Evening star., 1932-04-16

The dullness Of a great and culti-
waited mind Is a different sort OF dull
ness, especially in a book.
It is a prime mistake of modernity
to feel that all minds and books should
sparkle.
Some. by their very nature, are de-
MED that charm.
In truth, only writings which should
sparkle ought to do so.
These constitute very small part OF
the entire book production during any
one year.
A very minor portion, too.
Minds which constantly demand the
whip lash of brilliancy, or what they
term brilliancy are scarcely the sort
to appreciate anything else.
4 y ~
Let them. therefore, have their
flashy SNOWY things to their minds
content but refrain from passing ad-
verse criticisms upon those books which
do not appeal to them.
They are strangely in the position of
the man who was asked If he read, and
who replied, "Oh, yes. I have book. >.
Or of the gentleman who said, when
asked II he could play the violin, Il
don't know, l have never tried
Or of the fellow who thinks that one
can have had no experience of life
unless It has been painful or tragic.
Or OF the reader who believes in
sfinctively that criticism Of a book
necessarily means detecting faults
in II.
No. dullness is not exactly dullness
when 1t is the product of cultivated
mind.
This is brought cut we'll in many a
book, which the unthinking may toss
aside as not meant for them, but
which the discerning will recognize as
being sincere and well done.
Those who feel that lack Of literary
quality is measured solely by absence
OF luster. vividnesS or brightness, and
worthwhileness mainly by such luster
vividness and brightness, perhaps dc
we'll to pay no attention to those books
which do not instantly appeal to them
The wise reader, however, knows
that he must take a book for what
1t Is, which is just another way OF
saying for what the writer tnteded 1t
to be.
Does he succeed In doing what he set
out to do?
Then 1t Is a good book; and no
tiles can say nay to that proposition.
One might as we'll quarrel with the
cat because it is net a dog (as many
do) as to brand a writer poor for not
Incorporating qualities which his work
by no means demands.
y
All that a reader can ask is that
the book in hand succeed In achieving
what the author set out to accomplish,
This does not mean that it may be
stupid. slow, heavy, drowsy, obtuse.
If the work is OF the sort to appea,
to the right type Of reader, 1t will not
be stupid, nor slow, nor heavy, mol
drowsy, nor obtuse.
The wrong sort Of reader, unhappily
may brand 1t one or more Of those
and, unfortunately, some may accept
what he says.
Many readers have a pompous way
Of pronouncing an opinion about q
book which carries too much conviction
to those who know even less.
Never accept the Judgment of another
on book until you have investigated
the work for yourself, if it makes any
sort of appeal to you.
Especially beware of the decided
offensive type Of Judgment. which
would emulate the famous critics who
in their day turned down masterpieces
or damned them with faint praise.
The best adverse criticism of any
book is an ignoring Of the same.
Too caustic comment tends to make
the critical reader suspicious that the
dear critic has some ak to grind, some
sore spot in his mentality which the
other has punched, some tenderness oi