Which Thoreau called the 'color of colors,' in the Hebrew signified to
have dominion, and in early art was symbolical or emblematic of Divine
love, creative power, etc. The word Adam, we have been taught, signifies
red man; it does mean 'the blood,' which, of course, originated 'to be
red,' as a secondary signification. Lanci, the great interpreter of
Sacred Philology at the Vatican, deems 'The Blusher,' to be the true
meaning of the word Adam. God created man, male and female created He
them, and called their name Adam. A blush, so becoming on the
countenance of feminine beauty, is generally deemed a sign of weakness
when visible upon a man's face. But if the above interpretation be
correct, a blush is a man's birthright, which no sense of false shame
should prevent him from modestly claiming. Red, as signifying
perfection, dominion, fruition, was appropriately the name of our first
parents, whether we regard the account of the creation to be literally
understood, as the old theologians believe, or spiritually and
typically, as the modern ones insist.
Red is the color of what is intense, be it love or hatred, kindness or
cruelty. It denotes the fulness of strong emotions; alike the glowing of
conscious love or the blazing of fierce anger, the fiery ardor of daring
and valor, or the fierce cruelty of hatred and revenge. Of our own
star-spangled banner, we sing:
'The red is the blood of the brave.'
The red garments of cardinals, and especially their red hats, are
supposed to betoken their readiness to spill their blood for Jesus
Christ.
Red is the color of undeveloped ideas. It is the hue which most quickly
attracts the attention of children and savages. All barbarous nations
admire red; many savages paint their faces vermilion before entering
battle, to which they look forward as the means of attaining enviable
position in their tribe; for with barbarians physical prowess is the
only superiority.
Some animals are excited to madness by the sight of this color. The bull
and the turkey take it as a signal of defiance, which they rush to meet.
'Come, if you dare,' they read it, and impetuously hasten to the onset.
When the bloody Jeffreys was in his bloodiest humor, he wore into court
a red cap, which was the sure death warrant of those about to be tried.
The death garment of Charlotte Corday was a red chemise--fit emblem of
the ungovernable instincts, the wild rioting in blood of that reign of
terror.
Christ was crucified in a scarlet robe, and in that color of love and
perfection, perfected his offering of love for mankind.