Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1901-07-25
THE HEAD OF MOSES.
Ml1Y THE LEADER OF ISRAEL is REP
RESENTED WITH HORNS.

Michael Angeles Masterpiece.
In one of the schools of the District is
copy Of Michael Angeles Moses"
That small statuette was a storm CEN
RET for weeks, the pupils and teachers
Wxing with each other in an attempt to
find an answer to the question of one
A the small pupils who gravely que
-ssI the why Of the incipent horns
which ornamented the head Of the
rugged leader of the Israelites as he Ia
represented in this masterpiece Of Mi
aAael Angeles. masterpiece. by the
Why, which started out to be JOve or
sune other fiction Of the brain, but
which the great sculptor finally shaped
INTO the likeness Of Pope Julius and
ahristened Moses"
For 40 years. just as long as Moses
and his people wandered TN the will
Eerness. this statue stood In the work.
Ntop of it's gifted creator before the
world saw it, but it types today the
universal conception of the great law
xfver, horns and all.
III has been known for centuries,
though, that the translation Of Habak-
xuk, which says, "And his brightness
vas as light; he had horns coming out
Of his head" Is incorrect and the mis-.
nike of the "intelligent compositor,"
who In his Illuminated text got mixed
To on his "as' and res" and made
'-,Iaran" head "qeren." as nearly as
" t,hrOw no IN u1n info Nn11 Enu.
iAsh. The former means rays" the
htter means HORNS" and there you
sMc.
~ Jerome in rendering Ibis face
iytione" in the passage in Exodus gave
a its primitive meaning and mistrans-
lztiOn and has sent down to us through
l4Ae ages "faciem esse cornatum." be-
ing "his face was horned" Thus it
mems that a mistake strreotyped in
W1ne remains to torment the youth
Who likes to know the why of things.
Just why artists and scuptors keep
yn perpetuating this idea is one of the
Rzscrutable things of life, But more
Man anybody else perhaps artists cling
s, tradition, and since the great mas
&rs gave Moses horns 1t must be the
cooper thing to do, and that is proba-
bly, why he wears horns in modern as
we'll as medieval art.
In the Congressional library, on the
south side of the big suntower clock,
u q gigantic bronze Moses by Niehaus,
snd he has horns that look not unlike
those wonderful bumps that Ben But
hrs big head used to wear. In the
Boston library John Sergeant. the
great painter for a centerpiece to a
procession of the prophets painted
Hoses with full front view and horns
axe Texas steer and Unfolding him is
a queer conventional kind of drapery
Lat looks like eagles wings.
In striking and pleasing contrast to
tflese horned conceptions which the
mcients have imposed upon us and
which we still accept is copy of
s,hendid Moses by Plockhorst repre-
NiEgEing the archangel Michael strug-
stIng with Satan for the dead body Of
G9ses, which is upborne by three little
angels. The Moses has instead of horns
Xlon his grandly conceived head rays
,. light which seem to mellow and
soften the stern face Of the dead law
sayer. Plockhorst has painted real
laid angels. too, not fat little kids
With legs and arms like priZetghters
MD bodies like beer TANKS, This hello.
tint, which is in the library of con-
sress, is present from the royal gal
-ssy in Berlin.
Nicolas Poussin painted some 20 pie
snres of Moses from a pudgy little ba-
w in the bulr,Ish basket to Moses ION
gray Bethpeor's height" some of them
With horns and some of them without
Five of these pictures are Of the baby
q The water and Just out of it. and the
pfasds are as varied as those of Colum.
lwS on the exposition postage stamps.
ESEute of them look like advertisements
ksr hair restoratives and others as
-ENUgh wigs would enhance the ap.
sss&rance Of the baldheaded babies
whose painted faces look as many
lscars old as the baby Noses had lived
minutes when found by Thernutis.
Another by this author has horns that
extend out from the sides of the head
AXE the ears of a mule and represents
Moses as striking the rock in the will ,
1erness. This is a very funny picture,
anyway, for the camels have heads
Exc horses, and the horses look like al
.R,oss anything that stands on four legs
excepting horses.
This curious idea of horned Moses
lsas not only been perpetuated by
PAINTINGS coins and statues. but has al.
10, passed muster with many writer's Of
acknowledged fame. Grotius. for in
stance, Identifies Moses with the horn
I'D Mnevis of Egypt and suggests that
5ttfe phenomenon was intended to re-
mind the Israelites Of the golden calf. |
Spanheim, however, stigmatizes the eff |
Sarts Of art in this direction as ''prepos-
rsrous industry" and distinctly attrib- |
Etes to Jerome a veritable belief in the
Aorus Of Moses. Crude as Is the mis-
wanslation not one person in ten, as
RE .schooltcachers and pupils found !
cut, have any idea why it is that art
iSf and Int CT