business. But nature has at last escaped from their discipline and their fetters; and our gardens, if nothing elfe, declare, we begin to feel that mathematical ideas are not the true measures of beauty. And furely they are full as little so in the animal, as the vegetable world. For is it not extraordinary, that in these fine defcriptive pieces, these innumerable odes and elegies which are in the mouths of all the world, and many of which have been the entertainment of ages, that in these pieces which describe love with such a paffionate energy, and represent its object in such an infinite variety of lights, not one word is faid of proportion, if it be, what fome insist it is, the principal component of beauty; whilst at the fame time, several other qualities are very frequently and warmly mentioned? But if proportion has not this power, it may appear odd how men came originally to be so prepoffefsed in its favour. It arofe, I imagine, from the fondness I have just mentioned, which men bear so remarkably to their own works and notions; it arose from false reasonings on the effects of the customary figure of animals; it arofe from the Platonick theory of fitness and aptitude. For which reason, in the next section, I shall consider the effects of custom in the figure of animals; and afterwards the idea of fitness: fince if proportion does not operate by a natural power attending fome meafures, it must be either by custom, or the idea of utility; there is no other way. SECT. . 1 SECT. V. PROPORTION FURTHER CONSIDERED. IF I am not mistaken, a great deal of the prejudice in favour of proportion has arisen, not fo much from the observation of any certain meafures found in beautiful bodies, as from a wrong idea of the relation which deformity bears to beauty, to which it has been confidered as the opposite; on this principle it was concluded, that where the causes of deformity were removed, beauty must naturally and necessarily be introduced. This I believe is a mistake. For deformity is opposed not to beauty, but to the complete, common form. If one of the legs of a man be found shorter than the other, the man is deformed; becaufe there is fomething wanting to complete the whole idea we form of a man; and this has the fame effect in natural faults, as maiming and mutilation produce from accidents. So if the back be humped, the man is deformed; because his back has an unusual figure, and what carries with it the idea of some disease or misfortune; so if a man's neck be confiderably longer or shorter than ufual, we say he is deformed in that part, because -men are not commonly made in that manner. But furely every hour's experience may convince us, that a man may have his legs of an equal length, and and resembling each other in all respects, and his neck of a just size, and his back quite straight, without having at the fame time the least perceivable beauty. Indeed beauty is so far from belonging to the idea of custom, that in reality what affects us in that manner is extremely rare and uncommon. The beautiful strikes us as much by its novelty as the deformed itself. It is thus in thofe species of animals with which we are acquainted; and if one of a new species were represented, we should by no means wait until custom had fettled an idea of proportion, before we decided concerning its beauty or ugliness: which shews that the general idea of beauty can be no more owing to customary than to natural proportion. Deformity arifes from the want of the common proportions; but, the neceffary refult of their existence in any object is not beauty. If we suppose proportion in natural things to be relative to custom and use, the nature of use and custom will shew, that beauty, which is a positive and powerful quality, cannot refult from it. We are so wonderfully formed, that, whilft we are creatures vehemently defirous of novelty, we are as strongly attached to habit and custom. But it is the nature of things which hold us by custom, to affect us very little whilft we are in poffeffion of them, but strongly when they are absent. I remember to have fre quented a certain place, every day for a long time together; together; and I may truly say, that so far from finding pleasure in it, I was affected with a fort of weariness and disgust; I came, I went, I returned, without pleasure; yet if by any means I passed by the usual time of my going thither, I was remarkably uneafy, and was not quiet till I had got into my old track. They who use snuff, take it almost without being sensible that they take it, and the acute sense of smell is deadened, fo as to feel hardly any thing from so sharp a stimulus; yet deprive the fnuff-taker of his box, and he is the most uneasy mortal in the world. Indeed fo far are use and habit from being causes of pleasure, merely as fuch, that the effect of conftant use is to make all things of whatever kind entirely unaffecting. For as use at last takes off the painful effect of many things, it reduces the pleasurable effect in others in the fame manner, and brings both to a fort of mediocrity and indifference. Very justly is use called a second nature; and our natural and common state is one of absolute indifference, equally prepared for pain or pleasure. But when we are thrown out of this state, or deprived of any thing requifite to maintain us in it; when this chance does not happen by pleasure from fome mechanical cause, we are always hurt. It is so with the second nature, custom, in all things which relate to it. Thus the want of the usual proportions in men and other animals is sure to disgust, though their prefence is by no means any cause of real pleasure. It is true, that the proportions laid down as causes of beauty in the human body, are frequently found in beautiful ones, because they are generally found in all mankind; but if it can be shewn too, that they are found without beauty, and that beauty, fre. quently exifts without them, and that this beauty, where it exists, always can be affigned to other less equivocal caufes, it will naturally lead us to conclude, that proportion and beauty are not ideas of the fame nature. The true opposite to beauty is not difproportion or deformity, but ugliness; and as it proceeds from causes opposite to those of pofitive beauty, we cannot confider it until we come to treat of that. Between beauty and ugliness there is a fort of mediocrity, in which the affigned proportions are most commonly found; but this has no effect upon the paffions. SECT. VI. FITNESS NOT THE CAUSE OF BEAUTY. IT is faid that the idea of utility, or of a part's being well adapted to answer its end, is the caufe of beauty, or indeed beauty itself. If it were not for this opinion, it had been impoffible for the doctrine of proportion to have held its ground very long; the world would be soon weary of hearing of measures which related to nothing, either 1 |