Page:Satire in the Victorian novel (IA satireinvictoria00russrich).pdf/50



hypocritical, pedantic, fantastically delicate; whenever it sees them self-deceived or hoodwinked, given to run riot in idolatries, drifting into vanities, congregating in absurdities, planning short-sightedly, plotting dementedly; whenever they are at variance with their professions, * * * whenever they offend sound reason, fair justice; are false in humility or mined with conceit, * * * they are detected and ridiculed."

Meredith also reiterates the distinction made by Swift and Fielding in regard to misfortune:

"Poverty, says the satirist, has nothing harder in itself than that it makes men ridiculous. But poverty is never ridiculous to Comic perception until it attempts to make its rags conceal its bareness in a forlorn attempt at decency, or foolishly to rival ostentation."

And he remarks of Molière:

"He strips Folly to the skin, displays the imposture of the creature, and is content to offer her better clothing."

Of the two forms of affectation, Fielding chooses hypocrisy as better satirical game, but Bergson votes for the other:

"In this respect it might be said that the specific remedy for vanity is laughter, and that the one failing that is essentially laughable is vanity."

Fuess makes for the last great poetic satirist the familiar conventional claim:

"Byron is attacking not virtue, but false sentiment, false idealism, and false faith. His satiric spirit is engaged in * * * tearing down what is sham and pretence and fraud."