that he is too indifferent to
the troubles of less self-sufficing or clear-sighted human beings. The
ambiguity makes itself felt in the sphere of morality. The ethical
doctrine that virtue consists in conformity to nature becomes ambiguous
with him, as with all its advocates, when we ask for a precise
definition of nature. How are we to know which natural forces make for
us and which fight against us?

The doctrine of the love of nature, generally regarded as Wordsworth's
great lesson to mankind, means, as interpreted by himself and others, a
love of the wilder and grander objects of natural scenery; a passion for
the 'sounding cataract,' the rock, the mountain, and the forest; a
preference, therefore, of the country to the town, and of the simpler to
the more complex forms of social life. But what is the true value of
this sentiment? The unfortunate Solitary in the 'Excursion' is beset by
three Wordsworths; for the Wanderer and the Pastor are little more (as
Wordsworth indeed intimates) than reflections of himself, seen in
different mirrors. The Solitary represents the anti-social lessons to be
derived from communion with nature. He has become a misanthrope, and has
learnt from 'Candide' the lesson that we clearly do not live in the best
of all possible worlds. Instead of learning the true lesson from nature
by penetrating its deeper meanings, he manages to feed

Pity and scorn and melancholy pride

by accidental and fanciful analogies, and sees in rock pyramids or
obelisks a rude mockery of human toils. To confute this sentiment, to
upset 'Candide,'

This dull product of a scoffer's pen,

is the purpose of the lofty poetry and versified prose of the long
dialogues which ensue. That Wordsworth should call Voltaire dull is a
curious example of the proverbial blindness of controversialists; but
the moral may be equally good. It is given most pithily in the lines--

We live by admiration, hope, and love;
And even as these are well and wisely fused,
The dignity of being we ascend.

'But what is Error?' continues the preacher; and the Solitary replies by
saying, 'somewhat haughtily,' that love, admiration, and hope are 'mad
fancy's favourite vassals.' The distinction between fancy and
imagination is, in brief, that fancy deals with the superficial
resemblances, and imagination with the deeper truths which underlie
them. The purpose, then, of the 'Excursion,' and of Wordsworth's poetry
in genera