Critical Miscellanies, Vol. 1 (of 3), Essay 4: Macaulay

Critical Miscellanies, Vol. 1 (of 3), Essay 4: Macaulay

The Life of Macaulay 253 Macaulay's vast popularity 254 He and Mill, the two masters of the modern journalist 256 His marked quality 259 Set his stamp on style 260 His genius for narration 262 His copiousness of illustration 264 Macaulay's, the style of literary knowledge 266 His use of generous commonplace 267 Perfect accord with his audience 271 Dislike of analysis 272 Not meditative 273 Macaulay's is the prose of spoken deliverance 276 Character of his geniality 278 Metallic hardness and brightness 279 Compared with Carlyle 281 Harsh modulations and shallow cadences 283 Compared with Burke 283 Or with Southey 285 Faults of intellectual conscience 286 Vulgarity of thought 289 Conclusion 290 [Pg 253] 'After glancing my eye over the design and order of a new book,' says Gibbon, 'I suspended the perusal till I had finished the task of self-examination, till I had revolved in a solitary walk all that I knew or believed or had thought on the subject of the whole work or of some particular chapter; I was then qualified to discern how much the author added to my original stock; and if I was sometimes satisfied by the agreement, I was sometimes warned by the opposition of our ideas.' It is also told of Strafford that before reading any book for the first time, he would call for a sheet of paper, and then proceed to write down upon it some sketch of the ideas that he already had upon the subject of the book, and of the questions that he expected to find answered. No one who has been at the pains to try the experiment, will doubt the usefulness of this practice: it gives to our acquisitions from books clearness and reality, a right place and an independent shape. At this moment we are all looking for the biography of an illustrious man of letters, written by a near kinsman, who is himself naturally endowed with keen literary interests, and[Pg 254] who has invigorated his academic cultivation by practical engagement in considerable affairs of public business. Before taking up Mr. Trevelyan's two volumes, it is perhaps worth while, on Strafford's plan, to ask ourselves shortly what kind of significance or value belongs to Lord Macaulay's achievements, and to what place he has a claim among the forces of English literature. It is seventeen years since he died, and those of us who never knew him nor ever saw him, may now think about his work with that perfect detachment which is impossible in the case of actual contemporaries.[1] ......Buy Now (To Read More)

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Ebook Number: 20164
Author: Morley, John
Release Date: Dec 22, 2006
Format: eBook
Language: English