Let us not be misunderstood. We are not asserting that this world with its many who appreciate the less valuable is worse than the world of the pre-mechanical era. Far from it. In every way it is better. The actual quantity of good artistic endeavour is much greater, and every increase in the numbers of those who appreciate the least worth-while is a distinct gain to the community and to the individual. Our anxiety is not so much for to-day as for to-morrow. There is no reason to doubt that before long practically the whole population will be interested in some form and grade of art. It is then that the trouble will begin to assume serious proportions. Let us take a biological parallel. It is agreed that if good stocks do not increase at the same rate as inferior stocks they will gradually die out. If, in a world full of artistic endeavour the good artistic stocks are not as sturdy as the remainder, they too will in time die out. So long as the commercial and mechanical factors are allowed full play, the good artistic stocks will be at a disadvantage, and so the future of the finest elements of art depends upon the success of efforts to counteract these factors. We must find means (1) to make the most desirable art more accessible than it is now, and (2) to increase the numbers of those who desire it. The latter will serve two purposes: (_a_) it will help us in the first aim; and (_b_) it will increase the aggregate quality and value of the artistic life. VI We will deal with the second aim first, and it may be termed roughly “Education”--the process of increasing a man’s ability to enjoy better art. The last phrase embodies our idea of the function of art-education. If education does that--improves the range and quality of his pleasure in the beautiful--it has performed its prime duty. Needless to say, we are not speaking now of that branch of education which concerns itself with the training of practitioners--creative or executive artists. That is quite a different matter, and one of our first quarrels with the present system is that these two types of education are not as clearly distinguished as they need to be.