The sun., 1908-08-23

the belief that nothing which has ever
interested living men and women can lose
| its vitality language they have spoken
nor oracle beside which they have hushed
their voices, no dream which has 'onoe
been entertained by actual human minds.
nothing about which they have ever been
passionate or expended time and zeal.
A latter day humanism had by this time
become Pater's creed. "Faun, Christian
knight. satyr. martyr. Mary the Virgin
and Venus-who apparently was not n
virgin Edpan and pantheist all hob
nobbed together amioably in his tolerant
brain; and his conversation oomported
with his writings" In one breath he would
utter sayings that befitted voltaire. and
IN the nsxt express the hope that he would
be buried In the robes Of Capuchin. Al
though. however. Pater's humanism 10
conspicuous enough In his Renaissance,
his present biographer holds that the quail
ties which have immortalized that book
are entirely independent Of the creed Of
the writer.
The opening essay in the book is an
attempt to prove that there was literary
and an artistic revival before the Renais-
sanoe period-a sort of false dawn; and
he tells the stories OF "Amis and Amile'
and "Aucassin and Nicolette,' both OF
which. Pater insists reveal a yearning
after freedom and duty and revolt against
the faith of the times. -The old gods"
he says. shaking of their disguises. are
already beginning to peep from their hiding
places. Venus, tired Of her caves and
bats, had already yoked her car with spar
rows; Apollo. having snapped In twain his
shepherds crook, was furnishing up his
rusty Tyre; the aged Jupiter, who. clad in
rabbit skins-a sort Of polar Robinson
Crusoe-had for 500 years pottered about
the ioebergs Of SpitEbergen, was moving
southwark. In short, Olympus was once
more beginning to get sauoy.'
The essay on the versatile Florentine
Pioo della Mirandola is followed by that
on Botticelh, the painter whose Madonnas
were to Pater's eye all but infdels shrink
ing from the pressure Of the divine child, =
and pleading sin unmistakable undertones
for a warmer. lower humanity those peev-
ish looking Madonnas who are neither for
"Jehova nor for his enemies For Mr..
Wright the chapter on .The Poetry Of
Michael Angelo is chiefly attractive by
reason Of the remarks on clairvoyanoe.
6uDJcCts hoWoNCip WhAOh IN oOeAAs "AsaA
at greater length in the chief essay in the
book, that on Leonardo da Vinci Pater
makes out Leonardo to have been prince
Of clairvoysnts and describes that painter q
women as -the olairvoyants through whom
| as through delicate instruments one be-
comes aware Of the subtler forces Of nature. '
Whether these ideas are tenable or not.
such was the impression that Leonardo g
pictures made on Pater's eye. The article
eliminates in that remarkable description
of Monna Lisa, whose face seemed to Pater
expressive Of what in the ways Of q thou
sand years men had come to desire
.,.. ". s'~
Mr.. Wright is one OF those admirers Of
Pater who think that aThe Renaissance de-
serves the title Of THE Golden Book He
admits nevertheless. that the volume has
| grave blemishes. and recalls that it had
q mixed reception. Some readers were
provoked by it; some had ey es only for the
weeds ;others were carried OF their feet by
the more dazzling passages. Nobody accepts
everything that Pater chooses to enounce.
No one read Pater's Renaissance more
eagerly than did Mrs. Mark Pattison. and
though abe handled 1t with some severity
in her survey OF 1t in the Westuinsfer Rerieti
she paid an ungrudging tribute to its unique
and grateful bouquet. According to Mr..
Wright she was the only critic who stun
bled upon the precise truth about Pater.
She declared that he was lacking both In
knowledge Of the times OF which the art OF
the Renaissance was an outcome and In
scientific method. He wrote OF the Renais-
sance, she said. as IL 1t was an air plant
independent OF the ordinary sources Of
nourishment a sentimental revo-
luton, having no relation to the conditions
OF the actual world She added: -We miss
the sense Of the connection between art and
literature and the other forms Of life OF
which they are the outward expression, and
feel as II we were wandering in a world OF
unsubstantial Dreams But while thus
denying the writer's intimate possession OF
his subject Mrs. Pattison admitted the
charm OF his genius and the beauty OF his
style-observing that, with q marvellous
power OF discriminating delicate differences
OF sentiment, he could match the shades
by words sin the choice Of which he is often
30 brilliantly accurate that they CLEAN upon
the paper with the radiance OF jewels.
Sir Charles Dixie has expressed the thought
that 1t was perhaps In penance for this
article that after Pater's death his late
wife, Lady Dixie. bound the copy Of 'The
Renaissance" which he had presented to
her more beautifully than any other volume
in her collection and reverently placed
within 1t a portrait Of the author. MIR.
Wright thinks that Mrs. Pattison had nc
need to do penance for her article. He
recognizes that most critics OF Pater have
taken for granted that he had wide and
deep knowledge OF art and Of the other
subjects which he discussed; but he submits
that the evidence brought forward in these
volumes does not warrant the assumption
The truth Is. he says. that Pater, who waa
OF an indolent nature, never would take the
trouble to 60 to the root Of things. What
ever his limitations, however. he had the
gift inherent in genius Of gliding whatever
knowledge he possessed-no matter how
insignificant. THAT being the case. his very
moderate equipment need not trouble US.
In those days there were probably hun
dred scholars who knew considerably more
about art than the author Of The Renais-
sanoe,' but there was only one Pater.
Tx Ahox N