ESl'ERIAN.
crshadowcd. That Goriot was weak, lamentably weak, with
regard to his -daughters, no one can deny; hut that they were
at all justified in taking advantage of this weaknesses absuid
to the last degree I say this because I know that some peo
ple arc ready to take this stand and to assert that if Goriot
was foolish enough loallow his affection to overcome all pru
dential conditions, he deserved some degree of indifference
in return.
I regret that space will not permit me to speak of the other
characters in this wonderfully powerful hook; "but after all,
they would not excite much interest in comparison with the
two most important ones, Goriot and Vautrin. This book, It
appears to me, is by far the most powerfully written of anj of
Balzac's hooks which have as yet come -under my notice, with
the possible exception of Cousin Pons. It is somewhat sur
prising that Balzac's first novel, the Comedic Ifumaive
should be his best, and perhaps it is unfortunate that such Is
the case, because the reader will be led to wade through
some of his later ones wliicli can hold no comparison with
the first of his productions. This is thecase Avith Caesar Ba
rollean, a novel which, 1 doubt very much, will inspire any
interest in the general 3 eadcr- It is too much a record offi
nancial transactions and other matters of a similar nature,
which enn intei est no one except those well acquainted with
the subject.
INDIVID UAL OBL1GA 7'ION.
Underlvinc everv permanent institution and determinlnn
".'. . r . ., ,. .. .-.,.. .,. I!
us permanence, is a principle 01 aruui. whatsoever as in mar
moiiy with the constitution of the universe has a patent .of
immortality, for it is truth, and trutli is immortal. Though
ccrcmon j and hypocrisy and mm casonable conservatism may
cumulate their empty shells above the principle till the entile
structuie seems hollow, nevertheless the element that bustains
the whole is not dead, but will come forth sooner or later mn
defiled as the mountain stream gushes forth puie and spark
ling from underneath its burden of damp and mouldy leaves.
Class distinction is co-extensive with the history of the liu
man race. Beginning in tthe earliest communities, social
boundaries have gradually become more andmore.clearly.de
fmed until nice discriminations, threading .their way between
this man and that, have built up impenetrable barriers, on
the bunny side of which, live the mobles. They assume for
'themselves certain privileges; they demand for themselves
certain honorb. They are permitted to take the .one:; they re
ceive the other.
In whatliesithc-explanation of this? Iltw does it happen
that a whole nation, as proud and independent as the Eng
lish, call one woman Soveieign, and a few men .Lords? It is
not because this form of government is forced iupon them, for
often enough ihab it been demonstrated that no government is
sufficiently strong to maintain itself when once (the minted
voice of ithe people lias baid "Thus far and mo farther. " In
the very opposite dii ecLion lies the explanation: hear it in the
cry, "Long live the Queen!" "Long live our gracioub sover
eign!" Add to this ihe Jact that at other times when the
unoral sense of ithe mution was thoroughly aroused, from ihe
same Hips has come ithe death Icnell, -"JDown with ithe tyrant,"
and we have the .explanation of the .existence .of ihat .order of
the mobility in ithe feeling .of the people ithat there are posi
tions which in virtue of ithe .duties nttaching to ithem, imerit
honor and leveience, and that the individuals who iill them
should Ibe worthy of ithic homage.
Thus we bee Why the order is permiteddo exibt; Ibut what is
the element within which preserves it? It ib this bentiment.
"Noblesse oblige." In a paradox we have the declaration that
the class which claims the highest privileges,the greatest free,
dom of action, which dominates overall below it, is the one
that is bound: "on the vobilify rrst obligations.'1''
In the appreciation of this thought and the fulfilment ofitg
requirements, lies the real strength of the titled aristocracy
of Europe As often as they have forgotten it, Jbloodshed
and revolution have taught them that the two words which Ly
a false application, forbid the blue blooded lord lo wed the
gardener's daughter, have in lhein an immortal trnth which
they set aside at their peril. "When Charles I failed to -comprehend
that even a Stuart ma' exceed his rights, that the ti
tle of king carries "Willi it obligations as well as authority,
these words were gradnally transformed at the forge .of Eng
lishindependence into a sword that fell with Jatal purpose on
the neck of ihat proud monarch. When the French hlngs
and courtiers mistook ilNobltsse oblige" for a fancy .doll which
they might deck .out in the baubles of their Impious extrava
gance and .carry around for a pleasure ride in their gilded
carriages, suddenly it became the giant horse .of Trojan
story, out of which issued forth armed men who set ihelr ,
heels on the despotism of the French nobility.
The power of these words, however, is not confined to ithe
oldAvorldor io monarchical' governments. In the promul
gation and the development .of this principle, that .on the .office-holder
as well as .on the noble, i est obligations, lies the
true foundation and -"open sesame1' lo the successful perpetu
ity .of all democracies. In our.owoi government many a man
in a position of honor has learned, when it was loo late that
the people who fought for Hie principle ihat there are no .da
lles without rights,hold also Ihe .converse .of that proposition,
that there aie no rights without .duties.
Andiew Johnson was permitted to .discover in private life
that theichief magistracy of our government was not created
for the dispensing of favors lo his friends. Another name,
.once honoi ed and revei ed, wab .quickly .changed to IchabocL
the fallen, when, with pain and regret, the North was .con
strained to believe that Daniel Webster had forgotten the .ob
ligations .of his position in hib .debire towin the approval .of
ithe South. And today, .the .demand for a better method .of
appointment to our .civil serviue is partly a recognition .of the
same truth: that mo person bhould Ibe raised lo a position of
public trust whohas mot been proved fitloaneet its responsi
bilities. !Does "Noblesse oblige" cease at the foot of the throne .or
jtilheBpheie.of the office-holdei? Note the significance of
its origin. Incomes from a. class .of persons who were, of Jail
the Inhabitants of their kingdom, the freemen. They ruled
.over those below them, and wei e.on terms appi oacliing .equal
ity with the king himself. They were mot only the mominal
lords, but for the most pari, in virtue .of the privileges which
lhey and their ancestois had .enjoyed, the real lords. They
were the most highly cultivated, the most dully .developed
mien of their time. And lhey ioer bound. Herein lies the
power .of "Noblesse oblige. ' ' Though a man may free himself
from the artificial servitude in which human selfishness has
placed him, he cannot free himself from the real .obligations
lo the world of which he forms a part. The farther he (departs
frommnnatuial slavery, ihe faster Will the natural bonds miul
itiplyi the unoie. completely will lhey encircle .every faculty iof
hib Hieing, till in the mew bondage he finds a mew and nobler
dreedom.
"No mian iiveth to himself" was mot Hie efTusion .of a anoi
ol .enthiiBiast. lit nnai'iisihe coiibcIoubneBs of mari'slroie rela
tions to the ..world or men. Feudalism and .clientage, aiujubt
though they weir., meverlheleHb typify the true .organization .of
r'
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