“ what exists in the nature of things is the standard of our judgement; what each man feels within himself is the standard of sentiment. ”
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751). copy citation
Author | David Hume |
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Source | An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals |
Topic | judgement sentiment |
Date | 1751 |
Language | English |
Reference | |
Note | |
Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/4320/4320-h/4320-h.htm |
Context
“the examples cited, the authorities appealed to, the analogies employed, the fallacies detected, the inferences drawn, and the several conclusions adjusted to their proper principles. Truth is disputable; not taste: what exists in the nature of things is the standard of our judgement; what each man feels within himself is the standard of sentiment. Propositions in geometry may be proved, systems in physics may be controverted; but the harmony of verse, the tenderness of passion, the brilliancy of wit, must give immediate pleasure. No man reasons concerning another's beauty;”
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