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These beauteous forms, Through a long absence, have not been to me As is a landscape to a blind man's eye: But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And passing even into my purer mind, With tranquil restoration: -feelings too Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps, As have no slight or trivial influence On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, In which the burthen of the mystery, In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world Is lighten'd:- that serene and blessed mood, In which the affections gently lead us on,- Until, the breath of this corporeal frame And even the motion of our human blood Almost suspended, we are laid asleep In body, and become a living soul: While with an eye made quiet by the power Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, We see into the life of things.

William Wordsworth#115

NatureMemoryMorality

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker recalls how memory of nature provided sweet sensations and moral guidance during weary town times.
In plain terms
Thinking about nature helped him feel good and do kind acts when tired in the city.
What can you take from it?
Nature's memory supports morale and kindness in busy life.

Where it applies

  • city life
  • loneliness

Putting it to work

  • mindfulness
  • recalling peace

Questions to consider

  • How does memory help you cope?
  • What guides your kind acts?

Another view

It assumes nature memory is universally restorative.

More from William Wordsworth

  1. Five years have passed; five summers, with the length Of five long winters! and again I hear These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs With a sweet inl…

    Permalink to quote #114
  2. O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, How often has my spirit turned to thee!

    Permalink to quote #116
  3. May no rude hand deface it, And its forlorn Hic jacet!

    Permalink to quote #113

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