At the same time the natural impatience of one
who discerns a symbolism all about him, in tree and flower, in
sunshine and rain, and who hates to see the range restricted, is a
feeling that a wise and tolerant man ought to resist. It is ill to
break the pitcher because the well is at hand! One does not make a
narrow soul broader by breaking down its boundaries, but by
revealing the beauty of the further horizon. Even the false feeling
of compassion must be resisted. A child is more encouraged by
listening patiently to its tale of tiny exploits, than by casting
ridicule upon them.
But on the other hand it is a wholly false timidity for one who has
been brought up to love and reverence the narrower range of
symbols, to choke and stifle the desires that stir in his heart for
the wider range, out of deference to authority and custom. One must
not discard a cramping garment until one has a freer one to take
its place; but to continue in the confining robe with the larger
lying ready to one's hand, from a sense of false pathos and
unreasonable loyalty, is a piece of foolishness.
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