The Project Gutenberg eBook of The triumph of the innocents
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: The triumph of the innocents
Author: William Holman Hunt
Release date: August 3, 2024 [eBook #74182]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Richard Clay and Sons, 1885
Credits: Produced by Mairi, Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIUMPH OF THE INNOCENTS ***
[Illustration]
The
Triumph
Of
The
Innocents
LONDON
1885
[Illustration]
THE TRIUMPH OF THE INNOCENTS
EPITOME
The flight into Egypt I have assumed to have occurred about sixteen
months after the birth of Jesus. Guided by Christian tradition, and
holding the birth of our Lord to have taken place in December, it
follows that the period which I have assigned to the Flight into Egypt
is the second April in His life.
During the spring-time, rich in flowers and first-fruits, the HOLY
TRAVELLERS are represented as passing across the Philistine plain on
the road to Gaza at a distance of about thirty miles from their point
of departure. The night is far spent. While the declining moon sheds
its last rays on the natural objects in the picture, unearthly light
reveals the embodied spirits of the martyred Innocents advancing in
procession.
The Virgin is seated on a she-ass of the breed now known as the Mecca
race, and the foal follows its mother, as is seen to this day in the
East. Signal fires――still lit in Syria in time of trouble――are burning
on the slope looking down from the tableland. St. Joseph is watching
these fires intent on discovering any signs that may present themselves
of a movement of soldiery upon the road. Of the trees that enrich
the landscape, the nearest ones shelter a water-wheel used for the
irrigation of the land. The more remote group clusters round a village,
with its few huts visible by the lights that burn within. Having left
the colder climate of the high country, then thickly populated and
well cultivated, the fugitives have descended into the rich and more
balmy atmosphere of the plain. As they advance nearer and nearer to a
place of safety they feel the blessed relief of a sense of peace after
disturbance and terror.
Conscious of the divine mercy, the heart of Mary rejoicing over her
rescued son, feels compassion for the murdered Innocents, and for
the childless mothers less happy and less honoured than herself. It
is at this moment when the Virgin has been replacing the garments
in which the infant had been hurriedly wrapped at the time of the
escape from Bethlehem, that Jesus recognises the spirits of the slain
Innocents, His little neighbours of Bethlehem, children like Himself.
They reveal the signs of their martyrdom. Garlanded for the sacrifice,
bearing branches and blossoms of trees, they progressively mark their
understanding of the glory of their service. An infant spirit isolated
in wonder finds no mark of harm, where the sword wounded him, permitted
to appear on his glorified body. Behind in the air are the babes as yet
hardly awakened to the new life. In differing revelations of sorrow
they show the influence of earthly terror and suffering still impressed
upon them. Towards the front are other spirits of children triumphing
in completer knowledge of their service. One of them in priestly office
leads the band. Those who follow cast down their tokens of martyrdom
in the path of their recognised Lord. Others encircle the travel-worn
foal, wearily following its mother, and so bring it up to the onward
group. The shallow stream over which the procession passes, reflecting
the quiet beauty of the night sky, is unruffled except by the steps
of Joseph. The flood upon which the spiritual children advance forms
a contrast to this, by being in motion. The living fountains of
water――the streams of eternal life――furnish this, mystically portrayed
as ever rolling onward. Instead of being dissipated in natural vapour,
the play of its wavelets takes the form of airy globes which image the
Jewish belief in the millennium that is to follow the advent of the
Messiah.
DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL.
“Behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and
flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he
arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and
departed into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding
wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were
in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years
old and under, according to the time which he had diligently
inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice
heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because
they are not.”
The Flight into Egypt is generally believed in the West to have
occurred a few days after the birth of our Lord. The Eastern Churches
on the other hand extend the interval which is supposed to have elapsed
to a period of nearly two years.
The considerations which influenced the choice of age for the Saviour
in the picture are therefore not simply artistic. The view of the
Eastern Churches can scarcely be rejected with reasonable regard to the
circumstances of the visit of the Magi, and of the terms of Herod’s
fiat for the murder of the male children of two years old and under,
“according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise
men.” In the Gospel of St. Luke, however, it is said that after the
Purification in the Temple, which was forty days after the birth, St.
Joseph and the Holy Virgin returned to Nazareth with the Child, and
that there, speaking in general terms after the accomplished fact,
Jesus grew up. An apparent discrepancy is thus pointed out by some
critics, but it is one such as often presents itself in all honest
evidence of facts; and the report in St. Matthew simply requires it to
be understood that the Holy Family came back again to Bethlehem from
Nazareth. Indeed, the residence in the latter city does not seem to
have been chosen as a permanent one, for, on the return from Egypt,
it was only accepted because safety was still not so certain in the
dominion of Archelaus. The motive which had operated in bringing St.
Joseph and the Virgin to Bethlehem from the north, before the birth
of our Lord, is generally understood to be the securing of claim,
under the enrolment of Quirinius, to the genealogy, and perhaps to
some share of family inheritance. This would operate more powerfully
after the birth of Jesus in influencing the parents to make the city
of David their permanent home. There is therefore no contradiction
between the two Gospels, but the comparison of the evidence given by
the two Evangelists in my mind strongly establishes the view of the
Eastern Churches, that the Saviour’s birth took place more than one
year earlier than the flight. Herod’s estimate of the age of Him who
was born King of the Jews was not made without careful calculation of
the date from the birth, so as fully to include the Child whom he had
determined to destroy, that he might thus, like the typical politician
of the great reader of human nature,
“Circumvent God,”
and it follows accordingly that Jesus was not fully two years of age.
Whatever reserve of feeling there may be towards a reading which
conveys a disputable view of a fact in Holy Writ, let it be remembered
that an artist treating a subject in which such is offered cannot
delay to make his choice. The first part of his study in making his
design is to form a theory in harmony with the intention of the records
illustrated, as read by the fullest light, and to leave an exploded
theory with confidence that his rendering will be approved as either
correct or unobjectionable. In this case no special pleading is needed,
seeing that St. Augustine puts the Massacre of the Innocents in
connection with the Passover. Perhaps he regarded it as an antithesis
to the slaying of the first-born in Egypt, and understood the quotation
by St. Matthew from Hosea, “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” as
having a fuller purpose than at first appears. In any case he regarded
the festival as not fixing the date of the massacre, and the fact
argues that neither the date given in the Western Church for the
commemoration, nor in the Greek Church, is understood as the date of
the sacrifice of the first Christian Martyrs.
The journey has been across the mountains from Bethlehem towards Gaza.
The birth-place of Christ is on the further side of the range, about
five miles beyond the highest elevation, somewhat to the right of the
point where the star is rising above the distant curve of the hill;
the nearer mountains are about 1,500 feet in height. These, with
intervening valleys, are further on in the highlands overtopped by
rolling waves of the limestone rocks until they reach the watershed of
the country, which is about 2,400 feet in height. Bethlehem lies beyond
this 500 feet lower, on a spur overlooking the eastern country, thus
falling gradually to the plain of the Dead Sea.
The ass is of the Mecca race――so called from the fact that they are
brought from the Arab city of pilgrimage as descendants from one which
Mohammed rode. They were necessarily always costly, being much sought
for on account of their power of endurance, and their surefootedness.
It is quite within licence to assume that St. Joseph may have provided
himself with such an animal for his journeys. The route taken has been
by bye-paths across the mountains and fields to the plain with beaten
tracks from all other cities to Gaza, which, once passed, will put the
fugitives in safety.
In eluding Herod’s cruel decree, St. Joseph would have made his route
as far from the state highway as possible. The distance still to be
traversed is about ten miles. The Flight into Egypt is one of the first
events in the life of Christ which marked the power of the Prince of
this world, whom Jesus Christ had come to combat and to conquer, by
innocence and suffering.
In Bethlehem the Holy Family, as is still the custom, had lain down
soon after dusk, and doubtless the intimation by dream was given while
the protection of night still offered the longest opportunity of
escape. It was a voice ringing out its warning after the dreamer had
started up in the darkness, “Arise, and take the young child and his
mother and flee into Egypt.” The Rabbinical writers speak of the time
anterior to the day of the expected Messiah as destitute of marvels
and miracles, these having ceased since the death of Simon the Just――a
period of nearly two hundred years――and about this date an age of
spiritual activity is witnessed to by them. Wonders in the heavens
and on the earth occur, although not of the stupendous kind that had
been expected, and which later the Doctors demanded of Christ. Dreams
of Divine inspiration are mentioned out of the Gospels as frequently
affecting the fate of men. St. Joseph had a spirit of profound
obedience to heavenly authority. The Founder of Islamism declared that
among all the ancient prophets none was greater than Jonah. To me it
seems that among the saints in the group which fostered the Christian
Church during its first perils, none was greater than Joseph, and this
for an opposite reason. He had the very soul of submission and faith,
bearing all evil report and contumely without resentment when once he
had been assured that the Heavenly Father’s purpose needed this. It
seems to us no confession of weakness in this claim for the first of
the Fathers of Christianity to state here that St. Joseph was last
of all the band of guardians of the infant Church, recognised in its
established days as a saint. It is a further proof of his humility, and
of that true trust in right doing which leaves all after-issues to God,
when his command sanctifies a course. “Pray that your flight be not on
the Sabbath, nor in the winter,” may have been said with some family
memory of the troubles suffered on the escape from Herod’s cunning.
In April short storms of severity occur; the writer has seen on the
eighth day of this month snow three inches deep which had fallen during
the night. The picture gives snow on the heights, and to be consistent
the beginning of their journey would have been under a cloud-covered
sky. Dark and forbidding would have been the scene as the travellers
emerged from the town (walled, in part at least, since remains of such
are still traceable near the tomb of the mother of Benoni) the wind
blustering through the exposed valleys and scouring over the heights,
the anger of heaven and earth alike dictating stealth and silencing all
converse.
In succeeding generations fancy decorated the story with many legends,
but although these are often innocent, and even poetic beyond the
ordinary mark of the apocryphal Gospel narratives, they are all avoided
in this conception. Here no legend is taken for authority. The attempt
is to put together the detached links of the story, and I rely only
upon my personal knowledge of the country and climate, acquired by many
years of residence throughout all its seasons, to understand how the
sorrows of that night would be intensified by the angry elements.
The looking back upon a home from which a family is driven by
oppression has ever been regarded as a motive for compassion, and to
this calamity the Holy Family had to submit. The heights to the south
of “Beit Jala”――by some writers recognised as Rama――give an extended
view, the mountains of Moab far away to the east, and the Dead Sea
below, the great plain of Philistia down in the west. A storm thence
seen produces the impression of sublime purpose. The lightning gathers
beyond the great hollow which includes Jericho and the lost Sodom
and Gomorrah, and then wavers, as the fingers of a mighty player
upon the keys of a musical instrument, collecting the errant forces
of the air, and tremulous with dancing flame in the south over the
extending table-land it seems to linger as though searching the plain
of Philistia for its special mark, and there darts down in fury; but
the sword which was to pierce the breast of the mother, “blessed withal
above all women,” was of man’s forging. According to our order of
events the noisy elements would not have endured long, for soon the
peaceful snow followed falling with its wandering flakes. It would be
then that the cry would sound, which St. Matthew quotes Jeremiah to
describe, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping
and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be
comforted because they are not.” We are not debarred from thinking that
the mother suffered some of her pain in the wonder natural to humanity,
that the powers of evil should be able thus to prevail over the pure
and the righteous.
It is natural to follow the mind of the mother in such distraction
of love, while the wintry mountains are traversed, and the fugitives
descend into the rich plain with its genial breath, the more placid
from the cleared sky. We can understand the comfort that would be
prayed for――a higher Knowledge of the Divine mercy――and we can conceive
how this came to her through her pure maternal charity, in the form of
ever increasing tender regard for the woes of the children torn from
their mothers’ breasts for ever, and of the bereaved childless women
mourning their dearest ones. She searches her much harassed mind to
find consolation for the weeping neighbours of her home. The party pass
through the rich corn-fields, among villages of peaceful slumberers.
The whole air is balmy and soothing. They feel the comfort of peace
after a storm. The torrents would no longer be in broken cascades but
flowing along in deep channels to the sea, the further from the uplands
the greater the change in the temperature. Recently the travellers have
made a turn in their course to find a crossing sure to be provided in
Roman days over the deep river which has to be crossed in the path to a
village on the road. The garments which the Mother is about to arrange
have been carried with other needful gear in the saddle-bags. Her own
under-garment is the wedding-dress of Bethlehem, worn by a bride until
it is past service. While her Child is being re-dressed, and is thus
engaging her solicitude, He calls her attention to the holy company
around them. The spirits of the children of Bethlehem troop along by
the side, they bear the signs of their martyrdom. Garlanded as were
ancient sacrifices and bearing branches of blossoming trees; like
enrolled saints they appear “in habit” as they lived, the forward ones
already rejoice in the knowledge of their high service. Midway there
is an infant bewildered to find that his new spiritual body bears no
trace of the fatal wound. Behind in the air are babes; this sleeping,
grieving group is the only one in the picture which in its sorrowing
aspect connects the idea of human pain with the fate suffered, for the
rest, in degrees differing, death is already seen to have no sting, the
grave no victory.
The foal accompanies the mother ass, in a long journey the young
creature lags behind whinnying in remonstrance at the ceaseless steps,
and only hurrying on in bounds when there is fear of the parent ass
getting beyond reach and sight. The glorified infants are encircling
the weary laggard, who is thus brought up to the onward group. The wild
dogs which have come out of the mill-house to bark――as is their wont
with nocturnal travellers striving to pass a homestead in silence――are
cowed at the unusual apparition and steal away in fear. The leader and
father of the party, St. Joseph, regards not the ghostly attendants.
He is engaged in securing the best means of safety while passing the
near village. He watches the distant fires to discover any signs there
might be of pursuit. He is passing over the shallow stream supplied for
irrigation by the creaking water-wheel. The liquid surface is
“Pavid with the image of the sky,”
and burdened lightly with the fallen flower from the hand of one of
the foremost seraphic children. In contrast to this mundane reflection
of Heaven――which takes the leader’s steps for the moment――are the
waves on which the children dance along. They are not clouds such as
angels may be portrayed upon. They are from the fountain of the water
of life, given to them that are athirst freely (athirst for fuller
life). It is the spiritual eternal stream provided in exchange for
the life that perisheth which has been to them so brief. These first
Christian martyrs no longer walk on the earth, but they travel on the
living waters of life, bringing comfort to their late fellows and to
all future disciples who have yet their burdens to bear and their
victory to win. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good
tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy
God reigneth.”
The stream is portrayed as ever rolling onward and breaking――where it
might if real water be dissipated in vapour――into magnified globes
which image the thoughts rife in that age in the minds of pious Jews,
particularly of those in great tribulation, of the millennium which was
to be the mature outcome of the advent of the Messiah. The promises to
the Patriarchs are progressive as is all the teaching of Revelation.
The dream at Bethel first clearly speaks of the union of Earth and
Heaven. This was the dawn of the exaltation of the Jewish faith, and
accordingly the large orb reflects dimly the Patriarch asleep with
a twofold ladder or pathway up and down, which is traversed by the
servants of God. The intention is to combine with the first beautiful
dream of the Patriarch other ideas of Messiah’s reign which harmonise
with this, and which were developed later. Heaven is indicated by the
adoration by the elders of the spotless Lamb, and the brokenheartedness
of those who turn towards Heaven is illustrated by the fallen penitent,
by the burden-bearing of the faithful pilgrim, and the leading of the
lion by the young child, while the tree of life in the midst bears the
fruit for the healing of the nations.
So far it has been recognised that for the guidance of spectators who
have no unlimited time to work out for themselves the intention of
the picture, an explanation of my purpose was necessary. I however
remember with gratification that when the picture was yet incomplete,
the main intention of the design was apprehended by some of the few
visitors to my studio, and that Professor Ruskin on seeing it, while
the principal group was then only crudely expressed, in the impulse of
generous appreciation, alluded to the purpose of the children in the
picture in words of such correctness as well as exquisite expression
and measure that, had they described the complete design, the painter
might well have dreaded to provide any other. Shortly afterwards I had
to abandon the first painting from defects in the canvas on which it
was painted, after excessive loss of time and repeated disappointments
which then nearly disposed me to give up the subject and turn to some
other. Without the spontaneous appreciation of our great writer on
art, to whose championship in the early days of preraphaelitism I owe
so much, I should scarcely have persevered to save the work of so many
alternating feelings of joy and pain. The Art Professor now kindly
permits me to quote from his _Lectures on the Art of England_:
“For all human loss and pain, there is no comfort, no interpretation
worth a thought, except only in the doctrine of the Resurrection; of
which doctrine, remember, it is an immutable historical fact that all
the beautiful work, and all the happy existence of mankind, hitherto,
has depended on, or consisted in, the hope of it.
“The picture of which I came to-day chiefly to speak, as a symbol of
that doctrine, was incomplete when I saw it, and is so still; but
enough was done to constitute it the most important work of Hunt’s
life, as yet; and if health is granted to him for its completion, it
will, both in reality and in esteem, be the greatest religious painting
of our time.
“You know that in the most beautiful former conceptions of the Flight
into Egypt, the Holy Family were always represented as watched over,
and ministered to, by attendant angels. But only the safety and peace
of the Divine Child and its mother are thought of. No sadness or wonder
of meditation returns to the desolate homes of Bethlehem.
“But in this English picture all the story of the escape, as of the
flight, is told, in fulness of peace, and yet of compassion. The travel
is in the dead of the night, the way unseen and unknown;――but, partly
stooping from the starlight, and partly floating on the desert mirage,
move, with the Holy Family, the glorified souls of the Innocents. Clear
in celestial light, and gathered into child-garlands of gladness, they
look to the Child in whom they live, and yet, for them to die. Waters
of the River of Life flow before on the sands: the Christ stretches out
His arms to the nearest of them;――leaning from His mother’s breast.
“To how many bereaved households may not this happy vision of conquered
death bring in the future, days of peace.
“I do not care to speak of other virtues in this design than those of
its majestic thought,――but you may well imagine for yourselves how
the painter’s quite separate and, in its skill, better than magical,
power of giving effects of intense light, has aided the effort of his
imagination, while the passion of his subject has developed in him a
swift grace of invention which for my own part I never recognised in
his design till now. I can say with deliberation that none even of the
most animated groups and processions of children which constitute the
loveliest sculpture of the Robbias and Donatello, can more than rival
the freedom and felicity of motion, or the subtlety of harmonious line,
in the happy wreath of these angel-children.
“Of this picture I came to-day chiefly to speak, nor will I disturb
the poor impression which my words can give you of it by any immediate
reference to other pictures by our leading masters.”
A brief explanation of the history of the production of this picture
is called for both as an apology for the long interval since last I
exhibited a large picture, and also of the fact that the painting
now shown is a repetition of my first attempt to illustrate this
imaginative episode in “The Flight into Egypt,” which before long,
will also be exhibited, cured of its defect. I may be allowed, perhaps,
to state that first in the year 1854, I acted upon a resolution formed
earlier to go to Palestine. This was to revivify on canvas, if it were
possible to me, the facts of Scripture History, by study not made in
sketches to be incorporated in subject pictures afterwards in England.
My aim was rather to advance nearer to the truth than had yet been
done, by patiently working out a whole picture, surrounded by the very
people and the circumstances of the life in Judea of old days. To
strive――while not forgetting the vital ambition of an artist, which is
to serve as high priest and expounder of the excellence of the works
of the Creator――choosing the highest types and combinations of His
handiworks, as the Greeks taught the after-world to do, so that men’s
admiration may be fascinated by the perfections of the works of the
Great Author of all, and men’s life thus may be a continual joy and
solace, and at the same time to embody the events by which God in His
providence led the foremost of the people Israel to be prepared to act
as teachers and prophets to the whole Gentile world. I did not――let me
say――wish to condemn any artistic manly treatment of similar subjects
by others. My idea suggested the experiment to me as worth making for
myself. The attempt was beset with difficulties beyond expectation, and
being away for long, put me at many disadvantages in my profession,
but I have many reasons for rejoicing at the course taken, and I have
now to gratefully acknowledge the recognition of the public who,
from the time of the exhibition of the first result of my Eastern
labours――“The Scapegoat,” have ever given exceptional attention to my
paintings, produced only, I regret to say, at long intervals, owing to
circumstances external to the limits of this statement.
In 1875 I returned to Jerusalem after an absence of two years. I had
taken the care usual with experienced travellers to have all my luggage
studiously packed and directed before leaving England. It was, however,
an omission of mine, which seemed a trivial one at the time, not to see
them delivered into the hands of the agent for the carriers to Jaffa.
On my arrival in Syria the cases containing all my precious materials
for my work had not arrived. Every effort possible was made to obtain
information of my missing boxes, and I delayed for months to commence
my picture. The excitement during this period, fanned by fanatical
Moslems, grew very fierce. The miseries caused by the conscription
for the Russian war, and still more those caused by the rapacity of
governors who found the opportunity a good one for increasing their
dishonest exactions, drove the poor fellaheen well nigh mad with
ferocity, and it was easy then, as it was in Alexandria, and as it will
ever be under similar circumstances, to make the poor people believe
that all such miseries are sent by Heaven as a curse on them for not
extirpating the enemies of Islamism. We lived always in doubt as to
what a day might bring forth. Had the people been less dangerous I
would have left my family for two weeks or so, and purchased canvas
in Naples or Rome. As it was I dared not leave them. When first
the uncertainty about my materials seemed serious and altogether
inscrutable, I felt forced to purchase the best piece of linen to be
found in Jerusalem. This I prepared with the tempera ground, which
before had proved to be perfect. When this was ready, however, I still
lingered over my preliminary work, in hope that the proper canvas would
arrive; but months further went by mocking my hopes, and eventually
I had to undertake my deferred labours upon the sheeting which the
fortune of the day had compelled me to choose.
It was a chapter of accidents bearing pain and long long trial to
me. The earliest part of my work was the sketching in of the whole
composition and the painting of the background. No test of the
suitability of my surface could have been more satisfactory as far as
was needed for the point reached. I almost dismissed anxiety about the
final results, and I had advanced considerably with my work before
the missing boxes arrived. It seemed a great and needless waste to
recommence my labours when so much apparently had been done. It would
have been well for me, however, had I thrown all my work aside, and
begun again, and this indeed it would have been even years later, for
from the moment when I suspected with what fatal consequences my first
start had been beset, until the moment, when in England, at the end of
1882, I gave up the picture, I always had reason to persuade myself
that a little more patience――perhaps even the perseverance further of
two more weeks――might overcome the difficulty intervening between the
stage arrived at and the entire completion of the picture. I will not
weary the reader with a statement of all the vexatious incidents of my
trouble, but it is only a needful excuse for me to state that a studio
built specially for me by German instead of Arab builders, let in the
rain as though the roof had been made of open wire, and that when
this worry had passed, I was under summons to come back to London by
a certain date, and this made the difficulty greater of deliberately
estimating the amount of danger which I incurred in advancing my work
on the imperfect surface.
When I opened the picture in London and placed it in a fair light I
could not fail to see how much precious time had been wasted from the
fact that all my drawing and modelling and colour indeed was marred
by irregularity of the plane on which they were given. I called in an
expert to help me in the course to be followed, and he, as it happened,
urged me still to trust to the means already used to overcome the evil,
expressing the opinion that it was then nearly at an end. Alas! this
proved to be far from the case, although I called in the best judgment
to guide me at intervals, and I confided the work for relining on the
strongest sailcloth canvas to the hands of one of the most skilful of
restorers. Every revived hope ended in disappointment, until I having
persevered with it for seven years and a half, finally abandoned it,
and commenced on the new painting on January 1st, 1883. Since then,
when away for my health, the reliner again had the old picture to treat
on a plan of a radical character agreed upon between us. It was to cut
out the central part of the sheeting containing the group of the Virgin
and Child, to lift up the surrounding cloth, to fray out its edges,
to insert a piece larger by an inch than the opening, with margins
also frayed in the opposite direction, and to place the whole already
relined picture upon another sailcloth. Unlimited time was given
for this experiment, and I am happy to say that now the picture is
thoroughly sound, and that it will soon be ready. The present exhibited
painting is about four inches broader and two inches higher than the
Jerusalem picture: it is also changed in several points, some of which
modifications I have since adopted as improvement for the old picture:
other additions, however, are only in the present painting.
W. HOLMAN HUNT.
DRAYCOTT LODGE, FULHAM,
_February 23, 1885_.
RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL.
The
Triumph of the Innocents
This Picture, now being exhibited by the FINE ART SOCIETY, 148, New
Bond Street, will be reproduced by Photogravure on a scale of 20½
inches by 33¼ inches, in its engraved portions.
It will be published at the following prices:
ARTIST’S PROOFS £10 10 0
LETTERED PROOFS £5 5 0
PRINTS £2 2 0
Subscriptions are now being received by the FINE ART SOCIETY, 148, New
Bond Street.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
――Punctuation, and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.
――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.
――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIUMPH OF THE INNOCENTS ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg™ License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™
Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
