File:Review of reviews and world's work (1890) (14781098451).jpg

Identifier: reviewofreviewsw21newy (find matches)
Title: Review of reviews and world's work
Year: 1890 (1890s)
Authors:
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Publisher: New York Review of Reviews Corp
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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sympathywith the artists work. Ills PEN-PICTURES. Mr. Frederic Harrison wrote in the NineteenthCentury • The world has long been of one mind as to thebeauty of Ruskins writing; but even yet full justicehas not been rendered to his consummate mastery overour Englisii tongue—it has not been put high enough,and some of its unique (jualities have not been per-ceived. In certain qualities, in given ways, and insome rarer passages of his, Ruskin not only surpassesevery contemporary writer of prose (which, indeed, isobvious enough), but he calls out of our English tonguenotes more strangely beautiful and inspiring than anyever yet issued from that instrument. No writer ofprose before or since has ever rolled forth such mightyfantasies, or reached such pathetic melodies in words,or composed long books in one contiiuied strain oflimpid grace. . . It cannot be denied that Ruskin,especially in his earlier works, is too often obtrusivelyluscious, that his images are often lyrical, set in too
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^V ...^■^ ^!i ((■i^i:C! A VIEW OF OLD MAN AS SEEN FROM BKANTWOOD. profuse and gorgeous a mosaic. Be it so. But he isalways perfectly, triumphantly clear, absolutely freefrom affected euphuism, never laboriously precious,never grotesque, never eccentric. His besetting sins asa master of speech may be summed up in his passionfor profuse imagery and delight in an almost audiblemelody of words. This is no fit place to print any of the mas-ters exquisite word-pictures. So bea\ttiful arethe descriptions of the sea approach to Venice,St. Marks, Holman Hunts pictures, the moun-tain scenery of Switzerland, of Turner the manand the pictures from that artists brush that theyhave been reprinted again and again. It goeswithout saying that in his beauty of woid-paint-ing, in his accentuation of the view from hisown standpoint, he sometimes became extrava-gant. To say this is only to say that lie is anartist. But there was a danger in this, as hefound. In after years he repented that thebeauty o

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