Creative Literature notebook

15

J. Rose Colby.

Ann Arbor, Michigan -

Oct. 18, 1884.

In creative literature we are face to face with the author's thought. We get from his own lips his criticism of life The critic gives us his thought, his criticism of life, through the medium of another's words, or allows us to perceive his mind from the nature of the judgments he basses on others. Creative literature is a direct, critical an indirect form of revealing the author's thought.

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Greek symmetry and structure, with the Greek sanity and self-control. The teacher's instinct, the historic sense, the definer of culture. Concrete epithets - white - flowering nettle, gold-flowered bloom, golddusted snap-dragon.

It is as absurd to accept plausibility of proof from a mathematicin as to look for exactness of proof from a rhetorician, i. All subjects do not admit of the same degree of exactness in treatment - there is the scientific method and the literary, and either is out of place where the other should be used. Aristotle "I, Wisdom dwell with subtlety," says the Wise Man. Cutlure, righteousness, noble seriousiness, urbanity, and courtesy.

Tom Brown as the approach to the Arnolds [Loret L'o evdaipowr Bios irat apizy o eival' ouios L'e prata otioudys, add' oue evtiaidia, - ?] Aristotle's Ethiccs, Bk 10, ch. 6. "To times we did not call our being must keep [chime?]

Seizes upon the best side and dwells upon 3 that, merely re-making briefly the sad note if that exists.

Seeks always for something which can really feed us, really nourish us, instead of offering us Dead Sea apples of criticism.

A poet in criticism, a sympathetic imagination enables him to identify himself with his author and reach his heart.

Stedman another poet critic, Lowell another.

Breadthe of religious sympathy perhaps the gift of the poet to the critic

Justin Mc Carthy says the Parnellites were friendly to [Forstee?], at first, & would have wished him success in Ireland, if for no other reason than because he was the brother-in-law of Matthew Arnold.

Arnold's method the literary method, as distinguished from the metaphysical [is the - crossed out] and from the mathematical. But its laying illustrative examples of his meaning before you, [while y- crossed out] letting your conclusion from these examples form in your mind gradually until you are generally

quite ready to assent when he 4 states his own final conclusion. For one good example of this method see his essay on the Study of Celtic Literature especially the part relating to the characteristics of the Celts, the [Tartin?], the Norman, the Englishman, the German etc.

He reviles metaphysics, but is so far from reviling philosophy that he is himself a [kind of - crossed out] philosopher.

[toivuv?] - a mannerism -

Two classes of minds are drawn toward the subjects line of ideas which [survived?] to belong to underlie metaphysics [being - crossed out] But one class calls them being [?], altruism science, existence, subject, object - and so on; the other is more apt to speak of truths man, neighbor, duty, conduct, poetry. Both start from a longing to get at the heart of things, "to me then as they really are", but the two are {petr - crossed out] perpetually at odds, because the language that is native and dear to one is but "sound and fury signifying