The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1908-11-27

provinces. He combines an oriental
barbarlans dreams Of splendor with
the ambitions aud tastes of a Roman
emperor. Remorse for one fatal deed,
the beginning Of much woe, ends eve
rythng. This crime was the killing
of Aristobulus, his wife Marianne r
brother who, being Of the line Of the
Maccabees, was by the will Of the peo-
pie installed high-priest Of the Jews.
Though Herod greatly loved Marianne
their mutual love is frequent theme
Of poetry yet fearing lest the Jews
should reject him and set up Aristo-
bulus as king in his stead, he has this
youth foully slain. This deed had for
lis effect the madness of Marianne,
aud the consequent remOrse and undo
ing Of Ierod; and that too, when, UNI
der the favor Of imperial Rome. he
seemed in the way Of surprising all
the kings Of the East in the splendor
oi great dtultN tutil7.
The law Of tragedy was fulfilled, for
retribution was at hand. Tragedy,
said Aristotle, excites the emotion of
pity and fear, and purges or puriies
the mind. "Herodn moves the reader
or nearer to the limit Of these emo
tons as the mighty but evil-minded
king is driven ON, by the logic of his
deeds and character, 10 his inevitable
doom, through murder, remorse, and
the loss Of all he prizes most. After
his first great crime, the killing Of
Aristobulus, he thus speaks:
Dimly dread lest having struck this
blow
OF my free will, by this very act
Have signed and pledged me To a sec
Ond blow
Against my will. What if the powers
permit
The doing Of that deed which serves
us now;
Then of that very deed DO make spur |
To drive us 10 some act that We alb |
hOl?
The first step is with us, then all the
road
The long road is with Fate.
The similar speech Of Macbeth, Just
before killing Duncan, will be re-
called:
If it were done when It's done, then |
'twere we'll
1t were done quickly: if tn assassina-
ton
Could irammel up the consequence,
and catch,
With his surcease, success; that but
this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all
here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of
time, We'd jump the
We'd jump the life TO come. But i'm
these cases
We still have judgment here; that we
but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being
taught, return
To plague tn inyentOr-this overland
ed justice
commends tn ingredients Of our pois-
Oned chalice
To our own lips.
Here is the principle Of all tragedy,
and more than that, "A doctrine as wide
Is life itself Shakespeare and Phil
fps express through Macbeth and
lerod, the same great doctrine of ret
ibution and Nemesis. Another point
IF resemblance between the tragedy of
and the tragedy Of Herod
Will be observed: the same fates befell
lady Macbeth and Marianne. Her
IDS wife, the fate Of madness, worse
han death, causing greater agony to
heir ill-contriying husbands.
\ word about the author Stephen
'hllips is young English poet Of ex-
raordinary genius. lie has written
altogether the best poetry produced i'm
England since Tennyson and Brown
ny, with whom he easily ranks. Be
ldes "Herod' he has written some
our or five other plays, Ulysses, Pa
ia and Francesca, Nero, The Sin Of
David, ETC.; also two volumes Of lyric .
ma narrative poems. His plays are
ich in poetry, beautiful i'm language, y
'reat in thought, and impressive in =
Iramatic action. His themes are lofty ,
nd his handling Of them noble.
Herod' iia masterpiece Of dramatic
literature, simple in its large outlines.
lain in its motive and action, straight p
orward and logical in its develop
lent, powerful in its exhibition Of
'emesis. 1t follows the great classic ,
lodels from Aschylus 10 Shakes