The Detroit times., 1916-07-25
The Supreme Moment
~ Or. FRANK CRANE
(Copyrtght. 1915. by Frank Crane)

But leonardo" says one writing upon
the genius Of the Incompatible da Vinci
will never work till the happy moment
comes--that moment of bien-etre feel
ing just fit) which to imaginative men
is moment Of invention. On this mo-
ment he waits; other moments are but
a preparation or after-taste of it,"
There are two kinds of work to be done
in the world. which may be called routine
work and creative work.
BY routine work we mean the tending
of machines, the discharge Of office du-
ties, and the maintenance Of the orii-
nary: which includes care of engines,
ploughing. housework, answering letters
and keeping accounts, tending the sick,
digging mines. building bridges, and the
like. AL these-and the lives of all Of
US comprise such functions-are to be
done whether We feel like it or not. The
trombone player in the band must go on,
though his heart is lead The servant
must sweep the floors, no matter how the
| listless spring has got into your blood.
And the doctor must make his calls, the
policeman walk his beat, and the elevator
boy run his car. for they are cogs In
the social wheel.
By creative work we mean the writing
of stories, the composition of music, the
painting Of pictures, the modelling Of
statues, the singing of songs, and doings
Of such quality.
These acts should await the supreme
moment. Leonardo used to rush clear
across Milan, when he was engaged in
painting 1.-THE Last Supper" in the little
out of the way church of S. NJ. dele
Giraffe, juts to make three or four strokes
with his brush, to add a touch that had
occurred to him. That is one reason why
the picture, now faded, is yet epochal
in art.
One trouble with story magazines is
that they are issued regularly. The ideal
publication would appear every little
while" One does claim to, but it is q
fraud, for it is regular monthly.
What blessing if nobody wrote a
story unless he had a story to write. il
no parson preached unless the fire burned
within him, if nobody made a political
speech unless he were as white-hot as
Patrick Henry when he gave his Liberty
or DEATH grafton, if nobody played the
piano or gave forth song unless the
compelling inspiration were there, if no
body built house except to realize
beautiful dream. nor painted picture
except to grasp and fix an enhancing
vision.
Creative work is the scarcest in the
world. And the most underpaid. And
the amount of hard work man put upon
a thing Is no gauge of its value-often
quite the contrary--for it is the same
shrewd Leonardo who observed, "Quante
pin un' arte porte seco fatica di corpo,
tanto piu VILE or THE more bodily
fatigue goes into a work of art the viler
il is"
Men must work. In the forepart Of
the Scriptures it is laid down that "in
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread" and such labor perhaps will al
ways be the most part Of the worlds
work.
But In the latter part Of the Scriptures
it Is said that man shall not live by
bread alone" and that sustenance other
than bread, that diviner food that sus-
tains souls, and the ghost-wine that
cheers them. is not produced by sweat
ing labor at all, should not be called
work, but is a sort Of glorious PLAY.
Art. craftsmanship, inspiration - no
one can work at such things; they are
essentially play. the JOY land not work,
the PAIN, of sef-forthputting.
And one supreme moment is worth q