Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 4.21

Everything that is in any way beautiful is beautiful in itself, and terminates in itself, not having praise as part of itself. Neither worse then nor better is a thing made by being praised.

I affirm this also of the things that are called beautiful by the vulgar, for example, material things and works of art. That which is really beautiful has no need of anything, not more than law, not more than truth, not more than benevolence or modesty.

Which of these things is beautiful because it is praised, or spoiled by being blamed? Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was, if it is not praised? Or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little knife, a flower, a shrub?

—Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 4 (tr Long)

I often notice how discussions about the merit of anything, whether something is true, good, or beautiful, will seem to end when someone asks that question: “Well, who decides what’s beautiful anyway?” It is always understood as a rhetorical question that has no answer, and we are left to accept that it’s just relative to popular opinion.

That we have likes and dislikes, preferences and aversions, is not in doubt. What I do challenge is whether we are justified in reducing meaning and value to only our own approval or disapproval. Why are we assuming anyone at all “decides” what is beautiful? Perhaps it is simply beautiful in itself, regardless of what we decide or do not decide?

If all things share in existence, and each thing possesses its own distinct qualities, how is it that my own praise makes something beautiful, and my own blame makes it ugly? My estimation certainly changes how I judge something, but it does not change what something is. I am better served to make certain my perception conforms to what is real, instead of demanding that what is real conforms to my perceptions.

A man is no better or worse by whether he is honored or reviled, but by whether or not his own actions are in harmony with Nature. So too, something shares in beauty when it fulfills its purpose in the order of things, in its own specific way, and in a right proportion to what is around it. Whether or not anyone recognizes this will not change what is inherent in being itself.

When I first began to take an interest in all sorts of art, including music, film, painting, or literature, I was already very much aware that quality and popularity were not always the same. People would encourage me in this approach, and tell me that a true artist would strive to see things as they were, stripped of all the unnecessary assumptions and blind prejudices of life. This certainly spoke to a young soul trying to discover beauty.

Yet some of the people who spoke this way did not always end up acting this way. I might take an interest in the manner a certain shade of color was used, or a note was played, or a word was written, and I would quickly be directed to some source to set me straight. I realized that for some people beauty was still defined by praise, just not by the praise of a certain school or approach they disliked. I found that that there was quite a reputation to be made by being unpopular with some, but popular with others. It was the same game, just with different players.

I hope I learned from it all and moved on, and I hope I can live my life in such a way that I never expect to find truth, goodness, or beauty only in what happens to be praised by the right people. I should always seek to discover the beauty already within someone or something, and not see Nature as subject to anyone’s whims.

Written in 9/2005