s set by the limit of our imaginative insight. No door of life is
closed to the imaginative mind and heart. The world is its playground to
wander in at will. Experience, and thorough experience, comprehension of
life is at the command of _imagination_.

Life can be intelligently apprehended on the material plane through
trained senses. Life can be vividly realized on the spirit's plane only
through a trained imagination. It is only vivid realization of life at
every point which makes it worth living. You may see the lark long after
he is lost to my duller eye in our common sky, you may hear the song
when my less keen ear no longer catches a faintest thread of melody; but
unless the eye and ear of your imagination match mine you shall not
_vividly realize_ flight or song, and so I shall follow both long after
they are lost to you. Your skylark will pass with the moment of his
rapturous song-flight, while mine shall remain forever a spirit of joy
to be recalled at will for my spirit's refreshing.

Looking then upon imagination as a key to that comprehension of life
which clarifies and constitutes its worth, let us eagerly enter upon the
cultivation of such power. We have left this question of imaginative
development as a definite exercise to a fifth place in our
interpretative study, not because it is less vital to effective
expression than the first four subjects we have considered, but because
_balanced expression_ is our aim, and imagination once given free play
may easily impair that harmonious development of all our faculties which
makes for balance in expression. Of course there is no phase of the
study of interpretation which, when rightly conducted, does not
indirectly or directly involve the training of the imagination. On the
other hand, training of the imagination wisely conducted may comprehend
and carry on development along all other lines of evolution in
expression. A sensitive imagination trained and controlled to its
highest power of apprehension must make for sympathy and intelligence in
thought and feeling, keep humor sane, and give direction to purpose. But
imaginative vigor set free to the uses of thought and emotion _already_
disciplined, to _conscious_ purpose and to _good_ humor, becomes a safe
master of expressive living.

The material through which we are to exercise the imagination and
develop imaginative vigor is the narrative form of discourse. Narration
is successful when it records or has t