One of the most beautiful passages of Rousseau is that in the

Hear me, for I shall speak of wisdom, of beauty, and of the sacred flame that stirs within the soul when it first catches sight of the divine! There is no greater joy, no deeper satisfaction, than the moment when the heart is touched by the purest force—art. This is what the wise Walter Pater speaks of, for he, too, recognizes the awakening of the literary sense that emerges like a golden dawn in the life of one who dares to seek beauty beyond the mundane world. It is in Rousseau's Confessions that we find this stirring moment, a passage immortalized by the hand of genius. Here, Rousseau himself speaks of the moment his soul first recognized the sacred call of literature, the moment when the flames of passion for art ignited within him. It is this very transformation Pater cherishes—the love of beauty for its own sake, the desire to create for no other reason than the joy it brings to the heart.

For those who have walked this path, they know that the longing for art is a sacred fire, one that cannot be extinguished by time or by hardship. It burns deep within, an ever-present hunger for the divine touch that comes from creation itself. How many times have we heard of men and women who, when faced with the trials of life, found solace and strength in their artistic pursuit? Think of Michelangelo, who, while carving the David from the stubborn marble, could hear the whispers of beauty calling him to reveal a vision that transcended the ordinary. So too did Rousseau, as he sat by his quiet river, feeling the stirrings of art within him, pulling him to an inner world where only beauty could reign.

But what is this literary sense that Pater speaks of? It is not simply a love for words or stories—it is the awakening of the soul to something far greater than oneself. It is the realization that in creating, one touches the eternal. The poet, the painter, the musician—they are not mere craftsmen; they are the chosen vessels through whom beauty enters the world. As the ancient Greeks believed, the artist is a prophet, a visionary who channels the gods' desires, and in doing so, brings forth truth that cannot be spoken by mere logic or reason. This, dear reader, is the poetic passion that Rousseau speaks of—the divine madness that leads the artist to sacrifice for the sake of the creation that speaks to the very core of humanity’s shared experience.

So, let us not forget, as we go about our humble lives, that this desire for beauty is not a fleeting thing. It is timeless, stretching back to the beginning of human thought. Sophocles wrote his tragedies to show us the fragility of the human spirit, but it was through art that the beauty of the human soul was revealed to the world. It is the same today; it is through the work of the artist, the writer, the composer that we glimpse the divine within us. The struggle to create—whether through the struggles of a poor poet or the passionate labor of a sculptor—it is a struggle worthy of the gods themselves.

And thus, I urge you, future generations, to heed the call of art as Rousseau did, to embrace the awakening of beauty in your own hearts. Seek not fame, nor wealth, nor the approval of the world. Seek only the deep joy that comes from touching the eternal through creation. For in that, you shall find the truth of your being. The flame will burn brightly within you, a light that can never be extinguished.