[17] These sculptures are surpassingly beautiful. The Supper at Emmaus has a particularly dramatic quality. Note the amazement of the two Disciples as they recognize the Saviour after his crucifixion, their attitudes and facial expressions, and the vein standing out on the neck of the one in the foreground.
[18] The use of the grape-vine to symbolize Christ dates from the very beginning of the Christian era. A silver chalice found in Antioch by Arabs in 1910 and believed to date from the 1st century, is covered with a grape-vine of twelve branches in the midst of which are figures of Christ and the writers of the Gospels and Epistles (See N. Y. Evening Sun of Jan. 3, 1920, and N. Y. Times of May 14, 1922.)
[19] These symbols, supposed to be derived from the Revelation of St. John (iv. 7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (i. 10), are variously interpreted. One explanation of each follows: The man or cherub is given to St. Matthew because he dwells on the human side of Christ; the lion to St. Mark because he is called the historian of the resurrection, and ancient naturalists believed that the lion was born inanimate and came to life three days after birth; the ox, the emblem of sacrifice, to St. Luke because he dwells on the priesthood of Christ; and the eagle to St. John because he soared in the spirit to heaven and saw God.
[20] These Romanesque features are part of the original design which was subsequently abandoned. There is a plan for changing them to Gothic.
[21] There is much ambiguity in the use by architects of terms to indicate the sub-divisions of the eastern limb of a cathedral which is called comprehensively the Choir. The designations here used—the Choir proper, the Presbytery, and the Sanctuary—are sufficient for present purposes without confusing the reader with conflicting definitions.
[22] For details of intentional departures from absolute levels, and from regularity of height and spacing of arches, see “Temperamental Architecture” in “The New York Architect” for April, 1911.
[23] See Abbott’s “History of King Alfred” for legends concerning the cakes. One is, that Alfred, when a fugitive from the Danes, was hiding one day in a peasant’s cottage, and while sitting by the fire-place mending his bow, he was requested by the house-wife to watch her cakes which were baking. Absorbed in thoughts of his kingdom, he forgot the cakes, and for his neglect was roundly scolded by the woman who little realized his character.
[24] St. Francis, founder of the Franciscan Order, literally interpreted the text “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark xvi. 15) and a famous fresco by Giotto in the church of San Francesco, at Assisi, represents him preaching to the birds.
[25] “Cathedral Choirs ... have for ages been divided into two portions facing each other and respectively named Decani, or the side of the Dean, ... and Cantoris, or the side of the Cantor” or Precentor.—Hunt’s Concise History of Music.
[26] Brother of Horatio Potter and father of Henry Codman Potter, Bishops of New York.