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Full Idea
The people of the upper class, more and more frequently encountering the contradictions between beauty and goodness, put the ideal of beauty first, thus freeing themselves from the demands of morality.
Gist of Idea
The upper classes put beauty first, and thus freed themselves from morality
Source
Leo Tolstoy (What is Art? [1898], Ch.17)
Book Ref
Tolstoy,Leo: 'What is Art? and Essays on Art', ed/tr. Maude,A [OUP 1975], p.257
A Reaction
The rich are a great deal freer to pursue the demands of beauty than are the poor. They also have a tradition of 'immorality' (such as duels and adultery) which was in place long before they discovered art.
| 22710 | People estimate art according to their moral values [Tolstoy] |
| 8123 | The purpose of art is to help mankind to evolve better, more socially beneficial feelings [Tolstoy] |
| 8124 | The highest feelings of mankind can only be transmitted by art [Tolstoy] |
| 8125 | The upper classes put beauty first, and thus freed themselves from morality [Tolstoy] |
| 8064 | We separate the concept of beauty from goodness, unlike the ancients [Tolstoy] |
| 8121 | Art is when one man uses external signs to hand on his feelings to another man [Tolstoy] |
| 8122 | True works of art transmit completely new feelings [Tolstoy] |