Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/673

* CHEKUB. 591 CHERUBINI. iiiercyseat or covering' the ark of the covenant, so that they appeared to rise out of it. Figures of cheruliini wvre also vroii<;hl into the hangings of the Holy of Holies, and into the oarved wood- work of the walls and doors of the temitle. The cherubim that appear in the visions of Ezekiel and the Revelation of John are of a nuich more lomplex character. In Ezekiel (chapter 1) they have the body of a man, whose head. l)esidcs a human countenance, has also that of a lion, an ox. and an eagle: they are provided with four wings, two of which support the chariot of Je- hovah and serve to fly, while the other two cover the body. They move straight forward, not only by means of wings, but with whirling wheels full of fire. In the Revelation four cherubim, covered with eyes and having six wings, surround the throne of Jehovah; the first has the face of a lion, the second of an ox, the third of a man, and the fourth of an eagle. This gave rise at a very early period to the symbolical figures of the four Evangelists, the human countenance being associated with Mat- thew, that of the lion with ilark, of the ox with Luke, and of the eagle with John. In the developed system of .Jewish angelology, the cherubim (so, e.g. in the Book of Enoch) form one of the ten highest classes of angels. In ac- counting for the origin of the symbol, one must distinguish between forms of it which are now distinctively Hebraic and such as evidently con- tain foreign admixtures. The cherub belongs to the class of winged monsters and chimseras that we encounter among various nations. Such are the winged griffins on Phoenician monuments, which have been traced back to the Hittite art of Sria. The existence of such monsters is probably connected with primitive notions of evolution which imagine a period in which crea- tures of a mixed type filled the universe. To the same order of ideas, therefore, as the cherubim belong the seraphim or 'winged se.rpent.s" which form part of the imagery in Isaiah (chapter vi.) . In Ezekiel, however, specifically Babylonian de- velopments of the original conception of cheru- bim have been introduced, and his description represents a combination of early Hebrew with later Babylonian notions. The fiery flames (as also the fierj- burning sword referred to in Gen. iii. 24) is a Babylonian notion, and likewise the very complicated conception of a cherub with four faces. On the other hand, the cherubim seated on the covering of the ark represent the more primitive view of monsters guarding the approach to a sacred spot and chosen by the deity as his bodyguard, though in the art itself, since the description of the tabernacle may be- long to a later period, foreign elements may be discerned. It is rather strange that the cherubim, which are thus of a forbidding character, should have become the kind of angels that are ordina- rily associated with the term. The transition to the more pleasing conception is found in Jewish angelology above referred to, in which the cherubim arc represented as youthful angels, bearing the glorj' of God as it passes through the heavens. In the hierarchical gradations estab- lished by Christian theologians, cherubim rank next to the seraphim as the second of the nine order-; of angels. CHERUB, The. A nickname given to the meek and angelically patient father of Miss Bella ilfer in Dickens's Our Mutual Friend. CHERUBIN, shAri,i'ba.N'. A valet in the Miiriiniv (/< I'iiniro, by Jieaumarchais (q.v.). He is portrayed as a precocious youth just growing into manhood, ignorant of the opposite sex. but intoxicated with his own continual thoughts of them. CHfiRTJBIN DE LA RONDA, de la roxda', Do.N". The name tif the 'Bailielor of Salamanca' in Le Sage's novel of that name. CHERUBINI, ka'roo-be'nt, Maria. Luioi Caklo Zexouio SalvatoiIe (1760-1842). An Italian composer. He was Imuu in Florence, and began to study music at the age of six, under his father, a musician in the Pergola. Theatre, and composition when nine years of age, under the brothers Felici and Bizarri and Castrucci. His earliest work was a JIass and Credo in D, and by 1776 his list included a Te Deum and an ora- torio. Granted an allowance by the Grand Duke, he went to Bologna in 1778, spending there and in Jlilan four years under Sarti, from whom he acquired his remarkable knowledge of counter- point and fugue. In 1780 his first opera. Quiiito Fahio, was produced, and was followed quickly by other dramatic works. In 1784 he went to Lon- don, and held the post of composer to the King for one year. Here two operas. La finta princi- pcssa and Giulio Sahino, were brought out. In 1785 he visited Paris, and later Turin, and pro- duced Ifigenia in Anlide (1787), returning in 1788 to make Paris his home. Dimophon (1788) indicated that he was adopting a nei* style, and Lodoiska (1701) proved that he had abandoned the light Neapolitan style of his ear- lier works. Among later operas were: Elhn (1794); Mfdee (1707); L'hotcVeric portuiiaise ( 1798) ; Les deux journces, in German called Dcr Wassertrd(tcr, and considered his operatic mas- terpiece (1800): and Anacrcon (1803). In 179.5 Cherubini was appointed one of the inspecteurs dcs etudes in the new Conservatory of Music. In 180.5 he went to Vienna to write an opera for the Imperial Opera House. Here he made the acquaintance of Haydn and Beethoven, both of whom considered the opeia Faniska (1806) a masterpiece. He returned to France, but finding little favor with Xapoleon. went to the estate of the Prince de Chimay to recuperate. At the latter's request he wrote a church compo- sition, the famous Mass in F (1809), and after that date wrote almost exclusively sacred music. In 1814 he was made a kniiiht of the Legion of Honor by Louis XVIII. In 1815 Cherubini visited London, where he composed a symphony and overtures for the Philharmonic Society. In 1816 he was appointed, with Lesueur, musician and superintendent of the King's chapel, and 1821-41 he was director of the Paris Conserva- tory, which he advanced to the high standard it still preserves. Cherubini has been called "the link between classic idealism and modern roiuan- ticism." "His sacred compositicms, nofiibly (he reqtiiems in C and D (1817 and 18.'}6). are dis- tinguished by a severe grandeur, and his dra- matic work by brilliant and original instru- mental effects." His work on counterpoint ( 18.35) is still a .standard. For his life, consult: Berlioz, Memoires (Paris, 1878) ; Bellasis. Che- ruhhii (London, 1874) with catalogiu' of compo- sitions, and the memoir by Pougin, in Le .l/ciie.s- trel: and Crowest, Vheruhini (London and Xew York, 1890).