How are we to account for such facts as these? Is there anything in the occupation of the shoemaker which is peculiarly favorable to habits of thought and study? It would seem to be so; and yet it would be difficult to show what it is that gives him an advantage over all other workmen. The secret may lie in the fact that he sits to his work, and, as a rule, sits alone; that his occupation stimulates his mind without wholly occupying and absorbing its powers; that it leaves him free to break off, if he will, at intervals, and glance at the book or make notes on the paper which lies beside him. Such facts as these have been suggested, and not without reason, as helping us to account for the reputation which the sons of Crispin enjoy as an uncommonly clever class of men.
[ANCIENT EXAMPLES IN ASIA AND AFRICA]
THE COBBLER AND THE ARTIST APELLES.
“Let the cobbler stick to his last.”
The reputation of the shoemaker class is not confined to our own country or to modern times. It is pretty much the same in all countries, and reaches back to very ancient times. The proverb, “Ne Sutor ultra crepidam“—”Let the cobbler stick to his last”—is one of the oldest in existence. Few proverbs are more universally and frequently quoted. It is based on a story which comes down to us from the times of Alexander the Great. Even if the story, as it is told in our Grecian histories, be not authentic, it serves to show that even in times preceding the Christian era cobblers were regarded as a shrewd and observant set of men. But there is no reason that we know of to doubt the story, which is well worth repeating. It is told of Apelles, one of the most celebrated of the old Greek painters, who flourished about 300 b.c. He was the friend of Alexander, and the only artist whom the great warrior would allow to paint his portrait. Apelles, we are told, was not ashamed to learn from the humblest critics. As Lord Bacon says, he did not object to “light his torch at any man’s candle.” For this reason, knowing that a good deal may sometimes be learned from the observations of passers-by, he was in the habit of placing his pictures before they were quite finished outside his house; and then, crouching down behind them, he listened to the remarks of spectators. On one occasion a cobbler noticed a fault in the painting of a shoe, and remarking upon it to a person standing by, passed on. As soon as the man was out of sight Apelles came from his hiding-place, examined the painting, found that the cobbler’s criticism was just, and at once corrected the error. Once more the picture was exposed, while the artist lay behind it to hear what further might be said. The cobbler came by again, and soon discovered that the fault he had pointed out had been remedied; and, emboldened by the success of his criticism, began to express his opinion pretty freely about the painting of the leg! This was too much for the patience of the artist, who rushed from his hiding-place, and told the cobbler to stick to his shoes. Hence the proverb, which for more than two thousand years[73] has expressed the common feeling, that critics would do well not to venture beyond their legitimate province.
TWO SHOEMAKER-BISHOPS—ANNIANUS OF ALEXANDRIA, AND ALEXANDER OF COMANA.
If the shoemaker has found a place in classic history, it must not be forgotten that he has a place in ecclesiastical history also. In two instances a shoemaker is said to have been taken direct from the stall and elevated to the episcopal chair. No doubt many shoemakers have been endowed with sufficient piety and learning for this sacred and dignified office, and probably not a few have deemed themselves fit, whether they were so or not, to discharge its high functions; but the instances here given are, we believe, quite unique. The first is that of Anianus or Annianus (a.d. 62-86), who is said to have been appointed by St. Mark to assist him in the government of the Church at Alexandria. On the outbreak of persecution under Nero, Mark fled from the city; and, as Eusebius says, “Nero was now in his eighth year, when Annianus succeeded the Apostle and Evangelist Mark in the administration of the Church at Alexandria.“ The historian adds, ”He (Annianus) was a man distinguished for piety, and admirable in every respect.”[74] He died in the fourth year of Domitian, 86 a.d. He was the first Bishop of Alexandria, and filled the office twenty-two years.[75] To these simple statements of the historian are added the stories which found a ready acceptance in later times. To the fact that the worthy Alexandrian was a shoemaker tradition added the account of the miracle wrought upon him by St. Mark. One account tells us that the Evangelist, on passing along the street, burst his shoe and turned in to get it repaired, and so became acquainted with Annianus. Another version of the story declares that the cobbler, having hurt his hand with an awl, uttered a not very pious exclamation, which Mark overheard as he passed by, and going in to inquire the cause, took the opportunity not only to heal the wound, but to speak to the impatient workman of the true and living God whose name he had taken in vain. Annianus is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology with St. Mark on the 25th April.[76]