The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1870-07-07


ant. character, these emotions frequently
become joyous, transporting and exhilara-
ting in the highest degree. The heart is
thrilled with delight and gladness; it is
pervaded with ecstasy; itexults and sings;
it is caught up int the third heaven Of
raptures; it rejoiccs with joy unspeakablO
and full of glory.
The opening lipc in poem of Great cx-
ccllonce and merit, the Endymon of
Keats, has expressed this thought in a
style of singular felicity, and produced a
verse that has almost become proverb in
the English tongue.
ga thing of beauty is jay forever"
lie then goes on to illustrate and expand
this idea by referring to various shapes of
beauty, connected with the material and
intellectual W, rks, that yield enjoyment
to mankind. e.
Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, and such are dalFodils, s
With the green world they live in, and clearrils
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead
All lovely tales that We have heard or read ;;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring into us from the heavens brink.
1t may be difficult to unfold the philos,
ophy Of this matter, but the fact is unda-
niablo. We can say, in general, that there
is such fitness and adaptation of beauty,
to the structure and lawsof the mind, that
the latter is agrocably affected by it, views
it with admiration, and receives delight
full impressions from it. Science does not
comprehend the essence of light. This
great element, the most beautiful substance
in nature, after the lapse of nearly six thou
sand years of human history, is still wrapt
mystery. Nor can We explain why it is
a sourso of qualification to man. Yet,
during all this period, successive genera
tions have lived in the enjoyment of its
radiance, lovelinoss and glory. "Truly the
light is sweet and pleasant thing it is
for the eyes to behold the sun"
AS the sense Of taste, the bodily palate,
rolishes delicious food aud drink, as the
sense of smell is delighted with fragrant
odors, as the sense Of hearing conveys
pleasure to the mind when affected by
melodious sounds, as the sense of touch
derives qualification from surfaces that are
soft, smooth and yelvety. So the soul
drinks in joy and gladness from the aP.
prehension Of beauty, whether we contem-
plate the scenery of nature, view the gal
leries and works of art, roam amid the
walks of literature, minglo in the society
of our fellow creatures, or enter into the
sanctuary of religion, and hold communion
with the spiritual, invisible, heavenly and
immortal, we draw happiness from the
lovely and bcaut' full in every sphere Of
being.
The minds of men as affected by beau
ty, may be divided into three general
classes.
First, the common mass of mankind,
| both educated and unGducatcd The great
body Of men, whether conscious of the
fact or not, derive pleasure from beauty.
They may seem Indifferent to the pleasing
aspects of nature, and inscnsiblc to the
charms of beauty in the forms, colors and
decorations that lie within the range of
their observation, but they do in reality
receive Impressions from those things and
these impressions largely contribute to
their enjoyment. In other words, God
has made the world beautiful and adapted
to render its inhabitants happy, whether
they choose to enjoy it or not. think it
plain that large part of the happinest
of mankind is derived from the beautiful
prospects, ever-changing views and end
lessly diversified scenes, that surround
them in this world. For if a man be con-
fined in a dark dungeon, ard deprived of
the sight of these things, his sources of
pleasure are in a great measure cut off,
and he is rendered miserable by the loss
ofthem. ..r .r.l I'd. .a
In support of this view, I present the
following extract from the works OF Dr..
Dwight: "Worc all the interesting d.
versities of colour and form to disappear,
how unsightly, dali and wcarisome, would
be the aspect of the world The pleasures,
conveyed to us by the endless varieties
with which these sources of beauty are
presented to the cyo, are so much things
of course, and exist so much without
intermissiou, that We scarcely think either
of their nature, their number, or the great
proportions, which they constitute in the
whole mass Of our enjoyment. But were
an inhabitantof Of this country removed from,
its delightful scenery to the midst OF an
.Arabiam desert; boundless expanse of
sand; a waste, spread with uniform desc
lation, enlivcned by the murmur of no
stream and chccred by the beauty of no
verdure, although he might liyein apalace
and riot IN iiispleildor and luxury, he would,
I think, find life. q dull, ycarisomc, mclan-
choly round Of existence, and amid all his
qualifications, would sigh for the hills and
valleys of his native land, the brooks and
rivers, the living lustre of the Spring and
the rich glories of Autumn, thereaer-va-,
rying brilliaucy and grandeur of the land
scape, and the magnifcenoe1 Of the sky,
sun, moon and stars; enter moro extern
sivnIv into tho eniovmout of mankind than