30 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE CHAP. 
varied hues. Flowers, insects, and birds are 
the organisms most generally ornamented in 
this way ; and their symmetry of form, their 
variety of structure, and the lavish abun- 
dance with which they clothe and enliven 
the earth, cause them to be objects of 
universal admiration. The relation of this 
wealth of colour to our mental and moral 
nature is indisputable. The child and the 
savage alike admire the gay tints of flowers, 
birds, and insects; while to many of us their 
contemplation brings a solace and enjoyment 
which is both intellectually and morally 
beneficial. It can then hardly excite surprise 
that this relation was long thought to afford a 
sufficient explanation of the phenomena ofcol- 
our in nature; and although the fact that — 
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air, 
might seem to throw some doubt on the suffi- 
ciency of the explanation, the answer was 
easy, — that in the progress of discovery man 
would, sooner or later, find out and enjoy 
every beauty that the hidden recesses of the 
earth have in store for him.” 
