ABSTRACT
Thought rules the world. Old dynasties have gone out, one after another. That of commerce is uncrowned by literature, which is the growing power; and in the kingdom of literature, the third estate is represented by a multitude of novels. The poets mast share this tendency. They must learn to walk upon firmer ground, and to commend the highest, by ability to speak the lowest truth. So much commonsense as a man has, so much currency he can give to his superior sense. The novelists have made an honest effort. They have told such truth as they found to tell. People take occasion, first to thank them heartily for good service rendered, and then to inquire whether, on the whole, they have been large-minded enough to give us a fair and just picture of life in this planet. Ideality is manifested not in avoiding inevitable laws, but in revealing force able to control them and make them servants of thought.
