THE MENTOR 1916.03.01, No. 102,
Chinese Rugs

A Thing of Beauty

No word in the language is more abused than “beauty.” A pretty thing is a thing of beauty; a pretty picture is a picture of beauty; and so following. Lacking a proper descriptive term for anything attractive, we, too often, employ the word “beauty.” What term have we then with which to pay just tribute to true beauty?

The real, final test of beauty is that it wears well—not in a material way, but in the qualities that are truly beautiful. The rose is fragile material and its life is brief, but rose beauty is lasting and rose fragrance clings sweetly to the memory—so that the rose has become a synonym of beauty. The message of true beauty is enduring and, oft repeated, grows in charm. “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

A distinguishing attribute of true beauty is authority. A thing of beauty bears on its very forefront the stamp of authority. It does not plead for recognition—it commands it. The snow-capped summit at sundown, the Madonna face on a master’s canvas, the poet’s “lofty rhyme,” the fragrant flower, the harmonious symphony, the “frozen music” of architecture—the countless varied forms of beauty in nature, art and life ask no favor nor do they play to the fancy of the moment. Created in intelligence, sincerity and truth, and inspired by lofty devotion, they compel a lasting homage.