3. A third example is a picture by Moretto, of extraordinary beauty, in the Frankfort Museum. The Virgin sits on a lofty throne, to which there is an ascent of several steps; the Child stands on her right: she presses him to her with maternal tenderness, and his arms are round her neck. At the foot of the throne stand St. Ambrose, with his scourge, and St. Augustine; St. Gregory, wearing the papal tiara, and without a beard, is seated on a step of the throne, holding an open book; and St. Jerome, kneeling on one knee, points to a passage in it; he wears the cardinal's dress complete. This picture is worthy of Titian in the richness of the effect, with a more sober grandeur in the color. The Virgin is too much like a portrait; this is the only fault.1

In the Chapel of Niccolò V., in the Vatican, Angelico has painted eight Doctors of the Church, single majestic figures, standing under Gothic canopies. According to the names now to be seen inscribed on the pedestals beneath, these figures represent St. Jerome,2 St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Athanasius, St. Leo, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Thomas Aquinas. St. John Chrysostom and St. Athanasius represent the Greek doctors. St. Leo, who saved Rome from Attila, is with peculiar propriety placed in the Vatican; and St. Thomas Aquinas, the angelic doctor, naturally finds a place in a chapel painted by a Dominican for a pope who particularly favored the Dominicans, Nicholas V.

The Four Fathers communing on the mystery of the Trinity, or the Immaculate Conception, were favorite subjects in the beginning of the seventeenth century, when church pictures, instead of being religious and devotional, became more and more theological. There is an admirable picture of this subject by Dosso Dossi (Dresden Gal.). Above is seen the Mes

1 We missed the opportunity, now never more to be recalled, of obtaining this admirable picture when it was sold out of the Fesch collection.

2 I believe the figure called St. Bonaventura to represent St. Jerome, because, in accordance with the usual scheme of ecclesiastical decoration, the greatest of the Four Latin Fathers would take the first place, and the cardinal's hat and a long flowing beard are his proper attribute; whereas, there is no example of a St. Bonaventura with a beard, or wearing the monastic habit, without the Franciscan cord. The Arundel Society have engraved this fine figure under the name of St. Bonaventura.

siah, as Creator, in a glory; he lays His hand on the head of the Virgin, who kneels in deep humility before Him; St. Gregory sits in profound thought, a pen in one hand, a tablet in the other; St. Ambrose and St. Augustine are similarly engaged; St. Jerome, to whom alone the celestial vision appears to be visible, is looking up with awe and wonder. Guido, in a celebrated picture (Hermitage, St. Petersburg), has represented the Doctors of the Church communing on the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. The figures are admirable for thoughtful depth of character in the expression, and for the noble arrangement of the draperies; above is seen the Virgin, floating amid clouds, in snow-white drapery, and sustained by angels; visible, however, to St. Jerome and St. Ambrose only.

Rubens has treated the Fathers several times; the colossal picture in the Grosvenor Gallery [London] is well known, where they appear before us as moving along in a grand procession; St. Jerome comes last (he should be first; but on these points Rubens was not particular): he seems in deep contemplation, enveloped in the rich scarlet robes of a cardinal of the seventeenth century, and turning the leaves of his great book. In another picture we have the Four Fathers seated, discussing the mystery of the Eucharist; St. Jerome points to a passage in the Scriptures; St. Gregory is turning the page; they appear to be engaged in argument; the other two are listening earnestly. There is another picture by Rubens in which the usual attributes of the Fathers are borne aloft by angels, while they sit communing below.

These examples will suffice to give a general idea of the manner in which the four great Doctors of the Western Church are grouped in devotional pictures. We will now consider them separately, each according to his individual character and history.

ST. JEROME

Lat. Sanctus Hieronymus. Ital. San Geronimo or Girolamo. Fr. St. Jérome, Hiérome, or Géroisme. Ger. Der Heilige HieroniPatron of scholars and students, and more particularly of students in theology. (Sept. 30, a. d. 420.)

mus.

Of the four Latin Doctors, St. Jerome, as a subject of painting, is by far the most popular. The reasons for this are not merely the exceedingly interesting and striking character of the man, and the picturesque incidents of his life, but also his great importance and dignity as founder of Monachism in the West, and as author of the universally received translation of the Old and New Testament into the Latin language (called " The Vulgate "). There is scarcely a collection of pictures in which we do not find a St. Jerome, either doing penance in the desert, or writing his famous translation, or meditating on the mystery of the Incarnation.

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Jerome was born about A. D. 342, at Stridonium, in Dalmatia. His father, Eusebius, was rich; and as he showed the happiest disposition for learning, he was sent to Rome to finish his studies. There, through his own passions, and the evil example of his companions, he fell into temptation, and for a time abandoned himself to worldly pleasures. But the love of virtue, as well as the love of learning, was still strong within him he took up the profession of law, and became celebrated for his eloquence in pleading before the tribunals. When more than thirty, he travelled into Gaul, and visited the schools of learning there. It was about this time that he was baptized, and vowed himself to perpetual celibacy. In 373, he travelled into the East, to animate his piety by dwelling for a time among the scenes hallowed by the presence of the Saviour; and, on his way thither, he visited some of the famous Oriental hermits and ascetics, of whom he has given. us such a graphic account, and whose example inspired him with a passion for solitude and a monastic life. Shortly after his arrival in Syria, he retired to a desert in Chalcis, on the confines of Arabia, and there he spent four years in study and seclusion, supporting himself by the labor of his hands. He has left us a most vivid picture of his life of penance in the