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RHETORIC.
Habits of virtuous feeling are also highly essential; asare a tender and becoming sensibility to the woes, the inju-ries, and the sufferings of our race. The next essentialpreliminary, but certainly subservient to the preceding, isfor the student to possess, in the highest degree of culti-vation, an improved TASTE; which is defined to be “ The“ power of receiving pleasure from the beauties of nature or“ of art, and of experiencing pain from the deformities of“ either.” The constituents of Taste are defined to be delicacyand correctness: a delicate taste enables us to recognisebeauties which escape the vulgar eye; and correctness infersour judgment to be so improved by the correction of theunderstanding, that we are never imposed upon by counter-feit beauties, however plausible in appearance.
Criticism constitutes the ultimate of taste, being definedto be “ The application of taste and good sense to the fine“ arts.” Its object is to distinguish what is beautiful fromwhat is defective in every performance.
Genius is next to be considered: — although a geniusof a vastly superior order may, indeed, compose a work,'which shall be exactly conformable to the establishedrules of criticism; such, for instance, was Homer s geniusfor sublime poetry; and such that of Herodotus for his-torical composition. Both these original authors, pos-sessing exquisite taste, assisted by most profound judg-ment, produced works which all mankind have since admired.The term genius is also applied to an aptitude in particularminds for many specific objects, which do not immediatelycome within the cognizance of the present consideration ;but the definition of that term with respect to such objectsthat meet its attention, will be found to be “ The result of“ a lively and rapid perception, carefully collecting, strenu-“ ously retaining, and skilfully arranging whatsoever is“ estimable in any specific art or science.”
Nature and time deny their assistance to the productionof an •universal genius, although they may assent to the pro-duce of a genius, equally or indifferently disposed to severalobjects. But time or opportunity deny, and experienceconfirms their dispensation ;‘ and the instance is yet un-known where an individual has excelled in the cultivationof several arts; life being too short; besides, it is essentialfor the whole faculties of the individual to be concentredin the particular object of his attention. This question is