erto_. Mistral has drawn his inspirations from within
himself; he has not worked over the poems and legends of former poets,
or sought much of his subject-matter in the productions of former ages.
He has not suffered from the deep reflection, the pondering, and the
doubt that destroy originality.

If Mistral had written his poems in French, he would certainly have
stood apart from the general line of French poets. It would have been
impossible to attach him to any of the so-called "schools" of poetry
that have followed one another during this century in France. He is as
unlike the Romantics as he is unlike the Parnassians. M. Brunetiere
would find no difficulty in applying to his work the general epithet of
"social" that so well characterizes French literature considered in its
main current, for Mistral always sings to his fellow-men to move them,
to persuade them, to stir their hearts. Almost all of his poems in the
lyrical form show him as the spokesman of his fellows or as the leader
urging them to action. He is therefore not of the school of "Art for
Art's sake," but his art is consecrated to the cause he represents.

His thought is ever pure and high; his lessons are lessons of love, of
noble aims, of energy and enthusiasm. He is full of love for the best in
the past, love of his native soil, love of his native landscapes, love
of the men about him, love of his country. He is a poet of the "Gai
Saber," joyous and healthy, he has never felt a trace of the bitterness,
the disenchantment, the gloom and the pain of a Byron or a Leopardi. He
is eminently representative of the race he seeks to glorify in its own
eyes and in the world's, himself a type of that race at its very best,
with all its exuberance and energy, with its need of outward
manifestation, life and movement. An important place must be assigned to
him among those who have bodied forth their poetic conceptions in the
various euphonious forms of speech descended from the ancient speech of
Rome.

In Provence, and far beyond its borders, he is known and loved. His
activity has not ceased. His voice is still heard, clear, strong,
hopeful, inspiring. _Mireille_ is sung in the ruined Roman theatre at
Aries, museums are founded to preserve Provencal art and antiquities,
the Felibrean feasts continue with unabated enthusiasm. Mistral's life
is a successful life; he has revived a language, created a literature,
inspired a people. So potent is art to-day in the ol