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)
We shall have discovered an identity between what is in Nature and
what is in us. In looking on Nature, we shall have been introduced
into a Presence, greater than ourselves but like ourselves, which stirs
in us this which we feel. When we see Beauty in Nature we are
discovering that Nature is not merely a body, but _has_ or _is_ a
soul. And the joy we feel is produced by the satisfaction our soul
feels in coming into touch and harmony with this soul of Nature.
Our soul is recognising samenesses between what is in it and what is
in the soul of Nature, and feels joy in the recognition.
And the instinct of fellowship with our kind impels us to
communicate to others what we ourselves have felt. We want to tell
others what we have seen and what we have experienced.
We long, too, to share the joy which others also must have felt in
contemplating Nature. We want especially to know and feel what
those with far more sensitive souls than our own--the great poets,
painters, and musicians--have felt. So we communicate our feelings
to others; and we communicate with others, either personally or
through their books or pictures or music, so that we may find out
from them what more to look for, and may know better how to look
for it. By so doing, our souls become more sensitive to the
impressions of Nature, and we are better able to express those
impressions. Our power of vision increases. Our soul's eye acquires
a keener insight and sees deeper into the soul of Nature. We are able
to enter more into the spirit of Nature, and the spirit of Nature is able
to enter more into us. We arrive at a completer understanding
between ourselves and Nature, are more in harmony with her, and
consequently see more Beauty.
We see, indeed, what Nature really is. We see the reality behind the
appearance--the content within the outward form. We are not for the
moment concerned with the _cause_ but with the _character_ of
Nature. We see the "I" behind the outward manifestation and
representation. And if we have sympathy and understanding enough
and are able truly to enter into the soul of Nature, we shall see the
real "I" behind the common everyday "I"--just as the few who
intimately know some great man see the real man behind the man
who appears in the public eye--the real Beaconsfield or Kitchener
behind the Beaconsfield or Kitchener of the daily press. And, as we
see more of this real "I" in Nature and are better able to get in touch
and harmony with her, so shall we see greater Beauty in Nature.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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