New-York tribune., 1902-07-05

I though the problems of the evoIutionarv con,ro.
versy were evidently stirring In his mind when.
| in 1872. he published ''Erewhon or Over the
| Range" a wOrR which comes nearest to Gull
| lver's Travels in mordant irony anG startling
paradox of all that has been written in that
vein since the death of Swift Up To Nh = time
SIr. Butler had done nothing to win a reputa-
tiOn. though. fourteen years earlier he had
passed with some distinction through ST. Johns
College, Cambridge. like his grandfather and
father. "ErewhOn''-Of course. the inverted
form of 'NOwhere"-is an imaginary country
the scene of a fantastic UtOpian romance. which
is the vehicle for satire aimed at many of the
institutions and the ideas of modern society
The irOnic humOr is rarely as savage as Swift's
and il is somewhat erratic in its strokes. But
the striking and picturesque narration, not too
closely bound by systematic theory, enables the
reader to realize tOpSyJurvy world. in which
most things unlike our own. though human
nature subsists under strange civilization and
surroundings. The ErewhOnians punish disease
as a crime. and subject moral offences to quasi
medical treatment, and the main principle OF
their polity is 10 exclude by penalties the IN
PRODUCTION Of machinery In the end the travel
Ter who tells the tale escapes by strataSem IN
a balloon, and leaves behind him record OF
miracle which becomes the basis of an elabO-
rateIy superstitious creed In continuation
published only last year, "Erewhon Revisited, .
Mr. Butler records how in a second visit the
vanished adventurer skaters the mythical sys-
tenn, of which he had become the central hgufe
The story Is more coherent. the irony more
trenchant. and the satire of a graVer seVerlty-
1t is substantially vehement attack on super.
natural religion. Mr.. Butler was very br0ad ~
Church man. indeed. In another Work' Inc
Fair Haven Re Drew painfully satrlcai plcl-
ure of religious narrOwness, which was dC.
cepted we believe by many of the objects OF
his sarcasm grave and earnest de1ehce-
The love of paradox which inspired tneSe
ironic studies carried with him by MI BUT
Ier in his iucuTsiOns into the region OF classical
scholarship. His prose tTanSlattOns or the
"Iliad" and the odyssey were SOneW nat
harsh and grabbed in style but they test1ned TO
his close acquaintance with the text of Homer.
In his book, THE AuthOress of the odyssey ne
evolved some amazing theories about the au-
thorship of the Homeric poems He thought
he
Odyssey written by a woman He heId
that the name Homer meant hostage, ana
that the ''Iliad" composed by an actual
hostage in the hands of the Greeks. who had
his reasons for hating both sides. and who
deliberately told the tale of Troy in such a
fashion hold up Achilles and the other VIC
toriOus heroes TO Odium and ridicule 1t IS
probable that Mr. Butler started this theory as
a hoax, but there can be little doubt that ne
wrote himself into the acceptance of il, in the
end. with complete and genuine conviction.
1t is not very widely known that Mr.. Butler
not only keen musician, but composer
in the style of Handel of whom he was an
ardent admrer. He published. in collaboration
with Mr.. H F. Jones, an opera, 'Narcissus in
which some musical critics held that the Han
delan methods were initiated with astonishing
skill His interest IN painting and architecture
was also keen, and rested upon "A thorough
knowledge. in especial, of the art history OF
parts of North Italy. His books Alps and
Sanctuaries' and ..Ex Voto.r in the latter OF
which he rescued from oblivion the artistic fame
of Tabachetti. the sculptor of the images in the
chapels at VarallO. were a revelation to many.
But here again. he showed his Independence
by unsparing severity in his criticism of Ra-
phaerS school
In conversation. when ne chose. Mr. Butler
could be brilliant, vigorous. and inspiring. and
many epigrams were attributed to him. In late
years he lived a retired life in his chambers at
Cliffords Inn. He was never married He was
taken i'll at Palermo some time ago. and grew
worse at Naples. On being brought back
London he was placed in u nursing home. and
appeared to be recovering; but his strength had
ebbed too far. In any case, his Hfe'S work
done. though il was only on the last day of De-
cember. 1901. that he published in our columns
a short letter putting some pertinent queries
to the advocates of the Bacon Shakespeare the
ory. Looking back Mr.. Buffers career
cannot help feeling sense of disappointment
at the inadequacy of what is left of permanent
work to represent the man. The biography OF
his grandfather. the Bishop, to which reference
has already been made, is a CreditabIe per
formance in its way. but to waste upon il
powers like those which produced "Erewhon''
was indeed cutting blocks with a razor"