New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-21
ERNEST REMAIN.
A SMALL VOLUME OF "REMINISCENCES.
ERNEST REMAIN. In Memoram. BY. the Hsn'
Hon. Sir MouDtsuart f Grant Dull u u C. L.
/. r. ). PIP. $50. Macmillan d Co.

Ernest Renan was fond of dwelling on Vi'
fact that IN him. for the first time, many genera
tons of humble and uncttcred but not 'upsii'eu
people found at length a voice and an Interpreter
This is, perhaps the most significant se,i'en0c AZ
the book above cited For the book looked on as
a b;og,,nl,v Of the man who is its theme, would be
little short of rrotcsrue 1t is a compromise de-
tvean ncrso,nl rcmnisccnce and literary review,
and its value lies in tie fact that 1t Is a contrl
button by an important witness man OF the
world 10 the material for a biography that should
be written.
Rut the sentence quoted is worthy of study.
II expresses a sentiment which seems to have
becn habltual with Renan and Yet one to which
not oven he much less his admirers, gave it's full
value No more Thoroughly permeatcd
with the scientific spirit thin Renan. But he
dwelt upon fact in which lay the germ of a
satisfactory theory of his tendencies as a man of
genius without attcmpting-so far one can tell
from the evidence in hand-to work out the prob
lem. The thought for him source OF
legitimate PRIDE a flash Of justifiable nay praise
worthy egotism it furnished reason more nearly
adequate than literary achievement for the
position in the world to which he had attained
But il is not sure that he ever considered how
impossible his views Of the subjects he treated
would have boon to man without bls antecc'
dents lie was the voice Of race that had long
nnPn Uunp. DUt III must ne CUiI ti'p th'
voice was ,h,t of personality broader and moro
complex than the individual man. That is to
say, the History of the Teoplc of Israel" could
never have been written by any man who was not
a Celt and more narrowly Breton. Remains
experience youth IS of transcendant import
ancc in accounting for the substance Of his
thought. His later learning merely explains the
means by which that thought obtained express
sion. There have been many Oriental scholars in
Europe: the pupils Of st. Nicolas du Chaidonct,
Of the Seminary of 1ssy, of Saint Sulpice were not
few. The environment Of these was practically
the same. Presumably, Renan should have been
moulded like the rest to the traditions of which
his education mus. largely have consisted How
did it happen, then, that he emerged FROM all this
systematic training capable of taking view OF
antique things and Of antique men true If not TO
history, to the most vital facts of human nature?
For he was not exceptional nor eccentric In his
learning. His theories were by no means IN every
case highly original. Others long before him, for
example, had explained the Song of Songs as a
wedding drama. The touch of originality in his |
explanation Of that curious poem tho suggcs-
ton that it expressed the hatred of the rustic |
northern lsraeltcs against the culture and luxury
Of Solomon. The hint is that gives life and vv-
idncss and modern human interest, not only to the
poem itself, but TO everything that has been
written about it, One need not accept the opinion |
historically TO feel how true it is the
universal habits of humanity.
AS u Celt, Renan was heir to primitivism that |
might have shaken hands with prmev val Israel !
q primitivism which has yielded only inch by inch
TO encrOaching civilization. He could therefore
come nearer than most people to thinking the
thoughts OF carly man. Other men of great |
learning. rule have been environed from
childhood by an artificial culture. They can |
Apls~ lorn 70 tbo 10
OF by effort, and the effort is often
wofully unsuccessful Rcnan had no need to
divest himself Of artihciality. He was born naked.
Most Of us are born with heritage Of tradition !
that binds our natural perceptions like mummy |
cloth. Intimate as he was by his own nature
with the legendary spirit and with primitive
superstition, the question is how\ he escaped be-
ing dominated by it. There are those who will |
find easy explanation in what the author Of
this book says respecting Remains parentage:
His father came of a race which had been given
for generations to the life of the sea. lie owned
small vessel, and supported his family by his
industry, but he was Breton Of the Bretons,
full Of their dreamy, impractical fantasies, and
died in very melancholy way, while his famous |
sin a child. His wife was Of mixed |
parentage, her mother having Gascon blood. and
she brought to the management of the family a |
sodty of Judgment and courageous gayety
which were very foreign to her husbands ma |
turc"
Assuming the doctrine of heredity, it would
no an obvious remark to say that Renan obtaipcd |
his capacity for comprehendng superstition from
his father and his practical tendency for inter |
prcting it from his mother But the theory Of
heredity is cheap and easy, and it is worth just
about what il costs May it not be that in Renan
the distrustful shrewdness Of the peasant was
elevated TO trait of genius? For the un- |
lettcrcd, the so-called primitive. man does not |
believe all he hears. He does not conide in his
own superstitions lie may seem to do it, but
his real attitude is that of one who wishes to be
on the safe side. 1t is possible. he seems to say
70 himself. that there is something in all these |
stories that have heard. There is in me a sort |
Of thrill at the sound Of them which il NAV HI |
worth while to consider. This sort of scepticism |
is silent. 1t meditates always within given
round. But add learning to it and there is
nothing in the universe which it viii not scan
with a keenness of vision and vigilance of dis
trust to which the heir Of artificial cviliza-
ton is an utter stranger. The characteristics OF
the latter have been summed up indirectly in
two or three vigorous sentences by Renan him.
SELF speaking of two famous men. In reality
Don Callnet and Voltaire," says he, "are the one
as incapable as the other of understanding any
thing about ancient history. the one admitting
everything that il written, the other rejecting
everything as soon as he can detect single flaw
in the ancient writings The defect of each is
the same. and may be summed up in their in
capacity TO understand the difference OF the times,
and their failure TO seize what constitutes the
essence Of popular tradition"
But with Remains own vigilant perception, he
must have been more amused than his friends
at an illustration Of the origin Of popular tradi-
ton which is cited in this volume. Among the
many explosions OF wrath says the author,
(which greeted the publication OF the Vic de
Jesus ! rememI er story being repeated at
the time which amused me much IL said.
know not whether rnly or falsely, that the
clersy Of Genoa. anxious to deprecate the anger
Of Heaven. had proclaimed Triduo. The