“The scientist does not just study nature because it is useful to do so.
He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful.
If nature were not beautiful it would not be worth knowing, and life would not be worth living.”
– Henri Poincaré
I am not speaking, of course, of the beauty which strikes the senses, of the beauty of qualities and appearances.
What I mean is that more intimate beauty which comes from the harmonious order of its parts.
The study of nature is pure intelligence and that alone grasps my senses.
Life With Catnip 