Page:Rolland - People's Theater.djvu/13

Rh Rolland and a touch of scepticism; the weight of the great war has for the time being crushed him; but a man who could so bravely combat prejudice, tradition, and hatred as he, need fear nothing from the future."

The letter from M. Rolland, dated Villeneuve, May 15, 1918, reads as follows:

": I received the proofs of your translations, which gave me great pleasure in reading. They seem to offer a faithful rendering of the text. Perhaps certain expressions in Danton are occasionally softened [a literal translation would, however, have rendered them harsher to Anglo-Saxon ears than the author intended], but I am not altogether sure about this. I see no important observation to make, and you may therefore proceed with the publication of the plays—Danton and The Fourteenth of July. …

"Regarding the preface to The People's Theater, I thank you. However, I seriously object to certain sentences (on page 9). First, when you say 'this work of combat is youthful … naïve impetuosity … the young revolutionary. … The years have brought maturity to R. R. and a touch of scepticism'—you seem to think that since I wrote the book I have changed my opinions of the works and the authors whom I criticized. Nothing of the kind. I still would demolish those 'idols' today with the same enthusiasm.

"Second, I unqualifiedly protest against the sentence 'the weight of the great war has for the time