+Stanza 44,+ 1. 1. _The splendours of the firmament of time_, &c. As
there are stars in the firmament of heaven, so are there
splendours--luminous intellects--in the firmament of time. The stars,
though at times eclipsed, are not extinguished; nor yet the mental
luminaries. This asseveration may be considered in connexion with the
passage in st. 5: 'Others more sublime, Struck by the envious wrath of
man or God, Have sunk, extinct in their refulgent prime.'
11. 5, 6. _When lofty thought Lifts a young heart_, &c. The sense of
this passage may be paraphrased thus:--When lofty thought lifts a young
heart above its mundane environments, and when its earthly doom has to
be determined by the conflicting influences of love, which would elevate
it, and the meaner cares and interests of life, which would drag it
downwards, then the illustrious dead live again in that heart--for its
higher emotions are nurtured by their noble thoughts and
aspirations,--and they move, like exhalations of light along dark and
stormy air. This illustrates the previous proposition, that the
splendours of the firmament of time are not extinguished; and, in the
most immediate application of the proposition, Keats is not
extinguished--he will continue an ennobling influence upon minds
struggling towards the light.
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