New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-11
SIMPLICITY rs, ooMpLEx1TK.
70 ms zsssor Or rAs rssoaas.

4 OH Last autan1n was ono OF small party Of
tfse seashore that sat raptv I'm the presence of
| magnificent sunset All the western sky, from cen
th to horizon. was aiame So vivid and varied wert
tho colors that one OF Us was moved by the law
Of association to speak Of the hues Of the dying dol
phn; another Of Joseph's coat third of the rain
bow; fourth Of Solomon In all his glory fifth Of
but the fifth man apparently was not apartaker OF
the enthusiasm which intoxicated the rest of And
on our inquirng IL he was not feeling wen he made
us laugh by shaking his head at that glowing western
say, and remarking with twinkle in MS eye, Why
cannot that sunset be objected 70 critical grounds
You all agree that 1t lacks simplicity
For one was glad to hear the glorious spectacle
subjected to so preposterous criticism. 1t was
high time, 1t seemed TO me, for such reductio ad
absurdum- had grown so tired Of hearing simple
ty constantly praised and complexy, by Inference.
as steadily condemned This bantering Indictment
OF the sunset would have been pronounced droliy
absurd BY nnety-nine critics out Of a hundred And
yet the analogue In words of that sunset would have
been sneered at by proportionate number Of them
as lacking simplicity" Why Is 10 that Nature is
never sent to the rear as lacking simplicity" In spite
OF her sensational sunsets, her ostentsuous and spec
tacular peacocks, her blazing BUTTERFLIES her much
be-ringed Saturn her gorgeous Fast 1t Is doubt
less due to the conviction that Nature Is trustworthy,
that the effects which she produces whether they do
do not lack simplicity are unassail-
able. If this be so, why then should not writer's.
idea that simplicity is tho whole duty Of mani Give
compexity its due Completely is not commission,
neither Is It extravaganza Just simplicity Is not to
be COMPOUNDED with barrenness nor understatement.
In the January Atlantic Monthly" Mr.. Warner de-
votes very readable paper to eulogtzng simplicity.
He is an ardent lover Of simplicity. He goes so far
as to assert that simplicity IS the stamp OF all en-
during work" Is not this generalization much too
sweeping some Of the gowns whose trains We step
upon at receptonsl Caryles "sartor Resartusp
Johnson's Rasselas,S Victor Hugos Les Mser
ables' are recognized as enduring wprks-are
they characterized by smplcity1 Robert Browning Is
generally conceded to be Of the greatest Of modern
poets But the very fact that clubs have been formed
all over the country TO study the true nwardDess Of
Browning would seem TO prove that his poems lack
simplicity Hamlet" is so complex that the world /
is stu discussing the question whether not tho
Prince Of Denmark really mad. In this same /
paper Mr.. Warner remarks that II Is note Of some
Of the purest modern writers that they avoid COM
parsons, SMILES and even too much use Of metaphor
Yes and It is the note of Of the greatest modern
writer's, notably Charles Dickens, that they do not
avoid these things Comparisons, SMILES, metaphors
arc not to be whistIed down the wind because some
writer's avoidS them any more than the man who
axes HIS coffee clear is TO be regarded man of
aste rather than his brother, who takes his with
plenty Of milk and three Jumps of sugar We to,
ise the things of this world as not abusing them Is
Tot the prcmedated avoidance Of lawful things sort
an abuse even II undertaken in the interest of SIM
'clty"7
Complexity is not confusion nor excess. But Mr.
Warmers essay would to teach that the author
those works lack simplicity Is hardly TO be &C
ounted a master. Mr.. Lncoln's immortal speech
{ Gettysburg Is "a model Of simplicity; young
fters enjoined to study It II they would under
tand the secret OF truly great achievement by
leans Of words No can admire this spesch too
lei lff frnan AIR Radio aIl
rent, prepared, let say, by such complex
ian as Rufus Choate, which would also have been 4
lual TO the occasion. Choate's speech would have
lacked simplicity but 1t would not have lacked 2
10 essential thngit would have been informed with
10 sacred fire Of genius. drink OF simple, pure,
ladorned water from spring far up the mountain 9
&c, how good 1t is But Homer never declined 10
ndone the nectar Of tho gods the ground that
lacked simplicity Who shall judge between milk the
nplo, and a champagne cocktails Mr.. Emerson, IN .
essays on The superatiye,' tells us that the n
siave Is the SHOW Of Speech the superlative the I
b. But the apostles Of the simple school would do
III while they roll this sweet morseI under their
ngnes to remember that In the same essay the seer
70 observes that the superlatye Is as good tho
sitive II 1t be alive" @
One manifestation OF this devotion TO simplicity f.
advice given TO young writers touching the choice
words "Use short words'; use Anglos Saxon ~
rdS' call It fire." not conhAgratlon"; be-
AZ VI Aho ~ LnrOuBn your Ln6nuScfipL =
strike out all the eloquent passages" Such are as
pieces Of advice with which everybody is familiar CT
abuse, not use, is 10 DO guarded against Why re
short word better per 50 than long one9 This au
busy age and all labor-ssvlng devices are to be ST.
lcomed, and stll like long word IN the right nj.
CO. But young people are apt TO como 30 the con- ~,
slon after listening 10 those who hold brief for s
pllcy, that in the vocabulary OF person OF cor an
taste there Is no such werd q long one. | ell
ware OF hne writing, but don't be bullied into dis !.
ding passage that Is enriched by fancy or I'm OF
nation for fear critic will say that you are tn
cking Simplicity To understa the danger that an
IN preaching the gospel of unadulferated sim | a..
tty, one has only TO turn TO OF WordswOrth's us
cal ballads. The wooden headed goddess OF | no
ffty presided over their birth. lie was Indebted
his fame TO something far more deeply inter- g.
dr. 10
( Johns vision IN Patmos Is Of any Significance yei
wen " lacks smplcity"-it IS Tayishing COM kn
Ilty. Let who VIII long for something simpler, =
ven is good enough for Ours Is q wide
ID says Carlyle, "peaceably admitting many differ Bis
modes OF speech, In our wide world there Is but dig
altogether fatal personage-the Ounce: he that Ia
AXIS Trationay, that sees not aud yet thinks he oi
genuine seer and speaker, under what con- | fvt
)ns soeyer, shall DO welcome to lie | exr
)ur brother and good, not bed, man; his | 80
ds like gold precious, whether stamped IN our ot
or In what mint soeyer stamped OF
RICHARD scUDDER. the
ew-York March 8, 1880. .n no