| p17 | Self-respect pales beside the silent dignity of the oak, the Cedars of Lebanon, the olive tree, the stalk of corn. Dignity is a spot of sunlight in the shade of these … completely gratuitous … simply there. Silent dignity stands in light and casts no shadows. It cannot be put asunder. It is the marvel of the hidden. There is no cause for it save this - what is hidden cannot be despoiled. What is alluded to is not touched by all that would be heaped upon her. |