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 of col- 

 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." 



