Abstract

Genius and Taste
Babbitt, Irving | February 7, 1918 issue

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The article presents the views of many scholars and eminent personalities on the genius and taste. French writer and philosopher, Francois Marie Arouet de Voltaire defined genius as "only judicious imitation"; which meant in practice the imitation of the approved models according to certain rules and conventions. But Voltaire maintains that mere orthodoxy, though necessary, does not suffice. Voltaire estimates that in the whole world there are only a few thousand men of taste-mainly settled about Paris. In short, genius and taste operate within the limits imposed by the neo-classic doctrine of imitation, a doctrine that suffered from the start from a taint of formalism.

See Also:

GENIUS; SCHOLARS; IMITATION; RULES; DOGMA; FORMALISM (Literary analysis)
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