Newark post., 1914-04-08
BY ISRAEL ANDIRON


such cOlOrs as no painter ever
matched. They enjoy the soft
lights which they find on rainy
days, they enter into the woods and
behold a thousand scenes such as
have not been found in any great
gallery: glimpses Of blue beneath
cathedral arches Of the trees, such
greens as even the shifting seas
with all their hues have not made.
such tints Of red and green entwin-
ed as would make fruit palace for
Olympian gods, such clear brooks
moving through m0ss-laden banks
as no master has represented in
side the houses Of men. These two
see the beauty no sculptor repro
duces, in the squirrels pose, the
wren s inquiring attitude, the play
ing girl, the beauty Of men and wo-
men at their best. They hear the
! thrush, the robin, the song spar
row. and find the songs symphony
which all earth and heaven share,
and having these things in fullness
are content.
so may we Of the open lands
feed our emotions and teach our
children to partake Of them, if we
have but the will and sensitiveness
to do 50. Nature moves her light
in the galleries Of time and we call
the intervals days. She stages be-
fore us splendors and harmonies,
she brings before us the most dra-
matte thing in all the world; the
human soul, in tragedy, comedy,
and melodrama. The seasons are
full Of scenes and acts and III our
love Of the great drama we are
shown by God originates much Of
our love Of life. When the play
can no longer interest us then we
are ready to die.
How vain, then, is the attempt to
repress, discourage, keep back the
emotions, the love Of romance, the
love Of action, which is the supreme
desire of man. Men have tried
from time to time, as did the Puri-
tans, to reduce all things to theol-
Ogy, to mere economic use and dig
nified self-repression, but God is
not mocked and Nature, His Way
Of Doing Things, is not to be set
aside. Our children must share the
play; they must themselves, as
parts Of God, create, enact, behold,
Teach them the meaning Of love, Of
romance, Of pleasure, of art, direct
and develop as far as you can, but
beware how you undertake to
hedge their paths by mere Thou
shalt not. " The emotions will find
expression; low and degrading or
high and uplifting, as they are
educated and given opportunity.
The revivalists decree against
amusements simply changes the
amusements Of those who from
force or from conscience heed
them; what manner Of amusement
then take the place Of those exclud-
ed; what manner of love takes the
place Of the pure romance you, per
chance, have ridiculed to the sensi-
tive mind of your boy or girl? You
may set a weight upon the tender
est flower Of romantic love and
cause it to grow twisted and ugly,
but unless you kill the plant it will
grow in some form. We have but
to ourselves lay hold of the oppor
tunities to be refined, artistic and
to not only increase
our own satisfactions but to make
our home circle more divine. All
that we can appreciate Of art and
beauty and love is already within
us; it's expression may be fastened
by the sounding choirs, the great
high affairs Of cathedrals, the throb-
bing canvases, the living marbles,
the innumerable inspirations Of
triumphant art. But the art which
God makes day by day; the wide
expanse of sun and earth, the mur-
stream, the robe Of snow,
the odor Of June and the soft |
breathings of warm-hearted April
were man s first lures into the infin-
tie and from such examples all art |
has come. The JOY of the whole
earth may be ours if we enter into
the goodness Of the fields and the
loves that are fair and strong
your feet are placed,
make that place beginning Of ex-
preston for the soul and Of art ed
ucation that shall be in you foun-
tain of joy from the everlasting
n illc nf God