New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-25

| so. however. i'm his critical study OF the
recluse Of Walden, which is study OF
/ Thoreau not as naturalist but as
! philosopher. That is by far the more
difficult view 20 take Of him, but u IS
also immeasurably the more important
1 one. or nature study and observations
we have had much; even as intimate
and as sympathetic as his. But oil
Thoreau's philosophy we have mad 100
little and Of the place Of his philosophy
in American intellectual and social de-
velopment
For Thoreau's aloofness from the
world invested his philosophlc musings
and writings with almost unique inde-
pendence, and therefore authority. we
would not. Of course. suggest that
Emerson was less independent and sim
cere. But Emerson. with all his SUI
preme elevation. was a man of the
world. In contact with his fellows, ana
inevitably influenced by his own divina-
ton Of them. Thoreau was, as the
Chinese used TO say of their Emperor,
"as lonely as a God" Perhaps il would
be more reverent 20 say that he was
alone with God. Yet he was never un-
mindful Of the world, that world with
which he did not mingle. and OF when
he could never say Of himself that II is
"too much with us" The result was
that his solitary philosophy was, after
all. instinct with vital application 20 So
ciety, and did, in fact, strongly inhu-
encc the trend of American thought and
social progress.
"There can be little doubt" says the
author, that the spirit OF Walden has
pervadod the American consciousness,
stifTened the American lip, steadled the
American nerve in ponderable de-
gree" That fact is, as we have said
set forth in this volume, though happily
not in the spirit of an undlscrimlnatlng
adulator. Mr.. Van Doren Is no blind
hero worshipper. Recognizing the tire
mendous Importance OF the lransceh-
dental renaissance, he also perceiyes
the limitations Of its chief propagan-
dists-who protested against all limIta-
tons Emerson and Thoreau mad ldealS'
he saws; their ideals were themselves.
"Mind-intoxicated men. cutting their
own channels. thinking as they pleased.
needing infinite room to utter their
thoughts in. musing 10 safety, Boosting
native potential omnisclence, refusing
10 argue but eager 90 dcclalm, never
comparing but always utterng, setting
thought above knowledge and instinct
above reflection, they furnish beautiful
examples of the behavior of wild nat
ure in intellect" Assuredly that ac-
count Of them marks them as true
Americans. Of the school Of the young
giant awakening 20 consciousness OF
his strength; and incidentally 1T marks
its author as an equally true American,
of "a not altogether different school.
Little Phyllis Hope is girl to be
envied in having Miss Fuller's book
dedicated to her. But then, all the girls
and boys Of the English speaking world
are also TO be envied the privilege OF
reading the same volume; or would be
if the grown-ups were not similarly
privileged Children's books are not al
ways interesting 10 their elders, or
worth while But this one Is. In sub
ject matter and in verbal style II IS
admirably suited to youngsters enter
ing their teens, yet we should pity the
greybeard Of the Psalmist's span who
did not find IL worthy OF his careful
reading
The fact is that Stedman must have
been an uncommonly interesting boy.
He was no precocious little prig, but
rather. in all the uaturalness Of real
boy. he realized Ciceros ideal in his
"De Senectute" of "a youth that has
something Of the old man in him.
There is tremendous lot of genuine
boyish incident and ''fun alive" in
these pages. and yet there is also GER
tain foreshadowing Of the young man
who in his early Tribune days gave us
THE Diamond Wedding" and How Old
Brown Took Harper's Ferry" if not also
Of the ripened scholar Of victorian
Poets Nor is IL least Of all commend
able that the book is written sympa-
thetically simply and with an unfailing
air Of truthfuness. II furnishes an
invaluable chapter Of Stedman's record