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  THE 
  FACT 
  OF 
  BEAUTY 
  

  

  man's 
  joyous 
  drawing 
  towards 
  the 
  beautiful, 
  when 
  we 
  trace 
  

   it 
  back 
  far 
  enough, 
  may 
  be 
  an 
  expression 
  of 
  the 
  same, 
  or 
  

   of 
  a 
  harmony 
  further 
  back 
  still. 
  

  

  11. 
  The 
  Significance 
  of 
  the 
  Pervasive 
  Beauty 
  of 
  Animate 
  

  

  Nature. 
  

  

  The 
  recognition 
  of 
  the 
  pervasiveness 
  of 
  beauty 
  in 
  the 
  realm 
  

   of 
  organisms 
  is 
  important. 
  First, 
  because 
  its 
  enjoyment 
  may 
  

   mean 
  much 
  to 
  man 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  salt 
  of 
  life. 
  And 
  though 
  

   its 
  enjoyment 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  brought 
  nearer 
  by 
  any 
  cold-blooded 
  

   assertions 
  on 
  the 
  subject, 
  man 
  is 
  susceptible 
  to 
  indirect 
  edu- 
  

   cation 
  in 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  beautiful 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  in 
  relation 
  

   to 
  the 
  true 
  and 
  the 
  good. 
  Various 
  influences 
  which 
  may 
  

   be 
  typified 
  by 
  Gilbert 
  White, 
  Wordsworth, 
  Ruskin, 
  Whit- 
  

   man, 
  and 
  Meredith 
  have 
  done 
  much 
  to 
  increase 
  appreciation. 
  

   Second, 
  to 
  those 
  who 
  agree 
  with 
  our 
  position 
  that 
  the 
  scien- 
  

   tific 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  realm 
  of 
  organisms 
  is 
  not 
  exhaustive, 
  it 
  

   will 
  not 
  seem 
  far-fetched 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  inclined 
  to 
  dwell 
  on 
  

   the 
  fact 
  of 
  beauty, 
  regarding 
  aesthetic 
  emotion 
  as 
  another 
  

   right-of-way 
  path 
  towards 
  reality. 
  It 
  is 
  thus 
  that 
  the 
  beauti- 
  

   ful 
  has 
  been 
  thought 
  of 
  by 
  many 
  philosophers, 
  such 
  as 
  

   Schiller 
  and 
  Schelling, 
  " 
  not 
  as 
  a 
  casual 
  and 
  fanciful 
  at- 
  

   tribute 
  of 
  certain 
  things 
  or 
  mental 
  states, 
  but 
  as 
  an 
  inde- 
  

   pendent 
  revelation 
  of 
  the 
  essence 
  of 
  reality 
  of 
  the 
  truly 
  

   real' 
  (Merz, 
  1914, 
  p. 
  25). 
  Their 
  suggestion 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  

   beautiful 
  in 
  Nature 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  key 
  to 
  her 
  deeper 
  significance. 
  

   As 
  Lotze 
  put 
  it, 
  " 
  It 
  was 
  of 
  high 
  value 
  to 
  look 
  upon 
  beauty, 
  

   not 
  as 
  a 
  stranger 
  in 
  the 
  world, 
  not 
  as 
  a 
  casual 
  aspect 
  afforded 
  

   by 
  some 
  phenomena 
  under 
  accidental 
  conditions, 
  but 
  as 
  the 
  

   fortunate 
  revelation 
  of 
  that 
  principle 
  which 
  permeates 
  all 
  

   reality 
  with 
  its 
  living 
  activity 
  ' 
  (quoted 
  by 
  Merz, 
  1914, 
  

   p. 
  25). 
  Third, 
  in 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  triad 
  of 
  human 
  ideals 
  

  

  