The sun., 1899-07-30

| can the author Of Middlemarch." From his
works. indeed. as BourRet has pointed out,
may be cleaned. as from those Of Shakespeare.
a large collection OF striking and fruitful
| maxims: maxims the force OF which 10 doubled
| because they are dem on strnted not as abstract
| hypotheses but as concrete realities. viewed
with the surgical ere which takes In at glance
the wound and the operation necessary to heal
| It, For EnRlishmen and Americans. In a word.
| as well as for his countrymen. to read Balzac is
to see life. to fathom It, to participate In It with
| all ones I'm agnative powers and 1t is also to
| learn the laws which govern It's decay and its
| growth. its losses aud It's gains.
II.
When did Balzac first conceive the idea OF
| arranging his books in tho comprehensive
framework to which he gave the name OF tho
Human Comedy2 The purpose. which may be
described not merely as ambitious. but as
ecunencal. was announced In 1912 in a
preface to the first volume Of "Splendors and
Miseries' At that time Balzac was ~ years
old and had only about eight years to live: OF
his avowed novels. included in the Edition
Defnitire only a part, though the major part.
had been finished. In that preface he tells us
that the first idea Of the HOmf,iic Hunn inc came
to him like dream. an impossible project
which he welcomed and then a aowed to escape.
He was subsequently attracted more seriously
to the plan by detecting, as ho thought. an an
ulogy between the human and animal king
doms In the animal Kingdom there is unity
amid endless variety. 1t seemed to Bal2ac that
in this respect human society r"sem bles nature.
Docs not society mould n man in accordance
with the environment In which he lives and
moves; does it not create as many different
kinds Of men as there are different geological
varieties This question Bnlzac answered by
maintaining that the differences between
soldier. an artisan. an administrator. a lawyer.
an idler. scholar. a statesman. merchant.
n sailor. a poet. "A pauper and priest. though
more dfricult to understand. are quite as con-
siderable aS those that distinguish the wolf.
the lion. the ass. the crow. the shark the seal
and the sheep There are. in word. social
species. just there are geological species.
Scientists have not shrunk from the attempt
to include the whole Of zoology In the COM
pass OF one work: was there not something
OF the same kind to be accomplished in be-
half OF society tnquestionably. an eXhaus-
tive delincation of human types would prove
more difficult. because between the different
species Of the animal kingdom nature has set
bounds which do not exist in human society
When Button. for instance described u lion he
needed but few additional words with which
10 draw the picture OF a lioness whereas in
society u woman Is not always tne female OF
the male In one household there may exist
two entirely dissmilar beings A shopk eepers
wife is sometimes worthy OF u prince. while a
princes wife may not be the equal OF Il poor
artists. The social state, in word. OF man is
subject to possibilities that are not to be found
In nature. for it is nature plus society. The de-
srription Of social species is. therefore. at least
twice a. complex as that of animal species
under the aspect Of the two sexes alone.
Lastly. thore is no confusion in the life OF ami
mails. aud few dramas take place among them;
they merely pursue and attack one another.
Men also pursue one another but the greater
or less degree Of intelligence they possess rem
ders the combat far more complicated. 1t is
certain that a grocer may become peer. and
that nobleman may sink into the lowest rank
OF society. Then. again. the life OF animals is
extremely simple 1t needs but few acces-
sorlcs; consequently they have neither arts
nor sciences whereas man tends to represent
his manners. life and thought in all that he
approprates to his needs Although some nat
uralists-Iubbock. for example-have shown
us how interesting the habits of even
minute animals are. yet tho ways Of
every animal seem to be the same at
all periods whereas the houses habits,
dress AMI words Of a prince u banker an
artist, a bourgeois. priest and a pauper
change signaIly with each successive civili2a-
tion. The work. then. which BaIzac contam.
ulatel had n triple ourpo.a uom,Iv 70 eybihit
men women and things. hiatt 70 say hmn,,n
h.inps and the material ranr...nta,inns
which they give to their modes OF thought in
short. man and his life To that end not in
v"ntiOn but observation was TO be the instrr-
ment French sociaty u,s to he its own his,o-
rion and HoIysc hut ,I,. racordipy o.nratorv
Nv taking AN invantorv Of virtues on1 vio.s
hv collecting memorable e1amnIes of n,ssior
and Iv nointin,, from, u,s hy rarinr la
,ior from I'M, chiof sor;al oyorto ~ hia ,in,u
and hv cnnrosinv tvnas mai. nm -, tr,ita
drawn from several characters be tboneht ha
MIGHT sucn.ed e., vritin, tnat h;a,,n,h
mn,,m,nners uhi,h ia oi,ngstbnr ,,orroot'o,
In .n many his,oric,I rorr.,i,oo
This WA NOT hovaysr ~, ,,v ro.,o A..
whol. ., IN. tssk nr,nosnd H., hi,,0.I, pai
y,c Hv coro,irg himso,f ~ ,ho ,,,,s, r;''.
oua r.nroductinn n uriter r,ioL, ho ,,,..s