The rebel, who craved simplicity in its purest form, advises "Say what you have to say, not what you ought. Any truth is better than make-believe."

"His face, once seen, could not be forgotten. The features were quite marked: the nose aquiline or very Roman, like one of the portraits of Caesar; large overhanging brows above the deepest set blue eyes that could be seen, in certain lights, and in others gray, — eyes expressive of all shades of feeling, but never weak or near-sighted; the forehead not unusually broad or high, full of concentrated energy and purpose; the mouth with prominent lips, pursed up with meaning and thought when silent, and giving out when open with the most varied and unusual instructive sayings." - Ellery Channing, in Thoreau, the Poet-Naturalist

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: "He is a singular character — a young man with much of wild original nature remaining in him; and so far as he is sophisticated, it is in a way and method of his own. He is ugly as sin, long-nosed, queer-mouthed, and with uncouth and somewhat rustic, although courteous manners, corresponding very well with such an exterior. But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty."

Bach/Siloti - Prelude in B minor

The House of Mirth

"He saw that all the conditions of life had been conspired to keep them apart... but at least he had loved her - had been willing to stake his future on his faith in her... It was in this moment of love, this fleeting victory over themselves, which had kept them from atrophy and extinction; which, in her, had reached out to him in every struggle against the influence of her surroundings, and in him, had kept alive the faith that now drew him penitent and reconciled to her side. He knelt by the bed and bent over her, draining their last moment to its lees; and in the silence there passed between them the word which made all clear."

The End

Mission of Love

the mission of love ... i have been reminded, most intensely, within the past few months of the importance of loving for Christ and loving in Christ. i mean, duh ~ isnt that what being a Christian is all about?! aside from the religious duties that enchain you to church on Fridays and Sundays, oh, oh, and perhaps even on Saturdays, what makes us stand apart from the guy next door? Christ's mission was to love - fully and without prejudice, and often times, if not all the time, i forget this. ive tasted His love and His grace, yet i can be brutally unwilling to share it with others. even in my so called"honest" relationships, i fail to be unprejudiced in my support and affection for the other person. i look back on those moments and soooooo want to plaster a big "I" on my forehead for IDIOT! because i realize that all this time, ive been actively rejecting one of the greatest gifts Christ has given us! He has given us a chance to experience the ultimate luxury in life: relationships. beautifully flawed, unconditional love shown through conscious investment, aggressive maintenance, and nourishment through His word. how could i have been so short sighted!?