They hugged no belief to themselves that
something extraordinary, incomprehensible, lay buried within them;
they held, on the contrary, that whatever was best in their virtue
was that which it needed no effort for all men to grasp and admit.
But there are some morbid virtues that are passed by unnoticed, and
not without reason--for there will almost always be some superior
reason for the powerlessness of a feeling--morbid virtues to which
we often ascribe far too great an importance; and that virtue will
surely be morbid that we rate over highly and hold to deserve the
respectful attention of others. In a morbid virtue there is often
more harm than there is in a healthy vice; in any event it is
farther removed from truth; and there is but little to hope for when
we are divided from truth. As our ideal becomes loftier so does it
become more real; and the nobler our soul, the less does it dread
that it meet not a soul of its stature; for it must have drawn near
unto truth, in whose neighbourhood all things must take of its
greatness. When Dante had gained the third sphere, and stood in the
midst of the heavenly lights, all shining with uniform splendour, he
saw that around him naught moved, and wondered was he standing
motionless there, or indeed drawing nearer unto the seat of God? So
he cast his eyes upon Beatrice; and she seemed more beautiful to
him; wherefore he knew that he was approaching his goal.
Pages:
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248