THE DIFFERENTIA OF ÆSTHETICS.
47
satisfied, on the other hand, if I can account physiologically
for the common pleasure in bright coloured objects, elemen¬
tary paintings, easy melodies, and popular poetry: only
touching slightly upon the more involved phenomena of
kindred origin.
To apply a metaphor drawn from another science, Taste
may be regarded as the personal equation of Æsthetics, for
which allowance must in each case be made, but which
does not detract from the objective truth of the general
result. Only, in Æsthetics, where we are dealing with
phenomena of the nervous system itself, the personal equa¬
tion rises into such great importance as to form one of the
main departments of the subject. So we must always
endeavour to account, not merely for the most usual form
of Taste, but also for the structural peculiarities which give
rise to the- principal variations. And especially must we
do so in treating of those varieties which differentiate the
artistically-minded few from the inartistic masses.
Again, we have only looked so far at the sensuous or
presentative elements of Æsthetic Feeling. But when we
remember that it includes, beside, a vast body of emotional
and intellectual—that is, representative — elements, the
difficulty of accounting for these varieties in Taste is still
further decreased. As men and women differ infinitely in
emotions and intellect, they must differ infinitely in their
appreciation of that which calls up emotional and intellec¬
tual activities of various orders in various combinations.
We cannot expect a child or a savage to admire the poetry
of Wordsworth, the landscapes of Turner, the sonatas of