The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-06-24

VIII somehow ttllb' 10 oA4' NAh NsFt
there is a great deal Of easy writing
which is extremely hard reading: and
thus the book will die a natural death.
The life Of MIR. Madison. by VIM. &.
Rives may be men-i)ned as a valuable
work. The accomplished author brousni
TO his task great ABILITY. thorough cIl-
turc. "A high appreciation or his suhJtct'
extensive research. ALI a polished style.
These qualities. together with MS can
dor and truthfulness. VIII make the booh
live. 1t ranks amcns the few American
books that deserve the tlle OF CLASSIC.
Sti!l. il is not strictly biography. az its
title. History Of the Life and Times OF
| James Madison" w)uld Indicate.
WHY did not some itcary Roman write
= Life Of cicero get II advertised ~
| the .Romanus Praeco.' procure an edito-
rial flourish Of trumpets over the talent
ed author" and the entorprising pub
| lisher?" Nothing Of tho kim has come
! down 10 us. and yet Cicero was one OF
the most notable men NJ ms DAY INC
task was left 10 be performed. however.
in a questionable manner. at best. by
| an Enelishman. some eighteen hundred
| years after Cicero's death. and in a Ian
| euage which was Cicero's Junior by thlr
| teen centuries. II our modern biOgTa-
| piers could he induced. In their henh-
long book-making. 10 pause long enough
TO reflect upon these lacts, they misht
find them suggestive.
RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHIES.
The RELIGIOUS biographies OF our day
| are esneciallv open 10 the objections no.
ticed above. They are too numerous.
and I'm many instances. the authors have
slim continent for their self-imposed
taske. Most Of them are admirable only
as examples of the phenomenon so ably
discussed in one of John Fosters hnest
ESSAYS. the object OF which was TO snow
why men of taste have so general n as
taste for evangelical religion. Foster IN
dicates that one great reason Is. that
evangelical preachers and writer's are too
often not masters Of style. and possess
little In common with a mind OF cultivat-
ed opwers. and of a pure and discriminate
ing taste.
The Scriptures indicate 70 us the inn
portarco If finding out acceptable
words" i'm which to communicate tru'
n course not 10 pander 10 a Nltiaton
rhetorical taste. Splendid divisions WIN
| nothing to divide should be studiously
avoided. Still. let no one think the form
| unimpOrtant. Compare the language OF
the mob at Ephesus with a certain
| Frenchman's translation. The cry of the
crowd was. Great rs Diana OF the Ephe-
siansi" II was just ne cry as would
stir and strike 4 mob. and they spent
two mortal hours In bawling II out upon
the air. How tame the Frenchman's rem
dering. Diana Of the Ephesians Is one
great goddess How long would such
a cry as this have held the crowd To-
gether? The Rhetoricians give another
case: Milton introduces Satan as Luclfer
| fallen from heaven into hell; and the
Arch-hend greets his internal dominions
with the cry. Hail. horrors. hail The
Frenchman's rendering makes IT. How
dive do. horrors. ho~ dye doT' We are
altogether too liable TO fall into the
| common error Of %supposing that frst-rate
literary art f. wasted upon "tho masses.
who are the masses2' We always con-
slider them beneath ourselves, and thus
we render ourselves liable TO the most
serious blunders in dealing with them.
In a very important sense. We are the
masses. The masses do appreciate iirst-
rate art. II stirs them. though they
! cannot tell why they are stirred. Part
ridge. at the theatre. thought That the
striding. mouthing. having fellow who
PLAYED the part of the King in Hamlet,
was a better actor than the consummate
artist who acted the part OF the Prince
but when Mr.. Garrick came 10 the in
terview Of Hamlet with his fathers
| ghost. Partridge turned pale and fell
a-trembling. Being charged With cow
| ardice. he said that the Prince himself
was scared. If ever he partridge saw
a scared man i'm his life. Now, most G n
sible people will agree with Macaulay
that Partridge praised i'm the wrong
place. but that he trembled In the right
place: and it Is better TO make men
tremble than TO make them praise.
NOT THE ONLY EVIL.
But this Is not the only evil, nor yet
the saddest ono resulting from a vicious
| STYLE. We might say-and too many do
| say-"Well. we are not writing for the
Professors OF Rhetoric, nor for University
| graduates. We do not expect to reach
them" And then will come tina ex-
| tremely convenient. but little understood
! text about not many noble. n not
| many wise being called. The fallacy here
| is glaring. To say nothing OF the impor-
| lance Of religiously impressing the edu-
| Gated minds Of the country: 20 discard
the idea OF so using literary EFFORT. as
| to enlist the attention, and appreciation
and moral weight OF the learned. and
make them powerful FOR good, and not
for evil: i'm short. to leave the educated
world TO shift for itself, and go
THE primrose way TO the everlasting
bonfire"
| still the argument IS egregriously faulty.
! The rabbie can appreciate a high style
| OF art. They may not be able TO give crit
| zeal reasons for their appreciation; they
know noshing OF rhetoric; but they DO
know that some sermons are duh, and
others interesting; some put them 90
| sleep. and others wake them up; and
this Is a practical appreciation OF the
difference between art and inanity which
can be questioned by no writer but at his
peril.
The clown knows the difference between
the weight of feathers and OF lead. lie
appreciates it. True. he Is I'm hlissful ig-
norance Of all Professor Bartlett's SCI
entihc equations laid down i'm his Me-
chanics. and showing the relations be-
tween weight and density volume
and mass" lie never heard OF "grav-
itv." he knows no more Of L.aplace and
the "Nechaniaue Celeste" than he knows
OF Lord Kames and The Elements OF
| Criticism" But he does know that lead
l. heavy. and he is convinced that too
many sermons are made Of IT. Even
'eTbe Tough Subject" knew that a
broom WAS "A broom. and that IL was
wicked 10 tell a lie:" but he could cite
no authorities on either point. and when
| aforementioned could give only the very
general information comprehended I'm his
| of-t-repeated reply. Il don't know
nothink.'
we feel no hesitation IN saying that
the popular mind is as truly, and, In lis
own way. as much pleased with n really
artistic performance, as the educated
mind Is pleased by a contemplation or
| the same performance from the most dis
eliminating point Of view. There IL a
verv strong appreciation of art. which.
like Doaberry's reading and writing.
comes nv nature.
MUST REACH THE RICH.
besides vhO gave us leave 10 neglect