What is Beauty?

Beauty is goodness made present to the senses.

When we speak of something being beautiful, therefore, we mean that we can hear or see its goodness.

We may describe a sunset as beautiful (meaning that we can sense its good qualities), but we may also describe an act of generosity as beautiful (as when Mother Theresa invites an invalid into her home to care for him in his last days), since its goodness is enough to move us sensibly.

Note, however, that the senses involved in the perception of goodness are typically limited to sight and hearing. It would be rather odd, for example, to hear of someone melting over the "beauty" of scrumptious sausages or silky smooth furniture, unless they also happened to be rather visually attractive.