000
Editoiiialb.
perhaps wounds the feelings of him who
has been so fortunate ns to give the public
a good production, but yet who is so un
fortunate as not to be able to please that
particular individual who is writing crit
icisms. We do not so much blame our
daily papers lor any unfairness in this re
spect, unfairness which is often the result
of carelessness and haste, as we do the one
whose particular business it is to write
notices of these performances for this, our
college paper. It is his opinion in this
matter that is taken as nearly infallible by
the many readers of the Student. Should
his judgment err greatly in respect to the
merits of any certain performance; or
should he, a; has often been the case, be
influenced by any partisan spirit or par
tial feelings, he may be the means of do
ing considerable mischief. How much it
behooves us then, to guard carefully both
tongue and pen in this matter of criticism.
Somebody is complaining because wc
publish religous articles in the Student.
"We admit that it is not just the thing, but
thought Antipns" cught to have a fair
show, and in regard to "studying on Sun
day," we wanted to excuse our Seniors,
and adopted the modest plan with which
somebody wants to find fault. We never
could do anything right.
LITERATURE AS A PROFESSION.
The man who makes literature a paying
profession pos-:es talents of preemi
iicnl quality. Shcfljcld says,
"Of all those artu in which ,i uioe excel
Nature chief masterpiece U writing well."
And if writing well be the masterpiece,
tumma are artium, then must he be a mas
ter mind who can follow literature as a
profession, win honor by it, and make it a
remunerative occupation. The primary
qualifications necessary to become a sue
cessful lillerahur are, in the first place, a
retentive mcniurv.-a memory that can
Vouvt,
hold fast to the groat stores of knowledge
which lie may glean from every depart
ment of literature, science and nrl.-aml
seconi'ly, a keen imagination Unit can, so
to speak, embody and vivify thought, am!
describe secies and characters so ilmi
they will be brought before the miiul (,f
the reader as real and lifelike. He huh
be so constituted that he can think ami
express his thoughts with exactness, ami
never be satisfied to let anything pa,
from his hand? until he has most critical
ly re-examined and revised it. IMon
mid John Foster were sometimes wont to
spend hours upon a single sentence before
they could make it exactly please lliim
and Dickens says of himself that helia
spent hours in searching for n single iron!
with which to round of a period. It is
such critical, even fastidious, taste ns litis
tint the successful writer must posscss,-
a taste that will be satisfied with notliin.
short of perfect elegance ami exncliif.
both in sentiment and style. TlicaulLcr
should have patience to revise, it ncce.&
ry, and even rewrite his niiuuiscriplsagain
and again, until he has so lliorougMr
corrected or re-arranged the thouglitsaml
language in them that tliey sliallppproacL
exactness in every particular. Especial
ly must this be the case with I lie your:
author who litis ycl a reputation to buiM up.
Resides u large amount of native taltnl
he must possess in addition a patience and'
will that may enable him to plod slothi
and never be satisfied to do anything flat
cannot be well done. The advice of Itoj-B
ers to a young poet are words of couil
to every young aspirant to literary In
ors: " Aspire to go down to posterity a
diamond, rather than fts a caldron of cwl
or a heap of bricks and mortar." lil"0
who would aspire to authorship cobjiA'
always that a. si.perficinlist never ru
above mediocrity in liteialure. A pa1
may lw a speedy writer, and ) be iW
cessful author; but l.isMc cess doesnot,
many young writers seem to supper.
Demi udoii the readings with which
.1.. t.-
mny be able to wiite, ' i.t upon w "
