Then,  having  learnt  and  practised  the
rudiments  of  his  Art,  he  must  frequent
the  great  masters  of  it ;  he  must  medi-
tate their  works,  and  copy  them.  If  he
would  be  a  true  scholar,  he  will  read  their
lives ;  he  will  dwell  with  them ;  he  will
possess  their  thoughts  and  breathe  their
atmosphere.  In  addition,  he  will  try  to
know  what  they  and  other  skilful  persons
have  recorded  about  the  theory  and  the
practice  of  his  Art :  and  when  he  has
done  this,  he  will  find  that  he  has  wan-
dered into  the  broad  and  shining  fields
of  literature.  So  it  is  with  the  Art  of
Painting :  so  it  was  with  the  Art  of

81


MAttHEW  ARNOLD

Writing.  But  this  is  the  age  of  Primers,
of  Examinations,  and  of  easy  ways  to
knowledge.  If  the  end  of  education
were  to  gather  facts,  nothing  could  be
better  than  a  summary ;  but  the  Art  of
Writing  may  not  be  acquired,  nor  taught,
in  this  barbarous  and  hurried  manner.
