24 Hartley Burr Alexander 



Celt. But the idea is Saxon; and Saxon is that strength, at 

 its greatest Titanic, which gains its compulsoriness from idea- 

 tional empery; and Saxon is the dignity which belongs to those 

 who have found themselves, and finding have conquered ; Saxon, 

 too, are the will, the equipoise, the motive, the power, — all the 

 Shakespearian majesties. 



V. FUSION IN THE BALLAD 



For knozvledge is a qualification much in vogue in philosoph- 

 ical discussions, and it expresses a distinction really invaluable 

 for any critical analysis. The phrase discriminates what we may 

 call the manners of realities from the realities themselves ; it 

 indicates that natural selection of the significant and utile which is 

 an instinct of our attention, and it emphasizes the notion that our 

 perceptions of disjunct phenomena are exaggerations of what 

 differences really exist. 



If we are to live and grow it is essential that we perceive some 

 things very clearly; accessory detail may be elided and must 

 be elided in order that we may profitably attend to the main 

 point. Hence all our truth is partial and biased, and the strik- 

 ing distinctions we draw for the sake of emphasis are almost in- 

 variably what the philosophers term distinctions for knowledge 

 alone. The reality about which our truth is true is far more 

 complex than we make it appear for it is composed of an inter- 

 mingling of elements too intricate for knowledge to grasp. Truth 

 itself is merely the picturesque aspect of things, — always, there- 

 fore, a somewhat superficial aspect. 



The contrast which I have drawn between Saxon and Celt is 

 truth of this picturesque sort. The contrast is exaggerated be- 

 cause of the isolating of the traits compared. When these traits 

 are set into the general context of human nature, as they are 

 set in the real men, they appear far less antithetical and antagon- 

 istic: the differences become obliterated in the envelope of a 

 mutual clay. Shared by all mankind and coloring communally 

 men's reasonings and humors are certain fundamental loves — 

 attractive, jealous, or perverse, — hates and their attendant fears, 

 hopes with eager aspirations quick at their heels. These form 



366 



