“Mind, mind, alone! bear witness earth and heaven,
The living fountains in itself contains
Of beauteous and sublime. Here, hand-in-hand,
Sit paramount the Graces. Here, enthroned,
Celestial Venus, with divinest airs,
Invites the soul to never-failing joy.”
Akenside
Color and form are only beautiful, because they are expressive of health, delicacy, and softness, in the female sex. It has been remarked, that expression has greater power than either beauty or form, as it is only the expression of the tender and kind passions that gives beauty; that all the cruel and unkind ones add to deformity, and that, on their account, good-nature may very properly be said to be the best feature, even in the finest face. Modesty, sensibility, and sweetness, blended together, so as either to enliven or correct each other, give almost as much attraction as the passions are capable of adding to a very pretty face. It is owing to this force of pleasingness, which attends all the kinder passions, that lovers not only seem, but really are, more beautiful to each other than to the rest of the world; and in their mutual presence and intercourse, says a French writer, there is a soul upon their countenances, which does not appear when they are absent from each other or even in company that lays a restraint upon their features. Indeed, it will appear that all the ingredients of beauty terminate in expression, and this may be, either perfection of the body, or the qualities of the mind. Dr. Reid indeed goes so far as to say, that beauty originally dwells in the moral and intellectual perfections of mind, and in its active powers. Thus beauty may be ascribed to all those qualities which are the natural objects of love and kind affections, as the moral virtues, innocence, gentleness, condescension, humanity, natural affections, and the whole train of soft and gentle virtues—qualities amiable in their nature, and on account of their moral worth. So also do intellectual talents excite our love and esteem of those who possess them; these are knowledge, good sense, wit, humor, cheerfulness, good taste, excellence in any of the fine arts—as music, painting, sculpture, embroidery, &c. Thus, for example, the beauty of good breeding is not originally in the external behavior in which it consists, but is derived from the qualities of mind which it expresses; for it has been well observed, that though there may be good breeding without the amiable qualities of mind, its beauty is still derived from what it naturally expresses.
Flaxman has truly said, that neither mind nor any one of its qualities or powers, is an immediate object of perception to men. These are perceived through the medium of material objects, on which their signatures are impressed. The signs of these qualities are immediately perceived by the senses, and by them reflected to the understanding; and we are apt to attribute to the sign, the beauty which is properly and originally in the thing signified. Thus, the invisible Creator hath stamped on his works signatures of his divine wisdom, power, and benignity, which are visible to all men. The works of men in science, in the arts of taste, and in the mechanical arts, bear the signatures of those qualities of mind which were employed in their production. Their external behavior or conduct in life, expresses the good or bad qualities of their minds. In every species of animals we perceive, by visible signs, their instincts, appetites, affections, or sagacity; and even in the inanimate world, there are many things analogous to the qualities of mind; so that there is hardly anything belonging to mind which may not be represented by images taken from objects of sense; and, on the other hand, every object of sense is beautiful, by borrowing attire from attributes of the mind. Thus, the beauties of mind, though invisible in themselves, are perceived in the objects of sense, in which their beauty is impressed. Thus, also, in those qualities of sensible objects to which we ascribe beauty, we discover in them some relation to mind, and the greatest in those that are most beautiful. Every beauty in the vegetable creation, of which we can form any rational judgment, expresses some perfection in the object, or some wise contrivance in the author. In the animal kingdom we perceive superior beauties, resulting from life, sense, activity, various instincts and affections, and, in many cases, great sagacity; which are attributes of mind, and possess an original beauty. In their manner of life, we observe that they possess powers, outward form, and inward structure, exactly adapted to it; and the more perfectly any individual is fitted for its end and manner of life, the greater is its beauty. This, also, was manifestly Milton’s theory of beauty; for, in his unrivalled description of our first parents in Paradise, he derives their beauty from those expressions of moral and intellectual qualities which shone forth in their outward form and demeanor:—
“Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall,
God-like erect! with native honor clad,
In naked majesty, seemed lords of all,
And worthy seemed, for, in their looks divine,
The image of their glorious Maker, shone
Truth, wisdom, sanctitude, severe and pure;
Severe, but in true filial freedom placed,
Whence true authority in man; though both
Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed,
For contemplation he, and valor formed,
For softness she, and sweet attractive grace.”
From these remarks, it will appear that we do not regard novelty alone as being “the exciting cause of pleasurable emotions, and of the consequent perception of beauty in the relation of things.” The beautiful, both in statuary and painting, we believe to depend chiefly on the perfection with which the artist succeeds in expressing the qualities of the mind, whether good or evil; and it is worthy of notice, that Plato, in his Dialogues, declares that the good and the beautiful are one and the same. Hence, the Greeks called the beautiful ΚΑΛΟΣ.
The influence of novelty has been so well illustrated in an Essay by the author of a Treatise on Happiness, that we trust no apology will be required for transferring a portion of it to our pages:—
“The term novelty applies to everything new—either newly invented, or newly exhibited to us; in the former case the thing is novel to the world, in the latter it is novel to ourselves. Novelty powerfully influences the senses, the passions, and the manners of human beings; it furnishes amusement, employment, and maintenance for man; it accompanies him in his progress through this variable being, from the commencement of life to the period of dissolution.
“Novelty may be either pleasing or unpleasing. When it affects the senses by grateful influences, it occasions admiration and delight. How powerfully must the vision of Adam have been affected, when he was introduced to being! Everything which he beheld was new. There was drawn out before him, the plain, the fruitful valley, the verdant hill. Shrubs and trees were distributed around him. The earth was strewed with flowers: rivulets and rivers diversified the scene—
‘Rolling on orient pearl, and sands of gold.’
The ocean, perhaps, was stretched out as a plain of silver in the distant view; the heavens were robed in splendor; the sun shone brilliantly. His own person—himself, was an inextricable mystery. He could move; he could think; he could behold the display of creation; he could close his eyes, and exclude every impression. All was new; and everything, he might naturally have fancied, would remain the same; but, he was destined to behold a series of novelties. In a short time, he saw the sun sinking below the horizon. The heavens were adorned in their most splendid robes, like the gorgeous display of an Eastern monarch. A shade was cast over the valleys, and darkness began to gather among the trees, while their tops and branches were still illumined in the sunbeams. The shadows of evening are now gathered around him; the twinkling stars adorn the heavens; but the beauties of hill, vale, waters, trees, and flowers, are departed! How sensibly must he have been affected! He would now conclude that his future time must be spent in darkness; but he looks toward the East, and across the wide expanse of waters he beholds a gleam of light, which leads the eye to some great luminary, rising above the horizon, to cheer the nightly solitude; and, as it mounts to the zenith, new beauties delight the vision of this lonely and astonished inhabitant of the earth. After a short period the moon sinks, the sun rises in the heavens, and the same delightful scenery is exhibited which was beheld the previous day.