the miscellaneous writings and speeches-1-第37节

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those　pursuits　in　which　she　has　taught　mankind　to　engage：　　to　how　many　the　studies　which　took　their　rise　from　her　have　been　wealth　in　poverty；liberty　in　bondage；health　in　sickness；society　in　solitude？　　Her　power　is　indeed　manifested　at　the　bar；　in　the　senate；　in　the　field　of　battle；　in　the　schools　of　philosophy。　　But　these　are　not　her　glory。　　Wherever　literature　consoles　sorrow；　or　assuages　pain；　wherever　it　brings　gladness　to　eyes　which　fail　with　wakefulness　and　tears；　and　ache　for　the　dark　house　and　the　long　sleep；there　is　exhibited；　in　its　noblest　form；　the　immortal　influence　of　Athens。

The　dervise；　in　the　Arabian　tale；　did　not　hesitate　to　abandon　to　his　comrade　the　camels　with　their　load　of　jewels　and　gold；　while　he　retained　the　casket　of　that　mysterious　juice　which　enabled　him　to　behold　at　one　glance　all　the　hidden　riches　of　the　universe。　Surely　it　is　no　exaggeration　to　say　that　no　external　advantage　is　to　be　compared　with　that　purification　of　the　intellectual　eye　which　gives　us　to　contemplate　the　infinite　wealth　of　the　mental　world；　all　the　hoarded　treasures　of　its　primeval　dynasties；　all　the　shapeless　ore　of　its　yet　unexplored　mines。　　This　is　the　gift　of　Athens　to　man。　　Her　freedom　and　her　power　have　for　more　than　twenty　centuries　been　annihilated；　her　people　have　degenerated　into　timid　slaves；　her　language　into　a　barbarous　jargon；　her　temples　have　been　given　up　to　the　successive　depredations　of　Romans；　Turks；　and　Scotchmen；　but　her　intellectual　empire　is　imperishable。　　And　when　those　who　have　rivalled　her　greatness　shall　have　shared　her　fate；　when　civilisation　and　knowledge　shall　have　fixed　their　abode　in　distant　continents；　when　the　sceptre　shall　have　passed　away　from　England；　when；　perhaps；　travellers　from　distant　regions　shall　in　vain　labour　to　decipher　on　some　mouldering　pedestal　the　name　of　our　proudest　chief；　shall　hear　savage　hymns　chaunted　to　some　misshapen　idol　over　the　ruined　dome　of　our　proudest　temple；　and　shall　see　a　single　naked　fisherman　wash　his　nets　in　the　river　of　the　ten　thousand　masts；her　influence　and　her　glory　will　still　survive；fresh　in　eternal　youth；　exempt　from　mutability　and　decay；　immortal　as　the　intellectual　principle　from　which　they　derived　their　origin；　and　over　which　they　exercise　their　control。







End　Volume　I