ABSTRACT
Everyone would spontaneously regard the existence of poetry and painting as an advantage to a nation; yet neither for the sake of any material or practical utility, nor because the lives of the 129painters and poets had been particularly admirable. In fact, to dwell much on either of these points (as Plato did) would show a bias against the fine arts: for both their material utility and the happiness of their votaries are, if anything, negative quantities.
