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.