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Page 14
Then having leisure from all these things, amidst renewed simplicity
of life we shall have leisure to think about our work, that faithful
daily companion, which no man any longer will venture to call the
Curse of labour: for surely then we shall be happy in it, each in
his place, no man grudging at another; no one bidden to be any man's
SERVANT, every one scorning to be any man's MASTER: men will then
assuredly be happy in their work, and that happiness will assuredly
bring forth decorative, noble, POPULAR art.
That art will make our streets as beautiful as the woods, as
elevating as the mountain-sides: it will be a pleasure and a rest,
and not a weight upon the spirits to come from the open country into
a town; every man's house will be fair and decent, soothing to his
mind and helpful to his work: all the works of man that we live
amongst and handle will be in harmony with nature, will be
reasonable and beautiful: yet all will be simple and inspiriting,
not childish nor enervating; for as nothing of beauty and splendour
that man's mind and hand may compass shall be wanting from our
public buildings, so in no private dwelling will there be any signs
of waste, pomp, or insolence, and every man will have his share of
the BEST.
It is a dream, you may say, of what has never been and never will
be; true, it has never been, and therefore, since the world is alive
and moving yet, my hope is the greater that it one day will be:
true, it is a dream; but dreams have before now come about of things
so good and necessary to us, that we scarcely think of them more
than of the daylight, though once people had to live without them,
without even the hope of them.
Anyhow, dream as it is, I pray you to pardon my setting it before
you, for it lies at the bottom of all my work in the Decorative
Arts, nor will it ever be out of my thoughts: and I am here with
you to-night to ask you to help me in realising this dream, this
HOPE.
THE ART OF THE PEOPLE {2}
'And the men of labour spent their strength in daily struggling for
bread to maintain the vital strength they labour with: so living in
a daily circulation of sorrow, living but to work, and working but
to live, as if daily bread were the only end of a wearisome life,
and a wearisome life the only occasion of daily bread.'--DANIEL
DEFOE.
I know that a large proportion of those here present are either
already practising the Fine Arts, or are being specially educated to
that end, and I feel that I may be expected to address myself
specially to these. But since it is not to be doubted that we are
ALL met together because of the interest we take in what concerns
these arts, I would rather address myself to you ALL as representing
the public in general. Indeed, those of you who are specially
studying Art could learn little of me that would be useful to
yourselves only. You are already learning under competent masters--
most competent, I am glad to know--by means of a system which should
teach you all you need, if you have been right in making the first
step of devoting yourselves to Art; I mean if you are aiming at the
right thing, and in some way or another understand what Art means,
which you may well do without being able to express it, and if you
are resolute to follow on the path which that inborn knowledge has
shown to you; if it is otherwise with you than this, no system and
no teachers will help you to produce real art of any kind, be it
never so humble. Those of you who are real artists know well enough
all the special advice I can give you, and in how few words it may
be said--follow nature, study antiquity, make your own art, and do
not steal it, grudge no expense of trouble, patience, or courage, in
the striving to accomplish the hard thing you have set yourselves to
do. You have had all that said to you twenty times, I doubt not;
and twenty times twenty have said it to yourselves, and now I have
said it again to you, and done neither you nor me good nor harm
thereby. So true it all is, so well known, and so hard to follow.
But to me, and I hope to you, Art is a very serious thing, and
cannot by any means be dissociated from the weighty matters that
occupy the thoughts of men; and there are principles underlying the
practice of it, on which all serious-minded men, may--nay, must--
have their own thoughts. It is on some of these that I ask your
leave to speak, and to address myself, not only to those who are
consciously interested in the arts, but to all those also who have
considered what the progress of civilisation promises and threatens
to those who shall come after us: what there is to hope and fear
for the future of the arts, which were born with the birth of
civilisation and will only die with its death--what on this side of
things, the present time of strife and doubt and change is preparing
for the better time, when the change shall have come, the strife be
lulled, and the doubt cleared: this is a question, I say, which is
indeed weighty, and may well interest all thinking men.
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