Their aim is to
give truthful expression to the music of a good writer. Other players
seem to work from a motive entirely different. They select music which
is of a showy character, with much brilliancy and little thought in
it. Their aim is not to show what good music is, but to show
themselves. The desire of the first is truth, of the second is vanity.
Now, as we examine into this, and into both kinds of music, we
discover much. It proves that we must work for the best; for the
truthful music, not for the vain music. As we get better acquainted
with true music we find it more and more interesting--it keeps saying
new things to us. We go to it again and again, getting new meanings.
But the showy music soon yields all it has; we find little or nothing
more in it than at first. As it was made not from good thought but for
display, we cannot find newer and more beautiful thought in it, and
the display soon grows tiresome. True music is like the light in a
beautifully-cut gem, it seems that we never see all it is--it is never
twice the same; always a new radiance comes from it because it is a
true gem through and through. It is full of true light, and true light
is always opposed to darkness; and darkness is the source of
ignorance.
From all this you can now understand the quaintly-expressed opinion of
a very wise man, who said: "In discharge of thy place, set before thee
the best example.
Pages:
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54