THE HESPERIAN STUDENT
cation as in other department? of activity, and tha
the friendly rivalry of different colleges existing
side by side will surely benefit the students and the
University. Of course the matter of increased ex
pense in running two separate institutions is a mere
question of arithmetic which need not be dwelt upon.
Scrubby, half-starved colleges are springing into ex
istence fast enough in the state without legeslative
help, and what we need is the firm establishment of
one symmetrical University worthy of the name, that
shall be capable of commanding the respect of all the
' educators of this land.
OMTIOISM.
This department has been created by tlic new board of
odltors. It will be limited to no special line, but will cons
vey our impressions, such as they are, on a great variety
or subjects. We do not intend to enter largely into the
discussion of magazine and newspaper writers. Hence
you will look in vain for a complete unit faithful analysis
of every novel which is Irom time to time hurled upon
the uufoi lunate world. Wo are patriotic, to a certain
degree conscientious, and from a sense of duty we have
gone through Logic, Calculus, Greek Prose Composts
Hon, but as for that indefineublc mass of something called
current literature, wo confess we have not yet sufficient
courage for such a ta9k. It would be butter for the res
spective makers of this, following Hoi ace's suggestion, to,
let the creations of their brains, or sometime abortions
cool for nine years in their bookcases, but since this is
disregarded, they must take the chance of haviug thtm
cool throughout alt time in the world's book-cases.
But to return to the question of our province, we shall
simply attempt to express the ideas called forth by all
that passes before our sight; the nature of these will be
determined by the scopeof our power of vision. By thus
vaguely generalizing wo hope to avoid criticism, for what
ever we say will surely fall under some head embraced
hi such a field, while if we attempted to carrj out some
particular phase, failing in this, wo would bring reproach
upon ourselves.
We shall not attempt to formulate a new system of
criticism. Those who would like to hear a statement
of tie duties of critics, wo refer to Lowell, Matthew Ar
nold, and Carlylc. The substance of their remarks is to
get as near the truth as possible, an excellent rule in ul
things. Wc shall endeavor to follow this, thinking it is
nearly as good us one we could make otuselves. For we
lay no claim to originality. Why should a mau labor to
prove himself unlike his fellows, when he can not be
other than the samo? Even the dillerence b I ween Shakes
pcateand the so called common man is in extent not in
kiud. Ic the former, to be sure, the powers of the mind
and 'soul are so delicately sensitive, so keenly alive to im
pression, that all things from the blade of grass up to
theslollar systems, and in the mental and spiritua
vroilds, write themselves upon his brain, while in the
latter these faculties, though they exUt, are sluggish nud
dormaut. Were they not there, Shakgspeare would not
bo loJiim great. For all great men ora but an expanded
edition of other men. It could not bu otherwise. For
we have no alllnity for the things that are not like us.
What delights man is to find himself in others, or rathor
to discover what he 1 as in a more perfected form olscs
where, aR manifested by "IlcrosWorship
Finally then we lay down no platform to tho princis
pies of which we attempt to make the world conform,
but lather, like a true conservative, we shall try to cohs
form to the world.
Il is now become the fashion when one wishes to inis
press a m-ral which ho has evolved, to attach a series
of persons and events and cnll tho product a novel. The
intention may bo good, but when tho moral is worn nut
and the story Hat and insipid, it is putting a great aflllc
Hon upon the public without reason. If such pooplo
must moralize, they would create less suffering by states
ing in so many words what the moral is, then cease, and
not torture us by spinning out to such elaborate length
a stale, much abused truth. There can be no objection to
ono moralizing ifho call It by tho right name, but when
ho assumes to write a novel, and, in his solicitude for
the moral, leaves the novel out, au injury is done,
deceit is practiced. A novel is supposed to show some
just insight into life, to be the work of one who, seeing
farther and deeper than wc, can solve for us some of
these social problems; in fact to bo tho product of pow
er, but when it is reduced to a Sunday School tract with
shadows lor characters, and echoes of truth foi real
tjuth, it is time for the friends of tho novel to come to
the rescue. The ethical writings of Carlylo -in ! Emer
son have produced such an echo that it resounds through
out the whole earth, rolls on like a mighty river, engulf
ing everything, literature, art, science. The novel has
suffered most severely, it is astonishing, the amount of
these that are written professedly to teach something.
Unfortunately it takes force even to make a moral of
weight, and the mero uttariug a principle caught from
someone else, fails to teach. Not shadows, bit, realities
convince
It is to bo hoped that this mania like tho Romantic
maula produced in Germany by tho "Sorrows of Werther"
will cease bufore literature Is made to suffer permanently.
The Notre Damn Scholastic in its Jan 5th number, es
says to annihilate Carlylc. It first settles his position as
"flat in the mud", then proceeds to quote from lh
Ohroniclu, asserting ho had "lack of faith, faith in tho
truth, faith in man". Concerning tho first statement, it
certainly has the virtue of being startling and novel.
As a piece of iheloric, the figure is very effective, it sure
ly indicates a very abject condition, but Tor the sound
ness of the judgment, it mu6t be admitted that the writer's
mind was wandering, and had failed to comprehend the
situation. We would advise him to make rhetoric his
calling, as it seems to be his forte, and let the latter fieldi
viz. judgment, alone. Now in regard totlio next charge'
that he had "lack of faith in truth", it seems strange that
one who was continually asserting that truth will prevail,
Mint shauib and deceits must give away before it, that the old
oternal verifies always have ruled and always will, should
regard these as empty, meaningless words. Take this
sentence of his, "tho true past departs not, nothing that
was worthy in tho past departs. No truth or goodnehs
realized by man ever dies or can die', this seems, to
show some belief iu tho Btrcngth of truth. The thought
a found all through his writings. Of course ifour friend
t.
