The Scrap Book, Volume 1, No. 5

a weakness, but a sign of strength--not something to be avoided, but something to be cultivated.

The stage cannot be held in contempt by mankind; because all mankind is acting, and every human being is playing a part. The better a man plays his part, the better he succeeds. The more a man knows of the art of acting, the greater the man; for, from the king on his throne to the beggar in the street, every man is acting. There is no greater comedian or tragedian in the world than a great king.

The knowledge of the art of acting is indispensable to a knowledge of mankind, and when you are able to pierce the disguise in which every man arrays himself, or to read the character which every man assumes, you achieve an intimate knowledge of your fellow men, and you are able to cope with the man, either as he is or as he pretends to be.

It was necessary for Shakespeare to be an actor in order to know men. Without his knowledge of the stage Shakespeare could never have been the reader of men that he