Seasons, Vegetation, Animals
The seasons and the months, especially those of the temperate zones--how saturated with mysticism! The wealth of illustration is so abounding that choice is wellnigh paralysed. Poets and nature lovers are never weary of drawing on its inexhaustible ... Springs And Wells
Milton, in his noble "Ode on the Nativity," sings that, with the advent of the Saviour, "From haunted spring and dale, Edged with poplars pale, The parting genius is with sighing sent." Is this a statement of fact? Largely so, ... Still Waters
Tiefer Stille herrscht im Wasser, Ohno Regung ruht das Meer, Und bekuemmert sieht der Schiffer Glatte Flache rings umher. Keine Luft von keiner Seite! Todesstille fuerchterlich! In der ungeheuern Weite Reget kei... Thales
In an earlier chapter mention was made of that truly remarkable group of thinkers who, in the sixth century before the Christian era, made the momentous transition from mythology and tradition to philosophy and science. It was also pointed out that ... The Beautiful And The Ugly
A charge frequently brought against the nature-mystic is that he ignores the dark side of nature, and shuts his eyes to the ugly and repulsive features of the world of external phenomena. If nature can influence man's spiritual development, what (it... The Charge Of Anthropomorphism
There are many thinkers who are ready to acknowledge that the contemplation of nature leads to various kinds of emotional and aesthetic experience, but who at the same time deny that the results of such contemplation have any other than a subjective... The Expanse Of Heaven--colour
"The broad open eye of the solitary sky." Charles Lamb, with his native sensitiveness, considered this line to be too terrible for art. Its suggestion of "the irresponsive blankness of the universe" was for him too naked and poignant. And yet, in... The Immanent Idea
So much by way of direct answer to the formidable attack upon the nature-mystic's position. In turning to more constructive work, which will furnish many indirect answers, it will be necessary to take another brief but exhilarating plunge into meta... The Moon--a Special Problem
The contention of the nature-mystic is that man can enter into direct communion with the objects in his physical environment, inasmuch as they are akin to himself in their essential nature. Now Goethe says: "The stars excite no craving, ... The Ocean
The Ocean! What is its mystic significance? A question as fraught with living issues as its physical object is spacious and profound. Infinitely varied and yet unchanging; gentle and yet terrible; radiant and yet awful; "Calm or convulsed, in... The Waters Under The Earth
We have found that the constant movement and change manifested in the circulation of the waters of the globe impressed the mind of Thales and largely determined the course of his speculation. When his great successor, Heracleitus, passed from water... Will And Consciousness In Nature
The idea that inorganic nature is not merely informed by reason, but is also possessed of will and consciousness, will strike many serious students as bizarre and fanciful. There is an enormous amount of initial prejudice still to be overcome before... Winds And Clouds
The recognition of the mystic element in external nature has had its fluctuations in most ages and climes, and not least so in England. Marvel, in his day, felt the numbness creeping on that comes of divorce from nature, and uttered his plaint of "T...

Nature, And The Absolute Mystic Receptivity Man And Nature Thales The Immanent Idea Brooks And Streams Mythology Mystic Intuition And Reason

Springs And Wells Will And Consciousness In Nature The Second Form Of Contemplation The Third Form Of Contemplation Rivers And Life The Moon--a Special Problem The World Of Reality The Charge Of Anthropomorphism