T he Art
of
I n v e n t i n g C h a r a c t e rs
G E O R G E S PO LT I
Au t ho r
of
T he T hi rty s i x D ra m a t i c Si tu a t i o n s
-
l
(Tr a n s a t e d
by L il
uc
li n Ohi
Fra n k
,
e
Ray )
o
JAM ES KNAPP RE EVE
1 922
T A BL E O F C O N T E N T S
F em i ni n e T
2
Th e
3
Wh a
HA TER
C
P
1
2
3
er
s
—
II
THE
A
D oes
i
ara ct er zed
a ra c er
.
.
e
I
PRE JUD CE
T
t
t
t y
.
”
“
Ch a ra ct er E xi s ?
Th e N on -E xi s t en E go
A L t e Comm en a r on
it l
Imi t ti
.
1
Attitu d es
CHARACTERS
Th e
BUT
,
a
ATI ITUDES
e
H
C AP TE R IV
c cu
ua
o
ze
or r a
na
—THE
r o es s ona
on s
a
ar a c er -
es
v
on s
s
.
A
F OUR TEMPER ME NTS
System s
System s
t o be Harm oni ze d
2
Th e
3
Of t h e F our Tern pe ra m en t s
ca
Harm oni zed
on of
the
a nd
.
Th e
ppli ti
.
P
and
rec edi n
.
.
p
E x la i n ed
.
g
Tra d
ar a ct ers
es
1
(An A
of
.
es a n
n
on
‘
l d O p ti ; P f i l
ti l Typ ; Ch t Typ ; Ch
I di id li d ; P t it
N w C m bi ti
Ro
on a
3
nc
e
ss
GRE
T R
2
es
era ure o
—
III
N OT
HAP E
C
yp Y t U h
Lit t
f Ch
t
t i P m i ibl ?
1
p
Cha t er )
.
.
i
Mor e
TH E ART O F I NVE NTI NG CHA RACTE R S
prm t
b
Com in ed Two by Two
l
Th e Tem
2
3
H st or c Ten d en c
Ana ogou s Grou
1
Pyt h a
3
Di s co
l
Hom er ; Th e I l a d a n d Od s s e
La w of Gen era on by Wh ch Tra
from E c
Th e Th ree Syst ems of Poe ry
2
3
1
2
i
yt
pi g
i
l
g
v ri
pi
Sev en
of
n s
os o
en
n s of
Th ree
a nd
ti i m
R om a n
c
v ti g
In
pi g
n
.
Si x
,
.
.
.
.
y y
i
ti
c s
t
.
g d y Sp i g
r n
e
s
.
p ti
ig
p y
b
ti
P tri
Ap tle
ar h P r D i ipl
P rt f t h
M
Arti l
f th
T t m
Cr d St
I d l trie
H re i
Sy t m
d
S hi m
A
New E x la na on of t h e Or i n o f Gods
Her oes E on m s Tri es F ed er a on s
,
,
ee s ,
s,
,
es ,
sc
c es
,
o a
HAPTER
l
Gen er a Grou
o
il phi
g an d
n
e
i
a ss
C
; Ph
oras
c s,
3
en s
e a
o
e
s es
gr ph y ; Hi t ry
Geo
X
a
ee
s o
s e
,
Pl
2
Clas si fica
a n of
th e
VESTA
ti
s,
on es ,
,
s,
L CLASS IFICATION o
Cla i fi ati
r
ss
on
.
ou s
.
c
on :
Th e
s
a
c
s
e
o
o e
s
,
an
s
.
GENERA
1
a
,
os
e
.
Pi
AN B INGS
HUM
E
.
TAB LE OF CONTE NT S
Th e
Th e
Th e
V gf l dJ t
St i t d S
d G
Av i i
pi
en e u
Th e E
o u en
I t ll
n e
Th e Tra i
a nd
ect ua
t
or ou s
Kn a vi sh
l
an
.
.
.
c an
n
e
.
n
r o ec
P ti l
.
.
.
ca
.
Di scou ra ged
Un s elfis h a n d D e o ed
Th e De
Th e
u
ns o en
The Ga y a n d Sen su al
Th e Vu ga r a n d ra c
l
c
I l t
d Di g ifi d
d P t ti g
Th e
l
ti
tf l
g
.
t
H ghty
M j ti
a es
B oa s
n
.
an d
Th e
r as
.
Th e Ar roga n
au
.
Rom a n
an d
lq t
.
ever e
a r c ous a n
i
Th e
us
an
r c
Th e D a r n g
Th e
an
u d ed an d
vt
.
.
ART O F I NVE NT I NG CH ARA CTE RS
Murderers
l
Th e B o d
and
Th e Ten der
Th e
3
Wea k
l
F ear es s
and
.
.
Sentim enta l
.
.
Un pu blish ed
Varieties
Th e
Ass ass i ns
an d
tr
Cha ra c
369
e s
and
th i
e r
.
3
p l te S l
F m With t I w rd ; P liti
Th phr t
St B e ard St Be it d S
1
Com
2
Th e
1
2
Th e Com
ro
n
l
,
.
a
o
a
e
.
an
no
ers
ec
a a c ers o
za c , et c
i
cs
a nd
lg
Ps y ch o o y ;
.
p rativ P p tiv
f M li
Ch r t
a ca n c es
.
ou
rn
.
V
C ONCLUSIO N
3
ou
a s us
eo
Ba
e
.
t o be F
e
.
o ere ,
ill d
e
.
en eca
.
Sha kes pea re
,
Pl t
a u us ,
of
T h e A rt
I n v e n t i n g Ch a r a c t e rs
CHA PTE R
I
So m e St ra n g e O m i s s i o n s
FEMIN INE
I
TYPES Y ET
UNCHARACTERIZED
Wom an said the great G oethe to E cker mann
one aft ern o on resting hi s cup of Rhine wine on the
“
table Woman is the sole remaini ng object up on
which we m ay pour out our ideali ty As t o m en
there is n othing m ore t o be d one H om er has
”
taken them all
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
m odem s nevertheless are y et far from
tak ing p o ssessi on of the new world thus pointed
out on the h ori z on by our F ather of W eim ar The
student of the literatur e of character even the m ost
recent invari ably turns from i t disapp ointed to
find it so p oorly balanced that whi le surch arged
with varied m ascul ine t yp es carefully drawn and
disti nct it presents hardly a feminine character
in the least degree ori ginal and un foreseen An d
his justi fiable disappo intment condemns us Will
neither n ovels n or plays neither the writings of
m oralists the greates t of ep i cs the most pi quant
—
of mem oirs even when written by women or by
—
sp ecialists in femini sm will they never cease to
exhibit this sh am eful p overty ?
Ou r
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
THE ART OF
12
INVE N ING CHARACT
ER
T
S
In explanati on of 1 t c ertainly several theori es
exist There are always theori es with whi ch t o
excuse our failures But a following up of the
‘
,
,
.
.
eff ectually destroy thi s supposed resemblance of
a ll women to one anot her
thi s classification
according t o the merely sexual asp ects of their
life ; mai d ens sweethearts wives mothers et c
Truly an easy sim plificati on but one whi ch in
r eality deno t es on t he part of the author maki ng
use of it a field of visi on lim it ed by a state of
erotic obsession
Take a turn in the air
my d ear s i r an d retu rn refreshed to pursue the pres
ent study " You have been t oo greatly occup i ed
by their fem ininity to be able to see them a s com
plet e indivi dual s ( an d by thi s I mean from foot TO
HEAD of which they have beli eve me quite as
much as you) "
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
Let us imagine f or a moment a new Am a zon a t e
wherein th e blue st ockin gs mon opoliz ing lit erature
in their tur n d o not deign
fil led with prid e and
,
-
,
,
their sexual ideal Many a physi ognomy in our
eyes marvelous woul d in theirs fix ed upon
shapely li m bs or gra ceful elegance lose all i ts glory
an d the figures of athletes or of han dsome pages
would soon eclipse the profil es to u s so distin ct of
H amlet of Ulysses of Job of N ewt on of Boni
fa ce VIII or of Junius B rutus
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
SOME STRAN GE OM I SS I O N S
13
A view so imperfect ( and of which the sympt oms
may perhaps be diagn osed i n m ore th an one
feminine romance) w oul d h owever be justifi ed by
a s ocial state Thus that of the antique city
expl ains the sm all number of its femi nine crea
ti ons Antigone was the idea l D aughter E lectr a
the S ister Alceste and Penel ope represent the
Wife near at hand or far away dur ing absenc e war
and labors In An dromache was incarn ated the
Y oung Mother ; H ecuba and J ocaste rep resent the
Aged Mother and her griefs ; H elen realized the
Inc onstant B eauty Medea the D angerous Mis
tr ess and Ar iadn e the Sacr ificed F or woman in
whatever w as n ot relative t o man had no place in
that literature of the agora
civic tragedy ep ic
chanted in the p ublic s quare hist ory recited t o
the four winds ly ricism dedi cated t o gymn asts
philos ophy of gardens and b an quets B ut we
who for a century have so presumptuo usly claim ed
the creati on of a literature of the s oul of the indi
vidual of the h ome ; we wh o see w om en mingling
in all things sharing all activities
truly we are
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
And we are duly p unished
N ote in brief this
principle which we shall ver ify more th an once
in the course of the boo k ; p overty of subdivisi on of
a general typ e brings ab out a p over ty rigor ou sly
proportionate in the elements which in turn c om
pose each indi vidual ty p e
.
,
.
,
,
THE AR T OF
14
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
TE R
S
new character once dr awn in li terat ure
represen ts a verit able di scovery in the sci entific
sense of the word in that it bri n gs t o light a laten t
and heret ofore unfami liar part of our sou l of
which we become conscious in the suddenl y
aroused int erest ; a conquest wrest ed by our con
s ci ou s n es s
aid ed by thi s exampl e from the sub
consciou s wherein it stirs as d eeply buri ed as
withi n an an imal From the d ay t hen when in
the above hypothesis we ceased t o di stinguish
between H amlet and Job w e shoul d already have
ceas ed to di scern in the former hi s cathol i c con
science hi s tendency t o dr eaming et c and in
the Arab hi s patience the unshakeable fir mness of
hi s faith an d so forth perceiving in them only
those point s which they have in common
their
lack of eroti ci sm among others And thus a
c orrespondi ng conf us i on w o ul d reign anew among
t h e inward fa culti es of each human being of the
E ac h
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
N o w absurd an d hum ili ating as such a c onf u
sion may appear to us we t olerate in ourselv es
one precise ly similar with respect t o the very many
“
"
women whom we classify merely as col d and
”
“
mysti c
N eed we be sur prised after this if
in all w omen ea ch one of whom mi ght personify a
Special region and clearly illustrate it for us we
fin d ourselves inevitably arrested at some time by
the incomprehens ible upon the frontier of a
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
SOME STRAN GE OM I SS I ON S
15
trange c ountry inaccessible t o o ur logic or if
y ou will to our consciousness which is the auth or
of its own defeat And as l ove al one whi ch is
ca n serve us as guide
t o say the inc o nscient
h owever haz ardous a one we do not hesitate to
test it
s
,
,
,
,
-
.
,
,
.
A consequence still more serious : t o forget t o
refuse to un d erstand this or that typ e of woman
because not amorous is to c ondemn o urselves to
an ignorance of almost all women outside their
c ompl i ant but servile fugitive a n d u ncertain
dependence upon ourselves ; it is t o condemn
our selves fu rthermore to an ignorance and mis
u nderst andin g not on ly of half of the hum an race
but of HALF or OUR OWN IND IVIDUALITY For
every man h as within him m orally the femi
nine character complete neglected and believed
by him annihilated at the time of pubert y hidden
in a shadow rich in re ality with inexp licable reve
la t i on s just as on the other hand every woman
possesses als o the male character (H ow else
w oul d it be p o ssible for the father t o be queath t o
the daughter and the m other t o the s on a porti on
sometimes so considerable of their characters
while nevertheless the mascul ine and feminine
types d o n ot become less distinct ? )
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
Again a cause of the silence to which anti que
s o ciety reduce d w oman mi ght b e fo und in the
,
INVE N TING CHARACT
THE ART OF
16
ER
S
nature of each man as it is even yet foun d in th ose
( otherwise often beautiful an d strong) of the
Moslem t he Buddhi st the polytheist
of the
non Christi an to use a general t erm for the
Hindu the Persian the Chinese or Malay cannot
be called uncivi lized Man then was a Citizen
or a Subj ect ; he was not a S oul in the absolut e
sense of the word separat e an d complete E ven
when such a man loved a woman , he showed in
consequence of the contras t between the radi ati on
of his prid e an d hi s b lindness t oward her a sort of
pederasty
an id olatry of Pass i on a monologue
before Flesh H e fell upon and assault ed her ; he
never c ontemplat ed her fairly face to face
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
Whether one regrets or comm ends the change
everywhere inaug at ed by Christia i ty the OTHE R
BE ING freed from the ppress i on heredi t ary since
the fall has beg
to speak in our hearts and
we must admit more clearly from cent ry t o
century It i s thi s di l ogue in us which w e hear
in the S acred Writings in the greatest of poets
From this
d the profoun d est of phi l osophers
dualism vai l y prosc i bed
and whi ch N ature
one mi ght say has symbolized in the symmetry
of the two halves of our bodi es as di vid ed by a
perpendic l ar line
res l t the many di sconcert
ing contradi ctions of our conduct the per ersi ons
of
will the t i i over which R cine
wept by whi ch P oe was f cina ted from which
n
ur
,
O
,
”
“
un
,
,
,
u
,
a
.
,
an
.
n
r
,
,
u
u
v
,
ou r
,
,
an
n orn es
as
a
,
SOM E STRAN GE OMI SS I ON S
I7
H egel reasoned And the
mauvais menage
wherein each of us c ontends with hims elf resul ts
from the persistence of our vanity in its ign or ance
or rather its indolence in the interpretati on of
one half of the human race
‘
.
,
,
-
.
Shall we not attempt it ?
Thi s will be how ever but a beginning For
equilibrium once r e established between the sexes
we shall be led to r e establish it between the di vers
types of our own W e cannot s u fii ci en t ly wonder
at the lacunae whi ch from this p oint of View also
literature presents and at the grea t number of
characters encou ntered in life whose portrai ts
we never meet in b o oks or upon the stage To
assure himself of this the rea d er need but enum
er a t e his relatives and friends for example d e fin
ing them wi th the precisi on for which he will here
find the means
,
,
.
,
-
,
-
’
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
THE L ITE RATURE OF
II
CHARACTER
No
ep och heretofore has appreciated so highly
as our own the art of character drawing
The merit
which the Romantic scho ol attributed to the
invention most illus ory after all of subj ects and
“
”
situati ons
the Realist sch ool has since trans
"
ferred to the inventi on
the creation
t o use
the cu rren t w ord
of characters
-
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
INVE N TING C HARAC
TH E AR T OF
18
TE R
S
These extract ed from surroundi ng lif e by means
of a myst eri ous chemist ry t hen con densed by
skilf ul syn thes es shoul d illustrat e social studi es
in brilli ant genr e pictures in the way in whi ch
“
"
Romanti c plot s have been credit ed with embody
ing those reconstitutions of his t ory recently pro
“
”
mot ed t o the dignity of a new sci ence
,
,
,
-
,
.
In emulati on we hav e come on our sid e t o
”
“
reserve t he title of creativ e geniu s for the
author of a great number of w ell d efin ed charact ers ;
thi s is the reason for the special veneration we
profess f or H omer S hakespeare Moli ere Balzac
an d Zola (the latt er nevertheless so weak an d so
little vari ed i n hi s dr awings of women )
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
The cl assi c wri ters in d eed did not think as
we do E ven the fathers of the drama and of
mod ern real i sm refused any pre eminence of
”
“
psychol ogy
I t is for t he sit uati ons decl ares
“
Diderot positively t o decide the charact ers The
plan of a drama may be drawn an d well dr awn
before the poet kn ows anythi ng of the charact er
he will give to his personages
An d B ea u m a r
chai s ackn owledged f or his part that the choi ce
of charact ers was in hi s plays d etermi ned by the
necessiti es of the pl ot These revoluti onari es thus
confirm in their mod esty and sinceri ty the enor
mous experi ence cond ensed in the Ari st otelian
“
“
Poeti cs
Acti on is th e object of tragedy
,
,
.
-
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
THE ART OF
20
INVE N TING CHARACT
ER
S
the num ber of Dramatic Situati ons it shoul d
be still eas ier to show exactly the limi t e d num ber
of creat ures who compose our swar ming humanity
H owever such a simplification is much less the
object of the present inquiry
s ince it woul d
increase the actual poverty than is the remedy
ing of that poverty by drawing from precisely thi s
simplifi cation a meth od for mul tiplying elements
in infinite combin ations I shall give but the
method ; it will convince onl y t hose min ds desirous
of applying i t But I shall fu rni sh success ively
t angible and living resul ts in a multitude of figures
exact ly
whi ch are admittedly u npu b
li s h ed and newly characteri zed
,
.
,
.
.
.
Let them hasten an d group themselves to
”
satisfy first of all that d esire for new characters
which t orrn en t s thee O contemporary reader "
,
,
H ow symptomatic it is thi s desire "
Perhaps it tends to foun d a form of literat re
whi ch shall be ch iefly d evoted to the representa
tion of character F or it must be recog i zed
de pite what we hear repeated and echoed
such a form has never yet exi st d
The theatre ? By virtue of its visual d estina
tion and its gest res it is obviously bett er suited
to the represent ati on of acti on than of character
or even morals Comedy itself l though its less
omin o s gestures have a less hypnotiz ing eff ect
,
u
‘
n
.
re -
s
e
u
.
u
,
,
.
,
,
a
,
SO ME STRAN GE OM I SS ION S
21
fl ourished and widely before thi s learned
character drawing was thought of and its mer riest
form and c onsequently the m o st personal has
contin ued to live and prospers m ore th an ever in
oppo sition t o the comedy of ch aracter once con
The latter h as never consti
cei v ed by Men an der
precisely
t u t ed more th an a S pecial branch
that whose ince ssantly but vainly renewed Sprin gs
(romantic substitutions the call of the blo od
theses etc ) grate the more at each tu rn of the
action and characters sup erpose thems elves in
unpleasant fashi on as a superb but mi sp laced
disp lay upon the supple steel of comic pl ot which
remains the indisp ensable the essenti al
h as
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
The novel ? B esides its formless asp ect since
it n o l onger foll ows the outlines of the ep ic ficti on
h a s always by virtue of its redun d ancy of w ordy
detail better pr esen ted m orals th an characters
,
,
,
,
.
T o these the ep ic the novel of m ore vigor o us
ages assur edl y offers a place whi ch al beit second
ary is yet broader Th e epic in sh ort a ppr oxi
mates the stor y whi ch off ers in a c onvention al and
“
”
abstract light its portraits
from which we
need onl y remove the prop er nam es an d dates to
make of them but general sketches worthy of
being signed by L a B r uyere
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
H e th o ught t o continue Theophras tus B ut
instea d of a Men an der he pr oduc ed but a D es
.
.
,
TH E AR T OF
22
t ouches
INVE N ING CHA AC
R
T
TE R
S
N ot that he has in reality augmen t ed
the catal og of hi s pred ecessor ; far from it " H e h a s
not ably enri ched t o excess a ll t hat concerns
wor ldl y vanity whi ch passion al one fill s more than
four fif t h s of hi s book so surprisingly meager
otherwi se as t o vi olence ( one exampl e) lust
( alm ost not hing) ingenuity et c The lis t of hi s
ch aracters rep r esent s but the meres t fracti on of
our psychologi cal w orld map
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
.
-
.
To complete it we must resume the p l an much
more comprehensive s i rnpler an d more profoun d
of the great Theophrastus H e commenced it i s
said at the age of n inety n ine years hi s admirabl e
book the resul t not onl y of a phi losophi c syst em
(d erived from Ari st otl e) but of a century of per
sonal observati on From it in d eed we may see
spring fully armed the N ew C omedy
,
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
The plays of Menand er are unfortunat ely
almost entirely d estroyed an d d esp it e the frag
ment s recently recovered the secret s of creati on
whi ch their ensembl e w oul d have impar ted t o us
by compari son with the book of Theophrast us
can be obt ained only in a slight d egree by followin g
the figu rines of La Bruyere in the Comedy of
Charact er of the eight eenth century trivi ally
argument ative narrow and aut omatic I t may
likewise be in t eres ting t o infer what the H om e
d e Cou r promised by Moli ere as h is CHEF D OEUVRE
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
’
SOME STRAN GE OM I SS IO N S
23
woul d have been in contemplating hi s famo us
”
“
portraits of the Misanthrope
,
.
Moreover the maker of p ortraits precedes in
literary h i stor y but second ary comedy the c omedy
of character a nd coming always after tragedy
already overflowing with varied and powerful
characters he d oes n ot suffi ci ently explain t o us
the genesis of these And before them we fin d the
true Morali sts The G n om i c s and Py t hagoras
A Montaigne and a
u sher in the Greek theater
Thomas A qui nas by the C oun cil of Trent influence
Shakespea re an d Rochefoucaul d Charron Nicole
Pascal find themselves again upon the stage c omic
or tragic of the seventeenth century in its second
half l ike th e imperi ou s Ignatius Lo yola in Corneille
“
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
H ow
does
thi s tran s fer t ake place ?
W e see it op erate in the bosom
of a family and
perhaps simply of a man with S eneca or the
S enecas The better yet to follow it let us take
Plutarch ; a mor alist does he n ot detail to u s bit
by bit in sage reflecti ons even in anecdotes each
of the characters which he has during h i s life
st udied or im agined (wh i ch is the sam e thin g) ?
See him arrange before us with his fam ous p arallel
biographies C aesar Al ex ander or the Ambiti o us
Ci cero D em osthenes or the Liberal Orator
D em etrius Antony or the Voluptuous Com
mander Aristides C at o or the E arnest Thinker
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
-
,
-
-
,
,
THE ART OF
24
INVE N TING CHARAC
S
TE R
etc An d as for p ortrai ts all hi st ory s u bs e
quently will proceed from hi m ; a Janssen a Taine
a Mommsen clearly work in the same w ay
,
.
,
,
,
.
This machine built wheel by wheel ; sen tence by
sentence by t he Morali st an d elevat ed by the
Hist ori an the Dramatic Author laying his a n al y
si s back i n it s box has but t o set in moti on Th e
man anat omically studied then defined drawn
an d reconstructed he has but to mak e move before
our eyes an d behold "a new character upon the
stage Shakesp eare an d C orneill e have not done
otherwise
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
—
III
IS
IT
PERMI SS IB LE ?
They are wrong it appears " Menan d er w as
wrong to el aborat e Theophrastus and S chil ler in
bei ng gui d ed by Kan t An d Kant an d L a Bru
yere M ommsen an d Plutarch an d Theophr as t us
s inned in end eavoring to draw p ortrait type s ;
E merson consequently w as equally in error
F or
the science of character can have no exist ence I t
—
shoul d have none
our modern pe dant s having
“
so d ecreed
There is no sci ence of the in divid
"
ual t hey d eclare
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
N oth ing can be more pat heti c surely t han the
survival in th em so naively expressed of medi ae
val reali sm According t o all evi d ence t hese
folk Still beli eve t hat t here i s somet hing else than
the indi vidual They believe evidently that the
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
SOME STRA N GE OM I SS I O N S
25
abstract H orse exists indep endently of this or th at
horse on earth and the ideal H at beyond all hats
taken one by one
,
,
.
Let
the reader be reassured We shall enter
upon no argument with these descendants of the
“
Scholastics F or us it suffi ces that the Agnes of
Moliere is dist inguished clearly en ough from
C atherine de Medi ci for example that we believe
ourselves right in studying separately their r es p ec
t ive features An d since they are no more to be
conf used than are a sprig of parsley and a sp rig of
heml ock we have the right t o regard them as tw o
n
h
i
e
s
ff
o
r
n
i
of
a
erence which may well be
s
o
di
g
p y
utilized with a View to a classifi cation or ar range
men t most fecund an d which t o uches us m ore
closely than any other
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
To sp eak plainl y m oreo ver no classifi cation
even scientific has reality It is ingeni ous cer
t a i n ly to have ch o sen the flower by which t o
classify bot anic Sp ecies or the bony structure
( instead this time of the sex) to distribute th ose
of the ani mal s p ecies wh o have b ones (which h ave
permitted even the least intelli gent o f them t o
—
approxim ate man t o his great surprise)
this is
highl y ingeni o us but un as s ailable A cla s s ifica
tion is but a lingo a catal og an alogous t o th at
whi ch accord ing to the pretty legend Adam made
of the c ou ntless var ieties of faun a and fl ora in the
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
TH E AR T O F
26
Garden
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
TE R
S
of E den But Babel has s ince prevailed
an d to it s
con fusi on our methods peri odi cally
return Cuvi er a lthough he has not yet con
stitut ed the d efin itive t able of zoology has none
the less drawn from his a method more fecund
than man y of our cont emporaries are abl e t o
draw from syst ems stri cter yet equally transitory
.
.
,
,
,
.
I t must be a dmitt ed nevert hel ess that the
conn oi sseur of human soul s may without be ing
t axed wi th in dolence shrink from the clas s ifi
cati ons O fler ed concurrent ly by t he vari ous
los oph er s who have att emp t ed the problem
,
,
,
,
.
Shall
he ad op t the t er nary met hod of Ribot or
sh al l he fall back with F oui llee u pon the ancient
Temperament s l abell ed with these new names :
Sensitive of prompt reaction (the S angu ine) ;
Sensitive of int ense reaction (the N ervous) etc
which render less humiliating t o him in the
universal progress in whi ch we li ve thi s little
re turn to the past ? Shall he pretend with
Paulhan t o separat e Clearly u nsoun d min d s from
others the sheep on one sid e the goat s on the
other ? Shall he still strict er exclud e wi th Ri bo t
“
”
from all classification the amorphous and the
”
“
unst abl e (the P AP ILLONN E of F ouri er still di s
qui eting the mind s of our philosophers) ? Shall he
rather listen t o Azan Le Bon Perez Seelan d
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
T HE AR T OF
28
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
TE R
S
unfortunately at a p oint of view at leas t as ext ernal
to our true subject and consequently as superficial
as were to the future thermo dynami cs the
naive excl amati ons of the R IG VEDA
,
,
-
,
,
-
.
There i s no question here of those eternal
”
faculti es of man in general
those imaginary
entities
nor of laborat ory studi es whose i n c er
t i t u d e with respec t to pract ice exceed s t hat o f
met eorology
but Simply of the Human H eart
wh ich i s to say of precisely that wh ich i s most
indi vidual in hum ble man Anatomists and
a lca n i a n s will not d ei gn t o consid er o f course
a
thi ng so sm all so trivial so wretchedl y literary
H appily for us a thousand geniuses have not
sh ared the di sd ain of these excess ive general i zers
and they have devot ed themselves t o exploring
thi s poor thi ng thereby losing it i s true some
t imes their happ iness and according to the cus
t om of inventors even their lives
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
Also by scientists of the h eart these must be
und erst ood : dramatist s hi storians novel ists (real
ist or not) moralists confessors lyri sts perSpi ca
b iographers old ep ic poet s theologians
ci ous
casuists story t ellers Their innumerable an d
often minute analyses make of a library even a
limited one a treasure mos t extraordi nary
thi s
verse of Verlaine or of S appho that di alog of Job
or of Philoctetes off eri ng more facets Skilqy cut
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
SOME STRAN GE OMI SS I ON S
29
of the hum an soul than have ever been ob s erved
in any laboratory It is onl y necessary to organ
ize thi s f ormidable Science
the only one in
whi ch all civiliz ations have labored
and f or
thi s purpo se in the fir st place to gather
together and set them in order
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
T h e G re a t Preju d ic e
CHA PTE R
II
What means then less deceptive than those
proposed by the p h ilosophers an d psychol ogist s
d o you bring us rash author for classify ing
separating d efining labelling human haracters ?
N one An d thi s for the reason that such a
means cannot exist F or
I
THE RE ARE N o CHARACTE RS
Listen t o t he a dmi ss i on which escapes from
the author of Charact ers himself
Men have no character or if they have it
consists in havi ng none whi ch i s const ant whi ch
d oes not belie itself and in whi ch they are always
recognizable
They have oppos ing
pass i ons and contradictory failings ; it i s eas i er
for them t o unit e extremes than to have a con
duct one part of which springs naturally from
another
What " All unstabl e t o use the phil osophic
jargon of the d ay and t o be rejected as a nat ural
t
he
m
os
t
ce
l
ebra
t
e
d
con
t
emporary
b
y
q
cl ass ificati ons "
But
it is expl ained La Bruy ere let this
cry escape but in a mom ent of discouragement ;
,
,
,
,
,
,
”
C
,
.
.
”
“
,
,
,
,
,
.
”
.
,
,
c on s e
u en c e
,
u
,
THE
GRE A T
PRE JUD I CE
31
d oes not his u ndertakin g itself bear witness that
”
such was not his op ini on ?
It bears el oquent witness on the contrary to
the s incerity and also the truth of this passage
”
“
Amus ingly and exclusively characteristic
his
figurines are n ot humanly complete C ompare
if you doubt it the too logical On u ph r e with
Tartuff e who contradi cts himself s o well " The
Silh ouettes of our moral ist move t o o a u t om a t i
cally ; we do n ot see their breas ts heave with the
resp iration of un iversal life We cannot turn
one of them around without perceiving artifice
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
The drawing of a Character is mad e necessarily
from a fixed point and the c onception of it remains
relative S ylla t o us a monster shines in the
Germ an histories and Robe spierre before whom
our greybeard s palpitate with a dmi ration appears
t o the di sciples of Tai ne but a vain and heartless
pawn But let us take from L a B ruy ere himself
one of hi s p or traits at random
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
Irene rep airs at great expense t o E pidaurus
sees Aescu lapius in his temple and c onsul ts him
on her ills F irst she complains that she is tired
and Spent with fatigue and the god d eclares that
thi s comes from the length of the j ourney she
has mad e ; she says that in the even ing she h as no
appet ite
the oracle orders that Sh e di ne lightly ;
she adds that she is subj ect to in somnia and he
,
.
,
,
,
THE ART OF
32
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
TE R
S
ad vises her not to remain in bed excep t during
the m gh t ; she asks him why she feels dull and
what is the remedy the oracle rep lies that she
shoul d rise before noon and shoul d occasi onally
—
walk ; she tells hi m wine di sagrees wit h her
he
tells her to drink w at er ; that she has indiges ti on
—h e advises her t o di et ; “ my sight is fai ling ”
”
“
says Irene
use gl asses
says A escul api us ;
“
I myself am fail ing Sh e continues I am neither
”
”
“
so strong nor so healthy as I was
that
“
says th e god is because you are growing ol d er
“
”
“
But how can thi s languor be cured ?
The
shortes t way Irene i s t o di e as your mother and
”
“
”
grandm other have d one
S on of Apoll o cri es
“
Irene what counsel are you givi ng me ? Is t hi s
all of that science whi ch men proclaim and whi ch
makes you revered the w orl d over ? What are
you telling me whi ch i s rare or myst eri ous ? Did
I not already kn ow all these remedi es you are
“
recommen ding ?
Why then di d you not use
”
them repli es the god without coming so far
t o see me a nd short ening your d ays by the fatigue
of a long j ourney ?
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
M ost malicious but mos t exact as a portrait
and most particular i s it not ? Are not all the
charact er s littl e w eaknesses present ed completely
as complacen tly ? I t i s Madame d e Mont espan
who is the subj ect
,
,
,
’
.
THE
GRE AT
PRE JUD I CE
33
At this n ame there c om e t o mind other ch ar
acters which might as legitimately be drawn
from her ;
the extravagantly ambitiou s the
intemper ate of sp eech so rea dy with insul t the
devo tee of black masses etc
,
,
,
.
,
No
the character d oes not exist any m ore than
an exact p ortrai t exists in painting So many
painters so many colors so many expressions so
many lines even in each feature of the m odel "
—
While as to p hot ography it is
as h as been
s cientificall y demonstrated t o th ose aberrants who
d o not see it with their own eyes
the w orst of
lies
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
And if there
natur ally that
are n o
characters
it foll ows
—
II
THE SE LF D OES N OT E X I ST
self is but a formidable suggestion
The
The
chi ld is taught this false idea in exactly the sam e
way i n whi ch a dog I s taught t o answer to a n am e
or what comes to the same thi ng t o a certain
whistle or bl ow of the whip even to the po int
of resp ond ing to it by the most d angerous and
—
p ainf ul feats This blow of the whip impera
tive and categorica l
or its acoustic imitation
the whi stle or call to a slave h as later been modi
fied for e ach of us in a particu l ar fashi on and one
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
THE AR T OF
34
INVE N TING CHARACTE RS
so much the more personally menacing in the
N ame t hat corner st one if I may now change
“
the image of the I The N ame first of the
orders whi ch t he poor human being receiv es wi ll
be the source of all t he others an d the N ame will
dominat e our whole exist ence
,
-
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
At bott om we so well feel the artifici al ori gin
“
of the se
that we ad mit a most strange hypo
thesis namely that thi s self supp osedly the
essenti al does not exist so to Speak before the
cabalisti c age of seven years Until then parents
“
an d strangers agree in considering the con
”
“
”
sci ence the personality of the chil d so feeble
so vague that his acts remain almost altogether
“
"
“
innocent This conscience soon to be so
responsible before the law
an d even if not in
theory at least in the practice of d aily l ife qui te
as much so before the s o called determinist
”
“
"
—
philosophy
thi s conscience this self this
“
indi vi dual does not und ertake his complete
and thi s t ime overwhelming resp onsibility until
the age not less cabalis t ic of three t imes seven
years an age at whi ch he i s invited by society
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
the operations of milit ary murd er of voting and
of legal reproduction
,
.
N evertheless if the self
”
son ality and rests on the
,
,
is a cons ci ous per
"
memory it will be
,
INVE NTING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
36
R
S
are completely effaced from the memory and
others of which appear but as the phantoms of
inexplicable legen ds
,
.
So
through i d olatry of N ature an d her t errible
enchainm ent s d o we s uperstiti ously hold the
unity of the S elf
that chimera
preferable t o
all charit able justice to our happ iness an d even
to hope "
,
,
,
3k
And now it appears not only thi s u nity (sprung
I believe from the brain of some un lucky arith
“ ”
I has no existence "
m et i c i an ) but even the
S o many indi vidual s mingl e in the mul tiple
personality so m any strangers are enteri ng and
depart ing by all the ceaselessly swinging doors
“
”
that it can no l onger constitute a soci al entit y
“
nor a durable moral creatu re
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
There are Selves whi ch the greater p art of the
tim e let us acknowledge hold all the scene with
,
,
,
act ing on the way an d di sappeari ng in the crowd
wi thout which continues t o launch toward that
within its monotonous Si gnal s Strange it is
none the less thi s incoherent march these pres
sures of crowds unkn own to one another an d
without tradi ti on which the phi l osopher pro
claims an irreducible unity in order to brandish
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
TH E
GRE AT
PRE D UJ I CE
37
it in hi s exalted im agi nation with such pride that
he op po ses it qui te alone t o the non self s che
m a t ized on the other h and
After whi ch our
"
phil osopher g oes to bed and as for his s elf
does he even kn ow whether or not he takes it
with him or in what p lace it hides among the
chao s of hi s dreams ?
-
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
There are two men in me " In vain we recall
this dread ful p laint whi ch for three thous and
years h as c ome from hum anity In vain we
“
"
Show that onl y the existence of these two men
is necessary to cause the fall of the system s t o
sh ake tribunals amid their par ody ; in vain we
detect the mo st energetic and single minded
indi vidua l acc om plishing acts in di rect contra
diction of the unique Self ackn owledged by h im
he will st oop t o lying t o playing the hypocrite
in ord er t o maintain his idol up on its altar And
the most sincere and the most cynica l of us d o
the sam e In des pite of truth of justice of
charity this d ogm a of the single S elf impo ses
”
.
,
-
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
fle es d ocilely hi s sincerity ; w orse yet t o this
l
f
unda
m
enta
and
diabolic
seh
oo
d
we
s
a
crifice
a
l
f
obstinately the genius which each of us with his
complete humanity possesses
,
,
,
.
TH E AR T OF
38
INVE N ING CHARACT
ER
T
For
S
thi s falsehood of t he single S elf of the
Character the I dentity with its bondage and
responsibility alone assur es the social state An d
“
”
so much the worse f or you if yo r self alter
u
nates inexhaustibly between passi on and judg
ment making imposs ibl e for you the self examina
tion so much recommend ed " S o much the worse
“
"
if precisely because one of your selves has
"
“
“
sai d whi te the other should d eclare black "
So much the worse if you do not know why at
certain moments you hat e the woman you love
best an d that from the bott om of your heart
your s ingle heart " S o much the worse if you
deny every faith you hold if you profane every
virtue you possess " Of what importance t o us
are these puzzlin g t r ifles of whi ch your soul
perishes ? Fal sify wit h us ; we must above all
in p iling up the Syst ems and their compl ement ary
hypocri sies maint ai n boldl y the unity of the Self
”
“
But you do not find you say the same self
at home and upon the rostrum with your frien d
or your wife before your janitor or with the
mistress with whom you dives t yourself of your
“
"
unity so respectable and burd ensome in the
presence of your superi ors or in solitud e or
amid honors
I f you are di scovered
contradicting yourself you wi ll d ecl are that thi s
time you were s h am rni ng belying yourself but
,
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
THE
GRE AT
PRE J UD ICE
39
if the human ego were one and un ique
be tween whom then an d whom pray woul d the
struggles of conscience take place ? What gro
u e p i cture do you Show me of a t ribunal
t es q
wherein the judge is alone an d b ounces from
ben c h to bar from side to Sid e of the court ?
Woul d not one who entering observed such a
Spectacle conclud e wi th reason that the judge
was a lunatic ? Y ou nevertheless are no lunatic ;
it must be then that yo ur S elf is not one but
several
The Self full of illusions and of pride whi ch
was so enterpr is ing was it not s incere ? W hat a
contrast to i ts successor who with cour age
bro ken comes to bear witness sadl y against it "
Should you not henceforth ab ide by the expe
r i en c es and declarations of this latter ?
B ut n o
you cannot on p ain of perishing quickly with it ;
you can no more do so t han you can begin life
E ach mistress who has loved you
over
”
“
loved but one of your selves
which diff ered
from the others to such a degree as not to recog
nize any of those who h a d previously loved you
and the d eep m otive whi ch puts a weapon in the
h and o f the j ealous is her failure to find in the
body of the d eceiver the being she has loved ;
she d esire s to avenge hi s d estr uction upon the
usurper " Wh at do I say ? Perhaps upon the
same day at an hou r s inter val the wife and the
Ah ,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
’
,
,
INVE N ING CHARACTE
TH E AR T OF
40
T
R
S
mistress embrace in you two men sometimes
two really S incere forgetful of one another or
perhaps even averti g their eyes in the embarrass
ment ( ad mit it
lucky one "
) of not compre
hending one another Where then s your uni que
ego where i s your true charact er ? S ay no more ;
invent no further falsehoods "
,
,
,
n
,
un
1
.
,
III
A L ITT LE COMME N TARY ON
THE I MITATI O N OF CHRIST
Thus the Charact er
which some go so far
“
"
as to cal l t he self i s in the di ssoluti on thereof
revealed as that which both t he one and the other
—
are
AN APPE ARAN CE
“
,
,
,
,
,
.
Thi s negative value of the I or individual
charact er illuminat es with a strong li ght the
Chri stian d octrine less and less und erst ood of
“
hum il ity ( But when thou art bidd en go and sit
d own in the LOWEST room Luk e XI V 1 0)
and of t he obedience which logically result s from
“
it ( It i s a great matt er t o live in obedience
t o be under a superior and not t o be at our own
dispo sing
go W hither thou wilt thou shalt
find no rest but in humble subjecti on
I MITA
TI O N OF CHRI ST I
“
”
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
The highest an d mos t profit able l earning i s
the true kn owledge and consideration of our
TH E
PRE J UD I CE
GRE AT
41
selves It is grea t wisdom and perfect ion t o
"
esteem nothing of ourselves
To humble
(I
oneself in sh ort to obey to deny and abase
oneself this is t o destroy and overwhelm that
negation that mutilati on which is the S elf or
and let sp ring in its place
s o called character
the sup pressed organ s of the complete human
being the true im age of God as G ENES I S says
and c onse quently of J esus Christ And the
pi o us author cries to God before that lacun a
“
that nonentity which is literally the self :
Th ou
Thou filles t all things
a c c om pli s h es t all things
"
only the sinn er Thou lea v es t empty " ( I II
“
Of thyself th ou al ways
then turning toward us :
"
t e n d e s t to nothing
D O we under
( III
“
stand now why where heaven ly grace en ter in
and true ch ari ty there will be n o pla ce for self
love
( III
B ut it will be asked why put ones own Self
low as it may be still lower than the other human
"
selves wh i ch humble it ?
They do n ot humble
it nor m a ke it su ff er for by them selves they
i t is
can do n othi ng H u rn i li a t i on s t orrn en t s
from God al one that we receive all these things
Whose instruments they are ; from His han d of
“
which they are the members
The tru ly patient
man mind s not by wh om he is exercised whether
by his superiors by one of his e quals or by an
in feri or ; whether by a g ood and h oly man or by
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
—
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
IN VE NTING CHARAC
THE ART OF
42
TE R
S
from every creature how much soever
or h ow often soever anything adverse befalls
him he takes it all t h ankf u ny as from the h an d
”
of God an d esteems i t a GREAT GAIN
III
(
“
And he will conf ess I cannot say that any crea
"
ture hath ever d one me wrong
The
( III
“
other sel ves
the other charact ers like our
own being in fact but appearan ces
f er en t ly
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
3k
The character is but the impressi on upon
others (who reflect i t back to us and convince us
of it ) prod uced by one or several of our acti ons
und ertakin gs intenti ons d ivined or assumed
apologies theori es etc
man ifested once for
all or repeated in vari ous an al ogous form s
In real ity then we find nothing sol id at the
bottom of thi s concep ti on but t he idea of action
An d the presen t study might have taken as ep i
f
hi
raph
that
a
r
m
at
i
on
w
ch
was
thought
pre
fi
g
mature in THE TH IRTY SI X D RAMATI C SITUA
"
“
Characters ARE what they DO
TI O N S :
N ow if acti on t aken abstractly may be defined
by us as the shock of two forces the confli ct of
two beings it consists
t o consider it by halves
—
that is to sa y each of t hese two beings i n an
impulse in an act in a simple movement This
in turn is but the passage from one attitu d e t o
All i s t hus reduced in the en d
not to Characters in themselves but t o Attitud es
"
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
-
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
T HE AR T OF
44
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
TE R
S
being ; that i s to say that human be ing in his
“
”
complet eness
Love thy neighbor as thyself
says the G ospel an d not hing can be more nat ural
si nce in hi s complet en ess he i s lik e yourself an d
“
you are id entical wit h h im
Love here sigu i
"
"
“
“
fies See or recognize
recogni ze the i mage
faithful and complet e of God Those who
”
“
having eyes yet see not have in their eyes a
beam
that of the cross to whi ch exalting
themselves as judges t hey
despit e St Paul
despit e the Gospel condemn their neighbor
which i s to say God which i s t o say themselves
transcen den tally
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
'
,
.
,
,
,
.
N o the lover does not create for h imself illu
si ons as to the beloved evi dences of hi s own pas
si on On the contrary it i s he alone who Shows
h imself lucid an d hi s admiring word s rev eal t o
hi s beloved many si d es of her nature of which
she herself w as unaware
,
,
,
.
,
.
thi s link whi ch every moral i st i n s t i n c
t i v ely seeks an d wh i ch connects all the Person
"
“
ages of fict i on an d hi story
all t he charact ers
i n a sort of logical success i on in whi ch w e may
—
see them Spring one from another
thi s link
thi s i n d efin a ble all ess ential which shall be called
Bossuet thought he d i scovered in
HUMANUM
LOVE root of all passions and L a Rochefoucauld
t urning toward the solitude in which he had
Also
,
,
—
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
NO T
CHARA CTE R S
,
ATTITUDE S
BUT
45
is olated the human heart in SELF LOVE ; our
moderns see it incontestably in SEXUAL LO VE
the primitive act of our life wherein lie the prob
lems of her edi ty and of races which interest
them so deep ly
-
,
,
,
,
.
The ol d m ediaeval the ol o gy said in a bro ader
sense D IVINE LO VE or the H OLY SPIRIT and it
identifi ed under thi s term the reci pr ocal l ove of
the two other D ivine Per s ons the love of all
Three for man and that of m an for Them and
for his neighbor through l ove of Them
the
anim ating principle of creati on inspirer of minds
and giver of wisdom and kn owledge even that of
the human Word and its m odifi cations the
languages ; grace in all senses of the w ord
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
For the c ommon herd and for m any writers
a Character is c onstituted even fi mly estab
li h d as s oo n as three or f o
haracteristic
aspects are sh own c onnected with one an other
by the thread of a l ogical idea relating them in
cause and eff ect Tragedy and C omedy on the
c ontrary exist but t o dem onst ate how sad and
ridi cul ous a thing it is subj ectively or objectively
to B E but one p oor character but one ankyl osed
,
,
r
,
s
e
ur
,
c
,
,
.
r
,
,
,
,
attitude "
N ow
in their totality th ese attitudes thr ough
whi ch every man worthy o f the nam e can or
,
,
,
ING CHARACT
THE AR T O F I N VE N T
46
ER
S
originally coul d pass ; through whi ch passes at
“
leas t in ima gin ati on the geni us of the poet of a
”
thousan d soul s
these diverse attitudes which
it is his mission t o Show us each in turn in hi s
works in order t o break our enslaving anky
"
los i s
these attitud es may be cou nted as well
as those of the body H ave w e not moreov er
already reduced to the number of 36 their conflicts ?
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
Since
lassified
C
,
,
they may be coun t ed
,
they
may be
.
N 0 one has succeed ed
no one should suc
in counting an d conveni ently distribut ing
c ee d
”
“
charact ers in the insulated sense in whi ch t h e
word is comm onl y used I t i s but right that
such semblances mi staken for individual beings
shoul d vani sh from the hand s which woul d res train
”
“
an d put t hem in cages But the attitudes
whi ch are not persons but ephemeral roles
nothing prevent s our enumerat ing them From
the beginni ng the people of the dr ama have
been broug ht on an d C E in Spite of themselves
—
so to Speak t o be labelled an d ticketed
very
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
conven ti onalized life a life having one sid e onl y
for the personage of drama i s concerned only with
that side whi ch he turns t oward the audience the
others like those of the moon rem aining invisible "
,
,
,
,
,
NO T
C HARAC TE R S
ATTITUDE S
BUT
,
47
The OCC UPATI ONS of the stage have been
coun ted And this term evokes curi ously th at
”
“
of those Professional Types whi ch began in
the Middl e Comedy of the Greeks with its Fish
ven d or its C ourtesan its br utal S oldi er its
Parasite its C ook
the drama of ob servati on
before in the N ew C omedy of Menander the
study of more in di vidualiz ed characters was
.
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
It is to Professional Types moreover that the
“
herd clin gs To the question What is Mr So
and
three people out of four will r eply
"
"
“
“
H e is an attorney or H e is a sh oe maker
Apparently they woul d rep ly if asked a bo ut St
Matthew H e was a clerk or of Jean J ac ques
"
Rousseau H e w as a servant
From what d oes
thi s come if not from the fact that such a cl assi
fica t i on so easy corr esp onds to a prim ar y p sych o
logical tendency albeit a vu lgar one ? Clearly
it is easier to recognize a jus tice in his official r obe
than a j u st person seated am ong the accused ; a
Jesuit in hi s professional garb th an a Tartufe also
ever faithful to S uccess and t oday perhaps ch ant
“
ing the songs of the International "
,
,
,
.
.
,
-
,
.
,
-
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
From
the day when there wer e united for the
first time in a new form of art (whi ch we call
the c omedy of manners ) several examples of the
sam e trade or profession it became very necec
,
,
,
INVE N TING CHARA CT
THE AR T O F
48
S
ER
sary t o discern in t hem several roles in the same
rank ; for example gi ven a mini st erial bur eau
there will a hn os t inevit ably be found therein the
ill t empered the jocose an d waggi sh the beast
et c all a little colored by whichever
of bur d en
of these Charact ers remains att ached t o their
chief These are l ike moral l iveri es which the
PERSO NNEL distribut e among themselves at first
with some fumbling but with which each of them
ident ifies himself little by little according to t h e
instinctive demand and pressure of the environ
ment
,
,
-
,
,
-
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
The same phenomenon i s repeat ed in the
hab itu es of a salon of a publ i c place of the edi
t or i a l rooms o f a j ournal among t he w orkmen
of a farm or Shop the sailors on a vessel the
members of an associ ati on commi ssi on academy
or any group In thi s entert aini ng di st ribution
of roles one can perceive t he birth of Traditi onal
Characters In turn the complet e series of these
Traditional Charact ers in their professi onal or
soci al MILI E U ( as the Clerks of B al zac) coul d be
compared t o the seri es equally complet e of
another MILIE U and again of others ; thus was
gathered the collec tion whi ch t he author called
the COMEDI E H UMAINE
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
The fact of having been able to transport true
t o himself from one of these MILI EUX ( a bureau)
,
,
NOT
C HARA CTE RS
ATTI TUDE S
B UT
,
to another ( a bou levard) then a th ird ( a ban k or
newspaper or the world of wom en ) his B ix i ou
for example proves that he has gi ven him in a
br oad er sense t han we realize a H um an Character
N evertheless it is but a role become a man this
Bi x i ou ; one m ight a h n os t s a y it is the mere face
of an actor such as D au d et s D elobe lle Rem ark
in g th i s ank ylosis in a single attitude that of
sarcasm what rea d er has not sai d to himself that
there shoul d be someth ing else in B i x i ou th an the
side B alzac has shown us ?
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
’
,
.
,
,
And that something else certainl y existed in
the back of the author s mind The exaggeration
of the ty pe has here a hype rbolic asp ect
an d
necessaril y so B alzac overdraws it at this poi nt
only through condescension toward us and in
“
"
or d er to give us that impression of character
whi ch we expect an d understand Only by means
of such decep tive representations do we perceive
it and so the other si des of the character are
deliberately thrust back into the Sh ad ow
’
.
-
,
.
,
.
,
.
They are I sa y thrust back but n ot sup
pressed For with a great writer
or what
comes to the sam e t hing in a great legend the
production n ot of the masses but of anonymous
"
“
genius
these other s id es are never l ost ; it
is they which permit t he auth or when he wishes
t o present with veri si militude his pers on age in an
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE ART OF
50
T
TE R
S
attitude absolutely opposed t o the first one
Whereas in such a VOLTE FACE the writer who
is a mere arranger of puppet s never fails t o con
t ra di c t or mutilat e hi s first concepti on t o t he
be wild erment of hi s public
.
-
,
,
,
.
Furthermore it is I say precisely back of the
most pronounced charact er that w e fin d t hat
delicat e pl ay of light and Shad e which gi ves it
l ife an d verisimil itud e Unli ke the u i formity of
the C ill heroes unlike the crude contrasts
of the H ugoesque figures with their t oo simple
duali sm some n i f det ail of a poem or a h gi g
ph y ren d ers comprehensible an d akin to us a
humanity nevertheless so superhuman What a
hild like heart i s reveal ed by the t ears of the
hard Achilles or by the jokes of the aud acious
Spouse of the Lady Poverty "
,
,
,
“
"
n
.
or n e
ea n
,
-
a
,
a
o
ra
.
C
-
,
PATIONS ; PROPES
SI ONAL
AND
TRAD ITI O N AL TYPES ;
CHARACTER TYPES ; CHARACTE RS MORE
I NDIVIDUALI zED AND PORTRAITS
Le t us recapit l at e the seven aspect s through
whi ch passes by means of contrasts the genera
ti on of Charact ers in lit erature
—
Roles These are hardl y more than the
(1)
persons of the verb in g ammar u i ted to the
II
ROLES
AND
OCC U
-
,
.
u
,
,
"
“
,
.
r
,
n
THE AR T OF
52
INVE N TING CHARACTE
R
S
ti tles whose artificial spiri t I have scrupulously
,
Y oung Princesses ( Iphi genia
Zai ra) and
Ingenues (Agnes )
JEUNES PREMIERS Lovers
(the Marqui s d e Presles t he D ela un a y s D on
John of Austria) JEUNES PREMI ERES F emin ine
L overs ( Phili ber t e D ona S ol ) These bord er
upon Premier Roles ( Thi sbe Marion D elorme
Coun tess Almaviva Céli m én e Almaviva D on
Juan Alceste Bu ri d an ) an d upon Great Prin
c esses
( H ermione C am i lle ) PRE MIERS ROLES
( Ruy Blas Mary Tud or Lucreti a Borgia Mar
gueri te d e Bourgogne) Premier Charact er Roles
RAI SO N
( Don Ruy Gomez D on Qu exa d a )
NE URS ( Ph ila n t e )
N oble F athers (the G érontes
“
“
of Le Menteur an d Le Joueur B our s a ult s
“
Aesop Verdelet in Le G en dre d e M
“
D otards an d D olts ( Géront e in Le Lega t a i re
Argante in
L e s F ourberi es
Fi n an ci ers
( Tur car et M de Sot t en vi lle M Gu illaume in
Tertiary Roles ( trait ors an d tyrants
D on S alluste Salt a ba d il the deceived husband s
an d villain s of modern d rama B egears s ) Premier
Comic Roles (Figaro Giboyer l I n t im é Gr os
“
"
René Sgan a r elle in Le F est in de Pierre Scap in
“
in Les
and Secon dary Co mi c Roles
( all the valets an d jesters except that of the
“
L égataire whi ch i s a prem i er ; J od elet i n Les
”
"
“
Precieuses the Marquis in L e Joueur Covi elle
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
.
.
,
.
'
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
NOT
C HARA CTE RS
,
B UT
ATTITUDE S
53
Ma s ca rille i n D ép it D a n di n i n Les Plaideurs
M Loyal Th omas Di a f oru s ) Soubret t es etc
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
we see a well turned figure h oll ow features
or a round p aunch are suffi cient t o cause passage
from one of these categories into another I
refrain fro m here taki n g account of di stinctions
alt ogether l oc al and pecu liar
AS
-
,
,
.
.
Professi on al Types in which s oci al rank
( 3)
SO dear t o the vulgar em erges fr o m the prec eding
classifi cati on :
The Valet and the M arqui s ( o ur
“
fr om the Pr emier and S eco ndary Com edy
sn o
Roles ; the Pe dant and the Tut or from the
”
“
D otards the Tyrant from the Tertiary Roles
the Courtesan fr om the Prem ier R ole s etc
N ow let u s add t o these certa i n Specializations
,
,
,
,
.
,
Doctor the Cook of Greek drama ( that ancest or
of the innkeeper s and cooks of Dum as of La
Reine P d q and of
the Athenian
F ish ve d or the bo ast f l S oldi er the Parasite
the anti que S lave (forerunner of the Valet ) the
Spanish G between the G endarme ( escap ed fr om
the puppet theatre) our U su er our F uncti on ary
,
“
,
e
-
au
n
ue
"
u
,
,
,
,
o-
etc
,
,
r
,
,
.
B ut such of these Pr ofes si on al Ty p es as
(4 )
"
“
app ea red in the O ccupations of com edy there
INVE N ING CHARACTE
TH E AR T OF
54
T
R
S
the new names fastened like masks upon thei r
fad ed i sages yet fill without the public s b
ing it about three fourths of th drama ( and I
would say f mod ern literature) H ere i s Leli o
or the L over a slightly sad JEUNE PREMI ER
—
H ere more nai f i s Pierrot Shall we call him
Gri ngoire for a change ? L t us hast en on to
Jocrisse the F ooli sh S ervant past Palisse Cadet
Roussel C alino an d the p i mitive H arleq i n (for
the present shrewd H arleq i n rejoins by w ay of
i ll and the valets one of the two types of
M
Slave which in the plays of A i stophanes form
an antithesi s to the credulous an d the dupe )
Poli chi nelle fight er an d brawler reappears a
littl e more obscene in K gh
and more
The sly C ol mbine returns t o
fil thy in Ubu
the professi onal type of soubrette but beside
her Isabelle from whom come t he folk of the
JEUNES PREMIERES is but too much a tradi
’
v
e
-
,
,
ser v
o
,
,
o
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
e
,
,
,
u
r
,
u
a s c ar
e
,
,
r
.
,
,
ara
,
,
euz,
u
.
,
,
,
“
,
t i on a l
Charact er Types "H ere in brief is every
thing the public deman ds I t will for a long
time t o come prefer these t o more exact studi es
Di ckens D audet and most of the time Zola
have but built upon some vicious habit or some
gross an d consp icuous t rait of the tradi ti on l
puppet ; N ana w e might say i s the etern l C our
d i s the Financier accordi g to the
t esan S
invariable form la from L sage to Mi b
(5)
-
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
a
,
,
a
,
ac ca r
,
u
e
n
r
ea u
.
N OT
C HARA CTE RS
,
B UT
ATTI TUDE S
55
sp ecially from the dep artmen t of
Occu pat i ons a radi ati on from the F eminine L overs
—and she alone tempte d momentarily from the
enormous work of the Rougon Ma c q
u a r t Family
our great national actress so admirably identified
"
“
with her occupation that she is always cited in
connecti o n with it S he h as realize d
we say
it without irony
the p erfection of her art
It is forbid den to the actor to rai se hi rn s elf hi gher
and he exerci ses thereby a regrettable influence
not onl y upon the stage where the evil r emain s
well restrained but unhappily up on literatur e
even the most seri ous thence upon hi st ory als o
and through i t upo n the tenden cy of an age fallen
into the st upidity of taking t h e player for an
“
artist the hyp ocri te for a poet bleeding with
“
”
"
and the banal occup ation for a new
s incerity
and liberating c oncepti on of life
It is m ore over merely in a Spi ri t of concessi on
that I have acc or ded this Paragraph 5 to C h arac
ter Types since in the fin al analysis they all
come from the two precedi ng ( Professional Typ es
and Tradi ti on al Typ es)
The
S
tage
is
closed
to
C
haracters
M
o
re
6
)
(
Individualiz ed Tar tufe and the better her oes
O f S h akespeare had access to it o nly bec a use their
authors hap pened up on it before them
"
“
I sa y observe m ore indi vidual ized and not
"
“
simply individual
We may p artially di s c over
R e n ee S pri ngs
C
,
,
-
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
-
.
.
,
,
,
.
THE ART OF
56
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
the reason ab ove apr opos of B al zac In the c ase
of cha racters of whom he has tri ed to t ell if not
everythin g at least too much at one t ime he
has mad e them indi stinct an d t hey mingle in a
confusi on wherein w e wand er among a vague
crowd of human beings
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
The Portrait in realit y
be it d rawn
( 7)
from nat ure by a Balz ac be it by a hi st ori an
excep tionally cons cientious
in losing it s gen
era li t y l os es also contrad ictory as it may appear
something of its clearness I t proves to be less
truthful as Aristotle has already remarked than
the p oetical rep resentation of men an d events
Unless of course it follows the usual process ; in
that case it wi ll embrace in a complete Vi ew the
career of an illustrious man or at least consid er
a very large p art of it in order to exhibit h i m
camped in a cert ain immob ile an d striking post ure
of soul ; M Masson has d one t hus wit h hi s Bona
partes The Imperfect of the Indi cative i s here
a great resource The Portrait corresponds in
thi s manner t o one of t he Tradi tional Types and
ranges it self in one of the ever ready p igeon
—
holes un der t he et ernal labels :
The Chi valrous
The D ebonnair e The H aughty The Tyrant
The S age , The Li on (tod ay the S uperman ) The
historic ep ithets att ached to the n ames of so many
princes
an d SO LITTLE VARIED
are a curi ous
evi den ce of this t en d ency
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
-
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
N OT
C HARA CTE R S
,
BU T
ATTI TUDE S
57
N EW C OMB INATI ONS
III
If ea ch one of the seven or rather of the six
classes which we have j ust extracted one from
another encroaches upon its neighb ors it will
nevertheless be observed that this does not
There is not even combina
r esul t in c o nfusion
t i on am ong them
there is only juxtapositi on
only mosaic owing t o the unskilfulness of their
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
these classes will offer acc ording t o
the angle fr om which the wri ter c onsiders it s
c ontents :
E a ch
of
,
omic Characters
2 d
Tra gic C haracters
Serious Characters a s ort of hybrid
3d
utilized at will by tragedy and comedy by satire
an d by historic l romance and p oet y
4th
Among Comic C haracters a p articularly
interest ing se i es Par ody Ch aracters These were
originally tragic characters wh o have be trans
fe red fr om right to left so to sp eak such as
Don Quix ote and his numerous but t oo feeble
po t erity A io st o and his French and Italian
predecess ors the Gr ek SATYRIQUE drama and
m od ern burles que have left much to be d one
l st
C
:
n
r
.
:
.
:
,
,
r
a
.
:
r
.
,
en
,
r
,
,
-
s
r
.
,
e
our
Ch aracters
.
,
will be the Par ad oxical
Charact er s
,
in
THE ART OF
58
INVE N ING CHARACT
ER
T
S
former d ays farc ical but now pres ented in a
pathetic light The i n fir m i t i es of Ri char d III
or of Quasimod o give u s as yet only physical
exam ples but Dickens and D audet are full of
cari catures which if not tragi c are at least pit iful
,
.
,
,
,
We
.
mi ght still distingui sh 6t h Characters
heretof ore odi ous present ed sympatheti cally :
The thief Jean Valjean the daught ers of Roman
t i ci sm an d N atural ism heirs of Mar y Magdal ene ;
”
the hyp ocrite in Le Cure d e Village and in
many E ngli sh novels
,
,
,
,
,
.
Then 7t h (recommended t o anarchi st s inno
“
v a t ors an d profess i onal
free
Charact ers
heret ofore sympatheti c present ed under a r epu g
nant or desp icable aspect ; we have had many of
them wi thin recent years but others remain ;
working men chil dren et c
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
comi c side we Shall have 8t h to pain t
r i diculously the Characters ordinarily Spared
as
the betrothed young girl the man of theses
On
the
,
,
,
.
,
An d 9t h to presen t seri ously an d s ym p a t h et
i ca lly Charact ers heret ofore grot esque
I t has
been d one for the deceive d husban d and the
jealous lover ; there i s nothing to prevent d o ing
it for the usurer the undert aker and many others
,
,
.
’
,
,
.
These changes of place will be foun d fecun d in
all th e Li terat ure of Charac t er an d not alone
,
,
THE AR T OF
60
INVE N ING CHARACT
ER
T
S
him if he still possesses anyt hin g un d er the pre
text of enri chi ng him an d chuckle aft erward
over having s o easily vanquished him There
is nothing to prevent the sit uation bei ng some
day reversed an d that perhaps s ooner than we
expect ; the premon itions of it are already appear
ing thr oughout the worl d ; strange surprises are
in store an d very probably in such an event the
new order of thi ngs will anni hilat e un til but a
memory remains of it thi s ugly an d stupid age
of PARVENUS whi ch will meet the fate of so many
other vain glorious barbarisms likewise proud of
their industries their arms and their weal th
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
From the great pile built ities of China from
the immemorial record s of Peru an d E gyp t
from Central Af i ca i ch in tradi ti o s t oo long
di sd ained from the humblest pri mit iv es from
the ch oni cles of Iran from fiery Malaysi a from
paradoxi cal Japan and from reviving Arabi a ;
from the snow huts of Lapland t he s treets of
Stamboul the paths of Ceylon an d the plat eaux
C
-
,
,
r
n
r
,
"
“
,
r
,
,
,
,
,
of Thi bet ; from the 72 books of the two Testa
ments from the Gr eek and L atin literatures
modern as well as ancient from N orse and Finni sh
songs an d from all th e myt hologies ; finally from
,
,
,
and all
the wr itings which it h a s set
d own in
NOT
C HARA CTE R S
,
BUT
ATTI TUDE S
61
m oder n l angu ages even to the mo st recent and
scattered over the w or ld
0 s i sters 0 bro ther s
from all regi o ns of earth fr om the futur e as well
as the past in y our motley and ever ch anging
co stumes or your lamentable and touching nudi ty
from all the ranks from which you have turned
at my appeal from all the ages of life when y ou
have sent out a cr y whi ch h as reached me I have
gathered you in un foreseen groups where our
sad m odern menagerie in its hop eles s decay
reaches out its han d s to the m ost radiant Goddess
of the D awn
where the prattling infant the
greybeard an d the light o love become of a
sudden identical "
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
-
-
more and more banal rep licas will f ollow after
B ut the u nison of their mon otonous voices will
not drive away th o se detached and heretofore
un known figu res h astening from out the m ass
an d astonishe d t o find them selves suddenl y in
the light S ometim es t oo my calcul ations hav
ing ap p arently p ermitted me t o silh o uette a
certain type between two relat e d ones I have
never theless summoned it in vain ; nothi ng appears
from literature or zodi ac s in that lac u na of
hum an personality "
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
We
Shall march 0 reader with a sure step
towar d s ilent and l onely regi ons And there
,
,
.
,
THE AR T OF
62
INVE NTING CHARACT
ER
S
beneath the brush of a virgin land we shall di s
cover Slumbering the Unpublished Being She
will awake when we tak e her by the han d An d
thi s heroine of the Poet to come thi s E v e of
futur e en dl ess materniti es we s hall bring bac k
through the ranks of astonished Lo velaces to
the st ill empty pedest al where her Figure all
unblemi shed shall shine among the too con v en
t i ona l attitud es of her compani ons
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
-
,
.
Thus Shall we bring forward ten a hundr ed a
th o us an d an d mor e
exactly 369
au gment ing the unprecedente d chorus
disposed at the feet of Her who Shall summarize
them al l in her perfecti on nevertheless so human
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
T h e Fo u r T e m p e ra m e n t s
CHAPT E R I V
I
THE
SYSTEMS
Let
TO
B E H ARM ON IZED
us remember in the beginning that the
object of the present study is not t o reduce the
”
“
attitude types the pretended Characters t o a
sm al l number of elements
a t ask but too easy "
On the c o ntrary it is a question of mul tiplying
them and at the same time as I have al ready
explained of examini ng the an alysis o f each one of
them ; of each one of us
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
On e of these typ es I have said is in
reality but one face one ATT ITUDE of the human
S oul and that soul remains wh ole and identi cal in
all men ; there is n ot one of them who c ou ld n ot
originally present all these attitudes pass from
one to an other of them exhibit all their gestur es
But heredi ty educati on ex amp le and s oci al cus
t om with its fal se duties have anky los ed in us a
much r educed number of these attitudes
E very
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
It is at this point that Kant saw b ut four pos
s i bili t i e s for all hum anity ;
four n ot one more
n ot one less ; f our not even c ombinable among
them selves to engender another " Th ere are but
f our he a fli r m s in his absolutism an d they can n o
“
"
more mi ngle than the four f orms of the syll ogism
,
,
,
,
,
.
THE AR T OF
64
INVE N ING CHARACT
S
ER
T
To these four irreconcilabl e as pects of hum an i ty he
"
“
gi ves the ancient name of t emperament s
but
evi d ently without retaining its etymological sense
M
P
R
E
N
TE
E
A
M
TU
M
equi l ibrium)
(
,
,
.
I t must be recogni zed that the ph ilosophers an d
clas sifiers more or less consci ously always ret urn
to t his anti que medi cal theory The majority
adm it like their foun ders th at the four t em
m
m
i
ngle
tw
o
by
t
w
o
or
t
hree
by
t
hree
e
n
era
t
s
p
”
“
in vari abl e proportions like the famou s humou rs
from whi ch they w ere drawn Assuredl y it i s a
strange Spect acl e t o see t hus surviving in psychol
ogy the consequences of a Class ificati on so long
obsolete in physi ol ogy " A nd it i s mos t amusi ng
to see certain wri ters t ak ing as great pains to
justify all this in the name of Science (wit h
F ou ill e e ) as others ( such as Paulh an an d Ri bot )
take t o avoid it seeking t o aban don an d leave
"
“
behi n d them t he unst abl e the ill balanced the
“
"
—
amorph ous etc
which is t o say the maj or
part of mankind I t i s curi ous t oo that the former
sh oul d fin d themselves to be the idealis ts an d that
the p os it ivi sm o f the latt er Shoul d seek support in
the classic di stribution of mental facu lti es : will
emoti on int elligence
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
ve that their Obstinat e types recall
strangely the anci ent B ili ous (which inclu ded t he
Ambitious the D ominating etc ) and their E m
Obser
“
,
,
.
o
FOUR
THE
TE MPE RAME N TS
65
the N ervous Their I n c on s i s t en t s c om
prising chi efly I am afraid the adversaries of
their vaunted Systems it on ly remains t o p ick
from am ong their stragglers the Amorp hous and
"
“
the Unstable to disc over in them our tradi
t i on a ls
.
,
,
,
‘‘
A s to M F ou ill ee wh o d oes not pretend t o
bre ak so vi olently with the past he d efines the
"
“
Sangui ne as Sensitive of prompt reaction and
“
the N ervous as Sensitive of intens e reacti on ;
“
the B ilious or Ch oleric as A ctive of prompt and
”
intense rea ction and the un f ortunate Lymphatic
“
or Phl egmatic as Active of slow and not intense
”
reacti on ; definiti ons m ore scienti fic than ex a ct
t o tell the truth
but so much the more appro
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
—
THE S YSTEMS
II
HARM ON IZED AND E XP LAINED
It is several years Since the auth or of the pres
“
ent w ork in a little b ook entitled The The ory of
”
Tem peram ents
di vided as f oll ows the F our
,
,
these Temper aments he found t o p os
“
”
se ss a sensitive or
su bj ective Character in their
evident propensity t o let emoti on alism pr evail
over the detac hed and r easoning Self even to t he
extent of absorbing all and assumi ng full c ontrol
N
o
of
,
,
.
THE ART OF
66
INVE N TING CHARACTE RS
jeal ous y selfishness and egotism in su ch nat ures
is to Possess to H ave or to E njoy
To th ese were opposed un der the title Obj ec
"
tive (that i s t o say t emperaments more di sposed
to externali ze to MAN IFEST themselves ) the Lym
phatic ( or Phlegmati c) a n d the B ili ous : ( of thi s
latter be i t sai d in passi ng determinati on is
much more characteristi c than irri tability
becau se i t is a RESULT of
al thou gh the lat t er
determi nat ion bef ore an obsta cle has given to the
Bili ous Temperament the mi sleading name of
"
“
Choleric t hus creating an annoying confusion
with the S angui ne an d the N ervous whi ch are
qui t e as much incli n ed t o choler) While as to the
"
“
term Obj ec tive it appeared from the first and
appear s now t o the author more appropriate by
"
“
far than that of Active applied by M F ou illee
—
at the sam e t ime t o the Bili ous
and to the
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
I t w as observed in The Theory of Tempera
”
ments that the N ervous an d the Bilious the one
by its imaginati on an d the other by i t s strengt h of
“
”
will repres ente d the Intellect ual
H ave they
not a common tendency t o abstracti on to ideal
,
.
,
,
phati c with their ten dency t o materialism to
"
“
realism represent the Physica l
both bei ng
devoted to practical lif e an d comf ort the one with
greater ardor the other with greater constancy
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
THE AR T O F
INV N ING CHA AC
E
T
R
TE R S
P AME N TS
FOUR
THE
Does it n ot
four divisi on
TE M E R
69
reconcile in a comm on reality the
system ext olled by M F ouilles with
the thr ee div isi onal method of other p hil os op hers
True it
an d intr oduce a b inar y syst em as well ?
di d n o t in the beginning attach much importance
,
,
-
.
-
,
,
its ori gin was m or e poetic th an scientific and i t
d oes n ot hesitate bef ore th os e ques tions whi ch the
P oets at all tim es and am ong a ll peoples have
better studi ed th an t h e Physicians It prefers
with its Masters to t ake fli ght from medi cal ter
wherein the first mal ad y will trans form
r i t o ry
the physiol ogical temperamen t and nevertheless
modify onl y sec ondar y parts of the character
t owar d the Op en sky of the great natu ral An al ogies
'
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
—
II I
OF THE F OUR TE MPERAMENTS
We recall the ma er in whi ch these M asters
have compared in lines at once profo und and
bea utif l the autumn of lif e and the twilight of
the day and the year t o the sad n ss of the N er
vous typ e am id the his t oric d cad ences ; the winter
to the aged Lymp hatic approachi n g lif e s night
tim e ; the sp ing i its m orning t o som e N eitz
nd
h
ad olescent holeric
d barb aric
n oo n or midsum m er t o the S a g i ne in the enj oy
ment of life careless and forgetful in hi ph m
eral st ength of the weakness of the p ast and the
nn
,
u
,
e
,
e
’
r
sc
ea n
,
n
,
,
C
an
n
,
r
,
u
,
,
a
s e
e
INVE N ING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
70
T
R
S
The N ervous type sugges ts to our minds Asia
lyri cal an d mystica l subtle fond of silks of t ea
and coff ee of hasheesh an d op ium creator of
paradises reli giou s an d artificial
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
H is transparent skin delicate an d smo th to
the t ouch suggests ivory We note the large
eyes the hi gh forehead the head broad at the
back t he contract ed an d trembl ing moti ons of
his handwriting hesit ant narrow ang lar full o f
flourishes ; the hea i ng develope d more th an the
other senses (which are oft en d ef ective) We
he h i s voice low an d vi brant seri ous ; hi s i
tit d
of motion extendi ng also to hi language
whi ch is interspersed with hesit ant ahs
We
array him thi s man of the eastern plains in
melancholy greens in blacks or si lken stuff s of
st range d es ign N
an d hallucinati ons d o
not surprise us in thi s being whose cerebral con
t i t ut i
is feminine nor d o the mental zigzags so
ill ogical in appearance the f orgetfulness of the
principal p arts of hi s di scourse t he conf us i on the
o
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
u
,
,
r
.
ar
u
n cer
,
s
e
,
”
“
.
,
,
,
eu r os es
.
s
on
,
,
,
,
above all has those flashes of intuiti on
Goethe attributed to that one of his fou r prin
ci ples whi ch he cal led the D EM ONIAC
Arist ocratic
sensitive we do not t ire of hi s c on fid en c es of hi s
incur ably LYRIC nature of hi s tendency at first to
deny and Spurn that whi ch later enraptures hi m
nor of his mystici sm so in accor d with the ellip tic
i na t i ve
whi ch
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
FO UR
THE
P AME N TS
TE M E R
71
turn of his mind suggest ive and stimulating In
short we admire in him t he echo of that which is
m ost human in the ani m al nature
With the B ili ous type we turn on the contra ry
to wards the O ccident ambitious h ardy and con
quering more brutal but keenl y logical forceful
in l anguage i mperi ous ; the veri ta ble muscle of
humanity We rem ark the aquiline n o se the
deep se t eyes commandi ng and far sighted the
sali ent N apole onic chi n the ruggedness of visage
whi ch r eminds us of r oughly sculptured st one In
the broad forehead we see the sp irit of domination
of headstrong argu m ent The gestures are precise
and defini te the han dwriting clear and firm with
Sh ort well made strokes ; the spee ch bri ef and
sententious hammered out syllable by syllable
yet sometimes wit h a pon t ifica l and majestic
quality We notice h ow fir m ly woven fabrics in
the pron ounced and cl assic c olors (reds and bright
blues ) clin g and hang upo n this muscular figure
wi th its po werful bicep s
Such a temperament idealistic but dogmatic
and authoritative aspires abo ve all t o establish
a n d as sert itself
Its weakn ess lies in its m ania
for deducing all thi ngs from a sin gle principle with
a logic mor e or less exact but relentless even
before the absurdity of the results
We may O bserve a rapp ort between the fickle
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
-
-
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
-
,
,
-
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
THE ART OF
72
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
ment an d that of the N egro race We find in th is
type in southern lands a jesting di sposition a
tendency t o hasty and exaggerat ed affirmations
vivacity sociab ili ty a love of strong an d varie
gat ed colors of gaudy gold trimmed uni forms and
pl umes of t insel d ecorations of theatri cals and
dramatic scenes ; a democratic an d tur bul ent
Sp irit practical instincts a habit of sophi st ry an d
pre tense (bo th to himself and others ) easy morals
scep tici sm a proneness t o impu lsive folly a
character by turns audacious an d cowardly The
flesh tints are warm the s ki n pli ant t o t h e touch
the movements vigorous and agi l e
a h n os t oily
whence the handwriting of round Open letters
often illegibl e however because of it s rap idit y
The noi sy speech i s well adapt ed t o sudden flares
of anger t o quarrel s jests and argum ents Hi s
sense of smell i s keen hi s t ast e i s f or highl y Sp i ced
food We cl othe him in conspi cuous and amusing
costu mes F or the rest we may heartily prai se
hi s initi ative his gai ety his energy hi s practical
habits hi s ad aptab ility to all circum stances
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
The Lymphatic l a stly we discover near the
Pol es ( or at least near that one t oward which
humanity withdrew before the great sea which
anciently a dvanced u pon it from t he south ) I t
is under the snowy ski es of the north that we fin d
dispassionate patient soul s deep thoughts ( some
times vague and misty on contact with others)
,
,
.
,
,
,
THE
actics
FOUR
P AME N TS
TE M E R
73
the scientifi c sp iri t t h e mem ory well
developed but encumbered with document ary
facts ; utili tarianism slow sp ee ch heavy gestures
interminable sentences an d a di sp osition to long
and sometimes dreamy discourses The hand
writing is negligently traced wi th out fir m n ess the
letters rather broad th an h igh ; the style is d e scri p
tive The weak point of such a type is its dul lness
Regu larity of life realism in phil os ophy a u t ili t ar
ian indi ff erence in politics an inclin ati on to endl ess
study a strongly developed sense of t aste a likin g
for soft clothing and soft col ors such as r ose and
grey blue palli d flesh cold and s oft t o the t ouch
these characterize this n orther n or m ountain type
which may be comp ared to the fish or the rep tile
in t he anim al world or to the humid se a wrack in
the vegetable world
di d
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
-
.
analysis even forms a s ort of Cr y s t a llog
of Hum an Traits which furni shes the
r a ph y
artist with elements analogous to th o se just
evolved for the student of hu man s ouls Thus
will be underst oo d the four foll owing schem es or
caricatures ( Page
As we see the profil e is divi ded int o four regi ons
occiput si nciput nose jaw I have appor ti oned
theoretically the up per half of eac h of these parts
to the signs of the Bilious and the Lymphatic ( B
an d L) and the l ower h alf t o the lines of the
N erv ou s and the S angu ine ( N and
These
Ou r
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74
THE AR T O F
INVE N ING C HARACTE
T
R
S
THE AR T OF
76
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
the central regions of hi s diverse parts : it is thi s
which gives so special an aspect for example to
the hand of a hunchback We may then sketch
also from head t o feet four human bei ngs in
whom the two concaviti es an d the two convexiti es
upper an d lower (by whi ch w e have already
characterized
in occiput sinciput nose and
jaw
our Lymphati c S anguine Bilious an d N er
vous ) will continue to Show themselves in the
outli nes of t he shoul der blad es the ches t the
pelvis and the abd omen ; then of the tw o post erior
and the tw o an t erior hal ves of the thighs ; t he arms
forearms legs ; even of each phalange ; in a word
in every one of the part s int o whi ch we have just
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Finally each of these parts as we have seen
is divid ed into four regi ons lower posterior upper
post erior ; l ower anterior upper anteri or These
respectively appertain in a greater or less degree
to the si gns of the Lymphatic the N ervous the
Bilious an d the S anguine
Le t it be said once more it i s not a questi on of
exact an d inevi table concor dance but of establi sh
ing FOUR F UNDAMENTAL TYPE S which will exten d
the hum an Proportions theoretically and ideally
an d will be a point of d eparture for t he vari ati ons
which may be execut ed wi thin t he l imits of t hese
proport ions Still less is it a question of an
infall ible process for the divination of character
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THE
by
FO UR
P AME N TS
TE M E R
facial traits since , we rep eat the ch aracter
is but a habit or group of habits fixed upon a
human bei ng and not the being him self wh o in
Spite of it remains complete and cap able of t aking
with greater or less pliancy other habits and other
attitudes The p hysiogn omy is but the envel op e
or c over s o to sp eak for med by habit ( esp ecially
heredit ary ) and less quickly modified than the
habit itself
alth ough infinitely m ore so th an we
think and than the t oo uniform life of our ci vili
za t i on lets app ear
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The
L a w o f F o u r Ce n t u ry Pe r i o d s
-
CHAP TE R
(AN APPLI CATI O N
V
PRECED IN G
OF THE
CHAPTER)
permit us t o weave " I t draws thr eads
not onl y from all poin ts of Space and from all
manifestations of min d but likewise from time
n
e
t
s
er
a
m
p
,
Ha
ing remarked for example that the order of
evoluti on of the F our Temperaments by t heir
analogy with the Seasons the Ages of L ife etc
presents regularly the Bili ous or Obstinate fol
lowed by the happy S an gu in e t his by the N ervou s
and it in turn by t he Lymphatic to recommence
wi th the Bili ous and so on whi ch is equi val ent to
s aying in face of e very act ivity : Growth Complete
ness D ecline and Rep o se
is it not plain that
the 1 7t h 1 3th 9t h 5t h and l st centuries of our
era ( those of Lou i s X IV of S aint Loui s of Ch arle
magne of Clovis and of Augus tu s which our
“
histories call t he Grands
like the 4t h
8th 1 2t h an d 1 6th of the pre Ch rist ian era ( th ose
of Alexan der of Romul us of Agamemnon of
Sesostris) return every 400 years like a full moon
or a historic Summer ?
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LAW OF FOUR CE N TURY PE RIODS
THE
79
-
Besides the nine great Figur es j u st named
they bring like bolts of thunder the most t re
men don s d o wnfall s and d estructions with which
the world h a s r es ou n d ed z the fall of J erich o the
fal l of Tr oy the fall of N ineveh that of the Per
sian E mpire that of J erusal em that of R om e
that of the C arlovingi an E mp ire that of the
H oh enstauf ens that of the Ca th olic Emp ire And
at the same time are precipitated the most ir re
the
s i s t i ble invasi o ns and stream s of mi grati on
Jews int o the Promised L and the H er acli d es
across Gr e ece the black E thi opians int o E gyp t
the blonde G auls to Rome the brown Romans t o
the limit of their con quests the great Invas i on s
in r etur n t o the very heart of that Emp ire ; th ose
of the Nor t hm en across its rec onstituti on of the
Mongols into E urope in the 1 3t h centur y and the
expansi on of France over E urope and the w orld
( 1 7t h centu ry) And fin al ly in one of th e se
Summers of Hist ory there rises the figure of
C hrist
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The dark centuries of Winter ( l 0t h 6t h 2n d
B C ; 3r d 7t h 1 l th 1 5 th and 1 9t h A D ) off er by
contrast grave and often sorrowful and bitter
the B uddha (whether of the l 0t h or the
figur es :
6t h centur y ) then C onfucius (with Zor oaster it
is s aid and Pythagoras ) ; the aged Cat o ; four
hun dred years later the great heresiarch M a ni
wh ose desp airi ng p hil osop hy dared equ alize God
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80
INVE NTING C HA ACT
THE ART OF
ER
R
S
and the D evil ; in the 7t h century the fatalist
Mahomet in the 1 1 t h Ghibellin ism happ ily over
come by Gregory V II at C anossa ; Joh n Huss
and finally H egel and Schopenh auer Ages of
transition and of gri evous yet fecund error "
N apoleon (whos e prefigur a t i on seems to have been
the G auli sh Si gov ese conquering the German
tribes 24 centuries earli er) Mahomet II Will i am
the Conqueror an d the found er of the S assanid s ;
Ardashir an d Marius an d Cyrus the ad venturer
and E rechtheus form the t okens of it behi nd
these heroes of the advance guard
the R ev olu
t i on a r i es Jeanne d Ar c t he Ci d an d t he Gu elphs ;
the Gr acch i H a rm odi u s and Ari s t ogi t i on the
first Brutus Livi ngst one followed by St anl ey
an d Ch rist opher C olumbus followed by the C on
s
o
r
es
t
a
d
c
o
rrespon
d
to
t
he
first
C
r
sa
d
ers
an
d
u
i
u
q
t o the Arab Conquest as Verlaine t o Villon
It is as if the travail of germinati on pi erces for
the ages t o come the cold black earth of the
Louis Phi lippes an d the Louis XI s the Roth s
ch il ds and the Jacques Coeurs t h e Croesuses an d
the E clectics Thi s rs also a series of Germanizing
cen turi es ; every one of them wears as an ar mor
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organizati on of the Franki sh an d Sueve Leagues
( 3r d century) an d the prepond erance of the Mayors
of Aus trasia ( 7t h ) t o the Franconi an H ouse 1 l t h )
an d th at of the H a bs bour gs ( 1 5t h ) and the tri
u m ph a n t rise of the H ohenzollerns ( 1 9t h )
,
.
THE
LAW OF FOUR CE N TURY PE RIODS
81
-
E ach
one of them as a ni ght or winter ext i n
s
h
i
e
d
and
swe
p
t
away
the
century
i
mm
ediately
u
g
precedi ng this latter belonging to the series of
Autu mn or E vening
,
,
,
.
In the Autumn or S unset periods t o whi ch we
now come we find always elegance enraptured
with itself a varied and fragile Splendor lux ury
and profusion ; always the vintage tim e of a
declini ng civilizat ion E ven t h e kings are s o
learned that they p ose as sages " Josep h II and
Catherine of Russia and thou Charles V father
of the mortal schism of the West wherein perished
o ur supremacy in E urope ; and you
the B asileus
h
h
i
l
o
s
h
f
1
0
t
century
B
yzantiu
m
even
o
r
e
o
;
p
p
js
th ou Ch ilper i c the gramm ari an of the 6t h century
succeeding Marcus Aurelius and the Ant onines
n
4
2
century
wh
o
f
o
llow
d
00 years after th e
(
)
Pt olemies o f Alexandria ; and th ou Solon ( 7t h
century E C ) and finally at the summit thou
Solomon author or not of the B ook of Wisdom "
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With
the sneering scepticism whi ch Voltaire
across f our times four centuries received as a her
i t a ge fro m Lucian reign s al so the most ab surd
credulity ; C agliostr o Rosenk ranz and the Free
mas ons oi the 1 4t h century occ ultism of the time
of Gerber t the frenzied Gn o stics and that dis
quieti ng p ythoness of E n dor whose w ords
resounded in the troubled mind of S aul the
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THE ART O F
82
INVE N TING CHARAC
S
TE R
n
fi
t
i
e
fooli s h king
r
ra
o
four
centuries
i
n
u
g
p
ad v ance of N ebu ch ad n e zz a r an d by 2 4 centuries
of our Charl es V I " grins convul si ons the
appearance of the animal grrm a ce beneath the
human mask An d wi th thi s series of cent uries i s
connec t ed t he b irt h of id olatry which tradi ti on
makes contemporaneous wit h N inus Thought
woul d perish if the learned everywhere mod estly
li mited to t he t angible did not extract some
elements of survival ; Thales and the sages
Ar chi med es an d E uclid Ptolemy the geographer
the lawyers of Justinian the Arabian scholars and
th e inventors of t he 1 4 th century have done so
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In contrast let us unroll the s eri es of Spring
,
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If Jesus chose one of the S umm er cycles for His
glory ; if I dol at ry rose in the d ecl ine of t he Autumn
cycles ; if some yet mysterious menace d arkens
those of Winter it w as one of the cycles of Spring
that saw the creation of thi s beautiful world
according to the B ible ; in t he 4 l st century be fore
Chr ist (the dat e most frequently a d opt ed notably
by Bossuet D a u n ou Dr ey ss
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F our times 4 00 years nearer to us in the 25t h
century Creati on w as reb orn puri fie d by t hat
fant ti c bap ti sm the D eluge The Floo d of
D eucalion is still 400 years nearer (2 1 t century) ;
it correspond s to the epoch of the Jewi h people s
origin in Abraham
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as
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s
s
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'
TH E AR T OF
84
INVE N ING CHARACT
T
ER
S
the S axons and that of Rolan d at Roncesv alles
preludi ng four centur ies in advance the Crusades
of the 1 2th centu ry against Islam ; lastly the
,
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that new Ari us Luther
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But Special disciplines
Loyola St Bernard St Benoit St Augustine and
the N icene Creed the Incarnati on Socrates the
just H erakles the D ecalogue ( 1 7t h c entury
appear at interval s of fou r centuries and confirm
the ancient call of Abraham ( 2 l s t centu ry) an d t he
Splendi d forecast of the Bow of Promise ( 25 t h
century)
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D o we not see even in the midst of our su rprised
i n diff erence reli gious pass i on revi ing an d dec or
at ive art everywhere thro wing over the uglin ess of
the past century its network of beauty ? solemn
portents and perhaps the last Fo r t imes four
make sixteen ; t he first 1 6 cent i es whi ch com
prised the worl d s youth exp ired with the sobs of
Buddha that personifi cati on of di sillusi on ; the
intoxicat ing fruit s of mat rity ripened on the
th ice sacre d Shores of the Medi terranean betw een
H omer an d Mahomet Is it old age is it d ecline
which began under the pale skies of the north with
the E ddas and the ancestors o f the C arlovin gians
t o terminate with the 2 3 d cent y ? may it be
that huma i ty has but four more centuries to
live ? Strangely already the comment at ors of the
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THE I LAW
OF FOUR CE N TUR Y
-
PE RI ODS
85
Ap oc al yp se profess t o disc over therein that the
Last Judgment will follow n ot l ong after the year
2000 and fr om elsewhere the prophecies of St
Mal achy ann ounce but ten m ore P opes t o lea d the
Church to the ful fillment of her task
,
.
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T h e Si x D i r e c t i o n s
Act ion
of
CHAPTE R VI
—
I
THE TEMPERAMENTS COMB INED
TWO BY TWO FORMIN G SIX TYPES
We may see by this single example the f
dity of our analogi es It is most natur l to
ext en d them It i s most natural to extend the
F our Temper m ent s into the Six Types (th ee
pairs or two trios accordi ng t o nee d ) which our
Theory has extracted from them as we have
,
ecu n
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a
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r
a
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,
But first let us
define
with preci sion t hese
Six
The Objective a combinati on of the B ilious
and the Lymphatic has as its d ominating desire
that of Being more of Manifest ing itself in works ;
,
,
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derived from this desire (We shall see i Chap
t er X why these words are emph ized ) The
features of this Type are bro d c lm and har
m
i
the d emeanor grave and straightforward
th
bodily posture upright even to the poin t of
leaning back ward The body of medium height
whi t e of flesh d cold lacks the t hrill of life even
when the blood i s rich ; the muscles often over
developed add to its heavin ss The han d
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as
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a
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a
on ou s ,
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an
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e
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THE
S I X D IRE CTI O N S OF A CTI O N
87
writing is small regul ar and a trifle cramp ed
The mind is broad and tolerant thr ough ab sence
of p assion ; the i d eas travel in imm ense Circles
without a clearly apparent obj ect The sty le is
orat orical explanatory gi ven to enlarging by
successive devel op ments points at first trivi al
The natu ral tendency of opinion is c on ser vative
plut ocrati c even B OURGEO I S hi erarchi c frien dly
to law and order t o harmony t o resp ectability
with happ iness or sereni ty as the aim A defect
of this typ e i s slowness of ment al pr oc e sses In
phil osop hy these are the pantheists ; in science
the physicians ; in art the scul pt ors The w om en
of t hi s typ e love like men ; the children pr efer
their mother t o their father
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The Subj ective
or better yet the P ossessive
since the d ominant instinct is to H ave t o Pos
s ess
is a c ombination o f the N erv ous and the
S an guine Whether grasping or prodigal these
are m on op olists
and thereby sen t i rn en t ali s ts
als o ; j eal o us and fre quently d esp otic they live
in a st ate of p assion and are often unjust in con
sequen ce Thoug ht with them sp rings from
wi thin outward Their unqui et hearts are the
source of their faul ts or their vices They are
ch t h on i a n s
Titans always in eruptions or in
M pes t s
In science they will be chem ists ; in
ar t
painters or musicians ; in politics judges or
dicta tors Theirs are exp ressive faces yet with
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INVE N TING CHARAC
TH E AR T OF
88
TE R
S
skin like alabast er flashing eyes wh ose gaze
easily hypnotizes Their gestures are en t h us i as
tic imperi ous excit ed ; steps short and unequal
,
.
,
,
The speech i s animated the sty le Sp iri ted full of
antitheses an d rhetorical figu res The chil dr en
of thi s type prefer their father to their mother
Lat er espec ially if the S an guine be predominant
this tendency renders di stur bing their admi ration
for vi rile bea uty
,
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The Act ive a mingling of the S angui ne a n d
B ilious closely approaches the preceding but its
formula i s Action People of t hi s ty pe do not
limit themselves to passionate censure or con
like the Subjectives ; they revolt
d emn a t i on
they stri ke ; neither do they travel rn ci rcles like
the Objectives ; their energy has a more act ive
eff ect Their thought is above all pract i cal and
shrewd Bold clever so metimes unscrupulous
oft en patroni zing an d protecting dangerous as
a dversaries they have the art of leadi ng the
,
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fears
ar e
overcome and which fin ds in this type
,
Well developed virile fig es bearded faces tanned
complexi ons ; ges tures f orceful and concentrated
re tless bodily att itud es as though always on the
ur
,
,
,
s
TH E
SI X D I RE CTION S OF
ACTION
meth ods in all thi ngs are charac t eri stic
89
of
them
.
tendency to take the shortest cu t to the obj ect in
view ; they are expe rimenters ever read y to try
somethi ng new with the audacity of scepticism
and with a t ot al irreverence for the p ast wh ich
they neither un d erstan d n or app reciate Their
h andwriting is rapi d ; they have a lively narrative
,
,
,
.
They have an egotism whi ch is readily c ondoned
and an ability to extricate themselves from
alm ost any difficulty They love the natural
sciences
.
.
The Passive
gr eat role is t o
,
or rather Sensitive Since their
F eel unite in themselves the
,
,
art to faith from fidelity t o se nsuality since
they vibrate t o ever y
s ensitive and emoti o nal
contact Their flesh is fine and delicate even
morbidly s o ; the outlines of the figu re are r ounded
G estures as well as words are often involunta ry ;
the p ostures i n dolent th e manner well poised
The handwriting remains always immatur e The
st y le is harmoni ous fl owery descriptive Thi s
nature is essentially musical and fre quently
bec omes religious
Impressi ons fr om with out
overcome impul ses from within In politics they
are devo tedly legi t i rni s t faithful t o the throne as
to the altar influenced by ancien t tr aditi on s of
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T HE AR T OF
90
_
IN VE N TING CHARACTE
R
S
loyalty and royalty of divine right
of aris
”
t ocr a cy o f
the good old t imes They have a
profou n d seriousness in matt ers of sen timen t
,
,
,
.
,
language Will power i s d efici en t artifice and
hyp ocri sy frequent Sometimes there i s coquet ry
sometimes worse ; but the family virtues are
u sual in t his type
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.
,
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.
.
The Intellectual ( Bilious N erv ous ) are abstract
thinkers ; their role is to I dealize The poss essive
inst inct in them transl ates itself int o av arice or
ambiti on ; emoti onal ism i nto prudence virtue
theology ; activity into subtility Theoretical
mat hemati cal systemati c their ment alit y has
both a li teral an d an imaginat ive tendency
-
.
,
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style concise elliptic intense vivid revea ls thei r
origina li ty which we di scover al so in their
B IZARRE han dwrit ing jerky an d angul ar in the ir
odd personal mannerisms in their long an d
somewhat heavy st eps with an excessive bend
Their Op i ni ons are essenti ally
i n g at the knees
indivi dualist ic anarchi stic d estructive pe ss imi s
tic a s t r on g sen se of the ri gh ts of personali ty
causes them to hold all things adm iss ible whi ch
lead toward the id eal stat e i n whi ch individ uals
and id eas Shall not be d ominat ed by mass stu
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THE AR T OF
92
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
the three di mens ions of Space di vide thems elves
height (up ward d ownward ) bread th (to right
to left ) d epth (before and be hind ) Already the
organ s of our bodi es are ad apted to these six
directions : our legs carry us forward and back
ward our arms ext end t o right and left while in
an et ernal antithesi s our head s look upward
an d the weigh t of our bodies draws us d ownward
,
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.
N ow the SOUL can not escape these condi tions
whether we regard Spi ritual energy as simply a
subtilization of physi cal energy or whether w e
see in the latt er but a symbol of t he soul If
the soul dwell upon vulgar thi ngs it ABASES
itself as we say ; it UPLIFTS itself toward God in
its expansi on and detachment from earthly things ;
it i nclines toward the RI GHT so to speak in
actions clearly governed by the will and to the
EFT in th ose governed by emotional impuls e ; to
L
“
possess is n ot this t o be hel d BACK and to
manifest to go FORWARD ?
,
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,
To manifes t and to p ossess to ac t and to feel
to idealize an d to material ize
is not this the
wh ole of life ?
,
,
,
We see the Orator
“
”
DI UM
Before him
,
.
,
rising deliver his EXOR
“
before us he pl aces his
,
,
us bac k wi th him in t o t h e t yr an ni cal pa s t
"
“
He brandi shes as a sword in hi s right hand
,
.
,
S IX D IRE CTI ON S OF A CTI ON
THE
93
his CONF IRMATI ON and t o the left wards off
sini ster attacks with the buckler of his REFUTA
“
”
TI ON
Then hi s disco urse descends and en ds
with the PERO RATI ON S uch acc or di ng to Rhe
tori c are the six parts of an orat ion ; the six
di r ecti ons of its f orce
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
P oetr y als o if we be lieve Arist o tle contains
six c orresp onding parts And the Politics of
Plato enum erates six types of g o vernm ent
the objective and m aj e s t i c MONARCHY the
abstract and lofty ARI STOCRACY t he mil itary and
active T IM OCRA CY the materialistic OLI GARCHY
of the pluto crats the sentim ent al D EM OCRACY
of the m asses and the jeal ous TYRANN Y They
succeed one an other inevitably in the same order
and the philos op her seeks n ot merely an image
but THE CAUSE in the six types of hum an Char
—
acter which is to say for us in their six
“
”
attitudes resp ecti ng the p assions
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
Ther e were t oo ( was it for this reas on ? ) six
—
Cl asses in Rome as there were six cases in its
declensi ons one refl ects with a smile An d Ph ysics
which in nature envisages only force only energy
is it not als o di vi d ed into six p arts ? D oes not
Crystall ogr aphy reduce a ll its polyhedrons t o six
gr oups of forms ?
,
,
.
—
,
,
,
And if we w o uld amuse ourselves l onger with
these bu tt er fly fli gh t s which are called An alogies
,
-
THE AR T OF
94
INVE NTING CHARACTE RS
( and whi ch likewise begin in childi s h poetic
capr ice to end perhaps as a science) we may
“
"
still cite the s ix days or period s of Creati on
whi ch fif ty two t imes a year the Christi an
Jewish and Moslem week repeats an d celebrates
*
in its Six d ays
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
The seventh peri od was consecrated to res t
But S unday according to Genesis saw the birth
of light and darkness ; Mond ay the flui ds air
and water ; Tuesd ay the principal minerals and
vegetables ; We dnes d ay t he astronomical organ
i za t i on of our sun and stars ; Th ur sday the fish
and birds of our earth ; Friday the terrestrial
animal s and humanity
.
,
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
The Si x god s early establ ished ove r these six
days c orrespon d to the six types which we have
just drawn from the four t emperaments com
The Sun god is our S ensitive
bi n ed t wo by tw o
the Moon our j ealous Possess ive ; Mars i s our
Active virile an d brutal ; the ingeni ous M ercury
is our Int ellectu al the maj estic Jupiter our
Objective an d the sensual Venus our Physi cal
-
,
.
,
,
.
These six types have had an incomparable
fortune ; not onl y hav e they served all the Middle
Ages and the Renai ssance but we fin d them
,
Th e Mass i s
boli zes on e of
’
or
s h s or
‘
w ld
it y
.
l
a so
,
‘
SI X D IRE C TIO N S OF A CTI ON
THE
95
clearly Specifi ed in S hakes p ear e who mak es
*
constant all u sion t o them and evidently constructs
from them a method for his classifi cation of men
We find them again in Schiller who seem s for
a tim e to have preferred the m t o the fo ur primi
tive temperaments dear t o his master Kant
,
,
.
,
.
ANALO GOUS GROUPI N GS OF
SEVEN AND THREE
I II
A s for the seventh type that of S aturn it
h as been little used excep t by dull ards who have
c orrup ted the system It rests in effect on the
superstitious idea of E vil Fortune Its charac
ters are alternately th o se of the six others
obscured by this concep tion whic h as we shall
see further on is one of the subdivi sions of Apollo
stripped of p ers onal passion If vici o us it c or
res p onds t o the t ype of Venus and if c old t o
Diana ; dry and abstract t o the intellectual
Mercury ; hard and destructive t o Mars
,
,
“
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
It seem s to have been i nvented merely for the
s ake of reaching the ca balistic number of 7 All
the perso nages human or divine of thi s seventh
cl ass may be reduced t o the num ber of h alf a
dozen by the fact that they all c ontain a co mpo
si te and central type This keep s fro m the
dep ths at whi ch we see it the t oo bright or t oo
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
*
See , f or
"
W ll
a
exa m
ti
ple
th e
,
ens e n , e t c
.
portra it whi ch
H ml t d
a
e
ra
ws
of
hi s
f th
a
er .
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE ART OF
96
T
TE R
S
sombre color of its origin Of the seven princes of
the D evs six are thus subor dinat ed t o the sinister
Ahriman whose emanati ons they represen t an d
the seven Am s c h a s f a n d s for their part signify
simply the six Ga h a n bar s ( each placed over a
season or d ouble month of the year) plus the
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
F or
,
although we prefer to divid e the year int o
four seasons in whi ch we have seen abo ve s u g
ges t i v e analogi es wi th t he temperaments races
ages centuries part s of the day and of the y vor ld
which it lights we shoul d not forget that it
i s not NECESSARILY thus di vided And it has
not al ways been thus divi d ed as w e have just
observed in the case of t he Persi an year and as
we may observe in the c as e of the liturgic year
also divi d ed int o six parts but un equal ones
Advent Christmas season Septuages ima Lent
Paschal season and the season after Pentecost
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
The Greeks t oo show ed perhaps a finer sense
of life than ours when t h s y recogni zed but three
E ar
seasons :
or t he
Op era an d Ch imon
Green the Fruitful and the S ad They i d en t i
fied these wi th t he B e ot i a n Thall o C arpo an d
Auxo symboli zing Fl ower Frui t and Growt h ;
with the Cret an Irene E unomia and Dirce
( H armony Power Justi ce ) more abstract but
having t he same profound signifi cance ; they
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
THE
S I X D IRE C TI ON S OF
ACTIO N
97
compared them t o the three G r a ces the gentle
Aglaia the j oy ous E up hrosyne an d Thalia of
the feasts ; t o the three Gorgons to the three
Sirens and t o the three Eum enides who se roles
in d estiny we kn ow It is this habit of m ind
which explains how Aristotle by analogy draws
”
“
in his P oetics but three ages of m a n
Y outh
Maturity and Age
althou gh accust omed t o
our four se as ons we moderns tend always t o
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
that t he three se asons of the Greeks
readily di vide themselves into the six of the
O bserve
Seas on of H arvest and Se ason of Vintage ; Seas on
of D lm es s and Se ason of Snow
Alth ough s ome of these divisi ons may appe ar
variable because they blend int o one another
like the c olors of the S pectrum we cannot there
fore pr ono n ce them artificial and unreal S uch
an ingratitud e to Analogies so constantly fecund
in the h m an mind would be both precipitate
ar
.
,
,
u
.
,
u
,
T h e A rt
of
Inve n t i on
CHA PTE R
VII
figures are not so dead an d inert as we have
d ecreed A strange sentence indeed which we
h ave not passed on anything else in thi s v as t
uni verse wherein we p i que ourselves on finding
“
"
s inging an d celebrating onl y Life "
,
.
,
,
,
,
Number also i s a part of Life I t i s Rhyth m
Perhaps it shows it self even more es sentially
living than mos t of our sensati ons and far from
be ing a mere conventi on es t abl ished by prehi st oric
arithmeticians has as i ts origin in our selves the
very beat of our hearts
.
.
,
,
,
.
Thi s exclusion of Num ber presents an i n c om
prehensible anomaly All our sciences
Astron
are based
om y Physi cs Mechani cs C hemistr y
on Mathematics whose importance increases from
da y to d ay ; Ph il osophy alone al thou gh open to a ll
these s ciences which everywhere encompass it
remains inhospi tably Closed t o the mast er of them
all Upon N umber alone and it s nat ure d oes
Philosophy refuse to medit at e I t i s perhaps
needl ess t o seek further f or the cause of that
decadence int o which it is irres istibly slipp ing and
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
THE AR T OF
1 00
INVE N TING CHARAC
TE R
S
Is it surprising to di scover that in thi s Orph eo
Pythagori c teaching al though t od ay di sdained
there li es a treasure of human thought ?
,
,
Unh appi ly Orphism and Pythagorism have
only come d own t o us di sfigured in the most
ridi culous fash i on first by the Alexan dr ine char
and lat er by those of the Renaissance
l t
that i s to say by the d ecay of the two great
origin l eras of E urope the Greek and the Med
Th is d oes not at all sign ify however that
i
l
at the en d of t he first the authentic d ocuments of
Pythagori sm had di sappea ed O the contrary
we fin d the powerful influence of the doctrine
it s spirit of ANALOGY an d parti c l arly of numer
ical analogy in almos t all the best thought of
the M iddl e Ages (notably in theological writ ings )
thought thereby far removed from our own but
thereby akin t o that of Greece and Asi a
It is possible that t he l ast Pyt hagori c works may
have finally di sappeared with so many others at
the t ime of the Hu dred Years War and the
Turki sh invasi on of E urope Let us not forget
that ignorant as we still are of mediaev l litera
ture we can necessarily form but a very incomplete
idea of its sources Only the survival of these old
Hellenic writings can expl ain that extraordi ary
MELAN GE of marvellously suggest ive passages
t bl
otherwise i
and of base absurdities
,
,
a an s
,
,
a
a ev a
,
.
,
,
r
.
n
,
,
u
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
n
.
a
,
,
.
n
,
n a cc ou n a
e,
OF
T HE AR T
IN VE N TION
1 01
which for ms the hermetic b oo ks of the 1 5t h and
1 6t h centuries
It was said indeed even during
the lifetime of Cornelius A gripp a
that i nt ri gu
ing b oaster wh os e OCCULT PHI LOSOPHY c ontains
bes ides its sup erstiti o us i rnbecil i t i es the curi ous
that this
r elati onship s of his Anal o gical Tables
n oi sy wi zard h a d merely p lagi ari zed u ni n t elli
gently a manuscri p t of the Arabian Pi ca t ri x which
was at that time to be found in the library of the
Kings of S pain It is needl ess t o recall h o w many
Gr eek works have come to us by way of the Arabs
or h ow many have been l os t which they
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
The p hilosop hy of the ancients c om es to us
today with its mo st vigorous half amputat ed s o t o
s p eak B y a singul ar trad iti on the phiIO SOphi c
te achi ng of modern pe oples disguises this f or m i d
able mutilati on It invites us t o glide over so
dist urbing a subj ect N evertheless if ever th at
prodigious lacuna shou ld be filled by the reappear
ance of the Pythagoric writings s o est eem ed by all
the Greek thinkers (for neither Arist otle n or Plato
n or any o f their rivals o f the o ld sch ool manifested
any of our disdain for them) a veritable r evolution
co mp arable to that of r omanticism in literatu re
will be pr oduced in o ur phil o sophy s o erudite
subtile p urist like the last classics diffi cu lt
minute and particular but curtailed narrow and
"
“
scholast ic in the etymological sense of the wor d "
,
.
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
THE AR T OF
1 02
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
Great i s the di stance from these mere academic
games to t h ose anti que doc trines each o f whi ch
foun d ed a ci vili zati on " The Greek sage appears
int imately and naturally mi ngled with th tumul
lif e of the people whi ch he expressed an d
t
transformed h
t in the fash i on of the foun ders
of our religious orders Whereas coldl y with
drawn from the public t o the fireside and the
l ibrary our philosophy of professors an d of themes
by i t evident impo tence yields place to the gross
empi i cism of the mod ern lead ers of men an d of
those writ ers an d arti st s who i nspire them
Between the imit ation of d efunct ages an d the
ugliness of f orml e s perso ality the last th ree
cent uries have oscillat ed with no bold new har
moni es t o meet the storms of the fut e
To the Greek so adm irably en dowed
an d
also it must be remembered not yet d es iccat ed
an d hard ened by an artificial and inelastic learn
—
ing mathematical form l ae sang like chords
The smallest new discovery of t his kind instead of
be ing limi t ed to scient ific an d mechani cal appli ca
ti ons penetra t ed him throughout t hrilled hi
nerves an d muscles and communicated its vibra
ti on t o all hi s thought s by its n l ogi es
in exact
no d oubt as they always are and as he knew but
so much the more fecun d When the Infinite
opens itself to
so l s t he classificati on of their
r sp nding imp l ses whi ch i s least t ifici l i s that
e
u ou s
,
,
a
n os
,
.
,
,
s
,
r
.
n
s
,
ur
.
,
,
,
u
,
.
,
,
s
,
a
,
,
a
,
,
,
,
.
our
e
o
u
u
,
ar
a
THE ART OF
1 04
INVE N ING CHARACTE
T
R
S
anal ogies extending them progressively t o a ll
things wi th wh ich we are acqu ainted at least as
far as possible ; then t o seek in some way to m ul
t i ply them by means of the known laws of ar i t h m et
ical comb inations ; t o note with care on the other
hand the po int at which each one of these anal
ogies ceases to be exact an d to t r y to trace thus
a sort of provi sory limit which will give them a
contour a physio gnomy less arbitrary and esp e
ci a lly less l imit e d t han that i nflicted by superstition
upon the numbers 1 3 7 etc
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
GROUPINGS
Strange work this to be sure the aspect of
which will perhaps be excused in View of the end to
be att ained so far di st ant and of the utter lack of
method s for its att ai ment from which
age
suff er s Chri stopher C olumbus had to d o without
chart s f or hi s first voyage although his forerunners
had probably perished for that reason
So for example in thi s exped ition toward the
antipod es of known common sense we can observe
with regard to Od d and E ven Numbers the habit
ual and instinctive preference of scient ific l ifi
cati ons for the latt r It seems in fact t hat the
Od d N umbers and especially the Prime N umb ers
draw us slily toward the artificial O the con
t
y the E ve N umbers thanks to their comm n
III
VARI OUS N UMERICAL
,
,
,
,
n
ou r
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
c as s
e
,
,
.
-
,
,
.
rar
,
n
,
n
o
TH E AR T
OF
IN VE N TION
1 05
r oo t 2 sh ow them selves favorable t o su bdivisi ons
and li kewise t o a liberty of research which is m ore
,
,
Let
us t ake an other
hple this tim e from
exa r
,
serves as a lien with other gr oup s thus leading the
first three to c ollective action This curious la w
h a s been perc eived and br ought to light by the
auth ors ( of m ent alit ies so diff erent ) of THE THREE
MUSKETEERS of WITH FIRE AND S WORD and of
,
.
,
,
L
'
CE UVRE
.
N ow th is se timental law manifest s at the b ase
of the family A chi ld forms like the fourth
friend a lien between tw o gr oup s
here tw o
famili es the one represented by a man and his two
parents the other by a woman and hers
An d in each gr oup of friends ( 3
1 ) we m ay
observe the r oles fi m and p aternal o f one i nd ul
gent and matern al of an other ad vent ous of a
third and of the fourth a r ole of transiti on t o the
sec o d group of 3 These friends som etim es
exchange their roles perhaps even assum e each
one of them in tur n . It is i n this sense th at it will
be necessary t o seek here the limit of which I
have Spoken
We sh all have on the other h and t o c ount the
number of f i en dly gr ou ps co ected as I h ave
n
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
r
,
ur
,
,
n
.
,
”
“
.
,
r
,
,
nn
THE ART OF
1 06
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
jus t indi cat ed which is n m s a w an d suffici ent t o
constitute a s oc iety a sal on e tc The anci ents
held that guest s shoul d not be fewer in number
than the Graces (3 or nor more t han the Muses
Must we underst and by t hi s that a t hird complet e
group will lead t o inharmoni ous di visions with a
maj ority and a minori ty ?
,
,
,
.
.
,
Let us pass from these first examples of a
psy chol ogy s ingular because unfamil iar but never
t h eles s foun d ed on experi ence t o t he d eeper w ork
o f Numeri cal Analogi es whi ch we may ar range in
t ables in a sort of atl as or di cti onary
,
,
,
,
.
,
The t able of Dualiti es i s one of the most i n s t ru c
t ive Let us enumerat e fir st wi thout c omment or
ord er so me of the most renowned : D ay and Night
Black and Whi te G od and S at an Ormuz an d
Ahr iman Jesus and Jud as Ca in an d Abel Go od
an d B ad t he L augh and the Tear Great and
Small Man and Woman Telescope an d Micro
scope Aryans and S emites Id eal ists and Sen
s u a li s t s
Mas t ers and Sl aves Metaphysics and
P ositive Science F aith and D oubt Affirmati on
an d N egati on Authority an d Liberty D orians an d
Ioni ans Be ing and N on be ing St oics an d E pi
cu r e a n s
Mine and Thine Rig ht s an d D uti es
Church and St at e More and Less etc
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
It is hardl y p oss ible to superpose two of these
Dualities but th at there Springs into view a
—
TH E AR T OF
1 08
INVE N TING CHARACTE RS
capi tal importance of association and mor e
recently of di ss ociation of id eas ( a Ni et zs ch ea n
reversal of values ) ; nevertheless it has not thought
t o seek a process which enables us to accomplish
this wor k from top to bott om
,
,
,
.
Numeric l Anal ogies furnish this precio s proc
ess
t least f or everyt hing which is c on cerned
wi th th notion of Number AND ITS DERIVATIVES
the noti ons of extent of quantity of duration of
intensi ty of force etc An d we know that from
day to day in all
sci ences a g eat number of
ideas come back to thi s even some which at first
we th ought alt ogether refractory
Long ago in a sublim e presentiment Pythagoras
alone sy st emati cally led the Greek t hi nk ers al ong
thi s path We know today that he labored to
reduce all th ings to numerical relati o ship
although we have unfortunately l ost the greater
u
a
-
,
a
e
:
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
our
r
,
,
.
,
,
.
n
,
us have been ridicul ou sly interpreted
at the
same time that t he th eory of the Master was
travestied by the Alexandrine charlatans to the
to
,
,
the influence it exercised upon
vigor ous eff ort whi ch has ever yet been
li ev a ble
poet s alone have pr eserved
instinct a vague sense of these things
Th e
,
.
,
the most
put for th
by pure
We find
THE AR T
OF
IN VE N TION
1 09
turn a gain t o these gr oss and visible dualities
the antithesis everywhere in the creative a ctivity
of a Hu go for example
to
.
,
We saw when constituting o ur Four Tempera
ments h ow 2 dualities ( Mind and Body Activity
and Pas sivity) could instead of being reduced
acc ording t o vulgar cust om t o a false identity be
multiplied one by the other After whi ch com
b ining 2 by 2 in their turn the 4 elements thus
obtai ned we drew fr om t hem a third duality since
4 elemen ts 2 by 2 furnis h 6 c o mbinations : this
third duality wa s Obj ect i vi t y Subj ect i vi t y
Let us n ow amuse ourselves by gathering triads
p entads hexads hep tad s They can
t etrads
combine amon g the mselves in a fashion e qually
fecund ; n ot be it rep eated b y identificati ons ( the
unc onsci ous and habitual pr ocess of the vul gar)
but by m e ans of su perpo si ti ons followed perhaps
by a subtraction (this is the case of all critical
c omparis ons ) p erhaps by a multiplication ( we
have just seen an example in the generati on of the
Four Tem peraments ) perhap s by still other
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
Let us fi st enumerat e the most celebrated triads
The 3 primary c ol ors (red yell o w and blue )
wh ose combinati ons engender the 3 others ( orange
green and p p le ) The 3 persons of the verb
wh ose au gm entati on (p lural ) also d oubles the
r
,
,
ur
.
,
IN VE N ING CHA AC
THE AR T O F
1 10
T
R
TE R
S
number The 3 forms of p oetry which correspond
to them ( I
lyric THOU
dramatic HE ep ic )
The 3 primitive concep ti ons of Time Space an d
Number carrying each one t he id ea of a movemen t
which necessarily begins by div idi ng them The
3 theological v irt ues w hich d ouble the 3 i n t elle c
tual virtues
t oo little popul ari zed in truth
intelligence knowledge and wi sdom The 3 classes
o f science ( natural physical an d mathem ati cal )
not less prompt to divi de themselves each int o two
groups The ancient TRIVI UM ( grammar rhetoric
logic) The 3 parts of rhet oric ( invention di s
positi on execution ) The 3 part s of speech The
The 3 musical mod es
3 f orms of the triangl e
The element s of the orchestra (w ood br ass and
strings) The cousinly t rinity the Good the
True an d the Beautiful The 3 Gr eek Tragics
The no less represent ative 3 Masters of Ital i an
painting The 3 or ders of cl assic archit ecture
The 3 Divine Persons The part s of penit ence
(confess ion contri tion exp i ati on ) The di visi ons
of the b ody (head thorax trunk ) ; of each member ;
of each finger The appe tit es accord ing to Plat o
E t c etc
We may l ikewise form a list of groups of Four
in addition t o those which I have cit ed in the chap
ter on t he Temperaments :
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
,
el ement s The 4 rules of arithmetic
cardinal virtues The 4 branches of the
Th e 4
The
4
.
.
.
INVE N TING CHARACTE RS
THE ART OF
1 12
and the glorious ( Resurrecti on A scension D escent
of the H oly Ghost Assumption Coronation of
Mary) The acts of a play (not onl y our own but
the Chinese ) The Ch inese count also : 5 great
social relati onshi ps (between parent s and ch ildren
govern ors and governed be tween spouses between
friend s between ol d people and young people) 5
sorts of h a bili rnent 5 ord ers of great dignitaries
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
F or Six
The parts of the body as indicat ed
above The d ays of Creati on The d ouble
months of the Persi ans and the other examples
given in the precedi ng chapter The kin ds of
mis fortune according to Chi nese philosophy The
s eries o f double trinities indi cated abo ve by the
number 3
,
.
.
,
.
,
.
-
.
F or Seven
The notes of the scale The
planets The Wond ers of the World The capi
t al sins Th e part s o f the Lord s Prayer The
heads of the Hydra Th e branches of the can d e
labra E very ple i a d astronomic or p oe tic The
orifices o f the face The sacraments The sages
.
.
.
'
’
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
.
series of visions of the Ap ocalypse and in the
first fou r the 7 churches the 7 seals the 7 t rum p
ets the 7 vi als as well as t he 7 heads of the Beast
The gift s of the H oly Ghost The 7 d eacons
instituted by the Apostles The 7 words of Christ
on the Cross
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
OF
THE AR T
INVE N TION
D I SCOVERIN G
III
1 13
AND INVENTI N G
F or the triads we shall arrange 3 vertical
columns between which we shall
h orizontal line the 3 terms o f e ach triad fi rst in
,
,
,
,
B
B
B
A
’
A
”
A
’
C
C
C
’
C
B
C
’
”
”
then i n a s econ d
A
B
’
’
A
C
”
”
A
B
,
”
,
etc
et c
.
.
then a third
A
B C
B C A
A
B C
then in a fourth a fifth a sixth
—
ach one of these o ders for there are six pos
sible f each triad
with each of tho e of every
other triad (the tri d s A B C A B C and others)
And we may n ote cc o dingly the ANALOG IES the
’
’
’
ll
”
”
,
r
e
or
.
,
,
s
,
a
a
.
,
r
.
,
cou rse of these c omparis ons We may d o the sam e
for the tetrads ( ea ch is suscep tible of 24 or ders ) b y
means of 4 c olumns ; f or the pen tad s the hexads
et c
by m eans of 5 and of 6 columns etc
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
THE ART
1 14
OF
INVE NTIN G CHARACTE RS
The ANAL OG IES observed in the course of these
diverse d yads triads tetrad s etc will be of
several Species : Con sequence Con necti on E cho
etc The CONTRASTS al s o : Duel Love E xclusi on
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
me
ured by
"
tracti on
as
means
of
,
,
the
,
,
Analogic
al Sub
.
thi s Anal ogical Subtraction I have alread y
spoken It consist s as before explained in first
su perposing tw o couples two tri nities two tetrads
After which we note the diff erence or rese m
et c
blance be tween their first members be tw een the
second an d so on Then we must note whether
this diff erence or resemb lance be tween the first
members is equal superi or or inf erior ( and wherein)
to that observed be tween t he secon d members
then to that between the th ird and fourth mem
ber s e t c superp osed i n th i s O peration Finally
make similar comparisons between the second
members and the third the second and the fourth
etc These various d eviations once noted will
continue to exac tly d efine the relationshi p con
n ect i ng the two d uali ties t rini t ies etc
which we
Of
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
It is eas ily und erst ood that w e Sh all thus be led
t o t he di scovery of t he element which will sy m
metri z e the two du alities trinities etc The
,
,
.
INVE N ING CHARACT
TH E AR T OF
1 16
ER
T
S
triangle formed of three from among them the
fourth remaining at the cen t er ; then in a secon d
triangle a third etc in which these four elements
Will change place turn about the fourth relating
itself i n a great er or less d egree to the three others
Then
an d the triangle changing i ts prop or tion s
we c an dispose thi s triad and thi s tetrad in TIME
that i s to say their respect ive elemen ts in variou s
ord ers of successi on In thi s successi on in TIME or
i
t
o
a
un
i
l
near
di
spos
i
ti
o
n
the
same
M
g
tria d tetrad etc can reappear from pl ace to
pla ce; or perhaps it will be a pair or a trinity of
triad s tetrad s etc which will reappear Thi s
will create a sort of refrain or rhythm
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
This rhythm will be subject l ike a ll rhythms
whether of music p oetry or form to the principles
evolved by d ecorative artists of Alternation
of Intersection of S ym
(bin ary ternar y
metry of C ontrast of Grad ation ascendi ng an d
descending of Radi ation and of C onsonance
(rhyme repetition leit motiv)
We can also always dispose as to ACTI ON the
terms of two or several dya d s triads etc t o be
ar
e
d
M
among
hemselves
or
of
a
d
yad
t
o
be
t
p
compared with a triad a tetrad a pentad and so
on F or example we will t ake for subjec t an d for
verb the tw o superpo sed members of two tri ad s or
of this tri ad an d that tetrad ; or for subject verb
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
THE AR T
t hr ee tr i a d s ,
or of
OF
INVE N TION
t w o tr i a d s
an d a
1 17
t et r a d
In the
.
will ad op t that of the first co lumn or that o f the
se c on d
or both su cces sively unless we ad op t a
new o ne The results o nce gathered we may
,
,
,
.
,
olumn int o all the c ombin tions n ot employed the
first time ; from this new results
Then instea d of grammatical relati onshi p s
we may a r ange th o se of l ogic ( cau ality
N ow by the examples which I have j ust given
c
a
,
.
,
,
r
s
,
,
,
patience n ot all owing ourselves to be dishe artened
by the initial difficulties
the tables of l oga
,
,
ri t h m s
*
.
proofs in fa vor of thi s me tho d
o fier t h e presen t work i n i t s
en tire ty as t h e res lt a n d t h e proo f of m y m e th od as t h e assem blin g
I n n o o th er wa y was I
of t h e exa m pl es gives eviden ce of i ts effi ca c y
of
often con tra di c tor y
a bl e t o br in g in to un ity t h e c la s s ifica ti ons
tem pera m en ts wor ld types et c or to redu ce to a s ing le
ch a ra ct ers
Th e La w of
la w of gen era tion all t h e polyth ei sm s of Ch a pter I X
Four Cen tur y Peri ods t h e proof h ere f llo win g of th e exi s tence of a
s in g l e Hom er t h e m in u te a n a lyses of ch a rac ter s crea te d by poe tr y or
l egen d an d th e secre ts of litera r y tech niqe whi ch I ha ve sown by
h a n dful s th rough t h e res t of th is boo k a re we m a y be as s u re d s im pl
y
t h e rem a in d ers of m Ana l ogi ca l Su btrac ti ons s im ply t h e un kn own
Eq
wh os e prin ci pa l rul es I ha ve
th e
ua tion s
ou tlin e d by m ea ns 0
j us t in di ca ted s imply t h e rh yth ms o bta in ed by pa ti en t com pa ri sori s
an d
from
of t h e sa m e el em en ts t ra n s por ted fro m Time t o Spa c e
Spa ce to Movem en t or N um ber
,
u
,
.
,
,
-
.
,
,
,
,
.
o
-
,
,
u
,
,
"
“
"
“
“
,
,
'
,
.
,
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
THE AR T OF
1 18
T
They will form a pa rt if I am not
,
mistaken
,
of
down ague ideas (th ose idols of the modem s) t o
master th m and wrest from them a thousand
preci s secrets of the Un onsci ous And thus I
wo l d explain th preoccupation c omm on t o all the
great men who came from that sch ool unique in t he
world
t o all the co temporaries of that cen
tury which was the most won derful of Greece an d
of all histo y
that of Numeric l Relati onship
We find it again thi s obs ssing preoccupation
at the b ase of their music ; we find i t in the estab
li h m m t of the Canon
sculpture ; w e find it in
their architecture so minutely preci e and delicate ;
again in the d efinitive des ign of their lyric rhythm
and in the strict rules of their tragedy we redi s
cover i t in that fixed id ea of Proportion whi h
they ca ried everywhere into art into astronomy
int o politics into morals I t has for us a character
lit erally SACRED and insp iring
Pythagoras although he di d not creat e it
re i v d it forcef lly at a time when Greek ethnic
v
,
e
,
c
ou
.
e
u
n
,
r
a
,
e
,
s
s
.
,
1n
s
,
s
c
r
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
v
d
a
e
u
tes als o the revival of favor for the great national
In s hort we fin d it here this Spirit of Pr op orti on
in such clearness that it h as enabled me t o estab
,
,
G rman an d Philistine philology has so long stupe
the existence of a unique H omer
fl d the world
which I sh all demonstrate
,
e
e
,
.
,
THE ART OF
1 20
IN VE N TING CHARACTE RS
parts of the poems were the auth r s but t hat the
—
plan was of a more recen t epoch
as well as
the additions an d co nec ting parts necess ry t o
this thesis K hly
d Kirchoff sha e thi s
op ini on B t all t hree d iff er as to which are
the origi nal parts and which t he additi ons
All these hypotheses rest of co se upon other
o
’
,
,
n
oec
.
a
an
r
u
.
.
ur
,
,
of the period aft er the taking of Troy n on exi s
tence of the lat ter (which however has si nce been
di s covered ) etc
-
,
,
.
The I LIAD and the ODYSSEY contain eac h 24
books The author has divi d ed each int o two
part s inversely sy mmetri cal ; w e call them the
LESSER ILIAD (which goes from an indecisive
sit uation und er the walls of the city t o the sh ore
upon which the Greeks find themselves t hro wn
back) an d the GREATE R ILIAD (which g oes from
thi s ext reme point of their weakness to the final
fall of Troy) ; the GREATER ODYSSEY ( in which
Ulysses wand ers far from Ithaca) and the LESSER
ODYSSEY ( in wh i ch he returns)
E ac h of these
halves compris es exactly 1 2 books If t hi s clear
distributi on of t he epic mat erial be the work of
grammari ans then we must
.
,
,
.
.
,
E
PI C AN D
TR
AG E D Y
Each h alf p oem may n ow be
-
121
divided into eq ual
ILIAD
LESSER ILIAD (B ooks I X II ) The first of
the two group s ( I V I ) c onfines itself very logi
cally t o the E PHE ME RAL ADVANTAGES or THE
GREE KS The sec ond (VII XII ) t o THE IR INFER
I ORITY M ORE AND M ORE D I SASTROUS ; in the sec ond
shines H ect or (wh o appe ared o nly epi s odi cally
in the first whi ch ends with the famous farewell
to An dr omache ) ; since in his str en gth lies the
weakn ess of the Achaians it f ollows in eff ect
that by hi s p resence is pers onifi ed the di str ess to
which the a nger of A chilles h as aband oned them
And here H ector watches and fights with out rest
on the field of combat
-
.
-
,
,
-
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
GREATER ILIAD ( Books X II I XX IV) This
in the first p rt c onsists of the DESPERATE STRIPE
ON THE SHORE N ear the begin ing of the sec on d
p art o the c ontrary A chilles solemnly ren ou nces
hi s ranc or the cause of the three p e i ods just
en ded and this l ast quarter of the poem con
se quently narrat es onl y H I S E XPLOITS ( X I X
XXI V) which are thus pendant to th ose of the
Trojan her oes Likewise are Boo ks XIII XV I II
-
a
,
,
n
.
n
,
.
,
r
,
,
-
.
THE AR T
1 22
OF
parallel columns
,
INVE NTING CHARACTER S
in
according to the manner
LESSER ILIAD
I
VI I
II
VIII
III
IX
IV
X
V
XI
VI
XII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXI II
XXI V
XV I
XVII
XVIII
.
The first books of these columns ( I VII XIII
X I X ) recoun ting C ONFLICTS IN WH I CH FOUR
HEROES ALM OST EQUAL ARE MATCHED TWO BY
are filled with al arming di scords wh ose
TWO
wail ing remin d s us of those whi ch open the
“
Funeral March of the musical H omer
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
pestilence Then the injustice of the ki ng of
kings ; the di scor d between the chiefs and the
.
,
Book VII :
p esages of
r
the
The two next most redoubtable
Gods
.
THE AR T OF
1 24
INVE NTING CHARACTE RS
WAY BUT ALWAYS IN VAIN The duel of Meme
l aus a n d Paris whi ch might settle the quarrel of
the two peoples does not take place Paris being
miraculously carried away (Book III ) The
embassy t o Achilles another attempt at the
d ecisive also fails ( IX ) The Greeks favor ed
by the Sl u mber o f Zeus lose a ll their advanta ges
on his awakeni ng ; they are even driven back to
their Shi ps ; already t ha t of Pr otesilaus t akes
fire (XV) Achilles in person meets a conqueror
in the river god Xanthus ; he h owever is st opped
by the Gods wh o find in their turn among their
own race adversaries impossible to overt hrow
( XXI ) All s olutions here app ear imp ossible
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
The fourth b ook of each series (W x x vr
XXII ) is that of GREAT CATASTROPHES : breaking
off of the truce ; Pa n d ar os treacherously w oun d
ing Menelaus ( IV) ; the d eaths of D ol on and
especiall y of Rhesus assassinated in his ten t
repay one treachery with another ( X ) And
,
,
,
,
.
Patroclus is ki ll ed in B ook XV I H ect or succumb
ing in the corresponding b ook ( XXII ) pays ac cord
ing t o the same law of composition for his death
,
,
,
,
.
The fif th b ooks on the contrary are d evoted
to the gl ory of the heroes : the E XPLO ITS OF DI O
MEDES give title t o B ook V as the E XPLO ITS OF
AGAMEMNON to B ook XI and th ose of MENELAUS
,
,
,
E
1 25
What pl ainer sign s of symm etr y cou ld
be des ir ed ? If Book X XI II is that of the F UN
ERAL GAMES IN H ONOR OF PATROCLUS d oe s n o t
to
XV I I
PI C AN D TRAGE DY
.
,
MISE EN SCENE than his e pl oits ?
Finally the sixth book of each series te minat s
the thren ody
at first mournful then religi ous
th en vi ole t and steri le as the bill ows then
w arri o then singing the
l m en ting an illustri o
x
r
,
e
'
,
,
,
n
,
us
a
and
r,
tear s Ready t o rej oin the fatal P aris
H ect or clasps hi s An dr omache at the Scaean gate
( Book V I ) ; exhaust ed th e Greeks yield th eir
wall c ondemned by the Gods ( XII ) ; Th et i s 1 n
tears h as the arms for ged in whi ch her s on will
peri sh (XVIII ) Priam brings back the body
.
,
,
,
,
.
ODYSSEY
Such l ong c on n ected
thr eads such br oad
,
s ur
to the auth or were found in a di ff eren t divisi on
of the sam e number of books ; the fram ework
2X
he changed the
r emaining identica l ( 24
—
of
t h e poem was i rr thi s
cas e
t er na r y
.
I t th us
INVE NTIN G CHARA CTE RS
—
I thi nk we b gin t o see
aspect exactly
COMPLEMENTARY to the first whi ch as we have
just seen rested on a binary di vision H omer
here gained at a stroke sm aller surface ( gro p
of four books inst e d of six ) t o be more d eli cat ely
sculptured and at the same t ime an EN SEMB LE
less bare and i npl
THE ART OF
1 26
as
an
e
,
,
,
.
s
,
,
u
s
a
,
s r
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
V II
V III
e
.
LESSER ODYSSEY
XIII
XVI I XXI
XIV
XV III
XXII
XV
XIX
XXIII
XV I
XX
XXIV
IX
X
XI
XII
—The first
GREATER ODYSSEY (Books I XII )
of the three groups ( I IV) shows ITHACA WITHOUT
ULYSSE S ; the second (V VIII ) ULYSSES UNKNOWN
AMONG THE PHE ACIANS ; the third ( IX XII ) the
NARRATIVES OF ULYSSES (HIS DISTANT ADVEN
-
:
-
-
,
,
-
TURES )
—Here
.
LESSER ODYSSEY ( Books XIII XXI V) :
first is ULYSSE S IN ITHACA (XIII XVI ) ; then
ULYSSES UNKNOWN IN HIS OWN PALACE (XVI I
XX ) ; lastly the E XPLO ITS BY WH ICH HE REC ON
QUERS HIS THRO NE ( XXI XXI V)
These two t riad s are perfectly bal anced
I THACA WI THOUT ULYSSES and U LYSSES IN
ITHACA ; ULYSSES UNKNOWN IN THE STRANGE RS
PALACE and ULYSSES UNKNOWN IN H IS OWN
-
-
,
,
,
-
.
.
’
,
,
,
,
INVE N TING CHARAC E RS
c onsoles him for the insults
THE ART OF
1 28
by her attitud e
,
T
and
( XV III ) Before the sui tors Athene fir st in
the form of a darting swall ow then wi th her
Shield encou rages an d protects him ( XXII )
.
,
,
,
.
,
balance one an other the third and fourth are not
,
st roke the idea of the former H ere is Telemachus
at Pylos ( III ) then at Sparta ( IV) H ere is
,
.
.
,
(VII ) then feted by them (V III ) Here are the
D ead evoked (XI ) and the Monsters appear
( XII ) H ere is the return of Telemachus (XV)
then the di sc overy of his father object of his
search in I t haca ( XV I ) H ere is the project of
testing the suitors by means of the bow (XIX )
then the prudent organi zing of the massacre
( XX ) H ere finally is Ulysses master of hi s
home ( XXIII ) and of his ki nd gom ( XXI V)
A like method observed in t h e tw o works
shows that they come from the same hand
if it were not suffi ciently proved by b ot h being
apo logies for ven geance an d by both tendi ng to
point the same moral ; the one negatively by
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
E
PI C AN D TRAGE DY
1 20
h of these poem s the trul y extra ordi nary
symmetry between the p arts which c ompose it
dem onstrates tha t the hypo theses of interp ola
ti ons and of lacun a e of any importance must be
I defy any on e t o cite a single w ork
r ejected
as strictly p l anned and calcul ated in all details
as are these which C OULD have been executed
by several artists of d ifferent epochs or even by
tw o collab orators
h owever closely united
Whence then can have Sprung the strange and
profoundly anti artistic conception of a plurality
of auth ors for these c omp ositi ons m arked by s o
leonine a h an d ? The answer i s s imp le : fr om
the admi rable inde pendence which each m ember
of these masterpiece s retains F ar from l osing
its own in dividuali ty in the mass of narrative a
a 24 t h part of a p oe m
single cant o
a 4 8t h
p art of the double work can be c onsidered
and can satisfy A single
s eparately and alone
H omer c onceived his ep ic in this wise and so
executed it An d herein lies the secret of its
In
a
e c
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
.
—
,
,
,
.
,
‘
.
LAW
GENERATI ON BY WH ICH
TRAGEDY SPRIN GS FRO M EPI C
The sec ond of these poe ms c ont ains in advance
the techni que of Tr ag dy
Tak e away the third p art of the ODYSSEY
( I X X II the N arratives of U lysses ) and we
II
OF
,
e
-
:
.
,
THE AR T O F
1 30
IN VE N TING CHARAC
TE R
S
have before us the five vi sible portions of tragedy
whi ch engend ered our trad i ti onal five acts
,
,
As for the N arratives of Ulysses they form t he
invisible s ide whi ch is in all tr agedy
invisible
for the very simple reas on that it serves as a base ;
the b as e upon whi ch a cube rests i s not apparen t
to the eye I t i s t o this part formed of events
ant erior to the beginning of the acti on that the
expositi on of every first act makes al lusion
From it emanates the mystery which permeates
the work From it Springs the agni tion in which
finall y it becomes vis ible at the moment of t he
ca t astrophe
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
.
Thus in the four dramas whi ch in successi on
form the ILIAD the second canto of each is the
mystery and the explanation whi ch must be
,
,
,
All well constructed epics rest upon multiples
of 6 : the I LIAD has 24 cant os the OD YSSE Y 24
TE LE MAQUE 24 LE S MARTYRS 24 the E NE ID 1 2
the THE BAID 1 2 PARAD I SE LOST 1 2 RE YN ARD
Of
THE F OX 1 2 ARAUCANA 36 LE LUTRIN 6
what weight in view of thi s is the H E NRI ADE ?
N either the LUS IAD ( 1 0 cant os ) nor D ER MESS IAS
( 2 0 cant os ) have the qualiti es of the works just
cited If the PHARSALIA h as but 1 0 cant os and
the ARGONAUTI CA but 8 it i s bec ause these two
poems are incomplete I find no vali d exception
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
THE ART O F
1 32
IN VE N ING CHARACTE
T
xamples
l st of SYMMETRI C paralleli sm
The ki ngs of Tarshish and
R
S
E
,
“
The kings of
Sheba
and of
of the isles shall
Seba
shall
off er
( Psalm LXXII )
of ANTITHETI C parallelism
“
F aithful are the wounds of a friend
D eceitful are the ki sses of an enemy
( Prov XXV II )
3r d of SYNTHETI C parallelism
“
The law of the Lord is perfect
Converting the soul :
The testimony of the Lor d i s sure
Making wise the Simple :
The st atut es of the Lord are right
”
Rej oi cing the heart
( Psalm XIX )
2nd ,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
N ow grammar t eaches us that a propos ition is
red uced in the l as t analysis t o t hree elements :
su bj ect verb an d predi cate Thi s then makes
in a Parallel 6 element s ( 2 subject s 2 verbs
2 predicates ) arran ge d face t o fac e in tw o trini ti es
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
The verb
central element of e a ch trini ty
expresses the i d ea of RAPPORT
like the hori
zon t a l bar in each of the t wo terms of an algebrai c
,
,
,
E
PI C AN D
A GE DY
TR
1 33
2n d
l st term
For his anger
endures
for the twinkling
A
C
term
H is kindn ess
B
D
for
a lifetim e
.
—
h as
like
rec ourse
P aralleli sm we hasten to add
its
to
survival am ong us our proverbs
ass on ance or rhyme in order t o ac centuate still
further the c onnecting of tw o ide as hithert o
s ep arated or insuff i ciently c o mpared
,
,
,
.
What
assonance
an d what is rhyme up on
v er s i fica t i on s are b ased ?
“
Quel n égr e fou
N ous a forgé c e bij ou d un sou
( Verl aine : ART POETI QUE )
is
which our
,
’
.
They are co usin s and kindred of the min
.
on words ?
And what is the pun but a play
It is a l anguage laughing at its own i nfir mi t i es
’
.
We can imagine an ideal l anguage in which
on the contrary the words resemble each other
exactly in the propo rtion in which the ideas they
express resemble each other May such a mar
vellon s language have once existed in accordance
with the ide al of a p rimitive human superiority
and must ambiguity double meaning and puns
be trac ed t o B abel ? Acc ording t o this am using
hyp othesis asson ance all i terati on and rhym e
,
,
.
,
,
-
,
,
,
THE AR T OF
1 34
INV N TING CHARAC
E
TE R
S
woul d hi st orically preced e instead of following
paralleli sm in reacti onary fashi on an d a Verh aeren
bringing us back t o the latter would be clos i ng a
vas t cycl e
,
,
,
,
.
In any case whether we make use of the
QUATRAIN of sh ort lines construct ed on t wo
rhymes
complement ary s ince in the classi cs
one i s masculine an d the other feminine
,
,
,
,
,
,
ét ait la: s a tige
E fit om e le seuil d un palais
“
L e cur e d e Meud on ? lui dis j e
“
L arbre me di t : C est Rabelai s
Un
vi eux
c h én e
'
.
'
’
'
’
-
’
.
( Hugo :
CHANSO N
DES RUES ET DES
BO I S )
.
or whether from remini scence of the ancients
but in verse more labored and ar t ificial than
theirs we concentrate on the D ISTICH of four
hem istichs
,
,
,
,
—t
Le crép u scule vint
e
j e tournai la t ete
Mon ivresse ét ait morte
avec la t ache
”
fai t e
,
.
(H de
Regni er : J E Ux RUSTI QUES ET D IVINS )
we come back after all lik e the parall elists t o
.
.
,
,
long not ed in each of these
of 6 po ints o f sonority or
distribut ed in two groups of 3
Ou r v er s ifier s have
ual es an average
d iti
toni c accents
,
,
,
,
THE ART OF
1 36
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
S
TE R
in the Spond ee or the BREVES in the d actyl a nd
the anapest In German verse besid e the toni c
syllables are other syllables Agai n in some
French p oetry beside the syllables most acw n t ed
and others of equ al strength are the syllables
sacrificed by our method of scanning And in
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
—is it
us the Aryan pr osody
not the paus e in
expect ati on of one of these syllables (thi s time
not merel y diminished but suppressed ) whi ch
gi ves that u nforeseen eff ect musical and pathetic
“
"
that sense of being in the air so beloved by
our Verlaine ? In real ity we arrive as the ancient s
did before us at a to tal of a d ozen demi metres
alternative aspirati ons and resp irati ons by t urn s
”
strong and weak
Yes
And So it i s analogical ly that each of the
H omeric poems i s di vid ed into t welve d ouble
cant os t he ZENE ID i nt o twelve cant os our own
poetry into twelve fixed forms : six with refrain
(RoNDE AUx simpl e and d ouble CLOSE BAL LADE
CHANT ROYAL and TRI OLET) and s ix with com
bi n a t i on s of rhymes ( LA I
VIRE LAI SONNET
PANTOUM VILLANELLE and SEXTINE ) as the
year is di vid e d into twelve mont hs "since it i s in
short twelve lines or ARETES which boun d the
Cube formed as I have shown , by the six faces
from whi ch our energy moves across the three
dimensi ons of Space
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
T h e Tw e l ve G od s
of
C HAPTE R
—A
1
A ll N a t i o n s
IX
E XPLANATI ON
ORI G IN OF GODS
N EW
OF
THE
Thes e twelve ARETES have a signifi cant as pect
wor t hy the attention of the an al ogist ( I dare n o t
say of the philosopher since thi s term t oday
,
who will shrug their shou l ders o n he aring m e
invoke H im who nevertheless inven ted their
fine nam e of
In the eyes o f
t h e poet then
the greatest vo tar y of an al ogy
although by pure instinct in the eyes of the
dream er d oes not each of these AR ETES mark
the limit of the violent expansion of one of the
si x e ff orts of which w e are cap able ? N o w this
limi t is imp osed precisely by the exp ansi o n of
one of the four adj oining eff orts to the first
O bstacle which ca uses it to d eui a t e and brings it
back obliquely to us In reciprocally cutting
each ot her off they form an ARETE ; they bec om e
“
"
to one another the th ou shalt not the imp f e
s cri p table law
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
There were in the suprem e Gr e c o L atin Olym
p us but 1 2 great gods : Vesta Jun o N ep tune
Mi nerva V enus A poll o Mercur y Jupiter Cer es
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
TH E AR T OF
1 38
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
Vul can Mars and Diana t o enumerate them in
the ord er consecrat ed by their worshi p And it
was not onl y thus in the cl assi c pantheon but in
Indi a where the 1 2 great god s bea r the corre
In drani Vi shnu S ara
s pon di n g names o f Mai a
con ati L a k ch m i Indra B ou d h a B rah ma Gon
dopi Gan ej a Siva and Bhavani and preside
respec tively OVE R THE SAME M O NTHS OF THE
YEAR ; in E gyp t where they bear the na mes of
Athor N ei t h R emf o Bout o Su r ot Pi r e Pi r om i
Pi Zeou s T Ar m ou t h Pr e E rt os i an d Pou bas t i ;
in the Scan di navi an Valhal l a where the Aesir
are called Vora Fri gga Ni or d er Sn or r a Freya
Balder , Loke Thor Freir H eimd all Ou ll oir an d
Gefion a ; among the Japanese who count 1 2 god s
and d emi god s ; among the ancient Pers i ans who
di vid ed the sombre an d the brigh t months
between the six Am s ch as f a n d s an d the si x D evs
O pposed face to face ; in far away Peru i n ancien t
E truria even i n Tahiti where toda y they st il l
invoke Papiri Ovn ou n ou Pa r or om ou a Par om or i
Mouria H ea ch a Ta oa H ou r or orera H ouri a m a
Te a i r e Tetai Ou eh a o Ouea ; and in the various
Polynes i an isles
in a word among all poly
theistic peoples
Why ?
Must we here see with Dupui s who en u m er
ates t he 1 2 E truscan cantons the 1 2 strat egi the
1 2 lic t ors the 1 2 Arval B r e thren the 1 2 al t a rs of
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
'
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
THE ART OF
1 40
Alzoa r ah
,
INV N ING CHARACTE RS
E
T
—is it not everywhere the same ide l
,
a
,
alluremen t which burns in our own hearts and
to which even t oday we make ceaseless allusi on ?
D oes not the Sword of war everyw here sparkle
in the hand of him wh os e name o l y changes
Mongol D i t hi g G aulish H
Russ i an L de
A es Mars S axon P p
th
Q i inus Poly
Ri m
E t i the protector of Ses ostris
,
,
,
n
c
a
r
,
n
es u s ,
,
e
,
n eSI a n
ar ou ,
:
e n ou
e
u r
,
,
,
r os
,
As sy r ian N ergal Phoenician Baal Th u r z Ares
kovi of the Hurons Vi t zli boch t li of Mexico
H indu Skan da Alem a n e of the Rhine three
head ed Japanese Ne q
u i r ou D eni chi M ar i s t i n ?
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
-
Do
not t he thunders sound in all climes
from the judi ci al t hrone of the same majesti c
Jupi ter Ze us In dra Celtic Taran Arab Moch
tar a L a m ppi c Or a ga lls E sthoni an Per kou n B tu
man Si geann E gypti an Pi Ze ou s Slavonic
Peroun Wot an E t hi op ian As s a bi n e Ca r t h a
ginian Baal S amen ?
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
do we not find everywhere creeping in
a tf l and identical Mercury H ermes N ebo
Pi m i from the N ile Quet z lcoatl from Mexico
the Parsee D ev
Ogma of t he G aul s E gh
Germani c J d d ? From l l
E truscan Kud an
land s resound s the hammer of the Irish D anan
who i s Vulcan who i s H p h t
who is Sid ek
who is M imir who i s I l
in Finland
Luno i n N orway who i s Si l h wh o is D i m i h
An d
r
,
u
ro
a
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
ou er e
,
e
,
a
o
,
e
,
aes
os
,
,
rn a r en en
,
,
or a rn
,
,
a
c
,
WE LVE
THE T
GO DS OF
ALL NATION S
141
wh o is Vi cou a karm a Just as everywhere fl our
ishes Ceres Rhea D em eter F auna G on d op i
K ouong i n po u tsa in China T Arm ou t h in E gyp t
Sob aka Ops full breasted COpi a
D ame N ature
of our m odern sentimentalists "
In the heavens Gra nn the Alsatian A poll o
B raga the Scandinavian Abeli os the Cret an the
lyric Phoibos M ah anna of the Tahi tians succeed
the sam e un d er a myri ad names t o the identical
Dian a Artemis P ooh p al e beneath her black
l ocks or Selene weaving her thread s of silver
over the n oct urnal sea the sea from wh ose
sinister dep ths rises the rebelliou s and greedy
P oseidon Ahriman Sa tan Jemma D esp o t of the
J ap anese hells Tu i s t on the G allo G erman Pluto
Gouleh o of the F riendl y Islands H o ue Koub of
the Arauc anians Toi a scorching his terrified
ad orers in Fl orida the H indu Kansa C zer n obog
the dark g od of the Var egu es Kronos Sc ar i a fin g
of Formosa the destroyer Akeroun i am en of the
ancien t U mbrians Gwa i ot t a of t he Gou a n c h e s
in Teneriff e the Siam ese Tev et a t envi ous rival o f
his broth er the B ud dha ; Agn i a n sea ted upon
B razilian to mbs D er evech of the Parsees Mab oi a
and B ou ii in wh om Car ibs and Tou ngous e s like
wi s e have rec ogni zed the D evil ; So va in G uinea
Lart hi s ca of the M olucc as the v er m if or rn Angat
of Mada gascar K on pai the P eruvian Atre the
Angle Sax on Asuman N ikken of the D anish
.
,
-
,
,
-
,
’
-
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
—
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
O
-
,
,
THE AR T OF
1 42
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
Usons in struggles with the hardy Ph i
vessels P d it of the Prussian coast Magus
i
can of the Carthagini s T i Kouan foami ng
against Chi ese prows I bi
who defies the
isles
oe n
,
c an
er
,
o
,
an
n
s ou
,
c on
e
,
-
trembles i n hi s l og can oe Mi t g of Ka m s ch a t ka
Teu ar a t a i who separat es the Polynes i an i sles
,
,
.
And at the hea rth presi d es the pious Vesta
An ou k e
D eh em eh
Metis Volt u mn a standing
am i d the E truscan councils Conso in the Roman
senat e E geria the e ternal guardian fairy t o
whom stand s in eternal antithesis the j ealous
H era Juno N em es is t he solar Mal ina of Green
land
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
We have co nsidered above these Twelve
Fig res
c oncentrat ed in six or seven types O
very
striking point i n these h l f d ozen visages is their
PLETHORIC charact er N one of can have fail ed
to remark that there is a superabun dance an
excess of express i on in the god s as the Renaissance
has painte d them In this respect t he Jup it er
of Rubens of C orneli us Agrippa or of Marlowe
goes far beyond that of Phi di as or of H omer ;
he has too much of flesh an d blood of muscle
of self consciousness The same may be said of
the t oo stur dy Venus of t he moderns who has
ome t o be confused with the orgiac D emeter
Mars becomes H er ulean an d the others fare
ne
.
a
u
-
us
.
,
.
,
,
-
,
.
,
c
.
c
,
ING CHARAC
THE ART OF I NVE N T
1 44
TE R
S
To this astronomi cal local i zati on nevertheless
I fin d it legi timate to subordi nat e certain of t he
d ozens grouped by him as examples but cer
t ain ones only an d on con di ti on I repea t t hat
the astronomic l ocalizati on be itself subordinated
to the concep ti on of a psychol ogy infini t ely more
human an d more profound The ori gin of thi s
concepti on is not ext eri or t o man ; it proceed s
from our mental constituti on it se lf and is but
I TS IMPRESS I O N IN RE LIEF
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
In a word there never hav e been in r eli gion
m ore than twel ve great G od s clearly d efined for
the very simple reason that no more coul d be
creat ed
,
,
,
,
.
F or
the rest we may rem ark : If in face of
the as tronomi c syst em of Dupui s other m yt h olo
gis ts have been easily abl e t o range the ETYMO
LOG ICAL system
in whi ch every myt h results
from an EQ UIVOQUE a homonymy a met aphor
interpret ed li te rally an imperfection in the l an
guage or finally from a sort of pun or play on
—
wor ds
if they have been able to wi n over
to that theor y the maj ori ty of old partisan s of
the former they have nevertheless not des troyed
it F or it still rem ains for them t o explai n in a
satisfact ory manner t h e numerical co inci d ences
More
so surprising a n d so numer ous
over their new thesis
a tr ifle ignoble it must
,
,
,
‘
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
—
,
,
.
,
WE LVE
THE T
GO DS OF
ALL NATION S
1 46
som e an d un satisfying and we have seen in
default of better solutions many weak and at
the sam e tim e curious minds led as tray in t h e
m orass of oc cul t ism while intellects m ore robust
but rep elled by the etymological d octrine c on
tent them selves regretft
with the vague s o
called PSYCHOLOG ICAL d octrine This af firms that
myths are a natural crea tion of the hum an mind
and that the h u man mind ought na turally t o
creat e them
but with out attempting to demon
strate either how or why "
To th ose awakened minds which have never
been satisfied wi t h the s om e wh a t feminine
“
because
of t his theory the p resent
an alysis h as furnished already an explanati on of
the analogies twelve by twelve so p atiently
ranged by D upuis and h as n o t feared t o fur ther
enrich them It can fu rnish in addi ti on the
explanati on of the etymologi cal resem blances :
they are not less interest ing alth ough less num er
ous it must be admitted and especially less
striki ng It is n o t impo ssible to reduce the
morphol ogy of languages t o a limited nu m ber of
generati ve la ws These laws bear especiall y up o n
the essen tial and primitive words n otably on
thos e which are connecte d with the fun dam ental
idea of B E IN G : we kn ow the unique impor tance
of thi s verb amon g all others in all languages
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
THE AR T OF
1 46
IN VE N ING C HAR ACTE RS
T
N ow the idea of B eing PAR EXCELLEN CE is eas ily
”
“
“
"
id entified wi th that of Supreme or Di vine
We have just seen that according to the ety
m ologi ca l system the mythi c part icul arit i es which
were att ached t o these various di vine types
resulted precisely in homonymies or in volunt ary
”
“
i n a lexical CONFUS I ON
puns
Believers will
be pleased to remark that this d oes not contradict
the sacred legend Without doubt the ety
m ologi c system will read ily date th is confu si on
,
,
'
.
,
.
,
i t must be recognized that scient ifically it is not
permi ssible to go back to s o remote an ep och
An d we may recall that legen d ascribes to the
s am e historic moment the beginning of polyt h e
isms an d the di ff erence of languages which woul d
thus have determined an d not follow ed the
dispe rsion of men thenceforward incapable of
und erstanding one another
.
,
,
,
,
.
I am here advancing I need hardly say only a
hypothes is barely sketched but amusi ng May
I be per mitted another remark ? To accept the
etymological system accor ding to which myth ol
”
“
ogy is but a foolish mal ady of language is to
accept t h e impli ci t conclusi on that Since the
earliest ages (since the beginning s a y the beli evers ;
in any case for a longer time than any other
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
THE ART OF
1 48
I NV NTING CHA ACT
E
ER
R
S
Man as observed at the beginn ing of thi s book
is above all else DOUB LE And this is very natural
if we reflect that he i s the prod uct of two be ings
,
.
,
,
.
H e is then ab ve all a contradicti on a di alogue
a duel His pret en d ed individual ity the absolut e
Self of the philos ophers remains as chi merical as
inconsistent as the mathematical point ; it has no
more re l exi stence than the po int ; i t appe s
simply when two lines two heredit ry impulses
coinci d e These lines at least present a conti
i t y a d able will
N ow in p rsuing the same
geometric comparison is not a line found at the
meeting of two surface
is it not an ARETE ?
Thus symb lic l ly the human fig re presen ts
,
o
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
a
ar
a
,
,
.
nu
,
ur
u
,
.
,
s,
o
a
u
twelve Divine Fig res reveal them elves
very incarnations of the TWELVE CO N
TRAD I CTI ONS prod uced bwt w
the six directions
of e ergy Thus they correspon d t o man the
twelve human types the twelve et ernal ancest ors
H e may meet them recog i ze them evoke them
on ll his paths N ot in the heavens al one but
in the past he finds them at first in the legendary
period of epo yms then in authenti c hi story
wh ose her oes Simpli fied in memo y he has b t i
t l y i d entified wi t h one of these t welve t ypes
H ere then is the explanation of the fo th an d
last mythologi c system EUHEMERI SM
The
as the
s
u
e en
n
:
.
-
,
.
n
,
a
,
,
.
,
n
,
,
r
,
o
,
na e
s
.
,
ur
,
,
.
THE T
WE LVE
ALL NATION S
OF
GO D S
1 49
Y es the heroes of humanity pass after death ,
to the state o f divinities B ut the di vine r oles
which are att ributed to them wer e r eady in
ad vance ; the roles existed be fore the actors for
these were n ot the auth ors ; they di d naught but
ente r a n d shape the mselves as they c oul d well
do to a moul d alrea dy c onstructed The type of
Jupiter existed bef ore the most ancient of m orta l
Jupiters and from each of them has been accep ted
only wh at was appropriate t o the type onl y wh at
in each was Ju pi t eri an
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
Th us m ay be exp lained the multiplicity o f
her oes blended in a si ngle legend with n ev er t h e
less a n adm irable unity of po etic t o ne ( H ercul es
Buddh a
D o we n ot moreover assist in
—
this work ?
are no t w ords and sayings thus
transferred from one celebrated man to an other ?
We may verify this by Voltaire for exa mm
e
who inherited for the m os t par t fro m E nglish
auth ors hi s b iting s allies of wit t o whi ch have
been add ed others imagined since his dea th
N apoleon despite his s quare j aw and his ple
bei a ni s m must needs b e a C aesar of triangul ar
and aqui line visage ; C aesar i n turn an Alexander
Alexander a Sas os t n s a Ra ma
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
'
.
,
A god an in di vidual type is then an AR ETE a
di alogue on e of th ose primitive c om binati ons such
as we enc ounter at our first step in descen di n g t o
-
,
.
,
,
INVE N ING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
1 50
T
R
S
the interior of the human soul And thi s prob
ably explains why of the 1 2 inevitable gods
there are so often 6 masculine an d 6 femi ni ne
as if through need to exp ess by means of the
one the vict ory of th paternal (or vital) prin
i pl an d by means of the o ther that of mater
.
,
,
,
r
e
,
c
,
e,
,
By the misogynism of the pre M anicha ean
pess imists d uality was expressed by GOOD an d
BAD d em ons am s ch a s f a n d s an d devs of Iranian
-
,
,
Japanese SUPERPOSED six gods an d six
dem igod
s
.
religi on se x is efiaced an d between the twelve
personages there i s no mor e than the ti e of br oth
er h ood
natural or Spiritual : the twelve tribes
of Israel d escend from twelve patriarchs s on s
of Jacob and the Christ express ly says to hi s
“
apostles :
Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones
”
judgin g the twelve tribes of Israel
( Matt
XIX
S o we should not be surprised t o fin d this obses s
ing number 1 2 at the bas e of most s ocial groupings
it is a nat ural resu l t psychol ogica l and inevitable
'
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
i dea
,
bs i ts n everth eless
And h e re
ca ll ed un t o
tw lv
bega n tes en d t h em f or th b t wo and
t wo ; a n d ga ve th em
wer over un cl ea n spi its
(M i
n
Tog eth er wen t t h bro ers An dr ew and Peter the t wo son s of Ze bedee
(J oh n a d J am es ) J de an d J am es t h e less (cous ins of Ch r is t ) th eu
broth Sim on wi th udas t h e wis e Ph ilip and Bart holome w and
la st ly Th omas and
tt h e w
‘
Th e
t h e COUPLE h ere
hi m t h e
e
e , a nd
of
su
s
,
r
e
n
’
.
,
,
u
,
er
,
,
a
.
THE AR T
1 52
OF
INVE NTING CHARAC
S
TE R
Prince
were grou ped t h e Constable the
Ch ancell or the Marshal the Admiral the Treas
urer the Pr ocurat or t he Provisor the A dvocate
the Mod erator the Justici ar and the two C onsul s
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
Confucius had 1 2 disciples
If the Jews en merat e d 4 Great Pr phe ts
(Ezekiel Je emiah Isaiah and D an iel ) they
add e d t o them the 1 2 L sser Prophet s H osea
J oel Am s Ob diah Jo ah M i cah N ahum
Habakk k Zeph ani h H aggai Ze hari h Mal
achi just as the Christians connect the Acts
of the Apostles with the writings of the 4 E vangel
The 4 sacred figures (t h e Angel t h Li on
i t
the C alf and the E agle) whi ch accompany these
l s t accompa i ed t h e 4 Great Prophets They
accompany in turn the 4 F athers of the Greek
Church (Athanasius Bas il Gregory N i
d John Ch ysos t om) an d th ose of the Roman
(Jerome Augustine Gregory the Great Am brose )
connected wi th the 1 2 great class ic D octors ( the
same plus Th omas A quinas Bonaventure Fran
cis d e S l es Alphonse d e Liguori Hil aire Anselm
of Canterbury Bernard an d Pet er D amien )
h h
We may rec l l the care with which J
disp oses the 1 2 tribes in 4 groups according to
the 4 cardinal poin ts
the eas t
O
nex t un t o him
camp of Judah
th
the tribe of Issachar
then the tribe
.
u
r
,
o
,
,
e
o
,
u
a
,
n
,
a
,
,
,
,
,
,
c
,
a
,
,
s s
a
n
,
an
,
.
a z an zen
,
,
r
,
,
,
,
,
a
,
,
,
,
,
.
a
ev o
,
“
.
e
e
,
.
n
a
WE LVE
THE T
GO DS OF
on
ALL NATION S
the
s
the camp
of
on
Gad
then the tribe of
on
outh
1 53
and by
then the
the c amp of D an
and by hi m t h e tribe of
then the tribe of N a ph t a li
the n orth
An d in fact we see al ways
( N umbers 1 1 3
the tribes defile in the sam e order N e ed we
r ec all here the 1 2 p arts c ompo sing the Mass
which celebrates the P assion itself the resume
and center of history ? These ar e : the I NTRODUC
TI ON between the prep aration of the faithful
and the Conf ession the Intr oit or E NTRANCE OF
“
”
gl oria the
THE C HO I R with the li t an y and the
E PIST LE flanked by the c ollect an d the p s a l
m odies the G OS PEL of the day with the h om ily
the CREDO the O FFERTO RY the secret pray er and
the PREFACE the canon and the solemn E LEVA
"
“
TI ON the PATER the F RA CTI ON and the
agnus
the CO MM UN I ON lastly the gra ces th e BENE
D I CTI ON and the gosp el of S t John I h ave
al re ady n o ted the sen ar y subdivisi o n of the Mass
I have indicated also h ow each of the 6 days or
peri ods of Ge nes is is divided into tw o antithetic
c rea tions
And it is inter estin g to observe that
geol ogy re ck ons in the his t ory of our gl obe 1 2
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
~
,
.
.
.
.
,
,
THE AR T
1 54
OF
INVE N ING CHARACTER S
T
representati ons of the Apostles places on the
forehea d of each one of the 1 2 preci ous stones
( attri buted al so to the 1 2 Patriarchs ) and
figu ring likewise in the Jewish high pr ies t s br east
plate and in the foundations of the columns of
—
the N ew Jerus alem in the Apocalypse)
the
s am e tra di ti on which gives t o Andre w the sapphire
a
h
t
a
li
o
f
N
) to Peter the j as per ( of G ad ) to
(
p
James the chalcedony (the carbuncle of D an) to
Jam es the Less the yell ow t opaz ( of S imeon ) t o
Matthew t he green peridot ( of E phraim) to Jude
the chrysop ras e ( of Issachar) to gentle J ohn the
emeral d ( of Jud ah ) t o zealous Simon the hya
ci n t h ( or ligur e of Asher ) to Matthi as the purp le
ua m a
amethyst ( of Zebulon) to Thomas the a q
ri ne or ber yl ( of B enj amin ) to Barthol omew the
carnelian ( of Reuben ) an d to Philip the orange
,
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
feet the 1 2 articles of the CREED whi ch has trans
hu
m
an
thought
an
d
has
serve
d
a
s
its
form ed
basis for twenty ce nturi es
“
I believe in God the F ather Almi ghty maker
"
of heaven an d earth
a
id
t
he
p
ince
of
the
r
s
“
Ap ostles
And in Jesus Christ his only Son our
"
“
Lord continued Andrew Who was conceived
"
by the H oly Ghost an d born of the Virgin M ar y
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
THE AR T OF
1 56
INVE NTING CHARACT
ER
S
N ow since the Ap os tles Cree d in it s 1 2 articles
summarizes the Faith every heresy mus t con s is t
of an atta ck upon at least one of these articles
an d the heres i es may thus be d istributed upon
the same duod enary plan Further more t he
idolatries accordi ng to sacred t eachi ng were but
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
access to H eaven for the peop le of various reli
"
gi ons said the Brahmi ns The bad habits the
attitud es of mind which the i d olatri es fixed the
mental vices on whi ch they lived d egenerated
somet imes int o feti chism or into the animalism
whose totems li ke the god types are everywhere
found to be al most t he same (wolf l i on d og
—
b ul l etc )
be it on many al t ar s the E gyp ti an
among others (whence the Gol d en Calf perhaps
emigr ated with the E xod us) be it even an u n c on
scious reminiscence in the blazon of her al dry or
among the graci ous allegories of the fabulist s to
be one d ay summ ed up so well in the dozen types
of REYNARD : N oble the lion Reynard the fox
Bruin the bea r ; Isegrim the wolf Ty ber t the
cat Gr im ber t the badger M orh ou the d og Ky ward
the hare Baldwin the as s C hantecler the cock
the M onkey an d B ea u cen t the boar
N ot onl y may we thus lay ou t a world m a p of
the heres ies id olatries and aberrati ons of the
Faith but has not the great Varro according t o
St Au gustine in THE CITY OF GOD classed the
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
-
,
,
.
,
,
WE LVE
THE T
ALL NATION S
GO DS OF
antique id olatries as of the modern heresi es ) in
observing their most ch aracteri stic eff ort the
con cep ti on of the So vereign Good in 1 2 principal
ide as fr om which c om e as he dem onstrated the
2 88 po ssible syste ms and to which yet turn it
must be admitted all our actual theories The
Intoxicati on of Li fe
Contemplative Repose
or the two rec onci led in Epicur ean voluptuous
ness
or all three fin ally augmented by the
Primordi al Blessings of N ature (heal th of b ody
and mind) are alternately the obj ects of in quiry
eit h er di rect or b y m eans o f virtue or simp ly f or
the s ake of the res earch itself
T o one cont em p l ating hi stor y fr om a detached
point of view the nationa lities are revealed as
s i rnple links of that mor e general and durable
chain a religi on This is clearly vi sible in Greece
It is not less visible throu gh o ut E urope And
Schism app ears as the first eff or t the first fissu re
of that sep aratism pr ovoked by the weight of
des po tism by the tyr annic ambiti on of a new
power Its ideal if it pr eserves one in religion
must be totally diff eren t and tends c onse quentl y
to w ard on e of the typ es wh ich we have enumerated :
Anglicanism G alli
ev ery nationalism (J udaism
ends in a rudiment of idolatr y i n s om e
ca n i s m )
et e
which
s ort of dis t o rtion o f the grea t com m
is to say di vine
human Type And it is
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
’
,
.
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
—
.
ING CHARACT
THE ART OF I NVE N T
1 58
Ch
ER
S
ch and Tyranny
or according to our
phrase Church and State It is moreover much
less the heresy or schism whi ch captures the
ur
,
“
,
.
manifestation
,
dogma
of the
,
whi ch they prep are
,
the fiat lux of the O cci d ent ; the C ouncil of
Trent this i s the C atholic S hakespeare
,
.
III
B ut
GEOGRAPHY H ISTORY
,
whether already separated or not each
State remains n one the less a member of a group
of a dozen equal s In connec tion with the
Church ( our
can we not observe th at
from the moment when we let Poland di sappear
our France its equilibrium changed at a blow
saw her hegemony pass t o E nglan d wh ose r ole
was at the same time inherited by the Uni te d
States : of thi s dozen of civil ized nati ons Germany
increa sed her strength by all the power vainly
wrested by us from the house of Austria ; Russia
the Scandinavian world an d the Lo w Co untries
coun terbal anced each other ; Spain descend ed a
little lower Italy rose as much higher An d
perhaps it is beca use Turkey is being effaced that
Jap an an el ement likewise foreign now rises
up on our h orizon
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
‘
.
THE AR T OF
1 60
IN VE N ING CHARA CTE
T
R
S
other we can disc over a n ati on al su bdi vision
into tw o half dozen s : Sco tland and Irelan d
Asiatic Greece and M orea Gascony an d the
Rh one va lley etc Let us go further : tradi tion
yet living divides each on e of th ese 1 2 regions
amon g 1 2 little peop les in turn And one could
go on thus into every c ountr y into every on e of
its natural prov inces Imperial Ital y it is true
was divi d ed into ten provinces onl y but because
i ts admi nistrati on failed t o j oin t o it the t wo
halves so charact eris tic of Cisal pine G aul These
1 2 divisions survi v e in the ethnic physiognomies
so clearly cut of the modern Ital i ans Ther e
were 1 2 kingd oms in S pain : Old Cas til e N ew
Castile Leon Galicia N avarre Aragon Murcia
J aen Cor dova Sevill e Granada an d Valen cia
German y compri ses two dozen states Sweden
24 LANS et c
From another point of V1 ew : is not the govern
ment of a country formed of a d ozen ministers ?
Worship (Vesta ) Finance (J u no) Marine ( N ep
t une) di plomatic F oreign Afiai rs ( M inerva) the
Int eri or wi th hygiene poli ce an d
ch arity
(Venus ) Pu blic I n struction wit h the fin e arts
(Apoll o) C ommerce an d Mails ( Mercury) Justice
Publi c Works
(Jup it er ) Agri cul t ure ( Ceres )
(Vulcan ) War ( Mars ) an d the Coloni es wi th
their wil d an d vi rgin l an ds ( Di ana) And very
r ecently La bor wh i ch has myst eri o
usly replaced
,
-
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
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,
,
,
,
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
WE LVE
THE T
GODS OF
ALL NATION S
16 1
of the 4 great Races which cover the
globe
the Choleric and ambitious White the
s anguine and careless B lack the phl egm atic Y el
l ow and the melancholy Red or Brown so wi dely
scattered
thr ows out three im portant branches
We have seen h ow the E URO PEAN branch of
the White Race r a m ifies into one dozen great
peoples of whom the smaller peoples are the
detache d bran ches W e may see the same in
the c ase of the S EMITES and of the NON S E MITES
remaining in Asia ( Hindus Persians
whom
in my O p i nion we are to o much inclined t o conn ect
with the E uropean for they are equal to it in
numbers and di ff er fro m it in mind physi o gn o my
and arts not less than the Arab
Finally geograp hi cally if we di vide the world
longitudin al ly into three slices beginning from
ab o ut 2 5 West we obtain the t hree actual worlds :
the O CC IDENTAL between the E XTREME ORI ENTAL
(from 90 E ast to 1 50 West ) and the Am erican
( fr om 1 50 West t o 2 5 West ) Or if y ou prefer
t o cut the world int o four slices very well y ou
will hav e : for the first ( 2 5 W to 65 E ) our H I S
TORI C W O RLD ; then eastward ( t o 1 5 5 ) t h e Orient
H indu Japanese C hinese M al ay an ; therefrom
to 1 1 5 W the mysterious Pacifi c whose isl e s
appear here and there l ike the last remain ing
co lumn s of a destroyed temple ; and fin ally
E ac h
,
,
,
.
,
.
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
,
,
,
,
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,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
IN VE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
1 62
T
TE R
S
these four quarters of the earth are reign
ing each moment the four p arts of the d ay in
such a way that if we wish we may subdivi d e
it into 24 parts l ike the face of a cl ock E ach
twelfth of thi s longitudi nal cl ock
each couple
of hour s means a civilization To gratify Japan
we call her the E mpire of the Ri sin g Sun whose
light ann ounces a vernal d ay ; whil e the d ay
breaks calm morning has d awn ed over Korea
the lab orious d ay has comm enced for N ew Zeal and ;
when it is but half past n ine in smili ng Tahi ti
the first quarter of the d ay is already endi ng in
the F ar West Two o clock three o clock moment
of the sies ta sound over t he ancient colonies
those which thr ew off the yoke of E nglan d in the
1 8th centur y an d the li ght er yoke of S pain in the
It is four O clock in pensiv e Braz il an d
1 9t h
six on the Atlantic Ou r western E ur ope is
contemplat ing the sunset , eight o cl ock al ready "
Twil ight is en v elopin g Germany an d the Angelus
is soundi ng in Rome N ight i s closing o ver
Greece over E gyp t an d Judea ; it is t en and
eleven o clock in Arabi a an d Chaldea Mi d night
soun ds in the lan d o f Ahriman an d Tamerlane "
The rest of the night poss esses the first two hours
India and Thibet an d the hours before d awn
Annam an d China
N eed we remin d ourselves that t o each of
th ese c ouples of hours the Spirit of analogy attached
Over
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
’
’
,
,
.
,
,
’
.
.
’
.
,
’
.
,
,
.
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
1 64
T
TE R
S
later ( 3 x 1 2 ) the comte de Chambord and in
the in terval it bent the kn e es for a moment
rebelli ous of Philippe I an d surged beneath the
sh ining armor o f St Jeanne d Ar c I t is in
sh ort the generation of Ves t a
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
.
,
,
.
Louis XI and Louis XI V belong in two dif
f er en t branches to a like generati on : they have
(from Juno ) the spiri t of chi canery whi ch 1 2
generati ons earli er show ed it self so plai nl y in
their not less popular ancestor Louis le Gros
,
,
,
,
-
-
.
Ambition t o the po int of i mprud en ce i s shown
in three branches of the fam ily also in a lik e
generati on by Charles V III Franci s I and Ant oine
d e Bourbon repeating thus the moral physiognomy
of Lo ui s le Jeune an d Pep in d H eri s t a l
,
,
,
,
’
-
-
.
Likewise a H enri I V eloquent an d ingeni ous
2
Minerva
repeats
a
t
1
generati ons di st ance
(
)
al mos t t rai t f or t rait the U lyssean t ype of Philippe
Aug ust e
Aft er this one will hardly be surprised t o meet
in the generati ons consecrat ed t o the orgiac Ceres
the scan dals of the TOUR DE N E SLE and those of
the PARC AUX CE RFS n or t o see the w eakn ess
( Dian a ) of thi s famil y drag it d own with the
fool ish Charles V I an d 1 2 generati ons lat er with
Louis XVII with the Duc de Berry an d Ferdi nand
Was it for want of a Du gu es eli n
d Or lea n s
( Mars) w e ask that Loui s X VI a t leas t as
,
’
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
,
.
,
,
WE LVE
THE T
GO DS
OF
ALL NATION S
1 65
worthy the name of Sage as his co rrespo nding
d u od en ai r e Charles V found him self overwhelm ed
by a militarist generat ion ?
a generati on which
delud e d by a duodecimal remembrance th ought
it f ound in Marie Anto inette of Austria an o ther
I s abel of B avaria and in the Comte d Art ois a
Charles d Or lea n s and wh ose first achievem ent
as s oo n as it came into power was the inaugura
tion of twenty fiv e years of senseless wars Thus
was the way O pened for N apoleon who lacked
the control of a suzerain and m oderate advis or
wh os e wisdom might have av oided for us the
fin al Waterloo Another p ossibili ty if the honest
but weak H enri V was unable t o reclaim his thr one
or N ap oleon II I to maintain him self upon his
‘
was it through lack of a rhythm remaining s u fii
c i en t ly
vibrant 1 n the exhausted race of the
former or of a rhyth m suffi ciently well estab
li s h e d in the upstart race of the latter and beca use
the qualit i es of the two coul d n ot be u nited in a
single man capable of res ponding to the imperi ous
app eal of the new dogmas pr oclaimed by Pius IX ?
,
,
,
-
’
,
'
,
,
-
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
What
hi st or y needs as vertebral c olumn is a
duly organize d science of Co mparative H eredity
Of th i s science we possess the d ocuments marvel
ou s ly in order
in the geneal ogies of the great
famili es We have only to n ot e the laws
,
,
.
-
,
‘
,
.
.
N ow a law does n ot exist in itself
.
A law simply
x
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TH E AR T OF
1 66
TE R
S
establi shes the more or less frequent return of
an analogous associati on between phenomena
an d of these phenomena it terms the more ancient
the CAUSE an d the more recent the
The return whi ch permi ts it to verify once mor e
thi s associ ati on th is success i on
what is it but
Rhythm ? Thus it is the miss i on of the scholar
to ascertain rhythm s
All l if e is movement ; all movement is observed
from t he po int of view of a rel ative imm obility
of a repetiti on of an identit y rediscovered here
an d there in the moving s tream From these
rhythms t o be studi ed in hist ory I have selected
the most obvious
as well as the most di s
qui eting
What is this strange duodenary rhythm the
only common di viden d of 2 3 and 4 which we
have fel t vibrating beat by beat
through heredity
through the hi story of a people
through th at of humanity entire
in the rol es whi ch the various races of the world
have seized upon s imul tane ously or have be
u ea t h e d t o one another
q
in the flight of the hours whi ch soun d over their
sleep or the ir activity
in the dance of the seasons and the months
in that of the years of our lives
bj t th e fin w ks f M L is W ber in the
n thi
S
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
-
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
‘
ee ,
o
s
su
ec
,
e
or
o
.
ou
e
1 68
INVE NTING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
TE R
S
x 4 embranchmen ts whi ch Del a fosse Linne an d
Cuvier count in nature n or the 2 x 1 2 classes whi ch
Cuvier enumerat es for the animal kingdom nor
"
“
the gen eral t endency of all these orders toward
mul tiples of the same number 1 2
What is it thi s strange obsessing rhythm ?
It is the rhythm of Life H ear it beating in
your own heart in you r art eri es in your nerves
3
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
What we have done for the Temperaments an d
the Seasons in drawing the innumerable analogies
whi ch they s gge t what we have d one f or t h e
six di rections in whi ch our e ergi es born of the
expl osive binary comb inati ons of temperament s
can dart over the t hree dimensi ons of Space wha t
we have begun for the twelve ARETES or god types
recogni ze d in all religions an d all soci al group ings
we have but to s tudy more an d more d eeply i n
d escen ding step by st ep into the myst eries of
the human heart by means of patient comparison
of the secon dary t ypes whi ch wi ll be success ively
engen d ere d be fore us carefully di stingui shing them
one from another in their most intimat e det ails
The task i s infinit e and I d o not pret en d t o
have complet ed it but at least we shall lay hol d
upon reali ties not heret ofore grasped thanks t o
the classificati on now t o be opened the first
m
attempted classificati on I bel i eve of the
bered Characters whi ch whether real or imagin ary
obs ess th divers peoples of the earth
,
u
s
,
n
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
unnu
,
,
,
e
.
G e n e r a l Cl a s s i f ic a t i o n
of
H u m a n Be i ng s
C HA PTE R
I
PLAN OF
THE
X
CLASS I F ICATI ON
of our 1 2 Ty p es will necessarily be di vided
int o two according to the TWO SE XES whi ch affect
E a ch
,
a
no
a
H ow m ny are the m scu line roles for which
we find
feminine equivalent in literature
or even in histor y e qually blind and partial it
w ould seem by contagi on " The simple obs er
va ti on of thi s fact alone suff ices to cause t o Spring
up in ea ch of these lacun ae a feminine typ e here
t ofore un p erceived T o this useful evoca ti on
a nn o unce d in the early pages of this book
the
present chapter will be prim arily devot ed
,
,
,
,
‘
.
,
’
,
B ut
the binary s u bc la ss i fic a t i on of our human
M u s eum will s oo n beco me quaternary
as s oo n
as we shall observe it in the light of the two great
as p ects of life the TRA G I C and C O MI C
And even
“
fro m the c olorless mass of intermediaries ( serious
"
ch aracters
a Species of hermap hr odite adapted
to double usage ) how many p hantoms may be
brou ght under one or an o ther of these lights t o
be animated " We have already seen the devel
,
,
,
.
THE AR T OF
1 70
IN VE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
of thi s method in Chapter III ( NEW
COMB IN ATION S) and have seen thus produced
by the combinati on of C omi c and Tragi c charac
ters the secon dary seri es of characters Parodi c
Parad oxical O di ous present ed sympat heti call y
Sympathetic rendered repugnant Grot esque
treate d seri ously Serious t r e at e d with d eri
s ion etc
op m en t
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
Finally we shall see at the end of the foll owing
chapter how thi s quad uple hypos t asi s i
it
able for each of our 1 2 divine Types (mal e an d
fem ale tragi c an d c omi c ) will be multipli ed by
the va i ous ages of life an d the vari ous soci al
ranks in whi ch tu n by t rn it may be studied
What pen ry we fin d in our letters of Old
People d ifferenti ated one from
other " H ow
or the C hil
littl e vari e d are the Bachelors
d en " In contrast t o the Intellectual (brahmin
tist scholar
t o the Warrior and t o t he
Man of Money (bo rgeois merchan t
how
lit tle shad ed are the people of the masses " E ven
our naturalistic writers still conf oun d the souls
of a cabi net maker of the F aubourg St Antoine
of a mason of a d ay laborer that modern p ariah
wit hout h p an d of that pretenti ous aristocrat
the house paint er "
We Sh all content ourselves in thi s l ifi
tion neglecting for the mom nt the questio s
,
,
r
,
,
n ev
,
r
,
,
r
u
u
.
,
,
,
an
,
r
,
ar
,
,
u
,
,
“
-
.
,
-
,
O
,
e,
-
c ass
,
e
ca
n
INVE N ING C HARAC
THE ART OF
1 72
T
Under
TE R
S
Jupi t er (self manifestati on an d activi ty)
natures ARROGAN T an d PROTEC TIN G ; between these
groups the LOFTY an d MAJESTI C Und er Ceres
(materialism an d p os s es s i vi t y ) the PROD I GAL an d
the PRACTICAL betw een them inserting the SE N
SUAL Und er Vulcan (manifest ati on an d mat er
i ali s m ) the LABORI OUS an d also t he DUPE D or
DEL UDED be tween whom the SELF SA CRIF IC IN G
will ta ke their place Under Mars (energetic
activi ty an d materialism) natures VI O LE NT t o a
murderous degr ee an d the most AUDACI OUS
s urroun d in g the REBELLI OUS Finally und er
Diana (emoti on an d pos s ess i vi t y ) the SENTI
MENTAL an d the CHASTE succeeding t o the WEAK
or TIMID
The terms of the class ificati on are necessa ril y
imperfect an d t oo elas tic and less important than
the groups themsel ves und er whose heads I have
used them only in d efau lt of bett er ; each of these
36 groups exh ibits neverthel ess a remarkable
coherence and it i s this al one whi ch concerns us
Thi s coherence will ext en d t o each one of the
sub groups These wi ll present t hemselves in
variable numbers thus providi ng lacunae more
an d more numerous which we Shall observe an d
measure in d escendi ng into the indi vi dual rea lities
here explored But their number al though vari
able ten ds always in curious f ash i on t oward
the Dozen
-
.
,
.
-
,
.
,
,
‘
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
-
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
,
GE N E RAL CLA SS IFI CATION
1 73
VES TA
THE P I OUS
I
The Const ant Examples : besides the Vir
the
purest
o
f
the
Sa
ints
the
Me
x
ican
Koat
n
i
g
lik oe the H indu Agh di and An d j a n i Liane
(in Richter s T ITAN ) ; Louis I X J oachi m i n THE
P OWE R OF DARKNESS This category d oes not
a c ase p erhap
unique
A
a dmit of par ody
s
nuance of serene resignati on that of Job or of
Celestin V is wanting in the feminine ex amples
( ap art of course fr om the Virgin )
Religi ous S ch ol ars Theologi ans : TCHAN G
2
A ene as S t Th om as A quin as
THE AN CHORET
I n the femi nine : P eta An ou ke the E gyp tian
B eatrice ( PARAD I SE) Clementine de Rothschild
S t G ertrude In this l ast there appears in
s often ed and milder form the venerable p h y s i og
n om y of F riar Laur ence ( RO MEO AND JUL IE T)
F riar B onaven ture (in For d s T I S P ITY
M ordecai ( E STHER) N o ah under his v arious
names H ebrew Chi n ese H indu Aztec C haldean
etc
1
.
.
,
,
,
,
'
~
,
.
-
.
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
’
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
’
’
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
M ystics : Madame Swet chi n e M a rie Al a
c oq ue B ernad e tte S ALAMMB O Angeli q
u e ( Zo la
LE REVE ) HANNELE MATERNE ; Don Sebastian
3
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
THE ART OF
1 74
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
Ruben
( Cal deron F OR S ECRET OUTRAGE
(in Pi card s JERI CHO ) N ekhl u d off ( in Tolst oi s
RESURRECTI O N ) conn ects thi s type wit h mod ern
,
’
’
.
The Supers titious ( the com i c aspect of 2 an d
E xamples : mascul ine none ; femi n ine pos
si bly the vague Madame d e N oar es ( BOUVARD
AND PECUCHET) Menan d er had painted Phi di as
in us ing the 1 4 funda
as THE S UPERSTI TI OUS
mental traits in dicated by THEO PHRASTUS
B igots E xamples are few
What fine
5
p arodies of 6 an d 7 could here be made "
The Ardently D evout E xamples : B AR
6
LAAM ( St John Chrysost om) POLYE UCTE THE
CO N STANT PRIN CE ( Cal deron ) SAINT LUDWINE
( H uysmans ) THEODORE ( Corneille)
TORQUEMADA
P a s t or Kroll
7 F anatics :
R
O
OL
M
T
H
E
Ibsen
J
i
n
FA
NA
I
C
of
the
R
S
M
E
S
H
T
)
(
Chinese theatre ; the Protestant Mad ame Moi se
u e d e Gr anville
Pi éd ef er an d the C atholi c An geli q
Balz
c
MUSE
O
F
T
H
E
D
E
P
A
RT
M
E
N
T
A
T
H
E
a
(
D OUBLE FAMILY) MADAME GERVAI SAI S (the Gon
cou rts )
H yp ocri tes are not connected with th is
8
group excep t as its Oppos it es ; they are to it what
Braggarts are to the Brav e Aft er Plut arch La
Bruyere car e qy indi cated the iden tity of the
hyp ocri t e the un believer an d the li berti ne ; Moli ere
4
.
,
,
.
,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
ING CHARACTE RS
TH E ART OF I NVE N T
1 76
3
They
.
Dr
R elli n g
.
lik ewise lacki ng for the
( Ibsen THE WILD D UCK)
Sceptics
ar e
,
.
S ages Rabelais Guid o Cavalcanti
i
DECAMERO N VI
Luc ( G orki THE
(B
LOWER D E PTHS) Olympe ( D ancourt THE PARI S
IENNE ) is weak by comparison
5
ZE p i S ages
E sop in the tw o comedi es
of Boursaul t the S ocrates of the BANQUETS
Melch i sed ec ( D ecameron I
that prot otype
of N ATHAN THE WI SE the ingen ious an d loqua
M Bergeret ; the you g Chinese woman
i
PEACH BLOSSOM and in Plutarch the wife of
the covetous Pyt h
6
Adventurous S age
ZANON I ( B ul w er
Lyt ton) the Marq i s de Posa ( D ON CARLOS)
h
i
Abaris the Hyperborean ARCHYTAS
A
DE ME TAPONTE ( Mazel ) an d hi s Th
; Par
then ia ( H alm I N GOMAR THE BARB ARIAN )
the
ll
7 S oothsayers an d G ood C
Argonaut I dm on H elenus Prot es P lt i t he
Thracian king ; E geria C assan dra the Sybils
Bertha an d G ertrud e in WILLIAM TE LL
H e l ers B
the god of G a l ish origi n
8
d h i s wife D amona A esc lapi us the physicians
of the mod ern novel and the M IRES of the M iddle
Ages as much mascul ine as f eminine ; not a
s ingle c e of the latt er sex h been well d awn
4
Jovial
.
:
,
oc ca c o ,
,
,
.
,
.
SO
.
c
:
,
,
,
,
c ou s
n
.
,
-
,
,
es
,
.
s :
.
u
,
n ar c
,
ars s ,
,
ea n o
.
,
‘
ou n s e
.
,
,
ors z
o
,
s
,
,
,
.
a
.
an
:
orv o
,
u
u
,
,
as
as
‘
r
GE NE RA L CLA SSI FI CA TI ON
Venerable S a ge s : Pm Sper o ( THE TEM
PEST) N estor N a i m es ( CHANSON DE ROLAND)
Sahadeva ; feminine M ar g u eri t e d e P ar m a
( E GM ONT)
9
.
,
,
,
,
.
S ad or S tern S ages
C at o
( PHARSALI A)
H eges i as the Buddha ; Anne ( d Ann u n zi o THE
D EAD C ITY)
11
F eeble S ages : Lam b ert ( Claudel LA
VILLE ) Titurel ( PARS IFAL) ; n o femi nine examples
12
S ages of C omi c Aspect : Primrose in THE
V I CAR or WAKEF I ELD
10
.
:
,
’
,
,
.
.
,
.
,
.
.
Simple S ages Vincent ( M wi n ky THE
B LOWS OF FATE ) the FIELD MOUSE ( La Fontaine)
S ages of D eep Underst anding Christine
14
de Pi ane Blanche of C astile I ab ella ( LO p
D I SCOVERY O F TH E N E W W O R LD ) J ul i a n a
DA
t ; Sul ly
15
Intellectual S ages
Dr N gel ( I bsen
THE L ADY FRO M THE S EA ) Liu th ong p in in THE
TRANSMI GRATI ON OF Y O CHEOU
16
Prud ent S ag s
N orthumberland in K IN G
H ENRY IV the wandering ascetic in S AKUNTALA ;
no feminine examples unless it be in c omedy the
E lise E li t an d H enriette of Moliere
H ome lovers
the g od of the
D m i ci
17
hom e the Lares and Penates D
No
p articul arized liter ary studi es
13
o
:
.
s
,
,
.
:
.
s
,
,
s
_
e,
,
’
c os a
.
:
.
.
-
an
,
-
,
-
.
e
.
:
,
,
an e
,
-
.
.
:
o
us
,
,
.
ev er r on a
.
1 78
THE AR T O F
III
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
—THE FAITHFUL
T
S p ous es P en e l o p e ( O DYSSEY ) S i t a
nyang ( THE P I PA KI )
( RAMAYANA) T h
K di d j h Mad ame St ockmann (AN E NEMY OF
THE PE O PL E )
Savitri ( MAHABHARATA) Mar
g erit d e Prove ce etc Masc l ine examples
are rare X d
the Japanese sai nt an d the
husband in LA D ORMEUSE (A d e Lorde)
2
In Comedy Angel a ( G ozzi THE STAG
KIN G) E lvire ( TARTUFE) ; no masc l ine examples
3
Spouses Faithf l from Duty l one without
Love E xamples m a s cul i n e none ; feminine
1
:
.
,
,
a
a
a ou -
c
-
,
,
,
,
e
u
-
n
:
e
u
.
,
or
,
.
.
.
:
.
,
u
,
u
.
a
:
.
,
:
,
Faithf ul even to Sacrifice M dame Hulot
Madame Claes ( QUEST OF THE
( COUSIN
i
ABSOLUTE ) Si l vi a ( d A
GI OCO NDA)
M adame Royere ( Bern t ein JOUJOU) N o mas
4
a
:
.
’
,
n nu n z o,
s
culi ne examples
,
.
,
.
Const t F i e S olvei g ( PEER GYNT)
Ju l i e ( N OUVELLE
E li abeth ( TA N NH A US E R )
HELO ISE ) O masc li e example which comes
from the F ar E ast the student Kouo hoa in
5
an
.
a n c es z
,
z
,
.
ne
u
n
,
-
:
M istresses : GERTRUDE ( Bouch
inet ) LA RI CKE DU PASTE UR (E rik Schl ai kj ers )
See others under Diana The masculine ty pe
6
Sa crificed
.
.
,
.
INV N ING CHA ACT S
Countess d E g i g in Bal zac s BEATRIX ; sist er
i law his D uchess d e S oria ( M E MO IRS OF Two
Y OUN G WIVES) ; nieces his Pi errett e C ambremer
A) ; d aught er i law the sur
(A SEA SHORE D RAM
prising Li in S I E J I N K O UE I ; UN C L E VAN IA
( Chekhov) an d the Abbé Lefevre uncl e of LOU I S
TH E ART OF
1 80
’
n-
E
R
T
’
n on
s r
ER
,
,
-
-
n-
,
-
-
,
Ad optive Parents : MANOUNE ( Marni )
Jos a be t h (ATHALIE ) BE N O ITE ( AND BE N O IT
H arauc ourt) ; Anan d a S t Joseph F or F ost erers
see Vulcan
13
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
.
14
Disciples
.
:
Apostles
The
,
the
H oly
Women
15
Frien ds N o good feminine types in the
comic but L IDOIRE ( C t li ) ; the academi cian
H tch i t chan ( THE GAGE OF LOVE )
In the
tragi c the Princess d e Lamballe Isabelle ( Zel inski
BARBARA RADZIWI LL) and Mlle G ay ( D urant y
FRANCOISE DE QUESNAY) d o not equal either
Py l d
or Schmucke ( C OUS IN PO N S) or Paz
( THE FALSE M I STRE SS) or H orati o ( H AMLET)
.
:
.
ou r e
o-
ne
-
.
:
,
,
,
a
e
.
JUN O
I
1
.
Wives
an d
TRACHI N IAN S
R
IDATE
,
ANGELO
THE
JEALOUS
Husban ds D ej an i r a ( THE
M EROPE OTHELLO M ITH
Comic the husband confes o
:
,
.
:
,
s r
GE NE RAL CL ASS IFI CATIO N
in B occa ci o and various
18 1
wh o will
Sgan a r e lles
Lovers Comic feminine example the Mar
quise ( Bar on LE COQUET TROMPE ) ; tragic H
mi one MARIE TUDOR Tragic masculi ne example
M ontes de M t j os ( C OUS IN B ETTE ) ; c omi c
Robin (LE JEU DU BERGER ET DE LA B ERGERE )
Al bert (LE s F OLI Es AM OUREUSES) F LORENTIN
( L a Fontaine)
2
:
.
:
er
:
,
,
.
on e a n
,
,
.
Jeal ous A dulterers : there are few but tragic
and feminine c ases : Roxane ( B AJ AZET) Vas ili s s a
( Go rki THE LO WER D EPTHS ) A dele ( D es c a v es
and Donn ay LA C LAIRI ERE )
3
.
,
,
,
.
,
tess Orsina ( L e s si n g EMILIA GALOTTI )
MADAME DE LA POMMERAYE ( Di d erot ) ; Fulbert
the butcher of Abel ard N 0 c omic examples
Co
un
,
,
'
.
.
Jealousy without the D esire of P ossess i ng
Diana de B elflor ( LOp e THE GARDENER S D OG )
N o equi valent m ascul ine case
5
.
'
,
.
,
.
L ove thr ough Jealousy : M orin ( Ca n di llot
CONJUGAL D UTY) F ew di stinct feminine ex
amples
6
.
,
.
.
F el dmann
8
.
,
THE
Jeal o usy
of
SHADO W) ;
the t oo theoretical
a Pi n e Affect i on ( for a chi ld)
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
1 82
TE R
T
George Braux (Fleg
S
THE MESSAGE ) ; no feminine
examples There is no symmetri c masc ul ine for
Hel ene d Ai glem on t drowni ng her lit tle brother
from j eal ousy (A WOMAN OF TH IRTY)
,
.
'
.
9
Jeal ousy of
Fri en ds
‘
.
no examples
:
.
Jealousy of a Mother s N ew Loves : the
little Gran dj ean ( Zola U NE PAGE D AMOUR)
’
10
.
'
,
11
.
Of a F ather s : no examples
’
.
.
—
II
THE VEN GEFUL AND JUST
The Pass i o ately Revengeful R OUSSALKA
1
( Pushk in ) Olympi as the te i ble mother of Alex
ander the Great ; Jean sans peur MONTE CRISTO
N comic examples
Righteous Avengers of their C ause Gid eo
2
N comic exampl s
The Ira cible Madame Guillemot ( B o
3
sault LE MERCURE GALANT) ; THRASILLE ( La
Bruyere) There are no romantic
d
l most
n o tragic examples
4
Avengers of their H on or V era G el o
Mathil de (Fra k V
S glante probleme) ; Don
n
.
:
rr
,
-
-
,
0
.
.
n
:
.
e
0
.
s
.
.
:
ur
,
an
.
a
.
:
.
n
er ax ,
an
Avengers of the H on or of Relatives : Tri
boul et (LE RO I S AMUSE ) , Od ar d (EMI L IA GAL OTTI )
5
.
’
,
INVE N TING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
1 84
TE R
S
an d F a u lt fin d er s : M a d ame
Pernelle ( Tartufe) Ma M e C rognac ( Regnard
LE DI STRAIT) ; Cli s t or el that Coi t i er of comedy
( Regnard LE LE GATAI RE ) G éron t e in LE JOUEUR
THE PHILOSOPHER MARRIED ( D est ouches ) Anti
phon ( Pl aut us STI CHUS) Simon D em ea D emi
phon an d Men e d em us in the w orks of Terence
a Sp ecialist in this type
2
G rumblers
.
,
,
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
THE M ISANTHROPE of M o l i er e p ur el y
comic d erives from thi s class There are no
femin ine examples for this nor for the more
serious case of Jacques (AS YOU L IKE I T)
4
M isogynists : We have lost M en a n d er s
who was calle d D em y le Lessing s M ISOGYNI ST
is Wu m s h oe t er L a F ont aine s is Anselme ( THE
E NCHANTED C UP )
The corresp onding femi nine
—
man hat er i s lacking an d both mascul ine and
feminine are lacking in the tragic "
3
.
,
.
,
,
.
’
,
.
'
.
’
,
.
-
Puritans : Past or H olm ( E ngel ON THE
WATERS) ; Miss St evens in Balzac
Scathing Critics : TIMO N OF ATHEN S the
6
Prophets Juvenal L eon Bloy ; no feminine ex
amples C ato an d Jean Jacques lea d t o
5
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
-
.
Malconten ts : Prince An drei ( Tolst oi WAR
AND PEACE ) parodi ed in
The Mor ose an d Churli sh : Leroy ( Janvi er
8
LES APPE LE URS)
7
.
,
,
,
.
.
GE N E RAL CLA SS I FI CA TI O N
1 85
The Harsh and Res olute : S t ockmann
(E NE MY OF THE PEOPLE ) B urrhus ( B RITANN I CUS)
Mich ael Angel o ; c omic : Will iam Th orn will in
THE V I CAR OF WAKEF IELD N either 6 7 n or 8
h as g oo d feminine examples n or h as
10
The S arcastic : Ma uly in THE PLAIN
D EALER ( Wycherly) Th er s i t e la E ri ge in Court
eline le ad s t o
11
The Liti gi o us : La n t ern oi s and C hi qui
n o ux in PANTAGRUE L Pr ot ai s ( Mickiewicz THAD
DEUS SOPLITZA) ; the Cou ntess de Pi m béc h e (LES
PLAIDEURS Chicane ( LUTRIN )
12
Vi x ens and Scolds : Xantippe ; L a B ruy ere s
DI SAGREEABLE MAN h i s B U SY B O D Y and his
CRABBED MAN In the tragic : E lean or of Ac qui
taine Am ate and Jun o in the ILIAD H ere mas
cul ine examples are la ckrn g
13
The
Uneven temp ered : La B ruyere s
E UTI CHRATE h as as yet no worthy feminine
N or
has the following
The H eadstrong : L OPINI ONATRE ( Bru eys )
14
n or
15
THE SIN G ULAR MAN ( B alzac )
9
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
'
.
,
.
.
,
.
’
-
.
,
.
’
,
.
.
.
N E PTU NE
I
THE GREEDY AND AVARI C I OUS
The Sel fish : Dr H alper soh n ( B a l z a c )
1
Ma dame Kr i wdi ne ( Mowi ns ky THE B LO WS OF
.
,
.
,
INVE NTING CHARACT RS
amatic Kl ch t h ( Gorki THE
Madame Ambroise ( D ecamero
T HE ART OF
1 86
FATE) More d
LOWER DEPTHS)
r
.
VIII
,
E
e
:
c
,
n
,
The Covetous : Loui se of S avoy MANE I I E
SALOMO N ( Goncourt) ; Rem on en cq( COUSIN PoNs )
Comi c : the Fish ven dors of the Greek drama
Ra bel ai s Di n d en a ul t
2
’ ‘
.
‘
,
.
-
,
’
.
S
t ors Stock jobbers
Isid or
Lechat
etc : TURCARE T
ME RCADET
LES
( Mi rbea u
Sa c c ar d ( Zola LA CUREE
L ARGENT et c There are no feminine examples
at leas t in lit erature N or are there for the
3
.
pecul a
,
-
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
’
,
.
,
.
Rascal s : Kovacs ( Zola THE
LAND) Prince Basil ( Tolstoi WAR AND PEACE )
The Criminally Covetous : Tarpeia Taille
5
fer in Balzac Buteau ( Zola THE LAND) Di ck
H a t t er a i ck ( Sc ott GUY MANNERIN G)
N o comic
examples
4
.
U n s eru pulou s
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
Cajolers of Parents or Rich M a s t er s
M adame M s in B
lt ( URSULE M I ROUET)
Francoise (A DOUBLE FAMILY) V lt
an d
Corvino ( Ben Jonson VOLPONE)
the L
7 G betweens and Proc rers
of the Greco L at in s t age Kaled ( Ch m f t THE
SLAVE DEALER) B or d en av e ( Zol a N A N A )
MAD AME CARD INAL ( H al evy ) MACETTE ( Reg i er)
Keepers of Gaming H ou e
F emin ine ex
8
6
.
as
-
evr a u
,
o
,
,
.
o-
.
u
e n on s
:
a
-
,
-
or
,
,
,
,
n
,
.
or e
s s :
.
THE AR T OF
1 88
2
.
INVE NTING CHARAC
Despots
Imperious
TE R
S
TURANDOT ( Go zzi )
:
,
Tyrannical Subordinates : Gessler ( WIL
LIAM TELL) G aler i us ( THE MARTYRS) Wolsey
C
al
d
eron
THE
S
C
H
I
S
M
OF
N
G
L
A
N
D
H
a
m
an
E
)
(
(E STHE R) C o m i c : LE COMMI SSAIRE and LE
GENDARME of Co u rt eli n e ; no feminine examples
3
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
Tyranni cal and Lustful Subor dinat es : the
Commissaire ( Mirbea u LE PORTEFEU ILLE) LE
B ON JUGE ( Brisson) Tragic : Appius Claudius
of the innumerable V IRG IN IAS Gi ann et in o D oria
N o femi nine examples in lit
( Sch iller FIESC O)
4
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
er a t ure
.
D espotic
F anatic l Subordinates
d
A geli q Arnaul d ; S aul ( the future St Paul )
F anatical an d Intolerant Tyrants Cather
6
ine de Medicis ( Marlowe THE MASSACRE AT
PARIS) Pentheus ( E uripides BACCHAE ) Philip II
in score of plays
Catherine de Medici s after Bal
7 Tyrants
who paints her a shrewd an d unbel i eving
ATHALIE Cleopatra ( RODOGUNE ) ; Bone in BAR
BARA RADZIW ILL CAMB YSES ( Preston ) Atar
d
Beaumarchais
TA
A
E
R
R
G
i
m
l
( C orneille
)
(
PE RTHARI TE ) Al H assan ( LALLA ROO KH ) D i l
tian ( Rotrou SAINT GENEST) Cre on in the
Tragi cs ATTILA ( Herb rt Corn ille Werner
i ) TAMERLANE ( Marlow ) N apoleon
B
5
an
.
n
a
ue
.
.
:
.
,
,
,
,
.
:
.
zac
s
,
,
,
,
,
,
oa
r
,
,
oc e
-
,
,
-
,
,
e
,
or n er
,
e
,
e
,
,
,
.
GE NE R AL CLA SS IF I CATIO N
8
etc
1 89
Pitiles s P arents : A crisius Orch a m e E ch e t e
N 0 good femi nine examples
.
,
,
,
.
.
Geniuses monsters S atan Ahrim an
and other syn onyms Adamastor ( LUS IAD E ) P oly
h
m
O
DYSSEY
l
A
rist
o
phanes
THE
P
m
(
)
(
p
PEACE ) the CYCLO PS (E urip ides ) the Old Man
of the D ovre ( PEE R GYNT) ; ogres M g
H
E
L
I
N
TR
S
E
THE
L
V
E
OF
TH
R
EE
R
A
N
G
ES
U
O
O
T
(
)
D e th in the DANSES MACAB RES
10
Base Des pots Me elaus fter E uripides
Phocas ( Corneill e HE RA CL IUS) C omic
Rabe
lais G i pp m i
F minine e x a m p l e s are
d
9
E vil
.
:
:
,
,
us
e
,
o e
,
os
,
,
,
or
:
ane
’
,
a
,
.
n
:
.
a
r
e
nau
:
.
,
’
,
e
.
Voluptuous Tyrants : SEMIRAMI S ( Cre
bill on ) C atherine 1 1 Christin a of S weden ; N er o
Tiberius H enry V II I S ee also the Vicious under
11
.
.
,
Venus
.
THE AMB ITI OUS
I II
1
,
,
,
mbition F ew women
Ordi nary A
.
:
Madame
E U GENE
ROU GON
:
nac THEONAS ( L a B ru y ere )
( Zola ) N o comic examp les
,
.
,
.
The Ambitious Troubled in Mind or
Already Gu ilty : Co mic : J ules H én i ot ( F evre
LEs B E AUx MARIA GE S )
M orin (J a n vi er PRES
TI GE )
Tragic : M o u zo n ( B rieux THE RED
2
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
THE AR T OF
1 90
ROBE)
THO N G
,
INVE N ING CHARACTE
T
H enri M p i n (the G
PIN N o fem inine examples
au
R
S
) L IU
either comic
on cou r ts
er
-
.
,
Presumptuous Ambition : a comic example
may be found in Perr a ult s S OUHAITS RIDI CULES ;
tragic : Mauri c e Leon in LE L IVRE DU PETIT
3
.
’
found among our modern p oetesses an d artists
.
Ambition : Soln ess THE MASTER
BUILDER ( Ibsen ) BORI S GODOUN OFF ( Pushkin)
CAESAR ( Plutarch Mommsen)
4
F orceful
.
,
,
,
.
H rd Am bition Caesar in L c
PHAR
SALIA Jean de Gi l N apoleon ( P A dam LA
F ORCE ) ; Mesdames Th i lli and C m t t de
Lenoncourt in Balzac are very inferi or
Unbecoming A mb i t i o n the Byzantine
6
Placidi a ; Caesar after Suet oni us Shakespeare s
HENRY IV
LA MONTESPAN
7 Infatuated by Ambiti on
( Rollan d) ; Juli en Sorel ( LE ROUGH ET LE N O IR)
i
Ruggero F l mm (d A
LA GLORIA)
M derers t hrough Ambition MACBETH
8
KIN G JOHN Knut the Great the uncle of HAMLET ;
Agrippina L ady Macbeth Tull i a the parri cide
Vague Comi c Ambitio s JEROME PATU
9
—
gener l parody of thi s class
ROT
5
a
.
’
u an s
:
s ca e ,
,
.
uso e
a
er
u
,
.
:
.
’
,
.
:
.
,
a
.
a
’
nn u n z o ,
:
ur
,
,
,
.
,
,
n
.
,
.
a
a
.
INVE N ING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
1 92
m ann Ch
-
a tr i a n
T
) be long rather
R
S
to the Utopian
Ch
istopher C olumbus Living
stone Marco Polo the Conqui st ad ores the her oes
of Jules Verne ; Lady H es t er Stanhope Madame
Dieul afoy etc are inf erior In the comic there
are only mascu line exam ples : G ULLIVE R PETER
WILKINS
E xplor ers :
7
.
r
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
Travellers : comic : C A P TA I N PAMPHILE
( Dumas ) E v el pi d e (Aristophanes THE B IRDS) ;
tragi c : ROB INSON CRUSOE JAMB ULE N auplius
( Soph ocl es THE N AVI GATI ONs ) Sin dbad WIL
HELM M E I STER
8
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
The Curi ous an d Imprudent : Psyche E v e
Pan d ora E lsa ( LOHE N GRIN ) Bluebeard s wif e
and in the comi c Schiri n a ( G ozzi TURAND OT)
and L I NDI SCRETE ( D e s t ouch e s )
Mascul ine
tragic : Act aeon ; comi c : LE C URIEUX IMPE RTI
NENT ( D estouches )
9
,
.
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
’
.
,
.
The Romantic : Jehan d e Paris , Prince
Rod olphe ( Sue THE M YS TE R I E S OF PARI s )
Valentin ( San d e a u LA CHASSE AU ROMAN )
feminine tragi c : Blli d a THE LADY FROM THE
SEA ( Ibsen ) Bettina von Arni m ; no good comi c
10
.
,
,
'
,
,
,
D aring in Love M ADE M O I SE LL E DE
MAUPIN ( Gautier ) CAPTAIN TH ERESE ( B i sson
11
:
.
,
GE N E RAL CLASSIFI CA TIO N
and
1 93
Plan quette ) LA CAVALIERE (Jacques Riche
R
A
N
T
Jessica
in
THE
ME
C
H
OF
V
EN
I
C
E
i
n
)
p
There are n o strictly corres ponding mascu lin e
typ es ; they os cill ate between 1 1 an d
,
.
,
by N ature : D Art agn a n and
other heroes of cl o ak and sword ; Hilda in THE
MASTE R B UI LDER
12
’
Th e D ar i n g
~
.
.
ADVENTURE RS
II
A dventurers Painted b y their E nemi e s
the Con quistad ores Routiers etc
1
.
,
,
2
N ature
A dventur ers by
.
.
:
.
GIL B LAS D ON
,
Corsairs etc JEAN BART ( H araucourt )
3
CAPTAIN PAUL ( D m as ) Duryodh ana ( MAHAB
HARATA) Roger de Flor the CONDOTTIE RI
4
F alse Pretenders D e m e t r i u s ( S chi ller
P s hkin ) the heroes of THE I MPERIAL D RA GON
m
Ju
di
th
G
autier
the
false
S
di
N
d
ff
)
(
N o feminine examples
Crimin l Adventurers B i d (LA TOUR
5
DE N ESLE ) C artouche MOLL F LANDERS ( D ef oe ) ;
c omic
Don C aesar de B azan ( RUY B LAS)
Mysterious S trangers THE FLY IN G D UTCH
6
MAN the Stranger in THE LADY FROM THE SEA
( Ibsen ) the B y onic her oes THE B LUE B IRD
N o feminine e mms
.
,
.
:
-
,
u
,
.
,
,
:
.
u
,
,
er
,
s,
a un
or
.
a
.
ur
:
,
,
an
,
:
.
:
.
,
r
,
xa
,
e
.
.
INVE NTING CHARA CTE RS
TH E ART OF
1 94
Intell ectual Adventurers : Benv enuto Cel
lini Beaumarchais Vill on th e Trouveres N o
fem inine examples
Pl ot ters : Therese H um b ert LA FEMME
8
D INTRI GUES ( D anco urt )
the Countess in D ER
7
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
’
,
CAIRE ZYGMUNT PODFILIPSKI (Wi s s enh off )
9
Occul tis ts : THE ALCHE MI ST ( Ben Jons on )
D ER G ROSSKOPHI A ( Goe the )
Chaff ery ( Wells
LOVE AND MR LEW I SHAM) D ous t er wi v el ( Scott
THE A NTIQUARY) Mlle Len orma n d Mad am e Fon
taine ( THE H UMAN COMEDY)
10
Tra gic Sorcerers : the her oes of LE LAC
NO IR ( B ordeaux) ; LA SORCIERE an d other rep u g
nant cri min al s
11
Liars : LE MENTEUR ( Corneill e) MO N
S IEUR DE CRAC ( H arlevill e) N o good tragi c
masculine examples ; no good comic feminine
exampl es A sa d feminine example i s LA ME N
TEUSE ( D aud et )
,
.
.
,
' ‘
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
.
.
.
III
THE
E LOQUENT
Imag inat ive Stor y tellers : Ulysses
SEY) the Hindu Vampire of t h e 2 5 TALES
VAMPIRE ; Sc heherezad e Tr ag i c : t h e
of the Par abl es
1
-
.
,
.
( ODYS
OF THE
Author
.
The Loqua ci ous :
MERCURE
s aul t
2
.
,
( Bour
the Mar quis in THE
Oriane
a nd
E lise
IN VE N TING CHARACTE RS
THE AR T O F
1 96
their Language : Bassanio
VALA) ; few women
,
L mminkainen
( KALE
e
.
VE N US
I
1
THE
Seduct ive
.
SEDUCTIVE
SEDUCIN G
AND
Persuas ive Tal kers :
and
Lei
Seduction and Base Co duct IRIS ( Pinero) ;
Paris ( ILIAD) E gi th
in the Tragi cs Mahomet
R
T
L
o
pe
C
O
N
QUES
OF
G
ANADA) Leon ( MADAME
(
BOVARY) Comic Agathon (Aristophanes THE
F E As rs OF CERES AN D PROSERPINE ) ; no S imilar
2
n
.
us
s
,
:
,
,
,
:
.
,
'
Ingenuous Impurity : Cherubin ( MARRIAGE
OF FI GAR O ) T OM JONES ( Fielding) LE PETIT AMI
(Le a u t a u d ) ; N i cet t e (LA CHERCHEUSE D ESPRIT
F a v ar t )
3
.
.
,
'
,
.
Agla e of THE MARTYRS
the E vangelist
'
,
Beatrice Laura ; St John
,
.
.
The Pretenti ous : MADAME GIBOU an d
”
“
vari ous snobs
Ten d er Coquetry : Anne the wi gmaker
6
n
L
U
TR
I
N
G
riseis
Reg
ar d D EMOCR ITE ) N o
)
(
(
mascu line examples
7 Coq
uettes in Lo ve : Ti tania ( M IDSUMME R
N IGHT S DREAM) Py rrha ( DEUCALI O N AND
PYRRHA St l F oix) the Countess ( Marivaux
5
.
.
.
,
,
.
.
.
'
,
,
,
,
GE N E RAL CLA SS IF I CATION
1 97
SURPRISES OF LOVE ) ; masc l ine Aubert (A dam
de l a Halle LE JE U DU B ERGER ET DE LA B ERGERE )
R oyere ( B ernstein J OUJOU) CLAVI GO ( Goethe )
Coquettes par e x c e l l e n c e LA VIE DE
8
MARIANNE ( Marivaux ) ; th e symm etric m as cu line
wo l d necess arily be ridicul ous
Pi ckl
T ifiers
The traditi onal Mar qui s
9
of rep ert oire h as n o tragi c side Comic f mi n ine
M adam e de Pl
h ( D o n n a y LA
examp les
B ASCULE) ; tragic Ida de B aranoy ( D audet
JACK) M arie Loui se ( P u vi ll LE RO I DE RO ME )
and Rost and
u
:
,
,
,
,
.
:
.
u
.
r
e
.
:
e
.
ou a
:
,
:
on ,
o
-
,
,
( Gautier MLLE DE MAUPIN ) many her oines of
B oc ca ci o
A symmetric masculin e i s Bu t t i s Ald o
( THE PATH OF PLEASURE )
11
Gr eat S educers : Don J u an ( Tirs o de
M o lin a and tw o score auth ors of vari ous lands )
La v ed a n s MARQU I S DE PRIO LA ; Céli m én e Laura
( LOp e de Vega The Mill ) Cle opatra the Queen
of Sheba ( Flaubert S al omon )
12
Pops and Co xc ombs : Armad o ( S h akes
p eare LOVE S LAB OR LOST) Kal b ( S chiller CABAL
AND LOVE ) D orante ( Regn ard ATTENDEZ MOI
SOUS L ORME ) Wh o c an say that n o feminine
case s are t o be found ?
13
F atal Seducti ons : H elen ( ILIAD ) Mohi ni
Maia (B HAGAVAD G ITA) D elilah CARMEN LA
,
,
'
.
.
.
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
'
,
,
,
-
,
,
’
.
.
,
-
,
,
,
THE AR T OF
1 98
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
GI OCONDA
A s i n gl e masculine
example whi ch on the contrary is comi c : the
a dmirable SATYROS o f Goethe
,
,
,
.
Machiavelli an Seducers : Lovelace THE
L IB ERTIN E L ou t chai long ; VITTORIA COROMBONA
( Webster) the Princess d E boli ( Schiller D ON
CARLOS) Adelaide ( Goethe GOETZ )
14
.
,
-
-
,
'
,
,
,
.
,
COURTESANS
Cold and Selfi h Sidonie FROMONT JUNI OR
RISLER SEN I OR ( D audet ) MADAME LUPAR
II
1
.
AND
s
:
,
,
( Lemonnier) E llen ( Tolstoi WAR AND PEACE )
2
D angerous and Per fidi ou s : Madame Mar
n e fie ( C OUS IN BETTE )
E u phr a s i e ( THE MAG I C
SKIN ) ; mascul ine : Ju pillon (GERMINIE LACER
TEAUX)
3
Hypocritical Parasitic Men : ANDRE TOUR
ETTE ( Mu hlfield ) BEL AMI ( Maupassan t )
4
Pr ofii ga t e Girls : D ol Common ( B en J on s on
THE ALCHE MI ST) Ani tra ( PEER GYNT) Toud ou
of the Turki sh theatre ; tra gi c : S ALOME ( Oscar
Wilde) Kundr y ( PARS IFAL) Circe ( ODYSSEY)
Armido (JERUSALEM D ELIVERED)
Powerful Cou r t esans : MADAME DU BARRY
5
( Belasco ) Com n e n a (d Annun zi o LA GLORIA)
NANA C o m i c : T H E G I R L F R O M MAX IM S
( F eyd eau) ; mascu line the academician Ala in
Va lr a n ( Berton L A MARCHE A L ETO ILE ) ; tragic :
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
’
,
,
.
.
'
,
THE AR T O F
200
INVE N ING CHARA C
T
S
Sensualists Ly m
L
ongus
(
DAPHN IS AN D CHLOE) THE D UENNA ( Sheridan)
Lady Bellaston (Fieldi g TOM JONE S) M li
( MARRIAGE OF F IGARo) H ulot ( C OUS IN BETTE )
Muffat ( N ANA)
The Disgrace d an d D egrad ed Chev l ier
5
4
Mature
TE R
.
:
on
ce
,
,
,
n
,
ar ce
,
no
,
,
.
a
:
.
HAUSE R
.
Cruel Debauchees N ero Gilles de Retz
Marquis d e S ad e et c : LUCR ECE B ORG IA ( H go )
The Insatiable M e s s al i n a ISAB EL OF
7
BAVARIA ( D m as ) THEOD ORA
P fid i
D ebauchees Ni l Potiphar s
8
6
:
.
,
,
,
u
.
:
.
u
,
,
.
ou s
er
.
.
’
cc e ,
:
wife ( LOpe LAB ORS OF JACOB ) Anne ( Maeter
linck PRIN CESS MALE INE ) PHAEDRA ; Streck
( H auptmann ROSE B E RNDT)
9
Imp i ous D ebauchees : Madame de Chante
louve ( Huysmans LA BAS) ; mascul ine examples
such as the wicked Monks of the fables are all
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
-
,
,
,
P e d an t i c D eb auc h e e s : Dr Pangl os s
( CAN D IDE) ARI STOTE and VIRG ILE in the t wo
medi aeval L ays
10
.
.
,
.
The Abnormal : VAUTRIN ( B alzac) Jup i
ter ( Marlowe DID O) E DWARD II ( Marlowe) ;
comi c : TH E CY C LO P S ( E uri pides ) ; feminine
Paquita Val des ( B alzac) MLLE DE MAUPIN etc
11
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
GE NE RAL CLA SS IF I CATION
201
Morph om a ni ac s
a nd
Opium eaters
M arthe ( Luguet and L auras LA P IQURE ) L ELI E
( Will y)
13
M as ochi sts and other B izarre Cases
N IN I L ASSOMME UR ( Maurice B er nhardt ) Al bert
( MLLE DE MAUPIN )
12
-
.
,
,
.
.
’
,
.
A P O LLO
I
THE I MPASS I ONED
Hysterical Temp eram en ts : A delaide Fou que
( Zola Fortune of THE ROU GONS) GERMIN IE
L ACERTE UX ( Gonc o urt ) ; LE POSS ED E ( Lemo nnier )
l
.
,
,
.
MYRRHA (Alfier i ) ; Gi ov
anni (Ford T I S P ITY
Cenci (Shelley)
Anti ochus ( Sh akespeare PERI CLES)
2
.
Th e Incestuous :
’
,
,
.
Adulterers : TH ERESE
RAQUIN
Clytemnestra (Aeschylus AGAMEMNON)
( Zo la)
3
.
,
,
.
Impassioned Profaners of Religi on : M arthe
Rougon ( Zola CONQU ETE DE PL ASSANS) H en
r i et t e ( Ancey CES MESS IEURS )
Luther etc
4
.
,
,
,
,
,
G enerous S acrifices of Love F ersen ( Len oir
and L aved an VARENNES ) Lord Grenville ( A
WOMAN OF TH I RTY ) THE S ORCERESS ( S ard ou )
MADAME DE S OMME RVILLE ( S n d
)
6
B risk G allants H enri I V N symmetric
5
:
.
,
,
,
,
ea u
a
.
:
.
.
O
THE AR T OF
202
INVE N TING CHARACTE RS
N oble H earts : TARARE ( Beaumarchais)
( Severus ( POLYE UCTE ) N ea rch u s ( F ord THE
B ROKEN HEART) Tancred (JERUSALEM D ELIV
ERED ) Max ( Schi ller WALLENSTE IN ) ; M inna von
B ar nh elm ( Less ing) In comedy : Annette ( Mow
i n s ky B LO W S OF FATE ) F erdinand ( Shakesp eare
THE TE M P E S T ) Tchao j u t ch eou ( THE PEAR
“
B LOSSOM an d the majori ty of the cl as si c JEUNE S
”
PREMIERS
a t rifle vague to be su re
7
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
-
,
,
.
,
Sinners R e d e e m e d by Love MARI ON
DELORME CAMILLE Lady Milford ( Schiller CABAL
AND LOVE ) N o exact ma c l ine eq i valents
U f ortunat e in their L o v e s Isis (Flau
9
bert TEMPTATI O N OF ST ANTHONY) H el oise
which
H i lm
( PRINCESS MALE INE ) APOLLO
i s rem rkable in all hi amours
Proscribed Lo vers RHADAMISTE ( Greb il
10
8
:
.
,
,
,
s u
.
u
n
.
.
:
.
,
a
,
ar
,
s
a
.
:
.
none femini ne
.
or F orl orn Lovers : GRAZIELLA
DIDO B al z a c s A R I A N E Vi ol a ( Shakesp eare
TWE LF I H N I GHT) ; An tiochus ( BERENI CE )
ll
F orsaken
.
,
’
,
,
,
‘
.
Lovers of Married Women not less U nf or
WERTHER ANTONY TRISTAN PELLEAS
t un a t e :
N 0 good feminine equival en ts
12
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
THE ART OF
204
10
Remorse :
.
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
MANFRED
Amfortas
,
( PARSI
Vanquished by Misery or S ocial Injustice
Gervaise
La Bru y ér e s ORON I E
the Morels i n THE MYSTERIES OF PARI S PHIL
ll
.
'
' ‘
,
ATHE N S ( Sh akespear e) Ath os ( THREE MUSKE
TEERS )
Schopenhauer N 0 good feminine ex
amples
OF
,
,
.
.
The Unl ucky : Comic :
CRAINQUEB ILL E
( Anatole France) and the hero of LE PORTEFEUILLE
( Mirbe a u ) Tragi c : JACK ( D audet) RUY BLAS ;
F antine in LES M ISERABLES
13
.
,
.
,
.
St i cken by Madness HERCULES F URENS
ATHAMAS PE NTHEUS AJAX Charles V I ; Ophelia
G etchen ALI CE ( Bul wer Lytton )
14
.
r
:
,
r
Of
,
,
,
,
-
,
.
The E ccentric and Insane :
H off man ; few feminine cases
the characters
.
Chimerical Lovers MODESTE M IGNO N
MAD AME BOVARY Mlle d e la Motte ( Stendh l
LE ROUGE ET LE N O IR) the Troub ad o rs of L A
LES
PRIN CESSE LO INTAINE ( Rosta d ) C omic
ROMAN ESQUES ( Rostan d ) the Cou t in THADDEUS
R
D
E
D
R
G
e
t
he
E
T
I
U
MP
H
SOPLI TZA A d
R
( o
E MPF INDSAMKE IT)
16
:
.
,
a
,
u
,
n
n
,
,
n
r as on
.
.
,
:
,
GE N E RAL CLASS IF I CATI ON
205
Superstitious but n ot
Reli gious : Matthew
There are n o g ood
Niki ti t ch in RESURRECT I ON
litera ry studies
17
.
.
.
Sky THE SAN D B ANKS ) Catherine Th eot the
Gn ostics Comtean Pos itivists F our ri er i s t s E sper
a n t i s t s et c : Sir P o litic W oul d be ( B en J ons on )
,
,
,
,
,
,
-
.
,
.
Sincere Occultist s Julie ( St Foix THE
SYLPH) FRUITS of CULTURE ( Tolst oi) all comic
Chim ica l PhiIOS ph
Socrates (Aris
20
No
THE CLOUDS ) LOUI S L AMBERT
t ph a s
wom n
21
Collec to s and S tatistici n s C OUS IN PONS
SYLVECTRE B ONNARD ( F r ance ) ; n o g ood femini n e
mples
19
:
.
.
,
,
‘
ne
e
.
ers :
O
er
.
O
,
,
,
.
.
r
.
a
:
,
exa
THE INTELLE CTUAL
II I
buck THE ANTIQUARY ( S c ott ) ;
M adam e D i
P d ants
M d am e d Chate
d his f oll o wer WOlfi
l t ; MARC ITE S Z lle
L s ing s Y OUN G SCHOLAR B g i ff nf ld ( PEE R
1
S avant
Old
s :
.
a c er
e
.
:
a
u
'
e
,
an
o
,
’
e s
,
e
e
Clarice ( Gozzi LOVES of
THE
THREE ORAN GES) Square ( TOM J ONES )
See als o un d r N p t ne Emp r or Claude C hil
pa ic et c
2
Sham Savan ts
e r
.
:
,
,
e
,
'
,
.
e
u
.
,
e
,
IN VE NTING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
206
R
S
Pretenti ous Patrons of the Ar ts : L aur ent
( L ave d an THE MED IC I S) ; feminine examples ar e
lack ing
3
.
,
.
i astic Dilettan tes Maecenas Prince
Touan ( STORY OF THE RIVER BANKS) Loui 1 1
of Bavaria In li terat e no f mmm examples ;
in hi st ory E li zabeth Christina
Count s of
4
E nthus
.
:
,
,
ur
.
:
Beam
e
,
,
,
s
e
ou r
es
.
Theorist s of Art :
Paolo Gam bara an d
G ar a ngeot ( H U M AN C O M EDY ) might al s o be
classed with either 3 or 4 N o femi nine examples
5
.
.
.
Ped antic Scribblers : THE B LUE STOCKINGS
( Byron) ; THE SYMB OLI ST ( Kozlowski ) the Scholar
L imousin ( PANTAGRUEL) d Argenson (JACK)
7 Professi on al Pedant s : our CORDONS BLEUS ;
the Cooks of Greco L atin comedy the Utopi an
pedi cure Pu bli c ola M ass on ( H UMAN C OMEDY)
6
-
.
,
’
,
.
.
-
,
,
D a u d et
’
s
D elobe lle
.
Sham In tellectuals LES PREC IEUSES RID I
CULES F E MM E S SA V A N TE S ; Oronte in THE
M I SANTHROPE
9
In tellectual N atures
the yo g Pascal
the Bret on Jean Conan ; Madame Leprince ( LE S
PECUCHET
E MPLOYE S) ; comi c
10
F at l Intellectuality REMBRANDT ( D mur
an d J ) Poe L a Bruyere s ANTI STHENE and
8
:
.
,
.
un
:
.
:
os z
.
u
:
a
.
’
,
,
THEOBALDE , TAsso
,
INVE N TING CHARAC
THE AR T O F
208
8
.
9
.
TE R
S
Th e Witty an d Adaptable : Beaumarchais ;
Flattering D em a g ogue s
KN I GHTS)
Cleon
:
( THE
.
Courtiers
Comm ines ( Delavigne LOUIS
XI ) THEODOTE ( L a Bruyere ) Agaz in the Persi an
romance of AGAZ AND MAHMOUD THE F LATI E RE R
10
.
:
,
,
,
’ ‘
,
B
Rousseau
)
(J
.
.
N ot a feminine example
.
Too Crafty Co unsellors :
I
GO)
G
o
the
C
L
A
V
e
(
.
PHAEDRA ; Carlos
11:
.
,
Madame Bordi n ( BOUVARD
AND PE CU CHE T) ; the eld er F ourchon (Balzac THE
PEASANTS) the H ost in THE MERRY WIVES OF
12
.
The
Cunning
:
,
,
Th e I n s i nu a t i n g : Ann a Mikh a ilov n a
( Tolstoi WAR AND PEACE ) ; the L u pea ulx nephews
( THE H UMAN C OMEDY)
13
.
,
.
14
.
D eceivers an d Cheats
Ph ilip ( DECAME RON
sop an d L a F ontaine
:
VII
the REYNARD of E
the Jackal of the PANCATANTRA
,
,
.
The Artful : Melitt a ( Wil dmann D AUGH
TERS OF LYSANDE R) t he Buddh i st nun i n A GN I
MITRA AN D MALAVIKA ( Kal id asa) ; Chilon ( Quo
B d ely cle on (Arist ophanes THE WASPS)
the v a gab o n d Di ccon in GAMME R GURTON S
15
.
,
,
,
,
’
GE N E RAL CLA SSIF I CATI ON
209
The U ns crup ul ous : MOn t i c els e ( Webster
VI TTORIA C O R O MB O NA ) ; LOU I S XI ( Mercier
D elavigne Paul F ort ) F r e d e r i c k the Grea t
Tam erlane ; in the feminine but one asp ect of
16
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
THE TRA ITO ROUS
II
Inf or mers
2
Spies (more hon orable on the wh ole)
Coren tin Bibi Lupin etc ( H UMAN C OMEDY) ;
Mll e Mi ch on n ea u (fr om B alzac al so )
Spies of War : Sin on etc
3
4
Trai t ors through Cupidity : Py li s of Tr oy
1
"
.
.
,
-
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
.
studies in the m as culi ne
Treach ery of Me an N atures :
Pi err ot i n
5
( the little val et of D as s ou c y ) ; n o g ood fe minine
.
.
Trait ors from J eal ou sy or Sc or ned Lo ve
R os al ie de Wa t t e ville ( B al zac ALB ERT SAVARUS)
E ri p hi le ( Iphi genie ) ; Don S all uste ( RUY B LAS )
La fiem a s
( M A R I O N D E L O R M E) P h a r n a c e s
( M ITHR IDATE )
e n gef ul Treach e ry : Gu a nh u m ar a ( B UR
7 R eV
GRAVES) I t h a m or e ( M a r l o w e THE JE W OF
MALTA) Iago ( OTHE LLo)
“
”
Third R oles in gen eral : F eminine tragic
8
Ma t ren a ( THE P OWE R OF DARKNESS) ; c omic
6
.
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
OF
THE AR T
2 10
INVE N TING CHARACT
S
ER
Smer l dine ( G ozzi THE GREEN B IRD) Tartagliona
( G zzi LOVES OF THE THREE ORANGES) M
line tragic B g
( Beaum archai s THE GUILTY
MOTHER) C t l ( C am o en s THE LUS IADS)
Philipp l Bel Iachimo ( CYMBEL INE ) G anelon
( CHAN SO N DE ROLAND ) N arci sse ( B RITANN ICUS)
I may be exc sed
for not lingering over the nuances of this p g
nant collect i on
a
o
,
,
as cu
.
,
:
,
ear ss
e
,
a ua
,
e - e-
,
,
,
,
,
,
u
re
u
.
( Mari e d e France ) D elilah al rea dy ci t ed ; LE
VAINQUEUR ( Brahm)
10
Ingrates : THE I N GRATE ( D estouc hes ) the
mini ster R a s s a t i Ron chen (Bokh ar i THE CROWN
OF K IN GS ) ; see others under Ceres
11
Betrayer s of Friend s or Brothers : S ali eri
( MOZART AND S ALIERI Pus hkin ) Jud as Franz
Moor ( Schiller TH E R O B B E R S ) Piccolomini
WALLENSTE IN ) Polymnestor ( HECUBA) ; no good
feminine examples
12
Th e E n vi o u s
T c h e l a d i n ( Wen zy k
GLINSKI ) Mor t en s gaa rd ( Ibsen R OSME RSHOLM) ;
L E N V I E U X ( D es t ouches )
comic :
NO good
,
.
.
,
-
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
"
,
.
,
,
’
.
III
1
.
E vil
Popi n ot
Spe
( THE
THE KNAVI SH
kers an d B ackbi ters : Madame
H UMAN COMEDY) D e Ch a n d our
a
,
,
INVE N TING CHARAC
THE ART OF
'
212
TE R
S
studied
2
Ped ants ( the parvenus of the intellectual
”
life) : our s ham sci enti st s our philosophers of
the 1 8t h centur y
whi ch produced neither a
D escartes nor a Malebranche
.
.
,
,
.
The Impious : FAUST ( Lenau) L UC IFERO
( Butti ) Ca m p an eu s (A eschylus SEVE N AGAIN ST
THEB E s ) Pentheus ( E urip id es BACCHAE )
No
”
3
.
,
,
.
,
,
OF WAKEF IE LD) Mad ame Muller ( Shiller
AND LOVE )
,
CAB AL
,
.
E RGASTI
N ai ve Insolence :
THE CHURL ( Plautus )
5
.
( L a Bruyere)
,
.
Irus ( ODYSSEY)
7 The H aughty and H arsh : H er odi a d e Vashti
(E STHER) Mad ame de Montespan ( N ot a D UCHESS
DE LA VALLI ERE ) H onori a ( Mass i nger THE POR
TRA IT) E dwar d III ( Belloy THE BURGHE RS OF
Diocletian ( Massinger T H E VI RGIN
CALAI s )
MARTYR) Vi n a t e ( SERTORI Us )
The Proud : N i obe Dryden s I n d am ora
8
Almeria an d L y n d a r a x a (AURE NG ZEB THE
E MPEROR OF I ND IA THE C O N QUE ST OF GRANADA)
Diana de B elflor ( Lope THE GARDENER S DOG)
the E mpress mother in Werner s ATTILA Paul o
6
.
Ins olent Beggars :
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
,
.
’
.
,
,
-
,
,
,
’
,
,
-
’
,
GE NER AL CLA SS IF I CATION
2 18
( Tirs o D AMNED FOR LACK OF FAITH ) B ertr and
de R ous i llon ( B occa ci o D ECAMERON I I 8) S hakes
peare ALL S WELL THAT ENDS WELL) GLINSKI
,
,
,
,
’
,
,
The Vain : S meraldine ( Gozzi THE STAG
u eri n o ( D ECAMERON I V
K IN G) Lise tte de C a q
9
.
,
’
,
,
Exaggerated Pretensions CESAR BIROT
F ungoso ( B en J onson EVERY MAN HIS
TEAU
H UMOUR ) THE F ROG WHO W OULD I MITATE THE
10
:
.
,
,
,
11
.
Vain I mitat ors
JAY
PEA COCK S
IN
Self imp rtant
M istress Weste rn
R
JOSE
P
H
P
UDHO MME ( M onnier)
o
N
Es
)
J
Th é
M
T
O
(
THE
:
'
o
-
:
,
,
( S tendh a l LE ROU GE ET LE N O IR) M ONS IEUR
CARD INAL ( Halevy ) D e Faver ges ( B OUVARD AND
,
,
,
—THE
D I GN IF I ED
Haughty by N ature : Duchess de Verneuil
1
RI
B
a
l
z
a
c
M
OD
E
S
T
E
M
I
G
N
O
N
C
O
OLANUS
;
(
)
( Plutarch Sh akesp eare)
2
The H aughty and Am biti ous
JUL I US
CAE SAR ( S h a k e s p e a r e ) ; S URENA ( Corneille)
Ho
i e ( Corneill e ATTI LA) Zen obi a
Sorrowful Pride Cal antha ( Fo d THE
3
II
.
HAUGHTY
AND
.
,
.
,
:
.
,
n or
.
,
,
:
.
r
,
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
214
T
B ROKEN H EART) Cleora ( Massinger
Marie Antoinette before the tribun al
,
TE R
S
SLAVE )
THE
,
.
Lofty Di gni ty :
Cornelia mother of
Gracchi ; LE PH ILOSOPHE SANS LE SAVO IR
4
.
,
,
the
.
Sham Distincti on R l ( N au F ORCE
See the Pretentious under Venus
E NNE MI )
Vi g
i
O ld B eaux of Fine Manners
6
( Regni er LE S VACANCES D UN JEUNE HOMME
5
a ou a
:
.
,
.
.
n er a e
:
.
’
,
See others
7
.
III
-
of the Proud un d er Mars
.
THE MAJ ESTI C AND PROTECTIN G
Royal Protectors :
Ahasuerus ( E STHER)
Saladin ( DECAMERO N I
Theseus of the Greek
Tragi cs and hi s s on D emi phon ( E ur ipides HERA
CLIDE s ) Pela s gos (A eschylus THE S UPPLIANTS )
Arthur ( LAI DE LANVAL )
N o great femin ine
1
.
,
,
,
,
e x am
m
es
,
,
.
.
Majesty : WALLENSTE IN ( S chill er)
D on Pedro ( Calderon THREE PUN I SHMENTS IN
ONE )
Scorned and Buf feted Maj esty : N oble
3
2
Severe
.
,
,
.
:
.
Maj est ic by N atur e : the supreme Go ds of
all the religi ons an d their marit ime c ounterpart s
N eptune ( ZENE ID) ZEolus ( ODYSSEY) N oah or
the king pa tri a rch of the Chaldeans Ass y rian s
4
.
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
INVE N ING CHARAC
TH E AR T O F
2 16
T
TE R
S
Prot ect ion by the Weak : the aged Kin lao
( STORY OF THE RIVE R BANKS ) N o gr eat feminine
examples
12
-
.
.
.
See others
13
.
un d er the
Chevaler
e
sques of
CE RE S
( THE ACC OMPL ISHED SOUBRETTE ) ; H annon Peri
n es
e
L
ys
i
machus
an
d
H
e
n
Plau
t
u
i
l
ec
t
o
m
o
s
g
(
p
THE CARTHAG INIAN THE B RA GGART S OLD IER
ABB E CON
THE MERCHANT THE
STANTIN ( Halevy)
The Charitable : S ain t s by the hundred
2
B hima ( MAH ABHARATA) S quire Allworthy ( TOM
JONES ) Omar Ab d cl Aziz ( B okh a ri THE CROWN
OF KIN GS ) Tchang t ouan ( THE JADE
Ma dame d e la Ch an t ri e ( B alz ac THE OTHER
SIDE OF CONTEMPORARY H ISTORY)
The Generous : Ceres ; Ar i s t eu s ( GEORG ICS )
3
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
-
-
:
,
,
-
,
,
.
.
.
T h e L i b eral : P L U T US ( Aristoph a nes )
La kchm i ( B HAGAVAD G ITA)
The Sumptuous : H aroun al Raschi d ( THOU
5
SAND AN D ONE N I GHTs ) H at im tsai ( KITAB
ADAB ES SEL ATHIN ) JEAN DE PARI S
4.
-
.
-
-
.
'
-
,
'
,
.
GE N E RAL CLA SSI FI CATIO N
COSTUME S
VIE)
,
Bruss a c
( Gap us LA
,
2 17
B OURSE
OU LA
.
The Pr odi gal : M ad am e Ra n ev s ky ( Chek
h ov THE CHERRY ORCHARD ) ZESOp s GRASS
HOPPER L a B ruy ere s E G INE ; Cleante ( M oli ere
THE M I SER) P hidi pp ides (Arist op hanes THE
7
.
'
,
,
’
,
,
,
,
The heroines of Dancourt ; LE
J OUEUR ( Regnard) S acco ( F i e s c o ) Tr a gi c z
several in T H E L AN D O F C OCKA I GNE ( Se rao )
Di ar d ( THE H UMAN C O MEDY) Y u dh i s t i ra ( MAHAR
8
.
Gam esters
:
.
,
,
,
The G ay : THE MERRY WIVE S OF WINDSOR
B aubo Mistress Waters ( TO M J ONE S) Roger
l
.
,
,
,
ptimists
OPTIMI ST ( Collin
2
.
O
( L a B ruyere) THE
N o n otable fem
Har leville )
B ASILIDE
:
d
,
’
.
Quiet Epic eans H elvetius ; n o women
4
Bohemi ans
Jer ome C i gn d ( Anat ole
France AT THE S I GN OF THE RE INE PEDAUQUE )
EVALIER DE GRAMMONT ( H ami lt on ) the
THE CH
her oes of M g
J ean Frollo ( N OTRE DAME DE
PARI S) H fei kinh ( THE GAGE OF L O VE ) Giboyer
( LES E FFRONTES) N o feminine examples
3
ur
.
:
.
o
.
ar
,
,
,
ur
,
a-
er ,
-
-
,
.
.
.
THE ART OF
2 18
INVE N TING CHARACTER S
in K ING LEAR Karpin
dal a ( Raj a cekh ar a KARPAMANJ ARI ) Wamba ( Scott
I VANHOE ) S anch o Panza KAR ADSCHOUSCHE the
Turki sh hump back the Gr aci os os Tabarin ; no
good f em inine examples
5
B u fioon s :
'
.
the
F OO1
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
.
Kindl y Old People : D i cep oli s (Ari st ophanes
THE B I RDs ) Ca lli ph on ( Plautus PsEUDOLus )
Ch r e m es an d Mi ci on ( Terence HAUTONTI MO
RUME N OS THE ADE LPHI )
Lo v ewi t ( Ben Jonson
THE ALCHE MIST) ; few feminine examples
6
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
Jovial Drunkards : Pley d ell ( Scott G UY
MANNER ING) Bardolph an d Sir Toby in Shakes
peare Gn a f r on of the puppet theatre Sil enus
( E uripides CY C LO P S ) ; the Bacchantes An ai s
( Bert on an d Simon ZAZA) Aunt C aroline ( Man
d els t a m m S USANNAH)
7
.
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
8
Es
.
timable Drunkards DO N PIER CARUSO
:
( Bracco)
9
D egraded by Drunkenness : Victori ne the
ragp icker ( B alzac COMI E DE SALLENE UVE ) and
Vict ori a the queen ; E il ert Lo v bor g Molvik an d
U lric Bren del ( Ibsen HEDDA GABLER THE WILD
D UCK an d R OSME RSHOLM) the Baron in THE
LOWER DEPTHS ( Gorki) THEAGE NE and TH EODAS
M
L
n
l
l
A
S
SO
L
a
Co
u
p
e
u
Zo
a
B
ru
é
r
S
a
t
e
u
a
e
)
(
(
y
MO IR)
.
.
' ‘
,
,
,
,
,
,
'
,
.
,
,
THE ART OF
220
INVE N TING CHARACTE R
S
Herem
th e husband in Mi rbea u s V IEUX
M ENAGE Berg ( Tolstoi WAR AND PEACE ) GNAz
THON
the opulent GITON and the intesta te
G ERONTE ( La Bruyere)
’
,
,
,
,
,
.
The Pusillanimous :
Pru s i as ( Cor nei lle
N I COMEDE ) Drances (E NE ID) s ai d t o be a p or
trai t of Cicero Comic : Ch r ys al e (FEMMES
SAVANTEs ) ; L ep i c (J Ren ard PO IL DE CAROTTE )
N o f eminine examples
4
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
Greek H ermes Dionys os (Aristophanes
THE FROGS ) John D aw ( B en Jonson E PI COENE )
7 Moral Cowardi ce Monsieur Lup
( Lem on
nie
MADAME LUPAR) N good feminine ex
amples
The Rusti c
d S imple
the comic Nurses
8
( ROME O THE L ITT LE FREN CH LAWYER) mas
of the
,
,
,
,
ar
:
.
r,
.
.
O
.
an
.
,
,
s eu s es ,
9
etc
:
.
The V ul g ar s o u l e d :
M ad am e L echat
ARTISTS
M asculin e examples are gayer
( M o n j o y e u x ) corr esp onding
-
.
'
WIVES ( D aud et )
B aron le Cogne
.
GE NE RAL CLASS IF I CATIO N
ra ther t o
Ursule
22 1
( CE SAR
or t o
( H UMAN C OMEDY) the S lave in THE CHA IN
( Men ander) Dulcine a del Tob os o ( D ON Q U IX OTE )
,
,
,
c
rary studies
as
yet
.
Good Sense Sarcey Boileau etc
13
Vulgar Common Sense Don P a ol o
( B r acco THE TRIUMPH ) B OUVARD ( Flaubert )
12
:
.
,
,
.
:
.
.
,
,
VULCA N
I
THE
E ARNEST
AND
SERI OUS
( D ON CARLOS) and other duenn as ( R UY BLAS
HERNAN I
the prefect Julien B rignac ( B rieux
MATERN ITY ) J a v e r t ( L E S M I SE RABLEs ) F ix
(AROUND THE WORLD I N EI GHTY D AYS) our
”
“
Bri d oi e ( PANTA
scientifi c minds
c a teg or ical
,
,
,
,
,
,
The Clu m sy and Awk ward : Va ni ér e ( THE
MAG I C SKIN ) ; Cl otilde de Gr an d li eu ( SPLENDO RS
2
.
INVE N ING CHARACTE RS
TH E AR T OF
222
T
men
SAI S
on bicy cles ; the Am erican woman in JE NE
QUO I ( Croi sset and Waleff e) an d our pro
vi n c i a ls ap ing Pari sians
,
,
.
The Res igned and St oical : Zeno E pi ctetus
Ari t ch a n d r a
Job
H ect or (B iad e) Cu ti a ce
( H ORACE ) Oliver ( CHANSO N DE RO LAND ) Jean
( Zo la THE D OWNFALL ) E ust ache d e St Pi erre
( Belloy BURGHE RS OF CM S) the ascetics ; St
F elicite the mother of the Maccabees E pi ch ari s
Leena Veturia N 0 good literary examples in
the feminine
4
The Just an d Upright : Vera ( RE SURREC
TI O N )
few other feminine examples ; B ayard in
GASTON AND BAYARD ( Belloy) the ugly D on
Juan (Al arcon WALLS HAVE E ARS) G odfrey d e
B ouillon (JERUSALEM DELIVERED) L a kch m a n a
3
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
,
‘
,
,
,
The H onest an d S traightforward : Cornelia
mother of V I TT O R I A COROMBONA ( Webster) ;
Abner (ATHALIE ) the peasant SIE JIN KOUE I a
score of fine figu res in THE H UMAN C OMEDY not
long since taxed with immoral ity Muller ( Schiller
CABAL AND LOVE) Thomas Mowbray (Shakes
peare R ICHARD I I ) B E N O I T (AND BEN O ITE
H araucourt ) Comic : the Spartans of the Greek
s tage our Alsati ans
The I nfl exi ble : the honest a n d fierce Li se
6
the
u a rt of the VE N TRE DE PARI S ( Zola)
M a cq
5
.
,
-
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
INVE NTING CHARACT
ER
TH E AR T OF
224
S
Vict ims of Per fid y : Al essandr o F aro ( Praga
ALLE LUIA ) Risler i n FROMO NT JUN I OR AND RI SLER
SEN I OR ( D audet) Count de R es t a u d ( B al zac
GOBSE CK O LD G ORI OT) B I SCL AVARET ( Marie de
3
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
The Unloved : Iarbas ( Marlowe DIDO)
D e Granville (H UMAN COME DY) M I SS HARRIETT
( Maupassant)
Ridi culous Young Wooers : the Brid egroom
5
in PEE R GYNT D e Leon ( Mad ame d u D efia n d )
Ri di cul ous Old W ooers :
D on Guri t an
6
( RUY BLAS) D es S oupirs an d Ch eu rp i ed ( D an
court C OQUE TTES S UMMER) F erdinan d ( Bour
saul t THE L IVIN G C ORPSE )
7 The D e c e i v e d : C h aum e t t e ( Marcelle
Ti na yr e THE STORM B IRD ) Theseus ( PHAED RA)
Marie L ec zi n s ka
D eceived and Unl ucky ; the Freethi nker
8
in THE Two C ON SC IE N CE S ( A n th el m e ) the
Governor ( Benavente LA GO BERNADORA)
D eceived but Repellant : Marie Th erese
9
Rollan
d
L
A
MON
ES
P
AN
T
)
(
10
D eceived PhiIO SOp h ers : Thoas Laertes
4
,
,
.
”
,
.
.
,
.
,
’
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
-
.
,
.
.
,
.
Cuckolds D and in Charles Bovary Mene
laus ( Shak speare TRO IL US AND CRESS IDA) Am phi
tryon ( Plautus M li é
Dryde ) Marcus Aure
lius N good feminine t ypes
11
:
.
e
0
,
,
,
,
.
,
o
n
r e,
.
,
GE N E RAL CLA SS I FI CATIO N
225
The F louted and D erided : Str eps i a d es
( Aristophanes THE CL OUDS) the People (Aristo
ph anes THE K N I G H T S ) Bruin in REYN ARD
”
i nit i at es int o secret s ocieties
12
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
Hyp och on driacs : THE I MA G INARY INVALID
R
Moli
re
THE
H
Y
P
O
C
HOND
IAC (J B Rou sseau)
e
)
(
Mor ose ( Ben Jonson E PI COE NE ) I RENE ( L a
B r uyere )
13
.
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
The Ingenuous more touching will be
cl as se d with the Weak under D iana with the
exc ep tion of
14
,
,
.
,
—
I II
THE UNSELF I SH
DEVOTED
lfi h
l
The Ingenuously U
Mari on K olb
( LOST ILLUSI ONS) an d other old servants C omic
Mysis and S ophr onia ( Tere ce ) C
ti
St ph y l
and S yra ( Plautus ) S meral di ne ( G ozzi THE
GREEN BI RD ) Pantal on ( Gozzi THE RAVE N
THE S ERPENT WOMAN ) P m
im
St
T
h li
St t il
Ty d
M
Gru
i
mon S imon and Ch i
( Plautus ) G eta ( Terence
ADELPH I ) Gil t i n ( B oile u LUTR IN ) G ervais
AND
nse
.
s
:
;
.
n
r oc o
,
a,
,
,
,
on ,
ra
a ru s ,
n
ex ,
,
a
o
,
ras
e,
es s en on ,
a r on
,
,
e n on ,
ar
,
a
a
,
_
ra c
a
,
,
,
( Mickiewicz THADDEUS SOPLITZA)
2
s
and
urse
Fo
ster
fathers
M
a
sculine
:
N
c om ic : Pantal on ; t r a gi c z Ch ri s t em o J on a t h as
and Perez d e L a gou n i a ( B alzac THE GIRL WI TH
GO LDEN E YES THE MAGI C SKIN THE MARAN As )
C ha o Koung (84 1 A C ) wh ose hi story i s repeated
.
,
.
-
,
,
‘
,
,
,
,
-
.
.
_
,
THE ART O F
226
INVE NTING CHARACTE RS
in that of Matsuo in THE V ILLAGE SCHOO L (by
the Japanese Tokido I zu m a ) F eminine : Bran
gacn o ( TRI STAN AND ISEULT) E uryclea ( ODYSSEY)
E uri c lea (Alfier i MYRRHA ) Gili ss a (A eschylus
CHOE PHOREs ) Lyc oris of Tarsus ( APO LLO NI US
OF TYRE ) An d above all these St Joseph
veritable emblem of the paternity which is not
physi cal but an act of faith an d love
3 U n s elfis h D evoti on : the Moujiks of Tols t oi
Gu rn em a n z an d Kurwen a l ( Wagner PARSIFAL
TRISTAN ) ; Paul ine ( Shakespeare WINTER S TALE )
Cor i ola ( Webster D UCHESS OF AMAL F I ) an d in
the comic Lisett e ( MARIVAUX THE GAME OF
LOVE AND CHAN CE) Suzanne ( Beaumarchais
THE G U ILTY MOTHER)
D evotion to the Point of Sacrifice : the
4
servant Keou tching y u ( THE M YSTE RI OUS BOX)
Manon G odard ( THE OTHE R SIDE OF C ONTEM
Paolo (Anne Radcliff e THE
PORARY H I STO RY)
ITALIAN )
D evotion for Love of G od : GE NEVI EVE
5
( Lama rtine) many serv ant s misun ders t ood by
the masters who exploit an d laugh at t hem the
Sisters of Charity missionaries etc
Ar tful D evotion : Francoise Cochet Mes
6
dam es Olivier and Gobain in THE HUMAN COMEDY ;
the servan t of Kouo hoa in THE PLE DGED SLIPPE R
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
-
-
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
-
7
.
Important
Guardi ans or Servitors
.
:
H eimdal l
INVE N ING CHARACT
THE AR T OF
228
ER
T
Bravos and Assassins : the
Athens Cossacks Baxter (VI CAR OF
etc
2
.
,
,
S
Scythians in
WAKEF IELD)
,
.
Poisoners :
3
.
the mos t notable case s are
L afarge an d Sy v et on ( in the Op ini ons perhaps
erroneous of their contemporaries ) L a B ri n villi er s
Myr i lle ( Prodrome RH ODAN THE AND D OSI CLES)
,
,
,
,
.
,
D anaid
s Yanetta ( Brieux
the athlete Cleom et es
e
,
THE RED ROBE)
,
,
.
ides Seneca
Fratricides
(E urip
,
,
Cr ébill on ,
an d
'
etc )
.
Cain ( GENESI S
in a d ozen famous
THE CLO ISTER)
ParI i ci d es :
Byron Ge ssner ) E te ocles
tragedies Balthasar (Ver h a er en
Albert ( Pushki n THE M I SER BARON)
feminine ex amples
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
N o gr eat
.
Unconscious
Murd erers : E tienne Lanti er
( Zola LA B ETE HUMA INE ) ; the mythol ogi c Scylla
7
.
,
.
N
L
b
ea
u
JOU
R
A
D
UNE
E
M
E
DE
C
HA
M
B
E
M
i
r
M
R
(
)
F
B er nad ill e ( Mon t fieur y L A F E MM E JUGE ET
PARTIE ) N 0 women
9
Mur d erers t hrough D esire of Weal th and
Ad vancement : the young Tas clrer on ( Balzac A
COUNTRY PARSON) ; no feminine exampl es
’
,
,
,
.
.
.
,
.
GE NE RAL CLA SS IFI CATIO N
229
M u rder ous but Ridi culous Brigands
Ch opp art call ed the Amiable ( THE C OURIER OF
10
.
,
R
Sinister B rigands D b
C
OU
I
E
OF
R
(
LYONS) Pilla B orsa ( Marlowe THE JEW OF
MALTA) Taillefer ( H UMAN C OME DY) Ki rata
R
S
T
O
Y OF THE TEN CH ILDREN by the H indu
(
D ndi n ) Cartouche M drin ; n o feminine ex
amples
12
F urious B andi ts Th ose who subdued
H cu les Antiphates the c an n i b a l ( ODYSSEY)
Bh ak s ( MAHAB HARATA) Polyp hemu s
13
C o l d b l o o d e d M ur d e r er s M Thiers
auth or of the greatest m s sacre i n the hist ory o f
civil w a s S ylla Marius etc
THE V I OLENT AND RE BELLI OUS
Fl
11
:
.
u
,
os c
,
,
,
,
a
,
,
an
.
:
.
er
,
,
a
.
,
:
-
.
,
.
a
r
,
,
.
,
( Sc hill er) Pis ander cal led M a m llo TH E SLAVE
( M as singer) E nr ico ( Tirso de M olina D A MNED
FOR LACK OF F AITH )
the savage and edi fying
E use bi o ( Calder on D EV OTI ON To THE CRoss )
F RA DIAVOLO Fe rr ante P alla ( S tendhal CHART
REUSE DE PAM
) N o good feminine examples
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
The B rutal an d Primitive : N imr od ( GENE
SI S) M atho ( SALAMMB O) Za m olxi s ( M a z e l ARCH
2
.
,
,
,
.
INVE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
230
T
TE R
S
The Quarrelsome : D on F ernan d the bully
“
”
the onl y vi olent character in La Bruyere
B i anchi ( Balzac THE
4
Mousquetaires
THE TH RE E M US K
ETE E RS an d sim ilar heroes of cloak an d s w or d
3
.
,
,
,
.
.
Braggarts : L a m a ch u s (Ari st ophanes THE
AcHARN IANs ) the M ILES GLORI OSUS of Plautus
Th r as on ( Terence THE E UNUCH )
Olibri us of
the MYSTERIES the Rod omont Of Boi ard o and
Ar i os t o
N o femi nine examples
5
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
Cruel Warri ors H an y en t ch e o ( T H E
PAGODA OF H EAVEN ) D h
( MAHAB HA
RATA ) Alarcon in JERUSAL EM D ELIVERE D D av out
( Tolstoi WAR AND PEACE ) THE AMAZO N S ( Mazel )
7 S avage H unters N imrod again ST JULIAN
THE H OSPITALLER ( F laubert ) the father in THE
F OSS ILS ( Curel ) E SAU (Jehan B h t ) Hippolyt e
The Abusive
d ( St en dhal
LE
8
V ll
ROUGE E T LE N O IR) our pol emists who fancy
themselves Juven l s ; the E ld er Sister of the
fairy t l e from whose mouth came t oads
The Uncivil THE PE ASANT (E pi h m )
9
L OPIN I ONATRE ( B
l
Bo
i
eau
s
B
USQU
E
R
;
)
y
IMPERTINE NTE in the SATIRE ON WOMEN
10
The Shrewish or S urly Mari anne ( G i mm
THE C OLLIER OF CROYDO N ) Katherine ( TAMIN G
OF THE SHRE w) ; Ajax ( Shakespeare
TRO ILUS
6
-
:
.
cas a n a
u
,
-
,
,
,
,
.
:
.
,
.
,
e
,
a
:
.
our
,
.
en o
,
,
a
a
.
,
c
:
.
'
rue
us
,
“
’
s
ar
”
.
:
.
r
,
,
,
INVE N ING CHARACTE
THE ART OF
232
T
R
S
the Amazons of D ahomey ; N I COME DE G stav
Conrad ( Mickiewicz FEAST OF THE DEAD )
I ntrep id Wa ri ors
3
( E uripides ; I LIAD ) Ri chard C oeur de li on H ot
spur ( Shakespeare H E NRY I V) THE CID CHARLES
XII SIE J IN KOUE I (by the co t esan Tchang
koue pin ) an d all the M rs of ll the cults
4
Calm and N obl e Courage Porus ( Racine
ALE XANDRE LE GRAND) X i ph
( M ITHRID ATE )
Moral Rebels The Prophet s St John the
5
Baptist ; HE DDA G AB LE R ( Ibsen ) RE N EE MAU
PERIN (Goncourt )
E n thusi as t s
6
N i colas R t f ( Tol st oi WAR
AND PE ACE )
R
F
T
H
E
Zola
F
O
U
N
E
Sil é
T
O
(
u
,
.
,
r
.
-
-
,
,
,
,
,
ur
-
-
,
a
-
,
a
.
:
.
-
,
a r es
-
,
.
:
.
,
.
,
.
v re
,
R oU GONs )
7
.
n
e
e
ff
g
os o
:
.
,
,
.
Ridi culous
SMOKE )
,
E nthus
i asts
( Tour
B a m ba ef
:
.
Generous and H onest N pt l m
( S ophocles PHILOCTETE S) N emo s ( D el avi gne
L OUI S XI ) B RITANN I CU S S ele c s ( C orneille
H emon ( S op h oc l e s ANTIGO NE )
R ODOGUNE )
Ant oninus ( Massinger an d D ekker THE VI RGIN
MARTYR )
Comi c Audacity C é il ( Labiche DE UX
9
T IMIDE S) N o masculine examples
8
.
Th e
eo
:
,
ur
,
,
o e
u
,
,
,
u
,
,
,
,
.
:
.
.
c
es
e
,
.
GE N E RAL CLA SS I FI CATIO N
233
D I ANA
I
TENDER
THE
AND
SENTIME NTAL
an d D ona Menci a ( C al d er on )
D on a Sol
R
H
E
NAN
I
S
chiller
s
M
A
Y STUART and the
R
)
(
Queen in his D ON CARLOS Madame d e Ren al
( S tendh al LE ROUGE E T LE N O IR) N o g ood
mascul ine examples
,
’
,
'
,
,
.
.
the Bel o ved
Abigail ( Marlowe THE JE W OF MALTA) Sieglinde
( W agner WALKUR E ) JULIET TH I SB E ; Fan in
THE SACRIF I CE OF F AN ( K ong ta y ong) Caly s t e
d u Gu eni e ( B alzac )
3
The Ten d er : Jacqueline ( M arivaux SUR
PRISES OF LOVE ) Le oni e ( Regnard THE SERENADE)
Gly c er e (Alci ph r on E ROTI C LETTERs ) C harlotte
de Ker ga r ou et ( B al zac B EATRIX ) Li c ou mei
( Kiao meng fou THE GAGE OF L OVE ) Ingri d
( Ibsen PEER GYNT)
4
Am orous A d olescents and Ch ildr en : PETIT
C OEUR ( Jean Vi olli s ) G eorges ( NAN A) J ustin
( MADAME B OVARY ) ; Jeannine ( B ataille THE
E NCHANTME N T)
Passi onate F riendships of C hildh ood and
5
Ad oIes c en c e : n ot well studied as yet
2
.
E asily
Dispo sed t o F ollow
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
-
,
.
.
,
,
,
,
,
-
,
,
-
-
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
L over friends Pauline ( THE
n o g ood m s culine equivalents
6
-
.
a
:
.
MA G IC SKIN ) ;
THE AR T OF
7
I NVE N ING CHARACTE RS
T
Jean Paul Richter ; Ma d a i n e
Pure Lovers
.
'
-
Tender Vi si onaries :
E l sa ( L OHE N GRIN )
St Francis of As si s i Frederic in Picard s JERICHO
8
.
’
.
,
9
The
.
Silently
Ten d er :
.
Aud e ( CHANSON DE
Tender Self sa cri fic e : B ERENICE ( Racine ;
Corneille) D UCHESS DE LA VAL LI ERE (Bulwer
Lytton Dum as N ot a
At t a le ( N I COM EDE )
10
-
.
,
,
,
.
,
Humble Lovers GERTRUDE (B hi t )
Cecile ( Pharamond MON SIEUR BONNET) ; n o cor
respo di ng m ascul ine example
12
The Seduce d and Betrayed
F antine in
LES M ISERAB LES Annette (B i eux MATERN ITY)
Gret chen (FAUST) Marie Beaumarchais ( G oethe
C omic Moliere s
CLAVI GO) E lvira ( D O N JUAN )
Charlotte and M t h i
—
II
THE WEAK
l
Ten derness to Te ible Rivals Io (A h y
lus PROMETHE US BOUND) At li d ( BAJ AZET)
PR IN CE SS MALE INE ( M a e t erl i n ck ) Romild e
(Al fi i R OSAMONDE ) Madame E l t d ( HE DDA
GABLER) N o en t i r e l y symmetri cal masculine
11
ou c
:
.
no
,
,
n
s
.
:
.
r
,
,
,
,
,
:
.
,
ur n e
a
.
rr
.
esc
:
,
,
'
a
e
,
,
er
,
vs e
,
.
examples
.
Beloved
B
R
I
A
N
N
I
C
US
T
)
(
2
Formid able Men Juni a
l
E
T
MAHO
M
E
s
m
er
d
a
lmi
)
(
by
.
,
Pa
:
re
,
a
INVE N ING CHARACTE
THE AR T OF
236
T
Vict ims of Social
BAPTI STE ( Maupassant )
9
Corruption
.
R
S
MADAME
:
.
Moral Weakness : Li sa B olkous ky ( Tolstoi
WAR AND PEACE ) Mad ame Gran det ( B al zac ) ;
Wencesl as Steinbock ( C O U S I N B E TTE ) Carlo
E
R
Praga
UN
D
IN
E
DW
A
D
II
Marlowe
R
C
HA
R
D
I
(
)
)
(
I I ( Shakespe ar e) Jonathan (A Gid e SAUL)
11
Weak Parents : the Miller ( Pushkin
R OU SSAL KA) Juan Roxo ( L Ope d e Vega F O N
TOVE J UNE )
12
The Shy : Orlan d o ( Shakespeare AS Y OU
L IKE I T) LES DEUX T IMIDES ( Labiche)
13
The H esitant : L I RR ESOLU ( D est ouches )
L I RR ESOL U ( Berr) L I ND ECI S ( F on t a i n as )
14
Boob i es : MO N SIEUR MUSARD ( Pi card)
15
The C apriciou s : E mma Regoli ( Torell i
THE H USBANDS) An geli q
u e i n RO LAND FUR IEUX ;
THE I NCONSTAN I ( C oll in d H arlevill e) PROTEUS
an d THE S P O ILE D CH ILD ( D estouches )
16
The Nu ll an d Ban al : Many sketch es in
THE H UMAN C OME DY
17
Weak in Mind but nevertheless superior
ALI CE ( Bul wer Lyt t on) ; THE I D I OT ( D os t oi evsky )
18
Madness : Ophel i a ( HAMLET) and Gret chen
e
t
T
:
r
i
b
ou
ll
F
AUS
t
he
heroes
o
f
Poe
com
i
c
T
;
(
)
( PANTAGRUEL ) An d r ogyn o ( B en Jonson VO L
PONE)
10
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
’
,
.
'
'
,
.
.
.
,
.
,
’
’
‘
,
.
.
.
,
-
.
.
,
,
.
,
GE N E RAL CLA SS I FI CATION
2 37
Artless Sim ple t on s z D am e Pli ant ( B en
Jonson THE ALCHE MI ST) the innum erable J ooris
ses and Janots the Pierrots the S hak esp earean
Clowns Wagner in Goethe s FAUST the scep tic
Tr ou illoga n s o well sc out ed by our g ood F ather
Rabelais Voltaire s CAND IDE H an in THE TRANS
MI GRATI ON OF Y O CHE O the two Poirets in B alzac
etc W e might here di stingui sh between ( a) the
ordinary Artless S impleton (b ) the Amor ous
Si rnplet on ( c ) the same marri ed before arriving
"
“
among the D eceived ( d ) the Poltroon ( e) the
Lofty Simpleton (bordering up on Jupiter) (f) the
Dup ed Si mpleton who belongs rather to Vulcan
19
.
.
,
,
,
,
’
,
,
’
,
,
-
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
H eedl ess
and
Absent mi nded
M ENALQ UE ( L a Bruy ere) LE DI STRAIT ( Regnard )
the Monk with the P o t of Me al ( PAN CATANTRA)
N o feminin e examples
20
The
.
-
,
,
.
.
The Ingenuously S ensible : th e Old Co unt
R os t of in WAR AND PEA CE LE JON GLEUR DE
N OTRE DAME C omic : the old Pantal on ( G ozzi
21
"
.
,
-
.
,
The Hum ble and P athetic : the Child in
M OTHE R AND CH ILD ( C L Philip pe ) ; CINDERELLA
22
.
I II
.
.
.
THE P URE
Ingenues : Aminta ( Tirso THE SEDUCE R
OF S E VILLE ) Aut e ( L op e DI SC OVE RY OF THE N E W
WORLD) L éli e ( La Font aine THE E NCHANTED C UP
1
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
TH E AR T OF
238
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
Puri ty D esp ite Impure E nvironmen t
YVETTE ( Maupassan t ) seminari st s i n barracks
a pot enti al poet in a boa rding sch ool etc
3
Puri ty of S oul D espite Physi cal Impurity
S onia ( D os t oi evs ky CRIME AND PUNISHMENT)
4
Purity Sweet ened by Ten derness : Virgini a
in PAUL AND VI RG IN IA Cy m od oc ée in THE
MARTYRS Miran d a i n THE TEMPE ST L a Bruy ere s
2
.
,
,
-
,
.
.
,
.
.
,
’
,
ARTE MIRE
,
.
The Pure : IO N (E uripides) Joas (ATHALIE )
’
Blanche ( Huysmans L OBLAT) D om Marc (Ver
haeren THE CLO I STE R)
The S imple : L I NGENU ( Voltaire) Frid ay
6
( ROB IN SON CRUSOE )
7 The Upright : G ennaro an d Didi er ( Hugo
LUCR ECE BORGIA MARI O N D ELORME ) R u d en z
( WILLIAM TE LL ) T EL EMAQUE ( F enelon ) ; Blanche
of Castil e P IERRETTE ( Balzac) Isabella ( MEASURE
FOR MEASURE)
The
Chast e : H IPPOLYTE (E uripides)
8
Joseph ( PARS IFAL ) St Alexis D aphne Tarsia
(APOLLO NI US OF TYRE ) ; Sts C atherine an d Claire
an d above all of course the Virgi n M other of
Christ
5
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
’
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
.
UN P UB LI SHED CHARACTE RS
AND THE I R
VAR IETIES
the c ourse of the preceding class ification
III
In
THE 36 9
I
THE AR T OF
240
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
types and thi s by confining our m l tipli cati on
to the 369 cas s entirely unused Let us not
forget that not only among the 5 7 cases li ghtly
touched up n but lik ewi se among t h é cases
already analy ed in lit erature some of the 4 or
5 ages ( espec iall y Inf ancy Ad olesce ce an d Old
Age ) an d of the soci al ranks (not bly the l ow st )
have been for the most part neglect ed So after
a study of t hese new lacun e w e can carry our
figure of
t o 20 30 or
Let us keep for the present to
In
u
,
e
o
.
,
z
,
n
,
a
e
.
a
,
,
,
our
subdi viding int o 3 each of the 1 2 Di vine Types
considerin g them in rel ati on t o the two sexes an d
in both a tragi c an d a comi c li ght E ach of these
sub types in itself ten ds lik ewise in curi ous
,
,
.
-
-
,
the
Pious off ered us 1 1 categori es the F aithf ul
14
the Jealous 1 2 etc An d I have rather
a void ed than sought thi s perpet ual group ing of
the Dozen f or I wi shed to leave the greates t
possible elas ti city in the meshes of the net whi ch
I was en d eavoring to draw about H umani ty
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
Very well it may be sai d from you r 36 9
unus ed type s we see springn the
new
characters whi ch you t ell us t o mul tipl y by 1 2
an d thereby es ti mat e
lacun ae in our
literature But tell u s now how t o fill t hem
“
,
,
,
.
,
GE N E RAL CLA SS I FI CATI ON
24 1
these irritating lacunae " Tell us what to d o
direct our hands if you can in the drawing of
these
figures or simply of these
characters or even of the 369 unused types
"
which you have just pointed out "
,
,
,
,
,
N othing c oul d
please me better than such a
In constituting each one Of the characters
which are wanting in our literatures it is n eces
sa ry first to es tablish its PRO PO RTI O N S
,
.
After which it remai ns only t o study the art
of presenting them these proporti ons by means
of the laws of L ITE RARY PERSPECTIVE These
two studi es
the PROPORTI ON S of the huma n
soul and PE RSPECTIVE in matters of p sychol ogy
—will form the Objects of t h e two chapters
thr oug h whi ch I now invite the reader t o foll ow
me before I bring this b oo k to its conclusion
,
,
,
.
,
.
A T re a t i s e
the
on
th e
Pro po rt i o n s
Of
H u m a n So ul
CHA PTE R XI
—THE COMPLETE S OUL
I
In each of us it has been a fii n n ed above there
exis ts not simply one character one indivi dual
on e S elf
nor a group of tw o or t hree nor a
coll ectivist col on y as the more audac i ous ps y
c h ologi s t s claim
but the sum of ALL hum an
soul s s ince the human sou l is everywhere the
sam e an d in every one c omplete
,
,
—
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
B ut it has
-
to
al
lowed itself
not without struggles
be to s ome extent enslaved ankylosed :
,
l st : By EDUCATI O N mental moral
,
,
an d
physical
.
By verbal EQUIVOQUE
the base upon
“
wh ich mythologis ts have raised their et y m olog
"
ical system whi ch r ecalls t o our minds that
2n d :
,
,
standing
,
to
imperfec t
definitions
.
By EXAMPLE that vast euhemerism
which descends from the heigh ts of legendary
history to the familiar relations of d a ily l ife
3r d :
,
.
Such
the three routes by which the Complete
Soul within every man is led to accept to adopt
ar e
,
IN VE N ING CHARA CT
THE AR T OF
244
ER
T
S
borean snows to fin d the image of inn ocence ; in
Greece it is so to Speak obliterated by the two
nei ghboring d eities Ares and H esti a From them
in fact Artemi s H ecat e receives on the one hand
her cruelty an d t as t e for violent exercises and
on the other the shadow and p arody of piety in
the sorceri es of Thrace while her Ph oebean gen tle
ness thus corrupted does not shine in any myth
wi th the chast e light which our sentime ntalism
vainly attributes to it What a contrast dost
thou show us 0 saint ed Virgin of Jud ea "
,
,
.
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
verywhere in each reli gi on each nation
each in divi dual whom we sh l l fin d de ying or
negl ec ting one of these twelve pects and despis
ing i t as foreign w e shall persevering obtain
an acknowledgment of i t
An d it is the lacun
thus filled whi ch will illumine for us by complet
ing it the Indi vi d ual the Cen t y the People
etc heret ofore f l se or illusory by role or by
custom an d for that reason superficially and ill
u d erstood
E
,
,
,
n
a
as
”
“
,
,
,
ae
.
,
,
,
.
ur
,
,
a
,
,
n
.
II
—FROM WITHOUT
INWARD :
POLITI CS
The E voluti on of these di vers aspects these
di vers insti ncts these divers t ypes through H istory
will explain for us their succession in the single
hum an heart
,
,
.
TRE
ATI SE O N PROPORTION S OF
HU MAN
THE
SOU L
245
Instea d of pr oceeding in sh ort from the latter
invisible an d co nse quent ly un kn o wn t o the s oci al
as
our age is accustomed to do is it not more
accord with the scientific meth od of the age to
ta ke the opp osite c ourse ?
,
,
,
,
,
The idealist Plato with out doubt po wer f u uy
illuminated P olitics by c onnecting the passions
with its di verse revoluti on s s h o w i n g in each
of the latter the con sequence of one of the former
and a Taine has in our own day mad e use if n ot
of the idea at least of the image in explai ni ng
the over thr ow of the French s ocial system B ut
if taking up the profound idea of the Greek
phil os opher we now examine it in a n inverse
which is to say scientific ally pr ocee ding
s ense
from visible P olitics t o the mentality of the indi
vidual what a clearly p erso nifi ed and OBJECTIVATED
psychol ogy will Politics inc arnate for us "
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
'
,
,
,
,
This p sych ol ogy hist ory is daily bro adening
and consolidating ; we have begun to grasp the
rhythm of it thro ugh the ages (in the law of f our
centur y p eri ods and of twelve generati on s) In
or
tur n ep ic
POETRY in general if we may
believe Aris t o tle
gives us its m ost durable
ver ities as the DRAMA with its ac tion and mim
ior y pr esen ts its most p erfect and tangi ble 1 mage
We here ca tch
acc ordin g t o the sam e auth or
—
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
T HE AR T OF
246
INVE N ING CHA ACTE
R
T
R
S
these with the plastic arts might be ome were
it one day resuscitated from the pitiful shroud
of our Pi errots The Roman alone perceived its
poss ibiliti es of greatness when he applied i t not
onl y t o the i nt erpre tati on f Greek d am a but
t o the events of his own civil life which he knew
t o be d ec isive in the history of the world
Thus we emerge from t h psychol ogi cal mi sts
of philosophy to gr p at last concret e realiti es
di scarding the abstract p h a n t om s of vag
fac l ties to seize upon actions an d force
The irreconcilable ( and heredi tary ) duality of
c
,
,
‘
.
,
o
r
,
,
.
e
as
,
ue
“
”
u
s
.
“
our nature
the four elements or tempera
"
ment s between which it cont inues to be t orn
their six possible comb inations identified wi th
the six directions in which our energy can move
—
within the three dimensions of space fin a lly
the twelve limits whi ch are created when they
meet with the first obst acle whi ch forces them
back the twelve physiognomy types whi ch we
have r e encoun tered in all groupings
all these
we shall d eman d that every s oul reveal an d con
fess to in our conviction that every soul is iden
tical with the complete human soul and that we
cannot know or account for the bases of its domi
"
nant character without fir s t -having examin ed
it successively from these dozen angles
,
,
,
,
'
-
,
-
,
,
,
.
INV N ING CHARA CT
THE AR T OF
248
E
T
ER
S
GLORI OUS the GRANDEE ) three of 1 3 (the NE W S
MO N GER the SLOVEN the BORE ) an d all the
rest of exactly 1 2 (the FLATTERER the GARRULOUS
the BOLDLY GREEDY the N I GGARD the M ISER
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
N ow thes e trai t s t hese AR ETES of a figu rine
may be themselves classed in 2 cat egori es whi ch
i s t o say in a half d ozen coupl es ; these in tu rn
can be r e di vi d ed sometimes into two groups
,
,
,
-
-
,
,
is
sh own in 6 attitud es at sea an d 6 in war Or
again we fin d in the ABSENT MINDED 3 groups
of 4 traits each in themselves perfectly sy mm e
tric the 1 s t 2n d 5t h and l 0t h traits the
4 t h 6th 1 1 t h an d 1 2th the 3rd 7t h 8t h an d
9t h
Of these three groups the first shows the
personage IN THAT WHI CH CONCERNS H IMSELF
characterized here by a perpet ual absen ce of
min d ; the secon d t etrad d escribes him in the
.
-
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
him speaki ng an d acting AS IF O N THE STAGE or
A THEATRE : he appears at first LYR IC then EPI C
then DRAMATI C An d we need but study a little
the s ix fa cet s thus coupl ed by each of these three
axes
anal ogous to t hose whi ch in Chapter V I
opposed the obj ect ive an d possess ive active and
sens iti ve int ell ectual and mat erial
to see appear
ing at the 1 2 aretes the 1 2 eternal figures of t h e
gods
,
.
,
,
.
,
TRE
ATI SE O N PROPORTION S OF THE HUMAN
SOU L
249
D oubtless we
the intenti on of
but we perhap s
have here exceeded alt ogeth er
the author ( al though a Greek )
exceed less the ideal wh ich he
instinctively pursued
just as it was u n c on
full
s c i ou s ly pursued by the m akers of L egend
nai ve and logical wh ose ep i
of beauti ful t al es
s od es have none the less bee n gathered by the
“
"
successors of Dupuis into a s olar myth and
the twelve signs of the Zodiac "
,
,
,
,
,
Both Legend
and The op hr astus were but obey
ing an AE STHETI C INSTIN CT which consists in
adaptation to the gener al rhythm of the universe
this rhythm pr oceeds from the three di m ensi o ns
which oblige man physical and m oral
dyn amic
man
t o di stribute his energies in six dir ection s
until f orced back by conflicting energies they
turn obliquely and are qui ckly condensed into
“
”
twelve laws twelve g ods S prun g from man
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
We
kn ow that the 2 8 studi es of The ophrastus
“
were drawn as L a B ruyere says fro m the E thics
”
“
and Mor als of Aristotle and that the f ou n d a
tion of the characters described therein comes
"
from the sam e source
The stream from that
so ur ce m ay be foll owed acr oss the centuries
from the day of the auth or of the POETI CS to the
moment when swollen by the tributaries which
from ever y di rection have brought t o it Chris
t i a ni t y with its am azing decr ees
it becam e a
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
THE ART OF
25 0
E uropean
INVE N ING C HARACTE
moralities
T
R
S
.
In each of the c omp onent it ems accord ed by
St Thomas Aquinas or his pred ecess ors t o a
vice in each of the d efin itions or concl usions of
the Greek moral ist an d his successors
we may grasp a link of the DIDACTI C chain whereby
the monography of that vice is connected wi th
the whole of the general classificati on ad opted
by the author ; an d each classificati on may be
brought back as we h ave observed to our t a b
leau of the Twelve Gods
.
'
,
,
,
.
Thi s di dactic element c om es finally to com
lyri c epic and
plete the elements or tetrads
“
"
dramatic above pointed out in each figurine
of character In short after having d et ached i t
from one of the articles of moral theology we
fin d that it exhibits as we shall see the 1 2 pr in
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
III
—ST
B E RNARD ST BENO IT AND SENECA
THE VARI OUS L ITERARY F ORMS
.
Let us take
,
.
from St
.
Bernard for exam ple
,
,
H UMILITY AND PRIDE We find di st ibuted in
3 groups the 1 2 steps by which the scholar d esce ds
.
r
n
25 2
THE AR T OF
INVE N ING CHARAC
T
TE R
S
the 1 2 steps of th is ladd er may each be outli n ed
before the read er in a dozen trai ts
like the
Charact ers of Theophrastus
,
,
.
Upon the
step of ARROGAN CE do we not see
st andi ng out consp i cuous ly t h e VAIN whose
adm irab le portrait by the sa me St Berna rd
may here be quot ed
“
The Vain Man is lou d of voice or sulk ily silen t ;
he is di ssolute in joy angry in gr ief ; inwardl y
dishonest an d outwardly honest ; he i s st iff in his
demeanor sharp in hi s responses ; al ways ready
to att ack al ways weak in defens e ; he yiel ds
with bad grace ; he is im portunate to ob tain hi s
desires ; he d oes not d o those things whi ch he can
and shoul d d o but he is quick t o attemp t what
”
he cannot an d shoul d not d o
( DE M OR
XXX I V
An d we coul d wi thout s t rain ing a po int reduce
"
“
to the same Proporti ons the p ortraits whi ch
fill the writ ings of orators an d moral i sts in all
lit erat ures Const antly does the eff ort t o per
f ec t an d con dense one of these portr ai ts lead
t oward these duodenary Proporti ons
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
,
.
.
Flaubert that m ster of pure prose observed
likewise that the labor of the stylis t involunt ril y
inclines the rhythm of a ph ase t oward the duo
denary pr oportions of the al exand ine So in
nately is thi s rhythm a pa t of us "
,
a
,
a
r
r
r
.
TRE
ATI SE O N PROPORTION S OF THE H UMAN
SOU L
253
N eed
we recall the 1 2 visible signs of an angr y
man accordi ng to Seneca ( DE I RA) ?
,
His eyes flash and glitter ; hi s face reddens ;
his heart beats rapidl y ; his lips tremble ; his
teeth grind ; his hair br istles ; he breathes h ard
and with a hi ss ; his j oints crack as he clenches
his han ds ; he growls or bell ows ; his h a sty w ords
interrup t each other ; he beats his hands together ;
”
he stamps hi s f oot
an d as the auth or sum
“
all hi s agi tated
m a r i ze s him in a fin al 1 3th trait
"
being exhales menace
B ut why enl ar ge fur ther upon the THEORI STS ?
It is the same with the H I STORIANS al though here
the painter inscribes a famous name under his
study That of S eneca above quoted might be
entitled N E RO
We find simply that in reality the theor etical
e ssays u p on this or that p assion
vice or virtue
NEVE R HAVE THE AB STRA CT CHARACTE R they
are assum ed t o have E ach of these essays
represents a huma n being dul y constituted
a
little anthropo m orphic g od ( there are no others
since man a cc ordi ng t o the B ible is the om orp hic)
—a demon or an angel as the Middl e Ages
w oul d have termed him
a pers onage necessarily
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
The Theatre of the subtile Middl e Ages with
its M oralities esp ecially ab ounds in such little
,
,
IN VE N ING CHARA C
THE AR T OF
254
T
TE R
S
g ods ; d es p it e their allegorical names they gambol
about and in their an imati on di splay more real
l ife than has remained in their d escen d ant s of
the dra ma of Character of Manners or of Plot
FALSE SEEMING here acts an d speaks with a nother
verisimi litude another resemblance to what we
see aroun d us than d o the characters of Messieurs
D
C
L etc ; medi aeval VAIN GLO RY i s f ar
more a human being w alking rej oicing eating
sleeping than the GLO RI EUX of D estouches
adorned wi th t wenty titles of nobility
yet is
not the comedy of Chara cter superi or in thi s
resp ect to that of Manners or of Pl ot ?
,
,
.
-
,
,
.
,
.
,
.
-
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
If instead of vaguely d esignating D on F ernan d
as his AMB ITI OUS Destouches h ad transferred
hi s characteristic signs to thi s or that f avor ed
celebrity he would have written a s o cal led
H I S T O R I C D R A M A I n t h e majority of the
“
Characters of the moral ist La Bruyere we can
recognize the figu res drawn in the vari ous Memoirs
of the peri od ; Memoirs whi ch in rest oring them
t o their civil state make of them al so hi storic
studi es S o purely imaginary i s the d isti ncti on
between the art of the MORALI ST and that of the
H ISTORIAN "
,
,
-
,
.
,
,
,
.
Still more d o the E PIC POET and the NOVELIST
more gener ous i n their type mingle with the
moralists The LYRI C POET in t n
whether
,
s
.
,
ur
M a t t e rs
Pe rs pe c t i v e i n
Ps y c h o l og y
CHA PTE R
Certai
XII
—after
y it i s int eres ting
having con
t em pla t ed the el ements of a character at their
crisis in the LYRI C and aft er having studi ed its
an alysis by the THEORISTS of the soul moralists
—
techni cians casuists
t o follow through his
tory epic romance in a word thr ough NARRA
TIVE t he fas hion in which t hese elements e vol ve
in wh ich they succ eed one another and to con
sid er t hem from the point of view of unilinear
nl
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
Two characters arr anged in parallel according
t o the manner of Pluta rch whether charact ers
of individuals or of peoples
even t hree four
five or more wh ose c ourse we obs erve s yn ch r oni
cally may form not merely a hist ori an s di ver
si on but may inaugurat e a science as yet unstudi ed
an d fecun d : that of Comparative B i ography
Will it not be interes ting t o grasp them thes e
ch a racters in an ep it ome which permi ts us to
perceive their reciprocal acti on in the group with
which they are intertwined and that of their
,
,
,
,
,
,
’
,
,
.
,
,
,
PE RSPE CTI VE IN MATTE RS OF PSYCHO LOGY
25 7
constitutive elements up on each other thanks to
certain a ctions ?
,
It is this which is achieved with rigorous ec o n
in C omedy From Ari stophanes the art
om y
springs comp lete H is S ocrates in THE C LOUDS
inspired apparently by the H omeric MARCITES
i s shown us i n 1 2 attitudes farcical odi ous or
abs ur d c orrespo nding to exactly as many ep i
It is these ep i s odes which enriched by
s od es
what we call a Prologue and by the s ongs of the
Ch orus form the whole of the play
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
N ow of these 1 2 attitudes 4 are of ACTI ON
and F EELIN G 4 of IDEALI SM and REAL I SM 4 of
—
APPEARAN CE and POSSESSIVITY
whi ch c orre
spon d s as we perceive ; to our di stributi o n withi n
the 3 dim ensions of Space of the 6 direc t ions of
,
,
,
,
,
,
The 4 sc enes of ACTI ON FEEL IN G are : the
impious teaching of the Philosop her ( Socrates
here bein g but the incarnation of all novel p hi los
op h y in the eyes of Ari stophanes ) ; hi s c o mmuni
cati on of Wrong Reasonin g to the y oung man
(wh o it may be remembered was brought by hi s
father with a vie w to O btaining from the Master
such sop hisms as might permi t them t o evad e
-
,
,
were kn ocking at the family d oor ) ; the inevitable
c onse quence the so n ill treating the father ; th e
,
-
ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF I NVE N T
258
TE R
S
avenging reaction postpone d more or les s but
inevi t able the father of the family fin al ly enl ight
ened an d attacki n g t he Ph ilosopher
The 4 scenes of IDEALISM REALI SM of grotesque
contrasts sho w us : the Phil osopher suspend ed
”
“
between earth an d heaven in a basket (the
,
,
.
-
,
,
LAI
DE V IRG ILE ) ; t hen singing of the
Clouds
,
hi s
concentrati on
un der t he coverlet where
t h e unf ort unate St r ep s i a d e feels hi mself being
devoured by bugs ; the scan dalous triumph of
If
W ITH
these
desc i be
scenes
r
the Master hi mself
,
his teachi ngs : the preposterous
inventi ons of the School ; the bizarre p osture of
the Di sciples bent earth ward ; the lesson in Phi
lology ( remembered like Theophrastus d es cri p
tion of the TARD ILY E DUCATE D by Moli ere when
writing h i s BOURGEO I S GE NTILHOMME ) ; and
“
above all the principles of an amoralism and
”
“
of a struggle for lif e eternall y mod ern
OTHE RS
,
’
,
,
,
,
,
.
Tartufe more sinister exhibits the hyp ocrisy
”
“
of the roundhea ds his contemporaries
,
,
,
.
attitud es present him to us IN PE RSO N : at
church multiplying h i s gen uflec t i ons an d sign s
4
,
INVE N ING CHARA C E S
In Moli ere s portrai t D on Juan ventures his
own Apology H i s attitud e toward the credit o s
further di ff eren t ia t es hi m ; he is a rich man or at
least a man of credi t of reputati on ; he is a man of
tod ay while T t f is but a man of t omorrow
The evi l wh ich Tartuf e d oes t o people of property
Don Juan d oes to the poor ; his fil i al disrespect
lastly complet es with a 4 t h trai t hi s ORD IN ARY
RELATI O N S WITH OTHERS of whi ch the rup t ure
wi th E l vire i s l so a part
The 4 ARETES whi ch outline hi PE RSO N AL
PHYSI OGN OMY may be thus enum erat ed hi s easy
conquests of Act I I an d hi s scep ti cism so clearly
proclaime d in Act I I I ; then his libertini sm in it s
two asp ects ; then his att itude toward the weeping
E lvire an d h i s blasphemous parody of repentance
The 4 parts most essenti l t o the ACTI O N SE N
TI ME NT seem t o be the warning felt by the p oor
w m
the Comm der ; the
; the invitati on t
fa f aronnad e of the i sit to him ; the fin l an d
d am at ory obstinacy at the moment of the
avengi g cat trophe
In reality thi s GRAND SE I GNEUR
whom it
is as ridic l ous for our comedians t o represen t
in a sympathetic light as it is t o show the M I S
ANTHROPE
patheti c l ly
this lofty personage
giv es forth as it were in the w orl d of d ecei t the
highest no te of a sc l e whi ch is run by Goupil in
T
TH E ART O F
260
T R
’
r
.
,
,
ar u e
,
.
,
,
,
a
.
s
:
,
.
a
-
:
o
en
an
o
n
v
a
n
n
as
.
,
u
-
a
,
,
a
,
PE RSPE CTIVE IN MATTE RS OF PSYCHOLOGY
26 1
the ROMANS DE RE NARD ; it descends by Tartuf e
and Socrates al ready cited then by THE ALCHE
MI ST of Jonson to the hero of the F OURBERIES DE
SCAPIN
Although thi s farce has but two acts S capin
therein has time to make his Apol ogy (Act I I
scene 3) lik e D on Juan The 4 scenes of his
INTRIGUE are outlined by : the st ory of the pre
tended forced M arri age ; the bargaining for the
sum destined to break it o ff ; the st ory of the
Galley ; and the old parade of the S ack an d the
blows of the S tick
Scapin is especially CHARACTERIZED by : the
larcenies which he himself ackn owledges ; the
bo ldness with whi ch he begs through Lean dre
hi s indispensable supp ort ; his feign ed reluctance
to accep t the money which Ar gante confides to
him and his ardor in vengeance
,
.
,
,
.
.
,
.
The 4 last and secon dary traits are sketched
in the stratagem of Sylvestre di sguised by him
as a bravo ; i n that which procures him his final
pard on ; in his malice and in that repetition of
the patern al return which taken from P lautus
furnishe d S h akespeare with s o good a theme for
the F alstaff of his HEN RY I V
,
“
,
,
,
.
In the latter drama F alstaff is lik ewise por
t r a y ed in 1 2 essential lines : a P ortrait by o thers
—
an d an Ap ology by himself
corresp o nding t
,
INVE N IN G CHARAC
THE AR T O F
262
T
TE R
S
the d efiniti on an d the conclusi on which frame
the figur es of Theophr astus are added to the
r est
as in Moli ere : t he Apol ogy i n the scene to
whi ch I have just referred and the Portrait
und er the form so origi nal of contumely (Act I )
,
,
,
,
.
.
H ere is
the first t etrad e of the 1 2 essenti al
lines : the amusing heaviness of the hero flying
from the ambuscad e prepared for him by the
princely joker ; his adul ati on when he sees later
hi s boastings beli ed ; the glutt ony of whi ch the
no te foun d in hi s pocket gi ves evidence ; and on
the field of battle his superb t irade against honor
,
,
,
.
,
The second t etrad consis ts of his cri es which
make his whole part in the ambuscade ; the notched
sword an d the fal se woun ds he exhibit s in support
of hi s lying n ar rative ; hi s brazen reproaches t o
the host ess his creditor and hi s rhod omon tade
belied by Prin ce H enry
L astly in the t etrad of Aa ron 8m m
we have : the haste with whi ch he recrui ts hi s
calamit ous regiment ; hi s conduct on the field o f
battle ; the fas h ion i n which he there simul at es
death and that in which he claims the corpse of
the heroic H otspur
We have come t o the play of TWO chief charac
ters the di mensi ons of Shakes pearean drama
per mitt ing in eff ect t heir d evelop ment at the
same time Pri nce H enry is sket ched i n the
,
,
.
-
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
THE ART OF
264
INVE N IN G CHARA C
T
TE R
S
Coming t o words with the prudi sh Arsino e
blun d ering an d mal ad roit toward E li t ( I V
he i s rej ect ed by the former whom he has woun d ed
and fails equall y with the latt er (V
(V
all second ary acti ons and int end ed to portray
h i s ORD INARY RELATI O N S W ITH OTHE RS
The PRIN C IPAL ACTI O N consi st s of h i s quarrel s
with C élim e ( II
hi s jealousy confli cting
wi t h her coquetry ( I V
putting her to the
necess ity of Speaki ng out (V
and exh ibiting
toward her all t he fail ings of hi s charact er t oo
,
an e
,
,
,
,
.
ne
,
,
,
,
But the C oquett e having been once d escribed
by him ( II
i s but half d eveloped i n 6 scenes
instead of 1 2 : that of the Portraits ( II 4 ) and
that in whi ch she caricatures Arsino e ( III
that i n which she cont end s with the said Arsino e
( II I 5 ) an d that i n which she t eases Alces t e
that in which she tri es to steal away (V 2 )
(IV
and that in wh i ch pard oned she still remains
the coquett e she has al ways been and will always
be ( V
We have one Sketch of her by others ( I 1 ) and
her Apology by herself ( III
The narrowness of t h e C l a s s i c framework
explains why the charact ers surroun ding the
Pro tagoni st are so little amp li fied ; the bre ad th
of the Romantic frame on the contrary d emands
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
PE RS PEC TIVE IN MATTE RS OF PSYCHOLOGY
265
that the number of chief char acters be increased
to avoid empt iness F or lack of an equ al t o his
ALCHE MI ST B en Jons on p ermits him to drift
somewhat uncertainly afte r the P ortrai t c on
N evertheless the essen
t um ely of the beginning
ti al elements are r e enc ountered :
,
.
,
,
.
-
The rogue besee ching his in n ocent victim t o
dupe her ; his r ole of go between ; his bo ldness in
de f yi ng t h e S paniar d in E nglish and hi s feigned
divination of the name of D ame Pliant c omplete
the first drawing of our C unning character
,
-
.
After which rival of his accomplice (the dis
guised domestic F ace ) with the p oor lady he
attempts having been unable t o obtain her
himself to make her sully herself ; he flou t s the
"
candid g odchild of the fairy and exploits hi m
or designs to make us e of the prostitute D ol his
instrum ent Thu s are presented the 4 outlines
of the occul tist in hi s C ONDUCT TOWARD H I S
"
DUPES AND H I S B ROTHE RS
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
.
The ACTI ON may be summariz ed in a quater
nary n ot less traditi on al : imp o sing f or the prom
ised success of t h e gr e a t work a c ondi ti on
which the neop hyte cannot ful fill ( drolly en ough
it is ch astity which is here in questi on ) ; bringing
“
”
the pr op erty wi t h a view t o trans muting it ;
selling t o the solemn Anabaptist rascals mor e
the s aid
s crupulous in w or ds than in c o nscience
,
,
,
,
,
266
IN VE N ING CHARAC
THE AR T OF
’
T
TE R
S
property and fin ally preparing the general pill ag e
in which hi s professi on al vices cause him to be taken
,
,
.
The relative lack of cons istency wi th whi ch
the rest of the characters may be charged ( D ol
Common Face Lov ewi t
an d whi ch we
r e en c o unter to day upon t he mod ern stage where
likewis e attem pts are mad e to disgu i se it by
frenzi ed acti on (romantici sm ) or with less suc
“
”
MOTS of modernism
c ess by the i dl e talk and
this lack might e asily be foun d even in the Pro
t a goni s t in d ef aul t of a study su ff i ciently di s
cl osing to the author his va ri ous principal aspects
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
'
.
Thus LE GLORIEUX by D estouches repeats
even t o Sa ti ety the same eff ects almost all t oo
weak H is Portrait drags through three su cces
sive scenes (Act I sc 2 3 4 ) i ndepen d ently of
his sen sati onal entran ce ( II
a remin iscence
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
,
,
,
The letter whi ch ea p er a t es his cri si s of vanity
the pompous enumeration of his proper
( II
ties alnd distin ctions ( I V
his s hame of hi s
father ( I V 8) an d th e nomencl at ure of hi s titles
in the contract PORTRAY him well enough
But h is imprud ent cont empt for Li sett e ; her
advice ( a weak feature) ; the di sd ain whi ch Phi li n t e
insp ires in him , and the publi c d en ial of his father
merely ad d heaviness to the pi ege an d we seem
to feel the glacial breath of the THESI S DRAMA
,
'
,
,
.
,
-
.
THE AR T OF
268
INVE NTING CHARACTE RS
prepared by Ma s ca rille ; the c onfidi n g of the
latter s ruse t o Andr es in avowi ng his love for
C elie ; persistence in making Ma scar i lle abandon
the jargon which he aff ects t o s peak
'
.
An d need we coun t the 1 2 falsehood s of LE
MENTEUR ? N eed we cite from vari ous ep ochs
and genres THE M I SER THE B RAGGART S O LD IE R
LE JOUEUR LE BOURGE O IS GE NTILHOMME THE
C ONSTANT PRIN CE THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
Bartholo in THE BARBER OF SEVILLE Ar n olph e
in THE SCHOOL FOR WIVES ? Not to weary the
reader I content myself wi th figu ring their
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
character
A a his Portrait by the pers ons who gravitate
,
A b the Apologies which he makes in pers on
(both portraits an d apologies being divisible in
turn int o a d ozen features ) ;
,
B
scenes in which he REVEALS H IMSELF in
“
”
hi s idiosyncrasy
to sp ea k in the philosoph
ical argot
a
,
4
—
,
B b 4 scenes in which his
OTHERS especially appear ;
,
I ONS
RE LAT
WITH
B c 4 s cenes lastly in which h is nature forms
the pri ncipal Spring of the ACTI ON
,
,
,
.
PE RSPE CTIVE
N ote
IN
ATTE RS or PSYCHOLOGY
M
2 69
in ad diti on th at in each of th ese two
l ast gro ups 2 of the 4 scenes almost always
co unterb al ance the 2 o thers : if the her o is at the
bo tto m in the first c ouple h e is at the t op in the
second
,
,
,
,
.
II
THE CHARACTE RS OF M OL I ERE
SHAKESPEARE PLAUTUS B AL ZAC
,
,
TARTUF E of D ON J UAN of THE M I SER
THE M I SANTHRO PE etc the ep itom es o ffered us
diff er but not the point of view from which the
auth or makes us contemplate them
Of
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
The M oli er es q
being once precisely
u e m eth od
stated it wi ll be interes tin g to di sp ose his elem ents
under the angle f o r e x a m p l e at which the
Shakespearean ch ara cters app ear to us and
so on for o ther auth ors This w ork wil l give us
PERSPECTIVE AS EACH MASTER HAS CONCE IVED IT
"
“
,
,
,
,
.
.
I fear as I have said to wea ry the reader ;
otherwi se I woul d sh ow how such a study pro
ceeding from one lit erature on e sch ool one
wri ter successively t o all the others w oul d create
for the fir st tim e a veritable p hil osophic and
,
,
,
,
,
,
Fr m a general character like the Greek Ap llo
we see ep arating and evolving the p ure Artist
o
o
,
s
in Orp heus
.
There is
al s
o
the char acter
of
the
I NVE N IN G CHARACTE RS
THE AR T OF
270
T
Unfortunat e
pure an d s i mp l e Th ese three
branches produced in the H omeric epoch the
Unfor tunat e Artist ( D emod ocus) the Insp ired
and F atal Prophetess ( C assandra) the Lo ver
ill fated an d unknowin gly criminal (OED IPUS) an d
the Pan i ci d e al mos t equally innocent ( Orestes )
all overshad ow ed by the same god To Parody
he h as gi ven Marsyas then MARCITES ancestor
of all pedants ; elevated to a seri ous plane these
furnish the F an tasti c types of artists i nt ellec
or their car icatures The lati
t u al s utop i ans
tudes an d d evelopments of races and the per
of authors being here mingled we
s on a li t i es
obt ain progress ively from t he vari ous branches
"
“
of thi s geneal ogical t r ee z Winckelmann Ruy
Blas Abbe Mouret the M isan t hrope Timon of
Athens the cook Va t el Phi lam i n t e Trissotin
Tri bu la t B onh omm et F ourier Balth azar Cla es
the heroes of H off man C ousin Pons etc
As for the SPEC IAL PE RSPECTIVE of a si ngle
work we may ascert ain in the said work :
.
,
,
,
,
-
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
In what
,
,
,
,
manner
the
twelve
elements of a
by the same author ;
how it changes when w e pass to a new author
—
or a
treating the same subj ect
diff erent sub
i ect ;
,
ING CHARAC
THE AR T O F I NVE N T
272
TE R
S
his E ras t es hi s Leandres hi s Cli t a n dr e
his Cleonte and above all hi s D on Juan Baron
came later t o d ouble t he roles dedi cat ed to the
et ernal comi c VE N US : Myrtil l Am our and Oct ave
in the F OURBERIE S The insufficiency of Bejart
( D on Louis Mad ame Pernelle) obliged the Mas ter
to assum e
bes id es the MERCUR IES hi s ordinary
roles ( Ma s c a ri lle Miron Sos ie Scap in etc )
the j eal ous tyranni cal and grum bling t h e d ot ards
the d erid ed an d the d eceived (JUPITER VULC AN
N EPTUNE ) : the Sga n ar elles Ar n olph e G eorges
D andin D on Pedro Orgon H arpagon Alceste
H e had even t o substitute in
Ch r y s a le Argan
the fooli shl y maj estic for Th ori lli er e t o whom
fel l the JUPITERS an d who incarna t ed Geronimo
Arbate Phi li n t e Hal i Jupiter in AMPH ITRYO N
D orante in the BOURGEOIS GE NTILHOMME and
the King in PSYCHE Another Jupiter that of
PSYCHE fell to Croisy but that act or was better
sui ted by his sombre visage t o ill t empere d and
ped anti c typ es odi ous or ri di culous (APO LLO
VULCAN ) : Met a phr as t e Va d i u s Ly s i d as Mar
t
he
Mas
t
er
of
Ph
i
losophy
ronte
of
the
h
s
O
u
r
i
u
p
sonnet Dimanche H arpin Sot en ville The MARS
of the company w as D e B ri e : L a Rapi ere the
Commissioners the Guards the Master of Arm s
The joyous CERES bl ossomed in Madeleine
et c
Bej ar t : Marinette Marotte Li sette Pros ine
Dorine ; the DIANAS belonged to Mll e de Brie
Clea n t es
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
’
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
-
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
PE RSPE CTIVE IN MATTE RS OF PSYCHOLOGY
2 73
C elie Lucile M d el on Climene Agn s E li t
D aphne Claudi ne and M th i fb Mlle d P arc
was for l ong the M INERVA C t h
Climene the
formal Mar quises the p rudes like Arsin o e; h e
did n o t live t o play the FE MMES SAVANTES
It would not be impossible for s ome C uvier f
the mimic art t o rec onstitute b y m ea s of the
ch racters of S h akespeare or Plautu the ph y i g
the r ol es nd ab ilities of their act ors
mi
who likewi e were but the organs but the mem
b rs of the m agnifi ed p erso n of the poet
In Sh kes p e e VESTA app ears in religion as
Sister Isab ell a and in the h ome as H elena H er
mi one C atherine of Aragon ; by a change of
we have F riar L aurence H orati o etc JUNO
animates Ap
t s J acques Lig ius Margaret
of Anj ou Queen Constance and L ontes P ost
humu and Othell o The sa tanic N ep tune is
ex pressed in King John H amlet s uncl e Wolsey
Macbeth L ady Macbeth S hyl ock P and arus and
P ol onius
M INE RVA directs Imogen and Ro sa
lind inspires B eatrice and P ortia Ant ony in
J ULI US CAESAR Mercutio and even Autolycus
VENUS ap pears in Cle opatra and Cressida ; AP OLLO
reign over H amlet as over the antique Orestes
over Le as over ( EDIPUS AT C OLONUS and even
Tim on ; in the c omedies he excites the p si ons of
H ol ofernes and of the yo un g F erdi n an d D o we
a
,
,
e
,
,
ur n e
a
,
an e ,
,
:
u
os ,
a
,
s
,
.
o
n
,
s
a
no
es
s o
,
a
,
,
s
,
e
.
a
ar
,
,
,
,
,
,
s ex
,
ern a n u
,
ar
,
,
,
e
,
s
.
,
,
.
’
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
.
s
,
ar
,
as
.
THE AR T OF
274
INVE N ING CHARACTE
T
R
S
not recognize MERC URY in Maria and in Puck
then degrad ed by a mi ngli ng with Juno in Ther
s ites and Iago ? Of JUPITERS Shakespeare pre
sents few save in the f ar away Juli us Caesar
Timon (in the begin n ing) or Oberon ; I wi ll ingly
conclude that he lacke d in t erpreters rather t ha n
mod els It is not t hus wi th CE RES hi s actor
represented these when female charac t ers (such
t h e MERRY WIVES Jul i et s nurse the hos
as
et c ) as when mal es : F a ls t a fl Sir Toby
t es s es
an d the buff oons like Fal conbridge or the F OO1
in LEAR It i s curious t hat the comi c VULCAN
everywhere most numer ous
appears on the
Shakespearean st age only in Men elaus i n TROILUS
“
”
while t he devoted t ype is present i n Pauline
Gl oster an d Pi s a n i o His MARS actors could
play the women ( Katherine THE SHREW) as well
,
,
-
,
,
.
’
,
,
,
,
.
.
,
,
.
MACBETH et c or the boast ers like Parole or
Aj ax But the DIANA of the troupe must ha ve
been ind eed poetic t o in ca rnate J uli et D esd emona
.
,
,
.
,
In Plautus likewise actor as well as auth or
VE STA bears t he names of E unomi a Myrrhine
and Per i s tr a t e and in t he mascul ine E u ty cus
an d Sa gar i s t i on ; JUN O onl y that of An tiphon ;
N EPTUNE that of E u cli on on the one han d an d
in the d arker roles the names of Ca pp ad ox
D or d al e Lycus B alli on or La br a x
M IN ERVA
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
THE AR T OF
276
Panegyris
INV N ING CHARAC
E
conjoin tly
or the t imi d
,
m ocr a t i a
T
with
TE R
an d
Pi n a ci s
Ph ed r om e
S
Pt ole
.
Again we have the 1 2 god s un der their qua d
ruple hyp os t asi s
mascul ine and feminine tragic
and laughable
i n the novels of Balza c for
,
,
-
,
His
a conceited ninny mayor of a Pari
s i an ARONDI SSE ME NT his notary Lupin hi s Phileas
B e a u vi s a ge ; the haughty D elphine de N u ci n gen
the elder Mad ame de Por t e n d u ér e the respectable
Marquis d E s gri gn on the fir st Madam e M a t if a t
the ben eficen t an d venerable Madame d e la
Ch a n t er i e ; hi s numer ous Maecenases (An s elrn e
Pop i n o t the Marquis di N egro the Duc d e Ver
neuil et c )
do they not proceed from the lofty
and protect ing Jupiter ? His prodigal an d v icious
Marqui s d e Sa llen eu v e the Marqui s d e Rouvre
Savinien de Port en d u ér e Georges Marest Di ar d
the gamester Pli s sou d the t oper the gay Mes
dames Verrn u t an d F on ta ni en Pa lf er in e ( on one
si d e at l eas t ) the careless Merle Oscar Huss on
and Va t el hi s drunkards ( Chardi n seni or Ver
nri ch el the lazy Ca n t i n et ) the glutton B ar ge t on
the more d elicate M on t r i v eau an d Mon t pers a n
or t he abbe Gon d ra n d the egoist Vicomt e d e
Beauseant even the gr oss Agathe Pi c q
u et ar d or
the vul gar Ursule in CESAR B IROT I EAU
do
not all t hese recall ou r CERES type ?
Cre v el ,
,
,
,
,
,
’
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
'
,
,
,
,
,
' ‘
-
,
.
PE RSPE CTIVE
M
IN
ATTE R S OF PSYCHOLOGY
277
I need n o t continue B ut the H UMAN C O MEDY
furni shes a world in itself It has supplied
examples for al most all the important subdivi si ons
of our Classifi cation and it leaves n othing t o be
desired but the pe rfecting of some few among
these examples
.
.
,
.
B eside Balzac h ow many ill ustri ous authors sh ow
an ast onishing p overty in their creati ons " When
one of the 1 2 principal ARETES is f ound t o be
lt ogether missing the c ase bec o mes
The anti que Olymp us perished as I h ave inti
mated through fail e t o achieve a ch astely
sentimental Di ana for the new faith succeeded in
ente i g through that breach The sam e l acun a
yr m t i lly must have existed at heart in
each of the great g ods whence their increasing
c orrup tion and insensibility in the name of
which the men from the E ast atta cked them
up on their altars and
the hearts of their fol
l owers wh om they recall ed to the c omplete and
primitive Ideal
E verywhere this law a s s e r t s itself t o the
absence or inferi or devel op ment of a character
typ e of a g od of a line imp ortant to the eq ui
librium of the human t ot al there c o responds a
simi lar absence or inferi or devel opment of so me
thing answering to that line of ARETE in all
"
,
a
,
,
ur
,
,
r n
s
u
.
e r ca
,
,
,
,
,
In
,
.
:
”
“
,
,
,
“
r
”
THE AR T OF
278
INVE N ING CHARACT
ER
T
S
other ch aracters since at a certain d ep th there
shoul d be foun d in each the concep ti on of the
complete man
,
,
,
.
Thus the absence of the JUPITER type in Plautus
of the CERES t ype in Corneille of t h e M INERVA
type in Zola explai ns why in each of their crea
ti ons some one Spot gives forth a hollow sound
and shows a puff ed and exaggerated as pect
the mask in reality of a vacancy
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
,
VACAN C IES
FILLED
H ow shoul d the author have proceeded to fill
these ? We have lready seen H e wo l d have
had nly to c omplete his seri es of characters ; he
woul d thus have studi ed man complet e not
forgett ing one of hi essential organs one of hi
p oss ible general attitud es whi ch is to say one
III
To BE
a
u
.
o
,
s
s
,
”
,
attitud e is t herein habitual ly accent uat ed
shows al ways thi s AR ETE
,
an d
.
The shroudi ng of thi s or that ARETE in shad ow
shou l d never be a complete suppress i on Th e
wri ter if he wi shes t o make hi s work harmoni ous
and t rue a chorus of the divi ne types shoul d
n o more mutil ate hi s study of lif e of man c om
“
”
special character when he
plet e or that of a
detaches it than the great artist forgets the
existence of aspec ts painted by hi s predecessors
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
INVE NTING C HARACT
THE ART OF
280
ER
S
because the po int of View of these Masters is
new an d because the attitude given by th em to
their mod els i s also new F ar from
or mutilating indi vi duality they each t ime unvei l
an d br ing into light supported by the organism
in its entiret y some hithert o unknown side:
Of these mysteri es nevertheless 369 remain to
be revealed
,
.
,
,
,
,
.
,
Co n clu s i o n
used typ es which we have discovered
in the co urse of this cl assi ficati on rep resent u n ex
p lor ed regions in the s oul of ea ch one of us Op en
ing these regions in the individual as in Humanity
we c omplete the geography of the Soul
Th e 369
un
.
,
.
We maintain nevertheless lik e p arallels of
latitude and l ongitude its Duodenary Pr oporti ons
Thes e we have fou nd in all lif e in ever ything
which like ourselves is Rh ythm We see them
everyw here in art and in p oetry : ep ic ( S ong of
I zdh u ba l H omeric P o e ms ZEn ei d etc ) or tragic
(in China Rome France etc ) of all ages in
the ca dences of all kn own verse forms
as well
as in the m ovemen ts of hist ory ( comp arative
heredity law of fou r century p eri ods ) and I n
the og onies
,
,
.
,
,
.
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
.
,
.
-
;
,
-
,
.
We have just re enc ou ntered them encl ose d by
the indi sp ensab le lin es with which a La B ruyere
a S t B ern ard a Seneca or a The oph rastus encircle
their figurines we h ave found them as un m i s
takably i n the silh ouettes of dramatic or liter ary
her oes ; we have foll owed the pe ncils of the M asters
-
,
.
,
,
entire v olum e w ould be necess ary to foll o w
the app licati on of this P ersp ective by each on e
An
THE AR T OF
282
INVE N ING CHARA CTE
T
R
S
of them But I have fulfilled the triple promi e
mad e at the beginni ng of this book
l t
to reduce each Charact er t o elements
whose combinati ons suff ice ( the systems hereto
fore contradict ory be ing reconci led ) t o recon
tit t
the mos t complex personality ;
2 d to classif y methodic lly all the figures of
histo y legen d an d poetry taken from the most
wid ely separat d c o un t r i e s an d centuri es in
groups less an d less d ense which is to say more
s
.
s
s
,
u e
n
a
,
r
,
,
e
,
,
t o coun t an d measure exactly the lac n e
in our lit erary creati ons or psychologi c l b
ti
an d to fill them with an equal n m ber
of characters
whose proportions according t o
promise I have likewise sketched
An d while we have seen i ss i ng from this pati en t
labor several future structures al ready well beg n
3r d ,
u
a
on s ,
va
o
a
s er
u
,
,
,
.
u
u
,
an d dram ati c C ompos iti on a theory of Compara
tive Li terature Compara tive B i ography mod ern
,
,
,
the certainty of buil di ng for the firs t time
”
“
a veritable N ew Science wh ose rules are not
ha d
,
,
OF
THE
HUMAN HEART
.
,