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Nobody needed the intermediary of a priesthood or the Scriptures to study Nature, it was thought of as a way in which God revealed Himself directly to human reason as truth and beauty, in this way faith could be reconciled with the new discoveries of science. Bräker was not alone in coming near to making a Goddess of Nature, or believing Nature to be appointed by God to lead and teach mankind all that was needed for virtue and happiness.

An interesting sidelight on the Enlightenment thinkers' view of Nature, and one which particularly concerned the Swiss, is that they were obliged to change their attitude to a large part of their own landscape, the mountains. In the Middle Ages, and in some regions right up to the beginning of the 18th century, the mountains were thought of either as a dangerous obstacle to the activities of man, or as the abode of demons and monstrous beasts. It was now necessary to incorporate the mountains into the view that the whole of creation was designed to be beneficial to mankind. An early Enlightenment theory was that the earth had originally been created perfectly level, and only after the Flood had parts of its surface become rough and infertile, an indirect consequence of mankind's sins, not God's will. More scientifically minded theorists pointed out that mountains

are
of benefit to man: they hold minerals and useful wild herbs, they create rainfall and micro-climates which help cultivation. And moreover, as Bräker himself points out in his dialogue between Rasch and Hohlenstein (see Introduction), they add variety to the landscape. Here Bräker is looking forward to a view which became very much more widespread as the century progressed, that of valuing wild Nature for its beauty. In most of his writing, however, it is very noticeable that when he admires a "prospect" he indicates land which is productive, offering a good harvest of grain crops or fruit trees. Mountains, rivers and other natural features are a framework for the work of man, who cultivates God's creation to produce health and plenty. The idea of man as steward of creation comes from the Bible, but is in accordance with Enlightenment ideas.

With somewhat more difficulty Bräker also assimilated the Enlightenment's more optimistic view of human nature. If God has made the natural universe perfect, so it was argued, mankind too can be made perfect, and earthly happiness is therefore a permissible and attainable goal as well as (or even instead of) salvation. The newly independent American Republic had actually enshrined in its constitution the right of its citizens to "the pursuit of happiness". To someone brought up as Bräker's father had been, or his wife, such an idea would have been absurd. To them Nature was hostile, mankind inherently sinful, life was a series of trials and happiness was to be looked for only in Heaven.

Even at this stage in his life Bräker knew only too well that human beings can be vicious, vindictive, treacherous and cruel, and he had felt recently and at first hand the suffering caused by poverty, illness and bereavement. Although optimistic by temperament he knew that many of the frustrations and sorrows of his life were inescapable. In the second half of his life, however, though he continues to express guilt when he feels he has done something specific that was wrong, he reiterates constantly that a God who loves His children wants them to be blessed in this world as well as the next. He no longer believes that wanting to be happy is a sin. He also affirms frequently that true religion is shown by good deeds and love for others, rather than by specifically religious observances or codified beliefs, and here he is able to reconcile his Pietist upbringing with the new way of thinking.

He would also have found a sense of liberation in reading works specifically written to fight superstition, fanaticism and ignorance, as can be seen from his appreciation of Butler's "Hudibras", which he later imitated in his own book "Jaus the knight-errant". Some of the many books he read on astronomy were aimed at debunking the belief in portents and astrology, this aspect would have been as important to him as the widening of his horizons in scientific discovery. His keeping of a notebook on the weather shows that he had absorbed the new emphasis on systematic recording of natural events.



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