The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-11-19
SECOND DAYS SESSION
Concluded from Second pagc.) Z,


left In letters of mefAs thought In l,fe
The source of literature Is interest in
man and his environment. The news
column In journal describes q view OF
liie even more comprehensive than an
editorial. -
The object of literature is not merely
10 amuse. Are there not cheaper ways
ters? Ae.
We are to find in literature a criti-
eisin or life which makes II of perma-
,,ene Importance. II Is study of man
In active relationship.
The realist Is man who has never
visited any world Int our own, The
,oeailst is the man who Is away from
nome most of the time"
Inc speaker then entered into a COM
paratiVe history of the PHILOSOPHERS of
the world. particularly those OF Aristo-
tee and Plato, with their subsequent
inodihcations, from the days OF Socrates
10 me present time. In conclusion, he
SAID, among other things:
we have often to go to literature
rather than the philosopher for the
dawn of n new idea
Thought flies as the crow flies. but
NE goes by the crooked winding WAYS
or experience.
"The question in literature Is what ia
me best way to look at life and to study
THE truth about life is represented
by the ideal or the real In literature or
the two combined.
both idealism anr realism can an
eWer our questions about life. one by
liasheS OF genius and one by the cal
cum light of scientific Investigation"
ELOQUENT MIR. MABIE.
MIR. Hamilton w. Mabie, assistant edi-
tor of the New York Outlook, author
Scholar, crEic. and orator, created
genuine sensation and started a thrill
of pleasure which possessed his au-
d'ence until he had uttered THE last
syllable of a speech which was q model
and a marvel of beauty
Sanding with careless grace. half
resting upon the table behind him, his
intelligent face featuring every express
sion he gave utterance to. his voice was
never raised above the ordinary modu-
lated tone he adopted when he began.
and his arm never raised more than
mar It's scope for a gesture, withal. he
tnre'S such life and force into his words
that he rendered them absolutely ire
sistible and charmed his hearers, almost
against their viii, by the lofty thought
wAlich he wove into graceful diction
He told how he had recently been in
the company of Barrie, that prince of
ldeallsts. and at the same time shared
the companionship of one of the worlds
toremostr ealists. whose name he would
not give. but said shat in a short time
he found himself loving both men.
iHSsc uIiieTeHCeS between fuealiSln
and realism are not arbitrary" said he
but reside in the human mind"
"ldealism and realism are not antago-
, nistic.
They are temperamental. Some men
! are born realists. Others are born ideal
lists. There is honesty and truth in
both"
The essence of realism is the faithful
delineation OF truth Modern realism
has Its birth in the passionate hum inism
of to-day. The passionate sympathy
| in human life.
There is not bit OF life that Is not
divine, and there Is. no human child that
Is orphaned by his misfortunes
There are M logical realists. Photo
graphic reproduction in literature Is
!npoi sibe. There is no such thing.
We cannot have art without ideallza-
ton"
The essence of realism is fidelity to
fact. The essence of idealism is the in
depreciation of the fact through the i'm
agitation.
No man ever saw ehe world as the
world actually is Every man who has
ever seen The world saw 1t through his
soul, his Instincts, his reasoning facul-
| ties.
'Idealism Is not vision OF the poets,
not dream of the painters: II Is simply
I discernment of thing In It's perfec-
tion-thc real come to perfection.
The object of the philosopher is not to
antaeon!ze nature. but 10 fulfill nature
"Shakcspeare. the greatest of the
ldcaiists is also the greatest OF the real
lists. And Shakespeare. the creates. of
:ealists, is also the greatest of ideal.sts.
The function Of literature is to keep
the ideal alive among us. Literature is
the custodian of the ideal"
The spcakerGhen conjured up a picture
If our favor!te ideals. could we summon
them 10 our prescnce-of Helen. the
beautiful; Penelope. the pure: King Ar
thur. the strong; ST. Gallahad of
kniGhtly purpose. and the thousand
other wonderful beings that throng the
countless pages of literature, and con-
Guided saying:
1T may be said that these great
dreams that have held the souls of the
poets and novelists are Elusive and de-
ceptive. / can do no more than quote
he words of that grea. man, Bishop
Brooks. who said that there are two
kinds of nlusions-the illu ION of the
mirage which comes to the weary wan
deicr. and disappears before his senses
have fairly perceived II: then there IS
that other Illusion, which comes to ghe
traveller when he enters Switzerland
and sees the great mountains outlined
against the clouds. But they do not
change, for the strength Of the eternal
hills is against them''
REV. DANIEL DULANEY ADDISON.
The last of the regularly appointed
speakers was Rev. Daniel Dulaney Adj
olson. of Brooklre, Mass. He is a man
1F n nj