Beattie, James (1735-1803)

Of Imagination [from Dissertations Moral and Critical]

London

Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell ... and W. Creech

1783

"At this window (as the wise man calls it) the soul is often seen in her genuine character, even when the porter below (I mean the tongue) is endeavouring to persuade us, that she is not within, that she is otherwise employed, or that she is quite a different person"

The most striking feature of the face, and that to which we most frequently direct our view, is the eye. This, with the eyelids, the eyelashes, and the eyebrow, is the chief seat of expression. At this window (as the wise man calls it) the soul is often seen in her genuine character, even when the porter below (I mean the tongue) is endeavouring to persuade us, that she is not within, that she is otherwise employed, or that she is quite a different person. Smiles and sadness display themselves partly at the mouth; the former by raising, the latter by depressing, the corners of it; and yet we might in many cases mistake a laughing for a weeping countenance, if we did not see the eye. Indeed this little organ, whether sparkling with joy, or melting in sorrow; whether gleaming with indignation, or languishing in tenderness; whether glowing with the steady light of deliberate valour, or sending forth emanations of goodwill and gratitude, is one of the most interesting [end page 133] objects in the whole visible universe. There is more in it, than shape motion, and colour; there is thought and passion; there is life and soul; there is reason and speech.--Now, what is it, that constitutes the beauty of this feature? And why are we more pleased with some appearances of it, than with others?
(II.iv, pp. 133-4)

Architecture::Window Population::Porter

Reading

At least 2 entries in ESTC (1783).

Beattie, James. Dissertations Moral and Critical. Printed for Strahan, Cadell, and Creech: London, 1783. Facsimile-Reprint: Friedrich Frommann Verlag, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1970.

07/26/2005