In that delightful volume, _In Memoriam_, in which Mr. Tenyson has so
nobly and pathetically enshrined the memory of his friend, Arthur
Hallam, the following passage occurs, pp. 126, 127.:--
"To these conclusions, when we saw
The God within him light his face,
And seem to lift the form, and glow
In azure orbits heavenly-wise;
And over those ethereal eyes
_The bar of Michael Angelo_."
To what does this allude? In the fine profile portrait by Julio
Bonasoni, Michael Angelo appears to have had a protuberant brow; and
Condivi says, in his very interesting and detailed account of his
person, that his forehead was square, and that, seen in profile ("quasi
avanza il naso"), it projected almost beyond the nose. It is remarkable
that the same spirit pervades these verses which we find in the Platonic
breathings of the _Rime_ of the great artist; but we are most forcibly
reminded of the poet of Vaucluse. The grief of the poet for the loss of
his friend has however had a happier effect on his mind than the more
impassioned nature of that of the lover of Laura produced: yet a kindred
feeling, of spiritual communion with the lost one, pervades both poets;
and this might have been the motto of Mr. Tenyson's volume:--
"Levommi il mio pensiero in parte ov' era
Quello eh' io cerco, e non ritrovo in terra;
... in questa spera
Sarai ancor meco, s' el desir non erra."
Foscolo has remarked that "when a great poet describes his own heart,
his picture of _Love_ will draw tears from the eyes of every sensitive
mortal in every age." And no one can read these effusions of deepfelt
virtuous affection without emotions of a happy tendency.