The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-28


one or the most creative and original
minds in the very prolific nineteenth
century. | am glad that when quite a
young man. not more than twenty two
or three, | was made acquainted with
three of his famous works" Modern
Painters, THE Stones of Venice" and
| Seven Lamps of Architecture" /
must add that l read but two volumes
of Modern Painters" the first one of
which appeared in 1843. The course
of production extended through seven
teen years, and when completed was
composed of five large volumes. 1t
was devoted to painting, and the other
two volumes were applied to architec-
ture only. Ruskin was born in Lon
don on 8th of February. 1919. and
| died goth January, 1900. having just
passed his S1st year. 1t is not too
much to say that in these volumes
are to be found much of the finest and
most splendid writings in all English
| literature. This remark particularly
applies to Modern Painters" In
more than sixty years of literary read
| ing, / have never met with any Eng
| lish that so fascinated me as that to
be found in that work, unless ] am to
make passage in DE Quincy S
"Suspiria de Profundis' an ex,
ception. Professor Sa1ntsbury says
of the marvellous gift of ex-
preston that sit was such as
had never been seen before and
| has never been SINCE He writes Of
| the Stones of Venice that it lis the
! book of descriptive prose. in English,
| and all other after it is in vain" He
says in his Corrected Impressions
that he has always thought that no
! body in our time has touched Mr..
| Ruskin at his very best as an artist in
| the fiamboyant variety of English
prose-
OF the great English authors distin-
| guished above all others for richness
and perfection of style there may be
| named Milton Landor. Shelley. New
| man. Macaulay, De Quincy. Ruskin.
and possibly Walter Pater Many
| have essayed to initiate Ruskin. but
none has equalled him. His Wave
Studies" in the first volume Of his first
work, Modern Painters" is a very
conspicuous example of the elegance.
| splendor and perfection of Ruskins
early work. Saintsbury says read the
pine Forest in June" and the "Angel
| of the Sea-" and say. If he has any
knowledge of English literature.
whether there had been anything like
any of these before. He finds only one
approaching it. and he was a consum-
mate poet and master of prose-Percy
| Bysshe Shelley. He writes: Shelley.
perhaps. in some of his prose had
gone near it, Shelley was almost as
great prose writer as he was poet,
No one else could even be mentioned"
! Mr.. William M. Payne. a scholarly and
able critic in the North, refers to
him as lone of the great masters Of
English prose-" Other opinions could
he given for Ruskin lived and died a
writer of exalted fame, and with hosts
of admirers all around the world.
/ am glad to see frequent references
to Ruskin, and to know that his NUM-
erous writings are still read. and that
his genius is discussed and appreciated
by competent critics and cultured
readers | make it a point to read
anything see about him. have read
q considerable number of articles.
since he died. Some of the articles
We're excellent in discrimination.
knowledge of the man. appreciation of
his great gifts, and recognition of the
good he had done. Some We're
stupid. laundering, blind to his high
qualities. his noble manhood, his great
loving and sympathetic heart His
foibles, his crotchets, his imperfec-
tons were seen. emphasized and even
magnified. Frederick Harrison, one
of the best of living English critics in
a volume of essays published some five
or six years since. wrote an elaborate |
paper upon Ruskin, But believe the
best the most satisfactory the most
acute essay / have read on him since
he departed was in the New York
Forum" and was written by Mr.. Will |
liam p. Longfellow This was several |
years ago. 1t was evidently written |
from full knowledge of the great man, |
and in admirable style. 1t was so
lucid, so appreciative. so excellent, so |
discriminating / wish all lovers of the |
best literature could read it, He re- |
cogniZes fully Ruskin's great genius, |
understands his complex mental char |
acter, and presents the man in such |
luminous way that all can see clearly |
the real greatness of the genius, and |
where his real power lay as we'll as his |
unquesuoned weakness. Ruskin had |
superb and manifold genius was a |
born preacher. was deeply religious, |
was dogmatic, and often absurd was |
not really a treat reaSoner, but had |
fine analytic power, and, as I have |
tried to show, was the most splendid,
the most royalty endowed writer at |
times of all men of many generations. |
He had keen perceptions and true in
stincts and still he often blundered. |
But in his best field he was great, and 4!
really unrivalled.
/ will turn on the light here as to
his shortcomings, failures and alb |
surdities He had no self-criticism. He |
believed in what he wrote, and never
saw his own absurdities or blotted |
ing his long career he never troubled |
himself as to whether he knew what |
he was talking about. whether he was
or was not talking nonsense, whether |
he was or was not contradicting fatty |
something that he had said before
He thinks that "in 'Fors Clavigera'
and other things he made almost re-
ligion of his own idiosyncrasy; then, as
all men know, he established himself
at his own University, and led men
captive. as an irreverent one phrased |
it, by road making and rigmarole'."
He was assailed for his views on every
hand for the Philistines were upon
him. Saintsbury thinks that his
thought lis for the most part. purely
original, and at times it has really
marvellous vigor. felicity and truth"
And yet the Professor recO -nizes the
fact that after all is said there is no
little of merit and interest in Ruskin's
opinions, for he says that IF these
curious volumes are taken with a due
amount of rational salt. they cannot
fail to enlarge and exercise the tastes
and powers of the reader; while, if
read simply for enjoyment they will
be found to contain the very finest
prose without exception and beyond
no T. 1ryI,i has been WTitfa1 |