THR POETRY OF LIFE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 138, 11 June 1881, Page 4

THR POETRY OF LIFE.

Words, like men, have their ups and downs. Some, by common usaee, ere lifted above tbeir primary signification into a highor and purer atmosphere; others gradually lose their finer meaning, and are degraded to a lower realm of thought. The word poetry certainly belongs to the former clius. Originally ootfloed to verse-making, and dealing chiefly with metre and rhyme, it has by degrees buret iis bonds, aod come to dwell rather in the quality of the thought than the arrangement of the words Wo now admit thnt there arc many verses, faultless in their measure and smooth in their flow, which contain no poetical idea, nod, therefore!, cannot be rightly called poetry; whih there are many prose -writings so rich in iraagit ation, ond so tender in ftentiment, that they fulfil all the condition* of true poefr?. Neifher is thi« word wholly confined io writings. Wo speak of a poetical mini, though its thought*? may never be transcribed on paper, anr the phrases " poetry of motion," " poetry of common things," "poetry of life,' imply something more real aod positive than a mere meiaphor. Tbe late F. W. Boberteon definad potery to be «' invisible tru^b as distinct from fchat whii his visible." Ii is, at least, a suojgeetive definition. It rescues poetry from the region of mere fancy, to which we often condemn it. The difference between visible and invisible truth liet chiefly in cur powers of discernment. The one relates to something material, tbat c«n bo seeD, or hesrd, or touched; the other is hidden from the senses. and appreciable only by imayint^fcioD. Both are equally true. Coleridge, poei though he was himself, did not look a poetry in this light. He eaya " Poetry is opposed to science. The proper aud immediate object of scieccj is the ac quirement or communication of truth; tbe proper and immediate object o ! poetry is the communication of pleasure." We give poetry, h> our day, a far higher function to perform than simply to please. She does thi*?, but only in cidentelly. Here it is to discover tht hidden meanings of wh*t seem to ue proeaic; to proclaim higher truths than those we c&n handle,- to lift the heart and mind, net out oi reality ioto realms of imagery and romance, but from one reality to another, and to show that much which ip at first unseen is more true, more permanent, aore eatis'yiDg thao thai wbich is always witbin our vision. Take, for example, the boy studying under a dull, proeaic teacher. He learns many visible truths, facta of history, rules of grammar, formulas ol mathematics, laws of Boience, and they are to bim os dry and hard as the detk at wbich he sits. Presently, however, he comes uuder another icfluenc which oper s up to him tbe mraning o' those historical facte, the causes from which they sprung, the progrees wbicb they dei o'e, the lessons which they suggest j it unfolds the principles which underlie rules, and can, if need b?, dispense with them ; it presents to him o weabh of thought aod beauty of literature of which he had never dreamed wbile memorising unoomprehended passages. These higher, fuller, living truths, whicb had before been invisible, change his whole mental existence ; thpy are the beauty and the poetry of education, and also its truest realiue?. There ie the icßu'tution of marriage — how much or bow little it may mean! Looked at simply in its visible form, iiis only a certmooy, uniting two person* in legal and moral bonds, wto afterwards form one lamily, instead of parts of two. But what ara its invisible truths, its higher realities, its poetry ? Does it not suggest holy tffection, puredelioht rich possibilities of mutual aid, improvement and sympathy ? Does it not bint at family life, with its responsibilities and dutieß, its self sacrifice, its trials ita rewards, tbe inspiration ii gives to energy, the sweets it confers on labor, the consolations it has in atore for ticknesa or sorrow, the comforts and honor it bestows on old age ? What though tbeee may never bt wholly realised ? They are no lees the greßt truths of marriage, to which some may be for ever blind, and some may convert from beautiful conceptions to happy realities. So in all labor there is poetry, if we can but find it, cdh taining its deepest meaning and ititruest realities. One mechanic sre? nothing beyond his tools and their daily uae ; another beholds the civilisation and refinement whicb his work is daily spreading. One merchant only measures his business by biyetrly account of profit or loss ; another sees in it the extension of commerce, the employment given to labor, the triumph of honest principles. Onf physioian looks at bis profession only as a ladder for his own advancement and popularity ; soother beholds Buffering assuaged, disease overcome, sanitary habits enforced, healthful living secured, happiness increased. One woman sees in her house only an arena for hard work and physical comfort ; another sees exquisite pictures of the poFsible happiness, honor, develop ment, and value which may be cherished within it, end may iesue frotn it to to blees eociely and strengthen the nation. It is only as theße higher truths of labor become vividly pictured in the imagination ttat labor itself can rise to its true position. Its poetry ie its best reality and ennobles all its prose of hard work and dry details. So in social life, Eome never get beyond its prope. They observe its laws and ceremonies, obey its conventionalities, regulate their habits and actions according to its dictates — bufc they never guess at its hidden meanings or penetrate its real spirit. They do not realise any adequate conception of it* possibilities, or see how thoroughly tbe well-being of each one is involved in the welfare of the whole. There is tru,e poetry in tbe Golden Rule. It reveals, through the imagination, the great truth that upholds society, and the only means by which its welfare can be fully wrought out, The more vividly we behold its results, the more fully wo imbibe its spirit, the more thoroughly we alopt its practice, the better prepared' sball we be to understand society, to solve its problems, to realise ita happiness, and to spread its .benefits. Not oiily does all life have ite poetry, but in lb*« very poetry mty

be found the best, the fullest, Bnd the sweetest parts of life. He wili dienover it who is himself true and brave, faithful aod patient, earnest and loving; and of such sn ouo it may bo truly said •'Hia life is a ioam." — Philadelphia Ledger.