quote · Legacy record
I see a forest, dark, dim, deep, and dread, Whose solemn shades no human foot or eye Can penetrate; but now, oh see! a veil Falls from my strengthened eyes; and now Even in its deepest centre I behold A spot more beautiful than human heart Can comprehend; it is the home of Joy, And there the blessed spirit broods for ever, Making her dwelling-place a heaven: there The skies are pure as crystal, and the eye Looks through their clear expanse direct to God. No sun is there; the air itself is light And life; a rainbow spans it like a crown Of tearless glory, and the forest trees Sweep round it in a belt of living green. Colour, that wayward sprite of changeful mien, Is here subdued to an intensity Of burning lustre. Sound has but one voice, And that joyous song; sight but one object, And that is happiness; mine eyes are strained To catch the lineaments of the bright queen, Whose dwelling-place I see; but ’tis in vain; Nowhere distinct, yet felt in all, she glides, A shape of light and colour through the air, Making its pure transparency to thrill With the soft music of her viewless step.
I see a forest, dark, dim, deep, and dread, Whose solemn shades no human foot or eye Can penetrate; but now, oh see! a veil Falls from my strengthened eyes; and now Even in its deepest centre I behold A spot more beautiful than human heart Can comprehend; it is the home of Joy, And there the blessed spirit broods for ever, Making her dwelling-place a heaven: there The skies are pure as crystal, and the eye Looks through their clear expanse direct to God. No sun is there; the air itself is light And life; a rainbow spans it like a crown Of tearless glory, and the forest trees Sweep round it in a belt of living green. Colour, that wayward sprite of changeful mien, Is here subdued to an intensity Of burning lustre. Sound has but one voice, And that joyous song; sight but one object, And that is happiness; mine eyes are strained To catch the lineaments of the bright queen, Whose dwelling-place I see; but ’tis in vain; Nowhere distinct, yet felt in all, she glides, A shape of light and colour through the air, Making its pure transparency to thrill With the soft music of her viewless step.
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- C. L. Reddel (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 333 · printed citation: C. L. Reddel · subject: JOY
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.