"Truth," said Madox-Brown, the Pre-Raphaelite, "is the means of art, its
end the quickening of the soul." Music does more than quicken the soul;
it reveals the soul, makes it conscious of itself. Springing from the
deepest and best that is implanted in man, it fertilizes the soil from
which it uprises. Both beauty and truth are essential to its welfare. As
Hamilton W. Mabie has said: "We need beauty just as truly as we need
truth, for it is as much a part of our lives. We have learned in part
the lesson of morality, but we have yet to learn the lesson of beauty."
This must be learned through the culture of the aesthetic taste, a matter
of slow growth, which should begin with the rudiments, and is best
fostered in an atmosphere saturated with good music.
Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of hearing good music.
When it falls on listening ears it removes all desire for anything
coarse or unrefined. Constant companionship with it prepares the ear to
hear, the inner being to receive, and cannot fail to bring forth fruit.
Pages:
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66