Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-07-12
CULTIVATED TASTE.
The Need of Criticism as q PresidiI

The Need OF Criticism as Presiding
Art.
Recently newspaper paragraph in
formed us, says the Galveston News, that
"a sister of Mrs. w. K Vanderbilt, who is
also the Baroness de Fontenilliat, will
soon go on the stage" 1t is not stated
that she knows anything about acting, but
it is not doubted by her friends that she
will have great success. "a member OF
both the American and French nobility,
and with fair share of beauty, she cannot
fail to appeal to the deepest sympathies of
the American four hundred" There is a
striking parallel between the stage and
the press in one respect recently referred
to by the Neius, speaking of distinguished
men who are induced to write on subjects
outside their sphere of study and attain
ments. A cultivated taste would demand
good acting, and managers would respond
to general demand for that, as they now
respond to demand for fashionable ladies
capable of exhibiting rich dresses on the
stage. While it is no wonder that the lat
ter gladly accept applause and pocketfuls
OF money, there is some temptation to en-
terrain different presumption in the case
of men of solid fame.
Were it not for greed or vanity the men
of distinguished intellect would them
selves act so as to correct the absurd idea
that because one of their number has
earned renown in one field his crude no.
tions upon different subject are good
enough for the public eve. One might
suppose that scientific man would dis
trust his own observation or Judgment
outside the sphere in which he has mostly
worked, and would not hazard his reputa-
ton by too versatile performances, but the
common habit of mankind in this respect
persists even in educated men of severe
| self-discipline in their special lines. Crit
icism alone is the art of general scientific
method, and none of the special scientists
as such are at all to be trusted to under
stand and apply the critical method in
every sphere. Until the public demand
shall be effective for a critical editorship
of the magazines and other important
publications, the present rule or practice
of publishing whatever opinions certain
men of renown may have to utter on any
subject will quite naturally be deemed
sufficient, the publishers, like the theatri-
cal managers, rightly considering only
what pays best, subject merely, it may be
added, to proper regard for moral consid-
eration-a conception not, indeed, abso-
lutely disassociated from the natural law
of business, but rather more remote an.
plication thereof.
The press being free, criticism as valu-
| able art must be evolved. 1t will come to
rule in its right sphere and apply the
| general scientific method to all ESSAYS in
| literature, in the wide sense. Its instinc-
tive aim is truth and its discipline of mind
the severest. Its requisition is scientific
method in the use of language and its ex-
| perts must be able to discern whether a
writer has reduced his thoughts to coher-
ent form and is really familiar with the
leading ideas already existing upon the
subject which he attempts to treat; not
merely what he has read, but what
he has well understood. This noble
art may some day be effectively
at the disposal of the masses through
the informal ministry of the press. They
can demand it by natural selection of pub
locations through the publishers. Their
progress in this direction will be, more
than all else, the test of their advance in
conscious intelligence and individuality.
Each time that they buy paper because
Professor Huxley has written for it on
physiology, they vote for good literature,
but when they buy paper in which an
anatomist has written on economics, an
engineer on Shakespeare, or field marshal
on music and poetry, they vote for names,
claptrap, Leather and prunella." The
parallelism of the theater is too obvious
for need of formal statement.