The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-26

7 IS ANGELES, Cal, August BIN
this sermon the preacher shows US
John, the beloved disciple in new
light and as a model of strength, cour-
age and heroism for Christians Of every
age. The text is John Kill, %, Now there
was leaning on Jesus bosom one Of his
disciples, whom Jesus loved
No art student feels that he has truly
studied to the best advantage unless he
has sat at the feet of the old masters.
What Mecca is to the Mohammedans and
Benares to the Hindoos and Jerusalem to
the Christians, Rome and Venice and
Florence and Milan and Paris and Ant
werp are to the young artists and sculp-
tors. So overcome with Michael Angelo
when he first looked upon the wonderful
figure of st. George carved by the sculp-
tor Donatello on the outside Of the church
of San Michel at Florence that for time
he could not speak. Then as he studied
the magnificent proportions Of that great
est of all the great works of the Floren-
tine sculutor he raised his hand majesti-
cally and cried, Now, march, In these
two simple words the architect Of st.
Moses" and the artistic creator of THE
Last Judgment" and of the frescoes of
the Pauline chapel affirmed that the
statue of st. George was perfect in its
physical proportions and had everything
in Its makeup but a human soul.
The works of the old masters are al
most empowering; hence we find that
the greatest art schools of the world are
near to the galleries in which are pre-
served the immortal pictures and the
statues of the greatest artists and SOUP
tors of past centuries. The Louvre mas
moro to do with attracting art students
to the Latin quarter" of Paris by the
hundreds and thousands than any other
cause. Not a day passes but you can see
scores of young students, with their
easels copying Murillo's Holy Family
or his Assumption Of the Virgin which
hang upon the Louvre walls. There Ru-
bens and Rembrandt and Velasquez ana
Fra Bartolemeo and Da. Vinci are still as
much art professors as though they were
alive in the flesh. What is true of Paris
is equally true Of all the Italian cities.
So much are the models of the ancient
artists sought after for copying purposes
that the Italian government has forbidden
any of it's subjects to sell any of these
old masterpieces to any buyer outside OF
the country. The king of Italy knows
that the loss of the works or the OLD
masters would be .rreparable and If they
were scattered one of the greatest glories
of Italy would have vanished forever.
What Raphael's Madonnas are to the
young art students as models the charac-
ters of Moses and Joshua and Samuel and
Nehemiah and Daniel and John the Bap-
fist and Peter and Paul and John, the be-
loved disciple, are to younug Chris
tians These Bible characters are not
perfect any more than the artistic works
of the old masters are perfect Paul
Veronese, one of the greatest Of Vene-
tian artists. painted his female char
aeters OF 1.-The Family of Darius at the
Feet of Alexander After the Battle of
Issus" in the hoop-skirts and low bodic-
ed waists of the Venetian costumes or
the sixteenth century, although the battle
of Issus was fought a third of millen-
MUM before Christ was born. There is
only one perfect being mentioned in the
Bible, and that person is Jesus Christ.
But though the best Bible characters are
not perfect yet, many of them are right
1y held up as prototypes for young Chris
tians to copy after. Today | want to
speak about one of the best and noblest
of the apostles for us to emulate. / want
to show how ST. John was strong, and
how he was one of the most influential
and perhaps the best beloved of all the
disciples who gathered about the table at
the last supper, just preceding the cruel
fixion.