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. Emerson perceives that nature is symbolic of man’s mind, or in his own words “nature always wears the colors of the spirit”.(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1836: 16) Nature in Emerson’s opinion, “ is the least part” which he continues that “ the shows of day, the dewy morning, the rainbow, mountains, orchards in blossoms, stars, moonlight, shadows in still water, and the like, if too eagerly hunted, become shows merely, and mock us with their unreality.”(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1836: 35) And a high and divine beauty lies in “the combination with the human will”. In Chapter IV Language of Nature, Emerson stated clearly that, “Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact. Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind, and that state of mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance as its picture.” In Chapter VII Spirit of Nature, Emerson stated that, “It (nature) is the organ through which the universal spirit speaks to individual, and strives to lead back the individual to it.” It means only by combining nature with man’s mind can nature has some significance, and if without, nature is lifeless and valueless. Therefore, the beauty of nature derives from the beauty of the mind, which transcends people’s limits of senses but rely on instinct to realize. And the reason why man owns such an instinct is that within every man exists the over-soul, that every man is divine, and can converse with God directly. So the over-soul functions as a ministry through which man can recognize the beauty of nature. Stating this point, Emerson also used the device of metaphor:
“that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us, as the life of the tree puts forth new branches and leaves through the pores of the old.”(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1836: 59)
The universe is a whole one, with matter and spirit both from the same spiritual origin. Then it is rational for us to infer that the common nature and human being also should be in a harmonious one, namely, his idealist monism calls for a unity of man and nature.
The human-nature relationship in Nature spiritualized the wilderness. The principles inherent in human and nature relations corresponded with harmony to ensure internal stability in an unpredictable world. Human’s conception of natural surroundings emerged from the people’s fears of natural disasters and their sense of superiority over nature stemmed from their efforts to control an unpredictable wilderness. The change and continuity of human-nature relationship is subtly shown in Emerson’s Nature, and the current conception of human-nature relationship is different from Emerson’s. No matter it is in an abstract way of conception in Nature or in our modern human’s conception of human-nature relations. It does undergo great change and will bond together forever.
3.3 Reaction against the Industrialization
The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual, the new notion of the individual and his importance represented, obviously, a new way of looking at man. It was a reaction against the process of dehumanization which came in the wake of developing capitalism. The industrialization of New England was turning men into nonhumans. People were losing their individuality and were becoming uniform. And it was also a reaction Calvinist concept that man is totally depraved, he is sinful and perseveres in sinhood