Through the eye of sense, Columbus sees a few pieces of driftwood brought
to the shore by the waves of the ever-restless sea; but these help him,
through the eye of reason, to see a new world with its virgin forests,
its wide-reaching plains and its majestic mountain ranges. Agassiz sees
through the eye of sense an indentation on a rock in the State of Maine.
This gives him a suggestion which helps him to see, through the eye of
reason, the icebergs and the glaciers, which, in the early ages, ground
their way to the south. The man of science sees through the eye of sense,
only a bit of chalk; but from this a suggestion comes to him, which
enables him to see through the eye of reason the oozy bed upon which
the submarine cable rests; and the life that sported in the vast oceans
when the Dover Cliffs were being formed. Through the eye of sense Cuvier
sees an immense tooth, larger than any known at the present. Through the
eye of reason he sees the huge animal in whose jaw it was set. Upon the
comprehensive, active power of reason, man relies to determine for him
the elements good for food, the power which serves his social nature, the
truth which furnishes his intellect, the right which matches his will,
and the beauty which corresponds with his æsthetic nature.
The universe lends itself in its totality to the scale and the dip of
the particular capacity or power through which man, for the time being,
seeks to appropriate it. It stands before the sense of hunger in terms
of bread. It stands before the social nature in terms of power. It
stands before the intellect in terms of truth. It stands before the
will in terms of law. It stands before the æsthetic nature in terms of
beauty. The person who has related himself to the world through all
the powers of his nature, finds it capable, by turns, of feeding every
faculty with which he is endowed. The universe is now all bread, now all
power, now all truth, now all law, and now all beauty. It will be any
or all of these, according to the side, or sides, of himself through
which he addresses it. One of the great discoveries of modern times is
the correlation of forces. The persistent force may express itself in
heat, or light, or electricity, or magnetism. These are only different
forms of the same thing, and any one may pass to any of the others. In
the world, as a whole, we find the sense of correlation inheres, as it
relates itself to the different faculties man has for taking hold of it.
As the correlate of hunger, it is all bread; as the correlate of the
social nature, it is all power; as the correlate of the intellect, it
is all truth; as the correlate of the will, it is all law, and as the
correlate of the æsthetic sense, it is all beauty. Objective reality is
addressed to the many sides of human life, in order that the whole of it
may be used up for the purpose of making a man. It is all to be drawn
into manhood. As all rivers meet in the ocean, and all colors meet in the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account