all this insipid repetition, the means by
which he forces contrast, dark boughs opposed to light, rugged to
smooth, etc., will be painfully evident, to the utter destruction of all
dignity and repose. The imaginative work is necessarily the absolute
opposite of all this. As all its parts are imperfect, and as there is an
unlimited supply of imperfection, (for the ways in which things may be
wrong are infinite,) the imagination is never at a loss, nor ever likely
to repeat itself; nothing comes amiss to it, but whatever rude matter it
receives, it instantly so arranges that it comes right; all things fall
into their place and appear in that place perfect, useful, and evidently
not to be spared, so that of its combinations there is endless variety,
and every intractable and seemingly unavailable fragment that we give to
it, is instantly turned to some brilliant use, and made the nucleus of a
new group of glory; however poor or common the gift, it will be thankful
for it, treasure it up, and pay in gold, and it has that life in it and
fire, that wherever it passes, among the dead bones and dust of things,
behold a shaking, and the bones come together, bone to his bone.

Sec. 16. Relation of the imaginative faculty to the theoretic.

And now we find what noble sympathy and unity there is between the
imaginative and theoretic faculties. Both agree in this, that they
reject nothing, and are thankful for all; but the theoretic faculty
takes out of everything that which is beautiful, while the imaginative
faculty takes hold of the very imperfections which the theoretic
rejects, and by means of these angles and roughnesses, it joints and
bolts the separate stones into a mighty temple, wherein the theoretic
faculty in its turn, does deepest homage. Thus sympathetic in their
desires, harmoniously diverse in their operation, each working for the
other with what the other needs not, all things external to man are by
one or other turned to good.

Sec. 17. Modification of its manifestation.

Now we have hitherto, for the sake of clearness, opposed the total
absence of imagination to the perfect presence of it, in order to make
the difference between composition and imagination thoroughly
understood. But if we are to give examples of either the want or the
presence of the power, it is necessary to note the circumstances by
which both are modified. In the first place, few artists of any standing
are totally devoid of this faculty