(On Works © 1951 108 4 5. (On Endgume 106, 6 On Play uw 1 (On Murphy (to Sighle Kennedy) 113 8 Program note for Endgame 114 {2 Words about Painters 1 Geer van Velde ur 2 La Peinturedes van Velde 118 3 eintres de "Empéchement 133 4 ‘Taree Dislogues be 5 enti Hayden Homme-Peintre 146 6 “Hommage 3 Jack B. Yeats 8 n Henri Hayden 150 8 [Bram van Velde ut 8, Pour Avigdor Arikha Par IV: Human Wishes 133 Notes 1 i r Foreword Dieta is Becket’s own tide fot this miscellany of rticisin and a ‘dramatic fragment. Unpublished or published obscurely, these pieces have been available ooly in afew fortunate libraries, Tis in {enersity to scholars —on the special plea of Dr James Acheson that Samuel Beckett now permits the publication of materia) which he beltles as mere products of friendly obligation oF economic need. Since the volume is compiled for scholars who read several nguags, Becket sults tat thse ‘its tnd pieces’ be printed inthe language of composition, Like other scholars familie with Becket’ criticism, {value it more than its author does. Like other scholars oo, I believe that the miscellany harbors anesthetic, but Becket’ cite never~ theless resists a Procrustean coherence. Beckett himself observes {on Feuillerat’ ‘ordering’ of Prous). a behuifal unity of tone ‘od treatment would have, as it were embalmed the whole. To _oid embalming the whole, we should savor Becket’ morsels ia All their variety Although Beckett does noe swerve from commitment to an art ‘of questions, hesitation, explorations — its theory and practice — ‘his expression erupes in provocative articles, lisdainful fviews, reflective essays, searching leters, and rare lyrical homage. To invite continuous reading, I have grouped the ‘ateral by subject: 1) more or less formal esthetics, 2 teary -siticism, 3) ar criticism. By way of introduction, however, 1 fer to move in striter chronology: 1) Becket’ early mannered ‘nevertheless dlisceming_ perceptions; 2) commissions for 71. Dante... Bruno. Vico . . Joyce he danger isin the neames of identifications. The coneeption of Philosophy and Philology as apt of rigger minstrels ot of Teatro dei Polis sothing, Ike the contemplation of 4 fully folded ham-ssndvich. Giabattsta Vieo hinsef cold resist the atracivens of such eoncidence of gesture. He radon complete identification between the. philosophical tion an the empiric ilustason, thereby znnuling the olism of ach conception — hoisting the real unjustifably ear of its dimensional limits, temporligng that ‘which is catemporsl. And ow here’ am I, with my handful of dons, among which notably: « mountain the coincidence contri, the ineviabilty of eyeic evolution, system of and the prospect of seifextension inthe world of Mr yee Work in Progra. There isthe temptation to eat every poncept ike’ ass drop neck fast in la bing erat’ and make really tly jb off. Unfortunatly sud an exctide of pplication would imply distortion in one oftwo directions. Must pre wring the neck of & certain sytem n-order to sf tino a ontemporary pigea-le, oF modify the dimensions of that hole forthe stisfiction of the analogymongers? Literary iicism is no bookkeeping. Giambanista Vico was a practical roundheaded Nespaian. I es Croce to consider him ata mystic, etetally speculative, a empiri. ea surprising interpretation, secing ‘ore than three-Aifths of his Saeras Nuva scorn ith bmpiicl investigation. Croce opposes him tthe refornatve posteialisic school of Ugo Grotto, nd abeoves him fram the Beiltarian preoccupations of Hobs, Spinors, Lock, Baye and chive. All his cannot be swallowed without protest. Vico nes Providence at "ome mete sem dire of ale ele itta 9contraria € sempre superiors ad exi fink particalari che ex wom i ‘avewano prope dei gual fini rite ft mezzi per serra fi pi ‘ampi, gli ba sempre adperati per eoeroare Temona genrszion in ‘questa terra.’ What could be more definitely wsltarinism? His treatment of the origin and funetions of poetry, language and myth, a5 will appear ater, is as far removed from the mysteal as its posible to imagine. For our immediate purpose, however, it matters litte whether we consider him at a mystic or as & scientific investigator; but there are 0 two ways about considering him as an investor. His division of the development fof human society into three ages: Theocratic, Heroic, Human (civilized), with + corresponding classification of language: Hieroglyphic (excred), Metaphorical (poetic), Philosophical (capable of abstraction and generalization), was by no means new, though ie must have appeared so to his contemporaries. He derived this convenient classiication from the Egyptians, via Herodotus: At the same time it i impossible to deny the , ‘originality with which he applied and developed its implications. is exposition of the inelutable circular progression of Society was completely new, although the germ of it was contained in Giordano Bruno's treatment of identified contaries. Buti sin Book 2, described by himself s ‘tuto il oro la ciaw matstra 41" oper’, that appears the unqualified originality of bis mind; here he evolved a theory of the origins of poetry and language, the significance of myth, and the nature of burbarie civilization that must have appeared nothing lest than an impertinent outrage agains tradition. These two aspects of Vico ‘have their reverberations, their reapplicatons — without, however, receiving the faintest expiciilustration — in Workin Progress Teis first necessary to condense the thesis of Vieo, the siemtific historian. In the beginning was the thunder: che thunder st free Religion, in its most objective and unphilosophical form — ‘dolarous animism: Religion produced Society, and the frst Social men were the cave-dwellers, taking refuge from a palsionate Nature: this primitive family ie receives its frst Impulse towards development from the arrival of terified vagabonds: admitted, they are the first slaves: growing stronger, they exact agrarian concessions, and adespotiam has evolved into 4 primitive feudalism: the eave becomes a city, and the feudal 0 system 4 democracy: the an anarchy: this correct by 2 rum to monarchy: the lst sage is a tendency Towards Imerdestrution the nats ate diprse, sod the Phoenix of Society aries out of thr ashes. To thir sbtermed socal reson coresponds a sitermed,progeson of uman Fras aecoly, uly, conveence, ple hry, abuse OF loway: and their tearate- manfeatins: Plypiemss, Senile, Cac and Alexander, Tiberi, Clg and Nero. At this point Vio applies Brno tng he tale very gpd cre tot fo say so rand proceeds from rather arbitrary dats (0 philosophical sbaracion. There in difecns ay9/Bruno) Eetween the smal pose chord nd the rls posible re, difference benwen the infinite cre andthe sag ine. The froxima and minima of parr contra ae one nd indiferent Minimal heat equals iinal call. Consequently ttansmutitions ae cular The principle (ninimom) of one orate is movement fom he rnp naxima)of one Suthen ‘There ot enly do the minima crnede with the minima, the maxima wit the maxi, tutte mina wih the tara in the sucsson of tanematons Maximal pedis {ae ofrest.-The meximan of corption ind the minim of {eveation sre tent in prince, corpo i generation. Kin all things ae lintel deni with God, the eiers toma, Monad of mona. Frum these considerations Vico troled & Science and Pilsophy of History. Te may be an msing exerci fo ae an hitral fire, sch as Scipio, and iets No.3; eof a0 ulate inporance. Wha is of timate importance the recogion tat the passage from Scipio to Caer a ineviable athe passage fom Casa to Tiber, since the lowers of eorrption n Scipio snd Case ae the seeds of walty in Car and Tiberius. Thos we have he Spectacle of «human progression that depends fo ts mover Gn indvidas and whch atte se tine independent of individuals in views of what appears to be +. preordsind {eles follows that History tnt toe considered a4 formless structure, dae encusvely t0 the achievement of individoa ages, nora possessing rely apart fom and independent of thm, accoplished behind ther backs in pte of them, the work of some superior force, vriocly Known a Fat, Chance, Fortune, God. ath these views, the rsteralsic and n