Las Vegas optic., 1913-09-30

Of self-eXposure, like the Confessions
Of Augustine, or of Rosseau, deal
frankly with personal sin; but sin in
these books appears as part Of an en-
tire personal experience, or spirit
ual pilgrimage, of life. In John
Barleycorn" we have the story Of a
specific vice. The parallels it imme-
diately suggests are Lambs Comics
sions of a Drunkard' and DeQtiin-
cey's Opium Eater" Close anal
ogies are the memoirs of Casanova,
the autobiography of P T. Barnum.
and the numerous confessions Of re-
cent magazine exploitation-confesr
sions Of boss, of saloonkeeper,
and up and down in the scale Of mis-
conduct to the confessions of a press
agent and of the writer of the best
sellers.
The merit Of Mr.. London's book is
that which attaches to the very idea
Of confession: its daring. 1t is prob
ably true that every man has at least
one book in him-his autobiography
If the literary field is not infinitely
more crowded than it is, the reason
is not that a great many men lack
the requisite literary skill to produce
book, but that they lack the courage.
The literary temperament, as usually
conceived, acknowledges no restraint
of reticence or delicacy 1t exploits
everybody, including ones self. Wife
or mother or child or friend, all are
fair game. How many great books
have failed to be written because the
mind in which they have been con-
ceiyed has shrunk from the idea of
giving jam? How many great books
have failed to be written because of
shyness? One must be marvellously
devoid of sensibility in the ordinary
meaning Of the term, or one must be
consumed with the sense of a message
to deliver, in order to write about
ones self as frankly as the author Of
"John Barleycorn" has done. But If
the truth of the ugly facts of life,
external and internal, is of use in the
spiritual development of civilization,
one can only be thankful fol- men with
courage enough and toughnes enough
to pillory themselves for the sake Of
society.
One defect in most confessional lit
erature is that which arises from the
distinction between franIness and Gin
eerity. Brutal frankness is not neees
sarily sincere The temptation to
blacken the picture confronts the re-
generated soul which looks back upon
its former state Of sin from its pres
ent pinnacle of grace It confronts
the man with a mission to fulfil. And
lie confronts the artists with an effect
to produce When Goethe wrote his
autobiography he was aware of the
temptation to touch upon the picture
for artistic effect, and so he honestly
called his story "Dichtung und War.
heit," imagination and truth. 1t has
been said that Goethe had in mind the
example of Roussea, who castigated
4 himself for sins he was innocent of.
The ideal confession would be writ
ten by man who is not writing for
publication, and thus has no artistic
aims to serve; who is either uncons-
cious of his faults or else unrepent-
ant, and so is free from the bias Of
the convert; and who does not feel
himself to be an exceptional man and
SO escapes the temptation to make ex-
ceasive use Of the scalpel That is
why Pepy's Diary is the sineerest au-
photography we have.
A difficult problem, this Of SINGER
I ity It often initiates against the spe-
cific moral lesson. When ones pur-
pose really is to frame an object les
son, 1t is better perhaps to lay on the
colors in heavy black. 1t has been
said Of John Barleycorn" that it is
almost as much an invitation to drink
as a warning against the habit At
all events, Mr.. Londons account of
the glorious sprees he has enjoyed
might convince more than one reader
that they were worth what he paid
for them. Many man who is chained
down to a monotonous job might be
willing to pay the price for the emo
tional exaltation Mr.. London enjoyed
in the company Of John BarIeycorn.
| It is the same weakness we encoun
ter in SO many stage plays which
castigate vice by showing how ex
tremely attractive it is in three acts
I and a moral last curtain.
GAME LAW is EFFECTIVE