The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1890-02-09
SIZE rnwIN ARNo1n.s roHMs.

SIR EDWIN ARNOLD's POEMS.
How narrowly man can escape be-
ing a man Of genius. how near he can
come TO the bTiok OF genius without
pitching over, all the readers Of Edwin
Arnold and Owen Meredith know
full well The European galleries are
full of lovely paintings under the TAX
ing title 'scnool Of Raphael. school of
Titan. or Tintoretto. Toe galleries
Of poetry are full Of idyls and elegies
tragedies and rOundels similarly dub
bed school Of Chaucer' or OF Shelley,
of II srrick or of Keats limitations
SO near the originals that were the lat
ter lost. as is the case with the come
dies q deuanier, the imitation might
readily supplart the archetype. and
MOliere might OyershadOw Plautus as
Plautus grew out ard oyershidowed
the lost Menlnder. So in this latter
day we have lovely and accomp.ised
verse writers whose divine technique
clothes them with so radiant a poetic
garment that % daZzies the unframed
eye aud produces the effect of original
Ivy on the seer or reader.
Sir Edwin Arnold is one Of these ad-
mirable artists. Were The Mihabna-
rata lose. or the Slnskrit Idyl Of Hita
G0yinds buried in the Bh3gavata. never
% be fxhumed. or the beauty OF the
Great Remuneration plunged irrcc0v-
erably in the vowel and cOuscnaut Jun
gle Of the Mahabhinish Kramaua. Sir
Edwin ArnOld's version Of these i'm
mortal Indian masterpieces would still
be radantly alive 90 take their place.
reproduce their resplendence. iiil our
thought and memory with the light
aud grace Of Iudiau metaphor, and
make US wOrder nc the jung.e-llke lux
uriauce aud fertility OF Indian intel
lectual coil. ln his Song of Songs be
transferred most successfully 70 Eng
Iish claes the subtle aud BEAM iful
principles Of Hindu theology. 10 The
Light Of ASIA be told the story and dis
played The rich wares and gentle and
far-reachlug doctrine dCctrinss Of the
great Hindu Z iuce who fOurded Bud
dhism. Ia the Pearls If the Faith be
h-iugs us an urniul of the thoughts
and beliefs of the poble prophet Of
Arabia and his followers, each
pearl polished 10 emery like bril-
fancy and strung togeth on
a strand bearing the nine
ty-nine beautiful names Of Allah. la
the Song Celestial So he plupges again
into the marvellous waters Opaque.
vet phCsohorescent-Of Eastern mys-
ticism. and draws again miraculous
draught Of fishes from the Brahman
fountain Of all failhs-thc Mahabharata.
So striking Is the paTaielism between
It's teachings aud those of the New les.
lament that a controversy has arisen
between Pandits and missionaries on
The point whether the author borrowed
from Christian sources or the Evan
gelists aud Apostle, from MIN. The
Mahabharata ani the Ramayana are the
Had aud Odyssey OF Hindustan-more
Than this. the Brahman Bible, for If a
man reads the former and has faith in Its
doctrines he is free from all SIN. and as
cands 10 Heaven after his death. Hence
It's astounding popularity in The East,
AID hence Sir Edwin 5 recurrence To il
i'm 1853. when be translated from g
220 OOO lines q series Of graceful and
autnentic Indian Idvls.' On these
followed Lotus and Jewel, original
poems susurrant OF Oriental imagery
and life, wherein
The warm blue Indian air
With painted cupOa
envoloped everything in its halluclna.
tive haze. Ia 1855 followed Will
Saldi in the Garden wonderfully
poetic transmuiation of Persian gold
The .Ishk Of the Bostan Of he Persian
salii-into English silver, with love 81
lis theme and the cresceuts and cupola'
If the Tai Mahal as background. luter
leaved amid this vast expenditure q
vital and poetic force are nnGmerabl'
translations from the Greek, Latin
German, French. Spanish, SlnskiIt, al
rooted M
Under the zi9z gg % cream-and-rosy roof
of two plethorlc volumes fairly burst
Ing with their contents. as a ripe pome
granate does with its rosy seed. Z
peautiful talent: rich. various, copious
dingeut. We enter the temple II ha
eush.ined itself ia thankfully, and W
look round Its circumambient space
with delighted awe; and yet. We say,
is not that temple not made WI
hands -uumistakab4e genius, 1t IS
human erection.