might have been, but never would be.

The man bent forward.

And the angel said, "What is it?"

He answered, "It is I! it is myself!" And he went forward as if he would
have lain his heart against it; but the angel held him back and covered his
eyes.

Now God had given power to the angel further to unclothe that soul, to take
from it all those outward attributes of time and place and circumstance
whereby the individual life is marked off from the life of the whole.

Again the angel uncovered the man's eyes, and he looked. He saw before him
that which in its tiny drop reflects the whole universe; he saw that which
marks within itself the step of the furthest star, and tells how the
crystal grows under ground where no eye has seen it; that which is where
the germ in the egg stirs; which moves the outstretched fingers of the
little newborn babe, and keeps the leaves of the trees pointing upward;
which moves where the jelly-fish sail alone on the sunny seas, and is where
the lichens form on the mountains' rocks.

And the man looked.

And the angel touched him.

But the man bowed his head and shuddered. He whispered--"It is God!"

And the angel re-covered the man's eyes. And when he uncovered them there