THE VERONICA. j6i 



And perhaps its smaller size and its quieter and more 

 hidden beauty may all the more appropriately associate 

 it with Him who, Himself meek and lowly, and having 

 no form or comeliness, had for this reason a peculiar 

 love for what others despised for the little and humble 

 objects of nature and of human life. 



The instinct which led pious souls to canonize the 

 veronica was deeper and truer than they themselves 

 knew. Our reason scornfully rejects the fable of the 

 Saviour's features stamping themselves ineffaceably upon 

 a linen veil or handkerchief; but our imagination joy- 

 fully accepts the idea, that in the modest blossom of a 

 little wayside flower, the Face that was fairer than that 

 of the sons of men is seen reflected anew every summer. 

 The veronica of the Church is a palpable falsehood, 

 fabricated for purposes of superstition or gain ; and 

 thus degrading the nature and function of the Church, 

 which should be the pillar and ground of truth, and a 

 sure incorruptible witness against all the falsehoods of 

 the world. Instead of holding the mirror up to nature, 

 it throws an additional veil over nature's already dark 

 intimations. The veronica of the fields, on the con- 

 trary, is a faithful and true representative of Him who 

 dwelt in the bush, and without whom was not anything 

 made that was made. Its pure open face is the very 

 image of innocence ; it is a creature indeed in which 

 there is no guile. It has caught the blue of its petals 

 from a steadfast gazing into the candid heavens, and 

 the white radiance of its eye from the immaculate snow 



of the summer clouds. The lineaments of the sudarium 

 L 



