THE IMMORTAL WRITERS.
IN his poem, entitled "The New Age," Matthew Arnold, after depicting the noisy and fleeting popularity achieved by many a new writer soon to be forgotten, likens the few immortals to the stars that shine permanently in the heavens,—" delicate spirits" jostled aside in their own day, but affording light to mankind for generations yet to come. Who are these immortal writers, these "spectral sovereigns who rule our spirits from their urns ?" Mr. Choate, the American Ambassador, in a speech on literature at the Authors' Club on Monday last, attempted to answer this question, so far as the English-speaking peoples of the world are concerned. We do not for one moment imagine that Mr. Choate was ignoring the great writers of the world when he narrowed down his list to four books. He was not for the moment thinking of Homer, Dante, Virgil, Shakespeare, or any other of the bright and shining stars of the intellectual firmament, nor was he thinking of any such great collection of separate books as the Bible. He was thinking solely of those specific self-contained books which are most widely read by English-speaking people, and which presumably have most influenced them. In this sense his books were four in number, viz., "Don Quixote," "The Pilgrim's Progress," "Robinson Crusoe," and "The Compleat Angler." -This list represents, according to Mr. Choate, the survival of the fittest among those who speak the gnglish language.
Fit selection is the most difficult of literary tasks, especi- ally when the selection is to be confined to such narrow limits ; and we are bound, therefore, to compliment Mr. Choate on undertaking such a task at all. Nor is the list a bad one, though of course the veriest tyro would have selected "The Pilgrim's Progress" and "Robinson Crusoe" as among the immortal writings of English literature. Indeed, so far, such a selection would, we think, have been made by any foreign critic well acquainted with our writings, it is probable that, next to the Bible, no works have ever been more widely read than these, for hundreds of editions of each have been published, not only in English, but in every civilised and some uncivilised languages. If we had to select one self-contained English work which stood out by its glorious imagination, its spiritual import, its profound wisdom and yet its charming simplicity, its pure style, and universal appeal, we should unhesitatingly choose "The Pilgrim's Progress." But what of Mr. Choate's other two books,—" Don Quixote" and "The Compleat Angler " ? The former is probably the greatest romance ever composed, the glory of Spanish literature, unrivalled in its kind, brimful of humour, satire, imagination, and knowledge of human nature. It has been frequently translated into English, and the translation of Jarvis in particular is not only faithful, but is in itself a very good piece of English literature. But is "Don Quixote" really universally raid in England? Or is it one of those numerous works more talked of than read ? How many of our acquaintances could any of us put our bands upon who are acquainted with "Don Quixote,"—we will not say as they are with "The Pilgrim's Progress," but as they are with the novels of Scott, with Fielding's "Tom Jones" or with the "Vicar of Wakefield " ? How many of us• can say that we have read "Don Quixote" through from cover to cover "Don Quixote," to begin with, is essentially a man's book; there are passages in it which, without being in the least indecent, few women would read, as few would read many passages in "Gil Bias." Now, it seems to us essential to the universality and permanence of a book in Mr. Choate's sense of the word that both sexes and all ages beyond immature youth should read and delight in it. The best judges of literature have delighted and will always delight in "Don Quixote," but does the average English person delight in that great romance ? We doubt it. In the next place, we greatly doubt whether any one save a good scholar who can read a work in the original will find in the book of a foreign writer a prime favourite. Of course, there may be here and there exceptions to this rule, such as the " Imitation " and Augustine's "Confessions," but we think the rule holds good. Therefore, if we take the foreign authorship of "Don Quixote" and the fact that it does not appeal to women, we can hardly agree with Mr. Choate in its inclusion in his list.
"The Compleat Angler" is a very different kind of work from "Don Quixote." It is not at all universal, but quite English, and we doubt if it is much known in foreign lands. It has no significance, like "Don Quixote," but is merely a pleasant series of reflections by a meditative man with a love of Nature, and of the second rank in literature. We should not dream of depreciating "The Compleat Angler," which is excellent of its kind, but its kind is unimportant; so much so that we could not possibly bracket it with the other three works. We are also inclined to suspect that "The Compleat Angler" is more talked of than read. We know that rare editions of it are collected by Mr. Choate's wealthy country- men at immense prices; but we do not think that that means that Walton's work is widely read in America, any more than it is here. On the whole, we should be inclined to say that for one person in either country who reads either "Don Quixote" or "The Compleat Angler," at least fifty read both "The Pilgrim's Progress" and "Robinson Crusoe."
Our selecting process therefore goes farther than that of Mr. Choate, for we have taken two of his books and rejected the other two as in the first class. The two latter, we admit, must rank high, but we think we can add to them books as permanently popular and influential. We are rather surprised that Mr. Choate omitted Bacon's "Essays," which a great countryman of his—Emerson—well described as "a little bible of earthly wisdom." We do not pretend that the " sub- merged tenth" reads Bacon, but neither does it read any- thing beyond " bite " and " scraps " and tales of horror and sensationalism. But of the reading public—the serious, fairly educated public—we should say that Bacon finds as many readers as Walton, while his subject-matter is alike interesting and profound. Another work of universal import and of masterly genius (which has appealed to foreigners as well as to ourselves) is----" Gulliver's Travels," 1 Com- pound of wit and irony expressed in powerful English unrivalled in its way in our tongue. Of a very dif- ferent character is the third work, the "Vicar of Wake- field." It is not in one sense a great work, that is to say its theme is not profound and its proportions are slender. But we might as well complain of the Robbia "Singing Boys" that they are not the imposing figures of Michel- angelo. The point is they are perfect of their kind, and so is the "Vicar of Wakefield." Clad in exquisite English, simple, natural, of universal interest, a mingled story of pathos and humour, the "Vicar of Wakefield" is likely to hold out with the language. Putting on one side any single poem, such as "Paradise Lost" or the "Ancient Mariner," masterpieces of human genius, we think that the three works named stand at least as good a chance of remaining immortal possessions of English-speaking peoples as the two of Mr. Choate. We
are sure that the genial Vicar and the sorrows of Olivia are as well known to any English public as are the deeds or sayings of any character in the Shakespearian drama ; and we feel equally sure that " Gulliver" is as familiar to English readers as "Don Quixote," however common may be the derived word "quixotic," with whose origin a good many persons are not too well acquainted.
We know only too well the precariousness of literary taste, and we hesitate therefore to approach the present century. When we think of what Richardson meant to France as well as England a century ago, and look at the dust covering now those sentimental stories, we may well tremble for the enduring fame of some of the great wiiters of our age. Mr. Choate's selections have certainly stood the test of time, but so have those we have named which, we venture to think, re- present a more general English taste than do two of his. But we must add that, "The Pilgrim's Progress" apart, the most permanent glories of English literature are to be found in her greatest poems. It is these which mark the abiding spiritual and intellectual power of England among the nations.
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