Evening star., 1933-01-02

| of animals, who writes, or works, or
both. in their behalf.
As to the inclusion of good bits" or
asides, in writing, these add immensely
| to the enjoyment of the reader, es-
pecially if he has a curious mind.
Not every reader, Of course, has such
a mind.
! To be curious, seeking. inquisitive, in
regard to ones Specialities, Is not the
same as to be curious Tor curiositys
/ sake.
And only the last type Of mind will
/ welcome gladly, for their own sake,
such bits of life and observation as any
| good writer will include in writings
| for their own sake, without irrelevance
/ in any respect.
Thoughts naturally grow, as 1t were,
zone from another, as one writes In
ancient times this process seemed so
miraculous that resort was made to the
| idea Of inspiration.
Thought upon thought, however, will
explain a great deal At least 1t is a
surface explanation which will do. 1t
! means that thought, any thought, how
ever little 1t may be- inevitably gives
| way to new thoughts, one after the
other. which may or may not lead any
| where.
Thought always has been nkened to
stream, and the comparison is just.
And just as stream may find low
spot in the bank, and flow slightly to
one side, before going on with the body
Of waters, SO thoughts may make de-
lightful little ebbs.
In the. OLD pompous type Of books
such ebbs were taken care of by foot
notes. So 1t came about that in many
q very serious tome of the old times
the footnotes turned out to- be the most
interesting part of the volume, pre-
cisely because they were the most
natural and the most human writing
in the book.
The serious writer is never afraid of
digressions. There are relevant digres-
sions, and irrelevant-his only concern
is that his digressions belong to the
former category.
He knows that he always will be able
to turn back into his main current
without seriously interrupting it. He is
not afraid of disconcerting the reader,
for he gives him credit for having as
much sense as he has! He knows that
by a deft turn, at the right time, he
will go back to his main theme, with
out in any sense merely wrestling things
to his purpose. He will have provided
for all that. Every thought has many
facets, and any one of these facets is
enough to hang an entire article or
book onto Now he slides deftly back
into the main current, and both he and
the reader are well pleased.
The digressions play their part. They
add precisely the touch of spontaneity
which many a serious volume otherwise
lacks But il one has a real theme,
and If that theme be Of a serious
nature, there is always a certain in
congruity in hitching any other mood to
it. Only If such other moods naturally
grow out Of the play of thought after
thought will they be permitted either
by writer or reader.
If natural, they come in the form of
asides, in contemplations, or bits of
philosophy, as so many readers prefer
to call them, which add a certain
piquancy to the more serious move
ment, and keep it from becoming too
/ one-sided.
The curious-minded one, who has so
many interests in life that nothing is
foreign to him. finds that both as writer
and reader he is benefited. AS writer,
by expanding his collection of facets.
SO that he gets in more glitter to better
reflect his main points. As reader, by
being able to appreciate these facets,
In all their shine, as well as finding
his own curiosity Whetted and his in
! terest kept alive.