The Detroit times., 1910-11-29

Most gladly viii | glory in my
tnhrnities for when l am
weak then em | strong IL. Cor
inthians, xii $40.
There is a suggestion OF asceticiS IN
In these words OF the apostle, from
which We instinctively recoli ny
should We glory in our lnhrmltes
What meaning Is there in the paradox,
strength in weakness" Nietsche, that
prince of intellectual rebels, could not
understand this. and frankly called
Christianity gospel OF weakness, pul
protest that this Pauline doctrine is
not ascetic, much less weak We must
read beneath the letter. for the super
ficial meaning is misleading
First, understand what Paul meant
by infirmities-not faults or weak
nesses for which We are personally re-
sponsible. but limitations laid upon US
Obviously. no one rejoices In MS SINS
could discover value. There was
something worth while In the thorn IL
the flesh. whatever that tnhrmity was
in the Prosecutions TO when ne "a
will In these things, being Goo viii
he somehow was able 10 glory IN our
text we shall find the doctrine OF I'm
it's the value II limitation. To an eN-
animation OF this doctrine let us give
ourselves
Even az the eternal God reveals Him
self In the finite, the limited; even az
His boundless love is symboliZed IN q
tender child. His strength made mann
fest in weakness. so the spirit OF man
IL revealed through the nmitatlohs oi
the fiesh-not in spite OF those lInlta'
lions, l say. but by virtue OF them
Limitation L. Power.
Language is 4 witness to TINS law
our thought gains; II does h1 S i0se' ~ ~
speech Limitation Is power. MAJ
Muller even held that there was nc
thought without words. Even as th'
lowest forms Of life are formless, IN
vertebrate. anonymous, as the biolog
lists say, so the lowest forms o. htsf
AZURE are amorphous, lhdehnite' th'
highest, such as the drama, the eplSS
the sonnet are most clearly uenheu
most obedient TO some limitation. Lee
us consider this at length
One OF the most exquisite creations
in the world Of letters Is the sohhet
Its very weakness, In the matter OF
quantity is it's strength. It's limitation
TO fourteen lines and certain other re
strictions are doubtless arbitrary, the
nat OF the Italians VINO eav S u ,bat
sonnet form, but in and because OF Una
Limitation not in spite OF II, the son
net has been made great vehlcle OF
thought Sonnet writers nave always
been fascinated by the literary eAaC
tons Imposed upon them-in love VIII
the sonnet as such. Gladly do they
glory In their lnfirmities, so 10 speak
No chess player ever coihpiains -, tr i1,
nrescribed movements The game u
prest because OF those limitations. So
no sonnet lover finds fault with this
sonnet's scanty plot OF ground ID
! Wordsworth phrases IT,
Nuns fret not at their convent
narrow room;
And hermits are contented with
their cells,
And students with their pensive
citadels;
Maids al the wheels, the weaver at
SIT blithe and happy. bees that
scar for bloom
High az the highest peak of Fur
ness-fells,
VIII murmur by the hour III ioN-
In truth the prison into which we
doom
Ourselves. no prison Is; and hence
In sundry moods twas pastime to
be bound
within the sonnets scanty plot OF
pleased n some souls (tor such
there reeds must be-,
Who have felt the weight OF too
much liberty,
- Should find brief solace there' as
have found
lanes Russell Lowell throws light or
Wordsworth's love 81 the sonnet. Not
ing that Wordsworth was inclined &c
itte1v calls Lowell saws that the
poet. conscious OF this tendency
turned nv a Kind OF instinct TO the
sonnet because It's form forced boun-
dsries upon him and put him undo,
bonds 20 hold his peace at the end ol
the fourteenth lire But The sonnet Is
something m,'e than check upor
nruiixtty ~ suggests, paradoNicallN
The irnneasura hlc, even az little
word a yes or a no. may contain ful
, man the issues 80 life OF death
Richard Watson Glider fell this wher
be described The sonnet as the DearlN
- ell that uurtnurs ~ the far-on muir
,nvrins Sea 3" and again. when he init
mates that y, sas the depth - ocean
sea this ts-beware who ven
For. like - djcrd. the marrow floor
Is laid.
a. nit 6cear Ia the sheeI
mountain walls
Narrow limited FUd cOinpreSsed. the
sonnst gets is chs racter from It's HIM
i,ations nlustrptirV for NJ the nrin-
cinlr ~ strength ~ weakness IoesN
seIf must he sWeetlv sqndaled and
hound with gariauds uf her own
IL ART we Sc. the same ur'nCtpl@ al
work TIVE medium, represents p HIM
Nattop witch 'uust be not ONLY respect
"a hut valued The wood carver, fOl
example must not sttsmot 80 10 NOR,
han wood VIII perr,if Gtinlipg Gih
bons, the greatest OF the English cary