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Conceptions of Embodied
Evil in Drama, Literature,
Art and Poetry
ONE can scarcely have filled to notice,
of recent years, the remarkable pop
ularity of the dev.l.
Of course, the evil one has figured in
"Faust" and other masterpieces of the
stage for years, and, as such, has become
a fairly familiar character. But recently
. his satanic majesty has broken out in litera
ture and drama more prominently than
ever. .
Plays based upon his supposed per
sonality and depicting his genius for evil
as exerted in a human way are -till the
rage; novelists are turning their attention
to him as a picturesque and striking acces
sory of dramatic literature in other
words, the prince of darkness is enjoying
a most remarkable vogue.
For that matter, the story of his pre
sentation to the human imagination in the
past as zvcll as nozv pictures drawn of him
by literary, dramatic and artistic genius
forms a most interesting study of the em
bodiment of the spirit of evil.
"You have the TJovil underrated.
1 carirot yet persuaded be!
A feilow who is all behated
Must something be." Goethe.
LUCIFER lias undergone remarkable trans
formation at the hands of poets and
writers; the, notable Evil One of 3Jil
tftn'e "X'aradise Lost" has become a
prince of the world, a favorite of cociety in
ne popular novel, while in the modern play of
iMolnar, about which there has been waged a
theatrical war, be" is represented' as the embodi
ment of the "spirit which maketh for, unright
eousness," a ' sort of philosophical conception,
aptly designated when he places -his finger on
the forehead of 's charming woman and mut
ters, "I am there."
The arch enemy of mankind has been a
popular lipre. in 'poetry and the drama, in
.opera and art. He appears iu Goethe's "Faust"
as a most iiifcidious and subtle seducer to ruin
anvj evil ; in Dante s "Inferno" j ho looiWS u-
pendoufly In hell, a creature of liprror, at whosi.
Jiren thing etorms fahake the worJds-
In the ojd medieval hu'raelc plnys lie de
lighted and thrilled audiences, lie was pre
ented to thc-ni as a creature with hoofed feet,
i .mil and hwriisi. ; k- wss v. ick(-dne.ss mid u'li-
-.ill m'Moiii'nnL . 3n , more modern plays and
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THE OREGON SUNDAY
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Loouo, however, he becomes the polished gen
tleman, a wit, a person of irresistible lascmu
tion and charm. He is an epigrammatist, a
philosopher, a lover if need be a very fine devil
of a fellow.
Hut wherever he has appeared he has -unfortunately,
perhaps been very popular.
Whether it was in a miracle play or in a novel,
he has proven a big popular hit; whether it i
a -Mepluslophclcs in "I'aiist,'' or the philo
sophicnl devil of the Austrian playwright, ho
teems certain to win.
REGARDED AS
I'ntil comparatively m&k-rn time -his Sa
tanic majesty wits regarded as a personal, walk-ing-around-on-two-loffs
evil. He was an individ
ual spirit, ruler of the world of darkness; a
Pluto to the Ilomans, an Ahriman tj the Ter
tians and a fire-breathing Satan to the people
of the Middle Ages, when he was wont, to tempt
poor nionks in their cells, visit astrologers and
alcheit)i.liI and lead them to destruction in the
late hours of the night, and go around seeking
whomsoever he might lead to wnvs : pleasure
and temptation.
Hut in the modern play he is men ly sym
bolic a representation of the principles" of
wrongdoing. In "The DeTil," by jlolnar, h
represents the evil side of man's nature, lb
moves among normal nd healthy pci.plc, fa-oi-llates
them by his wit, tempts them merely l.y
subtle suggestions.
; lie .is elever. He is insidious and artful.
IJe getsvpeopIe agreeing with him and lp;
them on; talking brilliant nothings, intersperv
ijnr eiwnments on failing to pluck the fruits of
pleasure ajitT wheedling and cozening them into
wrongdoing. He is cynical a man with an
infinite kmiwledfiP if the- world, who- rauhll.v .
remarks that "The best wives urcotluT 1110115
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JOURNAL PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER ' 6. 190.5
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In "Faust" he appears as " a ptiilosophef ,
too; a poet, with a sense of beauty; a -man of
learning, abstruse, keen. Ho describes himself
thus: ' . .' -. ..
I am- the spirit that deniesl
Anil Justly so; for all thing, from -the void ....
'ailed , forth tlewrven Ift-Uf lett4yed.,
'Twt hettei: then., were :nausJ)t rreatfd. .
Tiiun, mil 'which yoii a sin have ratutf
let ruction auKht with evil blent 4 "
That is mri"prtijier elemertK -. A . . .
Dante, whos "Divine ' Comedy"' ranks
among the masterpieces of the world, finds in
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the arch fiend a being of appalling terror, lie.
describes him thus:
Oh, what a-Ightt .
How passing- strange It seemed when I did sjy
Upon-his .head three faces: one In front.
Of hue vermilion, the other two were this
. , Mid way each - other . shoulder joined . and at
. -. the crest; .. . ... , .
The right 'twlatt wan and yellow geemed; the
' left-.- . - -' . - ' '. .
. To look onk such as come from whence old Nllfl
. Stoops to the lowlands. Under each shot forth
Two" mighty wtngs,: enormous as became''
A bird mi vast. No plnme-s had thiv, , -i
Hut wore In texture like a bat. and thee . .
i )te flapped in the air that from him tnued still
Three wirtda wherewltJTCocytus to its depth
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Was frozen. At six eves he wept: the tears
Adown three chins distilled with bloody foam.
At every mouth his teetha sinner champed.
Bruised as with ponderous engine; so that three
Were in this guise tormented. s
Milton's conception of Satan is regarded
ns one of the most splendid. In this great epic,
Milton depicted the fall of the great angel from
heaven and the fall , of man. Ilia description
of the mighty spirit ranks among the most
powerful written:
Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,
Paid then the lost archangel, this the seat
That we muft change for Heaven; thta
mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be It so! since h
Who now is sovereign can dispose and bid
What shall be right: fartherest from him la
best.
Whom reason hath equaled, force hath made)
supreme
Above his equals! Farewell, happy fields,
Where Joy forever dwells. Hail horrors! Hall
Infernal world! And thou profoundest hell.
Rejoice thy new possessor! one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The 'mind is Its own place, and in Itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.
In a recent popular' novel the evil on
appears as a prince of a little-known princi
pality who visits London, where he makes the
acquaintance of a young writer who has just
inherited five million pounds. The motive of
the 6tory is based on an old belief that Satan,
with other lost angels, will finally be saved.
In it the description of the evjl one is striking:
t "As I looked straightly at him I thought I
had never seen so much beauty and intellect
uality combined in the outward personality of
any human bt'ing. The finely-shaped head de
noted both power and wisdom, and was nobly
poised on such shoulders as lmght have befitted
a Hercules; the countenance was a pure oval,
and singularly pale, this complexion intensify
ing the almost fiery brilliancy of tho full dark
eyes, which had in them a curious and wonder
fully attractive look of mingled mirth anil
misery.-' '
. MOUTH THE TELLING FEATURE
"The mouth was perhaps ' the most telling
feature in this remarkable ' face. Set in the
perfect curve of beauty, it was yet firm, deter
mined, and not too sjpall,' thus escaping effem
inacyand I noted that in repose it expressed
bitterness, disdain and even cruelty. But with
the" light of-a smile upon it, it signified, or
seemed , to signify, something more subtle than
any passion to which we. can give a name, and
already, with the rapidity of a lightning flash,
I caught myself wondering what that mystic
undeclared something might bo."
Prince Lucio tempts, but he rejoices when
, men resist his temptation, for that increases
his hope of salvation. The choice falls to Geof
frey Tempest and he rejects Satan, when
Lucio is grafted a brief glimpse of heaven.
During the Middle Ages tho devil was
.treated with fear and awe. But he began to
lce his terrible personality- and was often
treated humorously. Dionysius Kline, in 1622,
published a humorous work on Satan. In one
of his powerful political satires Victor ,llugp
presents hira as playing with the Lord for
human souls. In one of his 'poems Heine do
scribes him in these words:
He Is not ugly, he is not lame,
He is a delightful, charming man;
A man In the prime of life, in faet.
Courteous, engaging , and full of tact.
George Arliss, who appears in Molnar't
play, and who has been highly commended" for
his impersonation of the evil one, 6ays of tht
character: -
; ''The devil pictured as a human being can
be as varied -its his aspect, his methods, his al
lurements, as is 1 the temptation of sin. ? The
author of this play has pictured him as cynical
and insinuating because these attributes were
liable to be most useful in the circle in which
wo -find him. "' . - '
"The devil must have' charm," he concludes,
"and he must compel' admiration in a normal,
human way byvn&tur aTCmean8,ft Emphasize his
traditional supernatural trai's and you at once ,
sacrifice the most-valuable means of producing
t the diabolic illusion in a straight iip'fbs-dato
Bociety comedy." '"'
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