This beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that it is painful to think of the multitude of people living in the midst of it and yet remaining almost blind to it.
All persons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature. There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds, but calls for our study and admiration. The power to appreciated beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness-it enlarges our moral nature, too. Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.
这样的美是如此珍贵,与我们最温柔,最高尚的情愫是如此相宜。然而,想到很多人置身于美之中,却几乎对它熟视无睹,真是令人痛心不已。
所有的人都应该去认识大自然之美。没有一条我们踩过的小虫,没有一片在秋风拂掠之际飞舞的树叶不值得我们研究与赞赏。欣赏美的能力不仅增加了我们快乐的来源,也加强了我们德性的修养。美使我们不安的心平静下来,也驱散了我们的忧虑。到田野或森林去,在夏日的海边或山上呆上一天,那么你所有微不足道的困惑与焦虑都会烟消云散。倾听悦耳的音乐,你那愚蠢的恐惧与狭隘的嫉妒都会过去。世界之美将有助于我们找到为善之美。