The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-05-17
OUR LITERARY BUDGET.
The Philosophy and Art Of George Eliot,
the English AuthOreSS.
her GENIUS And HER CHARACTER.
Her Relations With George Henry Lewes-
The Distinctive Features Of Her "orks-
Her Merits and Faults.
fContinued from May ioth.I

EIfOt employed 10 cOnuOho e"N -,
her connection with Lewes, tho confronting
act Of her later existence.
The great problem # the shifting reia-
ton between passion and duty she wrote III
Mill on the Floss, lis clear TO no man VINO ID
capable of apprehending 1t; the question
ubether the moment has come IN when
man has fallen below the possibility OF O. re-
nunciation that will carry an efiicacy. ana
,nust accent the sway OF a passion against
which he had struggled as trespass; IS one
o. which we have no maSteT-key that Will
IN all cases The casuits have become "a oye-
word of reprosch, but Their perverted splfIs
of minute discrimination was me s1aoOW VI
a trnth 10 which eyes and hearts are too often
fatally sealedfhe truth that moral ludg-
ments rnust remain false and hollow unless
thew are checked and enlightened by per-
petual reference 10 the special circumstances
that mark the individual lot. All people OF
broad. strong sense have an lnsuhctlNe II
,,,,cnanea IN the men of maxims. because such
neonle early discern that the mysterlOus
sonIplexity Of our life is not 10 be embraced
by naxims. and that 10 lace ourselves up ~
formulas of that sort Is TO repress an the III
vine promptings and inspirations that spring
from growing insight and sympathy. anu
the man of maxims is the popular representa-
tive of the minds that are guided IN ther
moral Judgment solely by general rules. think
ing that these will lead them TO justice by a
ready-made patent method, without the
trouble of exerting patience discrimination
impartialitv: without any care 70 assure them
selves whether they have the insight that
comes from hard-earned estimate OF temp
tation or from life vivid and intense enough
10 have created wide fellow feeling with all
that is human"
markable passage. which was plainly called
forth by q conscience that eas not entirely at
ease or contented in the contemplation Of the
step which she had taken in defiance Of the
divine and human law relating 10 marriage.
There is something quite pitiful IN the specta-
Gle of so profounda mind seeking justification
for q radical disregard of recognized moral
obligations in arguments which. If sound.
would destroy the whole fabric of social and
moral life. because the right would be left TO
the individual TO suspend the Application OF
moral laws 70 his case whenever passion or In
terest dictated. 1t is well indeed that Ito the
common run of mankind" TO use her own
words which have the echo of a slight sheer,
1T has always seemed proof OF mental vlgor
10 find moral questions easy" IL the decision
10 be reached when elementary ques
tons OF morality, involving a good and
evil alternative, were TO be passed
upon, was not clearly and distinctly ordered,
the world would fall into state OF anarchy
hardly less frightlul than that which pre-
vailed in France under the domination OF the
genius, however keen its ability to discrimi-
nate between the northwest and northeast
sides of moral hairs, no more relieves It's
possessor of the obligation Of observing the re-
quirements OF the moral law than mediocrity
and stupidity. George Eliot, the novelist,
and Bridget, the washerwOman, stand upon
the same footing in the eye of such law
and can only escape from its binding force
by the commission of a crime.
When Rochester implored Jane Eyre, the
heroine of the great novel of that name, to
remain with him in spite of the discovery
that the insane woman who was imprisoned
in Thornbury Hall was his wife, what was her
reply? Il will keep the law" she said, the
law given by God, sanctioned by man. will
hold TO the principles received by me when 1
was sane and not mad as | am now. Laws
and principles are not for the times when
there is no temptation. They are for such
moments as this when body and soul rise in
meeting against their vigor. Stringent are
they. Inviolate they shall be. If at my indi-
vidual convenience, / might break them, what
would he their worth! Preconceiyed opin-
ions, foregone conclusions are all | have at
this hour to stand by. There l plant my
foot"
Many passages in the novels and letters of
George Eliot would seem to show that in her
own mind she tacitly admitted the correct
ness of the moral sentiments which are SO
powerfully enforced in the words which we
have quoted from the masterpiece of Char
lotte Bronte. Thus she wrote to friend. IF
live five years longer the positive result OF my
existence on the side of truth and goodness
will outweigh the small negative good that
would have consisted in my not doing any
thing TO shock others" This is q character
istic instance of George Eiot's disposition to
employ nice determinations In defining the
limits of responsibility for personal acts, and
is a striking illustration of her moral weak
ness. Whatever the moral sentiments adopted
by her, however, she was always both enthu-
siastic and conscientious in adheTing to them
as long as she believed in them. In some of
its most important features the character Of
Dorothea in Middemarch was no doubt a
portrait of George Eliot highly idealized. The
earnest spirit of that lovely heroine, the noble
though impracticable enthusasms that
buoyed up and animated her life, were but q
reflection of the emotions which inspired
Miss Evans herself before she found a vent
for her moral energies in the exercise of her
pen. But there were elements in the DISPOSE
ton of this great woman which are wanting
in the nature of Dorothea and also of Maggie
Tulliver in Mill on the Floss character usu-
ally accepted as photographed i'll its gen.
eral details. In Its strain or inherent melan-
choly, its tendency 10 ponder on those lofty
questions which, as Hamlet said. lie beyond
the reaches of our souls, in grasp of philo-
sophical thought, and IN keenness of analyt-
cal power, there is not a character in the
novels of George Eliot which is representa-
tlOn OF nerSelI III the measure WQlCQ IS called
for by the truth.
If we wish 10 obtain the most favorable
opinion of the moral and intellectual nature
of the great novelist under review We must
discard her biography and cOnfne our exami-
ton TO her works OF fiction. The general inn
preston thus received exalts her in our esti-
nation TO point which is reached by few
who have won immortality in the same field.
The series OF novels which we have from her
pen are not only monumental IN the force OF
intellect which they exhibit but they consti-
tute as noble a contribution TO sound morality
in principle and practice from the point of
view of Christianity as are to be found in the
range Of any literature. This is one of the
most extraordinary facts in the history of
George Eliot, that rebelling as she did against
the Christian school of religion in her private
life, and IN the most intimate expression OF
her private opinions. she should yet have pro-
duced a series Of compositions which are emf
nently religious, not only In spirit butin con-
ventlonal expression. Who reading these
novels without having at the time any know
ledge of her private lite or private utterances
would believe that they had been penned bya
woman, who. while admitting the obligations
of duty, as she did in the interview with
Frederick Myers which we have referred to-.
yet denied the existence of God and rejected
the hope of immortality? Which was the true
George Eiot-the George Eliot OF the novels or
the George Eliot of the biography! She herself
deserved 10 be remembered by posterity only
In the ll0hf of hpr poyalS and in fbia she