And no one enjoys this
liberty more than the artist. In a lecture to the _Schola_ he said:
"What makes the name of 'artist' so splendid is that the artist is
free--absolutely free. Look about you, and tell me if from this
point of view there is any career finer than that of an artist who
is conscious of his mission? The Army? The Law? The University?
Politics?"
And then follows a rather cold appreciation of these different careers.
"There is no need to mention the excessive bureaucracy and
officialism which is the crying evil of this country. We find
everywhere submission to rules and servitude to the State. But what
government, pope, emperor, or president could oblige an artist to
think and write against his will? Liberty--that is the true wealth
and the most precious inheritance of the artist, the liberty to
think, and the liberty that no one has the power to take away from
us--that of doing our work according to the dictates of our
conscience."
Who does not feel the infectious warmth and beauty of these spirited
words? How this force of enthusiasm and sincerity must grip all young
and eager hearts.
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