"'Do we love anything save what is beautiful? What then is beautiful? and what is beauty? What is it that allures us and delights us in the things we love? Unless there were grace and beauty in them they could not possible draw us to them'" (66).
What defines beauty? This passage caught my attention because it is almost identical to the conversation we had in my Spanish in Politics and Society class. On the first day of class, my professor asked the question "Cual es la belleza?" (or "What is beauty?") Instantly hands shot up around the room. Answers came from all different directions. People talked of flowers, smiles, nature, and celebrities (all in Spanish of course). I can't remember for the life of me why we were talking about the definition of beauty in a class on dictators, socialism, and revolutions, but, nevertheless, the discussion really got to me. How can you determine beauty? It is completely subjective. A person determines beauty based on his own perspective. Augustine talks about how beautiful things "draw" people to them. It is true. Beauty is something out of the ordinary. It catches a person's attention and sometimes makes him look twice or lose his breath. Beauty touches the heart. Beauty can be found in nature, people, actions, or even inanimate objects. Although cliche, most cliche statements are true. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is a quality that evokes emotion or awe, one that can not be harnessed or defined.
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