THE ARTS AND RELIGION 281 



are often expressed with more regard for the witty 

 than for the true, they are to be commended in gen- 

 eral for their frankness and soundness. 



The ability of the race to record easily the symbols 

 of verbal expression language in such a way that 

 they can be recognized and conveniently revived 

 by persons who have never before seen them brings 

 with it a new and unique possibility. This is the 

 power conferred by such records on an individual to 

 acquaint himself accurately with the thought of 

 many other persons, not only in the present, but in 

 the past. Such a power not merely enormously 

 increases the knowledge of an individual, but also 

 furnishes the materials for wide and safe excursions 

 of imagination. The possession of a literature be- 

 comes the most powerful means of elevating man in 

 culture and in intelligence. During the greater 

 part of the time that human records have existed 

 only the few have benefited by them. Nevertheless, 

 they have served to keep alive a slender but impor- 

 tant stream of human lore until such time as the 

 ingenuity of man devised movable types and the 

 printing press. With the spread of printed matter 

 came the first great step in the modernization of the 

 world, the popularization of the opportunity to 

 learn mainly through education of the visual mecha- 

 nism, and less directly of the auditory centers. But 

 the wisest development does not necessarily center 

 about the invention that brings facility of perform- 

 ance. It is well understood that in science there are 



