Unit Three
Beauty Is Meaningless
A young man sees a sunset and, unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him, concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond. It is difficult for any of us in moments of intense aesthetic experience to resist the suggestion that we are catching a glimpse of a light that shines down to us from a different realm of existence, different and, because the experience is intensely moving, in some wqy higher. And, though the gleams blind and dazzle, yet they do convey a hint of beauty and serenity greater than we have known or imagined. Greater too than we can describe, for language, which was invented to convey the meanings of this world, cannot readily be fitted to the uses of another.
That all great art has this power of suggesting a world beyond is undeniable. In some moods, Nature shares it. There is no sky in June so blue that it does not point forward to a bluer, no sunset so beautiful that it does not waken the vision of a greater beauty, a wision which passes before it is fully glimpsed, and in passing leaves an indefinable linging and regret. But, if this world is not merely a bad joke, life a vulgar flare amid the cool radiance of the stars, and existence an empty laugh braying across the mysteries, if these intimations of a something behind and beyond are not evil humour born of indigestion, or whimsies sent by the devil to mock and madden us , if, in a word, beauty means something, yet we must not seek to interpret the meaning. If we glimpse the unutterable, it is unwise to try to utter it, nor should we seek to invest with significance that which we cannot grasp. Beauty in terms of our human meanings is meaningless.
intense a. 1.强烈的,剧烈的,紧张的 2.认真的,专注的 3.热情的,热切的
intensify v. (使)增强,(使)加剧
aesthetic a. 1.美学的,审美的 2.悦目的,雅致的
gleam vi.1.闪亮,闪烁 2.闪现,流露 n.1.闪光,闪亮 2.闪现,流露
[联想词]
sparkle vi.1.发光,闪耀,闪烁 2.活跃,焕发 n.1.发光,闪耀,闪烁 2.活力,生气
glitter vi. 闪闪发光,闪耀 n.闪光,灿烂的光辉 2.耀眼,辉煌
dazzle vt. 使眩目 n.1.耀眼的光 2.令人赞叹的东西
serenity n. 1.平静,安详 2.晴朗,明朗
denial n. 1.否认 2.拒绝
undeniable a.不可否认的
vulgar a. 1.粗野的,下流的 2.庸俗的,粗俗的
[联想词]
boscene a. 1.淫秽的,下流的 2.可憎的,可恶的
flare vi. 1.(火焰)闪耀 2.突发,突然发怒 n.闪光信号,照明弹
[联想词]
erupt vi. 1.(火山等)喷发 2.(战争等)爆发,突然发生
ignite vt. 点燃,引发
radiant a. 1.容光焕发的,喜形于色的 2.光芒四射的,光辉灿烂的 3.辐射的
[联想词]
radiate v. 1.发出(光或热),辐射 2.流露,显示
radioactive a. 放射性的,有辐射的
bray vi. 1.(驴)叫 2.以响而粗的声音说(或笑)
whimsy n. 1.怪念头,离奇的想法 2.稀奇古怪
[联想词]
bizare a. 怪诞的,奇形怪状的
weird a. 1.古怪的,离奇的 2.怪诞的,神秘可怕的
mock vt. 1.嘲笑,嘲弄 2.(为了取笑)模仿 vi.嘲笑,嘲弄
a. 1.模拟的,学习的 2.假的,假装的
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