Page:Thoughts on art and life.djvu/122

music, which merely satisfies the hearing. The most worthy thing is that which endures long- est; therefore music, which is continually dying as soon as it is born, is less worthy than painting, which lasts eternally with the colours of enamel. The most excellent thing is that which is the most universal and contains the greatest variety of things ; therefore painting must be set above all other arts, because it contains all the forms which exist and also those which are not in na- ture, and it should be glorified and exalted more than music, which deals with the voice only. With it images are made to the gods ; around it divine worship is conducted, of which music is a subservient ornament; by means of it pic- tures are given to lovers of their beloved ; by it the beauties are preserved which time, and na- ture the mother, render fitful ; by it we retain the images of famous men. And if thou wert to say that by committing music to writing you render it eternal, we do the same with letters.

Therefore, since thou hast included music a- mong the liberal arts, thou must either exclude it, or include the art of letters. And if thou wast to say : Painting is used by base men, in the same way is music spoilt by him who knows it not. If thou sayest that sciences which are not mechani- cal are mental, I will answer that painting is men- tal. And just as music and geometry deal with the proportions of continuous quantities, and arith-

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