"David Hume - Of the Standard of Taste" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hume David)

and decisive standard to exist somewhere, to wit, real
existence and mater of fact; and they must have indulgence to
such as differ from them in their appeals to this standard. It
is sufficient for our present purpose, if we have proved, that
the taste of all individuals is not upon an equal footing, and
that some men in general, however difficult to be particularly
pitched upon, will be acknowledge by universal sentiment to
have a preference above others.

But in reality the difficulty of finding, even in particulars,
the standard of taste, is not so great as it is represented.
Though in speculation, we may readily avow a certain criterion
in science and deny it in sentiment, the matter is found in
practice to be much more hard to ascertain in the former case
than in the latter. Theories of abstract philosophy, systems
of profound theology, have prevailed during one age: In a
successive period, these have been universally exploded: Their
absurdity has been detected: Other theories and systems have
supplied their place, which again gave place to their
successors: And nothing has been experienced more liable to
the revolutions of chance and fashion than these pretended
decisions of science. The case is not the same with the
beauties of eloquence and poetry. Just expressions of passion
and nature are sure, after a little time, to gain public
applause, which they maintain for ever. ARISTOTLE, and PLATO,
and EPICURUS, and DESCARTES, may successively yield to each
other: But TERENCE and VIRGIL maintain an universal,
undisputed empire over the minds of men. The abstract
philosophy of CICERO has lost its credit: The vehemence of his
oratory is still the object of our admiration.

Though men of delicate taste be rare, they are easily to be
distinguished in society, by the soundness of their
understanding and the superiority of their faculties above the
rest of mankind. The ascendant, which they acquire, gives a
prevalence to that lively approbation, with which they receive
any productions of genius, and renders it generally
predominant. Many men, when left to themselves, have but a
faint and dubious perception of beauty, who yet are capable of
relishing any fine stroke, which is pointed out to them. Every
convert to the admiration of the real poet or orator is the
cause of some new conversion. And though prejudices may
prevail for a time, they never unite in celebrating any rival
to the true genius, but yield at last to the force of nature
and just sentiment. Thus, though a civilized nation may easily
be mistaken in the choice of their admired philosopher, they
never have been found long to err, in their affection for a
favorite epic or tragic author.

But notwithstanding all our endeavours to fix a standard of