The Service of Beauty

The Service of Beauty



"The concern of  the Primary Imgination, its only concern, is with
sacred beings and sacred events. The sacred is that to which it is
obliged to respond; the profane is that to which it cannot respond
and therefore does not know."   ___ W. H. Auden, "The Dyer's Hand"




We each have an instinct that informs us when something is aestheutically pleasing; we are aware of the interplay of order, balance, and harmony. When a house or an object is ill-conceived, when a garment or a plan does not sit well, we have a strong sense of physical discomfort or agitation.

  The 'primary imagination' reveals to us the hidden beauty and order of the universe, giving us a sense of the sacred. Unfortunately our society now seems to foster a stronger instinct to acclaim the profane, to deviate from the sacred simplicity of harmony and beauty as a 'fashion statement.'

  The difference between sacred and profane is this: the sacred includes all that can be conceived of the history of existence, while the profane excludes everything except what serves our present craving. The profane can be easily spotted because it lacks beauty and harmony. The primary imagination will not dance to the profane; it is a servant only of the sacred.

  The sacred is often narrowly defined as pertaining only to religious institutions, but the service of the primary imagination runs in every aspect of our lives. We ourselves are not exempt from the service of beauty. The way furnish our homes, the objects we buy, the kinds of theories we buy into - all these are subjects to this sacred service.

"Look around your home with the eye of the primary imagination. What grates upon your sense of harmony and beauty? How can your home better reflect the service of beauty?"
From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]