《道德情操论·卷一·论行为的合宜性·一之五·论可亲的德性与可敬的德性》第4节
It is in the same manner that we judge of the productions of all the arts which address themselves to the imagination. When a critic examines the work of any of the great masters in poetry or painting, he may sometimes examine it by an idea of perfection, in his own mind, which neither that nor any other human work will ever come up to; and as long as he compares it with this standard, he can see nothing in it but faults and imperfections. But when he comes to consider the rank which it ought to hold among other works of the same kind, he necessarily compares it with a very different standard, the common degree of excellence which is usually attained in this particular art; and when he judges of it by this new measure, it may often appear to deserve the highest applause, upon account of its approaching {26} much nearer to perfection than the greater part of those works which can be brought into competition with it.
注释摘要
斯密在这一段把道德评判的逻辑完整地移植到了审美领域，用艺术批评的运作方式来加固他刚建立的区分。他要说明的是，当我们衡量一部诗歌或绘画作品时，我们内心其实同时持有两把尺子，这两把尺子对应着他在道德判断中区分的那两种标准：绝对的完美与相对的卓越。 一把尺子是批评家内心构想出来的完美理念。这个理念不是从哪部具体作品里归纳出来的平均值，而是一种想象中才能达到的绝对…