Page:Stirling William The Canon 1897.djvu/20

xiv Cozumel, upon the altars of the temples, crosses were seen deep graven in the stone.

Thus it appears that almost every nation, every age, has had its Cross, and, if this is the case, what is the reason?

The writer of this work most plainly sets it forth, and, in so doing, connects conclusively our symbolism with that which seems inherent in mankind, and gently puts aside all our pretensions to the possession of a faith revealed to us alone.

Into these mysteries I shrink from entering, but watch him boldly walk amongst the Canon Laws which govern Architecture, Music, Religion, and other things, the laws of which I take on trust.

Unorthodox even in his unorthodoxy, he is sufficiently un-English to be logical and not to shirk, after the English fashion, the just conclusions towards which his reasoning leads.

Following his argument, it appears that, in "The Abbey" when the nave and aisles are packed with rich and pious Iris de Florence scented worshippers silently waiting for the circulating plate, they sit within a building built, like the ancient temples were, to typify the body of a man, and the chief symbol which the Romans held in honour they, too, venerate, when, in their pious contemplation, they lift adoring eyes towards the Cross which stands upon the altar or communion table.