makes the figure he paints stand out
with the greatest distinctness by the
accuracy of the details introduced
and by the skill with which they are
handled; but the very definiteness of
the figure gives force and clearness to
the revelation of the universal trait or
characteristic which is made through
it. Pere Goriot has the ineffaceable
stamp of Paris upon him, but he is for
that very reason the more completely
disclosed as a typical individuality.
Literature abounds in illustrations of
this true and artistic adjustment of
the local to the universal, this dis-
closure of the common humanity in
which all men share through the
highly elaborated individuality; and
this characteristic indicates one of
the deepest sources of its educational
power. So searching is this power
that it is safe to say that no one can

[[163]]

p162 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p163w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p164

v?