
upon himself; the finer his organization
the more feelingly he is affected by his
| environment The ancient lived more
| in phenomena, the modern more in
thought Hence, as Schiller says. classic
|, poetry affects us through the medium oi
facts. romantic through the medium Of
| ideas.
| In the thought of the ancients-l
speak particularly of the Greek s--soul
| and body, spiritual and material, were
not divided, but blended, fused, in one
This identity of matter and mind which
| they realized in their life is expressed in
| all the creations of Grecian art.
| For US moderns this harmony is lost
The beautiful equilibrium of matter
and spirit is destroyed We are divided
within ourselves, our nature is rent in
twain We have discovered that we ex
| ist. We are become aware of spirit
and like children of larger growtl
would pick the world TO pieces TO tinc
where it hides. To the Greeks the world
was fact, to us it is q problem. Where
they accepted, We analyze; where they
rested. we challenge and dispute; where
they lost themselves in contemplation
we seek ourselves in reflection; where
they dreamed, We dream that we dream
They enjoyed the ideal in the actual; We
seek it apart from the actual, in the
vague inane ne-Frederic Henry Hedge
in March atlantic.