How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #10
‘O me! for why is all around us here
[…]
[…] as if the world were wholly fair,
But that these eyes of men are dense and dim,
And have not power to see it as it is:
Perchance, because we see not to the close;—
For I, being simple, thought to work His will,
And have but stricken with the sword in vain.’
(“Passing of Arthur,” 13, 18-23)
Ever heard the Yiddish proverb, “Man plans, God laughs”? That’s kind of what Arthur realizes here. The world may be beautiful when considered in light of God’s plan for it, but men’s minds cannot conceive this plan. Arthur's a man without a compass here. He spent his whole life trying to be God’s instrument on earth, and now he thinks that his efforts were useless. Of course, it’s possible that God has used him for good in ways that he is unable to perceive.