im with his father;
how many services he had discreetly rendered, how open his hand always
was. His constant cheerfulness and good-nature had finally caused him
to be forgiven for his wit, which was sarcastic and cutting, and for
his success, which had thrown so many rivals into the shade. This
witty man, who was always obliging and even tender-hearted, had no
envy, and gave his applause without a shadow of reserve to the
successes of others. Every young author found in him advice and
support; he did not expect gratitude, and therefore was soured by no
disappointment. He was a good man, partly from nature, partly from
determination; for he deemed that, after all, the best way to live
happy in this world is to make happy as many people as possible.

If in this long essay I have not spoken of Dumas as a moralist, it is
because, in my opinion, in spite of all that has been said, Dumas was
a dramatist a great deal more than a philosopher. In his comedies he
discussed a great many moral and social questions, without giving a
solution for any; or rather, the solutions that he gave were due not
to any set of fixed principles, but to the conclusion which he was
preparing for this play or that. He said, indifferently, "Kill her" or
"Forgive her," according to the requirements of the subject which he
had selected; and he would afterwards write a sensational preface with
a view to demonstrate that the solution this time given by him was the
only legitimate one. These prefaces are very amusing reading; for he
wrote them with all the fire of his nature, and he had the gift of
movement. But they were a strange medley of incongruous and
contradictory statements. Every idea that he expresses can be grasped
and understood; but it is impossible to see how it agrees with those
that precede and follow. It is a chaos of clear ideas.

Dumas was not a philosopher, but an agitator. He stirred up a great
many questions; he drew upon them our distracted attention; he
compelled us to think of them. Therein he did his duty as a dramatist.

He gave much thought to the fate of woman in our civilization. We may
say, however, that though loving her much, he still more feared her,
and I shall even add, despised her. All his characters who have the
mission of defending morality and good sense are very attentive to
her, but keep her at arm's-length. They are affectionate counselors,
not lovers. They hold her to be a frail being, who must be controlled