"When I first discovered for myself how near was the King in His beauty I thought I would be the singer of the happiest songs. Forgive me, Spirit of my spirit, for this, that I have found it easier to read the mystery told in tears and understood Thee better in sorrow than in joy; that, though I would not, I have made the way seem thorny, and have wandered in too many byways, imagining myself into moods which held Thee not. I should have parted the true from the false, but I have not yet passed away from myself who am in the words of this book. Time is a swift winnower, and that he will do quickly for me."
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Preface to Collected Poems (1913)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_William_Russell
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George William Russell
George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935) was an Irish nationalist, critic, poet, painter and mystic who often wrote under the pseudonym "Æ."
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