DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.48956#0243
Sea. III. BEAUTY OF LANGUAGE. 23;
pronounce, that this natural resemblance can be
carried no farther: the objedls of the disserent
senses , differ so widely from each other , as to ex-
clude any resemblance: sound in particular, whe-
ther articulate or inarticulate, resembles not in any
degree taste, smell, or motion; and as little can
it reserable any internal sentiment, feeling, or
emotion. But must we then admit, that nothing
but sound can be imitated by sound? Taking imi-
tation in its proper sense, as importing a resem-
blance between two objedts, the proposition must
be admitted: and yet in many passages that are
not descriptive of sound, every one must be sen-
sible of a peculiar concord between the sound of
the words and their meaning. As there can be nn
doubt of the sail, what remains is to inquire into
its cause.
Resembling causes may produce effedls that have
no resemblance; and causes that have no resem-
blance may produce resembling effects. A magni-
ficent building, for example, resembles not in any
degree a heroic adion; and yet the emotions
they produce, are concordant, and bear a resem-
blance to each other. We are still more serisible
os this resemblance in a song, when, the music is
properly adapted to the sentiment: there is no re-
semblance between thought and sound; but there
is the strongest resemblance between the emotion
railed by music tender and pathetic, and that rai-
sed by the complaint of an unsuccefsful lover. Ap-
pronounce, that this natural resemblance can be
carried no farther: the objedls of the disserent
senses , differ so widely from each other , as to ex-
clude any resemblance: sound in particular, whe-
ther articulate or inarticulate, resembles not in any
degree taste, smell, or motion; and as little can
it reserable any internal sentiment, feeling, or
emotion. But must we then admit, that nothing
but sound can be imitated by sound? Taking imi-
tation in its proper sense, as importing a resem-
blance between two objedts, the proposition must
be admitted: and yet in many passages that are
not descriptive of sound, every one must be sen-
sible of a peculiar concord between the sound of
the words and their meaning. As there can be nn
doubt of the sail, what remains is to inquire into
its cause.
Resembling causes may produce effedls that have
no resemblance; and causes that have no resem-
blance may produce resembling effects. A magni-
ficent building, for example, resembles not in any
degree a heroic adion; and yet the emotions
they produce, are concordant, and bear a resem-
blance to each other. We are still more serisible
os this resemblance in a song, when, the music is
properly adapted to the sentiment: there is no re-
semblance between thought and sound; but there
is the strongest resemblance between the emotion
railed by music tender and pathetic, and that rai-
sed by the complaint of an unsuccefsful lover. Ap-