he two brothers to be fishers of men. "And they straightway left
their nets and followed him."[13]

[Footnote 13: St. Matthew, chapter iv., verse 20.]

Under the teachings of Jesus, John grew in knowledge of spiritual
things. He was one of the three accompanying their Master to the Mount
of Transfiguration, where they witnessed a sacred scene withheld from
the others. His nature was affectionate and poetic, and he was a deep
thinker. Often when the meaning of Jesus' words was beyond his
hearers, John treasured the sayings in his memory. On the evening when
Jesus sat at table with his disciples for the last time, John was near
him, leaning on his Master's breast. When, on the next day, Jesus hung
upon the cross, it was John to whom he commended his mother as to a
son. "And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

In the years that followed, John pursued his Christian service with
the zeal of an ardent nature. He remained awhile in Judaea and, in
company with Peter, added many converts to the faith. He then carried
the work into Asia Minor, where he founded seven churches. Not only
was he a preacher and organizer, but a voluminous writer as well. The
fourth Gospel is believed to be his work, in which he records many
words and deeds of Jesus overlooked by the other Evangelists. He was
also the writer of the three Epistles which bear his name. Finally, he
is supposed to be the author of the book of Revelation, in which he
described his visions during his exile in the isle of Patmos.
According to tradition, he lived to a great age, and died at Ephesus
in Asia Minor.

The love with which Christians cherish the memory of St. John is seen
in the number of churches bearing his name. One such is that in Parma
which was newly built at the time when Correggio was winning his first
laurels. The most important portions of the interior decorations were
executed by our painter.

Before considering the frescoes of the cupola, the visitor to the
church likes to pause before the lunette over the door of the left
transept. The subject is St. John, seated with his writing materials
on his lap. There is a pile of books behind him and a volume beside
him. At his feet stands the symbolic eagle pluming his wing.

[Illustration: ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
_Church of S. Giovanni Evangelista, Parma_]

The emblems of the Evangelists are drawn from Ezekiel's vision of
the "four living creatures," whose faces were those of a ma