^ESTHETIC ANALYSIS OF AN OBELISK 



155 



pathetic reflex of that primitive Egyptian delight 

 in something big. 



The next clement in order of conspicuousness 

 is its form. This it is which on the one hand marks 

 off the obelisk, as such, from any other massive 

 monument, and s>\\ the other hand adds a further 

 element of beauty when massiveness is wanting. 

 Any obelisk, great or small, pleases us (irrespec- 

 tive of its surroundings) by its graceful, tapering 

 shape. It is not like the pyramid, a squat heap 

 of stones, placed in the position where the least 

 possible mass is supported by the greatest possi- 

 ble base. On the contrary, while the stability of 

 the shaft is sufficiently insured, its slender di- 

 mensions yield the notion of comparative slight- 

 ness. Nor is it like the column, whose natural 

 purpose is that of a support to some other body, 

 and which always looks ridiculous when sur- 

 mounted by a figure ; an absurdity conspicuous 

 enough in Trafalgar Square and the Place Ven- 

 dome, but reaching a culminating point in the 

 meaningless colonnades of the Taylorian Institute 

 at Oxford. The column has no natural termina- 

 tion, and so, when it is wrested from its original 

 intention, it always disappoints us by its useless 

 capital, which obviously implies a superincumbent 

 mass; but the obelisk has no other object to 

 serve save that of beauty, and its summit is 

 planed^off into the most graceful and appropriate 

 form. Again, the simplicity of its outline pleases 

 us. If the angles were cut down so as to make 

 an octagoiial plinth, we should feel that additional 

 trouble had been taken with no additional effect. 

 But, as it now stands, we see in its plain sides and 

 rectangular corners a native grandeur which 

 would be lost by more ambitious decoration. 

 Carve its contour, ornament its simple summit, 

 bevel its straight edges, and all its impressiveness 

 is gone at once. 



From these complex considerations of form, 

 mainly composed of intellectual factors, we may 

 pass on to those more elementary ones, the effect 

 of which is rather directly sensuous. The obelisk 

 is bounded by straight lines whose length is not 

 excessive, and whose direction can be followed 

 by the eye with ease and gratification. Its up- 

 ward tapering form adapts itself admirably to the 

 natural convergence of the lines of vision. Its 

 four sides can be grasped at once without con- 

 fusion, and its pointed top, leveled all round, 

 gives an obvious and pleasing termination to the 

 muscular sweep. Then, too, it is throughout 

 symmetrical, and that in a manner which requires 

 no effort for its comprehension. If one side 

 bulged a little, if one angle were untrue, if one 



line of slope at the summit did not "come 

 square" with its neighbor, if anywhere there 

 were a breach of symmetry, an indication of un- 

 workmanlike carelessness, all our pleasure would 

 be gone. But when we see that the artisan has 

 exactly carried out his ideal, simple as that ideal 

 is, we are pleased by the evidence of skill and 

 care, and sensuously gratified by the simplifica- 

 tion of our visual act in apprehending the form 

 produced. 



Closely allied to these sources of pleasure are 

 those which depend upon the polish of a granite 

 obelisk. Sensuously we derive two kinds of 

 gratification from this property : the visual gloss 

 gives an agreeable stimulus to the eye, while the 

 tactual smoothness affords pleasure to the ner- 

 vous terminals of the hand. Further, it is intel- 

 lectually gratifying as another symbol of the care 

 bestowed by the workman upon his work. And 

 when in certain cases we add to the last-named 

 idea the historical conception of the inadequate 

 tools with which our Egyptian artist must have 

 wrought this exquisite sheen, we raise our feeling 

 at once to a far higher emotional leveL 



But we have not yet exhausted the elements 

 of beauty and interest given by an obelisk, even 

 apart from special circumstances of site and sur- 

 roundings. Its surface may be deeply scored 

 with hieroglyphics, and this, though in one sense 

 a detriment to the general effect, yet gives a cer- 

 tain detailed interest of its own. We can notice, 

 too, how this carving of the plane surfaces, which 

 nowhere interferes with the typical outline, does 

 not disfigure our obelisk in at all the same way as 

 ornamentation of its edges or summit would dis- 

 figure it. The hieroglyphics leave it still essen- 

 tially the same as ever ; while a little floral dec- 

 oration, a few scrolls or acanthus-leaves at its criti- 

 cal points, would make it something totally differ- 

 ent and vastly inferior. Again, the mere color and 

 texture of the stone may form partial elements in 

 the total result. Red granite, closely dappled 

 with points of crystalline transparency, or blue 

 and gray limestone, shining with a dull and sub- 

 dued glossiness, are in themselves striking com- 

 ponents of the beauty which we notice in particu- 

 lar instances. 



When we pass on from these immediate and 

 general impressions to those more special ones 

 which are given by historical and geographical 

 association, a whole flood of feelings crowds upon 

 our mind. Let us try to disentangle a few of the 

 most prominent strands, again in the order of 

 their conspicuousness. 



Part of our pleasure in viewing such an erec- 



