“JOHN RUSKIN”

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 167, 14 June 1933, Page 3

“JOHN RUSKIN”

ADDRESS TO LUNCH CLUB. “John Rusk in” was the subject o I an ’ interesting address delivered by Rev. D. J. Davies, B.Sc., to the Citizens’ Lunch Club yesterday. Mr A. V. Pizzey presided, and on belrali of the club wished bon voyage Mo Mr R. A. Noedl, who is about to leave for an extended visit to Australia. Visitors welcomed were Messrs P. C., Wallace and G. Houston. There was an old saying, stated Rev. Mr Davies, that “literature followed the flag.” It could be taken to mean that the culture of a nation followed in the wake of its victorious armies. It could also be taken to mean that a period of expansion in a nation’s history sometimes synchronised with, or was followed by, a vigorous burst of cu’ture. Such were the Elizabethan and Victorian eras, tire latter of which was notable for its giants of intellect, who made some of the groat men of to-day look like pigmies. Ruskin, lie said, was born on February 8, 1819. and bis parents were Scottish peasants, his father being a partner in a firm; Ruskin’s father took a keen interest in literature, and was devoted a little to painting. His mother was endowed with a strong will and common sense. She gave her life to rearing her delicate child John who, at an early age, showed signs of genius. Love of 11atcre was early an outstanding feature of Ruskin’s character. He was extraordinarily sensitive to beauty in all its forms. He approached Nature in the spirit of a poet and a painter. Having the opportunity of travelling at an early age, he saw some of the finest pictures in England, and also masterpieces on the Continent. His parents were staunch evangelicals, and Bible reading played a great part in his development. Undoubtedly, Tie owed a great deal of bis mastery of ; prose to that influence. At the age of 22 Ruskin issued his “First Vol- ' lime of Modern Painters.” It took the public bv storm and immediately i established his reputation as an art critic and as a master of prose. Right from the outset Ruskin insisted that there was an intimate and most vital re'ationship between art and morality. He considered that a picture expressed the nobility of elm-rote*- of the j artist. He looked upon buildings as I stone documents wherein could be read I the history, and in which was expressed and revealed the spirit and qualities of the people. His viewpoint was that great art expressed great life and he maintained that there was a close connection between the decay of art and faulty social arrangements—that apathy towards art was symptomatic of a diseased nation. He had said that a city should be a jewel on the country’s face, but that the towns of that period were ugly and dark, smoke-blackened and with their air poisoned, like ulcers on the face of England. I Ruskin’s first investigation of the science of political economy bore fruit when four essays were sent to the Cornhill Magazine, then edited by Thackeray. They provoked a storm of indignation. Ruskin was not a dreamer and an idealist in the realm of political science; Professor Hobson, in a brilliant study of Ruskin’s assc>ciation with reforms, spoke first of. his wonderful mastery of language, but Ruskin could also write simply, clearly and cogently when he wished. Political economy was then in much the same state as psychology is to-day. Terms had been taken from the language, but bad not been standardised, and various writers used them in their own way. Ruskin used them with scientific accuracy after a careful study of their true’meaning. There was brilliant word-play in many oT liis books. He had a fearless, independence of mind and was not intimidated by great authorities. He used both bis eyes and judgment, and was oblivious to prejudice. He had studied the qualities of material things and had shrewd ideas of putting them into practice. He was emphatically not an armchair theorist, but had a most exquisite taste, and could appreciate true value and beauty. The influence of Ruskin as an economist humanised the science, Mr Davies continued. He approached it essentially in terms of life, which was the keynote of his teachings. Value, he insisted, had to be measured in its effect on life, and the real cost of production had to be measured in similar terms.. The wealth of a nation was its people, their quality, their health, their integrity, and tlieir intelligence Ruskin said the purpose of all education was to teach men to love all things true and beautiful, and lie had advanced some fascinating suggestions for the training of the young. Many of the reforms which he had championed, bringing on himself contempt and ridicule, were now commonplace. He spent his last days at the little village of Coniston, in the Lake District, and was buried there. He had been a great prophet, whose message concerning the real purpose of life we had yet to learn and assimilate. It might point the way to a happier and nobler world than that in which we lived at present. The speaker was accorded a vote of thanks on the motion of Mr J. A. Colquhoun, who said the present world seemed to be just as backward as that of the Victorian era in learning the lesson taught by Ruskin —a fundamental concept.