in the darkness of night, says a German
poet, that immortality is revealed to man;
the light of the sun dazzles the eyes, which
imagine they see.
poet, that immortality is revealed to man;
the light of the sun dazzles the eyes, which
imagine they see.
Madame de Stael - Germany
They
have a philosophical sincerity singularly
adapted to the inquiry after Truth, but not
at all to the art of putting her into action.
The spirit of sect aspires only to convince;
that of party wishes to rally men round it.
The former disputes about ideas, the latter
wishes for power over men. There is dis-
cipline in the party spirit, and anarchy in
the sectarian spirit. Authority, of whatever
kind it may be, has hardly any thing to fear
from the spirit of, sectarism; we satisfy it by
leaving a great latitude for thought at its dis-
posal. But the spirit of party is not so easily
contented, and does not confine itself to
these intellectual contests, in which every
individual may create an empire for himself
without expelling one present possessor.
In France, they are much more suscep-
tible of the party spirit than of the sectarian:
every one there too well understands the
reality of life, not to turn his wishes into
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? 360 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
actions, and his thoughts into practice. But
perhaps they are too foreign from the secta-
rian spirit: they do not sufficiently hold to
abstract ideas, to have any warmth in de-
fending them; besides, they do not choose
to be bound by any sort of opinions, for the
purpose of advancing the more freely in the
face of all circumstances. There is more
good faith in the spirit of sect than in the
party spirit; the Germans, therefore, are
naturally more fitted for one than the other.
We must distinguish three sorts of reli-
gious and philosophical sects in Germany;
first, the different Christian communities
which have existed (particularly at the epoch
of the Reformation), when all writings have
been directed towards theological questions;
secondly, the secret associations; and lastly,
the adepts of some particular systems, of
which one man is the chief. We mubt range
the Anabaptists and the Moravians in the
first class; in the second, that most ancient
of secret associations, the Free Masons; and
in the third, the different sorts of the Illu-
minated. "'? .
The Anabaptists were rather a revolu-
tionary than a religious sect; and as they
owed their existence to political passions,
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 361
and not to opinions, they passed away with
circumstances. The Moravians, entirely
strangers to the interests of this world, are,
as I have said, a Christian community of the
greatest purity. The Quakers carry into the
midst of society the principles of the Mora-
vians: the Moravians withdraw from the
world, to be the more sure of remaining
faithful to their principles.
Free-masonry is an institution much more
serious in Scotland and in Germany than in
France. It has existed in all countries; but
it nevertheless appears, that it was from
Germany especially that this association took
its origin; that it was afterwards transported
to England by the Anglo-Saxons, and re-
newed at the death of Charles the First by
the partisans of the Restoration, who assem-
bled somewhere near St. Paul's Church for
the purpose of recalling Charles the Second
to the throne. It is also believed that the Free
Masons, especially in Scotland, are, in some
manner,connected with theorderof Templars.
Lessing has written a dialogue upon Free-
masonry, in which his luminous genius is very
remarkable. He believes that this associa-
tion has for its object the union of men, in
spite of the barriers of society; for if, in
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? 362 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
certain respects, the social state forms a bond
of connexion between men, by subjecting
them to the empire of the laws, it separates
them by the differences of rank and govern-
ment: this sort of brotherhood, the true
image of the golden age, has been mingled
with many other ideas equally good and
moral in Free-masonry. However, we cannot
dissemble that there is something in the na-
ture of secret associations which leads the
mind to independence; but these associations
are very favourable to the developement of
knowledge for every thing which men do by
themselves, and spontaneously gives their
judgment more strength and more compre-
hensiveness. It is also possible that the prin-
ciples of democratical equality ma}r be pro-
pagated by this species of institution, which
exhibits mankind according to their real
value, and not according to their several
ranks in the world. Secret associations teach
us what is the power of number and of
union, while insulated citizens are, if we
may use the expression, abstract beings with
relation to each other. In this point of view
these associations may have a great influence
in the state; but it is, nevertheless, just to
acknowledge, that Free-masonry, in gene-
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARI5M. 563
ral, is only occupied with religious and phi-
losophical interests: its members are di-
vided into two classes, the Philosophical
Free-masonry, and the Hermetic or Egyptian
Free-masonry. The first has for its object
the internal church, or the developement of
the spirituality of the soul; the second is con-
nected with the sciences--with those sci-
ences which are employed upon the secrets
of nature. The Rosicrucian brotherhood,
among others, is one of the degrees of
Free-masonry, and this brotherhood ori-
ginally consisted of Alchymists. At all times,
and in every country, secret association*
have existed, whose members have aimed at
mutually strengthening each other in their
belief of the soul's spirituality. The mys-
teries of Eleusis among the Pagans, the sect
of the Essenes among the Hebrews, were
founded upon this doctrine, which they did
not choose to profane by exposing it to the
ridicule of the vulgar. It is nearly thirty
years since there was an assembly of Free-
masons, presided over by the Duke of
Brunswick, at Wilhelms-Bad. This assembly
had for its object the reform of the Free
Masons in Germany; and it appears, that
tibe opinions of the Mystics in general, and
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? 364 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
those of St. Martin in particular, had much
influence over this society. Political institu-
tions, social relations, and often even those
of our family, comprehend only the exterior
of life. It is then natural, that at all times
men should have sought some intimate man-
ner of knowing and understanding each
other, and also those whose characters have
any depth, believe they are adepts, and en-
deavour to distinguish themselves, by some
signs, from ihe rest of mankind. Secret as-
sociations degenerate with time, but their
principle is almost always an enthusiastic
feeling restrained by society.
There are three classes of the Illuminated,
the Mystical, the Visionary, and the Illumi-
nated: the first class, that of which Jacob
Boehmen, and in the last age Paschal and
St. Martin, might be considered as the
chiefs, is united by many ties to that internal
church which is the sanctuary of re-union
for all religious philosophers: these illumi-
nated are only occupied with religion and
with nature, interpreted by the doctrines of
religion. The Visionary Illuminated, at the
head of whom we must place the Swedish
Swedenborg, believe, that, by the power of
the will, they can make the dead appear, and
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 365
work other miracles. The late King of
Prussia, Frederick-William, has been led into
error by the credulity of these men, or by
their artifices, which had the appearance of
credulity. The Ideal Illuminated look down
upon these visionaries as empirics; they
despise their pretended prodigies, and think
that the wonderful sentiments of the soul
belong to them only in an especial manner:--
in a word, men who have had no other object
than that of securing the chief authority in
all states, and of getting places for them-
selves, have taken the name of the Illumi-
nated. Their chief was a Bavarian, Weiss-
haupt, a man of superior understanding,
and who had thoroughly felt the power that
we may acquire, by uniting the scattered
strength of individuals, and by directing
them all to the same object. The possession
of a secret, whatever it may be, flatters the
self-love of men; and when they are told
that they are something that their equals are
not, they always gain a command over them.
Self-love is hurt by resembling the multitude;
and, from the moment that we choose to
assume public or private marks of distinc-
tion, we are sure to set in motion the fancy
of vanity, which is the most active of all
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? 366 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
fancies. The political Illuminated have only
borrowed from the others some signs of re-
cognition; but interests, and not opinions,
are their rallying points: their object, it is
true, was to reform the social order upon
new principles; but while they waited the
accomplishment of this great work, their first
aim was to seize upon public offices. Such
a sect has adepts enough in every country,
who initiate themselves into its secrets. In
Germany, however, perhaps this sect is the
only one which has been founded upon a po-
litical combination; all the others have taken
their rise from some sort of enthusiasm, and
have only had for their object the inquiry
after truth. Amongst these men who en-
deavour to penetrate the secrets of nature,
we must reckon the Magnetizers, the Alchy-
mists, &c. It is probable that there is much
folly in these pretended discoveries, but what
can we find alarming in them? If we come
to the detection of that which is called mar-
vellous in physical phenomena, we shall
have reason to think there are moments
when Nature appears a machine which is
constantly moved by the same springs, and
it is then that her inflexible regularity alarms
us; but when we fancy we occasionally see
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 367
in her something voluntary, like thought, a
confused hope seizes upon the soul, and
steals us away from the fixed regard of
necessity.
At the bottom of all these attempts, and
of all these scientific and philosophical sys-
tems, there is always a very marked bias
towards the spirituality of the soul. Those
who wish to divine the secrets of nature, are
entirely opposed to the materialists; for it is
always in thought that they seek the solu-
tion of the enigma of the physical world.
Doubtless, such a movement in the mind
may lead to great errors, but it is so with
every thing animated--as soon as there is
lift there is danger. Individual efforts would
end by being interdicted, if we were to sub-
ject ourselves to that method which aims at
regulating the movements of the mind, as
discipline commands those of the body. The
difficulty then consists in directing the fa-
culties without restraining them, and we
should wish that it was possible to adapt to
the imagination of men, the art yet unknown
of still rising on wings, and of directing our
flight in the air.
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? 368 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM,
CHAPTER IX.
Of the Contemplation of Nature.
In speaking of the influence of the new
philosophy upon the sciences, I have already
made mention of some of the new principles
adopted in Germany, relative to the study
of nature. But as religion and enthusiasm
have a great share in the contemplation of
the universe, I shall point out, in a general
manner, the political and religious views
that we may collect upon this point in the
writings of the Germans. Many naturalists,
guided by a pious feeling, have thought it
their duty to limit themselves to the exa-
mination of final causes. They have endea-
voured to prove that every thing in the
world tends to the support and the physical
well-being of individuals and of classes. It
appears to me that we may make very
strong objections to this system. Without
doubt it is easy to see, that, in the order of
things, the means are admirably adapted to
their ends. But in this universal concatena-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 369
tion, where are those causes bounded*
which are effects, and those effects which
are causes? If we choose to refer every
thing to the preservation of man, we shall
find it difficult to conceive what he has in
common with the majority of beings: be-
sides, it is to attach too much value to ma-
terial existence, to assign that as the ulti-
mate object of creation* Those who, not-
withstanding the great crowd of particular
misfortunes, attribute a certain sort of good-
ness to Nature, consider her as a merchant,
who, making speculations on a large scale,
balances small losses by greater advantages.
This system is not suitable even to the go-
vernments of men; and scrupulous writers
in political economy have opposed it. What
then will be the case, if we consider the in-
tentions of the Deity? A man, regarded in
a religious light, is as much as the human
race; and from the moment that we have
conceived the idea of an immortal soul, we
have no right to decide what is the degree
of importance which an individual holds in
his relation to the whole body. Every in-
telligent being is of an infinite value, be-
cause his soul is eternal. It is then in
the most elevated point of view that the
VOL. III. B B
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? 370 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
German philosophers have considered the
universe. There are those who believe
they see in every thing two principles, that
of good and that of evil, continually op-
posing each other; and whether we attribute
this contest to an infernal power, or whe-
ther, according to a simpler thought, the
natural world may be the image of the good
and bad propensities of man, it is true that
the universe always offers to our observation
two faces, which are absolutely contrary to
each other. There is, we cannot deny it, a
terrible side in nature as well as in the
human heart, and we feel there a dreadful
power of anger. However good may be
the intention of the partisans of optimism,
more depth is apparent, I think, in those
who do not deny evil, but who acknow-
ledge the connexion of this evil with the
liberty of man, with the immortality which
he may deserve by the right use of that
liberty. The mystical writers, of whom I
have spoken in the preceding chapter, see
in man the abridgment of the world, and in
the world, the emblem of the doctrines of
Christianity. Nature seems to them the cor-
poreal image of the Deity, and they are
continually plunging further. into the pro-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 371
found signification of things and beings.
Amongst the German writers, who have been
employed upon the contemplation of nature
under a religious point of view, there are two
who merit particular attention : Novalis as a
poet, and Schubert as a naturalist. Novalis,
who was a man of noble birth, was initiated
from his youth in the studies of every kind,
which the new school has developed in
Germany; but his pious soul has given a
great character of simplicity to^his poems.
He died at the age of twenty-six; and, when
he was no more, the religious hymns, which
he bad composed, acquired a striking cele-
brity in Germany. This young man's father
is a Moravian; and, some time after the
death of his son, he went to visit a commu-
nity of that persuasion, and heard his son's
'hymns sung in their church; the Moravians
having chosen them for their own edification,
without knowing the author of them.
^Amongst the works of Novalis, some
Hymns to Night are distinguished, which
very forcibly depict the train of recollections
which it awakens in the mind. The blaze
of day may agree with the joyous doctrines
of Paganism; but the starry heaven seems
the real temple of the purest worship. It is
t j -1 b b 2
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? 372 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
in the darkness of night, says a German
poet, that immortality is revealed to man;
the light of the sun dazzles the eyes, which
imagine they see. Some stanzas of No-
valis, on the life of Miners, contain some
spirited poetry, of very great effect. He
questions the earth which is found in the
deep caverns, because it has been the wit-
ness of the different revolutions which na-
ture has undergone; and he expresses a
vehement desire to penetrate still farther to-
wards the centre of the globe. The con-
trast of this boundless curiosity with the
frail life, which is to be exposed to gratify
it, causes a sublime emotion. Man is placed
on earth between infinity in the heavens
and infinity in the abysses; and his life,
spent under the influence of time, is likewise
between two eternities. Surrounded on all
sides by boundless ideas and objects, innu-
merable thoughts appear to him like millions
of lights, which throw their blaze together
to dazzle him. Novalis has written much
upon nature in general; he calls himself,
with reason, the disciple of Sais, because in
this city the temple of Isis was built, and
the traditions that remain of the Egyptian
mysteries lead us to believe that their priests
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 373
had a profound knowledge of the laws of
44 Man," says Novalis, "is united tb Na-
44 ture by relations almost as various, almost
"as inconceivable, as those which he main-
44 tains with his kind: as she brings herself
44 down to the comprehension of children,
44 and takes delight in their simple hearts, so
"does she appear sublime to exalted minds,
"and divine to divine beings. The love of
44 Nature assumes various forms, and while
"it excites in some persons nothing but joy
"and pleasure, it inspires the arts with the
"most pious religion, with that which gives
"a direction and a support to the whole of
44 life. Long since, among the ancient na-
"tions, there have been men of serious
"spirit, for whom the universe was the
44 image of the Deity; and others, who be-
"lieved they were only invited to the ban-
"quet of the world: the air, for these con-
"vivial guests of existence, was only a re-
44 freshing draught; the stars were only
44 torches which lit the dance during the
44 night; and plants and animals only the
44 magnificent preparations for a splendid
44 feast: Nature did not present herself to
44 their eyes as a majestic and tranquil temple,
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? 374 RELIGION AND ENTHIJSIA6M.
"but as the brilliant theatre of ever novel
"entertainments.
"At the same time, however, some more
"profound minds were employed, without
"relaxation, in rebuilding that ideal world,
"the traces of which had already disap~
"peared; they partook, like brothers, the
"most sacred labours ; some endeavoured to
"reproduce, in music, the voice of the woods
"and winds; others impressed the image
"and the presentiment of a more noble race
"upon stone and brass; changed the rocks
"into edifices; and brought to light the
"treasures hidden under the earth. Nature,
"civilized by man, seemed to answer his de-
sires: the imagination of the artist dared
"to question her, and the golden age seemed
"to reappear, by the help of thought.
"In order to understand Nature, we must
"be incorporated with her. A poetical and
'' reflective life, a holy and religious soul,
"all the strength and all the bloom of hu-
4i man existence, are necessary to attain
"this comprehension; and the true observer
"is he who can discover the analogy of that
nature with man, and that of man with
"Meaven. v . ?
Schubert has composed a book upon Na-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 375
ture, that never tires in the perusal; so
filled is it with ideas that excite meditation:
he presents the picture of new facts, the
concatenation of which is conceived under
new points of view. We derive two prin-
cipal ideas from his work. The Indians
believe in a descending metempsychosis,
that is, in the condemnation of the soul of
man to pass into animals and plants, as a
punishment for having misused this life. It
would be difficult for us to imagine a system
of more profound misery; and the writings
of the Indians bear the melancholy stamp of
their doctrine. They believe they see every
where, in animals as in plants, thought as
as a captive, and feeling enslaved, vainly
endeavouring to disengage themselves from
the gross and silent forms which imprison
them. The system of Schubert is more
consolatory. He represents Nature as an
ascending metempsychosis, in which, from
the stone to human life, there is a continual
promotion, which makes the vital principle
advance by degrees, even to the most com-
plete perfection.
Schubert also believes that there have
been epochs, where man had so lively and
so delicate a feeling of existing phenomena,
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? 376 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
that, by his own impressions, he conjec-
tured the most hidden secrets of Nature.
These primitive faculties have become dull;
and it is often the sickly irritability of the
nerves, which, while it weakens the power
of reasoning, restores to man that instinct
which he formerly owed to the very pleni-
tude of his strength. The labours of philo-
sophers, of learned men, and of poets, in
Germany, aim at diminishing the dry power
of argumentation, without in the least ob-
scuring knowledge. It is thus that the ima-
gination of the ancient world may be born
again, like the phcenix, from the ashes of all
errors. . . . .
The greater number of naturalists have
attempted to explain Nature like a good go-
vernment, in which every thing is conducted
according to wise principles of administra-
tion; but it is in vain that we try to transfer
this prosaic system to creation. Neither
the terrible, nor even the beautiful, can be
explained by this circumscribed theory; and
Nature is by turns too cruel and too magni-
ficent to permit us to subject her to that, sort
of calculation which directs our judgment in
the affairs of this world.
There are objects hideous in themselves,
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? CONTEMPLATION OV NATURE. 377
whose impression upon us is inexplicable.
Certain figures of animals, certain forms of
plants, certain combinations of colours, re-
volt our senses, without our being at all
able to give an account of the causes of this
repugnance: we would say, that these un-
graceful contours, these repulsive images,
suggest the ideas of baseness and perfidy;
although nothing in the analogies of reason
can explain such an association of ideas.
The physiognomy of man does not exclu-
sively depend (as some writers have pre-
tended) upon the stronger or weaker cha-
racter of the features; there is transmitted
through the look and the change of counte-
nance, I know not what expression of the
soul, impossible to be mistaken; and it is
above all, in the human form, that we are
taught what is extraordinary and unknown
in the. harmonies of mind and body.
Accidents and misfortunes, in the course
of nature, have something so rapid, so piti-
less, and so unexpected about them, that
they appear to be miraculous. Disease
and its furies are like a wicked life, which
seizes on a sudden upon a life of tranquillity.
The affections of the heart make us feel the
cruelty of that nature, which it is attempted
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? 378 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
to represent as so sweet and so gentle.
What dangers threaten a beloved person!
under how many shapes is death disguised
around us! there is not a fine day which
may not conceal the thunderbolt; not a
flower whose juices may not be empoisoned;
not a breath of air which may not bring a
fatal contagion: and Nature appears like a
jealous mistress, ready to pierce the bosom
of man at the very moment that she ani-
mates him with her kindness. How can we
comprehend the object of all these pheno-
mena, if we confine ourselves to the ordi-
nary connexion of our thoughts on these
subjects? How can we consider animals
without being plunged into the astonishment
which their mysterious existence causes? A
poet has called them the dreams of Nature,
and man her waking. For what end were
they created? what mean those looks which
seem covered with an obscure cloud, behind
which an idea strives to show itself? what
connexion have they with us? what part of
life is it they enjoy? A bird survives a man
of genius, and I know not what strange sort
of despair seizes the heart when we have lost
what we love, and when we see the breath
of existence still animate an insect which
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 379
moves upon the earth, from which the most
noble object has disappeared. The contem-
plation of Nature overwhelms our thoughts.
We feel ourselves in a state of relation with
her, which does not depend upon the good
or evil which she can do; but her visible
soul endeavours to find ours in her bosom,
and holds converse with us. When dark-
ness alarms us, it is not always the peril to
which it exposes us that we dread, but it is
the sympathy of night with every sort of
privation, or grief, with which we are pe-
netrated. The sun, on the contrary, is like
an emanation from the Deity, like a glorious
messenger, who tells us that our prayer is
heard: his rays descend upon the earth not
only to direct the labours of man, but to
express a feeling of love for Nature. The
flowers turn towards the light, in order to
receive it; they are closed during the night,
and at morn and eve they seem in aromatic
perfume to breathe their hymns of praise.
When these flowers are reared in the shade,
they are of pallid hue, and no longer clad
in their accustomed colours; but when we
restore them to the day, in them the Sun
reflects his varied beams, as in the rain-
bow. And one should say, that he gazes
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? :580 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
upon himself with pride, in the mirror of
that beauty which he has conferred upon
them. The sleep of vegetables, during cer-
tain hours, and at certain seasons of the
year, is in accord with the motion of the
earth: the globe, in its revolving motion,
hurries away, through various regions, the
half of plants, of animals, and of men, asleep:
the passengers in this great vessel, which we
call the world, suffer themselves to be
rocked in the circle which their journeying
habitation describes.
The peace and discord, the harmony and
dissonance, which a secret bond unites, are
the first laws of Nature; and whether she
appears fearful, terrible, or attractive, the
sublime unity, which is her character, always
makes her known.
Fire rushes in waves, like the torrent:
the clouds that travel through the air some-
times assume the form of mountains and of
valleys, and appear to imitate in their sport
the image of the earth. It is said in Genesis,
that the Almighty divided the waters of
the earth from the waters of heaven, and
suspended these last in the air. The heavens
are in fact a noble ally of the ocean. The
azure of the firmament is reflected in the
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 38 L
waters, and the waves are painted in the
clouds. Sometimes, when the storm is pre-
paring in the atmosphere, the sea trembles
at a distance, and one should say, that it
answers, by the agitation of its waves, to
the mysterious signal of the tempest which
it has received.
M. De Humboldt sa_ys, in his scientific
and poetical Views of Southern America,
that he has witnessed a phenomenon, which
is also to be observed in Egypt, and which
is called mirage. On a sudden, in the most
arid deserts, the reverberation of the air as-
sumes the appearance of a lake, or of the
sea; and the very animals, panting with.
thirst, rush towards these deceitful images,
hoping to allay that thirst. The different
figures that the hoar-frost traces on the
window, present another example of these
strange analogies. The vapours condensed
by the cold designate landscapes, like those
which are remarked in northern countries:
forests of pines, mountains bristling with ice,
reappear in their robes of white, and frozen
Nature takes pleasure in counterfeiting the
productions of animated nature.
Not only does Nature reflect herself, but
she seems to wish to imitate the works of
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? 382 RELIGION 4KB ENTHUSIASM.
man; and to give them, by these means, a
singular testimony of her correspondence
with them. It is related, that in the islands
near Japan, the clouds assume the appear-
ance of regular fortifications.
The fine arts also have their type in Na-
ture; and this luxury of existence is more
the object of her care than existence itself:
the symmetry of forms, in the vegetable and
mineral kingdoms, has served for a model
to architects; and the reflection of objects
and colours in the water, gives an idea of
the illusions of painting: the wind (whose
murmurs are prolonged in the trembling
leaves) discovers the secret of music. And,
it has been said, on the shores of Asia, where
the atmosphere is most pure, that sometimes,
in the evening, a plaintive and sweet har-
mony is heard, which Nature seems to
address to man, in order to tell him that she
herself breathes, that she herself loves, that
she herself suffers.
Often at the sight of a lovely country we
are tempted to believe that its only object is
to excite in man exalted and spotless senti-
ments: I know not what connexion it is
which exists between the heavens and the
pride of the human heart; between the rays
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 383
of the moon, that repose upon the moun-
tain, and the calm of conscience; but these
objects hold a beautiful language to man,
and we are capable of wholly yielding to
the agitation which they cause: this aban-
donment would be good for the soul. When,
at eve, at the boundary of the landscape, the
heaven appears to recline bo closely on the
earth, imagination pictures beyond the hori-
zon an asylum of hope, a native land of love,
and Nature seems silently to repeat that
man is immortal.
The continual succession of birth and
death, of which the natural world is the
theatre, would produce the most mournful
impression, if we did not fancy we saw in
that world the indication of the resurrec-
tion of all things; and it is the truly religious
point of view, in the comtemplation of Na-
ture, to regard it in this manner. We
should end by dying of compassion, if we
were confined in every thing to the terrible
idea of what is irreparable: no animal pe-
rishes without our feeling it possible to re-
gret it; no tree falls, without the idea that
we shall never see it again in its beauty,
exciting in us a mournful reflection, lit a
word, inanimate objects themselves affect
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? 384 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
us when their decay obliges us to quit them'
the house, the chair, the table, which have
been used by those we loved, interest us;
and these objects even excite in us sometimes
a sort of compassion, independent of the re-
collections which they awaken; we regret
their well-known form, as if by this form
they were made into beings who have seen
our daily life, and who ought to have seen
us die. If eternity was not the antidote to
time, we should attach ourselves to every
moment in order to retain it; to every sound,
to prolong its vibrations; to every look, to
fix its radiance; and our enjoyments would
only last for that instant which is necessary
to make us feel that they are going, and to
bedew their traces with tears, traces which
the abyss of days must also swallow up.
A new thought struck me in some writings
which were communicated to me by an
author of a pensive and profound imagina-
tion: he is comparing the ruins of nature
with those of art, and of the human species.
"The first," he says, " are philosophical;
"the second poetical; the third mysterious. "
A thing highly worthy of remark, in fact, is
the very different action of years upon na-
ture, upon the works of genius, and upon
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? CONTEMPLATION OP NATURE. 385
living creatures. Time injures man alone:
when rocks are overturned, when mountains
sink into valiies, the earth only changes her
appearance; her new aspect excites new
thoughts in our minds, and the vivifying
force undergoes a metamorphose, but not a
destruction. The ruins of the fine arts ad-
dress the imagination: Art rebuilds what
time has defaced, and never, perhaps, did a
master-piece of art, in all its splendour, im-
press us with such grand ideas as its own
ruins.
have a philosophical sincerity singularly
adapted to the inquiry after Truth, but not
at all to the art of putting her into action.
The spirit of sect aspires only to convince;
that of party wishes to rally men round it.
The former disputes about ideas, the latter
wishes for power over men. There is dis-
cipline in the party spirit, and anarchy in
the sectarian spirit. Authority, of whatever
kind it may be, has hardly any thing to fear
from the spirit of, sectarism; we satisfy it by
leaving a great latitude for thought at its dis-
posal. But the spirit of party is not so easily
contented, and does not confine itself to
these intellectual contests, in which every
individual may create an empire for himself
without expelling one present possessor.
In France, they are much more suscep-
tible of the party spirit than of the sectarian:
every one there too well understands the
reality of life, not to turn his wishes into
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? 360 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
actions, and his thoughts into practice. But
perhaps they are too foreign from the secta-
rian spirit: they do not sufficiently hold to
abstract ideas, to have any warmth in de-
fending them; besides, they do not choose
to be bound by any sort of opinions, for the
purpose of advancing the more freely in the
face of all circumstances. There is more
good faith in the spirit of sect than in the
party spirit; the Germans, therefore, are
naturally more fitted for one than the other.
We must distinguish three sorts of reli-
gious and philosophical sects in Germany;
first, the different Christian communities
which have existed (particularly at the epoch
of the Reformation), when all writings have
been directed towards theological questions;
secondly, the secret associations; and lastly,
the adepts of some particular systems, of
which one man is the chief. We mubt range
the Anabaptists and the Moravians in the
first class; in the second, that most ancient
of secret associations, the Free Masons; and
in the third, the different sorts of the Illu-
minated. "'? .
The Anabaptists were rather a revolu-
tionary than a religious sect; and as they
owed their existence to political passions,
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 361
and not to opinions, they passed away with
circumstances. The Moravians, entirely
strangers to the interests of this world, are,
as I have said, a Christian community of the
greatest purity. The Quakers carry into the
midst of society the principles of the Mora-
vians: the Moravians withdraw from the
world, to be the more sure of remaining
faithful to their principles.
Free-masonry is an institution much more
serious in Scotland and in Germany than in
France. It has existed in all countries; but
it nevertheless appears, that it was from
Germany especially that this association took
its origin; that it was afterwards transported
to England by the Anglo-Saxons, and re-
newed at the death of Charles the First by
the partisans of the Restoration, who assem-
bled somewhere near St. Paul's Church for
the purpose of recalling Charles the Second
to the throne. It is also believed that the Free
Masons, especially in Scotland, are, in some
manner,connected with theorderof Templars.
Lessing has written a dialogue upon Free-
masonry, in which his luminous genius is very
remarkable. He believes that this associa-
tion has for its object the union of men, in
spite of the barriers of society; for if, in
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? 362 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
certain respects, the social state forms a bond
of connexion between men, by subjecting
them to the empire of the laws, it separates
them by the differences of rank and govern-
ment: this sort of brotherhood, the true
image of the golden age, has been mingled
with many other ideas equally good and
moral in Free-masonry. However, we cannot
dissemble that there is something in the na-
ture of secret associations which leads the
mind to independence; but these associations
are very favourable to the developement of
knowledge for every thing which men do by
themselves, and spontaneously gives their
judgment more strength and more compre-
hensiveness. It is also possible that the prin-
ciples of democratical equality ma}r be pro-
pagated by this species of institution, which
exhibits mankind according to their real
value, and not according to their several
ranks in the world. Secret associations teach
us what is the power of number and of
union, while insulated citizens are, if we
may use the expression, abstract beings with
relation to each other. In this point of view
these associations may have a great influence
in the state; but it is, nevertheless, just to
acknowledge, that Free-masonry, in gene-
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARI5M. 563
ral, is only occupied with religious and phi-
losophical interests: its members are di-
vided into two classes, the Philosophical
Free-masonry, and the Hermetic or Egyptian
Free-masonry. The first has for its object
the internal church, or the developement of
the spirituality of the soul; the second is con-
nected with the sciences--with those sci-
ences which are employed upon the secrets
of nature. The Rosicrucian brotherhood,
among others, is one of the degrees of
Free-masonry, and this brotherhood ori-
ginally consisted of Alchymists. At all times,
and in every country, secret association*
have existed, whose members have aimed at
mutually strengthening each other in their
belief of the soul's spirituality. The mys-
teries of Eleusis among the Pagans, the sect
of the Essenes among the Hebrews, were
founded upon this doctrine, which they did
not choose to profane by exposing it to the
ridicule of the vulgar. It is nearly thirty
years since there was an assembly of Free-
masons, presided over by the Duke of
Brunswick, at Wilhelms-Bad. This assembly
had for its object the reform of the Free
Masons in Germany; and it appears, that
tibe opinions of the Mystics in general, and
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? 364 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
those of St. Martin in particular, had much
influence over this society. Political institu-
tions, social relations, and often even those
of our family, comprehend only the exterior
of life. It is then natural, that at all times
men should have sought some intimate man-
ner of knowing and understanding each
other, and also those whose characters have
any depth, believe they are adepts, and en-
deavour to distinguish themselves, by some
signs, from ihe rest of mankind. Secret as-
sociations degenerate with time, but their
principle is almost always an enthusiastic
feeling restrained by society.
There are three classes of the Illuminated,
the Mystical, the Visionary, and the Illumi-
nated: the first class, that of which Jacob
Boehmen, and in the last age Paschal and
St. Martin, might be considered as the
chiefs, is united by many ties to that internal
church which is the sanctuary of re-union
for all religious philosophers: these illumi-
nated are only occupied with religion and
with nature, interpreted by the doctrines of
religion. The Visionary Illuminated, at the
head of whom we must place the Swedish
Swedenborg, believe, that, by the power of
the will, they can make the dead appear, and
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 365
work other miracles. The late King of
Prussia, Frederick-William, has been led into
error by the credulity of these men, or by
their artifices, which had the appearance of
credulity. The Ideal Illuminated look down
upon these visionaries as empirics; they
despise their pretended prodigies, and think
that the wonderful sentiments of the soul
belong to them only in an especial manner:--
in a word, men who have had no other object
than that of securing the chief authority in
all states, and of getting places for them-
selves, have taken the name of the Illumi-
nated. Their chief was a Bavarian, Weiss-
haupt, a man of superior understanding,
and who had thoroughly felt the power that
we may acquire, by uniting the scattered
strength of individuals, and by directing
them all to the same object. The possession
of a secret, whatever it may be, flatters the
self-love of men; and when they are told
that they are something that their equals are
not, they always gain a command over them.
Self-love is hurt by resembling the multitude;
and, from the moment that we choose to
assume public or private marks of distinc-
tion, we are sure to set in motion the fancy
of vanity, which is the most active of all
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? 366 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
fancies. The political Illuminated have only
borrowed from the others some signs of re-
cognition; but interests, and not opinions,
are their rallying points: their object, it is
true, was to reform the social order upon
new principles; but while they waited the
accomplishment of this great work, their first
aim was to seize upon public offices. Such
a sect has adepts enough in every country,
who initiate themselves into its secrets. In
Germany, however, perhaps this sect is the
only one which has been founded upon a po-
litical combination; all the others have taken
their rise from some sort of enthusiasm, and
have only had for their object the inquiry
after truth. Amongst these men who en-
deavour to penetrate the secrets of nature,
we must reckon the Magnetizers, the Alchy-
mists, &c. It is probable that there is much
folly in these pretended discoveries, but what
can we find alarming in them? If we come
to the detection of that which is called mar-
vellous in physical phenomena, we shall
have reason to think there are moments
when Nature appears a machine which is
constantly moved by the same springs, and
it is then that her inflexible regularity alarms
us; but when we fancy we occasionally see
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? SPIRIT OF SECTARISM. 367
in her something voluntary, like thought, a
confused hope seizes upon the soul, and
steals us away from the fixed regard of
necessity.
At the bottom of all these attempts, and
of all these scientific and philosophical sys-
tems, there is always a very marked bias
towards the spirituality of the soul. Those
who wish to divine the secrets of nature, are
entirely opposed to the materialists; for it is
always in thought that they seek the solu-
tion of the enigma of the physical world.
Doubtless, such a movement in the mind
may lead to great errors, but it is so with
every thing animated--as soon as there is
lift there is danger. Individual efforts would
end by being interdicted, if we were to sub-
ject ourselves to that method which aims at
regulating the movements of the mind, as
discipline commands those of the body. The
difficulty then consists in directing the fa-
culties without restraining them, and we
should wish that it was possible to adapt to
the imagination of men, the art yet unknown
of still rising on wings, and of directing our
flight in the air.
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? 368 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM,
CHAPTER IX.
Of the Contemplation of Nature.
In speaking of the influence of the new
philosophy upon the sciences, I have already
made mention of some of the new principles
adopted in Germany, relative to the study
of nature. But as religion and enthusiasm
have a great share in the contemplation of
the universe, I shall point out, in a general
manner, the political and religious views
that we may collect upon this point in the
writings of the Germans. Many naturalists,
guided by a pious feeling, have thought it
their duty to limit themselves to the exa-
mination of final causes. They have endea-
voured to prove that every thing in the
world tends to the support and the physical
well-being of individuals and of classes. It
appears to me that we may make very
strong objections to this system. Without
doubt it is easy to see, that, in the order of
things, the means are admirably adapted to
their ends. But in this universal concatena-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 369
tion, where are those causes bounded*
which are effects, and those effects which
are causes? If we choose to refer every
thing to the preservation of man, we shall
find it difficult to conceive what he has in
common with the majority of beings: be-
sides, it is to attach too much value to ma-
terial existence, to assign that as the ulti-
mate object of creation* Those who, not-
withstanding the great crowd of particular
misfortunes, attribute a certain sort of good-
ness to Nature, consider her as a merchant,
who, making speculations on a large scale,
balances small losses by greater advantages.
This system is not suitable even to the go-
vernments of men; and scrupulous writers
in political economy have opposed it. What
then will be the case, if we consider the in-
tentions of the Deity? A man, regarded in
a religious light, is as much as the human
race; and from the moment that we have
conceived the idea of an immortal soul, we
have no right to decide what is the degree
of importance which an individual holds in
his relation to the whole body. Every in-
telligent being is of an infinite value, be-
cause his soul is eternal. It is then in
the most elevated point of view that the
VOL. III. B B
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? 370 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
German philosophers have considered the
universe. There are those who believe
they see in every thing two principles, that
of good and that of evil, continually op-
posing each other; and whether we attribute
this contest to an infernal power, or whe-
ther, according to a simpler thought, the
natural world may be the image of the good
and bad propensities of man, it is true that
the universe always offers to our observation
two faces, which are absolutely contrary to
each other. There is, we cannot deny it, a
terrible side in nature as well as in the
human heart, and we feel there a dreadful
power of anger. However good may be
the intention of the partisans of optimism,
more depth is apparent, I think, in those
who do not deny evil, but who acknow-
ledge the connexion of this evil with the
liberty of man, with the immortality which
he may deserve by the right use of that
liberty. The mystical writers, of whom I
have spoken in the preceding chapter, see
in man the abridgment of the world, and in
the world, the emblem of the doctrines of
Christianity. Nature seems to them the cor-
poreal image of the Deity, and they are
continually plunging further. into the pro-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 371
found signification of things and beings.
Amongst the German writers, who have been
employed upon the contemplation of nature
under a religious point of view, there are two
who merit particular attention : Novalis as a
poet, and Schubert as a naturalist. Novalis,
who was a man of noble birth, was initiated
from his youth in the studies of every kind,
which the new school has developed in
Germany; but his pious soul has given a
great character of simplicity to^his poems.
He died at the age of twenty-six; and, when
he was no more, the religious hymns, which
he bad composed, acquired a striking cele-
brity in Germany. This young man's father
is a Moravian; and, some time after the
death of his son, he went to visit a commu-
nity of that persuasion, and heard his son's
'hymns sung in their church; the Moravians
having chosen them for their own edification,
without knowing the author of them.
^Amongst the works of Novalis, some
Hymns to Night are distinguished, which
very forcibly depict the train of recollections
which it awakens in the mind. The blaze
of day may agree with the joyous doctrines
of Paganism; but the starry heaven seems
the real temple of the purest worship. It is
t j -1 b b 2
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? 372 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
in the darkness of night, says a German
poet, that immortality is revealed to man;
the light of the sun dazzles the eyes, which
imagine they see. Some stanzas of No-
valis, on the life of Miners, contain some
spirited poetry, of very great effect. He
questions the earth which is found in the
deep caverns, because it has been the wit-
ness of the different revolutions which na-
ture has undergone; and he expresses a
vehement desire to penetrate still farther to-
wards the centre of the globe. The con-
trast of this boundless curiosity with the
frail life, which is to be exposed to gratify
it, causes a sublime emotion. Man is placed
on earth between infinity in the heavens
and infinity in the abysses; and his life,
spent under the influence of time, is likewise
between two eternities. Surrounded on all
sides by boundless ideas and objects, innu-
merable thoughts appear to him like millions
of lights, which throw their blaze together
to dazzle him. Novalis has written much
upon nature in general; he calls himself,
with reason, the disciple of Sais, because in
this city the temple of Isis was built, and
the traditions that remain of the Egyptian
mysteries lead us to believe that their priests
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 373
had a profound knowledge of the laws of
44 Man," says Novalis, "is united tb Na-
44 ture by relations almost as various, almost
"as inconceivable, as those which he main-
44 tains with his kind: as she brings herself
44 down to the comprehension of children,
44 and takes delight in their simple hearts, so
"does she appear sublime to exalted minds,
"and divine to divine beings. The love of
44 Nature assumes various forms, and while
"it excites in some persons nothing but joy
"and pleasure, it inspires the arts with the
"most pious religion, with that which gives
"a direction and a support to the whole of
44 life. Long since, among the ancient na-
"tions, there have been men of serious
"spirit, for whom the universe was the
44 image of the Deity; and others, who be-
"lieved they were only invited to the ban-
"quet of the world: the air, for these con-
"vivial guests of existence, was only a re-
44 freshing draught; the stars were only
44 torches which lit the dance during the
44 night; and plants and animals only the
44 magnificent preparations for a splendid
44 feast: Nature did not present herself to
44 their eyes as a majestic and tranquil temple,
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? 374 RELIGION AND ENTHIJSIA6M.
"but as the brilliant theatre of ever novel
"entertainments.
"At the same time, however, some more
"profound minds were employed, without
"relaxation, in rebuilding that ideal world,
"the traces of which had already disap~
"peared; they partook, like brothers, the
"most sacred labours ; some endeavoured to
"reproduce, in music, the voice of the woods
"and winds; others impressed the image
"and the presentiment of a more noble race
"upon stone and brass; changed the rocks
"into edifices; and brought to light the
"treasures hidden under the earth. Nature,
"civilized by man, seemed to answer his de-
sires: the imagination of the artist dared
"to question her, and the golden age seemed
"to reappear, by the help of thought.
"In order to understand Nature, we must
"be incorporated with her. A poetical and
'' reflective life, a holy and religious soul,
"all the strength and all the bloom of hu-
4i man existence, are necessary to attain
"this comprehension; and the true observer
"is he who can discover the analogy of that
nature with man, and that of man with
"Meaven. v . ?
Schubert has composed a book upon Na-
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 375
ture, that never tires in the perusal; so
filled is it with ideas that excite meditation:
he presents the picture of new facts, the
concatenation of which is conceived under
new points of view. We derive two prin-
cipal ideas from his work. The Indians
believe in a descending metempsychosis,
that is, in the condemnation of the soul of
man to pass into animals and plants, as a
punishment for having misused this life. It
would be difficult for us to imagine a system
of more profound misery; and the writings
of the Indians bear the melancholy stamp of
their doctrine. They believe they see every
where, in animals as in plants, thought as
as a captive, and feeling enslaved, vainly
endeavouring to disengage themselves from
the gross and silent forms which imprison
them. The system of Schubert is more
consolatory. He represents Nature as an
ascending metempsychosis, in which, from
the stone to human life, there is a continual
promotion, which makes the vital principle
advance by degrees, even to the most com-
plete perfection.
Schubert also believes that there have
been epochs, where man had so lively and
so delicate a feeling of existing phenomena,
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? 376 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
that, by his own impressions, he conjec-
tured the most hidden secrets of Nature.
These primitive faculties have become dull;
and it is often the sickly irritability of the
nerves, which, while it weakens the power
of reasoning, restores to man that instinct
which he formerly owed to the very pleni-
tude of his strength. The labours of philo-
sophers, of learned men, and of poets, in
Germany, aim at diminishing the dry power
of argumentation, without in the least ob-
scuring knowledge. It is thus that the ima-
gination of the ancient world may be born
again, like the phcenix, from the ashes of all
errors. . . . .
The greater number of naturalists have
attempted to explain Nature like a good go-
vernment, in which every thing is conducted
according to wise principles of administra-
tion; but it is in vain that we try to transfer
this prosaic system to creation. Neither
the terrible, nor even the beautiful, can be
explained by this circumscribed theory; and
Nature is by turns too cruel and too magni-
ficent to permit us to subject her to that, sort
of calculation which directs our judgment in
the affairs of this world.
There are objects hideous in themselves,
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? CONTEMPLATION OV NATURE. 377
whose impression upon us is inexplicable.
Certain figures of animals, certain forms of
plants, certain combinations of colours, re-
volt our senses, without our being at all
able to give an account of the causes of this
repugnance: we would say, that these un-
graceful contours, these repulsive images,
suggest the ideas of baseness and perfidy;
although nothing in the analogies of reason
can explain such an association of ideas.
The physiognomy of man does not exclu-
sively depend (as some writers have pre-
tended) upon the stronger or weaker cha-
racter of the features; there is transmitted
through the look and the change of counte-
nance, I know not what expression of the
soul, impossible to be mistaken; and it is
above all, in the human form, that we are
taught what is extraordinary and unknown
in the. harmonies of mind and body.
Accidents and misfortunes, in the course
of nature, have something so rapid, so piti-
less, and so unexpected about them, that
they appear to be miraculous. Disease
and its furies are like a wicked life, which
seizes on a sudden upon a life of tranquillity.
The affections of the heart make us feel the
cruelty of that nature, which it is attempted
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? 378 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
to represent as so sweet and so gentle.
What dangers threaten a beloved person!
under how many shapes is death disguised
around us! there is not a fine day which
may not conceal the thunderbolt; not a
flower whose juices may not be empoisoned;
not a breath of air which may not bring a
fatal contagion: and Nature appears like a
jealous mistress, ready to pierce the bosom
of man at the very moment that she ani-
mates him with her kindness. How can we
comprehend the object of all these pheno-
mena, if we confine ourselves to the ordi-
nary connexion of our thoughts on these
subjects? How can we consider animals
without being plunged into the astonishment
which their mysterious existence causes? A
poet has called them the dreams of Nature,
and man her waking. For what end were
they created? what mean those looks which
seem covered with an obscure cloud, behind
which an idea strives to show itself? what
connexion have they with us? what part of
life is it they enjoy? A bird survives a man
of genius, and I know not what strange sort
of despair seizes the heart when we have lost
what we love, and when we see the breath
of existence still animate an insect which
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 379
moves upon the earth, from which the most
noble object has disappeared. The contem-
plation of Nature overwhelms our thoughts.
We feel ourselves in a state of relation with
her, which does not depend upon the good
or evil which she can do; but her visible
soul endeavours to find ours in her bosom,
and holds converse with us. When dark-
ness alarms us, it is not always the peril to
which it exposes us that we dread, but it is
the sympathy of night with every sort of
privation, or grief, with which we are pe-
netrated. The sun, on the contrary, is like
an emanation from the Deity, like a glorious
messenger, who tells us that our prayer is
heard: his rays descend upon the earth not
only to direct the labours of man, but to
express a feeling of love for Nature. The
flowers turn towards the light, in order to
receive it; they are closed during the night,
and at morn and eve they seem in aromatic
perfume to breathe their hymns of praise.
When these flowers are reared in the shade,
they are of pallid hue, and no longer clad
in their accustomed colours; but when we
restore them to the day, in them the Sun
reflects his varied beams, as in the rain-
bow. And one should say, that he gazes
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? :580 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
upon himself with pride, in the mirror of
that beauty which he has conferred upon
them. The sleep of vegetables, during cer-
tain hours, and at certain seasons of the
year, is in accord with the motion of the
earth: the globe, in its revolving motion,
hurries away, through various regions, the
half of plants, of animals, and of men, asleep:
the passengers in this great vessel, which we
call the world, suffer themselves to be
rocked in the circle which their journeying
habitation describes.
The peace and discord, the harmony and
dissonance, which a secret bond unites, are
the first laws of Nature; and whether she
appears fearful, terrible, or attractive, the
sublime unity, which is her character, always
makes her known.
Fire rushes in waves, like the torrent:
the clouds that travel through the air some-
times assume the form of mountains and of
valleys, and appear to imitate in their sport
the image of the earth. It is said in Genesis,
that the Almighty divided the waters of
the earth from the waters of heaven, and
suspended these last in the air. The heavens
are in fact a noble ally of the ocean. The
azure of the firmament is reflected in the
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 38 L
waters, and the waves are painted in the
clouds. Sometimes, when the storm is pre-
paring in the atmosphere, the sea trembles
at a distance, and one should say, that it
answers, by the agitation of its waves, to
the mysterious signal of the tempest which
it has received.
M. De Humboldt sa_ys, in his scientific
and poetical Views of Southern America,
that he has witnessed a phenomenon, which
is also to be observed in Egypt, and which
is called mirage. On a sudden, in the most
arid deserts, the reverberation of the air as-
sumes the appearance of a lake, or of the
sea; and the very animals, panting with.
thirst, rush towards these deceitful images,
hoping to allay that thirst. The different
figures that the hoar-frost traces on the
window, present another example of these
strange analogies. The vapours condensed
by the cold designate landscapes, like those
which are remarked in northern countries:
forests of pines, mountains bristling with ice,
reappear in their robes of white, and frozen
Nature takes pleasure in counterfeiting the
productions of animated nature.
Not only does Nature reflect herself, but
she seems to wish to imitate the works of
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? 382 RELIGION 4KB ENTHUSIASM.
man; and to give them, by these means, a
singular testimony of her correspondence
with them. It is related, that in the islands
near Japan, the clouds assume the appear-
ance of regular fortifications.
The fine arts also have their type in Na-
ture; and this luxury of existence is more
the object of her care than existence itself:
the symmetry of forms, in the vegetable and
mineral kingdoms, has served for a model
to architects; and the reflection of objects
and colours in the water, gives an idea of
the illusions of painting: the wind (whose
murmurs are prolonged in the trembling
leaves) discovers the secret of music. And,
it has been said, on the shores of Asia, where
the atmosphere is most pure, that sometimes,
in the evening, a plaintive and sweet har-
mony is heard, which Nature seems to
address to man, in order to tell him that she
herself breathes, that she herself loves, that
she herself suffers.
Often at the sight of a lovely country we
are tempted to believe that its only object is
to excite in man exalted and spotless senti-
ments: I know not what connexion it is
which exists between the heavens and the
pride of the human heart; between the rays
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? CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE. 383
of the moon, that repose upon the moun-
tain, and the calm of conscience; but these
objects hold a beautiful language to man,
and we are capable of wholly yielding to
the agitation which they cause: this aban-
donment would be good for the soul. When,
at eve, at the boundary of the landscape, the
heaven appears to recline bo closely on the
earth, imagination pictures beyond the hori-
zon an asylum of hope, a native land of love,
and Nature seems silently to repeat that
man is immortal.
The continual succession of birth and
death, of which the natural world is the
theatre, would produce the most mournful
impression, if we did not fancy we saw in
that world the indication of the resurrec-
tion of all things; and it is the truly religious
point of view, in the comtemplation of Na-
ture, to regard it in this manner. We
should end by dying of compassion, if we
were confined in every thing to the terrible
idea of what is irreparable: no animal pe-
rishes without our feeling it possible to re-
gret it; no tree falls, without the idea that
we shall never see it again in its beauty,
exciting in us a mournful reflection, lit a
word, inanimate objects themselves affect
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? 384 RELIGION AND ENTHUSIASM.
us when their decay obliges us to quit them'
the house, the chair, the table, which have
been used by those we loved, interest us;
and these objects even excite in us sometimes
a sort of compassion, independent of the re-
collections which they awaken; we regret
their well-known form, as if by this form
they were made into beings who have seen
our daily life, and who ought to have seen
us die. If eternity was not the antidote to
time, we should attach ourselves to every
moment in order to retain it; to every sound,
to prolong its vibrations; to every look, to
fix its radiance; and our enjoyments would
only last for that instant which is necessary
to make us feel that they are going, and to
bedew their traces with tears, traces which
the abyss of days must also swallow up.
A new thought struck me in some writings
which were communicated to me by an
author of a pensive and profound imagina-
tion: he is comparing the ruins of nature
with those of art, and of the human species.
"The first," he says, " are philosophical;
"the second poetical; the third mysterious. "
A thing highly worthy of remark, in fact, is
the very different action of years upon na-
ture, upon the works of genius, and upon
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? CONTEMPLATION OP NATURE. 385
living creatures. Time injures man alone:
when rocks are overturned, when mountains
sink into valiies, the earth only changes her
appearance; her new aspect excites new
thoughts in our minds, and the vivifying
force undergoes a metamorphose, but not a
destruction. The ruins of the fine arts ad-
dress the imagination: Art rebuilds what
time has defaced, and never, perhaps, did a
master-piece of art, in all its splendour, im-
press us with such grand ideas as its own
ruins.
