There seem to be plenty of artists of every kind， but their standard of success is mostly low.The beginner too early gets commercial employment in which he is not held up to any high ideal.This brings us back to the lack of a well-knit artistic tradition to educate both the artist and the public， the lack of a type， "the non-existence" as Mr.Russell Sturgis says； "Of an artistic community with a mind of its own and a certain general agreement as to what a work of art ought to be." This lack involves the weakness of the criticism which is required to make the artist see himself as he ought to be."That criticism is nowhere in proportion to the need of it，" says Henry James， "is the visiting observer's first and last impression梐n impression so constant that it at times swallows up or elbows out every other."The antipathy between art and the commercial spirit， however， is often much overstated.As a matter of history art and literature have flourished most conspicuously in prosperous commercial societies， such as Athens， Florence， Venice， the communes of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries， the trading cities of Germany， the Dutch Republic and the England of Elizabeth.
Nothing does more than commerce to awaken intelligence， enterprise and a free spirit， and these are favorable to ideal production.It is only the extreme one-sidedness of our civilization in this regard that is prejudicial.
It is also true梐nd here we touch upon something pertaining more to the very nature of democracy than the matters so far mentioned梩hat the zeal for diffusion which springs from communication and sympathy has in it much that is not directly favorable to the finer sorts of production.
Which is the better， fellowship or distinction？ There is much to be said on both sides， but the finer spirits of our day lean toward the former， and find it more human and exhilarating to spread abroad the good things the wnrld already has than to prosecute a lonesome search for new ones.l notice among the choicest people l know梩hose who seem to me most representative of the inner trend of democracy梐 certain generous contempt for distinction and a passion to cast their lives heartily on the general current.But the highest things are largely those which do not immediately yield fellowship or diffuse joy.Though making in the end for a general good， they are as private in their direct action as selfishness itself， from which they are not always easily distinguished.They involve intense self-consciousness.Probably men who follow the whispers of genius will always be more or less at odds with their fellows.
Ours， then， is an Age of Diffusion.The best minds and hearts seek joy and self-forgetfulness in active service， as in another time they might seek it in solitary worship； God， as we often hear， being sought more through human fellowship and less by way of isolate self-consciousness than was the case a short time since.
I need hardly particularize the educational and philanthropic zeal that， in one form or another， incites the better minds among our contemporaries and makes them feel guilty when they are not in some way exerting themselves to spread abroad material or spiritual goods.No one would wish to see this zeal diminished； and perhaps it makes in the long run for every kind of worthy achievement； but its immediate effect is often to multiply the commonplace， giving point to De Tocqueville's reflection that "in aristocracies a few great pictures are produced， in democratic countries a vast number of insignificant ones." In a spiritual as well as a material sense there is to tendency to fabricate cheap goods fort an uncritical market." Men and gods are too extense." Finally， all theories that aim to deduce from social conditions the limits of personal achievement must be received with much caution.It is the very nature of a virile sense of self to revolt from the usual and the expected and pursue a lonesome road.Of course it must have support， but it may find this in literature and imaginative intercourse.So， in spite of everything， we have had in America men of signal distinction梥uch， for instance， as Emerson， Thoreau and Whitman梐nd we shall no doubt have more.We need fear no dearth of inspiring issues； for if old ones disappear energetic minds will always create new ones by making greater demands upon life.
The very fact that our time has so largely cast off all sorts of structure is in one way favorable to enduring production， since it means that we have fallen back upon human nature， upon that which is permanent and essential， the adequate record of which is the chief agent in giving life to any product of the mind.
Endnotes Demcracy in America， vol.ii， book iv， chap.7.But elsewhere he expresses the opinion that this levelling and confusion is only temporary.See， for example， book iii， chap.21.Republic， book viii.Outre-Mer.English Translation， 306.See the final chapter of his French Traits.Conversation with Eckermann， May 12， 1825.French Traits， 385， 387， 393.Poe is the only notable exception that occurs to me.Memorials of Edward Burne-Jones， ii， 100， 101.Our most notable group of writers梖lourishing at Concord and Boston about 1850梚s， of course， connected with the maturing， in partial isolation， of a local type of culture， now disintegrated and dispersed on the wider currents of the time.Outre-Mer， 25.In his essay on Balzac.Democracy in America， vol.ii， book i， chap.10.Henry Van Brunt， Greek Lines， 225.Some of these phrases， such as "illiterate combinations，" could never apply to the work of good architects.Democracy in America， vol.ii， book i， chap.11.Emerson， Alphonso of Castile.