ties necessary to man's well-being, she makes little distinction between her children; whereas those that have reference rather to the ornamental part of life she bestows sparingly and capriciously, and requires a higher culture for bringing them to perfection.

This difference in the degrees of Taste possessed by men is owing, in a great measure, as we have seen, to nature; which has endowed some with more sensitive organs than others, and thus made them capable of greater intellectual enjoyment. Yet education has even more to do than nature with the formation of Taste; a fact which becomes obvious when we compare barbarous with enlightened nations in this respect, or contrast such individuals of the latter as have paid attention to liberal studies with the uncultivated and vulgar. We shall at once perceive an almost incredible difference in the degrees of Taste which they respectively possess,-a difference attributable to nothing but the education of the faculty in the one case and its neglect in the other.

Hence it follows that Taste is eminently an improvable faculty; and in the case of this, as well as all the mental and bodily powers, exercise is to be regarded as the great source of health and strength.

Even the senses are rendered peculiarly acute by constant use. The blind, for instance, who can make themselves acquainted with the forms of bodies only by their touch, and are therefore constantly employing it, acquire exquisite sensibility; so that they can even read fluently by passing their fingers over raised letters. In like manner, watchmakers, engravers, proof-readers, and all who are accustomed to use the eye on minute objects, acquire surprising accuracy of sight in discerning with ease what to others is almost invisible. Every one, moreover, has seen the result of cultivating an ear for music. He who at first relishes only the simplest compositions gradually appreciates finer melodies, and is at last enabled to enjoy all the intricate combinations of harmony. So, an eye for painting can not be acquired at once, but is formed by close study of the works of the best masters.

It is thus that diligent study, and close attention to models of style, are necessary to a full appreciation of the great works of literature. One slightly acquainted with the productions of genius sees no more in them than in common-place compositions; their merits are lost upon him; he

In the distribution of Taste and common sense? What besides nature operates in the formation of Taste? How is this shown? How may Taste be improved?

What effect has exercise on the senses? Give examples. What is the result of cultivating an ear for music? How is an eye for painting acquired? What is neces sary to an appreciation of the great works of literature?

is equally blind to their excellencies and defects. His Taste, nowever, becomes cultivated in proportion as his acquaintance with works of this character is extended. He is gradually enabled, not only to form judgments, but to give satisfactory reasons for them. His Taste is developed and improved by exercise; just as the musician's ear and the painter's eye are cultivated by a similar process.

LESSON XXXV.

ELEMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF 1ASTE.

§241. TASTE, we have seen, is founded on sensibility; not, however, the sensibility of mere instinct, but that of reason. The judgment has so much to do with the operations and decisions of this faculty, that we must regard it as one of the essential elements of the latter. The mind may or may not be conscious of the train of reasoning by which it arrives at its conclusions; but in most cases there must be such reasoning before taste can perform its functions. We are pleased through our natural sensibility to impressions of the beautiful, aided, as we shall presently see, by the imagination; but an exertion of reason is first required, to inform us whether the objects successively presented to the eye are beautiful or not.

Thus, in reading such a poem as the Æneid, much of our gratification arises from the story's being well conducted, and having a proper connection between its parts; from the fidelity of the characters to na ture, the spirit with which they are maintained, and the appropriate Dess of the style to the sentiments expressed. A poem thus conducted is enjoyed by the mind, through the joint operation of the Taste and the imagination; but the former faculty, without the guidance of reason, could form no opinion of the story, would be at a loss to know whether it was properly conducted, and would therefore fail to receive

$241. On what is Taste founded? What faculty, nevertheless, has much to do with Its decisions? Before Taste can perform its functions, what must take place? In reading such a poem as the Eneid, from what does much of our pleasure arise? Show

pleasure from its perusal. In like manner, whenever in works of Taste an imitation of nature is attempted, whenever it becomes necessary to consider the adaptation of means to an end, or the connection and consistency of parts uniting to form a whole, the judgment must always play an important part.

In the operations of Taste, then, two different elements seem to have a share; first, a natural susceptibility or sensitiveness to pleasurable emotions arising from the contemplation of beauty and sublimity; and, secondly, a sound judg ment, to enable this faculty, with or without consciousness of such assistance, to appreciate what is beautiful and subiime, and admire it intelligently. To the exercise of this faculty, however, in its perfection, a good heart is no less essential than a sound head. Not only are the moral beauties supcrior to all others, but their influence is exerted, in a greater or less degree, on many objects of Taste with which they are connected. The affections, characters, and actions of men, certainly afford genius the noblest subjects; and of these there can be no due appreciation by minds whose motives and principles conflict with those which they respectively contemplate or describe. On the selfish and hard-hearted man the highest beauties of poetry are necessarily lost.

242. The characteristics of Taste, in its most improved state, are reducible to two, Delicacy and Correctness.

Delicacy of Taste implies the possession of those finer organs and powers which enable us to discover beauties that lie hid from the vulgar eye. It may be tested by the same process that enables us to estimate the delicacy of an external sense. As the acuteness of the palate is tried, not by strong flavors, but by a mixture of different ones, each of which, notwithstanding it is blended with others, is detected and recognized; so the Delicacy of internal Taste appears by a lively sensibility

where the exercise of judgment is necessary. In what cases does this faculty always play an important part?

What two elements have a share in the operations of Taste? To the exercise of Taste in its perfection, what is essential? Show how this is the case. What effect have the highest beauties of poetry on selfish men?

§ 242. What are the characteristics of an improved Taste? What does delicacy of Taste imply? How may it be tested? Show some of the peculiarities of a delicate

to the finest, minutest, and most latent objects, even when most inti. mately blended and compounded together. Many have strong sensibility, yet are deficient in Delicacy. They may be deeply impressed by such beauties as they perceive, but can perceive only what is coarse, bold, or palpable; chaster and simpler graces escape their notice. The man of delicate Taste, on the other hand, has not only strength, but also nicety, of feeling. He sees distinctions and differences which are lost on others; neither the most concealed beauties nor the minutest blemishes

escape him.

Addison, in his Spectator, No. 409, gives a striking illustration of delicacy of taste. "We find," says he, "there are as many degrees of refinement in the intellectual faculty as in the sense which is marked out by this common denomination. I knew a person who possessed the one in so great a perfection, that, after having tasted ten different kinds of tea, he would distinguish, without seeing the color of it, the particular sort which was offered him; and not only so, but any two sorts of them that were mixed together in an equal proportion; nay, he has carried the experiment so far, as, upon tasting the composition of three different sorts, to name the parcels from whence the three several ingredients were taken. A man of fine taste in writing will discern, after the same manner, not only the general beauties and imperfections of an author, but discover the several ways of thinking and expressing himself which diversify him from all other authors, with the several foreign infusions of thought and language, and the particular authors from whom they were borrowed."

Correctness of Taste implies soundness of understanding. It judges of every thing by the standard of good sense; is never imposed on by counterfeit ornaments; duly estimates the several beauties it meets with in works of genius; refers them to their proper classes; analyzes the principles from which their power of pleasing proceeds; and enjoys them according to their respective merits.

These two qualities, Delicacy and Correctness, though quite distinct, to a certain extent imply each other. No Taste can be exquisitely delicate without being correct, or thoroughly correct without being delicate. Still one or the other characteristic predominates.

Taste. What striking illustration does Addison give of delicacy of Taste? What does correctness of Taste imply? By what standard does it judge of things? Show how a correct Taste deals with works of genius. What relation subsists between delicacy and correctness? What critics among the ancients are respectively distinguished for delicacy and correctness of Taste? Who, among modern critics

Among ancient critics, Longinus possessed most Delicacy; Aristotle most Correctness. Of moderns, none exceed Addison in Delicacy; and few in Correctness equal Johnson and Kames.

§ 243. We have thus far contemplated Taste in its sound or healthy state; we find, however, from our own experience, as well as from the history of the past, that it is liable to change, and may in both individuals and nations become weakened and even vitiated. There is, indeed, nothing more fluctuating or capricious. The inconsistencies of this faculty, and the wrong conclusions at which it often arrives, have even created in some a suspicion that it is merely arbitrary; that it is not grounded on invariable principles, is ascertainable by no standard, and is dependent exclusively on the changing fancy of the hour; and that therefore all labored enquiries concerning its operations are useless.

One or two examples of the opposite Tastes which have prevailed in different parts of the world, and the revolutions that have taken place from time to time in the same country, may here be cited with propriety. In eloquence and poetry, nothing has ever pleased the Asiatics except the tumid, the ornamental, the artificial, and the gaudy; whereas the ancient Greeks, despising Oriental ostentation, admired only what was chaste and simple. In architecture, the models of Greece for centuries met with general preference; subsequently, however, the Gothic style prevailed to the exclusion of all others; and this in turn was afterwards laid aside, while the Grecian was again received into popular favor. Again, in literature, how completely opposite is the taste of the present day to that which prevailed during the reign of Charles II.! Nothing was then in vogue but an affected brilliancy of wit; the simple majesty of Milton was overlooked; labored and unnatural conclusions were mistaken for scintillations of genius, sprightliness for tenderness, and bombast for eloquence. Examples of vitiated Taste, whether we apply this term, literally, to the external sense, or, figuratively, to the internal faculty, meet us on all sides. The Hottentot smears his body with putrid oil; the Greenlander delights in rancid fat; the Al

§ 243. How have we thus far contemplated Taste? To what do we find it liable? What character does it sometimes assume in both individuals and nations? What sus

picion have the inconsistencies of this faculty produced in some? What example is cited of opposite Tastes in eloquence and poetry? in architecture? Compare the Citerary taste of Charles Second's era with that of the present day. Give examples of vitiated Taste.