Transcriber's Notes:
".." has been normalized to "."
Original spellings have been retained.
PYGMALION AND THE IMAGE
William Morris
From the painting by G. F. Watts. R.A.
PYGMALION AND
THE IMAGE BY
WILLIAM MORRIS
ILLVSTRATED WITH
PICTVRES BY SIR EDWARD
BVRNE-JONES
NEW YORK R·H·RVSSELL
PVBLISHER MCMIII
Copyright, 1903
By Robert Howard Russell
Published October, 1903
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
By SIR EDWARD BURNE-JONES, Bart.
| Portrait of William Morris From the painting by G. F. Watts, R.A. | Frontispiece | |
| The Heart Desires | page | 8 |
| The Hand Refrains | " | 16 |
| The Godhead Fires | " | 24 |
| The Soul Attains | " | 32 |
ith the exception of"The Doom of KingAcrisius," "Pygmalionand the Image" is theonly poem of TheEarthly Paradise for theillustration of whichBurne-Jones actuallyexecuted a complete series of pictures; andthough the finished paintings are but fourin number, and the original designs, madein 1866-1867, were twelve, the numericallysmaller set is complete in the best sense,since not only does it illustrate fully thetext and spirit of Morris's poem, but eachpicture in it, though finished with the lovingcare and elaboration which Burne-Jones lavishedon his paintings, fails of its full significance unlessconsidered in its relation to the series of whichit forms a part.
In regard to the poem itself, the inspirationof these pictures, even the most casual study willbring in its train a conviction that the story astold by William Morris is far superior to any otherversion of classic or of modern times. The poem(one of the best of those comprised in TheEarthly Paradise) is homogeneous and admirablybalanced in all its parts; its superiority,however, over all other versions, is not due primarilyto the manner of its narration, but arisesfrom its greater spirituality—a finer feeling ratherthan a finer form. Prior to the appearance of"Pygmalion and the Image" each narrator ofthe legend had dwelt mainly on the physicalside, sensuous or sensual according to his temperament,of the tale. In Morris's version thedominant note is the pass