Having acknowledged the measure of the good to be pleasure, i.e., beauty, the European upper classes went back in their comprehension of art to the gross conception of the primitive Greeks which Plato had already condemned. And with this understanding of life, a theory of art was formulated.

Summary

This quote suggests that the European upper classes, despite recognizing the value of pleasure and beauty, regressed in their understanding of art. They adopted a simplistic view of art similar to that of the ancient Greeks, an idea that Plato had already criticized. This led to the development of a theory of art based on this limited perspective of life.

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