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Greybeards At Play
By
G. K. Chesterton
Contents
THE
ONENESS OF THE PHILOSOPHER WITH NATURE.
OF
THE DANGERS ATTENDING ALTRUISM ON THE HIGH SEAS.
MORAL. =
ON
THE DISASTROUS SPREAD OF ÆSTHETICISM IN ALL CLASSES. =
ENVOY. =
He was, through boyhood's storm and
shower, My =
best,
my nearest friend; We w=
ore
one hat, smoked one cigar, One standing at e=
ach
end.
We were two hearts with single hop=
e, Two faces in one =
hood; I knew the secrets of his you=
th; I watched his eve=
ry
mood.
The little things that none but I =
Saw were beyond h=
is
wont, The streaming hai=
r, the
tie behind, The
coat tails worn in front.
I marked the absent-minded scream,=
The little nervous
trick Of rolling in the=
grate,
with eyes By
friendship's light made quick.
But youth's black storms are gone =
and
past, Bare =
is
each aged brow; And, si=
nce
with age we're growing bald, Let us be babies =
now.
Learning we knew; but still to-day=
, With spelling-boo=
k devotion,
Words of one syllable w=
e seek
In moments =
of
emotion.
Riches we knew; and well dressed d=
olls--
Dolls livin=
g--who
expressed No filial tho=
ughts,
however much You
thumped them in the chest.
Old happiness is grey as we, And we may still
outstrip her; If we be
slippered pantaloons, Oh let us hunt the
slipper!
The old world glows with colours c=
lear; And if, as saith =
the
saint, The world is but=
a
painted show, Oh
let us lick the paint!
Far, far behind are morbid hours, =
And lonely hearts=
that
bleed. Far, far behind =
us are
the days, W=
hen we
were old indeed.
Leave we the child: he is immersed=
With scientists a=
nd
mystics: With deep prop=
hetic
voice he cries Canadian food
statistics.
But now I know how few and small, =
The things we cra=
ve
need be-- Toys and the
universe and you-- A little friend t=
o tea.
Behold the simple sum of things, <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Where, in one spl=
endour
spun, The stars go roun=
d the
Mulberry Bush, The Burning Bush,=
the
Sun.
Now we are old and wise and grey, =
And shaky at the =
knees;
Now is the true time to
delight In
picture books like these.
Hoary and bent I dance one hour: <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> What though I die=
at
morn? There is a shout =
among
the stars, "To-night a =
child
is born." CONTENTS
THE ONENESS OF THE PHILOSOPH=
ER
WITH NATURE
OF THE DANGERS ATTENDING ALT=
RUISM
ON THE HIGH SEAS
ON THE DISASTROUS SPREAD OF
ÆSTHETICISM IN ALL CLASSES
ENVOY
THE ONENESS OF THE
PHILOSOPHER WITH NATURE.
&n=
bsp;
I love to see the little stars All dancing to one
tune; I think quite hig=
hly of
the Sun, And
kindly of the Moon.
The million forests of the Earth <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Come trooping in =
to
tea. The great Niagara
waterfall Is
never shy with me.
I am the tiger's confidant, And never mention
names: The lion drops t=
he
formal "Sir," And lets me call =
him
James.
Into my ear the blushing Whale
I am akin to all the Earth By many a tribal =
sign: The aged Pig will often wear =
That sad, sweet s=
mile
of mine.
My niece, the Barnacle, has got My piercing eyes =
of
black; The Elephant has=
got
my nose, I =
do not
want it back.
I know the strange tale of the Slu=
g; The Early Sin--the
Fall-- The Sleep--the
Vision--and the Vow-- The Quest--the
Crown--the Call.
And I have loved the Octopus, Since we were boys
together. I love the Vu=
lture
and the Shark: I
even love the weather.
I love to bask in sunny fields, And when that hop=
e is
vain, I go and bask in =
Baker
Street, All=
in
the pouring rain.
Come snow! where fly, by some stra=
nge
law, Hard
snowballs--without noise-- Through streets untenanted, e=
xcept By good unconscio=
us
boys.
Come fog! exultant mystery-- Where, in strange
darkness rolled, The en=
d of
my own nose becomes A lovely legend o=
ld.
Come snow, and hail, and thunderbo=
lts, Sleet, fire, and
general fuss; Come to my
arms, come all at once-- Oh photograph me =
thus!
*
OF THE DANGERS ATTENDING
ALTRUISM ON THE HIGH SEAS.
&n=
bsp;
Observe these Pirates bold and gay, That sail a gory =
sea: Notice their bright expressio=
n:-- The handsome one =
is me.
We plundered ships and harbours, <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We spoiled the Sp=
anish
main; But Nemesis watch=
ed
over us, Fo=
r it
began to rain.
Oh all well-meaning folk take heed=
! Our Captain's fat=
e was
sore; A more well-meani=
ng
Pirate, Had=
never
dripped with gore.
The rain was pouring long and loud=
, The sea was drear=
and
dim; A little fish was
floating there: Our Captain pitie=
d him.
"How sad," he said, and
dropped a tear Splash on the cab=
in
roof, "That we are=
dry,
while he is there Without a waterpr=
oof.
"We'll get him up on board at=
once;
For Science
teaches me, He will be =
wet if
he remains =
Much
longer in the sea."
They fished him out; the First Mate
wept, And c=
ame
with rugs and ale: The
Boatswain brought him one golosh, And fixed it on h=
is
tail. But yet he never =
loved
the ship; A=
gainst
the mast he'd lean; If =
spoken
to, he coughed and smiled, And blushed a pal=
lid
green.
Though plied with hardbake, beef a=
nd
beer, He sh=
owed
no wish to sup: The nea=
test
riddles they could ask, He always gave th=
em up.
They seized him and court-martiall=
ed
him, In some
excess of spleen, For l=
ack of
social sympathy, (Victoria xii. 18=
).
They gathered every evidence That might remove=
a
doubt: They wrote a postcard in his name, =
And partly scratc=
hed it
out.
Till, when his guilt was clear as =
day, With all formalit=
y They doomed the traitor to be
drowned, And
threw him in the sea.
The flashing sunset, as he sank, <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Made every scale =
a gem;
And, turning with a gra=
ceful
bow, He kis=
sed
his fin to them.
MORAL.<=
span
class=3DHeading1Char>
I am, I think I have remarked,
A friend of mine, a trilobite Had gathered in h=
is
youth, When trilobites =
were
trilobites, This
all-important truth.
We aged ones play solemn parts-- <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Sire--guardian--u=
ncle--king.
Affection is the salt of
life, Kindn=
ess a
noble thing.
The old alone may comprehend A sense in my dec=
ree; But--if you find a fish on la=
nd, Oh throw it in th=
e sea.
*
ON THE DISASTROUS SPREAD =
OF
ÆSTHETICISM IN ALL CLASSES.
&n=
bsp;
Impetuously I sprang from bed, Long before lunch=
was
up, That I might drain =
the
dizzy dew F=
rom
day's first golden cup.
In swift devouring ecstacy Each toil in turn=
was
done; I had done lying =
on the
lawn Three
minutes after one.
For me, as Mr. Wordsworth says, The duties shine =
like
stars; I formed my uncl=
e's
character, Decreasing his ci=
gars.
But could my kind engross me? No! =
Stern Art--what s=
ons
escape her? Soon I was
drawing Gladstone's nose On scraps of blot=
ting
paper.
Then on--to play one-fingered tune=
s Upon my aunt's pi=
ano. In short, I have a headlong s=
oul, I much resemble H=
anno.
(Forgive the entrance of the not <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Too cogent
Carthaginian. It may ha=
ve
been to make a rhyme; I lean to that
opinion).
Then my great work of book researc=
h Till dusk I took =
in
hand-- The forming of a
final, sound Opinion on The St=
rand.
But when I quenched the midnight o=
il, And closed The Re=
feree,
Whose thirty volumes fo=
lio I take to bed wit=
h me,
I had a rather funny dream, Intense, that is,=
and mystic;
I dreamed that, with on=
e leap
and yell, T=
he
world became artistic.
The Shopmen, when their souls were
still, Decl=
ined
to open shops--
And Cooks recorded frames of mind =
In sad and subtle
chops.
The stars were weary of routine: <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> The trees in the
plantation Were growing=
every
fruit at once, In
search of a sensation.
The moon went for a moonlight stro=
ll, And tried to be a=
bard,
And gazed enraptured at
itself: I l=
eft it
trying hard.
The sea had nothing but a mood
The sun had read a little book
Then all was dark, lawless, and lo=
st: I heard great dev=
ilish
wings: I knew that Art =
had
won, and snapt The Covenant of T=
hings.
I cried aloud, and I awoke, New labours in my=
head.
I set my teeth, and man=
fully Began to lie in b=
ed.
Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,
But still, in sudden moods of dusk=
, I hear those great
weird wings, Feel vague=
ly
thankful to the vast Stupidity of thin=
gs.
* *
ENVOY.<=
span
class=3DHeading1Char>
&n=
bsp;
Clear was the night: the moon was young: The larkspurs in =
the
plots Mingled their ora=
nge
with the gold Of
the forget-me-nots.
The poppies seemed a silver mist: =
So darkly fell the
gloom.
You scarce had guessed yon crimson
streaks Were
buttercups in bloom.
But one thing moved: a little chil=
d Crashed through t=
he
flower and fern: And al=
l my
soul rose up to greet The sage of whom I
learn.
I looked into his awful eyes: I waited his decr=
ee: I made ingenious attempts
The babe upraised his wondering ey=
es, And timidly he sa=
id, "A trend towards experim=
ent In modern minds is
bred.
"I feel the will to roam, to =
learn By test, experien=
ce,
nous, That fire is hot =
and
ocean deep, And
wolves carnivorous.
"My brain demands complexity.=
"
The lisping
cherub cried. I looked =
at
him, and only said, "Go on. The =
world
is wide."
A tear rolled down his pinafore, <=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> "Yet from my=
life
must pass The simple lo=
ve of
sun and moon, The
old games in the grass;
"Now that my back is to my ho=
me Could these again=
be
found?" I looked o=
n him,
and only said, "Go on. The =
world
is round."