Nature has always influenced the minds of the world’s greatest thinkers.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, a leading transcendentalist, and Barry Lopez, an American author, express their views on nature in their pieces: Nature and Language by Emerson and Landscape and Narrative by Lopez.  Both authors feel strong connections to nature, while their views on finding these connections differ.  The two writers also believe that nature has profound affects on how people develop.  These writers also identify strong relationships between language and nature.  Emerson and Lopez have different ideas about how to best experience a strong connection with nature, but they have similar ideas on nature having strong affects on people and on the importance of language.

Both authors feel connected to nature and have a deep respect and awe for it, but they feel differently in how to best experience these feelings.  Ralph Waldo Emerson feels that it is best to enter the landscape and open up to it.  He writes that, “The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression, when the mind is open to their influence” (Emerson, “Nature” 3).  In other words, when people are immersed in and sensitive to their natural surroundings, they will gain an undeniable respect and awe for this constant environment.  Emerson explains that the most beautiful thing is the sum of the parts that form the land.  He expresses that no one “owns the landscape.  There is a property in the horizon which no man has but he whose eye can integrate all the parts…” (Emerson, “Nature” 4).  This idea means that only those who express a heightened receptivity to their surroundings can perceive the great beauty expressed in nature.  While Emerson believes that it is important to be in nature to have these experiences, Barry Lopez feels that the awe and respect derived from our interactions with nature can be best expressed through stories.  Lopez believes that in stories the main concern is “not so much making a point, as evoking something about contact with wild animals [or nature] that would never be completely understood” (41).  He is expressing a belief that through storytelling, readers or listeners can have the same awe-inspiring experience as those who first observed nature.  When worded well, this written expression can evoke very strong emotions.  These emotions may be out of reach for the average person enjoying a day in nature because he does not have the open mind that Emerson demands. Whether from a personal experience or a meaningful story, these emotions are derived from man’s relationship to nature.

Emerson and Lopez agree that nature directly influences man, though Emerson has a more elitist view on connections to nature.  Emerson believes that “few adult persons can see nature” (“Nature” 4).  They may look at nature, but they can never truly witness its magnificence.  This American philosopher uses a metaphor to better explain his position.  He writes, “The Sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.  The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy into the era of manhood” (Emerson, “Nature” 4).  He feels that one must be at peace with oneself to have a meaningful connection with nature.  The illumination of the eye and heart influences how the child-like perceive the world around them.  This influence excludes many people, but these people can still work towards a strong connection with nature.  Lopez does not discriminate in who can connect with nature.  He describes man’s connection to his environment as the relationship between “two landscapes—one outside the self, the other within.  The external landscape is the one we see” and the second landscape “is an interior one, a kind of projection within a person of a part of the exterior landscape” (Lopez 41).  In other words, the natural surroundings we are exposed to are influential on our thought.  Lopez stresses the extent of influence when he claims that the external landscape influences our mind, which is “a set of relationships in the interior landscape with purpose and order; some of these are obvious, many impenetrably subtle” (42).  He means that our surroundings directly affect our character and thinking, whether these effects are minute or obvious.  These affects can be seen in many aspects of life.

Both authors agree on the importance of language.  Emerson observes that the strong influence nature has on man influence the creation of words.  He states that “Words are signs of natural facts” (Emerson, “Language” 5).  This statement means that all words are derived from nature, as Emerson goes on to give several examples such as spirit meaning wind (“Language” 5).  His view is that “Every word which is used to express a moral or intellectual fact, if traced to its root, is found to be borrowed from some material appearance” (Emerson, “Language” 5).  In other words, all words come directly from material things, or nature.  Therefore, language is important because it is an expression of man’s connection with nature.  Lopez believes in the importance of language because correct use of language controls the legitimacy of a story.  He feels that stories must be true to retain their value.  An incorrect use of language could ruin an entire narrative.  He writes, “Story creates an atmosphere in which [nature] becomes discernible as a pattern.  For a storyteller to insist on relationships that do not exist is to lie” (Lopez 43).  Lopez feels very strongly against misuse of language because it would destroy the pattern of nature in a story.  The destruction o this pattern would make a story unbelievable.  On the topic of lying, he writes that “to knowingly set forth a false relationship, is to be lying, no longer telling a story” (Lopez 44).  Lopez is going so far as to say that once something false is described in a story, it loses its value and actual title as a story.  His extreme opinion on this matter illustrates his belief in the importance of language.  The authors agree on the importance of language in relation to nature.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Barry Lopez agree on the importance of nature in life.
These two respected authors have strong connections to nature, but their ideas differ slightly.  They have different views on how to have a strong connection with nature, but they have similar ideas on how nature affects people and on the importance of language. Though Emerson and Lopez influence people with their writing, they feel that much of what influences them comes directly from nature.  They both express that nature has significant sway over people and that natural experiences can be very powerful.  Emerson and Lopez illustrate the importance of nature in many of their writings.

Works Cited

1. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Language.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. Ed.
    Sidney Dobrin.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 5-9.
2. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader. Ed.
    Sidney Dobrin.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 3-5.
3. Lopez, Barry. “Landscape and Narrative.” Saving Place: An Ecocomposition Reader.
    Ed. Sidney Dobrin.  New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. 39-45.