7 HE AUTUMN CROCUS. 



191 



season of decay brings to him also reminiscences of the 

 bright season of renewal. As on the woodland paths in 

 spring, beneath the withered leaves of last year, when 

 the south wind sweeps them away, the fairest flowers 

 are seen growing ; so on the beaten tracks of the aged 

 life, strewn with the wrecks of the past, are still seen 

 flourishing the joys of youth, when a breeze of hope re- 

 moves the superficial tokens cf decay. And often, 

 where others see only withered leaves, the heart feels 

 the springing of vernal flowers. 



Job, describing the happiness which he had in former 

 years, and longing for its return, says, " O, that I were 

 as I was in the days of my youth ! " This phrase liter- 

 ally means the vintage season, the time of fruit-gather- 

 ing ; and the authorized version, adopting another 

 translation which the phrase also bears, unwittingly 

 -expresses the subtle connection between youth and age, 

 the spring and the autumn, the blossoming and the 

 fruit-time of life. The true days of Job's youth was the 

 period when his life became young again through the 

 maturity of his powers and the consummation of his 

 hopes. It was in the autumn of his life that he en- 

 joyed all those blessings of prosperity whose loss he 

 deplores ; and in calling it by a term which may be 

 rendered either " days of youth," or " time of gathering 

 in fruits," a striking example is given of the legitimate 

 symbolic use of autumn as the season not of decay but 

 of ripeness fulness of power. That there are days 

 and signs of youth in the time of the harvest and vint- 

 age of life every one can testify. The autumn fields 



