The New York herald., 1922-03-19

illusions to the Ferrero case, to
German war propaganda, to the
revolution" of 1917, to the recent
assassination Of Premier, to the
Morocco, and so on. People In the
authors secret probably could iden-
tify various celebrities of the mo-
ment in the portraits that are here
drawn in such severe outlines. Re-
membering, however, that Araquis-
tain looks at affairs in general from
position "on the Left" one cannot
ignore this volume, which expresses
in a rather intense form that dis
couraged discomfort with which "in-
tellectual' Madrid views the Spain of
the monarchy.
Pessimism and the Spirit of
Protest.
Why is il, meanwhile. that the
Latin literature of protest
whether we think of France, of
Italy or of Spain, fails to move
Americans as deeply as the protest"
of the Russians and of Tolstoy, of
Dostoiewsky, of Andreyev? / sus-
pect it is because there is something
immensely old, perhaps even i'm
mensely wise, In the experience of
these heirs Of Rome. In the irony
of Anatole France liberated In
telligence If ever there was one
what reason for existence do we find,
after all, except to smile, pityingiy
and bitterly. at all efforts to make
this a better world to live in? Tho
Latin mind is surrounded by a Chi
nese wall of disillusionmant, behind
which the young peoples, the
Americans, the Russians, refuse TO
find shelter. We want optimism,
good cheer, the chance to see for
ourselves that there is nothing In
it" So in the bitterness of the great
Russians we always find note Of
hopefulness which the Latins do not
give us; and Latin humor always
looks to US also very like 'fl humor."
A Literary Directory of Spain.
When Araquistain takes his pat
ent medicine man turned editor" to
a book store 10 furnish his office
library with books of the moment he
finds occasion for an analysis OF con-
temporary Spanish literature that
has considerable interest. The
primacy here Araquistain accords to
Miguel de Unamuno, essayist, novel;
ist, poet. philosopher. whose Tragic
Sense of Life" is now available in an
English translation tMacmillan's);
next comes Ramon del Valle-Incian,
whose "Sonatas" are about to ap-
pear in English (Harcourt): next
Perez de Ayala, whose "Prometeo"
we know in the splendid rendition
of Miss Hubbard (Dutton's); then
Azorin. Ramon Gomez de Ia Serna
and Ortega y Gasset. three authors
whose works have not been at
tempted by American publishers.
Most Of us will be surprised at the
poor opinion the writer has of the
much translated Pho Baroja, whom
he calls from a literary point of
view the poorest and LATEST wielier
of Castillian there is to-day in Spain,
and one whom it requires a strong
dose of self sacrifice to read" And
Bonavente's chief merit, says Ara
quistain. II TO have freed the Span
ish stage from the false turbulence
of Echegaray" in comedy of the
Spanish shopkeeper class, devoid of
dramatic and satiric power, but still
possessing some literary finish" We
may point TO the authors praise of
Blasco Ibanez's Valencian novels for
the benefit of the hundred American
reviewers more or less who. to ;ho
complete discontinue of chronology,
have seen in "Mayfiower" and "1'he
Torrent" an Ibanez "decadence" no
less over the heights reached in
THE -Four Horsemen of the Apoca-
lypse.'
Here; at any rate, We have a good,
however incomplete, directory of
literary Spain, the authors who have
taken up the burden OF Spanish cul-
ture at the point where Galdos,
Valera, Clarin and Ganivet-"the