New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-12
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
RUsKINs NEW LECTURES.


.y.r delivered at the University of Oxford. The
course owes its foundation to the munfcence of Mr..
sade who has recently established an art professor
sbip simultaneously at three great English seats of
learning. The inaugural of Mr.. Ruskin is general
survey of the purpose and advantages of the into
duction of this new branch of study into the cur
riculum of the University. Art. he declared, can
have but three functiOnsthe enforcing of the reG-
gOus sentiments of men, the perfecting their ethical
state, and the doing them material service.
The second lecture treats Of The Relation of Art
TO Religion" and here Mr. Ruskin warns hislistenes
against two perils which they have especially to
shun:
In these DAYS YOU have TO guard against faaest
darkness Of the two opposite prdes the Pride Of Faith
which magnes that the Nature OF the Deity can DC ae
fned by its couvctons and the Pride Of Science wncn
imagines that the Energy OF Deity can be explained by
OF these the first the Pride of Faith now It has
been always the most deadly, because the most COM
placent and subtebecause invests every cyl passion
OF with the aspect OF an angel or light and
enables tb seoye which might nave pee e
P 70 ., @ hich MIGHT otherwise have been
warmed into human love, at least checked by human
intelligence, CONCEAL themselves into the mortal intel
ectua disease Of mag ginning that myrads Of the inhabi
world for four thousand years have been left
10 wander and perish, many OF them everlastingy, in
order that in fulness OF Time divine truth might be
preached sufficiently to ourselves with this further inef
disposed gentle and submissive persons who might else
by their true patience have alleged the hardness of the
its misdoing withdrawn rom all such true service Of
what Rey are told s service od 81 namely Ses
ing what they cannot obtain amentng what they cannot
avoid aud rejecting what they cannot understand.
This repeat is the deadest but for you under exist
ing circumstances II Is becoming daily almost hourly,
the least probable form Of Pride. That which have
chiefly 10 guard against consists in the overwhelming Of
minute though correct discovery the roundess denial
rmed and the interesting yourselves too curousiy in
the progress Of some scientific minds, which in their
accurately TO the woodworms the panel Of picture
W some great painter Il We may conceive them as tast'
OF the color and declaring that this unookedfor
anu undesirable combination is normal result Of the
action OF molecular Forces,
In the lecture on "Tha Relation Of Art to Morals
he has the following fine passage: he is showing
how the conscientious practice of art renes the life
of the artist:
No man can read the evidence OF labor who is not him
se aborous for he does not know what the work costs
SS ne Soq Of If he not gentle and the
subtle signs Of fault and weakness Of character he
only Judge by having had the same faults to light
with. myself for instance, know impatient work. and
tired work better than most critics, because am myself
always impatient and often treds also, the patient
and interchangeable touch OF mighty master becomes
wonderful TO me than to others Yet wonderful in
manifest;-and soon we begin our real work, and
you have learned what is to draw true line, shall be
abe TO make manifest to you-and tndispuaby so-hat
the days work OF man like Mantegna or Paul Nero-
consists Of an unfaerng uninterrupted succession
Of OF the hand more precise than those OF the
finest fencer the pencil leaving one point and arriving
tremity Of the line but with unerrng and yet varied
course-sometimes spaces foot more in extent
could and VerOnese often does draw finished pro-
fe or any Of the contour OF face with one
line not aerward changed Try first TO realize 70 your
selves the muscular precision OF that action and the In
feectua strain OF it, for the movement of fencer is per-
feet in practiced monotOny; but the movement OF a
hand great painter at every instant governed by
direct and intention. Then imagine that muscular
hrmness and subtey, and the nsantaneously seectve
an ordnant energy Of the BRAIN sustained all day long,
only without fatigue, but with visible joy ia the
exertion, like that which eagle to take in
Che wave Of its wings and TINS ali ne long and through
ibe of It, until the actually organic changes of
Old And then consider far you know anything
of yoogy what sort of ethical state of body and
mind that -ethie through ages pasti what fine
Res Of p @ef the & AND @
ally determine for yourselves whether manhood like
that consistent with any vicOusness Of soul with
anxiety, any gnawing lust any wretehedness OF
spite remorse consciousness OF rebellion against
law Of God man. or any actual though unconscious,
violation Of the least law which obedience is
IL is of course true that many Of the strong masters
had deep faults Of character but their faults always
in their work Is is true that could not gov
ern passions they died young, they painted
III when old But the greater part OF our msapprehen,
known who the great painters were and taking delight
in the petty skill that was bred in the fumes Of the tay
Of the North instead OF theirs who breathed enpy
real Of the morning, under the woods OF Assist
It IS true However also as have pointed out longago
that the strong masters fan into two great divisions one
Puritanism of the worship OF beauty and these two
manners of life you may recognize in moment by their
there are two Of the Puritans whose work
ceed in making clearly understandable 10 you during my
three here il il all need to do But OF these
Puritans one cannot name TO you, and the other
at present win not One cannet for no one knows his
Bernard" = Bernardno, called from his birthplace,
duinO the lago MaggioreJ Bernard Of LuinO. The
other is Venetian of whom many of you probably have
heard, aud of whom through me, you shall not
hear until have tried to get some picture by him over
Observe, then, this Purtanism in the worship Of
beauty, though sometimes weak is always honorable
and ainabe and the exact Of the false Puritan
ism, which consists in the dread disdain Of beauty
coed from the skill OF art to the choice of its subject and
Show y ST SEEKING lovely forms and thoughts to
well as by the force OF his hand in expression But
yon are already believe sufficiently conscious OF the
truth in this matter and also have already sand enough
enough Of the infaibleness Of fine technical work as
proof Of every other good power. And indeed it
pride of the greatest men in their execution shown,
for permanent lesson TO u.s. in the stories which,
sentet of Ape and Protorenes I'm line oS w of
which / can promise you, you shall know the mean
ing 70 some purpose in little whiiel-the story Of the
mot have observed the expression of Drer in his
ton the drawings sent him by Raphael These figures,
Nirn6eTg to show him "-whatI Not his invention,
his beauty Of expression but sein Hand zu weisen"
"TO show him his hand" And you will find, you
anime farther That ali inferior artists continually
teg U in snpe op
plumng themselves their noble motives for attempt
what they cannot pcftOTnli kanu ODSerNe, tne
way that great deal Of what is mistaken for conscien
tiOus motive il nothing but very pestlent because
very subtle condition OF vanity whereas the great
always understand at that the first morality OF
painter OF every body else is to know his business
and earnest they in this that many, whose lives
you would think by the result Of their work. had been
passed IN strong emotion have IN reality subdued them
selves though capable Of the very strongest Passions
into q calm absolute that OF a deeply sheltered
mountain lake, which reflects every agitation OF the
clouds the sky and every change OF the shadows
the hills, but is itseh mouOnless.
Historically, perhaps, all this is less true than it is
in theory but it is eloquent aud ingenious The