[526] 'But as when there have been at the same time many and mighty shipwrecks, the mighty sea is wont to drive in all directions the rowers' benches, rudders, sailyards, prows, masts, and floating oars, so that along all the coasts of land there may be seen the tossing flag-posts of ships, to warn mortals that they shun the wiles, and force, and craft of the faithless sea, nor ever trust the treacherous alluring smile of the calm ocean; so if once you will suppose any finite number of elements, you will find that the many surging forces of matter must disperse and drive them apart through all time, so that they never can meet and gather into union, nor stay in union and wax in increase.'—ii. 552-64.
[527] iv. 587.
[528] i. 64-5.
[529] 'Spring advances and Venus, and before them goes the harbinger of Spring, the winged Zephyr; and near their path, Mother Flora, scattering her treasures before her, fills all the way with glorious colours and fragrance.'—v. 737-40.
[530] Cp. 'Keats has, above all, a sense of what is pleasurable and open in the life of Nature; for him she is the Alma Parens: his expression has, therefore, more than Guérin's, something genial, outward, and sensuous. Guérin has above all a sense of what there is adorable and secret in the life of Nature; for him she is the Magna Parens; his expression has, therefore, more than Keats', something mystic, inward, and profound.' Essays in Criticism, by M. Arnold, p. 130. Third Edition.
[531] v. 824.
[532] 'Nor can the strong bridges endure the sudden force of the rushing water: in such wise, swollen by heavy rain, the stream with mighty force dashes upon the piers.'—i. 285-87.
[533] 'Percolatur enim virus,' etc.
[534] 'Finally, in their wandering they made their dwelling in the familiar woodland grottoes of the nymphs, from which they marked the rills of water laving the dripping rocks, made slippery with their abundant flow,—dripping rocks, with drops oozing out above the green moss,—and gushing forth and forcing their way over the level plain.'—v. 944-52.
[535] 'And in like manner we see shells paint the lap of the earth, where with its soft waves the sea beats on the porous sand of the winding shore.'—ii. 374-76.