poetical; but it is much more certain that much actual poetry is far
from philosophical, and that most actual philosophy was not conceived or
written by a poet. The mere poet and the mere philosopher must be
tolerated, if it be only for the purpose of shedding light upon the
philosopher-poet and the poet-philosopher. And it is to the
philosopher-poet that we turn, in the hope that under the genial spell
of poetry we may be brought with understanding to the more forbidding
land of philosophy.

[Sidenote: Poetry as Appreciation.]

Sect. 8. Poetry is well characterized, though not defined, as an
interpretation of life. The term "life" here signifies the human
purposive consciousness, and active pursuit of ends. An interpretation
of life is, then, a selection and account of such values in human
experience as are actually sought or are worth the seeking. For the poet
all things are good or bad, and never only matters of fact. He is
neither an annalist nor a statistician, and is even an observer only
for the sake of a higher design. He is one who appreciates, and
expresses his appreciation so fittingly that it becomes a kind of truth,
and a permanently communicable object. That "unbodied joy," the
skylark's song and flight, is through the genius of Shelley so
faithfully embodied, that it may enter as a definite joy into the lives
of countless human beings. The sensuous or suggestive values of nature
are caught by the poet's quick feeling for beauty, and fixed by his
creative activity. Or with his ready sympathy he may perceive the value
of some human ideal or mastering passion, and make it a reality for our
common feeling. Where the poet has to do with the base and hateful, his
attitude is still appreciative. The evil is apprehended as part of a
dramatic whole having positive moral or aesthetic value. Moral ideas may
appear in both poetry and life as the inspiration and justification of
struggle. Where there is no conception of its moral significance, the
repulsive possesses for the poet's consciousness the aesthetic value of
diversity and contrast. Even where the evil and ugly is isolated, as in
certain of Browning's dramatic monologues, it forms, both for the poet
and the reader, but a part of some larger perception of life or
character, which is sublime or beautiful or good. Poetry involves,
then, the discovery and presentation of human experiences that are
satisfying and appealing. It is a language for human pleasures an