The Washington times., 1894-07-15
NO ACADEMY FOR US.
jules Simon. jules Claretic, and ZoIa or
the Project


the Project.
The proposition to establish an American
academy and the comments which it excited
In the newspapers have produced somewhat
dlscordant echoes IN Paris. reporter OF the
Matin interviewed some prominent men on
the subject. He began with Jules Simon, who
suggested innumerable difficulties. "The
French academy" he said. has for its aim
the preservation of the orthodoxy Of our Ian
guage, which we consider complete. and in
which we admit new word only when it il
very expressive or rendered necessary by the
discoveries of science. Those authors who
employ words or phrases which the academy
has not author lied leave themselves open to
the reproach OF not knowing their own
tongue. French is n closed language Its
form and vocabulary are definitely fixed.
English and German have not that character.
They bend admirably to composed words.
and the authors can permit themselves 10 in.
duige in the most audaciOus neOlogisms with
out being taxed with heterodoxy. Therefore,
the academy appears TO me to be peculiar to
ourselves, and 1t has no place in any other
country
1T seems to me TO be more impossible IN
the United States than anywhere else on ac-
OF the great cities which already possess i'm
portant literary and historical academies. I
could appreciate "a desire on the part OF thoss
Americans who want national academyto
fashion il after tine model OF our institute.
divided into several sections. in which art
and science would be equally represented.
''As to the literary movement. that does not
appear to be developed in the United States
proporti 1nately with the industrial move
ment. They have no school of philosophy in
America. Their historians. who write upon
events that have taken place in Europe. are
less favored than their colleagues in the old
continent, who live the life OF Europeans and
can more easily procure the documents which
they require. And on the other hand, the re-
public of the United States is too Young TO
furnish material for any great historical
works"
Jules Claretie was the next expert put upon
the stand by the Matin man
The United States.m said he 'present to
the world a marvellous country Their poets
and their romance writers are admirable.
Their literature has nothing to envy of science
and industry. Their illustrated reviews ars
Incompatible from an artistic point of view,
but in theatrical matters they still remain our
tributaries. Their playwrghts are little
known. but European authors are Thoroughly
appreciated by Americans. They are fond o.,
Ibsen. the Italian theater and principally our
French authors. who are still the best pro-
tagonists of our literary renown. As for the
French Academy. it represents traditions
which the United States do not possess. They
cannot bring the analogy any further"
Finally, VI. Zola was called upon for his
opinion. Il don't know anything about the
thing said he. land l couldn't give you any
views on the subject that would be worth re-
producing. II the Americans are about to
found an academy all right. l hope it will be
more literary than ours"
l..
refuses to take down the sign "Argonauts
Not Admitted"