About the spiritual beauty within [from Part III]
![About the spiritual beauty within [from Part III]](/woodcuts/1704Luik1/00033367.jpg)
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: About the spiritual beauty within [from Part III]
Scripture Reference:
- 1 Peter 3 (further images / scripture text)
Description: The Soul shows her heart to the World. The Soul is portrayed as a young woman in a long dress and the World as a young woman with a crown, holding a scepter and sitting on a throne. The Dutch artist and poet, Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and composing the poem that accompanies it.
Poem: The Soul praises the spiritual beauty far above the worldly.
We are not so silly as thou dost think,
That we would not love any beauty,
All our adornment is within,
Not derived from a worm or cattle.
What should be praised most?
Thou dost adorn a nearly vanished beast,
We finely adorn an eternal spirit,
With beautiful colors, from God’s being.
They are spiritual thoughts as thou dost regard it,
Not dreams nor any trifles.
But true essential things,
That can be grasped, deriving from power.
Oh if thou didst see the garment, the body of the Soul,
So thin and Kristal clear,
Interlaced by eternal sunshine,
Thou wouldst kneel before this beauty;
We would not change with any King’s wife,
The Silk, the Purple and Scarlet,
And cannot adorn her as beautifully,
Even if it were stiff with gold and pearls.
Therefore, oh man! thou art deceived,
If thou dost not see beauty from outside,
Thou dost not know the true beauty,
And darkness covers thine eyes.
God’s Answer:
The King’s daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold (Psalm 45:13)
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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