I had said that a knowledge of nature is not absolutely necessary to enjoy it, but that it increases the enjoyment.
Where these words come from
- 95% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
- Letter to Varnhagen, April 28, 1841; Letters of Alexander von Humboldt to Varnhagen von Ense, translated by Friedrich Kapp (1860), letter 54, p. 104; Complete public-domain sentence in Kapp’s English translation. Entire letter 54 read, including his discussion of scientific description and style in
- Letter to Varnhagen, April 28, 1841; Letters of Alexander von Humboldt to Varnhagen von Ense, translated by Friedrich Kapp (1860), letter 54, p. 104
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See allThus, too, descriptions of nature affect us more or less powerfully, in proportion as they harmonize with the condition of our own feelings. For the physical world is reflected with truth and animation on the inner susceptible world of the mind.
Alexander von HumboldtWhatever marks the character of a landscape: the profile of mountains, which in the far and hazy distance bound the horizon; the deep gloom of pine forests; the mountain torrent, which rushes headlong to its fall through overhanging cliffs: all stand alike in an ancient and mysterious communion with the spiritual life of man.Alexander von HumboldtVegetable forms, on the other hand, act on the imagination by their enduring magnitude—for here massive size is indicative of age, and in the vegetable kingdom alone are age and the manifestation of an ever-renewed vigour linked together.Alexander von HumboldtLike a limitless expanse of waters, the Steppe fills the mind with a sense of the infinite, and the soul, freed from the sensuous impressions of space, expands with spiritual emotions of a higher order.Alexander von HumboldtThe desire which we feel to behold certain objects is not excited solely by their grandeur, their beauty, or their importance. In each individual this desire is interwoven with pleasing impressions of youth, with early predilections for particular pursuits, with the inclination for travelling, and the love of an active life.Alexander von HumboldtHe, therefore, who amid the discordant strife of nations, would seek intellectual repose, turns with delight to contemplate the silent life of plants, and to study the hidden forces of nature in her sacred sanctuaries; or yielding to that inherent impulse, which for thousands of years has glowed in the breast of man, directs his mind, by a mysterious presentiment of his destiny, towards the celestial orbs, which, in undisturbed harmony, pursue their ancient and eternal course.Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von HumboldtWhatever marks the character of a landscape: the profile of mountains, which in the far and hazy distance bound the horizon; the deep gloom of pine forests; the mountain torrent, which rushes headlong to its fall through overhanging cliffs: all stand alike in an ancient and mysterious communion with the spiritual life of man.Alexander von HumboldtVegetable forms, on the other hand, act on the imagination by their enduring magnitude—for here massive size is indicative of age, and in the vegetable kingdom alone are age and the manifestation of an ever-renewed vigour linked together.Alexander von HumboldtLike a limitless expanse of waters, the Steppe fills the mind with a sense of the infinite, and the soul, freed from the sensuous impressions of space, expands with spiritual emotions of a higher order.Alexander von HumboldtThe desire which we feel to behold certain objects is not excited solely by their grandeur, their beauty, or their importance. In each individual this desire is interwoven with pleasing impressions of youth, with early predilections for particular pursuits, with the inclination for travelling, and the love of an active life.Alexander von HumboldtHe, therefore, who amid the discordant strife of nations, would seek intellectual repose, turns with delight to contemplate the silent life of plants, and to study the hidden forces of nature in her sacred sanctuaries; or yielding to that inherent impulse, which for thousands of years has glowed in the breast of man, directs his mind, by a mysterious presentiment of his destiny, towards the celestial orbs, which, in undisturbed harmony, pursue their ancient and eternal course.Alexander von HumboldtMore inspiration
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