Gold Nugget 254 - Their Delightful Dream
Artistic work seems to emanate so entirely from a man himself, to be so purely his own absolute creation, that it naturally raises in him an admiration of himself and an exalted conception of his own powers. How shall he not be proud of faculties that enable him to produce works which send a thrill of delight through crowds, and are recognized as possessions for all time! Again, the beautiful is so charming, so attractive, that it is apt to seem sufficient for a man, and so to absorb all his attention, and shut out all thought of higher and nobler things.
In our own time the cult is actually preached as sufficient religion, and men are asked what more they can possibly desire than to feast the eye perpetually on beautiful objects – beautiful buildings, beautiful furniture, beautiful clothes, pictures, statues, statuettes, harmonious colours, delicate textures, soft and subdued light, graceful forms, pleasing contrasts.
A weak and effeminate race is produced by such a training; the robuster virtues are uncared for; men become lapped in a luxurious sensualism, and need a warning voice … to wake them from their delightful dream to life’s stern realities.
The Pulpit Commentary, Isaiah I p. 375, Isaiah 23:9, (G. Rawlinson)
Gold Nugget 254
Their Delightful Dream
