GEMS—HIDDEN ONES
Illustration★★★★“What dirty, dreadful, disgusting stuff,” exclaims a man regarding that peculiarly unpleasant compound, the mud of London streets. “Hold, my friend,’ says Ruskin. “Not so dreadful after all.
What are the elements of this mud? First there is sand, but when its particles, are crystallized according to the law of its nature, what is nicer than clean white sand?
And when that which enters into it is arranged according to a still higher law, we have the matchless opal. What else have we in this mud? Clay. And the materials of clay, when the particles are arranged according to their higher laws, make the brilliant sapphire.
What other in- gredients enter into the London mud? Soot. And soot in its crystallized perfection forms the diamond. There is but one other—water.
And water when distilled according to the higher law of its nature, forms the dewdrop resting in exquisite perfection in the heart of the rose.” So in the muddy, lost soul of man is hidden the image of his Creator, and God will do His best to find His opals, His sapphires, His diamonds and dewdrops
— Ruskin
Rainsford.
The point
Ruskin reflects that mud contains sand (which becomes opal), clay (sapphire), soot (diamond), and water (dewdrop)—just as hidden in the muddy lost soul is God's image, waiting to be refined.