The love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature. It
is a moral quality. The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation
, but the presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart. In
proportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be the degree
in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained. Natural beauty
is an all-pervading presence. The universe is its temple. It unfolds into
the numberless flowers of spring. It waves in the branches of trees and
the green blades of grass. It haunts the depths of the earth and the sea
. It gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone. And not
only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the
stars, the rising and the setting sun---all overflow with beauty. This
beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings
, that it is painful to think of the multitude of people living in the
midst of it and yet remaining almost blind to it. All persons should seek
to become acquainted with the beauty in nature. There is not a worm we
tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn
winds, but calls for our study and admiration. The power to appreciated
beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness---it enlarges our
moral nature, too. Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares
. Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the
mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish
. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will
pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty
of goodness.