New-York tribune., 1841-05-06
SHAKESPEARE.
GLAvcuS
BYT HoxAs cARLYLE.
ON his Third Lecture on Heroes aud Hero.W eSsalP

BODY unsteady the Fsigon OF the Middle ages te i'
gon of our Modern Europe Inner Life 50 ShakPeaFe
we may say enbodes for US the Outer Life OF OAR Europe
as dev.oped them chivalries, courtes-s hunos ano
tons what practical way OF thinking acting LOOKING d. '
world rncnshen had AZ in Homer we may sun co-rue
Old Greece in Shakespeare. and Dan:- after thousands u
wears wla, our Modern Europe Faith and PTactce
will still be egibe Dante has gwen Us the RUN or SOUL
Shakespeare less noble way, mas gwen Us the ractce
OF BODY This latter also were 20 nave man was se
f il The nan Shakespeare. ust when that ci'airy-"dy %
life had reached m last fnh and the point OF break
ing down into swift ii,souton Eo" see ever!
where this other sovereign Poet with ms seeing eew.ih
his pecIia suging-vn!cc was sc TO aA note OF H. TO l'c
isngenduDg record Of 1t. Two IL men: Dante deep ec
a, the central Of the world Shakespeare, WIDE placid
far-sceng the Sua the upper light OF the world Itay
produced the worldyoce English had the honor Of
producing the other.
Curious enough how By accident: this man
came TO think aiwavs. great quiet. complete ana
se-sufcng tins Shakespeare mad the Squire
not prosecuted him Tor deei-s;ea.ng we had perhaps
never heard of him Poet nc woods and skies the
rustic Life Man in Sirntod there had bsen enough for
this man But indeed that outbudding OF our whole
English Existence which we cal! the khAapehan Era diS rel
it come of it, accord? ne Tree lsdrassl buds ana
;,hc-s by l own awsteo deep for scanning let II
does bud ard whc and boug and Leaf OF 1t there
bv fixed eternal laws Sir Thomas Lucy but comes at
the hour fit for him. Curious say and not sua"'entiH
considered how every thing docs cooperate With ALL not
l.f rotnc on the highway but indssoUbc portion Il
lar and stellar thought word or act OF man but
has sprung wit of al mcn and works sooner OF later
recornzab irfecognizably oil men 1t Is a Tree:
circulation of sap and influences. mutual communication ci
every ninutcst leaf with the lowest talon OF with
cvery other greatest and mnucst portion OF the whole
The Tree Igdrls that has It's down IN the Kingdoms
of Hca and Death. and whose bougs overread the hiS
es. Heaven
In some sense it be said ta, this glorious Eizabcha
Era with its Shakespeare the and oweragc OF all
which mad preceded H. i,Fcf attributable To the Caho
csm of the Middle Ages The Christian Faith, whcl
the theme of Danes Song, ha produced THIS Practical Life
which Shakespeare sing. For RelSlos then. as
now and always Is the s0ui c. Practice: the primary
vital fact in mems life And remark here rather curious,
that MddeAge Catholicism abolished so tar az Acts
OF Parliament could abolish it, before Shakespeare the nobest
product of il made his appearance. He did make his APP
pearancc nevertheless Nature in her own time with Ca
thoicism or what else might be necessary. him forth
taking small thought of Acts Of Parliament Hing icnrs.
Queen Ezabclh go their way; an! Nature hers.
Acts of Parliament the whole small. notwithstanding
the noise thcy make What Act Of Parliament debate al
ST. Stephens, the hu;tiugs elsewhere, il that
brought this Shakespeare into notice No dining freema
sons Tavern, opening subscrptions selling Of shares,
and infinite other angng and true false cndcavCring -
This Elzabc,han Era. and all uobeness aud Dcssedncss
came without prociamaton preparation Of Priceless
Shakespeare the free gift of Nature given altogether
lcntly received altogether silently il had been thing
of little And Yet, very literally, it priceless
thing One should look that side Of matters too.
OF this Shakespeare OF ours perhaps the opinion
times hears little idolarousv expressed is fact. the right
think the best judgement OF this country only, bat
vi Europe at large Is slowly pointing tEe conclusion that
Shakespeare the chief OF al Poets hhero the
intellect who recorded world has Lett record OF him
self in the way of Literature On the whole, know
such power Of vision faculty OF thought II we take all the
characters OF it, in any other man Such calmncsS OF
depth placid JOYOUS strength all things imagined IN that
great soul OF ms aud clear a IN aaiqu uniahom
able sea Ii has been said, that III the construction of ShaA
pcarcs Dramas there Is apart from all other faculties
they called understanding manifested. equal Ia tina; IN
Bacons Ncrum Organ,1n. Tha, i ana ii
truth ha strikes every one would become appa-
1t we tried. any or himself how out OF Slaks-
pearcs dramatic materials could fashion such result
The built house all 50 FL every way aS II should be-
lift there by law and the nature q! things
forget the rude dorderiy quarry thai shaped from
The very perfection OF the house If Nature herself had
made it. hides the builders Perfect. perfect
than other may call Shakespeare this: he dis
Germs knows by instinct; what condition he works under
whist his materials what his force and relation
IL them IL uausiiory glance insight tina; WI
suffice; il Is deliberate illumination 81 the whole matter
is calmly seeing eye great intellect, short. How
man. OF some wide thing that he has Witnessed Will
narrative. what Aicd OF picture and dencAon be
will give of its the best YOU could &c, Nh.
intclcct is The Which circumstance VITAL and
shall stand pronucnt which Uaessclal be suppress
ed where the beginning, the sequence ard end
ing To ind tins, YOU task the whole force OF insight
that in the lie understand the thing accord
Ing the depth OF hi understanding VIII the fitness OF h
answer be- You will him 50 Does ike JON iisel. to
like; the spirit OF metsod ,ha, cculsion 80 that
embodiment becomes order Can the man Fat mr.,
and OF chaos make world Precisely there ljsh.
in himself VIII he accomplish this.
Or indeed may say again what called Portrait
painting, dcneang and things especially men that
Shakespeare is great. All the greatness the
out dccisvely here, !; IS uaeNarPlcd / ::.iak as cau
creative Per.picaclty Of Shakespeare The ung he iooas
reveals not this that o; Il but w limos; er an
generic secret; II dsolves itse: light before him,
SO that he d'Sosrs the perfect ii; Creative
said poetic creation" What this bat seeing the ;hnc
sufficiently The word that VIII describe the thing follows
of itself, from such ceay intense sight Of the thing AID
not Shakespeare morality his 'a'or condo tolerance truth
funes>: his whole victorious strength and greatness which
triumph over such o5>truc;ioas, visible eee 700
Great the world No twisted, poor conveN-co.ce mn;
rejecting all objects with its convcxitics and con-
cavities: perfectly level mror:-ih 10 saw wita #
viii understand it, justly related al things and
men, good 1t ;ray lo.diy spectacle how tn,
great soul takes in ali knds OF and objects Fais,a
othelo, juliet Corcanps them all forth to t.,
in their round completeness loving just. ;hc equal brother
of all Norr Orgaaaf and all the intellect you vii fud
in Bacon. Is OF quite secondary order car:hy material
poor comparison with this Among rnosera men one
finds. IN scHe>s, anos; nothing tie same k Goethe