The sun., 1901-11-03

him Dc onended, III h0 VIII he VIII some
times have the right 70 be- But let him
try to believe that Browning has the poets
eye. the most comprehensive, the most
searching. the most minute, for the truths
OF our present existence and our future
hopes. OF any Of our great names-Tenny-
son, Wordsworth, Shelley. And let him
understand that a man who 90 thinks and
so writes, Is not to be understood except
| by reader who IL not surprised at diff
cuhies, and expects TO meet them In such
! themes as Browning's; and that a great
| poet requires trouble-taking readers, and
will not open his heart and his treasures
to the idle or the scornfil.-
To friend who asked him for some sus-
J gestions with regard to style, Dean Church
wrote: Il have mover studied style as
such; and hardly imagine to myself how
II is to be studied II has always seemed
to me that thoughts brought their own
words. which. Of course, have to be con-
sidered and sfted; but the root Of the ex-
preston must be In the thought itself,
which, II II was real and worth anything,
, would suggest the expression" He went
ON 20 say that, except In watching against
the temptation Of unreal and Of fine words,
he did not recognize In himself any special
training for style The great thing In
writing Is to know what you want and
mean to say and to say IL in words that
come as near 10 your meaning as you can
get them 10 come. or course this is some
times troublesome, and often in the end
unsatisfactory. That Is the old and the
true rule OF writing, because 1t Is based
on the effort after reality, and Ia the counter
charm to laziness and negligence. and
to show and make-beieve. 1t involves
certain by-riles against these faults
care and trouble and satisfying yourself
that you have said what you meant merci-
less cutting out OF merely fine language
and OF useless adiectives and adverbs:
care about your verbs in preference to
your adjectives. After all. self-rcstraint
and Jealousy OF what ones self-indul-
gence or vanity tempts us 10 is the best
rule in writing as in eating. A good writer
once said Always cut out a passage which
you are most proud Of
Dean Church added that when he was
a boy and at college. he did a great deal Of
translating from the English into Latin.
This translating he had since come to regard
as a great discipline in itself. -Where
ones stock Of words come from I cannot
tell, But suppose they come, II one reads
with care good English. Shakespeare.
Wordsworth. Burke. Walter Scott. Defoe,
Goldsmith, were, as far as / can remember
the books used TO value. as giving. besides
their thoughts. the most delightful aud
striking ways Of saying them. Besides
these. heard and read good deal of Mr..
Newman's preaching: and It Is, I am sure,
to him that ! owe it, IL can write at all
A ...L a. 4. l. n
course, being accustomed TO good models
produces insensibly habit Of mind
which dislikes and shrinks from what is
merely convention, unmeaning and flash.
We conclude this notice. as we suppose
Dean Church would have wished all notices
Of this book TO end, with a reproduction
OF his vigorous defence Of the literary
qualifications Of the principal actors in
the Tractarian Movement. II is contained
in letter to Wilfred Ward written in Janu-
ary. 1850. Il am sorry to hear what you
say about Jowetts paper. Jowett, il
seems. had lately written 10 Ward on the
subject OF the Oxford Movement OF
course, | quite understand his disiking and
despising the movement as reaotionary
unphlosophical. superstitious and petty.
But such statements as that the Tractarians
were ignorant OF literature and disparaged
il throw doubts on Jowett's power of under
standing things. or whom does he speak,
IL he il thinking Of the least cultivated
and intellectual members OF the party
il may be true. as II would be Of any earnest
religious movement which has objects
higher than mere study and cultivat on
Of literature. And. of course, in the days
Of the Movement, theology and the interests
of moral discipline were paramount 10
everything, literature included. or politics
or social life. or athletics. But 10 say
that Newman or kehle were ignorant Of
literature history. poetry, even novels
or uninterested Ia II. or encouraged such
ignorance IN their friends. Ii too eNtrava-
CANT
Jowett's mention Of Coleridge and Words
worth as being unappreciated by The Trac-
tarians il pronounced particularly unfort-
innate Church himself would have said
that they were the poets whom the Move
ment psaopl" thought most Of, Tcnnyson
and Browning being too young then 10
attract much attention. i can nav for
myself that | was very early a Coleridgeian
dn pOrtryI and "a Nurdsworthian. and !
learnt my liking for Coleridge and Words
worth from three very typical Movement
men Charles Marriott Hoborl,, unoe tutor
of Mlhul. afterSArd Bishop - salisbury
aud ; Iai-'r Whatever - a. he thought
of th"'u. they we're certainly not iguoraif
~ literature az lIt"ratur. existed ~ thu--
dayr ! u-s-d to hrar crtioi-ms ~ Nords
Wurth'- Pauth"ism, bot tley we're from
., sng.hoal fnsuds Poor lrartarAu-'
Juvrtt aiia'ks th-m fur want ~ llt"fatur.
anplhrf man fpr d-iicionry ln Blhhoai rA"-
). ,,l-, another man f"r wAnt ~ Grrman
philosophy ana ignorance - Kant Il
-rrus that they v"ro "hIss't'-t O. oIhAus,
oil important subjects ~ the frS yoau
when they we're nasty hghung for th-lr
hs.s Il 10 odd that such poYr lDt should
have l,o.n aisle to loay" such a mAfk 10
hind them ~ Newman hiul-slf lbsan
Church seldom presumed 60 pat forward
any untlasm. cave thai sllrh va impArd
bs silence have nw attempted . ouip.
pi,,ts ,fitlasm ~ NrS man. is sfuts g.
a fuani o. .iYm %. lai .iiY~u ~ si.-ss
- hit ltuk 1000 IIu 'ptfufd hutrm.ui
tlsi sas g. b.. lH.sihYmsuril puhlisi.,d
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