The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-10

ANJtNtntNN tNf ~ hh9 byfnl W. ~
Inc 's-t, a. u WsFr, . pubits saai upua ne
slRance ~ ths gswpFs that vSonshe toF
frr-taHn, IN paFsut n o ommon arm ne
twr I'D frisnda themrslyrs Wrps d~spsy
affected w ma fofagaeheFlna, after . eepa-
fsaiua "A nore fhaa tpentv yrafa Theft
frny1wSt ffbstsishlp WHs ~ sfaHd ~" 'e-e
a ~ M ehaaars hruuehf ~ NtfasFieiit
gesps Nv lssg me maFfiaRs n ttssais
nniv an win no n ~hl6Vhsons dssiaAfsts
a,hiesi slons sa,nflp iius ~ tKoss NJ ff'end@
ship wben M iwa njdpuaru esnne " ru's
efasuista llaee ~ ne @vsnfy. Hth h'fth-
IaV Ire lagtat aalf sth taafs IN hts sfes'
ATE, ~, n y ywt ! hsvs lor"d hs~'
w.
ne e.afaes n aeas isseeru IN e~s-~rve
M "a susfy ~ AeFit, iees whsn Ne Sas
snlsnsnloa IN Hstns, ftsrn fo,thd IN ten.
| nasb a. ssla ally, Who was ~ 10 the hef
4. ssatao a e~rUpeshenaloe - he quality
A. 4 post and ~ On interpreter N TIE aaH,
M, roiv M hat epuntSy, hut lhrpnafo,1t
F,eota fhta va OecFas Hrsndea, ~
whom ftr~n TAN asrunaIy a'trart"d ~ VIC
Gallant manner IN whirh the Danish
critic. whon only ~ hal hscwn down ,hs
e~aunties IN buth orthodoxy and the ph'
iusothy whtuh aimed n . cutnpfofniss 10
twrrn Fuilgion and arteuca. BfandeH wsS
undouhtadly hampeFed ~ nrut by uhe ira
dilona ~ Danlah Wptbe,ietstn We Oriei@
nally ~rrgaNfed 'Pcas oynf' from the saine
standpoint ~ Clenene Peterset' snd
strongly CONDEMNED fbesn's habit 81 moral
laIne,' dsrlaging tho pOen 70 b. 'nslther
beautiful nor trus.' it~en replied dstter
on that he was utterly Indifferent Ga asthetl-
cal conventions; that to him conventional
u~Rlineaa, n 10 Were full u character. might
actually be hsautiful, 'by virtue OF its IN
herrns truth To this view Bratdes
! allowed himself 10 be easily converted he
cause hia own personal incllnations lay In
the came direction. His ~sxpersnce Of lie
soon extended the range u his vision and
HE sympathiea, and he, M he has recalled'
got nd Of all the preIudices which were
due to education and tradition. 20 when
Ibaen called on him dstter IN to be a pro-
taRonist In the great spiritual revolution,
Brandes answered with q fiery poem Of
homage, in which he declared himself
ready TO lake part In the fight az the born
follower and squire Of Tbaen. his 'match-
leas leader
Il In ooncedod by the editors that the new
conception Of art, which made truthful
human character drawing the primary and
principal requirement. was first distinctly
formulated not by Ibsen. but by Brandes,
In the latter's we'll known lectures on MAR
Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature
The first series Of these lectures appeared
In book form In 1872; and how strongly
thereupon Ibsen In his turn was influenced
by Brandes may be learned from many
passages in his letters. mo more dam
eerous book could fall into the hands OF @
pregnant poet, = he wrote at once to Brandes.
What continually occupied his thoughts,
disturbing even his nights rest, was not,
he said letter 1907, the hysterical subject
of the CRITICS book, but the manner in which
Brandes, from the starting point OF htera-
ture. arevolted' against existing condi-
tons, and, Eager for the fray, and inspired
by q heaven storming desire for liberty.
assaulted the prejudioes Of society," his
manner, for example, Of treating suicide,
or unlawful love. This, evidently, was
what Ibsen meant when he said Qetter 9l)
that the book had opened "a yawning gulf
between yesterday and to-day The
editors think 1t may be asserted hat
Brandes's work, which created a new school
Of literature in Denmark, was also 'epooh
making In Ibsen's literary career. 1T
gave him new strength at the time when
he was beginning to devote his whole pro-
duodve energy TO the drama OF modern
society. On the path Of development on
which Ibsen now entered Brandes followed
him, step by step, as his faithful defender
ana Interpreter, at home n abroad. After
the first years OF impassioned warfare,
however, the aggressive tone In lbsen's
work gradually died away. giving place
to the mood Of the true poet. who does not
Judge men, but tries to understand them.
This was what he himself In 1871 had de-
ella rcd letter sl) to be his appointed task,
namely, to see and describe life as It Is In
it's tragic and comic Developments It
Ia pleasant to learn that, obstinate and
oombative men though they both were,
each in his own way their personal friend
ship was to the last unbroken. Brandes,
it is true, was often annoyed by Ibsen's
neRleotfulnees In the matter OF CORES pom
dence, but the feeling Of spiritual Einship
always drew him again to the side of his
literary friend and chief; and Ibsen, on
his side, never allowed any feeling Of annoy
ance to produce q change in the old rela-
tonship, for he always felt that from
Brandes he received that understanding
which to him was Of more value than any
praise. Il do not require he wrote to
him letter 84), "the kind Of agreement
upon which the preservation Of a friend
ship usually depends" 1t was a higher
kind Of unanimity which formed the tie
between these two men.
1t remains to note in Ibsen one other
evolutionary process, the change, namely,
from the sentiment Of nationalism to that
Of Teutonio oosmopolitanism. Il began
he wrote to Brandes, "by feeling myself
to be a Norwegian; then developed into q
Scandinavian, and ave ended in Teuton-
ism." 1t became ultimately his firm belief
that 1t was necessary for an author to be-
come a denizen of the great Teutonio
house" which includes, OF course, the Brit
ish Empire and the United States. as we'll
as Germany and Scandinavia. in order to