In woods and wilds, or any lonely place, At a composing distance from the haunts Of strife and folly, though it be a treat As choice as musing leisure can bestow; Yet, in the very centre of the crowd, To keep the secret of a poignant scorn, May suit an airy demon; but, of all Unsocial courses, 'tis the one least fit For the gross spirit of mankind-the one That soonest fails to please, and quickliest turns Into vexation. Let us, then, I said,
Leave this unknit Republic to the scourge Of its own passions; and to regions haste, Whose shades have never felt th' encroaching axe, Or soil endured a transfer in the mart Of dire rapacity. There, man abides, Primeval Nature's child. A creature weak In combination (wherefore else driven back So far, and of his old inheritance
So easily deprived ?), but, for that cause, More dignified, and stronger in himself, Whether to act, judge, suffer, or enjoy. True, the intelligence of social art Hath overpower'd his forefathers, and scon Will sweep the remnant of his line away; But contemplations, worthier, nobler far Than her destructive energies, attend His independence, when along the side Of Mississippi, or that northern stream Which spreads into successive seas, he walks ; Pleased to perceive his own unshackled lite, And his innate capacities of soul,
There imaged or, when having gain'd the top Of some commanding eminence, which yet Intruder ne'er beheld, he thence surveys Regions of wood and wide savannah, vast Expanse of unappropriated earth,
With mind that sheds a light on what he sees; Free as the sun, and lonely as the sun Pouring, above his head, its radiance down Upon a living and rejoicing world!
"So, westward, tow'rd the unviolated woods, I bent my way; and, roaming far and wide, Fail'd not to greet the merry mocking-bird; And while the melancholy muccawiss (The sportive bird's companion in the grove) Repeated o'er and o'er his plaintive cry, I sympathized at leisure with the sound; But that pure archetype of human greatness, I found him not. There, in his stead, appear'd A creature, squalid, vengeful, and impure; Remorseless, and submissive to no law But superstitious fear, and abject sloth.
Enough is told! Here am I-ye have heard What evidence I seek, and vainly seek; What from my fellow-beings I require, And cannot find; what I myself have lost, Nor can regain how languidly I look Upon this visible fabric of the world, May be divined-perhaps it hath been said. But spare your pity, if there be in me Aught that deserves respect: for I exist- Within myself-not confortless. The tenor Which my life holds, he readily may conceive Whoe'er hath stood to watch a mountain brook In some still passage of its course, and seen Within the depths of its capacious breast Inverted trees, and rocks, and azure sky; And, on its glassy surface, specks of foam And conglobated bubbles undissolved, Numerous as stars; that, by their onward lapse, Betray to sight the motion of the stream, Else imperceptible; meanwhile, is heard Perchance a roar or murmur; and the sound Though soothing, and the little floating isles Though beautiful, are both by Nature charged With the same pensive office; and make known Through what perplexing labyrinths, abrupt Precipitations, and untoward straits,
The earth-born wanderer hath pass'd; and quickly, That respite o'er, like traverses and toils Must be again encounter'd. Such a stream Is human life; and so the spirit fares In the best quiet to its course allow'd: And such is mine-save only for a hope That my particular current soon will reach Th' unfathomable gulf where all is still!"
State of feeling produced by the foregoing narrative-A belief in a superintending Providence the only adequate support under affliction-Wanderer's ejaculation to the Supremie Being-Account of his own devotional feelings in youth involved in it-Implores that he may retain in age the power to find repose among enduring and eternal thingsWhat these latter are-Acknowledges the difficulty of a lively faith-Hence immoderate sorrow-But doubt or despondency not therefore to be inferred-And proceeds to administer consolation to the Solitary-Exhortations-How these are received-Wanderer resumes-And applies his discourse to that other cause of dejection in the Solitary's mind, the disappointment of his expectations froin the French Revolution-States the rational grounds of hope-And insists on the necessity of patience and fortitude with respect to the course of the great revolutions of the world-Knowledge the source of tranquillity-Rural life and solitude particularly favourable to a knowledge of the inferior creatures-Study of their habits and ways recommended on the affections and the imagination-Exhortation to bodily exertion and an active communion with Nature -Morbid solitude a pitiable thing-If the elevated imagination cannot be exerted, try the humbler fancy-Superstition better than apathy-Apathy and destitution unknown in the infancy of society-The various modes of Religion prevented it-This illustrated in the Jewish, Persian, Babylonian, Chaldean, and Grecian modes of belief-Solitary interposes-Wanderer, in answer, points out the influence of religious and imaginative feeling on the mind in the humble ranks of society, in rural life especially-This illustrated from present and past times-Observation that these principles tend to recall exploded superstitions and popery-Wanderer rebuts this charge, and contrasts the dignities of the imagination with the presumptive littleness of certain modern philosophers, whom the Solitary appears to esteem-Recommends to him other lights and guides-Asserts the power of the soul to regenerate herself-Solitary agitated, and asks how-Reply-Personal appeal-Happy for us that the imagination and affections, in our own despite, mitigate the evils of that state of intellectual slavery which the calculating understanding is so apt to produce-Exhortation to activity of body renewed-How Nature is to be communed with-Wanderer concludes with a prospect of a legitimate union of the imagination, the affections, the understanding, and the reason-Effect of the Wanderer's discourse-Evening-Return to the Cottage.
HERE closed the tenant of that lonely vale His mournful narrative, commenced in pain, In pain commenced, and ended without peace; Yet temper'd, not unfrequently, with strains Of native feeling grateful to our minds, And doubtless yielding some relief to his, While we sate listening with compassion due. Such pity yet surviving, with firm voice,
That did not falter, though the heart was moved, The Wanderer said :—
"One adequate support For the calamities of mortal life
Exists-one only-an assured belief That the procession of our fate, howe'er Sad or disturb'd, is order'd by a Being Of infinite benevolence and power, Whose everlasting purposes embrace All accidents, converting them to good. The darts of anguish fix not where the seat Of suffering hath been thoroughly fortified By acquiescence in the Will supreme For time and for eternity-by faith, Faith absolute in God, including hope, And the defence that lies in boundless love
Of His perfections; with habitual dread Of aught unworthily conceived, endured Impatiently, ill-done, or left undone To the dishonour of His holy name.
Soul of our souls, and Safeguard of the world, Sustain, Thou only canst, the sick of heart! Restore their languid spirits, and recall Their lost affections unto Thee and thine!"
Then, as we issued from that covert nook, He thus continued, lifting up his eyes
To heaven :-"How beautiful this dome of sky, And the vast hills, in fluctuation fix'd
At Thy command, how awful! Shall the soul, Human and rational, report of Thee,
Even less than these? Be mute who will, who can, Yet I will praise Thee with impassion'd voice: My lips, that may forget Thee in the crowd, Cannot forget Thee here, where Thou hast built For Thy own glory in the wilderness!
Me didst Thou constitute a priest of thine, In such a temple as we now behold
Rear'd for thy presence: therefore am I bound To worship, here and everywhere, as one
Not doom'd to ignorance, though forced to tread, From childhood up, the ways of poverty; From unreflecting ignorance preserved, And from debasement rescued. By thy grace The particle divine remain'd unquench'd; And, 'mid the wild weeds of a rugged soil, Thy bounty caused to flourish deathless flowers, From Paradise transplanted. Wintry age Impends; the frost will gather round my heart, And if they wither, I am worse than dead! Come, labour, when the worn-out frame requires Perpetual sabbath-come, disease and want, And sad exclusion through decay of sense- But leave me unabated trust in Thee- And let Thy favour, to the end of life, Inspire me with ability to seek
Repose and hope among eternal things
Father of heaven and earth !-and I am rich, And will possess my portion in content!
"And what are things eternal ?-Powers depart," The grey-hair'd Wand'rer steadfastly replied, Answering the question which himself had asked, "Possessions vanish, and opinions change, And passions hold a fluctuating seat: But, by the storms of circumstance unshaken, And subject neither to eclipse or wane, Duty exists; immutably survive,
For our support, the measures and the forms Which an abstract intelligence supplies;
Whose kingdom is where time and space are not.
Of other converse, which mind, soul, and heart Do, with united urgency, require, What more, that may not perish? Thou, dread Source, Prime, self-existing Cause and End of all That, in the scale of being fill their place, Above our human region, or below,
Set and sustain'd-Thou, who didst wrap the cloud Of infancy around us, that Thyself,
Therein, with our simplicity awhile,
Mightst hold, on earth, communion undisturb'd- Who, from the anarchy of dreaming sleep, Or from its death-like void, with punctual care, And touch as gentle as the morning light, Restor'st us daily to the powers of sense, And reason's steadfast rule-Thou, Thou alone Art everlasting, and the blessed spirits, Which Thou includest, as the sea her waves. For adoration Thou endurest; endure For consciousness the motions of thy will; For apprehension those transcendent truths Of the pure intellect, that stand as laws (Submission constituting strength and power) Even to Thy Being's infinite majesty ! This universe shall pass away-a frame Glorious, because the shadow of Thy might! A step, or link, for intercourse with Thee. Ah! if the time must come, in which my feet No more shall stray where meditation leads By flowing stream, through wood, or craggy wild, Loved haunts like these--the unimprison'd mind May yet have scope to range among her own, Her thoughts, her images, her high desires. If the dear faculty of sight should fail, Still it may be allow'd me to remember What visionary powers of eye and soul
In youth were mine; when, station'd on the top Of some huge hill, expectant, I beheld The sun rise up, from distant climes return'd Darkness to chase, and sleep, and bring the day, His bounteous gift!-or saw him towards the deep Sink, with a retinue of flaming clouds Attended; then my spirit was entranced With joy exalted to beatitude;
The measure of my soul was fill'd with bliss And holiest love; as earth, sea, air, with light, With pomp, with glory, with magnificence!
"Those fervent raptures are for ever flown, And, since their date, my soul hath undergone Change manifold, for better or for worse; Yet cease I not to struggle and t' aspire Heavenward, and chide the part of me that flags Through sinful choice, or dread necessity On human nature, from above, imposed.
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