The Life of Thomas Hardy
as definitely as they can be articulated at all. He points out that the "phantom intelligences" are not visibly embodied in the play, and are therefore unconditioned by it; and that the Greek chorus, as the spectator idealized, represents either the national spirit or the universal sympathy of human nature, whereas the choruses in The Dynasts represent the author alone, and his personal philosophy. It may also be claimed that Hardy's "Pities," "Years," and "Rumors" partake more of the character of the personified abstractions of the later mediaeval morality-plays than of the comparatively real persons of the Greek chorus. However, this is only partially true. That the representation of abstract qualities was not totally unknown, even in rather early Hellenic times, can be seen in the opening of the Prometheus, in which the unwilling Hephaestus is urged on to the ugly task of chaining the Titan to the rocks by the demons "Strength" and "Force."
Comparison of the various species of supernatural intelligences in The Dynasts with similar choruses in the extant work of Æschylus leads to interesting results. There is a remarkable parallelism between Hardy's "Pities" and the chorus of Ocean Nymphs in the Prometheus, who, because of their sympathy with the suffering Titan, voluntarily suffer all his agonies with him. Both choruses are distinguished by an incomparable beauty of conception. Both are composed of minor divinities in their authors' pantheons, and are intensely human in their feelings. With their essentially tender natures subjected to a heartrending strain, they display an unconquerable loyalty to ideals, although such loyalty involves,
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