Part 7 (2/2)

THE FIFTH MORNING

THE STRAIT GATE

As you return thisto St Mary's, you ates,--that the western facade of the church is of two periods Your Murray refers it all to the latest of these;--I forget when, and do not care;--in which the largest flanking columns, and the entire effective h pediment, were built in front of, and above, what the barbarian renaissance designer chose to leave of the pure old Dos at the pedestals of the great coluh the pretty, parti-coloured base, which, with the 'Strait' Gothic doors, and the entire lines of the fronting and flanking tootten brood of modern Florence), is of pure, and exquisitely severe and refined, fourteenth century Gothic, with superbly carved bearings on its shi+elds The small detached line of to weed ornament, I would fain have painted, stone by stone: but one can never draw in front of a church in these republican days; for all the blackguard children of the neighbourhood come to howl, and throw stones, on the steps, and the ball or stone play against these sculptured tombs, as a dead wall adapted for that purpose only, is incessant in the fine days when I could have worked

If you enter by the door ht, on the interior of the wall of the facade is an Annunciation, visible enough because well preserved, though in the dark, and extremely pretty in its way,--of the decorated and ornauess by whom, nor does it much matter; but it is well To look at it by way of contrast with the delicate, intense, slightly decorated design of Memmi,--in which, when you return into the Spanish chapel, you will feel the dependence for its effect on broad masses of white and pale amber, where the decorative school would have had old

Our first business thison the book held open by St Tho of the whole picture

It is this text from the Book of Wisdom VII 6

”Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus

Invocavi, et venit in nis et sedibus”

”I willed, and Sense was given me

I prayed, and the Spirit of Wisdom came upon dolish Apocrypha loses the entire e, which--not only as the statement of the experience of Florence in her own education, but as universally descriptive of the process of all noble education whatever--we had better take pains to understand

First, says Florence ”I willed, (in sense of resolutely desiring,) and Sense was given in your education with the distinct resolution to knohat is true, and choice of the strait and rough road to such knowledge This choice is offered to every youth and maid at some moment of their life;--choice between the easy doard road, so broad that we can dance down it in companies, and the steep narrohich we must enter alone Then, and for many a day afterwards, they need that form of persistent Option, and Will: but day by day, the 'Sense' of the rightness of what they have done, deepens on theranted in reward of it And the Sense of difference between right and wrong, and between beautiful and unbeautiful things, is confirmed in the heroic, and fulfilled in the industrious, soul

That is the process of education in the earthly sciences, and the iven to faithful Volition

Next, when Moral and Physical senses are perfect, coher world, where the senses are no more our Teachers; but the Maker of the senses And that teaching, we cannot get by labour, but only by petition

”Invocavi, et venit in me Spiritus Sapientiae”--”I prayed, and the Spirit of Wisdoiven_, [Footnote: I in careless error, wrote ”was given” in 'Fors Clavigera] but,) ”_came_ upon me” The _personal_ power of Wisdoreat Christian te by her presence, all earthly conduct, and by her teaching, all earthly art, Florence tells you, she obtained only by prayer

And these two Earthly and Divine sciences are expressed beneath in the symbols of their divided powers;--Seven terrestrial, Seven celestial, whose naures Itheir interpretation They are all by Siinally; but repainted, many of them all over, some hundred years later,--(certainly after the discovery of America, as you will see)--by an artist of considerable power, and soures; but of no refinee spaces over the subtle old work, puts in his own chiaro-oscuro where all had been shadeless, and his own violent colour where all had been pale, and repaints the faces so as to make them, to his notion, prettier and more human: some of this upper work has, however, coinal outline, at least, is traceable; while in the face of the Logic, the Music, and one or two others, the original work is very pure Being most interestedput up, made on a level with the report will be found accurate until next repainting

For interpretation of theure of the Science, with the little ether Which I proceed to do, reading first froht to left the heavenly ones, to the centre, where their two highest powers sit, side by side

We begin, then, with the first in the list given above, (Vaulted Book, page 75):--Grammar, in the corner farthest from the

1 GRAMMAR: more properly Grammatice, ”Gra the hich to soht with it,--”Scripture,” and its use The Art of faithfully reading what has been written for our learning; and of clearly writing ould hts Pohich consists first in recognizing letters; secondly, in for and choice of words which errorless shall express our thought Severe exercises all, reaching--very few living persons kno far: beginning properly in childhood, then only to be truly acquired It is wholly impossible--this I say from too sorrowful experience--to conquer by any effort or time, habits of the hand (much more of head and soul) hich the vase of flesh has been for that parents shall compel the child in the day of its obedience into habits of hand, and eye, and soul, which, when it is old, shall not, by any strength, or any weakness, be departed from

”Enter ye in,” therefore, says Grah it with her rod, holding a fruit(?) for reward, in her left hand The gate is very strait indeed--her oaist no less so, her hair fastened close She had once a white veil binding it, which is lost Not a gushi+ng form of literature, this,--or in any wise disposed to subscribe to Mudie's, lish friends--or even patronize Tauchnitz editions of--what is the last new novel you see ticketed up today in Mr Goodban's ? She looks kindly down, nevertheless, to the three children whoirl: (Qy Does this irl out of every two should not be able to read or write? I a to accept that inference, for irls out of three) This girl is of the highest classes, crowned, her golden hair falling behind her the Florentine girdle round her hips--(not waist, the object being to leave the lungs full play; but to keep the dress alell down in dancing or running) The boys are of good birth also, the nearest one with luxuriant curly hair--only the profile of the farther one seen All reverent and eager Above, theat a fountain Underneath, Lord Lindsay says, Priscian, and is, I doubt not, right

_Technical Points_--The figure is said by Crowe to be entirely repainted The dress is so throughout--both the hands also, and the fruit, and rod But the eyes, mouth, hair above the forehead, and outline of the rest, with the faded veil, and happily, the traces left of the children, are genuine; the strait gate perfectly so, in the colour underneath, though reinforced; and the action of the entire figure is well preserved: but there is a curious question about both the rod and fruit Seen close, the forathered up over the raised right arm, and I am not absolutely sure that the restorer has nota pen or style into a rod The fruit also I have doubts of, as fruit is not so rare at Florence that it should be hly repainted, and is oval in shape In Giotto's Charity, luckily not restored, at assisi, the guide-books have always mistaken the heart she holds for an apple:--and inally, the Gran which said, ”Enter ye in at the Strait Gate,” and with her left, the sign which said, ”My son, givehow to read and write, you are to learn to speak; and, young ladies and gentlemen, observe,--to speak as little as possible, it is farther implied, till you _have_ learned

In the streets of Florence at this day you may hear much of what so indeed, and quite ”froot That is to say, you never hear a word uttered but in a rage, either just ready to burst, or for the most part, explosive instantly: everybody-- out their incontinent, foolish, infinitely contemptible opinions and wills, on every s eyes, hoarsely shrieking and wasted voices,--insane hope to drag by vociferation whatever they would have, out of man and God

Now consider Si, pri oneself _heard_ therefore: which is not to be done by shouting She alone, of all the sciences, carries a scroll: and being a speaker gives you so to read It is not thrust forward at you at all, but held quietly doith her beautiful depressed right hand; her left hand set coolly and strongly on her side

And you will find that, thus, she alone of all the sciences _needs no use of her hands_ All the others have some important business for the scroll, or bridle, or what you will, with her right hand, her left on her side

Again, look at the talkers in the streets of Florence, and see how, being essentially _un_able to talk, they try to ers! How they poke, wave, flourish, point, jerk, shake finger and fist at their antagonists--dumb essentially, all the while, if they knew it; unpersuasive and ineffectual, as the shaking of tree branches in the wind