Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z
History
Modern Eloquence: Vol III, After-Dinner Speeches P-Z
Speeches, addresses, etc.
In Troy art was only in its first dawn; color was still completely
unknown, and instead of painting, the vases were decorated with incised
patterns filled with white clay. The productions of sculpture were
limited to carving of small flat idols of Minerva [Greek: glaukopis][6]
of marble, almost in the forms of two discs, which adhered to each
other, and upon which the owl's face is rudely scratched. The Trojan
treasure certainly shows more art, but it is characterized by an absence
of ornamentation. In Mycenae, on the contrary, the monuments which I have
brought to light show a high state of civilization, and the skill with
which the gold ornaments are made leads us to pre-suppose a school of
domestic artists which had flourished for ages before it reached such
perfection.
The very great symmetry we see also in the vase-paintings and in the
carvings of spirals and rosettes on stone, whereas representations of
men or animals are exceedingly rude and appear to be the primitive
Mycenean sculptor's first essay. But rude as they are, and childish as
they look, these primitive productions of Greek art are of paramount
interest to science, because we see in them the great-grandfathers of
the masterpieces of Phidias and Praxiteles; they prove to us in the most
certain manner that the artistic genius of the epoch of Pericles did not
come suddenly down from heaven like Minerva from the head of Jove, but
that it was the result of a school of artists, which had gradually
developed in the course of ages.
Once more, I tender my thanks for the patience with which you have
listened to a stranger. ["Hear! Hear!"]
CARL SCHURZ
THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW
[Speech of Carl Schurz at a banquet given by the Chamber of
Commerce of the State of New York, New York City, November 5, 1881,
in honor of the guests of the Nation, the French diplomatic
representatives in America, and members of the families descended
from our foreign sympathizers and helpers, General Lafayette, Count
de Rochambeau, Count de Grasse, Baron von Steuben, and others, who
were present at the centennial celebration of the victory at
Yorktown. The chairman, James M. Brown, Vice-President of the
Chamber of Commerce, proposed the toast, "The Old World and the
New," to which Carl Schurz was called upon for a response.]
MR. CHAIRMAN AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:--If you
had been called upon to respond to the toast: "The Old World and the
New" as frequently as I have, you would certainly find as much
difficulty as I find in saying anything of the Old World that is new or
of the New World that is not old. [Applause.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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