Our Fathers Have Told Us Part 17

There is first the Madonna Dolorosa; the Byzantine type, and Cimabue's. It is the n.o.blest of all; and the earliest, in distinct popular influence.[68]

[Footnote 68: See the description of the Madonna of Murano, in second volume of 'Stones of Venice.']

Secondly. The Madone Reine, who is essentially the Frank and Norman one; crowned, calm, and full of power and gentleness. She is the one represented in this porch.

Thirdly. The Madone Nourrice, who is the Raphaelesque and generally late and decadence one. She is seen here in a good French type in the south transept porch, as before noticed.

An admirable comparison will be found inst.i.tuted by M. Viollet le Duc (the article 'Vierge,' in his dictionary, is altogether deserving of the most attentive study) between this statue of the Queen-Madonna of the southern porch and the Nurse-Madonna of the transept. I may perhaps be able to get a photograph made of his two drawings, side by side: but, if I can, the reader will please observe that he has a little flattered the Queen, and a little vulgarized the Nurse, which is not fair. The statue in this porch is in thirteenth-century style, extremely good: but there is no reason for making any fuss about it--the earlier Byzantine types being far grander.

50. The Madonna's story, in its main incidents, is told in the series of statues round the porch, and in the quatrefoils below--several of which refer, however, to a legend about the Magi to which I have not had access, and I am not sure of their interpretation.

The large statues are on the left hand, reading outwards as usual.

29. The Angel Gabriel.

30. Virgin Annunciate.

31. Virgin Visitant.

32. St. Elizabeth.

33. Virgin in Presentation.

34. St. Simeon.

On the right hand, reading outward,

35, 36, 37, The three Kings.

38. Herod.

39. Solomon.

40. The Queen of Sheba.

51. I am not sure of rightly interpreting the introduction of these two last statues: but I believe the idea of the designer was that virtually the Queen Mary visited Herod when she sent, or had sent for her, the Magi to tell him of her presence at Bethlehem: and the contrast between Solomon's reception of the Queen of Sheba, and Herod's driving out the Madonna into Egypt, is dwelt on throughout this side of the porch, with their several consequences to the two Kings and to the world.

The quatrefoils underneath the great statues run as follows:

29. Under Gabriel-- A. Daniel seeing the stone cut out without hands.

B. Moses and the burning bush.

30. Under Virgin Annunciate-- A. Gideon and the dew on the fleece.

B. Moses with written law, retiring; Aaron, dominant, points to his budding rod.

31. Under Virgin Visitant-- A. The message to Zacharias: "Fear not, for thy prayer is heard."

B. The dream of Joseph: "Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife." (?)

32. Under St. Elizabeth-- A. The silence of Zacharias: "They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple."

B. "There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name."

"He wrote saying, His name is John."

33. Under Virgin in Presentation-- A. Flight into Egypt.

B. Christ with the Doctors.

34. Under St. Simeon-- A. Fall of the idols in Egypt.

B. The return to Nazareth.

These two last quatrefoils join the beautiful C and D of Amos.

Then on the opposite side, under the Queen of Sheba, and joining the A and B of Obadiah--

40. A. Solomon entertains the Queen of Sheba. The Grace cup.

B. Solomon teaches the Queen of Sheba, "G.o.d is above."

39. Under Solomon-- A. Solomon on his throne of judgment.

B. Solomon praying before his temple-gate.

38. Under Herod-- A. Ma.s.sacre of Innocents.

B. Herod orders the ship of the Kings to be burned.

37. Under the third King-- A. Herod inquires of the Kings.

B. Burning of the ship.

36. Under the second King-- A. Adoration in Bethlehem?--not certain.

B. The voyage of the Kings.

35. Under the first King-- A. The Star in the East.

B. "Being warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod."

I have no doubt of finding out in time the real sequence of these subjects: but it is of little import,--this group of quatrefoils being of less interest than the rest, and that of the Ma.s.sacre of the Innocents curiously ill.u.s.trative of the incapability of the sculptor to give strong action or pa.s.sion.

But into questions respecting the art of these bas-reliefs I do not here attempt to enter. They were never intended to serve as more than signs, or guides to thought. And if the reader follows this guidance quietly, he may create for himself better pictures in his heart; and at all events may recognize these following general truths, as their united message.

52. First, that throughout the Sermon on this Amiens Mount, Christ never appears, or is for a moment thought of, as the Crucified, nor as the Dead: but as the Incarnate Word--as the present Friend--as the Prince of Peace on Earth,--and as the Everlasting King in Heaven. What His life _is_, what His commands _are_, and what His judgment _will be_, are the things here taught: not what He once did, nor what He once suffered, but what He is now doing--and what He requires us to do. That is the pure, joyful, beautiful lesson of Christianity; and the fall from that faith, and all the corruptions of its abortive practice, may be summed briefly as the habitual contemplation of Christ's death instead of His Life, and the subst.i.tution of His past suffering for our present duty.

53. Then, secondly, though Christ bears not _His_ cross, the mourning prophets,--the persecuted apostles--and the martyred disciples _do_ bear theirs. For just as it is well for you to remember what your undying Creator is _doing_ for you--it is well for you to remember what your dying fellow-creatures _have done_: the Creator you may at your pleasure deny or defy--the Martyr you can only forget; deny, you cannot. Every stone of this building is cemented with his blood, and there is no furrow of its pillars that was not ploughed by his pain.

54. Keeping, then, these things in your heart, look back now to the central statue of Christ, and hear His message with understanding. He holds the Book of the Eternal Law in His left hand; with His right He blesses,--but blesses on condition. "This do, and thou shalt live"; nay, in stricter and more piercing sense, This _be_ and thou shalt live: to show Mercy is nothing--thy soul must be full of mercy; to be pure in act is nothing--thou shalt be pure in heart also.

And with this further word of the unabolished law--"This if thou do _not_, this if thou art not, thou shalt die."

55. Die (whatever Death means)--totally and irrevocably. There is no word in thirteenth-century Theology of the pardon (in our modern sense) of sins; and there is none of the Purgatory of them. Above that image of Christ with us, our Friend, is set the image of Christ over us, our Judge. For this present life--here is His helpful Presence.

After this life--there is His coming to take account of our deeds, and of our desires in them; and the parting asunder of the Obedient from the Disobedient, of the Loving from the Unkind, with no hope given to the last of recall or reconciliation. I do not know what commenting or softening doctrines were written in frightened minuscule by the Fathers, or hinted in hesitating whispers by the prelates of the early Church. But I know that the language of every graven stone and every glowing window,--of things daily seen and universally understood by the people, was absolutely and alone, this teaching of Moses from Sinai in the beginning, and of St. John from Patmos in the end, of the Revelation of G.o.d to Israel.

This it was, simply--sternly--and continually, for the great three hundred years of Christianity in her strength (eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries), and over the whole breadth and depth of her dominion, from Iona to Cyrene,--and from Calpe to Jerusalem. At what time the doctrine of Purgatory was openly accepted by Catholic Doctors, I neither know nor care to know. It was first formalized by Dante, but never accepted for an instant by the sacred artist teachers of his time--or by those of any great school or time whatsoever.[69]

[Footnote 69: The most authentic foundations of the Purgatorial scheme in art-teaching are in the renderings, subsequent to the thirteenth century, of the verse "by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison," forming gradually into the idea of the deliverance of the waiting saints from the power of the grave.

In literature and tradition, the idea is originally, I believe, Platonic; certainly not Homeric. Egyptian possibly--but I have read nothing yet of the recent discoveries in Egypt. Not, however, quite liking to leave the matter in the complete emptiness of my own resources, I have appealed to my general investigator, Mr. Anderson (James R.), who writes as follows:--

"There is no possible question about the doctrine and universal inculcation of it, ages before Dante. Curiously enough, though, the statement of it in the Summa Theologiae as we have it is a later insertion; but I find by references that St. Thomas teaches it elsewhere. Albertus Magnus developes it at length. If you refer to the 'Golden Legend' under All Souls' Day, you will see how the idea is a.s.sumed as a commonplace in a work meant for popular use in the thirteenth century. St. Gregory (the Pope) argues for it (Dial. iv.

38) on two scriptural quotations: (1), the sin that is forgiven neither in hoc saeculo _nor in that which is to come_, and (2), the fire which shall try every man's work. I think Platonic philosophy and the Greek mysteries must have had a good deal to do with introducing the idea originally; but with them--as to Virgil--it was part of the Eastern vision of a circling stream of life from which only a few drops were at intervals tossed to a definitely permanent Elysium or a definitely permanent h.e.l.l. It suits that scheme better than it does the Christian one, which attaches ultimately in all cases infinite importance to the results of life in hoc saeculo.

"Do you know any representation of Heaven or h.e.l.l unconnected with the Last Judgment? I don't remember any, and as Purgatory is by that time past, this would account for the absence of pictures of it.

"Besides, Purgatory precedes the Resurrection--there is continual question among divines what manner of purgatorial fire it may be that affects spirits separate from the body--perhaps Heaven and h.e.l.l, as opposed to Purgatory, were felt to be picturable because not only spirits, but the risen bodies too are conceived in them.