Thecasechosenforillustrationisaverysimpleone，——thatofastateofsocietyinwhichoneofthepredominantfeelingsismelancholy。Thisisnotanarbitrarysupposition，forsuchatimehasoccurredmorethanonceinhumanhistory；inAsia，inthesixthcenturybeforeChrist，andespeciallyinEurope，fromthefourthtothetenthcenturiesofourera。Toproducesuchastateoffeeling，fiveorsixgenerationsofdecadence，accompaniedwithdiminutionofpopulation，foreigninvasions，famines，pestilences，andincreasingdifficultyinprocuringthenecessariesoflife，areamplysufficient。Itthenhappensthatmenlosecourageandhope，andconsiderlifeanevil。Now，admittingthatamongtheartistswholiveinsuchatime，therearelikelytobethesamerelativenumbersofmelancholy，joyous，orindifferenttemperamentsasatothertimes，letusseehowtheywillbeaffectedbyreigningcircumstances。
Letusfirstremember，saysTaine，thattheevilswhichdepressthepublicwillalsodepresstheartist。Hisrisksarenolessthanthoseoflessgiftedpeople。Heisliabletosufferfromplagueorfamine，toberuinedbyunfairtaxationorconscription，ortoseehischildrenmassacredandhiswifeledintocaptivitybybarbarians。Andiftheseillsdonotreachhimpersonally，hemustatleastbeholdthosearoundhimaffectedbythem。Inthisway，ifheisjoyousbytemperament，hemustinevitablybecomelessjoyous；ifheismelancholy，hemustbecomemoremelancholy。
Secondly，havingbeenrearedamongmelancholycontemporaries，hiseducationwillhaveexerteduponhimacorrespondinginfluence。
Theprevailingreligiousdoctrine，accommodatedtothestateofaffairs，willtellhimthattheearthisaplaceofexile，lifeanevil，gayetyasnare，andhismostprofitableoccupationwillbetogetreadytodie。Philosophy，constructingitssystemofmoralsinconformitytotheexistingphenomenaofdecadence，willtellhimthathehadbetterneverhavebeenborn。Dailyconversationwillinformhimofhorribleevents，ofthedevastationofaprovince，thesackofatownbytheGoths，theoppressionoftheneighbouringpeasantsbytheimperialtax-collectors，orthecivilwarthathasjustburstoutbetweenhalfadozenpretenderstothethrone。Ashetravelsabout，hebeholdssignsofmourninganddespair，crowdsofbeggars，peopledyingofhunger，abrokenbridgewhichnooneismending，anabandonedsuburbwhichisgoingtoruin，fieldschokedwithweeds，theblackenedwallsofburnedhouses。Suchsightsandimpressions，repeatedfromchildhoodtooldageandwemustrememberthatthishasactuallybeenthestateofthingsinwhatarenowthefairestpartsoftheglobe，cannotfailtodeepenwhateverelementsofmelancholytheremaybealreadyintheartist’sdisposition。
Theoperationofallthesecauseswillbeenhancedbythatverypeculiarityoftheartistwhichconstituteshistalent。For，accordingtothedefinitionsabovegiven，thatwhichmakeshimanartistishiscapacityforseizingupontheessentialcharacteristicsandthesalienttraitsofsurroundingobjectsandevents。Othermenseethingsinpartfragmentarily；hecatchesthespiritoftheensemble。Andinthiswayhewillverylikelyexaggerateinhisworksthegeneralaverageofcontemporaryfeeling。