The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-23


heavenly things are set forth while we look at
them from the church militant And foras-
much as the blessed martys passed from this
world to the next through sore torments, the
mouldngs of the chancel arch represent the
various kinds of sufierings through which they
went. Faith was their support and must be
ours and faith is set forth either in the abstract
by the limpet moulding on the chancel arch,
or on the screen by the Greed in gilt letters, or
is represented by some notable action of which
it is the source: so in Give Somersetshire,
the destruction of a dragon runs along not
only the rood-screen but the north parclose
also. That the power of evil spirits may be
exercised against us till we have left this
world, but not after, horrible forms are some
times sculptured on the west side of the
ohancel arch. This explains why the chancel
is more highly ornamented than the nave 1t
is the west or nave side, not the chance or
east side, which invariably has the greatest
share of ornamentation."
If the western door symboizes Christ, the
east porticO symbolzes the Father, while the
two side doors mean the Son and the Holy
Spirit. The seats round the chancel mean the
souls of the faithful the Trinity in Unity is
typihed by the moulding thrown across the
three lights sometimes a quatrefoed or Gin
quefoiled circle, placed at some little distance
above the triplet, typifes the crown of
the King of Kings. The single lights,
north and south of the Norman and early
English churches set forth the apostles and
doctors who have been in their time shining
lights in the Church, and the rich pattern of
flower-work adorning them means their gifts
and graces; where the side-lights are in coup
let's, two and two, and are six on a side, they
mean the apostles sent out in pairs to preach
the gospel to mankind. The corona, used in
Greek churches and now so extensively in
our own, means the Holy Trinity when it bears
three lights, the seven gifts of the Spirit when
it has seven, and the apostles and Christ when
it has twelve all round and one in the centre.
Again, some liken church to the human
body, of which the chancel is the head, the
transept the arms, and the nave the rest of
the body. The sanctuary represents the
vowed virgins male and female the chancel,
the pure i'll life ; the nave, the honestly mar
ried the four walls are the four evangelists
and the building has length, which is forti
tude breadth, which is charity; and height,
which is courage. The foundation is faith
the pavement, humility; the roof, charity, to
cover and protect all; the four sides are the
four cardinal virtues-justice, fortitude, tenn
perance, and prudence the windows are hos
pitalty with cheerfulness, and tenderness
with charity the chapels clustered round the
main altar represent the communion of saints.
The crypts stand for hermits, holiness buried
IN secresy and silence the exedra in apsis,
and the Church the open court is Christ, free
to all comers the towers are preachers
and prelates, and the pinnacles are the
life and mind of prelates aspiring heaven
ward the cock on the spire signifies watchful-
ness, calling the sinful to awake-it may also
have an allusion to Peter, and how false
courage, trusting in itself, betrayed him to
cowardice and denial; the iron rod placed
| above the cross on the summit of the church
is the Holy Scriptures communications
| symbolically it is lightning conductor in all
| probability; the G lass windows are the Holy
! Scriptures which expel the wind and rain, that
| is, all things hurtful, while they transmit the
| light of the sun to the faithful; the lattice
work is the prophets, or other obscure teachers
of the church militant; the two side-shafts are
the two precepts of charity, or the sending
out of the apostles, two and two; the piers are
| bishops and doctors; the bases of the columns
are the apostolic fathers who support the whole
fabric of the church, the capitals are the
opinions of the bishops and doctors; and the
ornaments are the words of Holy Scripture The
stalls means contemplation, the pavement is
the multitude sustaining the church, and the
beams are praises and preachers. Victory
over the devil is symbolized, as at st. Peters,
Oxford, where the piers rest on and crush a
monster; and the hideOus forms of the gar
gOyles are evil spirits flying from the holy
walls. The power of the evil spirits is set
forth in the terrible figures sometimes sculp-
tured on the west side of the chancel arch ;
the straightness of the way of life is shown in
the narrowness of the Norman arches; and
the final separation of the Church triumphant
from all defilement, is figured in the great
doom, painted in frescO over the rood-screen.
The stalls are generally crowded with SYM
bolic ornament, much of which refers to the
uuarrels between the regular and secular
clergy, always rife in the Catholic Church. "A
fox preaching to geese acowled doubie-face
a fox hung by goose, and two cubs yelplng az
the foot of the gallows an ape praying, with an
owl perched over his head a monkey holding
a haibert q fox with a mitre and staff; a
Young fox in chains a bag of money in his
right paw, and cranes and geese on each SIDE,
These are few of the more easily recognized
/ symbols. But others ON the subselle seem tc
intimate that the vices to which they refer are
thus put down under the holy men who sat
. there-put under and sat upon, as we WOulo
say in the irreverent language OF to-day
, Thus an ape is no unfrequent figure on th'
} subsella, and an ape is the emblem o
+ unlawful passion (when David looks az bacl
3 | sheba in the illumnations to the Pemtehua
, | Psalms, an ape chained to tree is Introduces
Q | with a meaning quite well known to the
= cowled artist) goat has the same slghluca
t | tiOn boar means sensuality and lerociIy
| an owl is darkness and solitude; dragon
S pestilence or the devil; bat Is man
: quick and secret execution a fox Is cunning
l deceit, and rapacity and peacock Is semi
t glory-in early times it was the KesuTfec
g tion, with what aptness of natural symoolsi
n it is rather hard now to say. The pelican !
+ Christ shedding his blood for all mankind
and the Passion is further symbohzeu ny