[From Dr. Percival’s Moral and Literary Dissertations.]
That sensibility to beauty, which, when cultivated and improved, we term
taste, is universally diffused through the human species; and it is most
uniform with respect to those objects, which, being out of our power,
are not liable to variation, from accident, caprice, or fashion. The
verdant lawn, the shady grove, the variegated landscape, the boundless
ocean, and the starry firmament, are contemplated with pleasure by every
attentive beholder. But the emotions of different spectators, though
similar in kind, differ widely in degree: and to relish, with full
delight, the enchanting scenes of nature, the mind must be uncorrupted
by avarice, sensuality, or ambition; quick in her sensibilities;
elevated in her sentiments; and devout in her affections. He who
possesses such exalted powers of perception and enjoyment, may almost
say, with the poet--
“I care not, Fortune, what you me deny;
You cannot rob me of free Nature’s grace;
You cannot shut the windows of the sky,
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace
The woods and lawns, by living streams, at eve:
Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace,
And I their toys to the great children leave:
Of fancy, reason, virtue, nought can me bereave!”
Perhaps such ardent enthusiasm may not be compatible with the necessary
toils and active offices which Providence has assigned to the generality
of men. But there are none to whom some portion of it may not prove
advantageous; and if it were cherished by each individual in that degree
which is consistent with the indispensable duties of his station, the
felicity of human life would be considerably augmented. From this source
the refined and vivid pleasures of the imagination are almost entirely
derived: and the elegant arts owe their choicest beauties to a taste for
the contemplation of nature. Painting and sculpture are express
imitations of visible objects; and where would be the charms of poetry,
if divested of the imagery and embellishments which she borrows from
rural scenes? Painters, statuaries, and poets, therefore, are always
ambitious to acknowledge themselves the pupils of nature; and, as their
skill increases, they grow more and more delighted with every view of
the animal and vegetable world. But the pleasure resulting from
admiration is transient; and to cultivate taste without regard to its
influence on the passions and affections, “is to rear a tree for its
blossoms which is capable of yielding the richest and most valuable
fruit.” Physical and moral beauty bear so intimate a relation to each
other, that they may be considered as different gradations in the scale
of excellence; and the knowledge and relish of the former should be
deemed only a step to the nobler and more permanent enjoyments of the
latter.
Whoever has visited the Leasowes, in Warwickshire, must have felt the
force and propriety of an inscription which meets the eye at the
entrance into these delightful grounds:--
“Would you, then, taste the tranquil scene?
Be sure your bosom be serene;
Devoid of hate, devoid of strife,
Devoid of all that poisons life:
And much it ’vails you, in this place
To graft the love of human race.”
Now, such scenes contribute powerfully to inspire that serenity which is
necessary to enjoy and to heighten their beauties. By a sweet contagion
the soul catches the harmony which she contemplates; and the frame
within assimilates itself to that which is without. For
“------Who can forbear to smile with nature?
Can the strong passions in the bosom roll
While every gale is peace, and every grove
Is melody?”
In this state of composure we become susceptible of virtuous impressions
from almost every surrounding object: an equal and extensive benevolence
is called forth into exertion; and having felt a common interest in the
gratifications of inferior beings, we shall be no longer indifferent to
their sufferings, or become wantonly instrumental in producing them.
It seems to be the intention of Providence that the lower order of
animals should be subservient to the comfort, convenience, and
sustenance of man. But his right of dominion extends no further; and if
this right be exercised with mildness, humanity, and justice, the
subjects of his power will be no less benefited than himself; for
various species of living creatures are annually multiplied by human
art, improved in their perceptive powers by human culture, and
plentifully fed by human industry. The relation, therefore, is
reciprocal between such animals and man; and he may supply his own wants
by the use of their labour, the produce of their bodies, and even the
sacrifice of their lives; whilst he co-operates with all-gracious Heaven
in promoting happiness, the great end of existence.
But though it be true that partial evil, with respect to different
orders of sensitive beings, may be universal good, and that it is a wise
and benevolent institution of nature, to make destruction itself, within
certain limitations, the cause of an increase of life and enjoyment; yet
a generous person will extend his compassionate regards to every
individual that suffers for his sake; and whilst he sighs
“Even for the kid, or lamb, that pours its life
Beneath the bloody knife,”
he will naturally be solicitous to mitigate pain, both in duration and
degree, by the gentlest mode of inflicting it.
I am inclined to believe, however, that this sense of humanity would
soon be obliterated, and that the heart would grow callous to every soft
impression, were it not for the benignant influence of the smiling face
of nature. The Count do Lauzun, when imprisoned by Louis XIV. in the
Castle of Pignerol, amused himself, during a long period of time, with
catching flies, and delivering them to be devoured by a rapacious
spider. Such an entertainment was equally singular and cruel, and
inconsistent, I believe, with his former character and subsequent turn
of mind. But his cell had no window, and received only a glimmering
light from an aperture in the roof. In less unfavourable circumstances,
may we not presume that, instead of sporting with misery, he would have
released the agonized flies, and bid them enjoy that freedom of which he
himself was bereaved?
But the taste for natural beauty is subservient to higher purposes than
these which have been enumerated; and the cultivation of it not only
refines and humanizes, but dignifies and exalts the affections. It
elevates them to the admiration and love of that Being who is the Author
of all that is fair, sublime, and good in the creation. Scepticism and
irreligion are hardly compatible with the sensibility of heart which
arises from a just and lively relish of the wisdom, harmony, and order
subsisting in the world around us; and emotions of piety must spring up
spontaneously in the bosom that is in unison with all animated nature.
Actuated by this divine inspiration, man finds a fane in every grove;
and, glowing with devout fervour, he joins his song to the universal
chorus, or muses the praise of the Almighty in more expressive silence.
Thus they
“Whom nature’s works can charm, with God himself
Hold converse; grow familiar, day by day,
With his conceptions; act upon his plan,
And form to his the relish of their souls.”
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