New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-09-17


common abilities Mr.. Sanborn lamen's ,"'O
,,oo,, could NOT have faced the world with
u aud certain income. believing that "nI''
chic ,vould have given him leisure ana oPPo'
.,ritr for meditation and prophesying, IL wou'u
lso have freed him from a great part VI w,
odium rourcd upon him by merceh"A '"'
",, ci,-ili2ation II we must lament VIZ
Ill ,other mourn that a severe uhiNciSlN
,.oi,iro had not regulated his undouDt'i powers
,d LODI him 20 more practical apphcatloh % INV
ost mass Of learning which he took III an" H.
acc.ed The hiographcr quotes Emerson ~ sly
;,,, NJ Acott in 81: He j. good - i'h',
,,,irror bcautiful susceptibility. every i"l-
nresson on watch is to Do a''o"''''
for and. until accounted iol rc9iS"'e''
40 an addition 20 our ca'aoE-' W
foots II needs one acquainted with
tbo lens bv frequent use TO MAKE ailo"""' "
defects bnt It's the hett instrument ever 'i.'
,,i.r . LITTLE or 10 claim is made i'll Mcott
bcho,f TO originality OF thoneht Inc pun
osonbicol critic, W. T. Harris III the cnap'',
which he appends TO this biography Is o''i1
70 say over and over again that 10 III "i
this or tina. proposition OF the NOVELETTE,
Orplcus resort must be had to Iavlors 'f''SiH
tion Of the Enncads OF PlotinuS, or N" suPp"s''i
tions life Of Pythagoras by Jdm"hc""S' vi
some other work Of IN" Neoplatohc ianA :,
resembles the process, Familiarity observer ~ al
mvstics, of explaining the known Nv ''@
,.no,., but Mr. Harris is not 50 unreasonable
onor all Nobody who las ever trl"l eith'r
would think Of comparing lamhchuS or any
ono of tho men who wrote books III MS h''"'
with N-ott in the matter OF ohS'urIiy "f
1ir.rr ,,povcdqo Of Grrc, and resp'ftapl'
lexicon are sufficient aids 10 get at III" W''n-
To-
nhatbor tLe task is worth what il costs: put
IN tho other no such mere munlan" learning
!; ,,.ilo,Lo To the iIrpyercnt the query mas
sl,yavs been a ready one whether Al'ott MN
salf knew what h. meant. Their" i something
in tbo ouorv What can 10 said for a man WIN"
was ALWAYS rciterating the reality ana per
mancnca of the soul. and when pressed WIN '"'
contradictions of his own theory ENDS. a. VII
Harris saws Alcott did. with In" cNcla"ia' ,"
Il never can believe that | originated III '""'
matter ,h.r,," Only a man like Professor
Tyndall could expose the abyss OF IGN r'hc'
spectinc the infinite prop'rtcs OF mi'''r ''''
ia covered by this cOmmonplac" phrase VI
was apparently incapable OF nnlrls'ah ing wv
fact AT the bottom Of all science that 'l' "'-
ments ont of which the visible wolii Is c'm-
poscd are immea.urably moro suhtl" ara r.
6cod and olusiyc than tho ghosts Of fiction or
tbc Psyche of tGc Greek philosophers. I'iS
.;,, ,,oro in fact those OF men who lived
sixtae, hundred or seventeen hundred years ai''
not in the age of vital thought, hnt III tue sal
,imcs ,ybon efforts were MAKING TO put ne"
life into dead mythology.
r. IS not easy 10 put the notions OF NJ
c.tt nor those 81 his distant predecessors h''
the language Of common ns". but the agreed
| roughly speaking. in aitilbutlng IN" ""i'" 49,
| :. - mr. a. il seems 10 be- 20 spirit which hid
somehow fallen away from divine PuH'
and was now forced 10 work ~ way pack tlii"l@h
ever-chancnq forms 70 the original unity. Lax
some other word beside spirit ana III" N','"
does not appear so greatly different from 'h"'
| which ,uppo>cs the world 10 swing between VIC
| coptrastcd states of homogcncity and h"t"ro-
eeneity Nor was this principle unknown - mos
who nreceded the Ncoplatonsts any more than
IA those who followed them. As there has never
been any thorough change Of thoueht on this sub
| ioct il is plain that to the anclents, just a. 'o
the moderns. the definition of absolute being wa
merely, onproyimato. consisting in the removal
ono l,v one. Of all the restrictions felt By TIE
limited human mind. Its transformation lnto
q norson more or less humanizcd. which seems
| rious thing 20 most mo1crns. seemed on 'h'
| contrary LITTLE bette! than blaSphcny TO s"1'
| ancient thinkers They found rest III a formula
|
meaning less 10 the uninitat"d, when assertion
mr. implicd the identity Of being and not BENG
which gave endless opportunity for the vaPari''
OF speculation just as far rs this doctrine wa
| accented Tor indeed any doctrine founded on ''
chanpelesencss OF being. Just so far change
modification. variation, the genesis OF sp'ch"
and the vicissitudes Of individual life cam" u
be looked on as an evil and calamity lh'
effort TO reduce diversity ard unity to id"huN
was interrupted AT every turn by a dulliNh IRA
seemed almost instructive. satisfied only by SOM
form of speech that recognized the 0nglhai DC
ing. the something or nothing Of Platos hal
| humorous analysis.
We have called this biography a rambling on"
II is unskilfuy put together and oinI's de"hi''
detail which is needed for a full comprehension
Of Mr. Alcotts career. But il IL FIJI OF vain
able material for the student OF tranScrhh'h'"Sh
in New-England. and is specially interesting II
| IFS quotations from MSS left by Mr. Emerson.