John Platts

“ Thus, every hen is in her turn the virago of the yard, in proportion to the helplessness of her brood; and will fly in the face of a dog or sow in defence of those chickens, which, in a few weeks, she will drive before her with relentless cruelty. This affection sublimes the passions, quickens the invention, and sharpens the sagacity, of the brute creation. Thus, a hen, just become a mother, is no longer that placid bird she used to be, but, with feathers standing on end, wings hovering, and clucking note, she runs about like one possessed. ”

“ But a dreadful reverse succeeds: the sky is suddenly overcast and wild; the sea rises at once from a profound calm into mountains; the wind rages and roars like the noise of cannon; the rain descends in a deluge; a dismal obscurity envelops the earth with darkness; and the superior regions appear rent with lightning and thunder. The earth on these occasions often does, and always seems to tremble; whilst terror and consternation distract all nature: birds are carried from the woods into the ocean; and those whose element is the sea, seek for refuge on land ”

“ A violent storm of wind will make us tremble with fear, even in a strong well-built house, and in the midst of a populous city; yet we have seldom or never either seen or experienced the vast power of the enraged waves, when beat about by the winds, and dashed against each other till they seem transformed into froth and vapour, and the whole surface of the ocean presents to the eye a confused scene of immense watery mountains and bottomless precipices ”

“ A wide gradual descent led us into a noble vault, with a bottom of fine, green, glossy marble, over which we were to slide on our seats; and it was with difficulty we could keep ourselves from going too fast, and tumbling over one another. The walls and arch of the roof is as smooth in most places as if chiselled by a skilful workman, and are formed of a glistering red and white granite, supported in several places with columns of a deep blood-coloured shining porphyry. ”

“ Spring, like the jovial, playful infancy of all living creatures, represents childhood and youth; for then plants spread forth their flowers, fishes play in the waters, birds sing, and universal nature rejoices. Summer, like middle age, exhibits plants and trees full clothed in green; fruits ripen; and every thing is full of life. But autumn is comparatively gloomy; for then the leaves fall from the trees, and plants begin to wither, insects grow torpid, and many animals retire to their winter quarters. ”

“ I stood here a few moments, full of wonder and astonishment at the amazing height of the steep rock before me, covered on each side with ivy and other shrubs. At its summit are the decayed walls and towers of an ancient castle, which formerly stood on this rock; and at its foot the monstrous aperture, or mouth to the entrance of the cavern; where it is totally dark, even at mid-day. ”

“ The Shardhorn Beetle.—This species of beetle, whose sullen hum, as he directs his droning flight close past our ears in our evening walk, was not in his infancy an inhabitant of air, the first period of his life being spent in gloomy solitude, as a grub, under the surface of the earth. The shapeless maggot, which we scarcely fail to meet with in some one of every handful of nuts we crack, would not always have grovelled in that humble state. ”

“ It often appears dark and black in deep abysses, white and foaming during a storm, silvery, and gilded with reflections of the most beautiful hue, when the last rays of the setting sun play upon the unruffled surface: the colour of the sea, in addition to these, varies, from numberless insects, marine plants, and the combination of the different substances which the rivers and torrents carry with them into the ocean. When it is calm, and not a breeze skims over its bosom, it sometimes glitters with the most brilliant stars ”

“ And so convinced was Galen of the excellency of this piece of divine workmanship, that he is said to have allowed Epicurus a hundred years to find out a more commodious shape, situation, or texture, for any one part of the human body! Indeed, no understanding can be so low and mean, no heart so stupid and insensible, as not plainly to see, that nothing but Infinite Wisdom could, in so wonderful a manner, have fashioned the body of man, and inspired into it a being of superior faculties, whereby He teacheth us more than the beasts of the field, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of the heaven. ”

“ In travelling among these mountains, the idea that presents itself to the astonished spectator, is that of the earth having been agitated like the ocean in a storm; the hills appear like waves, one behind another, and were it not for the abrupt and sudden scarps, and the immense masses of rugged rocks, that give the idea of fixedness and stability, the fancy might be bewildered so far as to imagine they were in a state of undulation, and ready to mingle with each other. ”

“ When in a tranquil state, the colour of these brilliant inhabitants of the ocean is an opal yellow, mixed with green; but, on the slightest movement of those voluntary contractions exercised by the creature, or those which the observer can at pleasure excite by the least irritation, the animal seems to inflame, and it becomes instantly like a piece of red-hot iron of the most vivid brilliancy. ”

“ To behold a large upland, with its houses, corn, and cattle, at once loosened from its place, and floating as it were upon the subjacent water,—to see it quitting its ancient situation, and sailing forward like a ship,—is certainly one of the most extraordinary appearances that can be imagined, and, to a people ignorant of the powers of nature, might well be considered as a prodigy. ”

“ The darkness of the place, upon which the sun never shines; the ragged rocks rising over one’s head, and seeming to meet at the top, with here and there a blasted tree bursting from the crevices; the roaring of the water, together with some degree of danger to the spectator, while he surveys the striking objects—all naturally tend to work upon the imagination. ”

“ The black stormy clouds, passing swiftly over, and at times covering the whole or part of the bright column of fire, at other times clearing away and giving a full view of it, with the various tints produced by its reverberated light on the white clouds above, in contrast with the pale flashes of forked lightning that attended the tropea, formed such a scene as no combination of language can express. ”

“ They are so exposed to the swells of the ocean, from all the south and west points of the compass, that the heavy seas come uncontrolled, and break on them with the utmost fury. Sometimes after a storm, when the sea in general is, to all appearance, quite smooth, and its surface unruffled by the slightest breeze, the growing swell or under current, meeting the slope of the rocks, the sea beats dreadfully upon them, and even rises above the lighthouse in a magnificent manner, overtopping it, for the moment, as with a canopy of frothy wave. ”

“ How wisely has the Creator formed him! his foot is made to traverse the burning sands; and as the place of his habitation affords but little water, he is made capable of enduring long journeys, and going many days without quenching his thirst; for he is furnished with a natural reservoir, in which, when he drinks, he stores up a quantity of water, and has the power of using it in a frugal and sparing manner, when, for his food, he crops the dry thistle of the desert. The bullock delights in low rich grounds, because there he finds the food which is most palatable to him. ”

“ People who make it their business to kill those birds, lay one of these carcases by way of bait; and then conceal themselves within gun-shot. They fire the instant the eagle alights; for she that moment looks about before she begins to prey. Yet, quick as her sight may be, her sense of hearing seems still more exquisite. If hooded crows or ravens happen to be nearer the carrion, and resort to it first, and give a single croak, the eagle instantly repairs to the spot. These eagles are remarkable for their longevity, and for sustaining a long abstinence from food. ”

“ Like the noise of chariots [18] on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle-array. Before their face the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. ”

“ From them, some conclude that we ought not to deny sensibility to be an attribute of plants; and certainly the facts which are alleged in favour of such an opinion, give it great appearance of probability. But, on the other hand, plants have no other sign of sensibility; and all that they have is entirely mechanical. We plant a shrub and destroy it, without finding any analogy between it and an animal, that we bring up and kill. We see a plant bud, blossom, and bear seed, insensibly, as the hand of a watch runs round the points of the dial. ”

“ But when the first violence of the storm is over, the whole earth is covered with a sudden but luxuriant verdure: the rivers are full and tranquil, the air is pure and delicious; and the sky is varied, and embellished with clouds. ”

“ Therefore, by the irritability of their nerves, their incapacity for deep inquiry and firm decision, they may easily, from their extreme sensibility, become the most irreclaimable, the most rapturous enthusiasts. Their love, strong and rooted as it is, is very changeable; their hatred almost incurable. Men are most profound; women are more sublime. Man hears the bursting thunder, views the destructive bolt with serene aspect, and stands erect amidst the fearful majesty of the streaming clouds; woman trembles at the lightning, and the voice of distant thunder; and sinks into the arms of man. ”

“ The Mouth and Lips are, on the contrary, extremely susceptible of changes; and, if the eyes express the passions of the soul, the mouth seems more peculiarly to correspond with the emotions of the heart. The rosy bloom of the lips, and the ivory white of the teeth, complete the charms of the human face divine. ”

“ It has been asked, why has the Supreme Being constituted such an order in nature, that, it should seem, some animals are created only to be destroyed by others? To this it has been answered, that Providence not only aimed at sustaining, but also keeping a just proportion amongst all the species, and so preventing any one of them from increasing too much, to the detriment of men and other animals. For if it be true, as it assuredly is, that the surface of the earth can support only a certain number of creatures, they must all perish, if the same number were doubled or trebled. ”

“ It must be granted that when the waves swell into mountains, and the tempest roars, its aspect is terrific; and we must be hardy indeed, not to consider it as a most formidable element in such times of awful visitation, when ships, breaking from their anchor, or driven from their course, rush before the winds that beat upon them with ungovernable fury, till, dismasted, and their rigging shivered in fragments, they sink, overwhelmed with a weight of waters, or strike some sand-bank, or shelving rock, and are at once dashed to pieces. ”

“ Among the awful phenomena of nature, none have excited more terror than lightning and thunder. Some of the profligate Roman emperors, of whom history records that they procured themselves to be deified, confessed, by their trembling and hiding themselves, when they heard the thunder, that there was a divine power greater than their own—Cœla tonantem Jovem. The greatest security against the terrors of a thunder-storm, although no certain one against its effects, is that life of piety and virtue, which is the best guardian of every earthly blessing. ”

“ The marks of honour are frequently arbitrary: to be seated, with us, is a mark of repose and familiarity; to stand up, that of respect. There are countries, however, in which princes will only be addressed by persons who are seated, and it is considered as a favour to be permitted to stand in their presence. This custom prevails in despotic countries: a despot cannot suffer, without disgust, the elevated figure of his subjects; he is pleased to bend their bodies with their genius; his presence must lay those who behold him prostrate on the earth; he desires no eagerness, no attention ”

“ Our finest laces are only like coarse cloth, when brought to vie with that luxurious clothing which covers the wings of the butterfly; and our smallest thread, by their infinitely delicate fibres, swells into hempen cord. Such is the wonderful difference to be observed between the works of nature and those of art, when viewed through a microscope. ”

“ I believe that there is no God, but that matter is God, and God is matter, and that it is no matter whether there is any God or not. I believe, also, that the world was not made; that the world made itself; that it had no beginning; that it will last for ever, world without end.
“I believe that a man is a beast, that the soul is the body, and the body is the soul; and that after death there is neither body nor soul. ”

“ In some countries, the mothers break the noses of their children; and others press the head between two boards, that it may become square. The modern Persians have a strong aversion to red hair: the Turks, on the contrary, are warm admirers of it. The Indian beauty is thickly smeared with bear’s fat; while the female Hottentot regrets not the absence of silks and wreaths of flowers, if she can but receive from the hand of her lover the warm entrails and reeking tripe of animals he has just slaughtered, that she may deck herself with these enviable ornaments. ”

“ The ceiling of the portico is finished in a much finer and more complicated manner than that of the Communa, and the stucco laid on the walls with inimitable delicacy; in the ceiling it is so artfully frosted and handled, as to exceed belief. The capitals are of various designs, though each design is repeated several times in the circumference of the court, but not the least attention has been paid to placing them regularly, or opposite to each other. Not the smallest representation of animal life can be discovered amidst the variety of foliages, grotesques, and strange ornaments. ”

“ Sometimes whirlpools, or vast masses of water with a violently circular motion, whirl the unfortunate vessel that fate urges into their vortex, with irresistible force, till the helpless victim sinks an easy prey to the tremendous gulf, and the cries of the unfortunate wretches are lost in the roar of the waves: these whirlpools are occasioned by rocks in the ocean, and the meeting of numerous currents and eddies. Not less dangerous are the waterspouts, that the wind raises from the sea to the clouds ”

“ Nothing is more curious than the nest of a goldfinch or a chaffinch. The inside of it is lined with cotton, wool, and fine silky threads, while the outside is interwoven with thick moss; and that the nest may be less remarkable, and less exposed to the eye of observers, the colour of the moss resembles that of the bark of the tree, or of the hedge, where the nest is built. In some nests, the hair, the down, and the straws, are curiously laid across each other, and interwoven together. ”

“ When we reflect upon the quantity of moss which covers the hardest stones, the trunks of trees, and the most barren places;—when we consider the quantity of vegetables upon the surface of the earth; the different species of flowers which delight and refresh us; the trees and bushes, add to these the aquatic plants, some of which exceed a hair in fineness;—we may be able to form some idea of the multitude of plants in the vegetable kingdom. All these species grow up, and are preserved without detriment or injury, each having that place assigned it, which is most suited to its properties. ”

“ The cups seem enchanted; the balls fly; they increase in number; they diminish; now one, now two, now none under the cup; and now the serpent, the cobra de capella, usurps the place of a small globule of cork, and winds its snaky folds as if from under the puny vessel. The facility with which this dexterous feat is accomplished, gives life and animation to the sable countenance of the artist, whose arm is bared to the elbow, to shew that the whole is done by sleight of hand. ”

“ Where ignorance and fear once ruled supreme, there has rash philosophy but too successfully planted presumption and atheism. ’Tis the diffusion of pure and solid knowledge, which alone can preserve us from the dominion of these opposite tyrants. How should this consideration increase our zeal and stimulate our endeavours! The immediate sphere of our action may be circumscribed, but our exertions will not on that account be entirely lost. In that circumscribed sphere let us labour to root out every superstitious lying vanity, and plant pure religion and unsophisticated truth in its stead. ”

“ During all this time the distant thunder never ceases to roll, and is only silenced by some nearer peal, which bursts on the ear with such a sudden and tremendous crash, as can scarcely fail to strike the most insensible heart with awe. At length the thunder ceases, and nothing is heard but the continued pouring of the rain, and the rushing of the rising streams. ”