New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-07
AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF ART, ARCHITEt
TJRE SCULPTURE, PAINTING, MUSIC BY
DAVIES SvO. PIP. 773. New-Iork ocrbner
Wexford.

AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY OF Art. ARCHITEC-
TURE, SCULPTURE PAiNTiNG, MUSIC. by \.
DANyEES. SvO. PIP. 773. Ne~-Iork Scribher d
Wexford.
In this cumbersome compilation of 773 pages
fresh sacrifice is LAID upon the altar OF that fayO-
rite modern divinity, the god of Cramming. The
accumulation OF facts on all conceivable subjects
has been carried to such point that it is no longer
possible for any but minds of extraordinary reten-
tiveness to hold those which relate to any one Of
the important divisions of mans knowledge. Yet
the duty of knowing something at least about
everything has been strongly impressed upon this
generation and the preachers of the doctrine find the
generation so apt pupil, that there has grown up.
in obedience to the law of supply and demand q
mandatory of intellectual pemmic0n, concen-
trated family dinner, in which soup and fish, en-
trees roast, boiled and fried, game, pudding
sweets and Coffee with running fire OF polite con-
yersanon, are all boiled down into small compass
supposed capable of infinite digestion and nourlsh-
ment to hungry human beings most stingily pressed
for time Every editors table sadly knows the
accumulation of these time andlabor saving books,
guides" "abstracts," compendiums," shortcuts
to knowledge which no doubt have their reason for
beng but which do for the most part grievously
fail TO make that reason appear. Is ii to reduce
all the facts known on any one subject to system
But each shortcut proposes system of It's own,
therer' Is 1t to make a selection that shall keep
the useful and leave out the useless But who
shall decide what il is useful to know and what ii
is useless to knowi Is it to show us only facts and
leave MS to form our own judgment upon them
But IN that case We must have all the facts, else
our udgu ent will go asiray. Is it TO give us only
the opinions wise men have formed on the facts
But then we shall only be looking at facts through
other mems spectaccs; and not even that. for all
we shall see is the spectacles through which the
facts are looked at. In every case the answer to
these questions is a compromise and these various
manuals and guides give us few facts and few
opinions and having arranged the whole to appear
as attractive externally possible, present it to
with what in many cases looks like sly Mephis
tophelian leer-" Take it. and much good may il do
you"
The book at present under notice is only less TO
be commended than Others of its kind because it
pretends more. 1t is an abstract of an abstract. a
dilution Of the Unknown work of LGbke, the
objection TO which is that itself dilues too much
and offers us food too concentrated for healthy
digestion. And the mistake it makes is the same
that Lubke and all his kind make, in supposing
that talk about art-talk historical, biographical
statistical-aided by no matter how many wood
cuts thrice distilled copies from the original works
can bring the learner nearer by a handbreadth to
art itself Ii is only by recognizing this fact at the
start, and keeping it in his hand like the lamp in
the hand OF Aladdin, that the reader can make his
way with any profit through such lat yrnth of
facts as these books consist Of The best books OF
the sort ale those that content themse yes with
giving an outline map of the domain into which
they offer to guide the learners footsteps map
that shall make clear the essential facts that lie rs
causes at the root Of all the other facts Take an
illustration from the study of geography pursued
in such of our schools as deserve the name. The
child who from the study of his own city, county
State is to be led upo the larger facts of the CONT
neDt, is no longer set down before map crowded
with names of cities and towns and blurred with
the colored borderlines of political divisions: he is