The fountain : with jets of new meanings . tant initial, is because no other letter so spontaneously ex-presses the many and various feelings of the impress-ible spirit. It involuntarily bubbles up to the tongue,in the shape of an interjection, as the natural soundof almost every imaginable emotion—of surprise, joy,alarm, aversion, sorrow, supplication. Bees do not swarm more thickly into a clover-fieldthan does this letter crowd itself into the flowers of literature. The veryexistence of poetry de-pends upon the exist-ence of this simplevowel. Starting withthese hints, where canyou not
The fountain : with jets of new meanings . tant initial, is because no other letter so spontaneously ex-presses the many and various feelings of the impress-ible spirit. It involuntarily bubbles up to the tongue,in the shape of an interjection, as the natural soundof almost every imaginable emotion—of surprise, joy,alarm, aversion, sorrow, supplication. Bees do not swarm more thickly into a clover-fieldthan does this letter crowd itself into the flowers of literature. The veryexistence of poetry de-pends upon the exist-ence of this simplevowel. Starting withthese hints, where canyou not go in tracingthe inclispdisability ofthis item of the alphabet ? The en^tire structure of literature wouldcrumble should one letter be with-drawn. Thus we learn, that leastthings are necessary to the us remember,right here, that the first and the last letters in the Greekalphabet are A and O. Hence, in the Bible phrase-ology, the representative terms, Alpha and Omega,are naturally used to signify the beginning and the THE EVERLASTING 0. 9 A is the first figure employed to symbolize the firstvocal sound made irresistibly by merely opening themouth, with the feeling or wish of utterance in theheart. A, M, and O come out of the sweet lips ofinfants as naturally as music flows from the mouthsof birds. Destroy the letter O, and you annihilate the Greeklanguage. And then, what would become of poetryand prayers ? O heart of fire ! tell us what wouldbe thy fate ? Men of language ! tell us who, deprivedof the use of this letter, could exclaim O, Lord ! O,Mother Church ! O, God, Omnipotent! Withoutthe sound of O, there could be no natural expressionin any language of the emotions of joy, warning,admiration, entreaty, or compassion. In vain mightwe hunt for a substitute 11 Over low-lands forest-grown,Over waters island-strown,Over silver-sanded beach ; yet, forever, a better letter would be beyond ourreach; therefore, O vowel, wisely chosen ! we lovinglycling to thee
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectspiritualism, bookyea
