ACCEPTING THE UNIVERSE 



rest as the earth lies in the soft arms of the atmos- 

 phere." The earth lies in the soft arms of the at- 

 mosphere in the same sense that it lies in the soft 

 arms of its own grasses and flowers; the atmosphere 

 is an appendage of the earth. If the earth literally 

 lies in anything, it is in the soft arms of the all-per- 

 vasive ether. Emerson's statement is the inevitable 

 poetizing of Nature in which we all indulge. We 

 make soft arms for our thoughts to lie in, and peace- 

 ful paths for our feet to walk in, whatever the literal 

 truth may be. This is the way of art, of poetry, of 

 religion. The way of science and of practical life is a 

 different way. The soft arms become hard with pur- 

 pose, and rest and contemplation give place to in- 

 tense activity. I would not have the poet change his 

 way; Nature as reflected in his mind soothes and 

 charms us; it takes on hues from that light which 

 never was on sea or land. But we cannot dispense 

 with the way of science, which makes paths and 

 highways for us through the wilderness of imper- 

 sonal laws and forces that surge and roar around us. 

 One gives us beauty and one gives us power; one 

 brings a weapon to the hand, the other brings solace 

 to the spirit. 



When Bryant identifies God with tempests and 

 thunderbolts, with "whirlwinds that uproot the 

 woods and drown the villages," or with the tidal 

 wave that overwhelms the cities, "with the wrath 

 of the mad, unchained elements" — "tremendous 



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