His death in twain shall blast thy callous heart
As once the solid rock He rent apart.
The most distinguished among the fervid lovers of God of later times
were the saints Jean de la Croix, Alfonso da Liguori, and Francois de
Sales. The _Tract of the Love of God_, written by Francois de Sales,
surpasses everything ever achieved in this direction.
I will not dilate further on this barren aspect of emotionalism so
easily traceable through the later centuries in many a Catholic and
Protestant sentimentalist, but will conclude this chapter with a brief
discussion of Novalis. If I mention this poet in this connexion it is
not because I desire to depreciate his genius, but because, possessing
as he did, in a rare degree, depth of feeling and power of expression,
he is an important witness of an unusual type. True, here and there his
poems are reminiscent of Jacopone, but he is not sufficiently ingenuous,
and is altogether too morbid to be classed with that ardent fanatic.
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