Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-08-07
VACATION PAPERS.
sNFLUENOs or Arr IN IRIS Own INDk
pkNDFST sPHEnE.
tof tho lNrsiIluKSCtn

for tho iSrsLLloEscnn,
Beforo wa proceod to consider tho use oi
art In religion, or rather It's union win wor-
shin. wa have a few thoughts 10 present ON
tbe nature and influence OF art In It's own In.
depeudent sphere. We say true art for
much that goes in its name " only a coun-
terfe,t what then (to enter at once IN me-
dids rcS) u artS Art IL Que OF the forms Of
beauty. Lst IA keep IN mind that tho beau
tiiul is spiritual objective reality. We call
1t an idea, meaning by thisa living spiritual
entity, or reality, CO. ordinate with the true
and the good. These three, tho true, the
beautiful and the good, In their spiritual ex.
istenco arc not separate, but one. In our ap
prehension they divide as the one clear sun
light separates into the beautiful colOrs ~ II
falls upon prism. A apprehended 10y the
intellect II IN the true, ~ entering the viii II
is the good, aud ~ approhended Ivy the
phantasy II IN the beautiful. The beautiful
has two realms, or spheres, the one In ma
ture, the other In art In nature the three
are united. Everything God has made
Is good, beautiful and true In ono. 1t IL the
idealiLing power OF tho phantasy that sopa.
rates tho beautiful tor itself IN nature. A
flower Is for the naturalist n form of hidden
laws which tho bOtantst investigates its uses
may class It with the good which It possesses
for man, aud its beauty Is for our admira-
tlou.
hut tho realm OF art Is beauty's own special
realm. IL IL the language through which
beauty speaks to us, not In words but in
signs Its language, or form, IL IN tho
sphere Of sense 1t speaks through an out
ward form Tor the eye and the ear, but back
OF this IL tho spiritual idea, and IT II that
ttat. IA iItn
form. But beauty itself Is no more sensuous
for this reason than truth II sensuous because
II comes to US through All audible SOUND
when spoken.
True art then, must be pure aud good. Its
contents must be truth. But II has lts own
independent sphere, and has its eud IN it.eli
IL cannot bo made mere instrument 10 some
other end, not M long nS II remains true ART
The truo artist must love II Tor il~eli, ana 1t
has the power to satisfy dcop want in our
spiritual nature II is elevatlng, IL spiritual.
ICES our nature. II has holy mission for
man. 1t min listers tO hts spiritual happiness,
Because 1t has this independent sphere
some have beon led to assert that II - not
governed by morality IL Is said great
poem may TO immoral and yet I've work OF
truo art. No. wo ailirm, this IL impossible.
II may depict Immoral scenes in depicting
human liie ~ II ~, but the mind OF the poet,
which creates and presents his ideal, must
itself bo pure. II that De Impure, aud
through Its impurity ontiCement enters the
poem, then 1t falls away from true art Here
lies the difference, for instance, between
Chauccr and Byron. Chaucer uses language
that cannot now bo introduced into polite
circles, yet one feels that the mind of the
poet was not impure whereas Byron In
some of his poetry Is corrupting, Just because
1t contains onticemenL coming from an i'm
pure mind. \ medical work may depict
truth in way that would not be proper 10
read In all circles, but 1t Is not lewd. Another
writing may bo lewd with far less objection
able language.
Truth has been perverted into error, and
IN this form poisons tho mind, but truth Is
not, therefore, ever immoral. so the beauti.
ful may he perverted, traduced To minister
10 evil minds but in itself 1t - pure. There
IL this grain OF truth in tho assertion that art
has nothing to do with morality, that II can.
not be made mere instrument 10 teach
moral lessons. \ person may wTlto rhyme
Ia teach such "A lesson, but 1t IL not true art
The morality OF true art lies in the native al
iinity thore IL between the beautiful and the
good. Let ono stand before tho cathedral in
Cologne or that In Milan. IL he has any ap.
probation OF beauty II lifts him up Into com
munion with spiritual realm. II gives him
real satisfaction and JOY. Or still more, IN "A
certain sense standing ON Rigi Kuhn in
Switzerland, If he has a sense Tor the beau
tiful, he Is entranced he must bow in ador'
ation.
All men have some measure ui ideali1atIOn
through the phantAsy, otherwise they could
the brute but comparatively few have the
talent to appreciate art in its higher forms,
and rare Is the gilt To create forms OF beauty
in art Yet in its broad est sense II isaminis
ter OF happiness for the whole world. The
higher walks of literature are not for all
This requires cultivation to appreciate IT,
Still more IL 1t true OF high art that IT. sppre
citation il for the few.
Are artists made better by their devotion
to art Not necessarily. Are they no
rather, ~ a rule, made worse That dc
pends altogether upon their moral character
apart from art. Are scientists made bette
by natural science Does the study OF med
icine make man better Are not many o
the best scientists, especially in the depart
ment of natural science, mateTialtsts or az
nostics2 But does this prove that science
Is not TRUTH And rs such pure and holyY
But the field here IN too broad to ventur
from the shore. We merely aim TO presen
few thoughts on the nature oi art in orde
TO make still clearer the absurdity, II not stu
pidity, or both, of the notion that art In itse
Is sensual, or that it belongs to lowe
sphere, simply because II speaks through ms
terial forms
Ii IL our fallen lite that has rendered ii POI
sible for us to separate the true, the besutift
and the good in such way as To- array IN
one against the other We may think tn
true and yet will the evil. So tho beau,iir
in our apprehension may he divorced froi
the true aud the good, and perhaps there
more danger Of this divorce than in the cas-
of the true and the good, but this is no srg'
ment against the legitimate character and IL
fluence of art
Another question still remains, VIZ, Il
effect Of the union of art with religion, or r
ligious worship. This IL not easy TO dete
mine.