AN

ANALYTICAL INQUIRY

INTO THE

PRINCIPLES OF TASTE.

BY RICHARD PAYNE KNIGHT.

THE FOURTH EDITION.

Quid placet aut odio est, quod non mutabile credas?
Τοιος γαρ νοος εστιν επιχθονίων ανθρωπων,
Οἷον επ' ήμαρ αγγσι πατηρ ανδρών τε θεώντε.

London:

Printed by Luke Hansard & Sons, near Lincoln's-Inn Fields,

FOR

T. PAYNE, 88, PALL-MALL; AND J. WHITE, FLEET-STREET.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION, p. 1.

Containing a Sceptical View of the Subject:

1. In its Principles.

2. In Building, Furniture, Gardening, and Dress.

3. In imitative Art.

4. In Style.

5. In the Productions of Nature.

6. Of the Word Beauty.

7. Applied to intellectual as well as sensible Qualities.

8. Variations in its Meaning.

9. As to the Sexes in Mankind.

10. Mr. Hume's Opinion considered.

11. Sexual Tastes of Brutes.

12. Double Meaning of the word Taste.

CHAP. II. OF SMELL.

1. Its Organs, and their Modes of Action.

2. Connected with mental Sympathies in Brutes.

3. In Dogs.

4. In Oxen.

5. Mr. Burke's Opinion considered.

6. Sexual Sympathies of Brutes.

CHAP. III. OF TOUCH.

1. Its Modes and Limits-Smoothness.

2. Sexual Sympathies-Irritation.

3. Titillation.

4. Sir Joshua Reynolds's Position confirmed.

5. Internal Stimuli.

6. External Stimuli in Plants.

7. Sensation of Plants, organic Sensations in general.

8. Have no Resemblance to Objects or Ideas. Evi-

dence of Sense.

9. Ideas according to Plato.

10. Scepticism.

11. Its Origin.

12. Inverted Action of the Nerves. Cessation,

13. Various Pleasures of Cessation or inverted Ac-

tion.

CHAP. IV. OF HEARING.

1. Organs and Modes of Action.
2. Sound-how.conveyed.

3. Its Nature and Causes.

4. Its Effects, Modes, and Degrees of Irritation.
5. Simple and mixed Tones.

6. Connected with mental Sympathies in Animals.

7. In Mankind.

8. Expression in Music.

9. Articulate Sounds.

10. Verse.

11. Compared with Music.

12. Measure and Quantity.

13. How violated in the dead Languages.

14. How far addressed to organic Sense.

15. Musical and Poetical Melody.

16. Distance and Direction of Sounds.

17. Their Grandeur and Sublimity.

CHAP. V. OF SIGHT.

1. Its Causes.

2. Primary Effects. Projection.

3. Distance.

4. Visible Magnitude.

5. Error of Mr. Burke.

6. Irritation-its Effects on the Organ.

7. Pleasures and Pains. Colours.

8. Reflected and refracted Lights. Effects of Co-
lours, simple and mixed.

9. Sensual or visible Beauty.

10. Degrees of Sensibility in the Organs.

11 & 12. Smoothness, Sharpness, and Brilliancy in
polished and transparent Objects.

13. In the Coats of Animals.

14. In Buildings, Gardens, Pieces of Water, &c.

15. Neatness.

16. General Principles of visible Beauty.

17. Illustrated by particular Instances. Deceptions

of Sight.