,,nature  ,,by  ,r4 ,w4 ,,emerson   ,a  
subtle chain of countless rings ,the    
next unto the farthest brings2 ,the eye 
reads omens where it goes1 ,and speaks  
all languages the rose2 ,and1 striving  
to be man1 the worm ,mounts through all 
the spires of form4   ,,new ,,edition   
,,boston  ,,cambridge3 ,,james ,,munroe 
,,and ,,company ,m ,,dccc ,,xlix4       
,entered1 according to the ,act of      
,congress1 in the year #ahdi ,by ,,james
 ,,munroe ,,and ,,company1 in the       
,clerk's ,office of the ,district ,court
 of the ,district of ,massachusetts4    
,,boston3 ,,thurston1 ,,torry ,,and     
,,company1 #ca ,devonshire ,street4     
,,contents                              
,,introduction    #a ,,chapter ,i4      
,,nature          #h ,,chapter ,,ii4    
,,commodity      #aj ,,chapter ,,iii4   
,,beauty         #ac ,,chapter ,,iv4    
,,language       #bc ,,chapter ,v4      
,,discipline     #cd ,,chapter ,,vi4    
,,idealism       #de ,,chapter ,,vii4   
,,spirit         #ei ,,chapter ,,viii4  

,,prospects      #fd    ,,introduction4 
,,our age is retrospective4 ,it builds  
the sepulchres of the fathers4 ,it      
writes biographies1 histories1 and      
criticism4 ,the foregoing generations   
beheld ,god and nature face to face2 we1
 through their eyes4 ,why should not we 
also enjoy an original relation to the  
universe8 ,why should not we have a     
poetry and philosophy of insight and not
 of tradition1 and a religion by        
revelation to us1 and not the history of
 theirs8 ,embosomed for a season in     
nature1 whose floods of life stream     
around and through us1 and invite us by 
the powers they supply1 to action       
proportioned to nature1 why should we   
grope among the dry bones of the past1  
or put the living generation into       
masquerade out of its faded wardrobe8   
,the sun shines to-day also4 ,there is  
more wool and flax in the fields4 ,there
 are new lands1 new men1 new thoughts4  
,let us demand our own works and laws   
and worship4  ,undoubtedly we have no   

questions to ask which are unanswerable4
 ,we must trust the perfection of the   
creation so far1 as to believe that     
whatever curiosity the order of things  
has awakened in our minds1 the order of 
things can satisfy4 ,every man's        
condition is a solution in hieroglyphic 
to those inquiries he would put4 ,he    
acts it as life1 before he apprehends it
 as truth4 ,in like manner1 nature is   
already1 in its forms and tendencies1   
describing its own design4 ,let us      
interrogate the great apparition1 that  
shines so peacefully around us4 ,let us 
inquire1 to what end is nature8  ,all   
science has one aim1 namely1 to find a  
theory of nature4 ,we have theories of  
races and of functions1 but scarcely yet
 a remote approach to an idea of        
creation4 ,we are now so far from the   
road to truth1 that religious teachers  
dispute and hate each other1 and        
speculative men are esteemed unsound and
 frivolous4 ,but to a sound judgment1   
the most abstract truth is the most     

practical4 ,whenever a true theory      
appears1 it will be its own evidence4   
,its test is1 that it will explain all  
phenomena4 ,now many are thought not    
only unexplained but inexplicable2 as   
language1 sleep1 madness1 dreams1       
beasts1 sex4  ,philosophically          
considered1 the universe is composed of 
,nature and the ,soul4 ,strictly        
speaking1 therefore1 all that is        
separate from us1 all which ,philosophy 
distinguishes as the ,,not ,,me1 that   
is1 both nature and art1 all other men  
and my own body1 must be ranked under   
this name1 ,,nature4 ,in enumerating the
 values of nature and casting up their  
sum1 ,i shall use the word in both      
senses2--in its common and in its       
philosophical import4 ,in inquiries so  
general as our present one1 the         
inaccuracy is not material2 no confusion
 of thought will occur4 ,nature1 in the 
common sense1 refers to essences        
unchanged by man2 space1 the air1 the   
river1 the leaf4 ,art is applied to the 

mixture of his will with the same       
things1 as in a house1 a canal1 a       
statue1 a picture4 ,but his operations  
taken together are so insignificant1 a  
little chipping1 baking1 patching1 and  
washing1 that in an impression so grand 
as that of the world on the human mind1 
they do not vary the result4            
,,nature4  ,,chapter ,i4  ,,to go into  
solitude1 a man needs to retire as much 
from his chamber as from society4 ,i am 
not solitary whilst ,i read and write1  
though nobody is with me4 ,but if a man 
would be alone1 let him look at the     
stars4 ,the rays that come from those   
heavenly worlds1 will separate between  
him and what he touches4 ,one might     
think the atmosphere was made           
transparent with this design1 to give   
man1 in the heavenly bodies1 the        
perpetual presence of the sublime4 ,seen
 in the streets of cities1 how great    
they are6 ,if the stars should appear   
one night in a thousand years1 how would
 men believe and adore2 and preserve for

 many generations the remembrance of the
 city of ,god which had been shown6 ,but
 every night come out these envoys of   
beauty1 and light the universe with     
their admonishing smile4  ,the stars    
awaken a certain reverence1 because     
though always present1 they are         
inaccessible2 but all natural objects   
make a kindred impression1 when the mind
 is open to their influence4 ,nature    
never wears a mean appearance4 ,neither 
does the wisest man extort her secret1  
and lose his curiosity by finding out   
all her perfection4 ,nature never became
 a toy to a wise spirit4 ,the flowers1  
the animals1 the mountains1 reflected   
the wisdom of his best hour1 as much as 
they had delighted the simplicity of his
 childhood4  ,when we speak of nature in
 this manner1 we have a distinct but    
most poetical sense in the mind4 ,we    
mean the integrity of impression made by
 manifold natural objects4 ,it is this  
which distinguishes the stick of timber 
of the wood-cutter1 from the tree of the

 poet4 ,the charming landscape which ,i 
saw this morning1 is indubitably made up
 of some twenty or thirty farms4 ,miller
 owns this field1 ,locke that1 and      
,manning the woodland beyond4 ,but none 
of them owns the landscape4 ,there is a 
property in the horizon which no man has
 but he whose eye can integrate all the 
parts1 that is1 the poet4 ,this is the  
best part of these men's farms1 yet to  
this their warranty-deeds give no title4
  ,to speak truly1 few adult persons can
 see nature4 ,most persons do not see   
the sun4 ,at least they have a very     
superficial seeing4 ,the sun illuminates
 only the eye of the man1 but shines    
into the eye and the heart of the child4
 ,the lover of nature is he whose inward
 and outward senses are still truly     
adjusted to each other2 who has retained
 the spirit of infancy even into the era
 of manhood4 ,his intercourse with      
heaven and earth1 becomes part of his   
daily food4 ,in the presence of nature1 
a wild delight runs through the man1 in 

spite of real sorrows4 ,nature says1--he
 is my creature1 and maugre all his     
impertinent griefs1 he shall be glad    
with me4 ,not the sun or the summer     
alone1 but every hour and season yields 
its tribute of delight2 for every hour  
and change corresponds to and authorizes
 a different state of the mind1 from    
breathless noon to grimmest midnight4   
,nature is a setting that fits equally  
well a comic or a mourning piece4 ,in   
good health1 the air is a cordial of    
incredible virtue4 ,crossing a bare     
common1 in snow puddles1 at twilight1   
under a clouded sky1 without having in  
my thoughts any occurrence of special   
good fortune1 ,i have enjoyed a perfect 
exhilaration4 ,i am glad to the brink of
 fear4 ,in the woods too1 a man casts   
off his years1 as the snake his slough1 
and at what period soever of life1 is   
always a child4 ,in the woods1 is       
perpetual youth4 ,within these          
plantations of ,god1 a decorum and      
sanctity reign1 a perennial festival is 

dressed1 and the guest sees not how he  
should tire of them in a thousand years4
 ,in the woods1 we return to reason and 
faith4 ,there ,i feel that nothing can  
befall me in life1--no disgrace1 no     
calamity1 7leaving me my eyes17 which   
nature cannot repair4 ,standing on the  
bare ground1--my head bathed by the     
blithe air1 and uplifted into infinite  
space1--all mean egotism vanishes4 ,i   
become a transparent eye-ball2 ,i am    
nothing2 ,i see all2 the currents of the
 ,universal ,being circulate through me2
 ,i am part or particle of ,god4 ,the   
name of the nearest friend sounds then  
foreign and accidental3 to be brothers1 
to be acquaintances1 --master or        
servant1 is then a trifle and a         
disturbance4 ,i am the lover of         
uncontained and immortal beauty4 ,in the
 wilderness1 ,i find something more dear
 and connate than in streets or         
villages4 ,in the tranquil landscape1   
and especially in the distant line of   
the horizon1 man beholds somewhat as    

beautiful as his own nature4  ,the      
greatest delight which the fields and   
woods minister1 is the suggestion of an 
occult relation between man and the     
vegetable4 ,i am not alone and          
unacknowledged4 ,they nod to me1 and ,i 
to them4 ,the waving of the boughs in   
the storm1 is new to me and old4 ,it    
takes me by surprise1 and yet is not    
unknown4 ,its effect is like that of a  
higher thought or a better emotion      
coming over me1 when ,i deemed ,i was   
thinking justly or doing right4  ,yet it
 is certain that the power to produce   
this delight1 does not reside in nature1
 but in man1 or in a harmony of both4   
,it is necessary to use these pleasures 
with great temperance4 ,for1 nature is  
not always tricked in holiday attire1   
but the same scene which yesterday      
breathed perfume and glittered as for   
the frolic of the nymphs1 is overspread 
with melancholy today4 ,nature always   
wears the colors of the spirit4 ,to a   
man laboring under calamity1 the heat of

 his own fire hath sadness in it4 ,then1
 there is a kind of contempt of the     
landscape felt by him who has just lost 
by death a dear friend4 ,the sky is less
 grand as it shuts down over less worth 
in the population4    ,,chapter ,,ii4   
,,commodity4  ,,whoever considers the   
final cause of the world1 will discern a
 multitude of uses that result4 ,they   
all admit of being thrown into one of   
the following classes2 ,commodity2      
,beauty2 ,language2 and ,discipline4    
,under the general name of ,commodity1  
,i rank all those advantages which our  
senses owe to nature4 ,this1 of course1 
is a benefit which is temporary and     
mediate1 not ultimate1 like its service 
to the soul4 ,yet although low1 it is   
perfect in its kind1 and is the only use
 of nature which all men apprehend4 ,the
 misery of man appears like childish    
petulance1 when we explore the steady   
and prodigal provision that has been    
made for his support and delight on this
 green ball which floats him through the

 heavens4 ,what angels invented these   
splendid ornaments1 these rich          
conveniences1 this ocean of air above1  
this ocean of water beneath1 this       
firmament of earth between8 this zodiac 
of lights1 this tent of dropping clouds1
 this striped coat of climates1 this    
fourfold year8 ,beasts1 fire1 water1    
stones1 and corn serve him4 ,the field  
is at once his floor1 his work-yard1 his
 play-ground1 his garden1 and his bed4  
,more servants wait on man      ,than   
he'll take notice of4--  ,nature1 in its
 ministry to man1 is not only the       
material1 but is also the process and   
the result4 ,all the parts incessantly  
work into each other's hands for the    
profit of man4 ,the wind sows the seed2 
the sun evaporates the sea2 the wind    
blows the vapor to the field2 the ice1  
on the other side of the planet1        
condenses rain on this2 the rain feeds  
the plant2 the plant feeds the animal2  
and thus the endless circulations of the
 divine charity nourish man4  ,the      

useful arts are reproductions or new    
combinations by the wit of man1 of the  
same natural benefactors4 ,he no longer 
waits for favoring gales1 but by means  
of steam1 he realizes the fable of      
,aeolus's bag1 and carries the two and  
thirty winds in the boiler of his boat4 
,to diminish friction1 he paves the road
 with iron bars1 and1 mounting a coach  
with a ship-load of men1 animals1 and   
merchandise behind him1 he darts through
 the country1 from town to town1 like an
 eagle or a swallow through the air4 ,by
 the aggregate of these aids1 how is the
 face of the world changed1 from the era
 of ,noah to that of ,napoleon6 ,the    
private poor man hath cities1 ships1    
canals1 bridges1 built for him4 ,he goes
 to the post-office1 and the human race 
run on his errands2 to the book-shop1   
and the human race read and write of all
 that happens1 for him2 to the          
court-house1 and nations repair his     
wrongs4 ,he sets his house upon the     
road1 and the human race go forth every 

morning1 and shovel out the snow1 and   
cut a path for him4  ,but there is no   
need of specifying particulars in this  
class of uses4 ,the catalogue is        
endless1 and the examples so obvious1   
that ,i shall leave them to the reader's
 reflection1 with the general remark1   
that this mercenary benefit is one which
 has respect to a farther good4 ,a man  
is fed1 not that he may be fed1 but that
 he may work4    ,,chapter ,,iii4       
,,beauty4  ,a ,,nobler want of man is   
served by nature1 namely1 the love of   
,beauty4  ,the ancient ,greeks called   
the world kosmos1 beauty4 ,such is the  
constitution of all things1 or such the 
plastic power of the human eye1 that the
 primary forms1 as the sky1 the         
mountain1 the tree1 the animal1 give us 
a delight in and for themselves2 a      
pleasure arising from outline1 color1   
motion1 and grouping4 ,this seems partly
 owing to the eye itself4 ,the eye is   
the best of artists4 ,by the mutual     
action of its structure and of the laws 

of light1 perspective is produced1 which
 integrates every mass of objects1 of   
what character soever1 into a well      
colored and shaded globe1 so that where 
the particular objects are mean and     
unaffecting1 the landscape which they   
compose1 is round and symmetrical4 ,and 
as the eye is the best composer1 so     
light is the first of painters4 ,there  
is no object so foul that intense light 
will not make beautiful4 ,and the       
stimulus it affords to the sense1 and a 
sort of infinitude which it hath1 like  
space and time1 make all matter gay4    
,even the corpse has its own beauty4    
,but besides this general grace diffused
 over nature1 almost all the individual 
forms are agreeable to the eye1 as is   
proved by our endless imitations of some
 of them1 as the acorn1 the grape1 the  
pine-cone1 the wheat-ear1 the egg1 the  
wings and forms of most birds1 the      
lion's claw1 the serpent1 the butterfly1
 sea-shells1 flames1 clouds1 buds1      
leaves1 and the forms of many trees1 as 

the palm4  ,for better consideration1 we
 may distribute the aspects of ,beauty  
in a threefold manner4  #a4 ,first1 the 
simple perception of natural forms is a 
delight4 ,the influence of the forms and
 actions in nature1 is so needful to    
man1 that1 in its lowest functions1 it  
seems to lie on the confines of         
commodity and beauty4 ,to the body and  
mind which have been cramped by noxious 
work or company1 nature is medicinal and
 restores their tone4 ,the tradesman1   
the attorney comes out of the din and   
craft of the street1 and sees the sky   
and the woods1 and is a man again4 ,in  
their eternal calm1 he finds himself4   
,the health of the eye seems to demand a
 horizon4 ,we are never tired1 so long  
as we can see far enough4  ,but in other
 hours1 ,nature satisfies by its        
loveliness1 and without any mixture of  
corporeal benefit4 ,i see the spectacle 
of morning from the hill-top over       
against my house1 from day-break to     
sun-rise1 with emotions which an angel  

might share4 ,the long slender bars of  
cloud float like fishes in the sea of   
crimson light4 ,from the earth1 as a    
shore1 ,i look out into that silent sea4
 ,i seem to partake its rapid           
transformations3 the active enchantment 
reaches my dust1 and ,i dilate and      
conspire with the morning wind4 ,how    
does ,nature deify us with a few and    
cheap elements6 ,give me health and a   
day1 and ,i will make the pomp of       
emperors ridiculous4 ,the dawn is my    
,assyria2 the sun-set and moon-rise my  
,paphos1 and unimaginable realms of     
faerie2 broad noon shall be my ,england 
of the senses and the understanding2 the
 night shall be my ,germany of mystic   
philosophy and dreams4  ,not less       
excellent1 except for our less          
susceptibility in the afternoon1 was the
 charm1 last evening1 of a ,january     
sunset4 ,the western clouds divided and 
subdivided themselves into pink flakes  
modulated with tints of unspeakable     
softness2 and the air had so much life  

and sweetness1 that it was a pain to    
come within doors4 ,what was it that    
nature would say8 ,was there no meaning 
in the live repose of the valley behind 
the mill1 and which ,homer or           
,shakspeare could not reform for me in  
words8 ,the leafless trees become spires
 of flame in the sunset1 with the blue  
east for their back-ground1 and the     
stars of the dead calices of flowers1   
and every withered stem and stubble     
rimed with frost1 contribute something  
to the mute music4  ,the inhabitants of 
cities suppose that the country         
landscape is pleasant only half the     
year4 ,i please myself with the graces  
of the winter scenery1 and believe that 
we are as much touched by it as by the  
genial influences of summer4 ,to the    
attentive eye1 each moment of the year  
has its own beauty1 and in the same     
field1 it beholds1 every hour1 a picture
 which was never seen before1 and which 
shall never be seen again4 ,the heavens 
change every moment1 and reflect their  

glory or gloom on the plains beneath4   
,the state of the crop in the           
surrounding farms alters the expression 
of the earth from week to week4 ,the    
succession of native plants in the      
pastures and roadsides1 which makes the 
silent clock by which time tells the    
summer hours1 will make even the        
divisions of the day sensible to a keen 
observer4 ,the tribes of birds and      
insects1 like the plants punctual to    
their time1 follow each other1 and the  
year has room for all4 ,by              
water-courses1 the variety is greater4  
,in ,july1 the blue pontederia or       
pickerel-weed blooms in large beds in   
the shallow parts of our pleasant river1
 and swarms with yellow butterflies in  
continual motion4 ,art cannot rival this
 pomp of purple and gold4 ,indeed the   
river is a perpetual gala1 and boasts   
each month a new ornament4  ,but this   
beauty of ,nature which is seen and felt
 as beauty1 is the least part4 ,the     
shows of day1 the dewy morning1 the     

rainbow1 mountains1 orchards in blossom1
 stars1 moonlight1 shadows in still     
water1 and the like1 if too eagerly     
hunted1 become shows merely1 and mock us
 with their unreality4 ,go out of the   
house to see the moon1 and 't is mere   
tinsel2 it will not please as when its  
light shines upon your necessary        
journey4 ,the beauty that shimmers in   
the yellow afternoons of ,october1 who  
ever could clutch it8 ,go forth to find 
it1 and it is gone3 't is only a mirage 
as you look from the windows of         
diligence4  #b4 ,the presence of a      
higher1 namely1 of the spiritual element
 is essential to its perfection4 ,the   
high and divine beauty which can be     
loved without effeminacy1 is that which 
is found in combination with the human  
will4 ,beauty is the mark ,god sets upon
 virtue4 ,every natural action is       
graceful4 ,every heroic act is also     
decent1 and causes the place and the    
bystanders to shine4 ,we are taught by  
great actions that the universe is the  

property of every individual in it4     
,every rational creature has all nature 
for his dowry and estate4 ,it is his1 if
 he will4 ,he may divest himself of it2 
he may creep into a corner1 and abdicate
 his kingdom1 as most men do1 but he is 
entitled to the world by his            
constitution4 ,in proportion to the     
energy of his thought and will1 he takes
 up the world into himself4 ,all those  
things for which men plough1 build1 or  
sail1 obey virtue2 said ,sallust4 ,the  
winds and waves1 said ,gibbon1 are      
always on the side of the ablest        
navigators4 ,so are the sun and moon and
 all the stars of heaven4 ,when a noble 
act is done1--perchance in a scene of   
great natural beauty2 when ,leonidas and
 his three hundred martyrs consume one  
day in dying1 and the sun and moon come 
each and look at them once in the steep 
defile of ,thermopylae2 when ,arnold    
,winkelried1 in the high ,alps1 under   
the shadow of the avalanche1 gathers in 
his side a sheaf of ,austrian spears to 

break the line for his comrades2 are not
 these heroes entitled to add the beauty
 of the scene to the beauty of the deed8
 ,when the bark of ,columbus nears the  
shore of ,america2--before it1 the beach
 lined with savages1 fleeing out of all 
their huts of cane2 the sea behind2 and 
the purple mountains of the ,indian     
,archipelago around1 can we separate the
 man from the living picture8 ,does not 
the ,new ,world clothe his form with her
 palm-groves and savannahs as fit       
drapery8 ,ever does natural beauty steal
 in like air1 and envelope great        
actions4 ,when ,sir ,harry ,vane was    
dragged up the ,tower-hill1 sitting on a
 sled1 to suffer death1 as the champion 
of the ,english laws1 one of the        
multitude cried out to him1 ,you never  
sate on so glorious a seat4 ,charles    
,,ii41 to intimidate the citizens of    
,london1 caused the patriot ,lord       
,russel to be drawn in an open coach1   
through the principal streets of the    
city1 on his way to the scaffold4 ,but1 

his biographer says1 the multitude      
imagined they saw liberty and virtue    
sitting by his side4 ,in private places1
 among sordid objects1 an act of truth  
or heroism seems at once to draw to     
itself the sky as its temple1 the sun as
 its candle4 ,nature stretcheth out her 
arms to embrace man1 only let his       
thoughts be of equal greatness4         
,willingly does she follow his steps    
with the rose and the violet1 and bend  
her lines of grandeur and grace to the  
decoration of her darling child4 ,only  
let his thoughts be of equal scope1 and 
the frame will suit the picture4 ,a     
virtuous man is in unison with her      
works1 and makes the central figure of  
the visible sphere4 ,homer1 ,pindar1    
,socrates1 ,phocion1 associate          
themselves fitly in our memory with the 
geography and climate of ,greece4 ,the  
visible heavens and earth sympathize    
with ,jesus4 ,and in common life1       
whosoever has seen a person of powerful 
character and happy genius1 will have   

remarked how easily he took all things  
along with him1--the persons1 the       
opinions1 and the day1 and nature became
 ancillary to a man4  #c4 ,there is     
still another aspect under which the    
beauty of the world may be viewed1      
namely1 as it becomes an object of the  
intellect4 ,beside the relation of      
things to virtue1 they have a relation  
to thought4 ,the intellect searches out 
the absolute order of things as they    
stand in the mind of ,god1 and without  
the colors of affection4 ,the           
intellectual and the active powers seem 
to succeed each other1 and the exclusive
 activity of the one1 generates the     
exclusive activity of the other4 ,there 
is something unfriendly in each to the  
other1 but they are like the alternate  
periods of feeding and working in       
animals2 each prepares and will be      
followed by the other4 ,therefore does  
beauty1 which1 in relation to actions1  
as we have seen1 comes unsought1 and    
comes because it is unsought1 remain for

 the apprehension and pursuit of the    
intellect2 and then again1 in its turn1 
of the active power4 ,nothing divine    
dies4 ,all good is eternally            
reproductive4 ,the beauty of nature     
reforms itself in the mind1 and not for 
barren contemplation1 but for new       
creation4  ,all men are in some degree  
impressed by the face of the world2 some
 men even to delight4 ,this love of     
beauty is ,taste4 ,others have the same 
love in such excess1 that1 not content  
with admiring1 they seek to embody it in
 new forms4 ,the creation of beauty is  
,art4  ,the production of a work of art 
throws a light upon the mystery of      
humanity4 ,a work of art is an abstract 
or epitome of the world4 ,it is the     
result or expression of nature1 in      
miniature4 ,for1 although the works of  
nature are innumerable and all          
different1 the result or the expression 
of them all is similar and single4      
,nature is a sea of forms radically     
alike and even unique4 ,a leaf1 a       

sun-beam1 a landscape1 the ocean1 make  
an analogous impression on the mind4    
,what is common to them all1--that      
perfectness and harmony1 is beauty4 ,the
 standard of beauty is the entire       
circuit of natural forms1--the totality 
of nature2 which the ,italians expressed
 by defining beauty il piu nell' uno4   
,nothing is quite beautiful alone3      
nothing but is beautiful in the whole4  
,a single object is only so far         
beautiful as it suggests this universal 
grace4 ,the poet1 the painter1 the      
sculptor1 the musician1 the architect1  
seek each to concentrate this radiance  
of the world on one point1 and each in  
his several work to satisfy the love of 
beauty which stimulates him to produce4 
,thus is ,art1 a nature passed through  
the alembic of man4 ,thus in art1 does  
nature work through the will of a man   
filled with the beauty of her first     
works4  ,the world thus exists to the   
soul to satisfy the desire of beauty4   
,this element ,i call an ultimate end4  

,no reason can be asked or given why the
 soul seeks beauty4 ,beauty1 in its     
largest and profoundest sense1 is one   
expression for the universe4 ,god is the
 all-fair4 ,truth1 and goodness1 and    
beauty1 are but different faces of the  
same ,all4 ,but beauty in nature is not 
ultimate4 ,it is the herald of inward   
and eternal beauty1 and is not alone a  
solid and satisfactory good4 ,it must   
stand as a part1 and not as yet the last
 or highest expression of the final     
cause of ,nature4    ,,chapter ,,iv4    
,,language4  ,,language is a third use  
which ,nature subserves to man4 ,nature 
is the vehicle1 and threefold degree4   
#a4 ,words are signs of natural facts4  
#b4 ,particular natural facts are       
symbols of particular spiritual facts4  
#c4 ,nature is the symbol of spirit4    
#a4 ,words are signs of natural facts4  
,the use of natural history is to give  
us aid in supernatural history3 the use 
of the outer creation1 to give us       
language for the beings and changes of  

the inward creation4 ,every word which  
is used to express a moral or           
intellectual fact1 if traced to its     
root1 is found to be borrowed from some 
material appearance4 ,right means       
straight2 wrong means twisted4 ,spirit  
primarily means wind2 transgression1 the
 crossing of a line2 supercilious1 the  
raising of the eyebrow4 ,we say the     
heart to express emotion1 the head to   
denote thought2 and thought and emotion 
are words borrowed from sensible things1
 and now appropriated to spiritual      
nature4 ,most of the process by which   
this transformation is made1 is hidden  
from us in the remote time when language
 was framed2 but the same tendency may  
be daily observed in children4 ,children
 and savages use only nouns or names of 
things1 which they convert into verbs1  
and apply to analogous mental acts4  #b4
 ,but this origin of all words that     
convey a spiritual import1--so          
conspicuous a fact in the history of    
language1--is our least debt to nature4 

,it is not words only that are          
emblematic2 it is things which are      
emblematic4 ,every natural fact is a    
symbol of some spiritual fact4 ,every   
appearance in nature corresponds to some
 state of the mind1 and that state of   
the mind can only be described by       
presenting that natural appearance as   
its picture4 ,an enraged man is a lion1 
a cunning man is a fox1 a firm man is a 
rock1 a learned man is a torch4 ,a lamb 
is innocence2 a snake is subtle spite2  
flowers express to us the delicate      
affections4 ,light and darkness are our 
familiar expression for knowledge and   
ignorance2 and heat for love4 ,visible  
distance behind and before us1 is       
respectively our image of memory and    
hope4  ,who looks upon a river in a     
meditative hour1 and is not reminded of 
the flux of all things8 ,throw a stone  
into the stream1 and the circles that   
propagate themselves are the beautiful  
type of all influence4 ,man is conscious
 of a universal soul within or behind   

his individual life1 wherein1 as in a   
firmament1 the natures of ,justice1     
,truth1 ,love1 ,freedom1 arise and      
shine4 ,this universal soul1 he calls   
,reason3 it is not mine1 or thine1 or   
his1 but we are its2 we are its property
 and men4 ,and the blue sky in which the
 private earth is buried1 the sky with  
its eternal calm1 and full of           
everlasting orbs1 is the type of        
,reason4 ,that which1 intellectually    
considered1 we call ,reason1 considered 
in relation to nature1 we call ,spirit4 
,spirit is the ,creator4 ,spirit hath   
life in itself4 ,and man in all ages and
 countries1 embodies it in his language1
 as the ,,father4  ,it is easily seen   
that there is nothing lucky or          
capricious in these analogies1 but that 
they are constant1 and pervade nature4  
,these are not the dreams of a few      
poets1 here and there1 but man is an    
analogist1 and studies relations in all 
objects4 ,he is placed in the centre of 
beings1 and a ray of relation passes    

from every other being to him4 ,and     
neither can man be understood without   
these objects1 nor these objects without
 man4 ,all the facts in natural history 
taken by themselves1 have no value1 but 
are barren1 like a single sex4 ,but     
marry it to human history1 and it is    
full of life4 ,whole ,floras1 all       
,linnaeus' and ,buffon's volumes1 are   
dry catalogues of facts2 but the most   
trivial of these facts1 the habit of a  
plant1 the organs1 or work1 or noise of 
an insect1 applied to the illustration  
of a fact in intellectual philosophy1   
or1 in any way associated to human      
nature1 affects us in the most lively   
and agreeable manner4 ,the seed of a    
plant1--to what affecting analogies in  
the nature of man1 is that little fruit 
made use of1 in all discourse1 up to the
 voice of ,paul1 who calls the human    
corpse a seed1--,it is sown a natural   
body2 it is raised a spiritual body4    
,the motion of the earth round its axis1
 and round the sun1 makes the day1 and  

the year4 ,these are certain amounts of 
brute light and heat4 ,but is there no  
intent of an analogy between man's life 
and the seasons8 ,and do the seasons    
gain no grandeur or pathos from that    
analogy8 ,the instincts of the ant are  
very unimportant1 considered as the     
ant's2 but the moment a ray of relation 
is seen to extend from it to man1 and   
the little drudge is seen to be a       
monitor1 a little body with a mighty    
heart1 then all its habits1 even that   
said to be recently observed1 that it   
never sleeps1 become sublime4  ,because 
of this radical correspondence between  
visible things and human thoughts1      
savages1 who have only what is          
necessary1 converse in figures4 ,as we  
go back in history1 language becomes    
more picturesque1 until its infancy1    
when it is all poetry2 or all spiritual 
facts are represented by natural        
symbols4 ,the same symbols are found to 
make the original elements of all       
languages4 ,it has moreover been        

observed1 that the idioms of all        
languages approach each other in        
passages of the greatest eloquence and  
power4 ,and as this is the first        
language1 so is it the last4 ,this      
immediate dependence of language upon   
nature1 this conversion of an outward   
phenomenon into a type of somewhat in   
human life1 never loses its power to    
affect us4 ,it is this which gives that 
piquancy to the conversation of a       
strong-natured farmer or back-woodsman1 
which all men relish4  ,a man's power to
 connect his thought with its proper    
symbol1 and so to utter it1 depends on  
the simplicity of his character1 that   
is1 upon his love of truth1 and his     
desire to communicate it without loss4  
,the corruption of man is followed by   
the corruption of language4 ,when       
simplicity of character and the         
sovereignty of ideas is broken up by the
 prevalence of secondary desires1 the   
desire of riches1 of pleasure1 of power1
 and of praise1--and duplicity and      

falsehood take place of simplicity and  
truth1 the power over nature as an      
interpreter of the will1 is in a degree 
lost2 new imagery ceases to be created1 
and old words are perverted to stand for
 things which are not2 a paper currency 
is employed1 when there is no bullion in
 the vaults4 ,in due time1 the fraud is 
manifest1 and words lose all power to   
stimulate the understanding or the      
affections4 ,hundreds of writers may be 
found in every long-civilized nation1   
who for a short time believe1 and make  
others believe1 that they see and utter 
truths1 who do not of themselves clothe 
one thought in its natural garment1 but 
who feed unconsciously on the language  
created by the primary writers of the   
country1 those1 namely1 who hold        
primarily on nature4  ,but wise men     
pierce this rotten diction and fasten   
words again to visible things2 so that  
picturesque language is at once a       
commanding certificate that he who      
employs it1 is a man in alliance with   

truth and ,god4 ,the moment our         
discourse rises above the ground line of
 familiar facts1 and is inflamed with   
passion or exalted by thought1 it       
clothes itself in images4 ,a man        
conversing in earnest1 if he watch his  
intellectual processes1 will find that a
 material image1 more or less luminous1 
arises in his mind1 cotemporaneous with 
every thought1 which furnishes the      
vestment of the thought4 ,hence1 good   
writing and brilliant discourse are     
perpetual allegories4 ,this imagery is  
spontaneous4 ,it is the blending of     
experience with the present action of   
the mind4 ,it is proper creation4 ,it is
 the working of the ,original ,cause    
through the instruments he has already  
made4  ,these facts may suggest the     
advantage which the country-life        
possesses for a powerful mind1 over the 
artificial and curtailed life of cities4
 ,we know more from nature than we can  
at will communicate4 ,its light flows   
into the mind evermore1 and we forget   

its presence4 ,the poet1 the orator1    
bred in the woods1 whose senses have    
been nourished by their fair and        
appeasing changes1 year after year1     
without design and without heed1--shall 
not lose their lesson altogether1 in the
 roar of cities or the broil of         
politics4 ,long hereafter1 amidst       
agitation and terror in national        
councils1--in the hour of               
revolution1--these solemn images shall  
reappear in their morning lustre1 as fit
 symbols and words of the thoughts which
 the passing events shall awaken4 ,at   
the call of a noble sentiment1 again the
 woods wave1 the pines murmur1 the river
 rolls and shines1 and the cattle low   
upon the mountains1 as he saw and heard 
them in his infancy4 ,and with these    
forms1 the spells of persuasion1 the    
keys of power are put into his hands4   
#c4 ,we are thus assisted by natural    
objects in the expression of particular 
meanings4 ,but how great a language to  
convey such pepper-corn informations6   

,did it need such noble races of        
creatures1 this profusion of forms1 this
 host of orbs in heaven1 to furnish man 
with the dictionary and grammar of his  
municipal speech8 ,whilst we use this   
grand cipher to expedite the affairs of 
our pot and kettle1 we feel that we have
 not yet put it to its use1 neither are 
able4 ,we are like travellers using the 
cinders of a volcano to roast their     
eggs4 ,whilst we see that it always     
stands ready to clothe what we would    
say1 we cannot avoid the question1      
whether the characters are not          
significant of themselves4 ,have        
mountains1 and waves1 and skies1 no     
significance but what we consciously    
give them1 when we employ them as       
emblems of our thoughts8 ,the world is  
emblematic4 ,parts of speech are        
metaphors1 because the whole of nature  
is a metaphor of the human mind4 ,the   
laws of moral nature answer to those of 
matter as face to face in a glass4 ,the 
visible world and the relation of its   

parts1 is the dial plate of the         
invisible4 ,the axioms of physics       
translate the laws of ethics4 ,thus1 the
 whole is greater than its part2        
reaction is equal to action2 the        
smallest weight may be made to lift the 
greatest1 the difference of weight being
 compensated by time2 and many the like 
propositions1 which have an ethical as  
well as physical sense4 ,these          
propositions have a much more extensive 
and universal sense when applied to     
human life1 than when confined to       
technical use4  ,in like manner1 the    
memorable words of history1 and the     
proverbs of nations1 consist usually of 
a natural fact1 selected as a picture or
 parable of a moral truth4 ,thus2 ,a    
rolling stone gathers no moss2 ,a bird  
in the hand is worth two in the bush2 ,a
 cripple in the right way1 will beat a  
racer in the wrong2 ,make hay while the 
sun shines2 ',t is hard to carry a full 
cup even2 ,vinegar is the son of wine2  
,the last ounce broke the camel's back2 

,long-lived trees make roots first2     
--and the like4 ,in their primary sense 
these are trivial facts1 but we repeat  
them for the value of their analogical  
import4 ,what is true of proverbs1 is   
true of all fables1 parables1 and       
allegories4  ,this relation between the 
mind and matter is not fancied by some  
poet1 but stands in the will of ,god1   
and so is free to be known by all men4  
,it appears to men1 or it does not      
appear4 ,when in fortunate hours we     
ponder this miracle1 the wise man       
doubts1 if1 at all other times1 he is   
not blind and deaf2            --,can   
these things be1      ,and overcome us  
like a summer's cloud1      ,without our
 special wonder8  for the universe      
becomes transparent1 and the light of   
higher laws than its own1 shines through
 it4 ,it is the standing problem which  
has exercised the wonder and the study  
of every fine genius since the world    
began2 from the era of the ,egyptians   
and the ,brahmins1 to that of           

,pythagoras1 of ,plato1 of ,bacon1 of   
,leibnitz1 of ,swedenborg4 ,there sits  
the ,sphinx at the road-side1 and from  
age to age1 as each prophet comes by1 he
 tries his fortune at reading her       
riddle4 ,there seems to be a necessity  
in spirit to manifest itself in material
 forms2 and day and night1 river and    
storm1 beast and bird1 acid and alkali1 
preexist in necessary ,ideas in the mind
 of ,god1 and are what they are by      
virtue of preceding affections1 in the  
world of spirit4 ,a ,fact is the end or 
last issue of spirit4 ,the visible      
creation is the terminus or the         
circumference of the invisible world4   
,material objects1 said a ,french       
philosopher1 are necessarily kinds of   
scoriae of the substantial thoughts of  
the ,creator1 which must always preserve
 an exact relation to their first       
origin2 in other words1 visible nature  
must have a spiritual and moral side4   
,this doctrine is abstruse1 and though  
the images of garment1 scoriae1 mirror1 

c41 may stimulate the fancy1 we must    
summon the aid of subtler and more vital
 expositors to make it plain4 ,every    
scripture is to be interpreted by the   
same spirit which gave it forth1 --is   
the fundamental law of criticism4 ,a    
life in harmony with nature1 the love of
 truth and of virtue1 will purge the    
eyes to understand her text4 ,by degrees
 we may come to know the primitive sense
 of the permanent objects of nature1 so 
that the world shall be to us an open   
book1 and every form significant of its 
hidden life and final cause4  ,a new    
interest surprises us1 whilst1 under the
 view now suggested1 we contemplate the 
fearful extent and multitude of objects2
 since every object rightly seen1       
unlocks a new faculty of the soul4 ,that
 which was unconscious truth1 becomes1  
when interpreted and defined in an      
object1 a part of the domain of         
knowledge1--a new weapon in the magazine
 of power4    ,,chapter ,v4             
,,discipline4  ,,in view of the         

significance of nature1 we arrive at    
once at a new fact1 that nature is a    
discipline4 ,this use of the world      
includes the preceding uses1 as parts of
 itself4  ,space1 time1 society1 labor1 
climate1 food1 locomotion1 the animals1 
the mechanical forces1 give us sincerest
 lessons1 day by day1 whose meaning is  
unlimited4 ,they educate both the       
,understanding and the ,reason4 ,every  
property of matter is a school for the  
understanding1 --its solidity or        
resistance1 its inertia1 its extension1 
its figure1 its divisibility4 ,the      
understanding adds1 divides1 combines1  
measures1 and finds nutriment and room  
for its activity in this worthy scene4  
,meantime1 ,reason transfers all these  
lessons into its own world of thought1  
by perceiving the analogy that marries  
,matter and ,mind4  #a4 ,nature is a    
discipline of the understanding in      
intellectual truths4 ,our dealing with  
sensible objects is a constant exercise 
in the necessary lessons of difference1 

of likeness1 of order1 of being and     
seeming1 of progressive arrangement2 of 
ascent from particular to general2 of   
combination to one end of manifold      
forces4 ,proportioned to the importance 
of the organ to be formed1 is the       
extreme care with which its tuition is  
provided1--a care pretermitted in no    
single case4 ,what tedious training1 day
 after day1 year after year1 never      
ending1 to form the common sense2 what  
continual reproduction of annoyances1   
inconveniences1 dilemmas2 what rejoicing
 over us of little men2 what disputing  
of prices1 what reckonings of interest1 
--and all to form the ,hand of the      
mind2--to instruct us that good thoughts
 are no better than good dreams1 unless 
they be executed6  ,the same good office
 is performed by ,property and its      
filial systems of debt and credit4      
,debt1 grinding debt1 whose iron face   
the widow1 the orphan1 and the sons of  
genius fear and hate2--debt1 which      
consumes so much time1 which so cripples

 and disheartens a great spirit with    
cares that seem so base1 is a preceptor 
whose lessons cannot be forgone1 and is 
needed most by those who suffer from it 
most4 ,moreover1 property1 which has    
been well compared to snow1 --if it fall
 level to-day1 it will be blown into    
drifts to-morrow1--is the surface action
 of internal machinery1 like the index  
on the face of a clock4 ,whilst now it  
is the gymnastics of the understanding1 
it is hiving in the foresight of the    
spirit1 experience in profounder laws4  
,the whole character and fortune of the 
individual are affected by the least    
inequalities in the culture of the      
understanding2 for example1 in the      
perception of differences4 ,therefore is
 ,space1 and therefore ,time1 that man  
may know that things are not huddled and
 lumped1 but sundered and individual4 ,a
 bell and a plough have each their use1 
and neither can do the office of the    
other4 ,water is good to drink1 coal to 
burn1 wool to wear2 but wool cannot be  

drunk1 nor water spun1 nor coal eaten4  
,the wise man shows his wisdom in       
separation1 in gradation1 and his scale 
of creatures and of merits is as wide as
 nature4 ,the foolish have no range in  
their scale1 but suppose every man is as
 every other man4 ,what is not good they
 call the worst1 and what is not        
hateful1 they call the best4  ,in like  
manner1 what good heed1 nature forms in 
us6 ,she pardons no mistakes4 ,her yea  
is yea1 and her nay1 nay4  ,the first   
steps in ,agriculture1 ,astronomy1      
,zooelogy1 7those first steps which the 
farmer1 the hunter1 and the sailor      
take17 teach that nature's dice are     
always loaded2 that in her heaps and    
rubbish are concealed sure and useful   
results4  ,how calmly and genially the  
mind apprehends one after another the   
laws of physics6 ,what noble emotions   
dilate the mortal as he enters into the 
counsels of the creation1 and feels by  
knowledge the privilege to ,,be6 ,his   
insight refines him4 ,the beauty of     

nature shines in his own breast4 ,man is
 greater that he can see this1 and the  
universe less1 because ,time and ,space 
relations vanish as laws are known4     
,here again we are impressed and even   
daunted by the immense ,universe to be  
explored4 ,what we know1 is a point to  
what we do not know4 ,open any recent   
journal of science1 and weigh the       
problems suggested concerning ,light1   
,heat1 ,electricity1 ,magnetism1        
,physiology1 ,geology1 and judge whether
 the interest of natural science is     
likely to be soon exhausted4  ,passing  
by many particulars of the discipline of
 nature1 we must not omit to specify    
two4  ,the exercise of the ,will or the 
lesson of power is taught in every      
event4 ,from the child's successive     
possession of his several senses up to  
the hour when he saith1 ,thy will be    
done6 he is learning the secret1 that he
 can reduce under his will1 not only    
particular events1 but great classes1   
nay the whole series of events1 and so  

conform all facts to his character4     
,nature is thoroughly mediate4 ,it is   
made to serve4 ,it receives the dominion
 of man as meekly as the ass on which   
the ,saviour rode4 ,it offers all its   
kingdoms to man as the raw material     
which he may mould into what is useful4 
,man is never weary of working it up4   
,he forges the subtile and delicate air 
into wise and melodious words1 and gives
 them wing as angels of persuasion and  
command4 ,one after another1 his        
victorious thought comes up with and    
reduces all things1 until the world     
becomes1 at last1 only a realized       
will1--the double of the man4  #b4      
,sensible objects conform to the        
premonitions of ,reason and reflect the 
conscience4 ,all things are moral2 and  
in their boundless changes have an      
unceasing reference to spiritual nature4
 ,therefore is nature glorious with     
form1 color1 and motion1 that every     
globe in the remotest heaven2 every     
chemical change from the rudest crystal 

up to the laws of life2 every change of 
vegetation from the first principle of  
growth in the eye of a leaf1 to the     
tropical forest and antediluvian        
coal-mine2 every animal function from   
the sponge up to ,hercules1 shall hint  
or thunder to man the laws of right and 
wrong1 and echo the ,ten ,commandments4 
,therefore is nature ever the ally of   
,religion3 lends all her pomp and riches
 to the religious sentiment4 ,prophet   
and priest1 ,david1 ,isaiah1 ,jesus1    
have drawn deeply from this source4     
,this ethical character so penetrates   
the bone and marrow of nature1 as to    
seem the end for which it was made4     
,whatever private purpose is answered by
 any member or part1 this is its public 
and universal function1 and is never    
omitted4 ,nothing in nature is exhausted
 in its first use4 ,when a thing has    
served an end to the uttermost1 it is   
wholly new for an ulterior service4 ,in 
,god1 every end is converted into a new 
means4 ,thus the use of commodity1      

regarded by itself1 is mean and squalid4
 ,but it is to the mind an education in 
the doctrine of ,use1 namely1 that a    
thing is good only so far as it serves2 
that a conspiring of parts and efforts  
to the production of an end1 is         
essential to any being4 ,the first and  
gross manifestation of this truth1 is   
our inevitable and hated training in    
values and wants1 in corn and meat4  ,it
 has already been illustrated1 that     
every natural process is a version of a 
moral sentence4 ,the moral law lies at  
the centre of nature and radiates to the
 circumference4 ,it is the pith and     
marrow of every substance1 every        
relation1 and every process4 ,all things
 with which we deal1 preach to us4 ,what
 is a farm but a mute gospel8 ,the chaff
 and the wheat1 weeds and plants1       
blight1 rain1 insects1 sun1--it is a    
sacred emblem from the first furrow of  
spring to the last stack which the snow 
of winter overtakes in the fields4 ,but 
the sailor1 the shepherd1 the miner1 the

 merchant1 in their several resorts1    
have each an experience precisely       
parallel1 and leading to the same       
conclusion3 because all organizations   
are radically alike4 ,nor can it be     
doubted that this moral sentiment which 
thus scents the air1 grows in the grain1
 and impregnates the waters of the      
world1 is caught by man and sinks into  
his soul4 ,the moral influence of nature
 upon every individual is that amount of
 truth which it illustrates to him4 ,who
 can estimate this8 ,who can guess how  
much firmness the sea-beaten rock has   
taught the fisherman8 how much          
tranquillity has been reflected to man  
from the azure sky1 over whose unspotted
 deeps the winds forevermore drive      
flocks of stormy clouds1 and leave no   
wrinkle or stain8 how much industry and 
providence and affection we have caught 
from the pantomime of brutes8 ,what a   
searching preacher of self-command is   
the varying phenomenon of ,health6      
,herein is especially apprehended the   

unity of ,nature1--the unity in         
variety1--which meets us everywhere4    
,all the endless variety of things make 
an identical impression4 ,xenophanes    
complained in his old age1 that1 look   
where he would1 all things hastened back
 to ,unity4 ,he was weary of seeing the 
same entity in the tedious variety of   
forms4 ,the fable of ,proteus has a     
cordial truth4 ,a leaf1 a drop1 a       
crystal1 a moment of time is related to 
the whole1 and partakes of the          
perfection of the whole4 ,each particle 
is a microcosm1 and faithfully renders  
the likeness of the world4  ,not only   
resemblances exist in things whose      
analogy is obvious1 as when we detect   
the type of the human hand in the       
flipper of the fossil saurus1 but also  
in objects wherein there is great       
superficial unlikeness4 ,thus           
architecture is called frozen music1 by 
,de ,stael and ,goethe4 ,vitruvius      
thought an architect should be a        
musician4 ,a ,gothic church1 said       

,coleridge1 is a petrified religion4    
,michael ,angelo maintained1 that1 to an
 architect1 a knowledge of anatomy is   
essential4 ,in ,haydn's oratorios1 the  
notes present to the imagination not    
only motions1 as1 of the snake1 the     
stag1 and the elephant1 but colors also2
 as the green grass4 ,the law of        
harmonic sounds reappears in the        
harmonic colors4 ,the granite is        
differenced in its laws only by the more
 or less of heat1 from the river that   
wears it away4 ,the river1 as it flows1 
resembles the air that flows over it2   
the air resembles the light which       
traverses it with more subtile currents2
 the light resembles the heat which     
rides with it through ,space4 ,each     
creature is only a modification of the  
other2 the likeness in them is more than
 the difference1 and their radical law  
is one and the same4 ,a rule of one art1
 or a law of one organization1 holds    
true throughout nature4 ,so intimate is 
this ,unity1 that1 it is easily seen1 it

 lies under the undermost garment of    
nature1 and betrays its source in       
,universal ,spirit4 ,for1 it pervades   
,thought also4 ,every universal truth   
which we express in words1 implies or   
supposes every other truth4 ,omne verum 
vero consonat4 ,it is like a great      
circle on a sphere1 comprising all      
possible circles2 which1 however1 may be
 drawn1 and comprise it1 in like manner4
 ,every such truth is the absolute ,ens 
seen from one side4 ,but it has         
innumerable sides4  ,the central ,unity 
is still more conspicuous in actions4   
,words are finite organs of the infinite
 mind4 ,they cannot cover the dimensions
 of what is in truth4 ,they break1 chop1
 and impoverish it4 ,an action is the   
perfection and publication of thought4  
,a right action seems to fill the eye1  
and to be related to all nature4 ,the   
wise man1 in doing one thing1 does all2 
or1 in the one thing he does rightly1 he
 sees the likeness of all which is done 
rightly4  ,words and actions are not the

 attributes of brute nature4 ,they      
introduce us to the human form1 of which
 all other organizations appear to be   
degradations4 ,when this appears among  
so many that surround it1 the spirit    
prefers it to all others4 ,it says1     
',from such as this1 have ,i drawn joy  
and knowledge2 in such as this1 have ,i 
found and beheld myself2 ,i will speak  
to it2 it can speak again2 it can yield 
me thought already formed and alive4'   
,in fact1 the eye1--the mind1--is always
 accompanied by these forms1 male and   
female2 and these are incomparably the  
richest informations of the power and   
order that lie at the heart of things4  
,unfortunately1 every one of them bears 
the marks as of some injury2 is marred  
and superficially defective4            
,nevertheless1 far different from the   
deaf and dumb nature around them1 these 
all rest like fountain-pipes on the     
unfathomed sea of thought and virtue    
whereto they alone1 of all              
organizations1 are the entrances4  ,it  

were a pleasant inquiry to follow into  
detail their ministry to our education1 
but where would it stop8 ,we are        
associated in adolescent and adult life 
with some friends1 who1 like skies and  
waters1 are coextensive with our idea2  
who1 answering each to a certain        
affection of the soul1 satisfy our      
desire on that side2 whom we lack power 
to put at such focal distance from us1  
that we can mend or even analyze them4  
,we cannot choose but love them4 ,when  
much intercourse with a friend has      
supplied us with a standard of          
excellence1 and has increased our       
respect for the resources of ,god who   
thus sends a real person to outgo our   
ideal2 when he has1 moreover1 become an 
object of thought1 and1 whilst his      
character retains all its unconscious   
effect1 is converted in the mind into   
solid and sweet wisdom1--it is a sign to
 us that his office is closing1 and he  
is commonly withdrawn from our sight in 
a short time4    ,,chapter ,,vi4        

,,idealism4  ,,thus is the unspeakable  
but intelligible and practicable meaning
 of the world conveyed to man1 the      
immortal pupil1 in every object of      
sense4 ,to this one end of ,discipline1 
all parts of nature conspire4  ,a noble 
doubt perpetually suggests itself1      
whether this end be not the ,final      
,cause of the ,universe2 and whether    
nature outwardly exists4 ,it is a       
sufficient account of that ,appearance  
we call the ,world1 that ,god will teach
 a human mind1 and so makes it the      
receiver of a certain number of         
congruent sensations1 which we call sun 
and moon1 man and woman1 house and      
trade4 ,in my utter impotence to test   
the authenticity of the report of my    
senses1 to know whether the impressions 
they make on me correspond with outlying
 objects1 what difference does it make1 
whether ,orion is up there in heaven1 or
 some god paints the image in the       
firmament of the soul8 ,the relations of
 parts and the end of the whole         

remaining the same1 what is the         
difference1 whether land and sea        
interact1 and worlds revolve and        
intermingle without number or end1--deep
 yawning under deep1 and galaxy         
balancing galaxy1 throughout absolute   
space1--or1 whether1 without relations  
of time and space1 the same appearances 
are inscribed in the constant faith of  
man8 ,whether nature enjoy a substantial
 existence without1 or is only in the   
apocalypse of the mind1 it is alike     
useful and alike venerable to me4 ,be it
 what it may1 it is ideal to me1 so long
 as ,i cannot try the accuracy of my    
senses4  ,the frivolous make themselves 
merry with the ,ideal theory1 if its    
consequences were burlesque2 as if it   
affected the stability of nature4 ,it   
surely does not4 ,god never jests with  
us1 and will not compromise the end of  
nature1 by permitting any inconsequence 
in its procession4 ,any distrust of the 
permanence of laws1 would paralyze the  
faculties of man4 ,their permanence is  

sacredly respected1 and his faith       
therein is perfect4 ,the wheels and     
springs of man are all set to the       
hypothesis of the permanence of nature4 
,we are not built like a ship to be     
tossed1 but like a house to stand4 ,it  
is a natural consequence of this        
structure1 that1 so long as the active  
powers predominate over the reflective1 
we resist with indignation any hint that
 nature is more short-lived or mutable  
than spirit4 ,the broker1 the           
wheelwright1 the carpenter1 the         
toll-man1 are much displeased at the    
intimation4  ,but whilst we acquiesce   
entirely in the permanence of natural   
laws1 the question of the absolute      
existence of nature still remains open4 
,it is the uniform effect of culture on 
the human mind1 not to shake our faith  
in the stability of particular          
phenomena1 as of heat1 water1 azote2 but
 to lead us to regard nature as a       
phenomenon1 not a substance2 to         
attribute necessary existence to spirit2

 to esteem nature as an accident and an 
effect4  ,to the senses and the         
unrenewed understanding1 belongs a sort 
of instinctive belief in the absolute   
existence of nature4 ,in their view1 man
 and nature are indissolubly joined4    
,things are ultimates1 and they never   
look beyond their sphere4 ,the presence 
of ,reason mars this faith4 ,the first  
effort of thought tends to relax this   
despotism of the senses1 which binds us 
to nature as if we were a part of it1   
and shows us nature aloof1 and1 as it   
were1 afloat4 ,until this higher agency 
intervened1 the animal eye sees1 with   
wonderful accuracy1 sharp outlines and  
colored surfaces4 ,when the eye of      
,reason opens1 to outline and surface   
are at once added1 grace and expression4
 ,these proceed from imagination and    
affection1 and abate somewhat of the    
angular distinctness of objects4 ,if the
 ,reason be stimulated to more earnest  
vision1 outlines and surfaces become    
transparent1 and are no longer seen2    

causes and spirits are seen through     
them4 ,the best moments of life are     
these delicious awakenings of the higher
 powers1 and the reverential withdrawing
 of nature before its ,god4  ,let us    
proceed to indicate the effects of      
culture4 #a4 ,our first institution in  
the ,ideal philosophy is a hint from    
nature herself4  ,nature is made to     
conspire with spirit to emancipate us4  
,certain mechanical changes1 a small    
alteration in our local position        
apprizes us of a dualism4 ,we are       
strangely affected by seeing the shore  
from a moving ship1 from a balloon1 or  
through the tints of an unusual sky4    
,the least change in our point of view1 
gives the whole world a pictorial air4  
,a man who seldom rides1 needs only to  
get into a coach and traverse his own   
town1 to turn the street into a         
puppet-show4 ,the men1 the              
women1--talking1 running1 bartering1    
fighting1--the earnest mechanic1 the    
lounger1 the beggar1 the boys1 the dogs1

 are unrealized at once1 or1 at least1  
wholly detached from all relation to the
 observer1 and seen as apparent1 not    
substantial beings4 ,what new thoughts  
are suggested by seeing a face of       
country quite familiar1 in the rapid    
movement of the rail-road car6 ,nay1 the
 most wonted objects1 7make a very      
slight change in the point of vision17  
please us most4 ,in a camera obscura1   
the butcher's cart1 and the figure of   
one of our own family amuse us4 ,so a   
portrait of a well-known face gratifies 
us4 ,turn the eyes upside down1 by      
looking at the landscape through your   
legs1 and how agreeable is the picture1 
though you have seen it any time these  
twenty years6  ,in these cases1 by      
mechanical means1 is suggested the      
difference between the observer and the 
spectacle1--between man and nature4     
,hence arises a pleasure mixed with awe2
 ,i may say1 a low degree of the sublime
 is felt from the fact1 probably1 that  
man is hereby apprized1 that1 whilst the

 world is a spectacle1 something in     
himself is stable4  #b4 ,in a higher    
manner1 the poet communicates the same  
pleasure4 ,by a few strokes he          
delineates1 as on air1 the sun1 the     
mountain1 the camp1 the city1 the hero1 
the maiden1 not different from what we  
know them1 but only lifted from the     
ground and afloat before the eye4 ,he   
unfixes the land and the sea1 makes them
 revolve around the axis of his primary 
thought1 and disposes them anew4        
,possessed himself by a heroic passion1 
he uses matter as symbols of it4 ,the   
sensual man conforms thoughts to things2
 the poet conforms things to his        
thoughts4 ,the one esteems nature as    
rooted and fast2 the other1 as fluid1   
and impresses his being thereon4 ,to    
him1 the refractory world is ductile and
 flexible2 he invests dust and stones   
with humanity1 and makes them the words 
of the ,reason4 ,the ,imagination may be
 defined to be1 the use which the       
,reason makes of the material world4    

,shakspeare possesses the power of      
subordinating nature for the purposes of
 expression1 beyond all poets4 ,his     
imperial muse tosses the creation like a
 bauble from hand to hand1 and uses it  
to embody any caprice of thought that is
 upper-most in his mind4 ,the remotest  
spaces of nature are visited1 and the   
farthest sundered things are brought    
together1 by a subtle spiritual         
connection4 ,we are made aware that     
magnitude of material things is         
relative1 and all objects shrink and    
expand to serve the passion of the poet4
 ,thus1 in his sonnets1 the lays of     
birds1 the scents and dyes of flowers1  
he finds to be the shadow of his        
beloved2 time1 which keeps her from him1
 is his chest2 the suspicion she has    
awakened1 is her ornament2       ,the   
ornament of beauty is ,suspect1      ,a 
crow which flies in heaven's sweetest   
air4  ,his passion is not the fruit of  
chance2 it swells1 as he speaks1 to a   
city1 or a state4       ,no1 it was     

builded far from accident2      ,it     
suffers not in smiling pomp1 nor falls  
,under the brow of thralling discontent2
      ,it fears not policy1 that        
heretic1      ,that works on leases of  
short numbered hours1      ,but all     
alone stands hugely politic4  ,in the   
strength of his constancy1 the ,pyramids
 seem to him recent and transitory4 ,the
 freshness of youth and love dazzles him
 with its resemblance to morning4       
,take those lips away      ,which so    
sweetly were forsworn2      ,and those  
eyes1--the break of day1      ,lights   
that do mislead the morn4  ,the wild    
beauty of this hyperbole1 ,i may say1 in
 passing1 it would not be easy to match 
in literature4  ,this transfiguration   
which all material objects undergo      
through the passion of the poet1--this  
power which he exerts to dwarf the      
great1 to magnify the small1--might be  
illustrated by a thousand examples from 
his ,plays4 ,i have before me the       
,tempest1 and will cite only these few  

lines4       ,,ariel4 ,the strong based 
promontory      ,have ,i made shake1 and
 by the spurs plucked up      ,the pine 
and cedar4  ,prospero calls for music to
 soothe the frantic ,alonzo1 and his    
companions2       ,a solemn air1 and the
 best comforter      ,to an unsettled   
fancy1 cure thy brains      ,now        
useless1 boiled within thy skull4       
,again2            ,the charm dissolves 
apace1      ,and1 as the morning steals 
upon the night1      ,melting the       
darkness1 so their rising senses        
,begin to chase the ignorant fumes that 
mantle      ,their clearer reason4      
,their understanding      ,begins to    
swell3 and the approaching tide         
,will shortly fill the reasonable shores
      ,that now lie foul and muddy4     
,the perception of real affinities      
between events1 7that is to say1 of     
ideal affinities1 for those only are    
real17 enables the poet thus to make    
free with the most imposing forms and   
phenomena of the world1 and to assert   

the predominance of the soul4  #c4      
,whilst thus the poet animates nature   
with his own thoughts1 he differs from  
the philosopher only herein1 that the   
one proposes ,beauty as his main end2   
the other ,truth4 ,but the philosopher1 
not less than the poet1 postpones the   
apparent order and relations of things  
to the empire of thought4 ,the problem  
of philosophy1 according to ,plato1 is1 
for all that exists conditionally1 to   
find a ground unconditioned and         
absolute4 ,it proceeds on the faith that
 a law determines all phenomena1 which  
being known1 the phenomena can be       
predicted4 ,that law1 when in the mind1 
is an idea4 ,its beauty is infinite4    
,the true philosopher and the true poet 
are one1 and a beauty1 which is truth1  
and a truth1 which is beauty1 is the aim
 of both4 ,is not the charm of one of   
,plato's or ,aristotle's definitions1   
strictly like that of the ,antigone of  
,sophocles8 ,it is1 in both cases1 that 
a spiritual life has been imparted to   

nature2 that the solid seeming block of 
matter has been pervaded and dissolved  
by a thought2 that this feeble human    
being has penetrated the vast masses of 
nature with an informing soul1 and      
recognised itself in their harmony1 that
 is1 seized their law4 ,in physics1 when
 this is attained1 the memory           
disburthens itself of its cumbrous      
catalogues of particulars1 and carries  
centuries of observation in a single    
formula4  ,thus even in physics1 the    
material is degraded before the         
spiritual4 ,the astronomer1 the         
geometer1 rely on their irrefragable    
analysis1 and disdain the results of    
observation4 ,the sublime remark of     
,euler on his law of arches1 ,this will 
be found contrary to all experience1 yet
 is true2 had already transferred nature
 into the mind1 and left matter like an 
outcast corpse4  #d4 ,intellectual      
science has been observed to beget      
invariably a doubt of the existence of  
matter4 ,turgot said1 ,he that has never

 doubted the existence of matter1 may be
 assured he has no aptitude for         
metaphysical inquiries4 ,it fastens the 
attention upon immortal necessary       
uncreated natures1 that is1 upon ,ideas2
 and in their presence1 we feel that the
 outward circumstance is a dream and a  
shade4 ,whilst we wait in this ,olympus 
of gods1 we think of nature as an       
appendix to the soul4 ,we ascend into   
their region1 and know that these are   
the thoughts of the ,supreme ,being4    
,these are they who were set up from    
everlasting1 from the beginning1 or ever
 the earth was4 ,when he prepared the   
heavens1 they were there2 when he       
established the clouds above1 when he   
strengthened the fountains of the deep4 
,then they were by him1 as one brought  
up with him4 ,of them took he counsel4  
,their influence is proportionate4 ,as  
objects of science1 they are accessible 
to few men4 ,yet all men are capable of 
being raised by piety or by passion1    
into their region4 ,and no man touches  

these divine natures1 without becoming1 
in some degree1 himself divine4 ,like a 
new soul1 they renew the body4 ,we      
become physically nimble and lightsome2 
we tread on air2 life is no longer      
irksome1 and we think it will never be  
so4 ,no man fears age or misfortune or  
death1 in their serene company1 for he  
is transported out of the district of   
change4 ,whilst we behold unveiled the  
nature of ,justice and ,truth1 we learn 
the difference between the absolute and 
the conditional or relative4 ,we        
apprehend the absolute4 ,as it were1 for
 the first time1 we exist4 ,we become   
immortal1 for we learn that time and    
space are relations of matter2 that1    
with a perception of truth1 or a        
virtuous will1 they have no affinity4   
#e4 ,finally1 religion and ethics1 which
 may be fitly called1--the practice of  
ideas1 or the introduction of ideas into
 life1--have an analogous effect with   
all lower culture1 in degrading nature  
and suggesting its dependence on spirit4

 ,ethics and religion differ herein2    
that the one is the system of human     
duties commencing from man2 the other1  
from ,god4 ,religion includes the       
personality of ,god2 ,ethics does not4  
,they are one to our present design4    
,they both put nature under foot4 ,the  
first and last lesson of religion is1   
,the things that are seen1 are temporal2
 the things that are unseen1 are        
eternal4 ,it puts an affront upon       
nature4 ,it does that for the           
unschooled1 which philosophy does for   
,berkeley and ,viasa4 ,the uniform      
language that may be heard in the       
churches of the most ignorant sects1 is1
 --,contemn the unsubstantial shows of  
the world2 they are vanities1 dreams1   
shadows1 unrealities2 seek the realities
 of religion4 ,the devotee flouts       
nature4 ,some theosophists have arrived 
at a certain hostility and indignation  
towards matter1 as the ,manichean and   
,plotinus4 ,they distrusted in          
themselves any looking back to these    

flesh-pots of ,egypt4 ,plotinus was     
ashamed of his body4 ,in short1 they    
might all say of matter1 what ,michael  
,angelo said of external beauty1 it is  
the frail and weary weed1 in which ,god 
dresses the soul1 which he has called   
into time4  ,it appears that motion1    
poetry1 physical and intellectual       
science1 and religion1 all tend to      
affect our convictions of the reality of
 the external world4 ,but ,i own there  
is something ungrateful in expanding too
 curiously the particulars of the       
general proposition1 that all culture   
tends to imbue us with idealism4 ,i have
 no hostility to nature1 but a child's  
love to it4 ,i expand and live in the   
warm day like corn and melons4 ,let us  
speak her fair4 ,i do not wish to fling 
stones at my beautiful mother1 nor soil 
my gentle nest4 ,i only wish to indicate
 the true position of nature in regard  
to man1 wherein to establish man1 all   
right education tends2 as the ground    
which to attain is the object of human  

life1 that is1 of man's connection with 
nature4 ,culture inverts the vulgar     
views of nature1 and brings the mind to 
call that apparent1 which it uses to    
call real1 and that real1 which it uses 
to call visionary4 ,children1 it is     
true1 believe in the external world4    
,the belief that it appears only1 is an 
afterthought1 but with culture1 this    
faith will as surely arise on the mind  
as did the first4  ,the advantage of the
 ideal theory over the popular faith1 is
 this1 that it presents the world in    
precisely that view which is most       
desirable to the mind4 ,it is1 in fact1 
the view which ,reason1 both speculative
 and practical1 that is1 philosophy and 
virtue1 take4 ,for1 seen in the light of
 thought1 the world always is           
phenomenal2 and virtue subordinates it  
to the mind4 ,idealism sees the world in
 ,god4 ,it beholds the whole circle of  
persons and things1 of actions and      
events1 of country and religion1 not as 
painfully accumulated1 atom after atom1 

act after act1 in an aged creeping      
,past1 but as one vast picture1 which   
,god paints on the instant eternity1 for
 the contemplation of the soul4         
,therefore the soul holds itself off    
from a too trivial and microscopic study
 of the universal tablet4 ,it respects  
the end too much1 to immerse itself in  
the means4 ,it sees something more      
important in ,christianity1 than the    
scandals of ecclesiastical history1 or  
the niceties of criticism2 and1 very    
incurious concerning persons or         
miracles1 and not at all disturbed by   
chasms of historical evidence1 it       
accepts from ,god the phenomenon1 as it 
finds it1 as the pure and awful form of 
religion in the world4 ,it is not hot   
and passionate at the appearance of what
 it calls its own good or bad fortune1  
at the union or opposition of other     
persons4 ,no man is its enemy4 ,it      
accepts whatsoever befalls1 as part of  
its lesson4 ,it is a watcher more than a
 doer1 and it is a doer1 only that it   

may the better watch4    ,,chapter      
,,vii4  ,,spirit4  ,,it is essential to 
a true theory of nature and of man1 that
 it should contain somewhat progressive4
 ,uses that are exhausted or that may   
be1 and facts that end in the statement1
 cannot be all that is true of this     
brave lodging wherein man is harbored1  
and wherein all his faculties find      
appropriate and endless exercise4 ,and  
all the uses of nature admit of being   
summed in one1 which yields the activity
 of man an infinite scope4 ,through all 
its kingdoms1 to the suburbs and        
outskirts of things1 it is faithful to  
the cause whence it had its origin4 ,it 
always speaks of ,spirit4 ,it suggests  
the absolute4 ,it is a perpetual effect4
 ,it is a great shadow pointing always  
to the sun behind us4  ,the aspect of   
nature is devout4 ,like the figure of   
,jesus1 she stands with bended head1 and
 hands folded upon the breast4 ,the     
happiest man is he who learns from      
nature the lesson of worship4  ,of that 

ineffable essence which we call ,spirit1
 he that thinks most1 will say least4   
,we can foresee ,god in the coarse1 and1
 as it were1 distant phenomena of       
matter2 but when we try to define and   
describe himself1 both language and     
thought desert us1 and we are as        
helpless as fools and savages4 ,that    
essence refuses to be recorded in       
propositions1 but when man has          
worshipped him intellectually1 the      
noblest ministry of nature is to stand  
as the apparition of ,god4 ,it is the   
organ through which the universal spirit
 speaks to the individual1 and strives  
to lead back the individual to it4      
,when we consider ,spirit1 we see that  
the views already presented do not      
include the whole circumference of man4 
,we must add some related thoughts4     
,three problems are put by nature to the
 mind2 ,what is matter8 ,whence is it8  
and ,whereto8 ,the first of these       
questions only1 the ideal theory        
answers4 ,idealism saith3 matter is a   

phenomenon1 not a substance4 ,idealism  
acquaints us with the total disparity   
between the evidence of our own being1  
and the evidence of the world's being4  
,the one is perfect2 the other1         
incapable of any assurance2 the mind is 
a part of the nature of things2 the     
world is a divine dream1 from which we  
may presently awake to the glories and  
certainties of day4 ,idealism is a      
hypothesis to account for nature by     
other principles than those of carpentry
 and chemistry4 ,yet1 if it only deny   
the existence of matter1 it does not    
satisfy the demands of the spirit4 ,it  
leaves ,god out of me4 ,it leaves me in 
the splendid labyrinth of my            
perceptions1 to wander without end4     
,then the heart resists it1 because it  
balks the affections in denying         
substantive being to men and women4     
,nature is so pervaded with human life1 
that there is something of humanity in  
all1 and in every particular4 ,but this 
theory makes nature foreign to me1 and  

does not account for that consanguinity 
which we acknowledge to it4  ,let it    
stand1 then1 in the present state of our
 knowledge1 merely as a useful          
introductory hypothesis1 serving to     
apprize us of the eternal distinction   
between the soul and the world4  ,but   
when1 following the invisible steps of  
thought1 we come to inquire1 ,whence is 
matter8 and ,whereto8 many truths arise 
to us out of the recesses of            
consciousness4 ,we learn that the       
highest is present to the soul of man1  
that the dread universal essence1 which 
is not wisdom1 or love1 or beauty1 or   
power1 but all in one1 and each         
entirely1 is that for which all things  
exist1 and that by which they are2 that 
spirit creates2 that behind nature1     
throughout nature1 spirit is present2   
one and not compound1 it does not act   
upon us from without1 that is1 in space 
and time1 but spiritually1 or through   
ourselves3 therefore1 that spirit1 that 
is1 the ,supreme ,being1 does not build 

up nature around us1 but puts it forth  
through us1 as the life of the tree puts
 forth new branches and leaves through  
the pores of the old4 ,as a plant upon  
the earth1 so a man rests upon the bosom
 of ,god2 he is nourished by unfailing  
fountains1 and draws1 at his need1      
inexhaustible power4 ,who can set bounds
 to the possibilities of man8 ,once     
inhale the upper air1 being admitted to 
behold the absolute natures of justice  
and truth1 and we learn that man has    
access to the entire mind of the        
,creator1 is himself the creator in the 
finite4 ,this view1 which admonishes me 
where the sources of wisdom and power   
lie1 and points to virtue as to         
,the golden key      ,which opes the    
palace of eternity1  carries upon its   
face the highest certificate of truth1  
because it animates me to create my own 
world through the purification of my    
soul4  ,the world proceeds from the same
 spirit as the body of man4 ,it is a    
remoter and inferior incarnation of     

,god1 a projection of ,god in the       
unconscious4 ,but it differs from the   
body in one important respect4 ,it is   
not1 like that1 now subjected to the    
human will4 ,its serene order is        
inviolable by us4 ,it is1 therefore1 to 
us1 the present expositor of the divine 
mind4 ,it is a fixed point whereby we   
may measure our departure4 ,as we       
degenerate1 the contrast between us and 
our house is more evident4 ,we are as   
much strangers in nature1 as we are     
aliens from ,god4 ,we do not understand 
the notes of birds4 ,the fox and the    
deer run away from us2 the bear and     
tiger rend us4 ,we do not know the uses 
of more than a few plants1 as corn and  
the apple1 the potato and the vine4 ,is 
not the landscape1 every glimpse of     
which hath a grandeur1 a face of him8   
,yet this may show us what discord is   
between man and nature1 for you cannot  
freely admire a noble landscape1 if     
laborers are digging in the field hard  
by4 ,the poet finds something ridiculous

 in his delight1 until he is out of the 
sight of men4    ,,chapter ,,viii4      
,,prospects4  ,,in inquiries respecting 
the laws of the world and the frame of  
things1 the highest reason is always the
 truest4 ,that which seems faintly      
possible--it is so refined1 is often    
faint and dim because it is deepest     
seated in the mind among the eternal    
verities4 ,empirical science is apt to  
cloud the sight1 and1 by the very       
knowledge of functions and processes1 to
 bereave the student of the manly       
contemplation of the whole4 ,the savant 
becomes unpoetic4 ,but the best read    
naturalist who lends an entire and      
devout attention to truth1 will see that
 there remains much to learn of his     
relation to the world1 and that it is   
not to be learned by any addition or    
subtraction or other comparison of known
 quantities1 but is arrived at by       
untaught sallies of the spirit1 by a    
continual self-recovery1 and by entire  
humility4 ,he will perceive that there  

are far more excellent qualities in the 
student than preciseness and            
infallibility2 that a guess is often    
more fruitful than an indisputable      
affirmation1 and that a dream may let us
 deeper into the secret of nature than a
 hundred concerted experiments4  ,for1  
the problems to be solved are precisely 
those which the physiologist and the    
naturalist omit to state4 ,it is not so 
pertinent to man to know all the        
individuals of the animal kingdom1 as it
 is to know whence and whereto is this  
tyrannizing unity in his constitution1  
which evermore separates and classifies 
things1 endeavoring to reduce the most  
diverse to one form4 ,when ,i behold a  
rich landscape1 it is less to my purpose
 to recite correctly the order and      
superposition of the strata1 than to    
know why all thought of multitude is    
lost in a tranquil sense of unity4 ,i   
cannot greatly honor minuteness in      
details1 so long as there is no hint to 
explain the relation between things and 

thoughts2 no ray upon the metaphysics of
 conchology1 of botany1 of the arts1 to 
show the relation of the forms of       
flowers1 shells1 animals1 architecture1 
to the mind1 and build science upon     
ideas4 ,in a cabinet of natural history1
 we become sensible of a certain occult 
recognition and sympathy in regard to   
the most unwieldly and eccentric forms  
of beast1 fish1 and insect4 ,the        
,american who has been confined1 in his 
own country1 to the sight of buildings  
designed after foreign models1 is       
surprised on entering ,york ,minster or 
,st4 ,peter's at ,rome1 by the feeling  
that these structures are imitations    
also1--faint copies of an invisible     
archetype4 ,nor has science sufficient  
humanity1 so long as the naturalist     
overlooks that wonderful congruity which
 subsists between man and the world2 of 
which he is lord1 not because he is the 
most subtile inhabitant1 but because he 
is its head and heart1 and finds        
something of himself in every great and 

small thing1 in every mountain stratum1 
in every new law of color1 fact of      
astronomy1 or atmospheric influence     
which observation or analysis lay open4 
,a perception of this mystery inspires  
the muse of ,george ,herbert1 the       
beautiful psalmist of the seventeenth   
century4 ,the following lines are part  
of his little poem on ,man4             
,man is all symmetry1      ,full of     
proportions1 one limb to another1       
,and to all the world besides4          
,each part may call the farthest1       
brother2      ,for head with foot hath  
private amity1           ,and both with 
moons and tides4            ,nothing    
hath got so far      ,but man hath      
caught and kept it as his prey2         
,his eyes dismount the highest star2    
,he is in little all the sphere4        
,herbs gladly cure our flesh1 because   
that they           ,find their         
acquaintance there4            ,for us1 
the winds do blow1      ,the earth doth 
rest1 heaven move1 and fountains flow2  

,nothing we see1 but means our good1    
,as our delight1 or as our treasure2    
,the whole is either our cupboard of    
food1           ,or cabinet of pleasure4
            ,the stars have us to bed3  
,night draws the curtain2 which the sun 
withdraws4           ,music and light   
attend our head4           ,all things  
unto our flesh are kind1      ,in their 
descent and being2 to our mind1         
,in their ascent and cause4             
,more servants wait on man      ,than   
he'll take notice of4 ,in every path1   
,he treads down that which doth befriend
 him           ,when sickness makes him 
pale and wan4      ,oh mighty love6 ,man
 is one world1 and hath                 
,another to attend him4  ,the perception
 of this class of truths makes the      
attraction which draws men to science1  
but the end is lost sight of in         
attention to the means4 ,in view of this
 half-sight of science1 we accept the   
sentence of ,plato1 that1 poetry comes  
nearer to vital truth than history4     

,every surmise and vaticination of the  
mind is entitled to a certain respect1  
and we learn to prefer imperfect        
theories1 and sentences1 which contain  
glimpses of truth1 to digested systems  
which have no one valuable suggestion4  
,a wise writer will feel that the ends  
of study and composition are best       
answered by announcing undiscovered     
regions of thought1 and so              
communicating1 through hope1 new        
activity to the torpid spirit4  ,i shall
 therefore conclude this essay with some
 traditions of man and nature1 which a  
certain poet sang to me2 and which1 as  
they have always been in the world1 and 
perhaps reappear to every bard1 may be  
both history and prophecy4  ',the       
foundations of man are not in matter1   
but in spirit4 ,but the element of      
spirit is eternity4 ,to it1 therefore1  
the longest series of events1 the oldest
 chronologies are young and recent4 ,in 
the cycle of the universal man1 from    
whom the known individuals proceed1     

centuries are points1 and all history is
 but the epoch of one degradation4  ',we
 distrust and deny inwardly our sympathy
 with nature4 ,we own and disown our    
relation to it1 by turns4 ,we are1 like 
,nebuchadnezzar1 dethroned1 bereft of   
reason1 and eating grass like an ox4    
,but who can set limits to the remedial 
force of spirit8  ',a man is a god in   
ruins4 ,when men are innocent1 life     
shall be longer1 and shall pass into the
 immortal1 as gently as we awake from   
dreams4 ,now1 the world would be insane 
and rabid1 if these disorganizations    
should last for hundreds of years4 ,it  
is kept in check by death and infancy4  
,infancy is the perpetual ,messiah1     
which comes into the arms of fallen men1
 and pleads with them to return to      
paradise4  ',man is the dwarf of        
himself4 ,once he was permeated and     
dissolved by spirit4 ,he filled nature  
with his overflowing currents4 ,out from
 him sprang the sun and moon2 from man1 
the sun2 from woman1 the moon4 ,the laws

 of his mind1 the periods of his actions
 externized themselves into day and     
night1 into the year and the seasons4   
,but1 having made for himself this huge 
shell1 his waters retired2 he no longer 
fills the veins and veinlets2 he is     
shrunk to a drop4 ,he sees1 that the    
structure still fits him1 but fits him  
colossally4 ,say1 rather1 once it fitted
 him1 now it corresponds to him from far
 and on high4 ,he adores timidly his own
 work4 ,now is man the follower of the  
sun1 and woman the follower of the moon4
 ,yet sometimes he starts in his        
slumber1 and wonders at himself and his 
house1 and muses strangely at the       
resemblance betwixt him and it4 ,he     
perceives that if his law is still      
paramount1 if still he have elemental   
power1 if his word is sterling yet in   
nature1 it is not conscious power1 it is
 not inferior but superior to his will4 
,it is ,instinct4' ,thus my ,orphic poet
 sang4  ,at present1 man applies to     
nature but half his force4 ,he works on 

the world with his understanding alone4 
,he lives in it1 and masters it by a    
penny-wisdom2 and he that works most in 
it1 is but a half-man1 and whilst his   
arms are strong and his digestion good1 
his mind is imbruted1 and he is a       
selfish savage4 ,his relation to nature1
 his power over it1 is through the      
understanding2 as by manure2 the        
economic use of fire1 wind1 water1 and  
the mariner's needle2 steam1 coal1      
chemical agriculture2 the repairs of the
 human body by the dentist and the      
surgeon4 ,this is such a resumption of  
power1 as if a banished king should buy 
his territories inch by inch1 instead of
 vaulting at once into his throne4      
,meantime1 in the thick darkness1 there 
are not wanting gleams of a better      
light1--occasional examples of the      
action of man upon nature with his      
entire force1--with reason as well as   
understanding4 ,such examples are2 the  
traditions of miracles in the earliest  
antiquity of all nations2 the history of

 ,jesus ,christ2 the achievements of a  
principle1 as in religious and political
 revolutions1 and in the abolition of   
the ,slave-trade2 the miracles of       
enthusiasm1 as those reported of        
,swedenborg1 ,hohenlohe1 and the        
,shakers2 many obscure and yet contested
 facts1 now arranged under the name of  
,animal ,magnetism2 prayer2 eloquence2  
self-healing2 and the wisdom of         
children4 ,these are examples of        
,reason's momentary grasp of the        
sceptre2 the exertions of a power which 
exists not in time or space1 but an     
instantaneous in-streaming causing      
power4 ,the difference between the      
actual and the ideal force of man is    
happily figured by the schoolmen1 in    
saying1 that the knowledge of man is an 
evening knowledge1 vespertina cognitio1 
but that of ,god is a morning knowledge1
 matutina cognitio4  ,the problem of    
restoring to the world original and     
eternal beauty1 is solved by the        
redemption of the soul4 ,the ruin or the

 blank1 that we see when we look at     
nature1 is in our own eye4 ,the axis of 
vision is not coincident with the axis  
of things1 and so they appear not       
transparent but opake4 ,the reason why  
the world lacks unity1 and lies broken  
and in heaps1 is1 because man is        
disunited with himself4 ,he cannot be a 
naturalist1 until he satisfies all the  
demands of the spirit4 ,love is as much 
its demand1 as perception4 ,indeed1     
neither can be perfect without the      
other4 ,in the uttermost meaning of the 
words1 thought is devout1 and devotion  
is thought4 ,deep calls unto deep4 ,but 
in actual life1 the marriage is not     
celebrated4 ,there are innocent men who 
worship ,god after the tradition of     
their fathers1 but their sense of duty  
has not yet extended to the use of all  
their faculties4 ,and there are patient 
naturalists1 but they freeze their      
subject under the wintry light of the   
understanding4 ,is not prayer also a    
study of truth1--a sally of the soul    

into the unfound infinite8 ,no man ever 
prayed heartily1 without learning       
something4 ,but when a faithful thinker1
 resolute to detach every object from   
personal relations1 and see it in the   
light of thought1 shall1 at the same    
time1 kindle science with the fire of   
the holiest affections1 then will ,god  
go forth anew into the creation4  ,it   
will not need1 when the mind is prepared
 for study1 to search for objects4 ,the 
invariable mark of wisdom is to see the 
miraculous in the common4 ,what is a    
day8 ,what is a year8 ,what is summer8  
,what is woman8 ,what is a child8 ,what 
is sleep8 ,to our blindness1 these      
things seem unaffecting4 ,we make fables
 to hide the baldness of the fact and   
conform it1 as we say1 to the higher law
 of the mind4 ,but when the fact is seen
 under the light of an idea1 the gaudy  
fable fades and shrivels4 ,we behold the
 real higher law4 ,to the wise1         
therefore1 a fact is true poetry1 and   
the most beautiful of fables4 ,these    

wonders are brought to our own door4    
,you also are a man4 ,man and woman1 and
 their social life1 poverty1 labor1     
sleep1 fear1 fortune1 are known to you4 
,learn that none of these things is     
superficial1 but that each phenomenon   
has its roots in the faculties and      
affections of the mind4 ,whilst the     
abstract question occupies your         
intellect1 nature brings it in the      
concrete to be solved by your hands4 ,it
 were a wise inquiry for the closet1 to 
compare1 point by point1 especially at  
remarkable crises in life1 our daily    
history1 with the rise and progress of  
ideas in the mind4  ,so shall we come to
 look at the world with new eyes4 ,it   
shall answer the endless inquiry of the 
intellect1--,what is truth8 and of the  
affections1--,what is good8 by yielding 
itself passive to the educated ,will4   
,then shall come to pass what my poet   
said2 ',nature is not fixed but fluid4  
,spirit alters1 moulds1 makes it4 ,the  
immobility or bruteness of nature1 is   

the absence of spirit2 to pure spirit1  
it is fluid1 it is volatile1 it is      
obedient4 ,every spirit builds itself a 
house2 and beyond its house a world2 and
 beyond its world1 a heaven4 ,know then1
 that the world exists for you4 ,for you
 is the phenomenon perfect4 ,what we    
are1 that only can we see4 ,all that    
,adam had1 all that ,caesar could1 you  
have and can do4 ,adam called his house1
 heaven and earth2 ,caesar called his   
house1 ,rome2 you perhaps call yours1 a 
cobler's trade2 a hundred acres of      
ploughed land2 or a scholar's garret4   
,yet line for line and point for point1 
your dominion is as great as theirs1    
though without fine names4 ,build1      
therefore1 your own world4 ,as fast as  
you conform your life to the pure idea  
in your mind1 that will unfold its great
 proportions4 ,a correspondent          
revolution in things will attend the    
influx of the spirit4 ,so fast will     
disagreeable appearances1 swine1        
spiders1 snakes1 pests1 madhouses1      

prisons1 enemies1 vanish2 they are      
temporary and shall be no more seen4    
,the sordor and filths of nature1 the   
sun shall dry up1 and the wind exhale4  
,as when the summer comes from the      
south2 the snow-banks melt1 and the face
 of the earth becomes green before it1  
so shall the advancing spirit create its
 ornaments along its path1 and carry    
with it the beauty it visits1 and the   
song which enchants it2 it shall draw   
beautiful faces1 warm hearts1 wise      
discourse1 and heroic acts1 around its  
way1 until evil is no more seen4 ,the   
kingdom of man over nature1 which cometh
 not with observation1--a dominion such 
as now is beyond his dream of ,god1--he 
shall enter without more wonder than the
 blind man feels who is gradually       
restored to perfect sight4'