Question

read this quotation from chapter i of nature.

to speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.

which sentence from nature best supports emersons claim?

• i am glad to the brink of fear.
• nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece.
• the sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child.
• in the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child.

Explanation:

Analyze the central claim

Using the Emersonian Analysis knowledge point, we identify Ralph Waldo Emerson's central claim in the prompt: "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature." This claim asserts a fundamental difference between how adults and non-adults (children) perceive the natural world, suggesting that adulthood often diminishes one's capacity for deep, true visual and spiritual connection with nature.

Evaluate the textual evidence

Using the Transcendentalist Philosophy knowledge point, we evaluate which option directly supports this distinction between adult and child perception:

• "I am glad to the brink of fear." (This describes personal sublime emotion, not the adult/child distinction.)
• "Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece." (This describes nature's adaptability to human moods.)
• "The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child." (This directly contrasts the superficial sight of an adult ["man"] with the deep, heartfelt vision of a "child," directly supporting why "few adult persons can see nature.")
• "In the woods too, a man casts off his years..." (This describes how a man can become a child again in the woods, which is a consequence rather than direct support for the claim that adults normally cannot see nature.)

Answer:

• (A) I am glad to the brink of fear.
• (B) Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece.
• (C) The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. (Correct answer)
• (D) In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child.