Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1886-06-27 | Page 12 | Poets and Poetry

POETS AND POETfiY r Bishop Whitneys Lecture Before Be-fore the Teachers I j I GEMS OF MAJESTC THOUGHT i I The MliIoB of thfleaen Bora Maid Pictured and Deflovd An Eloquent Effort The lecture of Mr O P Whitney under un-der the auspices of the Teacbers Institute Insti-tute Wednesday evening last created an impression eo widespread and profound pro-found that we hate taken pains to secure se-cure it entire for the BUKDAT HEKALB Our readers will ague with us we feel sure that it is an fort which ahonld be given a place amonc the prominent achievements or our literary annals it will ba particularly particu-larly curious to large class of those who are accustomed to regard the term Mormon Mor-mon as the equivalent for everything besotted and ignorant as being the work of a gentleman vLo is a bishop In the Mormon church and one of the foremost exponents of its otrines ifr President Professors and Ladies i and Gentlemen In an ge and world given up to the rus i and roar of ral witjs steamships the miracles of jlaboraving machinery and other mighty practicalities when things re gar tea as theoretical or purely ideal are looted upon with comparative in iffer ence and ar at a discount in the po nlar mind the mission of the poet 11 apt to hay its Uiilitv gravely MUOJ tioned What is the poet good for and what is the good of roetrv are queries that nave mbtless flitted through many a mind imbued with the idea that nothing useful which does nut in some way increase manj maenal wealth or minister to his temporal needs To answer in part these queries and rifute this sordid and all too practical argument will be the purpose of my present effort ef-fort And with an an Jience like this willing to be and perhaps already convinced con-vinced that the poet bus a mission in I the world and that the world would do well to give him at least a respectful bearing I anticipate no very difficult ta k I am satisfied that much of the prejudice preju-dice against poets and the distaste for poetry which exists in this prosaic age are due entirely to misapprehension Only those who are ignorant of what poetry means will ask the question what is it good for this is true of two classes those who have no poetry or very little of it in their natures and those who are brimful of poetry and do not know it who are really capable of appreciating it and only need enlightening enlight-ening in order to enjoy to the fullest extent the ira rance and beauty of thin flower plucked from the gardens of Paradise and thrown to earth to delight the senses and refresh the souls r all lovers r the beautiful and refined It is my belief that many persona who think they dislike poetry are really poetical in their natures and are indebted in-debted to it more than they imagine for the success they may have achieved even in practical pursuits and for the I enjoyment welch their lives have atlorded them Notably is this the case with many public speakers who owe to the poetic vein of their natures which they perchance lightly esteem or entirely en-tirely ignore the purity of diction magnetism emotion and power of utterance with which they sway the minds dWI hearts of the multitude Where there is no po try there can belittle be-little or no eloquence The commonest error made by many in relation to poetry is that it consists limply in sere making They mistake the casket of meter and rhyme for the jewel of thought which it encloses and perhaps in many instances after dose investigation they bavefound the casket cas-ket cmlJty and turned away with feelings feel-ings of disappointment and dismast Thenceforth all hymes were to them poetry and nil poetry trash and aeat mental nonsense Perhaps upon the worst specimens of doggerel that could oe selrcted they have based thrir csti matton of the whole library of tong Newspaper warblmss on Bering Snow Fallen Leaves DId you Ever Call Me Darling and other hackneyed hack-neyed or effeminate themes they bare classed with the divine epics of Milton and Horn r The croak of a frog in the marsh has Bounded as sweet to them as the song of the nigatingale the forest and the bray of the longfared half brvther to tne horse has been to them aq less lofty and soul inspiring than the roar of a lion l ur herinore poetry as exoresaed inverse in-verse like all other arts and sciences has its technicalities The prose reader i ii often puzzled by ita transpositions contractions ellipses and other poetic licenses and rhetorical figures necessary neces-sary torhytbm and style and compara timely unknown in ordinary corapoii tiou And as these require some study toovercorap the mind naturally tires ualtw the inducement to proceed is grea er than the tempUion to desist and turns in IBI tlent preference to the easier forms of prose This may bo one reason why poetry even of a superior order is not pJeailng to some But all poetry itmw remembered is sol written iq verse ar rhyme I beard a very beautiful p < em read a few weeks since at the commencement exercises of the University It was an essay on the Influence of Pasionby one of the young graduates Not two lines of it rhymed together nor was it written with any apparent regard to the rules of with coin < itton tat it was a poem nerertKeleM cad the pen that wrote it was wielded by a poet or one gifted with poetic ability We must not mistake the fruit tof a tree either for the tree itself What is comaenly called poetry thats which we read or hear spocea k the Wosaom and fruit of p etry or m properly epeakin of f poesy Eeesy Is the gift poetry the expression ol toe gift poesy i the fOl n t poetry the stream that ia rues from It Bays the poet Colend Poetry tae blossom and fragrance of all human man knowledge human thoughts an passions emotions language Another writer defines it at greater length in these eloquent words The senile stillnessof a springtime even uR when with heart attuned to the glories of the twilight scene we liatea enraptured to the cloiingsongof busy aaturu hushing to repose this u poetry J The eomiBg stor > s jsreeeded by the rushing wind the dart angry ay preaching clouds capped with Ue flash tog darting lightning with tltelew muttering and anon the deep toned thunder cominzBearer and nearer in Its awful gra ndeurl TO theloverof the grand andlI ublime thU U poetry I fie silver qQret of the moonlight nigBt when we wa ier amid the j ssa feines and roses with ourV darling whispering words of love anddream inic of the future this is poetry I The midnight hour in the attic when through the envices of the roof and windows we catch Glimpses of the flashing lightning and listen slumber and dream to the mujic ot the pattering patter-ing rain drops on the rootthis is poetry 1 The roaring cataraqt the silvery rivulet the towering mountain the dark ravine the opening rosebud the cherub child the waving grain the modest violet all breathe the music of poetry I 101 beautifal facethe gentle thrilling thrill-ing pressure of the hand the kettle flingin lor tea tho joyousmeeting of the husband and wile on the return from labor at the twilight hour the smile the kiss alLlhlsjs poetry 1 It flashes in the sky it bloisonif on the earth it breathes music in the air delighting the eye charming the e rand r-and filling tbo soul with ineffable happiness hap-piness all this is poetry ITo I-To appreciate to comprehend and to interpret this golden sunny halo of beauty is the gift of the poetJ If tbeie are correct definitionsand who will doubt it7wbat mnsVbe the state of that mind which really hates poetry and has no poetry written within with-in It f i N Slays Dr Holland r AU that is grand and good all tbat is heroic and unselfish unsel-fish all that is pure and true all t at is firm and strong all that is beautiful and harmonious is essentially pocti cal f Poetry says Coleridge has teen tome its own exceeding great rewArd it baigien me the habit of wishing to i dint er the good and beautiful all that mcos and surrounds me Again I askwhat must be the condition con-dition of that mind which hates poetry end liar no dmiratiou for sympathy with the good the pure the true the baaifiil and sublime Of such a one might we not say with Shakespeare The nun thirJrrthTJOJanOcln klirfibU Nor Is not novcC with canCaN of street sounds Is flt for Ire sons atratzgems and spoils I The motion sgf h i spirit are dull m night And hU affections dirk Erebus Let no such xa dt be trusted Sir William Temple wisely oSserrea of those who despise poetry aat musIc which are twin sisters Wheever find tnemselvos wholly insensible to these I charms would I think do well to keep I their own counsel for fear of reproaching reproach-ing their own temper and bringing the goodness of their natures if not of their understandings into question It may be thought at i east an ilLsign if not an ill constitution since some of the fathers went so far as to esteem the love of music a sign of predestination as a thing divine and reserved for the felicities nf heaven UnTM i Thus it appears that poetry so far from being the trivial toy that some people suppose soothing pastime for children or for lovesick boys and girls is something superior import and as worthy the attention Ot the wise and serious as of the gay and thoughtless thought-less amgng mankind Indeed it fs one of those things which only the wise can properly understand and asr t have already al-ready stated the reason why many people dislike poetry is simply because they do not understand it Poesy is that sentiment of the soul or faculty of the minds which enables its possessor to appreciate and realize the heights and depths of human experience ex-perience Itlsthe power to feelpleu ure or suffer pain in all ltsfexquisite ness and intensity AILd not possess it in the same decree nor can anyone who is not totally depraved bo utterly devoid of it Nearly all men and women are poetical to some extent but very few of them can be called poets Then are great poets and small poets and there are men an women who make verses But all are not poets nor even good versifiers Poetasters are plentiful plenti-ful b t real poets are very rare Education can not make a poet although al-though it may polish and develop one The poet is a child of Nature and as the old proverb rays is born not made The greater tho poet the Fester is hit capaci y to suffer and enjoy en-joy This is why poets and other men and women of genius are often such violent extremists with their lives and characters full of contras and apparent appar-ent contradictions All heights and depths of feeling are theirs vast Is their cope and marvelous their versatility Theyare either soaring like eagleIn triumph among the clouds or groveling grovel-ing in despair the depths of the abyss The poetic sentiment or faculty I have said is the power to feel intensely either pleasure or pain It close ant always al-ways find expression inword There are joys that are mute there are sorrows sor-rows that never sigh or weep but are eloquent in their stiUneu and all the more powerful for their imprisonment I Masy poets have never written They say have felt the divine ire = burning within them every nerve and fibre of their sensitive naturae riled with joy or shaken with agony and yet were powerless te pour out upon the palpitating air the burden of the song that resounded through all the secret caverns of the soul The most eloquent poets whose words ware sparks of immortality have felt the painful inaieqnaoyof language to illustrate their thoughtsw EretfByrm pries out amid the overpowering grandeur of the Alps whose towering tops glistening in their cap of snow ailveredbr the moonbeanuDr frowBinz I darkly ami the lurid gleams aell stit terings ef the siora swept with Titanic fingers the harpstrings of his soul ComldTembody aad nabosoa new Tnt which Is aoS wit tn eceuld I wreftk 4 T My thoughts upoa expmiloB tad ttusi i throw v Seel hart salad pMies feelings ttroag orwei AH t hat I would have soar at asd alt I seek Bear know t tad jet breatae lat > oae t word Andthatoueword wee rIMIBC I would Batas atomic live aa1 die nnhaarJ With moK voc las thought sheathing It U a word This from one who could create by the magic wand ef eloquence and imagination new worlds of light and people them with being bright as their own beams who could with terror freeze the cowering blood or n w dissolve the heart in tenderness who above drcend j ing stooped to loach the loftiest thought and proudly stooped as I though it scarce deserved his verse i Inth name breath wbkhxbewaita his I poverty of expression J b tkuaad Cire5etI himself to he jtajj V J w f Yeitara watch tret i lrlornQ uta yeixUigbt wjjreaJd red tic rue a r > 4tH1 s t Of mea aad empires = lit to be brri Thar In onr mptmlion to be aw 41Ttn Our destlalea oerlep t 4 > atllisp Andelafsaakiadre4wtthyOnSet A butrv nil a mvstry and crew aIe WIn W-In ns such lava and reverence iron art That fortune fame power life har attr haTe = selves astir Te mph Every S schoolboy is lamliatwiiK rons apostrophe tor the oceanS r There la a pleasure In the p5fcj M Ir There Is m rnptorc on the loan sr If o e There h society where non ln deg M1de By t f deep s a an 1 music in a I love not mm the less but ntte roar From these nor Intervle < s III note From aU I may be or h 17 e been w5irb v l u Tn m n Ho wilt thq universe and in le Wh tIe whatcI efeaaresr yet c iI CCU1Gt ill loU oni il thou r deep and dark blue oc Ten thou and fleet nreep net thee 111 iljn awka thectnh wllhnuhis eo Stppt with ths shore UiOt the l The mica are all thy dMA wat p i dM-A ih dow of raa q1 ruse SiTe hie II1rI When for keadrmpb0jt or He sink Into tbr depths wit rnp0r 1 DEy rtJ rrtuia bIIbllUc Without ku crave unkneildr < tlill nnknorn t cad I hyaiore sreempires cutf IQ a tc Assyria Grcefe Come CaJ Wh j wfac tbeyT s Thy waters w iated them wl k h fe era bey free leT 1fttl And may a tyrant sine Andomany t ir shoM The slnne r slave or aavagp t 1rdt UtsIdricJ up rcinito ilCMsr1 eosin Uiou J w Unohuniff ivoJntUr K wild > ire Dll Time writer no s Link 0 02 vloe lar UIIe b ow Such as crextloas lava t M tC t > rofest Ma rollestnow Thou giorlousmirrot where toe Uaurhf 3 r form 1 Glasses IteU in teCIPCSS la if tin Calmer coacl dIn breeze or tut > 2 storm Iclne i e pole or In the to ri cline Dull houtn uadleai owls > < tmr lime > The Imire of Eternltr the t ir ne Of tbe Invisible even from on t iy alle i The mn8ters of tbe oeep are made ttct zone Ohio thM thou goest forth dread ftt omleu a one And I hue loved tbee ocean nod nyar Jar Of youthful sports WaJ on thy besstrp It Born Ilk thrbrbhte onarsrroc albs wantmed wlth thy brqarer th tytaa lbreakersh Wdr a deirh and Ihe freahii 1rt St do thorn a terror twat s pieasiaj ft For I w w as It wore a hiM of thee And trusted to br bllo s far ana nsr And IXId ay hind uoathrta aeuT here Somehow I have always srapecttd tbat poems this kind were not rit ten while on the bosom of the hunsz wave There are doubtless some woptt of soaring soul and cost iron disphngai who can sail tbe ocean blue wtUa3 tbe aesthetic rapture which iopires i t them while standing upon the snort letting imagination take a lone voyage bat theip I opine are not jet as uum erous us Abrahams posterity I am prepared to wager a large orange that the bard who sane Im on th SM was attbe time snugly enscoLcr d 13 in attic and that even the sublime oceanic rhapsodies of the immortal Byron were more the result ofoccnltr than of tangible fetation t A man may lay bishand upon the ocean1 mane with comparative comfort bat when the ocean takes it into his hoirj head to return the compliment the conditions are more than liable to te reversed I have quoted liberally rom BTCU not only because I greatly sJniire b genius bat because he bYflic B some respects of all poets Notion felt you with his poetry permit ass give one more brief selection oa a vanity of human ambition He who ascends to mocutaln 01455 i find The loftiest peaks most rapt In d ou h not anowH lie who surpasses or labdaei nukini Must look down on the hate of those Ko t Though high above the sun of glory glow And far beneath the earth and oceaa fpnti Round him are Icy rocks nd ball Movr Contending tempests hit nitd hud Ana thus reward the tolls which lothsee snmmts led Fear men have realized more faIf the melancholy truth of there nujwa words than the one who penned tarn Gifted by heaven with all a poet grains gra-ins and with all a poets ennbt1y he knew what it was to incur the raotu hatred ot those whom nature serf na hires God had made bu icferon < His sins were many and they Ecnted pun iabmeut but bis great crimes for which he was hated mOst were in being be-ing gifted above his fellows and having the temerity to tell mgr truth concerning concern-ing them than they desired to heir He was harshly unreasonably enu ciaed on the very threshold of his career ca-reer and later In life was covered irts calamny and opprobrium Ills sool like a finely strung harp swept by savage hands cried out in resentment against the outrage and poured forth a mingled torrent of discord anti melodr HU satire was as keen as the arrows of ApoUo his invective as terrible M the ttnr r nr Jove > and noon the head of bis traducers be poured out the vials of his wrath unsparingly I am not as apologist for the ins ot Byron Ian simply calling attention to fact that may plead in extenuation of hb faults the extremes and which furnish a reason for tremes of good and evil to be found IB his poetry Byron might have been very different with other circumstances other treatment and surroundings It was the stormy ex erience of bis Ida which moulded the character mccc of ills poetry His soul responJe U touch gentle or harsh that came npoa every tt It wqa mirror throwing back I the smiles and frowns of all beholder a clear calm lake sleeping peacefully in the sunlight but rippled by the j fainteitbre ze and < < capable of reflrctic Ors lit ainthe terrr like all the terrors of the storm Byron alltrue poets simply pouredont what be mingled felt The cup of sweetness and with wormwood which he quaffed heldto the lips of others w4 made op and sorrows coo of his own joys pounded his own genius in the cm tible of his own brain Tons is tnls poet a typf m man c respect TMjr all children of genius specs of 1 who express most must likewise retld dpiltiand na nd piin of > mwtbota pleasure it for gecitu p this it la which creates laurel wreath of bass etinyits dual of U couch with misery interwoveniU thorns It is CD of its o reies with pillow oa an tbise to sip the sweets of them poeay for tee thin to provide another thing 3 worlds deJecrltton That which pfeJ to hear may base ranch pleasure us so coat its author untold toil and paio few se ecnow a I will now pnsent caw dnau 6 from standard poets only regretting will not permit mria Vf teat time mygnBtde from them all Here U a pretty d Love Phi eonceit oa SheUeys C3J1td osopy rrhc fen Ctlas mingle with the t ver And the rivri wlta tie o esD ate w HJ of heaven mix forever With a awet t amotiou In the wotrd lii I rle X > this IR All thta5byat dlrlbe JlL3ne PO h Ti bein e e iro < attbTaot I wit thtel beATen lns k5S blgh o111t lUIo er Ibf ono c14tP fee 111U oel bJaXStCfl > > brother Its earth Jjfj 4Itdalne tbe ft ChJI111USbtoClIIU tlutbeifCC I d eJXI alUbeC tl IU wcrth ue ltY 1fb nO ZISVO If tOIl is called tbe 1Joetry TOU knoW Tenny of poetry LCft d tbe life rolt otlift s s or n 3d17 WhLtCf bfU 1 biU trUe brCJIo1 f ifceI1 1fh n ibrOjcj bare OC d a i l r to T1Ln nt JougfeIloi r orI Is w p 1JIIlto1ho 0lswotnn x1Sn Is him uno he blll1 he ob7 Ttoagb 0 ahe cnds hiUl yet she lolloWt dr W tDIIb eLcb te wLhot Ibl other Cfees grtutfdefld rrienj1 gr Burn5motr3tC g lllesf dar d th < e tae in ihP dnd frier die to I fonet be brlc1e ie dd id6 b 0111111 rcdded1fc ytrfl r CtO foTett 1 iay oA1rfn bOlrbIblCfl T hesd aU ho rb3 hs 10rJet the child othe ItT knee itt zothe swettl on her uo DVUe 1Lter thee O1eu0rU But I mber ttbOflhM done for me Ad f pctnreoC SanEet pietfl7 f re ire tbe hur uhcn darllht Ho awrto 41a ijnpontballinttea Ad 6D v dre Juuf 011 sra S eigbio Far bCU ljethei her rer 1id memO I TUlch th l nc of lllt1 r 111M p1ays Ad L 1 JI1Ib wAre tOWArd the bun A1of the IDeWeit path of r3 I IlIrlotrtai itgolden Jme brIght Itle of twillle4d to tea think iiit jert Sight Sheller I The blxfcrt eh jithfl HJ1I tUI111h1t1tshU breathe 111 evenLcgl White Tens 1phyn CDT qullndo CkIDO the s Ord 0 ru d sOT loTleM 5cexre lIeaTens Is Thll Yfp t ebU TSull unuUtblllJrl ht fhrorh edd < wlllUlAfI which the leon II uncIpuded roUt nnJeur wh ChLOVCDPT feemtukt0IDOPI beraIcepluJ world Yon gentle TocnrtitnberICCPIUL JJ1s untrodden e ow I r ebediuaartitxltOl h icicesdeeud that r their white and gllUern fOC2IsUlCt rpfeo themooaSFwe beam yon CDD led IIeP the timeworn mfe bnner hingetb o er ttTCT rwtlncy demth It Solaris all form a scnc ineupMrofpwce J meupbOr I Whew now wlltnde mls t Live In 1IU Her f01I1b re this berp esrlhInesf Wtere SIlence nadlstnrbed might wwch alone Co d s < tclShtO ijlll Homing by EJwin Arnold Ln1 the Dawn psj with Eadihs victory lot ia the wt I Tjei the tint firr 0 bcanteon day 4 Cnh acdDT tolls of NIhts blrck E blntIIdetitflgbThethe beraldeter YJelto aier itleete theehiOt S zlllennl of ro y gteAm brlbi AttC hC I FIST e hadory bile Ewtte > St rFUn bclure the wOtld was WITS Jbl flowed their crown or ci lon dower by twet leltthe wwa math of Moraand gan to unfod Tterteatu1ids Onuhe ptteled I grsM wept the swli footer ol r the lovely TBnBg the Ie is of Xfglu to Jorn 5 t d8er DfCkln the er1l wIth wJUa bridc The steg onclowSs with a golden endins the fevers of the pilm whl b Glad alumioa clullDJ 1Ietuv of gold Intothe gUflen toncWm when Qi Ic wind the stress 10 nrptel jnbj in the brete 1iDdn thl mUd f 4 or ttoe antcofet And sean t1 Cm te MMtdtltep Teaching 10 iiniU head nnfier cuys vioe And hifperlof ChCdrea FUC the llgb o day J Campbell It tsncef ere when heavens ehereal eherealt bOW jj flpiSJ irtli bright arel2pCttHurft hIlIi beoir Why Tonmun4ein Illrn tbe mnflg r ere Wescnbtt summit salaries wita the rtj = W1 j Jo tho f i E fi > of b > dotrr tintsp eer Uoreiwtettan all th Itacape saiiing ties Tm htanco lead euehsauaent to I the view And robes the noccula in HE azure hue Thct with delight wellnc Mo Mirrer 1 The jimmied of life nasieararej nnuei < Thta teem afar earii JUn duciveredi way Her pt Ii ellp Credeatingsenu < thn M the thepat hath raft been Sums i 4np samu tIfle Toa seize th VOppies tprad florerits I Uoota Oman Is shed Or like theinotri Hn the river 11ocet wle then melt forever Otau the borelIt Nee rut a it ere yoa can point OZiikthe rainbow lovely their fonn DIlls vtbhthg old the ornr j Moore lIta 110 beg 1IOnt th thtre are nlfce of JlidlO dtdgy or th put 1hI thecsnnot na hccme Ltd In the Iht time of rocrrow Atd bring back the featnres tat Joy Uf ed to lQrk edla Cr bean WIb such memeriel C LIke tht T e In h1eTJ bttti d lJ roJeS haTe once TUtlrh ko kyoa av haner yen si tl I the Tue 11 an rthefOit Kill hMf MUBd It Grsj hiI J The S ttSffJ11 JISeClte hl And fine rT 11IWft36 giS to b blush ochtu UPHeII bur 011 thedesn alt Iogfe1Iow NtTtrroJPllhe h lOarin hIs Tlllll1le o he q tick ntr1 in the deee tc1J Dtb 01 woanded IPO1 Tnn bi ltTUll1re lrh Wrdrithig I I S erlallootour 1 d Ii edoJruWIl1 PlllUCe1UJ4101JI thlfd toflwa1 Clttig puree the oo3od I I rlCl the SS5 e ether IL ft suLbeu a TUtnre ar Is St ItWheZ 4at With plnlonc Cu 1f they tte aot tingly IU 1tUched end IrUe1 Iit Ce Q 11m nothes motions d I ccT ndl the others Ond g C rlta thzeo end woon44 nu WOQRLbeDafOTOW a te thetlrdu With fI1nWt th tei Odacts ght and or Ito1ds like tbe are wllen Produce gdttia And eI lUs in I Oenin titnst f3 then1 nnltJ genlu5 EaJS i CaSteJ r i5 a divine Joltt c npOn a tnltriyrd tu flit tottcin5 the light ItITts the the atari tilt ihoUe31 aCts CUb to conTert Into them DtT rre the lniTerse canUelt The poet die 2ttBe J to mingle the cola z eth1 Hut ht b i nSl11 lit nflwork cannot under witbcstttinnrin t t thi1t lIe CtifOt ItO luto a e fIInt 10 tle being bUrned heenti 1 JIterl fXfrem heigh of rrrt entettethfl altbout being lrozn h1 lng tn t11tii1CJercloud Ittth bLat U conducor doo1oJ if hIS eJttrHty Tbo prlvilesedaouls which flinging off the clay of this world iorce tbtir WAY up twart till they become Jibe brlfthl in the firmament almost approaching tbeanetls tho e heinssivbof om laci rockof their own f shipwreck bold forth I the light to future peuerations bav lcd the divine splendor burning in tho lanipof their own hrain with < earslrom their eyes and with blood from their hearts r a tr A hrhus thpreia i always an abyss In pIe depths of all geniusf A1 crown oljSttrs cannot be placed uponthVb rov nnles there is et tde same time a crow of thorns around the heart One cannot duller Uip temple tojincibenn in mot mo-t lilnn e but it tie co tic writinirit in the blood of ones veins I These my hiarer arc the words of a p OOt4 < n who i famed as an one tir nnd who utters hU thoughts his poetry lfin > roe Take one more 1ught from the pellucid 1 fdun hiLfe Lfe is full of compll ations and fore tb for-e amo reason of Insuperable dull cultiesl And as there turn great cbn traais in nanlrc then are also iu society opposed forces By th side of the prophet who announces the future unsrs the magistrate who believes his mufiun to be the con eratioMftle prestntTVBieuiand who > as a rrsulc of this cunvii tion perecutea the propbe iiijthe vicinity of crrry rfew thinker there caiLi an association wbcb bej lieves itself infillibV beidu each re former ii placed the eternal cup of lifinlock It ppfara that seeds cannot an upon me tjiia umeaa tnc vase I wnich contain them is broicn Every old prijmiice feel Itself wounded by anew a-new Men and hate iiaccordmulr C SoiieU is movement but those who movedt fall under the weight of Its crn hing whe l StIe1 y s renovntion but those wuo renew it I are slain by its old errors We cannot a pirc to bo blessed by posterity without bring cursed by s4lr Cant mporanes Savage I beast do not disappear from a country without having hern long and patiently ceased How many bright innlliRciices fall how many fail how runny die and depart like ebadoflra in the atrngqle wbicb is necessary 10 rid the earth of monster The greater number of peo plo believe you jirc tearing their tonls from lad if jou endeavor touproot one of the prpudices errors under whose shadows tiiirir fathers lived for ages And you poetic souls you who come from purer regions crowned witb flowers beating your white wings clothed with ether with an immortal I bong upon your lip and a Ij rein jour hands like the first angels who azed i upon chaos ntt e birth of the untverb you who bear imagination like a star I upon yonr brows and who live awestruck awe-struck and ecstatic in the contempla bon of a wor d o ideas wulch to us weak mortals whoso vision cannot penetrate pen-etrate it appears a world of shadows > t on cannot enter this sphere of realities with i ut failing into an abyss without tearing your wings and wounding your feet with thoru you cannot descend from the fire in which you Lave beeu moulded to fSe coldness of our shades unless the new of your tears Is frozen in their fall and the transparent vase of your hearts is broken by the hail JtOIlfi Ibis brings ns face to face l with the mission of ttiopdetam6ng men days Holland Verily Cue poets of tne world are the prophets of humanity They foievrr reach after and foresee tbe ulumato good They are evcr nore building tbe Jarndlse that js to her < < pairiiln Uie Millennuiui thatb id come I restoring th lost image of God in the hums son When tho world shall reacn the poets ideal it will arrive lit poifcction and much rood wll it do I the world to measure itself by this Ideal and struggle to Jilt the real to ius lot tv levtl I S I am not prepared admitnor do 1 suppose Dr Holland meant to say that the poets of the world arc its only prophetsor that they arc prophets in the same tense and degree 111 the in prcdracleohacred wnt But I do belicveuiat the gin of poesy and the gift of prophecy akin to each orb r that both are of divine origin and that they generally go hand in hand 1roph ctsare almost invariably poets and po Is n many instances havo been remarkably re-markably prophetic Of the former clttjs attest the writing of David IsaiahJeremiah and other v ° rjiabe I prophets Iud veritable uoets who in rome d the grandest poetry ever sung have indeei built the Paradise that b to be and foretold the Millennium that is ta come Re d the parables and sayings of the fcavior you who love poetry and desire to plnckrqm its IbsnrJaiitparteircfl some of its sweetest and moslfragrant flowers ConMder the hums of toe field how they grow they toil not neither do they spin and yet 1 say unto you that even bolomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow ji > cast in o the oven shall he not much more clothe you 0 ye of little faith 1 Can our language boast anything purer tenderer truer and more beautiful beau-tiful Jesus of Nazareth was a poet no less than a prophet of preeminent geniu Time and your patience would fail me in even glancing over the many conspicuous con-spicuous beauties of Bible poetry One more selection from Isaiah and we will pass on now Deanurul upon the momntaina I are the feetof him that bringoth good tidings that > publisheth peace that bringeth good tidings good that pub hsbeth salvation that aaith unto Zion Thy God reigneth I I Thy watchmen shall lift up the I I voice with the voice together shall I they sing for they shall see eve To eye i 1 when the Lord ball beta again Zion Break forth into jor > inK loge her ye waste places of JPr2halein for the Lord hath comforted his people he hath I I redeemed Jerusalem Arise shine for thy light U come I and tbe glory of the Lord is risen upon I I thee theefor behold the darkness shall corer the earth and gross darkness the people but the I Lord shall arise e upon 1 thee and his glory shall be thee 4 seen upon 1 theeAnd the Gentiles shall come to thy t I light wing and kings to tie brightness of thy I 1 I There arc wine people who think there is I no poetry m religion Sa b I I I people fear do not know what poetry means nor what religion laeaae He I I lipton Is full lIfJlUetryanlipeetrj QCteY1ndpeetry is full of religion The loftiest and tub I limest poetry as well as the sweetest and it cannot tendered bd is religions poetry and oth otherwise I could cite I many of the syings of the Prophets Joseph Smith Bngbam Young Heber C Kimball Parley P Pratt lor and scores of others with John Tay I whom are familiar we I and you would feel poetr bnltthin the j poetry brvatbing in every vllahe blaTlJ l from biasing > every ntencel The fabled fire jtbut Prometbens file ed f rum heave h not more strikingly a 1 I symbol for poetic Inspiration than lathe I la-the spirit of the eternal God tha very pnose thathas inspired all true poetry that was ever written Ido hot Include in thIsI need scarcely say the poetry of ensuality of brutality falsehood hypocrisy and lust which disgraces and not adorns whereter found the worlds literature Neither do I palliate however much I admitegenitis its prostitution ignoble ends No true poetry was ever based on q n > thing low and grovelag It is Impossible to soil flsuneam The poet may pervert his gift as the judge may disgrace his ermine but the spirit of poetry the genius of justice can never bedragged In tbe mire Day and night dross and gold are not more essentially separate although their edges may join than is the essence of poetry distinct from everything base sensual and depraved de-praved lt Is that high sense of right w hicfa scorns all wrong the sword and balance of eternal justice the voice of mercy pleading for the fallen the tongue of truth heralding salvation and reform the oracle of liberty proclaiming proclaim-ing freedom to the captive and deliver anc tn the oppressed the thunderbolt of retribution which lays the tyrant low It is akin to that Spirit which lead th Jnto all truth which reveals things past and things to come w ich takes of the things of God and shown tieru uno mortals The pillar of faith which is not to be broken the light of hope which Is never extinguished tbe fountain of charity and lo e which never falls A trw words more in relation to prophetic pro-phetic poetry An pnonymou writer says So entirely do great poets soar beyond tho reach and almost beyond tbe ken of tneir ownage that we have only lately begun to Have right understanding un-derstanding of Shakspeare of the musters of the Greek drama to discern tbe principles which actuated them the I pur oses they bad in view the laws they acknowledged and the ideas they wbbed to impersonate Here is a prescient climpse of Shake spcareV worthy of one of the old He br w proph ts be clou tCApt towers the gorgeous palaces lie solemn temples the greAt globs Itself Y M all Urn it In critshU dissolve Aud like the iMelets fabric a vision lxVc not a HCK behind Tennyson in Locksley Hall foretells the I iuiuphs yet to beof aerial navi gallon and the advent of the Millennium Millen-nium For I Jtlotn the fnure far aa h1man eye I could see I I nsw tb vision of the world and all the wonder won-der el to be Saw the heavens fill with commerce argosies of die c sIl Pilots oLdie pa p e twlla dropping down with cosuj bales heard the heavens fill w th fhontlny and there ruined a ghastly dew From the ns ions lrr naviu grappling lathe la-the cenua bue Fa aloc be wor l cldo whimper of th south wjnd rushIng warm I With then lid d < of the people plinjlns through the thuadeitturza Till the war dram tlirobtKd no longer and the Sat 1 flajs were furled n the iarllarae of manthe FederUoa > of tbe world 4 There the common sense of inoitiball old I i lieif Ql world In WAnd W-And the Kiuilly earth bAll slnmbtT lipt In uulcnal law Bryant oar American bard gives I this 4 Truth crlShed 10 earth ball rice again Ibe tterial your of Goc era hers lint Lrror wounded vrrllbi s with rIu And dies amid his worshippers Charts Mack ay 1 in aPo in entitled Eternal Justice suppli4s this generation genera-tion with some choice food for reflection reflec-tion the met is j thought a knave oriool Or bigot p ouine ccde Who fj the advanrriaentof hU rice Is wiser trim u Ills time Fur him be faealockthall distill Inr bio the axt Ue wired For him tf e KlbbetiUall be built for him the state prepared Hrr cJ h Him hali ihe EC > in and wrath of men 1uraCr with deadly aim And m lice cy light and has tibill orsect tc his name Cut truth shall c nqutrai thlsst Kuricmud and round wo ten Aud avertne rijht comes uppetracst f And crerlcjoa ce erne PAte rugh thy celt old SDa1lc Cscoil y biacd ro I rtiti to the mi nlse of ty roll And let the pouon Cow Sties may suatter t > earih the bunp of clay Tnttmldsalightaivioe i But they entinot quench the Creof thought I yanr SUCh dca Jy wine They nun bIoI thy s oken wmll Yr m t 0 memory of inau by nl tbe po son vcr WAS brewed Since time its COUrSe began Today abhorred tomorrw adored Bo r mud and round werun Mid ever the troth comes uoptrmo f Aud everts Janice done Plod in thy cave gray Anchor lte Be wiser than thy peers Augment the r ngeol human power And trust to coming yeses They may rail bee wlEtrd and monk cc caned 3 And load thee with dlipralse 4 Thou fen born five hundred etra to soon For the eomfoit thy days Bnt no too soon for human kind Tlae hath reward In tore And tIle teeons of our lire becoia The s tints whom we adore The blind can tee the slavi is lord In nnnd antS mend we run Anderer the wrong is proved to be wrong And ever is justice doue i koeP Gall eo to thy thought And facrve thy anus to Dear They mar cleat oer the Mnsl eM words i they wrin Fiomibepsog of thy despair They may veil their eyes but they cannot hide The kuaa aerJdi glow Tho heel et priest may iretd tbce down i tnd a tyrant work thee tre i Bnti ever a trath hAt beeti desteryed Tiey mar curse it and ceU U a crime Pervert ana betray or slander < and flay Us tecben for acme But the Iunsblul eye Ihalllllht lbs sky AI > round and round we run And tbe trath snail ever cone ippsrmcst And Justice shall be done And live there now snrb men u thes Vk bh thought Hie the great if uld Man have died la their misery And Lethrie thought witaid Arid uuuTlhoe IUd are r3Utel ta mod Andpluscvsiilt3eC01 uKdoan For psndiugth tr tints feyseeing fOUls Three cei > tcn In the van They toll iu PI nnry and ft el Dub own If maligned Fedora forlorn b5 ring the seem Of tbeiae > tpaa ° ftad J j I Bnt yet ibe world goes rrtUBa aad rossd And the genial seasons run And ever the truth ooms nptxnaMt AndevcrUJasticedose Poets do not always know whst great truths they are telling Like the prophets pro-phets whom they so much resemble user have tn all ages builded better than they knew Shall we ny then that UJ prophetic poetIs an accident and the poetical prophet a desiRn 750 bather let us ascribe them both to their greet Author DesIgner and Insplrer that God may be all inalL Aatotae qnestlen of poetry rersas practicalIty with which this lecture began a fewwords conclusion It i amp a seeming chasm which divides themthe difference between cause and effect The world Is indebted to poetry for ita practical triumphs more than it Is generally aware Poetry has unveiled science applauded enterprise stimu lated research and Jed to discovery In all ages Tullidge a loci poet and historIan says It was the poets they who die in garrets who first gave birth to civilira tion When the race was emerging irora the barbaric splendor of emplre founding and war our poets were the only mllf historians and they mide peoples ilL L a n vau UCUCL uuvuu uc > plastic medium ot their gorgeous verse Homer wrote the history of Greece and Troy ages before Plutarch wro 0 his lives of great men And four hundred 7e s before Herodotus the socalled father of history was bornO F VJ We Know more of what men were four thousand years ago and gather more of the manners anoT customs of the early nations from Homers Iliad than from any other work extant nor should we forget the glorious Hebrew Biblethe very book of poets whch has been the basis of civilization these thousands of years And if we come down to our poets oT more modern times to learn the value of their gifts to the race we have but to take the English Jan raage to discover that they have more than half created it What have not Shakspeare Milton Pope Byron Southey Wordsworth Shelly Jljore Scott timid others done for n Iu Lists retied re-tied The ago of poets is the ae of culture The world is besscd vrhen poets ire born Let sentiment aud ideas flow into society and poets must sing as do the Iras when summer comes round When there is no poetry in the air human nature is rude and barbaric Thus my hearers is poetrv shown to be the elder sister of history the mothrof language and the ancestress Of Civilization The poet was a boongiver and a benefactor ben-efactor from the beginning His scotia among the highest up that mount whose summit peers into the sources of thought nnd like the mountain peaks at sunrise his mind has ever caught the fine glimmerings of light as it dawned upon the world His brain has been as the torch of the Almighty to kindle and illumine the nations Hb mind has been the fountain from whence have sprung thoughts thathave induced m llions to think The ideas < < first advanced have awakened ideas in others until the spring has bee me a running brook the running brook a river and the river an ocean of ideas inventions and achievements that have flooded and filled the earth with glory and civilization But the end is not yet There are heights to climb t hich have never been surmounted depths to fathom which still remain unsounded The wheels of progress are not idle the work of Omnipotence Om-nipotence is speeding onward and the world and the humanrace though far I from the goal of perfection will yet be lifted to the poetic standard and raised to the poets ideal