FORCE

 

However, 'tis expedient to be wary: Indifference, certes, don't produce

distress; And rash enthusiasm in good society Were nothing but a moral

inebriety.

 

--BYRON, _Don Juan_.

 

You have attended plays that seemed fair, yet they did not move you, grip you.

In theatrical parlance, they failed to "get over," which means that their

message did not get over the foot-lights to the audience. There was no punch, no

jab to them--they had no force.

 

Of course, all this spells disaster, in big letters, not only in a stage

production but in any platform effort. Every such presentation exists solely for

the audience, and if it fails to hit them--and the expression is a good one--it

has no excuse for living; nor will it live long.

 

_What is Force?_

 

Some of our most obvious words open up secret meanings under scrutiny, and this

is one of them.

 

To begin with, we must recognize the distinction between inner and outer force.