common taste and fellowship to exist between two or three under these suppositions. It is however quite the contrary. Minds would leave each other in contrary directions, traverse each other in numberless points, and at last greet each other at the journey's end. An old man and a child would talk together and the old man be led on his path and the child left thinking. Man should not dispute or assert, but whisper results to his Neighbour, and thus by every germ of spirit sucking the sap from mould ethereal every human might become great, and humanity instead of being a wide heath of furze and briars, with here and there a remote Oak or Pine, would become a grand democracy of forest trees. It has been an old comparison for our urging on -the beehive-however it seems to me that we should rather be the flower than the Bee-for it is a false notion that more is gained by receiving than giving-no, the receiver and the giver are equal in their benefits. The flower, I doubt not, receives a fair guerdon from the Bee —its leaves blush deeper in the next spring-and who shall say between Man and Woman which is the most delighted? Now it is more noble to sit like Jove than to fly like Mercury:-let us not therefore go hurrying about and collecting honey, bee-like, buzzing here and there impatiently from a knowledge of what is to be arrived at. But let us open our leaves like a flower, and be passive and receptive; budding patiently under the eye of Apollo and taking hints from every noble insect that favours us with a visit-Sap will be given us for meat, and dew for drink. I was led into these thoughts, my dear Reynolds, by the beauty of the morning operating on a sense of Idleness. I have not read any Books—the Morning said I was right-I had no idea but of the Morning, and the Thrush said I was right-seeming to say, "O thou whose face hath felt the Winter's wind, To thee the Spring will be a harvest-time-- And he's awake who thinks himself asleep." Now I am sensible all this is a mere sophistication (however it may neighbour to any truths), to excuse my own indolence-So I will not deceive myself that Man should be equal with Jove-but think himself very well off as a sort of scullion-Mercury or even a humble-bee. It is no matter whether I am right or wrong either one way or another, if there is sufficient to lift a little time from your shoulders Your affectionate friend JOHN KEATS. XXXVIII. -TO GEORGE AND THOMAS KEATS. Hampstead, Saturday [February 21, 1818]. My dear Brothers-I am extremely sorry to have given you so much uneasiness by not writing; however, you know good news is no news or vice versa. I do not like to write a short letter to you, or you would have had one long before. The weather although boisterous to-day has been very much milder; and I think Devonshire is not the last place to receive a temperate Change. I have been abominably idle since you left, but have just turned over a new leaf, and used as a marker a letter of excuse to an invitation from Horace Smith. The occasion of my writing to-day is the enclosed letter-by Postmark from Miss W- 1 Does she expect you in town George? I received a letter the other day from Haydon, in which he says, his Essays on the Elgin Marbles are being translated into Italian, the which he superintends. I did not 1 Georgiana Wylie, to whom George Keats was engaged. mention that I had seen the British Gallery, there are some nice things by Stark, and Bathsheba by Wilkie, which is condemned. I could not bear Alston's Uriel. Reynolds has been very ill for some time, confined to the house, and had leeches applied to his chest; when I saw him on Wednesday he was much the same, and he is in the worst place for amendment, among the strife of women's tongues, in a hot and parch'd room: I wish he would move to Butler's for a short time. The Thrushes and Blackbirds have been singing me into an idea that it was Spring, and almost that leaves were on the trees. So that black clouds and boisterous winds seem to have mustered and collected in full Divan, for the purpose of convincing me to the contrary. Taylor says my poem shall be out in a month, I think he will be out before it. . . . The thrushes are singing now as if they would speak to the winds, because their big brother Jack, the Spring, was not far off. I am reading Voltaire and Gibbon, although I wrote to Reynolds the other day to prove reading of no use; I have not seen Hunt since, I am a good deal with Dilke and Brown, we are very thick; they are very kind to me, they are well. I don't think I could stop in Hampstead but for their neighbourhood. I hear Hazlitt's lectures regularly, his last was on Gray, Collins, Young, etc., and he gave a very fine piece of discriminating Criticism on Swift, Voltaire, and Rabelais. I was very disappointed at his treatment of Chatterton. I generally meet with many I know there. Lord Byron's 4th Canto is expected out, and I heard somewhere, that Walter Scott has a new Poem in readiness. I am sorry that Wordsworth has left a bad impression wherever he visited in town by his egotism, Vanity, and bigotry. Yet he is a great poet if not a philosopher. I have not yet read Shelley's Poem, I do not suppose you have it yet, at the Teignmouth libraries. These double letters must come rather heavy, I hope you have a moderate portion of cash, but don't fret at all, if you have not--Lord! I intend to play at cut and run as well as Falstaff, that is to say, before he got so lusty. I remain praying for your health my dear Brothers JOHN. XXXIX.—TO JOHN TAYLOR. Hampstead, February 27 [1818]. My dear Taylor—Your alteration strikes me as being a great Improvement-And now I will attend to the punctuations you speak of—The comma should be at soberly, and in the other passage, the Comma should follow quiet. I am extremely indebted to you for this alteration, and also for your after admonitions. It is a sorry thing for me that any one should have to overcome prejudices in reading my verses- that affects me more than any hypercriticism on any particular passage-In Endymion, I have most likely but moved into the go-cart from the leading-strings-In poetry I have a few axioms, and you will see how far I am from their centre. 1st. I think poetry should surprise by a fine excess, and not by singularity; It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance. 2d. Its touches of beauty should never be half-way, thereby making the reader breathless, instead of content. The rise, the progress, the setting of Imagery should, like the sun, come natural to him, shine over him, and set soberly, although in magnificence, leaving him in the luxury of twilight. But it is easier to think what poetry should be, than to write it—And this leads me to Another axiom―That if poetry comes not as naturally as the leaves to a tree, it had better not come at all.— However it may be with me, I cannot help looking into new countries with "O for Muse of Fire to ascend!" If Endymion serves me as a pioneer, perhaps I ought to be content-I have great reason to be content, for thank God I can read, and perhaps understand Shak speare to his depths; and I have I am sure many friends, who, if I fail, will attribute any change in my life and temper to humbleness rather than pride—to a cowering under the wings of great poets, rather than to a bitterness that I am not appreciated. I am anxious to get Endymion printed that I may forget it and proceed. I have copied the 3rd Book and begun the 4th. On running my eye over the proofs, I saw one mistake-I will notice it presently, and also any others, if there be any. There should be no comma in "the raft branch down sweeping from a tall ash-top." I have besides made one or two alterations, and also altered the thirteenth line p. 32 to make sense of it, as you will see. I will take care the printer shall not trip up my heels. There should be no dash after Dryope, in the line "Dryope's lone lulling of her child." Remember me to Percy Street. JOHN KEATS. P.S.-You shall have a short preface in good time. XL. TO MESSRS. TAYLOR AND HESSEY. [Hampstead, March 1818?] My dear Sirs-I am this morning making a general clearance of all lent Books-all-I am afraid I do not return all-I must fog your memories about them-however with many thanks here are the remainder which I am afraid are not worth so much now as they were six months ago I mean the fashions may have changedYours truly JOHN KEATS. XLI. TO BENJAMIN BAILEY. Teignmouth, Friday [March 13, 1818].1 My dear Bailey-When a poor devil is drowning, it is said he comes thrice to the surface ere he makes his 1 This letter has been hitherto erroneously printed under date September 1818. |