THE FACT OF BEAUTY 285 



monster is a contradiction in terms and is forthwith eliminated. 

 " Ugly is only half way to a thing." 



Passing from incarnate beauty to that of animal artificers in 

 encasement and web, in bower and nest we recognise precise selec- 

 tion of material, effective use of it, and, it may be, a circumventing 

 or mastery of technical difficulties. There is in varying degrees an 

 external expression of the individuality, the creature creative. 



The difficulty of scientifically accounting for man's ' sense of 

 beauty' is doubtless great, as Mr. Balfour has emphasised; but 

 this kind of inquiry is young. (1) The raw materials of esthetic 

 emotion may have been associated with successful formative en- 

 deavour. (2) It is well known that interest in the visually and 

 audibly beautiful has been from time to time closely linked to 

 'love*. (3) Joyous feeling has a notable unifying influence on 

 the development both of personality and of society. And there are 

 other considerations. 



Perhaps deepest of all in our aesthetic emotion is a sympathetic 

 sharing in every triumph of ' life ' over ' matter ', in every abid- 

 ing expression and extension of individuality. Thus Animate Na- 

 ture is to many minds much more significant than Scenery and 

 Precious Stones, commanding as their beauty is. In any case, 

 there is for man great value in the beauty of the world without. 

 There may be theoretical exaggeration in Goethe's saying : " Sym- 

 pathy and enjoyment in what we see is in fact the only reality" 

 and it is very satisfying in itself, as reality should be; but there is 

 no risk of practical exaggeration, for the consistent discernment and 

 enjoyment of the beautiful cannot be attained on any easier terms 

 than consistent discernment and enjoyment of the True and the 

 Good. 



