The Love of Beauty | 整个宇宙都是美的殿堂

The love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature. It is a moral quality. The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation, but the presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart. In proportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be the degree in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained.

爱美是整个健全的人性所不可或缺的一部分。它是一种道德品质。缺乏这种品质并不能作为受到责难的充分理由，但是拥有这种品质则是心灵美好的永恒标志。品德的高尚与美好所达到的程度可能与对美的感受程度成正比。

Natural beauty is an all-pervading presence. The universe is its temple. It unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring. It waves in the branches of trees and the green blades of grass. It haunts the depths of the earth and the sea. It gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone.

大自然的美无处不在，整个宇宙就是美的殿堂。美，在春日百花中绽放，美，在绿叶嫩枝间摇曳；美，在深海幽谷里游弋，美，在奇石与贝壳的缤纷色彩中闪烁。

And not only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the setting sun-all overflow with beauty. This beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that it is ptunfuI to think of the multitude ofpeople living in the midst of it and yet remairung almost lind to it.

不只是这些细微之物，还有海洋、山川、云彩、繁星和日升日落——切都是洋溢着美。这样的美是如此珍贵，与我们最温柔、最高尚的情愫是如此相宜，以至于想到很多人置身于美之中，却几乎对它熟视无睹，就会觉得痛心不已。

All persons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature. There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds, but calls for our study and admiration. The power to appreciated beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness-it enlarges our moral nature, too.

所有的人都应该去认识大自然之美，没有一条我们踩过的小虫、没有一片在秋风拂掠之际飞舞的树叶不值得我们研究与赞赏。欣赏美的能力不仅增加了我们快乐的来源，也加强了我们德性的修养。

Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.