Page:You Gentiles (1924) by Maurice Samuel 1895-1972.djvu/82



dreams of men concerning the latter days are a common index to their ideals of life, for no one will think of the future except as his own. These dreams, like their close kin, the night dream, are extraordinarily difficult of interpretation—much more difficult than the psychoanalyst would have us believe. But on occasions they are presented with unmistakable clarity and directness—by the prophets.

The functions of the prophet as a seer and a foreseer have been confounded for this reason. The true prophet sees into the ultimate longings of his group—longings which may even run counter to the day's desires. These ultimate longings are shifted into the far future—beyond the reach of temporal complications and compromises: and he that unveils 78