tion, whether idealistic, gay, licentious, melancholy, dreamy or positive, as "striking" or "well written."
The public as a whole is composed of various groups, whose cry to us writers is:
"Comfort me."
"Amuse me."
"Touch me."
"Make me dream."
"Make me laugh."
"Make me shudder."
"Make me weep."
"Make me think."
And only a few chosen spirits say to the artist:
"Give me something fine in any form which may suit you best, according to your own temperament."
The artist makes the attempt; succeeds or fails.
The critic ought to judge the result only in relation to the nature of the attempt; he has no right to concern himself about tendencies. This has been said a thousand times already; it will always need repeating.
Thus, after a succession of literary schools which have given us deformed, superhuman, poeti-
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