Natural light

“ So we must imagine all these colours glowing with light and never still—perpetually changing from one to the other and shading off from one into the other, one colour emerging, rising to the dominant position, and then disappearing to give place to another, and effecting these changes imperceptibly yet rapidly also, for if we take our eyes away for even a few minutes we find that the aspect has altogether altered. ”

“ I need not speak of the exquisite adaptations of light to the eyes, and the uses it performs in giving color to the various objects of nature, revealing their forms and photographing them upon the sensitive retina of the eye, where they become ideas and food for the sustenance and development of the natural mind and the materials of knowledge. I only need to mention how attraction is adapted to our strength. ”

“ And here again we may observe, that though there are some natural bodies, which absorb and stifle within themselves almost all the light which they receive, and which accordingly are dark, black, and unpleasant to the beholders, yet the greatest part of natural bodies either reflect lively colours, or reflect some, and transmit others, or transmit all the colours freely. ”

“ To reach this, art observes the order according to which the natural lights distribute their various colored elements, and classes luminous aspects—a process which it has always observed—into the two categories of warm and cold. ”

“ But some may object, that if Light were a body, and did contract and dilate, as I say, it is impossible that it could display it self in so great and vast a compass, and remove so suddenly and instantly as it doth. To which objection, I answer, first, That although I say, Light is a real corporeal substance, and doth contract and dilate it self from a point into numerous rayes, as also in another Letter I sent you before, [2] That Light and Darkness do succeed each other ”

“ All the analogy of nature teaches us a lesson of humility, with regard to the reliance we are to place on our discernment and judgment as to such matters. But with our present knowledge, we may observe, that this curious system of phenomena appears to be a collateral result of the mechanism by which the effects of light are produced ”

“ I have here supposed, that my reader is acquainted with that great modern discovery, which is at present universally acknowledged by all the inquirers into natural philosophy, namely, that light and colours, as apprehended by the imagination, are only ideas in the mind, and not qualities that have any existence in matter. ”

“ Through all time we have [Pg 119] evidences that this has been the prevailing feeling of the human race, derived, of course, from their observation of the natural phenomena dependent upon luminous agency. In the myths of every country, impersonations of light prevail, and to these are referred the mysteries of the perpetual renewal of life on the surface of the earth. ”

“ and as the eye naturally seeks the light and vision, and our body naturally desires food and drink, so our mind is possessed with a becoming and natural desire to become acquainted with the truth of God and the causes of things. ”

“ But I will tell them what there is not in nature. An even tint is not in nature—it produces heaviness. Nature's shadows are ever varying, and a ruled sky that is quite even never can produce a natural sky. ”

“ The eloquence of the eyes of one who has, from her birth, no other language than the expression of the face, is unlimited, unfathomable, deep and vast—much like the transparent sky, the silent stage of the rising and setting of the bright orbs, of light and shade. In this speechless creature there was a lonesome majesty as that of Great Nature herself. ”

“ But let no [Pg 108] one be discouraged by the fact that the theory of light, as, indeed, of all the imponderable agents, is imperfectly understood. Rather let us rejoice that there are vast fields of discovery yet to be explored; and that light, the most glorious and inspiring element in nature, invites us from the sun, the moon, and the stars, and from the face of every green leaf and variegated flower, to search out the wonders of its nature, and further to exemplify the goodness and wisdom of God. ”

“ On the other hand, laborers, gardeners, physicians, unite in bearing witness to the beneficial effects of light. Naturalists and philosophers, too, in all ages, impressed with the power of the sun, have described its manifold effects. ”

“ The sun is the great lamp that illuminates the world, while the atmosphere, which is filled with particles of various substances, becomes the shade of the lamp which diffuses and softens the light and gives it its color tones, whether of warmth or coldness. We could not well do without the reflected light of the sky. The poetry of life would be sadly marred. The beautiful effects of color and purity of tone would be wanting. We need to bathe in light as much as in water, and the character of the light is almost as important as the character of the water. ”

“ Every animal and every plant alike proclaim that life and health are due to light; and even the crystallizing forms of inorganic matter, by bending towards it, confess its all-prevailing sway. From the sun to each planet revolving around that orb, and to the remotest stars which gleam through the vast immensity of heaven, we discover this power still in its brightness, giving beauty and order to these unnumbered creations; no less completely than to this small island of the universe which we call our Earth. ”

“ That we derive the solar virtue of the sun’s rays to our uses, infinitely extend the sphere of light, enlarge the near appearances of objects, bring remote objects near, discover hidden things, trace nature out of her concealments, and unfold her dark mysteries: That we delight our eyes with beautiful images, cunningly imitate the devices and portray the works of nature; imitate, did I say? nay excel; while we form to ourselves things not in being, exhibit things absent, and represent things past: That we recreate our minds, and delight our ears, with melodious sounds ”

“ Light, through the medium of the eye, not only unfolds to us the persons of others, in all their minute modifications and peculiarities, but exhibits us to ourselves. It presents to our own vision a faithful portrait of our peculiar features behind reflecting substances, without which property we should remain entirely ignorant of those traits of countenance which characterize us in the eyes of others.
But, what is the nature of this substance we call light, which thus unfolds to us the scenes of creation? ”

“ In the range of inorganic nature, I doubt if any object can be found more perfectly beautiful than a fresh, deep snow-drift, seen under warm light. [54] Its curves are of inconceivable perfection and changefulness, its surface and transparency alike exquisite, its light and shade of inexhaustible variety and inimitable finish, the shadows sharp, pale, and of heavenly color, the reflected lights intense and multitudinous, and mingled with the sweet occurrences of transmitted light. ”

“ Its vegetation is of rapid growth and beautiful beyond anything that your planet can display.
As the atmosphere of the spirit world is not so dense as yours, and as the rays of the spiritual sun are not obliged to penetrate through so much cloud and vapor, the colors of all objects are sparkling and beautiful in variety and tone.
The specific gravity of the spirit upon his globe is not so great, comparatively, as that of man in the natural world. ”

“ And in landscapes and buildings, such is the delicacy and accuracy of such representations, that the marks of the chisel and the crevices in the stones may frequently be seen by applying a magnifying lens to the picture; so that we may justly exclaim, in the words of the Poet: ‘Who can paint like nature!.’ That LIGHT—which is the first-born of Deity, which pervades all space, and illuminates all worlds—in the twinkling of an eye, and with an accuracy which no art can imitate, depicts every object in its exact form and proportions, superior to every thing that human genius can produce. ”

“ But Nature cannot be making a careful picture made of many picked colours, unless Nature is personal. If the end of the world were mere darkness or mere light it might come as slowly and inevitably as dusk or dawn. ”

“ And it is most singular that this separation, which is the great source of brilliancy in nature, should not only be unobserved, but absolutely forbidden by our great writers on art, who are § 12. The sharp separation of nature's lights from her middle tint.always talking about connecting the light with the shade by imperceptible gradations. Now so surely as this is done, all sunshine is lost, for imperceptible gradation from light to dark is the characteristic of objects seen out of sunshine, in what is, in landscape, shadow. Nature's principle of getting light is the direct reverse. ”

“ All these beauties are indeed derived from the imponderable and invisible agent, light; and the variety and changefulness of the effects we may constantly observe show that light possesses the power of impressing our visual organs in a thousand different ways, modified by the surrounding circumstances, as witness that ever-shifting transformation scene—the sky. ”

“ Every one knows the changed aspect of the whole material world, when one of the lights that radiated the inner self has merged into shadow, leaving us to grope our way in darkness, until the radiance of a new light, emerging from ourselves, shall penetrate the shadow and shine with the combined brightness of both. ”

“ And there was Light.’ From that ‘Light,’ the effulgence of God’s own Actual Presence and Intelligence, came the Movement which dispelled ‘darkness.’ Movement, once begun, shaped all that which before was ‘without form’ and filled all that had been ‘void.’ Light is the positive exhalation and pulsation of the Divine Existence—the Active Personality of an Eternal God;—Light, which enters the soul and builds the body of every living organism,—therefore Light is Life. ”

“ For Nature herself draws with diffused light, and concentrated dark;—never, except in storm or twilight, with diffused dark, and concentrated light; and the thing we all like best to see drawn—the human face—cannot be drawn with white touches, but by extreme labor. ”

“ Is the light of Nature a fitful lamp, or a brief torch, which accident may upset, or a gust extinguish? On the contrary, the light of Nature may burn steady, clear, and full, over the entire field of human life. ”

“ Without its aid, the world would have been an inhospitable wilderness, involved in sable shades of perpetual night. “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold it.”
Light beautifies every delightful object which comes within the reach of its rays. ”

“ Although the figures we have been drawing show the principles on which sun-shadows are shaped, still there are so many more laws to be considered in the great art of light and shade that it is better to observe them in Nature herself or under the teaching of the real sun. ”

“ As we look out upon Nature we see that the Activity which animates her does not issue from any outside source, but is actually in her.
We do not need to look for the seat of that animating Activity in the empty spaces of the starry heavens or anywhere beyond them. We look for it in the stars themselves, in our own star, in the Earth, in every particle of which the stars and Sun and Earth are composed, in every plant and animal, and in every human heart, and in the whole together. There it is—and especially in the human heart—that the soul of Nature resides. ”

“ And we can let it shine or extinguish it at will. Light is the best of nature's gifts, and to give light is the highest function to which a living creature can attain. Can any one now doubt our pre-eminence? ”

“ The facts we have stated above, and the variety of modes by which light may be refracted and reflected by different substances in nature, lead us to form some conceptions of the magnificent and diversified scenes which light may produce in other systems and worlds, under the arrangements of the all-wise and Beneficent Creator. Light, in all its modifications and varieties of colour and reflection, may be considered as the beauty and glory of the universe, and the source of unnumbered enjoyments to all its inhabitants. ”

“ By so doing, our souls become more sensitive to the impressions of Nature, and we are better able to express those impressions. Our power of vision increases. Our soul's eye acquires a keener insight and sees deeper into the soul of Nature. We are able to enter more into the spirit of Nature, and the spirit of Nature is able to enter more into us. We arrive at a completer understanding between ourselves and Nature, are more in harmony with her, and consequently see more Beauty. ”

“ We may ask, then, What would be the condition of nature if the light that shines upon us were absolutely homogeneous? Some bodies would absorb it completely, and would appear dark like black velvet; others would reflect it more or less actively, and would have a corresponding degree of brilliancy. ”

“ Day by day light and shadow fall in unbroken succession on the sensitive surface of his mind, and gradually an elementary order discovers itself in the regularity of these recurring impressions. Form, colour, distance, size, relativity of position are felt rather than seen, and the dim and confused mass of sensations discovers something trustworthy and stable behind. Nature is now simple appearance ”

“ The correspondence between perfection of forms and heightening of luminous intensity proves true in the human race as in others. Æsthetics, agreeing with ethnography, demonstrate that light tends to develop the different parts of the body in true and harmonious proportion. ”

“ Besides its envelope of air and light all our earth is surrounded with a sphere of spiritual creativeness, with the multifarious rainbow emanation of our energy, out of which is woven, forged or moulded all that is immortally beautiful ”