no coward soul
There is beauty in language. Beauty in the diversity of languages. Beauty in the patterns of languages. Beauty in communication.
In addition, there is beautiful language. Poetry falls into that category for me. Here's one from Emily Bronte that I read this week. I've italicized my favorite lines for you. :)
Last Lines
~~Emily Bronte
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere
I see Heaven's glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast,
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life---that in me has rest,
As I---undying Life---have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men's hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as wither'd weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by Thine Infinity;
So surely anchor'd on
The steadfast rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou were left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou---Thou are Being and Breath,
And what Thou are may never be destroyed.
In addition, there is beautiful language. Poetry falls into that category for me. Here's one from Emily Bronte that I read this week. I've italicized my favorite lines for you. :)
Last Lines
~~Emily Bronte
No coward soul is mine,
No trembler in the world's storm-troubled sphere
I see Heaven's glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
O God within my breast,
Almighty, ever-present Deity!
Life---that in me has rest,
As I---undying Life---have power in Thee!
Vain are the thousand creeds
That move men's hearts: unutterably vain;
Worthless as wither'd weeds,
Or idlest froth amid the boundless main,
To waken doubt in one
Holding so fast by Thine Infinity;
So surely anchor'd on
The steadfast rock of immortality.
With wide-embracing love
Thy Spirit animates eternal years,
Pervades and broods above,
Changes, sustains, dissolves, creates, and rears.
Though earth and man were gone,
And suns and universes ceased to be,
And Thou were left alone,
Every existence would exist in Thee.
There is not room for Death,
Nor atom that his might could render void:
Thou---Thou are Being and Breath,
And what Thou are may never be destroyed.
That is a beautiful poem. I didn't realize she wrote poetry. I'll have to look into it.
ReplyDeleteThe three sisters published a joint book of poetry in 1846 under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. At the time, almost no copies were sold, but then it another edition was published after their novels become popular (not sure if they used their own names or not) that was received better.
DeleteIf you like the Brontes' works, there is a kindle book that is The Complete Works of the Brontes that even includes some biographies. It's a massive book, but also nice because it includes things like their poetry.