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shall be unfolded to his astonished eyes;—when the laws which regulate all orders of created beings shall be fully developed and clearly comprehended, and man shall learn the true constitution of the world he now inhabits, from the time when discordant matter first obeyed thy Almighty word, and was called into harand order, to the last awful period of its exist

mony ence !

CLASS THE FIFTH.

POLITE LITERATURE AND ARTS.

CHAPTER I.

TASTE.

THE abuse of words is a very frequent and just subject of complaint among those, who endeavour to communicate knowledge, and rectify misconception. There are some, which are used in a manner so extremely vague and fluctuating, as not to convey any precise or exact meaning. This remark cannot be applied to any word with more propriety than to TASTE: for as it passes current in common language, if its meaning can be at all fixed to any definite idea, it denotes no more than singularity, or fastidious refinement; and is often employed to express any predilection for objects, which the most capricious mind can form, without the least reference to their utility, ornament, or beauty.

In order therefore to give an exact idea of a word, which must necessarily occur very frequently in the course of this and the following chapter, it is necessary to premise, that by taste is intended to be understood

the power which the mind possesses, of relishing the beauties found in the works of nature and art,

"Say what is Taste, but the internal powers,
Active and strong, and feelingly alive
To each fine impulse? a discerning sense
Of decent and sublime, with quick disgust
From things deform'd.”—Akenside.

As we consider taste as a general principle, natural to every mind which possesses the faculties of judgment and sensibility in a competent degree, we cannot suppose that it is confined to the polished part of mankind. On the contrary, it is as common to a rude state of society, as it is to an early period of life. The wild tribes, who inhabit the interior parts of Amerìca, contemplate their extensive lakes with astonishment, and gaze upon the starry heavens with delight. There is a majesty and a vastness in these objects of nature, which affect the soul through the medium of the eye, and impress it with great ideas. The same savages decorate themselves with shells and feathers of various colours, compose songs of love and war in rude numbers, and adapt them to the animating sounds of different instruments of musick. With similar indications of pleasure children discover a fondness for the beauties of nature, and for all kinds of imitation; the most imperfect drawings and figures of animals, bright colours, and every species of novelty give them great delight; and they listen with admiration to the singing of birds, or the murmur of a cascade. So extensive are the general perceptions of beauty, harmony, and imitation, that they seem as natural to the human mind, as the universal principles of justice and truth.

But although education is not essential to the existence of taste, it is absolutely necessary in order to bring it to maturity. This plant, which grows in many soils, must be reared with care, to be brought to perfection in any. Its progress towards refinement is exactly in proportion to the activity of the mind, the extent of its observations, and the improvement of general knowledge. In phlegmatic persons it is languid and inactive, and is rather a passive acquiescence in the discoveries of others, than an original perception of their own. From a constitutional indifference, or a dullness of organs, they are slow in deciding upon the beauty of any object presented to them; and when they finally decide, they often express themselves in vague and unappropriate language, which conveys only some confused notions of satisfaction. They pronounce the same opinion of objects the most dissimilar; they say equally of a minature picture and St. Paul's Catedral, that they are "charming, or very fine ;" and thus conceal the indistinctness of their ideas, or their want of sensibility, under the convenient disguise of indiscriminate and general terms.

A refined taste depends upon sensibility for its acuteness, and upon judgment for its correctness. Sensibility may be compared to the quickness of the eye, which extends its rapid glance to the largest objects, and yet can discern even the most minute. It renders the mind alive to all the impressions made by external objects, as it is powerfully affected by every surrounding scene. This amiable quality is the source of the benevolent affections, and animates the soul with pity, love, friendship, and benevolence. As any of these virtues may degenerate into weakness, from an excess of sensibility, so likewise the decisions on the works of art

may be fantastic and frivolous, unless they are regulated by cool and deliberate judgment. These principles of true taste stand in need of mutual aid, since the determinations of the judgment are cold and lifeless by themselves, and each effort of sensibility is liable to degenerate into a blind impulse, if not attended by the approbation of the judgment. If the precision of Aristotle had been enlivened by such warm feelings as those of Longinus, his celebrated Treatise on Poetry would have possessed more attractions; and if Longinus had restrained the flights of his fancy with the logical precision of the Stagyrite, he would have defined the various beauties of composition with more accuracy, and left a more perfect work.

A relish for those obvious beauties, which strike the senses, depends upon a greater or less degree of sensibility; but in order to form a just and correct opinion of a work of genius, so many circumstances must be brought under consideration, so many qualities and relations of objects ought to be remarked, discriminated, and compared; and the design of the writer or artist ought to be so well ascertained, and such an enlarged observation both of nature and art are absolutely requisite, that no one who is not possessed of sound judgment and enlarged experience, is qualified to pass a publick and authoritative opinion.

And as judgment refines and matures the principle of taste, it follows from the gradual improvement of that faculty of the mind, that taste is capable of very high improvement. A child is pleased with the most incorrect imitations of the human figure: as he grows older he derives greater pleasure from more perfect resemblances; he looks with indifference or contempt upon what he at first admired, and smiles at his own

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