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Reviews
A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful by Edmund Burke
carise's review against another edition
2.0
This is a very tentative rating based on a few of the half-dozen essays included in this volume. The title essay was probably the best—anything that approaches a political opinion from Burke suffers.
jordanlily's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting philosophy in small doses. Horrific to have to read back-to-back chapters!
emannuelk's review
3.0
Lido para pesquisa. O que esse livro faz de importante é diferenciar o belo do sublime e definir ambos enquanto categorias estéticas. Essas considerações são muito importantes para quem estuda arte ou literatura, especialmente romantismo e gótico. É, portanto, um precedente histórico que precisa e vale a pena ser lido. Mas essas considerações estão contidas, basicamente, na sua primeira parte. Depois disso, começam proliferar abordagens pseudo-científicas de o que e porquê certas coisas causam esses efeitos, que são, na melhor das hipóteses, desatualizados e com raros detalhes aproveitáveis. O livro é curto, assim como os capítulos, mas a leitura é bem maçante, até mesmo quando comparado com livros teóricos e/ou da mesma época. Ao mesmo tempo, refutar a aplicabilidade dessas categorias na arte e literatura pós-modernas vai, provavelmente, configurar uma parcela considerável dos meus estudos futuros.
lizawall's review against another edition
5.0
From 'Of the Passions Which Belong to Society'
The passions belonging to the preservation of the individual turn wholly on pain and danger: those which belong to generation have their origin in gratifications and pleasures; the pleasure most directly belonging to this purpose is of a lively character, rapturous and violent, and confessedly the highest pleasure of sense; yet the absence of this so great an enjoyment scarce amounts to an uneasiness; and, except at particular times, I do not think it affects at all.
From 'Of Beauty'
I call beauty a social quality; for where women and men, and not only they, but when other animals give us a sense of joy and pleasure in beholding them, (and there are many that do so,) they inspire us with sentiments of tenderness and affection towards their persons; we like to have them near us, and we enter willingly into a kind of relation with them, unless we should have strong reasons to the contrary.
From 'Society and Solitude'
Good company, lively conversation, and the endearments of friendship, fill the mind with great pleasure; a temporary solitude, on the other hand, is itself agreeable. This may perhaps prove that we are creatures designed for contemplation as well as action; since solitude as well as society has its pleasures; as from the former observation we may discern, that an entire life of solitude contradicts the purposes of our being, since death itself is scarcely an idea of more terror.
From 'Poetry Not Strictly an Imitative Art'
Nothing is an imitation further than as it resembles some other thing; and words undoubtedly have no sort of resemblance to the ideas, for which they stand.
The passions belonging to the preservation of the individual turn wholly on pain and danger: those which belong to generation have their origin in gratifications and pleasures; the pleasure most directly belonging to this purpose is of a lively character, rapturous and violent, and confessedly the highest pleasure of sense; yet the absence of this so great an enjoyment scarce amounts to an uneasiness; and, except at particular times, I do not think it affects at all.
From 'Of Beauty'
I call beauty a social quality; for where women and men, and not only they, but when other animals give us a sense of joy and pleasure in beholding them, (and there are many that do so,) they inspire us with sentiments of tenderness and affection towards their persons; we like to have them near us, and we enter willingly into a kind of relation with them, unless we should have strong reasons to the contrary.
From 'Society and Solitude'
Good company, lively conversation, and the endearments of friendship, fill the mind with great pleasure; a temporary solitude, on the other hand, is itself agreeable. This may perhaps prove that we are creatures designed for contemplation as well as action; since solitude as well as society has its pleasures; as from the former observation we may discern, that an entire life of solitude contradicts the purposes of our being, since death itself is scarcely an idea of more terror.
From 'Poetry Not Strictly an Imitative Art'
Nothing is an imitation further than as it resembles some other thing; and words undoubtedly have no sort of resemblance to the ideas, for which they stand.
mgouker's review against another edition
3.0
I had read this before but I reread it now, searching to see if I missed something the first time. My excellent teachers have almost universal praise for Burke. To be honest, I find him to be limited in many ways, especially in terms of his nativism and hetero-orthodoxy. Some of the discussion of beauty is so incredibly sexist as well. I admit he has much to say, but the tone is pompous, and I wonder if it's my own biases about how English seem to like to define rules for everything... I actually started wondering what kind of game association football (soccer) would be like if the Brazilians wrote the rules for the ancient Sumerian game instead of the English.