The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-02-28
NEWS OF THE BOOK WOLRD

NEWS OF THE BOOK WOLRD
THE UNEASY oHAIR
RELIGION IN THE NOVEL; HALL
ETHICAL FORCE.-Hall Game, the nov
elist, contributes to the March number of
The Booklovers' Magazine a very strong
plea for the novel as an ethical force. Il
rebel with all the strength Of my soul"
ne says, against the shallow opinion. so
current, that the novel is a puppet-show
as immoral as Punch and Judy, and as
completely void Of moral responsibility. /"
The novel, as Mr.. Caine conceives It.,
must deal with life as whole, and with
its deepest problems. Among these lat
ter. religion is easily supreme Hence
the novelist's treatment Of it should be
didactic, tho it should not be bald or
controversial. It must unite the sim
plest pictures of life with the deepest
problems of humanity On this ground
Mr.. Game defends his use of biblical sub
jects. He deliberately chose as his themes
the great legends that have endured
since the beginning Of the world as far
more substantial foundations for stories
than any merely fictitious plots.
Mr.. Caine predicts that the novel will
be the greatest ethical teacher of the fu-
ture, because its capacity for influence
is unlimited. There is no pulpit" he
says, with a sounding-boar that will
send the human voice so far"
ORIGINAL OF "AUTocRAT OF THE
BREAKFAST TABLE" BOUGHT By
J. PIERPoNT MORGAN FOR $4,000
The original Of Oliver Wendell Holmes
'Autocrat Of the Breakfast Table, has
been purchased by J. P. Morgan for 81, 900.
The manuscript is in good condition and
Is placed among the most valuable in
American literature. The manuscript con-
tains about 300 closely written quarto
pages and includes the poems 1.-THE Won
derful One-Horse Shay" the '"Cham-
bered Nautilus" 'Parson Turelrs Leg
acy'' and THE Living Temple
THE CLOSE kINsHiP OF MUSIC AND
PoETRY.-MUsIcAL FORMS IN VERSE.
&c. E. Russell, whose name is perhaps
more familiar as that of a magazine writer
than as that of poet, is, nevertheless, a
poet deserving much attention In his
book. Twin lmf1ortalItes, he not only
sings with fire and grace Of the close re-
other things but he attempts with very
great degree of success. to transpose
musical forms into verse. His first effort
In this direction is ''Graubunden." He
himself regards the adagio movement in
this as his most; successful effort with
the sonata form, If we read his notes
Alright. There we find this, for example,
tho 1t is hardly fair to extract lone
stanza from its fellows, thereby robbing
it of much of its meaning:
Far away, in April family heard,
Summer sounds Onn note Of rhyth1nic WARNING
Hark! and waning winter at the word
Startes forth as night before the morning.
Autumn comes; and August's tr1umphs scorn-
Lo! the ice king slowly climbs his throne.
What cares he for Summers glorious dawning
Or whittier now its tattered robes blown?
1t is true that Mr.. Russell's verses are
written largely for the music-more large
ly often than for the sense. But the sense
Is always clear, and there is more of It
by far than there is in the work OF many
poets of more note. who are supposed to
reverse Mr.. Russelfs order. The book Is
one which will interest both lovers of
poetry and lovers of music, especially
lovers Of both.
Hammersmark Publishing company Chi
cago.
MORAL Observation-Disclosures How
ard Grlggs, in the preface to Moral Edu.
cation, says: 1T is now widely recog-
nized in America that the chief aim Of
education is to develop noble manhood and
womanhood. The absorption. natural to
our pioneer period, in sharpening the tools
of the mind and equipping the individual
for personal success is being rapidly re-
placed by the effort TO mold the PERSONAL
ity that will the minds instruments
for the great ends 6f human life, in har-
mony with the good Of the whole In
this same awakening to apprehend the
nobler aim Of education, the author in
cludes France, Germany and Italy, but
views them as following in the wake of
America.
Is it true that we are now only just
beginning to recognize widely the chief
aim of education? Is it not, rather, his
torically true that the fathers had this
aim long ago; that later generations
brought in the "tool -sharpening. or, as
the Germans thirty years ago chara letter.
and that now we are having a reaWaken-
ing to the true, chief aim-the impor~
| lance Of moral training?
Mr.. Griggs' book Is thoughtful serious
and interesting, and ought to stimulate
earnest readers, thinkers and teachers
of every class to do better work. 1t is
open to criticism in that it makes many
tacit assumptions. and then argues as If
on a basis Of scientific gertrude. This ap-
! pears III the autHOr use OF the lneOfy
! Of. .evolution-a working theory that is
useful in many ways but which is very
far from being established certified
truth-the key to. the, solution OF
the universe problem, and as s'com-
plete and inclusive. view Of the prob
LEM of moral culture. the book. seems to
fall far short Of success. 1t fails to show
any solid ground in the nature Of man as
the basis whereon> to build that culture
1t fails to furnish a basis of moral law
as a guide Of life. 1t seems to be open
to the objection that it's ground of moral
culture-its root, if you prefer-is in per-
sonal advantage. 1t fails, in short, to be
scientific. w. r. K.
B. W. Huebsch, New York. 81 net.
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