Essays On Work And Culture | Page 4

we often lose the sense of
the sanctity which attaches to personality whenever it appears. There
come moments, however, when some intimate experience is confided
to us, and then, in the pause of talk, we become aware that we are in
presence of a human soul behind the familiar face of our friend, and
that we are on holy ground. In such moments the quick emotion, the
sudden thrill, bear eloquent witness to that deeper and diviner life in

which we all share, but of which we rarely seem aware. This perception
of the presence of a man's soul comes to us when we stand before a true
work of art. We not only uncover our heads, but our hearts are
uncovered as well. Here is one who through all his skill speaks to us in
a language which we understand, but which we rarely hear. A great
work of art not only liberates the imagination, but the heart as well; for
it speaks to us more intimately than our friends are able to speak, and
that reticence which holds us back from perfect intercourse when we
look into each other's faces vanishes. A few lines read in the solitude of
the woods, or before the open fire, often kindle the emotion and
imagination which slumber within us; in companionship with the
greatest minds our shyness vanishes; we not only take but give with
unconscious freedom. When we reach this stage we have reached the
man who lives not only by but in the work, and whose innermost nature
speaks to us and confides in us through the form of speech which he
has chosen.
The higher the quality of the work, the clearer the disclosure of the
spirit which fashioned it and gave it the power to search and liberate.
The plays of Sophocles are, in many ways, the highest and most
representative products of the Greek literary genius; they show that
genius at the moment when all its qualities were in harmony and
perfectly balanced between the spiritual vision which it formed of life,
and the art form to which it commits that precious and impalpable
possession. One of the distinctive qualities of these plays is their
objectivity; their detachment from the moods and experiences of the
dramatist. This detachment is so complete that at first glance every
trace of the dramatist seems to have been erased. But there are many
passages besides the famous lines descriptive of the grove at Colonus
which betray the personality behind the plays; and, studied more
closely, the very detachment of the drama from the dramatist is
significant of character. In the poise, harmony, and balance of these
beautiful creations there is revealed the instinct for proportion, the
self-control and the subordination of the parts to the whole which
betray a nature committed by its very instincts to a passionate devotion
to beauty. In one of the poems of our own century which belongs in the
first rank of artistic achievements, "In Memoriam," the highest themes

are touched with the strength of one who knows how to face the
problems of life with impartial and impersonal courage, and with the
tenderness of one whose own heart has felt the immediate pressure of
these tremendous questions. So every great work, whether personal or
impersonal in intention, conveys to the intelligent reader an impression
of the thought behind the skill, and of the character behind the thought.
Goethe frankly declared that his works constituted one great confession.
All work is confession and revelation as well.

Chapter III
Work as Self-Expression
The higher the kind and quality of a man's work, the more completely
does it express his personality. There are forms of work so rudimentary
that the touch of individuality is almost entirely absent, and there are
forms of work so distinctive and spiritual that they are instantly and
finally associated with one man. The degree in which a man
individualises his work and gives it the quality of his own mind and
spirit is, therefore, the measure of his success in giving his nature free
and full expression. For work, in this large sense, is the expression of
the man; and as the range and significance of all kinds of expression
depend upon the scope and meaning of the ideas, forces, skills, and
qualities expressed, so the dignity and permanence of work depend
upon the power and insight of the worker. All sound work is true and
genuine self-expression, but work has as many gradations of quality
and significance as has character or ability. Dealing with essentially the
same materials, each man in each generation has the opportunity of
adding to the common material that touch of originality in temperament,
insight, or skill which is his only possible contribution to civilisation.
The spiritual nature