circumstances of the case, we cannot well ascribe to any other cause. And when we prefer to say, in other terms, that an object has beauty, we obviously mean the same thing, viz., that the object has a trait or quality (perhaps we may find it difficult to explain precisely what it is) which causes these emotions.

19. Of the distinction between beautiful and other objects.

In view of what has been said, we may venture to make two remarks.-(I.) Every beautiful object has something in itself which truly discriminates it from all other objects. This something, this peculiar trait, whatever it is, lays the foundation for those results in the human mind, which, on being experienced, authorize us to speak of the object as beautiful. This is clear, not only from what, on a careful examination, we shall frequently find in the objects themselves, but also from the fact that the operations of the mind always have their appropriate causes. If the mind experiences a pleasant emotion in view of a certain object, it is because there is something in the object which has a determinate and permanent relation to that particular mental state which distinguishes it from other objects. If it were not for that distinctive trait in the object, the human mind is so constituted that it could not have experienced the corresponding emotion.

(II.) Beautiful objects are distinguished from all others, not only by something in themselves, certain original and inherent traits characteristic of them, but also, and perhaps still more, by a superadded trait, a species of borrowed effulgence, derived and reflected back from the mind itself. When we contemplate a beautiful object, we are pleased; we are more or less happy. We naturally connect this emotion of pleasure with the object which is its cause; and we have been in the habit of doing this, no doubt in most instances unconsciously to ourselves, from early life. The consequence is, the association between the inward delight and the outward cause becomes so strong that we are unable to separate them; and the objects, additional to their own proper qualities, appear to be surrounded and to beam out with an effulgence which comes from the mind.

VOL. II.-D

These remarks will be found to have an application to certain speculations which have sometimes been promulgated on the subject of beauty. In accordance with what has just been said, we do not feel at liberty to deny absolutely and without qualification, as the philosophy of some writers seems to authorize them to do, that there is actually beauty in the objects which are generally considered as possessing it; in the rising or setting sun, in the moon walking in her majesty, and in the multitude of stars that rejoice in her presence. On the contrary, we have already intimated that there is something in all these cases, as there is in blossoms, and flowers, and waving trees, and falling cascades, which distinguishes them from other objects that are not beautiful. God has made them glorious in themselves. But, at the same time, we have no doubt that they are invested, in the eye of the beholder, with a new and additional radiance, which flows out from his own bosom. The mind 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 in

stances.

21. Illustrations of the foregoing statement.

Take, as an illustration, the state of the 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, by original 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. This term does not appear to express a state or feeling of the mind, so much as a general fact in the mind's operations, a principle or law of its action. When association takes

place, there is always a sameness or unity of result; 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.

Keeping in view what was said in the last section, we may with propriety regard the term BEAUTY, not so much a particular as a general or common name, expressive of numerous emotions which always possess the characteristic of being pleasant, and are in every respect always the same in nature; but which may differ from each other both in the occasions of their origin, and also in the degree or intensity in which they exist.-(I.) In regard to the occasions on which they arise, we may remark further, 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 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.

(III.) 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 instance, 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