The American patriot., 1855-12-01
Cultivation of Taste.

tion as 70 what constitutes Taste; but assum-
ing that oil understand Mr.. Webster when he
defines ii judgment: nice perception; the
faculty Of discerning beauty. order, congruity,
symmetry, or whatever constitutes excellence"
DC. We propose to suggest few thoughts
upon its cultivation. At the. outset we meet
the following objections 1T is waste Of
time, and promotes luxury says Economy;
'Cui bono" says Utility.
Ifit were the highest end of life simply to
anass gold, or to be slave to constant labor,
such cultivation might be considered loss Of
time. And if it were desirable that society |
should make no advance from the savage state,
it might properly be considered promoter of
luxury. But no one will say that his Maker
has brought him into being, merely to breath,
eat, drink, grow sick, take physic, and de-
For what end has man been endowed with no.
bic faculties? For what end has the eye been
fitted up with such exquisite mechanism, un.
less it be that it should delight in seeing; or
the ear, save that it may delight in hearing
Coarser instruments than these might assist us
sufficiently to buy, and sell, and get gain.
But it is true that good taste, is an expensive
attribute? May it not promote real utility
real happiness? We think that it may 1t
will nerve the peasant, to make the cottage the
abode Of comfort; while sloth is folding the
hands for little more sleep, he will prevent
the steps of the morning, that he may train the
woodbine or honey-suckle over his low porch,
and surround his home with numberless little
conveniences, andsources ofpleasure, of which
his idle neighbor is ignorant. 1t will also res
train the extrayagances of afi1ucnce, and lead
to the fountains Of permanent happiness.
Taste has, frequently, for its object works of
Art. Nature, many suppose, may be studied
with some propriety, but Art they reject as
entirely superficial. But what is the fact? Tn
the highest sense, Art is the child of Nature,
and is most admired when it preserves the
likeness Of its parent. Tradition tells us that
the harp was first suggested by the vibration
Of dead turtles sinews which Apollo found
on the banks of the Nile, and the flute, by the
marshes of the same river. Are the pagados
of Burmah any thing more than an improve
ment on the rude tent of the Tartar? Is not
the proudest ship that rides the sea only per-
fection of the canoe Of the savage? Are not
Gothic churches only an advance on the forests,
Gods first temples, s,-the drop-roof an imita-
ton of hanging boughs. s.---thc stained windows,
an attempt to counterfeit asunset sky sending
its light through the interstices of waving fo-
liage? In Painting, it is always the aim of the
artist to copy nature and, other things being
the same, his success is in exact proportion
to his skill in imitation. Why does he love to
represent the unaffected positions Of children,
rather than the stiff attitude and awkward
grimace of men? 1t is unnecessary to answer.
The same principles apply to music, poetry,
and all the arts. Ifthese things be so, does
not the man who objects to the study of art,
virtually oppose the study Of nature?
Of all the benefits arising from the cultiva-
ton Of correct taste, we cannot now attempt
an enumeration. 1t fits us to estimate better
the world in which we live That the universe
was designed by its Creator to afford happi-
ness to man, cannot be denied. It's adaptation
to his physical and intellectual organization,
strikes the observer at first survey. God
might have made the earth monstrous plain,
of one color, without flower or bird. Instead
of hanging over us by day, tent of many
tinted clouds, and by night, a curtain Of azure,
he might have made the sky ola gloomy, un-
changeable hue, with little beneath it to pro-
mote the well-being Of his rational creation.
But how far otherwise is the fact How pro-
digal is Nature in her gifts How all things
contribute to render us happy!
sMore servants wait on man
Than he'll take notice Of
But he who does not cultivate discernment
of these things walks blindfolded over the
earth. This beautiful adaptation, running
through all nature brings such an one few
thrills of pleasure. In his estimation, Niagara
furnishes excellent water-privileges; and his
perception is about as accurate as that of the
blind man who thought that the color of scar
let must be something like the sound of a trun,.
pet!
The cultivation of Taste is but cultivation
Of the entire man. Who can doubt that Poe.
try has tendency to polish the ronghnst ma
ture and impart new and pure aspirations
Will not he who has just conceptions of the
true and the beautiful, shrink from whatever
is low and degrading, sooner than he who has
no such conceptions? And who will affirm thai
Music has no influence in making men better
Taste rocked the Cradle of Music and Poetry,
and led them on to their present maturity.
To comprehend fully the influence of true
taste (and we here use it in its enlarged accep
tation,) we need only for moment TO supnoss
the world destitute of it. How cold and desc