Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-17
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
!. G.. NJ.
HISTORIC CHURCHES OF THE
WORLD. Robert +. 1.udy. The
s. ra ffO,.l Co


Stratford co.
The great cathedralS and churches
Of Europe are more or less familiar
10 traveller and tourist. to artist and
student. 1t ia these famous and en-
during monuments which so cieveri>
evoke that golden span of the Mion'e
Ages. the 18th century, herald ot tne
coming Renaissance. when church anc
trade guild entered into partnership
whose effect upon industry and poll
tics and art was no less than upon
religion itself. IL was the medleVal
guild that. with the aid and protec
tion Of the church. raised craftsman
ship to it's highest estate. that for the
first time gave dignity to labor. that
despite the handicap Of class distlnc
tons and lowly birth opened avenues
OF advance to workers skilled in va
rious crafts. that gave rise to a sense
Of brotherhood among artisans ana
created organizations. which not only
protected labor. but gave to IT a pc.
litical sianifica nee as well. The guii0
held in It's nature the seed OF democ'
racy. Under it's stir. ambition awoke
and imagination took wing. THESE
became potent in a. new art that
sought to embody the spiritual aspira
tions of the period in fitting archi-
tectural form. 1t was this fresh I'M
pulse that rejected. in a large meas
ure. the solid ma .erial Romanesdue
effects. substituting instead the Goth
ic form. that triumph Of effort by way
Of which the medieval architect united
loftiness with lightness, fitting EN-.
bem Of Christian aspiration and
vision.
II
Such historic churches now spread
throughout Christendom. Not, to be
sure. in the massed splendor OF the
European medieval cathedral. STEPPED
in the traditions and atmospheres OF
500 mellowing years. but momentous
structures, nevertheless. deeply sig
nif1cant to the spiritual and material
history Of their val ious settings. Co
thedral church. synagogue. secret
underground crypt. meeting house.
mission. altar and shrine-these pro-
claim the religion Of the Christia n
world. and by way Of these greatly
important chapters Of the worlds
history invite the attention Of the
passing traveller.
Today everybody is a passing
traveller. Everybody is going some
where, nobody staying at home. II.
as somebody has said, travel is the
best of tutors, then education is on
its way to possess humanity. In time
to come, when lists of great educators
are being made. the name Of Henry
Ford may not. like that of the good
Ben 'Adhem. lead all the rest, but it
will OF certainty stand high in this
roster Of benefactors. Wherever the
hurrying motor multitudes 60. there
~ L. tNl1
glimpses of ways somewhat different
from their own and snatch bits OF
local history-a happy and useful ex-
pansion of every one Of them. And
everywhere one constant feature
greets them. Everywhere the church
tower or spire beckons and invites
them. The most of these are mere
landmarks. not impor-
tant to outsiders. except as bond of
common brotherhood. Some Of them,
on the other hand. belong to the his
tory of the country itself. some Of
them are a vital part Of the forward
Of modern life. 1t is such
notables among the churches that
DR.. Ludy has gathered up here in a
method definitely calculated to be of
good service to the modern nomads
that nowadays are turning every
highway into an endless unbroken
caravan and every steamship into a
crowded moving city.
II
Historic Churches Of the World"
separates into two parts, one cover
ing the churches of the Old World.
the other dealing with those Of the
New World. Greater emphasis Is
placed upon the second group. a wise
point of stress since the churches OF
the Western Hemisphere have, as a
single and separate theme, received
less consideration al the hands of traV-
elers and writer's. Pictures, that abso-
lutte essential to book of this sort,
stand here in full abundance in a
excellence Of quality. These
the text, moving one his
toric edif1ce after another into the
actual eye range Of the reader. The
text itself is a model of economy.
Short. substantial chapters give to
each structure its place in history, its
part in the life of it's own community.
the fashion of it's architecture, the
model from which it was derived, its
special tradition and atmosphere. it's
abiding influence on the varying times
in the midst of which it stands.
The New World churches considered
here embrace both continents of the
Western Hemisphere. Mexico, Can
ada, South America. Cuba. Santo Do
mingo, are represented here no less
than the United States itself In
every case the soldier and the priest
followed hard upon the trail of the
explorer and discoverer. Therefore
Spanish churches and missions arose
IN IL,
our own Southwest and in California
In Canada and down the Mississippi
in the laborious tracks of voyageur
and priest the French ways of setting
up shrines and places of worship are
most in evidence. Within our own
borders there are historic meeting
houses, simplified from English meth
DDS of church architecture. But.
the style be Spanish or
French or English, 1t is in the church
itself that some OF the most mo-
mentous history Of the New World
was made and Is there still perpet-
uated. Lacking much of the grandeur
and beauty Of many an Old World
these churches Of America
overflow still with the
essence OF old heroisms and old hard
ships and old achievements that con-
stitute Americas most precious heri-
tage. The Old North Church in Bos-
ton and the Old South Church there
together tell a. vivid story Of the
struggle between liberal and conserva-
tive: Christ Church in Philadelphia
is redolent of the trials and hara SIS
ments Of tho Continental Congress.
st. Ann de Beaupre. out from Quebec.
Is to this day a place of miracle and
constant professions Of pilgrims. The
Alamo in Texas, fort and mission com
bined, said to be noted for history
rather than sanctity." Is reminiscent
of the massacre of heroic "Davy'
Crockett and a. group of other Texas
heroes in 1895. California Is rich in
missions and in the story Of Spain
the New World in the
name Of God and her King Indeed.
all over this country there are
churches tnnumerable without whose