The Minneapolis journal., 1902-09-16
"What Is Truth?"

IL
same plays, seen under the same oondi-
tions, are notorious. Equally notorious is
the manner in which the public often dis
agrees with all the critics. One critic
will say the play is good and the acting
bad, and another will approve the acting
but condemn the play: The critic himself
is admired by a portion Of his readers and
stay away from any play he does not
commend. With others his opinion makes
no difference. The former have found
that the critic has a general pointpf view
like theirs. After all is said and done, it
is personal taste and prejudice, likings
and dislikings, with but scant allowance
for the principles of the drama and the
critic is Of a personality that is coHgenial
to you, you will laud his Judgments . &
Literary criticism has the same charac-
teristics. Everyone is aware Of the con-
trasting and opposing estimates of writ
ers by critics of ability and standing. But
1t is not often that anyone has taken the
pains to use the deadly parallel so ex-
haustively on great ,writersNtas has Her
bert Crombie Howe, professor of English
literature in the University Of Oregon in
an essay III the September North Amer
lean Review. Professor Howe speaks Of
"the absolute completeness of the con-
tradictions which form the body of ac-
cepted critical opinion For one exam
pie, Professor Howe takes Tennyson's $
Maud, 'Stopford Brooke says it.shas
great intensity of feeling and is treas
ure house of the intellectual powers.
Stedman says it is scanty in theme, thin
in treatment, poor in thought. B. .Jow-
EFT says that no poem since Shakspere
shows equal knowledge Of human nature:
Saintsbury says Its characterizationsS are
not happy. Taine says the prose Of Dick
ems does not more firmly grasp real and
personality interposes a false atmosphere
between the reader and actual life. Again
Mr.. Brooke says Maud is the loveliest Of
Tennyson's longer poems and Stedman
speaks Of it as the source Of the opinion
held by many that Tennyson is the apos-
tie Of tinsel and affectation.
After, giving us much more of such
interesting contradictions Professor
Howe asks: "Iow shall we determine
what is truth'?" II we appeal to our
own critical consciences no two will an
no,1nce the same things as truth. He
gives some attention to the idea sug-
gested above, viz, that we may seek
oiS I,1,
criticizing the critics and ascertaining the
persona idiosincrasy. Thus If we can
find out what it Is in the personal COM
position of Mr.. stedman that causes
him to take such and such view we
are prepared to discount it, or at least
to interpret it in terms Of our own per-
ception.
But the trouble with this method is
that it merely appeals the question to
another court. It is as easy to disagree
In the criticisms of critics as for them to
disagree in their criticisms Of au-
thors and works. - - --.l-..-~ /
Pending the coming of some synthetic
genius who will learn the truth through
the Hegliam method of contradiction,
Professor Howe finds justification Of the
study of critics in the theorem that the
fundamental aim Of all intellectual edu-
cation is to awaken the power Of in
dependent thinking, and to train the
Individual Judgment. II you really have
independent thoughts Of your own and
judgment that works, be happy in the
realization of those facts and worry not
about their differences from the thoughts
and judgments of others.