New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-24
BALZAC IN ENGLISH.
TIE PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
TIE MAGIC skin LA PEAU DE CHAGRIN). by
HoSonE DE BALzAc Translated 6y knrMns ~
PREscoTT woRMELEr. with an ina,ou. rIsit ao2
Boston: Roberts Brothers.

t;ropGE FREDERIC PARSONS. 12mo, PIP xhii' oz1
Boston: Roberts Brotnsrs
The Magic Skim is the first OF the three
philosophical novels in which Balzac partly I'M
folded system Of thought as bold ana lngehi-
ous ne IL was opposed to the views taken by his
contemporaries Of the author. That Balzac shouio
have been considered materialist is paradox
only to be explained upon the hypothesis that his
generation was too gross to comprehend that phase
of his character which transcribed the material
Tn truth. no really great novelist has ever oeen
materialist for genius is the sublimahon OF ideai
ism and the creative faculty is essentiany lueai-
istic. Balzac however, may have deceiVeu MS
contemporaries by the intense realism vi Ms
methods lie could not write an aiiegory ai'er
the conventional fashion, according to which all
the fpures in such composition are sun, uniiie-
like. obviously mere puppets ana Venicies Vi
d;dacticism. When he was called on to conceive
ANYTHING in the likeness Of humanity, by the IN"
of his nature he was impelled to inform u WIN
life and TO make of it real entity. 30 IL is 'nho
in the "Madc Skin. the vividness Of the descrlp-
ton. The freshness of the colors the 10" Vi 'no
action, have tendency to throw the symbolism
~ the worl, into the shadow Perhaps this is
in no way to be regretted 1t certainly gives 10
the book an exoteric as we'll as an csoterlc side'
and il offers to such as dislike occult meanings
genious and fantastic romance.
The introduction with which the publishers
have thought fit to preface the story is intended TO
acilate the research Of those who are Interested
in the mystical, and who recognize IN Balzac
thinker whose vigorous mind penetrated the mys-
teries and obscurites of existence as deeply as Is
perhaps permitted to finite intelligences 1t now
we'll understood in q limited but constantly ex-
handing circle that the great Frenchman hau I'D
these lines of study forerun his peers, ana reached
n point of enlightenment something more IMAM
fully abreast Of the profoundest inqusltion OF
the present day. Nor can it be said that even as
regards physical science his knowledge IS Obsolete
The names of Godfrey st. Hiaire and Bichat
have indeed become unfamiliar, but the discoveries
they made, the systems they founded, are stiii
significant and still followed; all that mas oc-
Cured since their time being in the form of
natural development upon the lines which they
laid down. In the Magic Skim Balzac has made
a study in physiological psychology; in other
words in the material effects Of mmaterial causes
We are here shown the destructive reaction OF
Will and Desire upon Life. The Magic Skin IL
self is the amount of potential energy allotted to
each human being This may by temperate use
be made to last through long, tranquil ana
benefcent career or if its employment DE con-
trolled by Egolsm il may he exhausted IN q Few
years Of feversh acquisitveness or wild indulgence
T. is n talisman which assures success TO
all who are willing to pay the price; but every
expenditure of Will and Desire produces shrink
age in the magic skin, which registers the cur
tailment of the owners hfe
An ordinary romancer would have been content
n show Raphael abandoned to self-indulgence,
wasting his vitality in the qualification OF every
passing caprice, and plunging the more madly
fha aDprOachPd.
But Balzac was great artist. and in tracing the
snrinrs of human action he was satisfied with
nothing less than certainty. He perceived that
real Egost in the circumstances could not so sur
render himself to headlong sensuallty; that the
instant such an one realized the effect OF his eX-
travagance upon his reserve Of vitality, his i'm
pulse would be to stop all waste and, II possible,
prevent all further use Of his life-force. From
this subtle reasoning resulted the prolonged
ira gedy which fills the third part Of the book-the
Death Agony as he entitled it. Raphael, who
set out with the impatient and reckless desire
to squander the remnant of his life in Sardana-
palan debauch, kind Of defiance to the powers
which had so wrecked and tormented him, no
sooner cOmprehends the relation OF his existence
to the talisman than he resolves upon vegetativc
regimen. lie secudes himself, shuts out society,
rejects friendship abandons all thoughts Of ac-
vision of his impulses and observation OF the
magic skin. This is plain parable. Egoism is
forever defeating itself. The passions, cultva-
ton of which leads TO material wealth, cannot Co
exist with the capacity for healthy enjoyment
Of what riches will procure. The money grubber
ends by becoming a slave to the sordid object of
his toll, and it brings him to its own level, and
often eliminates his very soul, leaving him mere
SHE'LL dry rotted TO the core.
In Raphael as in all victims of SELF there is
also continual strife. For if the unrcstrdined
Ego demands the sacrifice of everything to the
mere prOlongation of mere existence, the mind,
weakened by self-indulgence, cannot always resist
the temptation Of blind desire, which has no care
for the morrow, but is tyrannous in it's insstence
Hence occasional outbreaks which Offset alternative
precautions, and cause the magic skin to contract
appallingly The episode of Pauline is introduced
to suggest the possibilities Of pure and exalted
love, but Raphael is incapable Of rising to the
necessary heights; his wretched personal appre-
tensions soon reassert themselves; the dominant
sensual instinct Of self-preservation thrusts Door
Pauline to the door; and the stated worldling re-
signs himself once more to the quest of alienation
In vain. The organism already labors heavily
The drafts upon his vitality have sensibly lowered
the system. lie is dying of nanition, and science
cannot help or save him. The scene of the con-
sultation, the experiments with the physicists are
deeply satirical. Natural forces may be convert
ibe, but they are not mutually destructive. IIy-
drauc science is futile as chemistry in dealing
with this other natural force which is embodied in
the talisman; this highest and most potent of all
the forces OF nature. Destiny plays with the
wretched Raphael as cat plays with a mouse
He fnncies for a moment that Alpine life side
by side with robust peasants and vigorous children
may enable him to cheat the impacablc adversary.
But his simple companions are not deceived as to
his condition, and presently his failing strength
warns him that he must return to Paris if only
to die. The final scene is full of horror but il is
eminently true TO nature and fifty closes marvel
ous study.