‘From the earth, as a shore, I look out into that silent sea. I seem to partake its rapid transformations: the active enchantment reaches my dust, and I dilate and conspire with the morning wind. How does Nature deify us with a few and cheap elements!’
This passage from ‘Nature’ shows that we do not get to decide what nature is. We do not get to decide what beauty is. Nature itself decides what beauty is and because we are a part of nature, we are a part of the beauty of it. We are wrapped up in it and surrounded by it. We are almost like passengers because we are not in control of the rapid transformations, but we are still a part of them. And we watch them not only with our eyes, but also with our whole bodies as we partake in the active enchantments. Emerson writes that nature deifies us with few and cheap elements almost as if he is upset, but he says it not out of disappointment, but out if amazement. He wants to know how it is that nature does something so good with so little.
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I see what you mean about how we are part of nature. I also think that this is saying that we don't have to focus on being beautiful because by simply being part of nature we are naturally beautiful. Nature uses only a few elements and achieves something amazing, so it is only a small jump that we should try to do the same.
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