43 



every kind was highly illustrated by the art 

 to which he referred. 



The principles of those two leading cha- 

 racters in nature, the sublime and the beau- 

 tiful, have been fully illustrated and dis- 

 criminated by a great master; but even 

 when I first read that most original work, 

 I felt that there were numberless objects 

 which give great delight to the eye, and yet 

 differ as widely from the beautiful, as from 

 the sublime. The reflections which I have 

 since been led to make, have convinced 

 me that these objects form a distinct class, 

 and belong to what may properly be called 

 the picturesque. 



That term, as we may judge from its 

 etymology, is applied only to objects of 

 sight; and indeed in so confined a manner, 

 as to be supposed merely to have a refer- 

 ence to the art from which it is named. I 

 am well convinced, however, that the name 

 and reference only are limited and uncer- 

 tain, and that the qualities which make 

 objects picturesque, are not only as dis- 



