His solitariness was increased by sickness, a period of meditation
and devotional feeling, assisted by the intimations of a keen spirit in a
feeble body--and out of the furnace came forth Herbert the priest and
saint. All that knowledge can inspire, all that tenderness can endear,
centres about that picture of the beauty of holiness, his brief pastoral
career--as we read it in his prose writings and his poems, and the pages
of Walton--at the little village of Bemerton. He died at the age of
thirty-nine--his gentle spirit spared the approaching conflicts of his
country, which pressed so heavily upon the Church which he loved.
The poems of Herbert are now read throughout the world; no longer confined
to that Church which inspired them. They are echoed at times in the
pulpits of all denominations, while their practical lines are, if we
remember rightly, scattered among the sage aphorisms of Poor Richard, and
their wide philosophy commends itself to the genius of Emerson.
It is pleasant in these old poets to admire what has been admired by
others--to read the old verses with the indorsement of genius. The name
adds value to the bond. Coleridge, for instance, whose "paper," in a
mercantile sense, would have been, on "change," the worst in England, has
given us many of these notable "securities.
Pages:
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95