New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-07

These volumes are tho result Of an intelligen
and painstaking effort to treat Ruskins life ant
writings in accordance with theory lone is LEI
70 suspect sometimes that in essential points i
is his own which leaves none OF his WORK y
stand alone, but links all together as growth
keeping time in its variations with the changes
which wears brought to the man himself. Sucl
a theory can easily be overworked. and 1t Is Jus
possible that il will be found on second thought
TO have been overworlsed in his biography. Ont
of the most Characteristic phases Of Mr.. Ruskins
literary activity has been his determination
work over into new forms the writings , icf
had taken their place among English classics
He has learned, as we all know, that his readers
did not uniformly take kindly to this process
In the last twenty years the fact has been
brought out with emphasis. 1t is one OF the
lessons of literary craftsmanship which should DC
needed. Speaking of various changes in purpoSe
which had to be made in later years because o'
Mr. Ruskin's failing health, Mr.. Coingwood says :
MANY other plans had to be modified, as Mr..
Ruskin found himself less able to work and was
Obliged to hand over his business TO 1ssel ss
With his early books he had been dlssatisIlea al az
expressing immature mat a nle"S into two small vol.
urles and st. Marks Rest" wrMten IA pu ,.e ,he
tempt to supplement and correct d IL; nI' and
new edition was brought out in lsSS. MoI iist
PAINTERS had been also or the condemnea us
The strong Professionalism anu me Of noun.
tans made him reluctant to reprint h0reo NIassrs
the time of the last edition published oy Me sn,
Smith Elder s1SJ ne nao p werr i hp
mar, of the work, would not stand another ia.,
preston: and so he DESTROYED nine OF 'ncii,, h.
order that subsequent eltion MIL vol =, in
n cheap edition and began to recast the resi-, NH
annotations and additions, as IN N Wiss
snS. s and t. f FnonGes found
a ready sale But this did not SATISFY ,ne pr ~.
iic and there continual s cry lot %,rv in in
PSln5 VI, se Compete Edition appeared with the
cancelled plates reproduced Iopns 90 90 am5
ORIGINAL edition had reached the price OF -" a th
their owners not unnaturaly felt aeeteNcu az 1; Nj.
depreciation of their property Bn. inc 1 'b" old
fion was not an exact reproduction OF ,hc o III
10 connoisseur would accept photographs. in IN
productions and modern s"p nna old
90 auorav;no and the edition Of 1888 las Is
Ga,ed1 however useful to the general iea"e -
,sn INTELLIGENT book-lovcr. Indeed. in spite OF
the rapid sale for the reprint, which shows ans
reality Of the demand. the earlier cH,'toh 10 "'"
reraininC its value in the BOOK marR"'
Tho s;c vos non vobis of the legendary verses
o.t,;bu,cd 20 Vircil apply nowhere with more
accuracy than to an author lie neither VIM
for himself nor by himself And TINS WAS ''"s
above all others of Mr.. Rus,in IL was VI
conrse. trne of the first edition OF i"e
Lamps of Architecture, as Mr. Coiiins"oou SD .
that
The plates were engraved by himse naod !" from
cround etching, s3ch as Prout had use"' rom
Sr.xin rs he had made in l BAG and le4s. SUM
ore scrappy combinations of various detal uu'
Others, such as the Byzantine capila,, ,rom 81
10 in Normandy, from ST Michele a. L"S", ar
from the ca Foscari at Venice, are elective
ns in Nature. with her light and shade added TO
ali the facts of form, and her own last 'ouohes
in the way Of weather soitenlng anu settling
faults, and trfted, nesting plants
So for it might be difficult to point to an
association in the work. Eut, as matter vi
fact these Illustrations satisfied neither MI nus
kin nor his admirers. CnconclousV' perhaps ~
was felt that for SO much that was strange III ue
way of criticism the testimony OF more .han one
mind WAS needed The Stones OF venice me1
this necessity.
The illustrations TO the new book were srea,
advance upot, the rough sOft-ground etchlngs ol
the Seven Lamps" lie secured the services OF
of the finest engrayers who ever haoaiea .le
tools of their art. The English school OF en-,
cravers was then in its last and most accomplished
period. Photography had not yet begun 10 super
sedc il and the demand for delicate work In book
illustration had ENCOURAGED mnuteness and pre-
csion of handling to the last degree. In TINS eX-
cess SO refinement there were symptoms OF de-
cline but il was most fortunate for Mr. Ruskin
that his drawings could he interpreted by sucii
men as Armytage and COusen, Gun and LIZ. keuN'
Boys and Lupton, and not without advantage 10
them that their masterpieces should be preserved
in his works, and praised they deserved IN his
preiaces Sometimes, as it often happens when
eneiavers work for artist who sets the standard
high, they found Mr. RusEin hard taskmastcr
The mere fact of their skill in translating sketch
from notebook into sem-like vignette en-
Outraged him 10 ask for more 30 that some oil the
subjects which became the most elaborate were
at frSfe mi
gradually worked from successive retOuchings OF
the proofs by the infinite patience of both par
ties. In other cases working drawings were pre-
pared by Mr.. RusKin refined the plates.
Here it may be certainly inferred that the benc-
fit was not merely the one mutual to author and
artists. but that the readers also shared the adj
vantages OF the many-sded treatment Of the vari-
Gus themes, which was bound TO be the result Of
partnership so far-reaching even though the head
Of the firm was a man of the most intense convic-
tions and supremely autocratic in enforcing them.
The fact that others could express his ideas was
more convincing than all the artistic work which
he himself could have done by way Of supplement-
ing his descriptive analysis. Once convinced the
public as i'm all other similar cases. must feel that
all afterthoughts weakened the propositions which
il had accepted as true. Tho plea oil opinions
changed with changing years can never be &C
cepted as an adequate excuse for sweeping modl-
fcations in works that have made place for
themselves in literature. Curiousy enough Mr..
Rnskins own reasons in later life for being dis
satisfied with "The Seven Lamps Of Architecture
had little if anything TO do with changes IN his
own mind Says Mr.. Colingwood:
The author's own opinion thirty years later was
that the book had become the most useless he
ever wrote: the buildings 1t describes with so
much delight being now either knocked down or
scraped and patched up into smugness and smooth
pess more tragic than uttermost ruin. But find
the public still like the book. and will read it when
they won't look at what would be really useful
aud helpful TO them the germ Of what have
since written is indeed here. however Overlad
with gliding, and overshot, too splashily and cas-
cade-fashion with gushing Of words"
Most men find as they grow older that they were
too ELUSIVE and enthusiastic in youth but it is to
be suspected that few would give the world the
trouble OF throwing aside a book which il had