42. The power of abstraction is bestowed on man, for the purpose solely of reasoning. It tends greatly to the facility as well as clearness of any process of reasoning, that, laying aside every other circumstance, we can confine our attention to the ingle property we desire to investigate. 43. Abstract terms may be separated into three different kinds, all equally subservient to the reasoning faculty. Individuals appear to have no end; and did we not possess the faculty of distributing them into classes, the mind would be lost in an endless maze, and no progress be made in knowledge. It is by the faculty of abstraction that we distribute beings into genera and species: finding a number of individuals connected by certain qualities common to all, we give a name to these individuals considered as thus connected, which name, by gathering them together into one class, serves to express the whole of these individuals as distinct from others. Thus the word animal serves to denote every being that can move voluntarily; and the words man, horse, lion, &c. answer similar purposes. This is the first and most common sort of abstraction; and it is of the most extensive use, by enabling us to comprehend in our reasoning whole kinds and sorts, instead of individuals, without end. The next sort of abstract terms comprehends a number of individual objects, considered as connected by some occasional relation. A great number of persons collected in one place, without any other relation than merely that of contiguity, are denominated a crowd in forming this term, we abstract from sex, from : age, from condition, from dress, &c. A number of persons connected by the same laws and by the same government, are termed a nation: and a number of men under the same military command, are termed an army. A third sort of abstraction is, where a single property or part, which may be common to many individuals, is selected to be the subject of our contemplation; for example, whiteness, heat, beauty, length, roundness, head, arm.
44. Abstract terms are a happy invention: it is by their means chiefly, that the particulars which make the subject of our reasoning are brought into close union, and separated from all others however naturally connected. Without the aid of such terms, the mind could never be kept steady to its proper subject, but be perpetually in hazard of assuming foreign circumstances, or neglecting what are essential. We can, without the aid of language, compare real objects by intuition, when these objects are present; and when absent, we can compare them in idea. But when we advance farther, and attempt to make inferences and draw conclusions, we always employ abstract terms, even in thinking; it would be as difficult to reason without them, as to perforin operations in algebra without signs; for there is scarcely any reasoning without some degree of abstraction, and we cannot easily abstract without using abstract terms. Hence it follows, that without language man would scarcely be a rational being.
45. The same thing, in different respects, has different names. With respect to certain qualities, it is termed a substance; with respect to other qualities, a body; and with respect to qualities of all sorts, a subject. It is termed a passive subject with respect to an action exerted upon it; an object with respect to a percipient: a cause with respect to the effect it produces; and an effect with respect to its cause.
ABSTRACTION, power of, 486. Its use,
487. Abstract terms, ought to be avoided in poetry, 122, 404. Cannot be com- pared but by being personified, 326. Personified, 351. Defined, 486. The use of abstract terms, 487. Accent, defined, 292. The musical ac- cents that are necessary in an hexam- eter line, 296. A low word must not be accented, 310. Rules for accenting English heroic verse, 309, 310. How far affected by the pause, 311. Ac- cent and pause have a mutual influ- ence, 312
Action, what feelings are raised by hu- man actions, 27. 115. 172. We are impelled to action by desire, 29. Some actions are instinctive, some intended as means to a certain end, 31. Ac- tions great and elevated, low and gro- velling, 115. Slowness and quickness in acting, to what causes owing, 152. 157. Emotions occasioned by pro- priety of action, 168. Occasioned by impropriety of action, ib. Human actions considered with respect to dig- nity and meanness, 175. Actions the interpreters of the heart, 208. Action is the fundamental part of epic and dramatic compositions, 420. Unity of action, 429. We are conscious of internal action as in the head, 475. Internal action may proceed without our being conscious of it, ib. Action and reaction betwixt a passion and its object, 65.
Actor, bombast actor, 126. The chief talents of an actor, 206. An actor should feel the passion he represents, 217. Difference as to pronunciation betwixt the French and English ac- tors, 219, note. Admiration, 65. 131. Eneid. See Virgil. Affectation, 167.
Affection, to children accounted for, 43. To blood-relations, ib. Affection for what belongs to us, ib. Social affec- tions more refined than selfish, 62. Affection in what manner inflamed into a passion, 65. Opposed to pro- pensity, 67. Affection to children endures longer than any other affec-
tion, ib. Opinion and belief influ- enced by affection, 88. Affection de- fined, 195. 484.
Agamemnon, of Seneca censured, 231. Agreeable emotions and passions, 58, &c. Things neither agreeable nor disagreeable. See Object.
Alcestes, of Euripides censured, 242. 438, 439.
Alexandre, of Racine censured, 225. Alexandrine line, 298. Allegory, defined, 370. More difficult in painting than in poetry, 376. an historical 424. poem, All for Love, of Dryden censured, 235. Alto Relievo, 459. Ambiguity, occasioned by a wrong choice of words, 255; occasioned by a wrong arrangement, 270. Amynta, of Tasso censured, 222. Amor patriæ, accounted for, 45. Amphibrachys, 324. Amphimacer, 324.
Analytic and synthetic methods of rea- soning compared, 22. Anapestus, 323.
Anger, explained, 47, &c. Frequently comes to its height instantaneously, 65. Decays suddenly, 66. times exerted against the innocent, 85. and even against things inanimate, ib. Not infectious, 95. Has no dignity in it, 175.
Angle, largest and smallest angle of vision, 92.
Animals, distributed by nature into classes, 467. Antibacchius, 324. Anticlimax, 286. Antispastus, 324.
Antithesis, 259. Verbal antithesis, 188.
Apostrophe, 359, &c.
Appearance, things ought to be described in poetry, as they appear, not as they are in reality, 393.
Appetite, defined, 31. Appetites of hun- ger, thirst, animal love, arise without an object, 40. Appetite for fame or esteem, 100.
Apprehension, dulness and quickness of apprehension, to what causes owing, 152.
Architecture, ch. xxiv. Grandeur of
manner in architecture, 119. The si- | Basc, of a column, 462. tuation of a great house ought to be Basso-relievo, 460. lofty, 166. A playhouse or a music- room susceptible of much ornament, 167. What emotions can be raised by architecture, 443. Its emotions compared with those of gardening, ib. Every building ought to have an ex- pression suited to its destination, 444. 457. Simplicity ought to be the go- verning taste, 443. Regularity to be studied, 445. 454. External form of dwelling-houses, 452, 453. Divisions within, 453. 458, 459. A palace ought to be regular, but in a small house convenience ought to be preferred, 452, 453. A dwelling-house ought to be suited to the climate, 454. Con- gruity ought to be studied, 457. Ar- chitecture governed by principles that produce opposite effects, 459, 460. Different ornaments employed in it, 459, 460. Witticisms in architecture, 464. Allegorical or emblematical or- naments, ib. Architecture inspires a taste for neatness and regularity, 465. Ariosto, censured, 160. 430, Aristæus, the episode of Aristaus in the Georgics censured, 323. Aristotle, censured, 477, note. Army, defined, 488.
Batrachomuomachia, censured, 179. Beauty, ch. iii. Intrinsic and relative, 103. 449. Beauty of simplicity, 104. of figure, ib., of the circle, 105. of the square, ib, of a regular polygon, 106. of a parallelogram, ib., of an equila- teral triangle, ib. Whether beauty is. a primary or secondary quality of ob- jects, 107. Beauty distinguished from grandeur, 110. Beauty of natural colors, 161. Beauty distinguished. from congruity, 166. Consummate beauty seldom produces a constant lover, 199. Wherein consists the beauty of the human visage, 204. Beauty proper and figurative, 482. Behavior, gross and refined, 62. Belief, of the reality of external objects, 51. Enforced by a lively narrative,. or a good historical painting, 56, 57.. Influenced by passion, 87. 361. In- fluenced by propensity, 88. enced by affection, ib. Benevolence operates in conjunction with self-love to make us happy, 97. Benevolence inspired by gardening, 451.
Arrangement, the best arrangement of words is to place them if possible in an increasing series, 252. Arrange- ment of members in a period, ib. Of periods in a discourse, 253. Ambi- guity from wrong arrangement, 270. 273. Arrangement natural and in- verted, 280, 281.
Articulate sounds, how far agreeable, 248. 250.
Artificial mount, 448. Arts. See Fine Arts. Ascent, pleasant, but descent not pain- ful, 114.
Athalie, of Racine censured, 231. Attention, defined, 484. Impression made by objects depends on the degree of attention, ib. Attention not always voluntary, 485.
Attractive passions, 210. Attractive objects, 97.
Attractive signs of passion, 210. Attributes, transferred by a figure of speech from one subject to another, 365, &c.
Avarice, defined, 29. Avenue, to a house, 448. Aversion, defined, 65. 195.
Bacchius, 324.
Bajazet, of Racine censured, 241. Barren scene, defined, 431.
Berkeley, censured, 477, note. Blank verse, 298. 315. Its aptitude for inversion, 317. Its melody, ib. How far proper in tragedy, 428. Body, defined, 475.
Boileau, censured, 360. 417. Bombast, 124. Bombast in action, 126.. Bossu, censured, 432, note. Burlesque, machinery does well in a burlesque poem, 57. Burlesque dis- tinguished into two kinds, 179. Business, men of middle age best quali- fied for it, 152.
Capital, of a column, 463. Careless husband, its double plot well contrived, 426. Cascade, 129.
Cause, resembling causes may produce effects that have no resemblance; and causes that have no resemblance may produce resembling effects, 283. Cause, defined, 488.
Chance, the mind revolts against misfor- tunes that happen by chance, 418. Character, to draw a character is the master-stroke of description, 397, 398. Characteristics, of Shaftsbury criticised, 167, note.
Children, love to them accounted for, 43. A child can discover a passion from its external signs, 211. Hides none of its emotions, 215.
Chinese, gardens, 450. Wonder and Complexion, what colour of dress is the most suitable to different complexions, 148.
surprise studied in them, 451.
Choreus, 323. Choriambus, 324.
Chorus, an essential part of the Grecian tragedy, 433.
Church, what ought to be its form and situation, 458.
Cicero censured, 280. 287. 290. Cid, of Corneille censured, 221.233. Cinna, of Corneille censured, 168. 219. 232.
Circle, its beauty, 105.
Circumstances, in a period, where they should be placed, 273. 275. Class, all living creatures distributed into classes, 470, 471. Climax, in sense, 116. 220. 278. sound, 253. When these are joined, the sentence is delightful, 286. Cophores, of Eschylus censured, 203. Coexistent emotions and passions,67,&c. Colonnade, where proper, 454. Color, gold and silver esteemed for their beautiful colors, 104. A secondary quality, 59. Natural colors, 161. Co- loring of the human face, exquisite, ib. Columns, every column ought to have a base, 94. The base ought to be square, 95. Columns admit different proportions, 456-458. What emo- tions they raise, 458. Column more beautiful than a pilaster, 462. Its form, ib. Five orders of columns, ib. Capital of the Corinthian order cen- sured, 463.
Comedy, double plot in a comedy, 425, 426. Modern manners do best in comedy, 420. Immorality of English comedy, 36.
Comet, motion of the comets and planets compared with respect to beauty, 128. Commencement, of a work ought to be modest and simple, 39.
Common nature, in every species of animals, 60. 467. We have a convic- tion that this common nature is inva- riable, 468. Also that it is perfect or right, 60. 468.
Common sense, 467. 473. Communication of passion to related objects. See Passion. Communication of qualities to related objects. See Propensity. Comparison, 140, &c. ch. xix. In the early composition of all nations, com- parisons are carried beyond proper bounds, 325, Comparisons that re- solve into a play of words, 343. Complex emotion, 68, &c.
Complex object, its power to generate passion, 45. 122. Complex perception, 479.
Conception, defined, 475.
Concord, or harmony in objects of sight, 69.
Concordant sounds, defined, 67. Congreve, censured, 37. 180. 207. note. 428.
Congruity and propriety, chap. x. A secondary relation, 165, note. Con- gruity distinguished from beauty, 166. Distinguished from propriety, ib. As to quantity, congruity coincides with proportion, 170.
Connection essential in all composi- tions, 23.
Conquest of Granada, of Dryden cen- sured, 234. Consonants, 249.
Constancy, consummate beauty the cause of inconstancy, 199. Construction, of language explained, 264, &c.
Contemplation, when painful, 156. Contempt, raised by improper action, 138.
Contrast, chap. viii. Its effect in lan- guage, 251. In a series of objects, 252. Contrast in the thought requires contrast in the members of the expres- sion, 251. The effect of contrast in gardening, 450.
Conviction, intuitive. See Intuitive Con- viction.
Copulative, to drop the copulative en- livens the expression, 264, &c. Coriolanus, of Shakspeare censured, 234.
Corneille, censured, 219. 229. 240. 243. Corporeal pleasure, 11-13. Low and sometimes mean, 174.
Couplet, 298. Rules for its composi- tion, 316.
Courage, of greater dignity than jus- tice, 174. Creticus, 324.
Criminal, the hour of execution seems to him to approach with a swift pace, 89. Criticism, its advantages, 14, 15. Its terms not accurately defined, 212. Crowd, defined, 485. Curiosity, 131. 139, &c.
Custom and habit, ch. xiv. Renders objects familiar, 131. Custom distin- guished from habit, 193. Custom puts the rich and poor upon a level, 201. Taste in the fine arts improved by custom, 472, note.
Dactyle, 324. Davila, censured, 159. Declensions, explained, 267.
Dedications. See Epistles Dedicatory. Delicacy, of taste, 61. 472. Derision, 169. 179.
Des Cartes, censured, 477, note. Descent, not painful, 114. Description, it animates a description to represent things past as present, 55. The rules that ought to govern it, 392, &c. A lively description is agreeable, though the subject describ- ed be disagreeable, 409. No objects but those of sight can be well des- cribed, 480.
Descriptive personifications, 351. Descriptive tragedy, 217.
Desire, defined, 29. It impels us to ac- tion, 31. It determines the will, 96. Desire in a criminal to be punished, 99. Desire tends the most to happi- ness when moderate, 108. Dialogue,dialogue writing requires great genius, 216, &c. In dialogue every expression ought to be suited to the character of the speaker, 404. Dia- logue makes a deeper impression than narration, 415. Qualified for express- ing sentiments, 416. Rules for it, 427, &c.
Dignity and grace, chap. xi. Dignity of human nature, 469. Diiambus, 324. Diphthongs, 249.
Disagreeable emotions and passions, 58, &c.
Discordant sounds, defined, 68. Dispondeus, 324. Disposition, defined, 483. Dissimilar emotions, 68. Their effects
when coexistent, 71. 444. 450. 457. Dissimilar passions, their effects, 76. Dissocial passions, 33. All of them painful, 59. and also disagreeable, 60. Distance, the natural method of com- puting the distance of objects, 92, &c. Errors to which this computation is liable, 455. 459. Ditrochæus, 324.
Door, its proportion, 452.
Double action, in an epic poem, 430. Double Dealer, of Congreve censured, 231. 431.
Double plot, in a dramatic composition, 425.
Drama, ancient and modern compared, 432, &c.
Dramatic poetry, ch. xxii.
Drapery, ought to hang loose, 95. Dress, rules about dress, 167. 443. Dryden, censured, 375. 427. 431. Duties, moral duties distinguished into those which respect ourselves and those which respect others, 170. Foun- dation of duties that respect ourselves,
ib., of those that respect others, ib. Duty of acting up to the dignity of our nature, 173. 175. Dwelling-house, its external form, 452, &c. Internal form, 453. 458.
Education, promoted by the fine arts, 14. 451. Means to promote in young per- sons a habit of virtue, 40. Effects, resembling effects may be pro- duced by causes that have no resem- blance, 283.
Efficient cause, of less importance than the final cause, 175.
Electra, of Sophocles censured, 204. Elevation, 110, &c. Real and figurative intimately connected, 114. Figura- tive elevation distinguished from figu- rative grandeur, 333, 334.
Emotion, what feelings are termed emo- tions, 26. Emotions defined, 27, &c. And their causes assigned, 28. Dis- tinguished from passions, 30. Emo- tion generated by relations, 41, &c. Emotions expanded upon related ob- jects, 41, &c. 275. 283. 309. 349, 350. 380. Emotions distinguished into pri- mary and secondary, 43. Raised by fiction, 50, &c. Raised by painting, 54. Emotions divided into pleasant and painful, agreeable and disagree- able, 59, &c. 480. The interrupted ex- istence of emotions, 63, &c. Their growth and decay, 64, &c. Their identity, ib. Coexistent emotions, 67, &c. Emotions similar and dissimilar, 68. Complex emotions, 69, 70. Ef- fects of similar coexistent emotions, 69. 457. Effects of dissimilar coex- istent emotions, 71, 444. Influence of emotions upon our perceptions, opi- nions, and belief, 82, &c. 92, 93. 144. 146. 347. 359. 361. 365, &c. Emo- tions resemble their causes, 94, &c. Emotions of grandeur, 109, &c., of sublimity, 110. A low emotion, 115. Emotion of laughter, ch. vii., of ridi- cule, 138. Emotions when contrasted should not be too slow nor too quick in their succession, 149. Emotions raised by the fine arts ought to be con- trasted in succession, ib. Emotion of congruity, 165, &c., of propriety, 167. Emotions produced by human actions, 172. Ranked according to their dig- nity, 173. External signs of emo- tions, ch. xv. Attractive and repul- sive emotions, 210. What emotions do best in succession, what in con- junction, 444. What emotions are raised by the productions of manu- factures, 451, note. Man is passive
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