^ESTHETIC AND ETHICAL VALUE 15 



Nature-study has perhaps been the chief factor in the 

 culture development of the human race. At first man was 

 the fearful slave of nature, seeking a precarious existence, 

 struggling blindly with natural forces. Then he became 

 nature's pupil. By observation of the creatures about him 

 and by personal experience he learned to adapt himself better 

 to his environment. The more he learned the better fitted 

 he became for life, and the more his mind expanded. Simple 

 inventions of tools, the domestication of animals, and the 

 cultivation of plants soon made the slave the master, so that 

 to-day man takes advantage of his environment, utilizes the 

 resources of nature, and even directs her course very largely 

 for his own ends. 



As children of to-day personify, so primitive man attempted 

 to explain the wonderful phenomena of nature about him by 

 personifying the mysterious forces that so powerfully affected 

 his life. Thus mythology and religion had their origin. 

 The ideas awakened by, and the pleasures derived from, 

 natitte have had very much to do with the development of 

 poetry, music, painting, and sculpture. 



Our relations with nature are of long standing. The de- 

 pendence of our forefathers on the forest, the sea, the wild 

 animals, and the elements has been deeply impressed upon 

 the human race, so that even many generations of artificial 

 urban life have not entirely obliterated our nature instinct, — 

 the impulse that leads us back to nature. In many this 

 instinct is very pronounced and needs but little encourage- 

 ment. In others it is less developed and may entirely disap- 

 pear from persistent disuse. It should, however, be developed 

 into the habit of active and discriminating observation and 

 the correct interpretation of nature. 



