No More Learning

In the French and Indian war a frontier town like Stock-
bridge was peculiarly exposed to alarm and danger. Yet at this
time Edwards prepared the treatises on the Freedom of the Will,' the
(Ultimate End of Creation,' the Nature of Virtue,' and (Original Sin. '
The first was published in 1754, the others after his death (1758), as
were many of his sermons, the History of Redemption, and extracts
from his note-book (Miscellaneous Observations,' Miscellaneous
Remarks'). Early in 1758, having accepted the presidency of the
College of New Jersey, he removed to Princeton, where he died
March 22d.
That with enfeebled health, and under the conditions of his life
at Stockbridge, he should have prepared such works as those just
enumerated, is a striking evidence of his intellectual discipline and
power. It would probably have been impossible even for him, but
for the practice he had observed from youth of committing his
thoughts to writing, and their concentration on the subjects handled
in these treatises. A careful study of his manuscript notes would
probably be of service for new and critical editions, and would seem
to be especially appropriate, since only the work on the Freedom of
the Will' was published by its author.
It is impossible in the space of this sketch to analyze these elab-
orate treatises, or to attempt a critical estimate of their value. Fore-
going this endeavor, I will simply add a few suggestions occasioned


## p. 5178 (#350) ###########################################

5178
JONATHAN EDWARDS
1
principally by some recent studies, either of the originals or copies
of unpublished manuscripts.
Edwards's published works consist of compositions prepared with
reference to some immediate practical aim. When called to Prince-
ton he hesitated to accept, lest he should be interrupted in the prep-
aration of “a body of divinity in an entire new method, being thrown
into the form of a history. ” It was on his “mind and heart,» «long
ago begun," "a great work. The beginnings of it are preserved in
the History of Redemption' posthumously published, but this was
written as early as 1739, as a series of sermons, and without thought
of publication. The volume of miscellanies, also published after his
death, are extracts from his note-book, arranged by the editor.
Nowhere has Edwards himself given a systematic exposition of his
conception of Christianity. The incompleteness of even the fullest
edition of his works increases the liability of misconstruction. It
would not be suspected, for instance, to what extent his mind dealt
with the conception of God as triune, or with the Incarnation.
His published works show on their face his relation to the re-
ligious questions uppermost in men's minds during his lifetime. He
that would know,” writes Mr. Bancroft, the workings of the New
England mind in the middle of the last century and the throbbings
of its heart, must give his days and nights to the study of Jonathan
Edwards. ” And Professor Allen justly adds, He that would under-
stand
the significance of later New England thought, must
make Edwards the first object of his study. ” Besides these high
claims to attention, one more may be made. The greatness of Ed-
wards's character implies a contact of his mind with permanent and
the highest truth - a profound knowledge and consciousness of God.
Human and therefore imperfect, colored by inherited prepossessions,
and run into some perishable molds, his thought is pervaded by a
spiritual insight which has an original and undying worth. It is not
unlikely that the future will assign him a higher rank than the past.
In one of the earliest, if not the first of his private philosophical
papers, the essay entitled Of Being,' may be found the key to his
fundamental conceptions. An exposition of his system, wrought out
from this point of view, will show that he has a secure and eminent
position among those who have contributed to that spiritual appre-
hension of nature and man, of matter and mind, of the universe and
God, which has ever marked the thinking and influence of the finest
spirits and highest teachers of our race.
Edwards was born October 5th, 1703, in East Windsor, Connecticut.
He was the son of Rev. Timothy and Esther Stoddard Edwards; was
graduated at Yale College in 1720; studied theology at New Haven;
from August 1722 to March 1723 preached in New York; from 1724


## p. 5179 (#351) ###########################################

JONATHAN EDWARDS
5179
to 1726 was a tutor at Yale; on the 15th of February, 1727, was or-
dained at Northampton, Massachusetts; in 1750 was dismissed from
the church there, and in 1751 removed to Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
He was called to Princeton in 1757, and died there March 22d, 1758.
Egbert C. Smyth
,
FROM NARRATIVE OF HIS RELIGIOUS HISTORY
F
ROM about that time I began to have a new kind of appre-
hensions and ideas of Christ, and the work of redemption,
and the glorious way of salvation by him. An inward
sweet sense of these things at times came into my heart, and
my soul was led away in pleasant views and contemplations of
them. And my mind was greatly engaged to spend my time
in reading and meditating on Christ, on the beauty and excel-
lency of his person, and the lovely way of salvation by free grace
in him.
Not long after I first began to experience these things, I gave
an account to my father of some things that had passed in my
mind. I was pretty much affected by the discourse we had
together; and when the discourse was ended I walked abroad
alone, in a solitary place in my father's pasture, for contempla-
And as I was walking there and looking upon the sky and
clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of the glori-
ous majesty and grace of God as I know not how to express. I
seemed to see them both in a sweet conjunction; majesty and
meekness joined together: it was a sweet, and gentle, and holy
majesty; and also a majestic meekness; an awful sweetness; a
high, and great, and holy gentleness.
After this my sense of divine things gradually increased, and
became more and more lively, and had more of that inward
sweetness. The appearance of everything was altered; there
seemed to be, as it were, a calm, sweet cast, or appearance of
divine glory, in almost everything. God's excellency, his wisdom,
his purity and love, seemed to appear in everything; in the sun,
moon, and stars, in the clouds and blue sky, in the grass, flowers,


## p. 5180 (#352) ###########################################

5180
JONATHAN EDWARDS
trees, in the water and all nature; which used greatly to fix my
mind. I often used to sit and view the moon for a long time,
and in the day spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky,
to behold the sweet glory of God in these things; in the mean-
time singing forth, with a low voice, my contemplations of the
Creator and Redeemer. And scarce anything among all the
works of nature was so sweet to me as thunder and lightning;
formerly nothing had been so terrible to me. Before, I used to
be uncommonly terrified with thunder, and to be struck with ter-
ror when I saw a thunder-storm rising; but now, on the contrary,
it rejoiced me. I felt God, if I may so speak, at the first
appearance of a thunder-storm; and used to take the opportunity
at such times to fix myself in order to view the clouds and see
the lightnings play and hear the majestic and awful voice of
God's thunder, which oftentimes was exceedingly entertaining,
leading me to sweet contemplations of my great and glorious
God. While thus engaged it always seemed natural for me to
sing or chant forth my meditations, or to speak my thoughts
in soliloquies with a singing voice.
My sense of divine things seemed gradually to increase, till I
went to preach at New York, which was about a year and a half
after they began; and while I was there I felt them very sensi-
bly, in a much higher degree than I had done before. My long-
ings after God and holiness were much increased.
Holiness, as I then wrote down some of my contemplations
on it, appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, se-
rene, calm nature, which brought an inexpressible purity, bright-
ness, peacefulness, and ravishment to the soul. In other words,
that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all man-
ner of pleasant flowers; enjoying a sweet calm and the gently
vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christian, as I
then wrote my meditations, appeared like such a little white
flower as we see in the spring of the year; low and humble on
the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of
the sun's glory; rejoicing as it were in a calm rapture; diffus-
ing around a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly
in the midst of other flowers round about; all in like manner
opening their bosoms, to drink in the light of the sun. There
was no part of creature-holiness, that I had so great a sense of its
loveliness, as humility, brokenness of heart, and poverty of spirit;
and there was nothing that I so earnestly longed for. My heart


## p. 5181 (#353) ###########################################

JONATHAN EDWARDS
5181
panted after this -- to lie low before God, as in the dust; that I
might be nothing, and that God might be All; that I might be-
come as a little child.
RESOLUTIONS
“Resolved, Never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or
body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be nor
suffer it, if I can possibly avoid it. ”
“Resolved, To live with all my might while I do live. ”
“Resolved, When I think of any theorem in divinity to be solved,
immediately to do what I can towards solving it, if circumstances do
not hinder. »
“Resolved. To endeavor to my utmost to deny whatever is not
most agreeable to a good and universally sweet and benevolent,
quiet, peaceable, contented and easy, compassionate and generous,
humble and meek, submissive and obliging, diligent and industrious,
charitable and even, patient, moderate, forgiving and sincere temper;
and to do at all times what such a temper would lead me to; and
to examine strictly, at the end of every week, whether I have so
done. ”
«On the supposition that there was never to be but one indi-
vidual in the world, at any one time, who was properly a complete
Christian, in all respects of a right stamp, having Christianity always
shining in its true lustre, and appearing excellent and lovely, from
whatever part and under whatever character viewed: Resolved, To
act just as I would do, if I strive with all my might to be that one,
who should live in my time. ”
“I observe that old men seldom have any advantage of new dis-
coveries, because they are beside the way of thinking to which they
have been so long used: Resolved, If ever I live to years, that I
will be impartial to hear the reasons of ail pretended discoveries, and
receive them if rational, how long soever I have been used to another
way of thinking. My time is so short that I have not time to per-
fect myself in all studies: Wherefore resolved, to omit and put off
all but the most important and needful studies. ”


## p. 5182 (#354) ###########################################

5182
JONATHAN EDWARDS
WRITTEN ON A BLANK LEAF IN 1723
TE
1
THEY say there is a young lady [in New Haven] who is be-
loved of that Great Being who made and rules the world,
and that there are certain seasons in which this Great
Being, in some way or other invisible, comes to her and fills her
mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for
anything except to meditate on him — that she expects after a
while to be received up where he is, to be raised up out of the
world and caught up into heaven; being assured that he loves
her too well to let her remain at a distance from him always.
There she is to dwell with him, and to be ravished with his love
and delight forever. Therefore, if you present all the world be-
fore her, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it and
cares not for it, and is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She
has a strange sweetness in her mind, and singular purity in her
affections; is most just and conscientious in all her conduct; and
you could not persuade her to do anything wrong or sinful, if
you would give her all the world, lest she should offend this
Great Being. She is of a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and
universal benevolence of mind; especially after this great God
has manifested himself to her mind. She will sometimes go
about from place to place, singing sweetly; and seems to be
always full of joy and pleasure; and no one knows for what.
She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and
seems to have some one invisible always conversing with her.
1
THE IDEA OF NOTHING
From Of Being)
A
STATE of absolute nothing is a state of absolute contradiction.
Absolute nothing is the aggregate of all the absurd contra-
dictions in the world; a state wherein there is neither body
nor spirit, nor space, neither empty space nor full space, neither
little nor great, narrow nor broad, neither infinitely great space
nor finite space, nor a mathematical point, neither up nor down,
neither north nor south (I do not mean as it is with respect to
the body of the earth or some other great body, but no contrary
point nor positions or directions), no such thing as either here or
there, this way or that way, or only one way.
When we go


## p. 5183 (#355) ###########################################

JONATHAN EDWARDS
5183
SO
about to form an idea of perfect nothing we must shut out all
these things; we must shut out of our minds both space that has
something in it, and space that has nothing in it. We must not
allow ourselves to think of the least part of space, never
small. Nor must we suffer our thoughts to take sanctuary in a
mathematical point. When we go to expel body out of our
thoughts, we must cease not to leave empty space in the room
of it; and when we go to expel emptiness from our thoughts, we
must not think to squeeze it out by anything close, hard, and
solid, but we must think of the same that the sleeping rocks
dream of; and not till then shall we get a complete idea of
nothing.
THE NOTION OF ACTION AND AGENCY ENTERTAINED BY MR.
CHUBB AND OTHERS
From the Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will, Part iv. , S2
Sº "
10
regard to its consequences, these following things are all
essential to it: viz. , That it should be necessary, and not
necessary; that it should be from a cause, and no cause; that it
should be the fruit of choice and design, and not the fruit of
choice and design; that it should be the beginning of motion or
exertion, and yet consequent on previous exertion; that it should
be before it is; that it should spring immediately out of indiffer-
ence and equilibrium, and yet be the effect of preponderation;
that it should be self-originated, and also have its original from
something else; that it is what the mind causes itself, of its own
will, and can produce or prevent according to its choice or pleas-
ure, and yet what the mind has no power to prevent, precluding
all previous choice in the affair.
So that an act, according to their metaphysical notion of it, is
something of which there is no idea. . . . If some learned
philosopher who had been abroad, in giving an account of the
curious observations he had made in his travels, should say he
had been in Tierra del Fuego, and there had seen an animal,
which he calls by a certain name, that begat and brought forth
itself, and yet had a sire and dam distinct from itself; that it had
an appetite and was hungry, before it had a being; that his mas-
ter, who led him and governed him at his pleasure, was always
governed by him and driven by him where he pleased; that


## p. 5184 (#356) ###########################################

5184
JONATHAN EDWARDS
when he moved he always took a step before the first step; that
he went with his head first, and yet always went tail foremost;
and this though he had neither head nor tail: it would be no
impudence at all to tell such a traveler, though a learned man,
that he himself had no idea of such an animal as he gave an
account of, and never had, nor ever would have.
EXCELLENCY OF CHRIST
W
HEN we behold a beautiful body, a lovely proportion and
beautiful harmony of features, delightful airs of counte-
nance and voice, and sweet motions and gestures, we are
charmed with it, not under the notion of a corporeal but a men-
tal beauty.
For if there could be a statue that should have ex-
actly the same, that could be made to have the same sounds and
the same motions precisely, we should not be so delighted with
it, we should not fall entirely in love with the image, if we knew
certainly that it had no perception or understanding. The reason
is, we are apt to look upon this agreeableness, those airs, to be
emanations of perfections of the mind, and immediate effects of
internal purity and sweetness. Especially it is so when we love
the person for the airs of voice, countenance, and gesture, which
have much greater power upon us than barely colors and propor-
tion of dimensions. And it is certainly, because there is an analogy
between such a countenance and such airs and those excellencies
of the mind,-a sort of I know not what in them that is agree-
able, and does consent with such mental perfections; so that we
cannot think of such habitudes of mind without having an idea
of them at the same time. Nor can it be only from custom; for
the same dispositions and actings of mind naturally beget such
kind of airs of countenance and gesture, otherwise they never
would have come into custom. I speak not here of the cere-
monies of conversation and behavior, but of those simple and
natural motions and airs. So it appears, because the same habi-
tudes and actings of mind do beget fairs and movements] in gen-
eral the same amongst all nations, in all ages.
And there is really likewise an analogy or consent between
the beauty of the skies, trees, fields, flowers, etc. , and spiritual
excellencies, though the agreement be more hid, and require a
more discerning, feeling mind to perceive it than the other.


## p. 5185 (#357) ###########################################

JONATHAN EDWARDS
5185
Those have their airs, too, as well as the body and countenance
of man, which have a strange kind of agreement with such men-
tal beauties. This makes it natural in such frames of mind to
think of them and fancy ourselves in the midst of them. Thus
there seem to be love and complacency in flowers and bespangled
meadows; this makes lovers so much delight in them. So there
is a rejoicing in the green trees and fields, and majesty in thun-
der beyond all other noises whatever.
Now, we have shown that the Son of God created the world
for this very end, to communicate himself in an image of his
own excellency. He communicates himself, properly, only to
spirits; and they only are capable of being proper images of his
excellency, for they only are properly beings, as we have shown.
Yet he communicates a sort of a shadow, a glimpse, of his
excellencies to bodies, which, as we have shown, are but the
shadows of beings, and not real beings. He who by his im-
mediate influence gives being every moment, and by his spirit
actuates the world, because he inclines to communicate himself
and his excellencies, doth doubtless communicate his excellency
to bodies, as far as there is any consent or analogy. And the
beauty of face and sweet airs in men are not always the effect
of the corresponding excellencies of mind; yet the beauties of
nature are really emanations or shadows of the excellencies of
the Son of God.
So that when we are delighted with flowery meadows and
gentle breezes of wind, we may consider that we see only the
emanations of the sweet benevolence of Jesus Christ. When
we behold the fragrant rose and lily, we this love and
purity. So the green trees, and fields, and singing of birds are
the emanations of his infinite joy and benignity. The easiness
and naturalness of trees and vines are shadows of his beauty
and loveliness. The crystal rivers and murmuring streams are
the footsteps of his favor, grace, and beauty. When we behold
the light and brightness of the sun, the golden edges of an even-
ing cloud, or the beauteous bow, we behold the adumbrations of
his glory and goodness; and in the blue sky, of his mildness
and gentleness. There are also many things wherein we may
behold his awful majesty: in the sun in his strength, in comets,
in thunder, in the hovering thunder-clouds, in ragged rocks and
the brows of mountains. That beauteous light with which the
world is filled in a clear day is a lively shadow of his spotless
see
IX-325


## p. 5186 (#358) ###########################################

5186
JONATHAN EDWARDS
holiness, and happiness, and delight, in communicating himself;
and doubtless this is a reason that Christ is so often compared
to those things and called by their names,- as, the Sun of Right-
eousness, the Morning Star, the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the
Valley, the apple-tree amongst the trees of the wood, a bundle
of myrrh, a roe, or a young hart. By this we may discover the
beauty of many of those metaphors and similes which to an un-
philosophical person do seem so uncouth.
In like manner, when we behold the beauty of man's body
in its perfection we still see like emanations of Christ's divine
perfections; although they do not always flow from the mental
excellencies of the person that has them. But we see far the
most proper image of the beauty of Christ when we see beauty
in the human soul.
Corol. I. From hence it is evident that man is in a fallen
state; and that he has naturally scarcely anything of those sweet
graces which are an image of those which are in Christ. For
no doubt, seeing that other creatures have an image of them
according to their capacity, so all the rational and intelligent
part of the world once had according to theirs.
Corol. II. There will be a future state wherein man will have
them according to his capacity. How great a happiness will it
be in Heaven for the saints to enjoy the society of each other,
since one may see so much of the loveliness of Christ in those
things which are only shadows of beings. With what joy are
philosophers filled in beholding the aspectable world. How sweet
will it be to behold the proper image and communications of
Christ's excellency in intelligent beings, having so much of the
beauty of Christ upon them as Christians shall have in heaven.
What beautiful and fragrant flowers will those be, reflecting all
the sweetnesses of the Son of God! How will Christ delight to
walk in this garden among those beds of spices, to feed in the
gardens, and to gather lilies!


## p. 5187 (#359) ###########################################

JONATHAN EDWARDS
5187
THE ESSENCE OF TRUE VIRTUE
From "The Nature of True Virtue,' Chapters i, ii
TI
RUE virtue most essentially consists in benevolence to being
in general. Or perhaps, to speak more accurately, it is that
consent, propensity, and union of heart to being in general,
which is immediately exercised in a general good-will.
A benevolent propensity of heart to being in general, and a
temper or disposition to love God supremely, are in effect the
same thing
However, every particular exercise of love
to a creature may not sensibly arise from any exercise of love to
God, or an explicit consideration of any similitude, conformity,
union or relation to God, in the creature beloved.
The most proper evidence of love to a created being arising
from that temper of mind wherein consists a supreme propensity
of heart to God, seems to be the agreeableness of the kind and
degree of our love to God's end in our creation, and in the cre-
ation of all things, and the coincidence of the exercises of our
love, in their manner, order, and measure, with the manner in
which God himself exercises love to the creature in the creation
and government of the world, and the way in which God, as the
first cause and supreme disposer of all things, has respect to the
creature's happiness in subordination to himself as his own supreme
end. For the true virtue of created beings is doubtless their
highest excellency and their true goodness.
But the true
goodness of a thing must be its agreeableness to its end, or its
fitness to answer the design for which it was made. Therefore
they are good moral agents whose temper of mind or propensity
of heart is agreeable to the end for which God made moral
agents.
A truly virtuous mind
above all things seeks the glory
of God.
This consists in the expression of God's perfec-
tions in their proper effects,—the manifestation of God's glory to
created understandings; the communication of the infinite fullness
of God to the creature; the creature's highest esteem of God,
love to and joy in him; and in the proper exercises and expres-
sions of these. And so far as virtuous mind exercises true virtue
in benevolence to created beings, it chiefly seeks the good of the
creature; consisting in its knowledge or view of God's glory and
beauty, its union with God, uniformity and love to him, and joy


## p. 5188 (#360) ###########################################

5188
JONATHAN EDWARDS
in him. And that disposition of heart, that consent, union, or
propensity of mind to being in general which appears chiefly in
such exercises, is virtue, truly so called; or in other words, true
grace and real holiness. And no other disposition or affection
but this is of the nature of virtue.


## p. 5189 (#361) ###########################################

5189
GEORGES EEKHOUD
(1854-)
A JEUNE BELGIQUE” is more than a school; it is a literary
movement, which began about the year 1880. The aim of
this group of writers is to found a national literature, which
uses the French language and technique for the expression of the
Flemish or Walloon spirit, and the peculiar sentiment and individu-
ality of the Belgian race which has developed between the more
powerful nations of France and Germany. In the words of William
Sharp:--
« To one who has closely studied the whole movement in its intimate and
extra-national bearings, as well as in its individual manifestations and aber-
rations, its particular and collective achievement in the several literary genres,
there is no question as to the radical distinction between Belgic and French
literature. Whether there be a great future for the first, is almost entirely
dependent on the concurrent political condition of Belgium. If Germany were
to appropriate the country, it is almost certain that only the Flemish spirit
would retain its independent vitality, and even that probably only for a gen-
eration or two. But if Belgium were absorbed by France, Brussels would
almost immediately become as insignificant a literary centre as is Lyons or
Bordeaux, or be, at most, not more independent of Paris than is Marseilles.
Literary Belgium would be a memory, within a year of the hoisting of the
French tricolor from the Scheldt to the Liège. Meanwhile, the whole energy
of Young Belgium) is consciously or unconsciously concentrated in the effort
to withstand Paris. »
Among the leading spirits of “La Jeune Belgique » are Maurice
Maeterlinck, Georges Eekhoud, Camille Lemonnier, Georges Roden-
bach, J. K. Huysmans, Auguste Jenart, Eugene Demolder, and a
number of others, who have distinguished themselves in fiction and
poetry. Their works are generally inspired by the uncompromising
sense of the reality of ordinary life, which would sometimes be
repulsive if it were not for their brilliant style and psychological
undercurrent.
This school of literature is somewhat analogous to that of the
Flemish painting. Nature is always an important accessory to the
development of the action; and therefore the landscapes and the
genre pictures are given with a rapid and sure touch and in a vivid
and high key,- so high that at times the colors are almost crude.
The reader of these Belgian writers often feels, in consequence, that


## p. 5190 (#362) ###########################################

5190
GEORGES EEKHOUD
he is looking at a series of paintings which are being explained by a
narrator.
Of all these writers, Georges Eekhoud, whom Mr. Sharp calls “the
Maupassant of the Low Countries,” is the one who has made the
greatest effort to model his work upon the style of the contemporary
French authors. He was born in Antwerp, May 27th 1854. His lit-
erary career was begun as an editor of the Precursor, in Antwerp,
but he soon became associated with L'Étoile Belge as literary editor.
In 1877 he published his first volume, entitled Myrtes et Cyprès.
This was succeeded by a second book of poetry, Zigzags Poétiques
et Pittoresques, which appeared in 1879. Among the most admired
of these poems are (La Mare aux Sangues,' Nina,' (Raymonne,' and
the strong La Guigne. '
French critics say that his diction lacks polish, but that he has
strength, color, and a talent for description. His novels are -'Kees
Doorik) (1884), Les Kermesses? (1884), Les Milices de Saint-Fran-
çois) (1886), Les Nouvelles Kermesses) (1887), and 'La Nouvelle
Carthage) (1888). The latter is considered his most brilliant novel,
and won for him the quinquennial prize of 5,000 francs given for
French literature in Belgium. It is a vivid picture of Antwerp, with
vigorous and highly colored descriptions of its middle-class citizens,
enriched by centuries of continued prosperity. In general, Eekhoud
is naturalistic, and intent only on painting life as he sees and feels
it.
His other books include_Cycle Patibulaire' (1892); (Au Siècle
de Shakespeare,' a valuable book on the English literature of the
Elizabethan period (1893); and (Mes Communions) (1895).
EX-VOTO
From (The Massacre of the Innocents, and Other Tales by Belgian Writers):
copyright 1895, by Stone & Kimball
T"
He country I know and love best does not exist for the tourist,
and neither guide nor doctor ever dreams of recommend-
ing it.
This reassures me, for I love my country selfishly,
exclusively. The land is ancient, flat, the home of fogs. With
the exception of the Polder schorres, the district fertilized by the
overflowing of the river, few districts are cultivated. A single
canal from the Scheldt irrigates its fields and plains, and occa-
sional railways connect its unfrequented towns.
The politician execrates it, the merchant despises it, it intimi.
dates and baffles legions of bad painters.


## p. 5191 (#363) ###########################################

GEORGES EEKHOUD
5191
Poets of the boudoir! virtuosi! This flat country will always
elude your descriptions! For you, landscape painters, there is no
inspiration to be gained here. O chosen land, neither thou nor
thy secret can be seen at a glance! The degenerate folk who
pass through this country feel nothing of its healthy, intoxicating
charm, or are only wearied in the midst of this gray peaceful
nature, unrelieved by hill or torrent; and still less sympathy have
they with the country louts who stare at them with placid bovine
eyes.
The people remain robust, uncouth, obstinate, and ignorant.
No music stirs me like the Flemish from their lips. They mouth
it, drawl it, linger lovingly over the guttural syllables, while the
harsh consonants fall heavily as their fists. They move slowly,
swingingly, bent-shouldered and heavy-jawed; like bulls, they are
at once fierce and taciturn. Never shall I meet more comely, firm-
bosomed lassies, never see eyes more appealing, than those of this
dear land of mine. Under their blue kiel the brawny lads swag-
ger well content; though when in drink, if dispute arises, rivalry
may drive them into fatal conflicts. The tierendar ends many a
quarrel without further ado; and as the combatants cut and hack,
their faces preserve that dogged smile of the old Germans who
fought in the Roman arenas.
During the kermesses they over-eat
themselves, they get drunk, dance with a kind of gauche solem-
nity, embrace their sweethearts without much ceremony, and when
the dance is over, gratify themselves with all manner of excesses.
One and all, they are slow to give themselves away; but once
gained, their affection is unalterable.
Those who depict them thick-set, laughter-loving, misshapen
boors, do not know this race. The Campine peasantry recall
rather the brown shepherd folk of Jordaens than the pot-house
scenes by Teniers, a great man who slandered his Perck rustics.
They preserve the faith of past centuries, undertake pilgrim-
ages, respect their pastoor, believe in the Devil, in the wizard, in
the evil eye, that jettatura of the North. So much the better.
These yokels fascinate me. I prefer their poetic traditions, the
legends drawled out by an old pachteresse in the evening hours,
to the liveliest tale of Voltaire, and their clan-narrowness and
religious fanaticism stir me more than the patriotic declamations
and the insipid civic rhodomontade of the journalist. Splendid
and glorious rebels, these Vendéans of ours; may philosophy and
civilization long forget them. When the day of equality, dreamed


## p. 5192 (#364) ###########################################

5192
GEORGES EEKHOUD
of by geometric minds, comes, they will disappear also, my
superb brutes; hunted down, crushed by invasion, but to the end
unyielding to Positivist influences. My brothers, utilitarianism
will do away with you, you and your rude remote country!
Meanwhile, I who have your hot rebel blood coursing in my
veins, I who shall not survive you, am fain to steep my spirit in
yours, to be at one with you in all that is rude and savage in
you, to stupefy myself at great casks of brown ale at the fairs,
with you to raise up my voice when the clouds of incense rise
like smoke above your sacred processions, to seat myself in silence
beside your smoky hearths or to wander alone across the desolate
sand-dunes at the hour when the frogs croak, and when the dis-
traught shepherd, become an incendiary and a lost man, grazes
his flock of fire across the heaths.
At the beginning of the June of 1865, I had just reached my
eleventh birthday and made my first communion with the Frères
de la Miséricorde at M - One morning I was called into the
parlor; there I found the father superior and my uncle, who told
me that he would take me to Antwerp to see my father. At the
idea of this unexpected holiday and the prospect of embracing
my kind parent, who had been a widower for five years and to
whom I was now everything, I did not notice my uncle's serious
looks nor the pitying glances of the monk.
We set off. The train did not go fast enough for my liking.
However, we arrived at last. To ring the door-bell of the sim-
ple little house; to embrace Yana the servant; to submit to the
caresses of good Lion, a splendid brown spaniel, to race up-stairs
with him four steps at a time, to bound into the familiar bed-
room, then two words:-“Father! - George! ” — to feel myself
lifted up and pressed against his heart; to be devoured with
kisses, my lips seeking his in the big fair beard: these actions
followed one another rapidly; but transient as they were, they
are forever graven on my memory. What a long time the dear
man held me in his arms! He looked at me with tender admi.
ration, repeating, “What a big boy you have grown, my Jurgen,
my Krapouteki! ” and he repeated a whole string of impossible
but adorable pet names he had invented for me,
and
among
which he interspersed caresses. It was still early in the morning.
When I entered, followed by Lion, Yana, and finally by my
uncle, the least member of the four, my father was in his dress-
ing-gown, but was about to dress.


## p. 5193 (#365) ###########################################

GEORGES EEKHOUD
5193
.
He looked splendid to me. His color was fresh, but too
flushed about the cheek-bones, I was told afterwards; his eyes
sparkled - sparkled too much; his voice was a little hoarse, but
sweet, caressing, despite its grave tone,-a tone never to be for-
gotten by me.
He was then forty-six. I see his tall figure rise before me
now, with his well-set limbs; and his kind face still smiles on
me in my dreams.
My uncle clasped his hand.
"You see that I keep my word, Ferdinand. Here's the little
scamp himself! >>
“ Thank you, Henry. Pardon the trouble I have caused you.
You will laugh at me; but if you had not brought him, I
should have gone to the convent myself to-day. I should
have scorned the doctor's régime and prescriptions. . . You do
not know, Georgie. . . . I have not been very well.
Oh, a
mere nothing; a small ailment, a neglected cold. . .
A slight
cold, was it not, Yana? . . . I have lost it, as you see. Ah!
my boy, what good it does me to see you! . . . What fun we
shall have! We are going out into the country at once.
I
have prepared a surprise for you. "
I listened enchanted — oh the selfishness of childhood! The
promise of this expedition made me deaf to his cough — a dry,
convulsive cough which he tried to stifle by holding his silk hand-
kerchief to his mouth. Neither did I notice - or rather I did
notice but attached no importance to-- the bottles of medicine
and pill-boxes which stood on the chimney-piece and on the bed-
table. A bottle of syrup had just been opened, and a drop re-
mained in the silver spoon. Yana held a prescription in her
hand, which had been written that morning. A heavy odor of
opiates and other drugs filled the room. These details only
recurred to me afterwards.
My uncle took leave.
"Above all, no imprudence! ” he said to my father. « You
promise me? Be back in town before the dew falls. . . . I will
take George to school again to-morrow morning. ”
“Set your mind at rest; we will be wise! ” replied my father,
excited and preoccupied, thinking only of his child.
I believe that he was not sorry to find himself alone with me,
and as the prospect of returning to M - evoked by the old
officer, had saddened me, he took me on his knee.


## p. 5194 (#366) ###########################################

GEORGES EEKHOUD
5194
.
"Courage! little one,” he said. “It is not for long. I feel
too lonely since the death of your poor mother. I have told my
family that in the future I do not intend to be separated from
you . . . You have made your first communion, you are big,
you shall go back to school for a week, just time to pack
up and to settle in our new quarters.
Come, there, I am
betraying the secret . . . Never mind, after all, I may as well
tell you everything now. I have bought a pretty little house,
almost a farmstead, three miles from here. . . We are going to
live in the country, like peasants, to wear sabots and smocks.
Hey? That will make you grow. What do you say to it ?
We shall be always together. ”
I clapped my hands, and jumped round the room.
“What joy! Always we two, is that it ? Then we shall be
always together. Is it really true ? ”
"Really true. ”
We sealed this understanding in a long embrace.
An hour later my father, Yana, and I stepped into a landau
at the door.
It was one of those enervating equinoctial days when the
warmth and the intense quietness affect one almost to tears.
The sun, in a beautiful Flemish sky of pale, soft turquoise, had
dispersed the morning mist.
“Look at him, sir,” said Yana, pointing to me; "he is as
happy as a king! ”
“Now is the time to take in a plentiful supply of air," re-
marked my father; "one only needs to open one's mouth! ”
I opened mine quite wide, as if I were yawning.
What a difference, too, between this air and the air at school;
even that which one breathed out of doors in the cloistered
court, shut in by four forbidding high walls, sweating with damp
and decaying with mildew.
Seated with my back to the coachman, my hands on my
father's knee, I uttered exclamations of surprise and besieged
him with questions. He sat back in the carriage, shielded from
the wind by his big overcoat. Yana sat beside him; Lion ran on
in advance.
Passing along the chief street of the suburb, we came out
into the open country. The tufts of young leaves gave a sweet
freshness to the hoary trunks of the great beech-trees which
lined the road. In place of the yellow withered grass in the


## p. 5195 (#367) ###########################################

GEORGES EEKHOUD
5195
snows.
meadows, there was a vivid emerald carpet; splendid cows, with
well-rounded flanks and dewlaps reaching the ground, nibbled
the tender shoots. The full rows of young corn promised a
plentiful harvest. Between a double hedge of weeping-willows
and alders ran silvery waters, swollen by the melting of the late
When we passed a flower-garden the scent of lilac filled
the dreamy air. Gates with gilt knobs opened on avenues of
elms and oaks; sloping lawns led up to a castle, whose terrace
was ornamented with clipped and modeled orange-trees. The
majestic passing of a pair of big swans or the scurry of hare-
brained ducks stirred the stagnant pond, and left wakes amid
the flags and water-lilies.
Moss-grown farmsteads, flanked by barns with green shutters
fixed to the red bricks, draw-wells, chickens picking about on
the manure-heaps,—these were my chief delight. Sometimes a
countryman's cart with its white awning stood on one side for us
to pass.
We drove through Deurne, then through Wyneghem.
For the third time a slender spire lifted its gray-slated point
into the opaline sky.
“S'Gravenwezel tower! ” exclaimed Yana.
«S'Gravenwezel! But that is your village! ” I cried.
Are
we going to live there? ”
The good creature smiled in the affirmative.
Some few moments later, the driver, directed by Yana, stopped
in front of a lonely farm, a quarter of an hour away from the
rest of the long, straggling village.
“This is my parents' home! ” she said.
I can still see the little one-storied farmhouse, with its over-
hanging thatched roof, festooned with stone-crop, a white chalk
cross on the brickwork to protect it from lightning. At sound
of the carriage, the whole household ran to the door.
There was
Yana's father, a short, thick-set sexagenarian, bent but still
healthy-looking, his face wrinkled like old parchment, with a
stiff beard and bright eyes; the mother, a buxom woman about
ten years younger, very active despite her stoutness; then a host
of brothers and sisters, varying from twenty-five to fifteen; the
boys bold, dark, curly-headed, muscular, square-set fellows; the
girls fresh-looking, tanned by the sun, all like Yana their elder
sister, who, to my mind, was the most charming boerine annwers-
oise that one could imagine, with her dark hair, her big emerald-


## p. 5196 (#368) ###########################################

5196
GEORGES EEKHOUD
As they
green eyes and sweeping lashes. In honor of S'Gravenwezel
kermesse, - sounds of which could already be heard in the dis-
tance, — they said, but more in honor of our visit, the men wore
their Sunday trousers, and bright blue smocks coquettishly gath-
ered at the neck. The women had taken out their lace caps
with big wings, the head-dresses with silver pins, woolen dresses,
and large silk handkerchiefs which crossed over the breast and
fell in a point behind. The good people complimented my father
on his appearance.
« That is Mynheer's son, - Jonkheer Jorss! ”
In a few moments I had made friends with these simple cordial
folk, and particularly with a fine lad of nineteen — "onze Jan
(our Jean), said Yana — on the eve of drawing lots for the con-
scription.
When his sister laid the table,- for we were to stay to din-
ner there,- he offered to show me the orchard, the garden, and
the stables. I accepted joyfully. I could no longer keep still.
Jean, with my hand in his, took me first to the cows.
lay down, chained up in their sheds, they lowed piteously. The
dung-strewn bedding shone with bronze and old-gold, and the
far end of the stable resembled a picture by Rembrandt - at
least, it is thus that I recall to-day that reddish brown half-
light. That I might be better able to admire the animals,
he roused them with kick. They got uplazily, sulkily.
He told me their names and their good points. That big black
one, with the spot between her eyes, was Lottekè; this big glut-
ton chewing the early clover was called La Blanche.
a Blanche. Jan per-
suaded me to pat them. They rubbed their horns against the
posts which divided them. The boy told me that they were
excellent milkers. I counted six in all. A strong smell of milk
filled the air, warm with all this breathing, heaving animality.
Jan promised to take me to work in the fields with him when
I came to live in the village. I should dig the ground and
become a real peasant, a bocr like himself. Boer Jorss, he called
me, laughing But I took this prospect of country life quite
seriously; I admired the fine figure, the proud healthy bearing,
of this young peasant. I in my turn should grow like that, I
thought. A career such as his awaited me! That was better
than wearing a frock-coat and a black hat, than growing pale
and fevered over books and copies, and seeing nothing of beau-
tiful nature except what can be found in a suburb: weeds grow-
ing over waste places and patches of sky amid spotted roofs!
а


## p. 5197 (#369) ###########################################

GEORGES EEKHOUD
5197
He took me also to the garden, an oblong inclosure with well-
kept paths, and planted with sunflowers, peonies, and hollyhocks.
The beds were edged with strawberry plants, the fruit just
ripening. The kind lad promised me the first that were gathered.
We were called back to the house, while I was making the
acquaintance of Spits the watch-dog. The kermesse meal awaited
us.
At the express request of my father, who threatened to eat
nothing, the family, at least the men, sat down with us.
As to
the women, they all pretended to wait on us. My eyes wandered
with delight around this room, so new to me; the alcoves where
the parents and older members of the family slept, receded into
the wall and were hidden by flowered curtains; the wide chimney-
piece was ornamented with a crucifix and plates imprinted with
historical subjects; a branch of consecrated box hung below; then
there were enormous spits and the imposing chimney-hook.
Yana placed on the table a tureen of cabbage and bacon soup,
the smell of which would have aroused the appetite of the dead.
We all made the sign of the cross, bowed our heads and
clasped our hands over the soup-basins, the savory smell from
which rose towards the smoky beam like the perfume of incense.
For some seconds nothing was audible save the lowing of the
cows from the sheds, the buzzing of flies on the window-panes,
and the striking of S'Gravenwezel clock, which rang out midday
with the silvery, melancholy chimes of village bells.
What a delicious meal we had! My father thought of all the
most expressive adjectives in the patois to express the merits of
the soup, I sang the praises of the eggs which served as a golden
frame to the red-and-white slices of ham. A mountain of mealy
potatoes disappeared beneath our lively forks, I had a healthy
country appetite!
Yana, who was touched, declared that her master had not
eaten so much for a month.
We were obliged to taste all the products of the farm: butter,
milk, cream cheese, early vegetables, and fruit. I laughed at
Yana, who had thought it necessary to bring provisions. She
did not know the parental hospitality! But I no longer made
fun of her forethought when she brought out the contents of
the wonderful basket: two bottles of old wine and a plum tart
of her own making, which she placed triumphantly in the mid-
dle of the table. They all drank to my father's health, to mine,
and to our happy stay in S'Gravenwezel.


## p. 5198 (#370) ###########################################

5198
GEORGES EEKHOUD
"It is settled, then, that in a week's time you shall come to
my house-warming, you hear, all of you! ” said my father defi-
nitely. . “And now, Djodgy, we must be going, for you
are longing to see our nest.