CHAPTER VII: AUTHORSHIP



The best proof of his swiftness, his industry, and his skill in
economizing time is to be found in the quantity of his literary
work, which, considering the abstruse nature of the subjects to
which most of it is related, would have been creditable to the
diligence of a German professor sitting alone in his study. As to
the merits of the work there has been some controversy. Mankind are
slow to credit the same person with eminence in various fields.
When they read the prose of a great poet, they try it by severer
tests than would be applied to other prose-writers. When a painter
wins fame by his portraits or his landscapes, they are apt to
discourage any other kind of painting he may attempt. So Mr.
Gladstone's reputation as an orator stood in his own light when he
appeared as an author. He was read with avidity by thousands who
would not have looked at the article or book had it borne any other
name; but he was judged by the standard, not of his finest printed
speeches, for his speeches were seldom models of composition, but
rather by that of the impression which his speeches made on those
who heard them. Since his warmest admirers could not claim for him
as a writer of prose any such pre-eminence as belonged to him as a
speaker, it followed that his written work was not duly appreciated.
Had he been a writer and nothing else, he would have been famous and
powerful by his pen.

He might, however, have failed to secure a place in the front rank.
His style was forcible, copious, rich with various knowledge, warm