New-York tribune., 1903-02-15

say, from Montaigne's book practising the COM
mon sense which is of the essayists greatest
virtues. Thus he repeats with approval the late
Horace E Scudder's saying that punctuation
lis really for the elucidation Of the paragraph,
and is for the readers benefit. There is no
sanctity about it, and the printer has always
had far more to say about it than the author"
| FIorio is full of what Mr. Ives calls absurd and
Illogical punctuation and he has not hesitated
to revise the old translator in this matter Ihe
reader profits by his courage, wondering, py the
way why Mr.. Henley and Professor SaintsDury
did not use equal freedom in the Tudor eol-
ton mentioned above. He has also oVerhauleo
Montaigne's quotations. revising and correcting
them; he has verified the references discovered
by previous editors, correcting them When neces-
sary and he has added q number of his own.
| In this mart of his work he has had the excellent
| Judgment to use for all references to Plutarch
and Plato for example, the translatlonS Dy
North and Jowett respectively, a policy Whieh
must commend itself to scholars as we'll as 10
| laymen. CHANGING up and down the notes, we
| have observed some apt verbal clarhhcauohs
| and much interesting miscellaneous matter. out
perhaps the most piquant are those which bring
-, in the reactionary observations of the late M
| Guillaume Guizot, who subjected Montalsne 20
some unusually severe criticism. MT ives IN
cludes these fragments in tacit agreement we
suppose with NJ. Emile Faguet whom ne quotes
! as saying: Let flavor of bitterness Iiu i'S
way into the universal homage that is palo 10
him; it will give piquancy to it; 1t Is hsh @ .ni,e
that his glory should be renewed DS h'''e
opposition"
| # is certainly stimulating to read the remarks
| that Mr. Ives reproduces from the critic a1ore-
| said But one of them, which is clteo apropos
| or tho cbanter "Of the Institution and Education
Of children" if calculated to give even ene
| beadlong admirer pause, can only serve III uie
| long run to throw him back upon MS DeloFeu
| author with confidence renewed. Strlp 1o
| taigne's ideas concerning education' says IL
| Guizot "of all the ornaments %hlch enloeiis
| them and Of the partial truths WHICH '
| mingles with them, reduce them u 'eh ~
stance, and is it not true that they may pe 'nuS
| EXPRESSED: The child must be subjected to no
| discipline and we must demand or MIN ho eA-
fort; there is nothing to be taken lroni "a
.dde5 to that which the child bears IN hlmseI'
all that we take away is pure loss, all thaI VIC
add Is a delusive gain: or. more briefly, no eou-
| -. =. o1v7 There is one omission In
| Montaigne's views on education WHICH oe0eA'e.
| to be noticed; religion has nc place 'leiS
| Tho words embody a challenge, and one suiii-
GENTLY plausible to pique the curiosity Oh any
faithful reader of the Essays" But 10 such
| a reader it must seem at once natural ana !u''
! 20 retort upon NJ Guizot with another questloh'
..,Ubo+ do Won EXPECT? Is it for system that
| ,-o,, cor,a To Montaigne?" So it would seeih'
| and the wise humorous FrencEman Is the last
man in the world to come to for any such Iapilc'
| IT NAV he said Of Montaigne, as 1t has been salo
| of Plato that he IS not a system, put haoi' "a
| mind Those partial truths to which M.
Guzot refers are not imperfect or mispiaceo
hrcls in a substantial edifce. designed aiohg
more or less sound constructive lines: they are
the suggestions casually thrown off by ferthe
mind as it plays with curiosty-but not at dill
| r,i+b doeu1atic feryor-around an interesting
| subject.
| Is not this one Of the things for Whlch we es
| necially turn to Montaigne, no matter What LIS
| theme may be? The essay on educauoh Has
heen too much beIauded, it Is true by CRITICS
with a particular interest in education, yet we
| ruct not charge upon Montagne the errors INTO
| which some of them may have fallen he mas
| commentators" said Voltaire of Dante. "Whlcn
| ,s nerhaps one reason why he is so often mis-
| understood" The wise father might heslta'e 20
| bring up his child in literal accordance Win
| tho nrinciples-if are to erect MohtuSheS
| viau,s into hard and fast prnciples-of the es-
| COW so troublesome to NJ. Guizot But that par
| ont 1pon,d have to be wise indeed, wiser than
| os+ of the wise men, who could read the essay
| and derive no benefit from its suggestions 10
raad II in the right spirit is to put ones sell III
tho nosition of listener TO good talk for d
| man so fond of his library MontalSne is eAtraoi
froa from bOOkiSh traits. Shr1nh-