ain, which I
was most unwilling to give, in speaking of the possible abuses of
religious art; but there can be no danger of any, so long as we remember
that God inhabits cottages as well as churches, and ought to be well
lodged there also. Begin with wooden floors; the tessellated ones will
take care of themselves; begin with thatching roofs, and you shall end
by splendidly vaulting them; begin by taking care that no old eyes fail
over their Bibles, nor young ones over their needles, for want of
rushlight, and then you may have whatever true good is to be got out of
coloured glass or wax candles. And in thus putting the arts to universal
use, you will find also their universal inspiration, their universal
benediction. I told you there was no evidence of a _special_ Divineness
in any application of them; that they were always equally human and
equally Divine; and in closing this inaugural series of lectures, into
which I have endeavoured to compress the principles that are to be the
foundations of your future work, it is my last duty to say some positive
words as to the Divinity of all art, when it is truly fair, or truly
serviceable.

125. Every seventh day, if not oftener, the greater number of
well-meaning persons in England thankfully receive from their teachers a
benediction, couched in those terms:--"The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be
with you." Now I do not know precisely what sense is attached in the
English public mind to those expressions. But what I have to tell you
positively is that the three things do actually exist, and can be known
if you care to know them, and possessed if you care to possess them;
and that another thing exists, besides these, of which we already know
too much.

First, by simply obeying the orders of the Founder of your religion, all
grace, graciousness, or beauty and favour of gentle life, will be given
to you in mind and body, in work and in rest. The Grace of Christ
exists, and can be had if you will. Secondly, as you know more and more
of the created world, you will find that the true will of its Maker is
that its creatures should be happy;--that He has made everything
beautiful in its time and its place, and that it is chiefly by the fault
of men, when they are allowed the liberty of thwarting His laws, that
Creation groans or travails in pain. The Love of God exists, and you may
see it, and live in it if you will. L