Full Idea
Those feelings unhappily named cosmic emotion find almost no place in life, but, since they seem to belong to certain very deep springs of our nature, do become of great importance in the arts.
Gist of Idea
In life we neglect 'cosmic emotion', but it matters, and art brings it to the fore
Source
Roger Fry (An Essay in Aesthetics [1909], p.31)
Book Reference
Fry,Roger: 'Vision and Design' [Penguin 1937], p.31
A Reaction
Focus on the sublime was big in the romantic era, but Fry still sees its importance, and I don't think it ever goes away. Art styles which scorn the sublime are failing to perform their social duty, say I.