New-York tribune., 1896-11-18
A POLITICIAN.
o1.ADsroNE's THEORY OF LIFE DRAWN
FROM BISHOP BUTLER.

contains by direct statement as we'll as by lnler-
ence Mr. Gladstones philosophy of life. Some OF
the lighter phases of that philosophy were SHOWN
in recent translations Of Horace. but they were
phases that might be credited also to many o'her
statesmen. Few men could translate horaoe
without putting into their work some touches oi
their own experience and.the very defects in Mr.
Gladstone's version are characteristic but d
commentary on the writings Of Bishop Butler is
necessarily far more intimate in its nature TOT
Butler goes to the heart of things in ell his argu-
ing His tendency is to reduce every question 10
its lowest terms so that his answer. when he OBJ
tains H. may be within the bounds OF truth. IL Is
no wonder that cffusive minds accused him OF
promotjng instead Of repressing scepticism. lie
was without enthusiasm There was in him none
Of that physical exhilaration which precedes
rather than accompanies thought in many per-
sons. and often supplies the place OF real thinking
altogether
Mr. Gladstone can easily correct this defect-
II it was a defect-in Butler. He mas all 'he
physical vitality which Butler lacked, ana ao"h-
dant enthusiasm for controversy Ihere Is re
mari, in this volume which bears on this point OF
.aperness in disputation II can only he under
stood however. by referring to what GLADSTONE
biographers say of the debates that went on con-
tinuously In the home Of his youth ana OF 'he
ease with which malicious humors's III 'he
House of Commons could stir him up In the con-
f]ict of words II is then born debater' one reauy
Cor war ON any subject that can interest man.
kind, who says. audng to Butter oec'a' "',o''
that man is often called upon to act against
probability and would be thought mao II he oe-
clined TO do so I'VE are bound to avoid occa-
;ors of anger. and vet for the vindication OF
truth 1t may be duty to enter into deoa'eS
,rbich we know from experience will stir our pas
sions more or less II we look merely az the ike
lihood of that excitement we ought 10 rei'aiii'
hut If we look onward to the purpose III vie" 4"
makes the other scale descend" LORD handoip"
Churchill might well have gloated over these se"-
tences il he could have seen 'hem "he" He ""'
IN one of his provoking moods.
The noint lies in the implication that IN all
his wears Of debate Mr.. Gladstone Nas "o'''
been "drawn"-to use an English cohoqu'a's'''
-except in defence Of truth. II tnat oe INC
fact in his career. then 1t is easy 10 diV'he 'ne
cause of his affection for Butler ana oi i.''
view regarding the particular u'iil'! Vi ''e
"Analogy' TO politicians Not to all perso"s III
p,litics however. but to class whom MI
Gladstone is careful tc .pecify III IN? couhse'
we're asked" he says, Il should advise the in
tending politician. if OF masculine and serious
mind. TO give to Buffers works, and especially
paratus OF his mental training" Why not the
Iivbtminded as well? 1t is possible that MT
Gladstone was guided more by instinct here
than bv mere thinking. There have been more
attempts than at psychological analysis
of Buffers case. and Mr.. Bagehot IN parucu-
lar traced to Buffers mental constitution iauHs
which he was sure existed in Butler "ri'ihss
There have also been efforts to account LOT N.Y.
Gladstone at least sc far as character studies
and descriptions go But the relation of the
living man to the works OF the eighteenth
century moralist casts new light in both direc-
tions and particularly upon the self-constra'n'
underlying Gladstones vivacious energy But
,er seems to have served him in place of the ex-
perience which other men nave 10 sd'" Wy
their errors
II tho affairs OF the British Empire are really
at the pass where some people say they are,
and the future is to be period Of decadence.
then II Is all the more proper thing to STUDY
the influences in the making OF the man VINO
went TO the top with the Empire, ana VIII DC
blamed for its fall II 1t has now begon 70 oe-
cline Among these influences Mr. GLADSTONE
himself evidently ranks Buffers WORKS very
high. One OF the reasons for this is that these
works lie In the plane from which Mr.. Glad
stone started in life. Butler does not write
saws Mr. Gladstone. like person addicted 70
anv profession pursuit.: and the reader IN
voluntarily gives the weight Of Mr. Gladstones
own personality to the words that follow: lie
Is essentially free. lie is the votary OF truth.
and Is bound to no other allegiance
BIT it is in the vague realm OF human action
and experience, not in one where propositions
can be proved. that Butler searched for the
truth. If he had been a mathematician there
,s no likelihood tha: Mr.. Gladstone would have
cared 10 follow him. But it is just leCause the
theme is indefinite. and matters are seen
Though n glass darkly. that Butler displays
candor and Mr.. Gladstone deeper interest III
the discussion. IT )ass," he says, from the
work Of the mathematician TO the prope- WORK
CT those who Craze in Buffers pastures mas
some resemblance to the transition from the
primitive forms OF painting without atmosphere
or nerspective to the modern chiaroscuro, the
subtle art OF light and shade" This simile has
,,s defects. for we know that modern picture
is much more like reality than an outline from
an Egyptian monument; while all that a mathe-
matician Avs about a triangle Is absolutely
true and all that can be said about human
oc,,on Is only relatively true. II In the latter
case a single item Is misplaced the whole state
rent may be vitiated. For here" says But
Ter himself, ideas never are determinate. but
hecome so by the train OF reasoning and the
,,,ace they stand in" For that reason he builds
ND a treatise very much as an accurate deed
or a good law is built up, with saving clauses
and phrases Of exclusion. with admissions and
provisos. with conditions and concessions in
such a maze that the meaning can only be dis
covered By degrees. What he Is seeking Is the
residuum, after every modification and subtrac-
ton has been made. 1t is the science OF chem
istry applied to morals Mr.. Gladstone charac-
teristically calls 1t the Science Of the 1ndeter-
inmate.
The most indulgent OF scientists will tell you
that all science is indeterminate when Mr. Glad
stone has 1t to expound His method OF thought
Is never scientific. but It is scholastic and legal
Here. again. Butler and he supplement each
Aho fhor Of he