Elie Halévy: an Intellectual Biography by Myrna Chase (review)

224 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW fearlessly defended imperialandCanadian interests against adictatorial Prime Minister[Laurier]and hiscorruptCabinetcolleagues.' O.D. Skeltonandhis 'Liberal Nationalist'followers,who would happily have dispensed with governors generalaltogether,sawhimas'theincompetent, bunglingimperial pro-Consul'(2). Miller useshis examinationof Minto'sCanadiancareerto dispel 'many unfounded but firmly entrenchedmyths surroundingthe methods andintentions of Britishadministration asappliedtoCanada'(3). The governorgeneralis,to mostCanadians, a shadowy figure,seen,when he is seenat all, aspart of an ancientceremonialstructureto whichthey respond, if theyrespond atall,in termsof theirindividual culturalinheritance andpresent preoccupations. It isdoubtfulif theappointment totheofficeof Canadian nationals hassubstantially increased itsvisibility. Mintoheldoffice whenthe governorgeneral's influence,and indeedhiseffectivepower,was moresubstantial than either is today.Canada's relationship to Britainwas changing, but the Britishempire'spredominance in the world asCanada perceived it hadnotbeenvisiblyundermined.Minto'sviewof the imperial responsibility, hisnot unfriendlyattitudeto CanadaandCanadians, andhis interestin militaryaffairs,inevitablyinvolvedhim in severalepisodes in Canada's relationship with'themothercountry,' notably thedismissal of his crony,GeneralE.T.H. Hutton,thegeneral officecommanding; theevenmore spectacular controversy betweenhis successor, Lord Dundonald,and the Laurier government;and, finally, the Alaskaboundarydispute.It is not surprising, in viewof theemotions involved, thatMinto'sactions, notalways particularly wise,weremisunderstood. Professor Millerhascorrected theensuing misrepresentations andincidentallyshedsome lightontheprocess bywhichCanadaandCanadians accepted theinevitable attenuation of herrelations withBritainandheremerging role asa North Americancountry.It isperhapsa measure of Minto'slimitations that even their common interest in horse-flesh could not reconcile him to Sir Clifford Sifton. L.G.THOMAS University ofAlberta Elie Hal•vy: an Intellectual Biography. MYRNA CHASE. New York, Columbia University Press, •98o.Pp 293.$•7.5o. This booktellsus something of Ha16vy's professional career.It reviews at lengthhisfamous finished andunfinished works.It confronts hiscritics, andit explainsand defendshim. Althoughunpublished letters(especially for the earlieryears) arecited,wedonotlearnagreatdealmorethanhasbeenknown abouthim. Hal•vy appearsto havelivedthe agreeable, banal,andquietlife characteristic of mostprofessors. An earlyDreyfusard whowished toreform French public lifefromafar,hewas, wearetold,aphilosophe manqug, fascinated REVIEWS 225 by the differencebetweenthe French and Englishexperiences after the Enlightenment. Professorat the prestigious EcoleLibre desSciences Politiques , a liberalneitherquiteFrenchnorquiteEnglish in hisformation, self-cast asaFranco-British 'go-between' (• 77),hewashauntedbythenotionthat•9•4 hadendedtheoldliberalworld,triggered thesocial 'earthquake,' andopened the 'era of tyrannies' in whichauthoritariangovernments, inspiredby the Russian r•gime after •9•7, threatened to endlibertyonceandfor all. Byitssubtitle Professor Chase's studyraises thequestion whetherthereis anysuch thingas'anintellectual biography,' or,assheputsit,'biography ofthe mind.'Asshequicklyaddsthat'Hal•vy'slife washiswork'(3) - hardlineson poorMadameH,, onewouldthink- wecanperhaps dismiss thequestion short of havingto answer,No, thereisnosuchthing.Biographyisbiography, and this is not, as it is not intended to be, one. The valueof thisbook,then,liesin itsinformeddiscussion of Ha16vy's formalwrittenwork,itsconsiderations of whyhe did notfinishtheEnglish historyand of how he cameto be pessimistic and preoccupied with the authoritarianthreat in his later years.But it is difficult to seeany great originality intheexposition. Alotremains unknown. Wearetoldnothing ofhis procedures andworkhabits. Wedonotlearnanything abouthissources and hisuseof them.Yetsurely it isthiskindof thingwewouldliketoknowabout someone soconcerned with intellectual history.Finally,the estimate ismore approving anddefensive thaninquiringandcritical. The wholeaccount seems ratherlong.Lackingconciseness andbite,thewritingisnotfreeof grammatical errors and neologisms. So one puts the book down with a senseof disappointment andthefeelingthatperhaps, afterall,thereissomething tobe saidfor theessay on subjects suchasthisone,andthatthestudent of Hal•vy willstillfindit stimulating andusefultoreadGillispie andBrebnerandWebb and Himmelfarb and so on. jo• c. c.•m•s University ofToronto Autobiography ofJohnMacoun: Canadian Explorer andNaturalist •83•-•92o. Ottawa,OttawaField-Naturalists' Club, •979. PP.xviii,36•. JohnMacoun emigrated fromIrelandtoCanada Westin •85obuthewas nota typical Irishteenage immigrant ofthatera.Hewas Protestant; hehadnotbeen adversely affectedby the potatofamine;and he sailedcabinclass noteven rememberingthe steeragepassengers below. After severalunsatisfying manual jobs,Macounturnedto teaching andadvanced to a chairof natural history atAlbertCollege wherehespent elevenyears beforetransferring toa position withthegovernment. During his careerMacounbecamea self-taughtbotanicalexpert who devoted mostof hisadultlifetoexploringCanada in theofficialcapacity of a ...