The Candlestick
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Candlestick
Scripture Reference:
- John 8 (further images / scripture text)
Description: The simple candlestick and its usefulness in dispelling darkness in the home reminds the attentive that Jesus is the light of the world and brings light and understanding to all who follow him (John 8:12). The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649–1712), whose initials are at the lower right, was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and wrote the accompanying poem.
Motto: Receives and keeps.
Poem:
The Candlestick, made,
To carry the beautiful light,
Making the long evening hours,
So agreeable,
And revealing everything,
That lay wrapped in Darkness:
That is a worthy and most excellent object,
Handy and necessary in Household-use:
But in the illustrious House of the Soul,
That contains so many needless household things,
There It is often not counted among them
Which holds the true light of life;
A good disposition in the Soul,
Would be to hold fast to such an Object,
That is lit to everyone’s Salvation.
Yet one lives carelessly, for many years,
Stumbling over chair and bench,
And continues to fumble in the earthly darkness.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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Rights Status: No Copyright - United States
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