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tr._-perennial skeptic, nor in theblandly blasphemous assertivenessof the all-knowing agnosticI no, Dante is neither atrifler, nor a knave; he treatsof these sacrecl subjects withall the knowledge of a faithfulbeliever, the earnestness of aprophet, and the intensitl'- ofan apostle.\TU\\', \re cattttot pass rtn-^\ rroticetl lrere thc adlatttagesthat must accrue to usfrom the resthetic side of thisuniqne rvork. I)ante hasr-rought into a magnificentcanvas the teachings of faiths.\\rho is there that will not t-'xperierrcea ne\r detight and ajust pricle rUlon beholdingthese faiths thus embellishecl,thus immortalized in a nol-rleand grand. work of Art? Thesevenerable old faiths which wehad been accustomed to considerin the abstract onl.v andwith a certain awe, become, asit were, tlan,sfolmed into newbreathing realities, visiblebeauties that have figure anclcoLor and are instinct rvith life'\\re aclmire them more, ancl wedelig'ht in their contemPlation,and u.e iove them more' becausethey 3rs tirus brought closer tous. Irike the angels of l-raAngelico and of Giotto, t'hethree N1-rnpths of Dante ''sPurgator-v, representing thetlieological r.irtues, are materialshaclows of sPiritual realities-allthings of beautY thatdelight and uplift the soul.fTorv mor.ing is t]re elocluenceof art in tlie ornamentation ofcathetlrals ancl other Publiceclifices of old EuroPe ! Hemade his poern Personif-v art.'l'his is sureh- the one missionof art---to inspire us with loveand reverence for all great anclsaving verities bv giving themgraceful and commanclingforms, and a r.oice that speakscleallv and alwavs ancl to all.WHV NEGLECT DANTEZ(Continued' from Page 259)Sculptors harre cartred thesefaiths in marble on all thegreab architectural monunentsof the Old \\rorlcl, Painterslirnned them in the domes andupon the walls of imPosingchurches and graYe councilhalls, and Dante, the best of artists,has written them in charactersbold and ineffaceableupon the minds and. hearts ofali Christendom. Dante hasrvritten a song for all Christianit.v;let others write its laws.This, tiren, is one reason for1-ou not to neglect Dante; toascertain the faiths of religionancl philosophl the truths ofscience anil of faith hand inJrand, dressetl in the dazdtngsplendor of poetic garb, and tohear them sing in Lrarmoniousaccord to the tuneful measuresof the poet's lyre.It is certain that an1' workof art, in order to live, rnustpossess the essential ProPertiesof the beautiful. It mustplease ancl always last. Andfor this it must have varietYwith s--vmmetr,v of Parts, lucidit1.o1 ordeL, or an eas)' Perceptiblenessof its harmoniousalrangements, and, linallY,rnolal tone. A1l these qualitiesT)ante's "l)ivine Comed-v" possessesin an eminent degree,ancl henee it is a rnost Perfectwork of literar,v art. It n'asthe airn of scholasticism to establishthe hannon)- betweenf,aith and reason. Likes.ise, itrvas the purpose (and it is stillone of the clraracteristic merits)of the "I)ivine ComedY"to establish an alliance betweenfaith anrl beaut-v, betweenscirolasticism and poetr-v. It iseas--v antl intelesting to noticehow artfully the Poet ienclswings to the 'oft-Ponderousqnestions of the schools.LASET it not be saicl, then,that there is no such thingcliclactic poetry. The best276proof of the contrary is the existenceof the "I)ivine Comecly.' ' Is not beautY the sPieudorof truth? No one candoubt that the "Divine Com-€d}r'' is poetry. Read an)-page and;'ou n'ill find it aglowwith passion and I'ith imagerl'.To plove that the Poem is didactic,nothing need be addeciafter what has been hereinbeforestated.A \UTI{ER reasort rvltY weA slroulil not neglect Danleis that lie teaches the value ofimager'-v. Ail poetry cloes this."(lhilcle Harold" is a nice exposeof imagination; it has allthe exquisite fi.neness of acameo; but Dante's Pilgrimagetranscends all other effortsof creatir.e im'agination; it hasall the grandeur ancl varietY ofa splendicl rnosaic. Dante willhelp us to train our imagination,will teach us horv to con-.jure up fancies, hol' to clo'thea subject in something else besirlesthe nakedness of a simpledelinition or the indisPensableswaddlings of Philosophicclemonstratiotr. 'I'o thinkcolrectly is one thing; it is thetriumph of reason I to thinkcorrectl;- ancl beautifr-rlly is another;it is the triumPh of theallied forces of reason ancl inrag'ination.Practical people of a Practicalage, \ve are aPt to undervaluethe merits of the ornarnentationof thought ancl tocast folth our thought as correct,but as unadorned as Uremultiplication table. It is generallvaccounted the Predominantfault of your:g writers tobe too imaginative, too figurativein their stvle. This rnarbe so in other countries but nothere; ancl were it so here, antlwhere it is so, the reading ofI)ante l'ill teach the right andjuclicious use of this excellentfacult;.; for I)ante's imagina-