The Complete Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Illustrated Edition). Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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an eagle’s eye he could steadily look at the mid-day sun. He was most
brilliant, eloquent, and logically consecutive. The time moved on so
swiftly, that on looking at my watch, I found an hour and a half had
passed away, and therefore waiting only a desirable moment (to use his
own playful words;) I prepared myself to punctuate his oration.” As
previously agreed, I pressed his ancle, and thus gave hire the hint he
had requested-when bowing graciously, and with a benevolent and
smiling countenance he presently descended.
The lecture was quite new to me, and I believe quite new to himself, at least so far as the arrangement of his words were concerned. The floating thoughts were most beautifully arranged, and delivered on the spur of the moment. What accident gave rise to the singular request, that he should deliver this lecture impromptu, I never learnt; nor did it signify, as it afforded a happy opportunity to many of witnessing in part the extent of his reading, and the extraordinary strength of his powers.
At this time an intimate and highly accomplished friend of my wife’s, who was also a very sensible woman, a fine musician, and considered one of the best private performers in the country, came on a visit. The conversation turned on music, and Coleridge, speaking of himself, observed, “I believe I have no ear for music, but have a taste for it.” He then explained the delight he received from Mozart, and how greatly he enjoyed the dithyrambic movement of Beethoven; but could never find pleasure in the fashionable modern composers. It seemed to him “playing tricks with music — like nonsense verses — music to please me,” added he, “must have a subject.” Our friend appeared struck with this observation, “I understand you, sir,” she replied, and immediately seated herself at the piano. “Have the kindness to listen to the three following airs, which I played on a certain occasion extempore, as substitutes for words. Will you try to guess the meaning I wished to convey, and I shall then ascertain the extent of my success.” She instantly gave us the first air, — his reply was immediate. “That is clear, it is solicitation.”—”When I played this air,” observed the lady, “to a dear friend whom you know, she turned to me, saying, ‘what do you want?’ — I told her the purport of my air was to draw her attention to her dress, as she was going out with me to take a drive by the seashore without her cloak.” Our visitor then called Coleridge’s attention to her second air; it was short and expressive. To this he answered, “that is easily told — it is remonstrance.” “Yes,” replied she, “for my friend again shewing the same inattention, I played this second extemporaneous air, in order to remonstrate with her.” We now listened to the third and last air. He requested her to repeat it, which she did.—”That,” said he, “I cannot understand.” To this she replied,—”it is I believe a failure,” naming at the same time the subject she had wished to convey. Coleridge’s answer was—”That is a sentiment, and cannot be well expressed in music.”
The evening before our friend left us, Coleridge had a long conversation with her on serious and religious subjects. Fearing, however, that he might not have been clearly understood, he the next morning brought down the following paper, written before he had retired to rest: —
‘S. T. Coleridge’s confession of belief; with respect to the true grounds of Christian morality’, 1817.
1. I sincerely profess the Christian faith, and regard the New Testament as containing all its articles, and I interpret the words not only in the obvious, but in the ‘literal’ sense, unless where common reason, and the authority of the Church of England join in commanding them to be understood FIGURATIVELY: as for instance, ‘Herod is a Fox.’
2. Next to the Holy Scriptures, I revere the Liturgy, Articles, and Homilies of the Established Church, and hold the doctrines therein expressly contained.
3. I reject as erroneous, and deprecate as ‘most’ dangerous, the notion, that our ‘feelings’ are to be the ground and guide of our actions. I believe the feelings themselves to be among the things that are to be grounded and guided. The feelings are effects, not causes, a part of the ‘instruments’ of action, but never can without serious injury be perverted into the ‘principles’ of action. Under ‘feelings’, I include all that goes by the names of ‘sentiment’, sensibility, &c. &c. These, however pleasing, may be made and often are made the instruments of vice and guilt, though under proper discipline, they are fitted to be both aids and ornaments of virtue. They are to virtue what beauty is to health.
4. All men, the good as well as the bad, and the bad as well as the good, act with motives. But what is motive to one person is no motive at all to another. The pomps and vanities of the world supply ‘mighty’ motives to an ambitious man; but are so far from being a ‘motive’ to a humble Christian, that he rather wonders how they can be even a temptation to any man in his senses, who believes himself to have an immortal soul. Therefore that a title, or the power of gratifying sensual luxury, is the motive with which A. acts, and no motive at all to B. — must arise from the different state of the moral being in A. and in B. — consequently motives too, as well as ‘feelings’ are ‘effects’; and they become causes only in a secondary or derivative sense.
5. Among the motives of a probationary Christian, the practical conviction that all his intentional acts have consequences in a future state; that as he sows here, he must reap hereafter; in plain words, that according as he does, or does not, avail himself of the light and helps given by God through Christ, he must go either to heaven or hell; is the ‘most’ impressive, were it only from pity to his own soul, as an everlasting sentient being.
6. But that this is a motive, and the most impressive of motives to any given person, arises from, and supposes, a commencing state of regeneration in that person’s mind and heart. That therefore which ‘constitutes’ a regenerate STATE is the true PRINCIPLE ON which, or with a ‘view’ to which, actions, feelings, and motives ought to be grounded.
7. The different ‘operations’ of this radical principle, (which principle is called in Scripture sometimes faith, and in other places love,) I have been accustomed to call good impulses because they are the powers that impel us to do what we ought to do.
8. The impulses of a full grown Christian are 1. Love of God. 2. Love of our neighbour for the love of God. 3. An undefiled conscience, which prizes above every comprehensible advantage ‘that peace’ of God which passeth all understanding.
9. Every consideration, whether of hope or of fear, which is, and which ‘is adopted’ by ‘us’, poor imperfect creatures! in our present state of probation, as MEANS of ‘producing’ such impulses in our hearts, is so far a right and ‘desirable’ consideration. He that is weak must take the medicine which is suitable to his existing weakness; but then he ought to know that it is a ‘medicine’, the object of which is to remove the disease, not to feed and perpetuate it.
10. Lastly, I hold that there are two grievous mistakes, — both of which as ‘extremes’ equally opposite to truth and the Gospel, — I equally reject and deprecate. The first is, that of Stoic pride, which would snatch away his crutches from a curable cripple before he can walk without them. The second is, that of those worldly and temporizing preachers, who would disguise from such a cripple the necessary truth that crutches are not legs, but only temporary aids and substitutes.”
Poetry:
Notable Works:
The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner