There are three interdependent aspects to Diderot's
conception of the "sublime". The first, as developed by Diderot,
the encyclopaedist or theorists is arrived at objectively.
The "sublime" differs from the beautiful only in the number and
quality of the "relations" inherent in the object to be studied
and in the ability of the spectator to be affected by them. The
genius who can see and interpret the "sublime" is unique in his
species. He is an "original" who introduces a certain amount of
the bizarre into his work, thus breaking the accepted rules of
art of his time to bring about progress.
The second aspect, as developed by Diderot, an "homme sensible", is subjective. The genius who is "sensible" is sad, virtuous,
persecuted, bordering on madness, and an avowed enemy of
all rules and restraint. His aim is to give an exact imitation
of nature. The "sublime" for him has the sense assigned to it
by Edmund Burke in his "0f the Sublime and the Beautiful", or
by the contemporary French translations of Young's "Eight Thoughts”,
and is allied to the ideal of virtue set forth by the novels of
such authors as Richardson.
The third, as developed by Diderot, "philosophe ou homme
"sage", is a partial synthesis of the various influences reacting
upon him, notably that of Garrick's ideal of the illusion of
truth for the stage. The "sublime" is a perfect balance between
the two forces "sensibilite" and taste, a balance which is always
being destroyed as a nation progresses and develops its
successive ideals of "beauty. The genius is the man who can- best
accommodate his ideal with the one existing in the nation at the time
he produces his work. Such a man is Racine who has combined
simplicity with a great idea and has adapted them to the mould
prescribed to him by his period. The artist's moral code which
may be the opposite from that proper to the ordinary run of
people allows him to find the truth, while his genius allows him
to use it in such a way as to create an illusion or "mensonge"
which sways the spectators more than the actual facts would have
done. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/42409 |
| Date | January 1947 |
| Creators | Makinen, Sadie |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | French |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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