Astonishing Nature
You are part of the universe; you are made of stars. When you look at your loved one, you see that he is also made of stars and carries eternity inside. Looking in this way, we naturally feel reverence.
– Thích Nhất Hạnh
According to Batteux (1713–1780), art consists in imitating the beauty of nature, its aim being enjoyment.
What Is Art? - III
Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
– Rachel Carson
Tell them what nature has made necessary and what she has made superfluous. Tell them how simple are the laws she has laid down, and how straightforward and enjoyable life is for those who follow them and how confused and disagreeable it is for others who put more trust in popular ideas than they do in nature.
Seneca • Letters from a Stoic: Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium (Classics S.)
Now all art is an imitation of nature.
Seneca • Letters from a Stoic: Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium (Classics S.)
With reference to the manifestations of beauty, Baumgarten considers that the highest embodiment of beauty is seen by us in nature, and he therefore thinks that the highest aim of art is to copy nature.
What Is Art? - III
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