In the eighteenth century a theory of acting is formulated for the first time. We have just traced the development of the art form from its obscure origin up to its new maturation in connection with the appearance of the geniuses Shakespeare and Molière. The art is liberated from dilettantism; new relationships are developed with society on the one hand, and with literature on the other! The person who play-acts is first of all an amateur—and can become a dilettante—then a professional actor, and finally becomes an artist. If we must set a date for the complete transformation it is the year 1750. About this time two books appear in Paris, epoch-making for the theatre and consequently for the new style of acting.