INTRODUCTION

"Whatever bit of a wise man's work is honestly and benevolently done, that bit is his book or his piece of art."-J. R. 1864.

To introduce writings of John Ruskin to any class of English readers ought to be absurdly unnecessary, notwithstanding the fact that they have been beyond the recognized means of many persons: who nevertheless have, some of them, spent an equal amount in ephemeral or less worthy literature. Others have determined to possess them at any cost; thereby showing the appreciative and discriminating spirit desired and contemplated by their author in fixing the price high; for he wished his writings to be bought and used by people who would appreciate them, not bought only, nor yet obtained easily without any sacrifice.

Undoubtedly, however, the price of the books has made them actually if not theoretically unknown to the greater number of the populace; and so, now that they have become easily accessible, a preface of the most simple character may be a temporary help to new readers.

Such alone shall be the aim of this introduction: it shall make no attempt to re-word anything which the author has already perfectly said; nor shall it attempt to speak to scholars; it shall merely give initial information sufficient to introduce another selection from these great writings to the unlearned and the simple.

"Sesame" is a lecture on reading, and the right use of books. It was originally given under the title "Kings' Treasuries": the idea being that in the silent storehouse of a row of volumes a reader is privileged to hold communion with the Kings and Prophets of all ages; who are, as it were, awaiting audience--craving it rather than granting it, and who are ready to share their best thoughts with any

one who comes into their presence bringing with him an intelligent and sympathetic mind.

Incidentally the lecture contains a discourse on the accurate and careful employment of words; wherein the importance of this branch of culture is forcibly and luminously emphasized, with illustrations from great writers, and notably from Milton. Language is so much the instrument of thinking, that probably no training, not even mathematics, conduces to accuracy of thought so effectively as does the constantly cultivated precision of expression here advocated and illustrated.

But the lecture does not conclude in a literary and intellectual atmosphere: it enters with profound emotion and disquiet into the condition of public and private life in England at the time-not so very different then from what it is to-day, it calls attention to the mistaken aims and misguided sympathies which are rampant in the land, and while denouncing with prophetic assurance it exhorts with. inspired fervour.

Incidentally it may be permissible to explain to young readers that "sesame" is a three-syllabled word, and that it signifies a kind of corn or grain-"that old enchanted Arabian grain" which in the legend was supposed to open doors.

"Lilies," also called "Queens' Gardens," is a lecture on the ideal of womanhood and on the vital education of girls. In places its treatment is probably too direct and didactic to exert the maximum of influence, in the wider outlook of to-day some patience, and a willingness to supply or to detect indirect qualifications, may be required; but a discriminating and appreciative reader will be richly rewarded. The lecture is illustrated by the women of Shakespeare, of Scott, and other poets, and by the atmosphere of chivalry; it appeals to the women of to-day to see that their country is kept beautiful, and that the children in it are given a fair chance; it appeals to them also to exercise their power and cause unnecessary wars to cease; it holds up a lofty ideal of service and influence, to be exercised in the most natural and peaceful ways; it emphasizes the true function of the

Lady amid the rough and tumble activities of men; and it closes in passages of the utmost eloquence.

Mr. Ruskin says that these lectures cost him much thought and much strong emotion, and that he found it difficult to rouse his audience into sympathy with the temper into which he had brought himself by years of thinking over subjects full of pain. The moral which he finally draws is that the two most heinous sins are Idleness and Cruelty,—two vices which, as he shows, penetrate much deeper than may at first sight be supposed; and he quotes as two of the most forcible commands

and

"Work while you have light."

"Be merciful while you have mercy.”

Mr. Ruskin explains his meaning in his own preface to the 1871 edition, where he convicts of both these sins many who would be horrified at the idea that they could for a moment be really cruel. It may be remembered that the form of torture called " 'sweating" is not extinct; nor have purchasers learnt, as yet, how effectively to discourage it. Young readers would do well to refer to this preface if they can get the opportunity. Another form of torture—a form operating chiefly on the mind, and called imprisonment-is still enforced among us; possibly because few are able keenly to realize what it means. It seems to be a form of punishment which does not forcibly arouse the imagination beforehand, and, therefore, is but slightly deterrent; but it will soon become a question whether, as a punishment, and except as an opportunity for reformation, confinement is a penalty we have any right to inflict on free and responsible beings-whether in fact a more frankly brutal and bodily form of torment might not righteously be substituted for it, and be more legitimate. The particular phase of cruelty involved in prolonged removal of liberty and suspension of will is not indeed referred to by Mr. Ruskin in the text, but the general utterances of a prophet must be held capable of wide specific application

"The Two Paths" is the name given to a short collection of lectures on Art, and its application to Decoration and Manufacture. They recall the artist and designer of every kind to the importance of following organic form, and of learning to utilize and represent truly, in architecture as well as in all other constructive arts, the truths of simple natural beauty. These lectures insist that Art is not for the select few alone that it should be accessible to all: that it should be made in fact by the people for the people, and applied to the most homely and every-day uses, as representing the conscious joy of the maker and increasing the unconscious pleasure of the user.

Lastly there is incorporated in this small volume that remarkable fairy tale-the only one, so far as we know, that Ruskin ever attempted-called "The King of the Golden River." To some people it has seemed one of the best fairy tales that ever was written. It is not nearly so widely known as it ought to be, perhaps because it is barely simple enough for small children; but it is a beautiful allegory, and it has the advantage of not having become so hackneyed as to be utilized for purposes of parody. It ought to appear with Doyle's illustrations: and it might well be issued in still cheaper form separately.

The parable is in two halves, a sort of Paradise Lost and a Paradise Regained-lost by selfishness, regained by love. The definition of "holy water" may be quoted as typical of its central theme

"The water which has been refused to the cry of the weary and dying, is unholy, though it had been blessed by every saint in heaven; and the water which is found in the vessel of mercy is holy, though it had been defiled with corpses."

And the restoration of wealth to Treasure Valley, by restoring the fertility of its soil instead of by metalliferous undertakings, is entirely in harmony with the author's consistent teaching that all true material increase must come from the soil. For land is a means of receiving and utilizing the energy of the sun; and to that energy every terrestrial activity