The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

tae Beautiful in .1V ature, Art, and fife. _By An-
drew James Symint;t,-Jo. 2 vols.
The subject selected far these volumes is one
eminently fitted to excite the enthusiasm of the
imtp;inative and the interest of every cultivated
mind. It embraces all ti:at is- noble and elevating
in to worlds of the Real and the Idea,', all that
charms and fascinates the senses with all that at-
tracts and moves man's deeper feelings, and it
claims a baud of votaries which includes all who
have.. won themselves a place in the Temple of
Fame, no matter in what degree or by what profes-
sion, so long as they have won it worthily. The
author is evidently impressed by the magnitude
and harmony of his subject, and he treats it in a
fitting spirit. If his writings show the traces of
excited fervour and undisciplined enthusiasm, it is
at least only for the really beautiful and elevated,
not misled by the trappings of worldly success or
deceived by the specious sophistries of subtle phi-
losophers. If we meet the signs of an early work
in the style and character of the volumes we find
also its freshness and vigour ; if we differ from the
degrees of literary honour conferred, we find no
carping criticism, no ungenerous disparagement.
Au enthusiastic lover of the Beautiful, whether in
the marvels of Nature, the chef-d'a;uvres of the
Artist, the systems of the Philosopher, or the life
of the earnest Christian, is apparent in every page;
a full sense of the harmony of all that is beautiful
with all that isgood, a correct and discriminating taste
and an extended acquaintance with Literature and
Art are equally manifest, and, indeed, necessitated
by the subject. The writer soars so high above the
bounds which some narrow minds would interpose
between Art and Religion, that he loses sight of
them altogether. fie perceives their fitness and
sympathy—he anticipates their eternal union. As
he gazes on the mighty shadows of the Past—as he
watches the advance of the Present—as he looks
forward to the heights which shall be climbed by
the coming ages, the limits of epoch, creel, and
country fade away from lets sight, and he recognises in
the glowing colours of the Painter, in the thrilling
sounds of the great Musician, in the stately pips of
the Architect, in the wisdom of the Sage, in the
immortal words of the Poet, and, above all, in the
acted poem of a complete and high-principled life--
parts in the grand onward procession of the human
race, from the darkness of barbaric ages to the
climax of its final development. He opens his
work with an i troduetory essay on the Philosophy
of the Beautiful, and then proceeds to trace its
übiquitous presence in nature. It needs little logic
to trace the Divine origin and influence of this de-
pattment. He then proceeds to trace its existence
and progress in Art, seeking it through Architec-
ture, Sculpture, Painting, Poetry, and Music,
and then devoting a final treatise to the
influence of true Christianity, uninfluenced by
sectarian feeling or formalism, in harmonising and
elevating the discordant principles of human na-
ture. It must not be supposed that the whole cf
his work consists of rhapsodies on the wonders of
Art and Nature ; he treats of the rise and develop-
ment of each art, its early origin and the careers of
its great masters, its various schools and the coun-
tries and eras in which it has most flourished. in
treating of Nature, again, he gives copious extracts
from standard writers, descriptive of some of its
marvellous effects. His poetical quotations are
met with at every page, indeed, they are almost too
frequent, but they aregathered from such a variety
of sources and harmonize so well with the subject
that the reader can scarcely complain. The author
has rejoiced to trace the unison between great minds
and his own impressions, and hastens to secure
their testimony to the truth of his assertions and
deductions. It is in every respect a remarkable
and original production, bold in its aspirations and
unique in its character. Its tendency is to elevate
and- refine, to kindle a warmer admiration for all
that is good and beautiful, to embody in one work
a faint outline of au everlasting subject. It is a
work that does honour to its writer, and when time
and experience Lave condensed and modified his
style, and given a more extended character to his
partialities and opinions, we shall look for other
Works from his pen which shall place him high
among our prose writers. He is eminently fitted
for any that require taste and talent, and a combina-
tion, which is rare, of an enthusiastic reverence and
admiration for Art, with a sound ethical philosophy

MALLET'S 3G-LVCII MORTARS ANI) SHELLS,