The Little Review, March 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 1)Various
General
The Little Review, March 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 1)
Various
Literature, Modern -- 20th century -- Periodicals
Everyone is looking for the supremacy of his own pet reform or reaction
as a result of the war, and it is banal to indulge in prophecies. Yet it
seems to me there will be a great gain in our understanding if we
approach the monster with humility. It has, to be sure, shown us the
brutality lurking in modern civilization. We can easily use it as a text
for denouncing politics, commercialism, militarism, and all the other
abstractions which represent to us the sum of present human failings.
Yet why not go a little farther, and blame as well an intellectualism
which slides about on the surface of things, a species of reform and
enthusiasm which does not bite into the substance of humanity? Do not
our philosophies now appear as futile as the pedantic dreaming of
mediaeval schoolmen and alchemists? Does not our separation of the ideal
from the material now seem as vicious as Christian asceticism? What
business have we to toy with perfectionist theories when to do so we
must ignore what is to-day and what will be to-morrow in the blood and
brain of nearly all human beings? We must make human breeding the test
of effort. We must admit that the will is powerless without the hands.
We must create our social tools to accomplish our social ends. We must
forget the false distinctions between emotion and intellect, and use
both for their common purpose. Let us not repudiate machinery because it
has not yet been consciously directed to an end that is worth gaining.
Modern civilization has spent its force developing in opposite
directions—toward the brute and toward the god—and now we are amazed at
the contradiction. Our task is to make a synthesis and arrive at man. It
will be a task to engage the highest qualities of the poet and the
scientist—this job of putting man’s will in control of his overgrown
body. And it will be more fascinating than any other work man has ever
set himself.
The Drama
“Alice in Wonderland”
(_Fine Arts Theatre_)
Judging from this initial production of _Alice in Wonderland_ the new
management of the Fine Arts Theatre is going to justify the name of the
theatre and yet compete with the loop theatres in attracting the
attention of the general public. The Players Producing Company has been
wise in securing the services of an exceptionally good professional
company under the direction of Mr. W. H. Gilmore, and they have made an
unusually happy start with Miss Gerstenberg’s dramatization of Lewis
Carroll’s classic, supplemented by the scenery of Mr. Wm. P. Henderson
and the musical setting of Mr. Eric de Lamarter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account