Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 5.djvu/270

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
242
THE GRANITE MONTHLY.

Andrew's Adoration of his Cross," and on the opposite wall Domenichius painted the "Flagellation of St. Andrew." He also painted the same subject in the Church of St. Andrea-della-Valle, in somewhat different style, choosing another " moment of the torture," and in the same church the crucifixtion of the Saint and his apotheosis surmounting the whole. Correggio, the great Italian painter, secured additional lustre to his name by his matchless genius he displayed in delineating the Apostles. "The calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew." by Masaccio and Guido, 1407-43, now in the church of the Carmelites at Florence, are very celebrated. "The Communion of the Apostles," by Ribera, an Italian artist at Naples, in San Mantino, is also considered a masterpiece. Cespeda's painting of "The Last Supper," has a marked reputation. In the mediæval pictures, the Apostles are represented by distinctive badges or appendages, as Peter with the keys, James the son of Zebedee (James the Greater) with a pilgrim's staff and a gourd bottle, John with a cup and a winged serpent flying out of it, Philip with a long staff shaped like a cross, Bartholomew with a knife, Thomas with a lance, Matthew with a hatchet, James the son of Alpheus (James the Less) with a fuller's pole, Lebbeas whose surname was Thaddeus (St. Jude) with a club, Simon the Canaanite with a saw, Matthias with a battle-axe, St. Paul with a sword. St. Andrew is represented in all pictures and sculptures with a cross.

I have thus enumerated a few of the famous paintings by the great masters in which St. Andrew is a prominent figure. In the collections of paintings, mosaics, engravings, sculpture, carvings and castings, which are extensively dispersed over Europe and constitute one of the greatest attractions of its leading cities, there are a large number in which he is represented grouped with other Saints, or isolated and alone with his cross. I have had the privilege of seeing most of these notable works of art to which I have referred.

In considering the life and character of St. Andrew, alike renowned in sacred and profane history, I have briefly recounted the prominent events of his Apostleship, the fortitude and fidelity which characterized his mission, and the patience and heroism exhibited at his martyrdom; the respect paid to his memory by the potentates of earth; the reverence of a nation whose Patron he became; the veneration of communities incorporated by his name; and the tributes of genius in symbolizing through the medium of form the qualities which distinguished him. He has been delineated on the canvas, sculptured in marble, wrought in mosaics, woven in tapestry, emblematized on coin, carved in wood, engraved on stone and cast in bronze. Temples of piety, houses of mercy, and institutions of learning, have been dedicated to his memory. Societies, religious and secular, perpetuate his name—a name which must ever be sacred in Christian annals; illustrious on the martyrs' scroll; conspicuous in the orders instituted by men; and inestimably dear to the Christian heart as an eminent exemplar of a divinely religious faith. His name, "Written in the Book of Life," shines "as the brightness of the firnament," and will endure the stars forever and ever."

When I commenced to note my thoughts and examine my collections relating to the illustrious Saint whose name we all revere, I had no purpose of writing so extended a sketch. It has been collated from scriptural and historical sources, as well as traditional and legendary records. I nave not attempted to question the authenticity of any of the statements I have consulted as to the history of St. Andrew, or to discredit in the least whatever has been ascribed to him, but have given such scriptural and historical facts, as well as traditional reports, as I have been able to gather from the materials within my reach relating to him; and I shall now leave it to you to discriminate between what is known to be historical truth and what may be mere fiction. Having been deeply