14 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



to thefe it were farther attempted to add the har- 

 mony of movements, as in the cafe of an automa- 

 ton, this would only aggravate the incongruity. 

 Were art to continue it's effort, and try to beftow 

 the gift of fpeech likewife, this muft produce a 

 fourth dilïbnance, which would be abfolutely hi- 

 deous; for here the intelle'ftual fyflem would 

 clafh frightfully with the phyfical fyftem. It is, 

 accordingly, matter of no furpize to me, that St. 

 Thomas Aquinas was fo fhocked at the fpeaking 

 head, in conftructing which, his matter, Albert the 

 Great, had employed fo many years, that, under 

 the influence of horror, he inftantly broke it to 

 (hivers. It mud have produced on him the fame 

 impreffion which he would have felt, had he heard 

 an articulate voice iffuing out of a dead man's 

 mouth. Such labours, in general, do the Artift 

 much honour ; but they demonftrate the weaknefs 

 of art, which falls below Nature juft in proportion 

 as it aims at uniting more of her harmonies. In- 

 ftead of blending them, as Nature herfelf does, 

 art can only place them in oppofition. 



All this proves the truth of the principle which 

 we have laid down, namely, that harmony refults 

 from the union of two contraries, and difcord 

 from their collifion : and the more agreeable that 

 the harmonies of an object are, the more difguft- 

 ing are it's difcordances. This is the real origin 



of 



