spiritual and eternal." And upon this foundation, laid by God in man's nature, they raised their superstructure. To this innate principle in the soul they addressed themselves, sure of a response. This catholic instinct in man they bent whichever way they chose. Some, moved by craft and ambition, taught men to bow down to the work of their own hands, to look to the priest as a mediator between them and their offended divinities, to lavish their wealth upon altar and oracle, to immolate their children and even themselves, in order to appease a supernal wrath; and the debasing lesson was too easily learned. Others, with better views, gave a more worthy direction to the affections of the heart, cultivated the reason in conjunction with the religious instincts, and made knowledge the handmaid of piety, and humanity and virtue its end and aim. All these diverse forms of religion, the corrupt and erroneous as well as the pure and enlightened, have been grounded upon a common basis in human nature, and they all furnish an argument, which no infidelity can gainsay, for the substantial truth of that which manifests itself in some form or other wherever man exists. And the Bible too-what an exhaustless store-house is it of materials, scenes, personages, events, from which the painter, the poet, the sculptor, the orator, have drawn, and still continue to draw, to mould and beautify their works! Why is it that genius deems it his greatest triumph, and the surest passport to a "perpetual memory," to be able successfully to illustrate the pages of this holy record? The answer is, that this is the book of the soul. It deals with those simple and fundamental verities which belong to the universal intellect. It treats of man's highest interests. It sets forth catholic truth. All that is great in idea, all that is glorious in vision, all that is beatific in hope, all that is tender and elevated in sentiment, all that is dreadful in retribution, all that is mysterious in sin; the diversified drama of human life, the struggles of those passions which inhabit the human breast, the might and authority of conscience; the great world-epic of God's Providencecreation, redemption, judgment; the history of what has been, the prospective unfolding of what shall be, — these all meet in the Bible. And the most that genius can do, as age follows age, is to copy its sublime and affecting lessons on the canvas or in solid stone, to translate its venerable diction into the various tongues of the earth, to transfer its awful sentiments to arched ceilings and "long-drawn aisles" and overhanging domes, to fortify argument with its declarations, and inspire hope with its promises, and solace grief with its peace, and strengthen human virtue with its commandments, monitions and menaces. With how much truth, beauty and power the artist has drawn out the Scripture scene, in the picture which has given occasion to the foregoing remarks, those who view it will not fail to perceive. It is no longer "the dead letter,” but "the living spirit" of the passage, which is before us. Every one must be struck with the great variety of objects in the picture. There is variety, to meet faithfully the Scripture description of the scene. There are strong contrasts, to illustrate the opposite passions that sway the different groups. Calm fortitude, profound and tender veneration, terror and dismay, distress of mind, malevolent hate, bitter envy and jealousy, reckless debauchery, timid and abject superstition, these all are depicted in the faces and attitudes of the several figures. And yet, with all this variety, there is that unity of impression and effect which only true genius can produce. We are introduced into the banqueting-hall of the palace. The first excitement, produced by the apparition of the hand and of the mysterious writing on the wall, has subsided. The king has sent "to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers." They have confessed their inability to "read the writing and to make known to the king the interpretation thereof," and they are represented standing together in the foreground, on the right of the spectator, with all the bitterness of expression which their failure would be likely to impart to their countenances. "The queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, has come into the banquet-house," and has advised to send for Daniel. Supported by two handmaids she stands beside the king, who is seated on his throne, on the left of the foreground. The throne is ornamented with the carved head of an elephant, and behind it is the wreathed serpent, appropriate Oriental symbols. Above the king's head is seen the golden candlestick, and near him on the floor are some of the golden vessels of which his father had despoiled the temple at Jerusalem. Thus arranged, the royal couple on the left, and the magicians on the right, their whole attention is given to the Prophet, who stands in the middle of the foreground, and with his left hand points to the writing on the wall, while he opens to Belshazzar the decree of Jehovah against him and his kingdom. A little removed from the foreground, between Daniel and the magicians, is a group in shadow, whose thoughtful and melancholy countenances and devout attitudes distinguish them as "children of the captivity," exiles from their country, answering to the description of those "children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored," whom Nebuchadnezzar had commanded the master of his household to select from the conquered Israelites, and train them "to stand before the king." One of them, a female, is kneeling in the posture of adoration, the softest of all lights shed upon a head and upon hands which correspond to the Scripture epithet, "well-favored." Another female is reaching forward to touch the garment of the Prophet, whom these captives reverence not merely as a man, but as the representative of their country and faith. A slave near them is pointing triumphantly to the precious vessels, the trophies of his master's power, and the mementos of their subdued and enslaved condition. The middle of the hall is occupied by the tables at which the guests are seated. With tipsy jollity and voluptuous abandonment these "lords and princes, with their wives and concubines," drink wine out of the vessels of the Lord's house, and sing hymns in praise of their false gods, forgetful of everything except present gratification, and strangers to the passions which are agitating the groups in the foreground. The incident of the hand-writing has deep meaning only for those whose consciences were prepared to receive the lesson it conveyed. A gallery, supported by pillars of a plain and massive style of architecture, is filled with spectators looking down upon the principal personages with various emotions. In the distance is elevated a golden image. On the steps leading to it figures are seen ascending and descending; others have reached the platform and are prostrating themselves before the senseless idol. The majestic form of the Prophet, pointing to the mysterious characters on the wall, while with calmness, simpli city and directness he interprets their meaning, needing no violent passion to give energy to his expression, and no contortion of body, not even the clinching of a hand, to make his presence and figure commanding and impressive, what could be more nobly conceived or more truthfully represented! Who, we are prompted to ask ourselves, as we look upon this sublime figure, who is, in fact, the master of that banqueting-hall? Is it the monarch, who has forgotten his vessels of gold and silver, his luxurious viands, his delicious draughts, and all the instruments of sensual pleasure, and who sits there, with despair depicted in his face, listening, as a doomed man, to the words of a captive? Is it the queen, whose beauty grows pale and sickly with what she hears announced, who leans with one hand upon a tottering throne, and with the other grasps the hand of her female slave? Is it either of those magicians and soothsayers, whose false wisdom has proved of no avail, whose arts have been foiled, who have been defeated and put to shame in their own field, and whose distorted countenances, exaggerated by hateful passions, by envy and rage and chagrin, can only stare, with impotent malice, at their rival? Is it the burnished idol elevated in the distance, and towards which the confounded ruler of Babylon turns no entreating and expecting eye? Is it not rather the man of God, who, with no outward trappings of power, with no effort at effect, but with a quiet air, and with the confidence and courage which truth inspires, pronounces the words which find a way to the royal conscience? The whole picture presents an impressive illustration of a people who had been humbled in every possible way, whose independence had been destroyed, whose city had fallen into the hands of their enemies, who had themselves been carried away captive, and in an idolatrous court were obliged to look on and see the sacred vessels of their religion profaned by Heathen revellers; and who, under these circumstances of degradation, achieved a most remarkable moral triumph by the power of truth. They saw their Prophet respected and consulted, with fear and trembling, by their conscience-stricken oppressors. And now, eighteen centuries after the time when they finally ceased to be a nation, while the scattered remnants of them survive as wanderers in all lands, there arises, in these ends of the earth, an artist, who, with a master's hand, reproduces one of the most interesting scenes of Jewish story; unites, on one canvas, the picture of their wrongs and of their triumph, and adds another to the many pledges which the world has already taken, that the acts and experience of that peculiar people shall continue in the memory of all periods of time, to verify the august Providence of God W. P. Lunt ART. VI.-FOURIERISM.* THE first of the works, the titles of which are given below, was published by Mr. Brisbane in 1840. At that time he was almost the only advocate in this country of the doctrine of Associated Industry according to Fourier. Now, it is reported that there are in the United States seventeen thousand persons ready to enter these Associations. Several communities have been already established, more or less in accordance with the Fourier idea. In all parts of our country the attention of the people has been called to the subject, and a good degree of interest has been awakened in respect to it. Conventions have been held and lectures delivered in Boston, New York, Pittsburg, and many other places. Mr. Greeley, the editor of one of the leading New York prints, having become a convert to the system, has devoted himself and used his paper to extend * 1. Social Destiny of Man, or Association and Reorganization of Industry. By ALBERT BRISBANE. Philadelphia: 1840. 12mo. pp. 480. 2. A Concise Exposition of the Doctrine of Association, &c. By ALBERT BRISBANE. New York: 1843. 8vo. pp. 80. 3. The Tribune. New York. 4. The Phalanx. New York. trines of Association. Edited by HORACE GREELEY. 5. The Present. New York. Edited by WILLIAM H. CHANNING. 6. A Popular View of the Doctrines of Charles Fourier. By PARKE GODWIN. New York: 1844. 8vo. pp. 120. 7. A Lecture on Association, in its Connexion with Education, delivered before the New England Fourier Society, in Boston, February 29, 1844. By JOHN S. DWIGHT, of Brook Farm Association. Boston: 1844. 8vo. pp. 22. 8. A Lecture on Association, in its Connexion with Religion, delivered before the New England Fourier Society, in Boston, March 7, 1844. By CHARLES A. DANA, of Brook Farm Association. Boston: 1844. 8vo. pp. 19. |