MR. AUGUSTINE BIRRELL'S "MISCELLANIES." * MB. BIRRELL prefaces his new
book with a number of delightful quotations, apparently by way of explaining the publication of it. It is hardly necessary to say that anything in the way of explanation or excuse is entirely unnecessary; but we are thus pleasantly reminded of the opinions of several famous men on miscellaneous criticism such as Mr. Birrell loves. Lord Shaftesbury and Dr. Johnson at their bead, each of this company has something suggestive to say.
The book itself is equal to anything that Mr. Birrell has done. The style of the various essays is as light and graceful as ever; with seeming carelessness of touch and remark, the author almost invariably leaves us a little wiser than he found us on any chosen subject, and scatters light round him as he goes swiftly and casually on his way. Like Obiter Dicta, Res Judicatae, and the rest, this volume is full of keen obser- vation, delioate criticism, and kindly satire. And in this volume, perhaps specially, we seem to find deeper thought on the greatest subjects, such as religion and politics, notably in the essays on the Reformation, Christian Evidences, and the House of Commons. This last, as well as two or three others in the book, was delivered as a lecture or an address.
The essay called "Christian Evidences" is a remarkable example of the way in which a thoughtful than of the world, logically minded, now finds himself compelled to approach the subject. Probably many of us may not feel inclined to follow Mr. Birrell all the way : "Christianity presents itself to the mind imperatively or not at all." There is a good deal involved in this, more, perhaps, than is to be found behind the bright clouds that surround Bishop Westcott's theology.
Mr. Birrell quotes largely from him, and then, we think, intends to lead us beyond him. We may be mistaken, but the essay, "What, then, did Happen at the Reformation,?" does not seem to show much sympathy with the Anglican Church, or with any of the modern growths of Nonconformity.
Here the keenest, the most burning question of all is touched with a fearless hand. We will not do more than point our readers to this essay, which might rouse a good deal of strong feeling in people of widely different opinions. We think that Mr. Birrell answers his own question, though he apparently leaves it an open one, and that his answer will not please any of the various minds that meet together under the shadow of "the English obedience."
One of the most characteristic of these essays is that on "James Anthony Fronde." Here a very easy comparison with another writer gives us the opportunity of appreciating Mr. Birrell's tone of mind and way of working. Take Mr. Fronde on Erasmus. But first Mr. Birrell, in the quick, light way which gives so much in a few sentences, sets Mr. Froude's temper of mind clearly before mi. He wrote what be was pleased to call history with one object and from one point of view. The point of view was hatred of sacer- dotalism, and the object was its destruction. "If only be was about this business he did not mind blundering about his facts ; a misquotation or two never disturbed his night's rest." All Mr. Froude's writings are covered by these remarks, his last book, Erasmus, as much as or more than any. Those who have lately read Renaissance Types will remember with what earnest indignation, what flat contradiction, Mr. Lilly meets Mr. Froude's presentment of Erasmus. Mr. Birrell's treatment of the same subject is as the thrust of a light sword to the blows of a bludgeon. We know well from his other writings that Mr.
Froude's prejudices are not his, and we should be surprised indeed to find him out in a misquotation or a wrongly stated fact. But this is how he deals with the matter :—
"Fronde took as his text the letters of Erasmus, and selecting from them those passages which most interested him as he read them, translated them from the Latin into racy English, passing upon them as be went along his familiar commentary. The result is a most fascinating volume. Erasmus seems alive once more. Whether Fronde's Erasmus is the true Erasmus is, of course, matter of controversy. All Mr. Fronde would ever have said is, 'It is my notion of Erasmus. What is yours ?' Good history or bad, it is a blow in the face of Neo-Catholicism, and perhaps that is all Mr. Fronde ever meant it to be."
If it were necessary at this time of day to settle Froude's claims as historian and biographer, the writer of the above would not be found on the side of the defendant. But the method of attack is wonderful in its lightness, its apparent
• Miscellanies. By dugustineBirrell• -London : Elliot Stock [k.]
carelessness. With a smile and a shrug the critic dismisses all those volumes. He calls them what they are, delightful reading. He kindly says "The fact remains that for the ordinary thinking man who has taken his degree, an ounce of mother-wit is often worth a pound of clergy, and that even the so-called history of an inaccurate genius may be not only more amusing but more profitable reading than the blameless work of a duller nature." Such literary judgments are of those which add to the happiness of life. They lift the mind into that atmosphere of amenity and grace which is the home of ideal criticism. They gave Mr. Birrell's former volumes their special charm, and are to be found quite as plentifully in this one.
One of the best and most useful of the essays collected here is that on Walter Bagehot, whose writings are not yet as universally known as they ought to be and will be. One of the liveliest is, "Is it Possible to Tell a Good Book from a Bad One ? " which was delivered as an address in Edinburgh. Among his remarks on the training of taste Mr. Birrell says some fine things on reverence for tradition in our literary admirations, pointing out that it is "no easy matter to become a classic." At the same time he does not at all favour blind admiration by tradition, and of course he is right; but we wish he bad not said: "Far better . really to admire Miss. Gabblegoose's novels than pretend to admire Miss Austen's." It seems like an encouragement to all the ignorance, shah lowness, and conceit of which the world is so full. For- our part, we see no hope for a person with a real enthusiasm for Miss Gabblegoose. On the other hand, if one has. sufficient grains of humility in one's composition to accept Miss Austen on the witness of a century, and without much confidence in one's own judgment, to try, even.to pretend. to admire her, without any present conviction that she is admirable, there may be a fair chance that light will dawn on such a patient soul. But good taste is for ever beyond the reach and out of the capacity of Miss Gabblegoose's sincere. devotee. He will not read Mr. Birrell's essays, or take any other equally good means of improving his intellect. He will remain a half-educated person; honest, possibly—but honesty in a raw and blatant state, like truthfulness and other good qualities, may become disastrous to its possessor,. and in its consequences to the rest of the world.
Previous page
