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diff --git a/old/12200.txt b/old/12200.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..02ad4d9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12200.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17704 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Delsarte System of Oratory, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Delsarte System of Oratory + +Author: Various + +Release Date: April 29, 2004 [EBook #12200] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DELSARTE SYSTEM OF ORATORY *** + + + + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +DELSARTE SYSTEM OF ORATORY + + +1. The Complete Work of L'Abbe Delaumosne + +2. The Complete Work of Mme. Angelique Arnaud + +3. All the Literary Remains of Francois Delsarte + (Given in his own words) + +4. The Lecture and Lessons Given by Mme. Marie + Geraldy (Delsarte's Daughter) in America + +5. Articles by Alfred Giraudet, Francis A. Durivage, + and Hector Berlioz + + +Fourth Edition +New York +Edgar S. Werner +1893 + + + + +Copyright +By Edgar S. Werner +1882, 1884, 1887, 1892 + + + + +Contents. + + +Delaumosne On Delsarte. + +Biographical Sketch +Preface + + +Part First. + +Voice. + + +Chapter I. + + Preliminary Ideas--Criterion of the Oratorical Art. + +Chapter II. Of The Voice. + + Organic Apparatus of the Voice--The Voice in Relation to + Compass--The Voice in Relation to Vowels--Practical Conclusions + +Chapter III. The Voice in Relation to Intensity of Sound. + + What is Understood by Intensity of Sound--Means of Augmenting the + Timbre of the Voice--Rules for Intensity of Sound + +Chapter IV. + +The Voice in Relation to Measure. + + Of Slowness and Rapidity in Oratorical Delivery--Of Respiration and + Silence--Inflections--Rules of Inflection--Special Inflections + + +Part Second. + +Gesture. + + +Chapter I. Of Gesture in General + +Chapter II. Definition and Division of Gesture. + + Gesture is the Direct Agent of the Heart--Gesture is the Interpreter + of Speech--Gesture is an Elliptical Language + +Chapter III. Origin and Oratorical Value of Gesture + +Chapter IV. The Laws of Gesture. + + The Priority of Gesture to Speech--Retroaction--Opposition of + Agents--Number of Gestures--Duration of Gesture--The Rhythm of + Gesture--Importance of the Laws of Gesture + +Chapter V. Of Gesture in Particular. + + The Head--Movements of the head: The Normal State, The Eccentric + State, The Concentric State--Of the Eyes--Of the Eyebrows + +Chapter VI. Of The Torso. + + The Chest--The Shoulders. + +Chapter VII. Of The Limbs. + + The Arms--Inflections of the Forearm--Of the Elbow--Of the Wrist--Of + the Hand: The Digital Face, The Back Face, The Palmar Face--Of the + Fingers--Of the Legs. + +Chapter VIII. Of the Semeiotic, or the Reason of Gesture. + + The Types which Characterize Gesture--Of Gesture Relative to its + Modifying Apparatus + +Chapter IX. Of Gesture in Relation to the Figures Which Represent It. + + +Part Third. Articulate Language. + +Chapter I. Origin and Organic Apparatus of Language. + +Chapter II. Elements of Articulate Language. + +Chapter III. The Oratorical Value of Speech. + +Chapter IV. The Value of Words in Phrases. + + The Conjunction--The Interjection in Relation to its Degree of + Value--A Resume of the Degrees of Value + +Chapter V. French and Latin Prosody + +Chapter VI. Method. + + Dictation Exercises + +Chapter VII. A Series Of Gestures For Exercises. + + Preliminary Reflections--The Series of Gestures Applied to the + Sentiments Oftenest Expressed by the Orator: (1) Interpellation; (2) + Thanks, Affectionate and Ceremonious; (3) Attraction; (4) Surprise + and Assurance; (5) Devotion; (6) Interrogative Surprise; (7) + Reiterated Interrogation; (8) Anger; (9) Menace; (10) An Order for + Leaving; (11) Reiteration; (12) Fright--Important Remarks + + +Appendix + +Epilogue + + + +Arnaud On Delsarte. + + +Part Fourth. + + +Chapter I. The Bases of the Science + +Chapter II. The Method. + + Ellipsis--Shades and Inflections--Vocal Music--Respiration--Position + of the Tone--Preparation of the Initial Consonant--Exercises-- + Appoggiatura--Roulades and Martellato--Pronunciation--E mute before a + Consonant--E mute before a Vowel. + +Chapter III. Was Delsarte a Philosopher? + +Chapter IV. Course of Applied AEsthetics. + + Meeting of the Circle of Learned Societies--Theory of the Degrees. + +Chapter V. The Recitation of Fables. + +Chapter VI. The Law of AEsthetics. + +Chapter VII. The Elements of Art. + + The True. The Good. The Beautiful. + +Chapter VIII. Application of the Law to Various Arts. + + Dramatic, Lyric and Oratorical Art. + Application of the Law to Literature. + Application of the Law to Architecture. + Application of the Law to Sculpture. + Application of the Law to Painting. + +Chapter IX. Delsarte's Beginnings. + +Chapter X. Delsarte's Theatre and School. + +Chapter XI. Delsarte's Family. + +Chapter XII. Delsarte's Religion. + +Chapter XIII. Delsarte's Friends. + +Chapter XIV. Delsarte's Scholars. + +Chapter XV. Delsarte's Musical Compositions. + +Chapter XVI. Delsarte's Evening Lectures. + +Chapter XVII. Delsarte's Inventions. + +Chapter XVIII. Delsarte before the Philotechnic Association. + +Chapter XIX. Delsarte's Last Years. + +Literary Remains Of Francois Delsarte. + + + +Part Fifth. + +Publisher's Note. + +Delsarte's Last Letter To The King Of Hanover + +Episode I. +Episode II. +Episode III. +Episode IV. +Episode V. + + Semeiotics of the Shoulder. + +Episode VI. +Episode VII. + +What I Propose. +The Beautiful. + +Trinity. + + Reversal of Processional Relations. + +Passion of Signs, Signs of Passion. + +Definition of Form. + +On Distinction and Vulgarity of Motion. + +Gesture. + + Definition of Gesture. + +Attitudes of the Head. + +Attitudes of the Hands. + + Affirmation of the Hand. + + Table of the Normal Character of the Nine Attitudes. + +Attitudes of the Legs. + +The Holy Trinity Recovered in Sound. + +Speech. + +Breathing. + + Vocal Respiration. + Logical Respiration. + Passional Respiration. + +Vocal Organ. + +Definition Of The Voice. + + What the Register is. + On Shading. + Pathetic Effects. + On the Tearing of the Voice. + +Number. + +Medallion of Inflection. + +The Nature of the Colors of Each Circle in the Color Charts. + +The Attributes of Reason. + +Random Notes. + + + +Part Sixth. + +The Lecture and Lessons Given by Mme. Marie Geraldy (Delsarte's +Daughter) in America. + + + +Part Seventh. + +Article by Alfred Giraudet. +Article by Francis A. Durivage. +Article by Hector Berlioz. + + + + + +Delaumosne On Delsarte. + + + + +The Delsarte System, + +by + +M. l'Abbe Delaumosne, + +(_Pupil of Delsarte._) + +Translated by Frances A. Shaw. + + + + +Francois Delsarte. + + + +Francois Delsarte was born November 11, 1811, at Solesme, a little town +of the Department of the North, in France. His father, who was a +renowned physician and the author of several inventions, might have +secured a fortune for his family, had he been more anxious for the +morrow, but he died in a state bordering upon poverty. + +In 1822, Francois was apprenticed to a porcelain painter of Paris, but, +yielding to a taste and aptitude for music, in the year 1825, he sought +and obtained admission to the Conservatory as a pensioner. Here a great +trial awaited him--a trial which wrecked his musical career, but was a +decided gain for his genius. He had been placed in the vocal classes, +and in consequence of faults in method and direction, he lost his voice. +He was inconsolable, but, without making light of his sorrow, we may +count that loss happy, which gave the world its first law-giver in the +art of oratory. + +The young student refused to accept this calamity without making one +final effort to retrieve it. He presented himself at the musical contest +of 1829. His impaired voice rendered success impossible, but kind words +from influential friends in a great measure compensated for defeat. + +The celebrated Nourrit said to him: "I have given you my vote for the +first prize, and my children shall have no singing-master but you." + +"Courage," said Madame Malibran, pressing his hand. "You will one day be +a great artist." + +But Delsarte knew that without a voice he must renounce the stage, and +yielding to the inevitable, he gave up the role of the actor to assume +the functions of the professor. After his own shipwreck upon a bark +without pilot or compass, he summoned up courage to search into the laws +of an art which had hitherto subsisted only upon caprice and personal +inspiration. + +After several years of diligent study, he discovered and formulated the +essential laws of all art; and, thanks to him, aesthetic science in our +day has the same precision as mathematical science. He had numerous +pupils, many of whom have become distinguished in various public +careers--in the pulpit, at the bar, on the stage, and at the tribune. + +Madame Sontag, when she wished to interpret Gluck's music, chose +Delsarte for her teacher. Rachel drew inspiration from his counsels, and +he became her guardian of the sacred fire. He was urgently solicited to +appear with her at the Theatre-Francais, but religious scruples led him +to refuse the finest offers. + +Madame de Giradin (Delphine Gay), surnamed the Muse of her country, +welcomed him gladly to her salon, then the rendezvous of the world of +art and letters, and regretted not seeing him oftener. He was more than +once invited to the literary sessions of Juilly college, and, under the +spell of his diction, the pupils became animated by a new ardor for +study. + +Monseigneur Sibour had great esteem and affection for Delsarte, and made +him his frequent guest. It was in the salon of this art-loving +archbishop that Delsarte achieved one of his most brilliant triumphs. +All the notable men of science had gathered there, and the conversation +took such a turn that Delsarte found opportunity to give, without +offence, a challenge in these two lines of Racine: + + _L'onde approche, se brise, et vomit a nos yeux, + Parmi des flots d'ecume, un monstre furieux._ + + ("The wave draws near, it breaks, and casts before our eyes, + Amid the floods of foam, a monster grim and dire.") + +"Please tell me the most emphatic and significant word here," said +Delsarte. + +All reflected, sought out and then gave, each in turn, his chosen word. +Every word was selected save the conjunction _et_ (and). No one thought +of that. + +Delsarte then rose, and in a calm and modest, but triumphant tone, said: +"The significant, emphatic word is the only one which has escaped you. +It is the conjunction _and_, whose elliptic sense leaves us in +apprehension of that which is about to happen." All owned themselves +vanquished, and applauded the triumphant artist. + +Donoso Cortes made Delsarte a chosen confidant of his ideas. One day, +when the great master of oratorical diction had recited to him the _Dies +Irae_, the illustrious philosopher, in an access of religious emotion, +begged that this hymn might be chanted at his funeral. Delsarte promised +it, and he kept his word. + +When invited to the court of Louis Philippe, he replied: "I am not a +court buffoon." When a generous compensation was hinted at, he answered: +"I do not sell my loves." When it was urged that the occasion was a +birth-day fete to be given his father by the Duke of Orleans, he +accepted the invitation upon three conditions, thus stated by himself: +"1st. I shall be the only singer; 2d. I shall have no accompaniment but +the opera chorus; 3d. I shall receive no compensation." The conditions +were assented to, and Delsarte surpassed himself. The king paid him such +marked attentions that M. Ingres felt constrained to say: "One might +declare in truth that it is Delsarte who is king of France." + +Delsarte's reputation had passed the frontier. The king of Hanover +committed to his instruction the greatest musical artiste of his realm, +and was so gratified with her improvement that, wishing to recompense +the professor, he sent him the much prized Hanoverian medal of arts and +sciences, accompanied by a letter from his own royal hand. Delsarte +afterwards received from the same king the cross of a Chevalier of the +Guelph order. + +Delsarte's auditors were not the only ones to sound his praises. The +learned reviews extolled his merits. Such writers as Laurentie, Riancey, +Lamartine and Theophile Gautier awarded him the most enthusiastic +praise. Posterity will perpetuate his fame. + +M. Laurentie writes: "I heard Delsarte recite one evening '_Iphigenia's +Dream_,' which the audience had besought of him. The hall remained +thrilled and breathless under this impaired and yet sovereign voice. All +yielded in rapt astonishment to the spell. There was no prestige, no +theatrical illusion. Iphigenia was a professor in a black frock coat; +the orchestra was a piano, giving forth here and there an unexpected +modulation. This was his whole force; yet the hall was mute, hearts +beat, tears flowed from many eyes, and when the recital ended, +enthusiastic shouts arose, as if Iphigenia in person had just recounted +her terrors." + +After Delsarte had gathered so abundant a harvest of laurels, fate +decided that he had lived long enough. When he had reached his sixtieth +year, he was attacked by hypertrophy of the heart, which left his rich +organization in ruins. He was no longer the artist of graceful, supple, +expressive and harmonious movements; no longer the thinker with profound +and luminous ideas. But in the midst of this physical and intellectual +ruin, the Christian sentiment retained its strong, sweet energy. A +believer in the sacraments which he had received in days of health, he +asked for them in the hour of danger, and many times he partook of that +sacrament of love whose virtue he had taught so well. + +Finally, after having lingered for months in a state that was neither +life nor death, surrounded by his pious wife, and his weeping, praying +children, he rendered his soul to God on the 20th of July, 1871. + +Delsarte never could be persuaded to write anything upon themes foreign +to those connected with his musical and vocal work. The author of this +volume desires to save from oblivion the most wonderful conception of +this superior intellect: his _Course of AEsthetic Oratory_. He dares +promise to be a faithful interpreter. If excuse be needed for +undertaking a task so delicate, he replies that he addresses himself to +a class of readers who will know how to appreciate his motives. + +The merit of Delsarte, the honor of his family, the gratification of his +numerous friends, the interests of science, the claims of friendship, +demand that this light should not be left under a bushel, but placed +upon a candlestick--this light which has shed so brilliant a glow, and +enriched the arts with a new splendor. + + + + +Preface. + + + +Orators, you are called to the ministry of speech. You have fixed your +choice upon the pulpit, the bar, the tribune or the stage. You will +become one day, preacher, advocate, lecturer or actor; in short, you +desire to embrace the orator's career. I applaud your design. You will +enter upon the noblest and most glorious of vocations. Eloquence holds +the first rank among the arts. While we award praise and glory to great +musicians and painters, to great masters of sculpture and architecture, +the prize of honor is decreed to great orators. + +Who can define the omnipotence of speech? With a few brief words God +called the universe from nothingness; speech falling from the glowing +lips of the Apostles, has changed the face of the earth. The current of +opinion follows the prestige of speech, and to-day, as ever, eloquence +is universal queen. We need feel no surprise that, in ancient times, the +multitude uncovered as Cicero approached, and cried: "Behold the +orator!" + +Would you have your speech bear fruit and command honor? Two qualities +are needful: virtue and a knowledge of the art of oratory. Cicero has +defined the orator as a good man of worth: _Vir bonus, dicendi peritus_. + +Then, above all, the orator should be a man of worth. Such a man will +make it his purpose to do good; and the good is the true end of +oratorical art. In truth, what is art? Art is the expression of the +beautiful in ideas; it is the true. Plato says the beautiful is the +splendor of the true. + +What is art? It is the beautiful in action. It is the good. According to +St. Augustine, the beautiful is the lustre of the good. + +Finally, what is art? It is the beautiful in the harmonies of nature. +Galen, when he had finished his work on the structure of the human body, +exclaimed: "Behold this beautiful hymn to the glory of the Creator!" + +What, then, is the true, the beautiful, the good? We might answer, it is +God. Then virtue and the glory of God should be the one end of the +orator, of the good man. A true artist never denies God. + +Eloquence is a means, not an end. We must not love art for its own sake, +that would be idolatry. Art gives wings for ascent to God. One need not +pause to contemplate his wings. + +Art is an instrument, but not an instrument of vanity or complaisance. +Truth, alas! compels us to admit that eloquence has also the melancholy +power of corrupting souls. Since it is an art, it is also a power which +must produce its effect for good or evil. + +It has been said that the fool always finds a greater fool to listen to +him. We might add that the false, the ugly and the vicious have each a +fibre in the human heart to serve their purpose. Then let the true +orator, the good man, armed with holy eloquence, seek to paralyze the +fatal influence of those orators who are apostles of falsehood and +corruption. + +Poets are born, orators are made: _nascuntur poetae, fiunt oratores_. +You understand why I have engraved this maxim on the title-page of my +work. It contains its _raison d'etre_, its justification. Men are poets +at birth, but eloquence is an art to be taught and learned. All art +presupposes rules, procedures, a mechanism, a method which must be +known. + +We bring more or less aptitude to the study of an art, but every +profession demands a period more or less prolonged. We must not count +upon natural advantages; none are perfect by nature. Humanity is +crippled; beauty exists only in fragments. Perfect beauty is nowhere to +be found; the artist must create it by synthetic work. + +You have a fine voice, but be certain it has its defects. Your +articulation is vicious, and the gestures upon which you pride yourself, +are, in most cases, unnatural. Do not rely upon the fire of momentary +inspiration. Nothing is more deceptive. The great Garrick said: "I do +not depend upon that inspiration which idle mediocrity awaits." Talma +declared that he absolutely calculated all effects, leaving nothing to +chance. While he recited the scene between Augustus and Cinna, he was +also performing an arithmetical operation. When he said: + + "Take a chair, Cinna, and in everything + Closely observe the law I bid you heed"-- + +he made his audience shudder. + +The orator should not even think of what he is doing. The thing should +have been so much studied, that all would seem to flow of itself from +the fountain. + +But where find this square, this intellectual compass, that traces for +us with mathematical precision, that line of gestures beyond which the +orator must not pass? I have sought it for a long time, but in vain. +Here and there one meets with advice, sometimes good but very often +bad. For example, you are told that the greater the emotion, the +stronger should be the voice. Nothing is more false. In violent emotion +the heart seems to fill the larynx and the voice is stifled. In all such +counsels it behooves us to search out their foundation, the reason that +is in them, to ask if there is a type in nature which serves as their +measure. + +We hear a celebrated orator. We seek to recall, to imitate his +inflections and gestures. We adopt his mannerisms, and that is all. We +see these mannerisms everywhere, but the true type is nowhere. + +After much unavailing search, I at last had the good fortune to meet a +genuine master of eloquence. After giving much study to the masterpieces +of painting and sculpture, after observing the living man in all his +moods and expressions, he has known how to sum up these details and +reduce them to laws. This great artist, this unrivaled master, was the +pious, the amiable, the lamented Delsarte. + +There certainly was pleasure and profit in hearing this master of +eloquence, for he excelled in applying his principles to himself. Still +from his teachings, even from the dead letter of them, breaks forth a +light which reveals horizons hitherto unknown. + +This work might have been entitled: _Philosophy of Oratorical Art_, for +one cannot treat of eloquence without entering the domain of the highest +philosophy. + +What, in fact, is oratorical art? It is the means of expressing the +phenomena of the soul by the play of the organs. It is the sum total of +rules and laws resulting from the reciprocal action of mind and body. +Thus man must be considered in his sensitive, intellectual and moral +state, with the play of the organs corresponding to these states. Our +teaching has, then, for its basis the science of the soul ministered to +by the organs. This is why we present the fixed, invariable rules which +have their sanction in philosophy. This can be rendered plain by an +exposition of our method. + +The art of oratory, we repeat, is expressing mental phenomena by the +play of the physical organs. It is the translation, the plastic form, +the language of human nature. But man, the image of God, presents +himself to us in three phases: the sensitive, intellectual and moral. +Man feels, thinks and loves. He is _en rapport_ with the physical world, +with the spiritual world, and with God. He fulfils his course by the +light of the senses, the reason, or the light of grace. + +We call life the sensitive state, mind the intellectual state, and soul +the moral state. Neither of these three terms can be separated from the +two others. They interpenetrate, interlace, correspond with and +embrace each other. Thus mind supposes soul and life. Soul is at the +same time mind and life. In fine, life is inherent in mind and soul. +Thus these three primitive moods of the soul are distinguished by nine +perfectly adequate terms. The soul being the form of the body, the body +is made in the image of the soul. The human body contains three +organisms to translate the triple form of the soul. + +The phonetic machinery, the voice, sound, inflections, are living +language. The child, as yet devoid of intelligence and sentiment, +conveys his emotions through cries and moans. + +The myologic or muscular machinery, or gesture, is the language of +sentiment and emotion. When the child recognizes its mother, it begins +to smile. + +The buccal machinery, or articulate speech, is the language of the +mind. + +Man, neither by voice nor gesture, can express two opposite ideas on the +same subject; this necessarily involves a resort to speech. Human +language is composed of gesture, speech and singing. The ancient +melodrama owed its excellence to a union of these three languages. + +Each of these organisms takes the eccentric, concentric, or normal form, +according to the different moods of the soul which it is called to +translate. + +In the sensitive state, the soul lives outside itself; it has relations +with the exterior world. In the intellectual state, the soul turns back +upon itself, and the organism obeys this movement. Then ensues a +contraction in all the agents of the organism. This is the concentric +state. In the moral or mystic state, the soul, enraptured with God, +enjoys perfect tranquility and blessedness. All breathes peace, +quietude, serenity. This is the normal state,--the most perfect, +elevated and sublime expression of which the organism is capable. + +Let us not forget that by reason of a constant transition, each state +borrows the form of its kindred state. Thus the normal state can take +the concentric and eccentric form, and become at the same time, doubly +normal; that is, normal to the highest degree. Since each state can take +the form of the two others, the result is nine distinct gestures, which +form that marvelous accord of nine, which we call the universal +criterion. + +In fine, here is the grand law of organic gymnastics: + +The triple movement, the triple language of the organs is eccentric, +concentric, or normal, according as it is the expression of life, soul +or spirit. + +Under the influence, the occult inspiration of this law, the great +masters have enriched the world with miracles of art. Aided by this law +the course followed in this work, may be easily understood. + +Since eloquence is composed of three languages, we divide this work into +three books in which voice, gesture and speech are studied by turns. +Then, applying to them the great law of art, our task is accomplished. + +The advantages of this method are easily understood. There is given a +type of expression not taken from the individual, but from human nature +synthetized. Thus the student will not have the humiliation of being the +slave or ape of any particular master. He will be only himself. Those +who assimilate their imperfect natures to the perfect type will become +orators. _Fiunt Oratores._ + +Success having attended the first efforts, let the would-be orator +assimilate these rules, and his power will be doubled, aye increased a +hundredfold. And thus having become an orator, a man of principle, who +knows how to speak well, he will aid in the triumph of religion, justice +and virtue. + + + + + +Part First. + +Voice + + + + +Chapter I. + +Preliminary Ideas--criterion of the Oratorical Art. + + + +Let us note an incontestable fact. The science of the Art of Oratory has +not yet been taught. Hitherto genius alone, and not science, has made +great orators. Horace, Quintilian and Cicero among the ancients, and +numerous modern writers have treated of oratory as an art. We admire +their writings, but this is not science; here we seek in vain the +fundamental laws whence their teachings proceed. There is no science +without principles which give a reason for its facts. Hence to teach and +to learn the art of oratory, it is necessary: + +1. To understand the general law which controls the movements of the +organs; + +2. To apply this general law to the movements of each particular organ; + +3. To understand the meaning of the form of each of these movements; + +4. To adapt this meaning to each of the different states of the soul. + +The fundamental law, whose stamp every one of these organs bears, must +be kept carefully in mind. Here is the formula: + +The sensitive, mental and moral state of man are rendered by the +eccentric, concentric or normal form of the organism.[1] + +Such is the first and greatest law. There is a second law, which +proceeds from the first and is similar to it: + +Each form of the organism becomes triple by borrowing the form of the +two others. + +It is in the application of these two laws that the entire practice of +the art of oratory consists. Here, then, is a science, for we possess a +criterion with which all phenomena must agree, and which none can +gainsay. This criterion, composed of our double formula, we represent in +a chart, whose explanation must be carefully studied. + +The three primitive forms or genera which affect the organs are +represented by the three transverse lines. + + + GENUS. SPECIES. + 1 3 2 + + II. Conc. 1-II 3-II 2-II + Ecc. Conc. Norm. Conc. Conc. Conc. + + III. Norm. 1-III 3-III 2-III + Ecc. Norm. Norm. Norm. Conc. Norm. + + I. Ecc. 1-I 3-I 2-I + Ecc. Ecc. Norm. Ecc. Conc. Ecc. + + +The subdivision of the three genera into nine species is noted in the +three perpendicular columns. + +Under the title _Genus_ we shall use the Roman numerals I, III, II. + +Under the title _Species_ we employ the Arabic figures 1, 3, 2. + +I designates the eccentric form, II the concentric form, III the normal +form. + +The Arabic figures have the same signification. + +The normal form, either in the genus or the species, we place in the +middle column, because it serves as a bond of union between the two +others, as the moral state is the connecting link between the +intellectual and vital states. + +Thus the first law relative to the primitive forms of the organs is +applied in the three transverse columns, and the second law relative to +their compound forms is reproduced in the three vertical columns. + +As may be easily proven, the eccentric genus produces three species of +eccentric forms, marked in the three divisions of the lower transverse +column. + +Since the figure 1 represents the eccentric form, 1-I will designate the +form of the highest degree of eccentricity, which we call +_eccentro-eccentric_. + +Since the figure 3 represents the normal form, the numbers 3-I will +indicate the _normo-eccentric_ form. + +Since the figure 2 designates the form which translates intelligence, +the figures 2-I indicate the _concentro-eccentric_ form as a _species_. +As the species proceeds from the genus, we begin by naming the species +in order to bring it back to the genus. Thus, in the column of the +eccentric genus the figure 1 is placed after the numbers 3 and 2, which +belong to the species. We must apply the same analysis to the transverse +column of the normal genus, as also to that of the concentric genus. + +Following a diagonal from the bottom to the top and from left to right, +we meet the most expressive form of the species, whether eccentric, +normal or concentric, marked by the figures 1-I, 3-III, 2-II, and by the +abbreviations _Ecc.-ecc. (Eccentro-eccentric), Norm.-norm. +(Normo-normal), Conc.-conc. (Concentro-concentric)_. It is curious to +remark how upon this diagonal the organic manifestations corresponding +to the soul, that is to love, are found in the midst, to link the +expressive forms of life and mind. + +This chart sums up all the essential forms which can affect the +organism. This is a universal algebraic formula, by which we can solve +all organic problems. We apply it to the hand, to the shoulder, to the +eyes, to the voice--in a word, to all the agents of oratorical language. +For example, it suffices to know the _eccentro-eccentric_ form of the +hand, of the eyes; and we reserve it for the appropriate occasion. + +All the figures accompanying the text of this work are only +reproductions of this chart affected by such or such a particular organ. +A knowledge of this criterion gives to our studies not only simplicity, +clearness and facility, but also mathematical precision. + +In proposing the accord of nine formed by the figure 3 multiplied into +itself, it must be understood that we give the most elementary, most +usual and least complicated terms. Through natural and successive +subdivisions we can arrive at 81 terms. Thus multiply 9 by 3; the number +27 gives an accord of 27 terms, which can again be multiplied by 3 to +reach 81. Or rather let us multiply 9 by 9, and we in like manner obtain +81 terms, which become the end of the series. This is the alpha and +omega of all human science. _Huc usque venies, et ibi confringes +tumentes fluctus tuos._ ("Thus far shalt thou come, and here shall thy +proud waves be stayed.") + +It is well to remark that this criterion is applied to all possible +phenomena, both in the arts and sciences. This is reason, universal +synthesis. All phenomena, spiritual as well as material, must be +considered under three or nine aspects, or not be understood. Three +genera and nine species; three and nine in everything and everywhere; +three and nine, these are the notes echoed by all beings. We do not fear +to affirm that this criterion is divine, since it conforms to the nature +of beings. Then, with this compass in hand, let us explore the vast +field of oratorical art, and begin with the voice. + +NOTE TO THE STUDENT.--Do not go on without a perfect understanding of +this explanation of the criterion, as well as the exposition of our +method which closes the preface. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Of The Voice. + + + +The whole secret of captivating an audience by the charms of the voice, +consists in a practical knowledge of the laws of sound, inflection, +respiration and silence. The voice first manifests itself through sound; +inflection is an intentional modification of sound; respiration and +silence are a means of falling exactly upon the suitable tone and +inflection. + +Sound being the first language of man in the cradle, the least we can +demand of the orator is, that he speak intelligently a language whose +author is instinct. The orator must then listen to his own voice in +order to understand it, to estimate its value, to cultivate it by +correcting its faults, to guide it--in a word, to dispose of it at will, +according to the inclination of the moment. We begin the study of the +voice with _Sound;_ and as sound may be viewed under several aspects, we +divide this heading into as many sections. + + + +_Compass of the Voice--Organic Apparatus of the Voice._ + + +This apparatus is composed of the larynx, the mouth and the lungs. Each +of these agents derives its value from mutual action with the others. +The larynx of itself is nothing, and can be considered only through its +participation in the simultaneous action of the mouth and lungs. + +Sound, then, is formed by a triple agent--projective, vibrative and +reflective. + +The lungs are the soliciting agent, the larynx is the vibrative agent, +the mouth is the reflective agent. These must act in unison, or there is +no result. The larynx might be called the mouth of the instrument, the +inside of the mouth the pavilion, the lungs the artist. In a violin, the +larynx would be the string, the lungs the bow, the mouth the instrument +itself. + +The triple action of these agents produces phonation. They engender +sounds and inflections. Sound is the revelation of the sensitive life to +the minutest degree; inflections are the revelation of the same life in +a higher degree, and this is why they are the foundation and the charm +of music. + +Such is the wonderful organism of the human voice, such the powerful +instrument Providence has placed at the disposal of the orator. But what +avails the possession of an instrument if one does not know how to use +it, or how to tune it? The orator, ignorant of the laws of sound and +inflection, resembles the debutant who places the trumpet to his lips +for the first time. We know the ear-torturing tones he evolves. + +The ear is the most delicate, the most exacting of all our senses. The +eye is far more tolerant. The eye resigns itself to behold a bad +gesture, but the ear does not forgive a false note or a false +inflection. It is through the voice we please an audience. If we have +the ear of an auditor, we easily win his mind and heart. The voice is a +mysterious hand which touches, envelops and caresses the heart. + + + +_Of the Voice in Relation to Compass._ + + +All voices do not have the same compass, or the same range. By range we +mean the number of tones the voice can produce below and above a given +note on the staff, say A, second space of the treble clef. + +There are four distinct kinds of voices: Soprano, alto, tenor and bass. +There are also intermediate voices, possessing the peculiar quality of +the kind to which it belongs, for example: Mezzo-soprano, with the +quality of the soprano and only differing from the soprano in range, the +range of this voice being lower than the soprano and a little higher +than the alto. Then comes the alto or contralto. + +In the male voice we have the tenor robusto, a little lower than the +pure tenor and more powerful; next the baritone, a voice between the +tenor and bass, but possessing very much the quality of the bass. + +The tones in the range of every voice can be divided into three +parts--the lower, medium and higher. Thus we would say of a performer, +he or she used the lower or higher tones, or whatever the case may be. +This applies to every kind of voice. + +The soprano voice ranges generally from the middle C, first added line +below on the treble clef, upwards to A, first added line above the +staff. Contralto voices range generally from G, below middle C in the +treble clef, up to F, the upper line of the clef. + +The tenor voice ranges from C, second space of the F clef, to D, second +space in the treble clef. + +The bass voice ranges from lower F, first space below of the F or bass +clef, to D, second space above of this clef.[2] + +The first perception of the human voice imperatively demands, 1. That +the voice be tried and its compass measured in order to ascertain to +what species it belongs. Its name must be known with absolute certainty. +It would be shameful in a musician not to know the name of the +instrument he uses. 2. That the ear be trained in order to distinguish +the pitch upon which one speaks. + +We should be able to name a sound and to sound a name. The Orientals +could sing eight degrees of tone between C and D. There may be a whole +scale, a whole air between these two tones. It would be unpardonable +not to know how to distinguish or at least to sound a semitone. + +There is a fact proved by experience, which must not be forgotten. The +high voice, with elevated brows, serves to express intensity of passion, +as well as small, trivial and also pleasant things. + +The deep voice, with the eyes open, expresses worthy things. + +The deep voice, with the eyes closed, expresses odious things. + + + +_The Voice in Relation to Vowels._ + + +As already stated, the vocal apparatus is composed of the lungs, the +larynx and the mouth; but its accessories are the teeth, the lips, the +palate and the uvula. The tip and root of the tongue, the arch of the +palate and the nasal cavities have also their share in perfecting the +acoustic apparatus. + +In classifying the different varieties of voice, we have considered them +only in their rudimentary state. Ability to name and distinguish the +several tones of voice is the starting point. We have an image more or +less perfect, leaving the mould; we have a canvas containing the design, +but not the embroidery--the mere outline of an instrument, a body +without a soul. The voice being the language of the sensitive life, the +passional state must pass entirely into the voice. + +We must know then how to give it an expression, a color answering to the +sentiment it conveys. But this expressive form of the voice depends +upon the sound of its vowels. + +There is a mother vowel, a generative tone. It is _a_ (Italian _a_). In +articulating _a_ the mouth opens wide, giving a sound similar to _a_ in +_arm_. + +The primitive _a_ takes three forms. The unaccented, Italian _a_ +represents the normal state; _a_ with the acute accent (') represents +the eccentric state; _a_ with the grave accent (`) represents the +concentric state. + +These three _a_'s derived from primitive _a_ become each in turn the +progenitor of a family with triple sounds, as may be seen in the +following genealogical tree: + + + A + A A A + --------------------------- + e o e + + e au eu + + i ou u + + Eccentric. Normal. Concentric. + + +This is the only simple sound, but four other sounds are derived from +it. The three _a's_ articulated by closing the uvula, give the nasal +_an_. Each family also gives its special nasal sound: _in_ for the +eccentric voice, _on_ for the normal state, _un_ for the concentric. All +other sounds are derived from combinations of these. The mouth cannot +possibly produce more than three families of sounds, and in each family +it is _a_ united with the others that forms the trinity. + +The variety of sounds in these three families of vowels arises from the +difference of the opening of the mouth and lips in articulating them. +These different modes of articulation may be rendered more intelligible +by the subjoined diagrams: + +_a_ is pronounced with the mouth very wide open, the uvula raised and +the tongue much lowered. + + --------------------- + O O + --------------------- + +_e, e, i_ and _in_ are articulated with the lips open and the back part +of the mouth gradually closed. + + / + / + / + \ + \ + \ + +_a, au, ou_ and _on_ are articulated with the back of the mouth open and +the lips gradually closed. + + \ + \ + \ + / + / + / + +_e, eu, u_ and _un_ are articulated with the back of the mouth and the +lips uniformly closed. + + --------------------- + --------------------- + +The voice takes different names, according to the different sounds in +each family of vowels: the chest-voice, the medium voice and the +head-voice. + +These names imply no change in the sort of voice, but a change in the +manner of emission. The head, medium or chest-voice, indicates only +variety in the emission of vowels, and may be applied to the high as +well as the deep and medium voice. Thus the deep voice may produce +sounds in the head-voice, as well as in the medium and chest voices. + +The head-voice is produced by lowering the larynx, and at the same time +raising the uvula. In swallowing, the larynx rises by the elevation of +the uvula, without which elevation there can be no head-tones. + + + +_Practical Conclusions._ + + +1. It is highly important to know how to assume either of these voices +at will. The chest-voice is the expression of the sensitive or vital +life, and is the interpreter of all physical emotions. The medium voice +expresses sentiment and the moral emotions. The head-voice interprets +everything pertaining to scientific or mental phenomena. By observing +the laugh in the vital, moral and intellectual states, we shall see that +the voice takes the sound of the vowel corresponding to each state. + +We understand the laugh of an individual; if upon the _i_ (_e_ long), he +has made a sorry jest; if upon _e_ (_a_ in _fate_), he has nothing in +his heart and most likely nothing in his head; if upon _a_ (_a_ short), +the laugh is forced. _O, a_, (_a_ long) and _ou_ are the only normal +expressions. Thus every one is measured, numbered, weighed. There is +reason in everything, even when unknown to man. In physical pain or +joy, the laugh or groan employs the vowels _e, e, i_.[3] + +2. The chest-voice should be little used, as it is a bestial and very +fatiguing voice. + +3. The head-voice or the medium voice is preferable, it being more noble +and more ample, and not fatiguing. In these voices there is far less +danger of hoarseness. The head and medium voices proceed more from the +mouth, while the chest-voice has its vibrating point in the larynx. + +4. The articulation of the three syllables, _la, mo_ and _po_, is a very +useful exercise in habituating one to the medium voice. Besides +reproducing the tone of this voice, these are the musical consonants +_par excellence_. They give charm and development to the voice. We can +repeat these tones without fatiguing the vocal chords, since they are +produced by the articulative apparatus. + +5. It is well to remark that the chest, medium and head voices are +synonymous with the eccentric, normal or concentric voice. + +6. It is only a hap-hazard sort of orator who does not know how to +attain, at the outset, what is called the white voice, to be colored +afterward at will. The voice should resemble the painter's pallet, where +all the colors are arranged in an orderly manner, according to the +affinities of each. A colorless tint may be attained in the same way as +a pure tint. It may be well to remark here, although by anticipation, +that the expressions of the hand and brow belong to the voice. The +coloring of the larynx corresponds to the movements of the hand or +brows. + +Sound is painting, or it is nothing. It should be in affinity with the +subject. + + + + +Chapter III. + +The Voice in Relation to Intensity of Sound. + + + +_What is Understood by Intensity of Sound._ + + +The voice has three dimensions--height, depth and breadth; in other +terms, diapason, intensity and duration; or in yet other words, +tonality, timbre and succession. + +Intensity may be applied alike to the voice and to sound. The voice is +strong or weak, according to the mechanism of the acoustic apparatus. +The strength or weakness of sound depends upon the speaker, who from the +same apparatus evolves tones more or less strong. It is the _forte, +piano_ and _pianissimo_ in music. Thus a loud voice can render weak +tones, and a weak voice loud tones. Hence the tones of both are capable +of increase or diminution. + + + +_Means of Augmenting the Timbre of the Voice._ + + +1. A stronger voice may be obtained by taking position not upon the heel +or flat of the foot, but upon the ball near the toes--that attitude +which further on we shall designate as the third. The chest is +eccentric; that is, convex and dilated. In this position all the muscles +are tense and resemble the chords of an instrument whose resonance is +proportional to their tension. + +2. There are three modes of developing the voice. A voice may be +manufactured. A natural voice is almost always more or less changed by a +thousand deleterious influences. + +1. _In volume_, by lowering the larynx, elevating the soft-palate and +hollowing the tongue. + +2. _In intensity._--A loud voice may be hollow. It must be rendered +deep, forcible and brilliant by these three methods: profound +inspiration, explosion and expulsion. The intensity of an effect may +depend upon expulsion or an elastic movement. Tenuity is elasticity. It +is the rarest and yet the most essential quality of diction. + +3. _In compass._--There are three ways of increasing the compass of the +voice: + + 1. By the determination of its pitch; + 2. By practicing the vocal scale; + 3. By the fusion of the registers upon the key-note. + +The first of these methods is most effective. The second consists in +exercising upon those notes which are near the key-note. Upon this +exercise depends in great measure the homogeneity of the voice. Taking +_la_ for the diapason, the voice which extends from the lowest notes to +upper _re_ is the chest-voice, since it suffers no acoustic +modification. From _mi_ to _la_ the voice is modified; it is the medium +voice, or the second register, which gives full and supple tones. The +head or throat-voice, or the third register, extends from _si_ to the +highest and sharpest notes. Its tones are weak, and should be avoided +as much as possible. There are then only four good notes--those from +_mi_ to _la_, upon which the voice should be exercised. By uniting the +registers, an artificial, homogeneous voice may be created, whose tones +are produced without compression and without difficulty. This being +done, it is evident that every note of the voice must successively +indicate the three registers--that is, it must be rendered in the chest, +medium and head voices. + +There is also a method of diminishing the voice. As the tone is in +proportion to the volume of air in the lungs, it may be weakened by +contracting the epiglottis or by suppressing the respiration. + + + +_Rules for Intensity of Sound._ + + +1. The strength of the voice is in an inverse ratio to the respiration. +The more we are moved, the less loudly we speak; the less the emotion, +the stronger the voice. In emotion, the heart seems to mount to the +larynx, and the voice is stifled. A soft tone should always be an +affecting tone, and consist only of a breath. Force is always opposed to +power. It is an error to suppose that the voice must be increased as the +heart is laid bare. The lowest tones are the best understood. If we +would make a low voice audible, let us speak as softly as we can. + +Go to the sea-shore when the tempest rages. The roar of the waves as +they break against the vessel's side, the muttering thunders, the +furious wind-gusts render the strongest voice impotent. Go upon a +battle-field when drums beat and trumpets sound. In the midst of this +uproar, these discordant cries, this tumult of opposing armies, the +leader's commands, though uttered in the loudest tones, can scarce be +heard; but a low whistle will be distinctly audible. The voice is +intense in serenity and calm, but in passion it is weak. + +Let those who would bring forward subtle arguments against this law, +remember that logic is often in default when applied to artistic facts. + +A concert is given in a contracted space, with an orchestra and a +double-bass. The double-bass is very weak. Logic would suggest two +double-basses in order to produce a stronger tone. Quite the contrary. +Two double-basses give only a semitone, which half a double-bass renders +of itself. So much for logic in this case. + +The greatest joy is in sorrow, for here there is the greatest love. +Other joys are only on the surface. We suffer and we weep because we +love. Of what avail are tears? The essential thing is to love. Tears are +the accessories; they will come in time, they need not be sought. +Nothing so wearies and disgusts us, as the lachrymose tone. A man who +amounts to anything is never a whimperer. + +Take two instruments in discord and remote from each other. Logic +forbids their approach lest their tones become more disagreeable. The +reverse is true. In bringing them together, the lowest becomes higher +and the highest lower, and there is an accord. + +Let us suppose a hall with tapestries, a church draped in black. Logic +says, "sing more loudly." But this must be guarded against lest the +voice become lost in the draperies. The voice should scarce reach these +too heavy or too sonorous partitions, but leaving the lips softly, it +should pulsate through the audience, and go no farther. + +An audience is asleep. Logic demands more warmth, more fire. Not at all. +Keep silent and the sleepers will awaken. + +2. Sound, notwithstanding its many shades, should be homogeneous; that +is, as full at the end as at the beginning. The mucous membrane, the +lungs and the expiratory muscles have sole charge of its transmission. +The vocal tube must not vary any more for the loud tone than for the low +tone. The opening must be the same. The low tone must have the power of +the loud tone, since it is to be equally understood. The acoustic organs +should have nothing to do with the transmission of sound. They must be +inert so that the tone may be homogeneous. The speaker or singer should +know how to diminish the tone without the contraction of the back part +of the mouth. + +To be homogeneous the voice must be ample. To render it ample, take high +rather than low notes. The dipthong _eu_ (like _u_ in muff), and the +vowels _u_ and _o_ give amplitude to sound. On the contrary, the tone +is meagre in articulating the vowels _e_, _i_ and _a_. To render the +voice ample, we open the throat and roll forth the sound. The more the +sound is _circumvoluted_, the more ample it is. To render the voice +resonant, we draw the tongue from the teeth and give it a hollow form; +then we lower the larynx, and in this way imitate the French horn. + +3. The voice should always be sympathetic, kindly, calm, and noble, even +when the most repulsive things are expressed. A tearful voice is a grave +defect, and must be avoided. The same may be said of the tremulous voice +of the aged, who emphasize and prolong their syllables. Tears are out of +place in great situations; we should weep only at home. To weep is a +sure way of making people laugh. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +The Voice in Relation to Measure. + + + +_Of Slowness and Rapidity in Oratorical Delivery._ + + +The third and last relation in which we shall study voice, is its +breadth, that is, the measure or rhythm of its tones. + +The object of measure in oratorical diction is to regulate the interval +of sounds. But the length of the interval between one sound and another +is subject to the laws of slowness and rapidity, respiration, silence +and inflection. + +Let us first consider slowness and rapidity, and the rules which govern +them. + +1. A hasty delivery is by no means a proof of animation, warmth, fire, +passion or emotion in the orator; hence in delivery, as in tone, haste +is in an inverse ratio to emotion. We do not glide lightly over a +beloved subject; a prolongation of tones is the complaisance of love. +Precipitation awakens suspicions of heartlessness; it also injures the +effect of the discourse. A teacher with too much facility or volubility +puts his pupils to sleep, because he leaves them nothing to do, and they +do not understand his meaning. But let the teacher choose his words +carefully, and every pupil will want to suggest some idea; all will +work. In applauding an orator we usually applaud ourselves. He says +what we were just ready to say; we seem to have suggested the idea. It +is superfluous to remark that slowness without gesture, and especially +without facial expression, would be intolerable. A tone must always be +reproduced with an expression of the face. + +2. The voice must not be jerky. Here we must keep jealous watch over +ourselves. The entire interest of diction arises from a fusion of tones. +The tones of the voice are sentient beings, who love, hold converse, +follow each other and blend in a harmonious union. + +3. It is never necessary to dwell upon the sound we have just left; this +would be to fall into that jerky tone we wish to avoid. + + + +_Of Respiration and Silence._ + + +We place respiration and silence under the same head because of their +affinity, for respiration may often be accounted silence. + +_Of silence._--Silence is the father of speech, and must justify it. +Every word which does not proceed from silence and find its vindication +in silence, is a spurious word without claim or title to our regard. +Origin is the stamp, in virtue of which we recognize the intrinsic value +of things. Let us, then, seek in silence the sufficient reason of +speech, and remember that the more enlightened the mind is, the more +concise is the speech that proceeds from it. Let us assume, then, that +this conciseness keeps pace with the elevation of the mind, and that +when the mind arrives at the perception of the true light, finding no +words that can portray the glories open to its view, it keeps silent and +admires. It is through silence that the mind rises to perfection, for +_silence is the speech of God_. + +Apart from this consideration, silence recommends itself as a powerful +agent in oratorical effects. By silence the orator arouses the attention +of his audience, and often deeply moves their hearts. When Peter +Chrysologue, in his famous homily upon the gospel miracle of the healing +of the issue of blood, overcome by emotion, paused suddenly and remained +silent, all present immediately burst into sobs. + +Furthermore, silence gives the orator time and liberty to judge of his +position. An orator should never speak without having thought, reflected +and arranged his ideas. Before speaking he should decide upon his +stand-point, and see clearly what he proposes to do. Even a fable may be +related from many points of view; from that of expression as well as +gesture, from that of inflection as well as articulate speech. All must +be brought back to a scene in real life, to one stand-point, and the +orator must create for himself, in some sort, the role of spectator. + +Silence gives gesture time to concentrate, and do good execution. + +One single rule applies to silence: Wherever there is ellipsis, there +is silence. Hence the interjection and conjunction, which are +essentially elliptic, must always be followed by a silence. + +_Respiration._--For the act of respiration, three movements are +necessary: inspiration, suspension and expiration. + +_Its importance._--Respiration is a faithful rendering of emotion. For +example: _He who reigns in the skies_. Here is a proposition which the +composed orator will state in a breath. But should he wish to prove his +emotion, he inspires after every word. _He--who--reigns--in--the--skies_. +Multiplied inspirations can be tolerated on the strength of emotion, but +they should be made as effective as possible. + +Inspiration is allowable:-- + + 1. After all words preceded or followed by an ellipse; + 2. After words used in apostrophe, as Monsieur, Madame; + 3. After conjunctions and interjections when there is silence; + 4. After all transpositions; for example: _To live, one must work_. Here + the preposition _to_ takes the value of its natural antecedent, + _work_; that is to say, six degrees, since by inversion it precedes + it, and the gesture of the sentence bears wholly on the preposition; + 5. Before and after incidental phrases; + 6. Wherever we wish to indicate an emotion. + +To facilitate respiration, stand on tip-toe and expand the chest. + +Inspiration is a sign of grief; expiration is a sign of tenderness. +Sorrow is inspiratory; happiness, expiratory. + +The inspiratory act expresses sorrow, dissimulation. + +The expiratory act expresses love, expansion, sympathy. + +The suspensory act expresses reticence and disquietude. A child who has +just been corrected deservedly, and who recognizes his fault, expires. +Another corrected unjustly, and who feels more grief than love, +inspires. + +Inspiration is usually regulated by the signs of punctuation, which have +been invented solely to give more exactness to the variety of sounds. + + + +_Inflections._ + + +_Their importance._--Sound, we have said, is the language of man in the +sensitive state. We call inflections the modifications which affect the +voice in rendering the emotions of the senses. The tones of the voice +must vary with the sensations, each of which should have its note. Of +what use to man would be a phonetic apparatus always rendering the same +sound? Delivery is a sort of music whose excellence consists in a +variety of tones which rise or fall according to the things they have to +express. Beautiful but uniform voices resemble fine bells whose tone is +sweet and clear, full and agreeable, but which are, after all, bells, +signifying nothing, devoid of harmony and consequently without variety. +To employ always the same action and the same tone of voice, is like +giving the same remedy for all diseases. "_Ennui_ was born one day from +monotony," says the fable. + +Man has received from God the privilege of revealing the inmost +affections of his being through the thousand inflections of his voice. +Man's least impressions are conveyed by signs which reveal harmony, and +which are not the products of chance. A sovereign wisdom governs these +signs. + +With the infant in its cradle the signs of sensibility are broken cries. +Their acuteness, their ascending form, indicate the weakness, and +physical sorrow of man. When the child recognizes the tender cares of +its mother, its voice becomes less shrill and broken; its tones have a +less acute range, and are more poised and even. The larynx, which is +very impressionable and the thermometer of the sensitive life, becomes +modified, and produces sounds and inflections in perfect unison with the +sentiments they convey. + +All this, which man expresses in an imitative fashion, is numbered, +weighed and measured, and forms an admirable harmony. This language +through the larynx is universal, and common to all sensitive beings. It +is universal with animals as with man. Animals give the identical sounds +in similar positions. + +The infant, delighted at being mounted on a table, and calling his +mother to admire him, rises to the fourth note of the scale. If his +delight becomes more lively, to the sixth; if the mother is less pleased +than he would have her, he ascends to the third minor to express his +displeasure. Quietude is expressed by the fourth note. + +Every situation has its interval, its corresponding inflection, its +corresponding note: this is a mathematical language. + +Why this magnificent concert God has arranged in our midst if it has no +auditors? If God had made us only intelligent beings, he would have +given us speech alone and without inflections. Let us further illustrate +the role of inflection. + +A father receives a picture from his daughter. He expresses his +gratitude by a falling inflection: "Ah well! the dear child." The +picture comes from a stranger whom he does not know as a painter; he +will say, "Well now! why does he send me this?" raising his voice. + +If he does not know from whom the picture comes, his voice will neither +rise nor fall; he will say, "Well! well! well!" + +Let us suppose that his daughter is the painter. She has executed a +masterpiece. Astonished at the charm of this work and at the same time +grateful, his voice will have both inflections. + +If surprise predominates over love the rising inflection will +predominate. If love and surprise are equal, he will simply say, "Well +now!" + +_Kan_ in Chinese signifies at the same time the roof of a house, a +cellar, well, chamber, bed--the inflection alone determines the meaning. +Roof is expressed by the falling, cellar by the rising inflection. The +Chinese note accurately the depth and acuteness of sound, its intervals +and its intensity. + +We can say: "It is pretty, this little dog!" in 675 different ways. Some +one would do it harm. We say: "This little dog is pretty, do not harm +it!" "It is pretty because it is so little." If it is a mischievous or +vicious dog, we use _pretty_ in an ironical sense. "This dog has bitten +my hand. It is a pretty dog indeed!" etc. + + + +_Rules of Inflection._ + + +1. Inflections are formed by an upward or downward slide of the voice, +or the voice remains in monotone. Inflections are, then, eccentric, +concentric and normal. + +2. The voice rises in exaltation, astonishment, and conflict. + +3. The voice falls in affirmation, affection and dejection. + +4. It neither rises nor falls in hesitation. + +5. Interrogation is expressed by the rising inflection when we do not +know what we ask; by the falling, when we do not quite know what we ask. +For instance, a person asks tidings of his friend's health, aware or +unaware that he is no better. + +6. Musical tones should be given to things that are pleasing. Courtiers +give musical inflections to the words they address to royalty. + +7. Every manifestation of life is a song; every sound is a song. But +inflections must not be multiplied, lest delivery degenerate into a +perpetual sing-song. The effect lies entirely in reproducing the same +inflection. A drop of water falling constantly, hollows a rock. A +mediocre man will employ twenty or thirty tones. Mediocrity is not the +too little, but the too much. The art of making a profound impression is +to condense; the highest art would be to condense a whole scene into one +inflection. Mediocre speakers are always seeking to enrich their +inflections; they touch at every range, and lose themselves in a +multitude of intangible effects. + +8. In real art it is not always necessary to fall back upon logic. The +reason needs illumination from nature, as the eye, in order to see, +needs light. Reason may be in contradiction to nature. For instance, a +half-famished hunter, in sight of a good dinner, would say: "I am +_hungry_" emphasizing _hungry_, while reason would say that _am_ must be +emphasized. A hungry pauper would say: "I _am_ hungry," dwelling upon +_am_ and gliding over _hungry_. If he were not hungry, or wished to +deceive, he would dwell upon _hungry_. + + + +_Special Inflections._ + + +Among the special inflections we may reckon:-- + +1. _Exclamations._--Abrupt, loud, impassioned sounds, and +improvisations. + +2. _Cries._--These are prolonged exclamations called forth by a lively +sentiment of some duration, as acute suffering, joy or terror. They are +formed by the sound _a_. In violent pain arising from a physical cause, +the cries assume three different tones: one grave, another acute, the +last being the lowest, and we pass from one to the other in a chromatic +order. + +There are appealing cries which ask aid in peril. These cries are formed +by the sounds e and o. They are slower than the preceding, but more +acute and of greater intensity. + +3. _Groans._--Here the voice is plaintive, pitiful, and formed by two +successive tones, the one sharp, the final one deep. Its monotony, the +constant recurrence of the same inflection, give it a remarkable +expression. + +4. _Lamentation_ is produced by a voice loud, plaintive, despairing and +obstinate, indicating a heart which can neither contain nor restrain +itself. + +5. _The sob_ is an uninterrupted succession of sounds produced by +slight, continuous inspirations, in some sort convulsive, and ending in +a long, violent inspiration. + +6. _The sigh_ is a weak low tone produced by a quick expiration +followed by a slow and deep inspiration. + +7. _The laugh_ is composed of a succession of loud, quick, monotonous +sounds formed by an uninterrupted series of slight expirations, rapid +and somewhat convulsive, of a tone more or less acute and prolonged, and +produced by a deep inspiration. + +8. _Singing_ is the voice modulated or composed of a series of +appreciable tones. + + + + + +Part Second. + +Gesture. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Of Gesture in General. + + + +Human word is composed of three languages. Man says what he _feels_ by +inflections of the voice, what he _loves_ by gesture, what he _thinks_ +by articulate speech. The child begins with feeling; then he loves, and +later, he reasons. While the child only feels, cries suffice him; when +he loves, he needs gestures; when he reasons, he must have articulate +language. The inflections of the voice are for sensations, gesture is +for sentiments; the buccal apparatus is for the expression of ideas. +Gesture, then, is the bond of union between inflection and thought. +Since gesture, in genealogical order, holds the second rank in human +languages, we shall reserve for it that place in the series of our +oratorical studies. + +We are entering upon a subject full of importance and interest. We +purpose to render familiar the _heart language_, the expression of love. + +We learn dead languages and living languages: Greek, Latin, German, +English. Is it well to know conventional idioms, and to ignore the +language of nature? The body needs education as well as the mind. This +is no trivial work. Let it be judged by the steps of the ideal ladder we +must scale before reaching the perfection of gesture. Observe the ways +of laboring men. Their movements are awkward, the joints do not play. +This is the first step. + +At a more advanced stage, the shoulders play without the head. The +individual turns around with a great impulse from the shoulders, with +the leg raised, but the hand and the rest of the body remain inert. Then +come the elbows, but without the hand. Later come the wrist-joint and +the torso. With this movement of the wrist, the face becomes mobilized, +for there is great affinity between these two agents. The face and hand +form a most interesting unity. Finally, from the wrist, the articulation +passes to the fingers, and here is imitative perfection. If we would +speak our language eloquently, we must not be beguiled into any _patois_ +of gesture. + +Gesture must be studied in order to render it faultlessly elegant, but +in such a thorough way as not to seem studied. It has still higher +claims to our regard in view of the services it has rendered to +humanity. Thanks to this language of the heart, thousands of deaf-mutes +are enabled to endure their affliction, and to share our social +pleasures. Blessed be the Abbe de l'Epee, who, by uniting the science of +gesture to the conventional signs of dactyology, has made the deaf hear +and the dumb speak! This beneficent invention has made gesture in a +twofold manner, the language of the heart. + +Gesture is an important as well as interesting study. How beautiful it +is to see the thousand pieces of the myological apparatus set in motion +and propelled by this grand motor feeling! There surely is a joy in +knowing how to appreciate an image of Christ on the cross, in +understanding the attitudes of Faith, Hope and Charity. We can note a +mother's affection by the way she holds her child in her arms. We can +judge of the sincerity of the friend who grasps our hand. If he holds +the thumb inward and pendant, it is a fatal sign; we no longer trust +him. To pray with the thumbs inward and swaying to and fro, indicates a +lack of sacred fervor. It is a corpse who prays. If you pray with the +arms extended and the fingers bent, there is reason to fear that you +adore Plutus. If you embrace me without elevating the shoulders, you are +a Judas. + +What can you do in a museum, if you have not acquired, if you do not +wish to acquire the science of gesture? How can you rightly appreciate +the beauty of the statue of Antinous? How can you note a fault in +Raphael's picture of Moses making water gush from the rock? How see that +he has forgotten to have the Israelites raise their shoulders, as they +stand rapt in admiration of the miracle? One versed in the science of +gesture, as he passes before the Saint Michael Fountain, must confess +that the statue of the archangel with its parallel lines, is little +better than the dragon at his feet. + +In view of the importance and interest of the language of gesture, we +shall study it thoroughly in the second book of our course. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Definition and Division of Gesture. + + + +Gesture is the direct agent of the heart, the interpreter of speech. It +is elliptical discourse. Each part of this definition may be easily +justified. + +1. _Gesture is the Direct Agent of the Heart._--Look at an infant. For +some time he manifests his joy or sorrow through cries; but these are +not gesture. When he comes to know the cause of his joy or sorrow, +sentiment awakens, his heart opens to love or hatred, and he expresses +his new emotion not by cries alone, nor yet by speech; he smiles upon +his mother, and his first gesture is a smile. Beings endowed only with +the sensitive life, have no smile; animals do not laugh. + +This marvelous correspondence of the organs with the sentiment arises +from the close union of soul and body. The brain ministers to the +operations of the soul. Every sentiment must have its echo in the brain, +in order to be unerringly transmitted by the organic apparatus. + +_Ex visu cognoscitur vir._ ("The man is known by his face.") The role of +dissimulation is a very difficult one to sustain. + +2. _Gesture is the Interpreter of Speech._--Gesture has been given to +man to reveal what speech is powerless to express. For example: _I +love_. This phrase says nothing of the nature of the being loved, +nothing of the fashion in which one loves. Gesture, by a simple +movement, reveals all this, and says it far better than speech, which +would know how to render it only by many successive words and phrases. A +gesture, then, like a ray of light, can reflect all that passes in the +soul. + +Hence, if we desire that a thing shall be always remembered, we must not +say it in words; we must let it be divined, revealed by gesture. +Wherever an ellipse is supposable in a discourse, gesture must intervene +to explain this ellipse. + +3. _Gesture is an Elliptical Language._--We call ellipse a hidden +meaning whose revelation belongs to gesture. A gesture must correspond +to every ellipse. For example: "This medley of glory and gain vexes me." +If we attribute something ignominious or abject to the word _medley_, +there is an ellipse in the phrase, because the ignominy is implied +rather than expressed. Gesture is then necessary here to express the +value of the implied adjective, _ignominious_. + +Suppress this ellipse, and the gesture must also be suppressed, for +gesture is not the accompaniment of speech. It must express the idea +better and in another way, else it will be only a pleonasm, an after +conception of bad taste, a hindrance rather than an aid to intelligible +expression. + + + +_Division of Gesture._ + + +Every act, gesture and movement has its rule, its execution and its +_raison d'etre_. The imitative is also divided into three parts: the +static, the dynamic and the semeiotic. The static is the base, the +dynamic is the centre, and the semeiotic the summit. The static is the +equiponderation of the powers or agents; it corresponds to life. + +The dynamic is the form of movements. The dynamic is melodic, harmonic +and rhythmic. Gesture is melodic by its forms or its inflections. To +understand gesture one must study melody. There is great affinity +between the inflections of the voice and gesture. All the inflections of +the voice are common to gesture. The inflections of gesture are oblique +for the _life_, direct for the _soul_ and circular for the _mind_. These +three terms, oblique, direct and circular, correspond to the eccentric, +normal and concentric states. The movements of flection are direct, +those of rotation, circular, those of abduction, oblique. + +Gesture is harmonic through the multiplicity of the agents which act in +the same manner. This harmony is founded upon the convergence or +opposition of the movements. Thus the perfect accord is the consonance +of the three agents,--head, torso and limbs. Dissonance arises from the +divergence of one of these agents. + +Finally, gesture is rhythmic because its movements are subordinated to +a given measure. The dynamic corresponds to the _soul_. + +The semeiotic gives the reason of movements, and has for its object the +careful examination of inflections, attitudes and types. + +Under our first head, we treat of the static and of gesture in general; +under our second, of the dynamic, and of gesture in particular; and +finally, under our third head, of the semeiotic, with an exposition of +the laws of gesture. + + + + +Chapter III. + +Origin and Oratorical Value of Gesture. + + + +_Origin._ + + +The infant in the cradle has neither speech nor gesture:--he cries. As +he gains sensibility his tones grow richer, become inflections, are +multiplied and attain the number of three million special and distinct +inflections. The young infant manifests neither intelligence nor +affection; but he reveals his life by sounds. When he discerns the +source of his joys or sufferings, he loves, and gesticulates to repulse +or to invite. The gestures, which are few at first, become quite +numerous. It is God's art he follows; he is an artist without knowing +it. + + + +_Oratorical Value of Gesture._ + + +The true aim of art is to move, to interest and to persuade. Emotion, +interest and persuasion are the first terms of art. Emotion is expressed +by the voice, by sounds; interest, by language; persuasion is the office +of gesture. + +To inflection belongs emotion through the beautiful; to logic, interest +through the truth; to plastic art, persuasion through the good. + +Gesture is more than speech. It is not what we say that persuades, but +the manner of saying it. The mind can be interested by speech, it must +be persuaded by gesture. If the face bears no sign of persuasion, we do +not persuade. + +Why at first sight does a person awaken our sympathy or antipathy? We do +not understand why, but it is by reason of his gestures. + +Speech is inferior to gesture, because it corresponds to the phenomena +of mind; gesture is the agent of the heart, it is the persuasive agent. + +Articulate language is weak because it is successive. It must be +enunciated phrase by phrase; by words, syllables, letters, consonants +and vowels--and these do not end it. That which demands a volume is +uttered by a single gesture. A hundred pages do not say what a simple +movement may express, because this simple movement expresses our whole +being. Gesture is the direct agent of the soul, while language is +analytic and successive. The leading quality of mind is number; it is to +speculate, to reckon, while gesture grasps everything by +intuition,--sentiment as well as contemplation. There is something +marvelous in this language, because it has relations with another +sphere; it is the world of grace. + +An audience must not be supposed to resemble an individual. A man of the +greatest intelligence finding himself in an audience, is no longer +himself. An audience is never intelligent; it is a multiple being, +composed of sense and sentiment. The greater the numbers, the less +intelligence has to do. To seek to act upon an individual by gesture +would be absurd. The reverse is true with an audience; it is persuaded +not by reasoning, but by gesture. + +There is here a current none can control. We applaud disagreeable things +in spite of ourselves--things we should condemn, were they said to us in +private. The audience is not composed of intellectual people, but of +people with senses and hearts. As sentiment is the highest thing in art, +it should be applied to gesture. + +If the gestures are good, the most wretched speaking is tolerated. So +much the better if the speaking is good, but gesture is the +all-important thing. Gesture is superior to each of the other languages, +because it embraces the constituent parts of our being. Gesture includes +everything within us. Sound is the gesture of the vocal apparatus. The +consonants and vowels are the gesture of the buccal apparatus, and +gesture, properly so called, is the product of the myological apparatus. + +It is not ideas that move the masses; it is gestures. + +We easily reach the heart and soul through the senses. Music acts +especially on the senses. It purifies them, it gives intelligence to the +hand, it disposes the heart to prayer. The three languages may each +move, interest and persuade. + +Language is a sort of music which moves us through vocal expression; it +is besides normal through the gesture of articulation. No language is +exclusive. All interpenetrate and communicate their action. The action +of music is general. + +The mind and the life are active only for the satisfaction of the +heart; then, since the heart controls all our actions, gesture must +control all other languages. + +Gesture is magnetic, speech is not so. Through gesture we subdue the +most ferocious animals. + +The ancients were not ignorant of this all-powerful empire of gesture +over an audience. Therefore, sometimes to paralyze, sometimes to augment +this magic power, orators were obliged to cover their faces with a mask, +when about to speak in public. The judges of the Areopagus well knew the +power of gesture, and to avoid its seductions, they adopted the resource +of hearing pleas only in the darkness. + +The sign of the cross made at the opening of a sermon often has great +effect upon good Catholics. Let a priest with his eyes concentric and +introspective make deliberately the sign of the cross while solemnly +uttering these words: "In-the-name-of-the-Father;" then let his glance +sweep the audience. What do they think of him? This is no longer an +ordinary man; he seems clothed with the majesty of God, whose orders he +has just received, and in whose name he brings them. This idea gives him +strength and assurance, and his audience respect and docility. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +The Laws of Gesture. + + + +The static treats of the laws of gesture which are six in number, viz.: +Priority, retroaction, the opposition of agents, unity, stability and +rhythm. + + + +_The Priority of Gesture to Speech._ + + +Gesture must always precede speech. In fact, speech is reflected +expression. It must come after gesture, which is parallel with the +impression received. Nature incites a movement, speech names this +movement. Speech is only the title, the label of what gesture has +anticipated. Speech comes only to confirm what the audience already +comprehend. Speech is given for naming things. Gesture asks the +question, "What?" and speech answers. Gesture after the answer would be +absurd. Let the word come after the gesture and there will be no +pleonasm. + +Priority of gesture may be thus explained: First a movement responds to +the sensation; then a gesture, which depicts the emotion, responds to +the imagination which colors the sensation. Then comes the judgment +which approves. Finally, we consider the audience, and this view of the +audience suggests the appropriate expression for that which has already +been expressed by gesture. + +The basis of this art is to make the auditors divine what we would have +them feel. + +Every speaker may choose his own stand-point, but the essential law is +to anticipate, to justify speech by gesture. Speech is the verifier of +the fact expressed. The thing may be expressed before announcing its +name. Sometimes we let the auditors divine rather than anticipate, +gazing at them in order to rivet their attention. Eloquence is composed +of many things which are not named, but must be named by slight +gestures. In this eloquence consists. Thus a smack of the tongue, a blow +upon the hand, an utterance of the vowel _u_ as if one would remove a +stain from his coat. The writer cannot do all this. The mere rendition +of the written discourse is nothing for the orator; his talent consists +in taking advantage of a great number of little nameless sounds. + +A written discourse must contain forced epithets and adjectives to +illustrate the subject. In a spoken discourse a great number of +adjectives are worse than useless. Gesture and inflection of the voice +supply their place. The sense is not in the words; it is in inflection +and gesture. + + + +_Retroaction._ + + +We have formulated this general law: The eccentric, normal and +concentric expression must correspond to the sensitive, moral and +intellectual state of man. When gesture is concerned, the law is thus +modified: In the sensitive state, the gesture, which is naturally +eccentric, may become concentric, as the orator is passive or active. + +He is passive when subject to any action whatever, when he depicts an +emotion. + +He is agent when he communicates to the audience the expression of his +own will or power; in a word, at all times when he controls his +audience. + +When the orator assumes the passive role, that is, when he reflects, he +gazes upon his audience; he makes a backward (or concentric) movement; +when he assumes the active role, he makes a forward (or eccentric) +movement. When one speaks to others, he advances; when one speaks to +himself, he recoils a step, his thought centres upon himself. + +In the passive state, one loves. But when he loves, he does not move +forward. A being who feels, draws back, and contemplates the object +toward which the hand extends. Contemplation makes the body retroact. + +Hence in the passive state, the orator must step backward. In the +opposite state he moves forward. Let us apply this law: A spendthrift +officer meets his landlord, whom he has not yet paid, and greets him +with an--"Ah, good day, sir!" What will be his movement? It must be +retroactive. In the joy of seeing a friend again, as also in fright, we +start back from the object loved or hated. Such is the law of nature, +and it cannot be ignored. + +Whence comes this law? To behold a loved object fully, we must step +back, remove to some little distance from it. Look at a painter admiring +his work. It is retroaction at sight of a beloved person, which has led +to the discovery of the phenomena of life, to this triple state of man +which is found in like manner, everywhere: Concentric, eccentric, and +normal. + +The concentric is the passive state, for when one experiences a deep +emotion, he must retroact. Hence a demonstration of affection is not +made with a forward movement. If so, there is no love. Expiration is the +sign of him who gives his heart. Hence there is joy and love. In +inspiration there is retroaction, and, in some sort, distrust. The hand +extends toward the beloved object; if the hand tend toward itself, a +love of self is indicated. Love is expressed by a retroactive, never by +a forward movement. In portraying this sentiment the hand must not be +carried to the heart. This is nonsense; it is an oratorical crime. The +hand must tend toward the loved being to caress, to grasp, to reassure +or to defend. The hand is carried to the heart only in case of suffering +there. + +Take this passage from Racine's Phedre: + + _Dieu--que ne puis-je a l'ombre des forets, + Suivre de l'oeil un char fuyant dans la carriere--_ + + ("God--may I not, through the dim forest shades, + With my glance follow a fleet chariot's course.") + +Here the actor does not follow affectionately, but with the eye, and +then by recoiling and concentrating his thought upon himself. + +In the role of _Emilie_: + + "_He may in falling crush thee 'neath his fall_" + +at sight of her crushed lover Emilie must recoil in terror, and not seem +to add the weight of her body to that which crushes the victim. + +Augustus, on the contrary, may say: + + "I might in falling crush thee 'neath my fall," + +pausing upon a forward movement, because he is here the agent. + +Let us note in passing that the passive attitude is the type of +energetic natures. They have something in themselves which suffices +them. This is a sort of repose; it is elasticity. + + + +_Opposition of Agents._ + + +The opposition of the agents is the harmony of gesture. Harmony is born +of contrasts. From opposition, equilibrium is born in turn. Equilibrium +is the great law of gesture, and condemns parallelism; and these are the +laws of equilibrium: + +1. The forward inclination of the torso corresponds to the movement of +the leg in the opposite direction. + +2. When one arm is added to the weight of the already inclined torso, +the other arm must rise to form a counterpoise. + +3. In gazing into a well, the two arms must be drawn backward if the +body is equally supported by the two legs; in like manner the two arms +may be carried in front if the torso bends backward. This is allowable +only in the first attitude of the base, or in a similar attitude. + +The harmonic law of gesture is the static law _par excellence_. + +It is of childlike simplicity. We employ it in walking; also when we +carry a weight in one hand, the other rises. The law consists in placing +the acting levers in opposition, and thus realizing equilibrium. All +that is in equilibrium is harmonized. All ancient art is based upon this +opposition of levers. Modern art, with but few exceptions, is quite the +contrary. + +Here is an example of the observance of this rule: If the head and arms +are in action, the head must move in opposition to the arms and the +hand. If both move in the same direction, there is a defect in +equilibrium, and awkwardness results. + +When the arm rises to the head, the head bends forward and meets it +half-way. The reverse is true. Every movement in the hand has its +responsive movement in the head. If the head advances, the hand +withdraws. The movements must balance, so that the body may be in +equilibrium and remain balanced. + +Here is the difference between ancient and modern art. Let us suppose a +statue of Corneille reading his works. To-day we should pose it with +one leg and arm advanced. This is parallelism. Formerly the leg would +have been opposed to this movement of the arm, because there should be +here the expansion of the author toward his work, and this expansion +results precisely from an opposition of levers. + +We know the ancient gladiator; we do exactly the opposite from him in +fencing. + +Modern art makes the man walk with leg and arm parallel. Ancient art +would have the leg opposed to the arm. + +It is through opposition that the smile expresses moral sadness. This +law of opposition must be observed in the same member. For example, the +hand should be opposed to the arm. Thus we have magnificent spheroidal +movements which are graceful and also have considerable force. Thus all +the harmonies occur in one same whole, in one same truth. In a word, all +truths interpenetrate, and when a thing is true from one point of view, +it is so from all. + + + +_Number of Gestures._ + + +Many reasons go to prove that gestures need not be multiplied: + +A.--We are moved by only one sentiment at a time; hence it is useless to +multiply gestures. + +B.--But one gesture is needed for the expression of an entire thought; +since it is not the word but the thought that the gesture must announce; +if it expressed only the word, it would be trivial and mean, and also +prejudicial to the effect of the phrase. + +In these phrases: "What do you seek in the world, happiness? It is not +there," that which first strikes us is the absence of happiness. Gesture +must indicate it in advance, and this should be the dominating movement. + +The intelligent man makes few gestures. To multiply gestures indicates a +lack of intelligence. The face is the thermometer of intelligence. Let +as much expression as possible be given to the face. A gesture made by +the hand is wrong when not justified in advance by the face. +Intelligence is manifested by the face. When the intelligent man speaks, +he employs great movements only when they are justified by great +exaltation of sentiment; and, furthermore, these sentiments should be +stamped upon his face. Without expression of the face, all gestures +resemble telegraphic movements. + +C.--The repeated extension of the arms denotes but little intelligence, +little suppleness in the wrist and fingers. The movement of a single +finger indicates great _finesse_. + +It is easy to distinguish the man of head, heart and actions. The first +makes many gestures of the head; the second many of the shoulders; the +last moves the arms often and inappropriately. + +D.--Gesture is allowable only when an ellipse of the word or phrase +admits of an additional value. + +E.--Effects must not be multiplied; this is an essential precaution. +Multiplied movements are detrimental when a graver movement is awaited. + +F.--The orator is free to choose between the role of actor or that of +mere spectator or narrator. Neither the one nor the other can be forced +upon him. The actor's role arises not from intelligence but simply from +instinct. The actor identifies himself with the personages he +represents. He renders all their sentiments. This role is the most +powerful, but, before making it the object of his choice, there must be +severe study; he must not run the risk of frivolity. + +We can dictate to the preacher and mark out his path. He must not be an +actor, but a _doctor_. Hence his gestures must never represent the +impressions of those of whom he speaks, but his own. Hence he should +proportion the number of his gestures to the number of his sentiments. + +G.--If the orator would speak to any purpose, he must bring back his +discourse to some picture from nature, some scene from real life. + +There must be unity in everything; but a role may be condensed in two or +three traits; therefore a great number of gestures is not necessary. + +Let it be carefully noted: the expression of the face should make the +gesture of the arms forgotten. Here the talent of the orator shines +forth. He must captivate his public in such a way that his arm gestures +will be ignored. He must so fascinate his auditors that they cannot ask +the reason of this fascination, nor remark that he gesticulates at all. + +H.--Where there are two gestures in the same idea, one of them must +come before the proposition, the other in its midst. + +If there is but one gesture and it precedes the proposition, the term to +which it is applied must be precisely indicated. + +For example: _Would he be sensible to friendship?_ Although friendship +may in some degree be qualified as the indirect regimen, gesture should +portray it in all its attributes. + + + +_Duration of Gesture._ + + +The suspension or prolongation of a movement is one of the great sources +of effect. It is in suspension that force and interest consist. A good +thing is worth being kept in sight long enough to allow an enjoyment of +the view. + +The orator should rest upon the preceding gesture until a change is +absolutely required. + +A preoccupied man greets you with a smile, and after you have left, he +smiles on, until something else occurs to divert his mind. + +The orator's abstraction should change the face, but not the gesture. If +the double change takes place simultaneously, there will be no unity. +The gesture should be retained and the expression of the face changed. + +A variety of effects and inflections should be avoided. While the +speaker is under the influence of the same sentiment, the same +inflection and gesture must be retained, so that there may be unity of +style. + +Art proposes three things: to move, to interest, to persuade by unity of +inflection and gesture. One effect must not destroy another. Divergence +confuses the audience, and leaves no time for sentiment. + +It is well to remember that the stone becomes hollowed by the incessant +fall of the drop of water in the same place. + + + +_The Rhythm of Gesture._ + + +Gesture is at the same time melodic, or rather inflective, harmonic and +rhythmic. It must embrace the elements of music, since it corresponds to +the soul; it is the language of the soul, and the soul necessarily +includes the life with its diverse methods of expression, and the mind. +Gesture is melodic or inflective through the richness of its forms, +harmonic through the multiplicity of parts that unite simultaneously to +produce it. Gesture is rhythmic through its movement, more or less slow, +or more or less rapid. + +Gesture is, then, inevitably synthetic, and consequently harmonic; for +harmony is but another name for synthesis. + +Each of the inflective, harmonic and rhythmic modes has its peculiar +law. + +The rhythmic law of gesture is thus formulated: + +"The rhythm of gesture is proportional to the mass to be moved." + +The more an organ is restrained, the more vehement is its impulse. + +This law is based upon the vibration of the pendulum. Great levers have +slow movements, small agents more rapid ones. The head moves more +rapidly when the torso and the eye have great facility of motion. Thus +the titillations of the eye are rapid as lightning. + +This titillation always announces an emotion. Surprise is feigned if +there is no titillation. + +For example, at the unexpected visit of a friend there is a lighting up +of the eye. Wherefore? Because the image is active in the imagination. +This is an image which passes within ourselves, which lies in inward +phenomena. + +So in relation to material phenomena: there is a convergence, a +direction of the eyes toward the object; if the object changes place, +the eyes cannot modify their manner of convergence; they must close to +find a new direction, a convergence suited to the distance of the +object. + +There is never sympathetic vision. The phenomena of the imagination are +in the imagination at a fixed distance. When an image changes place in +the idea, it produces a titillation equal to that which would be +produced in the order of material things. For example, let us quote +these lines: + + "At last I have him in my power, + This fatal foe, this haughty conqueror! + Through him my captives leave their slavery." + +Here the body must be calm; there is a sort of vehemence in the eyes; it +will be less in the head than in the arms. All these movements are made, +but the body remains firm. Generally the reverse takes place; the whole +body is moved; but this is wrong. + +In these words: "Where are they, these wretches?" there must be great +violence in the upper part of the body, but the step is very calm. + +To affect a violent gait is an awkward habit. A modified slowness in the +small agents creates emphasis; if we give them too great facility of +movement, the gestures become mean and wretched. + +Rhythm is in marvelous accord with nature under the impulse of God. + + + +_Importance of the Laws of Gesture._ + + +We never really understand an author's meaning. Every one is free to +interpret him according to his individual instinct. But we must know how +to justify his interpretation by gesture. Principles must aid us in +choosing a point of view in accordance with his individual nature; +otherwise incoherence is inevitable. Hence rules are indispensable. But +when the law is known, each applies it in accordance with his own idea. + +The author himself cannot read without rules, in such a manner as to +convey the ideas he intended to express. Only through rules can we +become free in our interpretation; we are not free without law, for in +this case we are subject to the caprice of some master. + +The student of oratory should not be a servile copyist. In the +arrangement of his effects, he must copy, imitate and compose. Let him +first reproduce a fixed model, the lesson of the master. This is to +copy. Let him then reproduce the lesson in the absence of the master. +This is to imitate. Finally, let him reproduce a fugitive model. This is +to compose. + +Thus to reproduce a lesson, to give its analysis and synthesis, is to +disjoint, to unite and to reunite; this is the progressive order of +work. + +The copying and imitative exercises should be followed by compositions, +applying the principles already known. The orator may be allowed play +for his peculiar genius; he may be sublime even in employing some +foolish trick of his art. But whatever he does, he must be guided by +fixed rules. + + + + +Chapter V. + +Of Gesture in Particular. + + + +_The Head._ + + +The dynamic apparatus is composed of the head, the torso and the limbs. +As in the vocal apparatus, we have the lever, the impelling force, and +the fulcrum. + +The dynamic apparatus produces gesture, which renders the moral or +normal state; as the voice expresses inflection and reveals the +sensitive state. + +The head must be studied under two relations: as the agent of expression +through its movements, and as the centre of attraction; that is, the +point of departure or arrival for the different gestures of the arm. + +Let us now apply ourselves to the signification of the movements of the +head and eyes, the face and lips. + + + +_The Movements of the Head._ + + +There are two sorts of movements of the head: movements of attitude and +fugitive movements. + +_Movements of Attitude._--The head has nine primary attitudes, from +which many others proceed. + +In the normal attitude, the head is neither high nor low. + +In the concentric attitude the head is lowered; this is the reflective +state. + +In the eccentric attitude the head is elevated; this is the vital +state. + +Soldiers and men of robust physique carry the head high. + +Here are three genera, each of which gives three species. + + + +_The Normal State._ + + +When the head is erect, it is passive and neutral. + +The head inclining laterally toward the interlocutor indicates +affection. + +If in the inverse direction, opposite the interlocutor, sensualism is +indicated. This is in fact retroaction; in the first case we love the +soul, in the latter the form. + + + +_The Eccentric State._ + + +If the head bends backward it is the passional or vehement state. + +The head inclined toward the interlocutor, denotes abandon, confidence. + +The head turned away from the interlocutor, denotes pride, noble or +base. This is a neutral expression which says something, but not the +whole. + + + +_The Concentric State._ + + +The head lowered, that is, inclined forward, denotes the reflective +state. + +If the head inclines toward the interlocutor, it is veneration, an act +of faith in the object we love. + +If the head inclines away from the interlocutor, it is stratagem or +suspicion. + +All other attitudes of the head are modifications of these. These nine +attitudes characterize states, that is, sentiments, but sentiments which +are fugitive. Either of these attitudes may be affected until it becomes +habitual. But there are movements which cannot be habitually affected, +which can only modify types and attitudes of the inflections of the +head. These are _fugitive movements_. + +There are nine inflections or fugitive movements of the head:-- + +1. If a forward movement, it ends in an upright one, with elevated chin, +and indicates interrogation, hope, appellation, desire. + +2. The same movement with the chin lowered, indicates doubt, +resignation. + +3. A nod of the head, a forward movement, means confirmation, _yes_, or +_well_. + +4. If the movement is brusque forward, it is the menace of a resolute +man. + +5. The head thrown back means exaltation. + +6. If the movement is brusque backward, it is the menace of a weak man. + +7. There are rotative inflections from one shoulder to the other; this +is impatience, regret. + +8. The rotary movement of the head alone signifies negation, that is +_no_. + +If the movement ends toward the interlocutor, it is simple negation. + +If the movement ends opposite to him, it is negation with distrust. + +9. The rotative and forward inflection would denote exaltation. + +The sense of this response,--"I do not know," when tidings of a friend +are asked, may be divined by an inflection of the head. + +It is well to note how these movements are transmitted from agent to +agent. + +All movements which severally affect the head, the hand, the body and +the leg, may affect the whole. + +Thus the movement of negation is made by the hand. This movement is +double. There is negation with direct resolution, and negation with +inverse resolution, which is elliptical. The hand recoils as the head +recoils, and when the head makes the movement of impatience, the hand +rises with the head and says:--"Leave me alone, I do not wish to hear +you." + +It is curious to see an inflection pass successively from the head to +the hand, from the hand to the eye, from the eye to the shoulders, from +the shoulders to the arms, from the arms to the legs, from the legs to +the feet. + +For example: Above we have indicated a double menace made by the head. +One might transfer this menace to the hand and say: "You will have a +quarrel to settle with me!" + +Each agent has its role, and this is why they transmit their movements. + +When the head has a serious part to play, it communicates an inflective +movement to the hand, which renders it terrible. + +A man who menaces with the head is not sure of his aim, but he who +menaces with the hand is sure of striking right. In order to do this, +the eye must be firmly fixed, as the eye necessarily loses its power and +accuracy by a movement of the head. + +There is great power in the menace communicated to the hand, a power not +found in the other movement. The head-menace is more physical, and the +hand-menace more intellectual; in the one the eye says a great deal, +while in the other it says nothing. + +The orator cannot always make these gestures with facility. The menace +may be elliptical. Then it must be made by the head, and expressed +through the eyes. This is why the speaker gazes downward as he makes it. + +It is the same downward or upward movement which is reproduced when the +menace is concentric or elliptical. + +The menace may be made in yet another way. The speaker does not wish to +express his opinion, and for fear of compromising himself with his eyes, +he does not gaze at his interlocutor; he turns aside his glance, and the +menace is communicated to the shoulder. This has less strength, because +it is rendered by one of the sensitive agents. + +The man who threatens with the shoulder is more passionate; but he is +not the agent, he is passive. + +A simple menace may be made by the knee. The foot is susceptible of +great mobility. A slight movement quickly changes its significance; in +passing from one agent to another, it is modified by many ellipses. + + Criterion of the Head Attitudes. + + GENUS. SPECIES. + + 1 3 2 + + 1-II 3-II 2-II + II Ecc. Conc. Norm. Conc. Conc. Conc. + _Stratagem or _Reflection_. _Veneration_. + cunning_. + + 1-III 3-III 2-III + III Ecc. Norm. Norm. Norm. Conc. Norm. + _Sensualism_. _Passive state_. _Affection_. + + 1-I 3-I 2-I + I Ecc. Ecc. Norm. Ecc. Conc. Ecc. + _Pride_. _Vehemence_. _Confidence_. + +These attitudes, being wholly characteristic, cannot be transmitted. +They characterize the special role of the agent set in motion, while +inflection is universal. + +The head alone expresses trouble, dejection. + +Dejection is in the head, as firmness is in the reins and exaltation in +the shoulders. + +All the movements of the head are communicated to all the active organs. +The head is always in opposition to the arms. The head must be turned +away from the leg which is advanced. + +Men of small brain habitually carry their heads high. The head is +lowered in proportion to the quantity of intelligence. + +Examine the criterion for the fixed attitudes of the head. + + + +_Of the Eyes._ + + +The eye, in common with all the other agents, has nine primary +expressions, three genera and nine species. + +The eye contains three agents: The optic or visual, the palpebral or +pupil, and the eyebrow agent. Each of these has its peculiar sense, and +we shall show how they are united. + +The optic agent has three direct or convergent glances. The eyes +converge toward the object they examine, at such a point that if the +object were there they would squint. A skilled observer can determine +the distance of the object, upon seeing the two eyes. + +There is a revolving or divergent glance. If both eyes project in +parallel lines, they see double. A drunken man sees double because the +eyes do not converge. + +Between these two glances there is the ecstatic or parallel vision; but +the object is not so far away that its distance may not be determined. +The convergence is not appreciable. This is the dreamy expression. We +shall here treat of one only, to which we refer the three others. Let us +take the direct glance, passing by the optic agent, since it is direct +in all the phenomena we have to consider. + +There are three phenomena in the eyebrow: eccentric, concentric and +normal. From these we derive nine terms. If the eye is normal, it is a +passive expression which determines nothing. If, with the same eye, the +eyebrow is eccentric, there is a difference; one part of us tends +vehemently toward something, and the other says: "It is not worth the +trouble." The sensitive part aspires, while the intellect says, "This +amounts to nothing." + +The concentric eyebrow indicates a mind disconcerted by fatigue or +_ennui_, a contention of one part of the nature with the other, which +resists, and says: "I do not wish to be troubled about this; it wearies +me." + +The normal brow and the eccentric eye indicate stupor. + +Here there is again contrariety. One part of the being ardently aspires +toward some object, while the other is powerless to aid it. + +The eye is purely an intellectual agent, denoting the various states of +the mind. + +The eccentric eye and the elevated eyebrow denote vehemence. This is an +active state that will become astonishment. Many phenomena will arise +and be subordinate to this movement; but it is vehemence _par +excellence_; it is aspiration. + +If the brow lowers vehemently with the eyes open, it is not rage, but a +state of mind independent of everything the senses or the heart can say. + +This is firmness of mind, a state of the will independent of every +outside influence. It may be attention, or anger, or many other things. + +If the eye is concentric and the eyebrow in the normal state, it is +slumber, fatigue. + +If the eyebrow is eccentric and the eye concentric, it will represent +not indifference only, but scorn, and after saying, "This thing is +worthless," will add, "I protest against it, I close my eyes." + +If both the eye and eyebrow are concentric, there is contention of mind. +This is a mind which seeks but does not possess. + +This explanation may be rendered more clear and easier to retain in mind +by the following resume: + + E Concentric. Contention of mind. + Concentric eyebrow Y Normal. Bad humor. + E Eccentric. Firmness + + E Concentric. Grief. + Normal eyebrow. Y Normal. Passiveness. + E Eccentric. Stupor. + + E Concentric. Scorn. + Eccentric eyebrow. Y Normal. Disdain. + E Eccentric. Astonishment. + +[Illustration: Criterion of the Eyes.] + +The nine expressions of the eye correspond to each of the nine +movements of the head. Thus the eye may give nine types of affection, +nine of pride, nine of sensualism, etc. This gives eighty-one +expressions of the eye. Hence, knowing eighteen elements, we inevitably +possess eighty-one. + +The nine expressions of the eye may be verified by the criterion. + +As a model, we give the nine expressions of the eye in the subjoined +chart. + + GENUS. SPECIES. + + 1 3 2 + Eye eccentric. Eye normal. Eye concentric. + + Eyebrow Firmness. Bad humor. Contention of + conc. mind. + II + + Eyebrow Stupor. Passive state. Grief. + III + + Eyebrow Inspiration. Disdain. Scorn. + I + +For ordinary purposes it is sufficient to understand the nine primary +expressions. There are many others which we merely indicate. In sleep +there may be an inclination either way. The top of the eyebrow may be +lifted. + +Thus in the concentric state, three types may be noted, and these go to +make twenty-seven primary movements. The lower eyelid may be contracted; +the twenty-seven first movements may be examined with this, which makes +2x27. + +A movement of the cheek may contract the eye in an opposite direction, +and this contraction may be total, which makes eighty-one expressions +belonging to the normal glance alone. + +This direct glance may also be direct on the inferior plane, which makes +2x81; for these are distinct expressions which cannot be confounded. + +This movement could again be an upward one, which would make 3x81. + +The movement may be outward and superior, or it may be simply outward; +it may also be outward and inferior. A special sense is attached to each +of these movements,--a sense which cannot be confounded with any of the +preceding movements. + +By making the same computation for the three glances above noted, we +shall have from eight to nine hundred movements. + +All this may appear complicated, but with the key of the primary +movements, nothing can be more simple than this deduction. + +The above chart with its exposition of the phases of the eye explains +everything. A small eye is a sign of strength; a large eye is a sign of +languor. A small oblique eye (the Chinese eye), when associated with +lateral development of the cranium, and ears drawn back, indicates a +predisposition to murder. + +The eye opens only in the first emotion; then it becomes calm, closing +gradually; an eye wide open in emotion, denotes stupidity. + + + +_Of the Eyebrows._ + + +There are three thermometers: the eyebrow is the thermometer of the +mind; the shoulder is the thermometer of the life; the thumb is the +thermometer of the will. + +There is parallelism between the eye and the voice. The voice lowered +and the brow lifted, indicate a desire to create surprise, and a lack of +mental depth. + +It is very important to establish this parallelism between the movements +of the brow and voice. + +The lowered brow signifies retention, repulsion: It is the signification +of a closed door. The elevated brow means the open door. The mind opens +to let in the light or to allow it to escape. The eyebrow is nothing +less than the door of intelligence. In falling, the voice repels. The +efforts in repulsion and retention are equal. + +The inflections are in accord with the eyebrows. When the brows are +raised, the voice is raised. This is the normal movement of the voice in +relation to the eyebrow. + +Sometimes the eyebrow is in contradiction to the movement of the voice. +Then there is always ellipse; it is a thought unexpressed. The +contradiction between these two agents always proves that we must seek +in the words which these phenomena modify, something other than they +seem to say. For instance, when we reply to a story just told us, with +this exclamation: "_Indeed_!" + +If the brow and voice are lowered, the case is grave and demands much +consideration. + +If brow and voice are elevated, the expression is usually mild, amiable +and affectionate. + +If the voice is raised and the brow lowered, the form is doubtful and +suspicious. With the brow concentric, the hand is repellent. + +Both brow and hand concentric denote repulsion or retention; this is +always the case with a door. + +Both brow and hand eccentric mean inspiration, or allowing departure +without concern. + +There is homogeneity between the face, the eyebrow and the hand. + +The degree and nature of the emotion must be shown in the face, +otherwise there will be only grimace. + +The hand is simply another expression of the face. The face gives the +hand its significance. Hand movements without facial expression would be +purely automatic. The face has the first word, the hand completes the +sense. There are eighty-one movements of the hand impossible to the +face; hence, without the hand, the face cannot express everything. The +hand is the detailed explanation of what the face has sought to say. + +There are expressions of the hand consonant with the facial traits, and +others dissonant: this is the beautiful. + +The weak hand and the strong face are the sign of impotence. + +The weak hand and the strong face are the sign of perfidy. + +The tones of the voice vary according to the expression of the face. The +face must speak, it must have charm. + +In laughing, the face is eccentric; a sombre face is concentric. + +The face is the mirror of the soul because it is the most impressionable +agent, and consequently the most faithful in rendering the impressions +of the soul. + +Not only may momentary emotions be read in the expression of the +features, but by an inspection of the conformation of the face, the +aptitude, thoughts, character and individual temperament may be +determined. + +The difference in faces comes from difference in the configuration of +profiles. + +There are three primitive and characteristic profiles, of which all +others are only derivations or shades. There is the upright, the concave +and the convex profile. Each of these genera must produce three +species, and this gives again the accord of _nine_. + +These different species arise from the direction of the angles, as also +from the position of the lips and nose. + +Uprightness responds to the perpendicular profile; chastity, to the +concave; sensualism, to the convex. + +Let it be understood that we derogate in no way from the liberty of the +man who remains always master of his will, his emotions and his +inclinations. + +A criterion of the face is indispensable to the intelligent +physiognomist, and as the lips and nose have much to do with the +expression of the face, we offer an unerring diagnosis in the three +following charts: + + Criterion of the Profile of the Lips. + + SPECIES. 1 3 2 + + II 1-II 3-II 2-II + Ecc.-conc. Norm.-conc. Conc.-conc. + + III 1-III 3-III 2-III + Ecc.-norm. Norm.-norm. Conc.-norm. + + I 1-I 3-I 2-I + Ecc.-ecc. Norm.-ecc. Conc.-ecc. + +Here the profile of the lower lip indicates the genus, and the profile +of the upper lip belongs to the species. + + Criterion of the Profile of the Nose. + + SPECIES. 1 3 2 + + II 1-II 3-II 2-II + Ecc.-conc. Norm.-conc. Conc.-conc. + + + III 1-III. 3-III. 2-III. + Ecc.-norm. Norm.-norm. Conc.-norm. + + + I 1-I. 3-I. 2-I. + Ecc.-ecc. Norm.-ecc. Conc.-ecc. + +For surety of diagnosis the lips must be taken in unison with the nose +and forehead, as may be seen in the following chart. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Of the Torso. + + + +The torso includes the chest, and shares the shoulder movements with the +arms. + +_The Chest._--There are three chest attitudes, eccentric, concentric and +normal. + +1. If the chest is greatly dilated, this is the eccentric state--the +military attitude, the sign of energy. + +2. The normal, when the chest is in a state more homogeneous, less +contentious, more sympathetic, as in the statue of Antinous. + +3. The concentric, when the chest is hollow, with the shoulders elevated +and inclining forward. + +The convex eccentric chest is the sign of the agent, or of him who +gives. + +The convex concentric chest or the pathetic, is the sign of the +sufferer, or of him who receives. + +The chest drawn in with the shoulders elevated, is the expression of the +sublime. + +From these three positions, the eccentric, the concentric and the +normal, are derived nine degrees or species. Thus in each of these +genera, the torso is inclined toward the speaker, or away from him, +hence we have three times three, or nine, or the triple accord. + +[Illustration: Criterion of the Face.] + +The chest need not be lowered; it is here that all the energy +concentrates. + +_The Shoulders._--Every sensitive, agreeable or painful form is +expressed by an elevation of the shoulders. The shoulders are the +thermometer of the sensitive and passional life. If a man's shoulders +are raised very decidedly, we may know that he is decidedly impressed. + +The head tells us whether this impression is joyous or sorrowful. Then +the species belongs to the head, and the genus to the shoulder. + +If the shoulder indicates thirty degrees, the head must say whether it +is warmth or coldness. The face will specify the nature of the sorrow or +joy whose value the shoulders have determined. + +The shoulder is one of the great powers of the orator. + +By a simple movement of the shoulder, he can make infinitely more +impression than with all the outward gestures which are almost always +theatrical, and not of a convincing sort. + +The shoulder, we have said, is the thermometer of emotion and of love. +The movement is neutral and suited to joy as well as to sorrow; the eyes +and mouth are present to specify it. + +The shoulder, like all the agents, has three and hence nine distinct +phases. + +The torso is divided into three parts: the thoracic, the epigastric and +abdominal. + +We shall state farther on, the role of these three important centres. + +Liars do not elevate their shoulders to the required degree, hence the +truth or falsity of a sentiment may be known. + +Raphael has forgotten this principle in his "Moses Smiting the Rock." +None of his figures, although joyous, elevate the shoulder. + + + + +Chapter VII. + +Of The Limbs. + + + +The limbs hold an important place in oratorical action. + +The study of the role of the arms and limbs therefore deserves serious +attention. + + + +_The Arms._ + + +In the arms we distinguish the deltoid or shoulder movement, the +inflection of the fore-arm, the elbow, the wrist, the hand and the +fingers. + + +_Inflections of the Fore-Arm_. + + +We have treated of what concerns the shoulder in the chapter upon the +torso. + +The arm has three movements: an upward and downward vertical movement, +and a horizontal one. + +These movements derive their significance from the different angles +formed by the fore-arm in relation to the arm. Let us first represent +these different angles, and then we will explain the chart. + +[Illustration] + +All these different angles have their meaning, their absolute +significance in affirmation. + +The movement at the right angle signifies: To be. + +Lower: Perhaps. + +Lower still: I doubt if it is so. + +Lower: It is improbable. + +Lower: It is not. + +Lower: It is not possible. + +Ascending: This is proven, I have the proof in my hand. + +Higher: This is superlatively beautiful. + +Higher: It is enchantingly beautiful. + +The degree of certainty in the affirmation varies with, the angle which +the fore-arm forms with the arm. + +All these modes of affirmation may be applied to negation. For example: + +"It is impossible that this should not be. This cannot be." + +Thus all states of being, all forms of affirmation, belong to the +acuteness or opening of an angle. + +The hanging arm signifies depression. The two arms should never extend +the same way. If they follow each other, one should be more advanced +than the other. Never allow parallelism. The elementary gestures of the +arms are represented in the foregoing chart. + + + +_Of the Elbow._ + + +The elbow has nine movements, three primitive, as genera, and nine +derivative, as species. There are the forward and backward movements of +the normal state. There are three degrees of height, and finally the +forward and backward movements of extension. + +The elbow movements are relational. The epicondyle is called the eye of +the arm. + +Man slightly moves the torso, then the shoulder, and finally the elbow. + +Among persons who would fain crush others, there is an elbow movement +which seems to say, "I annihilate thee, I am above thee." + +The elbow turned outward signifies strength, power, audacity, +domination, arrogance, abruptness, activity, abundance. The elbow drawn +inward, signifies impotence, fear, subordination, humility, passiveness, +poverty of spirit. + +Modest people have a slight outward movement of the elbow. The humble +make an inward movement. The elbow thrust forward or backward, indicates +a yielding character. + +These movements should not be taken alone; they must be verified by the +torso and the head. The shoulder characterizes the expression of the +elbow movements, just as the elbow verifies marked exaltation, by the +elevation of the shoulder. + +It is by these little things that we determine millions of movements and +their meaning. We finally determine and class precisely five million +movements of the different agents of the arm. This would seem enormous; +but it is nothing at all; it is childlike simplicity. The elements being +known, the process is always the same. Hence the advantage of possessing +a criterion. With this criterion, we have everything. If we possess +nine, we possess twenty millions, which are no more than nine. + + + +_Of the Wrist._ + + +The wrist is a directing instrument for the forearm and the hand. + +The wrist has its three movements. + +It is eccentric when the extensor muscles are in motion. + +It is normal in the horizontal position. + +It is concentric when the flexor muscles are in action. + +In the concentric position the wrist is in pronation, for the thumb is +turned downward; this is the sign of a powerful will, because the +pronator muscles have more power than the flexors. + +In the eccentric position the wrist is in supination; that is, the back +of the hand is downward; this is the sign of impotence. + +The wrist has also forward and backward movements, either in pronation, +in supination, or the normal state. Thus there are nine phases for the +wrist. + +It is through the aid of the wrist that the aspects of the hand, placed +upon the cube, receive, as we shall see, their precise signification. + +The orator needs great suppleness in wrist movements to give grace to +the phases of the hand. + + + +_Of the Hand._ + + +Man is perforce painter, poet, inspired dreamer or mystic, and +scientist. + +He is a painter, to reveal the phenomena of the sensitive life; a poet, +to admire the mysteries of grace; a scientist, to make known the +conceptions of the mind. Thus the hand has three presentations, neither +more nor less, to render that which passes in man in the sensitive, +moral or intellectual state. + +Let us now examine the three presentations of an open hand: its palmar, +dorsal and digital aspect. + +The same thing may be expressed by these three presentations, but with +shades of difference in the meaning. + +If we say that a thing is admirable, with the palms upward, it is to +describe it perfectly. This is the demonstrative aspect. + +If we say the same thing, displaying the back of the hand, it is with +the sentiment of impotence. We have an idea of the thing, but it is so +beautiful we cannot express it. This is the mystic aspect. + +If we present the digital extremity, it is as if we said: "I have seen, +I have weighed, I have numbered the thing, I understand it from certain +knowledge; it is admirable, and I declare it so." These are the three +aspects: the palmar, dorsal and digital. + +Each of these attitudes of the hand may be presented under three forms: +the eccentric, normal and concentric. + +Each of these forms as genera, produces three species; this gives the +hand nine intrinsic attitudes, whose neutral signification will be +specified and determined by the presentation of the hand upon the cube. + +Let us first take the normal state as genus, and we shall have the +normal hand as species in the normal genus. This will then be the +normo-normal attitude. + +By presenting the hand in pronation or supination horizontally, without +spreading or folding the fingers, we shall have that attitude which +signifies abandon. + +Let us now take the eccentric species, still in the normal genus. + +Raise the hand somewhat with a slight parting of the fingers, and we +have the eccentro-normal hand, which signifies expansion. + +Finally, let us consider the concentric species, still in the normal +state. + +Present the hand lifeless and you have the concentro-normal attitude, +which signifies prostration. + +Let us pass on to the concentric genus. + +By closing the fingers with the thumb inward upon the middle one, we +shall have the normo-concentric hand, which signifies the _tonic_ or +power. + +To close the hand and place the thumb outside upon the index finger, +signifies conflict. This is the concentro-concentric hand. + +To bend the first joint with the fingers somewhat apart, indicates the +eccentro-concentric hand. This is the convulsive state. + +Let us pass on to the eccentric genus. + +The fingers somewhat spread, denote the normo-eccentric hand. This is +exaltation. + +To spread the fingers and fold them to the second joint, indicates the +concentro-concentric hand. This is retraction. + +To spread the fingers as much as possible, gives the eccentro-eccentric +hand. This is exasperation. + +In the subjoined charts we can see an illustration of the different +attitudes of the hand. + +[Illustration: Criterion of the Hand.] + + Recapitulation + + + II +-- 2 +-- Concentro-concentric. Conflict. + | 3 --+ Normo-concentric. Tonic or power. + | 1 +-- Eccentro-concentric. Convulsive. + | + | 2 +-- Concentro-normal. Prostration. + III --+ 3 --+ Normo-normal. Abandon. + | 1 +-- Eccentro-normal. Expansion. + | + | 2 +-- Concentro-eccentric. Retraction. + | 3 --+ Normo-eccentric. Exaltation. + I +-- 1 +-- Eccentro-eccentric. Exasperation. + + The nine primitive forms of the hand are, as is seen, undetermined. + + +---------------------------------------------+ + /| /| + / | / | + / | / | + / | / | + / | UPPER SURFACE. / | + / | / | + / | To hold. / | + / | / | + +---------------------------------------------+ | + | | | O | + | I | | U | + | N | | T | + | W | | W | + | A | | A | + | R | FRONT SURFACE. | R | + | D T | | | D | + | o | To retain. | | T | + | L | | L o | + | A w | Limit. -- | A | + | T i | | T b | + | E t | Obtain. | | E e | + | R h | | | R l | + | A d | BACK SURFACE. | A o | + | L r | | | L n | + | a | | To maintain. | g | + | S w | | | | S . | + | U . | Contain. | | U | + | R | | | R | + | F | | F | + | A | | A | + | C | | C | + | E | | E | + | . | | . | + | +------------------------------------+--------+ + | / | / + | / LOWER SURFACE. | / + | / | / + | / To sustain. | / + | / | / + | / | / + | / | / + |/ |/ + +---------------------------------------------+ + + +The hand is raised. Why? For what purpose? The presentation of the hand +upon the surfaces of the cube will decide and specify. + +By this presentation the nine movements of the hand correspond with the +expressive movements of the arm. + +Take any cube whatever,--a book, a snuff-box, or rather cast your eyes +upon the foregoing chart, and examine it carefully. + +There are three directions in the cube: horizontal, vertical and +transverse. Hence there are six faces, anterior, superior, inferior, +interno-lateral and externo-lateral. + +Of what use are angles and faces? All this is necessary for those who +would know the reason of the sentiments expressed by the hand. There are +twenty-seven sorts of affirmation. We give nine of them with the six +faces of the cube. + + + +_The Digital Face._ + + +To place the hand, whether eccentric, concentric or normal, upon the +upper face of the cube, is to hold, to protect, to control; it is to +say: "I hold this under my protection." + +To place the hand upon the external side-face of the cube, signifies to +belong; it says: "All this belongs to me." It is the affirmation of the +man who knows, who has had the thing in dispute under his own eyes, who +has measured it, examined it in all its aspects. It is the affirmation +of the connoisseur. + +To apply the hand to the inner side of the face is to let go. Here is +the sense of this affirmation: "You may say whatever you will, but I +affirm in spite of every observation, in spite of all objection; I +affirm whether or no." + + + +_The Back Face._ + + +There are three ways of touching the front face of the cube with the +hand. + +A.--To touch it with the end of the fingers upward and the thumb inward, +is to obtain: "I have obtained great benefits, I do not know how to +express my gratitude." Or rather: "I keep the object for myself; I do +not care to let it be seen." This is the mystic face. Or yet again: "I +contemplate." + +B.--To place the hand horizontally on the same face of the cube, is to +restrain, or bound. "Go no farther, if you please; all this belongs to +me." + +C.--To place the hand upon the same anterior face of the cube, but with +the extremities of the fingers vertically downward, means to retain. It +says: "I reserve this for myself." Here, then, are three aspects for the +anterior face of the cube. + + + +_The Palmar Face._ + + +A.--To place the lower face of the cube in the hand, is to sustain. It +is to say: "I will sustain you in misfortune." + +B.--To apply as much as possible the palm upon the same posterior face +of the cube, with the fingers downward, is to maintain: "I maintain what +I have said." + +C.--To apply the hand upon the same face with the extremities of the +fingers upward, is to contain, is to show the object--it is to disclose: +"I affirm; you cannot doubt me; I open my heart; behold me!" + +There are, then, nine affirmations, which are explained by a mere view +of the cube and its faces. + +The twelve edges of the cube give a double affirmation; the angles, a +triple affirmation. Example for the edges: To place the hand on the back +edge, means: "I protect and I demonstrate." + +There are three movements or inflections of the hand which must be +pointed out: to hover, to insinuate, to envelop. + +The three rhythmic actions of the hand must not be passed over in +silence: to incline, to fall, to be precipitated. + +The aspects of the hands would be simply telegraphic movements, were it +not for the inflections of the voice, and, above all, the expression of +the eyes. The expressions of the hand correspond to the voice. The hands +are the last thing demanded in a gesture; but they must not remain +motionless, as (if they were stiff, for instance) they might say more +than was necessary. + +The hands are clasped in adoration, for it seems as if we held the thing +we love, that we desire. + +The rubbing of the hands denotes joy, or an eager thirst for action; in +the absence of anything else to caress, we take the hand, we communicate +our joy to it. + +There is a difference between the caress and the rubbing of the hands. + +In the caress, the hand extends eagerly, and passes lightly, +undulatingly, for fear of harming. There is an elevation of the +shoulders. + +The hand is an additional expression of the face. The movement must +begin with the face, the hand only completes and interprets the facial +expression. The head and hand cannot act simultaneously to express the +same sentiment. One could not say _no_ with head and hands at the same +time. The head commands and precedes the movement of the hand. + +The eyes, and not the head, may be parallel with the hand and the other +agents. + +The hand with its palm upward may be caressing, if there is an elevation +of the eyebrow; repellent with the eyebrow concentric. + +The waving hand may have much sense, according to the expression of the +face. + +The eye is the essential agent, the hand is only the reverberatory +agent; hence it must show less energy than the eye. + + + +_Of the Fingers._ + + +Each finger has its separate function, but it is exclusive of the great +expressions which constitute the accords of _nine_. These are +interesting facts, but they do not spring naturally from the fountain of +gesture. They are more intellectual than moral. + +In a synthetic action all the fingers converge. A very energetic will +is expressed by the clenched fist. + +In dealing with a fact in detail, as we say: "Remark this well," all the +fingers open to bid us concern ourselves only with the part in dispute. +This is analysis; it is not moral, it is intellectual. + +If we speak of condensation we close the hand. If we have to do with a +granulated object, we test it with the thumb and index finger. + +If it is carneous, we touch it with the thumb and middle finger. + +If the object is fluid, delicate, impressionable, we express it by the +third finger. + +If it is pulverized, we touch it with the little finger. + +We change the finger as the body is solid, humid, delicate, or powdery. + +The orator who uses the fingers in gesticulation, gives proof of great +delicacy of mind. + + + +_Of the Legs._ + + +The legs have nine positions which we call base attitudes. + +We shall give a detailed description, summing up in a chart of the +criterion of the legs at the end of this section. + +_First Attitude._--This consists in the equal balance of the body upon +its two legs. It is that of a child posed upon its feet, neither of +which extends farther than the other. This attitude is normal, and is +the sign of weakness, of respect; for respect is a sort of weakness for +the person we address. It also characterizes infancy, decay. + +[Illustration] + +_Second Attitude._--In this attitude the strong leg is backward, the +free one forward. This is the attitude of reflection, of concentration, +of the strong man. It indicates the absence of passions, or of +concentred passions. It has something of intelligence; + +[Illustration] + +it is neither the position of the child nor of the uncultured man. It +indicates calmness, strength, independence, which are signs of +intelligence. It is the concentric state. + +_Third Attitude._--Here the strong leg is forward, the free leg +backward. This is the type of vehemence. It is the eccentric attitude. + +[Illustration] + +The orator who would appear passive, that is, as experiencing some +emotion, or submitting to some action, must have a backward pose as in +figure 2. + +If, on the contrary, he would communicate to his audience the expression +of his will or of his own thought, he must have a forward poise as in +figure 3. + +_Fourth Attitude._--Here the strong leg is behind, as in the second +attitude, but far more apart from the other and more inflected. + +This is very nearly the attitude of the fencing master, except the +position of the foot, which is straight instead of being turned outward. + +[Illustration] + +This is a sign of the weakness which follows vehemence. + +Natural weakness is portrayed in figure 1; sudden weakness in figure 4. + +_Fifth Attitude._--This is necessitated by the inclination of the torso +to one side or the other. It is + +[Illustration] + +a third to one side. It is a passive attitude, preparatory to all +oblique steps. It is passing or transitive, and ends all the angles +formed by walking. It is in frequent use combined with the second. + +_Sixth Attitude._--This is one-third crossed. It is an attitude of great +respect and ceremony, and is effective only in the presence of princes. + +[Illustration] + +_Seventh Attitude._--This is the first position, but the legs are +farther apart. The free limb is turned + +[Illustration] + +to one side; both limbs are strong. This denotes intoxication, the man +overwhelmed with astonishment, familiarity, repose. It is a double +fifth. + +_Eighth Attitude._--This is the second, with limbs farther apart. It is +the alternative attitude. The body faces one of the two legs. It is +alternative from the fact that it ends in the expression of two extreme +and opposite sentiments; that is, in the third or the fourth. It serves +for eccentricity with reticence, for menace and jealousy. It is the type +of hesitation. It is a parade attitude. At the same time offensive and +defensive, its aspect easily impresses and leaves the auditor in doubt. +What is going to happen? What sentiment is going to arise from this +attitude which must have its solution either in the third or fourth? + +[Illustration] + +_Ninth Attitude,_--This is a stiff second attitude, in which the strong +leg and also the free one are equally rigid. The body in this attitude +bends backward; it is the sign of distrust and scorn. + +[Illustration] + +The legs have one aspect. If, in the second, the strong leg advances +slowly to find the other, it is the tiger about to leap upon his prey; +if, on the contrary, the free leg advances softly, the vengeance is +retarded. + +The menace made in figure 3, with inclination of the head and agitation +of the index finger, is that of a valet who wishes to play some ill turn +upon his master; for with the body bent and the arm advanced, there is +no intelligence. But it is ill-suited to vengeance, because that +attitude should be strong and solid, with the eye making the indication +better than the finger. + +[Illustration: Criterion of the Legs] + +[Illustration. Criterion of the Legs] + + + + +Chapter VIII. + +Of the Semeiotic, or the Reason of Gesture. + + + +_The Types which Characterize Gesture._ + + +The semeiotic is the science of signs, and hence the science of the form +of gesture. Its object is to give the reason for the forms of gesture +according to the types that characterize it, the apparatus that modifies +it, and the figures that represent it. + +There are three sorts of types in man: constitutional or formal, +fugitive or passional, and habitual. + +The constitutional type is that which we have at birth. + +The passional type is that which is reproduced under the sway of +passion. + +The habitual types are those which, frequently reproduced, come to +modify even the bones of the man, and give him a particular +constitution. + +Habit is a second nature, in fact, a habitual movement fashions the +material and physical being in such a manner as to create a type not +inborn, and which is named habitual. + +To recognize constitutional types, we study the movements of the body, +and the profound action which the habit of these movements exercises +upon the body; and, as the type produced by these movements is in +perfect analogy with the formal, constitutional types, we come through +this analogy to infer constant phenomena from the passional form. Thus +all the formal types are brought back to the passional types. + +Passional types explain habitual types, and these last explain +constitutional types. Thus, when we know the sum of movements possible +to an organ, when we know the sense of it, we arrive at that semeiotic +through which the reason of a form is perfectly given. + + + +_Of Gesture Relative to its Modifying Apparatus._ + + +Every gesture places itself in relation with the subject and the object. + +It is rare that a movement tending toward an object does not touch the +double form. Thus, in saying that a thing is admirable, we start from a +multitude of physical centres whose sense we are to determine. When this +sense is known, understanding the point of departure, we understand +still better that of arrival. + +This division, which is not made at random, is reproduced in the +subjoined diagram. + +1 represents the vital expression; 2, the intellectual; 3, the moral. We +divide the face into three zones: the genal,[4] buccal, and frontal. + +The expression is physical, moral and intellectual. + +In the posterior section of the head we have the occipital, parietal +and temporal zones. The life is in the occiput, the soul in the parietal +zone, and the mind holds the temporal region near the forehead as its +inalienable domicile. + +[Illustration] + +The chest is divided into the thoracic centre for the mind, into the +epigastric for the soul, and into the abdominal for the life. + +The arm is divided into three sections: the deltoid, brachial and +carpal. + +This division is a rational one. Let us suppose this exclamation: "It is +admirable!" Some say it starting from the shoulder, others from the +chest, others from the abdominal focus. These are three very distinct +modes. There is more intelligence when the movement is from the thoracic +centre. This concerns the honor, the dignity. + +When the movement is from the epigastrium, it is moral in a high +degree. For example: "This is beautiful! It is admirable! I know not +why, but this gives me pleasure!" + +The movement from the abdomen indicates sensuality, good nature, and +stupidity. + +The movement is the same with the head. In emotion it proceeds from the +chin; it is the life movement, it is instinct. That from the cheeks, +indicates sentiments, the most noble affections. + +Carrying the hand to the forehead indicates intelligence. Here we seek +relief from embarrassment, in the other head movements we do not seek +it. The one is a mental, the others are purely physical efforts. In the +latter case one becomes violent and would fain give blows with his fist. + +An infinite number of movements proceed from these various seats. + +We have now reached the semeiotic standpoint, that of these very clear +plans, the very starting point of gesture. + +The articular centres of the arms are called thermometers: the wrist, +that of the organic physical life; the shoulder, that of the sensitive +life; and the elbow, that of the relative life. + +The thumb has much expression; drawn backward it is a symbol of death, +drawn forward it is the sign of life. Where there is abundance of life, +the thumb stands out from the hand. If a friend promises me a service +with the thumb drawn inward, he deceives. If with the thumb in the +normal state, he is a submissive but not a devoted friend. He cannot be +very much counted upon. If the thumb stands outward, we may rely upon +his promise. + +We still find life, soul and mind in each division of the body. + +There are also a buccal, an occipital and an abdominal life. + +The body of man, with all its active and attractive foci, with all its +manifestations, may be considered an ellipse. + +These well-indicated divisions may be stated in an analytic formula: + + +-- LIFE: Occipital. -+ + |-- MIND: Temporal. |- + |-- SOUL: Parietal. -+ + |-- MIND: Frontal. -+ --+ + |-- SOUL: Buccal. |- | + |-- LIFE: Genal. -+ | + / -- MIND: Thoracic. -+ | + Attractive centres.- -- SOUL: Epigastric. |- | + \ -- LIFE: Abdominal. -+ \ + |-- LIFE: Shoulders. -+ - Expressive centres. + |-- SOUL: Elbows. |- / + |-- MIND: Wrists. -+ | + |-- LIFE: Thigh. -+ | + |-- SOUL: Knee. |- | + +-- MIND: Foot. -+ --+ + +This is the proper place to fix the definition of each division by some +familiar illustration. + +Let us take an individual in a somewhat embarrassed situation. He is a +gentleman who has been overcome by wine. We see him touching the +temporal bone, or the ear, as if to seek some expedient: the strategic +mind is there. + +Let us begin with the descending gamut, and let the hand pass over all +the divisions of the attractive centres. + +At the occiput: Here is an adventure! I have really had too strong a +dose of them! + +At the parietal bone: What a shame! + +At the temporal bone: What will the people say of me? + +At the forehead: Reason however tells me to pause. + +At the buccal zone: How shall I dare reappear before those who have seen +me in this state! + +At the genal zone: But they did serve such good wine! + +At the breast: Reason long ago advised temperance to me. + +At the epigastrium: I have so many regrets every time I transgress! + +At the abdomen: The devil! Gourmandism! I am a wretched creature! + +The same illustrations may be reproduced in the rising scale. + +When the parietals are touched, the idea and the sentiment are very +elevated. As the foci rise, they become more exalted. + +Let this be considered from another point of view. We shall reproduce +gratitude by touching all the centres. + +They have been centres of attraction, we shall render them points of +departure. + +"I thank you!" The more elevated the movements, the more nobility there +is in the expression of the sentiment. The exaltation is proportional to +the section indicated. + +The posterior region is very interesting. There are three sorts of +vertebrae: cervical, dorsal and lumbar. + +This apparatus may first be considered as a lever. But taking the +vertical column alone, we shall have twenty-four special and distinct +keys whose action and tonality will be entirely specific. From these +twenty-four vertebrae proceed the nervous plexi, all aiding a particular +expression; so that the vertebral column forms the keys of the +sympathetic human instrument. + +If the finger is cut, there is a special emotion in one place of the +vertebral column. + +If the finger is crushed by the blow of a hammer, the emotion will +affect a special vertebra. + +The nose is one of the most complex and important agents. + +There are here nine divisions to be studied. (See page 82.) + + + + +Chapter IX. + +Of Gesture in Relation to the Figures which Represent It. + + + +Gesture through its inflections may reproduce all the figures of +geometry. We shall confine ourselves to a description of the primary and +most usual imitative inflections. + +These inflections comprise three sorts of movements affected by each +gesture, which usually unite and constitute a synthetic form. These +three movements agree with the three primary actions which characterize +the manifestations of the soul, the mind and the life. These are direct, +circular and oblique inflections. + +The flexor movements are direct, the rotary movements circular, the +abductory movements oblique. The sum of these movements constitutes nine +co-essential terms, whose union forms the accord of nine. + +There are rising, falling and medium inflections. + +Gesture does everything that the voice does in rising. Hence there is +great affinity between the voice and the arms. Vocal inflection is like +the gestures of the blind; in fact, with acquaintance, one may know the +nature of the gesture from the sound of the voice. + +We exalt people by a circle. We say that a thing is beautiful, noble, +grand--making circles which grew higher and broader as the object is +more elevated. + +We choose the circle for exalting and caressing, because the circle is +the most agreeable form to touch and to caress. For example, an ivory +ball. + +This form applies to all that is great. + +For God there is no circle, there can be none. But we outline a portion +of an immense circle, of which we can touch but one point. We indicate +only the inner periphery of a circle it is impossible to finish, and +then retrace our steps. + +When the circle is made small, we make it with one, two, three or four +fingers, with the hand, with the arm. If the circle is vast as can be +made with the arms, it is homogeneous. + +But a small circle made with the arm will express stupidity. Thus we say +of a witty man: "This is a witty man," employing the fingers. + +Stupidity wishing to simulate this, would make a broad movement. + +Let us take the fable of _Captain Renard_ as an example of this view of +the circle. + +I depict the cunning nature of this captain with my fingers. Without +this he would not be a captain; but at most a corporal. + + --"He went in company + With his friend He-Goat of the branching horns. + The one could see no farther than his nose; + The other was past master in deceit." + +As they go along, the fox relates all his exploits to the goat, and the +goat surprised, and wishing an end of the recital, sees fit to make a +gesture, as he says: + + "I admire people full of sense like you." + +In making the small circle, he employs not only the fingers, but the +arm, the shoulder, the whole body. He is an imbecile. He wastes too much +effort in making a small circle. + +Let us take a situation from an opera. When Robert enters and sees +Isabella, he says of her: + + "This peaceful sleep, this lull of every sense, + Lends a yet sweeter charm to this young face." + +The gesture is in the form of a geometrical figure. + +In another place, Robert says: + + "Thy voice, proud beauty, few can understand." + +Here a spheroidal and then a rectangular movement must be made. We close +the door. "Her voice will be understood by me, alone." He might say: +"Thy voice, proud beauty, will not be understood. It will be elevated +for me, and not for others." + +Every sentiment has its form, its plastic expression, and as its form is +more or less elaborated, we may judge of the elevation of the speaker's +thought. If we could stereotype gesture, we might say: "This one has the +more elevated heart, that one the least elevated; this one in the +matter, that one in the spirit of his discourse." + +All gestures may be very well delineated. An orator gesticulating before +the public, resembles a painter who pencils outlines and designs upon a +wall. + +This reproduction of the figures of gesture is called _Chorography_. We +give in the subjoined chart some types of gesture. These are a few +flowers culled from a rich garden. + +To express sensual grace the gesture takes the downward spheroidal form. +The virtuous form would be upward. + +If we wish to express many attractive things, we make many spheroidal +gestures. + +What is called the culminating point of the gesture, must not be +forgotten. This is a ring in the form of the last stroke of the German +letter D, which is made by a quick, electric movement of the wrist. + +We refer the student to the close of the volume, for a model of +exercises comprising a series of gestures which express the most +eloquent sentiments of the human heart. + +This exercise in gesture has two advantages: it presents all the +interest of the most fascinating drama, and is the best means of gaining +suppleness by accustoming ourselves to the laws of gesture. + +[Illustration: Criterion of Chorography.] + +[Illustration: Inflective Medallion.] + +The vertical line 1 expresses affirmation. The horizontal line 2 +expresses negation. The oblique line 3 rejects despicable things. The +oblique line 4 rejects things which oppress us, of which we would be +freed. + +5. The quarter-circle, whose form recalls that of the hammock, expresses +well-being, happiness, confidence. + +6. The curvilinear eccentric quarter-circle expresses secrecy, silence, +possession, domination, stability, imposition, inclusion. + +7. The curvilinear outside quarter-circle expresses things slender, +delicate (in two ways); the downward movement expresses moral and +intellectual delicacy. + +8. The outside quarter-circle expresses exuberance, plenitude, +amplitude, generosity. + +9. The circle which surrounds and embraces, characterizes glorification +and exaltation. + + + + + +Part Third. + + +Articulate Language. + + + + +Chapter I. + +Origin and Organic Apparatus of Language. + + + +Man reveals his life through more than four millions of inflections ere +he can speak or gesticulate. When he begins to reason, to make +abstractions, the vocal apparatus and gesture are insufficient; he must +speak, he must give his thought an outside form so that it may be +appreciated and transmitted through the senses. There are things which +can be expressed neither by sound nor gesture. For instance, how shall +we say at the same time of a plant: "It is beautiful, but it has no +smell." Thought must then be revealed by conventional signs, which are +articulation. Therefore, God has endowed man with the rich gift of +speech. + +Speech is the sense of the intelligence; sound the sense of the life, +and gesture that of the heart. + +Soul communicates with soul only through the senses. The senses are the +condition of man as a pilgrim on this earth. Man is obliged to +materialize all: the sensations through the voice, the sentiments +through gesture, the ideas through speech. The means of transmission are +always material. This is why the church has sacraments, an exterior +worship, chants, ceremonies. All its institutions arise from a principle +eminently philosophical. + +Speech is formed by three agents: the lips, the tongue and the +soft-palate. + +It is delightful to study the special role of these agents, the reason +of their movements. + +They have a series of gestures that may be perfectly understood. Thus +language resembles the hand, having also its gesture. + + + + +Chapter II. + +Elements of Articulate Language. + + + +Every language is composed of consonants and vowels. These consonants +and vowels are gestures. The value of the consonant is the gesture of +the thing expressed. But as gesture is always the expression of a moral +fact, each consonant has the intrinsic character of a movement of the +heart. It is easy to prove that the consonant is a gesture. For example, +in articulating it, the tongue rises to the palate and makes the same +movement as the arm when it would repel something. + +The elements of all languages have the same meaning. The vowels +correspond directly to the moral state. + +There is diversity of language because the things we wish to express +vary from difference in usage and difference of manner and climate. What +we call a shoe, bears among northern people a name indicating that it +protects the feet from the cold; among southern people it protects the +feet from the heat. Elsewhere the shoe protects the feet against the +roughness of the soil; and in yet other places, it exists only as a +defensive object--a weapon. + +These diverse interpretations require diverse signs. This does not prove +the diversity of language, but the diversity of the senses affected by +the same object. + +Things are perceived only after the fashion of the perceiver, and this +is why the syllables vary among different peoples. + +Nevertheless, there is but one language. We find everywhere these words: +_I_ an active personality, _me_ a passive personality, and _mine_ an +awarding personality. In every language we find the subject, the verb +and the adjective. + +Every articulate language is composed of substantive, adjective and +copulative ideas. + +All arts are found in articulation. Sound is the articulation of the +vocal apparatus; gesture the articulation of the dynamic apparatus; +language the articulation of the buccal apparatus. Therefore, music, the +plastic arts and speech have their origin and their perfection in +articulation. + +It is, then, of the utmost importance to understand thoroughly the +elements of speech, which is at the same time a vocalization and a +dynamic. Without this knowledge no oratorical art is possible. + +Let us now hasten to take possession of the riches of speech. + + + + +Chapter III. + +The Oratorical Value of Speech. + + + +The privilege of speech may be considered under a double aspect, in +itself and in its relations to the art of oratory. + +1. _In Itself._--Speech is the most wonderful gift of the Creator. +Through speech man occupies the first rank in the scale of being. It is +the language of the reason, and reason lifts man above every creature. +Man through speech incarnates his mind to unite himself with his +fellow-men, as the Son of God was incarnated to unite with human nature; +like the Son of God who nourishes humanity with his body in the +eucharist, so man makes his speech understood by multitudes who receive +it entire, without division or diminution. + +Eternal thanks to God for this ineffable gift, so great in itself, of +such value in the art of oratory! + +2. What is the oratorical value of speech? In oratorical art, speech +plays a subordinate but indispensable role. + +Let us examine separately the two members of this proposition. + +A.--In the hierarchy of oratorical powers, speech comes only in the +third order. In fact, the child begins to utter cries and to +gesticulate before he speaks. + +The text is only a label. The sense lies not in speech, but in +inflection and gesture. Nature institutes a movement, speech names the +movement. Writing is a dead letter. + +Speech is only the title of that which gesture has announced; speech +comes only to confirm what is already understood by the auditors. + +We are moved in reading, not so much by what is said, as by the manner +of reading. It is not what we hear that affects us, but that which we +ourselves imagine. + +An author cannot fully express his ideas in writing; hence the +interpretation of the hearer is often false, because he does not know +the writer. + +It is remarkable, the way in which we refer everything to ourselves. We +must needs create a semblance of it. We are affected by a discourse +because we place the personage in a situation our fancy has created. +Hence it happens that we may be wrong in our interpretation, and that +the author might say: "This is not my meaning." + +In hearing a symphony we at once imagine a scene, we give it an aspect; +this is why it affects us. + +A written discourse requires many illustrative epithets; in a spoken +discourse, the adjectives may be replaced by gesture and inflection. + +Imitation is the melody of the eye, inflection is the melody of the ear. +All that strikes the eye has a sound; this is why the sight of the +stars produces an enchanting melody in our souls. + +Hence in a discourse, speech is the letter, and it is inflection and +gesture which give it life. Nevertheless:-- + +B.--The role of speech, although subordinate, is not only important, but +necessary. In fact, human language, as we have said, is composed of +inflection, gesture and speech. + +Language would not be complete without speech. Speech has nothing to do +with sentiment, it is true, but a discourse is not all sentiment; there +is a place for reason, for demonstration, and upon this ground gesture +has nothing to do; the entire work here falls back upon speech. + +Speech is the crown of oratorical action; it is this which gives the +final elucidation, which justifies gesture. Gesture has depicted the +object, the Being, and speech responds: _God_. + + + + +Chapter IV. + +The Value of Words in Phrases. + + + +Expression is very difficult. One may possess great knowledge and lack +power to express it. Eloquence does not always accompany intellect. As a +rule, poets do not know how to read what they have written. Hence we may +estimate the importance of understanding the value of the different +portions of a discourse. Let us now examine intellectual language in +relation to intensity of ideas. + +There are nine species of words, or nine species of ideas. The article +need not be counted, since it is lacking in several languages. It is the +accord of nine which composes the language, and which corresponds to the +numbers. Every word has a determinate, mathematical value. + +As many unities must be reckoned on the initial consonant as there are +values in the word. + +Thus the subject has less value than the attribute. + +The attribute has a value of six degrees and represents six times the +intensity of the subject. Why? Because God has willed that we should +formulate our idea with mathematical intensities. + +The value rests only upon the initial consonant of the word. Words have +only one expressive portion, that is, the initial consonant. It receives +the whole value, and is the invariable part of the word. It is the root. +Words are transformed in passing from language to language, and +nevertheless retain their radical. + +How shall we say that a flower is charming? + +Do not demand of intensity of sound a value it does not possess. It +suffices to await the articulation of the consonant. + +The most normal phenomena remain true to mechanical laws. The mere +articulation of the word expresses more than all the vocal and imitative +effects that can be introduced. + +Most speakers dwell upon the final word; this habit is absolutely +opposed to the nature of heart movements. This school habit is hard to +correct, and if Rachel became a great artiste, it was because she did +not have this precedent. + +The subject represents one degree; it is the weakest expression. + +The verb represents two degrees; the attribute six. Let us illustrate +the manner of passing from one to six as follows: + +A rustic comes to visit you upon some sort of business. This man has a +purpose. As you are a musician he is surprised by his first sight of a +piano. He says to himself: "What is this? It is a singular object." + +It is neither a table nor a cupboard. He now perceives the ivory keys +and other keys of ebony. What can this mean? He stands confounded before +an instrument entirely new to him. If it were given to him, he would not +know what to do with it; he might burn it. The piano interests him so +much that he forgets the object of his visit. + +He sees you arrive. You occupy for him the place of the verb in relation +to the object which interests him. He passes from this object to you. +Although you are not the object which engrosses him, there is a +progression in the interest, because he knows that through you he will +learn what this piece of furniture is. "Tell me what this is!" he cries. + +You strike the piano; it gives forth an accord. O heavens, how +beautiful! He is greatly moved, he utters many expressions of delight, +and now he would not burn the instrument. + +Here is a progression. At first the piece of furniture interests him; +then its owner still more; at last the attributes of the piano give it +its entire value. + +But why six degrees upon the last term? The value of a fact comes from +its limitation; the knowledge of an idea also proceeds from its +limitation. A fact in its general and vague expression, awakens but +little interest. But as it descends from the genus to the species, from +the species to the individual, it grows more interesting. It comes more +within our capacity. We do not embrace the vast circle of a generic +fact. + +Let us take another proposition: "A flower is pleasing." + + 1 2 3456 + --------- Flower is pleasing ------ + | | | | | + | | | 3 7 | | + | | +-- of the forest very ---+ | + | | | + | | 4 | + | +--------- this +----------------+ + | | + | 5 8 ---+ + +----------- little +-- but + | + +----+ + 1 | 2 6 9 + it-+ is faded Oh! + + +The word flower alone says nothing to the imagination. Is it a rose or a +lily of the valley? The expression is too vague. When the idea of genus +is modified by that of species, we are better satisfied. + +Let us say: "The flower of the forest." This word _forest_ conveys an +idea to the mind. We can make our bouquet. We think of the lily of the +valley, of the violet, the anemone, the periwinkle. This restriction +gives value to the subject. _Forest_ is more important than the verb +which does not complete the idea, and less important than _pleasing_. +Therefore we place 3 upon _forest_, and shall rank _pleasing_ from 3 to +4, since it closes the assertion. + +If we individualize by the word _this_, we augment the value by giving +actuality to the word _flower_. _This_ has more value than _the forest_, +because it designates the subject. Hence _this_ has four degrees. + +As _pleasing_ forms the very essence of our proposition, we are obliged +to give it five degrees. + +The idea is still somewhat vague. If I specify it still further by +saying _this little flower, little_ has a higher value than all the +other words. + +What value shall we give this adjective? We have reached five, but have +not yet fully expressed the idea which impresses us. _Little_ must +therefore have six degrees. + +This is the sole law for all the languages of the world. There are no +two ways of articulating the words of a discourse. When we learn a +discourse by heart in order to deliver it, and take no account of the +value of the terms, the divine law is reversed. + +Now, if we could introduce an expression here, which would at once +enhance the value of the word _pleasing_, it would evidently be stronger +than all the others. In fact, if the way in which a thing is pleasing +can be expressed, it is evident that this manner of being pleasing will +rise above the word itself. + +We do not know the proportion in which the flower is pleasing. We will +say that it is _very_ pleasing. This adverb gives the word _pleasing_ a +new value. It is in turn modified. If we should say _immensely_, or use +any other adverb of quantity, the value would remain the same. It would +still be a modification. Thus, when we say of God that he is _good, +immense, infinite,_ there is always a limitation attached to the idea of +God,--a limitation necessary to our nature. For God is not good in the +way we understand goodness or greatness; but our finite minds need some +expression for our idea. + +We see the word _pleasing_ modified in turn, and the term which +modifies it, is higher than itself. _Very pleasing,_--what value shall +we give it? We can give it no more than seven here. + +A single word may obliterate the effect produced by all these +expressions. A simple conjunction may be introduced which will entirely +modify all we have taken pains to say. It is a _but_. _But_ is an entire +discourse. We no longer believe what has been said hitherto, but what +follows this word. This conjunction has a value of eight degrees, a +value possible to all conjunctions without exception. It sums up the +changes indicated by subsequent expressions, and embraces them +synthetically. It has, then, a very great oratorical value. + + + +_The Conjunction._ + + +1. We refer here only to conjunctions in the elliptical sense. The +conjunction is an ellipse, because it is the middle term between two +members of the sentence which are the extremes; it recalls what has just +been said, and indicates what is to come. Considered in itself, the word +_and_, when elliptical, embraces what has just been said, and what is +about to be said. All this is founded upon the principle that the means +are equal to the extremes. + +2. The copulative or enumerative conjunctions, have only two degrees. We +see that a conjunction is not elliptical when, instead of uniting +propositions, it unites only ideas of the same character. + +3. Determinative conjunctions have only three degrees. For example: "It +is necessary that I should work." _That_ has only three degrees. + +4. The values indicated can be changed only by additional values +justified by gesture. Thus in the phrase: "This medley of glory and +honor,"--the value of the word _medley_ can and must be changed; but a +gesture is necessary, for speech is only a feeble echo of gesture. Only +gesture can justify a value other than that indicated in this +demonstration. This value is purely grammatical, but the gesture may +give it a superlative idea, which we call additional value. The value of +consonants may vary in the pronunciation according to their valuation by +the speakers. + +More or less value is given to the degrees noted and to be noted, as +there is more or less emotion in the speaker. This explains why a +gesture, which expresses an emotion of the soul, justifies changing the +grammatical value in the pronunciation of consonants. + +5. Even aside from additional values, the gesture must always precede +the articulation of the initial consonant. Otherwise to observe the +degree would be supremely ridiculous. The speaker would resemble a +skeleton, a statue. The law of values becomes vital only through gesture +and inflection. Stripped of the poetry of gesture and inflection, the +application of the law is monstrous. + +To place six degrees upon _pleasing_ without gesture, is abominable. + +We now understand the spirit of gesture, which is given to man to +justify values. It is for him to decide whether the proposition is true +or not. If we deprive our discourse of gestures, no way is left to prove +the truth of values. Thus gesture is prescribed by certain figures, and +we shall now see from a proposition, how many gestures are needed, and +to what word the gesture should be given. + + + +_The Conjunction Continued--Various Examples._ + + +The degree of value given to the conjunction, may be represented by the +figure 8. + +Let us justify this valuation by citing these two lines of Racine: + + "The wave comes on, it breaks, _and_ vomits + 'neath our eyes, + Amid the floods of foam, a monster + grim and dire." + +The ordinary reader would allow the conjunction _and_ to pass +unperceived, because the word is not sonorous, and we accord oratorical +effects only to sonorous words. But the man who sees the meaning fully, +and who adds _and_, has said the whole. The other words are important, +but everything is implied in this conjunction. + +Racine has not placed _and_ here to disjoin, but to unite. + +We give another example of the conjunction: + +Augustus says to Cinna: + + "Take a chair Cinna, _and_ in all things heed + Strictly the law that I lay down for thee." + +Let us suppress the isolation and silence of the conjunction, and there +is no more color. + +Augustus adds: + + "Hold thy tongue captive, _and_ if silence deep + To thy emotion do some violence"-- + +Suppress the silence and isolation of the conjunction _and_, and how +poor is the expression! + +In the fable of "The Wolf and the Dog:" + + "Sire wolf would gladly have attacked and slain + him, _but_ it would have been necessary to give battle, + _and_ it was now almost morning." + +The entire significance lies in the silence which follows the +conjunctions. + +We speak of a sympathetic conjunction, and also of one denoting surprise +or admiration; but this conjunction differs from the interjection, only +in this respect: it rests upon the propositions and unites its terms. +Like the interjection, it is of a synthetic and elliptic nature; it +groups all the expressions it unites as interjectives. It is, then, from +this point of view, exclamative. + +In the fable of "The Wolf and the Lamb," the wolf says: + + "This must be some one of your own race, _for_ + you would not think of sparing me, you shepherds + _and_ you dogs." + +Here is an interjective conjunction. Suppress the complaint after _for_, +and there is no more effect. The conjunction is the _soul_ of the +discourse. + +In the exclamation in "Joseph Sold by his Brethren," we again find an +interjective conjunction. + + "Alas.......... _and_ + The ingrates who would sell me!" + +Here the conjunction _and_ yields little to the interjection _alas_. It +has fully as much value. + + + +_The Interjection in Relation to its Degree of Value._ + + +The interjection has 9 degrees; this is admirably suited to the +interjection, an elliptical term which comprises the three terms of a +proposition. In summing up the value of a simple proposition, we have (a +noteworthy thing) the figure 9. This gives the accord of 9. The subject +1, the verb 2, and 6 upon the attribute, equal 9. Thus the equation is +perfect. + +Gesture is the rendering of the ellipse. Gesture is the elliptical +language given to man to express what speech is powerless to say. + +We have spoken of additional figures. Each of these figures supposes a +gesture. There is a gesture, an imitative expression wherever there is +an additional figure. An ellipse in a word, such as is met with in the +conjunction and the interjection, demands a gesture. + +9 is a neutral term which must be sustained by gesture and inflection. +Gesture would be the inflection of the deaf, inflection the gesture of +the blind. The orator should, in fact, address himself to the deaf as +well as to the blind. Gesture and inflection should supplement physical +and mental infirmities, and God in truth has given man this double means +of expression. There is also a triple expression, which is double in +view of this same modification of speech. Let us suppose this +proposition: + +"How much pain I suffer in hearing!" + +According to the rules laid down, we have 3 upon pain, 6 upon suffer, +and 6 again upon hearing. + +It is said that Talma brought out the intensity of his suffering by +resting on the word _pain_. This was wrong. We should always seek the +expression equivalent to that employed, to attain a certain value. + +If, instead of the determinate conjunction _that_, we should have _how +much (combien)_, this would evidently be the important word. This word +has an elliptical form. It evidently belongs to a preceding proposition. +It means: "I could not express all that I suffer." Then 6 must be placed +upon _how much_ and not upon pain. + +But the figure 6 here is a thermometer which indicates a degree of +vitality; it does not express the degree of vitality; that is reserved +for gesture. We need not ask what degree this can give; its office is to +express--and this is a good deal--a value mechanical and material, but +very significant. A reversion of values may constitute a falsehood. +Stage actors are sometimes indefinably comic in this way. + + + +_A Resume of the Degrees of Value._ + + +To crown this unprecedented study upon language, we give in a table, a +resume of the different degrees of value in the various parts of a +discourse, relative to the initial consonant. + + The object of the preposition 1 + + The verb to be and the prepositions 2 + + The direct or indirect regimen 3 + + The limiting (possessive and demonstrative) adjectives 4 + + The qualifying adjectives 5 + + The participles or substantives taken adjectively or + attributively; that is to say, every word coming + immediately after the verb, in fine, the attribute 6 + + The adverbs 7 + + Conjunctions, superlative ideas or additional figures 8 + + The interjection 9 + +The pronoun is either subject or complement, and therefore included in +the rest. As for the article, it is not essential to a language; there +is no article in Latin. + +Thus the value of our ideas is expressed by figures. We have only to +reckon on our fingers. We might beat time for the pronunciation of the +consonants as for the notes of music. Let the pupil exercise his +fingers, and attain that skill which allows the articulation of a +radical consonant only after he has marked with his finger the time +corresponding to its figure. If difficulties present themselves at +first, so much the better; he will only the more accurately distinguish +the value of the words. + + + + +Chapter V. + +French and Latin Prosody. + + + +_French Prosody._ + + +Prosody is the rhythmic pronunciation of syllables according to accent, +respiration, and, above all, quantity. + +In the Italian there are no two equal sounds; the quantity is never +uniform. Italian is, therefore, the most musical of languages. Where we +place one accent upon a vowel, the Italians place ten. + +There is a euphonic law for every language; all idioms must have an +accent. In every language there are intense sounds and subdued sounds; +the Italians hold to this variety of alternate short and long sounds. +Continuous beauty should be avoided. A beautiful tone must be introduced +to relieve the others. Monotony in sounds as well as in pronunciation, +must be guarded against. Harmony lies in opposition. + +There is but one rule of quantity in French pronunciation. Here is the +text of this law: + +_There are and can be only long initial or final vowels_--whence we +conclude: + +1. Every final is long and every penultimate is final, since _e_ mute is +not pronounced. + +2. The length of initial vowels depends upon the value of the initial +consonants which they precede. + +A word cannot contain two long vowels unless it begins with a vowel. In +this case, the vowel of the preceding word is long, and prepares for the +enunciation of the consonant according to its degree. + +Every first consonant in a word is strong, as it constitutes the radical +or invariable part of the word. + +The force of this consonant is subordinate to the ruling degree of the +idea it is called to decide. But every vowel which precedes this first +consonant is long, since it serves as a preparation for it. But to what +degree of length may this initial vowel be carried? The representative +figure of the consonant will indicate it. + +Usually, the first consonant of every word is radical. Still there might +be other radical consonants in the same word. But the first would rise +above the others. + +The radical designates the substance of being, and the last consonant +the manner. + +The whole secret of expression lies in the time we delay the +articulation of the initial consonant. This space arrests the attention +and prevents our catching the sound at a disadvantage. + + + +_Latin Prosody._ + + +1. The final of a word of several syllables is usually short. + +2. In words of two syllables, the first is long. In Latin words of two +syllables, the first almost always contains the radical. + +3. In words of three and more syllables, there is one long syllable: +sometimes the first, sometimes another. We rest only upon this, all the +others being counted more or less short. + +In compound words no account need be made of prefixes; There are many +compound words; and, consequently, it is often the last or next to the +last consonant which is the radical. + +The last consonant represents always, in variable words, quality, +person, mode or time. The radical, on the contrary, represents the sum +and substance. + +4. Monosyllables are long, but they have, especially when they follow +each other, particular rules, which result from the sense of the +phrases, and from the mutual dependence of words. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +Method. + + + +_Dictation Exercises._ + + +A subject and text being given, notes may be written under the nine +following heads: + +1. Oratorical value of ideas. + +2. The ellipse. + +3. Vocal inflections. + +4. Inflective affinities, or relation to the preceding inflections. + +5. Gestures. + +6. Imitative affinities. + +7. The special rule for each gesture. + +8. The law whence this rule proceeds. + +9. Reflections upon the portrayal of personal character. + + + + +Chapter VII. + +A Series of Gestures for Exercises. + + + +_Preliminary Reflections._ + + +We know the words of Garrick: + +"I do not confide in myself, not I, in that inspiration for which idle +mediocrity waits." + +Art, then, presents a solid basis to the artist, upon which he can rest +and reproduce at will the history of the human heart as revealed by +gesture. + +This is true, and it is as an application of this truth that we are +about to consider the series, which is an exposition of the passions +that agitate man, an initiation into imitative language. It is a poem, +and at the same time it lays down rules through whose aid the +self-possessed artist can regain the gesture which arises from sudden +perturbation of the heart. It is a grammar which must be studied +incessantly, in order to understand the origin and value of imitative +expressions. + +The development of the series is based upon the static, the semeiotic +and the dynamic. + +The static is the life of gesture; it is the science of the equipoise of +levers, it teaches the weight of the limbs and the extent of their +development, in order to maintain the equilibrium of the body. Its +criterion should be a sort of balance. + +The semeiotic is the spirit and _rationale_ of gesture. It is the +science of signs. + +The dynamic is the action of equiponderant forces through the static; it +regulates the proportion of movements the soul would impress upon the +body. The foundation and criterion of the dynamic, is the law of the +pendulum. + +The series proceeds, resting upon these three powers. The semeiotic has +given the signs, it becomes aesthetic in applying them. The semeiotic +says: "Such a gesture reveals such a passion;" and gesture replies: "To +such a passion I will apply such a sign." And without awaiting the aid +of an inspiration often hazardous, deceitful and uncertain, it moulds +the body to its will, and forces it to reproduce the passion the soul +has conceived. The semeiotic is a science, the aesthetic an act of +genius. + +The series divides its movements into periods of time, in accordance +with the principle that the more time a movement has, the more its +vitality and power; and so every articulation becomes the object of a +time. + +The articulations unfold successively and harmoniously. Every +articulation which has no action, must remain absolutely pendent, or +become stiff. Grace is closely united to gesture; the manifold play of +the articulations which constitutes strength, also constitutes grace. +Grace subdues only because sustained by strength, and because strength +naturally subdues. Grace without strength is affectation. + +Every vehement movement must affect the vertical position, because +obliquity deprives the movement of force, by taking from it the +possibility of showing the play of the articulations. + +The demonstration of movement is in the head. The head is the primary +agent of movement; the body is the medium agent, the arm the final +agent. + +Three agents in gesture are especially affected in characterizing the +life, mind and soul. The thumb is the index-sign of life; the shoulder +is the sign of passion and sentiment; the elbow is the sign of humility, +pride, power, intelligence and sacrifice. + +The first gesture of the series is the interpellation, the entrance upon +the scene. The soul is scarce moved as yet, and still this is the most +difficult of gestures, because the most complex. It must indicate the +nature of the interpellation, its degree and the situation of the giver +and receiver of the summons in regard to each other. + +A study of the signs which distinguish these different shades will teach +us the analysis of gesture. + +Aside from simple interpellation, the series passes successively from +gratitude, devotion, etc., to anger, menace and conflict, leaving the +soul at the point where it is subdued and asks forgiveness. + +The passional or fugitive type forms the constant subject of the study +of this series. + + + +The Series of Gestures Applied to the Sentiments Oftenest Expressed by +the Orator. + + +First Gesture. _Interpellation._ + + +Interpellation embraces five steps: + +The first consists in elevating the shoulder in token of affection. If +the right shoulder, as in figure 2 with the right leg weak. + +The second step consists in a rotary movement of the arm, its object +being to present the epicondyle (elbow-joint) to the interlocutor. For +this reason the epicondyle is called the eye of the arm. + +The third stage consists in substituting the articulation of the wrist +for the epicondyle. In making the forward movement of the body, the +epicondyle must resume its natural place. + +The fourth step consists in extending the hand toward the speaker in +such a way as to present to him the extremities of the fingers. + +The fifth step is formed by a rapid rotation of the hand. + + + +Second Gesture. _Thanks--Affectionate and Ceremonious._ + + +This gesture consists of six steps: + +1. Consists in lifting the hand and lowering the head. + +2. Consists in raising the hand to the hip. + +3. The head inclines to one side, and the elbow at the same time rises +to aid the hand in reaching the lips. + +4. In this, the head resumes its normal position, while the elbow is +lowered to bring back the hand to the same position. + +5. In this, the hand passes from the horizontal to the vertical +position, rounding toward the arm. + +6. In this, the arm is developed, and then the hand. + + + + +Third Gesture. _Attraction._ + + +In this gesture there are three steps: + +1. The hand turns toward the interlocutor with an appealing aspect. + +2. The hand opens like a fan with the little finger tending toward the +chest. + +3. The elbow is turned outward, and the hand passes toward the breast. + + + + +Fourth Gesture. _Surprise and Assurance._ + + +1. This consists in elevating the shoulders, opening the eyes and mouth +and raising the eyebrow; the whole in token of surprise. + +2. Raise the passive hand above the chin, making it turn around the +wrist. + +3. The hand still passive, is directed toward the person addressed, the +elbow being pressed against the body. + +4. The arm is gradually extended toward the person addressed, while the +hand is given an opposite direction; that is, the palm of the hand is +toward him. + + + +Fifth Gesture. _Devotion._ + + +This gesture embraces seven movements: + +1. This consists in raising the passive hand to the level of the other +hand, but in an inverse direction. + +2. This consists in turning back the hand toward one's self. + +3. This consists in drawing the elbows to the body, and placing the +hands on the chest. + +4. This is produced by taking a step backward, and turning a third to +one side; during the execution of this step, the elbows are raised, and +the head is lowered. + +5. This consists in drawing the elbows near the body, and placing the +hands above the shoulders. + +6. This consists in developing the arms. + +7. This consists in developing the hands. + + + +Sixth Gesture. _Interrogative Surprise._ + + +This surprise is expressed in two movements: + +1. This is wholly facial. + +2. This is made by advancing the hand and drawing the head backward. + +Seventh Gesture. _Reiterated Interrogation._ + + +This gesture signifies: I do not understand, I cannot explain your +conduct to me. It embraces five steps: + +1. This consists in placing both hands beneath the chin, and violently +elevating the shoulders. + +2. This consists in bringing the hands to the level of the chest, as if +in search of something there. + +3. This consists in extending both hands toward the interlocutor, as if +to show him that they contain nothing. + +4. This consists in extending one hand in the opposite direction, and +letting the head and body follow the hand. + +5. This consists in turning the head vehemently toward the interlocutor, +and suddenly lowering the shoulders. + + + +Eighth Gesture. _Anger._ + + +This gesture is made in three movements: + +1. This consists in raising the arm. + +2. This consists in catching hold of the sleeve. + +3. This consists in carrying the clenched hand to the breast, and +drawing back the other arm. + + + +Ninth Gesture. _Menace._ + + +This gesture consists of a preparatory movement, which is made by +lowering the hand while the arm is outstretched toward the +interlocutor, then the finger is extended, and the hand is outstretched +in menace. + +The eye follows the finger as it would follow a pistol; this occasions a +reversal of the head proportional to that of the hand. + + + +Tenth Gesture. _An Order for Leaving._ + + +This is executed: + +1. By turning around on the free limb. + +2. By carrying the body with it. + +3. By executing a one-fifth sideward movement--the right leg very weak. +All these movements are made by retaining the gesture of the preceding +menace. Then only the menacing hand is turned inward at the height of +the eye, at the moment when it is about to pass the line occupied by the +head; the elbow is raised to allow the hand a downward movement, which +ends in an indication of departure. In this indication the hand is +absolutely reversed, that is, it is in pronation. Then only does the +head, which has hitherto been lowered, rise through the opposition of +the extended arm. + + + +Eleventh Gesture. _Reiteration._ + + +1. The whole body tends toward the hand which is posed above the head. +The right leg passes from weak to strong. + +2. The head is turned backward toward the interlocutor. + +3. It rises. + +4. The arm extends. + +5. The hand in supination gives intimation of the order. + + + +Twelfth Gesture. _Fright._ + + +The right hand pendent. The left hand rises. Tremor. + +The first movement is executed in one-third; the body gently passes into +the fourth, and as the fifth is being accomplished, the arm is thrust +forward as if to repel the new object of terror. + +At this moment a metamorphose seems to take place, and the object which +had occasioned the fright, seems to be transfigured and to become the +subject of an affectionate impulse. The hands extend toward this object +not to repel it, but to implore it to remain; it seems to become more +and more ennobled, and to assume in the astonished eyes of the actor, a +celestial form--it is an angel. Therefore the body recoils anew +one-fourth; the hands fall back in token of acquiescence; then, while +drawing near the body, they extend anew toward the angel (_here a third +in token of affection and veneration_). Then a prayer is addressed to +it, and again the arms extend toward it in entreaty. (_Here the orator +falls upon his knees._) + +The series can be executed beginning with the right arm or the left, +being careful to observe the initial and principal movement, with the +arms at the side where the scene opened. This gives the same play of +organs only in an inverse sense. + + + +_Important Remarks._ + + +Should any student despair of becoming familiar with our method, we give +him three pieces of advice, all easy of application: + +1. Never speak without having first expressed what you would say by +gesture. Gesture must always precede speech. + +2. Avoid parallelism of gesture. The opposition of the agents is +necessary to equilibrium, to harmony. + +3. Retain the same gesture for the same sentiment. In saying the same +thing the gesture should not be changed. + +Should the student limit himself to the application of these three +rules, he will not regret this study of the + +Practice of the Art of Oratory. + + + + +Appendix. + +The Symbolism of Colors Applied to the Art of Oratory. + + + +We close this book with an appendix which will serve for ornament. +Before delivering up a suite of rooms, we are wont to embellish them +with rich decorations. Architects usually color their plans. We also +wish to give color to our criterion, by explaining the symbolism of +colors. + + SPECIES. + GENUS. + 1 3 2 + + 1-II 3-II 2-II + II + Ecc.-Conc. Norm.-Conc. Conc.-Conc. + Concentric. + Violet-blue. Green-blue. Indigo. + + 1-III 3-III 2-III + Normal. + Ecc.-Norm. Norm.-Norm. Cone.-Norm. + III + Red-yellow. Yellow. Green-yellow. + + 1-I 3-I 2-I + Eccentric. + Ecc.-Ecc. Norm.-Ecc. Conc.-Ecc. + I + Red. Yellow-red. Violet-red. + +In the literary world, color gives forms of speech consecrated by +frequent usage. Thus we very often say: a florid style, a brilliant +orator. This figurative language signifies that in order to shine, the +orator must be adorned with the lustre of flowers. And as one flower +excels others and pleases us by the beauty of its colors, so the orator +must excel, and please by the brilliant shades of his diction. It is as +impossible to give renown to a monotonous and colorless orator as to a +faded, discolored flower. Would you give to the phenomena of your +organism this beautiful corolla of the flower of your garden, throw your +glance upon nature. + +Nature speaks to the eye through an enchanting variety of colors, and +these colors in turn teach man how he may himself speak to the eyes. The +whole man might recognize himself under the smiling emblem of colors. +Imagine him in whatever state you will, a color will give you the secret +of his aspirations. And so it has been easy for us to show you the +orator imaged in this colored chart, and we shall have no trouble in +justifying our choice of colors. + +Since man, as to his soul, presents himself in three states: the +sensitive, intellectual and moral; and in his organism in the eccentric, +concentric and normal states; _a priori_, you may conclude that nature +has three colors to symbolize the three states, and experience will not +contradict you. + +In fact, red, yellow and blue are the primitive colors. All others are +derived from these three rudimentary colors. + +Why have we painted the column that corresponds to the life red? Because +red is the color of blood, and the life is in the blood. But life is the +fountain of strength and power. Hence red is the proper symbol of +strength and power in God, in man and in the demon. + +Why blue in the column of the concentric state, the mind? Because blue, +from its transparency, is most soothing to our eyes. + +Why yellow in the column of the soul? Because yellow has the color of +flame; it is the true symbol of a soul set on fire by love. Yellow is, +then, the emblem of pure love and of impure flames. + +Why not use white in our chart? Because white is incandescence in the +highest degree. We say of iron that it is at a red or a white heat. But +in this world it is rare to see a heart at a white heat. Earthly +thermometers do not mark this degree of heat. + +It cannot be denied that red, yellow and blue are the three elementary +colors, whose union gives birth to all the varieties that delight our +eyes. We have proof of this in one of nature's most beautiful +phenomena--the rainbow. + +The rainbow is composed of seven colors. Here we distinguish the red, +yellow and blue in all their purity; then from the fusion of these three +primary colors, we have violet, orange, green and indigo. + +This is the order in which the seven colors of the rainbow appear to +us: + +Violet (_red_}, orange (_yellow_), green (_blue_), indigo. Orange is +composed of yellow and red. Yellow mixed with blue, produces green. Blue +when saturated, becomes indigo. Upon closer investigation, we may easily +find the nine shades which correspond perfectly to the nine operations +of our faculties, and to the nine functions of angelic minds. + +By complicating and blending the mixture of these colors, we shall have +all the tints that make nature so delightful a paradise. + +The seven notes of music sound in accord with the seven colors of the +rainbow. There is a brotherhood between the seven notes and the seven +colors. + +The voice-apparatus, with that of speech and gesture, is for the orator +a pallet like that upon which the painter prepares and blends those +colors which, under the brush of a Raphael, would at once glow forth in +a masterpiece. + +Delsarte's criterion is true; still more, it is beautiful, especially so +with its brilliant adornment of the colors of the rainbow. + +We verify our judgment by an explanation of the colored chart. + +As may be seen, this chart is an exact reproduction of the criterion +explained at the beginning of this book, only we have adorned it with +colors analogous to the different states of the soul that art is called +upon to reproduce. + +Beginning with the three transverse columns corresponding to the +_genus_, we have painted the lower column red, the middle column yellow, +and the upper one blue. These are the three colors that symbolize the +life, soul and mind, as well as the genera. + +Passing to the vertical columns which correspond to species, we have +painted the first column red, the second yellow, and the third blue, +passing from left to right. The blending of these colors produces the +variety of shades we might have in this representation. + +Blue added to blue gives indigo; blue with yellow gives a deep green; +with red, violet. Yellow passed over to the middle column, gives bright +green upon blue; pure yellow, when passed upon yellow, and orange upon +red. + +Thus pure red will be the expression of the sensitive state or the life. +Orange will render soul from life, and violet will be the symbol of mind +from life. + +Applying this process of examination to the two other columns, we shall +know by one symbolic color, what the soul wishes at the present hour, +and these same colors will, besides, serve to regulate the attitude of +our organs. + +Honor and thanks to the genius which gives us this criterion, where is +reflected the harmony of all worlds! + + + + +Epilogue. + + + +In this rational grammar of the art of oratory, I have given the rules +of all the fine arts. All arts have the same principle, the same means +and the same end. They are akin, they interpenetrate, they mutually aid +and complete each other. They have a common scope and aim. Thus, music +needs speech and gesture. Painting and sculpture derive their merit from +the beauty of attitudes. There is no masterpiece outside the rules here +laid down. + +It is not enough to know the rules of the art of oratory. He who would +become an orator, must make them his own. Even this is not enough for +the free movement of the agents which reveal the mind, the soul and the +life. The method must be so familiar as to seem a second nature. Woe to +the orator if calculation and artifice be divined in his speech! How +shun this quicksand? By labor and exercise. The instruments and the +manner of using them are in your hands, student of oratory. Set about +your work. Practice gymnastics, but let them be gymnastics in the +service of the soul, in the service of noble thoughts and generous +sentiments--divine gymnastics for the service of God. + +Renew your nature. Lay aside the swaddling-bands of your imperfections, +conform your lives to the highest ideals of uprightness and truth. +Exercise your voice, your articulation and your gestures. If need be, +like Demosthenes, place pebbles in your mouth; repair like that great +orator to the sea-shore, brave the fury of the billows, accustom +yourself to the tumult and roar of assemblies. Do not fear the fracture +or dislocation of your limbs as you seek to render them supple, to +fashion them after the model, the type you have before your eyes. _Labor +omnia vincit._ + +In any event, be persevering. Novitiate and apprenticeship in any +profession, are difficult. In every state the bitterness of trial is to +be expected. To arrive at initiation has its joys, to arrive at +perfection is a joy supreme. Beneath the rind of this mechanism, this +play of organs, dwells a vivifying spirit. Beneath these tangible forms +of art, the Divine lies hidden, and will be revealed. And the soul that +has once known the Divine, feels pain no longer, but is overwhelmed with +joy. + +Art is the richest gift of heaven to earth. The true artist does not +grow old; he is never too old to feel the charm of divine beauty. The +more a soul has been deceived, the more it has been chastened by +suffering, the more susceptible it is to the benefits of art. This is +why music soothes our sorrows and doubles our joys. Song is the +treasure of the poor. + +Return, then, with renewed enthusiasm to your work! The end is worth the +pains. The human organism is a marvelous instrument which God has given +for our use. It is a harmonious lyre, with nine chords, each rendering +various sounds. These three chords for the voice, and three for both +gesture and speech, have their thousand resonances at the service of the +life, the soul and the mind. As these chords vibrate beneath your +fingers, they will give voice to the emotions of the life, to the +jubilations of the heart and the raptures of the mind. This delightful +concert will lend enchantment to your passing years, throwing around +them all the attractions of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. + +We may well salute the three Graces and the nine Muses as gracious +emblems, but it is far better to discern in art, the reflected image of +the triple celestial hierarchy with its nine angel choruses. + +Honor, then, to the fine arts! Glory to eloquence! Praise to the good +man who knows how to speak well! Blessed be the great orator! Like our +tutelary angel, he will show us the path that conducts or leads back to +God. + + + + + +Part Fourth. + +Arnaud on Delsarte. + + + + +The Delsarte System. + +By + +Angelique Arnaud, (_Pupil of Delsarte_). + +Translated by Abby L. Alger. + + + + +Chapter I. + +The Bases of the Science. + + + +Delsarte published no book upon art. The bases of the science which he +created are contained in a synthetical table. Other tables develop each +branch of it considered separately. + +Starting from an undeniable law--that which regulates the constitution +of man,--Delsarte applies it to aesthetics; he designates man as "the +object of art," and groups in series the organic agents that co-operate +in the manifestation of human thought, sentiment and passion; declaring +the purpose of these manifestations, now become artistic, to be the +amelioration of our being by throwing into relief and light the +splendors of moral beauty and the horrors of vice. + +Delsarte defines art in several ways. He has been reproached for his +over-amplitude of definition, and his development of it in a sense too +metaphysical for a science which he himself calls "positive." I give +here only such definitions as seem to me most clear and important. + +"Art is at once the knowledge, the possession and the free direction of +the agents by virtue of which are revealed the life, soul and mind. It +is the appropriation of the sign to the thing. It is the relation of +the beauties scattered through nature to a superior type. It is not, +therefore, the mere imitation of nature." + +The word _life_, in the sense employed above, is the equivalent of +_sensation_, of _physical manifestations._ + +Man being the object of art, it is from the working of the various +faculties of the human organism that Delsarte deduces the task of the +artist; as from the knowledge of the essential modalities of the _ego_, +he deduces his law of general aesthetics. + +Delsarte teaches, therefore, that man is a triplicity of persons; that +is, he contains in his indestructible unity, three principles or +aspects, which he calls _life, soul_ and _mind_; in other words, +_physical, moral_ and _intellectual_ persons. + +In this statement this master agrees with the philosophers who give a +triplicity of essential principles as the base of ontology. Pierre +Leroux names them as follows: _sensation, sentiment, consciousness._ + +That which is personal to Delsarte is the derivation of the law of +aesthetics from this conception of being. + +The primal faculties once ascertained, he devotes himself to an analysis +of the organism; he describes the harmony of each of these faculties +with the apparatus which serves it as agent for manifesting itself, and +demonstrates the fitness of each organ for the task assigned it. The +master establishes that the inflections of the voice betray more +especially the sensitive nature; that gesture is the interpreter of +emotion; that articulation--a special element of speech--is in the +direct service of intelligence and thought. He gave the name of _vocal_ +to the active apparatus of sensation; _dynamic_ to that of sentiment; +_buccal_ to that of articulation. + +From the union of the faculties and their agents arise three modes of +expression: the _language of affection_, the _language of ellipsis_ (or +gesture) and the _language of philosophy_. They respond to the three +states which Delsarte recognizes in man, and which the artist is to +translate: the _sensitive state,_ corresponding to the _life_; the +_moral state_, to the _soul_; the _intellectual state_, to the _mind_. + +But this division into three modalities or into three states is far from +giving the number of the manifestations of being. Nature is not reduced +to this indigence. From the fusion of these three states, in varying and +incessant combination, and from the predominance of one of the primitive +modalities, whether accidental or permanent, countless individualities +are formed, each with its personal constitution, its shades of +difference of education, habits, age, character, etc. + +It seems at the first glance as if the mind must be confused by these +varieties, whose possible number fades into infinity; but the teacher +does not open this labyrinth to his disciples without providing them +with a clue. + +Independently of these modalities, of these states, which form the +basis of the system, Delsarte traces triune subdivisions, which serve as +a point of convergence; thus the intermediary rays of the compass or +mariner's card are multiplied, and receive special names, without +ceasing to belong to one of the four cardinal points. + +Whatever, for instance, may be the tendency of the individual whom we +desire to portray, or to represent by any art whatsoever, we can think +of him in his normal state, as well as in a concentric or eccentric +state: this is a first distinction. + +Each of these states is itself subject to shades of difference, to +modifications. The normal state of a diplomat and that of an artist +could not be the same. The one, by the very effect of his profession, +will incline to concentration; the other will tend to expansion, if not +to eccentration. Hence a _simple normal_ state which is the most common; +a normal-concentric state, a normal-eccentric state: here we have a +second distinction. + +Delsarte, in order to avoid confusion between the word _state_ applied +to primordial modalities--which he defines as _sensitive, moral_ and +_intellectual_ states,--often uses the word _element_ in place of that +of _state_ in speaking of _concentration, eccentration_ and _normality_, +which, in this case, he also calls _calm_; but, in teaching, he was +always accustomed to use these more exact terms: normal state, +concentric state, eccentric state. + +These differences may occur in regard to each of the other terms. Thus +we may have the simple concentric state, the concentro-concentric state, +etc. + +It is upon this mutual interpenetration of the various states in the +triple unity, that the master founds the idea which dominates and +pervades his whole system; the three isolated and independent terms do +not, to his thinking, constitute the integrality of the human _ego_. To +constitute, according to Delsarte's theory, three, the vital number, it +must, by its very essence, and by inherent force, raise itself to its +multiple nine. This is what the master calls _the ninefold accord_. + +Medicine--a science which also derives its justification from the human +organism--from certain points of view affords us analogies to this +mixture of primordial components; for example, nervous and sanguine +temperaments which are blended in the sanguo-nervous, etc. + +If we refer to our own faculties, does it not strike us indeed, that +neither life--nor sensation--nor sentiment, nor intellect can manifest +itself without the aid of its congeners or co-associates? + +Is intelligence evident elsewhere than in a sensitive being (life)? And +even when considering the most abstract things, does it not bear witness +of its taste, its power of choice (sentiment)? Can sentiment be +absolutely disengaged from impression (life)? And if it is not always +under the sway of the idea, is it not certain that it gives rise to it, +by provoking observation and reflection (intellect)? + +Finally, can an adult--save in the case of absolute idiocy--exist by +sensitive life alone outside of all sentiment and all thought (soul, +intellect)? + +It is by the harmony of the modalities among themselves, and the +contribution of each to the unity, that every individual type is formed. +Delsarte thought that he could fix their numerical scale; but he was not +permitted to _carry_ his scientific studies thus far; still, it is not +indispensable to art, which demands above all things very marked types, +that verification should be carried to its farthest limits. It will not +be difficult, guided by the knowledge which Delsarte has left us, to +classify artistic personages as physical, intellectual and moral or +sentimental types; and, in the same category, to differentiate those +belonging to the concentric state from those falling more particularly +into the eccentric or normal states: the Don Juans, Othellos, Counts +Ory, etc. Delsarte, in practice, excelled in characterizing these shades +of difference. + +These prolegomena would not perhaps alone suffice to give this teacher a +claim to the title of creator of a science. Although they give the +theory of the system, they are far from containing all its developments. +But Delsarte did not stop here. + +In appropriate language--wherein new words are not lacking for the new +science--he takes apart each of the agents of the organism, enumerated +above; he examines them in their details, and assigns them their part in +the sensitive, moral, or intellectual transmission with which they are +charged. Thus gesture--the interpreter of sentiment--is produced by +means of the head, torso and limbs; and in the functions of the head are +comprised the physiognomic movements, also classified and described, +with their proper significance, such as anger, hate, contemplation, +etc.,--and the same with the other agents. + +Each part observed gives rise to a special chart, where we see, for +instance, what should be the position of the eye in exaltation, +aversion, intense application of the mind, astonishment, etc. The same +labor is given to the arms, the hands and the attitudes of the body, +with the mark, borrowed from nature, of the slightest movement, partial +or total, corresponding to the sensation, the sentiment, the thought +that the artist wishes to express. + +I hope that these works may yet be recovered entire, for the master was +lavish of them, and that they may be given to the public.[5] + +An exact science at first sight appears contradictory to art. Will it +not diminish its limits, * * * trammel its transports? Will it not prove +hostile to its liberty at every point? * * * Will it not check the +flights of its graceful fancy, its adorable caprice? + +No, indeed! as I said in regard to the ideal, the theories of Delsarte, +far from hampering the free expansion of art, do but enlarge its +horizons, and prepare a broader field for its harmonies. They leave +freedom to the opinions most difficult of seizure, the most unforeseen +creations; because, responding to every faculty of being, this science, +while it corrects imagination, respects its legitimate power. + +Finally, what is this science which analyzes every spring and every part +brought to play in the manifestation of life? A compass to guide us to +the desired goal; a measure of proportion to fix each variety in the +immensity of types; a touchstone by which to judge of each man's +vocation. + +But do not let us forget that if this science holds back, restrains and +preserves us from parasites, * * * if it prepares proper soil, and +assists feebly dowered natures to acquire real value, it cannot supply +the place of those marvelous talents, that personality, which showed us, +in Delsarte himself, the heights to which a dramatic singer may attain. +What surprises and subjugates us in these privileged persons is the +secret of nature; it is not to be written down, not to be demonstrated; +this unknown quantity, this mystery, reveals itself at its own time by +flashes, and with different degrees of intensity during the career of +the same artist. Some have thought to explain the prodigy by that +superior instinct known as intuition; but the discovery of the word does +not open the arcanum. + +I have said enough, I hope, in regard to the science created by +Delsarte, to put upon the track such minds as are apt for the subject, +and endowed with sufficient penetration to assimilate it; but it must +not be disguised that even should the whole work be collected together, +the science must still await its examination, its verification and its +complements; for a science at its birth is like a program given out for +the study of present and future generations. Delsarte was still working +on his to the last years of his life. Every day he gained fresh insight; +he added branches and accessories. Yet the criticisms of details which +will come later--even when they are justified,--will not rob the +inventor of the glory of his scientific discovery. Let genius invent, +scholars pursue its discoveries! * * * If genius works alone, scientists +work hand in hand, + + + + +Chapter II. + +The Method. + + + +I have shown Delsarte as a composer, as pre-eminently an artist, who, as +a certain critic says, "was never surpassed;" I have insisted upon the +two titles which form his special glory: that of revealer of the laws of +aesthetics, and that of creator of a science to support his discoveries; +a science whose application relates particularly to the dramatic and +lyric arts, although at its base, and especially when considered as law, +it embraces all the liberal arts. + +It remains for me to speak of his method, properly so called; of his +precepts, his maxims, his opinions and his judgments; of that, in a +word, which constitutes the personal manner of each master, and his mode +of instruction; for if the law is single in its essential and +constitutive ideas, it radiates into diversity in its individual +manifestations; _it has infinite possibilities_. + +Delsarte considered art as the surest, purest and most constant good in +life. He required much time to complete the education of a pupil, +because he knew how long it had taken him to master the methods of +translating, through that noble interpreter, art, the best and most +sublime possibilities of the human soul; and because he knew as well all +that is inherent in our nature of vice and imperfection. He held that +the truth, be it good or bad, is always instructive. + +In regard to truth he says: "A man may possess remarkable qualities, may +have grace, expression, charm and elegance, but they are all as nothing +if he does not interpret the truth." He desired the artist to study +beauty in every form, to seek and discover its secrets. He tells us that +he himself studied the poses of the statues of antiquity for fifteen +years. + +It was in consequence of this period of study, assuredly, that the +master condemned the parallel movement of the limbs in gesture, and +recommended attitudes which he called _inverse_; if, for instance, the +actor leans on his left leg, the corresponding gesture must necessarily +be entrusted to the right arm. + +The master taught that the gesture--the true interpreter of the +sentiment--should precede the word. He added: "The word is but an echo, +the thought made external and visible, the ambassador of intelligence. +Every energetic passion, every deep sentiment, is accordingly announced +by a sign of the head, the hand or the eye, before the word expresses +it." Thus, the actor and the orator, if they do not conform to this +precept, have failed to attain to art. + +Delsarte proves his assertion by giving examples, somewhat overdrawn, in +a sense the inverse of this theory. Nothing was more amusing than to +see him execute one of these _dilatory_ gestures; for instance, this +phrase, uttered by the lackey of some comedy, delivering a message: +"Sir, here is a letter which I was told to deliver to you at once." The +hand extending the note unseasonably, produced so ridiculous an effect +that the heartiest laughter never failed to follow. + + + +_On Ellipsis._ + + +The preceding steps lead us to ellipsis, which plays an important part +in the method of Delsarte. + +All the thoughts and sentiments contained in literature, in one +comprehensive word, are entrusted to the mimic art of the actor, whose +essential agent is gesture. The _conjunction_ and _interjection_ are +alike elliptical; thus in the phrase: "Ah! * * how unhappy I am! * *" +"Ah!" should imply a painful situation before the explanatory phrase +begins. In his _course of applied aesthetics_, Delsarte gives us the +striking effects of the elliptic conjunction. + + + +_On Shades and Inflections._ + + +The shade, that exquisite portion of art, which is rather felt than +expressed, is the characteristic sign of the perfection of talent; it +forms a part of the personality of the artist. You may have heard a play +twenty times with indifference, or a melody as often, only to be bored +by it; some fine day a great actor relieves the drama of its chill, its +apparent nullity; the commonplace melody takes to itself wings beneath +the magic of a well-trained, expressive and sympathetic voice. Delsarte +possessed this artistic talent to a supreme degree, and it was one of +the remarkable parts of his instruction; he had established typical +phrases, where the mere shade of inflection gave an appropriate meaning +to every variety of impression and sentiment which can possibly be +expressed by any one set of words. One of these phrases was this: "That +is a pretty dog!" + +A very talented young girl succeeded in giving to these words a great +number of different modulations, expressing endearment, coaxing, +admiration, ironical praise, pity and affection. Delsarte, with his +far-reaching comprehension, conceived of more than 600 ways of +differentiating these examples; but he stopped midway in the execution +of them, and certainly no one else will ever pursue this outline to its +farthest limits. + +The second phrase was: "I did not tell you that I would not!" + +This time the words were given as a study for adults; they lent +themselves to other sentiments; they revealed, as the case might be, +indifference, reproach, encouragement, the hesitation of a troubled +soul, etc. + +It was by means of these manifold shades that the artist-professor +established characteristic differences in parts wherein so many actors +had seen but the identical fact of a similar passion or a similar vice. +To his mind, all misers were not the same miser, nor all seducers the +same seducer. In singing particularly, with what art Delsarte used the +inflection! + + + +_On Vocal Music._ + + +In regard to lyric art especially, Delsarte had his peculiar and +personal theories. Singing was not to him merely a means of displaying +the singer's voice or person; it was a superior language, charged with +the rendition, in its individual charm, of all the greatest creations of +literature and poetry; all the sweet, tender, or cruel sentiments +possible to humanity. + +This exceptional singer attained his effects partly by means of certain +modifications of the rhythm, which caused inattentive critics to say: +"Delsarte does not observe the measure." What they themselves failed to +note, was that the first beat was always given firmly; and that it was +in the divisions of one measure, and by subtle compensations, that he +made the difference. Far from having cause for complaint, the composer +gained thereby, a more clear expression of his thought, a more +persuasive expansion of his sentiment, and the respiration appeared more +easy. It was something similar--with a greater value--to that personal +punctuation with which skilful readers often divide the text which they +translate. + +It was particularly in recitative, the style, moreover, least subject to +precise laws, that Delsarte used this license; and it was in this style +that he especially excelled. + +And is it not in what remains unwritten that the singer's true greatness +is revealed? What dilettante has not felt the power of a more incisive +attack of the note; of that prolongation of the note, held +imperceptibly, which, having captured it, holds the attention of the +listener? + +But, to hear these things, it is not necessary, as the saying is, "to +bestride _technique_." In so far as the training of the voice is +concerned, Delsarte gave himself a scientific basis. He was the first to +think that it would be well to know the mechanism of the organ, that it +might be used to the best advantage, both by avoiding injurious methods +of exercising it, and by aiding the development of the tone by +appropriate work. + +In his rooms were to be seen imitations of the larynx--in pasteboard--of +various sizes. His pupils, it seems to me, could profit but little by +these far from pleasing sights. At the utmost it increased their +confidence in the man who desired an intimate acquaintance with +everything relating to the art which he taught. It is to teachers +particularly that the introduction of this auxiliary into the study of +the vocal mechanism may have been of some value. I have lately learned +that several singing teachers use these artificial larynxes. Can +priority be claimed for Delsarte? I can only affirm that he refers to +them in a treatise signed by himself, and dated in the year 1831. + +I shall not enter into the details of this contingent side of the +method; the statement of the facts is enough to lead all those who are +interested, to devote thought and study to the matter. I prefer to dwell +upon the things which Delsarte carried with him into the grave, having +written them only on the memories of certain adepts destined to +disappear soon after him. + + + +_On Respiration._ + + +Delsarte established his theory of _diaphragmatic breathing_ in +accordance with his anatomical knowledge. It consists in restoring the +breath, without effort, from the commencing lift of the diaphragm to the +production of the tone. He opposed it to the _costal breathing_, which +brings the lungs suddenly into action by movements of the chest and +shoulders, and causes extreme fatigue. "The chest," he says, "should be +a passive agent; the larynx and mouth, aiding the diaphragm, alone have +a right to act in breathing; the action of the larynx consists of a +depression, that of the mouth should produce the canalization +(concavity) of the tongue and the elevation of the veil of the palate." + +To this first idea is attached what the master taught in regard to the +distinction between _vital breath_ and _artificial breath_. It is +certain that one may sing with the natural respiration; but it is +rapidly exhausted if not augmented by additional inhalation; for it +results in dryness and breathlessness, which cause suffering alike to +singer and listener. The _artificial breath_, on the contrary, preserves +the ease and freshness of the voice. + + + +_On the Position of the Tone._ + + +The placing of the tone was one of Delsarte's great anxieties. According +to his theory, the attack should be produced _by explosion_. He rejected +that stress which induces the squeezing out of the tone after it is +produced. The way to avoid it is to prepare rapidly and in anticipation +of the emission of the note. + +These ideas demand oral elucidation; but it is enough to declare them, +for teachers and singers to recognize their meaning. + + + +_On the Preparation of the Initial Consonant._ + + +The preceding lines refer to vocalization; but Delsarte applied the same +process to pronunciation. He directed that the _initial consonant_ +should be prepared in the same way as the attack on the tone; it was +thus produced distinctly and powerfully, that is, in less appreciable +_extent of time_. Such is the concentration of the archer preparing to +launch an arrow; of the runner about to leap a ditch. The master, in no +case permitted that annoying compass of the voice before a consonant, so +frequently employed by ordinary singers. The Italians justly translate +this disagreeable performance by the word _strascinato_ (dragged out or +prolonged). + + + +_Exercises._ + + +Delsarte has been severely blamed for the way in which he trained the +voice. I have nothing to say in regard to those who imputed to him +physical and barbarous methods of developing it; but it may be true that +he endangered it by certain exercises or by failure to cultivate the +mechanism. I do not feel myself competent to pronounce upon this +technical point, but I can give an exact account of what was done in his +school. + +Delsarte directed that the tones should be swelled on a single note, E +flat (of the medium); he claimed that by strengthening this intermediary +note the ascending and descending scales were sympathetically +strengthened. He thus avoided, as he said, breaking the high treble +notes by exercises which would render the cords too severely tense, +convinced morever, that at a given moment a burst of enthusiasm and +will-power would take the place of assiduous practice. + +He also taught that this special exercise of the medium would prevent +the separation of the registers, that phylloxera of the vocal organ, +which wrecks so many singers, and causes them so many sorrows. This was +the way to gain that mixed voice, the ideal held up to the scholars as +being the most impressive and the most exquisite; that which at the +same time ravished the ear and charmed the heart. + +This master considered the chest-voice as more particularly physical; +and the head-voice, it must be confessed, is too much like the voice of +a bird, to awaken sentiment and sympathy. + +Delsarte himself possessed this mixed voice; in him, it seemed to start +from the heart, and brought tears to eyes which had never known them. +The power of that tone--allied to the perfection of shading, diction and +lyric declamation--caused every listening soul to vibrate with latent +emotion which might never have been waked to life save by that appeal. + +I return to the practice of swelled tones upon the note E flat. This +note certainly acquired broad and powerful tones about which there was +nothing forced, and which were most agreeable. This development was +communicated to the neighboring notes. But did not these advantages take +from the compass of the scale? If so, were they a counterbalance to the +injury? I repeat that I dare not affirm anything in this respect. + +Delsarte, assuredly, did not give as much space to vocalization as other +teachers, especially those of the Italian school. + +It is also undeniable, that dramatic singing--the style which he +preferred--is dangerous to the vocal organism; particularly when one +practices the _shriek or scream_, which produces a fine effect when +skilfully employed, but is most pernicious in excess. + +Delsarte was too conscientious an artist not to sacrifice his voice, at +certain moments, to his pathetic effects; but he was very careful to +warn his scholars against the abuse of this method; he directed them to +use it but very rarely, and with the greatest precaution. + +I should also say, in his favor, that light voices were very differently +trained from heavy ones. Madame Carvalho, who began her studies in his +school, did not alter the flexible but feeble organ she brought there. +Mlle. Chaudesaigues and Mlle. Jacob, under Delsarte's tuition, attained +to marvels of flexibility, without losing any of their natural gifts. + + + +_Appoggiatura._ + + +Delsarte brought about a revolution in French music in everything +relating to appoggiatura, or rather, he restored its primitive meaning. +The way in which he interpreted it has created a school. + +He taught that the root of the word--appoggiatura--being _appuyer_ (to +sustain), the chief importance should be given in the phrase, to +appoggiatura, by extent and expression; the more so that this note is +generally placed on a dissonance; and, according to this master's +system, it is on the dissonance--and not at random and very frequently, +as is the habit of many singers--that the powerful effect of the +vibration of sound should be produced. + +Contrary to this opinion, the appoggiatura was for a long time used in +France as a short and rapid passing note; it thus gave the music a +vivacious character, wholly discordant with the style of serious +compositions; the music of Gluck was particularly unsuited to it. + + + +_Roulade and Martellato._ + + +In every school of singing the roulade is effected by means of the +_staccato_ and _legato_. Delsarte had a marked prejudice in favor of the +martellato, which partakes of both. He compared it, in his picturesque +way of expressing his ideas, to pearls united by an invisible thread. + + + +_Pronunciation._ + + +The master's pronunciation was irreproachable; not the slightest trace +of a provincial accent; never the least error of intonation, the +smallest mistake in regard to a long or short syllable. What is perhaps +rarer than may be thought, he possessed, in its absolute purity, the +prosody of his native language, alike in lyric declamation and in the +_cantabile_. His penetrating tones added another charm to the many +merits which he had acquired by study. + +Pronunciation, therefore, was skilfully and carefully taught in +Delsarte's school. The professor's first care was to correct any +tendency to lisp, which he did by temporarily substituting the syllables +_te, de_, over and over again, for the faulty R. This substitution +brought the organ back to the requisite position for the vibration of +the R. + +This process is now in common use; but I cannot say whether it was +employed before Delsarte's day. He obtained very happy results from it. + + + +_E mute before a Consonant._ + + +Delsarte did not allow that absolute suppression of the E mute before a +consonant, which seems to prevail at present, and which produces so bad +an effect in delivery. As the evil, at the time of which I speak, was +yet comparatively unknown, he did not make it a case of conscience; but +if he never lent himself to this ellipsis, he, "the lyric Talma," "the +exquisite singer," as he has frequently been called, should we not +regard his abstinence as a condemnation from which there is no appeal? I +do not believe, moreover, that either Nourrit or Dupre authorized by +their example a habit so contrary to the rules of French versification, +so disagreeable to the well-trained ear and so opposed to good taste. +Such young singers as have yielded to it, have only to listen to +themselves for one moment to abandon it forever. + +It is certain that E mute can in no instance be assimilated to the +accented E; but to suppress it entirely, is to break the symmetry of the +verse, to put the measure out of time. It is unmistakable that the +weakness of the vowel, or mute syllable, concerns the sound, not the +duration. Let it die away gently; but for Heaven's sake, do not murder +it! Voltaire wrote: "You reproach us with our E mute, as a sad, dull +sound that dies on our lips, but in this very E mute lies the great +harmony of our prose and verse." Littre recognizes two forms of the E +mute: the E mute, faintly articulated as in "_ame_;" and the E mute +sounded as in _me, ce, le;_ but he does not allude to an E which is +entirely null. + +Once more, then, that there may be no misunderstanding, let me say that +the word _mute_ added to the E, has but a relative sense, in view of the +two vowels of the same name and marked with an acute or a grave accent. + +One fact throws light on the question: did any author ever make a +character above the rank of a peasant or a lackey, say: + +/ "_J'aime' ben Lisett' J'crois qu'ell' m'en veut!"_ P/ + +Take an example from Voltaire (tragedy of the Death of Caesar): "_Voila +vos successeurs, Horace, Decius_." Evidently, if the E mute had not been +counted, the second hemistich of the Alexandrine verse would have had +but five syllables instead of six. + +Would any one like to know how the heresiarchs of the E mute would +manage? + +In this instance they would repeat the A of the penultimate, aspirating +it and pronouncing thus: "_Voila vos successeurs, Hora ... as', +Decius_." + +In this way they would have the requisite number of syllables; but they +would be wholly at odds with the dictionary of the good actors of the +Theatre Francais. + +This falsification is especially common in singing, though it is no less +revolting in that field of art. How often at concerts--the force of +tradition saves us at the theatre--do we hear even artists of great +reputation pronounce: + +"_Quel jour prosp'..er' plus de myste..er_," instead of: "_Quel jour +prospere plus de mystere._" And, in one of the choruses of the opera +"_La Reine de Chypre_": + + "_Jamais, jamais en Fran ... anc' + Jamais l'Anglais ne regnera!_" + +Instead of: + + "_Jamais, jamais en France, + Jamais l'Anglais ne regnera!_" + +This anomaly is most offensive in the final syllable of a verse, because +there the measure is more impaired than ever, and in this way that +alternation of male and female rhymes is suppressed, which produces so +flowing and graceful a cadence in French verse. + + + +_E mute before a Vowel._ + + +The encounter of E mute in a final syllable, with the initial vowel of +the word which follows it, makes the defect more apparent and +accordingly easier to fight against. + +Delsarte's process was as follows: When a silent syllable is +immediately followed by a word beginning with another vowel, the E mute +(by a prolongation of the sound of the penultimate) is suppressed with +the next letter. Thus in the aria of _Joseph_ (opera by Mehu): + +"_Loin de vous a langui ma jeune.. sexilee;_" and in _Count Ory: "Salut, +o venera ... blermite._" + +In these cases, by an unfortunate spirit of compensation, the abettors +of the innovation, suppressing the grammatical elision, sing thus: + + "_Loin de vous a langui ma jeune ... ess'exilee." + "Salut, o venrera ... abl'erm ... it!_" + +Littre's Dictionary gives us the same pronunciation as Delsarte; and his +written demonstration is even more positive. We find _favorables +auspices, arbres abattus_, written in this way: +"_fa-vo-ra-ble-z-auspices, arbre-z-abattus._" + +It is, however, very difficult to express these differences exactly, in +type: what Littre expresses _radically_ by typographic characters, is +blended with most natural delicacy by the voice of a singer. + +Thus, according to Delsarte, the E mute of a final syllable should be +suppressed before a vowel, on condition of a prolongation of the sound, +in harmony with the penultimate syllable. + +According to Delsarte again, according to Voltaire, according to Littre, +the E mute is weakened, more or less, but never completely suppressed, +before a consonant. + +Finally Legouve, whose voice is preponderant in these matters, whose +books are in the hands of the whole world, has never entered into this +_lettricidal_ conspiracy. + +I hope to be pardoned this long digression, thinking it my duty to +protest against such a ludicrous method of treating French prosody; I do +so both in the name of aesthetics and as a part of my task as biographer +of Delsarte.[6] + + + + +Chapter III. + +Was Delsarte a Philosopher? + + + +If we consider philosophy in the light of all the questions upon which +it touches, the subjects which it embraces, we must answer "No;" but if +we concentrate the word within the limits of aesthetics, we may reply in +the affirmative. Did not Delsarte point out the origin of art, its +object and its aim? + +Not that this master never exceeded the limits of his science and his +method. He had sketched out a "Treatise on Reason," and had begun to +classify the faculties of being, entering into the subject more +profoundly than the categories of Kant; but all this only exists in mere +outline, in a technology whose terms have not been weighed and connected +together by a solid chain of reasoning: logic has not uttered its final +word therein. + +A separate volume would be required to give an idea of these _gigantic +sketches_, which must remain in their rudimentary state. + +If Delsarte had finished his work, it would seem that he must have +leaned toward the scholastic method, now so much out of favor; but +certainly he would put his own personality into this, as into everything +that he undertook to investigate; for he was held back on the steeps of +mysticism by the science which he had created, and which could only +afford a shelter to the supernatural as an extension of those psychical +faculties which have been called intuition, imagination, etc. + +Then the influence of Raymond Brucker, who died shortly after Delsarte, +being lessened, and conscientious and patient study having fed the flame +in that vast brain, we might have obtained affirmations of a new order. +And Delsarte might have met with thinkers like Leibnitz, Descartes and +Jean Reynaud, on that height where religion is purged of superstition +and fanaticism, philosophy set free from atheism and materialism! + +If Delsarte had a fault, it was that he regarded all modern philosophy +as sensuous naturalism; and if reason sometimes seemed to him +suspicious, it was because he often confounded it with sophistry, which +reasons indeed, but is far from being _reason_. + +Let us regret that Delsarte never finished his complete philosophy; but +let us be grateful to him for having raised his art and all arts to the +level of philosophy, by giving them truth as a basis and morality as a +final aim; which fairly justifies, it seems to me, the title of +_artist-philosopher_, which I have sometimes applied to him. + +I should not neglect, in this connection, to set down the explanation, +given by Delsarte, of what he meant by the word _trinity_, as used in +his scientific system. The reader cannot fail to see the elements of a +system of philosophy in this succinct statement, this outline to be +filled up: + +"The principle of the system lies in the statement that there is in the +world a universal formula which may be applied to all sciences, to all +things possible: --this formula is _the trinity_. + +"What is requisite for the formation of a trinity? + +"Three expressions are requisite, each presupposing and implying the +other two. Each of three terms must imply the other two. There must also +be an absolute co-necessity between them; thus, the three principles of +our being--life, mind and soul--form a trinity. + +"Why? + +"Because life and mind are one and the same soul; soul and mind are one +and the same life; life and soul are one and the same mind." + + + + +Chapter IV. + +Course of Applied AEsthetics. + + + +_Meeting of the Circle of Learned Societies_. + + +Independently of its method, which was especially applicable to dramatic +and lyric arts, Delsarte's doctrine, as we have seen, drew from the +primordial sources, which are the law of things, the principles of all +poetry, all art and all science. The intense light which he brought +thence was too dazzling for young scholars, whose minds were rarely +prepared by previous education. It, nevertheless, overflowed into the +daily lessons, and gave them that peculiar and somewhat singular aspect, +which acted even upon those whose intelligence could not cope with it. +Such is the mysterious magic of things which penetrate before they +convince. + +But these lofty problems demanded an audience in harmony with their +elevation. Delsarte soon attracted such. Under the title "Course of +Applied AEsthetics," he collected in various places, notably at the +"Circle of Learned Societies," profane and sacred orators, and learned +men of all sorts. There he could develop points of view as new as they +seemed to be strikingly true. It was on leaving one of these meetings, +that a distinguished painter thus expressed his enthusiasm: "I have +learned so much to-day, and it is all so simple and so true, that I am +amazed that I never thought of it before." + +The Course of Applied AEsthetics was addressed to painters, sculptors, +orators, as well as to musicians, both performers and composers; and was +finally extended to literary men. This audience of scholars was no less +astonished and enchanted than others had been. + + + +_Theory of the Degrees_. + + +The theory of degrees was largely developed at these meetings, and I +have purposely delayed it till this chapter. To understand this +theory--one of the most striking points in Delsarte's method, and +original with him,--one should have some idea of the grammar which he +composed for the use of his pupils. + +I will not say that this treatise was complete in the sense usually +attached to the word grammar. There is no mention of orthography or of +lexicology; but all that is the very essence of language, that from +which no language, no idiom can escape--the constituent parts of +speech--are examined and investigated from a philosophic and psychologic +point of view. Just as the author examined the constituent modalities of +our being in the light of aesthetics, he seized the affinities between +the laws of speech, as far as regards the voice--_logos_--and the moral +manifestations of art. + +This production of Delsarte has undergone the fate of almost all his +works--it has not been printed. Indeed, I greatly fear that, all his +notes on the subject can never be collected; nevertheless that which has +been gathered together presents a certain development. I will not enter +into the purely metaphysical part, limiting myself, as I have done from +the beginning of this study, to making known the conceptions of Delsarte +only in so far as they refer to the special field of aesthetics. + +In this category, we find the following definitions which serve to +classify the quantitative values or degrees: that is the extent assigned +to each articulation or vocal emission to enable it to express the +thoughts, sentiments and sensations of our being in their truth and +proportionate intensity: + +1. _Substantive_ is the name given to a group of appearances, to a +totality of attributes. + +2. _Adjective_ expresses ideas, simple, abstract, general and +medicative; it is an abstraction in the substantive. + +3. _Verb_ is the word that affirms the existence and the co-existence +between the being existing and its manner of existing: that is to say it +connects the subject with the attribute. The verb is not a sign of +action, but of affirmation, and existence. + +4. The _participle_ alone is a sign of action. + +5, 6, 7. The _article, pronoun and preposition_ fit into the common +definitions. + +8. The _adverb_ is the adjective of the adjective and of the participle +(in so far as it is an attribute of the verb); it modifies them both, +and is not modifiable by either of them; it is a sign of proportion, an +intellectual compass. + +9. The _conjunction_ has the same function as the preposition: it unites +one object to another object; but it differs from it, inasmuch as the +preposition has but a single word for its antecedent, and a single word +for its objective case, while the conjunction has an entire phrase for +antecedent, and the same for complement. It characterizes the point of +view under the sway of which the relations should be regarded: +restrictive, as _but_; hypothetical or conditional, as _if?_ conclusive, +as _then_, etc., etc. The conjunction presents a general view to our +thought, it is the reunion of scattered facts; it is essentially +elliptical. + +10. The _interjection_ responds to those circumstances where the soul, +moved and shaken by a crowd of emotions at once, feels that by uttering +a phrase it would be far from expressing what it experiences. It then +exhales a sound, and confides to gesture the transmission of its +emotion. + +The interjection is essentially elliptical, because, expressing nothing +in itself, it expresses at the time all that the gesture desires it to +express, for ellipsis is a hidden sense, the revelation of which belongs +exclusively to gesture. + +It must first be noted that these degrees are numbered from one to nine, +and that, of all the grammatical values defined, the conjunction, +interjection and adverb are classed highest. + +Delsarte made the following experiment one day in the "Circle of Learned +Societies," during a lecture: + +"Which word," he asked his audience, "requires most emphasis in the +lines-- + + "The wave draws near, it breaks, and vomits up before our eyes, + Amid the surging foam, a monster huge of size?" + +The absence of any rule applicable to the subject caused the most +complete anarchy among the listeners. One thought that the word to be +emphasized must be _monster_--as indicating an object of terror; another +gave the preference to the adjective _huge_. Still another thought that +_vomits_ demanded the most expressive accent, from the ugliness of that +which it expresses. + +Delsarte repeated the lines: + + "The wave draws near, it breaks, and ... vomits up before our + eyes." + +It was on the word _and_ that he concentrated all the force of his +accent; but giving it, by gesture, voice and facial expression, all the +significance lacking to that particle, colorless in itself, as he +pronounced the word, the fixity of his gaze, his trembling hands, his +body shrinking back into itself, while his feet seemed riveted to the +earth, all presaged something terrible and frightful. He saw what he was +about to relate, he made you see it; the conjunction, aided by the +actor's pantomime, opened infinite perspectives to the imagination; his +words had only to specify the fact, and to justify the emotion which +had accumulated in the interval. + +But this particle, which here allows of eight degrees, is much +diminished when it fills the office of a simple copulative. The extent +of the word or the syllable is always subordinate to the sense of the +phrase; in the latter case it does not require more than the figure 2. + + + + +Chapter V. + +The Recitation of Fables. + + + +Some years before his death Delsarte substituted for his concerts, +lectures in which he explained his scientific doctrines and his +philosophy of art. He also supplied the place of song by the recitation +of certain fables selected from La Fontaine. He was not less perfect in +this style than in the interpretation of the great roles of tragedy and +grand lyric poems; but it must be acknowledged, that under this new +guise, his talent could not display itself in all its amplitude; save +for the facial expression which gave the lessons of the apologue a +variety of outline of which La Fontaine himself perhaps never dreamed +... and in spite of the fine and scholarly accent which he could give to +all those clever beasts, he was, on many points, deprived of his power +and his prestige: how endow a lion with the proud poses of Achilles; and +lend the foolish grasshopper the satanic charm of Armida? + +Instead of noble or terrific attitudes, his gesture was confined to a +few movements of forearm or hand; of his fingers, when the intentions +were more subtle, more refined ... Still it was always most pleasant to +hear him. It was Delsarte restrained, but not diminished. If you did not +recover in his speaking voice that sort of enchantment with which his +slightly-veiled tone pierced the soul, his accent remained so pure, so +intelligent, that you were none the less ravished. + +When, in the fable of _The Two Pigeons_, he said: + + "Absence is the greatest of ills, ... + Not so for you, cruel one!" + +He discovered shades, hitherto unknown, with which to paint reproach +mingled with grief. And when he said: + + "_The ant ... is not a lender!..._" + +A more affirmative and striking sense of the character attributed to our +thrifty friend, was detached from this delay, filled up by a negative +movement of the narrator's head. + +If Delsarte had limited himself in his lectures, to teaching men by +means of the menagerie, which was a sly burlesque of the courtiers of +Louis XIV., perhaps he might have made idolatrous partisans there as +elsewhere; but it seems as if in the exposition of his theory, he posed +rather as a censor than a teacher; he delighted in baffling the mind by +paradoxes. By annexes superimposed and ill-blended with his system, he +sometimes compromised those scientific truths whose splendor bursts +forth when they are freed from heterogeneous accessories. We cannot +otherwise explain the resistance of certain minds, distinguished +otherwise, to the recognition in him of the artist who excited the +enthusiasm of all the most competent critics and brilliant amateurs. + + + + +Chapter VI. + +The Law of AEsthetics. + + + +However striking and superior the system of Francois Delsarte has been +shown to be, however admirable and attractive the manifestation of art +in his person,--herein lie not his first rights to the grateful sympathy +which we owe to his memory. His works and discoveries in aesthetics are a +benefit of general interest, while they disclose to us the fruitful +resources of his genius. + +In the first place, what is a law? We have here to deal, not with the +legislation decreed by man for the regulation of social and political +relations, but with those laws deduced from a natural order, as the +principle of life itself, which govern the relations of beings and of +things. In religion these laws are its dogmas and mysteries; +philosophically speaking, the laws of things are the essentials of their +nature, their specific relations. + +Voltaire has written: "Law is the instinct by which we feel justice." In +Littre's Dictionary we find stated that "laws are conditions imposed by +circumstances." Another has said: "The constant, uneludable succession +in which phenomena occur, takes the name of law." + +I would here state, that in no one of the last three citations does the +word "law" seem to me to be precisely defined. From the different +explanations of the natural laws which I have been able to compare, I +conclude that laws are forces containing in themselves the reasons, to +us unknown, of a power and permanence which are unchangeable. Plato +named them _ideas_. We must now conclude that the nature of a law, in +the present acceptation of the term, _can_ be but imperfectly +interpreted by exact formulae. Laws are still much involved in the +secrets of creation. Here must we seek their origin or origins. + +But courage still! Although these formulae but imperfectly define law, +the facts suffice to establish them. They (facts) show the certain +action and, as stated heretofore, the uneludable nature of these +formulae. + +But the discovery of Delsarte is the application to aesthetics of a +natural law, proven and established by science. This law is that which +governs the system of man's organism. Its present application is +justified by a series of scientifically cooerdinated facts. Delsarte +rests upon the principle that man is the object of art. Thus the artist +should aim to manifest _human nature_ in its three modalities, in its +three phases which the master named _life, soul_ and _mind_. In other +words, the beings _physical, moral_ and _mental_. + +These three expressions figure in the work of Pierre Leroux (_De +l'Humanite_) in the following equivalent terms: _sensation, sentiment, +knowledge._ But Leroux applied to ethics this law of human organism, +whereas Delsarte derived from it the law of aesthetics. When two minds of +this stamp are thus led, each in his own way, to the same source of +analogous principles differently applied, is it not a proof that they +have stated truth? And in this case it is more than presumable that the +two men of whom I speak had never worked together. Delsarte was a +philosopher in spite of himself. With Pierre Leroux art was only an +element contingent upon a system which he elaborated. + +Was Delsarte led to his classification of man's nature by the doctrine +of the three persons in the Trinity combined in unity? Was he, by his +observations upon the _human triplicity_, led on to consider their +infinite development in the divine personalities? I know not, nor is it +of importance in considering the system. + +Leroux affirmed a relation between the unity of man and the universality +of his pantheism; both relying at the outset upon an idea at once +religious and philosophical. But the research of Leroux was +philosophically inclined, while that of Delsarte was of a character more +especially religious. + +Is it necessary to urge that you accept this obviously primitive +classification of the human faculties? Who, that shall have considered a +moment to convince himself, can doubt this truth,--that our sensations, +our sentiments, our understanding, are the principal elements of our +life, and that all that we are able to know of ourselves is made known +to us by them directly, or by the result of their combinations? This +consideration will soon lead us to the rational development of the +theory of Delsarte. For the present, it suffices to receive these +principles as they have been presented to us, and to admit that art +could not go far astray while following a clue leading from a law +invincible, and guiding to a science as positive as that of the +astronomer, derived from the law of attraction, or that of the chemist, +depending upon the law of affinities. Here need be no confusion. The +science is positive. The mystery of the natural law implies a +hypothesis,--even were the proposition negative. + +Delsarte insisted upon the influence of a religious sentiment in art, as +a part of the constitutive animating faculties of the human being. In +the light of this proposition his enemies maintain that he teaches this +heresy: that success in aesthetics depends upon a definite faith--even +upon the observance of the _Catholic religion!_ This distinction between +religion and creed, between sentiment and assertion, I have followed +carefully since the beginning of my study. Delsarte was able to so +address his pupils at the beginning of a lecture, as to arouse the +apathetic, and electrify the passionate; but his teaching was far from +dogmatic. I do not say that at times, in his aspirations and dreams, +which he regarded perhaps as intuitions, this religious philosophy did +not make some incursions into the region of mysticism. I have seen at +his home charts named from the circumincession,[7] and classifying +celestial spirits; but these trans-mundane personifications found no +place in his practical lectures. They are not found in the great +synthetical chart which I possess, and which recapitulates the system as +the master arranged it in the strength of his youth and genius, free +from all mystical element. + +When, in 1859, I submitted to Delsarte my treatise containing a succinct +statement of his method, he said to me: "You have not followed me so far +as the angels." + +I replied: "I have related and recognized as truth all that I have heard +you teach upon the laws of art as deduced from the relations of the +human faculties, because I have observed and verified it among people +and upon myself. But I speak not of things which you have never shown +me, and whose existence you have never _demonstrated_. The angels are of +this number." + +Yet he received with no less approval my profane work. And it is the +judgment which he placed upon that essay which authorizes my resuming +the subject, augmented by further developments and evidence. + +I should not state with so great confidence this great truth--the +application of a natural law to a succession of discoveries constituting +a science, an incontestable innovation--were I not able to refer to +competent opinions supporting my statement. A few of these opinions I +would here quote from some of the journals I have examined, many of +which thoroughly appreciated Delsarte throughout the long period of his +teaching. + +It was said by Adolphe Gueroult (_Presse_, May 15, 1858): "To discover +and produce wonderful effects, is preeminently the characteristic of +great artists, but never, so far as I can learn, has it occurred to any +one, before Delsarte, to attach these strokes of genius to positive +laws." And further: "The eloquent secrets of pantomime, the +imperceptible movements which, in great actors, so forcibly impress us, +coming under the observation of this discoverer, were by him analyzed +and synthetized in accordance with laws whose clearness and simplicity +render them doubly admirable." + +I give also some statements from the _Journal des Debats_ (May 10, +1859). Though in the following the word "law" does not appear, it bears +interestingly upon the relations of the ideas and expressions under +consideration. The quotation is:-- + +"The audience was charmed and instructed. It applauded the new +definitions. It divined the essence of each art, and comprehended that +the various manifestations of art are classified according to the +classifications of the human faculties. It knows why each passion +produces each accent: 'because the accent is the modulation of the +soul,' and why a given emotion produces a given expression of the face, +gesture and attitude of the body." + +When we allow that "the classifications of the manifestations of art are +made according to those of the human faculties," do we not also allow +that they are derived from one law? + +Thus the _fiat lux_ ("let there be light") is pronounced. Art departs +from chaos, escapes from anarchy; it acts no longer only for the +so-called artist, but also for the actor and singer, whom we are now to +consider. Art has to do with the pose of the body, a graceful carriage, +distinct pronunciation and an unconscious command of dramatic effects. +For a tenor to phrase agreeably, vocalize skilfully, giving us resonant +chest-tones, no longer suffices to gain for him the title of great +singer. + +The followers of art should be able, before and above all, to portray +humanity in its essential truth, and according to the original tendency +of each type. Mannerism and affectation should forever be +proscribed--_unless they are imitated as an exercise_--but all the +excellence that chance has produced up to the present time should be +incorporated in the new science. + +Moreover, by referring to a law the occasional successes which come to +one, it becomes possible to reproduce them at will. + +The essential point is to get back to the truth, to express the passions +and emotions as nature manifests them, and not to repeat mechanically a +series of conventional proceedings which are violations of the natural +law. "Effects should be the echoes of a situation clearly comprehended +and completely felt,"--such was the import of this teaching. + +One of the great benefits arising from the discoveries of Delsarte is +the reconciliation of freedom and restraint. If it bind the artist by +determinate rules, it is in order to free him from routine, to recall +him to the general law of being and of his own individuality. It is in +order that he may study himself, in the place of submitting to arbitrary +prescriptions. In such study every marked personality will find itself +in its native element. + +As for those who have no _vocation_, and in whom the "ego" distinguishes +itself so little from the multitude that it remains lost in it, it is +best that they should withdraw, since _they are not called_. They have +in view only vanity or speculation, and must always be intruders in the +sacred temple of art. + +"My glass is not large, but I drink from my glass," said Alfred de +Musset. Very well! let each one drink from his glass, but observe! it is +not necessary that in the true artist all should be individual and +peculiar. It is necessary only that there should exist a degree of +individuality, something novel, a distinguishing tone and an artistic +physiognomy peculiarly his own. Servile imitations, plagiarism, stupid +adaptations, put to death all art and all poetry. In literature +particularly is such decline most easy. + +Hoping that, from what has been said, you have been led more fully to +appreciate the advantage of seeing all of the branches of intellectual +culture led out of the ruts of routine, away from plagiarism and from +disorder and anarchy, one word upon the most distasteful and effectual +blight to which art is subject--_the loss of naturalness_, viz., +_affectation_. Can anything be more irritating than an affected actor or +singer, caterers to perverted tastes? + +In sculpture what is more displeasing than a distorted figure, which +aimed at grace and is become a caricature? Affectation is in the arts +the equivalant of sophistry in logic, of the false in morals, of +hypocrisy in religion. It is not extravagant to assume that affectation, +being a falsity, an active lie, is a torture to the spirit which +perceives it, and a wrong to the honest souls who endure it. It should +be, therefore, for twofold cause, banished without pity from the realm +of aesthetics. Why should the natural, which is the expression of truth, +have so great an attraction if affectation--its enemy and +incumbrance--aroused not our impatience or disdain? + +How is it that in children of all classes we find grace, ravishing and +inimitable? It is because in them the accord is perfect between the +look, the smile, the gesture and the impression within, of which they +are the interpreters--the adequate signs, as Delsarte would say--the +perfidious flexibility of words _never interposing_ to alter the +harmony. + +True grace in adults is not that which is studied, nor that which is +artistically copied from a badly-chosen type. Grace is born of itself, +the natural fruit of the culture of the mind, of elevated thoughts and +noble sentiments. It is a combination of excellences which come +unconsciously to some privileged beings. To imitate beautiful effects in +nature, to surprise their expressions, after having observed and +established the relation of cause to effect,--this is the end to which +the discovery of Delsarte would lead us. + +As it is difficult for each to find ready at his command the elements +for such research, how can we overestimate the great value of +establishing schools in which the instruction of students of the great +art shall be guided in accordance with the established laws of +aesthetics? The time of greatest necessity is the immediate present, +since the voice of the people cries loudly through the press, "Art is +decaying and will surely die!" + +"Barriers are also supports," said Madame de Stael; and what more sure +support in the decadence which threatens us, than a positive science +deduced from irrefragable law! I say _irrefragable_ with conviction. +Though human laws be subject to change, the laws of nature are shown to +be immutable, at least so far as the observations of learned men of all +ages have been able to establish them. + +To such assertions one objection arises: Why, admitting that the human +organism furnishes exact and complete means of manifesting art in all +the departments of aesthetics, should not others before Delsarte have +discovered that correlation? I have conscientiously considered and +sought light in this direction, and the result of my research furnishes +me only a negation. Although I do not here attempt a complete study of +the philosophy of art, nor a general history of the arts, I have sought +to discover all that could warrant one in presuming the discovery of a +law of aesthetics in antiquity, particularly among the Greeks. + +I find that in the writings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle--who are +the best authorities--art was a dependence upon philosophy; that is to +say, one with it, having no law outside of it. (Whereas, in the work of +Delsarte, aesthetics occupies the first place, and philosophy becomes +accessory.) + +I will here enter into some details of the ancient teachings. + +Socrates gave to his teachings a practical character founded upon the +knowledge of man. He took for his point of departure man himself, and +established (according to this idea) a morality with the motto of the +temple of Delphi,--"Know thyself." This doctrine related more especially +to ethics than to aesthetics--as later did that of Pierre Leroux--and it +was far from being able to direct artists in their work. + +Plato often discoursed upon the True, the Beautiful, the Good. He strove +to disengage them from the concrete that he might derive some general +formulae. To do this he employed the method of "elimination," a form of +dialectics which I recommend to no one, notwithstanding its great value +and the services it may render, after all, to those minds endowed with +patience. What does he conclude in regard to art? + +The Socratic and dogmatic dialogues--the _Phaedo_, the _Gorgias_, the +_Symposium, Protagoras, Ion, Phaedrus_--abound in allegories, aphorisms, +and in aspirations toward an ideal, more or less clearly defined, which +end, however, not by any means in a discussion of art, but in such +affirmations as that which closes the first _Hippias:_--"Beautiful +things are difficult." + +In the _Symposium_ we have a philosophical discussion interposed between +two orgies. Socrates there maintains his title of sage, but it is surely +not wisdom which presides at the feast. What light upon my subject? Do +we here find any conclusive decision regarding art? No! We have instead +such statements as this: "It is possible for the same man to be both a +tragic and a comic poet." Then are made some reflections upon time in +music. We can as yet discover nothing like a law of aesthetics. + +In this company, where are assembled the most cultivated of the Athenian +citizens, they discuss love and jealousy of a kind that the moral +instinct of modern society can with difficulty comprehend. But these +dissertations are of no aid in the solution which I seek. + +And yet the spirit of Socrates at times attained to great heights. He +puts into the mouth of a woman of Mantinea the theory which saps the old +doctrine and presents monotheism. It is but one step thence to +Christianity, and it was Apollonius of Tyana, disciple of Pythagoras, +who established a connection between the idealism of the later Greek +philosophy and the spirituality of the new religion taught by Jesus of +Nazareth. + +Socrates, after a discussion upon those intermediate deities, whom he +called _daimons_, and among whom he places love, assigns to love an +origin and strange attributes which, to a certain extent, explain the +remarkable workings of this passion at that time. He at once exalts and +seeks to make comprehended the new god--"Beauty eternal, uncreated and +imperishable, a beauty having nothing sensuous, nothing +corporeal,--which exists absolutely and eternally." This is all. + +Perhaps this ideal of love, as that of philosophy, may have been +expressed in the foundation of the religious ideal of Delsarte, but this +encounter in the ethereal regions of theology and psychology--where the +human consciousness perceives nothing tangible, and whence it derives +only vague aspirations--implies no knowledge, of anything like a law, a +science or a method, such as our artist-innovator of the nineteenth +century conceived and taught. + +Aristotle, disciple of the founder of the Academy of Athens, divided +the sciences into three classes--logic, philosophy and morals. Within +this classification art is closely bound, but this philosopher made no +scientific demonstration of it. His workings are not those of +application and execution. More than his predecessors, it is true, he +considered the human organism and, in this, his conception bears a +certain analogy to the system of Delsarte. Aristotle, as well as Plato, +advised the study of nature, and seeking there the elements of the +Beautiful; but they had specially in view literature and eloquence. +Further than this, their precepts are counsels and have reference to no +definite law. They have not shown the links of connection between the +human faculties and the mechanism which manifests them; they have not +taught man the manner of using his organs to express artistically his +sensations, emotions and thoughts. + +The Greeks had every advantage of models and philosophical schools, in +which art was taught. But they had no school of aesthetics. Artists of +genius taught the schools more than they learned of them; and these +artists, so far as I can learn, have left no trace of theoretical works, +but, as before written, genius precedes and exemplifies law. While Plato +and Aristotle placed a beacon light upon the road leading to a law, they +never touched the goal. Delsarte proceeded otherwise. He starts with a +principle clearly defined and everything harmonizes with it. + +Have the historians and critics of the Greek philosophy discovered that +which I vainly sought in its initiators,--_a law of aesthetics?_ This is +a question to be answered. + +Winkelmann, in his "History of Art," says: "The fine arts, in their rise +and decadence, may be likened unto great rivers which, at the point of +fullest greatness, break up into innumerable tiny streams and are lost +in the sands." Still following this imagery, he compares "Egyptian art +to a fine tree whose growth is stopped by a sting; Etruscan art to a +torrent; Greek art to a limpid stream." + +Now, the law of life of trees, streams or torrents, is not identical +with that which governs the unity of a human life. + +Like Aristotle, Winkelmann states clearly the principle that man is the +measure of all things, but he does not follow up the consequences; he +reaches no scientific demonstration upon any point. Far from +establishing the existence of a law of aesthetics among the Greeks, he +simply remarks upon the extreme simplicity of their beginnings, and +shows by what gropings they came from Hermes to the most perfect works +of Phidias and Praxiteles. + +Mengs states that "the first designs were of forms approaching human +semblance;" and that the sciences and philosophy must of necessity have +preceded the Beautiful in the arts. He thinks that the Greeks +established the proportions of their figures by imitation of beautiful +nature. + +From these two commentators we have a history of the progression of the +arts toward the Ideal. Mengs states that the Greeks and the Etruscans +have given rules of proportion and style. But progression, proportion, +style,--all of which proceeding from a fixed standard of beauty may +guide artists--the perception even of the ideal which each one +interprets in his own way--cannot be assimilated to that original law +which carries in itself all the reasons of the concept, that which +contains all conditions and means of a true execution,--_individual even +to the perfection of each type, general and varied as the infinite +shades of nature_. + +In response to the allegation of Mengs, that "the sciences and +philosophy must necessarily have preceded the Beautiful in the arts," I +would call attention to the fact that celebrated artists--as Phidias and +Zeuxis for example--had produced their works long before the dialogues +between Socrates, Protagoras, Hippias and others, upon the True, the +Good and the Beautiful. The great painter and the great sculptor could +only have proceeded by the intuition of their genius, knowing nothing of +a law of aesthetics. + +In that which remains to us of antiquity, I find nothing which implies +such an application of the human organism to the arts as that whose +discovery, promulgation, exemplification and teaching we owe to +Delsarte. + +M. Eugene Veron, writer of our day, and author of remarkable works on +art, far from recognizing among the Greeks a law of aesthetics, writes +of Plato: "He considered ideas as species of divine beings, intermediate +between the Supreme Deity and the world. Theirs is the power of creation +and formation.... Matter unintelligent and self-formed is _nothing_, and +realizes existence only through the operation of the idea which gives it +its form. Aristotle begins by rejecting all this phantasmagory of +eternal and creative ideas. He fills the abyss between matter and +spirit. God, pure thought and being preeminent, brings all into +existence by his power of attraction which gives to all activity and +life." + +We wander farther and farther from a law of aesthetics and its means of +application as established by Delsarte. + +Of all the writers who have thoroughly examined antique art, Victor +Cousin would seem the one with whom Delsarte had most in common, if this +eminent philosopher were not a contemporary of the master and had not +attended his lectures, his artistic sessions and his concerts. In his +manner of treating art, this is often shown bywords and forms and +flashes of instinctive reminiscence which recall the great school. In +his book, "The True, the Beautiful and the Good" (edition of 1858), the +learned professor writes: "The true method gives us a law to start from +man to arrive at things. All the arts, without exception, address the +soul _through the body_." + +He is on the way, but his position embraces neither the starting-point, +which is the law, nor any practical means toward an end. For the rest, +the nearer his propositions approach the law of Delsarte, the easier it +becomes to establish the radical differences which separate them. +Delsarte does not say that "the law is to start from man to arrive at +things," but that "man uses his corporeal organs to manifest himself in +his three constituent modalities,--physical, mental and moral." + +It is very certain that works of art, like all concrete forms, can only +be perceived by the senses. Who does not know this? But that which is +most difficult to comprehend, is the just relation of cause to +effect--as to the faculty and its manifestation,--and it is this which +Delsarte discovered and made clear. The one stated the action of art +when perceived; the other, the necessities of the artist in order that +art respond to the law. + +I shall have more than once to render justice to Victor Cousin. +Inheritor of the Greek philosophers, he allows dialectics too great +margin. He wanders in his premises and arrives at his conclusions--when +he can. (Here, of course, I speak only of art.) In philosophy, Cousin, +beginning with effects, from induction to induction, often arrives at +causes and states some principles. Delsarte, perhaps, proceeded thus +while seeking to combine his discoveries, but this accomplished, he +placed in the first line, synthesis, whence all emanates, and this focus +of light radiating in all directions, illumines even to its farthest +limit, the vast field of aesthetics. Cousin, after all, claims neither +for the Greeks nor for himself the discovery of a law. + +Proudhon, who represented the Protagorean school among us, humoring his +whim, produced a work on art. In this he declares that he has very +little gift in aesthetics, and asserts himself a dialectician, and we +cannot deny his power in logic while he regards things from a proper +stand-point. Very well! Proudhon challenged the Academy "to indicate a +_method_"--with even more reason might he have said _law_ of aesthetics. + +Shall we, at last, find among the true critics of French literature any +synthetic basis which may guide us in all branches of art? What do I +find in "The Poetic Art," by Boileau, the great authority of the +Augustan age,--rhetoric, beautiful verses, full of excellent counsel? I +find there wisely arbitrated rules, a sieve through which it would be +well to pass the works of our own times, including the verdicts which +distribute the glory. + +But the means of putting into practice these valuable precepts--the +criterion to establish their truth, the touchstone which may distinguish +the pure gold--does not appear! In default of these means of certitude, +each may, according to his instinct or his pride, insist that he has +fulfilled the conditions prescribed by the author of the _Lutrin_, and +judge his rivals by the sole authority of his prejudices. + +La Harpe and his followers have distributed praise and blame, and at the +same time said _what_ should be done, but they have given no _how_. + +More grievous still are the meanderings of the critics of our public +journals. They wander without compass and without rudder, approving or +condemning according to their friendships and antipathies; save those +_connoisseurs emerites_, whose fine, sure taste and exceptional +erudition are rarely able to supply a law and state a reason for their +judgment. + +Among us, as among the Greeks, may be found artists who have given +proofs of the existence of the supreme theory of which I now write. +Talma and Malibran--in another order, Dejazet, and Frederick Lemaitre, +even Theresa herself, have, in a greater or less degree, exemplified +this law imprescriptable. These artists, marked by nature with the seal +of their vocation, possessed that force of truth which produces sudden +bursts of eloquence, great dramatic effects; in a word, as before +expressed, "the happy strokes of genius." + +Yes, before and after Delsarte, there were and shall be beings +conforming by _instinct_ to his _law_. But with him alone shall rest the +honor of its discovery and first teaching, and of the establishment of +the science upon strong foundations. + +It remains for me to examine the relations between the workings of +Delsarte and those who have treated the same questions concerning the +terms (according to him, accessory), the True, the Good and the +Beautiful; and also to consider the value of each branch of aesthetics in +the entirety of the system. + + + + +Chapter VII. + +The Elements Of Art. + + + +_The True, the Good, the Beautiful._ + + +Though Delsarte be acknowledged the discoverer of the law of aesthetics, +he may have held points in common with many who before him had had +presentiments of its coming and had instinctively experienced its force. +Premonitions precede the discovery as complements should follow. + +The True, the Good, the Beautiful, constituent elements of aesthetics, +have been diversely interpreted. From his intellectual observatory, a +zenith whence the artist-philosopher viewed clearly the whole and the +details, he may be supposed to have gained light beyond any which could +have come to his predecessors. + +I will, then, resume my parallel from this point of view. + +The True, the Good and the Beautiful were not made, in the school of +Delsarte, objects of special teaching. By definitions, reflections and +illustrations of the master, they were shown to enter fully into the +science and method--a part of it distinguishable and inseparable. The +master, in his demonstrations, commonly employed various well-known +maxims which were always accredited to their authors. Thus, from Plato: +"The Beautiful is the splendor of the True." From St. Thomas Aquinas, +in regard to science: "In creation all is done by number, weight and +measure." From St. Augustine (for he often quoted from sacred works): +"Moral beauty is the brilliancy of the Good." + +But I must proceed in order. I owe it to the sincerity of my endeavor to +explain first the aesthetic work of Delsarte as shown me by his own +teachings. + + + +_The True._ + +The True Illuminates the Thought. + + +To determine the signification of the _True_, we must first ask what is +_truth?_ It has been defined as: "A fixed principle, an axiom." The term +truth has been applied to such or such maxims; but there are few +assertions not subject to discussion or which would be accepted as +decisive without comment. They have not that piercing clearness which +determines conviction by simple apprehension or at first sight. + +The dictionary of the Academy is more explicit in its statement: "Truth +is the conformity of the idea to its object." But a preferable +definition is that of Madame Clemence Royer: "Truth is the concept of +the spirit in regard to the reality of things and the laws which govern +them." This philosophical statement is readily adapted to the True in +the arts, which is acquired by the observation of nature and adaptation +of the lawful ideal. + +How, then, may we recognize the True in aesthetics according to this +definition? The artist, first and above all, should disregard no law of +nature, but when he aspires to great works, "the concept of his spirit +in regard to the reality of things and their laws" should lead him to +idealize what he sees, translating his personal conception of the +Beautiful and the Sublime, if his flight carry him so far. + +The word Art is more comprehensive in that which it expresses, than the +word True. _Art_ completes itself by its other elements, the _Beautiful_ +and the _Good_. Plato, and the philosophers in general, treated of truth +from the stand-point of philosophy rather than of art. Still the great +Athenian seemed to believe in a sort of celestial museum, where the +artist, penetrating by intuition, was inspired by a vision, more or less +clear, of the masterpieces of divine conception. + +Delsarte approached in a certain sense this very idea, but his doctrine +of the True in art, although depending upon the mystic basis of a holy +Trinity, brought forth developments both rational and scientific which +leave far behind the Platonic hypothesis. + +In the system of Delsarte it is no longer a vague ideal dimly +perceptible, which must guide the artist in the execution of his work, +for the _innovator_ says expressly that "the divine thought is written +in man himself." It is therefore at the command of every one who seeks +truth to make it manifest in art. In the new system, man being at once +the _artist_ and _object of art_, literary men, sculptors and painters +proceed from a basis ever to be observed and studied, to rise from the +True to the Ideal. Here the flight must be more rapid and, above all, +less deceptive than the purely mystic fancy of Plato. + +We shall see in considering the _Beautiful_ in the arts, that far from +giving rise to arbitrary and fantastic conceptions, the great ideal must +become, according to the science and method of the master,--the +aggrandizement and the harmony of the faculties of the human being. + + + +_The Good._ + +The Good Sanctifies the Soul. + + +What is the Good in art? Here again the philosophical standard bars the +way and demands priority. What, then, is _Good_ independent of varied +feelings and of all the varied and contradictory interests of human +subjectivity which encumber it in the minds of the multitude of thinking +people? + +The Good, after this elimination, is reduced or rather elevated to one +simple idea, so general and requisite is it. The Good seems to be that +which can give to the greatest number of beings, existing in the +universe (conformably to their hierarchy), the greatest sum of happiness +and perfection, considering, for humanity, the importance of the mutual +relations of the faculties. If this be true of the Good in life, is not +a way clearly traced for art, whose mission is to embellish existence? +And, further, if it be incontestable, that man cannot transgress the +laws of his nature without wronging his intelligence and his happiness, +even his strength and beauty, how shall art merit our love and homage if +its power be exerted to excite inferior faculties and subversive +passions? Are not _poise_ and _harmony_ the best conditions of existence +for the human organism? That which Plato demanded for the _Beautiful_ in +favor of the _True_--namely, splendor--Delsarte demanded also of _art_ +in favor of the _Good_. His thought is summed up in this formula, "Man +is the object of art." Man, being artist, becomes the agent of +aesthetics. Man, in his humanity, is the goal toward which should tend +all the efforts and experiments of the art-moralizer. + +The master maintained the possibility of reaching this end by two +opposing ways, not contradictory; _i.e._, the production of the +Beautiful under its physical, mental and moral forms; and by the +manifestation of the Ugly under the same forms, exhibiting what he +called the _hideousness of vice_. Immorality may be rendered poetical +and artistic, because of its being a corruption of the moral, often +preserving the imprint of its origin, even throughout its greatest +errors. Its agitation, its combats and its defeats interest the judgment +and the heart. The Ugly or unseemly, morally speaking, is the synonym of +vice. + +The Ugly in the language of the arts has many diverse significations. It +is in these shades and variable proportions that it affects our subject, +but the depicting of repulsive things, foreign to morality, to +sentiment and to passion, has no right to exist in aesthetics. It may be +possible to cure a vice by showing its hideousness. But does this +warrant such exciting of the disgust of the senses? It is an outrage to +the worship of the Beautiful, without compensation of any kind. + +There can be no advantage to humanity in exhibiting the hideousness of +disease or the monstrosities of certain natural phenomena! Open to them +the museums of comparative anatomy, but close the galleries consecrated +to the fine arts! There exist also monstrosities which are not included +in these categories; they present no moral danger, but are disagreeable +and repulsive to good taste. They consist of fantastic forms, in +accordance with the spirit of an inferior civilization, reminding one of +the misshapen and gigantic prehistoric animals, whose bones astound us, +and which disappeared from our globe that man might appear. + +Among cultivated contemporaries these eccentricities spring from an +inclination toward originality, caprice, grotesque taste; from a similar +impulse to that which directs literature toward burlesque and parodies, +and the plastic arts toward caricature. Such productions may please some +distinguished and intelligent natures which cannot have been highly +favored in the distribution of the delicacies of sentiment and the +exquisite graces of wit. In a word, the art indulging in this class of +manifestations acts according to the _mode simpliste_. I borrow this +term from Charles Fourier, and I say once for all, that by it I mean not +the entire, but the almost exclusive predominance of one or the other of +the modalities of the human being. Here the _simplisme_ being altogether +intellectual, while it is inferior to manifestations in which the being +expands harmoniously, it wounds no essential in the synthesis of the +_me_; while a predomination of the sensual to the same degree is most +pernicious to that which delights in it and antipathetic to those who do +not live solely in the material aspects of existence. + +Existing among the elements of aesthetics, as the faculties of man, are +certain dependencies, connections, affinities, penetrations, which +render an abstraction of one of them almost impossible. Thus I have +anticipated allusions to the Beautiful in considering the Good. By thus +connecting them, the better to distinguish them, I have reached the +conclusion that moral evil should never be manifested in the arts unless +with the view of redressing it. In this case the better its real +characteristics are studied, the more strongly they are accentuated +throughout, the more successful the work will be from the plastic point +of view, and the more power it will have to repel those inward wrongs +which it denounces, and this even though the intention of the artist +should not touch this result. + + + +_The Beautiful._ + +The Beautiful Purifies the Emotions. + + +At first glance, it might seem the privilege of each one to say, "The +Beautiful is that which appears to me as such." I believe in this +regard, that the most capable artist, should he be also the most perfect +logician, would never be able to persuade sainted and simple ignorance +that it should not remain firmly grounded upon faith in its own +impressions. + +Place Hugo, Mercie, Bonnat, Saint-Saens, Massenet, Joncieres in the +presence of simple countrymen--or, what is worse still, of inferior +artists and critics, of pretentious amateurs--and you will see by what +supercilious, incredulous gestures, being incapable of argument, this +satisfied ignorance will repel all assertions of the great authorities. + +Should we, therefore, disregard this reluctance to recognize the +features of the Beautiful in great works? We must at least deduce from +it the fact that the effect of art depends upon some relation between +the observer and the thing observed. + +Notwithstanding the reality of the beauties of such or such a work, in +the eyes of many appreciators, the subjectivity of each observer should +remain decisive, _vis-a-vis_ to himself, as long as he cannot be +convinced by the authority of a law; and, finally, it is imperative that +his comprehension of that law should be rendered possible by preliminary +studies. On the contrary, shall that which has been recognized as +beautiful by the initiated ever since artists created, and enlightened +criticism discussed and judged it, appear now before uncultivated +criticism as without authority? + +In default of law and science, there is a sort of universal consent +among competent thinkers; and their appreciation of the highest class of +works is maintained by a process of adhesion carried on by every +conversion from ignorant blindness to the light of appreciation. + +The question of subjectivity in the declared judgments in aesthetics has +given rise to incessant controversies which began, perhaps, among the +Greeks and are going on among us. Though no absolute decision has been +reached, some excellent maxims have resulted. In default of an +irrefutable definition of the Beautiful, there have been given us +images, analogies and thoughts upon the subject which approach and +prepare for such definitions: + +Victor Cousin has said: "It is reason which decides as to the Beautiful +and reduces it to the sensation of the agreeable, and taste has no +further law." + +"Aversion accompanies the Ugly (unseemly) as love walks hand in hand +with the Beautiful." + +"The Beautiful inspires love profound but not passionate." + +"The artist perceives only the Beautiful where the sensual man sees only +the attractive or frightful." + +And, again, "That is sublime which presents the idea of the Infinite." + +This last thought brings us to Delsarte, who, perhaps, was its +inspiration. + +The following valuable thoughts of the master, while not related +scientifically to his system, are still allied to its physical and +philosophical aspects: + +"Form," says the innovator in aesthetics, "is the vestment of substance; +it is the expressive symbol of a mysterious truth; it is the stamp of a +hidden virtue, the actuality of being; in a word, form is the plastic of +the Ideal." + +"The Beautiful is the transparency of the aptitudes of the agent, and it +radiates from the faculties which govern it. It is order which results +from the dynamical disposition of forms." + +"Beauty is the reason which presides at the creation of things; it is +the invisible power which draws us and subjugates us in them." + +"The Beautiful comprises three characters, which we distinguish under +the following titles: Ideal, moral and plastic beauty." + +By the enunciation of these three categories, Delsarte enters upon the +positive aspect of his system. As the result of the careful examination +of the aptitudes or faculties of the Ego, approachable by analysis and +applied to aesthetics, he has established this first class of +manifestations (ideal beauty) as requisite to art. This must result from +a combination of the faculties; the possibilities of combination being +infinite, but always in subjection to the human being. The artist, +according to this personal power of inspiration, should be able to +portray a totality of superior and harmonious qualities, such as will +oblige any competent observer to recognize it as beautiful. We have +taken a step into the realm of the Ideal; that is to say, we have +touched that which, without departing from the law, surpasses +conventional rule and the natural types accepted for the Beautiful. + +Before following the Ideal into its ethereal region, we will further +consider the nature of its foundation, which is a combination of the +three mother faculties which Delsarte declares to be, in aesthetics, the +criterion of the law and the foundation of the science. We already +recognize these as the physical, mental and moral aspects of the human +being. + +The plastic art allies itself particularly to the physical constitution, +but the physique cannot be perfectly beautiful unless it manifests +intellectual and moral faculties. + +Moral and intellectual beauty reveal themselves in the human being under +the empire of passion and of sentiment, and the physique is momentarily +transformed. The artist should seize beauty at this moment of fullest +perfection, above the normal conditions of human existence and perhaps +beyond possible plastic beauty. + +Behold what glorious possibility for the direction of the artist's +aspirations toward the Beautiful! But even this happy chance by no means +includes all of the possible conceptions of the Ideal, and neither does +it furnish us any absolute idea or definition. This vision of beauty, +made ideal by exaltation of the intelligence and the emotion, can only +be perceived by the artist of practiced observation and of that +intuitive perception which is the gift of nature. + +Again considered, the Ideal, being relative as well as the Beautiful, of +which it is the exuberance, we must remember that the word is far from +corresponding to an idea of absolute beauty. Thus the Ideal of an +ordinary taste is not so high as that of a person whose standard of +beauty is superior, and the two will be very distant from the image +conceived by the pen, the chisel or the brush of a great artist. In many +cases the Ideal is nothing but a searching for the intention of nature, +obliterated by the circumstances and accidents of life. Then the task of +the artist should be to reestablish the type in his logic--a vulgar face +may be portrayed by a skilful brush--and, while preserving its features, +there may be put into it the culture of intellect and noble sentiments. + +An artist, for instance, will see in a woman, whom time has tried, +certain elements of beauty which enable him to portray her nearly as she +was at the age of twenty years. He should be able to divine in the young +girl, according to the normal development of her features, her +appearance at the complete unfolding of her beauty. Yes; in these +different cases the artist shall have idealized, since he shall have +comprehended, penetrated, interpreted and rectified nature. Still, he +may not yet have attained to the comprehension of perfect beauty, such, +at least, as human emotion and intellect can conceive, and such as we +love to imagine as inhabiting the superior spheres of the universe of +which we know nothing further than the dictate of our reason, namely, +that they are inhabited by beings more or less like ourselves. + +When these sublime effects appear in art, it is as though a veil were +torn, revealing glimpses of a world of ideas, emotions and impressions, +surpassing our comprehension, approachable only by our aspirations. + +Thus, Delsarte, superior to his science, has shown us the artist in full +possession of all that he has acquired, and the inmost charm of that +which is revealed to him. In execution he proved this truth: If talent +may be born of science, it is genius which distinguishes the highest +personalities, and to merit the title of high artistic personality one +must contain in himself an essence indescribable, unutterable, which +constitutes the aureole of grand brows, and the sign luminous of great +works of art. + + Thus, as virtue, art has its degrees. + +Art, in its most simple expression, is the faithful representation of +nature. If the conception of a work or of a type is elevated to a degree +of perfection which satisfies at once the plastic sense, the emotion and +the intellect, we will call it Grand Art. + +Finally, if, in the presence of a creation, we recognize perfect +harmony (which goes beyond perfect proportion); if the work call forth +in us that contemplative ecstasy which gives us the impression and, as +it were, the vision of pure beauty, shall we not recognize Supreme Art? + +The system of Delsarte responds to all these desiderata of aesthetics. In +his law he gives us the necessary bases; by his science he indicates the +practical means, by his method and illustrations he completes the +science and demonstrates the law. Where is place left for doubt or +contradiction? + +He stated what he knew and how he had learned it. In his recitals +occurred innumerable beautiful proofs of his greatness and simplicity, +oftentimes more convincing than lengthy, involved argument could ever +be. + +Some may ask: How can a positive science lead toward an ideal which +cannot be touched, heard not seen? Would not this science be the +antipode (some would say _antidote_) of the mystic dreams of Plato and +of Delsarte himself? + +Reply is easy. Delsarte recognized in our mental consciousness that +desire for research into the unknown which would sound the mysteries of +nature. He did not disregard that intuitive force of imagination which +can often form from simple known elements the concept of conditions +superior to the tangible. + +Between this nature, which we hear and see and touch, and that nature +which the artist feels, imagines, and to which he aspires, Delsarte has +placed a ladder whose base is among us, and whose summit is lost in the +infinite spaces of fiction and poesy. By this ascent into the realm of +liberty, of personality and of genius, the elect of aesthetics shall +mount and gain, and, still maintaining their relations with the Real, +shall bring down to us the glorious trophies of their art. + +Delsarte, foremost among men, had climbed the magic ladder. His +exquisite harmonies in the dramatic art and lyric declamation were +beautiful indeed, but the aesthetic beauties which he brought forth in +the roles that he interpreted, must, alas! disappear with him. He has +left us the bases of his science, but who shall so beautifully tread the +way--reigning by song amidst a thousand accents of devoted enthusiasm! + + + + +Chapter VIII. + +Application of the Law to the Various Arts. + + + +We have now to consider each branch of aesthetics in the totality of the +system, to be assured whether or no this law discovered by Delsarte +covers all departures in the domain of art. First, then, the +starting-point around which all is centered and from which flow all +developments. + +"Man is the object of art." This proposition applies as readily to the +conception of literature, poetry and the plastic art as to the more +active manifestations of the dramatic, oratorical or lyric art. Man +being thus the object of art in all of its specialties, the part of the +artist is to manifest that which is revealed to him, through his three +essential modalities,--physical, moral and intellectual (in the words of +Delsarte, life, soul and spirit, with the divisions and subdivisions +that they allow), as has been clearly stated in the chapter upon "The +Law of AEsthetics," and further confirmed in the one upon "The Bases of +the Science." But though all of these primordial modalities appear in +each concept and in all artistic manifestations, the proportion in which +each appears is indefinitely variable. It is a predominance of one or +another of these which classifies and specializes. It is the harmony, +more or less perfect, of the components of this triple unity which +determines the value of artistic manifestations. Under this law, then, +come all of the arts, inasmuch as each, differing in subjects treated +and in means of execution, still has a common mission, namely, the +revelation of impressions, the intelligible expression of the thoughts +and feelings of man. To be more clearly understood, I will from this +point consider separately the different branches of aesthetics. + + + +_Art--Dramatic, Lyric and Oratorical._ + + +The proclivities necessary to an artist, actor or orator (intelligence +being the first consideration and beauty of minor importance) are: +expansion, sensibility or at least impressionability; a ready +comprehension of the works to be interpreted, if not the requisite +capacity to execute them. One's particular vocation (or congenial line +of work) is the first condition in either of these departments of art, +and into the consideration of this must enter that of physical beauty +such as the roles demand; always considering what has been named "the +physique" of the situation. In a word, these three aspects of art +correspond to the predominance of that modality which Delsarte calls +"life;" this with the complementary share of the other essentials to +maintain a symmetry; this for the average "chosen." As to the +individuality necessary for the creation of a role, general statements +cannot apply. It is one and entire for each. Should it reproduce itself +identically, it would no longer be individual. The strength of a +powerful individuality lies in the revelation of a type _sui generis_. + +Thus Delsarte can never be reproduced. If by an impossibility an artist +having seen him, and being penetrated by his method, could assimilate +the sum total of his acquired qualities and his inmost purposes, still +he could be but a copy, however perfect, since personality cannot be +transmitted. I could not pursue the demonstration of the application of +the laws of the human organism to the generality of the liberal arts +without meeting an objection which we will consider just here. Some one +says: If the law of art is the same as that of the human constitution, +what need that Delsarte teach that law--will it not suffice for each +artist-nature to study himself in order to determine satisfactory means +of transmitting (to spectators, audiences or readers) the thoughts, +passions or emotions which he would reveal, either by his pen, his +chisel, his brush, or by the fictitious personages which he incarnates? +I answer, No! The expression of nature by gesture, face, or voice will +not come to the artist by inspiration nor by reflection, especially in +extreme situations. He may chance upon agreeable effects, and even +moving expressions, but rarely does a just and telling expression of +that which he would express result from mere chance. Caustic truth or +knack--more vulgarly, cheek--comes of influence outside of one's self. +Upon one occasion Madame Pasta was heard to say: "I would be as +touching as that child in her tears. I should, indeed, be a great +artist if I could imitate her." + +Rare, indeed, are the artists who know how to weep. The sublimity of art +responds to nature's simplest impulses. By the study and work of +Delsarte a science has been created, every fleeting sign of emotion has +been fixed, and may be reproduced at will; and this for the instruction +of the artist who may never have observed them in another, nor himself +felt the impressions which give rise to them. + + + +_Application of the Law to Literature._ + + +It is hardly necessary to state that the predominance of one of the +primordial faculties in the actor would necessarily differ from that in +the author of the drama or opera which he would interpret. Literary +capability presupposes more or less of philosophical aptitude and a +predominance of the intellectual faculties, and this not to the +exclusion of a certain amount of artistic and moral development in the +truly great writers. It is in the field of literature especially, +that man attains to a _creation_; and whether his _object_ be a +fellow-creature or an extended and enlarged ideal,--in either and any +case facts have furnished repeated and incontestable evidence, in +support of the statement of Delsarte, that art is always defective +unless it be the product of the three essential modalities of being, +acting in their relative proportions. This statement is not to be +contested; but here again these relations would vary among the writers +upon science, ethics and poetry. + +The epic, most synthetic of literary productions, is no longer in +fashion, because, perhaps, of the growing rarity of heroes. On the +contrary, _simplisme_ is now deforming the greatest germs in the drama +and romance. The weakness often lies in the morality of the production, +or rather in its lack of morality, often so lacking that the author +sinks to the level of producing repulsive works and cynical pictures. + +In view also of man's essential faculties, but from another point of +view, St.-Simonianism classed men as scholars, artists and artisans. +Then were added the priests of a new order whose nature, more perfectly +balanced, was to furnish the model type of future humanity. This +classification had brought thinking people to the consideration and +criticism of a system isolating and concentrating all development upon +one or another of the faculties. It was readily seen that thus sentiment +would rush to folly; sensibility without a corrective would soon become +weakness; unbalanced industry would lead to disregard of health and +strength, while the triviality of the sensual nature, unrestrained by +mental or moral activity, would soon fall into hopeless degradation. +Herein was _simplisme_ most bitterly condemned. Delsarte, ever studying +relations between coincidences in art and the revelations of nature, +arranged a typical demonstration, as ingenious as logical, of the +action and play of opposing faculties. By most wonderful pantomime he +showed a man tempted to sin; then, touched by pity for the victim of his +desire, at last transformed by the intervention of the moral sense, he +came by slow gradations to most elevated sentiments. One saw clearly the +courage of resistance and triumph in the sacrifice. Then, taking an +inverse progression, he slid from this height to the opposite extreme of +culpable resolutions. + +Delsarte was the author of this mute scene which contains the elements +of a drama. The contemplation of this wonderful effect leads to the +conviction of the great value to literature of the fundamental law, +which may be applied to any and all literature, as a permanent criterion +by which productions may be classified and judged, in their departure +from the _simpliste_ form and approach to a conception in which the +constituent modalities of being act in harmonious accord. Here, again, +we have a fresh distinction between scientific and ethical literature, +and that which may be termed the _literature of art_. To this latter +class belong romances, dramatic productions and poems--works made up of +shades of meaning and just proportions, which should be based on clear +and sound philosophy, prudently disguised but indisputable and +imperishable. Here is place for the grace of an agreeable wit and the +elegant flexibility of a fruitful pen. More imperative than in any other +class of writing is the demand for individual touch and that harmony of +construction depending upon the proportionate relations of those +elements of aesthetics,--_the True, the Good_, and _the Beautiful_. Thus, +through aesthetics, it is elevated. + +To this literature of art belong the sonnet of Arvers, and "The Soul," +by Sully-Prudhomme. Musset, in his grace or pathos, is not inferior to +Victor Hugo. There are, even in his faults, certain effective boldnesses +to which the author of "Notre Dame de Paris" cannot aspire. Whence, +then, comes the immense distance between these poets? It lies in the +fact that Victor Hugo, while he is a finished artist, shows himself also +a thinker, philosopher, man of science and erudition. Endowed with a +profound humanitarian feeling, he is preoccupied with the evils of +society, with its rights, its mistakes, its tendencies and with their +amelioration; while the poet of "Jacques Rolla"--a refined +sensualist--devotes his verse to the unbridling of the torments of +imagination in delirium, to the agitations of hearts which have place +only for love. + +If comparison be made between novelists and dramatists of diverse +schools, why has not M. Zola, who in so many regards should be +considered a master, attained the heights of eminence upon which are +enrolled the names of Shakespeare, Moliere, Corneille, Schiller, Madame +de Stael, and George Sand? It is because M. Zola, profound analyst and +charming narrator, even more forcibly than Musset breaks the aesthetic +synthesis by the _absence of morality_ in his writings. His fatalism +arrests the flight of that which would be great; he corrupts in the germ +wonderful creative powers! M. Zola's great lack lies in his considering +in man his physical nature only. Between mind and matter he holds a +magnifying lantern full upon the lowest molecules, and rejects +disdainfully the initiating atom that Leibnitz has signalized as the +centre of life. M. Zola has created a detestable school which already +slides into the mire beneath the weight of the crimes which it excites +and the disgust which it arouses. Should we blame Zola and his disciples +for the danger and the impotence of this method? Should we not impute +the wrong in greater measure to philosophical naturalism? + +In considering _materialism_ and _naturalism_ let us not lose sight of +the fact that while materialism is _simpliste_, naturalism (in so much +as it represents nature) is essentially comprehensive and necessarily +synthetic; harmony of force and matter being an invariable requisite of +_life_. + +_Realism_, another term strangely compromised, seems to proclaim itself +under the banner of materialism, while the _Real_, implying the idea of +the _True_, cannot be contained in _simplisme_. It is a most pernicious +evil that writers, calling themselves realistic, still concentrate their +talent upon the painting of vicious types and characters drawn in an +infernal cycle of repulsive morals. + +"Man is the object of art." Never could the words of the master more +appropriately interpose than before the encroachments of literary +_simplisme_. The man of whom Delsarte speaks is not confined to such or +such a category of the species. He proposes that aesthetics should +interpret an all-comprehensive human nature, which is not made up alone +of baseness, egotism and duplicity. Though it be subject to perversion, +it has its luminous aspects, its radiant sides, and we should not too +long turn our eyes from them. + +Artistically, evil or the Hideous (which is also evil) should never be +used except as a foil. There is no immorality in exhibiting the +prevailing vices of the epoch, but this is the physician's duty. The +evil lies in presenting these evils under such forms as may lead many to +enjoy or tolerate them, giving them the additional power of a charming +style and the specious arguments of fatality. This is precisely the case +of M. Zola. The glamor of his disturbing theory, which annihilates free +will, gives to his works a philosophical appearance. He conceals its +vacuity beneath forms of a highly-colored style, an amiable negligence +and a facility that is benumbing to thought. As he asserts nothing, no +one dreams of contradicting, and one finds himself entwined in a network +of repulsive depravity without a ray of healthful protection or +correction. In comparison with the blight of this disastrous system of +fatality, the coarseness of the writer's language, so loudly censured, +is relatively unimportant. The _simplisme_ of M. Zola is not absolute, +as but one of the three constituent modalities is omitted, that one +being morality. The lack is, however, no less fatal, inasmuch as the +void produced by the absence of one of the noblest faculties of human +activity must usually be filled by disturbing forces. + +I have heard the theory, "art for art," supported by men otherwise very +enlightened. "An artistic production need not contain a moral treatise," +they say, and this is quite true, provided the artist be a quick +observer, possessing talent sufficient to handle his subject +harmoniously. Vice carries its own stigma, and pure beauty surrounds +itself with light. The author should be able readily to distinguish the +one as well as the other, and his precepts should come as the harmonious +result of his experience. But such a work, at the mercy of an +ill-balanced brain and unhealthful temperament, must yield bad fruit. +Talent without broad and true knowledge of _reality_, or that which +_is_, instead of being invented, is incomplete in its workings and +results. Its creations resemble the light of the foot-lamp, of +fireworks, of the prodigies of our modern pyrotechnists--pleasing for a +time, dazzling, captivating, intoxicating! But lost in the life-giving +beauty of a summer's night or a glorious sunset, we are tempted to cry +out with the poet,-- + + "Nothing is beautiful but the True." + +What can be said of the other _simplisme_ which, in its search for the +True, ignores the Beautiful while it disregards the Good? Again, its +partisans seek artistic truth in its very worst conditions. Why paint in +full sunshine, if the intense light obliterates details and confuses the +shadows? Does it seem a difficulty conquered? It is far oftener a +disguised insufficiency. If my reference to painting seem premature, it +is because I wished to borrow an image to show how equally grievous was +the faulty touch of many of our writers of renown. Many among them seem +striving to propagate the culture of the Mediocre and Unseemly, as a +thousandfold easier practice than the religion of the Beautiful. + +My present aim is to show clearly the influence of even incomplete +_simplisme_, in certain pernicious effects upon literature. Edgar A. Poe +entered the realm of the fanciful after Hoffman, and how is it that the +initiator is less dangerous than his disciple? It is because of these +two _simplistes_, who have put reason out of consideration, the first +addressed himself only to the imagination, while the American poet +sounded the emotions to depths where terror is awakened and madness +begins to sting. Hoffman has perhaps upon his conscience some readers +confined in asylums for the deranged, but the far more perilous +hallucinations of Poe must account for greater harm. The distance is +great between imagination and sentiment, and should be so regarded. This +extravagance should surely not be allowed to usurp the place of +morality, but this is what is done, and greatness is not for them. + +Another illustration lies in the transition intermediate between the +romances of Balzac, Frederic Soulie, Emile Souvestre, and Eugene Sue, +and the poetry of Victor Hugo, Lamartine, Beranger, Barbier and the +_impressionalist_ school whose decline is already at hand. + +Of many names, which have acquired notoriety, I select the two which +afford the best contrast,--Charles Baudelaire and Jules de la Madelene. +The first, among other eccentric works, has left us "The Blossoms of +Evil." In the ideas which it embraces it is the successful production of +an imagination misled and in distress; a pathological experience +probably prompted the conception. In it one reads beautiful verse of +scholarly construction, and readily perceives an individuality and +originality of thought and expression; but no one would predict or +desire that this production should pass to posterity. + +"Le Marquis des Saffras," by Jules de la Madelene, on the contrary, +gratifies both judgment and feeling. It is a spirited painting, acute +and profound, as well as true, of human life, especially of provincial +life. The human being is revealed in all his aspects. Though the author +disguises neither errors nor weaknesses, he presents clearly the +redeeming side--the simple manners and the humble devotion of sincere +hearts. This, then, is the reason _why_, sustained by a style rich in +grace and strength, full of the breath of poetry which is felt rather +than described, "Le Marquis des Saffras" holds its place as an +incontestable masterpiece in the choice libraries that preserve the +renown of great writers. + +A more careful examination of the doctrine of Delsarte--"The necessity +of the concurrence of the mother modalities of the human organism to +fulfil the conditions of aesthetics"--but forces the conviction that +disregard of this requirement renders all sterile and incomplete, if not +monstrous. Is this equivalent to saying that the deductions from the law +of Delsarte tend to condemn in French literature its simple gaiety, its +graceful lightness, and to efface this stamp of the race that our +ancestors have surely imprinted? + +In works of the imagination the omission of moral meaning is often more +seeming than real, and every good reader should be able to recognize +this. However, this negligent seeming is far less hurtful than brilliant +wit concealing crudities and modifying boldnesses. Writers of this class +do not lose sight of the fact that, while the French character has its +audacities (contrary to the modifications of aesthetics), our language +possesses a proverbial chastity, which, even in its farthest wanderings, +genius comprehends and respects. Tact and taste suffice to him who +consults them to escape grossness of language. The delicacy of the +allusions leaves their images in a transparent mist; the very elasticity +of the equivocation furnishes a refuge for the thought which it +disquiets. + +By art some most delicate subjects, very nearly approaching license, +have been pardoned. We would surely exhibit a tyrannical and morose +humor to condemn to be burned _en place de Greve_, by the hand of the +executioner, the romances of _Manon Lescaut_, and _Daphnis_ and _Chloe_ +by Longus, as they have been transmitted to us by Paul Louis Courier. + +But when literature, realistic or materialistic (or whatever they please +to call it), freeing itself from moral accompaniment, shows itself +negative or weak in its creations; if it be _simpliste_ to the point of +appealing exclusively to the senses, limiting its means of action to the +development of the egotistic and instinctive side of the human +passions,--its works have no longer right of consideration in aesthetics. +The consideration of the physical being should surely figure in all +representations of life, but it is not necessary that from a subordinate +consideration it should ever be made all-governing. The body, the +essential part of our personality, is the companion of our higher +faculties. We should be mindful of it, making it as beautiful as +possible, but giving it the reins would be even worse than giving power +absolute to the imagination. + +Once more, _impressionalism_, without the control of science and of +reason, has nothing to claim in the spheres of the _True_, the _Good_, +the _Beautiful_. + + + +_Application of the Law to Architecture._ + + +The productions of architecture, like those of literature, have their +origin in the realm of thought. Architecture is not, like the dramatic +art, in subjection to the person of the artist. It is one of the plastic +arts, and of them the most synthetic by reason of the number of agents +concurring in its harmony. Its dependence upon form is akin to that of +sculpture, while the value of color in its effects is only less than in +the art of the painter. + +This art, essentially comprehensive, demands of its masters varied +knowledge and that power of cooerdination which, according to the learned +philosopher Antoine Cros, is the highest function of the human +intellect. The relation of aesthetics to the totality of the faculties is +here more evident than ever. After the manifestation of _mind_ in the +composition of the plan, the architect's next duty is to please the eye. +To this end he employs marble, stone, wood, bronze or gold, and the +result is that element of the symphony which responds to sensation. The +third and only remaining element of the trinity is sentiment. In order +that, rising above its utilitarian purpose, appropriateness and +mathematical rules of stability, the architect may fulfil the +requisition of aesthetics and arrive at the "Grand Art," the remaining +element as well as the other two must be perfected in result. The +perfection of this element of sentiment is shown in the work by the +impression of grandeur or elegance, of grace, severity or delicacy. The +triple necessity thus filled, the result is truly a work of art. + + + +_Application of the Law to Sculpture._ + + +The relation of Delsarte's system to sculpture has already been alluded +to. Its application here lies principally in the realm of form. The +sculptor aims to reproduce finest proportions of face and figure. He +delights in a beautiful contour and, as Mengs has said, "in lines +undulating and serpentine," while he studiously avoids all simple +straight lines. + +The more limited range of outlook demands more studied beauties and more +significant expressions. The statue--unlike the monument, which at once +arouses spontaneous emotions in the spectator--should express the human +being, his sensations, his affections, his passions and struggles, and +should arouse an enthusiasm of admiration while it awakens sympathetic +echoes in the heart of the observer. Here more strikingly than ever must +we recognize "Man the object of art." In the light of this truth we +should demand of sculpture the manifestation of the human life with its +constituent faculties, not in a perfectly equal accord which is never +met in nature, but with such predominance as the subject presents. + +In Greek art the predominance is of the physical aspect. They had before +them exquisite models of plastic beauty; not the sensual beauty which is +fleshly, but a plastic beauty consisting of harmony of line and form. +Let us further consider this difference as shown in comparison of the +Apollo and the Bacchus. + +The Apollo satisfies alike the intellect and the eye by its beautiful +outlines. [We are not yet ready to discuss beauty of expression.] The +Bacchus less ideal and more humanly natural cannot so satisfy a highly +aesthetic temperament. In neither work is there much of sentiment +expressed. The distinctively moral side plays a secondary part, unless +we consider beauty itself a moral factor,--a theory that may be +sustained. In neither beautiful marble is there revealed any sensual +dominance, though the Bacchus, notwithstanding its plastic superiority, +rather inclines that way. The Apollo has been loudly extolled for the +pride of its attitude and its divine calm in the encounter with the +serpent Python; and still it is said that "a god could not have cause +for so great pride in the conquest of a reptile." But the art-critics +have exaggerated the import of the figure, which is wonderfully +beautiful without being accurately expressive. The civilization of the +new era has developed in man moral and physical qualities, which furnish +new expressions by which the artist may set forth that part of human +life which Delsarte called "the transluminous obscurities of our inmost +organism." Dating from this epoch we find in sculpture less of plastic +beauty and more spiritual and touching expression. Who would compare the +pathos of the Laocoon to that of Canova's Magdalen? The sculptor +Marcello (Mme. de Castiglione), too early removed from an artistic +career, exhibited certain creations which illustrate this difference. +Among them is a bust, in marble, of an Arab chief, which is after the +style of the antique, beautiful lines, without expression (a +predominance of the physical element). In her "Weary Bacchante" she +shows beauty tarnished by vice, and here the predominant expression is +sensual. But in her "Marie Antoinette in the Temple Prison," as in +Mercie's "David" and the "Dying Napoleon," it is not the marvelous +beauty which entrances us, but first and above this reigns the power of +_expression_. + +Sentiment is become predominant. In the "Marie Antoinette," what bitter +disappointment! In the "Napoleon," what disillusion with the toys of the +world in which he had reigned! In the "David"--Biblical subject treated +by a modern chisel--what strange impressions and reflections are +suggested by that tranquil head and the wonderful frailty of the body! +how original the conception of the figure, and the whole a tribute to +the high personality of the artist! Mercie shows not only the work +accomplished, but in this are glimpses of promise of greatness to come +which serve as more valuable proof of greatness than the masterpiece +completed. This leads me to a reflection already often alluded to, but +which I would keep ever before you as the foundation of my argument: +"Man is the object of art." He is also the art-producer, and considering +relatively the two terms of the proposition, the manifestations of the +faculties are not necessarily adequate between the producer and the +production. I will explain. + +The best conditions under which an excellent work of art should be +produced are undoubtedly the following: The conceiver possesses in the +highest possible degree of development the modalities of being essential +to the kind of creation undertaken, and these in their most perfect +harmony; but this perfection of intensity and of the relations of the +elements of the concept by no means necessitates the artist's formation +of types at once morally, intellectually and physically artistic. This +depends upon the truth of his subject. That he embellish it, whatever it +may be, by his artistic interpretation and execution, is all that we +should expect. + +In the new manifestation which we now consider, where expression of +sentiment is given predominance, the artist, interpreter of the +passions, sentiments, weaknesses and vices as well as of the virtues and +sympathies of humanity, must, in order to interest or chasten, show to +it its own image, which reflection will be most frequently not an ideal +of perfection but a type of suffering and vice, of weakness and +depravity. A work will be successful in proportion as the chisel shall +be most indefatigable in putting in relief the virtue or the vice which +characterizes the subject. The greatest artist shall be he who renders +most striking the characteristic predominance, whatever it may be, of +the type created or interpreted. To sum up: Art is proportional to the +faculties of the artist, and the work is the result of an application of +these faculties to some special manifestation of the human ego. + +Impressionalism, as in the other arts, should be considered in two +aspects: the impression of the artist and that of the public or +observer. The question then arises, what kind of a public should be +impressed that the artist may merit a place in the higher ranks of +aesthetics? While we have recognized that judgments in questions of art +are the result of a certain sympathy existing between artist and +observer, we have decided also that in considering such a question, all +observers cannot be considered equal. In sculpture as in literature, +where appreciators are possibly more numerous, we must admit that +knowledge and capability or even sincerity are rarely of any weight in +the balance of the grand juries of history or in the verdicts of +contemporaries. The ignorant multitude sanction the grossest works +because these only come within their understanding. Encouraged by the +applause of numbers and by the lack of restraint which wins applause, +artists descend the rounds of the ladder of progress which step by step +has marked the ascent of the great schools and the great masters, and +the result inevitably must be the return to mere sketches in sculpture, +and painting will diminish to imagery. This end is quickly and readily +reached, so easy and so fatal is the descent in these paths of +decadence. + +"All styles are good except the tedious," a well-known critic has said. +Pursuing the import of this thought, we are led to the speedy conclusion +that the _null_ should never enter into competition. Nothing better than +that the condition of priority should exist between diverse styles and +opposite schools; but why strive to institute comparison between a +synthetic idea and the absence of synthesis and idea, between certain +proportions and harmony and the absence of proportion and harmony, +between a style and the absence of style? Whatever the subject and +whatever the mode of treating it, the intelligence of the artist should +always be visible in his work. + +I am more and more thoroughly convinced that the theory of Delsarte, +fatal to _simplisme_, is the true theory of art. What can be more +_simpliste_ than impressionalism when viewed as a school? It considers +no law or science, disregards entirely analysis and logic, the Good and +the Beautiful; it is given over to sensation; vague impressions which +are, whatever may be said to the contrary, only the inferior part of +man's faculties, indispensable surely, but that which we have in common +with the animals and little children; very interesting to observe among +animals, a charming grace in children, but a most unimportant factor in +adult existence, particularly in the artist's life, unless it be +governed by the intellect and subject to the sanction of feeling. + + + +_Application of the Law to Painting._ + + +If any art should be given over to impressionalism it seems as if it +should be painting. To see and to transmit what is seen,--is not this +the true office of the painter, his undoubted mission? Yes, on condition +that the artist has the requisites for seeing correctly! And if he rises +to composition, he must also be endowed with a creative intellect, with +a portion of that mental power which will permit him to embrace a +conception synthetically, and to cooerdinate its parts. + +Among the impressionalists of our time, there are assuredly painters of +talent; but what talent they possess is, as it were, against their will: +the influence of tradition, the weight of the medium in which they live +unconsciously restrain them. Then, it must be confessed, this +impressionability of the artist has its intrinsic merits, if it is kept +to its place and degree; but it must be regarded as certain, that if the +_simpliste_ artist makes himself distinct in his work, it is because he +contains within himself more of the requisites for what he undertakes, +and because, without his having summoned them, the faculties of the +understanding and the aesthetic sense have come to his aid. + +If Delsarte admitted the precept that "everything is perceived in the +manner of the perceiver," he, of course, did not admit that every +perceiver should make his own law: his conception of the aesthetic +trilogy would never have permitted him to open this Babel for the vanity +of ignorance. + +To finish with _simplisme_ or naturalism, let us say that, carried to +its utmost extreme, it becomes a fixed idea, a monomania; has not +impressionalism attained to this even in the choice of colors? It has +been said of certain painters that they had only to upset their palette +on the canvas to compose their pictures! Yet this varicolored chaos is +not the characteristic of the school On the contrary, certain favorite +colors prevail; do not green and violet rule almost exclusively in some +of the most striking pictures from impressionalist brushes? + +There are moments when we ask whether the impressionalists and their +adherents are not obeying an impulse to contradict rather than a serious +conviction. In either case, it is time for many of them to furnish +proofs--that is to say, works,--in lack of the reasons which they have +not even offered. + +After this digression, forced upon me by recent scholastic quarrels, let +us return to Delsarte. + +I have given the reasons for his doctrine in other chapters; this +doctrine will gain strength when I show what I have gathered from his +science, since science and law mutually testify for each other; since +all art, acquiring fresh vigor from its source, _law_, and enlightened +by the aid of these same formulae, must bear the impress of truth, beauty +and goodness. + +Even where color occupies in painting the place attributed to outline in +sculpture, there are in these two manifestations of mental images--and +in spite of the synthetism peculiar to painting,--striking similitudes. + +As regards physical manifestations, both these arts should seek +truth--which does not mean literal exactness,--and all that has been +said of _simplisme_, in regard to sculpture, is perfectly applicable to +that part of painting which treats of the human figure. Science and law +lay down the same rules for both,--save for the differing modes of +execution. + +It is another matter when it is a question of representing nature as a +whole, and under less limited forms: seas, mountains, the atmosphere and +broad plains--landscapes of vast extent,--subjects forbidden to +sculpture even more exclusively than simple compositions of several +figures, which are seldom successful in sculpture. For if sculpture +sometimes makes a group, if it is used to decorate monuments and tombs, +it offers nothing analogous to those magnificent phases of nature which +we find on the canvases of the great masters. + +Delsarte, who from the laws of mimetics deduced for painters means of +expressing correctly every impression and emotion which man can feel, +taught nothing in regard to this special field of the landscape artist, +who is not subject to the conditions of the actor, sculptor or orator. +But, if this aspect of art--save in cases where figures are +introduced--does not come under the head of certain statements of our +science, not having to imitate attitude, gesture or voice--in a word, +anything proceeding from the human organism,--it is, perhaps more +closely than elsewhere, allied to the innovator's law: to that law which +prompts the artist to respond to the psychical aspirations of his +fellowmen, and demands that in satisfying the senses, he should also +arouse or inspire the thought and feeling of beauty. + +Thus the painter of nature, as much of a reality as man, but a reality +in its own way, if he desires to make nature understood and loved, must +give it the stamp of his own ideas, his own feelings, his own +impressions. + +Why should I care to be shown trees and waters, valleys and mountains, +if the tree does not tell me of the coolness of its shade, if the water +does not reveal the peace of the deep lake, if I cannot divine the +rippling of the brook, if the valley does not make me long to plunge +into its depths! Why recall to me the mountain, if its curves do not +rouse in my mind any ideas of grace, elegance and majesty,--if its peaks +do not make me dream of the Infinite! + +However skilful the artist may be in the reproduction of form and the +handling of color, he will always be far inferior to nature if his soul +has never heard the inner murmur of all those mysteries of the +sensitive, and I will venture to say, spiritual life, contained in +forests, waterfalls and ravines. Lacking this initiation, he will play +the cold and flavorless part of one who tells a twice-told tale; for it +is in landscape especially, that talent consists in revealing the +painter's own feeling. + +The charm of things felt is not produced merely by a grand way of +looking at things: the mind, the soul, occupy but little space; but +where they figure, the canvas is well filled, and the brush betrays +their presence. + +I remember, in support of my thesis, that at one of the annual +expositions at the Salon--which then represented the aristocracy of +painting,--there was a tiny picture: a hut half hidden in moss and +flowers. It was almost lost among the portraits of distinguished +personages, the historic incidents, the scenes taken from fashionable +life, and almost drowned in the bloody reflections from the vast display +of battle pictures, which, as was then the custom, monopolized half the +space. + +Well! this canvas, a yard wide and not so long, held you captive, took +your thought prisoner, and inevitably impressed itself on your memory. +You longed to ramble over its thick turf; to enter that cottage whose +open windows gave you the feeling that it was a peaceful shelter; you +loved that poor simplicity, which seemed to hide happiness. + +Certainly the author of this graceful, touching picture practiced +Delsarte's law, at least from intuition. + +Profound emotions are not always due to objective beauty; the beauty of +the work is a thing apart from what it represents. Who does not recall, +in another order of talent, this effect, due to the brush of Bonnat: an +ugly, old Spanish woman is praying in a dark chapel; she prays with +eyes, lips and soul. There was never seen more complete absorption, more +complete forgetfulness of self in humble fervor. It was far more +touching than all the types of sensual beauty, with pink and white and +perfumed skins--with delicate limbs, in disagreeable attitudes! + +This is, yet once again, due to the fact that sentiment is stronger than +sensualism; and because the artist's skill, taking the place of beauty +in his subject, becomes genuine aesthetic beauty: so much so that, +looking at old age and ugliness--as represented by Bonnat,--the +spectator is enchanted and applauds--_the success of the work!_ + +If, however, to perfect execution is allied beauty--not sensual, but +aesthetic,--if it is made manifest from the point of view of form, +feeling and thought, the enthusiasm will be still greater, because all +the aims of art are realized at one and the same time. + + + + +Chapter IX. + +Delsarte's Beginnings. + + + +"The artist, a traveller on this earth, leaves behind imperishable +traces of his being."--_Francois Delsarte._ + +We would fain prolong the faintest rays of all that glitters and fades +too soon, and if intense light is generated in a human brain, we strive +to retain its every reflection. Nothing is indifferent which concerns +the nature of the chosen few; great men belong to the annals of their +nation, and history should be informed regarding them. + +Francois Delsarte left this life at the moment when misfortune had +crushed France beneath her iron heel for some ten years. The date of his +death--July 20, 1871--partially explains the silence of the press on the +occasion of so vast a social loss. + +The circumstance of an artistic education, which was carried on in my +presence, gave me opportunity to collect a mass of incidents and +observations in regard to the great artist who is the object of this +sketch. + +I collected ideas in regard to his instruction, his method and his +discovery of the laws of aesthetics, which are the more precious that +nothing, or almost nothing, was published by him touching upon subjects +of such supreme importance. It is my duty to tell what I know. + +I have already established the bases of the work which I now undertake, +in a pamphlet containing several articles published in various +newspapers. These articles were written under the inspiration of the +moment; they won the master's approval. I shall have frequent recourse +to them to correct the errors of memory and give more vivid life to that +now distant past. + +Delsarte was born at Solesmes (Department of the North), November 9, +1811. His father was a practicing physician; but tormented by a genius +for invention, he spent his time and money in studies and experiments. +Then, when he succeeded in producing some mechanical novelty, some +capitalist more used to trade and rich enough to start the affair, +usually reaped all the profits. This condition of things, of course, +produced great poverty in the family of the inventor, and the children's +education suffered in consequence, and yet young Francois even then +showed signs of superior endowments. A missionary, passing through +Solesmes, said to him: "As for you, I don't know what you will turn out, +but you will never be an ordinary man!" In spite of this, his parents +intended him for trade, being unable to direct his talents toward +science and the liberal arts. + +Before proceeding farther, I must consider a question often asked in +regard to the great artist, and concerning which his family have kindly +informed me. + +For a long time Delsarte signed his name in a single word, as I write +it now; why, then, should we ever see it written with the separate +particle, which seems to aim at nobility and which gives us the form, +del Sarte? I will give you the tradition as it is told in Solesmes, and +as the artist heard it during a visit to his native place. If it be +fiction, it is not without interest, and I take pleasure in telling it. + +The natives of Solesmes say that at a very remote period a great +painter, coming from a distance, spent some time in their town. The good +inhabitants of the place know nothing of the pictures which this master +must have produced; perhaps they are quite as wide from his name! But +Delsarte, struck by the probability of this poetic origin, filled with +brotherly sympathy for the pure and graceful talent of Vannuchi del +Sarto, doubted not that the latter was the artist whose memory is held +sacred in Solesmes. Out of respect and veneration for the Italian +master, he divided the syllables, but still retained the French +termination of his name. + +We can readily see that an imaginative spirit, such as we now have to +deal with, would be carried away by the legendary side of this story, +and that he would put full faith in his own commentaries:--he believed +so many things! + +To return to prose and to reality, I must add that Delsarte based his +sentiment upon partial proof. Before the Revolution, the family did +indeed sign themselves del Sarte; but an ancestor--imbued with the +principles of 1789, and anxious to efface all suspicion of noble +origin--effected a fusion of the two parts of the word, and left us the +name as we have known it and as, perhaps, we regret it. + +Those who regard this change of family name as mere vanity seem to me +wide of the truth. A strange nobility, moreover, that of Vannuchi, +surnamed _del Sarto!_ Sarto may be translated as _tailor;_ therefore +Vannuchi _del Sarto_ would mean: Vannuchi _of the tailor_, short for +Vannuchi, _son of the tailor_. + +What need had he of empty honors, he who was on equal terms with the +great men of letters, science and the arts, who was surrounded by the +incense of the most legitimate enthusiasm, and who received the homage +of kings as of less value than the praises of Spontini and Reber! + +I return to my sketch which will, I hope, justify these last remarks. + +At the time of which we speak, the poor child was not treated as the +predestined favorite of art, He had been entrusted to people who ill +fulfilled their mission. He was scolded and abused; he was left +destitute of the most necessary things. He felt this injustice, and, +gifted with a precocious sensibility, he suffered greatly from it. + +Francois had as a companion in misfortune, one of his brothers, who +could not bear the hard life; born feeble, he soon succumbed. This was a +severe trial to the future artist! When he saw his only friend buried +in the common grave, he could not contain his grief. + +"I rebelled," he tells us, "at the idea of losing all trace of this +tomb. I shrieked aloud. I would not leave the mournful place!" + +The grave-diggers took pity on his despair; they promised to mark the +spot. The child resigned himself to fate and departed. I will let him +speak for himself: + +"I crossed the plain of St. Denis (it was in December); I had eaten +little or nothing, and I had wept much. Great weakness combined with the +dazzling light of the snow, made me dizzy. The fatigue of walking being +added to this, I fell upon the damp earth and fainted dead away." + +What followed may be explained by the ecstatic state often experienced +on coming out of a fainting-fit. + +"Everything seemed to smile into my half-open eyes; the vault of heaven +and the iridescent snow made magical visions about me; the slight +roaring in my ears lulled me like a confused melody; the wind, as it +blew over the deserted plain, brought me distant, vague harmonies." + +Delsarte interpreted what he saw in the light of Christian ideas: it +seemed to him that the angels made this delightful concert to console +him in his misery and to strengthen him to bear his hard lot. + +Rising up, the child felt himself a musician. He soon evinced an utter +contempt for the china painting to which he had been bound apprentice. +That too was an art; but of that art, the angels had said nothing. + +How was he to learn music? + +He knew that by a knowledge of a very small number of signs, one could +sing and play on instruments. He talked of this to all who would listen; +he questioned and inquired:-- + +"Do you know music, you fellows?" he asked some school boys of his own +age. + +"A little," said some. + +"Well! what do they teach you?" + +"They teach us to know our notes." + +"What notes?" + +"Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si." + +"What else?" + +"That is all." + +"Are there no more notes?" + +"Not one!" + +"How happy I am! I know music!" cried the delighted Delsarte. + +"Cries of joy have their sorrows," said a poet. The child had uttered +his cry of joy, and his torments were about to begin. Seven notes! It +was a whole world; but what was he to do with them? He scarcely knew, +although he was enchanted to possess the treasure. Could he foresee the +revelations which art had in store for him? Still less could he predict +those conquests in the realm of the ideal which cost him so many +sleepless nights. + +It must be confessed, superior talents bring suffering to their +fortunate possessor. They console him on his journey, along the rough +road down which they drag him; they sometimes reward one of the elect, +but it is their nature to cause suffering. + +And so Francois Delsarte was tempest-tossed while yet a child. He soon +saw that his scientific baggage was but small; he felt that something +unknown, something infinite, barred his passage, so soon as he strove to +approach the goal which, in an outburst of joy, he fancied within his +grasp. What hand would guide him to enter on the dazzling career which +he had dimly foreseen? Where should he get books? Who would advise him? + +Well! these _impossible things_ were all found--in scanty measure, no +doubt, and somewhat capriciously; but still the means for learning were +provided for his greed of knowledge. + +At first, his stubborn will had only the seven notes of the scale to +contend with. He combined them in every possible way. He derived musical +phrases from them; at the same time, he listened with all his ears to +church music, to street musicians, to church organs and hand-organs. + +In these first struggles with knowledge--we cannot call it science +yet,--instead of bowing to the method of some master, Delsarte made a +method for himself. Had it any resemblance to that which--with the +progress of time,--his genius revealed to him? I cannot say, and +probably the thought never occurred to him. However it may be, Delsarte +said that he learned a great deal by this _autonomic_ process: in fact, +one who is restrained by nothing, who satisfies a passion instead of +accomplishing a mere act of obedience, may enlarge his horizon and dig +to whatever depth he sees fit. In this case, study is called _research_; +if, by this method, one loses the benefit of the experience of others, +he becomes more quick at discovery. Is not the puzzle which we work out +for ourselves more readily remembered than the ideas which are merely +learned by heart? + +A wise man, a disciple of Socrates--who has been greatly ridiculed, but +by whose lessons the science of pedagogy has greatly profited,--Jacotot, +gave similar advice to teachers: "Put your questions, but let the +scholar think and work out his answers instead of putting them into his +mouth." + +The talent of young Francois once established, he left the inhospitable +house where he had been so misunderstood, and was taken into the family +of an old musician, "Father Bambini," as Delsarte loved to call him. + +Here, finding it in the order of facts, I must repeat almost literally a +page from the little work quoted before. + +Father Bambini was one of those old-fashioned masters, who treat their +art with love and veneration. He gave concerts at which he was at once +performer and audience, judge and client. Delsarte was sometimes +present. He saw the good man take up a Gluck score as one handles a +sacred book; he surprised him pressing it to his heart, or to his head, +as if to win a blessing from the great soul which poured itself forth in +these immortal compositions. + +Here we most assuredly have the foundation of the unlimited admiration +which our great artist felt for the author of "Alcestis" and of +"Iphigenia." Everyone knows that it was Delsarte who drew Gluck from the +oblivion in which he had languished since the beginning of the century. +Delsarte alone could have revived him, his assured and majestic talent +being amply capable of correctly interpreting those colossal works. +Delsarte is the equivalent of Gluck, and, if we may say so, the +_incarnation of his thought_. When the artist sang a part in those lyric +tragedies of which Gretry says: "They are the very expression of truth," +it seemed as if the illustrious chevalier lived again in him to win +better comprehension than ever before and to be avenged at last for all +the injustice and bad taste from which he had suffered. + +Delsarte received no very regular musical education from Father Bambini. +The lesson was often given while the teacher was shaving, which did not +distract the attention of either party. The master, having no hand at +liberty to hold a book, made his pupil explain all the exercises aloud, +sing every composition, and read at sight the authors with whom he +wished him to be familiar. Great progress can be made where there is +such mutual good will. They had faith in each other: the child, because +he saw that his master really loved his art; the old musician, because +he realized that his scholar had a genuine vocation and would be a great +artist. + +One evening they were walking together in the Champs Elysees. Carriages +rolled by filled with fashionable people. The humble pedestrians were +surrounded by luxury. Suddenly Father Bambini turned toward his scholar: + +"You see," said he, "all these people who have their carriages, their +liveried lackeys and their fine clothes; well, the day will come when +they will be only too glad to hear you, and they will envy you because +you are so great a singer." + +The child was deeply moved; not by this promise of future glory; not by +the thought, that by fame he should gain wealth; but he seemed to see +his dream realized in a remote future. That dream was the complete +mastery of his art; it was his ideal attained, or closely approached. +This mode of feeling already justified the prediction. + +Delsarte retained a grateful memory of another teacher. M. Deshayes, he +said, spurred him on to scientific discovery, as Bambini directed his +attention and his taste to the works of the great masters. + +One day, as the young man was studying a certain role, M. Deshayes, +busily talking with some one else and not even glancing toward his +pupil, exclaimed: + +"Your gesture is incorrect!" + +When they were alone Delsarte expressed his astonishment. + +"You said my gesture was incorrect," he exclaimed, "and you could not +see me." + +"I knew it by your mode of singing." + +This explanation set the young disciple's brain in a whirl. Were there, +then, affinities, a necessary concordance between the gesture and the +inflections of the voice? And, from this slight landmark, he set to +work, searching, comparing, verifying the principle by the effects, and +_vice versa_. + +He gave himself with such vigor to the task that, from this hint, he +succeeded little by little in establishing the basis of his system of +aesthetics and its complete development. + +After these beginnings, which Delsarte considered as a favorable +initiation, Father Bambini--his faithful patron--thought that he +required a more thorough musical education, and chose the Conservatory +school. There, that broad and impulsive spirit in its independence ran +counter to classic paths, to rigid processes; there, that exceptional +nature, that potent personality, which was already a marked one, that +vivid intuition--which already went beyond the limits of the traditional +holy of holies--had little chance of appreciation. Moreover, Delsarte +was timid; his genius had not yet acquired the audacity which dares. +Competition followed competition; would he win a prize? In answer to +this question which he had asked himself throughout the year, he saw +mediocrity crowned; his soul of light and fire was forced to bow before +will-o'-the-wisps, most of whom were soon extinguished in merited +oblivion. + +The artist's regret was the more acute because he did not yet know the +course of human life. He had not proved the strange fatality--which +seeks to make itself a law--that, in general, success falls to the lot +of those who servilely follow in the ruts of routine. Happy are the +worshippers of art and poetry, those who have devoted their lives to +this sacred cult, if ambition and intrigue--with their attendant train +of flattery, party rings, and illegal speculation--do not invade the +stage whence the palms and the crowns are awarded! + +Delsarte must also have learned in the course of his life, that genius, +a rare exception, is more rarely still judged by its peers; and yet, the +genius of this student was already revealed by various tokens; and for +his consolation, these premonitory symptoms were noted by other than the +official judges. + +After one of these scholastic contests, Delsarte withdrew confused and +heavy-hearted: he had received but one vote in the competition; and even +that exception roused a sort of cheer, as if it were given to some +contemptible competitor. + +The defeated youth walked slowly away, dragging at his heels all the +sorrow of his discomfiture, when two persons approached him; one was the +famous Marie Malibran, the other the brilliant tenor, Adolph Nourrit. + +"Courage!" said the prima donna, pressing his hand. "I enjoyed hearing +you very much. You will be a great artist!" + +"My friend," added Nourrit, "it was I who cast my vote for you: to my +mind, you are an incomparable singer. When I have my children taught +music, you shall certainly be their teacher." + +Delsarte blessed the defeat which had brought him such precious +compensations. These voices which sounded so sweetly in his ear, were +soon extinguished by death; but they vibrated long in the heart which +they had comforted. The artist associated their dear memory with every +success which recalled to him their sympathetic accents and their +clear-sighted prediction. + + + + +Chapter X. + +Delsarte's Theatre and School. + + + +When Delsarte had finished his studies, he entered the world unaided and +alone; disarmed by the hostilities which could not fail to await him, by +his very superiority, and by that honesty which refuses to lend itself +to certain transactions. + +At the Opera Comique, where he was engaged, he did not succeed. +Exceptional talents require an exceptional public who can understand +them and make them popular by applauding and explaining them. + +And yet certain people, gifted with penetration, discovered under the +artistic innovations peculiar to the beginner, that indescribable +fascination which hovers round the heads of the predestined favorites of +art. + +Delsarte could not long confine himself to the stage, when everything +connected with it was so far from sympathetic to him, and seemed so +contrary to the true object of dramatic art. The theatre, to his mind, +should be a school of morality; and what did he see? Authors--what would +he say now-a-days?--absorbed in winning the applause of the masses, +rather than in feeding them upon wholesome food or in preparing an +antidote for vice and evil inclinations. + +Whatever good intentions happened to be mingled with the play were lost +in the details of the action--or in the often mischievous interpretation +of the actors. With his wonderful perspicacity, Delsarte seemed to +foresee all the excesses of naturalism in certain forerunners of Adolphe +Belot and Emile Zola. + +On the other hand, his comrades, who should have attracted him, showed +themselves to be envious and malicious. To sum it all up, it was very +hard for him to live with them. Some of them might please him by their +simple gaiety, their childlike ease, their lack of affectation, and +their amiability, but they were far from satisfying his lofty +aspirations! + +An occupation of a higher order, he thought, the elaboration of his +method, demanded his thoughts. He seemed haunted by a desire to produce +what his spirit had conceived. He longed fully to enjoy that happiness +of creation that arises from useful discovery. He aspired to say: "In +accomplishing the task which I set myself, I have also done much for art +and artists." + +Swayed by such thoughts, Francois Delsarte soon left the profession of +actor to follow that of teacher of singing and elocution. Then he found +himself in his element and, as it were, at the centre of all that +attracted him. His teaching enabled him to verify the value of his +axioms hourly, in the order of facts and to confirm the truth of his +observations. + +And yet he had not attained to the supreme beatitude. If the elect of +plastic and practical art have to contend with appraisers of every +degree, inventors have to deal with enemies who make up in stubborn +resistance what they lack in numbers, and oppose the iron will of a +rival who will not see the limit of the _ne plus ultra_ which he +believes himself to have reached and even exceeded. + +In every station of life, the bearers of "good news" are a prey to the +tyranny of interests and established prejudices. In our time, this +persecution becomes mockery or indifference. Delsarte did not escape +this debt of revelatory genius. Humble in regard to art and science, as +he was conscious of his strength when face to face with rivals and +competitors, he sometimes felt the doubt of himself, the sudden +weakness, which overtakes great minds and great hearts in the +accomplishment of their mission. + +A special form of torture attacked our young innovator. He had proved, +connected and classed a number of psychological facts relating to the +theory of art, and he did not know the special terms which would make +them intelligible. Like those phenomenal children, who see countless +relations before they possess the words to express them, he had +discovered a law, created a science, and he was still ignorant of the +language of scientists. If he tried to demonstrate the bases of his +system and its rational evolution in ordinary words, the ignorant would +not understand him and the learned would not deign to listen. + +Sometimes he did find some one who would hear him, question him, even +criticize him, and who would go away bearing a fragment of conversation +or some few notes which he had copied to turn to his own profit. + +At this time, there came one day to Delsarte, a pupil who--by a rare +exception--had been through a course of classical studies. + +"Tell me, you who have studied (asked the teacher with the affability of +a great man), what is metaphysics?" + +"Why ... just what you teach us!" said the astonished youth. + +Delsarte was enchanted to learn, that he was only divided by words from +a science which had seemed to him to dwell on inaccessible heights. The +study of technical words, when intuition had provided him with important +ideas and new perceptions, was child's play to him; in a short time he +could teach his philosophy of art in the consecrated expressions. + +His lectures grew rapidly in the Rue Montholon. A choice public soon +assembled to hear them, drawn thither by the admiring cry of the first +enthusiasts. At this period, the talent of the artist was enhanced by +the lustre of youth. Nature had endowed him generously. His figure, +which later assumed rather large proportions, was tall and elegant; his +gestures were marked by grace and nobleness; his hair, of a very light +chestnut, gave his face a fair softness; his brown eyes relieved this +expression and allowed him to give his face--when the interpretation of +the part required it--the signs of power and vigorous passion. A full +length portrait painted at this time and in the possession of Madame +Delsarte, gives us some idea of his grand face and form, allowing for +the disadvantages of every translation. Although, in singing, the organ +was often impaired, his speaking-voice was most agreeable in tone, +correct and persuasive in accent. + +In acting various parts, Delsarte transformed himself to suit the +character that he represented. He was congratulated on bringing to life +for our age Achilles and Agamemnon, as Homer painted their types. Yet, I +think he was sometimes told: "You paint that wretch of a Don Juan a +little too faithfully." Certainly, art would never make that complaint! + +If Delsarte was understood in that part of his method addressed +especially to the ear and the eye, it was not so with the theory which +prepared these striking demonstrations. + +He was surrounded, it is true, by an assembly of men of letters, men of +the world, and amateur artists, rather than by scientists and +philosophers. Many in the audience and among the pupils did not pay an +undivided attention to the scientific part of the instruction. Thus the +first notes of the piano, announcing that the time for action had come, +always caused a repressed murmur of satisfaction and pleasure. + +Sometimes, after the lecture, a discussion followed, for Delsarte often +left room for a controversy which was essentially incorrect and caused +many misunderstandings. This was because the innovator sometimes blended +with the clear hues of his art-principles certain tints of religious +mysticism which had no necessary relation with the synthesis of his +aesthetics. + +It was one of the peculiarities of his character, amiable and benevolent +as it was, to take delight in the conflict of ideas. If he saw, in the +course of his lecture, a man whom he took for a philosopher or anything +like it, he never failed to direct some piquant phrase, some aggressive +sentence or some irritating thought that way--it was the gauntlet which +he flung for the final combat. + +Nor were women exempt from these humorous sallies. + +Although the master loved all grandeur--the artistic sense with which he +was so largely endowed inclining him that way--he had democratic, I +might almost say plebeian, instincts. The poetry of simple, humble, +small existences sometimes swayed him. + +Thus, if among his hearers, a bright violet or an audacious scarlet gown +annoyed his taste; if the reflection of a ruby or a diamond vexed his +eye, he would choose that instant to improvise a rustic idyl or to +intone a hymn to poverty. + +But everything ended well; neither the philosopher whom he had provoked, +nor the fine lady whom he had reproved, left him as an enemy. His +nature with its varied riches had quite enough feminine coquetry to +regain betimes the sympathy which he was on the eve of losing. A +gracious word, an affectionate clasp of the hand, and all was pardoned. + +The opposition manifested outside the lecture-room to his ideas and mode +of instruction, was less courteous. There rival schools and jealousies, +ill-disguised under an affectation of disdain, contended against him. He +was accused of the maddest eccentricities; barbarous processes were +imputed to him, such as squeezing the chest of singers, his pupils, +between two boards--the _reason_ was hard to understand. Others claimed +that before Delsarte accepted a scholar, he required a profession of the +Catholic faith and an examination in the catechism. + +Those were the days when the author of "Les Orientales," in his legend +of the "Two Archers," spoke of + + "That holy hermit who moved stones + By the sign of the cross." + +But if, as an artist, Delsarte loved legends and was inspired by faith, +as a professor he could cut short this poetic part of his art, at the +point where science and the practical side of his teaching began. + +The reproach, therefore, carried no weight. + +Delsarte was amused by these exaggerated accusations; in another order +of criticisms, it was agreeable to him to hear "that he sang without a +voice, as Ingres painted without colors." The comparison pleased him, +although inexact. + +Yes, I say _inexact_, Delsarte was not without a voice; he had one, on +the contrary, of great strength and range; of moving tone; eminently +sympathetic; but it was an invalid organ and subject to caprice. He was +not always master of it, and this caused him real suffering. + +Let me give you the history of his voice as Madame Delsarte herself +lately told it to me. I must go back to his early days of study and +debuts. + +Delsarte entered the Conservatory at the age of fourteen. Too young to +endure the fatigue of the regular school-exercises, his voice must have +received an injury. When the singer offered his services at the Opera +Comique---then Salle Vantadour--he was told that his voice was hollow, +that it had no carrying power. This was perhaps partly the fault of the +building, whose acoustic properties were afterward improved. However, +thanks to the flexibility which his voice retained and his perfect +vocalization, the pretended insufficiency was overlooked, and the young +tenor was admitted. + +His mode of singing pleased the skilled public, and the special +abilities of this strong artistic organism--as I have already +observed--did not pass unnoted. + +A _dilettante_, to whom I mentioned Delsarte long after this time, said: +"What you tell me does not surprise me, I heard him at his first +appearance, and he has lingered in my memory as an artist of the +greatest promise. He was more than a singer; he had that nameless +quality, which is not taught in any school and which marks a +personality; a tone of which nothing, before or since, has given me the +least idea." + +The tenor, from the Comic Opera, went to the Ambigu Theatre, and thence +to the Varietes, where an attempt was being made to introduce lyric +works. Francois Delsarte's dramatic career did not, however, last more +than two years. During these various changes--I cannot give the exact +dates--this artist, on his way to glory, was forced to gain a living by +the least aristocratic of occupations. If he did not go so far as +Shakespeare in humility of profession (the English poet was a butcher's +boy), he strangely stooped from that native nobility--great +capacity,--which must yet have claimed, in his secret soul, its +imprescriptible rights. + +If this was one more suffering, added to all the rest, it had its good +side. It was, perhaps, the source of the artist's never failing +kindness, of that gracious reception which he never hesitated to bestow +on anyone--from the Princess de Chimay and many other titled lords and +ladies, down to Mother Chorre, the neighboring milk-woman, whom he held, +he said, "in great esteem and friendship." + +I return to his teaching. His lectures were given in Rue Lamartine and +Rue de la Pepiniere. There was always--aside from the school--an +audience made up of certain never failing followers and of a floating +population. The birds of passage sometimes came with a very distinct +intention to criticise; but if they did not readily understand the +learned deductions, they went away fascinated by what the professor had +shown them of his brilliant changes into every type of the repertory +which he held up as a model. Enthusiasm soon triumphed over prejudice. +Envy, alone, persisted in hostility. + +These meetings were genuine artistic feasts. They were held at night, at +the same hour as the theatres, and no play was preferable to them in the +eyes of the truly initiated. They were a transcendent manifestation of +all that is most elevated, which art can produce. + +Here is an extract from a newspaper, which I find among the notes sent +me: + +"I heard him repeat, one evening, 'Iphigenia's Dream,' at the request of +his audience. All were held trembling, breathless by that worn and yet +sovereign voice. We were amazed to find ourselves yielding to such a +spell; there was no splendor and no theatric illusion. _Iphigenia_ was a +teacher in a black frock coat; the orchestra was a piano striking, here +and there, an unexpected modulation; this was all the illusion--and the +hall was silent, every heart throbbed, tears flowed from every eye. And +then, when the tale was told, cries of enthusiasm arose, as if +_Iphigenia_, in person, had told us her terrors." + +These lines are signed "Laurentius." I am very glad to come across them +just as I am giving vent to my own feelings. I also find that Adolphe +Gueroult, in his paper, the "Press," calls Delsarte _the matchless +artist_, and recognizes _a law_ in his aesthetic discoveries. I shall +have occasion to set down, as opportunity offers, a string of +testimonies no less flattering and no less sincere; but I hasten to +produce these specimens, lest the suspicion of infatuation follow me. + +How was it that amidst such warm plaudits, Delsarte failed to win that +popularity which, after all, is the supreme sanction? It must be +acknowledged that he took no great pains to gain the place which was his +due. If he loved glory like the true artist that he was, "he never tired +himself in its pursuit." Perhaps he had an instinctive feeling that it +would come to him some day unsought. + +He might, in this regard, be reproached for the tardiness of his +successes; he himself made difficulties and obstacles which might be +considered as the effects of extreme pride. + +Halevy once suggested his singing at the Tuilleries before King Louis +Philippe and his family. + +"I only sing to my friends," replied the artist. + +"That is strange," said the author of "The Jewess," "Lablache and Duprez +go whenever they are asked." + +"Delsarte does not." + +"But consider! This is to be a party given by the Crown Prince to his +father." + +This last consideration touched the obstinate heart. + +"Well! I will go," he said, "but it is only on three conditions: I must +be the only singer; I am to have the chorus from the Opera to accompany +me; and I am not to be paid." + +"You will establish a dangerous precedent." + +"Those are my irrevocable terms." + +All were granted. + +From his youth up Delsarte manifested this, perhaps excessive, contempt +for money. On one occasion it was quite justifiable. Father Bambini had +taken him to a party where he was to sing on very advantageous terms. +The scholar was treated with deference; but the teacher who had neither +a fine face nor the claims of youth to shield him against aristocratic +prejudice, was received much as a servant would have been who had made a +mistake in the door. + +The young singer felt the blood mantle his brow, and his heart rebelled. + +"Take your hat and let us go!" he said to his old master. + +"But why?" replied the good man. He had heeded nothing but his pupil's +success. + +Delsarte dragged him away in spite of his protests, and lost by his +abrupt departure the profits of the evening. + + + + +Chapter XI. + +Delsarte's Family. + + + +Delsarte married, in 1833, Miss Rosina Andrien. The young husband felt a +high esteem for his father-in-law (primo basso cantante at the Opera); +but we must not suppose that this consideration influenced his choice. +He made a love marriage such as one makes at the age of twenty-two, with +such a nature as his. Moreover, reason was never in closer accord with +love. + +Miss Andrien was remarkably beautiful. She was fifteen; her talent as a +pianist had already won her a first prize at the Conservatory. She was +just the companion, wise and devoted, to counterbalance the flights of +imagination and the momentary transports inherent in the temperament of +many artists. + +I pause, fearing to wound a modesty which I know to be very sensitive: +the living cannot bear praise with the indifference of the dead; but I +must be allowed to insist upon the valuable assistance which the young +wife lent her husband in his professional duties; this is a special part +of my subject. + +Mme. Delsarte started with a genuine talent. The situation in which she +was placed, soon made her a perfect accompanist. Never was there more +perfect harmony between singer and player. Amid the incessant +interruptions necessary to a lesson, the piano never lagged a second +either in stopping or in going on again. The note fell promptly, +identical with the first note of the piece under study. To attain to +this obedient precision, one must possess indomitable patience, must be +willing to be utterly effaced. Delsarte appreciated this self-denial in +proportion to the merit of her who practiced it. + +In everything that concerned him, he relied especially upon the opinion +of his accompanist; he felt her to be an abler and more serious judge +than the most of those around him. But--with the shy reserve of merit +unacknowledged even to itself,--the young woman shrank from expressing +her impressions. If I may judge by the anecdote which follows, the +artist was at times distressed by this. + +One day Delsarte, granting one of those favors of which he was never +lavish, consented to sing a composition of which he was particularly +fond, to a few friends. It was the air from Mehul's "Joseph:" "Vainly +doth Pharaoh ..." + +Mme. Delsarte, always ready at the first call, took her seat at the +piano. + +The master was in the mood--that is, in full possession of all his +powers. His pathos was heartrending. + +"You won a great triumph," I said to him; "I saw tears in Mme. +Delsarte's eyes." + +"My wife's eyes," he cried as if struck by surprise, "are you quite +sure?" + +"Perfectly," I replied. + +He seemed greatly pleased. Putting aside all other feeling, it was no +slight triumph to move to such a point one who assisted at and sat +through his daily lessons for hours at a time. + +A few years sufficed to form a family around this very young couple. It +was soon a charming accessory to see children fluttering about the +house; slipping in among the scholars; showing a furtive head--dark or +light--at one of the doors of the lecture-room. Let me recall their +names: The eldest were Henri, Gustave, Adrien, Xavier, Marie; then came +after a long interval, Andre and Madeleine. + +Delsarte loved them madly; for their future he dreamed all the dreams of +the Arabian Nights. Meantime, he played with them so happily that he +seemed to take a personal delight in it. + +He gave them all the joys of this life that were within his reach, and +it was well that he did so! Alas! of the dreams of glory cherished for +these beloved beings, some few were realized, but many faded promptly +with the existence of those who called them forth. + +But we must not anticipate. At the time of which I speak the children +were growing and developing, each according to its nature, in full +freedom. Those who felt a vocation seized on the wing--rather than they +received from irregular lessons--some fragments of that great art which +was taught in the school. + +Marie learned while very young to reproduce with marvelous skill what +were called _the attitudes_ and the physiognomic changes. Madeleine +delighted in making caricatures which showed great talent. The features +of certain pupils and frequenters of the lectures were plainly +recognizable in these sketches made by a childish hand. + +Gustave was a child of an open face and broad shoulders. One incident +will show his originality. + +A strange lady came to the master's house one day either to ask a +hearing or offer a pupil. She met this charming boy. + +"M. Delsarte?" she asked. + +"I am he, madam!" replied Gustave without flinching. + +"Very good," said his questioner, laughing, "but I wish to speak to your +father." + +This same Gustave who, to a certain degree, followed in his father's +footsteps, was struck down a few years after him, at the age of +forty-two. + +What a striking application of Victor Hugo's lines: + + "And both are dead.... Oh Lord, all powerful is thy right hand!" + +Gustave's career seemed to open readily and smoothly. Not that he could +approach his father from a dramatic point of view; he had not his +absolute synthesis of talents, and his figure was not suited to the +theatre; as a singer, his voice was weak, but what a charm and what a +style he had! Although his voice was not adapted to every part, +although he had not that range of the vocal scale which permits one to +attack any and every composition, still, its sympathetic, tender and +penetrating quality did ample justice to all that is most exquisite in +romance. When you had once heard that voice, guided by the force of his +father's grand method, you never forgot its sincerity and melancholy; it +haunted you and left you impatient to hear it again. + +As a concert-singer and teacher, Gustave Delsarte might have won high +rank. An ill-assorted marriage and his misanthropic character prevented. +As a composer, he left some few songs, masses and religious fragments +which are not without merit. When he was to produce any of his sacred +works, the composer-singer never took a part; but he would lead the +orchestra. If he came to a rehearsal and the performers appeared weak, a +holy wrath would seize upon Gustave. Then he flung a firm, incisive, +accentuated note into the midst of the choir, vivid as a spark bursting +from a fire covered with ashes. He would accompany it with a glance +which seemed to flash from his father's eye; at such moments, he +resembled him; but this transformation never lasted more than a second; +the fictitious power disappeared as all which was Gustave Delsarte was +doomed to disappear. + +At least, his father did not live to mourn his loss. And yet he knew +that worst of heart-suffering: the loss of a beloved child. Alas! In +that radiant family, whose mirth, fresh faces and luxuriant health +seemed to defy death, the implacable foe had already twice swept his +scythe. + +The first to go was Andre, one of the latest born. He was at the age +when the child leaves no lasting memories behind; but we know the grace +of innocence, the privilege of impeccability by which infancy atones for +the lack of acquirements. Then these little creatures have the +mysterious entrancing smiles, which mothers understand and adore--and +Delsarte loved his children with a mother's heart. + +Time lessens such pangs; but when a fresh sorrow re-opened the era of +calamity, it seems as if the sad events trod upon each other's heels and +the interval between seems to have been but one unmitigated agony. + +The loss undergone in 1863 was even greater. Xavier Delsarte was a tall, +handsome young man. The master was content with the profit which his son +had derived from his tuition. He was successful as a singer and +elocutionist. He was attacked by cholera during an epidemic. The night +before he had taken several glasses of iced orgeat in the open air. + +Xavier lived in the Rue des Batailles with his family, but not in the +same apartment. This fact was fatal. Instead of calling help in the +first stages--unwilling to disturb his relatives--the invalid wandered +down stairs during the night, and into the court-yard. There he drank +water from the pump. I can still recall the unhappy father's story of +that cruel moment. + +"It was scarcely day. I was waked by that unexpected, fatal ringing of +the bell, which, at such an hour, always bodes misfortune. The maid +heard it also, and opened the door. She uttered a cry of alarm. Almost +instantly, my poor boy stood at my chamber door. He leaned against the +frame of the door, his strength not allowing him to advance. From the +change in his features, I understood all--he was hopelessly lost!" + +Delsarte was sensitive and of a very loving nature; but he was endowed +with great strength. Much absorbed, moreover, in his profession, his +studies, his innovations, he often found in them a counterpoise to these +rude blows of fate. So when the thoughts of his friends recur to these +disasters, they feel that their greatest sympathy and commiseration are +due to the mother who three times underwent this supreme martyrdom. + +Two names remain to be mentioned in this family where artistic callings +seemed a matter of course. The concerts of Madame Theresa Wartel--sister +of Madame Delsarte--brought together the _elite_ of Parisian virtuosi, +and the brilliant pianist took her part in the quatuors in which Sauzay, +Allard, Franchomme and other celebrities of the period figured. + +George Bizet--author of the opera of "Carmen"--prematurely snatched from +the arts, was the nephew of Francois Delsarte. This young man taught +himself Sanscrit unaided; he inspired the greatest hopes. + +Wartel, who gave Christine Nilsson her musical education, was not of the +same blood, but we find certain points in his method which recall the +processes of Delsarte's school. + + + + +Chapter XII. + +Delsarte's Religion. + + + +I now confront an important and very interesting subject; but one which +is more difficult to handle than the most prickly briers. There has been +a confusion, in regard to Delsarte, of two very distinct things: his +practical devotion and his philosophy of art, which does indeed assume a +religious character. He himself helped on this confusion. I am desirous +of doing my best to put an end to it. I hope that, truth and sincerity +aiding, I shall not find the task too great for me. + +I must first grapple with those ill-informed persons who have denied the +master his high intellectual faculties, and even his scientific +discoveries, for the sole reason of the mystical side of his beliefs. I +must also expose the error of those who supposed that to this mysticism +were attributable the miracles accomplished by Delsarte in his career as +artist and scholar. + +I was the better able to understand these two opposing +elements--religiousness and strength of understanding--because, if I +gave in my entire adhesion to the innovator in the arts, he did not find +me equally docile in what concerned the theosophic part of his doctrine. +Hence, discussions which illustrated the subject. I speak in presence of +his memory as I did before him, with perfect frankness and simplicity +of heart; taking care not to offend the objects of his veneration, but +examining without regard to his memory, as without prejudice, the +influence which his convictions exerted upon his intellectual +conceptions, his ideas, his character, his talent--in a word, his life, +in so far as it may concern a sketch which lays no claim to be a +complete biography. + +Now, it is from the point of view of art itself that I ask the following +questions: Was Delsarte a devout Catholic? Was he orthodox? + +Devout? He gloried in it, he insisted on it; I will not say that he +_affected_ minute daily acts of devotion, for that word would not accord +with the spontaneity of his nature; but he accented his demonstrations, +he spoke constantly of his religion. Without any intention to wrong the +serious side of his religious feelings, it seemed to be a bravado put on +for the incredulous, a toy which he converted into a weapon. + +Orthodox? He made it his boast, and he certainly intended to be so; he +loved, in many circumstances, to show his humility of heart. His faith, +he used to say, "was the charcoal-burner's faith." + +And yet, the charcoal-burner would have been strangely puzzled if he had +had to sustain the ceaseless contests which the artist accepted or +provoked from philosophers and free-thinkers; and, perhaps, no less +frequently, from his fellow-religionists, and the priests themselves. + +With the former, it was a mere question of dogmatic forms or of the +necessity for some form of religion; with the latter, he entered upon a +more peculiarly theological order of ideas, such as the attributes +proper to each of the three divine persons, and other mystical subjects. + +Here, as elsewhere, Delsarte brought to bear his personality, his stamp, +his breadth of comprehension. + +I once asked him what some called _Dominations_ might represent, in the +celestial classification? He replied: "If any one or anything forces +itself upon our mind, takes active possession of our soul, do we not +feel that we are under a certain domination?" + +He gave me several other explanations touching the angelic hierarchy. I +considered them very poetic, very ingenious--but were they also +orthodox? I am not competent to judge. + +It was impossible to say at the first glance, how the influence of this +theosophy made itself felt in this sensitive character, full as it was +of surprises. Delsarte was born good, generous, above the petty +tendencies which deform and degrade the human type. On these diverse +points, religious faith could scarcely show its effect; but he also +declared himself to be irritable and violent--he confessed to a +dangerous fickleness--still, he would readily have slandered himself in +the interests of his faith. + +Whatever the cause of this acquired serenity, Delsarte did not always +refuse to satisfy his native impulses. I have already alluded to cases +in which these returns to impetuous vivacity occurred, and how he rose +above these relapses. Whether his peaceful spirit arose from religious +feeling, or whether it was the result of moral strength, it breathed the +spirit of the gospel; but it must also be confessed that our artist +mingled with it much worldly grace. What matters it? Uncertainty has no +inconveniences in such a matter. + +It was particularly on the occasion of those sudden fits of passion to +which the human conscience does not always attach due weight, that +Delsarte laid great stress upon supernatural intervention. + +Oh! what would he have done without that powerful aid, with his lively +sensibilities--with his too loving heart? + +I have no opinion to offer in regard to the shield which efficacious +grace and the palladium of the faith may form for dangerous tendencies; +for Catholics, that is a matter for the casuist or the confessor to +decide; but, as far as Delsarte is concerned, had he beaten down Satan +in a way to rouse the jealousy of St. Michael, had he made the heathen +Socrates give precedence to him in patience, wisdom and firmness, I +should regard that victory as the triumph of the sacred principles of +the eternal morality, of that which sums up, in a single group, all the +supreme precepts of all religions and all philosophies, rather than as a +result of external practices. + +It is by placing myself at this culminating point, that I have +succeeded in explaining to my own satisfaction the true stimulus of the +artist-thinker, in spite of all appearances and all contradictions; and +everything leads me to believe that the elevation of his mind and the +inspiration of the art which he taught and practiced, would have +sufficed, in equal proportion with his faith, "to deliver him from +evil." + +How could a man glide into the lower walks of life, whose mission it was +to set forth the types of moral beauty by opposing them, to use his +phrase, "to the hideousnesses of vice?" + +Now, talent and faith meet face to face. We are to consider to what +extent the one was dependent upon the other; and whether, in reality, +the artist whom so many voices proclaimed "incomparable" owed his vast +superiority to acts of religious devotion, to his adhesion to the dogmas +of the church. + +It is not arbitrarily that a transcendent intellect pointed out a +difference between _religion_ and _religions_: every mind devoted to +philosophy must needs reach this distinction. + +I shall keep strictly within the limits of that which concerns art, in a +question so vast and of such great importance. + +_Religion_ is that need which all generations of men have felt for +establishing a relationship between man and the supreme power or powers +whence man supposes he proceeded. To some it is an outburst of +gratitude and homage; to others, an instinct of terror which makes them +fall prostrate before an unknown being upon whom they feel themselves +dependent, although they cannot know him, still less define him. + +_Religions_ are all which men have established in answer to those +aspirations of the conscience, to satisfy that intuition which forces +itself upon our mind so long as sophistry has not warped it. It follows +from this, that religions vary, are changed, and may be falsified until +the primitive meaning is lost. But whatever may be the faith and the +rites of religions--whether fanaticism disfigure them or fetichism make +a caricature of them, whether politicians use them as an ally, or the +traces of the apostolate fade beneath the materialism of +speculation,--there will always remain at the bottom, _religion_: that +is, the thought which keeps such or such a society alive for a variable +time, and which, in periods of transition, seeks refuge in human +consciences awaiting a fresh social upward flight. + +Well! it was not the external part of his belief which inspired +Delsarte, when--to use the expression of the poet Reboul--"he showed +himself like unto a god!" It was not the long rosary with its large +beads which often dangled at his side, that gave him the secret of +heart-tortures and soul-aspirations! The _charcoal-burner's faith_ would +never have taught him that captivating grace, that supreme elegance of +gesture and attitude, which made him matchless. Nor did theology and +dogma teach him the moving effects which made people declare that he +performed miracles, and led several writers (Henry de Riancey, Hervet) +to say: "That man is not an artist, he is art itself!" And Fiorentino, a +critic usually severe and exacting, wrote: "This master's sentiment is +so true, his style so lofty, his passion so profound, that there is +nothing in art so beautiful or so perfect!" + +_Profound passion, lofty style, art itself_, these are not learned from +any catechism. That chosen organism bore within its own breast the +fountains of beauty. An artist, he derived thence an inward +illumination, and, as it were, a clear vision of the Ideal. If religion +was blended with it, it was that which speaks directly to the heart of +all beings endowed with poetry, to those who are capable of vowing their +love to the worship of sublime things. + +What I have just said will become more comprehensible if I apply to +Delsarte those more especially Christian words: _The spirit and the +letter_. + +Yes, in him there was the spiritual man and the literal man; and if +either compromised the other, it was not in the eyes of persons who +attended, regularly enough to understand them, the lectures and lessons +of the brilliant professor. + +This I have already said, and I shall dwell upon this point, hoping to +establish some harmony between those who taxed Delsarte with madness on +account of his _positivism_ in the matter of faith, and those who +strove to connect with his devotional habits everything exceptional +which that great figure realized in his passage through this world. + +In fact, it is only by separating the Delsarte of _the spirit_ from him +of _the letter_, that we can form any true idea of him. + +And the letter, once again--was it not art and poetry that made worship +so dear to him? The shadowy light of the churches, the stern majesty of +the vaulted roof, contrasting with the radiant circle of light within +which reposed the sacred wafer,--all this pomp, of heathen origin, +warmed for him the severe simplicity and cold austerity of Christian +sentiment; the chants and prayers uttered in common also stimulated the +fervid impulses of his heart. + +The spirit of proselytism took possession of him later in life. It was +controversy under a new form, more attractive and more _distracting_. +There was always some soul within reach to be won to the faith; +some rebellious spirit to bend to the yoke of the official +church,--proceeding, under due observance of ostensible forms, from the +letter! Neophytes were very ready to listen. After all, it pledged them +to nothing, and they talked of other things often enough to prevent the +conversation from becoming too much of a sermon. Then, certain +favors--all of a spiritual nature--were attached to this situation: a +place nearer the master during lectures, a more affectionate greeting, a +sweeter smile. + +These attempts more than once resulted in disappointment to Delsarte. I +will not enumerate them all. Often he was heard with increasing +interest, it seemed as if resistance must yield, and that he might +speedily plant his flag "in the salutary waters of grace," but at that +very moment his opponent would become more refractory and more stubborn +than ever. + +Once, he had great hopes. Several young people seemed decided _to enter +into the paths of virtue_. The master was radiant. "Take heed," said +skeptic prudence, "perhaps it is only a means of stimulating your zeal, +of profiting better by your disinterestedness." + +He soon acknowledged the truth of these predictions; he confessed it in +his moments of candor. + +One of these feigned converts, especially, scandalized him. The story +deserves repetition: + +The church of the Petits-Peres had ordered the wax figure of a freshly +canonized saint, from Rome. Delsarte mentioned it to the school, and +several pupils went to see it. + +"Ah, sir!" cried young D. on his return, "now, indeed, I am a Catholic! +How lovely she is, how fresh and fair after lying underground so long!" + +"Unhappy fellow!" said the disappointed artist, "he takes the image for +the reality, and the beauty of a waxen St. Philomena has converted him." + +The young man had heard that the preservation of the flesh, after a +hundred years' burial, counted for much in canonization, if it did not +suffice to justify it; and as the place where they had deposited the +sacred image was dark, D. had taken for life itself the pink and white +complexion common to such figures before time has yellowed them. + +Delsarte ended by being amused at his credulity; he laughed readily and +was not fond of sulking. Nor must we forget that this preeminent +tragedian was a perfect comedian, and that this fact entitled him to +true enjoyment of the humorous side of life. Have I not somewhere read: +"Beware of those who never laugh!" + +Delsarte's piety--I speak of that of the letter--was seldom morose. It +did not forbid juvenile caprices; it overlooked _venial_ sins. + +One Sunday he took his scholars to Nanterre, some to perform, others to +hear, a mass of his own composition. A few friends joined the party. The +mass over, they wandered into the country in groups. Some walked; some +sat upon the grassy turf. The air was pleasant, the conversation +animated; time passed quickly. + +Suddenly the vesper bell was heard. Some one drew Delsarte's attention +to it--not without a tiny grain of malice. + +"Master, what a pity--you must leave us." + +He made no answer. + +When the second summons sounded, the same voice continued: + +"There's no help for it; for us poor sinners, it's no matter! But you, +master, you cannot miss the mass!" + +He put his hand to his head and considered. + +"Bah!" he cried boldly, "I'll send my children." + +Let me give another trait in illustration of the nature which from time +to time pierced through and rent the flimsy fabric of his opinions. This +anecdote is a political one. + +Despite the precedent of an ultra democratic grandfather, and all his +plebeian tendencies as a philanthropist and a Christian, his Catholic +friends had inclined him toward monarchical ideas--although he never +actually sided with the militant portion of the party. + +On one occasion, it happened that the two wings of this +politico-religious fusion disagreed. As at Nanterre, Delsarte acted +independently, and on this occasion politics were the victim. It fell +out as follows: + +A claimant of the throne of France, still young, finding himself in the +Eternal City, had not, to all appearance, fulfilled his duties to the +Vatican promptly. + +The first time that Delsarte encountered certain of those zealous +legitimists, who are said to be "more royalist than the king," he +launched this apostrophe at their heads: + +"I hear that _your young man_ was in no haste to pay his respects to His +Holiness." + +Thus, always free--even when he seemed to have forged chains for +himself--he obeyed his impulse without counting the cost. Never mind! +This childish outburst must have gladdened the manes of the ancestor who +connected the syllables in the patronymic name of Delsarte! + +I hope I shall not forget, as my pen moves along, any of these memories, +insignificant to many minds, no doubt, but serving to distinguish this +figure from the vast mass of creation. If, among my readers, some may +say "pass on," others will enjoy these trifles, and will thank me for +writing them. + +Thus, Delsarte was always pleased to think he bore the name of Francois +in memory of Francis of Assisi--not the Spaniard whom we know, but the +great saint of the twelfth century; he who "appeased quarrels, settled +differences, taught slaves and common men,--the poor man who was good to +the poor." + +"The fish, the rabbits and the hares," the legend says, "placed +themselves in this fortunate man's hands." * * * * The birds were silent +or sang at his command. "Be silent," said the saint to the swallows, +"'tis my turn to talk now." And again: "My brothers, the birds, you have +great cause to praise your Creator, who covered you with such fine +feathers and gave you wings to fly through the clear, broad fields of +air." + +One need not be very devout to be attracted by such graceful simplicity. + +Delsarte went farther. Whether he accepted this magnetic attraction as +true or whether he regarded it as purely symbolic--for this kind of +miracle is not dependent on faith,--he considered the monk of Assisi as +a lover of nature, whose heart was big enough to love everything that +lives, to suffer with all that suffers. He strove to comprehend him by +placing him upon a pinnacle, well aware that the sublime often lurks +between the trifling. + +It was on such occasions that the man of intellect revived to ennoble +and illumine everything. If, despite his magnificent rendering of them, +Delsarte never called legendary fictions in question, let us not refuse +him that privilege. In such cases the poetry became his accomplice, +and--"Every poet is the toy of the gods," as Beranger says, a simple +song-writer, as Delsarte was a simple singer. + +There was in him whom Kreutzer called "the apostle of the grand dramatic +style," a desire, I will not say for realism, but for _realization_, for +action. Thus he once had a fancy to join the semi-clerical society of +the third order; it was a way of keeping himself in practice, since +there were various prescriptions, observances and interdictions attached +to the office. One must repeat certain prayers every day, and submit to +a certain severity of costume. No precious metal, not even a thread of +gold or silver must be seen about one. In the first moments of fervor, a +beautiful green velvet cap, beautifully embroidered in gold--the loving +gift of some pupil or admirer,--was interdicted, that is to say, was +shut up in a closet or reduced to the condition of a mere piece of +bric-a-brac. Luckily, the association did not require eternal vows, and +I think I saw the pretty article restored to its proper use later on. + +Another attempt--and this was his own creation--tempted this inquiring +mind; he wished to pay especial homage, under some novel form, to the +Holy Trinity. The adepts were to be called _the Trinitarians_. In the +founder's mind, this starting-point was to be the seed for a sort of +confraternity with the mark of true friendship and unity of faith. + +This dream was never realized, apparently, for it seems that the +association could never number more than three members at a time: so +that it was in number only that it justified its title. Delsarte was +very fond of these few adherents. "The Trinitarians--where are the +Trinitarians?" was sometimes the cry at a lecture. It was the voice of +the master who had reserved a seat of honor for each of them. This is +all I ever knew about this society, and I have reason to think that it +never got beyond a few talks among the members upon the subject which +united them. + +It is not without reluctance that I expose his weaknesses; but timid as +the steps must ever be which are taken upon historic ground, we must +walk in daylight. No one, moreover, could regard this effervescence of a +sentiment noble in its source, as a want of intellectual liberty. It +was the affectionate side of his nature which at moments dimmed his +reason, but never went so far as to put out its light. I need not +attempt to defend on this point one, of whom Auguste Luchet wrote: + +"It is by his soul and _his science_ that he lifts you, transports you, +strikes you, shatters you with terror, anguish and love!" + +And Pierre Zaccone says: + +"He is an artist, apart, exceptional, perhaps unique! with what finished +art, what talent, what GENIUS, he uses the resources of his voice!" + +That which best atoned in Delsarte for the grain of fanaticism with +which he was reproached, was the tolerance which prevailed in every +controversy, in every dissension. If he sometimes blamed free thought, +he never showed ill will to free-thinkers. In the spirit of the +gospel--so different from the spirit of the devout party--he was "all +things to all men." He was on a very friendly footing with a priest +whom, by his logic and his sincerity, he had prevailed upon to forsake +the ecclesiastical calling. + +In our discussions, which dealt with secondary subjects of various forms +of belief--for I never denied God, or the soul and its immortality, or +the freedom of the will which is the honor of the human race, or the +power of charity, provided it become social and fraternal, instead of +merely alms-giving as it has been,--in these debates, sometimes rather +lively, I would end by saying to him: "You know that I love and seek +truth; very well! if God wished me to join the ranks in which you serve, +he would certainly give me a sign; but so long as I do not receive His +summons, what have I to do with it?" + +I spoke his own language, and he yielded to my reasoning. "Come," he +would say, "I prefer your frankness to the pretenses of feigned piety;" +and he would add sorrowfully: "Alas! I often encounter them!" So we +always ended by agreeing, and this truce lasted--until our next meeting. + +The words which I have just quoted prove that if Delsarte clung to the +Catholic dogmas, he was particularly touched by the sincere piety and +active charity of simple, evangelic hearts. I may give yet another proof +of this. + +To satisfy his sympathies as much as to rescue his clan, when attacked, +he would always quote a father confessor, one Father Pricette--this name +should be remembered in the present age--who, during the icy nights of +December, slept in an arm-chair, because he had given his last mattress +to some one poorer than himself. + + + + +Chapter XIII. + +Delsarte's Friends. + + + +Friendly relations--although disputes often arose--were established +toward 1840 between Delsarte and Raymond Brucker (known to literature as +Michel Raymond). Fortunately in spite of the influence of the author of +"Mensonge," Delsarte's superior rank always prevailed in this intimacy. + +Michel Raymond published several novels in the first half of this +century. Later on, he took his place in the ranks of that militia of +Neo-Catholics, the fruit of the Restoration. (I do not know whether I am +justified in giving the name of Neo-Catholic to Brucker; perhaps, on the +contrary, his dreams were all of the primitive church. But, in spite of +his Jewish crudities, I suppose he would never have joined the followers +of Father Loyson.) His keen, sharp and caustic spirit did not forsake +him when he changed his principles; and never did the Christ--whose +symbol is a lamb without a stain--have a sterner or more warlike zealot. + +In appearance, Brucker had somewhat the look of a Mephistopheles--a +demon then very much in vogue,--especially when he laughed, his laughter +being full of sardonic reserves. If Delsarte's mode of proselyting was +almost always gentle, affectionate, adapted to the spirit he aspired to +conquer, that of Raymond Brucker had an aggressive fashion; he became +brutal and cynical when discussion waxed warm. + +Once, in reply to one of his vehement attacks against the age, in which +he used very unparliamentary expressions, he drew upon himself the +following answer from a woman: "But, sir, I should think that in the +ardor of your recent convictions, your first act of faith should have +been to make an _auto-da-fe_ of all the books signed Michel Raymond." + +I repeat, this writer, although of undoubted intellectual merit, could +not annul Delsarte's native tendencies; he could never have led Delsarte +into any camp which the latter had not already decided to join; but when +they met on common ground, he influenced, excited and sometimes threw a +shadow over him. + +When they had fought together against the nearest rebel, long and lively +discussions would often arise between them, but they always agreed in +the end: the artist's good-nature so willed it. + +If dissension continued, if the fiery friend had given cause for +reproach, Delsarte merely said: "Poor Brucker!" But how much that brief +phrase could be made to mean in the mouth of a man who taught an actor +to say, "I hate you!" by uttering the words, "I love you," and who could +ring as many changes on one sentence as the thought, the feeling, the +occasion, could possibly require. + +Do not suppose, however, that Delsarte abused his power. Contrary to +many actors who carry their theatrical habits into their private life, +he aimed at the most perfect simplicity outside of the roles which he +interpreted. "I make myself as simple as possible," he would say, "to +avoid all suspicion of posing." But still he could not entirely rid +himself, in conversation, of those inflections which illuminate words +and are the genuine manifestation of the inner meaning. + +Be this as it may, the relation between our two converts assumed the +proportions of friendship, doubtless in virtue of the mysterious law +which makes contrast attractive. + +Hegel says: "The identical and the non-identical are identical;" and +this proposition passes for nonsense. Perhaps if he had said: "May +become identical," it would be understood that he meant to speak, in +general, of that reconciliation of contraries which united the calm +genius of Delsarte and the bristling, prickly spirit of Raymond Brucker. + +One motive particularly contributed to the union; Brucker was +unfortunate in a worldly sense. Delsarte, improvident for the future and +scorning money, still had, during the best years of his professorship, a +relatively comfortable home. He loved to have his friend take advantage +of it. Large rooms, well warmed in winter, a simple table, but one which +lacked no essential article, were of no small importance to one whose +scanty household had naught but sorrow and privation to offer. + +How many evenings they spent together in dissertations which often ended +in nothing--and how often the dawn surprised them before they were +weary! + +For Brucker it was a refuge, but for Delsarte, what a waste of time and +strength taken from his real work! That wasted time might have sufficed +to fix and produce certain special points in his method. Then, too, his +health demanded greater care. + +Take it for all in all, this intimacy was perhaps more harmful than +helpful to Delsarte. Yet I have been told that Raymond Brucker urged the +innovator to elaborate his discovery, and often reproached him with his +negligence in pecuniary matters. It was he who said: "Francois +Delsarte's system is an orthopedic machine to straighten crippled +intellects." + +I have also heard in favor of Raymond Brucker, that that mind so full of +bitterness, that inquisitor _in partibus_, was most tender toward a +child in his family, and that he bore his poverty bravely. I desire to +note these eulogies side by side with the less favorable reflections +which I considered it my duty to write down here. I recall a short +anecdote which will serve to close the Brucker story. + +As we have said, they were seldom parted. One day Delsarte had agreed to +dine with the family of a pupil. As he was on his way thither, he met +his inseparable friend. From that moment his only thought was to excuse +himself from the dinner; but his hosts were reluctant to give up such a +guest; they insisted"--they were offended. + +"Pardon me," said Delsarte; "I really cannot stay! I had forgotten that +Brucker was to dine with me." + +"But that can be arranged! M. Brucker can join us. Suppose we send and +ask him?" + +"You need not," replied the master; "if you are willing, I will call +him; he is waiting for me below at the corner." + +They had acted as children do, when one says to the other on leaving +school: + +"Wait a minute for me, I'll ask mamma if you can come and dine with us." + +Brucker, who after all knew how to be agreeable when he chose, took his +place at the table, and all went well. + +This proves yet once again the extent to which Delsarte possessed that +charming simplicity so well suited to all distinction. + +In the dissertations upon religious subjects incessantly renewed about +Delsarte, it was sometimes declared that "great sinners were surer of +salvation than the most perfect unbelievers in the world." + +A young man, who doubtless felt himself to be in the first category, +once said to the master: + +"My friend, the good God has been too kind to me! I disobey him, I +offend against his laws.... I repent, and he accepts my prayer! I +relapse into sin--and he forgives me! Decidedly, the good God is a very +poltroon!" + +This seems to exceed the unrestrained ease and confidence usual toward +an earthly father; but we must not forget that the inflection modifies +the meaning of a phrase, and that _poltroon_ may mean _adorable_. + +This penitent, now famous, carried his provocation of the inexhaustible +goodness very far. At one time in his life he tried to blow out his +brains! By a mere chance--he probably said, by a miracle,--the wound was +not mortal; but he always retained the accusing scar. I never knew +whether this unpleasant adventure preceded or followed Mr. L.'s +conversion, or whether it was coincident with one of the relapses of +which that repentant sinner accused himself. + +Another very religious friend was no less fragile in the observance of +his firm vow. Becoming a widower, he swore eternal fidelity to the +"departed angel." Soon after, he was seen with another wife on his arm! + +"And your angel?" whispered a sceptic in his ear. + +"Oh, my friend!" was the reply, "this one is an archangel." + +Another figure haunted Delsarte and afforded yet another proof of his +tolerance. The Italian, C----, shared neither his political ideas nor +his religious beliefs; he was one of those refugees whom the defeats of +the Carbonari have cast upon our soil, and whose necessities +France--does our neighbor remember this?--for years supplied, as if they +were her own children. However, she could offer them but a precarious +living. + +Signer C., to give some charm to his wretched existence, desired to add +to his scanty budget a strong dose of hope and intellectual enjoyment: +hope in--what came later--the independence and unity of Italy. By way of +diversion, this stranger gratified himself by indulging in a whim; he +had dreams of a panacea, a plant whose complex virtues should combat all +the evils which fall to the lot of poor humanity; but this marvel must +be sought in America. And how was he to get there, when he could barely +scrape together the necessary five cents to ride in an omnibus! The +Isabellas of our day do not build ships for every new Columbus who +desires to endow the world with some wonderful treasure trove! And yet +this man was not mad; he was one of those who prove how many insane +ideas a brain may cherish, without being entitled to a cell in Bedlam or +Charenton. + +While awaiting the realization of his golden dreams, poor C. spent his +time in perpetual adoration of the Talma of Music--for so Theophile +Gautier styled Delsarte; he never missed a lecture; he took part in the +talks which lengthened out the evening when the parlor was at last +cleared of superfluous guests. + +Among his many manias--how many people have this one in common with +him!--the Italian cherished the idea that he was of exceptional ability, +and that in more than one direction. He proclaimed that Delsarte went +far beyond everything that he knew--equal to all that could be imagined +or desired in regard to art--but as for himself, C., was he not from a +land where art is hereditary, where it is breathed in at every pore, +from birth? And more than the mass of his countrymen, did he not feel +the volcanic heat of the sacred fire burning within him? + +One evening, he made a bold venture. He had prepared a tirade written by +some Italian poet. All that I remember of it is that it began with the +words: "_Trema--Trema!_" [Tremble--Tremble!] + +The impromptu tragedian recited several lines in a declamatory tone +accompanied by gestures to match. Delsarte listened without a sign of +praise or blame. Then he rose, struck an attitude appropriate to the +text, but perfectly natural, and, in his quiet way, said: + +"Might not you as well give it in this key?" Then, in a voice of +repressed harshness, his gestures subdued but expressive of hatred, he +repeated the two words: "_Trema--Trema!_" + +The listeners shuddered. Delsarte had produced one of those effects +which can never be forgotten. The smouldering ashes did not burn long; +four syllables were enough to extinguish the flame. + +Following, not the chronological order, but that of circumstances and +incidents calculated to throw light on my subject, I must once more +retrace the course of years. + +C.'s persistency went on before and after 1848. During the second +period, all minds were greatly agitated by the state of politics. C., in +spite of his undoubted liberalism--he spent a great part of his leisure +in making democratic constitutions--thought, like every other claimant, +that he had _duties to perform_; and that he might as well, to +facilitate his task, make an ally of the Emperor, without scruple; but +access to royalty was no less impossible than landing on the American +shore where his panacea grew. He hit upon the following plan: + +A number of ladies were to go in a body and implore Napoleon III to +pardon certain exiles: for the same calamities always follow civil war, +and there are always women ready to beg for justice or mercy. + +C., who knew their purpose, said to one of the petitioners: "How are you +going to make the Emperor understand that I am the only man capable of +saving the situation?" + +The petition was not presented; and the world remains to be saved! + +Our Italian had another specialty: he was perpetually in search of some +notorious somnambulist. It is a well-known fact that the mental +agitation caused by governmental crises is very favorable to these +pythonesses of modern times. Each wishes to outrun the future and to +afford himself at least an illusion of the triumph of his party. The +oracles varied according to the opinion of the person who magnetized +these ladies, and, often, according to the presumed desire of the +audience. + +Delsarte allowed himself to be drawn into these mysteries. He had time +for everything. It afforded him relaxation, and a means of observation. +On one occasion, he followed the refugee to a garden where a person of +"perfect lucidity" prophesied. The sibyl was a _believer_ as well as a +_seer_ and pretended to communicate with God in person. I do not know +exactly what supernal secrets the woman revealed, while she slept, but +the result was ridiculous. + +They had forgotten to fix the hour for the next sitting: so, to repair +the omission--by means of a few passes--the somnambulist was restored to +sleep and lucidity. Then in a corner of the garden, in a familiar tone +and--to use the popular expression--in which, as may well be imagined, +the voice of Jehovah was not heard: + +"My God, what day shall we return?" + +"He says Wednesday," announced the lady. + +"Thank you, God!" + +If the Italian went into ecstasies over this irreverent trifling, +Delsarte did not disdain to caricature it, and gave us a most comical +little performance. Here again we see how he could transform everything, +and make something out of nothing! + +Among the frequenters of his lectures was an artist whom I would gladly +mention for his talent if I did not fear to annoy him by connecting his +name with an incident concerning him. I relate it in the hope of +somewhat diverting my readers, to whom I must so often discourse of +serious things. + +Mr. P. painted a portrait of Delsarte as a young man. The features are +exact, the pose firm and dignified, the eye proud. The painter and the +model were on very good terms and sympathized in religious matters. It +must have been the master who brought him over. He still burned with the +zeal peculiar to recent converts; to such a point that even on a short +excursion into the country, he could not await his return to Paris to +approach the stool of repentance. This desire seemed easily satisfied; +what village is without a father confessor! + +So, one fine day, the artist rang at the first parsonage he could find. +The priest's sister opened the door--offered him a seat--and told him +that her brother was away. But, after these preliminaries, the lady +seemed uneasy. She inquired what the stranger wanted. + +"To speak with the priest." + +What could this stranger have to say to him? Such was the question which +floated in her eyes, amidst the confused phrases in which she strove to +gain an explanation. Mr. P. finally told her that he had come to +confess. + +"My brother will not return till very late," said the poor girl, unable +to disguise her distress. + +"I will wait!" replied the traveler. + +"Oh, sir, I hope you will not!" + +He thought he heard her mutter: "We read such things in the papers!" + +The visitor at last perceived that she took him for a thief, and he +could not depart quickly enough. + +One more anecdote: + +Francois Delsarte called himself a bad citizen, because he disliked to +undertake the duties entailed by reason of the national guard--a dignity +long demanded by the advanced party of the day, but of which they soon +wearied. + +I think that the artist's infractions were often overlooked, and his +reasons for exemption were never too closely scanned. And yet, the +soldier-citizen was one day arraigned before a council of discipline, +which, without regard for this representative of the highest personages +of fiction, condemned him to three days' imprisonment. + +It was as if they had imprisoned saltpetre in company with a bunch of +matches--but he restrained his rebellious feelings; he would not give +his judges the satisfaction of knowing his torment. He soon thought only +of procuring consolation: he summoned his friends, who visited him in +throngs. Then he made the acquaintance of his companions in misfortune. +There was one especially, who, alone, would have made up to him for all +the inconveniences of his forced arrest. + +The first time that this prisoner entered the room where the other +prisoners were assembled, he looked at them with the most solemn air, +put his hand to his forehead, made a military salute, and in grave +tones, as if beginning a harangue, he uttered these words: + +"Captives--I salute you!" + +It was strangely pertinent. Delsarte was not behindhand in comic +gravity. This little scene enlivened him. + +Another compensation fell to the lot of our _captive_. One of the +prisoners sang him a song, one stanza of which lingered in his memory. I +transcribe it: + + "I was born in Finisterre, + At Quimperlay I saw the light. + The sweetest air is my native air, + My parish church is painted white! + Oh! so I sang, I sighed, I said,-- + How I love my native air, + And parish church so bright!" + +These lines, written by some Breton minstrel, inspired one of those +sweet, plaintive airs which the drawling voice of the drovers sing as +they return at nightfall; one of those airs which seem to follow the +brook down the valleys, and which repeat the echoes of the mountains, in +the far distance. + +Oh! how Delsarte used to murmur it; it made one homesick for Brittany! + + + + +Chapter XIV. + +Delsarte's Scholars. + + + +To get one's bearings in that floating population (where persistency and +fidelity are rare qualities) which haunts a singing-school, it is well +to make classifications. In Delsarte's case, the novelty of his +processes, his extraordinary reputation among the art-loving public, the +length of time which he insisted was necessary for complete education, +all combined to produce an incessant ebb and flow of pupils. + +Therefore, I must distinguish. + +First, there were those, brought by Delsarte's generosity, whose only +resource was a vocation more or less favored by natural gifts. He would +say: "Come one, come all." But, of course, many were called, and few +were chosen, the majority only making a passing visit. + +Then there were the finished artists. They took private lessons, coming +to beg the master to put the finishing touch to their work, hoping to +gain from him something of that spiritual flame which consecrates +talent. I shall not undertake to speak of all, but I must quote a few +names. + +One winter day, says _La Patrie_ for June 18, 1857, a woman, beautiful +and still young, visited Delsarte, begging him to initiate her into the +mysteries of Gluck's style: + +"You are the greatest known singer," she said; "no one can enter into +the work of the great masters and seize their most secret thought as you +do; teach me!" + +"Who are you?" asked Francois Delsarte. + +"Henrietta Sontag," replied the stranger. + +Madame Barbot had a moment of great triumph, and was summoned to Russia +at the period of her success in Paris. She was perhaps the master's best +imitator; she had somewhat of his tragic emotion, his style, his +gesture; then what did she lack to equal him? She lacked that absolute +_sine qua non_ of art and poetry--_personality_. She added little of her +own. + +Even among those who could neither hear his lectures nor follow his +lessons, Delsarte had disciples. A great singing-teacher, whom I knew at +Florence, was eager to learn everything concerning the method. I often +heard him ask a certain young girl, as he read a score: "You were +Delsarte's pupil; tell me if he would have read this as I have done?" + +Even the famous Jenny Lind made the journey from London to Paris, +expressly to hear the great singer. + +At his lectures were seen from time to time: M. and Mme. Amand Cheve, +Mlle. Chaudesaigues, M. Mario Uchard--who, after his marriage, asked for +elocution lessons for his wife (Madeleine Brohan),--Mlle. Rosalie +Jacob, whose brilliant vocalization never won the renown which it +deserved, Mme. Carvalho, who was not one of the regular attendants, but +who trained her rare talent as a light singer, there, before the very +eyes of her fellow pupils,--Geraldon, who was very successful in Italy, +under the name of Geraldoni. + +Then, there was Mme. de B----, who appeared at the opera under the name +of Betty; a beauty with a fine voice. This artist did not perfect her +talents, being in haste to join the theatre in Rue Lepelletier, under +the shield of another master. Although well received by the public, she +soon gave up the profession. + +A memory haunts me, and I cannot deny it a few lines. + +Mme. M. may have been eighteen when she began to study singing with +Delsarte, together with her husband, who was destined for a similar +career. She had an agreeable voice, but a particularly charming face, +the freshness of a child in its cradle, a sweet expression of innocence. +In figure she was tall and slender. The lovely creature always looked +like a Bengal rose tossing upon its graceful stalk. These young students +considered themselves finished and made an engagement with the manager +of a theatre in Brazil. + +"Don't do it," said Delsarte to the husband, knowing his suspicious +nature, "that is a dangerous region; you will never bring your wife back +alive." + +He prophesied but too truthfully. + +Soon after, we heard that the fair songstress had been shot dead by the +hand of the husband who adored her. I like to think that she was +innocent of more than imprudence. The story which reached us from that +distant land was, that M. M. threatened to kill his wife if she +continued to associate with a certain young man. + +"You would never do it!" she said. + +She did not reckon on the aberrations of jealousy. It was said, in +excuse for the murderer, that she had defied him, saying: + +"I love him, and I do not love you!" + +After the catastrophe, the unfortunate husband gave himself up to +justice. No case was found against him, but how he must have suffered +when he had forever cut himself off from the sight of that enchanting +creature! + +Three figures stand preeminent in the crowd: Darcier, Giraudet, Madame +Pasca. + +I will proceed in order of seniority. + +The first named did not attend the lectures when I did, but I often +heard him mentioned in society where he attracted attention by his +rendering of Delsarte's "Stanzas to Eternity," Pierre Dupont's "Hundred +Louis d'or," and many other impressive or dramatic pieces. I know the +master considered him possessed of much aptitude and feeling for art. + +They met one evening at a large party given by a high official of the +day. Darcier sang well, in Delsarte's opinion; but it was perhaps too +well for a public made up of fashionables, not connoisseurs. + +"It takes something more than talent to move them," thought the real +judge, annoyed; and with that accent familiar to well-bred people, which +transfigures a triviality, he said to the singer: + +"Let them have _the bread!_" + +He referred to a political song ending with these lines: + + "Ye cannot hush the moan + Of the people when they cry: 'We hunger ...' + For it is the cry of nature, + They want bread, bread, bread!" + +The guests were forced to give the attention which it demanded to this +cry which aroused the idea of recent seditions, and the performer came +in for his share. + +This artist may still be heard, but his talents are displayed in so +narrow a circle that his reputation is a limited one. Yet it is said +that his compositions and his mode of singing them attest to great +vigor. + +Darcier, it seems, always retained a strong feeling of devotion for his +master. He has been heard to say: "I fear but two things--Delsarte and +thunder." + +Alfred Giraudet joined the grand opera as _primo basso cantante_. He was +warmly received by the press, and had already won a name at the Opera +Comique and at concerts. In this singer may be noted the firmness of +accent and scholarly mode of phrasing, always in harmony with the +prosody of the language, which are part of the tradition of the great +school. He always bears himself well on the stage, and the sobriety of +his gesture is a salutary example which some of his present colleagues +would do well to imitate. + +He, too, was a loyal soul; he always regarded it as an honor to bear the +title of _pupil of Delsarte_, the latter always writing to him as _my +dear and last disciple_. I owe many of the memories and documents used +in this volume to his kindness. + +Alfred Giraudet always took his audience captive when he sang Malherbe's +verses--music by Reber--of which each strophe ends with the following +lines: + + "Leave these vanities, put them far behind us, + 'Tis God who gives us life, + 'Tis God whom we should love." + +The broad, sustained style, so appropriate to the words of the melody, +finds a sympathetic interpreter in the young artist. + +Delsarte gave this with great _maestria_. The finale, particularly, +always transports the listeners. + +If any one can revive the tradition of the master's teachings, it is +certainly Giraudet, who understands the method and appreciates its high +import. + +Madame Pasca was one of the latest comers; her advent was an event. +There were pupils in the school who were destined for the theatre, and +there were women of society; the future artist of the Gymnase partook +of both phases. She had the advantages of a vocation and of a careful +education; her fortune allowed her to dress elegantly, with the +picturesqueness imparted by artistic taste. + +Chance, or a presentiment of speedy success, led her to take her place, +on the first day, very near the master, in a peculiar seat--a sort of +small, low easy chair which inspired one with a sense of nonchalance. +She was in full sight. Her gaze, profound and sombre at times, roamed +over the room with the natural air of a meditative queen. She inspired +all beholders with curiosity and interest. The feeling which she aroused +in her fellow-pupils was less distinct. Her rare advantages caused a +vague fear in those who hitherto had securely held the foremost rank; +her beauty created a sense of rivalry, unconscious for the most part, +and yet betrayed by countless signs. + +There was a flutter of excitement throughout the school. This increased +when the young woman confirmed, by her first efforts, all that her +agreeable appearance and fascinating voice had promised. She declaimed a +fragment from Gluck's "Armida" which other pupils sang; a word sufficed +to change interest to sympathy. + +That accent touched all hearts. What visible grief and what a sense of +suppressed tears when in her grave, slow tones she uttered the phrase: + +"You leave me, Rinaldo! Oh, mortal pain!" + +The master soon obtained from this marvellous aptness, what is rarely +acquired, even after long years of study: dramatic effects free from all +hint of charlatanism. The distinguishing point between Madame Pasca and +Madame Barbot is, that the latter, while observing all the rules of the +method avoided servile imitation. + +Delsarte was all the more delighted at his success, because he had +revealed to his scholar her true calling. Madame Pasca came to him for +singing-lessons, but her large, strongly-marked voice had little range. +She was directed toward the art which she afterward practiced, and began +her studies with tragedy. Some idea of what she did in this field may be +formed from the effect which she produced in pathetic scenes, where the +comedy allowed her serious voice to show its power and penetrating tone. + +I need not speak of Madame Pasca's success at the Gymnase and abroad. It +is known and undoubted. Still she lacks the consecration of the stage +where Mars and Rachel shone. When this artist left the school to enter +upon her career, Delsarte said to her: + +"My dear child, you will spend your life in atoning for the crime of +being my pupil." + +He was right, for Madame Pasca has no place at the Francais yet. + +I can speak from hearsay merely, of the lessons in elocution and +declamation intended for preachers--particularly for the fathers of the +Oratory,--never having been present at them. I only know that Father +Monsabre and other famous ecclesiastics took lessons from Francois +Delsarte. + + + + +Chapter XV. + +Delsarte's Musical Compositions. + + + +Delsarte paid but little attention to musical composition; still his +musical works prove that he would have succeeded here as elsewhere, had +he devoted himself particularly to the task. + +To say nothing of six fine vocal exercises and a number of songs which +had their day, his "Stanzas to Eternity" were highly popular. A mass by +him was performed in several churches; but his "Last Judgment," +especially, ranks him among serious composers. + +This setting of the _Dies Irae_ is touching and severe; the melody is +broad, sombre, threatening; the accompaniment reminds one of the dull +rattling of the skeletons reassuming their original shape. One seems to +hear the uneasy hum of voices roused from long sleep. + +One incident showed the importance of this work. Various pieces of +concerted music were being rehearsed one night at the church of St. +Sulpice, for performance during the solemnity of "the work of St. +Francis de Xavier." A close circle formed around the musicians; private +conversation added a discordant note to the harmony; the church echoed +back the footsteps of people walking to and fro. + +The _Dies Irae_ came! The music at first imitates the angel trumpets +which, according to Christian belief, are to be heard when _time shall +end_. The summons sounded four times. + +This mournful chant of reawakening generations instantly silenced every +voice and every step; all were motionless; and the solemn melody alone +soared to the vaulted roof. + +A touching story is told of this work. At a large and miscellaneous +gathering, M. Donoso-Cortes, a well-known Spanish publicist, then +ambassador to Paris, begged Delsarte to sing his _Dies Irae_. A space +was cleared in the music-room. + +The score of the symphony for voice and piano, made by Delsarte himself, +retains all his intentions and effects, to which his striking voice +added greatly. + +Delsarte began: + + "Dies irae, dies illa, + Solvet saeclum in favilla, + Teste David cum sybilla." + +The whole assembly were taken captive. M. Donoso-Cortes was particularly +moved. His eyes filled with tears. He was not quite well that night. + +A week later the newspapers invited the friends of the illustrious +stranger to meet at St. Philippe-du-Roule, to witness his funeral rites. +Delsarte was present; the church was so hung with black that the +choristers were alarmed for the effect of their motets. + +The artist recalled the request made him the previous week by the +Spanish ambassador. He felt as if that same voice came from the bier and +begged him for one more hymn to the dead. In spite of his emotion, he +offered to sing the _Dies Irae_. + +To obviate the lack of resonance, Delsarte sang--according to his theory +in regard to the laws of acoustics,--without expenditure of sound, +almost _mezza voce_. + +No one was prepared. The listeners were all the more overcome by those +tones in which the friend's regrets pervaded, with their sweet unction, +the masterly diction of the singer. + +When his oldest daughter grew up, Delsarte seemed to take a fancy to a +different style of composition. He would not give that young soul the +regular repertory of his pupils, all passion and profane love. He wrote +for Marie words and music--couplets which were neither romance nor song; +nor were they quite canticles, although religion always lay at the base +of them. + +I know none but Madame Sand who can be compared to Delsarte in variety +of feeling and simplicity even unto grandeur. I have often observed a +likeness and, as it were, a kinship between these great minds. And yet +these two great souls, these two great spirits, never exchanged ideas. +The artist never received the plaudits of the distinguished writer. Both +regretted it. + +Delsarte said: "I lack that sanction," and Madame Sand wrote, when he +had ceased to live: "I knew Delsarte's worth; I often intended to go +and hear him, and some circumstance, beyond my control, always +prevented." + +The world owes a debt to Delsarte for collecting under the title +"Archives of Song," the lyric gems of the XVI, XVII, and XVIII +centuries. And also the songs of the Middle Ages, the prose hymns and +anthems of the church, arranged conformably to the harmonic type +consecrated by the oldest traditions. + +"All these works," he wrote in his announcement of the work, "faithfully +copied, arranged for the piano and transposed for concert performance, +will finally be arranged and classified in separate volumes, to suit +various voices, ages, styles, schools, etc., thus affording subject +matter for a complete course of vocal studies." + +I do not think that death allowed Delsarte to complete this vast plan, +but it was partly finished. In the collection, we find the scattered +treasures of an eminently French muse: old songs picked up in the +provinces, in which wit and naive sentimentality dispute for precedence. +All this still exists, but who can sing as he did the song beginning: "I +was but fifteen," or "Lisette, my love, shall I forever languish?" and +so many others! + +To explain the inexpressible charm which distinguished Delsarte from all +other singers, a songstress once said: "His singing contrives to give us +the _soul of the note_. The others are _artists_, but _he_ is _the +artist_." + + + + +Chapter XVI. + +Delsarte's Evening Lectures. + + + +In Francois Delsarte's school there were morning classes and evening +classes. The former were more especially devoted to the theory, to +lessons. Those of which I shall speak might be compared to lectures, to +dramatic and musical meetings. A choice public was always present. Among +them were: + +The composers Reber and Gounod; + +Doctor Dailly, Madame de Meyendorf--a great Russian lady, the friend of +art; + +The Princess de Chimay and the Princess Czartoriska, who glided modestly +in and took the humblest place; + +Madame Blanchecotte, whose charming verses were crowned by the Academy; + +Countess d'Haussonville, a familiar name; + +M. Joly de Bammeville, one of the exhibitors at the Exhibition of +Retrospective Arts, in 1878; + +Doriot, the sculptor; Madame de Lamartine, Madame Laure de Leomenil, a +well-known painter; Madame de Blocqueville, daughter of Marshal Davout, +and author of his biography; a throng of artists, men of letters and +scientists; certain original figures of the period. + +On one occasion we were joined by a man of some celebrity--the +chiromancist Desbarolles. Delsarte had the courtesy to base his theory +lesson upon the latter's system; he pointed out its points of relation +with the sum total of the constitution of the human being. It was a +lesson full of spirit and piquant allusions; one of those charming +impromptus in which Delsarte never failed. + +From time to time certain persons in clerical robes appeared in the +audience; the austerity of their habit contrasting somewhat strangely +with the attire of the elegant women, men of fashion and young actors in +their apprenticeship around them; but matters always settled themselves. +One evening one of these priests was in a neighboring room, the doors of +which were open into the drawing-room. If the songs seemed too profane, +he kept out of sight; but so soon as the word _God_ was pronounced or a +religious thought was mingled with a romance, or operatic aria, the +servant of the altar appeared boldly, rejoiced at these brief harvests +which allowed him to enjoy the whole picture. + +To give a correct idea of one of these evenings, I will copy an account +which I have just written under the heading of "Recent Memories." + +By half-past eight, almost all the guests have assembled. A stir is +heard in the next room. "He is coming ... it is he!" is whispered on +every hand. The master enters, followed by his pupils. Almost at the +same instant a young woman glides up to the piano. She is to accompany +the singers; she enters furtively, timidly, as if she were not the +mistress of the house. She is beautiful, but she does not wish this to +be noticed; she has much talent, but she disguises it by her calm and +severe style of playing, which does not prevent critical ears from +noting her exactitude and precision, combined with that rare spirit of +abnegation which is the accompanist's supreme virtue. + +Delsarte takes his place by the piano; his attentive gaze traverses the +assembly; he exchanges a smile, a friendly gesture with certain of the +audience who are always much envied. At this moment he is grave, +serious, and as it were, penetrated by his responsibility to an audience +who hang devoutly on his lips. + +The professor begins by developing some point in his system; he gives +the law of pose or of gesture; the reasons for accent, rhythm or some +other detail connected with the synthesis which he has evolved. He +questions his scholars. + +The first notes of the piano serve to mark the change to practical +instruction. The pupils sing in turn. The master listens with the +concentrated attention peculiar to him; the expression of his face +explains the nature of the remarks he is about to make, even before he +utters them. He points out mistakes, he illustrates them. + +Little by little, however, his dramatic genius is aroused. Achilles +seems to seize his weapons or Agamemnon his sceptre. The scholar is +pushed aside, Delsarte takes his place. + +Then the artist is seen to the utmost advantage. There, dressed in the +vast, shapeless coat which drapes itself about him as he gesticulates, +his neck free from the cravat which puts modern Europeans in the +pillory, and allowing himself greater space than at his concerts--there, +and there alone, is Delsarte wholly himself. + +The piano strikes the opening notes of the prelude, and before the +artist has uttered a word, he is transfigured. If he is singing serious +opera, the oval of his face lengthens, the lines become more fixed, his +cheeks shrink, his forehead is lighted up and his eye flashes with +inspiration; the pallor of profound emotion pervades his features, the +somewhat gross proportions of his figure are disguised by the firmness +of his pose and the juvenile precision of his gesture. + +The part of _Robert the Devil_ is one of those in which Delsarte best +developed the resources and suppleness of his genius. _Robert_ is the +son of a demon, but his mother was a saint. He loves with sincere love; +but even this love is subject to the influence of the evil spirit; +hence, these outbursts followed by such tender remorse, that heart which +melts into tears after a fit of rage. _Robert_ is jealous, less so than +_Othello_ possibly, but _Robert's_ jealousy is stimulated by infernal +powers and must differ in its manifestation. It was in these shades of +distinction that Delsarte's greatness was apparent to every eye. + +Then came those indescribable inflections--words which pierced your +heart, cold as a sword-blade: "Come, come!" says _Robert_, striving to +drag _Isabella_ away, ... and that simple word was made frantic, +breathless, by the accent accompanying it. No one who has not heard +Delsarte utter the word _rival_ can conceive of all the mysteries of +hate and pain contained in the word. + +In the trio from "William Tell," after the words, "has cut an old man's +thread of life," Arnold feels that Gessler has had his father murdered. +A first and vague suspicion dawned on the artist's face. Little by +little, the impression became more marked, a clearer idea of this +misfortune was shown by pantomime; his eye was troubled, it kindled, +every feature questioned both William and Walter; the actor's hand, +trembling and contracted, was stretched toward them and implored them to +speak more clearly. He was horror-stricken at the news he was to hear, +but uncertainty was intolerable; and when, after these touching +preparations, Arnold himself tore away the last shred of doubt, when he +uttered the cry: "My father!" there was not a heart--were it bathed in +the waters of the Styx--which did not melt from the counter shock of +such violent despair. + +The effects of rage, hate, irony, the terrors of remorse, the bitterness +of disappointment, were not the only dramatic means in the possession of +that artist whom Madame Sontag proclaimed as "the greatest known +singer." None could express as did Delsarte, contemplation, serenity, +tenderness--the dreams of a sweet and simple soul, and even the divine +silliness of innocent beings. Wit and malice were equally easy for him +to render. + +In the duet from "Count Ory:" + + "Once more I'll see the beauty whom I love," + +he was quite as apt at interpreting the hypocritical good-nature of the +false hermit as the sentimental playfulness of the love-lorn page. + +In his school the comic style bore an impress of propriety and +distinction, because it resulted from intellectual perceptions rather +than it expressed the vulgar sensations manifested by exaggerated +caricature and grimace. + +Delsarte thus put his stamp upon every style which he attempted; he +renovated every part. He restored Gluck to life; he revealed Spontini to +himself. The latter--the illustrious author of "Fernando Cortez"--was at +a musical entertainment where Delsarte, whom he had never known, sang. +He had drunk deep of the composer's inspiration: he showed this in the +very first phrase of the great air: + + "Whither do ye hasten? Oh, traitorous race!" + +He sang with such vigorous accent, such great _maestria_, that--in the +mouth of Montezuma--the words must have sufficed to rally the Mexican +army from its rout. He gave the cantabile: + + "Oh country, oh spot so full of charm!" + +with indescribable sadness; desolation and despair seemed to fill his +soul, and when the conquered man invoked the spirits of his ancestors: + + "Shall I say to the shadows of my fathers, + Arise--and leave your gloomy tomb!" + +it seemed--so powerful was the adjuration--as if the audience must see +the sepulchre open on the spot which the singer and actor indicated by +his gesture and his gaze. + +Such profound knowledge, sublime talent, terrifying effects and +contrasts so skilfully managed, and yet so natural in their transition, +strongly moved the composer. + +"Do you know that you made me tremble?" Delsarte said to him after he +had sang. + +"Do you know that you made me weep?" replied Spontini, charmed to see +his work raised to such proportions. + +Delsarte was always master of himself, however impassioned he appeared. + +Often, in his lessons, when every soul hung upon his accents, he would +stop abruptly and restore the part to his pupil. Then, as if a magic +wand had touched him, all the attributes of the personage who had lived +in him, vanished. His face, his form, his bearing resumed their usual +appearance. The artist disappeared, and the professor quietly resumed +his place, without seeming to notice that the audience--still shaken by +the emotions they had felt--blamed him for this too prompt +metamorphosis. + +Yet Delsarte was as agreeable a teacher as he was a marvelous artist. +His instruction was enlivened by countless unexpected flashes; his +sallies were as quick as gunpowder. + +"_I die!_" languidly sang a tenor. + +"You sleep!" said the master. + +"_Come, lady fair!_" exclaimed another singer. + +"If you call her in that voice, you may believe that she will never +come!" + +"Don't make a public-crier of your Achilles," said the master to some +one with a rich organ, given over to its own uncultivated power. + +All three smiled. The one tried to die more fitly; the other to call his +lady fair in more seductive accents. The petulant outburst of the master +taught them more than many a long dissertation. + +Delsarte made great use of his power of imitating a defect; he even +exaggerated it so that the scholar, seeing it reflected as in a +magnifying-glass, more readily perceived his insufficiency or his +exaggeration. + +If this mode of procedure was somewhat trying to sensitive vanity, it +was easy to see its advantages. The master's censure, moreover, was of +that inoffensive and kindly character which is its own justification. It +was a criticism governed by gaiety. Delsarte laughed at himself quite as +readily as at the ridiculous performances which he caricatured, if +opportunity offered. And if by chance any pupil less hardened to these +assaults was intimidated or distressed, consolation was quick to follow. + +I remember that a young girl gave rise to one of these striking +imitations. Delsarte put such an irresistible comedy into it, that the +audience was seized with an uncontrolable fit of mirth. The master's +mimicry had far more to do with this than the poor girl's awkwardness. +But she did not understand this. Her heart sank at this harsh merriment +and tears rushed to her eyes. + +"What is the matter," asked Delsarte; "why are you so disturbed? Among +the persons whose laughter you hear, I do not think there is one who +sings as well as you do! I exaggerated your mistake to make you aware of +it; but you did your work in a way that was very satisfactory to all but +your teacher." + +Speaking of this irony tempered by mercy, I recollect that Delsarte, +after a great success, was once complimented by the singer P., whose +popularity far exceeded that of the "lyric Talma." + +"And yet you have given me lessons," said Delsarte, emphasizing the word +_yet_. Well! in such circumstances Delsarte showed neither the pride nor +the malicious spirit which might be imputed to him; his mind seized a +contrast which amused him, and his face interpreted it, but his voice +remained soft and friendly; for, in spite of his biting wit and cutting +phrases, his feelings were easily touched and his heart was truly rich +in sympathy. + +Delsarte sang a great deal during his lessons; and perhaps he gained, +from the point of view of the voice, by confining himself to fragments; +seizing the opportune moment, and his voice not having had time to be +tired, he could give, for a relatively long space, the clear, ringing +tones necessary for brilliant pieces. Then his vocalization--which has +only a mechanical value with most singers--became sobs, satanic +laughter, delirium, and terror. + +Then, too, thanks to proximity, the most delicate tones could be heard +to the extreme limits of the _smorzando_, still preserving that slightly +veiled timbre unique in its charm, the mysterious interpreter of +infinite sweetness and unspeakable tenderness. + +One might perhaps have made a complete analysis of Delsarte from hearing +him sing some dramatic song, but let him give Eleazar's air from "The +Jewess:" + + "Rachel, when the Lord," + +or that of Joseph: + + "Paternal fields, Hebron, sweet vale,--" + +let the artist give this in a quiet style, as putting a mute upon his +voice, and the observer forgot his part; he followed the entrancing +melody as far as it would lead him into the realms of the ineffable +whence he returned with the fascination of memory and the sorrow of +exile. + +Let no one cry that this is hyperbole! One of the most remarkable +accompanists in Paris, an attache of the Opera Comique, M. Bazile, was +once so overcome by emotion in accompanying Delsarte that for some +seconds the piano failed to do its duty. + +I might recount numberless proofs of admiration equal to mine. One +evening, at a lecture, the lesson turned upon a song from "William +Tell:" + + "Be motionless, and to the ground + Incline a suppliant knee." + +For stage effect, Delsarte called in one of his children, about eight or +nine years old. + +The subject is well known: William has been condemned to strike from a +distance, with the tip of his arrow, an apple placed on the head of his +child. + +William bids the child pray to God, and implores him not to stir. +Reversing the action of all actors whom we usually see, the artist +recited the fragment in a wholly concentric fashion; he did not declaim; +he made no gesture toward the audience; but what emotion in his voice, +and how his gaze hovered over and around the dear creature who was +perhaps to be forever lost to him! He called the child to him, he +pressed him to his heart; he laid his hands on that young head. His +caresses had the lingering slowness of supreme and final things, the +solemnity of a last benediction. + + "This point of steel may terrify thine eyes!" + +says the text, and the tragedian, enlarging the meaning of the words by +inflection and accent, showed that this precious life hung on a thread +and depended on the firmness of his hand. + +At the last phrase: + + "Jemmy, Jemmy, think of thy mother, + She who awaits us both at home!" + +his voice became pathetic to such a degree that it was difficult to +endure it. The child, who had restrained himself during the tirade, +began to sob. All eyes were full of tears. One lady fainted. + +At concerts his triumph was the same on a larger scale. I will give but +one anecdote. A man of letters, who was also a skilled physician, said +to Delsarte: + +"Do you know, sir, that I made your acquaintance in a very strange way? +I was at the Herz Hall, at your concert. Your voice and singing so +agitated me that I was forced to leave the room, feeling oppressed and +almost faint." + +This impressionable listener referred to a day memorable in the annals +of the master. Delsarte--he sang certain airs written for women in +Gluck's operas--had selected Clytemnestra's song: + + "A priest, encircled by a cruel throng, + Shall on my daughter lay his guilty hand." + +Just as this maternal despair reached its paroxysm, the artist raised +both hands to his head and remained in the most striking attitude +possible to overwhelming grief. Loud applause burst from every part of +the hall; there was a frenzy, a delirium of enthusiasm. At the same +time, a violent storm burst outside; the roaring thunder, the rain +beating in floods upon the windows, the flashing lightning which turned +the gas-lights pale, formed a tremendous orchestra for Gluck's music, +and a fantastic frame for the sublime actor. Then, as if crushed by his +glory, he prolonged that marvelous effect, and stood a moment as if +annihilated by the frantic and tumultuous shouts of the audience. + + + + +Chapter XVII. + +Delsarte's Inventions. + + + +Delsarte always had his father's propensity to devote himself to +mechanics that he might apply his knowledge of them to new things. When +he felt his artistic abilities, not growing less, but their plastic +expression becoming more difficult, owing to the cruel warnings of his +departing youth, this tendency toward occupations more especially +intellectual, became more marked. + +It may be helpful here to note that a _machine_--that positive and most +material of all things--is the thing whose creation requires force of +understanding in the highest degree. + +The brain, that living machine, lends its aid to the intellect; it +represents the physical side; it is the spot where the work is carried +on. Feeling has no part in the intellectual acts which work together in +mechanical production,--mathematics playing the principal part,--it has +no other share, I say, but to inspire certain persons with a passionate +taste for abstract studies, which leads them toward useful and glorious +discoveries. + +Thus, this thought of Delsarte and Pierre Leroux seems to be justified: +that, in no case, can man break his essential triplicity. + +Delsarte, moreover, by changing the direction of his faculties, or +rather by displacing the dominant, affirmed his freedom of will. If he +did not always class himself with the strong, he still loved to reign +over himself in the omnipotence of his will. + +The artist became an inventor; he took out letters-patent for various +discoveries, among others for an instrument of precision applicable to +astronomical observations. Competent persons have recognized the great +value of this invention, conceived without previous study, and which +remains hidden among the papers of some official. + +Only one of his mechanical conceptions was ever really put to practical +use, that of the _Guide-accord_; it gained him a gold medal at the +Exhibition of 1855; Dublin awarded it the same praise. + +Berlioz wrote of this invention, in his book entitled, "_A Travers +Chants_:" + +"M. Delsarte has made piano tuning easier by means of an instrument +which he calls the _phonopticon_. Any one who will take the trouble to +use it will find that it produces such absolute correctness, that the +most practiced ear could not attain to similar perfection. This +_Guide-accord_ cannot fail to gain speedy popularity." + +On reading these lines, one is tempted to say: Here is an open-hearted +writer; one likes this outburst in regard to a man who was in some sense +his brother-artist. But what are we to think of this critic, when we +reflect that in this same book, where he exalts the inventor, he never +seems to remember Delsarte the revealer of a law, the creator of a +science, the distinguished teacher, the famous artist. "He has rendered +all pianists a great service by inventing this instrument," says the +author of "_A Travers Chants_," and that is all. And he calls him +_Monsieur_ Delsarte, as if he were some unknown musical instrument maker +or dealer! Had the author of "William Tell" or "Aida" vexed him, he +would have spoken of them as M. Rossini, M. Verdi! + +And yet he knew all about the man whom he seemed anxious to extinguish, +for it was he who, in a musical criticism, wrote, among other praises: +"It is impossible to imagine superior execution;" and elsewhere: "He +renders the thoughts of the great masters with such brilliancy and +strength, that their masterpieces are made accessible to the most +stubborn intellect and the most hardened sensibilities are roused by his +tones." + +What had happened to make the author of the "Pilgrims' March" so +oblivious of his own admiration? I have heard that the two musicians +quarreled as to the interpretation of a passage by Gluck, and that a +correspondence much resembling a literary warfare, followed. Could this +justify defection? Perhaps a desire to stifle this glory, thereby to +lend more lustre to some _meteor_ or _star_, had some share in this +supposed motive. + +At any rate, the affair is not to the honor of Berlioz. We should never +deny, whatever may happen, the just judgment which we have uttered. +Direct or indirect, the rivalries of artists are to be regretted for +the sake of art itself, which lives on noble sentiments and high +thoughts. Although we may laugh at the inconsequence of a critic who +extinguishes with one hand that which the other hand brought to light, +we cannot repress a deep feeling of sadness when we see upon what +reputation too often depends, and when we ask ourselves how much we are +to believe of the opinions of certain chroniclers. + +The fact which I have just quoted is the more surprising, inasmuch as +Berlioz often drew his inspiration from the method of, and from certain +modes of expression peculiar to Delsarte. + + + + +Chapter XVIII. + +Delsarte before the Philotechnic Association.[8] + + + +It was in 1865 that Delsarte was heard in public for the last time. The +meeting took place at the Sorbonne where the lectures of the +Philotechnic Society were then given. + +I see him before me now with his strong personality, his captivating and +persuasive speech, his mind with its incisive flashes; but a visible +melancholy swayed him and was to follow him through the variety and +contrasts of the subjects on his program. + +And first, he takes pleasure in proclaiming to all the tale of his +mistakes. Still young in heart and in mind, it seems as if in giving up +hope on earth, he tolled the knell of all the enchantments that were +passed and gone; that creative head fermenting with the ardor of +discovery seems to doubt the future and bow beneath the burden of a +sombre submission. + +And yet he is surrounded by picked men who admire him, by women, young, +beautiful, brilliant, eager to hear him, as of old; but he is not +deceived by all this. A magic spell has vanished; sympathy is not denied +him, but perhaps he feels it to be less tender, less _affectionate_ +than in the radiant days of his youth. + +This explains how, in the course of that evening, a recrudescence of +Christian feeling more than once tore him away from the undeniable +assertions of science, not to drag him down to the puerilities of the +letter, but to draw him up into the clouds of theology, whence hope of a +future life, the consolation of farewell hours, smiled upon him. + +But if Delsarte appeared depressed, he was not to be conquered. His +restless spirit betrayed him to those whom his mystic fervor might have +misled. + +"Many persons," he said, "feel confident that they are to hear me recite +or sing. + +"Nothing of the sort, gentlemen; I shall not recite, and I shall not +sing, because I desire less to show you what I can do, than to tell you +what I know." + +Soon a wonderful change passed over him. It seemed as if he had been +covered with ashes for an instant, only to come forth in a more dazzling +light. Hardly had his audience felt a slight sense of revolt at the +words: "I shall not sing," than they found themselves in the presence of +an orator not inferior to the greatest in the force of his images, and +who, with all his serious and pathetic eloquence, never forgot the +studied touches of the poet, or the dainty style of the artist. + +But I will not delay my reader to listen to me! It is Delsarte himself +who should be heard. I will give a few extracts: + +"I count," he said, "on the novelty, the absolute novelty, of the +things which I shall teach you: Art is the subject of this conversation. + +"Art is divine in its principle, divine in its essence, divine in its +action, divine in its aim. + +"Ah! gentlemen, there are no pleasures at once more lasting, more noble +and more sacred than those of Art. + +"Let us glance around us: not a pleasure which is not followed by +disappointment or satiety; not a joy which does not entail some trouble; +not an affection which does not conceal some bitterness, some grief, and +often some remorse! + +"Everything is disappointing to man. Everything about him changes and +passes away. Everything betrays him; even his senses, so closely allied +to his being and to which he sacrifices everything, like faithless +servants, betray him in their turn; and, to use an expression now but +too familiar, they go on a strike, and from that strike, gentlemen, they +never return. + + * * * * * + +"The constituent elements of the body sooner or later break into open +rebellion, and tend to fly from each other as if filled with mutual +horror. + +"But under the ashes a youthful soul still lives, and one whose +perpetual youth is torture; for that soul loves, in spite of the +disappointments of its hard experience; it loves because it is young; it +loves just because it is a soul and it is its natural condition to love. + +"Such is the soul, gentlemen. Well! for this poor, solitary and +desolate soul, there are still unutterable joys; joys not to be measured +by all which this world can offer. These joys are the gift of Art. No +one grows old in the realms of Art." + +After a pungent criticism of the official teaching of art as hitherto +practiced, Delsarte explained the chief elements of aesthetics. He said: + +"AEsthetics, henceforth freed from all conjecture, will be truly +established under the strict forms of a _positive science_." + +But, as in the course of his lecture he had more than once touched the +giddy regions of supernaturalism, this formula seemed a contradiction to +certain minds, yet enthusiastic applause greeted the orator from all +parts of the hall. + +One paper, _L'Union_, said in this connection: + + "M. Delsarte is a spontaneous soul, his mind is at once Christian + and free, his only passion is the proselytism of the Beautiful, and + this is the charm of his speech....I do not assert that everything + in it should be of an absolute rigor of philosophy," etc. + +The same paper says elsewhere: + + "All these theories are new, original, ingenious, in a word, + _felicitous_. Are they undeniably true? What I can affirm is that + none doubt it who hear the master make various applications of them + by examples. Delsarte is an irresistible enchanter." + +The opposition of principles with which he is reproached, these doubts +of the strength of his logic, will be greatly diminished if this point +of view be taken: that Delsarte traced back an assured science, that he +deduced from the faculties of man the hypothesis that these faculties +are contained in essence and in the full power of their development, in +an archetype which, to his mind, is no other than the Divine Trinity. +Plato's ideal in aesthetics and in philosophy was similar although less +precise. + +There is a saying that Italians "have two souls." In Delsarte there were +two distinct types, the theistic philosopher and the scientist. + +Now, the philosopher could give himself up to the study of causes and +their finality, that faculty being allotted to the mental activity; he +could even, without giving the scientist cause for complaint, make, or +admit, speculative theories regarding the end and aim of art, provided +that the scientific part of the system was neither denied nor diminished +thereby. + +And is there not a certain kinship between science and hypothesis which +admits of their walking abreast without conflicting? + +Delsarte, as we have seen, rarely left his audience without winning the +sympathy of every member of it. At the meeting of which I speak, he +vastly amused his hearers by an anecdote. He doubtless wished to clear +away the clouds caused by that part of his discourse which, by his own +confession, had a good deal of the sermon about it. + +I will repeat the tale, a little exaggerated perhaps, but still very +piquant, which doubtless won his pardon for those parts of his speech +which might have been for various reasons blamed, misunderstood or but +half understood! + +The story was of four professors who, having examined him, had each, in +turn, he said, administered upon his [Delsarte's] cheeks smart slaps to +the colleagues by whose advice he had profited in previous lessons. + +The following lines were the subject of the lesson: + + "Nor gold nor greatness make us blest; + Those two divinities to our prayers can grant + But goods uncertain and a pleasure insecure." + +"The first teacher to whom I turned declared there was but one way to +_recite them properly_, and this single method, you of course perceive, +gentlemen, could be only his own. + +"'Those lines,' said he, 'must be recited with breadth, with dignity, +with nobleness. Listen!' Upon which my instructor began to declaim in +his most sonorous, most magisterial tones. He raised his eyes to heaven, +rounded his gestures and struck a heroic attitude. + +"'Show yourself,' he resumed (after this demonstration), 'by the +elevation of your manners, worthy of the lessons I have given you.' + +"'Ah!' I exclaimed, 'at last I possess the noble manner of rendering +these fine lines.' + +"Next day, having practiced the noble manner to the utmost of my +ability, I went to my second professor, fully persuaded that I should +hear nothing but congratulations. Well!... I had hardly ended the +second line, when a shrug of the shoulders accompanied by a terrible +burst of laughter, very mortifying to my noble manner, closed my mouth +abruptly. + +"'What do you mean by that emphatic tone? What is all this bombastic +sermon about? What manners are these? My friend, you are grotesque. +Those lines should be repeated simply, naturally and with the utmost +artlessness. Remember that it is _the good La Fontaine_ who speaks! +[accenting each syllable] _the-good-La-Fon-taine_--do you hear? There is +but one way possible to render the lines faithfully. Listen to me.' + +"Here the professor tapped his snuff-box,--compressed his lips, dropped +the corners of his mouth in an ironical fashion, slightly contracting +his eyes, lifting his eyebrows, moving his head five or six times from +right to left, and began the lines in a firm and somewhat nasal tone. + +"Ah!" I cried, amazed, 'there is no other way ... what wonderful +artlessness, simplicity and truth to nature!' + +"So I set to work upon a new basis, saying to myself: 'Now, at last, I +have got the natural style which fits the spirit of this charming work. +I am very curious to know the impression which I shall make to-morrow on +my third teacher.' + +"The moment came. I struck an attitude into which I introduced the +elliptic expressions shown to me the day before, and with the +confidence inspired in me by a sense of the naturalness with which I was +pervaded, I began: + + "'Nor gold nor great....' + +"'Wretch!' cried my third professor. 'What do you mean by that senile +manner, that tart voice! What a Cassandra-like tone! You disgrace those +beautiful lines, miserable fellow!' + +'"But, sir....' + +"'But, but, but. I will drop you from the list of my pupils, if you dare +to utter a remark! You can do very well when you wish! But every now and +then you are subject to certain eccentric flights. You sometimes imitate +X---- well enough to be mistaken for him; then you are detestable, for you +change your nature, and I will not permit it. Besides, it is a vulgar +type. Stay, you looked like him just then, and it was hideous. + +"'Now, listen, and bear my lesson well in mind: _there is but one proper +way of reciting those lines_, do you hear? _There is but one way_, and +this is it.' + +"Here, my professor took a pensive attitude: then, as if crushed by the +weight of some melancholy memory, he cast slowly around him a look in +which the bitterness of a deep disappointment was painted. He heaved a +sigh, raised his eyes to heaven, still keeping his head bent, and began +in a grave, muffled and sustained voice: + + "'Nor gold nor greatness....' + +"'See,' said my master, 'with what art I manage to create a pathetic +situation out of those lines! That is what you should imitate!' + +"'Ah! my dear master, you are right; that is the only reading worthy of +that masterpiece. Heavens, how beautiful!' I said to myself; 'decidedly, +my _noble_ teacher and my _natural_ teacher understood nothing about +this work. What an effect I shall make to-morrow at my fourth +professor's class!' + +"Alas! a fresh disappointment awaited me at the hands of my fourth +master. He was, perhaps, even more pitiless than the others to all the +meanings that I strove to express. + +"'Why, my poor boy,' said he, 'where the deuce did you hunt up such +meanings?' What a sepulchral tone! What is the meaning of that cavernous +voice? And why that mournful dumb show? Heaven forgive me! it is +melodrama that you offer us! you have done no great thing. You have +completely crippled poor La Fontaine.' + +"'Alas! alas!' said I to myself, 'is my dramatic teacher as absurd as +the other two?'" + +After the three preceding imitations, just as the audience had reached +the height of merriment, the story-teller stopped. + +"I will excuse you, gentlemen, from the reasonings of my fourth +professor, for I do not wish to prolong my discourse indefinitely." + +If this retreat was an orator's artifice--which may well be,--it was a +complete success. + +There was a shout: "_The fourth! the fourth!_" + +"Well, gentlemen, the fourth, like the other three, claimed that his was +the _only correct style_: I made no distinction between verse and prose, +thus following the false method recently established by the +Theatre-Francais. To his mind the cadence of the verse and the euphonic +charm should outweigh every other interest. The pauses which I made +destroyed its measure. I had no idea of caesura, my gestures destroyed +its harmony, etc., etc. His pedagogic manner had nothing in common with +that of his brethren." + +This episode was not a mere witticism on Delsarte's part; he intended it +to prove his constant assertion--and with persistent right,--that +previous to his discovery, art, destitute of law and of science, had had +none but chance successes. + +Delsarte closed this session by a summary of the law and the science +which I have set forth in this book; but I must say it was at this +moment especially that he seemed anxious that his religious convictions +should profit by his artistic wealth; all outside the sphere of rational +demonstration is treated from a lofty standpoint, it is true, and is +freed from the commonplaceness of _the letter_, but we can recognize +none but a poetic and literary merit in it. + +It is to this latter period of his existence that many will doubtless +try to fasten the synthesis of this great personality; but if any one +wishes to gain an idea of Francois Delsarte, of his ability, the extent +of his views, the power of his reason, the graces of his mind, his +artistic perfection, it is in his law, in his science, in the memories +which his lectures and his concerts left in the press of the time, that +such an one must seek to understand him. + + + + +Chapter XIX. + +Delsarte's Last Years. + + + +Before concluding these essays, my homage to the innovating spirit, the +matchless art, the sympathetic and generous nature of Francois Delsarte, +I make a final appeal to my memory, and, first, I invoke afresh the +testimony of others. + +_La Patrie_, June 18, 1857, says in an enthusiastic and lengthy article: + +"His deep knowledge, his incessant labors, his long and fatiguing +studies, have not allowed his life to pass unnoted; but although great +renown, attached in a short space to his name, has sufficed for the +legitimate demands of his pride, it has done nothing, it must be owned, +to provide for the wants which the negligences of genius do not always +foresee." + +Then, apropos of Gluck and other unappreciated composers of genius, the +author of the article, Franck Marie, goes on: + +"With the confidence to which I recently referred, Delsarte has +undertaken the reform. Sure of the success which shall crown his bold +undertaking, he began almost unaided, a movement which was no less than +a revolution. Between two snatches from Romagnesi or Blangini, the +majestic pages of Gluck appeared to the surprise of the auditor. The +heroes of the great master took the place of Thyrcis and Colin, the +songs of Pergolese and Handel, coming from the inspired mouth of the +virtuoso, at once aroused unknown sensations. Lully and Rameau, +rejuvenated in their turn, surprised by beauties hitherto unsuspected." + +Earlier still (in the _Presse_ for December 6, 1840) in an article +signed Viscount Charles Delaunay are these lines: + +"We are, to-night, to hear an admirable singer (Delsarte). He is said to +be the Talma of music; he makes the most of Gluck's songs, as Talma made +the most of Racine's verses. We must hasten, for his enthusiastic +admirers would never pardon us if we arrived in the middle of the air +from 'Alcestis;' and if all we hear be true, we could never be consoled +ourselves, for having missed half of it." + +March 14, 1860, we read in the _L'Independance Beige:_ + +"Among the many concerts announced there is one which is privileged to +attract the notice of the _dilettanti_. We refer to that announced, +almost naively, by the two lines: Concert by Francois Delsarte, Tuesday, +April 4.--Nothing more! These two lines tell everything! Why give a +program? Who is there in the enlightened world who would not be anxious +to be present at a concert given by Delsarte? For, at _his_ concert, he +will sing--he who never sings anywhere, at any price. Observe what I +say: _never anywhere, at any price_, and I do not exaggerate." + +This assertion, which shows the indifference of Delsarte to the +speculative side of art, is not without a certain analogy to the fact +which follows. At one of his concerts he was to be aided by one of the +great celebrities of the time; Rachel was to recite a scene from some +play. + +The actress failed to appear. Some few outcries were heard. Delsarte +considered this a protest: "I beg those who are only here to hear +Mademoiselle Rachel," said he, "to step to the box-office. The price of +their tickets will be returned." Applause followed these words, and the +artist sang in a way to leave no room for regret. + +I quote the following lines from an article published by the "_Journal +des Villes et des Campagnes_" in reference to a lecture given in the +great amphitheatre of the Medical School, March 11, 1867: + +"Should I say lecture? It was rather a chat--simple, and wholly free +from academic forms. In somewhat odd, perhaps, but picturesque and +original form, M. Delsarte told us healthy and strengthening +truths:--'The misery of luxury devours us, but the truth makes no +display; it is modestly bare.'.... 'Art may convince by deceit; then it +blinds. When it carries conviction by contemplating truth, it +enlightens. Art may persuade by evil; then it hardens. When it persuades +by goodness, it perfects.' These are noble words. Orator, poet, +metaphysician, artist, M. Delsarte offers new horizons to the soul." + +The sources whence I draw are not exhausted, but I must pause. + +Thus all have hailed him with applause! Save for some few interested +critics, without distinction of opinions, political, religious or +philosophical, all differences were silenced by this admirable harmony +of the highest aesthetic faculties: the spirit of justice conquered party +spirit. + +But whatever may have been said--and whatever may still be said,--those +who never heard Delsarte can never be made to comprehend him: in him, +feeling, intellect, physical beauty and beauty of expression formed a +magnificent assemblage of natural gifts and of acquired faculties. In +this distinguished personality nature became art, to prove to us that +outside her limits, as outside the limits of science, arbitrary +agreement and the caprices of imagination can create nothing noble and +great, persuasive and touching. + +With this artist there was never anything to betray the _artificiality_ +of a situation; interpreted by him, the creation, the invention, became +real. 'From his lips a cry never seemed a studied effect. It was the +rending of a bosom. A tear seemed to come straight from the heart; his +gesture was conscious of what it had to teach us; in all these +applications "of the sign to the thing," there was never an error, never +a mistake. It was _truth_ adorned by _beauty_. In his singing, roulades +became true bursts of laughter or true sobs. + +Yes, all these things surpass description. + +But what any and every mind may appreciate, is the lovable, loving and +generous nature which invested these transcendant qualities with +simplicity, with charm and with life. Delsarte had a wealth of +sentiment which overflowed upon the humble and the outcast, as well as +upon those favored by nature and by fortune. Without the riches which he +knew not how to gain, disdainful as he was of petty and sinuous ways, he +was benevolent in spite of his moderate means. + +He gave, perhaps, oftener than he accepted payment for them, his time, +his knowledge and his advice to all who needed them. He admitted to his +classes pupils whose beautiful voices were their only wealth, and who +could pay him only in hope. + +We may say of Francois Delsarte, that so sympathetic a nature is rarely +seen in this world of ours, where still prevail--tyrants to be +destroyed--so much antagonism, jealousy and rivalry. If some few of the +weaknesses natural to poor humanity may be laid to his charge, no one +had a greater right to redemption than he. + +He once distressed a fashionable woman by speaking severely to her of +one of her friends. She was much troubled, but out of respect, dared not +complain. Delsarte saw tears in her eyes. He instantly confessed his +fault, and acknowledged, with the utmost frankness, that he spoke from +hearsay, and very lightly. He added that this mistake should be a lesson +to him, and that he would think twice before becoming the echo of evil +report. + +If, touching his science and his art, this master often made assertions +which might seem conceited, aside from those convictions which, to his +mind, had the character of orthodoxy, he used forms of speech of which +judges without authority would never have dreamed. I have heard him say: + +"I cannot be much of a connoisseur in regard to pianists, for I only +like to hear Chopin." + +He was always ready to praise the amateurs who came to him for a +hearing, even if they were the pupils of other masters, finding out +among all their faults, the little acquirements or talent which he could +from their performance; sure, it is true, to correct them if he +afterward became their instructor. + +Honors and fortune seemed within his grasp when he neared his end. +America offered him immense advantages, with a yearly salary of $20,000, +to found a conservatory in one of her cities. A street in Solesmes was +named for him. The King of Hanover sent him, as an artist, the Guelph +Cross, and, as a friend, a photograph of himself and family; it was to +this prince, the patron of art, that Delsarte wrote regarding his +"Episodes of a Revelator:" + +"I am at this moment meditating a book singular for more than one +reason, which will be no less novel in form than in idea.... I know not +what fate is in store for this work, or if I shall succeed in seeing it +in print during my lifetime." + +He did not realize this dream. + +It was at about this same time that Jenny Lind took a long journey to +hear him and to consult him about her art. + +At the period of the war of 1870-1871, Delsarte took refuge at +Solesmes, his native place. He left Paris, with his family, Sept. 10, +1870. Already ill, he lived there sad, and crushed by the misfortunes of +his country. Nevertheless, during this stay, he developed various points +in his method, and there his two daughters wrote at his dictation the +manuscript, "Episodes of a Revelator;" his intellect had lost none of +its vigor, but his nature was shadowed. + +Francois Delsarte returned to Paris March 10, 1871, after his voluntary +exile. He soon yielded to a painful disease, doubtless regretting that +he had not finished his work, but courageous and submissive. + +As far as it lay in my power, my task is done. I have furnished +documents for the history of the arts; I have aroused and tried to fix +attention upon that luminous point which was threatened with oblivion. + +Now I call for the aid of all, that the work of memory may be +accomplished. + +There are still among us many admirers of Francois Delsarte, many hearts +that loved him; a sort of silent freemasonry has been established +between them; when they meet in society, at the theatre, at concerts, +they recognize each other by mutual signs of regret or disappointment. +His name is pronounced, a few words are interchanged. + +"Oh! those were happy days. Will his like ever be seen again?" + +To these I say: Let us unite to assure him his place in the annals which +assert the glories of the artist and the man of science! Why should we +not combine soon to raise a statue on the modest grave where he lies? +Why should we not do for the innovator in the arts what the country +daily does for mechanical inventors and soldiers? + + + + + +Part Fifth. + +The Literary Remains of Francois Delsarte. + +Translated by Abby L. Alger. + + + + +Publisher's Note. + + + +_Part Fifth contains Francois Delsarte's own words._ + +_The manuscripts were purchased of Mme. Delsarte with the understanding +that they were all she had of the literary remains of her illustrious +husband. They are published by her authorisation._ + +_The reader will probably notice that at times Delsarte talks as if +addressing an audience. This he really did, and some of the manuscripts +are headings or draughts of his lectures before learned societies or of +talks at his own private sessions._ + +_These writings are given to the public in the same fragmentary +condition that Delsarte left them in. They were written upon sheets of +paper, scraps of paper, doors, chairs, window casements and other +objects. A literal translation has been made, without a word of comment, +and without any attempt at editing them. The aim has been to let +Delsarte speak for himself, believing that the reader would rather have +Delsarte's own words even in this disjointed, incomplete form--mere +rough notes--than to have them supplemented, annotated, interpreted and +very likely perverted by another person._ + +_Edgar S. Werner._ + + + + +[Illustration: Francois Delsarte.] + + + + +Extract from the Last Letter to the King of Hanover + + + +I am at this moment meditating a book, singular for more than one +reason, whose form will be no less novel than its contents. Your majesty +will read it, I hope, with interest. + +The title of this book is to be: "My Revelatory Episodes, or the History +of an Idea Pursued for Forty Years." + +It will be my task to connect and condense into a single narrative all +the circumstances of my life which had as logical consequences the +numerous discoveries which it has been granted me to follow up, +discoveries which my daily occupations left me neither time nor ability +to set forth as a whole. + +I know not what fate is reserved for this book. I know not whether I +shall succeed in seeing it in print during my lifetime. The minds of men +are, in these evil days, so little disposed to serious ideas, that it +seems to me difficult to find a publisher disposed to publish things so +far removed from the productions of the century. + +But, however it may be, if I succeed in getting at least some part of my +work printed, I crave, sire, your majesty's permission to offer the +dedication to you. This favor I entreat not only as an honor, but also +as an opportunity to pay public homage to all the kindnesses which your +majesty has never ceased to lavish upon me. + +Francois Delsarte. + + + + +Episode I. + + + +The subject in question was a scene in the play of the _Maris-Garcons_. +The young officer, whose part I was studying, met his former landlord +after an absence of several years, and as he owed him some money, he +desired to show himself cordial. + +"Ah! how are you, papa Dugrand?" he says, on encountering him. This +apostrophe is, therefore, a mixture of surprise, soldierly bluntness and +joviality. + +At the first words I was stopped short by an almost insurmountable +difficulty. This difficulty was all in my gesture. Do what I would, my +manner of accosting papa Dugrand was grotesque; and all the lessons that +were given me on that scene, all the pains I took to profit by those +lessons, effected no change. I paced to and fro, saying and resaying the +words: "How are you, papa Dugrand?" Another scholar in my place would +have gone on; but the greater the difficulty seemed to me, the higher my +ardor rose. However, I had my labor for my pains. + +"That's not it," said my instructors. Good heavens! I knew that as well +as they did; but what I did not know was _why_ that was not it. It seems +that my professors were equally ignorant, since they could not tell me +exactly in what my way differed from theirs. + +The specification of that difference would have enlightened me, but all +remained, with them as with me, subject to the uncertain views of a +vague instinct. + +"Do as I do," they said to me, one after the other. + +Zounds! the thing was easier said than done. + +"Put more enthusiasm into your greeting to papa Dugrand!" + +The greater my enthusiasm, the more laughable was my awkwardness. + +"See here; watch my movements carefully!" + +"I do watch, but I don't know how to go to work to imitate you; I don't +seize the details of your gesture." (It varied with every repetition.) +"I don't understand why your examples, with which I am satisfied, lead +to nothing in me." + +"You don't understand! You don't understand! It's very simple! Really, +your wits must have gone wool-gathering, my poor boy, if you are unable +to do what I have shown you so many times. Watch closely now!" + +"I am watching, sir, with all my eyes." + +"You certainly see that the first thing is to stretch out your arms to +your papa Dugrand, since you are so pleased to see him again!" + +I stretched out my arms to their utmost extent; but my body, not +following the movement, still wanted poise, and recoiled into a +grotesque attitude. My teacher, for lack of basic principles to guide +him, was unable to correct my awkwardness; and, vexed at his inability +which he wished to conceal, fell back on blaming my unlucky intellect. + +"Fool," said he finally, "you are hopelessly stupid! Why are you so +embarrassed? Are my examples, then, worthless?" + +"Indeed, sir, your examples are perfect." + +"Well, then, imitate them, imbecile!" + +"I will try, sir." + +In this, as in all preceding lessons, I could give only a blind +imitation, which had not the small merit of being twice alike, even in +my own eyes, for every time I reproduced them I observed marked +variations which the master did not perceive. + +I went to my room, as I had done many times before, with tears in my +eyes and despair in my heart, to renew my useless efforts, vainly +turning and returning in all lights my unfortunate papa Dugrand. + +This cruel ordeal lasted five months without the least progress to +lessen its bitterness. + +Heaven knows with what ardor I cultivated my papa Dugrand! I thought of +him by day, and I dreamed of him by night. I clung to him with all the +frenzy of despair, for I was determined not to be beaten. I was bound to +triumph at any cost, for it was life or death to me. I resolved not to +give up papa Dugrand, even though he should resist me ten years! + +My unceasing repetitions of (to them abominable) papa Dugrand caused my +comrades to call me a bore. In short, I became disagreeable to all +around me. Alas! all this study, all these efforts, could not overcome +the stubborn resistance of papa Dugrand. My teachers were at their wits' +end, and finally refused to give me another lesson on the subject. But +nothing could daunt the ardor of my zeal. + +One day I was measuring the court-yard of the Conservatory, as usual, in +company with papa Dugrand, and repeating my "how are you?" in every +variety of tone, when, all at once, having got as far as: "How are you, +pa--," I stopped short without finishing my phrase. It was interrupted +by the sight of a cousin of mine, whose visit was most unexpected. + +"Ah! how are you?" I said; "how are you, dear cou--" + +Here my words were again interrupted by a surprise; but this surprise +was far greater than that caused by the appearance of my cousin. Struck +by the analogy between this greeting and the unstudied attitude which I +had assumed under the action of a genuine emotion, I cried in a +transport of joy which bewildered my innocent cousin: "Leave me--don't +disturb me--I've got it--wait for me--stay where you are--I've got it." + +"But what is it that you've got?" + +"The dickens, papa Dugrand!" + +Thereupon I vanished like a flash, to run to my mirror and reproduce to +my sight papa Dugrand, Judge of my astonishment: not only my gesture, +until now so persistently awkward, seemed suddenly metamorphosed and +became harmonious and natural; but, stranger yet, it did not correspond +in the least to what had been prescribed. However, it was nature herself +that had revealed this to me. Then, the movements of my body, but a +moment before so discordant in my eyes, had acquired, under the +influence of this gesture inspired from above, an ease and a grace that +filled me with surprise. Without doubt, I now possessed the truth. An +emotion, spontaneously produced and so deeply felt, could not result in +an error. + +This is what had happened under the action of a natural surprise: + +My hands were not extended toward the object of my surprise--not the +least in the world. By an anterior extension of the arms, they were +raised high above my head, which, far from being uplifted with the +exultation which I had hitherto simulated, was lowered to my breast; and +my body, stranger yet, instead of bending toward the attractive object, +bent suddenly backward. + +What a blow nature had given to my masters! What an overthrowal of all +conjectures! My reason, before this sovereign decision, was humbled and +dumbfounded. What arguments could my instructors invoke in the face of +truth itself? + +"What," thought I, "are my masters absolutely ignorant of the laws of +nature?" + +"What, does their reason, as well as mine, know nothing of all this? +How is it that this much-praised reason has inspired me with effects +precisely opposite to those that were prescribed? What is reason? Is it, +then, a blind faculty?" + +Let us first see what these strange phenomena, whose importance I cannot +deny without denying nature herself, signify. + +I was in the midst of these reflections when the recollection of my +cousin came into my mind. + +"Good heavens," thought I; "I had forgotten all about my poor cousin; +what will he think? I will hurry down, and, lest my precious ideas take +flight, send him away, and return to my reflections. + +"Wretch that I am; I think only how to get rid of him, when he has so +enriched me! This is a lesson to me. Poor boy! What opinion will he have +of me? Ah, that is he whom I see stretched out on that stone bench. He +has been patient, indeed. I believe that he is asleep!" + +"No, I am not asleep," said he, rising; "I am furious! Explain, if you +are not too insane to be rational, the extraordinary manner in which you +received me. Do you know that I have been waiting here for you more than +an hour?" + +"Ah, my dear cousin," said I, embracing him warmly, "you do not know +what a service you have rendered me. I embrace you now, my good friend, +for the wonderful lesson you have given me. Without you I should never +have found it out, and, rest assured, I shall never forget it." + +"What? Who? What is it?" + +"Zounds, papa Dugrand! I freely acknowledge that I have learned more +from you in one second than from all my masters during four years." + +"Are you in your right senses?" + +The matter was finally explained. My cousin then told me about my home +and my family; but I must confess that I paid little attention to the +good news that he brought me, so excited and preoeccupied was my mind. +Even then I could not help thinking of the fragility of the heart in its +affections. We soon separated, and I hurried to my room, which seemed to +me on this day-paradise itself. + +I gave myself up to my interrupted course of reflections. + +I had proved the impotence of my own reason, and also that of my +masters. Now, as it was not probable that all my teachers and myself +were more stupid than the rest of mankind--the common herd--I concluded +that reason is blind in the matter of principles, and that all her +instructions would be powerless to guide me in my researches. But, from +another side, it was evident to me that without this reason I could not +utilize a principle. What is human reason, that faculty at once of so +little avail and yet so precious? What role does it play in art? I feel +that this is most important for me to know. + +The answer to this question must spring from the study of the phenomena +of instinct. Let us examine, then, what nature offers us freely. + +If these phenomena are directed by a physiological or a spiritual +necessity, a necessity on which instinct is based, I am forced to admit, +here, a reason that is not my reason; a superior, infallible reason in +the disposition of things; a reason that laughs at my reason, which, in +spite of itself, must submit under pain of falling into absurdity. I +feel that it is only by this absolute submission of my reason that it +can rise to the reason of things, since, of itself, it would know +nothing. [See definition of reason.] + +Let us seek, then, without prejudice, the reason of the things that +interested me, in order that my own reason may be raised to a higher +plane. And when it shall be illumined with the light that must break +upon it from the superior reason, I feel that my reason can generalize +instruction, and will be all-powerful in arranging the conclusions that +it may deduce. I am aware, from the utter impotence of my reason, that +all principles must be accepted humbly, in order to understand the +deductions. My reason does not know how to lead me to principles of +which it is ignorant; but it knows how to guide me back. In other words, +it is a blind person _a priori_, it is a luminary _a posteriori_. Though +it may not know at first, once shown, it readily recognizes; though it +may not divine, it learns by study; though it may not seize, it +retains, masters and generalizes. + +Reason, then, is a reflex power, and as such, if, in a matter of +principle, it recognizes itself as impotent and even absurd _a priori_, +it knows that once in possession of the principle, it borrows from its +light and becomes identified with it--an incomparable power of +generalization. + +Let the reason of the attitudes that I had observed be once shown me, +and my individual reason would possess the Archimedean lever with which +I might open unknown worlds. + +My reason! Ah! I will identify it with the reason of things! +Henceforward this shall be my method, this shall be my law. + +But the reason of things--who will give it to me? Is it not my reason +itself? Oh, mystery! I will follow thee to the depths of thy abyss. Thou +shalt have no more secrets from me, for God has said that He hides only +from the wise and prudent man, but reveals Himself to the simple and to +children. Yes, these things shall be given to me through my reason, if +it will bow itself and be attentive and humble; if it will patiently +await the teachings of a mute and persevering observation; if it will +subordinate itself to the intuitive lights that constitute genius; and, +finally, if it knows how to estimate things other than itself. + +Thus my reason, established, inflamed, consumed by the charm of its +contemplation, will be transfigured in order to be more closely united +to the sovereign reason toward which it ever reaches out. + +The first fruit of my observation consists in making me recognize, in +the facts examined, the proof of a superior and infallible reason, and +then to arm against my individual reason and all its errors. Another +thing yet more strange, but easily comprehended on reflection, is that +to this defiance, this contempt of self, I owe the boldness and the +power of my investigations. + +Let us see, now, from which observations the preceding thoughts are the +direct result. + +In the phrase, "How are you, etc.," my reason dictated this triple, +parallel movement: Advancing the head, and the arms, with the torso on +the fore-leg. Now, the similar phrase, "How are you, dear cousin," +although uttered in a situation identical with that of papa Dugrand, +produced phenomena diametrically opposed to those that my reason had +said were the only ones admissible. Is it not reasonable to suppose that +the sight of an agreeable or loved object will excite in us a genuine +feeling that before we had vainly striven to simulate? Does it not seem +natural to extend the hand to a friend when, with affectionate surprise, +we exclaim: "How are you, dear friend?" And should we ever think of +drawing the body away from the object that attracts us? Finally, does it +not seem that the head should be raised, the better to see that which +charms us? + +Ah, no! All these things, apparently so true and so perfectly clear, +are radically false. Facts prove this beyond a doubt, and with facts +there can be on discussion, no argument. We must admit them _a priori_ +or renounce the truth. Here, as in all questions of principle, _the +greatest act of reason consists in an act of faith_. This is absolutely +undeniable. + +In the phrase, "How are you, papa Dugrand," the arms should be raised, +the head lowered and the torso thrown back, supporting itself on the +back leg. This was indeed a blow to the presumption of my poor reason, +but should it complain? No, for it has gained even from its confusion +most fruitful instruction. + +Let us see. In questioning the effects and the analogy, we shall +doubtless explain their reason of being. Why should the head become +lowered? I do not see all at first sight; but let us generalize the +question and probably it will specify itself. + +When does a man bow his head before the object which strikes his eye? + +When he considers or examines it. + +Does he never consider things with head raised? + +Yes, when he considers them with a feeling of pride. It is thus that he +rules them or exalts them; and also when he questions them with his +glance; in fine, when what he sees astonishes or surprises him. + +This last statement contradicts the example in question, and seems to +condemn it. Not the least in the world. How is this? Thus: when the +astonishment or the surprise is not intense enough to shake the frame, +the head wherein all the surprise is concentrated, is lifted and +exalted. But so soon as that surprise is great enough to raise the +shoulders and the arms, as by a galvanic shock, the head takes an +inverse direction, it sinks and seems anxious to become solid to offer +more resistance to that which might attack it, for the first instinctive +movement in such a case is to guard against any unpleasant event; then +if the head is lifted to look at that which surprises it, it is because +it has no great interest in the recognition of that which it considers; +but as soon as that interest commands it to examine, to recognize, it is +instantly lowered and placed in the state of expectation. + +O, now it becomes clear. + +Now, how does surprise cause us to lift our arms? + +The shoulder, in every man who is agitated or moved, rises in exact +proportion to the intensity of his emotion. + +It thus becomes the thermometer of the emotions. Now, the commotion that +imprints a strong impression, communicates to the arms an ascending +motion which may lift them high above the head. + +But why do not the arms, in an agreeable surprise, tend toward the +object of that surprise? + +The arm should move gently toward the object that it wishes to caress. +Under the rapid action of surprise, therefore, it could only injure or +repel that object. + +This it does in affright. + +But instinct--that marvelous agent of divine reason--in that case turns +the arms away from the object which they might injure by the rapidity of +their sudden extension, and directs them toward heaven, leads them to +rise as if expressing thanks for an unexpected joy, so true it is that +everything is turned to use and is modified under the empire of our +instinct. Certainly, there is no similarity between this and the +superfluous action, the inconsequent movements determined by the working +of a rule without a reason. And this is so because in all that instinct +suggests, it is the Supreme Artist himself who disposes of us and acts +in us, while whatever is suggested by a reason insufficiently inspired +by the contemplation of the divine handiwork is fatally incoherent, for +we thus pretend to substitute ourselves for God, and God thenceforth +leaving us to ourselves, surrenders us to all the discordant effects of +an inconsequential and vain conception. + +It remains to find the justificatory reason for this retroactive +movement of the body, which seems illogical at first sight. + +Let us inquire in what case and under the action of what emotions a man +may shrink from the object which he is considering. + +In the first place, he shrinks back whenever it inspires him with a +feeling of repulsion. He shrinks from it particularly when it inspires +him with fright. This is a matter of course and self-evident. + +In what case does the body take an inverse direction to the object +which attracts it? This we must know before we can explain the +phenomenon in question. + +We move away from the thing which we contemplate to prove to it, +doubtless, the respect and veneration that it inspires. In fact, it +seems a lack of respect to that which we love to approach it too +closely; we move away that we may not profane it by a contact which it +seems might injure its purity. + +Thus the retrograde movement may be the sign of reverence and +salutation, and moreover a token that the object before which it is +produced is more eminent and more worthy of veneration. + +A salutation without moving shows but little reverence, and should only +occur in the case of an equal or an inferior. + +In justification of the actual fact, let me give another observation of +quite another importance. + +When a painter examines his work, he moves away from it perceptibly. He +moves away in proportion to the degree of his admiration of it, so that +the retroactive movement of his body is in equal ratio to the interest +that he feels in contemplating his work, whence it follows that the +painter who examines his work in any other way, reveals his indifference +to it. + +The picture-dealer usually proceeds in quite another manner. He examines +it closely and with a magnifying-glass in hand. Why is this? Because it +is less the picture which he examines than the handiwork of the painter, +the actual work which is the chief object of his survey. + +But why does the artist move away from the work which he contemplates? +The better to seize the total impression. For instance: if it be a full +length portrait and the artist studies it too closely he sees, I will +suppose, the nose of his portrait and nothing more. If he moves a little +farther off he sees a little more, he sees the head; still farther and +he sees both the head and the torso which supports it. Finally, moving +still farther away, he gets a view of the whole and thus seizes its +harmonious relations. This inspection may be called synthetic vision, +and in opposition to this, direct vision, which I assumed before +instinct taught me better, is but short and limited. + +To sum up: If instinct did not lead us to retroact, to examine an object +unexpectedly offered to our gaze, each surprise would expose us to +error. + +Now we must retroact to see an object as a whole and not expose +ourselves to error, and then, too, does not the love which a creature +inspires within us naturally extend to the medium which surrounds him, +and in this way does it not seem as if all that touched him partook of +his life and thus acquired some title to our contemplation? + +Thus my mind, tortured by one preoccupying thought, had, thanks to the +fixed idea which swayed it, found wondrous lessons in the simple +incident of my cousin's return, otherwise so devoid of interest; and I +may truly say that the lesson learned from meeting my cousin taught me +more than all those I had received in the space of three years. In +short, I had learned how vain is advice dictated by the caprice of a +master without a system! I had learned the inanity of individual reason +in a matter of experience. I knew that certain laws existed, that those +laws proceeded from a Supreme Reason, an immense centre of light, of +which each man's reason is but a single ray. I knew without a doubt how +ignorant my masters were of those laws to the study of which I meant to +devote my life. I possessed facts which I saw could be applied in +countless ways, luminous doctrines radiating from the application. + +Thenceforth I had the nucleus of the science I had so vainly asked of my +masters, and I did not despair of formulating it. + +Judge of my joy! The facts I then found myself the possessor of, seemed +to me more valuable than all the treasures of the world. + + + + +Episode II. + + + +Some time later, I again saw my worthy cousin, the innocent cause of all +my joys. He was a medical student, and came to propose a visit to the +dissecting-room. I did not hesitate to accept; the proposal harmonized +with my desire. + +I did not go, as so many go to the morgue, merely to see dead bodies. +No; the curiosity that impelled me, and the avidity with which I pursued +the object of my study, was not to be so easily satisfied. + +Dead bodies only attracted me when they were--if not dissected--at least +flayed. Children break their dolls to see what there is inside; so I, +too, wanted to see what there was in a corpse. It seemed to me that +under the mutilations which the scalpel had inflicted on the body, I +should find the answer to more than one enigma--might solve some of the +secrets of life. + +The prospect of this visit had the charm of a pleasure party to me. I +made it a holiday and awaited the hour with impatience. + +But, on arriving, when I found myself in that place chill and gloomy as +the tomb; when I felt choked by the mephitic gases that arose from this +seat of infection; when I found myself in the presence of a heap of +corpses mutilated by the scalpel, disfigured by putrefaction and +partially devoured by rats and worms; when, beneath tables laden with +these horrible remains, I saw mean tubs filled with human entrails +mingled with limbs and heads severed from their trunks; when I felt +fragments of flesh reduced to the state of filthy mud, clinging to my +feet, my heart throbbed violently, and I was overcome by an +indescribable sense of repulsion. + +"What," I said to myself, "those shapeless and putrifying masses have +lived! They have thought, they have loved! And, who would believe it +from the horror and disgust that they inspire, they have been loved, +cherished, perhaps adored! Ah! if, as some think, the soul is not +immortal, if so many aspirations, so many schemes, so many hopes are to +end here--what is man?" + +But yet more lamentable food for thought was reserved for me: the +spectacle of a ruin yet more profound than those which my eyes could +scarce endure, was to appear before me in all its hideousness. + +In fact, there reigns in these gloomy halls where no tear has ever +fallen, no prayer has ever been heard and no ray of hope has ever +pierced--there reigns something yet colder than death, something more +unwholesome, more nauseous, more deleterious than the putrid miasmas +that infect the air, something more sad to see than the nameless +fragments of extinct life, something more loathsome than those filthy +and disgusting remnants, something more repulsive than those noses eaten +by worms and those empty eyeballs devoured by rats. I mean the cynicism +of the dwellers in that place; I mean their insensibility, their +indifference and calm heedlessness in the presence of such grave +subjects for thought. I mean that lack of perception, that spirit of +negation and revolt of which those wretched men make a boast and which +they obstinately oppose to all religious sentiment, all principle of +tradition or revealed authority. I mean the atheism and ceaseless +mockery with which they invariably meet any generous impulse aroused in +an honest soul by a healthy faith. + +This struck me even more sensibly than the spectacle of death and +dissolution which I have striven to describe. Thus the apparently living +men who haunt this spot are more truly dead than the corpses upon which +they exercise their pretended science. They seemed to me ruins far more +terrible than those of the body, ruins which repelled all hope, being +born of doubt and leading to negation. + +If the mutilated and half-devoured bodies that lay before me, filled me +with horror and disgust, they, at least, left within me a faint +lingering hope surviving death; but the state of blindness of those +souls who have lost consciousness of their being and even the feeling of +their existence, the shadowy abyss into which they allow themselves +complaisantly to glide, the nullity which they adorn with the title of +science,--all this filled me with fright, for I felt the doubt and +despair into which contact with it would inevitably have plunged me, +if, by a special favor, the tone and mimetics, alike self-sufficient and +mocking, of these free-thinkers, as they are now styled, had not, from +the first, inspired me with aversion for them and a salutary hatred of +their doctrine. + +And yet, amidst so many repulsive objects, the faculty of observation to +which I already owed such fruitful remarks was not dormant in me: I had +already asked myself by what evident sign one could recognize a recent +corpse. + +From this point of view, I made a rapid exploration, and I questioned +the various corpses left almost intact; I sought in some portion of the +body, common to all, a form or a sign invariably found in all. + +The hand furnished me that sign and responded fully to my question. + +I noticed, in fact, that in all these corpses the thumb exhibited a +singular attitude--that of adduction or attraction inward, which I had +never noted either in persons waking or sleeping. + +This was a flash of light to me. To be yet more sure of my discovery, I +examined a number of arms severed from the trunk; they showed the same +tendency. I even saw hands severed from the forearm; and, in spite of +this severing of the flexor muscles, the thumb still revealed this same +sign. Such persistence in the same fact could not allow of the shadow of +a doubt: I possessed the sign-language of death, the semeiotics of the +dead. + +I rejoiced, foreseeing the service which this discovery would render +upon a battle-field, for instance, where more than one man risks being +buried alive. I divined, moreover, something of its artistic importance. + +I then questioned my cousin and the other students present in regard to +the symptomatics of death, and I saw with surprise that, not only had +the expression of this phenomenon escaped them hitherto, but that they +had no exact and precise knowledge concerning this grave and important +question. + +There remained, in order to complete my discovery and to deduce useful +results from it, to verify the symptom on the dying man. It was +important for me to know in what degree it might become manifest on the +approach of death. + +My wishes were gratified as if by magic, for I was led from the school +of anatomy to that of clinical medicine. There a house-student, a friend +of my cousin, placed me beside a dying patient, and I examined with the +utmost attention the hands of the unhappy man struggling against the +clutches of inevitable death. + +At first I observed something strange in regard to myself, namely that +the emotion which such a sight would have caused me under any other +circumstances, was absolutely null at this moment; close attention +dulled all feeling in me. I then understood the courage which may +inspire the surgeon in the discharge of his duty; and I drew from this +observation deductions of great artistic interest. + +Now I proved that the thumbs of the dying man contracted at first in +almost imperceptible degree; but as the last struggle drew near, and in +the supreme efforts made by the patient to hold fast to the life which +was slipping from him, I saw all his fingers convulsively directed +toward the palm of the hand, thus hiding the thumbs which had previously +approached that centre of convergence. Death speedily followed this +crisis and soon restored to the fingers a more normal position; but the +contraction of the thumb persistently conformed to my previous +observations. The presence and progress of this phenomenon in the dying +was invariably confirmed by numerous tests which I afterward tried. + +Thus, I had acquired the proof that, not only does the total adduction +of the thumb characterize death, but that this phenomenon indicates the +approach of death in proportion to its intensity. I, therefore, +possessed the fundamental principle of a system of semeiotics hitherto +unknown to physiologists; but this principle, already so full of +interest, must be made profitable to art. + +A multitude of pictures, which in former times I had admired at the +museum, passed before my mind's eye. I recalled battle-scenes where the +dying and the dead are represented; descents from the cross where Christ +is necessarily represented as dead. The idea struck me that I would go +and verify the action of the thumb in these various representations +which the painter's fancy has given us of death. + +It was on a Sunday. The Louvre was on my way to the Conservatory, +where, as is well known, I lived as pensioner. + +I had often traversed the galleries of the Louvre; but now I was armed +with a criterion that would give my criticisms indisputable authority. + +The ignorance of the fact I sought, even among artists of renown, was +not long in being made apparent: all those hands, where they thought +they had depicted death, afforded me nothing but the characteristics of +a more or less peaceful sleep. The correctness of my criticism may be +verified anywhere. + +Thus, the mere discovery of a law sufficed to elevate a poor boy of +fifteen years, destitute of all science and deploring the deep ignorance +in which he had hitherto been left, to the height of an infallible +critic in whom the greatest artists found no mercy. I then understood +all the power, all the fertility given by an acquaintance with the laws +that regulate the nature of man, and in how much even genius itself may +be rendered sterile by ignorance of those laws which simple observation +would make them acquainted with. But, I thought, my discovery is not +complete, for if, thanks to it, I have succeeded in proving that all +these pictures of death are false, true only as representing sleep, it +is, on the other hand, impossible for me to prove in how far those +figures live, in which the painter aims to represent life. I must, +therefore, seek the sign of life to complete my standard of criticism. + +Suddenly, struck with amazement by the dazzling rays of unexpected +light, I asked myself whether the criterion of death would not reveal to +me, by the law of contraries, the thermometer of life. It should _a +priori_--it does! + +Still I felt that it was not here that I might be permitted to +contemplate the vital phenomena attached to the thumb: since death was +so badly rendered here, I had strong reasons for thinking that life was +no better treated. + +I left the museum, then, where I had nothing more to learn; and, to +observe living mimetics of the thumb, I went out on the promenade of the +Tuileries thronged by aristocratic people. I carefully examined the +hands of this crowd, but I was not long in discovering that these +elegant idlers had nothing good to offer. "This class," I said to +myself, "is false from head to foot. They live an artificial, unnatural +life. I see in them only artifice, or an art dishonored by using it to +mask their insincerity and artificiality." + +The happy idea came to me to mingle with mothers, children and nurses. + +"Ah," said I, "in the midst of this throng, laughing and crying at the +same time--singing, shouting, gesticulating, jumping, dancing--here is +life! If the contemplation of this turbulent and affectionate little +world does not instruct me, where shall I find the solution I seek?" + +I did not have to wait long for this solution. + +I noticed nurses who were distracted and indifferent to the children +under their charge; in these the thumb was invariably drawn toward the +fingers, thus offering some resemblance to the adduction which it +manifests in death. With other nurses, more affectionate, the fingers of +the hand that held the child were visibly parted, displaying a thumb +bent outward; but this eccentration rose to still more startling +proportion in those mothers whom I saw each carrying her own child; +there the thumb was bent violently outward, as if to embrace and clasp a +beloved being. + +Thus I was not slow to recognize that the contraction of the thumb is +inversely proportionate, its extension directly proportionate to the +affectional exaltation of the life. "No doubt," I said to myself, "the +thumb is the _thermometer of life_ in its extending progression as it is +of _death_ in its contracting progression." + +Countless examples have confirmed this. I could even, on the spot, form +an idea of the degree of affection felt for the children entrusted to +their care, by the women who passed before my eyes. + +Sometimes I would say: "There is a servile creature whose heart is dead +to that poor child whom she carries like an inert mass; the position of +the thumb drawn toward the fingers renders that indifference evident," +Again it was a woman in whom the sources of life swelled high at the +contact with the dear treasure which she clasped; that woman was surely +the mother of the child she carried, the excessive opening of her thumb +left no room for doubt. + +Thus my diagnostics were invariably confirmed by exact information, and +I could see to what extent the remarks which I had recorded, were +justified. I drew from them most interesting applications for my special +course of study. + +Thus, suppose I had asked the same service from three men, and that each +had answered me with the single word _yes_, accompanied by a gesture of +the hand. If one of them had let his thumb approach the forefinger, it +is plain to me that he would deceive me, for his thumb thus placed tells +me that he is dead to my proposition. + +If I observe in the second a slight abduction of the thumb, I must +believe that he, although indisposed to oblige me, will still do so from +submission. + +But if the third abducts his thumb forcibly from the other fingers, oh! +I can count on him, he will not deceive me! The abduction of his thumb +tells me more in regard to his loyalty than all the assurances which he +might give me. + +Behold, then, an intuition whose correctness the experience of forty +years has not contradicted. + +It is hard to imagine the joy I felt at my discovery produced and +verified in a single day by so many examples, differing so greatly one +from another and of such diverse interest. + +All the emotions of this extraordinary and fertile day had so +over-excited my imagination that I had great difficulty in calming my +poor brain, and far from being able to enjoy the rest which I so much +needed, I was a prey to wakefulness in which the turmoil of my ideas at +one time made me fear that I was going mad. I then felt for the first +time the frailty of the instrument of thought in regard to the faculty +which rules and governs it. + +In brief, I was--thanks to my double discovery--in possession of a law +whose deductions ought to touch the loftiest questions of science and +art,--and I was enabled thenceforth to affirm upon strong and +irrefragable proof that the thumb, in its double sphere of action, is +the thermometer of life as well as of death. + + + + +Episode III. + + + +The day after that which had been so fruitful both in emotions and +discoveries, a thousand recollections tumultuously besieged my mind and +still disturbed me. I saw that if I could not contrive to classify them +in strict order of succession, I should never be able to derive any +practical value from them. I therefore took up link by link the chain of +events of the previous day, but in inverse order. That is, I began my +course where I left off the day before, and thus proceeded toward the +Tuileries to end at the Medical School. + +At the retrospective sight of all that merry, noisy little world, of all +those fat, cheerful nurses, careless and laughing as they were, of those +mothers each so tenderly expansive in contemplation of her child, so +happy in its health and strength, so joyous and so proud of its small +progress, the recollection of a phenomenon which I had not at first +observed struck me with all the force of a vivid actuality. + +I should say, by the way, that it is much more to the strength of my +memory than to the present observation of facts, that I owe these +remarks. Stability is the _sine qua non_ of the things one proposes to +examine, and the memory must possess the singular power of communicating +fixity to fugitive things, permanence to instantaneousness, and +actuality to the past. + +Now, the phenomena of life occurring with the rapidity of lightning can +only be studied retrospectively; that is to say, in the domain of +memory, except to be verified if the attention, free from all other +preoeccupation, allows us to seize them on the wing once more. The remark +suggested to me by memory seemed all the more interesting because it +formed in a new order of facts a flagrant opposition to the opinion +formulated by my masters under the title of theory. Thus nature once +more proved to me that the only point in which I had found them to +agree, rested upon a fundamental error. I have since recognized that it +is thus in the majority of cases, so that one may almost certainly +pronounce erroneous any statement in regard to which all the masters of +art agree. + +This proposition at first seems inexplicable, but its reason is readily +understood by those who know the sway of falsehood over a society +perverted in its opinions as in its tastes; to those who know the +deplorable facility with which error is spread and the tenacity with +which it clings to our poor mind. Error, moreover, owes to our abasement +which it flatters and crushes, the privilege of freedom from +contradiction, and it is only in regard to truth that the minds of men +are divided and contend. + +On retracing in my memory the walks I had taken in the Tuileries, I was +struck by an important fact amidst the phenomena called up: the voice +of the nurse or mother, when she caressed her child, invariably assumed +the double character of tenuity and acuteness. It was in a voice equally +sweet and high-pitched that she uttered such words as these: "How lovely +he is!" ... "Smile a little bit for mamma!" Now this caressing +intonation, impressed by nature upon the upper notes of all these +voices, forms a strange contrast to the direction which all +singing-teachers agree in formulating; a direction which consists in +augmenting the intensity of the sound in direct ratio to its acuteness. +Thus, to them, strange to say, the entire law of vocal shades would +consist in augmenting progressively the sound of the ascending phrase or +scale, and diminishing in the same proportion for a descending scale. +Now, nature, by a thousand irrefutable examples, directs us to do the +contrary, that is, she prescribes a decrease of intensity (in music, +_decrescendo_) proportionate to the ascensional force of the sounds. + +Another blow, I thought, for my masters, or rather I receive it for +them, for they, poor fellows, do not feel it. But how can these +phenomena of nature have escaped them, and by what indescribable +aberration can they direct, under the name of law, a process absolutely +contrary to that so plainly followed by those same phenomena? However, I +added, every supreme error under penalty of being self-evident, must, to +endure, necessarily rest upon some truth or other. Now, on what truth do +so many masters claim to base so manifest an error? This is what we +must discover. + +I was now convinced that caressing, tender and gentle emotions find +their normal expression in _high_ notes. This is beyond all doubt. Thus, +according to the foregoing examples, if we propose to say to a child in +a caressing tone that he is a darling, it would clearly be very bad +taste to bellow the words at him on the pretext that, according to +singing-teachers, the intensity of the sound is augmented in direct +ratio to its acuteness. + +But my memory, as if to confirm this principle, and to show its contrast +with the custom admitted by those gentlemen, suggests to me other +instances derived from the same source. Let a mother be _angry_ with her +child and threaten him with punishment; she instantly assumes a grave +tone which she strives to render powerful and intense. Here, then, on +the one hand (and nature proclaims it), the voice decreases in intensity +in proportion as it rises higher; and, on the other hand, it increases +in proportion as it sinks. This double fact, undeniably established, +constitutes an unanswerable argument against the system in question. But +it is not, therefore, necessarily its radical and absolute refutation. +No, doubtless, whatever may be the significance and the number of the +facts opposed to the directions of those gentlemen, these facts do not +seem to exclude exceptions upon which they may be founded. In fact, I +find in my memory many examples favorable to those masters. Thus, I +have seen many nurses lose their temper and still use the higher tones +of their voice; and, on the other hand, I also remark (and the remark is +important) a certain form, the appellative form, where all the +characters agree without exception in producing the greatest intensity +possible upon the high notes. + +The professors of singing triumph, for they find in this appellative +form, always and necessarily sharp and boisterous at the same time, a +striking confirmation of their system. Here I seem to stray far from the +solution which I thought I already grasped! Far from it; the light is +breaking. Hitherto the examples evoked had only increased my obscurity +by their multiplicity, and I saw nothing in all these remarks but a +series of contradictions whence it seemed impossible to deduce anything +but confusion, into which I found myself plunged. + +But was this confusion really in the facts which I examined, or was it +not rather the creation of my own mind? Now, in the matter of principle, +the weakness of individual reason has been too often proved to me to +allow of my attaching any other cause to the contradictions which block +my path and force me to confess my ignorance. I will not, then, here cry +_mea culpa_ for myself or for others to justify that ignorance or excuse +its confession. It must be acknowledged that God knows what He does, and +His omnipotence is assuredly guiltless of the divagations which an +impotent mind finds it convenient to attribute to it. + +Now, let others in the blindness of proud reason, forget this truth, +which they contest even by opposing to it the quibbles for which +free-thinkers are never at a loss, and to escape the confusion which +they inevitably derive from the ill-studied work of the Supreme Artist. +Let them venture to attribute to it their own darkness. For my part, I +shall not thereby lose my conviction that all which seems to me +disordered or contradictory in the expression of the facts which I +question, is only apparent and only exist in my own brain. + +The profound obscurity into which light plunges us does not prevent the +light from being; and the chaos of ideas which, most generally, results +from our examination of things, proves nothing against the harmonies of +their constitution. + +The pebble virtually contains the spark, but we must know how to produce +it. Thus the phenomena of nature contain luminous lessons, but we must +know how to make them speak; and, what is more, understand their +language. Now, I would add, the spirit of God is inherent in all things; +and this spirit should, at a given moment, flash its splendors in the +eyes of an intellect alike submissive, attentive, patient and suppliant. + +Moreover, does not the Gospel show us the way to fertilize +investigations such as those to which I have given my life? Does it not +say: "Knock and it shall be opened, ask and it shall be given?" Then +what must I do to find my way out of the maze in which my reason +wanders? What must I do in presence of the contradictions which +nevertheless must needs contain a fecund principle? Finally, what must I +do in order to see light break from the very heart of those obscurities +wherein light is lost? + +I will seek anew, night and day, if needful; I will knock incessantly at +the door of the facts which I desire to examine. I will descend into the +secret depths of their organism; there I will patiently question every +phenomenon, every organ, and I will entreat their Author to divulge to +me their purpose, their relations and their very object. + +Well! It is thus that those men, proud of their vain knowledge, were +made dizzy by the splendor of that same light which they thought that +they could subject to their investigations, and the blindness which has +fallen upon them is the punishment which God is content to inflict upon +them in this world. + +Having said this, where was I in my investigations? Ah! it was here. + +The memory of the high inflections invariably affected by the women whom +I had seen on the previous day, caressing their infants, struck me with +the more force that I had learned from my masters that law which had +hitherto ruled uncontested, and now underwent a refutation which +demonstrated the falsity of its applications with a clearness and +minuteness which left no room for doubt. + +The examples in virtue of which I saw the errors of my masters, +unanimously proclaimed the tenuity of the voice to be in proportion to +its acuteness. + +Now this formula is, in letter as in spirit, the reverse of the +prescription upon which, by a caprice whose cause I have just explained, +all the masters of art agree. + +I then perceived that my first affirmations were no better founded than +those of the masters, whose theories I had attacked. The truth of the +matter is that ascending progressions may arise from opposite shades of +meaning. "Therefore," said I to myself, "it is equally inadmissible to +exclude either affirmation." + +The law is necessarily complex: let us bring together, that we may seize +them as a whole, both the contrary expressions and the circumstances +which produce them. + +Vulgar and uncultured people, as well as children, seem to act in regard +to an ascensional vocal progression in an inverse sense to +well-educated, or, at any rate, affectionate persons, such as mothers, +fond nurses, etc. + +No example has, to my knowledge, contradicted this remark. + +But why this difference? What are its motive causes? + +"Ha!" I cried, as if struck by lightning, "I've found the law! As with +the movements of the head, _sensuality_ and _tenderness_, these shades +of the voice may be traced back to two distinct sources: _sentiment_ and +_passion_. It is sentiment which I have seen revealed in mothers; it is +passion which we find in uncultured persons." + +Sentiment and passion, then, proceed in an inverse way. Passion +strengthens the voice in proportion as it rises, and sentiment, on the +contrary, softens it in due ratio to its intensity. It was the confusion +of these different sources which caused a momentary obscurity in my +understanding. + +Let us now formulate boldly the law of vocal proportions. + +Given a rising form, such as the ascending scale, there will be +intensitive progression when this form should express passion (whether +impulse, excitement or vehemence). + +There will be, on the other hand, a diminution of intensity where this +same form should express sentiment. + +This law even seems regulated by a quantitative expression, the form of +which appeared to me like a flash of light. This is the formula: + +Under the influence of sentiment the smallest and most insignificant +things that we may wish to represent proportion themselves to the degree +of acuteness of the sounds, which become softened in proportion as they +rise. + +Under the influence of passion, on the contrary, the voice rises, with a +corresponding brilliancy, in proportion to the magnitude of the thing +it would express, and becomes lowered to express smallness or meanness. +Thus an ascending scale being given, it must be considered as a double +scale of proportion, agreeing alternately with an increasing or +decreasing intensitive progression, increasing under the influence of +passion and decreasing under the influence of sentiment. + +Thus we would not use the same tones for the words: "Oh, what a pretty +little girl!" "What a lovely little flower!" and: "See that nice, fat +peasant woman!" "What a comfortable great house!" + +By such formulae as these I was able to sum up, in clear and didactic +form, the multifarious examples suggested by my memory, startled at +first by their contradiction and then delighted at the light thrown upon +them by these very formulae, due, not to my own merit, but to the favor +of Him who holds in His hand the source of all truth. + +Thus, I feel and readily acknowledge, that the discovery upon which I am +at work is not my own work; and, therefore, I pray for it as for a +signal favor. Nor can it be otherwise with any man. It is, therefore, +always an impertinence for any man to attribute to his personal genius, +vast as he may suppose it to be, the discovery of any law. God alone +discloses His treasures, and, as I have experienced, He only reveals +them to the eye of reason raised by humility to contemplation. + +Man seeks that which he desires to know with attention and patience +proportioned to the ardor of his desire. The attention of which his mind +is capable and the constancy of will brought to bear in pursuit of his +research, constitute his only mark of distinction. Herein lies all the +merit to which he can lay just claim. But at a moment absolutely +unforeseen, God reveals to him that which he seeks, I should say that +for which he does not seek, and for his due edification it is generally +the opposite of what he seeks which is revealed to him. This is not to +be contested. Thus the things discovered to him cause him such surprise +that he never fails to beat his brow when he sees them, as if to prove +that he is not the author of their discovery, and that he was far from +foreseeing anything like what has been shown to him; and that there may +be no possible mistake in the interpretation of the gesture, he +invariably accompanies it by the phrase: "What a fool I am!" All will +admit that if a man really believed himself the author of his discovery, +he takes a very inopportune time to declare his impotence and his +stupidity so distinctly. But taking none too kindly his avowal which, +moreover, is but the proclamation of an indisputable truth, let us +rather say that this act of humility is forced from him by the greatness +of his surprise. + +Happy, very happy is the man whose pride does not instantly react +against the humble and truthful confession of his folly. + +Ever since I made these remarks I have asked myself the cause of the +sterility of the learned bodies, and I do not hesitate to say to-day, +that it is because scientists refuse to declare themselves fools, and it +is to this lack of sincerity that they doubtless owe the punishment that +paralyzes their genius. + +How can these men fail to take seriously the little knowledge to which +they cling and their fortune and renown; how can these wise men, to whom +the world pays incessant homage, consent meekly to confess the infirmity +of their reason? They feign, on the contrary, even when crushed beneath +the Divine splendor, an air of great importance; and when the Omnipotent +in His mercy deigns to bend to their low level, to lay open to them the +treasures of His sovereign thought, do you think that in token of the +sacred and respectful admiration which they owe in return for such +goodness, they will prostrate themselves like the Seraphim whose +knowledge assuredly equals the few notions which they adorn with that +title? Ah! far from it. You little know these scientists, when you +impute to them an act which they would qualify as contemptible and would +declare unworthy of a free-thinker! They stand erect, on the contrary, +with head held high, insolently laying claim, by virtue of I know not +what conquest of the human mind, to judge the eternal and immovable +light of the Divine Reason. + + + + +Episode IV. + + + +My retrospective journey from this point of departure seemed destined to +be even more full of observations than that which preceded it. My day +had been so full of work, so fruitful in unexpected discoveries, that it +was absolutely necessary for me to stop at this first station. + +After a few days of rest I naturally resumed my walk, toward the garden +of the Tuileries, whither I was led by an instinct full of promise. +There, in fact, fresh re-appearances were not long in adding light to +that with which I was still dazzled! + +I remember that I had been vaguely struck by the contemplative attitude +of a mother toward her child. The reason why this attitude struck me +even in the midst of my absorption in search of notes relative to the +thumb, was, first, because this attitude was a contrast to that assumed +by most of the nurses under the action of the same feeling; and, in the +next place, it seemed to deny the contemplative forms which I had +deduced from my first discovery, and which rested upon such motives as +the following: That a painter admires his work by throwing back his +head. Hitherto it had seemed to me clearly proven that admiring +contemplation entailed this retroaction. I considered this, it will be +remembered, the characteristic feature of a law, and that for the +reasons which I had previously given. Well! were all these reasons, +plausible as they appeared, to be contradicted by a single fact still +present to my memory, in spite of the observations in the midst of which +it arose, and which, moreover, should have been more than enough to +efface it? Strange to say, this fact vaguely noted amidst preoeccupations +to which it seemed absolutely foreign, had remained persistently in my +mind! Now this fact, becoming by a reflex act the object of serious +thought, resulted from this observation: + +That a woman, as she contemplated her child, bent her head toward it. + +Searching in my memory, I found several similar instances completely +confirming this principle, opposed to my observations, that +contemplation tends to push the head toward the object contemplated. + +And yet this example does not affect those to which I had at first paid +exclusive heed. Here, as in the preceding remarks, the law is complex, +and it must first be recognized that contemplation or simple admiration +is produced alike by the retreat or advance of the head. This double +action being admitted, it remained to decide how far they might be +mingled in a single situation; that is to say, to what point these two +inverse inclinations might be produced indifferently; and if, as I must +_a priori_ suppose, these inclinations recognized two distinct causes. +If so, what were those reasons? The question was not easy of solution, +and yet it must be decided definitely. I could enjoy no peace until I +had answered it. The doubt instilled into my mind by this new +contradiction was intolerable. I set boldly to work, determined not to +pause until I had found a final solution. I called to mind all my +memories having any bearing on this double phenomenon. These memories +were far more numerous and far more striking than I had dared to hope. +What a magnificent thing are those mysterious reservoirs whence, at a +given moment, flow thousands of pictures which until then we knew not +that we possessed? A whole world of prostrate believers adoringly +turning their heads toward the object of their worship, appeared before +me to support the example afforded me by the mother lovingly bending her +head toward the child at which she gazed. + +Among other instances, I saw a venerable master affectionately bending +his head toward the being to whom he thus seemed with touching +predilection to give luminous instructions. + +I saw lovers gazing at their loved one with this attractive pose of the +head, their tenderness seeming thus to be eloquently affirmed. But, side +by side with these examples, I saw others totally opposite; thus, other +lovers presented themselves to my mind's eye with very different aspect, +and their number seemed far greater than that of the other. These lovers +delighted to gaze at their sweetheart as painters study their work, with +head thrown back. I saw mothers and many nurses gazing at children with +this same retroactive movement which stamped their gaze with a certain +expression of satisfied pride, generally to be noted in those who +carried a nursling distinguished for its beauty or the elegance of its +clothes. + +Two words, as important as they are opposite in the sense that they +determine, are disengaged: _sensuality_ and _tenderness_. + +Such are the sources to which we must refer the attitudes assumed by the +head on sight of the object considered. + +Between these inverse attitudes a third should naturally be placed. It +was easy for me to characterize this latter: I called it _colorless_ or +_indifferent_. + +It is entirely natural that the man who considers an object from the +point of view of the mere examination which his mind makes of it, should +simply look it in the face until that object had aroused the innermost +movements of the soul or of the life. + +Whence it invariably follows that from the incitement of these +movements, the head is bent to the side of the soul or to the side of +the senses. + +"Which is, then, for the head, the side of the soul," you will ask me, +"and which the side of the senses?" + +I will reply simply, to cut short the useless description of the many +drawbacks that preceded the clear demonstration that I finally +established, that the side of the heart is the objective side that +occupies the interlocutor, and that the side of the senses is the +subjective, personal side toward which the head retroacts; that is to +say, the side opposed to the object under examination. Thus, when the +head moves in an inverse direction from the object that it examines, it +is from a selfish standpoint; and when the examiner bends toward the +object it is in contempt of self that the object is viewed. + +These are the two related looks that I have named Sensuality and +Tenderness, for these reasons: + +The former of these glances is addressed exclusively to the form of its +object; it caresses the periphery of it, and, the better to appreciate +its totality, moves away from it. This is what occurs in the retroactive +attitude of the head. + +The other look, on the contrary, aims at the heart of things without +pausing on the surface, disdaining all that is external. It strives to +penetrate the object to its very essence, as if to unite itself more +closely within it; it has the expression of confidence, of faith--in a +word, the giving up of self. + +Thus, when a man presses a woman's hand, we may affirm one of three +things from the attitude which his head assumes: + +1. That he does not love her, if his head remains straight or simply +bent in facing her. + +2. That he loves her tenderly, if he bows his head obliquely toward her. + +3. Finally, that he loves her sensually--that is to say, solely for her +physical qualities--if, on looking at her, he moves his head toward the +shoulder which is opposite her. + +Such are, in brief, the three attitudes of the head and the eyes, which +I have named _colorless, affectional, sensual_. + +Henceforth I possessed completely the law of the inclinations of the +head, a law which derives from its very complexity the fertility of its +applications. + + + + +Episode V. + +Semeiotics of The Shoulder. + + + +When I found myself the possessor of this law whose triple formula is of +a nature to defy every objection, I sought to appropriate to myself, +before the mirror, all its applications. + +But there arose yet another difficulty that I had not foreseen. + +I, indeed, reproduced, and at the proper time, the movements of the head +already described, but they remained awkward and lifeless. + +What was the cause of this awkwardness and coldness of which I was well +aware, but which I could not help? I strove unceasingly to reproduce the +examples that lived so vividly in my memory, but all these laborious +reproductions, these efforts from memory, were futile. The stubbornness +of an indomitable will, however, led only to a negative result. I was +vexed at an awkwardness the reason of which I could not find. + +One day, almost discouraged by the lack of success in my researches, I +sorrowfully said to myself: "What shall I do? Alas! the more I labor, +the less clearly I see; am I incapable of reproducing nature--is the +difficulty that holds me back invincible?" + +As I uttered the preceding words, I noticed that, under the sway of the +grief which dictated them, my shoulders were strangely lifted up, and, +as then I found myself in the attitude which I had previously tried to +render natural, the unexpected movement of my shoulders, joined to that +attitude, suddenly impressed it with an expression of life so just, so +true, so surprising, that I was overwhelmed. + +Thus I gained possession of an aesthetic fact of the first rank, and I +was as amazed at my discovery as I was surprised that I had not observed +sooner a self-evident movement, whose powerful and expressive character +seems fundamentally connected with the actions of the head. "How stupid +I am," I thought, "not to have remarked so evident an action of an agent +which leads the head itself. How could I let this movement of the +shoulder escape me!" And I revelled in the pleasurable triumph of +reproducing and contemplating expressions which I could not have +rendered previously without dishonoring them. Thenceforth I understood +without a doubt all the importance of this latest discovery. But this +importance, clearly proven as it was, was not yet fully explained to me. + +Thus, I knew henceforth the necessity for movements of the shoulder, but +I was still ignorant of their motive cause; and I was reluctant to be +longer ignorant. I foresaw a concomitance of relations between this +movement of the shoulder and the expression of the head. + +The shoulder, then, became, in its turn, the chief object of my +studies, and I gained therefrom clear and indisputable principles. + +In this way I managed to form the bases of my discovery. The mothers +whom I had seen bending their heads over the children on whom they +gazed, thus revealed something unreserved and touching; and in my +ignorance the important part which the shoulder played in the attitude +had escaped me. It was indeed from the action of the shoulder, even more +than from the inclination of the head, that this expression of +tenderness, so touching to behold, proceeded. + +The head, in such a case, accordingly receives its greatest sum of +expression from the shoulder. That is a fact to be noted. + +For instance, let a head--however loving we may suppose it to be +intrinsically--bend toward the object of its contemplation, and let the +shoulder not be lifted, that head will plainly lack an air of vitality +and warm sincerity without which it cannot persuade us. It will lack +that irresistible character of intensity which, in itself, supposes +love; in brief, it will be lacking in love. + +"Then," I said, "I have found in the shoulder the agent, the centre of +the manifestations of love." + +Yes, if in pressing a friend's hand I raise my shoulders, I shall +thereby eloquently demonstrate all the affection with which he inspires +me. + +If in looking at a woman I clasp my hands and at the same time raise my +shoulders, there is no longer any doubt as to the feeling that attaches +me to her, and instinctively every one will say: "He loves her truly;" +but if, preserving the same attitude in the same situation, the same +facial expression, the same movement of the head, I happen to withhold +the action of the shoulder, instantly all love will disappear from my +expression and nothing will be left to that attitude but a sentiment +vague and cold as falsehood. + +Once more, then, the inclinations of the head whose law I have +previously determined, seem, to owe to the shoulder alone the +affectionate meaning that they express; but the head--as I have +said,--in its double inclination, characterizes two kinds of love (or +rather two sources of love) which are not to be confounded: _sensuality_ +and _tenderness_. + +What part, then, does the shoulder play in regard to this distinction? +It will be curious to determine this point. Let us see! + +The part played by the shoulder is considerable in tenderness; that is +not to be doubted. But its role seems to be less in sensuality. Thus the +shoulder generally rises less when the head retroacts than when it +advances toward the object of its contemplation. Why is this? Is it +because sensuality pertains less to love than tenderness? Has it not the +same title to rank as one of the aspects of love? In a word, why is less +demand made upon the shoulder in one instance than in the other? + +If I do not mistake, the reason is this: love gives more than it lays +claim to receive, while sensuality asks continually and seeks merely the +possession of its object. Love understands and loves sacrifice; it +pervades the whole being; it inspires it to bestow its entire self, and +that gift admits of no reserve. + +Sensuality, on the contrary, is essentially selfish; far from giving +itself, it pretends to appropriate and absorb in itself the object of +its desires. Sensuality is, so to speak, but a distorted, narrow and +localized love; the body is the object of its contemplation, and it +[sensuality] sees nothing beyond the possession of the object. + +But love does not stop at the body--that would be its tomb; it crosses +the limits of it, to rise to the soul in which it is utterly absorbed. +Thus love transfigures the being by consuming its personality, whence it +comes that he who loves, no longer lives his own life, but the life of +the being whom he contemplates. + +Let the vulgar continually confound these two things in their +manifestations; let lovers themselves fail to distinguish accurately +between tenderness and sensuality; for me this confusion is henceforth +forbidden, and I can from the first glance boldly separate them, thanks +to the lessons taught me by the inflections of the head. + +But let us return to the shoulder. Am I not right in saying that in this +agent I possess the organic criterion of love? Yes, I maintain it. But +let us follow the action of this organ in its various manifestations. + +One thing at first amazed me, in view of the part which I felt I must +assign to the shoulder. Whence comes, if the designation of that role be +in conformity with truth,--whence comes the activity so apparent, so +vehement indeed, which the shoulder displays in a movement of anger or +of mere impatience? Whence comes its perfect concomitance or relations +with moral or physical pain? Lastly, whence comes that universal +application which I just now perceived clearly and which, until now, I +had confined to such narrow limits? But if the elevation of the shoulder +is not the criterion of love, if, on the contrary, that movement is met +with again just as correctly associated with the most contradictory +impressions, what can it mean? + +Here I was, once again, thrown far back from the discovery that I was so +sure I possessed. + +It is very fortunate that I have been neither an author nor a +journalist, and I bless to-day that distrust of self which has saved me +from the mania of writing. I highly congratulate myself on the spirit of +prudence that has invariably made me reply to whoever pressed me to +publish: "When I am old." + +Age has come, and it has found me even less disposed to publicity than +ever. This work owes its existence solely to the earnest and continual +solicitations, the sometimes severe demands of deep friendship and +devotion, which it was impossible for me to refuse. This book is not, +then, a spontaneous enterprise on my part; it is the work of friendship. +And if this book has any measure of success, if it accomplishes any +good, it may be traced back to and acknowledged as rising from the +never-failing encouragement of my old friend Brucker. + +Let us return, now, to where I was in my researches. + +It remains, then, for me to specify the true meaning of the shoulders in +the expression of the passions. Their intervention in all forms of +emotion being proven to me, it would seem that the very frequency of +that intervention should exclude the possibility of assigning any +particular role to this agent. + +Fancy my perplexity, placed face to face with an organ infinitely +expressive, but whose physiognomy is mingled promiscuously with every +sentiment and every passion! + +How, then, are we to characterize the shoulder? What name shall we give +to its dominant role? How specify that supreme power outside of which +all expression ceases to exist? Is it allowable for me to call it +_neutral?_ And if the universal application of that agent apparently +authorizes that appellation up to a certain point, whence comes its +importance? Whence the empire that it exerts over the aspect of its +congeners? Is it admissible for a neutral agent to exert so much action +upon the totality of the forces to which it is allied? + +Assuredly not! The word _neutral_, moreover, excludes the idea of +action, and even more strongly that of predominant action which belongs +surpassingly to the shoulder. Truly, here was a treasure-house for me. +It was, as they say, "to give speech to the dogs." + +This new difficulty only increased the determination with which I had +pursued my researches; and with the confidence arising from the fact +that no obstacle had yet conquered me, I said to myself that the +solution of this problem would be due to my perseverance. I could not, +in view of the importance of its expression, consider the shoulder as a +neutral agent. After spending a long time in vain study, I was on the +point of giving up as insoluble the problem that I had set myself. Let +us see by what simple means I obtained the solution. How much trouble +and pains one will sometimes give himself in looking for spectacles that +are on his nose! + +The shoulder, in every man who is moved or agitated, rises sensibly, his +will playing no part in the ascension; the successive developments of +this involuntary act are in absolute proportion to the passional +intensity whose numeric measure they form; the shoulder may, therefore, +be fitly called _the thermometer of the sensibility_. + +"Thermometer," I cried, "there is an excellent word, strikingly correct. +But have I not, in pronouncing it, simply and naturally characterized +the role that I am striving to define? + +"Thermometer of the sensibility! Is not that the solution of the +enigma? Thermometer; yes, that is it! That is the very expression to +give to my researches, an expression without which nothing could be +explained. That, indeed, answers to everything, and makes the +difficulties against which my reason struggled disappear." + +The shoulder is, in fact, precisely the thermometer of passion as well +as of sensibility; it is the measure of their vehemence; it determines +their degree of heat and intensity. However, it does not specify their +nature, and it is certainly in an analogous sense that the instrument +known by the name of thermometer marks the degrees of heat and cold +without specifying the nature of the weather--a specification belonging +to another instrument, the complement of the thermometer--the barometer. +The parallel is absolute, perfect. + +Let us examine this point: + +The shoulder, in rising, is not called upon to teach us whether the +source of the heat or vehemence which mark it, arise from love or hate. +This specification does not lie within its province; it belongs entirely +to the face, which is to the shoulder what the barometer is to the +thermometer. And it is thus that the shoulder and the face enter into +harmonious relations to complete the passional sense which they have to +determine mutually and by distinct paths. + +Now, the shoulder is limited, in its proper domain, to proving, first, +that the emotion expressed by the face _is_ or _is not_ true. Then, +afterward, to marking, with mathematical rigor, the degree of intensity +to which that emotion rises. + +After having finished the formulation of this principle I exultingly +exclaimed: + +"God be praised! I now possess the semeiotics of the shoulder, and +thereby I hold the criterion of the passional or sensitive powers--a +criterion outside of which no truth can be demonstrated in the sphere of +sentiment or feeling." + +Thus, a word suggested by chance became my Archimedean lever. The word, +like a flash of light, flooded my mind with radiance which suddenly +revealed to me the numerous and fertile applications of a principle +hitherto unknown. Yes, I henceforth possessed an aesthetic principle of +the utmost value, the consequences of which, I could readily see, were +as novel as they were profound. + + + + +Episode VI. + +First Objection to the Thermometric System of the Shoulder. + + + +The innate aesthetic principle of the semeiotics of the shoulder was at +last clearly demonstrated to me, and no more doubt or uncertainty upon +that point seemed to me possible. I might safely formulate the following +rule: + +When a man says to you in interjective form: "I love, I suffer, I am +delighted," etc., do not believe him if his shoulder remains in a normal +attitude. Do not believe him, no matter what expression his face may +assume. Do not believe him--he lies; his shoulder denies his words. That +negative form betrays his thoughts; and, if he expresses ardent passion, +you have merely to consult the thermometer which, all unwittingly, he +himself offers to your inspection. See, it marks zero! therefore he +lies; doubt it not, he lies! but his shoulder does not lie. He amiably +puts it at your disposal--read, read at your ease; it bears inscribed in +living letters his deceit and craft. It can never cheat you, and when +the gentleman accosts you with such words as: "Dear friend! how charmed +I am to see you!" say to yourself as you look at his thermometer: +"Traitor, your delight as well as your friendship is below zero! You try +to deceive me, but in vain; henceforth you have no secrets from me, +clumsy forger! You do not see, as with one hand you proffer the false +jewel which you would sell me, that the other at the same instant gives +me the touch-stone which reveals your tricks; your right hand thus +incessantly exposing to me the secrets of your left hand!" + +What an admirable thing is this mechanism of the body working in the +service of the soul! With what precision it reveals the least movements +of its master! What magnificent things it lays bare! Voluntarily or +involuntarily, everything leads to truth under the action of the +translucid light which breaks forth in the working of each of our +organs! + +And yet, well founded as the preceding theory may be, solid as are the +bases upon which it rests, is it free from any and all objection? May +not some oppose to it, for instance, the impassibility of men and women +of the world, among whom it would be difficult to find the movements of +the shoulder, which such people deem so ungraceful in others as to +deprive them of all desire to imitate them? Now what conclusions are we +to draw from the absence of this movement in those who are known as +aristocrats? Must we tax them all indiscriminately with falsehood? + +Here I might, and without hesitation, answer by the affirmation, Yes, +all aristocrats lie! The medium which they constitute and which is +called _the world_ is nothing but a perpetual lie. Civility itself +rests upon a lie. Nay, more, it insists upon deceit as a duty. Heavens, +what would become of the world if truth were a necessity! Quarter of an +hour of sincerity would be intolerable; ... the inhabitants would slay +each other! + +In the world people display their feelings, even the most avowable, with +great reserve; this prudence, which paralyzes the very springs of +sensitive life, seems as if it needs must neutralize the role which I +attribute to the shoulder; and yet, in spite of contrary appearances, I +deny that the thermometric action of the shoulder undergoes the least +alteration in the aristocratic world; I deny explicitly that this agent +proves less expressive and, above all, less truthful there than in the +street; and that for the following reasons: + +In the first place, we cannot reasonably suppose very ardent passions in +men who are enervated by the perpetual influence of an artificial +society. Now, here the stationary condition of the thermometer is +explained: it proves absolutely nothing against the truth of the +reports; it remains at zero to mark a colorless medium totally destitute +of vitality. The shoulder would violate its law if it were to rise under +such circumstances. It is, therefore, perfectly in character here; it +should be, _a priori_, impassive in a negative society. + +But is the shoulder really impassive in that medium which we call +society? + +_Yes_, in the eyes of people who are not of it, and who, from that very +fact, cannot understand the value of certain expressions which are +almost imperceptible; _no_, to those who constitute that special world +of relations called superior. + +How many things, in fact, the shoulder reveals by those slight changes +unseen by ignorant persons, and expressing particularly the delicate and +exquisite charm of spiritual relations! It is the law of infinitesimal +quantities, of those scarcely perceptible movements or sensations that +characterize the finer relations of people of culture, of eloquence, of +grace, and of refined tastes. + +It should be borne in mind, as I have already shown, that the +manifestations of the shoulder in the street by no means accord with +those of people ruled by the fashions of society. There is very little +harmony or relation between the exquisite joints of a refined nature, +the swift and flexible movements of an elegant organism, and the +evolutions clumsily executed by torpid limbs, ankylosed, as it were, by +labor at once hard and constant + +This observation logically led me to an important conclusion, namely, +that the value or importance of a standard is deduced expressly from the +nature of the being, or the object to which it is applied. Of what +value, for instance, could a millimeter be when added to the stature of +a man? That same millimeter, however, would acquire a colossal value +when added to the proportions of a flea. It would form a striking +monstrosity. + +An imperceptible fraction may, in certain cases, constitute an +enormity. Again, the value of a standard, not the specific or numerical +value which is an invariable basis, but the relative or moral value, +must be deduced from the importance of the medium to which it applies. +For instance: Five hundred men constitute a very good army in the midst +of a peaceful population; and this handful of soldiers exerts, indeed, +more moral power than the multitudes restrained under their government. +A smile coming from the lips of a sovereign leaves in the soul that it +penetrates a far deeper trace than all the demonstrations of a common or +vulgar crowd. The traveler, detained by the winter in the polar regions, +finds that he is warm and takes pleasure in the discovery, though at the +time the thermometer marks 10 degrees below zero. + +The atmosphere of a cave that we find warm in winter seems to us, +without being modified in the least, of an icy coldness in summer. + +The large quantity of alcohol that laboring people consume would ruin +the health of less strongly constituted persons. + +To conclude, then, these examples prove beyond dispute that one can only +appreciate the importance of an act when he takes into account the +nature of its agents, and that without these considerations he will be +obliged to give up immediately all serious estimation of these +manifestations. + +Here I touch, it seems to me, a law of harmony, a curious law that I +wish to examine incidentally. I shall, then, occupy myself with the +objections that may, perhaps, be opposed even yet to the thermometric +system of the shoulder + + + + +Episode VII. + + + +The foregoing study has, as it seems, established an important fact, +namely, that among the various classes of men which make up society +there is no common standard of measure. It, therefore, appears +impossible, at first sight, to establish a harmonious scale of relations +between so many various circles. + +However, if these circles, whatever their differences may be, were +specified and sufficiently known; if I could, for example, judge _a +priori_ of the style and mode of activity adapted to each class of +society; in a word, if it were possible for me to characterize each of +its classes dynamically, should I not succeed in ascertaining a +proportionate gamut or scale among them, and thereby should I not be +enabled securely to apply the principles established above? + +Let us say, to begin with, that if each social sphere affects a +determinate character in the intensity of its passional evolutions, it +has, in consequence, its special gamut; then, as many spheres as there +are, so many gamuts must there be. Now, all these gamuts taken together +must form a scale of proportion in virtue of which they may be +characterized. That is obvious. But the difficulty is to prove the mode +or first tonality of these gamuts. How are we to set to work? + +I cut short, for the clearness of my demonstrations, the recital of the +events through which I have been obliged to pass before realizing even +my earliest observations. I shall set forth, plainly and simply, the +final result of my studies; and it will be seen, in spite of the many +difficulties that may arise, with what absolute certainty the principles +I have established can be applied. + + + + +What I Propose. + + + +I propose a great, a worthy subject for your study. At those oratorical +sessions which are rapidly increasing under the name of conferences, +sessions at which so many distinguished men take the floor, you have +been told in elegant terms, often in eloquent terms, of the sciences, of +their application and of their progress. You have listened to discourses +upon art, its primitive purity, its supposed principles, its decadence, +its renaissance, its multifarious changes; its masterpieces have been +pointed out to you; they have been described to you; you have, in some +degree, been made familiar with their origin. You have heard the story +of the lives of the great artists. They have been shown to you in their +weakness and in their strength. The times and manners amid which they +lived have been painted for you in more or less imaginary colors. I +propose something better than all this. + +I offer you a work superior even to those sciences which have been +described to you; superior to all which the genius of a Michael Angelo +or a Raphael could conceive; a work in comparison with which all the +magnificences of science and of art must pale. I propose that you should +contemplate yourselves! + +Nothing is so unfamiliar to man as himself. I will, therefore, as I have +promised, show you the marvels which God himself has placed within you, +in the transluminous obscurities of your being. + +Now, if there be more science, more genius in the production of a violet +or a worm than is revealed by all the combined powers of science and of +art, how much admiration should we not feel at the sight of all the +splendors which God has spread broadcast in the privileged work wherein +He was pleased to reveal his own image! But a light inaccessible to the +vain demonstrations of your sciences constantly removes this mysterious +image from your gaze. As light eludes the eye which it illumines, if we +would seize and contemplate it, we must have two things: we must have a +special and a supernatural object. There must be light within you, and +it must pierce the depths wherein that image dwells. + +Here there is no question of the light which shines to show us the +things of the natural world by which we are surrounded. Nor is it a +question of the intellectual light sometimes visible to scholars. I +speak of that light which is hidden from those very scholars because +their eyes could not bear its lustre, a transluminous light which fills +the soul with beatific visions, and of which it is said that God wraps +it about Him as a mantle. + +Now, three worlds, of the nature of which man partakes, are offered for +our contemplation. These three worlds are: The _natural_, the +_intellectual_, and the _supernatural_. + +Three sorts of vision have been given man to initiate him into these +three worlds. These different forms of vision are: _Direct, inward_ and +_higher_. + +By means of direct vision man is made acquainted with the world of +nature; by inward vision he is shown the world of science; and, lastly, +by higher vision he sees the world of grace. But as there can be no +vision where no light penetrates, it follows that between the three +kinds of vision described and the corresponding worlds there must +intervene three sorts of light, in order to produce the triple vision +necessary for the knowledge of man: + +Direct vision--sidereal light--natural world. + +Inward vision--the light of tradition--the world of science. + +Higher vision--revealed light--supernatural world. + +Such are the conditions necessary for the understanding of my +demonstrations. + +Having prepared your eye for the vision of these three worlds which +serve as the bases of art, I shall, then, reveal to you their splendors; +happy if, thus, I can help to make you bless the author of so many +marvels, and communicate to you those keen joys which perpetuate in the +soul a fountain of youth which can never be quenched by the infirmities +of the body. + + + + +The Beautiful + + + +Beauty is that reason itself which presides at the creation of things. +It is the invincible power which attracts and subjugates us in it. The +Beautiful admits of three characters, which we distinguish under the +titles of _ideal_ beauty, _moral_ beauty, _plastic_ beauty. + +Plato defined ideal beauty when he said: "Beauty is the splendor of +truth." St. Augustine said of moral beauty that it is the splendor of +goodness. I define plastic beauty as the plastic manifestation of truth +and goodness. + +In so far as it responds to the particular type in accordance with which +it is formed, every creature bears the crown of beauty; because in its +correspondence with its type it manifests, according to its capacity, +the Divine Being who created it. + +The Beautiful is an absolute principle; it is the essence of beings, the +life of their functions. Beauty is a consequence, an effect, a form of +the Beautiful. It results from the attractions of the form. The +attraction of the form comes from the nobility of the function. This is +why all functions not being equally noble, all do not admit of beauty. +The characteristic of beauty is to be amiable; consequently a thing is +ugly only in view of the amiable things which we seek in beauty. + +Beauty is to the Beautiful what the individual reason is to the Divine +reason of things. Human reason is but one ray of a vast orb called the +reason of things,--Divine reason. Let us say of beauty what we have said +of the individual reason, and we shall understand how the Beautiful is +to be distintinguished from it. Beauty is one ray of the Beautiful. + +Beauty is the expression of the object for which the thing is. + +It is the stamp of its functions. It is the transparency of the +aptitudes of the agent and the radiance of the faculties which it +governs. It is the order which results from the dynamic disposition of +forms operated in view of the function. + +Beauty is based on three conditions: Clearness, integrity and due +proportion. + +Beauty exists in the practical knowledge of the tendencies affected by +the form in view of the object for which it is; in view, above all, of +the action which it exerts upon the beings with whom it is in relation. +Thus a thing is not only beautiful from the transparency of its +aptitudes, it is especially so from the beauty of the acts which its use +determines abroad. This is the reason why beauty is to all creatures an +object of appetency, of desire and of love. + + + + +Trinity. + + + +There is a mystery full of deep instruction, a mystery whose divine +obscurities surpass all the light whose splendors dazzle us by their +supernatural clarity, and which, as a great saint once said, radiates +splendid beams and floods with the glory of its fires those spirits who +are blind with the blindness of holiness. This mystery, outside of which +all is to man dark and incomprehensible, illuminates everything and +explains it in the sense that it is the cause, the principle and the end +of all things. + +This dazzling mystery is the universal criterion of all truth; it is the +science of sciences, which is self-defining and whose name is Trinity. + +Here we foresee an objection to which we must first reply. Some will be +surprised that a system declared to be infallible should rest upon a +mystery; they will ask what a mystery can have to do with a purely +didactic question. Patience! You shall see that it cannot be otherwise. +Nothing is more evident than light, yet light is a mystery, the most +obscure of all mysteries. Thus light escapes the eye and it does not see +that by means of which it sees. Now, if light is a mystery, why should +not mystery be a light? Let us see first what the church teaches us in +regard to this mystery. + +God is a word which serves as a pretext for every Utopia, for every +illusion and for every human folly. The Trinity is the express +refutation of all these stupidities; it is their remedy, corrective and +preservative. Deprive me of the Trinity and I can no longer understand +aught of God. All becomes dark and obscure to me, and I have no longer a +rational motive for hope. + +The Trinity, the hypostatical basis of beings and things, is the +reflection of the Divine Majesty in its work. It is, as it were, a +reflection upon us of its own light. The Trinity is our guide in the +applied sciences of which it is at once the solution and the enigma. + +The Trinity is manifest in the smallest divisions of the Divine work, +and is to be regarded as the most fertile means of scientific +investigation; for if it is at once the cause, the principle and the end +of all science, it is its infallible criterion and we must start from it +as an immovable axiom. + +Every truth is triangular, and no demonstration responds to its object +save in virtue of a triply triple formula. + +_Theory of Processional Relations; or of the Connection between +Principiants and Principiates._ + +THEOREM. + +Each term in the Trinity is characterized processionally by the +arrangement of the relations which unite it to its congeners. We will +represent the nature of these relations by an arrow, the head of which +starts from the principiant, touching with its point the principiate. + + + + +Example. + + + + Principiant terms ---------------> Principiate terms + +This established, let us see by what sort of relations we are to +distinguish the persons in the Trinity represented by 1, 2 and 3. + +1. The Father--a term exclusively principiant, giving the mission and +not receiving it. + +2. The Son--a term both principiant and principiate, receiving and +giving the mission. + +3. The Holy Ghost--a term exclusively principiate, receiving the mission +and not giving it. + +[Illustration] + + TYPICAL + ARRANGEMENTS + BASED ON THE KNOWLEDGE + OF THE PROCESSIONAL + RELATIONS INTERUNITING + THE PERSONS IN THE TRINITY. + + 3 + / \ + / \ + / \ + B/ \C + / TRINITY \ + / \ + 1/ \2 + --------------- + A + +[Illustration] + +_A._ Relation of generation starting from the generator, ending at the +engendered (2), expressing by its horizontality the co-equality of the +principiant with the principiate. + +_B._ Relation of spiration starting from the spirator or first +principiant 1, ending at the principiate 3. + +_C._ Relation of spiration starting from the spirator or second +principiant 2, ending at the principiate 3, emanated by way of the +common spiration of its double principle 1 and 2. + + + +_Vicious Arrangements._ + +Reversal of the Processional Relations and Confusion Which Leads to +Reversals. + + +These first three examples sin from lack of a necessary relationship, in +default of which the extreme terms cannot be designated. Here, +therefore, the intermediate term alone can be estimated. + + 1 >--------> 2 <--------< 3 + +Here the Son offers the relational characteristics of the Holy Ghost. + + 1 <--------< 2 >--------> 3 + +Here He plays the part of the Father by the arrangement of His +relations. + + 1 >--------> 3 >--------> 2 + +Here the Holy Ghost is evidently out of place, for He indicates +relations which belong only to the Word. + +(1.) According to these relations, the Holy Ghost plays the part of the +Son, and the Son that of the Holy Ghost. + +[Illustration] + + 3 + ^ \ + / 1 \ + / v + 1------>2 + +(2.) Here all the relations are reversed so that the Father plays the +part of the Son; the Holy Ghost plays the part of the Father; and, +finally, the Son that of the Holy Ghost. + +[Illustration] + + 3 + / \ + / 2 \ + v v + 1------>2 + +(3.) This curious example represents by the identical arrangement of +the terms that it brings together, three Sons; that is to say, the +person of the Son three times over. + +[Illustration] + + 3 + ^ \ + / 3 \ + / v + 1<------2 + +(4.) Another reversal of the relations, which derives the Holy Ghost +from the Father, the Father from the Son, and the Son from the Holy +Ghost. + +[Illustration] + + 3 + / ^ + / 4 \ + v \ + 1<------2 + + + + +Passion Of Signs. Signs of Passion. + + + +These two terms at first sight seem very similar. It is not so. They +express two wholly distinct things. Therefore to know the meaning of +words by no means proves one capable of finding words and fitting them +to the meaning. + +It is clearly easier to translate a language than to write it, and just +as we must learn to translate before we can compose, so we must become +thoroughly familiar with semeiotics before trying to work at aesthetics; +and, as the science of semeiotics is still wholly incomplete, it is, +therefore, absolutely impossible that that which is called aesthetics +should in the least resemble the science which I have just defined. + +I have shown you aesthetics as a science. I have given you its +definition. I have fixed its special part in the sum total of knowledge +which goes to make up art; moreover, I have pointed out what this +science is intended to teach you. I have, by so doing, assumed serious +obligations toward you. I must needs produce under this title something +more than mere fantastic reflections upon works of art, or more or less +attractive stories about their authors and the circumstances in which +they lived. It will not be so amusing, but assuredly it will be more +profitable, and that is all for which I aspire. + +Art, then, is an act whose semeiotics characterizes the forms produced +by the action of powers, which action is determined by aesthetics, and +the causes of which are sought out by ontology. + + / Ontology examines the constituent virtues of the being. + | + Art. < AEsthetics examines its powers. + | + \ Semeiotics characterizes its forces. + + / Inherent form of sentiments . . . . . . AEsthetics. + | + Art. < Metaphysical form of the principles . . Ontology. + | + \ Organic form of signs . . . . . . . . . Semeiotics. + +The object of art, therefore, is to reproduce, by the action of a +superior principle (ontology), the organic signs explained by +semeiotics, and whose fitness is estimated by aesthetics. + +Semeiotics is the science of the organic signs by which aesthetics must +study inherent fitness. + +AEsthetics is the science of the sensitive and passional manifestations +which are the object of art, and whose psychic form it constitutes. + +If semeiotics does not tell us the passion which the sign reveals, how +can aesthetics indicate to us the sign which it should apply to the +passion that it studies? In a word, how shall the artist translate the +passion which he is called upon to express? + +AEsthetics determines the inherent forms of sentiment in view of the +effects whose truth of relation it estimates. + +Semeiotics studies organic forms in view of the sentiment which produces +them. + +It is thus that _wisdom_ and _reason_ proceed in inverse sense from the +principle to the knowledge which is the object of both. Wisdom, in fact, +studies the principle in its consequences, while reason studies the +consequences in the principle, hence it comes that wisdom and reason are +often at war with each other; hence also the obscurity which generally +prevails as to the distinction between them. Let us say that _wisdom_ +and _reason_ are to intelligence what aesthetics and semeiotics are to +art. Let us add to this parallel that _wisdom_ and _reason_ are to +intelligence what aesthetics and semeiotics are to ontology; that is:-- + +1. If, from a certain organic form, I infer a certain sentiment, that is +_Semeiotics_. + +2. If, from a certain sentiment, I deduce a certain organic form, that +is _AEsthetics_. + +3. If, after studying the arrangement of an organic form whose inherent +fitness I am supposed to know, I take possession of that arrangement +under the title of methods, invariably to reproduce that form by +substituting my individual will for its inherent cause, that is _Art_. + +4. If I determine the initial phenomena under the impulsion of which the +inherent powers act upon the organism, that is _Ontology_. + +5. If I tell how that organism behaves under the inherent action, that +is _Physiology_. + +6. If I examine, one by one, the agents of that organism, it is +_Anatomy_. + +7. If, amid these different studies, I seek by means of analogy and +generalization for light to guide my steps toward my advantage, that is +_System_. + +8. If I make that light profitable to my material and spiritual +interests, that is _Reason_. + +9. If I add to all this the loving contemplation of the Supreme Author +in His work, that is _Wisdom_. + +Let us now leave the abstractions to which you have kindly lent your +attention. I cannot here avoid casting a rapid glance at those sources +of science and art, the sources whence I desire to draw applications +which I am assured will interest you as they interest me. May they +afford you the same delight! + +By listening to me thus far you have passed through the proofs requisite +for your initiation into science as well as art; into science, whose +very definition is unknown to the learned bodies, since they have never +studied aught of it but its specialties; into art, whose very +fundamental basis is unsuspected by the School of Fine Arts, as I have +elsewhere demonstrated. Therefore, I now desire in the course of these +lectures to set aside the terms of a technology which I could not avoid +at the outset, and by the recital of my labors and my researches, my +disappointments and my discoveries, to show you the painful birth of a +science, whose possession entitles me to the honor of addressing you +to-day. + + + +Definition of Form. + + + +Form is the garb of substance. It is the expressive symbol of a +mysterious truth. It is the trademark of a hidden virtue. It is the +actuality of the being. In a word, form is the plastic art of the Ideal. + +We have to consider three sorts of form: The form assumed by the being +at birth and which we will call _constitutional_ form. Under the sway of +custom forms undergo modifications: We will call these forms _habitual_ +forms. Then there are the _fugitive_ forms, modifications of the +constitutional form, which are produced under the sway of passion. These +forms, which we will call _accidental, passional_ or _transitory_, are +fugitive as the things which give them birth. + + + + +On Distinction and Vulgarity of Motion. + + + +Motion generally has its reaection; a projected body rebounds and it is +this rebound which we call the reaection of the motion. + +Rebounding bodies are agreeable to the eye. Lack of elasticity in a body +is disagreeable from the fact that lacking suppleness, it seems as if it +must, in falling, be broken, flattened or injured; in a word, must lose +something of the integrality of its form. It is, therefore, the reaection +of a body which proves its elasticity, and which, by this very quality, +gives us a sort of pleasure in witnessing a fall, which apart from this +reaection could not be other than disagreeable. Therefore, elasticity of +dynamic motions is a prime necessity from the point of view of charm. + +In the vulgar man there is no reaection. In the man of distinction, on +the contrary, motion is of slight extent and reaection is enormous. +Reaection is both slow and rapid. + + + + +Gesture. + + + +The artist should have three objects: To _move_, to _interest_, to +_persuade_. He interests by _language_; he moves by _thought_; he moves, +interests and persuades by _gesture_. + +Language is the weakest of the three agents. In a matter of the feelings +language proves nothing. It has no real value, save that which is given +to it by the preparation of gesture. + +Gesture corresponds to the soul, to the heart; language to the life, to +the thought, to the mind. The life and the mind being subordinate to the +heart, to the soul, gesture is the chief organic agent. So it has its +appropriate character which is persuasion, and it borrows from the other +two agents interest and emotion. It prepares the way, in fact, for +language and thought; it goes before them and foretells their coming; it +accentuates them. + +By its silent eloquence it predisposes, it guides the listener. It makes +him a witness to the secret labor performed by the immanences which are +about to burst forth. It flatters him by leading him to feel that he +partakes in this preparation by the initiation to which it admits him. +It condenses into a single word the powers of the three agents. It +represents virtue effective and operative. It assimilates the +auxiliaries which surround it, and reflects the immanence proper to its +nature, the contemplation of its subject deeply seen, deeply felt. It +possesses them synthetically, fully, absolutely. + +Artistic gesture is the expression of the physiognomy; it is +transluminous action; it is the mirror of lasting things. + +Lacordaire, that spoiled child of the intellect, spoke magnificently. He +interested, he aroused admiration, but he did not persuade. His organism +was rebellious to gesture. He was the artist of language. Ravignan, +inferior intellectually, prepared his audience by his attitude, touched +them by the general expression of his face, fascinated them by his gaze. +He was the artist of gesture. + +Thus, if we sing, let us not forget that the prelude, the refrain, is +the spiritual expression of the song; that we must take advantage of +this exordium to guide ourselves, to predispose our hearers in our +favor; that we must point out to them, must make them foresee by the +expression of our face the thought and the words which are to follow; +that, in fact, the ravished spectator may be dazzled by a song which he +has not yet heard, but which he divines or thinks that he divines. + + + +_Definition of Gesture._ (Compare Delaumosne, page 43.) + + +Gesture is the direct agent of the heart. It is the fit manifestation of +feeling. It is the revealer of thought and the commentator upon speech. +It is the elliptical expression of language; it is the justification of +the additional meanings of speech. In a word, it is the spirit of which +speech is merely the letter. Gesture is parallel to the impression +received; it is, therefore, always anterior to speech, which is but a +reflected and subordinate expression. + +Gesture is founded on three bases which give rise to three orders of +studies; that is, to three sciences, namely: The _static_, the _dynamic_ +and the _semeiotic_. + +What are these three sciences, and, first of all, what are they in +relation to gesture? The semeiotic is its mind; the dynamic is its soul; +the static is founded on the mutual equilibrium or equipoise of the +agents. + +The dynamic presents the multiple action of three agents; that is to +say, of the constituent forces of the soul. + +The semeiotic presents to our scrutiny a triple object for study. It +sets forth the cause of the acts produced by the dynamic and the static +harmonies. Moreover, it reveals the meaning of the types which form the +object of the system. It offers us a knowledge of the formal or +constitutional types, of the fugitive or accidental types, and, finally, +of the habitual types. + +The triple object of the dynamic are the _rhythmic, inflective_ and +_harmonic_ forms. Dynamic rhythm is founded upon the important law of +mobility, inversely proportionate to the masses moved. Dynamic +inflections are produced by three movements: Direct movements, rotary +movements and movements of flexion in the arc of a circle. + +Dynamic harmony is founded on the concomitance of the relations existing +between all the agents of gesture. This harmony is regulated by three +states, namely: The tonic or eccentric state, the atonic or concentric +state, and the normal state. It, therefore, remains for us to fix the +three vital conditions of the static part of gesture. The vital +condition of the static is based upon the knowledge of the nine +stations. The spirit of the static entails the study of scenic planes +which embrace three conditions: The condition of the personage in +relation to the scenic centre or to the interlocutor whom he addresses; +in the second place, his situation; and, finally, the direction assumed +by his body in regard to the conditions already indicated. + +The soul of the static is in the harmonic opposition of the surfaces +moved. + +The most powerful of all gestures is that which affects the spectator +without his knowing it. + +From this statement may be deduced the principle that: Outward gesture, +being only the echo of the inward gesture which gave birth to it and +rules it, should be inferior to it in development and should be in some +sort diaphanous. + + + + +Attitudes of the Head. + + + +The head, considered in its three direct poses, presents three +conditions or states. When facing the object contemplated, it presents +the normal state; bent forward and in the direction of the object, it +presents the concentric state; raised and considering the object from +above, it presents the eccentric state. [Compare Delaumosne, page 65.] + +If, now, we consider each of its attitudes in connection with a double +lateral inclination of which they are capable, we have the following +nine: + +1. The first is normal. The head is neither high nor low, the glance +being direct. + +2. The second is characteristic of tenderness. This attitude consists in +bending the head obliquely toward the interlocutor. The body, in this +attitude, should not face the object; thus the head, in bending toward +it, bends sidewise in relation to the body. + +3. The third attitude is characteristic of sensuality. This attitude is +marked by an inclination quite the reverse of the second; that is to +say, away from the interlocutor. Naturally, in this attitude, as in the +preceding one, the glance is oblique; the head being bent forward and +backward, is here placed obliquely. + +4. The fourth is characteristic of scrutiny, reflection. The head in +this attitude is bent forward as we said in concentration, and the eye, +from the effort to lower the head, is thrown up to inspect the object. + +5. The fifth is characteristic of veneration. This attitude offers the +same inclination as the second; but here, as the head must be lowered, +the eye is directed both obliquely and upward. + +6. The sixth is characteristic of suspicion. This attitude offers the +same inclination as the third, with the concentric modifications +indicated for the preceding one. + +7. The seventh is characteristic of exaltation, passion. This attitude +is eccentric and direct, as we have already said. + +8. The eighth attitude is characteristic of abandonment, extreme +confidence. This attitude presents the inclination of the second and the +fifth, with this difference, that here the head is thrown back and the +eye, instead of being bent directly upon the object as in the second and +upward as in the fifth, here gazes downward. + +9. The ninth attitude is characteristic of pride. This last attitude +takes the inclination of the sixth and eighth attitudes, with the +differences in gaze indicated in the foregoing. + +Thus, to sum up what we have already said, we see that the first, fourth +and seventh attitudes are directly toward the object; that the second, +fifth and eighth bend obliquely toward the object; and, finally, that +the third, sixth and ninth are the result of an oblique inclination away +from the object. + +NOTE.--It is to be understood that the various attitudes of the head are +asserted only in regard to the direction taken by the eye. Thus it is +not absolutely true to say that the head is in the eccentric state +because it is raised; for it may be that, raised as it is, the direction +of the eye may be even higher than it, and, in that case, the head +might, although raised, present the aspect of the concentric state. Then +it would be true to say that the head presents the concentric state in a +high direction. + + + + +Attitudes of the Hands. + + + +The hands, like the legs, have three kinds of attitudes. They open +without effort and present the normal state; they close and present the +concentric state; then they open forcibly and present the eccentric +state. These three kinds of attitudes produce nine forms. + +1. The first is characteristic of acceptance. In this the hand is +presented open without effort, the fingers close together and the palm +up. + +2. The second is characteristic of caressing. In this attitude the palm +of the hand faces the object considered and gently follows its forms. + +3. The third is characteristic of negation. This attitude is executed in +the following fashion: The arm and hand are placed as in caressing; but, +instead of following the form of the object, the hand rids itself of it +by a rotary movement, thus placing the palm in a lateral direction. + +4. This attitude is executed with the closed fist, the arm hanging +naturally, that is, without any action determined by the will. + +5. The fifth is characteristic of will. This attitude consists in +carrying the fist forward, the back up. + +6. The sixth attitude is characteristic of menace. This attitude is +effected by an outward rotary movement compressed in the fist, so that, +contrary to the will, the back of the hand is down. + +7. The seventh is characteristic of desire. The hand, in this attitude, +moves forward as in the first, but with the difference that here the +fingers are spread apart, this spreading signifying "I do not possess," +expresses desire. There is, by the fact of the advance of the hand, +aspiration and not possession. + +8. The eighth is characteristic of imprecation. It consists in +stretching the palm of the hand toward the object as in a caress, but +with this difference, that the fingers are spread apart, thus offering a +repulsive aspect. + +9. The ninth is characteristic of refusal, repulsion. It consists in +carrying the hand obliquely as in negation, observing the spreading of +the fingers which characterizes this species. + + + +_Affirmation--The Hand._ + + +To make the demonstration of the different affirmations of the hand more +clear, we employ the cube which, as is well known, has six faces, eight +angles, and twelve edges. + +When the hand is placed upon a flat surface the affirmation is simple; +when the hand is placed upon an angle the affirmation is triple or +common to three faces or surfaces. There are three directions in the +cube: Horizontal, vertical and transverse. So, too, there are three +directions possible for the hand in relation to the body: + + 1. Abduction--which removes, + 2. Adduction--which brings close, and + 3. The normal direction. + +There are three sorts of adduction, three sorts of abduction, and three +sorts of normal direction. + +There are three horizontal, three vertical and three transverse +directions; hence nine terms applicable to the nine modes of presenting +the hand in connection with the cube, which are: + +[Illustration: + + +---------------------------------------------+ + /| /| + / | / | + / | / | + / | / | + / | UPPER SURFACE. / | + / | / | + / | To hold. / | + / | / | + +---------------------------------------------+ | + | | | O | + | I | | U | + | N | | T | + | W | | W | + | A | | A | + | R | FRONT SURFACE. | R | + | D T | | | D | + | o | To retain. | | T | + | L | | L o | + | A w | Limit. -- | A | + | T i | | T b | + | E t | Obtain. | | E e | + | R h | | | R l | + | A d | BACK SURFACE. | A o | + | L r | | | L n | + | a | | To maintain. | g | + | S w | | | | S . | + | U . | Contain. | | U | + | R | | | R | + | F | | F | + | A | | A | + | C | | C | + | E | | E | + | . | | . | + | +------------------------------------+--------+ + | / | / + | / LOWER SURFACE. | / + | / | / + | / To sustain. | / + | / | / + | / | / + | / | / + |/ |/ + +---------------------------------------------+ + +Table of the Normal Character of These Nine Attitudes. + + / 2. Concentric . . Conflict. + | + 2. Concentro.< 3. Normal . . . . Power. + | + \ 1. Eccentric . . Convulsion. + + / 2. Concentric . . Prostration. + | + 3. Normo. < 3. Normal . . . . Abandon. + | + \ 1. Eccentric . . Expansion. + + / 2. Concentric . . Execration. + | + 1. Eccentro. < 3. Normal . . . . Exaltation. + | + \ 1. Eccentric . . Exasperation. + +These nine physiognomies of the hand modify those of the face, often +supply their place and sometimes even contradict them. When they are +appropriate to the hand and face alike, there is homogeneity. The +expression of the hands results from the cooeperation of three orders of +phenomena. The first order comprises the intrinsic physiognomies assumed +by the hand under the influence of the passions. The second order +comprises the attitudes assumed by the hand toward the object of the +passion. The third order comprises the evolutions impressed upon the +hand by the body, fore-arm and shoulder. These evolutions are so many +inflections. + +We know the nine attitudes appropriate to the hand, and the nine +attitudes designated by the nine modes of presentation of the hand in +regard to the cubic surfaces. We must examine the nine inflections which +arise in the first instance from the three directions, antero-posterior, +vertical and transverse. + +These inflections again include three movements of three kinds: Direct +movements, circular movements and oblique movements. These movements +are produced by three sorts of action: Sectional action, rotary action +and translative action. + +To recapitulate: These physiognomies, attitudes and inflections form by +their combination the multifarious expressions of which the hand is +capable, as are all parts of the body. + +Having spoken of the affirmations of the hand, we must speak of its +degree of certainty of which the arm is the thermometer. This +affirmation varies with the angle formed by the fore-arm with the arm. +All these modes of affirmation may be applied to negation. + + + + +Attitudes of the Legs. + + + +1. The first attitude is normal; it consists of an equal balance of the +weight of the body on the two legs. This attitude is that of the soldier +carrying arms, without the stiffness assumed by the wilful regularity of +rigid discipline. It is also that attitude taken by a man in the act of +salutation; it is also characteristic of the weakness of a child or of +old age; it is the sign of respect. [Compare Delaumosne, p. 100.] + +2. The second attitude is characteristic of repose in strength. The +weight of the body is thrown upon one hip, the free leg being carried +forward. This change should be effected without tension or stiffness. +This attitude is also characteristic of certain concentric passions +hidden under seeming calm. + +3. This attitude is characteristic of vehemence, of which it is the +type. It is preeminently the eccentric attitude. It consists in carrying +the whole weight of the body forward, the backward leg extended in equal +proportion to the forward poise of the torso. + +4. This attitude is characteristic of the weakness which follows +vehemence. It is the type of concentration; it is also in character as +in species the antipodes of the third attitude, since it is its resolute +expression. This attitude consists in throwing the whole weight of the +body backward, contrary to the preceding attitude where the body was +brought forward, and in bending the leg which bears the weight of the +body, which is also the reverse of the preceding attitude, where the leg +is extended. This attitude is nearly that of the fencing-master; it +differs, however, in the position of the backward foot, which, in +fencing, is turned outward. The regularity of this attitude may be +verified by kneeling, which is its paroxysm. If the attitude is well +done it leads to it naturally. + +5. The fifth attitude serves as a preparation for oblique steps; it is +also colorless, transitive, suspensive. It ends all the angles formed by +walking. We may define this attitude as a third transversal; that is to +say, the free leg, instead of being behind as in the third, is +impassive, so that the body, instead of being advanced, should be +slightly inclined to one side. + +6. The sixth attitude is an attitude of pomp and ceremony. It is only +assumed in the presence of kings, princes, or persons for whom we have +great respect. We will define this attitude as a third crossed +proceeding from the fifth; that is to say, the free leg of the fifth +becomes the strong leg moving sidewise and slightly forward, thus +crossing the back leg. + +7. The seventh attitude is an attitude characteristic of absolute +repose. It is the strongest attitude, and, consequently, that assumed by +intoxication to resist a lack of equilibrium. It is the attitude of +vertigo, or of extreme trust. + +Do not be surprised by the bringing together of these very different and +opposite terms in one and the same attitude. It is a sufficient +explanation to say that the strong attitude is sought out by weakness as +a weak attitude is sought by strength. This attitude consists in the +division of the weight of the body between both legs, which are spread +wide apart in parallel directions. This attitude would be improper in a +parlor. + +8. The eighth attitude is an attitude characteristic of the alternation +between the offender and defender. It is the exact medium between the +third and fourth; it, therefore, expresses moral as well as physical +alternation. A man placed between the offensive and the defensive always +assumes this attitude as if to sound the resources of his courage in +face of an enemy stronger than himself; in this attitude he may advance +or recede. This attitude is a seventh, whose direction, instead of being +lateral, is parallel to the body and antero-posterior. In this position +the body faces the forward leg, both legs being spread wide apart, as in +the seventh, both receive an equal portion of the weight of the body. + +9. The ninth attitude is characteristic of defiance. This attitude is a +stiff second. It differs only in that the free leg is rigid instead of +being bent as in the second. To execute this attitude thoroughly well +the free leg must be stretched to the very utmost, without allowing the +strong leg to bend as in the fourth, which is the only attitude where +the strong leg should be bent. To prevent this flexion, the body must be +carried well over on the hip of the strong leg, so that the side of the +free leg may be elongated. + +_Chart Considered from the Organic Point of View._ + +[Illustration] + + 2. The Son, + 3. The Holy Ghost, + 1. The Father. + +Having examined the table organically, we will study it essentially. + + + +Example. + + +What we have called eccentric, concentric and normal, we will call +vitality, intellectuality and spirituality; lastly, having established +this table from the organic and the essential point of view, it remains +for us to examine it aesthetically and from a practical point of view. + +Let us first examine a few gestures, for instance: + +_Of the Hand._ + + 3 colorless state abandonment + /\ + / \ + / \ + / 3 \ + expansion 1 /________\ 2 prostration + + + + 3 exaltation 3 power + /\ /\ + / \ / \ + / \ / \ + / 1 \ / 2 \ + 1 /________\ 2 1 /________\ 2 + exasperation execration convulsive state struggle + +_Of the Eye._ + + abandonment + /\ + / \ + / \ + / 3 \ + indifference /________\ moroseness + + + + stupor depression or somnolence + /\ /\ + / \ / \ + / \ / \ + / 1 \ / 2 \ + 1 /________\ 2 1 /________\ 2 + surprise firmness contempt contention of mind + +_Of the Torso._ + + dynamic apparatus + /\ + / \ + / \ + / 3 \ + limbs /________\ head + + + + larynx veil of the palate + /\ /\ + / \ / \ + / \ / \ + / 1 \ / 2 \ + 1 /________\ 2 1 /________\ 2 + lungs mouth lips tongue + + +_AEsthetic Division._ + + 3 pure spirituality + /\ + / \ + / \ + / 3 \ + vital soul 1 /________\ 2 intellectual soul + + + + 3 spiritual life 3 spiritual intellect + /\ /\ + / \ / \ + / \ / \ + / 1 \ / 2 \ + 1 /________\ 2 1 /________\ 2 + animal life intellectual life animal intellect mental intellece + + / Mind / Science + Human Hypostases < Soul Worlds < Grace + \ Life \ Nature + + + + + / Light / The mind / distinguishes + Divine Attributes < Love Functions < The soul < reunites + \ Power \ The life \ asserts + + + / Understanding / Speculative + Faculties < Will Reasons < Final + \ Memory \ Seminal + + + + / Trial generates faith + Theological Virtues< Tribulation generates experience + \ Fulfilment generates charity + + + + +The Holy Trinity Recovered in Sound. + + + +Sound is the reflection of the Divine image. In sound there are three +reflex images: The reflex of life; of the intellect; and of love. They +result from the parallel and simultaneous action of three agents: The +projective (life), reflective (intellect), and vibrative (love). + +Sound contains three sounds: That of the _tonic_, the _dominant_, and +the _mediant_. The tonic (Father) necessarily generates the dominant +(Son), and the mediant (Holy Ghost) proceeds necessarily from the first +two. + +Pythagoras discovered this law. Passing before a blacksmith's shop, he +heard the sound of heavy hammer strokes upon a forge. He recognized +perfectly that each blow gave out beside the principal tone (tonic) two +other tones, which corresponded to the twelfth and seventeenth of the +tonic. Now, the twelfth reversed is nothing but the fifth or dominant, +and the seventeenth becomes, by a double reversion, the third or mediant +of the tonic. + +Let us say, then, that every tone necessarily contains the tonic its +generator, the dominant its engendered, and the mediant which proceeds +from the other two. The reuenion of these three tones which makes them +into one, forms the perfect chord. Full and absolute consonance is the +expression of union, of love, of order, of harmony, of peace; it is the +return to the source of goodness, to God. + +If a fourth form should be added to the perfect chord, to consonance, +there would necessarily be a dissonance. This fourth can only enter by +an effort, almost by violence. It is outside of plenitude, of the calm +established by the Divine law; it produces a painful sensation, a +dissonance. As soon as there is a discord, a dissonance, the animal +cries out, the dog howls, inert bodies suffer and vibrate; but all is +order and calm again when consonance returns. + + + + +Speech. + + + +Speech is an act posterior to will, itself posterior to love; this again +posterior to judgment, posterior in its turn to memory, which, finally, +is posterior to the impression. + +Every impression, to become a sensation, must first be perceived by the +intelligence, and thus we may say of the sensation that it is a definite +impression. But, to be definite, it must pass into the domain of memory +and there solicit the reappearance of its congeners with which it may +identify itself. It is in this apparatus and surrounded by this throng +of homogeneous impressions which gather round it, as if by magic, or +rather which it draws about it as the magnet draws the iron, it is, I +say, in this complex state that it appears before the intelligence to +receive from the latter a fitting name. For the intelligence could not +give it a name if the homogeneous impressions in which it has, so to +speak, arrayed itself, did not serve to point it out. + +Now, by this distinction, established by the double operation of the +memory and the intelligence, a movement takes place in the soul, of +attraction, if the intelligence approve; or of repulsion, if it +disapprove. This movement is called the will. The will, therefore, +becomes the active principle in virtue of which speech is expressed; +thus speech is the express agent of the will. It is speech, in fact, +which, under the incubation of this mysterious power, rules, groups and +moves bodies with the aid of memory. + +Inflection is the life of speech; the mind lies in the articulative +values, in the distribution of these articulations and their +progressions. The soul of speech is in gesture. + + + + +Breathing. + + + +Breathing, according to its form of production, is: (1) Costal or +combined; (2) diaphragmatic; (3) costo-diaphragmatic. + +Breathing is a triple act based upon three phenomena: Inspiration, +suspension, expiration. From the successive predominance of each of +these three phenomena, or from their equal balance, result eighty-one +respiratory acts, which may be reduced to three terms: The breathing is +_normal, spasmodic_, or _sibilant_. + +There are three questions to be considered in regard to breathing: + +1. How should it, the breath, be produced to gain the greatest +development for the voice? + +2. What place should it occupy in speech? + +3. What aspect does it assume under the influence of the passions? + +In other words, three characters may be attributed to respiration: +Vocal, logical, pathetic or passional. + + + +_Vocal Respiration._ + + +The lungs constantly contain a quantity of air, which is the source of +life and with which we cannot dispense without inconvenience to health +and to the voice. The quantity of air requisite for the renewing of the +blood, and which is called the breath of life, amounts to a third of +what the lungs are capable of receiving. In order to sing, therefore, +it must be increased by two-thirds, and it is this borrowed breath only +which should be given out in singing. When the lungs are thus filled +with air, the sound is produced by escapement. From this it receives +greater force, and its production, far from being a fatigue, becomes a +relief. + +Inspiration should always be followed by a suspensive silence; otherwise +the lungs, agitated by the act of inspiration, perform the expiration +badly. + + + +_Logical Respiration._ + + +Logical respiration constitutes the respiration itself. Suspension +expresses reticence, disquietude. Inspiration is an element of +dissimulation, concentration, pain. Hence, we have normal, oppressive, +spasmodic, superior, sibilant, rattling, intermittent, crackling, and +hiccoughing respiration. + +Expiration is an element of trust, expansion, confidence and tenderness. +If the expression contains both pain and love, the inspiration and +expiration will both be noisy; but the one or the other will predominate +according as pain predominates over love, or _vice versa._ + + +_Passional Respiration._ + +The source of passional respiration lies in the agitation of the heart. +The effect of respiration is most powerful, for the slighter and more +imperceptible the phenomena are, the more effect they have upon the +auditors. + + + + +Vocal Organ. + + + +The organ assumes at birth a form; this form is called the timbre or +tone, This tone corresponds to the constitutional form. Under the sway +of habit, the form assumes an acquired tone which is called emission. +The emissive form corresponds to the habitual tone. Under the sway of +emotion the voice is modulated and assumes forms which we will call +passional or transitory. + +The mouth is normal, concentric and eccentric. [See chart in Delaumosne, +page 81.] + +From these three types we have succeeded in fixing and classifying +forty-eight million phenomena. + + + + +Definition of the Voice. + + + +The voice is the essential element in singing. It is based upon sound. +This is based upon three agents: + +The _projective_ agent, or the _lungs_. + +The _vibrative_ agent, or the _larnyx_. + +The _reverberative_ agent, or the _mouth_. + +Each of these agents acts in different ways, nine acts resulting +therefrom, which we will call products of phonetic acts. + +The projective agent in its special activities engenders + + Intensities, + Shades, + Respirations. + +The vibrative agent in its special activities engenders + + Prolations, + Pathetic effects, + Registers. + +The reverberative agent in its special activities engenders + + Emissions, + Articulations, + Vowels. + +To recapitulate, the phonetic agents give us nine products; but, when +studied from the vocal point of view, these products become as many +elements and must be examined from the triple point of view of +preparatory, practical and transcendant studies. We must, therefore, +know first the general definition of these elements, their cause and +their theoretical history, which constitutes phonology or the +preparatory study of the voice. + +Secondly, we must know the physical order in virtue of which these +phenomena may be acquired or developed. The various special exercises +and the vices to be avoided constitute phonation or the practical study +of the voice. + +Thirdly, we must know and appreciate the physiological, intellectual and +moral meaning of these elements, the different relations of resemblance, +of opposition and of identity which exist between these different +phenomena. + +The modes of application or principles of style form the transcendent +study or aesthesiophony, that is, the voice applied to feeling, etc. + + + +_What the Register is._ + + +The register is an intrinsic modification of the sound; a modification +which is produced in the larynx itself and which does not belong to the +mouth. Now, we may say of registers that they are to the larnyx what +emissions are to the mouth. Thus registers form a physiognomy which the +sound assumes in the larynx, and emissions form the physiognomy which +that same sound takes on in the mouth. + + + +_On Shading._ + + +Light and shade are not, as has been asserted, subject to the +arbitration or inspiration of the moment. They are ruled by laws; for in +art there is not a single phenomenon which is not subject to absolute +mathematical laws. A knowledge of these laws is important, the art of +shading forming the basis of style. + +The opinion which makes the ascending phrase progressive is false six +times out of seven. It is only correct in the following cases: + +1. If an ascending phrase encounters no repeated and no dissonant note +it is progressive, and the culminating note is the most intense. It has +one degree of intensity. + +2. If we find a note repeated in the ascending phrase, that note, even +if it be the lowest of all, must be made more important than the highest +note and will have two degrees of intensity. In this case, the higher +the voice rises the softer it must become; for there cannot be more than +one culminating point in a musical phrase any more than in a logical or +mimetic phrase. All sounds must, therefore, diminish in proportion to +their distance from this centre of expression, from this repeated note. +The reason of the intensity of a repeated note lies in the fact that we +repeat only that thing which we desire, and this intensity gives it a +greater value. + +3. If the repeated note be at the same time the culminating note, it +will require a new degree of intensity. It will have three degrees of +intensity. + +4. We may possibly find a dissonant note in the ascending phrase, with a +repeated culminating note. (This note would, then, be more than an +indication; it would receive an adjective form from the accident, +assuming in the musical phrase the value that an adjective would have in +a logical phrase.) Its intensity, therefore, would be greater than that +of the highest repeated note, and it would have four degrees of +intensity. + +5. If the dissonant note is also the highest note, it acquires from that +position a fifth degree of intensity. + +6. It may happen that the dissonant note appearing in a rising phrase is +repeated; by reason of this repetition it would receive a sixth degree +of intensity. + +7. Finally, if the dissonant note is at the same time culminating and +repeated, it has seven degrees of intensity. + + + +_Pathetic Effects._ + + +Pathetic effects are nine in number, the principal of which are as +follows: The veiled tone; the flat or compressed tone; the smothered +tone; the ragged tone; the vibrant tone. The last is the most powerful. + +Vibration or tremolo, bad when produced involuntarily by the singer, +becomes a brilliant quality when it is voluntary and used at an +opportune time. Every break must be preceded by a vibration, which +prepares the way for it. + +Prolations are laryngeal articulations. Great care must be taken not to +substitute pectoral articulations for them. + +The chest is a passive agent; it should furnish nothing but the breath. +The mouth and the larynx alone are entitled to act. + + + +_On the Tearing of the Voice._ + + +Exuberance of the contained brings on destruction of that which contains +it. Tearing of the voice, therefore, should only be associated with an +excessive extension of the sound whose intensity, as we have +demonstrated, is in inverse ratio to the dramatic proportion. + + + + +Number. + + + +The figure 1 is characteristic of unity and measure. The figure 2, which +is the measure in the 1, should become subordinate in its greatness and +be equal with it. It is another one which gives birth to the idea of +number. + +The idea of number can only arise from the presence of terms of the same +nature. Thus the idea of number cannot arise from the presence of a cart +and a toad. We shall thus have two very distinct unities, having no kind +of relation to each other. There must, therefore, be equality before +there can be number. This is so true that we cannot say of a man and a +child that they are two men or two children, because the one is not +equal to the other. It is, therefore, from the point of an attributive +equality that we are enabled to say: They are two. But we can say: There +are two beings, because in regard to being they are equal one to the +other. We now understand how two equals one, that the two figures have +an equal importance, and that the figure 1 contains exclusively the idea +of measure; the figure 2 contains the idea of number, which is not in +the 1, this being the characteristic feature by which the two terms +differ. + +Now, how are we to form a perfect unity between these two equal but +distinct terms? + +A single operation will suffice to give us the idea we wish, and this +operation is revealed to us entire in the word _weight_. In fact, the +two terms can only be united by this word. We feel that 1 and 2 give us +a common weight, the sum of which is represented by the figure 3. The +figure 3 is, therefore, equal in importance to 1 and to 2; it maintains +equality in the terms of which it is the representative, and its +characteristic feature is equally important with those already +described. + +Thus to the figure 1 belongs the idea of _measure_; to the figure 2 +belongs the idea of _number_; to the figure 3 belongs exclusively the +idea of reuenion, of community, of unity in fine, which no other figure +can reveal to us. We may say: 1 and 1 are equal among themselves, in the +unity of the figure 3; or, in other words: Measure and number find their +unity in weight. + +Medallion of Inflection (Compare Delaumosne, page 119.) + +[Illustration] + +Explanation.--The vertical line 1 (from top to bottom) expresses +affirmation, confirmation; 2, the horizontal line, expresses negation. +The oblique lines, 3 and 4, from within outward and from without inward, +express rejection. 4, an oblique line from within outward rejects things +which we despise. 3, a line from within outward, rejects things which +oppress us and of which we wish to get rid. 5, the quadrant of a circle, +whose form recalls that of a hammock, expresses well-being, contentment, +confidence and happiness. 6, a similar quadrant of a circle, an +eccentric curvilinear, expresses secrecy, silence, domination, +persuasion, stability, imposition, inclosure. The reentering external +curvilinear quadrant of a circle, 7, expresses graceful, delicate +things. Produced in two ways, from above downward, it expresses physical +delicacy; from below upward, moral and intellectual delicacy. The +external quadrant of a circle, 8, expresses exuberance and plenitude, +amplitude and generosity. The circular line surrounding and embracing is +characteristic of glorification and exaltation. + + + +Examples. + + +[Illustration] +1. You may believe +2. That none, oh Lord +3. Had such glory +4. Or such happiness. + +[Illustration] +Thy voice, brother, +cannot be heard. + +[Illustration] +After such a marvel +one might believe a thousand +others +without raising his eyebrows. + +[Illustration] The other was a perfect +master of the art of cheating. + +Remark.--These inflections being produced, it is essential to know the +centre from which they emanate. The amplitude of the circle described +must be in harmony with the object in question. Thus a circle may be +produced with the entire arm, and glorification is the thing in +question. + +[Illustration] grace, elegance + +[Illustration] charm, elevation + +[Illustration] Light and amiable. + +[Illustration] Light and spiritual. + +The half quarter of a circle characteristic of exuberance combined with +the half quarter circle characteristic of delicacy, expreses grace. It +is delicacy mixed with abundance; tenuity supported by generosity. + +[Illustration] The rejection of a +contemptible thing (4) +concluded by happiness, +well-being (5) signifies +that repose will not be purchased +at the cost of a contemptible +thing. + +[Illustration] The possession of +happiness. + +[Illustration] The 3 combined +with the 5 rejection +of an illusory happiness. + +Note.--The figures 3, 4, 5, 6, refer to the corresponding figures in the +Medallion of Inflection. + +The hand placed horizontally, the back uppermost pirouetting on the +wrist alternately in pronation and supination, thus passing from force +to feebleness and from feebleness to force, characterizes irritability. +[Compare Delaumosne, pages 114-118.] + +[Illustration: Chart of Man. Human Nature.] + +[Illustration: Chart of the Angels. Angelic Nature.] + + + + +The Nature of the Colors of Each Circle in the Color Charts. + + + +_Red, Blue and Yellow._ + + +Red is the color of life. Indeed, this is asserted by fire, by the heat +of the blood. + +Blue is the color of the mind. Is not blue the color of the sky, the +home of pure intellects, set free from the body, who see and know all +things? To them everything is in the light. + +Yellow is the color of the soul. Yellow is the color of flame. + +Flame contains the warmth of life and the light of the mind. As the soul +contains and unites the life and the mind, so the flame warms and +shines. [Compare Delaumosne, page 157.] + + + + +The Attributes of Reason. + + + +The human reason, that haughty faculty, deified in our age by a myriad +of perverse and commonplace minds known under the derisive and doubly +vain title of freethinkers, is but blind, despite its high opinion of +its own insight. Yes, and we affirm by certain intuition that man's +reason is not and cannot be otherwise than blind, aside from the +revealing principle which only enlightens it in proportion to its +subordination; for, abandoned to itself, reason can only err and must +fatally fall into an abyss of illusions. + +The melancholy age in which we live but too often offers us an example +of the lamentable mistakes into which we are hurried by misguided +reason, which, yielding to a criminal presumption, deserts without +remorse the principle super-abounding in _life, light_ and _glory_. + +To understand such an anomaly, to explain how reason, which constitutes +one of the highest attributes of man, is so far subject to error, it is +essential to have a thorough apprehension of the complexity of its +nature. What, then, is the real nature of the reason so little studied +and so illy known by those very men who raise altars in its honor? Let +us try to produce a clear demonstration. And let us first say that +reason does not constitute a primary principle in man; for a primary +_principle_ could never mistake its object. Neither is it a primary +_faculty_; it is only the form or the manner of being of such a faculty, +and thus cannot be a light in itself. The rays by which it shines are +external to it in the sense that it receives them from the principle +which governs and fertilizes it. Still, let us say that, although +neither a principle nor a faculty, reason is none the less, with +conscience, of which it forms the base, the noblest power of man; for +this power God created free; free from subjection to the principle that +enlightens it; free, too, to escape from it. Yet every power necessarily +recognizes a guiding principle to whose service it needs must bow; but +to reason alone it is granted to avoid the law which imperiously rules +the relations of the harmonious subordination of principiant faculties +to their principles. Hence the error or possible blindness of reason; +hence also its incomparable grandeur, which lies solely in its free and +spontaneous subordination. These principles established, let us go still +farther, and penetrate deeper into the mysterious genius of reason. + +authorized to define reason. He did it in terms at once so simple, so +precise, and of such exquisite clarity, that we may venture to think +that reason itself could not have better rendered the terms of its own +entity. + +This definition, let no one fail to see, contains in its extreme brevity +more substance than would fill a voluminous treatise. This, then, is his +definition: + +_Reason is the discursive form of the intellect._ + +Now by this St. Thomas plainly establishes that reason, distinct from +the intellect, with which we must beware of confounding it, proceeds +from it as effect proceeds from cause. Therefore, intellect surpasses +reason as its principiant and guiding faculty; and reason only figures +in the intelligential sphere, despite the important part it plays in +virtue of its adjunctive or supplementing power. + +But what is the purpose of this adjunction? Here, in reply to this grave +and important question, let us refer to what the same scholar says +elsewhere. "Reason arises," he says, "from the failure of intellect." +Certainly this is a luminous, and doubtless a very unexpected +proposition. From it we learn, on the one hand, that the intellect is +liable to defects and consequently to weaknesses; on the other hand, it +seems established that the adjunctive power comes to aid the faculty +which governs it, since here the subjected is born of the failure of +the subjector. + +Let us explain this fresh anomaly. We have in the first place declared +the preceding proposition luminous in spite of the obscurity into which +we are plunged by the consequences which we have derived from it; but, +patience! We are already aware that it is from the very obscurity of +things that the brightest light sometimes bursts upon contemplative +eyes; and since faith is the next principle to knowledge, let us have +faith at least in the trustworthiness of him who addresses us, +especially as he has given us repeated, unequivocal tokens of sound and +upright reason. Let us, then, have no doubt that the preceding +proposition contains a precious precept; and very certainly light will +soon dawn on our mind. + +This settled, and for the better understanding of the meaning attached +to this proposition, let us call to our aid the powers of analogy. + +If reason arises from the failure of intellect it is doubtless to +rectify the valuations of the ego. Now the _compass_, which is in itself +very inferior to the hand which fashions it and appropriates it to its +own use, nevertheless implies a defect in that hand which directs it. So +there is between the eye and the telescope, which comes to its aid, all +the distance that divides the faculty from the instrument which it +governs. Still the telescope joined to the eye communicates to it a +great power of vision; but the instrument arises from the failure of +the eye, which is nevertheless infinitely superior to it; for it is the +eye which sees, and not the telescope. + +It is thus that we must understand the relations of reason and +intellect. Let us say, then, that the reason is to the intellect exactly +what the telescope is to the eye. This established, we can formulate the +following definition as well founded. + +The intellect is the spiritual eye whose mysterious telescope reason +forms, or: reason is a necessary appendage of mental optics, or again: +reason is the glass used by the eye of a defective intellect. + +But this is not all. St. Thomas provides us still elsewhere with the +means of making our analogy more striking. He says, indeed: reason is +given us to make clear that which is not evident. Is not this, as it +were, the seal of truth applied to our demonstration? Thus the eye uses +the telescope absolutely as the intellect employs the reason, to make +clear that which is not evident. + +Of course it is plain that if the sight and the intellect answered +perfectly to their object, they could do without this adjunct which +betrays their imperfection. The intellect would thenceforth have no more +need of reason than the eye of glasses. + +This explains the fact, so important to consider, that the clearer the +mental vision is the less one reasons. The angels do not reason; they +see clearly what is troubled and confused by our mind. No one reasons in +heaven, there is no logician there, no--Intelligence is immortal, but +reason, which serves it here below, will fade away in eternity with the +senses which like it do but form the conditions of time. + +Divine reason alone will endure because it has nothing accidental, and +it is substantially united to the eternal word. It is that reason toward +which all blest intelligences will finally gravitate. Hence, we see that +what already partakes of the celestial life repels reasoning as a cause +of imperfection or infirmity. It is thus, by its exclusion of reasons, +that the Gospel supremely proves its celestial origin. It is, indeed, a +thing well worth remark, especially worthy of our admiration, that there +is not to be found, in the four Gospels, a single piece of reasoning, +any more than there is an interjection to be found. + +Let us add that faith does not reason: which does not mean, as so many +misbelievers feign, that faith is fulfilled by blindness or ignorance of +the objects of its veneration. Quite the contrary. Faith dispenses with +reason because of the perfection of its sight. It is, finally, because +it is superior to reason and sees things from a higher plane. This is +what so many short-sighted people cannot see; and, to return to our +analogy, it seems to them able to see nothing save through the glasses +of reason. It seems to them, I say, that any man who does not wear +glasses must see crooked. Keep your glasses, my good souls! They suit +short limits of sight. But we, who, thank God, have sound sight, are +only troubled and clouded by them. + +It is thus that reason, which is given us to make clear what is not +evident, frequently obscures even the very evidence itself. We might +confirm this declaration by a thousand examples. To cite but one, let us +point out how plainly the spectacle of the universe of thought and the +idea of a Divine Creator prove that no glasses are required to +contemplate God in His works. Well! scientists have felt obliged to +direct theirs upon these simple notions, and have thus, _i.e._, by force +of reasoning, succeeded in confusing out of all recognition a question +sparkling with evidence, so much so that they will fall into such a +state of blindness that they can no longer see in this world any trace +of the Supreme Intelligence which is yet manifested with glory in the +least of His creatures. Consequently, they will bluntly deny the +existence of God; but as they still must needs admit a creative cause, +they have to that end invented _moving atoms_ and have made from these +strange corpuscles something so perfectly invisible that they can spare +themselves the trouble of providing public curiosity with a living proof +of their theory. + +The scientist is born perverted, as was said of the Frenchman who +created the vaudeville; and men, too strong-minded and above all too +full of reason to give any credence to the mysteries taught by the +church, have displayed a blind faith in respect to _moving atoms_. They +think thus to set themselves free from what they call the prejudices of +their fathers. They find no difficulty in attributing to invisible +corpuscles both the plan and the execution of the beings who people the +universe. + +This is the fine conception attributed to what is called a higher +reason--a conception before which bow legions of strong minds. To such a +degree of degradation can reason drag man down. + +It is, therefore, dangerous to consult the reason in any case where +evidence is likely to be called into play. But, before proceeding +farther in the course of our demonstrations, a question presents itself. +It may be asked what we think of another kind of reason--_pure reason_; +for it appears that in the opinion of certain philosophers pure reason +does exist. I do not know where they authenticated and studied this +species of reason. For myself I confess in all humility that not only +have I never seen a pure reason, but it has never even been possible for +me to raise my mind to the point of comprehending the signification of +pure reason. I greatly fear that some nonsense lurks within the phrase, +such transcendental nonsense as belongs to ideological philosophers +alone. I know not why, but these gentlemen's pure reason always gives me +the sensation of a strong blast of _moving atoms_. In fact, it is not +clear; but why require clarity of philosophers and ideologists? + +But let us leave these senseless words and pursue the course of our +demonstrations. + +What we have said of reason is quite sufficient to prevent its +confusion with the faculty whose discursive form it is. But this is not +enough. We must, by still more delicate distinctions, make any confusion +between these two terms impossible. + +Reason, although essentially allied to intelligence, is not, like it, +primordial in man. Thus God created man intelligent, and consequently +susceptible of reason; but we do not see the word reason brought into +play in Genesis, because it merely expresses a derivation from the mind +or intellect. Reason, therefore, is secondary and posterior in the +genetic order. But here to the support of this assertion we have a +striking and undeniable proof; namely, that the infant is born +intelligent but not reasonable. Intellect proceeds directly from _that +true light which shines in every man on his entrance into the world_, +while reason is merely the fruit of experience. A proof of the +superiority of intelligence to reason is seen in the fact that it +partakes of the immutable, and is not like the latter, liable to +progress. + +Thus the child is seen to be as intelligent as an adult man can be. Let +us rather say that it is in the child especially that intelligence +displays its brightest rays. Yet he is not furnished with reason. And +why not? Because he has no experience. Reason, therefore, is an acquired +power, whose light is borrowed from experience or tradition. + +Reason is proportional to the experience acquired. Practical reason or +rationality is the ration or portion of experience allotted to each +person. + +Reason is to the mental vision exactly what the eye is to optical +vision, and just as the eye borrows its visual action from external +light, so reason borrows its power of clear and correct vision from +traditional experience. The similarity is absolute. + +Suppress light, and vision ceases to be possible. Suppress revelation +from intellectual objects, and reason is thenceforth blind. + +Between reason and intelligence, although there be inclusion and +co-essentiality in these terms, there is a great difference in the mode +of cognizance; for, as St. Augustine says, intelligence is shown by +simple perception, and reason by the discursive process. Thus, while +intelligence acts simply, as in knowing an intelligible truth by the +light of its own intuition, reason goes toward its end progressively, +from one thing known to another not yet known. + +The latter, as St. Thomas says, implies an imperfection. The former, on +the contrary, beseems a perfect being. It is, therefore, evident, adds +the same profound thinker, that reasoning bears the same relation to +knowledge that motion does to repose, or as acquisition to possession. +The one is of an imperfect nature, and the other of a perfect nature. +Boethius compares the intellect to eternity; reason, to time. + +Yet human reason, according to the principle which illuminates it, +offers three degrees of elevation which we will distinguish, for +readier comprehension, by three special terms, namely: first, tradition +or the experience of another; second, personal experience; third, the +reason of things. + +Trained by tradition, reason is called _common sense_. Trained by +personal experience to the knowledge of principles, reason is called +_science_. Trained by the contemplation of principles to the perfection +of the intellect, reason is called _wisdom_. + +What we call practical reason is based upon the authority of tradition +and the lessons of other people's experience in regard to the customary +and moral matters of life. + +Speculative or discursive reason judges by the criterion of its own +experience; thereby inferring consequences more or less in conformity +with traditional teachings, and arriving by the logical order of its +deductions and in virtue of the principles which it accepts and which it +applies to its discoveries, at what we call science. + +Transcendental reason pursues, in the effects which it examines, the +investigation of their cause, and rises thence to the very reason of +things. Wherefore it silences reasoning, enters into a silent and +persistent course of observation, consults the facts, examines, studies +and questions the principles whence it sees them to be deduced; and, +without yielding to the obscurity in which these principles are +enveloped, pierces that obscurity by the penetrative force of +unremitting attention. Inspired by the standard of faith, it knows that +the spirit of God exists at the root of these mysteries. It clings +thereto, unites itself thereto by contemplation, and finally draws from +this union its _strength_, its _light_ and its _joy_. + +Such is the course of wisdom, and such are the inestimable advantages of +faith to reason. It is in fact by faith that reason is aggrandized and +elevated to the height of the intellect whence it draws its certitude. + +Reason believes because it desires to understand, and because it knows +that faith is the next principle to knowledge. + +Thus the grandeur of reason is proportioned to its humility; +proportioned, I would say, to the efforts which it multiplies to forget +itself when the truth addresses it. But such is not the method of +procedure of "strong minds." They have a horror of the mysteries toward +which they are still urged by correct instincts. The fact is, let us say +it boldly, they fear lest they find God there. + +In these misguided spirits there is so much presumption, self-conceit, +self-love, that they are, in the nullity of their lofty pride, a worship +unto themselves, an idolatry of their own reason. They have deified +it,--that poor, frail reason; and this, while mutilating it, while +proclaiming it independent and free from all law, from all principle, +from everything definite. + +To what excess of imbecility, then, have we not seen these freethinkers +fall, these apostles of independent reason, who on principle boast that +they have no faith and no law! Thence comes the scorn which afflicts +these unbelievers for all who believe and hope here below; thence, their +systematic ignorance of fundamental questions; thence, the incurable +blindness in which they bask; thence, finally, the inconsistencies and +contradictions which make them a spectacle humiliating to the human +mind. + +But agnostic man labors in vain. He cannot escape the mysteries which +surround him on every hand, like a gulf in which reason is inevitably +lost so soon as it ceases to seek the light. + +Man stumbles at every turn against the efforts of a stronger reason than +his own,--the Supreme Reason before which, nilly nilly, his must bow and +confess the insanity of its judgments. + +Logic is not, to reason, a sure guide; and even where it feels its +foothold most strong, it sometimes trips, to the disgrace of the good +opinion it had of its own infallibility. + +Let us show by a simple example to what rebuffs our reason is exposed +when counting on the support of its logic, face to face with the reason +of facts. + +Undoubtedly it is logical and perfectly in conformity with reason, to +say that _one_ and _one_ make _two_. No doubt seems possible on that +point. Well, this elementary truth, the most undeniable in the eyes of +all men which can be produced, does not, despite the assurances which +seem to uphold it, constitute an impregnable axiom; for there are cases +when _one_ and _one_ do not make _two_! Certainly such a proposition +seems scarcely reasonable, for its admission would entail the reversal +of what are called the sound notions of logic! But what will the +logician say if I affirm that in a certain case, _one_ and _one_ make +but _one-half_? Would he even take the trouble to refute me? No, he +would laugh in my face; he would not listen to me; he would tax me with +absurdity and insanity, preferring thus to lose a chance of instruction +rather than confess the impotence of his logic. + +There is the evil, and it is generally in this way that ignorance is +perpetuated. But let us return to the fact which we desire to prove, +contrary to logic and the pretensions of ordinary reason. + +Now, it is logical and perfectly in conformity with reason to say that +two musical instruments make more noise than one; and that thus two +double basses, for example, tuned in unison and placed side by side, +produce one sound of a double intensity. This seems an elementary +matter. It is as clear, you say, as that one and one make two. Well, no, +it is not so clear as you suppose. It is, on the contrary, a mistake; +for attentive experiment proves that the result is diametrically +opposite to the logical conclusion. + +This is a fact which no argument can destroy. Two double basses, placed +in the above-named conditions--conditions of vicinity and tonal +identity--far from adding up their individual result, are thus reduced +each to a quarter of its own sonority, which in the sum total, instead +of producing a double sound, produces a sound reduced to half of that +given individually by each instrument taken alone. This is how a power +plus an analogous power equals together with it but half a power; and +thus we are forced to admit that one and one do not necessarily make +two. + +I have carried the experiment still farther; in the instrument which +gained me a first-class medal at the exhibition of 1854, I was enabled +to put thirty-six strings of the same piano into unison at once. Well! +All these strings, struck simultaneously, did not attain to the +intensity of sound produced by one of them struck singly. All these +sounds, far from gaining strength by union, reciprocally neutralized one +another. This is not logical, I admit; but we must submit to it. + +Logic must be silent and reason bow before the brutal force of a fact to +which there is no objection to be raised. + +Since we are on the subject of the phenomena of sonority, let us draw +another illustration from it, quite as overwhelming in its illogicalness +as the former. + +When two similar phenomena differ from one another on any side, the +discord brought about by this difference is more apparent and more +striking by reason of the closer conjunction of these phenomena. By way +of compensation the dissimilarity is less appreciable in proportion as +these phenomena are farther apart from each other. + +This is rigorously logical and perfectly conformable to reason; yet +there are cases where we must affirm the contrary. Thus the same sound +produced, I will suppose, by two flutes not in accord with one another, +forms those disagreeable pulsations in the air which discordant sounds +inevitably produce. There seems to be no doubt that by gradually +bringing these discordant instruments together, the falseness of their +relation must be more and more striking, more and more intolerable. +Wrong! For then, and above all if the mouths of these instruments be +concentrically directed, a mutual translocation is produced between the +two discordant sounds, which restores the accuracy of their agreement. +Thus the lower sound is raised, while the higher one is lowered, in such +a way that the two sounds are mingled on meeting and form a perfect +unison. Now, here are contrasts, which, contrary to all rational data, +so far from being exaggerated by contact, diminish gradually, until they +are utterly annihilated. Thus, then, given two instruments of the same +nature, if the harmony which they effect be true, they enter by reason +of their conjunction into a negative state which neutralizes their +sonority; while the contrary occurs in the case of false unison. Here +the instruments become identical with one another, the sonority is +increased and the tonal deviation is corrected to the most perfect +harmony. + +Obstinate rationalists, what is your logic worth here? Has it armed you +against the surprises held in store for you by a multitude of facts +inaccordant with your reasonings? Oh, proud and haughty reason, bow your +head! Confess the inanity of your ways. Bow yet, once again, and +contemplate the mystery whence luminous instruction shall beam for you! + +At bottom these mysteries may surprise and baffle a reason deprived of +principle; but they are never contrary to it, because they proceed from +reason itself, from that Supreme Reason which created us in its own +image; and, by that very fact, is always in accord with individual +reason in so far as this will consent to sacrifice its own prejudices to +it, or listen to its infallible lessons. + +But man's reason most frequently heeds itself alone. Thence, once again, +arise its infirmities. Thus, what will happen, if, because the truths +which I utter here are obscure and do not at the first glance appear to +conform to the requirements of logic, you hastily reject them with all +the loftiness of your scornful reason, which would blush to admit what +it did not understand! Poor reason! which in and of itself understands +so little, and admits so many follies as soon as a scholar affirms them. +The consequence will be that you will be strengthened in the error which +flatters your ignorance. Behold that proud reason which would never +bend before a mystery revealed, behold it, I say, bowed beneath the +weight of prejudices, which there will be more than one scholar, more +than one logician, ready to endorse. + +Thus reason will refuse as unworthy itself, all belief in the actions of +God or of unseen spirits, the angels, heaven, but will not dare to doubt +the existence of _moving atoms_, invisible corpuscles. This is the +mental poverty into which the enemies of religious faith unwittingly +fall. They pervert that instrument of reason whose true use is to +supplement and fortify imperfect intelligence, and misuse it to +discredit and overthrow the original intuitions of intelligence. + + + + +Random Notes. + + + + Type--Man. + Prototype--Angel. + Archetype--God. + +It is within himself that man should find the reason of all he studies. +In the angels he should find the secret of his being: they are his +prototypes. Lastly, it is in the Divine archetype that we are to look +for the universal reason. + + * * * * * + +_The Senses._ + + Taste and smell say: It is _Good_. + Sight and touch say: It is _Beautiful_. + Hearing and speech say: It is _True_. + + * * * * * + +Every agreeable or disagreeable sight makes the body reaect backward. The +degree of reaction should be in proportion to the degree of interest +caused by the sight of the object presented to our sight. + + * * * * * + +The _soul_ is a triple virtue, which, by means of the powers that it +governs, forms, develops and modifies the sum total of the constituent +forces of the body. + +The _body_ is that combination of co-penetrating forces whose inherent +powers govern all acts under the triple impulse of the constituent +forces of the being. + +The _immanences_ are powers which, under the impulse of the constituent +virtues of the being, govern and modify the co-penetrating forces of the +body. + +The _powers_ govern the forces under the impulse of the virtues. + +The _virtues_ are the impulses under the sway of which the powers govern +and direct the forces. + + * * * * * + +Light is the symbol of order, of peace, of virtue. + + * * * * * + +Science and art form two means of assimilation: The one by means of +absorption, the other by means of emanation. The one, more generous than +the other, gives and communicates; the other unceasingly receives and +appeals. Science receives, art gives. By science man assimilates the +world; by art he assimilates himself to the world. Assimilation is to +science what incarnation is to art. + +If science perpetuates things in us, art perpetuates us in things and +causes us to survive therein. + +If by science man makes himself preeminent in subjugating the things of +this world, by art he renders them supernatural by impressing upon them +the living characters of his being and of his soul. + +Art is an act by which life lives again in that which in itself has no +life. + +Art should move the secret springs of life, convince the mind and +persuade the heart. + + * * * * * + + Beauty purifies the sense, + Truth illuminates the mind, + Virtue sanctifies the soul. + + * * * * * + +The more lofty the intellect, the more simple the speech. (So in art.) + + * * * * * + +Accent is the modulation of the soul. + + * * * * * + +The artist who does not love, is by that fact rendered sterile. + + * * * * * + +Art is a regenerating or delighting power. + + * * * * * + +Routine is the most formidable thing I know. + + * * * * * + +If you would move others, put your heart in the place of your larynx; +let your voice become a mysterious hand to caress the hearer. + + * * * * * + +Nothing is more deplorable than a gesture without a motive. + +Perhaps the best gesture is that which is least apparent. + + * * * * * + +There is always voice enough to an attentive listener. + + * * * * * + +Persuade yourself that there are blind men and deaf men in your +audience whom you must _move_, _interest_ and _persuade!_ Your +inflection must become pantomime to the blind, and your pantomime, +inflection to the deaf. + + * * * * * + +The mouth plays a part in everything evil which we would express, by a +grimace which consists of protruding the lips and lowering the corners. +If the grimace translates a concentric sentiment, it should be made by +compressing the lips. + + * * * * * + +Conscious menace--that of a master to his subordinate--is expressed by a +movement of the head carried from above downward. + +Impotent menace requires the head to be moved from below upward. + + * * * * * + +Any interrogation made with crossed arms must partake of the character +of a threat. + + * * * * * + +When two limbs follow the same direction, they cannot be simultaneous +without an injury to the law of opposition. Therefore, direct movements +should be successive, and opposite movements should be simultaneous. + + * * * * * + +There are three great articular centres: the _shoulder, elbow_ and +_wrist_. Passional expression passes from the shoulder, where it is in +the emotional state, to the elbow, where it is presented in the +affectional state; then to the wrist and the thumb, where it is +presented in the susceptive and volitional state. + + * * * * * + +Three centres in the arm: the _shoulder_ for pathetic actions; the +_elbow_, which approaches the body by reason of humility, and +reciprocally (that is, inversely) for pride; lastly, the _hand_ for +fine, spiritual and delicate actions. + + * * * * * + +The initial forms of movements should be--in virtue of the zones whence +they proceed--the only explicit, and consequently the only truly +expressive ones. + + * * * * * + +Bad actors exert themselves in vain to be moved and to afford a +spectacle to themselves. On the other hand, true artists never let their +gestures reveal more than a tenth part of the secret emotion that they +apparently feel and would hide from the audience to spare their +sensibility. Thus they succeed in stirring all spectators. + + * * * * * + +No, art is not an imitation of nature: art is better than nature. It is +nature illuminated. + + * * * * * + +There are two kinds of loud voices: the vocally loud, which is the +vulgar voice; and the dynamically loud, which is the powerful voice. A +voice, however powerful it may be, should be inferior to the power +which animates it. + + * * * * * + +Every object of agreeable or disagreeable aspect which surprises us, +makes the body recoil. The degree of reaction should be proportionate to +the degree of emotion caused by the sight of the object. + + * * * * * + +Without abnegation, no truth for the artist. We should not preoccupy the +audience with our own personality. There is no true, simple or +expressive singing without self-denial. We must often leave people in +ignorance of our own good qualities. + + * * * * * + +To use expression at random on our own authority, expression _at all +hazards_, is absurd. + + * * * * * + +The mouth is a vital thermometer, the nose a moral thermometer. + + * * * * * + +Dynamic wealth depends upon the number of articulations brought into +play; the fewer articulations an actor uses, the more closely he +approaches the puppet. + + * * * * * + +A portion of a whole cannot be seriously appreciated by any one ignorant +of the constitution of that whole. + + * * * * * + +An abstract having been made of the modes of execution which the artist +should learn before handling a subject, two things are first of all +requisite: + +1. To know what he is to seek in that subject itself; + +2. To know how to find what he seeks. + + * * * * * + +Is not the essential principle of art the union of truth, beauty and +good? Are its action and aim anything but a tendency toward the +realization of these three terms? + + * * * * * + +We have a right to ask a work of art by what methods it claims to move +us, by which side of our character it intends to interest and convince +us. + + * * * * * + +Speech is external, and visible thought is the ambassadress of the +intellect. + + * * * * * + +How should the invisible be visible when the visible is so little so! + + * * * * * + +One cannot be too careful of his articulation. The initial consonant +should be articulated distinctly; the spirit of the word is contained in +it. + + * * * * * + +Two things to be observed in the consonant: its explosion and its +preparation. The _t, d, p,_ etc., keep us waiting; the _ch, v, j,_ +prepare themselves, as: "_vvvenez_." The vocals _ne, me, re_ are +muffled. + + * * * * * + +_Rhythm_ is that which asserts; it is the form of movement. + +_Melody_ is that which distinguishes. + +_Harmony_ is that which conjoins. + + * * * * * + +Let your attitude, gesture and face foretell what you would make felt. + + * * * * * + +Be wary of the tremolo which many singers mistake for vibration. + + * * * * * + +If you cannot conquer your defect, make it beloved. + + * * * * * + +A movement should never be mixed with a facial twist. + + * * * * * + +Things that are said quietly should sing themselves in the utterance. + + + + + +Part Sixth. + +Lecture and Lessons Given by Mme. Geraldy (Delsarte's Daughter) in +America. + +[Illustration: Mme. Marie Delsarte-Geraldy.] + + + + +Lecture + +_Delivered by Mme. Geraldy at the Berkeley Lyceum, New York, February 6, +1892_. + + + +Ladies: + +When I made up my mind to come to this country it was not with the +object of exhibiting _myself_, but to speak to you of my father. In your +country my father is much talked of. In my country, unfortunately, he is +forgotten. My father did not write anything--that is a terrible thing! +He expected to do so some day, but he always put it off. At last he +decided to do so during the war--our unfortunate war! He did not have +many lessons to give at that time, for nobody thought of taking any. +This gave him leisure to write. His work was to have borne the title, +"My Revelatory Episodes." He had only written five chapters when he +died. It was to bring to you these five chapters that I came to America. +But as soon as I began to speak of them I was stopped. "Why do you tell +us this?" they said; "we know all this already." I then discovered that +the books written on my father by the Abbe Delaumosne and by Mme. +Angelique Arnaud had been translated and published in this country. Mme. +Arnaud's book is the better of the two, but it is not practical--not at +all practical. + +I have gathered together what I remember in the form of lectures, which +I offer to you. I have been asked for examples; I shall give you +examples. I will begin, however, by giving you a little biographical +sketch of my father, and by telling you how he happened to make his +discovery. He was the son of a country doctor, a man poor but original. +My father was still a very little boy when his father sent him and his +younger brother to Paris. There they were apprenticed to a jeweler and +made bands of gold. Soon the little brother died, and my father was the +only one to follow him to the cemetery. On his way back, after the +burial, he fell fainting on the plain. When he regained consciousness he +heard music in the distance, and, not knowing whence it came, thought it +was the music of the angels. Since then he dreamed of nothing but music; +he wanted to hear all he could; he longed to study it. One day he heard +two little urchins singing in the street. He asked them: "Do you know +music?" The urchins replied: "Yes!" "Will you teach it to me?" "Yes, +certainly," and they sang a scale for him. "Is that all there is of +music?" "Why, yes." + +Not long after, he made the acquaintance of an old musician, who became +interested in him, gave him a few lessons, and entered him at the +Conservatoire. There he attended the elocution classes, and a role was +given to him to learn in which he had to say: "How do you do, Papa +Dugrand!" He had no success with this sentence. Each of his four +professors told him a different way of saying it, and he wondered: "How +is this? Are there, then, no principles to go by?" One day a cousin of +his arrived unexpectedly from the country. "How do you do, my dear +cousin!" And immediately after this warm greeting he ran away from his +cousin, crying, excitedly, "I have it! I have it!" and did not stop +until he got to his room and in front of a looking-glass. What he had +was the right attitude and way to say, "How do you do, Papa Dugrand!" +and this way was diametrically opposed to the instruction his professors +had given him on the subject. + +My father spent forty-five years in observing. He was the king of +observers. What remains to us is but one-quarter of all his +observations. My father's method is comprehensive; it can be applied to +the arts, to the sciences. His pupils were orators, painters, sculptors, +comedians, lawyers, doctors, society amateurs. + +My father had read in the first chapter of Genesis that God made man in +His image. God is Trinity. Trinity is the criterion of my father. + +Raymond Brucker was an old friend of my father's. "What is this method +of your friend Delsarte?" was a question often put to him. "Delsarte's +method," he would reply, "is an orthopedic machine to straighten +crippled intellects." + +My father considered man as the principle of all arts. He used three +terms to express man: Life, mind and soul. He would compare man to a +carriage occupied by a traveler. In front sits a coachman, who drives +the horse. The carriage is the body of man; the horse that makes it move +is life; the coachman who drives the horse is the mind; the occupant of +the carriage, who gives orders to the coachman, is the soul. Man feels, +thinks and loves. + +My father made use of three terms to express three states: Concentric, +normal and excentric. These he would combine with each other. I will +show you, for example, the three concentric attitudes of the hand: The +concentro-concentric, expressing struggle; the concentro-normal, meaning +power; the concentro-excentric, showing convulsion. [_Illustrates._] In +the same way we have the combinations of the eyes and eyebrows, and, +again, those of the head. The head is concentro-concentric when the eyes +look in the same direction as that toward which the head inclines; this +expresses veneration. Notice how different the words, "I love him!" +sound when said first with the head inclined from and then inclined +toward the object. + +An interesting series of movements for the arms that my father used to +give is the following: "It is impossible;" "It is not so;" "It is +improbable;" "Maybe;" "It is so;" "It is evident;" "There is no doubt +whatever about it." [_Illustrates._] This series is equally applicable +to affirmation and to negation. For example, you can begin by, "It is +impossible that it is not true!" and continue with that meaning. + +I have been requested to give the attitudes of the feet. I do not like +to give them because they are not feminine, and I abhor all that is not +feminine. However, as I have been asked for them, and as I wish to prove +that my father had also given his attention to their study, here they +are: (1) The attitude of little children and of old men, expressing +weakness; (2) that of absolute repose; (3) vehemence; (4) prostration; +(5) transitory attitude, preparatory to (6) reverential walk; (7) +vertigo, intoxication, which is an ignoble vertigo, or familiarity; (8) +the alternative between the positions of offensive and defensive; (9) +defiance. [_Applause_.] Oh! I beg of you! [_Deprecatingly_.] It is +horribly ugly in me; but in a man it is all right. + +I shall now speak of the interesting role that the shoulder plays in the +expression of emotions. My father called the shoulder "the thermometer +of passion." Indeed, the shoulders rise with every strong emotion. If I +say, "Oh! how angry I am!" without raising the shoulders, it sounds if +not false at least weak; but listen, when I raise my shoulders: "Oh! how +angry I am!" Again, if I say, "How I love you!" the words are cold; but, +with shoulders raised, listen, "How I love you!" Thus we see actors +every day who portray different passions, but whose shoulders remain +"cold;" they do not move us. + +There is a very pretty observation to make about the elbow. My father +called it the "thermometer of pride and humility," and used to call our +attention to the different ways the soldiers carry their elbows. You +know we have a great many soldiers in France and we have a good, chance +to observe them. A corporal--that is, nothing at all--carries his elbows +like this [_elbows turned outward_]. A sergeant, whose rank is a little +higher than that of a corporal, carries them this way [_elbows slightly +drawn in_]. By the time he becomes lieutenant he is used to authority, +and does not have to show it off so much [_elbows drawn in still more_]. +As for a general, one whose rank is the highest in the army, he walks +with his arms hanging naturally at his sides. + +Now let me tell you about the thumb. My father being the son and the +nephew of doctors, was interested enough in the science to enter, at one +time, the school of medicine. Here, while dissecting, he noticed that +the thumb of a dead man falls inward toward the palm. This led him to +study the attitude of the thumb in life. He would pass days in the +garden of the Tuileries watching the nurses and the mammas carrying +their babes, noting how their thumbs spread out to clasp the precious +burden, and how the mothers' hands spread wider open than those of hired +servants; so he called the thumb "the thermometer of life." + +My father always used to say to his pupils: "Be warm outwardly, cold +inwardly." He wanted them to pass suddenly from one great emotion to +another. All great actors do so. He would point to a portrait of +Garrick, representing the great actor with one-half of his face +laughing, the other half weeping. He himself, in his lessons, after +having given expression to some pathetic sentiment, would become +immediately his own kind self again. He insisted on self-possession. +Often when I was a little girl, and would slip into the room during his +lessons, for I loved to listen to them, and would find him portraying +some terrible passion, he would stop suddenly, seeing the expression of +horror on my face, and would burst out laughing and catch me in his +arms, saying: "Poor little one, are you frightened?" + +"The artist," said my father, "must move, interest and convince." +Gesture is the agent of the heart. Gesture must always precede speech. +"Make me feel in advance," he used to say; "if it is something +frightful, let me read it on your face before you tell me of it." To +illustrate the practice of gesture before speech, I will now recite the +fable of "The Cock, the Cat and the Mouse." [Here followed the +recitation of the fable.] + +My father once held his whole audience under a spell, showing them, +through the medium of a little girl of eight, a hundred different ways +of saying, "That dog is pretty." I will show you one or two ways If I +really think the dog is pretty, I will say it in this tone, "That dog is +pretty." If the dog's coat is soiled, I will say in a different tone, +"That dog is pretty." And if the dog has rubbed against my dress, there +will be a vexed tone, "That dog is pretty!" + +My father used to divide orators into "artists in words and artists in +gesture." Those who are simply artists in words are those who do not +move you. Lamartine said of my father, "He is art itself." Theophile +Gautier said of him that he "took possession" of his public. + +In 1848 the National Guard was appointed to guard the public monuments. +My father, who was a member of the Guard, had his station near an +archbishopric. A poor fellow was arrested one day who looked suspicious; +he was searched and a chaplet was found on him. The cry arose +immediately that he should be drowned. The poor man was being hustled +off when my father stopped them, saying that he claimed his part of the +punishment, and he drew from his own pocket a chaplet and showed it to +them. Oh! my father was kind. He was goodness itself. He was often asked +to give lectures at the court, but he would answer: "I do not sell my +talent, I give it." He was especially fond of his poor pupils, those who +did not pay him; he would often invite them to dine with him. + +And now let me show you a series of lines which my father called the +inflective medallion. Imagine a circle [_describing a circle in the air +with her hand_]. Within this circle a vertical line, a horizontal line, +and two oblique lines, all intersecting each other. At both ends of the +vertical and horizontal lines are small curved lines, the whole forming +the medallion. This medallion contains all necessary gestures. If the +vertical line is made from on high downward [Illustration: down arrow], it +means affirmation; if made from below upward [Illustration: up arrow], it +means hope. The horizontal line means negation. One oblique line means +simple rejection [Illustration: top right to bottom left arrow]; the other +[Illustration: bottom left to top right arrow] means rejection with scorn, +as in a line from Lafontaine's fable, "The Lion's Court:" "The monarch, +vexed, sent him to Pluto." The little curve at the top of the vertical +line [Illustration: upward-facing curve] expresses ease, repose; it has +the form of a hammock. The opposite curve [Illustration: downward-facing +curve] means secrecy and mystery. This curve ( means amplitude. The other +one, when made in this direction [Illustration] expresses admiration for +physical beauty, and in the other direction [Illustration], admiration for +moral beauty. The entire circle O expresses glorification. These gestures +can be made with the whole arm, with the forearm only, or simply with the +waving hand; the degree of expression varies accordingly. + +Lastly, I will speak about the law of opposition. The arm and the head +should move in inverse directions [_illustrating_]; also the arm and the +hand. The statue of the Gladiator is a beautiful example of this law of +opposition. He is what we French call "well based;" you cannot overthrow +him. In contrast to him, my father used to cite Punchinello, the +children's toy, an object of ridicule. Punchinello, when the string is +pulled, raises his right arm and his right leg at the same time. + +Notice the different ways in which people scold. The schoolmaster moves +his head from above downward; the boy threatens back, tossing his head +upward. + +And now, ladies, I hope that what I have said will move you to take a +deeper interest in my father's work, and enable you to understand his +methods better than heretofore. I shall then feel, when I return to my +country, that I have not crossed the Atlantic in vain. + + + + +The Course of Lessons Given in America By Mme. Geraldy + + + +Mme. Geraldy prefaced her course of lessons with the following remarks: + +God is Trinity. Man, created in the image of God, bears the seal of the +Trinity. In these lessons we shall analyze our whole person. We shall +dwell upon three terms: Concentric, normal, excentric. We find them +everywhere. + +1, excentric; 2, concentric; 3, normal. + +[Illustration] + + |--------------------------------| + | | | | + | | | 2 2 | + | | | | + | | | c. c. | + | | | | + |--------------------------------| + | | | | + | | 3 3 | | + | | | | + | | n. n. | | + | | | | + |--------------------------------| + | | | | + | 1 1 | | | + | | | | + | cx. cx. | | | + | | | | + |--------------------------------| + +We will begin with the eye--it is the most difficult. + + + + +Lesson I. + +The Eye and the Eyebrow. + + + Concentric Closed. + The Eye. Normal Open, without expression. + Excentric Wide open. + + Concentric Lowered. + The Eyebrow. Normal Without expression. + Excentric Raised. + + + Combinations of the Eye and Eyebrow. + + Eye. Eyebrow. Expression. + Concentric Concentric In tenseness of thought. + Concentric Normal Heaviness, or somnolency. + Concentric Excentric Disdain. + + Normal Concentric Moroseness. + Normal Normal Without expression. + Normal Excentric Indifference. + + Excentric Concentric Firmness. + Excentric Normal Stupor. + Excentric Excentric Astonishment. + +The expressions of stupor and of astonishment +are greatly increased when preceded by a quivering +of the eyelid (blinking). This should be very rapid +and very energetic. Delsarte always insisted on this +blinking. + +Anxiety calls for a double movement of the eyebrows: +First, contract them; secondly, raise them. + +Vitality is expressed by raising the outer part of +the eyebrows. This accomplishment is very rare; +but, then, it is not necessary. + +Contraction of the lower eyelid expresses sensitiveness. + + + + +Lesson II. + +The Head. + + + + Concentric Bent forward. + The Head. Normal Upright. + Excentric Bent backward. + + + Combinations of Head-movements. + + Concentro-concentric Bent forward and inclined to one side (toward + the person): Veneration. + + Concentro-normal Bent forward: Examination. + + Concentro-excentric Bent forward and inclined to the other side + (from the person): Suspicion. + + Normo-concentric Inclined toward the person: Tenderness. + + Normo-normal Upright: Without expression. + + Normo-excentric Inclined from the person: Sensuality. + + Excentro-concentric Bent backward and inclined to one side (toward + the person): Abandon. + + Excentro-normal Bent backward, straight: Exaltation, vehemence. + + Excentro-excentric Bent backward and inclined to the other side + (from the person): Pride. + +It is the position of the eye that determines the expression of the +head, for it is the direction of the eye that tells us on which side the +object of veneration, suspicion, etc., is supposed to be. The shoulders +should be observed here. They are the thermometer of passion; the +stronger the emotion, the higher they should be raised. + + + + +Lesson III. + +The Hand. + + + Concentric.......... Closed. + The Hand. Normal.............. Open. + Excentric .......... Wide open. + + + Combinations of Hand-Movements. + + Concentro-concentric Fist closed tight, thumb pressing against the + knuckles: Struggle. + + Concentro-normal Hand closed, thumb resting lightly against the + side of the index finger: Power, authority. + + Concentro-excentric Hand open, fingers contracted: Convulsion. + + Normo-concentric Limp, fingers turned slightly inward: + Prostration.[A] + + Normo-normal Limp: Abandon. + + Normo-excentric Open, fingers straight: Expansion. + + Excentro-concentric Wide open, fingers stretched apart and + contracted: Execration. + + Excentro-normal Fingers stretched apart and straight: Exaltation. + + Excentro-excentric Fingers stretched wide apart and backward: + Exasperation. + + + + +Lesson IV. + +The Arms. + + +Let the arms swing backward from their natural position, with the palm +of the hands turned toward the front; head raised. Say: "It is +impossible!" + +There is no doubt whatever about it. + +[Illustration] + +Arms at the side in their natural position, palms toward the front; head +straight, Say: "It is not so." + +Arms slightly forward; head very slightly bent. Say: "It is +improbable." + +Forearms slightly raised. Say: "Maybe." + +Forearms still higher. Say: "It is probable." + +Forearms at right angles with upper arms, palms always upward; head +bent. Say: "It is so." + +Forearms higher. Say: "It is certain." + +Forearms still higher (upper arms follow); head bent forward. Say: "It +is evident!" + +Forearms still higher (by this time the upper arms are horizontal); head +bent way forward. Say: "There is no doubt whatever!" + +[Illustration] + +As will be noticed, the head moves in the opposite direction from the +arms. The face must express what the words say. The movements of the +arms alone, without the expression of the face, do not mean anything. + + + + +Lesson V. + +Inflections of the Hand.--Combinations of the Arm and Hand. + + +1. _Acceptance_. Put the arm out naturally, palm upward. + +2. _Caress_. Raise the shoulder; bend the head, keep the elbow close to +the side; raise the hand as high as the face and, with palm outward, +bring it slowly down again as if stroking an object, at the same time +raising the head. + +3. _Negation_. Draw a horizontal line in the air, the movement finishing +in an outward direction. + +4. _Self-control_. Arm hanging at the side, hand in the concentro-normal +condition, denoting authority, power over one's self. + +5. _Authority_. Extend the arm and raise it in front a little higher +than the level of the shoulder; then raise the hand, which should be in +the concentro-normal state, from the wrist and let it fall again with +decision. + +6. _Menace_. The arm is kept in the same position, the fist clenched +(hand concentro-concentric). + +7. _Execration_. Arm extended from the previous position sideward; hand +excentro-concentric, palm toward the back; head turned in opposite +direction, + +8. _Horror_. Arm outstretched in front; hand excentric, palm outward; +head thrown back. + +9. _Desire_. Arm in same position; hand assumes the normal condition +and turns its palm upward; head still thrown back. + +These movements should blend one into the other, and should be executed +without any affectation. The law of opposition should be observed here; +for example: In the ascending movement of the arm the hand falls from +the wrist; when the arm descends, the hand points upward. + + + +Lesson VI. + +Basic Attitudes. + + +1. _Weakness_. Feet close together, weight of body on both. This +attitude is that of childhood and old age. + +2. _Perfect calm and repose._ Rest weight on one foot (settling at the +hip), bend the knee of the other leg and advance the foot. + +3. _Vehemence_. Move the body forward so that the weight rests on the +foot that is in front; the heel of the foot that is behind is thus +raised. + +4. _Prostration_. Throw one foot far behind the other, with the knee +bent and the weight of the body upon it. This attitude, when properly +taken, leads to the kneeling position. + +5. _Transitive position._ In walking, stop midway between two steps and +you have the 5th attitude or transitive position. It is the one that +leads to all kinds of walks, and especially to the reverential or +oblique walk. + +_6. Reverential walk_. Let the foot which is behind take a step forward +in this manner: With the toe describe on the ground a semi-circle that +bends inward toward you; this will cause the heel to pass over the +instep of the other foot. The other foot now takes a straight step +forward, and you pause in a respectful attitude before the personage of +importance whom you wish to salute. Several steps may be taken in +succession before the final pause. The ceremonious step is always taken +with the foot you begin with (the one toward the person you salute); the +other foot always takes natural steps. This walk is only meant for men, +and only on grand occasions. + +7. _Intoxication, vertigo_. The feet are planted on the ground and +apart. This attitude expresses familiarity. + +8. _The alternative_. One foot in a straight line behind the other, the +weight of the body on both. This attitude is offensive and defensive. + +9. _Defiance_. The weight of the body on the foot that is behind, the +other foot diagonally forward; head thrown back. + +Delsarte never classed the basic attitudes under the heads of +concentric, normal or excentric, any more than he so classed gestures. +He simply gave them in the above sequence. + + + + +Lesson VII. + +The Medallion of Inflection. + + +"_The Key to all Gestures_" + +[Illustration] + +[Illustration: down arrow] Affirmation. +[Illustration: right arrow on top; left arrow on bottom] Negation. +[Illustration: up arrow] Hope. +[Illustration: top right to bottom left arrow] Rejection of things + that harm us. +[Illustration: bottom left to top right arrow] Rejection of things + that we despise. +[Illustration: upward facing curve] Ease, comfort (resembles a hammock). +[Illustration: downward facing curve] Silence, secrecy. +[Illustration: () curves] Plenitude, amplitude. +[Illustration: )( curves] Delicacy, grace. +[Illustration] Physical beauty. +[Illustration] Beauty of intellect. + +[Illustration: Example (complex curve)] + +[Illustration: down arrow] "You may believe +[Illustration: right arrow] that no lord +[Illustration: complex curve] had as much glory or happiness." + + + + +Mme. Geraldy's Lessons On Lafontaine's Fables. + + + +The Wolf and the Lamb. + + +Might makes right; we shall prove this presently. + +A Lamb was quenching his thirst in a stream of pure water. A Wolf, in +quest of adventures, happened by, drawn to the spot by hunger. + +"What makes thee so bold as to pollute the water I drink?" said he, +angrily. "Thy impudence deserves to be punished." + +"Sire," answered the Lamb, "soften your wrath, and consider that I am +drinking the water more than twenty feet below your Majesty, and can, +therefore, in no way pollute your Majesty's drink." + +"You do pollute it!" replied the savage animal, "and I know that last +year you slandered me." + +"How could I when I was not born?" replied the Lamb. "I am still a +suckling babe." + +"If it was not you, then it was your brother." + +"I have none." + +"Then it was some member of your family, for you do not spare me--you, +your shepherds and your dogs. I have been told so. I must revenge +myself." + +Thereupon the Wolf carried him into the depths of the forest, and ate +him without further trial. + + +Lesson Given By Mme. Geraldy. + +In the narrative portions of a recitation, the eyes of the speaker +should meet the eyes of the audience. In this way he fixes their +attention and engages their sympathy. + +Looking straight at the audience: "Might makes right [deplore the fact]. +We shall prove this presently. A Lamb [by tone of voice and gesture show +what a weak, gentle creature a lamb is] was quenching his thirst in a +stream of pure water. A Wolf [a strong, cruel animal], in quest of +adventures, happened by, drawn to the spot by hunger." [Fold the arms; +gesture should always precede speech.] "'What makes thee so bold as to +pollute the water I drink?' said he, angrily. 'Thy impudence deserves to +be punished.' + +"'Sire,' answered the Lamb [humbly], 'soften your wrath +and--[conjunctions should almost always be followed by a pause] consider +that I am drinking the water more than _twenty feet_ ["Mark me!"] below +your Majesty, and can, therefore, in no way pollute your Majesty's +drink.' + +"'You _do_ pollute it!' replied the savage animal, 'and--I know that, +last _year_, you _slandered_ me.' [With this line Delsarte always gave a +progressive gesture, which can best be described in this way: + +Give the gesture of affirmation [Illustration: down arrow] +[see Lesson VII.], stopping twice in the downward movement, on the words _that_ and _year_, +thus: + + | I + | know + v that + + | last + v year + + | you + v slandered me.] + +"'How could I when I was not born?' replied the Lamb [gentle voice]. 'I +am still a suckling babe.' + +"'If it was not you, then it was your brother' [gruff voice]. + +"'I have none.' + +"'Then it was some member of your family, for--you do not spare me, you, +your shepherds and your dogs. [There is no pause after the conjunction +_and_ here, as it simply joins together words in a list.] I have been +told so [impatiently; the wolf is tired of parleying so long]. I must +revenge myself.' + +"'Thereupon [lower the voice to fix the attention] the Wolf carried him +into the depths of the forest and--ate him [deplore the fact] without +further trial'" [voice low]. + + + + +The Cat, the Weasel and the Little Rabbit. + + +The palace of a young Rabbit was taken possession of, one fine morning, +by Dame Weasel; she is a sly one. The master being absent, it was an +easy thing for her to do. She carried her belongings there one day when +he had gone to do homage to Aurora, amid the thyme and the dew. After +having nibbled, and trotted, and made all his rounds, Bunny Rabbit +returned to his subterranean dwelling. Mrs. Weasel was looking out of +the window. + +"Hospitable gods! what do I see!" exclaimed the animal, who had been +shut out from his ancestors' home. "Hello there, Madam Weasel, come out +without delay, or I shall notify all the rats in the country." + +The lady with the pointed nose replied that land belonged to the first +occupant; that a lodging which he himself could enter only on his +stomach was a fine subject for war. "And even if it were a kingdom, I +should like to know why," said she, "it should belong forever to John, +son or nephew of Peter or William, more than to Paul, more than to me?" + +Bunny Rabbit alleged the rights of use and custom. "It is these laws," +said he, "that have made me lord and master of this dwelling; passing +from father to son, it was transmitted from Peter to Simon and then to +me, John. Is the right of the first occupant a wiser law?" + +"Oh! well, instead of disputing any more," said she, "let us have the +matter settled by Raminagrobis Grippeminaud." + +The latter was a cat who lived as a devout hermit; a cat whose ways and +words were smooth; a pious cat, warmly clothed and fat and comfortable; +an umpire, expert in all cases. Bunny Rabbit accepted him as judge, and +they both went before his furred Majesty. + +Said Grippeminaud to them: "Come nearer, my children, come nearer; I am +deaf; it is the result of old age." + +They both drew nearer, suspecting nothing. As soon as he saw the +contestants within reach, Grippeminaud, the sly fellow, throwing out his +paws on both sides at once, caused the two suitors to be of one mind by +eating them both up. + + +Lesson Given By Mme. Geraldy. + +[Begin slowly, making frequent pauses] "The palace--of a young Rabbit [a +nice little animal]--was taken possession of, one fine morning, by Dame +Weasel [a personage with nose and manners sharp]; she is a sly one. The +master being absent, it was an easy thing for her to do. She carried her +belongings there [without asking by your leave!] one day when he had +gone to do homage to Aurora, amid the thyme and the dew. [I do not know +if you see the poetry here, but we French people consider this last line +one of the loveliest bits of Lafontaine.] After having nibbled, and +trotted, and made all his rounds, Bunny Rabbit returned to his +subterranean dwelling. Mrs. Weasel was looking out of the window. [Start +back in surprise, raise the arms and shoulders high, eyes wide open with +astonishment, excentro-excentric; see Lesson I.] + +"'Hospitable gods! what do I see!' exclaimed the animal who had been +shut out from his ancestors' home. 'Hello there, Madam Weasel [with one +arm raised, beckon to her to come down], come out without delay, or--I +shall notify all the rats in the country.'" + +"The lady with the pointed nose replied that land belonged to the first +occupant; that a lodging which he himself could enter only [scornfully; +eyes concentro-excentric, see Lesson I.] on his stomach was a fine +subject for war! 'And even if it were a kingdom [the weasel talks very +fast], I should like to know why,' said she, 'it should belong forever +to John, son or nephew of Peter or William [talk very fast, with a great +many gesticulations], more than to Paul, more than to me? ' + +"Bunny Rabbit alleged the rights of use and custom. 'It is these laws,' +said he [the rabbit talks slowly], 'that have made me lord and master of +this dwelling; passing from father to son [count on your fingers], it +was transmitted from Peter to Simon, and then--to me, John, Is the right +of the first occupant a wiser law?'" + +"'Oh! well! instead of disputing any more,' said she [it is the weasel +who disputes; she talks in a high key and very fast] 'let us have the +matter settled by Raminagrobis Grippeminaud.'" + +The latter was a cat who lived as a devout hermit; a cat whose ways and +words were smooth; a pious cat [assert the fact], warmly clothed and fat +and comfortable [said with the gesture expressive of plenitude made with +both arms [Illustration]; see Lesson VII.]; an umpire, expert in all +cases. Bunny Rabbit accepted him as judge, and--they both went before +his furred Majesty. + +"Said Grippeminaud [the concentric state; take the attitude of one who +is wrapped up in himself, head bent, shoulders warped, hands holding +each other; hardly unclasp to make the sign of beckoning] to them: 'Come +nearer, my children, come nearer; [point to the ears] I am deaf; it is +the result of old age.' + +"They both drew nearer, suspecting nothing. As soon as he saw the +contestants within reach, [prepare the claws] Grippeminaud, the sly +fellow [act the following] throwing out his paws on both sides at once, +caused the two suitors to be of one mind by eating them both up." + + + + +Delsarte's Daughter In America. + +By Adele M. Woodward. + + + +Mme. Geraldy being asked, during her recent visit to this country, what +she thought of the system of gymnastics called "Delsarte," said (to +translate literally the expressive French): "It makes me jump! And yet +you have my father's method," she continued, showing two of the +principal works on the subject published in this country.[9] "All that +is correct (pointing to some of the charts); what more do you want?" + +The trouble lies here: Americans wanted more. They added, they devised, +they evolved from the few gestures given by the French master a whole +system of movements which they called by his name, and which has become +very popular in young ladies' seminaries and young ladies' clubs. The +name of Delsarte has been so strongly associated with this system, that +to most people the word "Delsarte" without the word "gymnastics" would +not mean anything. + +Mme. Geraldy came to our country to tell us what the name of Delsarte +means. Delsarte never taught gymnastics. His whole life was devoted to +the study of the laws that govern expression. His pupils were men of all +professions, ministerial and legal orators, actors, singers, etc. "The +first half of his lesson," said she, "was always devoted to theory, the +second to practice." + +Mme. Geraldy is a tall, dark-haired, middle-aged woman, with an +interesting face and a charming French manner. She wears mourning for +her mother, who died in 1891. + +"My mother," she said, "was a remarkable woman; she ought to be as well +known as my father is. I would rather my father were not known at all," +she continued, "than to be known as he is in your country, that is, as a +professor of gymnastics." + +She said she had heard of the American "Delsarte gymnastics" while in +Paris (Americans passing through the city had often come to her and +asked questions), but she had no idea, until she came here, that they +were pushed so far. She was quite amused at having dumb-bells given her +at one of her lectures in a town in Pennsylvania. "In a gymnasium, as +usual," she said, smiling. Anybody who had ever been through the +Delsarte gymnastics and afterward followed the course of lessons that +Mme. Geraldy gave to a class while in New York, would have been struck +by the beauty and simplicity of her father's method, and her clear and +direct exposition of it. Here was no affectation. "I abhor all that is +affected," she said. There were no intricate convolutions, no +flourishes, and, above all, no "decomposing exercises." + +An interesting fact to note is that Mme. Geraldy began by teaching her +pupils the expressions of the eyes, and when she gave them attitudes or +gestures, she always called for the facial expression to accompany them. +A woman, well-known in her profession throughout the country, is said to +have made the remark that Mme. Geraldy was wrong in beginning with the +eyes; she should begin with the feet. Only after showing the +possibilities of expression by face, head, hands, arms and shoulders, +did Mme. Geraldy give the basic attitudes. She was very patient and +painstaking with her pupils, and showed herself interested in every one. +She would often pause, while showing some expressive gestures, and say, +smiling: "But you Americans do not express yourselves in gestures. You +do not 'move' as much as we do." And again, when insisting on the +expressiveness of the shoulders when raised ("the shoulders are the +thermometer of passion," said Delsarte) she would conclude: "But all +this is not American; you Americans do not shrug your shoulders." + +In giving the gesture of caress, she quoted her father as saying that +the attitude of the hands in prayer is a certain form of caress. In our +desire to have the thing we pray for, we clasp our hands together and +press them to our bosom as if we already held it.[10] + +She was sometimes amused at the numerous questions that were asked her +during the lessons. "What searching minds you Americans have!" she would +remark, admiringly. "You must know the why and the wherefore of +everything. We French people are of much lighter mind and take things +more for granted." + +During the lesson on basic attitudes, the following question was put: +"In the attitude of repose is the mind in a passive state, and in the +attitude expressive of vehemence is the mind in an active state?" The +simple answer was: "It is the mind that governs the feet and not the +feet that govern the mind." + +Mme. Geraldy always insisted on the law of opposition in movements, +nature's and her father's great law. She gave, for example, an +interesting series of gestures, which might be called the ascending +scale from doubt to conviction, in which the head moves simultaneously +with the arms and in an inverse direction. The figure on page 547* +represents the angles made by the arms and shoulders and, at the same +time, those made by the head and shoulders to express the accompanying +ideas. + +Delsarte used to say: "When I am speaking, stop me in the moment of my +greatest exaltation, and I defy you to find me, from my head to my feet, +in a position contrary to my method." + +"Voice-culture for the speaking-voice is not an art that is cultivated +in France," Mme. Geraldy said, "What can you do to change your voice? It +was given to you by nature; you cannot change your vocal cords." + +Mme. Geraldy returned to France, bearing with her the hope that her +efforts have not been altogether unsuccessful in making the great work +of her father's life better known to Americans, better understood and +appreciated by them. + + + + + +Part Seventh. + +Addenda. + + + + +Trueness in Singing. + +Notes of a Lecture by Delsarte, Taken by His Pupil A. Giraudet, of The +National Academy of Music, Paris. + +By a most reasonable deduction derived from his admirable principles, +Delsarte reckoned three modes or degrees of correct singing: + +1. Absolute trueness; + +2. Temperate trueness; + +3. Passional trueness. + +Absolute trueness is that adopted by theorists, who divide the gamut +into five notes and two semi-notes; the note into nine commas, or shades +of tone; the chromatic semi-tone into five, and the diatonic semi-tone +into four. + +Thus from C to C# they count five shades of tone; whereas from C to Db +they count but four. Likewise, from D to Db they count five shades of +tone, and from D to C# but four. + +[Illustration: Absolute scale] + +The difference of a comma between the D flat and the C sharp, seemingly +a very slight difference, is, nevertheless, most important in singing, +as we shall see later on. But performers, to simplify our musical +system, have divided this comma into two, making synonymous notes of D +flat and C sharp; that is to say, notes having the same sound. The note +is, therefore, practically divided into two semitones of four commas and +a half. This is what is known as moderation or temperate trueness. + +[Illustration: Temperate scale] + +Temperate trueness is defective from many points of view. This is the +universal opinion, but we are forced to accept this method by the +absolute impossibility of any improvement, especially with the key-board +instruments now in vogue; and it must be accepted until some new +invention shall revolutionize the piano by modulating its tones, a +transformation which would give that instrument not only the musical +design, but also the color and warmth which it now lacks. + +Let us pass to passional trueness, leaving science to enter the domain +of art. "Passional trueness," said Delsarte, "consists in giving each +semitone three, four, five, six, or even seven commas, according to its +tendency." As we see, the precept is daring, and an inattentive scholar +would only have to forget the last words of the definition to make +people say that the great master of lyric art taught his pupils to sing +false. + +Every rule has its reason and its consequences. St. Augustine, who knew +the Beautiful, of which art is only the expression, and who could +explain it well, has given us a brief but admirable definition of music: +"Music is a succession of sounds each calling forth the other." Simple +yet profound words! The sounds call each other forth, desire and +mutually attract each other, and in every age this attraction has been +so clearly evident, that the seventh note in the scale, when it meets +the others each of which has its particular name relating to its +particular function, tonic, dominant, etc., is simply called the +sensitive note, from its tendency to pass into the atonic. + +Passional trueness is based upon this tendency of the notes to pass into +those which succeed them, and upon this reciprocal attraction of sounds. +Thus, notes, which have a tendency toward the acute or shrill, may be +raised two commas or more above temperate trueness. Notes which have a +tendency toward the grave may be lowered in the same proportion. +(Example, taken from "The Prophet," by Meyerbeer.) + + Ex. No. 1. + [Music] + Ah! mon fils + + Ex. No. 2 + [Music] + il re-nia ta me-re + +Here, the B may be but two commas distant from the C; and in the second +example given, the A flat may also be but two commas removed from the +G, and this change far from producing a disagreeable effect upon the +ear, will make a most striking impression and the accent will be far +more dramatic than before. Try the reverse, that is, divide the interval +B sharp-C into seven commas on the semitones A flat-G; it will be +unendurable. Whence we may deduce the fact that to sing false is to sing +above or below a note in the inverse direction to its attraction. + +Delsarte, in his definition, speaks only of the semitone, and we +ourselves give examples of that sort of attraction only; but it does not +follow that the other intervals are not equally subject to the same law. +Their attraction may not be shown by the same effects. + +The master added, in speaking of trueness in singing: "The triad is the +breathing-place of the tonality; the notes composing it should be +absolutely true. They are the singer's invariable and necessary law. +They characterize repose. Their office is that of attraction, and they +can only be attracted mutually, with the exception of the tonic, which +is the centre of attraction not only for various notes, but for the +phrase and the entire composition." + +Delsarte was very severe in regard to those who sang false; but to sing +true was not, to his thinking, a good quality. He said, on this point, +that no one would compliment an architect because he had built a house +in accordance with geometrical rules. Whence he concluded that trueness +is the least of good qualities, and the lack of it the greatest of +vices, and he added in regard to style: "The most important quality is +expression, and a lack of expression is the least of vices." + +Let us add that the application of passional trueness depends upon a +thousand conditions of rhythm and harmony, to analyze which would lead +us much too far. The artist must make use of it according to his +aptitudes and his tendencies, for he must preserve his individuality. He +must learn by observation and the study of his own faculties to apply +theoretical rules founded upon natural laws. + +Practical trueness, while it allows us to depart from legitimate +trueness, has strong analogies with the _tempo rubato_. The _tempo +rubato_, which Delsarte employed in a remarkable and striking way in +dramatic passages, actually permits the musician, in certain cases and +in the desired proportion, to change the value of the notes while +respecting the principle of time, which is invariable. But the +application of these rules is subject to the emotional intensity; it is, +therefore, impossible to determine theoretically and absolutely its +various bearings. + + + + +Delsarte. + +[From the _Atlantic Monthly_ for May, 1871, by permission of Houghton, +Mifflin & Co.] + +By Francis A. Durivage. + + + +It was not until last summer, and then under peculiarly impressive +circumstances, that I saw, for the first time, a remarkable man whose +name is indissolubly associated with French art--Francois Delsarte, of +Paris. My curiosity had been deeply excited by what I had heard of him. +I was told that, after long years of patient toil and profound thought, +his genius had discovered and developed a scientific basis for +histrionic art, that he had substituted law for empiricism in the domain +of the most potential of the fine arts; and when the names of Rachel and +Macready were quoted in his list of pupils, I was eager to behold the +master and to learn something of the system which has yielded such +fruits to the modern stage. + +The kindness of a friend procured me the rare privilege of admission to +the last session of Delsarte's course, which closed in July. It was on +one of those weary summer days when the hush of expectation, following +the fierce excitement caused by the declaration of war, had eclipsed the +gayety of Paris. + +The notes of the Marseillaise had ceased to stir the blood like the +sound of a trumpet. The glare and glitter of French chivalry, which had +masked the feebleness of the Imperial military system, had vanished. The +superb Cent Gardes, the brilliant lancers, the savage Turcos, and the +dashing Spahis had been replaced by the coarsely clad troops of the +line. It was "grim-visaged war" and not its pageantry that we beheld; +heavy guns rumbling slowly across the Place de la Concorde; dark masses +of men moving like shadows on their funeral march to the perilous edge +of battle. It was a relief to exchange these sad scenes for that quiet +interior of the Boulevard de Courcelles, where a little group of persons +devoted to aesthetic culture were gathered around their teacher, perhaps +for the last time. + +The personal appearance of Delsarte is impressive. Years have not +deprived his massive form of its vigor, nor dimmed the fire of his eye. +His head is cast in a Roman mould; indeed, the fine medallion likeness +executed by his daughter might well pass for an antique in the eyes of a +stranger. In his personal bearing there is nothing of that +self-assertion, that posing, which is a common defect of his +distinguished countrymen. + +The pupils whom I met were ladies, with the single exception of a young +American, Mr. James S. MacKaye, to whom, as his favorite disciple and +one designated to succeed him in his profession, Delsarte has imparted +all the minutiae of his science. To this gentleman was assigned the +honor of opening the _seance_ by a brief exposition of the system, and +of closing it by reciting in French a brilliant tragic monologue, the +effect of which, in spite of the absence of appropriate costume and +scenic illusion, electrified the audience. In this scene, "Les Terreurs +de Thoas," those rapidly changing expressions of the features, those +statuesque attitudes melting into each other, which we all remember in +Rachel, indicated a common origin. It needed not the added eloquence of +words and the sombre music of the voice to tell the tragic story of the +victim of the Eumenides. After listening to the recitation, I was not +surprised to learn that the young student was to appear, under the +auspices of his teacher, at the Theatre Francais, during the approaching +winter,--an honor never before conceded to any foreigner. The large +American colony in Paris was looking forward to this _debut_ with a +natural pride, and Delsarte with the calm assurance of his favorite's +triumph. Alas! we all reckoned without taking King William, the Crown +Prince, the Fed Prince, von Moltke, and von Bismarck into our account. +We never fancied, on that bright July morning, that Krupp of Essen's +cannon and the needle-gun were soon to give laws to Paris. But _inter +arma silent artes_ as well as _leges_. Nearer and deadlier tragedies +than those of Corneille and Racine were soon to be enacted; and the +poor players were summoned to perform their parts upon no mimic stage. +However, "what though the field be lost? all is not lost." The _venue_, +to borrow a legal phrase, has been changed, but the cause has not been +abandoned. Our young countryman has returned to his native land, +bringing with him the fruits of his long studies, to appeal to an +American audience, and it is quite possible that his teacher may be +induced to transfer his school of art to the United States. + +Although at this _seance_ Delsarte appeared disposed to efface himself +in favor of his brilliant representative, he kindly consented to speak a +few words (and what a charming French lesson was his _causerie_!) and to +present a specimen of his pantomimic powers. The latter exhibition was +really surprising. He depicted the various passions and emotions of the +human soul, by means of expression and gesture only, without uttering a +single syllable; moving the spectators to tears, exciting them to +enthusiasm, or thrilling them with terror at his will; in a word, +completely magnetizing them. Not a discord in his diatonic scale. You +were forced to admit that every gesture, every movement of a facial +muscle, had a true purpose, a _raison d'etre_. It was a triumphant +demonstration. + +The life of this great master and teacher, hereafter to be known as the +founder of the Science of Dramatic Art, crowded with strange +vicissitudes and romantic episodes, forms a record full of interest. + +Francois Delsarte was born at Solesmes, Department of the North, France, +in 1811. His father was a physician, and his mother a woman of rare +abilities, who taught herself to speak and write several languages. + +Shortly after the battle of Waterloo a detachment of the allied troops +was passing through Solesmes, in the midst of a dead and sullen silence, +when the commandant's quick ear caught the sound of a childish voice +crying, "Vive l'Em-pe-weur! Vive Na-po-le-on!" Every one smiled at the +juvenile speaker's audacity, except the stern officer whose name has, +unfortunately, escaped the infamous celebrity it deserved. By his +orders, a platoon of soldiers sought out the child's home and burned it +to the ground; and thus little Francois Delsarte became the innocent +cause of the ruin of his family. + +The atrocities committed during the White Terror, of which this incident +is an example, though passed over by history, are not forgotten by the +survivors of that cruel period. The leaders in the second terror could +not plead the ignorance of Robespierre's followers in excuse of their +excesses, for they were nobles, magistrates, priests and officers of +rank. + +Delsarte's early years were passed in the midst of cruel privations and +domestic troubles, for even love forsook a home blighted by poverty. His +father, naturally proud and imperious, irritated by straitened +circumstances, out of which there seemed no issue, crushed by the weight +of obligations to others, lost heart and hope, became morose, sceptical +and bitter, and treated his wife and family with such harshness and +injustice, that Delsarte's mother was finally compelled to abandon her +husband. She fled with her two boys to Paris, hoping there to make her +talents available. All her efforts, however, were fruitless, and she +found herself on the verge of starvation. + +One evening, as she sat with her two boys in her wretched room, tortured +by their questions after their father, she could not suppress her tears. +Francois, the eldest, then nine years of age, tried to console her. He +told her that he was almost a man, able to earn his food and to take +care of her and his little brother. She listened to his prattle with a +sad smile, kissed him and embraced him. + +During all of the sleepless night which followed, Francois was revolving +his hidden projects of independence, and at gray dawn, confiding his +purpose only to his brother, and bidding him tell his mother, when she +awoke, that he would soon be back with money to buy bread for them, the +child stole forth to seek his fortune in the great dreary world of +Paris. + +He wandered about all day, and at night, hungry and weary, entered a +jeweler's shop in the Palais Royal, kept by an old woman, to whom he +appealed for employment--vainly at first. Finally, however, she +consented to engage him as a drudge and errand boy, allowed him to sleep +in an _armoire_ over the door, and gave him four pounds of bread a week +in lieu of wages. Four pounds of bread a week! The allowance appeared +munificent, and he accepted the offer with gratitude. A brief experience +dispelled his illusions. He was always weary and always hungry. After a +few weeks' trial, he left his first benefactress and secured some kind +of employment at five sous a day, out of which he contrived to save two. +In two weeks he had saved nearly a franc and a half for his dear mother. +One day, while executing a commission for his employer, he found his +little brother alone in the street crying bitterly. + +"How is dear mamma?" was his first question. + +"Dead, and carried away by ugly men." + +The winter of 1821 was unusually severe for Paris. One night Delsarte +and his brother fell asleep in each other's arms in the wretched loft +they occupied; but when the former opened his eyes to the morning's +light he was holding a corpse to his heart. The little boy had perished +of cold and starvation. Almost mad with terror and grief, the survivor +rushed into the streets to summon the neighbors. + +The next day a little hatless boy, in rags and nearly barefooted, +followed two men bearing a small pine coffin which they deposited in the +_fosse commune_ of _Pere la Chaise_. + +After seeing the grave covered, Delsarte left the cemetery and wandered +wearily through the snow, now utterly alone in the world, across the +plain of St. Denis. Overcome by cold, hunger, and grief, he sank to the +ground, and then, before he lost consciousness, a strain of music, real +or imaginary, met his ear and charmed him to a forgetfulness of misery, +bereavement, all the evils that environed him. It was the first +awakening of his artist soul, and to this day Delsarte believes that it +was no earthly music that he heard. + +Rousing himself from a sort of stupor into which he had fallen, he saw a +_chiffonnier_ bending over him. The man had for a moment mistaken the +prostrate form for a bundle of rags; but taking pity on the half-frozen +lad, he placed him in his basket and carried him to his miserable home. +And so the future artist commenced his professional career as a Parisian +rag-picker. + +While wandering about the great city in the interest of his employer, +his only solace was to listen to the songs of itinerant vocalists and +the occasional music of a military band. Music became his passion. From +some of the gamins he learned the seven notes of the scale, and, to +preserve the melodies that delighted him, he invented a system of +musical notation. On a certain holiday, when he was twelve years old, +while listening to the delightful music in the garden of the Tuileries, +the little _chiffonnier_ busied himself with drawing figures in the +dust. An old man of eccentric appearance, noticing his earnest +diligence, accosted him. + +"What are you doing there, boy?" he asked. + +Terrified at first, but reassured by the kind manner of the stranger, +Delsarte replied: "Writing down the music, sir." + +"Do you mean to say those marks have any significance? That you can read +them?" + +"Certainly, sir." + +"Let me hear you." + +Encouraged by the interest manifested in him, the lad sang in a sweet +and pure but sad voice the strains just played by the military band. The +old man was amazed. + +"Who taught you this process?" + +"Nobody, sir; found it out myself." + +Bambini--for it was the then distinguished, but now almost forgotten, +professor--offered to take the boy home with him; and he who had entered +the garden of the Tuileries a rag-picker, left it a recognized musician. +In the dust of Paris were first written the elements of a system +destined to regenerate art. Bambini taught his protege all he knew, but +the pupil soon surpassed the master and became his instructor in turn; +for if the one had talent, the other possessed genius. + +Bambini predicted the future of Delsarte. One day when they were walking +arm-in-arm in the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, the former said: "Do you +see all those people in carriages, with their fine liveries and +magnificent clothes? Well, the day will come when they will only be too +happy to listen to you, proud of your presence in their _salons_, +envying your fame as a great artist." + +Bambini's death left Delsarte poor and friendless. At fourteen, however, +he managed to get admitted into the Conservatoire, where, though he +labored hard, he met with harsh treatment and discouragement. The +professors disliked him for his reflective nature and persistent +questionings which brought to light the superficiality of their +acquirements; his fellow-pupils, for his exclusive devotion to study and +his reserve, the result of diffidence rather than of _hauteur_. His +professors were dictators, who, while differing from each other as +teachers, were yet united in frowning upon any attempt on the part of +their pupil to emancipate himself from the thraldom of conventionalism +and routine. Genius was a heresy for which they had no mercy. + +Thrown upon his own resources, he soon developed, by careful observation +of nature and a constant study of cause and effect, a system and a style +radically differing from those of the professors and their servile +imitators. + +One day, after having sung in his own style at one of the public +exhibitions--applauded, however, only by a single auditor,--he was +walking sadly and slowly in the court-yard of the Conservatoire, when a +lady and a gentleman approached him. + +"Courage, my friend," said the lady. "Your singing has given me the +highest pleasure. You will be a great artist." + +So spake Marie Malibran, the queen of song. + +"My friend," said her companion, "It was I who applauded you just now. +In my opinion, you are a singer _hors de ligne_. When my children are +ready to learn music, you, above all others, shall be their professor." + +These were the words of Adolphe Nourrit. The praises of Malibran and +Nourrit gave Delsarte courage, revived his hopes, and decided him to +follow implicitly the promptings of his genius. His extreme poverty +compelled him at last to apply to the Conservatoire for a diploma which +would enable him to secure a situation at one of the lyric theatres. It +was refused. + +The autumn of 1829 found him a shabby, almost ragged applicant for +employment at the stage-door of the Opera Comique. Repeated rebuffs +failed to baffle his desperate pertinacity. + +One day the director, hearing of the annoyance to which his +subordinates were subjected by Delsarte, determined to abate the +nuisance by one of those cruel _coups-de-main_ of which Frenchmen are +pre-eminently capable. The next night, during the performance, when +Delsarte called, he was, to his surprise and delight, shown into the +great man's presence. + +"Well, sir, what do you want?" + +"Pardon, Monsieur, I came to seek a place at your theatre." + +"There is but one vacant, and you don't seem capable of filling that. I +want only a call-boy." + +"Sir, I am prepared to fill the position of a _premier sujet_ among your +singers." + +"_Imbecile!_" + +"Monsieur, if my clothes are poor, my art is genuine." + +"Well, sir, if you will sing for me, I will hear you shortly." + +He left Delsarte alone, overjoyed at having secured the manager's ear. +In a few moments a surly fellow told him he was wanted below, and he +soon found himself with the manager upon the stage behind the green +curtain. + +"You are to sing here," said the director. "There is your piano. In one +moment the curtain will be rung up. I am tired of your importunities. I +give you one chance to show the stuff you're made of. If you discard +this opportunity, the next time you show your face at my door you shall +be arrested and imprisoned as a vagrant." + +The indignation excited in Delsarte by this cruel trick instantly gave +way before the reflection that success was a matter of life and death +with him, and that perhaps his last chance lay within his grasp. He +forgot his rags; every nerve became iron; and when the curtain was rung +up, a beggar with the bearing of a prince advanced to the foot-lights, +was received with derisive laughter by some, with glances of surprise +and indignation by others, and, with a sad and patient smile on his +countenance, gracefully saluted the brilliant audience. The courtliness +of his manner disarmed hostility; but when he sat down to the piano, ran +his fingers over the keys, and sang a few bars, the exquisite voice +found its way to every heart. With every moment his voice became more +powerful. Each gradation of emotion was rendered with an ease, an art, +an expression, that made every heartstring vibrate. Then he suddenly +stopped, bowed, and retired. The house rang with bravos. The +dress-circle forgot its reticence and joined in the tumult of applause. +He was recalled. This time he sang a grand lyric composition with the +full volume of his voice, aided in effect by those imperial gestures of +which he had already discovered the secret. The audience were +electrified. They declared that Talma was resuscitated. But when he was +a second time recalled, his tragic mood had melted; there were "tears +in his voice" as well as on his cheeks. + +After the fall of the curtain the director grasped his hand, loaded him +with compliments, and offered him an engagement for a year at a salary +of ten thousand francs. He went home to occupy his wretched attic for +the last time, and falling on his knees poured forth his soul in prayer. + +The next day Delsarte, neatly dressed, paid a visit to the directors of +the Conservatoire. + +"Gentlemen," said he, "_you_ would not give me a recommendation as a +_chorister_; the _public_ have accorded me _this_." And he displayed his +commission as _Comedien du Roi_. + +Delsarte remained upon the lyric stage until 1834, when the failure of +his voice, which had been strained at the Conservatoire, compelled him +to retire. He continued, however, the study of music, and his +productions, particularly a "Dies Irae," placed him in the front rank of +composers. At this period of his life, meditation and study resulted in +a firm religious faith, which never wavered afterward. + +He now applied himself to the task of establishing a scientific basis +for lyric and dramatic art, and after years of patient labor perfected a +system on which probably his fame will ultimately rest. His _cours_ for +instruction in the principles of art was first opened in 1839. From the +outset he was appreciated by the highly cultivated few, nor was it long +before the circle extended and the new master won a European +reputation. Some of his pupils were destined for a professional career; +but many, men and women of rank and fortune, sought to learn from him +the means of rendering their brilliant _salons_ yet more attractive. +Members of most of the reigning families of Europe were numbered among +his pupils, and his apartments in Paris were filled, when I saw them, +with pictures, photographs, and other souvenirs of esteem and +friendship, from the highest dignitaries of Europe. When he consented, +on one occasion, to appear at a _soiree_ at the Tuileries, Louis +Philippe received him at the foot of the grand staircase, as if he had +been his peer, and bestowed on him during the evening the same +attentions he would have accorded to a fellow-sovereign. The citizen +king recognized the royalty of art. And it may be noted that Delsarte +would not have appeared on this occasion, except on the condition that +no remuneration should be offered to him for the exercise of his +talents. + +Malibran, whose kind word in the courtyard of the Conservatoire had +revived Delsarte's fainting hopes, attended his early course of +lectures. I have already mentioned Rachel and Macready as his pupils. I +now recall the names of Sontag, of the gifted Madeleine Brohan, of +Carvalho, Barbot, Pasca (who owed everything to Delsarte), and Pajol. He +was the instructor in pulpit oratory of Pere Lacordaire, Pere +Hyacinthe, and the present abbe of Notre Dame. + +Notwithstanding the labor exacted by his great specialty, he has done +much good work in various other directions. Among his mechanical +inventions are a sonotype, a tuning instrument by means of which any one +can tune a piano accurately, an improved level, theodolite and sextant, +a scale for measuring the differences in the solidity of fluids, etc. + +Of the conscientiousness with which he works, it may be mentioned that +he devoted five years to the study of anatomy and physiology, to obtain +a perfect knowledge of all the muscles, their uses and capabilities,--a +knowledge of which he has utilized with remarkable success. + +It is now time to give some idea of his system, which can be done most +satisfactorily, perhaps, through the medium of an article which appeared +in the _Gazette Musicale_, from the authoritative pen of A. Gueroult. +After having analyzed the maestro's theory of vocal art, he says: + +"The study of gesture and its agents has been subjected by M. Delsarte +to an analysis no less profound. Thus he recognizes in the human body +three principal agents of expression, the head, the torso and the limbs, +which perform each a distinct part in the economy of a character. +Gesture, sometimes expressive, sometimes excentric, and sometimes +compressive, assumes in each case special forms, which have been +classified and described by M. Delsarte with a care and perspicuity +which make his labors on this subject entirely new, and for which I know +no equivalent anywhere. Permit me to explain more fully the utility of +this study, to cite an application, for examples are always more +eloquent than generalities. In the play of the physiognomy every portion +of the face performs a separate part. Thus, for instance, it is not +useless to know what function nature has assigned to the eye, the nose, +the mouth, in the expression of certain emotions of the soul. True +passion, which never errs, has no need of recurring to such studies; but +they are indispensable to the feigned passion of the actor. How useful +would it not be to the actor who wishes to represent madness or wrath, +to know that the eye never expresses the sentiment experienced, but +simply indicates the object of this sentiment! Cover the lower part of +your face with your hand, and impart to your look all the energy of +which it is susceptible, still it will be impossible for the most +sagacious observer to discover whether your look expresses anger or +attention. On the other hand, uncover the lower part of the face, and if +the nostrils are dilated, if the contracted lips are drawn up, there is +no doubt that anger is written on your countenance. An observation which +confirms the purely indicative part performed by the eye is, that among +raving madmen the lower part of the face is violently contracted, while +the vague and uncertain look shows clearly that their fury has no +object. It is easy to conceive what a wonderful interest the actor, +painter, or sculptor must find in the study of the human body thus +analysed from head to foot in its innumerable ways of expression. +Hence, the eloquent secrets of pantomime, those imperceptible movements +of great actors which produce such powerful impressions, are decomposed +and subjected to laws whose evidence and simplicity are a twofold source +of admiration. + +"Finally, in what concerns articulate language M. Delsarte has assumed a +yet more novel task. We all know the power of certain inflections; we +know that a phrase which accented in a certain way is null, accented in +another way produces irresistible effects upon the stage. It is the +property of great artists to discover this preeminent accentuation; but +never, to my knowledge, did anyone think of referring these happy +inspirations of genius to positive laws. Yet, whence comes it that a +certain inflection, a certain word placed in relief, affects us? How +shall we explain this emotion, if not by a certain relation existing +between the laws of our organization, the laws of general grammar, and +those of musical inflection? There is always, in a phrase loudly +enunciated, one word which sustains the passionate accent. But how shall +we detach and recognize it in the midst of the phrase? How distribute +the forces of accentuation on all the words of which it is composed? How +classify and arrange them in relation to that sympathetic inflection, +without which the most energetic thought halts at our intelligence +without reaching our heart? M. Delsarte has had recourse to the same +method which guided him in the study of gesture. He did not study +declamation on the stage, but in real life, where unpremeditated +inflections spring directly from feeling; then, fortified by innumerable +observations, he rearranged grammar and rhetoric from this special point +of view, and has obtained results as simple in their principles as they +are fertile in their application. + +"If I wished to classify the nature and value of M. Delsarte's labors in +relation to what has been spoken or written up to this time on the art +of singing or acting, I should say that the numerous precepts which have +been formulated on dramatic art have had hardly any object other than +the manner in which each character ought to be conceived. Ingenious and +multiplied observations have been employed to bring forth the delicacies +of the part and its unpcrceived features. The intellectual strength of +the actor or vocalist has been directed to the author's conception. He +has been told to be pathetic here, menacing there; here to assume a +slight tinge of irony transpiercing apparent politeness, or, again, to +make his gesture a seeming contradiction of his words. Such an analysis +of the poet's work is certainly imperative, but how far from adequate! +And what an immense distance there is from the intelligence which +comprehends to the gesture which translates, from the song which moves +to the inflection which interprets! It is with the new purpose which M. +Delsarte has embraced that, without neglecting an understanding of the +author, he says to the actor: 'This is what you must express. Now, how +will you do it? What will you do with your arms, with your head, with +your voice? Do you know the laws of your organization? Do you know how +to go to work to be pathetic, dignified, comic, or familiar, to +represent the clemency of Augustus or the drunkenness of a coachman?' In +a word, he teaches the vocalist or actor the laws of this language, of +this eloquence which nature places in our eyes, in our gestures, in the +suppressed or expansive tones of our voice, in the accent of speech. He +teaches the actor, or, to speak more properly, the man, to know himself, +to manage artistically that inimitable instrument which is man himself, +all of whose parts contribute to a harmonious unity. Hence, aware of the +gravity of such an assertion, I do not hesitate to proclaim here that I +believe M. Delsarte's work will remain among the fundamental bases; I +believe that his labors are destined to give a solid foundation to +theatric art, to elevate and to ennoble it; I believe that there is no +actor, no singer, however eminent, who cannot derive from the +acquirements and luminous studies of M. Delsarte, positive germs of +development and progress. I believe that whoever makes the external +interpretation of the sentiments of the human soul his business and +profession, whether painter, sculptor, orator, or actor, that all men of +taste who support them will applaud this attempt to create the _science +of expressive man_; a science from which antiquity seems to have lifted +the veil, and what appears willing to revive in our days, in the hands +of a man worthy by his patient and conscientious efforts to discover +some of its most precious secrets." + + * * * * * + +Delsarte has sought neither fame nor wealth. He could easily have +secured both by remaining on the stage as an actor, after he had lost +his power as a vocalist. He preferred to surrender himself in +comparative retirement to the study of science and art, and the +instruction of those who sought his aid in mastering the principles of +the latter. To the needy this instruction was imparted gratuitously, and +more than one successful actress has been raised from penury to fortune +by the benevolence of her teacher. + +It would be easy to cite many illustrations of the goodness and +tenderness of this man. Religious fervor has largely influenced his life +and is the key-note of his character; but his faith is not hampered by +bigotry. Like all minds of high rank, he holds that science and art are +the handmaids of religion. + +I have said that this remarkable man did not seek fame; it has come to +him unsought. Pages might be filled with voluntary tributes to his +genius from the foremost minds of France,--Jules Janin, Theophile +Gautier, Mme. Emile de Girardin. Lamartine pronounced him "a sublime +orator." Fiorentino, the keen, delicate, and calm critic, spoke of him +as "this master, whose feeling is so true, whose style is so elevated, +whose passion is so profound, that there is nothing in art so beautiful +and so perfect." + +If we hazarded an intrusion into the domestic circle of Delsarte, we +should find one of those pure and happy family groups, fortunately for +France by no means rare even in her capital; one of those French homes +the existence of which nearly all Englishmen and many Americans deny. We +should find a bond of sympathy and a community of talent uniting father +and mother, two fair daughters, and three brave sons. Or, rather, we +should have found this happy gathering, for the iron hand of war has +broken the charmed ring. The dear old home on the Boulevard de +Courcelles is deserted. Father, mother, and daughters were compelled to +seek refuge in the North of France, the sons to march against the +Prussians. Let us trust that long ere this they have reached home +unwounded, and that the grand old maestro has no further ills in store +for his declining years. + + + + +Delsarte's Method for Tuning Stringed Instruments Without the Aid of +The Ear.[11] + +By Hector Berlioz. + + + +Do you hear, you pianists, guitarists, violinists, violoncellists, +contra-bassists, harpists, tuners, and you, too, conductors of +orchestras--without the aid of the ear! What a vast, incomparable, nay, +priceless discovery, especially for the rest of us wretched listeners to +pianos out of tune, to violins and 'cellos out of tune, to harps out of +tune, to whole orchestras out of tune! Delsarte's invention will now +make it your positive duty to cease torturing us, to cease making us +sweat with agony, to cease driving us to suicide. + +Not only is the ear of no use in tuning instruments, but it is even +dangerous to consult it; it must by no possible chance be consulted. +What an advantage for those who have no ear! Hitherto, it has been just +the opposite, and we forgave you the torments that you inflicted on us. +But in future, if your instruments be out of tune, you will have no +excuse, and we shall hand you over to public vengeance. Without the aid +of the ear, mark you--aid so often useless and deceptive. + +Delsarte's discovery holds good only for stringed instruments, but this +is much; this is an enormous gain. Hence, it follows that in orchestras +directed and tuned without the aid of the ear, there will be no more +discords, save between the flutes, hautboys, clarionets, bassoons, +horns, cornets, trumpets, trombones, kettle-drums and bass drums. The +triangle might, at a pinch, be tuned by the new method; but it is +generally acknowledged that this is not necessary, just as with bells, a +discord between the triangle and the other instruments is a good thing; +it is popular in all lyric theatres. + +And the singers, whom you do not mention, someone may ask, will it be +possible to make them sing true, to put them in tune? Two or three of +them are naturally in tune. Some few, by great care and exactness, may +be brought very nearly into tune. But all the others were not, are not, +and will not be in tune, either individually, or with each other, or +with the instruments, or with the leader of the orchestra, or with the +rhythm, or with the harmony, or with the accent, or with the expression, +or with the pitch, or with the language, or with anything resembling +precision and good sense. + +Delsarte has made it especially easy to tune the piano, by means of an +instrument that he calls the phonopticon, which it would take too long +to describe here. Suffice it to say, that it contains an index-hand +that marks the exact instant when two or more strings are in perfect +unison. It may be added that the invariable result is so absolutely +correct, no matter who may try it or under what conditions, that the +most practiced ear could not possibly attain to similar perfection. +Acousticians should not fail to examine this invention at once, the use +of which cannot be long in becoming universal. + + + + +Index. + + + +A. + + +Abdominal centre, the, life, +Accent, +Accord of nine, the, +Actors, bad, +Adjective, the, +Adverb, the, +AEsthetic division, chart of, +AEsthetic fact of first rank, +AEsthetics, + course of, applied, + lay of, +Alto voice, the, +Anatomy, +Angelo, Michael, +Angels, the, +Anger, +Animals do not laugh, +Ankylosed limbs, +Apollo, the, +Appoggiatura, +Aquinas, St. Thomas, +Archimedean lever, +Architecture, application of the law to, +Aristocrats lie, +Aristotle, +Arms, movements of the, + five million movements of the agents of the, + division of, + three centres in the, +Art, + the true aim of, + all, has the same principle, + definition of, + how Delsarte considered, + religious sentiment in, + the death of, + elements of, + the plastic, + the grand, + the supreme, + dramatic, lyric and oratorical, + best conditions for a work of, + object of, + sources of fine, + not imitation of nature, +Article, the, +Articulate language, weakness of, + origin and organic apparatus of, + elements of, +Articulation, in the service of thought, +Articulations, the, +Artificial breath, +Artistic personages, classification of, +Artist, the proclivities necessary to an, +Art-writings of the Greeks, +Attraction, +Attractive centres, +Attribute, the, +Attributes of reason, the, +Audience, an, different from an individual--the greater the numbers the + less the intelligence, + + + +B. + + +Bacchus, the, +Balzac, +Bambini, Father, +Barbier, +Barbot, Mme., +Bass voice, the, +Baudelaire, Charles, +Baxile, M., +Beautiful, the, +Beauty exists only in fragments, + moral and intellectual, +Belot, Adolphe, +Beranger, +Berlioz, +Bizet, George, +Blanchecotte, Mme., +Blangini, +Body, the, + divisions of the, + retroactive movement of, +Boileau, +Bonnat, +Breathing +Brohan, Madeleine, +Brucker, Raymond, +Buccal (cheek) zone, the, + machinery (articulate speech), the language of the mind, + + + +C. + + +Calculation and artifice, if detected, quicksands to the orator, +Canova, +Captain Renard, fable of, +Captivating an audience, secret of, +Caress, the, +Carvalho, Mme., +Charts classifying celestial spirits, +Charts list of, +Chastity, concave, +Chaudesaigues, Mlle., +Chest, the, + the three attitudes of, + divisions of, +Chest, a passive agent +Chest-voice, the + the expression of the sensitive life + should be little used + the eccentric voice +Cheve, M. and Mme. +Children, why are they graceful? +Chopin +Chorography +Chorre, Mother +Cicero +Circle, the, for exalting and caressing +Colin +Colors, symbolism of + the primitive + the three that symbolize the life, soul and mind +Color charts, the +Concentric state, the +Conjunction, the + the soul of the discourse +Consonants, musical + are gestures + the initial + variation in the value of + beat time for the pronunciation of + every first, is strong + two things to be observed in +Contemplation and retroaction +Corneille +Costal breathing +Courier, Paul Louis +Cousin, Victor +Cries +Cros, Antoine +Czartoriska, Princess + + + +D. + + +Dailly, Dr. +Darcier +Davout, Marshal +Death, the sign language of +De Bammeville, July +De Blocqueville, Mme. +De Chimay, Princess +Degrees, theory of +D'Haussonville, Countess +Dejazet +De Lamartine, Mme. +De la Madelene, Jules +Delaunay, Charles +Delivery, a hasty +De Leomenil, Mme. Laure +Delsarte, biographical sketch of + criterion of + method of + took much time in educating a pupil + was he a philosopher? + lectures of + teachings of + the press on + the discoverer of the law + can never be reproduced + birth, death, name, early history of + how he learned music + enters the conservatory + theatre and school of + becomes a teacher of singing and elocution + history of the voice of + dramatic career of + recitations of + sings at the Court + marriage and family of + religion of + friends of + the "Talma of music" + anecdotes of + scholars of + "Stanzas to Eternity" of + "dear and last pupil" of + musical compositions of + an instance of the singing of + shapeless coat of + imitating defects + singing during lessons + inventions of + Berlioz's treatment of + before the Philotechnic Association + and the four professors + last years of + a concert of + character and merit of + "Episodes of a Revelator" of + America's offer to + return to Paris of + last letter to the King of Hanover of + struggles with his teachers + visit to the dissecting room + a pensioner of the conservatory + mystical or religious musings of + the way of making his discovery + is grateful because he had not written + his book not spontaneous + on trueness in singing +Delsarte, Mme., maiden name of + beauty and talent of +Delsarte, Gustave +De Meyendorf, Mme. +Demosthenes +De Musset, Alfred +De Riancey, Henry +Desbarolles +Descartes +Deshayes, M. +De Stael, Mme. +Devotion +Diaphragmatic breathing +Dictation exercises +Discovery, dawn of Delsarte's +Dissecting room, Delsarte's visit to the +Divine Majesty, reflection of the +Divine reason +Donoso-Cortes, M. +Donot +Dramatic singing +Dugrand, Delsarte's struggles with papa +Dupre +Duprez +Dynamic apparatus, its composition + harmony + wealth + + + +E. + + +Ear, the most delicate sense +Eccentric state, the +E flat +Elbow, the + thermometer of the relative life + sign of humility, pride, etc. +Ellipsis +Eloquence holds first rank among the arts + to be taught and learned + is composed of three languages + does not always accompany intellect +Emotions, tender, expressed by high notes +Emphasis, example of +E mute before a consonant + before a vowel +Epic, the +Epicondyle, the eye of the arm +Epigastric centre, the, soul +Epiglottis, contracting the +Epilogue +Episodes of a Revelator +Episode I +Episode II +Episode III +Episode IV +Episode V +Episode VI +Episode VII +Equilibrium, the laws of +Error must rest upon some truth +Etruscans, the +Evolutions, passional +Expiration, the sign of +Exclamations +Expression, very difficult + the whole secret of +Expressive centres +Eye, the tolerance of +Eyes, the + the nine expressions of + parallelism between the voice and the + chart of the +Eyebrow, the + the thermometer of the mind + + + +F. + + +Fables, recitation of +Face, divided into three zones +Fact, the value of a +Father, Son, and Holy Ghost +Fingers, the +Florentine +Force and interest consist in suspension +Form, the vestment of substance + definition of +Fourier, Charles +Free-thinkers, blindness of +French prosody +French versification +Fright +Frontal (forehead) zone, the + + + +G. + + +Galen +Garrick +Gautier, Theophile +Genal (chin) zone, the +Geraldon +Gesture, in general + is for sentiments + its services to humanity + reveals the inner man + the direct agent of the heart + the interpreter of speech + the interpreter of emotion + an elliptical language + division of + harmony and dissonance of + origin and oratorical value of + superior to the other languages + is magnetic + the laws of + must always precede speech + retroaction + joy and fright require backward movement + equilibrium the great law of + the hirmonic law of + parallelism of + numbers of + lack of intelligence indicated by many + duration of + the rhythm of + importance of the laws of + the semeiotic or reason of + the types that characterize + its modifying apparatus + the inflections of + delineation of + spheroidal form of + the sense of the heart + the spirit of + the inflection of the deaf + a series of, for exercises + the static the life of + the semeiotic the spirit and rationale of + the series of, applied to the sentiments oftenest expressed + the, of interpellation + the, of thanks, affectionate and ceremonious + the, of attraction + the, of surprise and assurance + the, of devotion + the, of interrogative surprise + the, of reiterated interrogation + the, of anger + the, of menace + the, of an order for leaving + the, of reiteration + the, of fright + three important rules for + how produced + dilatory + difficulty in + object of + definition of + without a motive +Giraudet, Alfred + report of Delsarte's lecture +Gluck +God, the spirit of, in all things + how He reveals things + a pretext for every Utopia + the archetype +Good, the +Gospel, the, directs investigation +Gounod +Grace +Great movements for exaltation of sentiment +Greeks, the, had no school of aesthetics +Groans +Gueroult, Adolphe +Guide-accord, the, of Delsarte +Gymnastics, the grand law of organic + the practice of + + + +H. + + +Habit +Halevy +Hand, the, another expression of the face + expressions of the + its three presentations + criterion of the + chart of + the digital face + the back and the palmar face + the three rhythmic actions + the, in natural surprise + the, in death + attitudes of the + in affirmation + the nine physiognomies of +Handel +Harmony +Harmony, born of contrasts + is in opposition +Head, the, movements of + the occipital, parietal and temporal zones + the primary agent of movement + action of, in surprise + which side is for the soul and which for the senses? + attitudes of +Head voice, the + how produced + interprets mental phenomena + the concentric voice +Heart, when to carry the hand to the +Hegel +Hervet +High head, small brain +Hippias +Hoffman +Horace +Hugo +Humanity is crippled +Human reason +Human science, the alpha and omega of +Human triplicity, the +Human word composed of three languages + + + +I. + + +Ideal, the +Imitation, the melody of the eye + uselessness of +Immanences, the +Impressionalism +Impressions and sensations +Individual type, how formed +Infant, the, has neither speech nor gesture +Infinitesimal quantities +Inflection, a modification of sound + their importance + illustrations of + rules of + must not be multiplied + special + life revealed through four millions of + the melody of the ear + the gesture of the blind + differentiating the + high + life of speech + medallion of +Ingres +Inspiration, when allowable +the sign of +Interjection, the +Interpellation +Interrogative surprise +Intonations, caressing +Italian, no two equal sounds in + + + +J. + + +Jacob, Mlle. +Jacotot +Jesus of Nazareth +Joncieres +Joy, the greatest in sorrow +Joys, keen + + + +K. + + +Kant +King of Hanover + Delsarte's last letter to the +King Louis Philippe +Kreutzer + + + +L. + + +Lablache +Laboring men, the ways of +Lachrymose tone disgusting +Lacordaire +La Fontaine +La Harpe +Lamaitre, Frederick +Lamartine +Lamentation +Language +Laocoon, the +Larynx, the + coloring of + lowering the + the thermometer of the sensitive life +Larynxes, artificial +Latin prosody +Laugh, signification of the + its composition +Law, definition of + application of the, to various arts +Legouve +Legs, the, and their attitudes +Leibnitz +Leroux, Pierre +Liars do not elevate their shoulders +Life, the sensitive state + principal elements of + the phenomena of +Light +Lind, Jenny +Literary remains of Delsarte +Literature, the law applied to +Littre's Dictionary +Logic often in default +Longus +Louvre, false pictures in the +Love gives more than it receives +Lovers, the gaze of +Loyson, Father +Lucht, Auguste +Lully +Lungs, the +Lyric art + + + +M. + + +Malherbe +Malibran +Man + the three phases of + either painter, poet, scientist, or mystic + three types in + the object of art + a triplicity of persons + the agent of AEsthetics + when a man shrinks + unfamiliar to himself +Marcello +Marie, Franck +Mars +Martellato +Massenet +Materialism +Measure + in oratorical diction +Medallion of inflection +Mediocrity +Medium voice, the expression of moral emotions + the normal voice +Melody +Menace, the head and hand +Mengs +Mental or reflective state +Mercie +Mind, the intellectual state +Mode simpliste +Modest people turn out the elbow +Mohere +Monsabre, Father +Moral or affective state +Mother, the voice of the +Mother vowel, the +Motion, distinction and vulgarity of +Mouth, the + no contraction of back part + openings of, for various vowels + a vital thermometer +Movements from various centres + flexor, rotary, and abductory + initial forms of +Mucous membrane, transmitter of sound +Muscular machinery (gesture), the language of emotion +Music, the seven notes of + a succession of sounds +Musset + + + +N. + + +Napoleon III +Nasal cavities, the +Naturalism +Ninefold accord, the +Normal state, the +Nose, a complex and important agent + nine divisions of +Nose, a moral thermometer +Notes, high, for tender emotions +Nourrit, Adolph +Number + + + +O. + + +Occipital zone, the life +Ontology +Opposition of agents +Orator, the, should be a man of worth +Oratorical sessions +Oratory, definition of + the science of, not yet taught + the essentials + the fundamental laws of + the criterion of + the student of, should not be a servile copyist + three important rules for the student of + symbolism of colors applied to + perseverance and work necessary to the student of +Order for leaving, an +Organic chart + + + +P. + + +Painter, how a, examines his work +Painting, application of the law to +Palate, the +Pantomime, secrets of +Parietal zone, the soul +Particle, the +Pasca, Mme. +Passion + of signs +Passive attitude, the type of energetic natures +Pasta, Mme. +People, vulgar and uncultured +Pergolesi +Phenomena, natural, contain lessons +Phidias +Philotechnic Association +Physiology +Plato +Poe, Edgar A. +Poets are born, orators are made +Poise + lack of, in body +Powers, the +Praxiteles +Preacher, a, must not be an actor +Preposition, the +Pricette, Father +Principiants and principiates +Processional relations, theory of + reversal of +Professors, Delsarte and the four +Progressions +Pronoun, the +Pronunciation +Proudhon +Pythagoras + + + +Q. + + +Quintilian + + + +R. + + +R, cure of the faulty +Rachel +Racine +Rainbow, the + the colors of +Rameau +Random notes +Raphael's picture of Moses, a fault in +Ravignan +Reaction +Realism +Reason + a blind faculty + an act of faith + the attributes of +Reber +Reboul +Recitative +Reiterated interrogation +Reiteration +Respect, a sort of weakness +Respiration + suppressing the + and silence + three movements of + multiplied + to facilitate + vocal, logical, passional +Respiratory acts, their signification +Retroaction +Reverence, the sign of +Reynaud, Jean +Rhythmus +Romagnesi +Rossini +Roulade +Routine +Royer, Mme., Clemence + + + +S. + + +St. Augustine +St. Saens +St.-Simonism +St. Thomas +Salutation, the sign of +Sand, George +Schiller +Science, bases of the + and art +Scientists, cause of the failure of +Sculptor, aims of the +Sculpture, application of the law to +Semeiotics + of the shoulder +Senses, the +Sensibility, thermometer of +Sensitive nature betrayed by voice +Sensitive or vital state +Sensualism, convex +Sensuality +Sentiment +Shades and inflections +Shakespeare +Shoulder, the + thermometer of love + the sensitive life + the sign of passion + action of, in surprise + thermometer of emotions + semeiotics of + in the aristocratic world +Sigh, the +Signs of passion +Silence, the father of speech + the speech of God + the rule of +Simplisme +Sincerity intolerable +Singing +Sob, the +Societies, meeting of the learned +Socrates +Sontag, Mme. +Soprano voice, the +Sorbonne, the +Soul, the moral state +Souhe, Frederic +Sound, the first language of man + revelation of the sensitive life + is painting + should be homogeneous + every sound is a song + the sense of the life + reflection of divine image +Souvestre, Emile +Speech + the omnipotence of + inferior to gesture + anticipated by gesture + the sense of the intelligence + the three agents of + oratorical value of + soul of + visible thought +Spontini +Standard, value of a +Subject, the +Subjectivity in AEsthetics +Substantive, the +Sue, Eugene +Sully-Prudhomme +Surprise and assurance +System + + + +T. + + +Talma +Teachers, ignorance of the +Tears, accessory matters + to be shed only at home +Temporal region, the mind +Tenderness +Tenor voice, the +Thanks, affectionate and ceremonious +Thermometers, the three + the articular arm centres called +Thermometric system of the shoulder +Theresa +Thoracic centre, the mind +Threatening with the shoulder +Thumb, the thermometer of the will + has much expression + the sign of life + the, in death + living mimetics of + the thermometer of life and death +Thyrcis +Tone, position of +Tones, the lowest, best understood + prologation of +Torso, the, + divisions of + chart of +"Treatise on Reason" +Tremolo, the +Trinitarians, the +Trinity, the + the holy, recovered in sound +True, the +Trueness in singing +Truth, men are divided in regard to +Types, the, in man +Typical arrangements + phrases + + + +U. + + +Uchard, Mario +Ugly, the +Uprightness, perpendicular +Uvula, raising the + + + +V. + + +Values, the law of + resume of the degrees of +Verb, the +Verdi +Veron, Eugene +Vertebrae, three sorts of +Vice, hideousness of +Vicious arrangements +Violent emotion, in, the voice stifled +Virtues, the +Vision, three sorts of +Vital breath +Vocal cords, fatiguing the +Vocal music +Vocal organ, the +Vocal shades, law of +Vocal tube, the, must not vary for a loud tone +Voice, the charms of + organic apparatus of + a mysterious hand + the kinds of + the registers of + meaning of the high and deep + the language of the sensitive life + the chest, the medium, the head + the white + dimensions and intensity of + how to obtain a stronger + three modes of developing + method of diminishing + the less the emotion, the stronger the + how to gain resonance + a tearful, a defect + the tremulous, of the aged + the rhythm of its tones + must not be jerky + inflections of + great affinity between the arms and the + exercises for + the mixed + tenuity and acuteness of + shades of + definition of the + shading of the + pathetic effects in the + tearing of the + two kinds of loud +Voltaire +Volubility, too much +Vowels correspond to the moral state + length of the initial + + +W. + + +Wartel +Weight +"What I Propose" +Will, the +Winkelmann +Wisdom +Wolf and the lamb, the fable of the +Words, the value of, in phrases + dwelling on the final +Worlds, three, presented +Wrist, the + thermometer of the physical life +Writing, a dead letter + + +Z. + + +Zaccone, Pierre +Zeuxis +Zola, M. + + + + +Footnotes + + + +[1] The sensitive is also called the vital, the mental, the reflective, +and the moral the affective state. The vital sustains, the mental +guides, the moral impels.--TRANSLATOR. + +[2] The registers here given undoubtedly refer to the singing voice, as +the range of notes in the speaking voice is very much more limited. Very +frequently voices are found whose range in singing is very much greater +than that which the author has given here; however, on the other hand, +many are found with even a more limited range.--TRANSLATOR. + +[3] The sounds here given are those of the French vowels. + + _A_ has two sounds, heard in _mat_ and _far_. + _E_ with the acute accent (e) is like _a_ in _fate_, + _E_ with the grave accent (e) is like _e_ in _there_. + _I_ has two sounds--the first like _ee_ in _reed_, the second + like _ee_ in _feel_. + _O_ has a sound between that of _o_ in _rob_ and _robe_. + _O_ with the circumflex (o) is sounded like _o_ in _no_. + The exact sound of _u_ is not found in English. + _Ou_ is sounded like _oo_ in _cool_. + The nasal sound _an_ is pronounced nearly like _an_ in _want_. + The nasal _in_ is pronounced somewhat like _an_ in _crank_. + The nasal _on_ is pronounced nearly like _on_ in _song_. + The nasal _un_is pronounced nearly like _un_ in _wrung_. + +Consult some work on French pronunciation, or, as is far preferable, +learn these sounds from the living voice of the teacher--Translator. + +[4] From [Greek: geneiou], the chin. + +[5] Many of these papers were entrusted by the family to a former pupil +of Delsarte, who took them to America. + +[6] Notes taken by his pupils, during the latter years of his lessons +prove that the master touched upon this question. I do not copy them +because, being somewhat confused, they might give rise to +misunderstandings; neither do they in any way contradict anything that I +have said above; they confirm, on the contrary, what remains in my +memory of the interpretation of Delsarte, who never belied himself. + +[7] The existence of the persons of the Trinity, the one in the other. +These charts and diagrams are given in Part Fifth. + +[8] For a fuller report of this lecture, see "Delsarte System of +Expression," by Genevieve Stebbins, second edition, $2. Edgar S. Werner, +Publisher, 48 University Place, New York. + +[9] "Delsarte System of Oratory" and "Delsarte System of Expression." + +[10] See page 549 for complete lesson. + +[11] This extract shows that Delsarte was not unknown to Berlioz. Mme. +Arnaud refers to the coldness with which Berlioz treated Delsarte. The +article given here has been translated so as to preserve as nearly as +possible the quaint, half sarcastic style of the author.--PUBLISHER. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Delsarte System of Oratory, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DELSARTE SYSTEM OF ORATORY *** + +***** This file should be named 12200.txt or 12200.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/2/0/12200/ + +Produced by Distributed Proofreaders + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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