a poem.  More than one of the greatest poems could not endure such tests.  That The Spanish Gypsy has vitality of purpose, enduring interest in treatment, and a lofty eloquence of diction, is doubtless enough to insure it an accepted place among the few greater poems in the language.  Its profoundly thoughtful interpretation of some of the greater social problems mankind has to deal with, will necessarily give a permanent interest for the lovers of speculative poetry, while its genuine poetic merits will largely add to that interest, and add to it by its tragic power, its rich ethical wisdom, and its fine portrayal of character.

No other book of George Eliot’s is so filled and inspired by the spirit of her teachings as The Spanish Gypsy.  Its inspiration and its interest lie mainly in the direction of its moral and spiritual inculcations.  Verse did not stimulate her, but was a fetter; it clogged her highest powers.  The rich eloquence of her prose, with its pathos and sentiment, its broad perspective and vigorous thought, was to her a continual stimulus and incentive.  Her poems are more labored than her novels, and for this very reason they show the philosophy which gives them meaning more clearly.  Their greater concentration and less varied elements also largely help to make apparent the teachings they contain.  Her sympathy with the evolution philosophy of the day is conspicuous in The Spanish Gypsy.  It is simply a dramatic interpretation of the higher phases of Darwinism.  The doctrinal element does not intrude itself, however; it is not on the surface, it is well subordinated to the artistic elements of the poem.  Even intelligent readers may not detect it, and the majority of those who read the poem without any preconceptions may not discover its philosophic bearings.  Yet to the studious reader the philosophy must be the most conspicuous element which enters into the poem, and it gives character and meaning to the work far more fully than in the case of any of her novels.

The aim of the poem is to show how hereditary race influences act as a tragic element in opposition to individual emotions and inclinations.  The teaching of Romola is much of it reproduced, at least that portion of it which inculcates renunciation and altruism.  Its distinguishing features, however, more nearly resemble those of Daniel Deronda.  The race element is introduced, and the effect of the past is shown as it forms character and gives direction to duties.  One phase of its meaning has been very clearly described by Mr. R.H.  Hutton, who says the poem teaches “how the inheritance of the definite streams of impulse and tradition stored up in what we call race, often puts a veto upon any attempt of spontaneous individual emotion or volitions to ignore or defy their Control, and to emancipate itself from the tyranny of their disputable and apparently cruel rule.”  “How the threads,” he says again, “of hereditary capacity and hereditary