Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-10-11

Cola then became the victim OF an
idea. which he carried To- excess, His
apology for Sin and his explanation Of
virtue was hereditary A strange un-
deNauaiou OF the ethical nature Of
man. an inCapacity 10 understand the
power of the viii, and an absolute un-
consciousness Of the element Of spir-
ltuulity IN the life of man caused lola
TO regard his theory almost in the light
Of universal solvent lie entered
upon the writing of a series of books
the series being called Les Rougun-
Marquart" 1t has been termed his
Coincide Humane The probabilities
are that eventually this viii be cOnsid-
cred Oyerpraise. for the books were,
psychuogically and philasophlcally, in
complete. They failed to recognize the
divine principle Of regeneration of the
! balance Of goodness over evil.
For more than 20 years these vol
umes succeeded each other with per-
iodic regularity They were models
Of scientific fiction. They presented a
gallery Of terrible, common, cunning
| foolish, greedy, vain pOrtraits-it was
as " the people swarming along the
street had been arrested by the wand
Of a sardonic wizard, and the entrail9
Of their souls exposed TO view, There
! can be- little doubt that IN way ZOa's
| intentions We're good. They were, In
| fact, the aspirations Of the scientist.
, The final volume Of the Rougon- Mar
| quart series was published in 1898.
1t is possible that lola had been irrl-
| tated by certain elements In human be-
| ings which he was unable to analyze
| and for which he could COnCOCt no syn
/ thesis Man had at least one source
! AZ happiness faith, which seemed not
| to have its cause in the senses NJ, Hola
! entered upon a consideration Of this
| question Perhaps from the outset he
| determined 20 prove II wanting, be-
! cause II did not fall In with his idea
| Of hercdity He wrote a trllOgy Of rO-
! manCes to demonstrate the failure OF
| Christianity These books were called
| "Lourdes' Rome" and Paris" They
! were Incompatible studies of the cities
the names Of which they bear. The
moral Of them Is that peace Is found
not ir faith, but IN trade-that Is, work
A second triogy Of books arose out
Of this eliminating idea. These are
| "Fecundite,' a terrible arraignment OF
! the barren French woman, Travail
a marvellous celebration Of socialism,
and La Nerite" which enjoins broth
erly love and Kindness.
Zola was an officer Of the Legion Of
Honor and was at one time president
Of the Societie des Gems de Lettres
| Politically he was a radical Republic
can and from the first he was a gov
| ornamental as well as a literary rey0lu-
ZIONIST. He was domestic I'm his tastes
but not sociable, 1t was always diff
cult for him to make friends. He was
annoyed at the loquacIty OF people, and
at their topics Of conversation. He
liked above all things 10 talk Of him
self lie had that absorption which
is one OF the symptoms Of the malady
Of genius. He had been prosperous, and
his house at Medan contains eXtraor-
binary curios, you pass up the stair
case" writes a visitors. with its ca
thedral carvings in colored wood which
even Athens can hardly rival, into the
salon. with the great bust Of the mas
ter as a young man on the mantlepiece;
you place your hat upon an Elizabethan
throne and lean you stick upon Druid
ic harp"
NJ. Zola's studio was as spacious az
the atelier Of battle painter His
personal habits were simple He loved
common clothes, hard work and retire.
| ment.
The rugged hrmness Of his character,
| his capacity for heroism, his massed
power and impetus had never been
properly appraised till The Dreyfus mat
! ter solicited his advocacy He was ac-
/ cused OF not being a Frenchman In
spirit: he was said to be the instru-
ment Of political intriguers. The world
! in general, however believed him 70 be
inspired by a larger form Of patriotism
| than the majority OF his countrymen
was unable TO understands patriot-
| ism which enabled him 20 stand IN a
tragic minority against the passion and
| madness Of the hour, that his country
| might not be disgraced by an infamous
| act. He suffered exile, but was per-
mltted TO return 20 his pars-the city
which he had compreheuded yet not
comprehended, He had not, indeed,
! discovered the soul Of man. In the
/ clinic over which he presided with the
! dignity Of a great surgeon he domon-
! strated with masterful astuteness the
| function Of skin, tissue. muscles nerves,
| bones blood vessels, and respiratory
| organs. But he did not discover the
soul Somehow or other. to the last II
' eludel him