The Night follows close, with millions of suns, and
sleep, and restoring darkness.
6 Wealth, with the flush hand, fine clothes, hospitality;
|
But then the Soul’s wealth, which is candor, knowledge, pride, enfolding love;
|
(Who goes for men and women showing Poverty
richer than wealth?)
|
7 (Expression of speech! in what is written or said,
forget not that Silence is also expressive,
|
That anguish as hot as the hottest, and contempt as
cold as the coldest, may be without words.)
|
8 Great is the Earth, and the way it became what it
is;
|
Do you imagine it has stopt at this? the increase
abandon’d?
|
Understand then that it goes as far onward from this,
as this is from the times when it lay in covering waters and gases, before man had appear’d.
|
| 9 Great is the quality of Truth in man; |
The quality of truth in man supports itself through
all changes,
|
It is inevitably in the man—he and it are in love, and
never leave each other.
|
10 The truth in man is no dictum, it is vital as eye-
sight;
|
If there be any Soul, there is truth—if there be man
or woman, there is truth—if there be physical
or moral, there is truth;
|
If there be equilibrium or volition, there is truth—if
there be things at all upon the earth, there is
truth.
|
11 O truth of the earth! O truth of things! I am de-
termin’d to press my way toward you;
|
Sound your voice! I scale mountains, or dive in the
sea after you.
|
12 Great is Language—it is the mightiest of the sciences,
|
It is the fulness, colour, form, diversity of the earth,
and of men and women, and of all qualities
and processes; |
It is greater than wealth—it is greater than buildings,
ships, religions, paintings, music.
|
13 Great is the English speech—what speech is so
great as the English?
|
Great is the English brood—what brood has so vast a
destiny as the English ?
|
It is the mother of the brood that must rule the earth
with the new rule;
|
The new rule shall rule as the Soul rules, and as the
love, justice, equality in the Soul rule.
|
14 Great is law—great are the old few land-marks of
the law,
|
They are the same in all times, and shall not be dis-
turb’d.
|
Justice is not settled by legislators and laws—it is in
the Soul;
|
It cannot be varied by statutes, any more than love,
pride, the attraction of gravity, can;
|
It is immutable—it does not depend on majorities—
majorities or what not, come at last before the
same passionless and exact tribunal.
|
16 For justice are the grand natural lawyers, and perfect judges—is it in their Souls;
|
It is well assorted—they have not studied for nothing
—the great includes the less;
|
They rule on the highest grounds—they oversee all
eras, states, administrations.
|
17 The perfect judge fears nothing—he could go front
to front before God;
|
Before the perfect judge all shall stand back—life and
death shall stand back—heaven and hell shall
stand back.
|
18 Great is Life, real and mystical, wherever and who-
ever;
|
Great is Death—sure as life holds all parts together,
Death holds all parts together.
|
19 Has Life much purport?—Ah, Death has the greatest
purport.
|
|
