“In order to convince oneself of this, it is enough to observe that most of the masters preceded, and sometimes by a long period, the time when their works won recognition. Poussin painted a number of masterpieces under Louis XIII. whose regular nobility foretold the character of the following reign; Watteau, whose nonchalant grace would seem to have presided over all the reign of Louis XV., did not live under that King, but under Louis XIV., and died under the Regent; Chardin and Greuze, who, in celebrating the bourgeois home, would seem to have announced a democratic society, lived under a monarchy; Prudhon, mystical, sweet and weary, claimed, in the midst of strident imperial fanfares, the right to love, to meditate, to dream, and he affirmed it as the forerunner of the romantics. Nearer to us, Courbet and Millet, under the Second Empire, pictured the sorrows and the dignity of the people, who since then, under the Third Republic, have won so preponderant a place in society. “I do not say that these artists determined these great currents, I only say that they unconsciously contributed to form them; I say that they made part of the intellectual élite who created these tendencies. And it goes without saying that this élite is not composed of artists only, but also of writers, philosophers, novelists and publicists. [Illustration: MOTHER AND BABE By Rodin ] “What still further proves that the masters bring new ideas and tendencies to their generations is that they have often great trouble in winning acknowledgment for them. They sometimes pass nearly all their lives in striving against routine. And the more genius they have, the more chance they run of being long misunderstood. Corot, Courbet, Millet, Puvis de Chavannes, to cite no more, were not unanimously acclaimed until the end of their careers. “It is impossible to do good to mankind with impunity. But, at least, the masters of art, by their determination to enrich the human soul, have deserved that their names should be held sacred after their deaths. “There, my friends, is what I wished to say to you upon the usefulness of artists.” IV I declared that I was convinced. “I only want to be,” said Bourdelle, “for I adore my work, and my grumbling was doubtless the effect of a passing mood; or, perhaps, anxious to hear an apology for my profession, I behaved like a coquette who complains of being ugly in order to provoke a compliment.” There was silence for several instants, for we were thinking of what had been said. Then, realizing that Rodin had modestly omitted himself in indicating the influence of the masters, I said: “Master, you have yourself exercised an influence on your epoch, which will certainly be prolonged to succeeding generations. [Illustration: SISTER AND BROTHER By Rodin Photograph reproduced by permission of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts ]