第38章人生的节奏(1)
&hmofLife
艾丽斯·梅内尔Aliell
Iflifeisnotaloetical,itisatleastmetrical。Periodicityrulesoverthementalexperienan,agtothepathoftheorbitofhisthoughts。Distagauged,ellipsesnotmeasured,velootased,timesnotkheless,thereceissure。Whatthemiweekorlastyear,itdoesnotsuffernow;butitwillsufferagaiyear。Happiamatterofevents;itdependsupohemind。Diseaseismetrical,atshorterandshorterperiodstoingabroadatleriowardsrecovery。Sorrowforoolerableyesterday,aolerabletomorrow;todayitiseasytobear,butthecausehasheburdenofaspiritualdistressunsolvedisbouhehearttoatemporarypeadremorseitselfdoesreturakesusbyadearsurprise。Ifwehadmadeacourseofsvisits,wemighthavebeedwouldhavehadaioninsteadofadisakessuchobservations;inallthediariesofstudeeriorworld,therehavetherecordsoftheKeplerofsuchcycles。ButThomasàKempiskhereces,ifhedidhem。Inhisewiththeelements—“Whatwouldstthoumorethaofthesewereallthingsmade”—helearobefouhofthehourofbitterheremembrarestraithee,givingitamoree,butpresagingforitani。And“rarely,rarelyestthou,”sighedShelley,merely,buttotheSpiritofDelight。Delightpelledbeforehand,dedtoourservice—Arielbeboundtoadailytask;butsuchartif?icialviolehrowslifeoutofmetre,anditishatisthuspelled。THATf?litsuponaicallyorparabolicallyorhyperbolicallycurved,keepingnomanknowswhattrystswithTime。
&thatShelleyahoroftheIMITATIONshouldbothhavebeenkeenaoperceivethesef?lights,aheorderofthisperiodicity。Bothsoulswereiouchwiththespiritsoftheirseveralworlds,aehumanrules,noinfrasofthelibertyandlawoftheuniversalmovemehemtheknowledgeofreces。Eppursimuove。Theykpreseexistwithoutabsehatwhatisjustuponitsf?lightoffarewellisalreadyonitslongpathofreturhatroagtotheverytouchishasteningtoarture。“Owind,”criedShelley,inautumn,
“Owind,
Ifwinteres,gbefarbehind?”
&hatthef?luxisequaltotheref?lux;thattoihunlawfulree,istoweakentheimpulseoforeat;thesetusofmovement。Toliveinteffortsafteranequallife,whethertheequalitybesoughtialprodu,orinspiritualsweetness,oriheseolivewithouteitherrestorfullactivity。Thesoulsofofthesaints,beingsingularlysimpleandsingle,havebeepletesubjetothelawofperiodicity。Eddesolatiohembyseasons。Theyendured,duringspacesofvattime,theinteriorlossofallforwhichtheyhadsacrif?icedtheworld。Theyrejoitheuudeofsweetis。Likethemarethepoetswhom,threetimesortehecourseofaloheMusehasapproached,toudforsakehardlylikethem;notalwayssodoorsowhollypreparedforthedeparture,thebrevity,ofthegoldenandirrevocablehour。Fewpoetshavefullyreisedthemetriuse。Fnitionisexpressedinoneonlyway—silence。