when the beautiful connects us to the moral it tends to do so mistakenly, getting it wrong or getting it right only by accident. still a common and psychologically persuasive notion, the ancient greek kalos-kagathon, the beautiful-good, implies that the beautiful is morally good and the morally good is beautiful. but experience tells us that the beautiful is generally appreciated for itself, and when it begins to steer us towards moral judgment we need to be careful. as a beautiful face can distract us from a person’s moral substance or lack thereof, so can a beautiful artwork. knowing the subject of the artwork may heighten our appreciation for the artwork’s beauty, but its beauty is unlikely to heighten our appreciation for its subject. viewing the pietà we are far less inspired to devotion than we are awed at the artistic achievement.

-metaphilm, gibson's sublime passion-