Beauty

What do glimpses of beauty, either in nature or art, often suggest to the human mind?

• often suggest to xxx 对xxx产生启发的感觉

A young man sees a sunset and, unable to understand or to express the emotion that it rouses in him, concludes that it must be the gateway to a world that lies beyond. It is difficult for any of us in moments of intense aesthetic experience to resist the suggestion that we are catching a glimpse of a light that shines down to us from a different realm of existence, different and, because the experience is intensely moving, in some way higher.

• in moments of xxx 在xxx时刻
• aesthetic / iːsˈθɛtɪk, ɪs- / Aesthetic is used to talk about beauty or art, and people’s appreciation of beautiful things. 审美的
• resist / rɪˈzɪst / If you resist something such as a change, you refuse to accept it and try to prevent it. 抵制
• realm / rɛlm / You can use realm to refer to any area of activity, interest, or thought. (活动、兴趣、思想的) 领域

And, though the gleams blind and dazzle, yet do they convey a hint of beauty and serenity greater than we have known or imagined. Greater too than we can describe, for language, which was invented to convey the meanings of this world, cannot readily be fitted to the uses of another.

• gleam / ɡliːm / If an object or a surface gleams, it reflects light because it is shiny and clean. 闪光
• yet do they xxx； 但它确实xxx
• serenity /si’renəti/ 平静，宁静
• than we have known or imagined； 不曾经历或无法想象
• readily / ˈrɛdɪlɪ / You also use readily to say that something can be done or obtained quickly and easily. For example, if you say that something can be readily understood, you mean that people can understand it quickly and easily. 容易地

That all great art has this power of suggesting a world beyond is undeniable. In some moods, Nature shares it. There is no sky in June so blue that it does not point forward to a bluer, no sunset so beautiful that it does not waken the vision of a greater beauty, a vision which passes before it is fully glimpsed, and in passing leaves an indefinable longing and regret.

• xxx is undeniable； 不可否认 既成事实的感觉
• in some moods 在某种状态下
• longing / ˈlɒŋɪŋ / If you feel longing or a longing for something, you have a rather sad feeling because you want it very much. 渴望
• indefinable / ˌɪndɪˈfaɪnəbəl / An indefinable quality or feeling cannot easily be described. 难以形容的

But, if this world is not merely a bad joke, life a vulgar flare amid the cool radiance of the stars, and existence an empty laugh braying across the mysteries; if these intimations of a something behind and beyond are not evil humour born of indigestion, or whimsies sent by the devil to mock and madden us, if, in a word, beauty means something, yet we must not seek to interpret the meaning. If we glimpse the unutterable, it is unwise to try to utter it, nor should we seek to invest with significance that which we cannot grasp. Beauty in terms of our human meanings is meaningless.

• bray / breɪ / to make a similar sound, as in laughing
• is not merely xx; 不只是
• vulgar / ˈvʌlɡə / If you describe something as vulgar, you think it is in bad taste or of poor artistic quality. 粗俗的
• radiance / ˈreɪdɪəns / Radiance is a glowing light shining from something. 光辉
• intimation /,ɪntɪ’meʃən/ 暗示 intimations of xxx
• humour / ˈhjuːmə / If you are in a good humour, you feel cheerful and happy, and are pleasant to people. If you are in a bad humour, you feel bad tempered and unhappy, and are unpleasant to people. 心情
• yyy born of xxx; 由xxx引起的yyy怎么说
• whimsy / ˈwɪmzɪ / Whimsy is behaviour that is unusual, playful, and unpredictable, rather than having any serious reason or purpose behind it. 异想天开的行为
• unutterable / ʌnˈʌtərəbəl / 无法用言语表达的
• it is unwise to xxxx, nor should we seek to xxx
• in terms of 按照xxx