The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1870-02-26
The Beautiful.
BY HENRY WARD BEECHER

There seeds of all good thingsin every man
even if they never sprout just as the soil, thirty
feet below the surface, is full of seeds that only
need TO be brought to the air and light to swell
and germnae. Every man has in him feeling
for beauty. For want of feeding it lies dormant
or has an irregular and causual Development
A coarse and rude man glories in brilliant ro-
sette his horses bride. He is careless OF his
own dress, but polishes The harness on his team
and is vain of the admiration which it exci,es. =
There are few men who carry their need OF beau
ty into everything there are few who do not
show the love of beauty in some things.
One mans beautiful is not anotler's The en-
gineer sees beauty ia machinery, the turfman
sees it almost only in his horse the artist with
wider taste finds it in the whole material world,
the philosopher in processes of thought, and the
good man is enraptured with the beamy OF holi-
ness"
Refinement is only truth and goodness with
the element Of beauty added. He only is wholly
refined who carries the beautiful with him into
every direction to which his life tends.
But men get accustomed to look for beauty on
ly in certain directions, and in single things
few articles are set apart for tina; purpose. A
picture, piece o furnture, a set of china, are
kept as little idols in temple, for the taste to
worship. All out of doors may be rude and ne
elected, and swine may root up TO the door sill,
and yet box in the window, full otgay flowers,
keeps alive the sense of beauty
There has always been conflict between Use
and Beauty. 1t is one of those endless and need
less quarrels of which the world is full. Utility,
cry somp Beauty, cry others. Why not both
Why should not all beauty I've useful, and all
utility beautiful The theory is sound. The
practice is difficult only because artificial beauty
is expensive.
For instance, book The knowledge which
ii imparis is the first consideration. Is there any
objection TO knowledge printed fine paper,
with exquisite type, and jet-hack ink There is
just as much more pleasure conferred by reading
knowledge in dress OF beauty, NJ there is 10
conversng with your friends aIrayed in comely
garments, instead of coarse and Slatternly appa-
rel. And this brings US 10 the question which
any lover of books, at one time or auother has
revolved in his mind How much expense should
we be at for fine bindings Is ii not pity TO
spend money npou covers which might be used
in the purchase of other books If the value of
book is to he found in the knowledge which it
contains, why should we spend largely for the
mere external, or shell ?
This is only the same question over again. that
one meets in every relation of life. How much
shall one spend in making his house beautiful
After it is made commodious, ample comfor-
table, ought one to spend money upon mere beau
ty Clothes ought they 10 answer any other
than ecoruiolc ends Is IL night that men should
spend mon"r on elegant things, when plain sub
stantial things will answer just as well
The fallacy which these questions imply, and
which is often overtly advocated is, that Beauty
feeds only on selfshness and yanity-that it is
frivolous and needless But we affirm, on the
other hand that sense of beauty is semimoral
faculty that real development of soul always
carries with it a finer sense of the beautiful. The
love of the beautiful may exist without high
moral feeling. But no community can for any
length of time be under the influence of high
moral feeling without developing love of the
beautiful In other words, refinement goes With
morality, and refinement is only the application
OF the beautiful to all the processes Of life.
The beautiful is to be cultivated on the ground
of its distinct moral benefit. The only question
is an economic one. How much can one afford
Many forms of artificial beauty are expensive
This is true mainly of art. No rule can be Civ
en-. Every one must judge from his own stand
point and resources. But it may be safely laid
down as a MAXIM that the object ofdesire is the
better for being beautiful that every one should
secure first the substantial, but then as much of
the beautiful as he can and that every one
should be willing to sacrifice some degree OF
the pleasures Of the flesh for the sake of having
the means of feeding finer and higher appetite
OF tie fancy, tie mag nat.on and tie :.Stc. -
T. Ledger.