Nay, and the very desire
to see things as they are implies a balance and regulation of mind which
is not often attained without fruitful effort, and which is the very
opposite of the blind and diseased impulse of mind which is what we mean
to blame when we blame curiosity. Montesquieu says: 'The first motive
which ought to impel us to study is the desire to augment the excellence
of our nature, and to render an intelligent being yet more intelligent.'
This is the true ground to assign for the genuine scientific passion,
however manifested, and for culture, viewed simply as a fruit of this
passion; and it is a worthy ground, even though we let the term
_curiosity_ stand to describe it.
Starting with exact definitions of words, it is easy to pass to exact
definitions of ideas, which is the thing we should be aiming at all the
time. The logical accuracy of our language, however, is apparent
throughout.
Matthew Arnold does not embellish his criticism, nor does he make any
special appeal to the feelings or emotions of his readers. Not so Ruskin.
He discovers intellectual emotions, and makes pleasant appeals to those
emotions.
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