Burke Beauty and Sublime

8/13/2019 Burke Beauty and Sublime

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?. (he -ecapitulation

5. (he onclu!ion

#art %%.

. Of the #a!!ion au!ed by the Sublime

2. (error8. Ob!curity

4. Of the 9ifference Between learne!! and Ob!curity with -e'ard to the #a!!ion!

. (he Same SubAect ontinued=. #ower

>. #rivation

?. "a!tne!!5. %nfinity

6. Succe!!ion and niformity

. 3a'nitude in Buildin'

2. %nfinity in #lea!in' ObAect!8. 9ifficulty

4. 3a'nificence

. 1i'ht=. 1i'ht in Buildin'

>. olour on!idered a! #roductive of the Sublime

?. Sound and 1oudne!!5. Suddenne!!

26. %ntermittin'

2. (he rie! of $nimal!22. Smell and (a!te. Bitter! and Stenche!

28. 0eelin'. #ain

#art %%%.. Of Beauty

2. #roportion not the au!e of Beauty in "e'etable!

8. #roportion not the au!e of Beauty in $nimal!4. #roportion not the au!e of Beauty in the Human Specie!

. #roportion 0urther on!idered

=. 0itne!! not the au!e of Beauty>. (he -eal *ffect! of 0itne!!

?. (he -ecapitulation

5. #erfection not the au!e of Beauty

6. How 0ar the %dea of Beauty 3ay be $pplied to the Cualitie! of the 3ind. How 0ar the %dea of Beauty 3ay be $pplied to "irtue

2. (he -eal au!e of Beauty

8. Beautiful ObAect! Small4. Smoothne!!

.


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5. (he #hy!io'nomy

26. (he *ye2. 'line!!

22. . (he Sublime and Beautiful ompared

#art %".

. Of the *fficient au!e of the Sublime and Beautiful2. $!!ociation

8. au!e of #ain and 0ear

4. ontinued

. How the Sublime i! #roduced=. How #ain an be a au!e of 9eli'ht

>. *@erci!e ece!!ary for the 0iner Or'an!

?. )hy (hin'! not 9an'erou! #roduce a #a!!ion 1ike (error5. )hy "i!ual ObAect! of


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$(HO-:Burke, *dmund, >257>5>.

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On the !ublime and beautiful, by *dmund Burke.

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(he Harvard cla!!ic!, edited by harle! ). *liot.

#B1%SH*9:ew ork: #.0. ollier Son, 56574.

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"ol. 24, #art 2, of .O(H*- $(HO-S:

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Burke, *dmund. On the Sublime and Beautiful. "ol. DD%", #art 2. (he Harvard la!!ic!. ework: #.0. ollier Son, 56574E Bartleby.com, 266. www.bartleby.com/24/2/. F9ate of

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O71%* *9.:#ubli!hed $pril , 266 by Bartleby.comE cI 266 opyri'ht Bartleby.com, %nc. (erm! of !eI.

*dmund Burke >257>5>I. On the Sublime and Beautiful.

(he Harvard la!!ic!. 56574.

%ntroductory ote

B-*+S eminence in the field of J!thetic theory i! not comparable to the di!tinction he

achieved a! a !tate!man, orator, and political thinkerE yet it i! probable that, in *n'lande!pecially, hi! political writin'! have unduly over!hadowed hi! contribution! to the theory of the

beautiful.

Hi! K#hilo!ophical %n&uiry into the Ori'in of our %dea! of the Sublime and Beautiful: with an

%ntroductory 9i!cour!e concernin' (a!teK wa! publi!hed in it! fir!t form in >=, and in it!

enlar'ed form in >>E but it i! under!tood that it wa! compo!ed !ome year! earlier. K%t wa! a

vi'orou! enlar'ement of the principle,K !ay! 3orley, Kwhich $ddi!on had not lon' before timidlyillu!trated, that critic! of art !eek it! principle! in the wron' place, !o lon' a! they limit their

!earch to poem!, picture!, en'ravin'!, !tatue!, and buildin'!, in!tead of fir!t arran'in' the

!entiment! and facultie! in man to which art make! it! appeal. $ddi!on+! treatment wa! !li'ht andmerely literaryE Burke dealt boldly with hi! !ubAect on the ba!i! of the mo!t !cientific p!ycholo'y

that wa! then within hi! reach. (o approach it on the p!ycholo'ical !ide at all, wa! to make a

di!tinct and remarkable advance in the method of the in&uiry which he had taken in hand.K 2


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(he influence of the treati!e out!ide of *n'land wa! con!iderable and important. 1e!!in'

undertook to tran!late it, and many in!tance! have been pointed out in which hi! K1aocoLnK i!indebted to BurkeE !o that Burke rank! amon' the !ource! of that fertili!in' contribution to the

mind of the 'reat


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nor plea!ure, which % call a !tate of indifference. )hen % am carried from thi! !tate into a !tate of

actual plea!ure, it doe! not appear nece!!ary that % !hould pa!! throu'h the medium of any !ort ofpain. %f in !uch a !tate of indifference, or ea!e, or tran&uillity, or call it what you plea!e, you were

to be !uddenly entertained with a concert of mu!icE or !uppo!e !ome obAect of a fine !hape, and

bri'ht, lively colour!, to be pre!ented before youE or ima'ine your !mell i! 'ratified with the

fra'rance of a ro!eE or if without any previou! thir!t you were to drink of !ome plea!ant kind ofwine, or to ta!te of !ome !weetmeat without bein' hun'ryE in all the !everal !en!e!, of hearin',

!mellin' and ta!tin', you undoubtedly find a plea!ureE yet if % in&uire into the !tate of your mind

previou! to the!e 'ratification!, you will hardly tell me that they found you in any kind of painEor, havin' !ati!fied the!e !everal !en!e! with their !everal plea!ure!, will you !ay that any pain

ha! !ucceeded, thou'h the plea!ure i! ab!olutely overM Suppo!e on the other hand, a man in the

!ame !tate of indifference, to receive a violent blow, or to drink of !ome bitter potion, or to havehi! ear! wounded with !ome har!h and 'ratin' !oundE here i! no removal of plea!ureE and yet here

i! felt in every !en!e which i! affected, a pain very di!tin'ui!hable. %t may be !aid, perhap!, that

the pain in the!e ca!e! had it! ri!e from the removal of the plea!ure which the man enAoyed

before, thou'h that plea!ure wa! of !o low a de'ree a! to be perceived only by the removal. Butthi! !eem! to me a !ubtilty that i! not di!coverable in nature. 0or if, previou! to the pain, % do not

feel any actual plea!ure, % have no rea!on to Aud'e that any !uch thin' e@i!t!E !ince plea!ure i!

only plea!ure a! it i! felt. (he !ame may be !aid of pain, and with e&ual rea!on. % can neverper!uade my!elf that plea!ure and pain are mere relation!, which can only e@i!t a! they are

contra!tedE but % think % can di!cern clearly that there are po!itive pain! and plea!ure!, which do

not at all depend upon each other. othin' i! more certain to my own feelin'! than thi!. (here i!nothin' which % can di!tin'ui!h in my mind with more clearne!! than the three !tate!, of

indifference, of plea!ure, and of pain. *very one of the!e % can perceive without any !ort of idea

of it! relation to anythin' el!e. aiu! i! afflicted with a fit of the colicE thi! man i! actually inpainE !tretch aiu! upon the rack, he will feel a much 'reater pain: but doe! thi! pain of the rack

ari!e from the removal of any plea!ureM or i! the fit of the colic a plea!ure or a pain, Au!t a! we are

plea!ed to con!ider itM

(he 9ifference Between the -emoval of #ain, and #o!itive #lea!ure

)* !hall carry thi! propo!ition yet a !tep farther. )e !hall venture to propo!e, that pain and

plea!ure are not only not nece!!arily dependent for their e@i!tence on their mutual diminution or

removal, but that, in reality, the diminution or cea!in' of plea!ure doe! not operate like po!itive

painE and that the removal or diminution of pain, in it! effect, ha! very little re!emblance topo!itive plea!ure. (he former of the!e propo!ition! will, % believe, be much more readily

allowed than the latterE becau!e it i! very evident that plea!ure, when it ha! run it! career, !et! u!

down very nearly where it found u!. #lea!ure of every kind &uickly !ati!fie!E and when it i! over,we relap!e into indifference, or rather we fall into a !oft tran&uillity, which i! tin'ed with the

a'reeable colour of the former !en!ation. % own it i! not at fir!t view !o apparent, that the removal

of a 'reat pain doe! not re!emble po!itive plea!ureE but let u! recollect in what !tate we havefound our mind! upon e!capin' !ome imminent dan'er, or on bein' relea!ed from the !everity of

!ome cruel pain. )e have on !uch occa!ion! found, if % am not much mi!taken, the temper of our


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mind! in a tenor very remote from that which attend! the pre!ence of po!itive plea!ureE we have

found them in a !tate of much !obriety, impre!!ed with a !en!e of awe, in a !ort of tran&uillity!hadowed with horror. (he fa!hion of the countenance and the 'e!ture of the body on !uch

occa!ion! i! !o corre!pondent to thi! !tate of mind, that any per!on, a !tran'er to the cau!e of the

appearance, would rather Aud'e u! under !ome con!ternation, than in the enAoyment of anythin'

like po!itive plea!ure.

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po!itive and independent natureE and, !econdly, that the feelin' which re!ult! from the cea!in' or

diminution of pain doe! not bear a !ufficient re!emblance to po!itive plea!ure, to have itcon!idered a! of the !ame nature, or to entitle it to be known by the !ame nameE and, thirdly, that

upon the !ame principle the removal or &ualification of plea!ure ha! no re!emblance to po!itive

pain. %t i! certain that the former feelin' the removal or moderation of painI ha! !omethin' in it

far from di!tre!!in' or di!a'reeable in it! nature. (hi! feelin', in many ca!e! !o a'reeable, but inall !o different from po!itive plea!ure, ha! no name which % knowE but that hinder! not it! bein' a

very real one, and very different from all other!. %t i! mo!t certain that every !pecie! of

!ati!faction or plea!ure, how different !oever in it! manner of affectin', i! of a po!itive nature inthe mind of him who feel! it. (he affection i! undoubtedly po!itiveE but the cau!e may be, a! in

thi! ca!e it certainly i!, a !ort of #rivation. $nd it i! very rea!onable that we !hould di!tin'ui!h by

!ome term two thin'! !o di!tinct in nature, a! a plea!ure that i! !uch !imply, and without anyrelation, from that plea!ure which cannot e@i!t without a relation, and that too a relation to pain.

"ery e@traordinary it would be, if the!e affection!, !o di!tin'ui!hable in their cau!e!, !o different

in their effect!, !hould be confounded with each other, becau!e vul'ar u!e ha! ran'ed them under

the !ame 'eneral title. )henever % have occa!ion to !peak of thi! !pecie! of relative plea!ure, %call it 9eli'htE and % !hall take the be!t care % can to u!e that word in no other !en!e. % am !ati!fied

the word i! not commonly u!ed in thi! appropriated !i'nificationE but % thou'ht it better to take up

a word already known, and to limit it! !i'nification, than to introduce a new one, which wouldnot perhap! incorporate !o well with the lan'ua'e. % !hould never have pre!umed the lea!t

alteration in our word!, if the nature of the lan'ua'e, framed for the purpo!e! of bu!ine!! rather

than tho!e of philo!ophy, and the nature of my !ubAect, that lead! me out of the common track ofdi!cour!e, did not in a manner nece!!itate me to it. % !hall make u!e of thi! liberty with all

po!!ible caution. $! % make u!e of the world 9eli'ht to e@pre!! the !en!ation which accompanie!

the removal of pain or dan'erE !o when % !peak of po!itive plea!ure, % !hall for the mo!t part callit !imply #lea!ure.

;oy and


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(he Ody!!ey of Homer, which abound! with !o many natural and affectin' ima'e!, ha! none

more !trikin' than tho!e which 3enelau! rai!e! of the calamitou! fate of hi! friend!, and hi! ownmanner of feelin' it. He own!, indeed, that he often 'ive! him!elf !ome intermi!!ion from !uch

melancholy reflection!E but he ob!erve!, too, that, melancholy a! they are, they 'ive him plea!ure.

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terror, i! a !ource of the !ublimeE that i!, it i! productive of the !tron'e!t emotion which the mind

i! capable of feelin'. % !ay the !tron'e!t emotion, becau!e % am !ati!fied the idea! of pain aremuch more powerful than tho!e which enter on the part of plea!ure. )ithout all doubt, the

torment! which we may be made to !uffer are much 'reater in their effect on the body and mind,

than any plea!ure which the mo!t learned voluptuary could !u''e!t, or than the livelie!t

ima'ination, and the mo!t !ound and e@&ui!itely !en!ible body, could enAoy. ay, % am in 'reatdoubt whether any man could be found, who would earn a life of the mo!t perfect !ati!faction, at

the price of endin' it in the torment!, which Au!tice inflicted in a few hour! on the late unfortunate

re'icide in 0rance. But a! pain i! !tron'er in it! operation than plea!ure, !o death i! in 'eneral amuch more affectin' idea than painE becau!e there are very few pain!, however e@&ui!ite, which

are not preferred to death: nay, what 'enerally make! pain it!elf, if % may !ay !o, more painful, i!,

that it i! con!idered a! an emi!!ary of thi! kin' of terror!. )hen dan'er or pain pre!! too nearly,they are incapable of 'ivin' any deli'ht, and are !imply terribleE but at certain di!tance!, and with

certain modification!, they may be, and they are, deli'htful, a! we every day e@perience. (he

cau!e of thi! % !hall endeavour to inve!ti'ate hereafter.

Of the #a!!ion! )hich Belon' to Society

(H* O(H*- head under which % cla!! our pa!!ion!, i! that of !ociety, which may be divided into

two !ort!. %. (he !ociety of the !e@e!, which an!wer! the purpo!e! of propa'ationE and ne@t, that

more 'eneral !ociety, which we have with men and with other animal!, and which we may in!ome !ort be !aid to have even with the inanimate world. (he pa!!ion! belon'in' to the

pre!ervation of the individual turn wholly on pain and dan'er: tho!e which belon' to 'eneration

have their ori'in in 'ratification! and plea!ure!E the plea!ure mo!t directly belon'in' to thi!purpo!e i! of a lively character, rapturou! and violent, and confe!!edly the hi'he!t plea!ure of

!en!eE yet the ab!ence of thi! !o 'reat an enAoyment !carce amount! to an unea!ine!!E and, e@cept

at particular time!, % do not think it affect! at all. )hen men de!cribe in what manner they are

affected by pain and dan'er, they do not dwell on the plea!ure of health and the comfort of!ecurity, and then lament the lo!! of the!e !ati!faction!: the whole turn! upon the actual pain! and

horror! which they endure. But if you li!ten to the complaint! of a for!aken lover, you ob!erve

that he in!i!t! lar'ely on the plea!ure! which he enAoyed, or hoped to enAoy, and on the perfectionof the obAect of hi! de!ire!E it i! the lo!! which i! alway! uppermo!t in hi! mind. (he violent

effect! produced by love, which ha! !ometime! been even wrou'ht up to madne!!, i! no obAection

to the rule which we !eek to e!tabli!h. )hen men have !uffered their ima'ination! to be lon'affected with any idea, it !o wholly en'ro!!e! them a! to !hut out by de'ree! almo!t every other,

and to break down every partition of the mind which would confine it. $ny idea i! !ufficient for

the purpo!e, a! i! evident from the infinite variety of cau!e!, which 'ive ri!e to madne!!: but thi!

at mo!t can only prove, that the pa!!ion of love i! capable of producin' very e@traordinaryeffect!, not that it! e@traordinary emotion! have any conne@ion with po!itive pain.

(he 0inal au!e of the 9ifference Between the #a!!ion! Belon'in' to Self7#re!ervation and

(ho!e )hich -e'ard the Society of the Se@e!


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(H* 0%$1 cau!e of the difference in character between the pa!!ion! which re'ard!elf7pre!ervation, and tho!e which are directed to the multiplication of the !pecie!, will illu!trate

the fore'oin' remark! yet furtherE and it i!, % ima'ine, worthy of ob!ervation even upon it! own

account. $! the performance of our dutie! of every kind depend! upon life, and the performin'

them with vi'our and efficacy depend! upon health, we are very !tron'ly affected with whateverthreaten! the de!truction of either: but a! we are not made to ac&uie!ce in life and health, the

!imple enAoyment of them i! not attended with any real plea!ure, le!t, !ati!fied with that, we

!hould 'ive our!elve! over to indolence and inaction. On the other hand, the 'eneration ofmankind i! a 'reat purpo!e, and it i! re&ui!ite that men !hould be animated to the pur!uit of it by

!ome 'reat incentive. %t i! therefore attended with a very hi'h plea!ureE but a! it i! by no mean!

de!i'ned to be our con!tant bu!ine!!, it i! not fit that the ab!ence of thi! plea!ure !hould beattended with any con!iderable pain. (he difference between men and brute!, in thi! point, !eem!

to be remarkable. 3en are at all time! pretty e&ually di!po!ed to the plea!ure! of love, becau!e

they are to be 'uided by rea!on in the time and manner of indul'in' them. Had any 'reat pain

ari!en from the want of thi! !ati!faction, rea!on, % am afraid, would find 'reat difficultie! in theperformance of it! office. But brute!, who obey law!, in the e@ecution of which their own rea!on

ha! but little !hare, have their !tated !ea!on!E at !uch time! it i! not improbable that the !en!ation

from the want i! very trouble!ome, becau!e the end mu!t be then an!wered, or be mi!!ed inmany, perhap! for everE a! the inclination return! only with it! !ea!on.

Of Beauty

(H* #$SS%O which belon'! to 'eneration, merely a! !uch, i! lu!t only. (hi! i! evident in

brute!, who!e pa!!ion! are more unmi@ed, and which pur!ue their purpo!e! more directly thanour!. (he only di!tinction they ob!erve with re'ard to their mate!, i! that of !e@. %t i! true, that

they !tick !everally to their own !pecie! in preference to all other!. But thi! preference, % ima'ine,

doe! not ari!e from any !en!e of beauty which they find in their !pecie!, a! 3r. $ddi!on!uppo!e!, but from a law of !ome other kind, to which they are !ubAectE and thi! we may fairly

conclude, from their apparent want of choice amon'!t tho!e obAect! to which the barrier! of their

!pecie! have confined them. But man, who i! a creature adapted to a 'reater variety and intricacyof relation, connect! with the 'eneral pa!!ion the idea of !ome !ocial &ualitie!, which direct and

hei'hten the appetite which he ha! in common with all other animal!E and a! he i! not de!i'ned

like them to live at lar'e, it i! fit that he !hould have !omethin' to create a preference, and fi@ hi!

choiceE and thi! in 'eneral !hould be !ome !en!ible &ualityE a! no other can !o &uickly, !opowerfully, or !o !urely produce it! effect. (he obAect therefore of thi! mi@ed pa!!ion, which we

call love, i! the beauty of the !e@. 3en are carried to the !e@ in 'eneral, a! it i! the !e@, and by the

common law of natureE but they are attached to particular! by per!onal beauty. % call beauty a!ocial &ualityE for where women and men, and not only they, but when other animal! 'ive u! a

!en!e of Aoy and plea!ure in beholdin' them, and there are many that do !o,I they in!pire u! with

!entiment! of tenderne!! and affection toward! their per!on!E we like to have them near u!, andwe enter willin'ly into a kind of relation with them, unle!! we !hould have !tron' rea!on! to the

contrary. But to what end, in many ca!e!, thi! wa! de!i'ned, % am unable to di!coverE for % !ee no


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'reater rea!on for a conne@ion between man and !everal animal! who are attired in !o en'a'in' a

manner, than between him and !ome other! who entirely want thi! attraction, or po!!e!! it in a farweaker de'ree. But it i! probable, that #rovidence did not make even thi! di!tinction, but with a

view to !ome 'reat endE thou'h we cannot perceive di!tinctly what it i!, a! hi! wi!dom i! not our

wi!dom, nor our way! hi! way!.

Society and Solitude

(H* S*O9 branch of the !ocial pa!!ion! i! that which admini!ter! to !ociety in 'eneral. )ith

re'ard to thi!, % ob!erve, that !ociety, merely a! !ociety, without any particular hei'htenin'!,

'ive! u! no po!itive plea!ure in the enAoymentE but ab!olute and entire !olitude, that i!, the total

and perpetual e@clu!ion from all !ociety, i! a! 'reat a po!itive pain a! can almo!t be conceived.(herefore in the balance between the plea!ure of 'eneral !ociety and the pain of ab!olute

!olitude, pain i! the predominant idea. But the plea!ure of any particular !ocial enAoyment

outwei'h! very con!iderably the unea!ine!! cau!ed by the want of that particular enAoymentE !othat the !tron'e!t !en!ation! relative to the habitude! of particular !ociety are !en!ation! of

plea!ure.


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may be a !ource of the !ublime or it may turn upon idea! of plea!ureE and then whatever ha! been

!aid of the !ocial affection!, whether they re'ard !ociety in 'eneral, or only !ome particularmode! of it, may be applicable here. %t i! by thi! principle chiefly that poetry, paintin', and other

affectin' art!, tran!fu!e their pa!!ion! from one brea!t to another, and are often capable of

'raftin' a deli'ht on wretchedne!!, mi!ery, and death it!elf. %t i! a common ob!ervation, that

obAect! which in the reality would !hock, are in tra'ical, and !uch like repre!entation!, the !ourceof a very hi'h !pecie! of plea!ure. (hi!, taken a! a fact, ha! been the cau!e of much rea!onin'.

(he !ati!faction ha! been commonly attributed, fir!t, to the comfort we receive in con!iderin'

that !o melancholy a !tory i! no more than a fictionE and, ne@t, to the contemplation of our ownfreedom from the evil! which we !ee repre!ented. % am afraid it i! a practice much too common in

in&uirie! of thi! nature, to attribute the cau!e of feelin'! which merely ari!e from the mechanical

!tructure of our bodie!, or from the natural frame and con!titution of our mind!, to certainconclu!ion! of the rea!onin' faculty on the obAect! pre!ented to u!E for % !hould ima'ine, that the

influence of rea!on in producin' our pa!!ion! i! nothin' near !o e@ten!ive a! it i! commonly

believed.

(he *ffect! of Sympathy in the 9i!tre!!e! of Other!

(O e@amine thi! point concernin' the effect of tra'edy in a proper manner, we mu!t previou!ly

con!ider how we are affected by the feelin'! of our fellow7creature! in circum!tance! of real

di!tre!!. % am convinced we have a de'ree of deli'ht, and that no !mall one, in the realmi!fortune! and pain! of other!E for let the affection be what it will in appearance, if it doe! not

make u! !hun !uch obAect!, if on the contrary it induce! u! to approach them, if it make! u! dwell

upon them, in thi! ca!e % conceive we mu!t have a deli'ht or plea!ure of !ome !pecie! or other in

contemplatin' obAect! of thi! kind. 9o we not read the authentic hi!torie! of !cene! of thi! naturewith a! much plea!ure a! romance! or poem!, where the incident! are fictitiou!M (he pro!perity

of no empire, nor the 'randeur of no kin', can !o a'reeably affect in the readin', a! the ruin of

the !tate of 3acedon, and the di!tre!! of it! unhappy prince. Such a cata!trophe touche! u! inhi!tory a! much a! the de!truction of (roy doe! in fable. Our deli'ht, in ca!e! of thi! kind, i! very

'reatly hei'htened, if the !ufferer be !ome e@cellent per!on who !ink! under an unworthy fortune.

Scipio and ato are both virtuou! character!E but we are more deeply affected by the violentdeath of the one, and the ruin of the 'reat cau!e he adhered to, than with the de!erved triumph!

and uninterrupted pro!perity of the otherE for terror i! a pa!!ion which alway! produce deli'ht

when it doe! not pre!! too clo!elyE and pity i! a pa!!ion accompanied with plea!ure, becau!e it

ari!e! from love and !ocial affection. )henever we are formed by nature to any active purpo!e,the pa!!ion which animate! u! to it i! attended with deli'ht, or a plea!ure of !ome kind, let the

!ubAect7matter be what it willE and a! our reator ha! de!i'ned that we !hould be united by the

bond of !ympathy, he ha! !tren'thened that bond by a proportionable deli'htE and there mo!twhere our !ympathy i! mo!t wanted,7in the di!tre!!e! of other!. %f thi! pa!!ion wa! !imply

painful, we would !hun with the 'reate!t care all per!on! and place! that could e@cite !uch a

pa!!ionE a! !ome, who are !o far 'one in indolence a! not to endure any !tron' impre!!ion,actually do. But the ca!e i! widely different with the 'reater part of mankindE there i! no !pectacle

we !o ea'erly pur!ue, a! that of !ome uncommon and 'rievou! calamityE !o that whether the


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mi!fortune i! before our eye!, or whether they are turned back to it in hi!tory, it alway! touche!

with deli'ht. (hi! i! not an unmi@ed deli'ht, but blended with no !mall unea!ine!!. (he deli'htwe have in !uch thin'!, hinder! u! from !hunnin' !cene! of mi!eryE and the pain we feel prompt!

u! to relieve our!elve! in relievin' tho!e who !ufferE and all thi! antecedent to any rea!onin', by

an in!tinct that work! u! to it! own purpo!e! without our concurrence.

Of the *ffect! of (ra'edy

%( i! thu! in real calamitie!. %n imitated di!tre!!e! the only difference i! the plea!ure re!ultin'from the effect! of imitationE for it i! never !o perfect, but we can perceive it i! imitation, and on

that principle are !omewhat plea!ed with it. $nd indeed in !ome ca!e! we derive a! much or more

plea!ure from that !ource than from the thin' it!elf. But then % ima'ine we !hall be much

mi!taken, if we attribute any con!iderable part of our !ati!faction in tra'edy to the con!iderationthat tra'edy i! a deceit, and it! repre!entation! no realitie!. (he nearer it approache! the reality,

and the farther it remove! u! from all idea of fiction, the more perfect i! it! power. But be it!

power of what kind it will, it never approache! to what it repre!ent!. hoo!e a day on which torepre!ent the mo!t !ublime and affectin' tra'edy we haveE appoint the mo!t favourite actor!E

!pare no co!t upon the !cene! and decoration!, unite the 'reate!t effort! of poetry, paintin', and

mu!icE and when you have collected your audience, Au!t at the moment when their mind! are erectwith e@pectation, let it be reported that a !tate criminal of hi'h rank i! on the point of bein'

e@ecuted in the adAoinin' !&uareE in a moment the emptine!! of the theatre would demon!trate the

comparative weakne!! of the imitative art!, and proclaim the triumph of the real !ympathy. %believe that thi! notion of our havin' a !imple pain in the reality, yet a deli'ht in the

repre!entation, ari!e! from hence, that we do not !ufficiently di!tin'ui!h what we would by no

mean! choo!e to do, from what we !hould be ea'er enou'h to !ee if it wa! once done. (he deli'ht

in !eein' thin'!, which, !o far from doin', our heartie!t wi!he! would be to !ee redre!!ed. (hi!noble capital, the pride of *n'land and of *urope, % believe no man i! !o !tran'ely wicked a! to

de!ire to !ee de!troyed by a confla'ration or an earth&uake, thou'h he !hould be removed him!elf

to the 'reate!t di!tance from the dan'er. But !uppo!e !uch a fatal accident to have happened,what number! from all part! would crowd to behold the ruin!, and amon'!t many who would

have been content never to have !een 1ondon in it! 'lory or i! it, either in real or fictitiou!

di!tre!!e!, our immunity from them which produce! our deli'htE in my own mind % can di!covernothin' like it. % apprehend that thi! mi!take i! owin' to a !ort of !ophi!m, by which we are

fre&uently impo!ed uponE it ari!e! from our not di!tin'ui!hin' between what i! indeed a

nece!!ary condition to our doin' or !ufferin' anythin' in 'eneral, and what i! the cau!e of !ome

particular act. %f a man kill! me with a !word, it i! a nece!!ary condition to thi! that we !houldhave been both of u! alive before the factE and yet it would be ab!urd to !ay, that our bein' both

livin' creature! wa! the cau!e of hi! crime and of my death. So it i! certain, that it i! ab!olutely

nece!!ary my life !hould be out of any imminent haNard, before % can take a deli'ht in the!ufferin'! of other!, real or ima'inary, or indeed in anythin' el!e from any cau!e what!oever. But

then it i! a !ophi!m to ar'ue from thence, that thi! immunity i! the cau!e of my deli'ht either on

the!e or on any occa!ion!. o one can di!tin'ui!h !uch a cau!e of !ati!faction in hi! own mind, %believeE nay, when we do not !uffer any very acute pain, nor are e@po!ed to any imminent dan'er

of our live!, we can feel for other!, whil!t we !uffer our!elve!E and often then mo!t when we are


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!oftened by afflictionE we !ee with pity even di!tre!!e! which we would accept in the place of our

own.

%mitation

(H* S*O9 pa!!ion belon'in' to !ociety i! imitation, or, if you will, a de!ire of imitatin', and

con!e&uently a plea!ure in it. (hi! pa!!ion ari!e! from much the !ame cau!e with !ympathy. 0or

a! !ympathy make! u! take a concern in whatever men feel, !o thi! affection prompt! u! to copywhatever they doE and con!e&uently we have a plea!ure in imitatin', and in whatever belon'! to

imitation, merely a! it i! !uch, without any intervention of the rea!onin' faculty, but !olely from

our natural con!titution, which #rovidence ha! framed in !uch a manner a! to find either plea!ure

or deli'ht, accordin' to the nature of the obAect, in whatever re'ard! the purpo!e! of our bein'. %ti! by imitation far more than by precept, that we learn everythin'E and what we learn thu!, we

ac&uire not only more effectually, but more plea!antly. (hi! form! our manner!, our opinion!, our

live!. %t i! one of the !tron'e!t link! of !ocietyE it i! a !pecie! of mutual compliance, which allmen yield to each other, without con!traint to them!elve!, and which i! e@tremely flatterin' to all.

Herein it i! that paintin' and many other a'reeable art! have laid one of the principal foundation!

of their power. $nd !ince, by it! influence on our manner! and our pa!!ion!, it i! of !uch 'reatcon!e&uence, % !hall here venture to lay down a rule, which may inform u! with a 'ood de'ree of

certainty when we are to attribute the power of the art! to imitation, or to our plea!ure in the !kill

of the imitator merely, and when to !ympathy, or !ome other cau!e in conAunction with it. )henthe obAect repre!ented in poetry or paintin' i! !uch a! we could have no de!ire of !eein' in the

reality, then % may be !ure that it! power in poetry or paintin' i! owin' to the power of imitation,

and to no cau!e operatin' in the thin' it!elf. So it i! with mo!t of the piece! which the painter!

call !till7life. %n the!e a cotta'e, a dun'hill, the meane!t and mo!t ordinary uten!il! of the kitchen,are capable of 'ivin' u! plea!ure. But when the obAect of the paintin' or poem i! !uch a! we

!hould run to !ee if real, let it affect u! with what odd !ort of !en!e it will, we may rely upon it,

that the power of the poem or picture i! more owin' to the nature of the thin' it!elf than to themere effect of imitation, or to a con!ideration of the !kill of the imitator, however e@cellent.

$ri!totle ha! !poken !o much and !o boldly upon the force of imitation in hi! #oetic!, that it

make! any further di!cour!e upon thi! !ubAect the le!! nece!!ary.

$mbition

$1(HO


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ambition, and a !ati!faction ari!in' from the contemplation of hi! e@cellin' hi! fellow! in

!omethin' deemed valuable amon'!t them. %t i! thi! pa!!ion that drive! men to all the way! we!ee in u!e of !i'naliNin' them!elve!, and that tend! to make whatever e@cite! in a man the idea of

thi! di!tinction !o very plea!ant. %t ha! been !o !tron' a! to make very mi!erable men take

comfort, that they were !upreme in mi!eryE and certain it i!, that, where we cannot di!tin'ui!h

our!elve! by !omethin' e@cellent, we be'in to take a complacency in !ome !in'ular infirmitie!,follie!, or defect! of one kind or other. %t i! on thi! principle that flattery i! !o prevalentE for

flattery i! no more than what rai!e! in a man+! mind an idea of a preference which he ha! not.

ow, whatever, either on 'ood or upon bad 'round!, tend! to rai!e a man in hi! own opinion,produce! a !ort of !wellin' and triumph, that i! e@tremely 'rateful to the human mindE and thi!

!wellin' i! never more perceived, nor operate! with more force, than when without dan'er we are

conver!ant with terrible obAect!E the mind alway! claimin' to it!elf !ome part of the di'nity andimportance of the thin'! which it contemplate!. Hence proceed! what 1on'inu! ha! ob!erved of

that 'loryin' !en!e of inward 'reatne!!, that alway! fill! the reader of !uch pa!!a'e! in poet! and

orator! a! are !ublimeE it i! what every man mu!t have felt in him!elf upon !uch occa!ion!.

(he -ecapitulation

(O draw the whole of what ha! been !aid into a few di!tinct point!:7(he pa!!ion! which belon'

to !elf7pre!ervation turn on pain and dan'erE they are !imply painful when their cau!e!

immediately affect u!E they are deli'htful when we have an idea of pain and dan'er, withoutbein' actually in !uch circum!tance!E thi! deli'ht % have not called plea!ure, becau!e it turn! on

pain, and becau!e it i! different enou'h from any idea of po!itive plea!ure. )hatever e@cite! thi!

deli'ht, % call !ublime. (he pa!!ion! belon'in' to !elf7pre!ervation are the !tron'e!t of all the

pa!!ion!.

(he !econd head to which the pa!!ion! are referred with relation to their final cau!e, i! !ociety.

(here are two !ort! of !ocietie!. (he fir!t i!, the !ociety of !e@. (he pa!!ion belon'in' to thi! i!called love, and it contain! a mi@ture of lu!tE it! obAect i! the beauty of women. (he other i! the

'reat !ociety with man and all other animal!. (he pa!!ion !ub!ervient to thi! i! called likewi!e

love, but it ha! no mi@ture of lu!t, and it! obAect i! beautyE which i! a name % !hall apply to all!uch &ualitie! in thin'! a! induce in u! a !en!e of affection and tenderne!!, or !ome other pa!!ion

the mo!t nearly re!emblin' the!e. (he pa!!ion of love ha! it! ri!e in po!itive plea!ureE it i!, like

all thin'! which 'row out of plea!ure, capable of bein' mi@ed with a mode of unea!ine!!, that i!,

when an idea of it! obAect i! e@cited in the mind with an idea at the !ame time of havin'irretrievably lo!t it. (hi! mi@ed !en!e of plea!ure % have not called pain, becau!e it turn! upon

actual plea!ure, and becau!e it i!, both in it! cau!e and in mo!t of it! effect!, of a nature alto'ether

different. 2

e@t to the 'eneral pa!!ion we have for !ociety, to a choice in which we are directed by the

plea!ure we have in the obAect, the particular pa!!ion under thi! head called !ympathy ha! the'reate!t e@tent. (he nature of thi! pa!!ion i!, to put u! in the place of another in whatever

circum!tance he i! in, and to affect u! in a like mannerE !o that thi! pa!!ion may, a! the occa!ion


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re&uire!, turn either on pain or plea!ureE but with the modification! mentioned in !ome ca!e! in

!ect. %%. $! to imitation and preference, nothin' more need be !aid. 8

(he onclu!ion

% B*1%*"*9 that an attempt to ran'e and methodiNe !ome of our mo!t leadin' pa!!ion! would

be a 'ood preparative to !uch an in&uiry a! we are 'oin' to make in the en!uin' di!cour!e. (he

pa!!ion! % have mentioned are almo!t the only one! which it can be nece!!ary to con!ider in ourpre!ent de!i'nE thou'h the variety of the pa!!ion! i! 'reat, and worthy in every branch of that

variety, of an attentive inve!ti'ation. (he more accurately we !earch into the human mind, the

!tron'er trace! we everywhere find of hi! wi!dom who made it. %f a di!cour!e on the u!e of the

part! of the body may be con!idered a! an hymn to the reatorE the u!e of the pa!!ion!, which arethe or'an! of the mind, cannot be barren of prai!e to him, nor unproductive to our!elve! of that

noble and uncommon union of !cience and admiration, which a contemplation of the work! of

infinite wi!dom alone can afford to a rational mind: whil!t, referrin' to him whatever we find ofri'ht or 'ood or fair in our!elve!, di!coverin' hi! !tren'th and wi!dom even in our own weakne!!

and imperfection, honourin' them where we di!cover them clearly, and adorin' their profundity

where we are lo!t in our !earch, we may be in&ui!itive without impertinence, and elevatedwithout prideE we may be admitted, if % may dare to !ay !o, into the coun!el! of the $lmi'hty by a

con!ideration of hi! work!. (he elevation of the mind ou'ht to be the principal end of all our

!tudie!E which if they do not in !ome mea!ure effect, they are of very little !ervice to u!. But,be!ide thi! 'reat purpo!e, a con!ideration of the rationale of our pa!!ion! !eem! to me very

nece!!ary for all who would affect them upon !olid and !ure principle!. %t i! not enou'h to know

them in 'eneral: to affect them after a delicate manner, or to Aud'e properly of any work de!i'ned

to affect them, we !hould know the e@act boundarie! of their !everal Auri!diction!E we !houldpur!ue them throu'h all their variety of operation!, and pierce into the inmo!t, and what mi'ht

appear inacce!!ible, part! of our nature,

Cuod latet arcand non enarrabile fibrP.

)ithout all thi! it i! po!!ible for a man, after a confu!ed manner, !ometime! to !ati!fy hi! own

mind of the truth of hi! workE but he can never have a certain determinate rule to 'o by, nor canhe ever make hi! propo!ition! !ufficiently clear to other!. #oet!, and orator!, and painter!, and

tho!e who cultivate other branche! of the liberal art!, have, without thi! critical knowled'e,

!ucceeded well in their !everal province!, and will !ucceed: a! amon' artificer! there are many

machine! made and even invented without any e@act knowled'e of the principle! they are'overned by. %t i!, % own, not uncommon to be wron' in theory, and ri'ht in practiceE and we are

happy that it i! !o. 3en often act ri'ht from their feelin'!, who afterward! rea!on but ill on them

from principle: but a! it i! impo!!ible to avoid an attempt at !uch rea!onin', and e&uallyimpo!!ible to prevent it! havin' !ome influence on our practice, !urely it i! worth takin' !ome

pain! to have it Au!t, and founded on the ba!i! of !ure e@perience. )e mi'ht e@pect that the arti!t!

them!elve! would have been our !ure!t 'uide!E but the arti!t! have been too much occupied in thepractice: the philo!opher! have done littleE and what they have done, wa! mo!tly with a view to

their own !cheme! and !y!tem!: and a! for tho!e called critic!, they have 'enerally !ou'ht the


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rule of the art! in the wron' placeE they !ou'ht it amon' poem!, picture!, en'ravin'!, !tatue!, and

buildin'!. But art can never 'ive the rule! that make an art. (hi! i!, % believe, the rea!on whyarti!t! in 'eneral, and poet! principally, have been confined in !o narrow a circle: they have been

rather imitator! of one another than of natureE and thi! with !o faithful an uniformity, and to !o

remote an anti&uity, that it i! hard to !ay who 'ave the fir!t model. ritic! follow them, and

therefore can do little a! 'uide!. % can Aud'e but poorly of anythin', whil!t % mea!ure it by noother !tandard than it!elf. (he true !tandard of the art! i! in every man+! powerE and an ea!y

ob!ervation of the mo!t common, !ometime! of the meane!t, thin'! in nature, will 'ive the true!t

li'ht!, where the 'reate!t !a'acity and indu!try, that !li'ht! !uch ob!ervation, mu!t leave u! in thedark, or, what i! wor!e, amu!e and mi!lead u! by fal!e li'ht!. %n an in&uiry it i! almo!t everythin'

to be once in a ri'ht road. % am !ati!fied % have done but little by the!e ob!ervation! con!idered in

them!elve!E and % never !hould have taken the pain! to di'e!t them, much le!! !hould % have everventured to publi!h them, if % wa! not convinced that nothin' tend! more to the corruption of

!cience than to !uffer it to !ta'nate. (he!e water! mu!t be troubled, before they can e@ert their

virtue!. $ man who work! beyond the !urface of thin'!, thou'h he may be wron' him!elf, yet he

clear! the way for other!, and may chance to make even hi! error! !ub!ervient to the cau!e oftruth. %n the followin' part! % !hall in&uire what thin'! they are that cau!e in u! the affection! of

the !ublime and beautiful, a! in thi! % have con!idered the affection! them!elve!. % only de!ire one

favour,7that no part of thi! di!cour!e may be Aud'ed of by it!elf, and independently of the re!tE for% am !en!ible % have not di!po!ed my material! to abide the te!t of a captiou! controver!y, but of a

!ober and even for'ivin' e@amination, that they are not armed at all point! for battle, but dre!!ed

to vi!it tho!e who are willin' to 'ive a peaceful entrance to truth.

Of the #a!!ion au!ed by the Sublime

(H* #$SS%O cau!ed by the 'reat and !ublime in nature, when tho!e cau!e! operate mo!t

powerfully, i! a!toni!hmentE and a!toni!hment i! that !tate of the !oul, in which all it! motion! are

!u!pended, with !ome de'ree of horror. %n thi! ca!e the mind i! !o entirely filled with it! obAect,that it cannot entertain any other, nor by con!e&uence rea!on on that obAect which employ! it.

Hence ari!e! the 'reat power of the !ublime, that, far from bein' produced by them, it anticipate!

our rea!onin'!, and hurrie! u! on by an irre!i!tible force. $!toni!hment, a! % have !aid, i! theeffect of the !ublime in it! hi'he!t de'reeE the inferior effect! are admiration, reverence, and

re!pect.

ote . #art %. !ect. 8, 4, >. FbackG

(error


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O pa!!ion !o effectually rob! the mind of all it! power! of actin' and rea!onin' a! fear. 0or

fear bein' an apprehen!ion of pain or death, it operate! in a manner that re!emble! actual pain.)hatever therefore i! terrible, with re'ard to !i'ht, i! !ublime too, whether thi! cau!e of terror be

endued with 'reatne!! of dimen!ion! or notE for it i! impo!!ible to look on anythin' a! triflin', or

contemptible, that may be dan'erou!. (here are many animal!, who thou'h far from bein' lar'e,

are yet capable of rai!in' idea! of the !ublime, becau!e they are con!idered a! obAect! of terror.$! !erpent! and poi!onou! animal! of almo!t all kind!. $nd to thin'! of 'reat dimen!ion!, if we

anne@ an adventitiou! idea of terror, they become without compari!on 'reater. $ level plain of a

va!t e@tent on land, i! certainly no mean ideaE the pro!pect of !uch a plain may be a! e@ten!ive a!a pro!pect of the ocean: but can it ever fill the mind with anythin' !o 'reat a! the ocean it!elfM

(hi! i! owin' to !everal cau!e!E but it i! owin' to none more than thi!, that the ocean i! an obAect

of no !mall terror. %ndeed, terror i! in all ca!e! what!oever, either more openly or latently, therulin' principle of the !ublime. Several lan'ua'e! bear a !tron' te!timony to the affinity of the!e

idea!. (hey fre&uently u!e the !ame word, to !i'nify indifferently the mode! of a!toni!hment or

admiration, and tho!e of terror. F


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7(he other !hape,

%f !hape it mi'ht be called that !hape had none

9i!tin'ui!hable, in member, Aoint, or limbE

Or !ub!tance mi'ht be called that !hadow !eemedE

0or each !eemed eitherE black he !tood a! ni'htE

0ierce a! ten furie!E terrible a! hellE

$nd !hook a deadly dart. )hat !eemed hi! head

(he likene!! of a kin'ly crown had on.%n thi! de!cription all i! dark, uncertain, confu!ed, terrible, and !ublime to the la!t de'ree.

ote . #art %". !ect. 47=. FbackG

Of the 9ifference Between learne!! and Ob!curity with -e'ard to the #a!!ion!

%( i! one thin' to make an idea clear, and another to make it affectin' to the ima'ination. %f %

make a drawin' of a palace, or a temple, or a land!cape, % pre!ent a very clear idea of tho!e

obAect!E but then allowin' for the effect of imitation, which i! !omethin'I my picture can at mo!taffect only a! the palace, temple, or land!cape would have affected in the reality. On the other

hand, the mo!t lively and !pirited verbal de!cription % can 'ive rai!e! a very ob!cure and

imperfect idea of !uch obAect!E but then it i! in my power to rai!e a !tron'er emotion by thede!cription than % could do by the be!t paintin'. (hi! e@perience con!tantly evince!. (he proper

manner of conveyin' the affection! of the mind from one to another, i! by word!E there i! a 'reat

in!ufficiency in all other method! of communicationE and !o far i! a clearne!! of ima'ery frombein' ab!olutely nece!!ary to an influence upon the pa!!ion!, that they may be con!iderably

operated upon, without pre!entin' any ima'e at all, by certain !ound! adapted to that purpo!eE of

which we have a !ufficient proof in the acknowled'ed and powerful effect! of in!trumental

mu!ic. %n reality, a 'reat clearne!! help! but little toward! affectin' the pa!!ion!, a! it i! in !ome!ort an enemy to all enthu!ia!m! what!oever.

(he Same SubAect ontinued


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(H*-* are two ver!e! in Horace+! $rt of #oetry, that !eem to contradict thi! opinionE for which

rea!on % !hall take a little more pain! in clearin' it up. (he ver!e! are,

Se'niu! irritant animo! demi!!a per aure!,

Cuam &uJ !unt oculi! !ubAecta fidelibu!.

On thi! the $bbQ du Bo! found! a critici!m, wherein he 'ive! paintin' the preference to poetryin the article of movin' the pa!!ion!E principally on account of the 'reater clearne!! of the idea! it

repre!ent!. % believe thi! e@cellent Aud'e wa! led into thi! mi!take if it be a mi!takeI by hi!

!y!temE to which he found it more conformable than % ima'ine it will be found by e@perience. %know !everal who admire and love paintin', and yet who re'ard the obAect! of their admiration in

that art with coolne!! enou'h in compari!on of that warmth with which they are animated by

affectin' piece! of poetry or rhetoric. $mon' the common !ort of people, % never could perceive

that paintin' had much influence on their pa!!ion!. %t i! true, that the be!t !ort! of paintin', a!well a! the be!t !ort! of poetry, are not much under!tood in that !phere. But it i! mo!t certain, that

their pa!!ion! are very !tron'ly rou!ed by a fanatic preacher, or by the ballad! of hevy7cha!e, or

the hildren in the )ood, and by other little popular poem! and tale! that are current in that rankof life. % do not know of any paintin'!, bad or 'ood, that produce the !ame effect. So that poetry,

with all it! ob!curity, ha! a more 'eneral, a! well a! a more powerful, dominion over the pa!!ion!,

than the other art. $nd % think there are rea!on! in nature, why the ob!cure idea, when properlyconveyed, !hould be more affectin' than the clear. %t i! our i'norance of thin'! that cau!e! all our

admiration, and chiefly e@cite! our pa!!ion!. nowled'e and ac&uaintance make the mo!t

!trikin' cau!e! affect but little. %t i! thu! with the vul'arE and all men are a! the vul'ar in whatthey do not under!tand. (he idea! of eternity and infinity are amon' the mo!t affectin' we haveE

and yet perhap! there i! nothin' of which we really under!tand !o little, a! of infinity and eternity.

)e do not anywhere meet a more !ublime de!cription than thi! Au!tly celebrated one of 3ilton,

wherein he 'ive! the portrait of Satan with a di'nity !o !uitable to the !ubAect:

7He above the re!t

%n !hape and 'e!ture proudly eminent

Stood like a towerE hi! form had yet not lo!t

$ll her ori'inal bri'htne!!, nor appeared

1e!! than archan'el ruined, and th+ e@ce!!

Of 'lory ob!cured: a! when the !un new ri!en

1ook! throu'h the horiNontal mi!ty air

Shorn of hi! beam!E or from behind the moon

%n dim eclip!e di!a!trou! twili'ht !hed!


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On half the nation!E and with fear of chan'e

#erple@e! monarch!.7

Here i! a very noble pictureE and in what doe! thi! poetical picture con!i!tM %n ima'e! of a tower,

an archan'el, the !un ri!in' throu'h mi!t!, or in an eclip!e, the ruin of monarch!, and therevolution! of kin'dom!. (he mind i! hurried out of it!elf, by a crowd of 'reat and confu!ed

ima'e!E which affect becau!e they are crowded and confu!ed. 0or, !eparate them, and you lo!e

much of the 'reatne!!E and Aoin them, and you infallibly lo!e the clearne!!. (he ima'e! rai!ed bypoetry are alway! of thi! ob!cure kindE thou'h in 'eneral the effect! of poetry are by no mean! to

be attributed to the ima'e! it rai!e!E which point we !hall e@amine more at lar'e hereafter. But

paintin', when we have allowed for the plea!ure of imitation, can only affect !imply by theima'e! it pre!ent!E and even in paintin', a Audiciou! ob!curity in !ome thin'! contribute! to the

effect of the pictureE becau!e the ima'e! in paintin' are e@actly !imilar to tho!e in natureE and in

nature, dark, confu!ed, uncertain ima'e! have a 'reater power on the fancy to form the 'rander

pa!!ion!, than tho!e have which are more clear and determinate. But where and when thi!ob!ervation may be applied to practice, and how far it !hall be e@tended, will be better deduced

from the nature of the !ubAect, and from the occa!ion, than from any rule! that can be 'iven.

2 % am !en!ible that thi! idea ha! met with oppo!ition, and i! likely !till to be reAected by !everal.

But let it be con!idered, that hardly anythin' can !trike the mind with it! 'reatne!!, which doe!

not make !ome !ort of approach toward! infinityE which nothin' can do whil!t we are able toperceive it! bound!E but to !ee an obAect di!tinctly, and to perceive it! bound!, i! one and the

!ame thin'. $ clear idea i! therefore another name for a little idea. (here i! a pa!!a'e in the book

of ;ob amaNin'ly !ublime, and thi! !ublimity i! principally due to the terrible uncertainty of thethin' de!cribed: %n thou'ht! from the vi!ion! of the ni'ht, when deep !leep falleth upon men, fear

came upon me, and tremblin', which made all my bone! to !hake. (hen a !pirit pa!!ed before my

faceE the hair of my fle!h !tood up. %t !tood !till, but % could not di!cern the form thereof: an

ima'e wa! before mine eye!, there wa! !ilence, and % heard a voice,7Shall mortal man be moreAu!t than


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ote . #art ". FbackG

#ower

B*S%9*S tho!e thin'! which directly !u''e!t the idea of dan'er, and tho!e which produce a

!imilar effect from a mechanical cau!e, % know of nothin' !ublime, which i! not !ome

modification of power. $nd thi! branch ri!e!, a! naturally a! the other two branche!, from terror,the common !tock of everythin' that i! !ublime. (he idea of power, at fir!t view, !eem! of the

cla!! of tho!e indifferent one!, which may e&ually belon' to pain or to plea!ure. But in reality,

the affection, ari!in' from the idea of va!t power, i! e@tremely remote from that neutral character.0or fir!t, we mu!t remember, that the idea of pain, in it! hi'he!t de'ree, i! much !tron'er than

the hi'he!t de'ree of plea!ureE and that it pre!erve! the !ame !uperiority throu'h all the

!ubordinate 'radation!. 0rom hence it i!, that where the chance! for e&ual de'ree! of !ufferin' or

enAoyment are in any !ort e&ual, the idea of the !ufferin' mu!t alway! be prevalent. $nd indeedthe idea! of pain, and, above all, of death, are !o very affectin', that whil!t we remain in the

pre!ence of whatever i! !uppo!ed to have the power of inflictin' either, it i! impo!!ible to be

perfectly free from terror. $'ain, we know by e@perience, that, for the enAoyment of plea!ure, no'reat effort! of power are at all nece!!aryE nay, we know, that !uch effort! would 'o a 'reat way

toward! de!troyin' our !ati!faction: for plea!ure mu!t be !tolen, and not forced upon u!E plea!ure

follow! the willE and therefore we are 'enerally affected with it by many thin'! of a force 'reatlyinferior to our own. But pain i! alway! inflicted by a power in !ome way !uperior, becau!e we

never !ubmit to pain willin'ly. So that !tren'th, violence, pain, and terror, are idea! that ru!h in

upon the mind to'ether. 1ook at a man, or any other animal of prodi'iou! !tren'th, and what i!your idea before reflectionM %! it that thi! !tren'th will be !ub!ervient to you, to your ea!e, to your

plea!ure, to your intere!t in any !en!eM oE the emotion you feel i!, le!t thi! enormou! !tren'th

!hould be employed to the purpo!e! of rapine 2 and de!truction. (hat power derive! all it!

!ublimity from the terror with which it i! 'enerally accompanied, will appear evidently from it!effect in the very few ca!e!, in which it may be po!!ible to !trip a con!iderable de'ree of !tren'th

of it! ability to hurt. )hen you do thi!, you !poil it of everythin' !ublime, and it immediately

become! contemptible. $n o@ i! a creature of va!t !tren'thE but he i! an innocent creature,e@tremely !erviceable, and not at all dan'erou!E for which rea!on the idea of an o@ i! by no mean!

'rand. $ bull i! !tron' too: but hi! !tren'th i! of another kindE often very de!tructive, !eldom at

lea!t amon'!t u!I of any u!e in our bu!ine!!E the idea of a bull i! therefore 'reat, and it ha!fre&uently a place in !ublime de!cription!, and elevatin' compari!on!. 1et u! look at another

!tron' animal, in the two di!tinct li'ht! in which we may con!ider him. (he hor!e in the li'ht of a

u!eful bea!t, fit for the plou'h, the road, the draftE in every !ocial, u!eful li'ht, the hor!e ha!

nothin' !ublime: but i! it thu! that we are affected with him, who!e neck i! clothed with thunder,the 'lory of who!e no!tril! i! terrible, who !walloweth the 'round with fiercene!! and ra'e,

neither believeth that it i! the !ound of the trumpetM %n thi! de!cription, the u!eful character of the

hor!e entirely di!appear!, and the terrible and !ublime blaNe out to'ether. )e have continuallyabout u! animal! of a !tren'th that i! con!iderable, but not perniciou!. $mon'!t the!e we never

look for the !ublimeE it come! upon u! in the 'loomy fore!t, and in the howlin' wilderne!!, in the

form of the lion, the ti'er, the panther, or rhinocero!. )henever !tren'th i! only u!eful, andemployed for our benefit or our plea!ure, then it i! never !ublime: for nothin' can act a'reeably

to u!, that doe! not act in conformity to our willE but to act a'reeably to our will, it mu!t be


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!ubAect to u!, and therefore can never be the cau!e of a 'rand and commandin' conception. (he

de!cription of the wild a!!, in ;ob, i! worked up into no !mall !ublimity, merely by in!i!tin' onhi! freedom, and hi! !ettin' mankind at defianceE otherwi!e the de!cription of !uch an animal

could have had nothin' noble in it. )ho hath loo!ed !ay! heI the band! of the wild a!!M who!e

hou!e % have made the wilderne!!, and the barren land hi! dwellin'!. He !corneth the multitude of

the city, neither re'ardeth he the voice of the driver. (he ran'e of the mountain! i! hi! pa!ture.(he ma'nificent de!cription of the unicorn and of leviathan, in the !ame book, i! full of the !ame

hei'htenin' circum!tance!: )ill the unicorn be willin' to !erve theeM can!t thou bind the unicorn

with hi! band in the furrowM wilt thou tru!t him becau!e hi! !tren'th i! 'reatM7an!t thou drawout leviathan with an hookM7will he make a covenant with theeM wilt thou take him for a !ervant

for everM !hall not one be ca!t down even at the !i'ht of himM %n !hort, where!oever we find

!tren'th, and in what li'ht !oever we look upon power we !hall all alon' ob!erve the !ublime theconcomitant of terror, and contempt the attendant on a !tren'th that i! !ub!ervient and inno@iou!.

(he race of do'!, in many of their kind!, have 'enerally a competent de'ree of !tren'th and

!wiftne!!E and they e@ert the!e and other valuable &ualitie! which they po!!e!!, 'reatly to our

convenience and plea!ure. 9o'! are indeed the mo!t !ocial, affectionate, and amiable animal! ofthe whole brute creationE but love approache! much nearer to contempt than i! commonly

ima'inedE and accordin'ly, thou'h we care!! do'!, we borrow from them an appellation of the

mo!t de!picable kind, when we employ term! of reproachE and thi! appellation i! the commonmark of the la!t vilene!! and contempt in every lan'ua'e. )olve! have not more !tren'th than

!everal !pecie! of do'!E but, on account of their unmana'eable fiercene!!, the idea of a wolf i!

not de!picableE it i! not e@cluded from 'rand de!cription! and !imilitude!. (hu! we are affectedby !tren'th, which i! natural power. (he power which ari!e! from in!titution in kin'! and

commander!, ha! the !ame conne@ion with terror. Soverei'n! are fre&uently addre!!ed with the

title of dread maAe!ty. $nd it may be ob!erved, that youn' per!on!, little ac&uainted with theworld, and who have not been u!ed to approach men in power, are commonly !truck with an awe

which take! away the free u!e of their facultie!. )hen % prepared my !eat in the !treet, !ay! ;ob,I

the youn' men !aw me, and hid them!elve!. %ndeed, !o natural i! thi! timidity with re'ard to

power, and !o !tron'ly doe! it inhere in our con!titution, that very few are able to con&uer it, butby mi@in' much in the bu!ine!! of the 'reat world, or by u!in' no !mall violence to their natural

di!po!ition!. % know !ome people are of opinion, that no awe, no de'ree of terror, accompanie!

the idea of powerE and have haNarded to affirm, that we can contemplate the idea of


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ima'ination, hi! power i! by far the mo!t !trikin'. Some reflection, !ome comparin', i! nece!!ary

to !ati!fy u! of hi! wi!dom, hi! Au!tice, and hi! 'oodne!!. (o be !truck with hi! power, it i! onlynece!!ary that we !hould open our eye!. But whil!t we contemplate !o va!t an obAect, under the

arm, a! it were, of almi'hty power, and inve!ted upon every !ide with omnipre!ence, we !hrink

into the minutene!! of our own nature, and are, in a manner, annihilated before him. $nd thou'h

a con!ideration of hi! other attribute! may relieve, in !ome mea!ure, our apprehen!ion!E yet noconviction of the Au!tice with which it i! e@erci!ed, nor the mercy with which it i! tempered, can

wholly remove the terror that naturally ari!e! from a force which nothin' can with!tand. %f we

reAoice, we reAoice with tremblin': and even whil!t we are receivin' benefit!, we cannot but!hudder at a power which can confer benefit! of !uch mi'hty importance. )hen the prophet

9avid contemplated the wonder! of wi!dom and power which are di!played in the economy of

man, he !eem! to be !truck with a !ort of divine horror, and crie! out, 0earfully and wonderfullyam % made $n heathen poet ha! a !entiment of a !imilar natureE Horace look! upon it a! the la!t

effort of philo!ophical fortitude, to behold without terror and amaNement, thi! immen!e and

'loriou! fabric of the univer!e:

Hunc !olem, et !tella!, et decedentia certi!

(empora momenti!, !unt &ui formidine nulla

%mbuti !pectent.

1ucretiu! i! a poet not to be !u!pected of 'ivin' way to !uper!titiou! terror!E yet when he!uppo!e! the whole mechani!m of nature laid open by the ma!ter of hi! philo!ophy, hi! tran!port

on thi! ma'nificent view, which he ha! repre!ented in the colour! of !uch bold and lively poetry,

i! overca!t with a !hade of !ecret dread and horror:

Hi! ibi me rebu! &uJdam divina volupta!

#ercipit, at&ue horrorE &uod !ic atura, tua vi

(am manife!ta paten!, e@ omni parte retecta e!t.

But the Scripture alone can !upply idea! an!werable to the maAe!ty of thi! !ubAect. %n theScripture, wherever


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have, !o lar'e a mi@ture of !alutary fearE and that fal!e reli'ion! have 'enerally nothin' el!e but

fear to !upport them. Before the hri!tian reli'ion had, a! it were, humaniNed the idea of the9ivinity, and brou'ht it !omewhat nearer to u!, there wa! very little !aid of the love of


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O hao! hoar and #hle'ethon profound

)ho!e !olemn empire !tretche! wide aroundE


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ote . #art %". !ect. 5. FbackG

%nfinity

$O(H*- !ource of the !ublime i! infinityE if it doe! not rather belon' to the la!t. %nfinity ha! a

tendency to fill the mind with that !ort of deli'htful horror, which i! the mo!t 'enuine effect and

true!t te!t of the !ublime. (here are !carce any thin'! which can become the obAect! of our!en!e!, that are really and in their own nature infinite. But the eye not bein' able to perceive the

bound! of many thin'!, they !eem to be infinite, and they produce the !ame effect! a! if they

were really !o. )e are deceived in the like manner, if the part! of !ome lar'e obAect are !o

continued to any indefinite number, that the ima'ination meet! no check which may hinder it!e@tendin' them at plea!ure.

)henever we repeat any idea fre&uently, the mind, by a !ort of mechani!m, repeat! it lon' afterthe fir!t cau!e ha! cea!ed to operate. $fter whirlin' about, when we !it down, the obAect! about

u! !till !eem to whirl. $fter a lon' !ucce!!ion of noi!e!, a! the fall of water!, or the beatin' of

for'e7hammer!, the hammer! beat and the water roar! in the ima'ination lon' after the fir!t!ound! have cea!ed to affect itE and they die away at la!t by 'radation! which are !carcely

perceptible. %f you hold up a !trai'ht pole, with your eye to one end, it will !eem e@tended to a

len'th almo!t incredible. 2 #lace a number of uniform and e&ui7di!tant mark! on thi! pole, theywill cau!e the !ame deception, and !eem multiplied without end. (he !en!e!, !tron'ly affected in

!ome one manner, cannot &uickly chan'e their tenor, or adapt them!elve! to other thin'!E but they

continue in their old channel until the !tren'th of the fir!t mover decay!. (hi! i! the rea!on of an

appearance very fre&uent in madmenE that they remain whole day! and ni'ht!, !ometime! wholeyear!, in the con!tant repetition of !ome remark, !ome complaint, or !on'E which havin' !truck

powerfully on their di!ordered ima'ination in the be'innin' of their phren!y, every repetition

reinforce! it with new !tren'thE and the hurry of their !pirit!, unre!trained by the curb of rea!on,continue! it to the end of their live!.

2

ote . #art %". !ect. 2. FbackG

ote 2. #art %". !ect. 4. FbackG

Succe!!ion and niformity

S*SS%O and uniformity of part! are what con!titute the artificial infinite. . Succe!!ionE

which i! re&ui!ite that the part! may be continued !o lon' and in !uch a direction, a! by theirfre&uent impul!e! on the !en!e to impre!! the ima'ination with an idea of their pro're!! beyond

their actual limit!. 2 niformityE becau!e if the fi'ure! of the part! !hould be chan'ed, the


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ima'ination at every chan'e find! a checkE you are pre!ented at every alteration with the

termination of one idea, and the be'innin' of anotherE by which mean! it become! impo!!ible tocontinue that uninterrupted pro're!!ion, which alone can !tamp on bounded obAect! the character

of infinity. %t i! in thi! kind of artificial infinity, % believe, we ou'ht to look for the cau!e why a

rotund ha! !uch a noble effect. 0or in a rotund, whether it be a buildin' or a plantation, you can

nowhere fi@ a boundaryE turn which way you will, the !ame obAect !till !eem! to continue, and theima'ination ha! no re!t. But the part! mu!t be uniform, a! well a! circularly di!po!ed, to 'ive thi!

fi'ure it! full forceE becau!e any difference, whether it be in the di!po!ition, or in the fi'ure, or

even in the color of the part!, i! hi'hly preAudicial to the idea of infinity, which every chan'emu!t check and interrupt, at every alteration commencin' a new !erie!. On the !ame principle! of

!ucce!!ion and uniformity, the 'rand appearance of the ancient heathen temple!, which were

'enerally oblon' form!, with a ran'e of uniform pillar! on every !ide, will be ea!ily accountedfor. 0rom the !ame cau!e al!o may be derived the 'rand effect of the ai!le! in many of our own

old cathedral!. (he form of a cro!! u!ed in !ome churche! !eem! to me not !o eli'ible a! the

parallelo'ram of the ancient!E at lea!t, % ima'ine it i! not !o proper for the out!ide. 0or, !uppo!in'

the arm! of the cro!! every way e&ual, if you !tand in a direction parallel to any of the !ide wall!,or colonnade!, in!tead of a deception that make! the buildin' more e@tended than it i!, you are

cut off from a con!iderable part two7third!I of it! actual len'thE and to prevent all po!!ibility of

pro're!!ion, the arm! of the cro!!, takin' a new direction, make a ri'ht an'le with the beam, andthereby wholly turn the ima'ination from the repetition of the former idea. Or !uppo!e the

!pectator placed where he may take a direct view of !uch a buildin', what will be the

con!e&uenceM (he nece!!ary con!e&uence will be, that a 'ood part of the ba!i! of each an'leformed by the inter!ection of the arm! of the cro!!, mu!t be inevitably lo!tE the whole mu!t of

cour!e a!!ume a broken, unconnected fi'ureE the li'ht! mu!t be une&ual, here !tron', and there

weakE without that noble 'radation which the per!pective alway! effect! on part! di!po!eduninterruptedly in a ri'ht line. Some or all of the!e obAection! will lie a'ain!t every fi'ure of a

cro!!, in whatever view you take it. % e@emplified them in the


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per!pective will le!!en it in hei'ht a! it 'ain! in len'thE and will brin' it at la!t to a pointE turnin'

the whole fi'ure into a !ort of trian'le, the poore!t in it! effect of almo!t any fi'ure that can bepre!ented to the eye. % have ever ob!erved, that colonnade! and avenue! of tree! of a moderate

len'th, were, without compari!on, far 'rander, than when they were !uffered to run to immen!e

di!tance!. $ true arti!t !hould put a 'enerou! deceit on the !pectator!, and effect the noble!t

de!i'n! by ea!y method!. 9e!i'n! that are va!t only by their dimen!ion!, are alway! the !i'n of acommon and low ima'ination. o work of art can be 'reat, but a! it deceive!E to be otherwi!e i!

the prero'ative of nature only. $ 'ood eye will fi@ the medium betwi@t an e@ce!!ive len'th or

hei'ht, for the !ame obAection lie! a'ain!t both,I and a !hort or broken &uantityE and perhap! itmi'ht be a!certained to a tolerable de'ree of e@actne!!, if it wa! my purpo!e to de!cend far into

the particular! of any art.

%nfinity in #lea!in' ObAect!

%0%%(, thou'h of another kind, cau!e! much of our plea!ure in a'reeable, a! well a! of ourdeli'ht in !ublime, ima'e!. (he !prin' i! the plea!ante!t of the !ea!on!E and the youn' of mo!t

animal!, thou'h far from bein' completely fa!hioned, afford a more a'reeable !en!ation than the

full7'rownE becau!e the ima'ination i! entertained with the promi!e of !omethin' more, and doe!not ac&uie!ce in the pre!ent obAect of the !en!e. %n unfini!hed !ketche! of drawin', % have often

!een !omethin' which plea!ed me beyond the be!t fini!hin'E and thi! % believe proceed! from the

cau!e % have Au!t now a!!i'ned.

9ifficulty

$O(H*- !ource of 'reatne!! i! 9ifficulty. )hen any work !eem! to have re&uired immen!e

force and labor to effect it, the idea i! 'rand. Stonehen'e, neither for di!po!ition nor ornament,

ha! anythin' admirableE but tho!e hu'e rude ma!!e! of !tone, !et on end, and piled each on other,turn the mind on the immen!e force nece!!ary for !uch a work. ay, the rudene!! of the work

increa!e! thi! cau!e of 'randeur, a! it e@clude! the idea of art and contrivanceE for de@terity

produce! another !ort of effect, which i! different enou'h from thi!.

ote . #art %". !ect. 47=. FbackG

3a'nificence


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3a'nificence i! likewi!e a !ource of the !ublime. $ 'reat profu!ion of thin'!, which are !plendid

or valuable in them!elve!, i! ma'nificent. (he !tarry heaven, thou'h it occur! !o very fre&uentlyto our view, never fail! to e@cite an idea of 'randeur. (hi! cannot be owin' to the !tar!

them!elve!, !eparately con!idered. (he number i! certainly the cau!e. (he apparent di!order

au'ment! the 'randeur, for the appearance of care i! hi'hly contrary to our idea of ma'nificence.

Be!ide!, the !tar! lie in !uch apparent confu!ion, a! make! it impo!!ible on ordinary occa!ion! toreckon them. (hi! 'ive! them the advanta'e of a !ort of infinity. %n work! of art, thi! kind of

'randeur, which con!i!t! in multitude, i! to be very courteou!ly admittedE becau!e a profu!ion of

e@cellent thin'! i! not to be attained, or with too much difficultyE and becau!e in many ca!e! thi!!plendid confu!ion would de!troy all u!e, which !hould be attended to in mo!t of the work! of art

with the 'reate!t careE be!ide!, it i! to be con!idered, that unle!! you can produce an appearance

of infinity by your di!order, you will have di!order only without ma'nificence. (here are,however, a !ort of firework!, and !ome other thin'!, that in thi! way !ucceed well, and are truly

'rand. (here are al!o many de!cription! in the poet! and orator!, which owe their !ublimity to a

richne!! and profu!ion of ima'e!, in which the mind i! !o daNNled a! to make it impo!!ible to

attend to that e@act coherence and a'reement of the allu!ion!, which we !hould re&uire on everyother occa!ion. % do not now remember a more !trikin' e@ample of thi!, than the de!cription

which i! 'iven of the kin'+! army in the play of Henry the 0ourth:

7$ll furni!hed, all in arm!,

$ll plumed like o!triche! that with the wind

Baited like ea'le! havin' lately bathed:

$! full of !pirit a! the month of 3ay,

$nd 'or'eou! a! the !un in 3id!ummer,

)anton a! youthful 'oat!, wild a! youn' bull!.

% !aw youn' Harry with hi! beaver on

-i!e from the 'round like feathered 3ercuryE

$nd vaulted with !uch ea!e into hi! !eat,

$! if an an'el dropp+d down from the cloud!

(o turn and wind a fiery #e'a!u!.

%n that e@cellent book, !o remarkable for the vivacity of it! de!cription! a! well a! the !olidity

and penetration of it! !entence!, the )i!dom of the Son of Sirach, there i! a noble pane'yric on

the hi'h prie!t Simon the !on of Onia!E and it i! a very fine e@ample of the point before u!:


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How wa! he honoured in the mid!t of the people, in hi! comin' out of the !anctuary He wa! a!

the mornin' !tar in the mid!t of a cloud, and a! the moon at the fullE a! the !un !hinin' upon thetemple of the 3o!t Hi'h, and a! the rainbow 'ivin' li'ht in the bri'ht cloud!: and a! the flower

of ro!e! in the !prin' of the year, a! lilie! by the river! of water!, and a! the frankincen!e tree in

!ummerE a! fire and incen!e in the cen!er, and a! a ve!!el of 'old !et with preciou! !tone!E a! a

fair olive tree buddin' forth fruit, and a! a cypre!! which 'roweth up to the cloud!. )hen he puton the robe of honour, and wa! clothed with the perfection of 'lory, when he went up to the holy

altar, he made the 'arment of holine!! honourable. He him!elf !tood by the hearth of the altar,

compa!!ed with hi! brethren round aboutE a! a youn' cedar in 1ibanu!, and a! palm tree!compa!!ed they him about. So were all the !on! of $aron in their 'lory, and the oblation! of the

1ord in their hand!, c.

2

1i'ht

H$"%< con!idered e@ten!ion, !o far a! it i! capable of rai!in' idea! of 'reatne!!E colour come!

ne@t under con!ideration. $ll colour! depend on li'ht. 1i'ht therefore ou'ht previou!ly to be

e@aminedE and with it! oppo!ite, darkne!!. )ith re'ard to li'ht, to make it a cau!e capable ofproducin' the !ublime, it mu!t be attended with !ome circum!tance!, be!ide! it! bare faculty of

!howin' other obAect!. 3ere li'ht i! too common a thin' to make a !tron' impre!!ion on the

mind, and without a !tron' impre!!ion nothin' can be !ublime. But !uch a li'ht a! that of the !un,immediately e@erted on the eye, a! it overpower! the !en!e, i! a very 'reat idea. 1i'ht of an

inferior !tren'th to thi!, if it move! with 'reat celerity, ha! the !ame powerE for li'htnin' i!

certainly productive of 'randeur, which it owe! chiefly to the e@treme velocity of it! motion. $

&uick tran!ition from li'ht to darkne!!, or from darkne!! to li'ht, ha! yet a 'reater effect. Butdarkne!! i! more productive of !ublime idea! than li'ht. Our 'reat poet wa! convinced of thi!E

and indeed !o full wa! he of thi! idea, !o entirely po!!e!!ed with the power of a well7mana'ed

darkne!!, that in de!cribin' the appearance of the 9eity, amid!t that profu!ion of ma'nificentima'e!, which the 'randeur of hi! !ubAect provoke! him to pour out upon every !ide, he i! far

from for'ettin' the ob!curity which !urround! the mo!t incomprehen!ible of all bein'!, but

7)ith maAe!ty of darkne!! round

ircle! hi! throne.7

$nd what i! no le!! remarkable, our author had the !ecret of pre!ervin' thi! idea, even when he!eemed to depart the farthe!t from it, when he de!cribe! the li'ht and 'lory which flow! from the

9ivine pre!enceE a li'ht which by it! very e@ce!! i! converted into a !pecie! of darkne!!.

9ark with e@ce!!ive li'ht thy !kirt! appear.

Here i! an idea not only poetical in a hi'h de'ree, but !trictly and philo!ophically Au!t. *@treme

li'ht, by overcomin' the or'an! of !i'ht, obliterate! all obAect!, !o a! in it! effect e@actly tore!emble darkne!!. $fter lookin' for !ome time at the !un, two black !pot!, the impre!!ion which

it leave!, !eem to dance before our eye!. (hu! are two idea! a! oppo!ite a! can be ima'ined


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reconciled in the e@treme! of bothE and both, in !pite of their oppo!ite nature, brou'ht to concur

in producin' the !ublime. $nd thi! i! not the only in!tance wherein the oppo!ite e@treme! operatee&ually in favour of the !ublime, which in all thin'! abhor! mediocrity.

1i'ht in Buildin'

$S the mana'ement of li'ht i! a matter of importance in architecture, it i! worth in&uirin', how

far thi! remark i! applicable to buildin'. % think then, that all edifice! calculated to produce anidea of the !ublime, ou'ht rather to be dark and 'loomy, and thi! for two rea!on!E the fir!t i!, that

darkne!! it!elf on other occa!ion! i! known by e@perience to have a 'reater effect on the pa!!ion!

than li'ht. (he !econd i!, that to make an obAect very !trikin', we !hould make it a! different a!

po!!ible from the obAect! with which we have been immediately conver!antE when therefore youenter a buildin', you cannot pa!! into a 'reater li'ht than you had in the open airE to 'o into one

!ome few de'ree! le!! luminou!, can make only a triflin' chan'eE but to make the tran!ition

thorou'hly !trikin', you ou'ht to pa!! from the 'reate!t li'ht, to a! much darkne!! a! i! con!i!tentwith the u!e! of architecture. $ ni'ht the contrary rule will hold, but for the very !ame rea!onE

and the more hi'hly a room i! then illuminated, the 'rander will the pa!!ion be.

olour on!idered a! #roductive of the Sublime

$3O< colour!, !uch a! are !oft or cheerful e@cept perhap! a !tron' red which i! cheerfulI areunfit to produce 'rand ima'e!. $n immen!e mountain covered with a !hinin' 'reen turf, i!

nothin', in thi! re!pect, to one dark and 'loomyE the cloudy !ky i! more 'rand than the blueE and

ni'ht more !ublime and !olemn than day. (herefore in hi!torical paintin', a 'ay or 'audy draperycan never have a happy effect: and in buildin'!, when the hi'he!t de'ree of the !ublime i!

intended, the material! and ornament! ou'ht neither to be white, nor 'reen, nor yellow, nor blue,

nor a pale red, nor violet, nor !potted, but of !ad and fu!cou! colour!, a! black, or brown, or deeppurple, and the like. 3uch of 'ildin', mo!aic!, paintin', or !tatue!, contribute but little to the

!ublime. (hi! rule need not be put in practice, e@cept where an uniform de'ree of the mo!t

!trikin' !ublimity i! to be produced, and that in every particularE for it ou'ht to be ob!erved, that

thi! melancholy kind of 'reatne!!, thou'h it be certainly the hi'he!t, ou'ht not to be !tudied in all!ort! of edifice!, where yet 'randeur mu!t be !tudied: in !uch ca!e! the !ublimity mu!t be drawn

from the other !ource!E with a !trict caution however a'ain!t anythin' li'ht and riantE a! nothin'

!o effectually deaden! the whole ta!te of the !ublime.

Sound and 1oudne!!


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(H* ** i! not the only or'an of !en!ation by which a !ublime pa!!ion may be produced.

Sound! have a 'reat power in the!e a! in mo!t other pa!!ion!. % do not mean word!, becau!e

word! do not affect !imply by their !ound!, but by mean! alto'ether different. *@ce!!ive loudne!!

alone i! !ufficient to overpower the !oul, to !u!pend it! action, and to fill it with terror. (he noi!eof va!t cataract!, ra'in' !torm!, thunder, or artillery, awake! a 'reat and awful !en!ation in the

mind, thou'h we can ob!erve no nicety or artifice in tho!e !ort! of mu!ic. (he !houtin' of

multitude! ha! a !imilar effectE and, by the !ole !tren'th of the !ound, !o amaNe! and confound!the ima'ination, that, in thi! !ta''erin' and hurry of the mind, the be!t7e!tabli!hed temper! can

!carcely forbear bein' borne down, and Aoinin' in the common cry, and common re!olution of the

crowd.

Suddenne!!

$ S99* be'innin' or !udden ce!!ation of !ound of any con!iderable force, ha! the name

power. (he attention i! rou!ed by thi!E and the facultie! driven forward, a! it were, on their 'uard.

)hatever, either in !i'ht! or !ound!, make! the tran!ition from one e@treme to the other ea!y,cau!e! no terror, and con!e&uently can be no cau!e of 'reatne!!. %n everythin' !udden and

une@pected, we are apt to !tartE that i!, we have a perception of dan'er, and our nature rou!e! u!

to 'uard a'ain!t it. %t may be ob!erved that a !in'le !ound of !ome !tren'th, thou'h but of !hortduration, if repeated after interval!, ha! a 'rand effect. 0ew thin'! are more awful than the

!trikin' of a 'reat clock, when the !ilence of the ni'ht prevent! the attention from bein' too much

di!!ipated. (he !ame may be !aid of a !in'le !troke on a drum, repeated with pau!e!E and of the

!ucce!!ive firin' of cannon at a di!tance. $ll the effect! mentioned in thi! !ection have cau!e!very nearly alike.

%ntermittin'

$ 1O), tremulou!, intermittin' !ound, thou'h it !eem! in !ome re!pect! oppo!ite to that Au!t

mentioned, i! productive of the !ublime. %t i! worth while to e@amine thi! a little. (he fact it!elfmu!t be determined by every man+! own e@perience and reflection. % have already ob!erved,

that ni'ht increa!e! our terror, more perhap! than anythin' el!eE it i! our nature, when we do not

know what may happen to u!, to fear the wor!t that can happenE and hence it i!, that uncertainty i!!o terrible, that we often !eek to be rid of it, at the haNard of certain mi!chief. ow, !ome low,

confu!ed, uncertain !ound!, leave u! in the !ame fearful an@iety concernin' their cau!e!, that no

li'ht, or an uncertain li'ht, doe! concernin' the obAect! that !urround u!.

Cuale per incertam lunam !ub luce mali'na


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*!t iter in !ylvi!.7

7$ faint !hadow of uncertain li'ht,

1ike a! a lamp, who!e life doth fade awayE

Or a! the moon clothed with cloudy ni'ht

9oth !how to him who walk! in fear and 'reat affri'ht.S#*S*-.

But li'ht now appearin' and now leavin' u!, and !o off and on, i! even more terrible than total

darkne!!: and a !ort of uncertain !ound! are, when the nece!!ary di!po!ition! concur, more

alarmin' than a total !ilence.

ote . Sect. 8. FbackG

(he rie! of $nimal!

SH !ound! a! imitate the natural inarticulate voice! of men, or any animal! in pain or dan'er,

are capable of conveyin' 'reat idea!E unle!! it be the well7known voice of !ome creature, on

which we are u!ed to look with contempt. (he an'ry tone! of wild bea!t! are e&ually capable of

cau!in' a 'reat and awful !en!ation.

Hinc e@audiri 'emitu! irJ&ue leonum

"incla recu!antum, et !era !ub nocte rudentumE

Seti'eri&ue !ue!, at&ue in prJ!epibu! ur!i

SJvireE et formJ ma'norum ululare luporum.

%t mi'ht !eem that the!e modulation! of !ound carry !ome conne@ion with the nature of the thin'!

they repre!ent, and are not merely arbitraryE becau!e the natural crie! of all animal!, even of tho!eanimal! with whom we have not been ac&uainted, never fail to make them!elve! !ufficiently

under!toodE thi! cannot be !aid of lan'ua'e. (he modification! of !ound, which may be

productive of the !ublime, are almo!t infinite. (ho!e % have mentioned are only a few in!tance! to!how on what principle! they are all built.

Smell and (a!te. Bitter! and Stenche!


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Smell! and (a!te! have !ome !hare too in idea! of 'reatne!!E but it i! a !mall one, weak in it!

nature, and confined in it! operation!. % !hall only ob!erve, that no !mell! or ta!te! can produce a

'rand !en!ation, e@cept e@ce!!ive bitter!, and intolerable !tenche!. %t i! true, that the!e affection!of the !mell and ta!te, when they are in their full force, and lean directly upon the !en!ory, are

!imply painful, and accompanied with no !ort of deli'htE but when they are moderated, a! in a

de!cription or narrative, they become !ource! of the !ublime, a! 'enuine a! any other, and uponthe very !ame principle of a moderated pain. K$ cup of bitterne!!EK Kto drain the bitter cup of

fortuneEK Kthe bitter apple! of SodomEK the!e are all idea! !uitable to a !ublime de!cription. or i!

thi! pa!!a'e of "ir'il without !ublimity, where the !tench of the vapour in $lbunea con!pire! !ohappily with the !acred horror and 'loomine!! of that prophetic fore!t:

$t re@ !ollicitu! mon!tri! oracula 0auni

0atidici 'enitori! adit, luco!&ue !ub alta

on!ulit $lbunea, nemorum &uJ ma@ima !acro

0onte !onatE !Jvam&ue e@halat opaca 3ephitim.

%n the !i@th book, and in a very !ublime de!cription, the poi!onou! e@halation of $cheron i! notfor'otten, nor doe! it all di!a'ree with the other ima'e! amon'!t which it i! introduced:

Spelunca alta fuit, va!to&ue immani! hiatu,

Scrupea, tuta lacu ni'ro, nemorum&ue tenebri!E

Cuam !uper haud ullJ poterant impune volante!

(endere iter penni!: tali! !e!e halitu! atri!

0aucibu! effunden! !upera ad conve@a ferebat.

% have added the!e e@ample!, becau!e !ome friend!, for who!e Aud'ment % have 'reat deference,

were of opinion that if the !entiment !tood nakedly by it!elf, it would be !ubAect, at fir!t view, toburle!&ue and ridiculeE but thi! % ima'ine would principally ari!e from con!iderin' the bitterne!!

and !tench in company with mean and contemptible idea!, with which it mu!t be owned they are

often unitedE !uch an union de'rade! the !ublime in all other in!tance! a! well a! in tho!e. But it

i! one of the te!t! by which the !ublimity of an ima'e i! to be tried, not whether it become! meanwhen a!!ociated with mean idea!E but whether, when united with ima'e! of an allowed 'randeur,

the whole compo!ition i! !upported with di'nity. (hin'! which are terrible are alway! 'reatE but

when thin'! po!!e!! di!a'reeable &ualitie!, or !uch a! have indeed !ome de'ree of dan'er, but ofa dan'er ea!ily overcome, they are merely odiou!E a! toad! and !pider!.

0eelin'. #ain


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O0 feelin', little more can be !aid than that the idea of bodily pain, in all the mode! and de'ree!

of labour, pain, an'ui!h, torment, i! productive of the !ublime,E and nothin' el!e in thi! !en!e can

produce it. % need not 'ive here any fre!h in!tance!, a! tho!e 'iven in the former !ection!abundantly illu!trate a remark that, in reality, want! only an attention to nature, to be made by

everybody.

Havin' thu! run throu'h the cau!e! of the !ublime with reference to all the !en!e!, my fir!t

ob!ervation !ect. >I will be found very nearly trueE that the !ublime i! an idea belon'in' to

!elf7pre!ervationE that it i! therefore one of the mo!t affectin' we haveE that it! !tron'e!t emotioni! an emotion di!tre!!E and that no plea!ure from a po!itive cau!e belon'! to it. umberle!!

e@ample!, be!ide! tho!e mentioned, mi'ht be brou'ht in !upport of the!e truth!, and many

perhap! u!eful con!e&uence! drawn from them7

Sed fu'it interea, fu'it irrevocabile tempu!,

Sin'ula dum capti circumvectamur amore.

2

ote . "ide #art %. !ect. =. FbackG

Of Beauty

%( i! my de!i'n to con!ider beauty a! di!tin'ui!hed from the !ublimeE and, in the cour!e of the

in&uiry, to e@amine how far it i! con!i!tent with it. But previou! to thi!, we mu!t take a !hort

review of the opinion! already entertained of thi! &ualityE which % think are hardly to be reducedto any fi@ed principle!E becau!e men are u!ed to talk of beauty in a fi'urative manner, that i! to

!ay, in a manner e@tremely uncertain, and indeterminate. By beauty % mean that &uality or tho!e

&ualitie! in bodie!, by which they cau!e love, or !ome pa!!ion !imilar to it. % confine thi!definition to the merely !en!ible &ualitie! of thin'!, for the !ake of pre!ervin' the utmo!t

!implicity in a !ubAect, which mu!t alway! di!tract u! whenever we take in tho!e variou! cau!e!

of !ympathy which attach u! to any per!on! or thin'! from !econdary con!ideration!, and not

from the direct force which they have merely on bein' viewed. % likewi!e di!tin'ui!h love bywhich % mean that !ati!faction which ari!e! to the mind upon contemplatin' anythin' beautiful, of

what!oever nature it may beI from de!ire or lu!tE which i! an ener'y of the mind, that hurrie! u!

on to the po!!e!!ion of certain obAect!, that do not affect u! a! they are beautiful, but by mean!alto'ether different. )e !hall have a !tron' de!ire for a woman of no remarkable beautyE whil!t

the 'reate!t beauty in men or in other animal!, thou'h it cau!e! love, yet e@cite! nothin' at all of

de!ire. )hich !how! that beauty, and the pa!!ion cau!ed by beauty, which % call love, i! differentfrom de!ire, thou'h de!ire may !ometime! operate alon' with itE but it i! to thi! latter that we

mu!t attribute tho!e violent and tempe!

Burke Beauty and Sublime

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Transcript of Burke Beauty and Sublime