Page:Literary studies by Joseph Jacobs.djvu/42

 thea form so fine a parallel and contrast. The moral of The Spanish Gypsy lies in the ruin wrought to the great schemes of Zarca by the egoistic loves of Silva and Fedalma. The whole aim of the novel as George Eliot wrote it might be summed up in the words, κάθαρσις of egoism.

The whole artistic career was dominated by these ethical aims; in her last work. The Impressions of Theophrastus Such, she applied herself consciously to direct ethical teaching. The book consists of disconnected examples of popular moral errors from which George Eliot would free the world, 'debasing the moral currency,' 'the modern Hep! Hep! Hep!' and so on. As a consequence, the artistic merits of Theophrastus Such were far below those of her other books, and it will never have much more than a pathological interest for the student of her works.

It remains to speak of her attempts in verse. George Eliot will always afford a striking example of the truth that the essential quality of the poet is the gift of song. All the other qualities required for poetry were possessed by her in high measure, yet it is granted on all sides that her poetical attempts were failures. The 'brother and sister' sonnets and the Comtean hymn, 'O may I join the choir invisible!' in the Jubal