ust increase, but I must decrease," said the prophet
humbly.[32] He was soon after cast into prison by King Herod, whose
vices he had openly rebuked. Thence he was taken out only to be
executed.

[Footnote 32: St. John, chapter iii., verse 30.]

It must be confessed that Correggio cared very little about making a
true character study of St. John. There is not much in the figure of
our pendentive to suggest the stern and fearless prophet of the
wilderness. The humility of the countenance is perhaps the feature
most appropriate to the character. The shy, haunting expression in the
eyes is, too, such as belongs to one who, like St. John, lived much
alone in the woods. The tunic is short and sleeveless, showing the
strong limbs of the hermit.

[Illustration: ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
_Cathedral, Parma_]

For the rest, the Baptist's face has the same gentle amiability we
have already seen in St. Matthew and Joseph. The type is a common one
with Correggio. A certain resemblance runs through nearly all his male
figures, whether of smooth-faced youth, bearded manhood, or hoary old
age.

The tenderness of St. John for his little lamb is the chief motive of
the picture. He carries it on his left arm, supporting the weight on
his knee, and the innocent creature puts its nose close to the
prophet's face. The lamb is the accepted symbol of St. John the
Baptist, in allusion to the words with which he addressed Jesus at the
Jordan, "Behold the lamb of God." The same figure is used in the book
of Revelation, where the Lamb is described "in the midst of the
throne." Standing for the person of Christ himself, St. John holds the
sacred emblem with reverence. To understand why his face is lifted in
this direction we must remember that his glance is directed toward the
vision in the dome just above.

The angel figures of this pendentive are among the most beautiful and
characteristic of the myriad throng of the cupola. The impression made
by this great spirit company upon one standing beneath the dome has
been described in some lines by Aubrey de Vere:--

"Creatures all eyes and brows and tresses streaming,
By speed divine blown back; within all fire
Of wondering zeal, and storm of bright desire.
Round the broad dome the immortal throngs are beaming,
With elemental powers the vault is teeming;
We gaze, and gazing join the fervid choir,
In spirit launched on wings that ne'er can tire."

While the spirits i