,transcriber's notes3 ,a few            
typographical errors have been          
corrected3 they are listed at the end of
 the text4  ,chapter headings were      
originally constructed as side-notes4   
,they were placed here at the head of   
their respective paragraphs1 and moved  
to paragraph's start where given at     
paragraph's middle4 ,see ,,html version 
for the original headers placement4     
,illustration3 ,,landscape ,,from ,a    
,,painting ,,by ,j4 ,m4 ,w4 ,,turner    
,library ,edition                       
,,the ,,complete ,,works                
,,of                                    
,,john ,,ruskin                         
,,modern ,,painters                     
,,volume ,,ii--,,of ,,truth ,,and       
,,theoretic                             
,,faculties                             
,volume ,,iii--,,of ,,many ,,things     
,,national ,,library ,,association      
,,new ,,york             ,,chicago      
,,modern ,,painters4                    
,,volume ,,ii41                         

,,containing                            
,,part ,,iii41                          
,,sections ,i4 ,,and ,,ii4              
,,of ,,the ,,imaginative ,,and          
,,theoretic ,,faculties4                
,,synopsis ,,of ,,contents4             
,,part ,,iii4                           
,,of ,,ideas ,,of ,,beauty4             
,,section ,i4                           
,,of ,,the ,,theoretic ,,faculty4       
,,chapter ,i4--,of the ,rank and        
,relations of the ,theoretic ,faculty4  
,,page   ,sec4  #a4 ,with what care the 
subject is to be approached4            
#a   ,sec4  #b4 ,and of what importance 
considered4                             
#b   ,sec4  #c4 ,the doubtful force of  
the term utility4                       
#c   ,sec4  #d4 ,its proper sense4      
#d   ,sec4  #e4 ,how falsely applied in 
these times4                            
#d   ,sec4  #f4 ,the evil consequences  
of such interpretation4 ,how connected  
with national power4                    
#e   ,sec4  #g4 ,how to be averted4     

#f   ,sec4  #h4 ,division of the        
pursuits of men into subservient and    
objective4  #h   ,sec4  #i4 ,their      
relative dignities4                     
#aj   ,sec4 #aj4 ,how reversed through  
erring notions of the contemplative     
and imaginative faculties4              
#aj   ,sec4 #aa4 ,object of the present 
section4                                
#aa   ,,chapter ,,ii4--,of the          
,theoretic ,faculty as concerned with   
,pleasures of          ,sense4    ,sec4 
#a4 ,explanation of the term theoretic4 
#ab   ,sec4  #b4 ,of the differences of 
rank in pleasures of sense4             
#ab   ,sec4  #c4 ,use of the terms      
,temperate and ,intemperate4            
#ac   ,sec4  #d4 ,right use of the term 
intemperate4                            
#ac   ,sec4  #e4 ,grounds of inferiority
 in the pleasures which are subjects of 
intemperance4                           
#ad   ,sec4  #f4 ,evidence of higher    
rank in pleasures of sight and hearing4 
#ae   ,sec4  #g4 ,how the lower         

pleasures may be elevated in rank4      
#af   ,sec4  #h4 ,ideas of beauty how   
essentially moral4                      
#ag   ,sec4  #i4 ,how degraded by       
heartless reception4                    
#ag   ,sec4 #aj4 ,how exalted by        
affection4                              
#ah   ,,chapter ,,iii4--,of ,accuracy   
and ,inaccuracy in ,impressions of      
,sense4    ,sec4  #a4 ,by what test is  
the health of the perceptive faculty to 
be           determined8                
#ai   ,sec4  #b4 ,and in what sense may 
the terms ,right and ,wrong be attached 
to its conclusions8                     
#bj   ,sec4  #c4 ,what power we have    
over impressions of sense4              
#ba   ,sec4  #d4 ,depends on acuteness  
of attention4                           
#ba   ,sec4  #e4 ,ultimate conclusions  
universal4                              
#bb   ,sec4  #f4 ,what duty is attached 
to this power over impressions of sense4
  #bb   ,sec4  #g4 ,how rewarded4       
#bc   ,sec4  #h4 ,especially with       

respect to ideas of beauty4             
#bc   ,sec4  #i4 ,errors induced by the 
power of habit4                         
#bd   ,sec4 #aj4 ,the necessity of      
submission in early stages of judgment4 
#bd   ,sec4 #aa4 ,the large scope of    
matured judgment4                       
#be   ,sec4 #ab4 ,how distinguishable   
from false taste4                       
#be   ,sec4 #ac4 ,the danger of a spirit
 of choice4                             
#bf   ,sec4 #ad4 ,and criminality4      
#bg   ,sec4 #ae4 ,how certain           
conclusions respecting beauty are by    
reason           demonstrable4          
#bg   ,sec4 #af4 ,with what liabilities 
to error4                               
#bh   ,sec4 #ag4 ,the term beauty how   
limitable in the outset4 ,divided       
into typical and vital4                 
#bh   ,,chapter ,,iv4--,of ,false       
,opinions held concerning ,beauty4      
,sec4  #a4 ,of the false opinion that   
truth is beauty1 and vice versa4        
#cj   ,sec4  #b4 ,of the false opinion  

that beauty is usefulness4 ,compare     
,chap4 xii4 ,sec4 #e4                   
#ca   ,sec4  #c4 ,of the false opinion  
that beauty results from custom4        
,compare           ,chap4 vi4 ,sec4 #a4 
#ca   ,sec4  #d4 ,the twofold operation 
of custom4 ,it deadens sensation1 but   
confirms affection4                     
#ca   ,sec4  #e4 ,but never either      
creates or destroys the essence of      
beauty4     #cb   ,sec4  #f4 ,instances4
                                        
#cb   ,sec4  #g4 ,of the false opinion  
that beauty depends on the association  
of           ideas4                     
#cc   ,sec4  #h4 ,association4 ,is1     
#ast1 rational4 ,it is of no efficiency 
as a           cause of beauty4         
#cc   ,sec4  #i4 ,association           
accidental4 ,the extent of its          
influence4            #cd   ,sec4 #aj4  
,the dignity of its function4           
#ce   ,sec4 #aa4 ,how it is connected   
with impressions of beauty4             
#cf   ,sec4 #ab4 ,and what caution it   

renders necessary in the examination of 
them4                                   
#cf   ,,chapter ,v4--,of ,typical       
,beauty3--,first1 of ,infinity1 or the  
,type of          ,divine               
,incomprehensibility4    ,sec4  #a4     
,impossibility of adequately treating   
the subject4               #ch   ,sec4  
#b4 ,with what simplicity of feeling to 
be approached4               #ch   ,sec4
  #c4 ,the child instinct respecting    
space4                            #ci   
,sec4  #d4 ,continued in after life4    
#dj   ,sec4  #e4 ,whereto this instinct 
is traceable4                           
#dj   ,sec4  #f4 ,infinity how necessary
 in art4                                
#da   ,sec4  #g4 ,conditions of its     
necessity4                              
#db   ,sec4  #h4 ,and connected         
analogies4                              
#db   ,sec4  #i4 ,how the dignity of    
treatment is proportioned to the        
expression           of infinity4       
#dc   ,sec4 #aj4 ,examples among the    

,southern schools4                      
#dd   ,sec4 #aa4 ,among the ,venetians4 
#dd   ,sec4 #ab4 ,among the painters of 
landscape4                              
#de   ,sec4 #ac4 ,other modes in which  
the power of infinity is felt4          
#de   ,sec4 #ad4 ,the beauty of         
curvature4                              
#df   ,sec4 #ae4 ,how constant in       
external nature4                        
#df   ,sec4 #af4 ,the beauty of         
gradation4                              
#dg   ,sec4 #ag4 ,how found in nature4  
#dg   ,sec4 #ah4 ,how necessary in ,art4
                                        
#dh   ,sec4 #ai4 ,infinity not rightly  
implied by vastness4                    
#di   ,,chapter ,,vi4--,of ,unity1 or   
the ,type of the ,divine                
,comprehensiveness4    ,sec4  #a4 ,the  
general conception of divine ,unity4    
#ej   ,sec4  #b4 ,the glory of all      
things is their ,unity4                 
#ej   ,sec4  #c4 ,the several kinds of  
unity4 ,subjectional4 ,original4 ,of    

sequence1 and of membership4            
#ea   ,sec4  #d ,unity of membership4   
,how secured4                           
#eb   ,sec4  #e4 ,variety4 ,why         
required4                               
#ec   ,sec4  #f4 ,change1 and its       
influence on beauty4                    
#ed   ,sec4  #g4 ,the love of change4   
,how morbid and evil4                   
#ee   ,sec4  #h4 ,the conducing of      
variety towards unity of subjection4    
#ee   ,sec4  #i4 ,and towards unity of  
sequence4                               
#eg   ,sec4 #aj4 ,the nature of         
proportion4 #ast1 of apparent           
proportion4          #eg   ,sec4 #aa4   
,the value of apparent proportion in    
curvature4                  #fj   ,sec4 
#ab4 ,how by nature obtained4           
#fa   ,sec4 #ac4 ,apparent proportion in
 melodies of line4                      
#fa   ,sec4 #ad4 ,error of ,burke in    
this matter4                            
#fb   ,sec4 #ae4 ,constructive          
proportion4 ,its influence in plants4   

#fc   ,sec4 #af4 ,and animals4          
#fd   ,sec4 #ag4 ,summary4              
#fd   ,,chapter ,,vii4--,of ,repose1 or 
the ,type of ,divine ,permanence4       
,sec4  #a4 ,universal feeling respecting
 the necessity of repose in art4        
,its sources4                           
#fe   ,sec4  #b4 ,repose how expressed  
in matter4                              
#ff   ,sec4  #c4 ,the necessity to      
repose of an implied energy4            
#ff   ,sec4  #d4 ,mental repose1 how    
noble4                                  
#fg   ,sec4  #e4 ,its universal value as
 a test of art4                         
#fh   ,sec4  #f4 ,instances in the      
,laocoon and ,theseus4                  
#fi   ,sec4  #g4 ,and in altar tombs4   
#gj   ,,chapter ,,viii4--,of ,symmetry1 
or the ,type of ,divine ,justice4       
,sec4  #a4 ,symmetry1 what and how found
 in organic nature4                 #gb 
,sec4  #b4 ,how necessary in art4       
#gb   ,sec4  #c4 ,to what its           
agreeableness is referable4 ,various    

instances4      #gc   ,sec4  #d4        
,especially in religious art4           
#gc   ,,chapter ,,ix4--,of ,purity1 or  
the ,type of ,divine ,energy4    ,sec4  
#a4 ,the influence of light as a sacred 
symbol4                      #ge   ,sec4
  #b4 ,the idea of purity connected with
 it4                           #ge      
,sec4  #c4 ,originally derived from     
conditions of matter4                   
#gf   ,sec4  #d4 ,associated ideas      
adding to the power of the impression4  
,influence of clearness4                
#gf   ,sec4  #e4 ,perfect beauty of     
surface1 in what consisting4            
#gg   ,sec4  #f4 ,purity only           
metaphorically a type of sinlessness4   
#gh   ,sec4  #g4 ,energy1 how expressed 
by purity of matter4                    
#gi   ,sec4  #h4 ,and of color4         
#gi   ,sec4  #i4 ,spirituality1 how so  
expressed4                              
#gi   ,,chapter ,x4--,of ,moderation1 or
 the ,type of ,government by ,law4      
,sec4  #a4 ,meaning of the terms        

,chasteness and ,refinement4            
#ha   ,sec4  #b4 ,how referable to      
temporary fashions4                     
#ha   ,sec4  #c4 ,how to the perception 
of completion4                          
#ha   ,sec4  #d4 ,finish1 by great      
masters esteemed essential4             
#hb   ,sec4  #e4 ,moderation1 its nature
 and value4                             
#hd   ,sec4  #f4 ,it is the girdle of   
beauty4                                 
#hd   ,sec4  #g4 ,how found in natural  
curves and colors4                      
#hd   ,sec4  #h4 ,how difficult of      
attainment1 yet essential to all good4  
#he   ,,chapter ,,xi4--,general         
,inferences respecting ,typical ,beauty4
    ,sec4  #a4 ,the subject incompletely
 treated1 yet admitting of general      
conclusions4                            
#hf   ,sec4  #b4 ,typical beauty not    
created for man's sake4                 
#hg   ,sec4  #c4 ,but degrees of it for 
his sake admitted4                      
#hg   ,sec4  #d4 ,what encouragement    

hence to be received4                   
#hg   ,,chapter ,,xii4--,of ,vital      
,beauty3--,first1 as ,relative4    ,sec4
  #a4 ,transition from typical to vital 
,beauty4                        #hi     
,sec4  #b4 ,the perfection of the       
theoretic faculty as concerned with     
vital beauty1 is charity4               
#ij   ,sec4  #c4 ,only with respect to  
plants1 less affection than sympathy4   
#ia   ,sec4  #d4 ,which is proportioned 
to the appearance of energy in the      
plants4                                 
#ib   ,sec4  #e4 ,this sympathy is      
unselfish1 and does not regard utility4 
#ic   ,sec4  #f4 ,especially with       
respect to animals4                     
#id   ,sec4  #g4 ,and it is destroyed by
 evidences of mechanism4                
#ie   ,sec4  #h4 ,the second perfection 
of the theoretic faculty as concerned   
with life is justice of moral judgment4 
#if   ,sec4  #i4 ,how impeded4          
#ig   ,sec4 #aj4 ,the influence of moral
 signs in expression4                   

#ig   ,sec4 #aa4 ,as also in plants4    
#ii   ,sec4 #ab4 ,recapitulation4       
#ajj   ,,chapter ,,xiii4--,of ,vital    
,beauty3--,secondly1 as ,generic4       
,sec4  #a4 ,the beauty of fulfilment of 
appointed function in every             
animal4                                 
#aja   ,sec4  #b4 ,the two senses of the
 word ideal4 ,either it refers to       
action of the imagination4              
#ajb   ,sec4  #c4 ,or to perfection of  
type4                                   
#ajc   ,sec4  #d4 ,this last sense how  
inaccurate1 yet to be retained4         
#ajc   ,sec4  #e4 ,of ,ideal form4      
,first1 in the lower animals4           
#ajd   ,sec4  #f4 ,in what consistent4  
#ajd   ,sec4  #g4 ,ideal form in        
vegetables4                             
#aje   ,sec4  #h4 ,the difference of    
position between plants and animals4    
#aje   ,sec4  #i4 ,admits of variety in 
the ideal of the former4                
#ajf   ,sec4 #aj4 ,ideal form in        
vegetables destroyed by cultivation4    

#ajg   ,sec4 #aa4 ,instance in the      
,soldanella and ,ranunculus4            
#ajh   ,sec4 #ab4 ,the beauty of repose 
and felicity1 how consistent with such  
ideal4                                  
#ajh   ,sec4 #ac4 ,the ideality of ,art4
                                        
#aji   ,sec4 #ad4 ,how connected with   
the imaginative faculties4              
#aji   ,sec4 #ae4 ,ideality1 how        
belonging to ages and conditions4       
#aaj   ,,chapter ,,xiv4--,of ,vital     
,beauty3--,thirdly1 in ,man4    ,sec4   
#a4 ,condition of the human creature    
entirely different from that            
of the lower animals4                   
#aaa   ,sec4  #b4 ,what room here for   
idealization4                           
#aaa   ,sec4  #c4 ,how the conception of
 the bodily ideal is reached4           
#aab   ,sec4  #d4 ,modifications of the 
bodily ideal owing to influence of mind4
           ,first1 of intellect4        
#aac   ,sec4  #e4 ,secondly1 of the     
moral feelings4                         

#aac   ,sec4  #f4 ,what beauty is       
bestowed by them4                       
#aae   ,sec4  #g4 ,how the soul culture 
interferes harmfully with the bodily    
ideal4                                  
#aae   ,sec4  #h4 ,the inconsistency    
among the effects of the mental virtues 
on           the form4                  
#aaf   ,sec4  #i4 ,is a sign of ,god's  
kind purpose towards the race4          
#aaf   ,sec4 #aj4 ,consequent separation
 and difference of ideals4              
#aag   ,sec4 #aa4 ,the effects of the   
,adamite curse are to be                
distinguished from signs of its         
immediate activity4          #aah       
,sec4 #ab4 ,which latter only are to be 
banished from ideal form4          #aah 
,sec4 #ac4 ,ideal form is only to be    
obtained by portraiture4                
#aai   ,sec4 #ad4 ,instances among the  
greater of the ideal ,masters4          
#aai   ,sec4 #ae4 ,evil results of      
opposite practice in modern times4      
#abj   ,sec4 #af4 ,the right use of the 

model4 #aba   ,sec4 #ag4 ,ideal form to 
be reached only by love4                
#aba   ,sec4 #ah4 ,practical principles 
deducible4                              
#abb   ,sec4 #ai4 ,expressions chiefly  
destructive of ideal character4 #ast1   
,pride4                                 
#abb   ,sec4 #bj4 ,portraiture ancient  
and modern4                             
#abc   ,sec4 #ba4 ,secondly1            
,sensuality4                            
#abc   ,sec4 #bb4 ,how connected with   
impurity of color4                      
#abd   ,sec4 #bc4 ,and prevented by its 
splendor4                               
#abd   ,sec4 #bd4 ,or by severity of    
drawing4                                
#abe   ,sec4 #be4 ,degrees of descent in
 this respect3 ,rubens1 ,correggio1 and 
,guido4                                 
#abe   ,sec4 #bf4 ,and modern art4      
#abf   ,sec4 #bg4 ,thirdly1 ferocity and
 fear4 ,the latter how to be            
distinguished           from awe4       
#abf   ,sec4 #bh4 ,holy fear1 how       

distinct from human terror4             
#abg   ,sec4 #bi4 ,ferocity is joined   
always with fear4 ,its unpardonableness4
     #abg   ,sec4 #cj4 ,such expressions
 how sought by painters powerless and   
impious4 #abh   ,sec4 #ca4 ,of passion  
generally4                              
#abi   ,sec4 #cb4 ,it is never to be for
 itself exhibited--at least on the face4
  #acj   ,sec4 #cc4 ,recapitulation4    
#aca   ,,chapter ,,xv4--,general        
,conclusions respecting the ,theoretic  
,faculty4    ,sec4  #a4 ,there are no   
sources of the emotion of beauty more   
than those           found in things    
visible4                                
#acc   ,sec4  #b4 ,what imperfection    
exists in visible things4 ,how in a sort
 by           imagination removable4    
#acd   ,sec4  #c4 ,which however affects
 not our present conclusions4           
#acd   ,sec4  #d4 ,the four sources from
 which the pleasure of beauty is derived
           are all divine4              
#acd   ,sec4  #e4 ,what objections may  

be made to this conclusion4             
#ace   ,sec4  #f4 ,typical beauty may be
 aesthetically pursued4 ,instances4     
#ace   ,sec4  #g4 ,how interrupted by   
false feeling4                          
#acf   ,sec4  #h4 ,greatness and truth  
are sometimes by the ,deity sustained   
and           spoken in and through evil
 men4                              #acg 
,sec4  #i4 ,the second objection arising
 from the coldness of ,christian        
men to external beauty4                 
#ach   ,sec4 #aj4 ,reasons for this     
coldness in the anxieties of the world4 
,these           anxieties overwrought  
and criminal4                           
#aci   ,sec4 #aa4 ,evil consequences of 
such coldness4                          
#adj   ,sec4 #ab4 ,theoria the service  
of ,heaven4                             
#adj                                    
,,section ,,ii4                         
,,of ,,the ,,imaginative ,,faculty4     
,,chapter ,i4--,of the ,three ,forms of 
,imagination4    ,sec4  #a4 ,a partial  

examination only of the imagination is  
to be           attempted4              
#adb   ,sec4  #b4 ,the works of the     
metaphysicians how nugatory with respect
           to this faculty4             
#adc   ,sec4  #c4 ,the definition of ,d4
 ,stewart1 how inadequate4              
#adc   ,sec4  #d4 ,this instance        
nugatory4                               
#add   ,sec4  #e4 ,various instances4   
#ade   ,sec4  #f4 ,the three operations 
of the imagination4 ,penetrative1       
associative1 contemplative4             
#adf   ,,chapter ,,ii4--,of ,imagination
 ,associative4    ,sec4  #a4 ,of simple 
conception4                             
#adg   ,sec4  #b4 ,how connected with   
verbal knowledge4                       
#adh   ,sec4  #c4 ,how used in          
composition4                            
#adh   ,sec4  #d4 ,characteristics of   
composition4                            
#adi   ,sec4  #e4 ,what powers are      
implied by it4 ,the first of the three  
functions of fancy4                     

#aej   ,sec4  #f4 ,imagination not yet  
manifested4                             
#aej   ,sec4  #g4 ,imagination is the   
correlative conception of imperfect     
component parts4                        
#aea   ,sec4  #h4 ,material analogy with
 imagination4                           
#aea   ,sec4  #i4 ,the grasp and dignity
 of imagination4                        
#aeb   ,sec4 #aj4 ,its limits4          
#aec   ,sec4 #aa4 ,how manifested in    
treatment of uncertain relations4 ,its  
deficiency illustrated4                 
#aed   ,sec4 #ab4 ,laws of art1 the     
safeguard of the unimaginative4         
#aee   ,sec4 #ac4 ,are by the           
imaginative painter despised4 ,tests of 
imagination4 #aee   ,sec4 #ad4 ,the     
monotony of unimaginative treatment4    
#aef   ,sec4 #ae4 ,imagination never    
repeats itself4                         
#aeg   ,sec4 #af4 ,relation of the      
imaginative faculty to the theoretic4   
#aeg   ,sec4 #ag4 ,modification of its  
manifestation4                          

#aeh   ,sec4 #ah4 ,instances of absence 
of imagination4--,claude1 ,gaspar       
,poussin4  #aeh   ,sec4 #ai4 ,its       
presence4--,salvator1 ,nicolo ,poussin1 
,titian1 ,tintoret4     #aei   ,sec4    
#bj4 ,and ,turner4                      
#afj   ,sec4 #ba4 ,the due function of  
,associative imagination with respect to
           nature4                      
#afa   ,sec4 #bb4 ,the sign of          
imaginative work is its appearance of   
absolute           truth4               
#afa   ,,chapter ,,iii4--,of            
,imagination ,penetrative4    ,sec4  #a4
 ,imagination penetrative is concerned  
not with the combining           but    
apprehending of things4                 
#afc   ,sec4  #b4 ,milton's and ,dante's
 description of flame4                  
#afc   ,sec4  #c4 ,the imagination      
seizes always by the innermost point4   
#afd   ,sec4  #d4 ,it acts intuitively  
and without reasoning4                  
#afe   ,sec4  #e4 ,signs of it in       
language4                               

#afe   ,sec4  #f4 ,absence of           
imagination1 how shown4                 
#aff   ,sec4  #g4 ,distinction between  
imagination and fancy4                  
#aff   ,sec4  #h4 ,fancy how involved   
with imagination4                       
#afh   ,sec4  #i4 ,fancy is never       
serious4                                
#afi   ,sec4 #aj4 ,want of seriousness  
the bar to high art at the present time4
   #afi   ,sec4 #aa4 ,imagination is    
quiet2 fancy1 restless4                 
#agj   ,sec4 #ab4 ,the detailing        
operation of fancy4                     
#agj   ,sec4 #ac4 ,and suggestive1 of   
the imagination4                        
#aga   ,sec4 #ad4 ,this suggestiveness  
how opposed to vacancy4                 
#agb   ,sec4 #ae4 ,imagination addresses
 itself to imagination4                 
#agc           ,instances from the works
 of ,tintoret4                          
#agc   ,sec4 #af4 ,the entombment4      
#agd   ,sec4 #ag4 ,the ,annunciation4   
#agd   ,sec4 #ah4 ,the ,baptism of      

,christ4 ,its treatment by various      
painters4      #agf   ,sec4 #ai4 ,by    
,tintoret4                              
#agg   ,sec4 #bj4 ,the ,crucifixion4    
#agh   ,sec4 #ba4 ,the ,massacre of     
innocents4                              
#agi   ,sec4 #bb4 ,various works in the 
,scuola di ,san ,rocco4                 
#aha   ,sec4 #bc4 ,the ,last ,judgment4 
,how treated by various painters4       
#aha   ,sec4 #bd4 ,by ,tintoret4        
#ahb   ,sec4 #be4 ,the imaginative      
verity1 how distinguished from realism4 
#ahc   ,sec4 #bf4 ,the imagination how  
manifested in sculpture4                
#ahd   ,sec4 #bg4 ,bandinelli1 ,canova1 
,mino da ,fiesole4                      
#ahd   ,sec4 #bh4 ,michael ,angelo4     
#ahe   ,sec4 #bi4 ,recapitulation4 ,the 
perfect function of the imagination is  
the intuitive perception of ultimate    
truth4                  #ahh   ,sec4    
#cj4 ,imagination how vulgarly          
understood4                             
#aij   ,sec4 #ca4 ,how its cultivation  

is dependent on the moral feelings4     
#aij   ,sec4 #cb4 ,on independence of   
mind4                                   
#aia   ,sec4 #cc4 ,and on habitual      
reference to nature4                    
#aia   ,,chapter ,,iv4--,of ,imagination
 ,contemplative4    ,sec4  #a4          
,imagination contemplative is not part  
of the essence1 but only           a    
habit or mode of the faculty4           
#aib   ,sec4  #b4 ,the ambiguity of     
conception4                             
#aib   ,sec4  #c4 ,is not in itself     
capable of adding to the charm of fair  
things4                                 
#aic   ,sec4  #d4 ,but gives to the     
imagination its regardant power over    
them4    #aid   ,sec4  #e4 ,the third   
office of fancy distinguished from      
imagination          contemplative4     
#aie   ,sec4  #f4 ,various instances4   
#aig   ,sec4  #g4 ,morbid or nervous    
fancy4                                  
#bjj   ,sec4  #h4 ,the action of        
contemplative imagination is not to be  

expressed           by art4             
#bja   ,sec4  #i4 ,except under narrow  
limits4--#ast4 ,abstract rendering of   
form without color4                     
#bja   ,sec4 #aj4 ,of color without     
form4                                   
#bjb   ,sec4 #aa4 ,or of both without   
texture4                                
#bjb   ,sec4 #ab4 ,abstraction or       
typical representation of animal form4  
#bjc   ,sec4 #ac4 ,either when it is    
symbolically used4                      
#bjd   ,sec4 #ad4 ,or in architectural  
decoration4                             
#bje   ,sec4 #ae4 ,exception in delicate
 and superimposed ornament4             
#bjf   ,sec4 #af4 ,abstraction necessary
 from imperfection of materials4        
#bjf   ,sec4 #ag4 ,abstractions of      
things capable of varied accident are   
not           imaginative4              
#bjg   ,sec4 #ah4 ,yet sometimes        
valuable4                               
#bjg   ,sec4 #ai4 ,exaggeration4 ,its   
laws and limits4 ,first1 in scale of    

representation4                         
#bjh   ,sec4 #bj4 ,secondly1 of things  
capable of variety of scale4            
#bji   ,sec4 #ba4 ,thirdly1 necessary in
 expression of characteristic features  
on           diminished scale4          
#baj   ,sec4 #bb4 ,recapitulation4      
#baa   ,,chapter ,v4--,of the           
,superhuman ,ideal4    ,sec4  #a4 ,the  
subject is not to be here treated in    
detail4               #bab   ,sec4  #b4 
,the conceivable modes of manifestation 
of ,spiritual ,beings           are     
four4                                   
#bab   ,sec4  #c4 ,and these are in or  
through creature forms familiar to us4  
#bac   ,sec4  #d4 ,supernatural         
character may be impressed on these     
either by           phenomena           
inconsistent with their common nature   
7compare           ,chap4 iv4 ,sec4     
#af74                                   
#bac   ,sec4  #e4 ,or by inherent       
,dignity4                               
#bac   ,sec4  #f4 #ast4 ,of the         

expression of inspiration4              
#bad   ,sec4  #g4 ,no representation of 
that which is more than creature is     
possible4                               
#bae   ,sec4  #h4 ,supernatural         
character expressed by modification of  
accessories4                            
#baf   ,sec4  #i4 ,landscape of the     
religious painters4 ,its character is   
eminently symmetrical4                  
#bag   ,sec4 #aj4 ,landscape of ,benozzo
 ,gozzoli4                              
#bag   ,sec4 #aa4 ,landscape of         
,perugino and ,raffaelle4               
#bah   ,sec4 #ab4 ,such ,landscape is   
not to be imitated4                     
#bah   ,sec4 #ac4 ,color1 and           
,decoration4 ,their use in              
representations of the                  
,supernatural4                          
#bai   ,sec4 #ad4 ,decoration so used   
must be generic4                        
#bbj   ,sec4 #ae4 ,and color pure4      
#bbj   ,sec4 #af4 ,ideal form of the    
body itself1 of what variety            

susceptible4    #bba   ,sec4 #ag4       
,anatomical development how far         
admissible4                     #bba    
,sec4 #ah4 ,symmetry4 ,how valuable4    
#bba   ,sec4 #ai4 ,the influence of     
,greek art1 how dangerous4              
#bbb   ,sec4 #bj4 ,its scope1 how       
limited4                                
#bbc   ,sec4 #ba4 ,conclusion4          
#bbd   ,,addenda4                       
#bbe                             ,,list 
,,of ,,plates ,,to ,,volume ,,ii4       
,page4    ,court of the ,ducal ,palace1 
,venice                         #aj     
,from a drawing by ,ruskin4    ,tomb of 
the ,ilaria di ,caretto1 ,lucca         
#gb                         ,from a     
photograph4    ,the ,adoration of the   
,magi                                   
#aeh             ,from a painting by    
,ruskin1 after ,tintoret4    ,study of  
,stone ,pine1 at ,sestri                
#aih                      ,from a       
drawing by ,ruskin4                     
,,part ,,iii4                           

,,of ,,ideas ,,of ,,beauty4             
,,section ,i4                           
,,of ,,the ,,theoretic ,,faculty4       
,,chapter ,i4           ,,of ,,the      
,,rank ,,and ,,relations ,,of ,,the     
,,theoretic ,,faculty4   ,sec4 #a4 ,with
 what care the subject is to be         
approached4  ,although the hasty        
execution and controversial tone of the 
former portions of this essay have been 
subjects of frequent regret to the      
writer1 yet the one was in some measure 
excusable in a work referred to a       
temporary end1 and the other            
unavoidable1 in one directed against    
particular opinions4 ,nor are either of 
any necessary detriment to its          
availableness as a foundation for more  
careful and extended survey1 in so far  
as its province was confined to the     
assertion of obvious and visible facts1 
the verification of which could in no   
degree be dependent either on the care  
with which they might be classed1 or the
 temper in which they were regarded4    

,not so with respect to the             
investigation now before us1 which1     
being not of things outward1 and        
sensibly demonstrable1 but of the value 
and meaning of mental impressions1 must 
be entered upon with a modesty and      
cautiousness proportioned to the        
difficulty of determining the likeness1 
or community of such impressions1 as    
they are received by different men1 and 
with seriousness proportioned to the    
importance of rightly regarding those   
faculties over which we have moral      
power1 and therefore in relation to     
which we assuredly incur a moral        
responsibility4 ,there is not the thing 
left to the choice of man to do or not  
to do1 but there is some sort of degree 
of duty involved in his determination2  
and by how much the more1 therefore1 our
 subject becomes embarrassed by the     
cross influences of variously admitted  
passion1 administered discipline1 or    
encouraged affection1 upon the minds of 
men1 by so much the more it becomes     

matter of weight and import to observe  
by what laws we should be guided1 and of
 what responsibilities regardful1 in all
 that we admit1 administer1 or          
encourage4   ,sec4 #b4 ,and of what     
importance considered4  ,nor indeed have
 ,i ever1 even in the preceding         
sections1 spoken with levity1 though    
sometimes perhaps with rashness4 ,i have
 never treated the subject as other than
 demanding heedful and serious          
examination1 and taking high place among
 those which justify as they reward our 
utmost ardor and earnestness of pursuit4
 ,that it justifies them must be my     
present task to prove2 that it demands  
them has never been doubted4 ,art1      
properly so called1 is no recreation2 it
 cannot be learned at spare moments1 nor
 pursued when we have nothing better to 
do4 ,it is no handiwork for drawing-room
 tables2 no relief of the ennui of      
boudoirs2 it must be understood and     
undertaken seriously or not at all4 ,to 
advance it men's lives must be given1   

and to receive it their hearts4 ,le     
peintre ,rubens s'amuse a etre          
ambassadeur1 said one with whom1 but for
 his own words1 we might have thought   
that effort had been absorbed in power1 
and the labor of his art in its         
felicity4--,e faticoso lo studio della  
pittura1 et sempre si fa il mare        
maggiore1 said he1 who of all men was   
least likely to have left us            
discouraging report of anything that    
majesty of intellect could grasp1 or    
continuity of labor overcome4#a ,but    
that this labor1 the necessity of which 
in all ages has been most frankly       
admitted by the greatest men1 is        
justifiable in a moral point of view1   
that it is not the pouring out of men's 
lives upon the ground1 that it has      
functions of usefulness addressed to the
 weightiest of human interests1 and that
 the objects of it have calls upon us   
which it is inconsistent alike with our 
human dignity and our heavenward duty to
 disobey--has never been boldly asserted

 nor fairly admitted2 least of all is it
 likely to be so in these days of       
dispatch and display1 where vanity1 on  
the one side1 supplies the place of that
 love of art which is the only effective
 patronage1 and on the other1 of the    
incorruptible and earnest pride which no
 applause1 no reprobation1 can blind to 
its shortcomings nor beguile of its     
hope4  ,and yet it is in the expectation
 of obtaining at least a partial        
acknowledgment of this1 as a truth      
influential both of aim and conduct1    
that ,i enter upon the second division  
of my subject4 ,the time ,i have already
 devoted to the task ,i should have     
considered altogether inordinate1 and   
that which ,i fear may be yet required  
for its completion would have been cause
 to me of utter discouragement1 but that
 the object ,i propose to myself is of  
no partial nor accidental importance4   
,it is not now to distinguish between   
disputed degrees of ability in          
individuals1 or agreeableness in        

canvases1 it is not now to expose the   
ignorance or defend the principles of   
party or person4 ,it is to summon the   
moral energies of the nation to a       
forgotten duty1 to display the use1     
force1 and function of a great body of  
neglected sympathies and desires1 and to
 elevate to its healthy and beneficial  
operation that art which1 being         
altogether addressed to them1 rises or  
falls with their variableness of        
vigor1--now leading them with ,tyrtaean 
fire1 now singing them to sleep with    
baby murmurings4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the       
doubtful force of the term utility4     
,only as ,i fear that with many of us   
the recommendation of our own favorite  
pursuits is rooted more in conceit of   
ourselves1 than affection towards       
others1 so that sometimes in our very   
pointing of the way1 we had rather that 
the intricacy of it should be admired   
than unfolded1 whence a natural distrust
 of such recommendation may well have   
place in the minds of those who have not

 yet perceived any value in the thing   
praised1 and because also1 men in the   
present century understand the word     
,useful in a strange way1 or at least   
7for the word has been often so accepted
 from the beginning of time7 since in   
these days1 they act its more limited   
meaning farther out1 and give to it more
 practical weight and authority1 it will
 be well in the outset that ,i define   
exactly what kind of utility ,i mean to 
attribute to art1 and especially to that
 branch of it which is concerned with   
those impressions of external beauty    
whose nature it is our present object to
 discover4   ,sec4 #d4 ,its proper      
sense4  ,that is to everything created1 
pre-eminently useful1 which enables it  
rightly and fully to perform the        
functions appointed to it by its        
,creator4 ,therefore1 that we may       
determine what is chiefly useful to man1
 it is necessary first to determine the 
use of man himself4  ,man's use and     
function 7and let him who will not grant

 me this follow me no farther1 for this 
,i purpose always to assume7 is to be   
the witness of the glory of ,god1 and to
 advance that glory by his reasonable   
obedience and resultant happiness4      
,whatever enables us to fulfil this     
function1 is in the pure and first sense
 of the word useful to us4              
,pre-eminently therefore whatever sets  
the glory of ,god more brightly before  
us4 ,but things that only help us to    
exist1 are in a secondary and mean      
sense1 useful1 or rather1 if they be    
looked for alone1 they are useless and  
worse1 for it would be better that we   
should not exist1 than that we should   
guiltily disappoint the purposes of     
existence4   ,sec4 #e4 ,how falsely     
applied in these times4  ,and yet people
 speak in this working age1 when they   
speak from their hearts1 as if houses1  
and lands1 and food1 and raiment were   
alone useful1 and as if sight1 thought1 
and admiration1#b were all profitless1  
so that men insolently call themselves  

,utilitarians1 who would turn1 if they  
had their way1 themselves and their race
 into vegetables2 men who think1 as far 
as such can be said to think1 that the  
meat is more than the life1 and the     
raiment than the body1 who look to the  
earth as a stable1 and to its fruit as  
fodder2 vinedressers and husbandmen1 who
 love the corn they grind1 and the      
grapes they crush1 better than the      
gardens of the angels upon the slopes of
 ,eden2 hewers of wood and drawers of   
water1 who think that the wood they hew 
and the water they draw1 are better than
 the pine-forests that cover the        
mountains like the shadow of ,god1 and  
than the great rivers that move like his
 eternity4 ,and so comes upon us that   
woe of the preacher1 that though ,god   
hath made everything beautiful in his   
time1 also he hath set the world in     
their heart1 so that no man can find out
 the work that ,god maketh from the     
beginning to the end4   ,sec4 #f4 ,the  
evil consequences of such               

interpretation4 ,how connected with     
national power4  ,this ,nebuchadnezzar  
curse1 that sends us to grass like oxen1
 seems to follow but too closely on the 
excess or continuance of national power 
and peace4 ,in the perplexities of      
nations1 in their struggles for         
existence1 in their infancy1 their      
impotence1 or even their                
disorganization1 they have higher hopes 
and nobler passions4 ,out of the        
suffering comes the serious mind2 out of
 the salvation1 the grateful heart2 out 
of the endurance1 the fortitude2 out of 
the deliverance1 the faith2 but now when
 they have learned to live under        
providence of laws1 and with decency and
 justice of regard for each other2 and  
when they have done away with violent   
and external sources of suffering1 worse
 evils seem arising out of their rest1  
evils that vex less and mortify more1   
that suck the blood though they do not  
shed it1 and ossify the heart though    
they do not torture it4 ,and deep though

 the causes of thankfulness must be to  
every people at peace with others and at
 unity in itself1 there are causes of   
fear also1 a fear greater than of sword 
and sedition2 that dependence on ,god   
may be forgotten because the bread is   
given and the water is sure1 that       
gratitude to him may cease because his  
constancy of protection has taken the   
semblance of a natural law1 that        
heavenly hope may grow faint amidst the 
full fruition of the world1 that        
selfishness may take place of undemanded
 devotion1 compassion be lost in        
vain-glory1 and love in dissimulation1#c
 that enervation may succeed to         
strength1 apathy to patience1 and the   
noise of jesting words and foulness of  
dark thoughts1 to the earnest purity of 
the girded loins and the burning lamp4  
,about the river of human life there is 
a wintry wind1 though a heavenly        
sunshine2 the iris colors its agitation1
 the frost fixes upon its repose4 ,let  
us beware that our rest become not the  

rest of stones1 which so long as they   
are torrent-tossed1 and                 
thunder-stricken1 maintain their        
majesty1 but when the stream is silent1 
and the storm passed1 suffer the grass  
to cover them and the lichen to feed on 
them1 and are ploughed down into dust4  
,sec4 #g4 ,how to be averted4  ,and     
though ,i believe that we have salt     
enough of ardent and holy mind amongst  
us to keep us in some measure from this 
moral decay1 yet the signs of it must be
 watched with anxiety1 in all matter    
however trivial1 in all directions      
however distant4 ,and at this time1 when
 the iron roads are tearing up the      
surface of ,europe1 as grapeshot do the 
sea1 when their great sagene is drawing 
and twitching the ancient frame and     
strength of ,england together1          
contracting all its various life1 its   
rocky arms and rural heart1 into a      
narrow1 finite1 calculating metropolis  
of manufactures1 when there is not a    
monument throughout the cities of       

,europe1 that speaks of old years and   
mighty people1 but it is being swept    
away to build cafes and gaming-houses2#d
 when the honor of ,god is thought to   
consist in the poverty of his temple1   
and the column is shortened1 and the    
pinnacle shattered1 the color denied to 
the casement1 and the marble to the     
altar1 while exchequers are exhausted in
 luxury of boudoirs1 and pride of       
reception-rooms2 when we ravage without 
a pause all the loveliness of creation  
which ,god in giving pronounced good1   
and destroy without a thought all those 
labors which men have given their lives1
 and their sons' sons' lives to         
complete1 and have left for a legacy to 
all their kind1 a legacy of more than   
their hearts' blood1 for it is of their 
souls' travail1 there is need1 bitter   
need1 to bring back1 if we may1 into    
men's minds1 that to live is nothing1   
unless to live be to know ,him by whom  
we live1 and that he is not to be known 
by marring his fair works1 and blotting 

out the evidence of his influences upon 
his creatures1 not amid the hurry of    
crowds and crash of innovation1 but in  
solitary places1 and out of the glowing 
intelligences which he gave to men of   
old4 ,he did not teach them how to build
 for glory and for beauty1 he did not   
give them the fearless1 faithful1       
inherited energies that worked on and   
down from death to death1 generation    
after generation1 that we1 foul and     
sensual as we are1 might give the carved
 work of their poured-out spirit to the 
axe and the hammer2 he has not cloven   
the earth with rivers1 that their white 
wild waves might turn wheels and push   
paddles1 nor turned it up under as it   
were fire1 that it might heat wells and 
cure diseases2 he brings not up his     
quails by the east wind1 only to let    
them fall in flesh about the camp of    
men3 he has not heaped the rocks of the 
mountain only for the quarry1 nor       
clothed the grass of the field only for 
the oven4   ,sec4 #h4 ,division of the  

pursuits of men into subservient and    
objective4  ,all science and all art may
 be divided into that which is          
subservient to life1 and which is the   
object of it4 ,as subservient to life1  
or practical1 their results are1 in the 
common sense of the word1 useful4 ,as   
the object of life or theoretic1 they   
are1 in the common sense1 useless2 and  
yet the step between practical and      
theoretic science is the step between   
the miner and the geologist1 the        
apothecary and the chemist2 and the step
 between practical and theoretic art is 
that between the bricklayer and the     
architect1 between the plumber and the  
artist1 and this is a step allowed on   
all hands to be from less to greater2 so
 that the so-called useless part of each
 profession does by the authoritative   
and right instinct of mankind assume the
 superior and more noble place1 even    
though books be sometimes written1 and  
that by writers of no ordinary mind1    
which assume that a chemist is rewarded 

for the years of toil which have traced 
the greater part of the combinations of 
matter to their ultimate atoms1 by      
discovering a cheap way of refining     
sugar1 and date the eminence of the     
philosopher1 whose life has been spent  
in the investigation of the laws of     
light1 from the time of his inventing an
 improvement in spectacles4  ,but the   
common consent of men proves and accepts
 the proposition1 that whatever part of 
any pursuit ministers to the bodily     
comforts1 and admits of material uses1  
is ignoble1 and whatsoever part is      
addressed to the mind only1 is noble2   
and that geology does better in         
reclothing dry bones and revealing lost 
creations1 than in tracing veins of lead
 and beds of iron2 astronomy better in  
opening to us the houses of heaven than 
in teaching navigation2 botany better in
 displaying structure than in expressing
 juices2 surgery better in investigating
 organization than in setting limbs2    
only it is ordained that1 for our       

encouragement1 every step we make in the
 more exalted range of science adds     
something also to its practical         
applicabilities2 that all the great     
phenomena of nature1 the knowledge of   
which is desired by the angels only1 by 
us partly1 as it reveals to farther     
vision the being and the glory of ,him  
in whom they rejoice and we live1       
dispense yet such kind influences and so
 much of material blessing as to be     
joyfully felt by all inferior creatures1
 and to be desired by them with such    
single desire as the imperfection of    
their nature may admit2#e that the      
strong torrents which1 in their own     
gladness fill the hills with hollow     
thunder and the vales with winding      
light1 have yet their bounden charge of 
field to feed and barge to bear2 that   
the fierce flames to which the ,alp owes
 its upheaval and the volcano its       
terror1 temper for us the metal vein and
 quickening spring2 and that for our    
incitement1 ,i say not our reward1 for  

knowledge is its own reward1 herbs have 
their healing1 stones their             
preciousness1 and stars their times4    
,sec4 #i4 ,their relative dignities4    
,sec4 #aj4 ,how reversed through erring 
notions of the contemplative and        
imaginative faculties4  ,it would       
appear1 therefore1 that those pursuits  
which are altogether theoretic1 whose   
results are desirable or admirable in   
themselves and for their own sake1 and  
in which no farther end to which their  
productions or discoveries are referred1
 can interrupt the contemplation of     
things as they are1 by the endeavor to  
discover of what selfish uses they are  
capable 7and of this order are painting 
and sculpture71 ought to take rank above
 all pursuits which have any taint in   
them of subserviency to life1 in so far 
as all such tendency is the sign of less
 eternal and less holy function4#f ,and 
such rank these two sublime arts would  
indeed assume in the minds of nations1  
and become objects of corresponding     

efforts1 but for two fatal and          
widespread errors respecting the great  
faculties of mind concerned in them4    
,the first of these1 or the theoretic   
faculty1 is concerned with the moral    
perception and appreciation of ideas of 
beauty4 ,and the error respecting it is 
the considering and calling it          
aesthetic1 degrading it to a mere       
operation of sense1 or perhaps worse1 of
 custom1 so that the arts which appeal  
to it sink into a mere amusement1       
ministers to morbid sensibilities1      
ticklers and fanners of the soul's      
sleep4  ,the second great faculty is the
 imaginative1 which the mind exercises  
in a certain mode of regarding or       
combining the ideas it has received from
 external nature1 and the operations of 
which become in their turn objects of   
the theoretic faculty to other minds4   
,illustration3 ,,court ,,of ,,the       
,,ducal ,,palace1 ,,venice4 ,from a     
drawing by ,ruskin4  ,and the error     
respecting this faculty is1 that its    

function is one of falsehood1 that its  
operation is to exhibit things as they  
are not1 and that in so doing it mends  
the works of ,god4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,object 
of the present section4  ,now1 as these 
are the two faculties to which ,i shall 
have occasion constantly to refer during
 that examination of the ideas of beauty
 and relation on which we are now       
entering1 because it is only as received
 and treated by these1 that those ideas 
become exalted and profitable1 it       
becomes necessary for me1 in the outset1
 to explain their power and define their
 sphere1 and to vindicate1 in the system
 of our nature1 their true place for the
 intellectual lens and moral retina by  
which and on which our informing        
thoughts are concentrated and           
represented4   ,,footnotes    #a        
,tintoret4 7,ridolfi4 ,vita47    #b ,we 
live by admiration1 hope1 and love4     
7,excursion1 ,book ,,iv47    #c ,rom4   
xii4 #i4    #d ,the extent of ravage    
among works of art1 or of historical    

interest1 continually committing        
throughout the continent may1           
perhaps1 be in some measure estimated   
from the following facts1 to     which  
the experience of every traveller may   
add indefinitely3      ,at              
,beauvois--,the magnificent old houses  
supported on columns of     workmanship 
7so far as ,i recollect7 unique in the  
north of ,france1     at the corner of  
the market-place1 have recently been    
destroyed for     the enlarging of some 
ironmongery and grocery warehouses4 ,the
 arch     across the street leading to  
the cathedral has been destroyed also1  
for what purpose1 ,i know not4      ,at 
,rouen--,the last of the characteristic 
houses on the quay is now               
disappearing4 ,when ,i was last there1  
,i witnessed the destruction of     the 
noble gothic portal of the church of    
,st4 ,nicholas1 whose     position      
interfered with the courtyard of an     
hotel2 the greater part     of the      
ancient churches are used as smithies1  

or warehouses for     goods4 ,so also at
 ,tours 7,st4 ,julien74 ,one of the most
 interesting     and superb pieces of   
middle-age domestic architecture in     
,europe1     opposite the west front of 
the cathedral1 is occupied as a cafe1   
and     its lower story concealed by    
painted wainscotings2 representing1 if  
,i recollect right1 twopenny rolls      
surrounded by circles of admiring       
cherubs4      ,at ,geneva--,the wooden  
projections or loggias which were once  
the     characteristic feature of the   
city1 have been entirely removed        
within the last ten years4      ,at     
,pisa--,the old ,baptistery is at this  
present time in process of     being    
restored1 that is1 dashed to pieces1 and
 common stone     painted black and     
varnished1 substituted for its black    
marble4 ,in     the ,campo ,santo1 the  
invaluable frescoes1 which might be     
protected     by merely glazing the     
arcades1 are left exposed to wind and   
weather4     ,while ,i was there last   

year ,i saw a monument put up against   
the     lower part of the wall1 to some 
private person2 the bricklayers         
knocked out a large space of the lower  
brickwork1 with what     beneficial     
effect to the loose and blistered stucco
 on which the     frescoes are painted  
above1 ,i leave the reader to imagine2  
inserted     the tablet1 and then       
plastered over the marks of the         
insertion1     destroying a portion of  
the border of one of the paintings4 ,the
     greater part of ,giotto's ,satan   
before ,god1 has been destroyed by      
the recent insertion of one of the beams
 of the roof4      ,the tomb of ,antonio
 ,puccinello1 which was the last        
actually put up     against the         
frescoes1 and which destroyed the       
terminal subject of     the ,giotto     
series1 bears date #ahjh4      ,it has  
been proposed 7or at least it is so     
reported7 that the church     of ,la    
,spina should be destroyed in order to  
widen the quay4      ,at ,florence--,one

 of its most important and              
characteristic streets1     that in     
which stands the church of ,or ,san     
,michele1 has been within     the last  
five years entirely destroyed and       
rebuilt in the ,french     style2       
consisting now almost exclusively of    
shops of bijouterie and     parfumerie4 
,owing to this direction of public      
funds1 the fronts of     the ,duomo1    
,santa ,croce1 ,st4 ,lorenzo1 and half  
the others in ,florence     remain in   
their original bricks4      ,the old    
refectory of ,santa ,croce1 containing  
an invaluable ,cenacolo1     if not by  
,giotto1 at least one of the finest     
works of his school1 is     used as a   
carpet manufactory4 ,in order to see the
 fresco1 ,i had to     get on the top of
 a loom4 ,the cenacolo 7of ,raffaelle87 
recently     discovered1 ,i saw when the
 refectory it adorns was used as a      
coach-house4 ,the fresco1 which gave    
,raffaelle the idea of the ,christ      
of the ,transfiguration1 is in an old   

wood shed at ,san ,miniato1             
concealed behind a heap of faggots4 ,in 
,june1 last year1 ,i saw     ,gentile da
 ,fabriano's picture of the ,adoration  
of the ,magi1     belonging to the      
,academy of ,florence1 put face upmost  
in a shower of     rain in an open cart2
 on my suggesting the possibility of the
 rain     hurting it1 an old piece of   
matting was thrown over its face1 and it
     was wheeled away per essere pulita4
 ,what fate this signified1 is     best 
to be discovered from the large         
,perugino in the ,academy2 whose        
divine distant landscape is now almost  
concealed by the mass of     ,french    
ultramarine1 painted over it apparently 
with a common house     brush1 by the   
picture cleaner4      ,not to detain the
 reader by going through the cities of  
,italy1 ,i     will only further        
mention1 that at ,padua1 the rain beats 
through the     west window of the      
,arena chapel1 and runs down over the   
frescoes4     ,that at ,venice1 in      

,september last1 ,i saw three buckets   
set in the     scuola di ,san ,rocco to 
catch the rain which came through the   
canvases of ,tintoret on the roof2 and  
that while the old works of     art are 
left thus unprotected1 the palaces are  
being restored in the     following     
modes4 ,the ,english residents knock out
 bow windows to see     up and down the 
canal4 ,the ,italians paint all the     
marble white or     cream color1 stucco 
the fronts1 and paint them in blue and  
white     stripes to imitate alabaster4 
7,this has been done with ,danieli's    
hotel1 with the north angle of the      
church of ,st4 ,mark1 there             
replacing the real alabasters which have
 been torn down1 with a     noble old   
house in ,st4 ,mark's place1 and with   
several in the narrow     canals47 ,the 
marbles of ,st4 ,mark's1 and carvings1  
are being     scraped down to make them 
look bright--the lower arcade of the    
,doge's palace is whitewashed--the      
entrance porch is being                 

restored--the operation having already  
proceeded so far as the     knocking off
 of the heads of the old statues--an    
iron railing     painted black and      
yellow has been put round the court4    
,faded     tapestries1 and lottery      
tickets 7the latter for the benefit of  
charitable institutions7 are exposed for
 sale in the council     chambers4    #e
 ,hooker1 ,eccl4 ,pol4 ,book ,i4 chap4  
ii4 ,sec4 #b4    #f ,i do not assert    
that the accidental utility of a        
theoretic     pursuit1 as of botany for 
instance1 in any way degrades it1 though
     it cannot be considered as         
elevating it4 ,but essential utility1 a 
purpose to which the pursuit is in some 
measure referred1 as in                 
architecture1 invariably degrades1      
because then the theoretic part     of  
the art is comparatively lost sight of2 
and thus architecture     takes a level 
below that of sculpture or painting1    
even when the     powers of mind        
developed in it are of the same high    

order4      ,when we pronounce the name 
of ,giotto1 our venerant thoughts are at
     ,assisi and ,padua1 before they    
climb the ,campanile of ,santa ,maria   
del     ,fiore4 ,and he who would raise 
the ghost of ,michael ,angelo1 must     
haunt the ,sistine and ,st4 ,lorenzo1   
not ,st4 ,peter's4                      
,,chapter ,,ii4        ,,of ,,the       
,,theoretic ,,faculty ,,as ,,concerned  
,,with ,,pleasures ,,of ,,sense4   ,sec4
 #a4 ,explanation of the term theoretic4
  ,i proceed therefore first1 to examine
 the nature of what ,i have called the  
,theoretic faculty1 and to justify my   
substitution of the term theoretic for  
aesthetic1 which is the one commonly    
employed with reference to it4  ,now the
 term aesthesis properly signifies mere 
sensual perception of the outward       
qualities and necessary effects of      
bodies1 in which sense only1 if we would
 arrive at any accurate conclusions on  
this difficult subject1 it should always
 be used4 ,but ,i wholly deny that the  

impressions of beauty are in any way    
sensual1--they are neither sensual nor  
intellectual1 but moral1 and for the    
faculty receiving them1 whose difference
 from mere perception ,i shall          
immediately endeavor to explain1 no term
 can be more accurate or convenient than
 that employed by the ,greeks1          
theoretic1 which ,i pray permission1    
therefore1 always to use1 and to call   
the operation of the faculty itself1    
,theoria4   ,sec4 #b4 ,of the           
differences of rank in pleasures of     
sense4  ,let us begin at the lowest     
point1 and observe1 first1 what         
differences of dignity may exist between
 different kinds of aesthetic or sensual
 pleasure1 properly so called4  ,now it 
is evident that the being common to     
brutes1 or peculiar to man1 can alone be
 no rational test of inferiority1 or    
dignity in pleasures4 ,we must not      
assume that man is the nobler animal1   
and then deduce the nobleness of his    
delights2 but we must prove the         

nobleness of the delights1 and thence   
the nobleness of the animal4 ,the       
dignity of affection is no way lessened 
because a large measure of it may be    
found in lower animals1 neither is the  
vileness of gluttony and lust abated    
because they are common to men4 ,it is  
clear1 therefore1 that there is a       
standard of dignity in the pleasures and
 passions themselves1 by which we also  
class the creatures capable of1 or      
suffering them4   ,sec4 #c4 ,use of the 
terms ,temperate and ,intemperate4  ,the
 first great distinction1 we observe1 is
 that noted of ,aristotle1 that men are 
called temperate and intemperate with   
regard to some1 and not so with respect 
to others1 and that those1 with respect 
to which they are so called1 are1 by    
common consent1 held to be the vilest4  
,but ,aristotle1 though exquisitely     
subtle in his notation of facts1 does   
not frequently give us satisfactory     
account of1 or reason for them4 ,content
 with stating the fact of these         

pleasures being held the lowest1 he     
shows not why this estimation of them is
 just1 and confuses the reader by       
observing casually respecting the higher
 pleasures1 what is indeed true1 but    
appears at first opposed to his own     
position1 namely1 that men may be       
conceived1 as also in these taking      
pleasure1 either rightly1 or more or    
less than is right4#g ,which being so1  
and evident capability of excess or     
defect existing in pleasures of this    
higher order1 we ought to have been told
 how it happens that men are not called 
intemperate when they indulge in excess 
of this kind1 and what is that          
difference in the nature of the pleasure
 which diminishes the criminality of its
 excess4 ,this let us attempt to        
ascertain4   ,sec4 #d4 ,right use of the
 term intemperate4  ,men are held       
intemperate 7,greek3 akolastoi7 only    
when their desires overcome or prevent  
the action of their reason1 and they are
 indeed intemperate in the exact degree 

in which such prevention or interference
 takes place1 and so are actually       
,greek3 akolastoi1 in many instances1   
and with respect to many resolves1 which
 lower not the world's estimation of    
their temperance4 ,for so long as it can
 be supposed that the reason has acted  
imperfectly owing to its own            
imperfection1 or to the imperfection of 
the premises submitted to it1 7as when  
men give an inordinate preference to    
their own pursuits1 because they cannot1
 in the nature of things1 have          
sufficiently experienced the goodness   
and benefit of others17 and so long as  
it may be presumed that men have        
referred to reason in what they do1 and 
have not suffered its orders to be      
disobeyed through mere impulse and      
desire1 7though those orders may be full
 of error owing to the reason's own     
feebleness17 so long men are not held   
intemperate4 ,but when it is palpably   
evident that the reason cannot have     
erred but that its voice has been       

deadened or disobeyed1 and that the     
reasonable creature has been dragged    
dead round the walls of his own citadel 
by mere passion and impulse1--then1 and 
then only1 men are of all held          
intemperate4 ,and this is evidently the 
case with respect to inordinate         
indulgence in pleasures of touch and    
taste1 for these1 being destructive in  
their continuance not only of all other 
pleasures1 but of the very sensibilities
 by which they themselves are received1 
and as this penalty is actually known   
and experienced by those indulging in   
them1 so that the reason cannot but     
pronounce right respecting their        
perilousness1 there is no palliation of 
the wrong choice2 and the man1 as       
utterly incapable of will1#h is called  
intemperate1 or ,greek3 akolastos4  ,it 
would be well if the reader would for   
himself follow out this subject1 which  
it would be irrelevant here to pursue   
farther1 observing how a certain degree 
of intemperance is suspected and        

attributed to men with respect to higher
 impulses2 as1 for instance1 in the case
 of anger1 or any other passion         
criminally indulged1 and yet is not so  
attributed1 as in the case of sensual   
pleasures2 because in anger the reason  
is supposed not to have had time to     
operate1 and to be itself affected by   
the presence of the passion1 which      
seizes the man involuntarily and before 
he is aware2 whereas1 in the case of the
 sensual pleasures1 the act is          
deliberate1 and determined on           
beforehand1 in direct defiance of       
reason4 ,nevertheless1 if no precaution 
be taken against immoderate anger1 and  
the passions gain upon the man1 so as to
 be evidently wilful and unrestrained1  
and admitted contrary to all reason1 we 
begin to look upon him as1 in the real  
sense of the word1 intemperate1 or      
,greek3 akolastos1 and assign to him1 in
 consequence1 his place among the       
beasts1 as definitely as if he had      
yielded to the pleasurable temptations  

of touch or taste4   ,sec4 #e4 ,grounds 
of inferiority in the pleasures which   
are subjects of        intemperance4    
,we see1 then1 that the primal ground of
 inferiority in these pleasures is that 
which proves their indulgence to be     
contrary to reason2 namely their        
destructiveness upon prolongation1 and  
their incapability of co-existing       
continually with other delights or      
perfections of the system4  ,and this   
incapability of continuance directs us  
to the second cause of their            
inferiority2 namely1 that they are given
 to us as subservient to life1 as       
instruments of our                      
preservation--compelling us to seek the 
things necessary to our being1 and that1
 therefore1 when this their function is 
fully performed1 they ought to have an  
end2 and can be only artificially1 and  
under high penalty1 prolonged4 ,but the 
pleasures of sight and hearing are given
 as gifts4 ,they answer not any purposes
 of mere existence1 for the distinction 

of all that is useful or dangerous to us
 might be made1 and often is made1 by   
the eye1 without its receiving the      
slightest pleasure of sight4 ,we might  
have learned to distinguish fruits and  
grain from flowers1 without having any  
superior pleasure in the aspect of the  
latter4 ,and the ear might have learned 
to distinguish the sounds that          
communicate ideas1 or to recognize      
intimations of elemental danger without 
perceiving either music in the voice1 or
 majesty in the thunder4 ,and as these  
pleasures have no function to perform1  
so there is no limit to their           
continuance in the accomplishment of    
their end1 for they are an end in       
themselves1 and so may be perpetual with
 all of us--being in no way destructive1
 but rather increasing in exquisiteness 
by repetition4   ,sec4 #f4 ,evidence of 
higher rank in pleasures of sight and   
hearing4  ,herein1 then1 we find very   
sufficient ground for the higher        
estimation of these delights1 first1 in 

their being eternal and inexhaustible1  
and secondly1 in their being evidently  
no means or instrument of life1 but an  
object of life4 ,now in whatever is an  
object of life1 in whatever may be      
infinitely and for itself desired1 we   
may be sure there is something of       
divine1 for ,god will not make anything 
an object of life to his creatures which
 does not point to1 or partake of1      
,himself4 ,and so1 though we were to    
regard the pleasures of sight merely as 
the highest of sensual pleasures1 and   
though they were of rare occurrence1    
and1 when occurring1 isolated and       
imperfect1 there would still be a       
supernatural character about them1 owing
 to their permanence and                
self-sufficiency1 where no other sensual
 pleasures are permanent or             
self-sufficient4 ,but when1 instead of  
being scattered1 interrupted1 or        
chance-distributed1 they are gathered   
together1 and so arranged to enhance    
each other as by chance they could not  

be1 there is caused by them not only a  
feeling of strong affection towards the 
object in which they exist1 but a       
perception of purpose and adaptation of 
it to our desires2 a perception1        
therefore1 of the immediate operation of
 the ,intelligence which so formed us1  
and so feeds us4  ,out of which         
perception arise joy1 admiration1 and   
gratitude4  ,now the mere animal        
consciousness of the pleasantness ,i    
call aesthesis2 but the exulting1       
reverent1 and grateful perception of it 
,i call theoria4 ,for this1 and this    
only1 is the full comprehension and     
contemplation of the beautiful as a gift
 of ,god1 a gift not necessary to our   
being1 but added to1 and elevating it1  
and twofold1 first of the desire1 and   
secondly of the thing desired4   ,sec4  
#g4 ,how the lower pleasures may be     
elevated in rank4  ,and that this       
joyfulness and reverence are a necessary
 part of theoretic pleasure is very     
evident when we consider that1 by the   

presence of these feelings1 even the    
lower and more sensual pleasures may be 
rendered theoretic4 ,thus ,aristotle has
 subtly noted1 that we call not men     
intemperate so much with respect to the 
scents of roses or herb-perfumes as of  
ointments and of condiments1 7though the
 reason that he gives for this be futile
 enough47 ,for the fact is1 that of     
scents artificially prepared the extreme
 desire is intemperance1 but of natural 
and ,god-given scents1 which take their 
part in the harmony and pleasantness of 
creation1 there can hardly be           
intemperance2 not that there is any     
absolute difference between the two     
kinds1 but that these are likely to be  
received with gratitude and joyfulness  
rather than those1 so that we despise   
the seeking of essences and unguents1   
but not the sowing of violets along our 
garden banks4 ,but all things may be    
elevated by affection1 as the spikenard 
of ,mary1 and in the ,song of ,solomon1 
the myrrh upon the handles of the lock1 

and that of ,isaac concerning his son4  
,and the general law for all these      
pleasures is1 that when sought in the   
abstract and ardently1 they are foul    
things1 but when received with          
thankfulness and with reference to      
,god's glory1 they become theoretic2 and
 so ,i can find something divine in the 
sweetness of wild fruits1 as well as in 
the pleasantness of the pure air1 and   
the tenderness of its natural perfumes  
that come and go as they list4   ,sec4  
#h4 ,ideas of beauty how essentially    
moral4  ,it will be understood why ,i   
formerly said in the chapter respecting 
ideas of beauty1 that those ideas were  
the subject of moral and not of         
intellectual1 nor altogether of sensual 
perception2 and why ,i spoke of the     
pleasures connected with them as derived
 from those material sources which are  
agreeable to our moral nature in its    
purity and perfection4 ,for1 as it is   
necessary to the existence of an idea of
 beauty1 that the sensual pleasure which

 may be its basis1 should be accompanied
 first with joy1 then with love of the  
object1 then with the perception of     
kindness in a superior ,intelligence1   
finally with thankfulness and veneration
 towards that ,intelligence itself1 and 
as no idea can be at all considered as  
in any way an idea of beauty1 until it  
be made up of these emotions1 any more  
than we can be said to have an idea of a
 letter of which we perceive the perfume
 and the fair writing1 without          
understanding the contents of it1 or    
intent of it2 and as these emotions are 
in no way resultant from1 nor obtainable
 by1 any operation of the intellect1 it 
is evident that the sensation of beauty 
is not sensual on the one hand1 nor is  
it intellectual on the other1 but is    
dependent on a pure1 right1 and open    
state of the heart1 both for its truth  
and for its intensity1 insomuch that    
even the right after action of the      
intellect upon facts of beauty so       
apprehended1 is dependent on the        

acuteness of the heart feeling about    
them2 and thus the ,apostolic words come
 true1 in this minor respect as in all  
others1 that men are alienated from the 
life of ,god1 through the ignorance that
 is in them1 having the understanding   
darkened because of the hardness of     
their hearts1 and so being past feeling1
 give themselves up to lasciviousness2  
for we do indeed see constantly that men
 having naturally acute perceptions of  
the beautiful1 yet not receiving it with
 a pure heart1 nor into their hearts at 
all1 never comprehend it1 nor receive   
good from it1 but make it a mere        
minister to their desires1 and          
accompaniment and seasoning of lower    
sensual pleasures1 until all their      
emotions take the same earthly stamp1   
and the sense of beauty sinks into the  
servant of lust4   ,sec4 #i4 ,how       
degraded by heartless reception4  ,sec4 
#aj4 ,how exalted by affection4  ,nor is
 what the world commonly understands by 
the cultivation of taste1 anything more 

or better than this1 at least in times  
of corrupt and over-pampered            
civilization1 when men build palaces and
 plant groves and gather luxuries1 that 
they and their devices may hang in the  
corners of the world like fine-spun     
cobwebs1 with greedy1 puffed-up1        
spider-like lusts in the middle4 ,and   
this1 which in ,christian times is the  
abuse and corruption of the sense of    
beauty1 was in that ,pagan life of which
 ,st4 ,paul speaks1 little less than the
 essence of it1 and the best they had2  
for ,i know not that of the expressions 
of affection towards external nature to 
be found among ,heathen writers1 there  
are any of which the balance and leading
 thought cleaves not towards the sensual
 parts of her4 ,her beneficence they    
sought1 and her power they shunned1 her 
teaching through both1 they understood  
never4 ,the pleasant influences of soft 
winds and ringing streamlets1 and shady 
coverts2 of the violet couch1 and       
plane-tree shade1#i they received1      

perhaps1 in a more noble way than we1   
but they found not anything except fear1
 upon the bare mountain1 or in the      
ghostly glen4 ,the ,hybla heather they  
loved more for its sweet hives than its 
purple hues4 ,but the ,christian theoria
 seeks not1 though it accepts1 and      
touches with its own purity1 what the   
,epicurean sought1 but finds its food   
and the objects of its love everywhere1 
in what is harsh and fearful1 as well as
 what is kind1 nay1 even in all that    
seems coarse and commonplace2 seizing   
that which is good1 and delighting more 
sometimes at finding its table spread in
 strange places1 and in the presence of 
its enemies1 and its honey coming out of
 the rock1 than if all were harmonized  
into a less wondrous pleasure2 hating   
only what is self-sighted and insolent  
of men's work1 despising all that is not
 of ,god1 unless reminding it of ,god1  
yet able to find evidence of him still1 
where all seems forgetful of him1 and to
 turn that into a witness of his working

 which was meant to obscure it1 and so  
with clear and unoffended sight         
beholding him forever1 according to the 
written promise1--,blessed are the pure 
in heart1 for they shall see ,god4      
,,footnotes    #g ,greek3 hos dei1 kai  
kath' hyperbolen kai elleipsin4    #h   
,comp4 ,hooker1 ,eccl4 ,pol4 ,book i4   
chap4 #h4    #i ,plato1 ,phaedrus1 ,sec4
 #i4                                    
,,chapter ,,iii4       ,,of ,,accuracy  
,,and ,,inaccuracy ,,in ,,impressions   
,,of ,,sense4   ,sec4 #a4 ,by what test 
is the health of the perceptive faculty 
to be        determined8  ,hitherto we  
have observed only the distinctions of  
dignity among pleasures of sense1       
considered merely as such1 and the way  
in which any of them may become         
theoretic in being received with right  
feeling4  ,but as we go farther1 and    
examine the distinctive nature of ideas 
of beauty1 we shall1 ,i believe1        
perceive something in them besides      
aesthetic pleasure1 which attests a more

 important function belonging to them   
than attaches to other sensual ideas1   
and exhibits a more exalted character in
 the faculty by which they are received4
 ,and this was what ,i alluded to1 when 
,i said in the chapter already referred 
to 7,sec4 #a71 that we may indeed       
perceive1 as far as we are acquainted   
with the nature of ,god1 that we have   
been so constructed as in a healthy     
state of mind to derive pleasure from   
whatever things are illustrative of that
 nature4  ,this point it is necessary   
now farther to develop4  ,our first     
inquiry must evidently be1 how we are   
authorized to affirm of any man's mind1 
respecting impressions of sight1 that it
 is in a healthy state or otherwise4    
,what canon or test is there by which we
 may determine of these impressions that
 they are or are not rightly esteemed   
beautiful8 ,to what authority1 when men 
are at variance with each other on this 
subject1 shall it be deputed to judge   
which is right8 or is there any such    

authority or canon at all8  ,for it does
 not at first appear easy to prove that 
men ought to like one thing rather than 
another1 and although this is granted   
generally by men's speaking of bad or   
good taste1 it is frequently denied when
 we pass to particulars1 by the         
assertion of each individual that he has
 a right to his opinion--a right which  
is sometimes claimed even in moral      
matters1 though then palpably without   
foundation1 but which does not appear   
altogether irrational in matters        
aesthetic1 wherein little operation of  
voluntary choice is supposed possible4  
,it would appear strange1 for instance1 
to assert1 respecting a particular      
person who preferred the scent of       
violets to roses1 that he had no right  
to do so4 ,and yet1 while ,i have said  
that the sensation of beauty is         
intuitive and necessary1 as men derive  
pleasure from the scent of a rose1 ,i   
have assumed that there are some sources
 from which it is rightly derived1 and  

others from which it is wrongly derived1
 in other words that men have no right  
to think some things beautiful1 and no  
right to remain apathetic with regard to
 others4   ,sec4 #b4 ,and in what sense 
may the terms ,right and ,wrong be      
attached to its        conclusions8     
,hence then arise two questions1        
according to the sense in which the word
 right is taken2 the first1 in what way 
an impression of sense may be deceptive1
 and therefore a conclusion respecting  
it untrue2 and the second1 in what way  
an impression of sense1 or the          
preference of one1 may be a subject of  
will1 and therefore of moral duty or    
delinquency4  ,to the first of these    
questions1 ,i answer that we cannot     
speak of the immediate impression of    
sense as false1 nor of its preference to
 others as mistaken1 for no one can be  
deceived respecting the actual sensation
 he perceives or prefers4 ,but falsity  
may attach to his assertion or          
supposition1 either that what he himself

 perceives is from the same object      
perceived by others1 or is always to be 
by himself perceived1 or is always to be
 by himself preferred2 and when we speak
 of a man as wrong in his impressions of
 sense1 we either mean that he feels    
differently from all1 or a majority1    
respecting a certain object1 or that he 
prefers at present those of his         
impressions1 which ultimately he will   
not prefer4  ,to the second ,i answer1  
that over immediate impressions and     
immediate preferences we have no power1 
but over ultimate impressions1 and      
especially ultimate preferences we have2
 and that1 though we can neither at once
 choose whether we shall see an object1 
red1 green1 or blue1 nor determine to   
like the red better than the blue1 or   
the blue better than the red1 yet we    
can1 if we choose1 make ourselves       
ultimately susceptible of such          
impressions in other degrees1 and       
capable of pleasures in them in         
different measure2 and because1 wherever

 power of any kind is given1 there is   
responsibility attached1 it is the duty 
of men to prefer certain impressions of 
sense to others1 because they have the  
power of doing so1 this being precisely 
analogous to the law of the moral world1
 whereby men are supposed not only      
capable of governing their likes and    
dislikes1 but the whole culpability or  
propriety of actions is dependent upon  
this capability1 so that men are guilty 
or otherwise1 not for what they do1 but 
for what they desire1 the command being 
not1 thou shalt obey1 but thou shalt    
love1 the ,lord thy ,god1 which1 if men 
were not capable of governing and       
directing their affections1 would be the
 command of an impossibility4   ,sec4   
#c4 ,what power we have over impressions
 of sense4  ,i assert1 therefore1 that  
even with respect to impressions of     
sense1 we have a power of preference1   
and a corresponding duty1 and ,i shall  
show first the nature of the power1 and 
afterwards the nature of the duty4  ,let

 us take an instance from one of the    
lowest of the senses1 and observe the   
kind of power we have over the          
impressions of lingual taste4 ,on the   
first offering of two different things  
to the palate1 it is not in our power to
 prevent or command the instinctive     
preference4 ,one will be unavoidably and
 helplessly preferred to the other4 ,but
 if the same two things be submitted to 
judgment frequently and attentively1 it 
will be often found that their relations
 change4 ,the palate1 which at first    
perceived only the coarse and violent   
qualities of either1 will1 as it becomes
 more experienced1 acquire greater      
subtilty and delicacy of discrimination1
 perceiving in both agreeable or        
disagreeable qualities at first         
unnoticed1 which on continued experience
 will probably become more influential  
than the first impressions2 and whatever
 this final verdict may be1 it is felt  
by the person who gives it1 and received
 by others as a more correct one than   

the first4   ,sec4 #d4 ,depends on      
acuteness of attention4  ,so1 then1 the 
power we have over the preference of    
impressions of taste is not actual nor  
immediate1 but only a power of testing  
and comparing them frequently and       
carefully1 until that which is the more 
permanent1 the more consistently        
agreeable1 be determined4 ,but when the 
instrument of taste is thus in some     
degree perfected and rendered subtile1  
by its being practised upon a single    
object1 its conclusions will be more    
rapid with respect to others1 and it    
will be able to distinguish more quickly
 in other things1 and even to prefer at 
once1 those qualities which are         
calculated finally to give it most      
pleasure1 though more capable with      
respect to those on which it is more    
frequently exercised2 whence people are 
called judges with respect to this or   
that particular object of taste4   ,sec4
 #e4 ,ultimate conclusions universal4   
,now that verdicts of this kind are     

received as authoritative by others1    
proves another and more important fact1 
namely1 that not only changes of opinion
 take place in consequence of           
experience1 but that those changes are  
from variation of opinion to unity of   
opinion2 and that whatever may be the   
differences of estimate among           
unpractised or uncultivated tastes1     
there will be unity of taste among the  
experienced4 ,and that therefore the    
operation of repeated trial and         
experience is to arrive at principles of
 preference in some sort common to all1 
and which are a part of our nature4  ,i 
have selected the sense of taste for an 
instance1 because it is the least       
favorable to the position ,i hold1 since
 there is more latitude allowed1 and    
more actual variety of verdict in the   
case of this sense than of any other2   
and yet1 however susceptible of variety 
even the ultimate approximations of its 
preferences may be1 the authority of    
judges is distinctly allowed1 and we    

hear every day the admission1 by those  
of unpractised palate1 that they are1 or
 may be wrong in their opinions         
respecting the real pleasurableness of  
things either to themselves1 or to      
others4   ,sec4 #f4 ,what duty is       
attached to this power over impressions 
of sense4  ,the sense1 however1 in which
 they thus use the word wrong is merely 
that of falseness or inaccuracy in      
conclusion1 not of moral delinquency4   
,but there is1 as ,i have stated1 a     
duty1 more or less imperative1 attached 
to every power we possess1 and therefore
 to this power over the lower senses as 
well as to all others4  ,and this duty  
is evidently to bring every sense into  
that state of cultivation1 in which it  
shall both form the truest conclusions  
respecting all that is submitted to it1 
and procure us the greatest amount of   
pleasure consistent with its due        
relation to other senses and functions4 
,which three constituents of perfection 
in sense1 true judgment1 maximum        

sensibility1 and right relation to      
others1 are invariably co-existent and  
involved one by the other1 for the true 
judgment is the result of the high      
sensibility1 and the high sensibility of
 the right relation4 ,thus1 for         
instance1 with respect to pleasures of  
taste1 it is our duty not to devote such
 inordinate attention to the            
discrimination of them as must be       
inconsistent with our pursuit1 and      
destructive of our capacity of higher   
and preferable pleasures1 but to        
cultivate the sense of them in that way 
which is consistent with all other good1
 by temperance1 namely1 and by such     
attention as the mind at certain resting
 moments may fitly pay even to so       
ignoble a source of pleasure as this1 by
 which discipline we shall bring the    
faculty of taste itself to its real     
maximum of sensibility2 for it may not  
be doubted but that health1 hunger1 and 
such general refinement of bodily habits
 as shall make the body a perfect and   

fine instrument in all respects1 are    
better promoters of actual sensual      
enjoyment of taste1 than the sickened1  
sluggish1 hard-stimulated fastidiousness
 of ,epicurism4   ,sec4 #g4 ,how        
rewarded4  ,so also it will certainly be
 found with all the senses1 that they   
individually receive the greatest and   
purest pleasure when they are in right  
condition and degree of subordination to
 all the rest2 and that by the over     
cultivation of any one1 7for morbid     
sources of pleasure and correspondent   
temptations to irrational indulgence1   
confessedly are attached to all17 we    
shall add more to their power as        
instruments of punishment than of       
pleasure4  ,we see then1 in this example
 of the lowest sense1 that the power we 
have over sensations and preferences    
depends mainly on the exercise of       
attention through certain prolonged     
periods1 and that by this exercise1 we  
arrive at ultimate1 constant1 and common
 sources of agreeableness1 casting off  

those which are external1 accidental1   
and individual4   ,sec4 #h4 ,especially 
with respect to ideas of beauty4  ,that 
then which is required in order to the  
attainment of accurate conclusions      
respecting the essence of the beautiful1
 is nothing more than earnest1 loving1  
and unselfish attention to our          
impressions of it1 by which those which 
are shallow1 false1 or peculiar to times
 and temperaments1 may be distinguished 
from those that are eternal4 ,and this  
dwelling upon1 and fond contemplation of
 them1 7the anschauung of the ,germans17
 is perhaps as much as was meant by the 
,greek theoria2 and it is indeed a very 
noble exercise of the souls of men1 and 
one by which they are peculiarly        
distinguished from the anima of lower   
creatures1 which cannot1 ,i think1 be   
proved to have any capacity of          
contemplation at all1 but only a        
restless vividness of perception and    
conception1 the fancy of ,hooker 7,eccl4
 ,pol4 ,book i4 ,chap4 vi4 #b74 ,and yet

 this dwelling upon them comes not up to
 that which ,i wish to express by the   
word theoria1 unless it be accompanied  
by full perception of their being a gift
 from and manifestation of ,god1 and by 
all those other nobler emotions before  
described1 since not until so felt is   
their essential nature comprehended4    
,sec4 #i4 ,errors induced by the power  
of habit4  ,but two very important      
points are to be observed respecting the
 direction and discipline of the        
attention in the early stages of        
judgment4 ,the first1 that1 for many    
beneficent purposes1 the nature of man  
has been made reconcilable by custom to 
many things naturally painful to it1 and
 even improper for it1 and that         
therefore1 though by continued          
experience1 united with thought1 we may 
discover that which is best of several1 
yet if we submit ourselves to authority 
or fashion1 and close our eyes1 we may  
be by custom made to tolerate1 and even 
to love and long for1 that which is     

naturally painful and pernicious to us1 
whence arise incalculable embarrassments
 on the subject of art4   ,sec4 #aj4    
,the necessity of submission in early   
stages of judgment4  ,the second1 that1 
in order to the discovery of that which 
is best of two things1 it is necessary  
that both should be equally submitted to
 the attention2 and therefore that we   
should have so much faith in authority  
as shall make us repeatedly observe and 
attend to that which is said to be      
right1 even though at present we may not
 feel it so4 ,and in the right mingling 
of this faith with the openness of      
heart1 which proves all things1 lies the
 great difficulty of the cultivation of 
the taste1 as far as the spirit of the  
scholar is concerned1 though even when  
he has this spirit1 he may be long      
retarded by having evil examples        
submitted to him by ignorant masters4   
,the temper1 therefore1 by which right  
taste is formed1 is first1 patient4 ,it 
dwells upon what is submitted to it1 it 

does not trample upon it lest it should 
be pearls1 even though it look like     
husks1 it is a good ground1 soft1       
penetrable1 retentive1 it does not send 
up thorns of unkind thoughts1 to choke  
the weak seed1 it is hungry and thirsty 
too1 and drinks all the dew that falls  
on it1 it is an honest and good heart1  
that shows no too ready springing before
 the sun be up1 but fails not           
afterwards2 it is distrustful of itself1
 so as to be ready to believe and to try
 all things1 and yet so trustful of     
itself1 that it will neither quit what  
it has tried1 nor take anything without 
trying4 ,and that pleasure which it has 
in things that it finds true and good1  
is so great that it cannot possibly be  
led aside by any tricks of fashion1 nor 
diseases of vanity1 it cannot be cramped
 in its conclusions by partialities and 
hypocrisies1 its visions and its        
delights are too penetrating1 too       
living1 for any whitewashed object or   
shallow fountain long to endure or      

supply4 ,it clasps all that it loves so 
hard1 that it crushes it if it be       
hollow4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,the large scope of
 matured judgment4  ,now1 the           
conclusions of this disposition are sure
 to be eventually right1 more and more  
right according to the general maturity 
of all the powers1 but it is sure to    
come right at last1 because its         
operation is in analogy to1 and in      
harmony with1 the whole spirit of the   
,christian moral system1 and that which 
it will ultimately love and rest in1 are
 great sources of happiness common to   
all the human race1 and based on the    
relations they hold to their ,creator4  
,these common and general sources of    
pleasure are1 ,i believe1 a certain     
seal1 or impress of divine work and     
character1 upon whatever ,god has       
wrought in all the world2 only1 it being
 necessary for the perception of them1  
that their contraries should also be set
 before us1 these divine qualities1     
though inseparable from all divine      

works1 are yet suffered to exist in such
 varieties of degree1 that their most   
limited manifestation shall1 in         
opposition to their most abundant1 act  
as a foil or contrary1 just as we       
conceive of cold as contrary to heat1   
though the most extreme cold we can     
produce or conceive is not inconsistent 
with an unknown amount of heat in the   
body4   ,sec4 #ab4 ,how distinguishable 
from false taste4  ,our purity of taste1
 therefore1 is best tested by its       
universality1 for if we can only admire 
this thing or that1 we may be sure that 
our cause for liking is of a finite and 
false nature4 ,but if we can perceive   
beauty in everything of ,god's doing1 we
 may argue that we have reached the true
 perception of its universal laws4      
,hence1 false taste may be known by its 
fastidiousness1 by its demands of pomp1 
splendor1 and unusual combination1 by   
its enjoyment only of particular styles 
and modes of things1 and by its pride   
also1 for it is forever meddling1       

mending1 accumulating1 and              
self-exulting1 its eye is always upon   
itself1 and it tests all things around  
it by the way they fit it4 ,but true    
taste is forever growing1 learning1     
reading1 worshipping1 laying its hand   
upon its mouth because it is astonished1
 casting its shoes from off its feet    
because it finds all ground holy1       
lamenting over itself and testing itself
 by the way that it fits things4 ,and it
 finds whereof to feed1 and whereby to  
grow1 in all things1 and therefore the  
complaint so often made by young artists
 that they have not within their reach  
materials1 or subjects enough for their 
fancy1 is utterly groundless1 and the   
sign only of their own blindness and    
inefficiency2 for there is that to be   
seen in every street and lane of every  
city1 that to be felt and found in every
 human heart and countenance1 that to be
 loved in every road-side weed and      
moss-grown wall1 which in the hands of  
faithful men1 may convey emotions of    

glory and sublimity continual and       
exalted4   ,sec4 #ac4 ,the danger of a  
spirit of choice4  ,let therefore the   
young artist beware of the spirit of    
choice1#aj it is an insolent spirit at  
the best and commonly a base and blind  
one too1 checking all progress and      
blasting all power1 encouraging         
weaknesses1 pampering partialities1 and 
teaching us to look to accidents of     
nature for the help and the joy which   
should come from our own hearts4 ,he    
draws nothing well who thirsts not to   
draw everything2 when a good painter    
shrinks1 it is because he is humbled1   
not fastidious1 when he stops1 it is    
because he is surfeited1 and not because
 he thinks nature has given him unkindly
 food1 or that he fears famine4#aa ,i   
have seen a man of true taste pause for 
a quarter of an hour to look at the     
channellings that recent rain had traced
 in a heap of cinders4   ,sec4 #ad4 ,and
 criminality4  ,and here is evident     
another reason of that duty which we owe

 respecting impressions of sight1       
namely1 to discipline ourselves to the  
enjoyment of those which are eternal in 
their nature1 not only because these are
 the most acute1 but because they are   
the most easily1 constantly1 and        
unselfishly attainable4 ,for had it been
 ordained by the ,almighty that the     
highest pleasures of sight should be    
those of most difficult attainment1 and 
that to arrive at them it should be     
necessary to accumulate gilded palaces  
tower over tower1 and pile artificial   
mountains around insinuated lakes1 there
 would have been a direct contradiction 
between the unselfish duties and        
inherent desires of every individual4   
,but no such contradiction exists in the
 system of ,divine ,providence1 which1  
leaving it open to us1 if we will1 as   
creatures in probation1 to abuse this   
sense like every other1 and pamper it   
with selfish and thoughtless vanities as
 we pamper the palate with deadly meats1
 until the appetite of tasteful cruelty 

is lost in its sickened satiety1        
incapable of pleasure unless1 ,caligula 
like1 it concentrate the labor of a     
million of lives into the sensation of  
an hour1 leaves it also open to us1 by  
humble and loving ways1 to make         
ourselves susceptible of deep delight   
from the meanest objects of creation1   
and of a delight which shall not        
separate us from our fellows1 nor       
require the sacrifice of any duty or    
occupation1 but which shall bind us     
closer to men and to ,god1 and be with  
us always1 harmonized with every action1
 consistent with every claim1 unchanging
 and eternal4   ,sec4 #ae4 ,how certain 
conclusions respecting beauty are by    
reason         demonstrable4  ,seeing   
then that these qualities of material   
objects which are calculated to give us 
this universal pleasure1 are            
demonstrably constant in their address  
to human nature1 they must belong in    
some measure to whatever has been       
esteemed beautiful throughout successive

 ages of the world 7and they are also by
 their definition common to all the     
works of ,god74 ,therefore it is evident
 that it must be possible to reason them
 out1 as well as to feel them out2      
possible to divest every object of that 
which makes it accidentally or          
temporarily pleasant1 and to strip it   
bare of distinctive qualities1 until we 
arrive at those which it has in common  
with all other beautiful things1 which  
we may then safely affirm to be the     
cause of its ultimate and true          
delightfulness4   ,sec4 #af4 ,with what 
liabilities to error4  ,now this process
 of reasoning will be that which ,i     
shall endeavor to employ in the         
succeeding investigations1 a process    
perfectly safe1 so long as we are quite 
sure that we are reasoning concerning   
objects which produce in us one and the 
same sensation1 but not safe if the     
sensation produced be of a different    
nature1 though it may be equally        
agreeable2 for what produces a different

 sensation must be a different cause4   
,and the difficulty of reasoning        
respecting beauty arises chiefly from   
the ambiguity of the word1 which stands 
in different people's minds for totally 
different sensations1 for which there   
can be no common cause4  ,when1 for     
instance1 ,mr4 ,alison endeavors to     
support his position that no man is     
sensible to beauty in those objects with
 regard to which he has not previous    
ideas1 by the remark that the beauty of 
a theory1 or of a relic of antiquity1 is
 unintelligible to a peasant1 we see at 
once that it is hopeless to argue with a
 man who1 under his general term beauty1
 may1 for anything we know1 be sometimes
 speaking of mathematical               
demonstrability and sometimes of        
historical interest2 while even if we   
could succeed in limiting the term to   
the sense of external attractiveness1   
there would be still room for many      
phases of error2 for though the beauty  
of a snowy mountain and of a human cheek

 or forehead1 so far as both are        
considered as mere matter1 is the same1 
and traceable to certain qualities of   
color and line1 common to both1 and by  
reason extricable1 yet the flush of the 
cheek and moulding of the brow1 as they 
express modesty1 affection1 or          
intellect1 possess sources of           
agreeableness which are not common to   
the snowy mountain1 and the interference
 of whose influence we must be cautious 
to prevent in our examination of those  
which are material and universal4#ab    
,sec4 #ag4 ,the term beauty how         
limitable in the outset4 ,divided into  
typical and vital4  ,the first thing1   
then1 that we have to do1 is accurately 
to discriminate and define those        
appearances from which we are about to  
reason as belonging to beauty1 properly 
so called1 and to clear the ground of   
all the confused ideas and erroneous    
theories with which the misapprehension 
or metaphorical use of the term has     
encumbered it4  ,by the term beauty1    

then1 properly are signified two things4
 ,first1 that external quality of bodies
 already so often spoken of1 and which1 
whether it occur in a stone1 flower1    
beast1 or in man1 is absolutely         
identical1 which1 as ,i have already    
asserted1 may be shown to be in some    
sort typical of the ,divine attributes1 
and which1 therefore1 ,i shall1 for     
distinction's sake1 call typical beauty2
 and1 secondarily1 the appearance of    
felicitous fulfilment of function in    
living things1 more especially of the   
joyful and right exertion of perfect    
life in man4 ,and this kind of beauty ,i
 shall call vital beauty4  ,any         
application of the word beautiful to    
other appearances or qualities than     
these1 is either false or metaphorical1 
as1 for instance1 to the splendor of a  
discovery1 the fitness of a proportion1 
the coherence of a chain of reasoning1  
or the power of bestowing pleasure which
 objects receive from association1 a    
power confessedly great1 and            

interfering1 as we shall presently find1
 in a most embarrassing way with the    
attractiveness of inherent beauty4  ,but
 in order that the mind of the reader   
may not be biassed at the outset by that
 which he may happen to have received of
 current theories respecting beauty1    
founded on the above metaphorical uses  
of the word1 7theories which are less to
 be reprobated as accounting falsely for
 the sensations of which they treat1    
than as confusing two or more           
pleasurable sensations together17 ,i    
shall briefly glance at the four        
erroneous positions most frequently held
 upon this subject1 before proceeding to
 examine those typical and vital        
properties of things1 to which ,i       
conceive that all our original          
conceptions of beauty may be traced4    
,,footnotes     #aj                     
,nothing comes amiss1--                 
,a good digestion turneth all to        
health4--,g4 ,,herbert4    #aa ,yet note
 the difference between the choice that 

comes of pride1     and the choice that 
comes of love1 and compare ,chap4 xv4   
,sec4 #f4    #ab ,compare ,spenser4     
7,hymn to ,beauty47                 ,but
 ah1 believe me1 there is more than so1 
,that works such wonders in the minds of
 men4                                   
,,chapter ,,iv4              ,,of       
,,false ,,opinions ,,held ,,concerning  
,,beauty4   ,sec4 #a4 ,of the false     
opinion that truth is beauty1 and vice  
versa4  ,i purpose at present to speak  
only of four of the more current        
opinions respecting beauty1 for of the  
errors connected with the               
pleasurableness of proportion1 and of   
the expression of right feelings in the 
countenance1 ,i shall have opportunity  
to treat in the succeeding chapters2    
7compare ,ch4 ,,vi4 ,ch4 ,,xvi47  ,those
 erring or inconsistent positions which 
,i would at once dismiss are1 the first1
 that the beautiful is the true1 the    
second1 that the beautiful is the       
useful1 the third1 that it is dependent 

on custom1 and the fourth1 that it is   
dependent on the association of ideas4  
,to assert that the beautiful is the    
true1 appears1 at first1 like asserting 
that propositions are matter1 and matter
 propositions4 ,but giving the best and 
most rational interpretation we can1 and
 supposing the holders of this strange  
position to mean only that things are   
beautiful which appear what they indeed 
are1 and ugly which appear what they are
 not1 we find them instantly            
contradicted by each and every          
conclusion of experience4 ,a stone looks
 as truly a stone as a rose looks a     
rose1 and yet is not so beautiful2 a    
cloud may look more like a castle than a
 cloud1 and be the more beautiful on    
that account4 ,the mirage of the desert 
is fairer than its sands2 the false     
image of the under heaven fairer than   
the sea4 ,i am at a loss to know how any
 so untenable a position could ever have
 been advanced2 but it may1 perhaps1    
have arisen from some confusion of the  

beauty of art with the beauty of nature1
 and from an illogical expansion of the 
very certain truth1 that nothing is     
beautiful in art1 which1 professing to  
be an imitation1 or a statement1 is not 
as such in some sort true4   ,sec4 #b4  
,of the false opinion that beauty is    
usefulness4 ,compare ,chap4 xii4        
,sec4 #e4  ,that the beautiful is the   
useful1 is an assertion evidently based 
on that limited and false sense of the  
latter term which ,i have already       
deprecated4 ,as it is the most degrading
 and dangerous supposition which can be 
advanced on the subject1 so1            
fortunately1 it is the most palpably    
absurd4 ,it is to confound admiration   
with hunger1 love with lust1 and life   
with sensation2 it is to assert that the
 human creature has no ideas and no     
feelings1 except those ultimately       
referable to its brutal appetites4 ,it  
has not a single fact nor appearance of 
fact to support it1 and needs no        
combating1 at least until its advocates 

have obtained the consent of the        
majority of mankind1 that the most      
beautiful productions of nature are     
seeds and roots2 and of art1 spades and 
millstones4   ,sec4 #c4 ,of the false   
opinion that beauty results from custom4
 ,compare ,chap4        vi4 ,sec4 #a4   
,somewhat more rational grounds appear  
for the assertion that the sense of the 
beautiful arises from familiarity with  
the object1 though even this could not  
long be maintained by a thinking person4
 ,for all that can be alleged in defence
 of such a supposition is1 that         
familiarity deprives some objects which 
at first appeared ugly1 of much of their
 repulsiveness1 whence it is as rational
 to conclude that familiarity is the    
cause of beauty1 as it would be to argue
 that because it is possible to acquire 
a taste for olives1 therefore custom is 
the cause of lusciousness in grapes4    
,nevertheless1 there are some phenomena 
resulting from the tendency of our      
nature to be influenced by habit of     

which it may be well to observe the     
limits4   ,sec4 #d4 ,the twofold        
operation of custom4 ,it deadens        
sensation1 but confirms                 
affection4  ,sec4 #e4 ,but never either 
creates or destroys the essence of      
beauty4  ,custom has a twofold          
operation3 the one to deaden the        
frequency and force of repeated         
impressions1 the other to endear the    
familiar object to the affections4      
,commonly1 where the mind is vigorous1  
and the power of sensation very perfect1
 it has rather the last operation than  
the first2 with meaner minds1 the first 
takes place in the higher degree1 so    
that they are commonly characterized by 
a desire of excitement1 and the want of 
the loving1 fixed1 theoretic power4 ,but
 both take place in some degree with all
 men1 so that as life advances1         
impressions of all kinds become less    
rapturous owing to their repetition4 ,it
 is however beneficently ordained that  
repulsiveness shall be diminished by    

custom in a far greater degree than the 
sensation of beauty1 so that the        
anatomist in a little time loses all    
sense of horror in the torn flesh1 and  
carous bone1 while the sculptor ceases  
not to feel to the close of his life1   
the deliciousness of every line of the  
outward frame4 ,so then as in that with 
which we are made familiar1 the         
repulsiveness is constantly diminishing1
 and such claims as it may be able to   
put forth on the affections are daily   
becoming stronger1 while in what is     
submitted to us of new or strange1 that 
which may be repulsive is felt in its   
full force1 while no hold is as yet laid
 on the affections1 there is a very     
strong preference induced in most minds 
for that to which they are not          
accustomed over that they know not1 and 
this is strongest in those which are    
least open to sensations of positive    
beauty4 ,but however far this operation 
may be carried1 its utmost effect is but
 the deadening and approximating the    

sensations of beauty and ugliness4 ,it  
never mixes nor crosses1 nor in any way 
alters them2 it has not the slightest   
connection with nor power over their    
nature4 ,by tasting two wines           
alternately1 we may deaden our          
perception of their flavor2 nay1 we may 
even do more than can ever be done in   
the case of sight1 we may confound the  
two flavors together4 ,but it will      
hardly be argued therefore that custom  
is the cause of either flavor4 ,and so1 
though by habit we may deaden the effect
 of ugliness or beauty1 it is not for   
that reason to be affirmed that habit is
 the cause of either sensation4 ,we may 
keep a skull beside us as long as we    
please1 we may overcome its             
repulsiveness1 we may render ourselves  
capable of perceiving many qualities of 
beauty about its lines1 we may          
contemplate it for years together if we 
will1 it and nothing else1 but we shall 
not get ourselves to think as well of it
 as of a child's fair face4   ,sec4 #f4 

,instances4  ,it would be easy to pursue
 the subject farther1 but ,i believe    
that every thoughtful reader will be    
perfectly well able to supply farther   
illustrations1 and sweep away the sandy 
foundations of the opposite theory1     
unassisted4 ,let it1 however1 be        
observed1 that in spite of all custom1  
an ,englishman instantly acknowledges1  
and at first sight1 the superiority of  
the turban to the hat1 or of the plaid  
to the coat1 that whatever the dictates 
of immediate fashion may compel1 the    
superior gracefulness of the ,greek or  
middle age costumes is invariably felt1 
and that1 respecting what has been      
asserted of negro nations looking with  
disgust on the white face1 no importance
 whatever is to be attached to the      
opinions of races who have never        
received any ideas of beauty whatsoever1
 7these ideas being only received by    
minds under some certain degree of      
cultivation17 and whose disgust arises  
naturally from what they may suppose to 

be a sign of weakness or ill health4 ,it
 would be futile to proceed into farther
 detail4 ,i pass to the last and most   
weighty theory1 that the agreeableness  
in objects which we call beauty is the  
result of the association with them of  
agreeable or interesting ideas4   ,sec4 
#g4 ,of the false opinion that beauty   
depends on the association of           
ideas4  ,frequent has been the support1 
and wide the acceptance of this         
supposition1 and yet ,i suppose that no 
two consecutive sentences were ever     
written in defence of it1 without       
involving either a contradiction or a   
confusion of terms4 ,thus ,alison1      
,there are scenes undoubtedly more      
beautiful than ,runnymede1 yet to those 
who recollect the great event that      
passed there1 there is no scene perhaps 
which so strongly seizes on the         
imagination4 ,here we are wonder-struck 
at the audacious obtuseness which would 
prove the power of imagination by its   
overcoming that very other power 7of    

inherent beauty7 whose existence the    
arguer denies4 ,for the only logical    
conclusion which can possibly be drawn  
from the above sentence is1 that        
imagination is not the source of beauty1
 for although no scene seizes so        
strongly on the imagination1 yet there  
are scenes more beautiful than          
,runnymede4 ,and though instances of    
self-contradiction as laconic and       
complete as this are to be found in few 
writers except ,alison1 yet if the      
arguments on the subject be fairly      
sifted from the mass of confused        
language with which they are always     
encumbered and placed in logical form1  
they will be found invariably to involve
 one of these two syllogisms1 either1   
association gives pleasure1 and beauty  
gives pleasure1 therefore association is
 beauty4 ,or1 the power of association  
is stronger than the power of beauty1   
therefore the power of association is   
the power of beauty4   ,sec4 #h4        
,association4 ,is1 #ast1 rational4 ,it  

is of no efficiency as a cause        of
 beauty4  ,nevertheless it is necessary 
for us to observe the real value and    
authority of association in the moral   
system1 and how ideas of actual beauty  
may be affected by it1 otherwise we     
shall be liable to embarrassment        
throughout the whole of the succeeding  
argument4  ,association is of two kinds4
 ,rational and accidental4 ,by rational 
association ,i understand the interest  
which any object may bear historically  
as having been in some way connected    
with the affairs or affections of men2  
an interest shared in the minds of all  
who are aware of such connection3 which 
to call beauty is mere and gross        
confusion of terms1 it is no theory to  
be confuted1 but a misuse of language to
 be set aside1 a misuse involving the   
positions that in uninhabited countries 
the vegetation has no grace1 the rock no
 dignity1 the cloud no color1 and that  
the snowy summits of the ,alps receive  
no loveliness from the sunset light1    

because they have not been polluted by  
the wrath1 ravage1 and misery of men4   
,sec4 #i4 ,association accidental4 ,the 
extent of its influence4  ,by accidental
 association1 ,i understand the         
accidental connection of ideas and      
memories with material things1 owing to 
which those material things are regarded
 as agreeable or otherwise1 according to
 the nature of the feelings or          
recollections they summon2 the          
association being commonly involuntary  
and oftentimes so vague as that no      
distinct image is suggested by the      
object1 but we feel a painfulness in it 
or pleasure from it1 without knowing    
wherefore4 ,of this operation of the    
mind 7which is that of which ,i spoke as
 causing inextricable embarrassments on 
the subject of beauty7 the experience is
 constant1 so that its more energetic   
manifestations require no illustration4 
,but ,i do not think that the minor     
degrees and shades of this great        
influence have been sufficiently        

appreciated4 ,not only all vivid        
emotions and all circumstances of       
exciting interest leave their light and 
shadow on the senseless things and      
instruments among which or through whose
 agency they have been felt or learned1 
but ,i believe that the eye cannot rest 
on a material form1 in a moment of      
depression or exultation1 without       
communicating to that form a spirit and 
a life1 a life which will make it       
afterwards in some degree loved or      
feared1 a charm or a painfulness for    
which we shall be unable to account even
 to ourselves1 which will not indeed be 
perceptible1 except by its delicate     
influence on our judgment in cases of   
complicated beauty4 ,let the eye but    
rest on a rough piece of branch of      
curious form during a conversation with 
a friend1 rest1 however1 unconsciously1 
and though the conversation be          
forgotten1 though every circumstance    
connected with it be as utterly lost to 
the memory as though it had not been1   

yet the eye will1 through the whole life
 after1 take a certain pleasure in such 
boughs which it had not before1 a       
pleasure so slight1 a trace of feeling  
so delicate as to leave us utterly      
unconscious of its peculiar power1 but  
undestroyable by any reasoning1 a part1 
thenceforward1 of our constitution1     
destroyable only by the same arbitrary  
process of association by which it was  
created4 ,reason has no effect upon it  
whatsoever4 ,and there is probably no   
one opinion which is formed by any of   
us1 in matters of taste1 which is not in
 some degree influenced by unconscious  
association of this kind4 ,in many who  
have no definite rules of judgment1     
preference is decided by little else1   
and thus1 unfortunately1 its operations 
are mistaken for1 or rather substituted 
for1 those of inherent beauty1 and its  
real position and value in the moral    
system is in a great measure overlooked4
   ,sec4 #aj4 ,the dignity of its       
function4  ,for ,i believe that mere    

pleasure and pain have less associative 
power than duty performed or omitted1   
and that the great use of the           
associative faculty is not to add beauty
 to material things1 but to add force to
 the conscience4 ,but for this external 
and all-powerful witness1 the voice of  
the inward guide might be lost in each  
particular instance1 almost as soon as  
disobeyed2 the echo of it in after time1
 whereby1 though perhaps feeble as      
warning1 it becomes powerful as         
punishment1 might be silenced1 and the  
strength of the protection pass away in 
the lightness of the lash4 ,therefore it
 has received the power of enlisting    
external and unmeaning things in its    
aid1 and transmitting to all that is    
indifferent1 its own authority to       
reprove or reward1 so that1 as we travel
 the way of life1 we have the choice1   
according to our working1 of turning all
 the voices of nature into one song of  
rejoicing1 and all her lifeless         
creatures into a glad company1 whereof  

the meanest shall be beautiful in our   
eyes1 by its kind message1 or of        
withering and quenching her sympathy    
into a fearful1 withdrawn1 silence of   
condemnation1 or into a crying out of   
her stones1 and a shaking of her dust   
against us4 ,nor is it any marvel that  
the theoretic faculty should be         
overpowered by this momentous operation1
 and the indifferent appeals and        
inherent glories of external things in  
the end overlooked1 when the perfection 
of ,god's works is felt only as the     
sweetness of his promises1 and their    
admirableness only as the threatenings  
of his power4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,how it is   
connected with impressions of beauty4   
,but it is evident that the full        
exercise of this noble function of the  
associative faculty is inconsistent with
 absolute and incontrovertible          
conclusions on subjects of theoretic    
preference4 ,for it is quite impossible 
for any individual to distinguish in    
himself the unconscious underworking of 

indefinite association1 peculiar to him 
individually1 from those great laws of  
choice under which he is comprehended   
with all his race4 ,and it is well for  
us that it is so1 the harmony of ,god's 
good work is not in us interrupted by   
this mingling of universal and peculiar 
principles2 for by these such difference
 is secured in the feelings as shall    
make fellowship itself more delightful1 
by its inter-communicate character1 and 
such variety of feeling also in each of 
us separately as shall make us capable  
of enjoying scenes of different kinds   
and orders1 instead of morbidly seeking 
for some perfect epitome of the         
beautiful in one2 and also that         
deadening by custom of theoretic        
impressions to which ,i have above      
alluded1 is counterbalanced by the      
pleasantness of acquired association2   
and the loss of the intense feeling of  
the youth1 which had no need of a       
remoter charm1 by thought supplied1 or  
any interest1 unborrowed from the eye1  

is replaced by the gladness of          
conscience1 and the vigor of the        
reflecting and imaginative faculties1 as
 they take their wide and aged grasp of 
the great relations between the earth   
and its dead people4   ,sec4 #ab4 ,and  
what caution it renders necessary in the
 examination of them4  ,in proportion   
therefore to the value1 constancy1 and  
efficiency of this influence1 we must be
 modest and cautious in the pronouncing 
of positive opinions on the subject of  
beauty4 ,for every one of us has        
peculiar sources of enjoyment           
necessarily opened to him in certain    
scenes and things1 sources which are    
sealed to others1 and we must be wary on
 the one hand1 of confounding these in  
ourselves with ultimate conclusions of  
taste1 and so forcing them upon all as  
authoritative1 and on the other of      
supposing that the enjoyments of others 
which we cannot share are shallow or    
unwarrantable1 because incommunicable4  
,i fear1 for instance1 that in the      

former portion of this work ,i may have 
attributed too much community and       
authority to certain affections of my   
own for scenery inducing emotions of    
wild1 impetuous1 and enthusiastic       
characters1 and too little to those     
which ,i perceive in others for things  
peaceful1 humble1 meditative1 and       
solemn4 ,so also between youth and age  
there will be found differences of      
seeking1 which are not wrong1 nor of    
false choice in either1 but of different
 temperament1 the youth sympathizing    
more with the gladness1 fulness1 and    
magnificence of things1 and the gray    
hairs with their completion1 sufficiency
 and repose4 ,and so1 neither condemning
 the delights of others1 nor altogether 
distrustful of our own1 we must advance1
 as we live on1 from what is brilliant  
to what is pure1 and from what is       
promised to what is fulfilled1 and from 
what is our strength to what is our     
crown1 only observing in all things how 
that which is indeed wrong1 and to be   

cut up from the root1 is dislike1 and   
not affection4 ,for by the very nature  
of these beautiful qualities1 which ,i  
have defined to be the signature of ,god
 upon his works1 it is evident that in  
whatever we altogether dislike1 we see  
not all2 that the keenness of our vision
 is to be tested by the expansiveness of
 our love1 and that as far as the       
influence of association has voice in   
the question1 though it is indeed       
possible that the inevitable painfulness
 of an object1 for which we can render  
no sufficient reason1 may be owing to   
its recalling of a sorrow1 it is more   
probably dependent on its accusation of 
a crime4                                
,,chapter ,v4       ,,of ,,typical      
,,beauty3--,,first1 ,,of ,,infinity1    
,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of ,,divine         
,,incomprehensibility4   ,sec4 #a4      
,impossibility of adequately treating   
the subject4  ,the subject being now in 
some measure cleared of embarrassment1  
let us briefly distinguish those        

qualities or types on whose combination 
is dependent the power of mere material 
loveliness4 ,i pretend neither to       
enumerate nor perceive them all1 for it 
may be generally observed that whatever 
good there may be1 desirable by man1    
more especially good belonging to his   
moral nature1 there will be a           
corresponding agreeableness in whatever 
external object reminds him of such     
good1 whether it remind him by arbitrary
 association or by typical resemblance1 
and that the infinite ways1 whether by  
reason or experience discoverable1 by   
which matter in some sort may remind us 
of moral perfections1 are hardly within 
any reasonable limits to be explained1  
if even by any single mind they might   
all be traced4 ,yet certain palpable and
 powerful modes there are1 by observing 
which1 we may come at such general      
conclusions on the subject as may be    
practically useful1 and more than these 
,i shall not attempt to obtain4   ,sec4 
#b4 ,with what simplicity of feeling to 

be approached4  ,and first1 ,i would ask
 of the reader to enter upon the subject
 with me1 as far as may be1 as a little 
child1 ridding himself of all           
conventional and authoritative thoughts1
 and especially of such associations as 
arise from his respect for ,pagan art1  
or which are in any way traceable to    
classical readings4 ,i recollect that   
,mr4 ,alison traces his first           
perceptions of beauty in external nature
 to this most corrupt source1 thus      
betraying so total and singular a want  
of natural sensibility as may well      
excuse the deficiencies of his following
 arguments4 ,for there was never yet the
 child of any promise 7so far as the    
theoretic faculties are concerned7 but  
awaked to the sense of beauty with the  
first gleam of reason2 and ,i suppose   
there are few1 among those who love     
nature otherwise than by profession and 
at second-hand1 who look not back to    
their youngest and least-learned days as
 those of the most intense1             

superstitious1 insatiable1 and beatific 
perception of her splendors4 ,and the   
bitter decline of this glorious feeling1
 though many note it not1 partly owing  
to the cares and weight of manhood1     
which leave them not the time nor the   
liberty to look for their lost treasure1
 and partly to the human and divine     
affections which are appointed to take  
its place1 yet has formed the subject   
not indeed of lamentation1 but of holy  
thankfulness for the witness it bears to
 the immortal origin and end of our     
nature1 to one whose authority is almost
 without appeal in all questions        
relating to the influence of external   
things upon the pure human soul4        
,heaven lies about us in our infancy1-- 
,shades of the prison-house begin to    
close                ,upon the growing  
boy4                ,but he beholds the 
light1 and whence it flows              
,he sees it in his joy4                 
,the youth1 who daily farther from the  
east                ,must travel1 still 

is nature's priest1                ,and 
by the vision splendid                  
,is on his way attended4                
,at length the ,man perceives it die    
away                ,and fade into the  
light of common day4  ,and if it were   
possible for us to recollect all the    
unaccountable and happy instincts of the
 careless time1 and to reason upon them 
with the maturer judgment1 we might     
arrive at more rapid and right results  
than either the philosophy or the       
sophisticated practice of art have yet  
attained4 ,but we lose the perceptions  
before we are capable of methodizing or 
comparing them4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the child  
instinct respecting space4  ,sec4 #d4   
,continued in after life4  ,one1        
however1 of these child instincts1 ,i   
believe that few forget2 the emotion1   
namely1 caused by all open ground1 or   
lines of any spacious kind against the  
sky1 behind which there might be        
conceived the sea4 ,it is an emotion    
more pure than that caused by the sea   

itself1 for ,i recollect distinctly     
running down behind the banks of a high 
beach to get their land line cutting    
against the sky1 and receiving a more   
strange delight from this than from the 
sight of the ocean3 ,i am not sure that 
this feeling is common to all children1 
7or would be common if they were all in 
circumstances admitting it71 but ,i have
 ascertained it to be frequent among    
those who possess the most vivid        
sensibilities for nature2 and ,i am     
certain that the modification of it1    
which belongs to our after years1 is    
common to all1 the love1 namely1 of a   
light distance appearing over a         
comparatively dark horizon4 ,this ,i    
have tested too frequently to be        
mistaken1 by offering to indifferent    
spectators forms of equal abstract      
beauty in half tint1 relieved1 the one  
against dark sky1 the other against a   
bright distance4 ,the preference is     
invariably given to the latter1 and it  
is very certain that this preference    

arises not from any supposition of there
 being greater truth in this than the   
other1 for the same preference is       
unhesitatingly accorded to the same     
effect in nature herself4 ,whatever     
beauty there may result from effects of 
light on foreground objects1 from the   
dew of the grass1 the flash of the      
cascade1 the glitter of the birch trunk1
 or the fair daylight hues of darker    
things1 7and joyfulness there is in all 
of them71 there is yet a light which the
 eye invariably seeks with a deeper     
feeling of the beautiful1 the light of  
the declining or breaking day1 and the  
flakes of scarlet cloud burning like    
watch-fires in the green sky of the     
horizon2 a deeper feeling1 ,i say1 not  
perhaps more acute1 but having more of  
spiritual hope and longing1 less of     
animal and present life1 more manifest1 
invariably1 in those of more serious and
 determined mind1 7,i use the word      
serious1 not as being opposed to        
cheerful1 but to trivial and volatile27 

but1 ,i think1 marked and unfailing even
 in those of the least thoughtful       
dispositions4 ,i am willing to let it   
rest on the determination of every      
reader1 whether the pleasure which he   
has received from these effects of calm 
and luminous distance be not the most   
singular and memorable of which he has  
been conscious1 whether all that is     
dazzling in color1 perfect in form1     
gladdening in expression1 be not of     
evanescent and shallow appealing1 when  
compared with the still small voice of  
the level twilight behind purple hills1 
or the scarlet arch of dawn over the    
dark1 troublous-edged sea4   ,sec4 #e4  
,whereto this instinct is traceable4    
,let us try to discover that which      
effects of this kind possess or suggest1
 peculiar to themselves1 and which other
 effects of light and color possess not4
 ,there must be something in them of a  
peculiar character1 and that1 whatever  
it be1 must be one of the primal and    
most earnest motives of beauty to human 

sensation4  ,do they show finer         
characters of form than can be developed
 by the broader daylight8 ,not so2 for  
their power is almost independent of the
 forms they assume or display2 it       
matters little whether the bright clouds
 be simple or manifold1 whether the     
mountain line be subdued or majestic1   
the fairer forms of earthly things are  
by them subdued and disguised1 the round
 and muscular growth of the forest      
trunks is sunk into skeleton lines of   
quiet shade1 the purple clefts of the   
hill-side are labyrinthed in the        
darkness1 the orbed spring and whirling 
wave of the torrent have given place to 
a white1 ghastly1 interrupted gleaming4 
,have they more perfection or fulness of
 color8 ,not so2 for their effect is    
oftentimes deeper when their hues are   
dim1 than when they are blazoned with   
crimson and pale gold2 and assuredly1 in
 the blue of the rainy sky1 in the many 
tints of morning flowers1 in the        
sunlight on summer foliage and field1   

there are more sources of mere sensual  
color-pleasure than in the single streak
 of wan and dying light4 ,it is not then
 by nobler form1 it is not by           
positiveness of hue1 it is not by       
intensity of light1 7for the sun itself 
at noonday is effectless upon the       
feelings17 that this strange distant    
space possesses its attractive power4   
,but there is one thing that it has1 or 
suggests1 which no other object of sight
 suggests in equal degree1 and that     
is1--,infinity4 ,it is of all visible   
things the least material1 the least    
finite1 the farthest withdrawn from the 
earth prison-house1 the most typical of 
the nature of ,god1 the most suggestive 
of the glory of his dwelling-place4 ,for
 the sky of night1 though we may know it
 boundless1 is dark1 it is a studded    
vault1 a roof that seems to shut us in  
and down1 but the bright distance has no
 limit1 we feel its infinity1 as we     
rejoice in its purity of light4   ,sec4 
#f4 ,infinity how necessary in art4     

,now not only is this expression of     
infinity in distance most precious      
wherever we find it1 however solitary it
 may be1 and however unassisted by other
 forms and kinds of beauty1 but it is of
 that value that no such other forms    
will altogether recompense us for its   
loss2 and much as ,i dread the          
enunciation of anything that may seem   
like a conventional rule1 ,i have no    
hesitation in asserting1 that no work of
 any art1 in which this expression of   
infinity is possible1 can be perfect1 or
 supremely elevated without it1 and that
 in proportion to its presence1 it will 
exalt and render impressive even the    
most tame and trivial themes4 ,and ,i   
think if there be any one grand         
division1 by which it is at all possible
 to set the productions of painting1 so 
far as their mere plan or system is     
concerned1 on our right and left hands1 
it is this of light and dark background1
 of heaven light or of object light4    
,for ,i know not any truly great painter

 of any time1 who manifests not the most
 intense pleasure in the luminous space 
of his backgrounds1 or who ever         
sacrifices this pleasure where the      
nature of his subject admits of its     
attainment1 as on the other hand ,i know
 not that the habitual use of dark      
backgrounds can be shown as having ever 
been co-existent with pure or high      
feeling1 and1 except in the case of     
,rembrandt1 7and then under peculiar    
circumstances only17 with any high power
 of intellect4 ,it is however necessary 
carefully to observe the following      
modifications of this broad principle4  
,sec4 #g4 ,conditions of its necessity4 
,the absolute necessity1 for such indeed
 ,i consider it1 is of no more than such
 a mere luminous distant point as may   
give to the feelings a species of escape
 from all the finite objects about them4
 ,there is a spectral etching of        
,rembrandt1 a presentation of ,christ in
 the temple1 where the figure of a robed
 priest stands glaring by its gems out  

of the gloom1 holding a crosier4 ,behind
 it there is a subdued window light seen
 in the opening between two columns1    
without which the impressiveness of the 
whole subject would1 ,i think1 be       
incalculably brought down4 ,i cannot    
tell whether ,i am at present allowing  
too much weight to my own fancies and   
predilections1 but without so much      
escape into the outer air and open      
heaven as this1 ,i can take permanent   
pleasure in no picture4   ,sec4 #h4 ,and
 connected analogies4  ,and ,i think ,i 
am supported in this feeling by the     
unanimous practice1 if not the confessed
 opinion1 of all artists4 ,the painter  
of portrait is unhappy without his      
conventional white stroke under the     
sleeve1 or beside the arm-chair2 the    
painter of interiors feels like a caged 
bird1 unless he can throw a window open1
 or set the door ajar2 the landscapist  
dares not lose himself in forest without
 a gleam of light under its farthest    
branches1 nor ventures out in rain1     

unless he may somewhere pierce to a     
better promise in the distance1 or cling
 to some closing gap of variable blue   
above2--escape1 hope1 infinity1 by      
whatever conventionalism sought1 the    
desire is the same in all1 the instinct 
constant1 it is no mere point of light  
that is wanted in the etching of        
,rembrandt above instanced1 a gleam of  
armor or fold of temple curtain would   
have been utterly valueless1 neither is 
it liberty1 for though we cut down      
hedges and level hills1 and give what   
waste and plain we choose1 on the right 
hand and the left1 it is all comfortless
 and undesired1 so long as we cleave not
 a way of escape forward2 and however   
narrow and thorny and difficult the     
nearer path1 it matters not1 so only    
that the clouds open for us at its      
close4 ,neither will any amount of      
beauty in nearer form1 make us content  
to stay with it1 so long as we are shut 
down to that alone1 nor is any form so  
cold or so hurtful but that we may look 

upon it with kindness1 so only that it  
rise against the infinite hope of light 
beyond4 ,the reader can follow out the  
analogies of this unassisted4   ,sec4   
#i4 ,how the dignity of treatment is    
proportioned to the expression of       
infinity4  ,but although this narrow    
portal of escape be all that is         
absolutely necessary1 ,i think that the 
dignity of the painting increases with  
the extent and amount of the expression4
 ,with the earlier and mightier painters
 of ,italy1 the practice is commonly to 
leave their distance of pure and open   
sky1 of such simplicity1 that it in     
nowise shall interfere with or draw the 
attention from the interest of the      
figures1 and of such purity1 that       
especially towards the horizon1 it shall
 be in the highest degree expressive of 
the infinite space of heaven4 ,i do not 
mean to say that they did this with any 
occult or metaphysical motives4 ,they   
did it1 ,i think1 with the child-like1  
unpretending simplicity of all earnest  

men2 they did what they loved and felt2 
they sought what the heart naturally    
seeks1 and gave what it most gratefully 
receives2 and ,i look to them as in all 
points of principle 7not1 observe1 of   
knowledge or empirical attainment7 as   
the most irrefragable authorities1      
precisely on account of the child-like  
innocence1 which never deemed itself    
authoritative1 but acted upon desire1   
and not upon dicta1 and sought for      
sympathy1 not for admiration4   ,sec4   
#aj4 ,examples among the ,southern      
schools4  ,and so we find the same      
simple and sweet treatment1 the open    
sky1 the tender1 unpretending1          
horizontal white clouds1 the far winding
 and abundant landscape1 in ,giotto1    
,taddeo ,gaddi1 ,laurati1 ,angelico1    
,benozzo1 ,ghirlandajo1 ,francia1       
,perogino1 and the young ,raffaelle1 the
 first symptom of conventionality       
appearing in ,perugino1 who1 though with
 intense feeling of light and color he  
carried the glory of his luminous       

distance far beyond all his             
predecessors1 began at the same time to 
use a somewhat morbid relief of his     
figures against the upper sky4 ,thus in 
the ,assumption of the ,florentine      
,academy1 in that of l',annunziata2 and 
of the ,gallery of ,bologna1 in all     
which pictures the lower portions are   
incomparably the finest1 owing to the   
light distance behind the heads4        
,raffaelle1 in his fall1 betrayed the   
faith he had received from his father   
and his master1 and substituted for the 
radiant sky of the ,madonna del         
,cardellino1 the chamber-wall of the    
,madonna della ,sediola--and the brown  
wainscot of the ,baldacchino4 ,yet it is
 curious to observe how much of the     
dignity even of his later pictures1     
depends on such portions as the green   
light of the lake1 and sky behind the   
rocks1 in the ,st4 ,john of the tribune1
 and how the repainted distortion of the
 ,madonna dell' ,impannata1 is redeemed 
into something like elevated character1 

merely by the light of the linen window 
from which it takes its name4   ,sec4   
#aa4 ,among the ,venetians4  ,that which
 by the ,florentines was done in pure   
simplicity of heart1 was done by the    
,venetians with intense love of the     
color and splendor of the sky itself1   
even to the frequent sacrificing of     
their subject to the passion of its     
distance4 ,in ,carpaccio1 ,john         
,bellini1 ,giorgione1 ,titian1          
,veronese1 and ,tintoret1 the           
preciousness of the luminous sky1 so far
 as it might be at all consistent with  
their subject1 is nearly constant2      
abandoned altogether in portraiture     
only1 seldom even there1 and never with 
advantage4 ,titian and ,veronese1 who   
had less exalted feeling than the       
others1 affording a few instances of    
exception1 the latter overpowering his  
silvery distances with foreground       
splendor1 the other sometimes           
sacrificing them to a luscious fulness  
of color1 as in the ,flagellation in the

 ,louvre1 by a comparison of which with 
the unequalled majesty of the           
,entombment opposite1 the whole power   
and applicability of the general        
principle may at once be tested4   ,sec4
 #ab4 ,among the painters of landscape4 
,but of the value of this mode of       
treatment there is a farther and more   
convincing proof than its adoption      
either by the innocence of the          
,florentine or the ardor of the         
,venetian1 namely1 that when retained or
 imitated from them by the landscape    
painters of the seventeenth century1    
when appearing in isolation from all    
other good1 among the weaknesses and    
paltrinesses of ,claude1 the mannerisms 
of ,gaspar1 and the caricatures and     
brutalities of ,salvator1 it yet redeems
 and upholds all three1 conquers all    
foulness by its purity1 vindicates all  
folly by its dignity1 and puts an       
uncomprehended power of permanent       
address to the human heart1 upon the    
lips of the senseless and the           

profane4#ac   ,sec4 #ac4 ,other modes in
 which the power of infinity is felt4   
,sec4 #ad4 ,the beauty of curvature4    
,now1 although ,i doubt not that the    
general value of this treatment will be 
acknowledged by all lovers of art1 it is
 not certain that the point to prove    
which ,i have brought it forward1 will  
be as readily conceded1 namely1 the     
inherent power of all representations of
 infinity over the human heart2 for     
there are1 indeed1 countless            
associations of pure and religious kind1
 which combine with each other to       
enhance the impression1 when presented  
in this particular form1 whose power ,i 
neither deny nor am careful to          
distinguish1 seeing that they all tend  
to the same ,divine point1 and have     
reference to heavenly hopes2 delights   
they are in seeing the narrow1 black1   
miserable earth fairly compared with the
 bright firmament1 reachings forward    
unto the things that are before1 and    
joyfulness in the apparent though       

unreachable nearness and promise of     
them4 ,but there are other modes in     
which infinity may be represented1 which
 are confused by no associations of the 
kind1 and which would1 as being in mere 
matter1 appear trivial and mean1 but for
 their incalculable influence on the    
forms of all that we feel to be         
beautiful4 ,the first of these is the   
curvature of lines and surfaces1 wherein
 it at first appears futile to insist   
upon any resemblance or suggestion of   
infinity1 since there is certainly in   
our ordinary contemplation of it1 no    
sensation of the kind4 ,but ,i have     
repeated again and again that the ideas 
of beauty are instinctive1 and that it  
is only upon consideration1 and even    
then in doubtful and disputable way1    
that they appear in their typical       
character2 neither do ,i intend at all  
to insist upon the particular meaning   
which they appear to myself to bear1 but
 merely on their actual and demonstrable
 agreeableness1 so that1 in the present 

case1 while ,i assert positively1 and   
have no fear of being able to prove1    
that a curve of any kind is more        
beautiful than a right line1 ,i leave it
 to the reader to accept or not1 as he  
pleases1 that reason of its             
agreeableness1 which is the only one    
that ,i can at all trace1 namely1 that  
every curve divides itself infinitely by
 its changes of direction4   ,sec4 #ae4 
,how constant in external nature4  ,that
 all forms of acknowledged beauty are   
composed exclusively of curves will1 ,i 
believe1 be at once allowed2 but that   
which there will be need more especially
 to prove1 is the subtilty and constancy
 of curvature in all natural forms      
whatsoever4 ,i believe that1 except in  
crystals1 in certain mountain forms     
admitted for the sake of sublimity or   
contrast1 7as in the slope of debris17  
in rays of light1 in the levels of calm 
water and alluvial land1 and in some few
 organic developments1 there are no     
lines nor surfaces of nature without    

curvature1 though as we before saw in   
clouds1 more especially in their under  
lines towards the horizon1 and in vast  
and extended plains1 right lines are    
often suggested which are not actual4   
,without these we could not be sensible 
of the value of the contrasting curves1 
and while1 therefore1 for the most part1
 the eye is fed in natural forms with a 
grace of curvature which no hand nor    
instrument can follow1 other means are  
provided to give beauty to those        
surfaces which are admitted for         
contrast1 as in water by its reflection 
of the gradations which it possesses not
 itself4 ,in freshly-broken ground1     
which nature has not yet had time to    
model1 in quarries and pits which are   
none of her cutting1 in those           
convulsions and evidences of convulsion1
 of whose influence on ideal landscape  
,i shall presently have occasion to     
speak1 and generally in all ruin and    
disease1 and interference of one order  
of being with another1 7as in the cattle

 line of park trees17 the curves vanish1
 and violently opposed or broken and    
unmeaning lines take their place4       
,sec4 #af4 ,the beauty of gradation4    
,what curvature is to lines1 gradation  
is to shades and colors4 ,it is there   
infinity1 and divides them into an      
infinite number of degrees4 ,absolutely1
 without gradation no natural surface   
can possibly be1 except under           
circumstances of so rare conjunction as 
to amount to a lusus naturae2 for we    
have seen that few surfaces are without 
curvature1 and every curved surface must
 be gradated by the nature of light1    
which is most intense when it impinges  
at the highest angle1 and for the       
gradation of the few plane surfaces that
 exist1 means are provided in local     
color1 aerial perspective1 reflected    
lights1 etc41 from which it is but      
barely conceivable that they should ever
 escape4 ,hence for instances of the    
complete absence of gradation we must   
look to man's work1 or to his disease   

and decrepitude4 ,compare the gradated  
colors of the rainbow with the stripes  
of a target1 and the gradual            
concentration of the youthful blood in  
the cheek with an abrupt patch of rouge1
 or with the sharply drawn veining of   
old age4   ,sec4 #ag4 ,how found in     
,nature4  ,gradation is so inseparable a
 quality of all natural shade and color 
that the eye refuses in art to          
understand anything as either1 which    
appears without it1 while on the other  
hand nearly all the gradations of nature
 are so subtile and between degrees of  
tint so slightly separated1 that no     
human hand can in any wise equal1 or do 
anything more than suggest the idea of  
them4 ,in proportion to the space over  
which gradation extends1 and to its     
invisible subtilty1 is its grandeur1 and
 in proportion to its narrow limits and 
violent degrees1 its vulgarity4 ,in     
,correggio1 it is morbid and vulgar in  
spite of its refinement of execution1   
because the eye is drawn to it1 and it  

is made the most observable and         
characteristic part of the picture2     
whereas natural gradation is forever    
escaping observation to that degree that
 the greater part of artists in working 
from nature see it not1 7except in      
certain of its marked developments17 but
 either lay down such continuous lines  
and colors1 as are both disagreeable and
 impossible1 or1 receiving the necessity
 of gradation as a principle instead of 
a fact1 use it in violently exaggerated 
measure1 and so lose both the dignity of
 their own work1 and by the constant    
dwelling of their eyes upon             
exaggerations1 their sensibility to that
 of the natural forms4 ,so that we find 
the majority of painters divided between
 the two evil extremes of insufficiency 
and affectation1 and only a few of the  
greatest men capable of making gradation
 constant and yet extended over enormous
 spaces and within degrees of narrow    
difference1 as in the body of a high    
light4   ,sec4 #ah4 ,how necessary in   

,art4  ,from the necessity of gradation 
results what is commonly given as a rule
 of art1 though its authority as a rule 
obtains only from its being a fact of   
nature1 that the extremes of high light 
and pure color1 can exist only in       
points4 ,the common rules respecting    
sixths and eighths1 held concerning     
light and shade1 are entirely absurd and
 conventional2 according to the subject 
and the effect of light1 the greater    
part of the picture will be or ought to 
be light or dark2 but that principle    
which is not conventional1 is that of   
all light1 however high1 there is some  
part that is higher than the rest1 and  
that of all color1 however pure1 there  
is some part that is purer than the     
rest1 and that generally of all shade1  
however deep1 there is some part deeper 
than the rest1 though this last fact is 
frequently sacrificed in art1 owing to  
the narrowness of its means4 ,but on the
 right gradation or focussing of light  
and color depends in great measure1 the 

value of both4 ,of this1 ,i have spoken 
sufficiently in pointing out the        
singular constancy of it in the works of
 ,turner4 ,part ,,ii4 ,sect4 ,,ii4      
,chap4 ,,ii4 ,sec4 #ag4 ,and it is      
generally to be observed that even raw  
and valueless color1 if rightly and     
subtilely gradated will in some measure 
stand for light1 and that the most      
transparent and perfect hue will be in  
some measure unsatisfactory1 if entirely
 unvaried4 ,i believe the early skies of
 ,raffaelle owe their luminousness more 
to their untraceable and subtile        
gradation than to inherent quality of   
hue4   ,sec4 #ai4 ,infinity not rightly 
implied by vastness4  ,such are the     
expressions of infinity which we find in
 creation1 of which the importance is to
 be estimated1 rather by their frequency
 than their distinctness4 ,let1 however1
 the reader bear constantly in mind that
 ,i insist not on his accepting any     
interpretation of mine1 but only on his 
dwelling so long on those objects1 which

 he perceives to be beautiful1 as to    
determine whether the qualities to which
 ,i trace their beauty1 be necessarily  
there or no4 ,farther expressions of    
infinity there are in the mystery of    
nature1 and in some measure in her      
vastness1 but these are dependent on our
 own imperfections1 and therefore1      
though they produce sublimity1 they are 
unconnected with beauty4 ,for that which
 we foolishly call vastness is1 rightly 
considered1 not more wonderful1 not more
 impressive1 than that which we         
insolently call littleness1 and the     
infinity of ,god is not mysterious1 it  
is only unfathomable1 not concealed1 but
 incomprehensible3 it is a clear        
infinity1 the darkness of the pure      
unsearchable sea4   ,,footnotes    #ac  
,in one of the smaller rooms of the     
,pitti palace1 over the door1     is a  
temptation of ,st4 ,anthony1 by         
,salvator1 wherein such power as     the
 artist possessed is fully manifested1  
with little1     comparatively1 that is 

offensive4 ,it is a vigorous and ghastly
     thought1 in that kind of horror    
which is dependent on scenic effect1    
perhaps unrivalled1 and ,i shall have   
occasion to refer to it again     in    
speaking of the powers of imagination4  
,i allude to it here1     because the   
sky of the distance affords a remarkable
 instance of the     power of light at  
present under discussion4 ,it is formed 
of flakes     of black cloud1 with rents
 and openings of intense and lurid      
green1     and at least half of the     
impressiveness of the picture depends on
     these openings4 ,close them1 make  
the sky one mass of gloom1 and the      
spectre will be awful no longer4 ,it    
owes to the light of the     distance   
both its size and its spirituality4 ,the
 time would fail me     if ,i were to   
name the tenth part of the pictures     
which occur to me1     whose vulgarity  
is redeemed by this circumstance alone1 
and yet let     not the artist trust to 
such morbid and conventional use of it  

as     may be seen in the common blue   
and yellow effectism of the present     
day4 ,of the value of moderation and    
simplicity in the use of this1     as of
 all other sources of pleasurable       
emotion1 ,i shall presently     have    
occasion to speak farther4              
,,chapter ,,vi4               ,,of      
,,unity1 ,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of ,,the   
,,divine ,,comprehensiveness4   ,sec4   
#a4 ,the general conception of divine   
,unity4  ,all things1 says ,hooker1     
7,god only excepted17 besides the nature
 which they have in themselves1 receive 
externally some perfection from other   
things4 ,hence the appearance of        
separation or isolation in anything1 and
 of self-dependence1 is an appearance of
 imperfection3 and all appearances of   
connection and brotherhood are pleasant 
and right1 both as significative of     
perfection in the things united1 and as 
typical of that ,unity which we         
attribute to ,god1 and of which our true
 conception is rightly explained and    

limited by ,dr4 ,brown in his ,,xcii4   
lecture2 that ,unity which consists not 
in his own singleness or separation1 but
 in the necessity of his inherence in   
all things that be1 without which no    
creature of any kind could hold         
existence for a moment4 ,which necessity
 of ,divine essence ,i think it better  
to speak of as comprehensiveness1 than  
as unity1 because unity is often        
understood in the sense of oneness or   
singleness1 instead of universality1    
whereas the only ,unity which by any    
means can become grateful or an object  
of hope to men1 and whose types         
therefore in material things can be     
beautiful1 is that on which turned the  
last words and prayer of ,christ before 
his crossing of the ,kidron brook4      
,neither pray ,i for these alone1 but   
for them also which shall believe on me 
through their word4 ,that they all may  
be one1 as thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and
 ,i in thee4   ,sec4 #b4 ,the glory of  
all things is their ,unity4  ,and so    

there is not any matter1 nor any spirit1
 nor any creature1 but it is capable of 
an unity of some kind with other        
creatures1 and in that unity is its     
perfection and theirs1 and a pleasure   
also for the beholding of all other     
creatures that can behold4 ,so the unity
 of spirits is partly in their sympathy1
 and partly in their giving and taking1 
and always in their love2 and these are 
their delight and their strength1 for   
their strength is in their co-working   
and army fellowship1 and their delight  
is in the giving and receiving of       
alternate and perpetual currents of     
good1 their inseparable dependency on   
each other's being1 and their essential 
and perfect depending on their          
,creator's3 and so the unity of earthly 
creatures is their power and their      
peace1 not like the dead and cold peace 
of undisturbed stones and solitary      
mountains1 but the living peace of      
trust1 and the living power of support1 
of hands that hold each other and are   

still3 and so the unity of matter is1 in
 its noblest form1 the organization of  
it which builds it up into temples for  
the spirit1 and in its lower form1 the  
sweet and strange affinity1 which gives 
to it the glory of its orderly elements1
 and the fair variety of change and     
assimilation that turns the dust into   
the crystal1 and separates the waters   
that be above the firmament from the    
waters that be beneath1 and in its      
lowest form2 it is the working and      
walking and clinging together that gives
 their power to the winds1 and its      
syllables and soundings to the air1 and 
their weight to the waves1 and their    
burning to the sunbeams1 and their      
stability to the mountains1 and to every
 creature whatsoever operation is for   
its glory and for others good4  ,now of 
that which is thus necessary to the     
perfection of all things1 all           
appearance1 sign1 type1 or suggestion   
must be beautiful1 in whatever matter it
 may appear4 ,and so to the perfection  

of beauty in lines1 or colors1 or forms1
 or masses1 or multitudes1 the          
appearance of some species of unity is  
in the most determined sense of the word
 essential4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the several    
kinds of unity4 ,subjectional4          
,original4 ,of sequence1        and of  
membership4  ,but of the appearances of 
unity1 as of unity itself1 there are    
several kinds which it will be found    
hereafter convenient to consider        
separately4 ,thus there is the unity of 
different and separate things1 subjected
 to one and the same influence1 which   
may be called subjectional unity1 and   
this is the unity of the clouds1 as they
 are driven by the parallel winds1 or as
 they are ordered by the electric       
currents1 and this the unity of the sea 
waves1 and this of the bending and      
undulation of the forest masses1 and in 
creatures capable of will it is the     
unity of will or of inspiration4 ,and   
there is unity of origin1 which we may  
call original unity1 which is of things 

arising from one spring and source1 and 
speaking always of this their           
brotherhood1 and this in matter is the  
unity of the branches of the trees1 and 
of the petals and starry rays of        
flowers1 and of the beams of light1 and 
in spiritual creatures it is their      
filial relation to ,him from whom they  
have their being4 ,and there is unity of
 sequence1 which is that of things that 
form links in chains1 and steps in      
ascent1 and stages in journeys1 and     
this1 in matter1 is the unity of        
communicable forces in their continuance
 from one thing to another1 and it is   
the passing upwards and downwards of    
beneficent effects among all things1 and
 it is the melody of sounds1 and the    
beauty of continuous lines1 and the     
orderly succession of motions and times4
 ,and in spiritual creatures it is their
 own constant building up by true       
knowledge and continuous reasoning to   
higher perfection1 and the singleness   
and straight-forwardness of their       

tendencies to more complete communion   
with ,god4 ,and there is the unity of   
membership1 which we may call essential 
unity1 which is the unity of things     
separately imperfect into a perfect     
whole1 and this is the great unity of   
which other unities are but parts and   
means1 it is in matter the harmony of   
sounds and consistency of bodies1 and   
among spiritual creatures1 their love   
and happiness and very life in ,god4    
,sec4 #d4 ,unity of membership4 ,how    
secured4  ,now of the nature of this    
last kind of unity1 the most important  
whether in moral or in those material   
things with which we are at present     
concerned1 there is this necessary to be
 observed1 that it cannot exist between 
things similar to each other4 ,two or   
more equal and like things cannot be    
members one of another1 nor can they    
form one1 or a whole thing4 ,two they   
must remain1 both in nature and in our  
conception1 so long as they remain      
alike1 unless they are united by a third

 different from both4 ,thus the arms1   
which are like each other1 remain two   
arms in our conception4 ,they could not 
be united by a third arm1 they must be  
united by something which is not an arm1
 and which1 imperfect without them as   
they without it1 shall form one perfect 
body2 nor is unity even thus            
accomplished1 without a difference and  
opposition of direction in the setting  
on of the like members4 ,therefore among
 all things which are to have unity of  
membership one with another1 there must 
be difference or variety2 and though it 
is possible that many like things may be
 made members of one body1 yet it is    
remarkable that this structure appears  
characteristic of the lower creatures1  
rather than the higher1 as the many legs
 of the caterpillar1 and the many arms  
and suckers of the radiata1 and that1 as
 we rise in order of being1 the number  
of similar members becomes less1 and    
their structure commonly seems based on 
the principle of the unity of two things

 by a third1 as ,plato has it in the    
,timaeus1 ,sec4 ,,ii4   ,sec4 #e4       
,variety4 ,why required4  ,hence1 out of
 the necessity of unity1 arises that of 
variety1 a necessity often more vividly1
 though never so deeply felt1 because   
lying at the surfaces of things1 and    
assisted by an influential principle of 
our nature1 the love of change1 and the 
power of contrast4 ,but it is a mistake 
which has led to many unfortunate       
results1 in matters respecting art1 to  
insist on any inherent agreeableness of 
variety1 without reference to a farther 
end4 ,for it is not even true that      
variety as such1 and in its highest     
degree1 is beautiful4 ,a patched garment
 of many colors is by no means so       
agreeable as one of a single and        
continuous hue2 the splendid colors of  
many birds are eminently painful from   
their violent separation and inordinate 
variety1 while the pure and colorless   
swan is1 under certain circumstances1   
the most beautiful of all feathered     

creatures4#ad ,a forest of all manner of
 trees is poor1 if not disagreeable in  
effect1#ae a mass of one species of tree
 is sublime4 ,it is therefore only      
harmonious and chordal variety1 that    
variety which is necessary to secure and
 extend unity1 7for the greater the     
number of objects1 which by their       
differences become members of one       
another1 the more extended and sublime  
is their unity17 which is rightly       
agreeable1 and so ,i name not variety as
 essential to beauty1 because it is only
 so in a secondary and casual sense4#af 
,sec4 #f4 ,change1 and its influence on 
beauty4  ,sec4 #g4 ,the love of change4 
,how morbid and evil4  ,of the love of  
change as a principle of human nature1  
and the pleasantness of variety         
resulting from it1 something has already
 been said1 7,ch4 ,,iv4 ,sec4 #d17 only 
as there ,i was opposing the idea that  
our being familiar with objects was the 
cause of our delight in them1 so here1  
,i have to oppose the contrary position1

 that their strangeness is the cause of 
it4 ,for neither familiarity nor        
strangeness have more operation on1 or  
connection with1 impressions of one     
sense than of another1 and they have    
less power over the impressions of sense
 generally1 than over the intellect in  
its joyful accepting of fresh knowledge1
 and dull contemplation of that it has  
long possessed4 ,only in their operation
 on the senses they act contrarily at   
different times1 as for instance the    
newness of a dress or of some kind of   
unaccustomed food may make it for a time
 delightful1 but as the novelty passes  
away1 so also may the delight1 yielding 
to disgust or indifference1 which in    
their turn1 as custom begins to operate1
 may pass into affection and craving1   
and that which was first a luxury1 and  
then a matter of indifference1 becomes a
 necessity3#ag whereas in subjects of   
the intellect1 the chief delight they   
convey is dependent upon their being    
newly and vividly comprehended1 and as  

they become subjects of contemplation   
they lose their value1 and become       
tasteless and unregarded1 except as     
instruments for the reaching of others1 
only that though they sink down into the
 shadowy1 effectless1 heap of things    
indifferent1 which we pack1 and crush   
down1 and stand upon1 to reach things   
new1 they sparkle afresh at intervals as
 we stir them by throwing a new stone   
into the heap1 and letting the newly    
admitted lights play upon them4 ,and    
both in subjects of the intellect and   
the senses it is to be remembered1 that 
the love of change is a weakness and    
imperfection of our nature1 and implies 
in it the state of probation1 and that  
it is to teach us that things about us  
here are not meant for our continual    
possession or satisfaction1 that ever   
such passion of change was put in us as 
that custom lies upon us with a weight1 
heavy as frost1 and deep almost as life1
 and only such weak back and baby grasp 
given to our intellect as that the best 

things we do are painful1 and the       
exercise of them grievous1 being        
continued without intermission1 so as in
 those very actions whereby we are      
especially perfected in this life we are
 not able to persist4 ,and so it will be
 found that they are the weakest-minded 
and the hardest-hearted men that most   
love variety and change1 for the        
weakest-minded are those who both wonder
 most at things new1 and digest worst   
things old1 in so far that everything   
they have lies rusty1 and loses lustre  
for want of use2 neither do they make   
any stir among their possessions1 nor   
look over them to see what may be made  
of them1 nor keep any great store1 nor  
are householders with storehouses of    
things new and old1 but they catch at   
the new-fashioned garments1 and let the 
moth and thief look after the rest2 and 
the hardest-hearted men are those that  
least feel the endearing and binding    
power of custom1 and hold on by no cords
 of affection to any shore1 but drive   

with the waves that cast up mire and    
dirt4 ,and certainly it is not to be    
held that the perception of beauty and  
desire of it1 are greatest in the       
hardest heart and weakest brain2 but the
 love of variety is so1 and therefore   
variety can be no cause of the          
beautiful1 except1 as ,i have said1 when
 it is necessary for the perception of  
unity1 neither is there any better test 
of that which is indeed beautiful than  
its surviving or annihilating the love  
of change2 and this is a test which the 
best judges of art have need frequently 
to use2 and the wisest of them will use 
it always1 for there is much in art that
 surprises by its brilliancy1 or        
attracts by its singularity1 that can   
hardly but by course of time1 though    
assuredly it will by course of time1 be 
winnowed away from the right and real   
beauty whose retentive power is forever 
on the increase1 a bread of the soul for
 which the hunger is continual4   ,sec4 
#h4 ,the conducting of variety towards  

unity of subjection4  ,receiving1       
therefore1 variety only as that which   
accomplishes unity1 or makes it         
perceived1 its operation is found to be 
very precious1 both in that which ,i    
have called unity of subjection1 and    
unity of sequence1 as well as in unity  
of membership2 for although things in   
all respects the same may1 indeed1 be   
subjected to one influence1 yet the     
power of the influence1 and their       
obedience to it1 is best seen by varied 
operation of it on their individual     
differences1 as in clouds and waves     
there is a glorious unity of rolling1   
wrought out by the wild and wonderful   
differences of their absolute forms1    
which1 if taken away1 would leave in    
them only multitudinous and petty       
repetition1 instead of the majestic     
oneness of shared passion4 ,and so in   
the waves and clouds of human multitude 
when they are filled with one thought1  
as we find frequently in the works of   
the early ,italian men of earnest       

purpose1 who despising1 or happily      
ignorant of1 the sophistications of     
theories1 and the proprieties of        
composition1 indicated by perfect       
similarity of action and gesture on the 
one hand1 and by the infinite and       
truthful variation of expression on the 
other1 the most sublime strength because
 the most absorbing unity1 of           
multitudinous passion that ever human   
heart conceived4 ,hence1 in the cloister
 of ,st4 ,mark's1 the intense1 fixed1   
statue-like silence of ineffable        
adoration upon the spirits in prison at 
the feet of ,christ1 side by side1 the  
hands lifted1 and the knees bowed1 and  
the lips trembling together2#ah and in  
,st4 ,domenico of ,fiesole1#ai that     
whirlwind rush of the ,angels and the   
redeemed souls round about him at his   
resurrection1 so that we hear the blast 
of the horizontal trumpets mixed with   
the dying clangor of their ingathered   
wings4 ,the same great feeling occurs   
throughout the works of the serious men1

 though most intensely in ,angelico1 and
 it is well to compare with it the      
vileness and falseness of all that      
succeeded1 when men had begun to bring  
to the cross foot their systems instead 
of their sorrow4 ,take as the most      
marked and degraded instance1 perhaps1  
to be anywhere found1 ,bronzino's       
treatment of the same subject 7,christ  
visiting the spirits in prison17 in the 
picture now in the ,tuscan room of the  
,uffizii1 which1 vile as it is in color1
 vacant in invention1 void in light and 
shade1 a heap of cumbrous nothingnesses1
 and sickening offensivenesses1 is of   
all its voids most void in this1 that   
the academy models therein huddled      
together at the bottom1 show not so much
 unity or community of attention to the 
academy model with the flag in its hand 
above1 as a street crowd would be to a  
fresh-staged charlatan4 ,some point to  
the ,god who has burst the gates of     
death1 as if the rest were incapable of 
distinguishing him for themselves1 and  

others turn their backs upon him1 to    
show their unagitated faces to the      
spectator4   ,sec4 #i4 ,and towards     
unity of sequence4  ,in unity of        
sequence1 the effect of variety is best 
exemplified by the melodies of music1   
wherein by the differences of the notes1
 they are connected with each other in  
certain pleasant relations4 ,this       
connection taking place in quantities is
 proportion1 respecting which certain   
general principles must be noted1 as the
 subject is one open to many errors1 and
 obscurely treated of by writers on art4
   ,sec4 #aj4 ,the nature of proportion4
 #ast1 of apparent proportion4          
,proportion is of two distinct kinds4   
,apparent3 when it takes place between  
qualities for the sake of connection    
only1 without any ultimate object or    
casual necessity2 and constructive3 when
 it has reference to some function to be
 discharged by the quantities1 depending
 on their proportion4 ,from the         
confusion of these two kinds of         

proportion have arisen the greater part 
of the erroneous conceptions of the     
influence of either4  ,apparent         
proportion1 or the sensible relation of 
quantities1 is one of the most important
 means of obtaining unity between things
 which otherwise must have remained     
distinct in similarity1 and as it may   
consist with every other kind of unity1 
and persist when every other means of it
 fails1 it may be considered as lying at
 the root of most of our impressions of 
the beautiful4 ,there is no sense of    
rightness1 or wrongness connected with  
it1 no sense of utility1 propriety1 or  
expediency4 ,these ideas enter only     
where the proportion of quantities has  
reference to some function to be        
performed by them4 ,it cannot be        
asserted that it is right or that it is 
wrong that ,a should be to ,b1 as ,b to 
,c2 unless ,a1 ,b1 and ,c have some     
desirable operation dependent on that   
relation4 ,but nevertheless it may be   
highly agreeable to the eye that ,a1 ,b1

 and ,c1 if visible things1 should have 
visible connection of ratio1 even though
 nothing be accomplished by such        
connection4 ,on the other hand1         
constructive proportion1 or the         
adaptation of quantities to functions1  
is agreeable not to the eye1 but to the 
mind1 which is cognizant of the function
 to be performed4 ,thus the pleasantness
 or rightness of the proportions of a   
column depends not on the mere relation 
of diameter and height1 7which is not   
proportion at all1 for proportion is    
between three terms at least17 but on   
three other involved terms1 the strength
 of materials1 the weight to be borne1  
and the scale of the building4 ,the     
proportions of a wooden column are wrong
 in a stone one1 and of a small building
 wrong in a large one1#bj and this owing
 solely to mechanical considerations1   
which have no more to do with ideas of  
beauty1 than the relation between the   
arms of a lever1 adapted to the raising 
of a given weight2 and yet it is highly 

agreeable to perceive that such         
constructive proportion has been duly   
observed1 as it is agreeable to see that
 anything is fit for its purpose or for 
ours1 and also that it has been the     
result of intelligence in the workman of
 it1 so that we sometimes feel a        
pleasure in apparent non-adaptation1 if 
it be a sign of ingenuity2 as in the    
unnatural and seemingly impossible      
lightness of ,gothic spires and roofs4  
,now1 the errors against which ,i would 
caution the reader in this matter are   
three4 ,the first1 is the overlooking or
 denial of the power of apparent        
proportion1 of which power neither      
,burke nor any other writer whose works 
,i have met with1 take cognizance4 ,the 
second1 is the attribution of beauty to 
the appearances of constructive         
proportion4 ,the third1 the denial with 
,burke of any value or agreeableness in 
constructive proportion4   ,sec4 #aa4   
,the value of apparent proportion in    
curvature4  ,now1 the full proof of the 

influence of apparent proportion1 ,i    
must reserve for illustration by        
diagram2 one or two instances however   
may be given at present for the better  
understanding of its nature4  ,we have  
already asserted that all curves are    
more beautiful than right lines4 ,all   
curves1 however1 are not equally        
beautiful1 and their differences of     
beauty depend on the different          
proportions borne to each other by those
 infinitely small right lines of which  
they may be conceived as composed4      
,when these lines are equal and contain 
equal angles1 there can be no connection
 or unity of sequence in them4 ,the     
resulting curve1 the circle1 is         
therefore the least beautiful of all    
curves4  ,when the lines bear to each   
other some certain proportion2 or when1 
the lines remaining equal1 the angles   
vary2 or when by any means whatsoever1  
and in whatever complicated modes1 such 
differences as shall imply connection   
are established between the infinitely  

small segments1 the resulting curves    
become beautiful4 ,the simplest of the  
beautiful curves are the conic1 and the 
various spirals2 but it is as rash as it
 is difficult to endeavor to trace any  
ground of superiority or inferiority    
among the infinite numbers of the higher
 curves4 ,i believe that almost all are 
beautiful in their own nature1 and that 
their comparative beauty depends on the 
constant quantities involved in their   
equations4 ,of this point ,i shall speak
 hereafter at greater length4   ,sec4   
#ab4 ,how by nature obtained4  ,the     
universal forces of nature1 and the     
individual energies of the matter       
submitted to them1 are so appointed and 
balanced1 that they are continually     
bringing out curves of this kind in all 
visible forms1 and that circular lines  
become nearly impossible under any      
circumstances4 ,the gradual             
acceleration1 for instance1 of velocity1
 in streams that descend from           
hill-sides1 as it gradually increases   

their power of erosion increases in the 
same gradual degree the rate of         
curvature in the descent of the slope1  
until at a certain degree of steepness  
this descent meets1 and is concealed by 
the right line of the detritus4 ,the    
junction of this right line with the    
plain is again modified by the farther  
bounding of the larger blocks1 and by   
the successively diminishing proportion 
of landslips caused by erosion at the   
bottom1 so that the whole line of the   
hill is one of curvature1 first1        
gradually increasing in rapidity to the 
maximum steepness of which the          
particular rock is capable1 and then    
decreasing in a decreasing ratio1 until 
it arrives at the plain level4 ,this    
type of form1 modified of course more or
 less by the original boldness of the   
mountain1 and dependent both on its age1
 its constituent rock1 and the          
circumstances of its exposure1 is yet in
 its general formula applicable to all4 
,so the curves of all things in motion1 

and of all organic forms1 most rudely   
and simply in the shell spirals1 and in 
their most complicated development in   
the muscular lines of the higher        
animals4  ,this influence of apparent   
proportion1 a proportion1 be it         
observed1 which has no reference to     
ultimate ends1 but which is itself1     
seemingly1 the end and object of        
operation in many of the forces of      
nature1 is therefore at the root of all 
our delight in any beautiful form       
whatsoever4 ,for no form can be         
beautiful which is not composed of      
curves whose unity is secured by        
relations of this kind4   ,sec4 #ac4    
,apparent proportion in melodies of     
line4  ,not only however in curvature1  
but in all associations of lines        
whatsoever1 it is desirable that there  
should be reciprocal relation1 and the  
eye is unhappy without perception of it4
 ,it is utterly vain to endeavor to     
reduce this proportion to finite rules1 
for it is as various as musical melody1 

and the laws to which it is subject are 
of the same general kind1 so that the   
determination of right or wrong         
proportion is as much a matter of       
feeling and experience as the           
appreciation of good musical            
composition2 not but that there is a    
science of both1 and principles which   
may not be infringed1 but that within   
these limits the liberty of invention is
 infinite1 and the degrees of excellence
 infinite also1 whence the curious error
 of ,burke in imagining that because he 
could not fix upon some one given       
proportion of lines as better than any  
other1 therefore proportion had no value
 nor influence at all1 which is the same
 as to conclude that there is no such   
thing as melody in music1 because there 
are melodies more than one4   ,sec4 #ad4
 ,error of ,burke in this matter4  ,the 
argument of ,burke on this subject is   
summed up in the following              
words3--,examine the head of a beautiful
 horse1 find what proportion that bears 

to his body and to his limbs1 and what  
relations these have to each other1 and 
when you have settled these proportions1
 as a standard of beauty1 then take a   
dog or cat1 or any other animal1 and    
examine how far the same proportions    
between their heads and their necks1    
between those and the body1 and so on1  
are found to hold2 ,i think we may      
safely say1 that they differ in every   
species1 yet that there are individuals 
found in a great many species1 so       
differing1 that have a very striking    
beauty4 ,now if it be allowed that very 
different1 and even contrary forms and  
dispositions1 are consistent with       
beauty1 it amounts1 ,i believe1 to a    
concession1 that no certain measures    
operating from a natural principle are  
necessary to produce it1 at least so far
 as the brute species is concerned4  ,in
 this argument there are three very     
palpable fallacies3 the first is the    
rough application of measurement to the 
heads1 necks1 and limbs1 without        

observing the subtile differences of    
proportion and position of parts in the 
members themselves1 for it would be     
strange if the different adjustment of  
the ears and brow in the dog and horse1 
did not require a harmonizing difference
 of adjustment in the head and neck4    
,the second fallacy is that above       
specified1 the supposition that         
proportion cannot be beautiful if       
susceptible of variation1 whereas the   
whole meaning of the term has reference 
to the adjustment and functional        
correspondence of infinitely variable   
quantities4 ,and the third error is the 
oversight of the very important fact1   
that1 although different and even       
contrary forms and dispositions are     
consistent with beauty1 they are by no  
means consistent with equal degrees of  
beauty1 so that1 while we find in all   
the presence of such proportion and     
harmony of form1 as gifts them with     
positive agreeableness consistent with  
the station and dignity of each1 we     

perceive1 also1 such superiority of     
proportion in some 7as the horse1 eagle1
 lion1 and man for instance7 as may best
 be in harmony with the nobler functions
 and more exalted powers of the animals4
   ,sec4 #ae4 ,constructive proportion4 
,its influence in plants4  ,and this    
allowed superiority of some animal forms
 to others is1 in itself argument       
against the second error above named1   
that of attributing the sensation of    
beauty to the perception of expedient or
 constructive proportion4 ,for          
everything that ,god has made is equally
 well constructed with reference to its 
intended functions4 ,but all things are 
not equally beautiful4 ,the megatherium 
is absolutely as well proportioned1 with
 the view of adaptation of parts to     
purposes1 as the horse or the swan2 but 
by no means so handsome as either4 ,the 
fact is1 that the perception of         
expediency of proportion can but rarely 
affect our estimates of beauty1 for it  
implies a knowledge which we very rarely

 and imperfectly possess1 and the want  
of which we tacitly acknowledge4  ,let  
us consider that instance of the        
proportion of the stalk of a plant to   
its head1 given by ,burke4 ,in order to 
judge of the expediency of this         
proportion1 we must know1 ,first1 the   
scale of the plant 7for the smaller the 
scale1 the longer the stem may safely   
be74 ,secondly1 the toughness of the    
materials of the stem and the mode of   
their mechanical structure4 ,thirdly1   
the specific gravity of the head4       
,fourthly1 the position of the head     
which the nature of fructification      
requires4 ,fifthly1 the accidents and   
influences to which the situation for   
which the plant was created is exposed4 
,until we know all this1 we cannot say  
that proportion or disproportion exists1
 and because we cannot know all this1   
the idea of expedient proportion enters 
but slightly into our impression of     
vegetable beauty1 but rather1 since the 
existence of the plant proves that these

 proportions have been observed1 and we 
know that nothing but our own ignorance 
prevents us from perceiving them1 we    
take the proportion on credit1 and are  
delighted by the variety of results     
which the ,divine intelligence has      
attained in the various involutions of  
these quantities1 and perhaps most when1
 to outward appearance1 such proportions
 have been violated2 more by the        
slenderness of the campanula than the   
security of the pine4   ,sec4 #af4 ,and 
animals4  ,what is obscure in plants1 is
 utterly incomprehensible in animals1   
owing to the greater number of means    
employed and functions performed4 ,to   
judge of expedient proportion in them1  
we must know all that each member has to
 do1 all its bones1 all its muscles1 and
 the amount of nervous energy           
communicable to them2 and yet1 forasmuch
 as we have more experience and         
instinctive sense of the strength of    
muscles than of wood1 and more practical
 knowledge of the use of a head or a    

foot than of a flower or a stem1 we are 
much more likely to presume upon our    
judgment respecting proportions here1 we
 are very apt to assert that the        
plesiosaurus and camelopard have necks  
too long1 that the turnspit has legs too
 short1 and the elephant a body too     
ponderous4  ,but the painfulness arising
 from the idea of this being the case is
 occasioned partly by our sympathy with 
the animal1 partly by our false         
apprehension of incompletion in the     
,divine work1#ba nor in either case has 
it any connection with impressions of   
that typical beauty of which we are at  
present speaking2 though some1 perhaps1 
with that vital beauty which will       
hereafter come under discussion4   ,sec4
 #ag4 ,summary4  ,i wish therefore the  
reader to hold1 respecting proportion   
generally4 ,first1 ,that apparent       
proportion1 or the melodious connection 
of quantities1 is a cause of unity1 and 
therefore one of the sources of all     
beautiful form4 ,secondly1 ,that        

constructive proportion is agreeable to 
the mind when it is known or supposed1  
and that its seeming absence is painful 
in a like degree1 but that this pleasure
 and pain have nothing in common with   
those dependent on ideas of beauty4     
,farther illustrations of the value of  
unity ,i shall reserve for our detailed 
examination1 as the bringing them       
forward here would interfere with the   
general idea of the subject-matter of   
the theoretic faculty which ,i wish     
succinctly to convey4   ,,footnotes     
#ad ,compare ,chap4 ix4 ,sec4 #e1 note4 
#ae ,spenser's various forest is the    
,forest of ,error4    #af ,it must be   
matter of no small wonderment to        
practical men to     observe how grossly
 the nature and connection of unity and 
variety     have been misunderstood and 
misstated1 by those writers upon taste1 
who have been guided by no experience of
 art2 most singularly     perhaps by    
,mr4 ,alison1 who1 confounding unity    
with uniformity1 and     leading his    

readers through thirty pages of         
discussion respecting     uniformity and
 variety1 the intelligibility of which  
is not by any     means increased by his
 supposing uniformity to be capable of  
existence in single things2 at last     
substitutes for these two terms1        
sufficiently contradictory already1     
those of similarity and                 
dissimilarity1 the reconciliation of    
which opposites in one thing we         
must1 ,i believe1 leave ,mr4 ,alison to 
accomplish4    #ag ,greek3 ,kai to tauta
 prattein pollakis hedy2--to gar        
synethes     hedy en2 kai to metaballein
 hedy2 eis physin gar gignetai          
metaballein4--,arist4 ,rhet4 ,i4 ,,ii4  
#bj4    #ah ,fra ,angelico's fresco1 in 
a cell of the upper cloister4 ,he       
treated the subject frequently4 ,another
 characteristic example     occurs in   
the ,vita di ,christo of the ,academy1 a
 series now     unfortunately destroyed 
by the picture cleaners4 ,simon ,memmi  
in     ,santa ,maria ,novella 7,chapelle

 des ,espagnols7 has given another very 
beautiful instance4 ,in ,giotto the     
principle is universal1 though his      
multitudes are somewhat more            
dramatically and powerfully varied in   
gesture than ,angelico's4 ,in ,mino da  
,fiesole's altar-piece in the     church
 of ,st4 ,ambrogiot at ,florence1 close 
by ,cosimo ,rosselli's     fresco1 there
 is a beautiful example in marble4      
#ai ,the ,predella of the picture behind
 the altar4    #bj ,it seems never to   
have been rightly understood1 even by   
the     more intelligent among our      
architects1 that proportion is in any   
way     connected with positive size2 it
 seems to be held among them that a     
small building may be expanded to a     
large one merely by     proportionally  
expanding all its parts3 and that the   
harmony will be     equally agreeable on
 whatever scale it be rendered4 ,now    
this is true     of apparent proportion1
 but utterly false of constructive2 and1
 as     much of the value of            

architectural proportion is             
constructive1 the     error is often    
productive of the most painful results4 
,it may be     best illustrated by      
observing the conditions of proportion  
in     animals4 ,many persons have      
thoughtlessly claimed admiration for the
     strength--supposed gigantic--of    
insects and smaller animals2 because    
capable of lifting weights1 leaping     
distances1 and surmounting              
obstacles1 of proportion apparently     
overwhelming4 ,thus the ,formica        
,herculanea will lift in its mouth1 and 
brandish like a baton1 sticks           
thicker than itself and six times its   
length1 all the while     scrambling    
over crags of about the proportionate   
height of the     ,cliffs of ,dover1    
three or four in a minute4 ,there is    
nothing     extraordinary in this1 nor  
any exertion of strength necessarily    
greater than human1 in proportion to the
 size of the body4 ,for it is           
evident that if the size and strength of

 any creature be expanded or            
diminished in proportion to each other1 
the distance through which     it can   
leap1 the time it can maintain exertion1
 or any other third     term resultant1 
remains constant2 that is1 diminish     
weight of powder     and of ball        
proportionately1 and the distance       
carried is constant or     nearly so4   
,thus1 a grasshopper1 a man1 and a giant
 #ajj feet high1     supposing their    
muscular strength equally proportioned  
to their     size1 can or could all     
leap1 not proportionate distance1 but   
the     same or nearly the same         
distance--say1 four feet the            
grasshopper1 or     forty-eight times   
his length2 six feet the man or his     
length     exactly2 ten feet the giant  
or the tenth of his length4 ,hence all  
small animals can1 coeteris paribus1    
perform feats of strength     and       
agility1 exactly so much greater than   
those to be executed by     large ones1 
as the animals themselves are smaller2  

and to enable an     elephant to leap   
like a grasshopper1 he must be endowed  
with     strength a million times       
greater in proportion to his size4 ,now 
the consequence of this general         
mechanical law is1 that as we           
increase the scale of animals1 their    
means of power1 whether muscles     of  
motion or bones of support1 must be     
increased in a more than                
proportionate degree1 or they become    
utterly unwieldy1 and incapable     of  
motion2--and there is a limit to this   
increase of strength4 ,if     the       
elephant had legs as long as a spider's1
 no combination of     animal matter    
that could be hide-bound would have     
strength enough to     move them3 to    
support the megatherium1 we must have a 
humerus a foot     in diameter1 though  
perhaps not more than two feet long1 and
 that in     a vertical position under  
him1 while the gnat can hang on the     
window     frame1 and poise himself to  
sting1 in the middle of crooked stilts  

like threads2 stretched out to ten times
 the breadth of his body on     each    
side4 ,increase the size of the         
megatherium a little more1 and     no   
phosphate of lime will bear him2 he     
would crush his own legs to     powder4 
7,compare ,sir ,charles ,bell1          
,bridgewater ,treatise on the     ,hand1
 p4 #bif1 and the note47 ,hence there is
 not only a limit to the     size of    
animals1 in the conditions of matter1   
but to their activity     also1 the     
largest being always least capable of   
exertion2 and this     would be the case
 to a far greater extent1 but that      
nature     beneficently alters her      
proportions as she increases her scale2 
giving1 as we have seen1 long legs and  
enormous wings to the smaller           
tribes1 and short and thick proportion  
to the larger4 ,so in                   
vegetables--compare the stalk of an ear 
of oat1 and the trunk of a     pine1 the
 mechanical relations being in both the 
same4 ,so also in     waves1 of which   

the large never can be mere             
exaggerations of the     small1 but have
 different slopes and curvatures3 so in 
mountains and     all things else1      
necessarily1 and from ordinary          
mechanical laws4     ,whence in         
architecture1 according to the scale of 
the building1 its     proportions must  
be altered2 and ,i have no hesitation in
 calling     that unmeaning exaggeration
 of parts in ,st4 ,peter's1 of flutings1
     volutes1 friezes1 etc41 in the     
proportions of a smaller building1 a    
vulgar blunder1 and one that destroys   
all the majesty that the     building   
ought to have had--and still more ,i    
should so call all     imitations and   
adaptations of large buildings on a     
small scale4 ,the     true test of right
 proportion is that it shall itself     
inform us of     the scale of the       
building1 and be such that even in a    
drawing it     shall instantly induce   
the conception of the actual size1 or   
size     intended4 ,i know not what     

,fuseli means by that aphorism of his3--
      ,disproportion of parts is the    
element of hugeness--proportion1 of     
grandeur4 ,all ,gothic styles of        
,architecture are huge4 ,the ,greek     
alone is grand4 ,when a building is     
vast1 it ought to look so2 and     the  
proportion is right which exhibits its  
vastness4 ,nature loses no     size by  
her proportion2 her buttressed mountains
 have more of ,gothic     than of ,greek
 in them4    #ba ,for the just and      
severe reproof of which1 compare ,sir   
,charles     ,bell1 7on the hand17 pp4  
#ca1 #cb4                               
,,chapter ,,vii4             ,,of       
,,repose1 ,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of        
,,divine ,,permanence4   ,sec4 #a4      
,universal feeling respecting the       
necessity of repose in art4 ,its        
sources4  ,there is probably no         
necessity more imperatively felt by the 
artist1 no test more unfailing of the   
greatness of artistical treatment1 than 
that of the appearance of repose1 and   

yet there is no quality whose semblance 
in mere matter is more difficult to     
define or illustrate4 ,nevertheless1 ,i 
believe that our instinctive love of it1
 as well as the cause to which ,i       
attribute that love1 7although here     
also1 as in the former cases1 ,i contend
 not for the interpretation1 but for the
 fact17 will be readily allowed by the  
reader4 ,as opposed to passion1         
changefulness1 or laborious exertion1   
repose is the especial and separating   
characteristic of the eternal mind and  
power2 it is the ,i am of the ,creator  
opposed to the ,i become of all         
creatures2 it is the sign alike of the  
supreme knowledge which is incapable of 
surprise1 the supreme power which is    
incapable of labor1 the supreme volition
 which is incapable of change2 it is the
 stillness of the beams of the eternal  
chambers laid upon the variable waters  
of ministering creatures2 and as we saw 
before that the infinity which was a    
type of the ,divine nature on the one   

hand1 became yet more desirable on the  
other from its peculiar address to our  
prison hopes1 and to the expectations of
 an unsatisfied and unaccomplished      
existence1 so the types of this third   
attribute of the ,deity might seem to   
have been rendered farther attractive to
 mortal instinct1 through the infliction
 upon the fallen creature of a curse    
necessitating a labor once unnatural and
 still most painful1 so that the desire 
of rest planted in the heart is no      
sensual nor unworthy one1 but a longing 
for renovation and for escape from a    
state whose every phase is mere         
preparation for another equally         
transitory1 to one in which permanence  
shall have become possible through      
perfection4 ,hence the great call of    
,christ to men1 that call on which ,st4 
,augustine fixed essential expression of
 ,christian hope1 is accompanied by the 
promise of rest2#bb and the death       
bequest of ,christ to men is peace4     
,sec4 #b4 ,repose how expressed in      

matter4  ,repose1 as it is expressed in 
material things1 is either a simple     
appearance of permanence and quietness1 
as in the massy forms of a mountain or  
rock1 accompanied by the lulling effect 
of all mighty sight and sound1 which all
 feel and none define1 7it would be less
 sacred if more explicable17 ,greek3    
heudousin dioreon koruphai te kai       
pharanges1 or else it is repose proper1 
the rest of things in which there is    
vitality or capability of motion actual 
or imagined2 and with respect to these  
the expression of repose is greater in  
proportion to the amount and sublimity  
of the action which is not taking place1
 as well as to the intensity of the     
negation of it4 ,thus we speak not of   
repose in a stone1 because the motion of
 a stone has nothing in it of energy nor
 vitality1 neither its repose of        
stability4 ,but having once seen a great
 rock come down a mountain side1 we have
 a noble sensation of its rest1 now     
bedded immovably among the under fern1  

because the power and fearfulness of its
 motion were great1 and its stability   
and negation of motion are now great in 
proportion4 ,hence the imagination1     
which delights in nothing more than the 
enhancing of the characters of repose1  
effects this usually by either          
attributing to things visibly energetic 
an ideal stability1 or to things visibly
 stable an ideal activity or vitality4  
,hence ,wordsworth1 of the cloud1 which 
in itself having too much of            
changefulness for his purpose1 is spoken
 of as one that heareth not the loud    
winds when they call1 and moveth        
altogether1 if it move at all4 ,and     
again of children1 which1 that it may   
remove from them the child restlessness1
 the imagination conceives as rooted    
flowers ,beneath an old gray oak1 as    
violets1 lie4 ,on the other hand1 the   
scattered rocks1 which have not1 as     
such1 vitality enough for rest1 are     
gifted with it by the living image3 they
 lie couched around us like a flock of  

sheep4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the necessity to    
repose of an implied energy4  ,thus1 as 
we saw that unity demanded for its      
expression what at first might have     
seemed its contrary 7variety7 so repose 
demands for its expression the implied  
capability of its opposite1 energy1 and 
this even in its lower manifestations1  
in rocks and stones and trees4 ,by      
comparing the modes in which the mind is
 disposed to regard the boughs of a fair
 and vigorous tree1 motionless in the   
summer air1 with the effect produced by 
one of these same boughs hewn square and
 used for threshold or lintel1 the      
reader will at once perceive the        
connection of vitality with repose1 and 
the part they both bear in beauty4      
,sec4 #d4 ,mental repose1 how noble4    
,but that which in lifeless things      
ennobles them by seeming to indicate    
life1 ennobles higher creatures by      
indicating the exaltation of their      
earthly vitality into a ,divine         
vitality2 and raising the life of sense 

into the life of faith--faith1 whether  
we receive it in the sense of adherence 
to resolution1 obedience to law1        
regardfulness of promise1 in which from 
all time it has been the test as the    
shield of the true being and life of    
man1 or in the still higher sense of    
trustfulness in the presence1 kindness1 
and word of ,god2 in which form it has  
been exhibited under the ,christian     
dispensation4 ,for whether in one or    
other form1 whether the faithfulness of 
men whose path is chosen and portion    
fixed1 in the following and receiving of
 that path and portion1 as in the       
,thermopylae camp2 or the happier       
faithfulness of children in the good    
giving of their ,father1 and of subjects
 in the conduct of their king1 as in the
 ,stand still and see the salvation of  
,god of the ,red ,sea shore1 there is   
rest and peacefulness1 the standing     
still in both1 the quietness of action  
determined1 of spirit unalarmed1 of     
expectation unimpatient3 beautiful1 even

 when based only as of old1 on the      
self-command and self-possession1 the   
persistent dignity or the uncalculating 
love of the creature1#bc but more       
beautiful yet when the rest is one of   
humility instead of pride1 and the trust
 no more in the resolution we have      
taken1 but in the hand we hold4   ,sec4 
#e4 ,its universal value as a test of   
art4  ,hence ,i think that there is no  
desire more intense or more exalted than
 that which exists in all rightly       
disciplined minds for the evidences of  
repose in external signs1 and what ,i   
cautiously said respecting infinity1 ,i 
say fearlessly respecting repose1 that  
no work of art can be great without it1 
and that all art is great in proportion 
to the appearance of it4 ,it is the most
 unfailing test of beauty1 whether of   
matter or of motion1 nothing can be     
ignoble that possesses it1 nothing right
 that has it not1 and in strict         
proportion to its appearance in the work
 is the majesty of mind to be inferred  

in the artificer4 ,without regard to    
other qualities1 we may look to this for
 our evidence1 and by the search for    
this alone we may be led to the         
rejection of all that is base1 and the  
accepting of all that is good and great1
 for the paths of wisdom are all peace4 
,we shall see by this light three       
colossal images standing up side by     
side1 looming in their great rest of    
spirituality above the whole world      
horizon1 ,phidias1 ,michael ,angelo1 and
 ,dante2 and then1 separated from their 
great religious thrones only by less    
fulness and earnestness of ,faith1      
,homer1 and ,shakspeare2 and from these 
we may go down step by step among the   
mighty men of every age1 securely and   
certainly observant of diminished lustre
 in every appearance of restlessness and
 effort1 until the last trace of true   
inspiration vanishes in the tottering   
affectations or the tortured insanities 
of modern times4 ,there is no art1 no   
pursuit1 whatsoever1 but its results may

 be classed by this test alone2         
everything of evil is betrayed and      
winnowed away by it1 glitter and        
confusion and glare of color1           
inconsistency or absence of thought1    
forced expression1 evil choice of       
subject1 over accumulation of materials1
 whether in painting or literature1 the 
shallow and unreflecting nothingness of 
the ,english schools of art1 the        
strained and disgusting horrors of the  
,french1 the distorted feverishness of  
the ,german3--pretence1 over decoration1
 over division of parts in architecture1
 and again in music1 in acting1 in      
dancing1 in whatsoever art1 great or    
mean1 there are yet degrees of greatness
 or meanness entirely dependent on this 
single quality of repose4   ,sec4 #f4   
,instances in the ,laocoon and ,theseus4
  ,particular instances are at present  
both needless and cannot but be         
inadequate2 needless1 because ,i suppose
 that every reader1 however limited his 
experience of art1 can supply many for  

himself1 and inadequate1 because no     
number of them could illustrate the full
 extent of the influence of the         
expression4 ,i believe1 however1 that by
 comparing the disgusting convulsions of
 the ,laocoon1 with the ,elgin ,theseus1
 we may obtain a general idea of the    
effect of the influence1 as shown by its
 absence in one1 and presence in the    
other1 of two works which1 as far as    
artistical merit is concerned1 are in   
some measure parallel1 not that ,i      
believe1 even in this respect1 the      
,laocoon justifiably comparable with the
 ,theseus4 ,i suppose that no group has 
exercised so pernicious an influence on 
art as this1 a subject ill chosen1      
meanly conceived and unnaturally        
treated1 recommended to imitation by    
subtleties of execution and accumulation
 of technical knowledge4#bd   ,sec4 #g4 
,and in altar tombs4  ,in ,christian    
art1 it would be well to compare the    
feeling of the finer among the altar    
tombs of the middle ages1 with any      

monumental works after ,michael ,angelo1
 perhaps more especially with works of  
,roubilliac or ,canova4  ,in the        
,cathedral of ,lucca1 near the entrance 
door of the north transept1 there is a  
monument of ,jacopo della ,quercia's to 
,ilaria di ,caretto1 the wife of ,paolo 
,guinigi4 ,i name it not as more        
beautiful or perfect than other examples
 of the same period1 but as furnishing  
an instance of the exact and right mean 
between the rigidity and rudeness of the
 earlier monumental effigies1 and the   
morbid imitation of life1 sleep1 or     
death1 of which the fashion has taken   
place in modern times4#be ,she is lying 
on a simple couch1 with a hound at her  
feet1 not on the side1 but with the head
 laid straight and simply on the hard   
pillow1 in which1 let it be observed1   
there is no effort at deceptive         
imitation of pressure4 ,it is understood
 as a pillow1 but not mistaken for one4 
,the hair is bound in a flat braid over 
the fair brow1 the sweet and arched eyes

 are closed1 the tenderness of the      
loving lips is set and quiet1 there is  
that about them which forbids breath1   
something which is not death nor sleep1 
but the pure image of both4 ,the hands  
are not lifted in prayer1 neither       
folded1 but the arms are laid at length 
upon the body1 and the hands cross as   
they fall4 ,the feet are hidden by the  
drapery1 and the forms of the limbs     
concealed1 but not their tenderness4    
,if any of us1 after staying for a time 
beside this tomb1 could see through his 
tears1 one of the vain and unkind       
encumbrances of the grave1 which1 in    
these hollow and heartless days1 feigned
 sorrow builds to foolish pride1 he     
would1 ,i believe1 receive such a lesson
 of love as no coldness could refuse1 no
 fatuity forget1 and no insolence       
disobey4   ,,footnotes    #bb ,matt4 xi4
 #bh4    #bc         ,the universal     
instinct of repose1                 ,the
 longing for confirmed tranquillity     
,inward and outward1 humble1 yet        

sublime4                 ,the life where
 hope and memory are as one4            
,earth quiet and unchanged2 the human   
soul                 ,consistent in     
self-rule2 and heaven revealed          
,to meditation1 in that quietness4      
,,wordsworth4 ,excursion1 ,book iii4    
,but compare carefully 7for this is put 
into the mouth of one     diseased in   
thought and erring in seeking7 the      
opening of the ninth     book2 and      
observe the difference between the      
mildew of     inaction1--the slumber of 
,death2 and the ,patience of the        
,saints--the     ,rest of the ,sabbath  
,eternal4 7,rev4 xiv4 #ac47             
,compare also1 ,chap4 ,i4 ,sec4 #f4     
#bd ,i would also have the reader       
compare with the meagre lines and       
contemptible tortures of the ,laocoon1  
the awfulness and quietness of     ,m4  
,angelo's treatment of a subject in most
 respects similar1 7the     plague of   
the ,fiery ,serpents17 but of which the 
choice was justified     both by the    

place which the event holds in the      
typical system he had     to arrange1   
and by the grandeur of the plague       
itself1 in its     multitudinous grasp1 
and its mystical salvation2 sources of  
sublimity entirely wanting to the       
slaughter of the ,dardan priest4 ,it    
is good to see how his gigantic         
intellect reaches after repose1 and     
truthfully finds it1 in the falling hand
 of the near figure1 and in     the     
deathful decline of that whose hands are
 held up even in their     venom        
coldness to the cross2 and though       
irrelevant to our present     purpose1  
it is well also to note how the grandeur
 of this treatment     results1 not     
merely from choice1 but from a greater  
knowledge and     more faithful         
rendering of truth4 ,for whatever       
knowledge of the     human frame there  
may be in the ,laocoon1 there is        
certainly none of     the habits of     
serpents4 ,the fixing of the snake's    
head in the side     of the principal   

figure is as false to nature1 as it is  
poor in     composition of line4 ,a     
large serpent never wants to bite1 it   
wants     to hold1 it seizes therefore  
always where it can hold best1 by the   
extremities1 or throat1 it seizes once  
and forever1 and that before     it     
coils1 following up the seizure with the
 twist of its body round     the victim1
 as invisibly swift as the twist of a   
whip lash round any     hard object it  
may strike1 and then it holds fast1     
never moving the     jaws or the body1  
if its prey has any power of struggling 
left1 it     throws round another coil1 
without quitting the hold with the jaws2
     if ,laocoon had had to do with real
 serpents1 instead of pieces of     tape
 with heads to them1 he would have been 
held still1 and not     allowed to throw
 his arms or legs about4 ,it is most    
instructive to     observe the accuracy 
of ,michael ,angelo in the rendering of 
these     circumstances2 the binding of 
the arms to the body1 and the knotting  

of the whole mass of agony together1    
until we hear the crashing of     the   
bones beneath the grisly sliding of the 
engine folds4 ,note also     the        
expression in all the figures of another
 circumstance1 the     torpor and cold  
numbness of the limbs induced by the    
serpent venom1     which1 though        
justifiably overlooked by the sculptor  
of the ,laocoon1     as well as by      
,virgil--in consideration of the        
rapidity of the death     by crushing1  
adds infinitely to the power of the     
,florentine's     conception1 and would 
have been better hinted by ,virgil1 than
 that     sickening distribution of     
venom on the garlands4 ,in fact1 ,virgil
 has     missed both of truth and       
impressiveness every way--the morsu     
depascitur is unnatural butchery--the   
perfusus veneno gratuitous              
foulness--the clamores horrendos1       
impossible degradation2 compare         
carefully the remarks on this statue in 
,sir ,charles ,bell's ,essay on         

,expression1 7third edition1 p4 #aib7   
where he has most wisely and            
uncontrovertibly deprived the statue of 
all claim to expression of     energy   
and fortitude of mind1 and shown its    
common and coarse intent     of mere    
bodily exertion and agony1 while he has 
confirmed ,payne     ,knight's just     
condemnation of the passage in ,virgil4 
,if the reader wishes to see the        
opposite or imaginative view of the     
subject1 let him compare ,winkelmann2   
and ,schiller1 ,letters on              
,aesthetic ,culture4    #be ,whenever1  
in monumental work1 the sculptor reaches
 a deceptive     appearance of life or  
death1 or of concomitant details1 he has
 gone     too far4 ,the statue should be
 felt for such1 not look like a dead or 
sleeping body2 it should not convey the 
impression of a corpse1 nor     of sick 
and outwearied flesh1 but it should be  
the marble image of     death or        
weariness4 ,so the concomitants should  
be distinctly marble1     severe and    

monumental in their lines1 not shroud1  
not bedclothes1     not actual armor nor
 brocade1 not a real soft pillow1 not a 
downright hard stuffed mattress1 but the
 mere type and suggestion of     these3 
a certain rudeness and incompletion of  
finish is very noble     in all4 ,not   
that they are to be unnatural1 such     
lines as are given     should be pure   
and true1 and clear of the hardness and 
mannered     rigidity of the strictly   
,gothic types1 but lines so few and     
grand as     to appeal to the           
imagination only1 and always to stop    
short of     realization4 ,there is a   
monument put up lately by a modern      
,italian     sculptor in one of the side
 chapels of ,santa ,croce1 the face fine
     and the execution dexterous4 ,but  
it looks as if the person had been      
restless all night1 and the artist      
admitted to a faithful study of     the 
disturbed bedclothes in the morning4    
,,chapter ,,viii4                   ,,of
 ,,symmetry1 ,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of     

,,divine ,,justice4   ,sec4 #a4         
,symmetry1 what and how found in organic
 nature4  ,sec4 #b4 ,how necessary in   
art4  ,we shall not be long detained by 
the consideration of this1 the fourth   
constituent of beauty1 as its nature is 
universally felt and understood4 ,in all
 perfectly beautiful objects1 there is  
found the opposition of one part to     
another and a reciprocal balance        
obtained2 in animals the balance being  
commonly between opposite sides1 7note  
the disagreeableness occasioned by the  
exception in flat fish1 having the eyes 
on one side of the head17 but in        
vegetables the opposition is less       
distinct1 as in the boughs on opposite  
sides of trees1 and the leaves and      
sprays on each side of the boughs1 and  
in dead matter less perfect still1 often
 amounting only to a certain tendency   
towards a balance1 as in the opposite   
sides of valleys and alternate windings 
of streams4 ,in things in which perfect 
symmetry is from their nature impossible

 or improper1 a balance must be at least
 in some measure expressed before they  
can be beheld with pleasure4 ,hence the 
necessity of what artists require as    
opposing lines or masses in composition1
 the propriety of which1 as well as     
their value1 depends chiefly on their   
inartificial and natural invention4     
,absolute equality is not required1     
still less absolute similarity4 ,a mass 
of subdued color may be balanced by a   
point of a powerful one1 and a long and 
latent line overpowered by a short and  
conspicuous one4 ,the only error against
 which it is necessary to guard the     
reader with respect to symmetry1 is the 
confounding it with proportion1 though  
it seems strange that the two terms     
could ever have been used as synonymous4
 ,symmetry is the opposition of equal   
quantities to each other4 ,proportion   
the connection of unequal quantities    
with each other4 ,the property of a tree
 in sending out equal boughs on opposite
 sides is symmetrical4 ,its sending out 

shorter and smaller towards the top1    
proportional4 ,in the human face its    
balance of opposite sides is symmetry1  
its division upwards1 proportion4       
,illustration3 ,,tomb ,,of ,,the        
,,ilaria ,,di ,,caretto1 ,,lucca4 ,from 
a photograph4   ,sec4 #c4 ,to what its  
agreeableness is referable4 ,various    
instances4  ,sec4 #d4 ,especially in    
religious art4  ,whether the            
agreeableness of symmetry be in any way 
referable to its expression of the      
,aristotelian ,greek3 isotes1 that is to
 say of abstract justice1 ,i leave the  
reader to determine2 ,i only assert     
respecting it1 that it is necessary to  
the dignity of every form1 and that by  
the removal of it we shall render the   
other elements of beauty comparatively  
ineffectual3 though1 on the other hand1 
it is to be observed that it is rather a
 mode of arrangement of qualities than a
 quality itself2 and hence symmetry has 
little power over the mind1 unless all  
the other constituents of beauty be     

found together with it4 ,a form may be  
symmetrical and ugly1 as many           
,elizabethan ornaments1 and yet not so  
ugly as it had been if unsymmetrical1   
but bettered always by increasing       
degrees of symmetry2 as in star figures1
 wherein there is a circular symmetry of
 many like members1 whence their        
frequent use for the plan and ground of 
ornamental designs2 so also it is       
observable that foliage in which the    
leaves are concentrically grouped1 as in
 the chestnuts1 and many                
shrubs--rhododendrons for               
instance--7whence the perfect beauty of 
the ,alpine rose7--is far nobler in its 
effect than any other1 so that the sweet
 chestnut of all trees most fondly and  
frequently occurs in the landscape of   
,tintoret and ,titian1 beside which all 
other landscape grandeur vanishes3 and  
even in the meanest things the rule     
holds1 as in the kaleidoscope1 wherein  
agreeableness is given to forms         
altogether accidental merely by their   

repetition and reciprocal opposition2   
which orderly balance and arrangement   
are essential to the perfect operation  
of the more earnest and solemn qualities
 of the beautiful1 as being heavenly in 
their nature1 and contrary to the       
violence and disorganization of sin1 so 
that the seeking of them and submission 
to them is always marked in minds that  
have been subjected to high moral       
discipline1 constant in all the great   
religious painters1 to the degree of    
being an offence and a scorn to men of  
less tuned and tranquil feeling4 ,equal 
ranks of saints are placed on each side 
of the picture1 if there be a kneeling  
figure on one side1 there is a          
corresponding one on the other1 the     
attendant angels beneath and above are  
arranged in like order4 ,the ,raffaelle 
at ,blenheim1 the ,madonna di ,st4      
,sisto1 the ,st4 ,cicilia1 and all the  
works of ,perugino1 ,francia1 and ,john 
,bellini present some such form1 and the
 balance at least is preserved even in  

pictures of action necessitating variety
 of grouping1 as always by ,giotto2 and 
by ,ghirlandajo in the introduction of  
his chorus-like side figures1 and by    
,tintoret most eminently in his noblest 
work1 the ,crucifixion1 where not only  
the grouping but the arrangement of     
light is absolutely symmetrical4 ,where 
there is no symmetry1 the effects of    
passion and violence are increased1 and 
many very sublime pictures derive their 
sublimity from the want of it1 but they 
lose proportionally in the diviner      
quality of beauty4 ,in landscape the    
same sense of symmetry is preserved1 as 
we shall presently see1 even to         
artificialness1 by the greatest men1 and
 it is one of the principal sources of  
deficient feeling in the landscapes of  
the present day1 that the symmetry of   
nature is sacrificed to irregular       
picturesqueness4 ,of this1 however1     
hereafter4                              
,,chapter ,,ix4                    ,,of 
,,purity1 ,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of        

,,divine ,,energy4   ,sec4 #a4 ,the     
influence of light as a sacred symbol4  
,it may at first appear strange that ,i 
have not in my enumeration of the types 
of ,divine attributes1 included that    
which is certainly the most visible and 
evident of all1 as well as the most     
distinctly expressed in ,scripture2 ,god
 is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at
 all4 ,but ,i could not logically class 
the presence of an actual substance or  
motion with mere conditions and modes of
 being1 neither could ,i logically      
separate from any of these1 that which  
is evidently necessary to the perception
 of all4 ,and it is also to be observed1
 that though the love of light is more  
instinctive in the human heart than any 
other of the desires connected with     
beauty1 we can hardly separate its      
agreeableness in its own nature from the
 sense of its necessity and value for   
the purposes of life1 neither the       
abstract painfulness of darkness from   
the sense of danger and incapacity      

connected with it2 and note also that it
 is not all light1 but light possessing 
the universal qualities of beauty1      
diffused or infinite rather than in     
points1 tranquil1 not startling and     
variable1 pure1 not sullied or          
oppressed1 which is indeed pleasant and 
perfectly typical of the ,divine nature4
   ,sec4 #b4 ,the idea of purity        
connected with it4  ,observe1 however1  
that there is one quality1 the idea of  
which had been just introduced in       
connection with light1 which might have 
escaped us in the consideration of mere 
matter1 namely purity1 and yet ,i think 
that the original notion of this quality
 is altogether material1 and has only   
been attributed to color when such color
 is suggestive of the condition of      
matter from which we originally received
 the idea4 ,for ,i see not in the       
abstract how one color should be        
considered purer than another1 except as
 more or less compounded1 whereas there 
is certainly a sense of purity or       

impurity in the most compound and       
neutral colors1 as well as in the       
simplest1 a quality difficult to define1
 and which the reader will probably be  
surprised by my calling the type of     
energy1 with which it has certainly     
little traceable connection in the mind4
   ,sec4 #c4 ,originally derived from   
conditions of matter4  ,sec4 #d4        
,associated ideas adding to the power of
 the impression4 ,influence        of   
clearness4  ,sec4 #e4 ,perfect beauty of
 surface1 in what consisting4  ,i       
believe however if we carefully analyze 
the nature of our ideas of impurity in  
general1 we shall find them refer       
especially to conditions of matter in   
which its various elements are placed in
 a relation incapable of healthy or     
proper operation2 and most distinctly to
 conditions in which the negation of    
vital or energetic action is most       
evident1 as in corruption and decay of  
all kinds1 wherein particles which once1
 by their operation on each other1      

produced a living and energetic whole1  
are reduced to a condition of perfect   
passiveness1 in which they are seized   
upon and appropriated1 one by one1      
piecemeal1 by whatever has need of them1
 without any power of resistance or     
energy of their own4 ,and thus there is 
a peculiar painfulness attached to any  
associations of inorganic with organic  
matter1 such as appear to involve the   
inactivity and feebleness of the latter1
 so that things which are not felt to be
 foul in their own nature1 yet become so
 in association with things of greater  
inherent energy2 as dust or earth1 which
 in a mass excites no painful sensation1
 excites a most disagreeable one when   
strewing or staining an animal's skin1  
because it implies a decline and        
deadening of the vital and healthy power
 of the skin4 ,but all reasoning about  
this impression is rendered difficult1  
by the host of associated ideas         
connected with it2 for the ocular sense 
of impurity connected with corruption is

 infinitely enhanced by the offending of
 other senses and by the grief and      
horror of it in its own nature1 as the  
special punishment and evidence of sin1 
and on the other hand1 the ocular       
delight in purity is mingled1 as ,i     
before observed1 with the love of the   
mere element of light1 as a type of     
wisdom and of truth2 whence it seems to 
me that we admire the transparency of   
bodies1 though probably it is still     
rather owing to our sense of more       
perfect order and arrangement of        
particles1 and not to our love of light1
 that we look upon a piece of rock      
crystal as purer than a piece of marble1
 and on the marble as purer than a piece
 of chalk4 ,and let it be observed also 
that the most lovely objects in nature  
are only partially transparent4 ,i      
suppose the utmost possible sense of    
beauty is conveyed by a feebly          
translucent1 smooth1 but not lustrous   
surface of white1 and pale warm red1    
subdued by the most pure and delicate   

grays1 as in the finer portions of the  
human frame2 in wreaths of snow1 and in 
white plumage under rose light1#bf so   
,viola of ,olivia in ,twelfth ,night1   
and ,homer of ,atrides wounded4#bg ,and 
,i think that transparency and lustre1  
both beautiful in themselves1 are       
incompatible with the highest beauty    
because they destroy form1 on the full  
perception of which more of the divinely
 character of the object depends than   
upon its color4 ,hence1 in the beauty of
 snow and of flesh1 so much translucency
 is allowed as is consistent with the   
full explanation of the forms1 while we 
are suffered to receive more intense    
impressions of light and transparency   
from other objects which1 nevertheless1 
owing to their necessarily unperceived  
form1 are not perfectly nor affectingly 
beautiful4 ,a fair forehead outshines   
its diamond diadem4 ,the sparkle of the 
cascade withdraws not our eyes from the 
snowy summits in their evening silence4 
,sec4 #f4 ,purity only metaphorically a 

type of sinlessness4  ,it may seem      
strange to many readers that ,i have not
 spoken of purity in that sense in which
 it is most frequently used1 as a type  
of sinlessness4 ,i do not deny that the 
frequent metaphorical use of it in      
,scripture may have and ought to have   
much influence on the sympathies with   
which we regard it1 and that probably   
the immediate agreeableness of it to    
most minds arises far more from this    
source than from that to which ,i have  
chosen to attribute it4 ,but1 in the    
first place1 if it be indeed in the     
signs of ,divine and not of human       
attributes that beauty consists1 ,i see 
not how the idea of sin can be formed   
with respect to the ,deity1 for it is an
 idea of a relation borne by us to ,him1
 and not in any way to be attached to   
his abstract nature4 ,and if the idea of
 sin is incapable of being formed with  
respect to ,him1 so also is its         
negative1 for we cannot form an idea of 
negation1 where we cannot form an idea  

of presence4 ,if for instance one could 
conceive of taste or flavor in a        
proposition of ,euclid1 so also might we
 of insipidity1 but if not of the one1  
then not of the other4 ,so that1 in     
speaking of the goodness of ,god1 it    
cannot be that we mean anything more    
than his ,love1 ,mercifulness1 and      
,justice1 and these attributes ,i have  
shown to be expressed by other qualities
 of beauty1 and ,i cannot trace any     
rational connection between them and the
 idea of spotlessness in matter4        
,neither can ,i trace any more distinct 
relation between this idea1 and any of  
the virtues which make up the           
righteousness of man1 except perhaps    
those of truth and openness1 of which ,i
 have already spoken as more expressed  
by the transparency than the mere purity
 of matter4 ,so that ,i conceive the    
whole use of the terms purity1          
spotlessness1 etc41 in moral subjects1  
to be merely metaphorical1 and that it  
is rather that we illustrate these      

virtues by the desirableness of material
 purity1 than that we desire material   
purity because it is illustrative of    
these virtues4   ,sec4 #g4 ,energy1 how 
expressed by purity of matter4  ,i      
repeat1 then1 that the only idea which  
,i think can be legitimately connected  
with purity of matter1 is this of vital 
and energetic connection among its      
particles1 and that the idea of foulness
 is essentially connected with          
dissolution and death4 ,thus the purity 
of the rock1 contrasted with the        
foulness of dust or mould1 is expressed 
by the epithet living1 very singularly  
given in the rock1 in almost all        
languages2 singularly ,i say1 because   
life is almost the last attribute one   
would ascribe to stone1 but for this    
visible energy and connection of its    
particles3 and so of water as opposed to
 stagnancy4 ,and ,i do not think that1  
however pure a powder or dust may be1   
the idea of beauty is ever connected    
with it1 for it is not the mere purity1 

but the active condition of the         
substance which is desired1 so that as  
soon as it shoots into crystals1 or     
gathers into efflorescence1 a sensation 
of active or real purity is received    
which was not felt in the calcined caput
 mortuum4   ,sec4 #h4 ,and of color4    
,sec4 #i4 ,spirituality1 how so         
expressed4  ,and again in color4 ,i     
imagine that the quality of it which we 
term purity is dependent on the full    
energizing of the rays that compose it1 
whereof if in compound hues any are     
overpowered and killed by the rest1 so  
as to be of no value nor operation1     
foulness is the consequence2 while so   
long as all act together1 whether side  
by side1 or from pigments seen one      
through the other1 so that all the      
coloring matter employed comes into play
 in the harmony desired1 and none be    
quenched nor killed1 purity results4    
,and so in all cases ,i suppose that    
pureness is made to us desirable1       
because expressive of the constant      

presence and energizing of the ,deity in
 matter1 through which all things live  
and move1 and have their being1 and that
 foulness is painful as the             
accompaniment of disorder and decay1 and
 always indicative of the withdrawal of 
,divine support4 ,and the practical     
analogies of life1 the invariable       
connection of outward foulness with     
mental sloth and degradation1 as well as
 with bodily lethargy and disease1      
together with the contrary indications  
of freshness and purity belonging to    
every healthy and active organic frame1 
7singularly seen in the effort of the   
young leaves when first their inward    
energy prevails over the earth1 pierces 
its corruption1 and shakes its dust away
 from their own white purity of life17  
all these circumstances strengthen the  
instinct by associations countless and  
irresistible4 ,and then1 finally1 with  
the idea of purity comes that of        
spirituality1 for the essential         
characteristic of matter is its inertia1

 whence1 by adding to it purity or      
energy1 we may in some measure          
spiritualize even matter itself4 ,thus  
in the descriptions of the ,apocalypse  
it is its purity that fits it for its   
place in heaven2 the river of the water 
of life1 that proceeds out of the throne
 of the ,lamb1 is clear as crystal1 and 
the pavement of the city is pure gold1  
like unto clear glass4#bh   ,,footnotes 
#bf ,the reader will observe that ,i am 
speaking at present of mere     material
 qualities4 ,if he would obtain perfect 
ideas respecting     loveliness of      
luminous surface1 let him closely       
observe a swan with     its wings       
expanded in full light five minutes     
before sunset4 ,the     human cheek or  
the rose leaf are perhaps hardly so     
pure1 and the     forms of snow1 though 
individually as beautiful1 are less     
exquisitely combined4    #bg            
,greek3 hos d' ote tis t' elephanta gyne
 phoiniki miene                         
,meonis4      ,so ,spenser of           

,shamefacedness1 an exquisite piece of  
glowing     color--and sweetly of       
,belphoebe--7so the roses and lilies of 
all     poets47 ,compare the making of  
the image of ,florimell4                
,the substance whereof she the body made
                 ,was purest snow1 in   
massy mould congealed1                  
,which she had gathered in a shady glade
                 ,of the ,riphoean      
hills4                 ,the same she    
tempered with fine mercury1             
,and mingled them with perfect vermily4 
,with ,una he perhaps overdoes the white
 a little4 ,she is two degrees     of   
comparison above snow4 ,compare his     
questioning in the ,hymn to     ,beauty1
 about that mixture made of colors fair2
 and goodly     temperament1 of pure    
complexion4                 ,hath white 
and red in it such wondrous power       
,that it can pierce through the eyes    
into the heart8      ,where the         
distinction between typical and vital   
beauty is very     gloriously carried   

out4    #bh ,i have not spoken here of  
any of the associations connected       
with warmth or coolness of color1 they  
are partly connected with     vital     
beauty1 compare ,chap4 xiv4 ,sec4 #bb1  
#bc1 and partly with     impressions of 
the sublime1 the discussion of which is 
foreign to     the present subject2     
purity1 however1 it is which gives value
 to     both1 for neither warm nor cool 
color1 can be beautiful1 if impure4     
,neither have ,i spoken of any questions
 relating to melodies of     color1 a   
subject of separate science--whose      
general principle has     been already  
stated in the seventh chapter respecting
 unity of     sequence4 ,those qualities
 only are here noted which give absolute
     beauty1 whether to separate color  
or to melodies of it--for all           
melodies are not beautiful1 but only    
those which are expressive of           
certain pleasant or solemn emotions2 and
 the rest startling1 or     curious1 or 
cheerful1 or exciting1 or sublime1 but  

not beautiful1     7and so in music47   
,and all questions relating to this     
grandeur1     cheerfulness1 or other    
characteristic impression of color must 
be     considered under the head of     
ideas of relation4                      
,,chapter ,x4              ,,of         
,,moderation1 ,,or ,,the ,,type ,,of    
,,government ,,by ,,law4   ,sec4 #a4    
,meaning of the terms ,chasteness and   
,refinement4  ,of objects which1 in     
respect of the qualities hitherto       
considered1 appear to have equal claims 
to regard1 we find1 nevertheless1 that  
certain are preferred to others in      
consequence of an attractive power1     
usually expressed by the terms          
chasteness1 refinement1 or elegance1 and
 it appears also that things which in   
other respects have little in them of   
natural beauty1 and are of forms        
altogether simple and adapted to simple 
uses1 are capable of much distinction   
and desirableness in consequence of     
these qualities only4 ,it is of         

importance to discover the real nature  
of the ideas thus expressed4   ,sec4 #b4
 ,how referable to temporary fashions4  
,something of the peculiar meaning of   
the words is referable to the authority 
of fashion and the exclusiveness of     
pride1 owing to which that which is the 
mode of a particular time is            
submissively esteemed1 and that which by
 its costliness or its rarity is of     
difficult attainment1 or in any way     
appears to have been chosen as the best 
of many things1 7which is the original  
sense of the words elegant and          
exquisite17 is esteemed for the witness 
it bears to the dignity of the chooser4 
,but neither of these ideas are in any  
way connected with eternal beauty1      
neither do they at all account for that 
agreeableness of color and form which is
 especially termed chasteness1 and which
 it would seem to be a characteristic of
 rightly trained mind in all things to  
prefer1 and of common minds to reject4  
,sec4 #c4 ,how to the perception of     

completion4  ,sec4 #d4 ,finish1 by great
 masters esteemed essential4  ,there is 
however another character of artificial 
productions1 to which these terms have  
partial reference1 which it is of some  
importance to note1 that of finish1     
exactness1 or refinement1 which are     
commonly desired in the works of men1   
owing both to their difficulty of       
accomplishment and consequent expression
 of care and power 7compare ,chapter on 
,ideas of ,power1 ,part ,i4 ,sect1 i417 
and from their greater resemblance to   
the working of ,god1 whose absolute     
exactness1 says ,hooker1 all things     
imitate1 by tending to that which is    
most exquisite in every particular4 ,and
 there is not a greater sign of the     
imperfection of general taste1 than its 
capability of contentment with forms and
 things which1 professing completion1   
are yet not exact nor complete1 as in   
the vulgar with wax and clay and china  
figures1 and in bad sculptors with an   
unfinished and clay-like modelling of   

surface1 and curves and angles of no    
precision or delicacy2 and in general1  
in all common and unthinking persons    
with an imperfect rendering of that     
which might be pure and fine1 as        
church-wardens are content to lose the  
sharp lines of stone carving under      
clogging obliterations of whitewash1 and
 as the modern ,italians scrape away and
 polish white all the sharpness and     
glory of the carvings on their old      
churches1 as most miserably and         
pitifully on ,st4 ,mark's at ,venice1   
and the ,baptisteries of ,pistoja and   
,pisa1 and many others2 so also the     
delight of vulgar painters in coarse and
 slurred painting1 merely for the sake  
of its coarseness1#bi as of             
,spagnoletto1 ,salvator1 or ,murillo1   
opposed to the divine finish which the  
greatest and mightiest of men disdained 
not1 but rather wrought out with        
painfulness and life spending2 as       
,leonardo and ,michael ,angelo1 7for the
 latter1 however many things he left    

unfinished1 did finish1 if at all1 with 
a refinement that the eye cannot follow1
 but the feeling only1 as in the ,pieta 
of ,genoa17 and ,perugino always1 even  
to the gilding of single hairs among his
 angel tresses1 and the young           
,raffaelle1 when he was heaven taught1  
and ,angelico1 and ,pinturicchio1 and   
,john ,bellini1 and all other such      
serious and loving men4 ,only it is to  
be observed that this finish is not a   
part or constituent of beauty1 but the  
full and ultimate rendering of it1 so   
that it is an idea only connected with  
the works of men1 for all the works of  
the ,deity are finished with the same1  
that is1 infinite care and completion3  
and so what degrees of beauty exist     
among them can in no way be dependent   
upon this source1 inasmuch as there are 
between them no degrees of care4 ,and   
therefore1 as there certainly is        
admitted a difference of degree in what 
we call chasteness1 even in ,divine     
work1 7compare the hollyhock or the     

sunflower with the vale lily17 we must  
seek for it some other explanation and  
source than this4   ,sec4 #e4           
,moderation1 its nature and value  ,and 
if1 bringing down our ideas of it from  
complicated objects to simple lines and 
colors1 we analyze and regard them      
carefully1 ,i think we shall be able to 
trace them to an under-current of       
constantly agreeable feeling1 excited by
 the appearance in material things of a 
self-restrained liberty1 that is to say1
 by the image of that acting of ,god    
with regard to all his creation1        
wherein1 though free to operate in      
whatever arbitrary1 sudden1 violent1 or 
inconstant ways he will1 he yet1 if we  
may reverently so speak1 restrains in   
himself this his omnipotent liberty1 and
 works always in consistent modes1      
called by us laws4 ,and this restraint  
or moderation1 according to the words of
 ,hooker1 7that which doth moderate the 
force and power1 that which doth appoint
 the form and measure of working1 the   

same we term a law17 is in the ,deity   
not restraint1 such as it is said of    
creatures1 but1 as again says ,hooker1  
the very being of ,god is a law to his  
working1 so that every appearance of    
painfulness or want of power and freedom
 in material things is wrong and ugly2  
for the right restraint1 the image of   
,divine operation1 is both in them1 and 
in men1 a willing and not painful       
stopping short of the utmost degree to  
which their power might reach1 and the  
appearance of fettering or confinement  
is the cause of ugliness in the one1 as 
the slightest painfulness or effort in  
restraint is a sign of sin in the other4
   ,sec4 #f4 ,it is the girdle of       
beauty4  ,sec4 #g4 ,how found in natural
 curves and colors4  ,sec4 #h4 ,how     
difficult of attainment1 yet essential  
to all good4  ,i have put this attribute
 of beauty last1 because ,i consider it 
the girdle and safeguard of all the     
rest1 and in this respect the most      
essential of all1 for it is possible    

that a certain degree of beauty may be  
attained even in the absence of one of  
its other constituents1 as sometimes in 
some measure without symmetry or without
 unity4 ,but the least appearance of    
violence or extravagance1 of the want of
 moderation and restraint1 is1 ,i think1
 destructive of all beauty whatsoever in
 everything1 color1 form1 motion1       
language1 or thought1 giving rise to    
that which in color we call glaring1 in 
form inelegant1 in motion ungraceful1 in
 language coarse1 in thought            
undisciplined1 in all unchastened2 which
 qualities are in everything most       
painful1 because the signs of           
disobedient and irregular operation4    
,and herein we at last find the reason  
of that which has been so often noted   
respecting the subtilty and almost      
invisibility of natural curves and      
colors1 and why it is that we look on   
those lines as least beautiful which    
fall into wide and far license of       
curvature1 and as most beautiful which  

approach nearest 7so that the           
curvilinear character be distinctly     
asserted7 to the government of the right
 line1 as in the pure and severe curves 
of the draperies of the religious       
painters2 and thus in color it is not   
red1 but rose-color which is most       
beautiful1 neither such actual green as 
we find in summer foliage partly1 and in
 our painting of it constantly2 but such
 gray green as that into which nature   
modifies her distant tints1 or such pale
 green and uncertain as we see in sunset
 sky1 and in the clefts of the glacier  
and the chrysoprase1 and the sea-foam2  
and so of all colors1 not that they may 
not sometimes be deep and full1 but that
 there is a solemn moderation even in   
their very fulness1 and a holy reference
 beyond and out of their own nature to  
great harmonies by which they are       
governed1 and in obedience to which is  
their glory4 ,whereof the ignorance is  
shown in all evil colorists by the      
violence and positiveness of their hues1

 and by dulness and discordance         
consequent1 for the very brilliancy and 
real power of all color is dependent on 
the chastening of it1 as of a voice on  
its gentleness1 and as of action on its 
calmness1 and as all moral vigor on     
self-command4 ,and therefore as that    
virtue which men last1 and with most    
difficulty attain unto1 and which many  
attain not at all1 and yet that which is
 essential to the conduct and almost to 
the being of all other virtues1 since   
neither imagination1 nor invention1 nor 
industry1 nor sensibility1 nor energy1  
nor any other good having1 is of full   
avail without this of self-command1     
whereby works truly masculine and mighty
 are produced1 and by the signs of which
 they are separated from that lower host
 of things brilliant1 magnificent and   
redundant1 and farther yet from that of 
the loose1 the lawless1 the exaggerated1
 the insolent1 and the profane1 ,i would
 have the necessity of it foremost among
 all our inculcating1 and the name of it

 largest among all our inscribing1 in so
 far that1 over the doors of every      
school of ,art1 ,i would have this one  
word1 relieved out in deep letters of   
pure gold1--,moderation4   ,,footnotes  
#bi ,it is to be carefully noted that   
when rude execution is     evidently not
 the result of imperfect feeling and    
desire 7as in     these men above named1
 it is7 but of thought2 either          
impatient1     which there was necessity
 to note swiftly1 or impetuous1 which it
     was well to note in mighty manner1 
as pre-eminently and in both     kinds  
the case with ,tintoret1 and often with 
,michael ,angelo1 and in     lower and  
more degraded modes with ,rubens1 and   
generally in the     sketches and first 
thoughts of great masters2 there is     
received a     very noble pleasure1     
connected both with ideas of power      
7compare     again ,part ,i4 ,sect4 ii4 
,chap4 ,i47 and with certain actions of 
the     imagination of which we shall   
speak presently4 ,but this pleasure is  

not received from the beauty of the     
work1 for nothing can be     perfectly  
beautiful unless complete1 but from its 
simplicity and     sufficiency to its   
immediate purpose1 where the purpose is 
not of     beauty at all1 as often in   
things rough-hewn1 pre-eminently for    
instance in the stones of the           
foundations of the ,pitti and ,strozzi  
palaces1 whose noble rudeness is to be  
opposed both to the useless     polish1 
and the barbarous rustications of modern
 times1 7although     indeed this       
instance is not without exception to be 
received1 for     the majesty of these  
rocky buildings depends also in some    
measure     upon the real beauty and    
finish of the natural curvilinear       
fractures1 opposed to the coarseness of 
human chiselling17 and     again1 as it 
respects works of higher art1 the       
pleasure of their     hasty or imperfect
 execution is not indicative of their   
beauty1 but     of their majesty and    
fulness of thought and vastness of      

power4 ,shade     is only beautiful when
 it magnifies and sets forth the forms  
of fair     things1 so negligence is    
only noble when it is1 as ,fuseli hath  
it1     the shadow of energy4 ,which    
that it may be1 secure the substance    
and the shade will follow1 but let the  
artist beware of stealing the     manner
 of giant intellects when he has not    
their intention1 and of     assuming    
large modes of treatment when he has    
little thoughts to     treat4 ,there is 
large difference between indolent       
impatience of     labor and intellectual
 impatience of delay1 large difference  
between     leaving things unfinished   
because we have more to do1 or because  
we     are satisfied with what we have  
done4 ,tintoret1 who prayed hard1 and   
hardly obtained1 that he might be       
permitted1 the charge of his     colors 
only being borne1 to paint a new built  
house from base to     battlement1 was  
not one to shun labor1 it is the pouring
 in upon him     of glorious thoughts in

 inexpressible multitude that his       
sweeping     hand follows so fast4 ,it  
is as easy to know the slightness of    
earnest haste from the slightness of    
blunt feeling1 indolence1 or            
affectation1 as it is to know the dust  
of a race1 from the dust of             
dissolution4                            
,,chapter ,,xi4                         
,,general ,,inferences ,,respecting     
,,typical ,,beauty4   ,sec4 #a4 ,the    
subject incompletely treated1 yet       
admitting of general        conclusions4
  ,i have now enumerated1 and in some   
measure explained those characteristics 
of mere matter by which ,i conceive it  
becomes agreeable to the theoretic      
faculty1 under whatever form1 dead1     
organized1 or animated1 it may present  
itself4 ,it will be our task in the     
succeeding volume to examine1 and       
illustrate by examples1 the mode in     
which these characteristics appear in   
every division of creation1 in stones1  
mountains1 waves1 clouds1 and all       

organic bodies2 beginning with          
vegetables1 and then taking instances in
 the range of animals from the mollusc  
to man2 examining how one animal form is
 nobler than another1 by the more       
manifest presence of these attributes1  
and chiefly endeavoring to show how much
 there is of admirable and lovely1 even 
in what is commonly despised4 ,at       
present ,i have only to mark the        
conclusions at which we have as yet     
arrived respecting the rank of the      
theoretic faculty1 and then to pursue   
the inquiry farther into the nature of  
vital beauty4  ,as ,i before said1 ,i   
pretend not to have enumerated all the  
sources of material beauty1 nor the     
analogies connected with them2 it is    
probable that others may occur to many  
readers1 or to myself as ,i proceed into
 more particular inquiry1 but ,i am not 
careful to collect all conceivable      
evidence on the subject4 ,i desire only 
to assert and prove some certain        
principles1 and by means of these to    

show1 in some measure1 the inherent     
worthiness and glory of ,god's works and
 something of the relations they bear to
 each other and to us1 leaving the      
subject to be fully pursued1 as it only 
can be1 by the ardor and affection of   
those whom it may interest4   ,sec4 #b4 
,typical beauty not created for man's   
sake4  ,sec4 #c4 ,but degrees of it for 
his sake admitted4  ,sec4 #d4 ,what     
encouragement hence to be received4     
,the qualities above enumerated are not 
to be considered as stamped upon matter 
for our teaching or enjoyment only1 but 
as the necessary consequence of the     
perfection of ,god's working1 and the   
inevitable stamp of his image on what he
 creates4 ,for it would be inconsistent 
with his ,infinite perfection to work   
imperfectly in any place1 or in any     
matter2 wherefore we do not find that   
flowers and fair trees1 and kindly      
skies1 are given only where man may see 
them and be fed by them1 but the ,spirit
 of ,god works everywhere alike1 where  

there is no eye to see1 covering all    
lonely places with an equal glory1 using
 the same pencil and outpouring the same
 splendor1 in the caves of the waters   
where the sea-snakes swim1 and in the   
desert where the satyrs dance1 among the
 fir-trees of the stork1 and the rocks  
of the conies1 as among those higher    
creatures whom he has made capable      
witnesses of his working4 ,nevertheless1
 ,i think that the admission of         
different degrees of this glory and     
image of himself upon creation1 has the 
look of something meant especially for  
us2 for although1 in pursuance of the   
appointed system of government by       
universal laws1 these same degrees exist
 where we cannot witness them1 yet the  
existence of degrees at all seems at    
first unlikely in ,divine work1 and ,i  
cannot see reason for it unless that    
palpable one of increasing in us the    
understanding of the sacred characters  
by showing us the results of their      
comparative absence4 ,for ,i know not   

that if all things had been equally     
beautiful1 we could have received the   
idea of beauty at all1 or if we had1    
certainly it had become a matter of     
indifference to us1 and of little       
thought1 whereas through the beneficent 
ordaining of degrees in its             
manifestation1 the hearts of men are    
stirred by its occasional occurrence in 
its noblest form1 and all their energies
 are awakened in the pursuit of it1 and 
endeavor to arrest it or recreate it for
 themselves4 ,but whatever doubt there  
may be respecting the exact amount of   
modification of created things admitted 
reference to us1 there can be none      
respecting the dignity of that faculty  
by which we receive the mysterious      
evidence of their divine origin4 ,the   
fact of our deriving constant pleasure  
from whatever is a type or semblance of 
,divine attributes1 and from nothing but
 that which is so1 is the most glorious 
of all that can be demonstrated of human
 nature2 it not only sets a great gulf  

of specific separation between us and   
the lower animals1 but it seems a       
promise of a communion ultimately deep1 
close1 and conscious1 with the ,being   
whose darkened manifestations we here   
feebly and unthinkingly delight in4     
,probably to every order of intelligence
 more of his image becomes palpable in  
all around them1 and the glorified      
spirits and the angels have perceptions 
as much more full and rapturous than    
ours1 as ours than those of beasts and  
creeping things4 ,and receiving it1 as  
we must1 for an universal axiom that no 
natural desire can be entirely          
frustrate1 and seeing that these desires
 are indeed so unfailing in us that they
 have escaped not the reasoners of any  
time1 but were held divine of old1 and  
in even heathen countries1#cj it cannot 
be but that there is in these visionary 
pleasures1 lightly as we now regard     
them1 cause for thankfulness1 ground for
 hope1 anchor for faith1 more than in   
all the other manifold gifts and        

guidances1 wherewith ,god crowns the    
years1 and hedges the paths of men4     
,,footnotes    #cj ,greek3 ,he de teleia
 eudaimonia theoretike tis eotin        
henergeia4     99 99 tois men gar theois
 apas ho bios makarios1 tois d          
anthropois1     eph hoson homoioma ti   
tes toiantes henergeias huparchei4 ton d
     hallon zoon ouden eudaimonei4      
hepeide oudame koinonei                 
theorias4--,arist4 ,eth4 ,lib4 #ajth4   
,the concluding book of the ,ethics     
should be carefully read4 ,it is all    
most valuable4                          
,,chapter ,,xii4                        
,,of ,,vital ,,beauty4 ,,first1 ,,as    
,,relative4   ,sec4 #a4 ,transition from
 typical to vital ,beauty4  ,i proceed  
more particularly to examine the nature 
of that second kind of beauty of which  
,i spoke in the third chapter1 as       
consisting in the appearance of         
felicitous fulfilment of function in    
living things4 ,i have already noticed  
the example of very pure and high       

typical beauty which is to be found in  
the lines and gradations of unsullied   
snow3 if1 passing to the edge of a sheet
 of it1 upon the lower ,alps1 early in  
,may1 we find1 as we are nearly sure to 
find1 two or three little round openings
 pierced in it1 and through these       
emergent1 a slender1 pensive1 fragile   
flower#ca whose small dark1             
purple-fringed bell hangs down and      
shudders over the icy cleft that it has 
cloven1 as if partly wondering at its   
own recent grave1 and partly dying of   
very fatigue after its hard won victory2
 we shall be1 or we ought to be1 moved  
by a totally different impression of    
loveliness from that which we receive   
among the dead ice and the idle clouds4 
,there is now uttered to us a call for  
sympathy1 now offered to us an image of 
moral purpose and achievement1 which1   
however unconscious or senseless the    
creature may indeed be that so seems to 
call1 cannot be heard without affection1
 nor contemplated without worship1 by   

any of us whose heart is rightly tuned1 
or whose mind is clearly and surely     
sighted4  ,throughout the whole of the  
organic creation every being in a       
perfect state exhibits certain          
appearances1 or evidences1 of happiness1
 and besides is in its nature1 its      
desires1 its modes of nourishment1      
habitation1 and death1 illustrative or  
expressive of certain moral dispositions
 or principles4 ,now1 first1 in the     
keenness of the sympathy which we feel  
in the happiness1 real or apparent1 of  
all organic beings1 and which1 as we    
shall presently see1 invariably prompts 
us1 from the joy we have in it1 to look 
upon those as most lovely which are most
 happy2 and secondly1 in the justness of
 the moral sense which rightly reads the
 lesson they are all intended to teach1 
and classes them in orders of worthiness
 and beauty according to the rank and   
nature of that lesson1 whether it be of 
warning or example1 of those that wallow
 or of those that soar1 of the          

fiend-hunted swine by the ,gennesaret   
lake1 or of the dove returning to its   
ark of rest2 in our right accepting and 
reading of all this1 consists1 ,i say1  
the ultimately perfect condition of that
 noble theoretic faculty1 whose place in
 the system of our nature ,i have       
already partly vindicated with respect  
to typical1 but which can only fully be 
established with respect to vital       
beauty4   ,sec4 #b4 ,the perfection of  
the theoretic faculty as concerned with 
vital        beauty1 is charity4  ,its  
first perfection1 therefore1 relating to
 vital beauty1 is the kindness and      
unselfish fulness of heart1 which       
receives the utmost amount of pleasure  
from the happiness of all things4 ,of   
which in high degree the heart of man is
 incapable1 neither what intense        
enjoyment the angels may have in all    
that they see of things that move and   
live1 and in the part they take in the  
shedding of ,god's kindness upon them1  
can we know or conceive3 only in        

proportion as we draw near to ,god1 and 
are made in measure like unto him1 can  
we increase this our possession of      
charity1 of which the entire essence is 
in ,god only4  ,wherefore it is evident 
that even the ordinary exercise of this 
faculty implies a condition of the whole
 moral being in some measure right and  
healthy1 and that to the entire exercise
 of it there is necessary the entire    
perfection of the ,christian character1 
for he who loves not ,god1 nor his      
brother1 cannot love the grass beneath  
his feet and the creatures that fill    
those spaces in the universe which he   
needs not1 and which live not for his   
uses2 nay1 he has seldom grace to be    
grateful even to those that love him and
 serve him1 while1 on the other hand1   
none can love ,god nor his human brother
 without loving all things which his    
,father loves1 nor without looking upon 
them every one as in that respect his   
brethren also1 and perhaps worthier than
 he1 if in the under concords they have 

to fill1 their part is touched more     
truly4 ,wherefore it is good to read of 
that kindness and humbleness of ,st4    
,francis of ,assisi1 who spoke never to 
bird nor to cicala1 nor even to wolf and
 beast of prey1 but as his brother2 and 
so we find are moved the minds of all   
good and mighty men1 as in the lesson   
that we have from the ,mariner of       
,coleridge1 and yet more truly and      
rightly taught in the ,heartleap well1  
,never to blend our pleasure1 or our    
pride1                 ,with sorrow of  
the meanest thing that feels1  and again
 in the ,white ,doe of ,rylstone1 with  
the added teaching of that gift1 which  
we have from things beneath us1 in      
thanks for the love they cannot equally 
return2 that anguish of our own1        
,is tempered and allayed by sympathies1 
,aloft ascending and descending deep1   
,even to the inferior kinds1  so that ,i
 know not of anything more destructive  
of the whole theoretic faculty1 not to  
say of the ,christian character and     

human intellect1 than those accursed    
sports in which man makes of himself1   
cat1 tiger1 serpent1 chaetodon1 and     
alligator in one1 and gathers into one  
continuance of cruelty for his amusement
 all the devices that brutes sparingly  
and at intervals use against each other 
for their necessities4#cb   ,sec4 #c4   
,only with respect to plants1 less      
affection than sympathy4  ,as we pass   
from those beings of whose happiness and
 pain we are certain to those in which  
it is doubtful or only seeming1 as      
possibly in plants1 7though ,i would    
fain hold1 if ,i might1 the faith that  
every flower1 enjoys the air it         
breathes1 neither do ,i ever crush or   
gather one without some pain17 yet our  
feeling for them has in it more of      
sympathy than of actual love1 as        
receiving from them in delight far more 
than we can give2 for love1 ,i think1   
chiefly grows in giving1 at least its   
essence is the desire of doing good1 or 
giving happiness1 and we cannot feel the

 desire of that which we cannot         
conceive1 so that if we conceive not of 
a plant as capable of pleasure1 we      
cannot desire to give it pleasure1 that 
is1 we cannot love it in the entire     
sense of the term4  ,nevertheless1 the  
sympathy of very lofty and sensitive    
minds usually reaches so far as to the  
conception of life in the plant1 and so 
to love1 as with ,shelley1 of the       
sensitive plant1 and ,shakspeare always1
 as he has taught us in the sweet voices
 of ,ophelia and ,perdita1 and          
,wordsworth always1 as of the daffodils1
 and the celandine4                 ,it 
doth not love the shower1 nor seek the  
cold4                 ,this neither is  
its courage1 nor its choice1            
,but its necessity in being old1--  and 
so all other great poets 7that is to    
say1 great seers2#cc7 nor do ,i believe 
that any mind1 however rude1 is without 
some slight perception or acknowledgment
 of joyfulness in breathless things1 as 
most certainly there are none but feel  

instinctive delight in the appearances  
of such enjoyment4   ,sec4 #d4 ,which is
 proportioned to the appearance of      
energy in the plants4  ,for it is matter
 of easy demonstration1 that setting the
 characters of typical beauty aside1 the
 pleasure afforded by every organic form
 is in proportion to its appearance of  
healthy vital energy2 as in a rose-bush1
 setting aside all considerations of    
gradated flushing of color and fair     
folding of line1 which it shares with   
the cloud or the snow-wreath1 we find in
 and through all this1 certain signs    
pleasant and acceptable as signs of life
 and enjoyment in the particular        
individual plant itself4 ,every leaf and
 stalk is seen to have a function1 to be
 constantly exercising that function1   
and as it seems solely for the good and 
enjoyment of the plant4 ,it is true that
 reflection will show us that the plant 
is not living for itself alone1 that its
 life is one of benefaction1 that it    
gives as well as receives1 but no sense 

of this whatsoever mingles with our     
perception of physical beauty in its    
forms4 ,those forms which appear to be  
necessary to its health1 the symmetry of
 its leaflets1 the smoothness of its    
stalks1 the vivid green of its shoots1  
are looked upon by us as signs of the   
plant's own happiness and perfection2   
they are useless to us1 except as they  
give us pleasure in our sympathizing    
with that of the plant1 and if we see a 
leaf withered or shrunk or worm-eaten1  
we say it is ugly1 and feel it to be    
most painful1 not because it hurts us1  
but because it seems to hurt the plant1 
and conveys to us an idea of pain and   
disease and failure of life in it4      
,that the amount of pleasure we receive 
is in exact proportion to the appearance
 of vigor and sensibility in the plant1 
is easily proved by observing the effect
 of those which show the evidences of it
 in the least degree1 as1 for instance1 
any of the cacti not in flower4 ,their  
masses are heavy and simple1 their      

growth slow1 their various parts jointed
 on one to another1 as if they were     
buckled or pinned together instead of   
growing out of each other1 7note the    
singular imposition in many of them1 the
 prickly pear for instance1 of the fruit
 upon the body of the plant1 so that it 
looks like a swelling or disease17 and  
often farther opposed by harsh          
truncation of line as in the cactus     
truncatophylla4 ,all these circumstances
 so concur to deprive the plant of vital
 evidences1 that we receive from it more
 sense of pain than of beauty2 and yet  
even here1 the sharpness of the angles1 
the symmetrical order and strength of   
the spines1 the fresh and even color of 
the body1 are looked for earnestly as   
signs of healthy condition1 our pain is 
increased by their absence1 and         
indefinitely increased if blotches1 and 
other appearances of bruise and decay   
interfere with that little life which   
the plant seems to possess4  ,the same  
singular characters belong in animals to

 the crustacea1 as to the lobster1 crab1
 scorpion1 etc41 and in great measure   
deprive them of the beauty which we find
 in higher orders1 so that we are       
reduced to look for their beauty to     
single parts and joints1 and not to the 
whole animal4   ,sec4 #e4 ,this sympathy
 is unselfish1 and does not regard      
utility4  ,now ,i wish particularly to  
impress upon the reader that all these  
sensations of beauty in the plant arise 
from our unselfish sympathy with its    
happiness1 and not from any view of the 
qualities in it which may bring good to 
us1 nor even from our acknowledgment in 
it of any moral condition beyond that of
 mere felicity2 for such an             
acknowledgment1 belongs to the second   
operation of the theoretic faculty      
7compare ,sec4 #b17 and not to the      
sympathetic part which we are at present
 examining2 so that we even find that in
 this respect1 the moment we begin to   
look upon any creature as subordinate to
 some purpose out of itself1 some of the

 sense of organic beauty is lost4 ,thus1
 when we are told that the leaves of a  
plant are occupied in decomposing       
carbonic acid1 and preparing oxygen for 
us1 we begin to look upon it with some  
such indifference as upon a gasometer4  
,it has become a machine2 some of our   
sense of its happiness is gone2 its     
emanation of inherent life is no longer 
pure4 ,the bending trunk1 waving to and 
fro in the wind above the waterfall1 is 
beautiful because it is happy1 though it
 is perfectly useless to us4 ,the same  
trunk1 hewn down and thrown across the  
stream1 has lost its beauty4 ,it serves 
as a bridge1--it has become useful2 it  
lives not for itself1 and its beauty is 
gone1 or what it retains is purely      
typical1 dependent on its lines and     
colors1 not on its functions4 ,saw it   
into planks1 and though now adapted to  
become permanently useful1 its whole    
beauty is lost forever1 or to be        
regained only in part when decay and    
ruin shall have withdrawn it again from 

use1 and left it to receive from the    
hand of nature the velvet moss and      
varied lichen1 which may again suggest  
ideas of inherent happiness1 and tint   
its mouldering sides with hues of life4 
,there is something1 ,i think1          
peculiarly beautiful and instructive in 
this unselfishness of the theoretic     
faculty1 and in its abhorrence of all   
utility which is based on the pain or   
destruction of any creature1 for in such
 ministering to each other as is        
consistent with the essence and energy  
of both1 it takes delight1 as in the    
clothing of the rock by the herbage1 and
 the feeding of the herbage by the      
stream4   ,sec4 #f4 ,especially with    
respect to animals4  ,sec4 #g4 ,and it  
is destroyed by evidences of mechanism4 
,but still more distinct evidence of its
 being indeed the expression of         
happiness to which we look for our first
 pleasure in organic form1 is to be     
found in the way in which we regard the 
bodily frame of animals3 of which it is 

to be noted first1 that there is not    
anything which causes so intense and    
tormenting a sense of ugliness as any   
scar1 wound1 monstrosity1 or            
imperfection which seems inconsistent   
with the animal's ease and health2 and  
that although in vegetables1 where there
 is no immediate sense of pain1 we are  
comparatively little hurt by            
excrescences and irregularities1 but are
 sometimes even delighted with them1 and
 fond of them1 as children of the       
oak-apple1 and sometimes look upon them 
as more interesting than the uninjured  
conditions1 as in the gnarled and       
knotted trunks of trees2 yet the        
slightest approach to anything of the   
kind in animal form is regarded with    
intense horror1 merely from the sense of
 pain it conveys4 ,and1 in the second   
place1 it is to be noted that whenever  
we dissect the animal frame1 or conceive
 it as dissected1 and substitute in our 
ideas the neatness of mechanical        
contrivance for the pleasure of the     

animal2 the moment we reduce enjoyment  
to ingenuity1 and volition to leverage1 
that instant all sense of beauty        
disappears4 ,take1 for instance1 the    
action of the limb of the ostrich1 which
 is beautiful so long as we see it in   
its swift uplifting along the desert    
sands1 and trace in the tread of it her 
scorn of the horse and his rider1 but   
would infinitely lose of its            
impressiveness1 if we could see the     
spring ligament playing backwards and   
forwards in alternate jerks over the    
tubercle at the hock joint4 ,take again 
the action of the dorsal fin of the     
shark tribe4 ,so long as we observe the 
uniform energy of motion in the whole   
frame1 the lash of the tail1 bound of   
body1 and instantaneous lowering of the 
dorsal1 to avoid the resistance of the  
water as it turns1 there is high sense  
of organic power and beauty4 ,but when  
we dissect the dorsal1 and find that its
 superior ray is supported in its       
position by a peg in a notch at its     

base1 and that when the fin is to be    
lowered1 the peg has to be taken out1   
and when it is raised put in again2     
although we are filled with wonder at   
the ingenuity of the mechanical         
contrivance1 all our sense of beauty is 
gone1 and not to be recovered until we  
again see the fin playing on the        
animal's body1 apparently by its own    
will alone1 with the life running along 
its rays4 ,it is by a beautiful         
ordinance of the ,creator that all these
 mechanisms are concealed from sight1   
though open to investigation1 and that  
in all which is outwardly manifested we 
seem to see his presence rather than his
 workmanship1 and the mysterious breath 
of life1 rather than the manipulation of
 matter4  ,as1 therefore1 it appears    
from all evidence that it is the sense  
of felicity which we first desire in    
organic form1 it is evident from reason1
 as demonstrable by experience1 that    
those forms will be the most beautiful  
7always1 observe1 leaving typical beauty

 out of the question7 which exhibit most
 of power1 and seem capable of most     
quick and joyous sensation4 ,hence we   
find gradations of beauty from the      
apparent impenetrableness of hide and   
slow motion of the elephant and         
rhinoceros1 from the foul occupation of 
the vulture1 from the earthy struggling 
of the worm1 to the brilliancy of the   
butterfly1 the buoyancy of the lark1 the
 swiftness of the fawn and the horse1   
the fair and kingly sensibility of man4 
,sec4 #h4 ,the second perfection of the 
theoretic faculty as concerned with     
life is justice of moral judgment4      
,thus far then1 the theoretic faculty is
 concerned with the happiness of        
animals1 and its exercise depends on the
 cultivation of the affections only4    
,let us next observe how it is concerned
 with the moral functions of animals1   
and therefore how it is dependent on the
 cultivation of every moral sense4      
,there is not any organic creature1 but 
in its history and habits it shall      

exemplify or illustrate to us some moral
 excellence or deficiency1 or some point
 of ,god's providential government1     
which it is necessary for us to know4   
,thus the functions and the fates of    
animals are distributed to them1 with a 
variety which exhibits to us the dignity
 and results of almost every passion and
 kind of conduct1 some filthy and       
slothful1 pining and unhappy2 some      
rapacious1 restless1 and cruel2 some    
ever earnest and laborious1 and1 ,i     
think1 unhappy in their endless labor1  
creatures1 like the bee1 that heap up   
riches and cannot tell who shall gather 
them1 and others employed like angels in
 endless offices of love and praise4 ,of
 which when1 in right condition of mind1
 we esteem those most beautiful1 whose  
functions are the most noble1 whether as
 some1 in mere energy1 or as others1 in 
moral honor1 so that we look with hate  
on the foulness of the sloth1 and the   
subtlety of the adder1 and the rage of  
the hyena3 with the honor due to their  

earthly wisdom we invest the earnest ant
 and unwearied bee2 but we look with    
full perception of sacred function to   
the tribes of burning plumage and choral
 voice4#cd ,and so what lesson we might 
receive for our earthly conduct from the
 creeping and laborious things1 was     
taught us by that earthly king who made 
silver to be in ,jerusalem as stones    
7yet thereafter was less rich towards   
,god74 ,but from the lips of an heavenly
 ,king1 who had not where to lay his    
head1 we were taught what lesson we have
 to learn from those higher creatures   
who sow not1 nor reap1 nor gather into  
barns1 for their ,heavenly ,father      
feedeth them4   ,sec4 #i4 ,how impeded4 
,sec4 #aj4 ,the influence of moral signs
 in expression4  ,there is much         
difficulty in the way of our looking    
with this rightly balanced judgment on  
the moral functions of the animal       
tribes1 owing to the independent and    
often opposing characters of typical    
beauty1 which are among them1 as it     

seems1 arbitrarily distributed1 so that 
the most fierce and cruel are often     
clothed in the liveliest colors1 and    
strengthened by the noblest forms1 with 
this only exception1 that so far as ,i  
know1 there is no high beauty in any    
slothful animal1 but even among those of
 prey1 its characters exist in exalted  
measure upon those that range and       
pursue1 and are in equal degree         
withdrawn from those that lie subtly and
 silently in the covert of the reed and 
fens4 ,but that mind only is fully      
disciplined in its theoretic power1     
which can1 when it chooses1 throwing off
 the sympathies and repugnancies with   
which the ideas of destructiveness or of
 innocence accustom us to regard the    
animal tribes1 as well as those meaner  
likes and dislikes which arise1 ,i      
think1 from the greater or less         
resemblance of animal powers to our own1
 can pursue the pleasures of typical    
beauty down to the scales of the        
alligator1 the coils of the serpent1 and

 the joints of the beetle2 and again1 on
 the other hand1 regardless of the      
impressions of typical beauty1 accept   
from each creature1 great or small1 the 
more important lessons taught by its    
position in creation as sufferer or     
chastiser1 as lowly or having dominion1 
as of foul habit or lofty aspiration1   
and from the several perfections which  
all illustrate or possess1 courage1     
perseverance1 industry1 or intelligence1
 or1 higher yet1 of love and patience1  
and fidelity and rejoicing1 and never   
wearied praise4 ,which moral perfections
 that they indeed are productive1 in    
proportion to their expression1 of      
instant beauty instinctively felt1 is   
best proved by comparing those parts of 
animals in which they are definitely    
expressed1 as for instance the eye1 of  
which we shall find those ugliest which 
have in them no expression nor life     
whatever1 but a corpse-like stare1 or an
 indefinite meaningless glaring1 as in  
some lights1 those of owls and cats1 and

 mostly of insects and of all creatures 
in which the eye seems rather an        
external1 optical instrument than a     
bodily member through which emotion and 
virtue of soul may be expressed1 7as    
pre-eminently in the chameleon17 because
 the seeming want of sensibility and    
vitality in a living creature is the    
most painful of all wants4 ,and next to 
these in ugliness come the eyes that    
gain vitality indeed1 but only by means 
of the expression of intense malignity1 
as in the serpent and alligator2 and    
next to these1 to whose malignity is    
added the virtue of subtlety and        
keenness1 as of the lynx and hawk2 and  
then1 by diminishing the malignity and  
increasing the expressions of           
comprehensiveness and determination1 we 
arrive at those of the lion and eagle1  
and at last1 by destroying malignity    
altogether1 at the fair eye of the      
herbivorous tribes1 wherein the         
superioity of beauty consists always in 
the greater or less sweetness and       

gentleness primarily1 as in the gazelle1
 camel1 and ox1 and in the greater or   
less intellect1 secondarily1 as in the  
horse and dog1 and finally1 in          
gentleness and intellect both in man4   
,and again1 taking the mouth1 another   
source of expression1 we find it ugliest
 where it has none1 as mostly in fish1  
or perhaps where without gaining much in
 expression of any kind1 it becomes a   
formidable destructive instrument1 as   
again in the alligator1 and then1 by    
some increase of expression1 we arrive  
at birds' beaks1 wherein there is more  
obtained by the different ways of       
setting on the mandibles than is        
commonly supposed1 7compare the bills of
 the duck and the eagle17 and thence we 
reach the finely developed lips of the  
carnivora1 which nevertheless lose that 
beauty they have1 in the actions of     
snarling and biting1 and from these we  
pass to the nobler because gentler and  
more sensible1 of the horse1 camel1 and 
fawn1 and so again up to man1 only there

 is less traceableness of the principle 
in the mouths of the lower animals1     
because they are in slight measure only 
capable of expression1 and chiefly used 
as instruments1 and that of low         
function1 whereas in man the mouth is   
given most definitely as a means of     
expression1 beyond and above its lower  
functions4 ,compare the remarks of ,sir 
,charles ,bell on this subject in his   
,essay on ,expression1 and compare the  
mouth of the negro head given by him 7p4
 #bh1 third edition7 with that of       
,raffaelle's ,st4 ,catherine4 ,i shall  
illustrate the subject farther hereafter
 by giving the mouth of one of the      
demons of ,orcagna's ,inferno1 with     
projecting incisors1 and that of a fish 
and a swine1 in opposition to pure      
graminivorous and human forms2 but at   
present it is sufficient for my purpose 
to insist on the single great principle1
 that1 wherever expression is possible1 
and uninterfered with by characters of  
typical beauty1 which confuse the       

subject exceedingly as regards the      
mouth1 7for the typical beauty of the   
carnivorous lips is on a grand scale1   
while it exists in very low degree in   
the beaks of birds17 wherever1 ,i say1  
these considerations do not interfere1  
the beauty of the animal form is in     
exact proportion to the amount of moral 
or intellectual virtue expressed by it2 
and wherever beauty exists at all1 there
 is some kind of virtue to which it is  
owing1 as the majesty of the lion's eye 
is owing not to its ferocity1 but to its
 seriousness and seeming intellect1 and 
of the lion's mouth to its strength and 
sensibility1 and not its gnashing of    
teeth1 nor wrinkling in its wrath2 and  
farther be it noted1 that of the        
intellectual or moral virtues1 the moral
 are those which are attended with most 
beauty1 so that the gentle eye of the   
gazelle is fairer to look upon than the 
more keen glance of men1 if it be       
unkind4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,as also in plants4
  ,of the parallel effects of expression

 upon plants there is little to be      
noted1 as the mere naming of the subject
 cannot but bring countless             
illustrations to the mind of every      
reader3 only this1 that1 as we saw they 
were less susceptible of our sympathetic
 love1 owing to the absence in them of  
capability of enjoyment1 so they are    
less open to the affections based upon  
the expression of moral virtue1 owing to
 their want of volition2 so that even on
 those of them which are deadly and     
unkind we look not without pleasure1 the
 more because this their evil operation 
cannot be by them outwardly expressed1  
but only by us empirically known2 so    
that of the outward seemings and        
expressions of plants1 there are few but
 are in some way good and therefore     
beautiful1 as of humility1 and modesty1 
and love of places and things1 in the   
reaching out of their arms1 and clasping
 of their tendrils2 and energy of       
resistance1 and patience of suffering1  
and beneficence one towards another in  

shade and protection1 and to us also in 
scents and fruits 7for of their healing 
virtues1 however important to us1 there 
is no more outward sense nor seeming    
than of their properties mortal or      
dangerous74   ,sec4 #ab ,recapitulation4
  ,whence1 in fine1 looking to the whole
 kingdom of organic nature1 we find that
 our full receiving of its beauty       
depends first on the sensibility and    
then on the accuracy and touchstone     
faithfulness of the heart in its moral  
judgments1 so that it is necessary that 
we should not only love all creatures   
well1 but esteem them in that order     
which is according to ,god's laws and   
not according to our own human passions 
and predilections1 not looking for      
swiftness1 and strength1 and cunning1   
rather than for patience and kindness1  
still less delighting in their animosity
 and cruelty one towards another1       
neither1 if it may be avoided1          
interfering with the working of nature  
in any way1 nor1 when we interfere to   

obtain service1 judging from the morbid 
conditions of the animal or vegetable so
 induced2 for we see every day the      
theoretic faculty entirely destroyed in 
those who are interested in particular  
animals1 by their delight in the results
 of their own teaching1 and by the vain 
straining of curiosity for new forms    
such as nature never intended1 as the   
disgusting types for instance1 which we 
see earnestly sought for by the fanciers
 of rabbits and pigeons1 and constantly 
in horses1 substituting for the true and
 balanced beauty of the free creature   
some morbid development of a single     
power1 as of swiftness in the racer1 at 
the expense1 in certain measure1 of the 
animal's healthy constitution and       
fineness of form2 and so the delight of 
horticulturists in the spoiling of      
plants2 so that in all cases we are to  
beware of such opinions as seem in any  
way referable to human pride1 or even to
 the grateful or pernicious influence of
 things upon ourselves1 and to cast the 

mind free1 and out of ourselves1 humbly1
 and yet always in that noble position  
of pause above the other visible        
creatures1 nearer ,god than they1 which 
we authoritatively hold1 thence looking 
down upon them1 and testing the         
clearness of our moral vision by the    
extent1 and fulness1 and constancy of   
our pleasure in the light of ,god's love
 as it embraces them1 and the harmony of
 his holy laws1 that forever bring mercy
 out of rapine1 and religion out of     
wrath4   ,,footnotes    #ca ,soldanella 
,alpina4    #cb ,i would have ,mr4      
,landseer1 before he gives us any more  
writhing     otters1 or yelping packs1  
reflect whether that which is best      
worthy     of contemplation in a hound  
be its ferocity1 or in an otter its     
agony1 or in a human being its victory1 
hardly achieved even with     the aid of
 its more sagacious brutal allies over a
 poor little     fish-catching creature1
 a foot long4    #cc ,compare ,milton4  
,they at her coming sprung              

,and touched by her fair tendance1      
gladlier grew    #cd        ,type of the
 wise--who soar1 but never roam1        
,true to the kindred points of heaven   
and home4                               
7,,wordsworth4--,to the ,skylark47      
,,chapter ,,xiii4                       
,,of ,,vital ,,beauty4--,,secondly ,,as 
,,generic4   ,sec4 #a4 ,the beauty of   
fulfilment of appointed function in     
every animal4  ,hitherto we have        
observed the conclusions of the         
theoretic faculty with respect to the   
relations of happiness1 and of more or  
less exalted function existing between  
different orders of organic being4 ,but 
we must pursue the inquiry farther yet1 
and observe what impressions of beauty  
are connected with more or less perfect 
fulfilment of the appointed function by 
different individuals of the same       
species4 ,we are now no longer called to
 pronounce upon worthiness of occupation
 or dignity of disposition2 but both    
employment and capacity being known1 and

 the animal's position and duty fixed1  
we have to regard it in that respect    
alone1 comparing it with other          
individuals of its species1 and to      
determine how far it worthily executes  
its office2 whether1 if scorpion1 it    
hath poison enough1 or if tiger1        
strength enough1 or if dove1 innocence  
enough1 to sustain rightly its place in 
creation1 and come up to the perfect    
idea of dove1 tiger1 or scorpion4  ,in  
the first or sympathetic operation of   
the theoretic faculty1 it will be       
remembered1 we receive pleasure from the
 signs of mere happiness in living      
things4 ,in the second theoretic        
operation of comparing and judging1 we  
constituted ourselves such judges of the
 lower creatures as ,adam was made by   
,god when they were brought to him to be
 named1 and we allowed of beauty in them
 as they reached1 more or less1 to that 
standard of moral perfection by which we
 test ourselves4 ,but1 in the third     
place1 we are to come down again from   

the judgment seat1 and taking it for    
granted that every creature of ,god is  
in some way good1 and has a duty and    
specific operation providentially       
accessory to the well-being of all1 we  
are to look in this faith to that       
employment and nature of each1 and to   
derive pleasure from their entire       
perfection and fitness for the duty they
 have to do1 and in their entire        
fulfilment of it3 and so we are to take 
pleasure and find beauty in the         
magnificent binding together of the jaws
 of the ichthyosaurus for catching and  
holding1 and in the adaptation of the   
lion for springing1 and of the locust   
for destroying1 and of the lark for     
singing1 and in every creature for the  
doing of that which ,god has made it to 
do4 ,which faithful pleasure in the     
perception of the perfect operation of  
lower creatures ,i have placed last     
among the perfections of the theoretic  
faculty concerning them1 because it is  
commonly last acquired1 both owing to   

the humbleness and trustfulness of heart
 which it demands1 and because it       
implies a knowledge of the habits and   
structure of every creature1 such as we 
can but imperfectly possess4   ,sec4 #b4
 ,the two senses of the word ideal4     
,either it refers to action of          
the imagination4  ,the perfect idea of  
the form and condition in which all the 
properties of the species are fully     
developed1 is called the ideal of the   
species4 ,the question of the nature of 
ideal conception of species1 and of the 
mode in which the mind arrives at it1   
has been the subject of so much         
discussion1 and source of so much       
embarrassment1 chiefly owing to that    
unfortunate distinction between idealism
 and realism which leads most people to 
imagine the ideal opposed to the real1  
and therefore false1 that ,i think it   
necessary to request the reader's most  
careful attention to the following      
positions4  ,any work of art which      
represents1 not a material object1 but  

the mental conception of a material     
object1 is1 in the primary sense of the 
word ideal2 that is to say1 it          
represents an idea1 and not a thing4    
,any work of art which represents or    
realizes a material object1 is1 in the  
primary sense of the term1 unideal4     
,ideal works of art1 therefore1 in this 
first sense1 represent the result of an 
act of imagination1 and are good or bad 
in proportion to the healthy condition  
and general power of the imagination1   
whose acts they represent4  ,unideal    
works of art 7the studious production of
 which is termed realism7 represent     
actual existing things1 and are good or 
bad in proportion to the perfection of  
the representation4  ,all entirely bad  
works of art may be divided into those  
which1 professing to be imaginative1    
bear no stamp of imagination1 and are   
therefore false1 and those which1       
professing to be representative of      
matter1 miss of the representation and  
are therefore nugatory4  ,it is the     

habit of most observers to regard art as
 representative of matter1 and to look  
only for the entireness of              
representation2 and it was to this view 
of art that ,i limited the arguments of 
the former sections of the present work1
 wherein having to oppose the           
conclusions of a criticism entirely     
based upon the realist system1 ,i was   
compelled to meet that criticism on its 
own grounds4 ,but the greater part of   
works of art1 more especially those     
devoted to the expression of ideas of   
beauty1 are the results of the agency of
 imagination1 their worthiness          
depending1 as above stated1 on the      
healthy condition of the imagination4   
,hence it is necessary for us1 in order 
to arrive at conclusions respecting the 
worthiness of such works1 to define and 
examine the nature of the imaginative   
faculty1 and to determine first what are
 the signs or conditions of its         
existence at all2 and secondly1 what are
 the evidences of its healthy and       

efficient existence1 upon which         
examination ,i shall enter in the second
 section of the present part4   ,sec4   
#c4 ,or to perfection of type4  ,but    
there is another sense of the word ideal
 besides this1 and it is that with which
 we are here concerned4 ,it is evident  
that1 so long as we use the word to     
signify that art which represents ideas 
and not things1 we may use it as truly  
of the art which represents an idea of  
,caliban1 and not real ,caliban1 as of  
the art which represents an idea of     
,antinous1 and not real ,antinous4 ,for 
that is as much imagination which       
conceives the monster as which conceives
 the man4 ,if1 however1 ,caliban and    
,antinous be creatures of the same      
species1 and the form of the one contain
 not the fully developed types or       
characters of the species1 while the    
form of the other presents the greater  
part of them1 then the latter is said to
 be a form more ideal than the other1 as
 a nearer approximation to the general  

idea or conception of the species4      
,sec4 #d4 ,this last sense how          
inaccurate1 yet to be retained4  ,now it
 is evident that this use of the word   
ideal is much less accurate than the    
other1 from which it is derived1 for it 
rests on the assumption that the        
assemblage of all the characters of a   
species in their perfect development    
cannot exist but in the imagination4    
,for if it can actually and in reality  
exist1 it is not right to call it ideal 
or imaginary2 it would be better to call
 it characteristic or general1 and to   
reserve the word ideal for the results  
of the operation of the imagination1    
either on the perfect or imperfect      
forms4  ,nevertheless1 the word ideal   
has been so long and universally        
accepted in this sense1 that ,i think it
 better to continue the use of it1 so   
only that the reader will be careful to 
observe the distinction in the sense1   
according to the subject matter under   
discussion4 ,at present then1 using it  

as expressive of the noble generic form 
which indicates the full perfection of  
the creature in all its functions1 ,i   
wish to examine how far this perception 
exists or may exist in nature1 and if   
not in nature1 how it is by us          
discoverable or imaginable4   ,sec4 #e4 
,of ,ideal form4 ,first1 in the lower   
animals4  ,now it is better1 when we    
wish to arrive at truth1 always to take 
familiar instances1 wherein the mind is 
not likely to be biassed by any elevated
 associations or favorite theories4 ,let
 us ask therefore1 first1 what kind of  
ideal form may be attributed to a limpet
 or an oyster1 that is to say1 whether  
all oysters do or do not come up to the 
entire notion or idea of an oyster4 ,i  
apprehend that1 although in respect of  
size1 age1 and kind of feeding1 there   
may be some difference between them1 yet
 of those which are of full size and    
healthy condition there will be found   
many which fulfil the conditions of an  
oyster in every respect1 and that so    

perfectly1 that we could not1 by        
combining the features of two or more   
together1 produce a more perfect oyster 
than any that we see4 ,i suppose also1  
that1 out of a number of healthy fish1  
birds1 or beasts of the same species1 it
 would not be easy to select an         
individual as superior to all the rest2 
neither by comparing two or more of the 
nobler examples together1 to arrive at  
the conception of a form superior to    
that of either2 but that1 though the    
accidents of more abundant food or more 
fitting habitation may induce among them
 some varieties of size1 strength1 and  
color1 yet the entire generic form would
 be presented by many1 neither would any
 art be able to add to or diminish from 
it4   ,sec4 #f4 ,in what consistent4    
,it is1 therefore1 hardly right to use  
the word ideal of the generic forms of  
these creatures1 of which we see actual 
examples2 but if we are to use it1 then 
be it distinctly understood that their  
ideality consists in the full           

development of all the powers and       
properties of the creature as such1 and 
is inconsistent with accidental or      
imperfect developments1 and even with   
great variation from average size1 the  
ideal size being neither gigantic nor   
diminutive1 but the utmost grandeur and 
entireness of proportion at a certain   
point above the mean size2 for as more  
individuals always fall short of generic
 size than rise above it1 the generic is
 above the average or mean size4 ,and   
this perfection of the creature         
invariably involves the utmost possible 
degree of all those properties of       
beauty1 both typical and vital1 which it
 is appointed to possess4   ,sec4 #g4   
,ideal form in vegetables4  ,let us next
 observe the conditions of ideality in  
vegetables4 ,out of a large number of   
primroses or violets1 ,i apprehend that1
 although one or two might be larger    
than all the rest1 the greater part     
would be very sufficient primroses and  
violets4 ,and that we could1 by no study

 nor combination of violets1 conceive of
 a better violet than many in the bed4  
,and so generally of the blossoms and   
separate members of all vegetables4     
,but among the entire forms of the      
complex vegetables1 as of oak-trees1 for
 instance1 there exists very large and  
constant difference1 some being what we 
hold to be fine oaks1 as in parks1 and  
places where they are taken care of1 and
 have their own way1 and some are but   
poor and mean oaks1 which have had no   
one to take care of them1 but have been 
obliged to maintain themselves4  ,that  
which we have to determine is1 whether  
ideality be predicable of the fine oaks 
only1 or whether the poor and mean oaks 
also may be considered as ideal1 that   
is1 coming up to the conditions of oak1 
and the general notion of oak4   ,sec4  
#h4 ,the difference of position between 
plants and animals4  ,now there is this 
difference between the positions held in
 creation by animals and plants1 and    
thence in the dispositions with which we

 regard them2 that the animals1 being   
for the most part locomotive1 are       
capable both of living where they       
choose1 and of obtaining what food they 
want1 and of fulfilling all the         
conditions necessary to their health and
 perfection4 ,for which reason they are 
answerable for such health and          
perfection1 and we should be displeased 
and hurt if we did not find it in one   
individual as well as another4   ,sec4  
#i4 ,admits of variety in the ideal of  
the former4  ,but the case is evidently 
different with plants4 ,they are        
intended fixedly to occupy many places  
comparatively unfit for them1 and to    
fill up all the spaces where greenness1 
and coolness1 and ornament1 and oxygen  
are wanted1 and that with very little   
reference to their comfort or           
convenience4 ,now it would be hard upon 
the plant if1 after being tied to a     
particular spot1 where it is indeed much
 wanted1 and is a great blessing1 but   
where it has enough to do to live1      

whence it cannot move to obtain what it 
wants or likes1 but must stretch its    
unfortunate arms here and there for bare
 breath and light1 and split its way    
among rocks1 and grope for sustenance in
 unkindly soil2 it would be hard upon   
the plant1 ,i say1 if under all these   
disadvantages1 it were made answerable  
for its appearance1 and found fault with
 because it was not a fine plant of the 
kind4 ,and so we find it ordained that  
in order that no unkind comparisons may 
be drawn between one and another1 there 
are not appointed to plants the fixed   
number1 position1 and proportion of     
members which are ordained in animals1  
7and any variation from which in these  
is unpardonable17 but a continually     
varying number and position1 even among 
the more freely growing examples1       
admitting therefore all kinds of license
 to those which have enemies to contend 
with1 and that without in any way       
detracting from their dignity and       
perfection4  ,so then there is in trees 

no perfect form which can be fixed upon 
or reasoned out as ideal2 but that is   
always an ideal oak which1 however      
poverty-stricken1 or hunger-pinched1 or 
tempest-tortured1 is yet seen to have   
done1 under its appointed circumstances1
 all that could be expected of oak4     
,the ideal1 therefore1 of the park oak  
is that to which ,i alluded in the      
conclusion of the former part of this   
work1 full size1 united terminal curve1 
equal and symmetrical range of branches 
on each side4 ,the ideal of the mountain
 oak may be anything1 twisting1 and     
leaning1 and shattered1 and             
rock-encumbered1 so only that amidst all
 its misfortunes1 it maintain the       
dignity of oak2 and1 indeed1 ,i look    
upon this kind of tree as more ideal    
than the other1 in so far as by its     
efforts and struggles1 more of its      
nature1 enduring power1 patience in     
waiting for1 and ingenuity in obtaining 
what it wants1 is brought out1 and so   
more of the essence of oak exhibited1   

than under more fortunate conditions4   
,sec4 #aj4 ,ideal form in vegetables    
destroyed by cultivation4  ,and herein1 
then1 we at last find the cause of that 
fact which we have twice already noted1 
that the exalted or seemingly improved  
condition1 whether of plant or animal1  
induced by human interference1 is not   
the true and artistical ideal of it4#ce 
,it has been well shown by ,dr4         
,herbert1#cf that many plants are found 
alone on a certain soil or subsoil in a 
wild state1 not because such soil is    
favorable to them1 but because they     
alone are capable of existing on it1 and
 because all dangerous rivals are by its
 inhospitality removed4 ,now if we      
withdraw the plant from this position1  
which it hardly endures1 and supply it  
with the earth1 and maintain about it   
the temperature that it delights in2    
withdrawing from it at the same time all
 rivals which1 in such conditions nature
 would have thrust upon it1 we shall    
indeed obtain a magnificently developed 

example of the plant1 colossal in size1 
and splendid in organization1 but we    
shall utterly lose in it that moral     
ideal which is dependent on its right   
fulfilment of its appointed functions4  
,it was intended and created by the     
,deity for the covering of those lonely 
spots where no other plant could live2  
it has been thereto endowed with        
courage1 and strength1 and capacities of
 endurance unequalled2 its character and
 glory are not therefore in the         
gluttonous and idle feeling of its own  
over luxuriance1 at the expense of other
 creatures utterly destroyed and rooted 
out for its good alone1 but in its right
 doing of its hard duty2 and forward    
climbing into those spots of forlorn    
hope where it alone can bear witness to 
the kindness and presence of the ,spirit
 that cutteth out rivers among the      
rocks1 as it covers the valleys with    
corn3 and there1 in its vanward place1  
and only there1 where nothing is        
withdrawn for it1 nor hurt by it1 and   

where nothing can take part of its      
honor1 nor usurp its throne1 are its    
strength1 and fairness1 and price1 and  
goodness in the sight of ,god1 to be    
truly esteemed4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,instance  
in the ,soldanella and ,ranunculus4     
,the first time that ,i saw the         
soldanella alpina1 before spoken of1 it 
was growing1 of magnificent size1 on a  
sunny ,alpine pasture1 among bleating of
 sheep and lowing of cattle1 associated 
with a profusion of geum montanum1 and  
ranunculus pyrenaeus4 ,i noticed it only
 because new to me1 nor perceived any   
peculiar beauty in its cloven flower4   
,some days after1 ,i found it alone1    
among the rack of the higher clouds1 and
 howling of glacier winds1 and1 as ,i   
described it1 piercing through an edge  
of avalanche1 which in its retiring had 
left the new ground brown and lifeless1 
and as if burned by recent fire2 the    
plant was poor and feeble1 and seemingly
 exhausted with its efforts1 but it was 
then that ,i comprehended its ideal     

character1 and saw its noble function   
and order of glory among the            
constellations of the earth4  ,the      
ranunculus glacialis might perhaps1 by  
cultivation1 be blanched from its wan   
and corpse-like paleness to purer white1
 and won to more branched and lofty     
development of its ragged leaves4 ,but  
the ideal of the plant is to be found   
only in the last1 loose stones of the   
moraine1 alone there2 wet with the cold1
 unkindly drip of the glacier water1 and
 trembling as the loose and steep dust  
to which it clings yields ever and anon1
 and shudders and crumbles away from    
about its root4   ,sec4 #ab4 ,the beauty
 of repose and felicity1 how consistent 
with such ideal4  ,and if it be asked   
how this conception of the utmost beauty
 of ideal form is consistent with what  
we formerly argued respecting the       
pleasantness of the appearance of       
felicity in the creature1 let it be     
observed1 and forever held1 that the    
right and true happiness of every       

creature1 is in this very discharge of  
its function1 and in those efforts by   
which its strength and inherent energy  
are developed3 and that the repose of   
which we also spoke as necessary to all 
beauty1 is1 as was then stated1 repose  
not of inanition1 nor of luxury1 nor of 
irresolution1 but the repose of         
magnificent energy and being2 in action1
 the calmness of trust and              
determination2 in rest1 the             
consciousness of duty accomplished and  
of victory won1 and this repose and this
 felicity can take place as well in the 
midst of trial and tempest1 as beside   
the waters of comfort2 they perish only 
when the creature is either unfaithful  
to itself1 or is afflicted by           
circumstances unnatural and malignant to
 its being1 and for the contending with 
which it was neither fitted nor         
ordained4 ,hence that rest which is     
indeed glorious is of the chamois       
couched breathless on his granite bed1  
not of the stalled ox over his fodder1  

and that happiness which is indeed      
beautiful is in the bearing of those    
trial tests which are appointed for the 
proving of every creature1 whether it be
 good1 or whether it be evil2 and in the
 fulfilment to the uttermost of every   
command it has received1 and the        
out-carrying to the uttermost of every  
power and gift it has gotten from its   
,god4   ,sec4 #ac4 ,the ideality of     
,art4  ,therefore the task of the       
painter in his pursuit of ideal form is 
to attain accurate knowledge1 so far as 
may be in his power1 of the character1  
habits1 and peculiar virtues and duties 
of every species of being2 down even to 
the stone1 for there is an ideality of  
stones according to their kind1 an      
ideality of granite and slate and       
marble1 and it is in the utmost and most
 exalted exhibition of such individual  
character1 order1 and use1 that all     
ideality of art consists4 ,the more     
cautious he is in assigning the right   
species of moss to its favorite trunk1  

and the right kind of weed to its       
necessary stone1 in marking the definite
 and characteristic leaf1 blossom1 seed1
 fracture1 color1 and inward anatomy of 
everything1 the more truly ideal his    
work becomes4 ,all confusion of species1
 all careless rendering of character1   
all unnatural and arbitrary association1
 is vulgar and unideal in proportion to 
its degree4   ,sec4 #ad4 ,how connected 
with the imaginative faculties4  ,it is 
to be noted1 however1 that nature       
sometimes in a measure herself conceals 
these generic differences1 and that when
 she displays them it is commonly on a  
scale too small for human hand to       
follow4  ,the pursuit and seizure of the
 generic differences in their           
concealment1 and the display of them on 
a larger and more palpable scale1 is one
 of the wholesome and healthy operations
 of the imagination of which we are     
presently to speak4#cg  ,generic        
differences being commonly exhibited by 
art in different manner and way from    

that of their natural occurrence1 are in
 this respect more strictly and truly   
ideal in art than in reality4   ,sec4   
#ae4 ,ideality1 how belonging to ages   
and conditions4  ,this only remains to  
be noted1 that1 of all creatures whose  
existence involves birth1 progress1 and 
dissolution1 ideality is predicable all 
through their existence1 so that they be
 perfect with reference to their        
supposed period of being4 ,thus there is
 an ideal of infancy1 of youth1 of old  
age1 of death1 and of decay4 ,but when  
the ideal form of the species is spoken 
of or conceived in general terms1 the   
form is understood to be of that period 
when the generic attributes are         
perfectly developed1 and previous to the
 commencement of their decline4 ,at     
which period all the characters of vital
 and typical beauty are commonly most   
concentrated in them1 though the        
arrangement and proportion of these     
characters varies at different periods1 
youth having more of the vigorous       

beauty1 and age of the reposing2 youth  
of typical outward fairness1 and age of 
expanded and etherealized moral         
expression2 the babe1 again1 in some    
measure atoning in gracefulness for its 
want of strength1 so that the balanced  
glory of the creature continues in      
solemn interchange1 perhaps even        
,filling more and more with crystal     
light1                 ,as pensive      
evening deepens into night4  ,hitherto1 
however1 we have confined ourselves to  
the examination of ideal form in the    
lower animals1 and we have found that1  
to arrive at it1 no combination of forms
 nor exertion of fancy is required1 but 
only simple choice among those naturally
 presented1 together with careful       
investigation and anatomizing of the    
habits of the creatures4 ,i fear we     
shall arrive at a very different        
conclusion1 in considering the ideal    
form of man4   ,,footnotes    #ce ,i    
speak not here of those conditions of   
vegetation which have     especial      

reference to man1 as of seeds and       
fruits1 whose sweetness     and farina  
seem in great measure given1 not for the
 plant's sake1     but for his1 and to  
which therefore the interruption in the 
harmony     of creation of which he was 
the cause is extended1 and their        
sweetness and larger measure of good to 
be obtained only by his     redeeming   
labor4 ,his curse has fallen on the corn
 and the vine1 and     the wild barley  
misses of its fulness1 that he may eat  
bread by the     sweat of his brow4     
#cf ,journal of the ,horticultural      
,society4 ,part ,i4    #cg ,compare     
,sect4 ,,ii4 ,chap4 ,,iv4               
,,chapter ,,xiv4                        
,,of ,,vital ,,beauty4--,,thirdly1 ,,in 
,,man4   ,sec4 #a4 ,condition of the    
human creature entirely different from  
that of the        lower animals4       
,having thus passed gradually through   
all the orders and fields of creation1  
and traversed that goodly line of ,god's
 happy creatures who leap not1 but      

express a feast1 where all the guests   
sit close1 and nothing wants1 without   
finding any deficiency which human      
invention might supply1 nor any harm    
which human interference might mend1 we 
come at last to set ourselves face to   
face with ourselves1 expecting that in  
creatures made after the image of ,god  
we are to find comeliness and completion
 more exquisite than in the fowls of the
 air and the things that pass through   
the paths of the sea4  ,but behold now a
 sudden change from all former          
experience4 ,no longer among the        
individuals of the race is there        
equality or likeness1 a distributed     
fairness and fixed type visible in each1
 but evil diversity1 and terrible stamp 
of various degradation2 features seamed 
with sickness1 dimmed by sensuality1    
convulsed by passion1 pinched by        
poverty1 shadowed by sorrow1 branded    
with remorse2 bodies consumed with      
sloth1 broken down by labor1 tortured by
 disease1 dishonored in foul uses2      

intellects without power1 hearts without
 hope1 minds earthly and devilish2 our  
bones full of the sin of our youth1 the 
heaven revealing our iniquity1 the earth
 rising up against us1 the roots dried  
up beneath1 and the branch cut off      
above2 well for us only1 if1 after      
beholding this our natural face in a    
glass1 we desire not straightway to     
forget what manner of men we be4   ,sec4
 #b4 ,what room here for idealization4  
,herein there is at last something1 and 
too much1 for that short stopping       
intelligence and dull perception of ours
 to accomplish1 whether in earnest fact1
 or in the seeking for the outward image
 of beauty3--to undo the devil's work1  
to restore to the body the grace and the
 power which inherited disease has      
destroyed1 to return to the spirit the  
purity1 and to the intellect the grasp  
that they had in ,paradise4 ,now1 first 
of all1 this work1 be it observed is in 
no respect a work of imagination4       
,wrecked we are1 and nearly all to      

pieces2 but that little good by which we
 are to redeem ourselves is to be got   
out of the old wreck1 beaten about and  
full of sand though it be2 and not out  
of that desert island of pride on which 
the devils split first1 and we after    
them3 and so the only restoration of the
 body that we can reach is not to be    
coined out of our fancies1 but to be    
collected out of such uninjured and     
bright vestiges of the old seal as we   
can find and set together1 and so the   
ideal of the features1 as the good and  
perfect soul is seen in them1 is not to 
be reached by imagination1 but by the   
seeing and reaching forth of the better 
part of the soul to that of which it    
must first know the sweetness and       
goodness in itself1 before it can much  
desire1 or rightly find1 the signs of it
 in others4  ,i say much desire and     
rightly find1 because there is not any  
soul so sunk but that it shall in some  
measure feel the impression of mental   
beauty in the human features1 and detest

 in others its own likeness1 and in     
itself despise that which of itself it  
has made4   ,sec4 #c4 ,how the          
conception of the bodily ideal is       
reached4  ,now1 of the ordinary process 
by which the realization of ideal bodily
 form is reached1 there is explanation  
enough in all treatises on art1 and it  
is so far well comprehended that ,i need
 not stay long to consider it4 ,so far  
as the sight and knowledge of the human 
form1 of the purest race1 exercised from
 infancy constantly1 but not excessively
 in all exercises of dignity1 not in    
twists and straining dexterities1 but in
 natural exercises of running1 casting1 
or riding2 practised in endurance1 not  
of extraordinary hardship1 for that     
hardens and degrades the body1 but of   
natural hardship1 vicissitudes of winter
 and summer1 and cold and heat1 yet in a
 climate where none of these are severe2
 surrounded also by a certain degree of 
right luxury1 so as to soften and refine
 the forms of strength2 so far as the   

sight of all this could render the      
mental intelligence of what is right in 
human form so acute as to be able to    
abstract and combine from the best      
examples so produced1 that which was    
most perfect in each1 so far the ,greek 
conceived and attained the ideal of     
bodily form3 and on the ,greek modes of 
attaining it1 as well as on what he     
produced1 as a perfect example of it1   
chiefly dwell those writers whose       
opinions on this subject ,i have        
collected2 wholly losing sight of what  
seems to me the most important branch of
 the inquiry1 namely1 the influence for 
good or evil of the mind upon the bodily
 shape1 the wreck of the mind itself1   
and the modes by which we may conceive  
of its restoration4   ,sec4 #d4         
,modifications of the bodily ideal owing
 to influence of mind4        ,first1 of
 intellect4  ,now1 the operation of the 
mind upon the body1 and evidence of it  
thereon1 may be considered under the    
following three general heads4  ,first1 

the operation of the intellectual powers
 upon the features1 in the fine cutting 
and chiselling of them1 and removal from
 them of signs of sensuality and sloth1 
by which they are blunted and deadened1 
and substitution of energy and intensity
 for vacancy and insipidity1 7by which  
wants alone the faces of many fair women
 are utterly spoiled and rendered       
valueless17 and by the keenness given to
 the eye and fine moulding and          
development to the brow1 of which       
effects ,sir ,charles ,bell has well    
noted the desirableness and opposition  
to brutal types1 7p4 #ei1 third         
edition27 only this he has not          
sufficiently observed1 that there are   
certain virtues of the intellect in     
measure inconsistent with each other1 as
 perhaps great subtlety with great      
comprehensiveness1 and high analytical  
with high imaginative power1 or that at 
least1 if consistent and compatible1    
their signs upon the features are not   
the same1 so that the outward form      

cannot express both1 without in a       
measure expressing neither2 and so there
 are certain separate virtues of the    
outward form correspondent with the more
 constant employment or more prevailing 
capacity of the brain1 as the piercing  
keenness1 or open and reflective        
comprehensiveness of the eye and        
forehead1 and that all these virtues of 
form are ideal1 only those the most so  
which are the signs of the worthiest    
powers of intellect1 though which these 
be1 we will not at present stay to      
inquire4   ,sec4 #e4 ,secondly1 of the  
moral feelings4  ,sec4 #f4 ,what beauty 
is bestowed by them  ,the second point  
to be considered in the influence of    
mind upon body1 is the mode of operation
 and conjunction of the moral feelings  
on and with the intellectual powers1 and
 then their conjoint influence on the   
bodily form4 ,now1 the operation of the 
right moral feelings on the intellect is
 always for the good of the latter1 for 
it is not possible that selfishness     

should reason rightly in any respect1   
but must be blind in its estimation of  
the worthiness of all things1 neither   
anger1 for that overpowers the reason or
 outcries it1 neither sensuality1 for   
that overgrows and chokes it1 neither   
agitation1 for that has no time to      
compare things together1 neither enmity1
 for that must be unjust1 neither fear1 
for that exaggerates all things1 neither
 cunning and deceit1 for that which is  
voluntarily untrue will soon be         
unwittingly so3 but the great reasoners 
are self-command1 and trust unagitated1 
and deep-looking ,love1 and ,faith1     
which as she is above ,reason1 so she   
best holds the reins of it from her high
 seat3 so that they err grossly who     
think of the right development even of  
the intellectual type as possible1      
unless we look to higher sources of     
beauty first4 ,nevertheless1 though in  
their operation upon them the moral     
feelings are thus elevatory of the      
mental faculties1 yet in their          

conjunction with them they seem to      
occupy1 in their own fulness1 such room 
as to absorb and overshadow all else1 so
 that the simultaneous exercise of both 
is in a sort impossible2 for which cause
 we occasionally find the moral part in 
full development and action1 without    
corresponding expanding of the intellect
 7though never without healthy condition
 of it17 as in that of ,wordsworth1     
,in such high hour                ,of   
visitation from the ,living ,god1       
,thought was not2  only ,i think that if
 we look far enough1 we shall find that 
it is not intelligence itself1 but the  
immediate act and effort of a laborious1
 struggling1 and imperfect intellectual 
faculty1 with which high moral emotion  
is inconsistent2 and that though we     
cannot1 while we feel deeply1 reason    
shrewdly1 yet ,i doubt if1 except when  
we feel deeply1 we can ever comprehend  
fully2 so that it is only the climbing  
and mole-like piercing1 and not the     
sitting upon their central throne1 nor  

emergence into light1 of the            
intellectual faculties which the full   
heart feeling allows not4 ,hence1       
therefore1 in the indications of the    
countenance1 they are only the hard cut 
lines1 and rigid settings1 and wasted   
hollows1 that speak of past effort and  
painfulness of mental application1 which
 are inconsistent with expression of    
moral feeling1 for all these are of     
infelicitous augury2 but not the full   
and serene development of habitual      
command in the look1 and solemn thought 
in the brow1 only these1 in their unison
 with the signs of emotion1 become      
softened and gradually confounded with a
 serenity and authority of nobler       
origin4 ,but of the sweetness which that
 higher serenity 7of happiness17 and the
 dignity which that higher authority 7of
 ,divine law1 and not human reason17 can
 and must stamp on the features1 it     
would be futile to speak here at length1
 for ,i suppose that both are           
acknowledged on all hands1 and that     

there is not any beauty but theirs to   
which men pay long obedience3 at all    
events1 if not by sympathy discovered1  
it is not in words explicable with what 
divine lines and lights the exercise of 
godliness and charity will mould and    
gild the hardest and coldest            
countenance1 neither to what darkness   
their departure will consign the        
loveliest4 ,for there is not any virtue 
the exercise of which1 even momentarily1
 will not impress a new fairness upon   
the features1 neither on them only1 but 
on the whole body1 both the intelligence
 and the moral faculties have operation1
 for even all the movement and gestures1
 however slight1 are different in their 
modes according to the mind that governs
 them1 and on the gentleness and        
decision of just feeling there follows a
 grace of action1 and through           
continuance of this a grace of form1    
which by no discipline may be taught or 
attained4   ,sec4 #g4 ,how the soul     
culture interferes harmfully with the   

bodily ideal4  ,the third point to be   
considered with respect to the corporeal
 expression of mental character is1 that
 there is a certain period of the soul  
culture when it begins to interfere with
 some of the characters of typical      
beauty belonging to the bodily frame1   
the stirring of the intellect wearing   
down the flesh1 and the moral enthusiasm
 burning its way out to heaven1 through 
the emaciation of the earthen vessel2   
and that there is1 in this indication of
 subduing of the mortal by the immortal 
part1 an ideal glory of perhaps a purer 
and higher range than that of the more  
perfect material form4 ,we conceive1 ,i 
think1 more nobly of the weak presence  
of ,paul1 than of the fair and ruddy    
countenance of ,daniel4   ,sec4 #h4 ,the
 inconsistency among the effects of the 
mental virtues on the        form4      
,sec4 #i4 ,is a sign of ,god's kind     
purpose towards the race4  ,sec4 #aj4   
,consequent separation and difference of
 ideals4  ,now1 be it observed that in  

our consideration of these three        
directions of mental influence1 we have 
several times been compelled to stop    
short of definite conclusions owing to  
the apparent inconsistency of certain   
excellences and beauties to which they  
tend1 as1 first1 of different kinds of  
intellect with each other2 and secondly1
 of the moral faculties with the        
intellectual1 7and if we had separately 
examined the moral emotions1 we should  
have found certain inconsistencies among
 them also17 and again of the soul      
culture generally with the bodily       
perfections4 ,such inconsistencies we   
should find in the perfections of no    
other animal4 ,the strength or swiftness
 of the dog are not inconsistent with   
his sagacity1 nor is bodily labor in the
 ant or bee destructive of their        
acuteness of instinct4 ,and this        
peculiarity of relation among the       
perfections of man is no result of his  
fall or sinfulness1 but an evidence of  
his greater nobility1 and of the        

goodness of ,god towards him4 ,for the  
individuals of each race of lower       
animals1 being not intended to hold     
among each other those relations of     
charity which are the privilege of      
humanity1 are not adapted to each       
other's assistance1 admiration1 or      
support1 by differences of power and    
function4 ,but the love of the human    
race is increased by their individual   
differences1 and the unity of the       
creature1 as before we saw of all unity1
 made perfect by each having something  
to bestow and to receive1 bound to the  
rest by a thousand various necessities  
and various gratitudes1 humility in each
 rejoicing to admire in his fellow that 
which he finds not in himself1 and each 
being in some respect the complement of 
his race4 ,therefore1 in investigating  
the signs of the ideal or perfect type  
of humanity1 we must not presume on the 
singleness of that type1 and yet1 on the
 other hand1 we must cautiously         
distinguish between differences         

conceivably existing in a perfect state1
 and differences resulting from         
immediate and present operation of the  
,adamite curse4 ,of which the former are
 differences that bind1 and the latter  
that separate4 ,for although we can     
suppose the ideal or perfect human      
heart1 and the perfect human            
intelligence1 equally adapted to receive
 every right sensation and pursue every 
order of truth1 yet as it is appointed  
for some to be in authority and others  
in obedience1 some in solitary functions
 and others in relative ones1 some to   
receive and others to give1 some to     
teach and some to discover2 and as all  
these varieties of office are not only  
conceivable as existing in a perfect    
state of man1 but seem almost to be     
implied by it1 and at any rate cannot be
 done away with but by a total change of
 his constitution and dependencies1 of  
which the imagination can take no hold2 
so there are habits and capacities of   
expression induced by these various     

offices1 which admit of many separate   
ideals of equal perfection1 according to
 the functions of the creatures1 so that
 there is an ideal of authority1 of     
judgment1 of affection1 of reason1 and  
of faith2 neither can any combination of
 these ideals be attained1 not that the 
just judge is to be supposed incapable  
of affection1 nor the king incapable of 
obedience1 but as it is impossible that 
any essence short of the ,divine should 
at the same instant be equally receptive
 of all emotions1 those emotions which1 
by right and order1 have the most usual 
victory1 both leave the stamp of their  
habitual presence on the body1 and      
render the individual more and more     
susceptible of them in proportion to the
 frequency of their prevalent           
recurrence2 added to which causes of    
distinctive character are to be taken   
into account the differences of age and 
sex1 which1 though seemingly of more    
finite influence1 cannot be banished    
from any human conception4 ,david1 ruddy

 and of a fair countenance1 with the    
brook stone of deliverance in his hand1 
is not more ideal than ,david leaning on
 the old age of ,barzillai1 returning   
chastened to his kingly home4 ,and they 
who are as the angels of ,god in heaven1
 yet cannot be conceived as so          
assimilated that their different        
experiences and affections upon earth   
shall then be forgotten and effectless3 
the child taken early to his place      
cannot be imagined to wear there such a 
body1 nor to have such thoughts1 as the 
glorified apostle who has finished his  
course and kept the faith on earth4 ,and
 so whatever perfections and likeness of
 love we may attribute to either the    
tried or the crowned creatures1 there is
 the difference of the stars in glory   
among them yet2 differences of original 
gifts1 though not of occupying till     
their ,lord come1 different             
dispensations of trial and of trust1 of 
sorrow and support1 both in their own   
inward1 variable hearts1 and in their   

positions of exposure or of peace1 of   
the gourd shadow and the smiting sun1 of
 calling at heat of day or eleventh     
hour1 of the house unroofed by faith1   
and the clouds opened by revelation3    
differences in warning1 in mercies1 in  
sicknesses1 in signs1 in time of calling
 to account2 like only they all are by  
that which is not of them1 but the gift 
of ,god's unchangeable mercy4 ,i will   
give unto this last even as unto thee4  
,sec4 #aa4 ,the effects of the ,adamite 
curse are to be distinguished from      
signs of its immediate activity4  ,sec4 
#ab4 ,which latter only are to be       
banished from ideal form4  ,hence1 then1
 be it observed1 that what we must      
determinedly banish from the human form 
and countenance in our seeking of its   
ideal1 is not everything which can be   
ultimately traced to the ,adamite fall  
for its cause1 but only the immediate   
operation and presence of the degrading 
power or sin4 ,for there is not any part
 of our feeling of nature1 nor can there

 be through eternity1 which shall not be
 in some way influenced and affected by 
the fall1 and that not in any way of    
degradation1 for the renewing in the    
divinity of ,christ is a nobler         
condition than ever that of ,paradise1  
and yet throughout eternity it must     
imply and refer to the disobedience1 and
 the corrupt state of sin and death1 and
 the suffering of ,christ himself1 which
 can we conceive of any redeemed soul as
 for an instant forgetting1 or as       
remembering without sorrow8 ,neither are
 the alternations of joy and such sorrow
 as by us is inconceivable1 being only  
as it were a softness and silence in the
 pulse of an infinite felicity1         
inconsistent with the state even of the 
unfallen1 for the angels who rejoice    
over repentance cannot but feel an      
uncomprehended pain as they try and try 
again in vain1 whether they may not warm
 hard hearts with the brooding of their 
kind wings4 ,so that we have not to     
banish from the ideal countenance the   

evidences of sorrow1 nor of past        
suffering1 nor even of past and         
conquered sin1 but only the immediate   
operation of any evil1 or the immediate 
coldness and hollowness of any good     
emotion4 ,and hence in that contest     
before noted1 between the body and the  
soul1 we may often have to indicate the 
body as far conquered and outworn1 and  
with signs of hard struggle and bitter  
pain upon it1 and yet without ever      
diminishing the purity of its ideal2 and
 because it is not in the power of any  
human imagination to reason out or      
conceive the countless modifications of 
experience1 suffering1 and separated    
feeling1 which have modelled and written
 their indelible images in various order
 upon every human countenance1 so no    
right ideal can be reached by any       
combination of feature nor by any       
moulding and melting of individual      
beauties together1 and still less       
without model or example conceived2 but 
there is a perfect ideal to be wrought  

out of every face around us that has on 
its forehead the writing and the seal of
 the angel ascending from the ,east1#ch 
by the earnest study and penetration of 
the written history thereupon1 and the  
banishing of the blots and stains1      
wherein we still see in all that is     
human1 the visible and instant operation
 of unconquered sin4   ,sec4 #ac4 ,ideal
 form is only to be obtained by         
portraiture4  ,now ,i see not how any of
 the steps of the argument by which we  
have arrived at this conclusion can be  
evaded1 and yet it would be difficult to
 state anything more directly opposite  
to the usual teaching and practice of   
artists4 ,it is usual to hear           
portraiture opposed to the pursuit of   
ideality1 and yet we find that no face  
can be ideal which is not a portrait4   
,of this general principle1 however1    
there are certain modifications which we
 must presently state2 let us first1    
however1 pursue it a little farther1 and
 deduce its practical consequences4     

,sec4 #ad4 ,instances among the greater 
of the ideal ,masters4  ,these are1     
first1 that the pursuit of idealism in  
humanity1 as of idealism in lower       
nature1 can be successful only when     
followed through the most constant1     
patient1 and humble rendering of actual 
models1 accompanied with that earnest   
mental as well as ocular study of each1 
which can interpret all that is written 
upon it1 disentangle the hieroglyphics  
of its sacred history1 rend the veil of 
the bodily temple1 and rightly measure  
the relations of good and evil          
contending within it for mastery1#ci    
that everything done without such study 
must be shallow and contemptible1 that  
generalization or combination of        
individual character will end less in   
the mending than the losing of it1 and1 
except in certain instances of which we 
shall presently take note1 is valueless 
and vapid1 even if it escape being      
painful from its want of truth1 which in
 these days it often in some measure    

does1 for we indeed find faces about us 
with want enough of life or wholesome   
character in them to justify anything4  
,and that habit of the old and great    
painters of introducing portrait into   
all their highest works1 ,i look to1 not
 as error in them1 but as the very      
source and root of their superiority in 
all things1 for they were too great and 
too humble not to see in every face     
about them that which was above them1   
and which no fancies of theirs could    
match nor take place of1 wherefore we   
find the custom of portraiture constant 
with them1 both portraiture of study and
 for purposes of analysis1 as with      
,leonardo2 and actual1 professed1       
serviceable1 hardworking portraiture of 
the men of their time1 as with          
,raffaelle1 and ,titian1 and ,tintoret2 
and portraiture of ,love1 as with ,fra  
,bartolomeo of ,savonarola1 and ,simon  
,memmi of ,petrarch1 and ,giotto of     
,dante1 and ,gentile ,bellini of a      
beloved imagination of ,dandolo1 and    

with ,raffaelle constantly2 and         
portraiture in real downright necessity 
of models1 even in their noblest works1 
as was the practice of ,ghirlandajo     
perpetually1 and ,masaccio and          
,raffaelle1 and manifestly of the men of
 highest and purest ideal purpose1 as   
again1 ,giotto1 and in his              
characteristic monkish heads1 ,angelico1
 and ,john ,bellini1 7note especially   
the ,st4 ,christopher at the side of    
that mighty picture of ,st4 ,jerome1 at 
,venice17 and so of all3 which practice 
had indeed a perilous tendency for men  
of debased mind1 who used models such as
 and where they ought not1 as ,lippi and
 the corrupted ,raffaelle2 and is found 
often at exceeding disadvantage among   
men who looked not at their models with 
intellectual or loving penetration1 but 
took the outside of them1 or perhaps    
took the evil and left the good1 as     
,titian in that ,academy study at       
,venice which is called a ,st4 ,john1   
and all workers whatsoever that ,i know 

of1 after ,raffaelle's time1 as ,guido  
and the ,caracci1 and such others3 but  
it is nevertheless the necessary and    
sterling basis of all ideal art1 neither
 has any great man ever been able to do 
without it1 nor dreamed of doing without
 it even to the close of his days4      
,sec4 #ae4 ,evil results of opposite    
practice in modern times4  ,and         
therefore there is not any greater sign 
of the utter want of vitality and       
hopefulness in the schools of the       
present day than that unhappy prettiness
 and sameness under which they mask1 or 
rather for which they barter1 in their  
lentile thirst1 all the birthright and  
power of nature1 which prettiness1      
wrought out and spun fine in the study1 
out of empty heads1 till it hardly      
betters the blocks on which dresses and 
hair are tried in barbers' windows and  
milliners' books1 cannot but be         
revolting to any man who has his eyes1  
even in a measure1 open to the divinity 
of the immortal seal on the common      

features that he meets in the highways  
and hedges hourly and momentarily1      
outreaching all efforts of conception as
 all power of realization1 were it      
,raffaelle's three times over1 even when
 the glory of the wedding garment is not
 there4   ,sec4 #af4 ,the right use of  
the model4  ,so far1 then1 of the use of
 the model and the preciousness of it in
 all art1 from the highest to the       
lowest4 ,but the use of the model is not
 all4 ,it must be used in a certain way1
 and on this choice of right or wrong   
way all our ends are at stake1 for the  
art1 which is of no power without the   
model1 is of pernicious and evil power  
if the model be wrongly used4 ,what the 
right use is1 has been at least         
established1 if not fully explained1 in 
the argument by which we arrived at the 
general principle4  ,the right ideal is 
to be reached1 we have asserted1 only by
 the banishment of the immediate signs  
of sin upon the countenance and body4   
,how1 therefore1 are the signs of sin to

 be known and separated8   ,sec4 #ag4   
,ideal form to be reached only by love4 
,no intellectual operation is here of   
any avail4 ,there is not any reasoning  
by which the evidences of depravity are 
to be traced in movements of muscle or  
forms of feature2 there is not any      
knowledge1 nor experience1 nor diligence
 of comparison that can be of avail4    
,here1 as throughout the operation of   
the theoretic faculty1 the perception is
 altogether moral1 an instinctive love  
and clinging to the lines of light4     
,nothing but love can read the letters1 
nothing but sympathy catch the sound1   
there is no pure passion that can be    
understood or painted except by pureness
 of heart2 the foul or blunt feeling    
will see itself in everything1 and set  
down blasphemies2 it will see ,beelzebub
 in the casting out of devils1 it will  
find its god of flies in every alabaster
 box of precious ointment4 ,the         
indignation of zeal towards ,god        
7nemesis7 it will take for anger against

 man1 faith and veneration it will miss 
of1 as not comprehending1 charity it    
will turn into lust1 compassion into    
pride1 every virtue it will go over     
against1 like ,shimei1 casting dust4    
,but the right ,christian mind will in  
like manner find its own image wherever 
it exists1 it will seek for what it     
loves1 and draw it out of all dens and  
caves1 and it will believe in its being1
 often when it cannot see it1 and always
 turn away its eyes from beholding      
vanity2 and so it will lie lovingly over
 all the faults and rough places of the 
human heart1 as the snow from heaven    
does over the hard1 and black1 and      
broken mountain rocks1 following their  
forms truly1 and yet catching light for 
them to make them fair1 and that must be
 a steep and unkindly crag indeed which 
it cannot cover4   ,sec4 #ah4 ,practical
 principles deducible4  ,now of this    
spirit there will always be little      
enough in the world1 and it cannot be   
given nor taught by men1 and so it is of

 little use to insist on it farther1    
only ,i may note some practical points  
respecting the ideal treatment of human 
form1 which may be of use in these      
thoughtless days4 ,there is not the     
face1 ,i have said1 which the painter   
may not make ideal if he choose1 but    
that subtile feeling which shall find   
out all of good that there is in any    
given countenance is not1 except by     
concern for other things than art1 to be
 acquired4 ,but certain broad           
indications of evil there are which the 
bluntest feeling may perceive1 and which
 the habit of distinguishing and casting
 out would both ennoble the schools of  
art1 and lead in time to greater        
acuteness of perception with respect to 
the less explicable characters of soul  
beauty4   ,sec4 #ai4 ,expressions       
chiefly destructive of ideal character4 
#ast4 ,pride4  ,those signs of evil     
which are commonly most manifest on the 
human features are roughly divisible    
into these four kinds1 the signs of     

pride1 of sensuality1 of fear1 and of   
cruelty4 ,any one of which will destroy 
the ideal character of the countenance  
and body4   ,sec4 #bj4 ,portraiture     
ancient and modern4  ,now of these1 the 
first1 pride1 is perhaps the most       
destructive of all the four1 seeing it  
is the undermost and original story of  
all sin2 and it is base also from the   
necessary foolishness of it1 because at 
its best1 that is when grounded on a    
just estimation of our own elevation or 
superiority above certain others1 it    
cannot but imply that our eyes look     
downward only1 and have never been      
raised above our own measure1 for there 
is not the man so lofty in his standing 
nor capacity but he must be humble in   
thinking of the cloud habitation and far
 sight of the angelic intelligences     
above him1 and in perceiving what       
infinity there is of things he cannot   
know nor even reach unto1 as it stands  
compared with that little body of things
 he can reach1 and of which nevertheless

 he can altogether understand not one2  
not to speak of that wicked and fond    
attributing of such excellency as he may
 have to himself1 and thinking of it as 
his own getting1 which is the real      
essence and criminality of pride1 nor of
 those viler forms of it1 founded on    
false estimation of things beneath us   
and irrational contemning of them3 but  
taken at its best1 it is still base to  
that degree that there is no grandeur of
 feature which it cannot destroy and    
make despicable1 so that the first step 
towards the ennobling of any face is the
 ridding it of its vanity2 to which aim 
there cannot be anything more contrary  
than that principle of portraiture which
 prevails with us in these days1 whose  
end seems to be the expression of vanity
 throughout1 in face and in all         
circumstances of accompaniment1 tending 
constantly to insolence of attitude1 and
 levity and haughtiness of expression1  
and worked out farther in mean          
accompaniments of worldly splendor and  

possession1 together with hints or      
proclamations of what the person has    
done or supposes himself to have done1  
which1 if known1 it is gratuitous in the
 portrait to exhibit1 and if unknown1 it
 is insolent in the portrait to         
proclaim2 whence has arisen such a      
school of portraiture as must make the  
people of the nineteenth century the    
shame of their descendants1 and the butt
 of all time4 ,to which practices are to
 be opposed both the glorious severity  
of ,holbein1 and the mighty and simple  
modesty of ,raffaelle1 ,titian1         
,giorgione1 and ,tintoret1 with whom    
armor does not constitute the warrior1  
neither silk the dame4 ,and from what   
feeling the dignity of that portraiture 
arose is best traceable at ,venice1     
where we find their victorious doges    
painted neither in the toil of battle   
nor the triumph of return1 nor set forth
 with thrones and curtains of state1 but
 kneeling always crownless1 and         
returning thanks to ,god for his help1  

or as priests1 interceding for the      
nation in its affliction4 ,which feeling
 and its results have been so well      
traced out by ,rio1#dj that ,i need not 
speak of it farther4   ,sec4 #ba4       
,secondly1 ,sensuality4  ,sec4 #bb4 ,how
 connected with impurity of color4      
,sec4 #bc4 ,and prevented by its        
splendor4  ,sec4 #bd4 ,or by severity of
 drawing4  ,that second destroyer of    
ideal form1 the appearance of sensual   
character1 though not less fatal in its 
operation on modern art1 is more        
difficult to trace1 owing to its        
peculiar subtlety4 ,for it is not       
possible to say by what minute          
differences the right conception of the 
human form is separated from that which 
is luscious and foul3 for the root of   
all is in the love and seeking of the   
painter1 who1 if of impure and feeble   
mind1 will cover all that he touches    
with clay staining1 as ,bandinelli puts 
a foul scent of human flesh about his   
marble ,christ1 and as many whom ,i will

 not here name1 among moderns2 but if of
 mighty mind or pure1 may pass through  
all places of foulness1 and none will   
stay upon him1 as ,michael ,angelo1 or  
he will baptize all things and wash them
 with pure water1 as our own ,stothard4 
,now1 so far as this power is dependent 
on the seeking of the artist1 and is    
only to be seen in the work of good and 
spiritually-minded men1 it is vain to   
attempt to teach or illustrate it1      
neither is it here the place to take    
note of the way in which it belongs to  
the representation of the mental image  
of things1 instead of things themselves1
 of which we are to speak in treating of
 the imagination2 but thus much may here
 be noted of broad1 practical principle1
 that the purity of flesh painting      
depends in very considerable measure on 
the intensity and warmth of its color4  
,for if it be opaque1 and clay cold1 and
 colorless1 and devoid of all the       
radiance and value of flesh1 the lines  
of its true beauty1 being severe and    

firm1 will become so hard in the loss of
 the glow and gradation by which nature 
illustrates them1 that the painter will 
be compelled to sacrifice them for a    
luscious fulness and roundness1 in order
 to give the conception of flesh2 which1
 being done1 destroys ideality of form  
as of color1 and gives all over to      
lasciviousness of surface2 showing also 
that the painter sought for this1 and   
this only1 since otherwise he had not   
taken a subject in which he knew himself
 compelled to surrender all sources of  
dignity4 ,whereas1 right splendor of    
color both bears out a nobler severity  
of form1 and is in itself purifying and 
cleansing1 like fire1 furnishing also to
 the painter an excuse for the choice of
 his subject1 seeing that he may be     
supposed as not having painted it but in
 the admiration of its abstract glory of
 color and form1 and with no unworthy   
seeking4 ,but the mere power of perfect 
and glowing color will in some sort     
redeem even a debased tendency of mind  

itself1 as eminently the case with      
,titian1 who1 though of little feeling1 
and often treating base subjects1 or    
elevated subjects basely1 as in the     
disgusting ,magdalen of the ,pitti      
palace1 and that of the ,barberigo at   
,venice1 yet redeems all by his glory of
 hue1 so that he cannot paint altogether
 coarsely2 and with ,giorgione1 who had 
nobler and more serious intellect1 the  
sense of nudity is utterly lost1 and    
there is no need nor desire of          
concealment any more1 but his naked     
figures move among the trees like fiery 
pillars1 and lie on the grass like      
flakes of sunshine4#da ,with the        
religious painters on the other hand1   
such nudity as they were compelled to   
treat is redeemed as much by severity of
 form and hardness of line as by color1 
so that generally their draped figures  
are preferable1 as in the ,francia of   
our own gallery4 ,but these1 with       
,michael ,angelo and the ,venetians1    
except ,titian1 form a great group1 pure

 in sight and aim1 between which and all
 other schools by which the nude has    
been treated1 there is a gulf fixed1 and
 all the rest1 compared with them1 seem 
striving how best to illustrate that of 
,spenser4                ,of all ,god's 
works1 which doe this worlde adorn1     
,there is no one more faire1 and        
excellent                ,than is man's 
body both for power and forme           
,whiles it is kept in sober government4 
,but none than it more foul and indecent
                ,distempered through    
misrule and passions bace4   ,sec4 #be4 
,degrees of descent in this respect3    
,rubens1 ,correggio1 and ,guido4  ,sec4 
#bf4 ,and modern art4  ,of these last1  
however1 with whom ideality is lost1    
there are some worthier than others1    
according to that measure of color they 
reach1 and power they possess1 whence   
much may be forgiven to ,rubens1 7as to 
our own ,etty17 less1 as ,i think1 to   
,correggio1 who with less apparent and  
evident coarseness has more of inherent 

sensuality1 wrought out with attractive 
and luscious refinement1 and that alike 
in all subjects1 as in the ,madonna of  
the ,incoronazione1 over the high altar 
of ,san ,giovanni at ,parma1 of which   
the head and upper portion of the       
figure1 now preserved in the library1   
might serve as a model of attitude and  
expression to a ballet figurante3#db and
 again in the lascivious ,st4 ,catherine
 of the ,giorno1 and in the ,charioted  
,diana1 7both at ,parma17 not to name   
any of his works of aim more definitely 
evil4 ,beneath which again will fall the
 works devoid alike of art and decency1 
as that ,susannah of ,guido1 in our own 
gallery1 and so we may descend to the   
absolute clay of the moderns1 only      
noticing in all how much of what is evil
 and base in subject or tendency1 is    
redeemed by what is pure and right in   
hue1 so that ,i do not assert that the  
purpose and object of many of the       
grander painters of the nude1 as ,titian
 for instance1 was always elevated1 but 

only that we1 who cannot paint the lamp 
of fire within the earthen pitcher1 must
 take other weapons in our left hands4  
,and it is to be noted1 also1 that in   
climates where the body can be more     
openly and frequently visited by sun and
 weather1 the nude both comes to be     
regarded in a way more grand and pure1  
as necessarily awakening no ideas of    
base kind1 7as pre-eminently with the   
,greeks17 and also from that exposure   
receives a firmness and sunny elasticity
 very different from the silky softness 
of the clothed nations of the north1    
where every model necessarily looks as  
if accidentally undressed2 and hence    
from the very fear and doubt with which 
we approach the nude1 it becomes        
expressive of evil1 and for that daring 
frankness of the old men1 which seldom  
missed of human grandeur1 even when it  
failed of holy feeling1 we have         
substituted a mean1 carpeted1           
gauze-veiled1 mincing sensuality of     
curls and crisping pins1 out of which ,i

 believe nothing can come but moral     
enervation and mental paralysis4   ,sec4
 #bg4 ,thirdly1 ferocity and fear4 ,the 
latter how to be distinguished          
from awe4  ,sec4 #bh4 ,holy fear1 how   
distinct from human terror4  ,sec4 #bi4 
,ferocity is joined always with fear4   
,its unpardonableness4  ,respecting     
those two other vices of the human face1
 the expressions of fear and ferocity1  
there is less to be noted1 as they only 
occasionally enter into the conception  
of character2 only it is most necessary 
to make careful distinction between the 
conception of power1 destructiveness1 or
 majesty1 in matter1 influence1 or      
agent1 and the actual fear of any of    
these1 for it is possible to conceive of
 terribleness1 without being in a       
position obnoxious to the danger of it1 
and so without fear1 and the feeling    
arising from this contemplation of      
dreadfulness1 ourselves being in safety1
 as of a stormy sea from the shore1 is  
properly termed awe1 and is a most noble

 passion2 whereas fear mortal and       
extreme1 may be felt respecting things  
ignoble1 as the falling from a window1  
and without any conception of           
terribleness or majesty in the thing1 or
 the accident dreaded2 and even when    
fear is felt respecting things sublime1 
as thunder1 or storm of battle1 yet the 
tendency of it is to destroy all power  
of contemplation of their majesty1 and  
to freeze and shrink all the intellect  
into a shaking heap of clay1 for        
absolute acute fear is of the same      
unworthiness and contempt from whatever 
source it arise1 and degrades the mind  
and the outward bearing of the body     
alike1 even though it be among hail of  
heaven and fire running along the       
ground4 ,and so among the children of   
,god1 while there is always that fearful
 and bowed apprehension of his majesty1 
and that sacred dread of all offence to 
him1 which is called the fear of ,god1  
yet of real and essential fear there is 
not any but clinging of confidence to   

him1 as their ,rock1 ,fortress1 and     
,deliverer1 and perfect love1 and       
casting out of fear1 so that it is not  
possible that while the mind is rightly 
bent on him1 there should be dread of   
anything either earthly or supernatural1
 and the more dreadful seems the height 
of his majesty1 the less fear they feel 
that dwell in the shadow of it1 7,of    
whom shall ,i be afraid87 so that they  
are as ,david was1 devoted to his fear2 
whereas1 on the other hand1 those who1  
if they may help it1 never conceive of  
,god1 but thrust away all thought and   
memory of him1 and in his real          
terribleness and omnipresence fear him  
not nor know him1 yet are of real1      
acute1 piercing1 and ignoble fear1      
haunted for evermore2 fear inconceiving 
and desperate that calls to the rocks1  
and hides in the dust2 and hence the    
peculiar baseness of the expression of  
terror1 a baseness attributed to it in  
all times1 and among all nations1 as of 
a passion atheistical1 brutal1 and      

profane4 ,so also1 it is always joined  
with ferocity1 which is of all passions 
the least human2 for of sensual desires 
there is license to men1 as necessity2  
and of vanity there is intellectual     
cause1 so that when seen in a brute it  
is pleasant and a sign of good wit2 and 
of fear there is at times necessity and 
excuse1 as being allowed for prevention 
of harm2 but of ferocity there is no    
excuse nor palliation1 but it is pure   
essence of tiger and demon1 and it casts
 on the human face the paleness alike of
 the horse of ,death1 and the ashes of  
hell4   ,sec4 #cj4 ,such expressions how
 sought by painters powerless and       
impious4  ,wherefore1 of all subjects   
that can be admitted to sight1 the      
expressions of fear and ferocity are the
 most foul and detestable1 and so there 
is in them ,i know not what sympathetic 
attractiveness for minds cowardly and   
base1 as the vulgar of most nations1 and
 forasmuch as they are easily rendered  
by men who can render nothing else1 they

 are often trusted in by the herd of    
painters incapable and profane1 as in   
that monstrous abortion of the first    
room of the ,louvre1 called the ,deluge1
 whose subject is pure1 acute1 mortal   
fear2 and so generally the senseless    
horrors of the modern ,french schools1  
spawn of the guillotine3 also there is  
not a greater test of grandeur or       
meanness of mind than the expressions it
 will seek for and develop in the       
features and forms of men in fierce     
strife1 whether determination and       
devotion1 and all the other attributes  
of that unselfishness which constitutes 
heroism1 as in the warrior of ,agasias2 
and distress not agitated nor unworthy1 
though mortal1 as in the ,dying         
,gladiator1 or brutal ferocity and      
butchered agony1 of which the lowest and
 least palliated examples are those     
battles of ,salvator ,rosa1 which none  
but a man1 base-born and thief-bred1    
could have dwelt upon for an instant    
without sickening1 of which ,i will only

 name that example in the ,pitti palace1
 wherein the chief figure in the        
foreground is a man with his arm cut off
 at the shoulder1 run through the other 
hand into the breast with a lance4#dc   
,and manifold instances of the same     
feeling are to be found in the          
repainting of the various               
representations of the ,inferno1 so     
common through ,italy1 more especially  
that of ,orcagna's in the ,campo ,santo1
 wherein the few figures near the top   
that yet remain untouched are grand in  
their severe drawing and expressions of 
enduring despair1 while those below1    
repainted by ,solazzino1 depend for     
their expressiveness upon torrents of   
blood2 so in the ,inferno of ,santa     
,maria ,novella1 and of the ,arena      
chapel1 not to speak of the horrible    
images of the ,passion1 by which vulgar 
,romanism has always striven to excite  
the languid sympathies of its untaught  
flocks4 ,of which foulness let us reason
 no farther1 the very image and memory  

of them being pollution1 only noticing  
this1 that there has always been a      
morbid tendency in ,romanism towards the
 contemplation of bodily pain1 owing to 
the attribution of saving power to it1  
which1 like every other moral error1 has
 been of fatal effect in art1 leaving   
not altogether without the stain and    
blame of it1 even the highest of the    
pure ,romanist painters2 as ,fra        
,angelico1 for instance1 who1 in his    
,passion subjects1 always insists weakly
 on the bodily torture1 and is unsparing
 of blood2 and ,giotto1 though his      
treatment is usually grander1 as in that
 ,crucifixion over the door of the      
,convent of ,st4 ,mark's1 where the     
blood is hardly actual1 but issues from 
the feet in a typical and conventional  
form1 and becomes a crimson cord which  
is twined strangely beneath about a     
skull2 only that which these holy men   
did to enhance1 even though in their    
means mistaken1 the impression and power
 of the sufferings of ,christ1 or of his

 saints1 is always in a measure noble1  
and to be distinguished with all        
reverence from the abominations of the  
irreligious painters following1 as of   
,camillo ,procaccini1 in one of his     
martyrdoms in the ,gallery of the       
,brera1 at ,milan1 and other such1 whose
 names may be well spared to the reader4
   ,sec4 #ca4 ,of passion generally4    
,sec4 #cb4 ,it is never to be for itself
 exhibited--at least on the face4       
,these1 then1 are the four passions     
whose presence in any degree on the     
human face is degradation4 ,but of all  
passion it is to be generally observed1 
that it becomes ignoble either when     
entertained respecting unworthy objects1
 and therefore shallow or unjustifiable1
 or when of impious violence1 and so    
destructive of human dignity4 ,thus     
grief is noble or the reverse1 according
 to the dignity and worthiness of the   
object lamented1 and the grandeur of the
 mind enduring it4 ,the sorrow of       
mortified vanity or avarice is simply   

disgusting1 even that of bereaved       
affection may be base if selfish and    
unrestrained4 ,all grief that convulses 
the features is ignoble1 because it is  
commonly shallow and certainly          
temporary1 as in children1 though in the
 shock and shiver of a strong man's     
features under sudden and violent grief 
there may be something of sublime4 ,the 
grief of ,guercino's ,hagar1 in the     
,brera gallery at ,milan1 is partly     
despicable1 partly disgusting1 partly   
ridiculous2 it is not the grief of the  
injured ,egyptian1 driven forth into the
 desert with the destiny of a nation in 
her heart1 but of a servant of all work1
 turned away for stealing tea and sugar4
 ,common painters forget that passion is
 not absolutely and in itself great or  
violent1 but only in proportion to the  
weakness of the mind it has to deal     
with2 and that in exaggerating its      
outward signs1 they are not exalting the
 passion1 but evaporating the hero4#dd  
,they think too much of passions as     

always the same in their nature1        
forgetting that the love of ,achilles is
 different from the love of ,paris1 and 
of ,alcestis from that of ,laodamia4    
,the use and value of passion is not as 
a subject in contemplation in itself1   
but as it breaks up the fountains of the
 great deep of the human mind1 or       
displays its mightiness and ribbed      
majesty1 as mountains are seen in their 
stability best among the coil of clouds2
 whence1 in fine1 ,i think it is to be  
held that all passion which attains     
overwhelming power1 so that it is not as
 resisting1 but as conquered1 that the  
creature is contemplated1 is unfit for  
high art1 and destructive of the ideal  
character of the countenance3 and in    
this respect1 ,i cannot but hold        
,raffaelle to have erred in his endeavor
 to express passion of such acuteness in
 the human face2 as in the fragment of  
the ,massacre of the ,innocents in our  
own gallery1 7wherein1 repainted though 
it be1 ,i suppose the purpose of the    

master is yet to be understood17 for if 
such subjects are to be represented at  
all1 their entire expression may be     
given without degrading the face1 as we 
shall presently see done with           
unspeakable power by ,tintoret1#de and  
,i think that all subjects of the kind1 
all human misery1 slaughter1 famine1    
plague1 peril1 and crime1 are better in 
the main avoided1 as of unprofitable and
 hardening influence1 unless so far as  
out of the suffering1 hinted rather than
 expressed1 we may raise into nobler    
relief the eternal enduring of fortitude
 and affection1 of mercy and            
self-devotion1 or when1 as by the       
threshing-floor of ,ornan1 and by the   
cave of ,lazarus1 the angel of the ,lord
 is to be seen in the chastisement1 and 
his love to be manifested to the despair
 of men4   ,sec4 #cc4 ,recapitulation   
,thus1 then1 we have in some sort       
enumerated those evil signs which are   
most necessary to be shunned in the     
seeking of ideal beauty1#df though it is

 not the knowledge of them1 but the     
dread and hatred of them1 which will    
effectually aid the painter2 as on the  
other hand it is not by mere admission  
of the loveliness of good and holy      
expression that its subtile characters  
are to be traced4 ,raffaelle himself1   
questioned on this subject1 made        
doubtful answer2 he probably could not  
trace through what early teaching1 or by
 what dies of emotion the image had been
 sealed upon his heart4 ,our own ,bacon1
 who well saw the impossibility of      
reaching it by the combination of many  
separate beauties1 yet explains not the 
nature of that kind of felicity to which
 he attributes success4 ,i suppose those
 who have conceived and wrought the     
loveliest things1 have done so by no    
theorizing1 but in simple labor of love1
 and could not1 if put to a bar of      
rationalism1 defend all points of what  
they had done1 but painted it in their  
own delight1 and to the delight of all  
besides1 only always with that respect  

of conscience and fear of swerving from 
that which is right1 which maketh       
diligent observers of circumstances the 
loose regard whereof is the nurse of    
vulgar folly1 no less than ,solomon's   
attention thereunto was of natural      
furtherances the most effectual to make 
him eminent above others1 for he gave   
good heed1 and pierced everything to the
 very ground4#dg  ,with which good heed1
 and watching of the instants when men  
feel warmly and rightly1 as the ,indians
 do for the diamond in their washing of 
sand1 and that with the desire and hope 
of finding true good in men1 and not    
with the ready vanity that sets itself  
to fiction instantly1 and carries its   
potter's wheel about with it always1    
7off which there will come only clay    
vessels of regular shape after all17    
instead of the pure mirror that can show
 the seraph standing by the human       
body--standing as signal to the heavenly
 land3#dh with this heed and this       
charity1 there are none of us that may  

not bring down that lamp upon his path  
of which ,spenser sang3--               
,that beauty is not1 as fond men misdeem
                  ,an outward show of   
things1 that only seem2                 
,but that fair lamp1 from whose         
celestial ray                  ,that    
light proceeds1 which kindleth lover's  
fire1                  ,shall never be  
extinguished nor decay4                 
,but when the vital spirits do expire1  
,unto her native planet shall retire1   
,for it is heavenly born and cannot die1
                  ,being a parcel of the
 purest sky4   ,,footnotes    #ch ,rev4 
vii4 #b4    #ci ,compare ,part ,,ii4    
,sec4 ,i4 ,chap4 ,,iii ,sec4 #f4    #dj 
,de la ,poesie ,chretienne4 ,forme de   
l',art4 ,chap4 ,,viii4    #da ,as in the
 noble ,louvre picture4    #db ,the     
,madonna turns her back to ,christ1 and 
bends her head over     her shoulder to 
receive the crown1 the arms being folded
 with     studied grace over the bosom4 
#dc ,compare ,michelet1 7,du ,pretre1 de

 la ,femme1 de la ,famille17     ,chap4 
,,iii4 note4 ,he uses language too      
violent to be quoted2 but     excuses   
,salvator by reference to the savage    
character of the ,thirty     ,years'    
,war4 ,that this excuse has no validity 
may be proved by     comparing the      
painter's treatment of other subjects4  
,see ,sec4 ,,ii4     ,chap4 ,,iii4 ,sec4
 #ai1 note4    #dd        ,the fire1    
that mounts the liquor1 till it run o'er
                 ,in seeming to augment 
it1 wastes it4                          
,,henry ,,viii4    #de ,sect4 ,,ii4     
,chap4 ,,iii4 ,sec4 #bb4    #df ,let it 
be observed that it is always of beauty1
 not of human     character in its lower
 and criminal modifications1 that we    
have been     speaking4 ,that variety of
 character1 therefore1 which we have    
affirmed to be necessary1 is the variety
 of ,giotto and ,angelico1 not     of   
,hogarth4 ,works concerned with the     
exhibition of general     character1 are
 to be spoken of in the consideration of

 ,ideas of     ,relation4    #dg        
,hooker1 ,book ,v4 ,chap4 ,i4 ,sec4 #b4 
#dh         ,each corse lay flat1       
lifeless and flat1                 ,and 
by the holy rood1                 ,a man
 all light1 a seraph man                
,by every corse there stood4            
,this seraph band1 each waved his hand1 
,it was a heavenly sight2               
,they stood as signals to the land1     
,each one a lovely light4               
,,ancient ,,mariner                     
,,chapter ,,xv4          ,,general      
,,conclusions ,,respecting ,,the        
,,theoretic ,,faculty4   ,sec4 #a4      
,there are no sources of the emotion of 
beauty more than those found        in  
things visible4  ,sec4 #b4 ,what        
imperfection exists in visible things4  
,how in a sort by        imagination    
removable4  ,sec4 #c4 ,which however    
affects not our present conclusions4    
,of the sources of beauty open to us in 
the visible world1 we have now obtained 
a view which1 though most feeble in its 

grasp and scanty in its detail1 is yet  
general in its range4 ,of no other      
sources than these visible can we1 by   
any effort in our present condition of  
existence1 conceive4 ,for what          
revelations have been made to humanity  
inspired1 or caught up to heaven of     
things to the heavenly region belonging1
 have been either by unspeakable words  
which it is not lawful for a man to     
utter1 or else by their very nature     
incommunicable1 except in types and     
shadows2 and ineffable by words         
belonging to earth1 for of things       
different from the visible1 words       
appropriated to the visible can convey  
no image4 ,how different from earthly   
gold that clear pavement of the city    
might have seemed to the eyes of ,st4   
,john1 we of unreceived sight cannot    
know2 neither of that strange jasper and
 sardine can we conceive the likeness   
which he assumed that sat on the throne 
above the crystal sea2 neither what     
seeming that was of slaying that the    

,root of ,david bore in the midst of the
 elders2 neither what change it was upon
 the form of the fourth of them that    
walked in the furnace of ,dura1 that    
even the wrath of idolatry knew for the 
likeness of the ,son of ,god4 ,the      
knowing that is here permitted to us is 
either of things outward only1 as in    
those it is whose eyes faith never      
opened1 or else of that dark part that  
her glass shows feebly1 of things       
supernatural1 that gleaming of the      
,divine form among the mortal crowd1    
which all may catch if they will climb  
the sycamore and wait2 nor how much of  
,god's abiding at the house may be      
granted to those that so seek1 and how  
much more may be opened to them in the  
breaking of bread1 cannot be said2 but  
of that only we can reason which is in a
 measure revealed to all1 of that which 
is by constancy and purity of affection 
to be found in the things and the beings
 around us upon earth4 ,now among all   
those things whose beauty we have       

hitherto examined1 there has been a     
measure of imperfection4 ,either        
inferiority of kind1 as the beauty of   
the lower animals1 or resulting from    
degradation1 as in man himself2 and     
although in considering the beauty of   
human form1 we arrived at some          
conception of restoration1 yet we found 
that even the restoration must be in    
some respect imperfect1 as incapable of 
embracing all qualities1 moral and      
intellectual1 at once1 neither to be    
freed from all signs of former evil done
 or suffered4 ,consummate beauty1       
therefore1 is not to be found on earth1 
though often such intense measure of it 
as shall drown all capacity of          
receiving2 neither is it to be          
respecting humanity legitimately        
conceived4 ,but by certain operations of
 the imagination upon ideas of beauty   
received from things around us1 it is   
possible to conceive respecting         
superhuman creatures 7of that which is  
more than creature1 no creature ever    

conceived7 a beauty in some sort greater
 than we see4 ,of this beauty1 however1 
it is impossible to determine anything  
until we have traced the imaginative    
operations to which it owes its being1  
of which operations this much may be    
prematurely said1 that they are not     
creative1 that no new ideas are elicited
 by them1 and that their whole function 
is only a certain dealing with1         
concentrating or mode of regarding the  
impressions received from external      
things1 that therefore1 in the beauty to
 which they will conduct us1 there will 
be found no new element1 but only a     
peculiar combination or phase of those  
elements that we now know1 and that     
therefore we may at present draw all the
 conclusions with respect to the rank of
 the theoretic faculty1 which the       
knowledge of its subject matter can     
warrant4   ,sec4 #d4 ,the four sources  
from which the pleasure of beauty is    
derived are        all divine4  ,we have
 seen that this subject matter is       

referable to four general heads4 ,it is 
either the record of conscience1 printed
 in things external1 or it is a         
symbolizing of ,divine attributes in    
matter1 or it is the felicity of living 
things1 or the perfect fulfilment of    
their duties and functions4 ,in all     
cases it is something ,divine1 either   
the approving voice of ,god1 the        
glorious symbol of him1 the evidence of 
his kind presence1 or the obedience to  
his will by him induced and supported4  
,all these subjects of contemplation are
 such as we may suppose will remain     
sources of pleasure to the perfected    
spirit throughout eternity4 ,divine in  
their nature1 they are addressed to the 
immortal part of men4   ,sec4 #e4 ,what 
objections may be made to this          
conclusion4  ,there remain1 however1 two
 points to be noticed before ,i can hope
 that this conclusion will be frankly   
accepted by the reader4 ,if it be the   
moral part of us to which beauty        
addresses itself1 how does it happen1 it

 will be asked1 that it is ever found in
 the works of impious men1 and how is it
 possible for such to desire or conceive
 it8  ,on the other hand1 how does it   
happen that men in high state of moral  
culture are often insensible to the     
influence of material beauty1 and insist
 feebly upon it as an instrument of soul
 culture4  ,these two objections ,i     
shall endeavor briefly to answer1 not   
that they can be satisfactorily treated 
without that detailed examination of the
 whole body of great works of art1 on   
which ,i purpose to enter in the        
following volume4 ,for the right        
determination of these two questions is 
indeed the whole end and aim of my      
labor1 7and if it could be here         
accomplished1 ,i should bestow no effort
 farther17 namely1 the proving that no  
supreme power of art can be attained by 
impious men2 and that the neglect of    
art1 as an interpreter of divine things1
 has been of evil consequence to the    
,christian world4  ,at present1 however1

 ,i would only meet such objections as  
must immediately arise in the reader's  
mind4   ,sec4 #f4 ,typical beauty may be
 aesthetically pursued4 ,instances4     
,sec4 #g4 ,how interrupted by false     
feeling4  ,and first1 it will be        
remembered that ,i have1 throughout the 
examination of typical beauty1 asserted 
its instinctive power1 the moral meaning
 of it being only discoverable by       
faithful thought4 ,now this instinctive 
sense of it varies in intensity among   
men1 being given1 like the hearing ear  
of music1 to some more than to others3  
and if those to whom it is given in     
large measure be unfortunately men of   
impious or unreflecting spirit1 it is   
very possible that the perceptions of   
beauty should be by them cultivated on  
principles merely aesthetic1 and so lose
 their hallowing power2 for though the  
good seed in them is altogether divine1 
yet1 there being no blessing in the     
springing thereof1 it brings forth wild 
grapes in the end4 ,and yet these wild  

grapes are well discernible1 like the   
deadly gourds of ,gilgal4 ,there is in  
all works of such men a taint and stain1
 and jarring discord1 blacker and louder
 exactly in proportion to the moral     
deficiency1 of which the best proof and 
measure is to be found in their         
treatment of the human form1 7since in  
landscape it is nearly impossible to    
introduce definite expression of evil17 
of which the highest beauty has been    
attained only once1 and then by no      
system taught painter1 but by a most    
holy ,dominican monk of ,fiesole2 and   
beneath him all stoop lower and lower in
 proportion to their inferior sanctity1 
though with more or less attainment of  
that which is noble1 according to their 
intellectual power and earnestness1 as  
,raffaelle in his ,st4 ,cecilia1 7a mere
 study of a passionate1 dark-eyed1 large
 formed ,italian model17 and even       
,perugino1 in that there is about his   
noblest faces a shortcoming1            
indefinable2 an absence of the full     

outpouring of the sacred spirit that    
there is in ,angelico2 traceable1 ,i    
doubt not1 to some deficiencies and     
avaricious flaws of his heart1 whose    
consequences in his conduct were such as
 to give ,vasari hope that his lies     
might stick to him 7for the             
contradiction of which in the main1 if  
there be not contradiction enough in    
every line that the hand of ,perugino   
drew1 compare ,rio1 de la ,poesie       
,chretienne1 and note also what ,rio has
 singularly missed observing1 that      
,perugino1 in his portrait of himself in
 the ,florence gallery1 has put a scroll
 into the hand1 with the words ,timete  
,deum1 thus surely indicating that which
 he considered his duty and message37   
and so all other even of the sacred     
painters1 not to speak of the lower body
 of men in whom1 on the one hand1 there 
is marked sensuality and impurity in all
 that they seek of beauty1 as in        
,correggio and ,guido1 or1 on the other1
 a want in measure of the sense of      

beauty itself1 as in ,rubens and        
,titian1 showing itself in the adoption 
of coarse types of feature and form2    
sometimes also 7of which ,i could find  
instances in modern times17 in a want of
 evidence of delight in what they do2 so
 that1 after they have rendered some    
passage of exceeding beauty1 they will  
suffer some discordant point to         
interfere with it1 and it will not hurt 
them1 as if they had no pleasure in that
 which was best1 but had done it in     
inspiration that was not profitable to  
them1 as deaf men might touch an        
instrument with a feeling in their      
heart1 which yet returns not outwardly  
upon them1 and so know not when they    
play false3 and sometimes by total want 
of choice1 for there is a choice of love
 in all rightly tempered men1 not that  
ignorant and insolent choice which      
rejects half nature as empty of the     
right1 but that pure choice that fetches
 the right out of everything2 and where 
this is wanting1 we may see men walking 

up and down in dry places1 finding no   
rest1 ever and anon doing something     
noble1 and yet not following it up1 but 
dwelling the next instant on something  
impure or profitless with the same      
intensity and yet impatience1 so that   
they are ever wondered at and never     
sympathized with1 and while they dazzle 
all1 they lead none2 and then1 beneath  
these again1 we find others on whose    
works there are definite signs of evil  
mind1 ill-repressed1 and then inability 
to avoid1 and at last perpetual seeking 
for and feeding upon horror and         
ugliness1 and filthiness of sin1 as     
eminently in ,salvator and ,caravaggio1 
and the lower ,dutch schools1 only in   
these last less painfully as they lose  
the villanous in the brutal1 and the    
horror of crime in its idiocy4   ,sec4  
#h4 ,greatness and truth are sometimes  
by the ,deity sustained and spoken      
in and through evil men4  ,but secondly1
 it is to be noted that it is neither by
 us uncertainable what moments of pure  

feeling or aspiration may occur to men  
of minds apparently cold and lost1 nor  
by us to be pronounced through what     
instruments1 and in what strangely      
occurrent voices1 ,god may choose to    
communicate good to men4 ,it seems to me
 that much of what is great1 and to all 
men beneficial1 has been wrought by     
those who neither intended nor knew the 
good they did1 and that many mighty     
harmonies have been discoursed by       
instruments that had been dumb or       
discordant1 but that ,god knew their    
stops4 ,the ,spirit of ,prophecy        
consisted with the avarice of ,balaam1  
and the disobedience of ,saul4 ,could we
 spare from its page that parable1 which
 he said1 who saw the vision of the     
,almighty1 falling into a trance1 but   
having his eyes open1 though we know    
that the sword of his punishment was    
then sharp in its sheath beneath him in 
the plains of ,moab8 or shall we not    
lament with ,david over the shield cast 
away on the ,gilboa mountains1 of him to

 whom ,god gave another heart that day  
when he turned his back to go from      
,samuel8 ,it is not our part to look    
hardly1 nor to look always1 to the      
character or the deeds of men1 but to   
accept from all of them1 and to hold    
fast that which we can prove good1 and  
feel to be ordained for us4 ,we know    
that whatever good there is in them is  
itself divine1 and wherever we see the  
virtue of ardent labor and              
self-surrendering to a single purpose1  
wherever we find constant reference made
 to the written scripture of natural    
beauty1 this at least we know is great  
and good1 this we know is not granted by
 the counsel of ,god1 without purpose1  
nor maintained without result3 ,their   
interpretation we may accept1 into their
 labor we may enter1 but they themselves
 must look to it1 if what they do has no
 intent of good1 nor any reference to   
the ,giver of all gifts4 ,selfish in    
their industry1 unchastened in their    
wills1 ungrateful for the ,spirit that  

is upon them1 they may yet be helmed by 
that ,spirit whithersoever the ,governor
 listeth2 involuntary instruments they  
may become of others' good2 unwillingly 
they may bless ,israel1 doubtingly      
discomfit ,amalek1 but shortcoming there
 will be of their glory1 and sure1 of   
their punishment4   ,sec4 #i4 ,the      
second objection arising from the       
coldness of ,christian men to           
external beauty4  ,i believe ,i shall be
 able1 incidentally1 in succeeding      
investigations1 to prove this           
shortcoming1 and to examine the sources 
of it1 not absolutely indeed1 7seeing   
that all reasoning on the characters of 
men must be treacherous1 our knowledge  
on this head being as corrupt as it is  
scanty1 while even in living with them  
it is impossible to trace the working1  
or estimate the errors of great and     
self-secreted minds17 but at least      
enough to establish the general         
principle upon such grounds of fact as  
may satisfy those who demand the        

practical proof 7often in a measure     
impossible7 of things which can hardly  
be doubted in their rational            
consequence4 ,at present1 it would be   
useless to enter on an examination for  
which we have no materials2 and ,i      
proceed1 therefore1 to notice that other
 and opposite error of ,christian men in
 thinking that there is little use or   
value in the operation of the theoretic 
faculty1 not that ,i at present either  
feel myself capable1 or that this is the
 place for the discussion of that vast  
question of the operation of taste 7as  
it is called7 on the minds of men1 and  
the national value of its teaching1 but 
,i wish shortly to reply to that        
objection which might be urged to the   
real moral dignity of the faculty1 that 
many ,christian men seem to be in       
themselves without it1 and even to      
discountenance it in others4  ,it has   
been said by ,schiller1 in his letters  
on aesthetic culture1 that the sense of 
beauty never farthered the performance  

of a single duty4   ,sec4 #aj4 ,reasons 
for this coldness in the anxieties of   
the world4 ,these         anxieties     
overwrought and criminal4  ,sec4 #aa4   
,evil consequences of such coldness4    
,sec4 #ab4 ,theoria the service of      
,heaven4  ,although this gross and      
inconceivable falsity will hardly be    
accepted by any one in so many terms1   
seeing that there are few so utterly    
lost but that they receive1 and know    
that they receive1 at certain moments1  
strength of some kind1 or rebuke from   
the appealings of outward things2 and   
that it is not possible for a ,christian
 man to walk across so much as a rood of
 the natural earth1 with mind unagitated
 and rightly poised1 without receiving  
strength and hope from some stone1      
flower1 leaf1 or sound1 nor without a   
sense of a dew falling upon him out of  
the sky2 though1 ,i say1 this falsity is
 not wholly and in terms admitted1 yet  
it seems to be partly and practically so
 in much of the doing and teaching even 

of holy men1 who in the recommending of 
the love of ,god to us1 refer but seldom
 to those things in which it is most    
abundantly and immediately shown2 though
 they insist much on his giving of      
bread1 and raiment1 and health1 7which  
he gives to all inferior creatures17    
they require us not to thank him for    
that glory of his works which he has    
permitted us alone to perceive3 they    
tell us often to meditate in the closet1
 but they send us not1 like ,isaac1 into
 the fields at even1 they dwell on the  
duty of self-denial1 but they exhibit   
not the duty of delight4 ,now there are 
reasons for this1 manifold1 in the toil 
and warfare of an earnest mind1 which1  
in its efforts at the raising of men    
from utter loss and misery1 has often   
but little time or disposition to take  
heed of anything more than the bare     
life1 and of those so occupied it is not
 for us to judge1 but ,i think1 that1 of
 the weaknesses1 distresses1 vanities1  
schisms1 and sins1 which often even in  

the holiest men1 diminish their         
usefulness1 and mar their happiness1    
there would be fewer if1 in their       
struggle with nature fallen1 they sought
 for more aid from nature undestroyed4  
,it seems to me that the real sources of
 bluntness in the feelings towards the  
splendor of the grass and glory of the  
flower1 are less to be found in ardor of
 occupation1 in seriousness of          
compassion1 or heavenliness of desire1  
than in the turning of the eye at       
intervals of rest too selfishly within2 
the want of power to shake off the      
anxieties of actual and near interest1  
and to leave results in ,god's hands2   
the scorn of all that does not seem     
immediately apt for our purposes1 or    
open to our understanding1 and perhaps  
something of pride1 which desires rather
 to investigate than to feel4 ,i believe
 that the root of almost every schism   
and heresy from which the ,christian    
church has ever suffered1 has been the  
effort of men to earn1 rather than to   

receive1 their salvation2 and that the  
reason that preaching is so commonly    
ineffectual is1 that it calls on men    
oftener to work for ,god1 than to behold
 ,god working for them4 ,if1 for every  
rebuke that we utter of men's vices1 we 
put forth a claim upon their hearts2 if 
for every assertion of ,god's demands   
from them1 we could substitute a display
 of his kindness to them2 if side by    
side with every warning of death1 we    
could exhibit proofs and promises of    
immortality2 if1 in fine1 instead of    
assuming the being of an awful ,deity1  
which men1 though they cannot and dare  
not deny1 are always unwilling1         
sometimes unable1 to conceive1 we were  
to show them a near1 visible1           
inevitable1 but all beneficent ,deity1  
whose presence makes the earth itself a 
heaven1 ,i think there would be fewer   
deaf children sitting in the            
market-place4 ,at all events1 whatever  
may be the inability in this present    
life to mingle the full enjoyment of the

 ,divine works with the full discharge  
of every practical duty1 and confessedly
 in many cases this must be1 let us not 
attribute the inconsistency to any      
indignity of the faculty of             
contemplation1 but to the sin and the   
suffering of the fallen state1 and the  
change of order from the keeping of the 
garden to the tilling of the ground4 ,we
 cannot say how far it is right or      
agreeable with ,god's will1 while men   
are perishing round about us1 while     
grief1 and pain1 and wrath1 and impiety1
 and death1 and all the powers of the   
air1 are working wildly and evermore1   
and the cry of blood going up to heaven1
 that any of us should take hand from   
the plough2 but this we know1 that there
 will come a time when the service of   
,god shall be the beholding of him2 and 
though in these stormy seas1 where we   
are now driven up and down1 his ,spirit 
is dimly seen on the face of the waters1
 and we are left to cast anchors out of 
the stern1 and wish for the day1 that   

day will come1 when1 with the           
evangelists on the crystal and stable   
sea1 all the creatures of ,god shall be 
full of eyes within1 and there shall be 
no more curse1 but his servants shall   
serve him1 and shall see his face4      
,,section ,,ii4                         
,,of ,,the ,,imaginative ,,faculty4     
,,chapter ,i4                     ,,of  
,,the ,,three ,,forms ,,of              
,,imagination4   ,sec4 #a4 ,a partial   
examination only of the imagination is  
to be attempted4  ,we have hitherto been
 exclusively occupied with those sources
 of pleasure which exist in the external
 creation1 and which in any faithful    
copy of it must to a certain extent     
exist also4  ,these sources of beauty1  
however1 are not presented by any very  
great work of art in a form of pure     
transcript4 ,they invariably receive the
 reflection of the mind under whose     
shadow they have passed1 and are        
modified or colored by its image4  ,this
 modification is the ,work of           

,imagination4  ,as1 in the course of our
 succeeding investigation1 we shall be  
called upon constantly to compare       
sources of beauty existing in nature    
with the images of them presented by the
 human mind1 it is very necessary for us
 shortly to review the conditions and   
limits of the imaginative faculty1 and  
to ascertain by what tests we may       
distinguish its sane1 healthy1 and      
profitable operation1 from that which is
 erratic1 diseased1 and dangerous4  ,it 
is neither desirable nor possible here  
to examine or illustrate in full the    
essence of this mighty faculty4 ,such an
 examination would require a review of  
the whole field of literature1 and would
 alone demand a volume4 ,our present    
task is not to explain or exhibit full  
portraiture of this function of the mind
 in all its relations1 but only to      
obtain some certain tests by which we   
may determine whether it be very        
imagination or no1 and unmask all       
impersonations of it1 and this chiefly  

with respect to art1 for in literature  
the faculty takes a thousand forms1     
according to the matter it has to treat1
 and becomes like the princess of the   
,arabian tale1 sword1 eagle1 or fire1   
according to the war it wages1 sometimes
 piercing1 sometimes soaring1 sometimes 
illumining1 retaining no image of       
itself1 except its supernatural power1  
so that ,i shall content myself with    
tracing that particular form of it1 and 
unveiling those imitations of it only1  
which are to be found1 or feared1 in    
painting1 referring to other creations  
of mind only for illustration4   ,sec4  
#b4 ,the works of the metaphysicians how
 nugatory with respect to this          
faculty4  ,unfortunately1 the works of  
metaphysicians will afford us in this   
most interesting inquiry no aid         
whatsoever4 ,they who are constantly    
endeavoring to fathom and explain the   
essence of the faculties of mind1 are   
sure in the end to lose sight of all    
that cannot be explained1 7though it may

 be defined and felt17 and because1 as  
,i shall presently show1 the essence of 
the imaginative faculty is utterly      
mysterious and inexplicable1 and to be  
recognized in its results only1 or in   
the negative results of its absence1 the
 metaphysicians1 as far as ,i am        
acquainted with their works1 miss it    
altogether1 and never reach higher than 
a definition of fancy by a false name4  
,what ,i understand by fancy will       
presently appear1 not that ,i contend   
for nomenclature1 but only for          
distinction between two mental          
faculties1 by whatever name they be     
called1 one the source of all that is   
great in the poetic arts2 the other     
merely decorative and entertaining1 but 
which are often confounded together1 and
 which have so much in common as to     
render strict definition of either      
difficult4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the definition  
of ,d4 ,stewart1 how inadequate4        
,dugald ,stewart's meagre definition may
 serve us for a starting point4         

,imagination1 he says1 includes         
conception or simple apprehension1 which
 enables us to form a notion of those   
former objects of perception or of      
knowledge1 out of which we are to make a
 selection2 abstraction1 which separates
 the selected materials from the        
qualities and circumstances which are   
connected with them in nature2 and      
judgment or taste1 which selects the    
materials and directs their combination4
 ,to these powers we may add that       
particular habit of association to which
 ,i formerly gave the name of fancy1 as 
it is this which presents to our choice 
all the different materials which are   
subservient to the efforts of           
imagination1 and which may therefore be 
considered as forming the ground-work of
 poetical genius4  7,by fancy in this   
passage1 we find on referring to the    
chapter treating of it1 that nothing    
more is meant than the rapid occurrence 
of ideas of sense to the mind47  ,now1  
in this definition1 the very point and  

purpose of all the inquiry is missed4   
,we are told that judgment or taste     
directs the combination4 ,in order that 
anything may be directed1 an end must be
 previously determined3 ,what is the    
faculty that determines this end8 and of
 what frame and make1 how boned and     
fleshed1 how conceived or seen1 is the  
end itself8 ,bare judgment1 or taste1   
cannot approve of what has no existence2
 and yet by ,dugald ,stewart's          
definition we are left to their catering
 among a host of conceptions1 to produce
 a combination which1 as they work for1 
they must see and approve before it     
exists4 ,this power of prophecy is the  
very essence of the whole matter1 and it
 is just that inexplicable part which   
the metaphysician misses4   ,sec4 #d4   
,this instance nugatory4  ,as might be  
expected from his misunderstanding of   
the faculty1 he has given an instance   
entirely nugatory4#di ,it would be      
difficult to find in ,milton a passage  
in which less power of imagination was  

shown1 than the description of ,eden1   
if1 as ,i suppose1 this be the passage  
meant1 at the beginning of the fourth   
book1 in which ,i can find three        
expressions only in which this power is 
shown1 the burnished with golden rind1  
hung amiable of the ,hesperian fruit1   
the lays forth her purple grape of the  
vine and the fringed bank with myrtle   
crowned1 of the lake1 and these are not 
what ,stewart meant1 but only that      
accumulation of bowers1 groves1 lawns1  
and hillocks1 which is not imagination  
at all1 but composition1 and that of the
 commonest kind4 ,hence1 if we take any 
passage in which there is real          
imagination1 we shall find ,stewart's   
hypothesis not only inefficient and     
obscure1 but utterly inapplicable4      
,sec4 #e4 ,various instances4  ,take one
 or two at random4                 ,on  
the other side1                         
,incensed with indignation1 ,satan stood
                 ,unterrified1 and like 
a comet burned                 ,that    

fires the length of ,ophiuchus huge     
,in the arctic sky1 and from his horrid 
hair                 ,shakes pestilence 
and war4  7,note that the word incensed 
is to be taken in its literal and       
material sense1 set on fire47 ,what     
taste or judgment was it that directed  
this combination8 or is there nothing   
more than taste or judgment here8       
,ten paces huge                 ,he back
 recoiled2 the tenth on bended knee     
,his massy spear upstaid1 as if on earth
                 ,winds under ground1 or
 waters forcing way                     
,sidelong had pushed a mountain from his
 seat                 ,half-sunk with   
all his pines4                 ,together
 both ere the high lawns appeared       
,under the opening eyelids of the morn1 
,we drove a field1 and both together    
heard                 ,what time the    
gray-fly winds her sultry horn4         
,missing thee1 ,i walk unseen           
,on the dry smooth shaven green4        
,to behold the wandering moon           

,riding near her highest noon1          
,like one that had been led astray1     
,through the heavens' wide pathless way1
                 ,and oft as if her head
 she bowed                 ,stooping    
through a fleecy cloud4  ,it is evident 
that ,stewart's explanation utterly     
fails in all these instances1 for there 
is in them no combination whatsoever1   
but a particular mode of regarding the  
qualities or appearances of a single    
thing1 illustrated and conveyed to us by
 the image of another2 and the act of   
imagination1 observe1 is not the        
selection of this image1 but the mode of
 regarding the object4  ,but the        
metaphysician's definition fails yet    
more utterly1 when we look at the       
imagination neither as regarding1 nor   
combining1 but as penetrating4          
,my gracious ,silence1 ,hail3           
,wouldst thou have laughed1 had ,i come 
coffin'd home                 ,that     
weep'st to see me triumph4 ,ah6 my dear1
                 ,such eyes the widows  

in ,corioli wear1                 ,and  
mothers that lack sons4  ,how did       
,shakspeare know that ,virgilia could   
not speak8  ,this knowledge1 this       
intuitive and penetrative perception1 is
 still one of the forms1 the highest1 of
 imagination1 but there is no           
combination of images here4   ,sec4 #f4 
,the three operations of the            
imagination4 ,penetrative1 associative1 
contemplative4  ,we find1 then1 that the
 imagination has three totally distinct 
functions4 ,it combines1 and by         
combination creates new forms2 but the  
secret principle of this combination has
 not been shown by the analysts4 ,again1
 it treats or regards both the simple   
images and its own combinations in      
peculiar ways2 and1 thirdly1 it         
penetrates1 analyzes1 and reaches truths
 by no other faculty discoverable4      
,these its three functions1 ,i shall    
endeavor to illustrate1 but not in this 
order3 the most logical mode of         
treatment would be to follow the order  

in which commonly the mind works2 that  
is1 penetrating first1 combining next1  
and treating or regarding1 finally2 but 
this arrangement would be inconvenient1 
because the acts of penetration and of  
regard are so closely connected1 and so 
like in their relations to other mental 
acts1 that ,i wish to examine them      
consecutively1 and the rather1 because  
they have to do with higher subject     
matter than the mere act of combination1
 whose distinctive nature1 that property
 which makes it imagination and not     
composition1 it will ,i think be best to
 explain at setting out1 as we easily   
may1 in subjects familiar and material4 
,i shall therefore examine the          
imaginative faculty in these three      
forms2 first1 as combining or           
associative2 secondly1 as analytic or   
penetrative2 thirdly1 as regardant or   
contemplative4   ,,footnotes    #di ,he 
continues thus1 ,to illustrate these    
observations1 let us     consider the   
steps by which ,milton must have        

proceeded1 in creating     his imaginary
 garden of ,eden4 ,when he first        
proposed to himself that     subject of 
description1 it is reasonable to suppose
 that a variety     of the most striking
 scenes which he had seen1 crowded into 
his     mind4 ,the association of ideas 
suggested them and the power of         
conception placed each of them before   
him with all its beauties and           
imperfections4 ,in every natural scene1 
if we destine it for any     particular 
purpose1 there are defects and          
redundancies1 which art     may         
sometimes1 but cannot always correct4   
,but the power of     imagination is    
unlimited4 ,she can create and          
annihilate1 and dispose     at pleasure 
her woods1 her rocks1 and her rivers4   
,milton1     accordingly1 would not copy
 his ,eden from any one scene1 but would
     select from each the features which
 were most eminently beautiful4     ,the
 power of abstraction enabled him to    
make the separation1 and     taste      

directed him in the selection4          
,,chapter ,,ii4                         
,,of ,,imagination ,,associative4       
,sec4 #a4 ,of simple conception4  ,in   
order to render our inquiry as easy as  
possible1 we shall consider the dealing 
of the associative imagination with the 
simplest possible matter1 that is1--with
 conceptions of material things4 ,first1
 therefore1 we must define the nature of
 these conceptions themselves4  ,after  
beholding and examining any material    
object1 our knowledge respecting it     
exists in two different forms4 ,some    
facts exist in the brain in a verbal    
form1 as known1 but not conceived1 as1  
for instance1 that it was heavy or      
light1 that it was eight inches and a   
quarter long1 etc41 of which length we  
cannot have accurate conception1 but    
only such a conception as might attach  
to a length of seven inches or nine2 and
 which fact we may recollect without any
 conception of the object at all4 ,other
 facts respecting it exist in the brain 

in a visible form1 not always visible1  
but voluntarily visible1 as its being   
white1 or having such and such a        
complicated shape1 as the form of a     
rose-bud1 for instance1 which it would  
be difficult to express verbally1       
neither is it retained by the brain in a
 verbal form1 but a visible one1 that   
is1 when we wish for knowledge of its   
form for immediate use1 we summon up a  
vision or image of the thing2 we do not 
remember it in words1 as we remember the
 fact that it took so many days to blow1
 or that it was gathered at such and    
such a time4  ,the knowledge of things  
retained in this visible form is called 
conception by the metaphysicians1 which 
term ,i shall retain2 it is inaccurately
 called imagination by ,taylor1 in the  
passage quoted by ,wordsworth in the    
preface to his poems1 not but that the  
term imagination is etymologically and  
rightly expressive of it1 but we want   
that term for a higher faculty4   ,sec4 
#b4 ,how connected with verbal          

knowledge4  ,there are many questions   
respecting this faculty of conception of
 very great interest1 such as the exact 
amount of aid that verbal knowledge     
renders so visible1 7as1 for instance1  
the verbal knowledge that a flower has  
five1 or seven1 or ten petals1 or that a
 muscle is inserted at such and such a  
point of the bone1 aids the conception  
of the flower or the limb27 and again1  
what amount of aid the visible knowledge
 renders to the verbal1 as for instance1
 whether any one1 being asked a question
 about some animal or thing1 which      
instantly and from verbal knowledge he  
cannot answer1 may have such power of   
summoning up the image of the animal or 
thing as to ascertain the fact1 by      
actual beholding1 7which ,i do not      
assert1 but can conceive to be          
possible27 and again1 what is that      
indefinite and subtile character of the 
conception itself in most men1 which    
admits not of being by themselves traced
 or realized1 and yet is a sure test of 

likeness in any representation of the   
thing2 like an intaglio1 with a front   
light on it1 whose lines cannot be seen1
 and yet they will fit one definite form
 only1 and that accurately2 these and   
many other questions it is irrelevant at
 present to determine1#ej since to      
forward our present purpose1 it will be 
well to suppose the conception1 aided by
 verbal knowledge1 to be absolutely     
perfect1 and we will suppose a man to   
retain such clear image of a large      
number of the material things he has    
seen1 as to be able to set down any of  
them on paper with perfect fidelity and 
absolute memory#ea of their most minute 
features4  ,in thus setting them down on
 paper1 he works1 ,i suppose1 exactly as
 he would work from nature1 only copying
 the remembered image in his mind1      
instead of the real thing4 ,he is1      
therefore1 still nothing more than a    
copyist4 ,there is no exercise of       
imagination in this whatsoever4   ,sec4 
#c4 ,how used in composition4  ,but over

 these images1 vivid and distinct as    
nature herself1 he has a command which  
over nature he has not4 ,he can summon  
any that he chooses1 and if1 therefore1 
any group of them which he received from
 nature be not altogether to his mind1  
he is at liberty to remove some of the  
component images1 add others foreign1   
and re-arrange the whole4  ,let us      
suppose1 for instance1 that he has      
perfect knowledge of the forms of the   
,aiguilles ,verte and ,argentiere1 and  
of the great glacier between them at the
 upper extremity of the valley of       
,chamonix4 ,the forms of the mountains  
please him1 but the presence of the     
glacier suits not his purpose4 ,he      
removes the glacier1 sets the mountains 
farther apart1 and introduces between   
them part of the valley of the ,rhone4  
,this is composition1 and is what       
,dugald ,stewart mistook for            
imagination1 in the kingdom of which    
noble faculty it has no part nor lot4   
,sec4 #d4 ,characteristics of           

composition4  ,the essential characters 
of composition1 properly so called1 are 
these4 ,the mind which desires the new  
feature summons up before it those      
images which it supposes to be of the   
kind wanted1 of these it takes the one  
which it supposes to be fittest1 and    
tries it3 if it will not answer1 it     
tries another1 until it has obtained    
such an association as pleases it4  ,in 
this operation1 if it be of little      
sensibility1 it regards only the        
absolute beauty or value of the images  
brought before it2 and takes that or    
those which it thinks fairest or most   
interesting1 without any regard to their
 sympathy with those for whose company  
they are destined4 ,of this kind is all 
vulgar composition2 the ,mulino of      
,claude1 described in the preface to the
 first part1 being a characteristic     
example4  ,if the mind be of higher     
feeling1 it will look to the sympathy or
 contrast of the features1 to their     
likeness or dissimilarity2 it will take1

 as it thinks best1 features resembling 
or discordant1 and if when it has put   
them together1 it be not satisfied1 it  
will repeat the process on the features 
themselves1 cutting away one part and   
putting in another1 so working more and 
more delicately down to the lowest      
details1 until by dint of experiment1 of
 repeated trials and shiftings1 and     
constant reference to principles1 7as   
that two lines must not mimic one       
another1 that one mass must not be equal
 to another17 etc41 it has morticed     
together a satisfactory result4   ,sec4 
#e4 ,what powers are implied by it4 ,the
 first of the three functions of        
fancy4  ,this process will be more and  
more rapid and effective1 in proportion 
to the artist's powers of conception and
 association1 these in their turn       
depending on his knowledge and          
experience4 ,the distinctness of his    
powers of conception will give value1   
point1 and truth to every fragment that 
he draws from memory4 ,his powers of    

association1 and his knowledge of nature
 will pour out before him in greater or 
less number and appositeness the images 
from which to choose4 ,his experience   
guides him to quick discernment in the  
combination1 when made1 of the parts    
that are offensive and require change4  
,the most elevated power of mind of all 
these1 is that of association1 by which 
images apposite or resemblant1 or of    
whatever kind wanted1 are called up     
quickly and in multitudes4 ,when this   
power is very brilliant1 it is called   
fancy1 not that this is the only meaning
 of the word fancy1 but it is the       
meaning of it in relation to that       
function of the imagination which we are
 here considering2 for fancy has three  
functions2 one subordinate to each of   
the three functions of the imagination4 
,great differences of power are         
manifested among artists in this        
respect1 some having hosts of distinct  
images always at their command1 and     
rapidly discerning resemblance or       

contrast2 others having few images1 and 
obscure1 at their disposal1 nor readily 
governing those they have4  ,where the  
powers of fancy are very brilliant1 the 
picture becomes highly interesting2 if  
her images are systematically and       
rightly combined1 and truthfully        
rendered1 it will become even impressive
 and instructive2 if wittily and        
curiously combined1 it will be          
captivating and entertaining4   ,sec4   
#f4 ,imagination not yet manifested4    
,but all this time the imagination has  
not once shown itself4 ,all this 7except
 the gift of fancy7 may be taught1 all  
this is easily comprehended and         
analyzed2 but imagination is neither to 
be taught1 nor by any efforts to be     
attained1 nor by any acuteness of       
discernment dissected or analyzed4  ,we 
have seen that in composition the mind  
can only take cognizance of likeness or 
dissimilarity1 or of abstract beauty    
among the ideas it brings together4 ,but
 neither likeness nor dissimilarity     

secures harmony4 ,we saw in the chapter 
on unity that likeness destroyed harmony
 or unity of membership1 and that       
difference did not necessarily secure   
it1 but only that particular            
imperfection in each of the harmonizing 
parts which can only be supplied by its 
fellow part4 ,if1 therefore1 the        
combination made is to be harmonious1   
the artist must induce in each of its   
component parts 7suppose two only1 for  
simplicity's sake17 such imperfection as
 that the other shall put it right4 ,if 
one of them be perfect by itself1 the   
other will be an excrescence4 ,both must
 be faulty when separate1 and each      
corrected by the presence of the other4 
,if he can accomplish this1 the result  
will be beautiful2 it will be a whole1  
an organized body with dependent        
members2--he is an inventor4 ,if not1   
let his separate features be as         
beautiful1 as apposite1 or as resemblant
 as they may1 they form no whole4 ,they 
are two members glued together4 ,he is  

only a carpenter and joiner4   ,sec4 #g4
 ,imagination is the correlative        
conception of imperfect component       
parts4  ,now1 the conceivable           
imperfections of any single feature are 
infinite4 ,it is impossible1 therefore1 
to fix upon a form of imperfection in   
the one1 and try with this all the forms
 of imperfection of the other until one 
fits2 but the two imperfections must be 
corelatively and simultaneously         
conceived4  ,this is imagination1       
properly so called1 imagination         
associative1 the grandest mechanical    
power that the human intelligence       
possesses1 and one which will appear    
more and more marvellous the longer we  
consider it4 ,by its operation1 two     
ideas are chosen out of an infinite     
mass1 7for it evidently matters not     
whether the imperfections be conceived  
out of the infinite number conceivable1 
or selected out of a number             
recollected17 two ideas which are       
separately wrong1 which together shall  

be right1 and of whose unity1 therefore1
 the idea must be formed at the instant 
they are seized1 as it is only in that  
unity that either are good1 and         
therefore only the conception of that   
unity can prompt the preference4 ,now1  
what is that prophetic action of mind1  
which1 out of an infinite mass of things
 that cannot be tried together1 seizes1 
at the same instant two that are fit for
 each other1 together right2 yet each   
disagreeable alone4   ,sec4 #h4         
,material analogy with imagination4     
,this operation of mind1 so far as ,i   
can see1 is absolutely inexplicable1 but
 there is something like it in          
chemistry4  ,the action of sulphuric    
acid on metallic zinc affords an        
instance of what was once called        
disposing affinity4 ,zinc decomposes    
pure water at common temperatures with  
extreme slowness2 but as soon as        
sulphuric acid is added1 decomposition  
of the water takes place rapidly1 though
 the acid merely unites with oxide of   

zinc4 ,the former explanation was1 that 
the affinity of the acid for oxide of   
zinc disposed the metal to unite with   
oxygen1 and thus enabled it to decompose
 water2 that is1 the oxide of zinc was  
supposed to produce an effect previous  
to its existence4 ,the obscurity of this
 explanation arises from regarding      
changes as consecutive1 which are in    
reality simultaneous4 ,there is no      
succession in the process1 the oxide of 
zinc is not formed previously to its    
combination with the acid1 but at the   
same instant4 ,there is1 as it were1 but
 one chemical change1 which consists in 
the combination at one and the same     
moment of zinc with oxygen1 and of oxide
 of zinc with the acid2 and this change 
occurs because these two affinities1    
acting together1 overcome the attraction
 of oxygen and hydrogen for one         
another4#eb  ,now1 if the imaginative   
artist will permit us1 with all         
deference1 to represent his combining   
intelligence under the figure of        

sulphuric acid2 and if we suppose the   
fragment of zinc to be embarrassed among
 infinitely numerous fragments of       
diverse metals1 and the oxygen dispersed
 and mingled among gases countless and  
indistinguishable1 we shall have an     
excellent type in material things of the
 action of the imagination on the       
immaterial4 ,both actions are1 ,i think1
 inexplicable1 for however simultaneous 
the chemical changes may be1 yet the    
causing power is the affinity of the    
acid for what has no existence4 ,it is  
neither to be explained how that        
affinity operates on atoms uncombined1  
nor how the artist's desire for an      
unconceived whole prompts him to the    
selection of necessary divisions4       
,sec4 #i4 ,the grasp and dignity of     
imagination4  ,now1 this operation would
 be wonderful enough1 if it were        
concerned with two ideas only4 ,but a   
powerfully imaginative mind seizes and  
combines at the same instant1 not only  
two1 but all the important ideas of its 

poem or picture1 and while it works with
 any one of them1 it is at the same     
instant working with and modifying all  
in their relations to it1 never losing  
sight of their bearings on each other2  
as the motion of a snake's body goes    
through all parts at once1 and its      
volition acts at the same instant in    
coils that go contrary ways4  ,this     
faculty is indeed something that looks  
as if man were made after the image of  
,god4 ,it is inconceivable1 admirable1  
altogether divine2 and yet wonderful as 
it may seem1 it is palpably evident that
 no less an operation is necessary for  
the production of any great work1 for1  
by the definition of unity of           
membership1 7the essential              
characteristic of greatness17 not only  
certain couples or groups of parts1 but 
all the parts of a noble work must be   
separately imperfect2 each must imply1  
and ask for all the rest1 and the glory 
of every one of them must consist in its
 relation to the rest1 neither while so 

much as one is wanting can any be right4
 ,and it is evidently impossible to     
conceive in each separate feature1 a    
certain want or wrongness which can only
 be corrected by the other features of  
the picture1 7not by one or two merely1 
but by all17 unless together with the   
want1 we conceive also of what is       
wanted1 that is of all the rest of the  
work or picture4 ,hence ,fuseli3--      
,second thoughts are admissible in      
painting and poetry only as dressers of 
the first conception2 no great idea was 
ever formed in fragments4  ,he alone can
 conceive and compose who sees the whole
 at once before him4   ,sec4 #aj4 ,its  
limits4  ,there is1 however1 a limit to 
the power of all human imagination4     
,when the relations to be observed are  
absolutely necessary1 and highly        
complicated1 the mind cannot grasp them1
 and the result is a total deprivation  
of all power of imagination associative 
in such matter4 ,for this reason1 no    
human mind has ever conceived a new     

animal4 ,for as it is evident that in an
 animal1 every part implies all the     
rest2 that is1 the form of the eye      
involves the form of the brow and nose1 
these the form of the forehead and lip1 
these of the head and chin1 and so on1  
so that it is physically impossible to  
conceive of any one of these members1   
unless we conceive the relation it bears
 to the whole animal2 and as this       
relation is necessary1 certain1 and     
complicated1 allowing of no license or  
inaccuracy1 the intellect utterly fails 
under the load1 and is reduced to mere  
composition1 putting the bird's wing on 
men's shoulders1 or half the human body 
to half the horse's1 in doing which     
there is no action of imagination1 but  
only of fancy2 though in the treatment  
and contemplation of the compound form  
there may be much imagination1 as we    
shall presently see4 7,chap4 ,,iii4     
,sec4 #cj47   ,sec4 #aa4 ,how manifested
 in treatment of uncertain relations4   
,its deficiency         illustrated4    

,the matter1 therefore1 in which        
associative imagination can be shown is 
that which admits of great license and  
variety of arrangements1 and in which a 
certain amount of relation only is      
required2 as especially in the elements 
of landscape painting1 in which best it 
may be illustrated4  ,when an           
unimaginative painter is about to draw a
 tree1 7and we will suppose him1 for    
better illustration of the point in     
question1 to have good feeling and      
correct knowledge of the nature of      
trees17 he probably lays on his paper   
such a general form as he knows to be   
characteristic of the tree to be drawn1 
and such as he believes will fall in    
agreeably with the other masses of his  
picture1 which we will suppose partly   
prepared4 ,when this form is set down1  
he assuredly finds it has done something
 he did not intend it to do4 ,it has    
mimicked some prominent line1 or        
overpowered some necessary mass4 ,he    
begins pruning and changing1 and after  

several experiments1 succeeds in        
obtaining a form which does no material 
mischief to any other4 ,to this form he 
proceeds to attach a trunk1 and having  
probably a received notion or rule 7for 
the unimaginative painter never works   
without a principle7 that tree trunks   
ought to lean first one way and then the
 other as they go up1 and ought not to  
stand under the middle of the tree1 he  
sketches a serpentine form of requisite 
propriety2 when it has gone up far      
enough1 that is till it begins to look  
disagreeably long1 he will begin to     
ramify it1 and if there be another tree 
in the picture with two large branches1 
he knows that this1 by all laws of      
composition1 ought to have three or     
four1 or some different number2 one     
because he knows that if three or four  
branches start from the same point they 
will look formal1 therefore he makes    
them start from points one above        
another1 and because equal distances are
 improper1 therefore they shall start at

 unequal distances4 ,when they are      
fairly started1 he knows they must      
undulate or go backwards and forwards1  
which accordingly he makes them do at   
random2 and because he knows that all   
forms ought to be contrasted1 therefore 
he makes one bend down while the other  
three go up4 ,the three that go up he   
knows must not go up without interfering
 with each other1 and so he makes two of
 them cross4 ,he thinks it also proper  
that there should be variety of         
character in them1 so he makes the one  
that bends down graceful and flexible1  
and of the two that cross1 he splinters 
one and makes a stump of it4 ,he repeats
 the process among the more complicated 
minor boughs1 until coming to the       
smallest1 he thinks farther care        
unnecessary1 but draws them freely1 and 
by chance4 ,having to put on the        
foliage1 he will make it flow properly  
in the direction of the tree's growth1  
he will make all the extremities        
graceful1 but will be grievously plagued

 by finding them come all alike1 and at 
last will be obliged to spoil a number  
of them altogether1 in order to obtain  
opposition4 ,they will not1 however1 be 
united in this their spoliation1 but    
will remain uncomfortably separate and  
individually ill-tempered4 ,he consoles 
himself by the reflection that it is    
unnatural for all of them to be equally 
perfect4   ,sec4 #ab4 ,laws of art1 the 
safeguard of the unimaginative4  ,now ,i
 suppose that through the whole of this 
process he has been able to refer to his
 definite memory or conception of nature
 for every one of the fragments he has  
successively added1 that the details1   
color1 fractures1 insertions1 etc41 of  
his boughs1 are all either actual       
recollections or based on secure        
knowledge of the tree1 7and herein ,i   
allow far more than is commonly the case
 with unimaginative painters47 ,but as  
far as the process of combination is    
concerned1 it is evident that from      
beginning to end his laws have been his 

safety1 and his plague has been his     
liberty4 ,he has been compelled to work 
at random1 or under the guidance of     
feeling only1 whenever there was        
anything left to his own decision4 ,he  
has never been decided in anything      
except in what he must or must not do4  
,he has walked as a drunken man on a    
broad road1 his guides are the hedges2  
and between these limits1 the broader   
the way1 the worse he gets on4   ,sec4  
#ac4 ,are by the imaginative painter    
despised4 ,tests of imagination4  ,the  
advance of the imaginative artist is    
precisely the reverse of this4 ,he has  
no laws4 ,he defies all restraint1 and  
cuts down all hedges4 ,there is nothing 
within the limits of natural possibility
 that he dares not do1 or that he allows
 the necessity of doing4 ,the laws of   
nature he knows1 are to him no          
restraint4 ,they are his own nature4    
,all other laws or limits he sets at    
utter defiance1 his journey is over an  
untrodden and pathless plain4 ,but he   

sees his end over the waste from the    
first1 and goes straight at it1 never   
losing sight of it1 nor throwing away a 
step4 ,nothing can stop him1 nothing    
turn him aside2 falcons and lynxes are  
of slow and uncertain sight compared    
with his4 ,he saw his tree1 trunk1      
boughs1 foliage and all1 from the first 
moment2 not only the tree but the sky   
behind it2 not only that tree or sky1   
but all the other great features of his 
picture3 by what intense power of       
instantaneous selection and amalgamation
 cannot be explained1 but by this it may
 be proved and tested1 that if we       
examine the tree of the unimaginative   
painter1 we shall find that on removing 
any part or parts of it1 the rest will  
indeed suffer1 as being deprived of the 
proper development of a tree1 and as    
involving a blank space that wants      
occupation2 but the portions left are   
not made discordant or disagreeable4    
,they are absolutely and in themselves  
as valuable as they can be1 every stem  

is a perfect stem1 and every twig a     
graceful twig1 or at least as perfect   
and as graceful as they were before the 
removal of the rest4 ,but if we try the 
same experiment on the imaginative      
painter's work1 and break off the merest
 stem or twig of it1 it all goes to     
pieces like a ,prince ,rupert's drop4   
,there is not so much as a seed of it   
but it lies on the tree's life1 like the
 grain upon the tongue of ,chaucer's    
sainted child4 ,take it away1 and the   
boughs will sing to us no longer4 ,all  
is dead and cold4   ,sec4 #ad4 ,the     
monotony of unimaginative treatment4    
,this then is the first sign of the     
presence of real imagination as opposed 
to composition4 ,but here is another not
 less important4   ,sec4 #ae4           
,imagination never repeats itself4  ,we 
have seen that as each part is selected 
and fitted by the unimaginative painter1
 he renders it1 in itself1 as beautiful 
as he is able4 ,if it be ugly1 it       
remains so1 he is incapable of          

correcting it by the addition of another
 ugliness1 and therefore he chooses all 
his features as fair as they may be 7at 
least if his object be beauty47 ,but a  
small proportion only of the ideas he   
has at his disposal will reach his      
standard of absolute beauty4 ,the others
 will be of no use to him1 and among    
those which he permits himself to use1  
there will be so marked a family        
likeness1 that he will be more and more 
cramped1 as his picture advances1 for   
want of material1 and tormented by      
multiplying resemblances1 unless        
disguised by some artifice of light and 
shade or other forced difference1 and   
with all the differences he can imagine1
 his tree will yet show a sameness and  
sickening repetition in all its parts1  
and all his trees will be like one      
another1 except so far as one leans east
 and another west1 one is broadest at   
the top and another at the bottom1 while
 through all this insipid repetition1   
the means by which he forces contrast1  

dark boughs opposed to light1 rugged to 
smooth1 etc41 will be painfully evident1
 to the utter destruction of all dignity
 and repose4 ,the imaginative work is   
necessarily the absolute opposite of all
 this4 ,as all its parts are imperfect1 
and as there is an unlimited supply of  
imperfection1 7for the ways in which    
things may be wrong are infinite17 the  
imagination is never at a loss1 nor ever
 likely to repeat itself2 nothing comes 
amiss to it1 but whatever rude matter it
 receives1 it instantly so arranges that
 it comes right2 all things fall into   
their place and appear in that place    
perfect1 useful1 and evidently not to be
 spared1 so that of its combinations    
there is endless variety1 and every     
intractable and seemingly unavailable   
fragment that we give to it1 is         
instantly turned to some brilliant use1 
and made the nucleus of a new group of  
glory2 however poor or common the gift1 
it will be thankful for it1 treasure it 
up1 and pay in gold1 and it has that    

life in it and fire1 that wherever it   
passes1 among the dead bones and dust of
 things1 behold a shaking1 and the bones
 come together1 bone to his bone4       
,sec4 #af4 ,relation of the imaginative 
faculty to the theoretic4  ,and now we  
find what noble sympathy and unity there
 is between the imaginative and         
theoretic faculties4 ,both agree in     
this1 that they reject nothing1 and are 
thankful for all2 but the theoretic     
faculty takes out of everything that    
which is beautiful1 while the           
imaginative faculty takes hold of the   
very imperfections which the theoretic  
rejects1 and by means of these angles   
and roughnesses1 it joints and bolts the
 separate stones into a mighty temple1  
wherein the theoretic faculty in its    
turn1 does deepest homage4 ,thus        
sympathetic in their desires1           
harmoniously diverse in their operation1
 each working for the other with what   
the other needs not1 all things external
 to man are by one or other turned to   

good4   ,sec4 #ag4 ,modification of its 
manifestation4  ,now we have hitherto1  
for the sake of clearness1 opposed the  
total absence of imagination to the     
perfect presence of it1 in order to make
 the difference between composition and 
imagination thoroughly understood4 ,but 
if we are to give examples of either the
 want or the presence of the power1 it  
is necessary to note the circumstances  
by which both are modified4 ,in the     
first place1 few artists of any standing
 are totally devoid of this faculty1    
some small measure of it most of them   
possess1 though of all the forms of     
intellect1 this1 and its sister1        
penetrative imagination1 are the rarest 
and most precious2 but few painters have
 reached eminence without some leaven of
 it1 whether it can be increased by     
practice ,i doubt4 ,on the other hand1  
fewer still are possessed of it in very 
high degree1 and even with the men of   
most gigantic power in this respect1 of 
whom1 ,i think1 ,tintoret stands far the

 head1 there are evident limits to its  
exercise1 and portions to be found in   
their works that have not been included 
in the original grasp of them1 but have 
been suggested and incorporated during  
their progress1 or added in decoration2 
and with the great mass of painters     
there are frequent flaws and failures in
 the conception1 so that1 when they     
intend to produce a perfect work they   
throw their thought into different      
experimental forms1 and decorate it and 
discipline it long before realizing it1 
so that there is a certain amount of    
mere composition in the most imaginative
 works2 and a grain or two of           
imagination commonly in the most        
artificial4 ,and again1 whatever        
portions of a picture are taken honestly
 and without alteration from nature1    
have1 so far as they go1 the look of    
imagination1 because all that nature    
does is imaginative1 that is1 perfect as
 a whole1 and made up of imperfect      
features2 so that the painter of the    

meanest imaginative power may yet do    
grand things1 if he will keep to strict 
portraiture1 and it would be well if all
 artists were to endeavor to do so1 for 
if they have imagination1 it will force 
its way in spite of them1 and show      
itself in their every stroke1 and if    
not1 they will not get it by leaving    
nature1 but only sink into nothingness4 
,sec4 #ah4 ,instances of absence of     
imagination4--,claude1 ,gaspar ,poussin4
  ,keeping these points in view1 it is  
interesting to observe the different    
degrees and relations of the            
imagination1 as accompanied with more or
 less feeling or desire of harmony1     
vigor of conception1 or constancy of    
reference to truth4 ,of men of name1    
perhaps ,claude is the best instance of 
a want of imagination1 nearly total1    
borne out by painful but untaught study 
of nature1 and much feeling for abstract
 beauty of form1 with none whatever for 
harmony of expression4 ,in ,gaspar      
,poussin1 we have the same want of      

imagination disguised by more masculine 
qualities of mind1 and grander reachings
 after sympathy4 ,thus in the sacrifice 
of ,isaac in our own gallery1 the spirit
 of the composition is solemn and       
unbroken2 it would have been a grand    
picture if the forms of the mass of     
foliage on the right1 and of the clouds 
in the centre1 had not been hopelessly  
unimaginative4 ,the stormy wind of the  
picture of ,dido and ,eneas blows loudly
 through its leaves1 but the total want 
of invention in the cloud forms bears it
 down beyond redemption4 ,the foreground
 tree of the ,la ,riccia 7compare ,part 
,,ii4 ,sec4 ,,vi4 ,chap4 ,i41 ,sec4 #f47
 is another characteristic instance of  
absolute nullity of imagination4        
,illustration3 ,,the ,,adoration ,,of   
,,the ,,magi4 ,from a painting by       
,ruskin1 after ,tintoret4   ,sec4 #ai4  
,its presence4--,salvator1 ,nicolo      
,poussin1 ,titian1 ,tintoret4  ,in      
,salvator1 the imagination is vigorous1 
the composition dextrous and clever1 as 

in the ,st4 ,jerome of the ,brera       
,gallery1 the ,diogenes of the ,pitti1  
and the pictures of the ,guadagni       
palace4 ,all are rendered valueless by  
coarseness of feeling and habitual      
non-reference to nature4  ,all the      
landscape of ,nicolo ,poussin is        
imaginative1 but the development of the 
power in ,tintoret and ,titian is so    
unapproachably intense that the mind    
unwillingly rests elsewhere4 ,the four  
landscapes which occur to me as the most
 magnificently characteristic are1      
first1 the ,flight into ,egypt1 of the  
,scuola di ,san ,rocco 7,tintoret27     
secondly1 the ,titian of the ,camuccini 
collection at ,rome1 with the figures by
 ,john ,bellini2 thirdly1 ,titian's ,st4
 ,jerome1 in the ,brera ,gallery at     
,milan2 and fourthly1 the ,st4 ,pietro  
,martire1 which ,i name last1 in spite  
of its importance1 because there is     
something unmeaning and unworthy of     
,titian about the undulation of the     
trunks1 and the upper part of it is     

destroyed by the intrusion of some      
dramatic clouds of that species which ,i
 have enough described in our former    
examination of the central cloud region1
 ,sec4 #ac4  ,i do not mean to set these
 four works above the rest of the       
landscape of these masters2 ,i name them
 only because the landscape is in them  
prominent and characteristic4 ,it would 
be well to compare with them the other  
backgrounds of ,tintoret in the ,scuola1
 especially that of the ,temptation and 
the ,agony in the ,garden1 and the      
landscape of the two large pictures in  
the church of ,la ,madonna dell' ,orto4 
,sec4 #bj4 ,and ,turner4  ,but for      
immediate and close illustration1 it is 
perhaps best to refer to a work more    
accessible1 the ,cephalus and ,procris  
of ,turner1 in ,liber ,studiorum4  ,i   
know of no landscape more purely or     
magnificently imaginative or bearing    
more distinct evidence of the relative  
and simultaneous conception of the      
parts4 ,let the reader first cover with 

his hand the two trunks that rise       
against the sky on the right1 and ask   
himself how any termination of the      
central mass so ugly as the straight    
trunk which he will then painfully see1 
could have been conceived or admitted   
without simultaneous conception of the  
trunks he has taken away on the right8  
,let him again conceal the whole central
 mass1 and leave these two only1 and    
again ask himself whether anything so   
ugly as that bare trunk in the shape of 
a ,y1 could have been admitted without  
reference to the central mass8 ,then let
 him remove from this trunk its two     
arms1 and try the effect2 let him again 
remove the single trunk on the extreme  
right2 then let him try the third trunk 
without the excrescence at the bottom of
 it2 finally1 let him conceal the fourth
 trunk from the right1 with the slender 
boughs at the top2 he will find in each 
case that he has destroyed a feature on 
which everything else depends1 and if   
proof be required of the vital power of 

still smaller features1 let him remove  
the sunbeam that comes through beneath  
the faint mass of trees on the hill in  
the distance4#ec  ,it is useless to     
enter into farther particulars2 the     
reader may be left to his own close     
examination of this and of the other    
works of ,turner1 in which he will      
always find the associative imagination 
developed in the most profuse and       
marvellous modes1 especially in the     
drawing of foliage and skies1 in both of
 which the presence or absence of the   
associative power may best be tested in 
all artists4 ,i have1 however1 confined 
my present illustrations chiefly to     
foliage1 because other operations of the
 imagination besides the associative1   
interfere extensively in the treatment  
of sky4   ,sec4 #ba4 ,the due function  
of ,associative ,imagination with       
respect to         nature4  ,there      
remains but one question to be          
determined relating to this faculty1    
what operation1 namely1 supposing it    

possessed in high degree1 it has or     
ought to have in the artist's treatment 
of natural scenery4  ,i have just said  
that nature is always imaginative1 but  
it does not follow that her imagination 
is always of high subject1 or that the  
imagination of all the parts is of a    
like and sympathetic kind2 the boughs of
 every bramble bush are imaginatively   
arranged1 so are those of every oak and 
cedar2 but it does not follow that there
 is imaginative sympathy between bramble
 and cedar4 ,there are few natural      
scenes whose harmonies are not          
conceivably improvable either by        
banishment of some discordant point1 or 
by addition of some sympathetic one2 it 
constantly happens that there is a      
profuseness too great to be             
comprehended1 or an inequality in the   
pitch1 meaning1 and intensity of        
different parts4 ,the imagination will  
banish all that is extraneous1 it will  
seize out of the many threads of        
different feeling which nature has      

suffered to become entangled1 one only1 
and where that seems thin and likely to 
break1 it will spin it stouter1 and in  
doing this1 it never knots1 but weaves  
in the new thread1 so that all its work 
looks as pure and true as nature itself1
 and cannot be guessed from it but by   
its exceeding simplicity1 7known from   
it1 it cannot be17 so that herein we    
find another test of the imaginative    
work1 that it looks always as if it had 
been gathered straight from nature1     
whereas the unimaginative shows its     
joints and knots1 and is visibly        
composition4   ,sec4 #bb4 ,the sign of  
imaginative work is its appearance of   
absolute truth4  ,and here then we      
arrive at an important conclusion       
7though one somewhat contrary to the    
positions commonly held on the subject17
 namely1 that if anything looks         
unnatural1 there can be no imagination  
in it 7at least not associative47 ,we   
frequently hear works that have no truth
 in them1 justified or elevated on the  

score of being imaginative4 ,let it be  
understood once for all1 that           
imagination never designs to touch      
anything but truth1 and though it does  
not follow that where there is the      
appearance of truth1 there has been     
imaginative operation1 of this we may be
 assured1 that where there is appearance
 of falsehood1 the imagination has had  
no hand4#ed  ,for instance1 the         
landscape above mentioned of ,titian's  
,st4 ,jerome may1 for aught ,i know1 be 
a pure transcript of a rocky slope      
covered with chestnuts among his native 
mountains4 ,it has all the look of a    
sketch from nature2 if it be not1 the   
imagination developed in it is of the   
highest order2 if it be1 the imagination
 has only acted in the suggestion of the
 dark sky1 of the shape of the flakes of
 solemn cloud1 and of the gleam of      
russet light along the distant          
ground4#ee  ,again1 it is impossible to 
tell whether the two nearest trunks of  
the ,aesacus and ,hesperie of the ,liber

 ,studiorum1 especially the large one on
 the right with the ivy1 have been      
invented1 or taken straight from nature1
 they have all the look of accurate     
portraiture4 ,i can hardly imagine      
anything so perfect to have been        
obtained except from the real thing2 but
 we know that the imagination must have 
begun to operate somewhere1 we cannot   
tell where1 since the multitudinous     
harmonies of the rest of the picture    
could hardly in any real scene have     
continued so inviolately sweet4  ,the   
final tests1 therefore1 of the work of  
associative imagination are its intense 
simplicity1 its perfect harmony1 and its
 absolute truth4 ,it may be a harmony1  
majestic1 or humble1 abrupt1 or         
prolonged1 but it is always a governed  
and perfect whole1 evidencing in all its
 relations the weight1 prevalence1 and  
universal dominion of an awful1         
inexplicable ,power2 a chastising1      
animating1 and disposing ,mind4         
,,footnotes    #ej ,compare ,chapter    

,,iv4 of this ,section4    #ea ,on the  
distinction rightly made by the         
metaphysicians between     conception   
absolute and conception accompanied by  
reference to past     time1 7or memory17
 it is of no necessity here to insist4  
#eb ,elements of ,chemistry1 by the late
 ,edward ,turner1 ,m4,d4 ,part ,,ii4    
,sec4 ,,iv4    #ec ,this ray of light1  
however1 has an imaginative power of    
another     kind presently to be spoken 
of4 ,compare ,chap4 ,,iv4 ,sec4 #ah4    
#ed ,compare ,chap4 ,,iii4 ,sec4#cj4    
#ee ,it is said at ,venice that ,titian 
took the trees of the ,st4     ,pietro  
,martiere out of his garden opposite    
,murano4 ,i think this     unlikely2    
there is something about the lower      
trunks that has a taint     of          
composition3 the thought of the whole1  
however1 is thoroughly     fine4 ,the   
backgrounds of the frescoes at ,padua   
are also very     characteristic1 and   
the well-known woodcut of ,st4 ,francis 
receiving     the stigmata1 one of the  

mightiest of existing landscape         
thoughts2     and yet it is pure        
portraiture of pine and ,spanish        
chestnut4                               
,,chapter ,,iii4                        
,,of ,,imagination ,,penetrative4       
,sec4 #a4 ,imagination penetrative is   
concerned not with the combining but    
apprehending of things4  ,thus far we   
have been defining that combining       
operation of the imagination1 which     
appears to be in a sort mechanical1 yet 
takes place in the same inexplicable    
modes1 whatever be the order of         
conception submitted to it1 though ,i   
chose to illustrate it by its dealings  
with mere matter before taking          
cognizance of any nobler subjects of    
imagery4 ,we must now examine the       
dealing of the imagination with its     
separate conceptions1 and endeavor to   
understand not only its principles of   
selection1 but its modes of apprehension
 with respect to what it selects4       
,sec4 #b4 ,milton's and ,dante's        

description of flame4  ,when ,milton's  
,satan first rears from off the pool1   
his mighty stature1 the image of        
,leviathan before suggested not being   
yet abandoned1 the effect on the        
fire-wave is described as of the        
upheaved monster on the ocean stream4   
,on each hand the flames1               
,driven backwards1 slope their pointing 
spires1                        and      
rolled                 ,in billows1     
leave in the midst a horrid vale4  ,and 
then follows a fiercely restless piece  
of volcanic imagery4                    
,as when the force                 ,of  
subterranean wind transports a hill     
,torn from ,pelorus1 or the shattered   
side                 ,of thundering     
,aetna1 whose combustible               
,and fuell'd entrails thence conceiving 
fire1                 ,sublimed with    
mineral fury1 aid the winds1            
,and leave a singed bottom1 all involved
                 ,with stench and smoke2
 such resting found the sole            

,of unblest feet4  ,yet ,i think all    
this is too far detailed1 and deals too 
much with externals2 we feel rather the 
form of the fire-waves than their fury1 
we walk upon them too securely1 and the 
fuel1 sublimation1 smoke1 and singeing1 
seem to me images only of partial       
combustion2 they vary and extend the    
conception1 but they lower the          
thermometer4 ,look back1 if you will1   
and add to the description the          
glimmering of the livid flames2 the     
sulphurous hail and red lightning2 yet  
altogether1 however they overwhelm us   
with horror1 fail of making us          
thoroughly1 unendurably hot4 ,the       
intense essence of flame has not been   
given4 ,now hear ,dante3--              
,feriami 'l ,sole in su l'omero destro  
,che gia raggiando tutto l',occidente   
,mutava in bianco aspetto di eilestro4  
,ed io facea con l'ombra piu rovente    
,parer la flamma4  ,that is a slight    
touch2 he has not gone to ,aetna nor    
,pelorus for fuel2 but we shall not soon

 recover from it--he has taken our      
breath away and leaves us gasping4 ,no  
smoke nor cinders there4 ,pure1 white1  
hurtling1 formless flame2 very fire     
crystal1 we cannot make spires nor waves
 of it1 nor divide it1 nor walk on it1  
there is no question about singeing     
soles of feet4 ,it is lambent           
annihilation4   ,sec4 #c4 ,the          
imagination seizes always by the        
innermost point4  ,such is always the   
mode in which the highest imaginative   
faculty seizes its materials4 ,it never 
stops at crusts or ashes1 or outward    
images of any kind1 it ploughs them all 
aside1 and plunges into the very central
 fiery heart1 nothing else will content 
its spirituality1 whatever semblances   
and various outward shows and phases its
 subject may possess1 go for nothing1 it
 gets within all fence1 cuts down to the
 root1 and drinks the very vital sap of 
that it deals with3 once there it is at 
liberty to throw up what new shoots it  
will1 so always that the true juice and 

sap be in them1 and to prune and twist  
them at its pleasure1 and bring them to 
fairer fruit than grew on the old tree2 
but all this pruning and twisting is    
work that it likes not1 and often does  
ill2 its function and gift are the      
getting at the root1 its nature and     
dignity depend on its holding things    
always by the heart4 ,take its hand from
 off the beating of that1 and it will   
prophesy no longer2 it looks not in the 
eyes1 it judges not by the voice1 it    
describes not by outward features1 all  
that it affirms1 judges1 or describes1  
it affirms from within4   ,sec4 #d4 ,it 
acts intuitively and without reasoning4 
,it may seem to the reader that ,i am   
incorrect in calling this penetrating1  
possession-taking faculty1 imagination4 
,be it so1 the name is of little        
consequence2 the faculty itself1 called 
by what name we will1 ,i insist upon as 
the highest intellectual power of man4  
,there is no reasoning in it1 it works  
not by algebra1 nor by integral         

calculus1 it is a piercing1 ,pholas-like
 mind's tongue that works and tastes    
into the very rock heart1 no matter what
 be the subject submitted to it1        
substance or spirit1 all is alike1      
divided asunder1 joint and marrow1      
whatever utmost truth1 life1 principle1 
it has1 laid bare1 and that which has no
 truth1 life1 nor principle1 dissipated 
into its original smoke at a touch4 ,the
 whispers at men's ears it lifts into   
visible angels4 ,vials that have lain   
sealed in the deep sea a thousand years 
it unseals1 and brings out of them      
,genii4  ,every great conception of poet
 or painter is held and treated by this 
faculty4 ,every character that is so    
much as touched by men like ,aeschylus1 
,homer1 ,dante1 or ,shakspeare1 is by   
them held by the heart2 and every       
circumstance or sentence of their being1
 speaking1 or seeming1 is seized by     
process from within1 and is referred to 
that inner secret spring of which the   
hold is never lost for an instant2 so   

that every sentence1 as it has been     
thought out from the heart1 opens for us
 a way down to the heart1 leads us to   
the centre1 and then leaves us to gather
 what more we may2 it is the open sesame
 of a huge1 obscure1 endless cave1 with 
inexhaustible treasure of pure gold     
scattered in it3 the wandering about and
 gathering the pieces may be left to any
 of us1 all can accomplish that2 but the
 first opening of that invisible door in
 the rock is of the imagination only4   
,sec4 #e4 ,signs of it in language4     
,hence there is in every word set down  
by the imaginative mind an awful        
under-current of meaning1 and evidence  
and shadow upon it of the deep places   
out of which it has come4 ,it is often  
obscure1 often half told1 for he who    
wrote it1 in his clear seeing of the    
things beneath1 may have been impatient 
of detailed interpretation1 but if we   
choose to dwell upon it and trace it1 it
 will lead us always securely back to   
that metropolis of the soul's dominion  

from which we may follow out all the    
ways and tracks to its farthest coasts4 
,i think the ,quel giorno piu non vi    
leggemmo avante of ,francesca di        
,rimini1 and the ,he has no children of 
,macduff are as fine instances as can be
 given1 but the sign and mark of it are 
visible on every line of the four great 
men above instanced4   ,sec4 #f4        
,absence of imagination1 how shown4     
,the imaginative writer1 on the other   
hand1 as he has never pierced to the    
heart1 so he can never touch it3 if he  
has to paint a passion1 he remembers the
 external signs of it1 he collects      
expressions of it from other writers1 he
 searches for similes1 he composes1     
exaggerates1 heaps term on term1 figure 
on figure1 till we groan beneath the    
cold1 disjointed heap2 but it is all    
faggot and no fire1 the life breath is  
not in it1 his passion has the form of  
the ,leviathan1 but it never makes the  
deep boil1 he fastens us all at anchor  
in the scaly rind of it1 our sympathies 

remain as idle as a painted ship upon a 
painted ocean4  ,and that virtue of     
originality that men so strain after1 is
 not newness1 as they vainly think1     
7there is nothing new17 it is only      
genuineness2 it all depends on this     
single glorious faculty of getting to   
the spring of things and working out    
from that2 it is the coolness1 and      
clearness1 and deliciousness of the     
water fresh from the fountain head1     
opposed to the thick1 hot1 unrefreshing 
drainage from other men's meadows4      
,sec4 #g4 ,distinction between          
imagination and fancy4  ,this freshness1
 however1 is not to be taken for an     
infallible sign of imagination1 inasmuch
 as it results also from a vivid        
operation of fancy1 whose parallel      
function to this division of the        
imaginative faculty it is here necessary
 to distinguish4  ,i believe it will be 
found that the entirely unimaginative   
mind sees nothing of the object it has  
to dwell upon or describe1 and is       

therefore utterly unable1 as it is blind
 itself1 to set anything before the eyes
 of the reader4#ef  ,the fancy sees the 
outside1 and is able to give a portrait 
of the outside1 clear1 brilliant1 and   
full of detail4#eg  ,the imagination    
sees the heart and inner nature1 and    
makes them felt1 but is often obscure1  
mysterious1 and interrupted1 in its     
giving of outer detail4  ,take an       
instance4 ,a writer with neither        
imagination nor fancy1 describing a fair
 lip1 does not see it1 but thinks about 
it1 and about what is said of it1 and   
calls it well-turned1 or rosy1 or       
delicate1 or lovely1 or afflicts us with
 some other quenching and chilling      
epithet4 ,now hear fancy speak1--       
,her lips were red1 and one was thin1   
,compared with that was next her chin1  
,some bee had stung it newly4#eh  ,the  
real1 red1 bright being of the lip is   
there in a moment ,but it is all        
outside2 no expression yet1 no mind4    
,let us go a step farther with ,warner1 

of fair ,rosamond struck by ,eleanor4   
,with that she dashed her on the lips   
,so dyed double red2                    
,hard was the heart that gave the blow1 
,soft were those lips that bled4  ,the  
tenderness of mind begins to mingle with
 the outside color1 the imagination is  
seen in its awakening4 ,next ,shelley1--
                 ,lamp of life1 thy lips
 are burning                 ,through   
the veil that seems to hide them1       
,as the radiant lines of morning        
,through thin clouds1 ere they divide   
them4  ,there dawns the entire soul in  
that morning2 yet we may stop if we     
choose at the image still external1 at  
the crimson clouds4 ,the imagination is 
contemplative rather than penetrative4  
,last1 hear ,hamlet1--  ,here hung those
 lips that ,i have kissed1 ,i know not  
how oft4 ,where be your gibes now1 your 
gambols1 your songs1 your flashes of    
merriment that were wont to set the     
table on a roar8  ,there is the essence 
of lip1 and the full power of the       

imagination4  ,again1 compare ,milton's 
flowers in ,lycidas with ,perdita's4 ,in
 ,milton it happens1 ,i think1          
generally1 and in the case before us    
most certainly1 that the imagination is 
mixed and broken with fancy1 and so the 
strength of the imagery is part of iron 
and part of clay4       ,bring the rathe
 primrose1 that forsaken dies           
7,imagination7       ,the tufted        
crow-toe1 and pale jessamine1           
7,nugatory7       ,the white pink1 and  
the pansy freaked with jet1-- 7,fancy7  
,the glowing violet1                    
7,imagination7       ,the musk rose1 and
 the well-attired woodbine1     7,fancy1
 vulgar7       ,with cowslips wan1 that 
hang the pensive head1    7,imagination7
       ,and every flower that sad       
embroidery wears4      7,mixed7  ,then  
hear ,perdita3--                        
,o1 ,proserpina1                ,for the
 flowers now1 that frighted thou let'st 
fall                ,from ,dis's wagon4 
,daffodils                ,that come    

before the swallow dares1 and take      
,the winds of ,march with beauty4       
,violets1 dim1                ,but      
sweeter than the lids of ,juno's eyes   
,or ,cytherea's breath2 pale primroses  
,that die unmarried1 ere they can behold
                ,bright ,phoebus in his 
strength1 a malady                ,most 
incident to maids4  ,observe how the    
imagination in these last lines goes    
into the very inmost soul of every      
flower1 after having touched them all at
 first with that heavenly timidness1 the
 shadow of ,proserpine's2 and gilded    
them with celestial gathering1 and never
 stops on their spots1 or their bodily  
shape1 while ,milton sticks in the      
stains upon them1 and puts us off with  
that unhappy freak of jet in the very   
flower that without this bit of         
paper-staining would have been the most 
precious to us of all4 ,there is        
pansies1 that's for thoughts4   ,sec4   
#h4 ,fancy how involved with            
imagination4  ,so ,i believe it will be 

found throughout the operation of the   
fancy1 that it has to do with the       
outsides of things1 and is content      
therewith3 of this there can be no doubt
 in such passage as that description of 
,mab1 so often given as an illustration 
of it1 and many other instances will be 
found in ,leigh ,hunt's work already    
referred to4 ,only some embarrassment is
 caused by passages in which fancy is   
seizing the outward signs of emotion1   
understanding them as such1 and yet1 in 
pursuance of her proper function1 taking
 for her share1 and for that which she  
chooses to dwell upon1 the outside sign 
rather than the emotion4 ,note in       
,macbeth that brilliant instance4       
,where the ,norweyan banners flout the  
sky                 ,and fan our people 
cold4  ,the outward shiver and coldness 
of fear is seized on1 and irregularly   
but admirably attributed by the fancy to
 the drift of the banners4 ,compare     
,solomon's ,song where the imagination  
stays not at the outside1 but dwells on 

the fearful emotion itself8    ,who is  
she that looketh forth as the morning2  
fair as the moon1 clear   as the sun1   
and terrible as an army with banners8   
,sec4 #i4 ,fancy is never serious  ,now1
 if this be the prevailing              
characteristic of the two faculties1 it 
is evident that certain other collateral
 differences will result from it4       
,fancy1 as she stays at the externals1  
can never feel4 ,she is one of the      
hardest hearted of the intellectual     
faculties1 or rather one of the most    
purely and simply intellectual4 ,she    
cannot be made serious1#ei no edge-tools
 but she will play with2 whereas the    
imagination is in all things the        
reverse4 ,she cannot be but serious2 she
 sees too far1 too darkly1 too solemnly1
 too earnestly1 ever to smile4 ,there is
 something in the heart of everything1  
if we can reach it1 that we shall not be
 inclined to laugh at4 ,the ,greek3     
anerithmon gelasma of the sea is on its 
surface1 not in the deep4   ,sec4 #aj4  

,want of seriousness the bar to high art
 at the present time4  ,and thus there  
is reciprocal action between the        
intensity of moral feeling and the power
 of imagination2 for1 on the one hand1  
those who have keenest sympathy are     
those who look closest and pierce       
deepest1 and hold securest2 and1 on the 
other1 those who have so pierced and    
seen the melancholy deeps of things1 are
 filled with the most intense passion   
and gentleness of sympathy4 ,hence1 ,i  
suppose that the powers of the          
imagination may always be tested by     
accompanying tenderness of emotion1 and 
thus1 7as ,byron said17 there is no     
tenderness like ,dante's1 neither any   
intensity nor seriousness like his1 such
 seriousness that it is incapable of    
perceiving that which is commonplace or 
ridiculous1 but fuses all down into its 
white-hot fire2 and1 on the other hand1 
,i suppose the chief bar to the action  
of imagination1 and stop to all         
greatness in this present age of ours1  

is its mean and shallow love of jest and
 jeer1 so that if there be in any good  
and lofty work a flaw or failing1 or    
undipped vulnerable part where sarcasm  
may stick or stay1 it is caught at1 and 
pointed at1 and buzzed about1 and fixed 
upon1 and stung into1 as a recent wound 
is by flies1 and nothing is ever taken  
seriously nor as it was meant1 but      
always1 if it may be1 turned the wrong  
way1 and misunderstood2 and while this  
is so1 there is not1 nor cannot be any  
hope of achievement of high things2 men 
dare not open their hearts to us1 if we 
are to broil them on a thorn-fire4      
,sec4 #aa4 ,imagination is quiet2 fancy1
 restless4  ,this1 then1 is one         
essential difference between imagination
 and fancy1 and another is like it and  
resultant from it1 that the imagination 
being at the heart of things1 poises    
herself there1 and is still1 quiet1 and 
brooding2 comprehending all around her  
with her fixed look1 but the fancy      
staying at the outside of things1 cannot

 see them all at once1 but runs hither  
and thither1 and round and about to see 
more and more1 bounding merrily from    
point to point1 and glittering here and 
there1 but necessarily always settling1 
if she settle at all1 on a point only1  
never embracing the whole4 ,and from    
these single points she can strike out  
analogies and catch resemblances1 which1
 so far as the point she looks at is    
concerned1 are true1 but would be false1
 if she could see through to the other  
side4 ,this1 however1 she cares not to  
do1 the point of contact is enough for  
her1 and even if there be a gap left    
between the two things and they do not  
quite touch1 she will spring from one to
 the other like an electric spark1 and  
be seen brightest in her leaping4       
,sec4 #ab4 ,the detailing operation of  
fancy4  ,now these differences between  
the imagination and the fancy hold1 not 
only in the way they lay hold of        
separate conceptions1 but even in the   
points they occupy of time1 for the     

fancy loves to run hither and thither in
 time1 and to follow long chains of     
circumstances from link to link2 but the
 imagination1 if it may1 gets holds of a
 moment or link in the middle that      
implies all the rest1 and fastens there4
 ,hence ,fuseli's aphorism1 ,invention  
never suffers the action to expire1 nor 
the spectator's fancy to consume itself 
in preparation1 or stagnate into repose4
 ,it neither begins from the egg1 nor   
coldly gathers the remains4  ,in        
,retsch's illustrations to ,schiller's  
,kampf mit dem ,drachen1 we have an     
instance1 miserably feeble indeed1 but  
characteristic1 and suited to our       
present purpose1 of the detailing1      
finishing action of the fancy4 ,the     
dragon is drawn from head to tail1      
vulture eyes1 serpent teeth1 forked     
tongue1 fiery crest1 armor1 claws and   
coils as grisly as may be2 his den is   
drawn1 and all the dead bones in it1 and
 all the savage forest-country about it 
far and wide2 we have him from the      

beginning of his career to the end1     
devouring1 rampant1 victorious over     
whole armies1 gorged with death2 we are 
present at all the preparations for his 
attack1 see him receive his death-wound1
 and our anxieties are finally becalmed 
by seeing him lie peaceably dead on his 
back4   ,sec4 #ac4 ,and suggestive1 of  
the imagination4  ,all the time we have 
never got into the dragon heart1 we have
 never once felt real pervading horror1 
nor sense of the creature's being2 it is
 throughout nothing but an ugly         
composition of claw and scale4 ,now take
 up ,turner's ,jason1 ,liber ,studiorum1
 and observe how the imagination can    
concentrate all this1 and infinitely    
more1 into one moment4 ,no far forest   
country1 no secret paths1 nor cloven    
hills1 nothing but a gleam of pale      
horizontal sky1 that broods over        
pleasant places far away1 and sends in1 
through the wild overgrowth of the      
thicket1 a ray of broken daylight into  
the hopeless pit4 ,no flaunting plumes  

nor brandished lances1 but stern purpose
 in the turn of the crestless helmet1   
visible victory in the drawing back of  
the prepared right arm behind the steady
 point4 ,no more claws1 nor teeth1 nor  
manes1 nor stinging tails4 ,we have the 
dragon1 like everything else1 by the    
middle4 ,we need see no more of him4    
,all his horror is in that fearful1     
slow1 grinding upheaval of the single   
coil4 ,spark after spark of it1 ring    
after ring1 is sliding into the light1  
the slow glitter steals along him step  
by step1 broader and broader1 a lighting
 of funeral lamps one by one1 quicker   
and quicker2 a moment more1 and he is   
out upon us1 all crash and blaze among  
those broken trunks2--but he will be    
nothing then to what he is now4   ,sec4 
#ad4 ,this suggestiveness how opposed to
 vacancy4  ,now1 it is necessary here   
very carefully to distinguish between   
that character of the work which depends
 on the imagination of the beholder1 and
 that which results from the imagination

 of the artist1 for a work is often     
called imaginative when it merely leaves
 room for the action of the imagination2
 whereas though nearly all imaginative  
works do this1 yet it may be done also  
by works that have in them no           
imagination at all4 ,a few shapeless    
scratches or accidental stains on a     
wall2 or the forms of clouds1 or any    
other complicated accidents1 will set   
the imagination to work to coin         
something out of them1 and all paintings
 in which there is much gloom or        
mystery1 possess therein a certain      
sublimity owing to the play given to the
 beholder's imagination1 without1       
necessarily1 being in the slightest     
degree imaginative themselves4 ,the     
vacancy of a truly imaginative work     
results not from absence of ideas1 or   
incapability of grasping and detailing  
them1 but from the painter having told  
the whole pith and power of his subject 
and disdaining to tell more1 and the    
sign of this being the case is1 that the

 imagination of the beholder is forced  
to act in a certain mode1 and feels     
itself overpowered and borne away by    
that of the painter1 and not able to    
defend itself1 nor go which way it will1
 and the value of the work depends on   
the truth1 authority1 and inevitability 
of this suggestiveness1 and on the      
absolute right choice of the critical   
moment4 ,now observe in this work of    
,turner's1 that the whole value of it   
depends on the character of curve       
assumed by the serpent's body2 for had  
it been a mere semicircle1 or gone down 
in a series of smaller coils1 it would  
have been in the first case1 ridiculous1
 as false and unlike a serpent1 and in  
the second1 disgusting1 nothing more    
than an exaggerated viper1 but it is    
that coming straight at the right hand  
which suggests the drawing forth of an  
enormous weight1 and gives the bent part
 its springing look1 that frightens us4 
,again1 remove the light trunk#fj on the
 left1 and observe how useless all the  

gloom of the picture would have been1 if
 this trunk had not given it depth and  
hollowness4 ,finally and chiefly1       
observe that the painter is not         
satisfied even with all the             
suggestiveness thus obtained1 but to    
make sure of us1 and force us1 whether  
we will or no1 to walk his way1 and not 
ours1 the trunks of the trees on the    
right are all cloven into yawning and   
writhing heads and bodies1 and alive    
with dragon energy all about us1 note   
especially the nearest with its gaping  
jaws and claw-like branch at the seeming
 shoulder2 a kind of suggestion which in
 itself is not imaginative1 but merely  
fanciful1 7using the term fancy in that 
third sense not yet explained1          
corresponding to the third office of    
imagination27 but it is imaginative in  
its present use and application1 for the
 painter addresses thereby that morbid  
and fearful condition of mind which he  
has endeavored to excite in the         
spectator1 and which in reality would   

have seen in every trunk and bough1 as  
it penetrated into the deeper thicket1  
the object of its terror4   ,sec4 #ae4  
,imagination addresses itself to        
imagination4  ,instances from the works 
of ,tintoret4  ,it is nevertheless      
evident1 that however suggestive the    
work or picture may be1 it cannot have  
effect unless we are ourselves both     
watchful of its very hint1 and capable  
of understanding and carrying it out1   
and although ,i think that this power of
 continuing or accepting the direction  
of feeling given is less a peculiar     
gift1 like that of the original seizing1
 than a faculty dependent on attention1 
and improvable by cultivation2 yet1 to a
 certain extent1 the imaginative work   
will not1 ,i think1 be rightly esteemed 
except by a mind of some corresponding  
power2 not but that there is an intense 
enjoyment in minds of feeble yet light  
conception in the help and food they get
 from those of stronger thought2 but a  
certain imaginative susceptibility is at

 any rate necessary1 and above all      
things1 earnestness and feeling1 so that
 assuredly a work of high conceptive    
dignity will be always incomprehensible 
and valueless except in those who go to 
it in earnest and give it time2 and this
 is peculiarly the case when the        
imagination acts not merely on the      
immediate subject1 nor in giving a      
fanciful and peculiar character to      
prominent objects1 as we have just seen1
 but busies itself throughout in        
expressing occult and far-sought        
sympathies in every minor detail1 of    
which action the most sublime instances 
are found in the works of ,tintoret1    
whose intensity of imagination is such  
that there is not the commonest subject 
to which he will not attach a range of  
suggestiveness almost limitless1 nor a  
stone1 leaf1 or shadow1 nor anything so 
small1 but he will give it meaning and  
oracular voice4   ,sec4 #af4 ,the       
,entombment4  ,in the centre of the     
gallery at ,parma1 there is a canvas of 

,tintoret's1 whose sublimity of         
conception and grandeur of color are    
seen in the highest perfection1 by their
 opposition to the morbid and vulgar    
sentimentalism of ,correggio4 ,it is an 
,entombment of ,christ1 with a landscape
 distance1 of whose technical           
composition and details ,i shall have   
much to say hereafter1 at present ,i    
speak only of the thought it is intended
 to convey4 ,an ordinary or             
unimaginative painter would have made   
prominent1 among his objects of         
landscape1 such as might naturally be   
supposed to have been visible from the  
sepulchre1 and shown with the crosses of
 ,calvary1 some portion of ,jerusalem1  
or of the ,valley of ,jehoshaphat4 ,but 
,tintoret has a far higher aim4         
,dwelling on the peculiar force of the  
event before him1 as the fulfilment of  
the final prophecy respecting the       
passion1 ,he made his grave with the    
wicked and with the rich in his death1  
he desires to direct the mind of the    

spectator to this receiving of the body 
of ,christ1 in its contrast with the    
houseless birth and the desert life4    
,and1 therefore1 behind the ghastly     
tomb-grass that shakes its black and    
withered blades above the rocks of the  
sepulchre1 there is seen1 not the actual
 material distance of the spot itself1  
7though the crosses are shown faintly17 
but that to which the thoughtful spirit 
would return in vision1 a desert place1 
where the foxes have holes and the birds
 of the air have nests1 and against the 
barred twilight of the melancholy sky   
are seen the mouldering beams and       
shattered roofing of a ruined           
cattle-shed1 the canopy of the nativity4
   ,sec4 #ag4 ,the ,annunciation4  ,let 
us take another instance4 ,no subject   
has been more frequently or exquisitely 
treated by the religious painters than  
that of the ,annunciation1 though as    
usual1 the most perfect type of its pure
 ideal has been given by ,angelico1 and 
by him with the most radiant            

consummation 7so far as ,i know7 in a   
small reliquary in the sacristy of ,sta4
 ,maria ,novella4 ,the background there1
 however1 is altogether decorative2 but 
in the fresco of the corridor of ,st4   
,mark's1 the concomitant circumstances  
are of exceeding loveliness4 ,the       
,virgin sits in an open loggia1         
resembling that of the ,florentine      
church of ,l',annunziata4 ,before her is
 a meadow of rich herbage1 covered with 
daisies4 ,behind her is seen through the
 door at the end of the loggia1 her     
chamber with its single grated window1  
through which a star-like beam of light 
falls into the silence4 ,all is         
exquisite in feeling1 but not inventive 
nor imaginative4 ,severe would be the   
shock and painful the contrast1 if we   
could pass in an instant from that pure 
vision to the wild thought of ,tintoret4
 ,for not in meek reception of the      
adoring messenger1 but startled by the  
rush of his horizontal and rattling     
wings1 the virgin sits1 not in the quiet

 loggia1 not by the green pasture of the
 restored soul1 but houseless1 under the
 shelter of a palace vestibule ruined   
and abandoned1 with the noise of the axe
 and the hammer in her ears1 and the    
tumult of a city round about her        
desolation4 ,the spectator turns away at
 first1 revolted1 from the central      
object of the picture1 forced painfully 
and coarsely forward1 a mass of         
shattered brickwork1 with the plaster   
mildewed away from it1 and the mortar   
mouldering from its seams2 and if he    
look again1 either at this or at the    
carpenter's tools beneath it1 will      
perhaps see in the one and the other1   
nothing more than such a study of scene 
as ,tintoret could but too easily obtain
 among the ruins of his own ,venice1    
chosen to give a coarse explanation of  
the calling and the condition of the    
husband of ,mary4 ,but there is more    
meant than this4 ,when he looks at the  
composition of the picture1 he will find
 the whole symmetry of it depending on a

 narrow line of light1 the edge of a    
carpenter's square1 which connects these
 unused tools with an object at the top 
of the brickwork1 a white stone1 four   
square1 the corner-stone of the old     
edifice1 the base of its supporting     
column4 ,this1 ,i think1 sufficiently   
explains the typical character of the   
whole4 ,the ruined house is the ,jewish 
dispensation1 that obscurely arising in 
the dawning of the sky is the           
,christian2 but the corner-stone of the 
old building remains1 though the        
builder's tools lie idle beside it1 and 
the stone which the builders refused is 
become the ,headstone of the corner4    
,sec4 #ah4 ,the ,baptism of ,christ4    
,its treatment by various painters4  ,in
 this picture1 however1 the force of the
 thought hardly atones for the          
painfulness of the scene and the        
turbulence of its feeling4 ,the power of
 the master is more strikingly shown in 
his treatment of a subject which1       
however important1 and however deep in  

its meaning1 supplies not to the        
ordinary painter material enough ever to
 form a picture of high interest2 the   
,baptism of ,christ4 ,from the purity of
 ,giotto to the intolerable1            
inconceivable brutality of ,salvator1#fa
 every order of feeling has been        
displayed in its treatment2 but ,i am   
aware of no single case1 except this of 
which ,i am about to speak1 in which it 
has formed an impressive picture4       
,giotto's1 in the ,academy of ,florence1
 engraved in the series just published1 
7,galleria delle belle ,arti17 is one of
 the most touching ,i know1 especially  
in the reverent action of the attendant 
angels1 and ,leonardo's angel in that of
 ,andrea del ,verrocchio is very        
beautiful1 but the event is one whose   
character and importance are ineffable  
upon the features3 the descending dove  
hardly affects us1 because its constant 
symbolical occurrence hardens us1 and   
makes us look on it as a mere type or   
letter1 instead of the actual presence  

of the ,spirit2 and by all the sacred   
painters the power that might be put    
into the landscape is lost1 for though  
their use of foliage and distant sky or 
mountain is usually very admirable1 as  
we shall see in the fifth chapter1 yet  
they cannot deal with near water or     
rock1 and the hexagonal and basaltic    
protuberances of their river shore are  
,i think too painful to be endured even 
by the most acceptant mind1 as eminently
 in that of ,angelico1 in the ,vita di  
,christo1 which1 as far as ,i can judge1
 is a total failure in action1          
expression1 and all else2 and in general
 it is in this subject especially1 that 
the greatest painters show their        
weakness4 ,for this reason1 ,i suppose1 
and feeling the difficulty of it1       
,tintoret has thrown into it his utmost 
strength1 and it becomes noble in his   
hands by his most singularly imaginative
 expression1 not only of the immediate  
fact1 but of the whole train of thought 
of which it is suggestive2 and by his   

considering the baptism not only as the 
submission of ,christ to the fulfilment 
of all righteousness1 but as the opening
 of the earthly struggle with the prince
 of the powers of the air1 which        
instantly beginning in the temptation1  
ended only on the cross4   ,sec4 #ai4   
,by ,tintoret4  ,the river flows        
fiercely under the shadow of a great    
rock4 ,from its opposite shore1 thickets
 of close1 gloomy foliage rise against  
the rolling chasm of heaven1 through    
which breaks the brightness of the      
descending ,spirit4 ,across these1      
dividing them asunder1 is stretched a   
horizontal floor of flaky cloud1 on     
which stand the hosts of heaven4 ,christ
 kneels upon the water1 and does not    
sink2 the figure of ,st4 ,john is       
indistinct1 but close beside his raised 
right arm there is a spectre in the     
black shade2 the fiend1 harpy-shaped1   
hardly seen1 glares down upon ,christ   
with eyes of fire1 waiting his time4    
,beneath this figure there comes out of 

the mist a dark hand1 the arm unseen1   
extended to a net in the river1 the     
spars of which are in the shape of a    
cross4 ,behinds this the roots and under
 stems of the trees are cut away by the 
cloud1 and beneath it1 and through them1
 is seen a vision of wild1 melancholy1  
boundless light1 the sweep of the       
desert1 and the figure of ,christ is    
seen therein alone1 with his arms lifted
 as in supplication or ecstacy1 borne of
 the ,spirit into the wilderness to be  
tempted of the devil4  ,there are many  
circumstances which combine to give to  
this noble work a more than usually     
imaginative character4 ,the symbolical  
use of the net1 which is the cross net  
still used constantly in the canals of  
,venice1 and common throughout ,italy1  
is of the same character as that of the 
carpenter's tools in the ,annunciation2 
but the introduction of the spectral    
figure is of bolder reach1 and yet more1
 that vision of the after temptation    
which is expressly indicated as a       

subject of thought rather than of sight1
 because it is in a part of the scene1  
which in fact must have been occupied by
 the trunks of the trees whose tops are 
seen above2 and another circumstance    
completes the mystic character of the   
whole1 that the flaky clouds which      
support the angelic hosts take on the   
right1 where the light first falls upon 
them1 the shape of the head of a fish1  
the well-known type both of the         
baptismal sacrament1 and of ,christ4    
,sec4 #bj4 ,the ,crucifixion4  ,but the 
most exquisite instance of this         
imaginative power occurs in an incident 
in the background of the ,crucifixion4  
,i will not insult this marvellous      
picture by an effort at a verbal account
 of it4 ,i would not whitewash it with  
praise1 and ,i refer to it only for the 
sake of two thoughts peculiarly         
illustrative of the intellectual faculty
 immediately under discussion4 ,in the  
common and most catholic treatment of   
the subject1 the mind is either         

painfully directed to the bodily agony1 
coarsely expressed by outward anatomical
 signs1 or else it is permitted to rest 
on that countenance inconceivable by man
 at any time1 but chiefly so in this its
 consummated humiliation4 ,in the first 
case1 the representation is revolting2  
in the second1 inefficient1 false1 and  
sometimes blasphemous4 ,none even of the
 greatest religious painters have ever1 
so far as ,i know1 succeeded here2      
,giotto and ,angelico were cramped by   
the traditional treatment1 and the      
latter especially1 as before observed1  
is but too apt to indulge in those      
points of vitiated feeling which        
attained their worst development among  
the ,byzantines3 ,perugino fails in his 
,christ in almost every instance 7of    
other men than these after them we need 
not speak47 ,but ,tintoret here1 as in  
all other cases1 penetrating into the   
root and deep places of his subject1    
despising all outward and bodily        
appearances of pain1 and seeking for    

some means of expressing1 not the rack  
of nerve or sinew1 but the fainting of  
the deserted ,son of ,god before his    
,eloi cry1 and yet feeling himself      
utterly unequal to the expression of    
this by the countenance1 has on the one 
hand filled his picture with such       
various and impetuous muscular exertion 
that the body of the ,crucified is1 by  
comparison1 in perfect repose1 and on   
the other has cast the countenance      
altogether into shade4 ,but the agony is
 told by this1 and by this only1 that   
though there yet remains a chasm of     
light on the mountain horizon where the 
earthquake darkness closes upon the day1
 the broad and sunlike glory about the  
head of the ,redeemer has become wan1   
and of the color of ashes4#fb  ,but the 
great painter felt he had something more
 to do yet4 ,not only that agony of the 
,crucified1 but the tumult of the       
people1 that rage which invoked his     
blood upon them and their children4 ,not
 only the brutality of the soldier1 the 

apathy of the centurion1 nor any other  
merely instrumental cause of the ,divine
 suffering1 but the fury of his own     
people1 the noise against him of those  
for whom he died1 were to be set before 
the eye of the understanding1 if the    
power of the picture was to be complete4
 ,this rage1 be it remembered1 was one  
of disappointed pride2 and the          
disappointment dated essentially from   
the time1 when but five days before1 the
 ,king of ,zion came1 and was received  
with hosannahs1 riding upon an ass1 and 
a colt the foal of an ass4 ,to this     
time1 then1 it was necessary to direct  
the thoughts1 for therein are found both
 the cause and the character1 the       
excitement of1 and the witness against1 
this madness of the people4 ,in the     
shadow behind the cross1 a man1 riding  
on an ass colt1 looks back to the       
multitude1 while he points with a rod to
 the ,christ crucified4 ,the ass is     
feeding on the remnants of withered     
palm-leaves4  ,with this master-stroke  

,i believe ,i may terminate all         
illustration of the peculiar power of   
the imagination over the feelings of the
 spectator1 by the elevation into       
dignity and meaning of the smallest     
accessory circumstances4 ,but ,i have   
not yet sufficiently dwelt on the fact  
from which this power arises1 the       
absolute truth of statement of the      
central fact as it was1 or must have    
been4 ,without this truth1 this awful   
first moving principle1 all direction of
 the feelings is useless4 ,that which we
 cannot excite1 it is of no use to know 
how to govern4   ,sec4 #ba4 ,the        
,massacre of innocents4  ,i have before 
alluded1 ,sect4 ,i4 ,chap4 ,,xiv41 to   
the painfulness of ,raffaelle's         
treatment of the massacre of the        
innocents4 ,fuseli affirms of it that1  
in dramatic gradation he disclosed all  
the mother through every image of pity  
and of terror4 ,if this be so1 ,i think 
the philosophical spirit has prevailed  
over the imaginative4 ,the imagination  

never errs1 it sees all that is1 and all
 the relations and bearings of it1 but  
it would not have confused the mortal   
frenzy of maternal terror with various  
development of maternal character4      
,fear1 rage1 and agony1 at their utmost 
pitch1 sweep away all character3        
humanity itself would be lost in        
maternity1 the woman would become the   
mere personification of animal fury or  
fear4 ,for this reason all the ordinary 
representations of this subject are1 ,i 
think1 false and cold3 the artist has   
not heard the shrieks1 nor mingled with 
the fugitives1 he has sat down in his   
study to twist features methodically1   
and philosophize over insanity4 ,not so 
,tintoret4 ,knowing or feeling1 that the
 expression of the human face was in    
such circumstances not to be rendered1  
and that the effort could only end in an
 ugly falsehood1 he denies himself all  
aid from the features1 he feels that if 
he is to place himself or us in the     
midst of that maddened multitude1 there 

can be no time allowed for watching     
expression4 ,still less does he depend  
on details of murder or ghastliness of  
death2 there is no blood1 no stabbing or
 cutting1 but there is an awful         
substitute for these in the chiaroscuro4
 ,the scene is the outer vestibule of a 
palace1 the slippery marble floor is    
fearfully barred across by sanguine     
shadows1 so that our eyes seem to become
 bloodshot and strained with strange    
horror and deadly vision2 a lake of life
 before them1 like the burning seen of  
the doomed ,moabite on the water that   
came by the way of ,edom2 a huge flight 
of stairs1 without parapet1 descends on 
the left2 down this rush a crowd of     
women mixed with the murderers2 the     
child in the arms of one has been seized
 by the limbs1 she hurls herself over   
the edge1 and falls head downmost1      
dragging the child out of the grasp by  
her weight2--she will be dashed dead in 
a second3 two others are farther in     
flight1 they reach the edge of a deep   

river1--the water is beat into a hollow 
by the force of their plunge2--close to 
us is the great struggle1 a heap of the 
mothers entangled in one mortal writhe  
with each other and the swords1 one of  
the murderers dashed down and crushed   
beneath them1 the sword of another      
caught by the blade and dragged at by a 
woman's naked hand2 the youngest and    
fairest of the women1 her child just    
torn away from a death grasp and clasped
 to her breast with the grip of a steel 
vice1 falls backwards helplessly over   
the heap1 right on the sword points2 all
 knit together and hurled down in one   
hopeless1 frenzied1 furious abandonment 
of body and soul in the effort to save4 
,their shrieks ring in our ears till the
 marble seems rending around us1 but far
 back1 at the bottom of the stairs1     
there is something in the shadow like a 
heap of clothes4 ,it is a woman1 sitting
 quiet1--quite quiet--still as any      
stone1 she looks down steadfastly on her
 dead child1 laid along on the floor    

before her1 and her hand is pressed     
softly upon her brow4   ,sec4 #bb4      
,various works in the ,scuola di ,san   
,rocco4  ,sec4 #bc4 ,the ,last          
,judgment4 ,how treated by various      
painters4  ,this1 to my mind1 is the    
only imaginative2 that is1 the only     
true1 real1 heartfelt representation of 
the being and actuality of the subject  
in existence4#fc ,i should exhaust the  
patience of the reader if ,i were to    
dwell at length on the various          
stupendous developments of the          
imagination of ,tintoret in the ,scuola 
di ,san ,rocco alone4 ,i would fain join
 a while in that solemn pause of the    
journey into ,egypt1 where the silver   
boughs of the shadowy trees lace with   
their tremulous lines the alternate     
folds of fair clouds1 flushed by faint  
crimson light1 and lie across the       
streams of blue between those rosy      
islands1 like the white wakes of        
wandering ships2 or watch beside the    
sleep of the disciples among those massy

 leaves that lie so heavily on the dead 
of the night beneath the descent of the 
angel of the agony1 and toss fearfully  
above the motion of the torches as the  
troop of the betrayer emerges out of the
 hollows of the olives2 or wait through 
the hour of accusing beside the judgment
 seat of ,pilate1 where all is unseen1  
unfelt1 except the one figure that      
stands with its head bowed down1 pale   
like a pillar of moonlight1 half bathed 
in the glory of the ,godhead1 half wrapt
 in the whiteness of the shroud4 ,of    
these and all the other thoughts of     
indescribable power that are now fading 
from the walls of those neglected       
chambers1 ,i may perhaps endeavor at    
some future time to preserve some image 
and shadow more faithfully than by      
words2 but ,i shall at present terminate
 our series of illustrations by         
reference to a work of less touching1   
but more tremendous appeal1 the ,last   
,judgment in the ,church of ,santa      
,maria dell' ,orto4 ,in this subject1   

almost all realizing or local statement 
had been carefully avoided by the most  
powerful painters1 they judging it      
better to represent its chief           
circumstances as generic thoughts1 and  
present them to the mind in a typical or
 abstract form4 ,in the judgment of     
,angelico the treatment is purely       
typical1 a long ,campo santo1 composed  
of two lines of graves1 stretches away  
into the distance2 on the left side of  
it rise the condemned2 on the right the 
just4 ,with ,giotto and ,orcagna1 the   
conception1 though less rigid1 is       
equally typical1 no effort being made at
 the suggestion of space1 and only so   
much ground represented as is absolutely
 necessary to support the near figures  
and allow space for a few graves4       
,michael ,angelo in no respect differs  
in his treatment1 except that his       
figures are less symmetrically grouped1 
and a greater conception of space is    
given by their various perspective4 ,no 
interest is attached to his background  

in itself4 ,fra ,bartolomeo1 never able 
to grapple with any species of sublimity
 except that of simple religious        
feeling1 fails most signally in this    
mighty theme4#fd ,his group of the dead1
 including not more than ten or twelve  
figures1 occupies the foreground only1  
behind them a vacant plain extends to   
the foot of a cindery volcano1 about    
whose mouth several little black devils 
like spiders are skipping and crawling4 
,the judgment of quick and dead is thus 
expressed as taking place in about a    
rood square1 and on a dozen of people at
 a time2 the whole of the space and     
horizon of the sky and land being left  
vacant1 and the presence of the ,judge  
of all the earth made more finite than  
the sweep of a whirlwind or a           
thunder-storm4   ,sec4 #bd4 ,by         
,tintoret4  ,by ,tintoret only has this 
unimaginable event been grappled with in
 its verity2 not typically nor          
symbolically1 but as they may see it who
 shall not sleep1 but be changed4 ,only 

one traditional circumstance he has     
received with ,dante and ,michael       
,angelo1 the boat of the condemned2 but 
the impetuosity of his mind bursts out  
even in the adoption of this image1 he  
has not stopped at the scowling ferryman
 of the one1 nor at the sweeping blow   
and demon dragging of the other1 but1   
seized ,hylas-like by the limbs1 and    
tearing up the earth in his agony1 the  
victim is dashed into his destruction2  
nor is it the sluggish ,lethe1 nor the  
fiery lake that bears the cursed vessel1
 but the oceans of the earth and the    
waters of the firmament gathered into   
one white1 ghastly cataract1 the river  
of the wrath of ,god1 roaring down into 
the gulf where the world has melted with
 its fervent heat1 choked with the ruin 
of nations1 and the limbs of its corpses
 tossed out of its whirling1 like       
water-wheels4 ,bat like1 out of the     
holes and caverns and shadows of the    
earth1 the bones gather1 and the        
clay-heaps heave1 rattling and adhering 

into half-kneaded anatomies1 that crawl1
 and startle1 and struggle up among the 
putrid weeds1 with the clay clinging to 
their clotted hair1 and their heavy eyes
 sealed by the earth darkness yet1 like 
his of old who went his way unseeing to 
,siloam ,pool2 shaking off one by one   
the dreams of the prison-house1 hardly  
hearing the clangor of the trumpets of  
the armies of ,god1 blinded yet more1 as
 they awake1 by the white light of the  
new ,heaven1 until the great vortex of  
the four winds bears up their bodies to 
the judgment seat3 the firmament is all 
full of them1 a very dust of human      
souls1 that drifts1 and floats1 and     
falls in the interminable1 inevitable   
light2 the bright clouds are darkened   
with them as with thick snow1 currents  
of atom life in the arteries of heaven1 
now soaring up slowly1 farther1 and     
higher1 and higher still1 till the eye  
and the thought can follow no farther1  
borne up1 wingless1 by their inward     
faith and by the angel powers invisible1

 now hurled in countless drifts of      
horror before the breath of their       
condemnation4   ,sec4 #be4 ,the         
imaginative verity1 how distinguished   
from realism4  ,now1 ,i wish the reader 
particularly to observe throughout all  
these works of ,tintoret1 the           
distinction of the imaginative verity   
from falsehood on the one hand1 and from
 realism on the other4 ,the power of    
every picture depends on the penetration
 of the imagination into the ,,true     
nature of the thing represented1 and on 
the utter scorn of the imagination for  
all shackles and fetters of mere        
external fact that stand in the way of  
its suggestiveness4 ,in the ,baptism it 
cuts away the trunks of trees as if they
 were so much cloud or vapor1 that it   
may exhibit to the thought the completed
 sequency of the scene2#fe in the       
,massacre1 it covers the marble floor   
with visionary light1 that it may strike
 terror into the spectator without      
condescending to butchery2 it defies the

 bare fact1 but creates in him the      
fearful feeling2 in the ,crucifixion it 
annihilates locality1 and brings the    
palm-leaves to ,calvary1 so only that it
 may bear the mind to the mount of      
,olives1 as in the entombment it brings 
the manger to ,jerusalem1 that it may   
take the heart to ,bethlehem2 and all   
this it does in the daring consciousness
 of its higher and spiritual verity1 and
 in the entire knowledge of the fact and
 substance of all that it touches4 ,the 
imaginary boat of the demon angel       
expands the rush of the visible river   
into the descent of irresistible        
condemnation2 but to make that rush and 
roar felt by the eye and heard by the   
ear1 the rending of the pine branches   
above the cataract is taken directly    
from nature2 it is an abstract of       
,alpine storm4 ,hence while we are      
always placed face to face with whatever
 is to be told1 there is in and beyond  
its reality a voice supernatural2 and   
that which is doubtful in the vision has

 strength1 sinew1 and assuredness1 built
 up in it by fact4   ,sec4 #bf4 ,the    
imagination how manifested in sculpture4
  ,let us1 however1 still advance one   
step farther1 and observe the           
imaginative power deprived of all aid   
from chiaroscuro1 color1 or any other   
means of concealing the frame-work of   
its thoughts4  ,it was said by ,michael 
,angelo that non ha l'ottimo scultore   
alcun concetto1 ,ch'un marmo solo in se 
non circoscriva1 a sentence which1      
though in the immediate sense intended  
by the writer it may remind us a little 
of the indignation of ,boileau's ,pluto1
 ,il s'ensuit de la que tout ce qui se  
peut dire de beau1 est dans les         
dictionnaires1--il n'y a que les paroles
 qui sont transposees1 yet is valuable1 
because it shows us that ,michael       
,angelo held the imagination to be      
entirely expressible in rock1 and       
therefore altogether independent1 in its
 own nature1 of those aids of color and 
shade by which it is recommended in     

,tintoret1 though the sphere of its     
operation is of course by these         
incalculably extended4 ,but the presence
 of the imagination may be rendered in  
marble as deep1 thrilling1 and awful as 
in painting1 so that the sculptor seek  
for the soul and govern the body        
thereby4   ,sec4 #bg4 ,bandinelli1      
,canova1 ,mino da ,fiesole4  ,sec4 #bh4 
,michael ,angelo4  ,of unimaginative    
work1 ,bandinelli and ,canova supply us 
with characteristic instances of every  
kind1 the ,hercules and ,cacus of the   
former1 and its criticism by ,cellini1  
will occur at once to every one2 the    
disgusting statue now placed so as to   
conceal ,giotto's important tempera     
picture in ,santa ,croce is a better    
instance1 but a still more impressive   
lesson might be received by comparing   
the inanity of ,canova's garland grace1 
and ball-room sentiment with the intense
 truth1 tenderness1 and power of men    
like ,mino da ,fiesole1 whose chisel    
leaves many a hard edge1 and despises   

down and dimple1 but it seems to cut    
light and carve breath1 the marble burns
 beneath it1 and becomes transparent    
with very spirit4 ,yet ,mino stopped at 
the human nature2 he saw the soul1 but  
not the ghostly presences about it2 it  
was reserved for ,michael ,angelo to    
pierce deeper yet1 and to see the       
indwelling angels4 ,no man's soul is    
alone3 ,laocoon or ,tobit1 the serpent  
has it by the heart or the angel by the 
hand1 the light or the fear of the      
spiritual things that move beside it may
 be seen on the body2 and that bodily   
form with ,buonaroti1 white1 solid1     
distinct material1 though it be1 is     
invariably felt as the instrument or the
 habitation of some infinite1 invisible 
power4 ,the earth of the ,sistine ,adam 
that begins to burn2 the woman embodied 
burst of adoration from his sleep2 the  
twelve great torrents of the ,spirit of 
,god that pause above us there1 urned in
 their vessels of clay2 the waiting in  
the shadow of futurity of those through 

whom the promise and presence of ,god   
went down from the ,eve to the ,mary1   
each still and fixed1 fixed in his      
expectation1 silent1 foreseeing1        
faithful1 seated each on his stony      
throne1 the building stones of the word 
of ,god1 building on and on1 tier by    
tier1 to the ,refused one1 the head of  
the corner2 not only these1 not only the
 troops of terror torn up from the earth
 by the four quartered winds of the     
,judgment1 but every fragment and atom  
of stone that he ever touched became    
instantly inhabited by what makes the   
hair stand up and the words be few2 the 
,st4 ,matthew1 not yet disengaged from  
his sepulchre1 bound hand and foot by   
his grave clothes1 it is left for us to 
loose him2 the strange spectral wreath  
of the ,florence ,pieta1 casting its    
pyramidal1 distorted shadow1 full of    
pain and death1 among the faint purple  
lights that cross and perish under the  
obscure dome of ,sta4 ,maria del ,fiore1
 the white lassitude of joyous limbs1   

panther like1 yet passive1 fainting with
 their own delight1 that gleam among the
 ,pagan formalisms of the ,uffizii1 far 
away1 showing themselves in their       
lustrous lightness as the waves of an   
,alpine torrent do by their dancing     
among the dead stones1 though the stones
 be as white as they3#ff and finally1   
and perhaps more than all1 those four   
ineffable types1 not of darkness nor of 
day--not of morning nor evening1 but of 
the departure and the resurrection1 the 
twilight and the dawn of the souls of   
men--together with the spectre sitting  
in the shadow of the niche above        
them2#fg all these1 and all else that ,i
 could name of his forming1 have borne1 
and in themselves retain and exercise   
the same inexplicable                   
power--inexplicable because proceeding  
from an imaginative perception almost   
superhuman1 which goes whither we cannot
 follow1 and is where we cannot come2   
throwing naked the final1 deepest root  
of the being of man1 whereby he grows   

out of the invisible1 and holds on his  
,god home4#fh   ,sec4 #bi4              
,recapitulation4 ,the perfect function  
of the imagination is the               
intuitive perception of ultimate truth4 
,now1 in all these instances1 let it be 
observed1 for it is to that end alone   
that ,i have been arguing all along1    
that the virtue of the imagination is   
its reaching1 by intuition and intensity
 of gaze1 7not by reasoning1 but by its 
authoritative opening and revealing     
power17 a more essential truth than is  
seen at the surface of things4 ,i repeat
 that it matters not whether the reader 
is willing call this faculty imagination
 or no1 ,i do not care about the name2  
but ,i would be understood when ,i speak
 of imagination hereafter1 to mean this1
 the true foundation of all art which   
exercises eternal authority over men's  
minds2 7all other imagination than this 
is either secondary and contemplative1  
or utterly spurious27 the base of whose 
authority and being is its perpetual    

thirst of truth and purpose to be true4 
,it has no food1 no delight1 no care1 no
 perception1 except of truth2 it is     
forever looking under masks1 and burning
 up mists2 no fairness of form1 no      
majesty of seeming will satisfy it2 the 
first condition of its existence is     
incapability of being deceived2 and     
though it sometimes dwells upon and     
substantiates the fictions of fancy1 yet
 its own operation is to trace to their 
farthest limit the true laws and        
likelihoods even of the fictitious      
creation4 ,this has been well explained 
by ,fuseli1 in his allusion to the      
,centaur of ,zeuxis2 and there is not   
perhaps a greater exertion of           
imaginative power than may be manifested
 in following out to their farthest     
limits the necessary consequences of    
such arbitrary combination2 but let not 
the jests of the fancy be confounded    
with that after serious work of the     
imagination which gives them all the    
nervous verity and substance of which   

they are capable4 ,let not the monsters 
of ,chinese earthenware be confounded   
with the ,faun1 ,satyr1 or ,centaur4    
,sec4 #cj4 ,imagination now vulgarly    
understood4  ,how different this        
definition of the imagination may be    
from the idea of it commonly entertained
 among us1 ,i can hardly say1 because ,i
 have a very indistinct idea of what is 
usually meant by the term4 ,i hear      
modern works constantly praised as being
 imaginative1 in which ,i can trace no  
virtue of any kind2 but simple1 slavish1
 unpalliated falsehood and exaggeration2
 ,i see not what merit there can be in  
pure1 ugly1 resolute fiction2 it is     
surely easy enough to be wrong2 there   
are many ways of being unlike nature4 ,i
 understand not what virtue that is     
which entitles one of these ways to be  
called imaginative1 rather than another2
 and ,i am still farther embarrassed by 
hearing the portions of those works     
called especially imaginative in which  
there is the most effort at minute and  

mechanical statement of contemptible    
details1 and in which the artist would  
have been as actual and absolute in     
imitation as an echo1 if he had known   
how4 ,against convictions which ,i do   
not understand1 ,i cannot argue2 but ,i 
may warn the artist that imagination of 
this strange kind1 is not capable of    
bearing the time test2 nothing of its   
doing ever has continued its influence  
over men2 and if he desires to take     
place among the great men of older time1
 there is but one way for it2 and one   
kind of imagination that will stand the 
immortal light3 ,i know not how far it  
is by effort cultivable2 but we have    
evidence enough before us to show in    
what direction that effort must be made4
   ,sec4 #ca4 ,how its cultivation is   
dependent on the moral feelings4  ,we   
have seen 7,sec4 #aj7 that the          
imagination is in no small degree       
dependent on acuteness of moral emotion2
 in fact1 all moral truth can only thus 
be apprehended--and it is observable1   

generally1 that all true and deep       
emotion is imaginative1 both in         
conception and expression2 and that the 
mental sight becomes sharper with every 
full beat of the heart2 and1 therefore1 
all egotism1 and selfish care1 or       
regard1 are in proportion to their      
constancy1 destructive of imagination2  
whose play and power depend altogether  
on our being able to forget ourselves   
and enter like possessing spirits into  
the bodies of things about us4   ,sec4  
#cb4 ,on independence of mind4  ,again1 
as the life of imagination is in the    
discovering of truth1 it is clear it can
 have no respect for sayings or         
opinions3 knowing in itself when it has 
invented truly--restless and tormented  
except when it has this knowledge1 its  
sense of success or failure is too acute
 to be affected by praise or blame4     
,sympathy it desires--but can do        
without2 of opinions it is regardless1  
not in pride1 but because it has no     
vanity1 and is conscious of a rule of   

action and object of aim in which it    
cannot be mistaken2 partly1 also1 in    
pure energy of desire and longing to do 
and to invent more and more1 which      
suffer it not to suck the sweetness of  
praise--unless a little1 with the end of
 the rod in its hand1 and without       
pausing in its march4 ,it goes straight 
forward up the hill2 no voices nor      
mutterings can turn it back1 nor petrify
 it from its purpose4#fi   ,sec4 #cc4   
,and on habitual reference to nature4   
,finally1 it is evident1 that like the  
theoretic faculty1 the imagination must 
be fed constantly by external           
nature--after the illustrations we have 
given1 this may seem mere truism1 for it
 is clear that to the exercise of the   
penetrative faculty a subject of        
penetration is necessary2 but ,i note it
 because many painters of powerful mind 
have been lost to the world by their    
suffering the restless writhing of their
 imagination in its cage to take place  
of its healthy and exulting activity in 

the fields of nature4 ,the most         
imaginative men always study the        
hardest1 and are the most thirsty for   
new knowledge4 ,fancy plays like a      
squirrel in its circular prison1 and is 
happy2 but imagination is a pilgrim on  
the earth--and her home is in heaven4   
,shut her from the fields of the        
celestial mountains--bar her from       
breathing their lofty1 sun-warmed air2  
and we may as well turn upon her the    
last bolt of the tower of famine1 and   
give the keys to the keeping of the     
wildest surge that washes ,capraja and  
,gorgona4   ,,footnotes    #ef ,compare 
,arist4 ,rhet4 ,,iii4 #aa4    #eg ,for  
the distinction between fancy and simple
 conception2 see     ,chap4 ,,iv4 ,sec4 
#c4    #eh ,i take this and the next    
instance from ,leigh ,hunt's admirable  
piece of criticism1 ,imagination and    
,fancy1 which ought to be read     with 
care1 and to which1 though somewhat     
loosely arranged1 ,i may     refer for  
all the filling up and illustration that

 the subject     requires4 ,with respect
 to what has just been said respecting  
want of     imagination1 compare his    
criticism of ,addison's ,cato1 p4 #bh4  
,i     cannot1 however1 confirm his     
judgment1 nor admit his selection of    
instances1 among painters3 he has looked
 to their manner only and     habitual  
choice of subject1 without feeling their
 power2 and has     given work to the   
coarseness1 mindlessness1 and           
eclecticism of ,guido     and the       
,carracci1 which in its poetical demand 
of tenderness might     have foiled     
,pinturicchio2 of dignity1 ,leonardo2   
and of color1     ,giorgione4    #ei    
,fancy1 in her third function may1      
however1 become serious1 and            
gradually rise into imagination in doing
 so4 ,compare ,chap4 ,,iv4 ,sec4 #e4    
#fj ,i am describing from a proof3 in   
bad impressions this trunk is           
darkened4    #fa ,the picture is in the 
,guadagni palace4 ,it is one of the most
     important landscapes ,salvator ever

 painted4 ,the figures are studied      
from street beggars4 ,on the one side of
 the river1 exactly opposite     the    
point where the ,baptism of ,christ     
takes place1 the painter1 with     a    
refinement of feeling peculiarly his    
own1 has introduced some     ruffians   
stripping off their shirts to bathe4 ,he
 is fond of this     incident4 ,it      
occurs again in one of the marines of   
the ,pitti palace1     with the         
additional interest of a foreshortened  
figure1 swimming on     its back1 feet  
foremost1 exactly in the stream of light
 to which the     eye is principally    
directed4    #fb ,this circumstance1    
like most that lie not at the surface1  
has     escaped ,fuseli1 though his     
remarks on the general tone of the      
picture are very good1 as well as his   
opposition of it to the     treatment of
 ,rubens4 7,lecture ,,ix47    #fc ,note 
the shallow and uncomprehending notice  
of this picture by     ,fuseli4 ,his    
description of the treatment of it by   

other painters is     however true1     
terse1 and valuable4    #fd ,fresco in  
an out-house of the ,ospedale ,sta4     
,maria ,nuova at     ,florence4    #fe  
,the same thing is done yet more boldly 
in the large composition     of the     
ceiling2 the plague of fiery serpents2 a
 part of the host1     and another sky  
horizon are seen through an opening in  
the ground4    #ff ,the ,bacchus4 ,there
 is a small statue opposite it          
also--unfinished1 but a spirit still4   
#fg ,i would have insisted more on the  
ghostly vitality of this     dreadful   
statue2 but the passage referring to it 
in ,rogers's ,italy     supersedes all  
further description4 ,i suppose most    
lovers of art     know it by heart4     
,nor then forget that chamber of the    
dead1                ,where the gigantic
 shapes of ,night and ,day1             
,turned into stone1 rest everlastingly2 
,yet still are breathing1 and shed round
 at noon                ,a twofold      
influence1--only to be felt--           

,a light1 a darkness1 mingling each with
 each2                ,both1 and yet    
neither4 ,there1 from age to age1       
,two ghosts are sitting on their        
sepulchres4                ,that is the 
,duke ,lorenzo4 ,mark him well4         
,he meditates1 his head upon his hand4  
,what from beneath his helm-like bonnet 
scowls8                ,is it a face1 or
 but an eyeless skull8                  
',tis lost in shade2 yet1 like the      
basilisk1                ,it fascinates1
 and is intolerable4                ,his
 mien is noble1 most majestical6        
,then most so1 when the distant choir is
 heard                ,at morn or       
eve--nor fail thou to attend            
,on that thrice-hallowed day1 when all  
are there2                ,when all1    
propitiating with solemn songs1         
,visit the ,dead4 ,then wilt thou feel  
his power6      ,it is strange that this
 should be the only written instance 7as
 far     as ,i recollect7 of just and   
entire appreciation of ,michael         

,angelo's     spiritual power4 ,it is   
perhaps owing to the very intensity of  
his     imagination that he has been so 
little understood--for1 as ,i before    
said1 imagination can never be met by   
vanity1 nor without     earnestness4    
,his ,florentine followers saw in him an
 anatomist and     posture-master--and  
art was finally destroyed by the        
influence over     admiring idiocy of   
the greatest mind that art ever         
inspired4    #fh ,i have not chosen to  
interrupt the argument respecting the   
essence of the imaginative faculty by   
any remarks on the execution     of the 
imaginative hand2 but we can hardly     
leave ,tintoret and     ,michael ,angelo
 without some notice of the pre-eminent 
power of     execution exhibited by both
 of them1 in consequence of their vigor 
and clearness of conception2 nor without
 again warning the lower     artist from
 confounding this velocity of decision  
and impatience     with the velocity of 
affectation or indolence4 ,every result 

of real     imagination we have seen to 
be a truth of some sort2 and it is the  
characteristic of truth to be in some   
way tangible1 seizable1                 
distinguishable1 and clear1 as it is of 
falsehood to be obscure1     confused1  
and confusing4 ,not but that many1 if   
not most truths have     a dark side1 a 
side by which they are connected with   
mysteries too     high for us1--nay1 ,i 
think it is commonly but a poor and     
miserable     truth which the human mind
 can walk all round1 but at all events  
they have one side by which we can lay  
hold of them1 and feel that     they are
 downright adamant1 and that their form1
 though lost in     cloud here and      
there1 is unalterable and real1 and not 
less real and     rocky because         
infinite1 and joined on1 ,st4 ,michael's
 mount-like to a     far mainland4 ,so  
then1 whatever the real imagination lays
 hold of1     as it is a truth1 does not
 alter into anything else as the        
imaginative part works at it and feels  

over it and finds out more of     it1   
but comes out more and more continually1
 all that is found out     pointing to  
and indicating still more behind1 and   
giving additional     stability and     
reality to that which is discovered     
already4 ,but if it     be fancy or any 
other form of pseudo-imagination which  
is at work1     then that which it gets 
hold of may not be a truth1 but only an 
idea1 which will keep giving way as soon
 as we try to take hold of     it and   
turning into something else1 so that as 
we go on copying it1     every part will
 be inconsistent with all that has gone 
before1 and     at intervals it will    
vanish altogether1 and leave blanks     
which must     be filled up by any means
 at hand4 ,and in these circumstances1  
the     painter1 unable to seize his    
thought1 because it has not substance   
nor bone enough to bear grasping1 is    
liable to catch at every line     that  
he lays down1 for help and suggestion1  
and to be led away by it     to         

something else1 which the first effort  
to realize dissipates in     like       
manner1 placing another phantom in its  
stead1 until out of the     fragments of
 these successive phantoms he has glued 
together a     vague1 mindless1         
involuntary whole1 a mixture of all that
 was trite     or common in each of the 
successive conceptions1 for that is     
necessarily what is first caught a heap 
of things with the bloom off     and the
 chill on1 laborious1 unnatural1 inane1 
with its emptiness     disguised by     
affectation1 and its tastelessness      
salted by     extravagance4             
,necessarily1 from these modes of       
conception1 three vices of     execution
 must result2 and these are necessarily 
found in all those     parts of the work
 where any trust has been put in        
conception1 and     only to be avoided  
in portions of actual portraiture 7for a
     thoroughly unimaginative painter   
can make no use of a study--all his     
studies are guesses and experiments1 all

 are equally wrong1 and so     far felt 
to be wrong by himself1 that he will not
 work by any of     them1 but will      
always endeavor to improve upon them in 
the picture1     and so lose the use of 
them74 ,these three vices of execution  
are     then--first1 feebleness of      
handling1 owing to uncertainty of       
intention2 secondly1 intentional        
carelessness of handling1 in the        
hope of getting by accident something   
more than was meant2 and     lastly1    
violence and haste of handling1 in the  
effort to secure as     much as possible
 of the obscure image of which the mind 
feels itself     losing hold4 7,i am    
throughout1 it will be observed1        
attributing     right feeling to the    
unimaginative painter2 if he lack this1 
his     execution may be cool and       
determined1 as he will set down         
falsehood     without blushing1 and     
ugliness without suffering47 ,added to  
these     various evidences of weakness1
 will be the various vices assumed for  

the sake of concealment2 morbid         
refinements disguising                  
feebleness--or insolence and coarseness 
to cover desperation4 ,when     the     
imagination is powerful1 the resulting  
execution is of course     the contrary 
of all this3 its first steps will       
commonly be     impetuous1 in clearing  
its ground and getting at its first     
conception--as we know of ,michael      
,angelo in his smiting his blocks       
into shape1 7see the passage quoted by  
,sir ,charles ,clarke in the     ,essay 
on ,expression1 from ,blaise de         
,vigenere17 and as it is visible     in 
the handling of ,tintoret always3 as the
 work approaches     completion1 the    
stroke1 while it remains certain and    
firm1 because     its end is always     
known1 may frequently become slow and   
careful1     both on account of the     
difficulty of following the pure lines  
of the     conception1 and because there
 is no fear felt of the conception's    
vanishing before it can be realized2 but

 generally there is a     certain degree
 of impetuosity visible in the works of 
all the men of     high imagination1    
when they are not working from a study1 
showing     itself in ,michael ,angelo  
by the number of blocks he left         
unfinished1     and by some slight      
evidences in those he completed of his  
having     worked painfully towards the 
close2 so that1 except the ,duke        
,lorenzo1 the ,bacchus of the           
,florentine gallery1 and the ,pieta of  
,genoa1 ,i know not any of his finished 
works in which his mind is as           
mightily expressed as in his marble     
sketches2 only1 it is always to     be  
observed that impetuosity or rudeness of
 hand is not     necessarily--and1 if   
imaginative1 is never--carelessness4 ,in
 the two     landscapes at the end of   
the ,scuola di ,san ,rocco1 ,tintoret   
has drawn     several large tree trunks 
with two strokes of his brush--one for  
the     dark1 and another for the light 
side2 and the large rock at the foot    

of the picture of the ,temptation is    
painted with a few detached     touches 
of gray over a flat brown ground2 but   
the touches of the     tree-trunks have 
been followed by the mind as they went  
down with     the most painful intensity
 through their every undulation2 and the
     few gray strokes on the stone are  
so considered that a better stone       
cone could not be painted if we took a  
month to it3 and ,i suppose1            
generally1 it would be utterly          
impossible to give an example of        
execution in which less was left to     
accident1 or in which more care     was 
concentrated in every stroke1 than the  
seemingly regardless and     impetuous  
handling of this painter4      ,on the  
habit of both ,tintoret and ,michael    
,angelo to work straight     forward    
from the block and on the canvas1       
without study or model1 it     is       
needless to insist2 for though this is  
one of the most amazing     proofs of   
their imaginative power1 it is a        

dangerous precedent4 ,no     mode of    
execution ought ever to be taught to a  
young artist as     better than another2
 he ought to understand the truth of    
what he has     to do1 felicitous       
execution will follow as a matter of    
course2 and     if he feels himself     
capable of getting at the right at once1
 he will     naturally do so without    
reference to precedent4 ,he ought to    
hold     always that his duty is to     
attain the highest result he can1--but  
that no one has any business with the   
means or time he has taken4 ,if     it  
can be done quickly1 let it be so done2 
if not1 let it be done at     any rate4 
,for knowing his way he is answerable1  
and therefore must     not walk         
doubtingly2 but no one can blame him for
 walking     cautiously1 if the way be a
 narrow one1 with a slip on each side4  
,he may pause1 but he must not          
hesitate1--and tremble1 but must not    
vacillate4    #fi ,that which we know of
 the lives of ,m4 ,angelo and ,tintoret 

is     eminently illustrative of this   
temper4                                 
,,chapter ,,iv4                    ,,of 
,,imagination ,,contemplative4   ,sec4  
#a4 ,imagination contemplative is not   
part of the essence1 but only a         
habit or mode of the faculty4  ,we have1
 in the two preceding chapters1 arrived 
at definite conclusions respecting the  
power and essence of the imaginative    
faculty4 ,in these two acts of          
penetration and combination1 its        
separating and characteristic attributes
 are entirely developed2 it remains for 
us only to observe a certain habit or   
mode of operation in which it frequently
 delights1 and by which it addresses    
itself to our perceptions more forcibly1
 and asserts its presence more          
distinctly than in those mighty but more
 secret workings wherein its life       
consists4  ,in our examination of the   
combining imagination1 we chose to      
assume the first or simple conception to
 be as clear in the absence as in the   

presence of the object of it4 ,this1 ,i 
suppose1 is in point of fact never the  
case1 nor is an approximation to such   
distinctness of conception always a     
characteristic of the imaginative mind4 
,many persons have thorough and         
felicitous power of drawing from memory1
 yet never originate a thought1 nor     
excite an emotion4   ,sec4 #b4 ,the     
ambiguity of conception4  ,sec4 #c4 ,is 
not in itself capable of adding to the  
charm of fair things4  ,the form in     
which conception actually occurs to     
ordinary minds appears to derive value  
and preciousness from that              
indefiniteness which we alluded to in   
the second chapter1 7,sec4 #b17 for     
there is an unfailing charm in the      
memory and anticipation of things       
beautiful1 more sunny and spiritual than
 attaches to their presence2 for with   
their presence it is possible to be     
sated1 and even wearied1 but with the   
imagination of them never2 in so far    
that it needs some self-discipline to   

prevent the mind from falling into a    
morbid condition of dissatisfaction with
 all that it immediately possesses1 and 
continual longing for things absent2 and
 yet ,i think this charm is not justly  
to be attributed to the mere vagueness  
and uncertainty of the conception1      
except thus far1 that of objects whose  
substantial presence was ugly or painful
 the sublimity and impressiveness1 if   
there were any1 is retained in the      
conception1 while the sensual           
offensiveness is withdrawn2 thus        
circumstances of horror may be safely   
touched in verbal description1 and for a
 time dwelt upon by the mind1 as often  
by ,homer and ,spenser1 7by the latter  
frequently with too much grossness1 as  
in the description of the combat of the 
,red-,cross ,knight with ,errour17 which
 could not for a moment be regarded or  
tolerated in their reality1 or on       
canvas2 and besides this mellowing and  
softening operation on those it retains1
 the conceptive faculty has the power of

 letting go many of them altogether out 
of its groups of ideas1 and retaining   
only those where the meminisse juvabit  
will apply2 and in this way the entire  
group of memories becomes altogether    
delightful2 but of those parts of       
anything which are in themselves        
beautiful1 ,i think the indistinctness  
no benefit1 but that the brighter they  
are the better2 and that the peculiar   
charm we feel in conception results from
 its grasp and blending of ideas rather 
than from their obscurity1 for we do not
 usually recall1 as we have seen1 one   
part at a time only of a pleasant scene1
 one moment only of a happy day2 but    
together with each single object we     
summon up a kind of crowded and involved
 shadowing forth of all the other       
glories with which it was associated1   
and into every moment we concentrate an 
epitome of the day2 and it will happen  
frequently that even when the visible   
objects or actual circumstances are not 
in numbers remembered2 yet the feeling  

and joy of them is obtained we know not 
how or whence1 and so with a kind of    
conceptive burning glass we bend the    
sunshine of all the day1 and the fulness
 of all the scene upon every point that 
we successively seize2 and this together
 with more vivid action of fancy1 for ,i
 think that the wilful and playful      
seizure of the points that suit her     
purpose and help her springing1 whereby 
she is distinguished from simple        
conception1 takes place more easily and 
actively with the memory of things than 
in presence of them4 ,but1 however this 
be1 and ,i confess that there is much   
that ,i cannot satisfactorily to myself 
unravel with respect to the nature of   
simple conception2 it is evident that   
this agreeableness1 whatever it be1 is  
not by art attainable1 for all art is in
 some sort realization2 it may be the   
realization of obscurity or             
indefiniteness1 but still it must differ
 from the mere conception of obscurity  
and indefiniteness2 so that whatever    

emotions depend absolutely on           
imperfectness of conception1 as the     
horror of ,milton's ,death1 cannot be   
rendered by art1 for art can only lay   
hold of things which have shape1 and    
destroys by its touch the fearfulness or
 pleasurableness of those which shape   
have none4   ,sec4 #d4 ,but gives to the
 imagination its regardant power over   
them4  ,but on this indistinctness of   
conception1 itself comparatively        
valueless and unaffecting1 is based the 
operation of the imaginative faculty    
with which we are at present concerned1 
and in which its glory is consummated3  
whereby1 depriving the subject of       
material and bodily shape1 and regarding
 such of its qualities only as it       
chooses for particular purpose1 it      
forges these qualities together in such 
groups and forms as it desires1 and     
gives to their abstract being           
consistency and reality1 by striking    
them as it were with the die of an image
 belonging to other matter1 which stroke

 having once received1 they pass current
 at once in the peculiar conjunction and
 for the peculiar value desired4  ,thus1
 in the description of ,satan quoted in 
the first chapter1 ,and like a comet    
burned1 the bodily shape of the angel is
 destroyed1 the inflaming of the        
formless spirit is alone regarded2 and  
this1 and his power of evil associated  
in one fearful and abstract conception  
are stamped to give them distinctness   
and permanence with the image of the    
comet1 that fires the length of         
,ophiuchus huge4 ,yet this could not be 
done1 but that the image of the comet   
itself is in a measure indistinct1      
capable of awful expansion1 and full of 
threatening and fear4 ,again1 in his    
fall1 the imagination binds up the      
thunder1 the resistance1 the massy      
prostration1 separates them from the    
external form1 and binds them together  
by the help of that image of the        
mountain half sunk2 which again would be
 unfit but for its own indistinctness1  

and for that glorious addition with all 
his pines1 whereby a vitality and       
spear-like hostility are communicated to
 its falling form1 and the fall is      
marked as not utter subversion1 but     
sinking only1 the pines remaining in    
their uprightness1 and unity1 and       
threatening of darkness upon the        
descended precipice3 and again in that  
yet more noble passage at the close of  
the fourth book1 where almost every     
operation of the contemplative          
imagination is concentrated2 the angelic
 squadron first gathered into one       
burning mass by the single expression   
sharpening in mooned horns1 then told   
out in their unity and multitude and    
stooped hostility1 by the image of the  
wind upon the corn2 ,satan endowed with 
godlike strength and endurance in that  
mighty line1 like ,teneriffe or ,atlas1 
unremoved1 with infinitude of size the  
next instant1 and with all the vagueness
 and terribleness of spiritual power1 by
 the horror plumed1 and the what seemed 

both spear and shield4   ,sec4 #e4 ,the 
third office of fancy distinguished from
 imagination        contemplative4  ,the
 third function of fancy1 already spoken
 of as subordinate to this of the       
imagination1 is the highest of which she
 is capable2 like the imagination1 she  
beholds in the things submitted to her  
treatment things different from the     
actual2 but the suggestions she follows 
are not in their nature essential in the
 object contemplated2 and the images    
resulting1 instead of illustrating1 may 
lead the mind away from it1 and change  
the current of contemplative feeling2   
for as in her operation parallel to     
imagination penetrative1 we saw her     
dwelling upon external features1 while  
the nobler sister1 faculty1 entered     
within1 so now1 when both1 from what    
they see and know in their immediate    
object1 are conjuring up images         
illustrative or elevatory of it1 the    
fancy necessarily summons those of mere 
external relationship1 and therefore of 

unaffecting influence2 while the        
imagination1 by every ghost she raises1 
tells tales about the prison-house1 and 
therefore never loses her power over the
 heart1 nor her unity of emotion4 ,on   
the other hand1 the regardant or        
contemplative action of fancy is in this
 different from1 and in this nobler1    
than that mere seizing and              
likeness-catching operation we saw in   
her before2 that when contemplative1 she
 verily believes in the truth of the    
vision she has summoned1 loses sight of 
actuality1 and beholds the new and      
spiritual image faithfully and even     
seriously2 whereas before1 she summoned 
no spiritual image1 but merely caught   
the vivid actuality1 or the curious     
resemblance of the real object2 not that
 these two operations are separate1 for 
the fancy passes gradually from mere    
vivid right of reality1 and witty       
suggestion of likeness1 to a ghostly    
sight of what is unreal2 and through    
this1 in proportion as she begins to    

feel1 she rises towards and partakes of 
imagination itself1 for imagination and 
fancy are continually united1 and it is 
necessary1 when they are so1 carefully  
to distinguish the feelingless part     
which is fancy's1 from the sentient     
part1 which is imagination's4 ,let us   
take a few instances4 ,here is fancy1   
first1 very beautiful1 in her simple    
capacity of likeness-catching3--        
,to-day we purpose--aye1 this hour we   
mount                ,to spur three     
leagues towards the ,apennine4          
,come down1 we pray thee1 ere the hot   
sun count                ,his dewy      
rosary on the eglantine4  ,seizing on   
the outside resemblances of bead form1  
and on the slipping from their threading
 bough one by one1 the fancy is content 
to lose the heart of the thing1 the     
solemnity of prayer3 or perhaps ,i do   
the glorious poet wrong in saying this1 
for the sense of a sun worship and      
orison in beginning its race1 may have  
been in his mind2 and so far as it was  

so1 the passage is imaginative and not  
fanciful4 ,but that which most readers  
would accept from it1 is the mere flash 
of the external image1 in whose truth   
the fancy herself does not yet believe  
and therefore is not yet contemplative4 
,here1 however1 is fancy believing in   
the images she creates3--               
,it feeds the quick growth of the       
serpent-vine1               ,and the    
dark linked ivy tangling wild           
,and budding1 blown1 or odor faded      
blooms1               ,which star the   
winds with points of colored light      
,as they rain through them2 and bright  
golden globes               ,of fruit   
suspended in their own green heaven4    
,it is not1 observe1 a mere likeness    
that is caught here2 but the flowers and
 fruit are entirely deprived by the     
fancy of their material existence1 and  
contemplated by her seriously and       
faithfully as stars and worlds2 yet it  
is only external likeness that she      
catches2 she forces the resemblance1 and

 lowers the dignity of the adopted      
image4  ,next take two delicious stanzas
 of fancy regardant1 7believing in her  
creations17 followed by one of heavenly 
imagination1 from ,wordsworth's address 
to the daisy3--                ,a ,nun  
demure--of lowly port2                  
,or sprightly maiden--of ,love's court1 
,in thy simplicity the sport            
,of all temptations4                ,a  
,queen in crown of rubies drest1        
,a starveling in a scanty vest1         
,are all as seems to suit thee best1--  
,thy appellations4                 ,i   
see thee glittering from afar1          
,and then thou art a pretty star1--     
,not quite so fair as many are          
,in heaven above thee4                  
,yet like a star1 with glittering crest1
                ,self-poised in air thou
 seem'st to rest2--                ,may 
peace come never to his nest            
,who shall reprove thee4                
,sweet flower--for by that name at last1
                ,when all my reveries   

are past1                ,i call thee1  
and to that cleave fast4                
,sweet silent creature1                 
,that breath'st with me1 in sun and air1
                ,do thou1 as thou art   
wont1 repair                ,my heart   
with gladness1 and a share              
,of thy meek nature4   ,sec4 #f4        
,various instances4  ,observe how       
spiritual1 yet how wandering and playful
 the fancy is in the first two stanzas1 
and how far she flies from the matter in
 hand1 never stopping to brood on the   
character of any one of the images she  
summons1 and yet for a moment truly     
seeing and believing in them all2 while 
in the last stanza the imagination      
returns with its deep feeling to the    
heart of the flower1 and cleaves fast to
 that4 ,compare the operation of the    
imagination in ,coleridge1 on one of the
 most trifling objects that could       
possibly have been submitted to its     
action4                                 
,the thin blue flame                    

,lies on my low-burnt fire1 and quivers 
not3                ,only that film     
which fluttered on the grate            
,still flutters there1 the sole unquiet 
thing4                ,methinks its     
motion in this hush of nature           
,gives it dim sympathies with me1 who   
live1                ,making it a       
companionable form1                     
,whose puny flaps and freaks the idling 
spirit                ,by its own moods 
interprets2 everywhere1                 
,echo or mirror seeking of itself1      
,and makes a toy of thought4  ,lastly1  
observe the sweet operation of fancy    
regardant1 in the following well-known  
passage from ,scott1 where both her     
beholding and transforming powers are   
seen in their simplicity4               
,the rocky summits--split and rent1     
,formed turret1 dome1 or battlement4--  
,or seemed fantastically set            
,with cupola or minaret4                
,nor were these earth-born castles bare1
                ,nor lacked they many a 

banner fair1                ,for from   
their shivered brows displayed1         
,far o'er th' unfathomable glade1       
,all twinkling with the dew-drop sheen1 
,the brier-rose fell1 in streamers      
green1--                ,and creeping   
shrubs of thousand dyes                 
,waved in the west wind's summer sighs4 
,let the reader refer to this passage1  
with its pretty tremulous conclusion    
above the pine tree1 where glistening   
streamers waved and danced1 and then    
compare with it the following1 where the
 imagination operates on a scene nearly 
similar4             ,gray rocks did    
peep from the spare moss1 and stemm'd   
,the struggling brook2 tall spires of   
windle strae             ,threw their   
thin shadows down the rugged slope1     
,and nought but knarled roots of ancient
 pines1             ,branchless and     
blasted1 clench'd with grasping roots   
,th' unwilling soil4    4     4     4   
4    4    4    4    4    4   ,a gradual 
change was here1             ,yet       

ghastly4 ,for1 as fast years flow away1 
,the smooth brow gathers1 and the hair  
grows thin             ,and white2 and  
where irradiate dewy eyes               
,had shone1 gleam stony orbs2 so from   
his steps             ,bright flowers   
departed1 and the beautiful shade       
,of the green groves1 with all their    
odorous winds             ,and musical  
motions4 4    4    4    4             4 
4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    
4    4             4    4    4    4    4
    ,where the pass extends             
,its stony jaws1 the abrupt mountain    
breaks4             ,and seems with its 
accumulated crags             ,to       
overhang the world2 for wide expand     
,beneath the wan stars1 and descending  
moon1             ,islanded seas1 blue  
mountains1 mighty streams1              
,dim tracts and vast1 robed in the      
lustrous gloom             ,of          
leaden-colored even1 and fiery hills    
,mingling their flames with twilight on 
the verge             ,of the remote    

horizon4 ,the near scene             ,in
 naked1 and severe simplicity           
,made contrast with the universe4 ,a    
pine             ,rock-rooted1 stretch'd
 athwart the vacancy             ,its   
swinging boughs1 to each inconstant     
blast             ,yielding one only    
response at each pause1             ,in 
most familiar cadence1 with the howl1   
,the thunder1 and the hiss of homeless  
streams1             ,mingling its      
solemn song4  ,illustration3 ,,study    
,,of ,,stone ,,pine1 ,,at ,,sestri4     
,from a drawing by ,ruskin4  ,in this   
last passage1 the mind never departs    
from its solemn possession of the       
solitary scene1 the imagination only    
giving weight1 meaning1 and strange     
human sympathies to all its sights and  
sounds4  ,in that from ,scott1#gj--the  
fancy1 led away by the outside          
resemblance of floating form and hue to 
the banners1 loses the feeling and      
possession of the scene1 and places     
herself in circumstances of character   

completely opposite to the quietness and
 grandeur of the natural objects2 this  
would have been unjustifiable1 but that 
the resemblance occurs to the mind of   
the monarch1 rather than to that of the 
poet2 and it is that1 which of all      
others1 would have been the most likely 
to occur at the time2 in this point of  
view it has high imaginative propriety4 
,of the same fanciful character is that 
transformation of the tree trunks into  
dragons noticed before in ,turner's     
,jason2 and in the same way this becomes
 imaginative as it exhibits the effect  
of fear in disposing to morbid          
perception4 ,compare with it the real   
and high action of the imagination on   
the same matter in ,wordsworth's ,yew   
trees 7which ,i consider the most       
vigorous and solemn bit of forest       
landscape ever painted73--              
,each particular trunk a growth         
,of intertwisted fibres serpentine1     
,up coiling and inveterately convolved1 
,nor uninformed with ,phantasy1 and     

looks              ,that threaten the   
profane4  ,it is too long to quote1 but 
the reader should refer to it3 let him  
note especially1 if painter1 that pure  
touch of color1 by sheddings from the   
pining umbrage tinged4  ,in the same    
way1 the blasted trunk on the left1 in  
,turner's drawing of the spot where     
,harold fell at the battle of ,hastings1
 takes1 where its boughs first separate1
 the shape of the head of an arrow2     
this1 which is mere fancy in itself1 is 
imagination as it supposes in the       
spectator an excited condition of       
feeling dependent on the history of the 
spot4   ,sec4 #g4 ,morbid or nervous    
fancy4  ,i have been led perhaps into   
too great detail in illustrating these  
points2 but ,i think it is of no small  
importance to prove how in all cases the
 imagination is based upon1 and appeals 
to1 a deep heart feeling2 and how       
faithful and earnest it is in           
contemplation of the subject matter1    
never losing sight of it1 or disguising 

it1 but depriving it of extraneous and  
material accidents1 and regarding it in 
its disembodied essence4 ,i have not1   
however1 sufficiently noted in          
opposition to it1 that diseased action  
of the fancy which depends more on      
nervous temperament than intellectual   
power2 and which1 as in dreaming1 fever1
 insanity1 and other morbid conditions  
of mind is frequently a source of daring
 and inventive conception2 and so the   
visionary appearances resulting from    
various disturbances of the frame by    
passion1 and from the rapid tendency of 
the mind to invest with shape and       
intelligence the active influences about
 it1 as in the various demons1 spirits1 
and fairies of all imaginative nations2 
which1 however1 ,i consider are no more 
to be ranked as right creations of fancy
 or imagination than things actually    
seen and heard2 for the action of the   
nerves is ,i suppose the same1 whether  
externally caused1 or from within1      
although very grand imagination may be  

shown by the intellectual anticipation  
and realization of such impressions2 as 
in that glorious vignette of ,turner's  
to the voyage of ,columbus4 ,slowly     
along the evening sky they went4 ,note  
especially therein1 how admirably true  
to the natural form1 and yet how        
suggestive of the battlement he has     
rendered the level flake of evening     
cloud4   ,sec4 #h4 ,the action of       
contemplative imagination is not to be  
expressed by        art4  ,i believe    
that it is unnecessary for me to enter  
into farther detail of illustration     
respecting these points2 for fuller     
explanation of the operations of the    
contemplative faculty on things verbally
 expressible1 the reader may be referred
 to ,wordsworth's preface to his poems2 
it only remains for us1 here1 to examine
 how far this imaginative or abstract   
conception is to be conveyed by the     
material art of the sculptor or the     
painter4  ,now1 it is evident that the  
bold action of either the fancy or the  

imagination1 dependent on a bodiless and
 spiritual image of the object1 is not  
to be by lines or colors represented4   
,we cannot1 in the painting of ,satan   
fallen1 suggest any image of pines or   
crags1--neither can we assimilate the   
brier and the banner1 nor give human    
sympathy to the motion of the film1 nor 
voice to the swinging of the pines4     
,sec4 #i4 ,except under narrow          
limits4--#ast4 ,abstract rendering of   
form        without color4  ,yet certain
 powers there are1 within due limits1 of
 marking the thing represented with an  
ideal character2 and it was to these    
powers that ,i alluded in defining the  
meaning of the term ideal1 in the       
thirteenth chapter of the preceding     
section4 ,for it is by this operation   
that the productions of high art are    
separated from those of the realist4    
,and1 first1 there is evidently         
capability of separating color and form1
 and considering either separately4     
,form we find abstractedly considered by

 the sculptor1 how far it would be      
possible to advantage a statue by the   
addition of color1 ,i venture not to    
affirm2 the question is too extensive to
 be here discussed4 ,high authorities   
and ancient practice1 are in favor of   
color2 so the sculpture of the middle   
ages3 the two statues of ,mino da       
,fiesole in the church of ,sta4         
,caterina at ,pisa have been colored1   
the irises of the eyes painted dark1 and
 the hair gilded1 as also ,i think the  
,madonna in ,sta4 ,maria della ,spina2  
the eyes have been painted in the       
sculptures of ,orcagna in ,or ,san      
,michele1 but it looks like a remnant of
 barbarism1 7compare the pulpit of      
,guida da ,como1 in the church of ,san  
,bartolomeo at ,pistoja17 and ,i have   
never seen color on any solid forms1    
that did not1 to my mind1 neutralize all
 other power2 the porcelains of ,luca   
della ,robbia are painful examples1 and 
in lower art1 ,florentine mosaic in     
relief2 gilding is more admissible1 and 

tells sometimes sweetly upon figures of 
quaint design1 as on the pulpit of ,sta4
 ,maria ,novella1 while it spoils the   
classical ornaments of the mouldings4   
,but the truest grandeur of sculpture ,i
 believe to be in the white form2       
something of this feeling may be owing  
to the difficulty1 or rather the        
immediately1 of obtaining truly noble   
color upon it1 but if we could color the
 ,elgin marbles with the flesh tint of  
,giorgione1 ,i had rather not have it   
done4   ,sec4 #aj4 ,of color without    
form4  ,color1 without form1 is less    
frequently obtainable1 and it may be    
doubted whether it be desirable3 yet ,i 
think that to the full enjoyment of it1 
a certain abandonment of form is        
necessary2 sometimes by reducing it to  
the shapeless glitter of the gem1 as    
often ,tintoret and ,bassano2 sometimes 
by loss of outline and blending of      
parts1 as ,turner2 sometimes by flatness
 of mass1 as often ,giorgione and       
,titian4 ,how far it is possible for the

 painter to represent those mountains of
 ,shelley as the poet sees them1        
mingling their flames with twilight1 ,i 
cannot say2 but my impression is1 that  
there is no true abstract mode of       
considering color2 and that all the loss
 of form in the works of ,titian or     
,turner1 is not ideal1 but the          
representation of the natural conditions
 under which bright color is seen2 for  
form is always in a measure lost by     
nature herself when color is very vivid4
   ,sec4 #aa4 ,or of both without       
texture4  ,again1 there is capability of
 representing the essential character1  
form1 and color of an object1 without   
external texture4 ,on this point much   
has been said by ,reynolds and others1  
and it is1 indeed1 perhaps the most     
unfailing characteristic of great manner
 in painting4 ,compare a dog of ,edwin  
,landseer with a dog of ,paul ,veronese4
 ,in the first1 the outward texture is  
wrought out with exquisite dexterity of 
handling1 and minute attention to all   

the accidents of curl and gloss which   
can give appearance of reality1 while   
the hue and power of the sunshine1 and  
the truth of the shadow on all these    
forms is necessarily neglected1 and the 
large relations of the animal as a mass 
of color to the sky or ground1 or other 
parts of the picture1 utterly lost4     
,this is realism at the expense of      
ideality1 it is treatment essentially   
unimaginative4#ga ,with ,veronese1 there
 is no curling nor crisping1 no         
glossiness nor sparkle1 hardly even     
hair1 a mere type of hide1 laid on with 
a few scene-painter's touches4 ,but the 
essence of dog is there1 the entire     
magnificent1 generic animal type1       
muscular and living1 and with broad1    
pure1 sunny daylight upon him1 and      
bearing his true and harmonious relation
 of color to all color about him4 ,this 
is ideal treatment4  ,the same treatment
 is found in the works of all the       
greatest men1 they all paint the lion   
more than his mane1 and the horse rather

 than his hide2 and ,i think also they  
are more careful to obtain the right    
expression of large and universal light 
and color1 than local tints2 for the    
warmth of sunshine1 and the force of    
sunlighted hue are always sublime on    
whatever subject they may be exhibited2 
and so also are light and shade1 if     
grandly arranged1 as may be well seen in
 an etching of ,rembrandt's of a spotted
 shell1 which he has made altogether    
sublime by broad truth and large        
ideality of light and shade2 and so ,i  
have seen frequent instances of very    
grand ideality in treatment of the most 
commonplace still life1 by our own      
,hunt1 where the petty glosses and      
delicacies1 and minor forms1 are all    
merged in a broad glow of suffused      
color2 so also in pieces of the same    
kind by ,etty1 where1 however1 though   
the richness and play of color are      
greater1 and the arrangement grander1   
there is less expression of light1      
neither is there anything in modern art 

that can be set beside some choice      
passages of ,hunt in this respect4      
,sec4 #ab4 ,abstraction or typical      
representation of animal form4  ,again1 
it is possible to represent objects     
capable of various accidents in generic 
or symbolical form4   ,sec4 #ac4 ,either
 when it is symbolically used4  ,how far
 this may be done with things having    
necessary form1 as animals1 ,i am not   
prepared to say4 ,the lions of the      
,egyptian room in the ,british ,museum1 
and the fish beside ,michael ,angelo's  
,jonah1 are instances2 and there is     
imaginative power about both which we   
find not in the more perfectly realized 
,florentine boar1 nor in ,raffaelle's   
fish of the draught4 ,and yet the       
propriety and nobility of these types   
depend on the architectural use and     
character of the one1 and on the typical
 meaning of the other3 we should be     
grieved to see the forms of the         
,egyptian lion substituted for those of 
,raffaelle's in its struggle with       

,samson1 nor would the whale of ,michael
 ,angelo be tolerated in the nets of    
,gennesaret4 ,so that ,i think it is    
only when the figure of the creature    
stands not for any representation of    
vitality1 but merely for a letter or    
type of certain symbolical meaning1 or  
else is adopted as a grand form of      
decoration or support in architecture1  
that such generalization is allowable1  
and in such circumstances ,i think it   
necessary1 always provided it be based1 
as in the instances given ,i conceive it
 to be1 upon thorough knowledge of the  
creature symbolized and wrought out by a
 master hand2 and these conditions being
 observed1 ,i believe it to be right and
 necessary in architecture to modify all
 animal forms by a severe architectural 
stamp1 and in symbolical use of them1 to
 adopt a typical form1 to which practice
 the contrary1 and its evil consequences
 are ludicrously exhibited in the ,st4  
,peter of ,carlo ,dolci in the ,pitti   
palace1 which owing to the prominent1   

glossy-plumed and crimson-combed cock1  
is liable to be taken for the portrait  
of a poulterer1 only let it be observed 
that the treatment of the animal form   
here is offensive1 not only from its    
realization1 but from the pettiness and 
meanness of its realization2 for it     
might1 in other hands but ,carlo        
,dolci's1 have been a sublime cock1     
though a real one1 but in his1 it is fit
 for nothing but the spit4 ,compare as  
an example partly of symbolical         
treatment1 partly of magnificent        
realization1 that supernatural lion of  
,tintoret1 in the picture of the ,doge  
,loredano before the ,madonna1 with the 
plumes of his mighty wings clashed      
together in cloudlike repose1 and the   
strength of the sea winds shut within   
their folding4 ,and note farther the    
difference between the typical use of   
the animal1 as in this case1 and that of
 the fish of ,jonah1 7and again the fish
 before mentioned whose form is         
indicated in the clouds of the baptism71

 and the actual occurrence of the       
creature itself1 with concealed meaning1
 as the ass colt of the crucifixion1    
which it was necessary to paint as such1
 and not as an ideal form4   ,sec4 #ad4 
,or in architectural decoration4  ,sec4 
#ae4 ,exception in delicate and         
superimposed ornament4  ,i cannot enter 
here into the question of the exact     
degree of severity and abstraction      
necessary in the forms of living things 
architecturally employed2 my own feeling
 on the subject is1 though ,i dare not  
lay it down as a principle1 7with the   
,parthenon pediment standing against me 
like the shield of ,ajax17 that no      
perfect representation of animal form is
 right in architectural decoration4 ,for
 my own part1 ,i had much rather see the
 metopes in the ,elgin room of the      
,british ,museum1 and the ,parthenon    
without them1 than have them together1  
and ,i would not surrender1 in an       
architectural point of view1 one mighty 
line of the colossal1 quiet1            

life-in-death statue mountains in ,egypt
 with their narrow fixed eyes and hands 
on their rocky limbs1 nor one           
,romanesque facade with its porphyry    
mosaic of indefinable monsters1 nor one 
,gothic moulding of rigid saints and    
grinning goblins1 for ten ,parthenons2  
and1 ,i believe1 ,i could show some     
rational ground for this seeming        
barbarity if this were the place to do  
so1 but at present ,i can only ask the  
reader to compare the effect of the     
so-called barbarous ancient mosaics on  
the front of ,st4 ,mark's1 as they have 
been recorded1 happily1 by the          
faithfulness of the good ,gentile       
,bellini1 in one of his pictures now in 
the ,venice gallery1 with the veritably 
barbarous pictorial substitutions of the
 fifteenth century1 7one only of the old
 mosaics remains1 or did remain till    
lately1 over the northern door1 but it  
is probably by this time torn down by   
some of the ,venetian committees of     
taste17 and also ,i would have the old  

portions of the interior ceiling1 or of 
the mosaics of ,murano and ,torcello1   
and the glorious ,cimabue mosaic of     
,pisa1 and the roof of the ,baptistery  
at ,parma1 7that of the ,florence       
,baptistery is a bad example1 owing to  
its crude whites and complicated mosaic 
of small forms17 all of which are as    
barbarous as they can well be1 in a     
certain sense1 but mighty in their      
barbarism1 with any architectural       
decorations whatsoever1 consisting of   
professedly perfect animal forms1 from  
the vile frescoes of ,federigo ,zuccaro 
at ,florence to the ceiling of the      
,sistine1 and again compare the         
professedly perfect sculpture of ,milan 
,cathedral with the statues of the      
porches of ,chartres2 only be it always 
observed that it is not rudeness and    
ignorance of art1 but intellectually    
awful abstraction that ,i uphold1 and   
also be it noted that in all ornament1  
which takes place in the general effect 
merely as so much fretted stone1 in     

capitals and other pieces of minute     
detail1 the forms may be1 and perhaps   
ought to be1 elaborately imitative2 and 
in this respect again the capitals of   
,st4 ,mark's church1 and of the ,doge's 
palace at ,venice may be an example to  
the architects of all the world1 in     
their boundless inventiveness1 unfailing
 elegance1 and elaborate finish2 there  
is more mind poured out in turning a    
single angle of that church than would  
serve to build a modern cathedral2#gb   
and of the careful finish of the work1  
this may serve for example1 that one of 
the capitals of the ,doge's palace is   
formed of eight heads of different      
animals1 of which one is a bear's with a
 honeycomb in the mouth1 whose carved   
cells are hexagonal4   ,sec4 #af4       
,abstraction necessary from imperfection
 of materials4  ,sec4 #ag4 ,abstractions
 of things capable of varied accident   
are not         imaginative4  ,sec4 #ah4
 ,yet sometimes valuable4  ,so far1     
then1 of the abstraction proper to      

architecture1 and to symbolical uses1 of
 which ,i shall have occasion to speak  
hereafter at length1 referring to it    
only at present as one of the operations
 of imagination contemplative2 other    
abstractions there are which are        
necessarily consequent on the           
imperfection of materials1 as of the    
hair in sculpture1 which is necessarily 
treated in masses that are in no sort   
imitative1 but only stand for hair1 and 
have the grace1 flow1 and feeling of it 
without the texture or division1 and    
other abstractions there are in which   
the form of one thing is fancifully     
indicated in the matter of another2 as  
in phantoms and cloud shapes1 the use of
 which1 in mighty hands1 is often most  
impressive1 as in the cloudy charioted  
,apollo of ,nicolo ,poussin in our own  
gallery1 which the reader may oppose to 
the substantial ,apollo1 in ,wilson's   
,niobe1 and again the phantom vignette  
of ,turner already noticed2 only such   
operations of the imagination are to be 

held of lower kind and dangerous        
consequence1 if frequently trusted in1  
for those painters only have the right  
imaginative power who can set the       
supernatural form before us fleshed and 
boned like ourselves4#gc ,other         
abstractions occur1 frequently1 of      
things which have much accidental       
variety of form1 as of waves1 on ,greek 
sculptures in successive volutes1 and of
 clouds often in supporting volumes in  
the sacred pictures2 but these ,i do not
 look upon as results of imagination at 
all1 but mere signs and letters2 and    
whenever a very highly imaginative mind 
touches them1 it always realizes as far 
as may be4 ,even ,titian is content to  
use at the top of his ,st4 ,pietro      
,martiri1 the conventional1 round1      
opaque cloud1 which cuts his trees open 
like a gouge2 but ,tintoret1 in his     
picture of the ,golden ,calf1 though    
compelled to represent the ,sinai under 
conventional form1 in order that the    
receiving of the tables might be seen at

 the top of it1 yet so soon as it is    
possible to give more truth1 he is ready
 with it2 he takes a grand fold of      
horizontal cloud straight from the      
flanks of the ,alps1 and shows the      
forests of the mountains through its    
misty volume1 like sea-weed through deep
 sea4#gd ,nevertheless1 when the        
realization is impossible1 bold         
symbolism is of the highest value1 and  
in religious art1 as we shall presently 
see1 even necessary1 as of the rays of  
light in the ,titian woodcut of ,st4    
,francis before noticed2 and sometimes  
the attention is directed by some such  
strange form to the meaning of the      
image1 which may be missed if it remains
 in its natural purity1 7as1 ,i suppose1
 few in looking at the ,cephalus and    
,procris of ,turner1 note the sympathy  
of those faint rays that are just       
drawing back and dying between the      
trunks of the far-off forest1 with the  
ebbing life of the nymph2 unless1       
indeed1 they happen to recollect the    

same sympathy marked by ,shelley in the 
,alastor27 but the imagination is not   
shown in any such modifications2        
however1 in some cases they may be      
valuable 7in the ,cephalus they would be
 utterly destructive17 and ,i note them 
merely in consequence of their peculiar 
use in religious art1 presently to be   
examined4   ,sec4 #ai4 ,exaggeration4   
,its laws and limits4 ,first1 in scale  
of         representation4  ,the last   
mode we have here to note in which the  
imagination regardant may be expressed  
in art is exaggeration1 of which1 as it 
is the vice of all bad artists1 may be  
constantly resorted to without any      
warrant of imagination1 it is necessary 
to note strictly the admissible limits4 
,in the first place1 a colossal statue  
is necessarily no more an exaggeration  
of what it represents than a miniature  
is a diminution1 it need not be a       
representation of a giant1 but a        
representation1 on a large scale1 of a  
man2 only it is to be observed1 that as 

any plane intersecting the cone of rays 
between us and the object1 must receive 
an image smaller than the object2 a     
small image is rationally and completely
 expressive of a larger one2 but not a  
large of a small one4 ,hence ,i think   
that all statues above the ,elgin       
standard1 or that of ,michael ,angelo's 
,night and ,morning1 are1 in a measure1 
taken by the eye for representations of 
giants1 and ,i think them always        
disagreeable4 ,the amount of            
exaggeration admitted by ,michael       
,angelo is valuable because it separates
 the emblematic from the human form1 and
 gives greater freedom to the grand     
lines of the frame2 for notice of his   
scientific system of increase of size ,i
 may refer the reader to ,sir ,charles  
,bell's remarks on the statues of the   
,medici chapel2 but there is one        
circumstance which ,sir ,charles has not
 noticed1 and in the interpretation of  
which1 therefore1 it is likely ,i may be
 myself wrong2 that the extremities are 

singularly small in proportion to the   
limbs1 by which means there is an       
expression given of strength and        
activity greater than in the ordinary   
human type1 which appears to me to be an
 allowance for that alteration in       
proportion necessitated by increase of  
size1 of which we took note in ,chap4   
,,vi4 of the first section1 ,sec4 #aj1  
note2 not but that ,michael ,angelo     
always makes the extremities            
comparatively small1 but smallest1      
comparatively1 in his largest works2 so 
,i think1 from the size of the head1 it 
may be conjectured respecting the       
,theseus of the ,elgins4 ,such          
adaptations are not necessary when the  
exaggerated image is spectral2 for as   
the laws of matter in that case can have
 no operation1 we may expand the form as
 far as we choose1 only let careful     
distinction be made between the size of 
the thing represented1 and the scale of 
the representation4 ,the canvas on which
 ,fuseli has stretched his ,satan in the

 schools of the ,royal ,academy is a    
mere concession to inability4 ,he might 
have made him look more gigantic in one 
of a foot square4   ,sec4 #bj4          
,secondly4 ,of things capable of variety
 of scale4  ,another kind of            
exaggeration is of things whose size is 
variable to a size or degree greater    
than that usual with them1 as in waves  
and mountains2 and there are hardly any 
limits to this exaggeration so long as  
the laws which nature observes in her   
increase be observed4 ,thus1 for        
instance3 the form and polished surface 
of a breaking ripple three inches high1 
are not representation of either the    
form or the surface of the surf of a    
storm1 nodding ten feet above the beach2
 neither would the cutting ripple of a  
breeze upon a lake if simply            
exaggerated1 represent the forms of     
,atlantic surges2 but as nature         
increases her bulk1 she diminishes the  
angles of ascent1 and increases her     
divisions2 and if we would represent    

surges of size greater than ever        
existed1 which it is lawful to do1 we   
must carry out these operations to still
 greater extent4 ,thus1 ,turner1 in his 
picture of the ,slave ,ship1 divides the
 whole sea into two masses of enormous  
swell1 and conceals the horizon by a    
gradual slope of only two or three      
degrees4 ,this is intellectual          
exaggeration4 ,in the ,academy          
exhibition of #ahdc1 there was1 in one  
of the smaller rooms1 a black picture of
 a storm1 in which there appeared on the
 near sea1 just about to be overwhelmed 
by an enormous breaker1 curling right   
over it1 an object at first sight liable
 to be taken for a walnut shell1 but    
which1 on close examination1 proved to  
be a ship with mast and sail1 with      
,christ and his twelve disciples in it4 
,this is childish exaggeration1 because 
it is impossible1 by the laws of matter 
and motion1 that such a breaker should  
ever exist4 ,again in mountains1 we have
 repeatedly observed the necessary      

building up and multitudinous division  
of the higher peaks1 and the smallness  
of the slopes by which they usually     
rise4 ,we may1 therefore1 build up the  
mountain as high as we please1 but we   
must do it in nature's way1 and not in  
impossible peaks and precipices2 not but
 that a daring feature is admissible    
here and there1 as the ,matterhorn is   
admitted by nature2 but we must not     
compose a picture out of such           
exceptions2 we may use them1 but they   
must be as exceptions exhibited4 ,i     
shall have much to say1 when we come to 
treat of the sublime1 of the various    
modes of treating mountain form1 so that
 at present ,i shall only point to an   
unfortunate instance of inexcusable and 
effectless exaggeration in the distance 
of ,turner's vignette to ,milton1 7the  
temptation on the mountain17 and desire 
the reader to compare it with legitimate
 exaggeration1 in the vignette to the   
second part of ,jacqueline1 in ,rogers's
 poems4   ,sec4 #ba4 ,thirdly1 necessary

 in expression of characteristic        
features on         diminished scale4   
,another kind of exaggeration is        
necessary to retain the characteristic  
impressions of nature on reduced scale1 
it is not possible1 for instance1 to    
give the leafage of trees in its proper 
proportion1 when the trees represented  
are large1 without entirely losing their
 grace of form and curvature2 of this   
the best proof is found in the ,calotype
 or ,daguerreotype1 which fail in       
foliage1 not only because the green rays
 are ineffective1 but because1 on the   
small scale of the image1 the reduced   
leaves lose their organization1 and look
 like moss attached to sticks4 ,in order
 to retain1 therefore1 the character of 
flexibility and beauty of foliage1 the  
painter is often compelled to increase  
the proportionate size of the leaves1   
and to arrange them in generic masses4  
,of this treatment compare the grand    
examples throughout the ,liber          
,studiorum4 ,it is by such means only   

that the ideal character of objects is  
to be preserved2 as we before observed  
in the #acth chapter of the first       
section4 ,in all these cases            
exaggeration is only lawful as the sole 
means of arriving at truth of impression
 when strict fidelity is out of the     
question4  ,other modes of exaggeration 
there are1 on which ,i shall not at     
present farther insist1 the proper place
 for their discussion being in treating 
of the sublime1 and these which ,i have 
at present instanced are enough to      
establish the point at issue1 respecting
 imaginative verity1 inasmuch as we find
 that exaggeration itself1 if           
imaginative1 is referred to principles  
of truth1 and of actual being4   ,sec4  
#bb4 ,recapitulation4  ,we have now1 ,i 
think1 reviewed the various modes in    
which imagination contemplative may be  
exhibited in art1 and arrived at all    
necessary certainties respecting the    
essence of the faculty3 which we have   
found in all its three functions1       

associative of truth1 penetrative of    
truth1 and contemplative of truth2 and  
having no dealings nor relations with   
any kind of falsity4 ,one task1 however1
 remains to us1 namely1 to observe the  
operation of the theoretic and          
imaginative faculties together1 in the  
attempt at realization to the bodily    
sense of beauty supernatural and divine4
   ,,footnotes    #gj ,let it not be    
supposed that ,i mean to compare the    
sickly     dreaming of ,shelley over    
clouds and waves with the masculine and 
magnificent grasp of men and things     
which we find in ,scott2 it only        
happens that these two passages are more
 illustrative1 by the     likeness of   
the scenery they treat1 than any others 
,i could have     opposed2 and that     
,shelley is peculiarly distinguished by 
the faculty     of contemplative        
imagination4 ,scott's healthy and       
truthful feeling     would not allow him
 to represent the benighted hunter      
provoked by     loss of game1 horse1 and

 way at once1 as indulging in any more  
exalted flights of imagination than     
those naturally consequent on     the   
contrast between the night's lodging he 
expected1 and that which     befitted   
him4    #ga ,i do not mean to withdraw  
the praise ,i have given1 and shall     
always be willing to give such pictures 
as the ,old ,shepherd's ,chief          
,mourner1 and to all in which the       
character and inner life of animals     
are developed4 ,but all lovers of art   
must regret to find ,mr4     ,landseer  
wasting his energies on such inanities  
as the ,shoeing1     and sacrificing    
color1 expression1 and action1 to an    
imitation of     glossy hide4    #gb ,i 
have not brought forward any instances  
of the imaginative     power in         
architecture1 as my object is not at    
present to exhibit its     operation in 
all matter1 but only to define its      
essence2 but it may     be well to note1
 in our own new houses of ,parliament1  
how far a     building approved by a    

committee of ,taste1 may proceed without
     manifestation either of imagination
 or composition2 it remains to be       
seen how far the towers may redeem it2  
and ,i allude to it at present          
unwillingly1 and only in the desire of  
influencing1 so far as ,i may1     those
 who have the power to prevent the      
adoption of a design for a     bridge to
 take place of ,westminster1 which was  
exhibited in #ahdd at     the ,royal    
,academy1 professing to be in harmony   
with the new     building1 but which was
 fit only to carry a railroad over a    
canal4    #gc ,comp4 ,ch4 ,v4 ,sec4 #e4 
#gd ,all the clouds of ,tintoret are    
sublime2 the worst that ,i know     in  
art are ,correggio's1 especially in the 
,madonna della ,scudella1     and ,dome 
of ,parma4                              
,,chapter ,v4                           
,,of ,,the ,,superhuman ,,ideal4   ,sec4
 #a4 ,the subject is not to be here     
treated in detail4  ,in our             
investigation in the first section of   

the laws of beauty1 we confined         
ourselves to the observation of lower   
nature1 or of humanity4 ,we were        
prevented from proceeding to deduce     
conclusions respecting divine ideality  
by our not having then established any  
principles respecting the imaginative   
faculty1 by which1 under the discipline 
of the theoretic1 such ideality is      
conceived4 ,i had purposed to conclude  
the present section by a careful        
examination of this subject2 but as this
 is evidently foreign to the matter     
immediately under discussion1 and       
involves questions of great intricacy   
respecting the development of mind among
 those pagan nations who are supposed to
 have produced high examples of         
spiritual ideality1 ,i believe it will  
be better to delay such inquiries until 
we have concluded our detailed          
observation of the beauty of visible    
nature2 and ,i shall therefore at       
present take notice only of one or two  
broad principles1 which were referred   

to1 or implied1 in the chapter          
respecting the human ideal1 and without 
the enunciation of which1 that chapter  
might lead to false conclusions4   ,sec4
 #b4 ,the conceivable modes of          
manifestation of ,spiritual ,beings are 
four4  ,there are four ways in which    
beings supernatural may be conceived as 
manifesting themselves to human sense4  
,the first1 by external types1 signs1 or
 influences2 as ,god to ,moses in the   
flames of the bush1 and to ,elijah in   
the voice of ,horeb4  ,the second1 by   
the assuming of a form not properly     
belonging to them2 as the ,holy ,spirit 
of that of a ,dove1 the second person of
 the ,trinity of that of a ,lamb2 and so
 such manifestations1 under angelic or  
other form1 of the first person of the  
,trinity1 as seem to have been made to  
,abraham1 ,moses1 and ,ezekiel4  ,the   
third1 by the manifestation of a form   
properly belonging to them1 but not     
necessarily seen2 as of the ,risen      
,christ to his disciples when the doors 

were shut4 ,and the fourth1 by their    
operation on the human form1 which they 
influence or inspire1 as in the shining 
of the face of ,moses4   ,sec4 #c4 ,and 
these are in or through creature forms  
familiar to us4  ,it is evident that in 
all these cases1 wherever there is form 
at all1 it is the form of some creature 
to us known4 ,it is no new form peculiar
 to spirit nor can it be4 ,we can       
conceive of none4 ,our inquiry is       
simply1 therefore1 by what modifications
 those creature forms to us known1 as of
 a lamb1 a bird1 or a human creature1   
may be explained as signs or habitations
 of ,divinity1 or of angelic essence1   
and not creatures such as they seem4    
,sec4 #d4 ,supernatural character may be
 impressed on these either by           
phenomena inconsistent with their common
 nature1 7compare chap4        #d1 ,sec4
 #af74  ,this may be done in two ways4  
,first1 by effecting some change in the 
appearance of the creature inconsistent 
with its actual nature1 as by giving it 

colossal size1 or unnatural color1 or   
material1 as of gold1 or silver1 or     
flame1 instead of flesh1 or by taking   
away its property of matter altogether1 
and forming it of light or shade1 or in 
an intermediate step1 of cloud1 or      
vapor2 or explaining it by terrible     
concomitant circumstances1 as of wounds 
in the body1 or strange lights and      
seemings round about it2 or by joining  
of two bodies together as in angels'    
wings4 ,of all which means of attaining 
supernatural character 7which though1 in
 their nature ordinary and vulgar1 are  
yet effective and very glorious in      
mighty hands7 we have already seen the  
limits in speaking of the imagination4  
,sec4 #e4 ,or by inherent ,dignity4     
,but the second means of obtaining      
supernatural character is that with     
which we are now concerned1 namely1     
retaining the actual form in its full   
and material presence1 and without aid  
from any external interpretation        
whatsoever1 to raise that form by mere  

inherent dignity to such a pitch of     
power and impressiveness as cannot but  
assert and stamp it for superhuman4  ,on
 the north side of the ,campo ,santo at 
,pisa1 are a series of paintings from   
the ,old ,testament ,history by ,benozzo
 ,gozzoli4 ,in the earlier of these1    
angelic presences1 mingled with human1  
occur frequently1 illustrated by no     
awfulness of light1 nor incorporeal     
tracing4 ,clear revealed they move1 in  
human forms1 in the broad daylight and  
on the open earth1 side by side1 and    
hand in hand with men4 ,but they never  
miss of the angel4  ,he who can do this 
has reached the last pinnacle and utmost
 power of ideal1 or any other art4 ,he  
stands in no need thenceforward1 of     
cloud1 nor lightning1 nor tempest1 nor  
terror of mystery4 ,his sublime is      
independent of the elements4 ,it is of  
that which shall stand when they shall  
melt with fervent heat1 and light the   
firmament when the sun is as sackcloth  
of hair4   ,sec4 #f4 #ast4 ,of the      

expression of ,inspiration4  ,let us    
consider by what means this has been    
effected1 so far as they are by analysis
 traceable2 and that is not far1 for    
here1 as always1 we find that the       
greater part of what has been rightly   
accomplished has been done by faith and 
intense feeling1 and cannot1 by aid of  
any rules or teaching1 be either tried1 
estimated1 or imitated4  ,and first1 of 
the expression of supernatural influence
 on forms actually human1 as of sibyl or
 prophet4 ,it is evident that not only  
here is it unnecessary1 but we are not  
altogether at liberty to trust for      
expression to the utmost ennobling of   
the human form3 for we cannot do more   
than this1 when that form is to be the  
actual representation1 and not the      
recipient of divine presence4 ,hence1 in
 order to retain the actual humanity    
definitely1 we must leave upon it such  
signs of the operation of sin and the   
liability to death as are consistent    
with human ideality1 and often more than

 these1 definite signs of immediate and 
active evil1 when the prophetic spirit  
is to be expressed in men such as were  
,saul and ,balaam2 neither may we ever1 
with just discrimination1 touch the     
utmost limits of beauty in human form   
when inspiration is to be expressed1 and
 not angelic or divine being2 of which  
reserve and subjection the most         
instructive instances are found in the  
works of ,angelico1 who invariably uses 
inferior types for the features of      
humanity1 even glorified1 7excepting    
always the ,madonna17 nor ever exerts   
his full power of beauty either in      
feature or expression1 except in angels 
or in the ,madonna or in ,christ4 ,now  
the expression of spiritual influence   
without supreme elevation of the bodily 
type we have seen to be a work of       
imagination penetrative1 and we found it
 accomplished by ,michael ,angelo2 but  
,i think by him only4 ,i am aware of no 
one else who1 to my mind1 has expressed 
the inspiration of prophet or sibyl2    

this1 however1 ,i affirm not1 but shall 
leave to the determination of the       
reader1 as the principles at present to 
be noted refer entirely to that         
elevation of the creature form necessary
 when it is actually representative of a
 spiritual being4  ,sec4 #g4 ,no        
representation of that which is more    
than creature is possible4   ,i have    
affirmed in the conclusion of the first 
section that of that which is more than 
creature1 no creature ever conceived4 ,i
 think this almost self-evident1 for it 
is clear that the illimitableness of    
,divine attributes cannot be by matter  
represented1 7though it may be          
typefied17 and ,i believe that all who  
are acquainted with the range of sacred 
art will admit1 not only that no        
representation of ,christ has ever been 
even partially successful1 but that the 
greatest painters fall therein below    
their accustomed level2 ,perugino and   
,fra ,angelico especially2 ,leonardi has
 ,i think done best1 but perhaps the    

beauty of the fragment left at ,milan1  
7for in spite of all that is said of    
repainting and destruction1 that        
,cenacolo is still the finest in        
existence7 is as much dependent on the  
very untraceableness resulting from     
injury as on its original perfection4   
,of more daring attempts at             
representation of ,divinity we need not 
speak2 only this is to be noted         
respecting them1 that though by the     
ignorant ,romanists many such efforts   
were made under the idea of actual      
representation1 7note the way in which  
,cellini speaks of the seal made for the
 ,pope17 by the nobler among them ,i    
suppose they were intended1 and by us at
 any rate they may always be received1  
as mere symbols1 the noblest that could 
be employed1 but as much symbols still  
as a triangle1 or the ,alpha and ,omega2
 nor do ,i think that the most          
scrupulous amongst ,christians ought to 
desire to exchange the power obtained by
 the use of this symbol in ,michael     

,angelo's creation of ,adam and of ,eve 
for the effect which would be produced  
by the substitution of a triangle or any
 other sign in place of it4 ,of these   
efforts then we need reason no farther1 
but may limit ourselves to considering  
the purest modes of giving a conception 
of superhuman but still creature form1  
as of angels2 in equal rank with whom1  
perhaps1 we may without offence place   
the mother of ,christ3 at least we must 
so regard the type of the ,madonna in   
receiving it from ,romanist painters4#ge
   ,sec4 #h4 ,supernatural character    
expressed by modification of            
accessories4  ,and first1 much is to be 
done by right modification of accessory 
circumstances1 so as to express         
miraculous power exercised over them by 
the spiritual creature4 ,there is a     
beautiful instance of this in ,john     
,bellini's picture of ,st4 ,jerome at   
,venice4 ,the saint sits upon a rock1   
his grand form defined against clear    
green open sky2 he is reading1 a noble  

tree springs out of a cleft in the rock1
 bends itself suddenly back to form a   
rest for the volume1 then shoots up into
 the sky4 ,there is something very      
beautiful in this obedient ministry of  
the lower creature2 but be it observed  
that the sweet feeling of the whole     
depends upon the service being such as  
is consistent with its nature4 ,it is   
not animated1 it does not listen to the 
saint1 nor bend itself towards him as if
 in affection1 this would have been mere
 fancy1 illegitimate and effectless4    
,but the simple bend of the trunk to    
receive the book is miraculous          
subjection of the true nature of the    
tree2 it is therefore imaginative1 and  
very touching4   ,sec4 #i4 ,landscape of
 the religious painters4 ,its character 
is eminently        symmetrical4  ,it is
 not often however that the religious   
painters even go this length2 they      
content themselves usually with         
impressing on the landscape perfect     
symmetry and order1 such as may seem    

consistent with1 or induced by the      
spiritual nature they would represent4  
,all signs of decay1 disturbance1 and   
imperfection1 are also banished2 and in 
doing this it is evident that some      
unnaturalness and singularity must      
result1 inasmuch as there are no        
veritable forms of landscape but express
 or imply a state of progression or of  
imperfection ,all mountain forms are    
seen to be produced by convulsion and   
modelled by decay2 the finer forms of   
cloud have stories in them about storm2 
all forest grouping is wrought out with 
varieties of strength and growth among  
its several members1 and bears evidences
 of struggle with unkind influences4    
,all such appearances are banished in   
the supernatural landscape2 the trees   
grow straight1 equally branched on each 
side1 and of such slight and feathery   
frame as shows them never to have       
encountered blight or frost or tempest4 
,the mountains stand up in fantastic    
pinnacles2 there is on them no trace of 

torrent1 no scathe of lightning2 no     
fallen fragments encumber their         
foundations1 no worn ravines divide     
their flanks2 the seas are always       
waveless1 the skies always calm1 crossed
 only by fair1 horizontal1 lightly      
wreathed1 white clouds4   ,sec4 #aj4    
,landscape of ,benozzo ,gozzoli4  ,in   
some cases these conditions result      
partly from feeling1 partly from        
ignorance of the facts of nature1 or    
incapability of representing them1 as in
 the first type of the treatment found  
in ,giotto and his school2 in others    
they are observed on principle1 as by   
,benozzo ,gozzoli1 ,perugino1 and       
,raffaelle4 ,there is a beautiful       
instance by the former in the frescoes  
of the ,ricardi palace1 where behind the
 adoring angel groups the landscape is  
governed by the most absolute symmetry2 
roses and pomegranates1 their leaves    
drawn to the last rib and vein1 twine   
themselves in fair and perfect order    
about delicate trellises2 broad stone   

pines and tall cypresses overshadow     
them1 bright birds hover here and there 
in the serene sky1 and groups of angels1
 hand joined with hand1 and wing with   
wing1 glide and float through the glades
 of the unentangled forest4 ,but behind 
the human figures1 behind the pomp and  
turbulence of the ,kingly procession    
descending from the distant hills the   
spirit of the landscape is changed4     
,severer mountains rise in the distance1
 ruder prominences and less flowery vary
 the nearer ground1 and gloomy shadows  
remain unbroken beneath the forest      
branches4   ,sec4 #aa4 ,landscape of    
,perugino and ,raffaelle4  ,the         
landscape of ,perugino1 for grace1      
purity and as much of nature as is      
consistent with the above-named         
conditions1 is unrivalled2 and the more 
interesting because in him certainly    
whatever limits are set to the rendering
 of nature proceed not from             
incapability4 ,the sea is in the        
distance almost always1 then some blue  

promontories and undulating dewy park   
ground1 studded with glittering trees2  
in the landscape of the fresco in ,sta4 
,maria ,maddalena at ,florence there is 
more variety than is usual with him2 a  
gentle river winds round the bases of   
rocky hills1 a river like our own ,wye  
or ,tees in their loveliest reaches2    
level meadows stretch away on its       
opposite side2 mounds set with          
slender-stemmed foliage occupy the      
nearer ground1 a small village with its 
simple spire peeps from the forest at   
the bend of the valley1 and it is       
remarkable that in architecture thus    
employed neither ,perugino nor any other
 of the ideal painters ever use ,italian
 forms but always ,transalpine1 both of 
church and castle4 ,the little landscape
 which forms the background of his own  
portrait in the ,uffizii is another     
highly finished and characteristic      
example4 ,the landscape of ,raffaelle   
was learned from his father1 and        
continued for some time little modified1

 though expressed with greater          
refinement4 ,it became afterwards       
conventional and poor1 and in some cases
 altogether meaningless4 ,the haystacks 
and vulgar trees behind the ,st4        
,cecilia at ,bologna form a painful     
contrast to the pure space of mountain  
country in the ,perugino opposite4#gf   
,sec4 #ab4 ,such ,landscape is not to be
 imitated4  ,in all these cases1 while  
,i would uphold the landscape thus      
employed and treated1 as worthy of all  
admiration1 ,i should be sorry to       
advance it for imitation4 ,what is right
 in its mannerism arose from keen       
feeling in the painter3 imitated without
 the same feeling1 it would be painful2 
the only safe mode of following in such 
steps is to attain perfect knowledge of 
nature herself1 and then to suffer our  
own feelings to guide us in the         
selection of what is fitting for any    
particular purpose4 ,every painter ought
 to paint what he himself loves1 not    
what others have loved2 if his mind be  

pure and sweetly toned1 what he loves   
will be lovely2 if otherwise1 no example
 can guide his selection1 no precept    
govern his hand2 and farther let it be  
distinctly observed1 that all this      
mannered landscape is only right under  
the supposition of its being a          
background to some supernatural         
presence2 behind mortal beings it would 
be wrong1 and by itself1 as landscape1  
ridiculous2 and farther1 the chief      
virtue of it results from the exquisite 
refinement of those natural details     
consistent with its character from the  
botanical drawing of the flowers and the
 clearness and brightness of the sky4   
,sec4 #ac4 ,color1 and ,decoration4     
,their use in representations of the    
,supernatural4  ,another mode of        
attaining supernatural character is by  
purity of color almost shadowless1 no   
more darkness being allowed than is     
absolutely necessary for the explanation
 of the forms1 and the vividness of the 
effect enhanced as far as may be by use 

of gilding1 enamel1 and other jewellery4
 ,i think the smaller works of ,angelico
 are perfect models in this respect2 the
 glories about the heads being of beaten
 rays of gold1 on which the light plays 
and changes as the spectator moves2 7and
 which therefore throw the purest flesh 
color out in dark relief7 and such color
 and light being obtained by the        
enamelling of the angel wings as of     
course is utterly unattainable by any   
other expedient of art2 the colors of   
the draperies always pure and pale2     
blue1 rose1 or tender green1 or brown1  
but never dark or gloomy2 the faces of  
the most celestial fairness1 brightly   
flushed3 the height and glow of this    
flush are noticed by ,constantin as     
reserved by the older painters for      
spiritual beings1 as if expressive of   
light seen through the body4  ,i cannot 
think it necessary while ,i insist on   
the value of all these seemingly        
childish means when in the hands of a   
noble painter1 to assert also their     

futility and even absurdity if employed 
by no exalted power4 ,i think the error 
has commonly been on the side of scorn1 
and that we reject much in our foolish  
vanity1 which if wiser and more earnest 
we should delight in4 ,but two points it
 is very necessary to note in the use of
 such accessories4   ,sec4 #ad4         
,decoration so used must be generic4    
,the first that the ornaments used by   
,angelico1 ,giotto1 and ,perugino1 but  
especially by ,angelico1 are always of a
 generic and abstract character4 ,they  
are not diamonds1 nor brocades1 nor     
velvets1 nor gold embroideries2 they are
 mere spots of gold or of color1 simple 
patterns upon textureless draperies2 the
 angel wings burn with transparent      
crimson and purple and amber1 but they  
are not set forth with peacock's plumes2
 the golden circlets gleam with         
changeful light1 but they are not beaded
 with elaborate pearls nor set with     
studied sapphires4  ,in the works of    
,filippino ,lippi1 ,mantegna1 and many  

other painters following1 interesting   
examples may be found of the opposite   
treatment2 and as in ,lippi the heads   
are usually very sweet1 and the         
composition severe1 the degrading effect
 of the realized decorations and        
imitated dress may be seen in him       
simply1 and without any addition of     
painfulness from other deficiencies of  
feeling4 ,the larger of the two pictures
 in the ,tuscan room of the ,uffizii1   
but for this defect1 would have been a  
very noble ideal work4   ,sec4 #ae4 ,and
 color pure4  ,the second point to be   
observed is that brightness of color is 
altogether inadmissible without purity  
and harmony2 and that the sacred        
painters must not be followed in their  
frankness of unshadowed color unless we 
can also follow them in its clearness4  
,as far as ,i am acquainted with the    
modern schools of ,germany1 they seem to
 be entirely ignorant of the value of   
color as an assistant of feeling1 and to
 think that hardness1 dryness1 and      

opacity are its virtues as employed in  
religious art2 whereas ,i hesitate not  
to affirm that in such art more than in 
any other1 clearness1 luminousness and  
intensity of hue are essential to right 
impression2 and from the walls of the   
,arena chapel in their rainbow play of  
brilliant harmonies1 to the solemn      
purple tones of ,perugino's fresco in   
the ,albizzi palace1 ,i know not any    
great work of sacred art which is not as
 precious in color as in all other      
qualities 7unless indeed it be a        
,crucifixion of ,fra ,angelico in the   
,florence ,academy1 which has just been 
glazed and pumiced and painted and      
varnished by the picture-cleaners until 
it glares from one end of the picture   
gallery to the other27 only the pure    
white light and delicate hue of the     
idealists1 whose colors are by          
preference such as we have seen to be   
the most beautiful in the chapter on    
,purity are carefully to be             
distinguished from the golden light and 

deep pitched hue of the school of       
,titian whose virtue is the grandeur of 
earthly solemnity1 not the glory of     
heavenly rejoicing4   ,sec4 #af4 ,ideal 
form of the body itself1 of what variety
 susceptible4  ,but leaving these       
accessory circumstances and touching the
 treatment of the bodily form1 it is    
evident in the first place that whatever
 typical beauty the human body is       
capable of possessing must be bestowed  
upon it when it is understood as        
spiritual4 ,and therefore those general 
proportions and types which are         
deducible from comparison of the nobler 
individuals of the race1 must be adopted
 and adhered to2 admitting among them   
not1 as in the human ideal1 such        
varieties as result from past suffering1
 or contest with sin1 but such only as  
are consistent with sinless nature or   
are the signs of instantly or           
continually operative affections2 for   
though it is conceivable that spirit    
should suffer1 it is inconceivable that 

spiritual frame should retain like the  
stamped inelastic human clay1 the brand 
of sorrow past1 unless fallen4          
,his face1                ,deep scars of
 thunder had entrenched1 and care       
,sat on his faded cheek4  ,yet so far   
forth the angelic ideal is diminished1  
nor could this be suffered in pictorial 
representation4   ,sec4 #ag4 ,anatomical
 development how far admissible4        
,again1 such muscular development as is 
necessary to the perfect beauty of the  
body1 is to be rendered4 ,but that which
 is necessary to strength1 or which     
appears to have been the result of      
laborious exercise1 is inadmissible4 ,no
 herculean form is spiritual1 for it is 
degrading the spiritual creature to     
suppose it operative through impulse of 
bone and sinew2 its power is immaterial 
and constant1 neither dependent on1 nor 
developed by exertion4 ,generally1 it is
 well to conceal anatomical development 
as far as may be2 even ,michael         
,angelo's anatomy interferes with his   

divinity2 in the hands of lower men the 
angel becomes a preparation4 ,how far it
 is possible to subdue or generalize the
 naked form ,i venture not to affirm1   
but ,i believe that it is best to       
conceal it as far as may be1 not with   
draperies light and undulating1 that    
fall in with1 and exhibit its principal 
lines1 but with draperies severe and    
linear1 such as were constantly employed
 before the time of ,raffaelle4 ,i      
recollect no single instance of a naked 
angel that does not look boylike or     
child-like1 and unspiritualized2 even   
,fra ,bartolomeo's might with advantage 
be spared from the pictures at ,lucca1  
and1 in the hands of inferior men1 the  
sky is merely encumbered with sprawling 
infants2 those of ,domenichino in the   
,madonna del ,rosario1 and ,martyrdom of
 ,st4 ,agnes1 are peculiarly offensive1 
studies of bare-legged children howling 
and kicking in volumes of smoke4        
,confusion seems to exist in the minds  
of subsequent painters between ,angels  

and ,cupids4   ,sec4 #ah4 ,symmetry4    
,how valuable4  ,farther1 the qualities 
of symmetry and repose are of peculiar  
value in spiritual form4 ,we find the   
former most earnestly sought by all the 
great painters in the arrangement of the
 hair1 wherein no loosely flowing nor   
varied form is admitted1 but all        
restrained in undisturbed and equal     
ringlets2 often1 as in the infant       
,christ of ,fra ,angelico1 supported on 
the forehead in forms of sculpturesque  
severity4 ,the ,angel of ,masaccio1 in  
the ,deliverance of ,peter1 grand both  
in countenance and motion1 loses much of
 his spirituality because the painter   
has put a little too much of his own    
character into the hair1 and left it    
disordered4   ,sec4 #ai4 ,the influence 
of ,greek art1 how dangerous4  ,sec4    
#bj4 ,its scope1 how limited4  ,of      
repose1 and its exalting power1 ,i have 
already said enough for our present     
purpose1 though ,i have not insisted on 
the peculiar manifestation of it in the 

,christian ideal as opposed to the      
pagan4 ,but this1 as well as other      
questions relating to the particular    
development of the ,greek mind1 is      
foreign to the immediate inquiry1 which 
therefore ,i shall here conclude in the 
hope of resuming it in detail after     
examining the laws of beauty in the     
inanimate creation2 always1 however1    
holding this for certain1 that of       
whatever kind or degree the short coming
 may be1 it is not possible but that    
short coming should be visible in every 
pagan conception1 when set beside       
,christian2 and believing1 for my own   
part1 that there is not only deficiency1
 but such difference in kind as must    
make all ,greek conception full of      
danger to the student in proportion to  
his admiration of it2 as ,i think has   
been fatally seen in its effect on the  
,italian schools1 when its pernicious   
element first mingled with their solemn 
purity1 and recently in its influence on
 the ,french historical painters3       

neither can ,i from my present knowledge
 fix upon an ancient statue which       
expresses by the countenance any one    
elevated character of soul1 or any      
single enthusiastic self-abandoning     
affection1 much less any such majesty of
 feeling as might mark the features for 
supernatural4 ,the ,greek could not     
conceive a spirit2 he could do nothing  
without limbs2 his god is a finite god1 
talking1 pursuing1 and going            
journeys2#gg if at any time he was      
touched with a true feeling of the      
unseen powers around him1 it was in the 
field of poised battle1 for there is    
something in the near coming of the     
shadow of death1 something in the       
devoted fulfilment of mortal duty1 that 
reveals the real ,god1 though darkly2   
that pause on the field of ,plataea was 
not one of vain superstition2 the two   
white figures that blazed along the     
,delphic plain1 when the earthquake and 
the fire led the charge from ,olympus1  
were more than sunbeams on the battle   

dust2 the sacred cloud1 with its lance  
light and triumph singing1 that went    
down to brood over the masts of         
,salamis1 was more than morning mist    
among the olives2 and yet what were the 
,greek's thoughts of his god of battle8 
,no spirit power was in the vision2 it  
was a being of clay strength and human  
passion1 foul1 fierce1 and changeful2 of
 penetrable arms and vulnerable flesh4  
,gather what we may of great1 from pagan
 chisel or pagan dream1 and set it      
beside the orderer of ,christian        
warfare1 ,michael the ,archangel3 not   
,milton's with hostile brow and visage  
all inflamed1 not even ,milton's in     
kingly treading of the hills of         
,paradise1 not ,raffaelle's with the    
expanded wings and brandished spear1 but
 ,perugino's with his triple crest of   
traceless plume unshaken in heaven1 his 
hand fallen on his crossleted sword1 the
 truth girdle binding his undinted      
armor2 ,god has put his power upon him1 
resistless radiance is on his limbs1 no 

lines are there of earthly strength1 no 
trace on the divine features of earthly 
anger2 trustful and thoughtful1         
fearless1 but full of love1 incapable   
except of the repose of eternal         
conquest1 vessel and instrument of      
,omnipotence1 filled like a cloud with  
the victor light1 the dust of           
principalities and powers beneath his   
feet1 the murmur of hell against him    
heard by his spiritual ear like the     
winding of a shell on the far-off       
sea-shore4   ,sec4 #ba4 ,conclusion4    
,it is vain to attempt to pursue the    
comparison2 the two orders of art have  
in them nothing common1 and the field of
 sacred history1 the intent and scope of
 ,christian feeling1 are too wide and   
exalted to admit of the juxtaposition of
 any other sphere or order of           
conception2 they embrace all other      
fields like the dome of heaven4 ,with   
what comparison shall we compare the    
types of the martyr saints1 the ,st4    
,stephen of ,fra ,bartolomeo1 with his  

calm forehead crowned by the stony      
diadem1 or the ,st4 ,catherine of       
,raffaelle looking up to heaven in the  
dawn of the eternal day1 with her lips  
parted in the resting from her pain8 or 
with what the ,madonnas of ,francia and 
,pinturicchio1 in whom the hues of the  
morning and the solemnity of the eve1   
the gladness in accomplished promise1   
and sorrow of the sword-pierced heart1  
are gathered into one human lamp of     
ineffable love8 or with what the angel  
choirs of ,angelico1 with the flames on 
their white foreheads waving brighter as
 they move1 and the sparkles streaming  
from their purple wings like the glitter
 of many suns upon a sounding sea1      
listening1 in the pauses of alternate   
song1 for the prolonging of the trumpet 
blast1 and the answering of psaltery and
 cymbal1 throughout the endless deep and
 from all the star shores of heaven8    
,,footnotes    #ge ,i take no note of   
the representation of evil spirits1     
since     throughout we have been       

occupied in the pursuit of beauty2 but  
it     may be observed generally that   
there is great difficulty to be         
overcome in attempts of this kind1      
because the elevation of the form       
necessary to give it spirituality       
destroys the appearance of evil2        
hence even the greatest painters have   
been reduced to receive aid     from the
 fancy1 and to eke out all they could   
conceive of malignity     by help of    
horns1 hoofs1 and claws4 ,giotto's      
,satan in the ,campo     ,santo1 with   
the serpent gnawing the heart1 is fine2 
so many of the     fiends of ,orcagna1  
and always those of ,michael ,angelo4   
,tintoret in     the ,temptation1 with  
his usual truth of invention1 has       
represented     the evil spirit under   
the form of a fair angel1 the wings     
burning     with crimson and silver1 the
 face sensual and treacherous4 ,it is   
instructive to compare the results of   
imagination associated with     powerful
 fancy in the demons of these great     

painters1 or even in     such nightmares
 as that of ,salvator already spoken of1
 ,sect4 ,i4     ,chap4 ,v4 ,sec4 #ab    
7note17 with the simple ugliness of     
idiotic distortion     in the           
meaningless terrorless monsters of      
,bronzino in the large     picture of   
the ,uffizii1 where the painter1 utterly
 uninventive1     having assembled all  
that is abominable of hanging flesh1    
bony     limbs1 crane necks1 staring    
eyes1 and straggling hair1 cannot yet by
     the sum and substance of all obtain
 as much real fearfulness as an         
imaginative painter could throw into the
 turn of a lip or the     knitting of a 
brow4    #gf ,i have not thought it     
necessary to give farther instances at  
present1 since ,i purpose hereafter to  
give numerous examples of this     kind 
of ideal landscape4 ,of true and noble  
landscape1 as such1 ,i am     aware of  
no instances except where least they    
might have been     expected1 among the 
sea-bred ,venetians4 ,ghirlandajo shows 

keen1     though prosaic1 sense of      
nature in that view of ,venice behind an
     ,adoration of ,magi in the         
,uffizii1 but he at last walled himself 
up     among gilded entablatures4       
,masaccio indeed has given one grand    
example in the fresco of the ,tribute   
,money1 but its color is now     nearly 
lost4    #gg ,i know not anything in the
 range of art more unspiritual than     
the ,apollo ,belvidere2 the raising of  
the fingers of the right hand     in    
surprise at the truth of the arrow is   
altogether human1 and would     be      
vulgar in a prince1 much more in a      
deity4 ,the sandals destroy the         
divinity of the foot1 and the lip is    
curled with mortal passion4             
,,addenda4   ,although the plan of the  
present portion of this work does not   
admit of particular criticism1 it will  
neither be useless nor irrelevant to    
refer to one or two works1 lately before
 the public1 in the ,exhibitions of the 
,royal ,academy1 which either           

illustrate1 or present exceptions to1   
any of the preceding statements4 ,i     
would first mention1 with reference to  
what has been advanced respecting the   
functions of ,associative ,imagination1 
the very important work of ,mr4         
,linnell1 the ,eve of the ,deluge2 a    
picture upheld by its admirers 7and     
these were some of the most intelligent 
judges of the day7 for a work of        
consummate imaginative power2 while it  
was pronounced by the public journals to
 be a chaos of unconcocted color4 ,if   
the writers for the press had been aware
 of the kind of study pursued by ,mr4   
,linnell through many laborious years1  
characterized by an observance of nature
 scrupulously and minutely patient1     
directed by the deepest sensibility1 and
 aided by a power of drawing almost too 
refined for landscape subjects1 and only
 to be understood by reference to his   
engravings after ,michael ,angelo1 they 
would have felt it to be unlikely that  
the work of such a man should be        

entirely undeserving of respect4 ,on the
 other hand1 the grounds of its praise  
were unfortunately chosen2 for1 though  
possessing many merits1 it had no claim 
whatever to be ranked among productions 
of ,creative art4 ,it would perhaps be  
difficult to point to a work so exalted 
in feeling1 and so deficient in         
invention4 ,the sky had been strictly   
taken from nature1 this was evident at a
 glance2 and as a study of sky it was   
every way noble4 ,to the purpose of the 
picture it hardly contributed2 its      
sublimity was that of splendor1 not of  
terror2 and its darkness that of        
retreating1 not of gathering1 storm4    
,the features of the landscape were     
devoid alike of variety and probability2
 the division of the scene by the       
central valley and winding river at once
 theatrical and commonplace2 and the    
foreground1 on which the light was      
intense1 alike devoid of dignity in     
arrangement1 and of interest in detail4 
,the falseness or deficiency of color in

 the works of ,mr4 ,landseer has been   
remarked above4 ,the writer has much    
pleasure in noticing a very beautiful   
exception in the picture of the ,random 
,shot1 certainly the most successful    
rendering he has ever seen of the hue of
 snow under warm but subdued light4 ,the
 subtlety of gradation from the portions
 of the wreath fully illumined1 to those
 which1 feebly tinged by the horizontal 
rays1 swelled into a dome of dim purple1
 dark against the green evening sky2 the
 truth of the blue shadows1 with which  
this dome was barred1 and the depth of  
delicate color out of which the lights  
upon the footprints were raised1        
deserved the most earnest and serious   
admiration2 proving1 at the same time1  
that the errors in color1 so frequently 
to be regretted in the works of the     
painter1 are the result rather of       
inattention than of feeble perception4  
,a curious proof of this inattention    
occurs in the disposition of the shadows
 in the background of the ,old ,cover   

,hack1 ,no4 #bbi4 ,one of its points of 
light is on the rusty iron handle of a  
pump1 in the shape of an ,s4 ,the sun   
strikes the greater part of its length1 
illuminating the perpendicular portion  
of the curve2 yet shadow is only cast on
 the wall behind by the returning       
portion of the lower extremity4 ,a smile
 may be excited by the notice of so     
trivial a circumstance2 but the         
simplicity of the error renders it the  
more remarkable1 and the great masters  
of chiaroscuro are accurate in all such 
minor points2 a vague sense of greater  
truth results from this correctness1    
even when it is not in particulars      
analyzed or noted by the observer4 ,in  
the small but very valuable ,paul       
,potter in ,lord ,westminster's         
collection1 the body of one of the sheep
 under the hedge is for the most part in
 shadow1 but the sunlight touches the   
extremity of the back4 ,the sun is low1 
and the shadows feeble and distorted2   
yet that of the sunlighted fleece is    

cast exactly in its true place and      
proportion beyond that of the hedge4    
,the spectator may not observe this2    
yet1 unobserved1 it is one of the       
circumstances which make him feel the   
picture to be full of sunshine4  ,as an 
example of perfect color1 and of the    
most refined handling ever perhaps      
exhibited in animal painting1 the       
,butcher's ,dog in the corner of ,mr4   
,mulready's ,butt1 ,no4 #afj1 deserved a
 whole room of the ,academy to himself4 
,this1 with the spaniel in the ,choosing
 the ,wedding ,gown1 and the two dogs in
 the hayfield subject 7,burchell and    
,sophia71 displays perhaps the most     
wonderful1 because the most dignified1  
finish in the expression of anatomy and 
covering--of muscle and hide at once1   
and assuredly the most perfect unity of 
drawing and color1 which the entire     
range of ancient and modern art can     
exhibit4 ,albert ,durer is indeed the   
only rival who might be suggested2 and1 
though greater far in imagination1 and  

equal in draughtsmanship1 ,albert ,durer
 was less true and less delicate in hue4
 ,in sculpturesque arrangement both     
masters show the same degree of feeling3
 any of these dogs of ,mulready might be
 taken out of the canvas and cut in     
alabaster1 or1 perhaps better1 struck   
upon a coin4 ,every lock and line of the
 hair has been grouped as it is on a    
,greek die2 and if this not always      
without some loss of ease and of action1
 yet this very loss is ennobling1 in a  
period when all is generally sacrificed 
to the great coxcombry of art1 the      
affectation of ease4  ,yet ,mr4         
,mulready himself is not always free    
from affectation of some kind2          
mannerism1 at least1 there is in his    
treatment of tree trunks4 ,there is a   
ghastliness about his labored anatomies 
of them1 as well as a want of specific  
character4 ,why need they be always     
flayed8 ,the hide of a beech tree1 or of
 a birch or fir1 is nearly as fair a    
thing as an animal's2 glossy as a dove's

 neck barred with black like a zebra1 or
 glowing in purple grey and velvet brown
 like furry cattle in sunset4 ,why not  
paint these as ,mr4 ,mulready paints    
other things1 as they are8 ,that        
simplest1 that deepest of all secrets1  
which gives such majesty to the ragged  
leaves about the edges of the pond in   
the ,gravel-pit4 7,no4 #abe471 and      
imparts a strange interest to the grey  
ragged urchins disappearing behind the  
bank1 that bank so low1 so familiar1 so 
sublime6 ,what a contrast between the   
deep sentiment of that commonest of all 
common1 homeliest of all homely1        
subjects1 and the lost sentiment of ,mr4
 ,stanfield's ,amalfi the chief         
landscape of the year1 full of exalted  
material1 and mighty crags1 and massy   
seas1 grottoes1 precipices1 and         
convents1 fortress-towers and           
cloud-capped mountains1 and all in vain1
 merely because that same simple secret 
has been despised2 because nothing there
 is painted as it is6 ,the picture was a

 most singular example of the scenic    
assemblage of contradictory theme which 
is characteristic of ,picturesque1 as   
opposed to ,poetical1 composition4 ,the 
lines chosen from ,rogers for a titular 
legend were full of summer1 glowing with
 golden light1 and toned with quiet     
melancholy3                         ,to 
him who sails             ,under the    
shore1 a few white villages1            
,scattered above1 below1 some in the    
clouds1             ,some on the margin 
of the dark blue sea1             ,and  
glittering thro' their lemon groves1    
announce             ,the region of     
,amalfi4 ,then1 half-fallen1            
,a lonely watch-tower on the precipice1 
,their ancient landmark1 comes--long may
 it last6             ,and to the       
seaman1 in a distant age1               
,though now he little thinks how large  
his debt1             ,serve for their  
monument4  ,prepared by these lines for 
a dream upon deep1 calm waters1 under   
the shadow and scent of the close lemon 

leaves1 the spectator found himself     
placed by the painter1 wet through1 in a
 noisy fishing boat1 on a splashing sea1
 with just as much on his hands as he   
could manage to keep her gunwale from   
being stove in against a black rock2 and
 with a heavy grey squall to windward4  
7,this squall1 by the by1 was the very  
same which appeared in the picture of   
the ,magra of #ahdg1 and so were the    
snowy mountains above2 only the squall  
at ,amalfi entered on the left1 and at  
the ,magra on the right47 ,now the      
scenery of ,amalfi is impressive alike  
in storm or calm1 and the writer has    
seen the ,mediterranean as majestic and 
as southern-looking in its rage as in   
its rest4 ,but it is treating both the  
green water and woods unfairly to       
destroy their peace without expressing  
their power2 and withdraw from them     
their sadness and their sun1 without the
 substitution of any effect more        
terrific than that of a squall at the   
,nore4 ,the snow on the distant         

mountains chilled what it could not     
elevate1 and was untrue to the scene    
besides2 there is no snow on the ,monte 
,st4 ,angelo in summer except what is   
kept for the ,neapolitan confectioners4 
,the great merit of the picture was its 
rock-painting2 too good to have required
 the aid of the exaggeration of forms   
which satiated the eye throughout the   
composition4  ,mr4 ,f4 ,r4              
,pickersgill's ,contest of ,beauty 7,no4
 #eae471 and ,mr4 ,uwins's ,vineyard    
,scene in the ,south of ,france1 were1  
after ,mr4 ,mulready's works1 among the 
most interesting pieces of color in the 
,exhibition4 ,the former1 very rich and 
sweet in its harmonies1 and especially  
happy in its contrasts of light and dark
 armor2 nor less in the fancy of the    
little ,love who1 losing his hold of the
 orange boughs1 was falling             
ignominiously without having time to    
open his wings4 ,the latter was a       
curious example of what ,i have         
described as abstraction of color4      

,strictly true or possible it was not2 a
 vintage is usually a dusty and         
dim-looking procedure2 but there were   
poetry and feeling in ,mr4 ,uwins's     
idealization of the sombre black of the 
veritable grape into a luscious         
ultramarine purple1 glowing among the   
green leaves like so much painted glass4
 ,the figures were bright and graceful  
in the extreme and most happily grouped4
 ,little else that could be called color
 was to be seen upon the walls of the   
,exhibition1 with the exception of the  
smaller works of ,mr4 ,etty4 ,of these1 
the single head1 ,morning ,prayer1 7,no4
 #be471 and the ,still ,life 7,no4      
#gc471 deserved1 allowing for their     
peculiar aim1 the highest praise4 ,the  
larger subjects1 more especially the    
,st4 ,john1 were wanting in the merits  
peculiar to the painter2 and in other   
respects it is alike painful and useless
 to allude to them4 ,a very important   
and valuable work of ,mr4 ,harding was  
placed1 as usual1 where its merits could

 be but ill seen1 and where its chief   
fault1 a feebleness of color in the     
principal light on the distant hills1   
was apparent4 ,it was one of the very   
few views of the year which were        
transcripts1 nearly without             
exaggeration1 of the features of the    
localities4  ,among the less conspicuous
 landscapes1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,e4 ,dighton's    
,hay ,meadow ,corner deserved especial  
notice2 it was at once vigorous1 fresh1 
faithful1 and unpretending1 the         
management of the distance most         
ingenious1 and the painting of the      
foreground1 with the single exception of
 ,mr4 ,mulready's above noticed1        
unquestionably the best in the room4 ,i 
have before had occasion to notice a    
picture by this artist1 ,a ,hayfield in 
a ,shower1 exhibited in the ,british    
,institution in #ahdg1 and this year    
7#ahdh7 in the ,scottish ,academy1 whose
 sky1 in qualities of rainy1 shattered1 
transparent grey1 ,i have seldom seen   
equalled2 nor the mist of its distance1 

expressive alike of previous heat and   
present heat of rain4 ,i look with much 
interest for other works by this        
painter4  ,a hurried visit to ,scotland 
in the spring of this year1 while it    
enables the writer to acknowledge the   
ardor and genius manifested in very many
 of the works exhibited in the ,scottish
 ,academy1 cannot be considered as      
furnishing him with sufficient grounds  
for specific criticism4 ,he cannot1     
however1 err in testifying his          
concurrence in the opinion expressed to 
him by several of the most distinguished
 members of that ,academy1 respecting   
the singular merit of the works of ,mr4 
,h4 ,drummond4 ,a cabinet picture of    
,banditti on the ,watch1 appeared to him
 one of the most masterly1 unaffected1  
and sterling pieces of quiet painting he
 has ever seen from the hand of a living
 artist2 and the other works of ,mr4    
,drummond were alike remarkable for     
their manly and earnest finish1 and     
their sweetness of feeling4         99  

99       99       99       99           
,,corrections ,,made ,,to ,,the         
,,original ,,text4  ,page #ih3 'wherein 
the superioity' corrected to            
superiority4  ,page #abi3 ',convent of  
,st4 ,marks' corrected to mark's  ,page 
#aei3 'had not been hoplessly' corrected
 to hopelessly4  ,page #bah3 'in the    
landscape of the fresco in ,sta4'       
originally ,sta4  ,page #bbf3 'alike    
devoid of dignity in arrangement'       
originally arrangemen  ,footnote #dj3   
',de la ,poesie ,chretienne'1 accented  
to be in accordance                 with
 text4