A strange thing has happened -- while all the other arts were born naked, this, the youngest, has been born fully-clothed. It can say everything before it has anything to say. It is as if the savage tribe, instead of finding two bars of iron to play with, had found scattering the seashore fiddles, flutes, saxophones, trumpets, grand pianos by Erhard and Bechstein, and had begun with incredible energy, but without knowing a note of music, to hammer and thump upon them all at the same time.

Summary

This quote by critic Walter Pater refers to the art of literature. Pater suggests that literature, compared to other art forms, emerged fully developed and capable of expressing a wide range of ideas without needing to evolve gradually. He compares the birth of literature to a tribe stumbling upon a multitude of musical instruments, all at once, and passionately playing them without any knowledge or understanding of music. This quote highlights the immediate and unlimited potential of literature to convey diverse messages and emotions from its inception.

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