Volume I Part 21 (1/2)

'Again, when I caht the atte does not seeh subjects For here the philosophy is not ion, but assumes to show a face of its own

And, as none should meddle with these matters who are not in earnest, so, such will prefer to find the thought of a teacher or fellow-disciple expressed as directly and as bare of ornament as possible

'I was interested in De Wette's Theodor, and that learned and (_on dit_) profound man seemed to me so to fail, that I did not finish the book, nor try whether I could believe the novice should ever arrive at manly stature

'I a of this book, as of that I suppose if I were to read Lamennais, or L'Erminier, I should knohat they all want or intend And if you et it for me, for I am more curious than ever I had supposed the view taken by these persons in France, to be the same with that of Novalis and the German Catholics, in which I have been deeply interested But from this book, it would seem to approach the faith of some of ap in the theoretical fabric is the same as with them I read with unutterable interest the despair of Alexis in his Eclectic course, his return to the teachings of external nature, his new birth, and consequent appreciation of poetry and music But the question of Free Will,--how to reconcile its workings with necessity and compensation,--how to reconcile the life of the heart with that of the intellect,--how to listen to the whispering breeze of Spirit, while breasting, as a mas Sand and her friends seem to have solved no better than MF and her friends

'The practical optimism is much the same as ours, except that there is more hope for the or, scarce any faltering on the wing The horrors are disgusting, as are those of every writer except Dante Even genius should content itself in dipping the pencil in cloud and reat beauty As in Helene, as in Novalis, I recognized, with delight, the eye that gazed, the ear that listened, till the spectres cahlander on his rocky couch, to the Gerar eye which looks, but never sees! Here the beautiful apparition advances froht and truth, as it should, when eagle eyes are gazing

'I aht She h some man Women, under any circumstances, can scarce do more than dip the foot in this broad and deep river; they have not strength to contend with the current

Brave, if they do not delicately shrink from the cold water

No Sibyls have existed like those of Michel Angelo; those of Raphael are the true brides of a God, but not themselves divine It is easy for wo God, the universe, the soul, and, above all, trying to live above their own hearts, they dart down to their nests like so many larks, and, if they cannot find them, fret like the French Corinne Goethe's Makaria was born of the stars Mr Flint's Platonic old lady a _lusus naturae_, and the Dudevant has loved a philosopher

'I suppose the view of the present state of Catholiciserated Alexis is no more persecuted than Abelard was, and is so, for the same reasons From the examinations of the Italian convents in Leopold's tins, but is taught and professed in them And Catholicism loads and infects as all dead for their lives'

GEORGE SAND, AGAIN

'1839--When I first knew George Sand, I thought I found tried the experiment I wanted I did not value Bettine so h for me; only nohen I am sure of myself, would I pour out my soul at the feet of another In the assured soul it is kingly prodigality; in one which cannot forbear, it is mere babyhood I love _abandon_ only when natures are capable of the extre, when I read her book I knew she could not outlive her love

'But in _Les Sept Cordes de la Lyre_, which I read first, I saw the knowledge of the passions, and of social institutions, with the celestial choice which rose above them I loved Helene, who could so well hear the terrene voices, yet keep her eye fixed on the stars That would be my wish, also, to know all, then choose; I ever revered her, for I was not sure that I could have resisted the call of the Now, could have left the spirit, and gone to God And, at a e, I could not have refused the philosopher But I hoped froht I heard the last tones of a purified life:--Gretchen, in the golden cloud, raised above all past delusions, worthy to redeem and upbear the wisefor truth

'Still, in _Andre_, and in _Jacques_, I traced the sah morality of one who had tried the liberty of circumstance only to learn to appreciate the liberty of law, to know that license is the foe of freedousted row upon the dank and dirty ground I thought she had cast aside the slough of her past life, and began a new existence beneath the sun of a true Ideal

'But here (in the _Lettres d'un Voyageur_) what do I see? An unfortunate bewailing her loneliness, bewailing her rasp ofto combine a mail's mind and woman's heart, and who yet finds life too rich to weep over? Never?

'When I read in _Leone Lioni_ the account of the jeweller's daughter's life with herto be looked at when dressed, _avec un front ily of ----, and her mother What a heroine she would be for Sand! She has the same fearless softness with Juliet, and a sportive _navete_, a mixture of bird and kitten, unknown to the dupe of Lioni

'If I were a man, and wished a wife, as many do, merely as an ornament, or silken toy, I would take ---- as soon as any I know Her fantastic, impassioned, and mutable nature would yield an inexhaustible amusement She is capable of the most romantic actions;--wild as the falcon, and voluptuous as the tuberose,--yet she has not in her the elements of romance, like a deeper and less susceptible nature My cold and reasoning E, with her one love lying, perhaps, never to be unfolded, beneath such sheaths of pride and reserve, would make a far better heroine

'Both these characters are natural, while S and T are _naturally factitious_, because so imitative, and her mother differs fro character gave theht but perceptible taste of iron in the water

'George Sand disappoints s have, especially since I have been brought close to her person by the _Lettres d'un Voyageur_ Her remarks on Lavater seeenre fe over a lot Any peculiarity in her destiny seems accidental She is forced to this and that, to earn her bread forsooth!

'Yet her style,--hat a deeply s fire it burns!--not vehement, but intense, like Jean Jacques'

ALFRED DE VIGNY

'_Sept_, 1839