"Even the song of birds, which we..." - Quote by Immanuel Kant
Even the song of birds, which we can bring under no musical rule, seems to have more freedom, and therefore more for taste, than a song of a human being which is produced in accordance with all the rules of music; for we very much sooner weary of the latter, if it is repeated often and at length. Here, however, we probably confuse our participation in the mirth of a little creature that we love, with the beauty of its song; for if this were exactly imitated by man (as sometimes the notes of the nightingale are) it would seem to our ear quite devoid of taste.
More by Immanuel Kant
“Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind... The understanding can intuit nothing, the senses can think nothing. Only through their union can knowledge arise.”
“The busier we are, the more acutely we feel that we live, the more conscious we are of life.”
“Thrift is care and scruple in the spending of one's means. It is not a virtue and it requires neither skill nor talent.”
More on Beauty
“I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks.”
“The cart before the horse is neither beautiful nor useful. Before we can adorn our houses with beautiful objects the walls must bestripped, and our lives must be stripped, and beautiful housekeeping and beautiful living laid for a foundation.”
“And I say also this. I do not think the forest would be so bright, nor the water so warm, nor love so sweet, if there were no danger in the lakes.”