Again, a person who is possessed of fine sensibilities sees in the apple
tree in full bloom a creation of transcendant beauty and charm. The poet
cannot describe it, nor can the artist reproduce it. It is both a mystery
and a miracle. Into this miracle nature has poured her lavish treasures of
fertility, of rain, of sunshine, and of zephyrs, and from it at the zenith
of its beauty the full-throated robin pours forth his heart in melodious
greeting. It may be well to dismiss the school to see the circus parade,
but even more fitting is it to dismiss the school to see this burst of
splendor. In its glorious presence silence is the only language that is
befitting. In such a presence sound is discord, for such enchantment as it
begets cannot be made articulate. Its influence steals into the senses and
lifts the spirit up. To defile or despoil such beauty would be to
desecrate a shrine. But the sordid man sees in this symphony of color
nothing else than a promise of fruit. His response is wholly physical, not
spiritual at all. His spiritual sense seems atrophied and he can do
nothing but estimate the bushels of fruit. He feels no respect for the
beauty before him and it is evident that somewhere along the line his
spiritual education was neglected. He excites our sympathy and our hope
that his children may not share his fate.
In the way of illustrating this quality of respect, we reach the climax in
the thirty-eighth chapter of the Book of Job and following.
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