To a naturalist nothing is indifferent; the humble moss that creeps upon the stone is equally interesting as the lofty pine which so beautifully adorns the valley or the mountain: but to a naturalist who is reading in the face of the rocks the annals of a former world, the mossy covering which obstructs his view, and renders indistinguishable the different species of stone, is no less than a serious subject of regret.
Interpretation
Every aspect of nature, no matter how small, holds significance for a naturalist.
James Hutton emphasizes the importance of all elements in nature, portraying that even the most humble organisms, like moss, carry value and intrigue comparable to majestic trees. For a naturalist, the interconnectedness of life reveals that each component, even those that seem to hinder understanding, contributes to the story of the natural world.
In practice
During a nature walk, one could quote this to highlight the importance of every organism in an ecosystem.
Man is made for science; he reasons from effects to causes, and from causes to effects; but he does not always reason without error. In reasoning, therefore, from appearances which are particular, care must be taken how we generalize; we should be cautious not to attribute to nature, laws which may perhaps be only of our own invention.
As there is not in human observation proper means for measuring the waste of land upon the globe, it is hence inferred, that we cannot estimate the duration of what we see at present, nor calculate the period at which it had begun; so that, with respect to human observation, this world has neither a beginning nor an end.
Whatever peace I know rests in the natural world, in feeling myself a part of it, even in a small way.
One cannot look at the sea without wishing for the wings of a swallow.
He who does not become familiar with nature through love will never know her.
What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk that rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows! Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants this rain. As long as it talks I am going to listen.
What more delightful avocation than to take a piece of land and by cautious experimentation to prove how it works. What more substantial service to conservation than to practice it on one's own land?
Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.
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