Anguish

“ And they do well to hide their Hell, For in it things are done That Son of God nor son of Man Ever should look upon! The vilest deeds like poison weeds Bloom well in prison-air: It is only what is good in Man That wastes and withers there: Pale Anguish keeps the heavy gate, And the warder is Despair. For they starve the little frightened child Till it weeps both night and day: And they scourge the weak, and flog the fool, And gibe the old and gray, And some grow mad, and all grow bad, And none a word may say. ”

“ These two Kingdoms are in continual Combat one with another, and there is an incessant Wrestling in them; as Water boiling on the Fire; each boils in its Property, viz. the oily in Joy and Meekness, and the mortal in the Anguish of Darkness, and yet one is the Cause of the other: The Light is the Death, and deadly Destruction of the Darkness, viz. of the Anguish; for in the Light the Anguish has no Strength, but it changes it into the Exultation of Joyfulness. ”

“ Oh God, my God, why hast thou so forsaken me? Would I had died before!" And the heavy groan which followed, confirmed the anguish breathed in those broken words.
"Father!" implored the unhappy girl, clasping his knees in an agony of supplication, though she raised not her head—"Oh my father! in mercy do not speak thus! Words of wrath, of reproach, fearful as they are from thee, yet I can bear them, but not such woe! Oh, think what I have borne, what I must still bear. If I have sinned, my sin will bring, nay, it has already brought its own chastisement. ”

“ Evil no doubt presented itself under various aspects to the human mind, and its names are many; but none so expressive as those derived from our root anh, to throttle. Anhas [Pg 461] in Sanskrit means sin, but it does so only because it meant originally throttling—the consciousness of sin being like the grasp of the assassin on the throat of his victim ... This anhas is the same word as the Greek agos, sin ... The English anguish is from the French angoisse, the Italian angoscia, a corruption of the Latin angustiæ, a strait ... ”

“ Pain, anguish, and suffering in human life are always in proportion to the strength with which a man is endowed. We will not pretend to say that Heaven always apportions to a man’s capability of endurance the anguish with which he afflicts him; ”

“ Doubtless a great anguish may do the work of years, and we may come out from that baptism of fire with a soul full of new awe and new pity. ”

“ Your boy loves to see any creature scamper before his pursuit in terror.
Angus’s face went wild, his eyes distended, his mouth opened so that his teeth gleamed through, and, head down, he charged the line of his tormentors. His was the unreasoning fury of deadly fear. He kicked, he screamed, he struck out with fists and butted with his head. In an instant there was a seething, scrambling, rolling mêlée, a bedlam of shouts and cries of sudden pain.... Then Angus, crying with fear, worked himself free of the mass and took to his heels in a wild scurry for the refuge of Dave Wilkins’s office. ”

“ Angus, listen to me. You love this girl?
Ang. I love her, sir, a’most as weel as I love mysel’!
Ch. Then reflect how you are standing in the way of her prosperity. I am a rich man. I have money, position, and education. I am a much more intellectual and generally agreeable companion for her than you can ever hope to be. I am full of anecdote, and all my anecdotes are in the best possible taste. I will tell you some of them some of these days, and you can judge for yourself. Maggie, if she married me, would live in a nice house in a good square. ”

“ The burning forest is but a type of the extent and the warmth of your mutual affection, and the dead figure of Angus only shadows forth the fact that your love will endure with life itself.”
“There needed not such a vision to tell us these truths,” said Angus energetically.
“Yet do we often see matters as palpable as these, as wonderfully vouched for by supernatural means,” said the chief. “Get thee home then, Ellen; and do thou see her safe, Angus, and let her not suffer her young mind to brood on such dreary and distressing phantasies as seem now to fill it. ”

“ But, if we were deceived, the fault is luckily cured now, for this is doubtless the very man who”——
“Aye,” said the chief interrupting him; “the very man, indeed, who would have certainly taken my life, had it not [26] been for thine alert and timely aid. What do I not owe thee, my trusty Angus! But stay; let him sit down and rest for a brief space, till he recovers his strength, and then, if I mistake not, we shall bloodily revenge his passing injury.” ”

“ Angus saw that her eyes were filled with tears.
'It wass wrong of ye, Angus, efer to think I would forget ye,' she said.
'Then ye do think sometimes apoot me when I am not near you?'
'Angus, how can you pe speaking nonsense like that!'
'But it iss not nonsense to me, Maggie,' said her lover seriously; 'I love you, Maggie, as I love no woman in the world; and Maggie, if you were to—to—it wad break my'——
It was the old story. Two human souls meeting under the light of heaven, each recognising in the other that which each yearned for, to give completeness to life ”

“ Angus. And so we’re fitted, I hope.’ ‘Not at all,’ said Angus, who as I told you was a wise man and a knowing; ‘not one bit,’ said Angus. ‘The kelpie’s hide is thicker than three bull-hides, and none of your weapons would do more than mark it.’ ‘What am I to do then, Angus, for kill him I will somehow?’ ‘I’ll tell you what to do; but it needs a brave man to do that.’ ‘And do you think I’m not brave enough for that, Angus?’ ‘I know one thing you are not brave enough for.’ ‘And what’s that?’ said Allister, and his face grew red, only he did not want to anger Nelly’s father. ”

“ Some of the misguided folk of New Jedboro fumigated themselves at every mention of Angus' name, sleeping meantime side by side with some consump [277] tive form, knowing not that death slept between them. But the great science of life is, and hath ever been, the recognition of life's real enemies.
Angus was alone—and fallen. The foundling's plague was upon him, and there was none to care for him but the faithful servant, smallpox-proof as he happily knew himself to be. ”

“ Weel, my warld went on wanting the lad, and the school talk filled the day, and at night I went wi’ Mither to the meeting about it. From this hour I begin to forget Angus. I will ask God to keep my heart from all love’s care and sorrow. ”

“ It is night, but the great tree shows blacker. Below it sits Angus in a wreath of mist.
Angus (sings) .
Let the gods awake, for memory has woken,
The little men that loved us remember us again,
The chains that were wrought of the love of Christ are broken,
And little men come back to our beauty and their pain.
Let the gods awake, for the hearts of men are waking
The little hearts that warmed us when we were a-cold.
The old time is back again, the old day is breaking—
What is man’s forgetting to us who wax not old? ”

“ But ha!” exclaimed he, as he kindly took her hand to detain her; “why dost thou look so sad? By this light, such as it is, it would seem as if the tear-drop had been in that blue eye of thine. My worthy Angus could never have caused this? He loves thee too well ever to give pain to so soft and confiding a heart as thine.” ”

“ Whether in dream or waking vision of the night, I cannot say; but I saw him, sir, as distinctly as I now see you; clothed exactly as I remember him in life; and he stood by my bedside, and with up-lifted hand and warning finger, and with a most solemn and earnest expression of countenance, he said, "Angus, my beloved son, don't go on this voyage. It will not be a prosperous one." On three nights running has my father appeared to me in this form, and with the same words of warning ”

“ There was one thing more, I remember, for when, after he had assured me that I should not be able to avoid this man, I said, ‘He is an enemy, then?’ Angus replied, ‘That I cannot see. He will do you a great service, yet he will cause you bitter grief. It is dark.’ You know how vexatious it is when one with the two sights cannot see any more. ”

“ Marion gave one of those arch glances which brought her dimples into full play. When she smiled, it was like a child's face, pure and fresh, and sweet and loving. For one moment, as he gazed, Mr. Angus forgot his burden. There might yet be something bright for him in life. With a deep sigh he shouldered his burden again, and this time it seemed weightier than ever before. ”

“ Agni, thou enterest as Priest the home of men who sacrifice. Lord of the people, prosper them. Accept the ofrering, Angiras! 11. O Agni, God with Mitra's might, call hither the favour of the Gods from earth and heaven. Bring weal from heaven, that men may dwell securely. May we o'ercome the foe's malign oppressions, may we o'ercome them, through thy help o'ercome them. ”

“ I might wash you away, too; and that would be a national calamity.”
“Don’t jest on serious subjects, my boy,” said Uncle; and Angus grew grave directly. “I am no enemy to honest, rational fun; ’tis human, and natural more especially to the young. But never, never let us make a jest of the things that pertain to God.”
“I beg your pardon, Father,” said Angus, in a low voice. “I’ll take you, Flora. What say you, Cary?” ”

“ On the contrary, the Agnostic, knowing too well the influence of prejudice and idiosyncrasy, even on those who desire most earnestly to be impartial, can wish for nothing more urgently than that the scientific theologian should not only be at perfect liberty to thresh out the matter in his own fashion; but that he should, if he can, find flaws in the Agnostic position; and, even if demonstration is not to be had, that he should put, in their full force, the grounds of the conclusions he thinks probable. ”

“ Vast, universal, good he was made messenger; the speeder with his right hand hath not loosed his hold, through love of fame not loosed his hold. He bears oblations to the Gods for whosoever supplicates. Agni bestows a blessing on each pious man, and opens wide the doors for him. 7. That Agni hath been set most kind in camp of men, in sacrifice like a Lord victorious, like a dear Lord in sacred rites. His are the oblations of mankind when offered up at Ila's place. ”

“ Another story of about the same time was that of Angus, the son of
a Tuatha god, to whom in a dream a beautiful maiden appeared. He
wasted away with love for her, and searched the country for a girl
who should look like her. At last he saw in a meadow among a
hundred and fifty maidens, each with a chain of silver about her
neck, one who was like the beauty of his dream. ”

“ Angus, in travail of spirit, uttered no sound, but Bishwhang, feeling that information should be forthcoming, bobbed his scrubby head and said solemnly, “This is him, Miss.”
“Well, I don’t care a bit who you are, nor how shif’less a lot all your ancestors was,” she spoke the word “ancestors” proudly because of the size of it, “nobody’s goin’ to pick on you in my yard.” Her eyes flashed and she looked at Angus scornfully, but curiously. “Now you better tell me why you didn’t just up and go for Mal Crane yourself.” ”

“ He relies on assertion, and in all debate attacks the motive of his opponent instead of answering his arguments. All savages know the origin and destiny of man. About other things they know but little. The theologian is much the same. The Agnostic has given up the hope of ascertaining the nature of the "First Cause"—the hope of ascertaining whether or not there was a "First Cause." He admits that he does not know whether or not there is an infinite Being. ”

“ Angus, you are a just man, and you will own to the truth. Is it likely, that with his almost dying breath, he should have assured my mother that all was settled that she could bring me up well, in comfort and luxury, that Charlotte Harman and I should be friends? No, Angus! I believe my father; he was a good and just man always; and, even if he was not, dying men don't tell lies. ”

“ The light spreads over the stage and drives back the mist.
Angus. The gods are forgotten in Morven of the glens;
The sun shines clearly, and gentle is the day;
Like snow in summer corries, like the mist upon the bens,
The lovely gods of darkness are vanished away. ”

“ The theologians, finding themselves unable to answer the arguments that have been urged, resort to the old subterfuge—to the old cry that Agnosticism takes something of value from the life of man. Does the Agnostic take any consolation from the world? ”

“ Agnosticism appeared dressed in the garb of an exceeding reverence, but, on closer acquaintance, it became evident that its acceptance would mean the cheapening of life by banishing from it the Divine personality, and robbing the human of the qualities that give it its greatest worth. ”

“ Crane struggled to free himself, but Angus was the stronger; as he was powerful enough to hold the man’s body, so his spirit was strong enough to hold the man’s eyes, to dominate him, to intimidate him.... ”

“ My wife has frequently told me that she liked Angus from the start because he seemed so robed in health and draped in a kind of pathetic modesty, with eyes whose colour she was certain would not fade. How women do love the metaphors of millinery! ”