The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-01-05

passes your door. If the doctor has told you that
you must walk TO work or that you must not read
that lets you out of course
BLISS PERRY PROVES THE PAST.
TODAY the world is taking stock of every
L thing. The old boxes on the shelves of our
brains being taken dOwn, busted off and opened.
The mice and the moths of time have gnawcd away
at the contents of a great many Of them Stuffs
that were precious before 1914 are to-day cheese
holed and in shreds. Even the great safes wherein
we kept concealed in inner recesses or ideals and
moral values refuse to open TO the magic of the old
combinations: and those that do have been burglar
lied by Change, the thief that works through mat
ter with the tapering fingers of ghost.
The old standards in literature fairly knocked
galley west Realism, Romantcism, Sewerism,
Problem Plumbing, the 'preceuse,' Sex-Sound-
ings, Psyche Nervo- ystericoScapel play and the
Russian Samovar School are all bleeding TO death
in the No Man Land of spiritual, mental and
economic transitional period. And no one cared
blessed damn about them.
They all ~propounded their riddles - those
Sphinxes of the book shelves-nobody answered
them, and as OLE BILL says about sergeant majors
''They never die: they simply fade away They
faded away those schools, - and only the ruins
are left, plus the human We still here,
gadding about under the light of Sirius. 1t is
curious phenomenon, that-hOw the race continues
to survive its own non-importance and surmount
its pasis.
The Book of Life.
While waiting for the Future to boom along let
us look at something that interests us all-Ameri-
can literature, its past and present..
VOICES: Doesn t concern Is of no Importance.
Not related to everyday life. Who reads books?
Maybe you are right, Mr.. STocKs-AND THINGS;
but you are interested in Life-seeing that you 90
on living-and you will see that living is form of
literature if you will only your imag inatiOn
for moment.
Your life-plumber, navy, bank president
raincoat king-has preface written by your an
cestors, plot, chapters, big scene and concln-
sion. Like book, too, it has Jacket, which is
your physical makeup.
Whatever we do is literature. Wherever two
people meet there is drama. The gods have very
interesting and extensive library, and each human
being is book in that library. Each of us, again. is
stanza in an epic, written by some tremendous
SHAKESPEARE
THE American Spirit in Literature"
Professor BLISS PERRY in his book, The American
Spirit Literature, doesnt say anything like this,
but We were inspired TO say it after reading his
book which Is Noiuihe of Ill me ChTOHNteS OJ
America, that monumental work got out by the
Yale University Press. 1t is an intensely interest
ing book in parts-a review of what we have done
in literature why We have done it, why couldn't
have done otherwise, and why Yhould let it 60
at that.
1t is pity that Professor PERRY never get; men-
tally halfseas-over or writes three sheets in
the wind. His style is wneless. There isn't al
ounce of alcohol in his inkpot. Here and there he
makes an attempt to fly, but he only gets to the
mezzanne floor of the Higher Enthusiasm. Catch
ing himself in a rapturous phra!a over TIE Or