University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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THE REDWOOD none the less. What then becomes of the plea for constant activ- ity? If this piece is beautiful in poetry, it is so merely because it reflects what is in reality beautiful, and unless one is prepared to look upon Sister Agnes as a type of the weak, the common ver- dict must be that repose is sometimes as praiseworthy if not more so than strenuosity. But here I am a little obscure. Is the picture before us one of repose? It may be and if so it is that wise passiveness of which Wordsworth speaks. Taking it thus we must regard the prayer of the nun as a mere longing of the heart, as a response to the appeal of the outside world. But we may consider that pure soul at work and then we have mental activity, and it is a question of mental against physical activity. If the restlessness of Ulysses and the enthusiasm of Galahad are more soul-elevating than the calmness of Sister Agnes there will of course be no controversy, but because the calmness of that wintry evening and the fervor of that loving prayer appeals more to the human heart than the strenuosity of the Greek hero and of the Christian knight, we must conclude that repose is sometimes more beautiful than action or, what is the same thing, that mental is superior to physical activity. We have thus made some progress and this, it would seems towards a common footing. The author of ' Sir Galahad ' and ' Ulysses ' has written a plea for activity. I have gradually come to the same conclusion. The difference between him and me is that we are each advocating the same thing but apparently along different lines. I say apparently because in truth he, in speaking of physical activity, did not necessarily disregard mental effort and I, in voicing the praises of mental activity, do not for a moment under- value physical activity. What we need is to temper both. This may more fully develop if we turn to the other Tennysonian model of repose, The Eotus-Eaters. The personalities in this Greek reproduction, — for like Ulysses this is taken from the Greek, — are to be studied from the poem in its entirety. The Lotus-Eaters are melancholy individuals, whose voices are thin as voices from the grave, who seem, though really awake, to be deep asleep, who sit them down upon the shore and listen to the music of nature and think within them-

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THE REDWOOD This however is not the point in hand. What we want is the element of repose in this beautiful poem. It is a picture of a heart only, of a heart touched by immortal love, but this is enough for us. There is something similar, perhaps the arch-type of the poet ' s idea, in one of the Psalms, where the Israelites are represented in distant Ba bylon sighing for their return to Jerusalem. Upon the rivers of Babylon there we sat and wept; when we remembered Sion. Thus Sister Agnes longs to be united to her God, longs that her spirit be made pure and clear and that in raiment white and clean she may stand a glittering star, a peerless bride before the throne of the Lamb. Hers is a beautiful soul, if there is any beauty on earth, and Tennyson ' s poem is an admirable expression of this beauty. She is represented as looking out from the convent windows on the snows that are sparkling to the moon, and as she thus looks out, she has no other thought than to be made pure as the snow-drops, clear as the frosty skies, and fearing the possi- bility of stain she prays that, as her breath ascends to Heaven, her soul may follow soon. Break up the Heavens, O Lord, and far Thro ' all yon starlight keen, Draw me, thy bride, a glittering star In raiment white and clean. And again: The gates Roll back and far within For me the Heavenly Bridegroom waits To make me pure of sin. The Sabbath of Eternity, One Sabbath deep and wide — A light upon the shining sea — The Bridegroom with his bride! There may be strains in literature more beautiful than this, but because this approaches the height of the beautiful they are of neces- sity few. In St. Agnes ' Eve, Tennyson rose to the summit of his inspiration; nothing in him is more expressive, nothing more calcu- lated to lift the soul. And yet this is a picture in repose, physical repose, it is true and as such the highest form, but it is repose

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THE REDWOOD selves of the uselessness of toil and trouble. In their quietude, they would above all things be left alone. Death is the end of life; oh, why Should life all labor be? Let us alone! Time drive th onward fast, And in a little while our lips are dumb. Let us alone! Thus sing they as they lend their spirits to mild-eyed melan- choly. They find some pleasure in recollections of the past, but to be ' propt on beds of amaranth and moly and thus propt To watch the long bright river drawing slowly His waters from the purple hill — is far more delightful than memories of the past. Now if we consider the circumstances governing all this, we may arrive at a true estimate of this kind of repose. The scene is in the afternoon in an isle where it seemed always afternoon. The full-faced moon stands above the valley and looks down upon streams that make their way to the slumberous sheet of foam. In the distant west three mountain tops are seen, three snow- capped, sunset-flushed pinnacles. The air is heavy, the mariners are fatigued, and the Lotus begets weariness. Their condition therefore is what might be called a species of our modern ' Spring- fever. To indulge for a fortnight or more after their toilsome voyage might have been legitimate; but though they have homes far away, they vow to return no more, they swear an oath to lie, like the gods, beside their nectar, careless of mankind; in brief they long for continual absolute repose. This is the element which we must study. Absolute repose is possible in sleep alone. Sleep is a neces- sity of nature and legitimate merely because it is a necessity; to seek it in excess is morally wrong. The Lotus-Eaters therefore represent a species of culpable repose; it is culpable because unnatural, just as on the other hand unnatural activity, when not forced, would be culpable. Where then do I differ from him whom I intended to refute ? Merely in this: We need more ' Galahads ' and more men of the ' Ulysses ' type. ' he concluded. That is truly said, but all is not