The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-14

TO the practical moralist. The formers
theory is sound like every other theory.
30 far as it explains the facts; and 1t must
explain. and therefore admit, the existence
Of vice as we'll as virtue. This seems TO be
overlooked when an ethical theory IL con-
demned because II does not OF Itself con-
strain the will as well as convince the In
tellect. That IL 10 confound the art With
the science, or practise with theory. A
theory Is a systematic statement Of belief
and the only question about a belief IL,
in any and every case, whether II lie true
or false. not whether 1t does or does not
produce any assumed effect upon conduct.
In this respect the analogy is complete
between the scientific and practical moralist
and thescientific and practical Psychologist.
III.
It may interest the reader TO recall some
Of Stephens literary judgments. In his
essay on Gibbon he admits that the his
torian Of the Decline and Fall was a
unique instance Of a man who did exactly
what he meant TO do; and that with Glib
bon'G immense achievement the work OF
few modern scholars can be compared. Yet
for this man. who by general consent is
the greatest Of all historians, Stephen had
a positive antipathy, which az times almost
approached contempt, He regards Glib
bon's boyish conversion 70 Catholicism as
significant of his weak side, and declares
that, though a s<ilful anatomical demon
strator Of the dead framework Of society,
he lie an utterly incompetent observer Of
It's living development II is thus that
Stephen accounts for Gibbons failure 10
understand the true reason why Christian
ity spread itself over the world.
Sterne was another author whom Stephen
regarded with antpathy; for the man,
apart from his books, he has nothing but
oontemptuous disgust. Yet, with oharao-
teristio equity, in an essay on the suthor
OF sTristram Shandy' he Acknowledges
that: 'one can hardly read the familiar
passages without admitting that Sterne
was, perhaps, the greatest artist In the
language. No one at least shows more
inimitahle felicity in producing a pungent
effect by q few touches Of exquisite preois-
ion. He gives the impression that the thing
has been done once for all; he has hit the
bulls eye around which aspiring marks
men 60 on laundering indefinitely without
any satisfying success. Two or three Of
the scmes in which Uncle Toby expresses
his sentiments are as perfect In their way
as the half dozen lines in which Mn. Quick
ley describes the end Of Falstah, and con-
vince us that three strokes from q man
OF genius may be worth more than the
life labor Of the oleverest literary work.
men, Mr.. Paul directs attention to the
fact that Sterne contradicted Stephens
famous theory that you cannot love a
mans books without being fond Of the man
himself. Pope Is another exception to the
rule. Stephen, however, though he owns,
and even says roundly, that Pope was a
worse man than Sterne, did not detest
him as he detested the author Of 'Tristram
Shandy,' but, on the contrary, was driven
by Ewin's structures on the poet into an
attitude almost Of advocacy for Pope.
An essay singled out by Mr.. Paul as
Characteristic L that on De Quincy, be-
cause II attests Stephens habit Of acquir-
ing a thorough acquaintance with an author
even II he did not particularly like him.
Thus, although he had expressed the cpl
grammatio judgment that De Quincy
wrote q few pages which reveal new
capacities Of the language, and provided
good deal Of respectable padding for.
the magazines" he was as well acquainted
with the padding as with the memorable
passages In the Confessions Of an Opium
Eater and the 'Suspiria de Proiundis,s
which are 80 frequently quoted as speoi-
mems Of inspired eloquence. Nor should
any one fail 70 recognize that although
De Quincy oscillated between the tawdri-
est OF fine writing. in the worst sense Of
that term, and sentences which show that
poetry Of high order can be written with
~ - ~
writing plain, sober prose, as In his popular
version Of Ricardo's Political Economy
which might be republished with advan-
tage at the present day. That Rusdn
was az much indebted TO De Quincy a.
he was to Sir Thomas Browne h a truth
which Stephen rather hints than formu-
lates. In Mr.. Paul's opinion not even
in the 'Religio Medici' nor In the Stones
Of Venice IL there anything more mag
nifoent than the Opium Eaters last dream, |
when the weight Of twenty Atlantios
was upon him. or the oppressiCn Of In |
eIpiable guilt.
In his essay on Hume. Stephen shows
himself keenly alive 10 the intrepidity OF !
The Scottish philosophers reasoning. Yet |
for hundreds who mad Hume's History
OF England which has little to recon-
mend Il except the style, there were not |
In his own day az many scores who read |
the Treatise on Human Nature" although |
this IL acknowledged TO have been the
most cogent and complete philosophical
argument produced In England during
the eighteenth century. Stephen ex-
plHins IN his essay both the preeminenoe
anG the neglect Of that treatise. Mr.. Paul
e. Aours with him In thinking that Hume
Wa e. much above hh critics a. Bentley
wa, 6hd suffered from tho nams oaula.