NOTES
[Frontispiece.]
"Last Judgment" is an early work by Fra Angelico (1387-1455), who was a member of the Dominican order, and who spent his monastic leisure in painting visionary scenes. The picture represents Christ on the judgment seat, encircled by cherubim and seraphim, with saints and apostles seated on either side. Below are open graves. On His left devils are driving sinners into hideous torments; on His right angels are conducting the blessed across the flowery meadows of the earthly paradise toward the gleaming gates of the celestial city. The detail given here is sometimes called "The Dance of the Angels." The robes of the angelic beings who go singing and caroling are in the colors characteristic of Fra Angelico,—azure, green, and rose, irradiated by countless golden stars.
PROEM
Of Man's Body. Of Man's Soul
This introductory bit of mediæval lore is translated from "Cursor Mundi" (Over-runner of the World), a long poem, probably written in the early fourteenth century. The author says plainly at the beginning of his work that he is vying with romances and other secular tales which draw the thoughts of men away from spiritual matters. The poem, written in 24,000 verses in the short couplet, tells the history of the seven ages of the world, from the Creation to Doomsday, covering very much the same matter as that presented in the miracle plays. The "Cursor Mundi" has been edited by R. Morris for the Early English Text Society. Lines 511-584 are here translated.