Shades and Echoes of Old London

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1864 Excerpt: ... the culture of his faculties, the elevation and ennobling of his taste. Had he been merely an intellectual and social being, that might have been consistent. But he had a spiritual nature, which brought him into moral and everlasting relations to the Divine Being; he had a nature needing Divine renewal, and standing in need of purification from sinful stains. Now the practical conduct of his life looked very much as if he ignored this. His intense love of art rendered him unmindful of the great duties of religion. It is very melancholy to be informed that he was accustomed to say, The man will never make a painter who looks for the Sunday with pleasure as an idle day. His habit of painting on that day explains what he meant. Johnson knew the mournful failing of his friend, and the deep and fatal sinfulness involved in it, when, as he was on his dying bed, he begged him to read the Scriptures carefully, and to abstain from using his pencil on the sabbath. To these requests Sir Joshua gave a willing assent, and is said to have faithfully observed them. So writes his biographer. We trust the artist did take the dying moralist's advice. We are sure that he would paint the better for it. Examples of the past and present show that Beynolds was mistaken about the need of painting every day. Beligion--deep, earnest religion--that which takes in the whole gospel, and which penetrates the depths of the soul--that which transforms the man and brings him into fellowship with the infinite and glorious mind of Christ--that which makes the sabbath a delight, and gives sacredness to every portion of time, by exhibiting it as a talent from the Giver of all good, to be devoted to his glory--is not only in harmony with the profession of the artist, a...