INTRODUCTION xvii 



joy we feel is produced by the satisfaction our soul 

 feels in coming into touch and harmony with this 

 soul of Nature. Our soul is recognising samenesses 

 between what is in it and what is in the soul of 

 Nature, and feels joy in the recognition. 



And the instinct of fellowship with our kind 

 impels us to communicate to others what we our- 

 selves have felt. We want to tell others what we 

 have seen and what we have experienced. 



We long, too, to share the joy which others also 

 must have felt in contemplating Nature. We want 

 especially to know and feel what those with far more 

 sensitive souls than our own — ^the great poets, 

 painters, and musicians — ^have felt. So we com- 

 municate our feelings to others ; and we communi- 

 cate with others, either personally or through their 

 books or pictures or music, so that we may find out 

 from them what more to look for, and may know 

 better how to look for it. By so doing, our souls 

 become more sensitive to the impressions of Nature, 

 and we are better able to express those impressions. 

 Our power of vision increases. Our soul's eye 

 acquires a keener insight and sees deeper into the soul 

 of Nature. We are able to enter more into the 

 spirit of Nature, and the spirit of Nature is able to 

 enter more into us. We arrive at a completer 

 understanding between ourselves and Nature, are 

 more in harmony with her, and consequently see 

 more Beauty. 



We see, indeed, what Nature really is. We 

 see the reality behind the appearance — the content 

 within the outward form. We are not for the 

 moment concerned with the cause but with the 



