“ no man can be a consummate husbandman who does not know how to sing to his oxen, and that is an art that requires taste and especial gifts. ”
George Sand, The Devil's Pool (1846). copy citation
| Author | George Sand |
|---|---|
| Source | The Devil's Pool |
| Topic | art taste |
| Date | 1846 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Jane Minot Sedgwick and Ellery Sedgwick |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Devils_Pool_(1895) |
Context
“This song, which was probably sacred in its origin, and to which mysterious influences must once have been attributed, is still thought to possess the virtue of putting animals on their mettle, allaying their irritation, and of beguiling the weariness of their long, hard toil. It is not enough to guide them skilfully, to trace a perfectly straight furrow, and to lighten their labor by raising the plowshare or driving it into the earth; no man can be a consummate husbandman who does not know how to sing to his oxen, and that is an art that requires taste and especial gifts.
To tell the truth, this chant is only a recitative, broken off and taken up at pleasure. Its irregular form and its intonations that violate all the rules of musical art make it impossible to describe.”
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