94 THE PROVINCES OF THE SEVERAL ARTS 



that he separates himself from other men who think and feel. 

 The poet, more perhaps than any other artist, needs to keep 

 this steadily in view; for words being our daily vehicle of 

 utterance, it may well chance that the alabaster vase of 

 language should be hastily or trivially modelled. This is the 

 true reason why 'neither gods nor men nor the columns 

 either suffer mediocrity in singers.' Upon the poet it is 

 specially incumbent to see that he has something rare to 

 say and some rich mode of saying it. The figurative arts 

 need hardly be so cautioned. They run their risk in quite 

 a different direction. For sculptor and for painter, the danger 

 is lest he should think that alabaster vase his final task. He 

 may too easily be satisfied with moulding a beautiful but 

 empty form. 



