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Wordsworthiana: A selection from papers read to the Wordsworth Society
Wordsworthiana A selection from papers read to the Wordsworth Society Author:William Knight Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MATTHEW ARNOLD'S ADDRESS AS PRESIDENT, 1883. Ax your last year's meeting you did me the honour, although I was not then a member of your Society, to elect me... more » your President for this year. I had declined to join the Wordsworth Society for the same reason that I decline to join other societies—not from any disrespect to their objects or to their promoters, but because, being very busy and growing old, I endeavour to avoid fresh engagements and distractions, and to keep what little leisure I can for reflection and amendment before the inevitable close. When your election of me came, however, I felt that it would be ungracious to decline it; and, as generally happens, having decided to accept it and to join you, I soon began to find out a number of excellent reasons for doing what I had resolved to do. In former days, you know, people who had in near view that inevitable close of which I just now spoke, people who had had their fill of life's business and were tired of its labour and contention, used to enter a monastery. In my opinion they did a very sensible thing. I said to myself: ' Times and circumstances have changed, you cannot well enter a monastery; but you can enter the Wordsworth Society.' The two things are not so very different. A monastery is under the rules of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Well, and he who comes underthe discipline of Wordsworth comes under those same rules. Wordsworth constantly both preached and practised them. He was 'frugal and severe ;' he ever calls us to 'plain living and high thinking.' There you have the rule of poverty. His chosen hero and exemplar, the Pedlar of The Excursion, was formed and fashioned by the Scottish Church having held upon him in his youth, with a power which endured all his life long, ' the strong hand of her purity...« less