GM of Russia Interview

These seven arts, which were marked as obOn the Second step, the Rhetorician displayed cretionarily, in the general knowledge of whose relation to another number was already known. To every mechanical branch or profession he recommended the virtues of his art. jects of merit, were thus named and arranged: On the Fifth step, the Geometrician displayed Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geome- the superiority of his science: he treated on try, Music, Astronomy, and in these arts the the powers, and properties of magnitude in professors were appointed under Royal com- general, where length, breadth, and thickness mission, to exemplify at stated periods their were considered. He taught the architect to skill and talents. construct his plans; the general to arrange his troops, the engineer to mark out ground for Grammar, the first step. On the first step, encampments the geographer to give us the there the Grammarian usually displayed the dimensions of the world, delineate the extent existence of his art. He taught the proper ar- of seas, and specify the divisions of Empires, rangement of words, according to idiom or kingdoms and provinces; and the astronomer dialect; and how to speak or write a language, to make his observations, and fix the duration with justice and accuracy, according to reason of times, and seasons. In short he proved Geand correct usage. ometry to be the foundation of architecture, the powers of his art. He taught the mode of On the Sixth step, the Musician displayed his speaking copiously, and fluently, on any sub- eminence, he taught the art of forming conject; not merely with propriety alone, but with cords, and to compose delightful harmony by all the advantages of force, and elegance; a proportion and arrangement of acute, grave, wisely contriving to captivate the hearer by and mixed sounds. By a series of experiments the strength of argument, and beauty of ex- he evinced the power of his art, with respect pression. to tunes, and the intervals of sound only; and On the Third step, the Logician exerted his tal- and discords he fixed the proportion between ents, he taught the art of guiding reason dis- them by numbers. things; and how we were to direct our enquir- On the Seventh step, the Astronomer vies to ies at the truth: instructing his disciples to in- excel, he taught the art of reading the wonderfer, deduce, and conclude, on a regular train of ful works of the Creator in the sacred pages, argument, according to certain premises laid the celestial hemispheres; by observing the down, or granted; and to employ their facul- motion, measuring the distances, compreties of conceiving, reasoning, judging, and dis- hending the magnitudes and calculating the posing in true gradation, till the point in ques- periods, and eclipses of the heavenly bodies. tion should be finally determined. The use of the globes, the system of the world, On the Fourth step, the Arithmetician distin- jects of his theme, and in the unparalleled inguished his skill: he taught the powers and stances of wisdom and goodness that were properties of numbers, by letters, tables, fig- displayed through the whole of the creation, ures, and instruments, giving reasons and he traced the omnipotent Author by his demonstrations, to find any certain number works. and the root of mathematics. in his enquiry into the nature of the concords and the primary law of nature, were the sub-