Theloveofbeautyisanessentialpartofallhealthyhumannature. Itisamoralquality. Theabsenceofitisnotanassuredgroundofcondemnation, butthepresenceofitisaninvariablesignofgoodnessofheart. Inproportiontothedegreeinwhichitisfeltwillprobablybethedegreeinwhichnoblenessandbeautyofcharacterwillbeattained.

Naturalbeautyisanall-pervadingpresence. Theuniverseisitstemple. Itunfoldsintothenumberlessflowersofspring. Itwavesinthebranchesoftreesandthegreenbladesofgrass. Ithauntsthedepthsoftheearthandthesea. Itgleamsfromthehuesoftheshellandthepreciousstone. Andnotonlytheseminuteobjectsbuttheoceans, themountains, theclouds, thestars, therisingandthesettingsun---alloverflowwithbeauty. Thisbeautyissoprecious, andsocongenialtoourtenderestandnoblestfeelings, thatitispainfultothinkofthemultitudeofpeoplelivinginthemidstofitandyetremainingalmostblindtoit.

Allpersonsshouldseektobecomeacquaintedwiththebeautyinnature. Thereisnotawormwetreadupon, noraleafthatdancesmerrilyasitfallsbeforetheautumnwinds, butcallsforourstudyandadmiration. Thepowertoappreciatedbeautynotmerelyincreasesoursourcesofhappiness---itenlargesourmoralnature, too. Beautycalmsourrestlessnessanddispelsourcares. Gointothefieldsorthewoods, spendasummerdaybytheseaorthemountains, andallyourlittleperplexitiesandanxietieswillvanish. Listentosweetmusic, andyourfoolishfearsandpettyjealousieswillpassaway. Thebeautyoftheworldhelpsustoseekandfindthebeautyofgoodness.