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Rossetti Archive Textual Transcription

Document Title: Thou, whose eyes see the beautiful in life
Author: William Sharp
Author: Fiona Macleod
Date of Composition: 1879 December 25
Type of Manuscript: holograph fair copy

The full Rossetti Archive record for this transcribed document is available.

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more about Thou, whose eyes see the beautiful in life
  • Thou, whose eyes see the beau-

    tiful in life,
  • Whose hands then make that

    beauty visible,
  • Whose thoughts are eyried on the upper

    peaks
  • Of thy great Art, and whose Imagination
  • Flies far thro' all the unscann'd depths of

    mind,
  • As wings from the low-lying Asian plain
  • Some eagle to the sky-clasp'd Caucasus—
  • Thou, too, must feel the Xmas mystery:
  • Not in the narrow sense of sect or creed,
  • 10Nor yet alone in memory of a Man,
  • Nor the mere sympathy of common joy,
  • But that strange mystery wherein man's heart
  • Re-echoes some Ideal, some To - Be;
  • And, dreaming on the past, this one day meets
  • In universal hope.
  • Thus then accept
  • From one who stands and watches thee afar
  • A Christmas greeting;—& may this year close
  • Not without calm content: & that which comes
  • 20Hereafter, find thee rich in thought & deed,
  • And bring thee hope, & strength, & daily joy in life!
Xmas 1879. Wm. Sharp.
Electronic Archive Edition: 1
Source File: sharp002.sangms.rad.xml
Copyright: Published with the permission of Iziko Museums of Cape Town