Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-11-22
THE DIVINE ART.
DR.. Talmage breaches on ''The Dr.
vine Mission of Pictures"
A PIeG In Behalf of the Unappreciated
Paint prs-The Divine Mission of Good
Pict lres, and the EVIL Influence of
Bad Ones.

Pictures" His text was Isaiah. CHI. q parts
of the 12 ! and 10th verses: 1.-THE way OF
the Lord # Hosts shall be upon all pleasant
pictures He said:
Pictures are by some RELOCATED TO me
realm of the trivial, accidental, sentimental
or worldly, but my text shows that God
scrutinize3 pictures, and whether they are
good or rad. whether used for right or
wrong pu poses, is matter of divine obser-
walton and arraignment.
The divine mission of pictures is my sub
iect. That the artists pencil and the en-
| grave IS knife have sometimes been made
subser lent TO the kingdom of the bad is
fraukl admitted After the ashes and
scoria. RI removed from Herculaneum and
Pom ,ai 70 walls of those cities discovered
TO the rers degradation in art which
can not )" exaggerated. Satan and all his
inns has always wanted the lingering of
the ca they would rather have possess
sion of Int than the art of printing, for
types are II so potent and quick for evil as
picture Fepiwers Of darkness think they
have ra'H triumph, and they have, when
in some rrn'rtable parlor or public art
gallery III tfn hang canvas embarrassing
TO the goo hut fascinating TO the evil.
II is re- spirit of prudery, but backed
M BY G eternal truth when | say that
YOU have ri hi to hang in your art rooms
or youra ng houses that which would
be off "a good people If the figures
pictur q alive in your parlor and the
guests OF mr. hous ehold. A picture that
YOU haze tlpg in a somewhat secluded
place o. IN puolic hall you can not,
with a -, r. ends, deliberately stand
before cuss, ought to have knife
stabbed E AT the top and cut clear
through ., bottom and a stout finger
thrust r. n'He right side. ripping clear
tbronrt ''a left. Plinv, the elder, lost
his HE. near enough 10 see the in
side a,..' !, and the further you can
stand the burning crater OF
sin. tie Ger Never till the books
Of the fav are opened shall we
know viii ha been the dire harvest of evil
pictorial unbecoming art galleries.
Despoil e imagination and he becomes
lamora' The show windows of En-
glish pi-t rcan cities in which the low
theaers notimes hung long lines of
brazau as'o, actresses in style insult
ing to at urn ain'v have made broad path
to death ''o attitudes of people. But so
have all - "a 7ffer arts been at times sub
orned Of rr low has music been be-
dra gle =, 'athN"e any place so low down
in dissoro"a th1t into ii has not been
carried Ivy harp, and Handel's organ,
and Got ,r' IS uano, and Ole Bulls vio-
lin; and the g which though named
after so insi. icInt thing as the Sicilian
eel, which har Zen spots on the side like
flute hoe Cor thousands Of years has
had an ov mssion' Architecture,
born in a.t " him who made the
worlds aech IS and across its floors
what b elries have been en-
acted y e. ,t Hraiast any of these arts
that tlcu -'a.ea 50 led into captivity.
Whatann v7' This would be If it were
not for'''o ext calls pleasant pict-
uresn iFio your memory and mine
when ".. ,vledge of the Holy
Scrip ha n nightly augmented
by the "' .'' pvrlyings in the old
family "a father and mother read
out Of on the table in the
Did horfa .. 'H.nn Won were boys and
girls T'f p 1'" stcnes which we all carry
in our min 20 rH-' not gotten from the Bible
tpoogE ht -nn the Bible pictures. To
prove the &c IT in my own case. the
other DIV ta1S up the old family Bible
which ] infested. Sure enough, what l
have crr' d ir nv mind Of Jacobs ladder
was eXar' " 20 .''' engraving of Jacobs
Iadder;"n ''' samson carrying off the
gates OF o FL Sim -estoring the Shuua-
mites son; TIE massacre Of the innocents;
Christ bnssiur li''ln children; the crucifix-
ion and I' 'r.' tp1'mant Ny idea of all
these is % ' ~ 80 % Bible engravings, |
which s."'r y .fn~, could read a word. |
That is ir''' :, go ujne tenths of you. If I |
could su'i. ns'. the door Of your foreheads
would 20 tiat Won are walking pict- |
are rg'"r' :. IT,. great intelligence |
abroad alor tn, lih'p did not come from |
the genera Ia ling of tho book. for the ma
lority Of Tire people read it but little if they |
read it at MI; bu' III the sacred scenes have
been put before 10 '-r"lt masses, and not |
printers ink but It's pictorial art must have
the credit of the achievement
First, pan'e : nenci fur the favored few, |
and the ens'ravc~'s pln'' o. woodcut for mil
IONS on miiuo 'Fatt overwhelming |
commentary on the Hl' what reinforce
nents for uatrilrchs prophets apostles and
christ what distribution of scriptural
knowledge of all nations in the paintings
and engraving theretrom of Holman Hunts
Thirst in the Temple" Paul Veroneseis
Magdalen Washing the Feet of Christ"
haphaels michael the Archangel" Albert
. 4. DAd4ou VI lilt apocalypse Y
Michael Angeles plague of the Fiery Ser
Pents," Tintoret's Flight into Egypt"
huDers descent from the Cross,n Leon
ardo da Vinci's Last Supper" Claude's
queen Of Sheba,n Bellini's madonna at
Milan Orcagna's LAST Judgment" and
hundreds of miles of pictures II they were
put IN line, illustrating, displaying drama
tzng, irradiating Bible truths until
'le Scriptures are to-day not so much
On paper as on canvas, not so much
u INK as in all the colors of the spec
rum In 1893 forth from Strasburg, Ger
many, there came a child that was to eclipse
l, speed and boldness and grandeur any
'nlng and every thing that the world had
seel since the first color appeared on the sky
~ the creation, Paul Gustav Dore. Ateleven
years OF age he published marvellous litho-
siaphs OF his own. Say nothing of what he
ulu LOT MiltOn's paradise Lost" emblazon-
ing u on the attention of the world, he takes
Up the Book Of Books, the monarch of liter
asure the Bible, and in his pictures, THE
creation Of Light" THE Trial of Abra-
laIn 5 Faith, " "The Burial of Sarah.n ',Jo-
seph Sold by His Brethren,n THE Brazen