human mind, the mystery of the origin, the enigma of destiny, the
inexplicable necessity of suffering, the short, tragical, and sublime
vision of the future of the soul, and the future not less difficult to
be guessed of by the human race in this material world, the torments
of human conscience and responsibility for the deeds, is said by
Sienkiewicz without any pedanticism, without any dryness.

If we say that the great Hungarian author Maurice Jokay, who also
writes historical novels, pales when compared with that fascinating
Pole who leaves far behind him the late lions in the field of
romanticism, Stanley J. Weyman and Anthony Hope, we are through with
that part of Sienkiewicz's literary achievements.

In the third period Sienkiewicz is represented by two problem novels,
"Without Dogma" and "Children of the Soil."

The charm of Sienkiewicz's psychological novels is the synthesis so
seldom realized and as I have already said, the plastic beauty and
abstract thoughts. He possesses also an admirable assurance of
psychological analysis, a mastery in the painting of customs and
characters, and the rarest and most precious faculty of animating
his heroes with intense, personal life, which, though it is only an
illusionary life, appears less deceitful than the real life.

In that field of novels Sienkiewicz differs greatly from Balzac, for
instance, who forced himself to paint the man in his perversity or in
his stupidity. According to his views life is the racing after riches.
The whole of Balzac's philosophy can be resumed in the deification of
the force. All his heroes are "strong men" who disdain humanity and
take advantage of it. Sienkiewicz's psychological novels are not