Page:Landscape Painting by Birge Harrison.djvu/253

CHARACTER his health." And this is literally true; for the conditions of artistic creation often demand that a painter or a sculptor shall frequently work far beyond the limits of his strength during a long period—shall draw heavy drafts upon the future; and these drafts must either be paid by a shortened life, or made up later by prolonged periods of rest. As it is not possible for the artist to work as other men work, a given number of hours each day, this hardest of all workers frequently gains the reputation of being an idler. I cannot think, however, that erratic hours are either necessary or excusable in the routine of student life. The student's business is to learn all he can—to train the sub-conscious servant to be the valuable helper that he must needs be later on; and this can be done day by day with as much adherence to regular [197]