New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-09-12


'The Works Of Anetole France, In en- Ina Ina
r,iish Translation" Edited by fre9eilo
Chapman. Svo.. rp ANh SSS Inc '0""
Lane Company.
Mr. John Lane, to whom the English
reading world on both sides Of the At
lantic is under many obligations
never launched more welcome under
taking than this stately edition of the
works OF Anatole France in series
Of translations whose literary quality
could hardly be improved upon. With
the exception Of his Crime of Sylves-
Ter Bonnard," which long ago won wide
popularity among US, more, one is IN
clined 70 believe, by the charm OF its
story than by the piquaney OF Its
thought the French author is still
recent discovery among English read
crs. one who has revealed to them de-
light upon delight of the Gallo spirit
at its keenest appraising life in terms
whose irony. standing aloof from active
participation in the labor Of living, al
most obliterates what little of pity 1t
cloaks. NJ. France has wandered into
classical antiquity, and brought from
+. aTbaIs - but also "The Procurator OF
JudeaD; eighteenth century France has
ipspired him with the figure of Coig-
nsrd and the Picturesque tale OF
Queen Goosefoot's Cookshop'; he has
pictured for us the logic of Robespierre
in "The Gods Are Thirsty; "On the
White Stone" is his vision Of a col
leetivistic future, in which mankind
will be freed of want and the fear of
want but in which it will otherwise be
no happier, since human nature viii
remain what it is; he has given US to
the full his mocking attitude toward
life in "The Island of the Pengulns
and "The Fall of the Angels" And,
perhaps best of all, he has written thst
wonderful picture OF contemporary
France in the trilogy that begins with
sT'O~me du Nail " Nor let US forget
that little masterpiece, "Crainquebille.
A great life's work, this, punetuated
nv only an occasional failure, like that
venture of his into the domain OF the
psychological novel of the earlier
Rour0et 1.-THE Lily of Florence" nota-
bic for nothing but its delicious carlca.
ture Of Verlaine, then at the height OF
his fame with US as we'll as IN France
A great life's work, this, even though
its aim has throughout been destruc-
tive without attempt at reoullding'
reiterated assurance that plus ga
change. plus c'est la meme chose,
work of delicately scofing negation
without the perception of our need OF
new hopes, new aspirations, new
faiths. even though they. too, shall
fail: a work whose intellectually, IKE
its artistry. dazzles the eye, but holds
the emotions at arms length. Our
feelings especially we must suspect
his rs NJ. frances doctrine.
However, there he is, one OF the
greatest figures Of the literature OF the
nineteenth century-so great, indeeu'
that one could well have spared TINS
volume Of "chats" gathered from tne
files of the Paris Temps, when pup
lished them originally. We have come
Ia take the adjective complete" lar
too literally IN dealing with our great
authors. living and dead. The literary
executor of Alfred Tennyson stopped
only inst in time; in the case OF Dante
Gabriel Rossetti the line of proper rev.
erence for a great reputation was mex
cusablv crossed, and many there be VINO
consider that far more reticenee would
have done the memory OF the Browh-
ings no harm.
Here. then, we have the literary jour
nslisr of a great artist. 1t presents
freouent flashes of his brilliancy, but
much of il is. of necessity, not worthy
of his reputation Would Anatole
France ever voluntarily have wasted
his hours on one Of Georges Onnet
novels? Why did he review IT, II not
because his editor sent HIM the pooK
with a request for so many huhoIeo
words on a certain day? Is 1t wonder
that NJ. France, finding such an cpl
dsr1nis impervious to his etcher's needle
yrasped a club instead, to be done with
The thankless Job? And, honestly, does
not the little article on Jules Lemaltre
smack a little of the amiable pun OF
friendly confrere who has just been
elected to the Academy? Is it worth
our while. or NJ. Frances, or the pub
Iisher,s. to reprint his opinion of so
utterly forgotten tour de force as
Zola's ale Reve"? And did be not regret,
the moment he saw 1t IN print, MS pane
gyric on Gyp, congenial though net
SSDrif NAV be to him? No wonder that
me nreface which he has written for
This volume asserts by inference his
feeling of utter irresponsibility for Its
notification or for what 1t contains
There is point - review of Dumas's
"Cikmenceau but the book, like
the play. has cen gathering dust
In the limbo )rgotten sensations.
Nor do we care any longer for Maui
PEASANTS "Pierre and jean" His fame
rests elsewhere than on this story.
what concern of ours is NJ. Frances
perfunctory review of the first five vol
umes of the "Grande Encyclopedia"
which long since dropped behind the
times? A serious fault of this volume
is the omission of the dates on which
All these "chats" we're written. AS for
the French literature of tomorrow,
which has already become that of yes
terday in the course of time, he IS
utterly inconclusive-t ironic skeptic
In art as in life. This paper, indeed,
suggests that in his own country NJ.
France is himself already figure OF
vesteryear, entirely out Of touch with
Inc serious purpose of "les jeunes"..
Of Rene Bazin, for instance, or Henri
BordeauX.
There are eompensations here, how
eyer-the paper on Children's Play
things. for instance, and that on MARI
onettes. and a third on the metropolis
az Myrina--"Death and the Little
4 LNHaT NHnh