"Whoever, not being a sanctified person, pretends to be a Saint, he is indeed the lowest of all men, the thief in all worlds, including that of Brahma." "Like a beautiful flower, full of color, but without scent, are the fine but fruitless words of him who does not act accordingly."—_Gems from the East._ THE SOKRATIC CLUB. BY SOLON. (_Continued._) At our next gathering an address was given by Mr. Knowlton on Art as an Educational Factor, with special reference to the Drama. After the formal address a very interesting conversation arose on the subject in which the Professor, Mr. Knowlton, and Dr. Roberts took part, and which I will relate here as far as I am able to remember it. The other members took the part of listeners. _Dr. Roberts._—"I can well understand, Mr. Knowlton, that Art plays an important part in life and should be cultivated, and that no one's nature is complete who lacks appreciation of the artistic and beautiful, but even granting this, I do not agree with you that the training of the artistic faculties should be given so much prominence, but should be secondary to that training which fits a man for work in the world. To put it in another way; for the man of the world, art is all very well for his leisure hours and for his relaxation and enjoyment but can have no place in his active everyday life." _Mr. Knowlton._—"I take an entirely opposite view, Doctor, as you know from what I have said, and I maintain that it is just because we have put Art in a secondary place that our civilization is characterized by so much unrest and skepticism; the finer, inner side of man's nature has been subordinated to the grosser and external. What is the criterion of success in the world to-day? That should be sufficient argument in support of my claim. And the man who has achieved success, acquired wealth, position, fame, has not thereby attained to happiness but in nearly every case is still the victim of the unrest of the age. He may use his wealth in the patronage of art, in collections of paintings and sculpture, in support of Grand Opera and what not, but tell me, do you honestly think that he truly appreciates these?" _Dr. Roberts._—"No, I think not. Indeed, in nine cases out of ten, he affects a patronage of art, has his private picture gallery and a box at the opera because it is the fashion. No doubt by doing so he is useful in a way to the Art world, but I must confess that if I wanted a true appreciation of a work of Art, I would not go to such a one." _Mr. Knowlton._—"No, the enthusiasm and the true love of art which is the great incentive in making all life beautiful and harmonious would be lacking. Well, what is the reason of this? I should say it is because Art was made entirely subordinate if not almost neglected in his education, and because it has held a subordinate place throughout his life."