Our Fathers Have Told Us: Part I. The Bible of AmiensRuskin, John
History
Our Fathers Have Told Us: Part I. The Bible of Amiens
Ruskin, John
Cathédrale d'Amiens; France -- History
With the interpretation of these, I have given again the name of the
prophet whose life or prophecy they illustrate.
13. ISAIAH.
13, A. "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne" (vi. I).
The vision of the throne "high and lifted up"
between seraphim.
13, B. "Lo, this hath touched thy lips" (vi. 7).
The Angel stands before the prophet, and holds,
or rather held, the coal with tongs, which have been
finely undercut, but are now broken away, only a
fragment remaining in his hand.
14. JEREMIAH.
14, A. The burial of the girdle (xiii. 4, 5).
The prophet is digging by the shore of Euphrates,
represented by vertically winding furrows down the
middle of the tablet. Note, the translation should be
"hole in the ground," not "rock."
14, B. The breaking of the yoke (xxviii. 10).
From the prophet Jeremiah's neck; it is here
represented as a doubled and redoubled chain.
15. EZEKIEL.
15, A. Wheel within wheel (i. 16).
The prophet sitting; before him two wheels of
equal size, one involved in the ring of the other.
15, B. "Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem" (xxi. 2).
The prophet before the gate of Jerusalem.
16. DANIEL.
16, A. "He hath shut the lions' mouths" (vi. 22).
Daniel holding a book, the lions treated as heraldic
supporters. The subject is given with more
animation farther on in the series (24, B).
16, B. "In the same hour came forth fingers of a Man's hand" (v. 5).
Belshazzar's feast represented by the king alone,
seated at a small oblong table. Beside him the youth
Daniel, looking only fifteen or sixteen, graceful and
gentle, interprets. At the side of the quatrefoil,
out of a small wreath of cloud, comes a small bent
hand, writing, as if with a pen upside down on a piece
of Gothic wall.[64]
For modern bombast as opposed to old simplicity,
compare the Belshazzar's feast of John Martin!
[Footnote 64: I fear this hand has been broken since I described it; at
all events, it is indistinguishably shapeless in the photograph (No. 9
of the series).]
43. The next subject begins the series of the minor prophets.
17. HOSEA.
17, A. "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver and
an homer of barley" (iii. 2).
The prophet pouring the grain and the silver into
the lap of the woman, "beloved of her friend." The
carved coins are each wrought with the cross, and, I
believe, legend of the French contemporary coin.
17, B. "So will I also be for thee" (iii. 3).
He puts a ring on her finger.
18. JOEL.
18, A. The sun and moon lightless (ii. 10).
The sun and moon as two small flat pellets, up in
the external moulding.
18, B. The barked fig-tree and waste vine (i. 7).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account