Edwin Forrest made his first appearance on the stage of this world the ninth day of March, 1806, in the city of Philadelphia. His father, William Forrest, was a Scotchman, who had migrated to America and established himself in business as an importer of Scottish fabrics2. He was of good descent. His father, the grandparent of the subject of this biography, is described as a large, powerfully-built man, residing, in a highly respectable condition, at Cooniston, Mid-Lothian, Edinburgh County, Scotland. In the margin4 is a copy of the family coat of arms. It was discovered and presented to Mr. Forrest by his friend William D. Gallagher. The motto, "Their life and their green strength are coeval," or, as it may be turned, "They live no longer than they bear verdure," happily characterizes a race whose hardy5 constitutions show their force in vigorous deeds to the very end. He who, in America, plumes6 himself on mere7 titular8 nobility of descent, may be a snob9; but the science of genealogy10, the tracing of historic lineages and transmitted family characteristics, deals with one of the keenest interests of the human heart,
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one of the profoundest elements in the destiny of man. And the increasing attention given to the subject in our country is a good sign, and not the trifling11 vanity which some superficial critics deem it. It deals with those complicated facts of crossing or mingling12 streams of blood and lines of nerve out of which—and it is a point of immeasurable importance—the law of hereditary13 communication of qualities and quantities, influences and destinies, is to be formulated14.
William Forrest, after a long struggle against pecuniary15 embarrassments16, gave up his mercantile business, and obtained a situation in the old United States Bank. On the closing of that institution, in connection with which his merits had secured him the friendly acquaintance of the celebrated17 millionaire Stephen Girard, he received a similar appointment in the Girard Bank. This office he held until his death, oppressed with the debts bequeathed by his failure, supporting his family with difficulty, and leaving them quite destitute19 at last.
Mr. Forrest was much esteemed20 for his good sense, his dignified21 sobriety of demeanor22, his strict probity23, his modesty24 and industry. Reserved and taciturn in manners, tall, straight, and slender in person, he was a hard-working, care-worn, devout25, and honest man, who strove to be just and true in every relation. He had a pale and sombre face, with regular features, which lighted up with strong expressiveness26 when he was pleased or earnestly interested. He was somewhat disposed to melancholy27, though not at all morose28, his depression and reserve being attributable rather to weariness under his enforced struggle with unfavorable conditions than to any native gloom of temper or social antipathy29.
Edwin, in his own later years, dwelt with veneration30 on the memory of his father, and was fond of recalling his early recollections of him, deeply regretting that there was no portrait or daguerreotype31 of him in existence. He was wont32 to say that among the sweetest memories that remained to him from his childhood were the rich and musical though plaintive33 tones of his father's voice, the ringing and honest heartiness34 of his occasional laugh, and the singular charm of his smile. He said, "I used to think, when my father smiled, the light bursting over his dark and sad countenance,—its very rarity lending it a double
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lustre35,—I used to think I never saw anything so beautiful." The light of love and joy broke over his sombre features like sunshine suddenly gilding36 a gray crag.
The unobtrusive, toilsome life of this worthy38 man, unmarked by any salient points possessing general interest for the public, glided39 on in even course to the close, darkened by the shadows of material adversity, but brightened by the serene40 lights of domestic happiness and self-respect. In his poverty he knew many mortifications, many hardships of self-denial and anxious forethought. But in his upright character and blameless conduct, in his retiring and religious disposition42, in the kind and respectful regard of all who knew him, he experienced the supports and consolations43 deserved by such a type of man,—a type common in the middle walks of American society, and as full of merit as it is free from all that is noisy or meretricious44. He was not an educated man, not disciplined and adorned45 by the arts of literary and social culture. But his virtues46 made him eminently48 respectable in himself and in his sphere. He came of a good stock, with noble traditions in its veins50, endowed with sound judgment51, refined nervous fibre, a grave moral tone, and persevering52 self-reliance. He died of consumption, in 1819, in the sixty-second year of his age. In the death of his youngest son his blood was extinguished, and the fire went out on his family hearth53. No member of his lineage remains54 on earth. The recollections of him, now dim threads in the minds of a few survivors55, will soon fall into the unremembering maw of the past. Herein his life and fate have this interest for all, that they so closely resemble those of the great majority of our race. Few can escape this common lot of obscurity and oblivion. Nor should one care much to escape it. It is not possible for all to be conspicuous56, famous, envied. Neither is it desirable. The genuine end for all is to be true and good, obedient to their duty, and useful and pleasant to their kind. If they can also be happy, why then, that is another blessing57 for which to thank God. Beyond a question the most illustrious favorites of fortune, amidst all the glitter and hurrah58 of their lot, are often less contented59 in themselves and less loved by their associates than those members of the average condition who attract so little attention while they stay and are forgotten so soon when they have gone. And, mortal limits once passed, what
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matters all this to the immortal60 soul? The rank of a man in the sight of God and his fate in eternity—which are the essential things alike for the loftiest and the lowliest—depend on considerations very different from the tinsel of his station or the noise of his career. One may be poor, weak, obscure, unfortunate, yet be a truly good and happy man. That is the essential victory. Another may be rich, powerful, renowned61, enveloped62 in the luxuries of the earth. If his soul is adjusted to its conditions and wisely uses them, this is a boon63 still more to be desired; for he too has the essential victory. The real end and aim of life always lie within the soul, not in any exterior64 prize: still, the best outward conditions may well be the most coveted65, although there is no lot which does not yield full compensations, if the occupant of that lot is what he ought to be.
The foregoing sketch66, brief and meagre as it is, presents all for which the constructive67 materials exist.
In turning from the father to the mother of Edwin Forrest, the data are as simple and modest as before, and a still more genial68 office awaits the biographer. For she was an excellent example of a good woman, gentle, firm, judicious69, diligent70, cheerful, religious, ever faithful to her duties, the model of what a wife and a mother ought to be. Her son growingly revered72 and loved her to the very end of his life, as much as a man could do this side of idolatry; and he was anxious that her portrait should be presented and her worth signalized in this book. Ample opportunities will be afforded for doing this.
Rebecca Forrest was, in every sense of the words, a true mate and helpmeet to her husband. He reposed73 on her with unwavering affection, respect, and confidence, and found unbroken comfort and satisfaction there, whatever might happen elsewhere. Through twenty-five years of happy wedlock74 she shared all his labors75 and trials, joys and sorrows, and survived him for a yet longer period, fondly venerating76 his memory, scrupulously77 guarding and training his children. Her maiden78 name was Lauman. Born in Philadelphia, she was of German descent on both sides, her parents having migrated thither79 in early life, and set up a new hearth-stone, to continue here, in a modified form, the old Teutonic homestead left with tears beyond the sea.
William Forrest and Rebecca Lauman were married in 1795,
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he being at that time thirty-seven years old, she thirty-two. Seven children were born to them in succession at quite regular intervals80 of two years. The nameless boy who preceded Edwin in 1804 died at birth. The remaining six were all baptized in the Episcopal Church of Saint Paul, on Third Street, in Philadelphia, by the Rev71. Doctor Pilmore, on the same day, November 13, 1813. The names of these six children, in the order of their birth, were Lorman, Henrietta, William, Caroline, Edwin, and Eleanora.
The first of these to die was Lorman, the eldest81 of the family. He was a tanner and currier by trade. He was over six feet in height, straight as an arrow, lithe82 and strong, and of a brave and adventurous83 disposition. He left home on a filibustering84 enterprise directed to some part of South America, in his twenty-sixth year, and nothing was heard of him afterwards. The following letter, written by Edwin to his brother William, who was then at Shepherdstown, in Virginia, announces the unfortunate design of poor Lorman:
"Philadelphia, August 1st, 1822.
"Dear Brother,—I received your favor of 29th July, and noted86 its contents. I am sorry to hear you have such ill luck. Your business in this city is very good.
"Lorman has returned from New York, and intends on Monday next to embark87 on board a patriot88 privateer, now lying in this port, for Saint Thomas, and from thence to South America, where, in the patriot service, he has been commissioned 1st lieutenant90, at a salary of eighty dollars per month. He screens himself from mother by telling her he is going to Saint Thomas to follow his trade, being loath91 to inform her of the true cause. A numerous acquaintance accompany him on the said expedition. He wishes me to beg of you not to say anything when you return more than he has allowed himself to say. It is a glorious expedition, and had I not fair prospects92 in the theatric line I should be induced to go.
"Come on as early as possible. You may stand a chance of getting a berth93 in the Walnut94 Street Theatre, or, which is most certain and best, work at your trade.
"Mrs. Riddle95 has removed her dwelling96 to a romantic scene in Hamilton Villa97. John Moore, advancing above mediocrity, per
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formed Alexander the Great for her benefit. Please write as early as possible. Till then adieu. In haste, your affectionate brother,
"Edwin."
The expedition proved an ill-starred one, and Lorman perished in it in some unrecorded encounter, passing out of history like an unknown breath. It seems fated that the paths to all great goals shall be strewn with the wrecks98 of untimely and irregular enterprises, unfortunate but prophetic precursors99 of the final triumphs. It has been so in the case of the many premature100 and wrongful attempts to grasp for the flag of the United States those backward and waiting territories destined101, perhaps, as the harmonies of Providence102 weave themselves out, spontaneously to shoot into the web of the completed unity103 of the Western Continent.
Many a gallant104 and romantic fellow, many a reckless brawler105, many a coarse and vulgar aspirant106, many a crudely dreaming and scheming patriot, half inspired, half mad, has fallen a victim to those numerous semi-piratical attempts at conquest which have in the eyes of some flung on our flag the lustre of their promise, in the eyes of others, planted there the stains of their folly107 and crime. But if there be a systematic108 plan or divine drift and purport109 in history, every one of these efforts has had its place, has contributed its quota110 of influence, has left its seed, yet to spring up and break into flower and fruit. Then every life, buried and forgotten while the slow preparations accumulate, will have a resurrection in the ripe fulfilment of the end for which it was spent. Meanwhile, the brief and humble111 memory of Lorman Forrest sleeps with the nameless multitude of pioneers the forerunning line of whose graves invites the progress of free America all around the hemisphere.
William, the second son, expired under a sudden attack of bilious112 colic, at the age of thirty-four. He was a printer, and worked at this trade for several years, buffeted113 by fortune from place to place. The mechanical drudgery114, however, irked him. The lack of opportunity and ability to rise and to better his condition also disheartened and repelled115 him; and before he was twenty-one he abandoned the business of type-setting for an employment more suited to his tastes. He adopted the theatrical116 profession and entered on the stage, of which he had been an
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amateur votary117 from his early youth. Their common dramatic aptitudes118 and aspirations120 were a strong bond of fellowship between him and his youngest brother, and they had a thousand times practised together at the art of acting121, in private, before either made his appearance in public. This coincidence of talent and ambition between the brothers seems to reveal an inherited tendency. The local reputation of the elder, once clear and bright, has been almost utterly122 lost in the wide and brilliant fame of the younger. It is fitting that it be here snatched from oblivion, at least for a passing moment. For he was both a good man and a good actor, performing his part well alike on the scenic123 stage and on the real one; though in his case, as in that of most of his contemporaries, the merit was not of such pronounced and impressive relief as to survive in any legible character the obliterating124 waves of the half-century which has swept across it. Yet his accomplishments125, force, and desert were sufficient to make him, in spite of early poverty and premature death, for several years the respected and successful manager of the leading theatre, first of Albany, afterwards of Philadelphia.
The following tribute was paid to him in one of the papers of his native city on the day of his burial:
"When we are awakened126 from the dreams of mimic127 life, so vividly128 portrayed129 by histrionic skill, to the fatal realities of life itself, the blow falls with double severity. Such was the effect on Monday evening, when, on the falling of the curtain at the Arch Street Theatre, after the first piece, Mr. Thayer stepped forward, announced the sudden death of Mr. William Forrest, the Manager, and requested the indulgent sympathy of the audience for the postponement130 of the remaining entertainments. A shock so sudden and so profound it has seldom been our lot to record. Engaged in his duties all the morning, it appeared but a moment since he had been among us, in the full enjoyment131 of health, when the hand of the unsparing destroyer struck him down. Mr. Forrest was a great and general favorite among his associates, to whom he was endeared by every feeling of kindness and affection. Few possessed132 a more placid133 or even disposition, and few won friends so fast and firmly. In his private relations he was equally estimable, and the loss of him as a son and as a brother will be long and severely134 felt."
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He was also spoken of in the same strain by the journals of Albany, one of them using these words: "Our citizens will regret to read of the death of Mr. William Forrest. He was known here not only as a manager of much taste and enterprise, but as an actor of conceded merit and reputation. He was also esteemed here, as in Philadelphia, by numerous acquaintances for his personal worth and social qualities. The tidings of his decease will be received with sorrow by all who knew him."
So, on the modest actor, manager, and man, after the short and well-meant scene of his quiet, checkered136, not unsuccessful life, the curtain fell in swift and tragic137 close, leaving the mourners, who would often speak kindly138 of him, to go about the streets for a little while and then fade out like his memory.
The three daughters of the family—none of them ever marrying—lived to see their youngest brother at the height of his fame, and always shared freely in the comforts secured by his prosperity. They were proud of his talents and reputation, grateful for his loving generosity139, devoted140 to his welfare. In his absence from home their correspondence was constantly maintained, and the only interruption their attachment141 knew was death. Henrietta lived to be sixty-five years old, dying of liver-complaint in 1863. The next, Caroline, died from an attack of apoplexy in 1869, at the age of sixty-seven. And the youngest, Eleanora, after suffering partial paralysis142, died of cancer in 1871, being sixty-three years old.
No one among all our distinguished143 countrymen has been more thoroughly144 American than Edwin Forrest. From the beginning to the end of his career he was intensely American in his sympathies, his prejudices, his training, his enthusiasm for the flag and name of his country, his proud admiration145 for the democratic genius of its institutions, his faith in its political mission, his interest in its historic men, his fervent147 love of its national scenery and its national literature. He was also American in his exaggerated dislike and contempt for the aristocratic classes and monarchical148 usages of the Old World. He did not seem to see that there are good and evil in every existing system, and that the final perfection will be reached only by a process of mutual150 giving and taking, which must go on until the malign151 elements of each are expelled, the benign152 elements of the whole combined.
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In view of the concentrated Americanism of Forrest, it may seem singular that he was himself a child of foreign parentage, his father being Scotch1, his mother German. But this fact, which at first appears strange, is really typical. Nothing could be more characteristic of our nationality, which is a composite of European nationalities transferred to these shores, and here mixed, modified, and developed under new conditions. The only original Americans are the barbaric tribes of Indians, fast perishing away, and never suggested to the thought of the civilized154 world by the word. The great settlements from which the American people have sprung were English, French, Dutch, and Spanish. To these four ethnic155 rivers were added a dark flood of slaves from Africa, and vast streams of emigration from Ireland and Germany, impregnated with lesser156 currents from Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Russia, and other countries, adding now portentous157 signal-waves from China and Japan.
The history of European emigration to America is, in one aspect, a tragedy; in another aspect, a romance. When we think of the hardships suffered, the ties sundered158, the farewells spoken, the aching memories left behind, it is a colossal159 tragedy. When we think of the attractive conditions inviting160 ahead, the busy plans, the joyous161 hopes, the prophetic schemes and dreams of freedom, plenty, education, reunion with following friends and relatives, that have gilded162 the landscape awaiting them beyond the billows, it is a chronic163 romance. The collective experience in the exodus164 of the millions on millions of men, women, and children, who, under the goad165 of trials at home and the lure18 of blessings166 abroad, have forsaken167 Europe for America,—the laceration of affections torn from their familiar objects, the tears and wails168 of the separation, the dismal169 discomforts170 of the voyage, the perishing of thousands on the way, either drawn171 down the sepulchral172 mid-ocean or dashed on the rocks in sight of their haven173, the long-drawn heart-break of exile, the tedious task of beginning life anew in a strange land,—and then the auspicious174 opening of the change, the rapid winning of an independence, the quick development of a home-feeling, the assuagement175 of old sorrows, the conquest of fresh joys and a fast-brightening prosperity broad enough to welcome all the sharers still pouring in endless streams across the sea,—the perception of all this makes
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the narrative176 of American immigration at once one of the most pathetic and one of the most inspiring episodes in the history of humanity. This tale—as a complete account of the emigrant177 ships, the emigrant trains, the emigrant wagons178, the clearings and villages and cities of the receding179 West, would reveal it—stand unique and solitary180 in the crowd of its peculiarities181 among all the records of popular removals and colonial settlements since the dispersion of the Aryan race, mysterious mother of the Indo-European nations, from its primeval seat in the bosom183 of Asia. All this suffering, all this hope, all this seething184 toil37, has had its mission, still has its purpose, and will have its reward when the predestined effects of it are fully3 wrought185 out. Its providential object is to expedite the work of reconciling the divided races, nations, parties, classes, and sects186 of mankind. The down-trodden poor had groaned187 for ages under the oppressions of their lot, victims of political tyranny, religious bigotry188, social ostracism189, and their own ignorance. The traditions and usages of power and caste which surrounded them were so old, so intense, so unqualified, that they seemed hopelessly doomed191 to remain forever as they were. Then the Western World was discovered. The American Republic threw its boundless192 unappropriated territory and its impartial193 chance in the struggle of life open to all comers, with the great prizes of popular education, liberty of thought and speech, and universal equality before the law. The multitudes who flocked in were rescued from a social state where the hostile favoritisms organized and rooted in a remote past pressed on them with the fatality194 of an atmosphere, and were transferred to a state which offered them every condition and inducement to emancipate195 themselves from clannish196 prejudices, superstitions197, and disabilities, to flow freely together in the unlimited199 sympathies of manhood, and form a type of character and civilization as cosmopolitan200 as their two bases,—charity and science. The significance, therefore, of the colonizing201 movement from the Old World to the New is the breaking up of the fatal power of transmitted routine, exclusive prerogative202 and caste, and the securing for the people of a condition inviting them to blend and co-operate on pure grounds of universal humanity. In spite of fears and threats, over all drawbacks, the experiment is triumphantly203 going on. The prophets who fore41
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see the end already behold204 all the tears it has cost glittering with rainbows.
America being thus wholly peopled with immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, our very nationality consisting in a fresh and free composite made of the tributes from the worn and routinary nations of the other hemisphere, the distinctive205 glory and design of this last historic experiment of civilization residing in the fact that it presents an unprecedented206 opportunity for the representatives of all races, climes, classes, and creeds207 to get rid of their narrow and irritating peculiarities, to throw off the enslaving heritage imposed on them by the hostile traditions and unjust customs of their past, no impartial observer can fail to see the unreasonableness209 of that bitter prejudice against foreigners which has been so common among those of American birth. This prejudice has had periodical outbreaks in our politics under the name of Native Americanism. In its unreflective sweep it is not only irrational210 and cruel, but also a gross violation211 of the true principles of our government, which deal with nothing less than the common interests and truths of universal humanity. And yet, in its real cause and meaning, properly discriminated212, it is perfectly213 natural in its origin, and of the utmost importance in its purport. It is not against foreigners, their unlimited welcome here, their free sharing in the privilege of the ballot214 and the power of office, that the cry should be raised. That would be to exemplify the very bigotry in ourselves against which we protest in others. It is only against the importation to our shores, and the obstinate215 and aggravating216 perpetuation217 here, of the local vices218, the bad blood, the clannish hates, the separate and inflaming219 antagonisms220 of all sorts, which have been the chief sources of the sufferings of these people in the lands from which they came to us. In its partisan221 sense the motto, America for those of American birth, is absurdly indefensible. But the indoctrination of every American citizen, no matter where born or of what parentage, with the spirit of universal humanity is our supreme222 duty. Freedom from proscription223 and prejudice, a fair course and equal favor for all, an open field for thought, truth, progress,—this expresses the true spirit of the Republic. It is only against what is opposed to this that we should level our example, our argument, and our persuasion224. The invitation our flag advertises to
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all the world is, Come, share in the bounties225 of God, nature, and society on the basis of universal justice and good will, untrammelled by partial laws, unvexed by caste monopolies. Welcome to all; but, as they touch the strand226, let them cast off and forget the distinguishing badges which would cause one portion to fear or hate, despise or tyrannize over, another portion. Not they who happened to be born here, but they who have the spirit of America, are true Americans.
The father and mother of Edwin Forrest were thoroughly Americanized, and taught him none of the special peculiarities of his Scottish or German ancestry227. So far as his conscious training was concerned, in language, religion, social habits, he grew up the same as if his parentage had for repeated generations been American. This was so emphatically the case that all his life long he felt something of the Native American antipathy for foreigners, and cherished an exaggerated sympathy for many of the most pronounced American characteristics. Yet there never was any bigotry in his theoretical politics. His creed208 was always purely229 democratic; and so was the core of his soul. He was only superficially infected by the illogical prejudices around him. Whatever deviations230 he may have shown in occasional word or act, his own example, in his descent and in his character, yielded a striking illustration of the genuine relation which should exist between all the members of our nationality, from whatever land they may hail and whatever shibboleths231 may have been familiar to their lips. Namely, they should, as soon as possible, forget the quarrels of the past, and hold everything else subordinate to the supreme right of private liberty and the supreme duty of public loyalty232, recognizing the true qualifications for American citizenship233 only in the virtues of American manhood, the American type of manhood being simply the common type liberalized and furthered by the free light and stimulus234 of republican institutions. Overlook it or violate it whoever may, such is the lesson of the facts before us. And it is a point of the extremest interest that, however much Forrest may sometimes have failed in his personal temper and prejudices to practise this lesson, the constantly emphasized and reiterated235 exemplification of it in his professional life constitutes his crowning glory and originality236 as an actor. He was distinctively237 the first and greatest democrat146, as such, that
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ever trod the stage. The one signal attribute of his playing was the lifted assertion of the American idea, the superiority of man to his accidents. He placed on the forefront of every one of his celebrated characters in blazing relief the defiant238 freedom and sovereignty of the individual man.
Thus an understanding of the ground traversed in the present chapter is necessary for the appreciation239 of his position and rank in the history of the theatre. Boldly rejecting the mechanical traditions of the stage, shaking off the artificial trammels of the established schools of his profession, he looked directly into his own mind and heart and directly forth240 upon nature, and, summoning up the passionate241 energies of his soul, struck out a style of acting which was powerful in its personal sincerity242 and truth, original in its main features, and, above all, democratic and American in its originality.
But though the parents of Edwin did not try to neutralize243 the influence of purely American circumstances of neighborhood and schooling244 for their child, they could not help transmitting the organic individual heritage of their respective nationalities in his very generation and development. The generic245 features and qualities of every one are stamped in his constitution from the historic soil and social climate and organized life of the country of the parents through whom he derives246 his being from the aboriginal247 Source of Being. Certain peculiar182 modes of acting and reacting on nature and things—modes derived248 from peculiarities of ancestral experience, natural scenery, social institutions, and other conditions of existence—constitute those different styles of humanity called races or nations. These peculiarities of constitution, temper, taste, conduct, looks, characterize in varying degrees all the individuals belonging to a country, making them Englishmen, Spaniards, Russians, Turks, or Chinese. These characteristics, drawn from what a whole people have in common, are transmitted by parents to their progeny249 and inwrought in their organic being by a law as unchangeable as destiny,—nay, by a law which is destiny. The law may, in some cases, baffle our scrutiny250 by the complexity251 of the elements in the problem, or it may be qualified190 by fresh conditions, but it is always there, working in every point of plasma252, every fibril of nerve, every vibration253 of force. The law of heredity is obscured
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or masked in several ways. First, the peculiarities of the two lines of transmitted ancestry, from father and from mother, may in their union neutralize each other, or supplement each other, or exaggerate each other, or combine to form new traits. Secondly254, they may be modified by the reaction of the original personality of the new being, and also by the reaction of the new conditions in which he is placed. Still, the law is there, and works. It is at once the fixed255 fatality of nature and the free voice of God.
Edwin Forrest was fortunate in the national bequests256 of brain and blood or structural257 fitnesses and tendencies which he received from his fatherland and from his motherland. The distinctive national traits of the Scottish and of the German character, regarded on the favorable side, were signally exemplified in him. The traits of the former are courage, acuteness, thrift258, tenacity259, clannishness260, and patriotism261; of the latter, reasoning intelligence, poetic262 sentiment, honesty, personal freedom, capacity for systematic drill, and open sense of humanity. These two lines of prudential virtue47 and expansive sympathy were marked in his career. The attributes of weakness or vice89 that belonged to him were rather human than national. So the Caledonian and Teutonic currents that met in his American veins were an inheritance of goodness and strength.
Nor was he less fortunate in the bequeathal of strictly263 personal qualities from his individual parents. Those conditions of bodily and mental life, the offshoot of the conjoined being of father and mother, imprinted264 and inwoven and ever operative in all the globules of his blood and all the sources of his volition265, were far above the average both in the physical power and in the moral rank they gave. His father was a tall, straight, sinewy266 man, who lived to his sixty-second year a life of hardship and care, without the aid of any particular knowledge of the laws of health. His mother was of an uncommonly267 strong, well-balanced, and healthy constitution, who bore seven children, worked hard, saw much trouble, but lived in equanimity268 to her seventy-fifth year. From the paternal269 side no special tendency to any disease is traceable; on the maternal270 side, only, through the grandfather, who was an inveterate271 imbiber272 of claret, that germ of the gout which ripened273 to such terrible mischief274 for him. In intellectual, moral, and religious endowments and habits, both parents were
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of a superior order, remarked by all who knew them for sound sense, sterling275 virtue, unwearied industry, devout spirit and carriage. The good, strong, consecrated276 stock, both national and personal, they gave their boy, alike by generative transmission, by example, and by precept277, was of inexpressible service to him. He never forgot it or lost it. It stood him in good stead in a thousand trying hours. Amidst the constant and intense temptations of his exposed professional life, it gave him superb victories over the worst of those vices to which hundreds of his fellows succumbed278 in disgraceful discomfiture279 and untimely death. It is true he yielded to follies280 and sins,—as, under such exposures, who would not?—but his sense of honor and his memory of his mother kept him from doing anything which would destroy his self-respect and give him a bad conscience. This inestimable boon he owed to the moral fibre of his birth and early training.
The thoughtful reader will not deem that the writer is making too much of these preliminary matters. Besides their intrinsic interest and value, they are vitally necessary for the full understanding of much that is to follow. In the formation of the character and the shaping of the career of any man the circumstance of supremest power is the ancestral spirits which report themselves in him from the past, and the organific influences of blood and nerve brought to bear on him in the mystic world of the womb previous to his entrance into this breathing theatre of humanity. The ignorance and the squeamishness prevalent in regard to the subject of the best raising of children are the causes of indescribable evils ramifying in all directions. It has been tabooed from the province of public study and teaching, although no other matter presents such pressing and sacred claims on universal attention. It cannot always continue to be so neglected or forced into the dark. The young giant, Social Science, so rapidly growing, will soon insist on the thorough investigation281 of it, and on the accordant organization in practice of the truths which shall be elicited282. When by analysis, generalization283, experiment, and all sorts of methods and tests, men shall have ransacked284 every other subject, it may be hoped, they will begin to apply a little study to the one subject of really paramount285 importance,—the breeding of their own species. When the same scientific care and skill, based on accumulated and sifted286 knowl
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edge, shall be devoted to this province as has already been exemplified with such surprising results in the improvement of the breeds of sheep, cows, horses, hens, and pigeons, still more amazing achievements may be confidently expected. The ranks of hopeless cripples, invalids287, imbeciles, idlers, and criminals will cease to be recruited. The rate of births may perhaps be reduced to one-fourth of what it now is, with a commensurate elevation288 of the condition of society by the weeding out of the perishing and dangerous classes. And the rate of infant mortality may be reduced to one per cent. of its present murderous average. The regeneration of the world will be secured by the perfecting of its generation.
These ideas were familiar to Forrest. He often spoke135 of them, and wondered they were so slow to win the notice they deserved. For the hypocrisy289 or prudery which affected290 to regard them as indelicate and to be shunned291 in polite speech, he expressed contempt. In his soul the chord of ancestral lineage which bound his being with a vital line running through all foregone generations of men up to the Author of men, was, as he felt it, exceptionally intense and sacred. And surely the whole subject of our consanguinity292 in time and space is, to every right thinker, as full of poetic attraction and religious awe293 on one side as it is of scientific interest and social importance on the other.
Each of us has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great-grandparents. In every receding generation the number doubles, from thirty-two to sixty-four, then to one hundred and twenty-eight, and so on; so that at the twentieth remove, omitting the factor of intermarriages, one has over a million ancestors! So many threads of nerve thrilling into him out of the dark past! So many invisible rivulets294 of blood tributary295 to the ocean of his heart, the collective experiences of all of them latently reported in his structure! His physiological296 mould and type, his mental biases297 and passional drifts, his longevity298, and other prospective299 experiences and fate, are the resultant of these combined contributions modified by his own choice and new circumstances. What can be conceived more solemnly impressive, or to us morally more sublime300 and momentous301, than this picture of an immortal personality, isolated302 in his own responsible thought amidst the universe, but surrounded by the mys
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terious ranks of his ancestry, all connected with him by spiritual ligaments which lengthen303 and multiply, but never break, as he tracks them, further and further, through the annals of time, through prehistoric304 ages, incapable305 of solution or pause till his faith apprehends306 the beginning of their tremulous lines in the creative fiat307 of God!
Indulge in whatever theories we may, whether of continuous development or of sudden creation, it is through our parents that we receive our being. It is through our ancestry, spreading ultimately back to the limits of the human race, that each of us descends308 from God. By them it is that the Creator creates us. Well may the great Asiatic races, the soft and contemplative Brahmins, the child-like Chinese, the pure and thoughtful Parsees, worship their unknown Maker309 in forms of reverential remembrance and adoration310 paid to their known ancestors, gathering311 their relics312 in dedicated313 tombs or temples, cherishing their names and examples and precepts314 with fond devotion, celebrating pensive315 and glad festivals in their honor, preparing, around their pious316 offerings of fruits and flowers, little seats of grass, in a circle, for the pleased guardian317 spirits of their recalled fathers and mothers invisibly to occupy. Let not the reckless spirit of Young America, absorbed in the chase of material gain, and irreverent of everything but sensuous318 good, call it all a superstition198 and a folly. There is truth in it, too, and a hallowing touch of the universal natural religion of humanity.
America, in her hasty and incompetent319 contempt for the dotage320, fails to appropriate the wisdom of the Orient. More of their humility321, leisure, meditation322, reverence323, aspiration119, mystic depth of intuition, will do us as much good as more of our science, ingenuity324, independence, and enterprise will do them. The American people, in their deliverance from the entrammelling conditions of the over-governed Old World, and their exciting naturalization on the virgin85 continent of the West, have, to some extent, erred153 in affixing325 their scorn and their respect to the wrong objects. In repudiating326 excessive or blind loyalty to titular superiors and false authority, they have lost too much of the proper loyalty to real superiors and just authority. They are too much inclined to be contented with respectability and the average standard, instead of aspiring327 to perfection by the divine standard.
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They show too much deference328 to public opinion, and are too eagerly drawn after the vulgar prizes of public pursuit,—money and social position,—to the comparative neglect of personal reflection and culture, personal honor, and detachment in a self-sustaining insight of principles. They think too subserviently329 of what is established, powerful, fashionable,—the very vice from which the founders330 of the country fled hither. They think too meanly and haltingly of the truth and good which are not yet established and fashionable, but ought to be so,—thus turning their backs on the very virtue which heaven and earth command them in especial to cultivate, namely, the virtue of an unflinching spirit of progress in obedience331 to whatever is right and desirable as against whatever wrongfully continues to govern. The best critics from abroad, and the wisest observers at home, agree that the most distinctive vice in the American character is described by the terms complacent332 rashness and assumption, crude impertinence, disrespect to age, irreverence333 towards parents, contempt for whatever does not belong to itself. This rampant334 democratic royalty335 in everybody has proved sadly detrimental336 to that spirit of modesty and docility337 which, however set against oppression and falsehood, is profoundly appreciative338 of everything sacred or useful and sits with veneration at the feet of the past to garner339 up its treasures with gratitude340. The American who improves instead of abusing his national privileges will maintain his private convictions and not bend his knee slavishly to public opinion, but he will treat the feelings of others with tenderness, bow to all just authority, and reverently341 uncover his heart before everything that he sees to be really sacred.
On these points, it will be seen in the subsequent pages, the subject of the present biography, as a boldly-pronounced American citizen, was in most respects a good example. If occasionally, in some things, he practised the American vice,—self-will, unconscious bigotry intrenched in a shedding conceit,—he prevailingly exemplified the American virtue,—tolerance, frankness, generosity, a sympathetic forbearance in the presence of what was venerable and dear to others, although it was not so to him. While withholding342 his homage343 from merely conventional sanctities, he never scoffed344 at them; and he always instinctively345 worshipped those intrinsic sanctities which carry their divine
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credentials in their own nature. The filial and fraternal spirit in particular was very strong in him, and bore rich fruits in his life and conduct.
The conspicuous relative decay of the filial and fraternal virtues, or weakening of the family tie, among the American people, the precocious346 development and self-assertion of their children, wear an evil aspect, and certainly are not charming. Yet they may be inevitable347 phases in the evolution of the final state of society. They may distinguish a transitional stage through which all countries will have to pass, America being merely in the front. In ancient life the political and social unit was the family. The whole family was held strictly responsible for the deeds of each member of it. The drift marked by democracy is to make the individual the ultimate unit in place of the family, legally clearing each person from his consanguineous entanglements348, and holding him responsible solely349 for his own deeds in relation to entire society. The movement towards individuality is disintegrating350; but, when completed, it may, by a terminal conversion351 of opposites, play into a more intimate fellowship and harmony of the whole than has ever yet been realized on earth. Thus it is not impossible that the narrower and intenser domestic bonds may be giving way simply before the extruding352 growth of wider and grander bonds, the particular yielding merely as the universal advances. If the destiny of the future be some form of social unity, some public solidarity353 of sympathies and interests in which all shall mutually identify themselves with one another, then the temporary irreverences and insurgences of a democratic régime may have their providential purpose and their abundant compensation in that final harmony of co-operative freedom and obedience to which they are preparing the way out of priestly and monarchical régimes.
Either this is the truth, that the youthful insubordination and premature complacency, the rarity of generous friendships and the commonness of sinister354 rivalries355, which mark our time and land are necessary accompaniments of the passage from individual loyalties356 to collective loyalties, from an antagonistic357 to a communistic civilization, or else our republicanism is but the repetition of a stale experiment, doomed to renewed failure. There are political horoscopists who predict the subversion358 of
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the American Republic and its replacement359 by a monarchy360. Thickening corruption361 and strife362 between two hostile parties over a vast intermediate stratum364 of indifference365 prompt the observer to such a conclusion. But a more auspicious faith is that these ills are to be overruled for good. It is more likely that both republicanism and monarchy, in their purest forms, are to vanish in behalf of a third, as yet scarcely known, form of government, which will give the final solution to the long-vexed problem, namely, government by scientific commissions which will know no prejudice, but represent all in the spirit of justice.
The exact knowledge, co-operative power, and disciplined skill chiefly exemplified hitherto in war, or in great business enterprises conducted in the exclusive interests of their supporters against all others,—this combination, universalized and put on a basis of disinterestedness367, seeking the good of an entire nation or the entire world, will furnish the true form of government now wanted. For no government of the many by the few in the spirit of will, whether that will represents the minority or the majority, can be permanent. The only everlasting368 or truly divine government must be one free from all will except the will of God, one which shall guide in the spirit of science by demonstrated laws of truth and right, representing the harmonized good of the whole.
In view of such a possible result, the trustful American, comparing his people with Asiatics or with Europeans, can regard without fear the apparent change of certain forms of virtue into correlative forms of vice; because he holds that this is but a transient disentwining of the moral and religious tendrils from around smaller and more selfish objects in preparation for their permanent re-entwining around greater and more disinterested366 ones, when private families shall dissolve into a universal family, or their separate interests be conformed to its collective interests. All humanity is the family of God, and perhaps the historic selfishness of the lesser families may crumble369 into individualities in order to re-combine in the universal welfare of this.
Meanwhile, it may well be maintained that the repulsive370 swagger of self-assertion sometimes seen here is a less evil than the degrading servility and stagnant371 spirit of caste often seen elsewhere. The desideratum is to construct out of the alienated372 races
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and classes of men here thrown together, jarring with their distinctions and prejudices, yet under conditions of unprecedented favorableness, a new type of character, carrying in its freed and sympathetic intelligence all the vital and spiritual traditions of humanity. There are but two methods to this end: one, the intermingling of the varieties in generative descent; the other, the personal assimilation of contrasting experiences and qualities by mutual sympathetic interpretation373 and assumption of them. This latter process is the very process and business of the dramatic art. The true player is the most detached, versatile374, imaginative, and emotional style of man, most capable of understanding, feeling with, and reproducing all other styles, best fitted, therefore, to mediate363 between hostile clans375 and creeds and reconcile the dissonant376 parts of society and the race in its final cosmopolite harmony.
Consequently, among the public agencies of culture destined to educate the American people out of their defects and faults into a complete accordant manhood—if, as is fondly hoped, that happy destiny be reserved for them—the dramatic art will have an unparalleled place of honor assigned to it. The dogmatic Church, so busy in toothlessly mumbling377 the formulas of an extinct faith that it loses sight of the living truths of God in nature and society, will be heeded378 less and less as it slowly dies its double death in drivel of words and drivel of ceremonies. But the plastic Stage, clearing itself of its abuses and carelessness, and receiving a new inspiration at once religious in its sacred earnestness and artistic379 in its free range of recreative play, will become more and more influential380 as it learns to exemplify the various ideals of human nature and human life set off by their graded foils, and presents the gravest teachings disguised in the finest amusements.
In the democratic idea, every man is called on to be a priest and a king unto God. Church and State, in all their forms and disguises, have sought to monopolize381 those august rôles for a few; but the Theatre, in the examples of its great actors, has instinctively sought to fling their secrets open to the whole world; and, when fully enlightened by the Academy, it will clearly teach what it has thus far only obscurely hinted. It will reveal the hidden secrets of power and rank, the just arts of sway, and
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the iniquitous382 artifices383 of despotism. And it will assert the indefeasible claim of every man, so far as he wins personal fitness and desert, to have open before him a free passage through all the spheres and heights of social humanity. The greatest player is the one who can most perfectly represent the largest scale of characters, keeping each in its exact truth and grade, yet passing freely through them all. That, too, is the moral ground and essence of democracy, whose basis is thus the same as that of the dramatic art,—namely, a free and intelligent sympathy giving men the royal freedom of mankind by right of eminent49 domain384. The priesthood and kingship of man are universal in kind, but endlessly varied385 in degree, no two men on earth nor no two angels in heaven having such a monotonous386 uniformity that they cannot be discriminated. Each one has an original stamp and relish387 of native personality. The law of infinite perfection, even in liberty itself, is perfect subordination in the infinite degrees of superiority.
These opposed and balancing truths found a magnificent impersonation on the stage in Edwin Forrest, and made him pre-eminently the representative American actor. All his great parts set in emphatic228 relief the intrinsic sovereignty of the individual man, the ideal of a free manhood superior to all artificial distinctions or circumstances. He showed man as inherent king of himself, and also relative king over others in proportion to his true superiority in worth and weight. When Tell confronted Gessler, or Rolla appeared with the Inca, or Spartacus stood before the Emperor, or Cade defied the King, or Metamora scorned the Englishman, the titular monarch149 was nothing in the tremendous presence of the authentic388 hero. Genuine virtue, power, and nobleness took the crown and sceptre away from empty prescription389. This was grand, and is the lesson the American people need to learn. It enthrones the truth, while repudiating the error, of vulgar democracy. That error would interpret the doctrine390 of equal rights into a flat and dead uniformity, a stagnant level of similarities; but that truth affirms an endless variety of degrees with a boundless liberty around all, each free to fit himself for all the privileges of human nature according to his ability, and entitled to enjoy those privileges in proportion to the fitness he attains391. The principle of order, rank, authority, hierarchy392, is as omnipotent393 and sacred in genuine democracy as
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it is in nature or the government of God. The American idea, as against the Asiatic and European, would not destroy the principle of precedence, but would make that principle the intrinsic force and merit of the individual, instead of any historic or artificial prerogative. It asserts that there must be no horizontal caste or stratum in society to prevent the vertical394 any more than the level circulation of the political units. It declares that there shall be no despotic fixtures395 reserving the most desirable and authoritative396 places for any arbitrary sets of persons, but that there shall be divine liberty for the ablest and best to gravitate by divine right to the highest places. That is the American idea purified and completed. That, also, is the central lesson of the dramatic art in its crowning triumphs on the popular stage. And in the half-inspired, half-conscious representation of it lay the commanding originality of Edwin Forrest, our first national tragedian.
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one of the profoundest elements in the destiny of man. And the increasing attention given to the subject in our country is a good sign, and not the trifling11 vanity which some superficial critics deem it. It deals with those complicated facts of crossing or mingling12 streams of blood and lines of nerve out of which—and it is a point of immeasurable importance—the law of hereditary13 communication of qualities and quantities, influences and destinies, is to be formulated14.
William Forrest, after a long struggle against pecuniary15 embarrassments16, gave up his mercantile business, and obtained a situation in the old United States Bank. On the closing of that institution, in connection with which his merits had secured him the friendly acquaintance of the celebrated17 millionaire Stephen Girard, he received a similar appointment in the Girard Bank. This office he held until his death, oppressed with the debts bequeathed by his failure, supporting his family with difficulty, and leaving them quite destitute19 at last.
Mr. Forrest was much esteemed20 for his good sense, his dignified21 sobriety of demeanor22, his strict probity23, his modesty24 and industry. Reserved and taciturn in manners, tall, straight, and slender in person, he was a hard-working, care-worn, devout25, and honest man, who strove to be just and true in every relation. He had a pale and sombre face, with regular features, which lighted up with strong expressiveness26 when he was pleased or earnestly interested. He was somewhat disposed to melancholy27, though not at all morose28, his depression and reserve being attributable rather to weariness under his enforced struggle with unfavorable conditions than to any native gloom of temper or social antipathy29.
Edwin, in his own later years, dwelt with veneration30 on the memory of his father, and was fond of recalling his early recollections of him, deeply regretting that there was no portrait or daguerreotype31 of him in existence. He was wont32 to say that among the sweetest memories that remained to him from his childhood were the rich and musical though plaintive33 tones of his father's voice, the ringing and honest heartiness34 of his occasional laugh, and the singular charm of his smile. He said, "I used to think, when my father smiled, the light bursting over his dark and sad countenance,—its very rarity lending it a double
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lustre35,—I used to think I never saw anything so beautiful." The light of love and joy broke over his sombre features like sunshine suddenly gilding36 a gray crag.
The unobtrusive, toilsome life of this worthy38 man, unmarked by any salient points possessing general interest for the public, glided39 on in even course to the close, darkened by the shadows of material adversity, but brightened by the serene40 lights of domestic happiness and self-respect. In his poverty he knew many mortifications, many hardships of self-denial and anxious forethought. But in his upright character and blameless conduct, in his retiring and religious disposition42, in the kind and respectful regard of all who knew him, he experienced the supports and consolations43 deserved by such a type of man,—a type common in the middle walks of American society, and as full of merit as it is free from all that is noisy or meretricious44. He was not an educated man, not disciplined and adorned45 by the arts of literary and social culture. But his virtues46 made him eminently48 respectable in himself and in his sphere. He came of a good stock, with noble traditions in its veins50, endowed with sound judgment51, refined nervous fibre, a grave moral tone, and persevering52 self-reliance. He died of consumption, in 1819, in the sixty-second year of his age. In the death of his youngest son his blood was extinguished, and the fire went out on his family hearth53. No member of his lineage remains54 on earth. The recollections of him, now dim threads in the minds of a few survivors55, will soon fall into the unremembering maw of the past. Herein his life and fate have this interest for all, that they so closely resemble those of the great majority of our race. Few can escape this common lot of obscurity and oblivion. Nor should one care much to escape it. It is not possible for all to be conspicuous56, famous, envied. Neither is it desirable. The genuine end for all is to be true and good, obedient to their duty, and useful and pleasant to their kind. If they can also be happy, why then, that is another blessing57 for which to thank God. Beyond a question the most illustrious favorites of fortune, amidst all the glitter and hurrah58 of their lot, are often less contented59 in themselves and less loved by their associates than those members of the average condition who attract so little attention while they stay and are forgotten so soon when they have gone. And, mortal limits once passed, what
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matters all this to the immortal60 soul? The rank of a man in the sight of God and his fate in eternity—which are the essential things alike for the loftiest and the lowliest—depend on considerations very different from the tinsel of his station or the noise of his career. One may be poor, weak, obscure, unfortunate, yet be a truly good and happy man. That is the essential victory. Another may be rich, powerful, renowned61, enveloped62 in the luxuries of the earth. If his soul is adjusted to its conditions and wisely uses them, this is a boon63 still more to be desired; for he too has the essential victory. The real end and aim of life always lie within the soul, not in any exterior64 prize: still, the best outward conditions may well be the most coveted65, although there is no lot which does not yield full compensations, if the occupant of that lot is what he ought to be.
The foregoing sketch66, brief and meagre as it is, presents all for which the constructive67 materials exist.
In turning from the father to the mother of Edwin Forrest, the data are as simple and modest as before, and a still more genial68 office awaits the biographer. For she was an excellent example of a good woman, gentle, firm, judicious69, diligent70, cheerful, religious, ever faithful to her duties, the model of what a wife and a mother ought to be. Her son growingly revered72 and loved her to the very end of his life, as much as a man could do this side of idolatry; and he was anxious that her portrait should be presented and her worth signalized in this book. Ample opportunities will be afforded for doing this.
Rebecca Forrest was, in every sense of the words, a true mate and helpmeet to her husband. He reposed73 on her with unwavering affection, respect, and confidence, and found unbroken comfort and satisfaction there, whatever might happen elsewhere. Through twenty-five years of happy wedlock74 she shared all his labors75 and trials, joys and sorrows, and survived him for a yet longer period, fondly venerating76 his memory, scrupulously77 guarding and training his children. Her maiden78 name was Lauman. Born in Philadelphia, she was of German descent on both sides, her parents having migrated thither79 in early life, and set up a new hearth-stone, to continue here, in a modified form, the old Teutonic homestead left with tears beyond the sea.
William Forrest and Rebecca Lauman were married in 1795,
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he being at that time thirty-seven years old, she thirty-two. Seven children were born to them in succession at quite regular intervals80 of two years. The nameless boy who preceded Edwin in 1804 died at birth. The remaining six were all baptized in the Episcopal Church of Saint Paul, on Third Street, in Philadelphia, by the Rev71. Doctor Pilmore, on the same day, November 13, 1813. The names of these six children, in the order of their birth, were Lorman, Henrietta, William, Caroline, Edwin, and Eleanora.
The first of these to die was Lorman, the eldest81 of the family. He was a tanner and currier by trade. He was over six feet in height, straight as an arrow, lithe82 and strong, and of a brave and adventurous83 disposition. He left home on a filibustering84 enterprise directed to some part of South America, in his twenty-sixth year, and nothing was heard of him afterwards. The following letter, written by Edwin to his brother William, who was then at Shepherdstown, in Virginia, announces the unfortunate design of poor Lorman:
"Philadelphia, August 1st, 1822.
"Dear Brother,—I received your favor of 29th July, and noted86 its contents. I am sorry to hear you have such ill luck. Your business in this city is very good.
"Lorman has returned from New York, and intends on Monday next to embark87 on board a patriot88 privateer, now lying in this port, for Saint Thomas, and from thence to South America, where, in the patriot service, he has been commissioned 1st lieutenant90, at a salary of eighty dollars per month. He screens himself from mother by telling her he is going to Saint Thomas to follow his trade, being loath91 to inform her of the true cause. A numerous acquaintance accompany him on the said expedition. He wishes me to beg of you not to say anything when you return more than he has allowed himself to say. It is a glorious expedition, and had I not fair prospects92 in the theatric line I should be induced to go.
"Come on as early as possible. You may stand a chance of getting a berth93 in the Walnut94 Street Theatre, or, which is most certain and best, work at your trade.
"Mrs. Riddle95 has removed her dwelling96 to a romantic scene in Hamilton Villa97. John Moore, advancing above mediocrity, per
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formed Alexander the Great for her benefit. Please write as early as possible. Till then adieu. In haste, your affectionate brother,
"Edwin."
The expedition proved an ill-starred one, and Lorman perished in it in some unrecorded encounter, passing out of history like an unknown breath. It seems fated that the paths to all great goals shall be strewn with the wrecks98 of untimely and irregular enterprises, unfortunate but prophetic precursors99 of the final triumphs. It has been so in the case of the many premature100 and wrongful attempts to grasp for the flag of the United States those backward and waiting territories destined101, perhaps, as the harmonies of Providence102 weave themselves out, spontaneously to shoot into the web of the completed unity103 of the Western Continent.
Many a gallant104 and romantic fellow, many a reckless brawler105, many a coarse and vulgar aspirant106, many a crudely dreaming and scheming patriot, half inspired, half mad, has fallen a victim to those numerous semi-piratical attempts at conquest which have in the eyes of some flung on our flag the lustre of their promise, in the eyes of others, planted there the stains of their folly107 and crime. But if there be a systematic108 plan or divine drift and purport109 in history, every one of these efforts has had its place, has contributed its quota110 of influence, has left its seed, yet to spring up and break into flower and fruit. Then every life, buried and forgotten while the slow preparations accumulate, will have a resurrection in the ripe fulfilment of the end for which it was spent. Meanwhile, the brief and humble111 memory of Lorman Forrest sleeps with the nameless multitude of pioneers the forerunning line of whose graves invites the progress of free America all around the hemisphere.
William, the second son, expired under a sudden attack of bilious112 colic, at the age of thirty-four. He was a printer, and worked at this trade for several years, buffeted113 by fortune from place to place. The mechanical drudgery114, however, irked him. The lack of opportunity and ability to rise and to better his condition also disheartened and repelled115 him; and before he was twenty-one he abandoned the business of type-setting for an employment more suited to his tastes. He adopted the theatrical116 profession and entered on the stage, of which he had been an
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amateur votary117 from his early youth. Their common dramatic aptitudes118 and aspirations120 were a strong bond of fellowship between him and his youngest brother, and they had a thousand times practised together at the art of acting121, in private, before either made his appearance in public. This coincidence of talent and ambition between the brothers seems to reveal an inherited tendency. The local reputation of the elder, once clear and bright, has been almost utterly122 lost in the wide and brilliant fame of the younger. It is fitting that it be here snatched from oblivion, at least for a passing moment. For he was both a good man and a good actor, performing his part well alike on the scenic123 stage and on the real one; though in his case, as in that of most of his contemporaries, the merit was not of such pronounced and impressive relief as to survive in any legible character the obliterating124 waves of the half-century which has swept across it. Yet his accomplishments125, force, and desert were sufficient to make him, in spite of early poverty and premature death, for several years the respected and successful manager of the leading theatre, first of Albany, afterwards of Philadelphia.
The following tribute was paid to him in one of the papers of his native city on the day of his burial:
"When we are awakened126 from the dreams of mimic127 life, so vividly128 portrayed129 by histrionic skill, to the fatal realities of life itself, the blow falls with double severity. Such was the effect on Monday evening, when, on the falling of the curtain at the Arch Street Theatre, after the first piece, Mr. Thayer stepped forward, announced the sudden death of Mr. William Forrest, the Manager, and requested the indulgent sympathy of the audience for the postponement130 of the remaining entertainments. A shock so sudden and so profound it has seldom been our lot to record. Engaged in his duties all the morning, it appeared but a moment since he had been among us, in the full enjoyment131 of health, when the hand of the unsparing destroyer struck him down. Mr. Forrest was a great and general favorite among his associates, to whom he was endeared by every feeling of kindness and affection. Few possessed132 a more placid133 or even disposition, and few won friends so fast and firmly. In his private relations he was equally estimable, and the loss of him as a son and as a brother will be long and severely134 felt."
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He was also spoken of in the same strain by the journals of Albany, one of them using these words: "Our citizens will regret to read of the death of Mr. William Forrest. He was known here not only as a manager of much taste and enterprise, but as an actor of conceded merit and reputation. He was also esteemed here, as in Philadelphia, by numerous acquaintances for his personal worth and social qualities. The tidings of his decease will be received with sorrow by all who knew him."
So, on the modest actor, manager, and man, after the short and well-meant scene of his quiet, checkered136, not unsuccessful life, the curtain fell in swift and tragic137 close, leaving the mourners, who would often speak kindly138 of him, to go about the streets for a little while and then fade out like his memory.
The three daughters of the family—none of them ever marrying—lived to see their youngest brother at the height of his fame, and always shared freely in the comforts secured by his prosperity. They were proud of his talents and reputation, grateful for his loving generosity139, devoted140 to his welfare. In his absence from home their correspondence was constantly maintained, and the only interruption their attachment141 knew was death. Henrietta lived to be sixty-five years old, dying of liver-complaint in 1863. The next, Caroline, died from an attack of apoplexy in 1869, at the age of sixty-seven. And the youngest, Eleanora, after suffering partial paralysis142, died of cancer in 1871, being sixty-three years old.
No one among all our distinguished143 countrymen has been more thoroughly144 American than Edwin Forrest. From the beginning to the end of his career he was intensely American in his sympathies, his prejudices, his training, his enthusiasm for the flag and name of his country, his proud admiration145 for the democratic genius of its institutions, his faith in its political mission, his interest in its historic men, his fervent147 love of its national scenery and its national literature. He was also American in his exaggerated dislike and contempt for the aristocratic classes and monarchical148 usages of the Old World. He did not seem to see that there are good and evil in every existing system, and that the final perfection will be reached only by a process of mutual150 giving and taking, which must go on until the malign151 elements of each are expelled, the benign152 elements of the whole combined.
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In view of the concentrated Americanism of Forrest, it may seem singular that he was himself a child of foreign parentage, his father being Scotch1, his mother German. But this fact, which at first appears strange, is really typical. Nothing could be more characteristic of our nationality, which is a composite of European nationalities transferred to these shores, and here mixed, modified, and developed under new conditions. The only original Americans are the barbaric tribes of Indians, fast perishing away, and never suggested to the thought of the civilized154 world by the word. The great settlements from which the American people have sprung were English, French, Dutch, and Spanish. To these four ethnic155 rivers were added a dark flood of slaves from Africa, and vast streams of emigration from Ireland and Germany, impregnated with lesser156 currents from Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Russia, and other countries, adding now portentous157 signal-waves from China and Japan.
The history of European emigration to America is, in one aspect, a tragedy; in another aspect, a romance. When we think of the hardships suffered, the ties sundered158, the farewells spoken, the aching memories left behind, it is a colossal159 tragedy. When we think of the attractive conditions inviting160 ahead, the busy plans, the joyous161 hopes, the prophetic schemes and dreams of freedom, plenty, education, reunion with following friends and relatives, that have gilded162 the landscape awaiting them beyond the billows, it is a chronic163 romance. The collective experience in the exodus164 of the millions on millions of men, women, and children, who, under the goad165 of trials at home and the lure18 of blessings166 abroad, have forsaken167 Europe for America,—the laceration of affections torn from their familiar objects, the tears and wails168 of the separation, the dismal169 discomforts170 of the voyage, the perishing of thousands on the way, either drawn171 down the sepulchral172 mid-ocean or dashed on the rocks in sight of their haven173, the long-drawn heart-break of exile, the tedious task of beginning life anew in a strange land,—and then the auspicious174 opening of the change, the rapid winning of an independence, the quick development of a home-feeling, the assuagement175 of old sorrows, the conquest of fresh joys and a fast-brightening prosperity broad enough to welcome all the sharers still pouring in endless streams across the sea,—the perception of all this makes
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the narrative176 of American immigration at once one of the most pathetic and one of the most inspiring episodes in the history of humanity. This tale—as a complete account of the emigrant177 ships, the emigrant trains, the emigrant wagons178, the clearings and villages and cities of the receding179 West, would reveal it—stand unique and solitary180 in the crowd of its peculiarities181 among all the records of popular removals and colonial settlements since the dispersion of the Aryan race, mysterious mother of the Indo-European nations, from its primeval seat in the bosom183 of Asia. All this suffering, all this hope, all this seething184 toil37, has had its mission, still has its purpose, and will have its reward when the predestined effects of it are fully3 wrought185 out. Its providential object is to expedite the work of reconciling the divided races, nations, parties, classes, and sects186 of mankind. The down-trodden poor had groaned187 for ages under the oppressions of their lot, victims of political tyranny, religious bigotry188, social ostracism189, and their own ignorance. The traditions and usages of power and caste which surrounded them were so old, so intense, so unqualified, that they seemed hopelessly doomed191 to remain forever as they were. Then the Western World was discovered. The American Republic threw its boundless192 unappropriated territory and its impartial193 chance in the struggle of life open to all comers, with the great prizes of popular education, liberty of thought and speech, and universal equality before the law. The multitudes who flocked in were rescued from a social state where the hostile favoritisms organized and rooted in a remote past pressed on them with the fatality194 of an atmosphere, and were transferred to a state which offered them every condition and inducement to emancipate195 themselves from clannish196 prejudices, superstitions197, and disabilities, to flow freely together in the unlimited199 sympathies of manhood, and form a type of character and civilization as cosmopolitan200 as their two bases,—charity and science. The significance, therefore, of the colonizing201 movement from the Old World to the New is the breaking up of the fatal power of transmitted routine, exclusive prerogative202 and caste, and the securing for the people of a condition inviting them to blend and co-operate on pure grounds of universal humanity. In spite of fears and threats, over all drawbacks, the experiment is triumphantly203 going on. The prophets who fore41
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see the end already behold204 all the tears it has cost glittering with rainbows.
America being thus wholly peopled with immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, our very nationality consisting in a fresh and free composite made of the tributes from the worn and routinary nations of the other hemisphere, the distinctive205 glory and design of this last historic experiment of civilization residing in the fact that it presents an unprecedented206 opportunity for the representatives of all races, climes, classes, and creeds207 to get rid of their narrow and irritating peculiarities, to throw off the enslaving heritage imposed on them by the hostile traditions and unjust customs of their past, no impartial observer can fail to see the unreasonableness209 of that bitter prejudice against foreigners which has been so common among those of American birth. This prejudice has had periodical outbreaks in our politics under the name of Native Americanism. In its unreflective sweep it is not only irrational210 and cruel, but also a gross violation211 of the true principles of our government, which deal with nothing less than the common interests and truths of universal humanity. And yet, in its real cause and meaning, properly discriminated212, it is perfectly213 natural in its origin, and of the utmost importance in its purport. It is not against foreigners, their unlimited welcome here, their free sharing in the privilege of the ballot214 and the power of office, that the cry should be raised. That would be to exemplify the very bigotry in ourselves against which we protest in others. It is only against the importation to our shores, and the obstinate215 and aggravating216 perpetuation217 here, of the local vices218, the bad blood, the clannish hates, the separate and inflaming219 antagonisms220 of all sorts, which have been the chief sources of the sufferings of these people in the lands from which they came to us. In its partisan221 sense the motto, America for those of American birth, is absurdly indefensible. But the indoctrination of every American citizen, no matter where born or of what parentage, with the spirit of universal humanity is our supreme222 duty. Freedom from proscription223 and prejudice, a fair course and equal favor for all, an open field for thought, truth, progress,—this expresses the true spirit of the Republic. It is only against what is opposed to this that we should level our example, our argument, and our persuasion224. The invitation our flag advertises to
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all the world is, Come, share in the bounties225 of God, nature, and society on the basis of universal justice and good will, untrammelled by partial laws, unvexed by caste monopolies. Welcome to all; but, as they touch the strand226, let them cast off and forget the distinguishing badges which would cause one portion to fear or hate, despise or tyrannize over, another portion. Not they who happened to be born here, but they who have the spirit of America, are true Americans.
The father and mother of Edwin Forrest were thoroughly Americanized, and taught him none of the special peculiarities of his Scottish or German ancestry227. So far as his conscious training was concerned, in language, religion, social habits, he grew up the same as if his parentage had for repeated generations been American. This was so emphatically the case that all his life long he felt something of the Native American antipathy for foreigners, and cherished an exaggerated sympathy for many of the most pronounced American characteristics. Yet there never was any bigotry in his theoretical politics. His creed208 was always purely229 democratic; and so was the core of his soul. He was only superficially infected by the illogical prejudices around him. Whatever deviations230 he may have shown in occasional word or act, his own example, in his descent and in his character, yielded a striking illustration of the genuine relation which should exist between all the members of our nationality, from whatever land they may hail and whatever shibboleths231 may have been familiar to their lips. Namely, they should, as soon as possible, forget the quarrels of the past, and hold everything else subordinate to the supreme right of private liberty and the supreme duty of public loyalty232, recognizing the true qualifications for American citizenship233 only in the virtues of American manhood, the American type of manhood being simply the common type liberalized and furthered by the free light and stimulus234 of republican institutions. Overlook it or violate it whoever may, such is the lesson of the facts before us. And it is a point of the extremest interest that, however much Forrest may sometimes have failed in his personal temper and prejudices to practise this lesson, the constantly emphasized and reiterated235 exemplification of it in his professional life constitutes his crowning glory and originality236 as an actor. He was distinctively237 the first and greatest democrat146, as such, that
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ever trod the stage. The one signal attribute of his playing was the lifted assertion of the American idea, the superiority of man to his accidents. He placed on the forefront of every one of his celebrated characters in blazing relief the defiant238 freedom and sovereignty of the individual man.
Thus an understanding of the ground traversed in the present chapter is necessary for the appreciation239 of his position and rank in the history of the theatre. Boldly rejecting the mechanical traditions of the stage, shaking off the artificial trammels of the established schools of his profession, he looked directly into his own mind and heart and directly forth240 upon nature, and, summoning up the passionate241 energies of his soul, struck out a style of acting which was powerful in its personal sincerity242 and truth, original in its main features, and, above all, democratic and American in its originality.
But though the parents of Edwin did not try to neutralize243 the influence of purely American circumstances of neighborhood and schooling244 for their child, they could not help transmitting the organic individual heritage of their respective nationalities in his very generation and development. The generic245 features and qualities of every one are stamped in his constitution from the historic soil and social climate and organized life of the country of the parents through whom he derives246 his being from the aboriginal247 Source of Being. Certain peculiar182 modes of acting and reacting on nature and things—modes derived248 from peculiarities of ancestral experience, natural scenery, social institutions, and other conditions of existence—constitute those different styles of humanity called races or nations. These peculiarities of constitution, temper, taste, conduct, looks, characterize in varying degrees all the individuals belonging to a country, making them Englishmen, Spaniards, Russians, Turks, or Chinese. These characteristics, drawn from what a whole people have in common, are transmitted by parents to their progeny249 and inwrought in their organic being by a law as unchangeable as destiny,—nay, by a law which is destiny. The law may, in some cases, baffle our scrutiny250 by the complexity251 of the elements in the problem, or it may be qualified190 by fresh conditions, but it is always there, working in every point of plasma252, every fibril of nerve, every vibration253 of force. The law of heredity is obscured
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or masked in several ways. First, the peculiarities of the two lines of transmitted ancestry, from father and from mother, may in their union neutralize each other, or supplement each other, or exaggerate each other, or combine to form new traits. Secondly254, they may be modified by the reaction of the original personality of the new being, and also by the reaction of the new conditions in which he is placed. Still, the law is there, and works. It is at once the fixed255 fatality of nature and the free voice of God.
Edwin Forrest was fortunate in the national bequests256 of brain and blood or structural257 fitnesses and tendencies which he received from his fatherland and from his motherland. The distinctive national traits of the Scottish and of the German character, regarded on the favorable side, were signally exemplified in him. The traits of the former are courage, acuteness, thrift258, tenacity259, clannishness260, and patriotism261; of the latter, reasoning intelligence, poetic262 sentiment, honesty, personal freedom, capacity for systematic drill, and open sense of humanity. These two lines of prudential virtue47 and expansive sympathy were marked in his career. The attributes of weakness or vice89 that belonged to him were rather human than national. So the Caledonian and Teutonic currents that met in his American veins were an inheritance of goodness and strength.
Nor was he less fortunate in the bequeathal of strictly263 personal qualities from his individual parents. Those conditions of bodily and mental life, the offshoot of the conjoined being of father and mother, imprinted264 and inwoven and ever operative in all the globules of his blood and all the sources of his volition265, were far above the average both in the physical power and in the moral rank they gave. His father was a tall, straight, sinewy266 man, who lived to his sixty-second year a life of hardship and care, without the aid of any particular knowledge of the laws of health. His mother was of an uncommonly267 strong, well-balanced, and healthy constitution, who bore seven children, worked hard, saw much trouble, but lived in equanimity268 to her seventy-fifth year. From the paternal269 side no special tendency to any disease is traceable; on the maternal270 side, only, through the grandfather, who was an inveterate271 imbiber272 of claret, that germ of the gout which ripened273 to such terrible mischief274 for him. In intellectual, moral, and religious endowments and habits, both parents were
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of a superior order, remarked by all who knew them for sound sense, sterling275 virtue, unwearied industry, devout spirit and carriage. The good, strong, consecrated276 stock, both national and personal, they gave their boy, alike by generative transmission, by example, and by precept277, was of inexpressible service to him. He never forgot it or lost it. It stood him in good stead in a thousand trying hours. Amidst the constant and intense temptations of his exposed professional life, it gave him superb victories over the worst of those vices to which hundreds of his fellows succumbed278 in disgraceful discomfiture279 and untimely death. It is true he yielded to follies280 and sins,—as, under such exposures, who would not?—but his sense of honor and his memory of his mother kept him from doing anything which would destroy his self-respect and give him a bad conscience. This inestimable boon he owed to the moral fibre of his birth and early training.
The thoughtful reader will not deem that the writer is making too much of these preliminary matters. Besides their intrinsic interest and value, they are vitally necessary for the full understanding of much that is to follow. In the formation of the character and the shaping of the career of any man the circumstance of supremest power is the ancestral spirits which report themselves in him from the past, and the organific influences of blood and nerve brought to bear on him in the mystic world of the womb previous to his entrance into this breathing theatre of humanity. The ignorance and the squeamishness prevalent in regard to the subject of the best raising of children are the causes of indescribable evils ramifying in all directions. It has been tabooed from the province of public study and teaching, although no other matter presents such pressing and sacred claims on universal attention. It cannot always continue to be so neglected or forced into the dark. The young giant, Social Science, so rapidly growing, will soon insist on the thorough investigation281 of it, and on the accordant organization in practice of the truths which shall be elicited282. When by analysis, generalization283, experiment, and all sorts of methods and tests, men shall have ransacked284 every other subject, it may be hoped, they will begin to apply a little study to the one subject of really paramount285 importance,—the breeding of their own species. When the same scientific care and skill, based on accumulated and sifted286 knowl
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edge, shall be devoted to this province as has already been exemplified with such surprising results in the improvement of the breeds of sheep, cows, horses, hens, and pigeons, still more amazing achievements may be confidently expected. The ranks of hopeless cripples, invalids287, imbeciles, idlers, and criminals will cease to be recruited. The rate of births may perhaps be reduced to one-fourth of what it now is, with a commensurate elevation288 of the condition of society by the weeding out of the perishing and dangerous classes. And the rate of infant mortality may be reduced to one per cent. of its present murderous average. The regeneration of the world will be secured by the perfecting of its generation.
These ideas were familiar to Forrest. He often spoke135 of them, and wondered they were so slow to win the notice they deserved. For the hypocrisy289 or prudery which affected290 to regard them as indelicate and to be shunned291 in polite speech, he expressed contempt. In his soul the chord of ancestral lineage which bound his being with a vital line running through all foregone generations of men up to the Author of men, was, as he felt it, exceptionally intense and sacred. And surely the whole subject of our consanguinity292 in time and space is, to every right thinker, as full of poetic attraction and religious awe293 on one side as it is of scientific interest and social importance on the other.
Each of us has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, sixteen great-great-grandparents. In every receding generation the number doubles, from thirty-two to sixty-four, then to one hundred and twenty-eight, and so on; so that at the twentieth remove, omitting the factor of intermarriages, one has over a million ancestors! So many threads of nerve thrilling into him out of the dark past! So many invisible rivulets294 of blood tributary295 to the ocean of his heart, the collective experiences of all of them latently reported in his structure! His physiological296 mould and type, his mental biases297 and passional drifts, his longevity298, and other prospective299 experiences and fate, are the resultant of these combined contributions modified by his own choice and new circumstances. What can be conceived more solemnly impressive, or to us morally more sublime300 and momentous301, than this picture of an immortal personality, isolated302 in his own responsible thought amidst the universe, but surrounded by the mys
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terious ranks of his ancestry, all connected with him by spiritual ligaments which lengthen303 and multiply, but never break, as he tracks them, further and further, through the annals of time, through prehistoric304 ages, incapable305 of solution or pause till his faith apprehends306 the beginning of their tremulous lines in the creative fiat307 of God!
Indulge in whatever theories we may, whether of continuous development or of sudden creation, it is through our parents that we receive our being. It is through our ancestry, spreading ultimately back to the limits of the human race, that each of us descends308 from God. By them it is that the Creator creates us. Well may the great Asiatic races, the soft and contemplative Brahmins, the child-like Chinese, the pure and thoughtful Parsees, worship their unknown Maker309 in forms of reverential remembrance and adoration310 paid to their known ancestors, gathering311 their relics312 in dedicated313 tombs or temples, cherishing their names and examples and precepts314 with fond devotion, celebrating pensive315 and glad festivals in their honor, preparing, around their pious316 offerings of fruits and flowers, little seats of grass, in a circle, for the pleased guardian317 spirits of their recalled fathers and mothers invisibly to occupy. Let not the reckless spirit of Young America, absorbed in the chase of material gain, and irreverent of everything but sensuous318 good, call it all a superstition198 and a folly. There is truth in it, too, and a hallowing touch of the universal natural religion of humanity.
America, in her hasty and incompetent319 contempt for the dotage320, fails to appropriate the wisdom of the Orient. More of their humility321, leisure, meditation322, reverence323, aspiration119, mystic depth of intuition, will do us as much good as more of our science, ingenuity324, independence, and enterprise will do them. The American people, in their deliverance from the entrammelling conditions of the over-governed Old World, and their exciting naturalization on the virgin85 continent of the West, have, to some extent, erred153 in affixing325 their scorn and their respect to the wrong objects. In repudiating326 excessive or blind loyalty to titular superiors and false authority, they have lost too much of the proper loyalty to real superiors and just authority. They are too much inclined to be contented with respectability and the average standard, instead of aspiring327 to perfection by the divine standard.
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They show too much deference328 to public opinion, and are too eagerly drawn after the vulgar prizes of public pursuit,—money and social position,—to the comparative neglect of personal reflection and culture, personal honor, and detachment in a self-sustaining insight of principles. They think too subserviently329 of what is established, powerful, fashionable,—the very vice from which the founders330 of the country fled hither. They think too meanly and haltingly of the truth and good which are not yet established and fashionable, but ought to be so,—thus turning their backs on the very virtue which heaven and earth command them in especial to cultivate, namely, the virtue of an unflinching spirit of progress in obedience331 to whatever is right and desirable as against whatever wrongfully continues to govern. The best critics from abroad, and the wisest observers at home, agree that the most distinctive vice in the American character is described by the terms complacent332 rashness and assumption, crude impertinence, disrespect to age, irreverence333 towards parents, contempt for whatever does not belong to itself. This rampant334 democratic royalty335 in everybody has proved sadly detrimental336 to that spirit of modesty and docility337 which, however set against oppression and falsehood, is profoundly appreciative338 of everything sacred or useful and sits with veneration at the feet of the past to garner339 up its treasures with gratitude340. The American who improves instead of abusing his national privileges will maintain his private convictions and not bend his knee slavishly to public opinion, but he will treat the feelings of others with tenderness, bow to all just authority, and reverently341 uncover his heart before everything that he sees to be really sacred.
On these points, it will be seen in the subsequent pages, the subject of the present biography, as a boldly-pronounced American citizen, was in most respects a good example. If occasionally, in some things, he practised the American vice,—self-will, unconscious bigotry intrenched in a shedding conceit,—he prevailingly exemplified the American virtue,—tolerance, frankness, generosity, a sympathetic forbearance in the presence of what was venerable and dear to others, although it was not so to him. While withholding342 his homage343 from merely conventional sanctities, he never scoffed344 at them; and he always instinctively345 worshipped those intrinsic sanctities which carry their divine
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credentials in their own nature. The filial and fraternal spirit in particular was very strong in him, and bore rich fruits in his life and conduct.
The conspicuous relative decay of the filial and fraternal virtues, or weakening of the family tie, among the American people, the precocious346 development and self-assertion of their children, wear an evil aspect, and certainly are not charming. Yet they may be inevitable347 phases in the evolution of the final state of society. They may distinguish a transitional stage through which all countries will have to pass, America being merely in the front. In ancient life the political and social unit was the family. The whole family was held strictly responsible for the deeds of each member of it. The drift marked by democracy is to make the individual the ultimate unit in place of the family, legally clearing each person from his consanguineous entanglements348, and holding him responsible solely349 for his own deeds in relation to entire society. The movement towards individuality is disintegrating350; but, when completed, it may, by a terminal conversion351 of opposites, play into a more intimate fellowship and harmony of the whole than has ever yet been realized on earth. Thus it is not impossible that the narrower and intenser domestic bonds may be giving way simply before the extruding352 growth of wider and grander bonds, the particular yielding merely as the universal advances. If the destiny of the future be some form of social unity, some public solidarity353 of sympathies and interests in which all shall mutually identify themselves with one another, then the temporary irreverences and insurgences of a democratic régime may have their providential purpose and their abundant compensation in that final harmony of co-operative freedom and obedience to which they are preparing the way out of priestly and monarchical régimes.
Either this is the truth, that the youthful insubordination and premature complacency, the rarity of generous friendships and the commonness of sinister354 rivalries355, which mark our time and land are necessary accompaniments of the passage from individual loyalties356 to collective loyalties, from an antagonistic357 to a communistic civilization, or else our republicanism is but the repetition of a stale experiment, doomed to renewed failure. There are political horoscopists who predict the subversion358 of
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the American Republic and its replacement359 by a monarchy360. Thickening corruption361 and strife362 between two hostile parties over a vast intermediate stratum364 of indifference365 prompt the observer to such a conclusion. But a more auspicious faith is that these ills are to be overruled for good. It is more likely that both republicanism and monarchy, in their purest forms, are to vanish in behalf of a third, as yet scarcely known, form of government, which will give the final solution to the long-vexed problem, namely, government by scientific commissions which will know no prejudice, but represent all in the spirit of justice.
The exact knowledge, co-operative power, and disciplined skill chiefly exemplified hitherto in war, or in great business enterprises conducted in the exclusive interests of their supporters against all others,—this combination, universalized and put on a basis of disinterestedness367, seeking the good of an entire nation or the entire world, will furnish the true form of government now wanted. For no government of the many by the few in the spirit of will, whether that will represents the minority or the majority, can be permanent. The only everlasting368 or truly divine government must be one free from all will except the will of God, one which shall guide in the spirit of science by demonstrated laws of truth and right, representing the harmonized good of the whole.
In view of such a possible result, the trustful American, comparing his people with Asiatics or with Europeans, can regard without fear the apparent change of certain forms of virtue into correlative forms of vice; because he holds that this is but a transient disentwining of the moral and religious tendrils from around smaller and more selfish objects in preparation for their permanent re-entwining around greater and more disinterested366 ones, when private families shall dissolve into a universal family, or their separate interests be conformed to its collective interests. All humanity is the family of God, and perhaps the historic selfishness of the lesser families may crumble369 into individualities in order to re-combine in the universal welfare of this.
Meanwhile, it may well be maintained that the repulsive370 swagger of self-assertion sometimes seen here is a less evil than the degrading servility and stagnant371 spirit of caste often seen elsewhere. The desideratum is to construct out of the alienated372 races
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and classes of men here thrown together, jarring with their distinctions and prejudices, yet under conditions of unprecedented favorableness, a new type of character, carrying in its freed and sympathetic intelligence all the vital and spiritual traditions of humanity. There are but two methods to this end: one, the intermingling of the varieties in generative descent; the other, the personal assimilation of contrasting experiences and qualities by mutual sympathetic interpretation373 and assumption of them. This latter process is the very process and business of the dramatic art. The true player is the most detached, versatile374, imaginative, and emotional style of man, most capable of understanding, feeling with, and reproducing all other styles, best fitted, therefore, to mediate363 between hostile clans375 and creeds and reconcile the dissonant376 parts of society and the race in its final cosmopolite harmony.
Consequently, among the public agencies of culture destined to educate the American people out of their defects and faults into a complete accordant manhood—if, as is fondly hoped, that happy destiny be reserved for them—the dramatic art will have an unparalleled place of honor assigned to it. The dogmatic Church, so busy in toothlessly mumbling377 the formulas of an extinct faith that it loses sight of the living truths of God in nature and society, will be heeded378 less and less as it slowly dies its double death in drivel of words and drivel of ceremonies. But the plastic Stage, clearing itself of its abuses and carelessness, and receiving a new inspiration at once religious in its sacred earnestness and artistic379 in its free range of recreative play, will become more and more influential380 as it learns to exemplify the various ideals of human nature and human life set off by their graded foils, and presents the gravest teachings disguised in the finest amusements.
In the democratic idea, every man is called on to be a priest and a king unto God. Church and State, in all their forms and disguises, have sought to monopolize381 those august rôles for a few; but the Theatre, in the examples of its great actors, has instinctively sought to fling their secrets open to the whole world; and, when fully enlightened by the Academy, it will clearly teach what it has thus far only obscurely hinted. It will reveal the hidden secrets of power and rank, the just arts of sway, and
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the iniquitous382 artifices383 of despotism. And it will assert the indefeasible claim of every man, so far as he wins personal fitness and desert, to have open before him a free passage through all the spheres and heights of social humanity. The greatest player is the one who can most perfectly represent the largest scale of characters, keeping each in its exact truth and grade, yet passing freely through them all. That, too, is the moral ground and essence of democracy, whose basis is thus the same as that of the dramatic art,—namely, a free and intelligent sympathy giving men the royal freedom of mankind by right of eminent49 domain384. The priesthood and kingship of man are universal in kind, but endlessly varied385 in degree, no two men on earth nor no two angels in heaven having such a monotonous386 uniformity that they cannot be discriminated. Each one has an original stamp and relish387 of native personality. The law of infinite perfection, even in liberty itself, is perfect subordination in the infinite degrees of superiority.
These opposed and balancing truths found a magnificent impersonation on the stage in Edwin Forrest, and made him pre-eminently the representative American actor. All his great parts set in emphatic228 relief the intrinsic sovereignty of the individual man, the ideal of a free manhood superior to all artificial distinctions or circumstances. He showed man as inherent king of himself, and also relative king over others in proportion to his true superiority in worth and weight. When Tell confronted Gessler, or Rolla appeared with the Inca, or Spartacus stood before the Emperor, or Cade defied the King, or Metamora scorned the Englishman, the titular monarch149 was nothing in the tremendous presence of the authentic388 hero. Genuine virtue, power, and nobleness took the crown and sceptre away from empty prescription389. This was grand, and is the lesson the American people need to learn. It enthrones the truth, while repudiating the error, of vulgar democracy. That error would interpret the doctrine390 of equal rights into a flat and dead uniformity, a stagnant level of similarities; but that truth affirms an endless variety of degrees with a boundless liberty around all, each free to fit himself for all the privileges of human nature according to his ability, and entitled to enjoy those privileges in proportion to the fitness he attains391. The principle of order, rank, authority, hierarchy392, is as omnipotent393 and sacred in genuine democracy as
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it is in nature or the government of God. The American idea, as against the Asiatic and European, would not destroy the principle of precedence, but would make that principle the intrinsic force and merit of the individual, instead of any historic or artificial prerogative. It asserts that there must be no horizontal caste or stratum in society to prevent the vertical394 any more than the level circulation of the political units. It declares that there shall be no despotic fixtures395 reserving the most desirable and authoritative396 places for any arbitrary sets of persons, but that there shall be divine liberty for the ablest and best to gravitate by divine right to the highest places. That is the American idea purified and completed. That, also, is the central lesson of the dramatic art in its crowning triumphs on the popular stage. And in the half-inspired, half-conscious representation of it lay the commanding originality of Edwin Forrest, our first national tragedian.
The foregoing thoughts put us in possession of the data and place us at the point of view for an intelligent and interested survey of the field before us. And we will now proceed to the proper narrative of the biographic details, and to the critical delineation397 of the professional features suggested by the title of our work.
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scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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fabrics
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| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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hardy
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| adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的 | |
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plumes
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| 羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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titular
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| adj.名义上的，有名无实的；n.只有名义（或头衔）的人 | |
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snob
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| n.势利小人，自以为高雅、有学问的人 | |
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genealogy
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| n.家系，宗谱 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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12
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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13
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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15
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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16
embarrassments
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| n.尴尬( embarrassment的名词复数 )；难堪；局促不安；令人难堪或耻辱的事 | |
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17
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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18
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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19
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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20
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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21
dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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22
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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23
probity
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| n.刚直；廉洁，正直 | |
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24
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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25
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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26
expressiveness
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| n.富有表现力 | |
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27
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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28
morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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29
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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30
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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31
daguerreotype
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| n.银板照相 | |
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32
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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33
plaintive
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| adj.可怜的，伤心的 | |
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34
heartiness
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| 诚实，热心 | |
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35
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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36
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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37
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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38
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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39
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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40
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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41
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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42
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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43
consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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44
meretricious
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| adj.华而不实的，俗艳的 | |
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45
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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46
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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47
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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48
eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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49
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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50
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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51
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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52
persevering
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| a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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53
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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54
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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55
survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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56
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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57
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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58
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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59
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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60
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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61
renowned
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| adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的 | |
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62
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63
boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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64
exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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65
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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66
sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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67
constructive
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| adj.建设的，建设性的 | |
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68
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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69
judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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70
diligent
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| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
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71
rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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72
revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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74
wedlock
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| n.婚姻，已婚状态 | |
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75
labors
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|
| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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76
venerating
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的现在分词 ) | |
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77
scrupulously
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| adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地 | |
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78
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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79
thither
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|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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80
intervals
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|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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81
eldest
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|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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82
lithe
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|
| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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83
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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84
filibustering
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| v.阻碍或延宕国会或其他立法机构通过提案( filibuster的现在分词 )；掠夺 | |
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85
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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86
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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87
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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88
patriot
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| n.爱国者，爱国主义者 | |
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89
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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90
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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91
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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92
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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93
berth
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| n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊 | |
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94
walnut
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| n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色 | |
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95
riddle
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|
| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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96
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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97
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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98
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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99
precursors
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| n.先驱( precursor的名词复数 )；先行者；先兆；初期形式 | |
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100
premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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101
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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102
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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103
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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104
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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105
brawler
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| 争吵者，打架者 | |
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106
aspirant
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| n.热望者；adj.渴望的 | |
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107
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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108
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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109
purport
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| n.意义，要旨，大要；v.意味著，做为...要旨，要领是... | |
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110
quota
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| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
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111
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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112
bilious
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| adj.胆汁过多的；易怒的 | |
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113
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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114
drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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115
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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116
theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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117
votary
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| n.崇拜者；爱好者；adj.誓约的，立誓任圣职的 | |
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118
aptitudes
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| （学习方面的）才能，资质，天资( aptitude的名词复数 ) | |
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119
aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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120
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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121
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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122
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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123
scenic
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| adj.自然景色的，景色优美的 | |
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124
obliterating
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| v.除去( obliterate的现在分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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125
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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126
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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127
mimic
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| v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人 | |
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128
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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129
portrayed
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| v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
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130
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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131
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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132
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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133
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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134
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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135
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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136
checkered
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| adj.有方格图案的 | |
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137
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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138
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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139
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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140
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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141
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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142
paralysis
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| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
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143
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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144
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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145
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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146
democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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147
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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148
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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149
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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150
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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151
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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152
benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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153
erred
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| 犯错误，做错事( err的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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154
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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155
ethnic
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|
| adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的 | |
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156
lesser
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|
| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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157
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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158
sundered
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| v.隔开，分开( sunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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159
colossal
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|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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160
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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161
joyous
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| adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的 | |
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162
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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163
chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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164
exodus
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| v.大批离去，成群外出 | |
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165
goad
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| n.刺棒，刺痛物；激励；vt.激励，刺激 | |
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166
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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167
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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168
wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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169
dismal
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|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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170
discomforts
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| n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼 | |
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171
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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172
sepulchral
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|
| adj.坟墓的，阴深的 | |
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173
haven
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|
| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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174
auspicious
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|
| adj.吉利的；幸运的，吉兆的 | |
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175
assuagement
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|
| n.缓和；减轻；缓和物 | |
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176
narrative
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|
| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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177
emigrant
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| adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民 | |
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178
wagons
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|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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179
receding
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|
| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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180
solitary
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|
| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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181
peculiarities
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|
| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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182
peculiar
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|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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183
bosom
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|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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184
seething
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| 沸腾的，火热的 | |
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185
wrought
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|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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186
sects
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|
| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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187
groaned
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|
| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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188
bigotry
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|
| n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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189
ostracism
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|
| n.放逐；排斥 | |
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190
qualified
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|
| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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191
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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192
boundless
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|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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193
impartial
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|
| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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194
fatality
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|
| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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195
emancipate
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|
| v.解放，解除 | |
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196
clannish
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|
| adj.排他的，门户之见的 | |
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197
superstitions
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|
| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
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198
superstition
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|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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199
unlimited
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|
| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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200
cosmopolitan
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|
| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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201
colonizing
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|
| v.开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的现在分词 ) | |
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202
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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203
triumphantly
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|
| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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204
behold
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|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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205
distinctive
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|
| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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206
unprecedented
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|
| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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207
creeds
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| （尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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208
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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209
unreasonableness
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|
| 无理性； 横逆 | |
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210
irrational
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|
| adj.无理性的，失去理性的 | |
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211
violation
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|
| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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212
discriminated
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|
| 分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待 | |
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213
perfectly
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|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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214
ballot
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|
| n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票 | |
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215
obstinate
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|
| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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216
aggravating
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|
| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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217
perpetuation
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|
| n.永存，不朽 | |
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218
vices
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|
| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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219
inflaming
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|
| v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的现在分词 ) | |
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220
antagonisms
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|
| 对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 ) | |
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221
partisan
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|
| adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒 | |
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222
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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223
proscription
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| n.禁止，剥夺权利 | |
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224
persuasion
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|
| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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225
bounties
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|
| （由政府提供的）奖金( bounty的名词复数 )； 赏金； 慷慨； 大方 | |
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226
strand
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| vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地） | |
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227
ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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228
emphatic
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|
| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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229
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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230
deviations
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| 背离，偏离( deviation的名词复数 )； 离经叛道的行为 | |
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231
shibboleths
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|
| n.（党派、集团等的）准则( shibboleth的名词复数 )；教条；用语；行话 | |
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232
loyalty
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|
| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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233
citizenship
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|
| n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份) | |
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234
stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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235
reiterated
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| 反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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236
originality
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|
| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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237
distinctively
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|
| adv.特殊地，区别地 | |
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238
defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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239
appreciation
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|
| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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240
forth
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|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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241
passionate
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|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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242
sincerity
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|
| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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243
neutralize
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| v.使失效、抵消，使中和 | |
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244
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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245
generic
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|
| adj.一般的，普通的，共有的 | |
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246
derives
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|
| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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247
aboriginal
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|
| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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248
derived
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|
| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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249
progeny
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|
| n.后代，子孙；结果 | |
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250
scrutiny
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|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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251
complexity
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|
| n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物 | |
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252
plasma
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|
| n.血浆，细胞质，乳清 | |
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253
vibration
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|
| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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254
secondly
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|
| adv.第二，其次 | |
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255
fixed
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|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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256
bequests
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|
| n.遗赠( bequest的名词复数 )；遗产，遗赠物 | |
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257
structural
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|
| adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的 | |
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258
thrift
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|
| adj.节约，节俭；n.节俭，节约 | |
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259
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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260
clannishness
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261
patriotism
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|
| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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262
poetic
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|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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263
strictly
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|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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264
imprinted
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|
| v.盖印（imprint的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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265
volition
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|
| n.意志；决意 | |
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266
sinewy
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|
| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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267
uncommonly
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|
| adv. 稀罕(极，非常) | |
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268
equanimity
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|
| n.沉着，镇定 | |
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269
paternal
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|
| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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270
maternal
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| adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的 | |
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271
inveterate
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| adj.积习已深的，根深蒂固的 | |
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272
imbiber
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273
ripened
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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274
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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275
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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276
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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277
precept
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| n.戒律；格言 | |
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278
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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279
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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280
follies
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| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
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281
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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282
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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283
generalization
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| n.普遍性，一般性，概括 | |
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284
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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285
paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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286
sifted
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| v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审 | |
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287
invalids
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| 病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 ) | |
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288
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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289
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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290
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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291
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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292
consanguinity
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| n.血缘；亲族 | |
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293
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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294
rivulets
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| n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 ) | |
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295
tributary
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|
| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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296
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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297
biases
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| 偏见( bias的名词复数 )； 偏爱； 特殊能力； 斜纹 | |
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298
longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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299
prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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300
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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301
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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302
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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303
lengthen
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| vt.使伸长，延长 | |
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304
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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305
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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306
apprehends
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|
| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的第三人称单数 )； 理解 | |
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307
fiat
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| n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布 | |
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308
descends
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| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
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309
maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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310
adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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311
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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312
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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313
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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314
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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315
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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316
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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317
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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318
sensuous
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| adj.激发美感的；感官的，感觉上的 | |
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319
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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320
dotage
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| n.年老体衰；年老昏聩 | |
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321
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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322
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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323
reverence
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|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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324
ingenuity
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|
| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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325
affixing
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|
| v.附加( affix的现在分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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326
repudiating
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|
| v.（正式地）否认( repudiate的现在分词 )；拒绝接受；拒绝与…往来；拒不履行（法律义务） | |
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327
aspiring
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|
| adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求 | |
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328
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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329
subserviently
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330
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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331
obedience
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|
| n.服从，顺从 | |
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332
complacent
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|
| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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333
irreverence
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| n.不尊敬 | |
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334
rampant
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|
| adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的 | |
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335
royalty
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|
| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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336
detrimental
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|
| adj.损害的，造成伤害的 | |
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337
docility
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|
| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
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338
appreciative
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|
| adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的 | |
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339
garner
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| v.收藏；取得 | |
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340
gratitude
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|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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341
reverently
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|
| adv.虔诚地 | |
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342
withholding
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| 扣缴税款 | |
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343
homage
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|
| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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344
scoffed
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|
| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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345
instinctively
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|
| adv.本能地 | |
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346
precocious
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|
| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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347
inevitable
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|
| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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348
entanglements
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|
| n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住 | |
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349
solely
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|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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350
disintegrating
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|
| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 ) | |
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351
conversion
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|
| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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352
extruding
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|
| v.挤压出( extrude的现在分词 )；挤压成；突出；伸出 | |
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353
solidarity
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|
| n.团结；休戚相关 | |
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354
sinister
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|
| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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355
rivalries
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|
| n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 ) | |
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356
loyalties
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|
| n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情 | |
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357
antagonistic
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|
| adj.敌对的 | |
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358
subversion
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| n.颠覆，破坏 | |
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359
replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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360
monarchy
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|
| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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361
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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362
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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363
mediate
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| vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成 | |
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364
stratum
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| n.地层，社会阶层 | |
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365
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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366
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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367
disinterestedness
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368
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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369
crumble
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|
| vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁 | |
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370
repulsive
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|
| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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371
stagnant
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|
| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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372
alienated
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|
| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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373
interpretation
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|
| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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374
versatile
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|
| adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的 | |
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375
clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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376
dissonant
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|
| adj.不和谐的；不悦耳的 | |
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377
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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378
heeded
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|
| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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379
artistic
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|
| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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380
influential
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|
| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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381
monopolize
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|
| v.垄断，独占，专营 | |
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382
iniquitous
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|
| adj.不公正的；邪恶的；高得出奇的 | |
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383
artifices
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|
| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 )；诡计；巧妙办法；虚伪行为 | |
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384
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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385
varied
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|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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386
monotonous
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|
| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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387
relish
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|
| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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388
authentic
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|
| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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389
prescription
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|
| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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390
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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391
attains
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的第三人称单数 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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392
hierarchy
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|
| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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393
omnipotent
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|
| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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394
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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395
fixtures
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|
| （房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动 | |
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396
authoritative
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|
| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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397
delineation
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| n.记述；描写 | |
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