《Synge And The Ireland Of His Time》第1章

，
PREFACE
，小，说，网
at　times　during　synges　last　illness；　lady　gregory　and　i　would　speak　of　his　work　and　always　find　some　pleasure　in　the　thought　that　unlike　ourselves；　who　had　made　our　experiments　in　public；　he　would　leave　to　the　world　nothing　to　be　wished　away？？nothing　that　was　not　beautiful　or　powerful　in　itself；　or　necessary　as　an　expression　of　his　life　and　thought。　when　he　died　we　were　in　much　anxiety；　for　a　letter　written　before　his　last　illness；　and　printed　in　the　selection　of　his　poems　published　at　the　cuala　press；　had　shown　that　he　was　anxious　about　the　fate　of　his　manuscripts　and　scattered　writings。　on　the　evening　of　the　night　he　died　he　had　asked　that　i　might　e　to　him　the　next　day；　and　my　diary　of　the　days　following　his　death　shows　how　great　was　our　anxiety。　presently　however；　all　seemed　to　have　e　right；　for　the　executors　sent　me　the　following　letter　that　had　been　found　among　his　papers；　and　promised　to　carry　out　his　wishes。
may　4th；　1908　dear　yeats；
this　is　only　to　go　to　you　if　anything　should　go　wrong　with　me　under　the　operation　or　after　it。　i　am　a　little　bothered　about　my　papers。　i　have　a　certain　amount　of　verse　that　i　think　would　be　worth　preserving；　possibly　also　the　1st　and　3rd　acts　of　deirdre；　and　then　i　have　a　lot　of　kerry　and　wicklow　articles　that　would　go　together　into　a　book。　the　other　early　stuff　i　wrote　i　have　kept　as　a　sort　of　curiosity；　but　i　am　anxious　that　it　should　not　get　into　print。　i　wonder　could　you　get　someone？？say　。。。　who　is　now　in　dublin　to　go　through　them　for　you　and　do　whatever　you　and　lady　gregory　think　desirable。　it　is　rather　a　hard　thing　to　ask　you　but　i　do　not　want　my　good　things　destroyed　or　my　bad　things　printed　rashly？？　especially　a　morbid　thing　about　a　mad　fiddler　in　paris　which　i　hate。　do　what　you　can？？good　luck。
j。m。　synge
in　the　summer　of　1909；　the　executors　sent　me　a　large　bundle　of　papers；　cuttings　from　newspapers　and　magazines；　manuscript　and　typewritten　prose　and　verse；　put　together　and　annotated　by　synge　himself　before　his　last　illness。　i　spent　a　portion　of　each　day　for　weeks　reading　and　re？reading　early　dramatic　writing；　poems；　essays；　and　so　forth；　and　with　the　exception　of　ninety　pages　which　have　been　published　without　my　consent；　made　consulting　lady　gregory　from　time　to　time　the　selection　of　his　work　published　by　messrs。　maunsel。　it　is　because　of　these　ninety　pages；　that　neither　lady　gregorys　name　nor　mine　appears　in　any　of　the　books；　and　that　the　introduction　which　i　now　publish；　was　withdrawn　by　me　after　it　had　been　advertised　by　the publishers。　before　the　publication　of　the　books　the　executors　discovered　a　scrap　of　paper　with　a　sentence　by　j。m。　synge　saying　that　selections　might　be　taken　from　his　essays　on　the　congested　districts。　i　do　not　know　if　this　was　written　before　his　letter　to　me；　which　made　no　mention　of　them；　or　contained　his　final　directions。　the　matter　is　unimportant；　for　the　publishers　decided　to　ignore　my　offer　to　select　as　well　as　my　original　decision　to　reject；　and　for　this　act　of　theirs　they　have　given　me　no　reasons　except　reasons　of　convenience；　which　neither　lady　gregory　nor　i　could　accept。
w。b。　yeats。
．．
Synge　And　The　Ireland　Of　His　TimeI
j。m。　synge　and　the　ireland　of　his　time
on　saturday；　january　26th；　1907；　i　was　lecturing　in　aberdeen；　and　when　my　lecture　was　over　i　was　given　a　telegram　which　said；　play　great　success。　it　had　been　sent　from　dublin　after　the　second　act　of　the　playboy　of　the　western　world；　then　being　performed　for　the　first　time。　after　one　in　the　morning；　my　host　brought　to　my　bedroom　this　second　telegram；　audience　broke　up　in　disorder　at　the　word　shift。　i　knew　no　more　until　i　got　the　dublin　papers　on　my　way　from　belfast　to　dublin　on　tuesday　morning。　on　the　monday　night　no　word　of　the　play　had　been　heard。　about　forty　young　men　had　sat　on　the　front　seats　of　the　pit；　and　stamped　and　shouted　and　blown　trumpets　from　the　rise　to　the　fall　of　the　curtain。　on　the　tuesday　night　also　the　forty　young　men　were　there。　they　wished　to　silence　what　they　considered　a　slander　upon　irelands　womanhood。　irish　women　would　never　sleep　under　the　same　roof　with　a　young　man　without　a　chaperon；　nor　admire　a　murderer；　nor　use　a　word　like　shift；　nor　could　anyone　recognise　the　country　men　and　women　of　davis　and　kickham　in　these　poetical；　violent；　grotesque　persons；　who　used　the　name　of　god　so　freely；　and　spoke　of　all　things　that　hit　their　fancy。
a　patriotic　journalism　which　had　seen　in　synges　capricious　imagination　the　enemy　of　all　it　would　have　young　men　believe；　had　for　years　prepared　for　this　hour；　by　that　which　is　at　once　the　greatest　and　most　ignoble　power　of　journalism；　the　art　of　repeating　a　name　again　and　again　with　some　ridiculous　or　evil　association。　the　preparation　had　begun　after　the　first　performance　of　the　shadow　of　the　glen；　synges　first　play；　with　an　assertion　made　in　ignorance　but　repeated　in　dishonesty；　that　he　had　taken　his　fable　and　his　characters；　not　from　his　own　mind　nor　that　profound　knowledge　of　cot　and　curragh　he　was　admitted　to　possess；　but　from　a　writer　of　the　roman　decadence。　some　spontaneous　dislike　had　been　but　natural；　for　genius　like　his　can　but　slowly；　amid　what　it　has　of　harsh　and　strange；　set　forth　the　nobility　of　its　beauty；　and　the　depth　of　its　passion；　but　the　frenzy　that　would　have　silenced　his　master？work　was；　like　most　violent　things　artificial；　the　defence　of　virtue　by　those　that　have　but　little；　which　is　the　pomp　and　gallantry　of　journalism　and　its　right　to　govern　the　world。
as　i　stood　there　watching；　knowing　well　that　i　saw　the　dissolution　of　a　school　of　patriotism　that　held　sway　over　my　youth；　synge　came　and　stood　beside　me；　and　said；　a　young　doctor　has　just　told　me　that　he　can　hardly　keep　himself　from　jumping　on　to　a　seat；　and　pointing　out　in　that　howling　mob　those　whom　he　is　treating　for　venereal　disease。
m。
Synge　And　The　Ireland　Of　His　TimeII
小说
thomas　davis；　whose　life　had　the　moral　simplicity　which　can　give　to　actions　the　lasting　influence　that　style　alone　can　give　to　words；　had　understood　that　a　country　which　has　no　national　institutions　must　show　its　young　men　images　for　the　affections；　although　they　be　but　diagrams　of　what　it　should