Beauty and Love
Beauty can be a rather imaginary and arbitrary matter.
«Beauty in things exists in the mind which contemplates them»,
said David Hume in the eighteenth century. Scientists now
confirm this: «There is not, external to us, hot or cold, but
only different velocities of molecules; there aren’t sounds,
callings, harmonies, but just variations in the pressure of the
air; there aren’t colours, or light, just electro-magnetic
waves», said H. Von Foerster.
Our concept of beauty may also be conventional and capricious,
as is the modern cult of skinny models; or aberrant when mingled
with the ostensive luxury of millionaires; or involve foolish
preferences.
We can also say that love passions, when based on beauty, are
ephemeral and mostly illusory. «Love built on beauty, soon as
beauty, dies», said John Donne.
And we can say that beauty isn’t all, and can be a secondary
criterion: our old parents may be no more beautiful, but we love
them; our sons may not be conventionally beautiful, but we love
them.
But still we love the beautiful. We want the beautiful in our
lives, in our houses, in our loves («Beauty is the lover’s
gift», said William Congreve).
Beauty and love are intricate parts. «The lover knows much more
about absolute good and universal beauty than any logician or
theologian, unless the latter, too, be lovers in disguise», said
Santayana.
Yes. We love the beautiful, and we need it. It gives a greater
meaning to our lives. «Only throughout the symbols of beauty can
our poor spirits rise up from temporal things to eternal ones»,
said the Priest Suger, in the thirteenth century, commenting on
music and artistic beauties.
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Quotations
Love, Beauty, Passion and Poetry
Lover's gift: W. Congreve
Beauty is the lover’s gift.
William Congreve, 1670-1729, English writer, The way of the
world
Absolute: Santayana
The lover knows much more about absolute good and universal
beauty than any logician or theologian, unless the latter, too,
be lovers in disguise.
Attributed to George Santayana, 1863-1952, American philosopher
Poetry: Santayana and E. Morin
A dawning love floods the world with poetry, a lasting love
floods daily life with poetry, and the ending of a love tosses
us into the prose world.
E. Morin, French philosopher and sociologist, Method V
Love makes us poets and the approach of death should make us
philosophers.
Attributed to George Santayana, 1863-1952, American philosopher
Other eyes: Alberoni
To fall in love corresponds to our desire of seeing the world
with other eyes.
Francesco Alberoni, Italian essayist, Le choc amoureux
Symbol of beauty: Suger
It is only through symbols of beauty that
our poor spirits can raise themselves from things temporal to
things eternal
Abbe Suger, XIII Century, cited in Os criadores, D.
Boorstin
Mysterious and terrible: Dostoievsky
Beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are
fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
F. Dostoievsky, 1821-1881, Russion writer, The Brothers
Karamazov
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
John Donne, 1572-1631, English poet, Elegies
Books, Films,
Cultural Stuff on these and
other related issues? See
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Romantic Love? See also:
Love is madness
Love is a game
Big and small loves
Love and fidelity
Abelard
and Heloise
Love in
Literature
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