DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.69711#0030
12
WESTERN ART AND THE NEW ERA
entirely on outward forms, there appears the downward
sweep of the wave, to carry away as it breaks, those sem-
blances of a seeming civilization which caused man to
lose his vision. So it is that much of value is swept away
with it, because man could not place it in its proper rela-
tionship to the spirit of life. A good example of this is the
drainage system which Evans unearthed at Cnossus in
1900. Cnossus, on the Island of Crete, was destroyed
about 2000 b.c. It had reached a high state of outward
civilization, for after its destruction, man had to wait
almost four thousand years, or till the 19th Century, be-
fore he once more evolved out of his mind and brains
this high point of development in the art of drainage.
For if we apply the definition of the Latin root AR of
the word art, to put or fit things together, which brought
about the art of weaving and so forth, plumbing and drain-
age belong to the arts. It is only when we lose sight of
the creative forces constantly active in life, and worship
the things it once created, that we die. That is our danger
today. We are once more worshipping outward forms —
forgetting that it is the Spirit which we must worship,
and which constantly creates anew, and that the only
thing of real value is Spirit — Spirit which animates man,
which existed yesterday, exists today, and will continue on
tomorrow.
This Spirit which is constantly active in the life of man,
creating the essence and developing the senses, is changing
the forces that influence man, making them less and less
physical. Whereas formerly division and diversity of
character were brought about in the individual by belong-
ing definitely to some nation, there is today a greater
diversity among various groups of thinking people than
any physical or national boundary introduces. In other
words, the physical boundary, which influenced the early
tribes and nations, seems to be vanishing and to be re-
placed by the power of thought. It is amazing to find how
WESTERN ART AND THE NEW ERA
entirely on outward forms, there appears the downward
sweep of the wave, to carry away as it breaks, those sem-
blances of a seeming civilization which caused man to
lose his vision. So it is that much of value is swept away
with it, because man could not place it in its proper rela-
tionship to the spirit of life. A good example of this is the
drainage system which Evans unearthed at Cnossus in
1900. Cnossus, on the Island of Crete, was destroyed
about 2000 b.c. It had reached a high state of outward
civilization, for after its destruction, man had to wait
almost four thousand years, or till the 19th Century, be-
fore he once more evolved out of his mind and brains
this high point of development in the art of drainage.
For if we apply the definition of the Latin root AR of
the word art, to put or fit things together, which brought
about the art of weaving and so forth, plumbing and drain-
age belong to the arts. It is only when we lose sight of
the creative forces constantly active in life, and worship
the things it once created, that we die. That is our danger
today. We are once more worshipping outward forms —
forgetting that it is the Spirit which we must worship,
and which constantly creates anew, and that the only
thing of real value is Spirit — Spirit which animates man,
which existed yesterday, exists today, and will continue on
tomorrow.
This Spirit which is constantly active in the life of man,
creating the essence and developing the senses, is changing
the forces that influence man, making them less and less
physical. Whereas formerly division and diversity of
character were brought about in the individual by belong-
ing definitely to some nation, there is today a greater
diversity among various groups of thinking people than
any physical or national boundary introduces. In other
words, the physical boundary, which influenced the early
tribes and nations, seems to be vanishing and to be re-
placed by the power of thought. It is amazing to find how