The New York herald., 1921-06-05

| all men. An eHtHusidStiS hheHipei VI
Les Amis de Lettres Franchises, he
desired closer spiritual union be-
tween France and America.
|, Cezanne. one of the greatest of mod
ern artists, had made superb por-
trait of him. Gasquet promised to
give me a photograph Of lit to send
THE NEW YORK HERALD when / re-
viewed his work But death. that
great thief of our treasure, snatched
the portrait from my outstretched
hand. After ALL his best portrait is in
his own work
Gasuuet was an admirable art critic
and one of the truest interpreters Of
CeZanne-whom he knew personally
in his boyhood He was born in 1873
at AiX-en-Prcvence, the son of a
baker He grew up true Provencal
and married Marie Girard, Queen of
the Felibrige." All lovers OF Mistral
will realize what that would mean in
the experience of a young poet.
When the war came Gasquet took
his part with younger men, brave
and Joyous soldier. Undergoing all
the hardships Of the first years. he
came out of the conflict still the in
domitable optimist. as his later books,
1.-The Benefits of the War;" Hymns
"The Victorious Art" bear witness. The
last named is a prose plea for poetry
as the art that expresses mans in
dividual triumph over untoward cir
cumstances and the triumph of ma
tions over those forces that would en-
slave or disintegrate them.
Here are his verses suggested by
Heine as a type of the romantic poet:
LA GLOIRE.
Cueillez les roses de Corfou.
| LIE cierge des cypres s'allume
| Heine frissonne, ct sur son cou
LIE soir pose une main do bruno.
Que me veux-tu, vieille douleur?
Je dormais du sommei des marbres
Et la lune CONNIE une fieur.
Vague. s'effeuillait dams les arbres.
Que me veuX-tu? J'ai tout ME.
Jai tout aime de ce qu'on ME
Laisse-moi dormir. oublie.
Je ne crois pas mon genie
| TT la mutt. la mutt de ses vers,
! A presse ses levres moroses
! Et dams ses vides yeux rouverts
| A fait danser lombre des roses
Grand poete 9 lucde fou,
lie repos nest pas SQUIRE encore.
| Cette main triste sur ton cou.
| C'est la Gloire, helas qui tadore
| Cueillez des roses de Corfou.
Gasuuet cherished a profound con-
viction that the period following the
war was the time for a great revival
of the arts. And he felt that the
worlds creators could only advance
by turning back for guidance to the
older sources Of energy and form. He
looked upon the nineteenth century ro-
mantle movement as an interruption
of progress. Musset with his tears and
Hugo with his vast floods of impas-
stoned oratory seemed to him false
guides. He was not untouched by
the intimate appeal of these men, as
you. can see by the poem on Heine
quoted above But his judgment ruled
against them. And he felt a deep de-
sire to help the new generation to
base its work on solder foundations
These, he maintained, could be found
by a study OF the ancient ,lassics
which inspired the great Renaissance.
And he pointed young French poets
back to their own classic period
For the romantics were uncertain.
And the poet, If he is TO be leader,
an Interpreter, must be sure. He must
have faith in beauty and truth as
realities. He must believe in law OF
life. which holds good in the individual,
i'm families and in the State. And
finding the true source of happiness
in such knowledge and such faith. he
will sing In clear tones. This is Gas
uuet's conception of the poet:
"In him, becoming attains to being.
The world is transformed into an idea
He is aware of ideas, melodic forms;
and when he touches the highest point
his imagination, sustained by his rea-
son. can achieve, he gives his intuition
free course, lets his emotion fill these
moulds. shape these ideas To
the singing power OF expression he
Joins the pictorial faculty Of inventing,
of imagining that which shall most
truly represent them to others in the
musical order which he imposes upon
them to disengage a more profound
beauty, a more significant emotion. He
has the gift of images. He has the
Gift of style. He has above all the
gift of rhythm, without which the rest
is nothing. Rhythm completes and
fulhls impulse and reason as intelli-
gence completes nature. as being. in
dominating, fulfils becoming"
Certainly there is inspiration in such
words And they help the faith of
those of us who may not be poets
faith in better understanding OF life,
n better social and political order than
the world has yet realized.