Page:The Journal of English and Germanic Philology Volume 18.djvu/46

 40 Philosophies of Style writer. The emotion was not something which existed before- hand; it comes into being in that process of creation in which style is so important. Style is mysterious, then, because it is life. An anonymous reviewer of one of Arthur Symons's books, writing in the Athenaeum in 1905, expressed this truth so eloquently that I cannot resist the temptation to quote: In spite of all that has been written about style, it remains a mystery that defies exact analysis. When we have eliminated all the characteristics due to artifice, the verbal tricks and affectations, the conscious reiterations of phrase, there is still left an undiscovered element which eludes the coarser senses. What is it? We might define it as personality overheard. For in the act of expression the mind unconsciously colors the vehicle of words, just as in the act of speaking the mind unconsciously colors the voice. How this coloring is transferred to the verbal rhythm we cannot tell, but we feel that it resides in the rhythm and not in the mechanical choice of words, or in the deliberate weaving of the pattern in the web of language. This secret rhythm cannot be taught. It cannot be analyzed. It is the product of a spiritual process. Behind the conscious brain sits a shaping force which makes the words move to a soundless measure, to a tune inaudible. If we could identify that central force in the citadel of egoism we could snare the very secret of life itself, for it is life, the same life that reveals itself in the dyes of sunset and moonrise, in the conscious grace of leaves and flowers, in the cry of the wind, in the grey rods of rain, and in all the shifting shows of the universe, 27 I have dwelt somewhat upon the theory of creation, and have incidentally offered some interpretation. If in doing so I have touched upon some subtle and difficult matters, I still hope that the average person to whom I have referred will agree that this theory is as important as either of the other theories of literature. That it is more important I do not claim. If this seems inconclusive, I am unable to avoid inconclusiveness. Perhaps a review of our principal steps will help us to see whether we have been progressing or merely moving in a circle. We found three main theories of style: (1) Style is economy of communica- tion; (2) style is the dress of thought; and (3) style and thought are inseparable. We found that each of these theories of style is based upon a theory of literature. The theory of economy regards literature as a practical means of communication of the ideas and feelings of the individual to others in the social group. It seems to apply primarily to the scientist who communicates the results of his experiments, or to any other writer who has a definitely 27 Athenaeum, April 22, 1905, p. 487.