Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-04-27
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Fairest of the Fair"

Generated. and from all | can read for ages
the whole tendency was toward Oaroarish'
but under the ever widening and deepening
influence OF Christianity the tendency IS now
in the upward direction. The physical ap'
pearance OF the human race Is seyenty-hve
per cent. more attractive than in the six
feenth. seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
From the pictures on canvas and the iaceS ana
forms IN sculpture OF those who were eonsld-
cred the grand looking men and tho attrac-
tive women OF 200 years ago | conclude the
superiority Of the men and women OF our
time. Such looking people OF the past cen
trrles as painting and sculpture have pre-
sented as fine specimens OF beauty and dig
nifty would be- in our time considered deform-
ity and responsiveness complete. The fact
that many men and women In antediuVlHn
times were eight and ten feet high tended 10
make the human race obnoxious rather than
winning. Such portable mountains of hu-
man flesh did not add to the charms OF the
world.
But in no climate and In no age did there
ever appear any one who In physical at-
tractiyeness could he compared to Him
whom my text celebrates thousands OF years
before He put His infantie foot on the hill
back of Bethlehem. Tie was and Is altogether
lovely. The physical appearance OF Christ
s, for the most part, an artistic guess. Some
writers declare Him to have been brunette
or dark complexionod. st. John, OF Damls-
Gus. writing 100 years ago, and so much
nearer than ourselves to the time OF Christ,
and hence with more likelihood OF accurate
tradition. represents Him with beard black.
and curly eyebrows joined together, and
yellow complexion. and long fingers like
His mother" An author, writing 1000 years
ago, represents Christ as u blond His hair
is the color OF wine AMI golden ut the root,
straight and without luster, but IRON the
level OF the ears, curling and glossy, AMI
divided down the canter after the fashion OF
the NaZqrenes. His forehead Is even and
smooth, His face without blemish and en-
HANGED by tempered bloom, His couuten-
ance ingenious and kind. Nose and mouth
are in no way faulty His beard is full, OF
the same color rs His hair and fOrked in
form; His eyes blue and extremely brill
liant"
NV opinion is. it was Jewish face. His
mother was Jewess, and there is no wo-
manhood on earth more beautiful than jew
lsh womanhooI. Alas that He lived so long
before the daguerrean and Photographic
arts were born, or We might have known His
exact features. | know that sculpture and
painting were born long before Christ. AMI
they might have transferred from olden
times TO our times the forehead, the nostril,
the eye, the lips OF our Lori.
Phidias, the sculptor, put down his chise
OF enchantment 800 years before Christ came.
Why did not some one take up that chise
and give us the side face or full face OF our
Lori2 Povgnotis, the painter, put down
his pencil 400 years before Christ. Why did
not some one take It up an give us at least
the eve OF our Lorl-the eye. that sovereign
OF the face2 Dionysius, the literary artist
who saw at Helopolts. Egyp;, the strange
darkening OF the heavens at the timn Of
Christ crucinNion near Jerusalem, and not
knowing what 1t was, but describing II rs "a
peculiar eclipse OF the sun, and saylnS
Either the Defy suffers or sympathiZ'S
with some sufferer that Donysius might
have put his pen to the work ami drawn the
portrait OF our Lord. But, no the fine arts
were busy perpetuating the form and mp
pearance OF the worl Is favoritcs only. AMI
not the form and appearance ofthe poasantry
among whom Christ appeared.
II was not until tho fifteenth century or
until more than 400 years after Christ. tina.
talented painters attempted bv prurll to sivA
us the iiJl OF Christ's face. Tao pictures
before that time were so offensive that tho
council AZ Constanttnople forbade their eX-
htbtion. But Leonardo la Vinci, In the NJ
teenth century, presented Chrlst's face ON
two canvases yet the one was repusivs
face and the other an efTeminate face. Ktph-
ael's face OF Christ is weak face. Albert
DurerS face o. Christ was u savage faco.
Titiun'S face OF Christ is an eXpressi0nlesI
fac1. The mightiest artists, either with pen,
ell or chiscl, have made signal failure IN at
tempting to give the forehead the cheek,
the eyes, the nostrll, the mouth OF our blessed
Lord
But about His face can tell you something
positive aud beyond controversy. am sur,
II was Il soulful fnce. The face IL only the
curtain OF the soul II was impossible tina.
a disnngittpn H., IhFlGt'a snnnIl NOT buvn
demonstrated itself In His physlognomy.
Kindness ~ m occasional impulse may give
no illumination to the features but kindness
rs the lifelong, dominant habit will proluIs
attractiveness OF countenanGe as certainly rs
the shining OF the sun produces flowers.
Children arh afraid Of srowling or hard
visaged man. They cry out II he proposes to
take them. II he try to caress them, hg
evokes slap rather than a kiss. All mothers
know how hard 1t is to get their children to
go to man or woman OF forbiddtng appear.
ance But no sooner did Christ appear in
the domestic group than there was an in
fantile excitement and the youngsters began
TO struggle to get out Oftheir mothers arms.
They could not hold the children back.
"Stand back with those children ~ scolde1
some OF the disciples. Perhaps the little ones
may have been playing In the dirt and their
faces may not have been clean, or they may
not have been we'll clad, or the disciples may
have thought Christ's religion was "A religion
chiefly for big folks But Christ made the
infantile excitement still liveler by His say.
ing TINT He liked children better than grown
people, declaring, Except SO become rs q
little child so cannot enter into the kingdom
OF God"
Alas for those people who do not like chill
dren They had better stay out OF heaven,
for the place Is full of them. That, thiuG,
Is one reason why the vast majority OF tho
human race die in infancy. Christ Is 50
fond OF children that He takes them to Him
self before the world has timc to despoil AMI
harden them, and so they are now at the
windows OF the palace and on the doorstep3
and playing on the green. Sometimes
Matthew or Mark or Luke tells story OF
Christ. and only one tells II, but Matthew,
Mark and Luke all join in that picture OF
Christ girdled by children, md | know by
what occurred at that time that Christ had q
face full Of geniality.
Not only was Christ altogether lovely in
His countenance, but lovely In His habits. |
know, without being told. that the Lord who
made the rivers and lakes and oceans was
clearly In His appearance. He disliked the
disease OF leprosy not only because 1t was
distressing, but because 1t WAS not clean, ami
His curative words were 81 will. Be thou
clean" He declared Himself in favor of
thoroughly washing anl opposed to super
ficial washing when He denounced the hypo-
critics for making clean only 1.-THE outside Of
the platter and He applauds His disciples
by saying, Now are We clean" and giving
directions to those who tasted, among other
things. He says Wash thy face" and TO
bliDl man whom He was doctorlng, go
wash In the pool of Siloam,' and He Himself
actually washed His disciples feet, suppose
not only to demonstrate His own humility,
but probably their feet needed to be washed
The fact is the Lord was great friend OF
water. know that from the fact that most
OF the world IL water. But when | find
Christ In such constant commentator OF
water / know He was personally neat,
although He mingled much among very
rough populations and took such long
journeys on dusty highways. He wore Hi,
hair long, according TO the custom OF His