How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"You see, my dear Charles, you are that very rare thing, An Artist. […] I have seen those little drawings you keep hidden away in your room. They are exquisite. And you, dear Charles, if you will understand me, are not exquisite; but not at all. Artists are not exquisite. I am; Sebastian, in a kind of way, is exquisite; but the Artist is an eternal type, solid, purposeful, observant – and, beneath it all, p-p-passionate, eh, Charles?" (1.2.39)
As Anthony points out, Charles is not beautiful himself. But his role as an artist is to seek out and capture beauty. This simple passage goes a long way in explaining Charles’s friendship with Sebastian, his fascination with the Brideshead estate, his eventual affair with Julia, and his career as an architectural painter.
Quote #8
"Oh, Charles, don't be such a tourist. What does it matter when it was built, if it's pretty?"
[…]
It was an aesthetic education to live within those walls. (1.4.10,13)
To live within those walls, yes, but also to live with Sebastian, the ultimate teacher.
Quote #9
"Of course, you are right really," he said. "You take art as a means not as an end. That is strict theology, but it's unusual to find an agnostic believing it." (1.4.155)
AHA! Here’s our big hint to a very important point in Brideshead Revisited: aesthetics are Charles’s religion. Read "Character Analysis" for more.