Not such was the outward appearance of Yaféh. Less majestic13, less grave, Earth and Heaven ever hailed him with rejoicing. The latter, indeed, knew him not apart from Amête; and the former, in her darkness, sometimes greeted his semblance14, not himself. Robed in light, drawn15 not from the ethereal fount which circled Amête, but from those dazzling iris16-coloured rays, the reflection of which we sometimes catch when the sun shines upon a prism, the various changes of his exquisite loveliness were impossible to be defined. But it was only when in close unity17 with Amête he was seen to full perfection, and his glittering garb18 endowed with vitality19 and glory; apart those iris rays shone forth20 resplendent and most dazzling, but without the light glistening21 on the brow of his companion were too soon merged22 in gloom.
But this Yaféh himself knew not, and in his young ambition besought23 permission to work alone. His revealed form was more visible on earth than that of Amête. As he looked down, and around, and above him, the attribute of which he was the guardian24 seemed so powerfully and palpably impressed, that he could not trace the invisible workings of his companion, and in his presumption25 he deemed it all his own, and chafed26 and spurned27 the bond which, since their creation, had entwined and marked them one. Mournfully and earnestly Amête conjured28 him to check the impious prayer; that which the All-Wise had assigned them was surely best and safest. But Yaféh would not heed29, and ceased not his murmuring supplication30 till it was granted. With the work already done, the work of Creation, he might not interfere31; but the archangelic minister bade him “Go down to earth, and in the workshop of man, be his creation of hand or brain, display thy power; thou art free to work alone,” and with a glad burst of triumphant32 song, and the brilliant velocity33 of a fallen star, the Spirit darted34 down to earth.
“Follow him not!” commanded the archangel, answering Amête’s imploring35 gaze; “once convinced of his nothingness alone, he will never leave thee more. That lesson learned, thou mayest rejoin him; meanwhile, look down upon his course,” and sorrowingly Amête obeyed.
He beheld36 him, arrayed in even more than his wonted loveliness, enter the several habitations of man; his invisible but felt presence greeted with wild joy, and his inspirings followed in the new creative genius of all whom he touched. In the lowly homes of the mechanic and the artizan he lingered, and their work grew beneath their hand; and at first it seemed most lovely, but still something was wanting, and they toiled38 and toiled to find it, but in vain; and despair and ruin usurped39 the place of glad rejoicing.
“They are of too low a grade, too dull a mind,” murmured the Spirit, and he flew to the easel of the painter; the workshop of the sculptor40; and new conceptions of loveliness floated so vividly41 in their minds, that day and night unceasingly they toiled to give them embodied42 form, and sweet dreams of fame mingled43 with their creation, till life itself seemed brighter than before. And Yaféh rejoiced, for surely now he was triumphant; here at least perfection would vitalize his presence, and prove how little needed he Amête. He mingled invisibly with the judges of the works, and he beheld them scorned—contemned as dreams of madmen; and the artists fled, disgraced and miserable44, to their homes, with difficulty restrained from shivering their work to atoms.
Terrified, yet still not humbled45, Yaféh winged his flight to the studio of the musician, and harmonies of heaven floated in his ear, entrancing him with their exquisite perfection, and hour after hour he laboured to bring them from their impalpable essence to the bondage46 of note and phrase, but in vain—in vain! The sounds he did produce were wild, discordant47, unconnected, and in passionate48 agony he refused to listen more.
The poet, the philosopher, the historian—wherever genius lay—Yaféh touched with his quivering breath, and to all came the same dream of marvellous loveliness—the same ideal perfection. On all burst the torrent49 of inspiration, compelling toil37 and work, to give words to the pressing thought, and all for awhile believed it perfect; and their burning souls throbbed50 high in the fond hope that each glorious lay, each novel discovery, each startling hypothesis—clothed in such glowing imagery and thrilling words—must last for ever. And Yaféh triumphed, for surely here he was secure, and in these prove that he could work alone, and needed the aid of none.
A brief, brief while, and the burning lays of the poet were forgotten and unread. The theory of the philosopher, lovely as it had seemed, quivered into darkness before the test of usefulness and reason. The new discoveries, new thoughts of the historian met with scorn and laughter in the vain search for their foundation. And, in their deep despair, Yaféh heard the names by which he was known to earth accursed and scorned; his presence banished51; his inspirations rudely checked, as bringing not loveliness and joy, but misery52 and ruin, and the Spirit fled, in his wild agony, far, far from the homes of earth and the hearts of men; and shrinking from his starry53 home and light-clad brother, sought to pierce through and through the vast realms of unfathomable space, and lose himself in darkness. His iris rays seemed fading from his lovely form, lost in denser54 and denser gloom. Above, below, and around him thunder rolled, and the glittering Hosts of Heaven trembled, lest his proud wish were to be chastised55 still further. But soon the majestic form of the Spirit Amête stood beside his brother, and before the touch of his glittering spear, Error and Despair, about to claim Yaféh, fled howling.
“Yaféh, beloved! we will descend56 together,” he said, in tones clear, distinct, and liquid, impossible to be withstood. “Thy work shall yet live and be immortal11.”
“Nay, ’twill be thine,” murmured the repentant57 Spirit, his darkened loveliness resuming light and glory from the effulgent58 brow so pityingly bent59 down on his. “What need hast thou for me? Go forth and work alone; I have no part on earth.”
“Thou hast; for without thee I have no power. Man trembles at my form when at the Eternal’s mandate60, I must go forth alone; but with thee, perchance because my sterner self is hidden, he loves and hails me, and permits my work ascendency. Without thee I could but bind61 to earth; with thee I lead to heaven. Brother, we are One, though earth may deem us twain. We cannot work for Immortality apart.”
Side by side, so closely twined that even their brother spirits could with difficulty distinguish their individuality, Amête and Yaféh stood within the dwellings62 of man. The mechanic and the artizan started from their desponding trance; the neglected work was resumed. The form, the inspiration was the same; but as if a flash of light had touched it, it gave back that perfect image of the mind for which before they had so toiled and toiled in vain. On to the artist, the sculptor, the musician, and one touch from that crystal spear, and the misty63 cloud dispersed64, and the senseless canvas gave back the perfected thought; the cold marble sprung into the warmth of actual being; the impalpable but exquisite harmonies, the ethereal essence of sound, at the word of Amête, resolved itself into the necessary bondage of note and form, and breathed forth to admiring thousands the music lent to one. Hovering65 over the poet, again the thrilling words burst forth, and fraught66 with such mighty67 meanings every heart responded, as to the voice of the Immortal; folding his azure68 pinion69 round the panting soul of the philosopher, the shrouding70 cloud dispersed, and science, deep, stern, lasting8, took the place of the mere71 lovely dream; and on the page of the historian, light from the brow of Amête so flashed as to make him a gifted reader of the Future, by the wondrous72 record his spirit-thought unfolded of the Past. Wherever the Spirits lingered, man worked for immortality; it mattered not under what guise73, or in what rank. From the highest to the lowest, each creative impulse, fashioned by Yaféh, received perfection from Amête. The former, indeed, alone was visible, but never more he sought to work alone. Within his outward work was the vital essence breathed by Amête, without which the most exquisite form was incomplete—the most lovely thought imperfect—the fairest theory a dream.
And so it is even now. Up, up in yon distant star, gleaming so brightly through the immeasurable space, as may be their throne, still does their glorious and united Presence walk the earth. Their semblance may be found apart, but not themselves. Twain as they are in name and aspect, in essence they are One. Truth is the vital breath of Beauty; Beauty the outward form of Truth; the Real the sole foundation of the Ideal; the Ideal but the spiritualized essence of the Real.
1. Two Hebrew words, whose translations will be found in the concluding paragraph.
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1 sate | |
v.使充分满足 | |
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2 eternity | |
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷 | |
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3 steadily | |
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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4 sapphire | |
n.青玉,蓝宝石;adj.天蓝色的 | |
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5 transparent | |
adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的 | |
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6 annihilated | |
v.(彻底)消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;废止;彻底击溃 | |
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7 coeval | |
adj.同时代的;n.同时代的人或事物 | |
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8 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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9 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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10 immortality | |
n.不死,不朽 | |
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11 immortal | |
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的 | |
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12 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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13 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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14 semblance | |
n.外貌,外表 | |
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15 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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16 iris | |
n.虹膜,彩虹 | |
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17 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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18 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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19 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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20 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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21 glistening | |
adj.闪耀的,反光的v.湿物闪耀,闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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22 merged | |
(使)混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 ); 相融; 融入; 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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23 besought | |
v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的过去式和过去分词 );(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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24 guardian | |
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者 | |
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25 presumption | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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26 chafed | |
v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的过去式 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒 | |
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27 spurned | |
v.一脚踢开,拒绝接受( spurn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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29 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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30 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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31 interfere | |
v.(in)干涉,干预;(with)妨碍,打扰 | |
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32 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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33 velocity | |
n.速度,速率 | |
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34 darted | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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35 imploring | |
恳求的,哀求的 | |
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36 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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37 toil | |
vi.辛劳工作,艰难地行动;n.苦工,难事 | |
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38 toiled | |
长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 ); 艰难缓慢地移动,跋涉 | |
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39 usurped | |
篡夺,霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 ); 盗用; 篡夺,篡权 | |
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40 sculptor | |
n.雕刻家,雕刻家 | |
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41 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
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42 embodied | |
v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 );象征;包括;包含 | |
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43 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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44 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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45 humbled | |
adj. 卑下的,谦逊的,粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下,贬低 | |
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46 bondage | |
n.奴役,束缚 | |
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47 discordant | |
adj.不调和的 | |
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48 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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49 torrent | |
n.激流,洪流;爆发,(话语等的)连发 | |
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50 throbbed | |
抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 ); (心脏、脉搏等)跳动 | |
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51 banished | |
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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53 starry | |
adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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54 denser | |
adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
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55 chastised | |
v.严惩(某人)(尤指责打)( chastise的过去式 ) | |
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56 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
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57 repentant | |
adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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58 effulgent | |
adj.光辉的;灿烂的 | |
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59 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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60 mandate | |
n.托管地;命令,指示 | |
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61 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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62 dwellings | |
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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63 misty | |
adj.雾蒙蒙的,有雾的 | |
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64 dispersed | |
adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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65 hovering | |
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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66 fraught | |
adj.充满…的,伴有(危险等)的;忧虑的 | |
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67 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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68 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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69 pinion | |
v.束缚;n.小齿轮 | |
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70 shrouding | |
n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 );保密 | |
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71 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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72 wondrous | |
adj.令人惊奇的,奇妙的;adv.惊人地;异乎寻常地;令人惊叹地 | |
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73 guise | |
n.外表,伪装的姿态 | |
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