Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/158

 140 A History of Art ix Sardinia and Jud.v.a. temple he had himself selected, had not been in vain. The sanctuary came to be regarded as the emblem and outward sign of Jewish religion, the place Jehovah had fixed for an ever- lasting habitation, and where alone the covenant made with his people would be renewed. It had become, in fact, the rallying- point for all those, no matter of what tribe, who had not bowed the knee before Baal. In the space of time between Josiah and " the extreme of abomination," the temple had become endeared to all classes in a way that had been unknown in the days of Solomon. It formed the topic of their conversation in their forced marches, under the scorching rays of noontide, to the land of exile ; as afterwards in their secret meetings in the low quarters outside the walls of Memphis or Babylon, when their whisperings were of the absent country, of the beautiful temple they were wont to frequent, of the multitudes that thronged its precincts, of the altars where they had found comfort and relief for their disappointed hopes. Not content with memory alone, in those day-dreams projected in the future to escape from present straits, they rebuilt in imagi- nation the temple of Solomon on mount Zion ; but far nobler, with a wealth of ornamentation, too, that it had not possessed in its days of splendour. The plan and general outline were preserved ; nor were the proportions or inner divisions altered ; its surroundings, however, displayed ampler and more magnificent dimensions. Pylons were loftier, courts more spacious, colonnades and cool cloisters were multiplied ; chambers were more frequent and their size larger ; commensurate, in fact, with the peoples of every tongue that were to come and pray at Jerusalem. The plan was as of old, but it was assumed that all the accessory structures and embellishments that had been wrought by ambitious kings and priests were to be renewed. This vision of a new Jerusalem and future temple, conjured up by the fervid imagination of the Israelites, was instinct with fascination, and served to charm away the hardships of their miserable condition as they sat by the waters of Babylon and wept sore because Jerusalem was taken from them. What more natural than that they should have beguiled the evils of exile by picturing a future more brilliant than the past they regretted ?