MAN IN NATURE 217 



abnormality resulting breeds in the beholder an un- 

 pleasing mental confusion, and causes him, even when 

 he is unable to trace his feelings to their source, to be 

 dissatisfied with the result. Thus man is in harmony 

 with that arrangement of nature which causes every 

 ornamental part to serve some use, and which unites 

 adaptation with plan. 



The following of nature must also form the basis 

 of those fine arts which are not necessarily connected 

 with any utility ; and in man s pursuit of art of this 

 kind we see one of the most recondite and at first 

 sight inexplicable of his correspondences with the 

 other parts of nature, for there is no other creature 

 that pursues art for its own sake. Modern archaeo 

 logical discovery has shown that the art of sculpture 

 began with the oldest known races of man, and that 

 they succeeded in producing very accurate imitations 

 of natural objects. But from this primitive starting- 

 point two ways diverge. One leads to the conven 

 tional and the grotesque, and this course has been 

 followed by many semi-civilised nations. Another 

 leads to accurate imitation of nature, along with new 

 combinations arising from the play of intellect and 

 imagination. Let us look for a moment at the actual 

 result of the development of these diverse styles of art, 

 and at their effect on the culture of humanity as exist 

 ing in nature. We may imagine a people who have 

 wholly discarded nature in their art, and have devoted 

 themselves to the monstrous and the grotesque. Such a 



