WOMEN AS INSPIRERS 359 



the Galilean, into the number of those who give their lives 

 as a ransom for many. ' ' * 



It is under the shade of the olive trees of St. Damian, 

 with his sister-friend Clara caring for him, "that he com- 

 poses his finest work, that which Ernest Renan called the 

 most perfect utterance of modern religions sentiment, The 

 Canticle of the Sun.' 92 



This canticle, however, beautiful as it is, lacks, as has 

 well been remarked, one strophe. "If it was not upon 

 Francis ' lips, it was surely in his heart : ' ' 



"Be praised, Lord, for Sister Clara; 

 Thou hast made her silent, active, and sagacious, 

 And, by her, thy light shines in our hearts." * 



It was through the inspiration and influence of Theodora 

 that the famous Church of St. Sophia, that matchless poem 

 in marble and gold, that imperishable monument to the 

 glory of the true God, came into existence. It was through 

 her that Justinian conceived the idea of those Pandects 

 and Institutes which constitute the greatest glory of his 

 reign, and which are the basis of the Code Napoleon and of 

 all modern jurisprudence. 



It was to Vittoria Colonna that Michaelangelo dedi- 

 cated many of the most exquisite productions of his peer- 

 less genius. "He saw," as has been said, "with her eyes 

 and acted by her inspiration." 



Almost every one of Chopin's compositions was inspired 

 by women, and a large proportion of them are dedicated 

 to them. The same may be said of Mozart, Mendelssohn, 

 Schubert, Beethoven, Weber, Schumann and other illustri- 

 ous composers. All these sons of genius believed with 

 Castiglione that ' ' all inspiration must come from woman ; ' ' 



*Tln,e Life of St. Francis of Assisi, by Paul Sabatier, p. 166, 

 New York, 1894. 



2 Ibid., p. 167. 



3 Ibid., p. 307. 



