Terrace Room

The legacy of the Picturesque
I lately had a present of a basket of fruit. I was in raptures at the sight of it, as of something heavenly,- such riches, such abundance, such variety, and yet such affinity! I could not persuade myself to pluck off a single berry: I could not bring myself to take a single peach or fig Ferdinand came and found me in the midst of these meditations. He did me justice and then said, smiling, but with a deep sigh, Yes, we are not worthy to consume these glorious products of Nature: truly it were a pity. Permit me to make a present of them to my beloved? How glad I was to see the basket carried off. How did I love Ferdinand! How did I thank him for the feeling he had excited in me, for the prospect he gave me! Ay, we ought to acquaint ourselves with the beautiful: we ought to contemplate it with rapture, and attempt to raise ourselves up to its height. And, in order to gain strength for that, we must keep ourselves thoroughly unselfish: we must not make it our own, but rather seek to communicate it, indeed, to make sacrifice of it to those who are dear and precious to us.