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PASSAGES FROM A BOY'S EPIC. IV. Bacchus ...
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EMILIA GALOTTI. "I am neither a-dramatis...
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FAUST. Of this, incomparably the greates...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Comte's Positive Philosophy.*. By Gr. .'...
organs , ( i . e ., if the directions are not determinately such as will produce organs , ) and if in the gerin of organs there exists no capacity of ultimately becoming organs ; no Chicken at all is produced . Tliis capacity , this predisposition ( i . e ., this possible ' vdirecJtion'J /' -must / be ' - presettt . iri ^ -the . molecules , oth erwisetheheat necessary for hatching would be insufficient to produce germs ' , of brgans > in the first place ; and brgins afterwards /( e . e ., the direction being' different , the result would be different . ) This is the only reason why the embryo of the Egg will not produce ah bale , nor an Acorn a Chicken . " . ¦ .. .. %
To this I anticipate the answer , that the cause of this predisposition to form organs is the latent " vital principle , " or Chicken-forming force . But I ask—Why assume the presence of this mysterious entity ? How , if the egg be addled * and no organs are produced , where is the vital principle then ? What evidence have you for its existence ? The fact that chickens and oaks do ¦ necessarily- result from the process ? But there is in this process nothing more than we see in the analogues of the inorganic world : in
crystals , for example j a solution is before me , having none of the appearances or properties of crystals , yet by a touch with a feather , the whole mass becomes crystalized , and that , too , in crystals as definite in form and properties as the Chicken or the Oak . Is there a Crystal-forming Forcea Crystal Principle latent in that solution ? Again : evaporate a solution of sulphate of soda in water , and you get prisms . Are we to suppose that the sulphate of soda exists as minute prisms in , the solution > or that a Prism Priiiciple is latent therein ?
I hope these illustrations will suffice to make clear the fundamental proposition ^ that Life is an evolution , not a separate creation , and is thus essentially connected with the great Life of the Universe . No thinking man will itnagine anything is explained by this . The great mystery of Life and Being remains as inaccessible as ever . But a grander conception of Nature as one whole , and a more philosophic attitude of mind , iii contemplating the varieties of that whole , will result from the restitution of the homogeneity of Nature , when we learn with Goethe , Schellihg , and Coleridge , to see Life everywhere , and nowhere Death >
Be that as it may , I think it indispensable to the true understanding of Biology , that we should familiarize ourselves with the truth , that , between the Inorganic and Organic there is no absolute essential difference , but only a great phenomenal difference , arising from the complexity of the lines of direction of force ; and also with the necessity- —as a scientific artifice—of dividing the so-called Organic Chemistry into Chemistry and Biology . Next w _ eek , I will set forth Comte ' s views on that crown and summit of all physical science , to which all the others lead , and which itself directly leads to Social Science , — -I mean . Biology , the science of Life strictly called .
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Passages From A Boy's Epic. Iv. Bacchus ...
PASSAGES FROM A BOY'S EPIC . IV . Bacchus consoles Ariadne in a dream . Again the vision changed :, and lo ! a shape , Like what we dream of god or genius , came , Appareled with the thousand shifting lights Of rainbow clouds that gleam along the skies , When the dead sun droops his majestic head , And falls all fire into the burning waves . He knelt , and leaning o ' er her as he knelt , Whispered her name . She did but lift her eyes , And as a cloud all pale and colourless Is touched by the gold fingers of the morn , And smiles for that first gladness , so her face , Faded and white before , now brightened fa 3 t , And flushed with a new daybreak of delight . Then from the dreamer ' s parted lips escaped A pleasurable cry ; the echo ran Trembling thro' all the airy caves of sleep , And her eyes saw the light . At once she rose , And fixed as by some wise enchanter ' s spell , Gazed down the glimmering length of woven boughs , That arch on arch through all the emerald aisle Wavered and floated like a fairy bridge , That woos to far off amber palaces Beyond the sunset . Fountains , trees , and flowers , With all the mighty depths of forest shap ^ e , Transfigured shone . Low in the kindling west The sun Was setting , and the sylvan floor , With lovely shadows cast by wandering clouds , Resplendent lay , while all the charmed air Was haunted with the breath of vernal flowers , And the blind joy that hides within the breeze When lilac blossoms fall ; nor less entranced Murmured the ocean like a thousand shells , That at the feasts of gods in sapphire halls , At twilight seen beneath the glassy sea , Harmonious play , and calm the smiling waves ; And high o ' er all , tho blue and pendulous space Showed like the awful Presence that we know . M .
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Emilia Galotti. "I Am Neither A-Dramatis...
EMILIA GALOTTI . "I am neither a-dramatist nor a poet , " said the wise and honest Le & tsmg "It is true , that people often do me the honour to account me the latter . But this is simply because they do not know me . From the few dramatic attempts I have made , so nattering a conclusion must not be drawn .. is not every one who takes a brush and daubs canvass , that can be calieo . a painter . The earliest of these my attempts were written at that period of ihy life when facility is so readily mistaken for genius . And whatever is tolerable in my later attempts , is , I am perfectly certain , owing to . my critical judgment . I do not feel within me the living fountains bubbling upwards by their own force , and by their own force gushing out in pure , fresh , and sparkling streams . I am forced to pump out everything , 1 should be so cold , so poor , so short-sighted , had I not fortunately learned modestly to borrow the treasures of others , to warm myself by the fire of others , and to strengthen ray eyesight by using the critical glasses ^ bt art . I am , therefore , always vexed and ashamed when I hear anything spoken against criticism . It is said to stifle genius ; yet I flatter myself to have obtained something from it which comes very near genius . I am one of the lame , and cannot consent to hear crutches vilified . " Brave , and honest , and modest words , which could only come from so great and truthful a man as that most British of Germans—Crottlpb Ephraim Leasing ! I think Schiller might have said the same ; for—you will hate me for the heresy—he seems to me not a whit more of & dramatist , and only something more of a poet , than Lessing . He had more poetic enthusiasm and sensitiveness , perhaps a more delicate delight in beauty , but he was scarcely more of the born singer than Lessing was . However , that heresy is too great to be argued here , and JSmiha Galoth demands attention . _ _
. , I do not agree with the Germans in ranking Emilia Qalotti above Minna von Barnhehn , which " comes very near genius 5 " but it has certain decided merits , and being a German classic , its production * Saturday , was proper , although the effect was immensely wearisomegreatly owing to the bad acting . Emilia Qalotti is a modernized , form of the story of Viminnts , and I must express my : surprise at the mistake into which Lessing , the admirable critic , has fallen into an this critical play , viz . —transplanting a story , essentially Roman in its motives , to a niodern Italian principality , he has forgotten that the motives become false by the change of time and place . That Virginius should slay his daughter to preserve her from slavery , is . quite consistent with Jxonian feelings * , but that Odoardo should slay his daughter to save her from ¦ hfiino- dishonoured , moved thereto by her entreaties , is not within the
rano-e of modern sympathy . The modern father would kill the prince , nob his daughter ; the modern daughter would kill herself , she would never bid her father stain Ms hands with , her blood . _ The story moves slowly , otherwise it is dramatically evolved , liie characters are drawn with clear , sharp outlines , well contrasted . The weak vacillating Prince , eager to profit by Marinelli ' s villanies , yet afraid to meet the consequences—prone to crime , yet throwing the blame on Others—signing a death warrant with the same levity as if it were a billet doux—is , capitally studied . But Herr Grans gave a most stagey and ^ ungainly representation of it . Marinelli—the original of Wurm in Kabale ot . nd TAohp . and the Countess Orsina—the original of the Princess JSboli ,
in Don Karlos—arc both admirably drawn . Herr Ziilm was quiet and effective in the one , Frau Fliudt wholly incompetent to the other . Herr LehfeLl murdered Odoardo , before lie murdoreel his daughter . A word of praise , however , to Herr Noetel , for his picturesque make-up as the Briqand ; and nothing hut ' praise for the quiet , gentlemanly , dignified performance of Appiani , by Herr Emil Pevrienfc , who has only one scene , but played it more thoroughly , to my taste , than anything ho has yet done . Tho truth is , emotion lies beyond Herr Dovrient ' s capacity . Give him a scene in which his handsome person , quiet manner , and beautiful delivory of the text are untroubled oy any of tho intenser demands of passion , and he is admirable .
Faust. Of This, Incomparably The Greates...
FAUST . Of this , incomparably the greatest poem of modern times , I have so much I wish to say that I will say nothing because I cannot say all . And yet , on second thoughts , I will allude to the immense variety and dramatic interest of the scenes which it contains . Every one knows how truly it presents tho eternal problem of our intellectual life ; but no one seems to have been distinctly aware of how truly it reflects the varied lineaments of our social life . Faust is at once a problem and a picture : the problom embracing questions of universal importance ; tho picture representing all classes , all sentiments , all passions . The great problem of life is stated in all its nudity ; tho picture of life is painted in all its variety . But Faust , as Gootho wrote it , is one thing , and Faust , as tho Germans performed it on Tuesday , in another . I say nothing of tho arrangement , alterations , transpositions , and abbreviations of tho piece , ovory line of which has its place ; I say nothing of tho niiaorablo attempts at representing -what might , in such a theatre as tho Lyceum , havo boon a beautiful and imposing spectacle ; I confino inysblf to tho Gorman acting , which was accepted as excellent because German . Tho first re-mark . I havo to make is , on tho vulgarization of this groat poom by tho want of pootry in tho actors . It was an Adelphi version of Faust without " Adelphi effects , " Herr Emil Dovriontas Faust sottlocl for over in my oyos his cluiiris as an Ti * • j _ . "T V ___ -1 . 1 . Jl ! ..-1 -. _ I - J . J ... , 1 _ l-. ii 4 ' -1-1 \ §\ 4 * l \ n itf uui
actor , ixifl moriiHX navo aircauy ungruugiugiy'uuiiui'U ' u , > " «<¦ " "" « an actor I fool compelled inoat distinctly to deny . In tho first place h © is commonplace in conception ; in tho second place , his face and voice are incapable of depression . Fino as tho voice is , and beautiful tho accent <> f his Gorman , there are none of thoup oxquisito modulation which give music to verse and passionate vibration to eloquence ; nor does tho face supply tho want , for it is as immovable as Charles Kean ' s . Those are not
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), June 26, 1852, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26061852/page/21/
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