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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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lotion . Othello turns out td be ft stomping , rantitig spluttering gentleman with very imperfect knowledge of the English language , or Figaro has nothing but impudence : is Criticism then no lawful occupation ?—is scorn no duty ? But the Critic has a higher office . He is the severe guardian of public taste . He has to keep a vigilant eye upon the universal tendency in all publishers , managers , and purveyors , to appeal to the lower appetites of men . He is the aesthetic Policeman . [ Ah ! how true that illustration ! How often this aesthetic Policeman forgets his stern duty in the amenities of cold meat and pickles , and finds it impossible to speak the truth of his Amphytrion when that truth is not flattering !]
I dare say the grand seigneurs of criticism look down upon us weekly and daily Critics ; occupied with theoretic considerations , studying only the great works of past times , all the merits of which have been pointed out , and all the faults " discussed , they fancy Criticism of ephemera must be easy and trivial . And no doubt , much of the printed talk that distributes immortality to the successes of a day-seeing , in every historical novelist a rival of Walter Scott , in every singer a Malibran , in every painter a Raphael—no doubt this is easy enough . But , did it ever occur to you what a perilous thing it is to be forced to label as good or bad , true or false ,
books , plays , pictures , singers , actors , before the world has decided ? The Critic has no time given him to compare his impressions with the impressions of others ; he cannot like the grand seigneurs just referred to , turn back to what others have said ; he has no finger-post to guide him ; the book lies open before him , he has no guide but his own taste , he cannot wait , he must pronounce at once , pronounce at his peril : He may write " This will never do " against an Excursion , he may write " This is a work of genius" against the flimsiest fabric of the season ' s manufactory—and his judgment is at stake ! To such a man , Criticism must be what Longinus defined it , the result of abundant
experience—TroXAijf earn ireipat reXevTxtov eiriyeyytifjcec Only long experience and tact can give him that rapidity and certainty of judgment ; and with all his experience , with all his tact , how often he will make egregious blunders ! Emerson says with great truth , " A deduction must be made from the opinion which even the wise express of a new book or occurrence . Their opinion gives me tidings of their mood , and some vague guess at the new fact , but is nowise to be trusted as the lasting relation between that intellect and that thing /* This may help to explain the queer judgments given by even wise men on their contemporaries .
Having shown that Criticism is lawful , ia difficult , and perilous , it would be easy to show how grave and lofty it may be . The Greeks—our teachers in all things—cultivated Criticism with becoming gravity . I could fill a column with the titles of lost works ; but the names of Plato , Aristotle , Aristarchus , and Longinus are enough . I note an interesting distinction between Plato and Aristotle in their treatment of Art ; the one proceeding deductively from some d priori principles , the other proceeding scientifically , deducing
principles from the actual facts before him . Plato says "fine things " about Art ; Aristotle aims at detecting the laws . Of Aristarchus we have only the tradition of a great name ; Longinus—or another , for the authorship is not clearly made out—has left us a beautiful and interesting treatise on grandeur of style—falsely translated On the Sublime—and the llalicarnassian Dionvaius some
trumpery criticisms , which are sheltered from contempt by the august dignity of Greek . Latin Literature has also its Critics : its Cicero , its lacitus , its Quinctillian—to be read with pleasure , ay and with profit . But I should like to send Quinctillian to a " first representation , " with the necessity of his proceeding straight from the theatre to the printing-office , and there Kitting in judgment on the new work , his article to be reud by tho usands before he is awake on the morrow !
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This page 13 accorded to an . authentic Exposition of the Opinions and Acts of the Democracy of Europe as such we do not impose any restraint on the utterance of opinion , and , therefore , hmit our own responsibility to the authenticity of the statement .
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THE CENTRAL DEMOCRATIC EUROPEAN COMMITTEE TO THE POLES . Poles , —You have nobly suffered ; you have bravely fought ; each man among you is a living incarnation of his country . Thinking of Poland , all Europe repeats the words addressed by a Pope to your ancestors— " Every handful of your earth is a relic of martyrs . " You are then worthy to hear the truth . We love you , and we feel ourselves worthy to speak it to you . You are called to conclude the European struggle , which your brothers of the south and of the centre will begin . The last battle between absolutism and liberty ma ) - perhaps be fought upon your plains ; your war-cry then must be the formula of life for the Sclavonian people . You have great duties to accomplish ; your People has always had the presentiment of them , and for that reason , come what may , you are and always will be a nation . And yet you did not in I « 48 , respond , with the energy of which you are capable , to the appeal of the Peoples . Wherefore ? Because since 1846 you have been wanting in unitary organization . Thought has progressed witli you ; action has lost its continuity and strength . It might be said that you , the descendants of ancestors who listened to the Gospel sword in hand , have voluntarily ceased to bear witness to your national faith ; and that you await the resurrection of your country and liberty from the slow course , of things , or the convulsions of the West .
Undeceive yourselves ; country and liberty will be restored to you , only as you are ready to sacrifice yourselves for them ; for , if the general laws of humanity point out to us the end , it is our duty as apostles , combatants , martyrs if need be , to attain it . Doubtless your brothers of the othe European countries can do much for you ; they
will not forget that your breasts were their bulwark against Mahometanism . But , above all , it is necessary that the conscience of the Polish People should be ready to affirm aloud and unceasingly , the right that Poland has to exist , and right , remember , is only made manifest by ( he accomplishment of u duty ; life is not thought , it is thought reduced to action . Awake , then , and act !
There were those who exclaimed to you in 1 B 4 H , pointing to Ikrlin and Vienna in revolt— " All is done , liberty will come to you from on high , without effort , without battles . " But . have you not too surely learned , that against despots liberty can only triumph by force ; that nationality cannot be recovered by concession , but must , reconquer its existence for itself ? Yes , we know it ; Vienna and Berlin will rise again ; but it is not by sending them deputations from your national committees , it is not by demanding from them reforms that
you will recover your country ; you can do it by ransoming it with your lives , in responding to the movements of Vienna and Merlin by a sudden outburst ; in throwing yourselves between the nations and the Kings as the reserve of the Ktiropcnu democratic army ; in drawing the sword fort . hr new ( Gospel of humanity , "for our liberty and for yours . " These noble words , addressed by yoti to the Russians in ln : io , must be repeated in the thick of the combat to all the Peoples of tin ; crusade .
I o all , —Sclavonians , Latins , ( aermanti , for the question is no longer one of a particular interest , but of a principle , —we would almost , nay of a dogma , of the dogma of human solidarity , your nationality will only revive with all the . rest of the oppressed nationalities . The old map of I'lmoju ; yet bears the ink-slain of Catherine : t / ii « map must be remade . An alliance of Kin ^ s 1 ms consigned Poland 10 the grave : an a / Jiance ot Peoples alone can break open its tomb .
The spirit of weariness and inertia- the spirit of individualism and iui . strn . st ,- these are the two vices wliie . h you must labour to destroy . Created by your aristocracy , tlwy have been the ci \ u « c of
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OPERAS AND THEATRES . When a horse has for some wcekH been " out to Kraaa , " you can imagine the dumb inarticulate dis-KU 8 t with which he once more boww his neck to the collar , once more " gees up " to the inspiring voice 01 ma master ; yet in a few minutes his blood Warms > and be is an gay and active under the yoke » ever l Something of that feeling wuh mine when lound inyaelf again in the wurui atmosphere of < uerpe . I went grumbling ; in a few minutes old mm * wawertea their empire j « nd J actually
caught myself shouting " brava " with remarkable purity of accent . Nevertheless , a few lines must serve to chronicle the musical events . Nothing short of a column would suffice for L'Elisir d'Amore if Viardot ' s delightful comedy , and Ronconi ' s irresistible drollery were to be characterised ; and poor Signor Ciaffei was too completely extinguished ( or as the Italians say , "he made a bottle " ) to need columnar pillory . Then the Linda di Chamouni as performed at her Majesty ' s drove me away after the first act , so that I cannot be discursive upon it . In passing
I would say , however , that Mane Cruvelli earned the distinction of being the worst Pierottoever heard in England ^ and that her sister Sophie showed more ambition than self-knowledge in attempting Linda , through which she screamed and scowled as usual , and drove me , as I said , from the theatre . If that be her conception of the lively village maiden , I can compliment her on its perfect originality . From JAnda I turned into Covent Garden , and saw a part of Semiramide . That was singing . Giulia Grisi does not slur her notes ; she does not find it necessary
to scream her effects ; would it be possible for Cruvelli to learn a little moderation from la Diva ? With so fine a voice , so young , so ambitious , so energetic , it is grievous to see her losing ground every day by inattention to the fact that Singing- is the primary condition of lyrical success . Alboni is an incomparable study for her in this respect . On Thursday that exquisite singer played Ninetta in La Gazza Ladra ; but I reserve criticism till next week , when a comparison with Covent Garden can be made .
Rachel has closed the longest engagement she ever had in England ; and the public ought not to forget that Mr . Mitchell fulfilled all the liberal promises of his programme , and produced the pieces he had named . In the present day , this fidelity to promises is really a trait to be noted , so shamelessly do other managers violate their word . Having said so much , and having been greatly indebted to Mr . Mitchell for the intense dramatic pleasure afforded me , I must still say that , in contradiction to the Times , I see very decided falling off in Rachel ' s personations of classical tragedy—her readings are often new , but frequently not intelligent , and always inferior to what she formerly
gave . Her elocution is singularly deteriorated , not unfrequently sinking into a rapid gabble , as unintelligent as it is unintelligible ; and the cadenced rhythm of those verses which require such art to deliver , and which she can deliver so exquisitely , became often destroyed by her hurry to reach a " point . " I note these drawbacks , but I am not the less susceptible to the charm and fascination of her acting . She is what she must always be , an incomparable actress , an actress of genius . Her grace is ideal ; her grandeur imperial ; her scorn withering ; her vehemence irresistible . Were her defects hundredfold greater , I should still rush to see her as a rare and accomplished Artist !
Drary Lane has opened its doors once more . American and French Horsemanship display attractions " on the boards which Garrick , Kemble , Kean have trod "—but , after having been trodden by Mr . Anderson and his company , I really do not see how Legitimacy can feel insulted . The philosophic barber in Dickens , refused to shave a dustman , " We must draw the line somewhere , " says he , " and we draws it at bakers . " Is the Drama equally nice and discriminating ? The public were supremely indifferent to the attractions of the legitimate troupe , and they rush to see the horses
Mrs . Warner is playing a farewell engagement at Sadler ' s Wells , before going to America . She is a great favourite , and , in certain characters , may be said to be the only accepted actress on our stage . Vivian .
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Aug . % 1851 . ] fc | j * $ Uafcet \ 735
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Enoi . jini ) and tiik P 011 : ( G iikuoiiy ) . —The Tope instead of attending to the welfare of the unfortunate people who « n ho governs , and saving his country from the reproach of being the worst governed state in Europe is putting up prayers to Ileuven Air the conversion of England ! He might us well come to London , and try to convert Mr . Cobdcm to the corn-laws , or the railway companion to the old roads . About eighty years ago u Scotsman went to ltomo for the purpose of convening the Pope . The Scotsman was not content with prayinir He boldly entered St . Peter ' s ut high maw , and addictwed his holiness , in a loud voice , by the title of a certain lady who lives not u hundred miles from Uabylon The Pope who at that time , luckily for the Scotsman , happened to be a sensible man ( Uanganelli ) , was advised to Bend him to tho galleys ; but he answered , that flic galleys were but a sorry place to teach people " good breeding ; BO he put the honest fanatic into a ship , and ¦ enthtm homo again to Scotland . —Leigh JUmt ' i Table
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 2, 1851, page 735, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1894/page/19/
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