Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-08-30
s.,

Speaking upon that oft discussed
subject, "One Hundred Best Books
the San Francisco Bulletin says:
Perhaps twenty years ago Curl
Gus passion or mania seized literary
England and America. All Of a sud-
den every literary man Of prominence
fell to making up list of the hun
dred books and, faith, they printed
them. Sir John Lubbock may have
been the pioneer in the movement,
and his list with explanations has
been published in his book, "The Pleas
ures Of Life" Straightway every
other literary wight attacked mis- Sc
1ections and submitted a list of his
own. Magazines and newspapers were
filled with such lists. and those who
could not break into print with their
lists read them to literary clubs and
reading circles. Every village sent
forth its list of the one hundred best
books. and this battle of the books
became so great and raised such a
din that the noise OF it filed the
world. 1t stopped quite as suddenly
as it had begun, and Sir John Lub-
hooks is about the only one of the
myriad lists that seems to have come
down to this day.
Most of the disputing was about the
modern authors. Some were for throw
ing out TON JONES' and putting in
Pride and Prejudice" Others wanted
"Rasselas" instead of Burke's ora
tons. There was a curious unanimity
in the nomination Of such ancient
worthless as Homer, Aeschylus, Sopho-
GELS, Demosthenes, Cicero Virgil and
Horace. Shakespeare, Chaucer and
Spenser were in most of the lists. Curl
Gus idiosyncrasies were betrayed.
Nearly everybody had the Koran or
some Scandinavian saga or Hindoo
epic in his list on which he insisted
with great vehemence.
The whole business was q hotch-
potch of affection and insincerity. Ev-
crybody recommended old Greek plays,
Latin orations and such established
English works as Sponsors poems be-
cause nobody dared to leave them out.
Most probably tWo-thirds of the num-
Der who recommended Demosthenes
orations could not read Greek, and the
sincerity of those who named Spen-
sers poems may be doubted. In short.
nobody was bold enough to speak his
own mind fully, and everybody truck
led to custom and old opinion, for it
is beyond belief that all those list
makers mad read with thorough APP
probation the terrible lists of elias
sizes which they proposed to the pub
lie. 70 the average modern mind-even
the cultivated mind which knows
and likes good poetry-Spenser is dull
ana tlresorne, and the man who has
Greek enough to enable him to get
any enjoyment cut of Pindar or Aes-
chylus is so rare that the species is
preserved in universities as a curios-
itY. Certainly the ordinary graduates
OF nc college i'll England or America
are on familiar terms with the Attic
tongue.
THE very idea OF establishing the
one hundred best books is preposter-
Gus. A book which is best for one man
as not best for another. Some people
get more good out of Tom Moore than
they can out of Shakespeare. IL Moore
appeals to them and peases them
while Shakespeare is tiresome to their
minds why should they not read
Moore? Above all, why should any
man thrust Shakespeare, the Koran.
the Niebelungenlied, the Medea and
such things down their threats? No
one prefers Laura Jean Libbey to Jane
Austen. let us. who are attuned to
higher things, pity but not scold. And
If we cannot enjoy Spenser or Dante.
why must we pretend that we can?
Let US be sincere in our literary judy
ments. Every man to his TASTE