Of the essays which compose the following volume, the first, third, and last are reprinted, in more or less revised form, from the "Atlantic Monthly" and the "International Monthly." Although written as independent papers, it is thought that they do not unduly repeat each other, but that they serve to verify, in each of the several realms of beauty, the truth of the central theory of the book. The various influences which have served to shape a work of this kind become evident in the reading; but I cannot refrain from a word of thanks to the teachers whose inspiration and encouragement first made it possible. I owe much gratitude to Professor Mary A. Jordan and Professor H. Norman Gardiner of Smith College, who in literature and in philosophy first set me in the way of aesthetic interest and inquiry, and to Professor Hugo Munsterberg of Harvard University, whose philosophical theories and scientific guidance have largely influenced my thought. WELLESLEY COLLEGE, April 24, 1905. CONTENTS PAGE I. CRITICISM AND AESTHETICS.............................1 II. THE NATURE OF BEAUTY................................27 III. THE AESTHETIC REPOSE................................57 IV. THE BEAUTY OF FINE ART..............................89 A. THE BEAUTY OF VISUAL FORM.....................91 B. SPACE COMPOSITION AMONG THE OLD MASTERS......128 V. THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC................................149 VI. THE BEAUTY OF LITERATURE...........................203 VII. THE NATURE OF THE EMOTIONS OF THE DRAMA............229 VIII. THE BEAUTY OF IDEAS................................263 I CRITICISM AND AESTHETICS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BEAUTY I CRITICISM AND AESTHETICS