rtion, and Symmetry are in all
its fragile leaves--the Great Over-Soul seems to have lingered lovingly
over the elaboration of its idea, and stamped upon its fragrant leaves,
perishing and trivial as they may seem, the secrets of Infinity! With
what variety it is marked! How many shades in the gradations of the
color! What infinitesimal changes in the direction of the gentle
curvature of the rounded lines! what richness in the details! what
subtle and penetrating tenderness in the perfume! _Love_, _Infinity_,
_Unity_, _Order_, _Proportion_, _Symmetry_, mark all the Divine Works:
_Unity_, _Order_, _Proportion_, _Symmetry_, _Love_, as manifested in the
careful rendering of the subject in hand, with the suggestion of that
mystic Infinite in which all being is cradled, and from which all art is
nurtured, should, on their lower level in their finite degree, mark
every work of art. But to our subject: the divine attribute of unity,
and its manifestation in and through the finite.

All things, except God, receive externally some perfection from other
things. We will not now consider the unity of His mystical Trinity, but
rather dwell upon the necessity of His inherence in all things, without
which no creature could retain existence for a moment. We speak of His
comprehensive unity because it is an object of hope to men; it is that
of which Christ thought when he said: 'Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through their word: that
they may be all One, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee.' There
is no matter, no spirit, that is not capable of unity of some kind with
other creatures, in which unity is found their several perfections, and
which is a source of joy for all who see it. The Unity of Spirits is
partly in their sympathy, partly in their giving and taking, and ever in
their love, their inseparable dependency on each other and _always_ on
their Maker--not like the cold peace of undisturbed stones and solitary
mountains, but the living peace of trust, the living power of
confidence, _of hands that hold each other and are still_! Who has not
felt the strength of united love? In the sudden emotion common to
humanity which we all experience at the sight of suffering, and which
brought tears from the Holy One on the death of Lazarus, in the strange
shivering which we feel pervade our souls at the shrill cry of anguish,
do we not recognize more than a simple resemblance of nature--do