Page:Rolland - A musical tour through the land of the past.djvu/30

18 mathematics and physics, which are the basis of music, "welche gleichwohl der Music fundament ist;" and he requires that he shall have meditated upon his art, and shall be acquainted with the theorists of music, not only of his own time but of the past and especially of antiquity; he will not hear of his following Caraffa's example, and taking no interest in history and politics and the life of his own time.

But these intellectual qualities would be nothing without moral qualities. A virtuoso will not fully deserve the noble name of Virtú unless the virtue of his art is embellished by the virtue of his life. As St. Augustin says: "Cantet vox, cantet vita, cantent facta." Let his work be consecrated, not to success, but to the glory of God. He must not think of the public, the public taste and public applause. "If you sing in such wise that you please the people rather than God, or if you seek the commendation of another human being rather than that of God, you are selling your voice, and you make it no longer yours but his." Let the artist, then, be modest before the face of God; but let him at the same time be conscious of his worth. A skilled musician who is conscious of his skill should not be too humble or live in a state of eclipse. It is not permissible for him to seek obscurity and retirement if he has something to say to the world. A man who has gifts and keeps them concealed gives proof of a poor character which does not trust the mighty wings that God has given him wherewith to soar aloft. It is the action of a craven, who dreads