The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-28


 Truth. as a radiantly beautiful female, }wortfv to be pursued Thus Tennyson nersoniffess light in his mystical poem, Eleanore, who was not born in unpro- pitious England, but
 s.A mile beneath the oedarwood-" that is, beneath Lebanon. or in Arabia Felix, ssAraby the Blest." And Tennyson, whose Adelioate ideality Poe praised so highly, describes in Eleanore the waxing and waning of light in the worlds sue cessive historical periods of intellectual progress and reaction-he beholds it.
 .slowly grow
 TO a full face. there like a. sun remain Tix'd-then as slowly fade again,
 And draw itsefto what 1t was before;
 So full, so deep, so slow,
 Thought seems toscome and go,
 In thy. large eyes,. imperial Eleanore.S
 Edgar Poe. at thesbeginning of his won derful symbolical poem, "The Raven," represents the ego of the Germanaphiloso- phers, the consciously free spirit of man, repining for the Host Lenore'' (the lost intellectual and spiritual light) at a. time of midnight darkness fin Christendom, the 12th century of our era.
 Lenore symbolizes that beautifully soft and clear Christian light which spread with marvellous rapidity during it's earliest centuries over the Roman empire, includ- ing the splendid capital itself, and the Ahigh intellectual culture of the -Augustan age, and penetrating with it's Joy-giving radiance the renotesti provinces. It was a religious, social and political light. Christianity, wherever it spread. purified and elevated society; it established demo- cratic principles, advocating freedom, equality and brotherhood, and inaugural ing democratic practices, for the early Christians elected their bishops, presby- . ters and deacons; and it taught the pure and hopeful religion of Christ, love, char ity, unself1shness. forgiveness of sins and happy immortality after death. That is the light symbolized by Lenore, and Poe borrowed the symbol from the Christian writers-'T am the Light, the Truth, and the Way" said Christ, and the gospel writers refer constantly to truth as "the light" An angel (see the Century Dio- tionary) in one sense, was a human being regarded as a messenger of God, and in the early church the pastor or bishop of a church was called its angel, as "the angel of the church at Smyrna" That was the christening of Lenore-"whom the an- gels named Lenore."
 The Ego sorrowed for 'the lost Lenore'' --how lost? Lost in the "millenneum of darkness which descended upon Europe when the barbarians of the north, at- tracted by the riches of the south, over threw the Roman empire and infested its fairest provinces. destroying the schools temples and palaces, the sculptures paintings and libraries, the literary and artistic treasures of the Greeks and Romans, and extinguishing that pure re- ligious light, so soothing to the soul, so full of peace, love, freedom, brotherhood, and promise of eternal happiness, with out money and without price"
 The time of the poem Is the 12th cen- tury, as December is the 18th month, and was bleak and dreary'' with the loneIi- ness and isolation of that century it's mental narrowness, it's spiritual selflsh- ness, It's secluded life in fortified castles and moated monasteres, it's want of schools, current literature and means of X travel, and the constant warfare of feudal lords. ambitious states and rival popes. And dreariest of all was its hard and gloomy religion. The dull routine of mon astic life. the severe lasts and f1oggings, and the constant threat held over the monks by their superors and the laity by the monks of eternal torment in hell fire made life miserable. All learning was confined to the monasteries, and their books were merely the remains of latin writers. the fortunes of the church and curious legends, illuminated by the monks. In such surroundings the spirit of that age
 "Pondered, weak and weary,
 Over many quaint and curious
 Volume of forgotten lore.
 Eagerly wished the morrow;
 Vainly had sought to borrow
 From my books surcease of sorrow
 Sorrow for the lost I,enore"
 The intelligence of that age .nodded nearly mapping" amid medieval gloom, when there suddenly came a summons at the door of Europe The First Crusade aroused the weary spirit, drew the soul out of itself, and the intellect away from monastic meditations into the active ser vice of mankind. In the interests of the oppressed pilgrims in the Holy Land, the priests and laity, princes and soldiery of southern Europe were suddenly drawn in great enthusiastic philanthropio move ment toward Constantinople. the don of Europe, the Porte. Says John Lord-and that respected Christian authority will be 7 frequently quoted in this article, because his popular lectures have made simple the abstruce subjects of that age and are very widely read-Lord says: "But the monks were not to remain imprisoned in the castles of ignorance and despair. With the beginning of the 18th century light began to dawn on the human mind. If was in the walls of the cloister that the awakening first began, and the impulse was nrst given to learning and phloso- phy."
 The first crusade opened the doors of medieval thought; but was disappointins, in It's political results and as a great evan gelical movement. Urban IT. while preaching the crusade, had reminded inc people that where two or three were gatno cred together in the name of Christ he had been among them. What an outpour- ing of the Holy Ghost. what an increase of Christianity was to be expected when amid universal agitation, 60O,O0O Chris tians moved toward Constantinople for the recovery of the sepulcher of the Lord The true spirit of Christianity was lack ing, and the crusade was failure
 Nevertheless, the monks had come in contact with foreign minds, their intellec- tual horizon had been broadened. new subjects were thrust upon their atten ton. They turned back into the secluson of the monasteries filled with awe and wonder. They began to speculate upon and discuss deep and abstruse questions the attributes of God, the mystery of the Trinity, the nature of angels and spirit, the future state of the soul. Poe makes the Ego in the poem to say:
 "Deep into the darkness peering,
 Long I stood there, wondering, fearing,