The Sun.
London, England, 1824-04-14 00:00:00

rOR THE SUY.

ON SACRED MUSIC.
Ma. EDITOR—The vast influence which MUIPS'.
exercises over the mind and the passions of men,
has been acknowledged in all ages, and prevalli,
more or less, in every clime, and among even ilia
rudest and most barbarous nations. If any thing
were wanting to prove the high estimatio-n
which this delightful art was ever held, we have
it in the dignified purposes to which it was ap-
plied in the early ages of society, when it WO
made the medium for publishing laws, for facia-
cating the doctrines of morality, for transmittiug
the record of the noblest deeds, for awakenit*
the soul to the charms, and inciting it to the
practice, of virtue, and for rendering a due tri-
bute of adoration to the Deity. The systerni Of
political and of moral laws are those written in,
verses, and chaunted in full chorus, in the al-
semblies or the people. It was through the me-
dium of music that the poet there disseminated
the effusions of his muse ; and this mode of pub'
lication existed no less amidst the civilized
Greeks than amongst the bards of the northern
nations. Even at the present day, the Impro"
visatori of Italy have recourse to the aid of music,'
to render their extensive productions more ila".
ceptable to their auditors.

Poetry may be, indeed, justly considered sq
one of the branches into which music can be d!..'
vided, since measured sounds are assuredly
species of harmony. When duly combined sad
united, powerful and truly delightful is the effect
which these sister arts produce upon' the feeling
soul. By them, the notice of the most ragitig-
passions are allayed, pain is rendered less acute,
grief becomes less oppressive, the soul is awakened
to new pleasures, and sorrow may be soothed into
soft melancholy. By their united efforts all the
energies of the mind are called forth into action ;.
and whilst their powerful influence is capable a
subduing vice itself, they can also exalt the
noblest virtues by the enthusiasm which they
seldom fail to create.

There are subjects, however, of which neither
Poetry nor Painting can convey any adequate
representation to the mind, and it is in these that
Music proves pre-eminently triumphant. In vain
have the two above-mentioned arts endeavoured
to personify to the imagination the attributes of
the Deity, or to pourtray the mysteries of immor-
tal existence ; in either case, the utmost efforts
of the poet or of the painter have fallen far
short of the end they wished to attain. Indeed
it happens not unfrequently, that instead of
reaching the sublime, they have too frequently
fallen into the ridiculous. The reason of this is
obvious. The utmost efforts of genius can
only create new combinations of ideas, which
have been originally transmitted to the mind
through the medium of the senses. When fittll
received, they are distinguished, compared, ar-
ranged, or mingled, or increased, by refire-
tioo. But all the materials of which they ere
composed are supplied only from sensations ;
and the discovery of new modes of represent-
ing them alone constitutes invention. Hence it
would follow, that if objects of terror and of
distress are more truly represented by poets and
artists, than those of a more pure and serene
nature, it is because the former are more conso-
want to the imperfections of man than the
latter can possibly be. The most sublime of
English poets affords a remarkable instance
of this, in his delineations of Hell and of
Heaven. Never have the sublime horrors of
the former been more powerfully pourtral-
ed ; whilst in his attempt to describe the
constant enjoyments of the latter, he falls far
short of the same perfection. In short, Heaven
and its glories are placed too much beyond the
reach of human comprehensi on, and as an emi-
nent critic justly observes, " Omnipotence can'
not be exalted ; infinity cannot be amplified ;
perfection cannot be improved."
If neither the most lofty charms of poetry,
nor the most sublime representations of paintiag,
can at all approach perfection on this head, they
must acknowledge the superiority of sacred [no-
sic. Not that this art can, any more than ita,sigter
arts, magnify that which has no other liiiiits
than infinity, nor improve that which is infinitely'
perfect; but because it alone possesses, in a troll
eminent degree, the power of more highly e•X'
siting the soul, of inspiring more of the 'fervour
which the sacredness of the subject reqnires, and
of disposing the mind to bow down with sepia-
ments of love and of adoration before thethrone4
the Mostiligh. To all who have heard the sublit/le
music of Handel, whose ears have been delight-
ed, either with the sweet and expressive melodies-
tor with the fulness and majestic dignity of hie•
*choruses, the truth of what has been stated above
is sufficiently obvious. If there be any minds}
insensible to the effects of such music, they are
certainly not to be envied, for they are most as-
suredly deprived of some of the most delightftil
emotions that a rational and sensible being caw
possibly enjoy. A. P.

BIRTHS.
On Monday, At Tongs Hawkhurst, Kent, the lady of l!ir—
bert B. Curteis, Esq., of a still-born child.
On the 13th inst., in Charlotte-street, Bedford-squire, the
lady of Archibald Leslie, Esq., of a daughter.
On the 9th of December last, the wife of Captain John Lomb,
of the Palmira, of a daughter.

MA lIRIED.
At Camberwell. this morning, by the Rev. John .thoolge
Stork, A.M. Alexander Nairne, Esq. Commander of the Hon.
East India Company's ship General Kl,d, to Ann spencer,
eldest daughter of Nathaniel Domett, Esq. at Camberwell
Grove.
On the 7th inst.., Thomas Robinson, Esq., eldest son of
A. Ramsay Robinson, of Kensington, to Frederica, wall
daughter of the lat. Sir George Brathwaite Boughton, *Bart,
of Poston-court, Herefordshire.
On Tuesday, the 13th inst., at St. Alphage, London-mat
Isaac Pidduck, Esq.' M.D., of Great Fussell-street, Blooms-
bury, to Charlotte, eldest daughter of Mr. Stevens, attorney at
law, Sion College-gardens.