New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-15
CURRENT FICTION.
uE DISCIPLE Par Paul Bouget II mo; pp |
- 364 paris Alphonse Lemerre New-fork:

364 Paris: Alphonse Lemerre' ew-iofA'
.ropr CONNIE IA MORT Par Guy de Maupassant
I lcmo. pp 1853. Paris PAU ohonnoil' Now
! York: W. X. Jenkins.
Tho readers of NJ. Paul bourgeois latest novel
lr.r no tcmnted to exclaim. Is saul also among
l.h. rropbets?p when they find him occupying
to,.ror,v ddmtfc attitude, and prcfacing " 10
tD,scn,es with long address to Young FRANCE
otestinc against the modern tendencies OF sceptcsm
ana decadence,r and holding up tho work he thus
INTRODUCES as special example OF moral therapeutics
The disciple he announces, is type of those baneiu
100, % the irrcverent pursuit of science and OF
- Cor Its own sake which is common at
t,rescnt The modern lines of thought, he dcciaros
,are producing q race of young men diVlue" "i'o W.
l.o,,ay promsclous classes. The one ocneNes HI s0
alone and marches resolutely and unscrup"io"sis ~
rrars 10 fortune. proceeding upon the principle Oh
Ics.rar,s-a Eat drink and love-naught else can
h.ro avail usr Tho other class, not less cynlca
"a dis,,Iusionized does not think life worth living
even for the gross pleasures IT affords, ana resao
,s.,th,nc with rallying sneerng air, refusing 10
i,ecocnize Obligations responsibilities OF any MIN"
T. 90 excrt any energy for any purpose whatever
=, pourret bopcs nevertheless, that when the ulc
- vourc France will be ready TO face German!
nth ,r,,e Gallo courage and meanwhile. he does no'
.rnear N consider the situation very hopoiu' "'
generation which IS about 10 pass OH inc s'"e0 -
~ta,nlv made a fine mess Of its opportunities anu
.he newcomers feel discouraged there Is ic"so' "
their dissatisfaction. The " DecSuch's' =,
80 mn, a srecial creation; they are the linear "e
.cerdants Of the men who preceded them VINO fe''D
80 tho Third Empire the morals ara manners Vi
A. pscencv and who could not revive, under the spur
~ foreign invasion. the indomiiabe bravery VI 0
pevolution The seeds of the Decadehce "oio :"
truth PLANTED moro than one generation ago. anu P
sans one reason why It has bossomed so rahhy may
NE found in the fact that NJ Paul Borget shouu nave
considered lie Disciple" truly moral ana instruct
hn sail II
.,ror,aIv clever and powerful book. 1t exhibits
,D,oc;s,on and elaboration of psychological analysis
(which perhaps no other living writer unless NJ lao'
tcou,d rival This analysis Is. however, carreu oo
FAR II interferes with the action sometimes pr"s
sng the latter to complete standsh and not seluon
becomes tedious. u,o
The motive Of the story IS simple and at the same
sna frosb A philosopher Adricn SiXte. has devoted
himself 10 the pursuit truth he sees It, Educaeu
sn the most modern views. man OF science VINO Sc'
In nhenomena no indication of spiritual eNis'enoo'
"a PSYCHOLOGIST who recognizes In matter suincinS
bcause for all mental processes he has made rcP"
cation for writings remarkable. even In scepucai
age. for the trenchant and uncompromising ma''ria
ssm which they embody. With him all questions on
ethics are but interesting experience, as indicating inc
Various ways IN which men defend theU scInsH y"
eress by inventing rules t. restrain their hes"ooS
Adrien sixte himself Is thoroughly simple harnc9s
old recluse who has no personal experience OF inc
ed by reason alone and absolutely ignorant oil iecns
md passion To him comes young man, Robert
Ereslou who avows himself his disciple. who mas Deen
n,rrtured on his phlosophic works who Is his lh'ei
hectual pupil NJ. SiXte likes the youth, Dut SOUS
l,ttle Of him Some correspondence passes between
,bem and then Robert Creslou IS forgotten, unuI'
.ome two years afterward, the old philosopher Is
,uddenlv reused out of his mcditationS by learning
that his disciple is charged with terrible CRIME
and that he himself is drawn into the ahar through
his correspondence with the accused, and the place
of teacher and master he is supposed TO have hclu
howard GreSlOu. go
The greater part Of the book IS occupied with
pobert Greslou's exhaustive analysis of his own In
te1ectual and emotional career, which he writes down
lvbile IN prison and sends 10 Sixe, under the ute
, Confession Of a Young Man of the Period" In ms
remarkable piece of psychologist dissection, NJ Bouiset
has undertaken 10 show the effect Of the moocrh
nhiosophy positive and ahestic, upon temperament
weak in the moral sentiments ard predsposed a'
knoe 10 accesses of passion and IN
sophtsticated selfintrospecton and analysis.
1,ut the story with all its power and subuety ana
great literary Skill is at bottom no more novel In us
tendency than Crelle Enigma or The Crmo
tdAm0lrn There is too much suggestion OF madness
In Robert Gresou and the obvious reelection upon
his career would be that it illustrated rather the
hanger of morbid mental inherltanceS than the evil
tendencies of the philosophy. lie Disciple
shows that NJ BOWget is steadily improving in his
art butte us at least-t a1ords no convincing III
nicaton that he is advancing appreciably in his hes
= One knows al least what TO expect from NJ. Guy dc
Maupassant. He does not pretend to have moral
mission but is frankly Gallo IN his literary tenden
cies. In his last novel, Fort CONNIE la Mort he
illustrates the strength and endurance of love- but he
illustrates il after his own fashion. The passion
which is strong death" in the present case is that
of married woman for another man than her hIs-
band. The novel is full Of force and the analysis Of
Berfin's and Madame GullerOy's feelings IS often
mastery As with all this writer's books. however.
the notable impression remaining upon the reader
is that of singular waste and degradation of high
literary skill upon small unworthy and debasing
themes.