New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-10
A REALIST CRITIC.
BOILEAU.

Ecrivans Francois. Paris Hachette ct &C.
New-York +. W. Christern.
After a long period Of depreciation due 70 tne
prejudices of the Romanticsts the time has come
for the rehabilitation Of Bolcau. especially IN MS
character of critic NJ Lanson has dealt with
his subject in q thorough and dispaoslona'e way.
lie admits, as TO Boeaus poetry, great ueai
that has been charged by his dlsparagefS. Du0
it would be worth the while of no criuc 'o'u'S !"
defend the poet against the charge OF oeins "
"bouroeos and of having scarcely any Khowi-
edge Of or feeling for nature. boiIean Was ="
fact Parsian and knew no more aoou. wy
country than the average cocKheS' i'S 10
and babitndes were cmphaticay urban. and ne
belonged to a literary period antedathg Ihe 80
finn of the study and love of nature Inc oi".'-
noo bot,xecn him and his contemporaries Ill 'Ee
world Of letters was primarily. that ne WAS a
rea,,st His realism moreover was not aSsuiir"'
bn, innate He could only describe that wnlch nc
had SEEN He could not vitaliZe deScHPuohe vi
what he had not seen. When he dealt WIN SUD
;.cts familiar TO him his handling was hrm,
oraphic and telling. But his voice Is always Ill
a manner dry 1t was not so much thao nc iac"eu
imaginatioD, but that he was dehcient Ill sehu-
ment. II this interfercd with the a"racuVeheSe
of his poetry, however. 1t was the most uselul
quality in his criticism
fetal. and his mission TO correct that iauiV'
which was already so strongly felt by the reaolns
nubl;c that the moment Boileau opened MS
batteries against the poetasters OF the DAY, his
cr;tio,ne assured lin an immediate reputatol'
Those whom he attacked tried to defend them
selves: but they were poor creatures al the peS''
and they found recourse but abuse Nhape
lain was the worthiest Of them. and even ne was
feeble enough. Boilcau had too much sense 10
10, biusef he entangled in controversy with
,hose small rbymstcrs He let them rail, and
went On with his work. Public opinion was
with him His critiQue was neither answered. hoi
onswerabe It was. from the nineteenth century
mint of view. somewhat narrow and deiectlve'
bnt il was greatly in advance OF MS OWN 'i.le'
nd has now to be recognized as remarkably
n,. .,,a s,,rd Boileau mad the good fortune
70 possess a competency. 1t made him lnde-
rondent lie could afford to create enmiaes'
,bouob il cannot be said that he ever tried TO do
ca Ue was also fortunate in having the sup
MORT of Louis XIV, who seems to have hked MN
oil the better for his refusal to grunge ana
fatter
R.ileou was no courtier He respected himself
and his Muse He wrote what nc oeheVea aoo".
The poetry of his age, and the Judgment Oh
nosterity has confirmed his censures. lie sa"
that literature had fallen into sterile and uf-
natural condition. In fiction nothing as Ee'
nxtsted but those interninable rclations-such as
"re Grand Cyrus--n which impossible marion
cites representing men and women made equally
,mpossible love after a fashion never followed in
real life by any human being. This KIND OF
mawkish and morbid sentimentality was dlvers-
fled by adventures modelled upon the class OF
knight ernntry romances which the barber and
the cure found in Don Quixotc's library, and
which they committed to the flames At nrs'
sight it may have seemed that Boleau IN Ms
Satires was running amuck at contemporary HER
allure without distinction. In truth he condemned
no writer who did not merit condemnation. For
Racine, Corneille. Molerc La Foataine, Malhcrhe,
Vuiture he had discriminating praise. 1t was
the Chapelains. the Scuderys, the Desmarcts, the
Saint Amants, the Cotins, the Quinarelts and the
lesser fry at whom his bolts were shot.
NJ. Lanson has ingenious and penetrating
snalysis Of l. Art Poetique," of which he remarks
that no work has ever been more popular, or less
Understood. One reason of this he asserts &c be the
changes which have taken place since Boileau
wrote in The significance of many words. Esrec-
ialiy is this the in regard TO words such
raison." vrai," sublime" pompeux" etc.
which have undergone changes of meaning tend
ing 10 confusion in the minds Of modern readers
Boieaus employment Of the word raison. NJ
LAnson contends. has led to complete misun1er
it has been said that he allows no place to the
ina ginatiOn in poetry. This is mistake, says
NJ. Lanson In the first place Boilcau insists that
the poet must be born, not made; that he must
have genius. Now what is this natural gift, this
creative faculty. but Imagination? Tie critic
goes on 10 demonstrate that with Boilenu Reason
Truth and Nature were really and the same
Reason creates Beauty Beauty is Truth and Truth
is Nature. Thus the theory of poetry which has
been stigmatzed narrow and opposed to natural
ism is essentially and frankly naturalist, and the
common judgment on the question has been crro-
neous and misleading. There indeed such a
lack of common sense in the literature decried by
I,csprcaux that he had ample justification for his
cautions in that direction. He TOO essentially
practical in his views and aims. and he always
vented to get literature back TO nature. from
which il had strayed so far and wildly.
The whole of NJ. Lansons crtidue deserves to
be read carefully by those who desire 10 coppre-
bend the trend Of French literature in the seven
teenth century. The influence of Bocau contin-
ued long after his death. Few writers. observes
his present biographcr. have been more widely
read; in France alone l25 editions Of his works
were published during his lifetime. and from
III 20 1872 the list shows 225 editions During
the eighteenth century "LArt Poetique" was read
and honored in Italy, Spain, Portugal Germany.
England, Denmark and even Russia, and it's au-
thority in most Of these countries allowed to
lie sovereign. AS for France. "we Frenchmen," "
SAYS NJ Larson. all have Boileau in our blood
and marrow"-and this. me AYERS. is the secret Of
French literary taste and Of it's character. Ele
gancc harmony, precision, Ucidity, are its prin-
cipal qualities II il not very deep or very broad.
All this is Of Boileau, and therefore it is not likely
that his indirect influence will soon diminish
NJ Ianson has written really clever piece of