An actor with nothing but sense and judgment is apt to be cold; but an actor with nothing but verve and sensibility is crazy.

It is a certain temperament of good sense and warmth combined, that makes the sublime player.[274] Why should he differ from the poet, the painter, the orator, the musician?
It is not in the fury of the first impulse that characteristic strokes occur to any of these men; it is in moments when they are tranquil and cool, and such strokes come by an unexpected inspiration.[275] It is for coolness to temper the delirium of enthusiasm.

It is not the violent man who is beside himself that disposes of us; that is an advantage reserved for the man who possesses himself.

The great poets, the great actors, and perhaps generally all the great imitators of nature, whatever they may be, are gifted with a fine imagination, a great judgment, a subtle tact, a sure taste, but they are creatures of the smallest sensibility.

They are equally well fitted for too many things; they are too busy in looking, in recognising, and in imitating, to be violently affected within themselves.