seems to act on the principle of compensation; it receives from the lustre of the outward object a happiness, which it repays by throwing around it the appropriate tribute of superadded splendour.

§ 20. Grounds or occasions of emotions of beauty various. The next remark which we have to make on the subject of Beauty is, that the objects by which it is occasioned are not always the same, but are very various; differing from each other not only in their general nature, but also in their subordinate incidents. This may occasion a degree of surprise and difficulty in the minds of some, who cannot readily perceive how the results can be identical, while there is such a want of unity and accordance in their antecedents. It has frequently been the case, that writers, under the bias of mind originating from this difficulty, have endeavoured to resolve the various grounds or causes of beauty into one. In other words, they are disposed to maintain, that in every object which men agree in denominating beautiful, there is one common quality, one predominant element, however different the objects may be in other respects, which is the ground of the internal emotion. Accordingly, some announce the general and somewhat indefinite doctrine, that beauty consists in the perception of relations; others, more precise and definite in their views, maintain that it consists in a fixed and determinate proportion (that is to say, a proportion which is known and measurable) of the parts of the object; others, again, assert that the emotion of beauty is based upon the perception of utility; in other words, in the perception of the fitness of the beautiful object for some profitable

purpose.

It is not our object to endeavour in this place, as we shall have occasion to refer to the subject again, to show the futility of these and other kindred attempts, which aim, and in some instances with no small show of plausibility, to resolve the basis of all beauty into a single principle. We simply state here,

in general terms, the fact, as we understand it to be, that the grounds or causes of beauty, while the result or internal emotion is always identical in its nature, are multiplied and various. In other words, we assert that beauty in the mind is one, while outward beauty, or, rather, the causes of beauty in outward objects, is many; accompanying the statement with the additional and explanatory remark, that this state of things, anomalous as it may appear at first, is supported by the analogy of the mind in some other instances.

§ 21. Illustrations of the foregoing statement.

Take, as an illustration, the state of mind denominated Belief. The grounds or occasions of belief, it is well known, are very various; so much so as scarcely to exhibit any likeness or to admit of any comparison; but belief itself, although it admits of various degrees, is always the same in nature. It is occasioned alike (and this is obviously a fundamental principle of the mind) by the senses, or, rather, by the powers operating through them, by the internal power of suggestion, by consciousness, by memory, by relative suggestion or judgment, by reasoning, and testimony; and the operation of all these various causes results in an identity of feeling.-We have another instance of the same thing in Association. The associating principle or power is found, as we have already seen, to operate with a diversity of laws or methods, but with a unity of results. The issue is not discordant with itself, but is one, viz., a regular consecution of the mental states. But, although the result is identical, the antecedents or causes are various, viz., resemblance, contrast, contiguity in time and place, and cause and effect, which are greatly modified also by other causes.

And so in regard to emotions of beauty. There is a want of identity in the grounds of their existence, but not in the result which follows. The causes, like different roads conducting to the same termination,

are various; but the issue is one.-It ought to be added, however, although the emotion of beauty is the same in nature under every variety of circumstances, it exists in different and various degrees. We speak with entire propriety of the beauty of an object being greater or less, the same as we speak of any event which is alleged to have taken place, as being, in our opinion, more or less probable; expressions indicative of differences in the degree of belief which the mind under the particular circumstances of the case entertains.

§ 22. Of the objects in general which excite emotions of beauty. It can always be said, therefore, of emotions of beauty, that they possess the characteristic of being pleasant, and that they are always the same in their essential or subjective nature; and at the same time they are often found to differ from each other in the occasions of their origin, and also in the degree or intensity in which they exist.

(I.) Proceeding now to the occasions on which they arise, we remark, in the first place, that emotions of beauty are felt, and frequently in a very high degree, in the contemplation of material objects that are addressed to the sense of sight, such as woods, waters, cultivated fields, and the visible firmament. We look abroad upon nature, in the infinite variety of her works, as she is exhibited in the depths below and in the heights above; in her shells and minerals; in her plants, and flowers, and trees; in her waters, and her stars and suns; and we find the mind kindling at the sight; fountains of pleasure are suddenly opened within us and we should do violence to our mental structure if we did not pronounce them beautiful.

(II.) Again, emotions of beauty are felt, and cannot fail to be felt, in view of all artistic forms and combinations of forms which are truly representative of material things that are beautiful. The emotions will be greater or less, corresponding to the greater or less degree of exactness in the artistic representation. The

landscape, which demands and secures the homage of æsthetic admiration, as it comes fresh and perfect from the hands of God, is invested by the same law of being with a kindred crown of beauty, though in a less degree, when it is reproduced on the canvass of the painter.

(III.) And further, emotions of beauty are felt in the contemplation of intellectual and moral objects. In other words, mind, as well as matter, furnishes the occasion on which they arise. The means or instruments by which mind, which is not a direct object of sight or of any of the senses, is revealed to us, are various, such as the natural signs of the countenance, the tones of the voice, conventional language, and the actions of men in trying situations. Whenever, and in whatever way, we discover intelligence, wisdom, truth, honour, magnanimity, benevolence, justice, or other traits of a mind acting as it was created and designed to act, we have a foundation laid (varying, it is true, with the degree in which they exist, with the combinations they form with each other, and with the circumstances in which they are put forth), for the emotions of beauty. The human countenance, considered merely as a material object, and as presenting nothing more than outline and colour, is undoubtedly beautiful, but becomes more so when it distinctly indicates to us intelligence and amiability. This is particularly true when moral traits are made known to us. The approbation which we yield when the poor are relieved, the weak are defended, and the vicious are reclaimed, and when, in general, any other striking deeds of a virtuous kind are performed, is always attended with a delightful movement of the heart, which, as it is reflected back upon it, gives to the action a decided character of beauty.

(IV.) But emotions of beauty are not exclusively limited to these occasions. Feelings, which not only bear the same name, but are truly analogous in kind, exist also on the contemplation of many other things. -The sentiment or feeling of beauty exists, for in

stance, when we are following out a happy train of reasoning; and hence the mathematician, who certainly has a delightful feeling, analogous to what we experience in contemplating many works of nature, speaks of a beautiful theorem.-The connoisseur in music applies the term beautiful to a favourite air; the lover of poetry speaks of a beautiful song; and the painter discovers beauty in the design and in the colouring of his pictures. We also apply the term beauty to experiments in the different departments of physics, especially when the experiment is simple, and results in deciding a point which has occasioned doubt and dispute. We speak of it, and, as we suppose, with a degree of propriety, as a beautiful experiment.

So that all nature, taking the word in a wide sense, is the province of beauty; the intellectual and the sentimentive, as well as the material world. We do not, however, mean by this to descend into particulars, and to say that everything which exists within the range of these departments is beautiful, but merely that from none of the great departments of nature are the elements of beauty excluded.

§ 23. All objects not equally fitted to cause these emotions. From what has been said, it must be evident that there is a correspondence between the mind and the outward objects which are addressed to it. This has already been clearly seen in respect to the sensations and external perceptions, and it is not less evident in respect to that part of our nature which we are now attending to. The mind, and the external world, and the external circumstances of our situation, are reciprocally suited to each other, not only in the matter of perception but also in the matter of feeling. Hence, when we ascribe the quality of beauty to any object, we have reference to this mutual adaptation. An object is ordinarily called beautiful when it has agreeable or pleasing qualities; in other words, when it is the cause or antecedent of pleasing emotions, which, under the circumstances of the case, are properly call