The Heart of Nature; or, The Quest for Natural BeautyYounghusband, Francis Edward, Sir
Philosophy
The Heart of Nature; or, The Quest for Natural Beauty
Younghusband, Francis Edward, Sir
Himalaya Mountains -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Himalaya Mountains; Nature (Aesthetics)
All this is true. Men delight in sheer adventure and in testing and
sharpening themselves against formidable natural obstacles. Yet we
shall find that love of Natural Beauty has an even greater share than
love of adventure in enticing them to the unknown. Men picture to
themselves beauties of the most wonderful kind which they expect
to see--enchanting islands, mysterious forests, majestic rivers,
heavenly mountains, delightful lakes. Instinct tells them that they
will have the joy which comes from exerting their capacities to the
full. But somewhere in the back of their being is, also this
expectation of seeing wonders of Natural Beauty, and of seeing
_more_ of this Beauty from the very fact that they will be seeing it
as a prize truly _won_ and when their faculties are all tuned up to a
fine pitch of appreciation.
And when they return from the unknown, when the adventure is
over, when they are again relaxed, it will be the Natural Beauty
which they have seen that will remain in their memories long after
they have forgotten their exertion, long after they have expended
any wealth they may have found, long after they have recorded the
exact measurements of the various features of the region.
Curiosity to see the Natural Beauty of an unknown region is a
principal ingredient in the lure that draws men to it. And Natural
Beauty is what, above everything else in regard to the unknown
region, stands out in men's memories on their return.
This at any rate is my own experience, and we are perhaps on safer
ground when we speak of what we have ourselves experienced than
when we speak of what we imagine must be the experiences of
others. Though in this case I have good reason to believe that my
own experiences are very similar to the experiences of others, and
may therefore be taken as typical.
Almost my earliest recollections are of a Somersetshire village set in
a lovely valley, fringed with woods and surrounded by hills. Up the
hills on the side of the valley on which I lived I used constantly to
go. But over the hills on the far side of the river I was never taken.
So I used to picture to myself wonderful woods and rivers, and
castles and great cities, and I longed to go there. The lure of Natural
Beauty was beginning to make itself felt. As I grew to boyhood I
was fortunate enough to be taken to North Wales, Devonshire and
Cornwall, and later on to Switzerland and the South of France, and
everywhere I saw much Natural Beauty. But, still, that only made
me want to see more.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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