The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-26
II. w. NAPLES LECTURE
"THE PERSONAL RESOURCES OF
LITERATUREv THE TOPIC.
An Unusually Strong Effort Marks the
Opening of the Plymouth In
stftute Course.

audience that nearly filed Plymouth
Church. His lecture is the first in a course
Of five that has been arranged by the Ply
mouth Institute, and was one of the most
interesting that has been heard in Indianap-
oils this winter. For an hour and half
Mr.. Mabie was listened to with close at
tention. and the only expressions of regret
heard were that 1t was not longer. In part,
Mr. Mabie said:
Milton has said that a great book Is
made from the life blood of a great man.
the lfe's history of their writer's The
whole gamut of life is struck and sounded
In a great book. Not long ago l went
through two rooms In great library filled
with books written by scholars in the thir-
teenth and fourteenth centuries. AS L gazed
at the long line OF shelves filled with folios
and quartos could not help being impressed
with the idea that but two or three names
OF all that great array of writer's were re-
membered True. their works have re-
bounded to the good of the world, but they
are not imbedded in the hearts OF the peo-
pie. But as / left those rooms / found a
little duodecimo volume. so small that, it
would not be missed II put 1t in my pocket
and carried IL from the building, but IL was
book that had made the author immortal.
II Was Thomas a-Kemp.s's Imitation of
Christ" The great portfolios and quartos
were the works OF scholars, men who had
devoted their lives to learning, while this
little book was but the life-the transcript
>
books of knowledge. 1t was book of life.
The only thing that lives Is life. A great
man described a visit made TO the home of
Coleridge in his youth. He describes the
lonely walk over barren roads, through the
darkness of night, and then the interview.
Then he spoke of the return through the
darkness OF night over the same road but
which no longer seemed the same. Every
thing was glorifed TRANSPORTED. 1t was not
that the road had changed, nor that the
night was different but the difference was I'm
whole
The life of the elder had passed into the
heart and life of the younger. There had
of an immortal imagination. We don't
know how to read Shakespeare, Dante or
Browning until can feel the spirit that
moved them TO their creations.
Great writer's never tell anything new"
said Mr.. Ma5ie. I'VE never read a line
from Shakespeare and find something new
The trouble is. Shakespeare had the good for
tune 10 live long years before us and ex-
pressed our thoughts before we had time,
we say. An original thought is not one ex-
pressed in new words Is it not true that
true originality consists i'm the power to say
quietly what every one knew before? When
we read a great book or look upon great
work of art, we say: Here Is a power that
Is within us-a power that Is our own The
power OF great man. the power we pos
sess in ourselves is the power of person
atty The measure of man Is the power
of personality within him. The true power
of the individual Is as the power of Shak-
speare; it is the ability to absorb and re-
produce the experience of the whole uni
verse. How can we get power out of books?
First, by reading them and then keeping
in touch. Then. we must keep away from
the newspapers and the noxious productions
of diseased minds. From them flows poison.
From great books we gain spirit of fresh
ness i'm spirit, zest in life, zest and JOY in
life. Ii is significant that the great men
and women are Immortality young In pass
ing a building Lowell saw an inscription,
reading, Retreat for the incurably young
ha hat ic no MI 90 M roQ 4 a IN
incurably young Great men and women
are incurably young. They have the hearts
and spirit OF youth about them.
THE ETERNAL AOUTH.
ST had the pleasure of visiting Dr. Holmes
few months before his death. AS we
stood for few moments gazing upon the
river that lay before his window a crew
of Harvard boatmen came speeding down
the stream, and as 1 stood watching them
with their long. swinging stroke, full Of
fresh and vigorous manhood, that has lost
them so many victories Qaughter). when I
heard his gentle laughter, full Of the mirth
of childhood it seemed to me the immortal
spirit of youth was rather in that old man
than in the crew rowing down the stream.
When an old lady selected a light blue
cloth for dress young woman clerk sug-
gested to her, Don't you think 1T would
be more proper for an old lady to wear
gray or black?' oh, yes. Indeed do. And
when 4 am old / shall always wear gray
/ sometimes think that as long as the
world stands there will be no greater man
than Homer himself for vitality. ] some
times think that If 1 had absolute power
for week would decree that every man
and woman in America should read Homer
every year, because there is nothing morbid
in him, nothing unhealthy in him. You and
L need most to get away from the trash
allow 't these men with diseased souls to
put before us their writings. We need to
take refuge in great works. We need to
get away from the diaries, the memoirs.
the psychological novels sometimes and get
into the life and vitality Of Homer. No
man has the right to tell me about life
until he understands life, and no man can
understand life unless he has been living
in health and sanity.
1T Is not popular in these days to have
an opinion about the man Shakespeare, and
yet when have facts that aid us to de-
termine approximately the order in which
the plays were written 1 think we
may be pardoned for attempting
mans character. We know that Romeo
and Juliet among the first writ
ten, and that "Cymbeline' and ''The Temp
Tempest especially, where can you find
anything more sweet. more full Of fire and
beauty in the English language? Could a
w 6 e ste Writing the a story
youth and love depicted in Romeo and
Juliet" in his old age produce plays like
"CymDeline' and 'Ine tempest! Byron,
when he held up his mirror for picture of
life. could only get reflection of himself
i'm it. The great things of life. the sacred
things OF life lie not in the mind OF things,
but in the heart of things. The ultimate
power is not in intellect, but in vitality.
The great things are done as play. not as
work. At the hint OF toll the beauty of the
artist flies. At the smell OF lamp the beau
ty of poetry flies When Shakespeare came
to write THE Tempest his work was done,
ard its execution was play with him. Hugo.
when questioned as to whether he found 1t
hard to write his Intricate verses, said: IF
II were not easily done, 1t could not be done
at ALL" Dr. Holmes said: Il can tell you
how I write verse. but / cannot tell you
how write poetry" when asked how he
wrote the Nautilus" 1T was as when you
walk into the surf for a swim. At the first
over you. Then you take the second step.
another thrill goes running through your
being, urging you TO step forward and on
ward. Then finally you take the plnnge,
and a great wave carries you out, you know
not how" Why is IL that our novels, so
beautiful, so carefully written, and so deli
cate, have no bottom in them? Aside from
The Scarlet Letter you can hardly put
your hands upon one that has a bottom In
the English stories you can smell the smell
of grass, hear the lowing OF kline.
TOO NARROW LIVING.
Somehow the English writer's get at the
bottom of things. We shall never have a
great novel until we have a man great
enough to put his ear down to the ground
and listen to the revibrations OF the whole
continent. and We shall then produce what
he hears. Most of us live in one room; some
furnish two or three rooms, but how rare
is the man who lives in the whole palace