“And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.  And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.  So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.  Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith.  And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled."[7]

[Footnote 7:  1 Samuel, chapter xvii. verses 33-51.]

This heroic adventure of David is the subject of Michelangelo’s statue.  The shepherd, having thrown off the king’s armor, advances naked and unhampered, carrying only the sling flung across his back.  The large muscular hand hanging by his side holds the piece of wood on which the sling is hung.  It is the hand that wrenched the lamb from the lion’s mouth and then seized the king of beasts himself by the beard.  The left hand, poised on the shoulder, holds the centre of the sling where it bulges with the pebble.  The youth scans the enemy keenly, marking the spot at which to aim.  In another moment the pebble will be speeding on its way.  His air of confidence makes us sure of the victory.  Determination like this must win the day.

Critics of sculpture tells us that the statue of David must have been studied from a model of the age which Michelangelo imagined as that of the shepherd lad at this time.  The figure is that of a growing youth, and although it is therefore not so beautiful as a type of perfectly developed manhood, it has a rugged strength which makes it one of the sculptor’s most interesting works.

III

CUPID

In the mythology of ancient Greece there is no more popular figure than the little god of love, Eros, more commonly known by the Latin name Cupid.  He was supposed to be the son of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, whom he attended.  He was never without his bow and quiver of arrows.  Whoever was hit by one of his magic darts straightway fell in love.  The wound was at once a pain and a delight.  Some traditions say that he shot blindfolded,—­his aim seemed often so at random.  Sometimes the one whom he wounded was apparently least susceptible to love.  Indeed, Cupid had the reputation of being rather a mischievous fellow, fond of pranks.