| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Gambara by Honore de Balzac: transcendent; but science is a defect when it evicts inspiration, and
it seems to me that we have in this opera the painful toil of a
refined craftsman who in his music has but picked up thousands of
phrases out of other operas, damned or forgotten, and appropriated
them, while extending, modifying, or condensing them. But he has
fallen into the error of all selectors of /centos/,--an abuse of good
things. This clever harvester of notes is lavish of discords, which,
when too often introduced, fatigue the ear till those great effects
pall upon it which a composer should husband with care to make the
more effective use of them when the situation requires it. These
enharmonic passages recur to satiety, and the abuse of the plagal
Gambara |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: may account for the variety. At any rate he was an Anobium.
I have been unmercifully "chaffed" for the absurd idea that a paper-eating
worm could be kept a prisoner in a paper box. Oh, these critics!
Your bookworm is a shy, lazy beast, and takes a day or two to recover
his appetite after being "evicted." Moreover, he knew his own dignity
better than to eat the "loaded" glazed shoddy note paper in which
he was incarcerated.
In the case of Caxton's "Lyf of oure ladye," already referred to,
not only are there numerous small holes, but some very large channels
at the bottom of the pages. This is a most unusual occurrence,
and is probably the work of the larva of "Dermestes vulpinus,"
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: and in fact, every one knew what the Reverend Dr.
Ashmore meant when he chose a text from Jeremiah
(chap. ii., verse 25) for his Thanksgiving sermon.
Dr. Ashmore, the new Rector of St. Matthew's, had
been chosen because he was very "advanced": his
sermons were considered bold in thought and novel in
language. When he fulminated against fashionable society
he always spoke of its "trend"; and to Mrs. Archer
it was terrifying and yet fascinating to feel herself part
of a community that was trending.
"There's no doubt that Dr. Ashmore is right: there IS
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