ARSON, the malicious and willful burn. ing of a dwelling-house or out-house be longing to another person by directly set ting fire to it, or even by igniting some edifice of one's own in its immediate vi cinity. If a person, by maliciously set ting fire to an inhabited house, cause the death of one or more of the inmates, the deed is murder, and capital pun ishment may be inflicted. When no one is fatally injured the crime is not capi tal, but is still heavily punishable; it is a penal offense also to attempt to set a house on fire, even if the endeavor do not succeed.
ART, the power of doing something not taught by nature or instinct; as, to walk is natural, to dance is an art;— power or skill in the use of knowledge; the practical application of the rules or principles of science. A system of rules to facilitate the performance of certain actions; contrivance; dexterity; address; adroitness.
In esthetics, art as distinguished from science consists of the truths disclosed by that species of knowledge disposed in the most convenient order for practice., instead of the best order for thought. Art proposes to itself a given end, arid, after defining it, hands it over to science. Science, after investigating the causes and conditions of this end, returns it to art, with a theorem of the combina tion of circumstances under which the desired end may be effected. After re ceiving them, art requires whether any or all of those scientific combinations are within the compass of human power and human means, and pronounces the end inquired after obtainable or not. The
grounds of every rule of art are to be found in the theorems of science. An art can then only consist of rules, to gether with as much of the speculative propositions (which lose all their specu lative look as soon as they come into the artist's hands) as comprises the justifi cation of those rules. Though art must assume the same general laws as science does, yet it follows them only into such of their detailed consequences as have led to certain practical rules, and pries into every secret corner, as well as into the open stores of the household of sci ence, bent on finding out the necessities of which she is in search, and which the exigencies of human life demand.
The several arts may be arranged in two groups—(a) the mechanical, and, (h) the liberal or fine arts. The me chanical arts are those which may be successfully followed by one who does not possess genius,. but has acquired the fa cility of working with his hands which long practice imparts. Such are the arts of the carpenter, the blacksmith, the watchmaker, etc. They are often called trades. The liberal or fine arts are such as give scope not merely to manual dex terity, but to genius; as music, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.
The seven liberal arts, which, in the palmy days of Rome, plebians were not allowed to study, were thus divided: (1) The Trivium—viz., grammar, rhet oric, and logic. (2) The Quadriviunt- viz., arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy.