. Nay, I have
even granted too much in saying that those great men were able to
receive pure nourishment from the sciences; for my own conviction is,
and I know it to be shared by most of those who love Raphael
truly,--that he painted best when he knew least. Michael Angelo was
betrayed, again and again, into such vain and offensive exhibition of
his anatomical knowledge as, to this day, renders his higher powers
indiscernible by the greater part of men; and Leonardo fretted his life
away in engineering, so that there is hardly a picture left to bear his
name. But, with respect to all who followed, there can be no question
that the science they possessed was utterly harmful; serving merely to
draw away their hearts at once from the purposes of art and the power of
nature, and to make, out of the canvas and marble, nothing more than
materials for the exhibition of petty dexterity and useless knowledge.

Sec. XXXIV. It is sometimes amusing to watch the naive and childish way
in which this vanity is shown. For instance, when perspective was first
invented, the world thought it a mighty discovery, and the greatest men
it had in it were as proud of knowing that retiring lines converge, as
if all the wisdom of Solomon had been compressed into a vanishing point.
And, accordingly, it became nearly impossible for any one to paint a
Nativity, but he must turn the stable and manger into a Corinthian
arcade, in order to show his knowledge of perspective; and half the best
architecture of the time, instead of being adorned with historical
sculpture, as of old, was set forth with bas-relief of minor corridors
and galleries, thrown into perspective.

Now that perspective can be taught to any schoolboy in a week, we can
smile at this vanity. But the fact is, that all pride in knowledge is
precisely as ridiculous, whatever its kind, or whatever its degree.
There is, indeed, nothing of which man has any right to be proud; but
the very last thing of which, with any show of reason, he can make his
boast is his knowledge, except only that infinitely small portion of it
which he has discovered for himself. For what is there to be more proud
of in receiving a piece of knowledge from another person, than in
receiving a piece of money? Beggars should not be proud, whatever kind
of alms they receive. Knowledge is like current coin. A man may have
some right to be proud of possessing it, if he has worked for the gold
of it, and assayed it, and s