Walter Pater

I spent my evening finishing Walter Pater's Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, instead of working on my final essay for the semester -- an expansion of my as of yet unveiled ;) Jacob's Room essay, and I think it was the wiser choice. I'd like to share the entire book with you, but since that's not really possible I'll say this about Pater's book -- mainly, that though it might be dismissed as nothing more than art criticism, it is a little book pulsing with passion and soul and wisdom on how art meets life, and may verily be the finest book I've read all year and is easily one of the finest I've ever read -- and share this tiny quote with you (forgive me, i don't feel like typing more):

Art, then, is thus always striving to be independent of the mere intelligence, to become a matter of pure perception, to get rid of its responsibilities to its subject or material.