Wholivedherebeforeustwo?
  Old-worldpairs。
  Didawomanever——wouldIknew!——
  WatchthemanWithwhombeganLove’svoyagefull-sail,——now,gnashyourteeth!
  Whenplanksstart,openhellbeneathUnawares?
  III。IntheDoorway。
  1。
  Theswallowhassethersixyoungontherail,Andlooksseaward:
  Thewater’sinstripeslikeasnake,olive-paleTotheleeward,——
  Ontheweather-side,black,spottedwhitewiththewind。”Goodfortunedeparts,anddisaster’sbehind”,——
  Hark,thewindwithitswantsanditsinfinitewail!——
  St。1。Notethetruthofcolorinvv。3-5。
  2。
  Ourfig-tree,thatleanedforthesaltness,hasfurledHerfivefingers,EachleaflikeahandopenedwidetotheworldWheretherelingersNoglintofthegold,Summersentforhersake:
  Howthevineswritheinrows,eachimpaledonitsstake!
  Myheartshrivelsupandmyspiritshrinkscurled——
  St。2。herfivefingers:referringtotheshapeofthefig-leaf。
  3。
  Yetherearewetwo;wehavelove,houseenough,Withthefieldthere,Thishouseoffourrooms,thatfieldredandrough,Thoughityieldthere,Fortherabbitthatrobs,scarceabladeorabent;
  Ifamagpiealightnow,itseemsanevent;
  AndtheybothwillbegoneatNovember’srebuff——
  St。3。abent:abitofcoarsegrass;A-S。`beonet’,anadducedform;
  Ger。`binse’。
  4。
  Butwhymustcoldspread?butwhereforebringchangeTothespirit,Godmeantshouldmatehiswithaninfiniterange,AndinheritHispowertoputlifeinthedarknessandcold?
  Oh,liveandloveworthily,bearandbebold!
  WhomSummermadefriendsof,letWinterestrange!——
  St。4。WhomSummermadefriendsof,etc。:i。e。,letWinterAdversity
  estrangethosewhomSummerProsperitymadefriendsof,butletitnotestrangeus。
  IV。AlongtheBeach。
  1。
  Iwillbequietandtalkwithyou,Andreasonwhyyouarewrong。
  Youwantedmylove——isthatmuchtrue?
  AndsoIdidlove,soIdo:
  Whathascomeofitallalong?
  2。
  Itookyou——howcouldIotherwise?
  Foraworldtome,andmore;
  Forall,lovegreatensandglorifiesTillGod’sa-glow,tothelovingeyes,Inwhatwasmereearthbefore——
  St。2。lovegreatensandglorifies:seethepoem,”Wantingis——what?”
  3。
  Yes,earth——yes,mereignobleearth!
  NowdoImisstate,mistake?
  DoIwrongyourweaknessandcallitworth?
  Expectallharvest,dreadnodearth,Sealmysenseupforyoursake?
  4。
  OhLove,Love,no,Love!notso,indeedYouwerejustweakearth,Iknew:
  Withmuchinyouwaste,withmanyaweed,Andplentyofpassionsruntoseed,Butalittlegoodgraintoo。
  5。
  Andsuchasyouwere,Itookyouformine:
  Didnotyoufindmeyours,Towatchtheoliveandwaitthevine,AndwonderwhenriversofoilandwineWouldflow,astheBookassures?——
  St。5。yours,towatchtheoliveandwaitthevine:”olive”and”vine”
  areusedmetaphoricallyforthecapabilitiesofherhusband’snature。
  6。
  Well,andifnoneofthesegoodthingscame,Whatdidthefailureprove?
  Themanwasmywholeworld,allthesame,Withhisflowerstopraiseorhisweedstoblame,And,eitherorboth,tolove——
  St。6。Thefailureoffruitinherhusbandprovedtheabsolutenessofherlove,provedthathewasherall,notwithstanding。
  7。
  Yetthisturnsnowtoafault——there!there!
  ThatIdolove,watchtoolong,Andwaittoowell,andwearyandwear;
  And’tisallanoldstory,andmydespairFitsubjectforsomenewsong:——
  St。7。Yetthisturnsnowtoafault:i。e。,herwatchingtheoliveandwaitingthevineofhisnature。
  there!there!:I’vecomeoutplainlywiththefact。
  8。”Howthelight,lightlove,hehaswingstoflyAtsuspicionofabond:
  Mywisdomhasbiddenyourpleasuregood-bye,Whichwillturnupnextinalaughingeye,Andwhyshouldyoulookbeyond?”——
  St。8。bond:referstowhatissaidinSt。7;
  whyshouldyoulookbeyond?:i。e。,beyondalaughingeye,whichdoesnot”watch”and”wait”,andthus”weary”and”wear”。
  V。OntheCliff。
  1。
  Ileanedontheturf,IlookedatarockLeftdrybythesurf;
  Fortheturf,tocallitgrassweretomock:
  Deadtotheroots,sodeepwasdoneTheworkofthesummersun。
  2。
  AndtherocklayflatAsananvil’sface:
  Noironlikethat!
  Bakeddry;ofaweed,ofashell,notrace:
  Sunshineoutside,buticeatthecore,Death’saltarbytheloneshore。
  3。
  Ontheturf,spranggayWithhisfilmsofblue,Nocricket,I’llsay,Butawarhorse,bardedandchanfronedtoo,Thegiftofaquixote-magetohisknight,Realfairy,withwingsallright——
  St。3。Nocricket,I’llsay:buttomylivelyadmiration,awarhorse,bardedandchanfronedtoo:seeWebster’sDict。,s。v。”chamfrain”。{alsochamfron:armorforahorse’shead}。
  4。
  Ontherock,theyscorchLikeadropoffireFromabrandishedtorch,Falltworedfansofabutterfly:
  Noturf,norock,——intheiruglystead,See,wonderfulblueandred!——
  St。4。they:i。e。,the`tworedfans’。
  noturf,norock:i。e。,theeyeistakenupentirelywithcricketandbutterfly;blueandredreferrespectivelytocricketandbutterfly。
  5。
  IsitnotsoWiththemindsofmen?
  Thelevelandlow,Theburntandbare,inthemselves;butthenWithsuchablueandredgrace,nottheirs,Lovesettlingunawares!
  St。5。Love:settlingonthemindsofmen,thelevelandlow,theburntandbare,iscomparedtothecricketandthebutterflysettlingontheturfandtherock。
  VI。ReadingaBookundertheCliff——
  *Intheoriginaled。,1864,theheadingtothissectionwas`UndertheCliff’;changedined。of1868——
  1。”Stillailing,Wind?Wiltbeappeasedorno?
  Whichneedstheother’soffice,thouorI?
  Dostwanttobedisburthenedofawoe,Andcan,intruth,myvoiceuntieItslinks,andletitgo?
  2。”Artthouadumb,wrongedthingthatwouldberighted,Entrustingthusthycausetome?Forbear!
  Notonguecanmendsuchpleadings;faith,requitedWithfalsehood,——love,atlastawareOfscorn,——hopes,earlyblighted,——
  3。”Wehavethem;butIknownotanytoneSofitasthinetofalterforthasorrow:
  Dostthinkmenwouldgomadwithoutamoan,IftheyknewanywaytoborrowApathoslikethyown?
  4。”Whichsighwouldstmock,ofallthesighs?TheoneSolongescapingfromlipsstarvedandblue,Thatlastswhileonherpallet-bedthenunStretchesherlength;herfootcomesthroughThestrawsheshiverson;
  5。”Youhadnotthoughtshewassotall:andspent,Hershrunklidsopen,herleanfingersshutClose,close,theirsharpandlividnailsindentTheclammypalm;thenallismute:
  Thatway,thespiritwent。
  6。”OrwouldstthouratherthatIunderstandThywilltohelpme?——likethedogIfoundOnce,pacingsadthissolitarystrand,Whowouldnottakemyfood,poorhound,Butwhined,andlickedmyhand。”——
  St。1-6。Seefoot-notetotheArgumentofthissection。
  7。
  Allthis,andmore,comesfromsomeyoungman’sprideOfpowertosee,——infailureandmistake,Relinquishment,disgrace,oneveryside,——
  Merelyexamplesforhissake,Helpstohispathuntried:
  8。
  Instanceshemust——simplyrecognize?
  Oh,morethanso!——must,withalearner’szeal,Makedoublyprominent,twiceemphasize,ByaddedtouchesthatrevealThegodinbabe’sdisguise。
  9。
  Oh,heknowswhatdefeatmeans,andtherest!
  Himselftheundefeatedthatshallbe:
  Failure,disgrace,heflingsthemyoutotest,——
  Histriumph,ineternityTooplainlymanifest!——
  St。7-9。Shereflects,ironicallyandsarcastically,upontheconfidenceoftheyoungpoet,resultingfromhisimmaturity,inhisfuturetriumphoverallobstacles。Inexperiencedasheis,hefeelshimselfthegodinbabe’sdisguise,etc。Hewilllearnafterawhilewhatthewindmeansinitsmoaning。ThetrainofthoughtinSt。11-16ispresentedintheArgument。
  10。
  Whence,judgeifhelearnforthwithwhatthewindMeansinitsmoaning——bythehappypromptInstinctivewayofyouth,Imean;forkindCalmyears,exactingtheiraccomptOfpain,maturethemind:
  11。
  Andsomemidsummermorning,atthelullJustaboutdaybreak,ashelooksacrossAsparklingforeigncountry,wonderfulTothesea’sedgeforgloomandgloss,Nextminutemustannul,——
  12。
  Then,whenthewindbeginsamongthevines,Solow,solow,whatshallitsaybutthis?”Hereisthechangebeginning,herethelinesCircumscribebeauty,settoblissThelimittimeassigns。”
  13。
  Nothingcanbeasithasbeenbefore;
  Better,socallit,onlynotthesame。
  Todrawonebeautyintoourhearts’core,Andkeepitchangeless!suchourclaim;
  Soanswered,——Nevermore!
  14。
  Simple?Whythisistheoldwoeo’theworld;
  Tune,towhoseriseandfallweliveanddie。
  Risewithit,then!RejoicethatmanishurledFromchangetochangeunceasingly,Hissoul’swingsneverfurled!
  15。
  That’sanewquestion;stillrepliesthefact,Nothingendures:thewindmoans,sayingso;
  Wemoaninacquiescence:there’slife’spact,Perhapsprobation——doIknow?
  Goddoes:endurehisact!
  16。
  Only,forman,howbitternottograveOnhissoul’shands’palmsonefairgoodwisethingJustashegraspedit!Forhimself,death’swave;
  Whiletimefirstwashes——ah,thesting!——
  O’erallhe’dsinktosave。
  VII。AmongtheRocks。
  1。
  Oh,goodgiganticsmileo’thebrownoldearth,Thisautumnmorning!HowhesetshisbonesTobaski’thesun,andthrustsoutkneesandfeetFortherippletorunoverinitsmirth;
  Listeningthewhile,whereontheheapofstonesThewhitebreastofthesea-larktwitterssweet。