The sun., 1918-09-11
Jones and the Critic,


People are prone to talk of the
critic as a sort Of self-made autocrat
or art; maker Of arbitrary rules as
to what shall be considered good or
bad, rules which he would fain i'm.
pose alike upon the. artist and the
public. This naturally nnnoys the
artist, who wished to work in his own
way: especially the little artist, to
whom his own way is rather more
important than anything else. And
just as naturally, it annoys that free
born citizen JOHN JONES. who has q
right to his own opinions, and does
not purpose to be coerced in a mere
matter of taste.
But people who talk In this way are
wrong. They do not know what a
critic Is, or is intended to be. The
critic 10 not an autocrat. He Is not
even an aristocrat. He is a Judge,
with only advisory powers Of enforc-
ing his decisions. He neither makes
nor aspires to make the law. But he
knows the law. And that law which
he knows is nothing but the formu-
lated opinion Of the, public, past and
present.
JOHN JoSKs does not know any
thing about Art, but he knows what
he likes. The critic also knows what
JOHN JONES likes. Also, he knows
why JOHN JONES likes it. He knows
furthermore the likings of SMITH.
Brown, and ROMNsoN. and of their
ancestors through uncounted genera
tons. And by collating and codifying
their preferences he may be able to
anticipate the mental processes of
JONES. or even in some sort to predict
the average opinion Of the yet unbe-
gotten descendants Of these excellent
families. In oil this he has the ad-
vantage of JOHN, who rather prides
himself upon avoiding abstract spec
ulation. That, and that only. Is what
Is meant by saying that the critic
knows something about Art.
The reputation of n classic Is moth
ing in the world but popularity acting
through time. SHAKESPEARE has been
n best seller for three hundred years.
dickens and THAcKERAY, unfashion.
able for the moment, would be rich
beyond the dreams Of avarice If they
were still collecting their royalties.
Or take the case (Which the reader
has already propounded in his own
mind) of the unpopular masterpiece.
Only Il few people in any age read
Tho Faery Queene, or Paradise Lost,
or The Ring and the Book. But these
few readers are Of such quality and
influence as TO be self-perpetuating;
and ut last the aggregate public ap-
preciative Of such work outnumbers
that Of the so-called popular writing
as the slow growth of the oak exceeds
the mushroom. And what is true of
these acknowledged classics holds
good likewise upon another scale for
all that ordinary work which aspires
not to greatness but only to have been
worth while.
BY understanding these things, and
by attempting to formulate the causes
Of ultimate popularity. the critic Ar.
rives at certain rules or canons Of
criticism. Such rules enable him in
some sort to measure the merit of
new work and to predict its probable
Importance. In the exercise of this
he incurs the wrath OF JONES.
whose wish (Which is both father and
mother to his thOught) may some.
lines oppose the critical decision. But
he critic here is not even judge
his attitude Is rather that Of the
scientist. NEWTON explained why
apples fall. If they fell upon certain
good peoples heads. that was not his
iOing. CALLED did not move the
world. His ideas upon the subject
rave great offence to those who heart
ly wished It to stand still. And yet
L moves.