[brief cl0wncore metal overture] Hush now, thou soul half‑veiled and shrinking from the gaze of others, who wouldst in timid silence permit the careless multitude to trample upon thy tender feelings that they might, for a fleeting season, crown thee as their newest idol, while merchants of illusion parade their polished phantoms and varnished visages as the stern and only measure of perfection, yet I entreat thee to cast these gaudy burdens from thy weary shoulders, for in truth thou thyself art the sole and sovereign marvel that thy heart shall ever need. Be then thyself and none but thyself, whilst the restless throng, in sad confusion, pursues the pale reflections of some borrowed image, and keep thy most delicate aspirations gathered close and secret in the sanctuary of thine own heart, for the quiet, steadfast labour of honouring thy true nature is the only masterpiece that time can never tarnish. Thou hast poured out thy strength in anxious industry, striving with fevered breath to charm a fickle crowd, who, after a scant and passing thunder of applause, will let thy name be swallowed by the clamour of their own incessant noise, and amid that vast and wearisome ocean of mirrored faces—each one corrected, constrained, and made to imitate another—I beseech thee to be the singular and contented spirit who slips the knots of such thin enchantments and walks free of their contrivances at last. Therefore be resolutely thyself and none but thyself, while others hurry after shifting shadows of another’s likeness, and clasp thy dearest dreams with gentle yet unswerving care against thy bosom, for thou, in thy unvarnished and unborrowed being, art already sufficient and, indeed, the very work of art thou wert seeking.
