198 UNDER THE TREES. 



the good in people,&quot; she said, &quot; is not so much a 

 matter of charity as of justice. Our judgments of 

 others fail oftenest through lack of Imagination. 

 We fail to see all the facts ; we see one or two very 

 clearly, and at once form an opinion. To see the 

 whole range of a human character involves an intel 

 lectual and spiritual quality which few of us possess. 

 There is so little justice among us because we pos 

 sess so little intelligence. I ought not to pronounce 

 judgment on a fellow-creature until I know all that 

 enters into his life ; until I can measure all the 

 forces of temptation and resistance ; until I can 

 give full weight to all the facts in the case. In 

 other words, I am never in a position to judge 

 another.&quot; 



The Poet evidently assented to this statement, 

 and I could not gainsay it ; is there not the very 

 highest authority for it ? The time will come when 

 there will be a universal surrender of that authority 

 which we have been usurping all these centuries. 

 We shall not cease to recognize the weakness and 

 folly of men, but we shall cease to decide the exact 

 measure of personal responsibility. That is a func 

 tion for which we were never qualified ; it is a task 

 which belongs to infinite wisdom. The Imagination 

 helps us to understand others because it reveals the 

 vast compass of the influences that converge on every 

 human soul like the countless rivulets that give the 

 river its volume and impetus. To look at men and 

 women through the vision of the Imagination is to 



