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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: What Is Art?</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Leo Tolstoy</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Translator: Aylmer Maude</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: March 23, 2021 [eBook #64908]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Tim Lindell, David King, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Archives.)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHAT IS ART? ***</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_on'>on</span> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_i'>i</span> - <h1 class='c001'>WHAT IS ART?</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_iii'>iii</span><span class='xxlarge'><b>WHAT IS ART?</b></span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'><b>BY</b></span></div> - <div><span class='xxlarge'><b>LEO TOLSTOY</b></span></div> - <div class='c000'><span class='large'><b>TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL MS.,</b></span></div> - <div><span class='large'><b>WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY</b></span></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'><b>AYLMER MAUDE</b></span></div> - <div class='c000'>NEW YORK</div> - <div>FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY</div> - <div>1904</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span> - <h2 class='c003'>Introduction</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>What thoughtful man has not been perplexed by problems -relating to art?</p> - -<p class='c005'>An estimable and charming Russian lady I knew, felt -the charm of the music and ritual of the services of the -Russo-Greek Church so strongly that she wished the -peasants, in whom she was interested, to retain their blind -faith, though she herself disbelieved the church doctrines. -“Their lives are so poor and bare—they have so little art, -so little poetry and colour in their lives—let them at least -enjoy what they have; it would be cruel to undeceive -them,” said she.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A false and antiquated view of life is supported by means -of art, and is inseparably linked to some manifestations of -art which we enjoy and prize. If the false view of life be -destroyed this art will cease to appear valuable. Is it best -to screen the error for the sake of preserving the art? Or -should the art be sacrificed for the sake of truthfulness?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Again and again in history a dominant church has -utilised art to maintain its sway over men. Reformers -(early Christians, Mohammedans, Puritans, and others) -have perceived that art bound people to the old faith, and -they were angry with art. They diligently chipped the noses -from statues and images, and were wroth with ceremonies, -decorations, stained-glass windows, and processions. They -were even ready to banish art altogether, for, besides the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_vi'>vi</span>superstitions it upheld, they saw that it depraved and perverted -men by dramas, drinking-songs, novels, pictures, and -dances, of a kind that awakened man’s lower nature. Yet -art always reasserted her sway, and to-day we are told by -many that art has nothing to do with morality—that “art -should be followed for art’s sake.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>I went one day, with a lady artist, to the Bodkin Art -Gallery in Moscow. In one of the rooms, on a table, lay a -book of coloured pictures, issued in Paris and supplied, I -believe, to private subscribers only. The pictures were -admirably executed, but represented scenes in the private -cabinets of a restaurant. Sexual indulgence was the chief -subject of each picture. Women extravagantly dressed and -partly undressed, women exposing their legs and breasts to -men in evening dress; men and women taking liberties -with each other, or dancing the “can-can,” etc., etc. My -companion the artist, a maiden lady of irreproachable -conduct and reputation, began deliberately to look at these -pictures. I could not let my attention dwell on them without -ill effects. Such things had a certain attraction for me, -and tended to make me restless and nervous. I ventured -to suggest that the subject-matter of the pictures was -objectionable. But my companion (who prided herself on -being an artist) remarked with conscious superiority, that -from an artist’s point of view the <i>subject</i> was of no consequence. -The pictures being very well executed were -artistic, and therefore worthy of attention and study. -Morality had nothing to do with art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Here again is a problem. One remembers Plato’s advice -not to let our thoughts run upon women, for if we do we -shall think clearly about nothing else, and one knows that -to neglect this advice is to lose tranquillity of mind; but -then one does not wish to be considered narrow, ascetic, or -inartistic, nor to lose artistic pleasures which those around -us esteem so highly.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_vii'>vii</span>Again, the newspapers last year printed proposals to -construct a Wagner Opera House, to cost, if I recollect -rightly, £100,000—about as much as a hundred labourers -may earn by fifteen or twenty years’ hard work. The -writers thought it would be a good thing if such an Opera -House were erected and endowed. But I had a talk lately -with a man who, till his health failed him, had worked as a -builder in London. He told me that when he was younger -he had been very fond of theatre-going, but, later, when he -thought things over and considered that in almost every -number of his weekly paper he read of cases of people -whose death was hastened by lack of good food, he felt it -was not right that so much labour should be spent on -theatres.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In reply to this view it is urged that food for the mind is -as important as food for the body. The labouring classes -work to produce food and necessaries for themselves and -for the cultured, while some of the cultured class produce -plays and operas. It is a division of labour. But this -again invites the rejoinder that, sure enough, the labourers -produce food for themselves and also food that the cultured -class accept and consume, but that the artists seem too -often to produce their spiritual food for the cultured only—at -any rate that a singularly small share seems to reach -the country labourers who work to supply the bodily -food! Even were the “division of labour” shown to be -a fair one, the “division of products” seems remarkably -one-sided.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Once again: how is it that often when a new work is -produced, neither the critics, the artists, the publishers, nor -the public, seem to know whether it is valuable or worthless? -Some of the most famous books in English literature -could hardly find a publisher, or were savagely derided -by leading critics; while other works once acclaimed as -masterpieces are now laughed at or utterly forgotten. A -<span class='pageno' id='Page_viii'>viii</span>play which nobody now reads was once passed off as a -newly-discovered masterpiece of Shakespear’s, and was -produced at a leading London theatre. Are the critics -playing blind-man’s buff? Are they relying on each other? -Is each following his own whim and fancy? Or do they -possess a criterion which they never reveal to those outside -the profession?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such are a few of the many problems relating to art which -present themselves to us all, and it is the purpose of this -book to enable us to reach such a comprehension of art, -and of the position art should occupy in our lives, as will -enable us to answer such questions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The task is one of enormous difficulty. Under the cloak -of “art,” so much selfish amusement and self-indulgence -tries to justify itself, and so many mercenary interests are -concerned in preventing the light from shining in upon the -subject, that the clamour raised by this book can only be -compared to that raised by the silversmiths of Ephesus -when they shouted, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” -for about the space of two hours.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Elaborate theories blocked the path with subtle sophistries -or ponderous pseudo-erudition. Merely to master -these, and expose them, was by itself a colossal labour, -but necessary in order to clear the road for a statement of -any fresh view. To have accomplished this work of exposure -in a few chapters is a wonderful achievement. To have -done it without making the book intolerably dry is more -wonderful still. In <a href='#chap03'>Chapter III.</a> (where a rapid summary of -some sixty æsthetic writers is given) even Tolstoy’s powers -fail to make the subject interesting, except to the specialist, -and he has to plead with his readers “not to be overcome -by dulness, but to read these extracts through.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Among the writers mentioned, English readers miss the -names of John Ruskin and William Morris, especially as so -much that Tolstoy says, is in accord with their views.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_ix'>ix</span>Of Ruskin, Tolstoy has a very high opinion. I have -heard him say, “I don’t know why you English make -such a fuss about Gladstone—you have a much greater -man in Ruskin.” As a stylist, too, Tolstoy speaks of -him with high commendation. Ruskin, however, though -he has written on art with profound insight, and has -said many things with which Tolstoy fully agrees, has, -I think, nowhere so systematised and summarised his view -that it can be readily quoted in the concise way which has -enabled Tolstoy to indicate his points of essential agreement -with Home, Véron, and Kant. Even the attempt to -summarise Kant’s æsthetic philosophy in a dozen lines will -hardly be of much service except to readers who have already -some acquaintance with the subject. For those to whom the -difference between “subjective” and “objective” perceptions -is fresh, a dozen pages would be none too much. And -to summarise Ruskin would be perhaps more difficult than -to condense Kant.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As to William Morris, we are reminded of his dictum that -art is the workman’s expression of joy in his work, by -Tolstoy’s “As soon as the author is not producing art for -his own satisfaction,—does not himself feel what he wishes -to express,—a resistance immediately springs up” (p. <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>); -and again, “In such transmission to others of the feelings -that have arisen in him, he (the artist) will find his happiness” -(p. <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>). Tolstoy sweeps over a far wider range of -thought, but he and Morris are not opposed. Morris was -emphasising part of what Tolstoy is implying.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But to return to the difficulties of Tolstoy’s task. There -is one, not yet mentioned, lurking in the hearts of most of -us. We have enjoyed works of “art.” We have been -interested by the information conveyed in a novel, or we -have been thrilled by an unexpected “effect”; have -admired the exactitude with which real life has been -reproduced, or have had our feelings touched by allusions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_x'>x</span>to, or reproductions of, works—old German legends, Greek -myths, or Hebrew poetry—which moved us long ago, as -they moved generations before us. And we thought all this -was “art.” Not clearly understanding what art is, and -wherein its importance lies, we were not only attached to -these things, but attributed importance to them, calling -them “artistic” and “beautiful,” without well knowing -what we meant by those words.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But here is a book that obliges us to clear our minds. -It challenges us to define “art” and “beauty,” and to say -why we consider these things, that pleased us, to be specially -important. And as to beauty, we find that the definition -given by æsthetic writers amounts merely to this, that -“Beauty is a kind of pleasure received by us, not having -personal advantage for its object.” But it follows from this, -that “beauty” is a matter of taste, differing among different -people, and to attach special importance to what pleases -<i>me</i> (and others who have had the same sort of training -that I have had) is merely to repeat the old, old mistake -which so divides human society; it is like declaring that my -race is the best race, my nation the best nation, my -church the best church, and my family the “best” family. -It indicates ignorance and selfishness.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But “truth angers those whom it does not convince;”—people -do not wish to understand these things. It seems, -at first, as though Tolstoy were obliging us to sacrifice something -valuable. We do not realise that we are being helped -to select the best art, but we do feel that we are being -deprived of our sense of satisfaction in Rudyard Kipling.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Both the magnitude and the difficulty of the task were -therefore very great, but they have been surmounted in a -marvellous manner. Of the effect this book has had on me -personally, I can only say that “whereas I was blind, now I -see.” Though sensitive to some forms of art, I was, when -I took it up, much in the dark on questions of æsthetic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xi'>xi</span>philosophy; when I had done with it, I had grasped the -main solution of the problem so clearly that—though I -waded through nearly all that the critics and reviewers had -to say about the book—I never again became perplexed -upon the central issues.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Tolstoy was indeed peculiarly qualified for the task he -has accomplished. It was after many years of work as a -writer of fiction, and when he was already standing in the -very foremost rank of European novelists, that he found -himself compelled to face, in deadly earnest, the deepest -problems of human life. He not only could not go on -writing books, but he felt he could not live, unless he -found clear guidance, so that he might walk sure-footedly -and know the purpose and meaning of his life. Not as a -mere question of speculative curiosity, but as a matter of -vital necessity, he devoted years to rediscover the truths -which underlie all religion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To fit him for this task he possessed great knowledge of -men and books, a wide experience of life, a knowledge of -languages, and a freedom from bondage to any authority -but that of reason and conscience. He was pinned to -no Thirty-nine Articles, and was in receipt of no retaining -fee which he was not prepared to sacrifice. Another gift, -rare among men of his position, was his wonderful sincerity -and (due, I think, to that sincerity) an amazing power of -looking at the phenomena of our complex and artificial life -with the eyes of a little child; going straight to the real, -obvious facts of the case, and brushing aside the sophistries, -the conventionalities, and the “authorities” by which they -are obscured.</p> - -<p class='c005'>He commenced the task when he was about fifty years -of age, and since then (<i>i.e.</i>, during the last twenty years) he -has produced nine philosophical or scientific works of first-rate -importance, besides a great many stories and short -articles. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xii'>xii</span>These works, in chronological order, are—</p> - -<p class='c006'><i>My Confession.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>A Criticism of Dogmatic Theology</i>, which has never -been translated.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>The Four Gospels Harmonised and Translated</i>, of -which only two parts, out of three, have as yet -appeared in English.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>What I Believe</i>, sometimes called <i>My Religion</i>.</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>The Gospel in Brief.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>What are we to do then?</i> sometimes called in English -<i>What to do?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>On Life</i>, which is not an easy work in the original, -and has not been satisfactorily translated.<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c008'><sup>[1]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>The Kingdom of God is within you</i>; and</p> - -<p class='c007'><i>The Christian Teaching</i>, which appeared after <i>What -is Art?</i> though it was written before it.</p> - -<p class='c009'>To these scientific works I am inclined to add <i>The -Kreutzer Sonata</i>, with the <i>Sequel</i> or <i>Postscript</i> explaining -its purpose; for though <i>The Kreutzer Sonata</i> is a story, -the understanding of sexual problems, dealt with explicitly -in the <i>Sequel</i>, is an integral part of that comprehension -of life which causes Tolstoy to admire Christ, Buddha, or -Francis of Assisi.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These ten works treat of the meaning of our life; of the -problems raised by the fact that we approve of some things -and disapprove of others, and find ourselves deciding -which of two courses to pursue.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Religion, Government, Property, Sex, War, and all the -relations in which man stands to man, to his own consciousness, -and to the ultimate source (which we call -God) from whence that consciousness proceeds—are examined -with the utmost frankness.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xiii'>xiii</span>And all this time the problems of Art: What is Art? -What importance is due to it? How is it related to the -rest of life?—were working in his mind. He was a -great artist, often upbraided for having abandoned his -art. He, of all men, was bound to clear his thoughts on -this perplexing subject, and to express them. His whole -philosophy of life—the “religious perception” to which, -with such tremendous labour and effort, he had attained, -forbade him to detach art from life, and place it in a water-tight -compartment where it should not act on life or be -re-acted upon by life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Life to him is rational. It has a clear aim and purpose, -discernible by the aid of reason and conscience. And no -human activity can be fully understood or rightly appreciated -until the central purpose of life is perceived.</p> - -<p class='c005'>You cannot piece together a puzzle-map as long as you -keep one bit in a wrong place, but when the pieces all fit -together, then you have a demonstration that they are all in -their right places. Tolstoy used that simile years ago -when explaining how the comprehension of the text, -“resist not him that is evil,” enabled him to perceive the -reasonableness of Christ’s teaching, which had long baffled -him. So it is with the problem of Art. Wrongly understood, -it will tend to confuse and perplex your whole comprehension -of life. But given the clue supplied by true -“religious perception,” and you can place art so that it -shall fit in with a right understanding of politics, economics, -sex-relationships, science, and all other phases of human -activity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The basis on which this work rests, is a perception of -the meaning of human life. This has been quite lost -sight of by some of the reviewers, who have merely misrepresented -what Tolstoy says, and then demonstrated how -very stupid he would have been had he said what they -attributed to him. Leaving his premises and arguments untouched, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xiv'>xiv</span>they dissent from various conclusions—as though it -were all a mere question of taste. They say that they are very -fond of things which Tolstoy ridicules, and that they can’t -understand why he does not like what they like—which is -quite possible, especially if they have not understood -the position from which he starts. But such criticism -can lead to nothing. Discussions as to why one man likes -pears and another prefers meat, do not help towards -finding a definition of what is essential in nourishment; -and just so, “the solution of questions of taste in art does -not help to make clear what this particular human activity -which we call art really consists in.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The object of the following brief summary of a few main -points is to help the reader to avoid pitfalls into which -many reviewers have fallen. It aims at being no more than -a bare statement of the positions—for more than that, the -reader must turn to the book itself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Let it be granted at the outset, that Tolstoy writes for -those who have “ears to hear.” He seldom pauses to safeguard -himself against the captious critic, and cares little -for minute verbal accuracy. For instance, on page <a href='#Page_144'>144</a>, he -mentions “Paris,” where an English writer (even one who -knew to what an extent Paris is the art centre of France, -and how many artists flock thither from Russia, America, -and all ends of the earth) would have been almost sure to -have said “France,” for fear of being thought to exaggerate. -One needs some alertness of mind to follow Tolstoy in his -task of compressing so large a subject into so small a -space. Moreover, he is an emphatic writer who says -what he means, and even, I think, sometimes rather -overemphasizes it. With this much warning let us proceed -to a brief summary of Tolstoy’s view of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Art is a human activity,” and consequently does not -exist for its own sake, but is valuable or objectionable in -proportion as it is serviceable or harmful to mankind. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xv'>xv</span>The object of this activity is to transmit to others feeling -the artist has experienced. Such feelings—intentionally -re-evoked and successfully transmitted to others—are the -subject-matter of all art. By certain external signs—movements, -lines, colours, sounds, or arrangements of words—an -artist infects other people so that they share his feelings. -Thus “art is a means of union among men, joining them -together in the same feelings.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Chapters <a href='#chap02'>II.</a> to <a href='#chap05'>V.</a> contain an examination of various -theories which have taken art to be something other than -this, and step by step we are brought to the conclusion -that art is this, and nothing but this.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Having got our definition of art, let us first consider -art independently of its subject-matter, <i>i.e.</i>, without asking -whether the feelings transmitted are good, bad, or indifferent. -Without adequate expression there is no art, -for there is no infection, no transference to others of the -author’s feeling. The test of art is infection. If an -author has moved you so that you feel as he felt, if you -are so united to him in feeling that it seems to you that -he has expressed just what you have long wished to express, -the work that has so infected you is a work of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In this sense, it is true that art has nothing to do -with morality; for the test lies in the “infection,” and not -in any consideration of the goodness or badness of the -emotions conveyed. Thus the test of art is an <i>internal</i> -one. The activity of art is based on the fact that a -man, receiving, through his sense of hearing or sight, -another man’s expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing -the emotion that moved the man who expressed it. -We all share the same common human nature, and in -this sense, at least, are sons of one Father. To take the -simplest example: a man laughs, and another, who hears, -becomes merry; or a man weeps, and another, who hears, -feels sorrow. Note in passing that it does not amount to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xvi'>xvi</span>art “if a man infects others directly, immediately, at the very -time he experiences the feeling; if he causes another man -to yawn when he himself cannot help yawning,” etc. Art -begins when some one, <i>with the object of making others share -his feeling</i>, expresses his feeling by certain external indications.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Normal human beings possess this faculty to be infected -by the expression of another man’s emotions. For a plain -man of unperverted taste, living in contact with nature, -with animals, and with his fellow-men—say, for “a country -peasant of unperverted taste, this is as easy as it is for -an animal of unspoilt scent to follow the trace he needs.” -And he will know indubitably whether a work presented -to him does, or does not, unite him in feeling with the -author. But very many people “of our circle” (upper -and middle class society) live such unnatural lives, in -such conventional relations to the people around them, -and in such artificial surroundings, that they have lost -“that simple feeling, that sense of infection with another’s -feeling—compelling us to joy in another’s gladness, to -sorrow in another’s grief, and to mingle souls with another—which -is the essence of art.” Such people, therefore, have -no inner test by which to recognise a work of art; and they -will always be mistaking other things for art, and seeking -for external guides, such as the opinions of “recognised -authorities.” Or they will mistake for art something that -produces a merely physiological effect—lulling or exciting -them; or some intellectual puzzle that gives them something -to think about.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But if most people of the “cultured crowd” are impervious -to true art, is it really possible that a common -Russian country peasant, for instance, whose work-days are -filled with agricultural labour, and whose brief leisure is -largely taken up by his family life and by his participation -in the affairs of the village commune—is it possible that <i>he</i> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xvii'>xvii</span>can recognise and be touched by works of art? Certainly -it is! Just as in ancient Greece crowds assembled to hear -the poems of Homer, so to-day in Russia, as in many -countries and many ages, the Gospel parables, and much -else of the highest art, are gladly heard by the common -people. And this does not refer to any superstitious use -of the Bible, but to its use as literature.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Not only do normal, labouring country people possess the -capacity to be infected by good art—“the epic of Genesis, -folk-legends, fairy-tales, folk-songs, etc.,” but they themselves -produce songs, stories, dances, decorations, etc., -which are works of true art. Take as examples the works of -Burns or Bunyan, and the peasant women’s song mentioned -by Tolstoy in <a href='#chap14'>Chapter XIV.</a>, or some of those melodies produced -by the negro slaves on the southern plantations, which -have touched, and still touch, many of us with the emotions -felt by their unknown and unpaid composers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The one great quality which makes a work of art truly -contagious is its <i>sincerity</i>. If an artist is really actuated by -a feeling, and is strongly impelled to communicate that -feeling to other people—not for money or fame, or anything -else, but because he feels he must share it—then he will not -be satisfied till he has found a <i>clear</i> way of expressing it. -And the man who is not borrowing his feelings, but has -drawn what he expresses from the depths of his nature, -is sure to be <i>original</i>, for in the same way that no two -people have exactly similar faces or forms, no two people -have exactly similar minds or souls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That in briefest outline is what Tolstoy says about art, -considered apart from its subject-matter. And this is how -certain critics have met it. They say that when Tolstoy -says the test of art is <i>internal</i>, he must mean that it is -<i>external</i>. When he says that country peasants have in the -past appreciated, and do still appreciate, works of the -highest art, he means that the way to detect a work of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xviii'>xviii</span>art is to see what is apparently most popular among the -masses. Go into the streets or music-halls of the cities in -any particular country and year, and observe what is most -frequently sung, shouted, or played on the barrel-organs. -It may happen to be</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Tarara-boom-deay,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>or,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“We don’t want to fight,</div> - <div class='line'>But, by Jingo, if we do.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>But whatever it is, you may at once declare these songs to -be the highest musical art, without even pausing to ask to -what they owe their vogue—what actress, or singer, or -politician, or wave of patriotic passion has conduced to -their popularity. Nor need you consider whether that -popularity is not merely temporary and local. Tolstoy -has said that works of the highest art are understood by -unperverted country peasants—and here are things which -are popular with the mob, <i>ergo</i>, these things must be the -highest art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The critics then proceed to say that such a test is utterly -absurd. And on this point I am able to agree with the critics.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Some of these writers commence their articles by saying -that Tolstoy is a most profound thinker, a great prophet, -an intellectual force, etc. Yet when Tolstoy, in his emphatic -way, makes the sweeping remark that “good art -always pleases every one,” the critics do not read on to -find out what he means, but reply: “No! good art does -not please every one; some people are colour-blind, and -some are deaf, or have no ear for music.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is as though a man strenuously arguing a point were to -say, “Every one knows that two and two make four,” and -a boy who did not at all see what the speaker was driving -at, were to reply: “No, our new-born baby doesn’t know -it!” It would distract attention from the subject in hand, -but it would not elucidate matters.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xix'>xix</span>There is, of course, a verbal contradiction between the -statements that “good art always pleases every one” -(p. <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>), and the remark concerning “people of our -circle,” who, “with very few exceptions, artists and public -and critics, ... cannot distinguish true works of art -from counterfeits, but continually mistake for real art the -worst and most artificial” (p. <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>). But I venture to think -that any one of intelligence, and free from prejudice, reading -this book carefully, need not fail to reach the author’s -meaning.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A point to be carefully noted is the distinction between -science and art. “Science investigates and brings to -human perception such truths and such knowledge as -the people of a given time and society consider most -important. Art transmits these truths from the region -of perception to the region of emotion” (p. <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>). Science -is an “activity of the understanding which demands -preparation and a certain sequence of knowledge, so that -one cannot learn trigonometry before knowing geometry.” -“The business of art,” on the other hand, “lies just in -this—to make that understood and felt which, in the -form of an argument, might be incomprehensible and -inaccessible” (p. <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>). It “infects any man whatever his -plane of development,” and “the hindrance to understanding -the best and highest <i>feelings</i> (as is said in the -gospel) does not at all lie in deficiency of development -or learning, but, on the contrary, in false development -and false learning” (pp. <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>). Science and art are -frequently blended in one work—<i>e.g.</i>, in the gospel elucidation -of Christ’s comprehension of life, or, to take a modern -instance, in Henry George’s elucidation of the land question -in <i>Progress and Poverty</i>.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The class distinction to which Tolstoy repeatedly alludes -needs some explanation. The position of the lower classes -in England and in Russia is different. In Russia a much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xx'>xx</span>larger number of people live on the verge of starvation; -the condition of the factory-hands is much worse than -in England, and there are many glaring cases of brutal -cruelty inflicted on the peasants by the officials, the police, -or the military,—but in Russia a far greater proportion of -the population live in the country, and a peasant usually -has his own house, and tills his share of the communal -lands. The “unperverted country peasant” of whom -Tolstoy speaks is a man who perhaps suffers grievous -want when there is a bad harvest in his province, but -he is a man accustomed to the experiences of a natural -life, to the management of his own affairs, and to a -real voice in the arrangements of the village commune. -The Government interferes, from time to time, to collect -its taxes by force, to take the young men for soldiers, or -to maintain the “rights” of the upper classes; but otherwise -the peasant is free to do what he sees to be necessary -and reasonable. On the other hand, English labourers -are, for the most part, not so poor, they have more legal -rights, and they have votes; but a far larger number of -them live in towns and are engaged in unnatural occupations, -while even those that do live in touch with nature -are usually mere wage-earners, tilling other men’s land, -and living often in abject submission to the farmer, the -parson, or the lady-bountiful. They are dependent on -an employer for daily bread, and the condition of a wage-labourer -is as unnatural as that of a landlord.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The tyranny of the St. Petersburg bureaucracy is more -dramatic, but less omnipresent—and probably far less fatal to -the capacity to enjoy art—than the tyranny of our respectable, -self-satisfied, and property-loving middle-class. I am therefore -afraid that we have no great number of “unperverted” -country labourers to compare with those of whom Tolstoy -speaks—and some of whom I have known personally. -But the truth Tolstoy elucidates lies far too deep in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxi'>xxi</span>human nature to be infringed by such differences of -local circumstance. Whatever those circumstances may -be, the fact remains that in proportion as a man approaches -towards the condition not only of “earning his subsistence -by some kind of labour,” but of “living on all its sides -the life natural and proper to mankind,” his capacity to -appreciate true art tends to increase. On the other hand, -when a class settles down into an artificial way of life,—loses -touch with nature, becomes confused in its perceptions -of what is good and what is bad, and prefers the condition -of a parasite to that of a producer,—its capacity to appreciate -true art must diminish. Having lost all clear perception -of the meaning of life, such people are necessarily left -without any criterion which will enable them to distinguish -good from bad art, and they are sure to follow eagerly after -beauty, or “that which pleases them.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artists of our society can usually only reach -people of the upper and middle classes. But who is the -great artist?—he who delights a select audience of his -own day and class, or he whose works link generation to -generation and race to race in a common bond of feeling? -Surely art should fulfil its purpose as completely as possible. -A work of art that united every one with the author, -and with one another, would be perfect art. Tolstoy, in -his emphatic way, speaks of works of “universal” art, -and (though the profound critics hasten to inform us that -no work of art ever reached everybody) certainly the -more nearly a work of art approaches to such expression -of feeling that every one may be infected by it—the -nearer (apart from all question of subject-matter) -it approaches perfection.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But now as to subject-matter. The subject-matter of art -consists of feelings which can be spread from man to man, -feelings which are “contagious” or “infectious.” Is it of no -importance <i>what</i> feelings increase and multiply among men?</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxii'>xxii</span>One man feels that submission to the authority of <i>his</i> -church, and belief in all that it teaches him, is good; another -is embued by a sense of each man’s duty to think with his -own head—to use for his guidance in life the reason and -conscience given to him. One man feels that his nation -<i>ought to</i> wipe out in blood the shame of a defeat inflicted -on her; another feels that we are brothers, sons of one -spirit, and that the slaughter of man by man is always -wrong. One man feels that the most desirable thing in -life is the satisfaction obtainable by the love of women; -another man feels that sex-love is an entanglement and a -snare, hindering his real work in life. And each of these, -if he possess an artist’s gift of expression, and if the -feeling be really his own and sincere, may infect other -men. But some of these feelings will benefit and some -will harm mankind, and the more widely they are spread -the greater will be their effect.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art unites men. Surely it is desirable that the feelings -in which it unites them should be “the best and highest -to which men have risen,” or at least should not run -contrary to our perception of what makes for the well-being -of ourselves and of others. And our perception -of what makes for the well-being of ourselves and of -others is what Tolstoy calls our “religious perception.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Therefore the subject-matter of what we, in our day, -can esteem as being the best art, can be of two kinds -only—</p> - -<p class='c005'>(1) Feelings flowing from the highest perception now -attainable by man of our right relation to our neighbour -and to the Source from which we come. Dickens’ -“Christmas Carol,” uniting us in a more vivid sense of -compassion and love, is a ready example of such art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>(2) The simple feelings of common life, accessible to -every one—provided that they are such as do not hinder -progress towards well-being. Art of this kind makes us -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxiii'>xxiii</span>realise to how great an extent we already are members -one of another—sharing the feelings of one common human -nature.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The success of a very primitive novel—the story of -Joseph, which made its way into the sacred books of the -Jews, spread from land to land and from age to age, and -continues to be read to-day among people quite free from -bibliolatry—shows how nearly “universal” may be the -appeal of this kind of art. This branch includes all -harmless jokes, folk-stories, nursery rhymes, and even dolls, -if only the author or designer has expressed a feeling -(tenderness, pleasure, humour, or what not) so as to infect -others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But how are we to know what <i>are</i> the “best” feelings? -What is good? and what is evil? This is decided by -“religious perception.” Some such perception exists in -every human being; there is always something he approves -of, and something he disapproves of. Reason and conscience -are always present, active or latent, as long as -man lives. Miss Flora Shaw tells that the most degraded -cannibal she ever met, drew the line at eating his own -mother—nothing would induce him to entertain the thought, -his moral sense was revolted by the suggestion. In most -societies the “religious perception,” to which they have -advanced,—the foremost stage in mankind’s long march -towards perfection, which has been discerned,—has been -clearly expressed by some one, and more or less consciously -accepted as an ideal by the many. But there -are transition periods in history when the worn-out formularies -of a past age have ceased to satisfy men, or -have become so incrusted with superstitions that their -original brightness is lost. The “religious perception” -that is dawning may not yet have found such expression as -to be generally understood, but for all that it exists, and -shows itself by compelling men to repudiate beliefs that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxiv'>xxiv</span>satisfied their forefathers, the outward and visible signs of -which are still endowed and dominant long after their spirit -has taken refuge in temples not made with hands.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At such times it is difficult for men to understand each -other, for the very <i>words</i> needed to express the deepest -experiences of men’s consciousness mean different things to -different men. So among us to-day, to many minds <i>faith</i> -means <i>credulity</i>, and <i>God</i> suggests a person of the male -sex, father of one only-begotten son, and creator of the -universe.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This is why Tolstoy’s clear and rational “religious perception,” -expressed in the books named on a previous page, -is frequently spoken of by people who have not grasped it, -as “mysticism.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The narrow materialist is shocked to find that Tolstoy -will not confine himself to the “objective” view of life. -Encountering in himself that “inner voice” which compels -us all to choose between good and evil, Tolstoy refuses to be -diverted from a matter which is of immediate and vital -importance to him, by discussions as to the derivation of -the external manifestations of conscience which biologists -are able to detect in remote forms of life. The real mystic, -on the other hand, shrinks from Tolstoy’s desire to try all -things by the light of reason, to depend on nothing vague, -and to accept nothing on authority. The man who does -not trust his own reason, fears that life thus squarely faced -will prove less worth having than it is when clothed in -mist.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In this work, however, Tolstoy does not recapitulate at -length what he has said before. He does not pause to -re-explain why he condemns Patriotism—<i>i.e.</i>, each man’s -preference for the predominance of <i>his own</i> country, which -leads to the murder of man by man in war; or Churches, -which are sectarian—<i>i.e.</i>, which striving to assert that your -doxy is heterodoxy, but that <i>our</i> doxy is orthodoxy, make -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxv'>xxv</span>external authorities (Popes, Bibles, Councils) supreme, and -cling to superstitions (<i>their own</i> miracles, legends, and -myths), thus separating themselves from communion with -the rest of mankind. Nor does he re-explain why he (like -Christ) says “pitiable is your plight—ye rich,” who live -artificial lives, maintainable only by the unbrotherly use of -force (police and soldiers), but blessed are ye poor—who, -by your way of life, are within easier reach of brotherly conditions, -if you will but trust to reason and conscience, and -change the direction of your hearts and of your labour,—working -no more primarily from fear or greed, but seeking -<i>first</i> the kingdom of righteousness, in which all good things -will be added unto you. He merely summarises it all in a -few sentences, defining the “religious perception” of to-day, -which alone can decide for us “the degree of importance -both of the feelings transmitted by art and of the information -transmitted by science.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“The religious perception of our time, in its widest and -most practical application, is the consciousness that our -well-being, both material and spiritual, individual and -collective, temporal and eternal, lies in the growth of -brotherhood among men—in their loving harmony with -one another” (p. <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>).</p> - -<p class='c005'>And again:</p> - -<p class='c005'>“However differently in form people belonging to our -Christian world may define the destiny of man; whether -they see it in human progress in whatever sense of the -words, in the union of all men in a socialistic realm, or in -the establishment of a commune; whether they look forward -to the union of mankind under the guidance of one universal -Church, or to the federation of the world,—however -various in form their definitions of the destination of human -life may be, all men in our times already admit that the -highest well-being attainable by men is to be reached by -their union with one another” (p. <a href='#Page_188'>188</a>).</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxvi'>xxvi</span>This is the foundation on which the whole work is based. -It follows necessarily from this perception that we should -consider as most important in science “investigations into -the results of good and bad actions, considerations of the -reasonableness or unreasonableness of human institutions -and beliefs, considerations of how human life should be -lived in order to obtain the greatest well-being for each; as -to what one may and ought, and what one cannot and -should not believe; how to subdue one’s passions, and how -to acquire the habit of virtue.” This is the science that -“occupied Moses, Solon, Socrates, Epictetus, Confucius, -Mencius, Marcus Aurelius, Spinoza, and all those who have -taught men to live a moral life,” and it is precisely the kind -of scientific investigation to which Tolstoy has devoted most -of the last twenty years, and for the sake of which he is -often said to have “abandoned art.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Since science, like art, is a “human activity,” <i>that</i> science -best deserves our esteem, best deserves to be “chosen, -tolerated, approved, and diffused,” which treats of what is -supremely important to man; which deals with urgent, -vital, inevitable problems of actual life. Such science as -this brings “to the consciousness of men the truths that -flow from the religious perception of our times,” and -“indicates the various methods of applying this consciousness -to life.” “Art should transform this perception into -feeling.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The “science” which is occupied in “pouring liquids -from one jar into another, or analysing the spectrum, or -cutting up frogs and porpoises,” is no use for rendering such -guidance to art, though capable of practical applications -which, under a more righteous system of society, might -greatly have lightened the sufferings of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Naturally enough, the last chapter of the book deals with -the relation between science and art. And the conclusion -is that:</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxvii'>xxvii</span>“The destiny of art in our time is to transmit from the -realm of reason to the realm of feeling the truth that well-being -for men consists in being united together, and to set -up, in place of the existing reign of force, that kingdom of -God, <i>i.e.</i> of love, which we all recognise to be the highest -aim of human life.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this art of the future will not be poorer, but far -richer, in subject-matter than the art of to-day. From the -lullaby—that will delight millions of people, generation after -generation—to the highest religious art, dealing with strong, -rich, and varied emotions flowing from a fresh outlook upon -life and all its problems—the field open for good art is -enormous. With so much to say that is urgently important -to all, the art of the future will, in matter of form also, be -far superior to our art in “clearness, beauty, simplicity, and -compression” (p. <a href='#Page_194'>194</a>).</p> - -<p class='c005'>For beauty (<i>i.e.</i>, “that which pleases”)—though it depends -on taste, and can furnish no <i>criterion</i> for art—will be a -natural characteristic of work done, not for hire, nor even -for fame, but because men, living a natural and healthy life, -wish to share the “highest spiritual strength which passes -through them” with the greatest possible number of others. -The feelings such an artist wishes to share, he will transmit -in a way that will please him, and will please other men -who share his nature.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Morality is in the nature of things—we cannot escape it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In a society where each man sets himself to obtain -wealth, the difficulty of obtaining an honest living tends to -become greater and greater. The more keenly a society -pants to obtain “that which pleases,” and puts this forward -as the first and great consideration, the more puerile -and worthless will their art become. But in a society which -sought, primarily, for right relations between its members, -an abundance would easily be obtainable for all; and -when “religious perception” guides a people’s art—beauty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxviii'>xxviii</span>inevitably results, as has always been the case when men -have seized a fresh perception of life and of its purpose.</p> - -<hr class='c011' /> - -<p class='c005'>An illustration which Tolstoy struck out of the work -while it was being printed, may serve to illustrate how, with -the aid of the principles explained above, we may judge of -the merits of any work professing to be art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Take <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>. The conventional view is that -Shakespear is the greatest of artists, and that <i>Romeo and -Juliet</i> is one of his good plays. Why this is so nobody can -tell you. It is so: that is the way certain people feel about -it. They are “the authorities,” and to doubt their dictum -is to show that you know nothing about art. Tolstoy does -not agree with them in their estimate of Shakespear, -therefore Tolstoy is wrong!</p> - -<p class='c005'>But now let us apply Tolstoy’s view of art to <i>Romeo -and Juliet</i>. He does not deny that it infects. “Let us -admit that it is a work of art, that it infects (though it is so -artificial that it can infect only those who have been carefully -educated thereunto); but what are the feelings it -transmits?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>That is to say, judging by the <i>internal</i> test, Tolstoy -admits that <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> unites him to its author and -to other people in feeling. But the work is very far from -being one of “universal” art—only a small minority of -people ever have cared, or ever will care, for it. Even in -England, or even in the layer of European society it -is best adapted to reach, it only touches a minority, and -does not approach the universality attained by the story of -Joseph and many pieces of folk-lore.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But perhaps the subject-matter, the <i>feeling</i> with which -<i>Romeo and Juliet</i> infects those whom it does reach, lifts it -into the class of the highest religious art? Not so. The -feeling is one of the attractiveness of “love at first sight.” -A girl fourteen years old and a young man meet at an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxix'>xxix</span>aristocratic party, where there is feasting and pleasure and -idleness, and, without knowing each other’s minds, they -fall in love as the birds and beasts do. If any feeling is -transmitted to us, it is the feeling that there <i>is</i> a pleasure in -these things. Somewhere, in most natures, there dwells, -dominant or dormant, an inclination to let such physical -sexual attraction guide our course in life. To give it a plain -name, it is “sensuality.” “How can I, father or mother of -a daughter of Juliet’s age, wish that those foul feelings -which the play transmits should be communicated to my -daughter? And if the feelings transmitted by the play -are bad, how can I call it good in subject-matter?”</p> - -<p class='c005'>But, objects a friend, the <i>moral</i> of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> is -excellent. See what disasters followed from the physical -“love at first sight.” But that is quite another matter. -It is the feelings with which you are infected when reading, -and not any moral you can deduce, that is subject-matter -of art. Pondering upon the consequences that flow from -Romeo and Juliet’s behaviour may belong to the domain -of moral science, but not to that of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I have hesitated to use an illustration Tolstoy had struck -out, but I think it serves its purpose. No doubt there are -other, subordinate, feelings (<i>e.g.</i> humour) to be found in -<i>Romeo and Juliet</i>; but many quaint conceits that are ingenious, -and have been much admired, are not, I think, -infectious.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Tried by such tests, the enormous majority of the things -we have been taught to consider great works of art are -found wanting. Either they fail to infect (and attract -merely by being interesting, realistic, effectful, or by borrowing -from others), and are therefore not works of art at -all; or they are works of “exclusive art,” bad in form and -capable of infecting only a select audience trained and -habituated to such inferior art; or they are bad in subject-matter, -transmitting feelings harmful to mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxx'>xxx</span>Tolstoy does not shrink from condemning his own -artistic productions; with the exception of two short stories, -he tells us they are works of bad art. Take, for instance, -the novel <i>Resurrection</i>, which is now appearing, and of -which he has, somewhere, spoken disparagingly, as being -“written in my former style,” and being therefore bad art. -What does this mean? The book is a masterpiece in its -own line; it is eagerly read in many languages; it undoubtedly -infects its readers, and the feelings transmitted -are, in the main, such as Tolstoy approves of—in fact, they are -the feelings to which his religious perception has brought -him. If lust is felt in one chapter, the reaction follows -as inevitably as in real life, and is transmitted with great -artistic power. Why a work of such rare merit does not -satisfy Tolstoy, is because it is a work of “exclusive -art,” laden with details of time and place. It has not the -“simplicity and compression” necessary in works of “universal” -art. Things are mentioned which might apparently -be quite well omitted. The style, also, is not one of great -simplicity; the sentences are often long and involved, as is -commonly the case in Tolstoy’s writings. It is a novel -appealing mainly to the class that has leisure for novel reading -because it neglects to produce its own food, make its own -clothes, or build its own houses. If Tolstoy is stringent in -his judgment of other artists, he is more stringent still in -his judgment of his own artistic works. Had <i>Resurrection</i> -been written by Dickens, or by Hugo, Tolstoy would, I -think, have found a place for it (with whatever reservations) -among the examples of religious art. For indeed, strive as -we may to be clear and explicit, our approval and disapproval -is a matter of degree. The thought which underlay -the remark: “Why callest thou me good? none is good, -save one, even God,” applies not to man only, but to all -things human.</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>What is Art?</i> itself is a work of science—though -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxi'>xxxi</span>many passages, and even some whole chapters, appeal to us -as works of art, and we feel the contagion of the author’s hope, -his anxiety to serve the cause of truth and love, his indignation -(sometimes rather sharply expressed) with what -blocks the path of advance, and his contempt for much -that the “cultured crowd,” in our erudite, perverted society, -have persuaded themselves, and would fain persuade others, -is the highest art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One result which follows inevitably from Tolstoy’s view -(and which illustrates how widely his views differ from the -fashionable æsthetic mysticism), is that art is not stationary -but progressive. It is true that our highest religious perception -found expression eighteen hundred years ago, and -then served as the basis of an art which is still unmatched; -and similar cases can be instanced from the -East. But allowing for such great exceptions,—to which, -not inaptly, the term of “inspiration” has been specially -applied,—the subject-matter of art improves, though long -periods of time may have to be considered in order to -make this obvious. Our power of verbal expression, for -instance, may now be no better than it was in the days of -David, but we must no longer esteem as good <i>in subject-matter</i> -poems which appeal to the Eternal to destroy a -man’s private or national foes; for we have reached a -“religious perception” which bids us have no foes, and -the ultimate source (undefinable by us) from which this -consciousness has come, is what we mean when we speak -of God.</p> - -<p class='c005'>AYLMER MAUDE.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Wickham’s Farm,<br /> -Near Danbury, Essex,<br /> -<i>23rd March 1899</i>.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxiii'>xxxiii</span> - <h2 class='c003'>The Author’s Preface</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>This book of mine, “What is Art?” appears now for the -first time in its true form. More than one edition has -already been issued in Russia, but in each case it has been -so mutilated by the “Censor,” that I request all who are -interested in my views on art only to judge of them by -the work in its present shape. The causes which led to -the publication of the book—with my name attached to -it—in a mutilated form, were the following:—In accordance -with a decision I arrived at long ago,—not to submit -my writings to the “Censorship” (which I consider to be -an immoral and irrational institution), but to print them -only in the shape in which they were written,—I intended -not to attempt to print this work in Russia. However, -my good acquaintance Professor Grote, editor of a Moscow -psychological magazine, having heard of the contents of my -work, asked me to print it in his magazine, and promised -me that he would get the book through the “Censor’s” -office unmutilated if I would but agree to a few very -unimportant alterations, merely toning down certain expressions. -I was weak enough to agree to this, and it -has resulted in a book appearing, under my name, from -which not only have some essential thoughts been excluded, -but into which the thoughts of other men—even thoughts -utterly opposed to my own convictions—have been introduced.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxiv'>xxxiv</span>The thing occurred in this way. First, Grote softened -my expressions, and in some cases weakened them. For -instance, he replaced the words: <i>always</i> by <i>sometimes</i>, <i>all</i> -by <i>some</i>, <i>Church</i> religion by <i>Roman Catholic</i> religion, -“<i>Mother of God</i>” by <i>Madonna</i>, <i>patriotism</i> by <i>pseudo-patriotism</i>, -<i>palaces</i> by <i>palatii</i>,<a id='r2' /><a href='#f2' class='c008'><sup>[2]</sup></a> etc., and I did not consider -it necessary to protest. But when the book was already -in type, the Censor required that whole sentences should -be altered, and that instead of what I said about the evil -of landed property, a remark should be substituted on the -evils of a landless proletariat.<a id='r3' /><a href='#f3' class='c008'><sup>[3]</sup></a> I agreed to this also and -to some further alterations. It seemed not worth while -to upset the whole affair for the sake of one sentence, and -when one alteration had been agreed to it seemed not -worth while to protest against a second and a third. So, -little by little, expressions crept into the book which -altered the sense and attributed things to me that I could -not have wished to say. So that by the time the book -was printed it had been deprived of some part of its -integrity and sincerity. But there was consolation in the -thought that the book, even in this form, if it contains -something that is good, would be of use to Russian readers -whom it would otherwise not have reached. Things, however, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxv'>xxxv</span>turned out otherwise. <i>Nous comptions sans notre -hôte.</i> After the legal term of four days had already elapsed, -the book was seized, and, on instructions received from -Petersburg, it was handed over to the “Spiritual Censor.” -Then Grote declined all further participation in the affair, -and the “Spiritual Censor” proceeded to do what he would -with the book. The “Spiritual Censorship” is one of the -most ignorant, venal, stupid, and despotic institutions in -Russia. Books which disagree in any way with the recognised -state religion of Russia, if once it gets hold of them, -are almost always totally suppressed and burnt; which is -what happened to all my religious works when attempts -were made to print them in Russia. Probably a similar -fate would have overtaken this work also, had not the -editors of the magazine employed all means to save it. -The result of their efforts was that the “Spiritual Censor,” -a priest who probably understands art and is interested in -art as much as I understand or am interested in church -services, but who gets a good salary for destroying whatever -is likely to displease his superiors, struck out all that -seemed to him to endanger his position, and substituted -his thoughts for mine wherever he considered it necessary -to do so. For instance, where I speak of Christ going to -the Cross for the sake of the truth He professed, the -“Censor” substituted a statement that Christ died for -mankind, <i>i.e.</i> he attributed to me an assertion of the -dogma of the Redemption, which I consider to be one -of the most untrue and harmful of Church dogmas. After -correcting the book in this way, the “Spiritual Censor” -allowed it to be printed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To protest in Russia is impossible, no newspaper would -publish such a protest, and to withdraw my book from the -magazine and place the editor in an awkward position with -the public was also not possible.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So the matter has remained. A book has appeared under -<span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxvi'>xxxvi</span>my name containing thoughts attributed to me which are -not mine.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I was persuaded to give my article to a Russian magazine, -in order that my thoughts, which may be useful, should -become the possession of Russian readers; and the result -has been that my name is affixed to a work from which -it might be assumed that I quite arbitrarily assert things -contrary to the general opinion, without adducing my -reasons; that I only consider false patriotism bad, but patriotism -in general a very good feeling; that I merely deny the -absurdities of the Roman Catholic Church and disbelieve -in the Madonna, but that I believe in the Orthodox Eastern -faith and in the “Mother of God”; that I consider all the -writings collected in the Bible to be holy books, and see -the chief importance of Christ’s life in the Redemption of -mankind by his death.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I have narrated all this in such detail because it strikingly -illustrates the indubitable truth, that all compromise -with institutions of which your conscience disapproves,—compromises -which are usually made for the sake of the -general good,—instead of producing the good you expected, -inevitably lead you not only to acknowledge the institution -you disapprove of, but also to participate in the evil that -institution produces.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I am glad to be able by this statement at least to do -something to correct the error into which I was led by -my compromise.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I have also to mention that besides reinstating the parts -excluded by the Censor from the Russian editions, other -corrections and additions of importance have been made in -this edition.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='sc'>Leo Tolstoy.</span></p> - -<p class='c005'><i>29th March 1898.</i></p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxvii'>xxxvii</span> - <h2 class='c003'>Contents</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><span class='sc'>Introduction</span> v</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='sc'>Author’s Preface</span> xxxiii</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap01'>CHAPTER I</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Time and labour spent on art—Lives stunted in its service—Morality -sacrificed to and anger justified by art—The -rehearsal of an opera described 1</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap02'>CHAPTER II</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Does art compensate for so much evil?—What is art?—Confusion -of opinions—Is it “that which produces beauty”?—The -word “beauty” in Russian—Chaos in æsthetics 9</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap03'>CHAPTER III</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Summary of various æsthetic theories and definitions, from -Baumgarten to to-day 20</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap04'>CHAPTER IV</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Definitions of art founded on beauty—Taste not definable—A -clear definition needed to enable us to recognise works -of art 38</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap05'>CHAPTER V</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Definitions not founded on beauty—Tolstoy’s definition—The -extent and necessity of art—How people in the past have -distinguished good from bad in art 46</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxviii'>xxxviii</span><a href='#chap06'>CHAPTER VI</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>How art for pleasure has come into esteem—Religions indicate -what is considered good and bad—Church Christianity—The -Renaissance—Scepticism of the upper classes—They -confound beauty with goodness 53</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap07'>CHAPTER VII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>An æsthetic theory framed to suit this view of life 61</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap08'>CHAPTER VIII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Who have adopted it?—Real art needful for all men—Our art -too expensive, too unintelligible, and too harmful for the -masses—The theory of “the elect” in art 67</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap09'>CHAPTER IX</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Perversion of our art—It has lost its natural subject-matter—Has -no flow of fresh feeling—Transmits chiefly three base -emotions 73</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap10'>CHAPTER X</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Loss of comprehensibility—Decadent art—Recent French art—Have -we a right to say it is bad and that what we like -is good art?—The highest art has always been comprehensible -to normal people—What fails to infect normal -people is not art 79</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap11'>CHAPTER XI</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Counterfeits of art produced by: Borrowing; Imitating; -Striking; Interesting—Qualifications needful for production -of real works of art, and those sufficient for production -of counterfeits 106</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap12'>CHAPTER XII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Causes of production of counterfeits—Professionalism—Criticism—Schools -of art 118</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap13'>CHAPTER XIII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Wagner’s “Nibelung’s Ring” a type of counterfeit art—Its -success, and the reasons thereof 128</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_xxxix'>xxxix</span><a href='#chap14'>CHAPTER XIV</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Truths fatal to preconceived views are not readily recognised—Proportion -of works of art to counterfeits—Perversion -of taste and incapacity to recognise art—Examples 143</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap15'>CHAPTER XV</a></p> - -<p class='c005'><b>The quality of art, considered apart from its subject-matter</b>—The -sign of art: infectiousness—Incomprehensible -to those whose taste is perverted—Conditions of -infection: Individuality; Clearness; Sincerity 152</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap16'>CHAPTER XVI</a></p> - -<p class='c005'><b>The quality of art, considered according to its subject-matter</b>—The -better the feeling the better the art—The -cultured crowd—The religious perception of our age—The -new ideals put fresh demands to art—Art unites—Religious -art—Universal art—Both co-operate to one -result—The new appraisement of art—Bad art—Examples -of art—How to test a work claiming to be art 156</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap17'>CHAPTER XVII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Results of absence of true art—Results of perversion of art: -Labour and lives spent on what is useless and harmful—The -abnormal life of the rich—Perplexity of children and -plain folk—Confusion of right and wrong—Nietzsche and -Redbeard—Superstition, Patriotism, and Sensuality 175</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap18'>CHAPTER XVIII</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>The purpose of human life is the brotherly union of man—Art -must be guided by this perception 187</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap19'>CHAPTER XIX</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>The art of the future not a possession of a select minority, but -a means towards perfection and unity 192</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#chap20'>CHAPTER XX</a></p> - -<p class='c005'>The connection between science and art—The mendacious -sciences; the trivial sciences—Science should deal with -the great problems of human life, and serve as a basis -for art 200</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_xl'>xl</span> - <h2 class='c003'>APPENDICES</h2> -</div> - -<p class='c004'><a href='#app1'>Appendix I</a> 215</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#app2'>Appendix II</a> 218</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#app3'>Appendix III</a> 226</p> - -<p class='c005'><a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a> 232</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 id='chap01' class='c003'>What is Art?</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>Take up any one of our ordinary newspapers, and you -will find a part devoted to the theatre and music. In -almost every number you will find a description of some -art exhibition, or of some particular picture, and you will -always find reviews of new works of art that have appeared, -of volumes of poems, of short stories, or of novels.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Promptly, and in detail, as soon as it has occurred, an -account is published of how such and such an actress or -actor played this or that rôle in such and such a drama, -comedy, or opera; and of the merits of the performance, as -well as of the contents of the new drama, comedy, or opera, -with its defects and merits. With as much care and detail, -or even more, we are told how such and such an artist -has sung a certain piece, or has played it on the piano or -violin, and what were the merits and defects of the piece -and of the performance. In every large town there is sure -to be at least one, if not more than one, exhibition of new -pictures, the merits and defects of which are discussed in -the utmost detail by critics and connoisseurs.</p> - -<p class='c005'>New novels and poems, in separate volumes or in the -magazines, appear almost every day, and the newspapers -consider it their duty to give their readers detailed accounts -of these artistic productions.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>For the support of art in Russia (where for the education -of the people only a hundredth part is spent of what would -be required to give everyone the opportunity of instruction) -the Government grants millions of roubles in subsidies to -academies, conservatoires and theatres. In France twenty -million francs are assigned for art, and similar grants are -made in Germany and England.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In every large town enormous buildings are erected for -museums, academies, conservatoires, dramatic schools, and for -performances and concerts. Hundreds of thousands of workmen,—carpenters, -masons, painters, joiners, paperhangers, -tailors, hairdressers, jewellers, moulders, type-setters,—spend -their whole lives in hard labour to satisfy the demands of -art, so that hardly any other department of human activity, -except the military, consumes so much energy as this.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Not only is enormous labour spent on this activity, but in -it, as in war, the very lives of men are sacrificed. Hundreds -of thousands of people devote their lives from childhood to -learning to twirl their legs rapidly (dancers), or to touch -notes and strings very rapidly (musicians), or to draw with -paint and represent what they see (artists), or to turn every -phrase inside out and find a rhyme to every word. And these -people, often very kind and clever, and capable of all sorts -of useful labour, grow savage over their specialised and -stupefying occupations, and become one-sided and self-complacent -specialists, dull to all the serious phenomena of -life, and skilful only at rapidly twisting their legs, their -tongues, or their fingers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But even this stunting of human life is not the worst. I -remember being once at the rehearsal of one of the most -ordinary of the new operas which are produced at all the -opera houses of Europe and America.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I arrived when the first act had already commenced. To -reach the auditorium I had to pass through the stage -entrance. By dark entrances and passages, I was led through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>the vaults of an enormous building past immense machines -for changing the scenery and for illuminating; and there in -the gloom and dust I saw workmen busily engaged. One -of these men, pale, haggard, in a dirty blouse, with dirty, -work-worn hands and cramped fingers, evidently tired and -out of humour, went past me, angrily scolding another man. -Ascending by a dark stair, I came out on the boards behind -the scenes. Amid various poles and rings and scattered -scenery, decorations and curtains, stood and moved dozens, -if not hundreds, of painted and dressed-up men, in costumes -fitting tight to their thighs and calves, and also women, as -usual, as nearly nude as might be. These were all singers, -or members of the chorus, or ballet-dancers, awaiting their -turns. My guide led me across the stage and, by means of -a bridge of boards, across the orchestra (in which perhaps -a hundred musicians of all kinds, from kettle-drum to flute -and harp, were seated), to the dark pit-stalls.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On an elevation, between two lamps with reflectors, and -in an arm-chair placed before a music-stand, sat the director -of the musical part, <i>bâton</i> in hand, managing the orchestra -and singers, and, in general, the production of the whole -opera.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The performance had already commenced, and on the -stage a procession of Indians who had brought home a bride -was being represented. Besides men and women in costume, -two other men in ordinary clothes bustled and ran about on -the stage; one was the director of the dramatic part, and -the other, who stepped about in soft shoes and ran from -place to place with unusual agility, was the dancing-master, -whose salary per month exceeded what ten labourers earn -in a year.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These three directors arranged the singing, the orchestra, -and the procession. The procession, as usual, was enacted -by couples, with tinfoil halberds on their shoulders. They -all came from one place, and walked round and round again, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>and then stopped. The procession took a long time to -arrange: first the Indians with halberds came on too late; -then too soon; then at the right time, but crowded together -at the exit; then they did not crowd, but arranged themselves -badly at the sides of the stage; and each time the whole -performance was stopped and recommenced from the beginning. -The procession was introduced by a recitative, -delivered by a man dressed up like some variety of Turk, -who, opening his mouth in a curious way, sang, “Home I -bring the bri-i-ide.” He sings and waves his arm (which is -of course bare) from under his mantle. The procession -commences, but here the French horn, in the accompaniment -of the recitative, does something wrong; and the director, -with a shudder as if some catastrophe had occurred, raps -with his stick on the stand. All is stopped, and the -director, turning to the orchestra, attacks the French horn, -scolding him in the rudest terms, as cabmen abuse each -other, for taking the wrong note. And again the whole -thing recommences. The Indians with their halberds -again come on, treading softly in their extraordinary boots; -again the singer sings, “Home I bring the bri-i-ide.” But -here the pairs get too close together. More raps with -the stick, more scolding, and a recommencement. Again, -“Home I bring the bri-i-ide,” again the same gesticulation -with the bare arm from under the mantle, and again the -couples, treading softly with halberds on their shoulders, -some with sad and serious faces, some talking and smiling, -arrange themselves in a circle and begin to sing. All -seems to be going well, but again the stick raps, and the -director, in a distressed and angry voice, begins to scold -the men and women of the chorus. It appears that when -singing they had omitted to raise their hands from time to -time in sign of animation. “Are you all dead, or what? -Cows that you are! Are you corpses, that you can’t move?” -Again they re-commence, “Home I bring the bri-i-ide,” and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>again, with sorrowful faces, the chorus women sing, first one -and then another of them raising their hands. But two -chorus-girls speak to each other,—again a more vehement -rapping with the stick. “Have you come here to talk? Can’t -you gossip at home? You there in red breeches, come -nearer. Look towards me! Recommence!” Again, “Home -I bring the bri-i-ide.” And so it goes on for one, two, three -hours. The whole of such a rehearsal lasts six hours on -end. Raps with the stick, repetitions, placings, corrections -of the singers, of the orchestra, of the procession, of the -dancers,—all seasoned with angry scolding. I heard the -words, “asses,” “fools,” “idiots,” “swine,” addressed to the -musicians and singers at least forty times in the course of -one hour. And the unhappy individual to whom the abuse -is addressed,—flautist, horn-blower, or singer,—physically and -mentally demoralised, does not reply, and does what is -demanded of him. Twenty times is repeated the one phrase, -“Home I bring the bri-i-ide,” and twenty times the striding -about in yellow shoes with a halberd over the shoulder. -The conductor knows that these people are so demoralised -that they are no longer fit for anything but to blow trumpets -and walk about with halberds and in yellow shoes, and that -they are also accustomed to dainty, easy living, so that they -will put up with anything rather than lose their luxurious -life. He therefore gives free vent to his churlishness, -especially as he has seen the same thing done in Paris and -Vienna, and knows that this is the way the best conductors -behave, and that it is a musical tradition of great artists -to be so carried away by the great business of their art -that they cannot pause to consider the feelings of other -artists.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It would be difficult to find a more repulsive sight. I -have seen one workman abuse another for not supporting -the weight piled upon him when goods were being unloaded, -or, at hay-stacking, the village elder scold a peasant for not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>making the rick right, and the man submitted in silence. -And, however unpleasant it was to witness the scene, the -unpleasantness was lessened by the consciousness that the -business in hand was needful and important, and that the -fault for which the head-man scolded the labourer was one -which might spoil a needful undertaking.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But what was being done here? For what, and for -whom? Very likely the conductor was tired out, like the -workman I passed in the vaults; it was even evident that -he was; but who made him tire himself? And for what -was he tiring himself? The opera he was rehearsing was -one of the most ordinary of operas for people who are -accustomed to them, but also one of the most gigantic -absurdities that could possibly be devised. An Indian king -wants to marry; they bring him a bride; he disguises himself -as a minstrel; the bride falls in love with the minstrel -and is in despair, but afterwards discovers that the minstrel -is the king, and everyone is highly delighted.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That there never were, or could be, such Indians, and that -they were not only unlike Indians, but that what they were -doing was unlike anything on earth except other operas, -was beyond all manner of doubt; that people do not converse -in such a way as recitative, and do not place themselves -at fixed distances, in a quartet, waving their arms to -express their emotions; that nowhere, except in theatres, do -people walk about in such a manner, in pairs, with tinfoil -halberds and in slippers; that no one ever gets angry in such -a way, or is affected in such a way, or laughs in such a way, -or cries in such a way; and that no one on earth can -be moved by such performances; all this is beyond the -possibility of doubt.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Instinctively the question presents itself—For whom is -this being done? Whom <i>can</i> it please? If there are, -occasionally, good melodies in the opera, to which it is -pleasant to listen, they could have been sung simply, without -<span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>these stupid costumes and all the processions and recitatives -and hand-wavings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The ballet, in which half-naked women make voluptuous -movements, twisting themselves into various sensual wreathings, -is simply a lewd performance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So one is quite at a loss as to whom these things are done -for. The man of culture is heartily sick of them, while to -a real working man they are utterly incomprehensible. If -anyone can be pleased by these things (which is doubtful), -it can only be some young footman or depraved artisan, who -has contracted the spirit of the upper classes but is not yet -satiated with their amusements, and wishes to show his -breeding.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And all this nasty folly is prepared, not simply, nor with -kindly merriment, but with anger and brutal cruelty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is said that it is all done for the sake of art, and that -art is a very important thing. But is it true that art is so -important that such sacrifices should be made for its sake? -This question is especially urgent, because art, for the sake -of which the labour of millions, the lives of men, and above -all, love between man and man, are being sacrificed,—this -very art is becoming something more and more vague and -uncertain to human perception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Criticism, in which the lovers of art used to find support -for their opinions, has latterly become so self-contradictory, -that, if we exclude from the domain of art all that to -which the critics of various schools themselves deny the -title, there is scarcely any art left.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artists of various sects, like the theologians of the -various sects, mutually exclude and destroy themselves. -Listen to the artists of the schools of our times, and you -will find, in all branches, each set of artists disowning others. -In poetry the old romanticists deny the parnassians and -the decadents; the parnassians disown the romanticists and -the decadents; the decadents disown all their predecessors -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>and the symbolists; the symbolists disown all their predecessors -and <i>les mages</i>; and <i>les mages</i> disown all, all their -predecessors. Among novelists we have naturalists, psychologists, -and “nature-ists,” all rejecting each other. And it -is the same in dramatic art, in painting and in music. So -that art, which demands such tremendous labour-sacrifices -from the people, which stunts human lives and transgresses -against human love, is not only <i>not</i> a thing clearly and -firmly defined, but is understood in such contradictory ways -by its own devotees that it is difficult to say what is meant -by art, and especially what is good, useful art,—art for the -sake of which we might condone such sacrifices as are being -offered at its shrine.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span> - <h2 id='chap02' class='c003'>CHAPTER II</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>For the production of every ballet, circus, opera, operetta, -exhibition, picture, concert, or printed book, the intense and -unwilling labour of thousands and thousands of people is -needed at what is often harmful and humiliating work. -It were well if artists made all they require for themselves, -but, as it is, they all need the help of workmen, not only to -produce art, but also for their own usually luxurious maintenance. -And, one way or other, they get it; either through -payments from rich people, or through subsidies given by -Government (in Russia, for instance, in grants of millions of -roubles to theatres, conservatoires and academies). This -money is collected from the people, some of whom have to -sell their only cow to pay the tax, and who never get those -æsthetic pleasures which art gives.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It was all very well for a Greek or Roman artist, or even -for a Russian artist of the first half of our century (when -there were still slaves, and it was considered right that there -should be), with a quiet mind to make people serve him and -his art; but in our day, when in all men there is at least -some dim perception of the equal rights of all, it is impossible -to constrain people to labour unwillingly for art, without -first deciding the question whether it is true that art is so -good and so important an affair as to redeem this evil.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If not, we have the terrible probability to consider, that -while fearful sacrifices of the labour and lives of men, and -of morality itself, are being made to art, that same art may -be not only useless but even harmful.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>And therefore it is necessary for a society in which works -of art arise and are supported, to find out whether all that -professes to be art is really art; whether (as is presupposed -in our society) all that which is art is good; and whether -it is important and worth those sacrifices which it necessitates. -It is still more necessary for every conscientious -artist to know this, that he may be sure that all he does -has a valid meaning; that it is not merely an infatuation -of the small circle of people among whom he lives which -excites in him the false assurance that he is doing a good -work; and that what he takes from others for the support -of his often very luxurious life, will be compensated for by -those productions at which he works. And that is why -answers to the above questions are especially important in -our time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What is this art, which is considered so important and -necessary for humanity that for its sake these sacrifices of -labour, of human life, and even of goodness may be made?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What is art? What a question! Art is architecture, -sculpture, painting, music, and poetry in all its forms,” -usually replies the ordinary man, the art amateur, or even -the artist himself, imagining the matter about which he is -talking to be perfectly clear, and uniformly understood by -everybody. But in architecture, one inquires further, -are there not simple buildings which are not objects of -art, and buildings with artistic pretensions which are unsuccessful -and ugly and therefore cannot be considered as -works of art? wherein lies the characteristic sign of a work -of art?</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is the same in sculpture, in music, and in poetry. Art, -in all its forms, is bounded on one side by the practically -useful and on the other by unsuccessful attempts at art. -How is art to be marked off from each of these? The -ordinary educated man of our circle, and even the artist -who has not occupied himself especially with æsthetics, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>will not hesitate at this question either. He thinks the -solution has been found long ago, and is well known to -everyone.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Art is such activity as produces beauty,” says such a -man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If art consists in that, then is a ballet or an operetta -art? you inquire.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Yes,” says the ordinary man, though with some hesitation, -“a good ballet or a graceful operetta is also art, in so -far as it manifests beauty.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>But without even asking the ordinary man what differentiates -the “good” ballet and the “graceful” operetta from -their opposites (a question he would have much difficulty -in answering), if you ask him whether the activity of costumiers -and hairdressers, who ornament the figures and faces -of the women for the ballet and the operetta, is art; or the -activity of Worth, the dressmaker; of scent-makers and men-cooks, -then he will, in most cases, deny that their activity -belongs to the sphere of art. But in this the ordinary man -makes a mistake, just because he is an ordinary man and not -a specialist, and because he has not occupied himself with -æsthetic questions. Had he looked into these matters, he -would have seen in the great Renan’s book, <i>Marc Aurele</i>, -a dissertation showing that the tailor’s work is art, and that -those who do not see in the adornment of woman an affair -of the highest art are very small-minded and dull. “<i>C’est le -grand art</i>” says Renan. Moreover, he would have known -that in many æsthetic systems—for instance, in the æsthetics -of the learned Professor Kralik, <i>Weltschönheit</i>, <i>Versuch -einer allgemeinen Æsthetik</i>, <i>von Richard Kralik</i>, and in <i>Les -problèmes de l’Esthétique Contemporaine</i>, by Guyau—the arts -of costume, of taste, and of touch are included.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>Es Folgt nun ein Fünfblatt von Künsten, die der subjectiven -Sinnlichkeit entkeimen</i>” (There results then a pentafoliate -of arts, growing out of the subjective perceptions), says -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>Kralik (p. 175). “<i>Sie sind die ästhetische Behandlung -der fünf Sinne.</i>” (They are the æsthetic treatment of the -five senses.)</p> - -<p class='c005'>These five arts are the following:—</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Die Kunst des Geschmacksinns</i>—The art of the sense of -taste (p. 175).</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Die Kunst des Geruchsinns</i>—The art of the sense of smell -(p. 177).</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Die Kunst des Tastsinns</i>—The art of the sense of touch -(p. 180).</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Die Kunst des Gehörsinns</i>—The art of the sense of hearing -(p. 182).</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Die Kunst des Gesichtsinns</i>—The art of the sense of sight -(p. 184).</p> - -<p class='c005'>Of the first of these—<i>die Kunst des Geschmacksinns</i>—he -says: “<i>Man hält zwar gewöhnlich nur zwei oder höchstens -drei Sinne für würdig, den Stoff künstlerischer Behandlung -abzugeben, aber ich glaube nur mit bedingtem Recht. Ich -will kein allzugrosses Gewicht darauf legen, dass der gemeine -Sprachgebrauch manch andere Künste, wie zum Beispiel die -Kochkunst kennt.</i>”<a id='r4' /><a href='#f4' class='c008'><sup>[4]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>And further: “<i>Und es ist doch gewiss eine ästhetische -Leistung, wenn es der Kochkunst gelingt aus einem thierischen -Kadaver einen Gegenstand des Geschmacks in jedem Sinne zu -machen. Der Grundsatz der Kunst des Geschmacksinns (die -weiter ist als die sogenannte Kochkunst) ist also dieser: Es -soll alles Geniessbare als Sinnbild einer Idee behandelt werden -und in jedesmaligem Einklang zur auszudrückenden Idee.</i>”<a id='r5' /><a href='#f5' class='c008'><sup>[5]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>This author, like Renan, acknowledges a <i>Kostümkunst</i> -(Art of Costume) (p. 200), etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such is also the opinion of the French writer, Guyau, -who is highly esteemed by some authors of our day. In -his book, <i>Les problèmes de l’esthétique contemporaine</i>, he -speaks seriously of touch, taste, and smell as giving, or being -capable of giving, aesthetic impressions: “<i>Si la couleur -manque au toucher, il nous fournit en revanche une notion -que l’œil seul ne peut nous donner, et qui a une valeur -esthétique considérable, celle du doux, du soyeux du poli. -Ce qui caractérise la beauté du velours, c’est sa douceur au -toucher non moins que son brillant. Dans l’idée que nous -nous faisons de la beauté d’une femme, le velouté de sa peau -entre comme élément essentiel.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>Chacun de nous probablement avec un peu d’attention se -rappellera des jouissances du goût, qui out été de véritables -jouissances esthétiques.</i>”<a id='r6' /><a href='#f6' class='c008'><sup>[6]</sup></a> And he recounts how a glass of -milk drunk by him in the mountains gave him æsthetic -enjoyment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So it turns out that the conception of art as consisting -in making beauty manifest is not at all so simple as it seemed, -especially now, when in this conception of beauty are -included our sensations of touch and taste and smell, as -they are by the latest æsthetic writers.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>But the ordinary man either does not know, or does not -wish to know, all this, and is firmly convinced that all -questions about art may be simply and clearly solved by -acknowledging beauty to be the subject-matter of art. To -him it seems clear and comprehensible that art consists in -manifesting beauty, and that a reference to beauty will -serve to explain all questions about art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But what is this beauty which forms the subject-matter -of art? How is it defined? What is it?</p> - -<p class='c005'>As is always the case, the more cloudy and confused the -conception conveyed by a word, with the more <i>aplomb</i> and -self-assurance do people use that word, pretending that -what is understood by it is so simple and clear that it is -not worth while even to discuss what it actually -means.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This is how matters of orthodox religion are usually dealt -with, and this is how people now deal with the conception -of beauty. It is taken for granted that what is meant by -the word beauty is known and understood by everyone. -And yet not only is this not known, but, after whole -mountains of books have been written on the subject by the -most learned and profound thinkers during one hundred -and fifty years (ever since Baumgarten founded æsthetics in -the year 1750), the question, What is beauty? remains to -this day quite unsolved, and in each new work on æsthetics -it is answered in a new way. One of the last books I -read on æsthetics is a not ill-written booklet by Julius -Mithalter, called <i>Rätsel des Schönen</i> (The Enigma of the -Beautiful). And that title precisely expresses the position -of the question, What is beauty? After thousands of -learned men have discussed it during one hundred and fifty -years, the meaning of the word beauty remains an enigma -still. The Germans answer the question in their manner, -though in a hundred different ways. The physiologist-æstheticians, -especially the Englishmen: Herbert Spencer, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>Grant Allen and his school, answer it, each in his own -way; the French eclectics, and the followers of Guyau and -Taine, also each in his own way; and all these people know -all the preceding solutions given by Baumgarten, and Kant, -and Schelling, and Schiller, and Fichte, and Winckelmann, -and Lessing, and Hegel, and Schopenhauer, and Hartmann, -and Schasler, and Cousin, and Lévêque and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What is this strange conception “beauty,” which seems so -simple to those who talk without thinking, but in defining -which all the philosophers of various tendencies and different -nationalities can come to no agreement during a century and -a half? What is this conception of beauty, on which the -dominant doctrine of art rests?</p> - -<p class='c005'>In Russian, by the word <i>krasota</i> (beauty) we mean only -that which pleases the sight. And though latterly people -have begun to speak of “an ugly deed,” or of “beautiful -music,” it is not good Russian.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A Russian of the common folk, not knowing foreign -languages, will not understand you if you tell him that a -man who has given his last coat to another, or done anything -similar, has acted “beautifully,” that a man who has -cheated another has done an “ugly” action, or that a song -is “beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>In Russian a deed may be kind and good, or unkind and -bad. Music may be pleasant and good, or unpleasant and -bad; but there can be no such thing as “beautiful” or -“ugly” music.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Beautiful may relate to a man, a horse, a house, a view, -or a movement. Of actions, thoughts, character, or music, -if they please us, we may say that they are good, or, if they -do not please us, that they are not good. But beautiful -can be used only concerning that which pleases the sight. -So that the word and conception “good” includes the -conception of “beautiful,” but the reverse is not the case; -the conception “beauty” does not include the conception -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>“good.” If we say “good” of an article which we -value for its appearance, we thereby say that the article is -beautiful; but if we say it is “beautiful,” it does not at -all mean that the article is a good one.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such is the meaning ascribed by the Russian language, -and therefore by the sense of the people, to the words and -conceptions “good” and “beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>In all the European languages, <i>i.e.</i> the languages of those -nations among whom the doctrine has spread that beauty is -the essential thing in art, the words “beau,” “schön,” -“beautiful,” “bello,” etc., while keeping their meaning of -beautiful in form, have come to also express “goodness,” -“kindness,” <i>i.e.</i> have come to act as substitutes for the -word “good.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that it has become quite natural in those languages to -use such expressions as “belle ame,” “schöne Gedanken,” of -“beautiful deed.” Those languages no longer have a -suitable word wherewith expressly to indicate beauty of -form, and have to use a combination of words such as -“beau par la forme,” “beautiful to look at,” etc., to convey -that idea.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Observation of the divergent meanings which the words -“beauty” and “beautiful” have in Russian on the one hand, -and in those European languages now permeated by this -æsthetic theory on the other hand, shows us that the word -“beauty” has, among the latter, acquired a special meaning, -namely, that of “good.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>What is remarkable, moreover, is that since we Russians -have begun more and more to adopt the European view of -art, the same evolution has begun to show itself in our -language also, and some people speak and write quite -confidently, and without causing surprise, of beautiful music -and ugly actions, or even thoughts; whereas forty years ago, -when I was young, the expressions “beautiful music” and -“ugly actions” were not only unusual but incomprehensible. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>Evidently this new meaning given to beauty by European -thought begins to be assimilated by Russian society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And what really is this meaning? What is this “beauty” -as it is understood by the European peoples?</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order to answer this question, I must here quote at -least a small selection of those definitions of beauty most -generally adopted in existing æsthetic systems. I especially -beg the reader not to be overcome by dulness, but to read -these extracts through, or, still better, to read some one of -the erudite æsthetic authors. Not to mention the voluminous -German æstheticians, a very good book for this purpose -would be either the German book by Kralik, the English work -by Knight, or the French one by Lévêque. It is necessary to -read one of the learned æsthetic writers in order to form at -first-hand a conception of the variety in opinion and the -frightful obscurity which reigns in this region of speculation; -not, in this important matter, trusting to another’s -report.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This, for instance, is what the German æsthetician -Schasler says in the preface to his famous, voluminous, -and detailed work on æsthetics:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Hardly in any sphere of philosophic science can we -find such divergent methods of investigation and exposition, -amounting even to self-contradiction, as in the sphere of -æsthetics. On the one hand we have elegant phraseology -without any substance, characterised in great part by most -one-sided superficiality; and on the other hand, accompanying -undeniable profundity of investigation and richness of -subject-matter, we get a revolting awkwardness of philosophic -terminology, enfolding the simplest thoughts in an apparel -of abstract science as though to render them worthy to -enter the consecrated palace of the system; and finally, -between these two methods of investigation and exposition, -there is a third, forming, as it were, the transition from one -to the other, a method consisting of eclecticism, now flaunting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>an elegant phraseology and now a pedantic erudition.... -A style of exposition that falls into none of these three -defects but it is truly concrete, and, having important matter, -expresses it in clear and popular philosophic language, can -nowhere be found less frequently than in the domain of -æsthetics.”<a id='r7' /><a href='#f7' class='c008'><sup>[7]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>It is only necessary, for instance, to read Schasler’s own -book to convince oneself of the justice of this observation of -his.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the same subject the French writer Véron, in the -preface to his very good work on æsthetics, says, “<i>Il n’y a pas -de science, qui ait été plus que l’esthétique livrée aux rêveries des -métaphysiciens. Depuis Platon jusqu’ aux doctrines officielles -de nos jours, on a fait de l’art je ne sais quel amalgame de -fantaisies quintessenciées, et de mystères transcendantaux qui -trouvent leur expression suprême dans la conception absolue du -Beau idéal, prototype immuable et divin des choses réelles</i>” -(<i>L’esthétique</i>, 1878, p. 5).<a id='r8' /><a href='#f8' class='c008'><sup>[8]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>If the reader will only be at the pains to peruse the -following extracts, defining beauty, taken from the chief -writers on æsthetics, he may convince himself that this -censure is thoroughly deserved.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I shall not quote the definitions of beauty attributed to -the ancients,—Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc., down to -Plotinus,—because, in reality, the ancients had not that -conception of beauty separated from goodness which forms -the basis and aim of æsthetics in our time. By referring the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>judgments of the ancients on beauty to our conception of it, -as is usually done in æsthetics, we give the words of the -ancients a meaning which is not theirs.<a id='r9' /><a href='#f9' class='c008'><sup>[9]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span> - <h2 id='chap03' class='c003'>CHAPTER III</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>I begin with the founder of æsthetics, Baumgarten (1714-1762).</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Baumgarten,<a id='r10' /><a href='#f10' class='c008'><sup>[10]</sup></a> the object of logical knowledge -is Truth, the object of æsthetic (<i>i.e.</i> sensuous) knowledge -is Beauty. Beauty is the Perfect (the Absolute), recognised -through the senses; Truth is the Perfect perceived -through reason; Goodness is the Perfect reached by moral -will.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Beauty is defined by Baumgarten as a correspondence, <i>i.e.</i> -an order of the parts in their mutual relations to each -other and in their relation to the whole. The aim of beauty -itself is to please and excite a desire, “<i>Wohlgefallen und -Erregung eines Verlangens.</i>” (A position precisely the opposite -of Kant’s definition of the nature and sign of beauty.)</p> - -<p class='c005'>With reference to the manifestations of beauty, Baumgarten -considers that the highest embodiment of beauty -is seen by us in nature, and he therefore thinks that the -highest aim of art is to copy nature. (This position -also is directly contradicted by the conclusions of the -latest æstheticians.)</p> - -<p class='c005'>Passing over the unimportant followers of Baumgarten,—Maier, -Eschenburg, and Eberhard,—who only slightly -modified the doctrine of their teacher by dividing the -pleasant from the beautiful, I will quote the definitions -given by writers who came immediately after Baumgarten, -and defined beauty quite in another way. These writers -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>were Sulzer, Mendelssohn, and Moritz. They, in contradiction -to Baumgarten’s main position, recognise as the -aim of art, not beauty, but goodness. Thus Sulzer -(1720-1777) says that only that can be considered beautiful -which contains goodness. According to his theory, the aim -of the whole life of humanity is welfare in social life. This -is attained by the education of the moral feelings, to -which end art should be subservient. Beauty is that -which evokes and educates this feeling.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Beauty is understood almost in the same way by -Mendelssohn (1729-1786). According to him, art is the -carrying forward of the beautiful, obscurely recognised by -feeling, till it becomes the true and good. The aim of art -is moral perfection.<a id='r11' /><a href='#f11' class='c008'><sup>[11]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>For the æstheticians of this school, the ideal of beauty -is a beautiful soul in a beautiful body. So that these -æstheticians completely wipe out Baumgarten’s division of -the Perfect (the Absolute), into the three forms of Truth, -Goodness, and Beauty; and Beauty is again united with the -Good and the True.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But this conception is not only not maintained by the later -æstheticians, but the æsthetic doctrine of Winckelmann -arises, again in complete opposition. This divides the mission -of art from the aim of goodness in the sharpest and most -positive manner, makes external beauty the aim of art, and -even limits it to visible beauty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to the celebrated work of Winckelmann (1717-1767), -the law and aim of all art is beauty only, beauty -quite separated from and independent of goodness. There -are three kinds of beauty:—(1) beauty of form, (2) beauty -of idea, expressing itself in the position of the figure (in -plastic art), (3) beauty of expression, attainable only when -the two first conditions are present. This beauty of expression -is the highest aim of art, and is attained in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>antique art; modern art should therefore aim at imitating -ancient art.<a id='r12' /><a href='#f12' class='c008'><sup>[12]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Art is similarly understood by Lessing, Herder, and afterwards -by Goethe and by all the distinguished æstheticians -of Germany till Kant, from whose day, again, a different -conception of art commences.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Native æsthetic theories arose during this period in -England, France, Italy, and Holland, and they, though not -taken from the German, were equally cloudy and contradictory. -And all these writers, just like the German -æstheticians, founded their theories on a conception of the -Beautiful, understanding beauty in the sense of a something -existing absolutely, and more or less intermingled with -Goodness or having one and the same root. In England, -almost simultaneously with Baumgarten, even a little earlier, -Shaftesbury, Hutcheson, Home, Burke, Hogarth, and others, -wrote on art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Shaftesbury (1670-1713), “That which is -beautiful is harmonious and proportionable, what is harmonious -and proportionable is true, and what is at once -both beautiful and true is of consequence agreeable and -good.”<a id='r13' /><a href='#f13' class='c008'><sup>[13]</sup></a> Beauty, he taught, is recognised by the mind only. -God is fundamental beauty; beauty and goodness proceed -from the same fount.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that, although Shaftesbury regards beauty as being -something separate from goodness, they again merge into -something inseparable.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Hutcheson (1694-1747—“Inquiry into the -Original of our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue”), the aim of -art is beauty, the essence of which consists in evoking in us -the perception of uniformity amid variety. In the recognition -of what is art we are guided by “an internal sense.” -This internal sense may be in contradiction to the ethical -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>one. So that, according to Hutcheson, beauty does not -always correspond with goodness, but separates from it and -is sometimes contrary to it.<a id='r14' /><a href='#f14' class='c008'><sup>[14]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Home, Lord Kames (1696-1782), beauty is -that which is pleasant. Therefore beauty is defined by taste -alone. The standard of true taste is that the maximum of -richness, fulness, strength, and variety of impression should -be contained in the narrowest limits. That is the ideal of -a perfect work of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Burke (1729-1797—“Philosophical Inquiry -into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful”), -the sublime and beautiful, which are the aim of art, have -their origin in the promptings of self-preservation and of -society. These feelings, examined in their source, are means -for the maintenance of the race through the individual. The -first (self-preservation) is attained by nourishment, defence, -and war; the second (society) by intercourse and propagation. -Therefore self-defence, and war, which is bound up with it, -is the source of the sublime; sociability, and the sex-instinct, -which is bound up with it, is the source of beauty.<a id='r15' /><a href='#f15' class='c008'><sup>[15]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Such were the chief English definitions of art and beauty -in the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p class='c005'>During that period, in France, the writers on art were Père -André and Batteux, with Diderot, D’Alembert, and, to some -extent, Voltaire, following later.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Père André (“Essai sur le Beau,” 1741), there -are three kinds of beauty—divine beauty, natural beauty, -and artificial beauty.<a id='r16' /><a href='#f16' class='c008'><sup>[16]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Batteux (1713-1780), art consists in -imitating the beauty of nature, its aim being enjoyment.<a id='r17' /><a href='#f17' class='c008'><sup>[17]</sup></a> -Such is also Diderot’s definition of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>The French writers, like the English, consider that it is taste -that decides what is beautiful. And the laws of taste are not -only not laid down, but it is granted that they cannot be settled. -The same view was held by D’Alembert and Voltaire.<a id='r18' /><a href='#f18' class='c008'><sup>[18]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to the Italian æsthetician of that period, Pagano, -art consists in uniting the beauties’ dispersed in nature. -The capacity to perceive these beauties is taste, the capacity -to bring them into one whole is artistic genius. Beauty -commingles with goodness, so that beauty is goodness made -visible, and goodness is inner beauty.<a id='r19' /><a href='#f19' class='c008'><sup>[19]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to the opinion of other Italians: Muratori (1672-1750),—“<i>Riflessioni -sopra il buon gusto intorno le science e -le arti</i>,”—and especially Spaletti,<a id='r20' /><a href='#f20' class='c008'><sup>[20]</sup></a>—“<i>Saggio sopra la bellezza</i>” -(1765),—art amounts to an egotistical sensation, founded (as -with Burke) on the desire for self-preservation and society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Among Dutch writers, Hemsterhuis (1720-1790), who -had an influence on the German æstheticians and on Goethe, -is remarkable. According to him, beauty is that which gives -most pleasure, and that gives most pleasure which gives us -the greatest number of ideas in the shortest time. Enjoyment -of the beautiful, because it gives the greatest quantity -of perceptions in the shortest time, is the highest notion to -which man can attain.<a id='r21' /><a href='#f21' class='c008'><sup>[21]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Such were the æsthetic theories outside Germany during the -last century. In Germany, after Winckelmann, there again -arose a completely new æsthetic theory, that of Kant (1724-1804), -which more than all others clears up what this conception -of beauty, and consequently of art, really amounts to.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The æsthetic teaching of Kant is founded as follows:—Man -has a knowledge of nature outside him and of himself -in nature. In nature, outside himself, he seeks for truth; -in himself he seeks for goodness. The first is an affair of -pure reason, the other of practical reason (free-will). Besides -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>these two means of perception, there is yet the judging -capacity (<i>Urteilskraft</i>), which forms judgments without -reasonings and produces pleasure without desire (<i>Urtheil -ohne Begriff und Vergnügen ohne Begehren</i>). This capacity -is the basis of æsthetic feeling. Beauty, according to Kant, -in its subjective meaning is that which, in general and -necessarily, without reasonings and without practical -advantage, pleases. In its objective meaning it is the form -of a suitable object in so far as that object is perceived -without any conception of its utility.<a id='r22' /><a href='#f22' class='c008'><sup>[22]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Beauty is defined in the same way by the followers of -Kant, among whom was Schiller (1759-1805). According -to Schiller, who wrote much on æsthetics, the aim of art is, -as with Kant, beauty, the source of which is pleasure without -practical advantage. So that art may be called a game, -not in the sense of an unimportant occupation, but in the -sense of a manifestation of the beauties of life itself without -other aim than that of beauty.<a id='r23' /><a href='#f23' class='c008'><sup>[23]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides Schiller, the most remarkable of Kant’s followers -in the sphere of æsthetics was Wilhelm Humboldt, who, -though he added nothing to the definition of beauty, explained -various forms of it,—the drama, music, the comic, etc.<a id='r24' /><a href='#f24' class='c008'><sup>[24]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>After Kant, besides the second-rate philosophers, the -writers on æsthetics were Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and their -followers. Fichte (1762-1814) says that perception of the -beautiful proceeds from this: the world—<i>i.e.</i> nature—has -two sides: it is the sum of our limitations, and it is the -sum of our free idealistic activity. In the first aspect the -world is limited, in the second aspect it is free. In the first -aspect every object is limited, distorted, compressed, confined—and -we see deformity; in the second we perceive its inner -completeness, vitality, regeneration—and we see beauty. So -that the deformity or beauty of an object, according to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>Fichte, depends on the point of view of the observer. -Beauty therefore exists, not in the world, but in the beautiful -soul (<i>schöner Geist</i>). Art is the manifestation of this -beautiful soul, and its aim is the education, not only of the -mind—that is the business of the <i>savant</i>; not only of the -heart—that is the affair of the moral preacher; but of the -whole man. And so the characteristic of beauty lies, not -in anything external, but in the presence of a beautiful soul -in the artist.<a id='r25' /><a href='#f25' class='c008'><sup>[25]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Following Fichte, and in the same direction, Friedrich -Schlegel and Adam Müller also defined beauty. According -to Schlegel (1772—1829), beauty in art is understood too -incompletely, one-sidedly, and disconnectedly. Beauty exists -not only in art, but also in nature and in love; so that the -truly beautiful is expressed by the union of art, nature, and -love. Therefore, as inseparably one with aesthetic art, -Schlegel acknowledges moral and philosophic art.<a id='r26' /><a href='#f26' class='c008'><sup>[26]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Adam Muller (1779-1829), there are two -kinds of beauty; the one, general beauty, which attracts -people as the sun attracts the planet—this is found chiefly in -antique art—and the other, individual beauty, which results -from the observer himself becoming a sun attracting beauty,—this -is the beauty of modern art. A world in which all -contradictions are harmonised is the highest beauty. Every -work of art is a reproduction of this universal harmony.<a id='r27' /><a href='#f27' class='c008'><sup>[27]</sup></a> -The highest art is the art of life.<a id='r28' /><a href='#f28' class='c008'><sup>[28]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Next after Fichte and his followers came a contemporary -of his, the philosopher Schelling (1775-1854), who has had -a great influence on the æsthetic conceptions of our times. -According to Schelling’s philosophy, art is the production -or result of that conception of things by which the subject -becomes its own object, or the object its own subject. -Beauty is the perception of the infinite in the finite. And -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>the chief characteristic of works of art is unconscious infinity. -Art is the uniting of the subjective with the objective, of -nature with reason, of the unconscious with the conscious, -and therefore art is the highest means of knowledge. -Beauty is the contemplation of things in themselves as they -exist in the prototype (<i>In den Urbildern</i>). It is not the -artist who by his knowledge or skill produces the beautiful, -but the idea of beauty in him itself produces it.<a id='r29' /><a href='#f29' class='c008'><sup>[29]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Of Schelling’s followers the most noticeable was Solger -(1780-1819—<i>Vorlesungen über Aesthetik</i>). According to him, -the idea of beauty is the fundamental idea of everything. -In the world we see only distortions of the fundamental -idea, but art, by imagination, may lift itself to the height of -this idea. Art is therefore akin to creation.<a id='r30' /><a href='#f30' class='c008'><sup>[30]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to another follower of Schelling, Krause -(1781-1832), true, positive beauty is the manifestation of the -Idea in an individual form; art is the actualisation of the -beauty existing in the sphere of man’s free spirit. The -highest stage of art is the art of life, which directs its activity -towards the adornment of life so that it may be a beautiful -abode for a beautiful man.<a id='r31' /><a href='#f31' class='c008'><sup>[31]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>After Schelling and his followers came the new æsthetic -doctrine of Hegel, which is held to this day, consciously by -many, but by the majority unconsciously. This teaching is -not only no clearer or better defined than the preceding -ones, but is, if possible, even more cloudy and mystical.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Hegel (1770-1831), God manifests himself -in nature and in art in the form of beauty. God expresses -himself in two ways: in the object and in the subject, in -nature and in spirit. Beauty is the shining of the Idea -through matter. Only the soul, and what pertains to -it, is truly beautiful; and therefore the beauty of nature is -only the reflection of the natural beauty of the spirit—the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>beautiful has only a spiritual content. But the spiritual -must appear in sensuous form. The sensuous manifestation -of spirit is only appearance (<i>schein</i>), and this appearance -is the only reality of the beautiful. Art is thus the production -of this appearance of the Idea, and is a means, together with -religion and philosophy, of bringing to consciousness and -of expressing the deepest problems of humanity and the -highest truths of the spirit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Truth and beauty, according to Hegel, are one and the -same thing; the difference being only that truth is the -Idea itself as it exists in itself, and is thinkable. The -Idea, manifested externally, becomes to the apprehension -not only true but beautiful. The beautiful is the manifestation -of the Idea.<a id='r32' /><a href='#f32' class='c008'><sup>[32]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Following Hegel came his many adherents, Weisse, -Arnold Ruge, Rosenkrantz, Theodor Vischer and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Weisse (1801-1867), art is the introduction -(<i>Einbildung</i>) of the absolute spiritual reality of beauty -into external, dead, indifferent matter, the perception of -which latter apart from the beauty brought into it presents -the negation of all existence in itself (<i>Negation alles -Fürsichseins</i>).</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the idea of truth, Weisse explains, lies a contradiction -between the subjective and the objective sides of -knowledge, in that an individual <i>I</i> discerns the Universal. -This contradiction can be removed by a conception that -should unite into one the universal and the individual, which -fall asunder in our conceptions of truth. Such a conception -would be reconciled (<i>aufgehoben</i>) truth. Beauty is such a -reconciled truth.<a id='r33' /><a href='#f33' class='c008'><sup>[33]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Ruge (1802-1880), a strict follower of -Hegel, beauty is the Idea expressing itself. The spirit, -contemplating itself, either finds itself expressed completely, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>and then that full expression of itself is beauty; or incompletely, -and then it feels the need to alter this imperfect -expression of itself, and becomes creative art.<a id='r34' /><a href='#f34' class='c008'><sup>[34]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Vischer (1807-1887), beauty is the Idea in -the form of a finite phenomenon. The Idea itself is not -indivisible, but forms a system of ideas, which may be -represented by ascending and descending lines. The -higher the idea the more beauty it contains; but even -the lowest contains beauty, because it forms an essential -link of the system. The highest form of the Idea is -personality, and therefore the highest art is that which has -for its subject-matter the highest personality.<a id='r35' /><a href='#f35' class='c008'><sup>[35]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Such were the theories of the German æstheticians in the -Hegelian direction, but they did not monopolise æsthetic -dissertations. In Germany, side by side and simultaneously -with the Hegelian theories, there appeared theories of -beauty not only independent of Hegel’s position (that -beauty is the manifestation of the Idea), but directly contrary -to this view, denying and ridiculing it. Such was -the line taken by Herbart and, more particularly, by -Schopenhauer.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Herbart (1776-1841), there is not, and -cannot be, any such thing as beauty existing in itself. -What does exist is only our opinion, and it is necessary to -find the base of this opinion (<i>Ästhetisches Elementarurtheil</i>). -Such bases are connected with our impressions. -There are certain relations which we term beautiful; -and art consists in finding these relations, which -are simultaneous in painting, the plastic art, and -architecture, successive and simultaneous in music, -and purely successive in poetry. In contradiction to the -former æstheticians, Herbart holds that objects are often -beautiful which express nothing at all, as, for instance, the -rainbow, which is beautiful for its lines and colours, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>not for its mythological connection with Iris or Noah’s -rainbow.<a id='r36' /><a href='#f36' class='c008'><sup>[36]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Another opponent of Hegel was Schopenhauer, who -denied Hegel’s whole system, his æsthetics included.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Schopenhauer (1788-1860), Will objectivizes -itself in the world on various planes; and although the -higher the plane on which it is objectivized the more -beautiful it is, yet each plane has its own beauty. Renunciation -of one’s individuality and contemplation of one -of these planes of manifestation of Will gives us a perception -of beauty. All men, says Schopenhauer, possess -the capacity to objectivize the Idea on different planes. -The genius of the artist has this capacity in a higher degree, -and therefore makes a higher beauty manifest.<a id='r37' /><a href='#f37' class='c008'><sup>[37]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>After these more eminent writers there followed, in -Germany, less original and less influential ones, such as -Hartmann, Kirkmann, Schnasse, and, to some extent, -Helmholtz (as an æsthetician), Bergmann, Jungmann, and an -innumerable host of others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Hartmann (1842), beauty lies, not in the -external world, nor in “the thing in itself,” neither does it -reside in the soul of man, but it lies in the “seeming” -(<i>Schein</i>) produced by the artist. The thing in itself is not -beautiful, but is transformed into beauty by the artist.<a id='r38' /><a href='#f38' class='c008'><sup>[38]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Schnasse (1798-1875), there is no perfect -beauty in the world. In nature there is only an approach -towards it. Art gives what nature cannot give. In the -energy of the free <i>ego</i>, conscious of harmony not found in -nature, beauty is disclosed.<a id='r39' /><a href='#f39' class='c008'><sup>[39]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Kirkmann wrote on experimental aesthetics. All aspects -of history in his system are joined by pure chance. Thus, -according to Kirkmann (1802-1884), there are six realms -of history:—The realm of Knowledge, of Wealth, of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>Morality, of Faith, of Politics, and of Beauty; and activity -in the last-named realm is art.<a id='r40' /><a href='#f40' class='c008'><sup>[40]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Helmholtz (1821), who wrote on beauty as -it relates to music, beauty in musical productions is attained -only by following unalterable laws. These laws are not -known to the artist; so that beauty is manifested by the -artist unconsciously, and cannot be subjected to analysis.<a id='r41' /><a href='#f41' class='c008'><sup>[41]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Bergmann (1840) (<i>Ueber das Schöne</i>, 1887), -to define beauty objectively is impossible. Beauty is only -perceived subjectively, and therefore the problem of æsthetics -is to define what pleases whom.<a id='r42' /><a href='#f42' class='c008'><sup>[42]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Jungmann (d. 1885), firstly, beauty is a -suprasensible quality of things; secondly, beauty produces -in us pleasure by merely being contemplated; and, thirdly, -beauty is the foundation of love.<a id='r43' /><a href='#f43' class='c008'><sup>[43]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>The æsthetic theories of the chief representatives of France, -England, and other nations in recent times have been the -following:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>In France, during this period, the prominent writers on -æsthetics were Cousin, Jouffroy, Pictet, Ravaisson, Lévêque.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Cousin (1792-1867) was an eclectic, and a follower of the -German idealists. According to his theory, beauty always -has a moral foundation. He disputes the doctrine that art -is imitation and that the beautiful is what pleases. He -affirms that beauty may be defined objectively, and that it -essentially consists in variety in unity.<a id='r44' /><a href='#f44' class='c008'><sup>[44]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>After Cousin came Jouffroy (1796-1842), who was a pupil -of Cousin’s and also a follower of the German æstheticians. -According to his definition, beauty is the expression of the -invisible by those natural signs which manifest it. The -visible world is the garment by means of which we see beauty.<a id='r45' /><a href='#f45' class='c008'><sup>[45]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>The Swiss writer Pictet repeated Hegel and Plato, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>supposing beauty to exist in the direct and free manifestation -of the divine Idea revealing itself in sense forms.<a id='r46' /><a href='#f46' class='c008'><sup>[46]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Lévêque was a follower of Schelling and Hegel. He -holds that beauty is something invisible behind nature—a -force or spirit revealing itself in ordered energy.<a id='r47' /><a href='#f47' class='c008'><sup>[47]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Similar vague opinions about the nature of beauty were -expressed by the French metaphysician Ravaisson, who -considered beauty to be the ultimate aim and purpose of the -world. “<i>La beauté la plus divine et principalement la plus -parfaite contient le secret du monde.</i>”<a id='r48' /><a href='#f48' class='c008'><sup>[48]</sup></a> And again:—<i>“Le -monde entier est l’œuvre d’une beauté absolue, qui n’est la -cause des choses que par l’amour qu’elle met en elles</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>I purposely abstain from translating these metaphysical -expressions, because, however cloudy the Germans may be, -the French, once they absorb the theories of the Germans -and take to imitating them, far surpass them in uniting -heterogeneous conceptions into one expression, and putting -forward one meaning or another indiscriminately. For -instance, the French philosopher Renouvier, when discussing -beauty, says:—“<i>Ne craignons pas de dire qu’une vérité qui -ne serait pas belle, ne serait qu’un jeu logique de notre esprit -et que la seule vérité solide et digne de ce nom c’est la beauté.</i>”<a id='r49' /><a href='#f49' class='c008'><sup>[49]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides the æsthetic idealists who wrote and still write -under the influence of German philosophy, the following -recent writers have also influenced the comprehension of art -and beauty in France: Taine, Guyau, Cherbuliez, Coster, -and Véron.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Taine (1828-1893), beauty is the manifestation -of the essential characteristic of any important idea -more completely than it is expressed in reality.<a id='r50' /><a href='#f50' class='c008'><sup>[50]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Guyau (1854-1888) taught that beauty is not something -exterior to the object itself,—is not, as it were, a parasitic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>growth on it,—but is itself the very blossoming forth of that -on which it appears. Art is the expression of reasonable and -conscious life, evoking in us both the deepest consciousness -of existence and the highest feelings and loftiest thoughts. -Art lifts man from his personal life into the universal life, -by means, not only of participation in the same ideas and -beliefs, but also by means of similarity in feeling.<a id='r51' /><a href='#f51' class='c008'><sup>[51]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Cherbuliez, art is an activity, (1) satisfying -our innate love of forms (<i>apparences</i>), (2) endowing these -forms with ideas, (3) affording pleasure alike to our senses, -heart, and reason. Beauty is not inherent in objects, but is -an act of our souls. Beauty is an illusion; there is no -absolute beauty. But what we consider characteristic and -harmonious appears beautiful to us.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Coster held that the ideas of the beautiful, the good, and -the true are innate. These ideas illuminate our minds and -are identical with God, who is Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. -The idea of Beauty includes unity of essence, variety of -constitutive elements, and order, which brings unity into -the various manifestations of life.<a id='r52' /><a href='#f52' class='c008'><sup>[52]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>For the sake of completeness, I will further cite some of -the very latest writings upon art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>La psychologie du Beau et de l’Art, par Mario Pilo</i> (1895), -says that beauty is a product of our physical feelings. The -aim of art is pleasure, but this pleasure (for some reason) he -considers to be necessarily highly moral.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The <i>Essai sur l’art contemporain, par Fierens Gevaert</i> -(1897), says that art rests on its connection with the past, -and on the religious ideal of the present which the artist -holds when giving to his work the form of his individuality.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Then again, Sar Peladan’s <i>L’art idéaliste et mystique</i> (1894) -says that beauty is one of the manifestations of God. “<i>Il n’y -a pas d’autre Réalité que Dieu, n’y a pas d’autre Vérité -que Dieu, il n’y a pas d’autre Beauté, que Dieu</i>” (p. 33). -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>This book is very fantastic and very illiterate, but is -characteristic in the positions it takes up, and noticeable on -account of a certain success it is having with the younger -generation in France.</p> - -<p class='c005'>All the æsthetics diffused in France up to the present time -are similar in kind, but among them Véron’s <i>L’esthétique</i> (1878) -forms an exception, being reasonable and clear. That work, -though it does not give an exact definition of art, at least -rids æsthetics of the cloudy conception of an absolute beauty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Véron (1825-1889), art is the manifestation -of emotion transmitted externally by a combination of lines, -forms, colours, or by a succession of movements, sounds, or -words subjected to certain rhythms.<a id='r53' /><a href='#f53' class='c008'><sup>[53]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>In England, during this period, the writers on æsthetics -define beauty more and more frequently, not by its own -qualities, but by taste, and the discussion about beauty is -superseded by a discussion on taste.</p> - -<p class='c005'>After Reid (1704-1796), who acknowledged beauty as -being entirely dependent on the spectator, Alison, in his -<i>Essay on the Nature and Principles of Taste</i> (1790), proved -the same thing. From another side this was also asserted -by Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), the grandfather of the -celebrated Charles Darwin.</p> - -<p class='c005'>He says that we consider beautiful that which is connected -in our conception with what we love. Richard -Knight’s work, <i>An Analytical Inquiry into the Principles of -Taste</i>, also tends in the same direction.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Most of the English theories of æsthetics are on the same -lines. The prominent writers on æsthetics in England -during the present century have been Charles Darwin, (to -some extent), Herbert Spencer, Grant Allen, Ker, and -Knight.</p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Charles Darwin (1809-1882—<i>Descent of -Man</i>, 1871), beauty is a feeling natural not only to man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>but also to animals, and consequently to the ancestors of -man. Birds adorn their nests and esteem beauty in their -mates. Beauty has an influence on marriages. Beauty -includes a variety of diverse conceptions. The origin of -the art of music is the call of the males to the females.<a id='r54' /><a href='#f54' class='c008'><sup>[54]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Herbert Spencer (b. 1820), the origin of -art is play, a thought previously expressed by Schiller. In -the lower animals all the energy of life is expended in life-maintenance -and race-maintenance; in man, however, there -remains, after these needs are satisfied, some superfluous -strength. This excess is used in play, which passes over -into art. Play is an imitation of real activity, so is art. -The sources of æsthetic pleasure are threefold:—(1) That -“which exercises the faculties affected in the most complete -ways, with the fewest drawbacks from excess of exercise,” -(2) “the difference of a stimulus in large amount, which -awakens a glow of agreeable feeling,” (3) the partial revival -of the same, with special combinations.<a id='r55' /><a href='#f55' class='c008'><sup>[55]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>In Todhunter’s <i>Theory of the Beautiful</i> (1872), beauty is -infinite loveliness, which we apprehend both by reason and -by the enthusiasm of love. The recognition of beauty as -being such depends on taste; there can be no criterion for -it. The only approach to a definition is found in culture. -(What culture is, is not defined.) Intrinsically, art—that -which affects us through lines, colours, sounds, or words—is -not the product of blind forces, but of reasonable ones, -working, with mutual helpfulness, towards a reasonable -aim. Beauty is the reconciliation of contradictions.<a id='r56' /><a href='#f56' class='c008'><sup>[56]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Grant Allen is a follower of Spencer, and in his -<i>Physiological Æsthetics</i> (1877) he says that beauty has a -physical origin. Æsthetic pleasures come from the contemplation -of the beautiful, but the conception of beauty is -obtained by a physiological process. The origin of art is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>play; when there is a superfluity of physical strength man -gives himself to play; when there is a superfluity of receptive -power man gives himself to art. The beautiful is that which -affords the maximum of stimulation with the minimum of -waste. Differences in the estimation of beauty proceed from -taste. Taste can be educated. We must have faith in the -judgments “of the finest-nurtured and most discriminative” -men. These people form the taste of the next generation.<a id='r57' /><a href='#f57' class='c008'><sup>[57]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Ker’s <i>Essay on the Philosophy of Art</i> -(1883), beauty enables us to make part of the objective -world intelligible to ourselves without being troubled by -reference to other parts of it, as is inevitable for science. -So that art destroys the opposition between the one and -the many, between the law and its manifestation, between -the subject and its object, by uniting them. Art is the -revelation and vindication of freedom, because it is free -from the darkness and incomprehensibility of finite things.<a id='r58' /><a href='#f58' class='c008'><sup>[58]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>According to Knight’s <i>Philosophy of the Beautiful</i>, -Part II. (1893), beauty is (as with Schelling) the union of -object and subject, the drawing forth from nature of that -which is cognate to man, and the recognition in oneself of -that which is common to all nature.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The opinions on beauty and on Art here mentioned are far -from exhausting what has been written on the subject. And -every day fresh writers on æsthetics arise, in whose disquisitions -appear the same enchanted confusion and contradictoriness -in defining beauty. Some, by inertia, continue the -mystical æsthetics of Baumgarten and Hegel with sundry -variations; others transfer the question to the region of -subjectivity, and seek for the foundation of the beautiful in -questions of taste; others—the æstheticians of the very latest -formation—seek the origin of beauty in the laws of physiology; -and finally, others again investigate the question -quite independently of the conception of beauty. Thus, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>Sully in his <i>Sensation and Intuition: Studies in Psychology -and Æsthetics</i> (1874), dismisses the conception of beauty -altogether, art, by his definition, being the production of -some permanent object or passing action fitted to supply -active enjoyment to the producer, and a pleasurable impression -to a number of spectators or listeners, quite apart -from any personal advantage derived from it.<a id='r59' /><a href='#f59' class='c008'><sup>[59]</sup></a></p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span> - <h2 id='chap04' class='c003'>CHAPTER IV</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>To what do these definitions of beauty amount? Not -reckoning the thoroughly inaccurate definitions of beauty -which fail to cover the conception of art, and which suppose -beauty to consist either in utility, or in adjustment to a -purpose, or in symmetry, or in order, or in proportion, or in -smoothness, or in harmony of the parts, or in unity amid -variety, or in various combinations of these,—not reckoning -these unsatisfactory attempts at objective definition, all the -æsthetic definitions of beauty lead to two fundamental -conceptions. The first is that beauty is something having an -independent existence (existing in itself), that it is one of -the manifestations of the absolutely Perfect, of the Idea, of -the Spirit, of Will, or of God; the other is that beauty is -a kind of pleasure received by us, not having personal -advantage for its object.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first of these definitions was accepted by Fichte, -Schelling, Hegel, Schopenhauer, and the philosophising -Frenchmen, Cousin, Jouffroy, Ravaisson, and others, not to -enumerate the second-rate æsthetic philosophers. And this -same objective-mystical definition of beauty is held by a -majority of the educated people of our day. It is a conception -very widely spread, especially among the elder generation.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The second view, that beauty is a certain kind of pleasure -received by us, not having personal advantage for its aim, -finds favour chiefly among the English æsthetic writers, and is -shared by the other part of our society, principally by the -younger generation.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>So there are (and it could not be otherwise) only two -definitions of beauty: the one objective, mystical, merging -this conception into that of the highest perfection, God—a -fantastic definition, founded on nothing; the other, on the -contrary, a very simple and intelligible subjective one, -which considers beauty to be that which pleases (I do not -add to the word “pleases” the words “without the aim of -advantage,” because “pleases” naturally presupposes the -absence of the idea of profit).</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the one hand, beauty is viewed as something mystical -and very elevated, but unfortunately at the same time very -indefinite, and consequently embracing philosophy, religion, -and life itself (as in the theories of Schelling and Hegel, -and their German and French followers); or, on the other -hand (as necessarily follows from the definition of Kant and -his adherents), beauty is simply a certain kind of disinterested -pleasure received by us. And this conception of beauty, -although it seems very clear, is, unfortunately, again inexact; -for it widens out on the other side, <i>i.e.</i> it includes the -pleasure derived from drink, from food, from touching a -delicate skin, etc., as is acknowledged by Guyau, Kralik, -and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is true that, following the development of the æsthetic -doctrines on beauty, we may notice that, though at first (in -the times when the foundations of the science of æsthetics -were being laid) the metaphysical definition of beauty -prevailed, yet the nearer we get to our own times the -more does an experimental definition (recently assuming a -physiological form) come to the front, so that at last we -even meet with such æstheticians as Véron and Sully, who try -to escape entirely from the conception of beauty. But such -æstheticians have very little success, and with the majority of -the public, as well as of artists and the learned, a conception -of beauty is firmly held which agrees with the definitions -contained in most of the æsthetic treatises, <i>i.e.</i> which regards -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>beauty either as something mystical or metaphysical, or as -a special kind of enjoyment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What then is this conception of beauty, so stubbornly -held to by people of our circle and day as furnishing a -definition of art?</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the subjective aspect, we call beauty that which -supplies us with a particular kind of pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the objective aspect, we call beauty something -absolutely perfect, and we acknowledge it to be so only -because we receive, from the manifestation of this absolute -perfection, a certain kind of pleasure; so that this objective -definition is nothing but the subjective conception differently -expressed. In reality both conceptions of beauty amount -to one and the same thing, namely, the reception by us of -a certain kind of pleasure, <i>i.e.</i> we call “beauty” that which -pleases us without evoking in us desire.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such being the position of affairs, it would seem only -natural that the science of art should decline to content -itself with a definition of art based on beauty (<i>i.e.</i> on that -which pleases), and seek a general definition, which should -apply to all artistic productions, and by reference to which -we might decide whether a certain article belonged to the -realm of art or not. But no such definition is supplied, as -the reader may see from those summaries of the æsthetic -theories which I have given, and as he may discover even -more clearly from the original æsthetic works, if he will be -at the pains to read them. All attempts to define absolute -beauty in itself—whether as an imitation of nature, or as -suitability to its object, or as a correspondence of parts, or as -symmetry, or as harmony, or as unity in variety, etc.—either -define nothing at all, or define only some traits of -some artistic productions, and are far from including all -that everybody has always held, and still holds, to be art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There is no objective definition of beauty. The existing -definitions, (both the metaphysical and the experimental), -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>amount only to one and the same subjective definition which -(strange as it seems to say so) is, that art is that which makes -beauty manifest, and beauty is that which pleases (without -exciting desire). Many æstheticians have felt the insufficiency -and instability of such a definition, and, in order to give it -a firm basis, have asked themselves why a thing pleases. -And they have converted the discussion on beauty into -a question concerning taste, as did Hutcheson, Voltaire, -Diderot, and others. But all attempts to define what taste -is must lead to nothing, as the reader may see both from the -history of æsthetics and experimentally. There is and can -be no explanation of why one thing pleases one man and -displeases another, or <i>vice versâ</i>. So that the whole existing -science of æsthetics fails to do what we might expect from -it, being a mental activity calling itself a science, namely, -it does not define the qualities and laws of art, or of the -beautiful (if that be the content of art), or the nature of -taste (if taste decides the question of art and its merit), and -then, on the basis of such definitions, acknowledge as art -those productions which correspond to these laws, and reject -those which do not come under them. But this science of -æsthetics consists in first acknowledging a certain set of -productions to be art (because they please us), and then -framing such a theory of art that all those productions which -please a certain circle of people should fit into it. There -exists an art canon, according to which certain productions -favoured by our circle are acknowledged as being art,—Phidias, -Sophocles, Homer, Titian, Raphael, Bach, Beethoven, -Dante, Shakespear, Goethe, and others,—and the æsthetic -laws must be such as to embrace all these productions. In -æsthetic literature you will incessantly meet with opinions -on the merit and importance of art, founded not on any -certain laws by which this or that is held to be good or bad, -but merely on the consideration whether this art tallies with -the art canon we have drawn up.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>The other day I was reading a far from ill-written book -by Folgeldt. Discussing the demand for morality in works -of art, the author plainly says that we must not demand -morality in art. And in proof of this he advances the fact -that if we admit such a demand, Shakespear’s <i>Romeo and -Juliet</i> and Goethe’s <i>Wilhelm Meister</i> would not fit into the -definition of good art; but since both these books are -included in our canon of art, he concludes that the demand is -unjust. And therefore it is necessary to find a definition of -art which shall fit the works; and instead of a demand for -morality, Folgeldt postulates as the basis of art a demand -for the important (<i>Bedeutungsvolles</i>).</p> - -<p class='c005'>All the existing æsthetic standards are built on this plan. -Instead of giving a definition of true art, and then deciding -what is and what is not good art by judging whether a -work conforms or does not conform to the definition, a -certain class of works, which for some reason please a certain -circle of people, is accepted as being art, and a definition of -art is then devised to cover all these productions. I recently -came upon a remarkable instance of this method in a very -good German work, <i>The History of Art in the Nineteenth -Century</i>, by Muther. Describing the pre-Raphaelites, the -Decadents and the Symbolists (who are already included in -the canon of art), he not only does not venture to blame -their tendency, but earnestly endeavours to widen his -standard so that it may include them all, they appearing to -him to represent a legitimate reaction from the excesses of -realism. No matter what insanities appear in art, when -once they find acceptance among the upper classes of our -society a theory is quickly invented to explain and sanction -them; just as if there had never been periods in history when -certain special circles of people recognised and approved -false, deformed, and insensate art which subsequently left -no trace and has been utterly forgotten. And to what -lengths the insanity and deformity of art may go, especially -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>when, as in our days, it knows that it is considered infallible, -may be seen by what is being done in the art of our circle -to-day.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that the theory of art, founded on beauty, expounded -by æsthetics, and, in dim outline, professed by the public, is -nothing but the setting up as good, of that which has pleased -and pleases us, <i>i.e.</i> pleases a certain class of people.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order to define any human activity, it is necessary to -understand its sense and importance. And, in order to do -that, it is primarily necessary to examine that activity in -itself, in its dependence on its causes, and in connection -with its effects, and not merely in relation to the pleasure -we can get from it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If we say that the aim of any activity is merely our -pleasure, and define it solely by that pleasure, our definition -will evidently be a false one. But this is precisely what -has occurred in the efforts to define art. Now, if we -consider the food question, it will not occur to anyone to -affirm that the importance of food consists in the pleasure -we receive when eating it. Everyone understands that the -satisfaction of our taste cannot serve as a basis for our -definition of the merits of food, and that we have therefore -no right to presuppose that the dinners with cayenne pepper, -Limburg cheese, alcohol, etc., to which we are accustomed -and which please us, form the very best human food.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And in the same way, beauty, or that which pleases us, -can in no sense serve as the basis for the definition of art; -nor can a series of objects which afford us pleasure serve as -the model of what art should be.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To see the aim and purpose of art in the pleasure we get -from it, is like assuming (as is done by people of the lowest -moral development, <i>e.g.</i> by savages) that the purpose and -aim of food is the pleasure derived when consuming it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Just as people who conceive the aim and purpose of food -to be pleasure cannot recognise the real meaning of eating, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>so people who consider the aim of art to be pleasure cannot -realise its true meaning and purpose, because they attribute -to an activity, the meaning of which lies in its connection -with other phenomena of life, the false and exceptional aim -of pleasure. People come to understand that the meaning -of eating lies in the nourishment of the body only when -they cease to consider that the object of that activity is -pleasure. And it is the same with regard to art. People -will come to understand the meaning of art only when they -cease to consider that the aim of that activity is beauty, <i>i.e.</i> -pleasure. The acknowledgment of beauty (<i>i.e.</i> of a certain -kind of pleasure received from art) as being the aim of art, -not only fails to assist us in finding a definition of what -art is, but, on the contrary, by transferring the question -into a region quite foreign to art (into metaphysical, -psychological, physiological, and even historical discussions -as to why such a production pleases one person, and such -another displeases or pleases someone else), it renders such -definition impossible. And since discussions as to why one -man likes pears and another prefers meat do not help towards -finding a definition of what is essential in nourishment, so -the solution of questions of taste in art (to which the -discussions on art involuntarily come) not only does not -help to make clear what this particular human activity -which we call art really consists in, but renders such -elucidation quite impossible, until we rid ourselves of a -conception which justifies every kind of art, at the cost of -confusing the whole matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To the question, What is this art, to which is offered up -the labour of millions, the very lives of men, and even -morality itself? we have extracted replies from the existing -æsthetics, which all amount to this: that the aim of art is -beauty, that beauty is recognised by the enjoyment it gives, -and that artistic enjoyment is a good and important thing, -because it <i>is</i> enjoyment. In a word, that enjoyment is good -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>because it is enjoyment. Thus, what is considered the -definition of art is no definition at all, but only a shuffle -to justify existing art. Therefore, however strange it may -seem to say so, in spite of the mountains of books written -about art, no exact definition of art has been constructed. -And the reason of this is that the conception of art has -been based on the conception of beauty.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span> - <h2 id='chap05' class='c003'>CHAPTER V</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>What is art, if we put aside the conception of beauty, -which confuses the whole matter? The latest and most comprehensible -definitions of art, apart from the conception of -beauty, are the following:—(1 <i>a</i>) Art is an activity arising -even in the animal kingdom, and springing from sexual -desire and the propensity to play (Schiller, Darwin, Spencer), -and (1 <i>b</i>) accompanied by a pleasurable excitement of the -nervous system (Grant Allen). This is the physiological-evolutionary -definition. (2) Art is the external manifestation, -by means of lines, colours, movements, sounds, or words, -of emotions felt by man (Véron). This is the experimental -definition. According to the very latest definition (Sully), -(3) Art is “the production of some permanent object, or -passing action, which is fitted not only to supply an active -enjoyment to the producer, but to convey a pleasurable -impression to a number of spectators or listeners, quite apart -from any personal advantage to be derived from it.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Notwithstanding the superiority of these definitions to the -metaphysical definitions which depended on the conception -of beauty, they are yet far from exact. (1 <i>a</i>) The first, the -physiological-evolutionary definition, is inexact, because, -instead of speaking about the artistic activity itself, which -is the real matter in hand, it treats of the derivation of art. -The modification of it (1 <i>b</i>), based on the physiological effects -on the human organism, is inexact, because within the limits -of such definition many other human activities can be -included, as has occurred in the neo-æsthetic theories, which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>reckon as art the preparation of handsome clothes, pleasant -scents, and even of victuals.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The experimental definition (2), which makes art consist -in the expression of emotions, is inexact, because a man may -express his emotions by means of lines, colours, sounds, or -words, and yet may not act on others by such expression; -and then the manifestation of his emotions is not art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The third definition (that of Sully) is inexact, because -in the production of objects or actions affording pleasure -to the producer and a pleasant emotion to the spectators -or hearers apart from personal advantage, may be included -the showing of conjuring tricks or gymnastic exercises, -and other activities which are not art. And, further, -many things, the production of which does not afford -pleasure to the producer, and the sensation received from -which is unpleasant, such as gloomy, heart-rending scenes -in a poetic description or a play, may nevertheless be -undoubted works of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The inaccuracy of all these definitions arises from the fact -that in them all (as also in the metaphysical definitions) the -object considered is the pleasure art may give, and not the -purpose it may serve in the life of man and of humanity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order correctly to define art, it is necessary, first of all, -to cease to consider it as a means to pleasure, and to consider -it as one of the conditions of human life. Viewing it in -this way, we cannot fail to observe that art is one of the -means of intercourse between man and man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Every work of art causes the receiver to enter into a -certain kind of relationship both with him who produced, -or is producing, the art, and with all those who, simultaneously, -previously or subsequently, receive the same -artistic impression.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Speech, transmitting the thoughts and experiences of -men, serves as a means of union among them, and art acts -in a similar manner. The peculiarity of this latter means -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>of intercourse, distinguishing it from intercourse by means -of words, consists in this, that whereas by words a man -transmits his thoughts to another, by means of art he -transmits his feelings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The activity of art is based on the fact that a man, -receiving through his sense of hearing or sight another -man’s expression of feeling, is capable of experiencing the -emotion which moved the man who expressed it. To take -the simplest example: one man laughs, and another, who -hears, becomes merry; or a man weeps, and another, who -hears, feels sorrow. A man is excited or irritated, and -another man, seeing him, comes to a similar state of mind. -By his movements, or by the sounds of his voice, a man -expresses courage and determination, or sadness and calmness, -and this state of mind passes on to others. A man -suffers, expressing his sufferings by groans and spasms, -and this suffering transmits itself to other people; a man -expresses his feeling of admiration, devotion, fear, respect, or -love to certain objects, persons, or phenomena, and others -are infected by the same feelings of admiration, devotion, -fear, respect, or love to the same objects, persons, and -phenomena.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And it is on this capacity of man to receive another man’s -expression of feeling, and experience those feelings himself, -that the activity of art is based.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If a man infects another or others, directly, immediately, by -his appearance, or by the sounds he gives vent to at the very -time he experiences the feeling; if he causes another man -to yawn when he himself cannot help yawning, or to laugh -or cry when he himself is obliged to laugh or cry, or to suffer -when he himself is suffering—that does not amount to art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art begins when one person, with the object of joining -another or others to himself in one and the same feeling, -expresses that feeling by certain external indications. To -take the simplest example: a boy, having experienced, let us -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>say, fear on encountering a wolf, relates that encounter; and, -in order to evoke in others the feeling he has experienced, -describes himself, his condition before the encounter, the -surroundings, the wood, his own lightheartedness, and then -the wolf’s appearance, its movements, the distance between -himself and the wolf, etc. All this, if only the boy when -telling the story, again experiences the feelings he had lived -through and infects the hearers and compels them to feel -what the narrator had experienced, is art. If even the -boy had not seen a wolf but had frequently been afraid of -one, and if, wishing to evoke in others the fear he had felt, -he invented an encounter with a wolf, and recounted it so -as to make his hearers share the feelings he experienced -when he feared the wolf, that also would be art. And -just in the same way it is art if a man, having experienced -either the fear of suffering or the attraction of enjoyment -(whether in reality or in imagination), expresses these -feelings on canvas or in marble so that others are infected -by them. And it is also art if a man feels or imagines -to himself feelings of delight, gladness, sorrow, despair, -courage, or despondency, and the transition from one to -another of these feelings, and expresses these feelings by -sounds, so that the hearers are infected by them, and -experience them as they were experienced by the composer.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The feelings with which the artist infects others may be -most various—very strong or very weak, very important or -very insignificant, very bad or very good: feelings of love -for native land, self-devotion and submission to fate or to -God expressed in a drama, raptures of lovers described in -a novel, feelings of voluptuousness expressed in a picture, -courage expressed in a triumphal march, merriment evoked -by a dance, humour evoked by a funny story, the feeling -of quietness transmitted by an evening landscape or by a -lullaby, or the feeling of admiration evoked by a beautiful -arabesque—it is all art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>If only the spectators or auditors are infected by the -feelings which the author has felt, it is art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and -having evoked it in oneself then, by means of movements, lines, -colours, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit -that feeling that others may experience the same feeling—this -is the activity of art.</i></p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Art is a human activity, consisting in this, that one man -consciously, by means of certain external signs, hands on to -others feelings he has lived through, and that other people -are infected by these feelings, and also experience them.</i></p> - -<p class='c005'>Art is not, as the metaphysicians say, the manifestation -of some mysterious Idea of beauty, or God; it is not, as the -æsthetical physiologists say, a game in which man lets off his -excess of stored-up energy; it is not the expression of man’s -emotions by external signs; it is not the production of -pleasing objects; and, above all, it is not pleasure; but it is -a means of union among men, joining them together in the -same feelings, and indispensable for the life and progress -towards well-being of individuals and of humanity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As, thanks to man’s capacity to express thoughts by words, -every man may know all that has been done for him in the -realms of thought by all humanity before his day, and can, in -the present, thanks to this capacity to understand the thoughts -of others, become a sharer in their activity, and can himself -hand on to his contemporaries and descendants the thoughts -he has assimilated from others, as well as those which have -arisen within himself; so, thanks to man’s capacity to be -infected with the feelings of others by means of art, all that -is being lived through by his contemporaries is accessible to -him, as well as the feelings experienced by men thousands of -years ago, and he has also the possibility of transmitting his -own feelings to others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If people lacked this capacity to receive the thoughts -conceived by the men who preceded them, and to pass on to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>others their own thoughts, men would be like wild beasts, or -like Kaspar Hauser.<a id='r60' /><a href='#f60' class='c008'><sup>[60]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>And if men lacked this other capacity of being infected by -art, people might be almost more savage still, and, above all, -more separated from, and more hostile to, one another.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And therefore the activity of art is a most important one, -as important as the activity of speech itself, and as generally -diffused.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We are accustomed to understand art to be only what we -hear and see in theatres, concerts, and exhibitions; together -with buildings, statues, poems, novels.... But all this is but -the smallest part of the art by which we communicate with -each other in life. All human life is filled with works of -art of every kind—from cradle-song, jest, mimicry, the -ornamentation of houses, dress and utensils, up to church -services, buildings, monuments, and triumphal processions. -It is all artistic activity. So that by art, in the limited -sense of the word, we do not mean all human activity -transmitting feelings, but only that part which we for -some reason select from it and to which we attach special -importance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This special importance has always been given by all -men to that part of this activity which transmits feelings -flowing from their religious perception, and this small part -of art they have specifically called art, attaching to it the -full meaning of the word.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That was how men of old—Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—looked -on art. Thus did the Hebrew prophets and the -ancient Christians regard art; thus it was, and still is, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>understood by the Mahommedans, and thus is it still understood -by religious folk among our own peasantry.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Some teachers of mankind—as Plato in his <i>Republic</i>, -and people such as the primitive Christians, the strict -Mahommedans, and the Buddhists—have gone so far as to -repudiate all art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>People viewing art in this way (in contradiction to the -prevalent view of to-day, which regards any art as good if -only it affords pleasure) considered, and consider, that art -(as contrasted with speech, which need not be listened to) is so -highly dangerous in its power to infect people against their -wills, that mankind will lose far less by banishing all art -than by tolerating each and every art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Evidently such people were wrong in repudiating all -art, for they denied that which cannot be denied—one of -the indispensable means of communication, without which -mankind could not exist. But not less wrong are the people -of civilised European society of our class and day, in -favouring any art if it but serves beauty, <i>i.e.</i> gives people -pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Formerly, people feared lest among the works of art -there might chance to be some causing corruption, and they -prohibited art altogether. Now, they only fear lest they -should be deprived of any enjoyment art can afford, and -patronise any art. And I think the last error is much -grosser than the first, and that its consequences are far -more harmful.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span> - <h2 id='chap06' class='c003'>CHAPTER VI</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>But how could it happen that that very art, which in -ancient times was merely tolerated (if tolerated at all), -should have come, in our times, to be invariably considered -a good thing if only it affords pleasure?</p> - -<p class='c005'>It has resulted from the following causes. The estimation -of the value of art (<i>i.e.</i> of the feelings it transmits) depends -on men’s perception of the meaning of life; depends on -what they consider to be the good and the evil of life. -And what is good and what is evil is defined by what are -termed religions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Humanity unceasingly moves forward from a lower, more -partial, and obscure understanding of life, to one more -general and more lucid. And in this, as in every movement, -there are leaders,—those who have understood the meaning -of life more clearly than others,—and of these advanced men -there is always one who has, in his words and by his life, -expressed this meaning more clearly, accessibly, and strongly -than others. This man’s expression of the meaning of life, -together with those superstitions, traditions, and ceremonies -which usually form themselves round the memory of such a -man, is what is called a religion. Religions are the exponents -of the highest comprehension of life accessible to -the best and foremost men at a given time in a given society; -a comprehension towards which, inevitably and irresistibly, -all the rest of that society must advance. And therefore -only religions have always served, and still serve, as bases -for the valuation of human sentiments. If feelings bring -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>men nearer the ideal their religion indicates, if they are -in harmony with it and do not contradict it, they are good; -if they estrange men from it and oppose it, they are bad.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If the religion places the meaning of life in worshipping -one God and fulfilling what is regarded as His will, as was -the case among the Jews, then the feelings flowing from -love to that God, and to His law, successfully transmitted -through the art of poetry by the prophets, by the psalms, or -by the epic of the book of Genesis, is good, high art. All -opposing that, as for instance the transmission of feelings -of devotion to strange gods, or of feelings incompatible with -the law of God, would be considered bad art. Or if, as -was the case among the Greeks, the religion places the -meaning of life in earthly happiness, in beauty and in -strength, then art successfully transmitting the joy and -energy of life would be considered good art, but art which -transmitted feelings of effeminacy or despondency would be -bad art. If the meaning of life is seen in the well-being -of one’s nation, or in honouring one’s ancestors and continuing -the mode of life led by them, as was the case among -the Romans and the Chinese respectively, then art transmitting -feelings of joy at sacrificing one’s personal well-being -for the common weal, or at exalting one’s ancestors and -maintaining their traditions, would be considered good art; -but art expressing feelings contrary to this would be regarded -as bad. If the meaning of life is seen in freeing oneself from -the yoke of animalism, as is the case among the Buddhists, -then art successfully transmitting feelings that elevate the -soul and humble the flesh will be good art, and all that -transmits feelings strengthening the bodily passions will be -bad art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In every age, and in every human society, there exists a -religious sense, common to that whole society, of what is -good and what is bad, and it is this religious conception -that decides the value of the feelings transmitted by art. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>And therefore, among all nations, art which transmitted -feelings considered to be good by this general religious -sense was recognised as being good and was encouraged; -but art which transmitted feelings considered to be bad by -this general religious conception, was recognised as being -bad, and was rejected. All the rest of the immense field -of art by means of which people communicate one with -another, was not esteemed at all, and was only noticed when -it ran counter to the religious conception of its age, and -then merely to be repudiated. Thus it was among all -nations,—Greeks, Jews, Indians, Egyptians, and Chinese,—and -so it was when Christianity appeared.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Christianity of the first centuries recognised as -productions of good art, only legends, lives of saints, -sermons, prayers and hymn-singing, evoking love of Christ, -emotion at his life, desire to follow his example, renunciation -of worldly life, humility, and the love of others; all -productions transmitting feelings of personal enjoyment -they considered to be bad, and therefore rejected: for -instance, tolerating plastic representations only when they -were symbolical, they rejected all the pagan sculptures.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This was so among the Christians of the first centuries, -who accepted Christ’s teaching, if not quite in its true form, -at least not in the perverted, paganised form in which it -was accepted subsequently.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But besides this Christianity, from the time of the wholesale -conversion of nations by order of the authorities, as in -the days of Constantine, Charlemagne, and Vladimir, there -appeared another, a Church Christianity, which was nearer -to paganism than to Christ’s teaching. And this Church -Christianity, in accordance with its own teaching, estimated -quite otherwise the feelings of people and the productions -of art which transmitted those feelings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This Church Christianity not only did not acknowledge the -fundamental and essential positions of true Christianity,—the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>immediate relationship of each man to the Father, the -consequent brotherhood and equality of all men, and the -substitution of humility and love in place of every kind of -violence—but, on the contrary, having set up a heavenly -hierarchy similar to the pagan mythology, and having introduced -the worship of Christ, of the Virgin, of angels, of -apostles, of saints, and of martyrs, and not only of these -divinities themselves, but also of their images, it made blind -faith in the Church and its ordinances the essential point of -its teaching.</p> - -<p class='c005'>However foreign this teaching may have been to true -Christianity, however degraded, not only in comparison -with true Christianity, but even with the life-conception of -Romans such as Julian and others; it was, for all that, -to the barbarians who accepted it, a higher doctrine -than their former adoration of gods, heroes, and good -and bad spirits. And therefore this teaching was a -religion to them, and on the basis of that religion the -art of the time was assessed. And art transmitting pious -adoration of the Virgin, Jesus, the saints and the angels, -a blind faith in and submission to the Church, fear of -torments and hope of blessedness in a life beyond the -grave, was considered good; all art opposed to this was -considered bad.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The teaching on the basis of which this art arose was a -perversion of Christ’s teaching, but the art which sprang up -on this perverted teaching was nevertheless a true art, -because it corresponded to the religious view of life held by -the people among whom it arose.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artists of the Middle Ages, vitalised by the same -source of feeling—religion—as the mass of the people, and -transmitting, in architecture, sculpture, painting, music, -poetry or drama, the feelings and states of mind they -experienced, were true artists; and their activity, founded -on the highest conceptions accessible to their age and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>common to the entire people, though, for our times a -mean art, was, nevertheless a true one, shared by the -whole community.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this was the state of things until, in the upper, rich, -more educated classes of European society, doubt arose as to -the truth of that understanding of life which was expressed -by Church Christianity. When, after the Crusades and the -maximum development of papal power and its abuses, -people of the rich classes became acquainted with the wisdom -of the classics, and saw, on the one hand, the reasonable -lucidity of the teaching of the ancient sages, and, on the -other hand, the incompatibility of the Church doctrine with -the teaching of Christ, they lost all possibility of continuing -to believe the Church teaching.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If, in externals, they still kept to the forms of Church -teaching, they could no longer believe in it, and held to it -only by inertia and for the sake of influencing the masses, -who continued to believe blindly in Church doctrine, and -whom the upper classes, for their own advantage, considered -it necessary to support in those beliefs.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that a time came when Church Christianity ceased to -be the general religious doctrine of all Christian people; -some—the masses—continued blindly to believe in it, but -the upper classes—those in whose hands lay the power and -wealth, and therefore the leisure to produce art and the -means to stimulate it—ceased to believe in that teaching.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In respect to religion, the upper circles of the Middle Ages -found themselves in the same position in which the educated -Romans were before Christianity arose, <i>i.e.</i> they no longer -believed in the religion of the masses, but had no beliefs to -put in place of the worn-out Church doctrine which for them -had lost its meaning.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There was only this difference, that whereas for the -Romans who lost faith in their emperor-gods and household-gods -it was impossible to extract anything further from all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>the complex mythology they had borrowed from all the -conquered nations, and it was consequently necessary to find -a completely new conception of life, the people of the Middle -Ages, when they doubted the truth of the Church teaching, -had no need to seek a fresh one. That Christian teaching -which they professed in a perverted form as Church doctrine, -had mapped out the path of human progress so far ahead, -that they had but to rid themselves of those perversions -which hid the teaching announced by Christ, and to adopt -its real meaning—if not completely, then at least in some -greater degree than that in which the Church had held it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this was partially done, not only in the reformations of -Wyclif, Huss, Luther, and Calvin, but by all that current -of non-Church Christianity, represented in earlier times -by the Paulicians, the Bogomili,<a id='r61' /><a href='#f61' class='c008'><sup>[61]</sup></a> and, afterwards, by the -Waldenses and the other non-Church Christians who were -called heretics. But this could be, and was, done chiefly -by poor people—who did not rule. A few of the rich and -strong, like Francis of Assisi and others, accepted the -Christian teaching in its full significance, even though it -undermined their privileged positions. But most people of -the upper classes (though in the depth of their souls they -had lost faith in the Church teaching) could not or would -not act thus, because the essence of that Christian view -of life, which stood ready to be adopted when once they -rejected the Church faith, was a teaching of the brotherhood -(and therefore the equality) of man, and this negatived -those privileges on which they lived, in which they had -grown up and been educated, and to which they were -accustomed. Not, in the depth of their hearts, believing in -the Church teaching,—which had outlived its age and had -no longer any true meaning for them,—and not being strong -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>enough to accept true Christianity, men of these rich, -governing classes—popes, kings, dukes, and all the great ones -of the earth—were left without any religion, with but the -external forms of one, which they supported as being -profitable and even necessary for themselves, since these -forms screened a teaching which justified those privileges -which they made use of. In reality, these people believed -in nothing, just as the Romans of the first centuries of our -era believed in nothing. But at the same time these were -the people who had the power and the wealth, and these -were the people who rewarded art and directed it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And, let it be noticed, it was just among these people that -there grew up an art esteemed not according to its success in -expressing men’s religious feelings, but in proportion to its -beauty,—in other words, according to the enjoyment it -gave.</p> - -<p class='c005'>No longer able to believe in the Church religion whose -falsehood they had detected, and incapable of accepting true -Christian teaching, which denounced their whole manner of -life, these rich and powerful people, stranded without any -religious conception of life, involuntarily returned to that -pagan view of things which places life’s meaning in personal -enjoyment. And then took place among the upper classes -what is called the “Renaissance of science and art,” and -which was really not only a denial of every religion but -also an assertion that religion is unnecessary.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The Church doctrine is so coherent a system that it cannot -be altered or corrected without destroying it altogether. As -soon as doubt arose with regard to the infallibility of the -pope (and this doubt was then in the minds of all educated -people), doubt inevitably followed as to the truth of tradition. -But doubt as to the truth of tradition is fatal not only to -popery and Catholicism, but also to the whole Church creed -with all its dogmas: the divinity of Christ, the resurrection, -and the Trinity; and it destroys the authority of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>Scriptures, since they were considered to be inspired only -because the tradition of the Church decided it so.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that the majority of the highest classes of that age, -even the popes and the ecclesiastics, really believed in -nothing at all. In the Church doctrine these people did -not believe, for they saw its insolvency; but neither could -they follow Francis of Assisi, Keltchitsky,<a id='r62' /><a href='#f62' class='c008'><sup>[62]</sup></a> and most of the -heretics, in acknowledging the moral, social teaching of -Christ, for that teaching undermined their social position. -And so these people remained without any religious view -of life. And, having none, they could have no standard -wherewith to estimate what was good and what was bad art -but that of personal enjoyment. And, having acknowledged -their criterion of what was good to be pleasure, <i>i.e.</i>, beauty, -these people of the upper classes of European society went -back in their comprehension of art to the gross conception -of the primitive Greeks which Plato had already condemned. -And conformably to this understanding of life a theory of -art was formulated.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span> - <h2 id='chap07' class='c003'>CHAPTER VII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>From the time that people of the upper classes lost faith in -Church Christianity, beauty (<i>i.e.</i> the pleasure received from -art) became their standard of good and bad art. And, in -accordance with that view, an æsthetic theory naturally sprang -up among those upper classes justifying such a conception,—a -theory according to which the aim of art is to exhibit -beauty. The partisans of this æsthetic theory, in confirmation -of its truth, affirmed that it was no invention of their -own, but that it existed in the nature of things, and was -recognised even by the ancient Greeks. But this assertion -was quite arbitrary, and has no foundation other than the -fact that among the ancient Greeks, in consequence of -the low grade of their moral ideal (as compared with the -Christian), their conception of the good, τὸ ἀγαθόν, was not -yet sharply divided from their conception of the beautiful, -τὸ καλόν.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That highest perfection of goodness (not only not identical -with beauty, but, for the most part, contrasting with it) which -was discerned by the Jews even in the times of Isaiah, and -fully expressed by Christianity, was quite unknown to the -Greeks. They supposed that the beautiful must necessarily -also be the good. It is true that their foremost thinkers—Socrates, -Plato, Aristotle—felt that goodness may happen not -to coincide with beauty. Socrates expressly subordinated -beauty to goodness; Plato, to unite the two conceptions, -spoke of spiritual beauty; while Aristotle demanded from art -that it should have a moral influence on people (κάθαρσις). -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>But, notwithstanding all this, they could not quite dismiss -the notion that beauty and goodness coincide.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And consequently, in the language of that period, a -compound word (καλο-κἀγαθία, beauty-goodness), came into -use to express that notion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Evidently the Greek sages began to draw near to that -perception of goodness which is expressed in Buddhism and -in Christianity, and they got entangled in defining the -relation between goodness and beauty. Plato’s reasonings -about beauty and goodness are full of contradictions. And -it was just this confusion of ideas that those Europeans of -a later age, who had lost all faith, tried to elevate into a -law. They tried to prove that this union of beauty and -goodness is inherent in the very essence of things; -that beauty and goodness must coincide; and that -the word and conception καλο-κἀγαθία (which had a -meaning for Greeks but has none at all for Christians) -represents the highest ideal of humanity. On this misunderstanding -the new science of æsthetics was built up. -And, to justify its existence, the teachings of the ancients -on art were so twisted as to make it appear that this -invented science of æsthetics had existed among the Greeks.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In reality, the reasoning of the ancients on art was quite -unlike ours. As Benard, in his book on the æsthetics of -Aristotle, quite justly remarks: “<i>Pour qui veut y regarder de -près, la théorie du beau et celle de l’art sont tout à fait séparées -dans Aristote, comme elles le sont dans Platon et chez tous -leurs successeurs</i>” (<i>L’esthétique d’Aristote et de ses successeurs</i>, -Paris, 1889, p. 28).<a id='r63' /><a href='#f63' class='c008'><sup>[63]</sup></a> And indeed the reasoning of the -ancients on art not only does not confirm our science of -æsthetics, but rather contradicts its doctrine of beauty. But -nevertheless all the æsthetic guides, from Schasler to Knight, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>declare that the science of the beautiful—æsthetic science—was -commenced by the ancients, by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; -and was continued, they say, partially by the Epicureans -and Stoics: by Seneca and Plutarch, down to Plotinus. But -it is supposed that this science, by some unfortunate accident, -suddenly vanished in the fourth century, and stayed away for -about 1500 years, and only after these 1500 years had passed -did it revive in Germany, <span class='fss'>A.D.</span> 1750, in Baumgarten’s doctrine.</p> - -<p class='c005'>After Plotinus, says Schasler, fifteen centuries passed -away during which there was not the slightest scientific -interest felt for the world of beauty and art. These one -and a half thousand years, says he, have been lost to æsthetics -and have contributed nothing towards the erection of the -learned edifice of this science.<a id='r64' /><a href='#f64' class='c008'><sup>[64]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>In reality nothing of the kind happened. The science of -æsthetics, the science of the beautiful, neither did nor could -vanish because it never existed. Simply, the Greeks (just -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>like everybody else, always and everywhere) considered -art (like everything else) good only when it served goodness -(as they understood goodness), and bad when it was in -opposition to that goodness. And the Greeks themselves -were so little developed morally, that goodness and beauty -seemed to them to coincide. On that obsolete Greek view -of life was erected the science of æsthetics, invented by men -of the eighteenth century, and especially shaped and -mounted in Baumgarten’s theory. The Greeks (as anyone -may see who will read Benard’s admirable book on Aristotle -and his successors, and Walter’s work on Plato) never had a -science of æsthetics.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Æsthetic theories arose about one hundred and fifty -years ago among the wealthy classes of the Christian -European world, and arose simultaneously among different -nations,—German, Italian, Dutch, French, and English. -The founder and organiser of it, who gave it a scientific, -theoretic form, was Baumgarten.</p> - -<p class='c005'>With a characteristically German, external exactitude, -pedantry and symmetry, he devised and expounded this -extraordinary theory. And, notwithstanding its obvious -insolidity, nobody else’s theory so pleased the cultured -crowd, or was accepted so readily and with such an -absence of criticism. It so suited the people of the upper -classes, that to this day, notwithstanding its entirely fantastic -character and the arbitrary nature of its assertions, it is -repeated by learned and unlearned as though it were something -indubitable and self-evident.</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Habent sua fata libelli pro capite lectoris</i>, and so, or even -more so, theories <i>habent sua fata</i> according to the condition -of error in which that society is living, among whom and for -whom the theories are invented. If a theory justifies the false -position in which a certain part of a society is living, then, -however unfounded or even obviously false the theory may -be, it is accepted, and becomes an article of faith to that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>section of society. Such, for instance, was the celebrated and -unfounded theory expounded by Malthus, of the tendency -of the population of the world to increase in geometrical -progression, but of the means of sustenance to increase only -in arithmetical progression, and of the consequent overpopulation -of the world; such, also, was the theory (an -outgrowth of the Malthusian) of selection and struggle for -existence as the basis of human progress. Such, again, is -Marx’s theory, which regards the gradual destruction of -small private production by large capitalistic production -now going on around us, as an inevitable decree of fate. -However unfounded such theories are, however contrary to -all that is known and confessed by humanity, and however -obviously immoral they may be, they are accepted with -credulity, pass uncriticised, and are preached, perchance -for centuries, until the conditions are destroyed which they -served to justify, or until their absurdity has become too -evident. To this class belongs this astonishing theory of -the Baumgartenian Trinity—Goodness, Beauty, and Truth, -according to which it appears that the very best that can be -done by the art of nations after 1900 years of Christian -teaching, is to choose as the ideal of their life the ideal that -was held by a small, semi-savage, slave-holding people -who lived 2000 years ago, who imitated the nude human -body extremely well, and erected buildings pleasant to look -at. All these incompatibilities pass completely unnoticed. -Learned people write long, cloudy treatises on beauty as a -member of the æsthetic trinity of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness; -<i>das Schöne, das Wahre, das Gute</i>; <i>le Beau, le Vrai, -le Bon</i>, are repeated, with capital letters, by philosophers, -æstheticians and artists, by private individuals, by novelists -and by <i>feuilletonistes</i>, and they all think, when pronouncing -these sacrosanct words, that they speak of something quite -definite and solid—something on which they can base their -opinions. In reality, these words not only have no definite -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>meaning, but they hinder us in attaching any definite meaning -to existing art; they are wanted only for the purpose of -justifying the false importance we attribute to an art that -transmits every kind of feeling if only those feelings afford -us pleasure.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span> - <h2 id='chap08' class='c003'>CHAPTER VIII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>But if art is a human activity having for its purpose the -transmission to others of the highest and best feelings to -which men have risen, how could it be that humanity -for a certain rather considerable period of its existence -(from the time people ceased to believe in Church doctrine -down to the present day) should exist without this important -activity, and, instead of it, should put up with an -insignificant artistic activity only affording pleasure?</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order to answer this question, it is necessary, first of -all, to correct the current error people make in attributing -to our art the significance of true, universal art. We are -so accustomed, not only naïvely to consider the Circassian -family the best stock of people, but also the Anglo-Saxon -race the best race if we are Englishmen or Americans, or -the Teutonic if we are Germans, or the Gallo-Latin if we are -French, or the Slavonic if we are Russians, that when -speaking of our own art we feel fully convinced, not only -that our art is true art, but even that it is the best and only -true art. But in reality our art is not only not the only art -(as the Bible once was held to be the only book), but it is -not even the art of the whole of Christendom,—only of a -small section of that part of humanity. It was correct to -speak of a national Jewish, Grecian, or Egyptian art, and one -may speak of a now-existing Chinese, Japanese, or Indian art -shared in by a whole people. Such art, common to a whole -nation, existed in Russia till Peter the First’s time, and existed -in the rest of Europe until the thirteenth or fourteenth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>century; but since the upper classes of European society, -having lost faith in the Church teaching, did not accept real -Christianity but remained without any faith, one can no -longer speak of an art of the Christian nations in the sense -of the whole of art. Since the upper classes of the Christian -nations lost faith in Church Christianity, the art of those -upper classes has separated itself from the art of the rest of -the people, and there have been two arts—the art of the -people and genteel art. And therefore the answer to the -question how it could occur that humanity lived for a -certain period without real art, replacing it by art which -served enjoyment only, is, that not all humanity, nor even -any considerable portion of it, lived without real art, but -only the highest classes of European Christian society, and -even they only for a comparatively short time—from the -commencement of the Renaissance down to our own day.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the consequence of this absence of true art showed -itself, inevitably, in the corruption of that class which -nourished itself on the false art. All the confused, unintelligible -theories of art, all the false and contradictory -judgments on art, and particularly the self-confident stagnation -of our art in its false path, all arise from the assertion, -which has come into common use and is accepted as an -unquestioned truth, but is yet amazingly and palpably false, -the assertion, namely, that the art of our upper classes<a id='r65' /><a href='#f65' class='c008'><sup>[65]</sup></a> is -the whole of art, the true, the only, the universal art. And -although this assertion (which is precisely similar to the -assertion made by religious people of the various Churches -who consider that theirs is the only true religion) is quite -arbitrary and obviously unjust, yet it is calmly repeated by -all the people of our circle with full faith in its infallibility.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>The art we have is the whole of art, the real, the only -art, and yet two-thirds of the human race (all the peoples -of Asia and Africa) live and die knowing nothing of this -sole and supreme art. And even in our Christian society -hardly one per cent. of the people make use of this art which -we speak of as being the <i>whole</i> of art; the remaining ninety-nine -per cent. live and die, generation after generation, -crushed by toil and never tasting this art, which moreover -is of such a nature that, if they could get it, they would not -understand anything of it. We, according to the current -æsthetic theory, acknowledge art either as one of the highest -manifestations of the Idea, God, Beauty, or as the highest -spiritual enjoyment; furthermore, we hold that all people -have equal rights, if not to material, at any rate to spiritual -well-being; and yet ninety-nine per cent. of our European -population live and die, generation after generation, crushed -by toil, much of which toil is necessary for the production of -our art which they never use, and we, nevertheless, calmly -assert that the art which we produce is the real, true, only -art—all of art!</p> - -<p class='c005'>To the remark that if our art is the true art everyone -should have the benefit of it, the usual reply is that if not -everybody at present makes use of existing art, the fault -lies, not in the art, but in the false organisation of society; -that one can imagine to oneself, in the future, a state of -things in which physical labour will be partly superseded -by machinery, partly lightened by its just distribution, and -that labour for the production of art will be taken in turns; -that there is no need for some people always to sit below the -stage moving the decorations, winding up the machinery, -working at the piano or French horn, and setting type and -printing books, but that the people who do all this work -might be engaged only a few hours per day, and in their -leisure time might enjoy all the blessings of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That is what the defenders of our exclusive art say. But -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>I think they do not themselves believe it. They cannot -help knowing that fine art can arise only on the slavery of -the masses of the people, and can continue only as long as -that slavery lasts, and they cannot help knowing that only -under conditions of intense labour for the workers, can -specialists—writers, musicians, dancers, and actors—arrive -at that fine degree of perfection to which they do attain, -or produce their refined works of art; and only under the -same conditions can there be a fine public to esteem such -productions. Free the slaves of capital, and it will be -impossible to produce such refined art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But even were we to admit the inadmissible, and say that -means may be found by which art (that art which among us -is considered to be art) may be accessible to the whole -people, another consideration presents itself showing that -fashionable art cannot be the whole of art, viz. the fact -that it is completely unintelligible to the people. Formerly -men wrote poems in Latin, but now their artistic productions -are as unintelligible to the common folk as if they were -written in Sanskrit. The usual reply to this is, that if the -people do not now understand this art of ours, it only proves -that they are undeveloped, and that this has been so at each -fresh step forward made by art. First it was not understood, -but afterwards people got accustomed to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It will be the same with our present art; it will be -understood when everybody is as well educated as are we—the -people of the upper classes—who produce this art,” say -the defenders of our art. But this assertion is evidently -even more unjust than the former; for we know that the -majority of the productions of the art of the upper classes, -such as various odes, poems, dramas, cantatas, pastorals, -pictures, etc., which delighted the people of the upper -classes when they were produced, never were afterwards -either understood or valued by the great masses of mankind, -but have remained, what they were at first, a mere -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>pastime for rich people of their time, for whom alone they -ever were of any importance. It is also often urged in -proof of the assertion that the people will some day understand -our art, that some productions of so-called “classical” -poetry, music, or painting, which formerly did not please -the masses, do—now that they have been offered to them -from all sides—begin to please these same masses; but this -only shows that the crowd, especially the half-spoilt town -crowd, can easily (its taste having been perverted) be -accustomed to any sort of art. Moreover, this art is not -produced by these masses, nor even chosen by them, but -is energetically thrust upon them in those public places in -which art is accessible to the people. For the great majority -of working people, our art, besides being inaccessible on -account of its costliness, is strange in its very nature, -transmitting as it does the feelings of people far removed -from those conditions of laborious life which are natural to -the great body of humanity. That which is enjoyment to -a man of the rich classes, is incomprehensible, as a pleasure, -to a working man, and evokes in him either no feeling at -all, or only a feeling quite contrary to that which it evokes -in an idle and satiated man. Such feelings as form the -chief subjects of present-day art—say, for instance, honour,<a id='r66' /><a href='#f66' class='c008'><sup>[66]</sup></a> -patriotism and amorousness, evoke in a working man only -bewilderment and contempt, or indignation. So that even -if a possibility were given to the labouring classes, in their -free time, to see, to read, and to hear all that forms the -flower of contemporary art (as is done to some extent in -towns, by means of picture galleries, popular concerts, and -libraries), the working man (to the extent to which he is a -labourer, and has not begun to pass into the ranks of those -perverted by idleness) would be able to make nothing of our -fine art, and if he did understand it, that which he understood -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>would not elevate his soul, but would certainly, in -most cases, pervert it. To thoughtful and sincere people -there can therefore be no doubt that the art of our upper -classes never can be the art of the whole people. But if art -is an important matter, a spiritual blessing, essential for -all men (“like religion,” as the devotees of art are fond of -saying), then it should be accessible to everyone. And if, as -in our day, it is not accessible to all men, then one of two -things: either art is not the vital matter it is represented -to be, or that art which we call art is not the real thing.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The dilemma is inevitable, and therefore clever and -immoral people avoid it by denying one side of it, viz. -denying that the common people have a right to art. These -people simply and boldly speak out (what lies at the heart -of the matter), and say that the participators in and utilisers -of what in their esteem is highly beautiful art, <i>i.e.</i> art -furnishing the greatest enjoyment, can only be “schöne -Geister,” “the elect,” as the romanticists called them, the -“Uebermenschen,” as they are called by the followers of -Nietzsche; the remaining vulgar herd, incapable of experiencing -these pleasures, must serve the exalted pleasures -of this superior breed of people. The people who express -these views at least do not pretend and do not try to combine -the incombinable, but frankly admit, what is the case, -that our art is an art of the upper classes only. So, -essentially, art has been, and is, understood by everyone -engaged on it in our society.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span> - <h2 id='chap09' class='c003'>CHAPTER IX</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>The unbelief of the upper classes of the European world -had this effect, that instead of an artistic activity aiming at -transmitting the highest feelings to which humanity has -attained,—those flowing from religious perception,—we have -an activity which aims at affording the greatest enjoyment -to a certain class of society. And of all the immense domain -of art, that part has been fenced off, and is alone called art, -which affords enjoyment to the people of this particular -circle.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Apart from the moral effects on European society of such -a selection from the whole sphere of art of what did not deserve -such a valuation, and the acknowledgment of it as -important art, this perversion of art has weakened art itself, -and well-nigh destroyed it. The first great result was that -art was deprived of the infinite, varied, and profound religious -subject-matter proper to it. The second result was that -having only a small circle of people in view, it lost its beauty -of form and became affected and obscure; and the third and -chief result was that it ceased to be either natural or even -sincere, and became thoroughly artificial and brain-spun.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first result—the impoverishment of subject-matter—followed -because only that is a true work of art which -transmits fresh feelings not before experienced by man. -As thought-product is only then real thought-product when -it transmits new conceptions and thoughts, and does not -merely repeat what was known before, so also an art-product -is only then a genuine art-product when it brings -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>a new feeling (however insignificant) into the current of -human life. This explains why children and youths are -so strongly impressed by those works of art which first -transmit to them feelings they had not before experienced.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The same powerful impression is made on people by feelings -which are quite new, and have never before been expressed -by man. And it is the source from which such feelings -flow of which the art of the upper classes has deprived -itself by estimating feelings, not in conformity with religious -perception, but according to the degree of enjoyment they -afford. There is nothing older and more hackneyed than -enjoyment, and there is nothing fresher than the feelings -springing from the religious consciousness of each age. It -could not be otherwise: man’s enjoyment has limits established -by his nature, but the movement forward of -humanity, that which is voiced by religious perception, has -no limits. At every forward step taken by humanity—and -such steps are taken in consequence of the greater and -greater elucidation of religious perception—men experience -new and fresh feelings. And therefore only on the basis -of religious perception (which shows the highest level of -life-comprehension reached by the men of a certain period) -can fresh emotion, never before felt by man, arise. From -the religious perception of the ancient Greeks flowed the -really new, important, and endlessly varied feelings expressed -by Homer and the tragic writers. It was the same -among the Jews, who attained the religious conception of a -single God,—from that perception flowed all those new and -important emotions expressed by the prophets. It was the -same for the poets of the Middle Ages, who, if they believed -in a heavenly hierarchy, believed also in the Catholic -commune; and it is the same for a man of to-day who has -grasped the religious conception of true Christianity—the -brotherhood of man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The variety of fresh feelings flowing from religious -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>perception is endless, and they are all new, for religious -perception is nothing else than the first indication of that -which is coming into existence, viz. the new relation of -man to the world around him. But the feelings flowing -from the desire for enjoyment are, on the contrary, not -only limited, but were long ago experienced and expressed. -And therefore the lack of belief of the upper classes of -Europe has left them with an art fed on the poorest -subject-matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The impoverishment of the subject-matter of upper-class -art was further increased by the fact that, ceasing to be -religious, it ceased also to be popular, and this again -diminished the range of feelings which it transmitted. For -the range of feelings experienced by the powerful and the -rich, who have no experience of labour for the support of -life, is far poorer, more limited, and more insignificant than -the range of feelings natural to working people.</p> - -<p class='c005'>People of our circle, æstheticians, usually think and say -just the contrary of this. I remember how Gontchareff, the -author, a very clever and educated man but a thorough townsman -and an æsthetician, said to me that after Tourgenieff’s -<i>Memoirs of a Sportsman</i> there was nothing left to write about -in peasant life. It was all used up. The life of working -people seemed to him so simple that Tourgenieff’s peasant -stories had used up all there was to describe. The life of -our wealthy people, with their love affairs and dissatisfaction -with themselves, seemed to him full of inexhaustible -subject-matter. One hero kissed his lady on her palm, -another on her elbow, and a third somewhere else. One -man is discontented through idleness, and another because -people don’t love him. And Gontchareff thought that in -this sphere there is no end of variety. And this opinion—that -the life of working people is poor in subject-matter, -but that our life, the life of the idle, is full of interest—is -shared by very many people in our society. The life of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>a labouring man, with its endlessly varied forms of labour, -and the dangers connected with this labour on sea and -underground; his migrations, the intercourse with his employers, -overseers, and companions and with men of other -religions and other nationalities; his struggles with nature -and with wild beasts, the associations with domestic animals, -the work in the forest, on the steppe, in the field, the garden, -the orchard; his intercourse with wife and children, not only -as with people near and dear to him, but as with co-workers -and helpers in labour, replacing him in time of need; his -concern in all economic questions, not as matters of display -or discussion, but as problems of life for himself and his -family; his pride in self-suppression and service to others, -his pleasures of refreshment; and with all these interests -permeated by a religious attitude towards these occurrences—all -this to us, who have not these interests and possess no -religious perception, seems monotonous in comparison with -those small enjoyments and insignificant cares of our life,—a -life, not of labour nor of production, but of consumption and -destruction of that which others have produced for us. We -think the feelings experienced by people of our day and -our class are very important and varied; but in reality -almost all the feelings of people of our class amount to -but three very insignificant and simple feelings—the feeling -of pride, the feeling of sexual desire, and the feeling of -weariness of life. These three feelings, with their outgrowths, -form almost the only subject-matter of the art of -the rich classes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>At first, at the very beginning of the separation of the -exclusive art of the upper classes from universal art, its -chief subject-matter was the feeling of pride. It was so at -the time of the Renaissance and after it, when the chief -subject of works of art was the laudation of the strong—popes, -kings, and dukes: odes and madrigals were written in -their honour, and they were extolled in cantatas and hymns; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>their portraits were painted, and their statues carved, in -various adulatory ways. Next, the element of sexual desire -began more and more to enter into art, and (with very few -exceptions, and in novels and dramas almost without -exception) it has now become an essential feature of every -art product of the rich classes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The third feeling transmitted by the art of the rich—that -of discontent with life—appeared yet later in modern art. -This feeling, which, at the commencement of the present -century, was expressed only by exceptional men; by Byron, -by Leopardi, and afterwards by Heine, has latterly become -fashionable and is expressed by most ordinary and empty -people. Most justly does the French critic Doumic -characterise the works of the new writers—“<i>c’est la -lassitude de vivre, le mépris de l’époque présente, le regret -d’un autre temps aperçu à travers l’illusion de l’art, le -goût du paradoxe, le besoin de se singulariser, une aspiration -de raffinés vers la simplicité, l’adoration enfantine du -merveilleux, la séduction maladive de la rêverie, l’ébranlement -des nerfs,—surtout l’appel exaspéré de la sensualité</i>” (<i>Les -Jeunes</i>, René Doumic).<a id='r67' /><a href='#f67' class='c008'><sup>[67]</sup></a> And, as a matter of fact, of these -three feelings it is sensuality, the lowest (accessible not -only to all men but even to all animals) which forms the -chief subject-matter of works of art of recent times.</p> - -<p class='c005'>From Boccaccio to Marcel Prévost, all the novels, poems, -and verses invariably transmit the feeling of sexual love in -its different forms. Adultery is not only the favourite, but -almost the only theme of all the novels. A performance is -not a performance unless, under some pretence, women appear -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>with naked busts and limbs. Songs and <i>romances</i>—all are -expressions of lust, idealised in various degrees.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A majority of the pictures by French artists represent -female nakedness in various forms. In recent French -literature there is hardly a page or a poem in which -nakedness is not described, and in which, relevantly or -irrelevantly, their favourite thought and word <i>nu</i> is not -repeated a couple of times. There is a certain writer, René -de Gourmond, who gets printed, and is considered talented. -To get an idea of the new writers, I read his novel, <i>Les -Chevaux de Diomède</i>. It is a consecutive and detailed -account of the sexual connections some gentleman had with -various women. Every page contains lust-kindling descriptions. -It is the same in Pierre Louÿs’ book, <i>Aphrodite</i>, -which met with success; it is the same in a book I lately -chanced upon—Huysmans’ <i>Certains</i>, and, with but few -exceptions, it is the same in all the French novels. They -are all the productions of people suffering from erotic -mania. And these people are evidently convinced that as -their whole life, in consequence of their diseased condition, -is concentrated on amplifying various sexual abominations, -therefore the life of all the world is similarly concentrated. -And these people, suffering from erotic mania, are imitated -throughout the whole artistic world of Europe and America.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus in consequence of the lack of belief and the -exceptional manner of life of the wealthy classes, the art -of those classes became impoverished in its subject-matter, -and has sunk to the transmission of the feelings of pride, -discontent with life, and, above all, of sexual desire.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span> - <h2 id='chap10' class='c003'>CHAPTER X</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>In consequence of their unbelief the art of the upper classes -became poor in subject-matter. But besides that, becoming -continually more and more exclusive, it became at the -same time continually more and more involved, affected, and -obscure.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When a universal artist (such as were some of the Grecian -artists or the Jewish prophets) composed his work, he naturally -strove to say what he had to say in such a manner that his -production should be intelligible to all men. But when an -artist composed for a small circle of people placed in exceptional -conditions, or even for a single individual and his -courtiers,—for popes, cardinals, kings, dukes, queens, or for a -king’s mistress,—he naturally only aimed at influencing these -people, who were well known to him, and lived in exceptional -conditions familiar to him. And this was an easier -task, and the artist was involuntarily drawn to express -himself by allusions comprehensible only to the initiated, -and obscure to everyone else. In the first place, more could -be said in this way; and secondly, there is (for the initiated) -even a certain charm in the cloudiness of such a manner of -expression. This method, which showed itself both in -euphemism and in mythological and historical allusions, -came more and more into use, until it has, apparently, at -last reached its utmost limits in the so-called art of the -Decadents. It has come, finally, to this: that not only is -haziness, mysteriousness, obscurity, and exclusiveness (shutting -out the masses) elevated to the rank of a merit and a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>condition of poetic art, but even incorrectness, indefiniteness, -and lack of eloquence are held in esteem.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Théophile Gautier, in his preface to the celebrated <i>Fleurs -du Mal</i>, says that Baudelaire, as far as possible, banished -from poetry eloquence, passion, and truth too strictly -copied (“<i>l’éloquence, la passion, et la vérité calquée trop -exactement</i>”).</p> - -<p class='c005'>And Baudelaire not only expressed this, but maintained -his thesis in his verses, and yet more strikingly in the prose -of his <i>Petits Poèmes en Prose</i>, the meanings of which have -to be guessed like a rebus, and remain for the most part -undiscovered.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The poet Verlaine (who followed next after Baudelaire, -and was also esteemed great) even wrote an “<i>Art poétique</i>,” -in which he advises this style of composition:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>De la musique avant toute chose,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et pour cela préfère l’Impair</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Plus vague et plus soluble dans l’air,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sans rien en lui qui pèse ou qui pose.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Il faut aussi que tu n’ailles point</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Choisir tes mots sans quelque méprise:</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Rien de plus cher que la chanson grise</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Où l’Indécis au Précis se joint.</i></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>And again:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>De la musique encore et toujours!</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Que ton vers soit la chose envolée</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Qu’on sent qui fuit d’une âme en allée</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Vers d’autres cieux à d’autres amours.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span><i>Que ton vers soit la bonne aventure</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Éparse au vent crispé du matin,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Qui va fleurant la menthe et le thym ...</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et tout le reste est littérature.</i><a id='r68' /><a href='#f68' class='c008'><sup>[68]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>After these two comes Mallarmé, considered the most -important of the young poets, and he plainly says that the -charm of poetry lies in our having to guess its meaning—that -in poetry there should always be a puzzle:—</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>Je pense qu’il faut qu’il n’y ait qu’allusion</i>, says he. -<i>La contemplation des objets, l’image s’envolant des rêveries -suscitées par eux, sont le chant: les Parnassiens, eux, -prennent la chose entièrement et la montrent; par là ils -manquent de mystère; ils retirent aux esprits cette joie -délicieuse de croire qu’ils créent. Nommer un objet, c’est -supprimer les trois quarts de la jouissance du poème, qui -est faite du bonheur de deviner peu à peu: le suggérer, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>voilà le rêve. C’est le parfait usage de ce mystère qui -constitue le symbole: évoquer petit à petit un objet pour -montrer un état d’âme, ou, inversement, choisir un objet et -en dégager un état d’âme, par une sèrie de déchiffrements.</i></p> - -<p class='c005'>... <i>Si un être d’une intelligence moyenne, et d’une -préparation littéraire insuffisante, ouvre par hasard un livre -ainsi fait et prétend en jouir, il y a malentendu, il faut -remettre les choses à leur place. Il doit y avoir toujours -énigme en poèsie, et c’est le but de la littérature, il n’y en -a pas d’autre,—d’évoquer les objets.</i>—“<i>Enquête sur l’évolution -littéraire</i>,” Jules Huret, pp. 60, 61.<a id='r69' /><a href='#f69' class='c008'><sup>[69]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus is obscurity elevated into a dogma among the new -poets. As the French critic Doumic (who has not yet -accepted the dogma) quite correctly says:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>“<i>Il serait temps aussi d’en finir avec cette fameuse ‘théorie -de l’obscurité’ que la nouvelle école a élevée, en effet, à la -hauteur d’un dogme.</i>”—<i>Les Jeunes</i>, par René Doumic.<a id='r70' /><a href='#f70' class='c008'><sup>[70]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>But it is not French writers only who think thus. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>poets of all other countries think and act in the same way: -German, and Scandinavian, and Italian, and Russian, and -English. So also do the artists of the new period in all -branches of art: in painting, in sculpture, and in music. -Relying on Nietzsche and Wagner, the artists of the new -age conclude that it is unnecessary for them to be intelligible -to the vulgar crowd; it is enough for them to evoke -poetic emotion in “the finest nurtured,” to borrow a phrase -from an English æsthetician.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order that what I am saying may not seem to be -mere assertion, I will quote at least a few examples from -the French poets who have led this movement. The name -of these poets is legion. I have taken French writers, -because they, more decidedly than any others, indicate the -new direction of art, and are imitated by most European -writers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides those whose names are already considered famous, -such as Baudelaire and Verlaine, here are the names of a -few of them: Jean Moréas, Charles Morice, Henri de -Régnier, Charles Vignier, Adrien Remacle, René Ghil, -Maurice Maeterlinck, G. Albert Aurier, Rémy de Gourmont, -Saint-Pol-Roux-le-Magnifique, Georges Rodenbach, -le comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac. These are -Symbolists and Decadents. Next we have the “Magi”: -Joséphin Péladan, Paul Adam, Jules Bois, M. Papus, -and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides these, there are yet one hundred and forty-one -others, whom Doumic mentions in the book referred to -above.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Here are some examples from the work of those of -them who are considered to be the best, beginning with -that most celebrated man, acknowledged to be a great -artist worthy of a monument—Baudelaire. This is a -poem from his celebrated <i>Fleurs du Mal</i>:—</p> -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>No. XXIV.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Je t’adore à l’égal de la voûte nocturne,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>O vase de tristesse, ô grande taciturne,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et t’aime d’autant plus, belle, que tu me fuis,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et que tu me parais, ornement de mes nuits,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Plus ironiquement accumuler les lieues</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Qui séparent mes bras des immensités bleues.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Je m’avance à l’attaque, et je grimpe aux assauts,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Comme après un cadavre un chœur de vermisseaux,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et je chéris, ô bête implacable et cruelle,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Jusqu’à cette froideur par où tu m’es plus belle!</i><a id='r71' /><a href='#f71' class='c008'><sup>[71]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>And this is another by the same writer:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>No. XXXVI.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>DUELLUM.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Deux guerriers ont couru l’un sur l’autre; leurs armes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ont éclaboussé l’air de lueurs et de sang.</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ces jeux, ces cliquetis du fer sont les vacarmes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>D’une jeunesse en proie à l’amour vagissant.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'><i>Les glaives sont brisés! comme notre jeunesse,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ma chère! Mais les dents, les ongles acérés,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Vengent bientôt l’épée et la dague traîtresse.</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>O fureur des cœurs mûrs par l’amour ulcérés!</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'><i>Dans le ravin hanté des chats-pards et des onces</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Nos héros, s’étreignant méchamment, ont roulé,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et leur peau fleurira l’aridité des ronces.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span><i>Ce gouffre, c’est l’enfer, de nos amis peuplé!</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Roulons-y sans remords, amazone inhumaine,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Afin d’éterniser l’ardeur de notre haine!</i><a id='r72' /><a href='#f72' class='c008'><sup>[72]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>To be exact, I should mention that the collection contains -verses less comprehensible than these, but not one poem -which is plain and can be understood without a certain -effort—an effort seldom rewarded, for the feelings which -the poet transmits are evil and very low ones. And these -feelings are always, and purposely, expressed by him with -eccentricity and lack of clearness. This premeditated obscurity -is especially noticeable in his prose, where the author -could, if he liked, speak plainly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Take, for instance, the first piece from his <i>Petits -Poèmes</i>:—</p> - -<p class='c006'><i>L’ÉTRANGER.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Qui aimes-tu le mieux, homme énigmatique, dis? ton père, -ta mère, ta sœur, ou ton frère?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Je n’ai ni père, ni mère, ni sœur, ni frère.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Tes amis?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Vous vous servez là d’une parole dont le sens m’est resté -jusqu’ à ce jour inconnu.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Ta patrie?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>J’ignore sous quelle latitude elle est située.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>La beauté?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Je l’aimerais volontiers, déesse et immortelle.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>L’or?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Je le hais comme vous haïssez Dieu.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Et qu ’aimes-tu donc, extraordinaire étranger?</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>J’aime les nuages ... les nuages qui passent ... là -bas, ... les merveilleux nuages!</i></p> - -<p class='c009'>The piece called <i>La Soupe et les Nuages</i> is probably -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>intended to express the unintelligibility of the poet even to -her whom he loves. This is the piece in question:—</p> - -<p class='c006'><i>Ma petite folle bien-aimée me donnait à dîner, et par la -fenêtre ouverte de la salle à manger je contemplais les -mouvantes architectures que Dieu fait avec les vapeurs, les -merveilleuses constructions de l’impalpable. Et je me disais, -à travers ma contemplation: “Toutes ces fantasmagories -sont presque aussi belles que les yeux de ma belle bien-aimée, -la petite folle monstrueuse aux yeux verts.”</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Et tout à coup je reçus un violent coup de poing dans le -dos, et j’entendis une voix rauque et charmante, une voix -hystérique et comme enrouée par l’eau-de-vie, la voix de ma -chère petite bien-aimée, qui me disait, “Allez-vous bientôt -manger votre soupe, s ... b ... de marchand de -nuages?”</i><a id='r73' /><a href='#f73' class='c008'><sup>[73]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c009'>However artificial these two pieces may be, it is still -possible, with some effort, to guess at what the author -meant them to express, but some of the pieces are absolutely -incomprehensible—at least to me. <i>Le Galant Tireur</i> is a -piece I was quite unable to understand.</p> - -<p class='c006'><i>LE GALANT TIREUR.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Comme la voiture traversait le bois, il la fit arrêter dans -le voisinage d’un tir, disant qu’il lui serait agréable de tirer -quelques balles pour tuer le Temps. Tuer ce monstre-là, -n’est-ce pas l’occupation la plus ordinaire et la plus légitime -de chacun?—Et il offrit galamment la main à sa chère, -délicieuse et exécrable femme, à cette mystérieuse femme à -laquelle il doit tant de plaisirs, tant de douleurs, et peut-être -aussi une grande partie de son génie.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span><i>Plusieurs balles frappèrent loin du but proposé, l’une -d’elles s’enfonça même dans le plafond; et comme la charmante -créature riait follement, se moquant de la maladresse -de son époux, celui-ci se tourna brusquement vers elle, et lui -dit: “Observez cette poupée, là-bas, à droite, qui porte le nez -en l’air et qui a la mine si hautaine. Eh bien! cher ange, -je me figure que c’est vous.” Et il ferma les yeux et il lâcha -la détente. La poupée fut nettement décapitée.</i></p> - -<p class='c007'><i>Alors s’ inclinant vers sa chère, sa délicieuse, son exécrable -femme, son inévitable et impitoyable Muse, et lui baisant -respectueusement la main, il ajouta: “Ah! mon cher ange, -combien je vous remercie de mon adresse!”</i><a id='r74' /><a href='#f74' class='c008'><sup>[74]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c009'>The productions of another celebrity, Verlaine, are not -less affected and unintelligible. This, for instance, is the -first poem in the section called <i>Ariettes Oubliées</i>.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<i>Le vent dans la plaine</i></div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Suspend son haleine</i>.”—<span class='sc'>Favart.</span></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>C’est l’extase langoureuse,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>C’est la fatigue amoureuse,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>C’est tous les frissons des bois</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Parmi l’étreinte des brises,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>C’est, vers les ramures grises,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Le chœur des petites voix.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>O le frêle et frais murmure!</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Cela gazouille et susurre,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Cela ressemble au cri doux</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Que l’herbe agitée expire ...</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Tu dirais, sous l’eau qui vire,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Le roulis sourd des cailloux.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span><i>Cette âme qui se lamente</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>En cette plainte dormante</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>C’est la nôtre, n’est-ce pas?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La mienne, dis, et la tienne,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Dont s’exhale l’humble antienne</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Par ce tiède soir, tout has?</i><a id='r75' /><a href='#f75' class='c008'><sup>[75]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>What “<i>chœur des petites voix</i>”? and what “<i>cri doux -que l’herbe agitée expire</i>”? and what it all means, remains -altogether unintelligible to me.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And here is another <i>Ariette</i>:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>VIII.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dans l’interminable</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ennui de la plaine,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La neige incertaine</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Luit comme du sable.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Le ciel est de cuivre,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sans lueur aucune.</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>On croirait voir vivre</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et mourir la lune.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Comme des nuées</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Flottent gris les chênes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Des forêts prochaines</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Parmi les buées.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Le ciel est de cuivre,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sans lueur aucune.</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>On croirait voir vivre</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et mourir la lune.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span><i>Corneille poussive</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et vous, les loups maigres,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Par ces bises aigres</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Quoi donc vous arrive?</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Dans l’interminable</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ennui de la plaine,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La neige incertaine</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Luit comme du sable.</i><a id='r76' /><a href='#f76' class='c008'><sup>[76]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>How does the moon seem to live and die in a copper -heaven? And how can snow shine like sand? The whole -thing is not merely unintelligible, but, under pretence of -conveying an impression, it passes off a string of incorrect -comparisons and words.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Besides these artificial and obscure poems, there are -others which are intelligible, but which make up for it by -being altogether bad, both in form and in subject. Such -are all the poems under the heading <i>La Sagesse</i>. The chief -place in these verses is occupied by a very poor expression of -the most commonplace Roman Catholic and patriotic sentiments. -For instance, one meets with verses such as this:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Je ne veux plus penser qu’ à ma mère Marie,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Siège de la sagesse et source de pardons,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Mère de France aussi de qui nous attendons</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Inébranlablement l’honneur de la patrie.</i><a id='r77' /><a href='#f77' class='c008'><sup>[77]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Before citing examples from other poets, I must pause to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>note the amazing celebrity of these two versifiers, Baudelaire -and Verlaine, who are now accepted as being great poets. -How the French, who had Chénier, Musset, Lamartine, and, -above all, Hugo,—and among whom quite recently flourished -the so-called Parnassiens: Leconte de Lisle, Sully-Prudhomme, -etc.,—could attribute such importance to these two -versifiers, who were far from skilful in form and most contemptible -and commonplace in subject-matter, is to me incomprehensible. -The conception-of-life of one of them, Baudelaire, -consisted in elevating gross egotism into a theory, and -replacing morality by a cloudy conception of beauty, and -especially artificial beauty. Baudelaire had a preference, -which he expressed, for a woman’s face painted rather than -showing its natural colour, and for metal trees and a -theatrical imitation of water rather than real trees and -real water.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The life-conception of the other, Verlaine, consisted in -weak profligacy, confession of his moral impotence, and, -as an antidote to that impotence, in the grossest Roman -Catholic idolatry. Both, moreover, were quite lacking in -naïveté, sincerity, and simplicity, and both overflowed with -artificiality, forced originality, and self-assurance. So that -in their least bad productions one sees more of M. Baudelaire -or M. Verlaine than of what they were describing. -But these two indifferent versifiers form a school, and lead -hundreds of followers after them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There is only one explanation of this fact: it is that the -art of the society in which these versifiers lived is not a -serious, important matter of life, but is a mere amusement. -And all amusements grow wearisome by repetition. And, -in order to make wearisome amusement again tolerable, it -is necessary to find some means to freshen it up. When, -at cards, ombre grows stale, whist is introduced; when whist -grows stale, écarté is substituted; when écarté grows stale, -some other novelty is invented, and so on. The substance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>of the matter remains the same, only its form is changed. -And so it is with this kind of art. The subject-matter of the -art of the upper classes growing continually more and more -limited, it has come at last to this, that to the artists of these -exclusive classes it seems as if everything has already been -said, and that to find anything new to say is impossible. -And therefore, to freshen up this art, they look out for -fresh forms.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Baudelaire and Verlaine invent such a new form, furbish -it up, moreover, with hitherto unused pornographic details, -and—the critics and the public of the upper classes hail -them as great writers.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This is the only explanation of the success, not of -Baudelaire and Verlaine only, but of all the Decadents.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For instance, there are poems by Mallarmé and Maeterlinck -which have no meaning, and yet for all that, or perhaps on -that very account, are printed by tens of thousands, not -only in various publications, but even in collections of the -best works of the younger poets.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This, for example, is a sonnet by Mallarmé:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>A la nue accablante tu</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Basse de basalte et de laves</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>A même les échos esclaves</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Par une trompe sans vertu.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Quel sépulcral naufrage (tu</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Le soir, écume, mais y baves)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Suprême une entre les épaves</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Abolit le mât dévêtu.</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Ou cela que furibond faute</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>De quelque perdition haute</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Tout l’abîme vain éployé</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span><i>Dans le si blanc cheveu qui traîne</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Avarement aura noyé</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Le flanc enfant d’une sirène.</i><a id='r78' /><a href='#f78' class='c008'><sup>[78]</sup></a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(“Pan,” 1895, No. 1.)</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>This poem is not exceptional in its incomprehensibility. -I have read several poems by Mallarmé, and they also had -no meaning whatever. I give a sample of his prose in -Appendix I. There is a whole volume of this prose, called -“<i>Divagations</i>.” It is impossible to understand any of it. -And that is evidently what the author intended.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And here is a song by Maeterlinck, another celebrated -author of to-day:—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Quand il est sorti,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(J’entendis la porte)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Quand il est sorti</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Elle avait souri ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Mais quand il entra</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(J’entendis la lampe)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Mais quand il entra</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Une autre était là ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Et j’ai vu la mort,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(J’entendis son âme)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et j’ai vu la mort</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Qui l’attend encore ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>On est venu dire,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(Mon enfant j’ai peur)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>On est venu dire</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Qu’il allait partir ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span><i>Ma lampe allumée,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(Mon enfant j’ai peur)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Ma lampe allumée</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Me suis approchée ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>A la première porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(Mon enfant j’ai peur)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>A la première porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La flamme a tremblé ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>A la seconde porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(Mon enfant j’ai peur)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>A la seconde porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La flamme a parlé ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>A la troisième porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>(Mon enfant j’ai peur)</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>A la troisième porte,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La lumière est morte ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Et s’il revenait un jour</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Que faut-il lui dire?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Dites-lui qu’on l’attendit</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Jusqu’à s’en mourir ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Et s’il demande où vous êtes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Que faut-il répondre?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Donnez-lui mon anneau d’or</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sans rien lui répondre ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Et s’il m’interroge alors</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sur la dernière heure?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Dites lui que fai souri</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>De peur qu’il ne pleure ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span><i>Et s’il m’interroge encore</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sans me reconnaître?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Parlez-lui comme une sœur,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Il souffre peut-être ...</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Et s’il veut savoir pourquoi</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>La salle est déserte?</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Montrez lui la lampe éteinte</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Et la porte ouverte ...</i><a id='r79' /><a href='#f79' class='c008'><sup>[79]</sup></a></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>(“Pan,” 1895, No. 2.)</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Who went out? Who came in? Who is speaking? Who -died?</p> - -<p class='c005'>I beg the reader to be at the pains of reading through -the samples I cite in <a href='#app2'>Appendix II.</a> of the celebrated and -esteemed young poets—Griffin, Verhaeren, Moréas, and -Montesquiou. It is important to do so in order to form a -clear conception of the present position of art, and not to -suppose, as many do, that Decadentism is an accidental and -transitory phenomenon. To avoid the reproach of having -selected the worst verses, I have copied out of each volume -the poem which happened to stand on page <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>.</p> - -<p class='c005'>All the other productions of these poets are equally unintelligible, -or can only be understood with great difficulty, -and then not fully. All the productions of those hundreds -of poets, of whom I have named a few, are the same in kind. -And among the Germans, Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, and -us Russians, similar verses are printed. And such productions -are printed and made up into book form, if not by the -million, then by the hundred thousand (some of these works -sell in tens of thousands). For type-setting, paging, printing, -and binding these books, millions and millions of working -days are spent—not less, I think, than went to build the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>great pyramid. And this is not all. The same is going on -in all the other arts: millions and millions of working -days are being spent on the production of equally -incomprehensible works in painting, in music, and in the -drama.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Painting not only does not lag behind poetry in this -matter, but rather outstrips it. Here is an extract from -the diary of an amateur of art, written when visiting the -Paris exhibitions in 1894:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I was to-day at three exhibitions: the Symbolists’, the -Impressionists’, and the Neo-Impressionists’. I looked at -the pictures conscientiously and carefully, but again felt the -same stupefaction and ultimate indignation. The first -exhibition, that of Camille Pissarro, was comparatively the -most comprehensible, though the pictures were out of -drawing, had no subject, and the colourings were most -improbable. The drawing was so indefinite that you were -sometimes unable to make out which way an arm or a head -was turned. The subject was generally, ‘<i>effets</i>’—<i>Effet de -brouillard</i>, <i>Effet du soir</i>, <i>Soleil couchant</i>. There were some -pictures with figures, but without subjects.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“In the colouring, bright blue and bright green predominated. -And each picture had its special colour, with which -the whole picture was, as it were, splashed. For instance in -‘A Girl guarding Geese’ the special colour is <i>vert de gris</i>, and -dots of it were splashed about everywhere: on the face, -the hair, the hands, and the clothes. In the same gallery—‘Durand -Ruel’—were other pictures, by Puvis de Chavannes, -Manet, Monet, Renoir, Sisley—who are all Impressionists. -One of them, whose name I could not make out,—it was -something like Redon,—had painted a blue face in profile. -On the whole face there is only this blue tone, with white-of-lead. -Pissarro has a water-colour all done in dots. In the -foreground is a cow entirely painted with various-coloured -dots. The general colour cannot be distinguished, however -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>much one stands back from, or draws near to, the picture. -From there I went to see the Symbolists. I looked at them -long without asking anyone for an explanation, trying to -guess the meaning; but it is beyond human comprehension. -One of the first things to catch my eye was a wooden <i>haut-relief</i>, -wretchedly executed, representing a woman (naked) -who with both hands is squeezing from her two breasts -streams of blood. The blood flows down, becoming lilac in -colour. Her hair first descends and then rises again and -turns into trees. The figure is all coloured yellow, and the -hair is brown.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Next—a picture: a yellow sea, on which swims something -which is neither a ship nor a heart; on the horizon is a -profile with a halo and yellow hair, which changes into a sea, -in which it is lost. Some of the painters lay on their -colours so thickly that the effect is something between -painting and sculpture. A third exhibit was even less -comprehensible: a man’s profile; before him a flame and -black stripes—leeches, as I was afterwards told. At last I -asked a gentleman who was there what it meant, and he -explained to me that the <i>haut-relief</i> was a symbol, and that -it represented ‘<i>La Terre</i>.’ The heart swimming in a yellow -sea was ‘<i>Illusion perdue</i>,’ and the gentleman with the leeches -was ‘<i>Le Mal</i>.’ There were also some Impressionist pictures: -elementary profiles, holding some sort of flowers in their -hands: in monotone, out of drawing, and either quite blurred -or else marked out with wide black outlines.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>This was in 1894; the same tendency is now even more -strongly defined, and we have Böcklin, Stuck, Klinger, -Sasha Schneider, and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The same thing is taking place in the drama. The play-writers -give us an architect who, for some reason, has not -fulfilled his former high intentions, and who consequently -climbs on to the roof of a house he has erected and tumbles -down head foremost; or an incomprehensible old woman -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>(who exterminates rats), and who, for an unintelligible -reason, takes a poetic child to the sea and there drowns -him; or some blind men, who, sitting on the seashore, for -some reason always repeat one and the same thing; or a bell -of some kind, which flies into a lake and there rings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the same is happening in music—in that art which, -more than any other, one would have thought, should be -intelligible to everybody.</p> - -<p class='c005'>An acquaintance of yours, a musician of repute, sits down -to the piano and plays you what he says is a new composition -of his own, or of one of the new composers. You -hear the strange, loud sounds, and admire the gymnastic -exercises performed by his fingers; and you see that the -performer wishes to impress upon you that the sounds he is -producing express various poetic strivings of the soul. You -see his intention, but no feeling whatever is transmitted to -you except weariness. The execution lasts long, or at least -it seems very long to you, because you do not receive any -clear impression, and involuntarily you remember the words -of Alphonse Karr, “<i>Plus ça va vite, plus ça dure longtemps.</i>”<a id='r80' /><a href='#f80' class='c008'><sup>[80]</sup></a> -And it occurs to you that perhaps it is all a mystification; -perhaps the performer is trying you—just throwing his -hands and fingers wildly about the key-board in the hope -that you will fall into the trap and praise him, and then -he will laugh and confess that he only wanted to see if -he could hoax you. But when at last the piece does -finish, and the perspiring and agitated musician rises from -the piano evidently anticipating praise, you see that it was -all done in earnest.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The same thing takes place at all the concerts with pieces -by Liszt, Wagner, Berlioz, Brahms, and (newest of all) -Richard Strauss, and the numberless other composers of -the new school, who unceasingly produce opera after opera, -symphony after symphony, piece after piece.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>The same is occurring in a domain in which it seemed hard -to be unintelligible—in the sphere of novels and short stories.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Read <i>Là-Bas</i> by Huysmans, or some of Kipling’s -short stories, or <i>L’annonciateur</i> by Villiers de l’Isle Adam -in his <i>Contes Cruels</i>, etc., and you will find them not only -“abscons” (to use a word adopted by the new writers), but -absolutely unintelligible both in form and in substance. -Such, again, is the work by E. Morel, <i>Terre Promise</i>, now -appearing in the <i>Revue Blanche</i>, and such are most of -the new novels. The style is very high-flown, the feelings -seem to be most elevated, but you can’t make out what is -happening, to whom it is happening, and where it is happening. -And such is the bulk of the young art of our time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>People who grew up in the first half of this century, -admiring Goethe, Schiller, Musset, Hugo, Dickens, -Beethoven, Chopin, Raphael, da Vinci, Michael Angelo, -Delaroche, being unable to make head or tail of this new -art, simply attribute its productions to tasteless insanity and -wish to ignore them. But such an attitude towards this -new art is quite unjustifiable, because, in the first place, -that art is spreading more and more, and has already -conquered for itself a firm position in society, similar to -the one occupied by the Romanticists in the third decade -of this century; and secondly and chiefly, because, if it is -permissible to judge in this way of the productions of the -latest form of art, called by us Decadent art, merely because -we do not understand it, then remember, there are an -enormous number of people,—all the labourers and many of -the non-labouring folk,—who, in just the same way, do not -comprehend those productions of art which we consider -admirable: the verses of our favourite artists—Goethe, -Schiller, and Hugo; the novels of Dickens, the music of -Beethoven and Chopin, the pictures of Raphael, Michael -Angelo, da Vinci, etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If I have a right to think that great masses of people do -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>not understand and do not like what I consider undoubtedly -good because they are not sufficiently developed, then I -have no right to deny that perhaps the reason why I cannot -understand and cannot like the new productions of -art, is merely that I am still insufficiently developed to -understand them. If I have a right to say that I, and the -majority of people who are in sympathy, with me, do not -understand the productions of the new art simply because -there is nothing in it to understand and because it is bad -art, then, with just the same right, the still larger majority, -the whole labouring mass, who do not understand what I -consider admirable art, can say that what I reckon as good -art is bad art, and there is nothing in it to understand.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I once saw the injustice of such condemnation of the new -art with especial clearness, when, in my presence, a certain -poet, who writes incomprehensible verses, ridiculed incomprehensible -music with gay self-assurance; and, shortly afterwards, -a certain musician, who composes incomprehensible -symphonies, laughed at incomprehensible poetry with equal -self-confidence. I have no right, and no authority, to -condemn the new art on the ground that I (a man educated -in the first half of the century) do not understand it; I can -only say that it is incomprehensible to me. The only -advantage the art I acknowledge has over the Decadent -art, lies in the fact that the art I recognise is comprehensible -to a somewhat larger number of people than the present-day -art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The fact that I am accustomed to a certain exclusive art, -and can understand it, but am unable to understand -another still more exclusive art, does not give me a right to -conclude that my art is the real true art, and that the other -one, which I do not understand, is an unreal, a bad art. I -can only conclude that art, becoming ever more and more -exclusive, has become more and more incomprehensible to -an ever-increasing number of people, and that, in this its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>progress towards greater and greater incomprehensibility -(on one level of which I am standing, with the art familiar -to me), it has reached a point where it is understood by a -very small number of the elect, and the number of these -chosen people is ever becoming smaller and smaller.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As soon as ever the art of the upper classes separated -itself from universal art, a conviction arose that art may -be art and yet be incomprehensible to the masses. And -as soon as this position was admitted, it had inevitably -to be admitted also that art may be intelligible only -to the very smallest number of the elect, and, eventually, -to two, or to one, of our nearest friends, or to oneself -alone. Which is practically what is being said by -modern artists:—“I create and understand myself, and if -anyone does not understand me, so much the worse for -him.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The assertion that art may be good art, and at the same -time incomprehensible to a great number of people, is extremely -unjust, and its consequences are ruinous to art itself; -but at the same time it is so common and has so eaten into -our conceptions, that it is impossible sufficiently to elucidate -all the absurdity of it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Nothing is more common than to hear it said of reputed -works of art, that they are very good but very difficult -to understand. We are quite used to such assertions, and -yet to say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible -to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some -kind of food that it is very good but that most people -can’t eat it. The majority of men may not like rotten -cheese or putrefying grouse—dishes esteemed by people with -perverted tastes; but bread and fruit are only good when -they please the majority of men. And it is the same with -art. Perverted art may not please the majority of men, but -good art always pleases everyone.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is said that the very best works of art are such that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>they cannot be understood by the mass, but are accessible -only to the elect who are prepared to understand these great -works. But if the majority of men do not understand, the -knowledge necessary to enable them to understand should -be taught and explained to them. But it turns out that -there is no such knowledge, that the works cannot be -explained, and that those who say the majority do not -understand good works of art, still do not explain those -works, but only tell us that, in order to understand them, -one must read, and see, and hear these same works over -and over again. But this is not to explain, it is only to -habituate! And people may habituate themselves to anything, -even to the very worst things. As people may habituate -themselves to bad food, to spirits, tobacco, and opium, -just in the same way they may habituate themselves to bad -art—and that is exactly what is being done.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Moreover, it cannot be said that the majority of people -lack the taste to esteem the highest works of art. The -majority always have understood, and still understand, what -we also recognise as being the very best art: the epic of -Genesis, the Gospel parables, folk-legends, fairy-tales, and -folk-songs are understood by all. How can it be that the -majority has suddenly lost its capacity to understand what -is high in our art?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Of a speech it may be said that it is admirable, but incomprehensible -to those who do not know the language in -which it is delivered. A speech delivered in Chinese may -be excellent, and may yet remain incomprehensible to me -if I do not know Chinese; but what distinguishes a work of -art from all other mental activity is just the fact that its -language is understood by all, and that it infects all without -distinction. The tears and laughter of a Chinese infect me -just as the laughter and tears of a Russian; and it is the -same with painting and music and poetry, when it is translated -into a language I understand. The songs of a Kirghiz -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>or of a Japanese touch me, though in a lesser degree than -they touch a Kirghiz or a Japanese. I am also touched by -Japanese painting, Indian architecture, and Arabian stories. -If I am but little touched by a Japanese song and a Chinese -novel, it is not that I do not understand these productions, -but that I know and am accustomed to higher works of -art. It is not because their art is above me. Great works -of art are only great because they are accessible and comprehensible -to everyone. The story of Joseph, translated into -the Chinese language, touches a Chinese. The story of Sakya -Muni touches us. And there are, and must be, buildings, -pictures, statues, and music of similar power. So that, if art -fails to move men, it cannot be said that this is due to the -spectators’ or hearers’ lack of understanding; but the conclusion -to be drawn may, and should be, that such art is -either bad art, or is not art at all.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art is differentiated from activity of the understanding, -which demands preparation and a certain sequence of knowledge -(so that one cannot learn trigonometry before knowing -geometry), by the fact that it acts on people independently of -their state of development and education, that the charm of -a picture, of sounds, or of forms, infects any man whatever -his plane of development.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The business of art lies just in this—to make that understood -and felt which, in the form of an argument, might be -incomprehensible and inaccessible. Usually it seems to the -recipient of a truly artistic impression that he knew the thing -before but had been unable to express it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And such has always been the nature of good, supreme art; -the <i>Iliad</i>, the <i>Odyssey</i>, the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, -the Hebrew prophets, the psalms, the Gospel parables, the -story of Sakya Muni, and the hymns of the Vedas: all transmit -very elevated feelings, and are nevertheless quite comprehensible -now to us, educated or uneducated, as they were comprehensible -to the men of those times, long ago, who were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>even less educated than our labourers. People talk about -incomprehensibility; but if art is the transmission of feelings -flowing from man’s religious perception, how can a feeling -be incomprehensible which is founded on religion, <i>i.e.</i> on -man’s relation to God? Such art should be, and has actually, -always been, comprehensible to everybody, because every -man’s relation to God is one and the same. And therefore -the churches and the images in them were always comprehensible -to everyone. The hindrance to understanding the -best and highest feelings (as is said in the gospel) does not at -all lie in deficiency of development or learning, but, on the -contrary, in false development and false learning. A good -and lofty work of art may be incomprehensible, but not to -simple, unperverted peasant labourers (all that is highest is -understood by them)—it may be, and often is, unintelligible -to erudite, perverted people destitute of religion. And this -continually occurs in our society, in which the highest feelings -are simply not understood. For instance, I know people -who consider themselves most refined, and who say that -they do not understand the poetry of love to one’s neighbour, -of self-sacrifice, or of chastity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that good, great, universal, religious art may be incomprehensible -to a small circle of spoilt people, but certainly -not to any large number of plain men.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art cannot be incomprehensible to the great masses -only because it is very good,—as artists of our day are fond -of telling us. Rather we are bound to conclude that this -art is unintelligible to the great masses only because it is -very bad art, or even is not art at all. So that the favourite -argument (naïvely accepted by the cultured crowd), that in -order to feel art one has first to understand it (which -really only means habituate oneself to it), is the truest -indication that what we are asked to understand by such -a method is either very bad, exclusive art, or is not art -at all.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>People say that works of art do not please the people -because they are incapable of understanding them. But if -the aim of works of art is to infect people with the emotion -the artist has experienced, how can one talk about not -understanding?</p> - -<p class='c005'>A man of the people reads a book, sees a picture, hears a -play or a symphony, and is touched by no feeling. He is -told that this is because he cannot understand. People -promise to let a man see a certain show; he enters and sees -nothing. He is told that this is because his sight is not -prepared for this show. But the man well knows that he -sees quite well, and if he does not see what people promised -to show him, he only concludes (as is quite just) that those -who undertook to show him the spectacle have not fulfilled -their engagement. And it is perfectly just for a man who -does feel the influence of some works of art to come to this -conclusion concerning artists who do not, by their works, -evoke feeling in him. To say that the reason a man is not -touched by my art is because he is still too stupid, besides -being very self-conceited and also rude, is to reverse the -rôles, and for the sick to send the hale to bed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Voltaire said that “<i>Tous les genres sont bons, hors le -genre ennuyeux</i>”;<a id='r81' /><a href='#f81' class='c008'><sup>[81]</sup></a> but with even more right one may say -of art that <i>Tous les genres sons bons, hors celui qu’on ne -comprend pas</i>, or <i>qui ne produit pas son effet</i>,<a id='r82' /><a href='#f82' class='c008'><sup>[82]</sup></a> for of -what value is an article which fails to do that for which -it was intended?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Mark this above all: if only it be admitted that art -may be art and yet be unintelligible to anyone of sound -mind, there is no reason why any circle of perverted people -should not compose works tickling their own perverted -feelings and comprehensible to no one but themselves, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>call it “art,” as is actually being done by the so-called -Decadents.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The direction art has taken may be compared to -placing on a large circle other circles, smaller and smaller, -until a cone is formed, the apex of which is no longer a -circle at all. That is what has happened to the art of our -times.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span> - <h2 id='chap11' class='c003'>CHAPTER XI</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>Becoming ever poorer and poorer in subject-matter and -more and more unintelligible in form, the art of the upper -classes, in its latest productions, has even lost all the -characteristics of art, and has been replaced by imitations -of art. Not only has upper-class art, in consequence of its -separation from universal art, become poor in subject-matter -and bad in form, <i>i.e.</i> ever more and more unintelligible, it -has, in course of time, ceased even to be art at all, and has -been replaced by counterfeits.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This has resulted from the following causes. Universal art -arises only when some one of the people, having experienced -a strong emotion, feels the necessity of transmitting it to -others. The art of the rich classes, on the other hand, -arises not from the artist’s inner impulse, but chiefly because -people of the upper classes demand amusement and pay well -for it. They demand from art the transmission of feelings -that please them, and this demand artists try to meet. But -it is a very difficult task, for people of the wealthy classes, -spending their lives in idleness and luxury, desire to be -continually diverted by art; and art, even the lowest, -cannot be produced at will, but has to generate spontaneously -in the artist’s inner self. And therefore, to satisfy the -demands of people of the upper classes, artists have had to -devise methods of producing imitations of art. And such -methods have been devised.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These methods are those of (1) borrowing, (2) imitating, -(3) striking (effects), and (4) interesting.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>The first method consists in borrowing whole subjects, or -merely separate features, from former works recognised by everyone -as being poetical, and in so re-shaping them, with sundry -additions, that they should have an appearance of novelty.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such works, evoking in people of a certain class memories -of artistic feelings formerly experienced, produce an impression -similar to art, and, provided only that they conform to -other needful conditions, they pass for art among those who -seek for pleasure from art. Subjects borrowed from previous -works of art are usually called poetical subjects. Objects -and people thus borrowed are called poetical objects and -people. Thus, in our circle, all sorts of legends, sagas, -and ancient traditions are considered poetical subjects. -Among poetical people and objects we reckon maidens, -warriors, shepherds, hermits, angels, devils of all sorts, moonlight, -thunder, mountains, the sea, precipices, flowers, long -hair, lions, lambs, doves, and nightingales. In general, all -those objects are considered poetical which have been most -frequently used by former artists in their productions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Some forty years ago a stupid but highly cultured—<i>ayant -beaucoup d’acquis</i>—lady (since deceased) asked me to listen -to a novel written by herself. It began with a heroine who, -in a poetic white dress, and with poetically flowing hair, -was reading poetry near some water in a poetic wood. -The scene was in Russia, but suddenly from behind the -bushes the hero appears, wearing a hat with a feather <i>à la -Guillaume Tell</i> (the book specially mentioned this) and -accompanied by two poetical white dogs. The authoress -deemed all this highly poetical, and it might have passed -muster if only it had not been necessary for the hero to -speak. But as soon as the gentleman in the hat <i>à la -Guillaume Tell</i> began to converse with the maiden in the -white dress, it became obvious that the authoress had -nothing to say, but had merely been moved by poetic -memories of other works, and imagined that by ringing the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>changes on those memories she could produce an artistic -impression. But an artistic impression, <i>i.e.</i> infection, is -only received when an author has, in the manner peculiar -to himself, experienced the feeling which he transmits, and -not when he passes on another man’s feeling previously -transmitted to him. Such poetry from poetry cannot infect -people, it can only simulate a work of art, and even that -only to people of perverted æsthetic taste. The lady in -question being very stupid and devoid of talent, it was at -once apparent how the case stood; but when such borrowing -is resorted to by people who are erudite and talented and have -cultivated the technique of their art, we get those borrowings -from the Greek, the antique, the Christian or mythological -world which have become so numerous, and which, -particularly in our day, continue to increase and multiply, -and are accepted by the public as works of art, if only the -borrowings are well mounted by means of the technique of -the particular art to which they belong.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As a characteristic example of such counterfeits of art -in the realm of poetry, take Rostand’s <i>Princesse Lointaine</i>, -in which there is not a spark of art, but which seems very -poetical to many people, and probably also to its author.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The second method of imparting a semblance of art is -that which I have called imitating. The essence of this -method consists in supplying details accompanying the thing -described or depicted. In literary art this method consists -in describing, in the minutest details, the external appearance, -the faces, the clothes, the gestures, the tones, and the -habitations of the characters represented, with all the occurrences -met with in life. For instance, in novels and stories, -when one of the characters speaks we are told in what voice -he spoke, and what he was doing at the time. And the -things said are not given so that they should have as much -sense as possible, but, as they are in life, disconnectedly, -and with interruptions and omissions. In dramatic art, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>besides such imitation of real speech, this method consists -in having all the accessories and all the people just like -those in real life. In painting this method assimilates -painting to photography and destroys the difference between -them. And, strange to say, this method is used also in -music: music tries to imitate not only by its rhythm but -also by its very sounds, the sounds which in real life accompany -the thing it wishes to represent.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The third method is by action, often purely physical, on -the outer senses. Work of this kind is said to be “striking,” -“effectful.” In all arts these effects consist chiefly in contrasts; -in bringing together the terrible and the tender, the -beautiful and the hideous, the loud and the soft, darkness -and light, the most ordinary and the most extraordinary. In -verbal art, besides effects of contrast, there are also effects -consisting in the description of things that have never before -been described. These are usually pornographic details -evoking sexual desire, or details of suffering and death -evoking feelings of horror, as, for instance, when describing -a murder, to give a detailed medical account of the lacerated -tissues, of the swellings, of the smell, quantity and appearance -of the blood. It is the same in painting: besides all -kinds of other contrasts, one is coming into vogue which -consists in giving careful finish to one object and being -careless about all the rest. The chief and usual effects in -painting are effects of light and the depiction of the horrible. -In the drama, the most common effects, besides contrasts, are -tempests, thunder, moonlight, scenes at sea or by the sea-shore, -changes of costume, exposure of the female body, -madness, murders, and death generally: the dying person -exhibiting in detail all the phases of agony. In music the -most usual effects are a <i>crescendo</i>, passing from the softest -and simplest sounds to the loudest and most complex crash -of the full orchestra; a repetition of the same sounds -<i>arpeggio</i> in all the octaves and on various instruments; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>or that the harmony, tone, and rhythm be not at all those -naturally flowing from the course of the musical thought, but -such as strike one by their unexpectedness. Besides these, the -commonest effects in music are produced in a purely physical -manner by strength of sound, especially in an orchestra.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such are some of the most usual effects in the various -arts, but there yet remains one common to them all, namely, -to convey by means of one art what it would be natural to -convey by another: for instance, to make music describe (as is -done by the programme music of Wagner and his followers), -or to make painting, the drama, or poetry, induce a frame of -mind (as is aimed at by all the Decadent art).</p> - -<p class='c005'>The fourth method is that of interesting (that is, absorbing -the mind) in connection with works of art. The interest -may lie in an intricate plot—a method till quite recently -much employed in English novels and French plays, but -now going out of fashion and being replaced by authenticity, -<i>i.e.</i> by detailed description of some historical period or some -branch of contemporary life. For example, in a novel, -interestingness may consist in a description of Egyptian or -Roman life, the life of miners, or that of the clerks in a -large shop. The reader becomes interested and mistakes -this interest for an artistic impression. The interest may -also depend on the very method of expression; a kind of -interest that has now come much into use. Both verse and -prose, as well as pictures, plays, and music, are constructed -so that they must be guessed like riddles, and this process -of guessing again affords pleasure and gives a semblance of -the feeling received from art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is very often said that a work of art is very good -because it is poetic, or realistic, or striking, or interesting; -whereas not only can neither the first, nor the second, nor -the third, nor the fourth of these attributes supply a -standard of excellence in art, but they have not even -anything in common with art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>Poetic—means borrowed. All borrowing merely recalls to -the reader, spectator, or listener some dim recollection of -artistic impressions they have received from previous -works of art, and does not infect them with feeling which -the artist has himself experienced. A work founded on -something borrowed, like Goethe’s <i>Faust</i> for instance, may -be very well executed and be full of mind and every beauty, -but because it lacks the chief characteristic of a work of art—completeness, -oneness, the inseparable unity of form and -contents expressing the feeling the artist has experienced—it -cannot produce a really artistic impression. In availing -himself of this method, the artist only transmits the feeling -received by him from a previous work of art; therefore every -borrowing, whether it be of whole subjects, or of various -scenes, situations, or descriptions, is but a reflection of art, -a simulation of it, but not art itself. And therefore, to say -that a certain production is good because it is poetic,—<i>i.e.</i> -resembles a work of art,—is like saying of a coin that it is -good because it resembles real money.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Equally little can imitation, realism, serve, as many people -think, as a measure of the quality of art. Imitation cannot -be such a measure, for the chief characteristic of art is the -infection of others with the feelings the artist has experienced, -and infection with a feeling is not only not identical with -description of the accessories of what is transmitted, but -is usually hindered by superfluous details. The attention -of the receiver of the artistic impression is diverted by all -these well-observed details, and they hinder the transmission -of feeling even when it exists.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To value a work of art by the degree of its realism, by the -accuracy of the details reproduced, is as strange as to judge -of the nutritive quality of food by its external appearance. -When we appraise a work according to its realism, we only -show that we are talking, not of a work of art, but of its -counterfeit.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>Neither does the third method of imitating art—by -the use of what is striking or effectful—coincide with -real art any better than the two former methods, for -in effectfulness—the effects of novelty, of the unexpected, -of contrasts, of the horrible—there is no transmission of -feeling, but only an action on the nerves. If an artist were -to paint a bloody wound admirably, the sight of the wound -would strike me, but it would not be art. One prolonged -note on a powerful organ will produce a striking impression, -will often even cause tears, but there is no music in it, -because no feeling is transmitted. Yet such physiological -effects are constantly mistaken for art by people of our -circle, and this not only in music, but also in poetry, -painting, and the drama. It is said that art has become -refined. On the contrary, thanks to the pursuit of effectfulness, -it has become very coarse. A new piece is brought -out and accepted all over Europe, such, for instance, as -<i>Hannele</i>, in which play the author wishes to transmit to the -spectators pity for a persecuted girl. To evoke this feeling in -the audience by means of art, the author should either make -one of the characters express this pity in such a way as to -infect everyone, or he should describe the girl’s feelings correctly. -But he cannot, or will not, do this, and chooses -another way, more complicated in stage management but -easier for the author. He makes the girl die on the stage; -and, still further to increase the physiological effect on the -spectators, he extinguishes the lights in the theatre, leaving -the audience in the dark, and to the sound of dismal music -he shows how the girl is pursued and beaten by her drunken -father. The girl shrinks—screams—groans—and falls. -Angels appear and carry her away. And the audience, -experiencing some excitement while this is going on, are -fully convinced that this is true æsthetic feeling. But -there is nothing æsthetic in such excitement, for there is no -infecting of man by man, but only a mingled feeling of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>pity for another, and of self-congratulation that it is not I -who am suffering: it is like what we feel at the sight of -an execution, or what the Romans felt in their circuses.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The substitution of effectfulness for æsthetic feeling is -particularly noticeable in musical art—that art which by -its nature has an immediate physiological action on the -nerves. Instead of transmitting by means of a melody the -feelings he has experienced, a composer of the new school -accumulates and complicates sounds, and by now strengthening, -now weakening them, he produces on the audience a -physiological effect of a kind that can be measured by an -apparatus invented for the purpose.<a id='r83' /><a href='#f83' class='c008'><sup>[83]</sup></a> And the public mistake -this physiological effect for the effect of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As to the fourth method—that of interesting—it also is -frequently confounded with art. One often hears it said, -not only of a poem, a novel, or a picture, but even of a -musical work, that it is interesting. What does this mean? -To speak of an interesting work of art means either that we -receive from a work of art information new to us, or that -the work is not fully intelligible, and that little by little, -and with effort, we arrive at its meaning, and experience a -certain pleasure in this process of guessing it. In neither -case has the interest anything in common with artistic impression. -Art aims at infecting people with feeling experienced -by the artist. But the mental effort necessary to -enable the spectator, listener, or reader to assimilate the new -information contained in the work, or to guess the puzzles -propounded, by distracting him, hinders the infection. -And therefore the interestingness of a work not only has -nothing to do with its excellence as a work of art, but -rather hinders than assists artistic impression.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We may, in a work of art, meet with what is poetic, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>realistic, and striking, and interesting, but these things cannot -replace the essential of art—feeling experienced by the artist. -Latterly, in upper-class art, most of the objects given out as -being works of art are of the kind which only resemble art, -and are devoid of its essential quality—feeling experienced -by the artist. And, for the diversion of the rich, such objects -are continually being produced in enormous quantities by -the artisans of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Many conditions must be fulfilled to enable a man to -produce a real work of art. It is necessary that he should -stand on the level of the highest life-conception of his -time, that he should experience feeling and have the desire -and capacity to transmit it, and that he should, moreover, -have a talent for some one of the forms of art. It is very -seldom that all these conditions necessary to the production -of true art are combined. But in order—aided by the -customary methods of borrowing, imitating, introducing -effects, and interesting—unceasingly to produce counterfeits -of art which pass for art in our society and are well paid -for, it is only necessary to have a talent for some branch of -art; and this is very often to be met with. By talent I -mean ability: in literary art, the ability to express one’s -thoughts and impressions easily and to notice and remember -characteristic details; in the depictive arts, to distinguish -and remember lines, forms, and colours; in music, to -distinguish the intervals, and to remember and transmit -the sequence of sounds. And a man, in our times, if only -he possesses such a talent and selects some specialty, may, -after learning the methods of counterfeiting used in his -branch of art,—if he has patience and if his æsthetic feeling -(which would render such productions revolting to him) be -atrophied,—unceasingly, till the end of his life, turn out -works which will pass for art in our society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To produce such counterfeits, definite rules or recipes -exist in each branch of art. So that the talented man, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>having assimilated them, may produce such works <i>à froid</i>, -cold drawn, without any feeling.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In order to write poems a man of literary talent needs -only these qualifications: to acquire the knack, conformably -with the requirements of rhyme and rhythm, of using, instead -of the one really suitable word, ten others meaning -approximately the same; to learn how to take any phrase -which, to be clear, has but one natural order of words, and -despite all possible dislocations still to retain some sense -in it; and lastly, to be able, guided by the words required -for the rhymes, to devise some semblance of thoughts, -feelings, or descriptions to suit these words. Having -acquired these qualifications, he may unceasingly produce -poems—short or long, religious, amatory or patriotic, according -to the demand.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If a man of literary talent wishes to write a story or -novel, he need only form his style—<i>i.e.</i> learn how to -describe all that he sees—and accustom himself to remember -or note down details. When he has accustomed -himself to this, he can, according to his inclination or the -demand, unceasingly produce novels or stories—historical, -naturalistic, social, erotic, psychological, or even religious, -for which latter kind a demand and fashion begins to show -itself. He can take subjects from books or from the events -of life, and can copy the characters of the people in his book -from his acquaintances.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And such novels and stories, if only they are decked out -with well observed and carefully noted details, preferably -erotic ones, will be considered works of art, even though -they may not contain a spark of feeling experienced.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To produce art in dramatic form, a talented man, in -addition to all that is required for novels and stories, must -also learn to furnish his characters with as many smart -and witty sentences as possible, must know how to utilise -theatrical effects, and how to entwine the action of his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>characters so that there should not be any long conversations, -but as much bustle and movement on the stage as -possible. If the writer is able to do this, he may produce -dramatic works one after another without stopping, selecting -his subjects from the reports of the law courts, or from -the latest society topic, such as hypnotism, heredity, etc., -or from deep antiquity, or even from the realms of fancy.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the sphere of painting and sculpture it is still easier -for the talented man to produce imitations of art. He -need only learn to draw, paint, and model—especially naked -bodies. Thus equipped he can continue to paint pictures, -or model statues, one after another, choosing subjects -according to his bent—mythological, or religious, or fantastic, -or symbolical; or he may depict what is written about -in the papers—a coronation, a strike, the Turko-Grecian -war, famine scenes; or, commonest of all, he may just copy -anything he thinks beautiful—from naked women to copper -basins.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For the production of musical art the talented man needs -still less of what constitutes the essence of art, <i>i.e.</i> feeling -wherewith to infect others; but, on the other hand, he -requires more physical, gymnastic labour than for any other -art, unless it be dancing. To produce works of musical art, -he must first learn to move his fingers on some instrument -as rapidly as those who have reached the highest perfection; -next he must know how in former times polyphonic music -was written, must study what are called counterpoint and -fugue; and furthermore, he must learn orchestration, <i>i.e.</i> how -to utilise the effects of the instruments. But once he has -learned all this, the composer may unceasingly produce one -work after another; whether programme-music, opera, or -song (devising sounds more or less corresponding to the -words), or chamber music, <i>i.e.</i> he may take another man’s -themes and work them up into definite forms by means of -counterpoint and fugue; or, what is commonest of all, he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>may compose fantastic music, <i>i.e.</i> he may take a conjunction -of sounds which happens to come to hand, and pile every -sort of complication and ornamentation on to this chance -combination.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus, in all realms of art, counterfeits of art are manufactured -to a ready-made, prearranged recipe, and these -counterfeits the public of our upper classes accept for real -art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this substitution of counterfeits for real works of -art was the third and most important consequence of the -separation of the art of the upper classes from universal art.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span> - <h2 id='chap12' class='c003'>CHAPTER XII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>In our society three conditions co-operate to cause the production -of objects of counterfeit art. They are—(1) the -considerable remuneration of artists for their productions -and the professionalisation of artists which this has produced, -(2) art criticism, and (3) schools of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>While art was as yet undivided, and only religious art -was valued and rewarded while indiscriminate art was -left unrewarded, there were no counterfeits of art, -or, if any existed, being exposed to the criticism of the -whole people, they quickly disappeared. But as soon as -that division occurred, and the upper classes acclaimed -every kind of art as good if only it afforded them pleasure, -and began to reward such art more highly than any other -social activity, immediately a large number of people devoted -themselves to this activity, and art assumed quite a different -character and became a profession.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And as soon as this occurred, the chief and most precious -quality of art—its sincerity—was at once greatly weakened -and eventually quite destroyed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The professional artist lives by his art, and has continually -to invent subjects for his works, and does invent them. -And it is obvious how great a difference must exist between -works of art produced on the one hand by men such as -the Jewish prophets, the authors of the Psalms, Francis of -Assisi, the authors of the <i>Iliad</i> and <i>Odyssey</i>, of folk-stories, -legends, and folk-songs, many of whom not only received -no remuneration for their work, but did not even attach -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>their names to it; and, on the other hand, works produced -by court poets, dramatists and musicians receiving honours -and remuneration; and later on by professional artists, who -lived by the trade, receiving remuneration from newspaper -editors, publishers, impresarios, and in general from those -agents who come between the artists and the town public—the -consumers of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Professionalism is the first condition of the diffusion of -false, counterfeit art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The second condition is the growth, in recent times, of -artistic criticism, <i>i.e.</i> the valuation of art not by everybody, -and, above all, not by plain men, but by erudite, that is, by -perverted and at the same time self-confident individuals.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A friend of mine, speaking of the relation of critics to -artists, half-jokingly defined it thus: “Critics are the stupid -who discuss the wise.” However partial, inexact, and rude -this definition may be, it is yet partly true, and is incomparably -juster than the definition which considers critics to -be men who can explain works of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Critics explain!” What do they explain?</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artist, if a real artist, has by his work transmitted -to others the feeling he experienced. What is there, then, -to explain?</p> - -<p class='c005'>If a work be good as art, then the feeling expressed by -the artist—be it moral or immoral—transmits itself to -other people. If transmitted to others, then they feel it, -and all interpretations are superfluous. If the work does -not infect people, no explanation can make it contagious. -An artist’s work cannot be interpreted. Had it been possible -to explain in words what he wished to convey, the -artist would have expressed himself in words. He expressed -it by his art, only because the feeling he experienced could -not be otherwise transmitted. The interpretation of works -of art by words only indicates that the interpreter is himself -incapable of feeling the infection of art. And this is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>actually the case, for, however strange it may seem to say -so, critics have always been people less susceptible than -other men to the contagion of art. For the most part they -are able writers, educated and clever, but with their capacity -of being infected by art quite perverted or atrophied. And -therefore their writings have always largely contributed, and -still contribute, to the perversion of the taste of that public -which reads them and trusts them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Artistic criticism did not exist—could not and cannot -exist—in societies where art is undivided, and where, consequently, -it is appraised by the religious understanding-of-life -common to the whole people. Art criticism grew, -and could grow, only on the art of the upper classes, who -did not acknowledge the religious perception of their time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Universal art has a definite and indubitable internal -criterion—religious perception; upper-class art lacks this, and -therefore the appreciators of that art are obliged to cling to -some external criterion. And they find it in “the judgments -of the finest-nurtured,” as an English æsthetician has -phrased it, that is, in the authority of the people who are -considered educated, nor in this alone, but also in a tradition -of such authorities. This tradition is extremely misleading, -both because the opinions of “the finest-nurtured” are often -mistaken, and also because judgments which were valid -once cease to be so with the lapse of time. But the critics, -having no basis for their judgments, never cease to repeat -their traditions. The classical tragedians were once considered -good, and therefore criticism considers them to be so -still. Dante was esteemed a great poet, Raphael a great -painter, Bach a great musician—and the critics, lacking a -standard by which to separate good art from bad, not only -consider these artists great, but regard all their productions -as admirable and worthy of imitation. Nothing has contributed, -and still contributes, so much to the perversion of art -as these authorities set up by criticism. A man produces a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>work of art, like every true artist expressing in his own -peculiar manner a feeling he has experienced. Most people -are infected by the artist’s feeling; and his work becomes -known. Then criticism, discussing the artist, says that the -work is not bad, but all the same the artist is not a Dante, -nor a Shakespear, nor a Goethe, nor a Raphael, nor what -Beethoven was in his last period. And the young artist -sets to work to copy those who are held up for his imitation, -and he produces not only feeble works, but false works, -counterfeits of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus, for instance, our Pushkin writes his short poems, -<i>Evgeniy Onegin</i>, <i>The Gipsies</i>, and his stories—works all -varying in quality, but all true art. But then, under the -influence of false criticism extolling Shakespear, he writes -<i>Boris Godunoff</i>, a cold, brain-spun work, and this production -is lauded by the critics, set up as a model, and imitations of -it appear: <i>Minin</i> by Ostrovsky, and <i>Tsar Boris</i> by Alexée -Tolstoy, and such imitations of imitations as crowd all literatures -with insignificant productions. The chief harm done -by the critics is this, that themselves lacking the capacity to -be infected by art (and that is the characteristic of all -critics; for did they not lack this they could not attempt -the impossible—the interpretation of works of art), they -pay most attention to, and eulogise, brain-spun, invented -works, and set these up as models worthy of imitation. -That is the reason they so confidently extol, in literature, -the Greek tragedians, Dante, Tasso, Milton, Shakespear, -Goethe (almost all he wrote), and, among recent writers, -Zola and Ibsen; in music, Beethoven’s last period, and -Wagner. To justify their praise of these brain-spun, -invented works, they devise entire theories (of which the -famous theory of beauty is one); and not only dull but -also talented people compose works in strict deference to -these theories; and often even real artists, doing violence to -their genius, submit to them.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>Every false work extolled by the critics serves as a -door through which the hypocrites of art at once -crowd in.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is solely due to the critics, who in our times still praise -rude, savage, and, for us, often meaningless works of the -ancient Greeks: Sophocles, Euripides, Æschylus, and especially -Aristophanes; or, of modern writers, Dante, Tasso, -Milton, Shakespear; in painting, all of Raphael, all of -Michael Angelo, including his absurd “Last Judgment”; in -music, the whole of Bach, and the whole of Beethoven, -including his last period,—thanks only to them, have the -Ibsens, Maeterlincks, Verlaines, Mallarmés, Puvis de Chavannes, -Klingers, Böcklins, Stucks, Schneiders; in music, -the Wagners, Liszts, Berliozes, Brahmses, and Richard -Strausses, etc., and all that immense mass of good-for-nothing -imitators of these imitators, become possible in -our day.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As a good illustration of the harmful influence of criticism, -take its relation to Beethoven. Among his innumerable -hasty productions written to order, there are, notwithstanding -their artificiality of form, works of true art. But he -grows deaf, cannot hear, and begins to write invented, -unfinished works, which are consequently often meaningless -and musically unintelligible. I know that musicians can -imagine sounds vividly enough, and can almost hear what -they read, but imaginary sounds can never replace real ones, -and every composer must hear his production in order to -perfect it. Beethoven, however, could not hear, could not -perfect his work, and consequently published productions -which are artistic ravings. But criticism, having once -acknowledged him to be a great composer, seizes on just -these abnormal works with special gusto, and searches for -extraordinary beauties in them. And, to justify its laudations -(perverting the very meaning of musical art), it -attributed to music the property of describing what it cannot -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>describe. And imitators appear—an innumerable host of -imitators of these abnormal attempts at artistic productions -which Beethoven wrote when he was deaf.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Then Wagner appears, who at first in critical articles -praises just Beethoven’s last period, and connects this music -with Schopenhauer’s mystical theory that music is the expression -of Will—not of separate manifestations of will -objectivised on various planes, but of its very essence—which -is in itself as absurd as this music of Beethoven. -And afterwards he composes music of his own on this -theory, in conjunction with another still more erroneous -system of the union of all the arts. After Wagner yet -new imitators appear, diverging yet further from art: -Brahms, Richard Strauss, and others.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such are the results of criticism. But the third condition -of the perversion of art, namely, art schools, is almost more -harmful still.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As soon as art became, not art for the whole people but -for a rich class, it became a profession; as soon as it became -a profession, methods were devised to teach it; people -who chose this profession of art began to learn these -methods, and thus professional schools sprang up: classes -of rhetoric or literature in the public schools, academies -for painting, conservatoires for music, schools for dramatic -art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In these schools art is taught! But art is the transmission -to others of a special feeling experienced by the artist. -How can this be taught in schools?</p> - -<p class='c005'>No school can evoke feeling in a man, and still less can -it teach him how to manifest it in the one particular manner -natural to him alone. But the essence of art lies in these -things.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The one thing these schools can teach is how to transmit -feelings experienced by other artists in the way those other -artists transmitted them. And this is just what the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>professional schools do teach; and such instruction not only -does not assist the spread of true art, but, on the contrary, -by diffusing counterfeits of art, does more than anything -else to deprive people of the capacity to understand -true art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In literary art people are taught how, without having -anything they wish to say, to write a many-paged composition -on a theme about which they have never thought, -and, moreover, to write it so that it should resemble the -work of an author admitted to be celebrated. This is taught -in schools.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In painting the chief training consists in learning to draw -and paint from copies and models, the naked body chiefly -(the very thing that is never seen, and which a man -occupied with real art hardly ever has to depict), and to -draw and paint as former masters drew and painted. The -composition of pictures is taught by giving out themes similar -to those which have been treated by former acknowledged -celebrities.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So also in dramatic schools, the pupils are taught to -recite monologues just as tragedians, considered celebrated, -declaimed them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is the same in music. The whole theory of music is -nothing but a disconnected repetition of those methods -which the acknowledged? masters of composition made -use of.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I have elsewhere quoted the profound remark of the -Russian artist Bruloff on art, but I cannot here refrain from -repeating it, because nothing better illustrates what can -and what can not be taught in the schools. Once when -correcting a pupil’s study, Bruloff just touched it in a few -places, and the poor dead study immediately became animated. -“Why, you only touched it a <i>wee bit</i>, and it is quite -another thing!” said one of the pupils. “Art begins where -the <i>wee bit</i> begins,” replied Bruloff, indicating by these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>words just what is most characteristic of art. The remark -is true of all the arts, but its justice is particularly noticeable -in the performance of music. That musical execution should -be artistic, should be art, <i>i.e.</i> should infect, three chief conditions -must be observed,—there are many others needed for -musical perfection; the transition from one sound to another -must be interrupted or continuous; the sound must increase -or diminish steadily; it must be blended with one and not -with another sound; the sound must have this or that -timbre, and much besides,—but take the three chief conditions: -the pitch, the time, and the strength of the sound. -Musical execution is only then art, only then infects, when -the sound is neither higher nor lower than it should be, -that is, when exactly the infinitely small centre of the -required note is taken; when that note is continued exactly -as long as is needed; and when the strength of the sound -is neither more nor less than is required. The slightest -deviation of pitch in either direction, the slightest increase -or decrease in time, or the slightest strengthening or -weakening of the sound beyond what is needed, destroys -the perfection and, consequently, the infectiousness of -the work. So that the feeling of infection by the art of -music, which seems so simple and so easily obtained, is -a thing we receive only when the performer finds those -infinitely minute degrees which are necessary to perfection -in music. It is the same in all arts: a wee bit lighter, -a wee bit darker, a wee bit higher, lower, to the right or -the left—in painting; a wee bit weaker or stronger in -intonation, or a wee bit sooner or later—in dramatic art; -a wee bit omitted, over-emphasised, or exaggerated—in -poetry, and there is no contagion. Infection is only -obtained when an artist finds those infinitely minute degrees -of which a work of art consists, and only to the extent to -which he finds them. And it is quite impossible to teach -people by external means to find these minute degrees: they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>can only be found when a man yields to his feeling. No -instruction can make a dancer catch just the tact of the -music, or a singer or a fiddler take exactly the infinitely -minute centre of his note, or a sketcher draw of all possible -lines the only right one, or a poet find the only meet arrangement -of the only suitable words. All this is found only -by feeling. And therefore schools may teach what is necessary -in order to produce something resembling art, but not -art itself.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The teaching of the schools stops there where the <i>wee -bit</i> begins—consequently where art begins.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Accustoming people to something resembling art, disaccustoms -them to the comprehension of real art. And that -is how it comes about that none are more dull to art than -those who have passed through the professional schools and -been most successful in them. Professional schools produce -an hypocrisy of art precisely akin to that hypocrisy of -religion which is produced by theological colleges for -training priests, pastors, and religious teachers generally. -As it is impossible in a school to train a man so as to -make a religious teacher of him, so it is impossible to teach -a man how to become an artist.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art schools are thus doubly destructive of art: first, in -that they destroy the capacity to produce real art in those -who have the misfortune to enter them and go through a -7 or 8 years’ course; secondly, in that they generate -enormous quantities of that counterfeit art which perverts -the taste of the masses and overflows our world. In -order that born artists may know the methods of the -various arts elaborated by former artists, there should -exist in all elementary schools such classes for drawing -and music (singing) that, after passing through them, -every talented scholar may, by using existing models -accessible to all, be able to perfect himself in his art -independently.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>These three conditions—the professionalisation of artists, -art criticism, and art schools—have had this effect that -most people in our times are quite unable even to understand -what art is, and accept as art the grossest counterfeits -of it.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span> - <h2 id='chap13' class='c003'>CHAPTER XIII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>To what an extent people of our circle and time have lost the -capacity to receive real art, and have become accustomed -to accept as art things that have nothing in common with it, -is best seen from the works of Richard Wagner, which have -latterly come to be more and more esteemed, not only by -the Germans but also by the French and the English, as the -very highest art, revealing new horizons to us.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The peculiarity of Wagner’s music, as is known, consists -in this, that he considered that music should serve poetry, -expressing all the shades of a poetical work.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The union of the drama with music, devised in the -fifteenth century in Italy for the revival of what they -imagined to have been the ancient Greek drama with -music, is an artificial form which had, and has, success -only among the upper classes, and that only when gifted -composers, such as Mozart, Weber, Rossini, and others, -drawing inspiration from a dramatic subject, yielded freely -to the inspiration and subordinated the text to the music, -so that in their operas the important thing to the audience -was merely the music on a certain text, and not the text -at all, which latter, even when it was utterly absurd, as, -for instance, in the <i>Magic Flute</i>, still did not prevent the -music from producing an artistic impression.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Wagner wishes to correct the opera by letting music -submit to the demands of poetry and unite with it. But -each art has its own definite realm, which is not identical -with the realm of other arts, but merely comes in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>contact with them; and therefore, if the manifestation of, -I will not say several, but even of two arts—the dramatic -and the musical—be united in one complete production, -then the demands of the one art will make it impossible -to fulfil the demands of the other, as has always occurred in -the ordinary operas, where the dramatic art has submitted to, -or rather yielded place to, the musical. Wagner wishes that -musical art should submit to dramatic art, and that both -should appear in full strength. But this is impossible, for -every work of art, if it be a true one, is an expression of -intimate feelings of the artist, which are quite exceptional, and -not like anything else. Such is a musical production, and such -is a dramatic work, if they be true art. And therefore, in -order that a production in the one branch of art should -coincide with a production in the other branch, it is necessary -that the impossible should happen: that two works from -different realms of art should be absolutely exceptional, -unlike anything that existed before, and yet should coincide, -and be exactly alike.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this cannot be, just as there cannot be two men, or -even two leaves on a tree, exactly alike. Still less can two -works from different realms of art, the musical and the -literary, be absolutely alike. If they coincide, then either -one is a work of art and the other a counterfeit, or both are -counterfeits. Two live leaves cannot be exactly alike, but -two artificial leaves may be. And so it is with works of -art. They can only coincide completely when neither the -one nor the other is art, but only cunningly devised -semblances of it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If poetry and music may be joined, as occurs in hymns, -songs, and <i>romances</i>—(though even in these the music does -not follow the changes of each verse of the text, as Wagner -wants to, but the song and the music merely produce a -coincident effect on the mind)—this occurs only because -lyrical poetry and music have, to some extent, one and the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>same aim: to produce a mental condition, and the conditions -produced by lyrical poetry and by music can, more or -less, coincide. But even in these conjunctions the centre of -gravity always lies in one of the two productions, so that -it is one of them that produces the artistic impression while -the other remains unregarded. And still less is it possible -for such union to exist between epic or dramatic poetry and -music.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Moreover, one of the chief conditions of artistic creation -is the complete freedom of the artist from every kind of -preconceived demand. And the necessity of adjusting his -musical work to a work from another realm of art is a preconceived -demand of such a kind as to destroy all possibility -of creative power; and therefore works of this kind, adjusted -to one another, are, and must be, as has always happened, -not works of art but only imitations of art, like the music -of a melodrama, signatures to pictures, illustrations, and -librettos to operas.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And such are Wagner’s productions. And a confirmation -of this is to be seen in the fact that Wagner’s new -music lacks the chief characteristic of every true work -of art, namely, such entirety and completeness that the -smallest alteration in its form would disturb the meaning -of the whole work. In a true work of art—poem, drama, -picture, song, or symphony—it is impossible to extract one line, -one scene, one figure, or one bar from its place and put it in -another, without infringing the significance of the whole -work; just as it is impossible, without infringing the life -of an organic being, to extract an organ from one place and -insert it in another. But in the music of Wagner’s last -period, with the exception of certain parts of little importance -which have an independent musical meaning, it is possible -to make all kinds of transpositions, putting what was in -front behind, and <i>vice, versâ</i>, without altering the musical -sense. And the reason why these transpositions do not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>alter the sense of Wagner’s music is because the sense lies -in the words and not in the music.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The musical score of Wagner’s later operas is like what -the result would be should one of those versifiers—of whom -there are now many, with tongues so broken that they can -write verses on any theme to any rhymes in any rhythm, -which sound as if they had a meaning—conceive the idea -of illustrating by his verses some symphony or sonata of -Beethoven, or some ballade of Chopin, in the following -manner. To the first bars, of one character, he writes -verses corresponding in his opinion to those first bars. -Next come some bars of a different character, and he also -writes verses corresponding in his opinion to them, but with -no internal connection with the first verses, and, moreover, -without rhymes and without rhythm. Such a production, -without the music, would be exactly parallel in poetry to -what Wagner’s operas are in music, if heard without the -words.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But Wagner is not only a musician, he is also a poet, -or both together; and therefore, to judge of Wagner, one -must know his poetry also—that same poetry which the -music has to subserve. The chief poetical production of -Wagner is <i>The Nibelung’s Ring</i>. This work has attained -such enormous importance in our time, and has such influence -on all that now professes to be art, that it is necessary -for everyone to-day to have some idea of it. I have -carefully read through the four booklets which contain this -work, and have drawn up a brief summary of it, which I -give in <a href='#app3'>Appendix III</a>. I would strongly advise the reader -(if he has not perused the poem itself, which would be -the best thing to do) at least to read my account of it, -so as to have an idea of this extraordinary work. It is a -model work of counterfeit art, so gross as to be even -ridiculous.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But we are told that it is impossible to judge of Wagner’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>works without seeing them on the stage. The Second Day -of this drama, which, as I was told, is the best part of the -whole work, was given in Moscow last winter, and I went -to see the performance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When I arrived the enormous theatre was already filled -from top to bottom. There were Grand-Dukes, and the -flower of the aristocracy, of the merchant class, of the -learned, and of the middle-class official public. Most of -them held the libretto, fathoming its meaning. Musicians—some -of them elderly, grey-haired men—followed the -music, score in hand. Evidently the performance of this -work was an event of importance.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I was rather late, but I was told that the short prelude, -with which the act begins, was of little importance, and -that it did not matter having missed it. When I arrived, -an actor sat on the stage amid decorations intended to -represent a cave, and before something which was meant to -represent a smith’s forge. He was dressed in trico-tights, -with a cloak of skins, wore a wig and an artificial beard, and -with white, weak, genteel hands (his easy movements, and -especially the shape of his stomach and his lack of muscle -revealed the actor) beat an impossible sword with an -unnatural hammer in a way in which no one ever uses -a hammer; and at the same time, opening his mouth -in a strange way, he sang something incomprehensible. -The music of various instruments accompanied the strange -sounds which he emitted. From the libretto one was -able to gather that the actor had to represent a powerful -gnome, who lived in the cave, and who was forging a sword -for Siegfried, whom he had reared. One could tell -he was a gnome by the fact that the actor walked -all the time bending the knees of his trico-covered -legs. This gnome, still opening his mouth in the same -strange way, long continued to sing or shout. The music -meanwhile runs over something strange, like beginnings -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>which are not continued and do not get finished. From -the libretto one could learn that the gnome is telling -himself about a ring which a giant had obtained, and -which the gnome wishes to procure through Siegfried’s -aid, while Siegfried wants a good sword, on the forging -of which the gnome is occupied. After this conversation -or singing to himself has gone on rather a long time, -other sounds are heard in the orchestra, also like something -beginning and not finishing, and another actor appears, -with a horn slung over his shoulder, and accompanied by -a man running on all fours dressed up as a bear, whom -he sets at the smith-gnome. The latter runs away without -unbending the knees of his trico-covered legs. This -actor with the horn represented the hero, Siegfried. The -sounds which were emitted in the orchestra on the entrance -of this actor were intended to represent Siegfried’s character -and are called Siegfried’s <i>leit-motiv</i>. And these sounds are -repeated each time Siegfried appears. There is one fixed -combination of sounds, or <i>leit-motiv</i>, for each character, -and this <i>leit-motiv</i> is repeated every time the person whom -it represents appears; and when anyone is mentioned the -<i>motiv</i> is heard which relates to that person. Moreover, -each article also has its own <i>leit-motiv</i> or chord. There -is a <i>motiv</i> of the ring, a <i>motiv</i> of the helmet, a <i>motiv</i> of -the apple, a <i>motiv</i> of fire, spear, sword, water, etc.; and as -soon as the ring, helmet, or apple is mentioned, the <i>motiv</i> -or chord of the ring, helmet, or apple is heard. The actor -with the horn opens his mouth as unnaturally as the gnome, -and long continues in a chanting voice to shout some words, -and in a similar chant Mime (that is the gnome’s name) -answers something or other to him. The meaning of this -conversation can only be discovered from the libretto; and it is -that Siegfried was brought up by the gnome, and therefore, -for some reason, hates him and always wishes to kill him. -The gnome has forged a sword for Siegfried, but Siegfried -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>is dissatisfied with it. From a ten-page conversation (by the -libretto), lasting half an hour and conducted with the same -strange openings of the mouth and chantings, it appears -that Siegfried’s mother gave birth to him in the wood, and -that concerning his father all that is known is that he had -a sword which was broken, the pieces of which are in Mime’s -possession, and that Siegfried does not know fear and wishes -to go out of the wood. Mime, however, does not want to -let him go. During the conversation the music never omits, -at the mention of father, sword, etc., to sound the <i>motive</i> of -these people and things. After these conversations fresh -sounds are heard—those of the god Wotan—and a wanderer -appears. This wanderer is the god Wotan. Also dressed -up in a wig, and also in tights, this god Wotan, standing -in a stupid pose with a spear, thinks proper to recount -what Mime must have known before, but what it is -necessary to tell the audience. He does not tell it simply, -but in the form of riddles which he orders himself to guess, -staking his head (one does not know why) that he will guess -right. Moreover, whenever the wanderer strikes his spear -on the ground, fire comes out of the ground, and in the -orchestra the sounds of spear and of fire are heard. The -orchestra accompanies the conversation, and the <i>motive</i> of the -people and things spoken of are always artfully intermingled. -Besides this the music expresses feelings in the most naïve -manner: the terrible by sounds in the bass, the frivolous by -rapid touches in the treble, etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The riddles have no meaning except to tell the audience -what the <i>nibelungs</i> are, what the giants are, what the -gods are, and what has happened before. This conversation -also is chanted with strangely opened mouths and -continues for eight libretto pages, and correspondingly -long on the stage. After this the wanderer departs, and -Siegfried returns and talks with Mime for thirteen pages more. -There is not a single melody the whole of this time, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>merely intertwinings of the <i>leit-motive</i> of the people and -things mentioned. The conversation tells that Mime wishes -to teach Siegfried fear, and that Siegfried does not know -what fear is. Having finished this conversation, Siegfried -seizes one of the pieces of what is meant to represent the -broken sword, saws it up, puts it on what is meant to -represent the forge, melts it, and then forges it and sings: -Heiho! heiho! heiho! Ho! ho! Aha! oho! aha! Heiaho! -heiaho! heiaho! Ho! ho! Hahei! hoho! hahei! and Act -I. finishes.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As far as the question I had come to the theatre to -decide was concerned, my mind was fully made up, as -surely as on the question of the merits of my lady -acquaintance’s novel when she read me the scene between -the loose-haired maiden in the white dress and the hero -with two white dogs and a hat with a feather <i>à la Guillaume -Tell</i>.</p> - -<p class='c005'>From an author who could compose such spurious scenes, -outraging all æsthetic feeling, as those which I had witnessed, -there was nothing to be hoped; it may safely be -decided that all that such an author can write will be bad, -because he evidently does not know what a true work of -art is. I wished to leave, but the friends I was with -asked me to remain, declaring that one could not form -an opinion by that one act, and that the second would be -better. So I stopped for the second act.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act II., night. Afterwards dawn. In general the whole -piece is crammed with lights, clouds, moonlight, darkness, -magic fires, thunder, etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The scene represents a wood, and in the wood there is a -cave. At the entrance of the cave sits a third actor in -tights, representing another gnome. It dawns. Enter the -god Wotan, again with a spear, and again in the guise of a -wanderer. Again his sounds, together with fresh sounds of -the deepest bass that can be produced. These latter indicate -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>that the dragon is speaking. Wotan awakens the dragon. -The same bass sounds are repeated, growing yet deeper and -deeper. First the dragon says, “I want to sleep,” but afterwards -he crawls out of the cave. The dragon is represented -by two men; it is dressed in a green, scaly skin, waves a tail -at one end, while at the other it opens a kind of crocodile’s -jaw that is fastened on, and from which flames appear. The -dragon (who is meant to be dreadful, and may appear so -to five-year-old children) speaks some words in a terribly -bass voice. This is all so stupid, so like what is done in a -booth at a fair, that it is surprising that people over seven -years of age can witness it seriously; yet thousands of -quasi-cultured people sit and attentively hear and see it, and -are delighted.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Siegfried, with his horn, reappears, as does Mime also. In -the orchestra the sounds denoting them are emitted, and -they talk about whether Siegfried does or does not know -what fear is. Mime goes away, and a scene commences which -is intended to be most poetical. Siegfried, in his tights, lies -down in a would-be beautiful pose, and alternately keeps -silent and talks to himself. He ponders, listens to the song -of birds, and wishes to imitate them. For this purpose -he cuts a reed with his sword and makes a pipe. The dawn -grows brighter and brighter; the birds sing. Siegfried tries -to imitate the birds. In the orchestra is heard the imitation -of birds, alternating with sounds corresponding to the words -he speaks. But Siegfried does not succeed with his pipe-playing, -so he plays on his horn instead. This scene is -unendurable. Of music, <i>i.e.</i> of art serving as a means to -transmit a state of mind experienced by the author, there is -not even a suggestion. There is something that is absolutely -unintelligible musically. In a musical sense a hope is continually -experienced, followed by disappointment, as if a -musical thought were commenced only to be broken off. If -there are something like musical commencements, these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>commencements are so short, so encumbered with complications -of harmony and orchestration and with effects of contrast, -are so obscure and unfinished, and what is happening -on the stage meanwhile is so abominably false, that it is -difficult even to perceive these musical snatches, let alone to -be infected by them. Above all, from the very beginning -to the very end, and in each note, the author’s purpose is so -audible and visible, that one sees and hears neither Siegfried -nor the birds, but only a limited, self-opinionated German -of bad taste and bad style, who has a most false conception of -poetry, and who, in the rudest and most primitive manner, -wishes to transmit to me these false and mistaken conceptions -of his.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Everyone knows the feeling of distrust and resistance -which is always evoked by an author’s evident predetermination. -A narrator need only say in advance, Prepare -to cry or to laugh, and you are sure neither to cry nor to -laugh. But when you see that an author prescribes emotion -at what is not touching but only laughable or disgusting, -and when you see, moreover, that the author is fully assured -that he has captivated you, a painfully tormenting feeling -results, similar to what one would feel if an old, deformed -woman put on a ball-dress and smilingly coquetted before -you, confident of your approbation. This impression was -strengthened by the fact that around me I saw a crowd of -three thousand people, who not only patiently witnessed all -this absurd nonsense, but even considered it their duty to be -delighted with it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I somehow managed to sit out the next scene also, in -which the monster appears, to the accompaniment of his -bass notes intermingled with the <i>motiv</i> of Siegfried; but -after the fight with the monster, and all the roars, fires, and -sword-wavings, I could stand no more of it, and escaped from -the theatre with a feeling of repulsion which, even now, I -cannot forget.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>Listening to this opera, I involuntarily thought of a -respected, wise, educated country labourer,—one, for -instance, of those wise and truly religious men whom I -know among the peasants,—and I pictured to myself the -terrible perplexity such a man would be in were he to -witness what I was seeing that evening.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What would he think if he knew of all the labour spent -on such a performance, and saw that audience, those great -ones of the earth,—old, bald-headed, grey-bearded men, -whom he had been accustomed to respect,—sit silent and -attentive, listening to and looking at all these stupidities for -five hours on end? Not to speak of an adult labourer, one -can hardly imagine even a child of over seven occupying -himself with such a stupid, incoherent fairy tale.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And yet an enormous audience, the cream of the cultured -upper classes, sits out five hours of this insane performance, -and goes away imagining that by paying tribute to this -nonsense it has acquired a fresh right to esteem itself -advanced and enlightened.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I speak of the Moscow public. But what is the Moscow -public? It is but a hundredth part of that public which, -while considering itself most highly enlightened, esteems it -a merit to have so lost the capacity of being infected by art, -that not only can it witness this stupid sham without being -revolted, but can even take delight in it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In Bayreuth, where these performances were first given, -people who consider themselves finely cultured assembled -from the ends of the earth, spent, say £100 each, to see -this performance, and for four days running they went to -see and hear this nonsensical rubbish, sitting it out for six -hours each day.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But why did people go, and why do they still go to these -performances, and why do they admire them? The question -naturally presents itself: How is the success of Wagner’s -works to be explained?</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>That success I explain to myself in this way: thanks -to his exceptional position in having at his disposal the -resources of a king, Wagner was able to command all -the methods for counterfeiting art which have been -developed by long usage, and, employing these methods -with great ability, he produced a model work of counterfeit -art. The reason why I have selected his work for my -illustration is, that in no other counterfeit of art known to -me are all the methods by which art is counterfeited—namely, -borrowings, imitation, effects, and interestingness—so -ably and powerfully united.</p> - -<p class='c005'>From the subject, borrowed from antiquity, to the clouds -and the risings of the sun and moon, Wagner, in this work, -has made use of all that is considered poetical. We have -here the sleeping beauty, and nymphs, and subterranean -fires, and gnomes, and battles, and swords, and love, and -incest, and a monster, and singing-birds: the whole arsenal -of the poetical is brought into action.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Moreover, everything is imitative: the decorations are -imitated and the costumes are imitated. All is just as, -according to the data supplied by archæology, they would -have been in antiquity. The very sounds are imitative, for -Wagner, who was not destitute of musical talent, invented -just such sounds as imitate the strokes of a hammer, the -hissing of molten iron, the singing of birds, etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Furthermore, in this work everything is in the highest -degree striking in its effects and in its peculiarities: its -monsters, its magic fires, and its scenes under water; the -darkness in which the audience sit, the invisibility of the -orchestra, and the hitherto unemployed combinations of -harmony.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And besides, it is all interesting. The interest lies not -only in the question who will kill whom, and who will -marry whom, and who is whose son, and what will happen -next?—the interest lies also in the relation of the music -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>to the text. The rolling waves of the Rhine—now how -is that to be expressed in music? An evil gnome appears—how -is the music to express an evil gnome?—and how -is it to express the sensuality of this gnome? How will -bravery, fire, or apples be expressed in music? How are -the <i>leit-motive</i> of the people speaking to be interwoven -with the <i>leit-motive</i> of the people and objects about whom -they speak? Besides, the music has a further interest. -It diverges from all formerly accepted laws, and most -unexpected and totally new modulations crop up (as is -not only possible but even easy in music having no inner -law of its being); the dissonances are new, and are allowed -in a new way—and this, too, is interesting.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And it is this poeticality, imitativeness, effectfulness, and -interestingness which, thanks to the peculiarities of Wagner’s -talent and to the advantageous position in which he was -placed, are in these productions carried to the highest pitch -of perfection, that so act on the spectator, hypnotising him -as one would be hypnotised who should listen for several -consecutive hours to the ravings of a maniac pronounced -with great oratorical power.</p> - -<p class='c005'>People say, “You cannot judge without having seen -Wagner performed at Bayreuth: in the dark, where the -orchestra is out of sight concealed under the stage, and -where the performance is brought to the highest perfection.” -And this just proves that we have here no question -of art, but one of hypnotism. It is just what the spiritualists -say. To convince you of the reality of their apparitions, -they usually say, “You cannot judge; you must try -it, be present at several séances,” <i>i.e.</i> come and sit silent -in the dark for hours together in the same room with -semi-sane people, and repeat this some ten times over, and -you shall see all that we see.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Yes, naturally! Only place yourself in such conditions, -and you may see what you will. But this can be still more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>quickly attained by getting drunk or smoking opium. It -is the same when listening to an opera of Wagner’s. Sit -in the dark for four days in company with people who -are not quite normal, and, through the auditory nerves, -subject your brain to the strongest action of the sounds -best adapted to excite it, and you will no doubt be reduced -to an abnormal condition and be enchanted by absurdities. -But to attain this end you do not even need four days; -the five hours during which one “day” is enacted, as in -Moscow, are quite enough. Nor are five hours needed; -even one hour is enough for people who have no clear -conception of what art should be, and who have come to -the conclusion in advance that what they are going to see -is excellent, and that indifference or dissatisfaction with -this work will serve as a proof of their inferiority and -lack of culture.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I observed the audience present at this representation. -The people who led the whole audience and gave the tone to -it were those who had previously been hypnotised, and who -again succumbed to the hypnotic influence to which they -were accustomed. These hypnotised people, being in an -abnormal condition, were perfectly enraptured. Moreover, -all the art critics, who lack the capacity to be infected by -art and therefore always especially prize works like Wagner’s -opera where it is all an affair of the intellect, also, with -much profundity, expressed their approval of a work affording -such ample material for ratiocination. And following -these two groups went that large city crowd (indifferent to -art, with their capacity to be infected by it perverted and -partly atrophied), headed by the princes, millionaires, and -art patrons, who, like sorry harriers, keep close to those who -most loudly and decidedly express their opinion.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“Oh yes, certainly! What poetry! Marvellous! Especially -the birds!” “Yes, yes! I am quite vanquished!” -exclaim these people, repeating in various tones what they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>have just heard from men whose opinion appears to them -authoritative.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If some people do feel insulted by the absurdity and -spuriousness of the whole thing, they are timidly silent, as -sober men are timid and silent when surrounded by tipsy -ones.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And thus, thanks to the masterly skill with which it -counterfeits art while having nothing in common with it, -a meaningless, coarse, spurious production finds acceptance -all over the world, costs millions of roubles to produce, and -assists more and more to pervert the taste of people of the -upper classes and their conception of what is art.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span> - <h2 id='chap14' class='c003'>CHAPTER XIV</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>I know that most men—not only those considered clever, -but even those who are very clever and capable of -understanding most difficult scientific, mathematical or -philosophic problems—can very seldom discern even the -simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as to oblige -them to admit the falsity of conclusions they have formed, -perhaps with much difficulty—conclusions of which they -are proud, which they have taught to others, and on which -they have built their lives. And therefore I have little -hope that what I adduce as to the perversion of art and -taste in our society will be accepted or even seriously -considered. Nevertheless, I must state fully the inevitable -conclusion to which my investigation into the question of -art has brought me. This investigation has brought me to -the conviction that almost all that our society considers to -be art, good art, and the whole of art, far from being real -and good art, and the whole of art, is not even art at all, -but only a counterfeit of it. This position, I know, will -seem very strange and paradoxical; but if we once acknowledge -art to be a human activity by means of which some -people transmit their feelings to others (and not a service -of Beauty, nor a manifestation of the Idea, and so forth), we -shall inevitably have to admit this further conclusion also. -If it is true that art is an activity by means of which one -man having experienced a feeling intentionally transmits it -to others, then we have inevitably to admit further, that of -all that among us is termed the art of the upper classes—of all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>those novels, stories, dramas, comedies, pictures, sculptures, -symphonies, operas, operettas, ballets, etc., which profess to -be works of art—scarcely one in a hundred thousand proceeds -from an emotion felt by its author, all the rest being -but manufactured counterfeits of art in which borrowing, -imitating, effects, and interestingness replace the contagion -of feeling. That the proportion of real productions -of art is to the counterfeits as one to some hundreds of -thousands or even more, may be seen by the following -calculation. I have read somewhere that the artist painters -in Paris alone number 30,000; there will probably be as -many in England, as many in Germany, and as many in -Russia, Italy, and the smaller states combined. So that in -all there will be in Europe, say, 120,000 painters; and there -are probably as many musicians and as many literary artists. -If these 360,000 individuals produce three works a year each -(and many of them produce ten or more), then each year -yields over a million so-called works of art. How many, then, -must have been produced in the last ten years, and how -many in the whole time since upper-class art broke off from -the art of the whole people? Evidently millions. Yet who -of all the connoisseurs of art has received impressions from -all these pseudo works of art? Not to mention all the labouring -classes who have no conception of these productions, -even people of the upper classes cannot know one in a -thousand of them all, and cannot remember those they -have known. These works all appear under the guise of -art, produce no impression on anyone (except when they -serve as pastimes for the idle crowd of rich people), and -vanish utterly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In reply to this it is usually said that without this -enormous number of unsuccessful attempts we should not -have the real works of art. But such reasoning is as though -a baker, in reply to a reproach that his bread was bad, were -to say that if it were not for the hundreds of spoiled loaves -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>there would not be any well-baked ones. It is true that -where there is gold there is also much sand; but that can -not serve as a reason for talking a lot of nonsense in order -to say something wise.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We are surrounded by productions considered artistic. -Thousands of verses, thousands of poems, thousands of novels, -thousands of dramas, thousands of pictures, thousands of -musical pieces, follow one after another. All the verses -describe love, or nature, or the author’s state of mind, and -in all of them rhyme and rhythm are observed. All the -dramas and comedies are splendidly mounted and are performed -by admirably trained actors. All the novels are -divided into chapters; all of them describe love, contain -effective situations, and correctly describe the details of life. -All the symphonies contain <i>allegro</i>, <i>andante</i>, <i>scherzo</i>, and -<i>finale</i>; all consist of modulations and chords, and are played -by highly-trained musicians. All the pictures, in gold frames, -saliently depict faces and sundry accessories. But among -these productions in the various branches of art there is in -each branch one among hundreds of thousands, not only -somewhat better than the rest, but differing from them as a -diamond differs from paste. The one is priceless, the others -not only have no value but are worse than valueless, for -they deceive and pervert taste. And yet, externally, they -are, to a man of perverted or atrophied artistic perception, -precisely alike.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In our society the difficulty of recognising real works of -art is further increased by the fact that the external quality -of the work in false productions is not only no worse, but -often better, than in real ones; the counterfeit is often -more effective than the real, and its subject more interesting. -How is one to discriminate? How is one to find a production -in no way distinguished in externals from hundreds of thousands -of others intentionally made to imitate it precisely?</p> - -<p class='c005'>For a country peasant of unperverted taste this is as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>easy as it is for an animal of unspoilt scent to follow -the trace he needs among a thousand others in wood or -forest. The animal unerringly finds what he needs. So -also the man, if only his natural qualities have not been -perverted, will, without fail, select from among thousands -of objects the real work of art he requires—that infecting -him with the feeling experienced by the artist. But it is -not so with those whose taste has been perverted by their -education and life. The receptive feeling for art of these -people is atrophied, and in valuing artistic productions they -must be guided by discussion and study, which discussion -and study completely confuse them. So that most -people in our society are quite unable to distinguish a work -of art from the grossest counterfeit. People sit for whole -hours in concert-rooms and theatres listening to the new -composers, consider it a duty to read the novels of the -famous modern novelists and to look at pictures representing -either something incomprehensible or just the very -things they see much better in real life; and, above all, -they consider it incumbent on them to be enraptured by -all this, imagining it all to be art, while at the same time -they will pass real works of art by, not only without -attention, but even with contempt, merely because, in their -circle, these works are not included in the list of works -of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A few days ago I was returning home from a walk feeling -depressed, as occurs sometimes. On nearing the house I -heard the loud singing of a large choir of peasant women. -They were welcoming my daughter, celebrating her return -home after her marriage. In this singing, with its cries -and clanging of scythes, such a definite feeling of joy, -cheerfulness, and energy was expressed, that, without -noticing how it infected me, I continued my way towards -the house in a better mood, and reached home smiling and -quite in good spirits. That same evening, a visitor, an -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>admirable musician, famed for his execution of classical -music, and particularly of Beethoven, played us Beethoven’s -sonata, Opus 101. For the benefit of those who might -otherwise attribute my judgment of that sonata of Beethoven -to non-comprehension of it, I should mention that whatever -other people understand of that sonata and of other -productions of Beethoven’s later period, I, being very -susceptible to music, equally understood. For a long time -I used to atune myself so as to delight in those shapeless -improvisations which form the subject-matter of the works -of Beethoven’s later period, but I had only to consider the -question of art seriously, and to compare the impression -I received from Beethoven’s later works with those pleasant, -clear, and strong musical impressions which are transmitted, -for instance, by the melodies of Bach (his arias), Haydn, -Mozart, Chopin (when his melodies are not overloaded -with complications and ornamention), and of Beethoven -himself in his earlier period, and above all, with the -impressions produced by folk-songs,—Italian, Norwegian, -or Russian,—by the Hungarian <i>tzardas</i>, and other such -simple, clear, and powerful music, and the obscure, almost -unhealthy excitement from Beethoven’s later pieces that I -had artificially evoked in myself was immediately destroyed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>On the completion of the performance (though it was -noticeable that everyone had become dull) those present, in -the accepted manner, warmly praised Beethoven’s profound -production, and did not forget to add that formerly they -had not been able to understand that last period of his, -but that they now saw that he was really then at his very -best. And when I ventured to compare the impression -made on me by the singing of the peasant women—an -impression which had been shared by all who heard it—with -the effect of this sonata, the admirers of Beethoven only -smiled contemptuously, not considering it necessary to reply -to such strange remarks.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>But, for all that, the song of the peasant women was real -art, transmitting a definite and strong feeling; while the -101st sonata of Beethoven was only an unsuccessful attempt -at art, containing no definite feeling and therefore not -infectious.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For my work on art I have this winter read diligently, -though with great effort, the celebrated novels and stories, -praised by all Europe, written by Zola, Bourget, Huysmans, -and Kipling. At the same time I chanced on a story in a -child’s magazine, and by a quite unknown writer, which told -of the Easter preparations in a poor widow’s family. The -story tells how the mother managed with difficulty to obtain -some wheat-flour, which she poured on the table ready to -knead. She then went out to procure some yeast, telling -the children not to leave the hut, and to take care of the -flour. When the mother had gone, some other children -ran shouting near the window, calling those in the hut to -come to play. The children forgot their mother’s warning, -ran into the street, and were soon engrossed in the game. -The mother, on her return with the yeast, finds a hen -on the table throwing the last of the flour to her chickens, -who were busily picking it out of the dust of the earthen -floor. The mother, in despair, scolds the children, who cry -bitterly. And the mother begins to feel pity for them—but -the white flour has all gone. So to mend matters she -decides to make the Easter cake with sifted rye-flour, -brushing it over with white of egg and surrounding it -with eggs. “Rye-bread which we bake is akin to any -cake,” says the mother, using a rhyming proverb to console -the children for not having an Easter cake made with white -flour. And the children, quickly passing from despair to -rapture, repeat the proverb and await the Easter cake more -merrily even than before.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Well! the reading of the novels and stories by Zola, -Bourget, Huysmans, Kipling, and others, handling the most -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>harrowing subjects, did not touch me for one moment, and -I was provoked with the authors all the while, as one is -provoked with a man who considers you so naïve that he -does not even conceal the trick by which he intends to take -you in. From the first lines you see the intention with -which the book is written, and the details all become superfluous, -and one feels dull. Above all, one knows that the -author had no other feeling all the time than a desire to -write a story or a novel, and so one receives no artistic impression. -On the other hand, I could not tear myself away -from the unknown author’s tale of the children and the -chickens, because I was at once infected by the feeling which -the author had evidently experienced, re-evoked in himself, -and transmitted.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Vasnetsoff is one of our Russian painters. He has painted -ecclesiastical pictures in Kieff Cathedral, and everyone -praises him as the founder of some new, elevated kind of -Christian art. He worked at those pictures for ten years, -was paid tens of thousands of roubles for them, and they are -all simply bad imitations of imitations of imitations, destitute -of any spark of feeling. And this same Vasnetsoff drew a -picture for Tourgenieff’s story “The Quail” (in which it is -told how, in his son’s presence, a father killed a quail and -felt pity for it), showing the boy asleep with pouting upper -lip, and above him, as a dream, the quail. And this picture -is a true work of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the English Academy of 1897 two pictures were -exhibited together; one of which, by J. C. Dolman, was the -temptation of St. Anthony. The Saint is on his knees praying. -Behind him stands a naked woman and animals of some -kind. It is apparent that the naked woman pleased the -artist very much, but that Anthony did not concern him at -all; and that, so far from the temptation being terrible to -him (the artist) it is highly agreeable. And therefore if -there be any art in this picture, it is very nasty and false. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>Next in the same book of academy pictures comes a picture -by Langley, showing a stray beggar boy, who has evidently -been called in by a woman who has taken pity on him. -The boy, pitifully drawing his bare feet under the bench, -is eating; the woman is looking on, probably considering -whether he will not want some more; and a girl of about -seven, leaning on her arm, is carefully and seriously looking -on, not taking her eyes from the hungry boy, and evidently -understanding for the first time what poverty is, and what -inequality among people is, and asking herself why she has -everything provided for her while this boy goes bare-foot -and hungry? She feels sorry and yet pleased. And she -loves both the boy and goodness.... And one feels that -the artist loved this girl, and that she too loves. And this -picture, by an artist who, I think, is not very widely known, -is an admirable and true work of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I remember seeing a performance of <i>Hamlet</i> by Rossi. -Both the tragedy itself and the performer who took the -chief part are considered by our critics to represent the -climax of supreme dramatic art. And yet, both from the -subject-matter of the drama and from the performance, I -experienced all the time that peculiar suffering which is -caused by false imitations of works of art. And I lately -read of a theatrical performance among the savage tribe the -Voguls. A spectator describes the play. A big Vogul and -a little one, both dressed in reindeer skins, represent a reindeer-doe -and its young. A third Vogul, with a bow, represents -a huntsman on snow-shoes, and a fourth imitates with -his voice a bird that warns the reindeer of their danger. The -play is that the huntsman follows the track that the doe -with its young one has travelled. The deer run off the -scene and again reappear. (Such performances take place -in a small tent-house.) The huntsman gains more and more -on the pursued. The little deer is tired, and presses against -its mother. The doe stops to draw breath. The hunter -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>comes up with them and draws his bow. But just then the -bird sounds its note, warning the deer of their danger. -They escape. Again there is a chase, and again the hunter -gains on them, catches them and lets fly his arrow. The -arrow strikes the young deer. Unable to run, the little one -presses against its mother. The mother licks its wound. -The hunter draws another arrow. The audience, as the -eye-witness describes them, are paralysed with suspense; -deep groans and even weeping is heard among them. And, -from the mere description, I felt that this was a true work -of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What I am saying will be considered irrational paradox, -at which one can only be amazed; but for all that I must -say what I think, namely, that people of our circle, of whom -some compose verses, stories, novels, operas, symphonies, -and sonatas, paint all kinds of pictures and make statues, -while others hear and look at these things, and again others -appraise and criticise it all, discuss, condemn, triumph, and -raise monuments to one another generation after generation,—that -all these people, with very few exceptions, artists, -and public, and critics, have never (except in childhood and -earliest youth, before hearing any discussions on art), experienced -that simple feeling familiar to the plainest man -and even to a child, that sense of infection with another’s -feeling,—compelling us to joy in another’s gladness, to -sorrow at another’s grief, and to mingle souls with another,—which -is the very essence of art. And therefore these -people not only cannot distinguish true works of art from -counterfeits, but continually mistake for real art the worst -and most artificial, while they do not even perceive works -of real art, because the counterfeits are always more ornate, -while true art is modest.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span> - <h2 id='chap15' class='c003'>CHAPTER XV</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>Art, in our society, has been so perverted that not only has -bad art come to be considered good, but even the very perception -of what art really is has been lost. In order to be -able to speak about the art of our society, it is, therefore, -first of all necessary to distinguish art from counterfeit art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>There is one indubitable indication distinguishing real -art from its counterfeit, namely, the infectiousness of art. -If a man, without exercising effort and without altering his -standpoint, on reading, hearing, or seeing another man’s -work, experiences a mental condition which unites him -with that man and with other people who also partake of -that work of art, then the object evoking that condition is -a work of art. And however poetical, realistic, effectful, or -interesting a work may be, it is not a work of art if it does -not evoke that feeling (quite distinct from all other feelings) -of joy, and of spiritual union with another (the author) and -with others (those who are also infected by it).</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is true that this indication is an <i>internal</i> one, and that -there are people who have forgotten what the action of real -art is, who expect something else from art (in our society -the great majority are in this state), and that therefore such -people may mistake for this æsthetic feeling the feeling of -divertisement and a certain excitement which they receive -from counterfeits of art. But though it is impossible to -undeceive these people, just as it is impossible to convince -a man suffering from “Daltonism” that green is not red, -yet, for all that, this indication remains perfectly definite -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>to those whose feeling for art is neither perverted nor -atrophied, and it clearly distinguishes the feeling produced -by art from all other feelings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The chief peculiarity of this feeling is that the receiver of -a true artistic impression is so united to the artist that he -feels as if the work were his own and not someone else’s,—as -if what it expresses were just what he had long been -wishing to express. A real work of art destroys, in the -consciousness of the receiver, the separation between himself -and the artist, nor that alone, but also between himself -and all whose minds receive this work of art. In this -freeing of our personality from its separation and isolation, -in this uniting of it with others, lies the chief characteristic -and the great attractive force of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If a man is infected by the author’s condition of soul, if -he feels this emotion and this union with others, then the -object which has effected this is art; but if there be no -such infection, if there be not this union with the author -and with others who are moved by the same work—then it -is not art. And not only is infection a sure sign of art, -but the degree of infectiousness is also the sole measure of -excellence in art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><i>The stronger the infection the better is the art, as art</i>, -speaking now apart from its subject-matter, <i>i.e.</i> not considering -the quality of the feelings it transmits.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the degree of the infectiousness of art depends on -three conditions:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>(1) On the greater or lesser individuality of the feeling -transmitted; (2) on the greater or lesser clearness with -which the feeling is transmitted; (3) on the sincerity of the -artist, <i>i.e.</i> on the greater or lesser force with which the artist -himself feels the emotion he transmits.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The more individual the feeling transmitted the more -strongly does it act on the receiver; the more individual -the state of soul into which he is transferred the more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>pleasure does the receiver obtain, and therefore the more -readily and strongly does he join in it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The clearness of expression assists infection, because the -receiver, who mingles in consciousness with the author, is -the better satisfied the more clearly the feeling is transmitted, -which, as it seems to him, he has long known and -felt, and for which he has only now found expression.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But most of all is the degree of infectiousness of art -increased by the degree of sincerity in the artist. As soon -as the spectator, hearer, or reader feels that the artist is -infected by his own production, and writes, sings, or plays -for himself and not merely to act on others, this mental condition -of the artist infects the receiver; and, contrariwise, -as soon as the spectator, reader, or hearer feels that the author -is not writing, singing, or playing for his own satisfaction,—does -not himself feel what he wishes to express,—but is doing -it for him, the receiver, a resistance immediately springs up, -and the most individual and the newest feelings and the -cleverest technique not only fail to produce any infection -but actually repel.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I have mentioned three conditions of contagiousness in -art, but they may all be summed up into one, the last, -sincerity, <i>i.e.</i> that the artist should be impelled by an inner -need to express his feeling. That condition includes the -first; for if the artist is sincere he will express the feeling -as he experienced it. And as each man is different from -everyone else, his feeling will be individual for everyone -else; and the more individual it is,—the more the artist -has drawn it from the depths of his nature,—the more -sympathetic and sincere will it be. And this same sincerity -will impel the artist to find a clear expression of the feeling -which he wishes to transmit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Therefore this third condition—sincerity—is the most -important of the three. It is always complied with in -peasant art, and this explains why such art always acts so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>powerfully; but it is a condition almost entirely absent -from our upper-class art, which is continually produced by -artists actuated by personal aims of covetousness or vanity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such are the three conditions which divide art from its -counterfeits, and which also decide the quality of every -work of art apart from its subject-matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The absence of any one of these conditions excludes a -work from the category of art and relegates it to that of -art’s counterfeits. If the work does not transmit the -artist’s peculiarity of feeling, and is therefore not individual, -if it is unintelligibly expressed, or if it has not proceeded -from the author’s inner need for expression—it is not a -work of art. If all these conditions are present, even in -the smallest degree, then the work, even if a weak one, is -yet a work of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The presence in various degrees of these three conditions: -individuality, clearness, and sincerity, decides the merit of -a work of art, as art, apart from subject-matter. All works -of art take rank of merit according to the degree in which -they fulfil the first, the second, and the third of these conditions. -In one the individuality of the feeling transmitted -may predominate; in another, clearness of expression; in a -third, sincerity; while a fourth may have sincerity and -individuality but be deficient in clearness; a fifth, individuality -and clearness, but less sincerity; and so forth, in all -possible degrees and combinations.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thus is art divided from not art, and thus is the quality -of art, as art, decided, independently of its subject-matter, -<i>i.e.</i> apart from whether the feelings it transmits are good or -bad.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But how are we to define good and bad art with reference -to its subject-matter?</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span> - <h2 id='chap16' class='c003'>CHAPTER XVI</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>How in art are we to decide what is good and what is -bad in subject-matter?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art, like speech, is a means of communication, and -therefore of progress, <i>i.e.</i> of the movement of humanity -forward towards perfection. Speech renders accessible to -men of the latest generations all the knowledge discovered -by the experience and reflection, both of preceding generations -and of the best and foremost men of their own times; -art renders accessible to men of the latest generations all -the feelings experienced by their predecessors, and those -also which are being felt by their best and foremost contemporaries. -And as the evolution of knowledge proceeds -by truer and more necessary knowledge dislodging and -replacing what is mistaken and unnecessary, so the evolution -of feeling proceeds through art,—feelings less kind and -less needful for the well-being of mankind are replaced by -others kinder and more needful for that end. That is the -purpose of art. And, speaking now of its subject-matter, -the more art fulfils that purpose the better the art, and the -less it fulfils it the worse the art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the appraisement of feelings (<i>i.e.</i> the acknowledgment -of these or those feelings as being more or less good, more -or less necessary for the well-being of mankind) is made by -the religious perception of the age.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In every period of history, and in every human society, -there exists an understanding of the meaning of life which -represents the highest level to which men of that society -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>have attained,—an understanding defining the highest good -at which that society aims. And this understanding is the -religious perception of the given time and society. And -this religious perception is always clearly expressed by some -advanced men, and more or less vividly perceived by all the -members of the society. Such a religious perception and its -corresponding expression exists always in every society. If -it appears to us that in our society there is no religious -perception, this is not because there really is none, but only -because we do not want to see it. And we often wish not -to see it because it exposes the fact that our life is inconsistent -with that religious perception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Religious perception in a society is like the direction of -a flowing river. If the river flows at all, it must have -a direction. If a society lives, there must be a religious -perception indicating the direction in which, more or less -consciously, all its members tend.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And so there always has been, and there is, a religious -perception in every society. And it is by the standard of -this religious perception that the feelings transmitted by art -have always been estimated. Only on the basis of this -religious perception of their age have men always chosen from -the endlessly varied spheres of art that art which transmitted -feelings making religious perception operative in actual life. -And such art has always been highly valued and encouraged; -while art transmitting feelings already outlived, flowing from -the antiquated religious perceptions of a former age, has -always been condemned and despised. All the rest of art, -transmitting those most diverse feelings by means of which -people commune together, was not condemned, and was -tolerated, if only it did not transmit feelings contrary to -religious perception. Thus, for instance, among the Greeks, -art transmitting the feeling of beauty, strength, and courage -(Hesiod, Homer, Phidias) was chosen, approved, and encouraged; -while art transmitting feelings of rude sensuality, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>despondency, and effeminacy was condemned and despised. -Among the Jews, art transmitting feelings of devotion and -submission to the God of the Hebrews and to His will (the -epic of Genesis, the prophets, the Psalms) was chosen and -encouraged, while art transmitting feelings of idolatry (the -golden calf) was condemned and despised. All the rest of -art—stories, songs, dances, ornamentation of houses, of -utensils, and of clothes—which was not contrary to religious -perception, was neither distinguished nor discussed. Thus, -in regard to its subject-matter, has art been appraised always -and everywhere, and thus it should be appraised, for this -attitude towards art proceeds from the fundamental characteristics -of human nature, and those characteristics do not -change.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I know that according to an opinion current in our times, -religion is a superstition, which humanity has outgrown, and -that it is therefore assumed that no such thing exists as a -religious perception common to us all by which art, in our -time, can be estimated. I know that this is the opinion -current in the pseudo-cultured circles of to-day. People -who do not acknowledge Christianity in its true meaning -because it undermines all their social privileges, and who, -therefore, invent all kinds of philosophic and æsthetic theories -to hide from themselves the meaninglessness and wrongness -of their lives, cannot think otherwise. These people intentionally, -or sometimes unintentionally, confusing the conception -of a religious cult with the conception of religious -perception, think that by denying the cult they get rid of -religious perception. But even the very attacks on religion, -and the attempts to establish a life-conception contrary to -the religious perception of our times, most clearly demonstrate -the existence of a religious perception condemning -the lives that are not in harmony with it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If humanity progresses, <i>i.e.</i> moves forward, there must -inevitably be a guide to the direction of that movement. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>And religions have always furnished that guide. All -history shows that the progress of humanity is accomplished -not otherwise than under the guidance of religion. But if -the race cannot progress without the guidance of religion,—and -progress is always going on, and consequently -also in our own times,—then there must be a religion -of our times. So that, whether it pleases or displeases -the so-called cultured people of to-day, they must admit -the existence of religion—not of a religious cult, Catholic, -Protestant, or another, but of religious perception—which, -even in our times, is the guide always present where -there is any progress. And if a religious perception exists -amongst us, then our art should be appraised on the -basis of that religious perception; and, as has always -and everywhere been the case, art transmitting feelings -flowing from the religious perception of our time should -be chosen from all the indifferent art, should be acknowledged, -highly esteemed, and encouraged; while art running -counter to that perception should be condemned and -despised, and all the remaining indifferent art should -neither be distinguished nor encouraged.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The religious perception of our time, in its widest and -most practical application, is the consciousness that our well-being, -both material and spiritual, individual and collective, -temporal and eternal, lies in the growth of brotherhood -among all men—in their loving harmony with one another. -This perception is not only expressed by Christ and all the -best men of past ages, it is not only repeated in the most -varied forms and from most diverse sides by the best men -of our own times, but it already serves as a clue to all the -complex labour of humanity, consisting as this labour does, -on the one hand, in the destruction of physical and moral -obstacles to the union of men, and, on the other hand, in -establishing the principles common to all men which can -and should unite them into one universal brotherhood. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>And it is on the basis of this perception that we should -appraise all the phenomena of our life, and, among the rest, -our art also; choosing from all its realms whatever transmits -feelings flowing from this religious perception, highly prizing -and encouraging such art, rejecting whatever is contrary to -this perception, and not attributing to the rest of art an -importance not properly pertaining to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The chief mistake made by people of the upper classes -of the time of the so-called Renaissance,—a mistake which -we still perpetuate,—was not that they ceased to value and -to attach importance to religious art (people of that period -could not attach importance to it, because, like our own -upper classes, they could not believe in what the majority -considered to be religion), but their mistake was that they -set up in place of religious art which was lacking, an -insignificant art which aimed only at giving pleasure, <i>i.e.</i> -they began to choose, to value, and to encourage, in place -of religious art, something which, in any case, did not deserve -such esteem and encouragement.</p> - -<p class='c005'>One of the Fathers of the Church said that the great -evil is not that men do not know God, but that they have -set up, instead of God, that which is not God. So also with -art. The great misfortune of the people of the upper -classes of our time is not so much that they are without a -religious art, as that, instead of a supreme religious art, -chosen from all the rest as being specially important and -valuable, they have chosen a most insignificant and, usually, -harmful art, which aims at pleasing certain people, and -which, therefore, if only by its exclusive nature, stands in -contradiction to that Christian principle of universal union -which forms the religious perception of our time. Instead -of religious art, an empty and often vicious art is set up, -and this hides from men’s notice the need of that true -religious art which should be present in life in order to -improve it.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>It is true that art which satisfies the demands of the -religious perception of our time is quite unlike former -art, but, notwithstanding this dissimilarity, to a man -who does not intentionally hide the truth from himself, -it is very clear and definite what does form the religious -art of our age. In former times, when the highest -religious perception united only some people (who, even -if they formed a large society, were yet but one -society surrounded by others—Jews, or Athenian or Roman -citizens), the feelings transmitted by the art of that time -flowed from a desire for the might, greatness, glory, and -prosperity of that society, and the heroes of art might be -people who contributed to that prosperity by strength, by -craft, by fraud, or by cruelty (Ulysses, Jacob, David, Samson, -Hercules, and all the heroes). But the religious perception -of our times does not select any one society of men; on -the contrary, it demands the union of all—absolutely of all -people without exception—and above every other virtue it -sets brotherly love to all men. And, therefore, the feelings -transmitted by the art of our time not only cannot coincide -with the feelings transmitted by former art, but must run -counter to them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Christian, truly Christian, art has been so long in establishing -itself, and has not yet established itself, just because the -Christian religious perception was not one of those small -steps by which humanity advances regularly; but was an -enormous revolution, which, if it has not already altered, -must inevitably alter the entire life-conception of mankind, -and, consequently, the whole internal organisation of their -life. It is true that the life of humanity, like that of an -individual, moves regularly; but in that regular movement -come, as it were, turning-points, which sharply divide the -preceding from the subsequent life. Christianity was such -a turning-point; such, at least, it must appear to us who -live by the Christian perception of life. Christian perception -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>gave another, a new direction to all human feelings, and -therefore completely altered both the contents and the -significance of art. The Greeks could make use of Persian -art and the Romans could use Greek art, or, similarly, the -Jews could use Egyptian art,—the fundamental ideals -were one and the same. Now the ideal was the greatness -and prosperity of the Persians, now the greatness -and prosperity of the Greeks, now that of the Romans. -The same art was transferred into other conditions, and -served new nations. But the Christian ideal changed -and reversed everything, so that, as the Gospel puts it, -“That which was exalted among men has become an -abomination in the sight of God.” The ideal is no longer -the greatness of Pharaoh or of a Roman emperor, not the -beauty of a Greek nor the wealth of Phœnicia, but humility, -purity, compassion, love. The hero is no longer Dives, but -Lazarus the beggar; not Mary Magdalene in the day of her -beauty, but in the day of her repentance; not those who -acquire wealth, but those who have abandoned it; not those -who dwell in palaces, but those who dwell in catacombs and -huts; not those who rule over others, but those who -acknowledge no authority but God’s. And the greatest -work of art is no longer a cathedral of victory<a id='r84' /><a href='#f84' class='c008'><sup>[84]</sup></a> with statues -of conquerors, but the representation of a human soul -so transformed by love that a man who is tormented and -murdered yet pities and loves his persecutors.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the change is so great that men of the Christian -world find it difficult to resist the inertia of the heathen -art to which they have been accustomed all their lives. The -subject-matter of Christian religious art is so new to them, -so unlike the subject-matter of former art, that it seems to -them as though Christian art were a denial of art, and they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>cling desperately to the old art. But this old art, having -no longer, in our day, any source in religious perception, -has lost its meaning, and we shall have to abandon it -whether we wish to or not.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The essence of the Christian perception consists in the -recognition by every man of his sonship to God, and of the -consequent union of men with God and with one another, -as is said in the Gospel (John xvii. 21<a id='r85' /><a href='#f85' class='c008'><sup>[85]</sup></a>). Therefore the -subject-matter of Christian art is such feeling as can unite -men with God and with one another.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The expression <i>unite men with God and with one -another</i> may seem obscure to people accustomed to the -misuse of these words which is so customary, but the words -have a perfectly clear meaning nevertheless. They indicate -that the Christian union of man (in contradiction to the -partial, exclusive union of only some men) is that which -unites all without exception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art, all art, has this characteristic, that it unites -people. Every art causes those to whom the artist’s -feeling is transmitted to unite in soul with the artist, and -also with all who receive the same impression. But non-Christian -art, while uniting some people together, makes -that very union a cause of separation between these united -people and others; so that union of this kind is often a -source, not only of division, but even of enmity towards -others. Such is all patriotic art, with its anthems, poems, -and monuments; such is all Church art, <i>i.e.</i> the art of -certain cults, with their images, statues, processions, and -other local ceremonies. Such art is belated and non-Christian -art, uniting the people of one cult only to -separate them yet more sharply from the members of other -cults, and even to place them in relations of hostility to -each other. Christian art is only such as tends to unite all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>without exception, either by evoking in them the perception -that each man and all men stand in like relation -towards God and towards their neighbour, or by evoking in -them identical feelings, which may even be the very simplest -provided only that they are not repugnant to Christianity -and are natural to everyone without exception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Good Christian art of our time may be unintelligible to -people because of imperfections in its form, or because men -are inattentive to it, but it must be such that all men can -experience the feelings it transmits. It must be the art, -not of some one group of people, nor of one class, nor of -one nationality, nor of one religious cult; that is, it must -not transmit feelings which are accessible only to a man -educated in a certain way, or only to an aristocrat, or a -merchant, or only to a Russian, or a native of Japan, -or a Roman Catholic, or a Buddhist, etc., but it must -transmit feelings accessible to everyone. Only art of -this kind can be acknowledged in our time to be good -art, worthy of being chosen out from all the rest of art -and encouraged.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Christian art, <i>i.e.</i> the art of our time, should be catholic -in the original meaning of the word, <i>i.e.</i> universal, and -therefore it should unite all men. And only two kinds -of feeling do unite all men: first, feelings flowing from the -perception of our sonship to God and of the brotherhood -of man; and next, the simple feelings of common life, -accessible to everyone without exception—such as the -feeling of merriment, of pity, of cheerfulness, of tranquillity, -etc. Only these two kinds of feelings can now -supply material for art good in its subject-matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the action of these two kinds of art, apparently so -dissimilar, is one and the same. The feelings flowing from -perception of our sonship to God and of the brotherhood -of man—such as a feeling of sureness in truth, devotion to -the will of God, self-sacrifice, respect for and love of man—evoked -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>by Christian religious perception; and the simplest -feelings—such as a softened or a merry mood caused by -a song or an amusing jest intelligible to everyone, or by -a touching story, or a drawing, or a little doll: both alike -produce one and the same effect—the loving union of man -with man. Sometimes people who are together are, if not -hostile to one another, at least estranged in mood and -feeling, till perchance a story, a performance, a picture, or -even a building, but oftenest of all music, unites them all -as by an electric flash, and, in place of their former isolation -or even enmity, they are all conscious of union and mutual -love. Each is glad that another feels what he feels; glad -of the communion established, not only between him and -all present, but also with all now living who will yet share -the same impression; and more than that, he feels the -mysterious gladness of a communion which, reaching beyond -the grave, unites us with all men of the past who have -been moved by the same feelings, and with all men of the -future who will yet be touched by them. And this effect -is produced both by the religious art which transmits -feelings of love to God and one’s neighbour, and by universal -art transmitting the very simplest feelings common to all -men.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The art of our time should be appraised differently from -former art chiefly in this, that the art of our time, <i>i.e.</i> -Christian art (basing itself on a religious perception which -demands the union of man), excludes from the domain of -art good in subject-matter everything transmitting exclusive -feelings, which do not unite but divide men. It relegates -such work to the category of art bad in its subject-matter, -while, on the other hand, it includes in the category of art -good in subject-matter a section not formerly admitted to -deserve to be chosen out and respected, namely, universal -art transmitting even the most trifling and simple feelings -if only they are accessible to all men without exception, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>and therefore unite them. Such art cannot, in our time, -but be esteemed good, for it attains the end which the -religious perception of our time, <i>i.e.</i> Christianity, sets before -humanity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Christian art either evokes in men those feelings which, -through love of God and of one’s neighbour, draw them -to greater and ever greater union, and make them ready -for and capable of such union; or evokes in them those -feelings which show them that they are already united in -the joys and sorrows of life. And therefore the Christian -art of our time can be and is of two kinds: (1) art transmitting -feelings flowing from a religious perception of -man’s position in the world in relation to God and to his -neighbour—religious art in the limited meaning of the -term; and (2) art transmitting the simplest feelings of -common life, but such, always, as are accessible to all men -in the whole world—the art of common life—the art of a -people—universal art. Only these two kinds of art can be -considered good art in our time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first, religious art,—transmitting both positive feelings -of love to God and one’s neighbour, and negative feelings of -indignation and horror at the violation of love,—manifests -itself chiefly in the form of words, and to some extent also -in painting and sculpture: the second kind (universal art) -transmitting feelings accessible to all, manifests itself in -words, in painting, in sculpture, in dances, in architecture, -and, most of all, in music.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If I were asked to give modern examples of each of these -kinds of art, then, as examples of the highest art, flowing -from love of God and man (both of the higher, positive, and -of the lower, negative kind), in literature I should name -<i>The Robbers</i> by Schiller: Victor Hugo’s <i>Les Pauvres Gens</i> -and <i>Les Misérables</i>: the novels and stories of Dickens—<i>The -Tale of Two Cities</i>, <i>The Christmas Carol</i>, <i>The Chimes</i>, -and others: <i>Uncle Tom’s Cabin</i>: Dostoievsky’s works—especially -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>his <i>Memoirs from the House of Death</i>: and <i>Adam -Bede</i> by George Eliot.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In modern painting, strange to say, works of this kind, -directly transmitting the Christian feeling of love of God -and of one’s neighbour, are hardly to be found, especially -among the works of the celebrated painters. There are -plenty of pictures treating of the Gospel stories; they, however, -depict historical events with great wealth of detail, but -do not, and cannot, transmit religious feeling not possessed -by their painters. There are many pictures treating of the -personal feelings of various people, but of pictures representing -great deeds of self-sacrifice and of Christian love -there are very few, and what there are are principally by -artists who are not celebrated, and are, for the most part, -not pictures but merely sketches. Such, for instance, is the -drawing by Kramskoy (worth many of his finished pictures), -showing a drawing-room with a balcony, past which troops -are marching in triumph on their return from the war. On -the balcony stands a wet-nurse holding a baby and a boy. -They are admiring the procession of the troops, but the -mother, covering her face with a handkerchief, has fallen -back on the sofa, sobbing. Such also is the picture by -Walter Langley, to which I have already referred, and such -again is a picture by the French artist Morion, depicting -a lifeboat hastening, in a heavy storm, to the relief of a -steamer that is being wrecked. Approaching these in kind -are pictures which represent the hard-working peasant -with respect and love. Such are the pictures by Millet, -and, particularly, his drawing, “The Man with the Hoe,” -also pictures in this style by Jules Breton, L’Hermitte, -Defregger, and others. As examples of pictures evoking -indignation and horror at the violation of love to God -and man, Gay’s picture, “Judgment,” may serve, and also -Leizen-Mayer’s, “Signing the Death Warrant.” But there -are also very few of this kind. Anxiety about the technique -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>and the beauty of the picture for the most part obscures the -feeling. For instance, Gérôme’s “Pollice Verso” expresses, -not so much horror at what is being perpetrated as attraction -by the beauty of the spectacle.<a id='r86' /><a href='#f86' class='c008'><sup>[86]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>To give examples, from the modern art of our upper -classes, of art of the second kind, good universal art or even -of the art of a whole people, is yet more difficult, especially -in literary art and music. If there are some works which -by their inner contents might be assigned to this class -(such as <i>Don Quixote</i>, Molière’s comedies, <i>David Copperfield</i> -and <i>The Pickwick Papers</i> by Dickens, Gogol’s and Pushkin’s -tales, and some things of Maupassant’s), these works are for -the most part—from the exceptional nature of the feelings -they transmit, and the superfluity of special details of time -and locality, and, above all, on account of the poverty of their -subject-matter in comparison with examples of universal -ancient art (such, for instance, as the story of Joseph)—comprehensible -only to people of their own circle. That -Joseph’s brethren, being jealous of his father’s affection, sell -him to the merchants; that Potiphar’s wife wishes to tempt -the youth; that having attained the highest station, he takes -pity on his brothers, including Benjamin the favourite,—these -and all the rest are feelings accessible alike to a -Russian peasant, a Chinese, an African, a child, or an old -man, educated or uneducated; and it is all written with -such restraint, is so free from any superfluous detail, that -the story may be told to any circle and will be equally -comprehensible and touching to everyone. But not such are -the feelings of Don Quixote or of Molière’s heroes (though -Molière is perhaps the most universal, and therefore the -most excellent, artist of modern times), nor of Pickwick -and his friends. These feelings are not common to all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>men but very exceptional, and therefore, to make them -infectious, the authors have surrounded them with abundant -details of time and place. And this abundance of detail -makes the stories difficult of comprehension to all people -not living within reach of the conditions described by the -author.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The author of the novel of Joseph did not need to -describe in detail, as would be done nowadays, the bloodstained -coat of Joseph, the dwelling and dress of Jacob, the -pose and attire of Potiphar’s wife, and how, adjusting the -bracelet on her left arm, she said, “Come to me,” and so on, -because the subject-matter of feelings in this novel is so -strong that all details, except the most essential,—such as -that Joseph went out into another room to weep,—are -superfluous, and would only hinder the transmission of -feelings. And therefore this novel is accessible to all men, -touches people of all nations and classes, young and old, -and has lasted to our times, and will yet last for thousands -of years to come. But strip the best novels of our times of -their details, and what will remain?</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is therefore impossible in modern literature to indicate -works fully satisfying the demands of universality. Such -works as exist are, to a great extent, spoilt by what is -usually called “realism,” but would be better termed -“provincialism,” in art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In music the same occurs as in verbal art, and for similar -reasons. In consequence of the poorness of the feeling -they contain, the melodies of the modern composers are -amazingly empty and insignificant. And to strengthen -the impression produced by these empty melodies, the new -musicians pile complex modulations on to each trivial melody, -not only in their own national manner, but also in the way -characteristic of their own exclusive circle and particular -musical school. Melody—every melody—is free, and may -be understood of all men; but as soon as it is bound up -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>with a particular harmony, it ceases to be accessible except -to people trained to such harmony, and it becomes strange, -not only to common men of another nationality, but to -all who do not belong to the circle whose members have -accustomed themselves to certain forms of harmonisation. -So that music, like poetry, travels in a vicious circle. -Trivial and exclusive melodies, in order to make them attractive, -are laden with harmonic, rhythmic, and orchestral complications, -and thus become yet more exclusive, and far -from being universal are not even national, <i>i.e.</i> they are not -comprehensible to the whole people but only to some -people.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In music, besides marches and dances by various composers, -which satisfy the demands of universal art, one can indicate -very few works of this class: Bach’s famous violin <i>aria</i>, -Chopin’s nocturne in E flat major, and perhaps a dozen bits -(not whole pieces, but parts) selected from the works of -Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, and Chopin.<a id='r87' /><a href='#f87' class='c008'><sup>[87]</sup></a></p> - -<p class='c005'>Although in painting the same thing is repeated as in -poetry and in music,—namely, that in order to make them -more interesting, works weak in conception are surrounded -by minutely studied accessories of time and place, which -give them a temporary and local interest but make them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>less universal,—still, in painting, more than in the other -spheres of art, may be found works satisfying the demands -of universal Christian art; that is to say, there are more -works expressing feelings in which all men may participate.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the arts of painting and sculpture, all pictures and -statues in so-called genre style, depictions of animals, -landscapes and caricatures with subjects comprehensible -to everyone, and also all kinds of ornaments, are universal -in subject-matter. Such productions in painting and -sculpture are very numerous (<i>e.g.</i> china dolls), but for -the most part such objects (for instance, ornaments of all -kinds) are either not considered to be art or are considered -to be art of a low quality. In reality all such -objects, if only they transmit a true feeling experienced -by the artist and comprehensible to everyone (however -insignificant it may seem to us to be) are works of real, -good, Christian art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I fear it will here be urged against me that having denied -that the conception of beauty can supply a standard for -works of art, I contradict myself by acknowledging ornaments -to be works of good art. The reproach is unjust, for -the subject-matter of all kinds of ornamentation consists not -in the beauty, but in the feeling (of admiration of, and -delight in, the combination of lines and colours) which the -artist has experienced and with which he infects the -spectator. Art remains what it was and what it must be: -nothing but the infection by one man of another, or of -others, with the feelings experienced by the infector. -Among those feelings is the feeling of delight at what -pleases the sight. Objects pleasing the sight may be such -as please a small or a large number of people, or such as -please all men. And ornaments for the most part are of -the latter kind. A landscape representing a very unusual -view, or a genre picture of a special subject, may not -please everyone, but ornaments, from Yakutsk ornaments to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>Greek ones, are intelligible to everyone and evoke a similar -feeling of admiration in all, and therefore this despised -kind of art should, in Christian society, be esteemed far -above exceptional, pretentious pictures and sculptures.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that there are only two kinds of good Christian art: -all the rest of art not comprised in these two divisions -should be acknowledged to be bad art, deserving not to be -encouraged but to be driven out, denied and despised, as -being art not uniting but dividing people. Such, in literary -art, are all novels and poems which transmit Church or -patriotic feelings, and also exclusive feelings pertaining only -to the class of the idle rich; such as aristocratic honour, -satiety, spleen, pessimism, and refined and vicious feelings -flowing from sex-love—quite incomprehensible to the great -majority of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In painting we must similarly place in the class of bad -art all the Church, patriotic, and exclusive pictures; all -the pictures representing the amusements and allurements -of a rich and idle life; all the so-called symbolic pictures, in -which the very meaning of the symbol is comprehensible -only to the people of a certain circle; and, above all, pictures -with voluptuous subjects—all that odious female nudity -which fills all the exhibitions and galleries. And to this -class belongs almost all the chamber and opera music of our -times,—beginning especially from Beethoven (Schumann, -Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner),—by its subject-matter devoted to -the expression of feelings accessible only to people who -have developed in themselves an unhealthy, nervous irritation -evoked by this exclusive, artificial, and complex -music.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“What! the <i>Ninth Symphony</i> not a good work of art!” -I hear exclaimed by indignant voices.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And I reply: Most certainly it is not. All that I have -written I have written with the sole purpose of finding -a clear and reasonable criterion by which to judge the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>merits of works of art. And this criterion, coinciding -with the indications of plain and sane sense, indubitably -shows me that that symphony by Beethoven is not a -good work of art. Of course, to people educated in the -adoration of certain productions and of their authors, to -people whose taste has been perverted just by being educated -in such adoration, the acknowledgment that such a celebrated -work is bad is amazing and strange. But how are -we to escape the indications of reason and of common sense?</p> - -<p class='c005'>Beethoven’s <i>Ninth Symphony</i> is considered a great work -of art. To verify its claim to be such, I must first ask myself -whether this work transmits the highest religious feeling? -I reply in the negative, for music in itself cannot transmit -those feelings; and therefore I ask myself next, Since this -work does not belong to the highest kind of religious art, -has it the other characteristic of the good art of our time,—the -quality of uniting all men in one common feeling: -does it rank as Christian universal art? And again I have -no option but to reply in the negative; for not only do I -not see how the feelings transmitted by this work could -unite people not specially trained to submit themselves to -its complex hypnotism, but I am unable to imagine to -myself a crowd of normal people who could understand -anything of this long, confused, and artificial production, -except short snatches which are lost in a sea of what is -incomprehensible. And therefore, whether I like it or not, I -am compelled to conclude that this work belongs to the -rank of bad art. It is curious to note in this connection, -that attached to the end of this very symphony is a poem -of Schiller’s which (though somewhat obscurely) expresses -this very thought, namely, that feeling (Schiller speaks -only of the feeling of gladness) unites people and evokes -love in them. But though this poem is sung at the end of -the symphony, the music does not accord with the thought -expressed in the verses; for the music is exclusive and does -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>not unite all men, but unites only a few, dividing them off -from the rest of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And, just in this same way, in all branches of art, many -and many works considered great by the upper classes of our -society will have to be judged. By this one sure criterion -we shall have to judge the celebrated <i>Divine Comedy</i> and -<i>Jerusalem Delivered</i>, and a great part of Shakespeare’s and -Goethe’s works, and in painting every representation of -miracles, including Raphael’s “Transfiguration,” etc.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Whatever the work may be and however it may have -been extolled, we have first to ask whether this work is one -of real art or a counterfeit. Having acknowledged, on the -basis of the indication of its infectiousness even to a small -class of people, that a certain production belongs to the -realm of art, it is necessary, on the basis of the indication -of its accessibility, to decide the next question, Does this -work belong to the category of bad, exclusive art, opposed -to religious perception, or to Christian art, uniting people? -And having acknowledged an article to belong to real -Christian art, we must then, according to whether it -transmits the feelings flowing from love to God and man, -or merely the simple feelings uniting all men, assign it a -place in the ranks of religious art or in those of universal art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Only on the basis of such verification shall we find it -possible to select from the whole mass of what, in our -society, claims to be art, those works which form real, -important, necessary spiritual food, and to separate them -from all the harmful and useless art, and from the counterfeits -of art which surround us. Only on the basis of such -verification shall we be able to rid ourselves of the pernicious -results of harmful art, and to avail ourselves of that beneficent -action which is the purpose of true and good art, and -which is indispensable for the spiritual life of man and of -humanity.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span> - <h2 id='chap17' class='c003'>CHAPTER XVII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>Art is one of two organs of human progress. By words man -interchanges thoughts, by the forms of art he interchanges -feelings, and this with all men, not only of the present -time, but also of the past and the future. It is natural to -human beings to employ both these organs of intercommunication, -and therefore the perversion of either of them -must cause evil results to the society in which it occurs. -And these results will be of two kinds: first, the absence, -in that society, of the work which should be performed by -the organ; and secondly, the harmful activity of the perverted -organ. And just these results have shown themselves -in our society. The organ of art has been perverted, -and therefore the upper classes of society have, to a great -extent, been deprived of the work that it should have -performed. The diffusion in our society of enormous -quantities of, on the one hand, those counterfeits of art -which only serve to amuse and corrupt people, and, on -the other hand, of works of insignificant, exclusive art, -mistaken for the highest art, have perverted most men’s -capacity to be infected by true works of art, and have -thus deprived them of the possibility of experiencing the -highest feelings to which mankind has attained, and which -can only be transmitted from man to man by art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>All the best that has been done in art by man remains -strange to people who lack the capacity to be infected by -art, and is replaced either by spurious counterfeits of art -or by insignificant art, which they mistake for real art. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>People of our time and of our society are delighted with -Baudelaires, Verlaines, Moréases, Ibsens, and Maeterlincks -in poetry; with Monets, Manets, Puvis de Chavannes, -Burne-Joneses, Stucks, and Böcklins in painting; with -Wagners, Listzs, Richard Strausses, in music; and they -are no longer capable of comprehending either the highest -or the simplest art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the upper classes, in consequence of this loss of -capacity to be infected by works of art, people grow up, are -educated, and live, lacking the fertilising, improving influence -of art, and therefore not only do not advance towards -perfection, do not become kinder, but, on the contrary, -possessing highly-developed external means of civilisation, -they yet tend to become continually more savage, more -coarse, and more cruel.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such is the result of the absence from our society of the -activity of that essential organ—art. But the consequences -of the perverted activity of that organ are yet more harmful. -And they are numerous.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first consequence, plain for all to see, is the enormous -expenditure of the labour of working people on things which -are not only useless, but which, for the most part, are harmful; -and more than that, the waste of priceless human lives -on this unnecessary and harmful business. It is terrible to -consider with what intensity, and amid what privations, -millions of people—who lack time and opportunity to attend -to what they and their families urgently require—labour -for 10, 12, or 14 hours on end, and even at night, setting -the type for pseudo-artistic books which spread vice among -mankind, or working for theatres, concerts, exhibitions, and -picture galleries, which, for the most part, also serve vice; -but it is yet more terrible to reflect that lively, kindly -children, capable of all that is good, are devoted from their -early years to such tasks as these: that for 6, 8, or 10 -hours a day, and for 10 or 15 years, some of them should -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>play scales and exercises; others should twist their limbs, -walk on their toes, and lift their legs above their heads; -a third set should sing solfeggios; a fourth set, showing -themselves off in all manner of ways, should pronounce -verses; a fifth set should draw from busts or from nude -models and paint studies; a sixth set should write compositions -according to the rules of certain periods; and that -in these occupations, unworthy of a human being, which are -often continued long after full maturity, they should waste -their physical and mental strength and lose all perception -of the meaning of life. It is often said that it is horrible -and pitiful to see little acrobats putting their legs over -their necks, but it is not less pitiful to see children of 10 -giving concerts, and it is still worse to see schoolboys of -10 who, as a preparation for literary work, have learnt by -heart the exceptions to the Latin grammar. These people not -only grow physically and mentally deformed, but also morally -deformed, and become incapable of doing anything really -needed by man. Occupying in society the rôle of amusers of -the rich, they lose their sense of human dignity, and develop -in themselves such a passion for public applause that they -are always a prey to an inflated and unsatisfied vanity -which grows in them to diseased dimensions, and they expend -their mental strength in efforts to obtain satisfaction -for this passion. And what is most tragic of all is that -these people, who for the sake of art are spoilt for life, -not only do not render service to this art, but, on the -contrary, inflict the greatest harm on it. They are taught -in academies, schools, and conservatoires how to counterfeit -art, and by learning this they so pervert themselves that -they quite lose the capacity to produce works of real art, -and become purveyors of that counterfeit, or trivial, or -depraved art which floods our society. This is the first -obvious consequence of the perversion of the organ of -art.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>The second consequence is that the productions of amusement-art, -which are prepared in such terrific quantities by -the armies of professional artists, enable the rich people of -our times to live the lives they do, lives not only unnatural -but in contradiction to the humane principles these people -themselves profess. To live as do the rich, idle people, -especially the women, far from nature and from animals, -in artificial conditions, with muscles atrophied or misdeveloped -by gymnastics, and with enfeebled vital energy -would be impossible were it not for what is called art—for -this occupation and amusement which hides from them -the meaninglessness of their lives, and saves them from -the dulness that oppresses them. Take from all these -people the theatres, concerts, exhibitions, piano-playing, -songs, and novels, with which they now fill their time -in full confidence that occupation with these things is -a very refined, æsthetical, and therefore good occupation; -take from the patrons of art who buy pictures, assist -musicians, and are acquainted with writers, their rôle of -protectors of that important matter art, and they will -not be able to continue such a life, but will all be eaten -up by ennui and spleen, and will become conscious of -the meaninglessness and wrongness of their present mode -of life. Only occupation with what, among them, is considered -art, renders it possible for them to continue to -live on, infringing all natural conditions, without perceiving -the emptiness and cruelty of their lives. And this -support afforded to the false manner of life pursued by -the rich is the second consequence, and a serious one, of -the perversion of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The third consequence of the perversion of art is the -perplexity produced in the minds of children and of plain -folk. Among people not perverted by the false theories -of our society, among workers and children, there exists a -very definite conception of what people may be respected -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>and praised for. In the minds of peasants and children -the ground for praise or eulogy can only be either physical -strength: Hercules, the heroes and conquerors; or moral, -spiritual, strength: Sakya Muni giving up a beautiful wife -and a kingdom to save mankind, Christ going to the -cross for the truth he professed, and all the martyrs -and the saints. Both are understood by peasants and -children. They understand that physical strength must be -respected, for it compels respect; and the moral strength -of goodness an unperverted man cannot fail to respect, -because all his spiritual being draws him towards it. But -these people, children and peasants, suddenly perceive that -besides those praised, respected, and rewarded for physical or -moral strength, there are others who are praised, extolled, -and rewarded much more than the heroes of strength and -virtue, merely because they sing well, compose verses, or -dance. They see that singers, composers, painters, ballet-dancers, -earn millions of roubles and receive more honour -than the saints do: and peasants and children are perplexed.</p> - -<p class='c005'>When 50 years had elapsed after Pushkin’s death, and, -simultaneously, the cheap edition of his works began to -circulate among the people and a monument was erected to -him in Moscow, I received more than a dozen letters from -different peasants asking why Pushkin was raised to such -dignity? And only the other day a literate<a id='r88' /><a href='#f88' class='c008'><sup>[88]</sup></a> man from -Saratoff called on me who had evidently gone out of his -mind over this very question. He was on his way to -Moscow to expose the clergy for having taken part in -raising a “monament” to Mr. Pushkin.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Indeed one need only imagine to oneself what the state of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>mind of such a man of the people must be when he learns, -from such rumours and newspapers as reach him, that the -clergy, the Government officials, and all the best people in -Russia are triumphantly unveiling a statue to a great man, -the benefactor, the pride of Russia—Pushkin, of whom till -then he had never heard. From all sides he reads or hears -about this, and he naturally supposes that if such honours -are rendered to anyone, then without doubt he must have -done something extraordinary—either some feat of strength -or of goodness. He tries to learn who Pushkin was, and -having discovered that Pushkin was neither a hero nor a -general, but was a private person and a writer, he comes to -the conclusion that Pushkin must have been a holy man -and a teacher of goodness, and he hastens to read or to hear -his life and works. But what must be his perplexity when -he learns that Pushkin was a man of more than easy -morals, who was killed in a duel, <i>i.e.</i> when attempting -to murder another man, and that all his service consisted -in writing verses about love, which were often very -indecent.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That a hero, or Alexander the Great, or Genghis Khan, or -Napoleon were great, he understands, because any one of them -could have crushed him and a thousand like him; that -Buddha, Socrates, and Christ were great he also understands, -for he knows and feels that he and all men should be such -as they were; but why a man should be great because he -wrote verses about the love of women he cannot make out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A similar perplexity must trouble the brain of a Breton -or Norman peasant who hears that a monument, “<i>une -statue</i>” (as to the Madonna), is being erected to Baudelaire, -and reads, or is told, what the contents of his <i>Fleurs du Mal</i> -are; or, more amazing still, to Verlaine, when he learns the -story of that man’s wretched, vicious life, and reads his -verses. And what confusion it must cause in the brains -of peasants when they learn that some Patti or Taglioni -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>is paid £10,000 for a season, or that a painter gets as -much for a picture, or that authors of novels describing -love-scenes have received even more than that.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And it is the same with children. I remember how I -passed through this stage of amazement and stupefaction, -and only reconciled myself to this exaltation of artists -to the level of heroes and saints by lowering in my own -estimation the importance of moral excellence, and by -attributing a false, unnatural meaning to works of art. And -a similar confusion must occur in the soul of each child -and each man of the people when he learns of the strange -honours and rewards that are lavished on artists. This is -the third consequence of the false relation in which our -society stands towards art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The fourth consequence is that people of the upper -classes, more and more frequently encountering the contradictions -between beauty and goodness, put the ideal of -beauty first, thus freeing themselves from the demands -of morality. These people, reversing the rôles, instead of -admitting, as is really the case, that the art they serve is -an antiquated affair, allege that morality is an antiquated -affair, which can have no importance for people situated on -that high plane of development on which they opine that -they are situated.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This result of the false relation to art showed itself in -our society long ago; but recently, with its prophet Nietzsche -and his adherents, and with the decadents and certain -English æsthetes who coincide with him, it is being -expressed with especial impudence. The decadents, and -æsthetes of the type at one time represented by Oscar Wilde, -select as a theme for their productions the denial of morality -and the laudation of vice.</p> - -<p class='c005'>This art has partly generated, and partly coincides with, -a similar philosophic theory. I recently received from -America a book entitled “<i>The Survival of the Fittest: -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>Philosophy of Power</i>, 1896, by Ragnar Redbeard, Chicago.” -The substance of this book, as it is expressed in the editor’s -preface, is that to measure “right” by the false philosophy -of the Hebrew prophets and “weepful” Messiahs is madness. -Right is not the offspring of doctrine but of power. -All laws, commandments, or doctrines as to not doing to -another what you do not wish done to you, have no -inherent authority whatever, but receive it only from -the club, the gallows, and the sword. A man truly free -is under no obligation to obey any injunction, human or -divine. Obedience is the sign of the degenerate. Disobedience -is the stamp of the hero. Men should not be -bound by moral rules invented by their foes. The whole -world is a slippery battlefield. Ideal justice demands -that the vanquished should be exploited, emasculated, and -scorned. The free and brave may seize the world. And, -therefore, there should be eternal war for life, for land, -for love, for women, for power, and for gold. (Something -similar was said a few years ago by the celebrated and -refined academician, Vogüé.) The earth and its treasures is -“booty for the bold.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>The author has evidently by himself, independently of -Nietzsche, come to the same conclusions which are professed -by the new artists.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Expressed in the form of a doctrine these positions startle -us. In reality they are implied in the ideal of art serving -beauty. The art of our upper classes has educated people -in this ideal of the over-man,<a id='r89' /><a href='#f89' class='c008'><sup>[89]</sup></a>—which is, in reality, the -old ideal of Nero, Stenka Razin,<a id='r90' /><a href='#f90' class='c008'><sup>[90]</sup></a> Genghis Khan, Robert -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>Macaire,<a id='r91' /><a href='#f91' class='c008'><sup>[91]</sup></a> or Napoleon, and all their accomplices, assistants, -and adulators—and it supports this ideal with all its -might.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is this supplanting of the ideal of what is right by -the ideal of what is beautiful, <i>i.e.</i> of what is pleasant, -that is the fourth consequence, and a terrible one, of -the perversion of art in our society. It is fearful to -think of what would befall humanity were such art to -spread among the masses of the people. And it already -begins to spread.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Finally, the fifth and chief result is, that the art which -flourishes in the upper classes of European society has a -directly vitiating influence, infecting people with the worst -feelings and with those most harmful to humanity—superstition, -patriotism, and, above all, sensuality.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Look carefully into the causes of the ignorance of the -masses, and you may see that the chief cause does not at all -lie in the lack of schools and libraries, as we are accustomed -to suppose, but in those superstitions, both ecclesiastical -and patriotic, with which the people are saturated, and -which are unceasingly generated by all the methods of art. -Church superstitions are supported and produced by the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>poetry of prayers, hymns, painting, by the sculpture of -images and of statues, by singing, by organs, by music, by -architecture, and even by dramatic art in religious ceremonies. -Patriotic superstitions are supported and produced by verses -and stories, which are supplied even in schools, by music, -by songs, by triumphal processions, by royal meetings, by -martial pictures, and by monuments.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Were it not for this continual activity in all departments -of art, perpetuating the ecclesiastical and patriotic intoxication -and embitterment of the people, the masses would -long ere this have attained to true enlightenment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But it is not only in Church matters and patriotic -matters that art depraves; it is art in our time that serves -as the chief cause of the perversion of people in the most -important question of social life—in their sexual relations. -We nearly all know by our own experience, and those who -are fathers and mothers know in the case of their grown-up -children also, what fearful mental and physical suffering, -what useless waste of strength, people suffer merely as a -consequence of dissoluteness in sexual desire.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Since the world began, since the Trojan war, which -sprang from that same sexual dissoluteness, down to and -including the suicides and murders of lovers described in -almost every newspaper, a great proportion of the sufferings -of the human race have come from this source.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And what is art doing? All art, real and counterfeit, with -very few exceptions, is devoted to describing, depicting, and -inflaming sexual love in every shape and form. When one -remembers all those novels and their lust-kindling descriptions -of love, from the most refined to the grossest, with -which the literature of our society overflows; if one only -remembers all those pictures and statues representing -women’s naked bodies, and all sorts of abominations which -are reproduced in illustrations and advertisements; if one -only remembers all the filthy operas and operettas, songs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>and <i>romances</i> with which our world teems, involuntarily -it seems as if existing art had but one definite aim—to -disseminate vice as widely as possible.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such, though not all, are the most direct consequences of -that perversion of art which has occurred in our society. -So that, what in our society is called art not only does not -conduce to the progress of mankind, but, more than almost -anything else, hinders the attainment of goodness in our -lives.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And therefore the question which involuntarily presents -itself to every man free from artistic activity and therefore -not bound to existing art by self-interest, the question -asked by me at the beginning of this work: Is it just that -to what we call art, to a something belonging to but a small -section of society, should be offered up such sacrifices of -human labour, of human lives, and of goodness as are now -being offered up? receives the natural reply: No; it is unjust, -and these things should not be! So also replies sound -sense and unperverted moral feeling. Not only should -these things not be, not only should no sacrifices be offered -up to what among us is called art, but, on the contrary, -the efforts of those who wish to live rightly should be -directed towards the destruction of this art, for it is one -of the most cruel of the evils that harass our section of -humanity. So that, were the question put: Would it be -preferable for our Christian world to be deprived of <i>all</i> -that is now esteemed to be art, and, together with the -false, to lose <i>all</i> that is good in it? I think that every -reasonable and moral man would again decide the question -as Plato decided it for his <i>Republic</i>, and as all the Church -Christian and Mahommedan teachers of mankind decided -it, <i>i.e.</i> would say, “Rather let there be no art at all than -continue the depraving art, or simulation of art, which now -exists.” Happily, no one has to face this question, and no -one need adopt either solution. All that man can do, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>that we—the so-called educated people, who are so placed -that we have the possibility of understanding the meaning -of the phenomena of our life—can and should do, is to -understand the error we are involved in, and not harden our -hearts in it but seek for a way of escape.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span> - <h2 id='chap18' class='c003'>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>The cause of the lie into which the art of our society has -fallen was that people of the upper classes, having ceased -to believe in the Church teaching (called Christian), did not -resolve to accept true Christian teaching in its real and -fundamental principles of sonship to God and brotherhood -to man, but continued to live on without any belief, endeavouring -to make up for the absence of belief—some by -hypocrisy, pretending still to believe in the nonsense of the -Church creeds; others by boldly asserting their disbelief; -others by refined agnosticism; and others, again, by returning -to the Greek worship of beauty, proclaiming egotism to -be right, and elevating it to the rank of a religious doctrine.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The cause of the malady was the non-acceptance of Christ’s -teaching in its real, <i>i.e.</i> its full, meaning. And the only cure -for the illness lies in acknowledging that teaching in its -full meaning. And such acknowledgment in our time is -not only possible but inevitable. Already to-day a man, -standing on the height of the knowledge of our age, whether -he be nominally a Catholic or a Protestant, cannot say that -he really believes in the dogmas of the Church: in God -being a Trinity, in Christ being God, in the scheme of -redemption, and so forth; nor can he satisfy himself by proclaiming -his unbelief or scepticism, nor by relapsing into -the worship of beauty and egotism. Above all, he can no -longer say that we do not know the real meaning of Christ’s -teaching. That meaning has not only become accessible to -all men of our times, but the whole life of man to-day is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>permeated by the spirit of that teaching, and, consciously -or unconsciously, is guided by it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>However differently in form people belonging to our -Christian world may define the destiny of man; whether -they see it in human progress in whatever sense of the -words, in the union of all men in a socialistic realm, or -in the establishment of a commune; whether they look -forward to the union of mankind under the guidance of -one universal Church, or to the federation of the world,—however -various in form their definitions of the destination -of human life may be, all men in our times already admit -that the highest well-being attainable by men is to be -reached by their union with one another.</p> - -<p class='c005'>However people of our upper classes (feeling that their -ascendency can only be maintained as long as they separate -themselves—the rich and learned—from the labourers, the -poor, and the unlearned) may seek to devise new conceptions -of life by which their privileges may be perpetuated,—now -the ideal of returning to antiquity, now mysticism, now -Hellenism, now the cult of the superior person (overman-ism),—they -have, willingly or unwillingly, to admit the -truth which is elucidating itself from all sides, voluntarily -and involuntarily, namely, that our welfare lies only in the -unification and the brotherhood of man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Unconsciously this truth is confirmed by the construction of -means of communication,—telegraphs, telephones, the press, -and the ever-increasing attainability of material well-being for -everyone,—and consciously it is affirmed by the destruction -of superstitions which divide men, by the diffusion of the -truths of knowledge, and by the expression of the ideal of -the brotherhood of man in the best works of art of our time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art is a spiritual organ of human life which cannot be -destroyed, and therefore, notwithstanding all the efforts -made by people of the upper classes to conceal the religious -ideal by which humanity lives, that ideal is more and more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>clearly recognised by man, and even in our perverted society -is more and more often partially expressed by science and -by art. During the present century works of the higher -kind of religious art have appeared more and more frequently, -both in literature and in painting, permeated by a -truly Christian spirit, as also works of the universal art -of common life, accessible to all. So that even art knows -the true ideal of our times, and tends towards it. On -the one hand, the best works of art of our times transmit -religious feelings urging towards the union and the brotherhood -of man (such are the works of Dickens, Hugo, -Dostoievsky; and in painting, of Millet, Bastien Lepage, -Jules Breton, L’Hermitte, and others); on the other hand, -they strive towards the transmission, not of feelings which -are natural to people of the upper classes only, but of such -feelings as may unite everyone without exception. There -are as yet few such works, but the need of them is already -acknowledged. In recent times we also meet more and more -frequently with attempts at publications, pictures, concerts, -and theatres for the people. All this is still very far from -accomplishing what should be done, but already the direction -in which good art instinctively presses forward to regain -the path natural to it can be discerned.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The religious perception of our time—which consists in -acknowledging that the aim of life (both collective and -individual) is the union of mankind—is already so sufficiently -distinct that people have now only to reject the false -theory of beauty, according to which enjoyment is considered -to be the purpose of art, and religious perception will -naturally takes its place as the guide of the art of our time.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And as soon as the religious perception, which already -unconsciously directs the life of man, is consciously acknowledged, -then immediately and naturally the division of -art, into art for the lower and art for the upper classes, -will disappear. There will be one common, brotherly, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>universal art; and first, that art will naturally be rejected -which transmits feelings incompatible with the religious -perception of our time,—feelings which do not unite, but -divide men,—and then that insignificant, exclusive art will -be rejected to which an importance is now attached to which -it has no right.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And as soon as this occurs, art will immediately cease to -be, what it has been in recent times: a means of making -people coarser and more vicious, and it will become, what -it always used to be and should be, a means by which -humanity progresses towards unity and blessedness;</p> - -<p class='c005'>Strange as the comparison may sound, what has happened -to the art of our circle and time is what happens to a woman -who sells her womanly attractiveness, intended for maternity, -for the pleasure of those who desire such pleasures.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The art of our time and of our circle has become a prostitute. -And this comparison holds good even in minute -details. Like her it is not limited to certain times, like her -it is always adorned, like her it is always saleable, and like -her it is enticing and ruinous.</p> - -<p class='c005'>A real work of art can only arise in the soul of an artist -occasionally, as the fruit of the life he has lived, just as a -child is conceived by its mother. But counterfeit art is -produced by artisans and handicraftsmen continually, if only -consumers can be found.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Real art, like the wife of an affectionate husband, needs -no ornaments. But counterfeit art, like a prostitute, must -always be decked out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The cause of the production of real art is the artist’s inner -need to express a feeling that has accumulated, just as for a -mother the cause of sexual conception is love. The cause -of counterfeit art, as of prostitution, is gain.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The consequence of true art is the introduction of a new -feeling into the intercourse of life, as the consequence of a -wife’s love is the birth of a new man into life.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>The consequences of counterfeit art are the perversion of -man, pleasure which never satisfies, and the weakening of -man’s spiritual strength.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And this is what people of our day and of our circle -should understand, in order to avoid the filthy torrent of -depraved and prostituted art with which we are deluged.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span> - <h2 id='chap19' class='c003'>CHAPTER XIX</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>People talk of the art of the future, meaning by “art of -the future” some especially refined, new art, which, as they -imagine, will be developed out of that exclusive art of one -class which is now considered the highest art. But no such -new art of the future can or will be found. Our exclusive -art, that of the upper classes of Christendom, has found its -way into a blind alley. The direction in which it has been -going leads nowhere. Having once let go of that which is -most essential for art (namely, the guidance given by -religious perception), that art has become ever more and -more exclusive, and therefore ever more and more perverted, -until, finally, it has come to nothing. The art of the future, -that which is really coming, will not be a development of -present-day art, but will arise on completely other and new -foundations, having nothing in common with those by which -our present art of the upper classes is guided.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art of the future, that is to say, such part of art as -will be chosen from among all the art diffused among mankind, -will consist, not in transmitting feelings accessible only -to members of the rich classes, as is the case to-day, but in -transmitting such feelings as embody the highest religious -perception of our times. Only those productions will be -considered art which transmit feelings drawing men together -in brotherly union, or such universal feelings as can unite all -men. Only such art will be chosen, tolerated, approved, and -diffused. But art transmitting feelings flowing from antiquated, -worn-out religious teaching,—Church art, patriotic art, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>voluptuous art, transmitting feelings of superstitious fear, of -pride, of vanity, of ecstatic admiration of national heroes,—art -exciting exclusive love of one’s own people, or sensuality, -will be considered bad, harmful art, and will be censured and -despised by public opinion. All the rest of art, transmitting -feelings accessible only to a section of people, will be considered -unimportant, and will be neither blamed nor praised. -And the appraisement of art in general will devolve, not, -as is now the case, on a separate class of rich people, but on -the whole people; so that for a work to be esteemed good, -and to be approved of and diffused, it will have to satisfy -the demands, not of a few people living in identical and -often unnatural conditions, but it will have to satisfy the -demands of all those great masses of people who are -situated in the natural conditions of laborious life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the artists producing art will also not be, as now, -merely a few people selected from a small section of the -nation, members of the upper classes or their hangers-on, -but will consist of all those gifted members of the whole -people who prove capable of, and are inclined towards, -artistic activity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Artistic activity will then be accessible to all men. It -will become accessible to the whole people, because, in -the first place, in the art of the future, not only will that -complex technique, which deforms the productions of the -art of to-day and requires so great an effort and expenditure -of time, not be demanded, but, on the contrary, the demand -will be for clearness, simplicity, and brevity—conditions -mastered not by mechanical exercises but by the education of -taste. And secondly, artistic activity will become accessible -to all men of the people because, instead of the present -professional schools which only some can enter, all will -learn music and depictive art (singing and drawing) equally -with letters in the elementary schools, and in such a way -that every man, having received the first principles of drawing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>and music, and feeling a capacity for, and a call to, one -or other of the arts, will be able to perfect himself in it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>People think that if there are no special art-schools the -technique of art will deteriorate. Undoubtedly, if by -technique we understand those complications of art which -are now considered an excellence, it will deteriorate; but if -by technique is understood clearness, beauty, simplicity, -and compression in works of art, then, even if the elements -of drawing and music were not to be taught in the national -schools, the technique will not only not deteriorate, but, -as is shown by all peasant art, will be a hundred times -better. It will be improved, because all the artists of -genius now hidden among the masses will become producers -of art and will give models of excellence, which -(as has always been the case) will be the best schools of -technique for their successors. For every true artist, even -now, learns his technique, chiefly, not in the schools but in -life, from the examples of the great masters; then—when -the producers of art will be the best artists of the whole -nation, and there will be more such examples, and they -will be more accessible—such part of the school training as -the future artist will lose will be a hundredfold compensated -for by the training he will receive from the numerous -examples of good art diffused in society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such will be one difference between present and future -art. Another difference will be that art will not be produced -by professional artists receiving payment for their -work and engaged on nothing else besides their art. The -art of the future will be produced by all the members of -the community who feel the need of such activity, but they -will occupy themselves with art only when they feel such -need.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In our society people think that an artist will work -better, and produce more, if he has a secured maintenance. -And this opinion would serve once more to show clearly, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>were such demonstration still needed, that what among -us is considered art is not art, but only its counterfeit. It -is quite true that for the production of boots or loaves -division of labour is very advantageous, and that the -bootmaker or baker who need not prepare his own dinner -or fetch his own fuel will make more boots or loaves -than if he had to busy himself about these matters. But -art is not a handicraft; it is the transmission of feeling -the artist has experienced. And sound feeling can only be -engendered in a man when he is living on all its sides the -life natural and proper to mankind. And therefore security -of maintenance is a condition most harmful to an artist’s -true productiveness, since it removes him from the condition -natural to all men,—that of struggle with nature for the -maintenance of both his own life and that of others,—and -thus deprives him of opportunity and possibility to -experience the most important and natural feelings of man. -There is no position more injurious to an artist’s productiveness -than that position of complete security and luxury in -which artists usually live in our society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artist of the future will live the common life of man, -earning his subsistence by some kind of labour. The fruits -of that highest spiritual strength which passes through him -he will try to share with the greatest possible number of -people, for in such transmission to others of the feelings -that have arisen in him he will find his happiness and -his reward. The artist of the future will be unable to -understand how an artist, whose chief delight is in the -wide diffusion of his works, could give them only in -exchange for a certain payment.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Until the dealers are driven out, the temple of art will -not be a temple. But the art of the future will drive them -out.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And therefore the subject-matter of the art of the future, as -I imagine it to myself, will be totally unlike that of to-day. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>It will consist, not in the expression of exclusive feelings: -pride, spleen, satiety, and all possible forms of voluptuousness, -available and interesting only to people who, -by force, have freed themselves from the labour natural to -human beings; but it will consist in the expression of feelings -experienced by a man living the life natural to all -men and flowing from the religious perception of our times, -or of such feelings as are open to all men without exception.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To people of our circle who do not know, and cannot or -will not understand the feelings which will form the subject-matter -of the art of the future, such subject-matter appears -very poor in comparison with those subtleties of exclusive -art with which they are now occupied. “What is there -fresh to be said in the sphere of the Christian feeling of -love of one’s fellow-man? The feelings common to -everyone are so insignificant and monotonous,” think they. -And yet, in our time, the really fresh feelings can only be -religious, Christian feelings, and such as are open, accessible, to -all. The feelings flowing from the religious perception of our -times, Christian feelings, are infinitely new and varied, only -not in the sense some people imagine,—not that they can -be evoked by the depiction of Christ and of Gospel episodes, -or by repeating in new forms the Christian truths of unity, -brotherhood, equality, and love,—but in that all the oldest, -commonest, and most hackneyed phenomena of life evoke -the newest, most unexpected and touching emotions as soon -as a man regards them from the Christian point of view.</p> - -<p class='c005'>What can be older than the relations between married -couples, of parents to children, of children to parents; the -relations of men to their fellow-countrymen and to foreigners, -to an invasion, to defence, to property, to the land, -or to animals? But as soon as a man regards these matters -from the Christian point of view, endlessly varied, fresh, -complex, and strong emotions immediately arise.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And, in the same way, that realm of subject-matter for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>the art of the future which relates to the simplest -feelings of common life open to all will not be narrowed -but widened. In our former art only the expression of -feelings natural to people of a certain exceptional position -was considered worthy of being transmitted by art, and -even then only on condition that these feelings were transmitted -in a most refined manner, incomprehensible to the -majority of men; all the immense realm of folk-art, and -children’s art—jests, proverbs, riddles, songs, dances, -children’s games, and mimicry—was not esteemed a domain -worthy of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The artist of the future will understand that to compose -a fairy-tale, a little song which will touch, a lullaby or a -riddle which will entertain, a jest which will amuse, or to -draw a sketch which will delight dozens of generations -or millions of children and adults, is incomparably more -important and more fruitful than to compose a novel or -a symphony, or paint a picture which will divert some -members of the wealthy classes for a short time, and then -be for ever forgotten. The region of this art of the simple -feelings accessible to all is enormous, and it is as yet almost -untouched.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The art of the future, therefore, will not be poorer, but -infinitely richer in subject-matter. And the form of the art of -the future will also not be inferior to the present forms of art, -but infinitely superior to them. Superior, not in the sense -of having a refined and complex technique, but in the -sense of the capacity briefly, simply, and clearly to transmit, -without any superfluities, the feeling which the artist has -experienced and wishes to transmit.</p> - -<p class='c005'>I remember once speaking to a famous astronomer who -had given public lectures on the spectrum analysis of the -stars of the Milky Way, and saying it would be a good thing -if, with his knowledge and masterly delivery, he would give -a lecture merely on the formation and movements of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>earth, for certainly there were many people at his lecture -on the spectrum analysis of the stars of the Milky Way, -especially among the women, who did not well know why -night follows day and summer follows winter. The wise -astronomer smiled as he answered, “Yes, it would be a -good thing, but it would be very difficult. To lecture on -the spectrum analysis of the Milky Way is far easier.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>And so it is in art. To write a rhymed poem dealing -with the times of Cleopatra, or paint a picture of Nero -burning Rome, or compose a symphony in the manner of -Brahms or Richard Strauss, or an opera like Wagner’s, is -far easier than to tell a simple story without any unnecessary -details, yet so that it should transmit the feelings of -the narrator, or to draw a pencil-sketch which should -touch or amuse the beholder, or to compose four bars -of clear and simple melody, without any accompaniment, -which should convey an impression and be remembered by -those who hear it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>“It is impossible for us, with our culture, to return to a -primitive state,” say the artists of our time. “It is impossible -for us now to write such stories as that of Joseph or -the Odyssey, to produce such statues as the Venus of Milo, -or to compose such music as the folk-songs.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>And indeed, for the artists of our society and day, it is -impossible, but not for the future artist, who will be free -from all the perversion of technical improvements hiding -the absence of subject-matter, and who, not being a professional -artist and receiving no payment for his activity, will -only produce art when he feels impelled to do so by an -irresistible inner impulse.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The art of the future will thus be completely distinct, -both in subject-matter and in form, from what is now called -art. The only subject-matter of the art of the future will -be either feelings drawing men towards union, or such as -already unite them; and the forms of art will be such as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>will be open to everyone. And therefore, the ideal of -excellence in the future will not be the exclusiveness of feeling, -accessible only to some, but, on the contrary, its universality. -And not bulkiness, obscurity, and complexity of -form, as is now esteemed, but, on the contrary, brevity, -clearness, and simplicity of expression. Only when art has -attained to that, will art neither divert nor deprave men as -it does now, calling on them to expend their best strength -on it, but be what it should be—a vehicle wherewith -to transmit religious, Christian perception from the realm of -reason and intellect into that of feeling, and really drawing -people in actual life nearer to that perfection and unity -indicated to them by their religious perception.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span> - <h2 id='chap20' class='c003'>CHAPTER XX <br /> THE CONCLUSION</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>I have accomplished, to the best of my ability, this work -which has occupied me for 15 years, on a subject near to me—that -of art. By saying that this subject has occupied me -for 15 years, I do not mean that I have been writing this -book 15 years, but only that I began to write on art 15 -years ago, thinking that when once I undertook the task I -should be able to accomplish it without a break. It proved, -however, that my views on the matter then were so far from -clear that I could not arrange them in a way that satisfied -me. From that time I have never ceased to think -on the subject, and I have recommenced to write on it 6 -or 7 times; but each time, after writing a considerable part -of it, I have found myself unable to bring the work to a -satisfactory conclusion, and have had to put it aside. Now -I have finished it; and however badly I may have performed -the task, my hope is that my fundamental thought as -to the false direction the art of our society has taken and is -following, as to the reasons of this, and as to the real -destination of art, is correct, and that therefore my work -will not be without avail. But that this should come to -pass, and that art should really abandon its false path and -take the new direction, it is necessary that another equally -important human spiritual activity,—science,—in intimate -dependence on which art always rests, should abandon the -false path which it too, like art, is following.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>Science and art are as closely bound together as the lungs -and the heart, so that if one organ is vitiated the other -cannot act rightly.</p> - -<p class='c005'>True science investigates and brings to human perception -such truths and such knowledge as the people of a given -time and society consider most important. Art transmits -these truths from the region of perception to the region of -emotion. Therefore, if the path chosen by science be false -so also will be the path taken by art. Science and art are like -a certain kind of barge with kedge-anchors which used to ply -on our rivers. Science, like the boats which took the anchors -up-stream and made them secure, gives direction to the -forward movement; while art, like the windlass worked on -the barge to draw it towards the anchor, causes the actual -progression. And thus a false activity of science inevitably -causes a correspondingly false activity of art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As art in general is the transmission of every kind of -feeling, but in the limited sense of the word we only call -that art which transmits feelings acknowledged by us to be -important, so also science in general is the transmission of -all possible knowledge; but in the limited sense of the word -we call science that which transmits knowledge acknowledged -by us to be important.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And the degree of importance, both of the feelings transmitted -by art and of the information transmitted by science, -is decided by the religious perception of the given time and -society, <i>i.e.</i> by the common understanding of the purpose -of their lives possessed by the people of that time or -society.</p> - -<p class='c005'>That which most of all contributes to the fulfilment of that -purpose will be studied most; that which contributes less -will be studied less; that which does not contribute at all -to the fulfilment of the purpose of human life will be entirely -neglected, or, if studied, such study will not be accounted -science. So it always has been, and so it should be now; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>for such is the nature of human knowledge and of human -life. But the science of the upper classes of our time, which -not only does not acknowledge any religion, but considers -every religion to be mere superstition, could not and cannot -make such distinctions.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Scientists of our day affirm that they study <i>everything</i> -impartially; but as everything is too much (is in fact an -infinite number of objects), and as it is impossible to study -all alike, this is only said in the theory, while in practice -not everything is studied, and study is applied far from -impartially, only that being studied which, on the one hand, -is most wanted by, and on the other hand, is pleasantest -to those people who occupy themselves with science. And -what the people, belonging to the upper classes, who are -occupying themselves with science most want is the maintenance -of the system under which those classes retain their -privileges; and what is pleasantest are such things as satisfy -idle curiosity, do not demand great mental efforts, and can -be practically applied.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And therefore one side of science, including theology and -philosophy adapted to the existing order, as also history and -political economy of the same sort, are chiefly occupied in -proving that the existing order is the very one which ought -to exist; that it has come into existence and continues to -exist by the operation of immutable laws not amenable to -human will, and that all efforts to change it are therefore -harmful and wrong. The other part, experimental science,—including -mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, physics, -botany, and all the natural sciences,—is exclusively occupied -with things that have no direct relation to human life: -with what is curious, and with things of which practical -application advantageous to people of the upper classes can -be made. And to justify that selection of objects of study -which (in conformity to their own position) the men of -science of our times have made, they have devised a theory -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>of science for science’s sake, quite similar to the theory of -art for art’s sake.</p> - -<p class='c005'>As by the theory of art for art’s sake it appears that -occupation with all those things that please us—is art, so, -by the theory of science for science’s sake, the study of -that which interests us—is science.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that one side of science, instead of studying how people -should live in order to fulfil their mission in life, demonstrates -the righteousness and immutability of the bad and -false arrangements of life which exist around us; while the -other part, experimental science, occupies itself with questions -of simple curiosity or with technical improvements.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first of these divisions of science is harmful, not -only because it confuses people’s perceptions and gives false -decisions, but also because it exists, and occupies the ground -which should belong to true science. It does this harm, -that each man, in order to approach the study of the most -important questions of life, must first refute these erections -of lies which have during ages been piled around each of -the most essential questions of human life, and which are -propped up by all the strength of human ingenuity.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The second division—the one of which modern science -is so particularly proud, and which is considered by many -people to be the only real science—is harmful in that it -diverts attention from the really important subjects to insignificant -subjects, and is also directly harmful in that, -under the evil system of society which the first division of -science justifies and supports, a great part of the technical -gains of science are turned not to the advantage but to the -injury of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Indeed it is only to those who are devoting their lives to -such study that it seems as if all the inventions which are -made in the sphere of natural science were very important -and useful things. And to these people it seems so only -when they do not look around them and do not see what is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>really important. They only need tear themselves away -from the psychological microscope under which they examine -the objects of their study, and look about them, in -order to see how insignificant is all that has afforded them -such naïve pride, all that knowledge not only of geometry -of n-dimensions, spectrum analysis of the Milky Way, the -form of atoms, dimensions of human skulls of the Stone Age, -and similar trifles, but even our knowledge of micro-organisms, -X-rays, etc., in comparison with such knowledge -as we have thrown aside and handed over to the perversions -of the professors of theology, jurisprudence, political -economy, financial science, etc. We need only look around -us to perceive that the activity proper to real science is -not the study of whatever happens to interest us, but the -study of how man’s life should be established,—the study -of those questions of religion, morality, and social life, -without the solution of which all our knowledge of nature -will be harmful or insignificant.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We are highly delighted and very proud that our science -renders it possible to utilise the energy of a waterfall and -make it work in factories, or that we have pierced tunnels -through mountains, and so forth. But the pity of it is -that we make the force of the waterfall labour, not for -the benefit of the workmen, but to enrich capitalists who -produce articles of luxury or weapons of man-destroying -war. The same dynamite with which we blast the mountains -to pierce tunnels, we use for wars, from which latter -we not only do not intend to abstain, but which we consider -inevitable, and for which we unceasingly prepare.</p> - -<p class='c005'>If we are now able to inoculate preventatively with -diphtheritic microbes, to find a needle in a body by means -of X-rays, to straighten a hunched-back, cure syphilis, and -perform wonderful operations, we should not be proud of -these acquisitions either (even were they all established -beyond dispute) if we fully understood the true purpose -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>of real science. If but one-tenth of the efforts now spent on -objects of pure curiosity or of merely practical application -were expended on real science organising the life of man, -more than half the people now sick would not have the -illnesses from which a small minority of them now get -cured in hospitals. There would be no poor-blooded and -deformed children growing up in factories, no death-rates, -as now, of 50 per cent. among children, no deterioration -of whole generations, no prostitution, no syphilis, and no -murdering of hundreds of thousands in wars, nor those -horrors of folly and of misery which our present science -considers a necessary condition of human life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We have so perverted the conception of science that it -seems strange to men of our day to allude to sciences which -should prevent the mortality of children, prostitution, -syphilis, the deterioration of whole generations, and the -wholesale murder of men. It seems to us that science is -only then real science when a man in a laboratory pours -liquids from one jar into another, or analyses the spectrum, -or cuts up frogs and porpoises, or weaves in a specialised, -scientific jargon an obscure network of conventional -phrases—theological, philosophical, historical, juridical, or -politico-economical—semi-intelligible to the man himself, and -intended to demonstrate that what now is, is what should be.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But science, true science,—such science as would really -deserve the respect which is now claimed by the followers -of one (the least important) part of science,—is not at all such -as this: real science lies in knowing what we should and -what we should not believe, in knowing how the associated -life of man should and should not be constituted; how to -treat sexual relations, how to educate children, how to use -the land, how to cultivate it oneself without oppressing -other people, how to treat foreigners, how to treat animals, -and much more that is important for the life of man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such has true science ever been and such it should be. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>And such science is springing up in our times; but, on -the one hand, such true science is denied and refuted by -all those scientific people who defend the existing order -of society, and, on the other hand, it is considered empty, -unnecessary, unscientific science by those who are engrossed -in experimental science.</p> - -<p class='c005'>For instance, books and sermons appear, demonstrating -the antiquatedness and absurdity of Church dogmas, as well -as the necessity of establishing a reasonable religious perception -suitable to our times, and all the theology that is considered -to be real science is only engaged in refuting these -works and in exercising human intelligence again and again -to find support and justification for superstitions long since -out-lived, and which have now become quite meaningless. Or -a sermon appears showing that land should not be an object -of private possession, and that the institution of private -property in land is a chief cause of the poverty of the -masses. Apparently science, real science, should welcome -such a sermon and draw further deductions from this position. -But the science of our times does nothing of the -kind: on the contrary, political economy demonstrates the -opposite position, namely, that landed property, like every -other form of property, must be more and more concentrated -in the hands of a small number of owners. Again, in the -same way, one would suppose it to be the business of real -science to demonstrate the irrationality, unprofitableness, and -immorality of war and of executions; or the inhumanity -and harmfulness of prostitution; or the absurdity, harmfulness, -and immorality of using narcotics or of eating animals; -or the irrationality, harmfulness, and antiquatedness of -patriotism. And such works exist, but are all considered -unscientific; while works to prove that all these things -ought to continue, and works intended to satisfy an idle -thirst for knowledge lacking any relation to human life, are -considered to be scientific.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>The deviation of the science of our time from its true -purpose is strikingly illustrated by those ideals which are -put forward by some scientists, and are not denied, but -admitted, by the majority of scientific men.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These ideals are expressed not only in stupid, fashionable -books, describing the world as it will be in 1000 or 3000 -years’ time, but also by sociologists who consider themselves -serious men of science. These ideals are that food instead -of being obtained from the land by agriculture, will be prepared -in laboratories by chemical means, and that human -labour will be almost entirely superseded by the utilisation -of natural forces.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Man will not, as now, eat an egg laid by a hen he has -kept, or bread grown on his field, or an apple from a tree he -has reared and which has blossomed and matured in his -sight; but he will eat tasty, nutritious, food which will be -prepared in laboratories by the conjoint labour of many -people in which he will take a small part. Man will hardly -need to labour, so that all men will be able to yield to -idleness as the upper, ruling classes now yield to it.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Nothing shows more plainly than these ideals to what a -degree the science of our times has deviated from the true -path.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The great majority of men in our times lack good and -sufficient food (as well as dwellings and clothes and all the -first necessaries of life). And this great majority of men is -compelled, to the injury of its well-being, to labour continually -beyond its strength. Both these evils can easily be -removed by abolishing mutual strife, luxury, and the unrighteous -distribution of wealth, in a word by the abolition -of a false and harmful order and the establishment of a -reasonable, human manner of life. But science considers the -existing order of things to be as immutable as the movements -of the planets, and therefore assumes that the purpose -of science is—not to elucidate the falseness of this order and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>to arrange a new, reasonable way of life—but, under the -existing order of things, to feed everybody and enable all to be -as idle as the ruling classes, who live a depraved life, now are.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And, meanwhile, it is forgotten that nourishment with -corn, vegetables, and fruit raised from the soil by one’s own -labour is the pleasantest, healthiest, easiest, and most natural -nourishment, and that the work of using one’s muscles is as -necessary a condition of life as is the oxidation of the blood -by breathing.</p> - -<p class='c005'>To invent means whereby people might, while continuing -our false division of property and labour, be well nourished -by means of chemically-prepared food, and might make the -forces of nature work for them, is like inventing means to -pump oxygen into the lungs of a man kept in a closed -chamber the air of which is bad, when all that is needed is -to cease to confine the man in the closed chamber.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the vegetable and animal kingdoms a laboratory for -the production of food has been arranged, such as can be -surpassed by no professors, and to enjoy the fruits of this -laboratory, and to participate in it, man has only to yield to -that ever joyful impulse to labour, without which man’s -life is a torment. And lo and behold, the scientists of our -times, instead of employing all their strength to abolish whatever -hinders man from utilising the good things prepared for -him, acknowledge the conditions under which man is deprived -of these blessings to be unalterable, and instead of arranging -the life of man so that he might work joyfully and be fed -from the soil, they devise methods which will cause him to -become an artificial abortion. It is like not helping a man -out of confinement into the fresh air, but devising means, -instead, to pump into him the necessary quantity of oxygen -and arranging so that he may live in a stifling cellar instead -of living at home.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Such false ideals could not exist if science were not on a -false path.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>And yet the feelings transmitted by art grow up on the -bases supplied by science.</p> - -<p class='c005'>But what feelings can such misdirected science evoke? -One side of this science evokes antiquated feelings, which -humanity has used up, and which, in our times, are bad and -exclusive. The other side, occupied with the study of subjects -unrelated to the conduct of human life, by its very -nature cannot serve as a basis for art.</p> - -<p class='c005'>So that art in our times, to be art, must either open up its -own road independently of science, or must take direction -from the unrecognised science which is denounced by the -orthodox section of science. And this is what art, when -it even partially fulfils its mission, is doing.</p> - -<p class='c005'>It is to be hoped that the work I have tried to perform -concerning art will be performed also for science—that the -falseness of the theory of science for science’s sake will be -demonstrated; that the necessity of acknowledging Christian -teaching in its true meaning will be clearly shown, -that on the basis of that teaching a reappraisement will -be made of the knowledge we possess, and of which we -are so proud; that the secondariness and insignificance of -experimental science, and the primacy and importance of -religious, moral, and social knowledge will be established; -and that such knowledge will not, as now, be left to the guidance -of the upper classes only, but will form a chief interest -of all free, truth-loving men, such as those who, not in agreement -with the upper classes but in their despite, have -always forwarded the real science of life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Astronomical, physical, chemical, and biological science, -as also technical and medical science, will be studied only in -so far as they can help to free mankind from religious, -juridical, or social deceptions, or can serve to promote the -well-being of all men, and not of any single class.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Only then will science cease to be what it is now—on the -one hand a system of sophistries, needed for the maintenance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>of the existing worn-out order of society, and, on the other -hand, a shapeless mass of miscellaneous knowledge, for the -most part good for little or nothing—and become a shapely -and organic whole, having a definite and reasonable purpose -comprehensible to all men, namely, the purpose of -bringing to the consciousness of men the truths that flow -from the religious perception of our times.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And only then will art, which is always dependent on -science, be what it might and should be, an organ coequally -important with science for the life and progress of mankind.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Art is not a pleasure, a solace, or an amusement; art is a -great matter. Art is an organ of human life, transmitting -man’s reasonable perception into feeling. In our age the -common religious perception of men is the consciousness of -the brotherhood of man—we know that the well-being of -man lies in union with his fellow-men. True science -should indicate the various methods of applying this consciousness -to life. Art should transform this perception -into feeling.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The task of art is enormous. Through the influence of -real art, aided by science guided by religion, that peaceful -co-operation of man which is now obtained by external -means—by our law-courts, police, charitable institutions, -factory inspection, etc.—should be obtained by man’s free -and joyous activity. Art should cause violence to be set -aside.</p> - -<p class='c005'>And it is only art that can accomplish this.</p> - -<p class='c005'>All that now, independently of the fear of violence and -punishment, makes the social life of man possible (and -already now this is an enormous part of the order of our -lives)—all this has been brought about by art. If by art -it has been inculcated how people should treat religious -objects, their parents, their children, their wives, their -relations, strangers, foreigners; how to conduct themselves -to their elders, their superiors, to those who suffer, to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>their enemies, and to animals; and if this has been obeyed -through generations by millions of people, not only unenforced -by any violence, but so that the force of such -customs can be shaken in no way but by means of art: -then, by the same art, other customs, more in accord -with the religious perception of our time, may be evoked. -If art has been able to convey the sentiment of reverence -for images, for the eucharist, and for the king’s person; -of shame at betraying a comrade, devotion to a flag, the -necessity of revenge for an insult, the need to sacrifice one’s -labour for the erection and adornment of churches, the -duty of defending one’s honour or the glory of one’s native -land—then that same art can also evoke reverence for the -dignity of every man and for the life of every animal; can -make men ashamed of luxury, of violence, of revenge, or of -using for their pleasure that of which others are in need; -can compel people freely, gladly, and without noticing it, -to sacrifice themselves in the service of man.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The task for art to accomplish is to make that feeling -of brotherhood and love of one’s neighbour, now attained -only by the best members of the society, the customary -feeling and the instinct of all men. By evoking, under -imaginary conditions, the feeling of brotherhood and love, -religious art will train men to experience those same -feelings under similar circumstances in actual life; it will -lay in the souls of men the rails along which the actions -of those whom art thus educates will naturally pass. And -universal art, by uniting the most different people in one -common feeling, by destroying separation, will educate -people to union, will show them, not by reason but by life -itself, the joy of universal union reaching beyond the bounds -set by life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The destiny of art in our time is to transmit from the -realm of reason to the realm of feeling the truth that well-being -for men consists in being united together, and to set -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>up, in place of the existing reign of force, that kingdom of -God, <i>i.e.</i> of love, which we all recognise to be the highest -aim of human life.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Possibly, in the future, science may reveal to art yet -newer and higher ideals, which art may realise; but, in our -time, the destiny of art is clear and definite. The task for -Christian art is to establish brotherly union among men.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span> - <h2 class='c003'>APPENDICES</h2> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span> - <h2 id='app1' class='c003'>APPENDIX I.</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>This is the first page of Mallarmé’s book <i>Divagations</i>:—</p> -<h3 class='c013'>LE PHÉNOMÈNE FUTUR.</h3> -<p class='c004'>Un ciel pâle, sur le monde qui finit de décrépitude, va -peut-être partir avec les nuages: les lambeaux de la pourpre -usée des couchants déteignent dans une rivière dormant à -l’horizon submergé de rayons et d’eau. Les arbres s’ennuient, -et, sous leur feuillage blanchi (de la poussière du temps -plutôt que celle des chemins) monte la maison en toile de -Montreur de choses Passées: maint réverbère attend le -crépuscule et ravive les visages d’une malheureuse foule, -vaincue par la maladie immortelle et le péché des siècles, -d’hommes près de leurs chétives complices enceintes des -fruits misérables avec lesquels périra la terre. Dans le -silence inquiet de tous les yeux suppliant là-bas le soleil qui, -sous l’eau, s’enfonce avec le désespoir d’un cri, voici le -simple boniment: “Nulle enseigne ne vous régale du -spectacle intérieur, car il n’est pas maintenant un peintre -capable d’en donner une ombre triste. J’apporte, vivante -(et préservée à travers les ans par la science souveraine) une -Femme d’autrefois. Quelque folie, originelle et naïve, une -extase d’or, je ne sais quoi! par elle nommé sa chevelure, se -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>ploie avec la grâce des étoffes autour d’un visage qu’ éclaire -la nudité sanglante de ses lèvres. A la place du vêtement -vain, elle a un corps; et les yeux, semblables aux pierres -rares! ne valent pas ce regard qui sort de sa chair heureuse: -des seins levés comme s’ils étaient pleins d’un lait éternel, la -pointe vers le ciel, les jambes lisses qui gardent le sel de la -mer première.” Se rappelant leurs pauvres épouses, chauves, -morbides et pleines d’horreur, les maris se pressent: elles -aussi par curiosité, mélancoliques, veulent voir.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Quand tous auront contemplé la noble créature, vestige -de quelque époque déjà maudite, les uns indifférents, car ils -n’auront pas eu la force de comprendre, mais d’autres navrés -et la paupière humide de larmes résignées, se regarderont; -tandis que les poètes de ces temps, sentant se rallumer leur -yeux éteints, s’achemineront vers leur lampe, le cerveau ivre -un instant d’une gloire confuse, hantés du Rythme et dans -l’oubli d’exister à une époque qui survit à la beauté.</p> -<h3 class='c013'>THE FUTURE PHENOMENON—by Mallarmé</h3> -<p class='c014'>A pale sky, above the world that is ending through decrepitude, -going perhaps to pass away with the clouds: shreds of worn-out -purple of the sunsets wash off their colour in a river sleeping on the -horizon, submerged with rays and water. The trees are weary and, -beneath their foliage, whitened (by the dust of time rather than that -of the roads), rises the canvas house of “Showman of things Past.” -Many a lamp awaits the gloaming and brightens the faces of a -miserable crowd vanquished by the immortal illness and the sin of -ages, of men by the sides of their puny accomplices pregnant with -the miserable fruit with which the world will perish. In the anxious -silence of all the eyes supplicating the sun there, which sinks under -the water with the desperation of a cry, this is the plain announcement: -“No sign-board now regales you with the spectacle that is inside, for -there is no painter now capable of giving even a sad shadow of it. I -bring living (and preserved by sovereign science through the years) a -Woman of other days. Some kind of folly, naïve and original, an -ecstasy of gold, I know not what, by her called her hair, clings with -the grace of some material round a face brightened by the blood-red -nudity of her lips. In place of vain clothing, she has a body; and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>her eyes, resembling precious stones! are not worth that look, which -comes from her happy flesh: breasts raised as if full of eternal milk, -the points towards the sky; the smooth legs, that keep the salt of the -first sea.” Remembering their poor spouses, bald, morbid, and full of -horrors, the husbands press forward: the women too, from curiosity, -gloomily wish to see.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When all shall have contemplated the noble creature, vestige of -some epoch already damned, some indifferently, for they will not have -had strength to understand, but others broken-hearted and with eyelids -wet with tears of resignation, will look at each other; while the -poets of those times, feeling their dim eyes rekindled, will make their -way towards their lamp, their brain for an instant drunk with confused -glory, haunted by Rhythm and forgetful that they exist at an -epoch which has survived beauty.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span> - <h2 id='app2' class='c003'>APPENDIX II.<a id='r92' /><a href='#f92' class='c008'><sup>[92]</sup></a></h2> -</div> -<h3 class='c013'>No. 1.</h3> -<p class='c004'>The following verses are by Vielé-Griffin, from page 28 -of a volume of his Poems:—</p> -<h4 class='c015'>OISEAU BLEU COULEUR DU TEMPS.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>1.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sait-tu l’oubli</div> - <div class='line'>D’un vain doux rêve,</div> - <div class='line'>Oiseau moqueur</div> - <div class='line'>De la forêt?</div> - <div class='line'>Le jour pâlit,</div> - <div class='line'>La nuit se lève,</div> - <div class='line'>Et dans mon cœur</div> - <div class='line'>L’ombre a pleuré;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>2.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>O chante-moi</div> - <div class='line'>Ta folle gamme,</div> - <div class='line'>Car j’ai dormi</div> - <div class='line'>Ce jour durant;</div> - <div class='line'>Le lâche emoi</div> - <div class='line'>Où fut mon âme</div> - <div class='line'>Sanglote ennui</div> - <div class='line'>Le jour mourant...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>3.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sais-tu le chant</div> - <div class='line'>De sa parole</div> - <div class='line'>Et de sa voix,</div> - <div class='line'>Toi qui redis</div> - <div class='line'>Dans le couchant</div> - <div class='line'>Ton air frivole</div> - <div class='line'>Comme autrefois</div> - <div class='line'>Sous les midis?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>4.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>O chante alors</div> - <div class='line'>La mélodie</div> - <div class='line'>De son amour,</div> - <div class='line'>Mon fol espoir,</div> - <div class='line'>Parmi les ors</div> - <div class='line'>Et l’incendie</div> - <div class='line'>Du vain doux jour</div> - <div class='line'>Qui meurt ce soir.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Francis Vielé-Griffin.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span> - <h4 class='c015'>BLUE BIRD.</h4> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>1.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Canst thou forget,</div> - <div class='line'>In dreams so vain,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, mocking bird</div> - <div class='line'>Of forest deep?</div> - <div class='line'>The day doth set,</div> - <div class='line'>Night comes again,</div> - <div class='line'>My heart has heard</div> - <div class='line'>The shadows weep;</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>2.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Thy tones let flow</div> - <div class='line'>In maddening scale,</div> - <div class='line'>For I have slept</div> - <div class='line'>The livelong day;</div> - <div class='line'>Emotions low</div> - <div class='line'>In me now wail,</div> - <div class='line'>My soul they’ve kept:</div> - <div class='line'>Light dies away ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>3.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>That music sweet,</div> - <div class='line'>Ah, do you know</div> - <div class='line'>Her voice and speech?</div> - <div class='line'>Your airs so light</div> - <div class='line'>You who repeat</div> - <div class='line'>In sunset’s glow,</div> - <div class='line'>As you sang, each,</div> - <div class='line'>At noonday’s height.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>4.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Of my desire,</div> - <div class='line'>My hope so bold,</div> - <div class='line'>Her love—up, sing,</div> - <div class='line'>Sing ’neath this light,</div> - <div class='line'>This flaming fire,</div> - <div class='line'>And all the gold</div> - <div class='line'>The eve doth bring</div> - <div class='line'>Ere comes the night.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>No. 2.</h3> -<p class='c004'>And here are some verses by the esteemed young poet -Verhaeren, which I also take from page 28 of his Works:—</p> -<h4 class='c015'>ATTIRANCES.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lointainement, et si étrangement pareils,</div> - <div class='line'>De grands masques d’argent que la brume recule,</div> - <div class='line'>Vaguent, au jour tombant, autour des vieux soleils.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Les doux lointaines!—et comme, au fond du crépuscule,</div> - <div class='line'>Ils nous fixent le cœur, immensément le cœur,</div> - <div class='line'>Avec les yeux <i>défunts de leur</i> visage d’âme.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>C’est toujours du silence, à moins, dans la pâleur</div> - <div class='line'>Du soir, un jet de feu soudain, un cri de flamme,</div> - <div class='line'>Un départ de lumière inattendu vers Dieu.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>On se laisse charmer et troubler de mystère,</div> - <div class='line'>Et l’on dirait des morts qui taisent un adieu</div> - <div class='line'>Trop mystique, pour être écouté par la terre!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Sont-ils le souvenir matériel et clair</div> - <div class='line'>Des éphèbes chrétiens couchés aux catacombes</div> - <div class='line'>Parmi les lys? Sont-ils leur regard et leur chair?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ou seul, ce qui survit de merveilleux aux tombes</div> - <div class='line'>De ceux qui sont partis, vers leurs rêves, un soir,</div> - <div class='line'>Conquérir la folie à l’assaut des nuées?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Lointainement, combien nous les sentons vouloir</div> - <div class='line'>Un peu d’amour pour leurs œuvres destituées,</div> - <div class='line'>Pour leur errance et leur tristesse aux horizons.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Toujours! aux horizons du cœur et des pensées,</div> - <div class='line'>Alors que les vieux soirs éclatent en blasons</div> - <div class='line'>Soudains, pour les gloires noires et angoissées.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Émile Verhaeren</span>,</div> - <div class='line'><i>Poèmes</i>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h4 class='c015'>ATTRACTIONS.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Large masks of silver, by mists drawn away,</div> - <div class='line'>So strangely alike, yet so far apart,</div> - <div class='line'>Float round the old suns when faileth the day.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>They transfix our heart, so immensely our heart,</div> - <div class='line'>Those distances mild, in the twilight deep,</div> - <div class='line'>Looking out of dead faces with their spirit eyes.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>All around is now silence, except when there leap</div> - <div class='line'>In the pallor of evening, with fiery cries,</div> - <div class='line'>Some fountains of flame that God-ward do fly.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Mysterious trouble and charms us enfold.</div> - <div class='line'>You might think that the dead spoke a silent good-bye,</div> - <div class='line'>Oh! too mystical far on earth to be told!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>Are they the memories, material and bright,</div> - <div class='line'>Of the Christian youths that in catacombs sleep</div> - <div class='line'>’Mid the lilies? Are they their flesh or their sight?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Or the marvel alone that survives, in the deep,</div> - <div class='line'>Of those that, one night, returned to their dream</div> - <div class='line'>Of conquering folly by assaulting the skies?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>For their destitute works—we feel it seems,</div> - <div class='line'>For a little love their longing cries</div> - <div class='line'>From horizons far—for their errings and pain.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In horizons ever of heart and thought,</div> - <div class='line'>While the evenings old in bright blaze wane</div> - <div class='line'>Suddenly, for black glories anguish fraught.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>No. 3.</h3> -<p class='c004'>And the following is a poem by Moréas, evidently an -admirer of Greek beauty. It is from page 28 of a volume -of his Poems:—</p> -<h4 class='c015'>ENONE AU CLAIR VISAGE.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Enone, j’avais cru qu’en aimant ta beauté</div> - <div class='line'>Où l’âme avec le corps trouvent leur unité,</div> - <div class='line'>J’allais, m’affermissant et le cœur et l’esprit,</div> - <div class='line'>Monter jusqu’à cela qui jamais ne périt,</div> - <div class='line'>N’ayant été crée, qui n’est froideur ou feu,</div> - <div class='line'>Qui n’est beau quelque part et laid en autre lieu;</div> - <div class='line'>Et me flattais encor’ d’une belle harmonie</div> - <div class='line'>Que j’eusse composé du meilleur et du pire,</div> - <div class='line'>Ainsi que le chanteur qui chérit Polimnie,</div> - <div class='line'>En accordant le grave avec l’aigu, retire</div> - <div class='line'>Un son bien élevé sur les nerfs de sa lyre.</div> - <div class='line'>Mais mon courage, hélas! se pâmant comme mort,</div> - <div class='line'>M’enseigna que le trait qui m’avait fait amant</div> - <div class='line'>Ne fut pas de cet arc que courbe sans effort</div> - <div class='line'>La Vénus qui naquit du mâle seulement,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>Mais que j’avais souffert cette Vénus dernière,</div> - <div class='line'>Qui a le cœur couard, né d’une faible mère.</div> - <div class='line'>Et pourtant, ce mauvais garçon, chasseur habile,</div> - <div class='line'>Qui charge son carquois de sagette subtile,</div> - <div class='line'>Qui secoue en riant sa torche, pour un jour,</div> - <div class='line'>Qui ne pose jamais que sur de tendres fleurs,</div> - <div class='line'>C’est sur un teint charmant qu’il essuie les pleurs,</div> - <div class='line'>Et c’est encore un Dieu, Enone, cet Amour.</div> - <div class='line'>Mais, laisse, les oiseaux du printemps sont partis,</div> - <div class='line'>Et je vois les rayons du soleil amortis.</div> - <div class='line'>Enone, ma douleur, harmonieux visage,</div> - <div class='line'>Superbe humilité, doux honnête langage,</div> - <div class='line'>Hier me remirant dans cet étang glacé</div> - <div class='line'>Qui au bout du jardin se couvre de feuillage,</div> - <div class='line'>Sur ma face je vis que les jours ont passé.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Jean Moréas.</span></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h4 class='c015'>ENONE.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Enone, in loving thy beauty, I thought,</div> - <div class='line'>Where the soul and the body to union are brought,</div> - <div class='line'>That mounting by steadying my heart and my mind,</div> - <div class='line'>In that which can’t perish, myself I should find.</div> - <div class='line'>For it ne’er was created, is not ugly and fair;</div> - <div class='line'>Is not coldness in one part, while on fire it is there.</div> - <div class='line'>Yes, I flattered myself that a harmony fine</div> - <div class='line'>I’d succeed to compose of the worst and the best,</div> - <div class='line'>Like the bard who adores Polyhymnia divine,</div> - <div class='line'>And mingling sounds different from the nerves of his lyre,</div> - <div class='line'>From the grave and the smart draws melodies higher.</div> - <div class='line'>But, alas! my courage, so faint and nigh spent,</div> - <div class='line'>The dart that has struck me proves without fail</div> - <div class='line'>Not to be from that bow which is easily bent</div> - <div class='line'>By the Venus that’s born alone of the male.</div> - <div class='line'>No, ’twas that other Venus that caused me to smart,</div> - <div class='line'>Born of frail mother with cowardly heart.</div> - <div class='line'>And yet that naughty lad, that little hunter bold,</div> - <div class='line'>Who laughs and shakes his flowery torch just for a day,</div> - <div class='line'>Who never rests but upon tender flowers and gay,</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>On sweetest skin who dries the tears his eyes that fill,</div> - <div class='line'>Yet oh, Enone mine, a God’s that Cupid still.</div> - <div class='line'>Let it pass; for the birds of the Spring are away,</div> - <div class='line'>And dying I see the sun’s lingering ray.</div> - <div class='line'>Enone, my sorrow, oh, harmonious face,</div> - <div class='line'>Humility grand, words of virtue and grace,</div> - <div class='line'>I looked yestere’en in the pond frozen fast,</div> - <div class='line'>Strewn with leaves at the end of the garden’s fair space,</div> - <div class='line'>And I read in my face that those days are now past.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>No. 4.</h3> -<p class='c004'>And this is also from page 28 of a thick book, full of -similar Poems, by M. Montesquiou.</p> -<h4 class='c015'>BERCEUSE D’OMBRE.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des formes, des formes, des formes</div> - <div class='line'>Blanche, bleue, et rose, et d’or</div> - <div class='line'>Descendront du haut des ormes</div> - <div class='line'>Sur l’enfant qui se rendort.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des formes!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des plumes, des plumes, des plumes</div> - <div class='line'>Pour composer un doux nid.</div> - <div class='line'>Midi sonne: les enclumes</div> - <div class='line'>Cessent; la rumeur finit ...</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des plumes!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des roses, des roses, des roses</div> - <div class='line'>Pour embaumer son sommeil,</div> - <div class='line'>Vos pétales sont moroses</div> - <div class='line'>Près du sourire vermeil.</div> - <div class='line in10'>O roses!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des ailes, des ailes, des ailes</div> - <div class='line'>Pour bourdonner à son front.</div> - <div class='line'>Abeilles et demoiselles,</div> - <div class='line'>Des rythmes qui berceront.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des ailes!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>Des branches, des branches, des branches</div> - <div class='line'>Pour tresser un pavillon,</div> - <div class='line'>Par où des clartés moins franches</div> - <div class='line'>Descendront sur l’oisillon.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des branches!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des songes, des songes, des songes</div> - <div class='line'>Dans ses pensers entr’ ouverts</div> - <div class='line'>Glissez un peu de mensonges</div> - <div class='line'>A voir le vie au travers</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des songes!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des fées, des fées, des fées,</div> - <div class='line'>Pour filer leurs écheveaux</div> - <div class='line'>Des mirages, de bouffées</div> - <div class='line'>Dans tous ces petits cerveaux.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Des fées.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Des anges, des anges, des anges</div> - <div class='line'>Pour emporter dans l’éther</div> - <div class='line'>Les petits enfants étranges</div> - <div class='line'>Qui ne veulent pas rester ...</div> - <div class='line in10'>Nos anges!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='sc'>Comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac</span>,</div> - <div class='line'><i>Les Hortensias Bleus</i>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h4 class='c015'>THE SHADOW LULLABY.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh forms, oh forms, oh forms</div> - <div class='line'>White, blue, and gold, and red</div> - <div class='line'>Descending from the elm trees,</div> - <div class='line'>On sleeping baby’s head.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Oh forms!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh feathers, feathers, feathers</div> - <div class='line'>To make a cosy nest.</div> - <div class='line'>Twelve striking: stops the clamour;</div> - <div class='line'>The anvils are at rest ...</div> - <div class='line in10'>Oh feathers!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>Oh roses, roses, roses</div> - <div class='line'>To scent his sleep awhile,</div> - <div class='line'>Pale are your fragrant petals</div> - <div class='line'>Beside his ruby smile.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Oh roses!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh wings, oh wings, oh wings</div> - <div class='line'>Of bees and dragon-flies,</div> - <div class='line'>To hum around his forehead,</div> - <div class='line'>And lull him with your sighs.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Oh wings!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Branches, branches, branches</div> - <div class='line'>A shady bower to twine,</div> - <div class='line'>Through which, oh daylight, family</div> - <div class='line'>Descend on birdie mine.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Branches!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh dreams, oh dreams, oh dreams</div> - <div class='line'>Into his opening mind,</div> - <div class='line'>Let in a little falsehood</div> - <div class='line'>With sights of life behind.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Dreams!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh fairies, fairies, fairies,</div> - <div class='line'>To twine and twist their threads</div> - <div class='line'>With puffs of phantom visions</div> - <div class='line'>Into these little heads.</div> - <div class='line in10'>Fairies!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Angels, angels, angels</div> - <div class='line'>To the ether far away,</div> - <div class='line'>Those children strange to carry</div> - <div class='line'>That here don’t wish to stay ...</div> - <div class='line in10'>Our angels!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span> - <h2 id='app3' class='c003'>APPENDIX III.</h2> -</div> -<p class='c004'>These are the contents of <i>The Nibelung’s Ring</i>:—</p> - -<p class='c005'>The first part tells that the nymphs, the daughters of the -Rhine, for some reason guard gold in the Rhine, and sing: -Weia, Waga, Woge du Welle, Walle zur Wiege, Wagalaweia, -Wallala, Weiala, Weia, and so forth.</p> - -<p class='c005'>These singing nymphs are pursued by a gnome (a -nibelung) who desires to seize them. The gnome cannot -catch any of them. Then the nymphs guarding the gold -tell the gnome just what they ought to keep secret, namely, -that whoever renounces love will be able to steal the gold -they are guarding. And the gnome renounces love, and -steals the gold. This ends the first scene.</p> - -<p class='c005'>In the second scene a god and a goddess lie in a field in -sight of a castle which giants have built for them. Presently -they wake up and are pleased with the castle, and they -relate that in payment for this work they must give the -goddess Freia to the giants. The giants come for their pay. -But the god Wotan objects to parting with Freia. The -giants get angry. The gods hear that the gnome has stolen -the gold, promise to confiscate it and to pay the giants with -it. But the giants won’t trust them, and seize the goddess -Freia in pledge.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The third scene takes place under ground. The gnome -Alberich, who stole the gold, for some reason beats a gnome, -Mime, and takes from him a helmet which has the power -both of making people invisible and of turning them into -other animals. The gods, Wotan and others, appear and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>quarrel with one another and with the gnomes, and wish to -take the gold, but Alberich won’t give it up, and (like everybody -all through the piece) behaves in a way to ensure his -own ruin. He puts on the helmet, and becomes first a -dragon and then a toad. The gods catch the toad, -take the helmet off it, and carry Alberich away with -them.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Scene IV. The gods bring Alberich to their home, and -order him to command his gnomes to bring them all the -gold. The gnomes bring it. Alberich gives up the gold, -but keeps a magic ring. The gods take the ring. So -Alberich curses the ring, and says it is to bring misfortune -on anyone who has it. The giants appear; they bring the -goddess Freia, and demand her ransom. They stick up -staves of Freia’s height, and gold is poured in between these -staves: this is to be the ransom. There is not enough gold, -so the helmet is thrown in, and they also demand the ring. -Wotan refuses to give it up, but the goddess Erda appears -and commands him to do so, because it brings misfortune. -Wotan gives it up. Freia is released. The giants, having -received the ring, fight, and one of them kills the other. -This ends the Prelude, and we come to the First Day.</p> - -<p class='c005'>The scene shows a house in a tree. Siegmund runs in -tired, and lies down. Sieglinda, the mistress of the house -(and wife of Hunding), gives him a drugged draught, and -they fall in love with each other. Sieglinda’s husband -comes home, learns that Siegmund belongs to a hostile race, -and wishes to fight him next day; but Sieglinda drugs her -husband, and comes to Siegmund. Siegmund discovers that -Sieglinda is his sister, and that his father drove a sword into -the tree so that no one can get it out. Siegmund pulls the -sword out, and commits incest with his sister.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act II. Siegmund is to fight with Hunding. The gods -discuss the question to whom they shall award the victory. -Wotan, approving of Siegmund’s incest with his sister, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span>wishes to spare him, but, under pressure from his wife, -Fricka, he orders the Valkyrie Brünnhilda to kill Siegmund. -Siegmund goes to fight; Sieglinda faints. Brünnhilda appears -and wishes to slay Siegmund. Siegmund wishes to -kill Sieglinda also, but Brünnhilda does not allow it; so he -fights with Hunding. Brünnhilda defends Siegmund, but -Wotan defends Hunding. Siegmund’s sword breaks, and -he is killed. Sieglinda runs away.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act III. The Valkyries (divine Amazons) are on the -stage. The Valkyrie Brünnhilda arrives on horseback, -bringing Siegmund’s body. She is flying from Wotan, -who is chasing her for her disobedience. Wotan catches -her, and as a punishment dismisses her from her post -as a Valkyrie. He casts a spell on her, so that she has -to go to sleep and to continue asleep until a man wakes -her. When someone wakes her she will fall in love with -him. Wotan kisses her; she falls asleep. He lets off fire, -which surrounds her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>We now come to the Second Day. The gnome Mime -forges a sword in a wood. Siegfried appears. He is a son -born from the incest of brother with sister (Siegmund with -Sieglinda), and has been brought up in this wood by the -gnome. In general the motives of the actions of everybody -in this production are quite unintelligible. Siegfried learns -his own origin, and that the broken sword was his father’s. -He orders Mime to reforge it, and then goes off. Wotan -comes in the guise of a wanderer, and relates what will -happen: that he who has not learnt to fear will forge the -sword, and will defeat everybody. The gnome conjectures -that this is Siegfried, and wants to poison him. Siegfried -returns, forges his father’s sword, and runs off, shouting, -Heiho! heiho! heiho! Ho! ho! Aha! oho! aha! -Heiaho! heiaho! heiaho! Ho! ho! Hahei! hoho! -hahei!</p> - -<p class='c005'>And we get to Act II. Alberich sits guarding a giant, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>who, in form of a dragon, guards the gold he has received. -Wotan appears, and for some unknown reason foretells that -Siegfried will come and kill the dragon. Alberich wakes -the dragon, and asks him for the ring, promising to defend -him from Siegfried. The dragon won’t give up the ring. -Exit Alberich. Mime and Siegfried appear. Mime hopes -the dragon will teach Siegfried to fear. But Siegfried -does not fear. He drives Mime away and kills the dragon, -after which he puts his finger, smeared with the dragon’s -blood, to his lips. This enables him to know men’s secret -thoughts, as well as the language of birds. The birds tell -him where the treasure and the ring are, and also that Mime -wishes to poison him. Mime returns, and says out loud -that he wishes to poison Siegfried. This is meant to signify -that Siegfried, having tasted dragon’s blood, understands -people’s secret thoughts. Siegfried, having learnt Mime’s -intentions, kills him. The birds tell Siegfried where Brünnhilda -is, and he goes to find her.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act III. Wotan calls up Erda. Erda prophesies to -Wotan, and gives him advice. Siegfried appears, quarrels -with Wotan, and they fight. Suddenly Siegfried’s sword -breaks Wotan’s spear, which had been more powerful than -anything else. Siegfried goes into the fire to Brünnhilda; -kisses her; she wakes up, abandons her divinity, and throws -herself into Siegfried’s arms.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Third Day. Prelude. Three Norns plait a golden rope, -and talk about the future. They go away. Siegfried and -Brünnhilda appear. Siegfried takes leave of her, gives her -the ring, and goes away.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act I. By the Rhine. A king wants to get married, and -also to give his sister in marriage. Hagen, the king’s -wicked brother, advises him to marry Brünnhilda, and to -give his sister to Siegfried. Siegfried appears; they give -him a drugged draught, which makes him forget all the past -and fall in love with the king’s sister, Gutrune. So he rides -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>off with Gunther, the king, to get Brünnhilda to be the -king’s bride. The scene changes. Brünnhilda sits with the -ring. A Valkyrie comes to her and tells her that Wotan’s -spear is broken, and advises her to give the ring to the -Rhine nymphs. Siegfried comes, and by means of the magic -helmet turns himself into Gunther, demands the ring from -Brünnhilda, seizes it, and drags her off to sleep with -him.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act II. By the Rhine. Alberich and Hagen discuss how -to get the ring. Siegfried comes, tells how he has obtained -a bride for Gunther and spent the night with her, but -put a sword between himself and her. Brünnhilda rides -up, recognises the ring on Siegfried’s hand, and declares -that it was he, and not Gunther, who was with her. Hagen -stirs everybody up against Siegfried, and decides to kill him -next day when hunting.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Act III. Again the nymphs in the Rhine relate what has -happened. Siegfried, who has lost his way, appears. The -nymphs ask him for the ring, but he won’t give it up. Hunters -appear. Siegfried tells the story of his life. Hagen then -gives him a draught, which causes his memory to return to -him. Siegfried relates how he aroused and obtained Brünnhilda, -and everyone is astonished. Hagen stabs him in the -back, and the scene is changed. Gutrune meets the corpse -of Siegfried. Gunther and Hagen quarrel about the ring, and -Hagen kills Gunther. Brünnhilda cries. Hagen wishes to -take the ring from Siegfried’s hand, but the hand of the corpse -raises itself threateningly. Brünnhilda takes the ring from -Siegfried’s hand, and when Siegfried’s corpse is carried to -the pyre she gets on to a horse and leaps into the fire. The -Rhine rises, and the waves reach the pyre. In the river are -three nymphs. Hagen throws himself into the fire to get -the ring, but the nymphs seize him and carry him off. One -of them holds the ring; and that is the end of the -matter.</p> - -<p class='c005'><span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>The impression obtainable from my recapitulation is, of -course, incomplete. But however incomplete it may be, it -is certainly infinitely more favourable than the impression -which results from reading the four booklets in which the -work is printed.</p> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span> - <h2 id='app4' class='c003'>APPENDIX IV. <br /> Translations of French poems and prose quoted in Chapter X.</h2> -</div> -<h3 class='c013'>BAUDELAIRE’S “FLOWERS OF EVIL.” <br /> No. XXIV.</h3> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I adore thee as much as the vaults of night,</div> - <div class='line'>O vase full of grief, taciturnity great,</div> - <div class='line'>And I love thee the more because of thy flight.</div> - <div class='line'>It seemeth, my night’s beautifier, that you</div> - <div class='line'>Still heap up those leagues—yes! ironically heap!—</div> - <div class='line'>That divide from my arms the immensity blue.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I advance to attack, I climb to assault,</div> - <div class='line'>Like a choir of young worms at a corpse in the vault;</div> - <div class='line'>Thy coldness, oh cruel, implacable beast!</div> - <div class='line'>Yet heightens thy beauty, on which my eyes feast!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>BAUDELAIRE’S “FLOWERS OF EVIL.” <br /> No. XXXVI.</h3> -<h4 class='c015'>DUELLUM.</h4> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Two warriors come running, to fight they begin,</div> - <div class='line in2'>With gleaming and blood they bespatter the air;</div> - <div class='line'>These games, and this clatter of arms, is the din</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of youth that’s a prey to the surgings of love.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>The rapiers are broken! and so is our youth,</div> - <div class='line in2'>But the dagger’s avenged, dear! and so is the sword,</div> - <div class='line in2'>By the nail that is steeled and the hardened tooth.</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, the fury of hearts aged and ulcered by love!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>In the ditch, where the ounce and the pard have their lair,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Our heroes have rolled in an angry embrace;</div> - <div class='line in2'>Their skin blooms on brambles that erewhile were bare.</div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>That ravine is a friend-inhabited hell!</div> - <div class='line in2'>Then let us roll in, oh woman inhuman,</div> - <div class='line in2'>To immortalise hatred that nothing can quell!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>FROM BAUDELAIRE’S PROSE WORK ENTITLED “LITTLE POEMS.”</h3> -<h4 class='c015'>THE STRANGER.</h4> -<p class='c004'>Whom dost thou love best? say, enigmatical man—thy father, -thy mother, thy brother, or thy sister?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I have neither father, nor mother, nor sister, nor brother.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thy friends?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“You there use an expression the meaning of which till now remains -unknown to me.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Thy country?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I ignore in what latitude it is situated.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Beauty?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I would gladly love her, goddess and immortal.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Gold?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I hate it as you hate God.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Then what do you love, extraordinary stranger?</p> - -<p class='c005'>“I love the clouds ... the clouds that pass ... there ... the -marvellous clouds!”</p> -<h3 class='c013'>BAUDELAIRE’S PROSE POEM, <br /> THE SOUP AND THE CLOUDS.</h3> -<p class='c004'>My beloved little silly was giving me my dinner, and I was contemplating, -through the open window of the dining-room, those moving -architectures which God makes out of vapours, the marvellous constructions -of the impalpable. And I said to myself, amid my -contemplations, “All these phantasmagoria are almost as beautiful as -the eyes of my beautiful beloved, the monstrous little silly with the -green eyes.”</p> - -<p class='c005'>Suddenly I felt the violent blow of a fist on my back, and I heard -a harsh, charming voice, an hysterical voice, as it were hoarse with -brandy, the voice of my dear little well-beloved, saying, “Are you -going to eat your soup soon, you d—— b—— of a dealer in clouds?”</p> -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span> - <h3 class='c013'>BAUDELAIRE’S PROSE POEM, <br /> THE GALLANT MARKSMAN.</h3> -</div> -<p class='c004'>As the carriage was passing through the forest, he ordered it to be -stopped near a shooting-gallery, saying that he wished to shoot off a -few bullets to <i>kill</i> Time. To kill this monster, is it not the most -ordinary and the most legitimate occupation of everyone? And he -gallantly offered his arm to his dear, delicious, and execrable wife—that -mysterious woman to whom he owed so much pleasure, so much -pain, and perhaps also a large part of his genius.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Several bullets struck far from the intended mark—one even -penetrated the ceiling; and as the charming creature laughed madly, -mocking her husband’s awkwardness, he turned abruptly towards -her and said, “Look at that doll there on the right with the haughty -mien and her nose in the air; well, dear angel, <i>I imagine to myself -that it is you</i>!” And he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The -doll was neatly decapitated.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Then, bowing towards his dear one, his delightful, execrable wife, -his inevitable, pitiless muse, and kissing her hand respectfully, he -added, “Ah! my dear angel, how I thank you for my skill!”</p> -<h3 class='c013'>VERLAINE’S “FORGOTTEN AIRS.” <br /> No. I.</h3> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The wind in the plain</div> - <div class='line'>Suspends its breath.”—<span class='sc'>Favart.</span></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>’Tis ecstasy languishing,</div> - <div class='line'>Amorous fatigue,</div> - <div class='line'>Of woods all the shudderings</div> - <div class='line'>Embraced by the breeze,</div> - <div class='line'>’Tis the choir of small voices</div> - <div class='line'>Towards the grey trees.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Oh the frail and fresh murmuring!</div> - <div class='line'>The twitter and buzz,</div> - <div class='line'>The soft cry resembling</div> - <div class='line'>That’s expired by the grass ...</div> - <div class='line'>Oh, the roll of the pebbles</div> - <div class='line'>’Neath waters that pass!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>Oh, this soul that is groaning</div> - <div class='line'>In sleepy complaint!</div> - <div class='line'>In us is it moaning?</div> - <div class='line'>In me and in you?</div> - <div class='line'>Low anthem exhaling</div> - <div class='line'>While soft falls the dew.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>VERLAINE’S “FORGOTTEN AIRS.” <br /> No. VIII.</h3> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In the unending</div> - <div class='line'>Dulness of this land,</div> - <div class='line'>Uncertain the snow</div> - <div class='line'>Is gleaming like sand.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>No kind of brightness</div> - <div class='line'>In copper-hued sky,</div> - <div class='line'>The moon you might see</div> - <div class='line'>Now live and now die.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Grey float the oak trees—</div> - <div class='line'>Cloudlike they seem—</div> - <div class='line'>Of neighbouring forests,</div> - <div class='line'>The mists in between.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Wolves hungry and lean,</div> - <div class='line'>And famishing crow,</div> - <div class='line'>What happens to you</div> - <div class='line'>When acid winds blow?</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>In the unending</div> - <div class='line'>Dulness of this land,</div> - <div class='line'>Uncertain the snow</div> - <div class='line'>Is gleaming like sand.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<h3 class='c013'>SONG BY MAETERLINCK.</h3> -<div class='lg-container-b c016'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>When he went away,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Then I heard the door)</div> - <div class='line in2'>When he went away,</div> - <div class='line in2'>On her lips a smile there lay ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>Back he came to her,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Then I heard the lamp)</div> - <div class='line in2'>Back he came to her,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Someone else was there ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>It was death I met,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(And I heard her soul)</div> - <div class='line in2'>It was death I met,</div> - <div class='line in2'>For her he’s waiting yet ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Someone came to say,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Child, I am afraid)</div> - <div class='line in2'>Someone came to say</div> - <div class='line in2'>That he would go away ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>With my lamp alight,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Child, I am afraid)</div> - <div class='line in2'>With my lamp alight,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Approached I in affright ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>To one door I came,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Child, I am afraid)</div> - <div class='line in2'>To one door I came,</div> - <div class='line in2'>A shudder shook the flame ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>At the second door,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Child, I am afraid)</div> - <div class='line in2'>At the second door</div> - <div class='line in2'>Forth words the flame did pour ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>To the third I came,</div> - <div class='line in2'>(Child, I am afraid)</div> - <div class='line in2'>To the third I came,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Then died the little flame ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Should he one day return</div> - <div class='line in2'>Then what shall we say?</div> - <div class='line'>Waiting, tell him, one</div> - <div class='line in2'>And dying for him lay ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>If he asks for you,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Say what answer then?</div> - <div class='line'>Give him my gold ring</div> - <div class='line in2'>And answer not a thing ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>Should he question me</div> - <div class='line in2'>Concerning the last hour?</div> - <div class='line'>Say I smiled for fear</div> - <div class='line in2'>That he should shed a tear ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Should he question more</div> - <div class='line in2'>Without knowing me?</div> - <div class='line'>Like a sister speak;</div> - <div class='line in2'>Suffering he may be ...</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>Should he question why</div> - <div class='line in2'>Empty is the hall?</div> - <div class='line'>Show the gaping door,</div> - <div class='line in2'>The lamp alight no more ...</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c004'>PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c1'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div><span class='large'>Footnotes</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='footnote' id='f1'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. </span>Bolton Hall has recently published a little work, <i>Life, and Love, -and Death</i>, with the object of making the philosophy contained in <i>On -Life</i> more easily accessible in English.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f2'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r2'>2</a>. </span>Tolstoy’s remarks on Church religion were re-worded so as to seem -to relate only to the Western Church, and his disapproval of luxurious -life was made to apply not, say, to Queen Victoria or Nicholas <span class='fss'>II.</span>, -but to the Cæsars or the Pharaohs.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f3'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r3'>3</a>. </span>The Russian peasant is usually a member of a village commune, -and has therefore a right to a share in the land belonging to the -village. Tolstoy disapproves of the order of society which allows -less land for the support of a whole village full of people than is -sometimes owned by a single landed proprietor. The “Censor” will -not allow disapproval of this state of things to be expressed, but is -prepared to admit that the laws and customs, say, of England—where -a yet more extreme form of landed property exists, and the -men who actually labour on the land usually possess none of it—deserve -criticism.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f4'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r4'>4</a>. </span>Only two, or at most three, senses are generally held worthy to -supply matter for artistic treatment, but I think this opinion is only -conditionally correct. I will not lay too much stress on the fact that -our common speech recognises many other arts, as, for instance, the -art of cookery.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f5'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r5'>5</a>. </span>And yet it is certainly an æsthetic achievement when the art of -cooking succeeds in making of an animal’s corpse an object in all respects -tasteful. The principle of the Art of Taste (which goes beyond -the so-called Art of Cookery) is therefore this: All that is eatable -should be treated as the symbol of some Idea, and always in harmony -with the Idea to be expressed.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f6'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r6'>6</a>. </span>If the sense of touch lacks colour, it gives us, on the other hand, -a notion which the eye alone cannot afford, and one of considerable -æsthetic value, namely, that of <i>softness</i>, <i>silkiness</i>, <i>polish</i>. The beauty -of velvet is characterised not less by its softness to the touch than by -its lustre. In the idea we form of a woman’s beauty, the softness of -her skin enters as an essential element.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Each of us probably, with a little attention, can recall pleasures of -taste which have been real æsthetic pleasures.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f7'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r7'>7</a>. </span>M. Schasler, <i>Kritische Geschichte der Aesthetik</i>, 1872, vol. i. -p. 13.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f8'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r8'>8</a>. </span>There is no science which more than æsthetics has been handed -over to the reveries of the metaphysicians. From Plato down to the -received doctrines of our day, people have made of art a strange -amalgam of quintessential fancies and transcendental mysteries, which -find their supreme expression in the conception of an absolute ideal -Beauty, immutable and divine prototype of actual things.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f9'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r9'>9</a>. </span>See on this matter Benard’s admirable book, <i>L’esthétique -d’Aristote</i>, also Walter’s <i>Geschichte der Aesthetik im Altertum</i>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f10'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r10'>10</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 361.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f11'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r11'>11</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 369.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f12'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r12'>12</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 388-390.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f13'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r13'>13</a>. </span>Knight, <i>Philosophy of the Beautiful</i>, i. pp. 165, 166.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f14'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r14'>14</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 289. Knight, pp. 168, 169.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f15'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r15'>15</a>. </span>R. Kralik, <i>Weltschönheit, Versuch einer allgemeinen Aesthetik</i>, -pp. 304-306.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f16'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r16'>16</a>. </span>Knight, p. 101.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f17'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r17'>17</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 316.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f18'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r18'>18</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 102-104.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f19'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r19'>19</a>. </span>R. Kralik, p. 124.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f20'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r20'>20</a>. </span>Spaletti, Schasler, p. 328.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f21'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r21'>21</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 331-333.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f22'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r22'>22</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 525-528.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f23'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r23'>23</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 61-63.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f24'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r24'>24</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 740-743.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f25'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r25'>25</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 769-771.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f26'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r26'>26</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 786, 787.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f27'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r27'>27</a>. </span>Kralik, p. 148.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f28'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r28'>28</a>. </span>Kralik, p. 820.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f29'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r29'>29</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 828, 829, 834-841.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f30'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r30'>30</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 891.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f31'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r31'>31</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 917.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f32'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r32'>32</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 946, 1085, 984, 985, 990.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f33'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r33'>33</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 966, 655, 956.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f34'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r34'>34</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 1017.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f35'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r35'>35</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 1065, 1066.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f36'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r36'>36</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 1097-1100.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f37'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r37'>37</a>. </span>Schasler, pp. 1124, 1107.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f38'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r38'>38</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 81, 82.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f39'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r39'>39</a>. </span>Knight, p. 83.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f40'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r40'>40</a>. </span>Schasler, p. 1121.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f41'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r41'>41</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 85, 86.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f42'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r42'>42</a>. </span>Knight, p. 88.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f43'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r43'>43</a>. </span>Knight, p. 88.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f44'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r44'>44</a>. </span>Knight, p. 112.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f45'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r45'>45</a>. </span>Knight, p. 116.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f46'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r46'>46</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 118, 119.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f47'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r47'>47</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 123, 124.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f48'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r48'>48</a>. </span><i>La philosophie en France</i>, p. 232.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f49'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r49'>49</a>. </span><i>Du fondement de l’induction.</i></p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f50'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r50'>50</a>. </span><i>Philosophie de l’art</i>, vol. i. 1893, p. 47.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f51'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r51'>51</a>. </span>Knight, p. 139-141.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f52'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r52'>52</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 134.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f53'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r53'>53</a>. </span><i>L’esthétique</i>, p. 106.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f54'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r54'>54</a>. </span>Knight, p. 238.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f55'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r55'>55</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 239, 240.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f56'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r56'>56</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 240-243.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f57'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r57'>57</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 250-252.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f58'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r58'>58</a>. </span>Knight, pp. 258, 259.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f59'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r59'>59</a>. </span>Knight, p. 243.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f60'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r60'>60</a>. </span>“The foundling of Nuremberg,” found in the market-place of -that town on 26th May 1828, apparently some sixteen years old. -He spoke little, and was almost totally ignorant even of common -objects. He subsequently explained that he had been brought up in -confinement underground, and visited by only one man, whom he saw -but seldom.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f61'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r61'>61</a>. </span>Eastern sects well known in early Church history, who rejected -the Church’s rendering of Christ’s teaching and were cruelly persecuted.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f62'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r62'>62</a>. </span>Keltchitsky, a Bohemian of the fifteenth century, was the author -of a remarkable book, <i>The Net of Faith</i>, directed against Church and -State. It is mentioned in Tolstoy’s <i>The Kingdom of God is Within -You</i>.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f63'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r63'>63</a>. </span>Any one examining closely may see that the theory of beauty and -that of art are quite separated in Aristotle as they are in Plato and in -all their successors.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f64'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r64'>64</a>. </span>Die Lücke von fünf Jahrhunderten, welche zwischen den Kunstphilosophischen -Betrachtungen des Plato und Aristoteles und die des -Plotins fällt, kann zwar auffällig erscheinen; dennoch kann man -eigentlich nicht sagen, dass in dieser Zwischenzeit überhaupt von -ästhetischen Dingen nicht die Rede gewesen; oder dass gar ein völliger -Mangel an Zusammenhang zwischen den Kunst-anscliauungen des -letztgenannten Philosophen und denen der ersteren existire. Freilich -wurde die von Aristoteles begründete Wissenschaft in Nichts dadurch -gefördert; immerhin aber zeigt sich in jener Zwischenzeit noch -ein gewisses Interesse für ästhetische Fragen. Nach Plotin aber, die -wenigen, ihm in der Zeit nahestehenden Philosophen, wie Longin, -Augustin, u. s. f. kommen, wie wir gesehen, kaum in Betracht und -schliessen sich übrigens in ihrer Anschauungsweise an ihn an,—vergehen -nicht fünf, sondern <i>fünfzehn Jahrhunderte</i>, in denen von -irgend einer wissenschaftlichen Interesse für die Welt des Schönen und -der Kunst nichts zu spüren ist.</p> - -<p class='c005'>Diese anderthalbtausend Jahre, innerhalb deren der Weltgeist -durch die mannigfachsten Kämpfe hindurch zu einer völlig neuen -Gestaltung des Lebens sich durcharbeitete, sind für die Aesthetik, -hinsichtlich des weiteren Ausbaus dieser Wissenschaft verloren.—Max -Schasler.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f65'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r65'>65</a>. </span>The contrast made is between the classes and the masses: -between those who do not and those who do earn their bread by -productive manual labour; the middle classes being taken as an -offshoot of the upper classes.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f66'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r66'>66</a>. </span>Duelling is still customary among the higher circles in Russia, as -in other Continental countries.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f67'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r67'>67</a>. </span>It is the weariness of life, contempt for the present epoch, regret -for another age seen through the illusion of art, a taste for paradox, -a desire to be singular, a sentimental aspiration after simplicity, an -infantine adoration of the marvellous, a sickly tendency towards -reverie, a shattered condition of nerves, and, above all, the exasperated -demand of sensuality.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f68'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r68'>68</a>. </span></p> -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Music, music before all things</div> - <div class='line'>The eccentric still prefer,</div> - <div class='line'>Vague in air, and nothing weighty,</div> - <div class='line'>Soluble. Yet do not err,</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Choosing words; still do it lightly,</div> - <div class='line'>Do it too with some contempt;</div> - <div class='line'>Dearest is the song that’s tipsy,</div> - <div class='line'>Clearness, dimness not exempt.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line c012'>Music always, now and ever</div> - <div class='line'>Be thy verse the thing that flies</div> - <div class='line'>From a soul that’s gone, escaping,</div> - <div class='line'>Gone to other loves and skies.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Gone to other loves and regions,</div> - <div class='line'>Following fortunes that allure,</div> - <div class='line'>Mint and thyme and morning crispness ...</div> - <div class='line'>All the rest’s mere literature.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f69'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r69'>69</a>. </span>I think there should be nothing but allusions. The contemplation -of objects, the flying image of reveries evoked by them, are the song. -The Parnassiens state the thing completely, and show it, and thereby -lack mystery; they deprive the mind of that delicious joy of imagining -that it creates. To <i>name an object is to take three-quarters from the -enjoyment of the poem, which consists in the happiness of guessing little -by little: to suggest, that is the dream</i>. It is the perfect use of this -mystery that constitutes the symbol: little by little, to evoke an -object in order to show a state of the soul; or inversely, to choose an -object, and from it to disengage a state of the soul by a series of -decipherings.</p> - -<p class='c005'>... If a being of mediocre intelligence and insufficient literary -preparation chance to open a book made in this way and pretends to -enjoy it, there is a misunderstanding—things must be returned to -their places. <i>There should always be an enigma in poetry</i>, and the -aim of literature—it has no other—is to evoke objects.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f70'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r70'>70</a>. </span>It were time also to have done with this famous “theory of -obscurity,” which the new school have practically raised to the height -of a dogma.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f71'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r71'>71</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f72'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r72'>72</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f73'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r73'>73</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f74'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r74'>74</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f75'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r75'>75</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f76'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r76'>76</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f77'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r77'>77</a>. </span></p> -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>I do not wish to think any more, except about my mother Mary,</div> - <div class='line'>Seat of wisdom and source of pardon,</div> - <div class='line'>Also Mother of France, <i>from whom we</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Steadfastly expect the honour of our country</i>.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f78'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r78'>78</a>. </span>This sonnet seems too unintelligible for translation.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f79'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r79'>79</a>. </span>For translation, see <a href='#app4'>Appendix IV</a>.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f80'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r80'>80</a>. </span>The quicker it goes the longer it lasts.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f81'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r81'>81</a>. </span>All styles are good except the wearisome style.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f82'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r82'>82</a>. </span>All styles are good except that which is not understood, <i>or</i> which -fails to produce its effect.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f83'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r83'>83</a>. </span>An apparatus exists by means of which a very sensitive arrow, -in dependence on the tension of a muscle of the arm, will indicate -the physiological action of music on the nerves and muscles.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f84'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r84'>84</a>. </span>There is in Moscow a magnificent “Cathedral of our Saviour,” -erected to commemorate the defeat of the French in the war of 1812.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f85'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r85'>85</a>. </span>“That they may be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I -in thee, that they also may be in us.”</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f86'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r86'>86</a>. </span>In this picture the spectators in the Roman Amphitheatre are -turning down their thumbs to show that they wish the vanquished -gladiator to be killed.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f87'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r87'>87</a>. </span>While offering as examples of art those that seem to me the best, -I attach no special importance to my selection; for, besides being -insufficiently informed in all branches of art, I belong to the class -of people whose taste has, by false training, been perverted. And -therefore my old, inured habits may cause me to err, and I may -mistake for absolute merit the impression a work produced on me in -my youth. My only purpose in mentioning examples of works of this -or that class is to make my meaning clearer, and to show how, -with my present views, I understand excellence in art in relation -to its subject-matter. I must, moreover, mention that I consign my -own artistic productions to the category of bad art, excepting the -story <i>God sees the Truth</i>, which seeks a place in the first class, and -<i>The Prisoner of the Caucasus</i>, which belongs to the second.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f88'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r88'>88</a>. </span>In Russian it is customary to make a distinction between literate -and illiterate people, <i>i.e.</i> between those who can and those who cannot -read. <i>Literate</i> in this sense does not imply that the man would -speak or write correctly.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f89'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r89'>89</a>. </span>The over-man (Uebermensch), in the Nietzschean philosophy, is -that superior type of man whom the struggle for existence is to evolve, -and who will seek only his own power and pleasure, will know nothing -of pity, and will have the right, because he will possess the power, to -make ordinary people serve him.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f90'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r90'>90</a>. </span>Stenka Razin was by origin a common Cossack. His brother was -hung for a breach of military discipline, and to this event Stenka -Razin’s hatred of the governing classes has been attributed. He -formed a robber band, and subsequently headed a formidable rebellion, -declaring himself in favour of freedom for the serfs, religious -toleration, and the abolition of taxes. Like the Government he -opposed, he relied on force, and, though he used it largely in defence -of the poor against the rich, he still held to</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c010'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The good old rule, the simple plan,</div> - <div class='line'>That they should take who have the power,</div> - <div class='line'>And they should keep who can.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c009'>Like Robin Hood he is favourably treated in popular legends.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f91'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r91'>91</a>. </span>Robert Macaire is a modern type of adroit and audacious rascality. -He was the hero of a popular play produced in Paris in 1834.—Trans.</p> -</div> -<div class='footnote' id='f92'> -<p class='c005'><span class='label'><a href='#r92'>92</a>. </span>The translations in Appendices I., II., and IV., are by Louise -Maude. The aim of these renderings has been to keep as close to the -originals as the obscurity of meaning allowed. The sense (or absence -of sense) has therefore been more considered than the form of the -verses.</p> -</div> -<div> - - <ul class='ul_1 c002'> - <li>Transcriber’s Notes: - <ul class='ul_2'> - <li>Footnotes have been collected at the end of the text, and are linked for ease of - reference. - </li> - </ul> - </li> - </ul> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHAT IS ART? ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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