The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-26
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] NANNAy w NV - - - NAbAlsot q baAh ~
outside himself; In other words. purely
objective. Homer. says Aristotle. does
not entertain " with his own porDon but
Ia more than any other post an imltator.
The poet should have q wide knowledge
Of the outer World. But according 70 the
romanticists all that the poet. even the
epic poet. needs 10 posnans u feeling. or
soul. which in romantic parlancs Il about
synonymous with a glsh Of senalbtlity.
Leasing himsah treated words too object
lively. and only three years after the pub
lication Of the 'LaokOon' Herder pointed
out the inadequaoy Of his views and rp-
GREETED that LEASING had not put work
ing on our souls. or energy az the very
centre Of poetry, in contrasting IL with
painting. lnshOrt Hsrder makes an appeal
for what We should call suRgestiveness
under the influence possibly Of Didsrots
Letter on the Deaf and Dumb (lTSD.
Leasing turned the keenly analytical
passages Of this work 20 account and neg
lected the rest. consequently the kinship
between the two men has been greatly
exaggerated by the Germans. seeing
that the prevailing point Of view IN Less
ing Is humanistic and in Diderot natural
istic. Diderot In that work was already
on his way 20 all tho confuaions Of human
istic values 10 which naturalism in either
It's scientific or its sensimental form has
given rise Rousseau and Diderot held
pretty fully the theory Of suggsstivsnsss.
the possibility II the musicians paint
ing things which are inaudible and Of
the poet and painter depicting things
which are invisible. Art and literature
under this theory passed more and more
from the domain Of action into the domain
Of revery Art IL reduced 20 suggestion
and suggestion 10 defined a. -attsnu-
ated hypnosis But the DETECTING Of
literature from either rational or dra-
matte purpose 20 suggestive word painting
IL closely related to pFimtivism. 70 con-
temp, q the reason and the things that
are above reason, joined with a desire
% return 20 nature and - recover the
unity Of instinct. Romantic word paint
ING is first Of al the art of suggesting
things 20 yourself. ~ Wordsworth ber
gins by seeing the host Of golden dalios
dils' and then later They hAsh upon that
inward eye which IL the bliss 81 solitude.
This inward eye Was comparatively dor
mant In men before the last century. bat
has since developed into a new sense
which is in itaah delightful and lsgiti-
mate. while the rsvery with which IL ia
associated has its own uses. Thsromantic
error has been 70 make u this rsvery
the serious substance of life instead Of
it's occasional solace. IN short 10 turn the
nature cult into : religion. For the
romsnticiat life Ia no longer a drama
with q definite purpose hut a dream the
moods Of which are reflected in outer nature
20 that 70 portray outer nature is only
another form Of self-portTayal AZ man
thus melis into nature his vocabulary
melts into nature with him and takes on
all its varieGated hues. The French Ian.
Guage had become too abstract and intel
lectual, says Saints-Beuve Rousseau put
green into IL. His immediate successor.
Bernardin de Saint Pierre. made a more
abundant and precise uss Oi the descrip-
tive epithet, and exoticism made its
appearance.
From Bernardin de Saint Pierre 70 Lott |
the whole globe has been ransacked for I
local impressions which Ia the term our
author prefers 70 local color Chateau |
brand. the master Of the word NJ phrase /
Of mysterious compelling charm that |
eludes analysis and defies translation. !
Was pronounced ny Saints- Beuve the 4
hrst great writer Of the decadence. mainly /
because with him the equilibrium between
the intellectual and the ssnsuous elements |
of style was already disappearing. The
successive degrees In this dscadsncn are |
pishily summed up by Prof. BabbIat. |
Judged by any standard. Rousseau Is a
man of intellectual power. who seems esps-
oially great when compared with Chateau
BRAND. ChAteaubriand In turn appsars
an intellectual giant compared with La
MARITIME. The latter's IDEAS begin 70
look serious whom compared with those
OF Hugo. and Hugo seems intellectually
active compared with Paul verlains.
Traces Of osrSbFation may be discovered
even In vCrlaine. compared with sons Of
the later symbOlists.' No aays and In
These last anBmic Representatives Of the
school We arrive at something approach
ing a sheer intellectual vacuum. the mere
buzzing Of the romantic chimsTa in the
void. such Is the result Of diVorcing
liteaturs from rational purpose and re-
ducinG Il 10 the quest for sensation: for
Il Is a quasi Of sensation that 10 AZ the bot
tom Of tho whole movement. however
much this quest may az times assume the
Eulss Of a haavenly idsalism. Chateau
brands prose furnishes a ans example
Of pictorial and musical suEgsstiveness.
while LamaFtina's soul "exhales itsslG
like a sad and melodiOus Stnin.- and
I,eoonts dc Liale and most q the sO-callsd
PaFnasaians. specializing In another al
recti0n. carve or paint thsir verses and
attain an amazing degree Of plastic pre-
ciaion: but there arises . question aata
what 10 tho diHerencS between the iegiti-
mate musiC Of verse and the music u
attains by treapaaainG on the domain
Of sister arr. The best English example
Oi verse that 10 musical through tho o0m-
hinaalOns of vOwsla and oonsonants Il
gray's SElagy.- In The Bella with lts
iteration intended 70 oAat q hypnotic
spell. Poe Ia Standing on The dangsrggs
outer edge q what poetry can safely DO:
and Mailargne and other French admirsru
Of Pos. who attsmpasd 70 push on stilI
further toward tlbs Ekdonad0 Of musical
suggestion. tumbled into chaos In che
attempt.