other personal writings, combined with the reactions of
his contemporaries towards him, present us with a very
real figure. If it is not complete in every detail, it is at least
consistent with itself. The words, acts, and works all belong
to the same man and, although certain points necessarily
remain obscure, there is no question here of a divided
personality.

In a crowded life in which family, friends, enemies,
social environment, and religion all played important parts,
by far the strongest influence was yet the theatre. It pro-
vided the landmark desperately sought by the adolescent
Racine adrift among ignorant and censorious relatives,
ascetic teachers, and sophisticated friends. Once found,
he set his whole mind and genius upon it, so that it became
the centre of his most creative years. When in middle age
he abandoned it for a securer way of existence, he was still
unable to forget it. So if the playwright who wrote for
money, standing, and advancement--in other words, for
dear life--was not the whole Racine--and even if it was
not the only Racine that matters--it was at least the most
substantial part of him. From the plays which were pro-
duced in known circumstances, for a public whose changing
tastes can be followed with a fair degree of accuracy, other
consequences stem. But it is a waste of spirit to explore
them unless the point of departure has first been clearly
fixed. The dramatist who received 36 francs, 10 sous, as his
share of the first-night takings of La Thébaïde is the same
who twelve years later constructed the tremendous
character of Phèdre. It would be absurd to say that the
development was a simple one, and the greater part of this
book is taken up with the vicissitudes of those twelve years.
But to achieve the last result, the first step was necessary.
It was more than interesting--it was significant.

The same can be said of many more of the smaller hap-
penings in Racine's life. Slight or transient in themselves,
they had far-reaching implications. For this reason it
seems essential that the factual basis of a new Life of
Racine should be as accurate as it can be made in the light

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