he argued strongly for this course, that is, strongly in the sense of earnestly, not in that of effectively. In a later reprint of this work he brought forward as a sufficient proof of the desirability and possibility of its restoration the recent tragedies of Elfrida' and' Caractacus," "which," he added, "do honor to modern poetry, and are a better apology than any I could make for the ancient chorus."1 Such praise did not too much elate the author. Even upon his natural self-satisfaction the consciousness of the superiority of the elder dramatist came down with crushing force, as it has upon many far greater men. In the dedicatory poem to Hurd, with which the later editions of Caractacus' were accompanied, Mason told of the desire he had felt to bring to Britain the choral song, and to mingle Attic art with Shakespeare's fire. But the muse had rebuked his presumption. The one he might succeed in attaining; the other was beyond his reach. All that Parnassus could bestow had been exhausted to light the flame in Shakespeare's breast. There was no hope of rivalling him. One consolation indeed there was. Fire might be lacking; but art remained. It is very plain, however, from his words that it was not much of a consolation. In the preceding pages have been given the various conventional views which have in a measure swayed at times the theatre, and affected the conduct and treatment of the works produced for it; as also by implication the estimate in which Shakespeare has been held in consequence of his ignorance or disregard of these 1 Note to line 193 of the Ars Poetica. restrictions. There are others about which less interest and less discussion prevailed in England than in other lands. One of these is the interlocking of the scenes so that the stage shall never be left empty. This is something which Ben Jonson kept in view to a certain extent. By the French critics it came to be considered among the greatest of dramatic beauties. Special stress was laid by them upon it. It was one of the points for which Voltaire claimed superiority for the stage of his own country over that of antiquity. Still it never gained much consideration in England even when French influence was most predominant. That it was not art, but artifice, never occurred to any of its advocates. It may be called artifice of a high order, if one so chooses; but it is none the less artifice. As it was with most of the other conventions, the men who sought to secure it always ran the risk of sacrificing to its acquisition natural beauties far greater. The same thing has been true of all the rules and practices which have been described in the present chapter. It was because the English race had in Shakespeare an example of conformity to nature, to truth, and to life, that it was saved from immolating these upon the conventional altar which the classicists endeavored to set up. CHAPTER VII LATE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CONTROVERSIES ABOUT SHAKESPEARE THE gulf which separated the England of the Restoration from the England that preceded the Commonwealth was much deeper and broader than would naturally be indicated by the length of time which intervened. It was a world of different feelings and of different ideas that came in with Charles II. In politics the same formulas continued to be repeated; but the meaning they had assumed was totally unlike that which they had once conveyed. In literature new standards of criticism were set up, new modes of writing came into fashion, new species of productions attracted the popular regard. The drama was quick to respond to the change in the national feeling. As from its very nature it reflects the life of the times, it soon began to show signs of that altered moral tone which was rapidly permeating all classes of society. It is the wholesale revolution of manners, the complete reversal of the attitude previously assumed towards conduct, which is the earliest as well as the most significant characteristic that the Restoration brings to our notice. Yet though earliest, it must not be imagined that this change took place on the spur of the moment. Men do not throw off in a day the restraints even of restrictions. There are others about which less interest and less discussion prevailed in England than in other lands. One of these is the interlocking of the scenes so that the stage shall never be left empty. This is something which Ben Jonson kept in view to a certain extent. By the French critics it came to be considered among the greatest of dramatic beauties. Special stress was laid by them upon it. It was one of the points for which Voltaire claimed superiority for the stage of his own country over that of antiquity. Still it never gained much consideration in England even when French influence was most predominant. That it was not art, but artifice, never occurred to any of its advocates. It may be called artifice of a high order, if one so chooses; but it is none the less artifice. As it was with most of the other conventions, the men who sought to secure it always ran the risk of sacrificing to its acquisition natural beauties far greater. The same thing has been true of all the rules and practices which have been described in the present chapter. It was because the English race had in Shakespeare an example of conformity to nature, to truth, and to life, that it was saved from immolating these upon the conventional altar which the classicists endeavored to set up. CHAPTER VII LATE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CONTROVERSIES ABOUT SHAKESPEARE THE gulf which separated the England of the Restoration from the England that preceded the Commonwealth was much deeper and broader than would naturally be indicated by the length of time which intervened. It was a world of different feelings and of different ideas that came in with Charles II. In politics the same formulas continued to be repeated; but the meaning they had assumed was totally unlike that which they had once conveyed. In literature new standards of criticism were set up, new modes of writing came into fashion, new species of productions attracted the popular regard. The drama was quick to respond to the change in the national feeling. As from its very nature it reflects the life of the times, it soon began to show signs of that altered moral tone which was rapidly permeating all classes of society. It is the wholesale revolution of manners, the complete reversal of the attitude previously assumed towards conduct, which is the earliest as well as the most significant characteristic that the Restoration brings to our notice. Yet though earliest, it must not be imagined that this change took place on the spur of the moment. Men do not throw off in a day the restraints even of |