But I found no intelligence of my best
self; far less was it revealed to me in new modes; for not
only did he seem to want the living faith which enables one to
discharge this holiest office of a friend, but he absolutely
distrusted me in every region of my life with which he was
unacquainted. The same trait I detected in his relations
with others. He had faith in the Universal, but not in the
Individual Man: he met men, not as a brother, but as a critic.
Philosophy appeared to chill instead of exalting the poet.
'But now I am better acquainted with him. His "accept"
is true; the "I shall learn," with which he answers every
accusation, is no less true. No one can feel his limitations,
in fact, more than he, though he always speaks confidently
from his present knowledge as all he has yet, and never
qualifies or explains. He feels himself "shut up in a crystal
cell," from which only "a great love or a great task could
release me," and hardly expects either from what remains in
this life. But I already see so well how these limitations
have fitted him for his peculiar work, that I can no longer
quarrel with them; while from his eyes looks out the angel
that must sooner or later break every chain.
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