The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-02-15
THE QUOTATION
Which was Used by Professor
Proctor.

Editors Herald:
The quotation from the great &c
man poet, Jean Paul Richter, wit
which Prof. Proctor finished his le,
ture on "The Birth and Growth c
| Worlds" has been greatly admire
and talked of considerably. AS
have heard a number of persons eX
press themselves as being anxiou
to obtain a copy of the quotation,
take the liberty of sending it to you
with the request that it be given t,
the public through the columns o
the HERALD. l find it on PIP. 3O2
3O3-304 of PrOctor's "Expanse o.
Heaven" On page S0S, Professor
Proctor says:
after penetrating, by means Of
the telescope, to depths exceeding
millions of times the distance OF
the sun Uncomfortable though that
distance isl we find ourselves sur.
rounded by the same mysteries as
when we first started. Around us
and before us there are still the
infinite star depths, and the only
certain lesson we can be said to have
learned is, that those depths are and
must ever remain unfathOm-
able. Truly the great German
poet, Richter, has spoken well
in those wonderful words which
our own prose poet, De Quincy,
has so nObly translated; his splendid
vision aptly expresses the feebleness
of mans conception in the presence
of the infinite wonders of creation"
And then follows the quotation {:
"God called up from dreams a man
into the vestibule of heaven, saying:
Come thou hither, and see the glory
of my house, And to the angels
which stood around his throne, he
said: Take him, strip from him his
robes of flesh; cleanse his vision,
and put a new breath into his
only touch not his human
heart, the heart that weeps and
trembleS.' 1t was done; and with a
mighty angel for his guide, the man
stood ready for his infinite voyage;
and from the terraces of heaven,
without sound or farewell, at once
they wheeled away into endless
space. Sometimes with the solemn
flight of angel wings they passed
through Zaharas of darkness,
through wildernesseS of death, that
divided the worlds of life; some
times they swept over frontiers that
we're quickening under prophetic
from God. Then from a.
distance which is counted only in
heaven, light dawned for a time
through a shapeleSs film; by I'M
pace the light swept to
hem, they by unutterable pace to
he light. In a moment the
of planets was upon
hem; in a moment the blazing
If suns was around them.
Then came eternitieS of twilight,
hat revealed, but were not revealed.
IN the right hand and on the left
lowered mighty consultations, that
~ self-repetitiOns and answers from
lfar, that by cOunter-pOsitiOns, built
Up triumphal gates, whose archi-
raves, whose archways, horizontal,
Upright, rested, rose, at altitude by |
spans that seemed CHASTITY from in
initude. Without measure were |
he architraveS, past number were |
he archwayS, beyond memory the |
rates. Within were stairs that |
scaled the eternities around; above |
vas below and below was above, to
he man stripped of gravitating
,ody; depth was swallowed up in
Height unSurmountable, height was
wallowed up in depth unfathom-
bile. Suddenly, as thus they rode
rom infinite to infinite, suddenly,
S thus they tilted over abysmal
worlds, a mighty cry arose that
ystems more mysterious, that |
worlds more billowy, other heights
md other depths were coming, were
tearing, were al hand.
Then the man sighed and
topped, shuddered and wept. His
'verladen heart uttered itself in
ears, and he said: Angel, 1 will go
10 farther; for the spirit of man
this infnity. Insufferable
S the glory of God. Let me lie
.own in the grave, and hide
ne from the persecution of
he infinite. for end l see there is
lOne.' And from all the listening
tars that shOne around issued a
horal voice, The man speaketh
ruly: end there is none that ever
ct we heard of i END is there
zone p the angelsolemnly demanded,
is there indeed no end -? and is this
he sorrow that fills yOu?' But no
dice answered, that he might an
wer himself. Then the angel threw
Ip his glorious hands to the heaven
f heavens, saying: End is there
.One to the universe of God. Lo,
lsO, there is no beginning
The above is correct quotation,
nd may be found as mentioned
bove. VIDL.