Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
150
Literary Lapses
·
Stephen Leacock
114
In
such
a
state
of
mind
the
most
inconsequential
inferences
were
drawn.
One
said
that
the
brightness
of
the
dawn--a
fact
easily
explained
by
the
diurnal
motion
of
the
globe--showed
him
that
his
soul
was
immortal.
He
asserted
further
that
he
had,
at
an
earlier
period
of
his
life,
trailed
bright
clouds
behind
him.
This
was
absurd.
With
the
disturbance
thus
set
up
in
the
nervous
system
were
coupled,
in
many
instances,
mental
aberrations,
particularly
in
regard
to
pecuniary
matters.
"Give
me
not
silk,
nor
rich
attire,"
pleaded
one
poet
of
the
period
to
the
British
public,
"nor
gold
nor
jewels
rare."
Here
was
an
evident
hallucination
that
the
writer
was
to
become
the
recipient
of
an
enormous
secret
subscription.
Indeed,
the
earnest
desire
NOT
to
be
given
gold
was
a
recurrent
characteristic
of
the
poetic
temperament.
The
repugnance
to
accept
even
a
handful
of
gold
was
generally
accompanied
by
a
desire
for
a
draught
of
pure
water
or
a
night's
rest.
It
is
pleasing
to
turn
from
this
excessive
sentimentality
of
thought
and
speech
to
the
practical
and
concise
diction
of
our
time.
We
have
learned
to
express
ourselves
with
equal
force,
but
greater
simplicity.
To
illustrate
this
I
have
gathered
from
the
poets
of
the
earlier
generation
and
from
the
prose
writers
of
to-day
parallel
passages
that
may
be
fairly
set
in
contrast.
Here,
for
example,
is
a
passage
from
the
poet
Grey,
still
familiar
to
scholars:
"Can
storied
urn
or
animated
bust
Back
to
its
mansion
call
the
fleeting
breath?
Can
honour's
voice
invoke
the
silent
dust
Or
flattery
soothe
the
dull
cold
ear
of
death?"
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
