“Though I am not endowed with an ear to seize those earthly harmonies, which to some devout souls have seemed, as it were, the broken echoes of the heavenly choir--I apprehend that there is a law in music, disobedience whereunto would bring us in our singing to the level of shrieking maniacs or howling beasts.” SoulLawLevelsMusicBrokenSingingEarsHarmonyBeastHeavenlyEchoesDisobedienceChoirManiacs Book:Felix Holt: The Radical Source: Felix Holt: The Radical
“There can be little question that good composition is far less dependent upon acquaintance with its laws, than upon practice and natural aptitude. A clear head, a quick imagination, and a sensitive ear, will go far towards making all rhetorical precepts needless.” LittlesLawImaginationNaturalPracticeClearEarsSensitiveDependentCompositionAcquaintanceAptitudeRhetoricalClear Head Book:Philosophy of Style: An Essay Source: Philosophy of Style: An Essay