The inequalities of the earth's surface are like the rugosities of the
human brain: the depths of the one contain the richest and most
inexhaustible treasures of mineral wealth, as the wrinkles of the other
collect the stores of mental lore. As the surface of the brain becomes
less marked and rugged, the strength and scope of the mind vanish, and
approach the standard of the lower animals; and likewise, as the elevated
lands of the earth shrink in form, and sink into the level of the plain,
so the characters of the races who inhabit them lose force and elevation.
Sometimes the minds of men are the reflections of the beauties and
sublimities of nature. Sometimes men become degraded, and nature then does
not inspire.