The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-08
SUM M ER SCHOOL.
Professor Losey Gives Second Lecture
In Series on Shakespeare.

University, July T. (SpeciaL)-Prof.
Frederick D. Losey of the University of
Alabama delivered a scholarly address be-
fore the summer school yesterday morn
ing on Shakespeare as a Moral and Re-
ligious Teacher 1t was the second of
a series of lectures by Professor Losey,
which are running through the entire
week. The course 10 proving doubly at
tractive by reason of selected readings
given every afternoon by Professor Losey.
who is noted as an artist In interpreta-
tive and dramatic reading.
In his address Professor Losey discuss
ing the misinterpretation of Shakespeare
moral and religious views, said in part:
ITO the casual reader, Shakespeare as
a mine of morality in second only to
the Bible, and quoted with almost equal
reverence and Misrepresentation. Texts,
maxims. are taken from their settings
and made to serve a purpose for which
they were never intended. Shakespeare
is made to indorse In his own character
what he ascribes to the character of his
creation. Certain critics, reading with
their own moral bias, over-emphasize par
ticular incidents of the plot and lose the
significance Of the whole. A few squeam-
ish readers point to some of his indecencies
as immoral and would therefore condemn
the whole If they dared. But all such
judgments are beside the point. The fact
remains that no one has ever been able
to deduce from his plays his moral or re-
liSious system, nor can anyone with any
degree of certainty say what he believed
whether he was a Protestant or Cath
Ole, skeptic. an agnostic, an infidel, a
believer in Immortality, in a heaven, or in
a hell; whether he believed with Macbeth
that all our yesterdays have lighted fools
the way to dusty death; or with Hamlet
that to die is perchance to Dream or that
the soul is thing immortal. And yet,
though I am convinced that Shakespeare
wrote with no moral purpose; though he
did not attempt to regulate the religious
life of his time, still maintain that there
is a sense In which we are to regard him
as great moral and religious teacher
Morals and religion must be tested by
their adaptability to the needs of human
life. 1t Is because Shakespeare
has realized and voiced the experiences
of life more perfectly than any other I'M
inspired writer, that his work is Of pro-
found moral and religious significance.
The fact is that life is mys-
terry to Shakespeare as 1t Is to US. He
shows us the mystery, but when we ask
him to explain it to US he puts his finger
on his lips. He does not disregard half
truths, but he would not have us accept
them as never-failing principles of ife."
Professor Losey elaborated this con-
densed analysis of the moral philosophy
of Shakespeare. quoting effectively many
of the great passages from his plays.
Concluding he declared that all attempts
to find in Shakespeare support for relig
ious dogma must fail. He did not, how
ever, follow Professor Santayana Of Har-
ward to the extent of believing that the
Martians. while they would learn more
about the race of men on this earth from
Shakespeare than from any other source,
would yet never suspect from him that
mankind had religion. Mr.. Lossy be-
lieved that there could be formulated
from Shakespeare a fairly comprehensive
scheme of the Christian religion. One
speech in Shakespeare, the great speech of
King Claudius in Hamlet, touched upon
the great religious truths In connection
with sin, remorse, conscience, Gods
mercy, and Its relation In Gods Justice.
the principle of restitution. the inviolabil-
ity of Gods judgments, the worthlessness
of mere formal repentance, the office of
prayer, and the Limitations set even upon
Gods power to pardon.
Professor Losey concluded with mas
terly reading Of the great Claudius' soiil-
oquy.