Usrc^ THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ESSAYS ON THE NATURE ANB TRINCITLES O F TASTE. B Y The Rev. Archibald Alison, L. L. B. r. R. S. Edin. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR J. J. G. AND G. ROBINSON, LONDON; AND BELL AND BRADFUTE, EDINBURGH, M.DCC.XC. V \ A'75 T O WILLIAM PULTENEY, Esq.; THESE ESSAYS ARE INSCRIBE Dj IN TESTIMONY OF THE RESPECT AND GRATITUDE OF THE AUTHOR. Edinburgh, "5 Nov, 22. 1789.5 544.050 ENGLISH CONTENTS. Introduction, ESSAY I. Of the Nature of the Emotions of Sublimity and Beauty. Page, Chap. I. Of the Effect produced upon tbelm agin Arioi but it is, becaufe every thing, in that period of life, is able to excite their imaginations, and to move their hearts, be- caufe they judge of the compofition, not by its merits, when compared with other v/orks, or by its approach to any abftradl or ideal flandard, but by its effed: in agitating their imaginations, and leading them into that fairy land, in which the fancy of youth has fo much delight to wan- der. It is their own imagination, which has the charm, which they attribute to the work, that excites it ; and the fimplefl tale, or the pooreft novel, is, at that time, as ca- pable of awakening it, as afterwards the eloquence of Virgil or Roufleau. All this, however, all this flow of imagina- tion, in which youth, and men of fenfibility, are fo apt to indulge, and which fo often brings them pleafure at the ex- pence of their tafie, the labour of criticifm deftroys. The mind, in fuch an employment, inflead of being at liberty to follow whatever trains of imagery the compofition be- fore It can excite, is either fettered to the confideration of fome of its minute and folitary parts ; or paufes amid the rapidity of its conceptions, to make them the objedls of its attention and review. In thefe operations, accordingly, *he emotion, whether of beauty, or fublimity, is lofl, and if y Sublimity and Beauty. 9 if it is wiflied to be recalled, it can only be done by relaxing this vigour of attention, and refigning ourfelves again, to the natural flream of our thoughts. The mathematician who inveftigates the demonflrations of the Newtonian philofophy, the painter who ftudies the defign of Raphael, the poet who reafons upon the meafure of Milton, all, in fuch occu- pations, lofe the delight which thefe feveral produdions can give J and when they are willing to recover their emotion, muft withdraw their attention from thofe minute confidera- tions, and leave their fancy to expatiate at will, amid all the great or pleafing conceptions, which fuch productions of genius can raife. III. The effed which is thus produced upon the mind, by temporary exertions of attention, is alfo more permanently produced by the difference of original charader ; and the degree in which the emotions of fublimity or beauty are felt, is, in general, proportioned to the prevalence of thofe relations of thought in the mind, upon which this exercife of imagination depends. The principal relation, which feems to take place in thofe trains of thought, that are produced by objeds of tafte, is that of refemblance 3 the re- lation, of all others, the mod loofe and general, and which affords the greateft range of thought, for our imagination to purfue. Wherever, accordingly, thefe emotions are felt, B it lo Of the Nature of the Emotions it will be found, not only that this is the relation which principally prevails among our ideas, but that the emotion itfelf is proportioned to the degree in which it prevails. In the efFe<5l which is produced upon our minds, by the dif- ferent appearances of Natural fcenery, it is eafy to trace this progrefs of refembling thought, and to obferve, how faith- fully the conceptions which arife in our imaginations, cor- refpond to the impreflions which the chara6lers of thefe feafons produce. What, for inftance, is the imprelhon we feel from the fcenery of fpring ? The foft and gentle green with which the earth is fpread, the feeble texture of the plants and flowers, the young of animals juft entering into life, and the remains of winter yet lingering among the woods and hills, all confpire to infufe into our minds fome- what of that fearful tendernefs with which infancy is ufual- ly beheld. With fuch a fentiment, how innumerable are the ideas which prefent themfelves to our imagination ! Ideas, it is apparent, by no means confined to the fcene before our eyes, or to the poffible deiblation which may yet await its infant beauty, but which almoft involuntarily extend themfelves to analogies with the life of man, and bring before us all thofe images of hope or fear, which, ac- cording to our peculiar fituations, have the dominion of our hearts ! — The beauty of autumn is accompanied with a fi- milar exercife of thought. The leaves begin then to drop from the trees, the flowers and fhrubs, with which the fields of Sublimity and Beauty. w fields were adorned in the fummer months, decay, the woods and groves are filent, the fun himfelf feems gradual- ly to withdraw his light, or to become enfeebled in his power. Who is there, who, at this feafon, does not feel his mind imprefled with a fentiment of melancholy ? or who is able to refifl; that current of thought, which, from fuch appearances of decay, fo naturally leads him to the folemn imagination of that inevitable fate, which is to bring on alike the decay of life, of empire, and of nature itfelf ? In fuch cafes of emotion, every man muft have felt, that the character of the fcene is no fooner imprefled upon his mind, than various trains of correfpondent imagery rife before his imagination ; that whatever may be the nature of the impreflion, the general tone of his thoughts partakes of this nature or charader j and that his delight is proportion- ed to the degree in which this uniformity of charader pre- vails. The fame efFed, however, is not produced upon all men. There are many, whom the profped of fuch appear- ances in nature, excites to no exercife of fancy whatever \ who, by their original conftitution, are more difpofed to the employment of attention, than of imagination, and who, in the objeds that are prefented to them, are more apt to obferve their individual and diftinguifliing qualities, than thofe by which they are related to other objeds of their knowledge. Upon the minds of fuch men, the relation of B 2 refemblance 12 Of the Nature of the Emotions refemblance has little power ; the efforts of their imagina- tion, accordingly, are either feeble or flow, and the gene- ral charader of their underftandlngs, is that of fleady and precife, rather than that of enlarged and extenfive thought. It is, I believe, confiflent with general experience, that men of this defcription are little fenfible to the emotions of fublimity or beauty •■> and they w^ho have attended to the language of fuch men, when objeds of this kind have been prefented to them, mull have perceived, that the emotion they felt, was no greater than what they themfelves have experienced in thofe cafes, where they have exerted a limi- lar degree of attention, or when any other caufe has re- trained the ufual exercife of their imagination. To the qualities which are produdlive of fimple emotion, to the ufeful, the agreeable, the fitting, or the convenient in ob- jects, they have the fame fenfibillty with other men ; but of the fuperior and more complex emotion of beauty, they feem to be either altogether unconfcious, or to fliare in It, only in proportion to the degree in which they can relax this feverity of attention, and yield to the relation of re- fembllng thought. It Is in the fame manner, that the progrefs of life general- ly takes from men their fenfibillty to the objedts of tafle. The feafon in which thefe are felt in their fulled degree is in youth, when, according to common exprefllon, the ima- gination is warm, or, in other words, when it is eafily exci- ted lo/' Sublimity and Beauty. 13 ttd to that exertion upon which fo much of the emotion of beauty depends. The bufinefs of life, in the greatefl part of mankind, and the habits of more accurate thought, which are acquired by the few who reafon and refledl, tend equal- ly to produce in both, a ftrldter relation In the train of their thoughts, and greater attention to the objeds of their con- fideratlon, than can either be expeded, or can happen In youth. They become, by thefe means, not only lefs eafily led to any exerclfe of imagination, but their allbciatlons be- come at the fame time lefs confident with the employment of it. The man of bufinefs, who has pafTed his life in fl:u- dylng the means of accumulating wealth, and the phllofo- pher, whofe years have been employed in the inveftlgatlon of caufes, have both not only acquired a conftitutlon of mind very little fitted for the indulgence of imagination, but have acquired alfo aflx)cIations of a very different kind from thofe which take place, when imagination Is employed. In the firfl of thefe charaders, the profpecft of any beautiful fcene in nature, would induce no other idea than that of its value. In the other, it would lead only to fpeculations upon the caufes of the beauty that was afcrlbed to It. In both,. it would thus excite ideas, which could be the foun- dation of no exerclfe of Imagination, becaufe they required thought and attention. To a young mind, on the contra- ry, pofi^efled of any fenfibillty, how many pleafing Ideas would not fuch a profped afford ? Ideas of peace and Inno- cence, and rural joy, and all the unblemlfhed delights of fo- litude 14 Of the Nature of the Emotions litude and contemplation. In fuch trains of imagery, no la- bour of thought, or habits of attention, are required i they rife fpontaneoully in the mind, upon the profpedlof any ob- jedl, to which they bear the flighteft refemblance, and they lead It almoft infenfibly along, in a kind of bewitching re- verie, through all its ftore of pleafing or interefting con- ceptions. To the phllofopher, or the man of bufinefs, the emotion of beauty, from fuch a fcene, would be but feebly known j but by the young mind, which had fuch fenfibillty, it would be felt in all its warmth, and would produce an emotion of delight, which not only would be little compre- hended by men of a feverer or more thoughtful charadter, but which feems alfo to be very little dependent upon the objedl which excites it, and to be derived, In a great mea- fure, from this exercife of mind itfelf. In thefe familiar inftances, It is obvious, how much the emotions of tafte are connedled with this flate or charadler of imagination, and how much thofe habits or employments of mind, which demand attention, or which limit it to the confideration of fingle objeds, tend to diminifh the fenlibi- lity of mankind, to the emotions of fublimity or beauty. SEC of Sublimity and Beauty. 15 SECTION III. THERE are many other inftances equally familiar, which are rufficient to Ihew, that whatever increafes this exercife or employment of Imagination, increafes alfo the emotion of beauty or fubliraity. I. This is very obvioufly the effed of all Affociations. There is no man, who has not forae interefting aflbciations with particular fcenes, or airs, or books, and who does not feel, their beauty or fublimity enhanced to him, by fuch con- nedlions. The view of the houfe where one was born, of the fchool where one was educated, and where the gay years of infancy were pailed, is indifferent to no man. They recal fo many images of paft happlnefs, and paft af- fedtions, they are connected with fo many ftrong or va- lued emotions, and lead altogether to fo long a train of feelings and recolledions, that there is hardly any fcene which one ever beholds with fo much rapture. There are fongs alfo, that we have heard in our infancy, which, when brought to our remembrance in after years, raife e- motions, for which we cannot well account; and which,, though, i6 Of the Natdre of the Emotions though perhaps very IndifFerent in themfelves, ftill conti- nue from this aflbciation, and from the variety of concep- tions which they kindle in our minds, to be our favourites through life. The fcenes which have been diftinguifhed by the refidence of any perfon, whofe memory we admire, produce a familar effea;. " Movemur enim, nefcio quo " pado, locis ipfis, in quibus eorum, quos diligimus, aut " admiramur adfunt veftigia." The fcenes themfelves may be little beautiful ; but the delight with which we recoiled the traces of their lives, blends itfelf infenfibly with the emotions which the fcenery itfelf, excites ; and the admi- ration which thefe recolledtions afford, feems to give a kind of fandity to the place where they dwelt, and converts eve- ry thing into beauty which appears to have been connecSted with them. There are fcenes, undoubtedly, more beauti- ful than Runnymede, yet to thofe who recoiled the great event which paffed there, there is no fcene, perhaps, which fo flrongly feizes upon the imagination 3 and although the emotions this recolledlion produces, are of a very different kind from thofe which the mere natural fcenery can excite, yet they unite themfelves fo well with thefe inferior emo- tions, and fpread fo venerable a charm over the whole, that one can hardly perfuade one's felf, that the fcene itfelf is not entitled to this admiration. The valley of Vauclufe is celebrated for its beauty, yet how much of it has been ow- ing, to its being the refidence of Petrarch ! Mais of Sublimity and Beauty. 17 Mais ces eaux, ce beau ciel, ce vallon enchanteur, Moins que Petrarque et Laure intereflbient mon coeur. La volla done difols-je, oui, voila cette rive Que Petrarque charmoit de fa lyre plaintive ; Ici Petrarque a Laure exprimant fon amour, Voyoit naitre trop tard, mourir trop tot, le jour. Retrouverai-je encore, fur ces rocs folitaires, De leurs chiffres unis les tendres charaderes ? Une grotte ecart^e avoit frapp^ mes yeux, Grotte fombre, dis-moi fi tu les vis heui'eux, M'ecriois-je I un vieux tronc bordoit-il le rivage ? Laure avoit repofe fous fon antique ombrage j Je redemandois Laure a I'echo du vallon, Et I'echo n' avoit point oublie ce doux nom. Partout mes yeux cherchoient, voyoient, Petrarque et Laure, Et par eux, ces beaux lieux s'embelliiToient encore. Les Jardinsy Chant yne. The Sublime is increafed, in the fame manner, by what- ever tends to increafe this exercife of imagination. The field of any celebrated battle becomes fublime from this af- fociation. No man, acquainted v/ith Englifh hiftory, can behold the field of Agincourt, without fome emotion of this kind. The additional conceptions which this aflo- ciation produces, and which fill the mind of the fpedlator on ^ the profped of that memorable field, diflufe themfelves in fome meafure over the fcene, and give it a fublimity which C does i8 Of the Nature of the Emotions does not naturally belong to it. The majefty of the Alps themfelves is increafcd by the remembrance of Hannibal's march over them ; and who is there, that could ftand on the banks of the Rubicon, without feeling his imagination kindle, and his heart beat high ? " Middleton Dale," fays Mr Whately, " is a cleft be- " tween rocks, afcending gradually from a romantic vil- " lage, till it emerges, at about two miles diftance, on the " vafl: moorlands of the Peak. It is a difmal entrance to a " defart ', the hills above it are bare, the rocks are of a grey " colour, their furfaces are rugged, and their fhapes favage, " frequently terminating in craggy points, fometimes re- " fembling vaft unwieldy bulwarks, or rifing in heavy bat- " trefles one above another, and here and there a mifhapen " mafs bulging out, hangs lowering over its bafe. No " traces of men are to be feen, except in a road which has " no effed on fuch a fcene of defolation, and in the lime- " kilns conftantly fmoking on the fide. The foil is disfigu- " red with all the tinges of brown and red, which denote " barrennefs j in fome places it has crumbled away, and " ftrata of loofe dark ftones only appear; and in others, '* long lines of drofs fhovelled out of the mines, have fal- " len down the fteeps. In thefe mines, the veins of lead " on one fide of the Dale, are obferved always to have cor- " refponding veins, in the fame diredion, on the other; " and the rocks, though differing widely in different places, " yet of Sublimity and Beauty. 19 yet always continue in one flyle for fome way together, and feem to have a relation to each other. Both thefe appearances make it probable that Middleton Dale is a chafm rent in the mountains by fome convulfion of na- ture beyond the memory of man, or perhaps before the ifland was peopled. The fcene, though it does not prove the fad, yet juftifies the fuppofition, and it gives credit to the tales of the country people, who, to aggravate its horrors, always point to a precipice, down which they fay a young woman of the village threw herfelf headlong, in defpair at the negled; of a man whom fhe loved J and fhew a cavern, where a fkeleton once was difcovered, but of what wretch is unknown ; his bones were the only memorial left of him." Obfervations upon Modern Gardening, p. 93. It is furely unneceflary to remark, how much the fublimi- ty of this extraordinary fcene, is increafed, by the circum- ftances of horror, which are fo finely connedled with it. One of the fublimeft objeds in natural fcenery, is an old and deep wood covering the fide of a mountain, when feen from below ; yet how much greater fublimity Is given to it, by Dr Akenfide, by the addition of the folemn images which in the following lines are aflbciated with it ? C 2 . Mark 20 Of the Nature of the Emotions -Mark the fable woods That fhade fublime yon mountain's nodding brow. With what religious awe, the folemn fcene Commands your fleps ! as if the reverend form Of Minos or of Numa, fhould forfake Th' Elyfian feats, and down the embowering glade Move to your paufing eye. Pleafures of Imagination, Book 3. There Is a paflage in one of the Odes of the fame poet, in which a fcene, which is in general only beautiful, is ren- dered flrikingly fublime, from the imagery with which it is aflbciated. 'Tis thus to work her baneful power, Sufpicion waits the fullen hour Of fretfulnefs and flrife, When care the infirmer bofom wrings. Or Eurus waves his murky wings, To damp the feats of life. But come, forfake the fcene unblefs'd Which firft beheld your faithful breaft To groundlefs fears a prey, Come, where with my prevailing lyre The Ikies, the ftreams, the groves confpire To charm your doubts away. Thron'd ^/Sublimity ^«^/ Beauty. 21 Thron'd in the fun's defcending car What'Power unfeen diffufeth far This tendernefs of mind ? What Genius fmiles on yonder flood ! What God in whifpers from the wood Bids every thought be kind ? Ode to Sufpicion. I know not, however, any inflance, where the effed: of af- fociation, is fo remarkable in beflowing fubHmity on ob- jedls, to which it does not naturally belong, as In the fol- lowing inimitable poem of Buchanan's, on the month of May. This feafon is, in general, fitted to excite emotions very different from fublimity, and the numerous poems which have been written in celebration of it, dwell uniformly, on Its circumftances of " vernal joy." In this ode, how- ever, the circumftances which the poet has feleded, are of a kind, which, to me, appear inexpreflibly fublime, and di- ftinguifh the poem Itfelf by a degree and character of gran- deur, which I have feldom found equalled In any other com- pofition. The Idea of it was probably taken from thefe fine lines of Virgil In the fecond Georgic, In defcribing the effeds of fprlng. Non alios, prima crefcentis orlgine mundl llluxifle dies, aliumve habulfle tenorem Crediderim : ver illud erat, ver magnus agebat Orbis, 2 Of the Nature of the Emotions Orbis, et hyberuis parcebant flatibus Euri : Cum primum lucem pecudes haufercj virumque, Ferrea progenies duris caput extuiit arvis, ImmifBeque fers fylvls, et fidera coelo. I believe, however, no one will doubt, how much Buchanan has improved, upon this beautiful idea. Calendje Mai^. Salvete facris deliciis facrae Maiae calendae, laetitiae et mero Ludifque dicatas jocifque Et teneris charitum choreis. Salve voluptas et nitidum decus Anni recurrens perpetua vice, Et flos renafcentis juventae In fenium properantis ^vi. Cum blanda veris temperies novo llluxit orbi, primaque fecula Fulfere flaventi metallo, Sponte fua, fine lege, jufla, Talis per omnes contlnuus tenor Annos tepenti rura Favonio Mulcebat, et nullis feraces Seminibus recrcabat agros. Talis of Sublimity and Beauty. 23. Talis beatis incubat infulis Felicis auras perpetuus tepor, Et nefclis campis fenedlas Difficilis, querulique morbi. Talis filentum per taciturn nemus. Levi fufurrat murmure fpiritus, Lethenque juxta obliviofam Funereas agitat cupreflbs. Forfan fupremis cum Deus ignibus Piabit orbem, laetaque fecula Muado reducet, talis aura -^thereos animos fovebit. Salve fugacis gloria feculi, Salve fecunda digna dies nota, Salve vetuflae vitae imago, Et fpecimen venientis ^Evi. National aflbciations, have a fimilar effed: in increafing the emotions of fublimity and beauty, as they very obvi- oufly increafe the number of images, prefented to the mind. The fine lines which Virgil has dedicated in his Georgics, to the praifes of his native country, however beautiful to us, were yet undoubtedly read with a far fuperior emotion, by an ancient Roman. The prodigies which the fame poet has defcribed, as preceding the death of Caefar, and the ftill more minute defcription which Lucan, in the firfl book of his Pharfalia, has given of fuch events, on the approach of ^24 Of the Nature of the Emotions of the civil war, mufl: probably have given to a Roman, who was under the dominion of fuch national fuperftitions, the (Irongefl emotions of fublimity and terror. But we read them now without any other emotion, than what arifes from the beauty of the compofition. The influence of fuch aflbciations, in increafing either the beauty or fublimity of Mulical compofition, can hardly have efcaped any perfon's obfervation. The tune called Bellille March, is faid, by a very eminent writer, to have owed its popularity among the people of England, to the fuppofition, that it was the tune which was played, when the Englifli army marched into Bellille, and to its conle- quent aflbciation with images of fame, and conqueft, and military glory. There are other tunes of the fame charac- ter, which, without any peculiar merit, yet always ferve to pleafe the people, whenever they are performed. The na- tives of any country, which poflefles a national or charac- teriflic mufic, need not be reminded, how flrongly the per- formance of fuch airs brings back to them the imagery of their native land ; and mufl often have had occafion to re- mark how inferior an emotion they excite in thofe who are ftrangers to fuch aflbciations. The effedl of the cele- brated national fong, which is faid to overpower the Swifs foldier in a foreign land, with melancholy and defpair, and which it is therefore found neceflary to forbid in the armies in which they ferve, cannot furely be attributed to its oj Sublimity and Beauty. 25 its compofition alone, but to the recolledlons that it brings, and to thofe images that it kindles in his mind of peace, and freedom, and domeftic pleafure, from which he is torn, and to which he may never return. Whatever may be the fublimity of Handel's mufic, the fmgular effed: of it on forae late occalions, is, doubtlefs, not to be afcribed to that fublimity alone, but in a peculiar manner to the place where it was performed ; not only from the facrednefs of that place, which is, of itfelf, fo well fitted to excite many awful emotions; but in a confiderable degree alfo, from its being the repofitory of fo many " illullrious dead," and the fcene, perhaps of all others, moft facred to thofe who have any fenfibility to the glories of their country. There are aflbciations, alfo, which arife from particular profeffions, or habits of thought, which ferve very well to illuflrate the fame obfervation. No man, in general, is fen- fible to beauty, in thofe fubjedls with regard to which he has not previous ideas. The beauty of a theory, or of a re- lic of antiquity, is unintelligible to a peafant. The charms of the country are altogether lofl upon a citizen, who has palled his life in town. In the fame manner, the more that our ideas are increafed, or our conceptions extended upon any fubjedt, the greater the number of aflbciations we con- ned: with it, the llronger is the emotion of fublimity or beauty we receive from it. The 26 Of the Nature of the Emotions The pleafure, for inflance, which the generality of man- kind receive from any celebrated painting, is trifling when compared to that which a painter feels, if he is a man of any common degree of candour. What is, to them, only an accurate reprefentation of nature, is, to him, a beautiful ex- ertion of genius, and a perfed: difplay of art. The difficul- ties which occur to his mind in the defign and execution of fuch a performance, and the teflimonies of fkill, of tafte, and of invention, which the accompliflnnent of it exhibit, excite a variety of emotions in his breaft, of which the common fpe(Slator is altogether unfufceptible ; and the ad- miration with which he thus contemplates the genius and art of the painter, blends itfelf with the peculiar emotions which the pidlure itfelf can produce, and enhances to him every beauty that it may poflefs. The beauty of any fcene in nature is feldom fo ftriking to others, as it is to a landfcape painter, or to thofe who profefs the beautiful art of laying out grounds. The diffi- culties both of invention and execution which from their profeffions are familiar to them, render the profufion with which nature often fcatters the mofl pidurefque beauties, little lefs than miraculous. Every little circumflance of form and perfpedive, and light and fliade, which are un- noticed by a common eye, are important in theirs, and mingling in their minds the ideas of difficulty, and facility in overcoming it, produce altogether an emotion of delight, incomparably o/* Sublimity rt-w^ Beauty. 27 incomparably more animated than any that the generality of mankind ufually derive from it. The delight which mofl men of education receive from the confideration of antiquity, and the beauty that they difcover in every objedl which is connedted with ancient times, is in a great meafure to be afcrlbed to the fame caufe. The antiquarian, in his cabinet, furrounded by the relics of former ages, feems to himfelf to be removed to periods that are long fince pall, and indulges in the imagination of living in a world, which, by a very natural kind of pre- judice, we are always willing to believe was both wifer and better than the prefent. All that is venerable or laudable in the hiftory of thefe times prefent themfelves to his me- mory. The gallantry, the heroifm, the patriotifm of anti- quity rife again before his view, foftened by the obfcurity in which they are involved, and rendered more feducing to the imagination by that obfcurity itfelf, which, while it mingles a fentiment of regret amid his purfuits, ferves at the fame time to flimulate his fancy to fill up by its own crea- tion thofe long intervals of time of which hifiory has pre- ferved no record. The relics he contemplates feem to ap- proach him ftill nearer to the ages of his regard. The drefs, the furniture, the arms of the times, are fo many afliflances to his imagination, in guiding or dire(5ling its exercife, and offering him a thoufand fources of imagery, provide him with an almoft inexhauftible field in which his memory and D 2 his 28 Of the Nature nf the Emotions his fancy may expatiate. There are few men who have not felt fomewhat, at leaft, of the delight of fuch an em- ployment. There is no man in the lead acquainted with the hiflory of antiquity, who does not love to let his ima- gination loofe on the profped: of its remains, and to whom they are not in fome meafure facred, from the innu- merable images which they bring. Even the peafant, whofe knowledge of former times extends but to a few generations, has yet in his village fome monument of the deeds or virtues of his forefathers j and cheriflies with a fond veneration the memorial of thofe good old times to which his imagination returns with delight, and of which he loves to recount the fimple tales that tradition has brought him. And what is it that conflitutes that emotion of fublime delight, which every man of common fenfibility feels upon the firft profped of Rome ? It is not the fcene of deftrudion which is before him. It is not the Tyber diminilhed in his imagination to a paultry ftream, flowing amid the ruins of that magnificence which it once adorned. It is not the tri- umph of fuperftition over the wreck of human greatnefs, and its monuments ereded upon the very fpot where the firft honours of humanity have been gained. It is ancient Rome which fills his imagination. It is the country of Cae- fer, and Cicero, and Virgil, which is before him. It is the miftrefs of the world which he fees, and who feems to him to rife again from her tomb, to give laws to the uni- v.erfe* o/" Sublimity and Beauty. 29 verfe. All that the labours of his youth, or the ftudies of his maturer age have acquired with regard to the hiftory of this great people, open at once before his imagination, and prefent him with a field of high and folemn imagery which can never be exhaufted. Take from him thefe aflbciatious, conceal from him that it is Rome that he fees, and how dif- ferent would be his emotion ! II. The effed: which is thus produced, by Aflbciations, in in- creafing the emotions of fublimity or beauty, is produced alfo, either in nature, or in defcription, by what are gene- rally termed Pidurefque Objeds. Inftances of fuch objedts are familiar to every one's obfervation. An old tower in the middle of a deep wood, a bridge flung acrofs a chafm between rocks, a cottage on a precipice, are common ex- amples. If I am not miftaken, the effed which fuch ob- jeds have on every one's mind, is to fuggefl an additional train of conceptions, befide what the fcene or defcription it- felf would have fuggefled ; for It is very obvious, that no objeds are remarked as pidurefque, which do not flrike the imagination by themfelves. They are, in general, fuch cir- cumflances, as coincide, but are not neceflarily conneded, with the charader of the fcene or defcription, and which at firft aifeding the mind with an emotion of furprife, pro duce 30 Of the Nature of the Emotions duce afterwards an increafed or additional train of image- ry. The effed: of fuch objeds, in increafing the emotions either of beauty or fublimity, will probably be obvious from the following inflances. The beauty of funfet, in a fine autumnal evening, feems almoft incapable of addition from any circumftance. The various and radiant colouring of the clouds, the foft light of the fun, that gives fo rich a glow to every objedl which it falls, the dark fliades with which it is contrafted, and the calm and deep repofe that feems to fteal over univerfal nature, form altogether a fcene, which ferves perhaps bet- ter than any other in the world, to fatiate the imagination with delight : Yet there is no man who does not know how great an addition this fine fcene is capable of receiving from the circumftance of the evening bell. In what, however, does the efFed: of this moil pidurefque circumftance con- fift ? Is it not in the additional images which are thus fug- gefled to the imagination? images indeed of melancholy and fadnefs, but which flill are pleafing, and which ferve moft wonderfully to accord with that folemn and penfive ftate of mind, which is almofl irreliftibly produced by this charming fcene. Nothing can be more beautiful than Dr Goldfmith's de- icription of evening, in the Deferted Village. Sweet of Sublimity and Beauty. 31 Sweet was the found, when oft at evening's clofe Up yonder hill the village murmur rofe. There as I pafs'd with carelefs fteps and flow, The mingling notes came foften'd from bel9W : The fwain refponiive as the milk-maid fung, The fober herd that low'd to meet their young. The noify geefe that gabbl'd o'er the pool, The playful children juft let loofe from fchool, The watch dog's voice that bay'd the whifpering wind, And the loud laugh, that fpoke the vacant mind : Yet how much is the beauty of this defcription increafed, by the fine circumflance with which it is clofed ? Thefe all in foft confufion fought the ftiade, And fiU'd each paufe the nightingale had made. There is a beauty of the fame kind produced in the " Sea- " fons," by the addition of one of the moft pidlurefque circumftances that was ever imagined by a poet. Lead me to the mountain brow, Where fits the fliepherd on the grafly turf, Inhaling, healthful, the defcending fun. Around him feeds his many bleating flock Of various cadence, and his fportive lambs Their frolics play \, and now the fprightly race Invites J 2 Of the Nature of the Emotions Invites them forth, when fwift the fignal given They ftart away, and fweep the raofly mound That runs around the hill, the rampart once Of iron war, in ancient barbarous times. Springs The fcene is undoubtedly beautiful of itfelf, without the addition of the lafl circumflance ; yet how much more beau- tiful does it become by the new order of thought which this circumflance awakens in the mind, and which contrafting the remembrance of ancient warfare and turbulent times, with the ferenity and repofe of the modern fcene, agitate the imagination with a variety of indiftind conceptions, which otherwife could never have arifen in it ? The phyfical arguments of Buchanan, in his poem " de " Sphgera," againfl: the dodrine of the motion of the earth, are probably read with little emotion ; but it is impoffible to read the following lines of it without delight, from the very pidurefque imagery which they contain. Ergo tarn celeri tellus fi concita motu Iret in Occafum, rurfufque rediret in Ortum, Cunda fimul quateret fecura, vaftoque fragore, Templa, aedes, miferifque etiam cum civibus, urbes Opprimerit fubitae ftrages inopina ruinae. Ipfse etiam volucres tranantes aera leni Remigio of Sublimity and Beauty. 33 Remigio alarum, celerl vertigine terrae Abreptas gemerent fylvas, nidofque tenella Cum fobole et chara forfan cum conjuge : nee fe Auderet zephyro folus commlttere turtur, Ne procul ablatos, terra fugiente, Hymenaeos Et viduum longo ludu defleret amorem. Lib, I. There is a very flriking beauty of the {ame kind in a little poem of Dr Beattie's, entitled, " Retirement." Thy {hades, thy (ilence now be mine, Thy charms my only theme : My haunt, the hollow cliff, whofe pine Waves o'er the gloomy flream, "Where the fcar'd owl on pinions grey Bteaks from the ruftling boughs, And down the lone vale fails away To more profound repole. " All," fays Mr Whately, in defcribing the Tinian Lawn at Hagley, " all here is of an even temper, all mild, placid " and ferene, in the gayeft feafon of the day, not more " than cheerful, in the ftilleft watch of night, not gloomy. " The fcene is indeed peculiarly adapted to the tranquillity " of the latter, when the moon feems to repofe her light " on the thick foliage of the grove, and fteadily marks the E . " fliade 34 Of the Nature of the Emotions " Ihade of every bough. It is delightful then to faunter " here, and fee the grafs and the goilamer which entwines " it gliftening with dew, to llften and hear nothing llir, ex- " cept perhaps a withered leaf, dropping gently through a " tree, and fhekered from the chill, to catch the frelhnefs " of the evening air." It is difficult to conceive any thing more beautiful than this defcription, yet how much is its beauty increafed' by the concluding circumftance ? "A fo- " litary um, chofen by Mr Pope for the fpot, and now in- " fcribed to his memory, when feen by a gleam of moon- " light through the trees, fixes that thoughtfulnefs and com- " pofure, to which the mind is infenfibly led by the reft of " this elegant fcene." Obfervations on Gardeni7ig, p. 201. I fliall conclude thefe inftances of the effed of pidurefque objedts, in increafing the emotion of Beauty, jwith a paflage from the Iliad, which contains one of the moft flriking images that I know of in poetry, and which I am the more willing to quote, as it has not been fo much taken notice of as it deferves. It is the appearance of Achilles, when. Phcenix and Ulyfles are fent from the Grecian camp, to ap- peafe his wrath, IloXXa jO/aX tvyofJi^tvca ya4riO')(u 'Y.v))o^ii/ai; A'taxtioco- o/' Sublimity and Beauty. 35 Tov ^' ivPQv (ppiva, rs^'TTOf/^ivov (po^y^ifyi "Kiyuri, Tt^v a^ir i% iva^uvy -KroKiv 'H-irimog oXurirag- jj oyi vvi^ov ere^ffev, aside k^cc kMcc avo^uv- Iliad, Lib. ix. v. 182. Thro' the flill night they march, and hear the roar Of murmuring billows, on the founding {hore, And now arriv'd, where on the fandy bay, The Myrmidonian tents and vellels lay, Amus'd, at eafe, the godlike man they found Pleas'd with the folemn harp's harmonious found. With this he fooths his angry foul, and fings Th' immortal deeds of heroes and of kings. Book ix. V. 236. It was impoflible for the poet, to have imagined any other occupation fo well fitted to the mighty mind of Achilles, or fo effedtual in interefting the reader in the fate of Him whom Dr Beattie calls, with truth, the mod terrific hu- man perfonage that poetical imagination has feigned. The Sublime is increafed in the fame manner, by the ad- dition of pidlurefque objedls. The flriking image with which Virgil concludes the defcription of the prodigies which attended the death of Caefar, is well known. E 2 Scilicet 36 Of the Nature of the Emotions Scilicet et tempus veniet cum finibus illis Agricola, incurvo terrain molitus aratro, Exefa inveniet fcabra. rubigine pila : Aut gravibus raftris, galeas pulfabit inanes, Grandiaque efFofis mirabitur oila fepulchris. There are few pafTages more fublime in the Pharfalia of Lucan, than the defcription in the third Book, of one of Pompey's armies, blocked vip by Csefar in a part of the country where there was no water, and where the foldiers were perifhing with thirfl. After defcribing very minutely, the fruitlefs attempts of the army to obtain relief, and the miferable expedients with which they endeavoured to fiip- ply their wants, he proceeds in the following nervous and beautiful lines, of which, I am perfuaded, the laft circum- fiance is too ftriking to require any comment. O fortunati, fugiens quos barbarus hollis, Fontibus immiflos ftravit per rura veneno. Hos licet in fluvios faniem, tabemque ferarum Pallida, Didaeis, Caefar, nafcentia faxis Infundas aconita palam, Romana juventus Non decepta bibet. — torrentur vifcera flamma Oraque ficca rigent fquamofis afpera Unguis ; Jam marcent venae, nuHoque humore rigatus Aeris alternos angullat Pulmo meatus, Refciffoque nocent fulpiria dura palato. Pandanc of Sublimity and Beauty. ^7 Pandant ora fiti, nodurnumque aera captant. Expedtant imbres, quorum modo cunda natabant Impulfu, et ficcis vultus in nublbus hserent. Qiioque magis miferos undse jejunia folvant Non, fuper arentem Meroen, Cancrique fub axe Qiia nudi Garamantes arant, federe,, fed inter Stagnantem Sicorim et rapidum, deprenfus Iberum Spedat vicinos, fitiens exercitus, amnes. Lib. 3. ad med.. The fine defcription in the Gierufalemme Liberata, of a fimilar dillrefs in the army of Godfrey, before the walls of Jerufalem, has probably been borrowed from this paflage of Lucan; and it is pleafing to obferve, with what addrefs Taflb has imitated, though not copied, the pidurefque cir- cumllance with which the defcription of the Roman poet is clofed. Inftead of aggravating the diftrefs of the foldier, by the profped of waters, which he could not approach, he recals to his remembrance, the cool fhades, and flill foun- tains of his native land : a circumflance, not only Angular- ly pathetic, but more fertile alfo of imagery, than perhaps any other that the poet could have imagined. S'alcun giamai tra frondeggiente rive Puro vide flagnar liquido argento, O giu precipitofe vi acque vive Per Alpe, o'n piaggia erbofo a paflb lento : Chiello 38 Of the Nature of the Emotions Quello al vago defio forma, e defcrive, E miniftra materia al fuo tormento. InThomfon's deicription of Winter in the northern regions, though the defcription itfelf is fublime, yet one additional circumftance adds powerfully to its fublimity. Thence winding eaftward to the Tartar coafl. She fweeps the howling margin of the main, Where undiflblving from the firfl of time Snows fwell on fnows, amazing to the flcy, And icy mountains, high on mountains pil'd, Seem to the ftiivering failor, from afar Shapelefs and white, an atmoiphere of clouds. Ocean itfelf no longer can refifl The binding fury : but in all its rage . Of tempeft taken by the boundlefs frofl Is many a fathom, to the bottom chain'd, And bid to roar no more — a bleak expanfe Shagg'd o'er with wavy rocks, cheerlefs and void Of every life, that from the dreary months Flies confcious, fouthward. Miferable they I Who here entangled in the gathering ice Take their laft look of the defcending fun, While full of death, and fierce with tenfold froft The long long night, incumbent o'er their heads Falls horrible. In fi/" Sublimity and Beauty. 35. In the following mafterly defcription of a very fublime fcene in nature, by Mr Whately, I doubt not but that it will be acknowledged, how much the fublimity of it is in- creafed, by the very picSurefque imagery which the occu- pations of the inhabitants afford. " A fcene at the New " Weir, on the river Wye, which in itfelf is truly great " and awful, fo far from being diflurbed, becomes more " interefting and important, by the bufinefs to which it is " deflined. It is a chafm between two ranges of hills, " which rife ahnofi; perpendicularly from the water ; the " rocks on the fides are moflly heavy mafles, and their co- " lour is generally brown^ but here and there a pale crag- " gy cliff' ftarts up to a vafl height above the reft, uncon- " ncdted, broken and bare : large trees frequently force " out their way amongff; them, and many of them ftand " far back in the covert, where their natural dufky hue is '* deepened by the ihadow which overhangs them. The ri- " ver too, as it retires, lofes itfelf amid the woods, which " clofe immediately above, then rife thick and high, and " darken the water. In the midfl: of all this gloom, is an " iron forge, covered with a black cloud of fmoke, and " furrounded with half burned ore, with coal, and with " cinders. The fuel for it is brought down a path, worn " into fleps, narrow, and fteep, and winding among the " precipices j and near it is an open {pace of barren muir, " about which are fcattered^the huts of the workmen. It " ftands 40 Of the Nature of the Emotions " ftands clofe to the cafcade of the Weir, where the aglta- " tion of the current is increafed by large fraginents of " rocks which have been fwept down by floods from the " banks, or (hivered by tempefls from the brow j and at " ftated intervals, the fullen found, from the ftrokes of the " great hammers in the forge, deadens the roar of the *' waterfall." Page 109. There is a fimilar^ beauty, if I am not miftaken, in the concluding llroke of the following paflage from Monf. Di- derot. " Qu'ell ce qu'il faut au poete ? Efl-ce une nature brute " ou cultivee ? paifible ou troublee ? Prefera-t-il la beaute " d'un jour pur et lerein, a I'horreur d'une nuit obfcure, ** ou le fiflement interrompu des vents fe mele par interval- " les au murmure fourd et continu d'un tonnerre eloigne, " et ou il voit I'eclair allumer le ciel fur fa tete ? Prefera- " t-il le Ipedlacle d'une mer tranquille, a celui des flots agi- " tees? le muet et froid afped d'un palais, a la promenade " parmi des ruines ? un edifice conftruit, un efpece plante " de la main des hommes, au touffu d'une antique foret, " au creux ignore d'une roche deferte ? des nappes d'eau, " des baflins, des cafcades, a la vue d'une catarade qui fe ^* brife en tombant a travers des rochers, et dont le bruit fe " fait o/' Sublimity and Beauty. 41 " fait entendre au loin du berger, qui a conduit Ton trou- " peau dans la montagne, et qui I'ecoute avec effroi?" Epitre a Motif. Grimm, fur la Poefie Dramatique. I fliall conclude thefe illuflrations with a very fubllme one from the Paradife Regained of Milton, in which I be- lieve the force of the concluding ftroke will not be de- nied. ■Either tropic now 'Gan thunder, and both ends of heaven •, the clouds From many a horrid rift abortive, pour'd Fierce rain, with lightening mixed : nor flept the winds Within their ftony caves, but rufh'd abroad From the four hinges of the world, and fell On the vext wildernefs, whofe tallefl pines Tho' rooted deep as high, and flurdieft oaks Bow'd their fliff necks, loaden with ftormy blafts Or torn up Iheer 111 waft Thou fhrouded then O patient Son of God ! Book 4, In thefe and a thoufand other inftances that might be pro- duced, I believe every man of fenfibility will be confcious of a variety of great or pleafing images paffing with rapidi- ty in his imagination, beyond what the fcene or defcription ^ immediately before him can of themfelves excite. They E feem 42 of the Nature of the Emotions feem often, indeed, to have but a very diftant relation to the objed: that at firft excited them ; and the objed Itfelf, appears only to ferve as a hint, to awaken the Imagination, and to lead it through every analogous idea that has place in the memory. It is then, indeed, in this powerlefs ftate of reverie, when we are carried on by our conceptions, not guiding them, that the deepeft emotions of beauty or fubli- mity are felt, that our hearts fwell with feelings which language is too weak to exprefs, and that in the depth of filence and aflonifhment we pay to the charm that enthrals us, the mofl flattering mark of our applaufe. " The power of fuch characters in Nature," fays Mr Whately (from whom I am happy to borrow the following obfervations, not only from the beauty of their expreilion, but from their fingular coincidence in the illullration of the fad I have been endeavouring to eflablifli) '' the power of " fuch charaders is not confined to the ideas which the ob- *' jeds themfelves immediately fuggefl j for thefe are con- " neded with others, which infenfibly lead to fubjeds far " diftant perhaps from the original thought, and related to " it only by fimilitude in the fenfations they excite. In a " profped enriched and enlivened with inhabitants and cul- " tivation, the attention is caught firft by the circumftances " which are gayeft in the feafon, the bloom of an orchard, " the feftivity of a hay field, and the carols of a harvefl " home ; but the cheerfulnefs which thefe infufe into the " mind, o/" Sublimity a/id Bemjty. 43. " mind, expands afterwards to other objeds than thofe im- " mediately prefented to the eye, and we are thereby dif- " pofed to receive, and delighted to purfue, a variety of " pleafmg ideas, and every benevolent feeling. At the " fight of a ruin, refle6i:ions on the change, the decay, and " the defolation before us naturally occur ; and they intro- " duce a long fucceilion of others, all tindlured with that " melancholy which thefe have infpired : or if the monu- " ment revive the memary of former times, we do not ftop " at the fimple fad which it records, but recoiled many " more coeval circumftances, which we fee, not perhaps as " they were, but as they are come down to us, venerable " with age, and magnified by fame. Even without the af- " fiflance of buildings, or other adventitious circumftances, " nature alone furnifhes materials for fcenes which may be " adapted to almoft every kind of expreflion. Their ope- " ration is general, and their confequences infinite : the " mind is elevated, deprefled, or compofed, as gaiety, gloom, " or tranquillity prevail in the fcene, and we foon lofe " fight of the means by which the charader is formed. " We forget the particular objeds it prefents, and giving " way to their eifeds, without recurring to the caufe, we " follow the track they have begun, to any extent, which " the difpofitions they accord with, will allow. It fufHces *' that the fcenes of nature have power to affed our imagi- " nation and our fenfibility : for fuch is the conftitution of ** the human mind, that if once it is agitated, the emotion F 2 '* often 44 Of the Nature of the Emotions " often fpreads beyond the occafion : when the paflions are *' roufed, their courfe is unreflrained, when the fancy is on " the wing, its flight is unbounded, and quitting the inanimate " objeds which firfl gave them their fpring, we may be led " by thought above thought, widely differing in degree, " but flill correfponding in charader, till we rife from fa- " miliar fubjedts up to the fublimeft conceptions, and are " rapt in the contemplation of whatever is great or beau- " tiful, which we fee in nature, feel in man, or attribute *' to the Divinity." Page 154. III. The influence of fuch additional trains of Imagery, in in- creafing the emotions of fublimity or beauty, might be il- luftrated from many other circumfl:ances, equally familiar. I am induced to mention only the following, becaufe it is one of the mofl; fl;riking that I know, and becaufe it is pro- bable that moll men of education have at leaft in fome degree been confcious of it : The influence I mean, of an acquaintance with Poetry in our earlier years, in increafing our fenfibility to the beauties of nature. The generality of mankind live in the world, without re- ceiving any kind of delight, from the various fcenes of beau- ty which its order difplays. The rifing and fetting of the fun, of Sublimity and Beauty. 4^- Tun, the varying afped of the moon, the viciiTitude of fea- fons, the revohition of the planets, and all the flupendous fcenery that they produce, are to them only common occur- rences, like the ordinary events of every day. They have been fo long familiar, that they ceafe to flrike them with any appearance either of magnificence or beauty, and are regarded by them, with no other fentiments than as being ufeful for the purpofes of human life. We may all remem- ber a period in our lives, when this was the ftate of our own minds ; and it is probable moft men will recoiled, that the time when nature began to appear to them in another view, was, when they were engaged in the ftudy of clallical literature. In moft men, at leaft, the firft appearance of poetical imagination is at fchool, when their imaginations begin to be warmed by the defcriptions of ancient poetry, and when they have acquired a new fenfe as it were, with which they can behold the face of nature. How different, from this period, become the fentiments with which the fcenery of nature is contemplated, by thofe who have any imagination ! The beautiful forms of an- cient mythology, with which the fancy of poets peopled every element, are now ready to appear to their minds, up- on the profpedl of every fcene. The defcriptions of ancient authors, fo long admired, and fo deferving of admiration, occur to them at every moment, and with them, all thofe enthufiaftic ideas of ancient genius and glory, which the ftudy 46 of the Nature of the Emotions fludy of fo many years of youth, fo naturally leads them tor form. Or, if the ftudy of modern poetry has fucceeded to that of the ancient, a thoufand other beautiful aflbciations. are acquired, which inflead of deftroying, ferve eafily to unite with the former, and to afford a new fource of de- light. The awful forms of Gothic fuperflition, the wild and romantic imagery, which the turbulence of the middle ages, the Crufades, and the inftitution of chivalry have fpread over every country of Europe, arife to the imagina- tion in every fcene ; accompanied with all thofe pleafing re- collections of prowefs, and adventure, and courteous man- ners, which diftinguiftied thofe memorable times. With fuch images in their minds, it is not common nature that appears to furround them. It is nature embelliftied and made facred by the memory of Theocritus and Virgil, and Milton and Taffo j their genius feems ftill to linger among the fcenes which infpired it, and to irradiate every objed where it dwells j and the creation of their fancy, feem the fi.t inhabitants of that nature, which their defcriptions have clothed with beauty. Nor is it only in providing fo many fources of affociation, that the influence of an acquaintance with poetry confifts. It is yet ftill more powerful in giving character to the different appearances of nature, in connecting them with various emotions and affedtions of our hearts, and in thus providing an almoft inexhauftible fource either of folemn or of cheer- ful of Sublimity and Beauty. 47 ful meditation. What to ordinary men is but common oc- currence, or common fcenery, to thofe who have fuch aflb- ciations, is full of beauty. The feafons of the year, which are marked only by the generality of mankind, by the dif- ferent occupations or amufements they bring, have each of them, to fuch men, peculiar expreffions, and awaken them to an exercife either of pleafing or of awful thought. The feafons of the day, which are regarded only by the com- mon fpedator, as the call to labour, or to reft, are to them charadleriftic either of cheerfulnefs or folemnity, and con- neded with all the various emotions which thefe charaders excite. Even the familiar circumftances of general nature, which pafs unheeded by a common eye, the cottage, the flieep-fold, the curfew, all have expreffions to them, be- caufe, in the compofitions to which they have been ac- cuftomed, thefe all are afTociated with peculiar charadlers, or rendered expreffive of them, and leading them to the remembrance of fuch aflbciations, enable them to behold with correfponding difpofitions, the fcenes which are be- fore them, and to feel from their profpedl, the fame power- ful influence, which the eloquence of poetry has afcribed to them. Aflbciations of this kind, when acquired in early life, are feldom altogether loft ; and whatever inconveniencies they may fometimes have with regard to the general charadler, or however much they may be ridiculed by thofe who do not 48 Of the Nature of the Emotions not experience them, they are yet produdive to thofe who poflefs them, of a perpetual and innocent delight. Nature herfelf is their friend ; in her mofh dreadful, as well as her moll lovely fcenes, they can difcover fom^ething either to elevate their imaginations, or to move their hearts ; and a- mid every change of fcenery, or of climate, can Hill find themfelves, among the early objeds of their admiration, or their love. CHAP- of Sublimity and Beauty. 49 CHAPTER II, Analysis of this Exercise 0/ Imagination. SECTION L npHE illuftrations in the preceding chapter, feem to fhew, -■- that whenever the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty are felt, that exercife of Imagination is produced, which con- lifts in the indulgence of a train of thought ; that when this exercife is prevented, thefe emotions are unfelt or unper- ceived ; and that whatever tends to increafe this exercife of mind, tends in the fune proportion to increafe thefe emo- tions. If thefe illuftrations are juft, it feems reafonable to conclude, that the effed produced upon the mind, by ob- jeds of Sublimity and Beauty, confifts in the produdion of this exercife of Imagination. Although, however, this conclufion feems to me both jufl and confonant to experience, yet it is in itfelf too general, to be conlidered as a fufficient account of the nature of that operation of mind which takes place in the cafe of fuch E- motions. There are many trains of ideas of which we are confcious, which are unattended with any kind of pleafure. G There JO Of the Nature of the Emotions There are other operations of mind, in which fuch trains of thought are neceflarily produced, without exciting any fimi- lar emotion. Even in the common hours of life, every man is confcious of a continued fucceflion of thoughts paf- fing through his mind, fuggefted either by the prefence of external objeds, or ariling from the eftablifhed laws of af- fociation : fuch trains of thought, however, are feldom at- tended with pleafure, and flill feldomer with an emotion, correfponding in any degree, to the emotions of fublimity or beauty. There are, in like manner, many cafes where objeds ex- cite a train of thought in the mind, without exciting any emotion of pleafure or delight. The profped of the houfe, for inflance, where one has formerly lived, excites veiy na- turally a train of conceptions in the mind ; yet it is by no means true that fuch an exercife of imagination is necefla- rily accompanied with pleafure, for thefe conceptions not only may be, but very often are of a kind extremely indif- ferent, and fometimes alfo fimply painful. The mention of an event in hiftory, or of a fad: in fcience, naturally leads us to the conception of a number of related events, or fimi- lar fads ; yet it is obvious, that in fuch a cafe the exercife of mind which is produced, if it Is accompanied with any pleafure at all, is in moft cafes accompanied with a pleafure very different from that which attends the emotions of fu- blimity or beauty. If d/" Sublimity ^//^ Beauty. 51 If therefore fome train of thought, or fome exerclfe of Imagination is neceflary for the produ6lion of the emotions of Tafte, it is obvious, that this is not every train of thought of which we are capable. To afcertain therefore with any precifion, either the nature or the caufes of thefe emotions, it is previoufly neceffary to inveftigate the nature of thofe trains of thought that are produced by objeds of fubli- mity and beauty, and their difference from thofe ordinary trains, which are unaccompanied with fuch pleafure. As far as I am able to judge, this difference confifts in two things. \Jl, In the Nature of the ideas or conceptions which compofe fuch trains : and, ^dly, In the Nature or Law of their fucceflion. I. In our ordinary trains of thought, every man mufl be confcious that the ideas which compofe them, are very fre- quently of a kind which excite no emotions either of plea- fure or pain. There is an infinite variety of our ideas, as well as of our fenfations, that may be termed IndifFerent, which are perceived without any fentlment either of pain or pleafure, and which pafs as it were before the mind, without making any farther Impreflion than fimply exci- ting the confcioufnefs of their exiftence. That fuch ideas G 2 compofe 52 Of the Nature of the Emotions compofe a great part, and perhaps the greatefl; part of our ordinary trains of thought, is apparent from the fingle con- fideration, that fuch trains are feldom attended with emo- tion of any kind. The trains of thought which are fuggefted by external objeds, are very frequently of a fimilar kind. The greater part of fuch obje6ls are fimply indifferent, or at leafl are regarded as indifferent in our common hours either of oc- cupation or amufement : the conceptions which they produce, by the laws of ailbciation partake of the nature or charac- ter of the objed; which originally excited them, and the whole train pafles through our mind without leaving any farther emotion, than perhaps that general emotion of plea- fure which accompanies the exercife of our faculties. It is fcarcely poilible for us to pafs an hour of our lives without experiencing fome train of thought of this kind, fuggefted by fome of the external objeds which happen to furround us. The indifference with which fuch trains are either pur- fued or deferted, is a fufEcient evidence, that the ideas of which they are compofed, are in general of a kind unfitted to produce any emotion either of pleafure or pain. In the cafe of thofe trains of thought, on the contrary, which are fuggefted by objeds either of Sublimity or Beau- ty, I apprehend it will be found, that they are in all cafes compofed of ideas capable of exciting fome affedion or emo- tion ; of Sublimity and Beauty. ^-^ tion i and that not only the whole fuccellion is accompanied with that peculiar emotion, which we call the Emotion of Beauty or Sublimity, but that every individual idea of fuch a fuccellion is in itfelf produdive of fome fimple Emotion or other. Thus the ideas fuggefted by the fcenery of Spring, are ideas produdlive of emotions of Cheerfulnefs, of Glad- nefs, and of Tendernefs. The images fuggefled by the pro- Ipedl: of ruins, are images belonging to Pity, to Melancholy, and to Admiration. The ideas in the fame manner awa- kened by the view of the ocean in a ftorm, are ideas of Power, of Majefty, and of Terror. In every cafe where the emotions of Tafte are felt, I conceive it will be found, tl^at the train of thought which is excited. Is diftinguifhed by fome charadler of emotion, and that it is by this means diflinguifhed from our common or ordinary fuccellions of thought. To prevent a very tedious and unnecellary cir- cumlocution, fuch ideas may perhaps, without any impro- priety, be termed Ideas of Emotion ; and I ihall beg leave therefore to ufe the expreffion In this fenfe. The firft clrciimflance, then, which feems to dillinguifli thofe trains of thought which are produced by objeds ei- ther of Sublimity or Beauty, is, that the ideas or concep- tions of which they are compofed, are ideas of Emotion. n. 54 Of the Nature of the Emotions II. In our ordinary trains of thought, there feldom appears any general principle of connection among the ideas which compofe them. Each idea, indeed, is related by an efta- blilTied law of our nature, to that which immediately pre- ceded and that which immediately follows it, but in the whole feries there is no predominant relation or bond of connexion. This want of general connexion is fo ftrong, that even that moft general of all relations, the relation either of pleafure or pain, is frequently violated. Images both of the one kind and the other, fucceed each other in the courfe of the train ; and when we put an end to it, we are often at a lofs to fay, whether the whole feries was pleafant or pain- ful. Of this irregularity, I think every man will be con- vinced who chufes to attend to it. In thofe trains, on the contrary, which are fuggefled by objeds of Sublimity or Beauty, however flight the connec- tion between individual thoughts may be, I believe it will be found, that there is always fome general principle of connedion which pervades the whole, and gives them fome certain and definite charader. They are either gay, or pa- thetic, or melancholy, or folemn, or awful, or elevating, l^c. according to the nature of the emotion which is firft excited. (/Sublimity and Beauty. 55 excited. Thus the profped of a ferene evening in fummer, produces firft an emotion of peacefulnefs and tranquillity, and then fuggefts a variety of images correfponding to this primary impreffion. The fight of a torrent, or of a florm, in the fame manner, imprefles us firfl with fentiments of awe, or folemnity, or terror, and then awakens in our minds a ferles of conceptions allied to this peculiar emo- tion. Whatever may be the character of the original emo- tion, the images which fucceed feem all to have a relation to this character J and if we trace them back, we fhali dif- cover not only a connection between the individual thoughts of the train, but alfo a general relation among the whole^ and a conformity to that peculiar emotion which firfl exci- ted them. The train of thought, therefore, which takes place in the mind, upon the profpedt of objeds of fublimity and beauty, may be confidered as confifting in a regular or confiftent train of ideas of emotion, and as diflinguilhed from our or- dinary trains of thought, iji, In refped of the Nature of the ideas of which it is compofed, by their being ideas pro- dudive of Emotion ^ and, 2^/v, In refped of their Succef- fion, by their being diftinguifhed by fome general principle of connedion, which fubfifts through the whole extent of the train. The ^6 Of the Nature of the Emotions The truth of the account which I have now given of the (nature of that train of thought which attends the emotions ■of fublimity and beauty, muft undoubtedly at laft be deter- mined by its conformity to general experience and obferva- tion. There are fome confiderations however, of a very obvious and familiar kind, which it may be ufeful to fuggefl to the reader, for the purpofe of affording him a method of inveftigating with accuracy the truth of this account. If it is true that the ideas which compofe that train of thought, which attends the emotions of Tafte, are uniformly ideas of Emotion, then it ought in fa6t to be found, that no objedls or qualities are experienced to be beautiful or fu- blime, but fuch as are produ6tive of fome fimple Emotion. If it is true that fuch trains of thought are uniformly di- ftinguiflied by fome general principle of connexion, then it ought alfo to be found, that no Compofition of objeds or qualities produces fuch emotions, in which this Unity of character or of emotion is not preferved. I {hall endeavour, at fome length, to illuftrate the truth of both thefe propofitions. SECT- of Sublimity and Beauty. 57 SECTION II. THAT no objeds, or qualities in objeds, are, in fad, felt either as beautiful or fublime, but luch as are pro- dudive of fome Simple Emotion, feems evident from the following familiar confiderations. I. Wherever the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty are felt, I believe it will be found, that fome afiedion is uniformly excited, by the prefence of the objed, before the more complex Emotion of Beauty is felt 3 and that if no fuch affedion is excited, no Emotion of Beauty or Sublimity is produced. The truth of this obfervation may be illuftrated, both from common language, and common experience. I. If any man were to aflert, that fome objed, though pofitively indifferent or uninterefting, was yet beautiful or fublime, every one would confider it as allertlng an abfurdity. If, on the other hand, he were to affert, that the objed had neither beauty nor fublimity to him, becaufe there was no quality in it which could give him any emotion, I appre- hend we fhould not only clearly underftand his meaning, H but 58 Of the Nature of the Emotions but very readily allow his reafon ; and if the objedl were luch as appeared to us in the light either of Sublimity or Beauty, and we wifhed to make him fenfible of it, the way that we (liould naturally take, would be to point out to him fome affedling or interefting quality, which we imagi- ned he had overlooked, and which we felt was the founda- tion of our own emotion. There is undoubtedly a very great difference between the Emotion of Talle, and any Simple Emotion, as of Cheerful- nefs, Tendernefs, Melancholy, Solemnity, Elevation, Terror, i^c. as fuch emotions are frequently felt, without any fenti- ment of Beauty or Sublimity ; but there is no cafe, I be- lieve, where the Emotions of Talle are felt, without the previous production of fome fuch Simple Emotion. It is often indeed difficult to fay, what is the quality in the ob- jedl which produces the Emotion of Beauty 3 and it is fome- times difficult, in the cafe of complex objeds, when diffe- rent qualities unite in the produdion of Emotion, to define the exadl nature of that Emotion which we feel ; but whe- ther the general impreffion we receive, is that of Gaiety, or Tendernefs, or Melancholy, or Solemnity, or Elevation, or Terror, i^c. we have never any difficulty of determining : and fo ftrong is our convidion of the dependence of the E- motions of Tafle upon fome fuch previous fimple emotion, that whenever we endeavour to explain the Beauty or Su- blimity of any objed, we uniformly proceed by pointing out cf Sublimity and Beauty. 59 out the interefting or affedling quality in it, which is fitted to produce this previous emotion. It is not only impofllble for us to imagine an objedl of Tafte, that is not an objecH: of Emotion ; but it is impolllble to defcribe any fuch objedt, without refting the defcription upon that quality, or thofe qualities in It, which are produd;ive of Simple Emotion. 2. Every man has had reafon to obferve a diflerence in his fentiments, with regard to the beauty of particular objeds from thofe of other people, either in his confidering certain objeds as beautiful, which did not appear fo to them, or in their confidering certain objedls as beautiful, which did not appear fo to him. There is no inftance of this more common than in the cafe of airs in mufic. In the firfl cafe of fuch a difference of opinion, we generally endeavour to recoiled, whether there is not fome accidental affociatlon of pleafure which we have with fuch objeds, and which af- fords us that delight which other people do not fhare ; and it not unfrequently happens, that we aflign fuch afTocIatlons as the caufe of our pleafure, and as our apology for differing from their opinion. In the other cafe, we generally take it for granted, that they who feel a beauty where we do not, have fome pleafing affociatlon with the objedt in queftion, of which we are unconfcious, and which is accordingly produc- tive to them of that delight in which we are unable to fhare. In both cafes, altho' we may not difcover what the particu- lar ailbciation is, we do not fail to fuppofe that fome fuch H 2 affociatlon 6o Of the Nature of the Emotions aflbciatlon exifts which is the foundation of the fentiment of beauty, and to confider this difference of opinion as fuf- ficiently accounted for on fuch a fuppofition. This very natural kind of reafoning could not, I think, take place, if we did not find from experience, that thofe objeds only, are produdlive of the Sentiment of Beauty, which are ca- pable of exciting Emotion. 3. The different habits and occupations of life produce a fimilar effe6l on the fentiments of mankind with regard to the objedls of Tafle, by their tendency to confine their fenfibility to a certain clafs of objeds, and to render all others indifferent to them. In our progrefs from infancy to manhood, how much do our fentiments of beauty change with our years ! how often, in the courfe of this progrefs, do we look back with contempt, or at leaft with wonder; upon the taftes of our earlier days, and the objedls that gra- tified them ! and how unifonnly in all this progrefs do our opinions of Beauty coincide with the prevalent Emotions of our hearts, and with that change of fenfibility which the progrefs of life occafions ! As foon as any clafs of objects lofes its importance in our efteem, as foon as their pre- fence ceafes to bring us pleafure, or their abfence to give us pain, the beauty in which our infant imagination array- ed them difappears, and begins to irradiate another clafs of objeds, which we are willing to flatter ourfelves are more deferving of fuch fentiments, but which have often no other value, (?/^ Sublimity and Beauty. 6i value, than in their coincidence with thofe new emotions that begin to fwell in our breafts. The little circle of in- fant beauty, contains no other objedls than thofe that can excite the affedions of the child. The wider range which youth difcovers, is ftill limited by the fame boundaries which nature has prefcribed to the affedlions of youth. It is only when we arrive at manhood, and ftill more, when either the liberality of our education, or the original capa- city of our minds, have led us to experience or to partici- pate in all the affedions of our nature, that we acquire that comprehenfive tafte, which can enable us to difcover, and. to relifh, every fpecies of Sublimity and Beauty. It is eafily obfervable, alfo, that befides the natural progrefs of life, the habits of thought, which men ac- quire from the diverfity of their occupations, tend, in the fame proportion to limit their fenfe of Beauty or Subli- mity, as they limit their emotions to a particular charader or kind. The lover reads or hears with indifference, of all that is mofl fublime in the hiftory of ambition, and won- ders only at the folly of mankind, who can facrifice their eafe, their comforts, and all the beft pleafures of life, to the unfubllantial purfuit of power. Tlie man, whofe life has been palled in the purfuits of commerce, and who has learned to eftimate every thing by its value in money, laughs at the labours of the Philofopher or the Poet, and beholds, with indiflerence>. 62 Of the Nature of the Emotions irtdlfference, the moil: Iplendid purfuits of life, if they are not repaid by wealth. The anecdote of a late celebrated Mathematician, is well known, who read the Paradife Loft, without being able to difcover in it, any thing that was fublirae, but who faid that he could never read the queries at the end of Newton's Optics, without feeling his hair ftand on end, and his blood run cold. There are thoufands who have read the old ballad of Chevy Chafe, without having their imaginations inflamed with the ideas of military glory. It is the Brave only, who, in the perufal of it, like the gallant Sir Philip Sydney, feel " their hearts " moved, as by the found of a trumpet." The effed: of fuch habits of mind upon the fenfe of Beauty, may, in fome degree, be obferved in all the different clafles of mankind ; and there are probably few men, who have not had occafion to remark how much the diverfity of taftes correfponds to the diverfity of occupations, and, even in the moft trifling things, how ftrongly the fentiments of Beauty, in different men, are exprefllve of their prevailing habits, or turn of mind. It is only in the higher ftations accordingly, or in the liberal profeflions of life, that we €xpe6l to find men either of a delicate or comprehenfive tafte. The inferior fituations of life, by contrafting the knowledge and the affedions of men, within very narrow limits, produce infenfibly a fimilar contradion in their no- tions of the beautiful or the fublime. The finefl natural tafte, ^Sublimity and Beauty. 63 tafte, is leldom found able to withftand that narrownefs and infenfibility of mind, which is perhaps neceflarily acquired by the minute and uninterefting details of the mechanical arts; and they who have been doomed, by their profcflions, to pafs their earlier years in populous and commercial cities, and in the narrow and felfifh purfuits which prevail there, foon lofe that fenfibility which is the moft natural of all, — the fenfibility to the beauties of the country ; becaufe they lofe all thofe fentiments of tendernefs and innocence, which are the foundation of much the greater part of the affocia- tions we connecSl with the fcenery of Nature. 4. The difference of original charadter, or the natural ten- dency of our minds to particular kinds of Emotion, produces a limilar difference in our fentiments of Beauty, and ferves, in a very obvious manner, to limit our tafle to a certain clafs or charader of objedls. There are men, for inftance, who, in all the varieties of external nature, find nothing beautiful but as it tends to awaken in them a fentiment of fadnefs, who meet the return of Spring with minds only prophetic of its decay, and who follow the decline of Autumn with no other remembrance than that the beauties of the year are gone. There are men, on the contrary, to whom every appearance of Nature is beautiful as awakening a fentiment of gaiety;— to whom Spring and Autumn alike are welcome, becaufe they bring to them only different images of joy ; — and who, even in the moft defolate and wintery fcenes, are yet 64 of the Nature of the Emotions yet able to difcover fomething In which their hearts may rejoice. It is not, furely, that Nature herfelf is different, that fo different effects are produced upon the imaginations of thefe men ; but it is becaufe the original conftitution of ■their minds has led them to different habits of Emotion, — becaufe their imaginations feize only thofe exprefiions in nature, which are allied to their prevailing difpofitions, — and becaufe every other appearance is indifferent to them, but thofe which fall in with the peculiar fenfibility of their hearts. The gaiety of Nature alone, is beautiful to the chearful man ; its melancholy, to the man of fadnefs ; be- caufe thefe alone are the qualities which accord with the Emotions they are accuftomed to cherifli, and in which their imaginations delight to indulge. The fame obfervation is equally applicable to the different taftes of men in Poetry, and the reft of the fine arts ; and the produdtions that all men peculiarly admire, are thofe which fuit that peculiar ftrain of Emotion, to which, from their original conftitution, they are moft ftrongly difpofed. The ardent and gallant mind fickens at the infipidity of paftoral, and the languor of elegiac poetry, and delights only in the great interefts of the Tragic and the Epic Mufe. The tender and romaMic perufe, with indifference, the Iliad and the Paradife Loft, and return with gladnefs, to thofe fa- vourite compofitions, which are defcriptive of the joys or forrows of Love. The gay and the frivolous, on the con- trary, . of Sublimity and Beauty. 6^ frary, alike infenfible to the fentiments either of Tendernefs or Magnanimity, find their delight in that cold but lively ftyle of poetry, which has been produced by the gallantry of modern times, and which, in its principal features, is fo ftrongly charaderiftic of the pafHon itfelf. In general, thofe kinds of poetry only are delightful or awaken us to any very fenfible Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, which fall in with our peculiar habits of fentiment or feelings and if it rarely happens, that one fpecies of poetry is relifhed to the exclufion of every other, it arifes only from this, that it is equally rare, that one fpecies of Emotion fhould have fo completely the dominion of the heart, as to exclude all Emotions of any other kind. In proportion, however, as our fenfibility is weak, with regard to any clafs of objedls, it is obfervable, that our fenfe of Sublimity or Beauty in fuch objedls, is weak in the fame proportion ; and where- ver it happens, (for it fometimes does happen), that men, from their original conftitution, are incapable of any one fpecies of Emotion, I believe it will alfo be found, that they are equally infenfible to all the Sublimity or Beauty which the refl of the world find in the objeds of fuch Emotion. 5. Befides the influence of permanent habits of thought, or of the diverfities of original difpofition upon our fentiments of Beauty, every man mufl have had opportunity to ob- ferve, that the perception of Beauty depends alfo on the tem- I pi^rary 66 Of the Nature of the Emotions porary fenfibility of his mind ; and that even objeds of the mofl experienced Beauty, fail in exciting their ufual delight, when they occur to him in moments, when he is under the dominion of different emotions from thofe with which he ufually regards them. In our feafons of gaiety, we be- hold with indifference, the fame objects which delight our imaginations, when we are under the impreflions of tendernefs or melancholy. In our feafons of defpondence, ■\ve turn with fome kind of averfion, from the obje(5ls or the refleilions that enchant us in our hours of gaiety. In the common hours of life, in the fame manner, when we are either bufy, or unoccupied, and when our minds are free from every kind of fenfibility, the objedls of Tafle make but a feeble imprefHon upon us j and are either altogether ne- gleded, or tacitly referved to another time, when we may be more in the temper to enjoy them. The hufband- man.who goes out to obferve the ftate of his grounds, the man of bufinefs who walks forth to ruminate about his af- fairs, or the philofopher, to reafon or refled, whatever their natural fenfibilities may be, are at fuch times infenlible to every beauty that the fcenery of nature may exhibit j nor do they begin to feel them, until they withdraw their atten- tion from the particular objeds of their thought, and aban- don themfelves to the emotions which fuch fcenes may hap- pen to infpire. There o/" Sublimity and Beauty. 67 There are even moments of llflleirnefs and languor, in which no objedls of Tafte whatever, can excite their ufual de- light, in which our favourite books, our favourite landfcapes, our favourite airs, ceafe altogether to affedt us ; and when fometimes we almofl: wonder what is the fecret {pell that hangs over our minds, and prevents us from enjoying the pleafures that are within our reach. It is not that the objedls of fuch pleafures are changed •■, it is not even that we have not the wifh to enjoy them, for this we frequently attempt, and at- tempt in vain ; but it is becaufe we come to them either with minds fatigued', and with fpirits below their ufual tone, or under the influence of other feelings than are neceflary for their enjoyment. Whenever we return to that ftate of mind which is favourable to fuch emotions, our delight re- turns with it, and the objeds of fuch pleafures become as favourite as before. I 2 II. 68 Of the Nature of the Emotions II. It is further obfervable, that our fenfe of the Beauty or Sublimity of every objedt, depends upon that quality, or thofe qualities of it which we conlider j and that objedts of the moft acknowledged beauty, ceafe to affeft us with fuch emotions, when we make any of their indifferent or uninte- refling qualities the obje6l of our confideration. There is no produdion of Tafle whatever, which has not many qua- lities of a very indifferent kind ; and there can be no doubt, both that we have it in our power to make any of thefe qualities the objedt of our attention, and that we very often do fo, without regarding any of thofe qualities of emotion, upon which its Beauty or its Sublimity is founded. In fuch cafes, I believe every one has felt, that the effed upon his mind correfponds to the quality he confiders. I. It is difficult, for inllance, to enumerate the various qua- lities which may produce the Emotion of Beauty, in the fla- tues of the Venus de Medicis, or the Apollo Belvidere ; yet k is undoubtedly pollible for any man to fee thefe mafter- pieces of llatuary, and yet feel no Emotion of Beauty. The delicacy, the modefty, the timidity of the one, the grace, the dignity, the majefty of the other, and in both, the ini- mitable art with which thefe charadlers are expreffed, are, in general, the qualities which firft imprefs themfelves upon the of Sublimity and Beauty. 69 the Imagination of the fpedatorj yet the man of the beft tafte may afterwards fee them, without thinking of any fuch exprefllons. He may obferve their dimenfions, he may fludy -their proportions, he may attend to the particu- lar ftate of their prefervatlon, the hiflory of their difcove- ry, or even the nature of the marble of which they are made. All thefe are as truly qualities of thefe flatues, as their majefty or their grace, and may certainly, at particu- lar times, happen to engage the attention of the man of the mofl refined tafle. That In fuch cafes, no Emotion of Beauty would be felt, and that before it could be felt. It would be neceflary for the fpedator to withdraw his mind from the confideration of fuch unaffedting qualities, Is too obvious to require any illuftration. The fame obfervatlon Is applicable to every other produc- tion of Tafte. There Is no poem, no painting, no mufical compofition, however beautiful or fublime, that has not many qualities or attributes, that are altogether unintereft- ing, and which may not be made the objedl of attention at particular times, although in general they are left out of confideration. The Inverfions of Milton, the compound E- pithets of Thomfon, are as really qualities of their compo- fitions, as the fubllmity of the one, or the tendernefs of the other. The perfon who fliould make fuch qualities alone the object of his attention, in the perufal of the Sea- fons, or the Paradife Loft, though he might certainly re- ceive 70 Of the Nature of the Emotions eeive feme inftrudlion, would doubtlefs receive little de- light ; and if he were really capable of feeling the Sublimi- ty or Beauty which diflinguifh thefe compofitions, it muft be to other and more affediing qualities of them, that he muft turn his regard. While thefe minute and unafFedling cireumftances were the objeds of his attention, he could be confcious of no greater emotion than what he might re- ceive from the perufal of the moft unanimated profe. It is In confequence of this, that the exercife of Criticifm never fails to deftroy, for the time, our fenfibillty to the beauty of every compolition, and that habits of this kind fo gene- rally end in deftroying the fenfibility of Tafte. They ac- cuftom us to conlider every compolition in relation only to- rules ; they turn our attention from thofe qualities upon which their effeft is founded as objedis of Tafte, to the con- fideration of the principles by which this efTect is attained, and inftead of that deep and enthufiaftic delight which the perception of Beauty or Sublimity beftows, they afford us at laft no higher enjoyment, than what arifes from the ob- fervation of the dexterity of Art. 2. The effed of Familiarity, which has fo often been obfer- ved, in diminifliing our fenfibility to the objeds of Tafte, may ferve alfo as an illuftration of the fame principle. This effed indeed is generally refolved into the influence of ha- bit, which in this, as In every other cafe, is fuppofed to dl- minifti the ftrength of our emotions ; yet that it is not fole- of Sublimity and Beauty. 71 ly to be afcribed to habit, feems evident from the following confideration, that fuch indifference is never permanent, and that there are times when the moft familiar objects a- waken us to the fulleft fenfe of their beauty. The necelll- ty which we are under of confidering all fuch objed:s when familiar, in very different afpedts from thofe in which they appear to us as objeds of Beauty, and of attending only to their unaffedling qualities, may perhaps better account both for this gradual decay of our fenfibility, and for its tempo- rary returns. When a man of any tafle, for inflance, firfl fettles in a romantic country, he is willing to flatter himfelf that he can never be fatiated with its beauties, and that in their contemplation he fhall continue to receive the fame exqui- fite delight. The afped: in which he now fees them, Is fole- ly that in which they are calculated to produce Emotion. The ftreams are knovfn to him only by their gentlenefs or their majelly, the woods by their folemnity, the rocks by their awfulnels or terror. In a very fJiort time, however, he is forced to confider them in very different lights. They are ufeful to him for fome purpofes, either of occupation or amufement. They ferve as diftindions of different pro- perties, or of different divifions of the country. They be- come boundaries or land-marks, by which his knowledge of the neighbourhood is afcertained. It is with thefe qualities that he hears them ufually fpoken of by all who furround him. 72 Of the Nature of the Emotions him. It is in this light that he mull often Ipeak and think of them himfelf. It is with thefe qualities accordingly, that he comes at laft infenfibly to confider them, in the com- mon hours of his life. Even a circumftance fo trifling as the aflignation of particular names, contributes in a great degree to produce this effedl ; becaufe the ufe of fuch names, in marking the particular lituation or place of fuch objedls, naturally leads him to confider the objedts themfelves in. no other light than that of their place or {ituation. It is with very different feelings that he mufl now regard the ob- jeds that were once fo full of beauty. They now occur to his mind, only as topographical diflindions, and are beheld with the indifference fuch qualities naturally produceo. Their majefty, their folenanity, their terror, l^c. are gra- dually obfcured, under the mafs of unaffeding qualities with which he is obliged to confider them ; and excepting at thofe times when either their appearances or their ex- prefHons are new, or when fome other incident has awa- kened that tone or temper of thought with which their ex- prefTions agree, and when of confequence he is difpofed to confider them in the light of this exprelfion alone, he mufl be content at laft to pafs his life without any perception of their beauty. It is on the fame account that the great and the opu' lent, become gradually fo indifferent to thofe articles of ele- gance or magnificence with which they are furrounded, and which' of Sublimity and Beauty. 73 which are fo effedual In exciting the admiration of other men. The man of inferior rank, whofe fituation prevents him from all familiarity with fuch objects, fees them in the light of their magnificence and elegance alone ^ he fees them too, as ligns of that happinefs and refined pleafure, which men in his condition fo ufually and fo falfely attribute to thofe of elevated rankj and he feels accordingly all that unmingled emotion of ad- miration which fuch expreHions are fitted to produce. But the poffefTor mufl often fee them In different lights. What- ever may be their elegance or their beauty, they Hill ferve fome end, or anfwer fome purpofe of his eflablifliment. They are deftined to fome particular ufe, or are ornaments of fome particular place : They are articles in the furniture of fuch a room, or ingredients In the compofitlon of fuch a fcene : They were defigned by fuch an artift, executed after fuch a model, or coft fuch a fum of money. In fuch, or in fome other equally uninterefling light, he mufl frequently be obliged both to fpeak and to think of them. In proportion as the habit of confidering them in fuch a light increafes, his difpofition, or his opportunity to confider them as ob- jedls of Tafte diminlfhes. Their elegance or their magni- ficence gradually difappears, until at laft he comes to re- gard them (excepting at particular times) with no farther emotion, than what he receives from the common furniture of his houfe. The application of the fame obfervation to many more important fources of our happinefs, is too obvi- ous to require any illuftratlon. K There ^4 Of the Nature of the Emotions There is no man, in like manner, acquainted with the hiflory or the literature of antiquity, who has not felt his imagination inflamed by the moft trifling circumfliances con- neded with fuch periods. The names of the Ilyfliis, the Tiber, the Forum, the Capitol, l^c. have a kind of efta- bliftied grandeur in our apprehenlions, bccaufe the only light in which we regard them, is that of their relation to thofe paft fcenes of greatnefs. No man, however, is weak enough to believe, that to the citizen of Athens, or of Rome, fuch names were produdive of flmilar emotions. To him they undoubtedly conveyed no other ideas, than thofe of the particular divifions of the city in which he dwelt, and were heard of confequence, with the fame indifference that the citizen of London now hears of the Strand, or tli£ Tower. 3. The influence of Faihion, in producing fo frequent revo- lutions in the fentiments of men, with regard to the beauty of thofe objedts to which it extends, and in difpoling us to negled or to defpife at one time, the objedls which We confiidered as beautiful before, may perhaps be explain- ed upon the fame principle. Fafhion may be confldered m. general as the cuftom of the great. It is the drefs, the fur- niture, the language, the manners of the gr-eat world, which conftitute what is called the Falhion in each of thefe ar- ticles, and which the refl: of mankind are in fuch hafle to adopt, after their example. Whatever the real beauty or propriety of SvBLiMirv and Beauty. 75 propriety of thefe articles may be, it is not in this light that we confider them. They are the figns of that elegance and tafte, and fplendour, which is fo liberally attributed to elevated rank; they are aflbciated with the confequence which fuch fituations beftow ; and they eftablifh a kind of external diftindion between this envied flation, and thofe humble and mortifying conditions of life, to which no man is willing to belong. It is in the light therefore of this connexion only, that we are difpofed to confider them 3 and they accordingly affedl: us with the fame emotion of de- light, which we receive from the confideration of tafte or elegance,* in more permanent Inftances. As foon, however, as this afTocIatlon is deftroyed, as foon as the caprice or the inconftancy of the great have Introduced other ufages in their place, our opinion of their beauty Is Immediately de- ftroyed. The quality which was formerly fo pleafing or fo Interefting in them, the quality which alone we confidered, is now appropriated to other objeds, and our admiration readily transfers Itfelf to thofe newer forms, which have rifen Into diftlndlon from the fame caufe. The forfaken Fafhion, whatever may be its real or intrlnfic beauty, falls for the prefent at leaft, into negled or contempt ; becaufe, either our admiration of it was founded only upon that quality which It has loft, or becaufe it has now defcended to the Inferior ranks, and is of confequence affociated with ideas of meannefs and vulgarity. A few years bring round again the fame Faflilon. The fame aflbclation attends it, K 2 and 76 Of the Nature of the Emotions and our admiration is renewed as before. It is on the fame account, that they who are mod liable to the feduc- tion of Fafhion, are people on whofe minds the ilighter aflbciations have a ftrong effect. A plain man is incapable of fuch affociations : a man of fenfe is above them 5 but the young and the frivolous, vv^hofe principles of Tafle are ei- ther unformed, or whofe minds are unable to maintain any fettled opinions, are apt to lofe fight of every other quality in fuch objeds, but their relation to the pradiice of the great, and of courfe, to fuffer their fentiments of beauty to vary with the caprice of this practice. It is the fame caufe which attaches the old to the faihions of their youth. They are affociated with the memory of their better days, with a thoufand recolledions of happinefs and gaiety, and heartfelt pleafures, which they now no longer feel. The Faihions of modern times have no fuch pleafing aflbciations to them. They are conneded to them, only with ideas of thoughtlefs gaiety, or childifh caprice. It is the Fa- (liions of their youth alone, therefore, that they coniider as beautiful. HI. o/ Sublimity and Be avty. 77 III. It may farther be obferved, that the dependence of Tafte upon Senfibility, or the neceihty of fome iimple Emotion being excited, before the Beauty or Sublimity of any objed is perceived, is fo far from being remote from general ob- fervation, that it is the foundation of fome of the moft com- mon judgments we form with regard to the charadlers of men. I. When we are but flightly acquainted with any perfon, and have had no opportunities of knowing the particular nature of his fentiments or turn of mind, we never venture to pronounce, or even to guefs with regard to his Tafte j and if, in fach a flage of our acquaintance, we find that his opinions of Beauty are very different from our own, we are fo far from being furprifed at it, that we fet ourfelves very deliberately to account for it, either by recalling to mind thofe habits or occupations of his life which may have led him to different kinds of emotion, or by fuppofing that his natural fenfibility is very different from our own. On the other hand, when we are well acquainted with any perfon, and know intimately the particular turn or fenfibility of his mind, although we fliould never have happened to know his fentiments of Sublimity or Beauty, we yet venture very boldly to pronounce, whether any particular clafs of objeds will 78 Of the Nature of the Emotions will afFedl: him with fuch fentiments or not. The founda- tion of our judgment, in fuch cafes, is the agreement or difagreement of fuch objeds, with the particular turn or character of his affections ; and if we are well acquainted with the perfon, our judgment is feldom wrong. In the fame manner, although we are altogether unacquainted with any perfon, yet if we are Informed of his particu- lar Tafte, or of his favourite objefts of Beauty or Sublimity, we not only feel ourfelves difpofed to conclude from thence, with regard to his particular turn or character of mind j but if the inflances are fufEciently numerous, we in general con- clude right. It is fcarcely poilible for any man to read the works of a Poet, without forming fome judgment of his charadler and affedions as a man, or without concluding, that the magnanimity, the tendernefs, the gaiety, or the melan- choly, diftinguifhed him in private life, which charafterife the fcenes or defcriptions of his works. I am far fi'om contend- ing, that fuch judgments, in general, are jufl: ; not only from the raflinefs with which they fo cominonly are formed, but flill more, in thofe cafes where we reafon from any perfon's Tafle, from the impoflibility of knowing whether this Tafte is genuine, or whether it is founded upon fome accidental aflbciations. All that I mean to conclude is, that fuch judgments are a proof of the connexion between Tafte and Senfibility j and that they could not be formed, unlefs we found from experience, that no qualities affed us with the Plea lures {/'Sublimity and Be avty. 79 Pleafures of Tafte, but fuch as are produdive of feme fimple Emotion. 2. It is farther to be obfcrved, that ihe fenfeof the depen- dence of the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, upon the accidental or temporary difpofition of the mind, is alfo Aery ilrongly exprefTed, both in common condud: and in com- mon converfation. To a man under ibme prefent im- preffion of joy, we fhould not venture to appeal with re- gard to the beauty of any melancholy or pathetic compo- fition. To a man under the dominion of forrow, we fhould much lefs prefume to prefent even the moft beautiful com- pofition, which contained only images of joy. In both cafes, we fhould feel, that the compofitions in queflion de- manded different emotions from thofe that the perfons had in their power to beflow j that while their prefent difpoii- tions continued, there was no chance of the compofition's being iuterefling to them ; and if we really wiflied to know their opinions, we would naturally wait till we found them in fuch a difpofition as was favourable to the emotions to which either of the compofitions was addrelfedo. When any poem, or painting, or fcene in nature peculiarly affeds us, we are generally in hafte to fliew it to fome friend, whofe tafte we know is fimilar to our own ^ and our minds are not fully fatiated with its beauties, until we are able to unite with our own peculiar emotion, that pleafing furprife which we 8o Of the Nature of the Emotions we participate with one, to whom it is new, and that fenti- ment of gladnefs, which it is fo natural to feel, when we find that we have been able to communicate delight. It fometimes happens, however, that the perfon to whom we (hew it, does not feel the pleafure we expeded. In fuch a cafe, though we are a little furprifed, wx are not much dif- appointed. We tell him, that he happens not to be in the humour to be pleafed; that at another time we are fure he will feel its beauty ; and though we fhould not happen to know what is the peculiar caufe of his indifference, we yet fatisfy ourfelves, that there is fome caufe which prevents him from the indulgence of the particular emotion which the fcene or the compofition demands, and which we know he is in general difpofed to indulge. It happens, according- ly, if we are really well acquainted with the perfon, and if this beauty is not founded upon fome particular afibciation of our own, that our expedation is gratified, and that when he returns to his ordinary temper of mind, he becomes fen- fible to all the beauty or fublimity which we had found in it. Many other inftances of the fame kind might be pro- duced. In all cafes, I think, where we difcover in other people a weaker fenfe with regard to the beauty of particular objeds than in ourfelves, and when we can re- colled no accidental aflxjciation which may account for the fuperiority of our own emotion. We are naturally in- clined to attribute it either to fome temporary occupation or embarraflment of their minds when fuch objeds were prefented of Sublimity and Beauty. &i prefented to them, or if we find that this was not the cafe^ to Tome original deficiency in the fenfibility of their hearts. To fay that a man has no feelings of tendernefs or magna- nimity, accounts to us at once for his want of fenfibility to the beauty of any adlions or fpecies of compofition, which are founded on fuch emotions. In the fame manner, to .fay that at any particular time he was under the dominion of oppofite feelings, as fully accounts to us for his infenfi- bility at fuch a time to the beauty of fuch adions or com- pofitions. I apprehend, that thefe very natural and very common judgments could not be formed, unlefs we found from experience, that thofe qualities only are felt as beau^ tiful or fublime, which are found to produce emotion. IV. The propofition which I have now endeavoured to illu- flrate, might be illuflrated from a variety of other confide- rations, and particularly from the nature of the Fine Arts. The objed of thefe Arts is to produce the Emotions of Tafte J and it might eafily be fhown, I. That the only fubjedls that are in themfelves proper for the imitation of thefe Arts, are fuch as are produdive of fome Ipecies of Simple Emotion : . L 2. That §2 Of the Nature of the Emotions 2. That when thefe fubjedls are of a contrary kind, the method by which alone they can be rendered either beauti- ful or fublime, is by the addition of fome interefting or af- feding quality : 3. That the extent, as well as the power of the different fine arts, in producing fuch emotions, is in proportion to the capacity which they afford the artifl of making fuch additions ; and that in this refped, Poetry, by employing the inftrument of language, by means of which it can ex- prefs every quality of mind as well as of body, has a de- cided fuperiority over the reft of thefe arts, which are limi- ted to the exprellion of the qualities of body alone. Thefe confiderations, however, befides their being fami- liar to thofe who have refleded upon thefe fubjeds, would neceflarily lead to difcuffions far beyond the limits of thefe Eflays. The reader, who would wifli to fee fome of thefe principles illuftrated, will find it very fully and very beau- tifully done in Dr Beattie's EfTays upon Poetry and Mufic. If the preceding illuftrations are jufl : if it is found, that no qualities are felt, either as beautiful or fublime, but fuch as accord with the hahitual or temporary fenfibility of our minds j that objeds of the moll acknowledged beauty fail to excite their ufual emotions, when we regard them in the light of Sublimity and Beauty, 83 light of any of their uninterefting or unaffeding qualities ; and that our common judgments of the characters of men are founded upon this experience, it feems, that there can- be no doubt of the truth of the propofition itfelf. L 2 SEC- 84 Of the Nature of the Emotions SECTION III. IF it is true, that thofe trains of thought which attend the Emotions of Tafte, are uniformly diftinguifhed by fome general principle of connedion, it ought to be found, that no Compofition of objects or qualities, in fa6l, produces fuch emotions, in which this Unity of character or of emo- tion is not preferved. This propofition alfo may be illu- flrated from the moft fuperficial review of the Principles of Compofition, in the different Arts of Tafte. I. There is no man of common Tafte, who has not often lamented that cbnfufton of expreflion which fo frequently take* place, even in the moft beautiful fcenes of real Na- ture, and which prevents him from indulging to the full, the peculiar emotion which the fcene itfelf is fitted to in- fpire. The cheerfulnefs of the morning is often difturbed by circumftances of minute or laborious occupation, — the folera- nity of noon by noife and buftling induftry, — the tranquil- lity and melancholy of evening by vivacity and vulgar gaiety. It is feldom even that any unity of charader is preferved among the inanimate objeds of fuch fcenery. The of Sublimity and Beauty. 85 The fublimeft fituations are often disfigured, by objeds that we feel unworthy of them, — by the traces of cultivation, or attempts towards improvement, — by the poverty of their woods, or of their flreams, or fome other of their great conftituent features, — by appearances of uniformity or re- gularity, that almoft induce the idea of art. The loveliefl fcenes, in the fame manner, are frequently dillurbed by unaccording circumftances, by the figns of cultivation, — the regularity of inclofures, — the traces of manufad:ures, and what is worfe than all, by the prefumptuous embellifh- ments of fantaflic Tafte. Amid this confufion of incidents, the general charadter of the fcene is altogether loft : we fcarcely know to what clafs of objedts to give our attention 3 and having viewed it with aftonifhment, rather than with delight, we at laft bufy ourfelves in imaginary improvements, and in conceiving what its beauty might be, if every fea- ture were removed which now ferves to interrupt its expref- fion, and to diminifli its effed. What we thus attempt in imagination, it is the bufmefs t)f the art of Gardening to execute j and the great fource of the fuperiority of its produdlions to the original fcenes in nature, confifts in the purity and harmony of its compofition, in the power which the artift enjoys, to remove from his landfcape whatever is hoftile to its effed, or unfuited to its charader, and by feleding only fuch circumftances as ac- cord with the general expreflion of the fcene, to awaken an emotion 86i Of the Nature of the Emotions emotion more full, more fimple, and more harmonious than any we can receive from the fcenes of Nature itfelf. It is by this rule accordingly, that the excellence of all fuch compofitions is determined. In real Nature, we often forgive, or are willing to forget flight inaccuracies or trifling inconfiftencies j but in fuch produdtions of defign, we expedl and require more perfed correfpondence. Every objed that is not fuited to the charadler of the fcene, or that has not an eflfedl in flrengthening the expreflion by which it is difliinguiflied, we condemn as an intrufion, and confi- der as a reproach upon the tafl;e of the artift. When this expedation, on the contrary, is fully gratified, when the circumftances of the fcenery are all fuch as accord with the peculiar emotion which the fcene is fitted to infpire, when the hand of the artifl; difappears, and the embellifh* ments of his fancy prefs themfelves upon our belief, as the voluntary profufion of Nature, we immediately pronounce that the compofition is perfect, we acknowledge that he has attained the end of his art j and in yielding ourfelves up to the emotion which his compofition demands, we afford him the moft convincing mark, of our applaufe. In the power which the art of gardening thus poflefles, in common with the other fine arts, of withdrawing from its imitations what- ever is inconfiftent with their expreflion, and of adding whatever may contribute to ftrengthen, or to extend their effed, of Sublimity and Beauty. 87 effedl, confifts the great fuperiority which it poflefles over the originals from which they are copied. II. The art of Landfcape painting is yet faperior in its effed, from the capacity which the artift enjoys, of giving both greater extent and greater unity to his compofition. In the art of gardening, the great materials of the fcene are pro= vided by Nature, and the artift muft fatisfy himfelf with that degree of expreffion which ftie has beftowed. In a landfcape, on the contrary, the painter has the choice of the circumftances he is to reprefent, and can give whatever force or extent he pleafes to the expreflxon he wifhes to convey. In gardening, the materials of the fcene are few, and thofe few unwieldy > and the artift muft often content himfelf with the reflection, that he has given the beft dif- pofition in his power to the fcanty and intradlable materials of Nature. In a landfcape, on the contrary, the whole range of fcenery is before the eye of the painter. He may feledl from a thoufand fcenes, the circumftances which are to charadterife a fingle compofition, and may unite into one expreflion, the fcattered features with which Nature has feebly marked a thoufand lituations. The momentary ef- fefts of light or fliade, the fortunate incidents which chance fometimes throws in, to improve the expreflion of real fcenery, 88 Of the Nature of the Emotions fcenery, and which can never again be recalled, he has it in his power to perpetuate upon his canvas : Above all, the occupations of men, fo impoi'tant in determining, or in heightening the charaders of Nature, and which are fel- dom compatible with the fcenes of gardening, fall eafily within the reach of his imitation, and afford him the means of producing both greater flrength and greater unity of ex- prefHon, than is to be found either in the rude, or in the embellifhed ftate of real fcenery. While it is by the invention of fuch circumftances that we eflimate the genius of the artift, it is by their compofition that his Tafte is uniformly determined. The mere afleni- blage of pidurefque incidents, the moll unimproved Tafle will condemn. Some general principle is univerfally de- manded, fome decided expreffion, to which the meaning of the feveral parts may be referred, and which by affording us, as it were, the key of the fcene, may lead us to feel from the whole of the compofition, that fiill and undiflur- bed emotion which we are prepared to indulge. It is this purity and fimplicity of compofition, accordingly, which has unifonnly diflinguifhed the great maflers of the art, from the mere copiers of Nature. It is by their adherence to it, that their fame has been attained ; and the names of Salvator, and Claude Lorrain, can fcarcely be mentioned, without bringing to mind the peculiar charader of their compoiitions. ^Sublimity and Beauty. 89 compofitions, and the different emotions which their repre- fentations of Nature are deftined to produce. It is not, however, on our firft acquaintance Nvith this art, that we either difcover its capacity, or feel its efTedts j and perhaps the progrefs of Tafte, in this refped, may af- ford a further illuftration of the great and fundamental Principle of Compofition. What we firfl: underfland of painting is, that it is a llmple art of imitation, and what we expedl to find in it, is the reprefentation of the common fcenes of nature that furround us. It is with fome degree of furprife, accordingly, that we at firll obfen'e the diffe- rent fcenery with which the Painter prefents us, and with an emotion rather of wonder, than of delight, that we gaze at a ftyle of landfcape, which has fo little refemblance to the ordinary views to which we are accuftomed. In the copy of a real fcene, we can difcover and admire the fkill of the artift; ; but in the reprefentation of defart or of defolate profpedts, in appearances of Solitude or Tempeft, we per- ceive no traces of imitation, and wonder only at the per- verfity of Tafte, which could have led to the choice of fo difagreeable fubjeds. As foon, however, as from th€ progrefs of our own fenfi- bility, or from our acquaintance with poetical compofition, we begin to conned: expreffion with fuch views of Nature, we begin alfo to underftand and to feel the beauties of land- M fcape Qo Of the Nature of the Emotions fcape painting. It is with a different view that we now conllder it. It is not for imitation we look, but for cha- rader. It is not the art, but the genius of the Painter, which now gives value to his compofitions ; and the lan- guage he employs is found not only to fpeak to the eye, but to affedl the imagination and the heart. It is not now a fimple copy which we fee, nor is our Emotion limited to the cold plea- fure which arifes from the perception of accurate Imitation. It is a creation of Fancy with which the artift prefents us, in which only the greater exprefllons of Nature are retained, and where more interelling emotions are awakened, than thofe which we experience from the ufual tamenefs of common fcenery. In the fame proportion in which we thus difcover the expreffion of landfcape, we begin to colledl the prin- ciples of its compofition. The crowd of incidents which ufed to dazzle our earlier Tafle, as expTeflive both of the ikill and of the invention of the artift, begin to appear to us, as inconfiftence or confufion. When our hearts are af- fefted, we feek only for objeds congenial to our emotion f and the Simplicity, which we ufed to call the Poverty of landfcape, begins now to be welcome to us, as permitting us to indulge, without interruption, thofe interefling trains of thought which the charader of the fcene is fitted to infpire. As our knowledge of the exprefllons of Nature increafes, our feniibility to the beauty or to the defeds of compofi- tion becomes more keen, until at laft our admiration at- taches itfelf only to thofe greater produdions of the art, in which: o/" Sublimity and Beauty. gi which one pure and unmingled charadler is preferved, and in which no feature is admitted, which may prevent it from falling upon the heart, with one full and harmonious ef- fed. In this manner, the objed: of painting is no fooner dil- covered, than the unity of exprefllon is felt to be the great fecret of its power; the fuperiority which it at laft aflumes over the fcenery of Nature, is found to arife in one impor- tant relpedl, from the greater purity and fimplicity which its compofition can attain; and perhaps this fimple rule comprehends all that Criticifm can prefcribe for the regula- tion of this delightful art. III. But whatever may be the fuperiority of painting to the originals from which it is copied, it is ftill limited, in com- parifon of that which Poetry enjoys. The Painter ad- dreiTes himfelf to the Eye. The Poet fpeaks to the Imagi- nation. The Painter can reprefent no other qualities of Nature, but thofe which we difcern by the fenfe of fight. The Poet can blend with thofe, all the qualities which we perceive by means of our other fenfes. The Painter can feize only one moment of exiftence, and can reprefent no other qualities of objeds than what this fingle moment M 2 affords. 92 - Of the Nature of the Emotions affords. The whole hiflory of Nature is within the reacii of the Poet, the varying appearances which its different productions aflume in the progrefs of their growth and de- cay, and the powerful effects which are produced by the contrafl of thefe different afpeds or expreffions.. The Pain- ter can give to the objects of his fcenery, only the vilible and material qualities which are difcerned by the eye, and muft leave the interpretation of their expreflion to the ima- gination of the fpedtator; but the Poet can give animation to whatever he defcribes. All the fublimity and beauty of the mo- ral and intelledtual world are at his difpofal; and by beftow- ing on the inanimate objedts of his fcenery the charad:ers and affections of mind, he can produce at onc§ an expreflion which every capacity may underftand, and every heart may feel. Whatever may be the advantage which painting en- joys, from the greater clearnefs and precifion of its images, it is much more than balanced by the unbounded powers which the inftrument of language affords to the Poet, both in the feledtion of the objeCls of his defcription, and in tlie decifion of their exprelliou. It is, accordingly, by the prefervation of Unity of cha- racter or expreflion, that the excellence of poetical defcrip- tion is determined; and perhaps the fuperior advantages which the Poet enjoys in the choice of his materials, ren- ders our demand for its obfervance more rigid, than in any of the other arts of Tafte. In real Nature, we willingly accommodate &/* Sublimity and Be a ctw g-^ ftc commodate ourfelves to the ordinary defcds of fcenery, and accept with gratitude, thofe fingular afpeds in which foiiie predominant charader is tolerably preferved. In the compofitions of Gardening, we make allowance for the nar- row limits within which the invention of the artill is con- fined, and are diflatisfied only when great inconfiftencies are retained. Even in painting, we are ftill mindful that it is the objeds only of one fenfe that the artifl can reprefent; and rather lament his reftraints, than condemn his Tafte, if our minds are not fully imprefled with the emotions he iludies to raife, or if the different incidents of his compoli- tion do not fully accord in the degree, as well as in -the na- ture of their expreffion. But the defcriptions of the Poet can claim no fuch indulgence. With the capacity of blend- ing in his compofitlon the objeds of every fenfe ; with the paft and the future, as well as the prefent, in his power ; above all, with the mighty Ipell of mind at his command, with which he can raife every objedl that he touches, into life and fentiment, we feel that he. is unworthy of his art, if our imaginations are not fatiated with his compofition, and if in the chaflity, as well as the power of his expreflion, he has not gratified the demand of our hearts. It would be an unpleafing, and indeed an unnecfelTary cafk, to illuftrate this obfervation, by the defeds or abfurdities of Poets of inferior genius, or imperfed tafte. It will perhaps be more ufeful, to produce a few inftances of 94- Of tJje_N\TVRE of the Emotions of defcription from fome of the greatefl Poets, in which very trifling circumftances ferve to deftroy, or at leaft to diminifti their efFedl, when they do not fully coincide with the nature of the emotion which the defer iptions are intend- ed to raife. In that fine paflage in the fecond book of the Georgics, in which Virgil celebrates the praifes of his native country, after thefe fine lines, Hie ver afllduum atque alienis menfibus aeflas. Bis gravidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbos : At rabidae tigres abfunt, et faeva leonum Semina, nee miferos fallunt aconita legentes, Nee rapit immenfos orbes per humum, neque tanto Squameus in fpiram tradtu fe colligit anguis. There is no reader whofe enthufiafm is not checked by the cold and profaic line which follows : Adde tot egregias urbes, operumque laborem. The tamenefs and vulgarity of the tranfition diffipates at once the emotion we had Ihared with the Poet, and re- duces him in our opinion to the level of a mere defcriber. • The o/" Sublimity aiid Beauty. 95 The effedl of the following nervous and beautiful lines- in the conclufion of the fame book, is nearly deftroyed by a fimilar defed. After thefe lines, Hanc olim veteres vitam coluere Sabini, Hanc Remus et frater ; fie fortis Etruria crevit, Scilicet et rerum fadla eft pulcherrima Roma. We little expedt the following fpiritlefs conclufion r Septemque una fibi muro circumdedit arces. There is a ftill more furprifing inllance of this fault in one of the moft pathetic pafTages of the whole poem, in the defcription of the difeafe among the cattle, which concludes the third Georgic. The paflage is as follows : Ecce autem duro fumans fub vomere taurus Concidit : et mixtum fpumis vomit ore cruorem. Extremofque ciet gemitus : it triftis arator Mcerentem abjungens fraterna morte juvencum, Atque opere in medio defixa relinquit aratra. The unhappy image in the fecond line is lefs calculated to excite compaffion. than difguft, and is Angularly ill fuited to that tone of tendernefs and delicacy which the Poet has every ^6 Of the Nature of the Emotions every where elfe fo fuccefsfully maintained, in defcribing the progrefs of this loathfome difeafe. In the fpeech of Agamemnon to Idomeneus, in the fourth book of the Iliad, a circumftance is introduced altogether inconfiflent both with the dignity of the fpeech, and the majefty of Epic Poetry. Divine Idomeneus ! what thanks we owe To worth like thine, what praife fliall we bellow ! To Thee the foremofl: honours are decreed Fii-ft in the fight, and every graceful deed. For this, in banquets, when the generous bowls Reftore our blood, and raile the warriors fouls_, Tho' all the reft, with ftated rules be bound Unmix'd, unmeafur'd are thy goblets crown'd. Inllances of the fame defed may be found in the compari- fon of the fudden cure of Mars's wound to the coagulation of curds, — in that of Ajax retreating before the Trojans to an afs driven by boys from a field of corn, — in the compa- rifon of an obftinate combat between the Greeks and the Trojans, to the ftubborn ftruggle between two peafants, about the limits of their refpedtive grounds, — in that of Ajax flying from fliip to fhip, to encounter the Trojans, to. a of Sublimity and Beauty. 97 a horfeman riding feveral horfes at once, and fhowing his dexterity, by vaulting from one to another- There is a fimilar fault in the two following paflages from Milton, where the introdudion of trifling and ludi- crous circumftances, diminiflies the Beauty of the one, and the Sublimity of the other. Now Morn her rofy fteps in the eaflern clime Advancing, fow'd the earth with orient pearl, When Adam wak'd : Jo cuJlo?n'd, for hisfleep Was airy light from pure digejlion bred And temperate vapours bland, which th' only found Of leaves, and fuming rills, Aurora's fan Lightly difpers'd, and the fhrill matin fong Of birds on every bough. Book v. They ended parle, and both addrefs'd for fight Unfpeakable : for who, though with the tongue Of angels, can Eelate, or to what things Liken on earth confpicuous, that may lift Human imagination to fuch height Of godlike power ? for likeft gods they feem'd, Stood they or mov'd, in ftature, motion, arms, Fit to decide the empire of great Heav'n. Now wav'd their fiery fwords, and in the air Made horrid circles : two broad funs their fhields N Blaz'd 98 of the Nature of the Emotions Blaz'd oppofite, while Expedation flood In horror ; from each hand with fpeed retired Where erjl was thickejl fight , tV angelic throng. And left large field ^ unfafe within the wind Of fiich commotion. Book vi. In the following paflage from the fixth book of Lucan's Pharfalia, where he defcribes the incantations of the witch Erydlho, and of whofe voice he had before faid with great fublimity, Omne nefas fuperi, prima jam voce precanti Concedunt, carmenque timent audire fecundum. in labouring to increafe the terror of the reader, he has rendered his defcription almoft ludicrous, by accumulating images which ferve only to confufe, and which in them- felves have fcarcely any other relation than that of mere noife. Tum vox Lethseos cundlis pollentior herbis Excantare Deos, confundit murmura primum Diflbna, et humanse multum difcordia linguae. Latratus habet ilia canum, gemitufque luporum Quod trepidus bubo, quod llrix nodurna queruntur, Qi^iod ftrident, ululantque ferae, quod fibilat anguis, Exprimit, et plandus illifae cautibus undae Silvarumque o/' Sublimity and Beauty. 99 Silvarumque fonum, fradasque tonitrua nubis ; Tot rerum vox una fuit. Such a colledtion of unaccording images is fcarcely lefs abfurd than the following defcription of the Nightingale, by Marini : Una voce pennuta, un fuon' volante E veftito di penne, un vivo fiato, Una piuma canora, un canto alato, Un fpirituel che d' harmonia compofto Vive in angufte vifcere nafcofto. "^ Even lefs obvious inconfiftencies are fufficient to diminifli the effedl of poetical defcription, when they do not perfe(ft» ly coincide with the general emotion. There is a circumftance introduced in the following paf- fage from Horace, which is liable to this cenfure : Solvitur acris Hyems, grata vice verls et Favoni, Trahuntque iiccas machinse carinas, Ac neque jam ftabulis gaudet pecus, aut arator igni, Nee prata canis albicant pruinis. Jam Cytherea choros ducit Venus, imminente luna, Jundaeque Nymphis Gratiee decentes Altemo terram quatiunt pede. N 2 The loo Of the Nature of the Emotions The image contained in the fecond line is obvioufly impro- per. It fuggefls ideas of labour, and difficulty, and art^ and has no correfpondence with that emotion of gladnefs with which we behold the return of the Spring, and which is fo fuccefsfully maintained by the gay and pleafing image- ry in the refl of the paflage. In a defcription of the morning, in the charming poem of the Minllrel, there is a circumftance to which the feve- rity of Criticifm might objedl upon the fame principle. The cottage curs at early pilgrim bark, Crown'd with her pail, the tripping milkmaid fings, The whiftling plowman ftalks a-field, and hark ! Down the rough Hope the ponderous waggon rings. The image in the laft line, though undoubtedly a ftriking one in itfelf, and very beautifully defcribed, is yet impro- per, as it is inconfiftent both with the period of fociety, and the fcenery of the country to which the Minllrel re- fers. There is a fimilar error in the following fine defcription from Shakefpeare. The current, that with gentle murmur glides Thou know'ft, being ftopp'd, impatiently doth rage, But o/ Sublimity and Beauty. lot But when his fair coiirfe is not hindered, He makes fweet mufic with th' enamel'd flones, Giving a gentle kifs to every /edge He overtaketh in his pilgrimage : And Co by many winding nooks he ftrays With willing fport to the wild ocean. The pleafing perfonification which we attribute to a brook, is founded upon the faint belief of voluntary mo- tion, and is immediately checked, when the Poet defcends to any minute or particular refemblance. Even in that inimitable defcription which Virgil has gi- ven of a ftorm, in the firfl book of the Georgics, a very ac- curate Talle may perhaps difcover fome flight deficien- cies. Saepe etiam immenfum ceelo venit agmen aquarum, Et foedam glomerant tempeftatem imbribus atris Colledtae ex alto nubes. Ruit arduus aether Et pluvia ingentifata lata, boumque labores, Diluit. Imp lent urfqffa, et cava flumina crefcunt Cum fonitu, fervetque fretis fpirantibus aequor. Ipfe pater, media nimborum in nodle, corufca Fulmina molitur dextra, quo maxuma motu Terra tremit : fugere ferae, et mortalia corda Per gentes humiles ftravit pavor. Ille flagranti Auc 102 Of the Nature of the Emotions Aut Atho, aut Rhodopen, aut alta Ceraunia tele Dejicit: ingeminant Auftri, et denlifllmus imber. If there was any paflage to which I would objed; in thefe wonderful lines, it would be to thofe that are marked in Italics. I acknowledge indeed, that the " pluvia ingenti " fata laeta boumque labores diluit," is defenfible from the connedion of the imagery with the fubje6l of the poem^ but the " implentur foflae" is both an unneceflary and a de- grading circumftance, when compared with the magnificent, eifeds that are defcribed in the reft of the paflage. ^ I {hall conclude thefe illuflrations, with two paflages, de- fcriptive of the fame fcene, from different Poets, in which the effeds of imperfed and of harmonious compofition are ftrikingly exemplified. In the " Argonautica" of ApoUonius Rhodius, when Medea is defcribed in a ftate of deep agitation between her unwillingnefs to betray her father, and her defire to fave her lover Jafon, the anxiety of her mind is exprefled by. the following contrail, of which I give a literal tranflation : " The night now covered the earth with her fhade ; and " in the open fea, the pilots, upon their decks, obferved the " ftar of Orion, "'^he travellers and the watchmen flumber- " ed. Even the grief of mothers who had loft their chil- " dren, - of Sublimity and Beauty. 103 " dren, was fufpended by lleep. In the cities there was " neither heard the cry of dogs, nor the noife nor murmur " of men. Silence reigned in the midft of darknefs. Me- " dea alone knew not the charms of this peaceful night, fo " deeply was her foul impreiled with fears for Jafon." Virgil defcribes a fimilar fituation as follows : Nox erat, et placidum carpebant fefla foporem Corpora per terras, fylvaeque et faeva quierant ^quora : quum medio volvuntur fidera lapfu Quum tacet omnis ager : pecudes, pldlaeque volucres^ Quaeque lacus late liquidos, quaeque afpera dumis Rura tenent, fomno politae fub no6le filenti Lenibant curas, et corda oblita laborum : At non infelix animi Phaenifla. " On voit ici, (fays M. Marmontel, with his ufual tafte and " difcernment), non feulement la fuperiorite du talent, la vie, " et I'ame repandues dans une poefie harmonieufe, etdu coloris " le plus pur, mais fingulierement encor la fuperiorite du gout. " Dans la peinture du poete Grec, il y a des details inutiles, " il y en a de contraires a I'efFet du tableau. Les obferva- " tions des pilotes, dans le filence de la nuit, portent eux- " memes le caradere de la vigilance et de I'inquietude, et ne " contraftent point avec le trouble de Medee. L'image d'une " mere qui a perdu fes enfants eft faite pour diftraire de celle " d'une 104 Of the Nature of the Emotions " d'une amante ; elle en affoiblit I'interet, et le poete en la lui " oppofant, eft alle contre fon deflein ; au lieu que, dans le " tableau de Virgile, tout eft reduit a I'unite. C'eft la nature " entiere, dans le calme et dans le fommeil, tandis que la " malheureufe Didon vellle feule, et fe livre en proie a tous " les tourments de I'amour. Enfin, dans le poete Grec, le cri " des chiens, le fommeil des portiers, font des details minu- " tieux et indignes de I'epopee, au lieu que daris Virgile tout *■'■ eft noble et peint a grands traits : huit vers.embraflent la " nature." Encyclopedie, vbc. Imitation. In thefe illuftrations of the neceftity of unity of expref- ■fion, for the produdlion of the Emotions of Sublimity and Beauty, I have chiefly confined myfelf to fuch inftances in poetry, as are defcriptive of natural fcenery, becaufe they are moft within the obfervation of that clafs of readers, to whom any illuftrations of this point are neceflary. The fame- principle extends with equal force, to every other branch of poetical imitation, to the defcription of the cha- raders, the fentiments and the paflions of men : And one great fource of the fuperiority which fuch imitations have over the originals from which they are copied, confifts in thefe cafes, as well as the former, in the power which the artift enjoys, of giving an unity of character to his defcrip- tions, which is not to be found in real Nature. The illu- ftration of this point, however, as well as of the general fad, of Sublimity and Beauty. lo :> fad, that all fuch defcriptions are defedive, in which this unity is not preferred, I muft leave to the reader's own oh- fervation. In the fame view, I leave the confideration of the effedl of Contraft ; a principle which may at firft feem adverfe to thcfe conclufions, but which in fad; is one of the ftrongeft confirmations of them. The reader who is accuflora- ed to fuch fpeculations, need not be reminded .l^hat the real end of Contraft is to ftrengthen the effed of the general Emotion, — that its propriety is determined by the nature of that Emotion, — that it is jullly applied only in thofe cafes where the Emotion Is violent and demands relief, or faint and requires fupport, or long continued and needs re- pofe, — and that in all cafes where it exceeds thefe limits, or where it does not ferve to invigorate the charader of the Compofition, it ferves only to obftrud or to diminifh its ef- fed ; and the reader to whom thefe principles are new, may find amufement in verifying them. IV. The Unity of charader which is thus demanded in poeti- cal defcription, for the produdion of the Emotions of Tafte, is demanded alfo in every fpecies of poetical Compofition, whatever may be its extent. O In io6 Of the Nature of the Emotions In defcribing the events of life, it is the bufinefs of the hiilorian to reprefent them as they really happened ; to in- veftigate their caufes, however minute ; and to report the motives of the aftors, however bafe or mean. In a poeti- cal reprefentation of fuch events, no fuch confufion is per- mitted to appear. A reprefentation deftined by Its nature to affedl, muft not only be founded upon fome great or inte- refling fubjedl, but in the management of this fubjed:, fuch means only muft be employed as are fitted to preferve, and to promote the intereft and the fympathy of the reader. The Hlftorian who fhould relate the voyage of JEneas, and the foundation of Rome, muft of neceility relate many trifling and uninterefting events, which could be valuable only from their being true. The Poet who fliould attempt this fub- jed, muft introduce only pathetic or fublime events, — muft unfold their connexion with greater clearnefs, — muft point out their confequences as of greater moment, — and muft fpread over all that tone and charadler of dig- nity which we both exped and demand in a compofi- tion, deftined to excite the fenfibility, and to awaken the admiration of mankind. Even that fpecies of poem which has been called by the Critics the Hiftorical Epic, and which is only a poetical narration of real events, is yet in fome meafure fubjeded to the fame rule j and though we do not exped from it, the fublime machinery or the artful con- dud of the real Epic, we yet demand a more uniform tone of elevation, and a purer and more dignified feledion of in- cidents,. ij/" Sublimity and Beauty. 107 cidents, than from the ftridl narrative of real hiftory. In both, the Poet aflumes the charad:er of a perfon deeply im- prefled with the magnitude or the intercft of the flory he relates. To imprefs his reader with fimilar fentiments, is the end and object of his work ; and he can no otherwife do this, than by prefenting to his mind only fuch incidents as accord with thefe great emotions, by leaving out what- ever in the real hiftory of the event may be mean or unin- interefting, and by the invention of every circumftance that, while it is confiftent with probability, may raife the fub- je6l of his work, into greater importance in his efteem. That it is by this rule accordingly the condudl of the Epic Poem is determined, is too obvious to require any illuftration. The fame Unity of emotion is demanded in Dramatic Poe- try, at leaft in the higheft and nobleft fpecies of it. Trage- dy 'y and in the condudl of the Drama, this unity of charac- ter is fully as eflential as any of thofe three unities, of which every book of Criticifm is fo full. If it is painful to us, when we are deeply engaged in fome great intereft, to turn our minds to the confideration of fome other event, it is fully as painful to us, in the midft of our admiration or our fympathy, and while our hearts are fwelling with tender or with elevated emotions, to defcend to the confideration of minute, or mean, or unimportant incidents, however na- turally they may be conneded with the ftory, or however O 2 much io8 Of the Nature oJ the Emotions much we may be convinced, that they actually took place. The envy which Elizabeth entertained of the beauty of Mary of Scotland, was certainly one caufe, and probably a great caufe of the diftrefles of that moil unfortunate Queen ; but if a Poet, in a tragedy founded upon her pathetic flory, fliould introduce the fcene which Melville defcribes in his Memoirs, and in which the weaknefs of Elizabeth is fo ap- parent, we (hould confider it both as degrading to the dig- nity of Tragedy, and unfuited to the nature of the emotion which the ftory is fitted to raife. It is hence that Tragi- comedy is utterly indefenfible, after all that has been faid in its defence. If it is painful to us in fuch cafes to defcend to the confideration of indifferent incidents, it is a thoufand times more painful to be forced to attend to thofe that are ludi- crous ; and there is no man of the moft common fenfibility, who does not feel his mind revolt and his indignation kindle at the abfurdity of the Poet, who can thus break in upon the facred retirement of his forrow, with the intole- rable noife of vulgar mirth. Had the tafte of Shakespeare been equal to his genius, or had his knowledge of the laws of the Drama correfponded to his knowledge of the human heart, the effedl of his compofitions would not only have been greater than it now is, but greater perhaps than we can well imagine j and had he attempted to produce through a whole compofition, that powerful and uniform intereft which he can raife in a fingle Icene, nothing of that perfec- tion &/■ Sublimity and Be Avry. icg tion would have been wanting, of which we may conceive this fublime art to be capable. Of the neceility of this Unity of Emotion, Corneille is the firfl; Tragedian of modern Europe who feems to have been fenfible ; and I know not whether the faults of this Poet have not been exaggerated by Englifli Critics, from their inattention to the end which he feems to have pre- fcribed to himfelf in his works. To prefent a faithful pic- ture of human life, or of human paffions, feems not to have been his conception of the intention of Tragedy. His ob- jed, on the contrary, feems to have been, to exalt and to elevate the imagination j to awaken only the greatefl: and noblefl: paffions of the human mind 3 and by prefenting fuch fcenes and fuch events alone, as could moft powerfully pro- mote this end, to render the Theatre a fchool of fublime in- ftruftion, rather than an imitation of common life. To effed this purpofe, he was early led to fee the neceility, or difpofed by the greatnefs of his own mind to the obferva- tion, of an uniform charader of dignity^ to difregard what- ever of common, of trivial, or even of pathetic in the originals from which he copied^ might ferve to interrupt this peculiar flow of Emotion j and inftead of giving a fimple copy of Nature, to adorn the events he reprefented, with all that eloquence and poetry could afford. He main- tains, accordingly, in all his befl plays, amid much exagge- ration and much of the falfe eloquence of his time, a tone of no Of the Nature of the Emotions of commanding and even of fafcinating dignity, which difpofes us almofl to believe, that we are converfing with Beings of an higher order than our ownj and which blinds us, at leaft for a time, to all the faults and all the imper- fedions of his compofition. I am far from being difpofed to defend his opinions of Tragedy, and ftill lefs to excufe his extravagance and bombaftj but I conceive, that no perfon can feel his beauties, or do juftice to his merits, who does not regard his tragedies in this view ; and I think that fome allowance ought to be made for the faults of a Poet, who firft fhewed to his country the example of regular Tra- gedy, and whofe works the great Prince of Conde' called " The Breviary of Kings." In the former fedion, I have endeavoured to fhow, that no objedls are in themfelves fitted to produce the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, which are not produdlive of fome fimple emotion. In this, I have attempted to fhow, that no Compofition of objedls or qualities is in fadl produdlive of fuch emotions, in which an Unity of Charadler is not pre- ferved. The flight illufl;rations which I have now offered, are probably fufficient to point out the truth of the general principle ; but the application of it to the different Arts of Tafte, and the explanation of the great rules of Compofi- tion from this conftitution of our nature, are objed:s far beyond the limits of thefe Effays. I mufl fatisfy myfelf, jherefore, with obferving in general, that in all the Fine Arts, ©^Sublimity and Be avty. hi Arts, that Compofition is moft excellent, in which the diffe- rent parts moft fully unite in the produdlion of one un- mingled Emotion, and that Tafte the moft perfeft, where the perception of this relation of objeds, in point of Ex- prefllon, is moft delicate and precife. CON- 112 Of the Nature of the Emotions CONCLUSION. I. THE illuflrations in the firft chapter of this Eflay are intended to fhow, that whenever the Emotions of Beauty or Sublimity are felt, that exercife of Imagination is produced which confifts in the profecution of a train of thought. The illuflrations in the fecond chapter are intended to point out the diilindlion between fuch trains, and our ordi- nary trains of thought, and to fhow, that this difference conlifls, ijl, In the ideas which compofe them being in all cafes Ideas of Emotion j and, 2dly, In their poffefling an uniform principle of connexion through the whole of the train. The effed, therefore, which is produced upon the mind, by objeds of Tafle, may be confidered as confifling in the production of a regular or confiflent train of Ideas of Emotion. II. o/' Sublimity and Beauty. 113 II. The account which I have now given of this effed, may perhaps fcrve to point out an important diftindion between the Emotions of Tafte, and all our different Emotions of Simple Pleafure. In the cafe of thefe lafl emotions, no ad- ditional train of thought is necelfary. The pleafurable feel- ing follows immediately the prefence of the objedl or qua- lity, and has no dependence upon any thing for its perfec- tion, but the found ftate of the fenfe by which it is received. The Emotions of Joy, Pity, Benevolence, Gratitude, Utili- ty, Propriety, Novelty, Sff^r. might undoubtedly be felt, al- though we had no fuch power of mind as that by which we follow out a train of ideas, and certainly are felt in a thou- fand cafes, when this faculty is unemployed. In the cafe of the Emotions of Tafte, on the other hand, it feems evident, that this exercife of mind is necejQTary, and that unlefs this train of thought is produced, thefe emo- tions are unfelt. Whatever may be the nature of that fimple emotion which any objedl is fitted to excite, whe- ther that of Gaiety, Tranquillity, Melancholy, l^c. if it pro- duce not a train of thought in our minds, we are confcious only of that fimple Emotion. Whenever, on the contrary, this train of thought, or this exercife of imagination is pro- duced, we are confcious of an emotion of a higher and more P pleafing^ 114 Of the Nature of the Emotions pleafing kind ; and which, though it is impofllble to defcribe in language, we yet diflinguilh by the name of the Emotion of Tafte. If accordingly the Author of our nature had de- nied us this faculty of imagination, it fhould feem that thefe emotions could not have been felt, and that all our emotions would have been limited to thofe of fimple pleafure. The Emotions of Tafle may therefore be conlidered as diftinguifhed from the Emotions of Simple Pleafure, by their being dependent upon the exercife of our imagination ; and though founded in all cafes upon fome fimple Emotion, as yet further requiring the employment of this faculty for their exiflence. III. As in every operation of Tafle there are thus two different faculties employed, viz. fome affedion or emotion raifed, and the imagination excited to a train of thought correfpond- ing to this emotion, the peculiar pleafure which attends, and which conftitutes the Emotions of Tafte, may natural- ly be confidered as compofed of the pleafures which fepa- rately attend the exercife of thefe faculties, or in other words, as prodxiced by the union of pleafing emotion, with the pleafure which by the conflitution of our nature is an- nexed to the exercife of imagination. That both thefe plea- fures o/ Sublimity and Beavty. lij fures are felt In every operation of Tafte, Teems to me very agreeable to common experience and obfervation. I. That in every cafe of the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, that fimple Emotion of Pleafure is felt, which a- rifes from the peculiar nature of the objedl perceived, every man, I conceive, may very eafily fatisfy himfelf. In any beau- tiful objedt, whofe charadler is Cheerfulnefs, we are confcious of a feeling of Cheerfulnefs, — in objedls of Melancholy, of a feeling of Sadnefs, — in objeds of Utility, of a feeling of Satisfadion and Complacence, fimilar to what we feel from objeds of the fame kind when the Emotion of Beauty Is not excited. In fublime objeds, in the fame manner, whatever their charader may be, whether that of Greatnefs, Terror, Power, Sifc. we are confcious of the feelings of Admiration, of Awe, of Humility, £sfc. and of the fame pleafures from the exercife of them, which we feel in thofe cafes where the Emo- tion of Sublimity is not produced. In the trains of thought which are excited by objeds either of Sublimity or Beauty, every man knows, that the charader of thofe trains Is de- termined by the peculiar nature of the objed ; and inflead of the Emotions of Tafte being attended with one uniform fpecies of pleafure, every man muft have felt, that the fum of his pleafure Is In a great degree compofed of the pe- culiar pleafure which the exercife of different affedlons brings. P 2 2. That ii6 Of the Nature of the Emotions 2. That there is a pleafure alfo annexed by the conftitu- tion of our nature, to the exercife of imagination, is a pro- pofitlon which feems to require very little illuftration. In common opinion, the employment of imagination is always . fuppofed to communicate delight; when we yield to its power, we are confidered as indulging in a fecret pleafure, and every fuperiority in the ftrength or fenlibility of this faculty is believed to be attended with a fimilar increafe in the happinefs of human life. Nor is this perfuafion of the connexion of pleafure with the exercife of imagination, confined to thofe cafes where, the mind is employed in con- templating only images of joy : for even in thofe men whofe conftitution difpofes them to gloomy or melancholy thought, we have flill a belief that there is fome fecret and fafcina- ting charm in the difpofition which they indulge, and that in this operation of mind itfelf, they find a pleafure which more than compenfates for all the pain which the charafter of their thoughts may bring. There is a ftate of mind alfo, which every man muft have felt, when, without any parti- cular objeft of meditation, the imagination feems to retire from the realities of life, and to wander amid a creation of its; own j; when the moft varied and difcordant fcenes rife as by enchantment before the mind \ and when all the other faculties of our nature feem gradually co be obfcured, to give tQ) this cjsation of Fancy a more radiant glow. With what delight fiich employments of imagination are attended, the young and the romantic can tell, to whom they are of- '; ten o/" Sublimity and Beauty. 117 ten more dear than all the real enjoyments of life ; and who, from the noife and tumult of vulgar joy, often haflen to retire to folitude and filence, where they may yield with fecurity to thefe illufions of Imagination, and indulge again their vifionary blifs. On a fubjedt of this kind, however, when illuftration is perhaps lefs important than defcription, I am happy to be able to tratifcribe a paflage, which will render unnecefTary every illuftration that I can give. It is a paflage from a pofthumous work of M. Roufleau, in which he defcribes his mode of life, during a fummer which he pafled in the ifland. of St Pierre, in the middle of the little lake of Bienne. " Quand le beau terns m'invitoit, j^allois me jetter feul ** dans un bateau que je conduifois au milieu du lac, quand ** l*eau etoit calme, et la, m'etendant tout de mon long dans " le bateau, les yeux tournes vers le ciel, je me laiflbis aller " et deriver lentement au gre de I'eau, quelquefois pendant " plufieurs heures, plong^ dan&mille reveries confiifes, mais ** delicieufes, et qui fans avoir aucun objet bien determine " ni conftant, ne laifibient pas d'etre a mon gr^ cent fois " preferables a tout ce que j'avois trouve de plus doux dans " ce qu'on appelle les plaifirs de la vie. " — — Quand le foir approchoit, je defcendois des eimes ** dfe' l*ifle, et j'allois volontiers m'afl^eoir au bord du lac, lur " la ii8 Of the Nature of the Emotions " la greve dans quelque afyle cache ; la le bruit des vagues, " et I'agitation de I'eau fixant mes fens, et chaflant de mon " ame toute autre agitation, la plongeoient dans une reverie " delicieufe, oii la nuit me furprenoit fouvent fans que je " m'en fufle apperju. Le flux et reflux de cette eau, fon " bruit continu, mais renfle par intervalles, frappant fans re- " lache mon oreille et mes yeux, fuppleoient aux mouve- " mens internes que la reverie eteig-noit en moi, et fuffi- " foient pour me faire fentir avec plaifir mon exiftence, fans " prendre la peine de penfer. " Tel efl I'etat ou je me fuis trouve fouvent a I'ifle " de St Pierre dans mes reveries folitaires, foit couche dans " mon bateau que je laiflx>is deriver au gre de I'eau, foit af- ** fis fur les rives du lac agite, foit ailleurs au bord d'une " belle riviere, ou d'un ruifl^eau murmurant fur le gravier. " Telle eft la maniere dont j'ai pafl^ mon tems, durant le " fejour que j'y ai fait. Qu'on me dife a prefent ce qu'il " y a la d*afl^z attrayant pour exciter dans mon coeur des " regrets fi vifs, fi tendres, et 11 durables, qu'au bout de " quinze ans il m'eft impofllble de fonger a cette habita- " tion cherie fans m'y fentir a chaque fois tranfporter en- " core par les elans du delir. « — J'ai penfe quelquefois afl!ez profondement, mais " rarement avec plaifir, prefque toujours contre mon gre, " et comme par force ; la reverie me delafTe et m'amufe, la " reflexion o/" Sublimity and Beauty. 119 " reflexion me fatigue et m'attrlfle. Qiielquefois mes re- " verles finiflent par meditation, mais plus fouvent mes me- " ditatlons finiflent par la reverie ; et durant ces egaremens " mon ame erre et plane dans I'univers fur les ailes de I'lma- " gination, dans des extafes qui paflent toute autre jouif- " fance. " Tant que je goutai celle-la dans toute fa purete, toute " autre occupation me fut toujours infipide. Mais quand " une fois, jette dans la carriere literaire, par des impul- " fions etrangers, je fentis la fatigue du travail d'efprit, et " I'importunite d'une celebrite malheureufe, je fentis en me- " me tems languir et s'attieder mes douces reveries, et bien- " tot force de m'occuper malgre moi de ma trlflie fituation, " je ne pus plus retrouver, que bien rarement, ces clieres ex- " tafes, qui durant cinquante ans m'avolent tenti lieu de for- " tune et de gloire ; et fans autre depenfe que celle du terns, " m'avolent rendu dans I'oifivite le plus heureux des mor- " tels." Les Reveries, Promenade 5. et 7., If it is allowed, then, that there is a pleafure annexed by the conftitution of our nature, to the Exerclfe of Imagina- tion ', and if the illuflratlons in the firft chapter are jufl, -which are intended to fliow, that when this exerclfe of mind is not produced, the Emotions of Tafte are unfelt^,, and. that when it is increafed, thefe Emotions are increafed with 120 Of the Nature of the Emotions with it, we feem to poflefs a fufficient evidence to con- clude, that this Pleafure exifts, and forms a part of that pe- culiar pleafure which we receive from objedls of Sublimity and Beauty. The pleafure, therefore, which accompanies the Emotions of Tafte, may be confidered not as a fimple, but as a com- plex pleafure ; and as arifing not from any feparate and pe- culiar Senfe, but from the union of the pleafure of Simple Emotion, with that which is annexed, by the conftitution of the human mind, to the Exercife of Imagination. IV. The diftindion which thus appears to fubfifl between the Emotions of Simple Pleafure, and that complex pleafure which accompanies the Emotions of Tafte, feems to require a fimilar diflindiion in philofophical language. I believe, indeed, that the diftindion is adlually to be found in the common language of converfation 3 and I apprehend that the term delight is very generally ufed to exprefs the pe- culiar pleafure which attends the Emotions of Tafte, in contradiflindioii to the general term Pleafure, which is appropriated to Simple Emotion. We are pleafed, we fay, with the gratification of any appetite or affedion, — with food when hungry, and with refl when tired, — with the gratification o/" Sublimity «//^/ Beauty. i2r gratification of Curiofity, of Benevolence, or of Refentment. But we fay, we are delighted \v\xh the profpecl of a beauti- ful landfcape, with the fight of a fine flatue, with hearing a pathetic piece of mufic, with the perufal of a celebrated poem. In thefe cafes the term Delight is ufed to denote that pleafure which arifes from Sublimity and Beauty, and to diftinguifli it from thofe fimpler pleafures which arife from obje<5ls that are only agreeable. I acknowledge, in- deed, that this difliindlion is not very accurately adhered to in common language, becaufe in mofl cafes, either of the terms equally exprefi^es our meanings but I apprehend, that the obfervation of it is fufficiently general, to ibew fome confcioufnefs in mankind of a difference between thefe plea- fures, and to jufl;ify fuch a difl:ind:ion in philofophical lan- guage as may exprefs it. If it were permitted me therefore, I fhould wifli to appro- priate the term Delight, to fignify the peculiar pleafure which attends the Emotions of Taste, or which is felt WHEN THE Imagination is employed in the prosecu- tion OF A regular train OF IdEAS OF EmOTION. Q. ESSAY II. OF THE SUBLIMITY AND BEAUTY OF THE MATERIAL WORLD. ESSAY II. Of the Sublimity and Beauty of the Material World. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. IF the illuftratlons in the preceding Ellay are juft, if that exercife of mind which takes place when the Emotions of Beauty or Sublimity are felt confifls in the profecution of a regular train of Ideas of Emotion, and if no other ob- jedts are in fadl produdive of the Emotions of Tafte, but fuch as are fitted to produce fome fimple Emotion, there arifes a queftion of fome difficulty, and of very conlider- able importance, viz. What is the fource of the Sublimity and Beauty of the Material World? It cannot be doubted, that many objeds of the Material World are produdive of the Emotions of Sublimity and Beauty : 126 Of the Sublimity and Beauty Beauty : fome of the fine arts are altogether employed a- bout material objedls ; and far the greater part of the in- ftances of Beauty or Sublimity which occur in every man's experience, are found in matter, or in fome of its qua- lities. ♦ On the other hand, I think it muft be allowed, that Mat- ter in itfelf is unfitted to produce any kind of emotion. The various qualities of matter are known to us only by means of our external fenfes ; but all that fuch powers of our nature convey, is Senfation and Perception j and whoever will take the trouble of attending to the effedt which fuch qualities, when fimple and unafibciated, produce upon his mind, will be fatisfi- ed, that in no cafe do they produce Emotion, or the exercife of any of his afFe6tions. The common language of mankind upon this fubjed, perfedly coincides with this obfervation. Such qualities, when fimple, are always fpoken of as producing fenfation, but in no cafe as producing emotion; and al- though perhaps the general word Feeling, (as applied both to our external and internal fenfes), may fometimes be ufed ambiguoufly, yet if we attend to it, we fhall find, that with regard to material qualities, it is uniformly ufed to exprefs Senfation, and that if we fubftitute Emotion for it, every man will perceive the mifliake. The fmell of a rofe, the colour of fcarlet, the tafle of a pine apple, when fpoken of merely as qualities, and abflradted from the objects in which they are found, are faid to produce agreeable Senfations, but of the Material World. 127 but not agreeable Emotions. In the fame manner, the fmell of affafoetida, or the tafte of aloes, when fpoken of as abftrad: qualities, are uniformly faid to produce unpleafing Senfations, but not unpleafing Emotions. If we could con- ceive ourfelves poflefled only of thofe powers which we have by means of our external fenfes, I apprehend there can be BO doubt, that in fuch a cafe, the qualities of matter would produce only lenfation and perception ; that fuch fenfa- tions might be either pleafing or painful, but that in no cafe could they be attended with any emotion. But although the qualities of matter are in thenifelves in- capable of producing emotion, or the exercife of any affec- tion, yet it is obvious that they may produce this effed, from their allbciation with other qualities ; and as being either the figns or expreffions of fuch qualities as are fitted by the conftitution of our nature to produce Emotion. Thus, in the human body, particular forms or colours are the figns of particular pafllons or affedtions. In works of art, parti- cular forms are the figns of Dexterity, of Tafte, of Con- venience, of Utility. In the works of nature, particu- lar founds and colours, 'iJc. are the figns of Peace, or Danger, or Plenty, or Defolation, 'k^c. In fuch cafes, the conftant connexion we difcover between the fign and the thing fignified, between the material quality and the qua- lity produdive of Emotion, renders at lafi; the one expref- five 128 of the Sublimity and Beauty liye to us of the other, and very often difpofes us to attri- bute to the fign, that effed which is pi-oduced only by the quality lignified. That fuch aflbciations are formed with material quali- ties, every man has fufEcient evidence in his own experi- ence ', and there are many caufes which may be alligned, both of the extent and of the univerfality of fuch aflbcia- tions. I fliall remark a few of thefe, without pretending to an accurate enumeration.. I. All thoft external objeds, which, from their nature or conftitution, are produdive to us, either of ufe, of con- venience, or of pleafure, or which in any other way are fitted to produce Emotion, are known and difl:ingui(hed by their qualities of form and colour. Such qualities, therefore, are naturally, and even neceflarily expreilive to us of thofe ufes, or conveniencies, or pleafures. It is by them that we become acquainted with the fubjeds from which fuch utilities arife : it is by them that we learn to dift;inguifli fuch fubjeds from one another j and as they are the permanent figns of thefe feveral utilities, they affed us with the fame emotion which the utilities fignified by them are fitted to produce. The material qualities, for inflance, which dillinguifh a fhip, a plough, a printing-prefs, or a mu- fical inftrument, do not folely afford us the perception of certain colours or forms, but along with this perception, bring of the Matkriai, World. 129 bring with it the conception of the different ufes or plea- fures which fuch compofitions of material quaUties produce, and excite in us the fame Emotion, with the ufes or plea- fures thus fignified. As, in this manner, the utilities or pleafures of all external objedls are expreffed to us by their material figns of Colour and of Form, fuch figns are natu- rally produdlive of the Emotions which properly arife from the qualities fignified. •it ' 2. The qualities of Defign, of Wifdom, of Skill, are uni- formly exprefled to us by certain qualities of Form, and certain compofitions of Forms, Colours and Sounds. Such qualities, therefore, or compofitions of qualities, become the figns of Defign, or Wifdom, or Skill, and like all other figns, affed us with the fame Emotion we receive from the qualities fignified. 3. All our knowledge of the minds of other men, and of their various qualities, is gained by means of material figns. Power, Strength, Wifdom, Fortitude, Juftice, Benevolence, Magnanimity, Gentlenefs, Tendernefs, Love, 'i^c. are all known to us by means of the external figns of them in the Countenance, Gefture, or Voice. Such material figns are therefore very early aflbciated in our minds with the qua- lities they fignify j and as they are confl:ant and invariable, become foon produdtive to us of the fame Emotions with tlie qualities themfelves. R In 130 of the Sublimity and Beauty In the fame manner, the Charaders, the Difpofitions, the Inftin6ls of all the various tribes of animals, are known to us by certain figns in their frame, or voice, or gefture. Such ligns become therefore exprellive to us of thefe Cha- raftersy or Inllinds, or Difpofitions, and affedl us with all the Emotions which fuch qualities are fitted to produce. 4. Befides thefe immediate expreflions of qualities of Mind by material figns, thei'e are others which arife from Refemblance, in which the qualities of Matter become fig- nificant to us, of fome affedling or interefting quality of Mind. We learn from experience, that certain qualities of Mind are fignified by certain qualities of Body. When we find fimilar qualities of body in inanimate Matter, we are apt to attribute to them the fame expreifion, and to conceive them as fignifying the fame qualities in this cale, as in thofe cafes v/here they derive their expreflion immediately from Mind. Thus, Strength and Delicacy, Boldnefs and Mode- lly, Old Age and Youth, 'i^c. are all exprefled by particu^ lar material figns in the human form, and in many cafes by fimilar figns in the forms of animals. When we find fimit lar appearances in the fiorms of inanimate Matter, we are difpofed to confider them as expreflive of the fame qualities, and to regard them with fimilar Emotions. The univerfa-. lity of fuch aflociations is evident from the ftrudure of the rudefl; languages. The flrength of the Oak, the delicacy of the Myrtle, the boldnefs of a Rock, the modefty of the Violet, l^c. are expreflions common in all languages, and fo common. of the' Material World. 131 common, that they are fcarcely in any, confidered as figu- rative ; yet every man knows, that Strength and Weaknefs, Boldnefs and Modefty, are qualities, not of Matter, but of Mind, and that without our knowledge of Mind, it is im- poflible that we fhould ever have had any conception of them. How much the effed: of defcriptions of natural fce- nery arifes from that perfonlfication, which is founded upon fuch aflbciations, I believe there is no man of common tafte who mufl not often have been fenfible. 5. We are led by the conftitution of our nature, alfo, to perceive refemblances between our Senfations and Emotions, and of confequence between the objeds that produce them. Thus, there is fome analogy between the Senfation of gra- dual Afcent, and the Emotion of Ambition, — between the Senfation of gradual Defcent, and the Emotion of Decay, — between the lively Senfation of Sunfhine, and the cheerful Emotion of Joy, — between the painful Senfation of Dark- nefs, and the difpiriting Emotion of Sorrow. In the fame manner, there are analogies between Silence and Tranquil- lity, — between the luftre of Morning, and the gaiety of Hope, — between foftnefs of Colouring, and gentlenefs of Charader, — between flendernefs of Form, and delicacy of Mind, i^c. The objedls, therefore, which produce fuch Senfations, though in themfelves not the immediate figns of fuch interelling or affeding qualities, yet in confequence of this Refemblance, become gradually expreffive of them, and R 2 if 132 Of the Sublimity and Beauty if not always, yet at thofe times at leaft, when we are un- der the dominion of any Emotion, ferve to bring to our minds the images of all thofe affeding or interelling quali- ties, which, we have been accuflomed to fuppofe they re- femble. How extenlive this fource of Affociation is, may eafily be obferved, in the extent of fuch kinds of figurative exprellion in every language. 6. Befides thefe. Language itfelf is another very impor- tant caufe of the extent of fuch AfTociations. The analo- gies between the qualities of Matter, and the qualities of Mind, which any individual might difcover or obferve, might perhaps be few, and muft of courfe be limited by his fituation and circumftances ; but the ufe of Language gives to every individual who employs it, the pofTejUion of all the analogies which fo many ages have obferved, betw^een ma^ terial Qiialities, and Qiialities capable of producing Emo- tion. Of how much confequence this is, may be difcovered in the different impreffions which are made by th€ fame ob- jeCls on the common- people whofe vocabulary is limited by their wants, and on thofe who have had the advantage of a. liberal Education,. 7. To all thefe fources of Affociation is to be added, that- which is peculiar to every, individual. There is no man al- mofl:, who has not, from accident, from the events of his life, or f^-om the nature of his ftudies, connedled agreeable or of the Material World. 133 or interefting Reeolledtions, with particular Colours, or Sounds, or Forms, and to whom fuch founds or colours, Ifc. are not pleafing from fuch an Aflbciation. They affeft usj in fome meafure, as the figns of thefe intercfting qualities, and, as in other cafes, produce in us the fame Emotion with- the qualities they fignify^ Thefe obfervatlons are probably fufFicient to fhow the nu- merous and extenfive aflbciations we have with Matter, and its various qualities, as well as to illuilrate fome of the means by which it becomes fignificant or expreflive to us of very different, and far more interefling qualities than thofe it poffeffes in itfelf. By means of the Connexion, or Refem- blance, which fubfifts between the qualities of Matter, and qualities capable of producing Emotion, the perception of the one immediately, and very often irrefiftibly fuggefls the idea of the other ; and fo early are thefe Aflbciations formed, that it requires afterwards fome pains to feparata this connedion, and to prevent us from attributing to the Sign, that effed which is produced alone by the Quality fig- nified. Whatever may be the truth of thefe obftrvations, it can- not at leafl be doubted, that the qualities of Matter are of- ten affociated with others, and that they affed us in fuch cafes, like all other figns, by leading our imaginations to the i34 0/ the Sublimity and Beauty the qualities they fignify. It feems to be equally obvious, that in all cafes where Matter, or any of its qualities, pro- duces the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, this effedt muft arife either from thefe Material Qualities themfelves, from their being fitted by the conftitution of our nature, to produce fuch Emotions j or from fome other qualities with which they are afTociated, and of which they operate, as the Signs or Expreffions. It fhould feem, therefore, that a very fimple and a very obvious principle is fufEcient to guide our inveftigation into the fource of the fublimity and beauty of the qualities of Matter. If thefe qualities are In themfelves fitted to pro- duce the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, (or in other words, are in themfelves beautiful or fublime), I think it is obvious that they mufl produce thefe Emotions, independent- ly of any aflbciation. If, on the contrary, it is found, that thefe qualities only produce fuch Emotions when they are aflTociated with interefling or afFeding qualities, and that when fuch Aflbciations are deftroyed, they no longer pro- duce the fame Emotions, I think it mufl; alfo be allowed, that their Beauty or Sublimity is to be afcribed, not to the material, but to the aflbciated qualities. That this is in reality the cafe, I fliall endeavour to fhow by a great variety of illufl:rations. It is neceflary, how- ever. of the Material World. 135 ever, for me to premife, that I am very far from confider- ing the Inquiries which follow, as a complete examination of the fubjedt. They are indeed only detached obfervations on the Sublimity and Beauty of fome of the moft impor- tant claiTes of material qualities, but which, however im- perfect they may feverally be, yet feem to poilefs confider- able weight from their coUeded evidence. CHAP- 136 Of the Sublimity and Beauti'' CHAPTER II. Of the Sublimity and Beauty of Sound- THE Senfes by which we chiefly difcover Beauty or Sublimity in material objeds, are thofe of Hearing and Seeing. The objeds of the firfl, are Sounds, whether Simple or Composed. The objeds of the fecond, are Colours, Forms, and Motion. SEC- of the Material World. 137 SECTION I. 0/* Simple Sounds. I Shall begin with confidering feme of thofe inilances, where Simple Sounds are produdive of the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty. Such founds are capable of many di- vifions. It may be fufficient at prefent, to confider them in the following order : 1. Sounds that occur In Inanimate Nature. 2. The Notes of Animals. And, 3. The Tones of the Human Voice. PART I. 0/ Miscellaneous Sounds. Of the firft clafs, or of thofe Mifcellaneous Sounds that occur in inanimate Nature, there are many which produce Emotions of Sublimity and Beauty. S I. '3^ ^f ^^^ Sublimity and Beauty I. T. All founds in general are Sublime, which are afTocia- ted with Ideas of Danger ; the howling of a Storm, — the murmuring of an Earthquake, — the Report of Artillery, — the Explofion of Thunder, Sifc. 2. All founds are in general Sublime, which are aflbcia- ted with Ideas of great Power or Might j the Noife of a Torrent, — the fall of a Catarad, — the uproar of a Tem- peft, — the Explofion of Gun-powder, — the daftiing of the Waves, "i^c. 3. All founds, in the fame manner, are Sublime, which are aflbciated with Ideas of Majefty or Solemnity, or deep Melancholy, or any other llrong Emotion j the Sound of the Trumpet, and all other warlike Inftruments, — the Note of the Organ, — the Sound of the Curfew, — the tolling of the pafllng Bell, Sffr. That the Sublimity of fuch founds arifes from the Ideas of Danger or Power, or Majefty, £sfc. which are aflbciated with them, and not from the Sounds themfelves, or from any original fitnefs in fuch founds, to produce this E- motion, feems to be obvious from the following confide- r at ions : X. Such rjf the Material World. , 139 1. Such founds, Inftead of having any permanent or de- finite Charader of Sublimity, vary in their effed, with the qualities they happen to exprefs, and afTume different cha- raders, according to the nature of thefe qualities. If founds in themfelves were Sublime, it might reafon- ably be expeded in this, as in every other cafe of Senfe, that their difference of effed would be ftridly propor- tioned to their difference of charader, and that Sounds of the fame kind or charader would invariably produce the fame Emotion. The following inftances, however, feem to ihow, that no fpecific charader of Sublimity belongs to mere Sound, and that the fame Sounds may produce very different kinds of Emotion, according to the qualities with which w€ affociate them. The Sound of Thunder Is perhaps of all others in Nature, the mofl Sublime. In the generality of mankind this Su- blimity is founded on Awe, and fome degree of Terror ; yet how different is the Emotion which it gives to the pea- fant who fees at lafl, after a long drought, the confent of Heaven to his prayers for rain, — to the philofopher, who from the height of the Alps, hears it roll beneath his feet, — to the foldier, who, under the impreillon of ancient fuperlli- tion, welcomes it, upon the moment of engagement, as the omen of vidory ! In all thefe cafes, the Sound itfelf is the S 2 fame; 140 Of the Sublimity and Beauty fame ; but how different the nature of the Subhmity it pro- duces ! The report of artillery is Sublime, from the images both of Power and of Danger we afTociate with it. The noife of an engagement heard from a diftance, is dreadfully Sublime. The firing of a Review is fcarcely more than magnificent. The found of a real fkirmilh between a few hundred men, would be more fublime than all the noife of a "feigned engagement between a hundred thoufand men. The ftraggling fire of a company of foldiers- upon a field- day, is contemptible, and always excites laughter. The ftraggling fire of the fame number of men, in a riot, would be extremely fublime, and perhaps more terrible than an uniform report. The howling of a Tempefl: is powerfully Sublime from many aflbciations j yet how different to the inhabitant of the land, and the failor, who is far from refuge, — to the in-^ habitant of the fheltered plain, and the traveller bewilder- ed in the mountains, — to the poor man who has nothing to lofe, and the wealthy, whofe fortunes are at the mercy of the ftorm I In all thefe cafes, the Sound itfelf is the fame, but the nature of the Sublimity it produces is altogether different, and correfponds, not to the effed: upon the organ of Hearing, but to the charadler or fituations of the men by whom it is heard, and the different qualities of which it is expreilive to them. The of the Material World. 141 The Sound of a Cafcade is almoft always Sublime ; yet no man ever felt in it the fame fpecies of Sublimity, in a fruit- ful Plain, and in a wild and romantic Country, — in the Pride or Summer, and in the Defolation of Winter, — in the hours of Gaiety, or Tranquillity, or Elevation, — and in fea- fons of Melancholy, or Anxiety, or Defpair. The Sound of a Trumpet is often Sublime \ but how different the Subli- mity in the day of Battle, — in the March of an Army in Peace, — or amid the fplendours of a Proceflion. There are few fimple founds more fublime than the report of a Cannon ; yet every one mull have felt the different Emo- tions of Sublimity with which the fame found affeds him, and at the lame intei'vals, in moments of public Sorrow, or public Rejoicing. In thefe and many other inllances that might be mention -- ed, the nature of the Emotion we experience, correfponds, not to the nature of the Sound itfelf, but to the nature of the AlTociation we conned: with it ; and is in fad: altogether the fame with the Emotion which the lame quality pro- duces, when unaccompanied with Sound. If Sounds in themfelves were fitted by the conftitution of our nature to produce thefe Emotions, it would feem, that greater uni- formity would be found in their effeds ; that the difference of their effeds would be proportioned to the difference of their nature as Sounds ; and that the fame Sounds would per- manently produce the fame Emotion. a. If 142 Of the Sublimity and Beauty 2. If any particular founds are fitted by our conftitution to produce the Emotion of Sublimity, it feems impolTible that founds of a contrary kind fhould produce the fame E- motion. If, on the contrary, the Sublimity of Sounds arifes from the qualities we alfociate with them, it may reafon- ably be expected, that founds of all kinds will produce this Emotion, when they are expreflive of fuch qualities as are in themfelves Sublime. Many very familiar obfervations feem to illuftrate this point. The mofl general charader, perhaps, of Sublimity in Sounds, is that of Loudnefs, and there are doubtlefs many inflances where fuch founds are very conftantly fublime; yet there are many inflances alfo, where the contrary qua- lity of founds is alfo fublime ; and when this happens, it will univerfally be found, that fuch founds are aflbciated with Ideas of Power or Danger, or fome other quality ca- pable of exciting ftrong Emotion. The loud and tumultu- ous found of a Storm is undoubtedly Sublime ; but there is A low and feeble Sound which frequently precedes it, more fublime in reality than all the uproar of the ftorm itfelf, and which has accordingly been frequently made ufe of by Poets, in heightening their defcriptions of fuch fcenes. Along the woods, along the moorifh fens Sighs the fad Genius of the coming ftorm. And up among the loofe disjointed cliffs And of the Material World. 14J And fradlur'd mountains wild, the brawling brook And cave prefagefiil fend a hollow moan Refounding long in Fancy's liftening ear. Then comes the Father of the Tempeft forth, ire. T^homfoii's Winter, " Did you never obferve (fays Mr Gray in a letter to a " friend) while rocking winds are piping loud, that paufe, as " the guft Is recoUedling itfelf, and rlfing upon the ear in " a fhrill and plaintive note, like the fwell of an ^olian " harp. I do aiTure you there is nothing in the world fo " like the voice of a fpirit." Such a found in itfelf is in- confiderable, and refembles many others which are very far from being fublime ; but as the forerunner of the ftorm, and the fign of all the imagery we conned with it, it is fu- blime in a very great degree. There is in the f^me man- ner faid to be a low rumbling noife preceding an earthquake, in itfelf very inconliderable, and generally likened to fome very contemptible founds ; yet in fucli a fituatlon, and with all the images of danger and horror to which it leads, I queftion whether there is another found fo dreadfully Su- blime. The foft and placid tone of the human voice is furely not fublime j yet in the following pafTage, which of the great images that precede it, is fo powerfully fo ? It is a paffage from the firfl: book of Kings, in which the Deity is defcribed as appearing to the Prophet Elijah. " And he " faid. Go forth, and ftand upon the mount before the " Lord, 744 ^f f^^ Sublimity and Beauty " Lord. And behold, the Lord pafled by, and a great and " flrong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the " rocks before the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind : " and after the wind an earthquake ; but the Lord was not " in the earthquake : and after the earthquake a fire j but " the Lord was not in the fire : and after the fire ajlillfmall ^' vo'iM. And it was fo, when Elijah heard it, that he " wrapped his face in his mantle." Another great divifion of Sounds is into Grave and Acute. If either of thefe clafles of fomid is fublime in itfelf, it fhould follow, according to the general laws of Senfation, that the other fliould not be fo. In fad, however, the Su- blime is found in both, and perhaps it may be difficult to fay to which of them it mofl: permanently belongs. In- ftances of this kind are within the reach of every perfon's obfervation. In the fame manner, It may be obferved, that the moft com- mon, and, in general, the moll infignificant Sounds become Sublime, whenever they are aflbciated with images belonging to Power, or Dcmger, or Melancholy, or any other flrong Emotion, although in other cafes they affed us with no Emo- tion whatever. There is fcarcely in nature a more trifling Sound than the buzz of Flies, yet I believe there is no man of common Tafte, who, in the deep filence of a fummer's noon, has not found fomethiug flrikingly fublime in this inconfiderable of the Material World. 145 jnconfiderable found. The falling of a drop of water, pro- duces in general a very infignificant and unexpreflive founds yet fometimes in vaults, and in large Cathedrals, a fingle drop is heard to fall at Intervals, from the roof, than which, I know not if there is a fingle found more ftrikingly Sublime. One can fcarcely mention a found lefs produdlive of the Su- blime, than the found of a Hammer. How powerfully, how- ever, in the following defcription has Shakefpeare made this vulgar Sound Sublime ! From camp to camp, thro' the foul womb of night The hum of either army. Hilly founds. That the fix'd fentinels almofl receive The fecret whifpers of each other's watch. Fire anfwers fire, and thro' their paly flames Each battle fees the other's umber'd face j Steed anfwers fleed in high and boaftful neighs Piercing the earth's dull ear, and from the tents The armourers accompliQiing the knights With bufy hammers, clofing rivets up Give dreadful note of preparation. Henry V. a£l ^. Chorus., The found of oars in water is furely very far from being Sublime, yet in a Tragedy of Thomfon's, this found is made ftrikingly Sublime, when (in the perfon of a man who had been left by the treachery of his companions upon a defart T ifiand), 146 of the Sublimity and Beauty ifland), he defcribes the horrors he felt, when he firft found his being deferted : And adds, I never heard A found fo difmal as their parting oars.- Inftances of the fame kind are {o numerous, that it is unne- ceflary to infill upon them. If Sounds are Sublime in them- felves, independently of all AlTociation, it feems difficult to account for contrary founds producing the fame eifedt, and for the fame founds producing different effedls, according to the AlTociations with which they are connedled. 3. When fuch AlTociations are diflblved, the founds them- felves ceafe to be Sublime. There are many cafes, undoubt- edly in which this experiment cannot be made, becaufe in many cafes the connediion between fuch Sounds, and the Qualities they indicate, is conftant and invariable. The connexion between the found of Thunder, of a Whirl- wind, of a Torrent, of an Earthquake, and the qualities of Power, or Danger, or Awfulnefs, which they fignify, and which the objefts themfelves permanently involve, is ella- blilhed not by Man, but by Nature. It has no dependence upon his Will, and cannot be affedled by any difcipline of his Imagination. It is no wonder, therefore, while fuch connedions are fo permanent, that the Sublimity which be- longs to the qualities of the objedls themfelves, Ihould be attributed to their external ligns, and that fuch figns fliould be of the Material World. 147 be confidered in themfelves as fitted to produce this Emo- tion. The only cafe in which thefe afTociations are pofitive- ly diflblved, is when, by fotne error of judgment, we either miflake fome different found, for the Sound of any of thefe obje<51;s, or are impofed upon by fome imitation of thefe Sounds. In fuch cafes, I think it will not be denied, that when we difcover our miftake, the Sounds are no longer Su- blime. There is nothing more common than for people who are afraid of Thunder, to miftake fome very common and indif- ferent found for it ; as the rumbling of a Cart, or the rat- tling of a Carriage. While their miftake continues, they feel the Sound as fiiblime : the moment they are undecei- ved, they are the firft to laugh at their error, and to ridi- cule the Sound which occafioned it. Children at firft are as much alarmed at the Thunder of the Stage, as at real Thunder. Whenever they find that it is only a deception, they amufe themfelves with mimicking it. It may be obferved alfo, that very young children ftiow no fymptoms of Fear or Admira- tion at Thunder, unlefs perhaps when it is painfully loud, or when they fee other people alarmed about them ; obvi- oufly from their not having yet aflbciated with it the Idea of Danger: and perhaps alfo from this caufe, that our imagination aflifts the report, and makes it appear much louder than it really is j a circumftance which feems to be confirmed by the common miftake we make of very incon- T 2 fiderable 148 Of the Sublimity and Beauty fiderable noifes for it. Miftakes in the fame manner are often made in thofe countries where earthquakes are com- mon, between very inconfiderable founds, and that low rumbling found which is faid to precede fuch an event. There cannot be a doubt, that the moment the miftake is difcovered, the noife ceafes to be fublime. In all other cafes of the fame kind, where miflakes of this nature happen, or where we are deceived by imitation, I believe it is agree- able to every perfon's experience, that while the miftake continues, the founds affedl us as fublime ; but that as foon as we are undeceived, and that the fign is found not to be accompanied with the qualities ufually fignified, it ceafes immediately to affe£l: us with any Emotion. If any founds were in themfelves Sublime, or fitted by the confti- tution of our nature to produce this Emotion, independent- ly of all AlTociation, it would feem that there could be no change of our Emotion, and that thefe Sounds would as per- manently produce their correfpondent Emotion, as the ob- jeds of every other Senfe produce their correfpondent ideas. In all cafes, however, where thefe aflbciations are either accidental or temporary, and not as in the former cafe, per- manent in their nature, it will be found, that founds are fu- blime only, when they are expreflive of qualities capable of producing fome powerful Emotion, and that in all other cafes the fame founds are limply indifferent. In fome of the of the Material World. i^g the inftances formerly rnentloned, where common or vul- gar founds are rendered fublime by affociation, it is obvi- ous that the fame founds in general, when they have no fuch expi"efIlon to us, are very different from Sublimity. The buzz of flies, the dropping of water, the found of a hammer, the dafhing of an oar, and many others which might eafily be mentioned, are in general. Sounds abfolutely indifferent, and fo far from poflefUng any Sublimity in themfelves, that it might be difHcult at firfl: to perfuade any man that they could be made fo. Their Sublimity there- fore can only be attributed to the qualities which they fig- nify. There are few founds, in the fame manner, much more fublime, than the flriking of a clock at midnight. In other fituations the very fame found is altogether different in its ex- prefllon. In the morning it is cheerful, — at noon indifferent, or at leaft unnoticed. In the evening plaintive,^ — at night only fublime. In the tolling of a bell, the found is uniformly the fame; yet fuch a found has very different exprellions, from the peculiar purpofes to which it is applied. The pafling bell, and the funeral bell, alone are fublime. The whiflling of the wind in an autumnal, or in a wintry night, is often felt as fublime, and has accordingly been frequently introduced into poetical defcriptions of a limilar charadler. The niceft ear, however, is unable to diflingulfh any difference be- twixt this found, In the feafons before mentioned, and in fpring or fummer, when, if it has any charader at all, it has 15© Of the Sublimity mid Beauty a charadler very different from Sublimity, The Trumpet is very generally employed in fcenes of Magnificence or So- iemnity. The found of the trumpet in fuch fituations is accordingly very fublime, and feems to us to be expreflive of that folemnity or magnificence. This inftrument, how- ever, as every one knows, is very often degraded to very mean offices. In fuch cafes, the found is altogether indif- ferent, if not contemptible. The Bagpipe has, to a Scotch Highlander, no inconfiderable degree of fublimity, from its being the martial inftrument of the country, and of confe- quence aflbciated with many fpirited and many magnificent images. To the reft of the world, the found of this inftru- ment is at beft but barely tolerable. They who are ac- quainted with the hiftory of fuperftition, will recoiled many inftances where Sounds have become fublime from this Af- fociation, which to the reft of mankind were very infignifi- cant, and which have become alfo infignificant both to In- dividuals and to Nations, when the fuperftitions upon which their expreflion was founded, had ceafed. There are feveral other confiderations, from which the principle I here endeavour to illuftrate might be confirm- ed, — ^the unlfonn connedion between Sublime Sounds, and fome quality capable of producing Emotion, and the im- poflibllity of finding an inftance where Sound is Sublime, independently of all Aflbciation, — the great difference in the number of founds that are fublime to the common people, of the Material World. T51 people, and men of cultivated or poetical imagination, — and the difference which every man feels in the effed of fuch founds in producing this Emotion, according to the particular ftate of his own mind, or according to the particular flrength. or weaknefs of his fenfibility to the qualities which fuch founds exprefs. But I am unwilling to anticipate the reader in fpeculations which he can fo eafily profecute for himfelf. If the illuilrations I have already offered are juft; if Sounds of all kinds are fublime, when they are expreffive of any qualities capable of producing flrong Emotions j and if no Sounds continue to be fublime, when they ceafe to be ex- preffive of fuch qualities, it is, I think reafonable to con- elude, that the Sublimity of fuch Sounds is to be afcribed, not to the mere quality of Sound, but to thofe affociated qualities of which it is iignificant. 11. There is a great variety of founds alfo, that occur in the fcenes of Nature, which are produdtive of the Emotion of Beauty 5 the found of a Waterfall, the murmuring of a Rivulet, the whifpering of the Wind, the Sheepfold Bell, the found of the Curfew, ^'c. That fuch founds are affociated in our minds, with vari- ous qiialities capable of producing Emotion, I think every man 152 Of the Sublimity and Beauty man may be fatisfied from his own experience. When fuch founds occur, they are expreflive to us of fome particular character : they fuit one fpecies of Emotion, and not others; and if this were not obvious in itfelf, it might be made fufEciently obvious, from the ufe of fuch founds in poe- tical Compolition. Every man, there, judges of the pro- priety of their introdudion, and determines with regard to the tafte ^nd judgment of the Poet, by their fuitable- nefs to the nature of the Emotion he has it in his view to excite. Every man, therefore, has fome peculiar Emotion alTociated with fuch founds, or fome quality, of which they are -confidered as the figns or expreflions. That the Beauty of fuch founds arifes from the qualities of which they are expreflive, and not from any original fit- nefs in them to produce this Emotion, may perhaps be evi- dent from the following confiderations : I. To thofe who have no fuch aflbciations, or who confi- der them limply as Sounds, they have no beauty. It is long before children fliow any degree of fenfibility to the beauty of fuch founds. To the greater number of them, in the fame manner, the common people are altogether indif- ferent. To the peafant, the Curfew is only the mark of the hour of the evening,— the Sheep-bell, the fign of the neighbourhood of the flock, — the found of a Cafcade, the fign of the falling of water, i^c. Give them the aflbcia- tions of the Material World. 153 tions which men of cultivated imagination have with fuch founds, and they will infallibly feel their beauty. In the fame manner, men of the beft "natural tafte, who have not formed fuch aflbciations, are equally infenfible to the beauty of fuch Sounds. The inhabitant of a country where there are no waterfalls, is ftunned at firft with the noife of a cafcade, but is not delighted with it. They who are not accuflomed to the Curfew, and who are ignorant of its being the evening bell, and as fuch, allbciated with all thofe images of tranquillity and peace, which render that feafon of the day fo charming, feel nothing more from its found, than from the found of a bell at any other hour of the day. The found af the Sheepfold bell is but an inlig- nificant noife to thofe who have never lived in a paftoral country, and who do not confider it as exprelfive of thofe images of (imple and romantic pleafure, which are fo natu- rally conneded with fuch fcenes. Every man acquainted with the poetry of diftant nations, knows, in the fame man- ner, how much the beauty of many allufions to peculiar founds of thefe countries is loft to thofe, who are ftrangers to them, and who, of confequence, have none of thofe affo- ciations which render them fo expreflive to the natives. 2. It is further obfervable, that fuch Sounds are beautiful only in particular tempers off mind, or when we are under the influence of fuch Emotions as accoi-d with the expref- U fions ^54 Of the Sublimity and Beavty lions which they pOfTefs. If, on the contrary, fuch founds were beautiful in themfelves, although in different ftates of mind, we might afford them different degrees of atten- tion j yet in all fituations they would be beautiful> in, the fame manner as in every ftate of mind the obje(5ts of all other fenfes uniformly produce their correfpondent ideas. The found of the Curfew, for inftance, fo beautiful in mo- ments of melancholy, or tranquillity, in a joyful or eveti in a. cheerful hour, would be diredly the reverfe. The found of a Waterfall, fo valued amid the luxuriant fcenery of fum- mer, is fcarcely obferved, or if obferved, limply difagreeable amid the rigors of winter. The found of the hunting Horn, fo extremely pidturefque in feafons of gaiety, would be in* fupportable in hours of melancholy. It is at particular feafons only, in truth, that we, are fen- fible to the beauty of any of the Sounds before mentioned. For once that they affedl us, they occur to us ten times without effed. The real and the moll important bulinefs of life could not be carried on, if we were to indulge at all times our Senfibility either to Sublimity or Beauty. It is only at thofe feafons, that fuch founds affed us with any Emotions of Beauty, when we happen to be in that temper of mind, which fuits with the qualities of which they are exprellive. In our common hours, when we are either thoughtlefs or bufy, we fuffer them to pafs without notice. If '^'of'ihe MATERiiii WdRtD. V' 155 IfTuch founds Srbl^e'beautifiiil in' themfelves, iuch variations in their efFeiSs could not polTibly hafjpen. "53i''Wheii'flii:h aflbciatidhs'are difTolvedi' tlife'fbuhd^ theiti-' felves ceafe"io be beautiful. If' a m^h of the'ttioft GbiiJiriori tafte were cai^ried "into any ftriking feetie of an ornament- ed * garden/ and placed: within the hearitig "of* 'a Cafcade, and were told, in the midfl: of his enthufiafm, that what he takes for a Cafcade is only a DeceptioU^* the found c6n- tinues the fame, but the beauty of it would be irrecover- ably gone. The tinkling of the Sheepfold bell may be imi- tated by many very common founds ; but who is there who could for a moment liften to any imitation of this romantic Sound ? There are a great number of founds which exad- ly refemble the found of the hunting Horn, and which are frequently heard alfo in the fame fcenes : when known, however, fome of them are ridiculous, none beautiful. The fame bell which is fo flrikingly beautiful in the even- ing, is altogether unnoticed at noon. " The flute of a ** Shepherd (fays Dr Beattie, with his ufual beauty of ex- " preflion) heard at a diftance, in a fine fummer's day, a- " midfl a romantic fcene of groves, hills, • and waters, will " give rapture to thfe ear of the wanderer ; though the tune, ** the inflrumelit, and' the mtifician be fuch as he could not " endure in any other place." Inftances of a fimilar kind are fo numerous, that I forbear to detail them. Upon the fiippofition of any original and independent beauty in Sounds, fuch variations are altogether unaccountable. U 2 I 15^ ^f ^^^ Sublimity and Beauty I fliall only farther obferve upon this fubjed, that when it is confidered, how few Sounds are beautiful amid the in- finite number which occur in the fcenes of Nature, and that wherever they do occur, there is always fome pleafing or in- terefting quality of which they are expreffive, there arifes a very ftrong prefumption, independently of all other confi- derations, that the Beauty of fuch particular Sounds is de- rived from the qualities which they exprefs, and not the ef- fed of the mere founds themfelves. ..fi. PART II. Of the Notes of Animals. There are inftances, I believe, both of Sublimity and Beauty, in the Notes of Animals. That fuch Sounds are aflbciated with the qualities of the Animals to which they belong, and become expreffive of thefe qualities, cannot, I chink, be denied. There are befides other ailbciations we have with them, from their Manner of Life, the Scenes which they ufually inhabit, and the Cotmtries from which they come. I. of the Material World. xs^j I- That the Notes or Cries of fome animals are Sublime, every one knows : the Roar of the Lion, the Growling of Bears, the Howling of Wolves, the Scream of the Eagle, Sffr. In all thofe cafes, thefe are the notes of animals remarkable for their ftrength, and formidable from their ferocity. It would feem very natural, therefore, that the Sublimity of fiich Sounds fhould arife from the qualities of which they are expreffive ; and which are of a nature fitted to excite very powerful Emotions in our minds. That this is in reality the cafe, and that it is not the Sounds chemfelves which have this effed, appears to be obvious from the two following confiderations : 1. When we have no aflociations of this kind, fuch Sounds are productive of no fuch Emotion. There is not one of thefe Sounds which may not be imitated in fome manner or other ; and which, while we are ignorant of the deception, does not produce the fame Emotion with the real Sound : when we are undeceived, however, we are confcious of no other Emotion, but that perhaps of fimple pain from its loudnefs. The howl of the Wolf is little diftinguifhed from the howl of the Dog, either in its tone or in its ftrength, but there is no comparifon between their Sublimity. There are 158 Of the Sublimity and Beauty are few, if any of thefe Sounds fo loud as the mofl common of all Sounds, the lowing of a Cow; yet this is the very re- verfe of Sublimity. Imagine this Sound, on the contrary, exprefllve of Fiercenefs or Strength, and there can be no doubt that it would become Sublime. The hooting «f ,the Owl at midnight, or amid ruins, is ftrikingly Sublime. The fame Sound at noon, or during the day, is very far froiri be-' ing fo. The fcream of the Eagle is {imply difagreeable, when the bird is either tamed or confined : it is Sublime only, when it is heard amid Rocks aoid Defarts, and when it is exprefllve to us of Liberty, and. Independence, and {k- vage Majefl:y. The neighing o^f a War-horfe in the field of battle, or of a young and untamed Horfe when at large a- mong mountains, is powerfully Sublime. The fantie. .found in a Cart-horfe, or a Horfe in the flable, is fimply indiffe- rent, if not difagreeable. No Sound is more ' abfolutely mean, than the grunting of Swine. The fame Sound in the wild Boar, an animal remarkable both for fiercenefs and ftrength, is Sublime. The memory of the reader will fup- ply many other inftances. 2. The Sublimity of fuch founds correfponds not to their Nature, as Sounds, but to the Nature of the Qualities. they fignlfy. Sounds of all kinds are Sublime, in proportion as they are exprefllve of Power, or Fiercenefs, or Strength, or any other quality capable of producing ftrong Emotions in the animals which they diflinguifli. There are ' many in- ftances . of the Material World. 159 ftances undoubtedly where loud Cries are Sul)lime, but there are many alfo, where fuch Notes- are very far from being fo. The lowing of Cows, the braying of the Afs, the fcream of the Peacock, and many other iuoffenlive birds, are only mean or difagreeable. Low or feeble Sounds, in the fame manner, are general- ly confidered as the contrary of Sublime j yet there are alfo many inflances where fuch Sounds are ftrongly Su- blime, when they diflinguifh the notes of fierce, or danger- ous, or powerful animals. There is not a Sound fo gene- rally contemptible as that which we diflinguifh by the name of Hifling, yet this is the Sound appropriated to Serpents, and the greater part of poifonous reptiles ; and, as fuch, is extremely Sublime. The noife of the Rattlefnake (that mofl dangerous animal of all his tribe) is very little dif- ferent from the noife of a child's play-thing, yet who will deny its Sublimity I The growl of the Tyger refembles the purring of a Cat : the one is Sublime, the other infigni- ficant. Nothing can be more trifling than the Sound pro- duced by that little animal, which among the common people is called the Death-watch ; yet many a bold heart hath felt its power. The inhabitants of modern Europe would fmile, if they were alked, if there were any Subli- mity in the Notes of Chickens, or Swallows, or Magpies j yet under the influence of ancient fuperflition, when fuch animals were confidered as ominous, the braveft among the people i6o Of the Sublimity and Beauty people have trembled at their Sound. The fuperftitions of other countries afford innumerable inftances of the fame kind. If thefe illuftrations are juft, it Ihould feem, that the Su- blimity of the Notes of Animals is to be afcribed to the Aflbciations we conned with them, and not to any original titnefs in the mere Sounds themfelves, to produce this E- motion. II. That the Beauty of the Notes or Cries of Animals arifes from the fame caufe, or from the qualities of which they are expreflive to us, may perhaps be obvious from confide- rations equally familiar. It feems at leaft very difficult to account for the inftances of fuch Sounds which are univerfally reckoned beautiful, if we confider the Sounds themfelves as die caufes of this Emotion. The number of notes is as various .as the diffe- rent fpecies of animals, and amid thefe there are a thou- fand inftances, where fimilar Sounds are by no means pro- dudlve of limllar effetfls ; and where, although the differ- ence to the Ear is extremely fmall, there is yet a great dif- ference in their capacity of producing fuch Emotions. If, on of the Material World. i6r 43n the contrary, we confider the fource of their beauty, as iconfifting in the pleafing or afleding qualities with which fuch founds are aflbciated, we have an eafy folution of the difficulty, and which will be found at the iame tipae perfect ly to agree with the fad:s. It would lead to a very long, and very unnecelTary en- quiry, if I were to attempt to enumerate the various Notes of this kind that are beautiful, and the different aflbciations we have with them. That with many fuch founds we have in fa6l fuch aflbciations, is a matter, I apprehend, fo con- formable to every nxan's experience, that it would be fuper- fluous to attempt to prove it. There is indeed one clafs of animals, of which the notes are in a Angular degree objeds of Beauty : I mean Birds j and for this we may aflign very fufficient reafons. ijl, Such notes approach much nearer than any other, to the tones of the human voice, and are therefore much more ftrongly ex- prelTive to us of fuch qualities as we are affeded by. 2^/^, Thefe animals are much more than any other the objeds of our intereil and regard j not only from our greater acquaint- ance with them, and from the minutenefs and delicacy of their forms, which renders them in fome meafure the ob- jedls of Tendernefs ; but chiefly from their modes of life, and from the little domeftic arrangements and attachments which we obferve among them fo much more ftrongly than X among l62 Of the Sublimity and Beauty among any other animals, and which indicate more affect- ing and endearing qualities in the animals themfelves, than in any others we know. That we have luch aflbciations with Birds, is very obvious, from the ufe which is made of their inflindls and manner of life, in the poetical compofi- tions of all nations. That it is from fuch aflbciations the beauty of the notes of animals arifes, may appear from the following confidera- tions : I. They who have no fuch aflbciations, feel no Emotion of Beauty from them. A peafant would laugh, if he were afked, if the call of a Goat,^ or the bleat of a Sheep, or the lowing of a Cow were beautiful ; yet in certain fituations, all of thefe are undoubtedly fo. A child fliows no fymptom of admiration at thofe Sounds which are moft affedting in natural fcenery, to other people. Every one will recolledl, in what total indifference his early years wei-e paffed, to that multitude of beautiful Sounds which occur in the coun- try ; and I believe, if we attend to it fufliciently, it will be found, that the period when we became fenfible to their beauty, was when we firft began to feel them as expreflive, either from our own obfervation of Nature, or from the perufal of books of poetry. In the fame manner, they who travel into very diftant countries, are at firfl; infenfible to the beauty which the natives of thefe countries afcribe to die of the Material World. 163 the notes of the animals belonging to them, obvloufly from their not having yet acquired the aflbciations which is the foundation of their beauty. The notes which are facred from any kind of fuperftition, are beautiful only to thofe who are under the dominion of that fuperftition. A fo- reigner does not diftinguifh any beauty in the note of the Stork. To the Hollander, however, to whom that bird is the objedl of a very popular and very pleafing fuperftition, this note is fingularly beautiful. 2. Such Sounds as are either from experience, or from imagination, aflbciated with certain qualities capable of pro- ducing Emotion, are beautiful only when they are perceived in thofe tempers of mind which are favourable to thefe E- motions. Inftances of this are very numerous. The bleat- ing of a Lamb is beautiful in a fine day in fpring : in the depth of winter it is very far from being fo. The lowing of a Cow at a diftance, amid the fcenery of a paftoral landfcape In fummer, is extremely beautiful : in a farm-yard it is abfolutely difagreeable. The hum of the Beetle is beau- tiful in a fine fummer evening, as appearing to fuit the ftillnefs and repofe of that pleafing feafon : in the noon of day it is perfedly indifferent. The twitter of the Swallow is beautiful in the morning, and feems to be exprefllve of the cheerfulnefs of that time : at any other hour it is quite infignificant. Even the fong of the Nightingale, fo won- derfully charming in the twilight, or at night, is altogether X 2 difiregarded 164 Of the Sublimity and Beauty difregarded during the day ; In fo much fo, that It has gi- ven r-.fe to the common miftake, that this bird does not fing but at night. If fuch notes were beautiful in themfelves, independently of all aflbciation, they would, neceilarily, at all times be beautiful.. 3. In this, as in other cafes before mentioned, when Hich afTociatlons are deftroyed, the Beauty of the Sounds ceafes to be felt. The call of a Goat, for Inftance, among rocks, is ftriklngly beautiful, as exprelling wildnefs and indepen- dence. In a farm-yard, or in a common inclofure, it is very far from being fo. The plaintive and interefting bleat of the Lamb ceafes to be beautiful whenever it ceafes to be the fign of Infancy, and the call for that tendernefs which the infancy of all animals fo naturally demands. There is a bird that Imitates tlie notes of all other birds with great accuracy. Such imitations, however, are not in the leaft beautiful in It. There are people, in' the fame manner, who imitate the fong of birds with furprifing dexterity. It is the imitation, however. In fuch a cafe, that alone pleafes us, and not the notes themfelves. It Is poilible (ac- cording to the curious experiments of Mr Barrington) to teach a bird of any fpecies the notes of any other Ipecies. It may however, I think very juftly be doubted, whetherthe acquired notes would be equally beautiful. The connedlon we obferve between particular birds, and the peculiar fcenes in Nature which they inhabit, and the different feafons at which of th£ Material Would. rgj' which they appear 3 and the great difference in their in- ftinds and manner of life, render their notes expreilive to us of very di/Timilar charaders^ arid we accordingly di- ftinguiih thlem; :hy epithets expreffive of this variety. The wildncfs. of tl>^ Linnet, the tendernefs of the Redbreaffc, the pertnefs'Of the Sparrow, the cheerfulnefs of the Lark, the foftnefs of the Bulfinch, the plaintivenefs of the Nightin- gale, the melancholy, of the Owi, are exprellions in gene- ral ufe, and the Aflbciations we thus conned with them, very obvioufly determine the charader or exprellion of their Notes. By the artificial education above mentioned, all thefe AfFociations would be dellroyed ; and as far as I- am able to judge, all, or at leaft a great parr of the Beauty we feel from their fongs. It is in the fame manner, that we are generally unhappy, inftead of being delighted with the fongof a. bird in the cage. It is fomewhat like the frnile of Grief, which is much more dreadful than tears, or like the playfulnefs of an infant, amid fcenes of Sorrow. It is difficult therefore to fay, whether in this cruel pradice there is a greater want of Tafte or of Humanity ; and there Gould be in fad no excufe for it, if there were not a kind of tendernefs excited towards them, from the refledion that they are altogether dependent upon our benevolence, and a very natural gratitude awakened, by the exertions they make for our pleafure.. i66 Of the Sublimity and Beauty I forbear to produce any farther illuftrations on this fubjed. From thofe that have been produced, it feems to me that we have fufficient ground for concluding, that, of thofe Sounds which have been confidered, the Sounds that occur in the fcenes of Nature, and the Sounds produced by animals, the Sublimity or Beauty arifes from the qualities of which they are confidered as the Sigps or Exprefllons, and not from any original fitnefs in the Sounds themfelves to produce fuch Emotions. I have only further to add, that upon the principle of the abfolute and independent Sublimity or Beauty of Sounds, it is very difficult to account for the different Sounds which have been mentioned as produdlive of thefe Emotions. There is certainly no refemblance as founds, between the noife of Thunder, and the hifling of a Serpent, — between the growling of a Tyger, and the explofion of Gunpowder, — between the fcream of an Eagle, and the fhouting of a mul- titude ; yet all of thefe are Sublime. In the fame manner, there is as little refemblance, between the tinkling of the Sheepfold bell, and the murmuring of the Breeze, — between the hum of the Beetle, and the fong of the Lark,^ — between the twitter of the Swallow, and the found of the Curfew ; yet all of thefe are beautiful. Upon the principle which I jendeavour to illuftrate, they are all perfedly accountable. PART of the Material World. 167 PART III. Of the Tones of the Human Voice. There is a fimilar Sublimity or Beauty felt in particular Notes or Tones of the human Voice. That fuch Sounds are aflbciated in our Imaginations, with the qualities of mind of which they are in general expref- live, and that they naturally produce in us the conception of thefe qualities, is a fadl fo obvious, that there is no man who muft not have obferved it. There are fome Philofo- phers who confider thefe as the natural figns of Pallion or Affedion, and who believe that it is not from Experience, but by means of an original Faculty, that we interpret them^ and this opinion is fupported by great authorities. Whe- ther this is fo, or not, in the prefent enquiry, is of no very great importance ; fince, although it fliould be denied that we underftand fueh figns inflindlively, it cannot be denied, that very early in infancy this AITociation is formed, and that our opinions and condud are regulated by it. That the Beauty or Sublimity of fuch Tones, arifes from the nature of the qualities they exprefs, and not from the nature i68 Of the Sublimity and Beauty nature of the Sounds themfelves, may perhaps appear from the followhig obfervations. I. Such founds are beautiful or fublime, only, as they ex- :prefs Palfions or Affedions which excite our fympathy. There are a great variety of tones in the human voice,' yet all thefe tones are not beautiful. If we enquire what are the par- ticular Tones which are fo, it will univerfally be found, that they are fuch as are expreflive of pleafing or intereft- ing affedions. The tones peculiar to Anger, Peeviflinefs, Malice, Envy, Mifanthropy, Deceit, i^c. are neither agree- able, nor beautiful. The tone of Good Nature, though very agreeable, is not beautiful but at particular feafons, be- caufe the quality itfelf is in general rather the fource of complacence than pleafurei w€ regret the want of it, but we do not much enjoy its prefence. On the contrary, the tones peculiar to Hope, Joy, Humility, Gentlenefs, Mode- fty, 'Melancholy, l^c. though all extremely different, are all beautiful ; becaufe the qualities they exprefs are all the objeds of Intereft and Approbation. In the fame manner, the tones peculiar to Magnanimity, Fortitude, Self-denial, Patience, Refignation, t^c. are all fublime \ and for a fimilar reafon. This coincidence of the Beauty and Sublimity of the Tones of the human Voice, with thofe qualities of mind that are intercfling or affeding to us. If it is not a formal proof, is yet a lirong prefumption that it is from the ex- preilion of the Material World. 169 preflion of fuch qualities that thefe founds derive their Su- blimity or Beauty. 2. The efFed of fuch founds in producing thefe Emotions, inftead of being permanent, is limited by the particular temper of mind we happen to be in, or by the coincidence between that temper, and the peculiar qualities of which fuch founds are exprefllve. To mofl men, for inftance, the tone of Hope is beautiful. To a man in Defpair, I prefume it would be far from being fo. To a man in Grief, the tone of Cheerfulnefs is fimply painful. The tone of Indignation, though in particular fituations ftrongly fublime, to a man of a quiet and placid temper, is unpleafant. To men of an ar- dent and fanguine charadler, the tone of Patience is con- temptible. To peevifh and irritable fpirlts, the voice of Hu- mility, fo peculiarly beautiful, is provoking. Such obferya- tions may be extended to many diverfities of paffion : and it may ftill farther be remarked, that thofe Sounds in the human Voice, which are mofl beautiful or moil fublime to us, are always thofe that are exprefllve of the qualities of mind, which, from our particular conllitutlons or habits, we are moft difpofed to be affeded by. If the Beauty or Sublimity of fuch tones were independent of the qualities of mind we thus aflbciate with them, fuch diverfities could not liappen, and the fame Sounds would produce uniformly the fame Emotions, as the fame Colours or Smells produce uni- formly the fame Senfations. Y 3, Similar lyo Of the Sublimity and Beauty 3. Similar Tones, in this cafe, do not produce -fimilar Emo- tions, as fliould feem to happen if thefe effects were produ- ced by the mere Sounds themfelves. There is little affini- ty, for inflance, between the low and deprefled tone of Grief, and the fhrill and piercing note of Joy j yet both are beautiful. There is little refemblance between the loud found of Rage, and the low placid tone of Patience j yet both are, in many cafes, fublime. The tone of Peeviflinefs, is not very different from the tone of Melancholy ; yet the one is beautiful, the other politively difagreeable. The tone of Pufillanimity is little difxingulfhable from the tone of Patience ; but how different in the effeds they produce upon our minds ! Obfervations of this kind, it is in the power of every one to extend. 4. Whenever thefe Tones are counterfeited, or whenever they ceafe to be the Signs of thofe qualities of mind of which we have generally found them iignificant, they im- mediately ceafe either to be fublime or beautiful. Every one muft have obferved, that this is the effedl of Mimicry. Wherever, in the fame manner, any fpecies of deceit is ufedj or where we know that thefe tones are employed, without the exiflence of the correfpondent paffions, we no longer feel them as beautiful or fublime. If the Sounds themfelves were the caufes of thefe Emotions, whatever we might think of the perfon, the Sounds themfelves would continue to pro- duce the Emotions either of Sublimity or Beauty, in the fame of the Material World. 171 lame manner as the mod abfurd mifapplication of Colours, never difturbs our perception of them as colours. 5. There is yet a further confideration, which may per- haps more clearly illuflrate this opinion, viz. That the Beauty or Sublimity of fuch Sounds in the human Voice, altogether depends on our opinion of the propriety or im- propriety of the afFedions which they exprefs. We know either from Nature, or from Experience, that particular Sounds or Tones are the expreflion of particular Paffions and AfFedlions ; and the perception of fuch founds is imme- diately accompanied with the conception of fuch afFedions in the perfon from whom they proceed. But it is only from adual obfervation or enquiry, that we can know what is the caufe of thefe afFedtions. Our fympathy, our interell, It is plain, depends on the nature of this connedion, on our opinion of the propriety or impropriety of fuch af- fedions in fuch circumftances. All this, however, does not in any degree affedl the nature of the Sound, which is ftill the fame, whether the afFedtion be proper or improper. It is very obvious, however, that our fenfe of the Beauty or Sublimity of fuch Sounds, depends on our opinion of this Propriety. No tone of Paflion or AfFedion is beautiful, with which we do not fympathife. The tone of Joy, for in- flance, is beautiful in moft cafes where it is heard. Suppofe we find that fuch a Sound proceeds from fome very trifling or ridiculous caufe, our fenfe of its Beauty is inftantly de- Y 2 ftroyed 172 Of the Sublimity and Beauty flroyed with our opinion of its Propriety. The tone of Melancholy, or moderated Grief, is affeding and beautiful beyond moll others. Affign fome frivolous reafon for it, and inftantly it becomes contemptible. The tone of Pa- tience Is fublime in a great degree. Tell us that it is Pufil- lanimity, and its effed is inftantly gone. The high impe- rious note of Rage is often fublime. A trifling caufe ren- ders it limply painful. The fame obfervation may be ex- tended to the tones of all our paffions. It is, I conceive, extremely difficult, if not impoflible, to account for this change of Emotion, on the principle of the original and independent Beauty of fuch Sounds. With regard to the human Voice, however, it is to be ob- lerved, that belides all this, there is alfo a Beauty in particular degrees of the fame Tones. Although the exprefHon of the different pailions is the fame in all men, yet it necelTarily happens, that there is a fenfible difference in the degree or charadler of thefe fimilar Sounds. There is no man of any de- licacy of organs, who muft not often have been fenfible of fuch differences. Thefe alfo are expreflive to us of feveral qualities. They are, in the/r/? place, expreffive of the perfection or im- perfedion of the organs of fpeech, and of the health or indif- pofition of the perfbn; circumftances which often deter- mines in a great degree, when either of thefe expreflions are ftrong, the pleafure or pain we have in their converfa- tion. 2dly, They are expreffive alio of the temper or charader of of the Material World. ly^ of mind. As we are naturally led to judge of the charadler of the perfon, from the peculiar tones of his voice, and to believe that fuch paflions have the principal dominion of his mind, which have the moft prevalent expreffion in his fpeech, fo we are led in the fame way to judge of the de- gree or force of thefe pafTions, by the degree or ftrength of fuch tones in his voice. This kind of inference is fo natu- ral, that there is perhaps no perfon who has not made it. That the Beauty of fuch degrees of Sound arifes from fuch affociations is apparent, as it is exprefllve to us of mode- ration and felf-command, — as It exprefles habit, more than immediate impulfe, — as it is peculiar to fuch tones only as are expreillve of affeding paffions or difpofitions of mind, — as it is felt alone by thofe who are affeded by fuch difpofi- tions, — and as it is beautiful only in thofe cafes where this temperance of Emotion, of which it is the fign, is confider- ed as proper. I forbear therefore any further iliuftratioa of it. The 174 Of the Sublimity and Beauty The obfervations which I have offered on the fubjedl of Sunple Sounds, are perhaps fufEcient to fhow, that the Sublimity and Beauty of thefe Sounds arifes in all cafes, from the qualities with which we have obferved them con- necled, and of which they appear to us as the Signs or Ex- prellions ; and that 'no Sounds in themfelves are fitted by the conftitution of our nature to produce thefe Emotions. It is natural, however, to fuppofe, that in this, as in every other cafe, our experience Ihould gradually lead to the for- mation of fome general rules with regard to this exprefHon; and that different founds fhould appear to us to have a dif- ference of charader, according to the nature of the quali- ties with which we mofl frequently find them conjoined. This fuppofition will appear more probable, when we con- fider, not only that the diverfities of founds are few, and confequently that rules of this kind can be more eafily formed ; but particularly, that thefe diverfities of founds are the immediate exprefilons of different qualities of mind in the human Voice, and confequently, that their charad:er be- comes more certain and definite. I believe in fad, that fomething of this kind takes place early in life, and that long before we are able to at- tend to their formation, we have formed certain general affociations. of the IMaterial World. 175 aflbciations, with all the great diverfities of found, and that in after life, they continue to be generally exprefllve of thefe charaders. » ' ' ■ To enumerate thefe general expreffions, is a very delicate, as well as a very difficult ta/k. I hazard therefore, the fol- lowing obfervations, only as hints for the profecution of the fubjed ; and as I am fenfible of their imperfedion, I am willing to reft no conclufion upon them. The great divifions of Sound are into Loud and Low, Grave and Acute, Long and Short, Increaling and Diminifli- ing. The two firfl divifions are exprellive in themfelves : the two laft only in conjundion with others. 1. Loud Sound is conneded with Ideas of Power and Danger. Many objeds in nature which have fuch quali- ties, are dillinguifhed by fuch founds, and this affociation is farther confirmed from the human Voice, in which all violent and impetuous paffions are exprefl^ed in loud tones. 2. Low Sound has a contrary exprefllon, and is conned- ed with ideas of Weaknefs, Gentlenefs and Delicacy. This afixjciation takes it rife not only from the obfervation of in- animate nature, or of animals, where in a great number of cafes, fuch founds diftinguifh objeds with fuch qualities,, hut particularly from the human Voice, where all gentle, or 176 Of the Sublimity and Beauty or delicate, or forrowful afFedions are exprefled by fuch tones. 3. Grave Sound is connedted with ideas of Moderation, Dignity, Solemnity, l^c. principally, I believe, from all mo- derate, or reflrained, or chaftened affe6tions being diftin- guifhed by fuch tones in the human Voice. 4. Acute Sound is exprelTive of Pain, or Fear, or Sur- prife, l^c. and generally operates by producing fome degree of aftonifliment. This aflbciation alfo, feems principally to arife from, our experience of fuch connedions in the human Voice. 5. Long or lengthened Sound, feems to me to have no expreflion in itfelf, but only to lignify the continuance of that quality which is fignified by other qualities of Sound. A loud, or a low, a grave, or an acute Sound prolonged, exprefles to us no more than the continuance of the quality which is generally fignified by fuch Sounds. 6. Short or abrupt Sound has a contrary expreflion, and fignifies the ceffation of the quality thus exprefled. 7. Increafing Sound fignifies, in the fame manner, the in- creafe of the quality exprefled j as 8. Decreafing // of the Material World. 177 8. Decreafing Sound fignifies the gradual diminution of fuch qualities. I {hall leave to the reader to attend to the diverfity of ex- preflion which arifes from the different combination of thefe diverfities of Sound. The mofl Sublime of thefe Sounds appears to me to be a loud, grave, lengthened and increafing Sound. The leaft Sublime, a low, acute, abrupt, or decreafing Sound. The mofl beautiful, a low, grave and decreafing Sound. The leaft beautiful, a loud, acute, lengthened and increa- fing Sound. Such are the few general principles that, as far as I can judge, take place, with regard to the Sublimity or Beauty of Sounds. The innumerable exceptions that there are to eve- ry one of thefe rules, afford a fufficient proof, that this Su- blimity or Beauty does not arife from the Sounds themfelves. Wherever, however, any new found occurs, it is, I think, by its approach to one or other of thefe clafles that we deter- mine its Sublimity or Beauty. Z SEC- lyB Of the Sublimity and Beauty SECTION II. Of Composed Sounds, or Music. I. IN the preceding illuftrations, I have conlidered only Simple Sounds as producing the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty. Sounds, however, are capable of being united by certain laws, and of forming a whole. To fuch a compolition of Sounds we give the name of Music \, an Art, confefledly, of great power, in producing Emotions both of Sublimity and Beauty, and the fource of one of the firft and purefl: pleafures of which our nature is fufceptible. Upon this fubje<5t, I fhall beg leave to offer a few obfer- rations, although it is with great diffidence that I fpeak up- on an art of which I have no theoretical knowledge, and of which I can judge only from the effed that it produces on myfelf. The II of the Material World. 179 The eflence of Mufic confifts in continued Sounds. The fame found, however, when continued, has no beauty, far- ther than as a fimple found, and when long continued, be- comes pofitively difagreeable : Mufic therefore mufl: necef- farily confift in the compofition of different founds. The Succeflion or Compofition of all different Sounds is not equally pleafing. By a peculiar law of our nature, there are certain founds of which the union is agreeable, and others of which the union is difagreeable. There is therefore a relation between founds, eftablifhed by nature, which cannot be violated without pain. Mufic therefore as an art intended to produce pleafure, muft confift in the compofition of related Sounds. Thefe obfervatlons are fufficiently obvious. There are, however, two other circumftances in the Succeflion of Sounds, neceffary to conftitute Mufic. I. The mere Succeflion of related Sounds is not in itfelf pleafing. Although the Succeflion of any two related Sounds is agreeable, yet a whole feries of fuch Sounds, in which no other relation was obferved but the relation be- tween individual Sounds, would be abfolutely difagreeable. To render fuch a feries pleafing, it is neceflary that it fliould poffefs Unity, or that we fliould difcern a relation not only between the individual Sounds, but alfo among the whole number of Sounds that conftitute the feries. Although eve- Z 2 ry i8o Of the SuBLiiMiTy and Beauty ry word in language is fignificant, and there is a neceflary relation among words, eftablifhed by the rules of grammar ^ yet it is obvioufly poffible to arrange words according to grammatical rules, which yet ihall poflefs no meaning. In the fame manner, a feries of Sounds may be coinpofed, ac- cording to their individual relations, which yet may poffefs no general relation, and from which, as we can difcover no*- end, we can derive no pleafure. What Thought is to the arrangement of words, the Key, or the fundamental Tone, is to the arrangement of Sounds ; and as the one conftitutes a whole in language, by eftabliiliing a certain and definite idea, to which all the words in a fentence bear a relation, fo the other conftitutes a whole in Mufic, by eftabliihing a definite and leading Sound, to which all the othe? Sounds in the feries bear a fimilar relation. The firfi: circumftance, y therefore, that diftinguifties mufical Succeffion, is the pre- fervation of this relation among all the individual Sounds, to one key or fundamental tone, which is the foundation and end of the compofition. 2. The fecond circumftance which difl;ingui{lies Mufical Succefiion, is the Regularity or Uniformity of that Succef- fion. In natural events, Succellion without Regularity is confufion ; and wherever Art or Defign is fuppofed, is po- fitively difagreeable. In Mufic therefore, as an Art defign- ed to pleafe, Regularity or Uniformity is abfolutely necef- fary. The moft pleafing fuccellion of Sounds, without the prefervation of the Material World. i8i prefervation of this Regularity, or what is commonly called Time, every one knows, is pofitlvely difpleafing. For this purpofe, every fucceflion of Sounds is fuppofed to be divided into certain equal intervals, which whether they compre- hend more or fewer Notes, occupy the fame fpace of Time in the fucceflion of thefe Notes. To preferve this Unifor- mity, if there are few Sounds in this Interval, thefe Sounds muft be prolonged to occupy the whole Ipace of Time. If there are many, they muft be founded quickly for the fame reafon. The one conftltutes what is called Slow, the other what is called quick Time in common language. In both cafes, however, the fpace or portion of time allotted to each Interval is uniformly the fame, and conftltutes the only Re- gularity of which Sounds in fucceflion are capable. A re- gular or uniform fucceflion of Sounds, therefore, related to one Key or fundamental Note, may be confidered as conft;i- tuting Mufical fucceflion, and as diftinguifliing it from all other fuccefllons of Sound. The accurate perception both of this Regularity, and of this Relation, conftltutes that Fa- culty which is generally called a good or a Mullcal Ear. ri-. If therefore, we confider Mufic, as fuch a fucceflion of Sounds as I have now defcribed, the two circuniftances which diftinguifli, or determine the nature or charader of every i82 Of the Sublimity and Beauty every Compofition, are, the Nature of the Key, and the Nature of the Progrefs ', the Nature of the Fundamental and governing Sound, and the Nature (or as it is commonly called) the Time, of the Succeflion. With both of thefe charadlerillics of Mufical compofition, I apprehend, that we have many Ailbclations. The Key or Fundamental Tone of every Compofition, from its relation to the Tones of the human Voice, is natu- rally expreffive to us of thofe qualities or affed:ions of mind ■which are fignified by fuch Sounds. It is perhaps unnecef- fary to offer any illufl:ration of this, becaufe it is fo obvious to every man's obfervation. The relation of fuch Tones in Mufic, to the expreflion of the qualities of mind is indeed fo fi:rong, that all Muficians underfliand what Keys or what Tones are fitted for the expreffion of thofe affedlions, which it is within the reach of Mufic to exprefs. It is alfo obfer- vable, that they who are mofl: unacquainted with Mufic, are yet able immediately to fay, what is the affedlion which any particular Key is fitted to exprefs. Whether any piece of Mufic is beautiful, or not, may be a fubjed: of difpute, and very often is fo ^ but whether the Sounds of which it is compofed are gay or folemn, cheerful or melancholy, ele- vating or depreffing, there is feldom any difpute. That of the Material World. 183 That the Time of mufical Compofition is alfo exprefiivc to us of various affeding or interefting qualities, can fcarce- ly be difputed. In all ages, quick time, or a rapid fuccef- fion of Sounds has been appropriated to the exprcilion of Mirth and Gaiety : Slow time, or a flow fucceflion of Sounds, to the exprefllon of Melancholy or Sadnefs. All the paflions or affedions therefore, which partake of either of thefe ingredients, may be generally exprefled by fuch circumftances in the Compofition, and the different degrees of fuch Movements, may, in the fame manner, exprefs fuch. affed:ions as partake of any intermediate nature -between thefe extremes. In what manner, the conception of fuch affedlions is affociated with fuch circumftances in the pro- grefs of Sound, it is not my bufinefs to explain. It is fuffi- cient that the fadl itfelf is acknowledged. I cannot avoid, ■ however, obferving, that there is a very ftrong analogy, not only between the progrefs of Mufical Sounds, and the pro- grefs of Sounds in the human Voice, in the cafe of particu- lar paflions ; but that there is alfo a fimilar analogy between fuch progrefs in Sounds, and the progrefs of Thought in the cafe of fuch Paflions. Under the influence of pleafing or agreeable paflions the articulation is quick ; in the cafe of contrary paflions it is flow ; and fo ftrong is this exprefllon, that we are difpofed to judge of the pafllon anyperfon is affeded with, although we do not hear the words he utters, merely from the flownefs or rapidity of his articulation. It is obfervable in the fame manner, that different paflions have an i84 Of the Sublimity and Beauty an Influence upon the progrefs of our thoughts, and that they operate very fenfibly either In accelerating or retard- ing this progrefs. All the pallions which belong to Plea- fure, are attended with a rapid fucceflion of Thoughts, and feem to give an unufual degree of vigour to our Imagina- tion. The paffions, on the contrary, which belong to Pain, produce, in general, a flow and languid fucceflion of Thought, and feem to deprefs our Imagination below its ufual Tone. This is fo obvious, that every perfon mufl have obferved it even in converfation. The Progrefs of mufical Sounds, therefore, may very na- turally exprefs to us the nature or charader of particular pafllons, not only from the analogy between fuch progrefs of Sounds, and the progrefs of Thought ; but flill more from its being in a great meafure the Sign of fuch affedlons of mind, by making ufe of the fame Sounds or Tones, and the fame varieties in the progrefs of thefe Sounds, which are in real life the Signs of fuch affedions in the human A'^olce. Whether thefe obfervations account for the aflocia- tions we have with mufical Time, or not. Is at prefent a matter of no confequence, as the fadl itfelf is fufficiently certain. The appropriation of particular Time, to particu- lar Emotions, has taken place in every age and country, is underflood by every man, and is not the lefs certain, though no account can be given of the reafon of it. It of the Material World. 185 It is in thus being able to exprefs both the Tone of Paf- fion or AfFedion, and that progrefs of Thought or Senti- ment which belongs to fuch Affedtions, that, in as far as I am able to judge, the real foundation of mufical Exprelllon confifts. It is far beyond the bounds which I prefcribe niy- felf in thefe obfervations, to enter into any minute invefti- gation of the different expreflions which fuch Sounds, and fiich Compofitions of Sounds in general poUefs. But if the reader will recoiled:, what are the diflindl aflbciations which it has formerly been obferved we have with Sounds or Tones, as loud or foft, grave or acute, and the particular aflbciations which it has now been obferved we have with the different progrelTlons of Sound, as quick, or moderate, or flow ; and will further attend to the pofllble number of ways in which thefe different charaderiftics of Mufic may be combined, he will be fully fenfible both of the different E- motions which it is in the power of Mufic to exprefs, and of the great variety which it affords in the expreflion of thefe Emotions. If I am not miftaken, the real extent of Mufical Expref- fion, coincides in a great degree with this account of it. Thefe Signs in the human Voice are general Signs. They exprefs particular clafles of pafllon or emotion, but they do not exprefs any particular pafllon. If we had no other means of intercourfe or of information, we might from fuch Signs infer, that the perfon was elevated or deprefled, gay A a or i86 Of the Sublimity and Beauty or folemn, gheerful or plaintive, joyous or fad j but we could not, I think, infer, what was the particular paflion which produced thefe exprellions. Mufic which can avail itfelf of thefe Signs only, can exprefs nothing more particu- lar than the Signs themfelves. It will be found according- ly, that it is within this limit that mulical Expreflion is real- ly confined ', that fuch clafTes of Emotion it can perfedlly exprefs ^ but that when it goes beyond this limit, it ceafes to be either expreflive or beautiful. The general Emotions of Gaiety, Elevation, Solemnity, Melancholy or Sadnefs, it is every day found to exprefs j and with regard to fuch general expreffions there is never any miftake ; but when it attempts to go further, when it attempts to exprefs particu- lar paffions. Ambition, Fortitude, Pity, Love, Gratitude, l^c. it either fails altogether in its efied, or is obliged to have recourfe to the affiflance of words to render it intelligible. " It is in general true (fays Dr Beattie) that Poetry is the " moft imniediate and the moft accurate interpreter of Mu- " fie. Without this auxiliary, a piece of the beft mufic, " heard for the firft time, might be faid to mean fomething, " but we fliould not be able to fay what. It might incline ** the heart to fenfibility, but poetry or language would be *' neceflary to improve that fenfibility into a real Emotion, •' by fixing the fancy upon fome definite and affeding ideas. " A fine inftrumental fymphony well performed, is like an *' oration delivered with propriety, but in an unknown "- tongue^ it may affed us a little, but conveys no determi- " nate of the Material World. 187 " nate feeling. We are alarmed, perhaps, or melted or " foothed;-but it is very imperfedly, becaufe we know not " why. The finger, by taking up the fame air, and apply - " ing words to it, immediately tranflates the oration into " our own language. Then all uncertainty vaniflies, the " fancy is filled with determinate ideas, and determinate " Emotions take pofleflion of the heart." EJfay upon Poetry and Miific, part i. chap. vi. Nor is this confining the Exprefilon of which Mufic is capable, within narrower limits than is confiftent with our experience of its effedls. Although its real power confifls in its imitation of thofe Signs of Emotion or Pailion which take place In the human Voice, yet from its nature, it pofTefl^s advantages which thefe Signs have not, and which render it, within thofe limits, one of the moft powerful means which can be made ufe of, in exciting Emotion. As far as I am able to judge, thefe advantages principally confifl in the two following circumftances : I. In that variety of founds which it admits of, in con- formity to the Key, or fundamental Tone. In the real Expreffion of Paflion in the human Voice, the Sound is near- ly uniform, or at leaft admits of very fmall variation. In fo far, therefore, as mere Sound is concerned, the tone of any palllon would in a fliort time become unpleafing from its uniformity j and if this effedl were not forgot, in our at- A a 2 tention i88 Of the Sublimity and Beauty tention to the language and fentiments of the perfon who addreffes us, would be perceived by every ear. In Mufic, on the contrary, the variety of related Sounds which may be introduced, not only prevents this unpleafing effedl of uniformity, and preferves the Emotion which the prevailing tone is of itfelf able to excite, but by varying the exprefllon of it, keeps both our attention and our imagination conti- nually awake. The one refembles what we fhould feel from the paflion of any perfon, who uniformly made ufe of the fame words, to exprefs to us what he felt. The other, what we feel from that eloquence of paffion, where new images are continually prefenting themfelves to the mind of the fpeaker, and a new fource of delight is afforded to our imagination, in the perception of the agreement of thofe images with the Emotions from which they arife. The ef- fe6l of mufical Compofition, in this light, refembles, in fome meafure, the progrefs of an oration, in which our intereft is continually kept alive j and if it were poffible for us, for a moment, to forget that the performer is only repeating a leffon, were it poffible for us to imagine, that the founds we hear were the immediate expreffions of hrs own Emotion, the effed of Mulic might be conceived in fome meafure to approach to the effed of Eloquence. To thofe who have felt this influence, in the degree in which, in fome feafons of fenfibility, it may be felt, there is no improbability in the accounts of the effedls of Mufic in early times, when the profeffions of Poetry and Mufic were not feparated : when of the Material World. 189 when the Bard, under the influence of fome ftrong and pre- fent hnprellion, accommodated his melody to the language of his own palHon ; and when the hearers under the influ- ence of the fame imprefllon, were prepared to go along with him, in every variety of that Emotion which he felt and ex- prefl^d himfelf. 2. But, befides this, there is another circumfl;ance in which the Exprefllon of Mufic differs materially from the Exprefllon of natural Signs, and which ferves to add conli- derably to the flrength of its effed. Such natural Sounds exprefs to us immediately, if they exprefs at all, the Emo- tion of the perfon from whom they proceed, and therefore immediately excite our own Emotion. As thefe Sounds, however, have little or no variety, and excite immediately their correfpondent Emotion, it neceflarily happens, that they become weaker as they proceed, until at lail they be- come politively difagreeable. In mufical Compofition, on the contrary, as fuch Sounds confl:itute a whole, and have all a relation to the Key, or fundamental Note in which they clofe, they not only afford us a fatisfadion as parts of a regular whole, but what is of niuch more confequence, they keep our attention continually awake, and our expec- tation excited, until we arrive at that fundamental Tone, which is both the clofe of the Compofition, and the end of our expectation. Inftead, therefore, (as in the former cafe) of our Emotion becoming more languid as the Sounds pro- ceed. 190 Of the Sublimity mid Beauty ceed, it becomes, in the cafe of mufical Compofition, on the contrary, more ftrong. The peculiar affedlion we feel is kept continually increafing, by means of the expedlation which is excited for the perfedion of this whole, and the one and the other are only gratified when we arrive at this defired and expeded end. In this refped:, indeed, mufical Exprefllon is in itfelf fu- perior even to the Exprefllon of Language : and were the Pafllons or Affedions which it can exprefs, as definite or particular, as thofe which can be communicated by Words, it may well be doubted, whether there is any Compofition of Words which could fo powerfully affed us, as fuch a Compofition of Sounds. In Language, every perfon under the influence of Pafllon or Emotion, naturally begins with exprefllng the caufe of his Emotion j an obfervation, which every one muft have made in real life, and which might eafily be confirmed by inftances from Dramatic Poetry. In this cafe, our Emotion is immediately at its height, and as it has no longer any afllftance from Curiofity, naturally cools as the Speaker goes on. In Mufic on the contrary, the manner of this communication refembles the artful, but interefting condud of the Epic or Dramatic Poem, where we find ourfelves at once involved in the progrefs of fome great Intereft, where our Curiofity is wound up to its ut- moft to difcover the event, and where at every fl:ep this In- terefl: increafes, from bringing us nearer to the expeded end. of the Material World. 191 end. That the effedl of mufical Compofition is limilar, that while it excites Emotion from the nature of the Sounds, it excites alfo an increafing expedation and interefl from the condudt of thefe Sounds, and from their continued depen- dence upon the clofe, has, I am perfuaded, been felt in the ftrongefl; manner by every perfon of common fenfibillty, and indeed is in itfelf extremely obvious from the effed which is univerfally produced by any pathetic compofition upon the Audience. The increafing filence, — the impatience of interruption, which are fo evident as the compofition goes on, — the arts by which the performer is almofl inflindively led, to enhance the merit of the clofe, by feeming to de- part from It, — the fuppreflion of every fign of emotion till the whole is completed, and the violence either of fenfibi- llty or applaufe, that are immediately difplayed, whenever a full and harmonious clofe is produced j all teftify in the ftrongell: manner the Increafing nature of the Emotion, and the fingular advantage which Mufic thus poflefles, in keeping the attention and the fenfibility fo powerfully awake. Such feems to me, the natural effect of Mufic on tlie human Mind : in exprelling to us thofe Affedions or Emo- tions, which are fignified by the tones of the Voice, and the progrefs of articulate Sounds ; limited indeed in the reach of its imitation or exprellion, and far inferior to lan- guage, In being confined to the exprefiion only of general Emotions ; but powerful within thofe limits, beyond any other 192 Of the Sublimity and Beauty other meaws we know, both by the variety which it can af- ford, and the continued and increafing intereft which it can raife. It is obvious, that the obfervations which I have now of- fered, relate principally to vocal Mufic, and to that iimple fpecies of Compofition which is commonly called Song or Air. I believe it will be found that this is in reality, not only the moft exprelllve fpecies of Compofition, but the on- ly one which affeds the minds of uninftruded Men. It is the only Mufic of early Ages, the only Mufic of the com- mon People, the only Mufic which pleafes us iti Infancy and early Youth. It is a confiderable time before we dif- cern the beauties of more artificial Compofition, or indeed before we underfiand it. In fuch kinds of compofition, a young perfon, whatever may be his natural tafte, feldom difcovers any continued relation. He is difpofed to divide it in his own mind into different parts ; to confider it as a colledion of difl;ind airs ; and he is apt to judge of it, not as a whole, but as the feparate parts of it are exprefllve to him or not. There is nothing accordingly more common, than to find young people, exprefling their admiration of a particular firain or divifion of the Compofition, and fuch ftrains are always the moft fimple, and thofe which ap- proach moft to the nature of Airs j but it is feldom, I be- lieve, that they are able to follow the whole of a Concerto, or of the Material World. 1^3 or that they are found to exprefs their admiration of it as a whole. With fuch a fpecies of Compofition, however, they who are inftruded in Mufic have many and very interefting af- fociations. A Song or an Air leads us always to think of the Sentiment, and feldom difpofes us to think of any thing elfe. An Overture or a Concerto, difpofes us to think of the Compofer. It is a work in which much invention, much judgment, and much tafte may be difplayed ; and it may have therefore to thofe who are capable of judging of it, all that pleafmg effed upon the mind which the compofition of an excellent Poem or Oration has upon the minds of thofe who are judges of fuch works. The quali- ties of Skill, of Novelty, of Learning, of Invention, of Tafte, may, in this manner, be exprefled by fuch Compofi- tions; qualities, it is obvious, which are the foundation both of Sublimity and Beauty in other cafes, and which may undoubtedly be the foundation of fuch charaders in mufical Compofition, even although it fhould have no other or more affeding expreffion to recommend it. Nor is this all; fuch compofitions are not read in private, but are publicly re- cited. There is therefore the additional circumftance of the performance to be attended to ; a circumftance of no mean confequence, and of which every man will acknowledge the importance, who recoUeds the different effeds the fame compofition has produced on him, when performed by B b different 194 Of the Sublimity and Beauty different people. There is therefore, the Judgment, the Tafte, the exprefllon of the Performer, in addition to all thofe different qualities of excellence which may diftinguifli the Compofition ; and the whole effed is fimilar to that which every one has felt from any celebrated piece of Poetry, when recited by an able and harmonious Declaimer. Even to the very worfl; mulic, this gives an effedl, and the effe<5l may eafily be conceived when the Mufic alfo is good. III. While Mufic has this power in exprefling fome of the mofl interefling and affeding paflions of the human Mind^ and is, in its more artificial flate, fignificant to us of fo ma- ny pleafmg and delightful qualities, it will not, I hope, be confidered as rafli, if I prefume to think that it is from thefe affociations that it dei'ives all its power in producing the Emotions of Sublimity or Beauty, and that wherever it does produce either of thefe effeds, it is by being expref- five to us either of fome interefling paflion, or of fome va- luable and pleafmg quality in the Compofition, or the Per- formance. When any mufical Compofition affeds us with the Emo- tions either of Sublimity or Beauty, it fhould feem, that this effed mufl arife from one or other of the fallowing caufes 1 of the Material World. 195 caufes : i/?, From the nature of the fingle or individual Sounds which enter into the Compofition. 2dly, From the nature of the Compofition itfelf, or from thofe laws, which, as has before been obferved, are necefTary to render a fuc- ceflion of Sounds agreeable, or to conftitute Mufic ', or, 3^/)', From the affociations we conned with it, or the qua- lities of which it is expreffive to us. That the Beauty or Sublimity of fingle founds, is not a quality of the Sounds themfelves, but arifes from their expreilion, I have already endeavoured to illuftrate. That the Beauty of mufical Compofition does not arife from the fecond of thofe caufes, or from the circumftances of the Compofition itfelf, and that it is altogether to be afcribed to the qualities of which it is exprefllve to us, I am dilpofed to conclude from the following confiderations : I. If the Beauty of Mufic arofe from the regular Compo- fition of Sounds, according to thofe laws, which are necef- fary to conftitute Mufic or an agreeable fuccefllon of Sounds, it would necefiTarily follow, that every compofition where thefe laws were obferved would be beautiful. Every man, however, knows, that there is a very wide diftindion between Mufic and beautiful Mufic, If a Compofition is exprefllve of no fentiment, a common hearer feels no Beau- ty from it : If it is quite common, and has neither novelty nor fkill in it, a Connoifl^eur in Mufic feels as little. If it has neither one nor other, all the world pronounce it bad B b 2 Mufic, 196 Of the Sublimity a7id Beauty Mufic. Yet fuch a Compofition may be perfedlly regular, may be in obedience to the ftrideil laws of Compolition > and will give to every one that inferior pleafure, which a- rifes from a regular fucceffion of Sounds. As there is there- fore a very evident diftindlion between that mechanical pleafure which we receive from mere Mufic, and that de- light which we feel from Mufic when Beautiful or Sublime, it is obvious, that the mere regular Compofition of related Sounds, is not the caufe of the Emotions either of Sublimi- ty or Beauty^ 2. If the beauty of Mufic arofe from any of thofe quali- ties, either of Sound, or of the Compofition of Sounds, which are immediately perceivable by the Ear, it is obvious, that this would be exprefi"ed in Language, and that the terms by which fuch Mufic was charaderifed, would be fig- nificant of fome quality or qualities difcernible by the Ear : If, on the contrary, this Beauty arifes from the interefling or affedling qualities of which it is exprefilve to us, fuch qualities, in the fame mamier, ought, in common language, to be afligned as the caufes of this Emotion : and the terms by which fuch Mufic is charaderifed ought to be fignificant of fuch qualities. That the laft is the cafe, I think there can be no difpute. The terms Plaintive, Tender, Cheerful, Gay, Elevating, Solemn, l^c. are not only conftantly ap- plied to every kind of Mufic, that is either Sublime or Beau- '.iful ; but it is in fad by fuch terms only that men ever charaderife of the Material World. 107 eharaderife the Compofitions from which they receive fuch Emotions. If any man were a/ked what was it that rendered fuch an Air fo beautiful ; he would immediately anfwer, becaufe it was Plaintive, Solemn, Cheerful, Ssfr, but he never would think of defcribing its peculiar nature as a Compofition of Sounds. In the fame manner, if he were accounting to any perfon for the Beauty or Sublimity of any Compofition, if he were to defcribe it in the moft accurate way poffible, as having particular charad:ers of Compofition, he might indeed make him wonder at his learning, but he would leave him as ignorant as before, with regard to the fource of its Beauty. Were he to tell him on the other hand, that it was expreflive of Melancho- ly, Gaiety or Tendernefs, he would make him underfband at once the reafon of his Emotion. If the Beauty or Subli- mity of Muflc arofe from the laws of its Compofition, the very reverfe of all this would obvioufly be the cafe. It is obfervable, in the fame manner, that even they who are befl acquainted with the principles of Compofition, and who are mofl difpofed to forget the end, in attention to the rules of the fcience, yet never think of exprefhng the Beau- ty or Sublimity of any piece of Mufic, by terms fignificant of its nature as a Compofition, but by fuch as are fignificant of fome pleafing or interefling AfFociation. If they forget the Expreflion of Mufic, they never forget the merits of the Gompofer. When they fpeak therefore of the Sublimity or Beauty 198 Of the Sublimity and Beauty Beauty of any fuch Compofition, if they are farther que- ftioned upon the fubjedl, it will always be found, that it is either the Learning, the Invention, or the Tafte which it difplays, that they affign as the foundation of their admira- tion, or fome other quality either in the compofition or performance, perfedly diftiu^t from the mere qualities ei- ther of Sound or Compofition. This univerfal language of mankind, is not only a proof of the connexion between the Beauty and Sublimity of Mufic, and the Expreffions which it conveys j but it is impoflible that this language ftiould ever have been either employed, or underfiood, if the Su- blimity or Beauty of Mufic were independent of fuch Ex- prefilons. 3. If the Beauty or Sublimity of Mufic depended folely upon the nature of its compofition, and was independent of the qua- lities of which it is expreflive, it would necefiarily happen, that the fame compofitions muft always be beautiful or fublime, which once were fo j and that in every fituation they mufl: produce the fame Emotion, in the fame manner as every other objed of Senfe uniformly produces its correfpondent fenfa- tion. The truth is, however, that no fuch thing takes place, and that, on the contrary, Mufic is then only beautiful or fublime, when it is accommodated to the Emotion which it is intended to exprefs. If the Paflion of Revenge, for in- ftance, were exprefled by the mofl; beautiful compofition of Sounds conceivable, which either naturally, or from habit, were of the Material Worlb. 199 were confidered as expreflive of Tendernefs, every man, in- flead of being affedled with its beauty, would laugh at its abfurdity. In the fame manner, if Love or Tendernefs were exprefled by any Sounds, or compofition of Sounds, general- ly appropriated to the exprelllon of Rage, or Revenge, how- ever fublime they might be according to their own cxpref- fion, they would undoubtedly ceafe to be fo by fuch an ap- propriation. Inftances of the fame kind might eafily be mul- tiplied. If we could fuppofe, that by a miracle, the prefent fyftem of Sounds in the human Voice were altogether changed 3 that the Tones which now exprefs Mirth, Ihould then exprefs Melancholy, the Sounds which now exprefs Rage, fhould then exprefs Tendernefs, l^c. and that a fimi- lar revolution fhould at the fame time take place in the Ex- preffion of the progrefs of Sounds, I think every man will allow, that the whole fyftem of Mufic mull of neceflity be changed ; that a new Muiic mull arife accommodated to this change, in the fyftem of expi-efllve Sounds, and that if it were not changed, inftead of affording us any Emotions of Beauty or Sublimity, it would either be unintelligible, or abfolutely abfurd ; yet in fuch a cafe, all that arifes from the mere mechanical ftrudure of Sounds would remain, all that is immediately perceived by the Ear, either in Sound itfelf, or in the compofition of Sound, would have under- gone no revolution. There cannot well be a ftronger proof, that the Beauty or Sublimity of Mulic arifes from the qua- lities 200 Of the Sublimity and Beauty lities which it exprefles, and not from the means by which they are exprefled. 4. It is obfervable, that the Beauty or Sublimity of Mu- fie is felt by thofe who have no perception of the relation of Sounds, either in point of Tune or Time, and who coa- fequently mull be unconfcious of any pleafure that arifes from the mere compofition of Sounds. Every one who will take the trouble of enquiring, will find many people who have (as it is generally called) no mufical ear, who are tm- able to learn the fimplell tune, and who can fcarcely diftin- guifh one tune from another, who-<^e -y^t fenlible to the Beauty or Sublimity of Mufic, and who feel delight from different kinds of Compofition. The want of a mufical ear is not uncommon j but I believe there is no inftance of any perfon who is infenfible either to the Expreflion of dif- ferent Tones in the human Voice, or who is not differently affeded by the different progrefs of Sounds. In fuch cafes, although Mufic has not the fame extent of Expreffion to them, that it has to thofe who are born with a good ear, yet flill it has fome Expreflion j and the proof of it is, that although they cannot tell whether any note is jufl or -not, or whether the time of any compofition is perfedly preferved, they can flill tell whether a fong is gay or plain- tive, whether fitted to infpire mirth or melancholy. They have therefore that degree of delight from it, which the fcenes of Nature ufually infpire, where a general but indi- flind • . of the Material World. 201 flind: relation is obferved to foine interefting or affecl- Ing qualities, and where, in coniequence of this rela- tion, fuch fcenes naturally tend to excite or to encourage a correfpondent Emotion ; but they are Lnfenfible to that greater delight, which, as has already been fhown, every man of a good Ear, feels both from the variety of this Ex- prefllon, and from the continued and increafing intereft which it awakens. If the Sublimity or Beauty of Mufic arofe from the difcernment of fuch relations as conftitutc the laws of compofition, it is obvious that they who are in- capable of difcerning fuch relations, would be incapable at the fame time, of difcovering either its Sublimity or Beauty. In the preceding obfervations, I have confidered only the permanent Aflbciations we have with Mufical Compofition, or the ExprelTlons which are every where felt both in the Tone and the Time of fuch fucceflions of Sound, from their analogy to the charadler and progrefs of Sound in the hu- man Voice. With Mufic, however, we have often many ac- cidental Aflbciations, both individual and national j and the influence of fuch Aflx)ciatIons upon our opinions of the Beauty or Sublimity of Mufic might be fliown from, many confiderations. On the one hand, from the dependence of the Beauty of Mufic, upon the temporary or habitual diipo- fitions of our minds, — from the different effed which is C c produced 202 Of the Sublimity and Beauty produced by the fame Compofition, accordiBg to the Af^ fociations we happen to conned with it, — and from the tendency which all national Mufic has to render thofe who are accuftomed to it, infenlible to the beauty of any foreign Mufic, from their affociation of particular fenti- ments, with peculiar charaders or modes of Compofition : And on the other hand, from the influence of individual or national Aflbciations, in increafing the Sublimity or Beau- ty of Mufic, both by increafing its natural Expreflions, and by rendering thefe Expreflions inore definite and precife. I am unwilling, however, to fwell thefe very imperfed re- marks, by illuftrations which eyery one can fo eafily profe- cute for himfelf. From the whole, I am induced to conclude, that Mufic is produdive to us of two diflind and feparate Pleafures : 1. Of that mechanical Pleafure, which by the confl:itu- tion of our nature accompanies the perception of a regular faccefllon of related Sounds. 2. Of that Pleafure which fuch Compofitions of Sound may produce, either by the Expreflion of fome pathetic or intcrefl:ing Affedion, or by being the Sign of fome pleafing or valuable Qiiality, either in the Compofition or the Per- formance. That of the Material World. 203 That it is to tiiis laft Source, the Beauty or Suhlirai- ty of Mufic is to be afcribed, or that it is Beautiful or Subhme only, when it is expreflive of fome pleafing or inte- refting QuaHty, I hope is evident from the preceding obfer- vations. C c 2 CHAP- 204 ^f ^^^ Sublimity and Beauty CHAPTER III. Of the Objects of Sight. THE greateft part of the external objeds, in which we- difcover Sublimity or Beauty,- are fuch as are per- ceived by the Senfe of Sight. It has even been imagined by fome Philofophers, that it is to fuch objeds only that the name of Beauty is properly applied, and that it is only from analogy that the fame term is applied to the objedls of our other Senfes. This opinion, however, feems at firft fight ill founded. The terms Beauty and Sublimity are applied by all men to Sounds, and even fometimes to Smells. In our own experience, we very often find, that the fame Emotion is produced by Sounds, which is produced by Forms or Co- lours ', and the nature of language fufficiently fhows, that this is conformable alfo to general experience. There feems no reafon therefore for limiting the objeds of Sublimity or Beauty to the fole clafs of vifible objedts. It muft, however, be acknowledged, that by far the great- eft number of thefe objeds are fuch as we difcover by means of this Senfe j nor does it feem difficult to affign the reafon of of the Material World. 205 of this fuperiority. By the reft of our fenfcs, \vc difcover only fingle qualities of objects; but by the Senfe of Seeing, we difcover all that aflemblage of qualities which conftitute, in our imaginations, the peculiar nature of fuch objedls. By our other fenfes, we difcover, in general, fuch qualities, only when the bodies are in contadl with us ; but the Senfe of Sight affords us a very wide field of obfervation, and en- ables us to make them the objects of attention, when they are at very confiderable diftances from ourfelves. It is na- tural, therefore, that the greater power of this Senfe Ihould difpofe us to greater confidence in it, and that the qualities of bodies which we difcover by means of it, fhould more powerfully imprefs themfelves upon our imagination and memory, than thofe fingle qualities which we difcover by the means of our other Senfes. The vifible qualities of ob- jects, accordingly, become to us not only the dlftlnguifhing charadleriftics of external bodies, but they become alfo in a great meafure the Signs of all their other qualities ; and by recalling to our minds the qualities fignlfied, affed us in fome degree with the fame Emotion which the objeds themfelves can excite. Not only the fmell of the Rofe, or the Violet, is exprefled to us by their Colours and FoiTns ; but the utility of a Machine, the elegance of a Defign, the pro- portion of a Column, the fpeed of the Horfe, the ferocity of the Lion, even all the qualities of the human mind are naturally exprefled to us by certain vifible appearances ; becaufe our experience has taught us, that fuch qualities are 2o6 of the Sublimity and Beauty are conneded with fuch appearances, and the prefence of the one immediately fuggefls to us the idea of the other. Such vifible qualities, therefore, are gradually confidered as the Signs of other qualities, and are produdlive to us of the .fame Emotions with the qualities they fignlfy. But, befides this, it is alfo to be oTjferved, that "by this fenfe, we not only difcover the nature of individual obje(5ls, and therefore naturally aflbciate their qualities with their vifible appearance ; but that by it alfo we difcover the relation of objeds to each other j and that hence a great variety of objedls in nature become expreflive of qualities which do not immediately belong to themfelves, but to the objeds with which we have found them conneded. Thus, for inftance, it is by this fenfe we difcover that the Eagle inhabits among Rocks and Mountains; that the Red- bread leaves the Woods in Winter, to feek fhelter and food among the dwellings of Men; that the fong of the Nightin- gale is peculiar to the Evening and the Night, l^c. In con- fequence of this pem:ianent connedion, thefe animals ac- quire a charader from the fcenes they inhabit, or the fea- fons in which they appear, and are expreflive to us in fome meafure of the charader of thefe feafons and fcenes. It is hence that fo many objeds become expreflive, which perhaps in themfelves would never have been fo ; that the Curfew is fp folemn from accompanying the clofe of day, the twitter of ■the Swallow fo cheerful, from its being heard in the Morn- ing, of the Material World. 207 in^, the bleating of Sheep, the call of the Goat, the lowing of Kine, fo beautiful from their occurring in pailoral or ro- mantic Situations ; in fliort, that the greateft number of na- tural objeds acquire their expreflion from their connedion with particular or affeding fcenes. As, in this way, the vifible qualities of objeds become expreffive to us of all the qualities which they poflefs ; and belides, in fo many cafes receive expreflion from their connedion with other objeds, it is extremely natural, that fuch qualities Ihould form the greateft and moft numerous clafs of the objeds of Material Beauty. I proceed to a more particular invefl:igation of the Subli- mity and Beauty of fome of the moll remarkable Clafles of thefe Qualities. S E C- 2o8 Of the Sublimity and Beauty SECTION I. Of the Beauty the fecond, what may be called their Relative Beauty. There is alfo another fource of expreffion in fuch qualities from accidental AfTo- ciation, and which perhaps may be termed their Acciden- tal Beauty. Upon each of thefe fources of the Beauty of Forms, I fhall offer fome obfervations. SEC- of the Material World. 225 SECTION I. Of the Natural Sublimity and Beauty ^ Forms. PART I. Of the Sublimity of Forms. THE Sublimity of inanimate Forms feems to arlfe chief- ly from two fources ; i/?, From the nature of the ob- jeds diftlnguifhed by that Form ^ and, idly, From the quan- tity or magnitude of the Form Itfelf. There are other cir- cumftances in the nature of Forms, which may extend or increafe this charader -, but I apprehend, that the two now mentioned, are the only ones which of themfelves conflitute Sublimity. Both of them, I believe, are produdive of this effed, by being expreffive to us of qualities capable of ex- citing very ftrong Emotions. F f l. :^26 Of the Sublimity /zwi:/ Beauty I. 1. The Forms which diflingulih bodies that are conne that the mere union of Similarity and Diffimilarity does not conflitute a beautiful Form. In the Forms of Ground, of Water, of Vegetables, of Ornaments, Is'c. it is difficult to find any inflance of a perfedly Simple Form, or in which Lines of different defcriptions do not unite. It is obvious, however, that fuch objeds are not beautiful in {o great a proportion, and that, on the contrary, in all of them there are cafes where this mixture is mere confufion, and in no refped confidered as beautiful. If we enquire far- L 1 2 ther, • Effay I. Chap. II. Seft. III. 268 Of the Sublimity and Beauty ther, what is the circumftance which diflinguifhes beauti- ful objeds of thefe kinds, it will be found, I believe, that it is fome determinate charader or Expreillon which they have to us; and that when this Expreihon is once perceived, we immediately look for and expedl, fome relation among the different parts to this general charader. It is almoft impollible, for inftance, to find any Form of Ground which is not complex, or in which different forms do not unite. Amid a great extent of landfcape, however,, there are few fpots in which we are fenfible of any beauty in their original formation ; and wherever fuch fpots occur, they are always diftinguilbed by fome prominent charader; the charader of Greatnefs, Wildnefs, Gaiety, Tranquillity, or Melancholy. As foon as this impreffion is made, as foon as we feel the expreillon of the fcene, we immediately be- come fenfible, that the different Forms which compofe it are fuited to this charader; we perceive, and very often we imagine a correfpondence among thefe parts, and we fay accordingly, that there is a relation, an harmony among them, and that Nature has been kind, in combining diffe- rent circumftances with fo much propriety, for the produc- tion of one effed. We amufe ourfelves alfo, in imagining improvements to the fcene, either in throwing out fome cir- cumflances which do not correfpond, or in introducing new ones, by which the general charader may be more effec- tually fupported. All this Beauty of Compofition, however, would of the Material World. 269 would have been unheeded, if the fcene itfelf had not fome determinate charader ; and all that we intend, by thefe ima- ginary improvements, either in the prefervation of greater Uniformity, or in the introdudion of greater Variety, is to eftablifti a more perfedl relation among the different parts to this peculiar charadler» In the laying out of grounds, in the fame manner, every man knows, that the mere Compofition of fimilar and dif- fimilar Forms does not conftitute Beauty ; that fome cha- racter is neceilary,^ to which we may refer the relation of the different parts 5 and that where no fuch charader can be created, the Compofition itfelf is only confufion. It is up- on thefe principles, accordingly, that we uniformly judge of th€ Beauty of fuch fcenes. If there is no charader difcernible, no general Exprefllon, which may afford our imaginations the key of the fcene, although we may be pleafed with its neatnefs, or its cultivation^ we feel no Beau- ty whatever in its compofition ; and we leave it with no other impreflion than that of regret, that ib much labour and expence fhould be thrown away upon fo confufed and un- grateful a fubjed. If, on the other hand, the fcene is ex- preflive, if the general Form is fuch as to infpire fome pe- culiar Emotion, and the different circumflances fuch as to correfpond to this effed, or to increafe it, we immediate- ly conclude, that the Compofition is good, and yield our- felves willingly to its influence. If, laftly, amid fuch a fcene, we 270 Of the Sublimity and Beauty we find circum^lances introduced, which have no relation to the general Expreffion j if Forms of Gaiety and Gloom, Greatnefs and Ornament, Rudenefs and Tranquillity, l^c. are mingled together without any attention to one determi- nate effed, we turn with indignation from the confufion, and conclude, that the Compofition is defedive in its firft principles. In all cafes of this kind, we become fenfible of the Beauty of Compofition, only when the fcene has fome general charadter, to which the diflferent Forms in Compo- fition can refer ; and determine its Beauty by the effed of this union in maintaining or promoting this general Ex- preflion. The fame obfervation may be extended to the Forms of Wood and Water j but I willingly refer the reader to Mr Whately's excellent " Obfervations upon Modern Gar- " dening," for the full illuftration of this remark, with re- gard to the different objeds of natural fcenery. In the Vegetable World, alfo, if the mere compofition of Uniformity and Variety were fufficient to conftitute Beau- ty, it would almoft be impofiible to find any infl;ance where Vegetable Forms (hould not be beautiful. That this is not the cafe every one knows ; and the leafl: attention to the language of Mankind will (hew, that wherever fuch Forms are beautiful, they are felt as charaderiftic or exprefiive ; and that the Beauty of the Compofition is determined by the fame principle, which regulates our opinion with regard to the Compofition of the Forms of Ground. The beautiful gf the Material World. 271 beautiful Forms which we ourfelves remark in this kingdom ; the Forms which have been feledted by Sculptors for em- belliftiment or ornament, by Painters for the effedt of land- fcape, by Poets for defcription or allufion, are all fuch as have fome determinate Expreflion or Aflbciation ; their Beauty is generally exprelled by epithets fignificant of this Character j and. if we are aiked the reafon of our admira- tion, we immediately affign this Expreflion as a reafon fa- tisfadlory to ourfelves for the Beauty we difcover in them. As foon alfo as we feel this ExprelHon in any Vegetable Form, we perceive, or demand a relation among the differ- ent parts to this peculiar Charader. If this relation is maintained, we feel immediately that the Compolition of the Form is good. We fhew it as a beautiful inltance of the operation of Nature, and we fpeak of it, as. a Form in which the utmoft harmony and felicity of Compofition is difpiayed. If, on the contrary, the different parts do not feem adjufted to the general charader, if inflead of an agreement among thefe parts in the maintaining or promoting this Expref- fion, there appears only a mixture of fimilar and dilhmilar parts, without any correfpondence or alliance, we rejed it as a confufed and inlignifieant Form, without meaning or beauty. If, in the fame manner, the general Form has no Expreflion, we pafs it by without attention, and with a con- vidion, that where there is no Charadler to which the rela- tion of the different parts may be referred, there can be no propriety or beauty in its Compofition. In- 272 Of the Sublimity and Beauty In the dlflerent fpecies of Vegetables which poflefs Ex- preffion, and which confequently admit of Beauty in Com- pofition, it is obfervable alfo, that every individual does not poflefs this Beauty ; and it is the fame principle which de- termines our opinion of the Beauty of Individuals, that de- termines our opinion of the Beauty of different fpecies. The Oak, the Myrtle, the weeping Willow, the Vine, the Ivy, the Rofe, Sffc. are beautiful clafTes of Plants : but every Oak and Myrtle, ^c. does not conftitute a beautiful Form. The many phyfical caufes which affedt their growth, afFe<5t alfo their Expreflion; and it is only when they poflefs in pu- rity the peculiar Character of the clafs, that the individuals are felt as beautiful. In the judgment accordingly that we form of this Beauty, we are uniformly guided by the cir- cumfl:ance of their Expreflion. When, in any of thefe in- ftances, we find an accumulation of Forms, different from what we generally meet with, we feel a kind of difappoint- ment ; and however much the Compofition may exhibit of mere uniform and varied parts, we pafs it by with fome de- gree of indignation. When the difcordant parts are few, we lament that accident fhould have introduced a variety which is fo prejudicial, and we amufe ourfelves with fancy- ing how beautiful the Form would be, if thefe parts were omitted. It is only when we difcover a general correfpon- dence among the different parts to the whole of the charac- terj and perceive the uniformity of this charader maintained amid all their varieties, that we are fully fatisfied with the Beauty of the Material World. , 273 Beauty of the Form. The fuperiority of the produdlons of Sculpture and Faulting to their originals in Nature, altoge- ther confifls in the power which the Artifts have to corred: thefe accidental defeds, in keeping out every circumflance which can interrupt the general Expreflion of the fubjed or the Form, and in prefenting, pure and unmixed, the charac- ter which we have alFociated with the objeds in real Na- ture. The fame obfervation extends to every fpecies of artificial Form ; but the purfuit of it would neceflarily lead to a very long, and I believe, a very unnecefTary difcuflion. With re- gard to this fubjed, I fliall leave the Reader to his own obfervation, and fhall only beg of him to refled, whether, if the Compofition of uniformity and variety was neceflarily beautiful, every fpecies almofl: of artificial Form would not be found to be beautiful ; whether, on the contrary, the Beauty of Compofition is not perceived in thofe fubjeds only where the Form itfelf has fome Charader or Expreflion, or where it affords him fome difliind principle, to which the relation of the different parts may be referred; and whe- ther he does not determine the Beauty of the Compofition, by the effed of this union of different parts in exciting one definite Emotion. It is perhaps unneceflary to remark, that in purfuing fuch obfervations, it is proper to leave out every confideration of defign or of utility, and that the fitteft fub- jeds for fuch experiments are ornamental Forms, or thofe M m Forms 274 Q/" ^^^ Sublimity and Beauty Forms in which no other objecl is fought, than the mere produdion of Beauty. I {hall content myfelf with obferving upon this fubjed:, that whatever is the fource of the Beauty of complex Forms, it is natural to fuppofe, it Ihould be expreffed in language j and that if uniformity and variety were beautiful in them- felves, and by the conftitution of our Nature, it is rea- fonable to think, that in defcribing beautiful Forms, fuch qualities (hould be afligned as the foundation of their Beau- ty. If I am not deceived, however, this is very far from being the cafe. In defcribing fuch objeds, we never fatisfy ourfelves with diftinguifhing them by fuch charaders, and if any perfon were in fuch terms to defcribe any Form to ourfelves, we (hould be at as great a lofs as ever, with re- gard to its Beauty. I apprehend, on the contrary, that the natural and uniform method we take for this purpofe, is firft to convey to our hearers the idea of its Charader or Expref- fion, and after having given them this general conception of it, we enter into the detail of its Compofition, and endea- vour to explain to them, with how great propriety the dif- ferent parts are accommodated, to preferve and to promote this charaderiftic Expreffion ; and if we fucceed in this de- fcription, we never fail not only to be underftood, but to convey alfo to thofe who hear us, a perfed belief of the Ex- cellence and Beauty of the Compofition. If the mere mix- ture of uniformity and variety were beautiful, independent of of the Material World. 273 of any relation to Expreflion, all this natural procefs could never take place, and if it did, could never convey any opi- nion of Beauty. 2. I believe it will be found, that different proportions of Uniformity and Variety, are required in Forms of diffe- rent charadters; and that the principle fiom vi^hich we determine the Beauty of fuch proportion, is from its correfpondence to the nature of the peculiar Emotion which the Form itfelf is fitted to excite. Every one knows, that fome Emotions require a greater degree of uni- 'formity, and others a greater degree of variety in their ob- jeds ; and perhaps, in general, all ftrong or powerful Emo- tions, and all Emotions which border upon pain, demand uniformity or famenefs, and all weak Emotions, and all E- motions which belong to pofitive pleafure, demand variety or novelty, in the objeds of them. Upon this conffitution of our Nature, the Beauty of Compofition feems chiefly to depend j and the judgment we form of this Beauty, appears in all cafes, to be determined by the correfpondence of the different parts of the Compofition in preferving or promo- ting the peculiar Expreflion by which the objed itfelf is dif- tinguiftied. In the Forms of Ground, for inftance, there is very ob- vioufly, no certain proportion of uniformity and variety, M m 2 which 276 Of the Sublimity and Beauty which is permanently beautiful. The fame degree of uni- formity which is pleafmg in a fcene of Greatnefs or Melan- choly, would be difagreeable or dull in a fcene of Gaiety or Splendor. The fame degree of variety which would be beautiful in thefe, would be dittreffing in the others. By what rule, however, do we determine the different Beauty of thefe proportions ? Not furely by the Compofi- tion itfelf, elfe one determinate Compofxtion would be per- manently beautiful : but by the relation of this Compofition to the Expreffion or Characfler of the fcene ', by its accord- ing with the demand and expedlation of our Minds; and by its being fuited to that particular ftate of attention or of fancy, which is produced by the Emotion that the fcene infpires. When this efted is accordingly produced, when the proportion either of unifi^nity or variety correfponds to the nature of this Emotion, we conclude, that the Com- pofition is good. When this proportion is violated, when there is more uniformity of Expreffion, than we chufe to dwell upon, or more variety than we can follow without diflradion, we conclude that the CompofiLion is defedive, and fpeak of it either as dull or confufed. Whatever may be the number of diflind Charaders, which the Forms of Ground polTefs, there is an equal number of different proportions required in the Compofition of them : and fo ftrong is this natural determination of the Beauty of Com- pofition, that after admiring the Compofition of one fcene, we very often, in a few minutes afterwards, find equal Beauty ■ of the Material World. 277 Beauty in a Compofition of a totally different kind, when it diftinguiflies a fceue of an oppofite character. " The flyle of every part (fays Mr Whately, in the con- clulion of his Obfervations upon Ground) mufl be accom- modated to the charadler of the whole ; for every piece of ground is diftinguifhed by certain properties : it is either tame or bold, gentle or rude, continued or broken ', and if any variety inconfiflent with thefe properties be ob- truded, it has no other effe^ than to weaken one idea, without raifing another. The infipidity of a flat, is not taken away by a few fcattered hillocks ; a continuation of uneven ground can alone give the idea of inequality. A large, deep, abrupt break, among eafy fwells and falls, feems at befl but a piece left unfinifhed, and which ought to have been foftened : it is not more natural, becaufe it is more rude. On the other hand, a fmall fine polilhed Form, in the midfl of rough miihapen ground, though more elegant than all about it, is generally no better than a patch, itfelf difgraced, and disfiguring the fcene. A thoufand inftances might be added, to (how, that the pre- vailing idea ought to pervade every part, fo far at leafl indifpenfably, as to exclude whatever difi;rads it ; and as much further as pofllble to accommodate the charader of the ground to that of the fcene it belongs to." After 278 of the Sublimity and Beauty After obferving that the fame principle extends to th£ proportion, and to the number of the parts, he obferves, *' That ground is feldom beautiful or natural without variety, *' or even without contraft i and the precautions which have ** been given, extend no farther, than to prevent variety *' from degenerating into inconfiftency, and contrail into '- contradiiSlion. Within the extremes Nature fupplies an " inexhauftible flmd) and variety thus limited, fo far from ** deftroying, improves the general effedl. Each diftinguifh- " ed part makes a feparate impredion j and all bearing the " fame ftamp, all concurring to the fame end, every one is *' an additional fupport to the prevailing idea. — An accu- " rate obferver will fee in every Form feveral circumftan- " ces, by which it is diftinguifhed from every other. If ** the fcene be mild and quiet, he will place together thofe " which do not differ widely, and he will gradually depart " from the fimilitude. In ruder fcenes, the fucceflion will << be lefs regular, and the tranfitions more fudden. The " charader of the place mud determine the degree of dif- " ference between contiguous Forms.— An afiemblage of " the moft elegant Forms in the happieft fituations is to " a degree indifcriminate, if they have not been feleded '^ and arranged with a defign to produce certain Expref- " lions: an air of magnificence or of fimplicity, of cheer- ** fulnefs, tranquillity, or fome other general charader, " ought to pervade the whole j and objeds pleafing in them- '* felves, if they contradid that charader, fliould therefore " be of the Material World. 279 " be excluded ; thofe which are only indifferent muft fome- " times make room for fuch as are more fignificant \ many " will often be introduced for no other merit than their " Expreflionj and fome which are in general rather dif- " agreeable, may occafionally be recommended by it. Bar- " rennefs itfelf may be an acceptable circumftance in a fpot " dedicated to Solitude and Melancholy." As the great fecret of gardening, feems thus to confift in the accurate prefervation of the charader of every fcene, whether origi- nal or created J fo it is the fame principle that determines the opinion of men with regard to its Beauty j and who- ever will read Mr Whately's excellent book with attention, will perceive, that all his rules with regard to the Forms of Ground, of Water, of Wood, of Rocks, and of Buildings, may be referred to this leading principle; and that they are nothing more than invefligations of the charader of thefe different Forms, and diredlions how to apply them in fcenes of different ExpreiHon^ Our opinion of the Beauty of vegetable forms feems di- reded by the fame principle. Many of the claffes of trees have diftindl charaders. There are therefore different com- pofitions which are beautiful In their forms ; and in all of them, that Compofitlon only is beautiful which correfponds to the nature of the Exprellion they have, or of the Emo- tion which they excite. The character, for inftance, of the weeping willow, is melancholy, of the birch and of the af- 28o Of the Sublimity and Beauty pin, gaiety : the cliarader of the horfe-chefnut, is folemni- ty, of the oak, majefty, of the yew, fadnefs. In each of thefe cafes, the general Form or Compofition of the parts is altogether different ; all of them, however, are beautiful ; and were this proportion in point of Compofition changed, were the weeping willow to alTume an equal degree of va- riety with the oak, or the oak to fliew an equal degree of uniformity with the weeping willow, we fhould undoubt- edly feel it as a defedl, and conclude that in this change of Form, the Beauty of the charader and of the Compofition was loft. It is in this manner, accordingly, that we judge of the Beauty of individuals, in thefe different claffes. All thefe individuals are not beautiful ; and wherever they ap- pear as beautiful, it is when their Form adheres perfedly to their charadter \ when no greater degree either of uniformity or variety is allumed, than fuits that peculiar Emotion which their exprellion excites in our minds. An oak, which wreathes not into vigorous or fantaftic branches, a yew, which grows into thin and varied forms, a plane- tree, or a horfe-chefnut, which affumes not a deep, and al- moft folid mafs of foliage, fcfc. appear to us as imperfed and deformed produdions. They feem to aim at an ex- preflion which they do not reach, and we fpeak of them accordingly as wanting the Beauty, becaufe they want the .eharader of their clafs. In of the Material World. 281 In the formation of beautiful groups, the fame adherence to Exprellion is neceffary : and whatever may be the cha- rader of the group, the real limit to variety, is correfpon- dence in this Expreflion. The permanent charatfler of trees arifes from their Form or their Colour. In fo far as Form is concerned. Forms of different character are never found to unite, or to conilitute a beautiful compofition. A mix- ture, for inftance, of the light and upright branches of the almond, with the falling branches of the willow, the heavy branches of the horfe-chefnut, and the wild arms of the oak, would be abfolute confufion, and would be intole- rable in any fcene wh^re defign or intention could be fup- pofed. The mixture of trees, on the other hand, that cor- refpond in their Forms, and that unite in the produdlion of one charadler, are found to conftitute beautiful groups. We fpeak of them accordingly as beautiful from this caufe : When we meet with them in natural fcenery, we are plea- fed with the fortunate, though accidental connedion, and we fay, that they could not have been better united by the hand of Art : When we meet with them in cultivated fcenes, we praife the tafte of the artift, and fay, that the Compofition is pure and harmonious. " Trees (fays Mr " Whately) which differ but in one of thefe circumftances, *' whether of fliape, of green, or of growth, though they " agree in every other, are fufficiently diftinguifhed for " the purpofe of Variety ; if they differ in two or three, " they become contrafts : if in all, they are oppofites and fel- " dom group well together. Thofe, on the contrary, N n " which 282 Of the Sublimity and Beauty " which are of one character, and are dlftinguifhed only as. " the charaderirtic mark, is flrongly or faintly iinprefled *' upon them, as a young beech, and a birch, an acacia and " a larch, all pendant, though in different degrees, form a *' beautiful mafs, in which unity is preferved without fame- " nefs." How far the fame principle extends to landfcape painting, they who are acquainted with the art will be at no lofs to determine. In all the different kinds of ornamental Forms, in the fame manner, inftead of there being any one determinate proportion of Uniformity and Variety beautiful, there are, in fa6l, as many varieties of beautiful Compolition, as there are varieties of Character ; and the rule by which we judge of this Beauty, in every particular cafe, is by the correfpon.- dence of the Compofition, to the characler which the Form is intended to exprefs. To give the fame proportion of uni- form or of varied parts to every fpecies of ornamental Form, to Forms of Splendour, of Magnificence, of Gaiety, of Delicacy, or of Melancholy, would be to fin againft the very firfl principle of Compofition, and would immediately be dete(fled even by thofe who never heard of the prin- ciples of Compofition. The beautiful Form of the Vafe, for inflance, is employed in many different kinds of orna- ment, and may either be Magnificent, Elegant, Simple, Gay, or Melancholy. In all thefe cafes, however, the Compofi- tion is different. A greater proportion of Uniformity di^ ftinguiflies of the Material World. 283 ftinguiOies it when deftiiied to the Expre/Hon of Simplicity, Magnificence or Melancholy, and a greater proportion of Variety, when deftlned to the ExprefTion of Elegance or Gaiety. We immediately perceive alfo that there is proprie- ty and Beauty in this difference of Compofition; and if we are afked, why it is fo, we readily anfwer, becaufe it ac- cords with the peculiar charader which the Form is there intended to have. If, on the other hand, this proportion is inverted, if the Vafe upon a tomb has all the varieties of a Goblet, or the latter all the uniformity of the funereal Urn, we immediately perceive an impropriety and deformi- ty, and as readily explain It, by faying that the Compofition is unfitted to the Expreflion which the objedl is intended to have. The Orders of Archltedure have different charaders from feveral caufes, and chiefly, I believe, from the diffe- rent quantities of matter in their Entablatures. The Tuf- can is diftinguifhed by its Severity ; the Doric by its Sim- plicity J the Ionic by its Elegance ; the Corinthian and Com- pofite by their Lightnefs and Gaiety. To thefe charaders, their feveral ornaments are fulted with confummate Tafle. Change thefe ornaments, give to the Tufcan the Corinthian Capital, or to the Corinthian the Tufcan, and every perfon would feel not only a difappointment from this unexpeded Compofition, but a fentiment alfo of impropriety from the appropriation of a grave or fober ornament to a fubjed of N n 2 ~ Splendor, 284 Of the Sublimity and Beauty Splendor, and of a rich or gaudy ornament to a fubjeft of Severity. Even in the commonefl of all Forms, the Forms of Furniture, the fame principle is obvious. Chairs, Tables^ Mirrors, Candleflicks, 6'f. may have very different charac- ters j they may be either Simple, Elegant, Rich or Magnifi- cent. Whatever this character may be, we demand a corre-» ipondence in the Corapofition. The fame number of uniform parts, which is beautiful in any fimple Form, is infipid in an elegant, and mean in a rich or magnificent one. The fame variety of parts which is beautiful in a Form of fplen- dor or magnificence, is confufed in an elegant, and taudry in a fimple Form. In thefe, and a thoufand other cafes of the fame kind, it will be found, that no certain proportion of Uniformity and Variety is permanently felt as beautiful j that, on the con- trary, wherever the Form, either in itfelf, or from its fitua- tlon, has any determinate Expreflion, the Beauty of Com- pofition arifes from its correfpondence to that Expreflion ; and that wherever Forms differ in charader, a different Compofition is approved, and is faid to be approved, upon this account. I fhall only add to thefe hints upon the fub- jedl, that the natural language of men is uniformly guided by this principle ; and that whenever they attempt to de- scribe the excellence of any Compofition, it is not by ex- plaining the peculiar proportions of Uniformity and Varie- ty which may obtain in it, but by fliowing how well this proportion of the Material Worlb. 285 proportion accords with the Expreflion by which the objeexterity they appeared, at fuch a period, to exhibit. What the Spectator admired, was not fo much the Refemblarice to Man, as the Invention and Art which produced this Refemblance j what the Artifl there- fore would fludy, would be to make his work as expreiUve of this fkill as poffible. He could, however, do this in no way fo furely, as by the produdtion of Uniformity, by ma- king choice of an attitude in which both fides of the body were of the Material World, 311 were i^erfedly funilar, and every article of drapery, ?if<:. up- on the one fide, having a correfpondent article of the fame kind upon the other. Such a work, carried with it imme- diately the conviction of defign, and would of courfe excite the admiration of an Age to which Defign was not familiar* The figui'es of the Gods, and of the Picroes, of rude Na- tions, are accordingly reprefented hy every Traveller, as fafhioned in this manner ; and whoever will take the trouble of reading the Abbe Winkehuan's laborious Hiftory of An- cient Sculpture, will find that the earliefl period even of Grecian Art, was diflinguifhed by the fame Charader. As the favourite Form of fuch an Age, would be Regula- rity, the firfl flep of the progrefs of the Art would natural- ly confifl in the greater perfedlion of this Form, in the higher finifhing of the Parts, and in the increafe of their Number. It is at this period that the Egyptian Sculpture- feems to have flopped ; the accuracy and the delicacy of its workmanfliip appear not to have been exceeded by any other People ; biit the poflibility of adding Variety to Uni- formity, or of copying t'he more graceful attitudes of the human Form, feems either to have been unknown or unat- tempted among them. From what caufe this peculiarity a- rofe, it is now difHcult to explain ; if it may not be con- ceived to have been the effed of a law of Religion, by which the Artifls were forbidden to give any other appear- ance or attitude to the objeds of their worfhip, than thofe which 312 of the SuBLiiMiTy and "Qzavty which were to be found In their ancient Sculptures. Every Hiflory of Painting fufficiently fliews, that the firll periods of this Art have been uniformly diftinguifhed by the fame Charader. The Art of Gardening feems to have been governed, and long governed by the fame Principle. When Men firft be- gan to confider a Garden as a fubjed capable of Beauty, or of beflowing any diflindion upon its poilelTor, It was natu- ral that they fhould endeavour to render its Form as differ- ent as poilible from that of the country around it ; and to mark to the Spedator, as ftrongly as they could, both the defign and the labour which they had beftowed upon it. Irregular Forms, however convenient or agreeable, might flill be the produdion of Nature j but Forms perfedly re- gular, and Divifions completely uniform, immediately ex- cited the belief of Defign, and with this belief, all the ad- miration which follows the employment of Skill, or even of Expence. That this Principle would naturally lead the firfl Artlfts in Gardening to the produdion of Uniformity, may eafily be conceived, as even at prefent, when fo different a fyftem of Gardening prevails, the common People univer- fally follow the firft Syftem 3 and even the Men of the beft Tafte, In the cultivation of wafte or negleded lands, ftlll inclofe them by uniform Lines, and in regular Divifions, as more immediately fignifying what they wifli fhould be of the Material World. 313 be fignlfied, their Induftry or Spirit in their improve- ment. As gardens, however, are both a coflly and permanent fubjedl, and are of confequence lefs liable to the influence of Fafhion, this Tafte would not ealily be altered; and the principal improvements which they would receive, would confill rather in the greater employment of uniformity and expence, than in the introdudion of any new Defign. The whole Hillory of Antiquity, accordingly, contains not, I believe, a fingle inftance where this charadler was deviated from, in a fpot confidered folely as a garden; and till with- in this century, and in this country, it feems not any where to have been imagined, that a garden was capable of any other Beauty, than what might arife from Utility, and from the difplay of Art and Defign. It deferves alfo further to be remarked, that the additional ornaments of gardening, have in every country partaken of the fame character, and have been dired:ed to the purpofe of increafing the appear- ance and the Beauty of Defign. Hence Jet d'Eaus, artificial Fountains, regular Cafcades, Trees in the form of Animals, ^c. have in all countries been the principal ornaments of gardening. The violation of the ufual appearances of Na- ture in fuch objeds, ftrongly exhibited the employment of Art. They accorded perfedly, therefore, with the charac- ter which the fcene was intended to have; and they in- R r creafed 2 14 Of the Sublimity and Beauty creafed its Beauty, as they increafed the effedl of that qua- lity upon which this Beauty was founded. The fame principle which has thus influenced the Tafle of men in the earlier periods of Society, with regard to Sculpture and Gardening, appears to have extended to eve- ry other Art which was employed in the Beauty of Form. The Art of Dancing, one of the Fine Arts of a rude people, and which is capable indeed of being one of the Fine Arts of the mod improved people, is diftinguifhed in its firfl; pe- riods by the fame charader, and from the fame caufe. The common or general motions of the human body are ac- quired in fo early infancy, and are performed with fo little refle6lion, that they appear to be more the exertion of a. natural power, than an acquifition of labour or art. When men then firll began to take pleafure in the exertion of their agility, and to exped praife or admiration for their fkill, it is obvious, that the motions and geftures which they would adopt, would be fuch as were farthefl: removed from the natural or eafy motions of the body, and which from this difference were moil ftrongly expreflive of the addrefs or agility of the Dancer. Hence naturally arofe the inven- tion of all thofe uniform attitudes, in which the two fides of the body were rendered perfedly correfpondent 3 thofe artificial geftures, in which the fame motion of the limbs is repeated, without any change of place : and as the art ad- vanced, thofe regular figures in which the fame Form is per- petually \\ of the Material World. 315 petually defcribed ; and thofe more complicated dances, in which a number of performers are engaged in repeating fome intricate figure witliin a definite interval. Such geftures and figures as eflentially different from the ufual geftures of the body, were immediately expreillve both of Defign and of Skill. The performer would ftudy to excel in them. The fpe<5lator would admire him in proportion as he did excel ; and hence the Art would almoft necefiarily afTume the fame charader of Regularity or Uniformity that di- ftinguifhed the other Arts which were deftined to pleafe. It would be very eafy to illuftrate the fame obfervation, from a variety of other particulars in the ornamental Forms of rude nations, if it did not lead to a very minute, and I believe a very unneceffary inveftigation. The Reader will perhaps forgive me, if I avail myfelf of this opportunity to hazard a conjedlure, whether the fame principle is not the caufe of the invention of Rhyme and Meafure in Poetry, and whether it may not ferve to account for a very re- markable fad that every one is acquainted with, viz. The Precedence of Poetical, to Profaic Compolition. The ufe of language is acquired fo early in life, and is pradlifed upon common occafions with fo little ftudy or thought, that it appears to a rude people, as it does to the common people of every country, rather as an inherent power of our nature, than as an acquifition of labour or R r 2 ftudy 5 3i6 Of the Sublimity and Beauty ftudy; and upon fuch occafions, is confidered as no more cxprefllve of Defign or Skill, than the notes of birds, or the cries of animals. When therefore men firft began to think of Compofition, and to exped admiration from their ikill in it, they would very naturally endeavour to make it as expreffive as they could of this Skill, by diflinguilhing it as much as poflible from common language. There was no way fo obvious for this, as by the produdlion of fome kind of Regularity or Uniformity ; by the production either of Regularity in the fucceffiou of thefe Sounds, or of Unifor- mity or Refemblance in the Sounds themfelves. Such qua- lities in Compofition would immediately fuggeft the belief of Skill and Defign, and would of confequence excite all fihat admiration which, in the commencement of every Art, fuch qualities fo ftrongly and fo juftly raife. The fame caufe, therefore, which induced the Sculptor to give to his performances that Form, which was moil ftrongly expreffive of his fkill, would induce the Poet to employ that Regulari- ty or Uniformity of Sounds, which was moft immediately ex- preffive alfoof his Skill, and which was moft likely to excite the admiration of his people. Rhyme or Meafure then (ac- cording to the nature of the language, and the fuperior dif- ficulty of either) would naturally come to be the conftitu- ent mark of Poetry, or of that fpecies of Compofition which was deftined to affedl or to pleafe. It would be the fimplefl refource which the Poet could fall upon, to diftinguifh hi» produdlions from common language j and it would accord- ingly of t be Material WoRtn. 317^ ingly pleafe, juft in proportion to the perfedlion of its Re- gularity, or to the degree in which it was expreflive of his labour and fkill. The greater and more important charac- teriftics of the Art, a rude people muft neceflarily be unac- quainted with; and what would naturally conilitute the di- ftindtion to them between Poetry and common language, would be the appearance of Uniformity or Regularity in the one, and the want of them in the other. As thus, the firft inftances of Compofition would be diftinguifhed by fome fpecies of Uniformity, every kind of Compofition would gradually borrow, or come to be diftinguidied by the fame charader. If it was neceflary for the Poet to fludy Rhyme or Meafure, to diftinguifh his verfes from common language, it would be equally neceffa- ry for the Lawgiver to ftudy the fame in the Compofition of his Laws, and the Sage in the Compofition of his Apho- rifms^ Without this charader, they had no diftindion from uliial or familiar Expreflion ; they had no mark by which they might be known to be the fruit of Thought or Refledion, inftead of the immediate effufion of Fancy. Be- fore the invention of writing, the only expedient by which it feems poflible that Compofition could be difi:inguifiied from common language, mufl; have been fome fpecies of Uniformity or Regularity, which might immediately con- vey the belief of Art or Defign, and thus feparate it from that vulgar language,, which appeared to imply neither. It is. 31 8 Of the Sublimity and Beauty Is hence, that In every country, proverbs, or the ancient maxims of wifdom, are diftinguifhed by Alliteration, or Meafure, or fome other artifice of a like nature j that ii^ many countries the earlleft laws have been written In verfe ; and. In general, that the artificial Compofition which Is now appropriated to Poetry alone, and diftlnguifhed by the name of Poetical Compofition, was naturally the prevailing charac- ter of Compofition, and applied to every fubjed which was the fruit of labour or meditation ; as the mark, and indeed the only mark that then could be given, of the employ- ment of this labour and meditation. The Invention of writing occafioned a very great revolu- tion In Compofition. What was written, was of Itfelf ex- prefiive of Defign. Profe therefore, when written, was e- qually exprefiive of Defign with Verfe or Rhyme ; and the refi;ralnts which thefe impofed, led men naturally to forfake that artificial Compofition, which now no longer had the value it bore, before this Invention. The difcovery of wri- ting, feems therefore naturally to have led to Compofition In Profe. It might be expedled alfo, that the fame caufe ftiould have freed Poetry from the rellraints with which the ignorance or the neceflities of a rude Age had thus fhackled it J and that the great diftindtlons of Imagery, of Enthu- fiafin, of being dlreded to the Imagination, inflead of the Underftanding, l^c, (hould have been fufficlent diftindions of it from profaic Compofition, without preferving thofe rude Inventions, I of the Material World. 319 Inventions, which were founded folely upon the Expreflion of Art. There are, however, two caufes which ferve to prevent this natural effedl, and which it is probable will every where continue to appropriate Rhyme or Meafure to poetical Compofition. \Jl, The permanence of poetical Mo- dels, and the irrefillible prejudice we have in their favour, even from no other caufe than their antiquity : and, ^dly^ The real difficulty of the Art itfelf, which in oppofition to the general hillory of Art, remains flill as difficult, and perhaps more fo, than in the firll periods of its cultivation ;: and which of confequence renders it ftill as much the ob- jedl of admiration, as when it firft began to be cultivated^ The generality of men judge of Poetry by the perfedion or imperfedion of its Rhymes ; and the art or /kill of the Poet in the management of them, eonftitutes a very great fhare of the pleafure they have in the perufal of it. Whatever truth there may be in this conjedlure, with regard to the Origin of Rhyme and Meafure, it is a fad fufficiently certain, that the firft periods of the hiftory of the Fine Arts, are diftinguifhed by Uniformity and Regularity ; and per- haps the obfervations which I have offered may lead the Reader to believe, that this arifes from the early, and per- haps inftindive affociation we have of fuch qualities in Form, with Defign and Skill, and the great and peculiar va- lue they neceffarily have in fuch a period of fociety, 2. When, 320 of the Sublimity and Beauty 2, When, however, the Fine Arts have made this pro- :grefs, circumftances arife which alter in a great meafure the Tafte of mankind, and introduce a different opinion with regard to the Beauty of Defign. Two caufes more efpeci- ally confpire to this, ijl, The difcovery that is gradually made, that other and more affedling qualities are capable of being exprefled by Forms, than that of mere Defign : and, 2dly, The progrefs of the Arts themfelves, which naturally renders eafy what at firft was difficult, and of confequence, renders the produ(5lion of Regularity or Unifonnity lefs forcibly the Sign of Skill than at firft. Both tend immedi- ately to the introdudion of Variety. When the Painter and Sculptor, for inflance, had advan- ced fo far in their Art, as to be able to imitate exactly the Form of the human Body, it could not well be long before they applied themfelves to particular imitations of it. Some Forms are beautiful, others not. They would ftudy there- fore to imitate the former; and perhaps endeavour to invef- tigate what circumftances conftituted the difference between fuch cafes. The imitation of the beautiful, from the imi- tation of mere Form, was itfelf a great ftep in the Art, but was of flill greater confequence in leading to another. Beautiful Forms were more beautiful in one attitude than in another, under the influence of fome paffions or affec- tions, than under the influence of others. To imitate fuch objeds, therefore, it was neceffary to fludy, not only the general of the Material World. 3511 general Beauty of Form, but fuch Attitudes and Expreffions, as were the figns of fuch Paflions or Affedions. The mof,. beautiful Forms in real Life, were ftill in fome refpeds de- ficient, and it was difficult to find inftances, where fuch Forms might dilplay the mofl beautiful Attitudes or Expref- fions. The imagination of the Painter or the Sculptor, could alone fupply this want : he would endeavour by de- grees, therefore, to unite the Beauty of Form, with the Beauty of Expreilion j and would thus gradually alcend to the conception of Ideal Beauty, and to the production of Form and of Attitude, more beautiful than any that were to be found in Nature itfelf. In thefe various fteps, the Uniformity of the earlier Ages would infenfibly be deferted. Beautiful Attitudes have little Uniformity, and in the Ex- prefTion of Paffion or Affedion, every Variety of Form mufl: be introduced which takes place in real Life. The Artift, therefore, would not only be under the neceffity of introducing Variety, but the admiration of the Spectator would neceflarily keep pace with its Introdudion ; both be- caufe the expreilion which his Forms now aflumed, was of itlelf much more pleafing and interefling, than the mere exprefllon of Defign, and becaufe this Variety was in fad now fignificant of greater Skill and Dexterity in the Artift, than the mere Uniformity of the former Age. In thofe Arts, therefore, Variety of Form, would not only be con- fidered as expreflive of Defign j but as what diftinguidied the Old and the Modern School, was the Uniformity of the S f oae, 322 Of the Sublimity and Beauty one, and the Variety of the other, it would be confidered as the peculiar fign of elegant or of improved Defign. In all the other Arts, which were either diredled to the production of Beauty of Form, or which were fufceptible of it, the fame caufes would produce the fame effedl. In all of them, in proportion as the Art was cultivated, the diffi- culty of it would decreafe; the fame Form which was beau- tiful and folely beautiful, when the circumflance of Art or Skill only was confidered, would every day become lefs beautiful as that Skill became more common : — the natu- ral rivalfhip of Artills would lead them to deviate from this principle of Uniformity, and by the introdudion of fome degree of Variety, to give greater proofs of their Art and Dexterity : — it would not fail to be obferved, that in fuch inventions fome were more beautiful or more pleafing than others : fome farther qualities, therefore, would be fought for in Forms, than that which was merely expreillve of Defign : the Forms which were beautiful in Nature, would be imitated in the productions of Art j fucceeding Ages would gradually refine upon thefe beginnings of Improve- ment ; until, at lafl:, the mofl; common Forms would re- ceive all that degree of Beauty, which was confiftent with their ufefulnefs or ends. The Forms, however, that are beautiful in Nature, are, in general, fuch as are diflinguiftied by Variety. In the imitation of the Material World. 323 imitation of them, Variety would necellarily be introduced. Tiie imitation of fuch Forms, the application of them to common objedls, was, in itfelf, more laborious, more diffi- cult, and demanded more Ikill in the Artift, than the pro- dudion of mere Uniformity. The Variety, therefore, which took place in this period of the Arts, would natural- ly become the lign of improved or of elegant Defign, as U- niformity had formerly been the fign of Defign itfelf j and as the one diftinguiflied the rude period of thefe Arts, and the other the improved and elegant one, Uniformity in this, as in the former cafe, would come to be confidered as the fign of rude or imperfed Defign, and Variety, of that which was refined and cultivated. The application of thefe prin- ciples to the different Arts, which are converfant In the Beauty of Form, is far beyond the limit of thefe obferva- tions. By fuch means as thefe, by the imitation of Nature, by the invention which rivahhip would naturally excite, and by the natural progrefs of Art itfelf, Variety would gradual- ly be introduced j in different degrees indeed in different Arts, according to their nature, and the coftlinefs and per- manence of the fubjeds upon which they were employed, but ftill ia all in fome degree, and according to the meafure in which they admitted of it. As it thus alfo became the principal vilible diftindion between the rude and the im- proved ftate of thefe Arts, it would become the fign of this S f 2 improvement '324 Of the Sublimity and Beauty improvement and refinement j the excellence of the Ar- tift, would, in a great degree, be meafured by the propor- tion of it which he was capable of giving to his works ', and as the love of Uniformity had diftinguifhed the earlier pe- riods of Society, the love of Variety would from the fame caufe, diftinguifla the periods of cultivation and refinement. It is found accordingly, that this is the great charaderiflic of the tafte of poliflied Ages: and fo flrong is this principle, that wherever, in the Arts of any country, Variety is found to predominate, it may be fafely inferred, that they have long been cultivated in that country j as, on the other hand, wherever the love of Uniformity prevails, it may with e- qual fafety be inferi'ed, that they are in that country but in the firft ftage of their improvement. There is one Art, however, in which the fame effed; feems to have arifen from very different caufes. The Va- riety which diftinguiflies the Modern Art of Gardening in this Ifland, beautiful as it undoubtedly is, appears not how- ever, to be equally natural to this Art, as it has been fhown to be to others. It i^, at leaft, of a very late origin : it is to be found in no other country : and thofe nations of anti- quity, who had carried the Arts of Tafte to the greateft perfe£lion which they have ever yet attained, while they had arrived at Beauty in every other fpecies of Form, feem never to have imagined, that the principle of Variety was^ applicable of the Matlriai. VVdhld.. 325 applicable to Gardening, or to laave deviated in any refped fi'om the Regularity or Uniformity of their anceflors. Nor does it indeed feeni to be either a very natural. or a very obvious invention. A Garden is a fpbt furrounding or contigTious to a houfe, and cultivated for the convenience or pleafure of the family. When Men began firfl to orna- ment fuch a fpot, it was natural that they fliould do with it, as they did with the houfe to which it was fubordinate, viz. by giving it every poflible appearance of Uniformity, to iliew that they had beftowed labour and expence upon the improvement of it. In the countries that were moll pro- per for Gardening, in thofe dillinguilhed by a fine climate and a beautiful fcenery, this labour and expence could in fad: in no other way be exprefled than by the produdion of fuch Uniformity. To imitate the Beauty of Nature in the fmall fcale of a Garden, would have been ridiculous in a; country, where this Beauty was to be found upon the great fcale of Nature 3 and for what purpofe fhould they bellow labour or expence, for which every Man expedls credit, in ereding a fcene, which as it could be little fuperior to the general fcenery around them, could of confequencc but little communicate to the Spectator the belief of this labour or this expence having been bellowed ? The Beauty of Landfcape, Nature had fufficiently provided. The Beauty, therefore, that w^as left for Man to create, was the Beauty of Convenience or Magnificence ; both of them dependent upon 32( Of the Sublimity and Beauty upon the employment of Art and Expence, and both of them befl exprefl'ed by fuch Forms, as Immediately fignified the employment of fuch means. In fuch a fituation, there- fore, it does not feem natural, that Men fhould think of proceeding in this Art beyond the firfl: and earlieft Forms, which it had acquired ; or that any further improvement Ihould be attempted in it, than merely in the extenfion of the fcale of this Defign. In this view, I cannot help thinking, that the Modern Tafte in Gardening, (or what Mr Walpole very juftly, and very emphatically calls the Art of creating Landfcape,) owes its origin to two circumftances, which may at firfl; appear paradoxical, viz. To the accidental circumfl;ance of our tafte in Natural Beauty being founded upon foreign models j and to the difference or inferiority of the fcenery of our own country, to that which we were accuftomed peculiarly to admire. The influence of thefe circumftances will be perhaps fuf- ficiently obvious to thofe who recoiled, that the Compofi- tions which ferve moft early, and indeed moft univerfally, to fix our Tafte in this refped, are thofe which have been produced in Italy and Greece j in countries much fuperior to our own, in the articles of climate and of natural Beau- ty ; which are almoft facred in our imaginations, from the events by which they have been diftinguiftied, and which, befides of the Material World. 327 befides all this, have an additional charm to us, from the very Compofitions in which they are celebrated. The poems of Homer and Theocritus, of Virgil and Horace, have been now for a confiderable length of time, the firll poetical Compofitions to which the youth of modern Eu- rope are accuftomed ; and they have influenced according- ly, in a very fenfible degree, the Tafte of all thofe who have been fo early engaged in the fludy of them. Befides this, the effedl of Painting, and particularly of Landfcape Painting, has been very great, both in awakening our Tafte to natural Beauty, and in determining it. The great ma- fters in this Art have been principally Italians : men who were born amid fcenes of difl:inguiflied Beauty, who paf- fed their lives in copying thofe features either of real or of adventitious Exprefiion with which Italy prefented them ; and whofe works have difi^minated in every country where they found their way, the admiration of the fcenes which they copied. From both thefe caufes, and from the ftrong prejudice, which, fince the revival of letters, we fo early and fo deeply feel, in favour of every thing that relates to Grecian or to Roman Antiquity, the Imagery of Italian Scenery had got ftrongly the poflefilon of our imagination. Our firfl impreflions of the Beauty of Nature had been gain- ed from the Compofitions which delineated fuch fcenery; and we were gradually accuftomed to confider them as the ftandard of Natural Beauty. With 328 Of the Sublimity and Beauty With thefe Impreillons, it was very natural for the inha- bitants of a country, of which the fcenery, however beau- tiful in itfelf, was yet in many refpedts very different from that which they were accuftoraed to confider as folely or fu- premely beautiful, to attempt to imitate what they did not poifefs ; to import, as it were, the beauties which were not of their own growth; and in fad to create, according to Mr Walpole's vigorous expreflion, that fcenery which Nature and Fortune had denied them. Such improvements, however, as extremely expenlive, could not be at firft upon a very large fcale. They could, for various reafons, occupy only that fpot of ground which furrounded the houfe j and as they thus fupplanted what had formerly been the garden, they came very naturally to be confidered only as another fpecies of gardening. A fcene of fo peculiar a kind, could not well unite with the coun- try around. It would gradually therefore extend, fo as to embrace all the ground that was within view, or in the pof- feflion of the improver. From the garden, therefore, it na- turally extended to the park, which became therefore alfo the fubjed of this new, but very fortunate mode of im- provement : And thus, from the nature of modern educa- tion, and the habit we are In of receiving our firft rudi- ments of Tafte from foreign models, together with the ad- miration which fo many caufes have confpired to excite in our minds with regard to antiquity, feems very probably to have of the Material World. 329 have arifen that modern Talle in Gardening, which is fo dif- ferent from every other that men have followed, and which has tended fo much to the ornament of this country. it is to be obferved alfo, in confirmation of what I have faid, that the firft attempts of this kind in England, were very far from being an imitation of the general fcenery of Nature. It was folely the imitation of Italian fcenery ; and it is not improbable, that they who firft pradifed the Art, were themfelves ignorant of the poffible Beauties which it at length might acquire. Statues, Temples, Urns, Ruins,. Colonades, ISc. were the firft ornaments of all fuch fcenes. Whatever diftinguiftied the real fcenes of Nature in Italy, was here employed in artificial fcenery, with the moft thoughtlefs profufion; and the objed: of the Art in general, was the creation not of Natural, but of Italian Landfcape- The fine Satire of Mr Pope upon this fubjed, is a fufhcient proof of the degree to which this Fafliion was carried ; and it deferves to be remarked, to the honour of his Tafte, that he fo foon faw the poftible Beauties of this infant Art, and was fo fuperior to the univerfal prejudices upon the fub- jedl. It was but a ftiort ftep, however, from this ftate of the Art, to the purfuit of general Beauty. The great ftep had already been made, in the deftrudion of the regular Forms which conftituted the former fyftem of Gardening, and in T t the 330 Of the Sublimity and Beauty the imitation of Nature, which, although foreign, and very different from the appearances or the charader of Nature in our own country, was yet ftill the imitation of Nature. The profufion with which Temples, Ruins, Statues, and all the other adventitious articles of Italian fcenery was lavifh- ed, became foon ridiculous. The deftrudion of thefe, it was found, did not deftroy the Beauty of Landfcape. The power of fimple Nature was felt and acknowledged, and the removal of the articles of acquired ExprelHon, led men on- ly more ftrongly to attend to the natural Expreflion of fce- nery, and to ftudy the means by which it might be main- tained or improved. The publication alfo, at this time, of the Seafons of Thomfon, in the opinion of a very compe- tent judge*, contributed in no fmall degree, both to influ- ence and to dired the Tafte of men in this Art. The pe- culiar merit of the work itfelf, the Angular felicity of its defcriptions, and above all, the fine Enthufiafm which it difplays, and which it is fo fitted to excite, with regard to the works of Nature, were moil fingularly adapted to pro- mote the growth of an infant Art, which had for its objed the production of natural Beauty j and by diffufing every where both the admiration of Nature, and the knowledge of its Expreflion, prepared in a peculiar degree, the minds of men in general, both to feel the efFeds, and to judge of the fidelity, of thofe fcenes in which it was imitated. By thefe means, and by the Angular genius of fome late ma- ilers, the Art of Gardening has gradually afcended from the * Dr Warton. of the Material World. 331 the purfult of particular, to the purfuit of general Beauty j to realize whatever the fancy of the Painter has imagined, and to create a fcenery, more pure, more harmonious, and more expreflive, than any that is to be found in Nature itfelf. From the flight view which 1 have now given of the pro- grefs of thofe Arts, which refpedl the Beauty of Form, the Reader may perhaps be fatisfied, that this progrefs itfelf produces a difference in the fentiments of men, with regard to the Beauty of Defign, and to thofe material qualities in Fonns, which are expreiUve of it > that the fame degree of Art or Skill which is the objed of admiration in an early age, ceafes to be fo, in an age of greater improvement^ and that hence as Uniformity is the diftinguifliing Form of Beauty in the firft periods of thefe Arts, Variety is from the fame caufe, in the latter, Thefe qualities, however, though in a great meafiire cha- raderiftic of the rude and the improved periods of the Arts, are neither oppofite nor irreconcileable. In every perfedl Form of Beauty they mud be united, and the fame quality of Defign or Skill which is the foundation of their Beauty,, affords alfo the law of their union. Every work of Art fuppofes Unity of Defign, or fome one end which the Artift had in view in its ftrudlure or compo- Gtion. In Forms, however, confidered fimply as expreilive T t 2 of 332 Of the Sublimity and Beauty of Defign, and without any other relation, the only pofllble ^ Sign of unity of Defign, is Uniformity or Regularity. It is } this which alone diftinguiflies the produdions of Chance, from thofe of Defign} and without the appearance of this, ^ Variety is confefi^edly only Confufion. In every beautiful work of Art, fomething more than mere Defign is demanded, viz. Elegant or embelliflied De- fign. The only material Sign of this is Variety. It is this which diftinguithes, in general, beautiful from plain Forms j and without this, in fome degree, Uniformity is only dul- nefs and infipidity. Beautiful Forms, therefore, muft ne- ceflarily be compofed both of Uniformity and Variety i and this union will be perfe^, when the proportion of Unifor- mity does not encroach upon the Beauty of Embelli (lament, and the proportion of Variety does not encroach upon the Beauty of Unity. J Confidering, therefore, Forms in this light, as beautiful merely from their Exprefllon of Defign, the obfervation of Dr Hutcbefon may perhaps be confidered as an A au Oj avili'j"ii]/:f ; The habit, indeed, >\yhach w.6 have in.a. great many fami- liar cafes, of immediately conceiving this Fitnefs frora the. mere appearance of the Form, leads us to imagine,, as it is ejfprefled in. cbiiimon language, that we determine Propor- tion by the eye; and thi& quality of Fitnefs is fo immediate- ly exprefled to us by the material Form, that we are fen- fible of little dirTerence between: fuch judgments and a. mere detennination o£ fenfe; yet every man mufl; have bhferyed, tliat in the fe: cafes, when either the iQhje<^;is. not familiair to us, or the canftrudion intricate, our judgment is by no means fo fpeedy; and that we never difcover the Proportion, until we previouily difcover the principle of the Machine,, or the Means by which the End is produced. 3, The of the Material World. 347 2. The nature of language feems alfo very ftrongly to fli6w the dependence of Proportion upon Fitnefs, and that it produces the Emotion of Beauty, by being confidered as the Sign of this quality. If a common perfon were afked, why the Proportion of fome particular building, or ma- chine, or inftrument pleafed him, he would naturally an- fwer, becaufe it rendered the ohjed: fit or proper for its end. If we were defcribing a machine or inftrument, to any perfon who was unacquainted with the meaning of the term Proportion, and wiflied to inform him of the Beauty of this Proportion, we cduld do it perfedtly well by fubfti- tuting the term Fitnefs inftead of it, and explaining to him the lingular accuracy with which the feveral parts were adapted to the general end of the machine j and if we fuc- ceeded in this defcription, he would have the fame Emo- tion from the confideration of this Fitnefs, that we our- felves have from the confideration of, what we call, its Pro- portion. It very often happens, in the fame manner, that we read or hear accounts of Forms which we have never feen, and of confequence, of the Propoi'tions of which (if Proportion is a real and original quality in objeds) it is im- pofllble for us to judge; yet I think, if we are convinced that the Form is well contrived, and that its feveral parts are properly adjufted to their End, we immediately fatisfy ourfelves that It is well proportioned 3 and if we perfedly tinderftand its nature or mechanifin, we never hefitate to fpeak of its Proportion, though we never have feen it. Xx 2 If 34^ Of the Sublimity and Beauty If Proportion, on the contrary, confifled in certain determi- nate relations, difcoverable only by a peculiar fenfe, all this could not poflibly happen. The confideration of Fitnefs could no more influence our opinion of Proportion, than any other confideration ; and we could as little coUedl the belief of Proportion in any Form from the confideration of its Fitnefs, as from that of its Sound or Colour. In a great variety of cafes, the terms Fitnefs and Propor- tion are perfectly fynonymous. There is, however, a di- flindlion between them, which it may be neceflary to ex- plain, as it will afford a more accurate conception of the; nature of Proportion, and of the foundation of its Beau- ty. Every Form which is fufceptible of Proportion, may be Gonfidered in either one or other of the following lights.^ iji. In the light of its whole or general relation to the End defjgned, or when it is confidered as a whole, without any diflindion of parts ; or, 2.dly, In the light of the relation of its feveral parts to this End. Thus, in the cafe of a machine, we may fometimes confider it in the light of its general uti- lity for the End. it is deflined to ferve, and fometimes in the light of the propriety of the different parts, for the attain- ment of this End. When we confider it in the firft light, it is its Fitnefs which we properly confider. When we con- fider it in the fecond light, it is its Proportion we confider. Fitnefs of the Material World. 349 Fitnefs may therefore be fuppofed to exprefs the general re- lation of propriety between Means and an End, and Pro- portion a peculiar or fubordinate relation of this kind, viz. the proper relation of parts to an End. Both agree in ex- prefling the relation of propriety between Means and their Ends. Fitnefs exprefles the proper relation of the whole of the Means to the End. Proportion the proper relation of a part, or of parts, to their End. In common language, accordingly, wherever we fpeak of this relation in a fubjedl which has no divifion of parts, the terms are ufed fynonymoully. Thus we fay, that a man's expenc'es are fitted, or are proportioned to his income ; that a man's ambition is fitted or proportioned to his talents ; that an undertaking is fitted or proportioned to one's powers. In fubjeds which are capable of divifion into parts, on the other hand, the terms Fitnefs and Proportion are not ufed fynonymoully, but according to the explanation which I have now given. Thus we fay, that the Form of the Eye is admirably fitted for Vifion ; that the Telefcope is fitted for difcovering objeds at a diftance ; that the Fire-engine is fitted for raifing water: but we could not fay in any of thefe eafes, that they were proportioned to their Ends. When we confider thefe fubjeds as compofed of parts, and attend to the Form of thefe parts for the attainment of their Ends, we- 350 Of the Sublimity and Beauty "\ve immediately fpeak of the Proportion of thefe parts. The jufl Proportioa of fuch parts, is accordingly nothing more, than that peculiar Form or dimenfion which has been found from experience beft fitted for the accompliihment of the purpofe of the inflrument or the machine. Proportion therefore may, I apprehend, be confidered as applicable on- ly to Forms compofed of parts, and to exprefs the relation of propriety between any part, or parts, and the End they are deflined to ferve, 3. It may be further obferved, that Forms are jufl fu- fceptible of as many proportions, as they are fufceptible of parts neceflary to the end, for which they are intended : and that every part which has no immediate relation to this end, is unfufceptible of any accurate Proportion. In many Forms of the mofl common kind, there are a great number of parts which have no relation to the end or purpofe of the Form, and which are intended to ferve the purpofe of orna- ment rather than of ufe. In fuch parts, accordingly, we never exped: or perceive any accurate proportion, nor is there any fettled an-d permanent opinion of Beauty in them, as there is in the great and neceflary parts of the Form. In the Form of a Chair, for inflance, or Table, or Sopha, or Door or Window, feveral of the parts are merely ornament- al: they have no immediate relation to the fitnefs of the Form, and they vary accordingly almoft every year in their Forms and Sizes. All that is required of them is, that they fhould of the Material World. 351 flioiild not obftriuft the general fitnefs j within that limit they, are fufceptible of perpetual and pleafing Variety. There are other parts, however, of the fame Forms, which areinecelTary to the general end or purpofe of their con- ftrudion, as the height of the Chair for the convenience of fitting;, of the Table for its peculiar purpofes, yc. Thefe parts, accordingly, have all a Proportion, which is im* mediately difcerned, and which is never greatly violated without producing an Emotion of difTatisfadion. If, on the contrary. Proportion was fomething abfolute and inde- pendent in Forms, it feems difficult to imagine, that it fliould be found only in thofe Forms, which are fufceptible of fitnefs, and in thofe parts only of fuch Forms as admit of this quality. 4. Our fenfe of Proportion in every Form, keeps pace with our knowledge of the fitnefs of its conilrudion. Where we have no acquaintance with the fitnefs of any Form, we have no fenfe of its peculiar Proportions. No Man, for inftance, ever prefumes to fpeak of the Proportions of a Machine, of the ufe or purpofe of which he is ignorant. When a new Machine is fliown us, we may pronounce with regard to the fimplicity or the complexnefs of its conftrudion, but we never venture to pronounce with regard to the proprie- ty or impropriety of its Proportions. When our acquain- tance is greater with the ufes or purpofes of any particular clafs of Forms, than the generality of people, we are fen- fible 352 Of the Sublimity and Beauty fible of a greater number of pleafing Proportions in fuch objedls, than the reft of the world ; and the fame parts which others look upon with indifference, we perceive as beautiful, from our knowledge of the propriety of their conftrudion for the end defigned. This every perfon muft have obferved in the language of Artifts, upon the fubjedl of the inftruments of their own Arts ; in the language of Anatomifts, and Proficients in Natural Hiftory, in many different fubjedls of their Science; as well as in the increafe of his own fenfe of Proportion in different Forms, with the increafe of his knowledge of the ends that fuch Forms are xleftined to ferve. When any improvement, in the fame manner, is made in the conftrudion of the Forms of Art, fo that different Proportions of parts are introduced, and produce their end better than the former, the new Propor- tions gradually become beautiful, while the former lofe their Beauty. In general, it may be obferved, that the Cer- tainty of Proportion, is in all cafes dependent upon the Cer- tainty of Fitnefs. iji, Where this Fitnefs is abfolutely de- termined, as in many cafes of Mechanics, the Proportion is equally determined. 2^/y, Where it is determined only by experience, the opinion of the Beauty of Proportion varies with the progrefs of fuch experience. 3,dly, Where this Fit- nefs cannot be fubjeded to experience, as in the cafe of na- tural Forms, the common Proportion is generally conceived to be the fitteft, and is therefore confidered as the moft beautiful. It is impoffible, I apprehend, to reconcile thefe cafes '''^'if t'fy} Material World. ' 353 cafes of the depieha^iYce'of 'ou'r fenfe of Proportion upon our opihion of Fitriefs, to tEe belief that there are any certain and eftablifhed Propoi'tion'^ in 'Forms, which ate ' originally and independently. beautiful. ' ■ Thefe illuflrations feem to me very ftrongly to fliew the intimate connexion which fubfifts between Pi-oportion and Fitnefs; and to afford a much more eafy and fimple folu- tion of the delight which Proportion produces, than the opinion of its being a real and independent quality in ob- jed:s. There is, however, one cafe in which it may flill be doubted, whether this explanation of the nature of Propor- tion is fufficient to account for the Phenomena : I mean in the cafe of Architecture. The writers on this fubjed who have beft underftood the Art, have been unanimous in confidering the Proportions which have been difcovered in it, as deriving their effed from the original conftitution of our nature, and as beautiful in themfelves without relation to any Expreilion. They have been willing alfo, fometimes, to fupport their opinion by analogies drawn from Propor- tions in other fubjeds, and have remarked feveral cafes in which fimilar Proportions are beautiful in Mufic and in Numbers. The futility of all reafoning from fuch analo- gies has been fo often expofed, and is in itfelf, indeed, fo very obvious, that I fhall not flop to confider it. Yy I 354 Of t^^ Sublimity and Beauty I flatter myfelf, therefore, that it -will not be confidered as an unneceflaiy digreffion, if I endeavour to ihew, that the Beauty of the Proportions in this Art, are refolveable into the fame principle, and tha4: they pleafe us, not from any original law of our nature, but as expreflive of Fitnefs. The Proportions in Architecture relate either to its External or its Internal Parts. ,1 fhall offer fome ab- fervations upon thefe fubjeds feparajTely. ML !>f the Material WoRLt). %%^ III. Of the External Proportions o/" Architecture. The Propriety or Fitnefs of any Building, intended for the habitation of Man, (as feen from without,) coniifls chiefly in two thinj^s, i/?, In its Stability ; and, 2dly, In its being fufficient for the fupport of the Roof. Walls, in eve- ry country, at the fame period of time, are nearly of an e- qual thicknefs. It is eafy therefore, for the Spedator to judge from their external appearance, whether they are, or are not fufficient for thefe two purpofes. In plain buildings intended merely for ufe, and without any view to ornament, it is thefe confiderations which chiefly determine our opi- nions of Proportion. When the walls are of fuch a height as feerns fufficient both for their own (lability, and for the fupport of the weight which is impofed upon them; and when the diflance between them is fuch, as appears fuffi- cient for fupporting the weight of the roof, we confider the houfe as well or as properly proportioned. When any of thefe circumftances', on the contrary, are diiferent 3 when the walls are either fo high as to feem infecure, or the roof fo large, as to feem too heavy for its fupport, or the fide walls To difl:ant, ajf to beget an opinion of its infecurity, -we Y y 2 fay. 35^ ^f ^^^ SuBLiMiTV and Beauty fay, that the Building, in fuch particulars, is ill proportion- ed. In fuch cafes, what we mean by Proportion, is merely Fitnefs for the ends of {lability and fupport, and as this Fitnefs cannot be very accurately meafured, and is in itfelf capable of wide limits, there are accordingly no accurate Proportions of this kind, and, no A^chited has ever atteropt- ed to fettle them. The general conclufions, that we have formed froin Experience, with regard to the Fitn,efs of fuch Forms, are the fole guides of our opinion with refpedt to th^fe Proportions. It may be obferved alfo, that our fentiments of the Proportions of fuch Buildings depend upon the na- ture of the Buildings, and even upon the materials pf which they are compofed. Gothic Buildings, of which \5^e know that the walls are confiderably thicker than thole of modem, days, admit of greater height, and of a greater appear- ance of weight in the roof, than Buildings of the prefent age. A houfe built. of brick or of wood, does not admit of the fame height of wall, l^e. with a houie built of ftone, becaufe the walls are feldom fo ftrong. A houfe which is united with others, admits of a greater height than if it ftood alone, becaufe we conceive it to, be fupported by the adjoining houfes. And a Building which has no roof, or nothing which it appears to fupport, as a Tower, or Spire, admits of a much greater height than any other fpecies of Building. Thefe Principles are all that feem to regulate the external Proportions of fimple Buildings 3 all of them fo ob- vioufly of the Material World.' 357 vioufly depending- upon Fitnefs, that it is unnecefTary to il- luflrate them farther. It is not in fuch Buildings, accordingly, that any very ac- curate external Proportions have ever been fettled. This is peculiar to what are called the Orders of Architedlure, in which the whole genius of the Art has been difplayed, and in which the Proportions are fettled with a certainty fo ab- folute, as to forbid almofl the attempt at Innovation. There are generally faid to be five orders of Architedlure, viZi the Tufcan, the Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, and the Compofite. There are properly, however, only four, and fome writers have further reduced them to three. What conftitutes an order is its Proportions, not its orna- ments. The Compofite having the fame proportions with the Corinthian, though very different in refped of. its orna- ments, is properly therefore confidered only as a corrupted Corinthian. Every order confifts of three great parts or divifions ; the Bafe, the Column, and the Entablature ; and the governing Proportions relate to this divifion. The whole of them compofe the wall, or what anfwers to the wall of a common building, and fupports the roof. There 558 Of the Sublimity and Beauty There is one great difference, however, to be obferved between a common wall, and that aflemblage of parts which conflitutes an order. A common wall is intended to fupport ii roof, and derives its proportions in a great meafure from this deftination. To an order, the confideration of the roof is unnecefTary. It is complete without any roof, and where a roof is neceflary, it is generally fo contrived as not to appear. The weight which is fupported, or which ap- pears to be fupported in an order, is the Entablature, The Fitnefs of a wall, confifls in its appearing adequate to the fupport of the roof. The Fitnefs of an order, or of the Pro- portions of an order, it fliould feem alfo, from analogy, rea- fonable to conclude, confifts in their appearing adequate tso the fupport of the Entablature, or of the weight which is impofed upon them. That this is really the cafe, and that it is from their be- ing exprefllve to us of this Fitnefs, that the Proportions of thefe diiferent orders appear beautiful, may perhaps feem probable, from the following confiderations : I . The appearance of thefe Proportions themfelves, feems Tei*y naturally to lead us to this conclufion. In all the or- ders, the Fitnefs of the parts to the fupport of the peculiar weight, or appearance of weight in the Entablature, is ap- parent to every perfon, and conflitutes an undoubted part of the pleafure we receive from them. In the Tufcan, where the of the Material World, 359 the Entablature is heavier than in the reft, the Column and Bafe are proportionably ftronger. In the Corinthian, where the Entablature is lighteft, the Column and Bafe are propor- tionably flighter. In the Doric and Ionic, which are be- tween thefe extremes, the forms of the Column and Bafe are in the fame manner proportioned to the reciprocal weights of their Entablatures, being neither fo ftrong as the one, nor fo flight as the other. If the Beauty of fuch Proportions is altogether independent of Fitnefs, and de- rived from the immediate conftitution of our nature, it is difficult to account for this coincidence ', and as the Beauty of Fitnefs in thefe feveral cafes is univerfally allowed, it is altogether unphilofophical, to fubftitute other caufes of the fame effed, until the infufficiency of this caufe is clearly pointed out. 2. The language of mankind, upon this fubjed-, feems to confirm the fame opinion. Whenever we either fpeak or think of the Proportions of thefe different orders, the cir- cumftances of weight and fupport enter both into our con- fideration and our Exprellion. The term Proportion, in its general acceptation, implies them 3 and if this term is wot ufed, the fame idea and the fame pleafure may be com- municated by terms expreffive of Fitnefs for the fupport of weight. Heavinefs, and flightnefs or infufficiency, are the terms mofl generally ufed to exprcfs a deviation on either fide, from the proper relation j both of them obvioufly in- cluding I 360 of the Sublimity and Beauty eluding the confideration of fupport, and expreflmg the want of Proportion. When, it is faid that a Bafe, a Co- Jumn, or an. Entablature is difproportioned, it is the fame thing as faying, that this part is unfitted to the reft, and inadequate to the proper End of the Building. When it is faid, on the other hand, that all thefe feveral parts are pro- perly adjufted to their End, that the Bafe appears juft fuf- ^cient for the fupport of the Column, and both for that of the Entablature, every perfon immediately concludes that the parts are perfedly proportioned : And, I apprehend, it is very poffible to give a man a perfed: conception of the Beauty of thefe Proportions, and to make him feel it in the flrongeft manner, without ever mentioning to him the nam^ of Proportion, but merely by explaining them to him under the coufideration of Fitnefs, and by fliowing him from ex- amples, that thefe Forms are the moft proper which can be devifed for the End to which they are deftined. If our perception of the Beauty of Proportion, in fuch cafes, were altogether independent of any fuch confiderations, I think, that thefe circumftances in language could not poflibly take place j and that it would be as poffible to explain the na- ture and Beauty of Proportion by terms expreffive of Sound or Colour, as by terms expreffive of Fitnefs or Proprie- ty. 3. The natural fentiments of mankind on this fubje 372 Of the Sublimity and Beauty circumftances different from the value of the objeds them- felves, as in their fetting or difpolition. Of all the fine Arts, however, Architedure is by far the moft coftly. The wealth of individuals is frequently diflipated by it : and even the revenue of nations, is equal only to very flow, and very infrequent produdlions of this kind. The value; therefore, of fuch objedls, is in a great meafure independent of their Forms ; the invention of men is little excited to give an ad- ditional value to fubje^ould be mod remarkable for the difcovery of them> and of the Material World. 381 and It would be only in later life, and in proportion to our Experience, that we could difcover the additional Beauty which they derive from their Fitnefs. Every one knows, however, that the real progrefs is different, that during the years of infancy and childhood no fenfiblllty whatever is Ihewn to this Beauty ; that it is only as our Experience enables us to judge of the relation between weight and fup- port, that we begin to be fenfible of it j that they whofe oc- cupations have prevented them from forming any very ac- curate judgment of this kind, are proportlonably deficient in the accuracy of their Taftej and that in general, the bulk of mankind have no farther conception of this {pedes of Beauty, than what arifes from the confiderat ion of Fit- nefs for the fupport of weight. 5. If there were any abfolute and Independent Beauty in fuch Proportions, It feems reafonable to Imagine, that every violation of them would be equally painful 3 and that the deviation from them in each of thefe dimenfions, would be attended with a fimilar Emotion of Dlfcontent. All thefe Proportions relate either to the Height, the Length, or the Breadth of an apartment. Every man, however, mull; have obferved, that It Is with very different feelings he regards the want of Proportion in thefe three refpeds. Too great a Height In a room is not nearly fo painful as too little Height J and too great a length produces a trifling Emo- tion of Dlfcontent, compared with that which we feel from t£)o 382 of the SuBLiMiTV and Beauty too great Breadth. Whether a room Is a few feet too high, or too long, few people obferve ; but every one obferves a much lefs difproportlon, either in the diminution of its Height, or in the extent of its Breadth. The mofl general faults, accordingly, which common people find with apart- ments, is either in their being too low, or too broad. The Proportions of Height and Length they feldom attend to, if they are not greatly violated. Thefe fafts, though not eafily reconcileable with the doctrine of the abfolute Beauty of thefe Proportions, agree very minutely with the account which I have given of the origin of this Beauty. If this Beauty arifes from the Expreffiori of Fitnefs, the Propor- tions, of which the violation fliould afFed us the moll, ought to be thofe which are mofl neceflary for the produc- tion of this Fitnefs. Thefe, however, very obvioully, are either too little Height, or too great Breadth : the firfl im- mediately indicating an unufual weight in the roof, and the other exprefling the greatell poffible infufficiency for the fupport of this weight. The mofl: unpleafing Form of an apartment, accordingly, that it is poffible to contrive, is that of being at the fame time very broad, and very low in the roof. Too great Height, and too great length, on the other hand, have not fo difcigreeable Expreffions. By the lirft, at leafl, Fitnefs is, in no material degree, violated, Itfi'd what we feel from it is chiefly a flight Emotion of Dil'- content, from Its being; u'rifuited to the general charader or defllnatlon of rooms. Our IndlfTereriCe to the fecond difpro- portlon, of the Material World. 383 portion, or to too great length, arifes from a different caufe, vi%. from our knowledge that the Beams which fupport the roof are laid latitudinally, and our confequent belief tliat the difference of Length makes no difference with regard to the fufliciency of fupport. Change, accordingly, in any apart- ment, this dlfpofition of tlie beams; let the Spedator per- ceive, that they are placed according to the length, and not as ufual according to the breadth of the room ; and what- ever may be its other dimenfions, or however great length thefe dimenfions may require, no greater length will be permitted without pain, than that which is expreilive of perfed: fufficiency in the beams for the fupport of the roof. As there is thus no uniform Emotion which attends the per- ception of thefe Proportions, as would neceffarily be the cafe, if their Beauty were perceived by any peculiar fenfe ; and as the Emotion which we, in fa6l, receive from them, is different, according to their different ExprefHons of Fit- nefs, it feems reafonable to afcribe their Beauty to this Ex- preflion, and not to any original Beauty in the Proportions themfelves. 4. If there were any original Beauty in fuch Proportions, they would neceffarily be as certain as the objeds of any other fenfe ; and there w^ould be one precife proportion of the three dimenfions of Length, Breadth and Height, fole- ly and permanently beautiful. Every one knows, however, that this is not the cafe; no Artift has ever prefumed to fix on 384 Of the Sublimity and Beauty on fuch Proportions ; and fo far is there from being any permanent Beauty in any one relation of thefe dimenfions, that the fame Proportions which are beautiful in one apart- ment, are not beautiful in others. From whatever caufes thefe variations in the Beauty of Proportion arife, they con- <:lude immediately againll the dodrine of their original Beauty. There feem, however, to be three principal caufes of this difference in our opinion of the Beauty of Propor- tion, which I muft confine inyfelf barely to mention, with- out attempting the full illuflration of them. I. The firfl is the confideration of the weight fupported. As all roofs are fupported by the fide walls, and compofed in general of the uniform material of wood, there is a certain, though not a very precife limit which we impofe to their breadth, from our knowledge that if they pafs this limit, they are infufEcient and infecure. To the length and to the height, on the other hand, we do not impofe any fuch rigorous limits, becaufe neither of thefe Proportions inter- fere materially with our opinion of fecurity. Within this li- mit of breadth, there may be feveral Proportions to the length and height, which fliall be univerfally pleafing. But beyond this limit, thefe Proportions ceafe to be pleafing, and become painful in the fame degree that they pafs this boundary of apparent fecurity. Thus, a room of twelve feet fquare, may conflitute a pleafing Form j but a room of fixty feet fquare would be pofitively difagreeable. A room twenty-four of the Material World. 385 twenty-four feet in length, by eighteen in breadth, may be fufficiently pleafing ; but a room fixty feet in length, by fifty in breadth, would conftitute a very unpleafing Form. Many other inftances might eafily be produced, to fhow, that the Beauty of every apartment depends on the ap- pearance of proper fupport to the roof j and that on this account, the fame proportion of breadth that is beautiful in one cafe, becomes pofitively painflil in others, 2. A fecond caufe of this difference in our opinion of the Beauty of Proportion, arifes from the charader of the apart- ment. Every one muft have obferved, that the different Forms of rooms, their difference of magnitude, and various other caufes, give them diffind charaders, as thofe of Gaiety, Simplicity, Solemnity, Grandeur, Magnificence, ^r. No room is ever beautiful, which has not fome fuch pleafmg charader ; the terms by which we exprefs this Beauty are fignificant of thefe charaders j and however regular the Pro- portions of an apartment may be, if they do not correfpond to the general Expreffion, we conlider the Form as defedive or imperfed. Thus, the fame Proportion of height which is beautiful in a room of Gaiety, or Cheerfulnefs, would be felt as a defed in an apartment of which the charader was Severity or Melancholy. The fame Proportion of length which is plealing in an elegant or convenient room, would be a defed in an apartment of Magnificence or Splendour. The great Proportion of breadth which fuits a Temple or a C c c Senate-houfe, 386 of the Sublimity and Beauty Senate-houfe, as according with the fevere and folemn cha- radler of the apartment, would be pofitively unpleafmg in- any room which was expreilive of Cheerfulnefs or Light- nefs. In proportion alfo, as apartments differ in fize, dif- ferent Proportions become neceffary in this refpedt, to ac- cord with the charadters which the difference of Magnitude produces. The fame Proportion of height which is plealing in a cheerful room, would be too little for the hall of a. great caftle, where vaftnefs is neceffary to agree with the fublimity of its charadter ; and the fame relation of Breadth and Height which is fo wonderfully affedting in the Gothic Cathedral, although at variance with all the rules of Pro- portion, would be both abfurd and painful, in the Forms of any common apartment. In general, I believe it will be found, that the great and pofitive Beauty of apartments a- rifes from their charadler ; that where no charader is dif- covered, the generality of men exprefs little admiration even at the moft regular Proportions ; that every difference of charader requii'es a correfpondent difference in the compo- fition of the dimenfions ; and that this demand is fatisfied,. or a beautiful Form produced, only when the compofition; of the different Proportions is fuch as to produce one pure and unmingled Expreflion.. 3. The third caufe of the difference of our opinion of the Beauty of Proportion arifes from the deftination of the a- partmcnt. All apartments are intended for fome ufe or pur- pofe of the Material World. 387 pofe of human life. We demand, therefore, that the Form • of them fhould be accommodated to thefe Ends ; and where- ever the Form is at variance with the End, however regu- lar, or generally beautiful its Proportions may be, we are confcious of an Emotion of diflatisfaclion and difcontent. The mofl obvious illuftration of the dependence of the Beauty of Proportion, on this fpecies of utility, may be taken from the common fyftem that natural Tafte has die-' tated in the Proportion of different apartments in great houfes. The hall, the faloon, the antichamber, the draw- ing-room, the dining-room, the bed-chamber, the drefling- room, the library, the chapel, ISc. have all different Forms and different Proportions. Change thefe Proportions 3 give to the dining-room the Proportions of the faloon, to the dref- fing-room thofe of the library, to the <:hapel the Propor- tions of the antichamber, or to the drawing-room thofe of the hall, £«fc. and every one will confider them as unpleafing and defedlive Forms, becaufe they are unfitted to the Ends they are deftined to ferve. The obfervations which I have now offered on the Beauty of the Internal Proportions of Architedure, feem to afford fufficient evidence for concluding in general, That the Beauty of thefe Proportions is not original and independent, but that it arifes in all cafes from the Expref- fion of fome fpecies of Fitness. C c c 2 The 388 Of the Sublimity and Beauty The Fitnefs, however, which fuch Proportions may ex- prefs, is of different kinds > and the Reader who will purfue the flight hints that I have iuggefled upon the fubjed^ may perhaps agree with me in the following conclu- fions : 1. That one Beauty of thefe Proportions arifes from their Expreilion of Fitnefs for the fupport of the weight impofed. 2. That a fecond fource of their Beauty confifls in their Expreilion of Fitnefs for the prefervation of the charader of the apartment. 3. That a third ofource of their Beauty eonfffts in their Expreflion of Fitnefs, in the general Form, for its peculiar purpofe or End. The two firll Expreflions conftitute the Permanent Beauty, and the third the Accidental Beauty of an apart- ment. In every beautiful apartment the two firft Expreflions muft be united. An apartment, of which the Proportions exprefs the mofl: perfed Fitnefs for the fupport of the roof, but which is itfelf exprefllve of no charader, is be- held rather with fatisfadion than delight, and is never re- marked of the Material WoRLb. 5^9 marked as beautiful. The Beauty of charader, on the o- ther hand, is negleded, if the Proportions of the apart- ment are fuch as to indicate infufficiency or infecurity. The firft conftitutes \Vhat miy be called the Negative, and the fecond the Pofitive Beauty of an apartment ; and every apartment (conlidered only in relation to its Proportions, and without any refpfe'dl to its End) will be beautiful in th6 fame degree in which thefe Expreflions are united, or in which the fame Proportions that produce the appearance of perfect: fufficiency^ agree alfo in maintaining the general eharader of the apartment. When, however, the apartment is confiidered in relation to its End, the Beauty of its Proportions Is determined in a great meafure by their Expreflion of Fitnefs for this End. To this, as to every other fpecies of apartment, t]ie Expref- fion of fecurity is neceflary, and fuch an apartment Will ac- cordingly be beautiful, when thefe Expreflions coincide. The mofl: perfed: Beauty that the Proportions of an a- partment can exhibit, will be when all thefe Expreflions unite J or when the fame relations of dimenfion which are produdive of the Expreflion of fufficiency, agree alfo in the prefervation of Charader, and in the indication of Ufe. PART 39° 0/ the Sublimity and Beautt PART III. Of the Influence of Utility upon the Beauty of Forms. The third fource of the Relative Beauty of Forms, is Utility.. That the Expreffion of this quality is fufficient to give Beauty to Forms, and that Forms of the moft dif- ferent and oppofite kinds become beautiful from this Ex- preffion, are fads which have often been obferved, and which are within the reach of every perfon's obfervation. I fhall not therefore prefume to add any illuftrations on a fubjed, which has already been fo beautifully illuftrated by Mr Smith, in tlie moft eloquent work * on the fubjed: of Morals, that Modern Europe has produced. * Theory of Moral Sentiments,. SEC- of the Material World. 391 SECTION in. of the Accidental Beauty of Forms. BEsiDE the Expreffions that have now been enume- rated, and which conftitute the two great and perma- nent fources of the Beauty of Forms, there are others of a cafual or accidental kind, which have a very obfervable ef- fed in producing the fame Emotion in our minds, and which conftitute what may be called the Accidental Beauty of Forms. Such aflbciations, inftead of being common to all mankind, are peculiar to the individual. They take their rife from education, from peculiar habits of thought, from fituation, from profeffion ; and the Beauty they produce is felt only by thofe whom fimilar caufes have led to the for- mation of fimilar aflbciations. There are few men who have not aflbciations of this kind, with particular Forms, from their being familiar to- them from their infancy, and thus connedled with the gay and pleafing imagery of that period of life ; from their connexion with fcenes to which they look back with pleafure ;■ or people whofe memories they love : and fuch Forms, from this accidental connec- tion, are never feen, without being in fome meafure the Signs 392 Of the Sublimity and Beauty Signs of all thofe affedling and endearing recolledtions. When fuch alTociations are of a more general kind, and are common to many individuals, they fometimes acquire a fu- periority over the more permanent principles of Beauty, and determine even for a time the Tafte of nations. The admiration which is paid to the Forms of Architedure, of Furniture, of Ornament, which we derive from Antiqui- ty, though undoubtedly very juftly due to thefe Forms themfelves, originates in the greater part of mankind, from the aflbciutions which they connedl with thefe Forms. Thefe aflbciutloas, however, are merely accidental 3 and were thefe Form^ much inferior in point of Beauty, the ad- miration which Modern Europe beftows on them, would not be lefs enthufialllc than it is now. There are even cafes where, in a few years, the Tafte of a nation, in fuch re- fpedls, undergoes an abfolute change, from affociations of a different kind becoming general or fafhionable, and where the beautiful Form is always found to correfpond to the pre- vailing aflbciation. They who are learned in the Hiftory of Drefs, will recoiled; many inftances of this kind. In every other fpecies of ornament it is alfo obfervable. A finde inftance will be fufBcient. 'o In the fueceffion of Fafliions which have taken place in the article of ornamental Furniture, within thefe few years, every one muft have obferved how much their Beauty has been determined by accidental allbciations of this kind, and how of the Material "World. 30^3 how little the real and permanent Beauty of fuch Forms has been regarded. Some years ago, every article of this kind was made in what was called the Chinese Tafte, and how- ever fantaftic and uncouth the Forms in reality were, they were yet univerfally admired, becaufe they brought to mind thofe images of Eaftern magnificence and fplendour, of which we have heard fo much, and which we are always willing to believe, becaufe they are diftant. To this fuc- ceeded the Gothic Tafte. Every thing was now made in imitation, not indeed of Gothic furniture, but in imitation of the Forms and ornament of Gothic Halls and Cathedrals. This flight aflbciation, however, was fufficient to give Beau- ty to fuch Forms, becaufe it led to ideas of Gothic manners and adventure, which had become fafliionable in the world, from many beautiful Compofitions both in Profe and Verfe. The Tafte which now reigns is that of the Antique. Eve- ry thing we now ufe, is made in imitation of thofe models which have been lately difcovered in Italy \, and they ferve in the fame manner to occupy our imagination, by leading to thofe recolledlions of Grecian or Roman Tafte, which have fo much the pofleflion of our minds, from the ftudies and amufements of our youth. I Ihall only further obferve upon this fubjedl, that all fuch inftances of the effedl of accidental Expreflion, in beftow- ing a temporary Beauty upon Forms, conclude immediate- D d d ly .J94 ^I ^^^ Sublimity and Beauty ly againft the do6trIne of their abfolute or independent Beauty^ and that they afford a very ftrong prefumption, if not a diredt proof, that their permanent Beauty arifes alio from the Expreffions they permanently convey to us. From of the Material World. 395 From the illuftrations that I have offered in this long chapter, on the Beauty of Forms, -we feem to have fuffi- cient reafon for concluding in general, that no Forms, or fpecles of Forms, are in themfelves originally beautiful j but that their Beauty in all cafes arifes from their being ex- preffive to us of fome pleafing or affeding Qiialities. If the views alfo that I have prefented on the fubjedl are juft, we may peAaps ftill farther conclude, that the prin- cipal fources of the Beauty of Forms are, \Jl, The Expref- lions we connect with peculiar Forms, either from the Form itfelf, or the nature 'of the fubje(5t thus formed, zdly, The qualities of Defign, and Fitnefs, and Utility which they in- dicate : And, 3^/y, The accidental Aflbciations which we happen to conned with them. The coniideration of thefc different Expreilions may afford perhaps fome general rules, that may not be without their ufe, to thofe Arts that are employed in the produftion of Beauty. All Forms are either Ornamental or Useful. I. The Beauty of merely Ornamental Forms appears to arife from three fources. I. From the Expreflion of the Form itfelf. D d d 2 ^. From 396 of the Sublimity and Beauty 2. From the Expreffion of Defign. 3. From Accidental Expreffion. The real and pofitive Beauty, therefore, of every Orna- mental Form, will be in proportion to the nature and the permanence of the Expreffion by which it is dillinguilhed. The ftrongeft and moft permanent Emotion, however, we can receive from fuch Expreffions, is that which arifes from the nature of the Form itfelf. The Emotion we receive from the Expreffion of Defign, as I have already Ihown, is neither fo ftrong nor fo permanent j and that which acci- dental AfTociations produce, periflies often with the year which gave it birth. The Beauty of accidental Expreffion, is as variable as the caprice or fancy of mankind. The Beauty of the Expreffion of Defign, varies with every pe- riod of Art. The Beauty which arifes from the Expreffion of Forna itfelf, is alone permanent, as founded upon the uni- form confl;itution of the human mind. Confidering there- fore the Beauty of Forms as confl:ituted by the degree and the permanence of their Expreffion, the following conclu- fions feem immediately to fuggefl; themfelves : I. That the greateft Beauty which Ornamental Forms caa receive, will be that which arifes from the Expreffion of the Form itfelf. , v.- 2. That of the Material World. 397 2. That the next will be that which arifes from the Ex- preflion of Defign or Skill. And, 3. That the leall will be that which arifes from acciden- tal or temporary Expreifion. In all thofe Arts, therefore, that refped: the Beauty of Form, It ought to be the unceafing fludy of the Artift, to difengage his mind from the accidental Aflbciations of his age, as well as the common prejudices of his Art ; to labour to diflinguifh his produdions by that pure and permanent expreffion, which may be felt in every age ; and to difdaia to borrow a tranfitory fame, by yielding to the temporary caprices of his time, or by exhibiting only the difplay of his own dexterity or Iklll. Or if the accidental Tafte of mankind mufl be gratified, it Is ftill to be remembered, that It is only 111 thofe Arts, which are employed upon perifhable fubjeds, that It can be gratified with fafety ; that in thofe gi-eater pro- dudlons of Art, which are deftlned to lall for centuries, the fame of the Artift muft altogether depend upon the perma- nence of the ExprelBon, which he can communicate to his work J and that the only Expreifion which Is thus perma- nent, and which can awaken the admiration of every fuc- ceedlng age. Is that which arifes from the Nature of Form itfelf, and which Is founded upon the uniform conftltution of Man and of Nature. II. The J 98 0/ f^ SvBLiTMiTY and Beauty 11. The Beauty of Useful Torms, arifes either -frGm the Expreffion of Fitnefs, or of Utility. With regard to this fpecies of Beauty, it is neceffary at prefent only to obferve, ly?, That it is in itfelf produdive of a much weaker Emotion, than that which arifes from the different fources of ornamental Beauty ; but, 2 and perhaps the preceding illuftrations may afford it fome farther confirmation, by pointing out, more minutely than has hitherto been done, fome of the principal clafles of thefe Exprellions. But if it is further meant, that Matter is beautiful on- ly, by being expreffive of the proper Qualities of Mind, F f f 2 and 412 Of the Sublimity and Beadt^ and that all the Beauty of the Material, as well as of the Intellectual World, is to be found in Mind and its Qualities alone, there feems fome reafon for heli- tation before we admit this conclufion. That the only Subjects of our knowledge are Matter and Mind, cannot be denied j but it does not follow, that all the Vita- lities with which we are acquainted, mufl be the pro- per Qiialities either of Body or of Mind. There are a number of Qualities which arife from Relation ; from the relation of different bodies or parts of bodies to each others from the relation of Body to Mind \ and from the relation of different Qualities of Mind to each other, that are as much the objects of our knowledge, and as frequently the objeds of our attention, as any of the proper qualities ei- ther of Body or Mind. Many qualities alfo of this kind, are productive of Emotion. Thus, that Quality which we call Novelty, or the peculiar relation of an objedl, to the Mind to which it is new r that Quality which we call Har- mony, in every fpecies of Compofition j or the proper cor- refpondence of every individual part, to the produdion of the general effe ixb. 3' i'l58"o6l14 4467 "D 000 680 422 J "^ W , ^ Mffri