New-York tribune., 1918-06-30

0DOOR Rousseau's face is 20 ME expires.
- sive Of him. A high, but narrow.
contracted intensity in it: bony brovs.
oeep' straight set eyes, in which there is
something bewildered NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
peering with lynx eagerness. : face fun Of
misery, even ignoble misery, and also Of
the antagonism against that something
mean, plebeian there, redeemed only by In
tensity: ths face of what is called
Fanatic-a sadly contracted Heroi We
name him here because, with all his draw
backs, and they are many, he has the frat
and chief characteristic of a Hero: ha Is
heartily in earnest In earnest, if ever man
was; as none of these French philosophers
were. Nay, one would say, of an earnest.
ness too great for his otherwise sensitive,
rather feeble nature, and which, indeed, Ii
the end drove him into the strangest inco-
herences, almost delirations. Theirs had
come, at last, to be kind of madness in
him: his ideas possessed him like demons.
hurried him so about, drove him over steep
places!
"The fault and misery of Rousseau was
what we easily name by a single name,
Egolsm; which is, indeed, the source and
summary of all faults and miseries what
soever. He had not perfected himself into
victory over mere Desire; a mean Hunger,
in many sorts, was still the motive princi-
n I cfr = q
man; hungry for the praises of men. You
remember Genlis's experience of him. She
took Jean Jacques to the Theatre; he bar
gained for strict incognito. He would
not be seen there for the world!' The cur
tain did happen, nevertheless, to be drawn
aside; the Pit recognized Jean jacques, but
took no great notice of himl He expressed
the bitterest indignation; gloomed all even.
ing, spake no other than surly words The
GLIB countess remained entirely convinced
that his anger was not at being seen, but
at not being applauded when seen How
The whole nature of the man is poisoned;
nothing but suspicion, self-isolaticn, fierce,
moody ways! He could not livs with any
body. A man of some rank from IL eoun-
try, who visited him often, and used 70 s't
"~sAA ~AAtAAp SAHACoSAuR dIi ISVeESuCe A20 -
lection for him, comes one day, finds Jeen
Jacques full of Che sourest, uninteligble
humor. Monsieur said Jean Jacques, With
flaming eyes, I know why you come hare.
You come to see what a poor life lead;
how little is in my poor pot that ID boiling
there. Well, look into the pot! There is halt
pound Of meat, one carrot and three onions,
that is all: go and tell the whole world
that, If you like, monsieur!' man Of this
sort was far gone. The whole world got
itself supplied with anecdotes for light
laughter, for certain theatrical interest,"
from these perversions and contortions o.
poor Jean jacques. Alas, to him they wefe
not laughing or theatrical; too real to himi
The contortions of a dying gladiator: sas
crowded amphitheatre looks on with enter
! tainment; but the gladiator is in agonies
and dying.
Sc \ ND yet this Rousseau, as we ~,
with his passionate appeals g
Mothers, with his "Contrat Social" with h's
celebrations Of Nature, did once more touek
upon Reality. struggle toward Reality; ~
doing the function of q Prophet to he
Time. AS he could, and as the Time ecule:
Strangely, through all that DETACHMENT, 81
radiation and almost madness, there y Y
the inmost heart of poor Rousseau syes'
Of real heavenly fire. Once more, out g
the element Of that withered mocknl
Philosophism, Skepticism and Persinss'
there has arisen in this man the ineradies
BILE feeling and knowledge that this Lac
ours is true; not Skepticism, Theorer, &
Persiflage, but q Fact. an awful Kestsg
Nature had made that revelation TO ai1
had ordered him to speak It out. He 81,
epokan out: if not we'll and clearly, tier D