Christians,
who were persecuted by the Emperor Diocletian. Selling all that he
had, he gave it to the poor and boldly denounced the pagans. All sorts
of tortures were devised to force him to renounce his faith, but in
every persecution he was miraculously preserved from harm. At length
the provost caused him to be beheaded, and offering his last prayers
St. George went to his death.

In our statue St. George is represented as a warrior standing at rest
while he surveys the enemy. His young figure is as straight as an
arrow. The litheness of his body is apparent even through his armor.
He holds his head erect in conscious power, yet with no arrogance.
Evidently he measures the difficulty carefully, for he seems to knit
his brows as he looks abroad. He has a gentle face, but it is
thoroughly masculine.

[Illustration: ST. GEORGE (DONATELLO) _National Museum, Florence_]

The hands are beautiful, and full of character, large and flexible.
The left one rests on a shield which bears the sign of the cross. The
armor, we see, has a more than literal significance. This is the
"shield of faith" wherewith the Christian shall be able "to quench all
the fiery darts of the wicked." St. George is the impersonation of the
soldier who wars "not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."[36]

The figure naturally suggests comparison with antique sculpture. We
are reminded of Apollo or Hermes as the Greeks loved to represent
them.[37] The beautiful head with its curling hair is indeed that of a
god. In the graceful attitude also, the sculptor, Donatello, has
perfectly expressed the sense of repose which was characteristic of
Greek sculpture. We note, however, that while a Greek statue would
have been nude St. George is clad in armor. The expression of the
countenance is, moreover, quite foreign to the Greek temper. Those
knitted brows show a strenuousness of character incompatible with the
serenity of the gods.

The statue of St. George, like that of St. Philip, was originally made
to fill one of the niches on the outside of Or San Michele. Below it
was a bas-relief representing the slaying of the dragon. The work was
the gift of the Guild of Sword Makers and Armorers, whose patron saint
was the Knight of Cappadocia. In an exposed position on the church the
precious marble was injured by the weather. Accordingly