Part 3
Then came the voice of the Lord commanding him to go again to the king with a message. Ahab was very angry when Elijah again appeared; but Elijah was not afraid. He ordered Ahab to gather all the Israelites at Mount Carmel and to bring there also the prophets of Baal, the heathen god. But the wicked Jezebel had caused all the prophets of the Israelites to be put to death, so that Elijah was alone against the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. While he waited, Elijah spent the time in prayer.
When all were gathered at Mount Carmel, the king in his royal purple robes, the false prophets in their white robes and high pointed caps, and all the attendants, officers, and servants, the great figure of Elijah loomed up before them, demanding in a loud voice how long they were going to take to decide whether to serve God or Baal. None dared reply. He told them to bring two oxen; one, the prophets of Baal should prepare for sacrifice, the other he should prepare. Each should call upon his God, and the God that answered by fire should be supreme. The people thought this very fair, as Baal was supposed to be the god of fire.
The prophets of Baal were allowed to try first. In vain they called to the sun, and danced about the altar, waving their arms wildly, begging Baal to hear them and to send the fire—but there was no response. Is it any wonder Elijah said to them: “Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” They continued their supplication all day, but to no avail.
Then Elijah called the people close around him, prepared his offering, and commanded them to pour water over it several times and also to fill the ditch surrounding it with water, that they might be fully persuaded. Then Elijah’s prayer was immediately answered by a fire, which not only burned up the offering but licked up the water around it. Then the people were persuaded, the false prophets were slain, and rain descended upon the land.
But Jezebel was very angry when she heard these things, and sent word to Elijah that he, too, should share the fate of the prophets of Baal. Elijah fled. It was at this time he rested “under a juniper tree,” which has since been known as an expression of discouragement.
Again came the message of the Lord, sending him to the land of Israel, where he should proclaim his successor, Elisha. Elijah spent the rest of his life instructing young men, of whom Elisha was his most devoted follower. When his work was over he was taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire.
DANIEL
Next to Elijah in the frieze stands Daniel, that stanch leader whom nothing could dismay, not even the fear of being placed in the lions’ den. He does not look as if he could easily be persuaded to turn aside from what he believed was right. The fixed folds of his garment correspond with his features and his character as we know it. In his hands he carries a piece of parchment upon which is inscribed in Hebrew, “And they that be wise shall shine.”
His was an unusual life full of strange experiences. He was fourteen years old when the people of Judah were taken captives to Babylon by the victorious King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was chosen with several other boys to be trained as pages for the king; then many strange things happened to him. In the first place his name was changed from Daniel, which means “God is my judge,” to Belteshazzar, after one of the idols of the Babylonians. All the pages were given these strange heathen names. They were treated very kindly but were expected to eat the rich food from the king’s table, most of which had been offered to the idols.
When Daniel found this out he made his first stand for what he believed was right. Feeling that it was wrong to eat this food, he persuaded three of the other boys to go with him and ask the king’s officers to give them plainer food. The officers consented to test this diet with the four boys, and at the end of three months found they had gained in strength more than the other pages, who had continued to eat the rich food; and so Daniel’s request was granted. All the pages had to study very hard, for they had to learn the language of the Babylonians besides many other things. When they were brought before the king to be examined three years later, Daniel and his three friends were found to be the brightest scholars of all. People began to look up to them, and to call them very wise.
Not long after this King Nebuchadnezzar had a very strange dream, but when he woke up in the morning he could not remember what it was. He called his wise men together, but none could tell him what he had dreamed. He became very angry and ordered them all put to death, even Daniel and his friends, whom he thought ought to be wise enough to tell him.
All that night Daniel and his friends prayed for help, until, utterly weary, they fell asleep. In a dream the Lord told Daniel what to tell the king. King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had been about his kingdom, and who should rule after him, and he was amazed that one so young as Daniel should tell him what he had dreamed and what the dream meant. He gave Daniel many presents and made him a great ruler.
Daniel continued in favor with Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, Darius. So much was he favored that the other officers of the king wished to destroy him. Appealing to his vanity, they persuaded Darius to set aside thirty days in which all his people should pray to him just as if he were a god. He made this dreadful law among his people, who were Medes and Persians. Of course we know how Daniel continued to pray to God, was watched, and reported to the king. Then King Darius saw the trap which his officers had set for Daniel. He was greatly distressed, but not even a king could change a law among the Medes and Persians. He had said that any one who disobeyed his law should perish in the den of lions.
But we know how Daniel was taken care of; how the king rejoiced to find him alive the next morning; and how all the people marveled and believed in the God who had saved him. At this time Daniel was eighty years old. God sent some wonderful dreams to him, and he was able to prophesy many things that should happen to the Jews. It was through him that they were delivered from their captivity.
JEREMIAH
At the right of Joshua we see Jeremiah, the prophet who so bitterly lamented the afflictions of his people. He is often called the “weeping prophet.” So Mr. Sargent has represented him in that attitude of grief and discouragement, standing there with his eyes cast down in sorrowful meditation. His whole life was spent in what seemed a fruitless strife against the evils of his time, for his warnings were disregarded, and his people were hurrying toward their destruction.
Mr. Sargent has made us feel the hopeless despair of this strong man who tried so hard to save his people from all the misery they so willfully brought upon themselves. He even went about the streets wearing a yoke on his neck, to symbolize the coming servitude of the nation which refused to heed his warnings and repent. His life was in constant danger; he was imprisoned, thrown into a damp, unwholesome cistern, and was often obliged to hide for months in caves among the rocks to escape the king’s anger.
Other prophets could declare God’s protection and hold out some hope for the good to come, but Jeremiah’s message spoke only of evil and sorrow. It took great courage to go about on so unpopular and sad a mission, without even a miracle to prove his words true, and always alone among people who were unfriendly and did not believe in him.
The first one of Jeremiah’s predictions to come true was when Daniel and the Israelites were taken captives to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Again he warned them not to go into Egypt, but they not only went but compelled him to go with them.
The last we hear of Jeremiah is in Egypt, urging his people to give up their idols and worship God. He is indeed, as Mr. Sargent has represented him, “the prophet of sorrow”; and yet the figure is one of strength. Neither in his face nor in his bearing is there any sign of indecision or turning back.
JONAH
Next, partly hidden from view, we see Jonah, the unwilling prophet, who tried to run away when the Lord told him to take his message of warning to Nineveh. The people in this city were known to be very wicked, and Jonah feared they might kill him, so he took a boat and started away in another direction. We all know of the fearful storm that arose and how the sailors prayed to their gods and urged Jonah to pray to his. But Jonah could not pray to God when he was disobeying Him. Then the sailors drew lots, as was the custom, to find out who had sinned and brought the fearful storm upon them. The lot fell to Jonah, who told them how he had run away from Nineveh. He urged the sailors to throw him overboard, saying the sea would then be still. The men did not want to do this, but, fearful lest all should be lost, they finally threw him overboard. At once the wind died down and the sea was still. We know how the whale was sent to swallow Jonah and to carry him safely to the shore, where he was left, now very willing to deliver his message to Nineveh.
He was to tell these wicked people that in forty days their city would be overthrown. He went about the streets dressed in a rough camel’s-hair cloak, very much like Elijah, and called out his prophecy in a loud voice. No wonder the people were frightened, and when he told them how he had not wanted to bring the message and had been forced to, they were more frightened than ever. All the people, and the king too, wept and prayed God for forgiveness, neither eating nor drinking. Then God heard their prayers and forgave them, and their city was not destroyed.
But Jonah felt very much hurt because his message had not proved true. He thought only of himself, and felt that he had been cheated. He went away by himself and built a small place of shelter just outside the walls of the city. Here he sat and waited, still hoping Nineveh would be destroyed. Suddenly a tree sprang up, its dense leaves protecting him from the hot sun. Jonah was greatly pleased and refreshed, but the tree as suddenly withered, and he was left grieving for it. God then spoke to him and asked him how he could grieve for the tree, yet harden his heart against the people of Nineveh, who had repented.
Jeremiah’s greatest grief was that the people would not heed his warnings, while Jonah felt aggrieved because his prophecy was not fulfilled.
In the picture we see Jonah reading a scroll bearing the one word “Jehovah.”
ISAIAH AND THE LESSER PROPHETS
Next to Jonah we see Isaiah, the enthusiast, prophesying the coming of Christ’s kingdom. Note how the light falls on the head and shoulders, and on the upraised arms of the prophet, and is echoed, so to speak, by the light on the lower folds of his robe. All lines and lights lead the eye upward, even as Isaiah sought to lift his people up into a higher, better world. He is the hopeful figure in this group of four.
Habakkuk stands next with his far-seeing eyes missing the heavenly visions which surround Isaiah, but seeing the sorrows and evils of the world and trying in vain to remedy them.
The next group to the right represents the three prophets of hope, Haggai, Malacchi, and Zechariah, all pointing toward the section of the wall where Mr. Sargent’s new painting, “The Sermon on the Mount,” will be placed when finished. The one doubtful figure, Micah, who is looking back, serves to hold this section of the picture to the other figures in the frieze.
EZEKIEL AND THE LESSER PROPHETS
At the left-hand side of the frieze and next to Daniel, stands Ezekiel. Ezekiel lived at the same time as Daniel and, like him, began his prophetic career after he was exiled to Babylon. During the twenty-seven years of his exile he kept his fellow exiles informed as to all dangers which were besetting and threatening their people at home in Jerusalem and Judah. His book abounds in visions and poetical images. Mr. Sargent has given him the absorbed expression of one who sees beyond the present and whose vision includes both evil and good.
Nahum, standing next to Ezekiel, seems to be predicting the wickedness and fall of Nineveh, of which he has given us such a powerful and vivid account; while Amos denounces idolatry and the sins of the nations, also predicting a brighter future for the people of Israel.
The four figures in the last panel to the left of Moses represent the prophets of despair. We cannot fail to notice that among the hopeful prophets there is one discouraged figure, while among the prophets of despair we find the hopeful figure of Hosea.
Obadiah, Joel, and Zephaniah urged their people to repentance of sin, and warned them of disaster to come, but their warnings were not heeded. In the picture Joel is attempting to shut out the sight of the fearful plague of locusts, of the famine, and of the drought which he knows must come to his people because they will not repent. The other two prophets seem crushed by a hopeless despair. But love is the keynote of Hosea’s pleadings. He speaks of the unquenchable love of Jehovah for his erring people.
It is interesting to know that Mr. Sargent’s favorite figure in the frieze is this young prophet in white, Hosea. Is it any wonder he should choose this one? The name Hosea means salvation. In him we see beauty, grace, and simplicity, and we feel the steady purpose, the earnest faith, of that calm, quiet face. There is no despair in that face or figure; the very folds of his robe give us a feeling of strength and stability; they suggest marble.
We are interested in this great mural painting, “The Frieze of the Prophets,” not only for its intellectual and religious suggestiveness, but for its composition, its masses of dark and light, and its beauty of form. Each of the groups of figures is complete in itself, yet by the position of the figures and by the light upon them, the frieze is held together as one composition.
Mr. Sargent spent many years, and studied his Bible very thoughtfully, before he attempted to draw this great picture.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= Who were the prophets? What had they to do with the development of religion? Who painted this picture? Where is the original? What can you say of the composition of this picture? of the light and shade? What do we call paintings on a wall? What is there unusual about this painting? For what do you admire it? Why was Moses given the most important place in this picture? Tell the story of his life. Why is he often represented with two little horns on his forehead? Tell something about each one of the prophets. Which one is Mr. Sargent’s favorite?
=To the Teacher=: Certain pupils may be selected to study and give orally a description of different portions of this picture.
SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITION
1. How the Prophets Helped in the Development of Religion. 2. The Most Interesting Prophet. 3. The Most Pleasing Group of Prophets. 4. Life of the Artist. 5. Reasons Why This Painting Has Become Famous. 6. How Fresco or Mural Painting Is Done.
=The story of the artist.= We are especially interested in Mr. Sargent because he is one of the living American artists who has won fame both in his own country and abroad. Although John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, Italy, we claim him as an American because his parents were Americans and because he has always considered himself an American. His boyhood was spent in Florence, where it was his delight to wander in the art galleries. He showed an early talent for drawing, and when he was nineteen years old he went to Paris to become the pupil of some of the best artists.
Mr. Sargent is famous for his many portraits as well as for his mural decorations. He has traveled extensively and has visited the United States many times, painting and exhibiting his paintings here, but most of his life has been spent in London, where he is now living. In 1908 he was elected to the Royal Academy. He has won many medals of honor for his paintings, and is a member of the leading art societies of America and Europe.
Among the noted pictures by Mr. Sargent are: “Carnation Lily, Lily Rose,” “Fishing for Oysters at Cancale,” “Neapolitan Children Bathing,” “El Jaleo” (Spanish Dance), “Fumes of Ambergris,” “Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth,” and “La Carmençita.” As a portrait painter Mr. Sargent has been commissioned by men and women of high distinction in literary, political, social, and artistic life in America and Europe. Among his eminent sitters have been: Joseph Chamberlain, Carolus Duran, Theodore Roosevelt, Secretary Hay, and Octavia Hill.
=Questions about the artist.= Why do we feel an especial interest in Mr. Sargent? Where was he born? Why do we claim him as an American? Where did he study drawing and painting? For what kind of paintings is he famous? Where does he live?
THE HOLY GRAIL
=Questions to arouse interest.= How many of you have read Tennyson’s _The Holy Grail_? What was the Holy Grail? Why did men seek it? Tell what you can of Sir Galahad and his adventures.
=Original Picture=: Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts. =Artist=: Edwin Austin Abbey (ăb´ĭ). =Birthplace=: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. =Dates=: Born, 1852; died, 1911.
=The story of the picture.= When asked to decorate the walls of the Delivery Room of the Boston Public Library Mr. Abbey planned to represent “The Sources of Modern Literature,” thinking this would be most appropriate, as Mr. Sargent had chosen “The Sources of the Christian Religion” for the subject of his pictures on the walls of a gallery on the third floor of the same building. But as Mr. Abbey read and studied the subject he became impressed with the story of the Holy Grail, which seemed to be woven in and out through all our literature. He realized also that he would be the first to represent this subject in a large decoration, and that it was altogether worthy of his best efforts.
The paintings occupy the wall space between the wainscot and the ceiling of this great room, where books of the library are given out and returned. The pictures are eight feet in height, but vary in length from the first, “The Vision,” which is six feet long, to the fifth, “The Castle of the Grail,” which is thirty-three feet long and extends the entire length of the north wall.
Mr. Abbey spent seven years in careful research work before he was able to complete these paintings. He received fifteen thousand dollars for his work.
According to an old legend, the Holy Grail was the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper. It was bought from Pilate by Joseph of Arimathæa, who caught in it the divine blood that fell from Christ’s wounds.
Joseph placed the cup in a castle, which he kept guarded night and day. It was passed on to his descendants, who received the charge in sacred trust and continued to guard it faithfully. The cup itself was most mysterious and wonderful. It could be seen only by those who were perfectly pure in word, thought, and deed. If an evil person came near, it was borne away as if by some invisible hand, completely disappearing from view.
The sight of it was as food to the one to whom it was revealed and enabled him “to live and to cause others to live indefinitely without food,” gave him “universal knowledge,” and made him invulnerable in battle. But there was one thing it did not do. No matter how perfect the knight, he could still be tempted. He must continue to resist temptation as long as he lived.
At length there came a king, keeper of the Grail, called Amfortas, the Fisher King, who was not strong enough to resist temptation. He yielded to an evil enchantment and was severely punished. Not only was the sight of the Grail denied him, but a spell was cast upon him and all his court so that they lived in a sort of trance, neither sleeping nor waking. Thus they must remain until a knight pure in body and soul should come to break the spell and set them free.
Little was known about the enchanted castle, where the king and his men were held in the power of the spell, but many a young man began to plan the quest of the Grail. He must so live that by his good thoughts and deeds he might reach the enchanted castle, see the Holy Grail, and so set free the unhappy knights. He must be perfect, indeed, if he would achieve this, and full of courage, perseverance, and patience.
In our picture we see Sir Galahad, the stainless knight, who succeeds in his quest of the Holy Grail.
Mr. Abbey has told the story in fifteen pictures, beginning with Sir Galahad as a child.
“THE INFANCY OF GALAHAD,” OR “THE VISION”
Galahad was the son of Launcelot and Elaine, for it was according to an old prophecy that these two should have a son who should become a great knight and find the Holy Grail.
They placed their small son in a convent to be brought up by the nuns. In the first picture we see the child attracted by a bright light visible to him alone. He laughs in great delight and reaches toward the Grail as he sees it gleaming fiery red through its veil-like covering. It is held in the hands of an angel radiant in white as the light from the Grail illumines her face and wings. She is supported by the wings of doves, upon which she seems to be borne along. These doves signify the Holy Spirit and are also represented as hovering near the Grail and acting as informants concerning good and evil. The odor of the incense from the Grail furnishes a mysterious sustenance to the child which causes him to grow in mind and body. He is held high in the arms of a sweet-faced young nun who does not see the vision but seems to feel vaguely that some unusual event is taking place. In the original painting the bluish black of her outer robe throws into greater prominence the creamy white of her draperies as they, too, are flooded with light from the Grail.
The background gives the effect of heavy tapestry and is made up of tones of blue and white embroidered in gold. The figures of lions and peacocks are used to signify the resurrection.
“THE OATH OF KNIGHTHOOD”
When the child had grown to manhood, Sir Launcelot was summoned to make him a knight. In this picture we see Galahad in the convent chapel, where he has just passed the night in prayer preparatory to his departure out into the world.
As he kneels at the altar, he is clad in the red robe which is worn by the hero throughout the series of pictures. Red is chosen as the color of spiritual purity and means the “spirit cleansed by fire.” “It stands for activity, conflict, human effort with the knowledge of good and evil that imparts the strength to achieve the good and resist the evil.”
The honor of knighthood is conferred upon Galahad by Sir Launcelot and Sir Bors, who can be seen in their heavy armor kneeling behind him. They fasten the spurs upon his feet as a signal that the moment of departure has arrived.