e voices at the same moment there ensues a
well-proportioned harmony which will please the sense of hearing to
such an extent that the listeners in dizzy admiration are like men half
ravished of their senses, still greater will be the effect of the
beautiful proportions of a celestial face in a picture from whose
proportions a harmonious concord will ensue, which delights the eye in
one moment, just as music delights the ear. And if this harmonious
beauty is shown to one who is the lover of the woman from whom such
great beauty has been copied, he will most certainly be struck dizzy
with admiration and incomparable joy superior to that afforded by all
the other senses.

But with regard to poetry, which in order to afford the representation
of a perfect beauty is obliged to describe each separate part in
detail,--a representation which in painting produces the harmony
described above,--no further charm is produced than would occur in
music if each voice {72} were to be heard separately at various
intervals of time, whence no concord would ensue; just as if we wished
to show a countenance bit by bit, always covering up the parts already
shown, forgetfulness would prevent the production of any harmonious
concord, since the eye could not apprehend the parts with its visual
faculty at the same moment. The same thing occurs in the beauty of any
object created by the poet, for as its parts are related separately, at
separate times the memory receives no harmony from it.

[Sidenote: The Impression of Painting]

17.

Painting reveals itself immediately to thee with the semblance given it
by its creator, and affords to the chief of the senses as great a
delight as any object created by nature. And the poet in this case
reveals the same objects to the brain by the channel of the hearing,
the inferior sense, and affords the eye no more pleasure than it
derives from anything which is related. Now consider what a difference
there is between hearing the recital of a thing which in the course of
time gives pleasure to the eye, and perceiving it with the same
velocity with which we apprehend the works of nature.

And in addition to the fact that a long interval of time is necessary
to read the works of the poets, it often occurs that they are not
understood, and it is necessary to make diverse {73} comments on them,
and it is exceedingly rare that the commentators are agreed as to the
meaning of the poet; and often the reade