Note 103 — English Authors on Gardening. (continued 3)
Reading edition
On the pomp of devotion in our ancient abbeys, Mr. R. P. Knight thus interests his readers, in the chapter "Of the Sublime and Pathetic," in the Inquiry into the principles of Taste:—"Every person who has attended the celebration of high mass, at any considerable ecclesiastical establishment, must have felt how much the splendour and magnificence of the Roman Catholic worship tends to exalt the spirit of devotion, and to inspire the soul with rapture and enthusiasm. Not only the impressive melody of the vocal and instrumental music, and the imposing solemnity of the ceremonies, but the pomp and brilliancy of the sacerdotal garments, and the rich and costly decorations of the altar, raise the character of religion, and give it an air of dignity and majesty unknown to any of the reformed churches."