ABSTRACT
That we are touched by beauty is beyond doubt. Everyone has such experiences, and knows that they cover a wide spectrum. They extend from deep shock, through amazed perception of something wholly other, to a momentary lifting of our spirits. They extend from a feeling of painful longing, through fascination with the wholly other, to a sense of being enveloped and sheltered in delightful well-being. Yet if we are called upon to say what beauty is, we find ourselves at a loss. Indeed, we are afraid that by naming beauty we may turn it into something other than what we have experienced.
