New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-05-24
EMERSON.

The bundredth anniversary of Emersons
birth is celebrated tomorrow. To recall that
he died only twenty-one years ago is to De
str,cIz ut once By his nearness to US in point
of time, and by the great range OF develop
ment in American conditions embraced Wlthln
the limits of his career. lie LETT, IN 1857
word phen omenaIly different from that upon
which he had opened his eyes in 1903. Ii he
couId revisit US now the contrast between MS
enocb and our own would strike him as even
more remarkable than any which impressed
him in his lifetime. In short, the EmerSonlah
idea is one of the ideas Of what may be calleu'
in the fullest sense, q century OF chahSe- II
terminated in years marked by a fermentation
in mems minds which is still working. ME
tbe commemorative exercises which have
everywhere been projected might seem TO IN
dicate that he had found his niche in the tenn
ME of fame. from which time would not be
likely to dislodge him. it is important to re-
member that we are living in period OF tran
sition when all seemingly esta blished Things
are CHALLENGED and literary regulations are
not the last to provoke debate. In all the En-
erson celebrations the note of affirmation. IL
is safe TO say. viii be chiefly heard Inc de-
tached observer may. therefore. with the more
appositeness approach the theme of the mo-
ment in a mood of Interrogation.
What have his readers done for EmersonF
What has Emerson done for his readers? One
answer to the first question lies upon the sur
face, and, as often happens in such cases.
II must be received with caution emerson
readers have so far increased in number that
as we have indicated above many groups o.
them are rising in different places TO do him
honor. The tributes that consist in puDhc
ceremonies and banquets, embellished with
NOT
But the accident of time has good deal 10
do with them; O centennial carries an impetus
of ifs own and upon occasions OF the sort II
Is almost Inevitable that zeal should outrun
common sense. Perhaps a safer CRITERION
where man of Emerson's peculiar repute Is
concerned is 10 be found in the general ofllt
/ of contemporary letters. His books are ire
ouently reprinted. and one contribution TO the
movement now going forward Is taxing the
shane of q new defnitve edition OF his COM
nIete works Writers read him. and that as
source of alluson he is not neglected is shown
by many OF the publications Of the day On the
other hand Il is doubtful If his vogue among
men of letters-the testimony of Carlyles ap-
precfation and of Ruskin's to the contrary
| notwithstanding-has ever been. or is now. as
great az that which he has enjoyed among lay
men On the latter score it may be said that
volumes of Emerson will be found to-day. as
they have been found for years. In quarters
where one would least expect TO find them.
| All manner of men and women have responded
TO his appeal though it must be added that the
degree of sympathy which he has received has
varied with the age of his reader. Not seldom
II happens that he who reads Emerson in youth
is intoxicated with gratitude and acclaims him
accordingly, only TO return to bis pages at
later time with modified judgment and with
an enthusiasm that, if not exactly dampened.
is al ali events conducive to far less sweeping
outbursts OF eulogy. In other words. while EN-
erson has innumerable followers who are glad
to Join in the homage offered at his centenary.
II will be found. when the special excitement
Of this week has subsidized that the tendency
among the more thoughtful is TO take him with
certain moderation. to praise him, but 10
praise him without excess.
The explanation Of this posture of affairs is
not long in declaring Itself when we proceed
to consider the question asked above-What
has Emerson done for his readers? writer
making for habit Of mind rather than for
the construction of clearly defined system
of thought. he has vaguely inspired rather than
tangibly instructed those who have sat at his
feet. A respectable anthology could be made
of brief passages and even of sentences from
his books, IN which each selection might serve
as touchstone Of conduct or of right think
ing But il is mistake to take these nuggets
as illustrat ting the essential Emerson, whose
genius was not for exact thinking. for the
cutting of canoes, but for high erected refec-
ton at large and for the creation of an at
mosphere rather than for the framing OF prin-
ciples His reflection is spiritualized his at
moephere is rich in stimulus. and II Is not sur
prising that thousands have found themselves
In his debt for the publication and the
strengthening of their ethical standards. But
If Emerson Is often luminous. II Is with the
luminosity that passes into q kind OF golden
vapor. and this as II is shot through and
through with the play Of his vagrant imagina-
ton. is apt to leave the dispassionate reader
with sense Of too fantastic and iridescent
phenomenon. In that enchanting but specious
environment many an eager student has fallen
on confusion. and though Emerson has helped
q great body Of men and women, IL is not too
much TO say that he has been responsible be-
yond the measure of any one of his contem-
pcraries in literature. for loose. fabby and APP
pallingly affected thinking Like Browning he
has been terrible lure 10 those who think
that they think; filling them with ambiguous
generaizations and enfeebling them with OBJ
scurities. at the same time that he has unwit-
tingly tinged their characters with foolish pride.