New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-18

Lord ROScbcry. 1ScOurslng at Edinburgh on
"iiODk>h SiatcSmcn.'' has inevitably revived
discussion of the relations of life and letters.
The presumption is that the men to whom lie
referred. men like Burke and Sheridan, Dis
racli and Gladstone. suffered no harm from
Ihcir love of books. But the speaker said
nothing TO prove that they were the better. as
statesmen for being bookiSh and The Spec
iator' asserts that literary men do not make
good statesmen. The life of action and the
lie Of contemplation are different; they need
not be hostile, but they can rarely. if ever. be
accommodated in one personality" This seems
reasonable conclusion, but it misses one
phase Of the question more important than any
other. This is the question Of how much in
tercst the statesman ought to take in letters,
ard the author in politics. We take it for
granted that every man in either walk of life
Is rich in general INTELLIGENCE" aud has n
catholic. practical mind, but are we justified
in this hypothesis? 1t would he interesting to
hear dozen modern literary men talking poll
tics. Il dozen politicians discussing Homer.
The question of whether the life Of action and
the life of contemplation can be "accommo-
lated in one personality is. after all aca-
dcmic. There seems no particular reason why
the author should hold office, or the statesman
write books Each to his task. But that
each profession should have a lively sympathy
with the other. and that the apparently diverse
interests should interplay and influence one
another. is a practical question, the solution
of which is Of incalculablc importance to The
political and intellectual lifc of our time.
contributor to the current number of
"Poct Lore" Miss Mary Grace Caldwell. de-
serves. we are sire, the gratitude of the race.
She has been studying the raw material of
poetry and has decided that several conclu-
Sions Of interest may be drawn from IN in
vcstigatiOn as to the senses most often re-
fcrred to in the poetry Of Shelley and of
Keats" She draws up tables, and from them
we learn for example, that in Shelley the
adjcctives Of sight are far more frequent than
those Of any other sense including I99 per
cent Of the whole number of sense adjcctive>.
The sense of taste is too closely connected with
vital processes. says this lady TO be poetic but
this should not worry lis while we are blessed
with the information that shelley uses gray
more than does Keats" The upShOt OF Miss
C4llwolrS research il that shelley Is the
more subjective Keats the more objective of
the two poets" We do not see just how this
result is rcachcd but he is bold man who
would quarrel with scientific analyst And,
a. we have said, gratitude toward Miss Cald-
well must be profound. She does not break
butterfly upon a wheel She would not be so
cruel. She plunecs him into a chemical bath
ana gives Us the result in the true style Of the
laboratory We are sure that in the future no
poets will object To being treated in this fash
,on Suppose Popioy. with a passion for pur-
pie themes. is told that Timmins the author
Of ~ Chaunt Of Lilac Time" has 1876 per cent
more of tlc true Tyrian hue in his pages than
he has He will II least know that the COM
pari,on has been made with icy impartiality.
"Rlackwood' returns TO the charge against
trashy periodicals. this time denouncinS
penny Fiction" but finds some comfort in
the situation. "1ho plain English Of it is that
these penny novelties are not. by Il long way
So bad ~ they might he. The penny stories
are wrctchcd things enough, absolutely speak
ing But it is infinitely better that the wives
and sisters and daughters of our shopInen ana
our mechanics should spend their spare cop
Der, upon them than that, like their 'bcttcrS
they should dabbc in and profess to admire.
the rclaniic obSccnitcS of an lbscn. the unn
telli.s.blc nonsense of Il Macternck. or the
dubior> rodomon.adc of Ruskin. Let us be
thankful for small mcrciCs." These be wise
words though the auSiOn to Ruskin Is lllle
absurd But they suggest 10 us also that 1T
cr,tur, of merely negative virtues can some
fines do tremendous damage. The smart
FITNESS that is 50 prevalent nowadays does
harm cuough in all conscience but what about
,,,uo ucIiocrtyr l. there anything more de
I,,, ,I, ontirnIy rnsnncf1hlp but utterly