Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/575

 Bk. II. Ch. IX. FRENCH GOTHIC CATHEDHALS. 543 part ^vould be ui^ly and unmeaning in the highest degree a ithout the sculptures that adorn tliem. The galleries above are mere ranges of niches, as unmeaning without their statues as the great mullioned windows without their " storied panes." In such lateral porches, too, as those for instance at Chartres, the architecture is wholly subordinate to the sculpture ; and in a perfect cathedral of the 13th century the buttresses, pinnacles, even the gargoyles, every " coin of vantage," tells its tale by some image or representation of some living thing, o-ivins^ meaning: and animation to the whole. The cathedral thus became an immense collection of sculptures, containing not only the whole history of the world as then known and understood, but also of an immense number of objects representing the arts and sciences of the Middle Affes. Thus the ijreat cathedrals of Chartres and Rheims even now retain some 5,000 figures, scattered about or grouped together in various parts, beginning with the history of the creation of the world and all the wondrous incidents of the 1st chapter of Genesis, and thence continuing the history through the whole of the Old Testa- ment. In these sculptures the story of the redemption of mankind is told, as set forth in the New, with a distinctness, and at the same time with an earnestness, almost impossible to surpass. On the other hand, ranges of statues of kings of France and other popular potentates cai-ry on the thread of ]>rofane history to the period of the erection of the cathedral itself. In addition to these we have, inter- spersed with them, a whole system of moi-al philosophy, as illustrated by the virtues and the vices, each represented by an appropriate sym- bol, and the reward or jmnishment its invariable accompaniment. In other parts are shown all the arts of peace, every process of husbandry in its appropriate season, and each manufacture or handi- craft in all its principal forms. Over all these are seen the heavenly hosts, with saints, angels, and archangels. All this is so harmoniously contrived and so beautifully expressed, that it becomes a question even now whether the sculpture of these cathedrals does not excel the architecture. In the Middle Ages, when books were rare, and those who could read them rarer still, this sculpture was certainly most valuable as a means of popular education ; but, as Victor Hugo beautifully expresses it, " Ceci tucra cela : le livre tuera I'Eglise." The printing-press has rendered all this of little value to the present generation, and it is only through the eyes of the artist or the antiquary that we can even dhnly appreciate what was actual instruction to the less educated citizens of the Middle Ages, and the medium through which they learned the history of the world, or heard the glad tidings of salvation conveyed from God to man. All this few, if any, can fully enter into now; but unless it is felt to at least some extent, it is impossible these wonderful buildings can ever be appreciated.