The sublimity of vagueness and vastness is present in the language of these lines—
Impendent atrae formidinis ora superne.[518]
Sustentata ruet moles et machina mundi.[519]
Aut cecidisse urbis magno vexamine mundi.[520]
Non si terra mari miscebitur et mare caelo.[521]
While no other ancient poet brings before the mind more forcibly and immediately the living presence of the outward world and the solemn meaning of familiar things, there is none whose language seems to respond so sensitively to the vague suggestions of an invisible and awful Power omnipresent in the universe.
The creative power of imagination which gives new life to words and thoughts is also present in many vivid and picturesque expressions, either scattered through the main argument, or shining in brilliant combinations in the more elaborate parts of the work. By this more imaginative use of language, the poet can illustrate his ideas by subtle analogies, or embody them in visible symbols, or endow the objects he describes with the personal attributes of will and energy. Thus, for instance, the penetrating subtlety of the mind in exploring the secrets of Nature becomes a visible force in the curious felicity of the expression (i. 408), 'caecasque latebras insinuare omnis.' The freedom and boundless range of the imagination is suggested with picturesque effect in the familiar expression—
Avia Pieridum peragro loca nullius ante
Trita solo;[522]
while the calm serenity of the contemplative mind is symbolised in such figurative expressions as 'sapientum templa serena;' 'humanum in pectus templaque mentis;' and the stormy tumult of the passions and the perilous errors of life become vividly present to the imagination by means of the analogies pictured in the lines—