THE PREFACE
The artist is the creator of beautiful things.To reveal art and conceal
the artist is art's aim.The critic is he who can translate intoanother
manner or a new material his impression of beautifulthings.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a modeof autobiography.
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things arecorrupt without
being charming.This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful thingsare the cultivated.
For these there is hope.They are the elect to whom beautiful things
mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written, or badly written.That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rageof Caliban
seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is therage of
Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.The moral life of man
forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, butthe morality
of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfectmedium.
No artist desires to prove anything.Even things that are true
can be proved.No artist has ethical sympathies.An ethical
sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism ofstyle.
No artist is ever morbid.The artist can express everything.
Thought and language are to the artist instruments ofan art.
Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for anart.
From the point of view of form, the type of all thearts is the art
of the musician.From the point of view of feeling, the actor's
craft is the type.All art is at once surface and symbol.
Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.
Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.
It is the spectator, and not life, that art reallymirrors.
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows thatthe work
is new, complex, and vital.When critics disagree,
the artist is in accord with himself.We can forgive a man
for making a useful thing as long as he does notadmire it.
The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one
admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless.