position, by a master
of the heart. And it is only with such music that you will, during
your life, get into the hearts of those who are most worthy for you to
know. Out of just this thought Schumann has two rules now very easy
for us to understand:

"Never help to circulate bad compositions; on the contrary, help to
suppress them with earnestness."

"You should neither play bad compositions, nor, unless compelled,
listen to them."

We now come to a really definite conclusion about the compositions we
should play and to an extent as to how we should play them.

The heart, the mind, and the hands, or the voice, if you sing, should
unite in our music; and be consecrated to the beautiful. Consecrate is
just exactly the word. Look for it in your dictionary.[37] It comes
from two other words, does it not? _Con_ meaning _with_ and _sacer_
meaning _holiness._ Thus devote heart and head and hands _with
holiness_ to the beautiful. This is very clear, I am sure.

It is also worth doing. "With holiness" describes _how_ to play and
really _what_ to play. A composition which has been born of a true man
is in thought already consecrated. He has heard it and felt it within
himself. Daily you must get closer and closer to these messages and
meanings. And are they not already more _luminous_ to you? And do you
remember what we said luminous means?

CHAPTER X.

THE LESSON.

"All people value most what has cost them much labor."
--Aristotle.[38]

It is true that music is beautiful and that it gives us happiness and
comfort. But, nevertheless, music is hard to learn _for every one_;
harder for some than for others, but hard for all. It is well and best
that it should be so. We appreciate most highly that which we labor
for earnestly. Just imagine if every one could sing or play merely by
wishing it! Then music would be so common and so much the talent of
all that it would cease to give us joy. Why? Because one gained it by
a wish. That is not enough. From this can we learn to understand the
great secret of it all? I think we can. Let us see! The secret is
this: Music is a joy because it takes us out of ourselves and we work
hard to get it. Music teaches us what a wonderful power there is
within us, if we will only strive to bring it out. Education is good
for us for this same reason. As you learn more and more about words,
you will see more in this word Education.

It means to lead out _what is within us_. To lead