New-York tribune., 1901-03-30
HR. FLSKES ESSAYS.
STUDIES OF THE BACoNIAN THEORY
AND OTHER THEMES
A CENTURY OF SCIENCE AND OTHER Es
SAYS BY John Fiske. Octave; pp. vi, $50
Houghton, Mfin & Co.


Houghton. Miffin & Co.
The ESSAYS in this volume were in large meas
| ure called forth by various passing events. and
| are not all equally deserving OF preservation
Guessing at Half and Multiplying by Two" for
instance written in 1880 and aimed against
certain orthodox Boston lecturers attacks on
| modern evolutionary science, is an admirable
piece OF destructive criticism and leaves little
standing of the Rev. Joseph Cooks system. But
| neither the arguments nor the methods OF pro-
/ cedure are much worth answering nowadays.
though Mr.. Fiske's elean-sweepng and vigorous
strokes still make entertaining reading Equally
decisive is his disposition of The Bacon Shake
speare Folly" and. perhaps. at the time equally
unnecessary; but il is replete with humor and
learning and keen analysis. This vagary he
| says
Originated in a group Of conditions which ad-
nit Of being specified and described. and which
| the historian Of nineteenth century literature
Will need to notice. In order 10 understand the
natural history of the affair il is necessary 10
examine the Della Bacon theory at greater
length than IL would otherwise deserve.
And his examination is delightful discussion
Of the social and literary conditions OF London
in the Elizabethan age. where at no time or
place since history began has human thought
fermented more briskly." His analysis Of the
fundamental difference between the minds OF
Bacon and Shakespeare is extremely suggestive:
Bacons mind was eminently sagacious and
fertile in suggestions but the supreme creative
faculty, the power to lead men into paths,
was precisely the thing which ne did not possess
His place is very high one among ntellects OF
the second order. Bacon IN a high
degree a subjective writer. from whom YOU are
perpetuay getting revelations Of his idiosyncra-
sizes and moods. whereas OF all writer's in the
world. Shakespeare is the most completely OBJ
jective. the most absorbed in the work Of crea-
ticn. In the one writer you are always reminded
Of the man Bacon; in the other the personality
is never thrust into sight. Bacon is highly self
conscious; from Shakespeare self-consciousness
is absent.
On similar lines. though With less serious
object in view, is the amusing discussion OF
Some Cranks and Their Crotchets." result Of
Mr. Fiske's experience as assistant librarian AZ
Harvard University. which irnpelIed him 10 es
tablish in the catalogue a department OF ..Ec
centric Literature" Books on circle souarinp nv
persons who have no idea as TO what the prob.
lem consists Of. and whose mathematical horizon
scarcely extends beyond long division: books on
perpetual motion implying a complete ignorance
of physics; eKpositions Of the Book OF Daniel by
commentators in blissful ignorance alike of an
cient history and the principles OF literary crti-
| cism; calculations Of the Great Pyramids sig
nifieance-such products OF morbid cerebration."
as Mr.. Fiske calls them. constitute this literary
department. His description OF them is an
amusing contribution this branch Of psy-
chology.
Articles called forth by the death Of Francis
Parkman and Edward A. Freeman show Mr
Fiske's knowledge and sympathy with their work
in history as well with their personal quail
ties. He sums up Parkmans historical methods
| thus:
| Parkman conceives and presents his subiac,
| as whole. He forgets nothing. overlooks noth
1 ing; hut whether IL Is a bloody battle or n th.o
logical pamphlet. or exploring journey through
q forest, or a code for the discipline OF nunne-
ies. each event grows out OF its context as a feat
rre IN the total development that is going on
| oetore our eyes. IL is only the historian vino 4.
also philosopher and artist that can thus deaf IA
ploek with the great and complex life OF whole
| society. - ""0ie
Freeman, on the other hand concerned hir,ss,,
chieny with the political aspect. of history:
Not in the cid-fashioned way as a mere nara
tive OF the deeds OF kings and cabinets bur in
scieh,he fashion. as an application OF the com
parauVe method 10 the various processes OF ns
loh Duiloihg. To art in general 20 the
history OF philosophy and OF scientisc i5aas he
devoted much less thought I believe he did nor
tuliy approve of his friend Green's method ~
carrying along political. social ana literary ton
lcs abreast in his History OF the English pan-
PIE Few viii doubt. however that fn this re-