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)
If we have petty, meagre souls we shall find little in common with
the great soul of Nature, and consequently see only shallow Beauty.
If we have great souls we shall have more in common and see more
Beauty. But to arrive at a full understanding of the real Nature we
must observe her from every point of view and see her in all her
aspects. Only so shall we be able to understand her real self and see
her full Beauty. And her aspects and the points of view from which
we may observe them change so incessantly that the greatest of us
falters. The more we see of Nature, the more we find there is to
understand. And the more we understand Nature and commune with
her, the more Beauty do we find there is to see. So to arrive at a
complete understanding of Nature and see all her Beauty is beyond
the capacity of us finite men.
Yet we are impelled to go on striving to see all we can. And in the
following pages an attempt is made to show how, more Beauty in
Nature may be discovered.
Often in the Himalaya I have watched an eagle circling overhead. I
have sat on the mountain-side and watched it sail majestically along
in graceful curves and circles, and with perfect ease and poise. Far
above the earth it would range, and seemingly without exertion glide
easily over tracts that we poor men could only enter by prodigious
effort. Captivated by its grace of motion, and jealous of its freedom,
I would for hours watch it. And this eagle I knew, from the height
and distance from which it would swoop down on its prey, to be
possessed of eyesight of unrivalled keenness in addition to its
capacity for movement.
So this bird had opportunities such as no human being--not even an
airman--has of seeing the earth and what is on it. At will it could
glide over the loftiest mountain ranges. At will it could sail above
the loveliest valleys. At will it could perch upon any chosen point
and observe things at close range. In a single day this one eagle
might have seen the finest natural scenery in the world--the highest
mountain, the most varied forest, thickly populated plains and bare,
open plains, peoples, animals, birds, insects, trees, flowers, all of the
most varied description. In one day, and in the ordinary course of its
customary circlings and sailings, it might have seen what men come
from the ends of the Earth to view, and are content if they see only a
hundredth part of what the eagle sees every day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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