A 638: etext transcription

This is one of a number of late manuscripts in which the opposite sides of the paper constitute separate textual spaces. A 638 carries a (partial?) fair-copy draft of a letter to Ned Dickinson; A 638a carries a rough-copy fragment or pensée, the final, overflow lines of which are penciled in the left, right, and bottom margins of the fair-copy letter-draft on A 638. The lines are a paraphrase and revision of Luke 10:21: "In that now Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." Dickinson's final intentions toward the rough-copy fragment remain unknown. It may have been destined for incorporation into another composition, or it may be a free-standing text. The fragment on A 638 is a kind of "crossed text": here the lines "That they have Existed - none | can take away" and "That they still Exist is a trust so daring" are composed perpendicular to and over the rest of the text. Both layers of text are readable.