The State opening of Parliament shows what the UK can do to capture splendour. It has the horses, the coaches, the breastplates, the plumes, It may find it has outdone Lorenzo the Magnificent. The value of splendour increases with its scarcity.
Splendour is made up of basic materials – metal, stone, braid, uniforms, lighting, etc. It is anything but common. It is an achievement, much as an architectural innovation can be that. It is also a given. Flowers have their splendour, as Kipling well knew. ‘Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,’ he wrote. Gardeners with their broken knives can take half the credit.
The writer of ‘Genesis’ tells us‘…and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day’ – surely one of the most telling and mysterious lines in the Bible. It leaves unstated what cannot be said. It invites the reader to allow his imagination to take over. Such an experience must have been common in days when strange beasts roamed the plains and equally strange sounds came from those animals. We have to read between the lines to get at all the succulence in the Bible. Sometimes we are in too much of a hurry in our reading.
Whatever view we take of the composition of the Old Testament (and that has little place in the scale of its value) it is clear that the foremost places of worship – the tabernacle and the temple – were constructed with this in mind. True, there came a time when many were more concerned with beautifying their homes than ensuring the supremacy of the temple, but the original intention was not entirely forgotten. Splendour is expressed in design.
Over the decades men – and women – have endeavoured to capture splendour. Cathedral churches are one place to look. Palaces are another. Giant ships carry splendour with them. In fact size is a key to splendour. A rowing-boat is difficult to invest with splendour. Splendour needs to spread itself. Splendour leads to Versailles.
Our buildings show the scale of our understanding of splendour. It intimidates its visitors as much as it stimulates them. Splendour is costly. Its materials may be expensive but the true cost lies in the imagination and flair put into their design.
FUN DOG SHOW
On Saturday at three p.m. a fun dog show will take place at St Bartholomew’s, Lostwithiel, Cornwall. The event which has ‘lots of classes’ is sponsored by Pelyn Vets. Paul Beynon is Vicar of St Bartholomew’s.
It was popularly believed in earlier days that the name Lostwithiel means the lion who lost his tail.
If you have a comment on this post please send an email to Revd John King at johnc.king@talktalk.net Edited extracts may be published. To forward this to a friend click on the chain icon below.
Comments