Writers." Sir F. T. Marzials writes with unflagging spirit, and
shows a sane and sober judgment. The theatre in the time of Le Grand Monarque, in some of its aspects, is a deplorable subject. The actor was banned by the Church, and he lived for the most part as he was expected to live. If Moller° was in some respects better than his fellows, as he was unquestionably above them in intel- lectual power, his life had a very dark side. Perhaps his eminence made him the object of especially venomous attacks. Certainly the scandals in his life were peculiarly shocking. We may not believe the worst things that were laid to his charge, but we cannot dismiss them as obviously false. The literary criticism is particularly good. The great dramatist's genius has never been better appreciated. On the Tartuffe question Sir P. T. Marzials does not feel himself able to pronounce a verdict of acquittal. Hypocrisy is the main object of attack, but religion comes in for some side- blows. The fact is that Molibre was not qualified to act the part of a moralist. He must be something like a saint who can pre- sume to distinguish between hypocrisy and sincerity. Similarly the man who knows nothing of Latin and Greek is not qualified to judge between the genuine scholar and the pretender.
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