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are found instances of rudeness and indelicacy; which the more refined Taste of later writers, who had far inferior Genius to them, would have taught them to avoid. As all human perfection is limited, this may very probably be the law of our nature, that it is not given to one man to execute with vigour and fire, and at the same time, to attend to all the lesser and more refined graces that belong to the exact perfection of his work while on the other hand, a thorough Taste for those inferior graces, is, for the most part, accompanied with a diminu tion of sublimity and force.

Having thus explained the nature of Taste, the nature and importance of Criticism, and the distinction between Taste and Genius; I am now to enter on considering the sources of the Pleasures of Taste. Here opens a very extensive field; no less than all the pleasures of the imagination, as they are commonly called, whether afforded us by natural objects, or by the imitations and descriptions of them. But it is not necessary to the purpose of my Lectures, that all these should be examined fully; the pleasure which we receive from discourse, or writing, being the main object of them. All that I purpose is, to give some openings into the Pleasures of Taste in general; and to insist, more particularly, upon Sublimity and Beauty.

We are far from having yet attained to any system concerning this subject. Mr. Addison was the first who attempted a regular enquiry, in his Essay on the pleasures of the Imagination, published in the sixth volume of the Spectator. He has reduced these pleasures under three heads; Beauty, Grandeur, and Novelty. His speculations on this subject, if not exceedingly profound, are, however, very beautiful and entertaining; and he has the merit of having opened a track, which was before unbeaten. The advances made since his time in this curious part of Philosophical Criticism, are not very considerable; though some ingenious writers have pursued the subject. This is owing, doubtless, to that thinness and subtilty which are found to be properties of all the feelings of Taste. They are engaging objects; but when we would lay firm hold of them, and subject them to a regular discussion, they are always ready to elude our grasp. It is difficult to make a full enumeration of the several objects that give Pleasure to Taste; it

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is more difficult to define all those which have been discovered, and to reduce them under proper classes; and, when we would go farther, and investigate the efficient causes of the pleasure which we receive from such objects, here, above all, we find ourselves at a loss. For instance; we all learn by experience, that certain figures of bodies appear to us more beautiful than others. On inquiring farther, we find that the regularity of some figures, and the graceful variety of others, are the foundation of the beauty which we discern in them; but when we attempt to go a step beyond this, and inquire what is the cause of regularity and variety producing in our minds the sensation of Beauty, any reason we can assign is extremely imperfect. These first principles of internal sensation, nature seems to have covered with an inpenetrable veil.

It is some comfort, however, that although the efficient cause be obscure, the final cause of those sensations lies in many cases more open and in entering on this subject, we cannot avoid taking notice of the strong impression which the powers of Taste and imagination are calculated to give us of the benignity of our Creator. By endowing us with such powers, he hath widely enlarged the sphere of the pleasure of human life; and those, too, of a kind the most pure and innocent. The necessary purposes of life might have been abundantly answered, though our senses of seeing and hearing had only served to distinguish external objects, without conveying to us any of those refined and delicate sensations of Beauty and Grandeur, with which we are now so much delighted. This additional embellishment and glory, which, for promoting our entertainment, the Author of nature hath poured forth upon his works, is one striking testimony, among many others, of benevolence and goodness. This thought, which Mr. Addison first started, Dr. Akenside, in his Poem on the Pleasures of the Imagination, has happily pursued.

Not content

With every food of life to nourish man,
By kind illusions of the wondering sense,
Thou mak'st all nature Beauty to his eye,
Or Music to his ear.

I shall begin with considering the Pleasure which arises from Sublimity or Grandeur, of which I propose to treat at some length; both, as this has a character more precise and dis

tinctly marked, than any other, of the Pleasures of the Imagination, and as it coincides more directly with our main subject. For the greater distinctness I shall, first, treat of the Grandeur or Sublimity of external objects themselves, which will employ the rest of this Lecture; and, afterwards, of the description of such objects, or, of what is called the Sublime in Writing, which shall be the subject of a following Lecture. I distinguish these two things from one another, the Grandeur of the objects themselves when they are presented to the eye, and the description of that Grandeur in discourse or writing; though most Critics, inaccurately I think, blend them together; and I consider Grandeur and Sublimity as terms synonymous, or nearly so. If there be any distinction between them, it arises from Sublimity's expressing Grandeur in its highest degree.*

It is not easy to describe, in words, the precise impression which great and sublime objects make upon us, when we behold them; but every one has a conception of it. It consists in a kind of admiration and expansion of the mind; it raises the mind much above its ordinary state, and fills it with a degree of wonder and astonishment, which it cannot well express. The emotion is certainly delightful; but it is altogether of the serious kind; a degree of awfulness and solemnity, even approaching to severity, commonly attends it when at its height; very distinguishable from the more gay and brisk emotion raised by beautiful objects.

The simplest form of external Grandeur appears in the vast and boundless prospects presented to us by nature; such as wide extended plains, to which the eye can see no limits; the firmament of heaven; or the boundless expanse of the ocean. All vastness produces the impression of Sublimity. It is to be remarked, however, that space extended in length, makes not so strong an impression as height or depth. Though a boundless" plain be a grand object, yet a high mountain, to which we look up, or an awful precipice or tower whence we look down on the objects which lie below, is still more so. The excessive Grandeur of the firmament arises from its height, joined to its boundless extent; and that of the ocean, not from its extent alone, but from the perpetual motion and irresistible force of

See a Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. Dr. Gerard on Taste, Section II. Elements of Criticism, Chap. IV.

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that mass of waters. Wherever space is concerned, it is clear, that amplitude or greatness of extent, in one dimension or other, is necessary to Grandeur. Remove all bounds from any object, and you presently render it sublime. Hence infinite space, endless numbers, and eternal duration, fill the mind with great ideas.

From this some have imagined, that vastness, or amplitude of extent, is the foundation of all Sublimity. But I cannot be of this opinion, because many objects appear sublime which have no relation to space at all. Such for instance, is great loudness of sound. The burst of thunder or of cannon, the roaring of winds, the shouting of multitudes, the sound of vast cataracts of water, 'are all incontestably grand objects. "I heard the "voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, and "of mighty thunderings, saying Allelujah." In general we may observe, that great power and strength exerted, always raise sublime ideas: and perhaps the most copious source of these is derived from this quarter. Hence the Grandeur of earthquakes and burning mountains; of great conflagrations; of the stormy ocean, and overflowing waters; of tempests of wind; of thunder and lightning; and of all the uncommon violence of the elements. Nothing is more sublime than mighty power and strength. A stream that runs within its banks, is a beautiful object, but when it rushes down with the impetuosity and noise of a torrent, it presently becomes a sublime one. From lions and other animals of strength, are drawn sublime comparisons in poets. A race-horse is looked upon with pleasure; but it is the war-horse," whose neck is clothed with thunder," that carries Grandeur in its idea. The engagement of two great armies, as it is the highest exertion of human might, combines a variety of sources of the Sublime; and has accordingly been always considered as one of the most striking and magnificent spectacles that can be either presented to the eye, or exhibited to the imagination in description.

For the farther illustration of this subject, it is proper to remark that all ideas of the solemn and awful kind, and even bordering on the terrible, tend greatly to assist the Sublime; such as darkness, solitude, and silence. What are the scenes of nature that elevate the mind in the highest degree, and produce the sublime sensation? Not the gay landscape, the flowery field,

or the flourishing city; but the hoary mountain, and the solitary lake; the aged forest, and the torrent falling over the rock. Hence too, night-scenes are commonly the most sublime. The firmament when filled with stars, scattered in such vast numbers, and with such magnificent profusion, strikes the imagination with a more awful Grandeur, than when we view it enlightened by all the splendour of the sun. The deep sound of a great bell, or the striking of a great clock, are at any time grand; but, when heard amid the silence and stillness of the night, they become doubly so. Darkness is very commonly applied for adding sublimity to all our ideas of the Deity. "He maketh darkness his pavilion; he dwelleth in the thick cloud." So Milton: How oft, amidst

Thick clouds and dark, does heav'n's all-ruling Sire

Choose to reside, his glory unobscur'd,.
And, with the majesty of darkness, round

Circles his throne.........

Book II. 263.

Observe, with how much art Virgil has introduced all those ideas of silence, vacuity, and darkness, when he is going to introduce his Hero to the infernal regions, and to disclose the secrets of the great deep.

Dii, quibus imperium est animarum, umbræque silentes,

Et Chaos, et Phlegethon, loca nocte silentia latè,

Sit mihi fas audita loqui ; sit nu mine vestro
Pandere res altâ terrâ, & caligine mersas.
Iban obscuri, sola sob nocte, per umbram,
Perque domes Ditis vacuos, et inania regna;
Quale per incertam lunam, sub luce maligna
Est iter in sylvis.........."

These passages I quote at present, not so much as instances of Sublime Writing, though in themselves they truly are so, as to shew, by the effect of them, that the objects which they present to us, belong to the class of sublime ones...

*Ye subterranean gods, whose awful sway
The gliding ghosts and silent shades obey:
O Chaos, hear! and Phlegethon profound!
Whose solemn empire stretches wide around;
Give me, ye great tremendous powers! to tell
Of scenes and wonders in the depths of hell;
Give me your mighty secrets to display,
From those black realms of darkness to the day.

PITT.

Obscure they went; through dreary shades, that led

Along the waste dominions of the dead;

As wander travellers in woods by night,

By the moon's doubtful and malignant light.

DRIDIN

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