At the same time he is obliged to admit that this, perhaps,
proves rather the effect of morals on music than of music on morals;
and so our problem remains in a vague twilight.
To gain more light on the subject, let us take a few specific cases.
Does the influence of music make us less inclined to perpetrate
murder, suicide, or cruel practices? Everybody has heard the story of
the famous Italian composer and vocalist, Stradella, whose wonderful
singing in an oratorio made such a profound impression on two men who
had been hired to murder him, that they not only spared him, but gave
him warning that his life was in danger. This story is now regarded as
a myth by some of the best authorities; but the fact that it was so
long believed universally is not without significance. Take another
case, which, though occurring in a ficticious drama, might easily be
true. Faust, in Goethe's drama, when on the point of committing
suicide, is brought back to his senses on suddenly hearing the Easter
hymn. But in this case it might be said it was not the music itself,
but the religious and other associations and memories awakened by it,
that prevented Faust from carrying out his criminal intention.
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