Moreover, the chances that any given work will be quickly and rightly
appreciated, depend upon two conditions: firstly, the character of
the work, whether high or low, in other words, easy or difficult to
understand; and, secondly, the kind of public it attracts, whether
large or small. This latter condition is, no doubt, in most instances
a, corollary of the former; but it also partly depends upon whether
the work in question admits, like books and musical compositions, of
being produced in great numbers. By the compound action of these two
conditions, achievements which serve no materially useful end--and
these alone are under consideration here--will vary in regard to
the chances they have of meeting with timely recognition and due
appreciation; and the order of precedence, beginning with those who
have the greatest chance, will be somewhat as follows: acrobats,
circus riders, ballet-dancers, jugglers, actors, singers, musicians,
composers, poets (both the last on account of the multiplication of
their works), architects, painters, sculptors, philosophers.
The last place of all is unquestionably taken by philosophers because
their works are meant not for entertainment, but for instruction, and
because they presume some knowledge on the part of the reader, and
require him to make an effort of his own to understand them.
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