University of Virginia Library

“He who inclines to write, (says a celebrated German,) should enjoy undisturbed quietude. A person disposed to cultivate philosophy, or to court the muse, should be free from all embarrassment;—should be at liberty to follow the impulses of his own mind, to change his situation when and where he pleases, and to obey the dictates of his taste and genius without restraint:—and he should watch for those propitious moments, when the mind pours forth its ideas, and the heart warms with the subject. Revived by cheerful prospects, and animated by noble sentiments, the soul, urged by contempt of difficulties, makes a powerful effort, and fine thoughts, in suitable expressions, flow spontaneously from the pen.”

It is a passion common to our species, to be delighted with every thing Sublime and Beautiful in Nature; as is thus observed by the amiable Cowper:

And of himself he says:

Again:

“Delightful scenes, (says Mr. Addison,) whether in Nature, Painting, or Poetry, have a kindly influence over the body, and not only serve to clear and brighten the imagination, but are able to disperse grief and melancholy, and to set the animal spirits in agreeable emotions.”

“At this my heart trembleth, and is moved out of his place. Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth. He directeth under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.”

What a condescending and benignant expression is the following communication to rebellious, unworthy man!—“And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you, for perpetual generations. I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, and the waters shall no more become a flood, to destroy all the earth.”

In contemplating this varied and wondrous creation, how many objects of interest and delight open to the view! Grandeur looks abroad from his lofty habitations, dwelling alone; while Beauty, walking with the Graces, smiles upon us from her lonely mansions. These fertile sources of pleasure, which so elevate the mind, or tranquillize the heart, are eminent emanations from the Invisible; and it is this glowing exhibition of the character of Divinity, which gives fire to admiration, rapture to devotion, and argument to theological science. Surrounded by such luminous displays of benign Wisdom, it seems as if the imposing idea of infinite perfection, were ready to burst from the spectator, as it were to gain relief only by figurative exclamation. Conscience, here, gains her first proud triumph; Reason, here, is first led, in accordance with internal dictate, to become a votary to ethic studies; and the human heart is here, like Felix, almost persuaded to believe. A single spark, from the divine altar, might perfect the illumination. If there be any thing which is almost religion, without its reality; what is it but an admiration of the Supreme, in the symbols of sublime beauty and ineffable harmony, exhibited on the face of the visible creation?

It seems to be the decided opinion of the moderns who have searched into the labyrinths of the human mind, that all our primary notions are derived through the avenues of the senses; there being no other inlet of communication, except by Inspiration. In which latter case, we perceive no image, but after the manner of some elementary similitude. We feel certain powerful impressions of a moral nature, which appertain to happiness or misery, in view of certain external qualities, though they never present any figure to the mind: such as wisdom, benevolence, design; or properties of moral turpitude; and, as we can have no idea of any thing which has never been exhibited to the sensitive faculties, the antiquated theory of innate knowledge, or intuitive perception, is of course unphilosophical.

Ideas are said to be images reflected on the mind, as on the back ground of a camera-obscura; but they have this additional advantage: Having once been impressed, they are retained in the magazines of memory, at the call of every associate emergency. And it is wonderful to think, what a countless variety of ideas the mind is capable of receiving, without obliterating or confusing previous impressions! If amidst the bustle and tumults of life, they get jostled and derang'd; yet, as in the glassy lake when its fluctuations have subsided, they return upon the view in vivid perspective. Hence, Genius, ruminating over his accumulated materials, appropriates to his use, as conception shall suggest, imagination select, and ingenuity adapt and adorn; and a work which should contain new, and useful, and beautiful ideas and combinations, though it exhibit no other knowledge than that which is already within the precincts of human discovery, were worthy of immortality.

“Of all the tracks of conveyance, which God has been pleased to open between the mind of man, and the theatre by which he is surrounded; there is none by which he so multiplies his acquaintance with the rich and varied creation, on every side, as by the organ of the eye. It is this which gives him his loftiest command over the scenery of nature. It is this which enables him, by the act of a simple moment, to send an exploring look over the surface of an ample territory, to crowd his mind with the whole assemblage of its objects, and to fill his vision with those countless hues which adorn creation.”

Upon a like subject, Pope has given us an admirably fine description, in the following elegant and picturesque language:—

It is said this mountain is so high, that it catches the beams of the morning, twenty minutes earlier, and retains them twenty minutes later, than the surrounding Alps. “Crowned with eternal ice,” it may be seen, purpled with eastern light, and crimsoned with western glory, from an immense distance; while mist and obscurity rest on the mountains below.”