New-York tribune., 1905-11-06
IDEAS OF ANGELS.
I'm Prose and Verse Almost InUar1-
abIv Represented as Masculine.

Gbbg RepfeSeHte0 Us W osC"'tf'o'
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir. In the discussion of the sex Of angels
oaused bv the statues recently designed Tor
The Cathedral on Morningside Heights some.
curious opinions have been advanced Many IL
not most, persons it is evident have been wont
TO conceive Of angels as women one colre-
spondent I remember asserted that the angel
of the Annunciation must have been a woman
as such a message would not have been thought
proper for other lips.
..Tantaene animis coelestibus s-pruder1es' 0ii
questioning my own thoughts 1 found that
rictured these celestial beings, the messengers
Of the eternal as having strong and beautl-
f1 vounq manhood To prove the truth or
fslsitv of this imagery l had recourse to the
RihIe and Milton and what l found there may
he of vaIue 10 others who interested IN the
controversy.
If in the Old Testament, the somewhat mys-
terious term sons of God" be taken as an
equivalent for angels-good and bad, Tor Satan
is depicted in Job one of these sons oil 0ou
who came to present themselves before him
our case would be already closed But let US
set aside this term as not covering all the or
ders of angelic beings and see what other at
tributes are theirs.
strength is a quality most commonly ex-
angels, that excel in strength; He shall give
His angels charge over thee. They SHAH
bear thee up in their hands
Martial habits and bearing are portrayed:
THE angel of the Lord encampeth round ABOUT
them that fear Him. the angel who stood in
Balaam's path had his sword drawn in his
hand" and one appears to Joshua as the
captain of the Lords host"
Such knightIy valor and majesty are ascribed
to these helpful visitants from heaven as they
wore TO LowelTs fancy when, in one of the fne
lines Of his Present Crisis" he sees thronging
around Truth troops of beautiful, tall angels
10 enshield her from all wrong.
In some of the Bible passages the sex is ex-
plicitly stated 1t was "a man" who wrestled
with Jacob at the ford and left with him the
blessing he craved. Three men came to Abra-
ham as he sat in his tent door on the plains of
Mamre and fastening TO give then: Of his best,
he found he had entertained angels unawareS.
When the angel protected the three young Jews
in the fiery furnace the kings officer looking in
saw -four men loose. walking in the midst of the
fire." and in this same Book of Daniel the angels
Gabriel and Michael are introduced by name
Even when to the gentler mnistra-
tions and messages of the New Testament the
heavenly ambassadors the
II is Gabriel, again, who announces TO Zacha-
rias the coming birth Of John and the OLD
masters of art glory in depicting this chief
among the heavenly hosts when he appeared
six months later 10 Mary u Nazareth as the
Angel of the Annuncfation. Surely, those who
assert that this message at any rate, was not
uttered by one in the guiae of man must have
failed TO note the details OF the story given
in Luke, and failed also feel that no thought
inflrm' would alter the cheek of any pure Jewish
maiden receiving SO wonderful a message and SO
glorious honor
In St Mark the angel of the tomb of Christ
is described "a young man sitting the
right side clothed in d long white garment;
md how ilya
lightning and his raiment white snow,
and for fear of him" q add this because, as
there was 30 neuter possessiVe In King James's
day. the pronoun mis- is not eXplciD the keep
did shake and became dead men"
Throughout the Bible from the cherubim with
naming sword Who guarded the lost Eden to the
angel who showed to the aged John the visions
Of Pdtmos all the messengers of Heaven pure
spirit and sexless though they be. are described
as in the guse of men. young. strong heautt-
ful and sometimes stern and terrible
Turning to Paradise Lost" which might
well be called tie epic or all angels" since
only two Of lis many characters are mortal We
find that Milton gives specific names to all his
angels good or bad Who have speaking parts =
The bad angels are named after the heather
gods Moloch. Belia! Beelzebub. etc To the
good angels are given the names that Milton
found for them IN the scriptural rabbinical
authorities Thus We have Uriel gliding through
the even sunbeam, swift a shooting
star. Ithuriel. who. with a touch of his truth
compelling spear. makes Satan assume his own
shape: Gabriel. chief OF the angelic guards >"
and UzZiel his next in power; the seraph
Abdiel, faithful found, among the faithleSs.
faithful only he; and Michael whose sword
was from the armory of God, Irresistible, in
vincible
The advocates of "women's rights in angel
dom VII find only character TO support their
claims and she, alas. is not among the troops
OF the blessed. but figures the FORTRESS of
Hellgate" Rereading the description Of her in
Book II we may well be glad note that even
the misosynist Milton portrays this dreadful
sppartion as only half woman after all,
We might see for moment how other Of the
poets here and there have pictured their angels
Lowell in his poem Ambrose" tells that a
youth with shining face taught the fierce zealot
his much needed lesson of tolerance. and after
ward he knew he had talked with an angel
face 10 face" Lorgfellow's angel in Robert Of
Sicily" is a young man OF fine presence. who
with mercifuI severity, usurps the kings place
and garments.
Browning sits before Guercino's almost fernf-
nne locking angel in the chapel at Fano and
interprets his guardian angel 10 be youth
reaching the child pray
With his own head turned away over the earth,
- where much lay before him
of work TO do. though heaven opening Ger
him.
And he left at Fsno by the beach.
But what some one may add. OF Brownings
s3Oression My angel with me too N the very