8 



civilized life, press upon the hearts of men, they can find 

 no relief so easily attained, and, at the same time, so re- 

 freshing and salutary, as the contemplation of those lovely 

 things, which our common mother, for the common use 

 and entertainment of her children, hangs sparkling with 

 dew-drops upon every tree, or flings with bounteous pro- 

 fusion over her luxuriant bosom. 



Whoever enters upon the attentive examination of these 

 objects, in the spirit of rational philosophy, will be certain 

 to attain a reward at least commensurate with his exer- 

 tions ; for if it acquire him no other possession, it will at 

 least bring him that priceless one of an innocent heart 

 and a gentle mind ; and a student of nature, who should 

 become sensual and debased, would present as strange an 

 anomaly as an undevout astronomer. 



The human mind itself is indeed deeply imbued with 

 the spirit of love for natural beauty. Perhaps there is no 

 one who has so entirely lost the impress originally stamped 

 by the hand of God upon the soul of man, — no one who 

 is so thoroughly " of the earth, earthy," as to have lost 

 all conscious enjoyment of the glorious creation around 

 him, crowned by every revolving season with its own 

 peculiar magnificence and beauty. Of the tendency of 

 many of the great pursuits of life, when they are modi- 

 fied by no controlling influence, to render us sordid and 

 selfish, there can exist no doubt. The very refinements 

 of existence corrupt as well as polish. The human char- 

 acter insensibly dwindles amidst the pursuits of civilized 

 society. The range of our feelings becomes contracted 

 under the weight of the conventionalisms of life. The 

 sphere of thought itself grows narrower in the plodding 

 routine of daily occupations. Confined amongst the ways 

 and thoroughfares of populous existence, and man be- 

 comes almost necessarily assimilated, in thought and 



