39. Under Solomon—
A. Solomon on his throne of judgment.
B. Solomon praying before his temple-gate.
38. Under Herod—
A. Massacre of Innocents.
B. Herod orders the ship of the Kings to be burned.
37. Under the third King—
A. Herod inquires of the Kings.
B. Burning of the ship.
36. Under the second King—
A. Adoration in Bethlehem ?—not certain.
B. The voyage of the Kings.
35. Under the first King—
A. The Star in the East.
B. "Being warned in a dream that they should not return
to Herod."
I have no doubt of finding out in time the real sequence of these subjects: but it is of little import,—this group of quatrefoils being of less interest than the rest, and that of the Massacre of the Innocents curiously illustrative of the incapability of the sculptor to give strong action or passion.
But into questions respecting the art of these bas-reliefs I do not here attempt to enter. They were never intended to serve as more than signs, or guides to thought. And if the reader follows this guidance quietly, he may create for himself better pictures in his heart; and at all events may recognize these following general truths, as their united message.
52. First, that throughout the Sermon on this Amiens Mount, Christ never appears, or is for a moment thought of, as the Crucified, nor as the Dead: but as the Incarnate Word—as the present Friend—as the Prince of Peace on Earth,—and as the Everlasting King in Heaven. What His life is, what His commands are, and what His judgment will be, are the things here taught: not what He once did, nor what He once suffered, but what He is now doing—and what He requires us to do. That is the pure, joyful, beautiful lesson of Christianity; and the fall from that faith, and all the corruptions of its abortive practice, may be summed briefly as the habitual contemplation of Christ's death instead of His Life, and the substitution of His past suffering for our present duty.