12 OCTOBER 1945, Page 10

The restrained passion with which Vercors is able to render

his love or hatred, his admiration or contempt, cannot fail to move those of us who regard the sceptical apathy of the moment, not as a symptom of convalescence, but as the first signs of some dread and wasting disease. Thomas Muritz' blinding passion for equity and freedom, the fierce contempt for human indifference which has inspired " Le Songe," affect us deeply at this present moment of exhausted disbelief. Are we indulging in a topical, or pathetic, fallacy? I do not think so.