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Page 1 of 11903 · PDF PAGE 45
THE FOURTH DAY “ Amen, if you love her ; for the lady is very well worthy.” Much Ado about Nothing. I took another way to shield my love. I turned my thoughts to the abyss of sky, Pierced the frail veil, and sought Eternity ; Where the Gods reign most passionless above All foolish loves of men, and weary of The slow procession of Earth’s mystery ; Where worlds, not men, are born and live and die, And aeons flit unnoticed as a dove. Thither I fled, busied myself with these ; When—lo ! I saw her shadow following ! In every cosmic season-tide of s…
1903 · PDF PAGE 46
REINCARNATION In life what hope is always unto men ? Stories of Arthur that shall come again To cleanse the Earth of her eternal stain, Elias, Charlemagne, Christ. What matter then ? What matter who, or how, or even when ? If we but look beyond the primal pain, And trust the Future to write all things plain, Graven on brass with predestined pen. This is the doom. Upon the blind blue sky A little cloud, no larger than an hand ! Whether I live and love, or love and die, I care not : either way I understand. To me—to live is Christ ; to die is gai…
1903 · PDF PAGE 113
… all shapes of truth ! I might indeed go back to bitter toil, Prune the mind’s vine, and gather in the spoil Rough-conquered from books, men, fields, without ruth Pillaging Nature, pawning strength and youth For some strange guerdon (or its counterfoil) Gainless or not-to-be-gained, priestly or royal, Profane, canaille—I know not, in good sooth ! I might do this : or else I might repose Wrapped in the urned leaves of my love’s blown rose, Seek her in spirit, and commune, and wait Her freedom and the rapture to enclose In my own house her beauty…
1903 · PDF PAGE 49
THE SEVENTH DAY “ This word ‘ love,’ which greybeards call divine, Be resident in men like one another And not in me : I am myself alone.” 3 Henry VI. Therefore I burnt the wicked pantacle, And cast my love behind me once again. I mused upon the mystery of pain, Where the Gods taught me by another spell Not chosen from the armoury of Hell, But given of Mercury to cleanse the stain Of the old planet : thus I wrote me plain Secrets divine—tremendous, terrible ! Thus I forgot my soul and dwelt alone In the strong fortress of the active mind Whose …
1903 · PDF PAGE 53
…e impersonal Mind of a man, the pure, the spiritual, To such a purpose rather less than nought, A woman’s love—considering that all Wise men assure us that it may be bought ! 33
1903 · PDF PAGE 98
THE THIRTY-SEVENTH DAY “ By long and vehement suit I was seduced To make room for him in my husband’s bed.” King John. Mortals are not for nectar all the time : Ambrosia feeds not men ; nepenthe’s sip Is only for a moment : then we dip Back to the earth and leave the bed sublime, And tune our kisses to a terrene rhyme. So, once again before we left the ship With right good will our bodies cling and slip, And the life’s flame sinks as the kisses climb. There never has been such a supreme kiss Since heaven and earth began to be as this ! Doubt no…
1903 · PDF PAGE 105
… cowards twit them with their mother’s lust. Even our own purity confirmed the trust. How long, O lord, how long ? Too long by half Till men read, wondering, wedlock’s epitaph. 85
1903 · PDF PAGE 34
…ast phantoms of desire, Impossible and epicene, Familiar souls of Messaline. And as, when thunder broods afar Imperial destinies of war, Men see the haze and heat, and feel The sun’s rays like a shaft of steel, Seeing no sun ; even so the night Clouds that deep miracle from sight : Until this destiny be done Hangs the corona on the sun ; And I absorbed in those unclean Ghost-haunted veins of Messaline. 12
1903 · PDF PAGE 9
…ppearance of man has followed that of manners : the exit of God has not wished to lag behind that of grammar. I have no use for American men, and only one use for American women.” “ Of a truth,” I said, “ the continent is accursed— a very limbo.” “ It is the counterfoil of evolution,” said the man wearily. There was silence. “ What can I do for you ? ” I asked. “ Are you indeed ill ?” vi
1903 · PDF PAGE 5
…a youth still blindly groping for Romance, beneath the skirts of tawdry and painted Vice. Perhaps I may have hoped to save him from what men call the graver and angels the lesser consequences of his folly. This for the others. As to the character of the mansion at which we arrived, after a journey no less dubious than winding, I will say that, despite its outward seem- ing, it was, in reality, a most respectable place ; the main occupation of its inhabitants seemed to be the sale of as much “ champagne ” as possible ; in which inspiring preface…
1903 · PDF PAGE 11
…oyed all the papers which held the story of my life—all save one. That I saved ; the only noble passage, perhaps—among the many notable. Men will say that it is stained ; you, I think, should be wiser. It is the story of how the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. They were not drowned, you know (he seemed to lapse into a day dream), and they came out on the Land of Promise side. But they had to descend therein.” “ They all died in the wilderness,” I said, feeling as if I understood this mystical talk, which, indeed, I did not. But I felt inspired.…