THE MECHANISTIC CONCEPTION 3 



welcome, to the philosophical mind, with the discov- 

 eries of those who have contented themselves with the 

 study of the more frankly mechanical aspects of life. 

 There are signs that the scientific discoverer and the 

 literary artist have much in common which must one 

 day form the basis of a new sort of literature in which 

 the fundamental qualities of nature will be handled 

 in highly imaginative but legitimate language. The 

 work of Henry James, of Mrs. Ward, and of Edith 

 Wharton show unmistakable evidences of an ana- 

 lytical tendency traceable to the teachings of biologi- 

 cal science. The standpoint of the literary crafts- 

 man is less fundamental than that of the biologist, 

 for it encourages him to deal mainly with the tran- 

 scendingly complex and obscure symbols of brain 

 activity with human feelings, emotions, and judg- 

 ments. However skilfully and veritably he may 

 depict these subtle phases of cerebral action, he leans 

 on intuition as a guide. Shakespeare, Goethe, Mere- 

 dith, George Eliot, and Emerson, despite the dynamic 

 qualities of their artistry in psychological analyses 

 and syntheses, might have gained in scope and pre- 

 cision from a better insight into the laws of biology, 

 especially as expressed in human personality. To 

 emphasize the evanescent in life processes, to strive 

 for more just conceptions of the dynamical elements 

 in human conduct, should become more and more a 

 goal of literary activity. 



However this may be, it is certain that no lastingly 

 satisfactory conception of human conduct can be 



