A consideration of the finale proves what is borne out by the whole opera, that, though inferior in artistic unity of plot to "Figaro," it excels that work in the musical nature of its situations and moods. In "Figaro" we are amazed to find how, within the narrow limits of emotion presented to us, seldom rising to passion, never to a higher pathos, our minds are entranced by the grace and spirit of the representation. In "Don Giovanni," on the contrary, there is scarcely a side of human nature which is not expressed in the most varied shades of individuality and situation; through the checkered scenes of daily life we are led to the very gates of the spirit world, and the light of original wit and humour shines upon the work from beginning to end. The difficulty for a dramatically gifted author lay in moderation. Da Ponte having placed his "Don Giovanni" in the present, Mozart with ready wit draws upon reality where-ever possible for matters of detail and colouring. This freshness and fulness of realism distinguishes "Don Giovanni" from "Figaro," without entailing any loss of ideality, for every subject drawn from real life is turned to the service of the artistic conception of the whole. The statues of the Parthenon or the figures of Raphael teach how the great masters of the formative arts follow nature in all and each of their creations; they teach, too, how the treasure which the eye of genius descries in the depths of nature must be first received into a human heart, thence to emerge as a complete and self-contained whole, appealing to the sympathies of all mankind. Nor is it otherwise with the great masters of sound, whatever be the impulse which urges them to expression, whether the words of the poet, the experiences of life, the impressions of form, colour, or sound; the idea of the whole, which inspires it with life and endows it with form and meaning, must come from the depths of his own spirit, and is the creative force, which is unceasingly active until the perfect work of art is produced. The ideal {WORKS IN VIENNA, 1788.} (215) of such a work is the perfection which is conceivable and visible to mankind in art alone; in it that which elsewhere appears as contrast or opposition rises to the highest unity. This once attained, we experience the satisfaction which for mortals exists in art alone. But our delight and admiration rise still higher when this harmony is maintained throughout a varied and many-sided composition, containing a wealth of interests and motives appealing to our most opposite sympathies, and stirring the very depths of our being--then it is that we feel the full and immediate inspiration of that Spirit Who looks upon the universe as the artist looks upon his work. FOOTNOTES OF CHAPTER XXXVIII. [Footnote 1: Da Ponte, Mem., I., 2 p. 98.] [Footnote 2: Mozart wrote the beautiful air "Non sö d'onde viene" for him on March 18 (512 K., Vol. I., p. 422).] [Footnote 3: Cramer, Mag. Mus., 1788, II., p. 47.]