Although painting, in 1999, and long before that date, had received a severe blow, the sculptor's art remained unchanged. The sculptor was still supreme in his domain. No machine had yet been found that could take a block of pure Parian marble and carve out a Venus de Milo. Nature had invaded the artist's studio and robbed him of an honored profession, but nature, great and mighty as she certainly is, had not yet, in 1999, found a way to fashion a block of cold marble into a thing of beauty, an exact image of life. Statuary was still regarded in the twentieth century as the acme of true art. The sculptor had not yet been dethroned; it is doubtful if he ever will be. The new and most ingenious machines of the twentieth century met their Manila on statuary. No machine can ever [Limits to Inventive Genius.] be built that will reason or think. It requires thought, judgment and artistic taste to create a statue. As the artist beholds a perfect model, he becomes thrilled with the love of his art. His heart and hands are guided by fires of ambition and his work excites admiration. The human brain is often duplicated by machinery, but the equal of the human heart, with its subtle emotions, must ever remain a Sealed Book to cold, unfeeling mechanism. The same might be said of the human voice. In 1999, that peerless gift of God to man, that wonderful channel through which all emotions are expressed, had not been uprooted by mechanism. The Pattis, Nordicas and Melbas of the twentieth century were still held in high esteem, commanding princely stipends. The domain of all mechanical music, however, had been invaded to a large extent. Pianos, organs, orchestral and metallic instruments, which had attained a high degree of perfection in the nineteenth century, were generally discarded in the twentieth century. The tendency of the age favored mechanical music. The automatic musical instruments, which in 1889 had already attained a certain degree of perfection, were greatly improved. In the navy cornet bands were discarded and were substituted by large musical machines that played operas, marches, quicksteps, waltzes and patriotic airs with wonderful accuracy, with a volume of sound surpassing the best efforts of efficient brass bands. In the army, the brass band always held its own. The men who composed the band could march and fight, while no automatic substitute could be made to do this. CHAPTER XXIII. Improvements of The Age. The advantages of Electrical conveyances. No fire departments required and Insurance companies lose their grip. Tobacco chewing and spitting prohibited in public places. Cigarettes are condemned by law. Moderation in the use of wines. Great advancement in medical science. A purified stage. Religious toleration becomes more universal. Jews give Jerusalem the "marble heart."