Difficulties and Advantages of Writing

Irish Jesuit Province

Difficulties and Advantages of WritingAuthor(s): William A. SuttonSource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 28, No. 321 (Mar., 1900), pp. 124-128Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20499561 .

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( 124 )

DIFFICULTIES AND ADVANTAGES OF WRITIN G.

COLERIDGE speaks somewhere of the " angry aversion of people to think." Something of the same kind might be

said about writing. This is speoially true of those who can write

so as to produce easy, interesting and delightful reading. Cardinal Newman has said that he could compare the effort of composition to nothing else than pbysical pain. No wonder, then, that the shrinking from authorship even in a small way should be no uncommon experience. Anything that is troublesome to do requires painful effort, and we are very ingenious in framing excuses for ourselves to avoid what is painful. Of course we are not wise in shrinking from fruitful labour, because it is painful; but we are more inclined to be foolish than wise, for the simple reason that it is so much easier, and so the fact remains that plenty of people, who have plenty of ability for hard thinking and hard writing, which makes easy reading and listening, never come up to the expectations formed of them.

In all ages there have been crowds of writers, it is true. Solomon seems to complain of the superabundant supply in his days, when he says:-" Of the making of books there is no end," and every school-boy knows Horace's opinion of his learned and unlearned multitudinous fellow-authors. In our own day the amount of writing of every kind is perfectly marvellous. Skilled writing has become a most lucrative employment. Whoever oan write anything skilfully, so as to catch the ear of the reading publio can make money, as fast as he can write, once he has become recognized sufficiently by editors and publishers; and the number of skilled writers, who produce all kinds of interest ing and instructive books and periodical literature, is immense and constantly increasing. It follows from this, that great numbers find it extremely hard to get recognised and re munerated, though many such decidedly deserve to be so. Under these ciroumstances why should any one without necessity put himself to the pain and trouble of producing material for a

market so superabundantly supplied ? In the first place overcoming the angry aversion one fees] to

writing may be most serviceable for one's self and others, even



Difficulties and Advantages of Writinq. 125

though, what is written, is never printed. What an immensb improvement would take place in sermons, if they were carefully

written instead of being otherwise prepared or produced. It is not too muoh to say, that the chief reason some become effective as preachers, while others with greater natural qualifications never do so, is because the former write their sermons and the latter do not. Whatever view we may have on this matter, it seems olear any way, that many certainly would have turned out incomparably more effective in the pulpit, if they had from the beginning acquired the habit of carefully, writing what they were going to say, and they have only themselves to thank, because they are not appreoiated as much as they might have been. The same holds good for all who have in any way to impart any kind of information or instruction. Newman used to say that he could think best with a pen in his hand. Bacon gives exactness of th ought as -the special effect of writing. " Writing maketh an

exact manY A most useful mode of solving difficulties is to try to express them in writing, or to put them in the form of questions carefully written out. " A wise interrogation is the best half of soienoe " is another aphorism of " the brightest, wisest, meanest of mankind." In this way a confusing puzzle becomes a clearly expressed philosophical problem, often profoundly interesting to all, and strongly stimulative and suggestive to reflective minds. Frequently that makes all the difference between the child or uneducated person of any kind and the greatest philosopher, their puzzles are his problems. He can give no direct answer any

more than they, but he sees and can express the difficulty clearly, he sees where there is no thoroughfare, and how not to get his head against stone walls.

It may very well be that we are never going to utter

"thoughts that breathe and words that burn," that our words will not be "like goads and like nails deeply fastened in," as the " words of the wise " are said to be; but we may do excellent

work nowadays by our pen though falling short of all that. In our times more than ever the pen is a mighty instrument for good

or for evil. The living voice has its own specially pieroing and stimulating power, but how limited is its range compared with the field the pen works in. A writer of moderate ability, but

who expresses well some true and fruitful idea, may scatter that good seed anywhere and in many places the wide world through.



126 The Irish Monthly.

The great Truth and Faot of the world is the Catholic Church, and Oatholic writers, who will any way and every way bring before the world, whether Catholic or not, any or many aspeots of Catholio truth is rendering grand service to God and man. What

Catholio is there, who is not indebted, and deeply too, to Catholic newspapers and magazines for multiform information, relief of

mind under difficulties, answers to heretical and infidel attacks, oonveyed through leaders and letters and artioles by writers, who had to make the painful effort'to overcome that aversion to express ing their thoughts. Veryv often a few lines so penned implied great labour and research, prolonged study and profound thought; but once the good seed was sown broadoast by means of the press, multitudes may use it now and always to fruotify still further in mental soil thirty, sixty, a hundredfold.

It is not to be thought that Catholio writers are to do good and great work in spreading light and truth by religious oompositions only. All truth belongs to the Church whether expressed in art or literature or science. " Whatever things are true, whatsoever modest, whatsoever just, whatsoever holy,

whatsoever lovely, whatsoever of good fame, if there be any virtue, if any praise of discipline, think of these things,"* write of these things. Henoe stories and poems and all creations of the literary imagination may do eminent servioe in bringing before the reading world, what will give true ideas and impressions regarding the Church, or what will incline mens' minds in any way towards God's truth.

The power of inventing and writing a story is a good deal like the power of musical composition, both so incomprehensible to those who are not similarly endowed. Many, who have good ears for music and oan repeat airs they have heard or learnt, have no power at all of combining notes so as to produce strains and melodies unheard before. Similarly plenty of people with literary ability have no power of oreating plots and suitable characters, events and circumstances, that interest and absorb the readers, oausing them by smiles and tears at times and rapt attention to be lifted oompletely out of themselves and transported for long spells to imaginary spheres of human actions, whioh become intertwined for the time being with their own consoious life and move and attraot them as powerfully, as if the fiotitious oharacters were

Philip iv., b.



Difludtiee and Advantages of Writing. 127

really bound up with their own lives and destinies.

Like the creative power of fiction any kind of original or independent thinking and writing seems quite out of the power of numbers, who can express admirably, what they have seen or

heard or learnt from others. Great originality of thought and expression, which is the same thing as genius, is of oourse rare, but a certain amount of it in quantity and quality is possessed by

several, and could be greatly inoreased and developed, if they were willing to pay the price. There is a freshnees and oharm about independent thinking and its expression, which makes it well worth the trouble of oultivating. It is not meant that startling views and sensational theories are always desirable. Straining after effective writing in such ways would be disastrous. But uttering truth in inself immutable in new combinations of words and metaphors and illustrations is most desirable and most produetive of beqteficial results. Putting old truths in new ways may surprise and delight, and do as much good and far more than discovering what is completely new.

Reading and studying works of acknowledged excellenoe is the way to develop and improve our own powers of expression.

We should from time to time, while we read and after reading, use our reflex power of thouight in trying to see, why we are interested, why our ouriosity is stimulated, why our emotions are stirred to their depths. It is also very useful to try to find out,

why we are not attracted and interested, why we feel repelled or wearied, why we are annoyed or disgusted. If we got some habit of this.kind of observance of ourselves and our mental and emotional workings, we should find a oertain flavour of interest in much at least of what is in itself annoying and wearisome. Studia abeunt in mores. More than our literary capacity would benefit by this reflex action of the mind's eye. Self oontrol and philosophic calm in general might be much aided thereby.

Discovering what constitutes Horatii curio8a felicitas the siurprising charm of Horace, or any other masiter of literary expression will help the learner to use his own powers in producing analagous effects however far removed from the master mind. All this analagous imitation is quite oonsistent with original work. I used to think that an explanation of how Shakespeare, an uneduoated man in the ordinary sense, wrote, as he is believed to have done, might be found in supposing thit



128 The IriMk Monthil,

being endowed with vast natural ability, possessing all the instinots and innato gifts of a dramatic poet he read in translations and otherwise works of olassical, foreign and native genius and so became more and more consoious that he himself too could give expression to great thoughts and beautiful metaphors and oreate men and women, who would never die. This much seems certain, and the experience of literary workers must make it known to them, that attentive reading of excellent literature, and still

more that reflex reading of the same, helps them in securing the key to the many sided charm of literary style and expression.

WILLIAM A. SUTTON, S.J.

MATER DOLO(ROSA.

BENEATH the cross that crowns our fane,

St Mary's, in the wind and rain

A robin stands, whose broken heart,

In echoes of her mate's own art,

Pipes now and then a broken strain.

From out the holly in the lane

Some boy her callow brood has ta'en

And there she bends, with many a smart,

Beneath the Cross.

He knew not what he did, 'tis plain

That nest is sacred. But in vain,

Poor mother-bird! yea, with a start,

I see this scene's great counterpart

Another standing in her pain

Beneath the Cross.

JOHN FlTZPATRICK, G. E



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Difficulties and Advantages of Writing