Post-Christian Stoicism
Maurice Maeterlinck, winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist. His essays often blur the line between literature and philosophy, and perhaps in none of his works is this more true than his 1898 book Wisdom and Destiny. In this volume, Maeterlinck takes on the role of life coach. In 112 numbered passages, he provides his readers with thoughtful guidance on how to achieve a life of virtue, happiness, tranquility, and love.
Much of Maeterlinck’s personal philosophy is built upon a foundation of Greek and Roman Stoicism. In essence, the book is like a 19th-century version of William B. Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy. Maeterlinck does deviate somewhat from the precepts of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius, however, and he expresses his teachings in a literary style all his own. One can also find inklings of Arthur Schopenhauer’s fatalism, but Maeterlinck expresses it in a kinder, gentler, more optimistic manner. Maeterlinck was raised in the Catholic tradition, but became disillusioned with organized religion as he grew older. Writing in the 19th century to a European audience, it was necessary that he must at least address Christianity. The philosophical advice he dispenses in this volume can be utilized by theists and atheists alike, but usually when he references God it sounds like the pantheistic god of the Stoics. Maeterlinck cites Jesus Christ as an example of a “sage” from whom we can learn valuable life lessons, alongside other positive and negative examples, including historical figures like Louis XVI, Marcus Aurelius, and Emily Bronte, or fictional characters such as Hamlet or Balzac’s Pierrette.
As a frequent reader of philosophy and an admirer of Stoic thought, I should have appreciated this book more than I did. Outside of philosophers themselves, no one really likes the jargon and dry, ultralogical prose that’s used to express most philosophical arguments, yet there is a good reason for it. The complex reasoning often requires a precision and clarity that conversational language cannot provide. Here, Maeterlinck errs in the opposite direction, eschewing clarity in favor of ambiguity. His poetic prose and flowery language come across as pretentious, flighty, and ill-suited to getting his point across. If one compares Maeterlinck’s writing to that of another literary/philosophical life coach, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Belgian author uses simpler vocabulary, but his syntax is far more obscurely circuitous than even the transcendentalist’s dense prose. To be fair, the English translation by Alfred Sutro might be partly to blame. Words like wisdom, destiny, love, virtue, happiness, consciousness, truth, and reason are bandied about in vague constructions. These terms are never adequately defined, or rather they are overdefined to the point where their definitions encompass everything and they simply become interchangeable.
Occasional pearls of insightful wisdom emerge from this verbal maze, enough to demonstrate that Maeterlinck was indeed a profound thinker, but such gems are few and far between. The medium does not do justice to the message. I much prefer Maeterlinck’s 1911 book Death, which is written in more straightforward language. If I were to read Wisdom and Destiny three or four times, I might eventually decipher Maeterlinck’s philosophical platform, but I would rather just reread the Discourses of Epictetus or the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2836CV1LRYHA2/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
Toward an enlightened demise
It takes a certain degree of audacity to write a book entitled Death, as if anyone could ever say everything there is to say about the subject. That said, Belgian author Maurice Maeterlinck, winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize in Literature, comes pretty darn close with this one. Death, originally published in 1911, is an extended essay, amounting to a little over a hundred pages in length. In that brief span, Maeterlinck does his titular topic justice by examining the subject from a variety of perspectives.
The main thrust of the book is that the fear of death that plagues mankind is an irrational superstition. If we cannot completely eradicate this fear we can at least partially subdue it by applying our faculty of reason. Since death offers the cessation of all pain, Maeterlinck advocates for euthanasia instead of the mandatory prolongation of suffering by any medical means necessary. He also briefly argues for cremation over burial. Maeterlinck then explains how the fear of death is really a fear of the unknown, and that if we indulge in some rational speculation as to what lies beyond the grave, we will find that we have little to fear. The majority of the book concerns the afterlife. Maeterlinck proposes various scenarios of what happens to the human soul after death—including the possible nonexistence of the soul altogether—and points out the strengths and weaknesses of each theory. In doing so, his scope broadens beyond the subject of death to encompass metaphysical questions such as the substance of human consciousness and the very nature of the universe itself.
The book is divided into 31 short sections, each only a page or few in length. Its message is reminiscent of the great Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, though less solemn and more optimistic in style. Both books encourage readers to conquer their fear of death through reason, but while the Meditations is a disordered hodgepodge of thoughts and aphorisms, Maeterlinck’s book is an organized argument, with each bite-sized chunk building upon the passage that came before. Maeterlinck shares the view of the Stoics that the doings of human life don’t really matter in the grand scheme of the universe. What we conceive of as good and bad is really just an illusion. There is only the machinery of nature at work, before which we are powerless. We cannot stop death, but we can stop the control we allow it to have over us while we live. Beyond Stoicism, Maeterlinck also includes inklings of Spinoza’s monism and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Over-soul. Maeterlinck’s writing is very clear and accessible, in fact far more so than either Spinoza or Emerson. The English translation by Alexander Texeira de Mattos is quite good. There are a few convoluted passages that frustrate and confuse, as is the case with much literature of this time period. Books were written in a less conversational style back then. Given its philosophical subject matter, however, it’s a very smooth read.
Maeterlinck is best known as a playwright and poet. Here he proves himself an accomplished author of the philosophical essay as well. Death is a thought-provoking and eye-opening book. Though he was speaking to audiences of a century ago, readers of today will still find much to learn from Maeterlinck’s enlightened discourse.
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R8IT70L5LBVTF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
The underdogs of European literature
 |
| Maurice Maeterlinck |
This book is part of the Stories by Foreign Authors series, a ten-volume collection of European short fiction in English translation published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1898. While previous volumes in the series were devoted to French, German, Spanish, Russian, Scandinavian, and Italian authors, this book is a mixed bag of stories from the “leftover” nations of Europe. While the countries represented here may not be as renowned for their literature as some of the aforementioned nationalities, these writers prove that they certainly deserve to be regarded alongside their A-list counterparts.
Poland’s Henryk Sienkiewicz is the first of two Nobel laureates featured in the book. His story “The Light-House Keeper of Aspinwall” takes place in a coastal locale near the Panama Canal. When the local light-house keeper dies, a fitting replacement is found in the form of an aged Pole who has adventured far and wide in the world and now longs for a place of repose. The main character is intriguing and appealing, and Sienkiewicz’s prose has rarely been more elegant. The story is very good, though it does fall prey to over-sentimentality towards the end.
Next up is Greek author Demetrios Bikélas with “The Plain Sister.” Out of gratitude for a friend, a bachelor professor considers marrying the eldest daughter of a merchant, thereby clearing the way for his friend to marry her younger sister. This is a light-hearted story that’s pretty predictable from beginning to end, but the reader will be charmed by the likeable characters and touching moments of humor.
Belgium is represented by two authors, the first of which is Nobel Prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck. Nicknamed “the Belgian Shakespeare,” Maeterlinck is known as a poet and dramatist, but here he proves to be an excellent fiction writer as well. His story “The Massacre of the Innocents” is by far the most powerful in the book. In the Flemish village of Nazareth, a cycle of violence and retaliation escalates between the Belgian villagers and their Spanish conquerors. It’s a brutally realistic and heartbreakingly tragic tale of terrorism in the age of sword, pike, and torch. In the second Belgian entry, “Saint Nicholas Eve” by Camille Lemonnier, a poor Flemish boatman and his family celebrate the titular holiday. The scene is so blissful and picturesque the reader can’t help but suspect that an unexpected tragedy will darken the mood. This has the makings of a good story, but something seems to have been lost in the translation, as scenes that should feel emotionally charged end up coming across as awkward and clumsy.
The book concludes with “In Love with the Czarina,” by Hungarian author Maurice Jokai (or Mór Jókai, in his native tongue). It is based on the true story of Jemeljan Pugasceff (a.k.a. Yemelyan Pugachev), a Cossack who falls in love with Catherine the Great. After her husband Czar Peter III dies, Pugasceff ignites a rebellion in an attempt to capture the crown of Russia and take her for his bride. This story is reminiscent of the military epics of Sienkiewicz, such as With Fire and Sword. Though it starts and ends well, in between it grows a bit tedious with the minutiae of troop movements.
Stories by Foreign Authors is a great series that brings to light quite a few authors of a century ago that are largely forgotten today. While the classic fiction of France and Russia still enjoys a large English-language audience, this volume reminds us that there are treasures of European literature to be discovered off the beaten path as well.
Stories in this collection
The Light-House Keeper of Aspinwall by Henryk Sienkiewicz
The Plain Sister by Demetrios Bikélas
The Massacre of the Innocents by Maurice Maeterlinck
Saint Nicholas Eve by Camille Lemonnier
In Love with the Czarina by Maurice Jokai
If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.
http://www.amazon.com/review/RS2LPO3MV5QO2/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
