The Hearth
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Hearth
Scripture Reference:
- 1 Peter 1 (further images / scripture text)
Description: As two are gathered to warm themselves before the hearth, the reader is reminded of the divine admonition that Christians are to love one another sincerely (1 Peter 1:22). The poem nearby notes that though the fire in the hearth is useful, when it is on the bed or in the wooden attic, it is destructive. 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: Here and elsewhere
Poem:
The useful Fire, that does so much,
In service of skillful housekeeping,
Is on the Hearth wondrously good,
To prepare food, and fight off the cold:
But outside this limit and boundary,
In the bed, or the wooden attic,
It was terribly destructive,
As House and all, burned to Ashes.
O Man! Care for thy life’s fire!
So that it remains as intended,
And does not ignite house and barn,
To drive thee out naked.
Its rightful purpose,
Is, to burn in the love of God
And not in this present Time,
Where it shames body and soul.
Therefore prepare and tend its flame,
On the Altar of a firm conscience.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker).
Click here for additional images available from this book.
Request a high-resolution file (fees apply)
Rights Statement: The online edition of this work in the public domain, i.e., not protected by copyright, has been produced by Pitts Theology Library, Emory University.
Rights Status: No Copyright - United States
Pitts Theology Library provides copyright information as a courtesy and makes no representation about copyright or other legal status of materials in the Digital Image Archive.