Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 18, 1907.djvu/125

Rh advantage not to allow the logos to lead him in future, lest he may find that he has again done an injustice to some observer "unconsciously" or "inadvertently."

So far as I am concerned, this matter may now drop, leaving the readers of Folk-Lore to form their own opinions.

Mr. Howitt cannot but be aware, I think, that I have publicly, in several places, disclaimed all "inferences" and "arguments" based on my misapprehension of his "passage." My misapprehension was removed when he explained his meaning, which I could not find in his "passage" and can now only discover by reliance on his explanation.

If the Editor of Folk-Lore thinks it desirable, I will cite his whole "passage" textually, and add a comment or two. If I rightly understand Mr. Howitt to throw doubt on my honesty, I regret it—for his sake.

I am translating The Birth of Tragedy, a book written by the German philosopher Nietzsche. In it occurs the following passage:

"Only in so far as the genius in the act of artistic production coalesces with the primordial artist of the world, does he get a glimpse of the eternal essence of art; for in this state he is in a marvellous manner like the weird picture in the fairy-tale, which can at will turn its eyes and behold itself; he is now simultaneously subject and object, poet, actor, and spectator."

Can any of your readers or correspondents advise me what