NOTED FRENCH WRITERS AND STATESMEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 71

NOTED FRENCH WRITERS AND STATESMEN.

By Professou Raoul Skn'ac.

(For the Witness.) XII.— MOLIERE. "Every man who can read is one more reader of Moliere," ha? said St. Bcuvc, one of the most celebrated critics of our time. Moliere, universally acknowledged in the highest sense of his genius (comique) in every time and in every country, was really thy creator of comedy in France. At the time that thi3 great man appeared, three kiads of dra-'na were already in vogue — tragedy, in imitation of that of the ancients; tragi^oorrodje, in imitation of that o! the Spanish ; aud broad comedy, in imitation of that of the Italians. Several pieces, however, were entitled "Comedies." For these, French wit and manners were io be substituted, and o arrive at that imagiaa•ticta and observation were requisite. It wao this that made Moliere. Indeed, ho biew how to penetrate farther than any person before him in the knowledge of man jind of oharaefcers. Generally speaking, hr hee taken only the principal characters, but he has marked them with such a liviru; impression that no one has ever surpassed him. He has a manner of eeeing accurately, then of enlarging without altering, in orcW tc strike more profoundly what is veritable in the minds of the spectators. Most of hia characters have become imperishable. They are drawn with so much accuracy ihat they Beem to have a real existence. Moli-exc was born in Par. : 6 on January 15, 1622, and was the «>n of Jean Poquclin, a tapestry-hanger rod valet d-e chambrc to the King, with survivancc — the young Poquclin to succeed his father. His studies were most brilliant. He .studied law at Orleans. Returning to Paris, he was drawn towards the theaitre by an irresistible vocation ; he formed a company, and, chpmging his name to that of Moliere, the name of a comedian ■who had died a little be-fore this, the young tapestry-hanger of the King became 1 director or manager of an itinerant company. During 12 years he travelled over France in evpry direction, making a study of humaoiity tinder its various aspects. It is related of him that at Pezenas there is still to be seen le grand fauteui] in wood where Moliere was wont to sit in silence on tho Saturday (market day) in the corner of a barber's shop, the ordinary rendezvous of the idlers and of the peasants. There he >bserved. This rovincr and agitated life was of the greatest utility to his genius. He observed and studied men in every condition of life. Ho saw in himself a prey lo all the tribulations and miseries of human nature. These leesons, philosophical and practical, instructed him better than thoEe of Gawendi .(his professor at college) in the groat science of the human h»art that no one porseeseß more fully than Moliore. The report of his <mceess at Lvo.is spread ove-r the orovinc»f. ■The Prince de Oouti wa3 one of the first to ■applaud hia comic wit, whioh oorr.rnenceo! o dawn in "l'Elourdi," snd which shone so brilliantly im "Le Dopit Amoureux." Tho Prince offerwl to take Molierc as his secTfrtary, but the latter had tlio courage to refuse this offer. Dominated by his genius, he remained comedian and poet. To prove his resolution to the Prince he wrote "Les Precieuses Ridicules," which had a great Buccess. This piece tearhes mnn to know himself, to jucl<te himself, or at least to judge- other?. Ho rendered r. voritab'.o wrvice to tho vNSfn of Loui* XTY in holding up to rid'onl" tho affected manners of the upper middle c'a=sfß trying \,r> imitate "les grandes damo?." This was the inauguration or the "Comedy of Manner.*." We were (hen in the grrat sioclr> of Louis XlV'*s brilliant epoch, so powerfully portrayed by tho pen of Vollair*?, whrrc all was influence or eclat. Nobility. fortune, science, genius, bravery shone k bright rays round the crown. Moliere was we-rom-ed with co<-dia!itv, f rid obtained permission to play befoio the King:, and, in fsct, in October, 1658. in a theatre elevated in the Salle dcs Gardes of the Palais Hu Louvre. th<> "troupe do MolieiV made their debut before tho. Court. His sucoea? wa<j ;omplcte. The Duke of Orleans, brother tn Louis XIV, accorded him his support and Lis name — that is to say. the rieht of giv-in-g to his company the title of "Troupe dc Monsieur." A few days later the 'omedians were established by order of the King in be theatro of the Petit Bourbon, and afterwards 'tea the Palais Royal. Some years after Louis XIV founded the La Coinedie Franoaise (theatro). Rue de Richelieu, and whioh is still nailed to-day the House of Moliere. While Moliere wos giving these chefs d'oeuvre to the pubic. and preparing new ones, the King extended his friendship to this great man who had the gift of amusing him. He granted hirr 4 pension aaid the title of "Troupe dv Roi." animated by feelings of gratitude,

desired to give a higher tone to comedy, as well as an aim more moral, than that he had as yet given-. Very much in favour now, his creations succeeded one another with an extraordinary rapidity. Director, author, and actor, often called to the King's side, who never cea-ied to accord him bis patronage for the divertisements of the Court, his- almost incredible activity sufficed for all. In 13 years he gave 25 pieces, of whioh. 12 are notable, and 10 are chefs d'eeuvre of our day, translated in various languages. The most important are "The Misanthrope, " "Le Medecia Malgre Lvi," "Le Tartufe," which is the chef d'eeuvre of the French theatre, and will remain for ever a fcype of perversity and corruption dissimulated—in a word, hypocrisy. Afterwards came "Amphitryon," "The Miser," "Les Femmes Savantes," "Le Bourgeous Gentilehomme." The last comedy was "Le Malade Imaginaire," Moliere insisted upon playing the role himself, d'Argan. Here, to describe exactly the death scene of Moliere, dying ia all the glory of triumph, in full possession of his genius, I will makeuse of the following linss of Paul de St. Victor, a literary critic: — "Imagine to yourselves," says this critic, "the poet mortally ill donning a grotesque camisole d'Argan, while he is already enveloped, as it were, in his own winding sheet, {ottering en to the stage, and there acting a comedy while ho den ins that he is siiffering and mccks at death. Therehe is. playing to the accompaniment of -lauqMer from the spectators, the repetition of his la,*t a?ony. Th~ role oppresses him, the- rush of blcod eufTocat&s him, the perspiraiion of this acrony streams down hiii powdered cheeks. The scenes in the comedy Buceeed each other; rt i? a fearful reality. His quolibets, his sarcasms, fall back upon himself with an irony poignant. _ He^ is n ore and more carried away by his ro.e; he attarks it, he pos-ie^rs and agitates it in his spasms, and in the contractions of bis features. ... At the same moment that he oronounees the oath (jocose) in the pipy, a "convulsion seizrs him, the blcod poiirs r rom his lips— Moliere is dying !— Moliere is dead !" Thus died at the age of 51. on Friday, February 17. 1673. at 10 o'docV in the ovenin?.' Moliere the Ccmt dirji. Mohero the Poet could not di<\ Tho Academic Francaise -erected a statue within their walls with this inscription, at one? a homage and a regret: , . Rien ne manque a sa gloire, II rnanquait a la notre.