Book and school of Nature

Meaning

The great world-book of Nature figures as a medium in which divine things can be visibly portrayed. In the conclusion the anonymous author also calls Nature a universal school and a great book of wonders, contrasting his education there with study at a university or celebrated academy. The book is therefore not necessarily a particular printed title. It names the created order as an object of divinely aided study and supports the author's claim to speak as a citizen and private person. This appeal does not dispense with Scripture: the earlier passage places natural likenesses beside biblical prefigurations and the written Word.