And I agree that this rhythmic relation of part to part, and part to whole--in short, vitality--is the one quality inseparable from a work of Art. For nothing which does not seem to a man possessed of this rhythmic vitality, can ever steal him out of himself. The active amusements and relaxations of life can only rest certain of our faculties, by indulging others; the whole self is never rested save through that unconsciousness of self, which comes through rapt contemplation of Nature or of Art. And, here and there, amid the disasters and wreckage of their voyages of discovery, they will find something new, some fresh way of embellishing life, or of revealing the heart of things. Beauty! An awkward word--a perpetual begging of the question; too current in use, too ambiguous altogether; now too narrow, now too wide--a word, in fact, too glib to know at all what it means. LINES FROM THE TEXT: An age must always decry itself and extol its forbears Art is greater than Life Art that does not distract them without causing them to think Beauty! An awkward word--a perpetual begging of the question Certainty Death may be the end of man, or Death may be nothing Everything is worth the doing well Freedom from the dull tedium of responsibility Introspection causes discomfort It is not my profession to know things for certain Itch to get outside ourselves Know things for certain Lost all the good of the old, and given us nothing in its place Replaces within me interest in myself by interest in itself Rhythmic relation of part to part, and part to whole, Spurious glamour is inclined to gather around what is new Superlative, instead of a comparative, clarity of vision Those whose sacred suns and moons are ever in the past Time is essential to the proper placing and estimate of all Art Tomorrow only can tell us which is which Truth admits but the one rule: No deficiency, and no excess Turgenev a realist? No greater poet ever wrote in prose Unconsciousness of self Vitality--the one quality inseparable from a work of Art When a thing is new how shall it be judged? PLAYS: FIRST SERIES: THE SILVER BOX /gutenberg/etext01/silbx10.txt PASSAGES FROM THE TEXT: I've no patience with your talk of reform--all that nonsense about social policy. We know perfectly well what it is they want; they want things for themselves. Those Socialists and Labour men are an absolutely selfish set of people. They have no sense of patriotism, like the upper classes; they simply want what we've got. I quite agree with what this man says: Education is simply ruining the lower classes. It unsettles them, and that's the worst thing for us all. I see an enormous difference in the manner of servants. He 's not a bad man really. Sometimes he'll speak quite kind to me, but I've stood so much from him, I don't feel it in me to speak kind back, but just keep myself to myself. JOY /gutenberg/etext01/gljoy10.txt PASSAGES FROM THE TEXT: