AS RELATED TO TASTE. 71 



turtle is heard in our land ; the fig-tree putteth forth 

 her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes 

 give a good smell." 



The power and beauty of these same objects ap- 

 pear in the Saviour's teachings. The fig and the 

 olive, the sparrow, and the lily of the field, give a 

 peculiar force and beauty to the great truths they 

 were used to illustrate. 



The glories of the holy city in the Apocalyptic vis- 

 ion could only be set forth in the symbols of gems. 

 Its foundations were of sapphire and emerald, of 

 topaz and amethyst. And every several gate was 

 of one pearl. 



Thus, then, in all adorning of common language, 

 in the beauty of poetry, and in the vivid pictures of 

 divine inspiration, the sweetest note that strikes the 

 ear comes from the landscape, the brightest picture 

 is the landscape itself. All that Taste has ever de- 

 manded for her gratification, Genius has here found, 

 and as God is the author of both nature and mind, 

 here among the crystals, flowers, and sensitive life, 

 must the emotional nature of man find its highest 

 earthly gratification. 



