Lectures on Science, Philosophy and Art, 1907-1908
Format: Paperback
ISBN13: 9780217860819
Paperback|9780217860819
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ASTRONOMY The present condition of astronomic science is a subject too extended to be brought easily within the limits suitable to this occasion; and yet it seems to me pertinent to begin with a seeming prolixity, to make an attempt at answering the question: Why is it desirable to carry on astronomic researches at all? I shall even take the liberty of entering upon this point with some particularity because I desire a test by means of which it may be possible to distinguish between genuine, and therefore desirable researches, and those undertaken mistakenly, through ignorance of any such test, or, worse still, for the mere exploitation of personal reputation and to satisfy the fetish-worship of printed publication. Perhaps the most important element to consider in forming a judgment of any man's performance is motive. You may commit an act of forgery: it will go unpunished by the law unless a criminal motive can be proved. So I may undertake astronomic researches; I may fail totally; but my efforts will have been justified if my motive was the right one. Now what is this motive which thus seems to me one essential pre-requisite to genuine research? In a word, it is the same as the motive of the artist. Consciously or unconsciously, the true astronomer strives ever to create a work of art. But what is art, a great painting, sculpture, music, or a monument of architecture? In the last analysis a great painting is but a smeared canvas, sculpture is a chippedstone, music is-a collection of noise, and a monument of architecture is a shelter from the weather. But they are something more than this. He who created them labored and suffered that two or three perhaps in each succeeding generation might take from them that exquisitely subtle emotion that is for him alone who can fe...
| ISBN-13 | 9780217860819 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0217860818 |
| Weight | 0.99 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 0.68 In |
| List Price | $25.23 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 302 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-08-01 |
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