It is a problem of moral education, incumbent on the whole
people and intimately touching the national welfare, that
everything possible should be done to make the surround-
ings of children in home, school and conmiunity as simple,
clean and artistically beautiful as possible.
The moral influence of beauty may come to children
even more through the nature world than through art.
Obviously, the two cannot be completely separated, for
human art reaches some of its most educative expression



THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF ART AND NATURE IW

by cooperating with nature, as in the artistic planning ol:
grounds, gardens and shrubbery. In a large way, how-
ever, we may distinguish between the living nature world
and the creations of human genius. Speaking metaphoric-
ally, we may say that nature is God's art, while art is
man's highest nature. Therefore, while art goes further
in the expression of human life, it does not attain the
perfect serenity, simplicity and harmony of nature. 'That
is why Nature is so calming to us that we turn to her more
and more from the stress of our modem life. Children are
even closer than we to the great Nature-mother, and if they
can have constant opportunity for contact with her beauty,
it will build itself into their very spirits, giving a dignity
and harmony difficult to gain in any other way. It is not
that we should force the beauty upon the child's conscious-
ness: thatisasfatalinthecaseof nature as of art; but that
we should give him ample opportunity to live in the lap
of his best nurse — Nature.
