Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 7th February 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 21

Page 21
Page 21
21 of 24

On this page

  • Departments (1)
    • €p %x\t.
  • Text (4)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Liberty Of Vocation. Whenever We * Come ...

      ^ Td for tufiiinfir the faculties of everyone to the ^ avail able account . There would then be no ^^ mteexpenditura of energy no ^ teagedy of Sastrugghng undet the burden of degrading g w « rles noT paltry exaltation of the impotent to S Saces , no Purns condemned to guaging ale-% &^ Nero indolently fiddling when the city is flames ! No > amateur locksmith ( such as ' a Louis YVIV would he suffered to sit at the pinnacle of ImnirL to be dashed and trampled down by the f , rrv and indignation of an oppressed and misgoverned people ; but with the liberty of vocation Wisdom wbuld guide the destinies of States , and the Wise Man be welcomed as the accredited ruler of the Commonwealth . ¦ ^ Should it be asked how and in what way is society

      to be transformed so as to admit of an actual accommodation of personal capacities to the entire range of offices and employments , it must be confessed that , in the present state of human culture , no such arrangement can be realised . Yet it may not be amiss to consider the possibilities of such , as they ideally subsist in the constitution and ranabilities of man . If there be anything of the

      kind in human nature , any diversities of endowment fey which men are predisposed to manifest their activity in one way preferably to another , it may reasonably be concluded that such original and specific gifts or dispositions have a reference and natural relation to the work in which the 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 incont estible , 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 ^ ccpmplish . " ¦ Ou & desires , " as Goethe said ( that is , our reasonable inclinations ) , " are presentiments of the capabilities which lie within us , and harbingers of that which we 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 in the future , soliciting a realization through pur 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 contentedness . 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 t hat 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 ; 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 nuen come to comprehend more perfectly the laws and conditions of the universe , and aim to live in accordance and harmony therewith , it is presumable they will be enabled to jnoaity and shape their institutions so as to find firt ?? opportunity in their society for the fit employment of every one according to the nature ana order of his endowments . demandW of him

      mainly that he shall be active for ends which are "onest , and serviceable to the community . For it nas been wisely said , " that only mankind toget er 18 the true man , and the individual can be £ « . aPpy only when he feels himself W 0 T ^ "ig m conscious relation to the whole . " * jf society wherein men are not helpful to obi t and to BOmQ extent united in their jects , can h ayeno assured permanence or con * * Q oetho ' a Dichtung und Wahrheit .

      tinuity ; 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 fullv 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 th 6 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 . \\ hatsoever 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-iujured 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 thajt shall be glorious—the success which unerring Nature has decreed to human effort , whensoever it is accordant with her beneficent ordinations . J . L .

      Fteb 7, 1852.] Frft*' ¦ ¦&$ *$ $&¦ ' . 1...

      FteB 7 , 1852 . ] frft *' ¦ ¦& $ * $ $ &¦ ' . 137

      €P %X\T.

      € p % x \ t .

      Vivian In Tears! {All Along Of Mr. Kean....

      VIVIAN IN TEARS ! { All along of Mr . Kean . ) What a thing is Life ! 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 or worms ; to-day you see me struck from that sunny altitude into the gloom of immeasurable despondency 1 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 I "

      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 1 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 j but now , alas ! that glory is departed ; it now

      appears that he did not like my criticism , and he cruelly robs me of my only enjoyment— the privilege of seeing him act ! He humbles me , he saddens me , lie 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 j why did I not discover eloquence in his pauses , variety in

      and expression in his gestures , and intelligence his conceptions ? Fool that I wan ! I might have laughed at him atnongst his friends , as remorselessly as they do , and still have preserved my precious privilege of free admission to the Princess ' s Theatre ; but " now I ... As the not more unfortunate Philoctetes , banished from hie loved Hellas , roamed disconsolate about the isle , so I pace Oxford-Btreet with pale wistful glances , exclaiming : —

      & hX ol pev iK ^ oiKovreq fooviaq Ipe yeXocri < rty ^ % oi / Tef * vj 8 ' < j / a >? vocrog & ei rtKyOe , K & m ( jiefyv i p / firai . ( That bit of Greek is especially meant for Mr , Kean— -the immense intelligence displayed m his

      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 embark in-such a speculation unless he could get the Press to back him . I gave him the only promise I cuuld 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 has been 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 no ? thinkCharles 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 ;" ¦ 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 I One hears of hens , in a soil where chalk is deficient , laying eggs without shells—nothing but a thin membrane to protect the embyro chick ; how unpleasant to be such a chick ! As for me I confess that I hav £ long expected to be cut off the free list by some irate manager or other , but do ^ not respect 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 preserved 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 .

      The Ancient Cornish Drama. Suppose, As T...

      THE ANCIENT CORNISH DRAMA . Suppose , as the doings of the week afford me no pabulum , we go back some centuries and see what the 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 hady 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 , I 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 la play called , The Creation of the World , with Noah's Flood , translated into

      Cornish in ¦ 1611 , and again into English in 16 i ) L ; finally corrected and published in 1827 . Of this play Mr . Collins gives us the following analysis , with comments : — " The first act comprehend *! the fall of the- angelsthe introductory stuge direction commanding thut the theatrical clouds , and the wholo sky to boot , shall oponwhen Heaven is named ! All is harmony at the outset of the play , until it is Luoifer'a turn to speak . He . declares that he alono is great , that all

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 7, 1852, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07021852/page/21/