que connection is not demanded; be- cauſe 0 teal picture is formed; nor is che effect of che deſcription at all the leſs upon this account. What is {aid of Helen by Priam and the old men of his council, is generally thought to give eee eee that fatal homuty. -- eee een len e D. 2 SI ko. 4 * Aa, Vs eee eee ad BEAUTIFUL 331 Here is not one word 01.. the | hich cis ps the leaſt. e ANF 1 preciſe idea of her perſon; but yet WW are much more touched by this man- ner of mentioning her than by theſs long and laboured deſcriptions. of Helen, 07 whether handed down by tradition, r formed by fancy, which are to be met with in ſome authors. 1 am ſure it affects me much more than the minute deſcription, which Spenſer. has given of..
Belphebe; $ though I own that there Arg parts in chat deſcription, | as there are in: all the deſcriptions of that Sees es ter, extremely fine and poetical. The: pas picture which. e 2 mf en in onder 9 UP < = gt bought: 10 be der ſigned vith Set, paldocls 905 50% 12 wt wm wo:: 332 on the SUBLIME _ OP caput Ciel regionibus eftendebat Horribili deſuptr viſu mortalibus inflans 3 Wie Grains hems mortales rollere c contra | LOS WS lent a picture none at all moſt certain- ly;; neither has the poet faid a ſingle word which might in the leaſt ſerve to mark a fingle limb or feature of the . which he intended to repreſent i all the horrors imagination can con- ceive. In reality poetry and rhetoric do not ſucceed f in Ae deſcription ** well as rather by Hitpathy than imitation; to diſplay rather the effect of things on the mind of the ſpeaker, or of others, than to preſent a a clear idea of the things themſelves. This is their moſt "exten» five Province, and chat in in whict they 8 SECT.
Ca BEAUTI r ui. 355 s er. vi.
Potent: not firidtly an imitative” art try, taken in its moſt general ſenſe; cannot with ſtrict propriety be called in art of imitation. It is indeed an imi- tation ſo far as it deſcribes the manners” and paſſions of men which their words can expreſs'; here anim mots ęferr interprete lingua. There it is "_—; imitation; — - - | ty: — ebiefly. by 7 5 the means of ſounds, which by cuſtom have the effect of realities. Nothing is an imitation further than as it reſembles Gmoitherthing.endwrerdeandeldbadi; y hae no ſort of nnn to the "ENCE we may obſerve that pos.: Ny * N: CY my > A N 8 10 7 ORDs: influence. ie ge 1 Lon ges ne, i any "gion, | it — be Gppoled,)that their influence over the paſſions ſhould: be but den Nn pants puree a ' Yew are as | bl ard 1 "BIR 25 „wind espable of- miaking deep and lively.
gig: hy 5 » bins 8 2b1ov th Ta ** ” A 2 9 Fe the paſſions of others, and: '""" are eatlyaſſeQed-ard brought into renn | -99. 93 „ dy by any tokens which: are ſhewn 2 "of them; and there are uo tokens which bog 2 88 fo that if a 21 by | pe ron nd / EA UI BU 0 33 perſon ſpeaks ufean auy cabhect, he cas not only eue the ſubhect t you, buy kkewiſe the marmer in which he is him ſelf affected by it. Certain it is, that the influence of moſt chings on our paſs fions is not ſo much from the things themſelves, as from our opinions con very much on e op in elne N words only. af Secondly; ther we things of a Very Afeckine nie 7 words which ne them often * waking a deep er — root in the mind, whilſt che idea of this reality was tranſient; and to ſome per- haps never — re to whom it is notwithſtandi fecting, as War, death, — Beſides, many ideas have never been at all preſented to the ſenſes of any men but .
cannot poſſibly do othery power of combining we are ahle, by the 2 did, ich is al I contend. for. A pio- 336 On the ' SUBLIME oral as God, i alen. Ber n e 1 Thirdly; by words we have it in our. power to make fach combinations as we iſe. By this addition of well-choſen circumſtances, to give a new life and force to the bmple object. In painting we may repreſent any = ee din but wo dexer dan may receiye — 2 0. 8 an anget 1 in a picture, 9 Fa. only draw painting can- Furoih/ out. ching ſo and as the addition of one word, ( the « alc the Lord! It is true, I have here no clear idea, but theſe words affect re than the ſenſible image ture of Priam dragged to the altar's foot; "pn an W YZ is | | cuted their dime habitation, | # / wd,BEAUTIEUL,, 337 cuted would undoubtedly be very mov- ing; but there are very aggravating circumſtances which it could never repreſent, X PAY £7 4 x TL, ws wo) 137 e wen be ce re., As a further ns, let us 808 thoſe lines of Milton, where he deſcribes the travels of the fallen angels through a n n " pens many. a dark gh 2&5 vale * Thy paſs h and many a region dolores, Or many a frozen, many a fiery Mp; — Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs,, dens Ne — 4 Amen 75 a R N 9 * Here ene the Geof wi i their effect, if they were not the © hich! yet would Joſe the Ot OP & » ar * 1 1 7 K 1 .
i i 1 1 1 338 On the SUBLIME , cave Lakes, ani bogs; fens and Aa” l zrioifien of). Sutton? This, idea or this en erh FRO 2 word, which, nathing but a word could annex to the others, raiſes. a, very great degree of the ſublime; and this ſub- lime is raiſed yet higher by what follows, a f univerſe of Death,” Here are again two. ideas not, preſentible. but. by lan- guage; and an union of them great and amazing beyond conception; if they may properly be called ideas which. preſent. no diſtinct 4 image to the mind;--- but ſtill it will be, difficult to, conceive. how, words can move the paſſions. Which belong to real objects, without repreſenting. theſe objects clearly. This is difficult to us, becauſe we do not ſufficiently. diſtinguiſh, in our obſervations upon language, between a clear expreſſion, and a ſtrong expreſſion. Theſe are frequently, con- founded with n ee they and BEAUTIFUL. 339 are in reality extremely different. The former regards the underſtanding; the latter belongs to the paſſions. The one deſcribes a thing as it is; the other de- ſcribes it as it is felt Now, as there is a moving tone of voice, an impaſſioned countenance, an agitated geſture, which affect independently of” the things about _ which they are exerted, ſo there are words, and certain diſpoſitions of words, which being peculiarly devoted to paſs flonate ſubjects, and always uſed by thoſe who are under the influence of afiy pa- ſion; they touch and move us more than thoſe which far more clearly and diſ- tinctiy expteſs the ſubject matter. We yield to ſympathy, hat we refuſe to de-: ee The truth is, all verbal de- ription, merely as naked deſcription, though never ſo exact, conveys: ſa;poor and inſufficient an idea; of the thing de- ſcribed; that it could ſcarcely have the ſmalleſt effect, if the ſpeaker did not call ONE EROS Bw — ONE a R my en 1.
4140 on the 8 UB LI ME in to 8 of ſpeech that mark s ſtrong and lively feeling in hi- elk. Then,. by;.the, contagion of 0:...- palliong; wo; catch.a. fire already kindled == in another, (which probably ght never haye been ſtruck ont by the object 3% 5 ſcribed. Words, by ſteongly conveying | the: paſſions, by, thoſs.meang which: we 2 ee on nerally a gy e language, has. that, perfection, and defect. Whereas the oriental ten and in ge chercfore expreſs! theinſ@ves in u warmer | 4 and en ane page eres Af che f. af without any aden at 6 ten ene has origin OO oc a heacpodiel from egterget wot as it” eg the ſübkime and 'beautis ful more at large; but it müſt * obſerved chat in this light it has been often and well handed already.” E Was not 'my;\deſigh to enter into the criticiſtn of che ſublime and beauti- ful in any art, but to attempt to 4 down ſuch principles as may tend to aſcertain, to diſtinguilh, and to form a ſort of ſtandard for them; Which purpöſes 1 thought ' might” 'be belt 15 fected by an enquiry into be ana 05 0. in lie l as 120 jog A : to pro- far to be, conſidered, as to ſhew 44