The sight of something marvelous causes a pleasant sensation in the upright soul.
From where does the agreeable sensation come?
From the beauty of the object, of course.
Moreover, as today’s world gets more ugly and debauched, this beauty causes a joy in our souls that the world today does not know any more.
It is a form of joy linked to admiration. They key is to admire a beautiful object in the proper manner and in the proper light so that it generates joy in us.
Unfortunately, today’s world only sees joy in debauchery, disorder, dissipation, in the extravagant, grotesque and ridiculous.
On the contrary, the upright person sees what is beauty in a disinterested manner, and receives a joy which, so to speak, he can touch with his hands, a joy that he feels in his soul and which comes from contemplation.
Admiration fills our lives with interest and joy. To NOT admire because one considers it a burden is the same as telling a friend who offers one a pair of wings with which to fly:
“But I already have to carry arms and legs. Now I’ll have to carry these wings on my back!?”
The person who thinks this is a fool.
Does he not realize that the wings will carry him, rather than the other way around?
(Adapted from thoughts of Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira)
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