Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-30
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

know 1t too well, and, above all, be-
cause without being able to enjoy II,
l contemplate 1t inwardly in the mir
ror of my own thoughts.
Let no one envy, but rather pity
us, for In following manner does the
literary man differ from his Fellow
creatures.
For him no simple feeling any
longer exists. All he sees, his Joys,
his pleasures, his sufferings, his
despair, all instantaneously become
subjects of observation.
an spite of all, in spite of himself,
he analyses everything, hearts. faces,
gestures, intonations. AS soon as
he has seen, whatever 1t may be, he
must know the wherefore. He has
not a spark of enthusiasm, not a cry,
not a kiss that is spontaneous, not
one instantaneous action done merely
because it must be done, uncon-
sciously, without reflection, without
understanding, without noting II
I down afterward.
"If he suffers, he notes down his
suffering, and classes 1T in his mem
ory; he says to himself as ne leaves
| the cemetery, where he has LETT the
| being he has loved most In the worm I
| 1T is curious what / felt; 1t was IKE
1 !,
| has seen all, noticed all, remembered
all. in spite of himself, because he Is
| above all literary man, and MS
| intellect is constructed in such a
manner that the reverberation in MIN
| is much more vivid, more natural
SO to speak. than the first shock, the
| echo more sonorouS than the original
sound.
"He seems to have two souls, one
| that notes. explains. comments eacn
sensation of it's neighbor. the nat
| ural soul common to all men, ano
he lives condemned to be the mere
reflection of himself or others, con
demned to look on and see hlmselL
feel. act, love, think, suffer and
never be free like the rest of man
kind, simply, genially, frankly, with
out analyzing his own soul after
every joy and every agony.
"If he converses his words OFTEN
wear the air of SANDER, and that
only because his thoughts are clear
sighted, and that he cannot refraln
| from investigating the secret springs
which regulate the feelings and
actions of others
"If he writes he cannot refrain
from throwing into his books all
| that he has seen. all that he has
gathered, all he knows; he makes no
exception in favor of friends and
relations, but he pitilessly lays bare
the hearts of those he loves or has
| loved, with a cruel impartiality-
| exa operating even to make the Ell
feet more powerful-wholly absorbed
| by his work, and in no wise by MS
affections.
| "Actor and spectator of himself
and of others. he is never solely an
actor, like the good folk VINO take
| life easily Everything around MN
| becomes transparent, hearts, oeeos'
secret intention, and he suffers from
| a strange malady, a kind OF auailty
of the mind, that makes OF MIN a
terribly vibrating and complicated
piece of machinery, fatiguing even
| to himself.
| Amateur and professional writer's
have in the above a standard by
which they may judge themselves;
| If, after reading. one feels most or
II to be untrue, then he may set 1t
| down for fact that he Is not a
writer and never will be one. The
| nearer he is able to agree with dc
! Maupassant. the nearer he is himself
| to being a writer, and IL he totally
agrees with him. then he may some
day write a masterpiece, or seVefal
of them. IL he is not afraid.
Some allowance must be made, OF
course. for the peculiar genius of
| Guv de Maupassant, his life and
characters. but, when all is said and
done, his picture of the literary
man" remains very true.