登陆注册
4810400000038

第38章

"Our public libraries contain all the books of the past which time has preserved; those books, for the reasons above stated, are infinitely better than any can write nowadays, and they are open to all to read without cost. We are not such fools as to pay for reading inferior books, when we can read superior books for nothing.""With us, novelty has an attraction; and a new book, if bad, is read when an old book, though good, is neglected.""Novelty, to barbarous states of society struggling in despair for something better, has no doubt an attraction, denied to us, who see nothing to gain in novelties; but after all, it is observed by one of our great authors four thousand years ago, that 'he who studies old books will always find in them something new, and he who reads new books will always find in them something old.' But to return to the question you have raised, there being then amongst us no stimulus to painstaking labour, whether in desire of fame or in pressure of want, such as have the poetic temperament, no doubt vent it in song, as you say the bird sings; but for lack of elaborate culture it fails of an audience, and, failing of an audience, dies out, of itself, amidst the ordinary avocations of life.""But how is it that these discouragements to the cultivation of literature do not operate against that of science?""Your question amazes me. The motive to science is the love of truth apart from all consideration of fame, and science with us too is devoted almost solely to practical uses, essential to our social conversation and the comforts of our daily life. No 88fame is asked by the inventor, and none is given to him; he enjoys an occupation congenial to his tastes, and needing no wear and tear of the passions. Man must have exercise for his mind as well as body; and continuous exercise, rather than violent, isbest for both. Our most ingenious cultivators of science are, as a general rule, the longest lived and the most free from disease. Painting is an amusement to many, but the art is not what it was in former times, when the great painters in our various communities vied with each other for the prize of a golden crown, which gave them a social rank equal to that of the kings under whom they lived. You will thus doubtless have observed in our archaeological department how superior in point of art the pictures were several thousand years ago. Perhaps it is because music is, in reality, more allied to science than it is to poetry, that, of all the pleasurable arts, music is that which flourishes the most amongst us. Still, even in music the absence of stimulus in praise or fame has served to prevent any great superiority of one individual over another; and we rather excel in choral music, with the aid of our vast mechanical instruments, in which we make great use of the agency of water,* than in single performers." * This may remind the student of Nero's invention of a musical machine, by which water was made to perform the part of an orchestra, and on which he was employed when the conspiracy against him broke out.

同类推荐
  • 新编雷峰塔奇传

    新编雷峰塔奇传

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 漕船志

    漕船志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说鹹水喻经

    佛说鹹水喻经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Poems1

    Poems1

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 小儿肛胀门

    小儿肛胀门

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • A Mountain Woman

    A Mountain Woman

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 控球法师

    控球法师

    比“魔术师”约翰逊传球更好的是什么人?控球法师!
  • 扬武大陆

    扬武大陆

    一个原本美满幸福的家庭,一个原本无忧无虑的孩子,一个原本平静的世外桃源,却因为好奇,引来神龙的咆哮,带来了灭顶之灾。天孝背负着救出被神龙冰封的父母,兄弟,叔叔阿姨的重任,踏入了社会。看他如何在市井中寻找突破,面对众多美女,他是如何选择,面对诱惑,他是如何抉择。最后又是如何救母,期待大家前去指点。【灰太狼-狼族崛起】【九天】:QQ群:110148354
  • 五大虚空藏菩萨速疾大神验秘密式经

    五大虚空藏菩萨速疾大神验秘密式经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 上清紫微帝君南极元君玉经宝诀

    上清紫微帝君南极元君玉经宝诀

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 中国诗歌古典名句大全

    中国诗歌古典名句大全

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 安龙纪事

    安龙纪事

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 苦吟

    苦吟

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 班长孙悟空

    班长孙悟空

    没有教不好的学生,只有不称职的班长!“没有最渣、只有更渣”的初三(4)班一定要全班逆袭!什么?咱班老师都受不了了、集体罢课了?没关系,班长给你们找老师!语文老师:苏轼体育老师:项羽化学老师:陶弘景物理兼数学老师:牛顿英语老师:莎士比亚配置豪华不?什么?这帮老师又跑了?再换一批:“我以齐天大圣之名,三界之中,诚聘代课老师,工资高到你连神仙都不想做!”
  • 佛说无常经

    佛说无常经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。