Hugh Blair
Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres
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Belles Lettres - A French term meaning “beautiful” or “fine” writing.
The intention of Blair’s Lectures is to provide youth with a simple, organized guide on the value
of rhetoric and “belles-lettres” in the quest for upward mobility and social success.
Blair believed that social cultivation, and most importantly the proper use of polite literature
and effective writing, was the key to social success.
47 Lectures total. We looked at the first five.
LECTURE I – Introduction
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Discusses the importance of language and communication:
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“One of the most distinguished privileges which Providence [God] has conferred upon mankind is
the power of communicating their thoughts to one another. Destitute of this power, reason
would be a solitary, and, in some measure, an unavailable principle. Speech is the great
instrument by which man becomes beneficial to man: and it is to the intercourse and
transmission of thought, by means of speech, that we are chiefly indebted for the improvement
of thought itself.”
Therefore, learning to communicate well is of utmost importance:
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"It is obvious, then, that writing and discourse are objects entitled to the highest attention.
Whether the influence of the speaker, or the entertainment of the hearer, be consulted; whether
utility or pleasure be the principal aim in view, we are prompted, by the strongest motives, to
study how we may communicate our thoughts to one another with most advantage."
LECTURE II – Taste
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Blair defines taste as “the power of receiving pleasure from the beauties of nature and of art.”
Taste is something which we all have, but it varies greatly from person to person partly due to
nature and partly due to nurture.
Blair believes that taste is a “most improvable faculty.”
Two qualities of taste:
o Delicacy: Used to discern the true merit of a work. Leans more towards “feeling.” A gift
of nature.
o Correctness: Used to reject false pretensions to merit. Leans more towards “reason”
and “judgment.” A gift of nurture (culture & art).
"The tastes of men may differ very considerably as to their object, and yet none of them be
wrong... Though all differ, yet all pitch upon some one beauty which peculiarly suits their turn of
mind; and therefore no one has a title to condemn the rest. ... Truth, which is the object of
reason, is one; beauty, which is the object of taste, is manifold."
LECTURE III - Criticism, Genius, Pleasures of Taste, Sublimity in Objects
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Criticism is “the application of taste and of good sense, to the several fine arts.”
It is “an art, founded entirely on experience; on the observation of such beauties, as have been
found to please mankind most generally...”
Genius is a talent or aptitude that comes from nature and describes someone who, uninstructed
by others, composes in a manner agreeable to all rules of criticism.
Genius can be improved by (but cannot be acquired by) study.
Blair on Sublimity:
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“All vastness produces the impression of sublimity... infinite space, endless numbers, and eternal
duration, fill the mind with great ideas... The most copious source of sublime ideas seems to be
derived from the exertion of great power and force... No ideas [are more sublime than] those
derived from the Supreme Being, the most unknown, yet the greatest of all objects.”
LECTURE IV – The Sublime in Writing
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“Sublimity in writing” is the description of any vast, sublime ideas such as eternity, infinite space
or a Supreme Being.
Conciseness and simplicity are essential to sublime writing.
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God said, "Let there be light; and there was light.." This is striking and sublime.
“In general, in all good writing, the sublime lies in the thought, not in the words; and when the
thought is truly noble, it will for the most part, clothe itself in a native dignity of language.
Blair says that sources of the sublime are to be looked for everywhere in nature.
“The main secret of being sublime, is to say great things in a few and plain words."
LECTURE V – Beauty and Other Pleasures of Taste
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Beauty, next to Sublimity, affords the highest pleasure to the imagination.
Beauty is calmer than Sublimity. It does not “elevate the mind so much, but produces a pleasing
serenity.” Feelings from Beauty last longer than those from Sublimity.
Extends to a greater variety of objects than Sublimity
Principles of Beauty:
o Color – the simplest instance of beauty.
o Figure – opens us to forms of beauty that are more complex and diversified.
o Motion – only gentle motion belongs to the beautiful (a bird gliding). When motion is
swift and powerful, it belongs to the sublime (lightning striking).
Though they are separate principles of beauty, they are often all a part of the same object and
thereby render its beauty greater and more complex.
Beauty in writing is “neither remarkably sublime, nor vehemently passionate, nor uncommonly
sparkling.” It should excite within the reader a feeling of serenity, similar to that arisen by the
contemplation of beautiful objects in nature.
Other Pleasures of Taste:
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Novelty – the passion of curiosity (The “entertainment” we receive from fiction and
romance). More lively and awakening than beauty, but wears off quickly.
Imitation – the pleasure of seeing objects described from a secondary or represented
view.
Melody & Harmony – all sensations can be heightened by the power of musical sound.