It seems then that it is not the excellence of any two things (or more) in themselves, but those two things as viewed by the light of each other, that makes beauty.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Beauty arises from the relationship between things rather than their isolated qualities.
- In plain terms
- Things look beautiful when seen in relation to each other.
- What can you take from it?
- Context and comparison create beauty.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes something beautiful on its own?
- How does context change your view?
Another view
It ignores inherent qualities that might be beautiful alone.
More from Gerard Manley Hopkins
A great work by an Englishman is like a great battle won by England. It is an unfading bay tree.
Permalink to quote #19 Beauty ... is a relation, and the apprehension of it a comparison.
Permalink to quote #21 That is the great end of empires before God, to be Catholic and draw nations into their Catholicism. But our empire is less and less Christian as it grows.
Permalink to quote #18
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