New-York tribune., 1919-05-22
The Undying Fire
By Haywood Broun

" Ef~.u
(Macmillan). Perhaps abides ;s :
static word, for the God of Wells is q
rebellious and adventurous God" No..
theless, Wells keeps pace with Him :.
seems to US that God has been an excs,,...
thing for the literary career of Weus ~
mas never been able to become s., exo;s.,
about any other subject. Excitement br;,s
passion and fire to Wells without n,sr;sN
nm lnarhculate or without even. glous;.s
his capacity for clear thinking.
1t is evident that Wells writes ras;,
His output testihes to that, and we th,s.
that with little slower pace Of conn.ss
ton he might have accomplished "Tha r.
dying Fire" with q certain reduction N :,
number Of times "cul-de-sac" is used D..
there is every evidence that Wells 6oas
begin to go ahead until he is sure \. ':
right Certainly "The Undying Firen; :
Dullt upon a carefully considered plan. !,
anything, the scheme is too obtrusiva s.s
too regular. The new novel rete)s ~
story of Job. 1t begins in heaven and e,as
there. Satan dares God to back ano.a.-
JOB, and again the test is made. ON.
( more the soul Of man triumphs over +r;h.
| lation.
The Undying Fire" marks, as we remeu-
Der it, the first time Wells has discoysrs,
the devil "He is as definite as er;ns.ss
and he brings flavor of initiative ~,
even hustle upon a scene that would o+h.~
wise be one of serene perfection. His hal.
even has slightly travelled look. He ~.
been going to and fro in the earth ..s
walking up and down in it; his labels o..
still upon him. His status in beavsn
mains as underlined as it was in the tim. =,
JoD; 1t Is uncertain to this day whether ba
IS TO be regarded as one of the sons Of Goa
or as an inexplicable intruder amon.
them"
Ihe Job OF Wells is Job Huss, school.
master, and although his trbulations dies,
somewhat from those Of his Biblical nre,.
ecessor, the story follows the original nav.
ratlve closely in form. "The Undvinp R,op
IS 'hen' book Of talk rather than action
This Is not cited in derogatory sense !,
seems to US that in this fourteen n-no;,.
world OF ours the things men saw have al.
ways been a little more important than tba
things they do. And we find the talL I.
Wells exciting and thrilling throughout .tbs
229 pages.
Wells has done much to cut away great
deal of snobbery about theology. It Wa,
the fashion few years ago for people tn
say that they were not interested in CID
Ihey didn't care whether there was one ~
not. If there was a God they were by M
means sure that they cared to meet him
Many were quite positive that He could
never induce them to accept His immortal.
lty. The thought of life going into exts
innings bored them tremendously. Wells
mas succeeded in bringing God back into
the modern world as subject for contra.
Versy, and controversy to our mind in.
hnltely more interesting than Bolshsysm
or prohibition or the league of nations
Probably it is the fact that this Cod is an
adventurer and rebel
Curiously enough, Wells, in spite of bis
magnificent talent for controversy, takes
some unfair advantages He does not seem
willing to give the characters whom he dis.
likes anything like fair chance with his /
favorltes. Job Huss complains that certain /
lnJustices have creDt into Gods world but
the world of Mr.. Wells likewise is not with
out injustices. We find favoritism in most
of the worlds of Wells, even though he has
heightened little, perhaps, the traditional
slX-day period of creation. Certain char
acters he creates in his own image, and they
are admirable and vivid. Then, growing
tired, he creates others which are mere
burlesques of men. They are often facile
and amusing burlesques, TO be sure, but it
seems a little brutal for the author to set
up these half-drawn figures as antagonists
for living beings. Often comes a point in
a Wells book where we feel that sponge
should be thrown into the story to save
defenceless character.
In "The Undying Fire" for instance, Six
Eliphaz talks like this about Immortality
"We know now details of the passsgs
We have some particulars. We know, fpf
instance, that people blown to pieces take
some little time to reconstitute. There is !
a correlation between this corruptibe body /
and the spirit body that replaces it. There
is sort Of spirit doctor over there, very &
helpful in such cases. And burned bodies,
too, are a trouble. The sexes are b
still distinct, but all the coarseness of sex
IS gone. The passions fade in that better
world Every passion. Even the habit Of
smoking and the craving for alcohol fade.
Not at first. The newly dead will some
times ask for a cigar They are given
cigars, higher plane cigars, and they do not B
ask for more" B
Jacob Huss talks like this: =
But it is not 1 that am immortal, but the
God within me. All this personal immortal
lty Of which you talk is mockery of Our
personalities. What is there personal in
US that can live? What makes US our very
selves? 1t is all matter Of little mYn
things, small differences, slight defects
here does personal love grip?--on just
these petty things. Oh! dearly and
bitterly did love my son, and what IS It
that my heart most Graves for now? Hls