St. Martha.

96 The Assumption of the Magdalene (Albert Dürer)

7. ‘Mary Magdalene borne by angels above the summit of Mount Pilon,’ called also ‘The Assumption of the Magdalene,’ is a charming subject when treated in the right spirit. Unfortunately, we are oftener reminded of a Pandora, sustained by a group of Cupids, or a Venus rising out of the sea, than of the ecstatic trance of the reconciled penitent. It was very early a popular theme. In the treatment we find little variety. She is seen carried upwards very slightly draped, and often with no other veil than her redundant hair, flowing over her whole person. She is in the arms of four, five, or six angels. Sometimes one of the angels bears the alabaster box of ointment; far below is a wild mountainous landscape, with a hermit looking up at the vision, as it is related in the legend. The illustration is from a fine woodcut of Albert Dürer (96).

In a hymn to the Magdalene, by an old Provençal poet (Balthazar de la Burle) there is a passage describing her ascent in the arms of angels, which, from its vivid graphic naïveté, is worthy of being placed under this print of Albert Dürer:—

Ravengat lou jour los anges la portavanBen plus hault que lou roc.Jamais per mauvais temps que fessa ne freddura,Autre abit non avia que la sien cabellura,Que como un mantel d’or tant eram bels e blondsLa couvria de la testa fin al bas des talons.

Ravengat lou jour los anges la portavan

Ben plus hault que lou roc.

Jamais per mauvais temps que fessa ne freddura,

Autre abit non avia que la sien cabellura,

Que como un mantel d’or tant eram bels e blonds

La couvria de la testa fin al bas des talons.

The fresco by Giulio Romano, in which she is reclining amid clouds, and sustained by six angels, while her head is raised and her arms extended with the most ecstatic expression, was cut from the walls of a chapel in the Trinità di Monte, at Rome, and is now in our National Gallery.

One of the finest pictures ever painted by Ribera is the Assumption of the Magdalene in the Louvre, both for beauty of expression and colour. She is here draped, and her drapery well managed. The Spanish painters never fell into the mistake of the Italians; they give us no Magdalenes which recall the idea of a Venus Meretrix. The rules of the Inquisition were here absolute, and held the painters inwholesome check, rendering such irreligious innovations inadmissible and unknown. In the Turin Gallery there is an Assumption of the Magdalene by Dennis Calvert, admirably painted, in which she is carried up by four Apollo-like angels, who, with their outstretched arms, form a sort of throne on which she is seated: she is herself most lovely, draped in the thin undress of a Venus; and the whole composition, at first view, brought to my fancy the idea of a Venus rising from the sea, throned in her shell and sustained by nymphs and cupids.

In general, the early painters, Albert Dürer, Vivarini, Lorenzo di Credi, Benedetto Montagna, represent her in an upright position, with hands folded in prayer, or crossed over her bosom, and thus soaring upwards, without effort of will or apparent consciousness; while the painters of the seventeenth century (with whom this was a favourite subject) strained their imagination to render the form and attitude voluptuously graceful, and to vary the action of the attendant angels, until, in one or two instances, the representation became at once absurdly prosaic and offensively theatrical. F. Zucchero, Cambiasi, Lanfranco, Carlo Maratti, have all given us versions of this subject in a florid, mannered style.

Over the high altar of the Madeleine, at Paris, is the same subject in a marble group, by Marochetti, rather above life-size. Two angels bear her up, while on each side an archangel kneels in adoration.

8. The Last Communion of the Magdalene is represented in two different ways, according to the two different versions of the story: in the first, she expires in her cave, and angels administer the last sacraments; one holds a taper, another presents the cup, a third the wafer. This has been painted by Domenichino. In the other version, she receives the sacrament from the hand of St. Maximin, who wears the episcopal robes, and the Magdalene kneels before him, half-naked, emaciated, and sustained by angels: the scene is the porch of a church.

9. The Magdalene dying in the Wilderness, extended on the bare earth, and pressing the crucifix to her bosom, is a frequent subject in the seventeenth century. One of the finest examples is the picture of Rustichino in the Florence Gallery. The well-known ‘Dying Magdalene’ of Canova has the same merits and defects as his Penitent Magdalene.

I saw a picture at Bologna by Tiarini, of which the conception appeared to me very striking and poetical. The Virgin, ‘La Madre Addolorata,’ is seated, and holds in her hand the crown of thorns, which she contemplates with a mournful expression; at a little distance kneels Mary Magdalene with long dishevelled hair, in all the abandonment of grief. St. John stands behind, with his hands clasped, and his eyes raised to heaven.

When the Magdalene is introduced into pictures of the ‘Incredulity of Thomas,’ it is in allusion to a famous parallel in one of the Fathers, in which it is insisted, ‘that the faith of Mary Magdalene, and the doubts of Thomas, were equally serviceable to the cause of Christ.’

Among the many miracles imputed to the Magdalene, one only has become popular as a subject of Art. Besides being extremely naïve and poetical, it is extremely curious as illustrating the manners of the time. It was probably fabricated in the fourteenth century, and intended as a kind of parable, to show that those who trusted in Mary Magdalene, and invoked her aid, might in all cases reckon upon her powerful intercession. It is thus related:—

‘Soon after Mary Magdalene landed in Provence, a certain prince of that country arrived in the city of Marseilles with his wife, for the purpose of sacrificing to the gods; but they were dissuaded from doing so by the preaching of Mary Magdalene: and the prince one day said to the saint, “We greatly desire to have a son. Canst thou obtain for us that grace from the God whom thou preachest?” And the Magdalene replied, “If thy prayer be granted, wilt thou then believe?” And he answered, “Yes, I will believe.” But shortly afterwards, as he still doubted, he resolved to sail to Jerusalem to visit St. Peter, and to find out whether his preaching agreed with that of Mary Magdalene. His wife resolved to accompany him: but the husband said, “How shall that be possible, seeing that thou art with child, and the dangers of the sea are very great?” But she insisted, and, throwing herself at his feet, she obtained her desire. Then, having laden a vessel with all that was necessary, they set sail; and when a day and a night were come and gone, there arose a terrible storm. The poor woman was seized prematurely with the pains of childbirth; in the midst of the tempest shebrought forth her first-born son, and then died. The miserable father, seeing his wife dead, and his child deprived of its natural solace, and crying for food, wrung his hands in despair, and knew not what to do. And the sailors said, “Let us throw this dead body into the sea, for as long as it remains on board the tempest will not abate.” But the prince, by his entreaties, and by giving them money, restrained them for a while. Just then, for so it pleased God, they arrived at a rocky island, and the prince laid the body of his wife on the shore, and, taking the infant in his arms, he wept greatly, and said, “O Mary Magdalene! to my grief and sorrow didst thou come to Marseilles! Why didst thou ask thy God to give me a son only that I might lose both son and wife together? O Mary Magdalene! have pity on my grief, and, if thy prayers may avail, save at least the life of my child!” Then he laid down the infant on the bosom of the mother, and covered them both with his cloak, and went on his way, weeping. And when the prince and his attendants had arrived at Jerusalem, St. Peter showed him all the places where our Saviour had performed his miracles, and the hill on which he had been crucified, and the spot from whence he had ascended into heaven. Having been instructed in the faith by St. Peter, at the end of two years the prince embarked to return to his own country, and passing near to the island in which he had left his wife, he landed in order to weep upon her grave.

‘Now, wonderful to relate!—his infant child had been preserved alive by the prayers of the blessed Mary Magdalene; and he was accustomed to run about on the sands of the sea-shore, to gather up pebbles and shells; and when the child, who had never beheld a man, perceived the strangers, he was afraid, and ran and hid himself under the cloak which covered his dead mother; and the father, and all who were with him, were filled with astonishment; but their surprise was still greater when the woman opened her eyes, and stretched out her arms to her husband. Then they offered up thanks, and all returned together to Marseilles, where they fell at the feet of Mary Magdalene, and received baptism. From that time forth, all the people of Marseilles and the surrounding country became Christians.’

The picturesque capabilities of this extravagant but beautiful legend will immediately suggest themselves to the fancy;—the wild sea-shore—the lovely naked infant wandering on the beach—the mother, slumbering the sleep of death, covered with the mysterious drapery—the arrival of the mariners—what opportunity for scenery and grouping, colour and expression! It was popular in the Giotto school, which arose and flourished just about the period when the enthusiasm for Mary Magdalene was at its height; but later painters have avoided it, or, rather, it was not sufficiently accredited for a Church legend; and I have met with no example later than the end of the fourteenth century.

The old fresco of Taddeo Gaddi in the S. Croce at Florence will give some idea of the manner in which the subject was usually treated. In the foreground is a space representing an island; water flowing round it, the water being indicated by many strange fishes. On the island a woman lies extended with her hands crossed upon her bosom; an infant lifts up the mantle, and seems to show her to a man bending over her; the father on his knees, with hands joined, looks devoutly up to heaven; four others stand behind expressing astonishment or fixed attention. In the distance is a ship, in which sits a man with a long white beard, in red drapery; beside him another in dark drapery: beyond is a view of a port with a lighthouse, intended, I presume, for Marseilles. The story is here told in a sort of Chinese manner as regards the drawing, composition, and perspective; but the figures and heads are expressive and significant.

In the Chapel of the Magdalene at Assisi, the same subject is given with some variation. The bark containing the pilgrims is guided by an angel, and the infant is seated by the head of the mother, as if watching her.

The life of Mary Magdalene in a series of subjects, mingling the scriptural and legendary incidents, may often be found in the old French and Italian churches, more especially in the chapels dedicated to her: and I should think that among the remains of ancient painting now in course of discovery in our own sacred edifices they cannot fail to occur.[312]In the mural frescoes, in the altar-pieces, the stained glass, and the sculpture of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, such a seriesperpetually presents itself; and, well or ill executed, will in general be found to comprise the following scenes:—

1. Her conversion at the feet of the Saviour. 2. Christ entertained in the house of Martha: Mary sits at his feet to hear his words. 3. The raising of Lazarus. 4. Mary Magdalene and her companions embark in a vessel without sails, oars, or rudder. 6. Steered by an angel, they land at Marseilles. 6. Mary Magdalene preaches to the people. 7. The miracle of the mother and child. 8. The penance of the Magdalene in a desert cave. 9. She is carried up in the arms of angels. 10. She receives the sacraments from the hands of an angel or from St. Maximin. 11. She dies, and angels bear her spirit to heaven.[313]

The subjects vary of course in number and in treatment, but, with some attention to the foregoing legend, they will easily be understood and discriminated. Such a series was painted by Giotto in the Chapel of the Bargello at Florence (where the portrait of Dante was lately discovered), but they are nearly obliterated; the miracle of the mother and child is, however, to be distinguished on the left near the entrance. The treatment of the whole has been imitated by Taddeo Gaddi in the Rinuccini Chapel at Florence, and by Giovanni da Milano and Giottino in the Chapel of the Magdalene at Assisi; on the windows of the Cathedrals of Chartres and Bourges; and in a series of bas-reliefs round theporch of the Certosa of Pavia, executed in the classical style of the sixteenth century.

On reviewing generally the infinite variety which has been given to these favourite subjects, the life and penance of the Magdalene, I must end where I began; in how few instances has the result been satisfactory to mind or heart, or soul or sense! Many have well represented the particular situation, the appropriate sentiment, the sorrow, the hope, the devotion: but who has given us thecharacter? A noble creature, with strong sympathies, and a strong will, with powerful faculties of every kind, working for good or evil such a woman Mary Magdalene must have been, even in her humiliation; and the feeble, girlish, commonplace, and even vulgar women who appear to have been usually selected as models by the artists, turned into Magdalenes by throwing up their eyes and letting down their hair, ill represent the enthusiastic convert or the majestic patroness.

I must not quit the subject of the Magdalene without some allusion to those wild legends which suppose a tender attachment (but of course wholly pure and Platonic) to have existed between her and St. John the Evangelist.[314]In the enthusiasm which Mary Magdalene excited in the thirteenth century, no supposition that tended to exalt her was deemed too extravagant: some of her panegyrists go so far as to insist that the marriage at Cana, which our Saviour and his mother honoured by their presence, was the marriage of St. John with the Magdalene; and that Christ repaired to the wedding-feast on purpose to prevent the accomplishment of the marriage, having destined both to a state of greater perfection. This fable was never accepted by the Church; and among the works of art consecrated to religious purposes I have never met with any which placed St. John and the Magdalene in particularrelation to each other, except when they are seen together at the foot of the cross, or lamenting with the Virgin over the body of the Saviour: but such was the popularity of these extraordinary legends towards the end of the thirteenth and in the beginning of the fourteenth century, that I think it possible such may exist, and, for want of this key, may appear hopelessly enigmatical.

Martha presents her sister Mary to our Lord.

In a series of eight subjects which exhibit the life of St. John prefixed to a copy of the Revelation,[315]there is one which I think admits of this interpretation. The scene is the interior of a splendid building sustained by pillars. St. John is baptizing a beautiful woman, who is sitting in a tub; she has long golden hair. On the outside of the building seven men are endeavouring to see what is going forward: one peeps through the key-hole; one has thrown himself flat on the ground, and has his eye to an aperture; a third, mounted on the shoulders of another, is trying to look in at a window; a fifth, who cannot get near enough, tears his hair in an agony of impatience; and another is bawling into the ear of a deaf and blind comrade a description of what he has seen. The execution is French, of the fourteenth century; the taste, it will be said, is alsoFrench; the figures are drawn with a pen and slightly tinted: the design is incorrect; but the vivacity of gesture and expression, though verging on caricature, is so true, and so comically dramatic, and the whole composition so absurd, that it is impossible to look at it without a smile.

Ital.Santa Marta, Vergine, Albergatrice di Cristo.Fr.Sainte Marthe, la Travailleuse. Patroness of cooks and housewives. (June 29,A.D.84.)

Martha has shared in the veneration paid to her sister. The important part assigned to her in the history of Mary has already been adverted to; she is always represented as the instrument through whom Mary was converted, the one who led her first to the feet of the Saviour. ‘Which thing,’ says the story, should not be accounted as the leastof her merits, seeing that Martha was a chaste and prudent virgin, and the other publicly contemned for her evil life; notwithstanding which, Martha did not despise her, nor reject her as a sister, but wept for her shame and admonished her gently and with persuasive words; and reminded her of her noble birth, to which she was a disgrace, and that Lazarus, their brother, being a soldier, would certainly get into trouble on her account. So she prevailed, and conducted her sister to the presence of Christ, and afterwards, as it is well known, she lodged and entertained the Saviour in her own house.‘[316]

According to the Provençal legend, while Mary Magdalene converted the people of Marseilles, Martha preached to the people of Aix and its vicinity. In those days the country was ravaged by a fearful dragon, called theTarasque, which during the day lay concealed in the river Rhone. Martha overcame this monster by sprinkling him with holy water, and having bound him with her girdle (or, as others say, her garter), the people speedily put an end to him. The scene of this legend is now the city ofTarascon, where there is, or was, a magnificent church, dedicated to St. Martha, and richly endowed by Louis XI.

The same legends assure us that St. Martha was the first who founded a monastery for women; the first, after the blessed Mother of Christ, who vowed her virginity to God; and that when she had passed many years in prayer and good works, feeling that her end was near, she desired to be carried to a spot where she could see the glorious sun in heaven, and that they should read to her the history of the passion of Christ; and when they came to the words, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,’ she died.

As Mary Magdalene is the patroness of repentant frailty, so Martha is the especial patroness of female discretion and good housekeeping. In this character, she is often represented with a skimmer or ladle in her hand, or a large bunch of keys is attached to her girdle. For example, in a beautiful old German altar-piece attributed to Albert Dürer,[317]she is standing in a magnificent dress, a jewelled turban, and holding a well-known implement of cookery in her hand. In a missal of Henry VIII.,[318]she is represented with the same utensil, and hername is inscribed beneath. In general, however, her dress is not rich but homely, and her usual attributes as patron saint are the pot of holy water, the asperge in her hand, and a dragon bound at her feet. In the chapels dedicated to the Magdalene, she finds her appropriate place as pendant to her sister, generally distinguished by her close coif and by being draped in blue or dark brown or grey; while the Magdalene is usually habited in red. When attended by her dragon, St. Martha is sometimes confounded with St. Margaret, who is also accompanied by a dragon: but it must be remembered that St. Margaret bears a crucifix or palm, and St. Martha the pot of holy water; and in general the early painters have been careful to distinguish these attributes.

St. Martha, besides being a model of female discretion, sobriety, and chastity, and the patroness of good housewives, was, according to the old legends, the same woman who was healed by Christ, and who in gratitude erected to his honour a bronze statue, which statue is said to have existed in the time of Eusebius, and to have been thrown down by Julian the Apostate.[319]

When Martha and Mary stand together as patronesses, one represents theactive, the other thecontemplative, Christian life.

Martha is generally introduced among the holy women who attend the crucifixion and entombment of our Lord. In a most beautiful Entombment by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Martha kisses the hand of the Saviour, while Mary Magdalene is seen behind with outspread arms: Lazarus and Maximin stand at the head of the Saviour.

Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, is revered as the first bishop and patron saint of Marseilles, and is generally represented with the mitre and stole. There are at least fifty saints who wear the same attire; but when a figure in episcopal robes is introduced into the same picture, or the same series, with Martha and Mary, it may be presumed,if not otherwise distinguished, to be St. Lazarus: sometimes, but rarely, the introduction of a bier, or his resurrection, in the background, serves to fix the identity. Grouped with these three saints, we occasionally find St. Marcella (or Martilla), who accompanied them from the East, but who is not distinguished by any attribute; nor is anything particular related of her, except that she wrote the life of Martha, and preached the Gospel in Sclavonia.

There are beautiful full-length figures of Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Marcella, in the Brera at Milan, painted by one of the Luini school, and treated in a very classical and noble style; draped, and standing in niches to represent statues. At Munich are the separate figures of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, by Grünewald: Lazarus is seen standing by his bier; Mary, in the rich costume of a German lady of rank, presents her vase; and Martha is habited like a Germanhausfrau, with her dragon at her feet. They are much larger than life, admirably painted, and full of character, though somewhat grotesque in treatment.

Over the altar of the church ‘La Major’ at Marseilles, stands Lazarus as bishop; Mary on the right, and Martha on the left: underneath these three statues runs a series of bas-reliefs containing the history of Lazarus. 1. He is recalled to life. 2. Seated on the edge of his tomb, he addresses the spectators. 3. He entertains Christ. 4. The arrival at Marseilles. 5. He preaches to the people. 6. He is consecrated bishop. 7. He suffers martyrdom.

In a tabernacle or triptica by Nicolò Frumenti (A.D.1461),[320]the central compartment represents the raising of Lazarus, who has the truest and most horrid expression of death and dawning life I ever beheld. On the volet to the right is the supper in the house of Levi, and the Magdalene anointing the feet of the Saviour; on the left volet, Martha meets him on his arrival at Bethany: ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’

In the chapel of Mary Magdalene at Assisi, we find, besides the history of her life, full-length figures of Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Maximin. Mary, a beautiful dignified figure, as usual in rich reddrapery, stands to the right of the altar, holding out her hand to a kneeling Franciscan: on the left Martha stands in grey drapery with a close hood: Lazarus and Maximin as bishops.

This will give an idea of the manner in which these personages are either grouped together or placed in connection with each other.

Ital.Santa Maria Egiziaca Penitente.Fr.Sainte Marie l’Égyptienne, La Gipesienne, La Jussienne. (April 2,A.D.433.)

I place the story of St. Mary of Egypt here, for though she had no real connection with the Magdalene, in works of art they are perpetually associated asles bienheureuses pécheresses, and in their personal and pictorial attributes not unfrequently confounded. The legend of MaryEgyptiacais long anterior to that of Mary Magdalene. It was current in a written form so early as the sixth century, being then received as a true history; but it appears to have been originally one of those instructive parables or religious romances which, in the early ages of the Church, were composed and circulated for the edification of the pious. In considering the manners of that time, we may easily believe that it may have had some foundation in fact. That a female anchoret of the name of Mary lived and died in a desert of Palestine near the river Jordan—that she there bewailed her sins in solitude for a long course of years, and was accidentally discovered—is a very ancient tradition, supported by contemporary evidence. The picturesque, miraculous, and romantic incidents with which the story has been adorned, appear to have been added to enhance the interest; and, in its present form, the legend is attributed to St. Jerome.

‘Towards the year of our Lord 365, there dwelt in Alexandria a woman whose name was Mary, and who in the infamy of her life far exceeded Mary Magdalene. After passing seventeen years in every species of vice, it happened that one day, while roving along the sea-shore,she beheld a ship ready to sail, and a large company preparing to embark. She inquired whither they were going? They replied that they were going up to Jerusalem, to celebrate the feast of the true cross. She was seized with a sudden desire to accompany them; but having no money, she paid the price of her passage by selling herself to the sailors and pilgrims, whom she allured to sin by every means in her power. On their arrival at Jerusalem, she joined the crowds of worshippers who had assembled to enter the church; but all her attempts to pass the threshold were in vain; whenever she thought to enter the porch, a supernatural power drove her back in shame, in terror, in despair. Struck by the remembrance of her sins, and filled with repentance, she humbled herself and prayed for help; the interdiction was removed, and she entered the church of God, crawling on her knees. Thenceforward she renounced her wicked and shameful life, and, buying at a baker’s three small loaves, she wandered forth into solitude, and never stopped or reposed till she had penetrated into the deserts beyond the Jordan, where she remained in severest penance, living on roots and fruits, and drinking water only; her garments dropped away in rags piecemeal, leaving her unclothed; and she prayed fervently not to be left thus exposed: suddenly her hair grew so long as to form a covering for her whole person (or, according to another version, an angel brought her a garment, from heaven). Thus she dwelt in the wilderness, in prayer and penance, supported only by her three small loaves, which, like the widow’s meal, failed her not, until, after the lapse of forty-seven years, she was discovered by a priest named Zosimus. Of him she requested silence, and that he would return at the end of a year, and bring with him the elements of the holy sacrament, that she might confess and communicate, before she was released from earth. And Zosimus obeyed her, and returned after a year; but not being able to pass the Jordan, the penitent, supernaturally assisted, passed over the water to him; and, having received the sacrament with tears, she desired the priest to leave her once more to her solitude, and to return in a year from that time. And when he returned he found her dead, her hands crossed on her bosom. And he wept greatly; and, looking round, he saw written in the sand these words:—“O Father Zosimus, bury the body of the poor sinner, Mary of Egypt! Giveearth to earth, and dust to dust, for Christ’s sake!” He endeavoured to obey this last command, but being full of years, and troubled and weak, his strength failed him, and a lion came out of the wood and aided him, digging with his paws till the grave was sufficiently large to receive the body of the saint, which being committed to the earth, the lion retired gently, and the old man returned home, praising God, who had shown mercy to the penitent.’

In single figures and devotional pictures, Mary of Egypt is portrayed as a meagre, wasted, aged woman, with long hair, and holding in her hand three small loaves. Sometimes she is united with Mary Magdalene, as joint emblems of female penitence; and not in painting only, but in poetry,—

Like redeemed Magdalene,Or that Egyptian penitent, whose tearsFretted the rock, and moisten’d round her caveThe thirsty desert.

Like redeemed Magdalene,

Or that Egyptian penitent, whose tears

Fretted the rock, and moisten’d round her cave

The thirsty desert.

Thus they stand together in a little rare print by Marc’ Antonio, the one distinguished by her vase, the other by her three loaves. Sometimes, when they stand together, Mary Magdalene is young, beautiful, richly dressed; and Mary of Egypt, a squalid, meagre, old woman, covered with rags: as in a rare and curious print by Israel von Mecken.[321]

Pictures from her life are not common. The earliest I have met with is the series painted on the walls of the Chapel of the Bargello, at Florence, above the life of Mary Magdalene: they had been whitewashed over. In seeking for the portrait of Dante, this whitewash has been in part removed; and it is only just possible for those acquainted with the legend to trace in several compartments the history of Mary of Egypt.

1. Detached subjects are sometimes met with. In the church of San Pietro-in-Pò, at Cremona, they preserve relics said to be those of Mary of Egypt: and over the altar there is a large picture by Malosso,representing the saint at the door of the Temple at Jerusalem, and repulsed by a miraculous power. She is richly dressed, with a broad-brimmed hat, and stands on the step, as one endeavouring to enter, while several persons look on,—some amazed, others mocking.

2. Mary of Egypt doing penance in the desert is easily confounded with the penitent Magdalene. Where there is no skull, no vase of ointment, no crucifix near her, where the penitent is aged, or at least not young and beautiful, with little or no drapery, and black or grey hair, the picture may be presumed to represent Mary of Egypt, and not the Magdalene, however like in situation and sentiment. There is a large fine picture of this subject at Alton Towers.

3. The first meeting of Mary and the hermit Zosimus has been painted by Ribera: in this picture her hair is grey and short, her skin dark and sunburnt, and she is clothed in rags.

4. In another picture by the same painter she is passing over the Jordan by the help of angels; she is seen floating in the air with her hands clasped, and Zosimus is kneeling by. This subject might easily be confounded with the Assumption of the Magdalene, but the sentiment ought to distinguish them; for, instead of the ecstatic trance of the Magdalene, we have merely a miraculous incident: the figure is but little raised above the waters, and the hermit is kneeling on the shore.[322]

5. St. Mary receives the last communion from the hands of Zosimus. I have known this subject to be confounded with the last communion of the Magdalene. The circumstances of the scene, as well as the character, should be attended to. Mary of Egypt receives the sacrament in the desert; a river is generally in the background: Zosimus is an aged monk. Where the Magdalene receives the sacrament from the hands of Maximin, the scene is a portico or chapel with rich architecture, and Maximin wears the habit of a bishop.

6. The death of Mary of Egypt. Zosimus is kneeling beside her, and the lion is licking her feet or digging her grave. The presence of the lion distinguishes this subject from the death of Mary Magdalene.

97 The Death of Mary of Egypt

St. Mary of Egypt was early a popular saint in France, and particularly venerated by the Parisians, till eclipsed by the increasing celebrity of the Magdalene. She was styled, familiarly, La Gipesienne (the Gipsy), softened by time into La Jussienne. The street in which stood a convent of reformed women, dedicated to her, is stillla Rue Jussienne.

We find her whole story in one of the richly painted windows of the cathedral of Chartres; and again in the ‘Vitraux de Bourges,’ where the inscription underneath is written ‘Segiptiaca.’

Among the best modern frescoes which I saw at Paris, was the decoration of a chapel in the church of St. Merry, dedicated to Ste. Marie l’Égyptienne: the religious sentiment and manner of middle-age Art are as usual imitated, but with a certain unexpected originality in theconception of some of the subjects which pleased me. 1. On the wall, to the right, she stands leaning on the pedestal of the statue of the Madonna in a meditative attitude, and having the dress and the dark complexion of an Egyptian dancing-girl; a crowd of people are seen behind entering the gates of the Temple, at which she alone has been repulsed. 2. She receives the communion from the hand of Zosimus, and is buried by a lion.

On the left-hand wall. 3. Her apotheosis. She is borne aloft by many angels, two of whom swing censers, and below is seen the empty grave watched by a lion. 4. Underneath is a group of hermits, to whom the aged Zosimus is relating the story of the penitence and death of St. Mary of Egypt.

I do not in general accept modern representations as authorities, nor quote them as examples; but this resuscitation of Mary of Egypt in a city where she was so long a favourite saint, appears to me a curious fact. Her real existence is doubted even by the writers of that Church which, for fourteen centuries, has celebrated her conversion and glorified her name. Yet the poetical, the moral significance of her story remains; and, as I have reason to know, can still impress the fancy, and, through the fancy, waken the conscience and touch the heart.

There were several other legends current in the early ages of Christianity, promulgated, it should seem, with the distinct purpose of calling the frail and shining woman to repentance. If these were not pure inventions, if the names of these beatified penitents retained in the offices of the Church must be taken as evidence that theydidexist, it is not less certain that the prototype in all these cases was the reclaimed woman of the Scriptures, and that it was the pitying charity of Christ which first taught men and angels to rejoice over the sinner that repenteth.

The legend ofMary, the niece of the hermit Abraham[323]must not be confounded with that of Mary of Egypt. The scene of this story isplaced in the deserts of Syria. The anchoret Abraham had a brother, who lived in the world and possessed great riches, and when he died, leaving an only daughter, she was brought to her uncle Abraham, apparently because of his great reputation for holiness, to be brought up as he should think fit. The ideas of this holy man, with regard to education, seem to have been those entertained by many wise and religious people since his time; but there was this difference, that he did not show her the steep and thorny way to heaven, and choose for himself ‘the primrose path of dalliance.’ Instead of applying to his charge a code of morality as distinct as possible from his own, he, more just, only brought up his niece in the same ascetic principles which he deemed necessary for the salvation of all men.

Mary, therefore, being brought to her uncle when she was only seven years old, he built a cell close to his own, in which he shut her up; and, through a little window, which opened between their cells, he taught her to say her prayers, to recite the Psalter, to sing hymns, and dedicated her to a life of holiness and solitude, praying continually that she might be delivered from the snares of the arch-enemy, and keeping her far, as he thought, from all possibility of temptation; while he daily instructed her to despise and hate all the pleasures and vanities of the world.

Thus Mary grew up in her cell till she was twenty years old: then it happened that a certain youth, who had turned hermit and dwelt in that desert, came to visit Abraham to receive his instructions; and he beheld through the window the face of the maiden as she prayed in her cell, and heard her voice as she sang the morning and the evening hymn; and he was inflamed with desire of her beauty, till his whole heart became as a furnace for the love of her; and forgetting his religious vocation, and moved thereto by the devil, he tempted Mary, and she fell. When she came to herself, her heart was troubled; she beat her breast and wept bitterly, thinking of what she had been, what she had now become; and she despaired, and said in her heart, ‘For me there is no hope, no return; shame is my portion evermore!’ So she fled, not daring to meet the face of her uncle, and went to a distant place, and lived a life of sin and shame for two years.

Now, on the same night that she fled from her cell, Abraham had a dream; and he saw in his dream a monstrous dragon, who came to his cell, and finding there a beautiful white dove, devoured it, and returned to his den. When the hermit awoke from his dream he was perplexed, and knew not what it might portend; but again he dreamt, and he saw the same dragon, and he put his foot on its head, and crushed it, and took from its maw the beautiful dove, and put it in his bosom, and it came to life again, and spread its wings and flew towards heaven.

Then the old man knew that this must relate to his niece Mary; so he took up his staff, and went forth through the world seeking her everywhere. At length he found her, and seeing her overpowered with shame and despair, he exhorted her to take courage, and comforted her, and promised to take her sin and her penance on himself. She wept and embraced his knees, and said, ‘O my father! if thou thinkest there is hope for me, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest, and kiss thy footsteps which lead me out of this gulf of sin and death!’ So he prayed with her, and reminded her that God did not desire the death of a sinner, but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live; and she was comforted. And the next morning Abraham rose up and took his niece by the hand, leaving behind them her gay attire and jewels and ill-gotten wealth. And they returned together to the cell in the wilderness.

From this time did Mary lead a life of penitence and of great humility, ministering to her aged uncle, who died glorifying God: after his death, she lived on many years, praising God, and doing good in humbleness and singleness of heart, and having favour with the people; so that from all the country round they brought the sick, and those who were possessed, and she healed them,—such virtue was in her prayers, although she had been a sinner! Nay, it is written, that even the touch of her garment restored health to the afflicted. At length she died, and the angels carried her spirit out of the shadow and the cloud of sin, into the glory and the joy of heaven.

Although the legend of Mary the Penitent is accepted by the Church, which celebrates her conversion on the 29th of October, effigies of hermust be rare; I have never met with any devotional representation of her. A print attributed to Albert Dürer represents the hermit Abraham bringing back his penitent niece to his cell.[324]

In the Louvre are two large landscapes by Philippe de Champagne, which in poetry and grandeur of conception come near to those of Niccolò Poussin; both represent scenes from the life of Mary the Penitent. In the first, amid a wild and rocky landscape, is the cell of Abraham, and Mary, sitting within it, is visited by the young hermit who tempted her to sin: in the second, we have the same wilderness, under another aspect; Mary, in a rude secluded hut, embowered in trees, is visited by pilgrims and votaries, who bring to her on their shoulders and on litters, the sick and the afflicted, to be healed by her prayers. The daughter of Champagne, whom he tenderly loved, was a nun at Port-Royal, and I think it probable that these pictures (like others of his works) were painted for that celebrated convent.

St. Thais, a renowned Greek saint, is another of these ‘bienheureuses pécheresses,’ not the same who sat at Alexander’s feast, and fired Persepolis, but a firebrand in her own way. St. Pelagia, calledPelagia MeretrixandPelagia Mima(for she was also an actress), is another. These I pass over without further notice, because I have never seen nor read of any representation of them in Western Art.

St. Afra, who sealed her conversion with her blood, will be found among the Martyrs.

Poets have sung, and moralists and sages have taught, that for the frail woman there was nothing left but to die; or if more remained for her to suffer, there was at least nothing left for her to be or do: no choice between sackcloth and ashes and the livery of sin. The beatified penitents of the early Christian Church spoke another lesson; spoke divinely of hope for the fallen, hope without self-abasement or defiance. We, in these days, acknowledge no such saints: we have even done our best to dethrone Mary Magdalene; but we have martyrs,—‘by the pang without the palm,’—andoneat least among these who has not diedwithout lifting up a voice of eloquent and solemn warning; who has borne her palm on earth, and whose starry crown may be seen on high even now, amid the constellations of Genius.

An Angel

LONDON: PRINTED BYSPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUAREAND PARLIAMENT STREET

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