The life and letters of Benjamin Jowett, M. A., master of Balliol college, Oxford.

II4

Life of Benjamin Jowett

[CHAP. IV

of Houses which is to be feared, and not of the Newmanites,
who are beginning to scatter like sheep without a shepherd.
I mentioned to you a book which I had been reading' in
praise of J. M. Turner on landscape painting. I have read it
all through with the greatest delight; the minute observation
and power of description it shows are truly admirable. His
theory in general is that landscape painting must be true, and
not a mere romance; and considering the infinite variety of
nature and the individuality of the minutest section, the
only way in which true effects can be given is by suggestion,
not by distinct drawing, which can never produce in the
mind the idea of infinity always found in nature. There is
a great deal on the form of clouds, &c., which gives one, so to
say, some true principles not only of art but of nature. Since
I read it I fancy I have a keener perception of the symmetry
of natural scenery. The book is written by Ruskin, a child of
genius certainly.... Is there any chance of your being found at Rome on
St. Peter's day next summer? I think, as the Long Vacation
is a temptation, I am very likely [to] be there. I sun myself
with the thought of an Italian sky all the year round; it would
make life happier to have seen Rome and stood on the Tarpeian
Rock and under the dome of St. Peter's.
Concerning the 'Heilige Rock2' about which you make
merry, I do not quite see the cause of your mirth unless
you believe it to be an imposture, which is very improbable,
even though there are twenty-four of them. I think it would
be more probable to account for the whole twenty-four on
a Straussian hypothesis than to suspect imposture in this
particular case.
Stanley is writing a pamphlet, Donkin is writing a pamphlet,
Ward is writing a pamphlet, Eden is writing a pamphlet,
F. Maurice is writing a pamphlet, Hussey is writing a pamphlet; in short, all the world are pamphleteering.
Concerning matters serious allow me to say one word. I feel
very deeply that one cannot live without religion, and that in
1 Modern Painters, by a Graduate of Oxford.
2 The Holy Coat at Treves.