The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-25

US 70 trace the Romantic movement In It's esfness
stages. Other volumes Of The present ssnce
show how simultaneous WAS the upnsing' anu
how impossible II IL 10 assign Its ohgin W any
particular nation Of Europr. Rousseau iee
the assault, In one part Of the field. 'Ossian aha
the Scandinavian reaction heralded II In aho'ho''
Mainly Celtic al one period, II took ia'eI a p0
vailing Teu,onic tnge, for the revival OF oe'nan
l~itern,ur- conceded with Its outbreak Inc
great minds which organized that revival we're
deeply imbued with Romantcsm Their IN
! itiaiiye and example difused II far ana "hT
every European people felt It's result, the Enehsn
among the foremost. Burgers ballads hIea
Scot, equally with the legends OF his own lnno'
Taylor Of Norwich introduced Southey ana 'o's-
ridge TO German literature. What Nine "
Stael's descriptions did for France a score OF
uanslaters and adnpters did for England. Italy
and Spain. the Scandinavian Peninsula, Russia
Egyp, and the mystical Fast all came under COZ
tribution, directly or indirectly yielding stores
70 the common stock
MIR Omond's special task Is 10 deal with the mose
fourshing period u Romantidsm. that IL 70 say
the first half Of the nineteenth century. Then
il was that the movement which had begun 70
gather force TOW ard the end Of the eighteenth
| century was In the full tide OF triumph Tbs
year 1880 may DO regarded a. q turning point
although dates. Of course, can be but approx
mate, different counties feeling the sans impulse
In differing degrees, II remains broadly true
however. that. about 1880. European lettsrs sesn
TO enter a new phase The romantic reacuon
against clnssictsm had done Its work, which had
been varied, according TO varying needs and cape
bilities. New motives and new methods nov
| began 10 assert themselves.
Whatever the origin Of Rpmanudsm, II -
| quired notable potency earliest among the Teur
tonic nations, and, from them. spread through
the Latin and Slayonic peoples. In 80 spreAdinSs
IL lost some characteristics and took on others
but remained recognizable In its ideas and IL
| methods All forms Of the movement were In
spir.d by the same new born love Of antiquity.
coupled with fsrvid real In attacking present
problems. the same impaience OF all that was
formal and measured and restrained; the same
awakening to a sense Of largeness, remoteness
and mystery, a. the intellectual horizon widened
around. a passionate sympathy with Nature and
an eager grasping after some life higher thnn
ours Even where the Romantic movement
failed to attract, II acted with scarcely less
strength by repulsion For good or evil the old
| order was doomed. The .rimness, the self-corn-
placency, the circumscibed outlook which con-
| diuoned even the bas, eighteenth century writ
ings were thrown TO tho winds. Whatever came
in their place, whether hope. enthusiasm, BELLE
in a bright, realizable future. or sceDucism, pes
simism and despair. II came not from ColdnesS
but from excess Of heat Indifference. even In
the hour Of reaction from ideals, tried and
found wanting, had no place In Isomantictsm-
Change OF faiths and ideals was accompanied
by change Of methods. Forms that had been con-
secrated by the prescription Of centuries were
ruthlesdy cast aside. The new spirit either
invented new forms or revived old ones. novel
from long disuse. Artinciality had so mastered
the shrunken technique Of Classicism, that freedom
and natural growth seemed incompatible with -
| limitations. A p~rlous lOosening OF all ties
and conventions marked the revolutionary era
OF the Romantics, Just as In matter they were
| careless Of probability, and delighted In tales
OF monsters and hohgoblins, and Just as In ethical
conduct they sought TO be each a law to himself,
so. too, In style and execution, they reioiced
in uampling on accepted rules, Independence
originality, bnlliancy and effectiveness, al what
ever cost, were the thing really sought and priced.
So long as words glowed and thought struck
fire from thought, the means used mattered little
nay. illegiumate means had the charm OF the for
hidden. the merit Of deiying tyranny and con-
vention, II this was true OF poetry, 4, was even
more true Of prose. The use Of prose for most
purposes Of poetry was itself q form OF revolt
Some precedents there had been In the previous
generation, but 10 the first half OF the nineteenth
century belongs the periectng OF prose for the
highest fights Of imaginative achievement, The
prose Of Russin and Carlyle. Of Victor Hugo.
OF Heine and Leopard. came as revelation and
revolution. Here were the figures, the cadences,
the boldnsss Of conception and the charm OF COM
position which had been usually esteemed the
privilege Of verse alone. The widespread cult
vation of prose, no longer for didacic or expoa-
tory work alone, but for all provinces and pos
sibilities Of thought. was q striking feature OF the
| times which Mr. Omond reviews, a manifestation
| OF the ruling spih, that impelled the Romantic
movement.
Due attention Is directed BY the author OF this
book 10 the fact that the Romantic reaction was
| not identified with any special form Of belief
It's temporary triumph did not promote the pre-
dominance OF any religious or political creed
1, WAS rather a tone Of mind which led different
| thinkers To different conclusions. The impulss
WAS identical. the results were as various a.
the persons affected. Catholic or Free,hinker,
Radical or Conservative, a writer could still b
esse ntially romantic, The Nature worship Of
Rousseau, the sentimental Toryism Of Scott.
the affected cynicism Of Byron. the sympathetic
glow and enthusiasm for humanity Of Shelley
and Hugo we're at once typical instances Of the
variety possible to Ronantcism and created
influences making the variety greater. II, In
the end. the rods Of Byron and TIeine swallowed
up those Of the other magicians, this was tecauss
the movement was tending TO decadence: In iA heys
day OF triumph. It had room for all varieties thAA
the most diverse intellecs could conceive.
OF course. every movement has Its vulnerabe
side, and Romanticism was no exception 10 tbs
rule. We. VINO belong To the close Of the century,
are amused nj It's n1trste, impatient Of its serious
ness, and yexed by cOarseness in its satire and
AtifciAlity in It's pathos Much OF our present
Indifference TO Romanticism is due TO the want
Of historical sympathy. the inability OF one genera
ton 10 understand another. We are too near 70
be impartial Judges, and not near enough 10 SYM
pathize perfectly, No one. however. can deny
the magnitude OF the effect produced by tho Ro-
mantle movement European literature vas
remoulded. The Ideas and dogmas, and methods
Of eighteenth century Classicism now seem very
far away The Romantics. on the other hand.
are our elder brethren. We may he sarcastic
or indig nant, or ~apa,hetc toward them, but ws
must, at the same time, recognize that they are
members Of our own family They made modern
literature what it is They started and organized
forces which have shaped our literature, though
it was no, theirs TO see the direction in which
the forces would work For this reason alone,
their achievement deserves homage When be-