I fear to breathe any treason against the majesty of love, which is the genius and god of
gifts, and to whom we must not affect to prescribe.
And on them was laid an unenviable struggle: for she, even fair, swift-footed Atalanta, ran scorning the gifts of golden Aphrodite; but with him the race was for his life, either to find his doom, or to escape it.
28-29) `"O daughter of Schoeneus, pitiless in heart, receive these glorious gifts of the goddess, golden Aphrodite...'
And without doubt the lady so crushed with
gifts would find them irresistible.
I have spoken of several large gifts to the school; but by far the greater proportion of the money that has built up the institution has come in the form of small donations from persons of moderate means.
This speaking of small gifts reminds me to say that very few Tuskegee graduates fail to send us an annual contribution.
I am but little
gifted in the fables of what you call the Old World, seeing that my time has been mainly passed looking natur' steadily in the face, and in reasoning on what I've seen, rather than on what I've heard in traditions.
I hastened to assure him that I should certainly have a
gift of some sort ready, since my one wish was to avoid spoiling his pleasure.
But the completer, the positive, soul, which will merely take [25] that mood into its service (its proper service, as we hold, is in counteraction to the vulgarity of purely positive natures) is also certainly in evidence in Amiel's "Thoughts"--that other, and far stronger person, in the long dialogue; the man, in short, possessed of
gifts, not for the renunciation, but for the reception and use, of all that is puissant, goodly, and effective in life, and for the varied and adequate literary reproduction of it; who, under favourable circumstances, or even without them, will become critic, or poet, and in either case a creative force; and if he be religious (as Amiel was deeply religious) will make the most of "evidence," and almost certainly find a Church.
Long Thistle wondered at the beauty round him; and then he went among the shining Spirits, told his tale, and asked a
gift.
The
gifts you offer are no small ones, let us then send chosen messengers, who may go to the tent of Achilles son of Peleus without delay.
A hunger ariseth out of my beauty: I should like to injure those I illumine; I should like to rob those I have
gifted:--thus do I hunger for wickedness.