318 The Evolution of Art. 



sanctity was superficial. Like all asceticism, it covered grosser immo- 

 ralities of conduct than those which characterize eras of larger free- 

 dom. The Puritan should be taken down from his pedestal, and Art 

 placed thereon instead. 



ME. TAYLOR, in closing, replied briefly to his critics, defending the 

 positions taken in his lecture. He thought Mr. Warner confounded 

 the natural effect of art with that of the prostitution of art. As to 

 Tolstoi and Whitman, he regarded them as geniuses particularly the 

 former. The latter was undoubtedly original, but was he a poet? 

 The great poet might analyze, but Whitman's analysis ran into iiic<m- 

 sequential details that were no more poetry or art than was an auc- 

 tioneer's catalogue. Mr. Taylor closed with an amusing parody on 

 the poetry of Whitman. 



