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of all we see around us, especially from: 

 objects, whether animate or inanimate, of 

 acknowledged beauty. I will first observe* 

 what every one must have remarked, that 

 nature has made use of black in a very 

 small proportion : almost all the objects we 

 see are adorned with colours, or with white, 

 which is the union of them all ; but she 

 avoids black, which is their extinction. In 

 vegetation, she has interspersed upon the 

 general cloathing of green, the ornaments 

 of flowers, and fruit; and those she has de- 

 corated with every delightful variety and 

 combination of colours: less often, however, 

 with absolute black, though from the ac- 

 companiment of leaves, a certain propor- 

 tion of black has a very rich effect ; as we 

 see in the deep purple of grapes, and in 

 other berries either black, or nearly ap- 

 proaching to black. In flowers, black is 

 at least as rare ; aiid, upon the whole, I 

 think I am fully justified in saying, that 

 the colour of the Europeans, has a much 

 stronger relation to the colours which pre- 

 vail in the most avowedly beautiful ob- 



