Evening star., 1938-11-27
By Mary.Carfer Robert.


ENJOYMENT OF LITERATURE
BY John Cowper Powys. New
York: Simon g. Schuster.
This book is series of meditative
essays on the power of literature
over the human mind, each essay
being attached to particular work
or author as follows: The Old TeSta-
ment. the New Testament, Homer
Greek tragedy, Dante, Rabelais
Montaigne, Cervantes, Shakespeare
Milton, Goethe, wordsworth, Dick
ems, Whitman, Dostoievsky, Melville
and Poe, Arnold, Hardy, Nietzsche
and Proust. Fortunate names! A
more provocative array could hardly
be imagined, for, of course, In the
matter of taste no one except the
climber ever takes another's word
But provocation in subject which
one loves is always delightful, and so
whether readers agree with Mr.
Powys or not, they are likely to find
much stimulation in his volume.
1t is, really, sort of talking to
himself. The successive chapters
should not have been called ESSAYS;
they have little form, little continu-
ity. They are no more than collec.-
tions of comments. An underlying
theme gives continuity to the vol
ume, however, and that is the theme
of a search for essences Mr.. PoWys
writing with that awful sincerity
that determined, abashed-unabash-
edness which distinguishes him
reaches out for the nakedness OF the
soul of each of his authors. A thou
sand critics have done the same
thing, you will say? The answer is
Of course, that each critic, in setting
down his findings, sets down himself
So this becomes a book of Mr.
Powys' heart. Where, In it. he writes
without perfunctoriness. where he
writes convincingly, he is telling us
of the things in himself which he
has found in the works Of great men.
He is great man himself, among
novelists, and his range of dis
coveries is a wide one.
Fundamentally, he finds his heart
in those works which speak for
Goodness, for the deep struggling
virtues which humanity has and
which all but great writers fear,
weakening them in presentation, or
SO covering them with sentimental
1ty that their true semblance is
only caricatured. He admires those
masters of dissection (as Prous0
who can show us the human psyche
slice by well-preserved slice. He
wonders at the artists Gas Dante)
who can produce beauty from abom-
nations. But this is admiration and
wonder at skill rather than at
creative power. It is in the terrible
drama of Goodness in the world enat
he perceives the most profound lit
erature to lie. In other words, he
Is religious, not-does one need to
say 1t?-in any creed sense, but
In that broad sense, rather, which
makes him apprehend all worship,
from magic to morality.
For readers the important thing
to know about the book Is that 1t
discusses, with intimacy like that
of kinship, the works of great
writing men. If you can follow,
you will share Mr.. Powys' "enjoy-
ment." But the foolish would do
better to buy a work on how to
cultivate q commanding personality.
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF
THE BRITISH EMPIRE. BY
Robert Briffault. New York:
Simon g. Schuster.
Some time ago, readers may re-
member, Mr.. Quincy Howe looked
under the bed of the State Depart
ment and found lurking there, In
sinister concealment, that dark and
dreadful organization, the English
Speaking Union. MIR. Howe let the
discovery be known. His shrek OF
horror rang out as loudly as any
burglar-menaced Victorian spin
ster's. And he rushed into print
with work called England Expects
Every American to Do His Duty"
wherein, in effect, he repeated what
Paul Revere told the farmers-"The
Redcoats are coming!" They have
already taken over our foreign pol
icy, he seemed to say, and further
developments may be expected any
minute. Having thus patriotically
disclosed our peril, Mr.. Howe left
the reader supposing that he was
going to dash a cup Of tea into
Boston Harbor and dissolve In tears
The reviewer since then has heard
no more about Mr.. Howe and she
rather supposed that he had gone to
Spain to fight fascism. Not So
however. From the foreword which
he contributes to Mr.. Brif1ault' 6
book, it would seem that he has
been right there at work at his desk
for he tells us that the book (though
not in its present form) has been
due to his suggestion. The original
form, he mentions, was to be long
and "Gibbonesque" (note the title)'
But "other activities" he adds, pre-
vented Mr.. Briffault from undertak-
Ing the project. The reviewer trusts
that readers will find the idea OF
Mr.. Briffault being prevented by
"other activities" from tossing OF
something "Gibbonesque" as hilari-
Gus as she does. But there 1t Is
In Mr.. Howe's own words.
Well, 1T seems that though Mr.
Briffault did not have time to write
Gibbonesquely he still had the spirit
to strike blow against the menac.
ing Britons, and he has done SO
In this work he brings to the world
tidings that England is not as power
full as she once was, and that hel