But out of this severity, and the still rude charms of
earlier Art, could proceed the grace of Sophocles, and with it the
complete fusion of the two elements, which leaves us doubtful whether
it is more moral or sensuous Grace that enchants us in the works of
this poet.
The same is true of the plastic productions of the early and severe
style, in comparison with the gentleness of the later.
If Grace, besides being the transfiguration of the spirit of Nature,
is also the medium of connection between moral Goodness and sensuous
Appearance, it is evident how Art must tend from all points toward
it as its centre. This Beauty, which results from the perfect
interpenetration of moral Goodness and sensuous Grace, seizes and
enchants us when we meet it, with the force of a miracle. For, whilst
the spirit of Nature shows itself everywhere else independent of the
Soul, and, indeed, in a measure opposed to it, here, it seems, as if
by voluntary accord, and the inward fire of divine love, to melt into
union with it; the remembrance of the fundamental unity of the essence
of Nature and the essence of the Soul comes over the beholder with
sudden clearness--the conviction that all antagonism is only apparent,
that Love is the bond of all things, and pure Goodness the foundation
and substance of the whole Creation.
Here Art, as it were, transcends itself, and again becomes means only.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188