Full Idea
The aesthete's point of view is sacreligious, not only in matters of religion but even in those of art. It consists in amusing oneself with beauty by handling it and looking at it. Beauty is something to be eaten: it is a food.
Gist of Idea
The aesthete's treatment of beauty as amusement is sacreligious; beauty should nourish
Source
Simone Weil (The Need for Roots [1943], II 'Country')
Book Reference
Weil,Simone: 'The Need for Roots' [Routledge 2002], p.93
A Reaction
She is endorsing the 'food' view against the 'handling' view. Beauty should nourish, she says.