Chapter XIV: Part II: Of Truth

SECTION I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES RESPECTING IDEAS OF TRUTH. Chapter I., Of Ideas of Truth in their connection with those of Beauty and Relation § 1. The two great ends of landscape painting are the representation of facts and thoughts. 44 § 2. They induce a different choice of material subjects.[Page lvi] 45 § 3. The first mode of selection apt to produce sameness and repetition. 45 § 4. The second necessitating variety. 45 § 5. Yet the first is delightful to all. 46 § 6. The second only to a few. 46 § 7. The first necessary to the second. 47 § 8. The exceeding importance of truth. 48 § 9. Coldness or want of beauty no sign of truth. 48 § 10. How truth may be considered a just criterion of all art. 48 Chapter II., That the Truth of Nature is not to be discerned by the Uneducated Senses § 1. The common self-deception of men with respect to their power of discerning truth. 50 § 2. Men usually see little of what is before their eyes. 51 § 3. But more or less in proportion to their natural sensibility to what is beautiful. 52 § 4. Connected with a perfect state of moral feeling. 52 § 5. And of the intellectual powers. 53 § 6. How sight depends upon previous knowledge. 54 § 7. The difficulty increased by the variety of truths in nature. 55 § 8. We recognize objects by their least important attributes. Compare Part I. Sect. I. Chap. 4. 55 Chapter III., Of the Relative Importance of Truths:—First, that Particular Truths are more important than General Ones. § 1. Necessity of determining the relative importance of truths. 58 § 2. Misapplication of the aphorism: "General truths are more important than particular ones." 58 § 3. Falseness of this maxim, taken without explanation. 59 § 4. Generality important in the subject, particularity in the predicate. 59 § 5. The importance of truths of species is not owing to their generality. 60 § 6. All truths valuable as they are characteristic. 61 § 7. Otherwise truths of species are valuable, because beautiful. 61 § 8. And many truths, valuable if separate, may be objectionable in connection with others. 62 § 9. Recapitulation. 63 Chapter IV., Of the Relative Importance of Truths:—Secondly, that Rare Truths are more important than Frequent Ones § 1. No accidental violation of nature's principles should be represented. 64 § 2. But the cases in which those principles have been strikingly exemplified. 65 § 3. Which are comparatively rare. 65 § 4. All repetition is blamable. 65 § 5. The duty of the painter is the same as that of a preacher. 66 Chapter V., Of the Relative Importance of Truths:—Thirdly, that Truths of Color are the least important of all Truths § 1. Difference between primary and secondary qualities in bodies. 67 § 2. The first are fully characteristic, the second imperfectly so. 67 § 3. Color is a secondary quality, therefore less important than form. 68 § 4. Color no distinction between objects of the same species. 68 § 5. And different in association from what it is alone. 69 § 6. It is not certain whether any two people see the same colors in things. 69 § 7. Form, considered as an element of landscape, includes light and shade. 69 § 8. Importance of light and shade in expressing the character of bodies, and unimportance of color. 70 § 9. Recapitulation. 71 Chapter VI. Recapitulation § 1. The importance of historical truths. 72 § 2. Form, as explained by light and shade, the first of all truths. Tone, light, and color, are secondary. 72 § 3. And deceptive chiaroscuro the lowest of all. 73