,,margaret ,,and ,,her ,,friends        
,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4      ,,what 
,,we ,,really ,,know ,,about            
,,shakespeare4 #abmo1 cloth4 ,price1    
#a4be4    ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,dr4       
,,anandabai ,,joshee1 a ,kinswoman of   
the ,pundita ,ramabai4  #abmo1 cloth4   
,price1 #a4jj4    ,,letters ,,home      
,,from ,,colorado1 ,,utah1 ,,and        
,,california4 #abmo4 ,price1 #a4ej4     
,,barbara ,,fritchie4 ,a ,study4 ,with  
,portrait4 #abmo4 ,price1 #a4jj4        
,,roberts ,,brothers1      ,publishers4 
,,margaret ,,and ,,her ,,friends        
,,or                              ,ten  
,conversations                          
,,with                                  
,,margaret ,,fuller                     
,,upon                       ,,the      
,,mythology ,,of ,,the ,,greeks ,,and   
,,its ,,expression ,,in ,,art           
,,held ,,at ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,the    
,,rev4 ,,george ,,ripley                
,,bedford ,,place1 ,,boston             
,,beginning ,,march #a1 #ahda           

,,reported ,,by ,,caroline ,w4 ,,healey 
,,boston                                
,,roberts ,,brothers                    
#ahie                                   
,copyright1 #ahie1                      
,,by ,,roberts ,,brothers4              
,all rights reserved4                   
,university ,press3                     
,,john ,,wilson ,,and ,,son1            
,,cambridge1 ,u4,s4,a4          ,,table 
,,of ,,contents4                        
,,page              ,,preface           
#e              ,,members ,,of ,,the    
,,class                                 
#ag           ,i4 ,,general             
,,mythological ,,statement              
#be          ,,ii4 ,,general ,,statement
 ,,continued4 ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 ,,present#a   
#dj         ,,iii4 ,,story ,,from       
,,novalis4 ,,apollo                     
#fj          ,,iv4 ,,minerva4 ,,the     
,,serpent                               
#gg           ,v4 ,,venus ,,and         
,,psyche4 ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 ,,present         
#ie          ,,vi4 ,,cupid ,,and        

,,psyche4 ,,margaret1 ,,and ,,elisabeth 
,,hoar      #ajf         ,,vii4 ,,pluto 
,,and ,,tartarus                        
#abc        ,,viii4 ,,mercury ,,and     
,,orpheus4 ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 ,,present        
#ace          ,,ix4 ,,hermes ,,and      
,,orpheus                               
#adg           ,x4 ,,bacchus ,,and ,,the
 ,,demigods                             
#aef          ,,preface4      ,in #ahci1
 ,margaret ,fuller1 delicate in health  
and much overtaxed1  consented to       
gratify many who loved her by opening in
 ,boston a series of  8,conversations   
for ,women40 ,in a ,circular quoted by  
,emerson1 she says to  ,mrs4 ,sophia    
,ripley3--        8,could a circle be   
assembled in earnest1 desirous to answer
 the      questions1 #8,what were we    
born to do8' and #8,how shall we do it8'
      ,i should think the undertaking a 
noble one40    ,this was certainly the  
original intent of the famous 8,fuller  
,conversations10 which1 beginning then1 
were continued at intervals1  until     

,margaret left ,boston for ,new ,york in
 #ahdd4    ,it seems a little singular1 
therefore1 to find her writing to ,ralph
 ,waldo  ,emerson of this series1 ,nov4 
#be1 #ahci1 as follows3--        8,the  
first day's topic was the genealogy of  
,heaven and ,earth2      then the ,will 
or ,jupiter2 the ,understanding1        
,mercury3 the      second day's1 ,the   
celestial inspiration of ,genius1       
perception      and transmission of     
,divine ,law2 ,apollo the terrene       
inspiration1      ,bacchus the          
impassioned abandonment4 ,of the        
thunderbolt1 the      caduceus1 the ray 
and the grape1 having disposed as well  
as      might be1 we came to the wave   
and the sea-shell it moulds to          
beauty4444        8,i assure you1 there 
is more ,greek than ,bostonian spoken at
 the      meetings60    ,under the forms
 suggested by ,mythology1 ,margaret     
proceeded to open all  the great        
questions of life4 ,in a literary sense1
 she distinctly stated  that she knew   

little about the doings on ,olympus1 nor
 had she received  any help from ,german
 critical works1--of which at the       
present day she  would have found many4 
,these ,conversations owed their        
attraction first to the absolute novelty
  of her theme to many of those she     
addressed1 and still more to the        
variety and freshness of her own        
treatment4 ,the opening1 at the ,boston 
,athenum1 of the splendid collection of 
casts presented by ,thomas  ,handasyd   
,perkins1 and many private collections  
of pictures1 engravings1  gems1 and     
miniature casts1 had interested her     
intensely1 and both mind  and fancy were
 absorbed in the contemplation of their 
themes4 ,in these  ,conversations she   
depicted what she had gained from ,art1 
rather than  the little that she had    
acquired through study4 ,if ,i may judge
 from  a later experience1 her ,latin   
studies rather injured than developed   
her brilliant fancies4 ,she never could 
remember what she had said1  never could

 repeat a brilliant saying1 and1 if     
obliged to read any  illustration1 read 
it1 as all her friends admitted1 very   
badly4 ,from a  statement made to       
,emerson1 ,i quote the following3--     
8,her mood applied itself to the mood of
 her companion1 point      to point1 in 
the most limber1 sinuous1 vital way2 444
 and this      sympathy she had for all 
persons indifferently40    ,the         
communication of which the above is a   
sample ,i have always read with         
amazement1 for ,i never knew a person of
 whom it would seem less true4  ,when   
conversing with one sympathetic person1 
it was undoubtedly true2  when resting  
upon the affection and loyalty of her   
young women1--a most  gifted and        
extraordinary circle1--it was doubtless 
equally so2 but when  the class of      
,march1 #ahda1 was formed1 a very       
different aspect of herself  appeared4  
,the fame of her 8talks0 had spread4    
,she had great need of money1 and some  
of the gentlemen who were accustomed to 

talk with her1 and some of the  ladies  
of her day-class1 suggested an evening  
class1 to be composed of  both ladies   
and gentlemen1 and to meet at the house 
of the ,rev4 ,george  ,ripley in        
,bedford ,place4 ,ten ,conversations    
were to be held1 and the  tickets of    
admission cost twenty dollars each1 a   
very high price for  that time4 ,it was 
in the book-room of ,elisabeth ,peabody 
that ,i first  heard them discussed4 ,i 
was very young to join such a circle2   
and when  she invited me1 ,elisabeth had
 more regard1 ,i think1 to ,margaret's  
purse1  than to my fitness for the      
company4 ,but it was a great            
opportunity4 ,the  members were full of 
excitement over the projected opening of
 ,brook  ,farm4 ,all were in good       
spirits1 and bright sayings ran back and
 forth4  ,i had been carefully trained  
in the ,art of ,reporting1 and at that  
time  made careful abstracts on the     
following day of any lecture that had   
interested me4 ,in these ,i trusted to  

my memory4 ,it was not possible to  do  
this with the ,conversations2 so ,i     
invented a sort of short-hand1 and      
carried note-book and pencil with me4 ,i
 sat a little out of sight that ,i      
might not embarrass ,margaret1 but      
,elisabeth ,peabody and ,mrs4 ,farrar   
found  me out4 ,elisabeth wrote what she
 called an abstract1 every night2 but an
  examination of her abstracts quoted by
 ,mr4 ,emerson shows that what she      
wrote was not what any one said1 but the
 impression made upon her own  mind by  
it4 ,these abstracts she always read to 
me1 the next morning4 ,i  wrote out my  
short-hand notes before breakfast and   
carried them down to  her about noon4 ,i
 greatly enjoyed listening to her       
papers1 and she was so  absorbed in them
 that she often forgot to ask for mine1 
which was a great  relief to me4    ,so 
far as ,i know1 these ,reports of mine  
are the only attempt ever made          
deliberately to represent these or any  
of ,margaret's 8,conversations0  word   

for word4 ,of course1 much was omitted  
as not worth recording1 nor  did ,i ever
 write down anything that ,i could not  
understand4 ,many of the  members ,i    
knew intimately1 and fell naturally into
 writing of them by  initials and first 
names1 as they always spoke to and of   
each other4 ,at  times ,i fell back into
 the ,mr41 ,mrs41 or ,miss1 which was my
 own habit4  ,it is well to call those  
we love by any name they will permit1   
but the  familiar habit of the          
,transcendental circle was full of      
social peril to  the younger members1   
who1 conceiving it a proof of genius1   
followed it1  when its origin was       
forgotten1 and were much misunderstood  
in consequence  in later years4    ,i   
offer the ,reports exactly as they were 
written4 ,i should like to alter  them  
in several small ways if ,i could do it 
honestly4 ,we met to discuss  ,grecian  
,mythology as interpreted to ,margaret's
 mind by ,art2 but ,latin and  ,greek   
names were used as if they were         

synonymous1 and ,latin poems were       
quoted1 as well as ,greek traditions4   
,this confused my mind then1 and does   
still4 ,athene and ,minerva1 ,zeus and  
,jupiter1 are by no means the same      
persons to me1 ,art or no ,art4    ,it  
may be thought by those who cannot      
remember the persons who enacted  this  
little drama1 or by those who do        
remember and know well how very         
distinguished a company this was1 that  
,i should have eliminated my own        
reflections1 and dropped out of the     
story4    ,this would ,i think have been
 greatly unjust to ,margaret1 who never 
enjoyed this mixed class1 and considered
 it a failure so far as her own  power  
was concerned4 ,she and ,mr4 ,emerson   
met like ,pyramus and ,thisbe1  a blank 
wall between4 ,with ,mr4 ,alcott she had
 no patience1 and no one  of the class  
seemed to understand how sincere and    
deep was her interest  in the theme4 ,in
 no way was ,margaret's supremacy so    
evident as in the  impulse she gave to  

the minds of younger women4    ,it was  
the wish of ,margaret's mother and      
brothers1 as it is also the  wish of her
 surviving relatives1 that ,i should    
print these pages4 ,after  ,arthur's    
death1 ,richard ,fuller undertook to    
carry out a plan to which  both had     
agreed1 and which ,margaret's mother had
 greatly at heart4  ,they desired that  
,i should write a simple1               
straightforward account of  ,margaret1  
including her residence in ,italy1 her  
marriage1 the birth  of her child1 and  
her death4 ,this they intended to print 
at their own  expense1 and they thought 
it might be so written as to put an end 
to many  absurd and painful rumors which
 had followed the publication of the    
first  ,memoir4 ,that ,i might prepare  
for this1 all ,margaret's manuscripts   
were in  my custody for more than a     
year4 ,the completion of the work was   
prevented  by ,richard ,fuller's        
unexpected death4 ,no surviving member  
of the family  was able to carry out his

 intention4    ,i still have in my      
possession the estimate of his sister's 
character  which ,richard made for my   
use4    ,i should like to add1 that the 
scholar will see that the stories from  
,apuleius and ,novalis do not exactly   
correspond to the originals4 ,they  were
 reported exactly as they were told4    
,,caroline ,,healey ,,dall4             
,sept4 #a1 #ahie1 ,,washington1 ,d4 ,c4 
,a ,,list ,,of ,,persons ,,attending    
,,the ,,class ,,named ,,in ,,this       
,,report4    ,about thirty persons      
usually attended4          ,,george     
,,ripley4 ,the well-known clergyman1    
settled over a      ,unitarian church in
 ,purchase ,st41 ,boston1 afterward the 
,president of the ,association at ,brook
 ,farm1 and later literary      editor  
of the ,new ,york 8,tribune40           
,,sophia ,,dana ,,ripley1 his wife4     
,,elisabeth ,,palmer ,,peabody4 ,a woman
 of remarkable accumulations      of    
learning1 and as remarkable a breadth of
 sympathy4 ,she      was a teacher1--an 

enthusiastic advocate of the            
,kindergarten1      and opened at ,no4  
#ac ,west ,st41 ,boston1 a foreign      
,circulating      ,library1 which soon  
became a sort of ,literary ,exchange of 
the      greatest use to ,new ,england4 
,her own great powers did not           
accomplish all they ought1 because it   
was impossible for her to      apply    
them systematically4        ,,frederick 
,,henry ,,hedge4 ,the well-known ,german
 and ecclesiastical      scholar1 whose 
remarkable scholarship and character    
have not      yet received the          
commemoration they deserve4 ,he was at  
this      time settled over the church  
in ,bangor1 ,maine4        ,,james      
,,freeman ,,clarke4 ,already the pastor 
of the ,church of the      ,disciples1  
in ,boston1 and preaching at ,amory     
,hall4 ,the outline      of his lovely  
and useful life is preserved in a memoir
 by the      ,rev4 ,e4 ,e4 ,hale1 ,d4,d4
        ,,ralph ,,waldo ,,emerson4 ,the 
,concord philosopher4        ,,mrs4     

,,farrar1 born ,rotch1 the wife of the  
,harvard ,professor of      ,physical   
,science and ,mathematics4              
,,francis ,g4 ,,shaw4 ,the son of a     
well-known ,boston merchant1 to      be 
honored through all time as the father  
of ,colonel ,robert ,g4      ,shaw1 who 
was buried where he fell1 with the      
negroes whom he      died to free4      
,,mrs4 ,,sarah ,b4 ,,shaw1 his wife4    
,,ann ,,wilby ,,clarke1 wife of a       
,boston bank-officer and the oldest     
member of an ,english family of ,wilbys1
 nearly every member of      which was  
at some time a teacher in ,boston or its
 neighborhood4        ,,mrs4 ,,jonathan 
,,russell of ,milton1 widow of the ,u4  
,s4 ,minister      to ,sweden           
7#ahad-ahah71 residing on the old       
,governor ,hutchinson      place at     
,milton1 and        ,,miss ,,ida        
,,russell1 her daughter4                
,,william ,,white4 ,the brother of the  
first wife of ,james ,russell           
,lowell1 who was killed by a fall from  

the bluff at ,milwaukee in      #ahef4  
,,william ,w4 ,,story4 ,sculptor1 poet1 
and lawyer1 and well known as      a    
contributor to ,blackwood4 ,still       
living4        ,,caroline ,,sturgis1    
daughter of ,william ,sturgis of        
,boston1--married later to ,mr4         
,tappan1--a most gifted and charming    
creature4        ,,mrs4 ,,anna ,,barker 
,,ward1 wife of ,s4 ,g4 ,ward1 now      
living in      ,washington4             
,,jones ,,very of ,salem4 ,a            
,transcendental poet4        ,,elisabeth
 ,,hoar was the daughter of ,samuel     
,hoar of ,concord1      ,mass41 and of  
,sarah1 the daughter of ,roger ,sherman 
of      ,connecticut4 ,elisabeth was not
 the least gifted of her very           
gifted family4 ,one brother1 recently   
deceased1 was ,president      ,grant's  
first ,attorney-,general2 another is the
 well-known      ,senator from          
,massachusetts to the ,congress of the  
,united      ,states2 and a third1      
,edward ,sherman ,hoar1 was             

distinguished      as a scholar and     
botanist4 ,to great intellectual gifts1 
,elisabeth added personal loveliness and
 a saintly serenity of      character4  
,she was betrothed to ,charles ,emerson 
7a brother of      ,ralph ,waldo        
,emerson71 who died of sudden illness   
just before      the time appointed for 
their marriage4 ,he was also a rarely   
gifted person1 and after his death his  
family transferred their      tenderest 
affection to ,elisabeth4 ,the reader of 
the various      ,lives of ,emerson will
 see that she is often mentioned1 and   
several of ,emerson's letters are       
addressed to her4 ,had she      chosen  
to devote herself to literature1 she    
would have been      greatly            
distinguished4 ,the ,life of ,mrs4      
,ripley of ,waltham1      written for   
8,the ,women of ,our ,first ,century10  
and published      by a committee       
appointed at the ,centennial ,exhibition
 in      ,philadelphia1 was written by  
her4 ,she died in #ahgh4        ,a4     

,,bronson ,,alcott of ,concord4 ,a      
memoir of him has been written      by  
the ,hon4 ,f4 ,b4 ,sanborn of ,concord1 
assisted by ,wm4 ,t4 ,harris4        ,w4
 ,,mack4 ,a gentleman of great ability1 
who taught a school      in ,belmont4   
,his daughter was the first wife of     
,stillman1 the      artist4 ,the family 
is1 ,i think1 extinct1 unless ,mrs4     
,stillman      left a daughter4         
,,sophia ,,peabody4 ,a younger sister of
 ,e4 ,p4 ,p41 afterwards ,mrs4          
,nathaniel ,hawthorne4        ,,marianne
 ,,jackson4 ,a lovely1 beloved1 and     
accomplished woman1      who died early4
 ,she was the daughter of ,judge        
,charles ,jackson1      one of the      
soundest jurists who ever sat on a      
,massachusetts      bench1--the sister  
of ,mrs4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes1 of   
,mrs4      ,charles ,c4 ,paine1 and the 
aunt1 ,i believe1 of ,mr4 ,john ,t4     
,morse4    ,i have reserved for the last
 the name of the only sound ,greek      
scholar  among us3 ,charles ,wheeler4   

,,charles ,,stearns ,,wheeler4 ,born in 
,lincoln1 near ,concord1 ,dec4      #ai1
 #ahaf1 of ,h4 ,u4 #ahcg1 distinguished 
as a ,greek scholar from      whom much 
was expected4 ,to economize in order to 
pursue his      ,greek studies he built 
a shanty at ,walden1 which is said to   
have served as a suggestion to ,thoreau4
 ,he went to ,germany      directly     
after these ,conversations1 and died    
suddenly of fever      at ,leipzig1 in  
the summer of #ahdc4 ,his death was a   
great      grief and a great shock4 ,i  
have not forgotten the sensation      it
 produced4 ,beloved and honored by all  
who knew him1 the      community of     
scholars was especially bereaved4 ,to   
this day1 ,i      am able to trust      
fearlessly to any information obtained  
from      him4          8,only a signal 
shown1 and a distant voice in the       
darkness40--,,longfellow4               
,,margaret ,,and ,,her ,,friends4       
,i4                                     
,monday ,evening1 ,march #a1 #ahda4     

,margaret opened the conversation by a  
beautiful sketch of the origin of       
,mythology4 ,the ,greeks she thought    
borrowed their ,gods from the ,hindus   
and  ,egyptians1 but they idealized     
their personifications to a far greater 
extent4 ,the ,hindus dwelt in the ,all1 
the ,infinite1 which the ,greeks        
analyzed and to some degree humanized4  
,all things sprang from ,clus and       
,terra41--that is1 from ,heaven and     
,earth1 or spirit and matter4 ,rhea1 or 
the ,productive ,energy1 and ,saturn1 or
 ,time1 were the children of ,clus  and 
,terra4 ,the progress of any people is  
marked by its mythi4 ,mythology  is only
 the history of the development of the  
,infinite in the ,finite4  ,saturn      
devoured his own children until the     
disappointed ,rhea put a  stone 7or     
obstacle7 in his way1 and she succeeded 
in raising ,jupiter4  ,the development  
of human faculties was slow1 therefore  
,time seemed to  absorb all that        
,productive ,energy brought forth1 until

 ,energy itself  created obstacles2 and 
of these was born the ,indomitable      
,will4 ,jupiter  represented that ,will1
 and usurped the rule of ,time1 fighting
 with the  low and sensual passions1    
represented by the ,titans and the      
,giants1  until he seated himself       
securely on the ,olympian ,throne1 the  
,father of  the ,gods4 ,this ,will was  
not in itself the highest development of
 either  ,beauty1 ,genius1 ,wisdom1 or  
,thought2 but such developments were    
subject to  it1 were its children4      
,juno is only the feminine form of this 
,indomitable ,will4 ,by herself  she is 
inferior to it1 and whenever she opposes
 it1 loses the game4  ,vulcan1 her      
child1 is ,mechanic ,art1 great in      
itself to be sure1 but not  comparable  
to the ,perfect ,wisdom1 or ,minerva1   
which sprang ready armed  from the      
masculine ,will4 ,she was greater than  
her ,father1 but still his  child4      
,neptune1 who raises always a 8placid   
head above the waves10 represents  the  

flow of thought1--all-embracing1        
girdling in the world1 ,diana and       
,apollo1 or ,purity and ,genius4        
,mercury is ,genius in the extrinsic1 of
 eloquence1 human understanding1  and   
expression4 ,all were the embodiments of
 ,absolute ,ideas1 of ideas  that had no
 origin1--that were eternal4 ,love      
brooded over ,chaos2 and the  perfect   
,beauty and ,love1 represented among the
 ,greeks by ,venus and her  son1 rose   
from the turbid elements4 ,it is        
singular that even the ancients  should 
have maintained the pre-existence of    
,love4 ,it was before ,order1  ,men1 or 
the ,gods men worshipped4 ,the fable    
suggests the truth1--,infinite  ,love   
and ,beauty always was4 ,it is only with
 their development in finite  beings    
that ,history has to do4    ,here       
,,margaret recapitulated4 ,the          
,indomitable ,will had dethroned ,time1 
and1 acting with ,productive            
,energy1--variously represented at      
different  times by ,isis1 ,rhea1       

,ceres1 ,persephone1 and so on1--had    
driven back the  sensual passions to the
 bowels of the earth1 while it produced 
,perfect  ,wisdom1 ,genius1 ,beauty1 and
 ,love1 results which were more         
excellent if  not more powerful than    
their ,cause4    ,to understand this    
,mythology1 we must denationalize       
ourselves1 and throw  the mind back to  
the consideration of ,greek ,art1       
,literature1 and ,poesy4  ,it is only   
scanty justice that my pen can render to
 ,margaret's eloquent  talk4    ,,frank 
,,shaw asked her how she imagined these 
personifications to have  suggested     
themselves in that barbarous age4       
,,margaret objected to the word         
barbarous4 ,she believed that in the age
  of ,plato the human intellect reached 
a point as elevated in some respects  as
 any it had ever touched4    ,but the   
,gods were not the product of that age1 
but of another far  more remote1 ,,frank
 objected4 ,was not the infinity of     
,hindu conception  impaired1 when the   

,greeks attributed to the ,gods the     
duties1 passions1  and criminal         
indulgences of men8    ,,mrs4 ,,ripley  
said that the virtue of the ,hindu lay  
in contemplation4 ,if a  man had seen   
,god1 he was exempt from the ordinary   
obligations of life1  and allowed to    
pass his life in quiet adoration4       
,,margaret added that the ,greek knew   
better than that4 ,he felt the          
necessity of developing the ,infinite   
through action1 and embodied this       
necessity in his art and poesy as well  
as in his myths4    ,,frank seemed still
 to think that in losing the adoring    
contemplation of  the ,hindu1 and       
bringing their deities to the human     
level1 the ,greeks had  taken one step  
down4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 had always thought 
it had been a step up1 and ,,ann        
,,clarke  thought that the ,greeks      
forgot themselves1 merged all           
remembrance of the  ,finite1 in         
realizing the individual forces of the  
,infinite4    ,,william ,,white1 who had

 not waded very far into the stream1    
thought the  ,north ,american ,indian's 
worship of the ,manitou purer than the  
,greek  worship1 for the very reason    
that the ,indian ascribed to his        
,manitou no  passion that had degraded  
humanity4    ,,margaret said that the   
,indian propitiated his ,god by vile    
deeds1 by  ignoble treacheries and      
revenge4 ,so the ,hindu throws her child
 into the  ,ganges1 and an ecstatic     
crowd falls before the car of           
,juggernaut4    ,i thought a good deal1 
but did not speak4 ,did not ,william's  
question  grow out of the simple ,unity 
of the ,indian worship8 ,but the ,indian
 does  not worship the ,manitou because 
he recognizes a single ,first ,cause1   
comprehending in itself all beauty1     
wisdom1 purity1 and truth1 but  because 
his heart is naturally lifted toward an 
unknown something1  which he has hardly 
yet considered as a ,cause4 ,the ,greek 
recognized the  abstract forces of the  
,universe1 but did not perceive their   

,unity1 and  so personified them        
separately4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 suggested    
that the ,indian had no literature1 and 
had left no  record of his ,olympus6    
,,margaret added that1 if we compare the
 ,indian ,elysium with the ,greek1 the  
difference in spirituality is perceived 
at once4    ,,henry ,,hedge said that   
,frank ,shaw talked about ,greek mythi1 
but nobody  could show a purely ,greek  
mythos4    ,,frank replied that he only 
meant that when the ,greek mind had     
acted on a  myth1 it had not refined it4
    ,,margaret added that it was a      
vulgar notion that the ,poets of ,greece
  created her ,gods2 that the ,poets    
were objective1 and could give only     
humanized representations of them4      
,,henry ,,hedge thought that there was a
 point to which philosophy aided and    
prompted the creative power1 but1 that  
point passed1 rather checked its        
action4 ,analysis took the place of the 
objective tendency4    ,well6 said      
,,william ,,white1 would not the human  

mind1 aided only by  culture1 be        
incapable of any better idea than ,frank
 ,shaw suggested8 ,must  not revelation 
complete the work8    ,,margaret said   
that the answer to his question would be
 determined by  his understanding of the
 word 8revelation40 ,she could not      
believe in  a ,god who had ever left    
himself without a witness in the world4 
,as soon  as the human mind and will    
were ready1 there was always some great 
,truth  waiting to be submitted to their
 united action1 until it was worn out4  
,the beautiful ,greek era had been      
succeeded by a period of inaction2 the  
,roman era by another1 and so on4 ,she  
was sorry we had wandered from our      
subject so far as to doubt her very     
premises6    ,,frank said1 everything   
rested on those premises2 so he thought 
that the  ideals of beauty1 love1       
justice1 and truth should be referred to
 the  ,infinite ,mind1 and not to the   
,greek4    ,i wonder where he was when  
,margaret told about the ,love which    

8was0  before ,order6    ,,henry ,,hedge
 said that ,culture was the ,mediator   
between the ,finite and the  ,infinite4 
,,james ,,freeman ,,clarke1 alluding to 
,mr4 ,hedge's previous remark upon the  
growth of philosophy1 and the loss of   
the creative power1 said that if  that  
were a fact1 it greatly diminished the  
probability of the birth  of pure       
,genius into the world4 ,plato wrote    
when philosophy was at the  turning     
point4    ,,margaret said that there    
were many proofs in ,plato that the     
philosophers  understood the            
personifications of the mythi4 ,she     
thought that the gods1  the demigods1   
and the heroes of mythology represented 
distinct classes1  and that this was not
 sufficiently remembered4 ,she referred 
to the story  of the burning of         
,hercules in ,ovid1 where ,jupiter calls
 ,juno to see how  well his son endures6
    ,,william ,,white said that he      
thought the idea of ,deity was degraded 
when  the ,greeks changed a hero into a 

god2 but if ,culture be a ,mediator1    
would  not ,plato have been greater had 
he been born into the nineteenth        
century8    ,,james ,f4 ,,clarke said   
,platos were impossible now4            
,,margaret agreed1 and said that the    
pride of knowledge which he would  find 
in the world should he appear1 would be 
a greater obstacle than  superstition   
once was4    ,did somebody say a little 
while ago that ,will indomitable was    
born of  obstacle8    ,,margaret told   
,william ,white that ,coleridge had once
 said that he could  neither measure nor
 understand ,plato's ignorance6 ,his    
mind had not  reached that altitude6    
,,henry ,,hedge1 not willing to forego  
the possible birth of ,genius1 asked if 
all the experience and discovery with   
which the world had been enriched  since
 ,plato's time would not furnish enough 
for the new-comer to act upon8          
,,margaret replied that the mind could  
not receive unless excited4 ,she must   
go through all the intellectual         

experience of a ,plato1 to be as great  
as he2 but she might stand upon the     
general or even her own intuitive       
recognition of the truths he had        
advanced1 and go forward to greater     
results1--but still that would not be to
 make herself greater4    ,but1 said    
,,mrs4 ,,ripley1 in the first case you  
would be nothing but ,plato4            
,,margaret acceded1 but begged not to be
 understood as doubting that the  future
 would be capable of finer things than  
the past4    ,the ideal significance of 
the ,mythology was further dwelt upon1  
and  much was said of the contrast      
between the thought of the priest and   
the  worship of the people4 ,it was     
acknowledged as a matter of course1 that
  only a few preserved any consciousness
 of the original significance of  the   
,mythology4    ,,henry ,,hedge thought  
that this was the true key to the       
purpose of the  ,eleusinian mysteries1  
whether in ,egypt where they originated1
 or in  ,greece where they were         

introduced4 ,through them1 all who chose
 became  initiated into the interior    
meaning of the ,mythology4    ,,charles 
,,wheeler added1 that in the flourishing
 times of the ,athenian  ,republic every
 citizen was compelled to initiate      
himself4    ,,margaret closed our talk  
with a gentle reproof to our wandering  
wits4 ,to  prevent such desultory       
prattling1 she desired that a subject   
should be  proposed for the next        
evening4 ,the story of ,ceres or ,rhea1 
in fact the  ,productive ,energy however
 manifested1 carried general favor1 and 
,margaret  said archly that she had     
thought the presence of gentlemen 7who  
had never  until now attended one of her
 talks7 would prevent the wandering and 
keep  us free from prejudice6    ,i     
thought she was rightly disappointed4   
,i cannot recall the words1 but at some 
time this evening ,margaret             
distinguished three mythological        
dynasties4 ,the first was the reign of  
the ,natural ,powers4 ,the second1      

represented by ,jupiter1 ,pluto1 and    
,neptune1 stood for the height1 the     
depth1 and the surface or flow of       
things1 the first manifestations of     
human consciousness4 ,the third was  the
 ,bacchic1 ,bacchus not being yet1 in   
her estimation1 the vulgar ,god of  the 
wine-vat and the festival1 but the      
inspired ,genius1--being to ,apollo1  as
 she said1 what the nectar is to the    
grape4                                  
,,caroline ,w4 ,,healey4        ,march  
#b1 #ahda4          ,,ii4               
,march #h1 #ahda4    ,margaret          
recapitulated the statements she made   
last week4 ,by thus giving  to each     
fabled ,deity its place in the scheme of
 ,mythology1 she did not  mean to ignore
 the enfolding ideas1 the one thought   
developed in all--as  in ,rhea1         
,bacchus1 ,pan4 ,she would only imply   
that each personification  was          
individual1 served a particular purpose1
 and was worshipped in a  particular    
way4    ,before proceeding to talk about

 ,ceres1 she wished to remind us of the 
mischief of wandering from our subject4 
,she hoped the ground she offered  would
 be accepted at least to talk about6    
,certainly no one could deny  that a    
mythos was the last and best growth of a
 national mind1 and that  in this case  
the characteristics of the ,greek mind  
were best gathered  from this creation4 
,ceres1 ,persephone1 and ,isis1 as well 
as ,rhea1 ,diana1 and so on1 seem  to be
 only modifications of one enfolding    
idea1--a goddess accepted by  all       
nations1 and not peculiar to ,greece4   
,the pilgrimages of the more  prominent 
of these goddesses1 ,ceres and ,isis1   
seem to indicate the life  which loses  
what is dear in childhood1 to seek in   
weary pain for what  after all can be   
but half regained4 ,ceres regained her  
daughter1 but only  for half the year4  
,isis found her husband1 but            
dismembered4 ,this era in  ,mythology   
seems to mark the progress of a people  
from an unconscious to  a conscious     

state4 ,persephone's periodical exile   
shows the impossibility  of resuming an 
unconsciousness from which we have been 
once aroused1 the  need thought has1    
having once felt the influence of the   
,seasons1 to  retire into itself4       
,,charles ,,wheeler reminded ,margaret  
that she had said that the predominant  
goddesses1 without reference to ,greece1
 enfolded only one idea1 that of  the   
female ,will or ,genius1--the bounteous 
giver4 ,he had asked her  if she could  
sustain herself by etymological facts1  
and she replied that  her knowledge of  
the ,greek was not critical enough4     
,since then he had  inquired into the   
origin of the proper names of the ,greek
 deities1 and  found that it confirmed  
her impression4 ,the names of ,rhea1    
,tellus1 ,isis1  and ,diana were        
resolvable into one1 and the difference 
in their etymology  was only a common   
and permissible change in the position  
of the letters  of which they are       
composed1 or a mere provincial dialectic

 change4 ,diana  is the same as ,dione1 
also one of the names of ,juno4    ,e4  
,p4 ,p4 asked if ,homer ever confounded 
the last two8 ,,margaret thought  not4  
,homer was purely objective4 ,he knew   
little and cared less about the         
primitive creation of the myths4    ,r4 
,w4 ,,emerson thought it would be very  
difficult to detect this secret4        
,jupiter1 for instance1 might have been 
a man who was the exponent of ,will  to 
his race4    ,,margaret said1 8,no2 they
 could have deduced him just as easily  
from  ,nature herself1 or from a single 
exhibition of will power40    ,r4 ,w4   
,,emerson said that a man like ,napoleon
 would easily have suggested  it4       
8,what a ,god-send is a ,napoleon60     
exclaimed ,,charles ,,wheeler2 8let us  
pray  for scores of such1 that a new and
 superior mythos may arise for us60 ,is 
it malicious to suspect a subtle irony  
turned against the sacred person  of ,r4
 ,w4 ,e4 in this speech8    ,,margaret  
retorted indignantly that if they came1 

we should do nothing  better than write 
memoirs of their hats1 coats1 and       
swords1 as we had  done already1 without
 thinking of any lesson they might      
teach4 ,she could  not see why we were  
not content to take the beautiful ,greek
 mythi as they  were1 without troubling 
ourselves about those which might arise 
for us6    ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 acknowledged that
 the ,greeks had a quicker perception of
 the  beautiful than we4 ,their genius  
lay in the material expression of it4   
,if  we knew the real meaning of the    
names of their ,deities1 the story would
  take to flight4 ,we should have only  
the working of abstract ideas as we     
might adjust them for ourselves4        
,,margaret said that a fable was more   
than a mere word4 ,it was a word of  the
 purest kind rather1 the passing of     
thought into form4 ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 had  made
 no allowance for time or space or      
climate1 and there was a want of  truth 
in that4 ,the age of the ,greeks was the
 age of ,poetry2 ours was the  age of   

,analysis4 ,we could not create a       
,mythology4    ,,emerson asked1 8,why   
not8 ,we had still better material40    
,,margaret said1 irrelevantly as it     
seemed to me1 that ,carlyle had         
attempted to deduce new principles from 
present history1 and that was the       
reason he did not respect the           
respectable4    ,,emerson said ,carlyle 
was unfortunate in his figures1 but we  
might have  mythology as beautiful as   
the ,greek4    ,,margaret thought each  
age of the world had its own work to do4
 ,the  transition of thought into form  
marked the ,greek period4 ,it was most  
easily done through fable1 on account of
 their intense perception of  beauty4   
,,emerson pursued his own train of      
thought4 ,he seemed to forget that we   
had come together to pursue ,margaret's4
 ,he said it was impossible that  men or
 events should stand out in a population
 of twenty millions as  they could from 
a population of a single million1 to    
which the whole  population of the      

ancient world could hardly have         
amounted4 ,as ,hercules  stood to       
,greece1 no modern man could ever stand 
in relation to his own  world4          
,,margaret thought ,hercules and        
,jupiter quite different creations4 ,the
  first might have been a deified life4 
,the second could not4    ,,charles     
,,wheeler said that ,r4 ,w4 ,e4's view  
carried no historical  obligation of    
belief with it4 ,we could not deny the  
heroic origin of the  ,greek demigods1  
but the highest dynasty was the exponent
 of translated  thought4    ,,sophia    
,,ripley asked if the life of an        
individual fitly interwoven  with her   
experience was not as fine a ,poem as   
the story of ,ceres1 her  wanderings and
 her tears8 ,did not ,margaret know such
 lives8    ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 thought every man
 had probably met his ,jupiter1 ,juno1  
,minerva1  ,venus1 or ,ceres in society6
    ,,margaret was sure she never had6  
,r4 ,w4 ,e4 explained3 8,not in the     
world1 but each on his own platform40   

,,william ,,story objected4 ,the life of
 an individual was not universal4 767   
,,sophia ,,ripley repeated1 8,the inner 
life40    ,,william ,,story claimed to  
be an individual1 and did not think     
individual  experience could ever meet  
all minds1--like the story of ,ceres1   
for  example4    ,,sophia said all      
experience was universal4    ,i said    
nothing1 but held this colloquy with    
myself4 ,thought is the best  of human  
nature2 its fulness urges expression3   
its need of being met1 not  only by one 
other but by every other1 craves it4    
,this craving is the  acknowledgment of 
the universal experience4 ,what is      
purely individual  is perishable4       
,identity is to be separated from       
individuality for this  cause4          
,,margaret said the element of beauty   
would be wanting to our creations4 ,a   
fine emotion glowed through features    
which seem to fall like a soft veil     
over the soul1 while it could scarce do 
more than animate those that were       

obtuse and coarse in every outline4 767 
8,then10 said ,,william ,,story1 and my 
heart thanked the preux                 
chevalier1--8then something is wanting  
in the emotion itself40    ,,william    
,,white said1 stupidly1 that sunlight   
could not fall with equal  charm on     
rocks and the green grass4 767    ,i    
asked if the rock could not give what it
 did not receive8 ,flung back by  rugged
 points and relieved by dark shadows1   
was not the sunlight itself             
transfigured8    ,,story said every face
 had its own beauty4 ,no act that was   
natural could  be ungraceful4           
,,emerson said that we all did sundry   
graceful acts1 in our caps and  tunics1 
which we never could do again1 which we 
never wanted to do again4    ,,margaret 
said1 at last we had touched the point4 
,we could not restore  the childhood of 
the world1 but could we not admire this 
simple plastic  period1 and gather from 
it some notion of the ,greek genius8    
,r4 ,w4 ,e4 thought this legitimate4 ,he

 would have it that we could not        
determine the origin of a mythos1 but we
 might fulfil ,miss ,fuller's           
intention4    ,,margaret said history   
reconciled us to life1 by showing that  
man had  redeemed himself4 ,genius      
needed that encouragement4    ,not      
,genius1 ,,sophia ,,ripley thought2     
common natures needed it1 but ,genius   
was self-supported4    ,,margaret said  
it might be the consolation of ,genius4 
,,mrs4 ,,russell asked why ,miss ,fuller
 found so much fault with the present4  
,,margaret had no fault to find with it4
 ,she took facts as they were4  ,every  
age did something toward fulfilling the 
cycle of mind4 ,the work of  the ,greeks
 was not ours4    ,,sophia ,,ripley     
asked if the mythology had been a       
prophecy of the ,greek  mind to itself1 
or if the nation had experienced life in
 any wide or deep  sense4    ,,margaret 
seemed a little out of patience1 and no 
wonder6 ,she said it did  not matter    
which4 ,the question was1 what could we 

find in the mythi1  and what did the    
,greeks mean that we should find there4 
,coleridge once  said that certain      
people were continually saying of       
,shakespeare1 that he  did not mean to  
impart certain spiritual meanings to    
some of his sketches  of life and       
character2 but if ,shakespeare did not  
mean it his ,genius did3  so if the     
,greeks meant not this or that1 the     
,greek genius meant it4    ,in relation 
to the progress of the ages1 ,,james ,f4
 ,,clarke said that the  story of       
,persephone concealed in the bowels of  
the earth for half the  year seemed to  
him to indicate something of their      
comparative states4  ,persephone was the
 seed which must return to earth before 
it could  fructify4 ,thought must retire
 into itself before it can be           
regenerate4    ,,margaret was pleased   
with this1 more especially as in the    
story of  the ,goddess it is eating the 
pomegranate1 whose seed is longest in   
germinating1 which dooms her to the     

realm of ,pluto4    ,,george ,,ripley   
remarked that we saw this need of       
withdrawal in the  slothful ages when   
mind seemed to be imbibing energy for   
future action4  ,the world sometimes    
forsook a quest and returned to it4 ,we 
had forsaken  ,beauty1 but we might     
return to it4    ,certainly1 ,,margaret 
assented4 ,a perfect mind would detect  
all beauty  in the hearth-rug at her    
feet3 the meanest part of creation      
contained  the whole2 but the labor we  
were now at to appreciate the ,greek    
proved  conclusively that we were not   
,greek4 ,a simple plastic nature would  
take it all in with delight1 without    
doubt or question4    ,or rather1       
amended ,,emerson1 would take it up and 
go forward with it4    ,it makes no     
difference1 said ,,margaret1 for we live
 in a circle4    ,i did not think it    
pleasant to track and retrack the same  
arc1 and  preferred to go forward with  
,r4 ,w4 ,e41 so ,i asked if there was to
 be no  higher poetry4    ,,margaret    

acknowledged that there was something   
beyond the aspiration of  the ,egyptian 
or the poetry of the ,greek4    ,,george
 ,,ripley thought we had not lost all   
reverence for these abstract  forces4   
,the ,eleusinian mysteries might be     
forgotten1 but not ,ceres4 ,we  did not 
worship in ignorance4 ,the mysteries led
 back to the ,infinite4 ,the  processes 
of vegetation were actually             
heart-rending6 ,here1 ,i thought1  was a
 basis for my higher poetry4    ,,george
 ,,ripley acknowledged that it was so4  
,he seemed to be more conscious  of the 
movement of the world than any of our   
party4 ,he said we must not  measure    
creation by ,boston and ,washington1 as 
we were too apt to do4  ,there was still
 ,france1 ,germany1 and                 
,prussia1--perhaps ,russia6 ,the work of
  this generation was not religious nor 
poetic2 still1 there was a tendency  to 
go back to both4 ,there were to be      
ultraisms1 but also1 he hoped1          
consistent development4    ,,charles    

,,wheeler then related the story of     
,isis1 of her hovering in the  form of a
 swallow round the tree in which the    
sarcophagus of ,osiris had  been        
enclosed by ,typhon2 of her being       
allowed to fell the tree2 of the  odor  
emitted by the royal maidens whom she   
touched1 which revealed her  ,divinity  
to the ,queen2 of the second loss of the
 body1 as she returned  home1 and its   
final dismemberment4    ,there was      
little success in spiritualizing more of
 this story than the  pilgrimage1 and   
,r4 ,w4 ,e4 seemed to feel this2 for    
when ,,margaret had  remarked that even 
a divine force must become as the birds 
of the air  to compass its ends1 and    
that it was in the carelessness of      
conscious  success that the second loss 
occurred1 he said that it was impossible
 to  detect an inner sense in all these 
stories4    ,,margaret replied1 that she
 had not attempted that1 but she could  
see it  in all the prominent points4    
,,charles ,,wheeler said that the       

varieties of anecdote proved that the   
stories were not all authentic4 ,it was 
an ancient custom to strike off  medals 
in honor of certain acts of the ,gods4  
,to these graven pictures the  common   
people gave their own vulgar            
interpretations1 as they did also to    
the bas-reliefs on their temples and    
monuments4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said this     
accounted for many of the stories       
transmitted by  ,homer4 ,when sculpture 
and architecture had lost their meaning1
 his  inventive genius was only the more
 stimulated to find one4    ,,charles   
,,wheeler asked what ,margaret would    
make of the story that the  tears of    
,isis frightened children to death8     
,there was a general laugh1 but         
,,margaret said coolly1 that children   
always  shrank from a baffled hope4     
,some one contrasted ,persephone with   
her mother4    ,,margaret assented to   
whatever was said1 and added that she   
had been  particularly struck with it in
 an engraving she had recently seen1 in 

which ,ceres stood with lifted eyes1    
full-eyed1 matronly1 bounteous1  ready  
to give all to all1 while ,persephone1  
dejected and thoughtful1  sat           
meditating2 and the idea was            
strengthened by her discovering that    
,persephone was the same as ,ariadne the
 deserted4 ,i could only guess at  the  
remark by ,margaret's comment4 ,it      
seemed to imply baffled hope for        
,persephone4    ,the ,eleusinian        
mysteries were now alluded to4 ,although
 it has been said  that only moral      
precepts were inculcated through these1 
,,wheeler urged  that a whole school of 
,continental authors now acknowledged   
that the  higher doctrines of philosophy
 were taught4    ,r4 ,w4 ,e4 added1 that
 as initiation became more easy such    
instruction  must have degenerated into 
a mere matter of form1 and many of the  
uninitiated surpass the initiated in    
wisdom4    ,,margaret admitted this4    
,socrates was one of the uninitiated4   
,the crowd  seldom felt the full force  

of beauty in ,art or ,literature4 ,to   
prove it1  it was only necessary to walk
 once through the ,hall of ,sculpture at
 the  ,athenum1 and catch the remarks of
 any half-dozen on ,michael ,angelo's   
8,day and ,night40 ,he would be         
fortunate who heard a single observer   
comment on its power4    ,,mrs4         
,,russell asked why the images of the   
sun and moon were introduced  into these
 mysterious celebrations4    ,,margaret 
asked impatiently why they had always   
been invoked by every  child who could  
string two rhymes together4    ,i said  
that if ,ceres was the simple           
agricultural productive energy1  of     
course the sun was her first minister1  
its genial influence being as  manifest 
as the energy itself4    ,in regard to  
the etymology of the proper names1 it   
seemed reasonable to  me that this      
energy should have gained attributes as 
it did names4 ,any  nation devoted to   
the chase would learn to call the lunar 
deity ,diana2  any devoted to the       

cultivation of grain would project her  
as ,ceres4 ,the  reproductive powers of 
flocks and herds would suggest ,rhea or 
,juno1 and  philosophy or art would     
invoke ,persephone4    ,when we were    
talking about beauty1 ,j4 ,f4 ,c4 quoted
 ,goethe1 and said that  the spirit     
sometimes made a mistake and clothed    
itself in the wrong  garment4           
,c4 ,w4 ,,healey4        ,march #i1     
#ahda4          ,,iii4      ,the third  
conversation was delayed by ,margaret's 
illness1 and finally  took place--      
,march #ai1 #ahda4    ,,margaret again  
complained that we wandered from the    
subject1 and told the  following story  
from ,novalis4    ,imagine a room1 on   
one side of it ,eros and ,fable at play4
 ,on the other1  before a marble slab on
 which rests a vase of pure water1 sits 
a fair  woman named ,sophia4 ,her head  
rests upon her hand4 ,between her and   
the  children sits a man of reverend    
age1 before a table at which he writes  
whatever has been or is4 ,this is       

,history2 and as he finishes each sheet 
he hands it to ,sophia1 who dips it in  
the vase of pure water1 from which  it  
often emerges a perfect blank4          
,sometimes a few lines1 at others a few 
words1 sometimes only a punctuation     
mark1 survive the test4 ,this troubles  
the old man4 ,at last he rises and      
leaves the room4 ,fable springs to his  
vacant seat1 and scribbles as if in play
 till his return1 when ,history         
reproves her for wasting the paper1 and 
passes the sheet to ,sophia1 when1  lo6 
it comes out from her vase unchanged4   
,fable has borne the test of  ,truth4   
,history is enraged at this1 and        
succeeds in driving both ,sophia  and   
,fable from their home1 unfairly4       
,sophia is driven away1 but the child   
escapes by a back door1 and1 becoming   
bewildered in the central caverns  of   
the ,earth1 falls into the power of the 
,fates4    ,these respectable old ladies
 find the little ,fable very            
troublesome1 and1  after some scolding1 

send her away to spin1 when1 lo6 from   
the recesses  of the cavern all sorts of
 wonders and strange shapes are spun    
out4 ,the  ,fates are frightened1 and   
they seek ,history to learn in what     
manner  they may best rid themselves of 
the intruder4 ,however much they may    
dislike her1 she is under their         
protection1 and ,history can do no more 
than advise them to send her out to     
catch ,tarantulas6 ,fable departs and   
meets ,eros1 who gives her a lyre1 upon 
which she plays1 and the venomous       
insects swarm about her4 ,the ,fates    
behold her return unharmed6 ,they had   
hoped she would be stung to death1 and  
in despair ,ate throws her scissors  at 
the child1 who gracefully avoids them4  
,hereupon the ,tarantulas sting  the    
,fates in the feet1 at which they begin 
to dance4 ,as their clothes are  thick  
and heavy1 this is rather inconvenient  
exercise1 and when ,fable  laughs at    
their distress they send her away to    
spin them some thin  dresses4 ,fable is 

tired of wandering4 ,she plays upon her 
lyre to the  ,tarantulas1 bidding them  
spin1 and she will give them three large
 flies4  ,when the dresses are done1 she
 carries them immediately to the ,fates1
 who  begin again to dance4 ,the ends of
 the threads are still in the bodies of 
the ,tarantulas1 who do not like to be  
jerked about4 8,behold the flies  which 
,i promised you10 said ,fable4          
,thereupon the ,tarantulas fall upon the
 dancing ,fates1 and a new dynasty      
commences1 in which ,eros reigns1 with  
,fable for prime minister4    ,,margaret
 said that in the story she had told she
 had set us the example  of wandering   
from the subject1 but she hoped to some 
purpose4 ,she  hoped no one would have  
need to call upon little ,fable's       
body-guard of  ,tarantulas4    ,the     
subject of the evening was ,apollo in   
contrast with ,ceres1 or ,genius        
opposed to ,productive ,energy4 ,the    
history of ,apollo stood for the        
history of thought1 its progressive     

development and its unhappiness4  ,all  
the loves of ,apollo are miserable4 ,he 
never labors for himself4 ,he  uses the 
instruments which others have shaped4   
,he is so delighted with  the lyre1     
which ,mercury1 that is ,sagacity1 has  
made1 that he gives him  the            
divining-rod1 and would give him more1  
but he cannot4 ,the earnest  simplicity 
with which ,apollo begs ,mercury to     
swear by the sacred ,styx not  to steal 
his quiver or his darts is beautiful6   
,the common understanding1  mere human  
sagacity1 may indeed lay hands on the   
weapons of the ,inspired  ,one1 but it  
cannot possess them4 ,the ray1 the dart1
 the quiver1 of ,apollo  all stand for  
the instantaneous power of thought4     
,delphi did not originally belong to    
,apollo4 ,with the aid of ,bacchus1 he  
wrested it from ,terra1 ,neptune1 and   
,themis2 hence the name 8,delphi10 or   
8,the brothers40 ,this is only another  
instance of his independence4 ,all      
things are made to his hand4 ,the great 

contrast between ,ceres and ,apollo     
lies in the success of each4 ,ceres is  
always full1 always prepared to  meet   
the call of humanity4 ,apollo is always 
unsatisfied4 ,he transmutes  whatever he
 touches1 as he did one of his many     
loves1 changed to a  bay-tree4 ,his     
changes are always beautiful4    ,,james
 ,f4 ,,clarke asked how ,margaret would 
explain the fraternal relation  between 
,bacchus and ,apollo4    8,don't you    
remember80 she retorted4 8,i don't like 
to repeat it1 it is so  smart and       
ingenious60 ,apollo and ,bacchus seemed 
to her the question and  the response4  
,bacchus was what the earth yielded to  
the touch of ,genius4  ,the grape was   
genial4 ,it typified the excess of the  
earth's fruitfulness4  ,bacchus avenges 
the wrongs of ,apollo1 who is said never
 to have seen a  shadow6 ,he never      
perceives an obstacle1 but instantly    
destroys an alien  nature4 ,whatever    
opposed ,apollo met with terrible       
retribution1--if not  from himself1 then

 from others4 ,genius cannot endure the 
presence of  anything that mocks at it4 
,,charles ,,wheeler said something about
 the flaying of ,marsyas4    ,,margaret 
said that this once seemed to her the   
most shocking of  cruelties1 but she had
 lately seen a picture which reconciled 
her to the  deed6 ,after looking at the 
self-complacent face of ,marsyas1 she   
did not  wonder that ,apollo destroyed  
him4 ,she longed to see him do it6      
,apollo  was never indignant at any     
sublime treachery4 ,he forgave ,mercury 
his  theft because it was god-like1     
because he did it so well4    ,,mrs4    
,,russell said ironically that the      
destruction of the children of  ,niobe  
must have been a gratifying sight4      
,,margaret laughed1 and said1 8,that is 
like being reminded of the #8poor       
mariner1' when ,i say that ,i like to   
hear the wind blow40 ,the indignation   
of ,apollo seemed to her one of his     
noblest attributes4 ,his perfect purity 
separated him from all the ,gods4 ,ceres

 seemed to be included in the idea  of  
many other ,gods1 as in ,pan1 ,bacchus1 
,juno1 and ,isis2 but ,apollo1 the      
divine ,genius1 stands alone4 ,there is 
none like him4    ,,henry ,,hedge asked 
whether holiness appertained to ,apollo4
    ,,margaret thought not4 ,holiness   
supposed a voluntary consecration of    
one's  self1 but there was no need of   
this in ,apollo4 ,he was pure thought1  
consecrated1 but not consciously4       
,,henry ,,hedge said he had asked1      
because1 considering ,jesus to have1 as 
he certainly had1 a mythological        
character1 he thought there was a       
resemblance between him and ,apollo4    
,his own words justified the idea1--8,i 
am the light of the world10 and so on4  
,,mrs4 ,,russell asked suddenly why     
,apollo's lyre had seven strings4       
,,margaret said seven was a consecrated 
number4    ,,mrs4 ,,russell asked if it 
did not have to do with the seven       
planets8    ,,george ,,ripley said there
 were not so many in that day4          

,,margaret liked the reason1 and wished 
she had thought of it herself6    ,some 
one asked about the connection between  
,diana and ,apollo4    ,,margaret said  
that ,genius needed a sister to console 
him4    ,,emerson asked what bearing the
 inscription over the ,delphic temple   
had  upon the story of ,apollo1--the    
,divine pun ,,ei1 which means equally   
8,thou  art0 and 8,if10--as grand a pun 
as that of him who1 dying1 said he was  
going to see the great 8,perhaps06--8le 
grand peut-tre40    ,better translated1 
,i thought1 as the great 8,may-be40     
,,george ,,ripley asked if it were not  
generally accepted positively as 8,thou 
art08    8,probably10 ,,mr4 ,,emerson   
said4    ,,henry ,,hedge found another  
type of the ,apollo in the ,egyptian    
,horus4    ,,mrs4 ,,russell asked if the
 two ,greek vowels had not once stood   
for ,isis  and ,osiris4 ,if so1 they    
would have a natural connection with the
 oracle4    ,i remembered the           
inscription on the statue of ,isis1 8,i 

am all that has  been and that shall be1
 and none among mortals has taken off my
 veil40  ,the 8,i am0 of the ,jews1 and 
the 8,thou art0 of the ,delphic temple  
are  epigrammatic1 but the same4        
,,emerson1 replying somewhat curtly to  
,mrs4 ,russell1 said there were  various
 explanations4    ,the story of ,phaeton
 came next4    ,,henry ,,hedge asked how
 ,presumption should be the child of    
,genius4    8,genius must be            
self-confident10 ,margaret said1 8and   
that might  predominate40    ,i asked if
 real ,genius did not know its own      
resources and husband them4             
,,margaret thought ,genius often        
attempted more than it could do4    ,i  
said a man might have genius and        
presume1 but that if he were a  genius  
,i should expect him to be modest4      
,still1 as it must have a crowd  of     
imitators1 it might become the father of
 presumption4 ,the substance  creates   
the shadow4    ,,william ,,story said no
 product could be as great as the       

producing power2  but that did not seem 
to me to touch the point1 for the       
question was not  whether ,apollo could 
not give birth to something less than   
himself1 but  whether the possession of 
power could create an unfounded claim to
 it4    ,the story of ,latona followed4 
,,henry ,,hedge said that the word meant
 concealment4    ,,margaret thought this
 very expressive1 and said that the     
isolation which  ,goethe and other      
geniuses had been craving since the     
world began ,apollo  had no need to     
seek4 ,his mother was concealment4 ,the 
oracle was then  discussed1--how it was 
possible to consult it many times and   
receive each  time a different          
answer1--how it could be bribed1 as by  
,alexander1 or  would give two answers  
in one2 but nothing very new was said4  
,i remembered the double answer of the  
,pythoness to ,crsus when he  meditated 
crossing the ,halys4 8,thou shalt       
destroy a great empire10 she  said4 ,he 
thought it was the enemy's3 fate decided

 it should be his own4    ,,sophia      
,,ripley thought the oracle belonged to 
,wisdom rather than ,genius4            
,,margaret said ,minerva dwelt in men's 
houses4 ,it was necessary a voice  from 
,heaven should speak4    ,some one      
wondered that ,jupiter had not possessed
 himself of the oracle1  which led      
,,margaret back to her exponents1 and   
she confessed that she was  not quite   
satisfied with her own definition of    
,jupiter as ,will4    ,,emerson         
suggested that experience was a         
prominent feature in the  ,jupiter1 and 
named him ,character4    ,character is  
educated ,will1 said ,,margaret1        
hesitating1 and paused1 for  the term   
did not suit her4    ,juno was then     
spoken of as passive ,will1 and her     
traits were dwelt upon4  ,it is amusing 
to see how weak the ,queen of ,olympus  
can be in opposition  to its ,king4 ,the
 peacock was probably made sacred to her
 on account of  the beauty of its       
plumage1 while the eagle was consecrated

 to ,jupiter on  account of its         
strength4    ,i said that the peacock1  
strutting with conceit1 glancing at its 
ill-shaped feet and vexed enough to bawl
 in consequence1 easily suggested  the  
scolding ,juno4    ,some one asked a    
question about sculapius4 ,,margaret    
said he was genius  made practical4     
,,henry ,,hedge thought that ,apollo by 
his own connection with the healing  art
 became the symbol of physical life and 
beauty4    ,,william ,,story thought no 
statue could bear comparison with the   
,apollo  ,belvedere4    ,,margaret      
preferred the ,antinous4    ,,james     
,,clarke asked why ,art should present a
 so much more inspiring view  of ,greek 
,mythology than ,poetry4    ,,margaret  
said that all her ideas of it were      
deduced from ,art4 ,she did  not profess
 to know much of the ,greek authors1 and
 depended chiefly upon  ,homer1 but     
wished that some of the gentlemen who   
ought to know more would  speak4        
,,william ,,story thought it was because

 the poets wrote for popular  applause1 
for recitation and its immediate effect4
 ,sculptors labored more  purely for    
their ,art4    ,i thought too that the  
dramatists often had a political aim1   
and  manuvred ,olympus to suit it6      
,,james ,,clarke said that if in our    
time every public speaker must bend to  
his audience to a degree1 it was still  
more necessary in ,greece4    ,we were  
told to consider ,minerva for the next  
conversation1 and to write  down our    
thoughts about her4 ,for my part ,i     
don't like using ,latin names  for      
,greek deities4 ,it greatly confuses my 
ideas4 ,jupiter and ,zeus seem  very    
different to me4    ,in regard to the   
story that ,apollo never saw a shadow1  
,,caroline ,,sturgis  asked how ,apollo 
could destroy an alien nature if he     
never met it4    ,there was quite an    
unsatisfactory talk about this1 which   
would have ended  had anybody remembered
 how the sun solves the enigma every    
day4 ,the  sun never sees the shadow it 

destroys4 ,when its rays fall1 light is4
 ,it  annihilates the alien by merely   
being4 ,so ,truth annihilates           
,falsehood1  yet cannot meet it4 ,the   
two are never in one presence4          
,,caroline ,,wells ,,healey4            
,march #bj1 #ahda4          ,,iv4       
,march #bf1 #ahda4    ,,margaret opened 
our talk by saying that the subject of  
,wisdom presented  more conversable     
points than that of ,genius4 ,we could  
all think and talk  about ,wisdom1 and  
any man who had ever scratched his      
finger was to a  degree wise4           
,minerva was the child of ,counsel and  
,intelligent ,will4 ,she had no         
infancy1 but sprang full-armed into     
being4 ,ready1 agile1 she was in        
herself the history of thought4 ,she did
 not need that her life should be  one  
of incident4 ,her attendant emblems are 
expressive3 the ,sphinx1 the  owl1 the  
serpent1 the cock1 and the javelin      
suggest her whole story4    ,,william   
,,white asked why ,genius was masculine 

and ,wisdom feminine4    ,,margaret     
thought no one could find any difficulty
 in the fact that ,genius  was          
masculine4 ,it presented itself to the  
mind in the full glow of power4  ,the   
very outlines of the feminine form were 
yielding1 and we could not  associate   
them with a prominent1 self-conscious   
state of the faculties4  ,wisdom was    
like woman1 always ready for the fight  
if necessary1 yet never  going to it2   
taking reality as a basis1 and          
classifying and arranging  upon it all  
that ,genius creates1--seeing the       
relations and proper values  of things4 
,,george ,,ripley objected to this      
definition4 ,he might have imbibed a    
,hebrew  idea1 but the office of ,wisdom
 was surely something more than this1--a
  purely mechanical and orderly tact4   
,,margaret said she had not meant to    
give our view of it1 only the ,greek    
idea as manifest in the story of        
,minerva4 ,to ,william ,white she said1 
smiling1 that she supposed he had not   

wondered so much that ,genius should  be
 masculine as that ,wisdom should be    
feminine6 ,but the ,greeks were wise1   
and she revered their keen perception4  
,,elisabeth ,,hoar said it seemed to her
 that ,wisdom provided means4 ,a hero   
might be inspired by ,genius1 but       
,wisdom provided his armor1 taught him  
to  distinguish the goal1 and to        
perceive clearly the relation to it of  
any  onward step4    ,,margaret agreed  
to this1 and    ,,william ,,story said  
that ,genius was indebted to ,wisdom for
 means of  communication4 ,genius thinks
 words impertinent1 but ,wisdom         
apprehends  its intuitions1 and gives   
them shape4    ,,margaret said further1 
that ,wisdom must adopt instinctively   
the finest  medium4    ,it seemed to me 
that ,wisdom not only gave power of     
communication1 but  power of attainment4
 ,walter ,scott was a good instance of  
the union of  intuitive perception and  
human sagacity1 but all these words     
about it  cleared up nothing4           

,,margaret then proposed that we should 
take up the attributes of ,minerva1  and
 so get at the facts4    ,,mr4 ,,ripley 
did not think it noble enough when she  
based ,wisdom upon  realities4          
,,william ,,story said ,wisdom must have
 something to work upon4 ,he thought    
,wisdom compared the intuitions of      
,genius with realities4    ,,charles    
,,wheeler thought the word actual would 
help them out of their  difficulty4     
,i wanted to quote ,emerson to the      
effect that the ,ideal is more ,real    
than  the ,actual4    ,,margaret agreed 
with ,mr4 ,wheeler1 and said that by    
reality she understood  anything        
incarnated1--whatever was tangible4 ,she
 then went on to speak of  the ,sphinx4 
,what was it8    ,,elisabeth ,,hoar     
seemed surprised at the question4 ,was  
it not one thing to  everybody8         
,,margaret called for her idea1 but she 
would not give it4    ,,margaret said   
that to herself it represented the      
development of a  thought1 founding     

itself upon the animal1 until it grew   
upward into calm1  placid power4 ,she   
revered these good ancients1 who did not
 throw away any  of the gifts of ,god2  
who were neither materialists nor       
immaterialists1  but who made matter    
always subservient to the highest ends  
of the ,spirit4    ,,william ,,white    
asked if the festivals of the ,gods1 the
 highest source  of their influence over
 the people1 did not show how little    
they had  penetrated to the spirit of   
things8    ,,margaret thought ambrosia  
and nectar were proper emblems of       
,divine ,joy4  ,they were not to be     
taken literally4    8,but10 persisted   
,,white1 8the great body of the people  
thought them so40    ,,william ,,story  
said1 with happy grace1 that the great  
body of the people  might be excused for
 such a thought4    ,,margaret enjoyed  
the pun1 and said that the great ,greek 
body was sensuous  and ate1 but that the
 ,greek soul knew better than to suspect
 the ,gods of  opening their mouths4    

,e4 ,p4 ,p4 waked up at this moment1 and
 asked what ,margaret would say to      
,berkeley's theory4    ,,margaret said  
she did not know what it was6    ,e4 ,p4
 ,p4 said1 the evolution of all things  
from the soul1 the  non-existence of    
matter4    ,,james ,p4 ,,clarke thought 
it very difficult to decide how far     
spirit and  matter were one4 ,a man's   
identity was not in the particles which 
came  and went every seven years1 but in
 the spirit4 ,yet these particles       
constituted the wall of separation      
between himself and others4 ,his        
identity was in his spirit4    ,,george 
,,ripley begged leave to disagree4 ,he  
thought we knew as much about  matter as
 about spirit1 and that ,berkeley's     
theory was as good as any4    ,,margaret
 said that if ,god created matter1 of   
course it was evolved from  spirit2 that
 matter could not be antagonistic to    
that from which it was  evolved4 ,to    
express a complete idea1 we had only to 
say1 8,jehovah1 ,i am40    8,or10       

,,charles ,,wheeler added1 8to be       
silent40    8,yes10 said ,,margaret1    
8and in that lies the merit of          
,mythology4 ,every  faculty was1        
according to that1 an incomplete        
statement4 ,therefore ,mr4  ,ripley did 
wrong to confound ,minerva with the     
,logos40    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 did not see that
 ,berkeley's statement was answered4    
,,william ,,story came in with another  
pun4 8,if ,berkeley thought so1 it was  
no matter60    ,some stupid person      
spoiled the wit by trying to explain it1
 and the  question remained to us just  
as much matter as ever4    ,they talked 
about the ,sphinx again1 yet said       
little4 ,it holds more  meaning in its  
passive womb than talk will ever play   
the midwife to4  ,it was the child of   
the ,destructive ,element and           
,feeling1--,typhon and  ,echidna1--the  
human heart experienced in misfortune   
touched by death4  ,thought rooted in   
the actual and developed by tenderness  
was rooted in  this figure4             

8,everybody knows that ,wisdom stings10 
said ,,margaret1 and so we went on to   
the serpent4    ,somebody spoke of the  
,greek ,tartarus4    ,,ida ,,russell    
thought its torment was not acute1 but  
consisted of the  deprivation of        
comforts4    ,the wandering idleness of 
it would be intolerable to an active    
,greek1  ,,elisabeth ,,hoar thought1 but
 more endurable than any device of a    
priesthood4 ,as for our serpent1 no one 
seemed to know much about it4           
,,margaret said that we owed it so much1
 that she felt in duty bound to  know   
something of it4    ,,james ,f4 ,,clarke
 said that the ,christian serpent was   
quite another thing4    ,everybody      
laughed at the idea of a ,christian     
serpent4    ,,william ,,white professed 
great admiration for the reptile4 ,we   
should have  had no ,christianity but   
for its beguiling4    ,,margaret        
agreed6--and said she supposed everybody
 felt that4    ,,mrs4 ,,russell thought 
the casting of the skin very expressive4

    ,,james ,f4 ,,clarke gave           
,coleridge's exposition1 to the effect  
that the  serpent was the common        
understanding6 ,it would touch and      
handle all  things1 and even sought to  
be as the ,gods1 knowing good from evil4
 ,its  undulating motion--its belly now 
on the ground1 now off--expressed both  
the aspiration and the subserviency of  
the creature4    ,,margaret asked if    
serpents ever swallowed their own tails8
    ,,charles ,,wheeler said that must  
be an arbitrary form4    ,,margaret     
replied1 that she had been struck by the
 difference between the  ,mexican and   
the ,greek serpent4 ,the ,mexican was   
folded back upon itself4    ,not always1
 ,i said4 ,its tail is sometimes in its 
mouth1 and the  variations seem to be   
occasioned by the architectural         
necessity4    ,,james ,f4 ,,clarke spoke
 of a ,virginia snake that moves in a   
circle1 and  asked if when ,mr4 ,emerson
 talked about 8coming full circle0 he   
was not  thinking of that8    ,,margaret

 laughed1 and declared that serpent must
 be of ,yankee invention4  sculapius    
bore two on his staff1 ,mercury two on  
his divining-rod1 and  the cock was also
 sacred to sculapius4    ,i asked if    
this did not indicate a certain         
subjection of these ,gods to  ,wisdom8  
,some questions written on paper were   
here read4 ,one asked why ,minerva was  
born of the stroke of ,vulcan1 and why  
she was the patroness of weavers1  and  
what that had to do with the story of   
,arachne4    ,,margaret replied with ill
 temper to the first1 that it was       
because ,vulcan  held the hammer1--to   
the second1 that she did not know4      
,but was there really so little meaning 
in the fact that ,mechanic ,art so      
ministered to ,intelligent ,will that   
she could afford to miss the point8     
,she said we could see that ,minerva was
 told to marry ,vulcan1 but  declined2  
would have nothing to do with the sooty 
cripple4    ,,sophia ,,ripley said1     
aptly enough1 that ,minerva had been    

changing her mind  ever since6    ,,ida 
,,russell thought that when ,mechanic   
,art was married to ,beauty1 it  might  
charm even ,wisdom4    ,,george ,,ripley
 said she might well have despised the  
brute force1 but as  it grew into       
something more noble1 have learned to   
love it4 ,dr4 ,dana#b  was the servant  
of the ,lowell corporation4 ,in these   
days no corporation  could exist without
 its man of science4 ,his salary was a  
mere pittance1  and when he made a      
discovery with which all ,europe rang1  
he asked for a  part of the profits4    
8,we will consider10 said the soulless  
corporation1  and they decided that they
 had a legitimate right to all that     
could be  made out of their servant6    
8,thus10 ,i said1 8,wisdom sows for the 
,mechanic ,art to reap80    8,exactly   
so10 was the reply2 8and this contains  
the essence of the ,yankee  philosophy40
    ,the life of ,wisdom was one long   
struggle for something beyond a merely  
serviceable knowledge4 ,bending alike to

 art and artisan1 she still  refused to 
love the latter till he had wooed       
,beauty to their common  service4 ,but  
,wisdom has of late married ,vulcan4 ,he
 no longer limps1 and  has washed his   
face in the springs of love and thought1
 and sits in  holiday robes beside his  
bride4    ,somebody said that the story 
of ,arachne was an instance of the      
,goddess's  vindictiveness4             
,,margaret hoped that the vindictiveness
 was a popular interpolation4 ,if  so1  
the story of ,marsyas shows that she was
 malicious4 ,she brought his            
misfortunes upon him4 ,if her own voice 
was discordant1 there was no  reason why
 his voice should please6               
8,divinities have a right to be         
indignant10 said somebody4 ,did         
,margaret  blush8    ,in speaking of the
 artistic representations of ,minerva1  
,,margaret said  some beautiful things4 
,minerva was as tall and large as she   
could be1  without being masculine4 ,her
 face was thoughtful and serene1 without

  being sweet4 ,her eye was so full and 
clear that it had no need to be deep4   
,the talk was closed by ,margaret's     
reading the ,essay that ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 had 
sent in1 and the criticisms upon it4    
,e4 ,p4 ,p4 began by speaking of the    
conservatism which disinclined  ,jupiter
 to the birth of ,minerva4    8,yes10   
,,margaret said1 8the good was always   
opposed to the better40    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4  
then spoke of the ,parthenon1 upon      
which1 according to the  ,homeric ,hymn1
 the story of ,minerva's birth was      
sculptured4    ,,margaret said it had   
been difficult to believe that the      
,greeks would put  so ugly a thing upon 
their temple1 but the ruins showed a    
,vulcan with his  hammer in his hand1   
and the form of the ,goddess hovering   
over the cloven  skull4    ,why1 asked  
,e4 ,p4 ,p41 did ,ulysses represent     
,wisdom in the ,odyssey8    ,,margaret  
thought he represented the history of a 
thought in life1 when  he tired us all  
out with his long story1 and so pushed  

us to decision4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 alluded  
to the different conceptions of ,minerva
 in the ,iliad and  the ,odyssey1 and   
this led to the question of priority of 
composition4    ,,margaret thought the  
,odyssey was written when ,homer was    
young and  romantic2 but ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 and
 myself stood out stoutly for the       
precedence of  the ,iliad4 ,i said1     
without the least bit of real knowledge1
 that ,i should  not wonder if there    
were two centuries between the poems1   
they seemed to  indicate such entirely  
different states of society2 but        
certainly the  ,odyssey was latest4     
,,charles ,,wheeler said that the best  
scholars seemed all of one mind4 ,the   
,iliad was written first by ,homer1--the
 ,odyssey long after by another hand4   
,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said that there was a gem   
which represented ,minerva as married   
to a mortal1 but she could tell nothing 
more about it4    ,,jones ,,very said   
that when ,wisdom falls into decay we   
call it ,genius6    ,does that mean that

 prophetic power fallen back from the   
moral nature to  the intellect is       
dwarfed accordingly8                    
,,caroline ,w4 ,,healey4        ,march  
#bg1 #ahda4          ,v4                
,april #b1 #ahda4    ,the story of      
,venus and ,cupid and ,psyche was       
discussed4    ,,margaret said that of   
,venus she had less to say than of      
either of the  preceding ,deities6 ,she 
was not the expression of a thought1 but
 of  a fact4 ,she was the ,greek idea of
 a lovely woman1--the best physical     
development of woman4 ,when we have     
said1 8,it is10 we have said all4 ,the  
birth of ,beauty was the only ideal     
thing about her4 ,she sprang from the   
wave1 from the flux and reflux of       
things1 from the undulating line4 ,on   
this ,venus1 transitoriness had set its 
seal4 ,as we look at her1 we feel  that 
she must change4 ,her loveliness is too 
fair to last4 ,her beauty  would pass   
next moment4 ,she could not live a year1
 we think1 without  losing something of 

her full grace4 ,it was peculiarly      
,greek to create a  beautiful symbol1   
and to pause in the symbol4 ,the ,greeks
 were very apt to  do this4 ,they did it
 effectually in the ,goddess of ,love4  
,she was sportive  in all her amours4   
,they had no idea of an ,everlasting    
,love4 ,they enjoyed  themselves too    
much to abstract themselves4 ,venus     
seemed to ,margaret a  merely human     
creature4 ,she was not the type of      
,universal ,beauty3 the  ,greek eye was 
closed to that4 ,still1 their own       
embodiment did not satisfy  their own   
need4 ,they filled out their ideal with 
,venus ,urania1 ,hebe1 and  all the     
attendant ,hours and ,graces1 yet were  
not satisfied4 ,then came the  fable of 
,psyche and her three ,cupids4 ,venus   
was only a pretty girl6 ,her  cestus1   
her doves1 her pets1 her jealousies1 all
 betray it4 ,the ,venus  ,urania was    
more4 ,she was the child of ,celestial  
,light4 ,hebe was born of  immortal     
bloom4 ,to fill out the gaps in their   

conception1 ,eros1 or ,love  in         
,sadness1 ,cupid a frolicsome boy1 and  
the more noble1 more creative  ,love    
which brooded over ,chaos were evolved  
from their consciousness4  ,psyche1 who 
did not appear until the age of         
,augustus1 who was too modern  to be    
mythological1 yet glowing with mythic   
beauty1 was only another  evidence of   
their imperfect idea4 ,her story        
expresses more than that of  ,venus4 ,it
 tells not only the story of human love1
 but represents the  pilgrimage of a    
soul4 ,the jealousy of ,venus was that  
which the good must  always feel toward 
the better which is to supersede it1 and
 as soon as  ,psyche looked upon her    
sleeping lover she became immortal4 ,the
 soul in  the fulness of ,love became   
conscious of ,destiny4    ,,james       
,,clarke asked what was the difference  
between the girl-mother--the            
,madonna--and the ,greek ,venus4        
,,margaret replied1 with more patience  
than ,i was capable of1 that the        

,madonna represented more than passing  
womanly beauty4 ,she was prophetic1  and
 lived again in her child4    ,then1    
persisted ,,james ,f41 why was ,vulcan  
the husband of ,beauty1 to  which       
,margaret gave no satisfactory answer4  
,he then gave his own thought1  to which
 ,i can do no justice1 although it was  
what ,i tried in vain to  say at the    
last conversation4 ,it amounted to      
this1--that in seeking for  beauty we   
lose it1 but in aiming at utility       
through hard labor we find  perfect     
proportion--and consequently perfect    
beauty4 ,he said that he and  his sister
 ,sarah had often spoken to each other  
about this1 and he felt  that the time  
would come when essays would be written 
about our ships1  as we now write essays
 about the ,pyramids and the ,greek     
,art4 ,posterity  might find the proof  
of our search after beauty in the       
graceful prow  and swelling hold and    
tall1 tapering mast or shrouds of       
shredded jet2  in the bellying canvas   

and the patron saint which watches the  
wake from  the stern4 ,but we know that 
the ship1 the most beautiful object in  
our  modern world1 was the product of   
labor1 gradually evoked1 according to   
the law of fitness1 compass1 and general
 proportion4 ,to bring its form  into a 
natural relation to wind and wave1 was  
to find perfect harmony  and beauty4 ,at
 first the prow was too sharp1 and the  
water had rushed  over it2 the hold was 
too shallow1 and she sat ungracefully   
where she now  rides as mistress4       
,,emerson quoted some ,german author to 
the same effect4    ,,mr4 ,,clarke said 
there was something in one of ,r4 ,w4   
,e4's own ,essays which  expressed the  
same thing4    ,,emerson laughed and    
said1 8,very important authority10 and  
would have  changed the subject1 when-- 
,,william ,,white said that it did not  
tally well with ,james ,clarke's theory 
that the ugly steamer had succeeded the 
beautiful clipper4    ,,mr4 ,,clarke    
said the theory failed only because     

there was no noble end in  view4 ,the   
steamer was not intended to be in       
harmony with ,nature4    ,,emerson asked
 if the ,greeks had no symbol for       
natural beauty4 ,several  were suggested
 that he would not accept1 but he       
finally took ,diana on  ,charles        
,wheeler's suggestion4    ,,wheeler then
 spoke of the birth of ,venus4 ,he said 
many writers thought  the story as late 
as that of ,psyche1 and the line of     
,hesiod relating to  it an              
interpolation4    ,,margaret thought she
 should have suspected this if she had  
never heard  it4 ,the thought it        
expressed was too comprehensive to be in
 keeping with  the remainder of her     
story4    ,,charles ,,wheeler would not 
accept the criticism1 but went on to    
talk about  the marriage of ,venus with 
,mars1 which had amazed ,olympus4       
,,margaret said the ,olympian ,deities  
were like modern men1 who talk to  women
 forever about their softness and       
delicacy1 until women imagine  that the 

only good thing in man is a strong arm4 
,the girl elopes with  a red coat1 and  
the indignant lords of creation wonder  
why she did not  appreciate their modest
 merit and unobtrusive virtues4 ,poor   
,beauty weeps  out the crimson stain    
upon her escutcheon in a long age of    
suffering4    ,a laugh followed this    
bright sally1 and then somebody said    
that ,venus  once married ,mercury4     
,,margaret declared that must be an     
interpolation1 for there were no points 
of sympathy between the ,goddess of     
beauty and the ,god of craft4    ,,james
 ,,clarke did not know about that2 he   
thought that the finish and             
completeness of the late robbery of     
,davis1 ,palmer1  ,co4 constituted a    
kind of beauty6    ,,margaret said that 
affair was altogether grand2 she had    
never heard of  anything so ,greek as   
,williamson's exclaiming1 8,gentlemen6  
you will not  deprive me of the         
implements of my trade80 ,she could not 
help respecting  his impudence6 ,the    

,greeks ought to be respected for       
developing every  human faculty into    
deity4 ,she thought lying1 stealing1 and
 so forth  only excesses of a good      
faculty2 and so did the ,greeks1 for in 
their  mistaken way they had deified    
,mercury4 ,the ,spartans taught their   
children  to steal1 and the ,greeks     
universally acknowledged that to cheat  
was  honorable if it could be concealed4
    ,i remembered the passage in the    
8,republic0 where ,polemarchus confesses
  that he had learned from ,homer to    
admire ,autolycus1 grand sire of        
,ulysses1 distinguished above all men   
for his thefts and oaths6  ,thrasymachus
 said that the unjust were both prudent 
and good1 if they  were able to commit  
injustice to perfection6 ,is the        
immortality of  ,autolycus the destiny  
of ,williamson8    ,,wheeler said there 
certainly was a well authenticated      
marriage between  ,venus and ,mercury4  
,i could not help thinking it might be  
an astral connection that was           

indicated4 ,on that remarkable day of   
his birth1 ,mercury was not content     
with stealing the divining-rod from     
,apollo2 he took also the cestus from   
,venus1 the voice from ,neptune1 the    
sword from ,mars1 the will from ,zeus1  
and his tools from ,vulcan6 ,sagacity   
compassed all the deeps of divinity  to 
reach its end4    ,,ida ,,russell asked 
if ,venus and ,astarte were not the     
same4    ,,margaret said ,astarte       
belonged to the stars4    ,did not      
,venus1 ,i wonder8 ,but of course they  
are creations far asunder as  the poles4
    ,,charles ,,wheeler thought ,astarte
 and ,venus ,urania were the same4      
,,ida said that could not be4 ,the first
 statues of ,astarte were rough  blocks 
of wood1 with veiled heads4    ,so1 ,i  
said1 were all first statues of         
,deities2 so that was no argument4      
,when ,,james ,,clarke asked ,margaret  
to compare ,venus with the ,madonna1 a  
curious talk arose between ,alcott1     
,margaret1 ,charles ,wheeler1 and       

,emerson4    ,,alcott wanted to know why
 ,christ was not as much an             
impersonation of a  human faculty as    
either of the ,greek ,deities6          
,,margaret said ,jesus was not a        
thought4 ,he was born on the earth1 and 
lived out a thought4 ,he was no         
abstraction to her1 but a brother4      
,,alcott wanted to know whether a purer 
mythology1 suited to the wants  of      
coming time1 might not arise from the   
mixed mythology of ,persians1  ,greeks1 
and ,christians6    ,a very confusing   
and tiresome talk arose thereupon1 which
 ,charles ,wheeler  smiled at1 but did  
not join in1 and which profited nobody4 
,,caroline ,,wells ,,healey4            
,april #c1 #ahda4          ,,vi4        
,,cupid ,,and ,,psyche4                 
,april #i1 #ahda4    ,,margaret thought 
it would be very impertinent to begin by
 telling what  everybody knew1--the old 
story of ,cupid and ,psyche4    ,e4 ,p4 
,p4 declared that ,margaret never told  
it twice alike1 and at last  she yielded

 and said3--    ,the beautiful young    
princess ,psyche was envied by ,venus1  
who sent ,eros  to destroy her2 but the 
,god1 finding ,psyche wholly lovely1    
wedded her4  ,they lived happily until  
,psyche began to doubt4 ,eros had told  
her that  she must not seek to know him2
 but curiosity prevailed over faith1 and
  in looking at him as he slept she     
wounded and waked him4 ,he left her in  
dismay2 and as a punishment the three   
trials which are the lot of mortals     
were awarded to her4 ,she must sort     
grain1 she must bring three drops  from 
the river ,styx1 and must get the box of
 beauty from ,proserpine4 ,the  birds   
helped her with the grain2 but when she 
reached the banks of the  ,styx and     
stooped to fulfil the second task1 she  
found the water too dark1  too cold1 and
 the eagle came to her aid4 ,at the     
prospect of the third  trial her soul   
sank2 she refused to undertake it2 but1 
winning from one  of the ,gods the      
secret of self-dependence1 she set off  

for ,tartarus1  gave the usual sop to   
,cerberus1 and returned with her prize4 
,but she was  8possessed0 with the idea 
that the treasures the box contained    
might  restore to her her husband's     
love1 and she opened the box as she     
came4  ,the noxious vapors which issued 
from it deprived her of consciousness1  
and she fell4 ,eros1 who had flown to   
seek her as soon as his wound was       
healed1 brought her the gift of         
,immortality which he had begged of     
,jupiter4    ,,elisabeth ,,hoar asked   
what had become of ,psyche's sisters1   
whose  interference was a striking point
 in the story4    ,,margaret said she   
knew nothing of them1 and wished ,miss  
,hoar would tell  us4 ,her own knowledge
 of the story was gained entirely from  
,raphael's  original studies1 and his   
frescos on the walls of a ,roman palace4
    ,,elisabeth ,,hoar recapitulated4   
,the parents of ,psyche were ordered by 
the  angry ,venus to expose her upon a  
high mountain1 when ,zephyr carried her 

to the embraces of ,love1 who dwelt in  
the depths of a quiet valley hard  by4  
,her sisters came to bewail her death1  
and ,psyche begged ,love to let  ,zephyr
 bring them to rejoice in her happiness4
 ,for some time he refused1  telling her
 that it was not for her good1 and that 
she could be happy  without them4 ,this 
our foolish ,psyche would not believe1  
and at last they  were permitted to     
come1 only she must not tell them the   
little she knew  about her husband4     
,the first time ,psyche had sent them   
away loaded with gifts4 ,they had       
questioned her about her husband1 and   
,psyche replied that he was only  a     
lovely child4 ,the year went round1 and 
again the lovely bride longed  for her  
sisters' presence4 ,again the ,god      
entreated her to be patient1  assuring  
her that if they came it would only be  
to make her miserable4  ,psyche could   
not be quieted4 ,again they came1 again 
they questioned4 ,she  forgot the story 
she had previously told1 and replied    

that he was an old  man1 bent with      
years1 but very kind to her4 ,then the  
envious women saw  that ,psyche was     
herself ignorant of his true nature4    
,they told her that  he was a dragon1   
and meant to devour her2 that they had  
themselves seen  him as he passed       
through the fields4 ,they begged her to 
take a knife and  lamp and kill him as  
he slept4 ,the frightened ,psyche       
consented4    ,the ,god was sleeping in 
radiant beauty at her side1 and as she  
gazed  upon him she drew an arrow from  
his quiver and carelessly scratched  her
 finger4 ,impassioned by the wound1 she 
bent over him1 and a drop of  scalding  
oil fell from her lamp4 ,angry and      
confused1 the ,god awoke1 and1          
irritated by the pain1 flew away4       
,psyche clung to him2 but she could  not
 support herself1 and he was too angry  
to hold her4 ,she fell to the  ground1  
and he1 perched upon a neighboring tree1
 reproached her4    ,,margaret did not  
know this1 but said she remembered that 

,psyche tried to  drown herself4        
,,elisabeth said that was later4 ,she   
despaired1 and threw herself into  the  
river2 but the river pitied her1 and    
bore her to the shore4 ,venus1  growing 
tired of her guest1 sent ,mercury to    
advertise her4 ,psyche yielded  to the  
terms of the ,goddess1 rendered herself 
up1 and was busy sorting  the gifts in  
the temple of ,beauty when ,custom was  
sent to berate her4    ,this1 ,i        
suppose1 is a condensation of the lovely
 allegory of ,apuleius in  the second   
century of our era1 but it seems to me  
,elisabeth made some  additions4        
,,margaret said that everybody had to   
contend with the meddlesome sisters4    
,they were at the bottom of every fairy 
story1 from that of ,psyche to  ,beauty 
and the ,beast4    ,,elisabeth ,,hoar   
said it was always with the young soul  
as it was with  ,psyche4 ,it could give 
no account of the love which made it so 
happy4    ,so1 ,i said1 every human     
heart shrivels under a curious touch4   

,love  is angry that we wound him1 and  
if he ever does return it is with       
,immortality in his hand4 ,when custom  
berates1 ,god accepts4    ,,james       
,,clarke asked if there was not a       
celebrated statue of ,cupid and         
,psyche4    ,,margaret had only heard of
 ,canova's1 but ,james said he was sure 
there was  one older4    ,,william      
,,story asked if it were older than     
,apuleius1 but ,james did not  know4    
,,ida ,,russell said it was wrong for   
,psyche to look4    ,yes1 ,,margaret    
said1 but her temptations were strong2  
and if they had  not come through her   
sisters1 they must have come through her
 own soul4  ,everything was produced by 
antagonism4 ,this morning she had taken 
up  ,kreitzer1 meaning to open the      
,greek volume1 but took up the ,indian4 
,in  that ,mythology which ,william     
,story called deep and all-embracing    
there  were the antagonist principles of
 ,vishnu1 or unclouded innocence1 and   
,brahm1 who could only become pure by   

wading through all wickedness4 ,there   
seemed to be a need of sin1 to work out 
salvation for human beings4    ,,emerson
 said faith should work out that        
salvation4 ,it was man's privilege  to  
resist the evil1 to strive triumphantly2
 to recognise it--never6 ,good  was     
always present to the soul1--was all the
 true soul took note of4 ,it  was a duty
 not to look6    ,,margaret thought it  
the climax of sin to despair4 ,she      
believed evil to  be a good in the grand
 scheme of things4 ,she would not       
recognize it as a  blunder4 ,she must   
consider its scope a noble one4 ,in one 
word1 she would  not accept the         
world--for she felt within herself the  
power to reject  it--did she not believe
 evil working in it for good6 ,man had  
gained more  than he lost by his fall4  
,the ninety-nine sheep in the parable   
were of  less value than the 8lost      
found10 over which there was joy in     
heaven4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 spoke of the     
,tree of ,life1--which would have made  

immortal those  who ate of the ,tree of 
,knowledge4    ,,caroline ,,sturgis said
 that this probation was what she could 
not  comprehend4 ,we began at the       
circumference1 and if we fulfilled our  
destiny must end by being near the      
centre4 ,how much better to have begun  
there6 ,why could not ,god have made it 
so8    ,,william ,,story began to say   
that ,god must seek the best good of all
  his creatures2 but ,caroline          
interrupted him by saying that there was
  certainly more good at the centre than
 at the circumference4    ,,william     
,,white thought all this good1 better1  
and best very puzzling4    ,,margaret   
asked ,caroline if she could not see    
probation to be a good1 as  she had     
herself defined it8    ,are we better   
then1 than ,god8 asked ,,caroline4      
,not better1 replied ,,margaret1 for we 
cannot compare dissimilar things4       
,,william ,,white asked if any one could
 be more than good1 more than pure4     
,,william ,,story said perfection had   

its degrees6    ,,white said1 ,how can  
you progress after you have reached your
 goal8    ,as if any live man ever did  
reach his goal6 said ,i4    ,is there   
any progress for ,god8 retorted he4     
,not any1 for that is a contradiction in
 terms1 ,i said2 but surely you         
conceive of it for souls in heaven8     
,,margaret said something about the     
,gospel injunction to be perfect even   
as our ,father in ,heaven is perfect4   
,does not 8even as0 mean 8after the     
pattern of08 ,does it involve the       
nature1 as well as the degree8          
,,emerson interrupted quickly1 8,we are 
not finite40    ,everybody smiled2 but  
the best answer to this is found in the 
fact1 that  we never conceive of        
ourselves as infinite and at rest1--only
 as reaching  after the ,infinite in our
 motion4    ,,white said to ,caroline   
,sturgis1 8,if evil brings knowledge of 
good1 is it  not a gain80    ,,william  
,,story talked nobly1 something to this 
effect3 ,that good and evil  were       

related terms4 ,if both did not exist1  
neither could1 antagonism  being the    
spring of most things in the universe4  
,,margaret went back to ,cupid1 and said
 that in ,raphael's original studies    
,cupid was always a boy1--in his        
frescos1 a youth1 almost a man4 ,she    
spoke  of the difference of expression  
which he gave to his ,venus and his     
,psyche1 especially in the eye4 ,that of
 ,psyche was deep and thoughtful4  ,the 
distinction extended to their attendant 
,cupids1 and was most marked  in the    
,psyche when she takes the cup of       
,immortality from her husband4          
,,margaret wanted to pass on to ,diana1 
but there were too many clergymen  in   
the company4 ,everybody was interested  
in somebody nearer at hand1 and  views  
of the unchanging ,providence were next 
presented4    ,,margaret said ,god was  
the background against which all        
creation was  thrown4    ,,william      
,,story asked if she did not think ,he  
was greater than his  creatures8        

8,always beyond10 was ,,margaret',s     
reply4    ,creation1 ,,story said1 was  
rather the exponent of a ,love which    
must  bless1 than of an activity which  
must act4 ,it was a ,paternal power that
  ruled1 not an autocratic power which  
fathered us4    ,,margaret said that the
 story of ,cupid and ,psyche was the    
story of  redemption4 ,it contained the 
seeds of the doctrine of                
election1--saving by  grace1 and so on6 
,a good many queer things were said on  
various points touched by this4         
,,emerson said1 that to imagine it      
possible to fall was to begin to fall4  
,e4 ,p4 ,p4 got into a little maze      
trying to introduce ,margaret and ,r4   
,w4  ,e4 to each other1--a consummation 
which1 however devoutly to be wished1   
will never happen6    ,,james ,,clarke  
told her that she was just where ,paul  
was when he said1  8,what then8 ,shall  
,i sin1 that ,grace may the more        
abound80    ,,emerson said the woodlands
 could tell us most about ,diana1 about 

whom we  contrived to say very little4  
,the omission of orgies in her worship  
was  dwelt upon4 ,her pure and sacred   
character with the ,athenians was       
compared  to that of the ,diana of      
,ephesus1 whose orgies were not unusual1
 and who  was considered as a bountiful 
mother rather than as a virgin huntress4
    ,,ida ,,russell said that her       
,mythology accused ,diana of being the  
mother  of fifty sons and fifty         
daughters6    ,,margaret laughed1 and   
said that certainly was ,diana of       
,ephesus6    ,the maddening influence of
 moonlight was commented upon1 as if it 
were a  fable2 but ,,william ,,story    
said it was a fact4 ,in tropical regions
 very sad  consequences resulted from   
long gazing on the moonlight or sleeping
 in  it4 ,in one town he had known      
sixteen persons bewildered in this way4 
,,william ,,white said that in a late   
book of ,nichols it was contended that  
the moon had some light of her own1     
because she shows a brazen color even   

under eclipse1 when the dark side of the
 earth is toward her4 ,but why may  she 
not gather stellar light from the whole 
universe1 as the earth seems  to8       
,,sallie ,,gardiner said something to   
,william ,story in a low voice4 ,he     
laughed1 and said he had been thinking  
of the consequences of his theory4      
,,margaret asked what he was talking    
about4    ,,story said it was an        
application of eclipses to his theory   
that love  was the motive to creation4  
,if the sun is beneficent truth shorn of
 its  beams1 it would be like the moon1 
no better than brass6    ,,caroline     
,,sturgis asked why the ,mahomedans bore
 the crescent4    ,,william ,,white said
 because of some change in the moon     
which occurred at  the time of the      
,hegira4    ,,william ,,story said that 
the worshippers at ,mecca carried the   
crescent  before ,mahomet's time4 ,there
 is a crescent on the black stone4      
,both stories may be true4 ,there is    
certainly a crescent on the old         

,byzantine coin1 or besant4    ,,ida    
,,russell said something about ,diana   
being wedded4    ,this reminded ,e4 ,p4 
,p4 of ,minerva's marriage1 discussed   
last week4 ,she  said that ,charles     
,wheeler had seen the gem of which she  
then spoke1 and  that ,neptune was the  
favored suitor4    ,,william ,,story    
said the ,greeks could not wed ,neptune 
to ,diana1 for the  tides were too low  
in the ,mediterranean6                  
,c4 ,w4 ,,healey4        ,april #aj1    
#ahda4          ,,vii4    ,,pluto ,,and 
,,tartarus4                             
,april #ae1 #ahda4    ,,margaret said   
very little about ,pluto4 ,on the first 
evening she had  called him the depth of
 things1 and ,,james ,,clarke now had a 
good deal  to say upon the three ideas  
which she thought pervaded the ,greek   
mythology1--the source1 the depth1 and  
the extent or flow of thought4 ,he  said
 that this distinction had struck him   
very forcibly when ,margaret  first     
mentioned it4 ,we speak of widely       

diffused thought1 of aspiring and       
profound thought2 of sympathetic1       
exalted1 or deep feeling1--and this     
seemed to exhaust language4 ,it was     
through the depths of feeling and       
experience that we came to the profound 
of thought4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said1 8,there
 is no genius in happiness40 ,not a very
 intelligible  statement4    ,,margaret 
said1 8,there is nothing worth knowing  
that has not some penalty  attached to  
it4 ,we pay it the more willingly in    
proportion as we grow  wise4 ,depth1    
altitude1 diffusion1 are the three      
births of ,time4 ,it is  this which     
makes the ,german cover the operations  
of the miner with a  mystic veil4       
,bostonians laugh at the ,germans       
because they think40    ,,wheeler liked 
what ,mr4 ,clarke said1 and added that  
there was meaning in  the ,irish phrase1
 8,lower me up40    ,,margaret said that
 all the punishments of ,tartarus       
expressed baffled  effort1 the penalty  
least endurable to the active ,greek4   

,,mr4 ,,mack thought it singular that in
 every nation where the belief in       
,tartarus had prevailed1 an exact       
locality had always been assigned to it4
    ,,william ,,white said that1 so long
 as anybody could point out the locality
  of the garden of ,eden1 we had no need
 to smile at the locality of a          
,tartarus or an ,elysium4    ,i do not  
think these 8myths0 belong to the same  
class4    ,,charles ,,wheeler quoted    
,champollion to the effect that the     
,styx was only  a small river flowing   
between the ,temple at ,thebes and a    
neighboring  8place of tombs40 ,the     
ferryman was named ,charon1 and the     
,egyptian habit  of judging the dead    
probably gave rise to the rest of the   
fable4    ,,margaret said1 8,this was   
very natural40 ,she asked ,mr4 ,wheeler 
the meaning  of certain names4          
,phlegethon1 he answered1 meant burning 
fire2 ,acheron1 anguish4    ,why did not
 somebody say that the lifeless current 
of the ,styx first  tempted ,homer to   

give it to the ,infernals8 ,it is in    
reality a river of  ,epeiros4    ,the   
,styx1 ,,wheeler said1 was a cold       
unhealthy stream1 like that which       
caused the death of ,alexander4 ,it     
flowed slowly through ,acadia1 but was  
supposed to take its rise in ,hades4    
,lethe is a river near the ,syrtus in   
,africa4 ,it disappears in the sand1 but
 rises again4 ,hence its name4    ,,mr4 
,,wheeler had some difficulty in        
explaining certain inconsistencies in   
the poets4    ,,mr4 ,,clarke quoted the 
remark of ,achilles 787 concerning      
,elysium1--that a  day of hard labor on 
earth was preferable to an eternity of  
pleasure in  ,elysian fields6           
,,margaret said that in ,elysium1 as in 
,tartarus1 souls waited4 ,these         
restless ,greeks could do nothing4 ,they
 were cut off from action1 which  was   
their delight4 ,all their punishments   
seem to consist of frustrated           
effort1--the consequence of some        
presumption4 ,tantalus was ever thirsty 

and ever famished because he had aspired
 to nectar and ambrosia4 ,ixion1  who   
would have scaled the heavens1 was      
condemned to incessant revolution  upon 
a wheel1 which never paused yet never   
accomplished anything4 ,the  ,danaides1 
who murdered the love which wooed them1 
were doomed to fill a  broken vessel    
with water which as constantly escaped4 
,sisyphus1 who had  never labored except
 for a selfish end1 was to roll a stone 
up hill1  which as constantly rolled    
down1--fit emblem of all selfish labor4 
,as for  ,tityrus1 who sought to violate
 the secrets of ,nature1 the vulture fed
  always upon his entrails4    ,,wheeler
 said this did not represent frustrated 
effort4    ,,margaret said1 ,no3 this   
was remorse2 but there was an admirable 
instance  of the former given by        
,goethe1 of a man who wove rope from the
 sedges  which grew upon the banks of   
,lethe1 for an ass who continually      
devoured  it4 ,the moral seemed to be   
that the ass could just as well have    

eaten  them unwoven4 ,goethe goes on to 
say that the ,greeks only thought that  
the  poor man had a prodigal wife1 but  
that the moderns would look deeper and  
see more in the fable4    ,we all weave 
sedges for asses to eat1 thought ,i4    
,,margaret seemed to think that every   
heart might have an experience which    
would correspond to ,tartarus4 ,every   
hero must visit it at least once4    ,i 
suggested ,pluto1 ,persephone1 the      
,fates1 the ,gorgons1 the ,furies1 and  
,cerberus4 ,pluto was equal to ,neptune 
and ,jupiter4    ,,margaret continued3  
,hades was not given to ,pluto to mark  
defective  character1 but simply as his 
kingdom4 ,his wants were all supplied4  
,the  bride ,olympus refused him he was 
permitted to steal from earth while  she
 gathered flowers4 ,persephone1 seed of 
all things1 must dwell in the  dark2 but
 another legend tells us that if she had
 been willing to leave  her veil1 she   
might have stolen away4 ,there was a    
meaning in her being  forbidden to eat  

in the infernal regions4 ,fate said1    
8,do not touch what  you don't want40   
,psyche was forbidden to partake of the 
regal banquet  ,persephone spread4      
,seeking for ,immortality1 this soul1   
like every other1  must be content to   
eat bitter bread4    ,there was then a  
talk about ,cerberus and the ,gorgons4  
,,mr4 ,,clarke said that in the ,new    
,testament the dog seemed to stand for  
popular prejudice4 ,the swine stood for 
what could not1 the dog for what  would 
not1 be convinced4    ,yes1 ,,margaret  
said1 the wolf is a misanthropic dog4   
,he has little dignity4    ,,ida        
,,russell said ,cerberus stood for the  
temperaments4    ,well1 ,,margaret said1
 that being so1 she liked the ,greeks   
for making no  allowance for the        
lymphatic4 ,to what1 she continued1 do  
we offer the  first sop1 as we pass     
through life8 ,as for the ,gorgons1     
every one1 she  thought1 would find his 
own interpretation of them4 ,to her     
there was no  ,gorgon but apathy2 there 

is nothing in creation that will so soon
 turn  a live man into stone4 ,these    
,gorgons were three women1 who used one 
eye  and one tooth between them1--except
 ,medusa1 who was beautiful and perfect4
  ,her hair had provoked the envy of    
,minerva1 and was changed into serpents4
  ,margaret had a copy of a gem1 which  
,marion ,dwight had made for her1 which 
showed this4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 asked if    
,perseus did not endeavor to show       
,medusa her own head4    ,,margaret said
 that might well rouse her6    ,,charles
 ,,wheeler explained4 ,perseus only used
 a mirror given him by  ,minerva to     
avoid looking at the ,gorgon4           
,,caroline ,,sturgis said that the old  
woman who keeps house for ,helen in the 
second part of 8,faust0 was a ,gorgon to
 her4    ,this dragged a critical       
analysis of the 8,faust0 forward4       
,,margaret said the ,seeker represents  
the ,spirit of the ,age4 ,he never      
sinned save by yielding1 and yet he was 
emphatically saved by grace4  ,it was   

difficult to see what ,goethe meant     
until he got to the ,tower of  the      
,middle ,ages4 ,that made all clear4    
,,charles ,,wheeler said1 the reader    
would a great deal rather that ,faust   
went to the ,devil than not6            
,,margaret defended ,goethe's way of    
exhibiting character1 of which ,wilhelm 
,meister was an instance4 ,goethe said  
to himself1 ,what should ,i do with a   
hero in such rascally society8 ,meister 
preferred the ,brahmal experience4      
,e4 ,p4 ,p4 asked if this moral         
indifference was well8    ,,margaret    
replied1 that it was just as frightful  
as any other ,gorgon4 ,if  we are to    
have a purely intellectual development1 
it was well for a man  like ,goethe to  
represent it4 ,to choose fairly between 
evil and good1 the  intellect must      
regard both with indifference4          
,somebody asked how the ,gorgon's head  
came to be on the gis of ,minerva8      
,if ,apathy is the ,gorgon1 surely      
,wisdom needs it6    ,then we began to  

talk about ,theseus in connection with  
,tartarus4 ,why  should he sit forever  
on a stone8    ,,margaret thought he    
represented reform6    ,,mr4 ,,mack said
 reform checked itself by its own       
fanaticism4    ,,wheeler1 in this       
connection1 asked after the ,greek      
notion of  accountability4    ,,margaret
 did not think the ,greeks had any4     
,,wheeler assured her to the contrary1  
and told anecdotes to prove it4 ,he     
spoke of the fatal transmission of guilt
 in one family1 generation after        
generation4    ,,margaret said the      
,greeks never rejected facts4    ,,ida  
,,russell spoke of the last ,king of    
,athens1 ,codrus1 supposed to have  been
 punished for the crimes of his         
ancestors4    ,,wheeler said that when  
the ,greeks killed some ambassadors1    
they felt so  sure that ,heaven would   
avenge the sin that they sent two       
citizens to  expiate it2 but ,darius1 to
 whom they were sent1 refused to release
 the  ,greeks from their impending doom4

    ,,margaret said the moment such a   
supposition was started1 there were     
plenty of facts to sustain it4 ,orestes 
is the purified victim of his  family4  
,the old ,greeks had made no complete   
statement of their destiny or  their    
accountability4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said they
 had made it in art4                    
,c4 ,w4 ,,healey4        ,april #af1    
#ahda4          ,,viii4    ,,mercury    
,,and ,,orpheus4                        
,april #bb1 #ahda4    ,,margaret said it
 surprised her that young men did not   
seek to be  ,mercuries4 ,she said that  
one of the ugliest young men that she   
knew had  become so enraptured with one 
of ,raphael's ,mercuries1 that he       
confessed  to her that he was never     
alone without trying to assume its      
attitude  before the glass4 ,she said   
she could not help laughing at the image
 he  suggested1 an ugly figure in       
high-heeled boots and a strait-coat in  
the  act of flying1 commissioned with   
every grace from ,heaven to men6 but she

  respected the feeling1 and thought    
every sensitive soul must share it4     
,,emerson had sent ,sophia ,peabody     
several fine engravings4 ,one of these1 
a  ,correggio1 represented a woman of   
,parma as a ,madonna4 ,it might give any
  woman a similar desire4    ,william   
,story1 ,frank ,shaw1 ,mr4 ,mack and his
 friends1 ,mrs4 ,ripley1 ,ida  ,russell1
 and ,mrs4 ,s4 ,g4 ,ward were all       
missing to-night4    ,,margaret said    
that she was sorry she had allowed our  
subject to embrace  so much4 ,the       
,grecian ,mercury seemed to mean so     
little that she had not  thought of the 
depth and difficulty connected with the 
,egyptian ,hermes4  ,among the ,greeks1 
,ceres1 ,persephone1 and ,juno represent
 the productive  faculties1 ,jupiter and
 ,apollo the divine1 and ,mercury simply
 the human  understanding1 the ,god of  
eloquence and of thieves4    ,,marianne 
,,jackson thought it strange that he    
should be at once the ,god of           
persuasion and the ,deity of theft6     

,,margaret said eloquence was a kind of 
thieving6    ,did the ,greeks so        
consider it8 asked ,,marianne4          
,,margaret said1 ,yes1 more than any    
nation in the world1 and taught their   
children so to do2 and in fact such     
mental recognitions were what           
distinguished the nation from all other 
peoples4    ,the ,egyptian ,hermes      
represented the whole intellectual      
progress of  man4 ,if one made a        
discovery it was signed ,hermes1 and    
under that name  transmitted to         
posterity4 ,hence the forty volumes of  
,hermetic theology1  philosophy1 and so 
on4 ,individuals were merged in the     
,god4 ,hermes was  always the mediator1 
the peacemaker1 and it was in this      
relation that the  beautiful story was  
told of the caduceus4 ,mercury has      
originally only  the divining-rod which 
,apollo had given him1 but1 finding two 
serpents  fighting one day1 he pacified 
them1 and had ever after the right to   
bear  them embracing on his rod4 ,there 

was another story1 ,margaret said1 which
  she could not understand1--the story  
of his obtaining the head of the  ,ibis 
from ,osiris4 ,hermes kept the first or 
outside gates of ,heaven1 a  significant
 fact typically considered4    ,i am    
sure there is something in ,heeren's    
researches about the ,ibis story1  but  
,caroline ,sturgis said1 ,no4           
,,william ,,white asked if the ,god gave
 the name to the planet8    ,,margaret  
said1 ,yes2 and it was given because it 
stood nearest the sun4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4   
said ,plutarch had written something    
about ,hermes in his 8,morals40         
,,margaret said1 ,perhaps so1 but she   
didn't know1 as she never could read    
them4 ,plutarch went round and round a  
story2 presented all the corners  of it1
 told all the pretty bits of gossip he  
could find1 instead of  penetrating to  
its secret4 ,so she preferred his       
anecdotes of ,heroes to  his ,parallels 
or ,essays4    ,i said1 in surprise1 how
 much ,i liked the 8,morals40    8,yes10

 ,,margaret said1 8even ,emerson paid   
the book the high compliment of  calling
 it his tuning-key1 when he was about to
 write40    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said ,coleridge 
was her own tuning-key1 and asked       
,margaret if  she had no such friendly  
instigator4    ,,margaret said she could
 keep up no intimacy with books4 ,she   
loved a  book dearly for a while2 but as
 soon as she began to look out a nice   
,morocco cover for her favorite1 she was
 sure to take a disgust to it1  to      
outgrow it4 ,she did not mean that she  
outgrew the author1 but that1  having   
received all from him that he could give
 her1 he tired her4 ,that  had even been
 the case with ,shakespeare6 ,for       
several years he was her  very life2    
then she gave him up4 ,about two years  
ago she had occasion  to look into      
8,hamlet10 and then wished to refresh   
her love1 but found  it impossible4 ,it 
was the same with ,ovid1 whose luxuriant
 fancy had  delighted her girlhood4 ,she
 took him up1 and read a little with all

 her  youthful glow2 but it would not   
last4 ,friends must part1 but why need  
we part from our books8 ,she regretted  
her oddity1 for she lost a great  solace
 by it4    ,she proceeded to contrast   
the ,apollo with ,mercury4 ,in ,egypt1  
,hermes was  the experimental ,deity1   
the ,brahma4    ,,caroline ,,sturgis    
asked what the ,hermes on the door-posts
 of the ,athenian  houses meant4        
,,margaret thought that he posed there  
as a messenger1 an opener of the  gates 
merely1 and then spoke of several       
,mercuries by ,raphael4 ,one she  knew1 
so full of beauty and grace that it     
seemed a single trumpet-tone4  ,another 
all loveliness was handing the cup of   
life to ,psyche4 ,she  wondered that    
such symbols as ,apollo and ,mercury did
 not inspire all  young men with ardor1 
and make them something better than     
young men  usually are4    ,,william    
,,white said ,apollo was too far beyond 
the average man to do this2  but that   
,mercury1 graceful and vivacious1 would 

naturally attract the  attention4       
,,margaret asked if he would be an      
easier model to imitate1 and then       
repeated her anecdote about the ugly    
youth who longed to be a ,mercury4      
,,william said that if his faith had    
been strong enough1 the transformation  
might have taken place4    ,query--what 
is meant by strong enough8    ,,margaret
 spoke of the ,egyptian ,osiris in his  
relation to ,hermes1 and said  that she 
did not like him to be confounded with  
the ,apollo4 ,he was in  reality the    
,egyptian ,jove4    ,this led me to     
speak of the ,orphic ,hymn in which     
,apollo is addressed as  8immortal      
,jove40    ,,margaret said she had      
discovered very little about ,orpheus4  
,in relation  to the five points of     
,orphic theology1 she had lately read a 
posthumous  leaf from ,goethe's         
,journal4 ,the existence of a ,dmon     
seemed to be a  favorite idea of his4   
,he did not believe with ,emerson that  
all things  were in our own souls1 but  

that they existed in the original souls1
  7does anybody know what that means87  
and we must go out to seek them4  ,this 
notion ,goethe thought verified by his  
own experience4 ,goethe's  works1       
,margaret thought1 had more variety than
 anybody's except  ,shakespeare's4 ,his 
powers of observation seemed to condense
 his genius4    ,,william ,,white       
wondered why ,goethe showed such        
tenderness for ,byron4    ,,margaret    
said that in every important sense      
,byron was his very opposite2  but      
,goethe hardly looked upon him as a     
responsible being4 ,he was rather  the  
instrument of a higher power4 ,he was   
the exponent of his period4    ,,sophia 
,,peabody had been making a drawing of  
,crawford's ,orpheus at the  ,athenum4  
,it was here brought down for me to see4
    ,at ,sophia's request1 ,,margaret   
repeated a sonnet she had written on it4
  ,she recited it wretchedly1 but the   
sonnet was pleasant4    ,i spoke of     
,bode's ,essay on the ,orphic ,poetry1  

and sympathized in his view  of the     
spuriousness of the ,hymns4 ,they might 
have been signed ,orpheus1  however1 as 
other things were signed ,hermes1 simply
 because they were  exponents of ,orphic
 thought4    ,,margaret dilated on this 
,orphic thought4    ,i quoted ,proclus  
in his ,commentary on ,plato's          
8,republic0 as follows3--        8,mars 
perpetually discerns and nourishes1 and 
constantly      excites the             
contrarieties of the ,universe1 that the
 world may      exist perfect and entire
 in all its parts2 but requires the     
assistance of ,venus1 that he may bring 
order and harmony into      things      
contrary and discordant4        8,vulcan
 adorns by his art the sensible         
universe1 which he      fills with      
certain natural impulses1 powers1 and   
proportions2      but he requires the   
assistance of ,venus1 that he may invest
      material effects with beauty1 and 
by this means secure the      comeliness
 of the world4 ,venus is the source of  

all the      harmony and analogy in the 
,universe1 and of the union of form     
with matter1 connecting and             
comprehending the powers of the         
elements4 ,although this ,goddess ranks 
among the supermundane      divinities1 
yet her principal employment consists in
      beautifully illuminating the      
order1 harmony1 and communion of        
all mundane concerns40    ,i asked      
,,margaret if this was not something    
like her own thought1--this  ,venus1 for
 example1 was it not better than that we
 got from ,greek art8    ,she said it   
was the primal idea1 but she did not    
attach much importance  to chronology4  
,philosophy must decide the age of a    
thought4    ,i gave her as good an      
abstract of ,bode's theory as ,i could4 
,,william ,,white took the drawing of   
,orpheus from me1 and1 while speaking of
  its beauty1 said it always made him   
angry to think of the deterioration  of 
the human figure4 ,he thought it ought  
to have been prevented1 and  that his   

ancestors had deprived him of his       
rights4    ,upon this1 ,,margaret       
entered into a lively disquisition upon 
masculine  beauty4 ,she said the best   
specimens of it she had ever seen were a
  ,southern oddity named ,hutchinson and
 some ,cambridge students who came  from
 ,virginia4    ,we lost a finer talk    
to-night through the inclemency of the  
weather4  ,,wheeler was to have come    
with a great stock of information4 ,had 
he done  so1 ,i need not have quoted    
,bode or ,proclus4                      
,,caroline ,w4 ,,healey4        ,april  
#bc1 #ahda4          ,,ix4    ,,hermes  
,,and ,,orpheus4                        
,april #bi1 #ahda4    ,we did not have a
 very bright talk4 ,there were few      
present1 and we had  only the subject of
 last week4 ,,margaret did not speak at 
length4 ,,wheeler  had been ill1 and his
 physician prescribed light diet of both
 body and  mind4    ,somebody spoke of  
,mercury sweeping the courts of the     
,gods1 but that  suggested nothing to   

,margaret4    ,,sarah ,,shaw had a pin1 
with a ,mercury on it1 represented as   
holding the  head of a goat4            
,,margaret had never seen anything that 
would explain it1 and there was  some   
dispute about it4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said   
that1 according to the ,orphic ,hymn1   
,mercury sought the love  of ,dryope    
under the form of a goat4 ,pan was the  
fruit of that amour4 ,in  this form also
 he wooed ,diana4    ,we wandered from  
our subject a little1 to hear ,,mr4     
,,mack talk about the  ,gorgons4 ,he    
thought they stood for the three sides  
of human nature4  ,medusa1 the chief    
care-taker1 the body1 was the only one  
not immortal1  and the only one         
beautiful4 ,stheno and ,euryale1        
wide-extended force  and wide-extended  
scope1 represented spirit and intellect1
 essentially  immortal4 ,the changing of
 ,medusa's curls 7or elements of        
strength7 into  serpents represented the
 fall4 ,it was not the ,gorgons who had 
but one eye  and one tooth between them1

 but three sister guardians1 whom       
,perseus was  compelled to destroy      
before he could reach ,medusa4    ,,mr4 
,,mack did not tell us why human nature 
so divided had a certain  petrifying    
power6    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 thought the       
intellect1 not the body1 was the        
care-taker4  ,mr4 ,mack tried in vain to
 explain1 owing1 ,i think1 to his       
,german  misconception of words4        
,certainly the five senses are the      
providers1  which was what he must have 
meant4    ,,margaret liked his theory1  
because there was a place in it for sin6
 ,she  disliked failure4 ,perhaps we all
 had perceived her attachment to evil6  
,not that she wished men to fall into   
it1 but it must be accepted as one      
means of final good4    ,the only copies
 of ,bode belong to ,edward ,everett and
 ,theodore ,parker4  ,neither is at this
 moment to be had4 ,the talk turned on  
the age of the  ,orphic idea4    ,the   
,orphic ,hymns1 ,,wheeler said1 were    
merely hymns of initiation into  the    

,orphic mysteries4 ,they were altered by
 every successive priesthood1  and      
finally by the ,christian ,platonists4  
,those now remaining were  undoubtedly  
their work4 ,perhaps the ancient        
formulas were still hidden  in them4 ,we
 know the beautiful story of ,orpheus4  
,if he indeed represents  many1 yet all 
that has been said of him is also true  
of one4    ,,mr4 ,,mack declared that   
,eurydice represented the true faith6   
,she was  killed by an envenomed        
serpent1 which might possibly stand for 
an enraged  priesthood6    ,i got a     
little impatient here1 and said ,i did  
not care to know about the  ,hymns2 but 
the ,orphic idea1 which made ,scaliger  
speak of the ,hymns as the  8,liturgy of
 ,satan10--how old was that8            
,,margaret could not guess why he called
 them so4    ,,charles ,,wheeler said   
that1 since they made a heathen worship 
attractive1  perhaps he fancied them a  
device of the ,evil ,one6    ,too great 
a compliment to ,scaliger1 ,i thought4  

,,margaret had no objection to ,orpheus 
as crowning an age2 she liked that      
multitudes should produce one4          
,,charles ,,wheeler said that ,carlyle  
had spoken of ,orpheus as standing in   
such a relation to the ,greeks as ,odin 
bore to the ,scandinavians4             
,,margaret said at this point 7,i don't 
see with what pertinency7 that  ,carlyle
 displeased her by making so much of    
mere men4    ,,james ,,clarke quoted    
,milton1 speaking of himself among the  
revellers of  the ,stuart ,court1 as    
like ,orpheus among the ,bacchanals4    
,i said that ,bode placed ,homer in the 
tenth century before ,christ1 and       
,orpheus in the age just preceding1 say 
the thirteenth century before4    ,,mr4 
,,mack thought all that mere conjecture4
    ,i told him it made a good deal of  
difference to me whether the ,orphic    
,mythology came before or after that of 
,homer4 ,had man grown out of the  noble
 and into the base idea8 ,was all our   
knowledge only memory8 ,had the  ,orphic

 fancies no beauty till the ,platonic   
,christians shaped them8    ,,margaret  
responded to what ,i said1 that she did 
not like a mind always  looking back4   
,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said there was a great deal 
of consolation in it4 ,memory was       
prophecy4 ,she didn't like such a mind1 
but since she happened to have it  she  
wanted support for it4    ,,mr4 ,,mack  
said all history offered such support4  
,,charles ,,wheeler didn't like to      
believe it1 but felt that he must4 ,he  
spoke of the ,golden ,age4    ,,margaret
 said every nation looked back to this2 
but1 after all1 it was  only the ideal4 
,the past was a curtain on which they   
embroidered their  pictures of the      
present4    ,,william ,,white said that 
all great men looked to the appreciation
 of the  future4 ,we are too near to the
 present4    ,,margaret agreed4    ,e4  
,p4 ,p4 said1 all the science of ,europe
 could not offer anything like  the old 
,egyptian lore4    ,,margaret said the  
moderns needed the assistance of a      

despotic government4    ,,charles       
,,wheeler spoke of the monuments in     
,central ,america2 but before he  could 
utter what was in his mind1 ,,margaret  
interrupted1 saying that all  the       
greatness of the ,mexicans only sufficed
 to show their littleness4 ,we  might   
have lost in grandeur and piety1 but we 
had gained in a thousand  tag-rag ways4 
,,mrs4 ,,farrar whispered to me1 8,write
 that down60 and ,i have done it4       
,,charles ,,wheeler said that late      
discoveries proved that there was a     
complete knowledge of electricity among 
the ancients4 ,there were               
lightning-rods on the temple at         
,jerusalem1 and they are described by   
,josephus1 who however does not know    
what they are4    ,,margaret and ,i     
clung to the 8tag-rag0 gain4            
,,charles ,,wheeler agreed with me in   
thinking the ,orphic ,hymns of very late
  origin4    ,,margaret could not see   
the use of creating a race of giants to 
prepare  the earth for pygmies6 ,if     

these must exist1 why not in some other 
sphere8  ,she referred to the beautiful 
,persian fable4 ,the first was ,god1 of 
course2 since man may always revert to  
,him1 what matter about the giants8     
,i said that primitive ages were        
supposed to be innocent rather than     
great4    ,,margaret said the ,persian  
fable bore to the same point as the     
,vishnu  and ,brahma4 ,it was antagonism
 that produced all things4 ,the universe
 at  first was one ,conscious           
,being1--8,i am20 no word1 no darkness1 
no light4  ,this ,conscious ,being      
needed to know itself1 and it passed    
into darkness  and light and a third    
being1--the ,mediator between the two4  
,this ,trinity  produced ideals1--men1  
animals1 things2 and after a period of  
twelve  thousand years all return again 
into the ,one1 who has gained by the    
phenomena only a multiplied             
consciousness4    8,were they merged80  
asked ,,charles ,,wheeler4    ,,margaret
 said1 8,no6 once created1 they could   

not lose identity40                     
,c4 ,w4 ,,healey4        ,april #cj1    
#ahda4          ,x4    ,,bacchus ,,and  
,,the ,,demigods4                       
,may #f1 #ahda4    ,few present4 ,our   
last talk1 and we were all dull4 ,for my
 part1 ,bacchus  does not inspire me1   
and ,i was sad because it was the last  
time that ,i  should see ,margaret4 ,she
 does not love me2 ,i could not venture 
to follow  her into her own home1 and ,i
 love her so much6 ,her life hangs on a 
thread4 ,her face is full of the marks  
of pain4 ,young as ,i am1 ,i feel old   
when ,i look at her4    ,,margaret spoke
 of ,hercules as representing the course
 of the solar year4  ,the three apples  
were the three seasons of four months   
each into which  the ancients divided   
it4 ,the twelve labors were the twelve  
signs4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 accepted this1 and
 spoke of ,bryant's book1 which         
,margaret did  not like4    ,,margaret  
said ,bryant forced every fact to be a  
point in a case4 ,bending  each to his  

theory1 he falsified it4 ,she wished    
,english people would  be content1 like 
the wiser ,germans1 to amass classified 
facts on which  original minds could    
act4 ,she liked to see the ,germans so  
content to  throw their gifts upon the  
pile to go down to posterity1 though the
 pile  might carry no record of the     
collectors4 ,she spoke of ,kreitzer1    
whose  book she was now reading1 who    
coolly told his readers that he should  
not  classify a second edition afresh1  
for his ,french translator had done it  
well enough1 and if readers were not    
satisfied with his own work1 they  must 
have recourse to the translation4 ,this 
she thought was as it ought  to be4     
,,james ,,clarke said it always vexed   
him to hear ignorant people speak of    
,hercules as if he were a ,god1 and of  
,apollo and ,jupiter as if they might   
at some time have been men4             
,,margaret said1 ,yes1 the distinction  
between ,gods and ,demigods was that    
the former were the creations of pure   

spontaneity1 and the latter  actually   
existent personages1 about whose heroic 
characters and lives all  congenial     
stories clustered4    ,j4 ,f4 ,c4 did   
not like the statues of ,hercules2 the  
brawny figure was not  to his taste4    
,,margaret thought it majestic4 ,she    
said he belonged properly to ,thessaly1 
and was identified with its scenery4    
,she told several little stories  about 
him4 ,that of his sailing round the rock
 of ,prometheus1 in a golden  cup       
borrowed of ,jupiter1 was the least     
known4 ,she told the story from  ,ovid1 
the glowing account of his death1 of the
 recognition by delighted  ,jove4 ,she  
said ,wordsworth's 8,tour in ,greece0   
gave her great materials for  thought4  
,then she turned to ,bacchus4    ,to    
show in what manner she supposed        
,bacchus to be the answer or  complement
 to ,apollo1 she mentioned the statement
 of some late critic  upon the relation 
of ,ceres and ,persephone to each other4
    ,persephone was the hidden energy1  

the vestal fire1 vivifying the          
universe4 ,ceres was the productive     
faculty1 external1 bounteous4 ,they     
were two phases of one thing4 ,it was   
the same with ,apollo and ,bacchus4     
,apollo was the vivifying power of the  
sun2 its genial glow stirred the  earth1
 and its noblest product1 the grape1    
responded4    ,she spoke of the         
,bacchanalian festivals1 of the         
spiritual character  attributed to them 
by ,euripides1 showing that originally  
they were  something more than gross    
orgies4    ,,mrs4 ,,clarke 7,,ann       
,,wilby7 said that they licensed the    
wildest drunkenness  in ,athens4    ,i  
said that was at a later time than      
,euripides undertook to picture4 ,were  
they identical with the ,orphic8 ,did   
,orpheus really bring them from ,egypt8 
,,margaret would accept that for a      
beginning4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 thought that  
next winter we might have a talk about  
,roman  ,mythology4    ,,margaret liked 
the idea1 and ,,james ,,clarke seemed to

 accept it for the  whole party4 ,he    
said that he had never felt any interest
 in the ,greek  stories1 until ,margaret
 had made them the subject of           
conversation4    ,e4 ,p4 ,p4 said she   
had felt excessively ashamed all through
 that she knew  so little4    ,,margaret
 said no one need to feel so4 ,it was a 
subject that might exhaust  any         
preparation4 ,still1 she wished we would
 study6 ,she had herself  enjoyed great 
advantages4 ,nobody's explanations had  
ever perplexed her  brain4 ,she had been
 placed in a garden1 with a great pile  
of books before  her4 ,she began to read
 ,latin before she read ,english4 ,for a
 time these  deities were real to her1  
and she prayed3 8,o ,god6 if thou art   
,jupiter60  etc4    ,,james ,,clarke    
said he remembered her once telling him 
that she prayed to  ,bacchus for a bunch
 of grapes6    ,,margaret smiled1 and   
said that when she was first old enough 
to think  about ,christianity1 she cried
 out for her dear old ,greek gods4 ,its 

spirituality seemed nakedness4 ,she     
could not and would not receive it4 ,it 
was a long while before she saw its     
deeper meaning4                         
,,caroline ,w4 ,,healey4        ,may #g1
 #ahda4          ,,footnotes      #a    
,emerson's presence at ,conversations   
,,ii4 ,v4 and ,,viii4 is noted above1   
because in his contribution to          
,margaret's 8,memoirs0 he shows that his
  attendance made absolutely no         
impression on him4 ,he states that there
  were but five ,conversations1 and that
 he was present only at the second4     
#b ,dr4 ,dana1 a celebrated chemist1    
received a salary from the ,merrimac    
,manufacturing ,co4 as consulting       
chemist4 ,through his experiments and   
practical skill1 a radical change was   
made in the methods of dyeing and       
printing calicoes4 ,this was in         
connection with the use of madder1 and  
the ,company claimed his discovery and  
allowed him no extra recompense4  ,it   
will be perceived that ,mr4 ,ripley got 

his supposed facts from the  newspapers4