The decennial representation of the Passion Play at Oberammergau began
last Sunday, and the spectators, who numbered some four thousand, seem to be unanimous in saying that it has not deteriorated. The acting of the new Christ, Anton Lang, is perhaps a little wooden as compared with that of Johann Meyer, who had in him inherently a reflecting sadness, but he looks the character even better, being a man of unusual and refined beauty. (It is, of course, a mere assumption, though a natural one, that Jesus was beautiful. There is not a shadow of evidence on the subject.) The reverential character of the performance is still perfectly maintained, and writer after writer records the deep emotion with which the audience witnessed the central scene. It is not to be regretted that there are no other Passion Plays, for only actors trained by a long tradition could avoid intro- ducing themselves into the sacred drama, but the effect of this one is probably wholly beneficial. We English place religions emotion too low in the intellectual scale, forgetting that the world is not made up of Englishmen, and that even among ourselves reason requires sometimes to be warmed. Else where is the justification for patriotic displays and songs?
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