For the plain itself rises as we rise.
It is not merely true that the higher we climb the wider and wider
is spread out below us the wealth of the world; it is not merely
that the devil or some other respectable guide for tourists takes us
to the top of an exceeding high mountain and shows us all the kingdoms
of the earth. It is more than that, in our real feeling of it.
It is that in a sense the whole world rises with us roaring,
and accompanies us to the crest like some clanging chorus of eagles.
The plains rise higher and higher like swift grey walls piled up
against invisible invaders. And however high a peak you climb,
the plain is still as high as the peak.
The mountain tops are only noble because from them we are privileged
to behold the plains. So the only value in any man being superior is
that he may have a superior admiration for the level and the common.
If there is any profit in a place craggy and precipitous it is
only because from the vale it is not easy to see all the beauty
of the vale; because when actually in the flats one cannot
see their sublime and satisfying flatness. If there is any
value in being educated or eminent (which is doubtful enough)
it is only because the best instructed man may feel most swiftly
and certainly the splendour of the ignorant and the simple:
the full magnificence of that mighty human army in the plains.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193