The words that are worth
hearing come out of thought-quarries where they have been wrought
ofttimes in struggle and anguish. Father Ryan, in one of the most
exquisite of his poems, writes of the "valley of silence" where he
prepares the songs he afterwards sings:--
"In the hush of the valley of silence
I dream all the songs that I sing;
And the music floats down the dim valley
'Till each finds a word for awing,
That to hearts, like the dove of the deluge,
A message of peace they may bring."
So it is of all great thoughts. Thinkers brood long in the silence and
then come forth and their eloquence sways us. So it is with art. We
look at a fine picture and our hearts are warmed by its wondrous
beauty. But do we know the story of the picture? Years and years of
thought and of tireless toil lie back of its enrapturing beauty. Or
here is a book which charms you, which thrills and inspires you. Great
thoughts lie on its pages. Do you know the book's story? The author
lived, struggled, toiled, suffered, wept, that he might write the words
which now help you. Back of every good life-thought which blesses men,
lies a dark quarry where the thought was born and shaped into the
beauty of form which makes it a blessing to the world.
Or here is a noble and beautiful character. Goodness appears natural
to it. It seems easy for the man to be noble and to do noble things.
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