New-York tribune., 1909-04-03
A Collection Of Essays by an Enemy
of Dulness.

-Tans ISqTres Nietzsche. Blake, lbsen. SVIb H-;tb
,ortrsit 81 Stendhal unpublished ieIieT ,ITd oI
Flauoert and original proof Iaess o. SINNERS
Sons sS5sr' Emo Dp- %
He is a clever essayist who can get iii0 e-
read The form he uses has fallen upon e
days and is looked AT askance by re- oerS WIZ
have a constitutional objection to pelng Doieo
We hear less than we once hearo' 1t l. ~"
from, those ingenious young dealers in paradox
and 1reciosity who were wont TO assure US III
the words Of the hurnorist. that the tendency Oh
gross * toward movement rather tnan toward
green But the pedant is still with u.s. the
solemn soul to whom the essay is not a Io'ih
Of literature but a PROFESSIONAL instrument u
ediGcafion. He eschews paradox CT an! sol
with a. kind Of bovine resolution For hnl'
rather the scholarly observation that t"o
ard two make four. He is an upright 9uose'
absolutely unimpeachabe, and unutterapiy
wearisome Thrice blessed. therefore Is lhe
essayist who has the courage to note that TWO
and two occasionally make five, even tlous"
ne does not altogether believe ii or expect you
10 do So At least he Is amusing. and what Is
rnore he is not necessarily without certain sum
ulating qualities Such an essaylst Is Nj
Huneker a foe TO dulness who Is also ii'"'i
of brains His new book Stendhal FlauOei
and divers other ypes Of egoisn, is at any Ia
book 10 read
mind and il is evidence of his validity as ah
essayist that straightway he interests you ~
the color of his own. He is an impressloniSl
IN criticism There is a saying of BrunetereS
for whom by the way fancy that ne mas
little sympathy-.xhich well enbodles ms poiH'
of view i express here" says the Frehch-
man no preferences; and. especially assls"
no ranks. l onlY make known MI HuiieAei
does not pretend 10 hold the scales he Is an
interpreter he writes 10 transmit the pieasul-
able sensations he has found in this or that
work Of art. But man cannot jump OH MS
own shadow This essayist's preferences are
there though they may be only tacitly eX-
pressed Somewhere in this volume ne aluoes
10 that remark Of Swinburnes about the critle
sole legitimate opportunity being that OF III
dulgence in noble praise. He likes 10 praise or
If that might seem TO suggest in his pooK 1usl
a food OF iaudation. may say rather that
he writes with extraordinary gusto ana sym
pathy about his different more or less decadent
tvpes. A good trait surely. ir an essayist yet
in book like This one it gives the reader pause,
In his chapter on Anatole France there occurs
this passage:
Georg Brandes had said that, in the strict sense
ef the word NJ France Is Tot sIeat cI'iGi Fdt
Anatole France has said this before him he DC
spses pretentlous official criticism. the criticism
that distributes good and bad marks to authors IN
~ pedagoEc feshlor. he may nor ne 20 soT3 T,,
Tive as his cne-tlme @qrerss1s' 5l s 'rIinrn.
A plausible passage. but little unfair in its
oonfounding Of great criticism with the crit
tcisra that is official and pretentious. The
history OF literature is, after all. history Of
values To recognize this fact and to preserve
q sentiment Of LOYALTY toward il, which may
easily enough. II you like, be translated into
sense Of responsibility is necessarily to be
the Grass Trainer of class lists. a Pedasogic filler
OF pigeon holes. In the heart OF a critic like
Sainte- Reuve. for example, there is always an
edrooafus diaboIi dwelling there though in spite
OF hinself-not a mean instinct Of dsparage-
raent hut on the contrary. the inevitable ex-
preston Of his wistfulness for perfection In
vest il with the significance OF a moral impulse
and the face OF the decadent is averted in scorn
and horror. Let US. then, with the best will in
the world. dispense with label and turn the
point over in the light OF what one who Is In
dubitably a great critic has said on this sub
Sect The business Of criticism, in Matthew Ar
nosd's words. is simply to know the lest that
is known and thought in the world. and by in
SIS turn making this known, TO create a current
II true and fresh ideas" That familiar deliver
ance has worn pretty well II hardly savors of
rretentious oficiaidoun. In fact. dare say
that MIR Huneker would lye the first to admit
tts weight Yet it must he confessed that his
own criticism proceeds from very different
hypothesis.
II could scarcely be said that he makes any
anreal 10 the hest that is known and thought in
The uorl0 lie is Of varied If not eX-
haustive reading. The great writers are often
cited in his pages for purposes Of allusion. and
always wi:h that really illuminating aptness.
which is the mark Of the man with a true feel
ing Tor letters Yet these writers do not make
themselves felt as a constant fertiliZing infiu-
ence roacting upon the broad development of
his thought You feel that while he is aware of
their claims he does not propose that they shall
destroy the glamour CT the moment in which ms
heroes are snveloped Shall We value him any
the less for this? Not precisely, but we are GER
tainly constrained to distinguish between the
charm OF his book as a collection Of affection
ately drawn portraits and its value IS work
OF criticism. Where tie one is concerned you
make uncoa ditional surrender. In respect to
the other you are. so TO sag, perpetually on
guard. turning page after page with this quail
fcation and that reserve stirred twice to argG-
nent where once you read in 4 mood Of ac-
ceptance That b. itself. however, is tribute
TO the vitality OF AIr. HuEeker's essays.
We want him 10 pull his perspective about we
crave a more imPersonal touch, more critical
balance and. in TIE same instant. We ask If any
contemporary essayiss is more delightfully."- pro-
Nocative than he is. & any servitor in the tenn
pIe e letters SO persuasively entertain
ingiy twitches the mantles OF his gods over their
feet Of clay Again and again as he caresses
the Fascinating features of one of his egoists you
long TO have him show you the other side OF
The medal 81 airing nothing but presently you
are almost vexed at your own exigence. When
all is said you must meet more than half way
the enthusiast who write in this wise:
n was so5se time in the late spring or early sum