The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1856-08-28

NATURE AND USE OF BEAUTY.

We lind that Michael Angelo declares him
sci devoted to beauty as the end of Art, while
of the absolutely beautiful, as distinguished
by our theory, he seems TO have bad scarcely
a perception. Cousin speaks distinctly Of
1.-TWO forms Of beauty, the beautiful and the
sublime" Ruskin, and most others, entirely
ignore the sublime as essentially distinguish
ed from the beautiful. Burke alone makes
the distinction clearly. In our analysis we
believe that we have indicated the cause Of
this for, of the two elements Of the Divine
nature, Love and Wisdom, it is the Love
which especially and necessarily claims our
thought and feeling, which is the life of all
things that exist, the motive Of creation, of
preservation, and redemption the sum OF
the articles of faith of all religious being, in
deed, "God is Love-" And so amongst
ourselves, as the children of Him, we End
that love is the secret spring of all worthy
acts or works, the life of ali true and lofty
lives, while power, which comes of wisdom,
and even wisdom itself, are useless, except as
the instruments of accomplishing the ends
which love has in view. Love is the end !;
Wisdom the means and herein lies the secret
of this obscuring of the sublime to our spirit
ual vision, fits being always oyershadowed
by the beautiful. We shall accept this indi-
cation SO far as to simplify our discussion of
pi actical part of tie subject, by leaving out
the Sublime from it, since in everything that
pertains to the reception and effect on the
soul of impression of Sublimity and Beauty,
the laws and the analoges are the same.-
They are alike involuntary and independent
Of pure, intellectual cognlion or examination,
nj - IL.
awakening /; one being, if our theory holds,
the intuitiye understanding of the signs of the
Divine Wisdom in Creation the other Of the
Divine Love: remember, not the rational
conviction that they are such and such signs
or symbols-a conviction which can only
come by intellectual Investigations and logical
deductions, but just such an understanding
as child has OF good soul when it sees
kindly and gentle Unexpectedly realized,
though not one line could be explained -
And as therefore, whatever is tue in princi.
pie, is true of the other, and capable of indif-
ferent application, we shall omit any further
consideration Of the Sublime returning 10
Beauty, snd leaving the application OF our
conclusion to Sublimity. to the reader.
In character;zing impressions of beauty as
=. Va NO' Wv P.'u'HV oi Ih'ei!eclusl &c
.,on' we iesVe no o'ner position possible thsn
mat u they Shou!u pe' IN some wise, sensations.
Du' d 'ney DO not exist IN u bodily sense; for
'ne eye may see beautiful OBJECT, and yet
not convey an impression Of its beauty to the
mind. For example, il number of persons
zee 3 l"ce distinguished ior spiritual beauty
or real beauty some will fad that beauty
nuo l;ua. SOG OuS %l NOT. tnough al see the same
ms ~ lo'ns, 70 some tney are genuine
s;..nIo p,I' 49,. ~ o1ne's "o'ilhg' Inc reason Is
~. ~: ?uS " eUouHeSs' ot oi ''rNuo'
~ ~ 0... 49, 'n..'5'0,e ~ 'GoSe VINO Hno" "hat
on on ou vi ,II'ue Is, NH'ch they only
p,s,; Inu ~ "no posStaS ~ III themselves as
-sIeiu ~ oy Inc seeing ana
'orui .! 'De pecer part OF the soul
" 'nas III VI "iIioh 1t noS' afSI know the sweet
n,moh aLu so0uness IN i'sHN' peiore can
naIL ue',,e' oi i'en'y nhu' 'he signs OF 1t
,a,T - 80 rh;,h T. rs ,s' tnen 'ne noral nature II
o.t,;br',a "f 10 '"e en'ol.un VI oeaury' eac1
u..:";, o' ,rat nS'ure "aheh'ng 10 HE ana
a. 'no .a.l @ VI 10 sISter ilSui'y III an
Rao,. NM h;aI a a';el'u 1nlousn 'he Phase oil
lii - "n.n 49, 10 PoPei Ga eAPiess,on-ue
aI ~ eo We on'y oecome
4, VI ceHu'y aS we possess anu FOSTER
hao, ov qu"ns'tS ',o ~nien are tne causes oi the
$50 UuG Just 90 surrey as virtue ana good-
siIa 3 III "a al hs is s so.ns' are oeautliul Wnen MADE
,nraln mo onI. on 'aSo ho VI urn oi humanity SO
wy o.'onio seeiS Vi beauty oy
Rusklip. "No intellsc orero,;on h,ros s"y
m, "Pi"n - heio vi