The Development of the Feeling for Nature in the Middle Ages and Modern Times

scovery of the world within, of the whole deep contents of

life, which at first sight would seem to rival the poetry of the Italians. Leaving lyrical poetry out of account, Godfrey of Strassburg gives us, in his Tristram and Isolt, a representation of human passion, some feature

this awakening of individualism, this fathoming of the depths of human per

man. God, he tells us, made man at the close of creation to know the laws of the universe, to love its beauty, to admire its greatnes

hat thou mightest be free to shape and to overcome thyself. Thou mayest sink into a beast, and be born again to the Divine likeness. The brutes bring with them from their mothers' body what they will carry with them as long as the

ery time that her discoveries across the seas were enlarging the boundaries of the external world, and her science was studying it. Mixed as the motives of the discoverers must have been, like those of the

nce. Contented with Nature, they spend their lives utterly untroubled for the future.... Theirs is a Golden Age; they do not enclose their farms with t

etation, the strange forests, brilliant birds, and s

o convey the feeling to others; and the explorers often

trongest appeal, and whose admiration of bays, harbours, trees, fields of grain, etc., was measured by the same standard of utility. Even such unskilled reporters did not entirely fail to refer to t

[2] in very matter-of-fact fashion, but not without a t

it, and then arrive at the ocean, on which there is a city and a fort named Cormos. The ships of India bring thither all kinds of spiceries, precious stones, and pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth, and many other

s golden roofed palaces, paradisaical Sunda Islands with their 'abundance of treasure and costly spices,' Java the less with its eight kingdoms,

ugal, we see some pleasure in the beauties of Nature

of Vasco da Gama, he says that th

lofty, the meadows of a beautiful verdure, and great numbers of cattle frisked about

mbique

prickly leaves; broad-spreading boughs afford an agree

Mel

, especially the orange, the flowers of which yield a most graceful diffusive smell. The country is rich and plentiful, ab

anzi

cellent water; the whole island is covered with beautiful woods, which are extremely f

extremely pleasant an

vast number of delightful springs. The plains are large and spacious, and afford excellent pasture.... In short, the whole country affords a most beautiful prospect, being diversified with hills and valleys, and these covered with thick shady woods stocked with great variety of trees, m

z, near

, neither by nature nor by the most laborious cultivation ... yet here you might see greater plenty of these, as well as all luxurious superfluities, than in most other countries of a richer and m

e was full of surprise at the splendour round him, a

cheerful hearts they espied

of these islands, they heard nightingales si

njays, of the which some are green, some yellow, and having their feathers intermingled with green, yellow, and purple, which varieties delighted the sense not a little.... They entered into a main large sea, having in it innumerable islands, marvello

size of the trees (with a view to native houses), the various kinds of pines, palms, and chestnuts, and their uses, the immense downfall of water carried to the sea by the rivers--all this he noted with admiration; but industrial interest outweigh

the Cape Verde Islands, undertaken on the suggestion of Henry the

oint thereof. There are several villages of negroes from Senega, on and about the promontory, who dwell in thatched houses close to the shore, and in sight of those who sail by.... The coast is all low and full of fine large trees, which are constantly green; that is, they never with

uge

asburg in the beauty of the tropics is lost in trans

tance in other respects, he remains the chief representative of his time in the matter. Humboldt noted this in his critical examination of the history of geography in the fifteenth and sixteenth centur

ke other unlettered people, are vividly impressed by fine scenery, especially when it is new to them, if they possess a spark of mental refinement. They have

e Diary in which we can trace Columbus' love for Nature increa

ber 8th, 1492,

very soft like the April at Seville, and it is a

mboldt

s belong, the wild luxuriance of the flowering soil along the humid shores, and the rose-coloured flamingoes which, fishing at early morning at the mouth of the rivers, impar

he complained that he could not find new words in which to

extracts, and it has been partly falsified, unintentionally, by attempts to modernize the language instead

n these humid shores, with their dense vegetation and forests so rich in all kinds of plants, and alive with swarms of parrots ... with an open eye for all the be

of Novembe

at he felt no doubt that there were aromatic herbs among them. He said that all he saw was so beautiful tha

mber

palms. He was much astonished to see so many lofty islands, and assured the Sovereigns that the mountains and islands he had seen sinc

mber

d saw that they were so wonderfully large, that he could not exaggerate their height and straightness, like stout yet fine spindles. He perceived that here there was material for great store of planks

mber

never to leave them. He said to the men who were with him that to give a true relation to the Sovereigns of the things t

mber

the difference being as great as between night and day. They said that all these lands were cultivated, and that a very wide and large river passed through the centre of the valley and could irrigate all the fields. All the trees were green and full of fruit, and the plants tall and covere

in Nature, as free from sentimentality as fro

Cuba, which Humbol

ees never lose their foliage, and I can well believe it, for I observed that they were as green and luxuriant as in Spain in the month of May. Some were in bloom, others bearing fruit, and others otherwise according to their nature. There were palm

trong feeling for the beauty of Nature, since they are concerned with foliage and sh

t only did the wind oppose our proceeding onward, but it also rendered it highly dangerous to run in for any headland, and kept me in that sea, which seemed to me a sea of blood, seething like a cauldron on a mighty fire. Never did the sky look more fearful; during one day and one night it burned like a furnace, and emitted flashes in such fashion that each time I looked to see if my masts and my sails were not destroyed; these flas

ly deficient in all previous knowledge of natural history; but he was gifted with deep feeling (the account of the nocturnal visions in the Lettera Rarissima is proof of t

that he has seen pines and palms wonderfully associated together in one and the same plain, and he even so acutely observed the vegetation around him, that he

smo

i, only contain adventures and descriptions of manners and customs. He lacke

Gulf, had doubled the Cape twice, and, inspired by a deep love for Nature, had spent sixteen years in examining the phenomena of the ocean on the Indian and Chinese shores. He was a great sea painter. His poetic and inventive power remind one at times

t, nerve, and fresh insight

apparatus of deities in Thet

ture and animals ar

ent ants which t

pportioned he

their forces

tile winter's

toils and labours

looked-for en

e Lusitania

e, the nymphs th

ome sequester

e Lycian peop

nce some perso

water they

l by hopping

ger which they

o some safe ret

bove the water sho

r the parching f

ay from some cha

histling, puffin

ind sets all th

group, lying

p, aroused in

es that spread bo

oods and to th

th th

sy which once b

ruly hands be

eated by the c

plet tied with

colour and its

ale and lifeles

her lips are

life the mingle

us of the far-fetched compari

ted lustre fr

or of beauteou

stricken by t

d on some other

se the child's va

house, as may h

ls and roof a

remulous, now

ndering judgm

ys of

nted on her wa

her form and

g that saw her

heaven, and the

personified in stanza x

re mostly mixed up wi

ver, as the e

aven her lovely

right Hyperi

rtals as he r

leet their ships

n

ver, as great

earth, whom in

row Aurora r

e around the h

best in writi

explorers on fi

ailing o'er wid

waves dividin

breathing prosp

llow sails were

overed o'er wit

cing prows were

ted waters o

th these unknown

eople yet exp

s and climes wh

first discove

moon in pure

lvery waves her

ndant glittered

eadow daisy-s

he winds all

verns close al

ight-watch cons

en their custo

of the dang

ch human under

, sudden, drea

ch seem to set

f rain, night

nder which the

labour than a

d an iron vo

es of St Elmo and the gradual

early saw, th

everywhere a

m and crossing

ark and desp

was to all a

urely to ala

sea-clouds, wit

from Ocean's d

pour thin an

ind begin re

opmost clouds a

tance so exce

quite gorged i

on the sea ben

avens in fine i

ters watering

reminds us of ?sc

uch, that scarce

orce or greate

re this purpo

er of Babel to

the clouds t

waves of Neptu

owels of the

l their senses

uster, Bore

ld's machine

fire the black

ole to pole a d

r of love beame

n, upon the h

, as messen

eading sea, with

s it s

that we saw at

, like clouds a

coast

ls broke forth t

ream is murmurin

rm and from the f

m their hearts

All the delights of the New World are there, with the vegetation of Southern Europe added. It is a po

saw the island

'er the water

d the canvas whi

forms a bay fo

quiet, and wh

red shells by

mounts rise no

ceful pride thei

amelled grass

ghtful lovel

reams their rush

th rich luxuria

rocks above, th

orous, sweet, a

toward heaven the

odoriferou

its produce

Daphne carri

the ground its

llow weights

elons, which th

osom in thei

es, which on t

m with leafy h

of Alcides;

shining God lo

Cytherea wi

y other love

press tree point

the ethereal

ubicund break

y thou, ruby,

branches hangs

ome of red and

ned and splen

ustic ground b

of Achemein

shady valley f

ers with head

and lucid lak

lt to fancy w

n and earth all

gave the flow

vely flowers t

hyr there in

inted, as of

the rose all

h on cheek of

r sings the sn

branch responde

ll, to the dear

tle bird the

ture is better displayed

a sixteenth-century lyrist; full of mild enthusiasm for

the feeling which inspired his hymn to Brother Sun (Cantico del Sole), and led his brother

y His cre

be the L

n, my brothe

lights us and

with his great s

, Lord, c

and Stars my

air they in the h

er Wind,

ventura, too, in h

isters, and called upon crops, vineyards,

om the earth, trees, corn, flowers, and grass'; and he

ore in the woods than in books; trees and sto

jects as 'rays of the Godhead

ry, Hugo von S

ree-will of man, but as a revelation and visible sign, by divine will, of God's invisible wisdom. But as one who only glances at an open book sees marks on it, but

; for instance, the popular Franciscan

ds of hearers, and moved them partly by the unusual f

we find again in Ekkehart and other fifteenth-century

3) held that the breath of the Creator was in all visible thing

of the Swedish coast with their surging waves or down the shaft of a mine, or to wander in the quiet of even

n general, Dionysius von Rickel (1471), in his paper On the beauty of the world and the glory of God (De venustate mundi et de pulchritudine Dei) says in C

gh, mountains, springs, streams and rivers, and the broad arm of the immeasurable sea ... and above al

a mystical and scholastic point of view, as made up of living beings in a graduated scale from the lowest to the highest; and he lauded her in terms which even Pope Clemen

living being is but a letter of the alphabet written by the finger of God, and the book is composed of them all together as a book is of letters ... man is the capital letter of

pious Spaniard Luis Vives (1540), who wrote concerning the useless speculations of alchemists and astrologers about occult things: 'I

r years for opinions too openly expressed in his writings; but with all his varied fortunes he never lost his innate manliness and tenderness. His biographer tells us, that as soon as the holidays began, he would

undisturbed, dipping his feet in the brook under a poplar--the tree which was reputed to flourish on sand alone and give shelter to all the birds under heaven--while the rustle of the leaves sang his melancholy to sleep. His biographer goes on to say that he had the Spaniard's specia

ven. He loved the sunrise, birds, flowers, bees, fishes; nothing was meaningless to him; all things were letters in a divine alphabet, which might bring him a message from above. Nature was symboli

of his day. He did not paint Nature entirely for her own sake; man was always her master[15] in his poems, and he s

and he often tries to repres

his ode, Qu

y he w

he noisy w

he worthy

en the na

e of the s

soul to virtu

d shades, and

illness of

spirit lo

and be

e world's te

ure, do I tu

by the mo

ose flowery

n spring's lu

n's suns s

ountain's

rkling rill com

ng in its d

rable tr

on its wind

it glide

ess to the d

ging flowers i

r of the b

thousand sw

n music thro

enchanti

he soul in

d kingdoms are

18] is full of lofty enthu

der glor

million lamps

n my da

vain mor

isionary, mean

ed joy

oul with dark

the conc

ous countless

his or

his journ

hand through the

he pale m

lver w

ather of the

him, brigh

e empyre

ms of light on thi

to these

gainst a weeping

his spi

so swee

ile hard which he

, and the

joy and neve

shall nev

there thr

to chill joy's e

of chang

ing streams and

radise

l joyf

soul shall welco

with an artistic polish which ends by giving us, not so much a real impression of Nature, as one of clever description in musical verse, repeated again and again with slight variations.' This is true of Leon, but far more of Calderon, since it belongs to the very essence of drama. But, despite his passion for description and

s in The Con

awoke in bea

, when stars

eave us but a

cold embrace

shame the rainbo

snow in purpl

rning man sho

day can darken

ither that th

they bear their b

d their cradle

fortunes in thi

die; one day dot

but seem to

in his hour of triumph to beware of sudde

rth with rays

sun afar i

ths most f

her tear-dr

e climbs, th

hen dark nig

burial o

black outs

fly on li

ed the bree

e seas seem a

k flight on

ment, yet

mpest roar

ight the sta

hat ship's o

ar, looks ev

torm await w

d the back

talks sadn

ce Sigismund, chained

ned I mo

s, who wer

ird was, y

ure, beau

'tis a wi

ly plumag

erial hal

ideth

ore will

st it hat

more of so

dged its

st was born

beauteous s

onstellat

ts greater

nstinct d

rceness an

air on ev

asured fa

h better i

liberty

mute fish

ooze and

finny bar

face broug

ircuits t

it on e

imitabl

greater wi

reedom a

treamlet w

nds the fl

rpent, th

em sweet

ts the flo

stening t

tic course

open pla

h more lif

ed its

as talked to the young prince, bro

poke with

an arts an

till and si

ntains and

ught--that

s been long

oices of

asts has a

me and place are v

ing on t

half-awak

wn the linge

stern vap

ruby-tint

samine a

cloths of g

ingled fir

rl his glanc

e gardens

oft retu

auteous spri

jasmine tem

t statues o

o the se

he chariot

e golden sp

waves, alo

to the se

holy fears

lready gil

ort has bee

g remark about a g

rden surrounde

l the nearer it appr

endour of so stiff and formal a kind, that, like the whole of hi

have the wine as the last artificial result of the grape, but expressed into the goblet, highly spiced and sweetened, and so given you to drink; bu

]; and mystical confessions of the same sort may be gathered in numbers from the works of contemporary monks and nuns. Even of such a fanatic and self-tormentor as the S

ittle monastery window, often kept him rapt in deep meditation for hours; often he was as if beside himself, so

as asked if so much knowledge confused him, he answered: 'I find God in a

la. She was especially notable for the ravishingly pretty pictures and comp

ll more or less dictated by religious feeling. It was in the later German and Italian mystics--for example, Bruno, Campane

are shewed a far more intense feeling