“The wisdom of what a person says is in direct proportion to his progress in learning the holy scriptures–and I am not speaking of intensive reading or memorization, but real understanding and careful investigation of their meaning. Some people read them but neglect them; by their reading they profit in knowledge, by their neglect they forfeit understanding.”
― St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine
PROVERBS 3:13-18
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
ST. THOMAS’S PRAYER BEFORE STUDY
Creator of all things, true source of light and wisdom, origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your light penetrate the darkness of our understanding. Take from us the double darkness in which we have been born, an obscurity of sin and ignorance. Give us keen understanding, retentive memories, and the ability to grasp things correctly and fundamentally. Grant us the talent of being exact in our explanations and the ability to express ourselves with thoroughness and charm. Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
Caillebotte painted many scenes of the city, especially the broad boulevards of Paris. At the time of this painting (1877), this was a picture of a very modern Paris. We see people of different classes going about their business and the huge apartment buildings in the background. We see shadows and light reflecting off the cobblestones. Although this masterpiece looks like a snapshot, it is well-balanced. Caillebotte’s paintings often looked more realistic than those of his contemporaries.
1
Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) trained to be an engineer but became interested in painting and attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He met Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renior in 1874 and became the chief organizer, promoter, and financial backer of the Impressionist exhibitions for several years. Although Caillebotte was a remarkable artist, he is lesser known because many of his works remained in his family and his works were not reproduced until the later 1900s. Caillebotte was one of the first Impressionist artists to be influenced by photography in his paintings.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
| Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, op. 18: I. “Moderato” |
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18, composition for piano and orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It premiered on November 9, 1901, and contains themes that, throughout the 20th century, would be reborn as the melodies of several popular songs, including Frank Sinatra’s 1945 “Full Moon and Empty Arms” and Eric Carmen’s 1975 “All by Myself”; Carmen, trained as a classical pianist, shared songwriting credit with the long-dead Rachmaninoff. It was made most famous when a portion of the second movement was set as the haunting motif of David Lean’s 1945 film Brief Encounter.
3
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was a composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He is especially known for his piano concerti and the piece for piano and orchestra titled Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). 4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., http://www.britannica.com/topic/Piano-Concerto-No-2-Rachmaninoff. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
↩︎ - “Sergey Rachmaninoff.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 28 Mar. 2025, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Rachmaninoff.
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Providence School of Tifton 