body; and a composure of the parts in such a manner, as not to incumber
each other, not to appear divided by sharp and sudden angles. In this
case, this roundness, this delicacy of attitude and motion, it is that
all the magic of grace consists, and what is called its _je ne scai
quoi_; as will be obvious to any observer, who considers attentively the
Venus de Medicis, the Antinous or any statue generally allowed to be
graceful in a high degree.

SECTION XXIII.

ELEGANCE AND SPECIOUSNESS.

When any body is composed of parts smooth and polished, without pressing
upon each other, without showing any ruggedness or confusion, and at the
same time affecting some _regular shape_, I call it _elegant_. It is
closely allied to the beautiful, differing from it only in this
_regularity_; which, however, as it makes a very material difference in
the affection produced, may very well constitute another species. Under
this head I rank those delicate and regular works of art, that imitate
no determinate object in nature, as elegant buildings, and pieces of
furniture. When any object partakes of the above-mentioned qualities, or
of those of beautiful bodies, and is withal of great dimensions, it is
full as remote from the idea of mere beauty; I call _fine_ or
_specious_.

SECTION XXIV.

THE BEAUTIFUL IN FEELING.

The foregoing description of beauty, so far as it is taken in by the
eye, may he greatly illustrated by describing the nature of objects,
which produce a similar effect through the touch. This I call the
beautiful in _feeling_. It corresponds wonderfully with what causes the
same species of pleasure to the sight. There is a chain in all our
sensations; they are all but different sorts of feelings calculated to
be affected by various sorts of objects, but all to be affected after
the same manner. All bodies that are pleasant to the touch, are so by
the slightness of the resistance they make. Resistance is either to
motion along the surface, or to the pressure of the parts on one
another: if the former be slight, we call the body smooth; if the
latter, soft. The chief pleasure we receive by feeling, is in the one or
the other of these qualities; and if there be a combination of both, our
pleasure is greatly increased. This is so plain, that it is rather more
fit to illustrate other things, than to be illustrated itself by an
example. The next source of pleasure in this sense, as in every other,
is the continually pr