It is no small recommendation when a book
will stand the test of mere unobstructed sunshine and daylight.
What would we not give for some great poem to read now, which
would be in harmony with the scenery, - for if men read aright,
methinks they would never read anything but poems. No history nor
philosophy can supply their place.
The wisest definition of poetry the poet will instantly prove
false by setting aside its requisitions. We can, therefore,
publish only our advertisement of it.
There is no doubt that the loftiest written wisdom is either
rhymed, or in some way musically measured, - is, in form as well
as substance, poetry; and a volume which should contain the
condensed wisdom of mankind need not have one rhythmless line.
Yet poetry, though the last and finest result, is a natural
fruit. As naturally as the oak bears an acorn, and the vine a
gourd, man bears a poem, either spoken or done. It is the chief
and most memorable success, for history is but a prose narrative
of poetic deeds. What else have the Hindoos, the Persians, the
Babylonians, the Egyptians done, that can be told? It is the
simplest relation of phenomena, and describes the commonest
sensations with more truth than science does, and the latter at a
distance slowly mimics its style and methods.
