The Washington herald., 1913-08-03

suffered harm by their assimilation OF
modern thought. The center OF Jewish
life was religion. To uphold the an
cestral faith was their "raison detra."
Yet modern thought has largely under
mined the older, revelational views OF
religion. OF which Judaism was the typi-
cal example. II is one OF the ironies of
history that just when Jews have been
released from their medieval honda ge
and have been admitted TO political and
social equality. the faith that has kept
them alive. but isolated them from their
neighbors. has been disrupted by the
assaults Of modern rauonalism.
DIR. RuppIns book raises q world
problem. The answer he gives to the
question he himself has raised is the
Zionist solution. This regards the re-
vival of Israel as a political entity as the
| only means Of combating the disappear
ance OF the Jewish spirit. BY creating
Jewish nation in Palestine, Zionists
hope to revive the special Jewish cul-
ture which has lasted through the ages.
II is recognized that 1t will be impossi-
BILE TO transfer the 100000 Jews OF the
world to the narrow confines OF the
| Holy Land. but II there were established
| a spiritual as well as a political center
in Zion, its example and influence would
radiate through all Jewish communitie.
| throughout the world. and thus keep alive
I the Jewish folk-soul. The romance OF
| the notion must appeal to every heart
Jewish or Gentle. I doubt how far the
Zionist solution meets the problem raised
| by Dr. Ruppin. Jews outside OF Pales.
| tine-and the majority OF them mus
| remain outside-will be just as much
| subject to the assaults OF the assimila.
| tive forces after as before the founda.
! tion Of a new Jewish state.
WHAT CAN LITERATURE Do FOR Me, BY c.
Aphonso Smith. Garden City. n. Y.-Double-
| day. Page 4 Co.
To tell what literature can do for the
individual is getting to be trite ex.
cuse for the expression of ones opin.
ions about books and authors. Ions
ago Hammerton, Ruskin, and Sir John
I-Lubbock Cthe late Lord Avebury). popu-
larized this method Of bringing literature
| to the masses and did II so well that
it Is hardly worth the doing again, un.
less by men who are themselves ere.
ative artists and writer's. From such
men We do not expect their judgments
| always to be right or their opinion.
persuasive-nobody's are: but they stim.
ulate a vital interest in life through liter
ature, and that is the ideal educational
purpose Of all such writing.
But in this book by Professor Smith
| the judgments are often so totally wronf
that its helpfulness is greatly IMPAIRED
Fundamentally the six things that liter
ature is supposed to do for the individ
ual, as Prof. Smith outlined them, I.
correct. That IL gives an outlet fol
self-expression; keeps before one the Wis
ion of the ideal: deepens the knowledge
of human nature; restores and revivi
fies the past, reveals the glory of ths
commonplace and helps one to q master,
Of ones own language; Is the orthodo,
belief in the value and purpse of ntera
ture. 1t does many things besides. but
these are the rudiments that must bt
| realized by the many whose tastes ant
Judgments are undeveloped In literar,
qualities and history:
The filling In Of such outline shoult
be done by a surer judgment than on.
which indiscriminately declares "Rud
yard Kipiing' the greatest living Eng
lish writer or who talks about Bryant.
great lyric poem -Thapatopsis' with
out qualifying the mediative substance,
or who gives this advice In the study
of character in reading: Skip the pas
sages or pages from which your hers
or heroine are absent" do not nns