WANDERING JEW.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21022, 10 May 1930, Page 4

WANDERING JEW.

THE PHILOSOPHY AND ESSAYS OF LUDWIG LEWISOHN. 01(168 and Men." By Ludwig Lewis oh n. London; Thornton ' Butterworth,. Ltd.' . (XOa, fidinbt and 7a 6d net) Mid-Channel ” might be described as the spiritual autobiography of A Jew. Mr Lewiston im an American, and he “ “Tl Jew - He hasi apparently! experifnf h, tb f zreapst difficulty in reconciles , the sides of his nature that his birth, education, experiences through life and racial inhibitions have caused to come into' collision, 'and apparently he has at last, found the comfort, or sense of ineffable calm, for which he has long sought; in his own adaptation of Greek philosophy. In Hellenism, symbolised for him by the names of Euripides and te et fb 8 ’ he - found “the fearless mind, the scientific temper that are our heritage from classical antiquity,” and in Hebraism righteousness, humanity, and peace. Christianity has no - part in bi 8 w reed: want God-rtoe, qbsolute," ' he naa-written. There is ■ none. Very well. Then something to take his; place; .permanent values somehow embodied and bo. to be And it is in.'a combination of Hellenism and Hebraism that he believes., “In that long and! living tradition the. force of Hebraism is to bo sought, the force that may yet curb the excesses and cruelties of Hellenism and blending with the better part . of the Hellemc tradition, lead to a 'way of iite wpose name is peace. 99 .“Mid-Channel” is an intensely and insidiously interesting book, half autobiography, half philosophy, though the philosophy is always personal and occasionally one is annoyed by the egoism of .the autobiographer—an egoism which he would deny, would classify, probably, as consciousness of his own: understanding .of, himself Sometimes Mr Lewisohn is candid in a studibusly candid manner, so that he might be .accused of' boastfulness, of unsavoury pride in his conduct. Ho has he says, “no clue to the Puritan mentality or modes of feeling ” —he does not see, for example, why two-people B P9J ,, {> bye together because, they-are married one of them doesn’t want to and ttunks that there should be no laws governing divorce except such as are meant to protect the economic rights of minor children and dependent women. His own severely considered private actions ” were exploited by the newspapers, especially those of Mr Hearst, “with every device vulgar-flippancy and salacious innuendo, arid Mr Lewisohn believes he Was wronged by the imisconception of the people _ as. to His lofty. motives. interest, in his manner of putting, his beljefs into practice. He may, ns he says, have no use- for conventionalism, and he may, indeed, have Slidiey, John Stuart Mill, and Bertrand Rus- - sell .on ins side, hut does this go to prove : that he is right? And, if he is, why does he seek m the'pages of this book, morbidly introspective in places, to justify ! actions which toe claims need no justification —is not Mr Lewisohn making an uu- i necessary; ..bow to- the conventions he claims to ignore? His doferict dpp-ars I to be J cannot mu, for I have satisfied I uiyßcJt J am rijjht,” which annoyinivly superior attitude he sums up in two sent | euces: Such morality as 1 have is in- i norent; I cannot but act in conformity wit.i it. Only | the pressure of inubliV i morals can drive mo into evil.” -He met Mis mate, and they recognised each, othoi ! by signs and tokens and perceptions which were a matter of unanswerable experience, . transcending Thelma’s beau t\ and talent, his- share of literary power and human’worth.’,' That is enough for F , Lc^ K T h ( ?' «»'d l‘o is to be eongratuio.ted that seven years after our first meet/ng, those wings (of experience) still hover over us, that fire burns with an uu. diminished flame.”

But however exasperating one may find Mr Lewisohn; and-he is supremely so at times, he never; fails to be interesting Me has met many famous people, includ--3 • .? • prominent American '1 U f. i? . 3 and one-can only be delighted-at Jus picture, of Sinclair Lewis, when, after “ Main Street ” had sold Sfpy , t: ,! ,s , n 2‘l c . opie , s - IIG rushed to him; And., drank on’ both liquor and triumph: lie v -6ketebcd th e Babbitt:saga. LLs . long pink, . face was a. torch.' He played-with.his-unparalleled-mimetic gifts n S ii a •» ap -jJ? es ?'i u ®^ er pla ys with , ivory balls Mr Lewisohn discusses .thoughttully the tone of severity, “ sobriety with an implication of the sublime,” which ho tJunks the modern American novelists

have not tried for, and he gives ids explanation; N .

Dreiser knows of the existence of this precise quality, but bis thick wordiness —great writer that he is for all that—stands between him and his actual achievement of it. Lewis wants vigour and the ironic palpable hit at every moment and at any price. Hergesheimer wants elegance and pathos and. at ms best, wistfulneas.

“Mid-Channel" tells of the author’s Wanderings in Europe, of his meetings With people, of his efforts and labours in writing his own books and having them published. It is revealing and yet detached, and though Mr Lewisohn magnetises by his intense confidence in his own abilities, the English is pure and fresh, his word images are undoubtedly beautiful. Mr Lewisohn is, in truth a wandering Jew, and if he is sometimes oimcult to understand, sometimes ex* tremely provoking, one cannot but feel a great pity for him, when all is said and a lively appreciation of the sad, clear voice in which he says it.

• Perhaps Mr Lewisohn will be appreciated better m his essays, collected under the title of Cities and Men/* and mostly. ? ne assumes, selected from his writings for the Nation.' In his in* troduction is found, some sort of "excuse for the complete egoism of “Mid-Channel” in his defence. ,of the autobiographical nature of the works of other authors.. We describe; best" he finds. Balzac say??g* .L bat has' given us pain,” and thus the modern novelist, “ from Flaubert to Dreiser has:-described 'the' pain he has suffered and; the things that hurt him and has tried, by that creative act, to heal himself, to mitigate the pain of others, to rob the evil from'which he has suffered of pretension and power,” The autobiographical impulse in modern times, Mr Lewisohn continues, has become complicated by its alliance with the art of imaginative narrative. First autobiographical novels, by yoiing men, and women he has found in no case without' “ some pertinence, some tang of life, some moment of eloquence, smne radiant page," while Mr Zane Grey is an artificer:-, He tells his tales as another man carves fancy tombstones. He is much more glib, objective, obedient;to the prevalent mores. He is much more classical. For what is it to be classical but to have ease of form and to repeat “°. ral and intellectual patterns by which the State has found it easy to keep men in subjection in both peace and war t

The essays m “Cities and Men" are occasionally sagely delightful and always intormative and judiciously-worded. They are diverse in theme,-dealing .with Englishmen, such as Hazlitt, John Morley Bamtsbury, Americans, as William Ellery wTni Germans—including Thomas Mann—Jews, and Frenchmen; then Mr Lewisohn writes of places, of " America Europe,. of Catullus in Verona,” on Viennese Variations,” on Berlin and Venice. In this volume he is never dull is sometime slyly humorous, and the tragic note of Mid-Stream ” is relievedly absent. His obituary notice on John Moriey is moat capably done, a fine example ot the presentation of a few relevant tacts to portray the character of a man whose prose was as his temper “ weiuhtv «w n h’ t n 4 unadorned his four-page sketch of Venice is a joy to read—and it makes one think. J. M,