But he who lov'd her too well to dread,
The sweet, the stately, the beautiful dead,
He lit his lamp and took the key

And turned it alone again--he and she.
He and She; but she would not speak,

Though he kissed in the old place the quiet cheek.
He and She; yet she would not smile,

Though he called her the name she loved erewhile.
He and She; still she did not move
To any passionate whisper of love,

"See now; I will listen with soul, not ear;
What was the secret of dying dear?
O perfect dead! O dead most dear,

I hold the breath of my soul to hear!
There must be pleasure in dying, sweet,
To make you so placid from head to feet!
I would tell you, darling, if I were dead,
And 'twere your hot tears upon my brow shed,-
You should not ask vainly, with streaming eyes,
Which of all deaths was the chiefest surprise,
The very strangest and suddenest thing
Of all the surprises that dying must bring."
Ah, foolish world; O most kind dead!

Though he told me, who will believe it was said?
Who will believe that he heard her say,
With the sweet soft voice, in the dear old way:
"The utmost wonder is this,—I hear

And see you, and love you, and kiss you, dear;
And am your angel, who was your bride,

And know that, though dead, I have never died."

EPICTETUS.

Having here and now given a few choice extracts, from the most ancient records we know of; which are the products of thought expressed in the most ancient language, (and since translated) in evidence of the high trend of lofty spiritual thought and knowledge enjoyed, ages before Jesus appeared: we will now quote a few extracts, which have been translated from The Teachings of Epictetus about 60-120 A. D.

"But if you hold that only to be your own which is so, and the alien for what it is, alien, then none shall ever compel you, none shall hinder you, you will blame no one, accuse no one, you will not do the least thing unwillingly, none shall harm you, you shall have no foe, for you shall suffer no injury."

"Consider more closely, know thyself, question thy genius, attempt nothing without God;"

"And I have this aim,-to perfect you, that ye be unhindered, uncompelled, unembarrassed, free, prosperous, happy, looking unto God alone in all things great and small.”

"It is not things, but opinions about the things, that trouble mankind. When therefore, we are worried or troubled, or grieved, never let us blame any other than ourselves; that is to say, our opinions."

"A man undisciplined in philosophy blames others in matters in which he fares ill; one who begins to be disciplined blames himself; one who is disciplined, neither others nor himself."

"None, therefore, who fears or grieves, or worries, or who is anxious, is free; but whoever is released from griefs and fears and anxieties is by that very thing released from slavery."

"For I hold what God wills above what I will. I cleave to Him as His servant and follower; my impulses are one with His; my pursuit is one with His: in a word, my will is one with His."

"Seek not to have things happen as you choose them, but

rather choose them to happen as they do, and so shall you live prosperously."

"Man! be mad at last, as the saying is, for peace, for freedom, for magnanimity. Lift up thy head as one delivered from slavery. Dare to look up to God and say: Deal with me henceforth as thou wilt; I am of one mind with thee; I am thine. I reject nothing that seems good to thee; lead me whithersoever thou wilt. Wilt thou have me govern, or live privately, or stay at home, or go into exile, or be a poor man, or a rich? For all these conditions I will be thy advocate among men."

"Desire not to be Commander or Prince or Consul, but to be free."

"God hath made all men to be happy and of good estate." "That which thou wouldest not suffer thyself, seek not to lay upon others."

"Now can no evil happen to me; for me there is no robber, no earthquake; all things are full of peace, full of calm; for me no way, no city, no associate, hath any hurt."

"He hath placed at every man's side a Guardian, the genius of each man, who is charged to watch over him; a genius that cannot sleep, nor be deceived."

"And what is the essence of God? Mind, Intelligence, right Reason? Even so. Here then, once for all, seek the essence of the Good."

"I had none other more worthy of trust than thee; keep this man such as he was made by nature,—reverent, faithful, high, unterrified, unshaken of passions, untroubled.”

"Go before no man with trembling, but know well that all events are indifferent and nothing to thee. For whatever it may be, it shall lie with thee to use it nobly: this no man can prevent.'

"That man is wise among us, and hath understanding of things divine, who hath nobly agreed with necessity."

CHAPTER 14

EXTRACTS FROM ESSAYS, ETC., OF R. W. EMERSON, 1803-1882 A. D.

"There is no great and no small

To the Soul that maketh all:

And where it cometh, all things are;
And it cometh everywhere."

"To the poet, to the philosopher, to the saint, all things are friendly and sacred, all events profitable, all days holy, all men divine. For the eye is fastened on the life, and slights the circumstance."

"There is, at the surface, infinite variety of things; at the center there is simplicity of cause."

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think."

"It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude,

"With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict everything you said today."

"Prayer that craves a particular commodity, anything less than all good, is vicious. Prayer is the contemplation of the facts of life from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul."

"But prayer as a means to effect a private end is meanness and theft. As soon as the man is at one with God, he will not beg. He will then see prayer in all action."

"That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him."

"Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope or dare too much."

"It is only as a man puts off all foreign support and stands alone that I see him to be strong and to prevail.”

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles."

"He is great who confers the most benefits."

"Nothing can work me damage except myself; the harm that I sustain I carry about with me, and am never a real sufferer but by my own fault."

"We miscreate our own evils.'

"There is a guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right word."

"Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right and a perfect contentment." "Be, and not seem."

"To think is to act."

"Let a man believe in God, and not in names and places and persons."

"Our intellectual and active powers increase with our affection.""

"The best good of wealth is freedom.'

"Self-trust is the essence of heroism. It speaks the truth and it is just, generous, hospitable, temperate, scornful of petty calculations and scornful of being scorned. It persists; it is of an undaunted boldness and of a fortitude not to be wearied out."

"That which we are, we shall teach, not voluntarily but involuntarily."

"The things that are really for thee gravitate to thee."

"Men cease to interest us when we find their limitations. The only sin is limitation. As soon as you once come up with a man's limitations, it is all over with him. Has he talents? Has he enterprise? Has he knowledge? It boots not. Infinitely alluring and attractive was he to you yesterday, a great hope, a sea to swim in; now, you have found his shores, found it a pond, and you care not if you never see it again.”