第23章

ButifLessing’stheologymustbeconsideredimperfect，itisnonethelessadmirableasfarasitgoes。Withitspeculiardoctrinesofloveandfaith，itteachesamoralityfarhigherthananythatPuritanismeverdreamedof。Andwithitstheoryofdevelopmentitcutsawayeverypossiblelogicalbasisforintolerance。ItisthistheologytowhichLessinghasgivenconcreteexpressioninhisimmortalpoemof“Nathan。“ Thecentralideaof“Nathan“wassuggestedtoLessingbyBoccaccio’sstoryof“TheThreeRings，“whichissupposedtohavehadaJewishorigin。Saladin，pretendingtobeinspiredbyasudden，imperiouswhim，suchasis“notunbecominginaSultan，“ demandsthatNathanshallanswerhimonthespurofthemomentwhichofthethreegreatreligionsthenknown——Judaism，Mohammedanism，Christianity——isadjudgedbyreasontobethetrueone。Foramomentthephilosopherisinaquandary。Ifhedoesnotpronounceinfavourofhisownreligion，Judaism，hestultifieshimself；butifhedoesnotawardtheprecedencetoMohammedanism，hewillapparentlyinsulthissovereign。WithtrueOrientaltactheescapesfromthedilemmabymeansofaparable。 Therewasonceaman，saysNathan，whopossessedaringofinestimablevalue。Notonlywasthestonewhichitcontainedincomparablyfine，butitpossessedthemarvellouspropertyofrenderingitsowneragreeablebothtoGodandtomen。Theoldmanbequeathedthisringtothatoneofhissonswhomhelovedthemost；andtheson，inturn，madeasimilardispositionofit。Sothat，passingfromhandtohand，theringfinallycameintothepossessionofafatherwholovedhisthreesonsequallywell。 Untowhichoneshouldheleaveit？Togetridoftheperplexity，hehadtwootherringsmadebyajeweller，exactlyliketheoriginal，andtoeachofhisthreesonshebequeathedone。Eachthenthinkingthathehadobtainedthetruetalisman，theybeganviolentlytoquarrel，andafterlongcontentionagreedtocarrytheirdisputebeforethejudge。Butthejudgesaid:“Quarrelsomefellows！Youareallthreeofyoucheatedcheats。Yourthreeringsarealikecounterfeit。Forthegenuineringislost，andtoconcealtheloss，yourfatherhadmadethesethreesubstitutes。“ AtthisunexpecteddenouementtheSultanbreaksoutinexclamationsofdelight；anditisinterestingtolearnthatwhentheplaywasbroughtuponthestageatConstantinopleafewyearsago，theTurkishaudiencewassimilarlyaffected。Thereisinthestorythatquiet，stealthyhumourwhichischaracteristicofmanymediaevalapologues，andinwhichLessinghimselflovedtodeal。 Itishumourofthekindwhichhitsthemark，andrevealsthetruth。Inanoteuponthispassage，Lessinghimselfsaid:“TheopinionofNathanuponallpositivereligionshasforalongtimebeenmyown。“LethimwhohasthegenuineringshowitbymakinghimselflovedofGodandman。Thisisthecentralideaofthepoem。Itiswhollyunliketheiconoclasmofthedeists，and，comingintheeighteenthcentury，itwaslikeaveritableevangel。 “Nathan“wasnotbroughtoutuntilthreeyearsafterLessing’sdeath，anditkeptpossessionofthestageforbutashorttime。 Inadramaticpointofview，ithashardlyanymerits。Whateverplotthereisinitisweakandimprobable。ThedecisiveincidentsseemtobebroughtinlikethedeusexmachinaofthelaterGreekdrama。Thereisnomovement，noaction，nodevelopment。Thecharactersarepoeticallybutnotdramaticallyconceived。Consideredasatragedy，“Nathan“wouldbeweak； consideredasacomedy，itwouldbeheavy。Withfullknowledgeofthesecircumstances，Lessingcalleditnotadrama，butadramaticpoem；andhemighthavecalleditstillmoreaccuratelyadidacticpoem，fortheonlyfeaturewhichithasincommonwiththedramaisthatthepersonagesusetheoratiodirecta。 “Nathan“isadidacticpoem:itisnotamerephilosophictreatisewritteninverse，likethefragmentsofXenophanes。Itslessonsareconveyedconcretelyandnotabstractly；anditscharactersarenotmerelayfigures，butlivingpoeticalconceptions。ConsideredasapoemamongclassicGermanpoems，itmustranknextto，thoughimmeasurablybelow，Goethe’s“Faust。“ Therearetwocontrastedkindsofgenius，thepoeticalandthephilosophical；or，tospeakyetmoregenerally，theartisticandthecritical。Theformerisdistinguishedbyaconcrete，thelatterbyanabstract，imagination。Theformerseesthingssynthetically，inalltheirnaturalcomplexity；thelatterpullsthingstopiecesanalytically，andscrutinizestheirrelations。 Theformerseesatreeinallitsglory，wherethelatterseesanexogenwithapairofcotyledons。Theformerseeswholes，wherethelatterseesaggregates。 Correspondingwiththesetwokindsofgeniustherearetwoclassesofartisticproductions。Whenthecriticalgeniuswritesapoemoranovel，heconstructshisplotandhischaractersinconformitytosomeprearrangedtheory，orwithaviewtoillustratesomefavouritedoctrine。Whenhepaintsapicture，hefirstthinkshowcertainpersonswouldlookundercertaingivencircumstances，andpaintsthemaccordingly。Whenhewritesapieceofmusic，hefirstdecidesthatthisphraseexpressesjoy，andthatphrasedisappointment，andtheotherphrasedisgust，andhecomposesaccordingly。Wethereforesayordinarilythathedoesnotcreate，butonlyconstructsandcombines。Itisfardifferentwiththeartisticgenius，who，withoutstoppingtothink，seesthepictureandhearsthesymphonywiththeeyesandearsofimagination，andpaintsandplaysmerelywhathehasseenandheard。WhenDante，inimagination，arrivedatthelowestcircleofhell，wheretraitorslikeJudasandBrutusarepunished，hecameuponaterriblefrozenlake，which，hesays，—— “Evermakesmeshudderatthesightoffrozenpools。“ IhavealwaysconsideredthislineamarvellousinstanceoftheintensityofDante’simagination。Itshows，too，howDantecomposedhispoem。Hedidnottakecounselofhimselfandsay: “Goto，letusdescribethetraitorsfrozenuptotheirnecksinadismallake，forthatwillbemostterrible。“Butthepictureofthelake，inallitsiciness，withthehaggardfacesstaringoutfromitsglassycrust，cameunbiddenbeforehismindwithsuchintenserealitythat，fortherestofhislife，hecouldnotlookatafrozenpoolwithoutashudderofhorror。Hedescribeditexactlyashesawit；andhisdescriptionmakesusshudderwhoreaditafterallthecenturiesthathaveintervened。SoMichaelAngelo，akindredgenius，didnotkeepcuttingandchippingaway，thinkinghowMosesoughttolook，andwhatsortofanoseheoughttohave，andinwhatpositionhisheadmightbestrestuponhisshoulders。But，helookedattherectangularblockofCarraramarble，andbeholdingMosesgrandandlifelikewithinit，knockedawaytheenvironingstone，thatothersalsomightseethemightyfigure。AndsoBeethoven，anartistofthesamecolossalorder，wroteoutforusthosemysteriousharmonieswhichhisearhadforthefirsttimeheard；andwhich，inhismournfuloldage，itheardnonethelessplainlybecauseofitscompletephysicaldeafness。AndinthiswayShakespearewrotehis“Othello“； spinningoutnoabstractthoughtsaboutjealousyanditsfearfuleffectsuponaproudandardentnature，butrevealingtousthelivingconcreteman，ashisimperialimaginationhadspontaneouslyfashionedhim。 Modernpsychologyhasdemonstratedthatthisisthewayinwhichthecreativeartisticimaginationproceeds。Ithasprovedthatavastportionofallourthinkinggoesonunconsciously；andthattheresultsmayariseintoconsciousnesspiecemealandgradually，checkingeachotherastheycome；orthattheymaycomeallatonce，withallthecompletenessanddefinitenessofperceptionspresentedfromwithout。Theformeristhecasewiththecritical，andthelatterwiththeartisticintellect。Andthiswerecognizeimperfectlywhenwetalkofageniusbeing“inspired。“Allofusprobablyhavethesetwokindsofimaginationtoacertainextent。 ItisonlygiventoafewsupremelyendowedpersonslikeGoethetopossessthembothtoaneminentdegree。Perhapsofnoothermancanitbesaidthathewasapoetofthefirstorder，andasgreatacriticaspoet。 Itisthereforeapttobeabarrencriticismwhichstudiestheworksofcreativegeniusesinordertoascertainwhattheoryliesbeneaththem。Howmanysystemsofphilosophy，howmanysubtlespeculations，havewenotseenfathereduponDante，Cervantes，Shakespeare，andGoethe！Yettheirworksare，inacertainsense，greaterthananysystems。Theypartakeoftheinfinitecomplexityandvarietyofnature，andnomorethannatureitselfcantheybenarroweddowntothelimitsofapreciseformula。 Lessingwaswonttodisclaimthetitleofpoet；but，asGoethesaid，hisimmortalworksrefutehim。Hehadnotonlypoetical，butdramaticgenius；andhis“EmiliaGalotti“haskeptthestageuntilto-day。Nevertheless，heknewwellwhathemeantwhenhesaidthathewasmoreofacriticthanapoet。Hisgeniuswasmainlyofthecriticalorder；andhisgreatwork，“NathantheWise，“wascertainlyconstructedratherthancreated。Itwasintendedtoconveyadoctrine，andwascarefullyshapedforthepurpose。Andwhenwehavepronounceditthegreatestofallpoemsthathavebeenwrittenforasetpurpose，andadmitofbeingexpressedinadefiniteformula，wehaveclassifieditwithsufficientaccuracy。 Forananalysisofthecharactersinthepoem，nothingcanbebetterthantheessaybyKunoFischer，appendedtothepresentvolume。Theworkoftranslationhasbeenadmirablydone；andthanksareduetoMissFrothinghamforherreproductionofthisbeautifulpoem。 HistoricalDifficultiesandContestedEvents。ByOctaveDelepierre，LL。D。，F。S。A。，SecretaryofLegationtotheKingoftheBelgians。8vo。London:Murray。 History，saysSainte-Beuve，isingreatpartasetoffableswhichpeopleagreetobelievein。And，onreadingbookslikethepresent，onecertainlyneedsagooddealofthatdisciplineacquiredbylongfamiliaritywithvexedhistoricalquestions，inordertocheckthedispositiontoacceptthegreatcritic’sironicalremarkinsoberearnest。Muchofwhatiscurrentlyaccreditedasauthentichistoryisinfactamixtureofflatteryandcalumny，mythandfable。Yetinthissetoffables，whatevermayhavebeenthecaseinpasttimes，peoplewillnolongeragreetobelieve。Duringthepresentcenturythecriticismofrecordedeventshasgonefartowardassumingthedevelopedandsystematizedaspectofascience，andcanonsofbeliefhavebeenestablished。whichitisnotsafetodisregard。Greatoccurrences，suchastheTrojanWarandtheSiegeofThebes，notlongagofaithfullydescribedbyallhistoriansofGreece，havebeenfoundtobepartofthecommonmythicalheritageoftheAryannations。AchilleusandHelena，OidipousandIokasta，OinoneandParis，havebeendiscoveredinIndiaandagaininScandinavia，andsoon，untiltheirnonentityhasbecomethelegitimateinferencefromtheirveryubiquity。LegislatorslikeRomulusandNuma，inventorslikeKadmos，haveevaporatedintoetymologies。Wholelegionsofheroes，dynastiesofkings，andadulteressesasmanyasDantesawborneonthewhirlwind，havevanishedfromthefaceofhistory，andterriblehasbeenthehavocintheopeningpagesofourchronologicaltables。Norisitprimitivehistoryalonewhichhasbeenthusmetamorphosed。 Charactersundulyexaltedordefamedbypartyspiritaredailybeingsetbeforeusintheirtrue，oratleastinatruer，light。