B B A 



118 



B E A 



Mil*, ncndding alone it surface, add not only to the interest 

 but lo to the beauty of the scene ! 



ne writers hnvp thought that a certain rise is an es- 

 sential element of beauty : thus Aristotle, in his Pnrtic, 

 ay*, that Ix-auty consists in magnitude and prnporlirm ; 

 and. therefore, n" very small or a very large animal would be 

 devoid of beauty, the former because the eye could not rf>- 

 tm<:tit\H, the latter because the eye could not comprehend 



(*. This notion of Aristotle's doubtless arose from 

 his predominant love of making the excellence of everything 

 to consist in a mean between two extremes : but in the case 

 which he puts the mean is the beautiful form, because it is 

 the b.-st Mutr.l to the nature and wants of the animal. That 

 beauty generally does not depend on the size of the object 

 which makes the impression on the sense, is proved by the 

 admiration which we equally bestow on the delicate frame 

 and brilliant plumage of a humming-bird, and on the vast 

 expanse of an Alpine view. Burke, on the other hind. 

 makes smallnem an essential clement of beauty (.Sublime 

 and Hrautiful, part iii. $ 13) ; but the arguments which he 

 adduces arc equally untenable, as being founded on a par- 

 tial view of the subject. Among other considerations he 

 alleges the practice of giving diminutive names to the ob- 



<>f our affection : but this arises not from any sense of 

 the connexion of beauty with smallncss of size, but from 

 the incompatibility of the passion of love with that of feat 

 that is, so far ns fear means an anticipation of evil ; for by 

 u-in:r diminutive names, expressive of weakness and infe- 

 riority, men signify their consciousness that the persons 

 whom they love are things in their power, of which they 

 entertain no apprehension and do not stand in awe. [See 

 FKAR] 



The feeling of beauty is, moreover, increased, if not 

 awakened, by antient recollections, which spread a charm 

 over places illustrated by the arts, the learning, and the civil 

 and military glories of former ages. It is, however, neces- 

 sary to distinguish between the quality of beauty and the 

 feelings excited by interesting historical associations. There 

 is no doubt that the first time that a scholar beholds Athens 

 or Rome, he is affected far more powerfully and agreeably 

 than a person to whom antient history is a blank. But 

 these emotions cannot be considered as arising from the per- 

 ception of beauty. It seems to us quite conceivable that a 

 painter who did' not know that Pericles or Socrates were 

 Athenians, or that the Parthenon was the Temple of Mi- 

 nerva, should be as much alive to the beauty of the view of 

 Athens as the historian, though his feelings would not bo 

 no strongly moved by the sight before his eyes. (Sec 

 Knight On Taste, part 2. ch. ii. $ 70-73.) This distinetion 

 between associations which give an interest to an object, 

 which make us curious to see it, and those which make 

 it beaut if ul, has not always been sufficiently attended to. 

 Thus Mr. Alison cites Runnymedo and the Rubicon as 

 instances of beauty conferred or enhanced by historical as- 

 sociations. (Vol. i. 'pp.25, 27.) But beauty never arises from 

 such a source as this. No man would think a plain green 

 field or an ordinary stream more beautiful than any other 

 such field or stream, simply because King John had signed 

 Magna Churta in the one, or Julius Crosar raised the stan- 

 dard of rebellion on the banks of the other. A sincere 

 Hman Catholic might be led into trains of the tendcrest 

 pathos and the loftiest religious enthusiasm by the sight of 

 n fragment of the true cross, but would find no beauty in it. 

 Tin- iron crown of Charlemagne, or the stone on which the 



>-li kings were crowned at Scone, would suggest histo- 

 rical recollections of deep interest, but would he devoid of 

 henuty. The same may be said of badges of distinction, as 

 orders, crown*, coronets, mitres, &c. : they may call up ideas 

 of nobility, magnificence, grandeur, courage, or power ; and 

 yet they may not he beautiful. No one probably ever found 

 ny beauty in the Garter or the Cross of the legion of 



>ir, however lofty or agreeable their associations may 

 be. Feelings of this kind may make the mind susceptible 

 to impressions of beauty, but cannot alone produce it. What 

 can have lens pretensions to beauty than a modern fortress, 

 with its bare walls and heavy unornamented masonry ? Yet 



inseparably connected with all those idea* of power, 

 grandeur, martial prowess and courage, to which Mr. Alison 

 i -c! refers the origin of beauty. 



I? fayifii */ T^Jii Irrl, *<:.. Par! c'i ip. vll. : and o 



'"I. hrr .i-vrr.il pn.3i{r nn> rilod >h<ni-in| tkw 

 OpinH'Oi ! the (im-h lo Qw tlopc COBIKWoa of larflp tixr and lieautr. 



i like manner, Includes an idea uf >iw above the ui.li 

 try t 



Having thus attempted to give a general account of tho 

 origin and causes of beauty in outward objects, we shall 

 nr\i consider the slate of mind which if most favourable to 

 the perception of it. 



In the first place it may be remarked that a certain de- 

 gree nfciiltiratinn it necessary to the perception of beauty. 

 Savage nation* appear to be nearly or quite destitute of any 

 notion of it, in the works both of nature and art, or at least 

 their admiration, a* in children, is confined to gaudy ami 

 shining trinkets and ornaments of tho person. The practice 

 of tattooing, however, is doubtless founded on notions of 

 beauty, more mistaken even than those which led the ladies 

 of Europe to cover their hair with powder and pomatum. In 

 the lower orders of eivili/cd uM i"ii- the same indi: 

 beauty may be generally obwrved, in proportion to their 

 coarseness and ignorance. The early development <>l ' tin' 

 sense of beauty among the Greeks, which ii so 

 shewn both in their mythology mid poetry, and in t 

 of art (see PJiilolngical Miutfiim, vol. ii. p is a 



proof of their early culture and of their [_ >nty, 



even in a half savage state, to the barbarous nations by 

 which they were surrounded. 



Another thing essential to the perception of bcai. 

 sensibility nf mind, arising from the development < i 

 social affections, and the cultivation of the benevolent 

 ings. The custom, prevalent in some countries, of planting 

 Mi i, \ ITS on graves, and of offering nosegays to the 

 .aiuts or of the Virgin, is a mark at once of a fceln 

 beauty and of sensibility of mind. On the other hand, per- 

 sons of a sour, phlegmatic, morose, and misanthro|m- tem- 

 perament, are little alive to the beauty of outward objects 

 or works of art. It was, doubtless, from a sense of the in- 

 compatibility of a feeling for beauty with absence of all - 

 and benevolent sympathies, that Milton represents tho 

 Devil as insensible' to the beauties of Paradise : 



The Fiend 



SAW nndrlightcil nil d.-liclil. nil kind 

 Of living creatures, new lo tight And strange.* 



As on the ono hand, all the antisocial passions, as :. 

 jealousy, envy, fear, &c., are inconsistent with the r 

 lion of beauty ; so the social passions sharpen and facilitate 

 it, as love and pity, which, as Dryden says, ' melts (In- 

 to love.' Hence loveliness in the human race is intimately 

 connected with beauty, as the desire of sex is heightened 

 and simulated by the beauty of form, colour, and expres- 

 sion ; but it is not identical with it, for lovers are often not 

 only blind to the defects of their mistresses, but sometimes 

 even admire them on that very account *: whence love is 

 proverbially said to be blind. 



A third requisite to the perception of beauty is srrrnity 

 and cheerfulness of mind, and the absence of overpowering 

 care or aiUiction, which engrosses the faculties ami pn 

 them from taking pleasure in tin: relations of outward ob- 

 jects. This inconsistency is well illustrated by the refln 

 of Hamlet, when he is oppressed with a sense of the painful 

 task imposed upon him by his father's spirit. (Act ii. 

 se. 2.) (See Alison On Taste, vol. i. p. 10.) 



On the relation of the beauty of outward objects to the 

 beauty of works of art, more will be said under the heads of 

 the several arts. Here it is only necessary to observe, that 

 of the three arts of design, \'n.., architecture, sculpture, ami 

 painting, the two last are purely represent at iri- arts, while 

 the first alone creates objects which have a use beyond the 

 mere gratification of the taste. The beauty of buildings 

 therefore belongs to the class of objects which we have been 

 abi.xc examining: while the beauty of pictures and statues, 

 though closely connected with (he same range of idea 

 forms a class apart, and requires the consideration of addi- 

 tional elements peculiar to itself. These arc derived in 

 great measure from the capabilities of the respective a. 

 dependent on the materials which they work with ami the 

 effects which they are thus able (o produce'. There are many 

 objects beautiful in nature which cannot be rcpin-riiied with 

 advantage by the painter or sculptor : on the other hand, 

 there are many ohjn - iMr in nature which are 



beautiful in a picture, hrcMiiM' a picture is an sbttraction. a 

 representation of the colour and outline of an object, without 

 nny "i 'inpanying circumstances nh.eh in tho re- 



ality in '.i^gust to the other sonsos, and thus prevent 



the mind from enjoying thai v.hich it miL'lit other 



< rive through the organ of sight alone. Hence those 



