New-York tribune., 1908-06-27
ROUSSEAU.
Il Ae7c Tangled Biography an Ten
Lectures.

- Lei
Mcclure Company.
Only a Frenchman could have written the ten
conversations which NJ Lemaftre here gives
The easy style, the informality and almost
epigrammatical acuteness of Characterization
thoroughly Gallo But the most distinctly
national mark here is the curious combinat ton
Of severe intellectual" criticism and sketchy
mpressionism. Rousseau is viewed and Judged
from many points OF view and with such sym
pathetic inpartiality IA paradox indigenous to
Franco that N. Lemaitre's book ends with
harsh mixture OF damnation and praise Here
is the finishing stroke in his portrait OF Rous-
seau:
Poet, great poet, soul fun Of desires. tenn
permanent OF the same order that Of Byron,
OF indi1lduaiisn, happened to be mainly used Tor
OBJECTS which are NOT OF poetrys domain. which
r the terrible part OF it is that, thanks these
ness. nourished By brilliant and deceptive dia-
lectic. these theories which. after him, to
did not really believe in them-he dreamed them:
anu y !S pS I.ess eliei a. oI hnlch ne con,
70 lay waste the future. For, in his ''Iettres
poet his portrait Represented it Was also the
dreamer intoxicated and dazed with reveries the
proud hermit. the lhsolent self-taught man, the
instructive revolutionary, the unsocable man who.
every day OF his life. tried to mend society, the
things who brought everything back to himself.
pree o Sho erna swept away the Work Of ages
and who fancied he caused humanity TO advance
6T ONE 0fe@H to the OTHER in one Word the very
T4Ierse of a Rosslet or an Auguste Comte. l
once adored rUmanticiSm, and i believed IN the
Revolution. And now, greatly troubled reflect
tban any other / believe was the cause of the
Revolution and or neratts AT sf Invalid
and, finally, a madman
This summary characterization confirms NJ
ernaftre's predatory statement that this is not
a critical biography OF Rousseau; my chief OBJ
iect has been the history of his sentiments 1t
also fuIfils the writer's express desire, above
all Ia be simple and clear" and to assume the
tone of q somewhat careful conversation" But
the essayist's successful loyalty TO these Ideals
sets very narrow bounds TO the usefulness OF MS
volume NJ Lemaitres avowed theory Is that
Rousseau, being the most subjective OF WRITER'S
,a, best he depicted "in a biography wherein
the story of his books would intimately inter
,,irela with the analysis of his Confessions
~ -o1+s reached by this treatment do bring
=. +be central fact in Rousseau's character,
,,- tie multiple personality; but NJ Le-
t. .eenos ouite unaware Of the fuil slgnlh-
o,.a of this and hence he fails to dofuil justice
.. taousseau the man, while sKetchihs anu
;,,c;s;ng Rousseau the neurotic. Rousseau 'he
,,-a1id Rousseau the writer ana rousseau 'iie
,,bilosopher. Just because the Pa'ioi
tho French Revolution was pathoiosi0"hS
- sreaner q creature Of impulses good
80 had living half dozen lives IN ole' NJ i1'
-. ,lan of criticism is unduly severe he
.-ao1iv the citizen Of Geneva as a fnadhlah' It
Gains ,,,s nrivate life and his writings not
from the standpoint OF phy ysio,"i' % .a-
~. from, the very interesting yet danger
slS'' "a, ordinary impressionstic critic
r. o,,,bor doubtless gives us falr4y aocu
-. e t3ousseau's amazing escapades' III
...o,ae and fraiItes. We see the man as
80 of illusions and the apostle OF 'iie
-, "a being with quivering nerves. %
-,-ss of passion Of sin, of sunerlhg. but
>, insisting too sternly upon interpreting i'ou
DS ,,,e as the fruit of his personality
se ~ ;c,,,,stances of his life, NJ Lemaitre
,+ifes himself over the philosopher pi'i
s,once lpon his contemporaries IN shHiP
osition 10 NJ Lanson, M faguet anu o'0t
eo,,e students of Rousseau, ne deciaies 'ii"'
..o,.ra+ social" and the Confessions were
,.., only through accidental circumstances
=. that the action these books mad upon h"-
anu &c. remain an unfathomable puzzle.
20, u,i1st 10 the world as well as to
: a,,o Has NJ Lemaitre not missed the
: :, -, of the "COntrat social, which he
incee Rousseau's most mediocre. most OBJ
- most chaotic book Every orlginal
..,,tcaI comment which he passes upon Rohs-
h,tosonh.cal masterpiece displays an
,aorance and incapacliy iof lie"i I@iis
Is ,o,,nt of clever phrases and filppancy
80 ,rbere is no need to commend NJ
-. for laying bare many absurditles in
I,.,seaa,,s political speculations' that is
.asl. But must the historian not be re-
araacbed for having missed the might of the
p1f ,,,r,cai half rational revolt from authority
mn ,,,.n,,on back TO humanism and democ-