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Article THE STUDENTS. ← Page 4 of 7 →
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The Students.
A short walk brought him to his college . He was about to summon the porter for admission , when a heavy hand upon his shoulder restrained him—it was Mowbray ' s . He started involuntarily at his presence . " So soon returned , " said the cynic , in a low harmonious voice . " Has Alice frowned upon her lover , or has Mark again pleaded indisposition , and left you ? 'Tis early for a favoured suitor and confiding friend to be returning to his solitary couch . Come , for lack of better company take
mine ; walk round the chapel with me , admire its fairy proportions , the light symmetry of its slender pinnacles revealed b y the light of the fair moon . I love to gaze upon its breathless beauty ; admiration there excites no vanity , no rivalry . Nature and art admit plurality of lovers ivithout deceiving one ; woman never . " " Wh y is this , " demanded Plerhert , " why pour into my ear this continued poison ? In vain docs my reason disclaim its influencein
, vain does my heart assure me of the fidelity of those whom 1 most love . Tiie recollection of your doubts and sneers crosses my path like a serpent—pours gall into my cup—makes me dissatisfied with mankind —doubtful even of myself . If thou canst give me proof of that which yet my tongue hath never spoken , which my heart trembles to conceive , unfold it . If not , begone , trouble me no more . " " Indeed , " said Mowbray , thoughtfull " but how wouklst thou bear it ? "Were it
y ; not cruel to destroy the last illusion to which thy heart is hound ? to show how rotten is the stay by which the best affections are supported , how hollow their foundation . " " Anything , ' . interrupted Herbert , " rather than this suspense . I doubt them and doubt them not ; thou hast shaken my confidence , prove my suspicion to be just , or confess it
to be false . I—I can bear the worst with philosophy . " " Philosophy !" echoed the Cynic , " what is philosophy ? an intellectual absurdity ivith which man cheats himself into content , the speculator ' s toy , with ivhich he dissipates the tediousness of life , a Pagan shoot engrafted upon a Christian trunk poisoning its fair fruit ; speak not of philosophy . " " How ! " demanded Herbert , struck by the originality of the speaker ' s turn of thought , " is the love of knowledge evil ? " " Evil ! " reiterated
Mowbray , " it is the child of sin , the price of human happiness ; and , after all , what does man know ? he cannot comprehend the mystery of a flower , he sees it bloom and fade—the seed is planted in the groundthe germ approaches—yet he cannot tell the power b y ivhich ' tis quickened . Man moves and breathes , yet cannot comprehend the simple principle of life . Knowledge is the shadow for ivhich an immortal reality hath been givena curse clothed in the garb of a benefit
, , a delusion even to the wisest . A syllogism hath set the learned by the ears—a musty Plebrew root divided friends—many waste the whole purposes of a life for so much Greek—the fools in their estimate of knowledge should remember , that the same learning which elevates a prelate to the mitre , ivould not have saved iEsop from the lash had his master ' s cup been overspiced . Euclid , witli all his depth , might have learned from the poor spider . The astronomer hath divided time into
years , months , weeks , days , hours , minutes , seconds , yet cannot tell the proportion which a century bears to eternity . Man ' s wisdom ! speak not of it ; I am tired of his follies and resolved to change the scene . ' ' "For the camp , the court , or cloister ? " demanded Herbert , his curiosity much excited by the peculiar vein of his companion . " For neither , " replied the Cynic , " 1 have no delight in blood , the cam ]) suits not me ; no , nor the court . I love truth for her simple
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Students.
A short walk brought him to his college . He was about to summon the porter for admission , when a heavy hand upon his shoulder restrained him—it was Mowbray ' s . He started involuntarily at his presence . " So soon returned , " said the cynic , in a low harmonious voice . " Has Alice frowned upon her lover , or has Mark again pleaded indisposition , and left you ? 'Tis early for a favoured suitor and confiding friend to be returning to his solitary couch . Come , for lack of better company take
mine ; walk round the chapel with me , admire its fairy proportions , the light symmetry of its slender pinnacles revealed b y the light of the fair moon . I love to gaze upon its breathless beauty ; admiration there excites no vanity , no rivalry . Nature and art admit plurality of lovers ivithout deceiving one ; woman never . " " Wh y is this , " demanded Plerhert , " why pour into my ear this continued poison ? In vain docs my reason disclaim its influencein
, vain does my heart assure me of the fidelity of those whom 1 most love . Tiie recollection of your doubts and sneers crosses my path like a serpent—pours gall into my cup—makes me dissatisfied with mankind —doubtful even of myself . If thou canst give me proof of that which yet my tongue hath never spoken , which my heart trembles to conceive , unfold it . If not , begone , trouble me no more . " " Indeed , " said Mowbray , thoughtfull " but how wouklst thou bear it ? "Were it
y ; not cruel to destroy the last illusion to which thy heart is hound ? to show how rotten is the stay by which the best affections are supported , how hollow their foundation . " " Anything , ' . interrupted Herbert , " rather than this suspense . I doubt them and doubt them not ; thou hast shaken my confidence , prove my suspicion to be just , or confess it
to be false . I—I can bear the worst with philosophy . " " Philosophy !" echoed the Cynic , " what is philosophy ? an intellectual absurdity ivith which man cheats himself into content , the speculator ' s toy , with ivhich he dissipates the tediousness of life , a Pagan shoot engrafted upon a Christian trunk poisoning its fair fruit ; speak not of philosophy . " " How ! " demanded Herbert , struck by the originality of the speaker ' s turn of thought , " is the love of knowledge evil ? " " Evil ! " reiterated
Mowbray , " it is the child of sin , the price of human happiness ; and , after all , what does man know ? he cannot comprehend the mystery of a flower , he sees it bloom and fade—the seed is planted in the groundthe germ approaches—yet he cannot tell the power b y ivhich ' tis quickened . Man moves and breathes , yet cannot comprehend the simple principle of life . Knowledge is the shadow for ivhich an immortal reality hath been givena curse clothed in the garb of a benefit
, , a delusion even to the wisest . A syllogism hath set the learned by the ears—a musty Plebrew root divided friends—many waste the whole purposes of a life for so much Greek—the fools in their estimate of knowledge should remember , that the same learning which elevates a prelate to the mitre , ivould not have saved iEsop from the lash had his master ' s cup been overspiced . Euclid , witli all his depth , might have learned from the poor spider . The astronomer hath divided time into
years , months , weeks , days , hours , minutes , seconds , yet cannot tell the proportion which a century bears to eternity . Man ' s wisdom ! speak not of it ; I am tired of his follies and resolved to change the scene . ' ' "For the camp , the court , or cloister ? " demanded Herbert , his curiosity much excited by the peculiar vein of his companion . " For neither , " replied the Cynic , " 1 have no delight in blood , the cam ]) suits not me ; no , nor the court . I love truth for her simple