The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-11-21


Tested this love for the union Of their for the
Creator and their imitation Of His glorious works In
Egypt, Greece, Rome, or India, the same rule holds
Religion binds together and subofdinates all the aec
TONS and aid while it lends inspiration all that
conceive OF beauty and truth The is true of
the revealed religion both in Palestine originally and In
the Christian church II in the course OF time evils cept
into the church to render necessary change il Is not to
be wondered at that willing for while to
glect the aid of the arts while they thought II their
chief duty 10 contend earnestly for certain abstract vital
principles Professionalism may TO be careless OF
these lighter gaces and 10 iasen at times with exclu
ye spirit those scrnef abstract truths and rules Of
living in which II began TO live But spirit must
come over men. We now it In motion. The true
religion must include all the powers and affections OF the
whole man. and teach him In the ways Of God by cnlt
waiting, exatng, and filling with its spirit all his
faculties and perceptions of the beauties of holiness
year since, sir, saw ia the chief city OF sttrn old
Puritan Massachusetts, singular illustration OF this law
There where had planted religion in respects
TO be admired but utterly devoid Of the graces of the
fine artswhen the Purans determined that their feet
should be fixed the Rock of Ages, but the less
that the other ideas Of rocks should also appear in the
hard stern lines and angles of their creed and the rigid
simplicity OF their manners-I heard, at an agricultural
exhibition, address from man well known by you
all as peculiarly representative of New England
Ho stated that when boy listening in the plain old
gular and square Widowed meeting house Of his
father to the weekly preaching of Calvnst doctrines he
felt as boy, dreuy sense OF want-that his eye royed
about the square Of the plain pulpit for OBJ
ect which TO rest Fancy last pictured for him the
form of flower In the lines Of knot in the wood,
possibly portion of the OF the sacred desk,
and he drew in delight from this simple circumstance.
So is it There, in the midst of Puritan rock bound
New Englandsm, find this play Of the divine faculty
OF the imagination ezng object Of the outer world
The speaker declared that, his return to his own
church. he meant to beg of his friends the gardeners to
place each Sunday upon his pulpit bouquet of natural
flowers that they might lure him to realize fully
the spirit of Jesus of Nazareth and recall the original
teachings of the Gospel under the palm trees of Jericho
nd fba ~ tba No cnr;f md
law of subordnatng all things to the supreme love of
God ia the true catholic spirit Exat above their low
thoughts and selfish ways by filling their being
with thoughts and tastes of the beautiful true and good
and Christianity win go ON TO higher and better
things. In this universal cultivation of the whole man
look forward TO that fond dream of egenerated
world when, in the words Of another, call men ey-
erywhere shall hail another grand ecumencal council,
and it shall be held under the venerable dome of St Pc
ter for 1t shall belong exclusive party but to all
mankind and then In the Latin tongue of the learned
we shall celebrate in the old Ambrosian "a Dean the
complshed salvation OF world. Towards this result all
good efforts of must contribue-the Of the
preacher in holding aloft the Divine love- which embraces
all things the labors Of the artists of all ranks in ee
waiting the of by all their peculiar teachings
in the imitation of the Creators works.
But sir said that came hither to be aearner III have
respassed upon Your time in seeming to teach here it
fault rather than mine sincerely hope that this
association may be cherished among us, and be means
Of Improvement to all We of the clergy would desire
to learn from you, who artists these rules of design
and modes OF creating the results which know to be
so powerful with us If In turn impart other
truths and help you to results of the purer spiritual life
we shall be only too happy in mutual interchange
Rev. w. ID. HALEY said Mr.. President and gentlemen,
have to beg your indulgence at this late hour, to
enable me to suggest in the brefest possible
sphere of usefulness which it to mes open to
association. Spiritual yearnings and intellectual wants
resemble bodily ailments in this that when they become
chronic we sometimes temporarily forget their existence
This has been peculiarly illustrated in my experience
since M resdence Washington have been
suffering with rrepressble desire for eer intercourse
with the refined and intellectual of CITY, That
want, almost daily and hourly recognised had this eve
ming fallen into temporary allegiance until the very
stirring beautiful and words my clerical brother,
the Rev. Dr. Hail. touched just that chord whose ybra-
tons caused my heart to say within me, why may
not meet in this frank and delightful way more often
than do p
We are all of us, virtually committing suicide by
monotonous soberness ;oen grow sad under the
broken pressure of labor the weary round of weekly toll
that when chance to hear hearty laugh sounds like
the rustling wings of the Angel OF Life Here if by
the providence OF God, have little strip of neutral
territory on which we can make playground Here,
sitting at the feet of Beautiful Mother, Art would
gather all the weary brain workers. and let them find in
the presence Of the Beautiful the inspiration Of Fraer
nifty. Why should we not In this way fort
ntghtf Surely, are all artists the sculptor who
brings beauty from the shapeless stone the painter
who creates from the confused chaos of pigments is not
more artist than he who makes the Beauty
speak in thrilling words places upon paper thoughts
that come kissing from brain heated by intense study
the landscape gardener the architect tho teacherand
my brethren who give their lives to the fooshness of
preaching, will, | am sure, permit me to add-the
clergyman all artists dealing with those subtle forces
that move the soul and make ID record its immor
ty. AS the previous speaker has SO well said, we OF
the talking and writing fraternity here TO be in
structed wish to take the back seats but do not
the less wish TO be here and that often Those of
who may with humility claim to represent the religious
element in your association much art, and feel
we have yet much to learn. My respected friend, DR.
Samson, has referred to the progress of Christian
art, to its steady movement onward, and to its
possible future. l fancy that unquestonable
| flowing of the art element in religion most
blcs the line of beauty defined by Hogarth, and that
the Of its last period Of ascension may be
dated at about the time when a woman-Mrs. Jamison
gave that invaluable work Sacred and Legendary
Aria book which gave speech to many dumb symbols,
and taught Proestants how much art might do for
Since then art has become household word in America
and greatly rejoice in the belief that in country is
the identity Of the beautiful and the religious unvcr
sally recognised But we who tax our minds in other
pursuits need not only occasional formal glimpse at the
pieces of genius, require to meet often in that
worthy presence, and to meet informally TO come each
with the thought that the weeS has given him to cheer
his fellow workers In addition them To the other great
objects for which the ASSOCIATE is laborng with much
promise of success, beg most respectfully to suggest
that by meeting in weeks for social exchange
Of thought and opinion here in the presence Of statues
and pictures, may advance the interests OF the asso
eaon the interests of national and especially afford
each other that opportunity unloading from the heavy
burdens conventionates and cashng interests under
which we toll up the weary hill Of daily duty. want
of this kind of co1sdzoae is felt assured, by every
Waob; hrat