Aesthetical and philosophical essays : $b introducing the dissertation on the "connection between the animal and spiritual man"Schiller, Friedrich
Philosophy
Aesthetical and philosophical essays : $b introducing the dissertation on the "connection between the animal and spiritual man"
Schiller, Friedrich
Aesthetics; Philosophy
Soon it will not be sufficient for things to please him; he will wish to
please: in the first place, it is true, only by that which belongs to
him; afterwards by that which he is. That which he possesses, that which
he produces, ought not merely to bear any more the traces of servitude,
nor to mark out the end, simply and scrupulously, by the form.
Independently of the use to which it is destined, the object ought also
to reflect the enlightened intelligence which imagines it, the hand
which shaped it with affection, the mind free and serene which chose it
and exposed it to view. Now, the ancient German searches for more
_magnificent_ furs, for more _splendid_ antlers of the stag, for more
elegant drinking-horns; and the Caledonian chooses the prettiest shells
for his festivals. The arms themselves ought to be no longer only
objects of terror, but also of pleasure; and the skilfully-worked
scabbard will not attract less attention than the homicidal edge of the
sword. The instinct of play, not satisfied with bringing into the sphere
of the necessary an æsthetic superabundance for the future more free, is
at last completely emancipated from the bonds of duty, and the beautiful
becomes of itself an object of man’s exertions. He adorns himself. The
free pleasure comes to take a place among his wants, and the useless
soon becomes the best part of his joys. Form, which from the outside
gradually approaches him, in his dwelling, his furniture, his clothing,
begins at last to take possession of the man himself, to transform him,
at first exteriorly, and afterwards in the interior. The disordered
leaps of joy become the dance, the formless gesture is changed into an
amiable and harmonious pantomime, the confused accents of feeling are
developed, and begin to obey measures and adapt themselves to song.
When, like the flight of cranes, the Trojan army rushes on to the field
of battle with thrilling cries, the Greek army approaches in silence and
with a noble and measured step. On the one side we see but the
exuberance of a blind force, on the other the triumph of form, and the
simple majesty of law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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