sometimes been made to explain the pleasure which is received from musical sounds, as well as from those of a different character, on the doctrine of association. But there are various difficulties in this explanation, some of which will now be referred to. (1.) In the first place, we are led to expect, from the analogy of things which we witness in other cases, that we shall find, in the human heart also, an original sensibility to the beautiful in the matter under consideration. We refer now to what we frequently notice in the lower animals; and although we do not claim that very much weight should be attached to this view of the subject, it certainly furnishes some matter for reflection. Why should brute animals be originally pleased with musical sounds, and man, whom we may well suppose to have as much need of this pleasure, be naturally destitute of the capability of receiving it? In regard to brute animals, (we do not say all, but many of them,) there is no possi ble question as to the fact involved in this inquiry Through all the numberless varieties which they exhibit, from the mouse, of which Linnæus says with strict truth, 66 DELECTATUR MUSICA," to the elephant on the banks of the Niger, that responds with his unwieldy dance to the rude instrument of the untutored African, they yield their homage to the magic of sweet sounds. To attempt to explain the pleasure they receive on the ground of association would be difficult, perhaps ridiculous. The simple fact is, that they listen and are delighted. It is the sound, and nothing but the sound, which excites the joy they exhibit. So great is the acknowledged power of music over many brute animals, that the classical traditions which celebrate the achievements of the early poets and musicians scarcely transcend the bounds of truth. "For Orpheus' lute was strung with poets' sinews, Forsake unsounded deeps to dance on sands." (2.) In the second place, children, at an early period of life, before they have had an opportunity of connecting associations with them to any great extent, are highly pleased with musical sounds. This is a fact which we cannot suppose has escaped the notice of any one. Let a wandering musician suddenly make his appearance in a country village, with his fife, bagpipe, or hand-organ, (instruments which are not supposed to possess the highest claims to musical power,) and it is surprising to see with what an outburst of joy the sound is welcomed to the heart of childhood. Delighted countenances cluster at the windows; and merry groups, that just before made the streets ring with their noise, suddenly leave their sports, and rush with a new and delighted impulse to the presence of the strolling minstrel. This is universally the fact; and when we consider the early age at which it takes place, it seems to be inconsistent with any other view than that which ascribes to sounds of a certain character an original or intrinsic attraction. (3.) We witness, furthermore, the same result in Sav. age tribes, when they first become acquainted with the instruments of music, however simple or imperfect they may be, which have been fabricated by European skill. It is said of the native inhabitants of this country, that they frequently purchased of the Spaniards, when they first came to America, small bells; and when they hung them on their persons, and heard their clear musical sounds responding to the movement of their dances, they were filled with the highest possible delight. At a later period in the history of the country, it is related by one of the Jesuit missionaries, that once coming into the company of certain ignorant and fierce Indians, he met with a rude and menacing reception, which foreboded no very favourable termination. As it was not his design, however, to enter into any contention if it could possibly be avoided, he immediately commenced playing on a stringed instrument; their feelings were softened at once; and the evil spirit of jealousy and anger, which they exhibited on his first approach to them, fled from their minds."*. We cannot suppose it necessary to multiply instances to the same effect. *See Irving's Life and Voyages of Columbus, ch. ix.-London Quar. terly Review, vol. xxvi., p. 287. В в § 266. Further instances of the original beauty of sounds. (4.) In the fourth place, deaf persons, who have beer suddenly restored to the sense of hearing, and also per sons who, in consequence of their peculiar situation, have never heard musical sounds till a certain period of their life, and have therefore been unable, in either case, to form associations with such sounds, either pleasant or unpleasant, have been found, on hearing them for the first time, to experience a high degree of pleasure.-So far as we have been able to learn, we believe this to be the fact. At the same time, as instances of this kind seldom occur, and are still less frequently recorded, we do not profess to rely upon the statement as universally true, with an entire degree of confidence. The circumstances which are related of Caspar Hauser, on hearing musical sounds for the first time, are one of the few instances in point. The statement is as follows.-"Not only his mind, but many of his senses, appeared at first to be in a state of stupor, and only gradually to open to the perception of external objects. It was not before the lapse of several days that he began to notice the striking of the steeple clock and the ringing of the bells. This threw him into the greatest astonishment, which at first was expressed only by his listening looks and by certain spasmodic motions of his countenance; but it was soon succeeded by a stare of benumbed meditation. Some weeks afterward the nuptial procession of a peasant passed by the tower, with a band of music, close under his window. He suddenly stood listening, motionless as a statue; his countenance appeared to be transfigured, and his eyes, as it were, to irradiate his ecstasy; his ears and eyes seemed continually to follow the movements of the sounds as they receded more and more; and they had long ceased to be audible, while he still continued immoveably fixed in a listening posture, as if unwilling to lose the last vibrations of these, to him, celestial notes, or as if his soul had followed them and left his body behind it in torpid insensibility."* $267. The permanency of musical power dependent on its being intrinsic On the subject of the original or intrinsic beauty of cer* Life of Caspar Hauser, ch. iii. tain sounds, one other remark remains to be made here. -It will be recollected, that the doctrine which we are opposing is, that all the power which musical sounds have, considered as a source of beauty, is wholly resolva ble into association. If this be true, then it seems to be the proper business of professed composers of music to study the nature and tendency of associations rather than of sounds. The common supposition in this matter un doubtedly is, that the musical composer exercises his invention and taste, in addition to the general conception or outline of his work, in forming perfect chords, varied modulation, and accurate rythm. This is a principal, not the only one, but a principal field of his labours; the theatre on which his genius is especially displayed; and without these results of chord, modulation, and rythm, it is certain that his efforts will fail to please. But if the doctrine which we are opposing be true, would it not be the fact, that he could bring together the most harsh and discordant sounds, and compose, by means of them, the great works of his art, provided he took the pains to cover their deformity by throwing over them some fascinating dress of association? But we presume it will not be pretended that mere association possesses this power as a general thing, even in the hands of genius.-Furthermore, we do not hesitate to say, that from the nature of the case, the musical genius which composes its works for immortality must deal chiefly with the elements and essentialities of things, and not with the mere incidents and accessories. Permanency in the works of art, of course, implies a corresponding permanency in their foundation. Associations are correctly understood to be, from their very nature, uncertain and changeable, while the beauty of some musical compositions (we speak but the common sentiment of mankind in saying it) is imperishable; a fact which seems to be inconsistent with its being founded on an unfixed and evanescent basis. § 268. Of motion as an element of beauty. Motion also, a new and distinct object of contemplation, has usually been reckoned a source of the beautiful, and very justly.-A forest or a field of grain, gently waved by the wind, affects us pleasantly. The motion of a winding river pleases; and this, not only because the river is serpentine, but because it is never at rest. We are de lighted with the motion of a ship as it cleaves the sea under full sail. We look on as it moves like a thing of life, and are pleased without being able to control our feelings, or to tell why they exist. And the waves, too, around it, which are continually approaching and departing, and curling upward in huge masses, and then breaking asunder into fragments of every shape, present a much more pleasing appearance than they would if profoundly quiet and stagnant. With what happy enthusiasm we behold the foaming cascade, as it breaks out from the summit of the mountain and dashes downward to its base! With what pleasing satisfaction we gaze upon a column of smoke ascending from a cottage in a wood; a trait in outward scenery which landscape painters, who must certainly be accounted good judges of what is beautiful in the aspects of external nature, are exceedingly fond of introducing. It may be said in this case, we are aware, that the pleasure arising from beholding the ascending smoke of the cottage is caused by the favourite suggestions which are connected with it, of rural seclusion, peace, and abundance. But there is much reason to believe that the feeling would be, to some extent, the same, if it were known to ascend from the uncomfortable wigwam of the Savage, from an accidental conflagration, or from the fires of a wandering horde of gipsies. And if motion, on the limited scale on which we are accustomed to view it, be beautiful, how great would be the ecstasy of our feelings if we could be placed on some pinnacle of the universe, and could take in at one glance the regular and unbroken movement of the worlds and systems of infinite space. § 269. Explanation of the beauty of motion from Kaimes. The author of the Elements of Criticism, who studied. our emotions with great care, has the following explanations on this subject." Motion is certainly agreeable in all its varieties of quickness and slowness; but motion long continued admits some exceptions. That degree of |