Page:Language of the Eye.djvu/50

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
32
THE LANGUAGE

Are merely shadows to the unseen grief,
That swells with silence in the tortured soul.

Or, as Milton speaks in "Paradise Lost:"—

"So much the rather, thou, celestial sight,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate; there plant eyes, all mist from thence
Purge and disperse, that I may see, and tell
Of things invisible to mortal sight."

Or, as Dante says:—

"Io non posso, celar il mio dolore."

"I am unable to conceal my grief,
Hence must my outward aspect mourn,
As the soul does within its dwelling-place;
For when Love took his station in my heart,
He stood before me, and suggested thoughts
Unto my mind, which since have seldom slept."

Cansone 18th.

It is the privilege of the great mind to know and feel this, for it bears the exalting divinity within; and the more it acts independent of all that is mutable, variable, and irrational, and dependent on that good which is immutable, permanent, and rational, the more will true peace and happiness be promoted. It is then that the trinity of parts (the spiritual, intellectual, and material) are acting together, and all the excellency of our nature is secured. It is then that the mind, which forms the connecting link between body and soul, being irradiated by celestial light, penetrates the dark mists that obscure man's ordinary vision, and enjoys an antepast of heaven itself. Were it not for this the sensible world would lose all its exquisiteness.

It is surely not the figure alone, nor the touch, nor the odour, which makes the rose; but all these governed by the dignity of intellect and the innumerable associations of