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Show 373. CHAPTER IX: THE GENTEEL WILDERNESS Many years ago, the writer, in company with an accidental party of trevellers, was gazing on a cataract of great height, breadth, and impetuosity, the summit of which appeared to blend with the sky and clouds, while the lower part was hidden by rocks and trees; and on his observing, that it was, in the strictest sense of the word, a sublime object, a lady present assented with warmth to the remark, adding - "Yes! and it is not only sublime, but beautiful and absolutely pretty." - Coleridge, "On the Principles of Genial Criticism Concerning the Fine Arts" What does it matter whether the scene was beautiful, sublime, or picturesque? The lady liked it, and even in Coleridge's version of the conversation, she showed more enthusiasm than the genial critic, more cordial sympathy toward Nature, she, at least, was moved. In her excitement, she failed to make significant distinctions, to recognize aesthetic categories, perhaps because she did not stand at a sufficient ^stance from the scene for proper judgment. |
