one who seriously attempted to practice the art. Mr. La Farge comments
upon the level of superior artistic culture which these Japanese artists
had attained. They had advanced their common skill so far that a superior
man began at a great height of attainment, and was compelled to exhibit
power of a very rare order before he could claim any kind of prominence
among his fellows.

The establishment of such a standard in any art, profession, or occupation
has the immense educational value of making clear to the student, at the
very beginning of his career, the prime importance of mastering in detail
every part of the work which he has undertaken to do. There is no place in
the modern working world for the sloven, the indifferent, or the
unskilled; no one can hope for any genuine success who fails to give
himself the most thorough technical preparation, the most complete special
education. Good intentions go for nothing, and industry is thrown away, if
one cannot infuse a high degree of skill into his work. The man of medium
skill depends upon fortunate conditions for success; he cannot command it,
nor can he keep it. In the fierce competition of the day the trained man
has all the advantages on his side; the untrained man invites all the
tragic possibilities of industrial and economic failure. He is always at
the mercy of conditions. To know every detail, to gain an insight into
every secret, to learn every method, to secure every kind of skill, are
the prime necessities of success in any art, craft, or trade. No time is
too long, no study too hard, no discipline too severe for the attainment
of complete familiarity with one's work and complete ease and skill in the
doing of it. As a man values his working life, he must be willing to pay
the highest price of success in it,--the price which severe training
exacts.

The external prosperity which is called success is of value because it