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INDIVIDUALISM IN ART. 
well as to prose—and to the fine arts. Above all must it be 
applied to social problems, to tlie exclusion of party politics, 
with their baneful and pernicious influences. 
That this influence is being felt in all directions is plainly 
evident. We see it in the utterances of a bishop of the 
Church of England; we see it in the references of purely 
literary men to the writings of Mr. Spencer, Prof. Huxley, and 
Darwin ; we see it in a small degree in some of the novels of 
the day; we see it in the articles we find month by month 
in the magazines and reviews; we see it in modern poetry ; 
and we see it in the exactitude with which our great living 
artists paint natural phenomena. That this movement is one 
of the greatest importance, and of the utmost value, goes 
without saying, for while there is nothing lost, many things 
are gained. Often a seemingly beautiful work of art has 
been spoilt by an imperfect training in anatomy or optics. 
In many instances, what would otherwise have proved a noble 
poem has, from lack of scientific knowledge, been ridiculed 
and forgotten; and frequently we find in religion a very 
beautiful idea when first looked at, which, when examined 
by the light of truth, becomes absurd or worse. 
The leaven of Science has been introduced into Literature 
and Art, and the whole will in time be leavened. Vibrations 
emanate from Science and are communicated to the affairs of 
our life. Motion has been imparted to the mass, the 
equilibrium has been disturbed, and has become a “ moving 
equilibrium.’‘ “ Every active force produces more than one 
change—every cause produces more than one effect.” * 
The scientific method is the “ active force ; ” the changes it 
has produced and will continue to produce are obvious. The 
increased knowledge afforded by the researches of Science are 
the “ cause ” ; the effects are the fuller knowledge of truth, 
the higher view of life, the nobler aspect of Nature, and the 
more reasonable, though not less reverent, attitude towards 
religion. 
To show how intimately related to Science all Art is, it is 
only necessary to remember that for our knowledge of the 
earliest Art we are directly indebted to Geology and Archae¬ 
ology. The very earliest forms of Art we know are the 
drawings made by primitive man. In the cave deposits we 
find bones and antlers with rough, but in most cases, very 
correct drawings (which cannot be said for a good many of 
the drawings turned out by our most highly-trained School 
of Art three-days-a-week students) of the animals who lived 
* Herbert Spencer. Essay on “ Progress.” 
