CHESTERTON ON SHAW.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 633, 9 October 1909, Page 9

CHESTERTON ON SHAW.

1 AND SHAW'S OPINION Or IT. _ '.' / The great event of,the book world in.August /.ya.j;'t^ .. oa; Mr.:, Bernard .Shaw. • Kveryono is .' delighted from;wh'icb! /we mke . extracts,: . ' ' . ' 'j "Hero'- was•V.man. who,:coiild have/enjoyed, ;'''A' ~ art .among thb, artists; ,who.could: have been'..the, wittiGstof.aU.thoflanoursVwho'coul'd/ha've y raade epigrams like 'diamonds and'drunk'-,music. , like wine. , He;hfc, : instead.''laboured ill -2jpwell statistics"and," crammed, his mind . with;: all. y,; yythe s most;, dreary , and '. the "most ;• filthy' details, so'thathe ,'cah;nrguQon; : thc spur of tlie 'mo-i - 4'B'ent'about; sewing 'niachines > or.:, S- 'Thd'.upial' ;l/>; ;mean ,::;motivesj wiU, not 'coverilthe' 'i ■.:'wSej , . , it'/isjnotvambition;/for ho .could/have. i:,/:; been; twinty:tiies.more-'p'rominent as/ a.plans-/ ' Kible 'anid popular/humorist./'- It ;is the realvand. ' ■■■>■■ tract in our oligarchical . chaos; nor • will -3, • for* •;. im<M'>i«glect^(S^ntw««|e<fioi^to implacable,' and so pure / ! ' nbl'ilbubv and his own kind : bf;f triples Vof: dooate ytiufcho' broke./and,. thanlc.God, 'for ever, the'.,spejjL\pf. mah''With ! the'>ihglej'9yeglass wnoiliad-, - c? ■?;.frteei^both'jfaith.tand'iunvat tea-' . man-' ; :Ber./Were , ! ,the '(things of a #.-'%'P^J'^ ?^hS«»; ithe ■ hardi? gem-like brilliancy of/Wild? or,.the cafeful'ill-temper of :'Whistler. He brought .in a. breezier sort'of insolence; the .'.single eyeglass- fled :before the 'sirigle.'.eye,. y/.'y'y';No''one: caiKtinderst&rid; Bernard, Shaw who V' : .dd&s.'not give : frill value' to . this Nearly revolt > r". of his : ,pn: : ,behalfV.of ethics'against, the ruling ;y y echcol ofTart'pour I'art. • .:y/. : y y/'>'■•■; •i i -.l , C%'^?Berii^?,Sha#2eato'/n'6)hsii^..-fofC'aW»''''in : ,with;,moralS'literally nothing. Bernard Shaw is a Puritan, and his is I'untan work,:." He ;i has.':, idl.lthe::essentials,:. of-, :the, old ', '. • . virile, and ejtinct Protestant type. ,~' i, ',; :>. ."Shaw' treats -vengeance/as . something v too :iraall for man-ra monkey , trick he ■ ought;■ to //I -;/ /liiive butlived, ■it childish' $torm'of: tears which /y ; .' ; -: : :&evbughtitp/be;able 1 ,-t(Kcohtrbl..yy<V y ~ ': ' r :'-V : S i'fWhen-he'ihas; been most' jvitty'he' will ,pas- :! ;:?;.>;..:Bicnately.deny.his. own wiiit'he.iwill.'say ■ iome-. ;;; thin'g: '.which: Voltaire,'.'might' envy, and then dftlare, :: tb'at':he:;has,;got.;it .all: out of a Blue-. ''.y/Z/y'/y'/v;::'■ /..,;! vV'^yZ ; *' , ,ipto' that.cry'beyond Lamb ..when ■/.•■■■■:' ■ : he .cried,.-!\Ve .would-indict. our dreams'!' or of • . '' Stevenson; .'Shall we..never shed • blood?'y /In ■ ' shcrt, ho is not a' humorist, but a great , wit, . . .almost as great as Voltaire. ' jy' :i: .'"Th'e : ;;Eepul)ltcan .Iteuiple,'." like'.; iany, : other i. ; ; bnildiiig, rested on certain definite limits and •J, ; niaii inside it' went - (indefinitely Imoclqng-hbles, in his own house, :: ; that ithey ,were; windows: The result, r ,is ; not^"hard;to: calculate; ;moral ..world was : .'C all. '.windows: and'/no honso by the :,:time:tliat:Bej , on;the scene." : : : :'; i :'. :^;i'';-It>^as i the part" of ' ; "The' Nation" to eutrust . Mr. Shaw himself with- the: reviewing Mr. .Chesterton's book. )V': i ;Ai' ; His':reiriow.;is..lbiig..aiid..'deUghtful. Wo quote the major portion of it: — : ' ' ■ . . "Generally' speaking,' Mr. Chesterton's , por- :. ' ; trait of me ' has the limitations of a'.-portrait, :y.::.:;:.whichr ? ,is;':^rhaps,: : fortunato''in some respects ;■ , for/.the - onginal. As. a in/ the .least P9lSojial. and most; phenomenal 'sense, it is.very '' ' nce' indeefJ.i 'As"; an: : account ',of: my .doctrine, i V,;;/ ; . deficient 'and,','uproariously .careless>'or"else' recalcitrantly. and :(I ■ repeat) •; • ■ madly. WTong.: Madly,. )>pcause!it misses: tha j'v' ,y^'One/fact;,tKat.7a '.sahe' manshould 'postulate. ;.'. . about that-I am a man,", liko any. ,other..iman.| v And : the' really, , amazing, thing about 'this ioversight is /'that -.Mr.'.Chesterton : Ay% ; it;* and,..in .a.imagnificent' Bacchic ; L ''■: : ,excogitates,' .as i proof:: ofmy 'subjhnmanitir,'.exactly / the /■ i.•-.'{■ reason.that;would' have 'bieri' ; given 'by 'one;of. ,:' y This.' reason :.that/I,?j having ;Vnough money :in / . po'ckfltV-tq Dufchase'.funlimited -beer, do actu-; : : .'. aljy/passSy./pnblib-hoijse';after public-hpuso .;/witho.ut;gpipg.in:aiSd':arißking.;my ; fill..;;l know: ;'':^; ; ' I <Jnd/.iatrava^au(^}jln.VlUaTatßre,.:Conip(irabl6Vto i ./ythis.v Teetotallisiri .is,. to '.Mr. Chesterton/ ,a' ' . strange -'ajid unnatural asceticism forced on'' / ■/. >•" men ii.byyan'v inhiiman '..perversion ,of, religion., is/to: him, 'imagination • ■■•V.V , .'inns^i^.ay'/vitfi'sWm' v op-B!ipf!rrnothing' short :y- :^6f;Vtb'e';;cj(>inipnhioji. , --- i He, sees in" every "publichouso. a'temple of'the.trnfr-catholic, faith;' and / he tells us that'.when'hfi cofties to one", he en-, , a ters ostentatiously,''throws, down all the. shields ry;. and; partitiops,'.that, mako' the' private;bar.'fla/S J god. and ///;■;// i'to;, my ;confhsion.'; And' ie-.will/see ' nothing /. f' but 'cold 'bxtravagance' \in /my sure previ- ' y sion of 'the', "strict,: TegimanUof . Contrexeville /./'■ • water and '&jcharino in; iwhich Bacchic y; ypriesthbbd. I don't dTink : /yZ/ybeer /for/,*two "reasbris:/nmiiKer . one, I don't like it, and therefore havo no ; interest ■ to .•vblind-.mbj'itb/the, plain .facts':'.about, it';, and, ' /-/•:: . , nuriib'otbra,: my.:^''profession'.'.-ia one that, ob- ./- /:,: yliges me'ito'fkeep in',critical:.training, and beer is,;fatal, :hbth/to.Vtraining an-d criticism. It. . : makesjmeii/.choaply: happy by 'destroying their how. unsafe

• ' - . it is to. conclude • that men what they; v t - vpreaeif 1 CMr. ■'Chesterton: doth 'protest' too' much, ■j'v-;£-!and v iiay i; :biL little' better' than V. hypocritical abstainer),,! should'ohaUeng'o.ljim to forswear •5,,-' .'saektand. dispute'ray,, laurels as- a ; : play wright, . v: i instsad of lazily' writing books'Wiout me. Is a : V : '-taan' t6 : r livß;on :my..work/' and: then tell ! me I was not drunk enough to do it properly? Havo I-:sTirviv€d-.tlio:cry ot'Art tor Art's Sake, and Chesterton ,A i rebukes .WKistlor.arid.3lr: Kudyard' Kipling, to , :Xir:fnllratvi'ctiin:.to -'this maddestxof cries:'.the ' '.-'Jry: of Beer (or Beer's Sake?, yi'/v'i: -■ 1 '■ .j .1 iljis , .1 could-get liold',of ; X.'Avas.' a ;.child, - :■ '"/ini the'nomal VeourM:;took : literals'.iure: later Chestertonr-I. : suspect/, be; gall with : Huxley or George-Eliot, and was •:.-h caught- in'ilatef.'life.by'-thai phsie.of the Oscar. Wilde movement.-->hich;vl)ii,Maurie'r' satirised ''. ■ in ■ His nictiiro"-• of / aesthetes;; rarajg about

tho boauly of Littlo 80-Pooplv Ho must havo. read the tho. first' timo , tho .budding vigour of hifl manhood, 'and road iit as - n work of art; ; ;for; no child'- ever loses us head ovcr -a-fairy talfe as ho lost his 1 over this one. Ho ddes not sasm to .havo .over reatl another, r or to rememhar whether l that one was reilly Mack tho Giant uCillev' or 'Jack aim;tho Beanstalk.'. Jack was.e'npugh for him; ■ ana ever ho has preachedi-an-insane cult 11 Particular fairy tale. {-.Tho result is that ho falls foul of mo for pointing out that tnoitrue horo is not an aver&tre Englishman miserably mortifying his natunil' badness, but a superior human being gratifying jjis natural virtue. I illustrated'this'by . our 1 s h°w the hero tr.riimphing. irresistiblybccauso. ho has a masjio sword, an enchanted helmet, a pnrse of Fortunatus,' and a ■ Jfp rhJsZ d "" 'notor-oars. Uhis infuriates ho nE wr Vi : °i n "n cl ''! l ' cs that ' I shall never T hntt k ? ~t ,lnu wllca 1 Mrote this ; "»«I i nope ho.is right,,as I was rist'in the least V L Th, l nk , in K of and forgetting Wriec he declares .that all tIW fairv tales ?• a little man vanquishing a liig one. Now ■tho"dc s fe'it "nf fhlv can , 1)0 , mor » than tnfhl ? r - eator ' «>e 'lesser."-Even to see the greater driven to vanqnish the lesser Wmty by . the gods, and not bv'trilors i'mrf I. like, the onesfin, which the hero 'connue'rs "in tiii? sign ' S 1 w ? !l ' l,lncl:ed brit :. "Mr.; Chesterton, is, at'.ciesentr-a'i man of vehement reactions; and, like all reactionists WW SU V e T p ? bal)s ' out with the bath. • .And-whea.-he sees ipe : nursing;'the colWkf"' t.° es . V 1 !? T0 sav "od from 'all ' the baths, -he/cannot believe thit I hav« really lit at A s , thoroughly'.' 'He conI eludes that I am . a Calvimst Iweauwi' I perceiye the value and truth' of CalVin's' con™tion that once-the man is bom it is ioo late ,to save.him or damn him: you may '•educate' •fe m - and - form: his ■ character' until you. are •p' a ? - 111 1 6 . tac l he ,' s predestinate,; 'did - his ioul. changed' any-more thaii'.a silk purse,can'be._chahged into: a sow's;eat.f- Next moment".jjfc- Chesterton:is.himself Cahfinistic:,ally. scorning me /or. advqciitirig;Herbert;:Spencer's.rjiohon; by exporierioi!, and of , his. great'. Thor-hiimmer .strokes,..whether 'a. -precipice can-be ta'uiiht bv .experience, •to ■;.which 1; reply,<. in' view, iof the th r J, A n S frau . that. I'Eihould ratnef'think it can.On another pago ho is .protesting .that'-I exaggerate tho forco : • cif enI .proclaimed the sihring tKriff '• C h" s .'h'a s /I?.'- f gluttonous, ' rs-bcnd-b-v:? unfoititnate tradesmen, who can just-make both ends (meet by the - profits of the ■ Christmas'' trade) I He concludes, that, in -m joyless Puritan Tiome f ? ther! , tT m y mother!), ,I' ttever melted, leadoorn r never .hid rines in ipanciKes, -never. _ didi all dreary,; 'silly .Chr.iotn)as , -< ; ,things,^-.-.untilhuman:'.-.iatur<ii rebelledA them - and., they. 'were /swepi ."orit ofi^birthday■-preients-.'aad. :of'the'iiM!ur. superstitions, of ''the "kitchen; 1 and .; he '.-.would have: ine - beljevo thiit every ■ CIA-ist-•jnas .he turns'-his happy hpriic.'into'-;a'n insi'ta,non:.of ..the ;toy ,dejiartment,,at Galnage's, iivud burns', a Yule- log ordered,'.;regardless' of ii«k■pense • from ihe,- »-VaukHall.sliip-knackeW. ijjWnWi-' ' Chesterton, './these'. '■ '»«:• .'iiV)t the -/spontanqousV,delights: ''?r 6 ,': -.tbo;, . laborious,. (.acquiremejiAs ,1 )?ok. ls V _matnrity.» -.Clitistev: mcani : /,;lhank God.*Chnsfc- wasAbomonlv;onco o' yeal n; i ■so let us.gat drunk and have done;ivith'.it fit • another, twelve months.* • I; would-'not give 'two r ( ponce -for a Christian,who .does.;'.i6t:'cominemor.i If'-W • Dinh ev,ery-da,yand .keep'sober'ove.! ' l - 1 I must stop arbitrarily,-/or -my revien,ivilKbe longer, than, tho;book! ,- Eon. there-.iii ?'•- 9-' ;My]la?t;:word musl-. 06,, that, gifted as;he is, •he.-n<se<te-V-sime i -Jrijh-" ./poginniagtwifh.ithe.insaiutr-of'ibeervior'bfe&'s i sake does'not stop : - lunacy . of have tried ? t6, 'teaclr-Jirr; :eh'esftr,toavSh!tMlib wil! that is; dogmatic';-that'our . brain Vfonly.the.veryimperfect-insftumentby. which ■m. dortsO:.'pta«{icyi-.&(»Mlftf fulfilling .'that :;Wj/-that- lp^ic!.i3;,o^^, ; atjteiftpt;:to^rt4ej; ? taTi'(l--it-■and;: to. ■with;. ; ;-™i^ti6tol#^isitlj]^^(i^tb'o^el?<bf':low«ti • and -all Hh|t> Mhavo/'got.' into his -ftthorwi je'-vcTy' i^^tliat^whattiyw'-ii^-reascuanlilo ' . - t%r^f edi tor! of v?Tlitf. Na, , won -to -bpen' a .sUljscriph'o'n'- to'v send '', him' -to Ireland for two" years. VyAs' I'' vrite,.-:'with the jCerry coast under my eyes,.'lj can-see/-; breathe, and feel that climate, that weather Changing every twenty minutes mora' than tlia stiff,' fierce, ; pram-besotting-weather, of: England can. change in a ._month), which - he calls 'material and me-' :chanical/' mero 'mud and'mist.' His English ..will,, his English hope, he says, are stronger . physical/things. -Are',they;? What ■■ about-. the■ Scbtch ..ivin,. : the: Yorkshire hope of-the Sha,ws— : that.most mystical, of.all,mystical tilings—the /atmosphere :of, this island of-/ the iSaihts?- I 'liet, Mr.f Chesterton 'try- that /atmosphere : for a while, _-In .-ten' minutes^-no,more—he ' will feel .a ,curious letting down,' ending' with' an Eng. , lishman's .first taste .of .common; sense.. In ten, ; months there will not be an'.atom of English will.or hope anywhero in his'ventripotent per--son.-Ho will eat salmon and Irish Stew and ~ drink whisky- prosaically, ! because -he /will hunger .and:- ; thirst..for;''food and drink 'instead;of drinking beer, poetically because be thirsts for" righteousness. iArid ; 'the 'fa'cts'vwill ! "1» firm binder'his feet;, whilst: the heavens are ; -open p,ver his;headi,and his soul .will beconio n ~ .torment- io.- him,- like-the squl of the Wandering Jew, until he.has achieved -his.appointed • work, which, is /not- that of. .'speculating! ns: to I ,-what I "am here for, but. of discovering'and : dbing what'heihimsel! is here'for." ,