The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-04-25

avelle,'' Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'
and Les Fourberies de Scapin' (the
Rogueries of Scapin) are examples.
Only the narrow-minded or the pruri-
ent can discover dislike of true religion
in Tartuffe," or immorality-that is,
the intention tes be immoral-in any
other of the comedies. Shakespeare as
poet is as UNNECESSARILY above Mo
Iere as he is above Corneille and Ra-
cine. But as a writer of delicate COM
edy, of manners and character skill
fully arranged, MOHere is beyond all
writer's, including even the author of
Much Ado About Nothing" and LOpe
de Vega himself
In 1862, the year after the perform
ance of ''The School for Husbands, -
Moliere married Mile. Beiart. On Feb.
II, 1873, while acting in lie Mala@ee
Imaginaire," he was taken ILL He hid
his illness from the audience; death
was near; hemOrrhage could not be
stopped, and, that night he died.
The most brilliant of the contempt
raries Of MOliere We're Pierre COrneille
and Jean Racine. They were not great
in comedy-though Racine wrote a
clever comic play. Les Plaideurs''
(The Pleaders). They remain, however,
the greatest of French writers of trag-
sufficient to make literary epoch. The
greatest dramas4Of COrneilIe are THE
Cid' Q63O, suggested by and partly
borrowed from the Spanish of De Cas-
trO; "Horatii" (''Les HOraceS''), pro-
duced in 1899: 9"Cinna," his master
piece, according TO the French, and
"Polyeucte'' (164O). The lesser works
ara 'Rodogune. - THE Death of Pom
pey," ''NicOmede," Don Sanche, -
"Sertorious." "Otho'' and ''Heraclius .
Corneille made comedy possible in
France and revived tragedy. It has
been truly said of this imitator of Ro-
man writer's of tragedy that his he
rOeS are all demi- gods and his hero
ines. except Chimene and Pauline, all
men,
Corneille and Racine were rivals
Henrietta of England asked them to
write "Berenice." Racine carried off
the palm. Corneille was Roman. Ra-
cine Greek. Their genius was SO diff
ferent that each must be judged by
himself. Racine touches the heart: he
does not. like COrneille. keep US above
the ordinary feelings of humanity His
''Andromaque" 0665) made an epoch
as The Cid' had done. In 'Britanni-
Gus" Racine is strong in the Greek
sense revealing great psychological
strength without physical realism. He
takes US to the court of Nero, but he
avoids the horrors which the Latin
historian SuetOriuS and the modern rO-
nancer SienkieWicZ have inflicted on
US. In 'BaJaZet'' he parted for q. time
from his Greeks to return TO the Ro-
mans in "Mithridatus. In 'Iphigenia
in Aulis" Qphigerie in Aulide) and
'Phaedro (Phedre) he reached his most
glorious height.
reign OF Louis XIV, and then even
great poets bloomed or dropped in the
smile or frOwn Of the king. The king,
led by cahal against Racine, frowned,
and the poet gave up the stage, retir-
ing to the society of his wife and chill
dFen. But Nine de Maintenon, the
kings wife, wanted a play in which
love should have no part, for the
young ladies of her school at st. Cyr.
On request. Racine wrote his great
pieces Esther and ''Athalie," both
suggested by the Old Testament. "Ath
ale was founded on Ton" a tragedy
of Euripides; but when Racine Dor
rowed he returned the loan with more
than compound interest to humanity.
Regarding the effect Of the perform
ance OF Esther" at st. Cyr, the charm
ing Nine. de Sevigne says, in letter
20 her daughter, written on Feb. q,
1889:
I cannot tell you the extrelSe beauty
of this piece. 1t is a performance not
easy to represent and is ininitable. 1t
IS the union of music, poetry, singing
and character so perfect and complete
that there is nothing we wish to alter.
The young ladies' who represent kings
and great Ders0nag es seemed to be
born for it. Everything is simple, in
nocent. sublime and affecting. l." con-
tlnues Nine, de Sevigne, was delighted
and so was the Marshal de BellefOnd,
VINO left his seat to tell the king how
glad he was to have place near a
lady SC worthy Of seeing Esther. The
KING approached our seat. and, having
turned round, addressed himself to me.
l am told madame, that the piece has
pleased YOU 1 answered with perfect
seif-possession: Sire, 1 am delighted;
what l feel is beyond the power of
words to describe The king eontin-
ued; Racine has great talents Sire,
ne mas indeed, and SO have these young
persons. They enter into the matter
as if it We're the sole employment
An: that is very true he rejoined.
Ana then he retired. leaving me the
oplect} or universal envy"
me great Louis had sDoken-for In
that golden age kings were more than
men Of genius; but now We remember
the sun king principally because the