Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-01-27
JOHN RUSKIN.
Last Of the Arbiters Of Thought in the
Victorian Era.
Better Rhetorician Than Losician in Political
Economy.

tbp Victorian era has passed away into
silence. With Carlyle and Newman he
1 formed a great trinity that made the
nrofoundcst impression on thoughtful
men Of the last generation and were al
most dictatorS in art in morals and the
general conduct q he; It IS safe 70 say
scrs The individual withers. The race
s more and more. The armies of prog
ress will have leaders, indeed. but none
10 whom commensurate power will be in
trusted. none to whom such implicit
obedience will he yielded. The age OF
,be prophets has gone, probably forever
The lnttiltctudl lCPubllC mas DeeH pro-
John Ruskin, the prose poet of nature.
Nds born on February ). 1879 in a smoky
emhurb OF the London which he dctestcd
Ills father John James RuSkln, was Il
wine merchant, who, starting lite on no
canital and Il considerable amount of in
herited debts, succeeded first in paying
N those debts and next in building up
A large fortune for himself.
In those charming fragments of auto
biography which he called "Praeterita IS
Ruskin has told us how, when he came
N be four or five years old, the father
couh command a post chaise and pair
by the help OF which, with his wife and
child he went the round Of his country
customers every summer. These annual
drives, through some of the finest Eng
hsh scenery. with passing glmpses Of ca
thedrdls, castles and ruined abbeyS. I'M
doubtedly had a great influence upon the
and art
For the rest his mother. who was a
lady Of somewhat severe character kent
the boyle was an only son-in complete
isolation from children Of his own age
and with none OF the toys or amuStments
Of ordinary childhood. She early drew
his mind to the reading OF the Bible ana
of the purest English masters and he
unconsci1usly imhibed from these studies
that love Tor SonOrOuS simplicity which
afterward distinguished his literary
in 1882 his parents took him On i tour
through Switzerland and Italy, where he
continued the observation Of architecture
begun among the cathedrdls OF England.
and for the first time recognized the in
comparable splcndor Of ancient art Fired
with the ambition to become an artist.
on his return to England he took lessons
in drawing ana painting from Cupley
Fulding and }. -. Harding. In 1896 he
was matriculated at Christ Church. ON
ford Next year he published III the Ar
piece Of prose criticism. AN Introduction
ID the Poetry III Architecture"
Meanwhile he was contributing poems
Of rare promise ana good performance to
Friendship Offering. In 1899 he won
the much coveted Newdisate prize by
poem on the subject Of Salsette ana FL
euhanta. hi 1910 he was graduated.
His first important work, the first vol
ume Of Modern Painters. by a graduate
Of oxford was published in leI3, and
proved that the poeI and the painter had
-'-''
TUE and art.
Tat was 4 period Of intellectual I'M
Ng and upheaval. The contemporary
aaOnS. the contemporary conventions,
we're awaiting the coming Of a master
Ind to destroy them and build a new
abric on their ruins Ruskin found the
zsis Of the new in the old. Ills book,
Mmartly undertaken as a critical de
ance and explanation Of Turner. deVel-
0ped into an acute analysis OF truth in
painting and a vigorous comparison be-
ia, h. t.lI mn tnV nf hl
tenth ana early seventeenth centuries
with the modern English school greatly
| y the disadvantage 81 the latter. Its We
hcmeat cpquence. its extraordinary
y charm Of style arrested attention at
y once, its theories were loudly decried and
y as loudly Endorsed. The English public
split mp into rival camps. but the young
vr amt more progressive intellgences
were all on Ruskin : side.
IN hS recent biography Of his father
Mr.. joan &. Millais has controVcrted the
common opinion that RuSkin assisted i'll
founding the I'rc-Raph1chtc Brother
hood In the formal sense this is true.
The p Il srrang into being in 1919 as
an independents movement Of Milais,
Hunt ana the Rossettis. None Of them
knew Ruskin at the time. Miiais had
never even read his book. Nevertheless,
was RuSkln Wh" h3d crystalllZed INTO
| shape the scattered clements Of protest
| against the cXtant which dwelt in all
la9ushtlul minds. Il WAS he who had an
uclat'd the theories IF the l're-Ra-
-N'l' IL " - ~ VIZ h''
/ Wglcu "ihSei Jn'lf champion ana ue-
gul'I dhd lhallN forced lhelr acceptance
VIII .It i.rd'llLdil. -,
no, aHn ~ !. ui'.llH- TOUR E"i"ihcS 81 MOI
'iu',iH NyIe Miltlci NANNY 81
'i'iiutht ana luftHVf ANALYSIS VI lil'
| EWlP'5 lhld DOWN IN the hrSl, pilH-
aples which mad been adopted by the
| tIr-hdphAellt'S, ana winch urged re-
Th,sas II in ~ i'll ; hct hl2pu5 HIN ~
WIN III. i,.,i ,,,tI,. MINI III .,,,bt ~
annear ,rb. t't, I7,,,,, go NM
Gsbqd IN 1I,G ,h ,hi,.I rI t,,,rth !, Ix5;
| tb4 Est il, tI;1 '''''' ''''" "a AZ
MANY nth.r work ,,,,,...,,..d in tho in
tervgI tLi.t r,t, .., -, ,,-t, ..-'t.
seven INN, ''',t'7 ltith 1Si".
Notes M, iha G,.t, ,'',j, cbaam
foIdy Yn o ,h y titiI,.ch IL i,nir
land Isl and ...'ho St,nns If Neni"17
three .nl,,nn. mi 1.-.'
NM II th .u ',I' p,t,,t..,... tb,
Stones of V,,i.-'i, = p,,..i,ii,: ,,r..,t.st
and rnnSr sianiti,.,n, ,,i,tn.,,,,.,I I'M
some N his nniIast u'rl, - ',,hn,1iaL N
The short Irc,,t,n, will No. ,iiGii.ri il,
h,ok farm unIer ,h HAHN III 49,, Hi,
and Lilies u iV;-t I'm, t,,bi,. ~ ~.
Dust " '.r1a 1r.,,.,, = win my. 1S,a
and II M Dunan nv III. III iIfG
TheSo bnSLirt. ava r,,,urn 70 tho
@Wn r5 .tI Whch ne exhibited IN M
Venice
but sine" 1860 marked change haL
come in the character and aim Of the
sfeater portion Of his writings. lie de-
gdfeI his belief TINT his forte Wa real
not description but political economy"