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foot, why should I look under the mango-pare to "a tiger in a sacred grove." To a tree?" If an upstart talks like a rich or vulgar, boastful fellow, strutting about great man, they say, "Here's a hireling over-dressed, some one is sure to cry, "A on thirty cowries giving drafts on Chitta- red mango in the ape's paw and the ape gong." Useless trouble is called "Going cries 'Ram, ram,' ,'" words of delight; and to Ceylon for a grain of turmeric." lastly, to close our specimens, when one man has gained an object by hard labour and another tries to gain the same without work, the saying used is, "One man kills himself with pounding the rice and another fills his cheeks with it smoking hot."

There is no country where the proverbs are founded more on local customs than in Hindostan. "A great man's word is like the elephant's tusk" (not to be concealed or withdrawn), is a common Hindoo saying. A false devotee they com

IN his just published report to the foreign trees, the petals of flowers, the wings of birds, office, her Majesty's consul at Yokohama etc. . . Into all this gold powder enters, gives some interesting information respecting the working-in of which requires a light brush the preparation of lacquer-ware in Japan. and a skilful hand. After this has Some Japanese, he says, give A. D. 724 as the well dried, a particular kind of lacquer-vardate when the art of lacquering was first dis-nish, known as yoshimô urushi, is well rubbed covered, but those among them who have in, and the whole then polished with horngiven attention to the subject fix the date as dust. The polishing process is done with the A. D. 889 or 900. It would appear to have at- finger, and is continued until the gold-glitter tained to some perfection in 1290, for the shows out well." Academy. name of a distinguished painter in lacquer at that time is still handed down as the founder of a particular school of art in lacquer-painting. Having described the manner in which the lacquer-varnish is obtained, Mr. Robert- M. BERTRAND (Revue Archéologique, Sepson gives some details of the mode in which tember), gives an account of a very remarkdesigns in lacquer are worked. "The first able discovery of antiquities at Graeckwyl in thing," he says, "is to trace out on the thin- the canton of Berne, in 1851. Two tumuli nest of paper the required pattern or design, were opened, one of them yielding a bronze and the tracing is then gone over with a com- vase- with ornaments in relief and in the position of lacquer-varnish and vermilion, round on the neck and handles of which an afterwards laid on whatever it is proposed to engraving accompanies the article. It is cerimpart the design to and well rubbed tainly curious, as M. Bertrand remarks, that a over with a bamboo spatula." The outline vase wnich from the artistic character of its thus left "is now gone over with a particular ornaments can only be compared with Etruskind of soft lacquer-varnish. When this in- can work, or better still with the gold ornadustry is pursued in hot weather the varnishments from Camirus in Rhodes (in the British speedily dries, and consequently where the Museum and in the Louvre), should be found pattern is a good deal involved a in the district of Berne, because it is not supsmall portion only is executed at one time, and posed that much of what is called civilization the gold powder, which enters largely into had reached that quarter till Roman times, most of the lacquer-ware for the foreign mar- whereas the Camirus gold ornaments, which ket, is applied to each part as it is being exe- are exact counterparts of those on the Graeckcuted. For this a large and very soft brush is wyl vase, can be confidently assigned to the used, and by its aid the gold powder is well seventh century B.C. Perhaps the more arrubbed in with the lacquer or varnish. The chaic works of this kind are studied, the more work is then left to dry for about twenty-four it will be found that they prevail in the Greek hours, after which the pattern is lightly rubbed islands see, for instance, as to vases and over with charcoal made from a particular terra-cottas, the guide-books to the first and kind of wood, this process securing evenness second vase-rooms of the British Museum. of surface. The work is next rubbed with From this evidence such objects could be polishing powder, and afterwards carefully traced to a period of activity in maritime trade wiped." After all this outlining has been which might readily have attracted patrons or done "there still remains a good deal of fin- traders from even higher regions of Europe ishing work, such as the tracing of leaves on than Berne..

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From The Church Quarterly Review. I To see how in the arts bequeathed to THE ARTS, CONSIDERED AS TIDEMARKS us by successive races of men, we have

OF HISTORY.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights."

THE question, which of the older races of men attained to the greatest height in thought, and art, and life, and to which we owe the most of truth and sweetness and light, has been continually coming up to the surface throughout the present renaissance of historical research, and it is being continually settled afresh and in different ways by different writers, and that in rather positive modes, by large conclusions and narrow generalizations. We are continually being instructed that all ancient creeds stand on one common level as to authority, and to historical value that the revelation made in the Old Testament, or, as some prefer calling it, the religion of the Jews, was in no sense more from God than the religions of Brahma or Zoroaster; that it had even less of divine power over men than these. We constantly learn that Greek faith was absolutely on a level with it — was far higher in itself, and as a preparation for the fuller light of Christ; and then another teacher will show us, that Greek thought is on a level with Christian thought in truth; or that it is as a school for the intellectual and artistic side of men's life and nature, what Christianity is for the moral emotions; that it is even a much higher school; or that each (especially Christianity) must be kept to its own half of man, the one forbidden to rule our moral actions, the other to guide intellectual effort or inspire true art.

Tossed about by these conflicting dogmas, it has seemed to us that if we take the fine arts as our measure, and compare the arts and dramas and songs of each faith and race together, we may possibly find they afford us a more certain standard than we can get from the ever-changing aspects of thought driven hither and thither in vague seas of words; and liable, so far as this question of standard is concerned, to be vitiated, by reason of our seeing them only through the subsequent light of Christian truth and Christian morality.

real, though not complete flood-marks of the comparative heights of thought and feeling, to which these nations rose, we must glance back to the origin of the arts. These, if we are not mistaken, are found to have sprung up amongst every nation so far civilized as to have satisfied the first necessities of life and gained any leisure for reflection. Nearly every such race has had its poetical myths"those splendid flowers," as Mr. Symonds calls them, "expressing in form and colour to the mental eye the thoughts and aspirations of whole races;" has had its architecture, its sculpture, its painting and music, or its dramas. And we find also that everywhere these arts have been exercised primarily and chiefly in the representation of their religious faith, or to add dignity to their worship. The myths relate the doings of their gods; the best architecture of men of all races is, we believe, without exception, to be found in their temples. Their most elaborate carvings and noblest sculptures have striven to represent their gods or to symbolize the divine attributes; and their most enduring poetry has been religious hymns.

Looking further into these early works of art, we find a second characteristic. Beside and together with their notions of the Deity, we see forcibly expressed their own aspirations, vague perhaps, but obviously powerful, towards a better, a happier, a more glorious and satisfactory life than men live on earth; we see their yearning for something unseen, enduring, perfect.

"The type of perfect in their mind, in nature they could nowhere find; " but by thus visibly embodying in sculptured stone or on pictured walls, or in sacred songs and dramas, their ideas of God and of that Godlike human life for which they yearned, they sought to grasp the dim notions and aspirations continually floating before them, and as constantly eluding them and fading away before the hard or sordid physical necessities of their lives; they sought to fix them for themselves, and to hand them on to their children, as records of the Deity they were to worship, and of

the perfection to which they might as- being the most suggestive of the noblest, pire.

truest, and purest thoughts; on every side it touches, its spirit must be excelsior.

If this be the true account of the matter, it will follow that art is the offspring It would be impossible in the short of man's religious nature: wishing to use space of a single article to enter seriously our words with as much distinctness as we on so wide a subject; the most we can can, we will not say of his spiritual life, hope to do is to suggest, by a few examfor it was the struggle to rise to some- ples, the way in which it might be worked thing truer and more satisfactory than the out at large. We will begin with the Asphysical, intellectual, and moral life they syrian sculptures, which, judged from this already enjoyed, which drove men to art point of view, naturally come first, as lowas an aid, and then for a time, as a conso-est of all. The animal forms they delation under failure. But still the root of lighted in are marked for strength of talall art, as of all religions, is this, that noth-ons, or swiftness of flight: cruel eagle ing short of union with God can satisfy any human soul. As Professor Maurice said, "The longing for the manifestation of God is the mystery, which lies beneath the history of the ancient world and interprets it;" and so it lies beneath its art. There were in fine two questions lying at the root of all their creeds, the answers to which their artists and poets strove to give: "Can men rise up to God?" was the first; failing that, came the second, "Will God come down to men?" Ac-ous; seated on thrones, while long lines cordingly, it is in their works of art that we find the most certain record of the highest ideas they could form at once of Divine perfection and human happiness; and by comparing the arts of one race with those of another, we may in some sort estimate the relative height of their conceptions, and the comparative value of the ideas they have to give us.

In making this comparison, it is obvious, that of the two factors present in all art, the idea or conception embodied, and the execution, it is the first which we must mainly consider. The comparative excellence of the execution would tell us much about the comparative culture of the races and the skill of the artists; but it would tell us little of the thoughts and wishes of the men themselves. A very noble idea may be found with rude execution, just as we very often find very great skill of execution thrown away in expressing mean or coarse ideas, or even destitute of any thought whatever. To be art at all, for our present purpose, the thought expressed must have some reality; to be high art, it must be ideal. To be the highest art, it must, amongst other qualities, have that of

heads, huge winged bulls, impassive, yet with a kind of majestic strength and stupidity; "fierce Assyrian countenances, with keen, murderous, eagle eyes; animal, king, and god, all presented in the same form, giving forth their conception of the powers that ruled over them, letting us into the secret of what they and their people would wish to be.” * For here we see their kings in the circumstances that appeared to these Assyrians the most glori

of chained captives are being driven up to them with whips; or else, as bound, but headless figures, are still kneeling before them. Divine and human nature, as they interpreted them, were akin to that "nature red in tooth and claw," which shrieks against the law of light and love. All their sculptures deify physical force; all hold up slaughter and savage victory, more savagely used, as the delight of the gods, and the chief glory set before kings.

We saw lately an engraving from a Grecian bas-relief, exquisitely simple and graceful in its clear outlines, representing a solemn celebration of the conquest of Troy. The three Grecian chiefs are slaughtering Trojan captive youths. Each prisoner is slight in figure, young in face; each has a great gashed wound, from which the blood is spouting; each has been stripped, and has his hands tied behind him, denoting his utter helplessness. Agamemnon's captive has already been thrown into a hollow in the ground, in which he is made to sit up, whilst the king is gravely and calmly cutting his

Professor Maurice: "Religions of the World."

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