Part 13 (1/2)

8 Entrance on His Ministry by Christ

9 Peter and Andrew by the Sea of Galilee

10 Ser Keys to St Peter

12 Last Supper

Of these pictures, Sandro painted three hiino three, and the assunorelli one, and Rosselli four[BA] I believe that Sandro intended to take the roof also, and had sketched out the n; and that the prophets and sibyls which he s afterwards, that soht be, at all events, thus communicable to the world outside of the Vatican

210 It is not often that I tell you my beliefs; but I am forced here, for there are no dates to foundall the infinite hts about the ”elo” in the Sistine Chapel, no slightly more rational person has ever asked what the chapel was first meant to be like, and hoas to be roofed?

Nor can I assume myself, still less you, that all these prophets and sibyls are Botticelli's Of s, with variations: soned none; never put grand tablets with 'S B' into his skies; had other letters than those to engrave, and no time to spare I have chosen out of the series three of the sibyls, which have, I think, clear internal evidence of being his; and these you shall coelo's But first I must put you in mind what the sibyls were

211 As the prophets represent the voice of God in man, the sibyls represent the voice of God in nature They are properly all forms of one sibyl, [Greek: Dios Boule], the counsel of God; and the chief one, at least in the Roman mind, was the Sibyl of cuh them, received whatever lessons the iven to mortals

How much have you received, or ? I call it the myth, or fact; but remember that, _as_ a ood there is in the iination or visionary powers in women, inspired by nature only

The traditions of witch and gypsy are partly its offshoots You despise both, perhaps But can you, though in utmost pride of your supreme modern wisdom, suppose that the character--say, even of so poor and far-fallen a sibyl as Meg Merrilies--is only the coinage of Scott's brain; or that, even being no ure of the cuil's brain As such, it, and the words it speaks, are yet facts in which we may find use, if we are reverent to theence for a moment to speak wholly of myself,) they have been of the truest service--quiteon St John's Day, in the monastery of assisi; and I had no idea whatever, when I sat down to oing to tell you I meant only to expand and explain a little what I said inBut it seems to me now that I had better tell you what the cumaean Sibyl has actually done for rin at the Revolution in Paris, and partly in great personal sorroas struck by acute inflammatory illness at Matlock, and reduced to a state of extre at one ti no hope of my life I have no doubt that the i when I was not hungry; so thatin the whole business but an extreestion; and entirely deny any interference of the cumaean Sibyl in the matter

I once heard a serh, upon the wickedness of fasting It was very eloquent and ingenious, and finely explained the superiority of the Scotch Free Church to the benighted Catholic Church, in that the Free Church saw noto end of the sermon, of even the existence of such texts as Daniel i 12, or Matthew vi 16

Without the s, I was nevertheless reduced at Matlock to a state very near starvation; and could not rise fro lifted, for soe of recovery, when the perfect powers of spirit had returned, while the body was still as weak as it well could be, I had three dreareat impression on me; for in ordinary health my dreams are supremely ridiculous, if not unpleasant; and in ordinary conditions of illness, very ugly, and alithout the slightestBut these drea, if I chose to take it

213 The first[BB] was of a Venetian fisherman, anted ht was too deep; but he calledto show , as if in the arsenal wall, he showed me the bronze horses of St Mark's, and said, 'See, the horses are putting on their harness'

The second was of a preparation at Roe as St Peter's,) for the exhibition of a religious drama Part of the play was to be a scene in which dee servants were arranging gray fictitious clouds, and painted fiends, for it, under the direction of the priests There was a woe watching the a likeness in her face to one of my own dead friends; and I knew somehow that she was not that friend, but a spirit; and she , that I was to watch, for the play would turn out other than the priests expected And I waited; and when the scene came on, the clouds beca the, wild and terrible, over the heads of the people and priests I recollected distinctly, however, when I woke, only the figure of the black woony of terror, with the sweat pouring froe servants for having failed in soiven the devils their power

The third drea and personal Some one came to me to ask me to help in the deliverance of a company of Italian prisoners ere to be ransomed for money I said I had no ed to ive it up I said I did not know even that I _was_ a brother of St Francis; but I thought to myself, that perhaps the Franciscans of Fesole, whom I had helped to make hay in their field in 1845, had adopted me for one; only I didn't see how the consequence of that would beany money However, I said they elcome to whatever I had; and then I heard the voice of an Italian wo before nor since;--the sounds absolutely strong and real, and the ether lovely If I could have written it! But I could not even remember it when I woke,--only how beautiful it was

214 Now these three dreams have, every one of them, been of much use to me since; or so far as they have failed to be useful, it has been my own fault, and not theirs; but the chief use of thee and confidence in myself, both in bodily distress, of which I had still not a little to bear; and worse,to h all such trouble--which ca, as if it rave,--I held out and recovered, repeating always toalways murmured in my ears, at every new trial, one Latin line,

Tu ne cede ot this line out of the tablet in the engraving of Raphael's vision, and had forgotten where it cail so well, that I never looked at it again while I was giving these lectures at Oxford, and it was only here at assisi, the other day, wanting to look more accurately at the first scene by the lake Avernus, that I found I had been saved by the words of the cumaean Sibyl

215 ”Quam tua te Fortuna sinet,” the co in it forwords, which have becoar use of them, contain yet one of the most immortal truths ever yet spoken for mankind; and they will never lose their power of help for noble persons But observe, both in that lesson, ”Facilis descensus Averni,” etc; and in the still th of Ro of the books,--the Sibyl speaks only as the voice of Nature, and of her laws;--not as a divine helper, prevailing over death; but as aus for our mortal time; but not for eternity Of which lesson her own history is a part, and her habitation by the Avernus lake She desires immortality, fondly and vainly, as we do ourselves She receives, from the love of her _refused_ lover, Apollo, not irains of dust in her hand And even this she finds was a false desire; and her wise and holy desire at last is--to die She wastes away; becomes a shade only, and a voice The Nations ask her, What wouldst thou? She answers, Peace; only let my last words be true

”L'ultimo mie parlar sie verace”

[Illustration: VII

For a time, and times]

216 Therefore, if anything is to be conceived, rightly, and chiefly, in the forinal beauty, of enduring patience, of far-looking into futurity ”For after in”

Jana, Ultima cumaei venit jam carminis aetas

Here then is Botticelli's cumaean Sibyl She is armed, for she is the prophetess of Roman fortitude;--but her faded breast scarcely raises the corselet; her hair floats, not falls, in waves like the currents of a river,--the sign of enduring life; the light is full on her forehead: she looks into the distance as in a dreaether e which can express her true power, or lead us to understand her lesson