Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Beauty is the Very Radiance of the Good



"There is a connection between beauty and goodness . . . To designate beauty that is offered to our view, Chinese uses "hao-kan," which means "good to see."  Brought up with this language, the Chinese have an instinctive tendency to associate beauty and goodness . . . It is no exaggeration to say that goodness and beauty form the two faces of one organic, efficient entity.  So what is the difference between them?  Let us attempt a formula: 'Goodness is the guarantee of the quality of beauty; Beauty illuminates goodness and makes it desirable.' . . . Beauty, rising toward the state of joy and freedom, allows goodness itself to surpass the simple notion of duty.  Beauty is the nobility of the good, the pleasure of the good, the delight of the good, the very radiance of the good."

Francois Cheng,
"The Way of Beauty"

Photo: The La Sal Mountains loom above a ruddy sandstone cliff and a layer of fog; near Moab, UT; December 2, 2013

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