New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-04-18

HE is the only man who can MAINTAIN close
friendship with about fifty people at once
said one OF those who knew the Master Oh baii'oi
longest and best, and 1t is as'oii'sh"s W 'eo
how he could combine with MS great h'era's
activity such a multiplicity OF duties towaru
his men. his correspondents ana baihoi Hse'i
that the biography before us see"is u present
a perfect outpour of energy and concrete labors.
Jowett adorcd his college For years his private
responsibilities made it impossible for him to
draw much upon his own income for the Inn
provement of the buildings. but, once his finan-
cial affairs were upon a favorable basis, he was
constantly assisting the college to build one
new edifice or another or he was helping some
struggling undergraduate to the rest and other
things he needed He is remembered at OXFORD
as above all things a man who drove at practice'
who could never rest satisfied with purely IDEAL
istic and philosophic progress. but demanded IN
cessantly the tangible fruits of practical effort
He admired Chinese" Gordon immensely be-
cause as Professor Abbott points out. the fa-
nous Generals character was "a combination
Of religion and practical sense. of mysticism and
efficiency" and this accurately describes HIM
self. Professor Abbott gives it as his opinion,
indeed, that such a character Jowett regarded
in his heart of hearts las the highest form OF
character attdlndDle by nuHldn anu
certainly, from all the "counsels of perfection"
that he was constantly sending TO his friends.
it is plain that he aimed at some such standard
Nothing annoyed him more than bonelessness,
vagueness a disposition to be very metaphys-
cal and ideal and neglect the ordinary duties
of life. For him the smallest thing worth
doing well. His enemies said that he made too
much Of success. As a matter of fact he never
imagined for moment that any one could sus-
pect him of seeking, or advising his pupils to
seek. mere worldly advantages. He wanted first
of all that man should lead life making for
nobility. but he never forgot that part Of that
nobility inevitably lies in fostering every gift
of God-in making, in short. the best Of life.
Because he thought so much of this he thought
OF IL sanely, practically and. with all his Pla-
tonism he never wrote line OF poetic" i'm
practicable advice to a friend. He put himself
in the others place. He grasped all the diff
cuties, made allowances for everything; the
reason why he was so beloved as a counsellor
that he never ignored existing conditions
never asked too much. There three kinds
of goods. our friend Aristotle would say" he
wrote TO pupil who had just succeeded to a
baronetcy: rank. wealth. and talent. 1t seems
TO me that man may do well with two out of
the three With the last only, life is a painful
mind was, how far he was from being unreason-
able in spite of his lofty standards and his papal
ways. 1t is plain. in short. that he was. to the
core Of him, human, man who went through
life pillar of light to hundreds without ever
losing his hold on the hard facts with which his
common sense told him they all had to reckon.
Common-sense. when it is of a certain order, has
something Of the salt OF genius in it, and JOwett's
common sense was Of this sort. Witness his
analysis of the one subject of all others which
is perhaps most liable to send its interpreters
into infinite of metaphysics mistiness. fam
tasticaity and what not. the subject Of Platonic
love. Writing to a friend who had asked to be
directed to the source of the idea in the writings
Of the philosopher, he says;
| should explain that Platonic love in the mod
ern sense does not exist in Plato. Women. as
YOU rightly conjecture were too little accounted
of among the Greeks. The love of which he
speaks is the mystical love of men for one an
other, the union of two human souls in SINGLE
perfect friendship. Whether such thing is pos
sibe, i do not say-or right. But ii appears 10
have been much stronger feeling than the re-
gard of man for women. Whether there can
he Platonic love in the modern sense between
men and women, or rather whether 1t is
a good thing * a curious question | believe
that it is; but should not call such friendship
PatDnic love. 1t should be true and faithful
and the reverse of sentimental, and should never
bring upon itself the remark of the world.
think also that some kind of mutual help or de-
sire for the good Of another Is naturally implied
in IT. There is a great deal of happiness and
consolation to he gained from such friendships.
They draw us out and make us to know what Is
in us. They may change the whole character for
the better. Yet | admit that they are very likely
to become foolish: and only by great care is it
possible to avoid this. So you that have
done more than answer your question about Pla-
tonic love-