Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/334

 816 THE CLASSICAL HERITAGE [chaf. statuary is often realistic, and the grouping sometimes is natural. Yet, quite as frequently the figures are arranged in hierarchic manner, as, for instance, within the recessed arch of a doorway. Finitude and, within it, perfection characterize Greek creations. To these qualities Christianity opposes its infinitude. The Greek temple is structurally a unit ; and the themes of its sculpture have limit as well as interrelation. Structurally a Gothic cathe- dral is a dynamic organism. Each of its parts is a factor in the equilibrium of the whole. Yet its many and diverse divisions prevent it from presenting the striking unity of a Greek temple. The themes of its sculpture and painting extend from the beginning to all eternity, and include the wicked and grotesque in man and devil, as well as the holy and sublime in man and God. Their principle of unity lies in their rela- tion to the Christian scheme of salvation.^ Greek sculpture is as clear and open as the natural life of man ; Greek architecture is apparently as simple as in reality it is intellectual. Gothic sculpture tends toward mystic symbolism; and the structure of a Gothic cathedral discloses subtleties of balance which are sheer unrest as compared with the classic poise. II. Antique Christian Painting and Sculpture From apostolic times, gentile Christians lived in an environment of art, pictorial, statuesque, or merely decorative. The fact that they were Christians 1 Cf. Didron, Iconographie chr^tienne (1843), Introduction; Kraus, Oeschichte der christlichen Kunst, II, 360-384. Besides sub- jects that could possibly be regarded as sacred (i.e. related to sal-