putterings 226 < 227 > 228 index
in large innocence grave, puttering with the stars
Impressive as this translation, which will shortly appear, will have in large innocence,
it also suggests doubts, very grave
He puttering with the stars.
OCR cross-column confusion(s) involving (1) an appreciation of A. Bronson Alcott his Concord Days; (2) a review of Dr. Samuel Davidson’s translation of the eighth edition of Tischdorf’s Greek Testament; and (3) a review of Bryant’s translation of The Odyssey of Homer (published by J. R. Osgood & Co., Boston).
from a search for “puttering” + “translation”, at The College Courant 11:12 (New Haven, Conn.; September 28, 1872) : 137 : link
and same (Princeton) copy via hathitrust : link
—
on Alcott —
...It is one of the broad avowals of Mr. Alcott’s life, character, and manner, that he consciously presents himself as a sage, obstinately resting in his own wise moods, whatever the convenience, interest, or necessity of those about him. Impressive as this large innocence is, it also suggests doubts, very grave doubts indeed, to one who considers how little the real sagacity of common life lies in great knowing, as compared with tender and faithful doing. It is impossible, you see at a glance, for Mr. Alcott to forget himself, and you learn but too surely that he readily and inevitably forgets others, whatever their claim on him, in his lofty puttering with the stars. Admirable at a fine thought, a noble conception, a deep insight, he is but an empty and useless stare in the presence of most of the practical aspects of life.