The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-14


THE Disciple" by Paul Bourget, is not
exactly a novel; it is rather study in
psychology, and a remarkably subtle
and brilliant one. In fact. the book is OF
the kind which one instinctively terms
consummately clever. The central idea is
extremely simple hut the working out is
artistic in ever line
The plot is briefly this: 4 writer on
philosophy and psychology is accepted as
a sort of new Messiah by an impression
able. ardent, and somewhat Unbalanced
young man, who. in pursuance of what nc
conceives to be the cause cf science as
explained by his master. causes a pc
cuiiarly distressing tragedy. The notion
at the back of this romance, Of course. is
the question Of how far a man is rospon-
sible for the effects of his work. There
is also involved the question Of the right
attitude toward life for young man. The
book is likely to appeal with peculiar
force to persons Of q speculative turn OF
mind without strong prejudice or synpa-
thies. To those who like to laugh ana cry
over their books. love and hate the char
actors, it viii seem q piece OF cold-hlood-
ed abstraction The authors position is
carefully taken. He appears throughout
to be strictly impersonal in his story
telling.
one of the striking chara cteristics Of
the work is the exquisite finish Of its
style. While individual I'm the highest de-
gree there are parts of it which are
worthy Of Balzac, in the perfection of the
pictures which they present, and the ac-
cuTacy Of the analysis of human nature.
Such a passage is description of the
philosopher, a part of which runs as fol-
lows:
Summer and winter. NJ. SiXte sat
down To his work at o clock in the
morning, refreshed by a single cup Of
black coffee. At 10 clock he took his
breakfast. summary operation which
permitted him 10 lie at the gate of the
Jardin des Plantes at 1850. He walked
IN the garden until noon, some times
e2.-rdinS his stroll toward the quays
and by the way OF Notre Dame.
one of his faVorite pleasures con-
sisted in long seances in front of the
cages Of the monkeys and the lodges
of the elephants. The children and
servants who saw him laugh long and
silently at the ferocities and cynicisms
o. the balloons and ouistitis, never sus-
pected the misanthropic thoughts
which this spectacle brought to the
mind of the savant who compared in
himself the human to the simian
comedy, as he compared our habitual
folly with the wisdom of the noble
animal that, before US, was king of
the earth.
Toward noon NJ Sixte returned to
O'Clock. From to he received three
times a week visitors. who were nearly
always students, masters occupied with
the same studies hiLSSelf, for
eigners attracted by reputation which
today is European. Three other days
he went out to make some indis-
pensable visits. At o clock he dined
and then went out again, this time
going the length Of the closed garden
to the Orleans station At o'clock
he returned, regulated his correspond
nrsaE or ron ~ ffn 10 Hrrhf
were eStinguished in his house.
This monastic existence had its
weekly rest on Monday, the philosopher
having observed that Sunday emptied
an obstructing tide Of pieasure-seekers
into the country. On these days he
went out very early in the morning,
boarded suburban train, and did not
return until evening.
Not once in fifteen years had he
departed from this absolute regularity.
Not once had he accepted an invita-
tion to dine nor taken a stall in a
theatre. He never read a newspaper,
relying on his publisher for marked
copies pertaining to his own works.
His indifference TO politics was so
complete that he had never drawn his
electors card. 1t is proper to add, in
order TO fix the principal features of
this singular being, that he had
broken of all connection with his fam
fly and that this rupture was founded.
like the smallest act of his life. upon
a theory He had written in the pref
ace TO his second book, Anatomy of
the Will this significant sentence:
The social attachments should be
reduced TO their minimum for the man
who wishes to know and speak the
truth In the domain of the psychologist
sciences
From a similar motive this man,
who was so gentle that he had not
given three commands to his servant
in fifteen years, Systematically for
bade himself all charity. On this
point he agreed with Spinoza, who
had written in the fourth book Of the
Ethics: Pity for a wise man who lives
according to reason is bad and use
less This Saint Luis, he might
have been called as justly as the ven
cradle Emile Littre. hated in Chris
tianity the excessive fOnduess for hu-
manity. He gave these two reasons
for it: First. that the hypothesis Of a
Heavenly Father and of eternal hap
pineSs had developed to excess the
taste for the real and had diminished
the power TO accept the laws Of ma
ture; second, IN establishing the social
order upon love. that is, upon sensi-
bility. this religion had opened the
way TO all the capTices Of the most
personal doctrines.
He did not suspect that his faith
full servant had sewed consecrated
medals into all his vests, and his IN
difference with regard TO the external
world was so complete that he went
without meat on Fridays and on other
days prescribed by the Church, with
out perceiVing this effort on the part
OF the old maid to assure the salvation
of a master Of whom she sometimes
said, repeating uuconsciOusly a cele-
brated saying:
The good God would not be the
good God, il he had the heart 10 damn
him
we owe to NJ. Sixte some SEN
fences which express with extreme
energy this conviction that everything
IN the mind is there Of necessity, even
the Illusion that We are free. Every
act is only an addition. To say he is
free, is 10 say that there is in the total
more than the sum of all the parts.
That is as absurd in psychology as il
IS in arithmetic. And again: If we
could know correctly the relative DO
stitute the actual universe We could.
from the present. calculate with q Ger
tainty equal to that Of the astrono-
mers the day. the hour, the minute
when England, for example, will
eVacuate India, or Europe win have
q criminal. still unborn. viii assas-
sinate his father, or such 4 poem, not
Yet conceived viii be written. The
future is contained in the present as
all the properties OF the triangle are
contained in its definition Mohamme-
dan fatalism itself is not expressed
with more absolute precision.
With speculatiOns Of this order only
the most frightful aridity OF imagina-
ton would seem 10 comport. Thus that
which If. SiXte SO often said OF him
self I take life on its poetic side an
peared TO those who heard l. the most
absurd Of paradoxes. And yet moth
Ing IS trUer with regard to the special
nature Of the minds of philosophers.
What essentially distinguishes the born
philosopher from other men is that
ideas instead Of being formulas Of the
faF Ice Hsa hts