good preaching. Be that as it may, Pater is distinctive, and borrows
nothing from any writer whose influence can be traced in his work. He
neither swears nor preaches, but weaves about his reader a subtle film
of thought, through whose gossamer all things seem to suffer a curious
change, and to become harmonious and suggestive, as dark and
quiet-coloured things often are. The writer does not force himself upon
his readers, nor tempt even the most susceptible to imitate him; rather
he presupposes himself, and dominates without appearing. His reticence,
to which we have already referred, is one of his most characteristic
qualities. Dr. Gosse ascribes it to a somewhat low and sluggish vitality
of physical spirits. For one in this condition "the first idea in the
presence of anything too vivacious is to retreat, and the most obvious
form of social retreat is what we call affectation." That Pater's style
has impressed many readers as affected there can be no question, and it
is as unquestionable that Dr. Gosse's explanation is the true one.

His style has been much abused by critics who have found it easy to say
smart things about such tempting peculiarities. We may admit at once
that the writing is laboured and shows constant marks of the tool. The
same criticism applies, for that matter, to much that Stevenson has
written. But unless a man's style is absolutely offensive, which Pater's
emphatically is not, it is a wise rule to accept it rather as a
revelation of the man than as a chance for saying clever things. As one
reads the work of some of our modern critics, one cannot but perceive
and regret how much of pleasure and of profit their cleverness has cost
them. Acknowledging his laboriousness and even his affectation, we still
maintain that the style of Walter Pater is a very adequate expression of
his mind. There is a calm suggestive atmosphere, a spirit half-childish
and half-aged about his work. It is the work of a solemn and sensitive
child, who has kept the innocence of his eye for impressions, and yet