Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-12-11
MUSIC.
its SEoct CT Hen and Animals.

Music hath charms Co soothe the savage breast. l"
 Music must have been the first uni
 versal and natural language understood ! by all without study. It was also the
 first Of an arts. Vocal mus.c probably ! preceded the harmonious sounds of in
 struments, which were used at first
 merely to accompany, sustain and devel-
 op cadences Of the human voice.
 The nations of antiquity held music
 in great veneration, specially the Chi
 nese. who Co this day revere the names
 of Syng Sun, Kouii and Pin-mou-Kin, | philosophical musicians, who knew how
 to tame wild beasts and improve the
 morals oI man, the latter task more
 difficult they asserted, than tanning wild
 beasts. The Persians and Turks looked upon music with superstitious venera- l ton. Egypt boasted of its Mercurius ! and Trismegiste, who could, with their l exquisite melodies, deliver mems minds 1 of gloomy thoughts or designs. The ! Arabs cultivated 1t. and until the tenth ] century were considered in advance of | other nations in musical art. But the l Greeks, above all others, appreciated 1t most, and brought t to great perfection 1 by the assiduity Of their researches to 1 establish its principles, tO find the rela- | tiODs or the different sounds, and to ! study its properties in exciting a variety l of sensations In the soul
 According Co Plato and Aristotle, 1 everything In the universe, even the soul, IS made of harmony; and they as- l serted that sounds could be produced to l influence people morally.
 Hermes defined music as the l1nOwl- edge of order in everything; such was also Pythagoras' doctrine. In those days poets were musicians and music Ians poets: they wrote verses and com ! posed music to apply to them. Priests 1 composed hymns which they sung, and invented musical instruments to accom- umy themselves. Plutarch looked upon music as the language Of the heart, and said that 1t eEerted a great influence in ImpartIu- courage and virtue.
 Music Eives activity to the mind: it iav0rs the development of ideas, fructi- ! les the m1-Iua5i0n, accustOIus the mind Co reflection, while it bauishes from the soul impure affections.
 People of wealth and leisure give Gp
 much Oi tEeir time tO the seductive pleasure e. music. while the cdre-bur-
 lened business man finds relaxation from toll and soothing calm in the sweet modulati1ns of well-assurel instruments and sympathetic vices. The iabOrer
 sings In h5 daily task; the prisoner in his Eloomy cell, the savage in the wilds, all sing songs that give to the soul hope and consolation in their tolls and sOr- rows. Thus music accompanies man in every station or life and is the agent
 that gives him the greatest and most general pleasure.
 Music cIarss likewise a decided inhu- euce iu tio animal kingdom Experi- meuts made in the Jardin des Plautes, Paris, proved that wolves can be fascina- ted and tanned with the flute; blOwpipes VII attract bears and elephants; rats are IrEgslst.a.y charmed with the sounds of the lUte. The lion loves the drum, but the crowirg oi cock sets t in a rage; the hare can b2 made captive by wAIstlin-, or with the drum. The dog is very sensitive to music, tine horse be- comes auimacel with the trumpet and all beasts 1f burden are known tO carry
 or draw their loads with less fatigue
 when they hear the sound of the human voice. Even fishes are sensible to mu- sic, and who has not heard of the Adri- auc fishermen, who play on soft toned Instruments Co draw fishes in their nets? Music Is a heavenly gift tO man; 1t pro- claims silence Iu assemblies, embellishes solitude, dIiuses cheerfulness and dis s.pates the cI1uds that often darkcn mems minds. it presides over all fes- Jivities t changes sadness into joy, fear into confidence, desgair into hope and even feroeItg into geutleness. For fur tler particulars on the effects of mu- sic, please attend the concert tomorrow night, and bring your sisters, yOur cOu- sins and yoUr aunts.'