-in-trade
of all who work in the temple of Art, but unless it be controlled by
reins of more than ordinary strength it is a very doubtful blessing. We
must ever be able to keep our souls in tune so that they afford no echo
to the undesirable. Indulgence of the body in any form hampers its work
as an instrument of the spirit, while self-discipline (tho' by no means
to the verge of asceticism) increases its sensitiveness, and occasional
quiet periods afford the opportunity for the subconscious treasures to
reveal themselves.

On the mental side, selfishness is one of the most complete and
effectual deadeners of inspiration. The delicate intimations of finer
things can make no impression on a hide-bound mind. As Trine somewhere
puts it--"The man who is always thinking of himself generally looks as
if he were thinking of something disagreeable." The self-centred mind is
a mind closed to other things, and to this extent it is nearly always
unbalanced and distorted. Under these conditions such inspiration as it
may receive is liable to be of an uncouth and bizarre nature. Hatred,
malice, and all uncharitableness tune the mind to very undesirable
levels, and at this level it will come in touch with the whole body of
similar undesirable thought that is circulating around it. It both gives
out and receives. Such a mind is indeed doing active work in the world,
but in the wrong direction. Nevertheless, the individual who sets
himself to work positively and constructively to utilise inspiration, as
it assuredly may be used, is in some degree helping his generation and
becoming a prophet, and maybe a saviour.

CHAPTER VI

THE INTERPRETER

"I like joy, for it is life. I preach joy, for it alone gives the
power of creating useful and lasting work"

_Jaques Dalcroze_

There are, roughly speaking, three classes of interpreters in Music:
performers or executants, composers, and teachers. The function of each
of these is, by a special sensitiveness, to apprehend the message of
spirit, and then, by their own technique and in their own particular
way, to pass it on for the benefit of others. In the body the nervous
system, which is the link between spirit and matter, serves somewhat the
same purpose. Spirit is too tenuous to be able to act directly upon the
comparatively inert matter of the body, but through the medium of the
brain and nervous system it makes contact with spirit at the one end,
and at the other the nerves c