The
chestnut threw up his head and sniffed the air; horse and rider were
wet with the dew-drip from the trees, that were now just flushing in the
first glow of the coming sun. Far below was the lake, reflecting sky
and hills and farmsteads, all asleep. And there in the east were the red
flames--the sun--the day.
The horse pawed impatiently at the ground, eager to go on, but Peer
held him back. He sat there gazing under the brim of his helmet at the
sunrise, and felt a wave of strange feeling passing through his mind.
It seemed to him impossible that he should ever reach a higher pitch of
sheer delight in life. He was still young and strong; all the organs of
his body worked together in happy harmony. No cares to weigh upon his
mind, no crushing responsibilities; the future lying calm and clear in
the light of day, free from dizzy dreams. His hunger after knowledge
was appeased; he felt that what he had learned and seen and gathered was
beginning to take living organic form in his mind.
But then--what then?
The great human type of which you dreamed--have you succeeded in giving
it life in yourself?
You know what is common knowledge about the progress of humanity; its
struggle towards higher forms, its gropings up by many ways toward the
infinite which it calls God.
You know something of the life of plants; the nest of a bird is a
mystery before which you could kneel in worship. A rock shows you the
marks of a glacier that scraped over it thousands of years ago, and
looking on it you have a glimpse of the gigantic workings of the solar
system.
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