dreaming. He filled men's
souls to the brim with expectation and wonder akin to fear and
anticipation of impossibilities; and what he was, men fondly and
greatly dreamed they might aspire to be. And thus the gentleman became
a prospective fact in life and after life, in literature; for we think
it has been fairly shown how literature produces no type till life has
produced it first. Literature is not properly productive, but
reproductive; not creative, but appropriative. As men climb a mountain
on a dark, still night, to watch a sunrise, so the race began to climb
toward manhood. The night was long, and this mountain taller than
Himalayas; and man slept not, but climbed. His groping toward this
sunrise of soul is the epic of history. Dante knew not a gentleman,
and could not dream him therefore. Mediaevalism learned to paint the
Madonna's face, but not manhood's look. Character is the last test of
genius. Man saw gray streaks of dawn, rimming far, ragged peaks, and
still he climbed; and, on a morning, beheld the sunrise! And if you
will note, 't is Don Quixote standing on the mountain's crest.

Some things can be adequately represented in marble. For "the Laocoon"
marble is probably the best method of expression. Fear, superhuman
effort, anguish, brute strength mastering human strength,--these are
the thoughts to be expressed, and are brought out in marble with
singular clearness and fidelity. For some things color is a necessity;
and marble would be totally inadequate. "The Greek Slave" may be put
in stone; the bewildering face of a world's Christ can never be
seriously attempted in marble, the futility of such attempt being so
apparent. Color, lights and shadows are essential to give hints of
deep things of deep soul. Hoffman must have canvas and colors. You
must paint the Christ. And some facts can not be painted. They are
abstract, and can not be intimated by anything short of words. You can
paint a man--Saul of Tarsus, or Charlemagne--but can not paint a
gentleman; for he represents no single majesty, but an essential and
intricate balance of all useful, great, and noble qualities. He can be
painted only by words; so that literature is the solitary means of
making apparent the shadow of that divine thing, a gentleman.

Don Quixote becomes intensely interesting, then, as a new attempt in
creative genius. But dare we think a gentleman could be ludicrous and
fantastic? for this the don was. We