concrete, _style_, being assumed as always
constituting an entity auxiliary to, but not of necessity modified
by, and representing subject,--as something substantially
pre-existing in the author's mind or practice, and belonging to him
individually; the reader will, not without show of reason, betake
himself to the trial of personality by personality, another's by his
own; and will thus pronounce on poems or passages of poems not as
elevated, or vigorous, or well-sustained, or the opposite, in idea,
but, according to certain notions of his own, as attractive,
original, or conventional writing.

Thus far as regards those parts of execution which concern human{13}
embodiment--the metaphysical and dramatic or epic faculties. Of style
in description the reader is more nearly as competent a judge as the
writer. In the one case, the poet is bound to realize an idea, which
is his own, and the justness of which, and therefore of the form of
its expression, can be decided only by reasoning and analogy; in the
other, having for his type material phaenomena, he must reproduce the
things as cognizable by all, though not hereby in any way exempt from
adhering absolutely to his proper perception of them. Here, even as
to ideal description or simile, the reader can assert its truth or
falsehood of purpose, its sufficiency or insufficiency of means: but
here again he must beware of exceeding his rights, and of
substituting himself to his author. He must not dictate under what
aspect nature is to be considered, stigmatizing the one chosen,
because his own bent is rather towards some other. In the exercise of
censure, he cannot fairly allow any personal _peculiarities_ of view
to influence him; but will have to decide from common grounds of
perception, unless clearly conscious of short-coming, or of the
extreme of any corresponding peculiarity on the author's part.

{13} In employing the word "human," we would have our intention
understood to include organic spiritualism--the superhuman treated,
from a human _pou sto,_ as ideal mind, form, power, action, &c.

In speaking of the adaptation of style to conception, we advanced
that, details of character and of action being a portion of the
latter, the real point to determine in reference to the former is,
whether such details are completely rendered in relation to the
general purpose. And here, to return to Robert Browning, we would
enforce on the attention of those among his readers wh