He was sometimes not even a great artist, because he thought
so much about art. Any man with a vital knowledge of the human
psychology ought to have the most profound suspicion of anybody
who claims to be an artist, and talks a great deal about art.
Art is a right and human thing, like walking or saying one's prayers;
but the moment it begins to be talked about very solemnly, a man
may be fairly certain that the thing has come into a congestion
and a kind of difficulty.
The artistic temperament is a disease that afflicts amateurs.
It is a disease which arises from men not having sufficient power of
expression to utter and get rid of the element of art in their being.
It is healthful to every sane man to utter the art within him;
it is essential to every sane man to get rid of the art within him
at all costs. Artists of a large and wholesome vitality get rid
of their art easily, as they breathe easily, or perspire easily.
But in artists of less force, the thing becomes a pressure,
and produces a definite pain, which is called the artistic temperament.
Thus, very great artists are able to be ordinary men--
men like Shakespeare or Browning. There are many real tragedies
of the artistic temperament, tragedies of vanity or violence or fear.
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