The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-05-10
man finds stili higher expression IN those
noble lines

| ullQdH
| In pulses stirred by generosity
| In deeds OF daring reotitude; IN scorn
| For miserable aims that end With self !; ,.,-
| In thoughts sublime that pierce the nignt IKE
| And NTH their mild persistence urge mans
| search 20 vsster issues.
so TO live IL Heaven.
MANY other passages Of similar character
| nioht be quoted in illustration OF the love OF
! humanity which entered so deeply into the
disposition of George Eliot. Earnest and
sincere as this feeling undoubtedly was IL
was marked. as may be justly lnierIeu ron
| the extracts which we have given. by nope
| lessness that was relieved by hardly ray OF
[ announcement Her whole moral code seemed
| 10 have been an aspiration which saw NIUE
/ prospect OF fulhlment 1T comes IN so many
forms in this life of ours" she exclaim5 IN one
of her novels. the knowledge that there Is
| something sweetest and noblest OF which we
! despair. This appears 10 have been her
! habjtual attitude; 10 be inspired by the most
| intense longing TO realize her ideals and yet 10
| be fully aware at the same time tnat these
J ideals we're unattainable. There IS no SOL
row have thought more about than TINS,
1 she said ito love what is great and try 20
reach il. and yet 10 fail" The same thought
runs through the whole Of her works. There
! is not one Os her heTOines whose ambitions DO
/ not end in absolute failure, but they never
| disown their, ideals. although they fall so faf
| short of realizing them. 1hey cannot sue
coed but at the same time il u Impossible tor
| them TO forget The issue of the heroic strrg-
/ gle might be a permanent discombtuTe, Dut
nevertheless il does not produce a blank aD-
sence of interest and sympathy.
II is remarkable that entertaining such de-
spondent views of the fate even Of the most
highly favored and highly endowed indlviGu-
! ais George Eliot should never have faiien ~
! 10 a cynical frame of mind when contenpIh'-
/ ;,,r 10 ,,ubappv limit atlOng of human hopes
and aspirations So far as we know; there is
! not n sentence in her novels or IN her most
private letters which reveals spirit OF bitter
ness when the moral laws which are appllca-
bic TO the general desIinies of mankind
are referred TO- On the contrary, she
makes the most generous allowances for
the Deficiencies OF men. with a sympathetic
tenderness for theiT weaknesses, merctfut
understanding OF the trials through which
they have passed, and tue temptations SUI
rounding them, which would seem almost
divine but for the absence in her humanitar
ian creed of the recognition Of power which
controls everything and shapes everything
| George Ehot's only idea Of God was, as she
| herself said, as an e1altatiOn of the humsn-
God was humanity and humanity God IN the
! larger and ideal sense. II was the INTENSITY
of this devotion to the interests of humanity
which prevented her from sinking into that
melancholy extreme into which rebellion
| against existing conditions have driven 50
! many writers OF genius. How wide d gap
/ lies. for instance between Swift and George
! Eliot although both represent the furthett
! limits to which moral despair, so far as
human destiny is concerned, can be push
| ed. Swift, inhamed by his cynical and
| unhappy spirit. scOrned and desplsed the
| whole human race, denounced them, lam
| pooned them, satirzed them in their Virtues
! rs we'll rs in thor vices. No literature
furnishes an attack upon human nature That
| can he compared with the last voyage OF
| CULVER. George Eliot INDUCED In no such
/ unworthy filings She excuses and defends
| the weakness that fills her with 80 much
! dependency. Except on the ground OF
J primitive golden age and continuous degen-
| eracy," she said 81 see no rational footing Tor
scorning the whole present population OF the
| globe unless | scOrn every previous genera
| ton from whom they have inherited their
| disease of mind and body. and by cOnse-
| uuence. scorn my own scorn, which IS equally
! an inheritance Of mixed ideas and feelings.
concocted for me in the boiling caldron OF
this universally contemplate life, and so on,
scOrning TO infnity."
IF laugh at you, o. fellow men" She ex-
claims in Theophrastus Such" IF | trace
| with curious interest yourlabynnthlne sell de
iusiOns, note the Inconsistencies III your jealous
adhesOns, and smile at your helpless en-
| deayors in q rashly chosen part, II is not that
J ] feel myself alOof from you; the more init
| mately seem TO discern your weakness the
/ stronger is the proof that / share them. No
man can know his brother simply as n specta-
| tor. Dear blunderer, am one of you"
These words disclose the essential difference
| between George EllOt's views of mankind
and the views OF the great satirists who have
| held the human Tace up TO contempt and
| hatred She considered herself to be q
participant in the struggles Of men.
| to be moved by the same impulses. 10
] Z
| or sorrows In no particular could she be re-
| garded as a spectator. 1t was hershare IN the
common lot which had made her so re-
/ spOnsive and sympathetic, SO liberal and APP
| preciative in her attitude towards humanity
| in general. The whole existence of George
| Eliot as we follow it in her biography, was
! an unbrOken record of spirit which was con
stantly engaged in agiating questions of a
| dictnctiyeIv moral import Her life was a
| life of brOOding ntrOspectiOn and searching
reflection guided and shaped by an impress
/ si0nable and impulsiye nature. The first and
! last ghmpses which we have OF her are of the
same character. We see her absorbed in her
own moral perpleIities even as young girl
| shut up in a farmhouse IN a remote country
/ side. And down TO the closing hour of her
existence her soul seems TO have been torn
| by ceaseless conflict Of moral ideas, suggest
! ing the mental struggles which tossed the
unhappy spirit of Hamlet.
In early wOmanh0Od she fully accepted the
evangelical dogmas in which she had been
| educated. and characteristically pushed her
| faith both IN theory and practice 10 an ex-
! treme. She was a devout reader of the Bible.
an ardent admrer of Hooker and Thomas
/ Kempis, aud always kept a statuette Of
! Christ IN the range of her vision as she
| studied Her letters written at this period of
! her life reflect the intensity and exclusveness
| of her creed. They are MethOdistlcal in their
! fervor and Calylnlstlc III their uncomprolnls-
! ing and logical adherence TO the strictest Ie-
| ligious doctrines Thus she writes again and
again. May the Lord give me such insight
into what is truly good that / may not be
| contented with making Christianity a mere
addendum 10 my pursuits or with lacking {
as prize to my garments. May seek to be
sanctifed wholly"
And when she visited London with her
! brother she proved that she could apply her
/ religious principles TO her conduct by refusing
! TO attend the theatres or any resorts of
worldly pleasure during the period Of her
stay. She seemed 10 have experienced at this
| time an exquisite qualification in keeping her
! breast against thorns, finding in the pain the
| pleasure that soothes the mind of the MARTYR
| even in the moments of his greatest physical
agony. The picture which she has drawn Of
J Maggie in the Mill on the Floss" Was 10 doubt
i faithful delineation Of her own character al
! the same age-'a creature full of eager pas
| sionate longings for all that was beautiful and
| glad thirsty for all knowledge, with an ear
strainlng after dreamy music that died away
| and would not come near her. with blind. IN
! conscious yearnlng for something that would
| link together the wonderful impressions of