In the striking painting, The Raising of the Cross, Rembrandt was not so much creating an illustration of a Bible scene as he was making a very personal confession of sin and a profession of faith. Rembrandt places himself in the painting twice: the first of his alter egos is the man who cruelly thrusts the cross upwards and into …
My Country Tis of Thee
During his long and productive ministry, Samuel Francis Smith composed nearly two hundred hymns. But it is for one he wrote while still in seminary that he was best known. Musician Lowell Mason had asked him to translate some German verses for a song book he was preparing. Among the tunes he handed Smith was a German patriotic hymn, God …
Poetry: A Guide on Where to Start
G.K. Chesterton–start with the “Ballad of the White Horse” and “Lepanto” but don’t miss his short, humorous verse and his Christmas poems. Hilaire Belloc–almost all of his poetry is worth reading, but especially his traveling verses. Sir Walter Scott–nothing beats his great epics like “The Lady of the Lake.” Arthur Quiller-Couch–again, almost everything from Q is worth careful reading, but …