7/29/2019 A Challenge to Utopians - Sorokin

1/2

T H E S A T U R D A Y R E V I E W OF L I T E R A T U R E , F E B R U A R Y 7, 1925 5 07

A Chal lenge to UtopiansW E . By E U G E N E Z A M I AT I N . Translated from

the Russian by G. Z I L B O O R G . New York: E. P.D u t t o n & Co. 1924. $2.Reviewed by P I T I R I M S O R O K I N

Author of "Leaves from a Russian Diary"

w4 4 " \ Hk T E " is a k i n d of b o m b b o l d l y t h ro wna t " s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n , " " r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n , " " so c i a l i za t i o n " and other slog an s f ash i o n ab l e at the present t ime . Phi losophica las P l a t o ' s "The Rep u b l i c , " i n t e r es t i n g as the bestUt o p i as of H. E. Wel l s , co l d as a m u z z l e of al o ad ed r ev o l v er , and sarcast ic as " G u l l i v e r ' s T r a v e l s , " " We " is a p o wer fu l ch a l l en g e to all Social istUt o p i as . It is n a t u r a l t h a t the book should havec o m e out of Ru ss i a . O n l y a man of t a l en t wh o , asZ am i a t i n , h as b een and st i l l is am i d s t the g rea t es t exp e r i m e n t in the " s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n " and " c o m m u n i z a -t i o n " of h u m an b e i n g s , co u l d wr i t e t h i s Ut o p i a ofan ab so l u t e l y s t an d ard i zed and social ized society .T h i s d o es not m ean t h a t " We " is a p ro p ag an d i s tb o o k r i d i cu l i n g Co m m u n i s t Ru ss i a . Not a bit. TheCo m m u n i s t ex p er i m en t g av e o n l y the f i rst pat ternsnecessary for a s t a r t . Th e rest is the crea t i o n oft h e t h o u g h t and f an t asy of the au t h o r .

T h e b o o k r ep resen t s f o r t y " r ec o rd s " of D - 5 0 3 .D - 5 0 3 is the " n a m e " of the b u i l d e r of The I n t e g r a l a wo n d er fu l ae r i a l sh i p for car ry i n g p ro p ag an d aan d " m at h em at i ca l l y f au l t l e s s h ap p i n ess" to the poori n h ab i t an t s of M a r s , V e n u s , and o t h er p l an e t s . T h i shappiness is a l r ead y ach i ev ed in The U n i t e d S t a t e a society a t h o u san d y ear s h en ce i n wh i ch D -5 0 3l i v es . E v ery t h i n g t h e r e is r a t i o n a l i zed and social i zed . I n s t ead of i n d i v i d u a l s we have here only he-N u m b e r s and s h e - N u m b e r s . T h e i r b e h a v io r is c o m p l e t e l y r eg u l a t ed by "T he T a b l e of H o u r s . " Inco m p ar i so n wi t h it " t h a t g r ea t es t of all m o n u m e n t so f an c i en t l i t e r a t u r e , the O ff i c i a l Ra i l r o ad G u i d e" isa ch i ld ish th ing . Al l N u m b e r s are eq u a l , d wel l ini d en t i ca l g l as s ap ar t m en t s b en ea t h the eye ofev ery o n e , get up at the s a m e m o m e n t , "at the sam every second, designated by the T a b l e , c a r r y thespoons to t h e i r m o u t h s , " ch ew t h e i r m ea l s the sam en u m b e r of t i m es , s i m u l t an eo u s l y go out to w a l k , tot h e Au d i t o r i u m and so on: briefly, they are all eq u a lpart icles of the g i g an t i c S t a t e -m ach i n ery . " S c i en ceis developing and with in f i fty years even the nosesw i l l be i d en t i ca l , " the bui lder th inks. Of course,e v e r y N u m b e r has his " G u a r d i a n - A n g e l " f r o mw h o m c a n n o t be h i d d en any deed or w o r d . T h e r e f o r e , "The B u r e a u of the G u a r d i a n s " k n o w s e v e r y t h i n g g o i n g on in the co u n t ry . E v ery t h i n g h er e isad ap t ed for State Serv ice. Ev en poetry . "Howw a s it t h a t the an c i en t s did not not ice the u t t e r absu rd i t y of thei r prose and p o e t ry . ?" wr i t es D-5 0 3 .

The gigantic, magnificent power of the artistic word wasspent by them in vain. It is really droll: anybody wrotewhatever happened to come into his head! We made adomestic animal out of the ocean. And in the same manner we domesticated and harnessed the wild elements ofpoetry. Nowpoetry is no longer the unpardonable whistling of nightingales for the stimulation of sweethearts buta State Service.P o e t s are wr i t i n g o n l y wh a t is o rd ered by theW e i l - D o e r and the G u a r d i a n s , e. g., the i m m o r t a lt r a g e d y , " T h o s e Wh o C o m e L a t e to W o r k , " or" S t a n z a s on S e x - H y g i e n e , " or " F l o w e r s of C o u r tS en t en ces . " M u s i c is s t an d ard i zed no less, ex ist ingp r i n c i p a l l y in the f o r m of The Un i t ed S t a t e ' sH y m n and h av i n g n o t h i n g in co m m o n wi t h thedisorderly noise of the Beet l iovens and the Scriab insof the an c i en t s .E v en wi l d sex u a l i n s t i n c t is b r i d l ed in such a wavt h a t it does not m e n a c e the equal i ty and c o m m u n i s mof the Un i t ed S t a t e . Acco rd i n g to the Lex Sexulis:

"A N u m b e r may obtain a l icense to use any o t h erN u m b e r as a sex u a l m at e . "T he rest is only a matter of technique. You are care

fully examined in the laboratory of the Sexual Departmentwhere they find the content of sexual hormones in yourblood, and they make out for you accordingly a Table ofsexual days. Then you file an application to enjoy theservices of Numbers so and so. You get for that purposea check-book ( p i n k ) . That is all. Twice a day, from sixteen to seventeen o'clock and from twenty-one to twenty-tw o the united social organism dissolves into separate cells;these are the personal hours designated by the Table. Durin g these hours you would see the curtains discreetly drawnin the rooms.

(I n the opin ion of D-5 0 3 t h ese p e r so n a l h o u r s aren a t u r a l l y a kind of disorderly atav ism but he firmlybel ieves " that sooner or l a t e r we shal l some how f indev en for these hours a place in the g e n e r a l f o r m u l a .

S o m eh o w all of the 8 6 , 0 0 0 seco n d s wi l l be i n co r p o ra t ed in the T a b l e of Hours. -" Such is th is happysociety .T h e s e c r e t of th is happiness, in the ex p l an a t i o n ofD - 5 0 3 , is the i d ea l n o n - f r eed o m . Any p e r f e c t machine works wel l because its parts are absolu telyu n f r e e . F r e e d o m is i r r a t i o n a l i sm and f an cy . Itm ean s so m et h i n g t h a t co u l d not be foreseen andm ay haffen. F r e e d o m is an o t h er wo rd for c r i m e .I f h u m an l i b e r t y is equal to z e r o , man can n o t co m m it any c r i m e . Man had to choose ei ther happinesswi t h o u t f r eed o m or f r eed o m wi t h o u t h ap p i n ess .The fool ish ancien ts chose freedom and as a r esu l tl o s t P a r ad i se . Th e United State chose happinessa nd was d o n e wi t h f r eed o m .U n f o r t u n a t e l y e v e n the m at h em at i c i an s of theU . S. co u l d not dest roy the m at h em at i ca l sq u are ro o to f m i n u s o n e . " I t co u l d not be d efea t ed b ecau se itwas b ey o n d r easo n , " wr i t es D- 5 0 3 . S o m et h i n g l ik eth is i r rat ional square root cont inued to exist in theN u m b er s a l so . In spite of r a t i o n a l i za t i o n m an y oft h e m a n d D - 5 0 3 , t o o b e c a m e ill wi t h the wo rs tsickness: "a soul has f o r m e d in t h e m . " T h a n k s tothe p lay of "the m o st i r r a t i o n a l c r ea t u r es in thew o r l d t h e s p e r m a t o z o i d s " s o m e of the N u m b e r sf e l l in love wi th some of t h e i r m at es . In o t h e r N u m bers parental inst inct and other atav ist ic impulsessu d d en l y ap p eared . As a resu l t , equal i ty began todisappear , the S t a t e m ach i n ery b eg an to wo rk wo r sean d wo r se , and social order was a l m o s t b ro k en . Buta t t h e l a s t m o m en t the W e l l - D o e r and the G u a r d i a n sfo r ced the N u m b e r s to u n d e r g o the G r e a t O p e r a t i o n t h e d es t ru c t io n of the N e r v o u s C e n t e r of F a n c y a nd in th is way they saved the Un i t ed S t a t e . Th eO p e r a t i o n p e r f o r m e d , the N u m b e r s b e c a m e as p er f ec t as the b es t m ech an i sm s ; f an cy was d es t ro y ed ;the souls d isappeared , and " t h e m at h em at i ca l l y f au l t less, hundred per cen t h ap p i n ess" was reestab l ished .S u ch is the sch em e of " W e . " T h i s s c he m e is filledby excellently depicted typtes of h u m an b e i n g s , byth r i l l ing ep isodes and ad v en t u res , and by deeppsycho-bio logical analysis . Al l this is p i c t u r ed byZ am i a t i n ' s b o l d , n eo - r ea l i s t s t y l e , t o g e t h er wi t h hisgrim phi losophy, and cold but ef f ec t i v e sa r casm reca l l i n g so m et i m es t h a t of Rab e l a i s , so m et i m est h e sa r casm of S wi f t a l l t h i s m ak es the bookam u s i n g , i m p ress iv e , o u t s t an d i n g , and inst ruct ive.

R e a d i n g "We," one can n o t h e l p t h i n k i n g :" W h a t h app i n ess t h a t the i r rat ional square root ofm i n u s one ex i s ts ! W h a t h ap p in ess it is to l ive int h e an c i en t , i r r a t i o n a l , and unhappy society , wi th alli t s s ins, cr imes, and i n e q u a l i t y ! "

O u t of the WarTH E NI NTH OF NOVEMBE R. By B E R N -

H A RD K E L L E R M A N N . New York: Robert M.M c B r i d e & Co. 1924. $ 2 . 5 0 .Reviewed by J A M E S M I T C H E L L C L A R K E

TE G e r m a n N a t i o n in th is book appears as ag i an t wh i r l p o o l wi t h i n wh i ch men and wom en sp i n l au g h i n g and sh r i ek i n g i n t o theabyss. The w r e c k of an inst i tu t ion lurches past .Broken hopes and lost ideals are as chips in the maels t r o m . Th e cold , s tupid face of a high officersweeps by; emaciated wisps of c h i l d r e n ; p e r f u m e d ,lascivious bodies of u p p er c l as s wo m en , the warcrazed v isages of so ld iers. Th e h o r r o r of d ea t h ison the f ace of the l a n d . A g r i m m ad n ess is ev ery w h e r e . "The N i n t h of N o v e m b e r " is the story of an a t i o n in its death throes.F o r the G e r m a n y t h a t w a s , is no m o r e , and in th isn o v e l of the r ev o l u t i o n of 1918 B e r n h a r d K e l l e r m a n n has c a u g h t her at the t i m e wh en she ch an g edf r o m one t h i n g to an o t h er . His impressionist icsty le, wi th its feverish rap id i ty , is ex ce l l en t l yad ap t ed to its p o r t r ay a l . Th e narrat ive f lashes fromscene to scene and f ro m ch arac t e r to ch arac t e r wi t ha quickness which is a l m o s t b ewi l d er i n g . At firstthe book seems to r ep resen t the same chaos whichobscured the ac t u a l h ap p en i n g . But as the storyprogresses the t r a i n of ev en t s t ak es fo rm . Onel ea rn s t h a t it is of a n a t i o n r a t h e r t h an of i n d i v i d u a l s ; and the t ide that swept the G e r m a n y of theK ai se r s to her d o w n fa l l m o v es g i g an t i ca l ly b e fo rethe eyes.A n u m b e r of stor ies go to m ak e up the m ai nco rd of t h i s n a r r a t i v e . T h ey lie l ike st rands of arope, each separate, yet i n t e r t w i n e d and unif ied in tot h e wh o l e . P e rh ap s the core is the story of aJ u n k e r g e n e r a l , one H e c h - B r a n d e n b e r g , a r e p r e sentat ive of the autocracy whose stupid i ty and r ap a

ci ty brought its own d o w n f a l l . P e r h a p s the m o stb eau t i fu l is the story of t h i s g en era l ' s d au g h t e r andt h e d r eam er Ack erm an n wh o se v i s i o n is the ac t u a t i n g fo r ce in the col lapse of au t o cracy . E ac h s t o ryis representat ive of one of the cu r r en t s wh i ch m ad eup the t ide of r ev o l u t i o n .T h e u n i fy i n g f ac t o r wh i ch weav es t h ese v a r i o u st h r ead s t o g e t h er is the f ee l i n g of a g rea t m ad n essw h i c h has p erm ea t ed the wh o l e p eo p l e . H u m a n i t yhas been st rained beyond the b reak i n g p o i n t andm i n d s and ch arac t e r s h av e g i v en way. The c o m mon people are in f lamed by a dul l , su l len fury bornof hopeless suffer ing . Th e upper classes have thrownaside the o u t wo rn r ag s of civ i l izat ion and g i v ent h em se l v es up to t h e i r m o s t b es t ia l d es i res . W o m en

in a so r t of sexual f renzy f l ing themselves at su chm en as h av e r e t u rn ed to the cap i t a l . Th e m o stv iv id scenes of the book are of d ru n k en o rg i eswh i ch t h ese wo m en g i v e for men who h av e ret u rn ed f ro m h e l l to c r o w d as m u ch se l f i n d u l g en ceas possible into the t i m e a l l o t t ed t h em . Th e caseo f Cap t a i n F a l k , "the S t e a m R o l l e r , " is typ ical . Atte n in the m o r n i n g he has b een " u s i n g his k n i f ef r e e l y " on the F l an d er s f ro n t . All t h a t n i g h t hed r i n k s wi l d l y at a g a t h e r i n g of Ber l i n ' s e l i t e because "he is a v o l can o and e n d e a v o r i n g to keeph i s t em p era t u r e d o wn , " and at ten the n ex t ev en i n gd ep ar t s to use his k n i f e ag a i n .K e l l e r m a n n has b r o u g h t to t h i s wr i t i n g the sam eabi l i ty to m a k e one f ee l t h i n g s wh i ch m ad e "TheS ea" su ch a m o v i n g t a l e . No mere descr ip t ion ofbat t les and shel l to rn p laces could make one r ea l i zethe actual i ty , war, so viv id ly as t h i s p o r t r ay a l ofi t s effects . Bat t le i t sel f is too s t ag g er i n g for c o m p reh en s i o n , but h ere we h av e t e rm s m o re f am i l i a rto our ex p er i en ce and the awfu l m ad n ess of theth ing r ises about the story in all its h o r r o r . "Th eN i n t h of N o v e m b e r " is one of the f inest th ingst h a t h av e co m e out of the war.

Exp enencesTWI CE THI RTY. By E D W A R D W . BOK. New

Yo rk : Ch ar l es S cr i b n er ' s S o n s . 1924. $ 4 . 5 0 .Reviewed by B R I T O N H A D D E NE D W A R D W I L L I A M BOK is ident i f iedby some as the c i t i zen wh o o f fe r ed $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0f or a sa t i s f ac t o ry P eace P l an ; by others asth e man who w r o t e an au t o b i o g rap h y t h a t won aP u l i t z e r P r i z e and of wh i ch o v er 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 co p i esa r e n o w in c i r cu l a t i o n ; by o t h er s as a o n e- t i m e ed i t o rof the p o w e r f u l Ladies* Hopte Journal; by othersas a man w h o l i k e B e n j a m i n F r a n k l i n , H o m e r u nBaker , Leopold Stokowski and D a v i d R i t t e n -

h o u seh as d o n e m u ch for the Ci t y of P h i l ad e l p h i a ." T w i c e T h i r t y " is a second autobiography of Mr.Bo k o r , m o re p ro p er l y , a series of au t o b i o g rap h i ca lj o t t i n g s . Wh ereas the " A m e r i c a n i z a t i o n " descr ibes chronological ep isodes in the l i fe of E d w a r dBo k , the ed i t o r , " T wi ce T h i r t y " co n cern s i t s e l fin a r a m b l i n g and i n f i n i t e l y l e s s co m p el l i n g m an n erw i t h E d w a r d W. Bok, the man, the c i t i zen , thef a t h e r , the b en efac t o r , the f r i e n d .T h e v o l u m e is addressed to W i l l i a m C u r t i s Boka n d C a r y W i l l i a m Bok and s t a t es f r an k l yYour mother has proposed that I put down for you someof my more significant experiences. . . . After one has

written for a while, he no longer writes to a public butto friends. . . . They understand. . . . E x p e rience can only be told, as I see it, by the use of a naivesimplicity. . . . So if you are conscious of this note ofnaivete in what follows, be assured that I was conscious ofit before you.

T h e n f o l l o w the experiences. Some are t r i v i a l ,so m e are g rea t , all are signif icant , none are d u l l .T h e r e is the ex p er i en ce of the 1 7 -y ear -o l d boyw h o was cal led upon to d ec i d e wh e t h er the l i f eof his f a t h e r sh o u l d be a l l o w e d to run out orw h e t h e r an operat ion should be p e r f o r m e d w h i c hwo u l d h av e b er e f t the e l d er Bok of all r easo n .T h e r e is an experience in a sickroom in a house onS S t r ee t , Wash i n g t o n , l a t e in 1923. T h e r e is anex p er i en ce wi t h O t t o von Bi sm arck . At a d i n n e r p ar t y at the N et h er l an d s h o m e of the B o k s , E d w a r d ,ag ed 20 m o n t h s , was p l aced on the g rea t m an ' slap . Af ter f ive minu tes ' o rder ly perusal of the i r o nco u n t en an ce . Bab y Bok poked his f ist s t raight atBi sm arck ' s n o se , g r ew red in the f ace s t r i v i n g forvocal expression , and u l t i m a t e l y " w i t h a quickdash of the arm I k n o ck ed the glass out of theCh an ce l l o r ' s h an d , u p se t t i n g the w i n e on his sh ir t -f r o n t and o v er his c l o t h es . " (Mr. Bok still possesses his m o t h er ' s r ed - s ta i n ed h an d k erch i e f w h i chfu n c t i o n ed as mop.)T h e r e are o t h er ex p er i en cesh o w P i an i s t deP a c h m a n n cut capers and ate an o ran g e in the d r a w -

7/29/2019 A Challenge to Utopians - Sorokin

2/2

5o8 T H E S A T U R D A Y R E V I E W OF L I T E R A T U R E , F E B R U A R Y 7, 1925ing-room of a Boston train; howThoma s AlvaEdison wrote the Lord's Prayer on a dime-sized pieceof paper and went laughing heartily out of theoffice; why the late Russell Sage preferred twoWormy two-cent apples and a penny change to tw ohealthy two-for-a-nickel apples and zero change.

In "Twice Thir ty," one may read that it is largely from Dutch antecedents that Americans concocted the Declaration of Independence and theConstitution of the United Sta tes; that EdwardBok weighed 14 pounds at bir th; that the Dutc hinvented golf; that Mr. Bok and GovernorWoodrow Wilson of New Jersey so closely resembled each other as to be taken for brothers;that President Roosevelt read Swedish and NewZealand pamphlets on woman suffrage sufficient tofill two express crates; that Bok, the youth, couldearn $5.00 on Saturday afternoons as a semi-professional baseball pitcher; that the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra is now recognized as the finestsymphony orchestra on the continent of Europe andis bigger andbetter than the Ne w York Ph i lha r monic; that the circulation of The Ladies' HomeJournal was"seriously injured" because Mr. Bokpublished "The Female of the Species"a slanderupon womanhood; that the "Pe nnsy lva n ia Dutc h"arc really of German descent; that the public referendum held last year upon the American PeaceAward was "the widest and most intelligent plebiscite ever taken."

F ew are the pages that contain no statements oranecdotes to arrest attention. Few pages fail toremind the reader that Edw ard W . Bok has been apotent factor for good and is not afraid to say so.On the last page of all appears Byron'sAnd what is wri t is writWould it were worthier.T h e n :"By the Same Author: To be Published in 1 9 5 4 :' T H R I C E T H I R T Y . ' "Letters from Lively Places

R A N D O M L E T T E R S F R O M M A N Y C O U N TRIES . By J O H N G A R D N E R C O O L ID G E . Bost o n : M a r s h a l l J o n e s C o m p a n y . 1924. $5.

Reviewed by P H I L I P C O A NM R . C O O L I D G E d i sp la ye d in his ear l ya n d in thei r way, busy days one great talen t , .t h e g i f t of b e i n g ab o u t . He seem ed togravi tate by some natural aff in i ty to scenes of ac t i o n .H e s a w J a p a n in 1 8 8 8 , d u r i n g the flood tide of oc-c i d en t a l i za t i o n . He t r av er sed K i p l i n g ' s I n d i a . InB r a z i l , A d m i r a l M e l l o c a r r i ed out his g rea t n av a lr ev o l t of 1 8 9 3 b efo re the eyes of t h i s ca l m an d det ach ed b u t o m n i p resen t Bo s t o n i an . In C u b a in 1 8 9 8 ,M r . Co o l i d g e b o ard ed the M a r i a T e r e s a w h i l e itwas s t i l l b u rn i n g , and w a t c h e d the fighting at S a n t i ag o . Af t e r t ak i n g a g l an ce at the F i l i p i n o r eb e l l ion by w a y of an i n t e r l u d e , and g e t t i n g sh o t at, het u r n e d up in S o u t h Af r i ca j u s t in t i m e to be m a d eo u r seco n d S ecre t a ry of L e g a t i o n in P r e t o r i a , andto wi tness the fal l of the Boer capi tal . As he co u l dn o t be in two places at o n ce , he missed the Bo x eru p r i s i n g , but he r each ed P ek i n g so o n a f t e r , and rem ai n ed t h e r e as d i p l o m at i c a t t ach e wi t h i n ea r sh o t ,so to speak , of the Ru sso - Jap an ese war .Ro l l i n g s t o n es , wh en t h ey ro l l so consisten t ly inthe path of c i r cu m s t an ce , are apt to g a t h er p l en t yof the moss of s t r an g e k n o wl ed g e and a n e c d o t e .U n f o r t u n a t e l y , Mr . Co o l i d g e was no o rd i n ary ro l l i n g - s t o n e . He was too s y m m e t r i c a l and h i g h l y

pol ished . For all his g i f t of l an d i n g p h y s i ca l l y onthe precise spot of u p h eav a l , he does not co m e i n t onearly such close personal contact wi th act ion as manya person who physical ly stays put . Th ose w ho seekan acco u n t of the secret purposes of the D o w a g e rE m p ress , i m p ar t ed in a m o m e n t of i n d i sc r ee t exp an s i o n o v er the t eacu p s , or who w a n t to h e a r atale of h o w P a u l K r u g e r s m u g g l e d a w a g o n l o a d ofd i am o n d s away f ro m L o rd Ro b er t s by th e aid of ani n g en i o u s Yan k ee y o u t h wi l l f i n d no su ch m at t e rh er e . G o o d m an n er s av o i d ev i l co m m u n i ca t i o n s .

B u t in his so m ew h at u n co m p ro m i s i n g l y co r r ec tan d e l eg an t way , t h e Back Bay Beach co m b er cau g h tan occasional reveal ing g l impse of t h i n g s . It h a p p en ed to h i m o n ce in G e r m a n y , u p o n a cerem o n i a ld ay , to b eh o l d the K ai se r , c l ad in d a z z l i n g m a i l ,s t an d i n g a l o f t on a p a l ace b a l co n y , h a r an g u i n g acro wd b en ea t h an ap p ro ch i n g t h u n d er s t o rm , to theo b l i g a t o of r ea l t h u n d er . In R i o , at the h e i g h t oft h e b o m b a r d m e n t , he sa w a wi n e t r u ck ab an d o n ed int h e l i n e of fire, and r eck l es s l o u n g er s r u sh out tod r i n k up the escap i n g co n t en t s of a b u l l e t -p u n c t u r ed

b ar r e l . A t P e k i n g he tasted the p ep p ery t em p er ofE . H. Har r i m an , wh o i n s i s t ed t h a t t h e Ch i n ese g o v e rn m en t sh o u l d acco rd him h o n o r s t h a t it had j u s tpaid to T a f t and Al i ce Ro o sev e l t .H e r e and there occur these revelatory touches.T h ey a r e t h e b es t t h i n g s in t h e l e t t e r s . T h es e , m o r eo v er are m o st r ead ab l y wr i t t en , wi t h the f r an k n essan d s i m p l e f am i l i a r i t y n a t u r a l to the c a s e t h e y aread d ressed m ai n l y to the au t h o r ' s m o t h er . T h e b o o kco n t a i n s m an y m en t i o n s of m e n of n o t e , A m e r i c a nan d o t h er , and wil l supply added touches to them en t a l p o r t r a i t s of such fo lk , cherished by personswh o h av e k n o wn the w o r l d for the past th i r ty yearsor so . It is not up to w h a t the b read t h and t i m e l i

ness of Mr. Co o l i d g e ' s t r av e l s m i g h t l ead one toexpect , bu t it m ak es en g ag i n g r ead i n g , an d n o w an dt h en so m et h i n g b e t t e r .

W h a t Is Style?T H E G E N I U S OF S T Y L E . By W. C.

B R O W N E L L . New York: Charles Scribner'sSons. 1924. $2.Reviewed by H E N R Y S E ID E L C A N B VTHE l i t e r a t u r e of the cri t icism of sty le isextensive, and t h e r e arc few p ro fess i o n a lwr i t e r s who at one t i m e or an o t h er h av en ot had t h e i r say u p o n the u n i v er sa l e l em en t ofg o o d wr i t i n g wh i ch " m ay be tested fo r an d i d en t i fied but not d e l i m i t ed or d e t a c h e d . " The v eryclusiveness of the p ro b l em as to wh at co n s t i t u t essty le is its f asc i n a t i o n , and the flexibility of thet e r m in t h eo ry and its misuse in pract ice have ledto such confl ict ing defin i t ions and so m u c h p a r r o t in g of s t a t em en t t h a t a g rad u a t e sem i n ar wo u l dfind work for a y ear in merely f inding out w h a tcr i t ics bel ieve that they th ink . Mr . B r o w n e l l , p e r haps the m o st co m p et en t c r i t i c wr i t i n g in E n g l i s ht o d ay , has m a d e the task easier . His " G e n i u s ofS t y l e " is far m o r e t h a n its t i t le ind icates. In twoh u n d r e d odd p ag es he has l u m i n o u s l y an a l y zed thefu n c t i o n s of sty le, and with sty le as h i s t h em e co n d u c t ed a devastat ing cr i t icism of his own age of" aes t h e t i c i n e r t i a . "

R e a d e r s and wr i t e r s who detest the sen sa t i o n a l ism which , l ike an i r r i t a t i n g p o i so n , has m a d e ourl i t e r a t u r e f ev er i sh , h av e b een l o n g i n g for a co n servat ive cr i t ic who wo u l d a t t ack the v ag ar i es ofm o d e r n art wi t h fu l l k n o wl ed g e of w h a t t h a t ar twas d o i n g , not cr i t i c i s i n g p ed an t i ca l l y or f r o mp re j u d i ce , but w i t h a sense of the co n t i n u i t y ofaesthetic effort. Mr . B r o w n e l l is t h e i r m an , andthis is the book for wh i ch t h ey h av e b een wai t i n g .B u t the test of thei r s inceri ty is i m m e d i a t e , for thed o c t r i n e of "The G e n i u s of S t y l e " is stiff, andthose who profi t by it m u s t be p rep ared to do m o r et h an r ead , wh i ch is easy , and u n d er s t an d , wh i chis not so easy , and ap p ro v e , wh i ch t h ey are l ikelyto do. For it is as m u c h a c o n d e m n a t i o n of thefo rm al i sm wh i ch has assu m ed in our day the n o b l en a m e of t r ad i t i o n a l as of the expressionist and sen sat ional ist .

A less cogent mind and a less excel len t sty l ist , inhi s own sense, than Mr . Bro wn el l wo u l d h av e ext e n d e d the su b s t an ce of t h i s ad m i rab l e b o o k f ro mt w o h u n d r e d to f ive hundred pages. I c a n n o t begi n to ex h au s t its r em ark ab l e r eso u rces of idea andappl icat ion in a b r i e f r ev i ew and m u s t be co n t en tto hit at wh at seem s to me the au t h o r ' s s i g n i f i can tco n t r i b u t i o n .S t y l e , wh a t ev er e l se it may be, is o r d e r and

m o v e m e n t ; t h a t is his f i rst thesis , borro wed fromBufi'on and ex ce l l en t l y e l ab o ra t ed . O rd e r is notp a t t e r n ; it is the co o rd i n a t i n g t h o u g h t t h a t c r ea t esan d h o l d s t o g e t h er the ar t i s t ic wh o l e . M o v em e n t is not sp eed ; it is co n t i n u i t y , it is r h y t h mco n t i n u ed t h ro u g h su b j ec t and m o o d to associat ionan d a t m o sp h ere . The t r u e a r t i s t is absorbed " ina k ind of co n t ro l l ed ex c i t em en t and d i r ec t ed p u r p o se , en d eav o r i n g to em b o d y his i d ea l of how thesubject should be t r ea t ed as w e l l as in l o v e wi t hthe subject itself. . . . In the widest sense, thus,s t y l e wo u l d be the art of t ech n i c , t h a t e l em en t oft ech n i ca l ex p ress i o n wh i ch m ak es an art of w h a to t h erwi se is at best bu t sk i l l . . . . I t is the sp i r i t ofs t y l e t h a t t r an sm u t es l i f e i n t o a r t . "F o r a period l ike ours such a s t a t em en t is r ad i ca lin the e x t r e m e . I t co n t a i n s an i m p l i ca t i o n wh i chM r . Bro w n el l d ev e l o p s ru t h les s l y , t h a t s t y le is notth e man in the sense in wh i ch Bu f fo n ' s s t a t em en thas been misin te rprete d . Sty le i t sel f is i m p er so n a l ,

a l t h o u g h p er so n a l i t y may be f r eed t h ro u g h it.T h at p e r so n a l i m p r i n t of the t e m p e r a m e n t u p o n

l a n g u a g e w h i c h the can t p h rase d en o t es as sty le,i s m an n er , a different and less exce l len t th in g . Lessexcel len t because if not co n t ro l l ed by purposes ofh arm o n y , o rd er , b eau t y , to the f u r t h e r i n g of thew o r k , it b eco m es , as wi t h Di ck en s , a c l o g g i n g ofexpression , as w i t h the sensat ional ist and ex p er i m en t a l i s t , a m ere d i sch arg e of id iosyncrasy notg en era l i zed i n t o any signif icance.P ro se has suffered from the present fash ion ofsaying to the ego, " D o as you p l ease . " E n g l i shprose, the h i g h t r ad i t i o n of w h i c h has had s i n cet h e s i x t een t h cen t u ry b eau t y as an a t t r i b u t e , is, asev ery one r eco g n i zes , now f lat tened toward u t i l i t a r i an i sm . We h av e g a i n ed a c l a r i t y and s i m p l i -

cit}' wh i ch m ak e p ro se u se fu l to science anddai ly affai rs , and are also at t r ibu tes of good sty le,bu t in d i sd a i n i n g an y i d ea l of o r d e r a n d m o v e m e n tb e l o n g i n g to the p er f ec t i o n of expression , thoughnot essent ial for the u t t e r an ce of s i m p l e t h o u g h t ,we h av e l o s t the sec r e t of o v er t o n es , r ed u ced ourprose to a s t a t em en t , and i n f i n i t e l y n a r ro wed exp ress i v en ess . E m o t i o n and the m o st e l em en t a ryex p l an a t i o n of cru d e f ac t n o w h av e an a l m o s t i d en t i ca l m ed i u m .I n the plast ic and pictor ial ar ts and in the proseo f wh a t we p r e f e r to ca l l l i t e r a t u r e , t h e r e h av ebeen curiously d i fferen t resu l ts . Fo r t h e r e the insistence upon h ighly personal expression wi thoutr e f e r e n c e to the r ep resen t a t i o n of l i f e or the idealof beauty has r esu l t ed in a l ack of any p er so n a l i t yw h a t s o e v e r in the r esu l t i n g s t y l e . Ou r au t o b i o g rap h i ca l n o v e l s m i g h t all be w r i t t e n by the s a m eh an d , n eo - i m p ress i o n i s t p a i n t i n g s h av e r ed u ced theexpression of the ar t i s t h i m se l f to ab s t r ac t cu rv es

and cubes, and the cra \ ' i n g for personal expressionis fed by cru d e co n t r as t and sensat ion in the s u b jects chosen .55% d?* (.?

I t is, ap p aren t l y , a new in f lux of the phi losophyo f Ro u sseau , an ex a l t a t i o n of the n a t u r a l man,w ho is to ex p ress h im se l f n a t u r a l l y , wh i ch m ean swi t h o u t r es t r a i n t , wi t h o u t r e f e r en ce to the p u r pose or the l a w s of expression in g e n e r a l . Mr .Bro wn el l f i n d s us ch i l d i sh ; he would f ind , I susp ec t , " Ul y sses" ch i l d i sh in its m o v em en t , t h o u g hm a t u r e in its sty l ist ic concept ion . A nd his book,b ey o n d its m er i t s as bri l l ian t analysis , is a p l ea t h a ta r t m u s t be c i v i l i zed to be art and to be u sefu l ,ex cep t as a r e l i e f for i n d i v i d u a l em o t i o n s . " T h ee l e m e n t of sty le is of t o o u n i v er sa l a substance andappl icat ion to be ident i f ied wi th the i n d i v i d u a l i t yof whose in tel l igent expression it is c l ea r l y an d co n sciously , even when inst inct ively , an i n s t r u m e n t .. . . A nd it had cer t a i n l y m u ch b e t t e r be an endin itself, su b o rd i n a t i n g all p er so n a l i t y and ach i ev in g at l eas t an o rd ered and rh y t h m i c r esu l t , t h ani l l u s t r a t e the kind of f ee l i n g and fu n c t i o n i n g tobe associated in m an y i n s t an ces wi t h u n co n sc i o u s ness." Sty le is t h a t l i f t i n g of ind iv idual expressioni n t o an o r d e r and rh y t h m wh i ch b o t h p e r f ec t s theexpression and m ak es it co m p reh en s i b l e in its ent i r e t y b y o t h er m en . It is a m e d i u m for p er so n a l i t y ,co n t ro l l ed b y i m ag i n a t i o n an d p ro l o n g ed by the c o n t i n u i t y of t h o u g h t . It is n o t n a t u r a l an y m o re t h anspeech is n a t u r a l ; it is simple only as the r esu l t ofs i m p l i f i ca t i o n ; it is beaut i fu l because order and har m o n i o u s m o v e m e n t are a l way s b eau t i f u l . Th edefin i t ion is my own, but the a t t e m p t is to d r a woff for my own purposes a co n cen t r a t i o n of Mr.B r o w n e l l ' s t h o u g h t .

I h av e n ecessa r i l y weak en ed the at tack upon ouraesthet ic dul lness, upon the f latness of our prose, uponthe d iscont inui ty of our verse, and the excess ofm an n er an d l ack of comprehensib le sty le in the r e p r esen t a t i v e a r t s , in t h i s b r i e f r e p o r t i n g , b u t t h a t M r .

The Saturday Reviewof LITERATURE

HE NR Y SE IDE L C ANB Y EtUtorW I L L I A M R O S E B E N E T Associate EditorAMY LOVEMAN Associate EditorCHRISTOPHER. MORLEY .ContribiUing Editor

Publ ished weekly -by Time, Inc., H e n r y R. Luce, Presi d e n t , He n ry S. Canby, Vice-President ; Bri ton Hadden, Secre t a ry -T re a su re r , 236 East 39 th St reet , New Yo rk , N. Y.Subscrip t ion ra te , per year, postpaid : In the U. S. andMexico , $3 ; in Canada, $3 .50; in Great Bri ta in , 16sh i l l ings;e lsewhere , $4. For advert i sing ra tes, address Noble A.Cathcart , Advert i sing Manager, 236East 39 th St reet , Newsecond-class mat ter Ju ly 29 , 1924, at thePost Office at Ne wYork. Ci rcu la t ion Manag er, Roy E. L a rse n , E n t e re d asYo rk , N. Y., u n d e r the Act of M a rc h 3, 1879. Vol. I.Nu mb e r 28.Copyright, 1925, by The Saturday Review of Literature.