He seems to remind of Mr. E.'s
view, and ask, "Why did you not question whether there was not
aught else? why not reserve some inaccessible stronghold for
me? why did you unlock the floodgates of the mind to such
tides of emotion?" But there is no reality or permanence in
this; it is only a reminder that the feminine part of human
nature must not be dominant.
'The prophets of Michel Angelo excite all my admiration at the
man capable of giving to such a physique an expression which
commands it. The soul is worthily lodged in these powerful
frames; and she has the ease and dignity of one accustomed to
command, and to command servants able to obey her hests.
Who else could have so animated such forms, that they are
imposing, but never heavy? The strong man is made so majestic
by his office, that you scarcely feel how strong he is. The
wide folds of the drapery, the breadth of light and shade, are
great as anything in
"the large utterance of the early gods."
'How they read,--these prophets and sibyls! Never did the
always-baffled, always reaespiring hope of the finite to
compass the infinite find such expression, except in the
_sehnsucht_ of music.
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