Books › The Violin and its Music, 1881 › scan 202
Scan 202
The Violin and its Music, 1881
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 178. See the scan on archive.org.
1that, although we are unable to say, to Galileo, to Bacon, and to Corelli we are indebted for all that belongs to the early stages of knowledge in science, philosophy, and music, yet we can and do delight in naming them fathers to their respective studies.
3It happens that the labour needed to make ready for the reception of the impress of genius is not of a character to give distinctive fame to those engaged in the work. Collective efforts are merged into those made by the possessors of minds capable of transforming incongruous atoms into a symmetrical whole, and when this transformation is accomplished, the art, be it useful or ornamental, is rapidly developed—so much so indeed as to often deprive those whose work mainly conduced to this result, of that merit which is rightly theirs.
5Imitators and followers tread closely on the heels of originators, adapting their chief ideas, and adding to them as fancy dictates, whilst keeping abreast of the period. The productions of originators become antiquated; their merit is oftentimes miscalculated in being tested by a false standard, which is that of drawing a comparison between their works and those resulting from them, instead of subjecting them to their own particular gauge; the result of which is to press them into a state bordering on oblivion, to be now and again sought out by the sage and the antiquary. In listening even to the music of Corelli, how often is astonishment expressed that such primitive writing could give pleasure, forgetting that
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.