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¦~ -r ~ rZ ^ ninK thef * cvliie 8 of every one to the dev ised for turmnH t ^ would then be no * TSxpenditure of energy , m > tragedy of ^ aste ctSunff under the burden of degrading KTr \ ef no paltry exaltationof . the impotent . to ob stacles , * ^ Bam $ condemned to guagmg tde ^ hi ^ f la foCo insdlently fiddling when the city is barrels , nu * amateur ] Ocksmith ( suchas a Louis in flames i ^ su ffered to sit at the pinnacle of xVIt ) ^ nldbe ^ ne r ^ ^^ ^ ^ empire , « nt f an oppressed and misgofury ^^ oole ^ b « t with the liberty of vocation JP 5 «? would guide the destinies of States , and ^ ^ Man be welcomed as the accredited ruler ° SodSTe ^ ked how and in what way is society * £ transformed so as to admit of an actual Imnrtation of personal capacities to the entire S 2 TSSS anLmplovments , it must be constate 01 culture
r « A that in the present numan , fe fi ich SangemeSt can be realised . Yet it may Sntbe amiss to consider the possibilities of such , as they Really subsist in the constitution and Labilities of man . If there be anything of the 33 in human nature , any diversities of endowment bv which men are predisposed to manifest , their activity in one way preferably to another , it may reasonably be concluded that such original and snecific gifts or dispositions have a reference and natural relation to the work in whiclrthe man was designed to exercise his faculties . That there are discernable tendencies of the sort is p lain enough to observation ! and , moreover , being thus evident and innnnteatible , it is scarcely to be denied or questioned
that they ought to be accepted as the hints and premonitions by which Nature obscurely , but yet significantly , shadows forth the paths on which we have been severally ordained to walk . The rational action we are prone to , is that which we have been appointed to accomplish . " Our desires / ' as Goethe said ( that is , our reasonable inclinations ) , " are presentiments of ~ the capabilities which lie . within us , and harbingers of that which wfr shall be in a condition to perform . " Whatever we would like to do . and have any ability for doing , presents
itself to our imagination as a thing of possible attainment ; it seems to lie before us m the future , soliciting a realization through our efforts ; and the longing we feel after it is an intimation that we secretly possess the power which may develop and fashion it into reality . It is obvious that if all degrees of aptitude were fostered or left free to reveal themselves according to natural direction , the work of the world would
be entered on under the truest auspices of success ; that which every one could do best would be done in the most satisfactory and efficient manner , and the general result would be the highest possible state of social welfare and contentedneas . Any doubt or misgiving respecting the relative supply and demand of the various kinds of capability required for the regulation or support of all the natural and authentic functions of society—any fear that more people would be born with special qualifications for any separate pursuit than could
be serviceably employed therein—would be an accusation against the wisdom and forethought of the Creator , and go to charge Him with folly and inefficiency in the manifestation of His power . So blasphemous a presumption is not to be entertained . This noble though calumniated world , being the workmanship and production of a wise and beneficent Omnipotence , is unquestionably provided with every needful adaptation to the wants and requirements of His creatures ; the resources of Nature and
the capacities of man are necessarily related and adapted to each other j and every new development or expansion of human life is to be met by a discovery of the means which are required for its sustainment . As men come to comprehend more perfectl y the laws and conditions of the universe , and aim to live in accordance and harmony . herewith , it is presumable they will be enabled to nouify and shape their institutions so as to find l"oom and opportunity in their society for the fit Jmpio yrnont ° f every one according to the nature
» na order of his endowments , demanding of him nainly that he shall be active for ends which are » onest , and serviceable to the oommunity . For it jaa been wisely said , « that only mankind to-, etner is the true man , and the individual can be > * aa and happy only when he feels himself workng in conscious relation to the whole . " * A sooiety wherein men are not helpful to ? cn other , and to some extent united in their ^ Qje cta , can have no assured permanence or
continuity ; and as it is plain that no society can be sustained , save by such an adjustment of its functions as will promote the necessary interests of all , so it is reasonable to believe that this end would be most admirably secured by each having liberty to follow his natural vocation , by opportunities and encouragements to devote himself to the kind of work which he is best of all capable of performing . Nevertheless , the liberty we speak of must be the growth of culture ; an idea can be realized only when it has entered fully into the consciousness of
a people , and presents itself to their perceptions as something appropriate or essential to their welfare . Until it can come forth as a power charged with the solution of some problem in their affairs , it has no likelihood of gaining such influence and authority as will serve to get it practically established . Still , if the idea be true , and to any extent calculated to advance the individual interests of humanity , it undoubtedly demands an honest recognition , and will ultimately need to be incorporated with the substance of the social institutions . For the end of society is the perfecting of man . Whatsoever may
contribute to place him in just and true relations with his fellows , and to direct his energies into the channel of achievement which will conduct him into successful working and unison with the purposes of creation , that surely does it become society to attend to and turn to a practical application . There is no security except in truthful conformity to the order and necessities of things . The active and living world is injured by being alienated from Nature . Man is prostrated and destroyed by departing from the law of his constitution . Through long years and centuries of painful travail does he wander in search of that which will restore him to
his original integrity and contentment ; yet , with the scars of his long-suffering , be bears with him a burden of experience , and may read out of the records of his defeat the sure prophecy of a success that shall be glorious—the success which unerring Nature has decreed to human effort , whensoever it is accordant with her beneficent ordinations . J . L .
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THE ANCIENT- CORNISH DRAMA . Suppose , as the doings of the week afford me no pabulum , we go back some centuries and see what he Vivians of a bygone age had to criticise ? Let me leave Alfred Bunn in peace for one week ; let me pass by the doors of the Lyceum , the Haymarket , the Olympic , and Sadler ' s Wells , and call upon you to prepare for an historic excursion into Cornwall , Anno Domini 1611 . It will be more agreeable to my feelings than commenting on the The Lady of Lyons , wherein Helen Faucit the first , and only Pauline , played in her best style , but the others .... No ; I said I would not comment , and I will not . . ' You are too much interested , 1 hope , in the Drama and its history , not to be in some measure acquainted with its early efforts in the shape of Miracle Plays ; but , at any rate , if you read the account I am going to copy , the Miracle Play will henceforth be no stranger . I copy it from the Rambles Beyond Railways , of Wilkie Collins , who went to . visit the remains of the ancient amphitheatre , Piran Round , and there studied the book of a play called , The Creation oj the World , with Noah ' s Flood , translated into Cornish in 1611 , and again into English in 1691 ; finally corrcoted and published in 1827 . Of this nlav Mr . Collins gives us the following analysis ,
with comments : — « The first aot comprehends the fall of the angelsthe introductory stage direction commanding that the theatrical clouds , and the whole 8 k / to boot , shall oponwhen Heaven in named ! All ia harmony at the outset of the play , until it ia Luoifer a turn to apeak . He deolorea that he alone is great , that All
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* Goethe's Diohtung und WahrMt .
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? — VIVIAN IN TEARS ! { All along of Mr . Kean . ) What a thing is Life 1 The remark is novel and profound—its application you will appreciate on hearing my appeal . Yesterday I was the gayest of the gay , blithe and joyous as a young bird before family cares perplex it in its calculations of worms ;
to-day you see me struck from that sunny altitude into the g loom of immeasurable despondency ! Weep ! weep with me ye that have any tears ! Let me , like a Prometheus of private life , fling my clamorous agonies upon the winds , and call upon every feeling heart to listen to my " billowy ecstacy of woe !"
Hear it , ye winds—Charles Kean has cut me off the Free list ! No more ! never never more , am I to enjoy the exquisite privilege of seeing that poetic eye " in fine foolishness rolling ! "—no more ! never never more , am I to listen to that musical utterance of verse , that delicate expression given to subtle meanings ! I am banished . Charles Kean closes his door upon me ! He courted me , and courted my criticism—then I was happy ! then I was proud ! then I knew where to spend an intellectual evening ; but now , alas ! that glory is daparted ; it now criticismand he
appears that he did not like my , oruelly robs me of my only enjoyment- the privilege of seeing him act ! He humbles me , he saddens me , he leaves me no refuge but misanthropy ! Oh , why didn't I write more glowingly about his genius ; why did I not , by some critical alchemy , convert his peculiarities into talents ; why did I not discover eloquence in his pauses , variety and expression in his gestures , and intelligence in his conceptions ? Fool that I was ! I might have lauffhed at him amongst his friends , as remorselessly as they do , and stiU have preserved my the
preciouB privilege of free admission to rnncesa » Theatre ; tut now t ... As the not more unfortunate Philoctetes , banished from his loved Hollas , roamed disconsolate about the isle ; so I pace Oxford-street with pale wistful glances , exclaiming : — &KX ol / K 6 V iKpaikwres Stvocrtenq i [*« ythutrt < ny l % ovrt ? y 8 * t pn w « f £ « rtKriOe , K&m fM ^ oy i px *™ ' - ( That bit of Greek is especially meant for Mr . Kf * n ~ th 0 imnwnw inteMgenco displayed in nw
handling of English verse placing beyond question the assumption that he must be very strong indeed upon Greek verse , and , therefore , I won ' t translate it . ) Let me for a moment stop the flood of grief and review my position ( through my tears ) . When Charles Kean was about to take the Princess ' s Theatre , he asked me if I would support him ; because , he added , it was useless to emhark in such a speculation unless he could get the Press to back him . I gave him the only promise I could give—I promised to do my best . I was glad to see a gentleman in the position . It looked well for the
drama ; and no one will dispute that it hasbeen a great advantage—that he has made the Princess ' s a first-class theatre in every respect ; and as far as the public is concerned , he has been an excellent manager . Hitherto I have kept my promise ; but I told him at the time that it was one thing to support a theatre by all friendly offices , and another to praise actors or pieces which I did not approve . Now , mark ! because I was silent in a case where , if I had spoken at all , it could only have inflicted a , needless wound—because I do not thinkCharleg Kean
a tragic actor , and never would say I did—because , in short , while feeling and ( as all who know me will testify ) expressing a personal liking for him , I exercised towards him a privilege I do not withdraw even with regard to dearest friends—that , namely , of uttering my opinion—because , I say , my friendly articles were not fulsome eulogies , Charles Kean declared me " one of his bitterest enemies ; " and now , I presume , because I said last week that Helen Faucit was the greatest of our tragic actresses ( a fact about which there are not two opinions ) , the " bitterest enemy" is told he cannot be admitted
any more . Poor fellow ! poor fellow ! to be so sensitive—and an actor ! One hears of hens , in a soil where chalk is deficient , laying eggs without shells—nothingbut a thin membrane to protect the embyro chick ; how unpleasant to be such a chick ! As for me I confess that I have long expected to be cut off the free list by some irate manager or other , but do not respeot the sagacity Which has so exercised the managerial power . Can Mr . Kean suppose that by suppressing free admissions he suppresses free speech ? Or does he think that no critic would be mad enough to rush into the utter
extravagance of paying for a place to see him act ? Let him undeceive himself . I shall be there on first nights as of old ; the only difference will be this—that until he declared open war I still pres erved my original position ; henceforth I shall remember that kindly silence is interpreted as insult , and shall speak out just what I think . In concluding , let me say that whereas I would not suffer my criticism to be eulogistic when urged by interest ( in the vulgar sense of the term—Mr . Kean will understand me ) , so likewise I have too much pride to allow this last act to pique me into injustice .
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Feb . 7 , > J >»;* # «»»¦« . ttft
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 7, 1852, page 137, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1921/page/21/
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