BEAUTY. 
the latter affect file heart : thus, an ob- 
ject may please the understanding with- 
out interesting the sense; and on the other 
hand, we perceive agreeable sensations, 
excited by some objects, whose ideas are 
no way related to any thing that is praise- 
worthy. 
It is, on account of these distinctions, that 
the. difficulty lies of fixing an universal 
characteristic of beauty, in regard that 
the persons vary, according to their diffe- 
rent turns of mind, and habitudes of body, 
and consequently the relations of objects 
to those ideas and sensations do in like 
manner vary ; whence arise the different 
opinions of beauty in painting, women, ice. 
Beauty, in its most extensive sense, may 
perhaps be properly defined, that quality or 
union of qualities in the objects of percep- 
tion, whether they be material, intellec- 
tual, or moral, which is best calculated to ex- 
cite emotions of pleasure in the minds of in- 
telligent creatures. We say calculated to 
produce these effects in the minds of intelli- 
gent creatures, because, although beauty is, 
like, truth, unchangeable in itself; it is only in 
proportion to the measure of our intelli- 
gence, that we are capable of perceiving and 
enjoying it. Hence the distinction between 
beauty and taste : the former, the object, 
ever existing, ever the same ; the latter, the 
power of perception, fluctuating and chang- 
ing, in proportion to the perfection of our 
organs of sense and the improvement of our 
reasoning faculties. That the organs of 
sense vary in their degrees of perfection in 
dirterent men, experience every day demon- 
strates : that the eye of one, the ear of an- 
other, the palate, the smell, or the touch of a 
third, is by nature formed with more exqui- 
site workmanship than in others, no one 
can doubt ; and that these organs of sense 
can be again rendered still more correct by 
their particular education or frequent prac- 
tice, is equally certain. Thus the man whose 
.eye has been long accustomed to measure 
distances, shall seldom be under the neces- 
sity of recurring to the rule; the accom- 
plished artist shall in a moment discover the 
various colours, and the proportions of each 
required to produce any complex tint, or, 
like Apelles, draw the line marking the 
scarcely perceptible distinction between ex- 
cellence and perfection. 
Beauty, as opposed to deformity, is as 
goodness to evil, as truth to falsehood, or 
as right to wrong, and may therefore be 
considered as an outward demonstration 
vouclisafed by the Almighty, to bring us, by 
analogy, to the contemplation of those di- 
vine attributes by which we are bound to re- 
gulate our lives in this material world, that 
we maybe fitted for that state of purify 
and happiness which we are promised ia 
the World of spiritual existence. If this 
conclusion be admitted, it is no longer a 
question why beauty gives us pleasure, it is 
sufficient that it does so. 
But if mankind are not by nature equally 
endowed with the powers of discriminating 
or judging of beauty, what is the standard 
or rule by which we are to ascertain what is 
r eally beautiful, much less the different de- 
grees of beauty which any given object pre- 
sents ? for will not each man say, my judg- 
ment is right ; your’s, inasmuch as you differ 
from me, wrong. 
To this, and similar .objections, we should 
not hesitate to reply thus : Although no in- 
dividual can properly be considered a com- 
petent and unerring judge, mankind, in the 
aggregate may ; and we can therefore safely 
rest satisfied, that what the wisest, the most 
virtuous, and the most contemplative men 
of all ages have agreed to sanction by their 
approval, is right. Taste may be, for a 
time, perverted by fashion, meritricious 
charms may usurp the rank of beauty, os- 
tentation may personate virtue ; but truth 
and justice will at length prevail, whilst 
the frivolity or caprice of a day will be soon 
forgotten. 
The surest method, therefore, nay per- 
haps the only means by which we can expect 
to perfect our taste so as to be enabled to 
relish the higher beauties which either the 
productions of nature or art present, is by 
an early and close application to the study 
and contemplation of those works which have 
proved impervious to the shafts of criticism, 
and which have been the admirations of ages. 
Such are the writings of the best ancient 
authors, whether in prose or verse, such the 
astonishing remains of Greek art, which, 
long hidden in die bowels of the earth, were 
restored to light under the happy auspices of 
Lorenzo de Medici andLeo the Tenth. Next 
to these, as authorities, we may class the 
best established works of modem date ; and 
particularly those which appeared soon after 
the revival of letters and arts ; mankind 
having had, in cases of this description, more 
leisure and opportunity to correct the er- 
rors and prejudices to which contemporary 
opinion is subjected, than can have been 
possible widi respect to very recent pro- 
ductions. 
Inquiries concerning beauty have em- 
