High above all the evils of the world he lived in a realm of ideal serenity,
as if it were the business of life to conquer difficulties.

This is not the place for an essay on the genius of Sidney Lanier.
It is enough to call attention to some marked points
in his character and work.

He had more than Milton's love for music. He sung like a bard
to the accompaniment of a harp. He lived in sweet sounds:
forever conscious of a ceaseless flow of melody which,
if resisted for a while by business occupations, would swell again
in its natural current and break at his bidding into audible music.

We have the following recognition of his genius from Asger Hamerik,
his Director for six years in the Peabody Symphony Orchestra of Baltimore:

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"To him as a child in his cradle Music was given: the heavenly gift
to feel and to express himself in tones. His human nature
was like an enchanted instrument, a magic flute, or the lyre of Apollo,
needing but a breath or a touch to send its beauty out into the world.
It was indeed irresistible that he should turn with those poetical feelings
which transcend language to the penetrating gentleness of the flute,
or the infinite passion of the violin; for there was an agreement,
a spiritual correspondence between his nature and theirs,
so that they mutually absorbed and expressed each other.
In his hands the flute no longer remained a mere material instrument,
but was transformed into a voice that set heavenly harmonies into vibration.
Its tones developed colors, warmth, and a low sweetness of unspeakable poetry;
they were not only true and pure, but poetic, allegoric as it were,