The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1919-02-06
SLAVES OF CIRCUMSTANCES
BY DR.. FRANK CRANE

'ed""eHr ist' nv o FHAsS aAHr' ~~~~~~~~
>" lur nave only read about q hundred pages out OF The three
hundred Bn' sixty six Of James Branch Cabrls book Beyond LHc 20
u starts out htnmngly with q puncrng wit, a liberal splash OF book
larnIH and considerable ingenuity Of phrase making, but not without
ah idea or two which IS a rare thing among new books.
For one, he says When the Attic drama cnmc 10 fowcrauc the
actors were masked, so that their feature, might display uniunan
pcrfecuoni aud were mounted upon cothmni to lend rnprcssivcncss
10 man s physical mctlorrty; and were clothed ia diuperies which
philanthTopcaHy cclpsed humanity frugal braces. IN drama The.
SeuN dcclanmel IN imperial ycstncnts and in sculpture wore at the very
most a hgleaf
This seems to charge that the actor is a clothes wearing animal
Indeed most actors do devote an iuordinHte amount of time and
Thought aud money to the matter Of clothes personal aud professional.
But It Is not IT their private wardrobcs thar wish 10 speak.
" IA oi the Tact that the actor dixie W. all b. the victim Of his
success. His arr consists Ia creating an unreal world. and by aud by
he goes 10 live IN i. The creator of illusion, he becomes himself The
subject OF perpetual illusion.
ny which the physician puts ON in order to induce his patients to take
his medicine by and by becomes his daily habit. lie gets 50 that he il
stern aud imposing even in the bathtub.
The writing person who makes a living by the prccariouS pckings
of literature at last ceases 10 see human beings and landsrnrrs; every.
thing to HIM becomes copy nothing, not even himself, is real unless il
eau he written down aud be accepted by the editor
II n curious to observe how the man is slowly swallowed IN by
the labor OF ms hands and the workings Of his brain. His own on
spring devour him.
We are all slaves to our deeds There are no free souls except in
fiction or In heaven. Each one Of ~ Is set in his little cell and in course
Of time assumes the shape of the cell.
Our language Is not 81 much Nh. expression Of our sentiment as
the expression a. the sentiment of other people, mostly dead and gone.
We could not endure 10 90 about naked, not only ON account of
the climate aud oi the morahtic,, hut because the constant sight Of
our real selves would be- too much for m. We wear clothes for the
Same reason That we wcar second hand opinions, for our naked minds
would b" as shocking rs our nude bodies.
Those who call themselves cmancipatcd are themselves subject
10 ~ strict conventions as those at whom they rail. For long hair. a
Windsor tc aud irregular habits may become characteristics as fixed
rs a dress suit and the Ten commandments.
Harold Bell Wright ough, to bring CarlycS Sartor Rcsartus
down 10 date, PAT some pep into u, a couple of painting lovers. a missing
viii, and a kmfr tgut ou the cf, aud dress the book up with one Of
Miss McMcns saccharinc nappers On the cnvcr lfor nobody yyon't
read no book that ANT got no gMl ON The cover aud thus spread
among our democracy the Philosophy Of Clothes.
For what we do aud wear We become,