With the brief space at our disposal, what shall we say of the crowning works of those two wonderful years, 1513-1514--_Knight, Death and the Devil_, _Melancholia_, and _St. Jerome in his Study_? Are they three of a proposed series of the four temperaments? Should they be considered as parts of a group--or is each masterpiece complete in itself? One thing at least they have in common: they are truly “Stimmungsbilder”--that is, the lighting is so arranged, in each composition, as directly to affect the mind and the mood of the beholder, and “the sombre gloom of the _Knight, Death and the Devil_, the weird, unearthly glitter of the _Melancholia_, with its uncertain, glinting lights, the soft, tranquil sunshine of the _St. Jerome_, are all in accordance with their several subjects. These, whether or not originally intended to represent ‘classes of men’ or ‘moods,’ certainly call up the latter in the mind of the beholder--the steady courage of the valiant fighter for the right, undismayed by darkness and dangers; the brooding, leading well-nigh to despair, over the vain efforts of human science to lift the veil of the eternal secret; and the calm content of the mind at peace with itself and the world around it.”[8] [8] A Chronological Catalogue of the Engravings, Dry-Points and Etchings of Albert Dürer, as exhibited at the Grolier Club. By Sylvester R. Koehler. New York; The Grolier Club. 1897. p. 65. Dürer, unfortunately, sheds no light upon the inner and deeper meaning of the _Knight, Death and the Devil_. He speaks of it simply as “A Horseman.” The many and various titles invented for it since his time carry us very little further forward than where we began. The letter S, which precedes the date, the dog which trots upon the further side of the horse, even the blades of grass under the hoof of the right hind leg of the horse, have all been matters of speculation and controversy, and we choose the part of wisdom if, disregarding the swirling currents of metaphysical interpretation, we enjoy this masterpiece of engraving for its æsthetic content primarily, and for its potential meanings afterwards. [Illustration: ALBRECHT DÜRER. KNIGHT, DEATH AND THE DEVIL Size of the original engraving, 9⅝ × 7⅜ inches In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston] [Illustration: ALBRECHT DÜRER. MELANCHOLIA Size of the original engraving, 9⅛ × 7¼ inches In the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]