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This essay draws a parallel between Croce’s and Cassirer’s conceptions of language and its relationship to art. Although both start from an essentially idealist position, Croce identifies language with art and thus places art in the highest hierarchical position among the activities of mind, whereas Cassirer considers language and art to be autonomous “symbolic forms” having equal value. The essay addresses the question of the repercussions this difference has for the definition of the role and functions of aesthetics by analyzing, among other things, the writings in which Cassirer deals with Croce’s aesthetic thought.