New-York tribune., 1920-02-23
Books

II Bernard Shaw had undertaken to
set forth his theories Of life and pol:-
tics without recourse to paradox OF
plays or wit or personal advertising
it is entirely possible that he would
havc made dead set for oblivion. But
Mr.. Shaw did not purpose to have any
body discover him one hundred years
after his death and say, "Here was n
neglected genius" He has been will
ing at any time during the last forty
years to beat a drum, or even turn
somersault or so, if thereby he could
seducc certain number from the un-
thinking multitude to stop a while and
listen to what he had to say. We
think it was a wise choice. And yet
he has had to pay the penalty. There are
people to-day who read the sanest and
shrewdest comments of Shaw and
thererpon throw back their heads and
exclalm as soon as their laughter
subsidies, "Isn't he amusing!"
He has suffered from this handicap
particularly in his plays. Only few
people have been willing to accept the
fact that "Androcles and the Lion" is
more searching and inspired discus
sion Of the fundamentals of Christian
ity than "The Wanderer," or "The
Light of the World" in spite of the
fact that none of the characters is
followed about the stage by white
spotlight In fact, audiences in gen
eral believe that anything which is
said In comedy must of necessity be
trivial and that a tragedy must on the
contrary be an important study of life,
no matter how dreary it may be. In
Synge's beautiful tragedy "Riders to
the Sea" there was fine expression of
the peace which comes from completed
misfortune and it received due critical
appreciation. We wonder whether many
Will recognize that Shaw has said the
same thing even better in his fantastic
play "Heartbreak House," in which
may be found:
ELLIE Gin a strangely calm voice,
staring into an imaginary distance)-
His heart is breaking; that is all.
. 1t is a curious sensation; the
sort of pain that goes mercifully be-
yond our powers Of feeling. When
your heart Is broken, your boats are
burned, nothing matters any more. 1t
is the end of happiness and the be-
ginning Of peace"
John Maynard Keynes and George
Jean Nathan and H. L. Mencken, work.
ing In far removed lands and environ
ments, have arrived at a singularly
similar Interpretation of the character
of President Wilson. In his 9Th.
Economic Consequences of Peace"
(Harcourt, Brace g. Howe). Mr..
Keynes, after deciding that the Presi-
dent was neither scholar nor philoso-
pher and asking himself, "What, then.
was his temperament" continues with
tho following paragraph:
"The clew once found was illumi-
mating. The President was like a non-
conformlst minister, perhaps a Presby-
terian. His thought and his tempera-
ment were ESSENTIALLY theological, not
intellectual, with all the strength and
the weakness of that manner of
thought. feeling, and expression"
In "The American Credo" (Knopf)
Mencken and Nathan write:
And so, again, when what is called
liberal opinion began to revolt against
tho foreign politics of DR.. Wilson, and
IN particular against his apparent re-
pudiation of his most solemn engage
ments and his complete insensibility.
IN the presence Of moral passion. to
the most elementary principles Of pri-
vate and public honor, thousand
critics, friendly and unfriendly, sought
TO account for his amazing shifts
ana evasions on unintelligibls logical
grounds. but. no one. so far a. we
know. ventured to point out that his
course could DO accounted for In every