To Perceive The Aura Of An Object

The Distracted Person, Too, Can Form Habits.

[photography] Has Become More And More Subtle, More And More Modern, And The Result Is That It Is Now Incapable Of Photographing A Tenement Or A Rubbish Heap Without Transfiguring It. Not To Mention A River Dam Or Electric Cable Factory: In Front Of These, Photography Can Now Only Say, How Beautiful!

Taking Food Alone Tends To Make One Hard And Coarse. Those Accustomed To It Must Lead A Spartan Life If They Are Not To Go Downhill. Hermits Have Observed, If For Only This Reason, A Frugal Diet. For It Is Only In Company That Eating Is Done Justice; Food Must Be Divided And Distributed If It Is To Be Well Received.

In Other Words, The Unique Value Of The "authentic" Work Of Art Has Its Basis In Ritual, The Location Of Its Original Use Value. This Ritualistic Basis, However Remote, Is Still Recognizable As Secularized Ritual Even In The Most Profane Forms Of The Cult Of Beauty.

To Perceive The Aura Of An Object We Look At Means To Invest It With The Ability To Look At Us In Return.