I read some Plotinus just for kicks. He's a 3rd century writer concerned with literary theory. Not literary theory in particular, but what art is and how it connects with reality, which makes him a seminal figure. Maybe he's only important because he influenced Augustine and Augustine is seminal. Anyhow, he made some remark on how earthly beauty is only a reflection of a Platonic ideal, but beyond the Platonic ideal is the real spiritual thing itself, and this thing truly exists. I've heard this all before. What really struck me is how EVERY instance of beauty is supposed to have spiritual meaning. Is all beauty iconic? Is all beauty moving? And if it is moving, does it move us closer to spiritual understanding?

In my experience, beauty does nothing to move one towards understanding. It is experience, pure experience, and it's so transcendant you can't trust it. I look back on 'spiritual experiences' I've had and wonder if they were real, if they were manufactured, if they were affected. Rational understanding, on the other hand, leaves one feeling somewhat dry. Every once in awhile I'll have a moment of joy when something suddenly becomes clear, but you can't place faith in a moment. Where does real, sustained faith come from?

Perhaps all Beauty has some element of truth in it, but it can be deceptive as well. The romanticism of, say, mutual suicide in Romeo and Juliet is not particularly close to truth. Suicide is not romantic at all.