CHERUBIM (plural of cherub) were " celestial genii/ and, in M. de Saulcy s opinion, little else can be positively affirmed (Ilistoire de I art judaiqv.e, p. 24). Fresh light has, however, recently been thrown upon them from the cuneiform inscriptions, and we are no longer reduced to admit that " le vaste champ des hypotheses restera toujours ouvert." According to the Old Testament, the cherub united the functions of bearer and guardian of deity ; or rather, perhaps, there was a divergence in the popular beliefs on this subject. In Fs. xviii. 10, 2 Sam. xxii. 11 Yahweh (the so called Jehovah) is described as " riding upon a cherub," and in the parallel line as " swooping," the word applied in Deut. xxviii. 49 and elsewhere to the flight of the eagle. Putting the two phrases together, we may conclude that, according to one version of the myth whether fully believed in or not by the Psalmist need not here be discussed the cherub was either an eagle or a quadruped with eagle s wings. This result would seem to justify connecting the word with the Assyrian kurubu, a synonym of kurukku or karakku, the "circling" bird, i.e., according to Friedrich Delitzsch, the vulture. On the other hand, the prophet Ezekiel (xxviii. 13-16), though agreeing with the Psalmist in mentioning but one cherub, describes him as " walking in the midst of stones of fire " (i.e., thunderbolts), and as extending his wings over " the holy mountain of Elohim," in other words, as the attendant and guard rather than as the bearer of deity. And in the fuller account of Paradise in Genesis " the cherubim " (i.e., the entire band of cherubs) are stationed " with (or near) the blade of the turning sword " (this, like the "tree of life, " has a Babylonian analogue, and is a mythic phrase meaning the lightning, see references below) " to guard the way to the tree of life" (Gen. iii. 24). Now, according to a talismanic inscription copied by Lenormant, kirubu is a synonym for the steer-god, whose winged image filled the place of guardian at the entrance of the Assyrian palaces. And in the fantastic description of Ezekiel penned by the River Chebar, one of the four faces of a cherub was that of an ox (Ezek. i. 1ft, after which the corrupt passage in x. 14, must, in spite of Lenormant, be corrected). We should, therefore, connect the word cherub primarily with the Assyrian kirubu, but also, as proposed above, with kurubu. The two forms seem to be co-ordinate and expressive of some quality common to the king of birds and the colossal steer. Their etymology is altogether uncertain, and possibly to be sought for (as Mr Sayce has suggested) outside the sphere of Semitism. Partial parallels to the cherubim in non-Semitic mythologies are not uncommon, but are mostly deceptive. The most complete one is that of the winged ypuTre s (a secondary form of kerubim), who not only watched over the treasures of the gods (cf. Herod, iv. 13, 116), but were also the bearers of deity, if at least Plutarch and Eustatbius may be followed in identifying the re-rpao-Ke/X?)? otwj/os of ^Esch. Prom. 395 with the griffin (see Hermann, ad loc.) Probably the griffin was imagined under more than one form. This was certainly the case with the Hebrew cherub, as appears not only from the passages referred to above, but from the inconsistencies of the single prophet Ezekiel (cf. i. 6, xli. 18). The significance of the mythical cherubim has been well pointed out by C. P. Tiele. They are probably the masses of clouds, which seem to guard the portals of the sky, and on which the sun-god appears to issue forth at break of day. This will account for the expressions used of the cherubim both of the heavenly and of the earthly " habitation " of Yahweh, expressions taken up by the Biblical writers from the folklore of their times.
For the Assyrian authorities, see Schrader, Jcnaer Litteratur- zeitung, 1874, p. 218; Delitzscli (the younger), Assyrische Studicn, pp. 107, 103 ; and for the Babylonian lightning-myth, Lenormant, Berose, p. 138 ; Records of the Past, vol. iii. pp. 127-129. Compare also Herder, Wcrke, vol. xxxiii. (Geist der Ebraisclien Pocsie), pp. 168-180; Ewald, Antiquities of Israel, Eng. transl., p. 123; Kielun, in Thcologische Studien und Kritikcn, 1871; Tiele, Vergelijkende gcschicdenis der oude yodsdiensten, vol. i. p. 366 ; and F. VV, Farrar in Kitto s Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, art. "Cherubim.
CHERUBINI, Maria Luigi Zenobio Carlo Salvatore (1760-1842), one of the greatest musical composers of modern times, was born at Florence, 14th September 1760. His father was accompanyist (maestro al cembalo) at the Pergola theatre, and himself guided the first musical education of his son, whose talent began to evince itself at a very early period. "I commenced learning music," Cherubini says of himself, "at six years, composition at nine ; the former I was taught by my father, the latter by Bartholomew Felici and his son Alexander." Italian music at that time was at a low ebb. The popular composers of opera seria chiefly aimed at inventing pleasing tunes and fioriture for the vocal display of the singers ; the dignity and grandeur of the old Italian school were all but lost. To imbue himself with these great traditions of the past was the chief aim of young Cherubini s ambition, and for that purpose he went in 1777 to Bologna, where for four years he studied under Joseph Sarti, a well-known composer and theorist of the time, and himself the pupil of the celebrated Padre Martini, one of the greatest con trapuntists Italy has produced. It was in this school that Cherubini laid the foundation of that deep knowledge of his art which gives to all his works the impress of perfect mastership. It was also under Sard s guidance that he made his first attempts at dramatic composition. They were preceded, however, by a mass written at the age of thirteen, and various other sacred compositions. Sarti was the composer of numerous operas, amongst which Le Nozze di Donina may be mentioned as the most successful one. It now became Cherubini s task to supply the music for the minor characters in his master s dramatic works, an excellent way of gaining versatility of style and resource, turned to full account by the young composer. His first independent work was called Quinto Fabio, an opera, seria, in three acts, first performed in 1780, and soon followed by Armida (1782), Adriano in Stria (same year), and several other works of a similar kind. At this time of his life his artistic individuality was forming gradually ; but as yet he had not emerged from the purely imitative stage of production. Absolute artistic value these juvenile works do not possess, but they tended to prepare Cherubini for greater things, and in the meantime secured him a dignified position amongst contemporary composers. In 1 784 he was asked to write two works for the Italian opera in London, one of which, Lafinta principessa, was favourably received, while the other, Giulio Sabino, was "murdered" by the critics, to use the emphatic ex pression of a contemporary witness. In 1786 he left London, whither he had gone to be present at the pro duction of his operas, and went to Paris. After a short stay in Italy he took up his permanent residence in the latter city.
gamating power inherent in the French type of national cul ture; Spontini, Meyerbeer, and to some extent Gluck, sub mitted to the same spell. With the last-mentioned master Cherubini shares the grand declamatory pathos, the classic dignity which characterizes the Augustan age of French tragedy. A work like Cherubini s Medee is imbued with the same elevation of pathos which in Corneille s greatest tragedies makes us forget the stilted affectations of his heroes and heroines. The first opera composed by Cherubini in France is called Demophoon, words by Marmontel.
Its merits were appreciated by connoisseurs, but it