The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1885-03-29

To- e., S-s--ss ~a>-ty e-.~s,s.s .
w.-s-~ 90 sss'-.s s.tss ss,.

rs- ssy 1-s--ss ~ a~vty e-.~s,s~s .
w--s-r 80 s-~'s.s s.'.s ss.
o. nffg March ~ Tho llhrrry - Trinity
CO. 80 ~ Suns q 80 Wlnt-rful r~rsins y,
snei~nt lfi.h ar ms, Noai~rfaf sysb o.
rlnpsf~i vfh smuW WORKS IN ftslY sni
frtn~'. .1nuxn tatinss thouNani year, at~r.
! bal CONS - 49,. With nv own eyss nni
touch win ny own hands tho book n ksn.
~. .ppy n tho f1ur Go-p-i- wri.tsr and ss.
gii..tr.y Illuminated ~ Ito grsa, ~. CuIbmb-
LiI- fhlrissn lundS,i y-sr. ago { h,i seen
reproductions ~ some ~ 70. most naftsilou.
designs Lai n-.ist-i. h"re 10 Dublin. a. . Ice
turs giving history Of .hI- boos ard setting
forth i's artistic m-rits. As hal IN Milan. IN
Bologna. flOr-ncs. S.ena. a.d r.-a. without
speaking % Spain ami f-sacS hal ample OPP
poriunitirs for stuiyir. the rlost ancient nan
u~cripts known 20 SCHOLARS. anil tho richest
collections Of meinval illuminated books my
Curiosity was stcnt = brho.d mo Book Of
confess. at frat. | Ma moro anxious 20 SEQ
Nheth"r or not the .naracier 81 tho writing
scripts 81 the Bib, had examined In Italy.
~ stnnlarh ~ eempnii5sS. was !he lar. tanYI
Great. which Is in m. LaUrcntiGn Library at
Florence, Before my last visit Ia Florence.
Tischendorf's edition Of thi. h.autiiui work
la Prepared in"tO admir-" IL and study IL care.
fully. II ~ the mos, complete copy rxtant Of
tho Latin version Of the Scriptures nv ~. Je-
the death of,his great scholar st. Pa,rick was
y contemporary Of 81. Jerome and. coming to
he Great mSSaStic sshooI y Lsrins or from
Rome itself such u manuscript ~ the Book Of
examining ia Trinity College Library was
copied SHAH merely mention that life Of
the siatsenth century by O'Donnsll. the chief
tam OF !yrconnel MENTIONS that ~ Patrick
Gospels. which he destined TO tho future st.
Coiumbk ille. whose birth and career no had
p pI,,tl This legacy the young Column"
iiyered into his hands the Book OF the Gospels
Book. The Irish are. proyerbiaily and Justly.
long memorisd people Poe,ical adornments
may be woven round the sub tantial facts
handed down from generation to generation.
like graceful creeners round u Forest tres. 1t
these ornaments.
~, Be that as it may: this manuscript COPY Of
or Columbkie by the unbroken testimony OF
thirteen successive centur les. The city Of
khe grew up sar,y in the Pin,n century when
forced the sons OF ST. Columbia to take refuge on
the neigh boring island among their own kins-
founded in northern Meath. And there. after
GOSPELS; Or the BOOK q kelIs; ard beauoathed
Here It is before me. My first Impulse is to
scrrtlniz. the ennraeters. They are. With here
Celtic ehsrac;er. the bssu;iuI I round i' uneia
letters hnl admired in the Amia,lne Bitie
more NOR psan;ai and mrs ,T' per- persss d thSir
formation You ARE forced to ask yourself.a AS you
nrn oyer r R alter paEs II hi is not Print.
seen, either ut Rome or in Paris. approaches
hs in h is
der, then. that people, who looked upon this ex-
their despair of reproducing anything like it,
that It was tho work OF an angel.
illuminaions that you SEQ how well founded
was tho rnru'ar tradition through AL these
signs and the coiorng were really ireter-
nn,urai. Rrmemhcr. that In the Italian or
is no style of illumination to DO nj all coiup pared
with tho work before US. Biblical scholars are
W hS 4n
fables in The h most o mneen; EirS.k copies OF the
Il !umlnnt ionS aud designs that have no point
Of comparison Win byzantine Or even Italian
e"nsp n s. sw IL" Int 0s letter
tth,rs. tCnr'' il"s , the entire page. the two
mao up Of a G and an S. tho latter extending
obiaurly down TO the left angle Of the page;
even wsr. master OF the art OF word painting.
anything like IA correct picture OF what this
Es n dsssn IS 10 w Fsa
You have animals and reptiles mixed w with
bottom OF til. page two families OF what would
to an American seem tn be coons lace ench
on two psP se on one is
others are dsporting around. Evident it's not
quarrel hstTsen the , t%n households. but
the, leaiaee you discern tho for ms Of both men
and angels. the latter holding books as II they
laced figures Of animals and men. the latter
seeming to rsclins Dsnrath the overhanRing
branches. their backs and limbs attannatsd to
ribbon ike dimensions. twisted and cOied and
tnpsring away ~ graceful sprals ! asked my
Ms Tho hnd not eopeS from
the Ireland Ian , Of Ms day then covered In its
suggested. In all these figures the life led in
ths hume rous monastic schools then so numsr-
Saints an" and 81 Va. hn not aee .S of
geic doctrine that was taught by angelic
,aG ss 60 aS G ssad ssd
an only draw dn5 attention t. the
ar' al o 9 w1 IN sss
blessed virain Mary, the other Christ Himself
wa. struck. on looking Of this fcurs With the
naked eye. by the resemblance it bore to tho
nSris, in cissss at Kavsnna. ' ssnecialiy the
smaller head forming the, centre OF the cross in
still more str King. Ancient Irish or Celtic art
have said nSihine OF the great character
istlc OF this Celtic art In Csnera--that is, the
divergent spiral lines. which some authors call
| tho trumpet pattern. Nowhere do they attain
| to the beauty and perfection which they pos
| ssss in the Book OF Kells. Examined with
highly magnifyng glass, a space of two inches
SQUARE Il found 70 contain an Incredible num-
bsr OF these div-rg inR spiral lines one within
the other, without break or an i'm
perfection in tie curves. or even failing
its proper termination. The. fancy which
guided the hand that traced them shems
To DO one OF axhaustlsss variety In its designs;
the hand itself must have been possessed OF a
skll Of which no modern artist or panman
and delicate traessss are not to BE- tound out
| side OF the Celtic schools, whsther In Ireland.
Great Britain; SF on IN the econtins ne where
~ DKaNARD ORyuIY.