O monstrous piece of extravagance!--for how can the Sun (his Deity set apart) 'clutch' without hands?--and as for 'the emerald girdle of the rose'--I know not what it means, unless Sah-luma considers the green calyx of the flower a 'girdle,' in which case his wits must be far gone, for no shape of girdle can any sane man descry in the common natural protection of a bud before it blooms! There was a phrase too concerning nightingales,--and the gods know we have heard enough and too much of those over-praised birds! ..." Here he was interrupted by one of his frequent attacks of coughing, and again the laughter of the whole court broke forth in joyous echoes.
"Laugh--laugh!" said Zabastes, recovering himself and eying the throng with a derisive smile--"Laugh, ye witless bantlings born of folly!--and cling as you will to the unsubstantial dreams your Laureate blows for you in the air like a child playing with soap- bubbles! Empty and perishable are they all,--they shine for a moment, then break and vanish,--and the colors wherewith they sparkled, colors deemed immortal in their beauty, shall pass away like a breath and be renewed no more!"
"Not so!" interposed Theos suddenly, unknowing why he spoke, but feeling inwardly compelled to take up Sah-luma's defence-"for the colors ARE immortal, and permeate the Universe, whether seen in the soap-bubble or the rainbow! Seven tones of light exist, co- equal with the seven tones in music, and much of what we call Art and Poesy is but the constant reflex of these never-dying tints and sounds. Can a Critic enter more closely into the secrets of Nature than a Poet? ... nay!--for he would undo all creation were he able, and find fault with its fairest productions! The critical mind dwells too persistently on the mere surface of things, ever to comprehend or probe the central deeps and well-springs of thought. Will a Zabastes move us to tears and passion? ... Will he make our pulses beat with any happier thrill, or stir our blood into a warmer glow? He may be able to sever the petals of a lily and name its different sections, its way of growth and habitude,-- but can he raise it from the ground alive and fair, a perfect flower, full of sweet odors and still sweeter suggestions? No!-- but Sah-luma with entrancing art can make us see, not one lily but a thousand lilies, all waving in the light wind of his fancy,--not one world but a thousand worlds, circling through the empyrean of his rhythmic splendor,--not one joy but a thousand joys, all quivering song-wise through the radiance of his clear illumined inspiration. The heart,--the human heart alone is the final touchstone of a poet's genius,--and when that responds, who shall deny his deathless fame!"