The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-02-21
SCINTILLATIONS OF GENIUS.

WITHOUT PREJUDICE-By I. Zaugwill The
Century Company, New York. Price 81 SO.
For sale by iliam poxey, Palace Hotel, City.
To say that these selections from the writ
ings of this brilliant Jew fairly fash with
cleverness is not to use exaggerating language.
They are slightly revised from the work done
during the last four or five years by the author
for the Pail Mall Magazine. All his critical
writings have been excluded, with the idea
that these may be collected in another vol
ume.
The list of subjects upon which he has some
thing sparkling to say in this volume might
almost be said to be multitudinous. Besides
twenty-seven papers of considerable length
covering interesting themes all the way from
that subject of initial aud immense impor-
lance, THE Choice of Parents" on to Glove
in Life and Literature" and death and Mar
riage," in all of which the versatile genius has
something wise and witty to say-there are
fourteen "Philosophic Excursions and forty
two Bundles OF Brevities."
The mystically sacred number seven and IS
combinations is apparent in each list, and
makes one wonder If It was accident or uncon-
scious inherited preference, or in territorial use
OF number that has some properties of occult
potency. That Zangwill has used q spell of
some kind the reader will soon discover. but
he is a trife too hippant for Us TO suppose that
the charm is que 10 the employment of some
sacred number. Some OF his remarks Will
probably read like blasphemous lightness to
orthodoxy, while to another school of thought
they Will seem words OF wisdom brought in so
OPPORTUNITY as to get brilliance from their
setting. For instance, after telling in his
peculiar bright, terse way how men great in
any art must be takers of infinite pains and
are even then not infallible-that genius can
no more safeguard man against his own
ignorance than it can find rhyme for ''sil
ver," he says: "The fact, of course, is that in
spiration is no guarantee of perfection. The
limitations of inspiration vary with the limita-
lions OF the writer-a proposition that may be
commended to the theologians."
Scarcely less fippant 20 those who are con-
sentative in their beliefs Will seem this
piece of astounding heresy, 1.-THE danger of
drowning arises mainly from being able to
SWIM" The book is full of such staggering
surprises and he often maintain his position
with skillful logic and sound reasoning, and
always with such diamond brightness that
even when we differ with him he delights us.
There are few writer's on whose pages are
crowded so many quotable phrases. Even
when he gives US old commonplace truths
they seem so freshly poliched by their pass
age through his brain and attractive in the
way he puts them that the iteration does not
tire.
There will, perhaps, be many people who
will think that Zangwill should not have
risked his fame by republishing these selec-
lions from the Pail Mall Magazine, but have
let that rest upon the much-admired book,
1.-THE Master" What he has to say in this
recent volume the subject of "Choice OF
Parents is 10 be very earnestly commended
to all such spirits as are seriously contemplst-
ing becoming lncarnate.