OF THE BEAUTIFUL. 55 



out and revised by Hegel himself, it is as well to use his 

 own words in explaining it : " If we assign to art on 

 the one side a high position, it is necessary on the other 

 side to remember that, neither in its substance nor in 

 its form, is Art the highest and absolute means through 

 which the human mind becomes aware (conscious) of its 

 highest interests. Through its very forms Art is limited 

 to a definite content ; only a certain sphere or phase of 

 truth is capable of being represented through the means 

 of a work of art ; to be a genuine subject for art it must 

 lie in its very nature to step out into the region of the 

 sensuous and to find itself adequately expressed therein- 

 Such is, for instance, the case with the Grecian deities. 

 Against this there exists a deeper conception of truth, 

 in which the latter is no more so near and friendly to 

 the sensuous that it can be adequately embodied and 

 expressed by the same. Of such a nature is the Christian 

 conception of truth, and especially the spirit of the 

 present age ; our religion and our culture seem to have 

 left the stage in which Art is the highest means by 

 which we become conscious of the Absolute. The peculiar 

 form of art-production and the works of art do not any 

 more answer to our highest wants ; the latter are no 

 more objects of divine worship or adoration ; the impres- 

 sion which they produce is of a more reasoned nature, 

 and what we feel through them requires further verifica- 

 tion and a higher testimony. Thought and reflection 

 have advanced beyond the fine arts. If one chooses to 

 do so, one can indulge in complaint and censure, and 

 loDk upon this circumstance as a sign of deterioration. 

 . . . However this may be, it is nevertheless a fact that 



