Page:The reflections of Lichtenberg.djvu/137

 Probably the ideal, which a pair of bewitched eyes discover in the form that has bewitched them, shows itself in the male form in one way to the girl, and in the female form in quite a different way to the youth. What a work might not be written on Shakespeare, Hogarth and Garrick! They have something akin in their genius: the intuitive knowledge of men of every condition, made plain to others by means of words, graving tools and gestures. In writing novels as well as plays the cardinal rule is to treat the various characters as if they were chessmen, and not try to win the game by altering the rules; for instance, not move the knight as if it were a pawn, and so on. Again the characters ought to be strictly defined, and not put out of action in order to help the author to accomplish his purpose; for, on the contray, it is through their activity alone he should try to win. Not to do this is to appeal to the miraculous, which is always unnatural.

If we were unable to tell the sexes by their dress, nay, if in general we had to guess at them, a new world of love would arise. Here is an idea which with wisdom and experience would be well worth handling in a novel. As I have often remarked, there is an infallible sign for discovering whether the writer of a touching passage was really moved at the time, or whether,