The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-17
Leacock on Serious Funor
and the Ugly Sister of Art


bose, may be expected to appear not
'nly among q primitive people but also
100 any case where the settlement of new
'"uNtry reGr Ndu'es g. some extent the
circumstances Of primitive life Thus IN
Au'T lguu literature the humor OF the
\rkansas mule. Of the bucliug broncho.
- the Kentucky duel is all Of this prim-
tive character. This primitive form Of
| run Is Of a decidedly anti-socal char
tctrr. since II runs counter 20 other In
s,ncts, those Of affection. Pity, uuseflsh-
ness, upon which the progressive de
E"lopment OF the race has largely de-
| pended.
NOW this principle Of intellectual
| pleasure excited hy contrast or incon-
yruity once startcd on an upward path Of
| Ieycl rpmeut loses more ana more It's
| iuti-socll character until at length u
appears no longer antaEou site to the
social feelings bu' contrihutory 20 them.
TIE fiul stage Of the development Of
lumor Is reached when amusement no
| .oug'- arises from single funny idea,
/ meaningless contrast or odd PLAY upon
/ words but rests upon prolonged and
sustained conception Of the iucongruities
| 81 human life itself The shortcomings
| Of our existence. the sad contrast OF our
| aims and Dur achievements. the little fret
| ting aspiration of the day that fades
| into the roth'ugness Of tomorrow k.udl"
| In the melIowcd kind a sense OF gentle
/
/ ton mas been Chast,ncd by the rcallZa-
! ton Of our common lot 4 sorrow. on
| this higher plane humor and pathos MIN
! sic and become one. To the Creator per
| haps in retrospect the little story or
| mans creation and his fall seems sadly
droll.
! III is Of this final stage Of the evolu-
! ton Of amusement that one Of the Keen
est of modern Analysts has written thus :;
When men become too sympathetic to
/ laugh at each other. for .ndlNldual de-
! feet. or infrmities which once moved their
( mirth. il ia surely not strange that sym
pathv should then begin to unite them
! not in common lamenta'io for their COM
| mon defects and inferiorties hut IN
common amusement at them. THIS l. the
| sentiment that has inspired the great
| nosterpieccs Of humorous literature, this
| is the humor of Cervantcs smiling sadly
at the passing of the Older chivalry, ana
| of Hawthorne depicting the somnre melan-
! cholies OF Puritanism against the bhcR-
| ground of the silent woods or New
| England This Is the really great humor'
unavoidable in single phrases ana para
| granhs but producing It's erect In long
drawn picture of human life IN whlch the
UNIVERSAL element OF human imperfecton.
alike In all ages and places. excltes at
once our laughter and our tears
IA he pauses we sit silenced for mo-
ment. Then we venture; according 20
that diagnosis. I guess we can clalm 10
have a great humorlst-"
'It isn't entirely the fault OF the hu-
morists" he goes on American IRE
will have to undergo change Great
humor can't spring up all OF itself !,
has TO have background tradition ideai'
OF taste" -
We'll" we venture. - - mas
ideals Of taste"
"Oh. yes" comedies Mr.. INecock, "and
--- writes with wonderful restraint
He's one of your best. 1t was thanks I.
that article OF mine that / ever heard oil
him his work was brought up 70 rclut,
mo And Il Is good people IN England
think IT'S great. But II IS limited In itF
srope. Truly big. serious humor--
Here the publisher RENTERS, wearing n
slightly anxious expression which as NJ
catches the last words de"pens'
: What have you been talking aoout al
this tme?" ,,..
ION" answers Mr.. Leacock easily
we've been discussing the broad hin
, drance to the progress Of American iitera'
what Is it?" asks the publisher. look
'''s arbo fact that every publisher OF psr1
odfcals and hooks tries to circulate amonf
every class
"Oh." says the publisher,
, "You may scorn the English magazines
continues the humOrist, "but there NJ an!
, | rate they don't IHhhe NnlH
taln periodicals cater to certain class
tbe penny weeklies don't pretend to maxi
n try beyond their masses, l'ut I'M
whole tone of American Journalism par
tIcularly suffers because publishers TAX
100 broad an aim: And as for magazines
editors won't ADMIT that people who don
nossess thought are not fit to enter tn
fold of literature. They're on the otne
hand dragging them In, because clrcnia
zion Is the big aim. The sequence Il
natural the modern magazine can't liV
I without advertising. It can't get advertis
] ing without circulation, and It can't &c
( big circulation without inviting IN
masses,
4; And tho masses to-day won't rea'
4 ANYTHING but new books, Just as the
) won't wear anything but now clothes
! So publishers keep tempting their author
n 10 produce new books, new stories
= ouirkly as possible. And far too muc
I Is being written. Most authors soon sc
: To the end of what they have TO say; a
witness the pitiahle case OF - -
= and of ------ -, and of ---- -.
3 But in modern literature man n
sooner starts to write than IN steps com
e merce the ugly sister Of art"
a That's a good phrase. cuts IN m
puhlIsher ~ have an idea. Why don
: Won he interviewed along that line instea
= of that humor thing"
z "Just as YOU say agrees me huror
: list
4 So that ia why this interview ha
4. turned its own nanlo