ON THE MANUSCRIPTS OF GOD 



secondary literary banks and the Fountain 

 of Bandusia bubble up refreshingly in Ho- 

 ratian meters, though both the original river 

 and the spring had been sipped to their dregs 

 by the thirsty sun. 



So the Nile, the Ganges, the Jordan, the 

 Thames, the Seine, the Dee, the Doon, the 

 Shannon, and the Mississippi, like great 

 characters, have woven themselves into the 

 history, song, and story of their respective 

 lands, becoming national assets, material 

 and spiritual, whose value cannot be quoted 

 in terms of the market place, but, rather, 

 in those poetic weights and measures which 

 take account of star-beams and shadows. 



More blithe and affable than the awesome 

 mountain peak, the brook, river, and lake 

 lend themselves to friendly association. You 

 may fish in them, swim in them, bathe in 

 them, row over them, sing over them, and 

 make love over them, and find them faithful 

 comrades who will match every mood of 

 yours with one of their own. If you are 

 great, they will reflect your greatness with 

 the same selflessness with which they make 



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