At the university his reading was, for the most part, of the books prescribed by the college curriculum, with supplementary4 reading along the lines it suggested, and some slight addition of current fiction and standard works in poetry and prose. For a time, after entering upon journalism5, he gave himself up so entirely6 to its demands that he may be[66] said to have dropped books altogether, and to have substituted for their reading a careful perusal7 of the daily press, and an occasional survey of current magazines and other periodicals. The habit thus formed remained constantly with him, and made him a careful observer of events, and well informed on the main issues and questions of the day. Though he had the mind of a student and a scholar, his habits, as has already been hinted, were not of the kind which students are popularly supposed to have. His temperament8 was versatile9, his nature active, he was impatient of too detailed10 or continuous research, and was more interested in living men and current affairs than in documentary records of any kind. Yet he was by no means blind to the fact, which unfortunately many public men are, that to be of real service to any cause, a man’s intellectual as well as his physical powers must be stimulated11 and strengthened by sustenance12 of the proper sort, and that, except through inborn13 genius of the rarest kind, a man cannot be saved[67] from intellectual sterility14, unless, to more than a limited degree, he familiarizes himself with the best thought of the strongest minds.
The books with which Harper sought to become most familiar were the works of writers whose intellectual preeminence15 was undoubted, and whose main concern, though they viewed it from many and frequently different standpoints, was the problem of existence, the meaning and the duties of life. Of this class, Carlyle, Matthew Arnold, Emerson, Tennyson, and, among present day writers, Hamilton Wright Mabie, were the ones to whose works his spare hours were chiefly devoted16 during his last years. It would be difficult to know from which of these authors he gained the most; that he was strongly influenced by all is beyond question, though this influence was one rather of clearer definition and understanding of his own beliefs and convictions, than of conversion17 to other and different views. Of what, as a teacher, literature contributed, something may be gleaned18 from the pages containing his views on pres[68]ent day problems and matters of religion. In the present chapter it is of the companionable enjoyment19 derived20 from this source, consciously sought and cultivated as a means to the enrichment of life, that it is desired to give a sympathetic appreciation.
The winter of 1900-01 was made exceptionally profitable through the opportunities of reading which many of its evenings and Sundays afforded. Harper and his friend had lodgings21 in common, and his diary is full of mention of the evenings they spent together in company with books, from which each in turn read aloud to the other, and which were laid aside only that a deeper searching of the heart might follow, accompanied by pledges of mutual22 loyalty23 and resolve, long after the embers had burned out upon the hearth24, and all things were in the sacred keeping of the night. Did not the personal references which these accounts contain preclude25 their publication, opportunity might be given of looking in upon the best that this world has to offer, the soul com[69]munion of friend with friend. One or two passages relating to evenings not dissimilar, though spent with less intimate friends, will suggest, to those who read them, with what profit an evening might have been shared with him by those who knew and appreciated his genuine self aright, and what measure of inspiration in turn was accorded to him by the conversation and views of others, and by the writings of master minds.
Of the chance happening in of a friend, he writes:
“I had finished reading Matthew Arnold’s criticism of Gray when L—— came in and spent the evening with me. I read Gray’s Elegy26, The Bard27 and some other extracts, in order to make good Matthew Arnold’s judgment28. Then we talked of men of genius and their lives, and L—— spoke29 of their unhappiness and want of appreciation. I took the ground that this unhappiness was often more apparent than real; that the greatest happiness in sensation was that of the soul satisfaction which must come with the beautiful expression of a great truth; that no great work came by chance, but rather that the thought[70] was first real and vital to the artist; that however much, humanly, he might feel the want of appreciation and physical satisfaction, his pleasure must be ecstatic at finding an expression for his best self, his inner life.
“‘These demand not that the things without them Yield them love, amusement, sympathy.’
“Just as theirs is the great happiness, so theirs is the great sorrow, for sorrow to be expressed in such form must first be appreciated, felt.
“From this we drifted to Kipling and imperialism31, my contribution being that Kipling was a great imperialist, that of those who were urging forward the British empire, he was one of the most enlightened, one of the most clear seeing; that his anxiety for the empire’s future was as much cosmopolitan32 as British, having faith in the Anglo-Saxon ideal. In support of this latter contention33 I cited the White Man’s Burden, which I think was primarily designed for the American people.
“Then to the woes34 of Ireland and her future. I expressed disgust with the methods of such men as ——, who are trying to fan the flame of hatred35 to England, a flame justly enough started by the long years of oppression, but which must[71] be smothered36 if Ireland is to progress, for I can see only one way for her healthy development,—as part of the British empire, the great civilizing37 and evangelizing power of the world.
“I read some of Moore’s poems to illustrate38 my views of the beauty and richness of the Irish nature, and its possibilities when fairly treated. We closed our evening by reading a passage from Great Books as Life Teachers, in the chapter on Ruskin’s Seven Lamps of Architecture, to show that true liberty consists in obedience39 to law—true law. ‘Nature loves paradoxes40, and this is her chiefest paradox—he who stoops to wear the yoke41 of law becomes the child of liberty, while he who will be free from God’s law, wears a ball and chain through all his years. Philosophy reaches its highest fruition in Christ’s principle, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.”’”
Of an evening spent with friends, he says:
“To-night we spent a pleasant evening, enjoying music and reading. Mrs. J——, whose whole life seems to be poetry and music combined, rendered several brilliant selections on the piano, conveying to me a conception of beautiful thoughts playing about the crests42 of moonlit[72] waves, after which R—— and I read several of Matthew Arnold’s poems. I have grown to like Matthew Arnold more and more. His philosophy, the pursuit of perfection, of sweetness and light, and the sweeping43 away of viciousness, has always influenced me strongly since I first read Culture and Anarchy44 some years ago. But I find in him more and more the noble high minded man as I proceed. I read The Buried Life and Rugby Chapel45 among other things. The latter has always been a favourite of mine, pointing, as it does, a noble useful view of human duty, as in the lines—
“‘But thou would’st not alone Be saved, my father! alone Conquer and come to thy goal, Leaving the rest in the wild.’
“The Buried Life seems to me one of the most beautiful, hopeful and inspiring poems I have ever read—the thought that man’s life and development goes on, and that his real life is realized despite the spoiling of himself which he does continuously in the meaningless follies46 of his daily round.
“‘Fate . . . Bade through the deep recesses47 of our breast The unregarded river of our life Pursue with indiscernible flow its way;
[73]
And that we should not see The buried stream, and seem to be Eddying48 at large in blind uncertainty49, Though driving on with it eternally.’
“And then how—
“‘. . . often, in the world’s most crowded streets, But often, in the din2 of strife50, There rises an unspeakable desire After the knowledge of our buried life.’
“The room where we sat before a grate fire seemed filled with the thought of the noble man who penned the poem, and the evening was a most enjoyable one.”
Harper’s was a nature quick to respond to the beautiful and true wherever found, whether in prose or verse, in music or painting, or in the actions of daily life. He was, moreover, intensely sympathetic, and what he read or saw always impressed, and sometimes affected51, him deeply. He would often rise from the reading of a beautiful poem, or the story of some heroic human effort, with eyes filled and voice completely overcome, and then, as a means of gaining relief, and at the same time of giving expression to his feelings, would pen in a single sentence or[74] two the thought that was most in his mind at the time.
Such little entries as the following are a characteristic feature of his diary, and reveal his sympathetic appreciation of what he read, and of the subject treated:
“To-night I read the sad story of Keats’ life. How sad it is to see so promising52 a man pass so soon! How admirably he declared a great truth when he said,
“‘“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.’”
“To-night I read over again Lanier’s A Ballad53 of Trees and the Master, which, I think, most beautiful. The poem appealed to me strongly as illustrating54 the subduing55 calm of the woods. Before going to bed I read Ward’s biography of Lanier, a story of the heroic struggle of a soul steeped in music and high purpose.”
“In the afternoon I read Matthew Arnold’s Essay on Shelley, whose life was a strange mixture of genius and weakness. But for his poetry his weakness would have made him detestable. But for his weakness his poetical56 genius might have made him one of the most beautiful of all our authors. As he is, he is one of those strange[75] paradoxes who give rise to speculation57 as to the necessary qualities of genius. Much can be forgiven in one who has created the ode, To a Skylark and The Sensitive Plant.”
“Matthew Arnold seems to me above all a critic, clear, impartial58, appreciative59, kindly60, bravely severe, when this is necessary to do justice. In what he says in these Essays on Criticism, one feels how sad it is that noble work is marred61 by a something wanting; half results because of the want of something,—‘many are called, few chosen.’”
“Next, of the features of the fortnight, was the completion of The Idylls of the King, from which I have drawn62 much healthy inspiration. We read Pelleas and Ettarre, The Last Tournament, Guinevere and The Passing of Arthur. At the close I was struck by the wonderful way in which the truth of the words,—
“‘It is the little rift30 within the lute63, That by and by will make the music mute, And ever widening slowly silence all,’—
was unfolded. Even that beautifully conceived court, with its noble King, its high ideals and its battle-tried knights64, went to utter ruin through the example of one sin. Another thing which[76] struck me was that Tennyson, like others, shows that the deadliest enemy is the Judas. The most cherished knight65 and beloved Queen poisoned the court by betraying friend and husband. But Tennyson holds out the beautiful hope of the thief upon the cross. Lancelot was allowed to die a holy man; and Guinevere, by true repentance66 and goodly works, was able to purge67 her soul so as to be prepared for the reunion hereafter. The gentle teaching of the poem is that we must be swayed by high resolves and noble motives68.
“‘We needs must love the highest when we see it, Not Lancelot, nor another.’
“My admiration69 for the poem increased towards the close. The delicate portrayal70 of character, and of utter pain and remorse71 in Guinevere, and the beautiful imagery of The Passing of Arthur are sublime—
“‘From the great deep to the great deep he goes.’”
“To-day R—— and I read several chapters of Past and Present. Grand, bluff72, sturdy old Carlyle is becoming a reality to me. In his chapters leading up to the selection of Samson as Abbot of St. Edmundsbury, he throws much light upon a really important view of public policy, how necessary it is to select the best as Governor,[77] and how that best is to be recognized and selected. Carlyle I find to be healthy, wholesome73 and full of moral fibre.”
“Even to the outcry against the fleeting74 nature of our impressions of beauty, and, for a time, satisfying, comes an answer in the story of Shelley’s Sensitive Plant. The author concludes the beautiful yet sad story by saying:
“‘I dare not guess; but in this life Of error, ignorance, and strife, Where nothing is, but all things seem, And we the shadows of the dream,
“‘It is a modest creed75, and yet Pleasant if one considers it, To own that death itself must be, Like all the rest, a mockery.
“‘That garden sweet, that lady fair, And all sweet shapes and odours there, In truth have never past away: ’Tis we, ’tis ours, are changed; not they.
“‘For love, and beauty, and delight, There is no death nor change: their might Exceeds our organs, which endure No light, being themselves obscure.’
“If this be so, can we not increase and make more lasting76 our knowledge of these things by mastering ourselves and giving scope to the spiritual side of us?”
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1
appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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supplementary
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| adj.补充的，附加的 | |
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journalism
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| n.新闻工作，报业 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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versatile
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| adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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sustenance
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| n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计 | |
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inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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sterility
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| n.不生育，不结果，贫瘠，消毒，无菌 | |
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preeminence
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| n.卓越,杰出 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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25
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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elegy
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| n.哀歌，挽歌 | |
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bard
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| n.吟游诗人 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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29
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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31
imperialism
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| n.帝国主义，帝国主义政策 | |
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32
cosmopolitan
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| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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34
woes
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| 困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉 | |
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35
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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36
smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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civilizing
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| v.使文明，使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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38
illustrate
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| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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paradoxes
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| n.似非而是的隽语，看似矛盾而实际却可能正确的说法( paradox的名词复数 )；用于语言文学中的上述隽语；有矛盾特点的人[事物，情况] | |
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41
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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42
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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43
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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45
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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46
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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47
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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48
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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49
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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50
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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51
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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52
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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53
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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54
illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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55
subduing
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| 征服( subdue的现在分词 )； 克制； 制服； 色变暗 | |
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56
poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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57
speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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58
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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59
appreciative
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| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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60
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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61
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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62
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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63
lute
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| n.琵琶，鲁特琴 | |
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64
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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65
knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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66
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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67
purge
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| n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁 | |
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68
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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69
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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70
portrayal
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| n.饰演；描画 | |
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71
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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72
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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73
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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74
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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75
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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76
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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