How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
The Frost performs its secret ministry,
Unhelped by any wind. (1-2)
In freezing the earth and creating icicles, the Frost performs a kind of "ministry" because it (the frost) is the agent (or "minister") of a higher power: God. (This is how Coleridge views everything in Nature—all natural processes testify to the power of God.) Also, the frost's ministry is "secret" because it's hidden by the night.
Quote #2
Sea, hill, and wood,
This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,
With all the numberless goings-on of life,
Inaudible as dreams! (10-13)
Dreams aren't audible because, well, they're in someone's head. Everything that's going on at night is just as secret, just as hidden (except for the crying owl, Coleridge's breathing baby, and the film of soot fluttering on the fireplace).
Quote #3
My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart
With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,
And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,
And in far other scenes! (49-52)
Coleridge hopes that living close to Nature will make his baby son, Hartley, happier and at peace with God and the world. It's the way Coleridge's famous friend, William Wordsworth, apparently felt about Nature, and it's the way Coleridge wishes he himself could feel… if he could only resolve his problems (his drug addiction, his marital issues, and so on).