Yet life must be arrested and
falsified before the desire can be fulfilled. No one has ever seen
himself in a mirror as he is seen by others. He cannot catch himself
looking away, self-forgetful, intent on something outward; yet only when
he is in these attitudes does his true character show itself in his face.
Nor, if he could so see himself, would he be a witness of the truth. The
sensation of drowning, or of leading an assault in war, is very unlike
the sentiment which is aroused in the spectator of either of these
adventures. Romanticism, in its decline, confuses the sentiment with the
sensation, and covets the enjoyment of life on the easy terms of a by-
stander.
These faults and failings of late Romance are far enough removed from the
simple heroism of the death of Roland in the pass of Roncesvalles. Later
Romance is known everywhere by its derivative, secondary, consciously
literary character. Yet it draws sometimes from the original source of
inspiration, and attains, by devious ways, to poetic glories not inferior
to the old.
IMITATION AND FORGERY
Romance is a perennial form of modern literature, and has passed through
many phases. No period has been without it, though the esteem in which
it is held has varied a good deal from age to age. English literature is
strong in romance; there is something in the English temper which makes
scepticism ungrateful to it, and disposes it to treat even dreams
seriously.
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