XV. Darkness Terrible in its own Nature 226 XVI. Why Darkness is Terrible 227 XVII. The Effects of Blackness 229 XVIII. The Effects of Blackness moderated 231 XIX. The Physical Cause of Love 232 XX. Why Smoothness is Beautiful 234 XXI. Sweetness, its Nature 235 XXII. Sweetness relaxing 237 XXIII. Variation, why Beautiful 239 XXIV. Concerning Smallness 240 XXV. Of Color 244 PART V. I. Of Words 246 II. The Common Effect of Poetry, not by raising Ideas of Things 246 III. General Words before Ideas 249 IV. The Effect of Words 250 V. Examples that Words may affect without raising Images 252 VI. Poetry not strictly an Imitative Art 257 VII. How Words influence the Passions 258 INTRODUCTION. ON TASTE. On a superficial view we may seem to differ very widely from each other in our reasonings, and no less in our pleasures: but, notwithstanding this difference, which I think to be rather apparent than real, it is probable that the standard both of reason and taste is the same in all human creatures. For if there were not some principles of judgment as well as of sentiment common to all mankind, no hold could possibly be taken either on their reason or their passions, sufficient to maintain the ordinary correspondence of life. It appears, indeed, to be generally acknowledged, that with regard to truth and falsehood there is something fixed. We find people in their disputes continually appealing to certain tests and standards, which are allowed on all sides, and are supposed to be established in our common nature. But there is not the same obvious concurrence in any uniform or settled principles which relate to taste. It is even commonly supposed that this delicate and aerial faculty, which seems too volatile to endure even the chains of a definition, cannot be properly tried by any test, nor regulated by any standard. There is so continual a call for the exercise of the reasoning facility; and it is so much strengthened by perpetual contention, that certain maxims of right reason seem to be tacitly settled amongst the most ignorant. The learned have improved on this rude science, and reduced those maxims into a system. If taste has not been so happily cultivated, it was not that the subject was barren, but that the laborers were few