The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-23

low are very clear to those who are ready
to form judgment by hearsay; but 20 those
who know Ruskin, the whole affair Is but
a partly-told story.
John Ruskin, the most eloquent and or
tginal of all writer's on art and a strenu-
Gus preacher of righteousness" was born
in London on Feb. s. 1879, having thus been
in his eighty-tirst year at the time of his
death. He was an only child. His faith
err wealthy wine merchant. was an Ed
linburgh man who had settled In London.
Young RuslSn was educated in his faith
ers house, first in London and afterward
at Denmark Hill. till he went, as gentle
man commoner of Christ Church to OK
ford.
There he gained the Newdlgate prize for
English poetry-by a poem on Salsette and
Elephanta-in 1899. He took his degree in
1912. RusSn has told the story of his
earlier life most charmngly in his "Prae-
terita.' He studied painting under Cop
| ley Fielding and Harding, but his masters
in the art. he said, were Rubens and Rem
brandt.
In 1913 appeared the first volume of his
Modern Painters" the main design of
which was to prove the superiority of
modern landscape painters over the old
| masters. But in the later volumes-the
| nth and last of which was published in
| lS6O-the work expanded into a discursive
treaties on the principles OF art. more
elaborate and imaginative than any writer
before attempted" Modern Painters
was essentially revolutionary in spirit but
disciples soon appeared and the views
enunciated by Ruskin have since largely
! determined the course and character OF
subsequent English art.
THE King of the Golden River" n fairy
story, was printed In 1851 Among his
later works were: THE Eagles Nest" dis
cussing the relations of natural science to
| art; "Proserpina," giving studies of way
| side atTrba Of
! a series of four essays on work. traffic, war
and the future OF England Sesame and
| Liles,'' lectures on good literature; "Deu-
| Gallon" on geology, and the queen of the
Air" a study of the Greek myths OF cloud
| ana storm
| From 1869 till 1879, Ruskin was slade
| professor of art al oxford; in 1871 he gave
| Is 600 for the endowment of "A master OF
drawing there; in 1888 he was reelected
professor but resigned in the following
year. In later years ne transferred 20
| Sheffield q museum which he had estab-
lished at Walkley, and to which he be-
| slowed part of his own priceless library
and art treasures.
The home of his declining years was at
| Brentwood, on Coniston Lake. in the Lake
| country. He devoted a great part of his
| originally large fortune to founding the
| st. Georges Guild, which was intended to
| be a kind of primitive agricultural COM
| munity, where ancient and homely meth
DDS might be cherished in defiance of all
modern mechanical and manufacturing
| processes.
Ruskin was primarily a critic of art, but
| his teachings have expanded over a wide
area. Art for him was closely and insep-
arably bound up with truth, with morals
and with religion and In most depart
ments of political philosophy, in social and
political economy.
TIL of late he was seldom treated as a
serious political economist. but IL was re-
Gently admitted that he had actually point
ed out some real weaknesses of the old alb
stract political economy as a scientific
theory. His lifelong contention was based
on the belief that the science has been
used to inculcate the unchecked and COM
petltive pursuit of merely material wealth.