The Nevada Democrat., 1859-11-09
Decline OF the Imagination

One of the most painful experiences of life Ii
that Of being disenchanted. In youth, all things
are apt to stand before US in the light Of imag
ination or the color and glow Of feeling. Men
are demi-gods. Artists and poets are divine
The scenes of which q child hears, the places
described to him, the historic monuments oi
which be reads, the foreign cities or memorable
places, all are fashioned to his mind with won
drous aspects. The world which child seei
he follows after, without ever finding. It is the
tabled chase after O rainbow. This use Of The
imagination may be unskillful, and IL may carry
Its pains and penalties with 1t, In the case 0i
persons not robust in underlying common sense
Yet we are sure that the habit Of painting life
In pleasing colors conduces to happiness, and
BY this means, to some extent, to virtue. We
should be unwilling to see things just as they
are, except IN cases where we were called upon
to deal with them and needed to know them ex-
actly. Bat, In walking Broadway, we would
not for the world, willingly see things In their
literalness. We soften hard men. From one
beautiful figure we work symetry In face. We
imagine gayety and satisfaction in hundreds Of
hearts that perhaps would not justify such as
criptions. Children are always beautiful to u.s.,
no matter how homely youth has around 1t a
halo; and we zee them as they stand against q
rosy cloud for background. Workmen, day
laborers, and the whole agile swarm of human
ants that run In such endless rounds up and
down before US, we would not willingly see
them as they would be II all their cares, their
frets, their prejudices, their ignorance and moral
dlscolorations lay upon them plainly. We see
hearty strength, valiant self-relianoe, content
ment In we'll doing, and humble usefulness.
But rs time natures the physical intellect,
the intellect OF the whole truth, this spontaneous
painting power Is apt to wane and fail; and
every step Of decline from this habit Is step
toward discomfort and unhappiness. A man
may make bis happiness depend upon action,
and by great industry find sources Of satisfac-
sion. But in so far as ones happiness depends
singly upon his habits Of thought and inspection,
the literalizing of his mind is like the drying
MP OF moisture In the air-there are no clouds
for beauty and shadows, no rain and no dew,
bus bald heaven above and an arid earth
beneath.
In this process OF disenchantment, how pain
fnl II Is 10 see our heroes turned inside outl to
live until We feel how common place the things
were that used to thrill us with enthusiasm |
With what regrets we read the books now that
ased 10 inspire our childhood and find them
tame. Thus we seem to find out one thing after
another; and, with every milestone In life, we
are compelled to drop some fair thing that once
seemed divine, but held too close to the eyes,
became grinning idol.
Fer ourselves, we could not wish to outlive
che power Of clothing nature and human life
with the oolors which kindly feelings and teem-
Ing imagination give Even nature is kind to
us, and softens oil things with genial colors,
MOSES the decayng roof, and musters on the
surface of every rock thin and Eat forests Of
lichens-Henry Ward Beechr.