On this page
-
Text (2)
-
November 5, 1853.] THE LEADER. 1075
-
THE 11EWAKDS OF LITERATURE. Hope : a Sto...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Huxley On The Cell-Theory. The British A...
" But in all other animals and plants , an internal morphological differentiation precedes or accompanies the external , and the homogeneous germ becomes separat ed into a certain central portion , which we have called the endoplast , and a peripheral portion , the periplast . Inasmuch as the separate existence of the former , necessarily implies a cavity , in which it lies , the germ in this state constitutes a vesicle with a central particle , or a ' nucleated cell . ' " There is no evidence whatever that the molecular forces of the living matter ^ the ' vis essentialis' of Wolff , or the vital forces of the moderns ) are by this act of differentiation localized in the endoplast , to the exclusion of the periplast , or ¦ vice versd . Neither is there any evidence that any attraction or other influence Is exercised by the one over the other ; the changes which each subsequently undergoes , though they are in harmony , having no causal connexion with one another , but each proceeding , as it would seem , in accordance with the general determining laws of the organism . On the other hand , the ' vis essentialis ' appears to have essentially different and independent ends in view—if we may for the nonce speak metaphorically—in thus separating the endoplast from the periplast .
" The endoplast grows and divides ; but , except in a few more or less doubtful cases , it would seem to undergo no other morphological change . It frequently disappears altogether ; but as a rule , it undergoes neither chemical nor moiphological metamorphosis . So far from being the centre of activity of the vital actions , it would appear much rather to be the less important histological element . £ " The periplast , on the other hand , which has hitherto passed under the names of cell-wall , contents , and intercellular substance , is the subject of all the most important metamorphic processes , whether morphological or chemical , in the animal and in the plant . By its differentiation , every variety of tissue is produced ; and this differentiation is the result not of any matabolic action of the endoplast , which has frequently disappeared before the metamorphosis begins , but of intimate molecular changes in its substance , which take place under the guidance of the ' vis essentialis , ' or , to use a strictly positive phrase , occur in a definite order , we know not why .
" The metamorphoses of the periplastic substance are twofold—chemical and structural . The former may be of the nature either of conversion : change of cellulose into xylogen , intercellular substance , & c , of the indifferent tissue of embryos into collagen , chondrin , & c . ; or of deposit „• as of silica in plants , of calcareous salts in animals . " The structural metamorphoses , again , are of two kinds—vacuolation , or the formation of cavities ; as in the intercellular passages of plants , the first vascular canals of animals ; and fibrillation , or the development of a tendency to break iip in certain definite Iine 3 rather than in others , a peculiar modification of the cohesive forces of the tissue , such as we have in connective tissue , in muscle , and in the ' secondary deposits ' of the vegetable cell . "
These views ai * e illustrated in detail ; and no student of the cell theory Bhould omit to give the paper his serious attention . We do not think Mr . Huxley makes out all his positions , but we thank him heartily for this contribution to structural anatomy .
November 5, 1853.] The Leader. 1075
November 5 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 1075
The 11ewakds Of Literature. Hope : A Sto...
THE 11 EWAKDS OF LITERATURE . Hope : a Story of Chequered Life . By Alfred W . Cole , Esq . author of Capo and the Kaffirs , & c . 3 vols . Price U . Us . ( id . T . C . Newby . The name of Alfred Cole is familiar enough to the readers of magazines affixed to many a lively bit of prose and verse , and it now figures on the title page of a novel in three volumes , courting criticism . If the reader bring with him a circulating library standard , he will find much to be pleased with in Hope ; we warn him to expect nothing measurable by higher standards .. ¦ It is a story of love and adversit y ! not new , hy any not
means ; very probable in its details , but readable—that first of all qualities in a novel . Frank Nugent is the son of a wealthy banker , who blows out his brains in the first chapter , on finding himself a bankrupt ; thus leaving Frank in that ( for a novelist ) most desirable condition , " penniless , and an orphan . " If your hero has not the Avealth and accomplishments of J / bwYe ( Jhristo , you must mako him a beggar , Frank , instead of doing what sons of wealthy bankers do in real life , prefers the invariable course of orphans in fiction—advertises in the newspapers , receives no answer for some time , an insulting one afterwards , and finally , just as starvation is approaching , gets a temporary rescue—becomes teach
er to the children of a vulgar woman , in whoso house we are introduced to some low-life scenes . Frank " takoe to literature , " as it is called ; writes for the periodicals ; meets with old friends , who introduce him once more into " society ; " and so the story alternates between chandeliers and " short fours , " varied by perils , troubles , and adventures of tlio approved kind . Thoro is a Flora Danvcrs , whom you recognise at once as tho wife of Frank Nugent—after a three-volume probation ; and a taptam Dash wood , whom you detect , to be "the military villain ; " and there is a David Tonics , meant for a character , and illustrating tho " pennya-liners . " .
"Love and Literature" the book might havo been called . " Love , " because-it in a novel , and must have that element , or remain unread ; Literature , " because it is tho author ' s profession , and nearest bin heart . M a specimen of tho style , and the author ' s opinion * , we will quoto this fragment of a conversation very undrumaticall y placed in the moutliH of two women , in a " love confidence . " TIM'J . KIUVAHDH OV 1-IT 1 CKAT ( TUK . 7 t - ™ ntoraturo H (> ! 11 l > ili ( 1 ? ' ' wktjd Flor .-i . 'I h . ivo hoard that deputed ; ana ] think ono of our gruato . st living wrifcorH donion it emphatically . ' V htwmi tho l hut in ho
on uro rig , nspy ; ' alfcogolhor : i fun- jmlgn ? Would you talc ( Mi luHhop ' n opinion of tho Hullicionoy of thoolurgy ' urumunlsration ? Would you eomudor a Lord C'hancollor an iiu ' partia ' l judgo in tlu » ca . so of 1 , 1 ns bar ' { ( 'I rani Uiat Hiioli men havo attainod to thoir ponition . s by ( , lu , ; r own ] n - ,, ] , ti » . lontH alone , « - " » l that thoy huvo earned Hpltsmlii ! rewards mont justl y , Htill the quention mnahiH , arc ( - , 1 m , hardworking mcinbcra of IJiuhiuiio proUixmomi , with l . stiti talon I ; , but with Hiilh « i « iut to render them of tho / fniatnufc aervieo to tlio world , well paid or ill paid ' { 0 t ; " ° woilung elmyy nwoivo a fair romunorat . ion for thoir lal > ouiH ? AhIc them , JUKI l » , a r thoir aiiHWor , and not Unit ; of tho bonrsh of binhopH . Do l , ho Htni / ygling JHumrH of tfio bar , who havo road < Uu \ y and fought hard to iimntisr their nmfuHHuin woll , dothoyoarna fair Hulmiuteneo ? And < JO tJ , „ , who < Mlt , () r | , aiu ur WHikhywBuk ^ ra ,, ! month by month , in papen , and periodical * , Iho mmi who producjH educational woi-Jcm , th . i remiltH of long and lament labour , tlio wnliera of JW'tioi ,, whoHo workH ououlato oxtonnivoly throughout , tholibrario . n of tho kingdom , Uj « ug ! i not < w « xt « iiHiy « ly hn to imiko ilnur nan ,,., and tho narnoH of thoir authorn Jwttilmr in our moutlw , w houaohvld worcl «/ do thooo iwn-cm ttma
mmearn the subsistence of gentlemen with a fair chance of provision for sickness , old age , and the other ills that flesh is heir to ? I fear not , Flora . Even the greatest novelist we have had , not judging selfishly , because his own earnings have been in proportion to his own high merits , but thinking of the cases of his less gifted and less fortunate brethren ,, proclaimed that ' Literature was a good walking-stick , but a bad crutch . ' The age of HogartliVstarving poet in the garret may have passed ; but the age in which Leigh Hunt was left dependent on a pension , and Moore the same , —in which Hood died m poverty , and Lanmn Blanchard almost in want , —is surely not the onein which one or two brilliant exceptions can complacently affirm that literature is well paid . ' " ' Are not the general masses in all professions ill paid , then V asked Flora ; ' for instance , the church and the bar ; and I suppose medicine is no better . ' " ¦ 'I believe that all professions are ill paid , as far as the great bod y of ' those who follow them is concerned , ' replied Mrs . St . Leger .
" ' Then literature is no worse than the rest , and literary men have no more cause for complaint than men of other professions , so it seems to me , ' said Flora ' Am I right V " ' Not exactly , I think , and for this reason . It seems to me that literature should be better paid than any other profession , because it requires a higher class of intellect . Nearly any man , of the most ordinary abilities , can with proper study pass the examinations necessary to fit him for ordination , into the church . The veriest boobies are ' crammed , ' as it is called , sufficiently to send them through the Apothecaries' Hall examinations . For admission to the bar , there is no examination at all . Thus , any man may become a me mber of either of those professions—divinity , physic , or law- —if he chooses to undergo the prescribed ordeal . But is it so with literature ? Can a man resolve to be a literary man , as he would undertake any other profession ? Can he by any length of study , or any ordeal in the world , fit himself to be an author ? Not unless a certain amount of
talent belong to him ; talent which , even in mediocre authors , is infinitely greater than in nine-tenths of the members of the other professions I have instanced . If the requisites , the mental requirements , of an author be greater and rarer than , those of other men , surely his remuneration should be proportionatel y higher . ' ¦ '" ¦ ' In strict justice it seems so , ' replied Flora ; 'but how is , it to be accomplished ? If an author ' s works do not , by their sale , remunerate him , how are we to devise the means of recompensing him ?' " ' True ; there are no means of doing so . But at least one thing may be done , and it is in the power of all to aid in it . If we cannot remunerate literature , we can , at least , honour it . Yet to this day , Flora , it is a matter of deliberation in some quarters whether an author is , as such , a gentleman ; though if he have eaten dinners in the Temple , and be a jbarrister-at-law , the question is at rest directly . Let literature be . honoured ; let society pronounce it the highest of professions , or above all professions , and authors Will have some consoLation for their poverty , even if their poverty be not actually diminished through tho exaltation of their
rank . At the present moment , an author who i s known to be the favoured and honoured guest of the great and noble , is ten times more eagerly read than ono of equal mental calibre , whose place in society is unknown . If you doubt my word , ask at your circulating library , and be assured of the fact . ' " 'I do not doubt it , ' said Flora ; 'it is consistent with what Carlyle calls the ' Flunkeyism' of the age we live in . ' " We cannot let this pass without a protest . The passage very fairly represents the opinions of a numerous class of writers ; the same things have been repeatedly said before ; but with all our professional amour propre we cannot admit what seems to us an unwise , because unnecessary , exaggeration respecting the superiority of intellect displayed in Literature ! We do not think the intellect so great as writers assume it to be ; and wo think the question of comparative reward placed on a false footing . write readable
To anything requires a certain talent ; to write even tlio old stories which delight the readers of inferior periodicals , requires a special talent , small , perhaps , yet special , since many a Arise and able in an will be found perfectly incompetent to write such things . But in crediting a special talent we do not assign its value . The wise and able man in whom it is deficient will not lose one iota of our respect ; possessing it , ho would possess a talent the more ; wanting it , we are not conscious ' of tho loss ; . he is equally unable to dance on tho tight-rope , or to rival Charles Kean in Sardauapalus . When , therefore , it is said that " authors havo infinitely greater talent" than the members of other professions , an absurdity is uttered ; the talent is different , not greater , not we believe so great . If , when you speak of authors , you think only of tho great names , and mentally compare them with the average professional mind of course
the superiority is sufficiently obvious ; but , obeying the conditions of the argument , and keeping in viow the mass of writers—the compilers , drudges , annotators , journalists , novelists , dramatists , philosophers—we cannot say that experience justifies us for one moment in proclaiming their superiority . Tho Lawyer , Surgeon , and Physician display more intellect in the exerciso of their profession , than docs tho average man of letters in Inn . If tho majority of professional men consist of men routmiary and not wise , will any ono pretend that the majority of writers can boast of being wise and not routiniary p How few ' men of letters thmh at all ! Row lew think with originality and success ! How few do the tiling they protend to do ! Literary talent is , strictly speaking , the talent of expression ; it ia frequently tlio whole budget of an author . Without for a moment ignoring or undervaluing tlio pleasures and tho uses of such , a talent , we cannot , in sober Heriou . snras , declare that its
possession . implies greater intellectual ealihrc than is implied in the huo eessful exercise of tho other professions . u it he granted , as on n dispassionate survey it must be , tlmt , comparing Literature with tho other lYofcNHionn , there in no superiority of inteH leclual power arid variety to be jis . Himicd as implied in the former , wo then come to tho second question of " reward . ' It in a very drlicato question . Probably no man thinks lie in duly rewarded . But tliereward being ultimately a , purely commercial transaction , we must all of uh submit to tho " conditions of the market . " j Jaggs , who writes metaphysical profundities , mid . Brown who publishes volumes of verse
naturally complain of an ng'o Avhich will , spend money on trash , when their works arc unsold ; and they ask , Should not great . Intellect be rewarded P Forgotting that they demand a pecuniary reward for a product not estimated in pecuniary value . To " underpaid" novelists , dniniatistH , & e . wo should say : lOithcr ono of two thingn : Tlio paying public in but moderately eager to road your worliH ; or cJho the talent you ( hihhohh , undeniable though it be , is possessed by many rvials ; if Jenny Linda wore ua abundant an authoro they would bo paid tin ill , "
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 5, 1853, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05111853/page/19/
-