第7章

Suchapoet,itmaybe,mistswithsighsthewindowofhislifeuntilthetearsrundownit;thensomeairofsearchingpoetry,likeanairofsearchingfrost,turnsittoacrystalwonder。Thegodofgoldensongisthegod,too,ofthegoldensun;soperadventuresong—lightislikesunlight,anddarkensthecountenanceofthesoul。Perhapstheraysaretothestarswhatthornsaretotheflowers;andsothepoet,afterwanderingoverheaven,returnswithbleedingfeet。LesstragicinitsmerelytemporalaspectthanthelifeofKeatsorColeridge,thelifeofShelleyinitsmoralaspectis,perhaps,moretragicalthanthatofeither;hisdyingseemsamyth,afigureofhisliving;thematerialshipwreckafigureoftheimmaterial。

Enchantedchild,bornintoaworldunchildlike;spoileddarlingofNature,playmateofherelementaldaughters;\"pard—likespirit,beautifulandswift,\"lairedamidsttheburningfastnessesofhisownfervidmind;boldfootalongthevergesofprecipitousdream;

lightleaperfromcragtocragofinaccessiblefancies;toweringGenius,whosesoulroselikealadderbetweenheavenandearthwiththeangelsofsongascendinganddescendingit;—heisshrunkenintothelittlevesselofdeath,andsealedwiththeunshatterablesealofdoom,andcastdowndeepbelowtherollingtidesofTime。Mightymeatforlittleguests,whentheheartofShelleywaslaidinthecemeteryofCaiusCestius!Beauty,music,sweetness,tears—themouthofthewormhasfedofthemall。Intothatsacredbridal—

gloomofdeathwhereheholdshisnuptialswitheternityletnotourrashspeculationsfollowhim。Letushoperatherthatas,amidstmaterialnature,whereourdulleyesseeonlyruin,thefinereyeofsciencehasdiscoveredlifeinputridityandvigourindecay,—

seeingdissolutionevenanddisintegration,whichinthemouthofmansymbolisedisorder,tobeintheworksofGodundeviatingorder,andthemannerofourcorruptiontobenolesswonderfulthanthemannerofourhealth,—so,amidstthesupernaturaluniverse,sometenderundreamedsurpriseoflifeindoomawaitedthatwildnature,which,wornbywarfarewithitself,itsMaker,andalltheworld,nowSleeps,andneverpalatesmorethedug,Thebeggar\'snurse,andCaesar\'s。

Footnotes:

{1}Thatistosay,takenasthegeneralanimatingspiritoftheFineArts。

{2}TheAbbeBareillewasnot,ofcourse,responsibleforSavonarola\'staste,onlyforthusendorsingit。

{3}Wemean,ofcourse,thehymn,\"Irisefromdreamsoftime。\"

{4}Wearealittlesurprisedatthefact,becausesomanyVictorianpoetsare,orhavebeen,prose—writersaswell。Now,accordingtoourtheory,thepracticeofproseshouldmaintainfreshandcomprehensiveapoet\'sdiction,shouldsavehimfromfallingintothehandsofanexclusivecoterieofpoeticwords。Itshouldreactuponhismetricalvocabularytoitsbeneficialexpansion,bytakinghimoutsidehisaristocraticcircleoflanguage,andkeepinghimintouchwiththegreatcommonalty,theproletariatofspeech。

Foritiswithwordsaswithmen:constantintermarriagewithinthelimitsofapatricianclanbegetseffeterefinement;andtoreinvigoratethestock,itsveinsmustbereplenishedfromhardyplebeianblood。

{5}Wordsworth\'sadaptationofit,however,istrue。Menarenot\"childrenofalargergrowth,\"butthechildISfatheroftheman,sincetheparentisonlypartiallyreproducedinhisoffspring。

{6}TheRhythmofLife,byAliceMeynell。

{7}\"Andthestarsofheavenfelluntotheearth,evenasafig—

treecastethheruntimelyfigs,whensheisshakenofamightywind\"

(Rev。vi,13)。

{8}Suchanalogiesbetweenmasterinsister—artsareofteninteresting。Insomerespects,isnotBrahmstheBrowningofmusic?

{9}SeekFIRST,notseekONLY。

{10}Wehopethatweneednotreferthereader,forthemethodsofmagicarchitecture,toAriostoandthatAtlasamongenchanters,Beckford。