. The complete works . or their subjectsof the Nativity, a beautiful and queenly lady,her dress embroidered with gold, and with acrown of jewels upon her hair, kneeling, on a floor of in-1 laid and pre-cious mar-ble, beforea crownedchild, laidunder a por-tico of Lom-bardic* ar-ch i t ecture ;with a sweet,v e r d u r ous,and vividlandscape inthe distance,full of wind-ing rivers,village spires,and baronial towers, f It is quitetrue that the frank absurdity ofthe thought prevented its bringreceived as a deliberate contradic-tion of the truths of Scripture;but it is no less certain, that thecontin
. The complete works . or their subjectsof the Nativity, a beautiful and queenly lady,her dress embroidered with gold, and with acrown of jewels upon her hair, kneeling, on a floor of in-1 laid and pre-cious mar-ble, beforea crownedchild, laidunder a por-tico of Lom-bardic* ar-ch i t ecture ;with a sweet,v e r d u r ous,and vividlandscape inthe distance,full of wind-ing rivers,village spires,and baronial towers, f It is quitetrue that the frank absurdity ofthe thought prevented its bringreceived as a deliberate contradic-tion of the truths of Scripture;but it is no less certain, that thecontinual presentment to the mind of this beautifuland Cully realized imagery more and more chilled itspower of apprehending the real truth; and thatwhen pictures of this description met the eye in * Lomlmrdic, Le. in the style of Pietro and Tullio Lombardo, in thefifteenth century (not Lombard). f All this, it will be observed, is that seeking for beauty at the cost oftruth which we have generally noted iu the last chapter,. roh. in.] I. RELIGIOUS. 49 every corner of every chapel, it was physically impossible todwell distinctly upon facts the direct reverse of those repre-sented. The word Virgin or Madonna, instead of call-ing up the vision of a simple Jewish girl, bearing the calamitiesof poverty, and the dishonors of inferior station, summoned in-stantly the idea of a graceful princess, crowned with gems, andsurrounded by obsequious ministry of kings and saints. Thefallacy which was presented to the imagination was indeed dis-credited, but also the fact which was not presented to the imag-ination was forgotten ; all true grounds of faith were graduallyundermined, and the beholder was either enticed into mere lux-ury of fanciful enjoyment, believing nothing; or left, in hisconfusion of mind, the prey of vain tales and traditions ; whilein his best feelings he was unconsciously subject to the power ofthe fallacious picture, and with no sense of the real cause of hiserror, bowed hims
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