New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-03-13
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
SOME INTERESTING ESSAYS.

IN THE KEY OF BLUE. and Other Prose Essays.
BY John Addinston symonds LIMO PIP 'o2'
Macmillan q Co.
Tbes, essays by Mr. Symonds cover a wide
range both of years and topics With few eNcep-
tons they are fresh and interesting The juvenile
essay which has been inserted may very well
have been a weakness with the author. but the
critical pieces are full Of that mental alcrtness
and ripe Judgment for which he has won we'll
deserved reputation. Above all We find hero
aronR evidence Of tho aesthetic effect Of the open
air life in a classical and picturesque region which
for many years has colorod all MIR Symondss
work in one way and another. Driven by the
state Of his health to a mountainous country. and
OBLIGED TO continue his residence there for many
wears. he has gradually absorbed the local IN
Auences the atmospheric effects until they are
unconsciously reflected In his work. and the re-
suit for the reader Is breezness, freshness. ana
q bracing tone. which are alike unusual ana
refreshing.
The opening paper. +" In the Kew Of Blue. is
4 curious but by no means unattractive endcaVor
10 re present in poetry some OF the more striking
Venetian light ind color effects as represented by
popular costume and scenery. The verses are
commonly thrown into the sonnet form. ana not
a few of them are marked by distinct ABILITY
in the dramatic FORM and the effort at portralture
involved. The work does not pretend to be any,
however. of an author who has accomplished
important work in his mountain solitude. and who
has triumphed over the frailties OF the body oy
rigid physical regimen in quite surprising
manner
Another curious paper in the book is that en-
titled The Dantesque and Platonic Ideals OF
Love-" As regards his views of the latter. MI
6ymonds sets himself in opposition to the re-
corded opinion of the ancient Greeks themselves,
though il must not therefore be taken for granted
that he is wrong and that they are night. Inc
Dosition he takes is, indeed not one with when
the modern world is familiar, but there Is not
q little to be said in support Of it, and II his
premises are granted the weight Of probability
must, by candid minds. be admitted to lie In his
favor. The gist Of the new suggestion may be
briefly outlined 1t is 70 the effect that the
eocalled Platonic love and the much later
love known as that of Chivalry, alike. had their
springs, not, as the world maliclously lnsihu-
ated, in perverted and degrading ideas. out IN
ideas SO far above the conception OF the common
herd that the latter could do nothing but mlsrep-
resent and travesty the subject.
Certainly the Patonic love. as dealt with ny
Plato and his immediate followers. cannot De saio
n have ANYTHING in common with the gross no.
tions which came TO be associated with the qucs-
tion. Not less certainly the love of Chivalry
tice was, above all, inspiration. and on the
same general lines with the Platonlc love-.
This of course is the most difficult point in the
discussion The world has through 50 many
centuries looked at both these things through
n single, narrow, distorting glass, that II Is
scarcely possible az present to realize that tnc
medieval views may. after all have been 'lhsru
and discolored by the ignorance which hung Ike
a nall over all human society in those ages more
bver. the final commissions of expiring ChNaiN
were so exposed to ridcule by Cervantes that
it is hard TO retain belief in the earlier serious
ness of the things which. in their decadence, were
destined 10 take on so absurd an appearance
Nevertheless we know that in the days when
chiyalry fourished there was great ana h-h
spirt pervadng 1t. 1t really did al one 'ime
represent the best efforts OF certain Class 10 rse
into higher life. 1t was in It's inception an en-
deayor to apply Christian ethics upon the roughcr
parts of the existing civilization In lts atutuue
toward Woman, it was altogether pure ana hopc
and elevating The world had seen nothing Ike
that attitude before. and the idea struck ceep'
and even though ultimately lost it unquesuoh-
ably served an important purpose in fur'herins
the best interests of civilization. IL IL possible
10 say so much with very little hesitation: but
IL is not so easy to deal with Platonic love, mas
much as that left Woman ont of the question
wholly 1t might indeed he sad-and Mr. Symonds
comes near saying it-that Platonic love was III
truth purely spiritual design. aimed at tie elcVa-
ton of mems souls, anil having really no relation
to what is commonly called love.
That thesis no doubt is capable Of being helo |
and developed, but while there may be deep truth
at the bottom of II, we DO not think Mr. Symonis
has attained sufficient conviction himself 10 I'M
dcrtake it's advocacy con amore' After all, the
old Greek experiment, if we assume, with TINS
author that it was pure and wcll-lntcnded, docs !
not inspire the warmth Of sympathy. 1t strikes |
one as too wholly an intellectual effort to be called
by the name of love at all, ard the fact that 1t
took no lasting hold upon mems minds III the days
when il was practlsed, seems TO be accounted Tor |
Nv lis inherent aloOfness from those human feel /
inps which dominate life and mould society. In |
the Middle Age the Dantcdn chiVdIy was much |
more effective and precisely because it took strong
hold upon existing prcdisposltiOns and affections
In its inception il was no doubt not less pure !
and free from heshly talnt than the Greek ideal /
But il speedily fell into the slough of matter, as
the old celbatists used TO pat it..and became de-
formed or rather conforncd to uniegencrate ways
and was eventually lost and buried in tie ddFanc-
ing waves Of a newer civilization.
The whole subject l. tull OF interest for the |
question is Of human efforts to improve and L.
form society at widely separated cpochs. MI
Symonds has done little mole than glance at 1t N
lis interesting essay, but IT could be wished that
either lie or some other some patient scholar would
devote serious work to tie exploitation OF the
whole subject.