The Lawyers Easy Chair. (one the keeper of a disorderly house, one a prosti tute, who was at the same time an incendiary, com mitted incest, and was condemned for a public outrage on modesty, etc.), and besides all these, a painter, a poet, an architect, an actress, several who were blind, and one musician." Some of the discon tented wives who grovel at the feet of Ibsen would do well to read Nordau's opinion that their husbands would be only too glad to grant them " emancipation" if it were possible! It argues well for the healthful tone of American literature that Nordau finds no American for special condemnation but Whitman, whose " Leaves of Grass," and the admiration of it felt by his cult, are a national stigma. It is a book fit only for a rake or a Mormon. We do not always find ourselves in agreement with the author. For example, we think he hardly does justice to Ruskin, although that eloquent writer has held all sorts of views of art, and is unquestionably intolerant and eccentric. In like manner, ive think he hardly does justice to Wagner in blaming him for his lack of melody, when Wagner's theory is that vocal melody is out of place in dramatic music, and should be found only in the orchestra, which stands in the place of the ancient Greek chorus. It may well be questioned whether Wagner has not wrought a distinct benefit by practically banishing from the stage the tum-tum tunes in which the persons of the Italian opera have been wont to vent their emotions. At the same time, one must admire the ingenuity of Nordau's contention that Wagner's vocal score is essentially barbaric, and a reproduction of the pre historic method of voicing emotions before mankind was capable of melody. We have heard warm ad mirers of Wagner admit that it does not make much difference what sounds the singers in the Wagner operas emit, whether they correspond with the score, or not! The writer feels some sympathy with Nor dau about Wagner"s " motives," or orchestral signals for emotion, which are much like bugle-calls in the army.1 And the most strenuous admirers of Wagner must find a relief, after hearing one of his overpowering 1 The writer gave vent to his feelings on this point as follows, when he was AT BAYREUTH. It is an ancient music man, And he stoppeth one of three; '• My thy gray beard and glittering eyes, Now what do you want of me?" "Oh, I'm a Wagner maniac," He whispered in my ear, "And my chief motive is to tell To you the motives here. "You see, you mustn't enjoy this thing Unless somebody tells you how, No matter how many times you've heard, Or read about it. 1 trow.
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dramas, in listening to the dignified strains of IJeethoven, and his natural exclamation must be " How sane it is!" As we have before observed, most of the mass of hostile criticism and violent denunciation which this book has evoked has come from the newspapers. It is amusing to note, in connection with this fact, that two of the principal objects of Nordau's con demnation, Ibsen and Nietzsche, hate and abuse the newspapers. Some criticism is made on Nordau because he seems not to allow any genius to the persons of whom he treats, and it is urged that genius is necessarily irregular, abnormal and in a measure insane. But it seems to us that the whole some lesson that he teaches is, that while some geniuses approach madness, all madness is not genius, and attention is required to differentiate the sane from the insane utterances of extraordinary men. This remarkable book will leave two distinct im pressions on the mind of every lawyer who reads it : first, a feeling of self-congratulation that he belongs to a profession of eminently sane men and sane ideas, whose purpose is to ascertain truth and promote justice, and to cause the individual to recognize his subordination and pay his debt to society : second, that it would be infinitely unwise to relax the present general rale of mental and moral responsibility for crime, and allow a criminal to go free, who knew right from wrong, but pleaded the lack of will-power to restrain himself from doing the wrong. Nearly every one of these mentally diseased celebrities, of whom Nordau has treated, could get off from an accusation of crime on this score if the law were relaxed in conformity with the opinions of many modern physicians. In conclusion, Dr. Nordau is not a pessimist. On the contrary, he is hopeful that all these diseased tendencies may be eradicated from the human mind by proper training and inculcation. He does not say, " 'Tis a mad world, my masters," although he does demonstrate that there are many mad people in it who are esteemed by too many followers as the true prophets, the only " moderns." '- Your mind must be in a certain state. Your brain must be somewhat dazed. Your ear,drums must be fortified And prepared to be amazed. "Surrender all the old ideas Of music under the moon. And learn that the truest harmony is When everything's out of tune." He sat behind me at Parsifal, He kneaded sore my spine, He punched me when 1 ought to weep, And when to sigh, " divine!" But ohl how much I'd like to sink Thee under Klingsor's wreck, And bribe the manager to hang That swan about thy neck!
