New-York tribune., 1922-12-17


70 a more thorough appreciation OF ulysses.
This nostalgia for the past is one Of the old
est OF failacies Even Aristotle was no
exempt from it; in his day the great glorici
a Athenian tragic and comic drama wor
slnl being acclaimed and produced, yet W.
find him lnmenting in the "Poctics' that th'
tseator is no longer what il used to be. tha
standards arc being trodden upon. that the
rabblc is being catered 10. and that he haie'
10 think what dramatic poetry was coming 20
II cane. eventually OF course. 20 hcnander
Anstippus and Philemon, and 20 the mines
OF Horondas and, finally 20 no Greek comedy
"a all. through a natural evolution, changes
in genres, and Enally through the break ~
Of Greek civilization: but in Aristotlc's tim'
there was much TO be thankful for. Thus
though. will il always be. and forty year.
hence. in their patriarehatc. perhaps Gilbert
Seldes will be signing for the days wher
James Joyce was writing fiction that didn't
hout all standards. and Scott Fitzgerald viii
be flooding his whiskers with tears Of sor
Tow over the decline OF morals since the
Jazz Age. Both prospects are not 30 Chi
merieal when one considers that not so lone
ago Richard lie Gallienne was traipsing tho
Strand in green yelyeteen jacket and eordu-
roy pants and as one Of the Roycrofter fras
at East Aurora. was defying the aeadcmieans
ana shocking the conservatives; and that now
he spends a great part Of his time declaring
that prose and poetry are going to the dogs
and that no one has any respect for stand
ards any more. Which brings me
around to my view Of the contemporary
Hamlet" have seen six or seven Of them;
and this. to my notion, is the best Of the lot.
Moreover. though be in a minority Of one,
Miss Rosalind Fuller put far less strain upon
my ereduity than has any Of the matronly
Ophelias before her; and the Polonus is the
only one Except for his mAke-up) have seen
and heard who fully realized this role Of the
is to be seen and not read. ! prefer il in the
profile Of Mr.. Barrymore
THURSDAY, DECEMBER
Gene saxton came to lunch end We sat with
GeeGrey Parsons and Franklin 7. Adams.
When Julian Mason came to the table Frank
had lost the dice for the three checks and he
and Julian rolled for the five lunches, Julian
losing and having TO pay $500. including a
piece Of pie Frank ordered after the game
was over. e.. In the composing room, until
late, making up the section. with Joe SERVANT
and gang OF slave drivers after me every
minute. Once home and in bed, read
Henri-Freleric Amiels Jean Jacques Rous-
seau," which has just been translated by Van
Wyek Brooks and published by b. w.
Huobseh. This is. think, the fairest, most
judicial piece OF critical writing I ever read.
1t Is without parii-pris or prejudice; il at
tempts to get at Rousseau from every pos
sible angle. to point out his every weakness
and every virtue, to see his personality in
the round and TO account for him and his in
fuenee dispassionately and effectively There
is nothing either cynical or sentimental,
clever or scntentiOus, superficial or prophetic
about Amiel's treatment; he does not set out
to ridicule, like Lytton Strachey, or TO moral
ize, like Paul Elmer More: he presents a full
length portrait Of an extraordinary man. with
great economy OF detail. Il is. indeed, almost
inhuman, this eritique, so lacking is Il in a
personal point Of view
FRIDAY, DECEMBER s
Went in party to Boston this afternoon
70 see Professor George Pierce Bakers Glass
q Workshop put on Roscoe w. Drinks play,
"Catskill Dutch to Her." an awkward title
for remarkably effective drama OF love in
religious minded, primitive American COM
munity. A eonsistOry meeting similar in
its religious emotonalism TO the released
soppressions and frenzies OF the Holy Rollers
brings the second act to n thrilling close.
The third act, even as played by amateurs,
Las impressive dramatic strength and beauty