The only evil
that even in apprehension befalls the two lovers is the loss of the
greatest possible felicity; yet this loss is fatal to both, for they
had rather part with life than bear the thought of surviving all
that had made life dear to them. In all this, Shakespeare has but
followed nature, which existed in his time, as well as now. The
modern philosophy, which reduces the whole theory of the mind to
habitual impressions, and leaves the natural impulses of passion and
imagination out of the account, had not then been discovered; or if
it had, would have been little calculated for the uses of poetry.
It is the inadequacy of the same false system of philosophy to
account for the strength of our earliest attachments, which has led
Mr. Wordsworth to indulge in the mystical visions of Platonism in
his Ode on the Progress of Life. He has very admirably described the
vividness of our impressions in youth and childhood, and how 'they
fade by degrees into the light of common day', and he ascribes the
change to the supposition of a pre-existent state, as if our early
thoughts were nearer heaven, reflections of former trails of glory,
shadows of our past being. This is idle. It is not from the
knowledge of the past that the first impressions of things derive
their gloss and splendour, but from our ignorance of the future,
which fills the void to come with the warmth of our desires, with
our gayest hopes, and brightest fancies.
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