felt upon such appearances; that the emotion of Beauty would be a simple and unassociated sentiment; and that language every where would have conveyed it with the same unity and accuracy, as it does the sentiments of right or wrong, of justice or injustice.

If, on the contrary, our sense of the Beauty of such forms or colours, is dependent upon their relation to a general expression; if our sentiment of their Beauty varies with that relation; and if the same forms and colours that are beautiful in one case are not beautiful in others, then it ought to follow, that our consciousness and our language (as expressive of that consciousness) should vary with the different circumstances of composition; that instead of one peculiar emotion of Beauty, we should experience as many different emotions of Beauty as the qualities of the Human mind can excite; that the Countenance of each sex, and of every age, should be

susceptible of Beauty wherever the composition of its features, &c. corresponded with the character we expected and wished; and that no Countenance should be felt, or be expressed by us, as beautiful, but when the conformation of the various features and colours, corresponded with the characteristic, or temporary character, which we wished and expected under the circumstances in which we perceived them,

Which of these two theories is the most just, or the most correspondent to our plain and common experience, I willingly leave to my readers to determine.

From the Illustrations I have offered in this Chapter, with regard to the origin of the Beauty of the Human Countenance, there are some general Conclusions which seem to follow, which it may not be unuseful to the observers of Nature to attend to; and to the Artists who are engaged in the

representation of beautiful Nature to re

member.

I.

There seem to be three distinct sources of the Beauty or Sublimity of the Countenance of Man.

1st, From Physical Beauty, or the Beauty of certain Colours and Forms, considered simply as Forms or Colours.

2d, From the Beauty of Expression and Character; or that habitual Form of Features and Colour of Complexion, which, from experience, we consider as significant of those habitual Dispositions of the human Mind, which we love, or approve, or admire. And, 3d, From the Beauty of Emotion; or the Expression of certain local or temporary Affections of Mind, which we approve, or love, or admire.

II.

Each of these Species of Beauty will be

perfect, when the Composition of the Countenance is such as to preserve, pure and unmingled, the Expression which it predominantly conveys; and when no Feature or Colour is admitted, but which is subservient to the Unity of this Expression.

III

The last or highest degree of Beauty or Sublimity of the Human Countenance, will alone be attained when all these Expressions are united; when the physical Beauty corresponds to the Characteristic; when the Beauty of temporary Emotion harmonizes with the Beauty of Character; and when all fall upon the heart of the Spectator as one whole, in which Matter, in all its most exquisite Forms, is only felt as the sign of one great or amiable Character of Mind.

SECTION III.

Of the Beauty and Sublimity of the Human Form.

THE same principle which leads us to ascribe the Beauty of inanimale Forms to some one original and independent confi guration of beautiful form, has a tendency to mislead us with regard to the Beauty of the Human Form. In some species of form we perceive Beauty; in others, we perceive none. Of so uniform an effect we believe there must be an equally uniform cause; and as the apparent cause is in the nature and circumstances of the Material Form, we very naturally satisfy the indolence of inquiry, by supposing that there must be some one appearance or character of this Material Form which is originally beautiful; and that, of consequence, the ab