Exploring the Truth Goodness and Beauty of God in art, music, poetry, literature and the prayer-life of the Roman Catholic Liturgy
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Beauty
How is Beauty a glimpse of God? What does Beauty show us about Truth and Goodness? How does all Being shine with Beauty? How is the Beauty of Art a participant in the absolute Beauty of God?
This, of course, is the famous "Analogy of Being"--that all Being (either God or created beings) share four characteristics or attributes-----Unity, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
Keats' own verse, in the "Ode to the Graecian Urn", however, though beautiful & true in itself, risks reducing the Analogy of Being to a mere aesthetic creed of Art for Art's Sake, removed from any other Truth, removed from morality and the Good, and indeed removed from the real life of ordinary people. Keats' saying exemplifies the risk of Romanticism, that Romanticism is a heresy of Christianity--a running off with one part of the Truth, to the exclusion of others.
Yet . . .yet . . .yet . . .the Romantic Creed is both True and necessary for us today, since our modern life is so empty and ugly and meaningless. We need Keats' poetic saying, as a glimpse of the real Beauty of created beings and of god their Creator.
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
ReplyDeleteYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.
- John Keats (my favorite philosopher)
This, of course, is the famous "Analogy of Being"--that all Being (either God or created beings) share four characteristics or attributes-----Unity, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
ReplyDeleteKeats' own verse, in the "Ode to the Graecian Urn", however, though beautiful & true in itself, risks reducing the Analogy of Being to a mere aesthetic creed of Art for Art's Sake, removed from any other Truth, removed from morality and the Good, and indeed removed from the real life of ordinary people. Keats' saying exemplifies the risk of Romanticism, that Romanticism is a heresy of Christianity--a running off with one part of the Truth, to the exclusion of others.
Yet . . .yet . . .yet . . .the Romantic Creed is both True and necessary for us today, since our modern life is so empty and ugly and meaningless. We need Keats' poetic saying, as a glimpse of the real Beauty of created beings and of god their Creator.