[Open-bio-announce] r myself, I believe that Chri

[Besso Serb]

Away from scent of blood and scenes of carnage. Polybius tells us of the
Constitution of Arcadia, which required all youths under thirty to
practice music, in order that this gentle art might alleviate the rigors
of that inclement region. It is to its influence that he attributes the
absence of cruelty in that part of the Arcadian mountains. [Footnote 9:
A musical instrument, resembling the guitar.] Nor was Satsuma the only
place in Japan where gentleness was inculcated among the warrior class.
A Prince of Shirakawa jots down his random thoughts, and among them is
the following: "Though they come stealing to your bedside in the silent
watches of the night, drive not away, but rather cherish these--the
fragrance of flowers, the sound of distant bells, the insect humming of
a frosty night." And again, "Though they may wound your feelings, these
three you have only to forgive, the breeze that scatters your flowers,
the cloud that hides your moon, and the man who tries to pick quarrels
with you." It was ostensibly to express, but actually to cultivate,
these gentler emotions that the writing of verses was encouraged. Our
poetry has therefore a strong undercurrent of pathos and tenderness. A
well-known anecdote of a rustic samurai illustrates a case in point.
When he was told to learn versification, and "The Warbler's Notes"[10]
was given him for the subject of his first attempt, his f
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