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 jWHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 BY 
 
 ISAAC L. EICE, 
 
 AtJTHOK OF "analysis AND PRACTICB OP THB SCALES." 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 649 AND 651 BEOADWAT. 
 
 1875. ,^ 
 
 I-
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, 
 Bx ISAAC L. RICE, 
 In the OflSce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington*
 
 Il^TEODTJOTIO:^". 
 
 The question, "What is music?" is not new, 
 not recent, not even modern ; it is as old as liistory 
 itself. In the remotest antiquity it has occupied 
 the minds of thinkers, and elicited curious, ingen- 
 ious, and interesting fundamental theories. I have, 
 therefore, thought it advisable, before setting forth 
 my own views, to give a resume of the various 
 theories current in ancient times, as well as during 
 the middle ages, together with a not lengthy discus- 
 sion on the theories of Euler, Herbert Spencer, and 
 Helmholtz. The question being in my estimation a 
 cosmical one, I believe that, on the whole, the an- 
 cients, in considering so, understood it better than 
 most of the moderns, who treat it too much from a 
 sentimental, subjective point of view. Of course, 
 we must make allowance for the method of expres- 
 sion of the ancients ; their language was to a great 
 extent symbolical, and abounded even in what may
 
 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 be termed compound symbols ; that is to say, an 
 originally symbolical expression came to be so com- 
 monly understood, that it was used to serve as the 
 basis for still deeper symbols : this is particularly 
 the case with the numher symbolism, which at the 
 outset was simple enough as may be learned from 
 the interpretations given to it in Dacier's " Life of 
 Pythagoras," but which later came to be so com- 
 plicated that it is to us but little more than a num- 
 her mysticism. There are no commentaries incor- 
 porated in this little work, and for two reasons : 
 first, because they have no practical value ; secondly, 
 because the great aim of the ancient fundamental 
 theories of music is easily perceived even without 
 having a key to the mysterious expressions. This 
 aim is, to show that music is a great part of the cos- 
 mos, and not a human contrivance. The ethical 
 and psychological speculations of antiquity on the 
 subject of music are, by-the-way, also deserving of 
 our attention : and, in fact, the sooner we follow the 
 precepts of Plato and Aristotle, deduced from those 
 speculations, the better will it be for our civilization.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 In the mathematical and physical branches of 
 the science we have, of course, completely overshad- 
 owed the ancients ; for, since the publication of 
 ITewton's "Principia," there has hardly been a 
 name of distinction among physicists and mathema- 
 ticians, but it is intimately connected with prog- 
 ress in acoustics ; and this is not strange, for, to 
 use the language of Prof. Leslie, " the doctrine of 
 sound is unquestionably the most subtile and ab- 
 struse in the whole range of physical science." It 
 occurs to me that the reader might here ask me, 
 " "Why, then, do you hold our conception of music to 
 be less true than that of the ancients ? If we are su- 
 perior to them in knowledge, why should we be infe- 
 rior to them in comprehension ? " These questions, 
 I think, can be easily answered. To paraphrase a 
 sentence of Boetius, we have numbers- of instru- 
 mentalists and vocalists, but musicians are rare ; in 
 other words, the art and the science of music have 
 become distinct studies, and in consequence our 
 conception of music has become confined and im- 
 perfect.
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In this little work, then, I have attempted to 
 give the outlines of a cosmical theory of music, based 
 on the knowledge of our times, and, whether it be 
 correct or not will be for an intelligent public to 
 judge. For my part, if I have but succeeded in free- 
 ing the matter from the subjectivity by which it is 
 now so enthralled, and shown that it can and ought 
 to be treated from a purely objective point of view, 
 I shall consider myself amply rewarded. 
 
 In reference to the theory itself, I have only to 
 say that I do not deem it difficult to abstract time 
 from space, when investigating the principles of the 
 beautiful, nor do I believe that much mental effort 
 IS required to understand how certain things may 
 be said to exist in time, others in space. Of a ma- 
 terial body, we can by no means abstract space, for 
 it exists in it ; while we may easily abstract time 
 from it when we treat of its beauty. In like man- 
 ner, in speaking of music, we may abstract the 
 question of space, for that forms no part of its beau- 
 ty ; while we could by no means abstract time, for 
 that is the life of its beauty, its existence itself.
 
 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 PART I. 
 I. 
 
 CHINESE THEORY. 
 
 The ancient Chinese scale consisted of five tones, 
 viz., f, g, a, c, d. These tones were considered sym- 
 bolical of the five elements earth, metal, wood, 
 fire, water. The elements as well as the tones were 
 held to have been produced by combinations of the 
 ten original numbers : 
 
 The combination of one and five producing water 
 and the tone Yu (d). 
 
 The combination of two and seven producing 
 fire and the tone Tsche (c). 
 
 The combination of three and eight producing 
 wood and the tone Kio (a). 
 
 The combination of four and nine producing 
 metal and the tone Chang (g). 
 
 The combination of five and ten producing earth 
 and the tone Kung (f).
 
 8 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 Each of these tones was the tonic of a different 
 mode ; and, aware of the remarkable internal gov- 
 ernment in the musical scale, they considered these 
 modes in combination as symbolical of a well-gov- 
 erned people : 
 
 The mode Kung of the emperor ; Tschang, the 
 minister ; Kio, the obedient people ; Tsche, the af- 
 fairs of state ; Yu, the whole body politic. 
 
 As the art developed itself, however, musicians 
 would no longer limit themselves to the compara- 
 tively small number of combinations and modula- 
 tions capable of being produced by five tones. So, 
 as the spirit moved them, they added new ones, 
 without endeavoring to give any explanation of 
 them, or to refer them to any law. Much confusion 
 in musical matters was the consequence, and the 
 state of affairs became actually unendurable at 
 about twenty-seven hundred years before the pres- 
 ent era. Then the Emperor Hoang-Ti, urged by 
 the constant reclamations and numerous petitions 
 of the learned men, finally ordered Ling-Lun, the 
 greatest musician of his time, to put an end to the 
 confusion by establishing music on a new basis of 
 Bound principles and fixed laws. Ling-Lun left the 
 capital and traveled toward the high mountains
 
 CniNESE THEORY. 9 
 
 where the Iloang-ho takes its rise. He followed the 
 stream to its sources, but, while ascending a lofty 
 peak, suddenly felt his feet refusing their support. 
 He sat down and soon fell into a deep reverie. 
 Then appeared to him Fung-Hoang, the wonderful 
 double-bird, which appears to man only on rare 
 occasions, and for the particular purpose of bene- 
 fiting mankind in general. The male Fung sang 
 six tones, the female Hoang six others, and the 
 deepest tone produced by Fung was Kung, the great 
 tone. Now the waters of the Hoang-ho rushing 
 by likewise intoned the Kung, and Ling-Lun's own 
 voice, when speaking, was in unison with it. Kung 
 was, besides, symbolical of the earth among the ele- 
 ments, and of the emperor in the state, so Ling-Lun 
 at once recognized it as the root-tone, whence all 
 others had sprung. He then returned to the capi- 
 tal and elaborated his new system.' 
 
 ' It is a remarkable fact that the very tone Kung which cor- 
 responda to our f is considered by modem physicists to be the 
 actual tonic of Nature. Says Silliman, in his " Principles of Phys- 
 ics : " " The aggregate sound of Xature, as heard in the roar of a 
 distant city, or the waving foliage of a large forest, is said to be a 
 single definite tone, of appreciable pitch. This tone is held to be 
 the middle F of the piano-forte, which may therefore be considered 
 the key-note of Nature."
 
 10 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 The fundamental tone, the generator of all 
 the others, is Kung. But he alone could not have 
 produced them he required helpmates. These 
 were Ta-Lu (f #), the great Helper, and Yng-Tschung 
 (e), the second Helper. The two chief supporters 
 of Kung were Tschung-Lu (b b), and Lin-Tschung 
 (c), for by their aid lie effected the circle of the fifths 
 and of the fourths. The double-bird Fung-Hoang 
 Lad sung twelve tones Fung, the male, six ; Hoang, 
 the female, six. These twelve tones formed the 
 twelve semitones of the octave. Those intoned by 
 Fung were considered perfect (yang), while the 
 others were imperfect (yu). This was in accordance 
 with Chinese philosophy, which divided things into 
 perfect and imperfect, and held that each thing 
 perfect had a counterpart in something imperfect; 
 such, for instance, was the relation in which man 
 stood to woman, heaven to the earth, the sun to the 
 moon. The twelve semitones were also symbolical 
 of the twelve moons of the year. In the circle of 
 fifths, a begets e, e begets b, etc., as the first moon 
 begets the second, the second the third, etc. 
 
 From these beginnings a comprehensive system 
 was developed in the course of time. As I shall, 
 however, only occupy myself with fundamental
 
 CHINESE THEORY. H 
 
 theories, I cannot follow this development. The 
 very ancient system containing but five tones is, 
 in fact, sufficient to illustrate how the Chinese 
 grappled with the question, " What is music ? " 
 
 The principle of dignity is manifested in the 
 emperor, likewise in the mode Kung. 
 
 The principle of severity is manifested in the 
 minister, likewise in the mode Chang. 
 
 The principle of obedience is manifested in the 
 people, likewise in the mode Kioi 
 
 The principle of energy is manifested in the 
 liandling of the affairs of state, likewise in the 
 mode Tsche. 
 
 The principle of magnificence is manifested in 
 the body politic, likewise in the mode Yu. 
 
 Now if we remember that, as each mode was 
 the manifestation of some principle as materialized 
 in the elements of the state, so each tone in itself 
 was the manifestation of a principle as materialized 
 in an element of Nature, we cannot but perceive 
 that the Chinese, who took their premises for 
 granted, had a complete and logical theory explain- 
 ing the power of music over the emotions. 
 
 We must not, however, suppose that they con- 
 sidered it necessary for the hearer to bear this the
 
 12 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 ory and its elementary significations in mind wliile 
 listening to music nothing is more distant from 
 tlieir idea. They believed that each tone and each 
 mode impressed itself according to its character- 
 istics directly on the mind, without the intervention 
 even of thought; that music acted in a primary 
 manner; acted as much upon the person ignorant 
 of its deep signification, as upon the philosopher. 
 The ancient Chinese, moreover, held music in high 
 estimation in consequence of their theory. It is 
 said, for instance, that Confucius after hearing the 
 compositions of Quei would, for three months, think 
 of nothing else, and even refused, for a time, to 
 partake of any food. One of his sayings was : " De- 
 sire ye to know whether a land is well governed, 
 and its people have good morals ? Hear its music." 
 Ma-Tuan-Li asserts that whoever undei'stands music 
 well is capable of governing. Fo-IIi himself was 
 the inventor of an instrument the kin.* A number 
 of emperors were skilled musicians and composers. 
 Several are portrayed in the act of performing on 
 the kin.
 
 HINDOO THEORY. 13 
 
 II. 
 
 HINDOO THEORY. 
 
 The musical system whicli next claims our at- 
 tention is that of the ancient Hindoos. Though 
 unlike that of the Chinese, it is no less curious and 
 interesting. The latter attempted to account for 
 the power of music over the emotions by a mystic 
 symbolical system. But it was not the characteris- 
 tic of the Hindoos to enter into such geognostic 
 mysteries. They, too, were susceptible to the in- 
 fluence of music, and to a very great degree; but 
 they were too indolent to seek for tlie natural cause 
 of the phenomenon they had a simpler way of do- 
 ing tilings. Wliy spend your existence in the futile 
 eifort to untie a knot, when you can cut it, and 
 sever its most intricate ramifications at a single 
 blow? 
 
 Music is the invention of tlie great god Mahada- 
 Bj-ishna, who caused five Ragas to spring from his 
 five heads. The sixth owed its existence to Parbuti. 
 Afterward Brahma himself created thirty Raginits. 
 Each Raga was then personified in a god who pro- 
 tected and governed it, each Raginit in a nymph.
 
 14 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 The Ilagas were the primary modes, the Raginits 
 the secondary ones. Later Sarasvati, the spouse of 
 Brahma, presented mankind with the most beauti- 
 ful of instruments the vina. The demi-god Nared 
 was selected to teacli its use. Then Mahada-Krish- 
 na endowed the Ragas with the power of magic 
 the Ragas, in turn, endowed the Raginits. Men, ani- 
 mals, and inanimate JSTature, were henceforth com- 
 pelled to obey them. One Raga was possessed of 
 the power of raising clouds and producing rain. A 
 songstress versed in that mode at one time saved 
 Bengal from an imminent famine by intoning it. 
 Another Raga could cause the sun to vanish. One 
 charmed serpents, another lions and tigers. All 
 beaven is filled with music. The great god Indra 
 is surrounded by Ganharves ; they accompany him 
 in war, and sing his praise in peace. Yea, the ter- 
 rible Sliiva himself was charmed by the magic of 
 Ravana's vina. Music is the peer of prayer and 
 sacrifice it is god-compelling. 
 
 The original system was mucb elaborated in the 
 course of time, so that it grew to contain no less 
 than sixteen thousand modes, each of which was 
 governed by one of the sixteen thousand nymphs 
 who attempted to gain the love of Mahada-Krishna
 
 HINDOO THEORY 15 
 
 during Lis incarnation. The nymphs are governed 
 by the thirty Raginits, the Raginits by the six 
 Ragas, the Eagas by Krishna himself. l!^ow, as cer- 
 tain Raginits had affinities for certain Ragas, it was 
 conceived that a general marriage had taken place 
 that each Raga had been wedded to five Raginits, 
 and that eight sons had been born in each family ; 
 that each of the forty-eight sons, called putras, had 
 taken a n3'mph for a spouse, whereupon the imme- 
 diate family of the Ragas comprised one hundred 
 and thirty-two heads, all chiefs of modes. 
 
 Later, the Ragas were construed as being also 
 gods of the seasons. This was done because there 
 appeared to be a great analogy between the frame 
 of mind produced by each of the Ragas, and the 
 one natural to one of the six seasons into which 
 the Hindoo year was divided. The joyful strains 
 of one Raga were symbolical of the season of 
 blooming ; the gay characteristics of another, of the 
 ripening of the fruits; while the sad and melan- 
 choly melodies of another, of the fading and falling 
 leaves. In time it became to be considered a grave 
 offense to the presiding Raga of the season, if melo- 
 dies in any but one of the modes subject to his con- 
 trol were intoned.
 
 16 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 How differently the Chinese and Hindoos ac- 
 counted for the emotive power of music ! On the 
 cue hand, the gloomy mysteries of the numbers and 
 tlie elements; on the other, the bright, fantastic, 
 gorgeous heaven of sunshine, marriages, and pleas- 
 ures! And yet, who knows but that the Hindoo 
 philosophers, who established such a flowery system, 
 were thinkers fully as deep as the Chinese sages 
 that their original conception and hidden meaning 
 were not as spiritual as those of modern days ? It 
 was the spirit of the age to call a force a god 
 that is to say, to personify the ideal, the spiritual. 
 The first theoreticians probably used the word raga 
 as a sober name, signifying mode. As the tones 
 increased in variety, and by the aid of modulation, 
 changes of rhythm, etc., appeared to become almost 
 unmanageable, or rather irreducible to any system ; 
 they were compelled to limit them to a certain 
 number of modes fit for practical use, and this num- 
 ber became in course of time extended to sixteen 
 thousand by some calculation of which we are ig- 
 norant. Then came mythological philosophy. The 
 tones, with their wonderful efibct on the soul, must 
 have originated in heaven. The next step was to 
 specify how and where they originated, by whom
 
 EGYPTIAN THEORY. 17 
 
 tliey were propagated, and then the wildest specula- 
 tions on the subject were the order of the day. 
 The peculiar poetical character of the ancient Hin- 
 doo showed itself in the question, " What is music ? " 
 as part of the question, " What is Nature ? 
 
 III. 
 
 EGYPTIAliT THEORY. 
 
 The Chinese and Hindoo systems never spread 
 beyond the limits of their proper countries. Though 
 based on high and noble conceptions, they were too 
 deeply impregnated with local ideas ever to become 
 generally accepted. Wonderful as they were, yet 
 how inferior were they to the magnificent system 
 of the Egyptians, based on that fundamental theory 
 of unparalleled grandeur which made music the 
 symbol of the whole cosmos ! ' 
 
 The Egyptians compared the seven tones of the 
 diatonic scale to the seven planets. They originated 
 the sublime idea which subsequently pervaded all 
 antiquity, the middle ages, and even left its traces 
 in recent times the idea of the liarmony of tbe
 
 18 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 spheres. Music was no longer merely a manit'esta- 
 tioTi of terrestrial forces, or symbolical of terrestrial 
 governments it came to be considered a manifesta- 
 tion of the celestial, of the spirit which regulates 
 the universe. Harmony was no longer restricted 
 to earth it came to be the ruling principle of 
 all Nature. The gods were the means through 
 which the knowledge of music was imparted to 
 man. Osiris invented the flute; Isis, the sacred 
 songs. Thot was teacher of the science of harmony, 
 and of the nature of tones as well as of the system 
 of constellations. Their instruments, as numerous 
 paintings and monuments attest, were rich in num- 
 ber and remarkable in construction. Of the details 
 of their system we have, however, but a sparse 
 account. All we know is, that the seven tones of 
 the scale are manifestations of the principle which 
 produced the seven planets Mercury, Yenus, Mars, 
 Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon ; and that 
 the ratio between the lowest tone and the highest 
 was the same as between Saturn, the most distant 
 planet, and the Moon, the nearest. 
 
 Yet as they were good mathematicians, and, in 
 fact, the inventors of geometry, it is highly probable 
 that they were the discoverers of the mathematical
 
 EGYPTIAN THEORY. 19 
 
 properties of music tliat they found the laws which 
 refer pitch to the length and weight of the material. 
 This supposition is strengthened by the well-known 
 fact that Pythagoras was for twenty-two years a 
 member of the college of priests at Thebes. That, 
 at all events, their systems and theories of music 
 must have occupied a considerable portion of their 
 studies can hardly be doubted. Among their sacred 
 books, amounting in all to forty-two, two entire 
 ones are devoted to music. 
 
 The Egyptians were the first to designate music 
 as physic for the soul, and consequently to ascribe 
 to it pathological virtues. They were also, proba- 
 bly, the first hymnographists, and formed the 
 models of all hymns of future times, whether He- 
 brew or Greek. Moses, as well as Pythagoras, was 
 an Egyptian priest. 
 
 The question whether the Egyptians were, after 
 all, not indebted to the Chaldeans for their ideas of 
 music, is still open. That the Chaldeans were still 
 older astronomers is, I believe, admitted. Ancient 
 Chaldean history is, however, so shrouded in mys- 
 tery that it is hazardous to form a conjecture. It is 
 possible that the Chaldeans, who were the great 
 magicians of their time, and who attributed magical
 
 20 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 power to the number seven, may have been the first 
 to notice the relation between the seven in music 
 and in ancient astronomv. Still, without stronger 
 proofs, it would be wrong to combat the claim of 
 the Egyptians to the priority. 
 
 IV. 
 
 GRECIAN THEORIES. 
 
 The spirit of Eg}- pt was wafted over into Greece. 
 Grecian philosophy and pliilosophico-rausical spec- 
 ulations began about the seventh century before 
 the present era. The opinions and theories regard- 
 ing God and the world were, among the Greeks, as 
 among other nations, primarily clothed in myths 
 and symbols. The Greek philosophers rejected the 
 mythical speculations, and strived to discover the 
 origin and condition of things, by means of obser- 
 vations of Nature and mathematical calculations. 
 Music, as part of the system of the universe, was 
 at first treated like other forces and manifestations 
 of JSTature it was dressed in the mythical garb ; 
 afterward, like tliem, it was the subject for mathe- 
 matical calculations and physical observations.
 
 GRECIAX THEORIES. 21 
 
 Preeminent among tlie sages who devoted time 
 to music, and overshadowing them all by the deptli 
 of his views and the range of his observations, as 
 well as by the extraordinary influence he exerted 
 on posterity, stands Pythagoras. The Ionian phi- 
 losophers who preceded or were contemporaneous 
 with him, searched for the origin of things the 
 original matter from which things were evolved. 
 This was not the plan of Pythagoras. He con- 
 sidered the universe as a cosmos a perfectly ar- 
 ranged entirety and searched not for the origin of 
 matter, but for the radical principle underlying the 
 cosmical plan. He was essentially a spiritualist 
 all outward Nature was merely phenomenal in his 
 view, merely the manifestation of something in- 
 appreciable by the senses. In his speculations on 
 music, his first object was, therefore, to discover its 
 spiritual cause; for, finding that, he felt assured 
 that he could logically and on natural grounds 
 demonstrate its power, define its object, and )^x 
 upon its proper position in the cosmos. The con- 
 densed result of his speculations is this: ^^ All is 
 number and harmony, ^Numbers are the guides 
 and preservers of the harmony of the universe. 
 They define form, order, and the laws of things.
 
 22 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 In them is contained the real heing of all things 
 that exist. All numbers are repetitions of the "first 
 ten. The ten spring from unity, which is therefore 
 the origin of all things. The great number is the 
 number four, tlie completion of the sacred Tetrak- 
 tys ; for, if added to the first three it produces ten, 
 the limit and summation of the fundamental num- 
 bers. In the number one, the point is contained ; 
 in two, the line; in three, the superficies; but in 
 four the first square is the defining of all bodies. 
 This is therefore the root of nature. Numbers ar6 
 the spiritual essence of music. "What we hear in the 
 vibrations of a material, are numbers. In the mo- 
 tion of the heavenly bodies we see numbers. Music 
 and the celestial bodies are therefore closely related 
 to each other." 
 
 Then Pythagoras further showed that consonance 
 is only produced by the ratios expressible in the 
 first four numbers, which are the root of all things. 
 The ratio of the length of strings that produce an 
 octave is 2 : 1 ; of strings that produce a fifth, 3:2; 
 of strings producing a fourth, 4 : 3. 
 
 "Whether Pythagoras actually discovered these 
 ratios has been doubted of late, and the discovery 
 attributed to the Egyptians. At all events, however.
 
 GRECIAN THEORIES. 23 
 
 the reader, unacquainted with the history of music, 
 will be surprised not to find the thirds and sixths 
 classed with the consonants in the above system. 
 Well, the fact is that the Greeks actually considered 
 these intervals as dissonant, for they were entirely 
 unacquainted with the natural thirds, whose ratios 
 are 4 : 5 and 5 : 6 nearly as simple as are those of 
 fourths and fifths and calculated their thirds by 
 the circle of fifths, which made the ratio of the 
 major third 64: 81 an actual dissonance. It would 
 hardly be fair to say that the Pythagoreans pur- 
 posely ignored those consonants, because admit- 
 ting them would have conflicted with the theory of 
 the Tetraktys; for Aristoxenos, who was opposed 
 to their sect, still classed thirds among the dis- 
 sonants. In fact, they were not considered as con- 
 sonants, and barely then, until the middle of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 So we see that Pythagoras perfectly succeeded 
 in proving that it was the first four numbers which 
 ruled the consonances as well as the dimensions; 
 and that, consequently, all things, whether seen or 
 heard, were numbers and harmony. " Therefore," 
 says Panakmos, a Pythagorean, " it is the business 
 of music, not only to preside over the voice and
 
 24 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 musical instruments, but even to harmonize all 
 tilings contained in the universe." God organized 
 all Nature according to the laws of harmony, was 
 a tenet of the sect. The lyre was considered a 
 symbol of the cosmos. The heavenly bodies were 
 musical instruments sounding forth melodies of in- 
 describable sublimity. The laws of harmony were 
 the same laws that built and preserved the uni- 
 verse. In consequence of his sublime conception, 
 Pythagoras enjoined the practice of music as a 
 highly virtuous and especially meritorious action, 
 "for music," said he, ^^ purifies the souV^ 
 
 It is not surprising that a theory, so vast, so 
 grand, so deep, with the nimbus of a charming mys- 
 teriousness encircling it, should have retained its 
 influence over men for so many hundred years ; or 
 that, in a modified form, it should have its defenders 
 even in the present day. Yet it was not without 
 able opponents. Aristoxenos of Tarent attacked 
 it with the weapons of both argument and satire. 
 lie ridiculed the Pythagorean maxim not to trust 
 to our senses, but only to mathematical calculations 
 and demonstrations, and boldly declared the ear it- 
 self as the highest autliority in matters of conso- 
 nance and dissonance. His followers therefore called
 
 ARABIC-PERSIAN THEORY, 25 
 
 tliemselves musici, while tlie Pythagoreans denomi- 
 nated themselves canonici. He was, besides heing 
 a musician, a distinguished philosopher and one 
 of the pupils of Aristotle. His fundamental theory 
 was entirely realistic. He held that " the soul is a 
 tension of the body; and that as vibrations were 
 produced on strings, so the emotions manifested 
 themselves by producing vibrations on the body 
 the soul acting as tension." 
 
 Remarkable for their truth, and the depth of 
 thought they manifest, are the ideas on music of 
 Aristotle. They are in fact so imbued with the 
 modern spirit, that they would appear out of place 
 if cited here. They will be mentioned in connec- 
 tion with the theory of Helmholtz, which author 
 quotes them. 
 
 y. 
 
 AKABIC-PERSTAN THEOSY. 
 
 We must now make a great leap over a num- 
 ber of centuries in which no new systems were 
 developed, and plunge right into the heart of the 
 
 middle ages the Arabic-Persian system being the 
 2
 
 26 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 next to be considered. The Persians symbolized 
 music in tbe form of a tree. The chief root is Rast 
 (d). From it branch off the auxiliary roots (d#, e, 
 and f). From each root two branches shoot fortli, 
 producing in this manner the twelve semitones of 
 the octave. Rast is symbolical of the original matter 
 to which all things are reducible. The seven tones 
 of the diatonic scale are symbolical of the days and 
 nights of the week, likewise of the seven planets. 
 The twelve semitones of the octave are symbols of 
 the twelve signs of the zodiac. The four roots 
 signify the four elements. 
 
 East, is fire warm and dry. Symbolical of the 
 choleric humor, and of the sign Aries. 
 
 Erak, is the atmosphere warm and moist. Sym- 
 bolical of the sanguine humor, and of the sign 
 Taurus. 
 
 Ziref kend, is water cold and moist. Symboli- 
 cal of the phlegmatic humor, and of the sign Gem- 
 ini. 
 
 Isfahan, is the earth dry and cold. Symbolical 
 of the melancholic humor, and of the sign Cancer. 
 
 The branches have, with suitable modifications, 
 the characteristics of their respective roots. The 
 Persians called their lute a picture of Nature. The
 
 ARABIC-PERSIAN THEORY. 27 
 
 liigliest string is fire tlie sounds are dry and warm. 
 The next is air tlie sounds are clear and liglit. 
 The next is water the sounds are dark and cold. 
 The next is earth the sounds are low and heavy. 
 From the connection existing between the humors 
 and the elements, music has the power of curing 
 diseases. 
 
 Diseases natural to a phlegmatic disposition are 
 cured by the sound of the highest string. Hypo- 
 chondria is cured by the second one. Diseases of 
 the young (who are generally choleric), particularly 
 the jaundice, are cured by the third. Plethoric 
 persons, having a sanguine humor, are relieved by 
 the sounds of the fourth string. Besides being 
 physic for the body, music acts as a great purifier 
 of the soul. " The soul purified by music, longs for 
 communion with higher beings and purer spheres; 
 and, though darkened by the opaqueness of the 
 body, is yet prepared for conversation with the 
 spirits of light, standing around the throne of the 
 Almighty."
 
 28 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 YI. 
 
 SCHOLASTIC THE0EIE8. 
 
 While tlie Arabic-Persian philosophers were 
 occupying thenjselves with their fundamental theo- 
 ries of music in the East, the scholastics, in the 
 West, worked out no less curious systems. 
 
 According to them. Tonus is the progenitor of 
 all the tones (modes). The son of Tonus is the fii-st 
 ecclesiastical mode, who, in turn, is father of the 
 second, brother of the third. The second tone is 
 grandson of Tonus being the son of the first one, 
 and brother of the fourth mode, etc. The an- 
 cients beheld in music manifestations of the same 
 causes that produced the elements, or the planets. 
 The scholastics believed as firmly as they in its 
 symbolical nature, but they generally conceived 
 these symbols as mysteriously referable to the Bible. 
 The relation between the plagal and authentic 
 modes was significant of the chariot with wheels 
 inside of one another, described in the vision of Eze- 
 kiel. As the plagal and the authentic modes have 
 some notes alike while others are not, they are sym- 
 bolical of the concordance and div^gencies of the
 
 SCHOLASTIC THEORIES. 29 
 
 Evangelists. The four tetracliords point to the life 
 of Christ. The gravium is the type of Christ walk- 
 ing on earth ; the finaliura, of his death ; the supe- 
 riorum, of his rising from the dead ; the excellen- 
 tium, of his ascension. Two tetrachords are typical 
 of his humiliation two, of his elevation. The 
 plagal and authentic tones are four bridal pairs, 
 coming forth from the Thalaraos (bridal-chamber) 
 which is the intersection of the two wheels in the 
 vision. 
 
 Marchettus, of Padua, exclaims : " How admira- 
 ble is the tree of music ! -Its branches are ordered 
 by numerical ratios ; its blossoms are concord ; its 
 fruit, sweet harmonies ripening from the blossoms." 
 
 The music of the universe is a great unity, and 
 by commqjid of God it governs all things in motion 
 all things that move in heaven, or on earth, or in 
 the sea, all that which sounds in the voices of men 
 and animals it is the regulator of days and years. 
 
 The octave is the symbol of justice. The fourth 
 is significant of the four seasons, the four corners 
 of the earth, the four elements, the four Evangel- 
 ists, the four humors. The number four, whose 
 Sinn is ten, contains all numbers within itself. In 
 its ratios all consonants arc expressed 2 : 1 octave,
 
 30 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 3 : 2 fifth, 4 : 3 fourth, 3 : 1 twelfth, 4 : 1 double oc- 
 tave. It was not without reason that the tones of 
 music were divided into sets of four bj the first 
 musicians. 
 
 Nor was it without cause that all music was 
 founded on the first, second, third, and fourth modes ; 
 for music depends on the harmony of these four 
 modes, as the cosmos exists onl}'' in the harmony of 
 the four elements. The elements of the macro- 
 cosmos are warm fire, damp air, dry earth, cold water 
 but the elements of tlie microcosmos, which is 
 man, are the four humors the choleric, sanguine, 
 phlegmatic, and melancholic. 
 
 Music was also a symbol of the Church. Like 
 the Church it is a great homogeneity, composed of 
 many heterogeneous parts. Music has a double 
 character it is cosmical and human ; the Bible is, 
 in like manner, divided into the two Testaments. 
 The Church considers two manners of living the 
 active life and the contemplative one. Under these 
 same aspects miisic may be regarded. It is contem- 
 plative with him who has it in his heart and in his 
 memory active with him who studies it from 
 books. The former manner is superior to the latter 
 the knowledge of music cannot be wrenched from
 
 SCHOLASTIC THEORIES. 31 
 
 liirn who has it in his memory and in his heart. 
 The authentic and plagal modes are symbolical of 
 the commandment of love; the former of love to 
 God, the latter of love to man. The three octaves 
 are the three grades of penitence. The grave is the 
 remorse of the penitent sinner. The acute is the 
 confession. The sujperacute is the remission through 
 his acts of charity. There are three classes of in- 
 struments Yasales, Foraminales^ and Chordales. 
 They are symbolical of Faith, Hope, and Charity. 
 A composition is composed of a first, middle, and 
 final part significant of the mystery of the Trinity. 
 The four ecclesiastical modes refer to the four car- 
 dinal virtues Prudence, Temperance, Bravery, and 
 Justice. Music is written on four lines, without 
 which it would be impossible to recognize a mel- 
 ody ; in like manner the Church bases its recogni- 
 tions on the four Evangelists. Seven sacraments 
 are the keys of heaven ; seven clefs open the gates 
 of music. Eight beatitudes are promised by the 
 Sermon on the Mount, in recompense of the four 
 cardinal virtues; so music contains eight modes, 
 based on the four authentic ones. The nineteen 
 tones are symbolical of the nineteen degrees of the 
 Church, which begin at the good laymen and end
 
 33 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 with the hermits aud martyrs. As the final tone 
 distinguishes the authentic from the plagal, so will 
 Christ separate the sheep from the goats ; and as 
 the beginning and middle part of a composition 
 define its end, so will the beginning and middle 
 part of life define the end whether it will be in a 
 blessed or unblessed death. 
 
 YII. 
 etjler's theokt. 
 
 This mystical comparison of music to the Church 
 was the last great original attempt to explain the 
 power of music by symbols. The next fundamental 
 theory, the one developed by Euler in his " Tentamen 
 Novae Theorise Musicae," is characterized throughout 
 by the clear and cold rationalism of the eighteenth 
 centur}'. Euler says that we are pleased with every 
 thing in which a certain degree of perfection is 
 manifested. The perfection of an object is defined 
 by the fact that all its heterogeneous parts act in 
 homogeneity toward a certain end. Therefore, 
 wherever there is perfection, we find order. By
 
 EULER'S THEORY. 33 
 
 order we understand that all the parts composing 
 an object are arranged according to a rule from 
 which we perceive why a certain part should be in 
 the place it occupies rather than in any other place. 
 In every perfect thing the rule of arrangement is 
 defined by the object in view. This is the reason 
 why order is more agreeable to us than disorder. 
 
 There are two ways in which order may be per- 
 ceived. Either we know the law from which the 
 rule of arrangement is derived, and judge the ar- 
 rangement by comparison with the law ; or we do 
 not know the law, and endeavor to discover it by 
 carefully stud^'ing the arrangement. The latter is 
 the case in music. A combination of tones will 
 please us, if we can find the law of arrangement. 
 This explains why a composition may be pleasing 
 to one, and displeasing to another ; for one hearer 
 may discover the law of arrangement, while another 
 may not. In the proportion that the law is easily 
 perceived, will an object be pleasing to us, and will 
 it engender joyful sentiments. In the proportion 
 that the law is difficult to find, will it engender sad- 
 ness. 
 
 Euler then adapts his theory to the explanation 
 of the aorreeable eiFect of concords.
 
 34 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 In tones, order is manifested in duration and in 
 pitch. Order in pitch we designate by the term 
 interval, order in duration is known as rhytlim. In 
 rhythm, two, three, or four notes of one part may 
 coincide witli one, two, or three notes of another 
 part, and the regularity of the arrangement, which 
 is easily perceived, causes pleasure. In like manner^ 
 if one, or two, or three vibrations coincide with two, 
 three, or four otfier vibrations, we obtain a concord, 
 our ear being pleased with the regularity of the ar- 
 rangement, which manifests order. When the ra- 
 tio of the vibrations is irrational, a dissonance is 
 produced and our ear is offended. 
 
 Euler even gives a mathematical formula in 
 proof of his assertion that the pleasurable sensa- 
 tion caused by a concord is attributable to the reg- 
 ularity of the arrangement of the vibrations, and 
 that concords approach perfection in proportion as 
 their ratios are expressed by smaller numbers. 
 
 On superficial inspection this theory seems well 
 founded. The most perfect consonance is the uni- 
 son, whose ratio is 1 : 1. The octave comes next, its 
 ratio being 2 : 1. Then we have the fifth, 3 : 2. 
 Next the fourth, 4:3; the major third, 5:4; the 
 minor third, 6:5; and as the ratios become more
 
 EULER'S THEORY. 35 
 
 complicated, the intervals are, theoretically^ less con- 
 sonant. PractiGally^ however, the case is somewhat 
 different. Extremely complicated ratios may yet, 
 virtually, be consonants. 
 
 Let us take, for instance, the ratio of 2 : 1.9999 ; 
 this, if Euler's theory Avere correct, would be ex- 
 tremely offensive to tlie ear ; in reality, however, it 
 is a perfect consonance. No ear would be able to 
 detect any want of concordance. Then, again, how 
 does the soul discover the ratios ? In rhythm this 
 is an easy matter. An uneducated man can hear 
 whether two, or three, or four beats of a certain 
 kind are equivalent to one, or two, or three, of an- 
 other kind. But how is one, unacquainted with the 
 science of acoustics, at all capable of forming an 
 idea of ratios of vibrations ? Nay more, a man may 
 make this subject a special study, and still would 
 never attempt to think of it while listening to 
 music ; and were he to do so, it would rather tend 
 to destroy the effect that the music would other- 
 wise have upon him.
 
 36 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 YIII. 
 HEKBEKT SPENCEr's THEOKY. 
 
 Let us now proceed to the consideration of the 
 theory of Herbert Spencer, as advanced by him in 
 his article " The Origin and Function of Music : " 
 
 " When Carlo, standing, chained to his kennel, 
 sees his master in the distance, a slight motion of 
 the tail indicates his but faint hope that he is about 
 to be let out. A much more decided wagging of 
 the tail, passing by-and-by into lateral undulations 
 of the body, follows his master's nearer approach. 
 When hands are laid on his collar, and he knows 
 that he is really to have an outing, his jumping and 
 wriggling are such that it is by no means easy to 
 loose his fastenings. And when he finds himself 
 actually free, his joy expresses itself in bounds, in 
 pirouettes, and in scourings hither and thither at 
 the top of his speed." 
 
 " Under emotions of an opposite kind, animals 
 equally display muscular excitement. The enraged 
 lion lashes his sides with his tail, knits his brows, 
 protrudes his claws." 
 
 " In children, and even in adults who are not re-
 
 HERBERT SPENCERS THEORY. 37 
 
 strained by regard for appearances, a highly-agree- 
 able taste is followed by a smacking of the lips."- 
 
 "In a sensitive person, an agreeable perfume 
 will produce a smile; and smiles will be seen on 
 the faces of a crowd gazing at some splendid burst 
 of fireworks." 
 
 " Painful sensations, being mostly far more in- 
 tense than pleasurable ones, cause muscular actions 
 of a much more decided kind. A sudden twinge 
 produces a convulsive start of the whole body. A 
 pain less violent, but continuous, is accompanied by 
 a knitting of the brows, a setting of the teeth or 
 biting of the lips, and a contraction of the features 
 generally. Under a persistent pain of a severer kind 
 other muscular actions are added : the body is 
 swayed to and fro; the hands clench any thing 
 they can lay hold of; and should the agony rise 
 still higher, the suiFerer rolls about on the floor al- 
 most convulsed." 
 
 " Though more varied, the natural language of 
 the pleasurable emotions comes within the same gen- 
 eralization. A smile, which is the commonest ex- 
 pression of gratified feeling, is a contraction of certain 
 facial muscles ; and when the smile broadens into a 
 laugh, we see a more violent and more general mus-
 
 38 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 cular excitement produced by an inteuser grati- 
 fication." 
 
 " All feelings, then sensations or emotions, 
 pleasurable or painful have this common charac- 
 teristic, that they are muscular stimuli." 
 
 " ' But what has all this to do with the Origin 
 and Function of Music ? ' asks the reader. Yery 
 much, as we shall presently see." 
 
 Then follows the development of the theory. 
 
 It begins by stating that all music was original- 
 ly vocal ; that all vocal sounds are produced by the 
 agency of muscles, and that muscles are subject to 
 contraction by pleasurable and painful sensations; 
 that, therefore, feeling demonstrates itself in sound 
 as well as in motion ; that, therefore, Carlo barks as 
 well as leaps, the lion roars as well as lashes his 
 sides; that in anger or fear gesticulations are ac- 
 companied by shouts and screams, delightful sensa- 
 tions by exclamations. , 
 
 " "We have here, then, a principle underlying all 
 vocal phenomena ; including those of vocal music, 
 and by consequence those of music in general. 
 The muscles that move the chest, larynx, and vocal 
 chords, contracting like other muscles in proportion 
 to the intensity of the feelings ; every different con-
 
 HERPERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 39 
 
 traction of these muscles involving, as it does, a 
 different adjustment of the vocal organs ; every dif- 
 ferent adjustment of the vocal organs causing a 
 change in the sound emitted ; it follows that varia- 
 tions of voice are the physiological results of varia- 
 tions of feeling; it follows that each inflection or 
 modulation is the natural outcome of some passing 
 emotion or sensation; and it follows that the ex- 
 planation of all kinds of vocal expression, must be 
 sought in this general relation between mental and 
 muscular excitements." 
 
 I do not think that it will be necessary for me to 
 ci4:e the whole development from these data, the read- 
 er who may be interested can find it in Mr. Spencer's 
 essay, " The Origin and Function of Music," in the 
 work entitled " Illustrations of Universal Progress." 
 
 His resume is this : " Every one of the altera- 
 tions of voice which we have found to be a phys- 
 iological result of pain or pleasure, is carried to its 
 greatest extreme in vocal music. For instance, we 
 saw that, in virtue of the general relation between 
 mental and muscular excitement, one characteristic 
 of passionate utterance was loudness. Well, its com- 
 parative loudness is one of the distinctive marks of 
 song, as contrasted with the speech of daily life ; and
 
 40 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 further, the forte passages of an air are those in- 
 tended to represent the climax of its emotion. "We 
 next saw that the tones in which emotion expresses 
 itself are, in conformity with this same law, of a more 
 Bonorons timbre than those of calm conversation. 
 Here, too, song displays a still higher degree of the 
 .peculiarity; for the singing tone is the most reso- 
 nant wc can make. Again, it was shown that, from 
 a like cause, mental excitement vents itself in the 
 higher and lower notes of the register ; using the 
 middle notes but seldom. And it scarcely needs 
 saying that vocal music is still more distinguished 
 by its comparative neglect of the notes in which we 
 talk, and its habitual use of those above or below 
 them ; and, moreover, that its most passionate effects 
 are commonly produced at the two extremities of 
 its scale, but especially the upper one." 
 
 " Once more, it was pointed out that not only 
 extreme, but also rapid variations of pitch, are 
 characteristic of mental excitement ; and once more 
 we see in the quick changes of every melody, that 
 song carries the characteristic as far, if not farther. 
 Thus, in respect alike of loudness^ timhre, pitchy 
 intervalSy and rate of variation^ song employs and 
 exaggerates the natural language of the emotions;
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 41 
 
 it arises from a systematic combination of those 
 vocal peculiarities which are the physiological ef- 
 fects of acute pleasure and paiji." 
 
 " The rhythm of music is a more subtle and 
 complex result of this relation between mental and 
 muscular excitement." 
 
 On first inspection Mr. Spencer's theory, I ad- 
 mit, appears very plausible; but at the same time I 
 venture to say that it will not bear critical examina- 
 tion. In the first place, his conception of music 
 appears to me to be far too narrow. He considers 
 music an invention springing from the human 
 brain ; but this, after a little thought, must appear 
 erroneous to every one music is not a human in- 
 vention, it is part and parcel of Nature. The laws 
 of vibration, for instance, are as immutable as are 
 those of gravity. The forms of vibration are deter- 
 mined by the great mechanical law of the parallelo- 
 gram of forces. The manner in which a string 
 vibrates is one of the most wonderful things in 
 Nature. The human ear is of a most marvelous 
 and intricate construction, and its wonders and 
 complications have for the Bole object the distin- 
 guishing of musical sounds, with regard to pitch 
 and quality; a comparatively simple arrangement
 
 42 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 would have sufficed for tlie requirements of lan- 
 guage. There is the human throat with its remark- 
 able arrangement for the purposes oi song alone. A 
 far inferior construction would have served the pur- 
 poses of language, or for the production of sound 
 incidental to muscular excitement. 
 
 But, leaving the consideration of special con- 
 trivances, and casting our eyes on the broad ex- 
 panse of Nature, what an enormous provision is 
 made for music! What an immense material is 
 placed under its control ! It can subject to its use 
 almost all things that exist in space ! The atmos- 
 phere is ever prone to originate music ; always pre- 
 pared to mediate between the producing instrument 
 and the ear. Water, too, is an originator and media- 
 tor of musical sounds. All solid bodies have a prone- 
 ness for music. Before man appeared on the face 
 of the earth the waves of the JEgean Sea sansr their 
 mournful tones, the waters sounded forth sad music 
 as they rushed through Fingal's cave, or Bpent 
 themselves in violent breakers on the German shore. 
 Did not singing-birds exist before the time of man? 
 Did they evolve their singing from speech, or did 
 they develop it from muscular excitement ? or did 
 they sing because it was natural for them to sing
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 43 
 
 because it was in the plan of Nature that they 
 should sing ? 
 
 Ko, music is not a human invention. The prog- 
 ress in musio is of the same nature as the progress 
 in science, it is based on discover^/. The other arts 
 are imitative of things in Kature, or, like archi- 
 tecture, are for the purpose of utility. But music 
 is a very part of Nature itself. If, instead of say- 
 ing music was developing itself, we were to say, 
 new things were constantly being discovered in it, 
 we should be nearer the truth. The history of 
 music fully substantiates my assertion. To the 
 ancients music was a most wonderful structure 
 whose gates were closed and barred. TJiey saw 
 but the exterior, and yet so fascinating was that 
 exterior to them, that they imagined a marvelous 
 interior, and were constantly at work in forging 
 keys which were to open its gates. They were con- 
 scious of the fact that an immense mass of material 
 for musical purposes was existing, but they were 
 forced to labor in order to bring that mass under 
 subjection in order to discover the laws which 
 governed and regulated it. The scales were no more 
 invented than were the laws of vibration. Like 
 the latter, they were discovered discovered after
 
 44 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 much vain labor. The slow development of music 
 is attributable to the very greatness of its subject- 
 material. Says Helmholtz : " Music finds an im- 
 mensely rich but entirely unformed material in the 
 tones of the human voice and musical instruments, 
 which it must shape according to purely artistic 
 principles. 'No consideration of utility, as in ar- 
 chitecture no imitations of Nature, as in the 
 plastic arts no ready symbols of sound, as in 
 poetry define, bound, or limit it in any manner. 
 The freedom in the use of the material is un- 
 bounded, but it is infinitely more difficult to make 
 gcod use of absolute freedom, than when some ex- 
 trinsic marks define the path to be trodden and 
 this explains the slow development of music." 
 
 It is hardly within the scope of the present little 
 work to give a detailed criticism of Mr. Spencer's 
 theory', what has already been said being, I believe, 
 quite sufficient to show its want of solid foundation. 
 That there are many connections between speech 
 and music is understood by the very definition of 
 the terms for speech is sound and subject to the 
 laws of sound ; and that vocal music should have 
 preceded instrumental, is quite natural, for the 
 human throat is the first musical instrument ever
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 45 
 
 subject to the control of man. Those eharacteris 
 tics of speech which belong to utterance have, 
 therefore, some musical counterpart, and come act- 
 ually under the heading of the internal govern- 
 ment of the scale. An excited person, whether he 
 speak in one language or in another, will by his 
 very manner of utterance whether the words he 
 speaks be comprehended or not show his state of 
 mind, just as passionate music distinguishes itself 
 from calm music by the laws governing rhythm 
 and the scale. In reading, when coming to a full- 
 stop, we use the tonic of our speech ; &t a hali-stop 
 the mediant ; at an interrogation-point, the domi- 
 nant. All these inflections depending, as we see, 
 primarily on the internal government of the scale. 
 As far as loudness is concerned, as a distinctive 
 mark of song, I must differ from Mr. Spencer. 
 Speech may become louder than song, without once 
 departing from any thing that distinguishes speech 
 from song. I think him mistaken also in the point 
 he makes about the rate of variation. If music had 
 developed from muscular excitement, the rates of 
 variation would have been extreme in the begin- 
 ning, and gradually reduced by good judgment and 
 artistic taste. The first music would have consisted
 
 46 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 of very close-lying sounds, or rather groups of 
 sound, distributed over wide ranges of pitch. An 
 animal that howls does so in no appreciable inter- 
 . vals, but in continuous sounds. In screaming, it 
 uses the highest part of its compass in moaning, 
 the lowest, and always in . continuous sounds. If, 
 therefore, music had originated in muscular excite- 
 ment, the first music would have contained an ex- 
 treme rate of variation, which would have been di- 
 minished by degrees. The opposite, however, has 
 been the case. The first scale of which we have any 
 knowledge is the Chinese, with but five tones. The 
 most ancient Hindoo melodies are founded on a scale 
 of seven notes ; it is true that their system contains 
 quarter-tones which are a nearer approach to con- 
 tinuous sounds than our half-tones, but these were 
 only introduced at an advanced stage, and then not 
 for practical purposes, but to show the arithmetical 
 skill of the philosophers who formed the system. 
 
 In fact, what authority have we for assuming 
 so tacitly that language preceded music ? Do not 
 all things rather tend to prove that music preceded 
 language ? Music is natural language is artificial. 
 The original man sang long before he talked. All 
 Nature taught him to sing. He uttered sounds for
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 47 
 
 the mere sake of their beauty, long before he could 
 have taken practical advantage of these sounds, by 
 ascribing symbolical value to them. Language is 
 merely local music is universal ! Language is 
 one of the functions of music not music of lan- 
 guage. Music is greatly aided by language, but it 
 does not depend upon it. Language, however, de- 
 pends on music ; for the only philosophical manner 
 by wbicli we can account for the various inflections 
 and modulations of the voice, which give life to 
 speech, is by ordering them under the musical laws 
 regarding the scale and rhythm. The vital prem- 
 ise of Mr. Spencer's theory is, therefore, an as- 
 sumption by no means warranted. 
 
 With regard to Mr. Spencer's historical proofs, 
 it would take me too far to refute them here in de- 
 tail. They rest, as he himself implies, mostly on 
 hearsay ; and it is, therefore, not surprising that they 
 should either be entirely erroneous or merely part- 
 statements. In no case, however, do even they jus- 
 tify the conclusions he draws from them. I shall, 
 also, not commit the unfairness of giving piecemeal 
 quotations from the rest of his argmnent, in which 
 so many true and beautiful sentiments are blended. 
 One thing, however, Mr. Spencer appears to forget,
 
 48 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 and this is, tliat melody is a gift of Xature. When 
 Schubert wrote his songs, which penetrate into the 
 very depth of our hearts, he certainly did not ar- 
 range the intervals and cadences in the manner Mr. 
 Spencer describes. They poured from his brain, 
 clear and fresh as the M'ater pours from the moun- 
 tain-spring. Melody is born with the man, it can- 
 not he learned or acquired. And how will Mr. 
 Spencer's theory account for the feelings o melan- 
 clioly which come over us when we hear the roaring 
 waves breaking on the shore; for the feeling of 
 terror, when tremendous claps of thunder rever- 
 berate among the mountains ; for the feeling of 
 sadness, in listening to the moaning wind ; for the 
 pleasurable calmness^ in sitting by the babbling 
 brook ; or for the blended feelings that master us 
 when on a summer afternoon, while lying in the 
 woods, we hear birds sing amid the rustling of the 
 leaves ? Is it rational to account for these emo- 
 tions by a method according to which, lii*st, the 
 emotions must cause muscular excitement ; sec- 
 ondly, this muscular excitement must extend to 
 the organs of speech ; thirdly, that the entirely 
 unmusical sounds thus brought forth must have 
 developed into vocal music, for which, by-the-
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S THEORY. 49 
 
 way, they have no tendency (for the softening of 
 which they are susceptible has no influence on the 
 development of the singing quality of the voice, fine 
 voices being known to be as common among the 
 unrefined as among the refined) ; fourthly, that 
 when we hear such manifestations they afiect us by 
 some fourth or fifth hand inexplicable retrospective 
 sympathy? Is this rational, I repeat, when we 
 know that we are afiected in a primary manner, 
 without the intervention of any kind of reasoning? 
 
 The following quotation cannot be considered 
 *' piecemeal." It contains a categorical propor- 
 tion, couched in unequivocal terms, and not de- 
 pendent, for a correct understanding, on any thing 
 that precedes or follows it : 
 
 " It is generally agreed that the tones of the 
 human voice are more pleasing than any others. 
 Grant that music takes its rise from the modula- 
 tions of the human voice under emotion, and it be- 
 comes a natural consequence that the tones of that 
 voice should appeal to our feelings more than any 
 others ; and so should be considered more beautiful 
 than any others. But deny that music has this or- 
 igin, and the only alternative is the untenable posi- 
 tion that the vibrations proceeding from a vocalist's
 
 50 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 throat are, objectively considered, of a higher order 
 tlian tliose from a horn or a violin. Similarly with 
 harsh and soft sounds. If the conclusiveness of the 
 foregoing reasonings be not admitted, it must be 
 supposed that the vibrations causing the last are 
 intrinsically better than those causing the first; 
 and that, in virtue of some preestablished har- 
 mony, the higher feelings and natures produce the 
 one, and the lower the other. But, if the foregoing 
 reasons be valid, it follows, as a matter of course, 
 that we shall like the sounds that habitually ac- 
 company agreeable feelings, and dislike those that 
 habitually accompany disagreeable feelings." 
 
 I would beg the reader to mark the word unten- 
 able ; for, while Mr. Spencer was thus treating of a 
 remarkable natural phenomenon, attempting to 
 make it conform to ideas previously conceived, an- 
 other philosopher was silently at work, adding the 
 ingenuity of genius to the long experience in simi- 
 lar labors, and wrested the secret from Nature. He 
 proved that the untenable position alluded to by 
 Mr. Spencer was the only tenable one was the true 
 cause of the whole matter. Prof. Ilelmholtz dis- 
 covered that the quality of sound depended on a 
 physical cause solely ; on iXieform of vibration pro-
 
 HERBERT SPENCER'S inEORY. 51 
 
 duced bj tlie order and intensity of the overtones. 
 And about the "harsh and soft sounds?" The 
 same authority has also settled that question. 
 Either Mr. Spencer refers to isolated or to simulta- 
 neous sounds. In the former case, the harshness 
 arises from unharmonious overtones ; the softness 
 is owing to harmonious overtones. In the latter 
 case, this harshness or softness depends on the ana- 
 tomical structure of the ear dissonances causing 
 heatings, consonances being pure in the proportion 
 that they are free from these beatings. The whole 
 question of quality, and harshness or softness, there- 
 fore, is definitely removed from the speculative 
 fields of psychology, to the demonstrable ones of 
 natural philosophy, where it undoubtedly did prop- 
 erly belong from the first. 
 
 Mr. Spencer, furthermore, gives as a strong in- 
 direct proof of his theory, that " on no other ten- 
 able hypothesis can either the expressiveness or the 
 genesis of music be explained." I have already had 
 occasion to say that I believe, on the contrary, 
 that his theory is entirely insufficient to account 
 for the power of music over the emotions ; and as 
 for the genesis of music, I have, likewise, only to 
 repeat a remark that I have made before, namely,
 
 52 WHAT 'IS MUSIC? 
 
 that music is not a human invention, but a cosmi- 
 cal agent. Man has developed it ; but for its gen- 
 esis, if that question should interest us, we must 
 look back to ages before the advent of man. 
 
 IX. 
 
 HELMHOLTZ'S THEOKT. 
 
 And now let us cast a glance into the writings 
 of Prof. Helmholtz, of the University of Berlin. 
 In my estimation, his ideas on the subject are a 
 nearer approach to the truth than any that I have 
 yet had occasion to notice. They are broad and 
 comprising, and rest upon tlie strongest natural 
 proof. They are objective, and not subjective : 
 
 "Melody is motion of pitch. The imponder- 
 able material of which tones are composed is ad- 
 mirably suited to follow the intentions of the mu- 
 sician, better able to illustrate all kinds of motion 
 than the lightest ponderable body could be. Ra- 
 pidity, ponderous slowness, steady moving, wild 
 leaping, all these different characteristics of motion, 
 and innumerable others, may be represented to per-
 
 HELMHOLTZ'S THEORY. 53 
 
 fection in their miuutest shadings and most intri- 
 cate complications and combinations, by a suc- 
 cession of tones. Now, while music expresses these 
 kinds of motion, it mirrors the state of mind by 
 which they were called forth ; for every motion 
 is to us a manifestation of the forces which caused 
 it, and we form, intuitively, a conception of the 
 force when we perceive the motion in which it is 
 manifested- This is true, as much and even more, 
 of the manifestations of force of the human will, 
 and for. the motions caused by human incentives, 
 than it is for the mechanical motions of outward Na- 
 ture. Thus it is that the melodious motion of tones 
 becomes the expression of human states of mind, 
 not of human sentiments (for music, unless aided by 
 poetry, does not accurately define a subject), but of 
 tfie states of mind which produced the sentiments. 
 
 " Aristotle, already, had had this conception of 
 music. In his Twenty-ninth Problem he asks, ' Why 
 do rhythms and melodies, which are sounds, adapt 
 ^ themselves to the states of mind, and not the tastes, 
 nor the colors, nor the odors ? Is it because they 
 are motions like the actions themselves? The very 
 energy which lies within them is based on a certain 
 state of mind, and produces a certain state of mind.
 
 54 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 But such is not the case with the tastes and the 
 colors.' And at the end of the Twenty-seventh 
 Problem he says, ' These motions (namely, rhythms 
 and melodies) are active, and actions are the signs 
 of the states of mind.' " 
 
 " Kot music alone, other motions also, are able 
 to produce these results ; particularly do moving 
 waters, be they in the form of water-falls, or of the 
 waves of the sea, make an impression on 8 simi- 
 lar to the one made by music. Often, and for a 
 long while at a time, do we enjoy sitting on the 
 shores of the sea to watch the onpouring weaves. 
 Their rhythmical motion, 'showing uniformity 
 though the single particles are constantly changing, 
 produces upon us a peculiar sentiment of calmness 
 and rest, while, at the same time, we are impressed 
 by the picture of a mighty, orderly, and beautifully 
 symmetrized life. 
 
 " The motions of tone, however, are superior to 
 the motions of all ponderable bodies in the nicety 
 and facility with which they accommodate them- 
 selves to the various forms of expressiveness. On 
 this account the chief function of music is to give 
 expression to the states of mind in 2i primary man- 
 ner. The other arts can do so only in a secondary
 
 HELMHOLTZ'S THEORY. 65 
 
 manner, bj expressing the motives which produced 
 the states of mind, or by giving the words, the ac- 
 tions, the outward manifestations,, which poured 
 from the states of mind. 
 
 " Yischer's somewhat "paradoxical idea that ' the 
 mechanism of the emotions is best studied in their 
 musical expression,' is correct ; we have, in fact, no 
 nleans by which we can express them so exactly 
 and so - delicately as by representing them in 
 music."
 
 PART II. 
 
 And now, having faithfully transcribed the 
 principal fundamental theories of music, from the 
 remotest antiquity to the present day, I ask, with 
 all due deference, a hearing for my own views. 
 
 By the study of physical sciences we find, in the 
 first place, that the universe is governed by laws ; 
 by further investigations, proceeding from phenom- 
 ena or manifestations to the spiritual essence of 
 things, we find that these laws are subservient to 
 great principles. One of these great principles is 
 the principle of Beauty. Beauty is manifested in 
 three great forms the moral, the intellectual, and 
 the physical. These three classes of the beautiful 
 are by no means distinct and separate things. 
 They are, on the contrary, closely interlinked, have 
 great analogies, and exercise a strong reciprocal 
 influence upon each other ; they are, in fact, but 
 different manifestations of the identical cause. I 
 cannot, however, at present attempt to treat of the
 
 VISIBLE AND AUDIBLE NATURE. 57 
 
 beautiful in the absolute ; nor can I, difficult as it is 
 to forbear, enter into any speculations regarding 
 the great original analogies : these subjects would 
 lead us from the direct road. I must limit myself 
 to the consideration, solely, of some of the general 
 essential attributes of the physically beautiful. 
 
 The physically beautiful is manifested either in 
 things in Space or in things in Time. The beauti- 
 ful in things in Space is opened to us chiefly by 
 the organ of vision ; the beautiful in things in 
 Time, chiefly by the organ of hearing. In treating 
 of beauty we may, therefore, class things in space 
 under the general head of visible Ifature^ things in 
 Time under that oi audible Nature. 
 
 In visible IS^ature beauty is a direct emanation 
 of Kature itself, which has taken it under its im- 
 mediate charge, and developed it from the original 
 voidness without admitting of intervention. Here 
 man can do naught but imitate the beautiful. In 
 the beautifying of audible i^ature, however, Na- 
 ture has reserved but an inferior part for its own 
 unaided self. It has supplied the laws under which 
 the development was to take place, but it has left 
 the development itself chiefl}'^ to the absolute con- 
 trol of man. In the infinite fields of Time (if this
 
 58 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 expression may be allowable) man creates the beau- 
 tiful. Kow as in Time the science and art of music 
 chiefly do for Nature that which in Space tlie latter 
 does for itself, the vast importance of music in the 
 cosmical plan is self-evident. The whole material 
 of time, rhythm, and the tones, is left to it in its 
 chaotic state to be wrought by it into the highest 
 and purest forms of beauty. 
 
 Yet are visible and audible Nature not entirely 
 independent things, with no connection between 
 them ; they are, on the contrary, esdremely similar 
 to each other they are, in fact, but different 
 manifestations of an identical idea. Of their great 
 analogies I shall briefly treat under the headings 
 of Space and Time, of Yihrations^ of Color and 
 Proportion, oi Internal Government, and oi States 
 of Mind. 
 
 I. 
 
 SPACE AND TEVIE. (kEST AND MOTION.) 
 
 Space and Time are the prime elements of the 
 cosmos. The genesis of Nature may be attributed 
 to Time acting on Space. What they are, what
 
 SPACE AND TIME. 59 
 
 may be their true essence, wliether they be real or 
 ideal, whether they be things or merely names, 
 whether they exist or be nothings all these ques- 
 tions concerning them in the absolute do not come 
 within the scope of the present little work. I shall 
 merely consider them from the relative point of 
 view, and only so far as is necessary to define the 
 position of music in the cosmos. For this purpose 
 let us cast a glance at their fundamental charaC' 
 teristics. 
 
 Space is rest, Time is motion. Space is lifeless, 
 Time is life. Space is rest, lifeless, yet in conse- 
 quence knows no death. Time is motion, life, yet 
 what is life but change, and what is change but 
 death? And still eternal antithesis! though in 
 all things the contrary of each other, they are yet 
 the counterparts of one another ; though by their 
 very definitions the opposites, they are yet wonder- 
 fully similar ; though, subjectively, essentially an-* 
 tagonistic, they are, objectively, but different mani- 
 festations of an identical idea ! For what is Time ? 
 It is the Space of motion, the Space of existence ! 
 
 Both exist forever. In Space, this forever is 
 called infinity ; in time, eternity. Yet each par- 
 ticle of Space is infinitesimal but eternal, while
 
 60 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 each particle of Time is eterjiitesiraal ' but infinite. 
 Each particle of Space is infinitely small, but it 
 remains the same, unchanged through all ages ; 
 each particle of Time is infinitely short, yet it ex- 
 tends through the whole universe, immeasurable 
 even in the imagination it is infinite ! Space is 
 the limitation of matter ; all things material must 
 occupy some space. Time, however, is the limita- 
 tion of the spiritual, our very thoughts are bounded 
 by it. Space may therefore be considered as the 
 essential limitation of all things material Time the 
 essential limitation of all things whatsoever. Ideas 
 consequently do not exist in space ideas are life, 
 they exist in time. The inert matter only exists in 
 space. Matter is lifeless, inactive, put in motion- 
 by forces. Forces are ideal, they exist in Time. 
 Consequently Time and Space constantly act upon 
 each other. But Time is but another name for 
 Space it is the Space of motion. 
 
 Now, what is music ? The heautifier oi Time, 
 is the simple and categorical answer an answer, 
 too, from which further answers to all questions 
 
 * I have taken the liberty to coin this word, because I 
 know of none in the English language by which I could have 
 stated the antithesis with equal exactness.
 
 SPACE AND TIME. 61 
 
 ppringing from tlie original question may be de- 
 duced ; an answer that serves as the corner-stone 
 of the fundamental theory of music itself. It is 
 to adorn the ever-moving Space of existence that 
 music was generated and the germs of its develop- 
 ment were placed within it. In the Space of Rest, 
 in visible Nature, Kature itself has undertaken the 
 task of beautifying. And there she has lavished 
 beauties untold and unnumbered. Beauty reigns 
 on the mountain and in the valley, on the hill and 
 in the dale. It is present in the gentle grove as 
 well as in the mighty forest. It is in the little 
 brook and in the magnificent ocean. It is in man 
 and woman, in the birds, in the plants anywhere, 
 everywhere, it meets our eyes, if we will but see. 
 There are beauties of all kinds and degrees, from 
 the sublime to the graceful, from the magnificent 
 to the picturesque. All this has Nature done for 
 Space and to do something similar for Time is the 
 grand and holy object of music, j 
 
 The materials of which music is composed exist 
 only in Time, and here we have the explanation of 
 many of the characteristics of music. Time is 
 motion, is life, yet the sure bringer of change, of 
 death. As it is motion, its influence upon us is
 
 63 WEAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 emotional, af^itating; as it constantly tells us of 
 change and death, it awakens the feelings of mel- 
 ancholy within us. Music, as it beautifies the pass- 
 ing moments, yet tells us that they are passing, 
 and consequently it is so prone to cause sadness. 
 
 We may divide the pleasures arising from the 
 contemplation of the beautiful into two classes 
 pleasures productive of joy, and those productive 
 of sadness. There is nothing paradoxical in this 
 division. A thing that is beautiful will give pleas- 
 ure at all times, though it may at the same time 
 cause sadness. A great tragedy will give pleasure, 
 though it may not put us in a joyful mood. So it 
 is with a beautiful poem on a tragic subject. In 
 fact, intense and exquisite delight is perfectly com- 
 patible with a frame of mind strongly tinged with 
 melancholy. I^ay, even more, joyful sensations, 
 when they become ecstatic, generally have a back- 
 ground of deep sadness. 
 
 !N^ow, the characteristic state of mind accom- 
 panying the contemplation of things in Space is 
 that of serene joy. Space being rest, does not ex- 
 cite the more powerful emotions, it does not agi- 
 tate. It has, on the contrary, the effect of calming 
 and quieting the mind. I am, of course, speaking
 
 SPACE AND TIME. 63 
 
 of the beautiful, purely as such, without admitting 
 of associations of ideas. These, of course, often ex- 
 ercise a powerful influence, and cause emotion by 
 their own force. But they exist as much for music 
 as they do for things in visible IS^ature, and their 
 consideration at present would only cause useless 
 complications. That beauty in Space has the ten- 
 dency and very strongly to create a serene frame 
 of mind, any one desirous of doing so can easily 
 test. A landscape must be entirely covered with 
 clouds, be exceedingly gloomy, before it causes us 
 to be sad. Let but the sun appear and shine upon 
 the clouds, and they will be tinged with bright 
 colors ; the scene will appear more cheerful even 
 than were there no clouds. The opposite is the 
 case in music. Often a single minor or diminished 
 chord, introduced into a gay melody, will change 
 its entire expression, rendering it melancholy. 
 Space knows naught of death, its particles exist 
 forever ; its beauties are therefore prone to create 
 joy. Time speaks constantly of change and death ; 
 its particles are infinitely short, its beauties create 
 sadness. 
 
 Then, again, as Aristotle has already said, what 
 are the emotions but motions ? And as music is
 
 64 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 motion, its effect on thera must be great, for motions 
 exercise an enormous influence on like motions, 
 and have a very great tendency to respond to like 
 motions. This is a fact well known to all familiar 
 with the operation of vibrations. " But," it may be 
 objected, '" the eye is also an organ capable of dis- 
 cerning motion." To this I answer, that we are at 
 present concerned only about the heautiful in mo- 
 tion, and that this is chiefly the province of the 
 ear. The heauiies of motion open to the perception 
 of the eye are of an inferior kind. The pleasures 
 in viewing dancing or marching do not really come 
 within the range of those caused by the contem- 
 plation of the beautiful in the highest sense. In 
 the motion of the waves of the sea, we are more 
 impressed by tlie natural association of ideas than 
 by the beauty of the motion itself. 
 
 There is, indeed, another, higher kind of motion 
 in visible Nature the motions of the heavenly 
 bodies. Daily the sun rises, and tranquilly and 
 majestically pursues its course in the firmament, to 
 set amid splendor and glory. Then the stars appear, 
 and with equal majesty traverse the skies, set and 
 rise until the king of day again ascends from the 
 horizon and eclipses them by the exceeding power
 
 SPACE AND TIME. 65 
 
 of his light. Nor is this motion h'mited to the day 
 and night ; as the year moves on, sun and stars 
 move with it. This month the sun rises in one 
 sign, the next month in another, until he has 
 traversed the whole circle of the zodiac. This 
 month Arcturus is the proudest of the starry host 
 shining high above ; in the next he is already de- 
 throned, and bright Antares for a brief time as- 
 sumes his honor. But the beautiful imperial Lyra 
 follows in the wake, and in her turn claims homage 
 as chief of the stars. Less steady wanderers, too, 
 are there in the heavens, the planets moving un- 
 concerned in their orbits, now visible here, now 
 there. The lovely moon, queen of the night, pur- 
 sues her tranquil course. Now seen but as a silver 
 thread in the west, she waxes lovelier and prouder 
 as she approaches the east, until she almost rivals 
 the sun in the refulgency of her light but it is 
 only to wane and wane again, until she is seen no 
 more. 
 
 There is, too, the subtile motion of the seasons. 
 Now the forest is in the garb of a beautiful green, 
 the garden is fragrant with flowers, the trees are 
 loaded with fruits, the fields teem with the heaving 
 com. Soon the green changes into numerous varie-
 
 66 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 ties of color, the leaves fall and strew tlie ground, 
 tlie flowers are plucked from the garden, the corn 
 is gathered from the fields. Then comes winter ; 
 snow covers the ground, the water-oourses of the 
 mountains and the rivers of the valleys are turned 
 into ice, cold and bright, the mild breezes give way 
 to the fierce blasts of the storm. But spring fol- 
 lows close behind, and wafts the breath of life be- 
 fore him. The snow melts, the ice thaws, the 
 mountain-torrents tear on with renewed arid ten- 
 fold increased vigor; the pulse of Nature throbs 
 with the freshness of youth. Soon all is again in 
 bloom, the trees, are white, the plants begin to 
 shoot forth. Then summer is here once more, and 
 the course of the year begins anew 
 
 The motions of the spheres and of the seasons 
 are, indeed, full of sublimity. The ancient philos- 
 ophers and their followers unto recent times, how- 
 ever, saw in them yet the workings of music. All 
 these motions were to them but the visible manifes- 
 tations of a transcendental harmony. Therefore 
 does the Pythagorean say, "It is the business of 
 music, not only to preside over the voice and musi- 
 cal instruments, but even to harmonize aU things 
 contained in the universe." Therefore does the
 
 SPACE AND TIME. 67 
 
 Scholastic exclaim, " The music of the universe is a 
 great unity, and by command of God it governs all 
 things in motion-rail things that move in heaven, 
 or on earth, or in the sea, all that which sounds in 
 the voices of men and animals it is the regulator 
 of days and years.''^ 
 
 A similar sentiment inspired Shakespeare when 
 he wrote : 
 
 "... Look how the floor of heaven 
 Is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold ; 
 There's not the smallest orb, which thou beholdst, 
 Bat in his motion like an angel sings, 
 Still quiring to the young-eyed cherubins. 
 Such harmony is in immortal souls ; 
 But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay 
 Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it." 
 
 If I were asked to give my own views on these 
 motions, I should say that I do not believe that 
 they properly come under the head of the beauti- 
 ful in motion. If we admire the landscape, or look 
 up to the starry vault of heaven, our purely ajsthet- 
 ical pleasure does not take in the factor of motion. 
 It is continuous and imperceptible to the eye ^it is 
 only by the aid of memory that we know that it 
 exists, and the feeling of awe connected with it
 
 68 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 arises solely from the association of ideas. Indeed, 
 if we wish thoroughly to examine an object in 
 Space, we require it to be perfectly at rest its 
 motion as a rule has a tendency to confuse us ; and, 
 if the motion be rapid, the object becomes blurred. 
 The very life of the beautiful in audible Nature, 
 however, is motion it exists in Time and not in 
 Space. 
 
 As Time and Space visible and audible Na- 
 ture are the counterparts of each other, there must 
 be great analogies in the manner in which beauty 
 19, perceived and produced in either. Of the anal- 
 ogies of perception I shall now treat, under the 
 heading of vibrations. 
 
 II. 
 
 VIBEATIONS. 
 
 "We perceive things in visible Nature by means 
 of light things in audible Nature, by means of 
 sound. To one unacquainted with physics, light 
 and sound are entirely distinct phenomena, having 
 no connection whatever with each other, and yet
 
 VIBRATIONS. 69 
 
 tiiey are intrinsically very nearly related to each 
 other, being but different manifestations of the 
 same cause. Vibrations of a certain rapidity are 
 perceived by the instrument constructed to respond 
 to them the ear, as sound ; vibrations of greater 
 rapidity are perceived by the instrument con- 
 structed to respond to them the eye, as light. 
 And not only are they produced by the same cause, 
 they are also propagated by the same means 
 undulations. Entering into details, we find the 
 analogies between the two phenomena in almost 
 all of the principal manifestations. Some bodies 
 are transparent, others translucent, others again 
 opaque to light ; in like manner some bodies per- 
 mit sound to pass on through them without practi- 
 cally enfeebling it ; others, like thick walls, trans- 
 mit it much weakened ; while others again do not 
 transmit it to any appreciable degree. An instance 
 of the last case is a tunnel. To any one standing 
 at a distance, the roar of. a train entering it is 
 hushed, and remains so until the cars emerge, when 
 it is immediately renewed. 
 
 Some of the principal properties of light are 
 absorption, reflection, refraction, and diffraction. 
 These are also tlio properties of sound. That it
 
 70 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 may be absorbed can easily be tested, by compar- 
 ing tbe sound of a musical instrument in a carpeted 
 and furnished room with that of one heard in an 
 empty room. The echo is a familiar illustration 
 of reflection of sound. The experiments of Sond- 
 hauss and Hajech prove conclusively that it is 
 refracted when it enters a medium whose density 
 differs from the one it leaves, in the same manner 
 and under the same conditions as is light. The 
 diffraction of sound has been demonstrated by 
 Seebeck. 
 
 It is, however, not only in the physical mani- 
 festations of sound and light that we discover great 
 analogies ; the construction of the instruments for 
 tlieir perception the eye and ear is essentially 
 based on analogous plans. Like the ear, the eye is 
 a membranous structure. The ear is composed of 
 three parts the auditory canal, with the tympa- 
 num, the tympanic cavity, and the labyrinth. The 
 corresponding parts of the eye are the sclerotic coat, 
 the choroid coat, and the iris. The aqueous and 
 vitreous humors present strong points of resem- 
 blance with the water of the labyrinth. The dif- 
 ference between light and sound is not in kind, but 
 in degree. Extremely rapid vibrations produce light ;
 
 VIBRATIONS. 71 
 
 slower ones, sound. The rapid vibrations have, 
 however, a proportionately small amplitude ; slower 
 vibrations a proportionately large amplitude. Hence 
 the difference in the anatomy of the eye and the 
 ear. The first is prepared to receive and respond 
 to vibrations of enormous rapidity and small am- 
 plitude ; the latter to receive and respond to vibra- 
 tions of comparative slowness, but with a relatively 
 large amplitude. 
 
 Tones and colors are essentially the same things. 
 Colors are tones of tremendous height of pitch. 
 Tones are colors of tremendous depth of pitch. 
 The ear perceives as tones from 8 (Savart) to 38,016 
 (Dupretz) vibrations in a second. The eye per- 
 ceives as light from 458,000,000,000,000 (extreme 
 red) to 727,000,000,000,000 (extreme violet) vibra- 
 tions per second. From the most acute tone ca- 
 pable of being perceived by the ear to the extreme 
 red color there is, therefore, an interval of about 
 thirty-four octaves. To give an illustration of the 
 enormity of such an interval, let us take the length 
 of the string of the highest C of a seven and a 
 quarter octave piano-forte, wliich is about If inch, 
 and it will be easy to calculate that a string of the 
 same material and thickness, in order to produce
 
 72 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 the extreme red liglit, would have to be cut down 
 to about loooooooooo of an inch ! The rapidity of 
 the vibrations detines the length of the undulations ; 
 the length of a sonorous wave produced by 8 vibra- 
 tions per second is 140 ft. ; the length of a lumi- 
 niferous undulation in the extreme violet ray is 
 TffiroirVinr ^^ ^^ inch; otherwise expressed, while of 
 the former there would be but 37f in a mile, in the 
 latter there are 59,150 in an inch ! 
 
 Rapidity of the vibrations is, however, the 
 means of distinguishing tones from tones, and colors 
 from colors, as well as tones from colors ; and con- 
 sequently, difference in rapidity of vibrations solely, 
 cannot be considered an intrinsic difference. 
 
 The principal phenomena connected with colors 
 analysis and interference are also proper to 
 tones. 
 
 For colors the triangular prism acts as ana- 
 lyzer ; for tones that office is performed by resona- 
 tors. Prof. Helmholtz has constructed a series of 
 the latter, which serve as analyzers for isolated 
 tones by resolving them into the fundamental 
 and overtones aS well as for those tones of com- 
 bination produced by the simultaneous existence 
 of two or more independent tones. Interference
 
 COLORS AND FORMS. 73 
 
 in sonorous waves lias been demonstrated ocularly 
 as well as auricularly by numerous apparatus. 
 
 Having now sufficiently illustrated the identity 
 of the manner of perception of the beautiful in 
 visible and audible Kature, I shall proceed to the 
 consideration of the fundamental analogies regard- 
 ing the production of the beautiful in Space and 
 Time. 
 
 III. 
 
 COLORS AND FORMS. 
 
 The elements of the beautiful in Space are 
 colors and forms. The counterpart of colors hav- 
 ing been found in tones, there remains but the 
 question, " Is there also a counterpart of forms to 
 be found in music?" This question I answer cate- 
 gorically in the affirmative : Hhythm is the shape^ 
 form, or proportion of things in Time i and 
 shape, form, or proportion, is the rhythm of things 
 in Space. And this answer is not based on any 
 arbitrary ideas, but on incontestable facts ^facts 
 as indisputable as is the theorem that colors are 
 the tones of Space. Time is but the Space of
 
 74 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 motion, and rhjtlim defines that Space in the same 
 manner that the Space of rest is defined by forms. 
 The lines of Space are translated, as it were, into 
 Time, by its means. On entering into an inves- 
 tigation of the prime principles of morphology, 
 we find that the straight line and the curve are 
 the fundamental types of form. In like manner, 
 the fundamental types of rhythm are found in 
 the dual^ and in the trijole metre. The geomet- 
 rical point is an impossibility so is single metre. 
 The reason is plain. Rhythm, like form, is based 
 on proportion ; in otlier words, on relativity. We 
 have no perception of rhythm on hearing a single 
 beat. A beat must be defined and bounded by a 
 second one to become a metre, i. e., a measure of 
 Time. The analogy between dual metre and the 
 straight line, and triple metre and the curved line, 
 is by no means a fanciful conception it has been 
 intuitively felt by musical composers in all times ; 
 and tones spread over rhythms as colors do over 
 forms. 
 
 We cannot, however, overlook the remarkable 
 fact that, while in visible Nature colors play the 
 subordinate and forms the principal part, the order 
 is reversed in audible Nature, where rhythm is sub-
 
 COLORS AND FORMS. 75 
 
 ordinate to tones. Well, this is necessitated by the 
 fundamental characteristics of Space and Time, rest 
 and motion. In Space, things may remain at rest ; 
 our eyes can take in a great variety of forms simul- 
 taneously. They have time to examine beauty 
 extend comparisons over a wide field. Forms and 
 proportions may establish themselves in unlimited 
 variety; for we have coexistence on a large scale. 
 Time, however, is motion. In it, proportions and 
 forms are perceptible by their very motion, and only 
 by motion ; one tone vanishes as the next comes on. 
 Here there is no room for such an extreme variety 
 of forms ; rhythms (though- they may yet be infinitely 
 varied and complicated) must be much simpler than 
 the forms of visible Nature. 
 
 On the other hand, the tones, which constitute 
 the material of melody, embrace about seven and 
 a half octaves, good for practical purposes ; while 
 the colors do not extend over more than one octave. 
 This octave, even, is not entirely visible under ordi- 
 nary circumstances, its eighth degree being that 
 which is called the lavender light of Herschel, and 
 only produced by concentration. Practically, the 
 whole combination of colors does not exceed the in- 
 terval of a seventh. There are, therefore, conclusive
 
 76 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 reasons why the chief riches of visible Nature lie in 
 forms, while the chief riches of audible Nature are 
 in tones. 
 
 There is, however, another factor besides melo" 
 dy and rhythm, that enters into the composition 
 of music harmony ; and it ^lay be asked whether 
 any analogy for it can be found in visible Nature. 
 To this question I reply that the fundamental theory 
 of musical harmony lies in the very nature of Time. 
 Each particle of Space is infinitely small, consequent- 
 ly no two things can occupy the same space. Each 
 particle of Time, on the contrary, is infinitely large 
 embracing the whole cosmos consequently an 
 infinite number of things can occur at the same 
 time. Space, however, is rest, and the mind can 
 therefore take in a large number of particles of 
 Space at once. Time being motion, does not admit 
 of perceiving more than one of its particles at once ; 
 and, therefore, the simultaneity, compatible with it, 
 acts as a certain compensation for those advantages 
 which, by its definition, rest has over it. I am, of 
 course, using the word harmony in its narrow sig- 
 nification, in the sense of counterpoint, and not in 
 its spiritual meaning. In the latter higher sense, it 
 pervades the whole universe, existing both in Space
 
 COLORS AND FORMS. 77 
 
 and in Time ; the soul of the cosmos, says Plato, 
 is musical harmony. The whole topic of colors, and 
 forms, and rhythms, and tones, and harmony, to- 
 gether with them any analogies of detail in these 
 matters, is a tempting" and prolific subject for 
 speculation. I shall, however, resist the temptation 
 of going any further into the matter, for it is beyond 
 my scope in this little work to introduce any but 
 plainly demonstrable facts. One thing only I must 
 yet allude to ; and this is, that, in instituting com- 
 parisons between the beautiful in Space and in Time, 
 we should never forget that in the former case the 
 task of beautifying has been undertaken by Nature 
 itself with the unbounded resources at its com- 
 mand, while in the latter it is left to the limited 
 means of man. "Were Nature to beautify Time as it 
 does Space could we hear, for instance, such a thing 
 as the harmony of the spheres the sublimity of 
 such music might transcend all possible conceptions. 
 And now we leave the field of the material anal- 
 ogies, respecting the perception and production of 
 the beautiful in Space and Time, to enter into that 
 of (what may be termed) the spiritual analogies. 
 Those of production I shall class under Internal Gov- 
 ernment^ those of perception under States of Mind.
 
 78 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 lY. 
 
 INTERNAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Several of tlie great forces which we see mani- 
 fested in visible Nature have their counterparts in 
 audible ISTature, and prime among these are the 
 forces of gravity and attraction and the centrifu- 
 gal force. I am not aware that any writer has ever 
 had the boldness to make this assertion in so 
 positive a manner, but certainly the influence of 
 the first over music has been instinctively felt in 
 all times and among all nations, while that of the 
 last two was discovered as soon as it could have 
 been, namely, in the first stages of the development 
 of the science of harmony. 
 
 The centre of gravity of the musical scale is the 
 tonic. The whole history of music tends to confirm 
 this in an unequivocal manner. I have before 
 me, as I write, a volume of August Wilhelm Am- 
 bros, wherein I find scraps of melodies from the 
 land of the Esquimaux and from the Friendly Isl- 
 ands, from New Zealand and from Abyssinia, from 
 Gorea and from Senegal. Besides these, a number 
 of finished Chinese melodies, a number of beautiful
 
 INTERNAL GOVERNMENT. 79 
 
 Bongs of Ilindostan, together with Arabian, Per- 
 sian, and Turkisli airs, and two of the three ancient 
 Greek nomoi that have come down to us ; and in 
 each one of them, frona tutored and from untutored 
 peoples, the audible manifestation of the principle 
 of gravity is unmistakably discernible; all the tones 
 gravitate toward their common centre the tonic. 
 A characteristic passage from the writings of Aris- 
 totle proves indeed, beyond doubt, that the con- 
 sciousness of the force of the tonic was not only ap- 
 parent in the practice of music of the ancients, but 
 that they were also aware of its spiritual relation to 
 the other degrees of the scale, and attempted to ac- 
 count for it philosophically. " Why is it," he asks, 
 '* that, when the tonic imese) is changed (sharpened 
 or flattened), all the other strings sound out of tune, 
 but, if the tonic is in tune, and one of the other 
 strings is changed, only the changed string sounds 
 out of tune ? Is it because not only all the strings 
 are tuned, hut also that they are tuned with respect 
 to the tonic, and that the latter defines the order in 
 which they appear ? But when the basis of the 
 tuning and that which keeps (the melody) together 
 is taken away, there can no longer be the same kind 
 of order." But should the reader be disinclined to
 
 80 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 accept tlie testimony of a single person, no matter 
 of what importance it may be, I have still another 
 powerful proof in support of my argument to bring 
 forward. Let lis cast a glance into pre-Ptolemaic 
 astronomy, and what do we find ? That the prime 
 principles of modern astronomy, those contained in 
 the Copernican system, were essentially known and 
 taught in the sixth century b. c. by Pythagoras. 
 His doctrine was, that the sun is tlie centre of the 
 universe, and that the earth has a diurnal motion 
 around its axis, and an annual motion around tlie 
 Bun ! 1^0 w, we have already seen (in an earlier part 
 of this little work) that the planets and the sun 
 were compared and considered mysteriously related 
 to the tones of the scale. And the sun, the central 
 sphere, was supposed to be the mese of the scale 
 the manifestation of the principle embodied in the 
 tonic. Cicero, however, did not believe in the 
 Pythagorean doctrine of the revolution of the 
 planets around the sun. He was of the opinion 
 that the sun and planets revolve around the earth, 
 which remains stationary. And, in consequence, 
 too, he changed the Pythagorean division of the 
 scale among the heavenly bodies : the sun was no 
 longer mese^ it became simply the lichanos hypaton.
 
 INTERNAL GOVERXMENT. 81 
 
 But what did lie do with the mese ? It could not 
 be given to the earth, because she, being stationary, 
 represented silence ; so he made mese symbolical of 
 the whole expanse of the firmament ! 
 
 In the ninth century, Huebald de St. Amand 
 worked out his " Organum," the first step toward 
 modern harmony. One of the first results of his 
 discovery was the introduction of the leading note in- 
 to the musical scale the forced recognition of the 
 second great governing principle of the scale at- 
 traction. By-and-by retards came into use, and 
 showed that this attraction acted in a dual manner 
 upward and downward. The analogy between 
 it and magnetic attraction with its two poles must 
 I think, strike every one the attraction of one pole 
 manifested in the retard and the resolution of the 
 seventh, that of the other in the alteration and 
 leading-note. 
 
 The dominant^ which is in all respects the con- 
 trary of the tonic, is the audible manifestation of the 
 centrifugal force. In our modern system of har- 
 mony, where the principle of tonality is fully un- 
 derstood and recognized, the intensity of this force 
 is even considerably increased by the fact that the 
 dominant is likewise the tonic of the next related
 
 82 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 key, and consequently as siicli exercises an extrane- 
 ous attraction, tending to oppose, by a secondary 
 gravity, the force of gravity in the tonic. 
 
 And now, remembering that the emotions are 
 motions, and consequently in sympathy with like 
 motions, we cannot but be convinced that the fore- 
 going facts serve as explanation for many of the 
 characteristic efiects which music has on our etno- 
 tions. The centre of gravity, manifested in the 
 tonic of the musical scale, is likewise manifested in 
 the emotions expressive of satisfaction. I am using 
 this word, not in the sense of contentment, but in 
 contradistinction to the term suspense; this satis- 
 faction need, of course, not have any gay or even 
 cheerful sentiments connected with it; it may in 
 fact be accompanied by extreme despondency : it is 
 but the relief from suspense, or typifying suspense 
 as the question it is the answer. The centrifugal 
 force is manifested in the dominant, and likewise in 
 the emotions expressive of suspense ^ it is typified in 
 the question. The perfect cadence is universally, 
 and I may say intuitively, recognized as the only 
 manner in which a composition can be satisfactorily 
 closed. But what is the perfect cadence ? It is a 
 chord built on the dominant of a key followed by
 
 INTERNAL GOVERNMENT. 83 
 
 one on its tonic. And what is the reason that it is 
 the most satisfactory manner of closing a composi- 
 tion ? This question is easily answered by a con- 
 sideration of the data that have just been adduced. 
 The satisfaction is most intense when we have 
 tasted the suspense to its extreme limit ; the answer 
 is most complete when it follows the question direct- 
 ly, taking it in to its fullest extent. 
 
 Of course, there are diJfferent degrees of satisfac- 
 tion. If the tonic alone is employed and merely 
 doubled in the higher parts, the satisfaction is per- 
 fect ; if the tonic occurs in the highest part, as well 
 as the lowest, it is nearly perfect ; if the mediant is 
 heard in the highest part, a feeling of vagueness 
 often charming is superadded ; and if the dominant 
 is sounded in the highest part, the vagueness is con- 
 siderably augmented : the mixture of suspense with 
 the ground feeling of satisfajCtion creates, in fact, a 
 peculiar weird impression, easily and (as I believe) 
 only explicable by considering the forces that I 
 have asserted to be manifested in the tonic and the 
 dominant. 
 
 Before closing this part of ray argument, let me 
 refer the reader to two powerful passages taken at 
 random from the works of Beethoven, where he
 
 84 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 will find a remarkable corroboration of my concep- 
 tion of the tonic, dominant, and attraction. The 
 first consists in the closing measures of the " Largo 
 Appassionato " of the Sonata Opus II., No. 2. It 
 is impossible to describe the apathy expressed in 
 that cadence. Yet, by analyzing it, according to 
 the principles which I have set forth, we can ex- 
 plain its efi"ect on natural grounds. The A in the 
 bass is the dominant of the key the manifesta- 
 tion of suspense and the mind expects it to move 
 on to the tonic toward which it gravitates. It does 
 not do so, however ; and, though tlie upper parts 
 have already entered the domains of the tonic, the 
 bass still clings to the dominant as though in com- 
 plete abstraction. The upper parts attempt to con- 
 sole to urge it to abandon the dominant. It does 
 so, but only to return to it as though to a forlorn 
 hope. Then the upper parts finally move on to the 
 tonic and remain there, and so nothing is left for the 
 bass but to follow. But it does so reluctantly, tar- 
 dily, as if awakening from a reverie. The emotions 
 of the hearer respond to all these movements, and 
 hence are afiected as they are. The second passage 
 occurs near the close of the first movement of the 
 Seventh Symphony. It is expressive of an intense
 
 INTERNAL GOVERNNENT. 85 
 
 longing that can never be satisfied, of a passionate 
 yearning for the unattainable, or to nse a mag- 
 nificent figure of a modern German poet,' it is 
 like "the love of the sea for the moon." This 
 is due to the conflict between the forces of attrac- 
 tion and of the tonic. A seventh is attracted to 
 the degree below it. Here we find the seventh in- 
 verted in tlie bass and in consequence the chord 
 cannot resolve itself on the" tonic, but must do so on 
 the chord of the sixth oh the mediant. This chord 
 is, however, unsatisfactory, and can never be the 
 concluding one ; and the vain attempts of the in- 
 verted seventh to resolve itself satisfactorily, re- 
 peated and repeated with obstinate fervor, though 
 warned and entreated by the pleading tones of the 
 upper part, constantly obtaining the same discon- 
 tenting answer, which it is fated to receive, and 
 which it knows that it must receive, is the picture 
 of fervent hope doomed to eternal disappointment. 
 
 Let us now pass on to the consideration of the 
 analogies between the spintual perceptions of the 
 beautiful in visible and in audible Nature. 
 
 ' Emmanuel Glaser.
 
 86 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 Y. 
 
 STATES OF MIND. 
 
 The beautiful in Nature, whether visible or 
 audible, is perceived as a state of mind. The con- 
 templation of a beautiful landscape impresses our 
 mind directly, primarily, without the intervention 
 of thought; a certain mood takes possession of us, 
 we know not how, pervades us, masters us, and gives 
 rise to sentiments and thoughts. By listening to a 
 great composition, our mind undergoes the same 
 process first the mood, then the sentiment, then 
 the definite thought. This order is characteristic of 
 the perception of the beautiful in Nature. Things 
 in Space will be apt to produce the state of mind 
 in which calmness is the predominating feature 
 things in Time those in which agitation will be more 
 perceptible. It is true that music can also affect 
 us with calmness, but even then it will be what 
 might be called emotional calmness, it will be more 
 powerful, more intense. Yet the very capability 
 of music to produce this cheerful and tender calm- 
 ness is the reason why it can depict pastoral scenes, 
 for by its means it produces a state of mind analo-
 
 STATES OF MIND. 87 
 
 gous to the one produced by such scenes; but this 
 depicting must solely depend on the spiritual analo- 
 gies manifested in tKe states of mind ; if it resorts 
 to other means it will have a degrading effect. 
 This remark applies with no less force to the de- 
 scription of passions and actions by music ; such 
 description, to be true and elevated, must look to 
 the analogies in the spiritual perception, to the 
 creation of similar moods, by purely musical means. 
 The mission of Music is to create, not to imitate. I 
 know that a modern school attempts to engraft this 
 degrading process of imitation on music ; but to do 
 so its adherents are forced to resort to descriptive 
 programmes, forced to confess that without this 
 extraneous assistance their music is meaningless I 
 Essentially they occupy the same position, as com- 
 posers, that a painter would occupy who would be 
 compelled to write below his work, " This is a man," 
 or, " That is a cow ! " This is no exaggeration, for the 
 object of the painter is to give an accurate repre- 
 sentation of something that can be seen ; the ob- 
 ject of the musician, to create frames of mind from 
 which sentiments and thoughts are to spring ; and 
 the painter who is compelled to show by words 
 what he intends to delineate, and the musician
 
 88 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 wlio leaves to words the indirect production of 
 states of mind, come under the same category. 
 
 At the same time a painting which fulfills all the 
 requirements of art may yet be made to produce a 
 more intense impression on the beholder by a de- 
 scription limiting the general idea conveyed, and 
 this case finds its analogy in vocal, music, not in in- 
 strumental. But, as the painting must be complete 
 in itself, limited and intensified by the verbal descrip- 
 tion, but not dependent on it for its position in the 
 art, so in vocal music the composition must be com- 
 plete in itself must be able by itself to create the 
 desired state of mind, depending on the words for 
 limiting and intensifying its impression. Witness 
 the master songs of Schubert. The music in itself 
 is complete and afiects us most powerfully ; and 
 therefore, when the efiect of the poetry is added, de- 
 fining and thereby intensifying our sentiments and 
 thoughts, the influence exercised on our emotions 
 by the truly natural combination is simply inde- 
 scribable. 
 
 And as far as this completeness of the composi- 
 tion within itself is concerned, I may add that it is 
 as necessary in the dramatic style as in the lyric. 
 In the classical operas the music, independently of
 
 STATES OF MIND. 89 
 
 tlie words or the action, calls forth the desired state 
 of mind ; it is, as it should be, a thing of beauty in 
 itself; and, when the words and action are heard 
 and seen in connection with it, they perform their 
 legitimate duty of defining and intensifying. And 
 I shall be bold enough to say that those operas 
 wherein the music is not' beautiful in itself; not 
 capable by itself of performing its legitimate duty 
 of creating states of mind ; wherein it is unintel- 
 ligible to the human soul ; wherein it is reduced to 
 the mere so-called word-painting that such operas 
 are not works of art, but incongruous conglomer- 
 ates. Incongruous also are those operas wherein 
 the music is composed without the object of pro- 
 ducing the state of mind called for by the subject, 
 but merely for the purpose of allowing a vocalist 
 to display his execution. Emphatically I repeat 
 that only such operas are legitimate, and occupy 
 a high position in music, wherein the composer 
 creates by his music the state of mind analogous 
 to that desired to be created by the poet. Let us 
 hear Prof. Helmholtz's opinion on this matter : 
 
 " Music is most powerful when combined with 
 language; for language expresses the causes thai 
 produce the state of mind, and particularizes the
 
 90 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 sentiments which underlie it, while music produces 
 in a direct manner the state of mind connected 
 with the sentiments. "When diverse hearers at- 
 tempt to particularize the impression made upon 
 them hy a certain composition, and each one men- 
 tions some different situation or sentiment, the 
 ignorant laugh, and call them enthusiasts. And 
 yet each one may be right, for music does not ex- 
 press sentiments or situations, but the entire fram^ 
 of mind ,' and this frame of mind the hearer can- 
 not express except by describing certain Objects 
 which put him in a mood similar to the one excited 
 by the music. But diverse sentiments, under dif- 
 ferent circumstances, or upon different individuals, 
 may produce similar states of mind, while similar 
 sentiments may in like manner produce different 
 moods. Love is a sentiment. Directly as such 
 music cannot express it. But it can express the 
 dreamy longing for ethereal bliss resulting from the 
 sentiment of love. Religious enthusiasm may, how- 
 ever, produce a state of mind in which a similar 
 longing is the predominant feature. TVhen, there- 
 fore, a composition creates such a state of mind, 
 one hearer may translate it as expressing love; 
 another, religious inspiration ; without that they 
 necessarily contradict each other."
 
 CONCLUSION. 91 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 It must be evident to the reader that, as a 
 necessary result of my speculations and argu- 
 ment, I consider music as being placed above the 
 arts properly so called, as a peer of that higher 
 art which creates those untold varieties of the beau- 
 tiful that are perceived by our sense of vision. It 
 stands in the same relation to Time that the latter 
 stands to Space, it exercises the same functions in 
 Time that the latter exercises in Space. Like those 
 of the latter, its creations are absolute manifesta- 
 tions of the beautiful are things they exist for 
 their own sake they are because they are / in the 
 purely human arts, on the contrary, we lind but 
 imitations of what already exist in Nature, or de- 
 scriptions of things and actions. 
 
 And now, in conclusion, let me give a short re- 
 sume of my fundamental theory of music. 
 
 By the study of physical sciences we find that 
 the universe is governed by laws; furtlier investiga- 
 tions show that these laws arc subservient to great 
 principles. 
 
 One of these great principles, is the principle of 
 Beauty.
 
 92 WHAT IS MUSIC? . 
 
 Beauty is manifested in three great forms : tlie 
 moral, the intellectual, and the physical. 
 
 These three classes of the beautiful present great 
 analogies, are closely interlinked, and exercise a 
 strong reciprocal influence upon each other. 
 
 The physically beautiful is manifested either in 
 things in Space or in things in Time. 
 
 The beautiful in things in Space is opened to us 
 chiefly by the organ of vision ; the beautiful in things 
 in Time chiefly by the organ of hearing. 
 
 In visible Nature beauty is a direct emanation 
 of Nature itself, which has developed it from the 
 original voidness without admitting of intervention. 
 Here man can do naught but imitate the beautiful. 
 
 In the beautifying of audible Nature, however, 
 nature has reserved but an inferior part for its own 
 unaided self; it has supplied the laws under which 
 the development was to take place, but left the de- 
 velopment itself chiefly to the absolute control of 
 man. In Time, therefore, man creates the beautiful. 
 
 But as in Time the science and art of nmsic do 
 for Nature that which in Space it does for itself, the 
 vast importance of music in the cosmos, is self-evi- 
 dent. 
 
 The forms of the heautiful in Time and in Space
 
 CONCLUSION. 93 
 
 are^ however^ not sej[>arate and distinct things with 
 no connection hetween tJiem, as they appear to he / 
 lut on the contrary there are the strongest and most 
 positive real analogies hetween them, arising from, 
 the very great fundamental analogies existing he- 
 tween Time and Space themselves. 
 
 (Time and Space, however, impart tlieir funda- 
 mental characteristics to the forms of beauty exist- 
 ing in them. Therefore music, existing ia Time, 
 and Time being motion, it is the characteristic of 
 music to be emotive.) 
 
 The fundamental analogies between Time and 
 Space manifest themselves in the manner in which 
 beauty is perceived and produced in either. 
 
 Beauty is perceived in both by the same means 
 vibrations ^and by instruments that have strong 
 analogies between them the eye and the ear. 
 
 Beauty is produced in both by very similar 
 means. The identity of tones and colors has long 
 been discovered, and I hold that there is the same 
 identity of forms and rhythms. The straight line 
 is manifested in dual metre, the curved line in triple 
 metre. False rhythm, whether we use the word in 
 the wide or in the narrow sense, is equivalent to 
 want of symmetry in things in Space.
 
 94 WHAT IS MUSIC? 
 
 The principles that are manifested in the forces 
 governing the universe gravity, centrifugal force, 
 and attraction are likewise manifested in the inter- 
 nal government of music. 
 
 And, lastly, the spiritual perception of the beau- 
 tiful in both visible and audible Nature is identical ; 
 namely, as states of mind. 
 
 . As a final result of my speculations, I hold that 
 music is not accidental and human, but dynamical 
 and cosmical. 
 
 THE END.
 
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