The testimony of the early Christian inscriptions is not less

strikingly opposed to the modern Mariolatry of the church of Rome. “In

the Lapidarian Gallery,” says Maitland, “the name of the Virgin Mary

does not once occur. Nor is it to be found in any truly ancient

inscription contained in the works of Aringhi, Boldetti, or

Bottari.”[518] No _Ave Maria_ or _Ora pro nobis_, no _Theotokos_ or

_Mater Dei_, occurs in any of the subterranean crypts or corridors of

the Catacombs. Even the name Maria, now so commonly applied in varying

forms to both males and females throughout Roman Catholic countries, 317

does not occur till the year 381, and only twice afterward, in 536 and

538--an evidence of the entire absence of that devotional regard now

lavished upon the Virgin Mary.[519]

This religious homage was only gradually developed to its present

full-blown idolatry. Its traces in early Christian art are extremely

infrequent and obscure. In the numerous mosaics of the fifth and sixth

century at Rome and Ravenna, the figure of Mary very rarely occurs,

and never but as accessory to the Divine Child in the Nativity or

Adoration of the Magi. In these there was no attempt at literal

portraiture, but only the expression of the virtues that adorned her

character; “that,” as Ambrose expresses it, “the face might be the

image of her mind, the model of uprightness.”[520] Indeed, Augustine

expressly asserts that we are ignorant of her appearance.[521]

During the seventh century, along with a progressive barbarism of

treatment may be observed a gradual exaltation of Mary in the Roman

mosaics to those places previously devoted to the image of

Christ.[522] In the eighth century, according to D’Agincourt, “the 318

homage paid to her was no longer distinguished from that rendered to

the Lord of all;”[523] and the Council of Constantinople decreed,

“that whoever would not avail himself of the intercession of Mary

should be accursed.”[524] In extant pictures of the ninth century she

is exhibited in bejewelled purple robes as the crowned Queen of

Heaven, receiving the homage of the four and twenty elders and of the

celestial hosts.[525] In this century also the legend of her bodily

assumption to the skies, which has since become such a prominent theme

in Roman Catholic art and doctrine, is first represented in the crypts

of St. Clement’s at Rome.[526]

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the apotheosis of Mary is 319

complete. In a fresco at Rome, of date 1154 A. D., Popes Callixtus II.

and Anastasius IV. are shown embracing her feet in adoration, and

transferring to the human mother the homage due alone to the Divine

Son. She is now worshipped co-ordinately with Christ, or, indeed,

almost to his exclusion, her name being substituted for his in many of

the collects of the church. Much of the language of Scripture was also

blasphemously perverted from its proper application to her. The

glowing images of the Song of Songs, addressed to the church as the

spouse of Christ, were also applied to Mary as her right; and one of

Rome’s most common and popular books of devotion of this period, the

psalter of her “Seraphic Doctor,” St. Bonaventura, has a shocking

parody on the book of Psalms, in which the name of God was every-where

expunged and that of Mary substituted instead.[527] The _Ave Maria_,

with its human additions, was regarded as of equal importance and

value with the Lord’s Prayer, and was made the basis of the vain

repetitions of the rosary. Mary now shares the government of heaven

and earth, “raised higher than cherubim and seraphim,”[528] throned in

glory, sitting on a rainbow, enveloped in an aureole, clothed with the

sun, the moon beneath her feet, a crown of stars upon her head,[529]

and radiating from her person beams of light, the proper attribute of 320

deity.[530] She is frequently represented, even in heaven, with the

infant Christ in her arms, a mere accessory to indicate her

personality, as if to show his relative inferiority.[531] She becomes,

too, herself the object of prayer, having a special litany and

numerous offices in the liturgy of the church; while her praises are

chanted in some of its noblest lyrics. She is addressed as the gate of

heaven,[532] the morning star,[533] and the refuge of sinners;[534]

and is exhorted to succor the wretched,[535] protect from enemies,

receive in the hour of death,[536] and intercede with God for

men.[537] She is endowed with the faculty of omniscience and ubiquity,

and is made almost to thrust the Eternal from his throne by her

usurpation of his divine prerogatives.[538]

But this impious blasphemy seems to have culminated in the Italian

frescoes of the fifteenth century, in which the infamous Giulia

Farnese is exhibited in the character of the Madonna, and Pope

Alexander VI., the execrable Borgia, kneeling as a votary at her feet.

The Florentine churches, too, were desecrated by portraits of

well-known harlots, flaunting their meretricious beauty as the 321

personations of the mother of Our Lord. For his denunciation of these

profanations and of other impieties Savonarola perished at the

stake.[539]

The rapid development of Mariolatry, the great corruption of

Christianity, as Hallam has justly called it, may to some extent be

regarded as a reaction against the harsh and austere character which

was given to Our Lord both in art and dogma. He was enthroned in awful

majesty as the dreadful Judge of mankind. Removed from human sympathy,

inspiring only terror to the soul, he was no longer Christ the

Consoler, but Christ the Avenger.[540] Religion was darkened by dismal

bodings of endless doom, and embittered by the fierceness of polemic

strife; and the moral atmosphere seemed lurid with the hurtling

anathemas of rival sects. To the yearning hearts of mankind; to the

multitude of the weary and the heavy laden, to whom the Saviour’s

voice, “Come unto me, and I will give you rest,” was inaudible amid 322

the conflicts of the times; and especially to those bowed down with a

sense of sin and sorrow, and trembling at the thought of the severe,

inexorable Judge, the gentle gospel of Mary came with a sweet and

winning grace that found its way into their inmost souls. All images

of tenderness and ruth surrounded her. The blending

Of mother’s love with maiden purity[541]

touched the hidden springs of feeling which exist in the rudest

natures, and made the worship of Mary a religion of hope and

consolation. She became the new Mediatrix between the sinful human

soul and the Father in heaven. Those who shrank from God fled for

succour to the virgin mother. The pitifulness of her human nature was

esteemed a stronger ground of confidence than that infinite compassion

and everlasting love which was manifested in the agony and bloody

sweat of Gethsemane and the cross and passion of Calvary. Hence Mary

has often been regarded as a sort of tutelar divinity by the ferocious

brigand who stained with blood the scapular which he wore as a sacred

talisman; and by the daughter of shame who, in strange blending

profligacy and devotion, cherished her image in the very lair of vice.

But, as there is a soul of goodness in things evil, so even the

antiscriptural perversions of Mariolatry were not without some moral

benefit to mankind. In a coarse, rude age a new ideal of excellence

was developed. A morose asceticism was spreading on every side,

denouncing the sweet and gentle charities of hearth and home, and

forbidding the love of wife and child to those who would attain to 323

the heights of holiness. Woman was degraded as a being of inferior

nature, regarded as “a necessary evil,” and forbidden, as unworthy, to

touch with her hand the sacred emblems of the passion of Christ. But

this cultus of Mary raised woman to a loftier plane of being, invested

her with a moral dignity and power infinitely superior to any thing

known to pagan times, and called forth a deeper reverence and more

chivalrous regard.

This example of all womanhood,

So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good,

So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure,[542]

ennobled and dignified the entire sex, and therefore raised and

purified the whole of society. The worship of sorrow softened savage

natures to more human gentleness, and ameliorated the horrors of long

dark centuries of cruelty and blood.

We have dwelt thus long on this development of Romanism on account of

the remarkable prominence and enhanced dignity it has received by the

bull of the Immaculate Conception, issued on the individual authority

of the present pontiff,[543] and by the decree of his personal

infallibility imposed on all Roman Catholic Christendom. We have seen

how alien it is to the entire spirit and teachings, both in art and

literature, of the primitive church, and have traced its growth with

the decline of Christianity, like a fungus on a dying tree, till it

has sapped its very life, and concealed its early beauty and strength

beneath deformity and decay.

The other groups of the New Testament cycle are chiefly scenes in the 324

life of Our Lord, together with representations of some of his

principal miracles and two or three illustrations of the parables.

This series, it must be confessed, is of exceedingly meagre character

and limited range, being remarkable as much for what it omits as for

what it contains. Out of the vast number of subjects which have been

treated in later religious art, a comparatively few have been

selected, which are over and over repeated with unvarying iteration of

type.

[Illustration: Fig. 91.--Christ with the Doctors.]

The accompanying bas relief, from the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus,

(A. D. 359,) is probably intended for Christ “sitting in the midst of

the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions.”[544] He is

here shown seated on a curule chair, wearing a Roman toga, and holding

a half open scroll in his hand. His feet rest on a scarf held by an

allegorical figure, probably a personification of the earth--a

conception borrowed from Pagan art.

Frescoes of the baptism of Our Lord occasionally occur;[545] but the

scenes of the temptation, the subject of such grotesque treatment in 325

mediæval art, nowhere appear in the Catacombs.

On a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum is an illustration of Our

Lord’s first miracle at Cana of Galilee, in which he is touching the

water-pots with his rod of power and turning the water into wine.

[Illustration: Fig. 92.--Christ and the Woman of Samaria.]

Christ talking with the woman of Samaria at the well of Sychar is a

subject that is frequently repeated in fresco and relief. In the

accompanying example from a sarcophagus in the Lateran, a windlass of

primitive construction, like those still common in the Campagna, is

shown.

[Illustration: Fig. 93.--The Healing of the Paralytic.]

The healing of the paralytic has been regarded as a type of the

restoration of the soul paralyzed by sin. Ingenious Romanists have

discovered herein a symbol of “the Sacrament of Penance,” and also 326

of “Baptism and the Remission of Sins.” In the frescoes of the

Catacombs the man is represented in the act of obeying the command,

“Take up thy bed and walk.” Sometimes the bed is a mere reticulated

frame-work. It is also shown as in the foregoing example from the

Catacomb of Callixtus. See Fig. 93.

[Illustration: Fig. 94.--Christ Healing the Woman with the Issue of

Blood.]

Our Lord healing the infirmity of the woman with the issue of blood,

who drew nigh and touched the hem of his garment, is a frequent

subject of both sarcophagal and mural presentation. In the

accompanying example from a bas relief of the fourth century the

Saviour is apparently uttering the words, “Daughter, be of good

comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole.” In the background is seen,

in confused perspective, a Christian basilica of the period, with its

semicircular _absis_ and detached baptistery. The doors are hung

with heavy curtains to exclude the noontide heat, as is still common

in Italian churches.[546]

[Illustration: Fig. 95.--The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.] 327

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a theme

of frequent treatment in early Christian painting and sculpture, and

was regarded in the writings of the Fathers as a eucharistic type of

Him who, as the true Bread from heaven, gave his body to be broken for

the life of the world. Sometimes, as on a sarcophagus in the Lateran,

Our Lord stands between two disciples blessing with either hand the

food which they hold. Occasionally, as in the foregoing fresco from

the cemetery of St. Priscilla, the scene is represented by a group of

disciples kneeling on the ground as if they had just received the food

so marvellously multiplied. At their feet are seen the loaves and

fishes, and in the foreground stand the seven baskets full of

fragments that remained.

[Illustration: Fig. 96.--Christ Opening the Eyes of the Blind.]

The miracle of opening the eyes of the blind, which was at once a 328

fulfillment of the ancient prophecies concerning the Messiah and a

type of that moral illumination which he should impart, appropriately

found a place on the tombs of those who had been called from darkness

into God’s marvellous light. The preceding example is from the

Catacomb of Callixtus.

[Illustration: Figure 97.--Our Lord blessing a little Child.]

Our Lord laying his hand in blessing on the head of a little child, or

probably teaching humility and rebuking the ambition of his disciples

by setting a child in their midst, is a frequently recurring subject

in this primitive cycle. It was a lesson which the early Christians of

Rome had often to learn: that he that would be greatest among them

must be the servant of all; that exaltation of office was only

pre-eminence of danger and of toil. The example above given is from

the Catacomb of Callixtus.

A bas relief in the Kircherian Museum, of the parable of the sower and

the seed, appropriately symbolized the sowing in the furrows of

society of the good seed of the kingdom, from which should spring a

harvest of righteousness. The frequent representations of fishing

scenes may refer to the occupation of several of the first disciples

of Our Lord, or to their spiritual vocation as fishers of men. In

these, however, Roman Catholic writers have fancied an allusion to the

sacrament of baptism. We have already seen in the ever-recurring

figure of the Good Shepherd an illustration of the beautiful parable

of the lost sheep, and a most appropriate symbol of the Shepherd and 329

Bishop of all souls. In the Catacomb of St. Agnes is a fresco of the

five wise virgins of the parable going forth to meet the bridegroom,

and it is so designated by Bosio.[547] Each of the virgins bears in

her hand the vessel of oil to replenish her lamp; the foremost holds a

torch or candle of wax, anciently much used in Roman marriage

processions,[548] as it still is; while the others bear branches of

palm in token of festivity. A distinguished Roman theologian has,

however, with perverted ingenuity, discovered in the vessels of oil

the modern ecclesiastical _situlæ_, or holy-water vases, and in

the radiant torch of the foremost figure the tufted aspergillum with

which the holy water is sprinkled.[549]

The story of Lazarus, as we may easily conceive, was an especial

favourite of the early Christian artists. It spoke to the deepest

feelings, and inspired the loftiest hopes of the primitive believers.

Rescued from the darkness and despair of paganism as to the future

state of the soul, they grasped with intensest fervour the glorious

doctrine of its immortal existence and of the resurrection of the

body. Amid the gloom of the Catacombs, and surrounded by the silent

congregation of the dead, they heard with joy the thrilling words, “I

am the Resurrection and the Life,” and laid their loved ones to their

rest, not with everlasting farewells and passionate complainings at

the gods, but exulting in the hope of a blessed immortality. Therefore

they engraved on the funeral slab, or painted on the tomb, this record

of Christ’s triumph over death, as a symbol of that hope which kept

their hearts strong in life’s trial hour. These representations are 330

of every degree of artistic merit, from the rudely scratched and

scarcely intelligible outline, to the elaborately sculptured bas

relief on the costly sarcophagus. Of the former the annexed is perhaps

the simplest example to be found. It is of date A. D. 400.

[Illustration: Fig. 98.--Lazarus.]

Lazarus is generally exhibited as a mummy-like figure, “bound hand and

foot with grave-clothes,” standing in a temple-shaped tomb or

_ædicula_, like those which line the Appian Way. This figure Our Lord,

the Prince of Life, is touching with the rod of his power, as shown in

the accompanying fresco from the Catacomb of Sts. Peter and

Marcellinus.

[Illustration: Fig. 99.--The Raising of Lazarus.]

The figure of Mary, frequently of very diminutive size, setting all

proportion at defiance, is often depicted as crouching at the feet of

Jesus, and sometimes as kissing his hand in gratitude for restoring

her brother to life. Sometimes, also, Martha is seen standing by the

tomb, and the disciples standing around Jesus. The following

engraving, from a sarcophagus in the Lateran, is a characteristic

example of the ordinary type.

A much less frequent subject of art-presentation was Mary Magdalene 331

holding in her hands the “alabaster box of very precious ointment,”

wherewith she anointed Our Lord.

[Illustration: Fig. 100.--Raising of Lazarus.[550]]

[Illustration: Fig. 101.--Christ’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.]

Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the presage and symbol of

his final victory in the world and entrance as the King of Glory into

the New Jerusalem on high, occurs with great frequency and

considerable variety of treatment. Although dissociated from this

scene in the gospel narrative, Zacchæus is almost invariably connected

therewith in this primitive art, and generally appears mounted in a 332

a tree gazing at the procession. At times the scene is reduced to its

simplest elements; at others, as in Fig. 101, from a sarcophagus in

the Lateran, it is more elaborately treated, exhibiting the multitudes

spreading their garments, and strewing branches of palm before the

meek conqueror.

Peter’s denial of his Master is a theme that is frequently repeated.

The cock, whose crowing awoke the disciple’s late remorse, without

which it would sometimes be impossible to discriminate the scene, is

generally shown, as in the following sarcophagal example from the

Lateran Museum.

[Illustration: Fig. 102.--Peter’s Denial of Christ.]

As we have already remarked, the tragic scenes of the passion of Our

Lord find no place in this primitive cycle. These were felt to be

subjects for devout meditation rather than for pictorial treatment.

The early Christians preferred to contemplate Christ rather as the

victor over death and hell, than as the victim of suffering and shame.

“The agony, the crown of thorns, the nails, the spear,” says a

distinguished critic of this primitive art,[551] “seem all forgotten

in the fullness of joy brought by his resurrection. This is the theme,

Christ’s resurrection, and that of the church in his person, on which,

in their peculiar language, the artists of the Catacombs seem never

weary of expatiating; death swallowed up in victory, and the victor 333

crowned with the amaranth wreath of immortality, is a vision ever

before their eyes, with a vividness of anticipation which we, who have

been born to this belief, can but feebly realize.”

[Illustration: Fig. 103.--Pilate on the Judgment Seat Washing his

Hands.]

The only scenes connected with the passion, besides that of the

denial, already given, are those which occurred in the judgment-hall

of Pilate, and a unique example of Simon bearing the cross. One scene

in particular seems to have been selected rather as a testimony of

Christ’s innocence than of his sufferings. It is that in which Pilate

declares, “I have found no fault in this man;” and calling for water

washes his hands, as if to blot out the damning guilt of that judicial

murder. In the accompanying engraving, from a mutilated bas-relief in

the Lateran Museum, this scene is exhibited. In the original the face

of the irresolute governor seems to express compunction at this 334

perversion of justice to which he is yielding. In the background is

seen the profile of his wife, as though uttering her solemn admonition

against the impending crime. The servant with the ewer and empty basin

appears in conformity with the oriental ablutionary custom of pouring

water upon the hands.

In the last compartment to the right of the remarkable sarcophagus in

the Lateran, represented in Fig. 104, this scene is repeated.

Associated therewith in the next adjoining compartment are two figures

interpreted as Christ, guarded by a Roman soldier, witnessing a good

confession before Pontius Pilate. The crown above the head of the

latter, if not a mere architectural decoration, may indicate the

reward of those who confess Christ before men.

[Illustration: Fig. 104.--Sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum.]

This sarcophagus exhibits, as Dr. Northcote admits, “the nearest

resemblance to the later representations of Our Saviour’s Passion to

be found in early Christian art.”[552] The Constantinian monogram in

the central compartment has been already described.[553] To the left

is seen the figure of Christ crowned, not with thorns, but, as if

symbolizing his crown of rejoicing on high, with a garland of flowers.

The last compartment exhibits Our Lord, or, more probably, Simon the 335

Cyrenian, bearing the cross under the guard of a Roman soldier. “But

there are none of the traces of suffering,” says Dr. Northcote, “with

which later artists have familiarized our imagination, and the crown

above points to the reward for bearing the cross after our suffering

Master.”[554] In one instance the Roman soldiers are shown smiting Our

Lord on the head with a reed;[555] but no nearer approach to the

consummation of the supreme sacrifice of Calvary is ever attempted.

Neither are the august themes of Christ’s resurrection and ascension

historically treated in this biblical cycle, but only under the Old

Testament types of Jonah and Elijah. One group, hypothetically

interpreted as the _Noli me tangere_, or Our Lord saying to Mary on

the morning of the resurrection, “Touch me not, for I am not yet

ascended to my Father,” more probably represents the gratitude of Mary

for the resurrection of her brother Lazarus. Numerous frescoes of

seven men eating a repast of bread and fish may refer to Our Lord’s

appearing to his disciples on the sea-shore, or to the celebration of

the Agape.

We find only one event subsequent to the ascension occasionally

represented on the early Christian sarcophagi, namely, the

apprehension of Peter,[556] which was probably regarded as a type of

his being finally bound for his crucifixion. He is to be discriminated

from Our Lord arrested by the Roman soldiers by his bearded face, and

by the Jewish caps, which mark the satellites of Herod Agrippa. It is 336

remarkable that so little reference is made to St. Peter in this early

Christian sculpture, and that little indicating no degree of

superiority over the other apostles; and the fact is inexplicable on

the Roman theory of his primacy in the so-called Apostolic College. In

the still earlier frescoes of the Catacombs he is nowhere especially

designated by name or attribute. The only apostle distinguished from

the rest of the twelve is St. Paul, who, in a fresco in the Catacomb

of St. Priscilla, is seen side by side with the Good Shepherd, and

indicated by the inscription--PAVLVS PASTOR APOSTOLVS.[557] Indeed,

this was the especial title of St. Paul as being “in labors more

abundant” than any of the apostles.[558] Even on the sarcophagi St.

Peter is only once or twice exhibited as bearing the symbolical rod of

power, and these examples may be of the fifth or sixth century. In

certain of the gilt glasses already mentioned he is allegorically

portrayed, instead of Moses, as smiting the rock, implying the opinion

that he was in some sense the representative of the latter in the New

Testament economy. But these glasses are of comparatively late date,

when the notion of the primacy of St. Peter was already partially

developed; and even in these St. Peter and St. Paul are often found

side by side, without any sign of the superiority of the former.

It is easy to discriminate in early Christian art between the two

apostles so highly honoured at Rome[559] by the strongly marked 337

conventional types to which their portraits almost invariably conform.

St. Paul is characterized by the nobler form of face, a high, bold

forehead, aquiline Jewish nose, dark hair and eyes, a flowing and

pointed beard, and a refined and thoughtful expression of countenance

as became one brought up at the feet of Gamaliel and instructed in all

the wisdom of Greek philosopher and Hebrew sage. The Galilæan

fisherman is represented with strongly-knit frame, broad rustic

features, short gray hair, a thick and closely curling beard,

generally of silvery white, and an expression of much force and energy

of character.[560] It is probable that these types were derived from

authentic tradition if not from actual portraits.[561] Eusebius,

Augustine, and others of the Fathers, claim to have seen

representations of these apostles preserved in painting; and the 338

reputed portraits alleged to have been sent by Pope Sylvester to the

Emperor Constantine are annually exhibited at St. Peter’s for the

veneration of the faithful.[562]

Nowhere in the Catacombs do we find the least support for the notion

that St. Peter is in any sense the founder of the church in Rome, much

less the rock on which the church universal is built. That honour is

assigned in early Christian art, as it is by the apostle himself, to

Jesus Christ, the “chief corner-stone, elect, precious.”[563]

[Illustration: Fig. 105.--Painted Chamber in the Catacomb of St. 339

Agnes.[564]]

These biblical pictures, we may here remark, are not grouped

indiscriminately, but are often arranged in a regular order having

reference to their doctrinal signification. The walls and ceilings of

the _cubicula_ are frequently divided into compartments of

geometrical design, as shown in the preceding engraving of a chamber 340

in the Catacomb of St. Agnes. See also Figs. 82 and 89.

Sometimes the paintings of a chamber are as closely related as the

parts of a chapter in systematic theology. Thus on account of their

common reference, as he conceives, to the sacraments of baptism and

the eucharist, De Rossi designates as liturgical paintings certain

pictures in the Catacomb of Callixtus.[565] An allegorizing spirit,

however, will often discover a meaning in a fresco or relief

altogether unthought of by the original artist. Thus Dr. Northcote

interprets as personifications of the church or of the Virgin Mary,

certain praying figures nowise differing from the ordinary _oranti_.

The sarcophagi are almost exclusively occupied with scenes from the

biblical cycle, generally arranged in two rows in a continuous series,

like the figures on the frieze of a Grecian temple. Frequently ten or

twelve groups, embracing nearly forty figures, are found on the side

of a sarcophagus. Sometimes the separate groups occupy a rhythmical

arrangement of panel-like compartments, divided by columns of more or

less ornamental character. (See Figs. 102, 103, and 104.) The busts of

the deceased persons, man and wife, are often exhibited in bold relief

in a concave recess in the centre, like the half of a bivalve shell.

The table in the footnote on the following page exhibits the relative

frequency of occurrence of the different subjects already described,

as observed in fifty-five sarcophagi in the Lateran Museum by

Mr. Burgon, and as shown in forty-eight examples copied by Bosio.[566] 341

The massiveness of the sarcophagi would during the ages of persecution

prevent their use even for the wealthy, as their preparation and

conveyance from the city would involve an amount of publicity that

would imperil the safety of the living. After the time of Constantine

the increased riches and perfect immunity of the Christians permitted

the adoption of this costly entombment. The sarcophagi were no longer

hidden in the subterranean crypts, but were exposed to view in the

vestibules of the stately basilicas erected above ground.[567]

Hence, Chrysostom speaks of Constantine being buried in the fisherman’s

porch,[568] and of emperors occupying the place of porters at the

graves of the apostles. Numerous sarcophagi, however, have been

found in the Catacombs, some even reputed to be of the first century. 342

These were generally of simpler design, and adorned only with the

series of doubly curving lines known as wave ornaments. They were

frequently buried in the floor of the _cubicula_.[569]

The reader, in examining the foregoing representations of the person

of Our Lord,[570] must have been struck with their remarkably youthful

and joyous character in this primitive cycle, as contrasted with the

older aspect and more severe expression of the prevalent types of

later art. This difference is indicative of a corresponding change of

religious feeling, from the genial cheerfulness of the early centuries

to the gloomy asceticism of the Middle Ages. In the art of the

Catacombs Our Lord is represented, for the most part, in an ideal

manner, and not in an historical sense; or, to use the language of

Lord Lindsay, “as an abstraction, as the genius, so to speak, of

Christianity.”[571] He is almost invariably exhibited as a youthful,

beardless figure, to signify--say the ancient writers--“the

everlasting prime of eternity;” with, where any definite expression is

attempted, a countenance of sweet and tender grace, full of mildness

and benignity.

That there was in these primitive types no attempt at realistic

portraiture is evident from the opinion of many of the early Fathers 343

as to the personal appearance of Our Lord. This opinion was founded

upon an erroneous interpretation of certain passages of Scripture,

expressive of Christ’s voluntary humiliation and abasement. Thus

Justin Martyr speaks of his appearance as ignoble and uncomely.[572]

Tertullian, with his usual vehemence, asserts Christ to have been

devoid, not only of divine majesty, but even of human beauty,[573] to

have lacked grace and dignity beyond all men.[574] “But however mean

his aspect, however vulgar and dishonoured,” he exclaims, “he shall be

still _my_ Christ whom I adore.”[575] Clement of Alexandria, Origen,

and Basil agree in this opinion as to the outward appearance of Our

Lord; and Cyril of Alexandria audaciously declares that he was the

most ugly of the sons of men.[576]

But a juster interpretation of Scripture, and a more worthy conception

of the person of Christ, at length prevailed. The glowing imagery of

the Song of Songs and of the prophetic Psalms was applied by several

of the Fathers of the fourth century to the person, as well as to the

character, of Our Lord. Jerome conjectures that there must have been

something celestial in his countenance and look, or the apostles would

not immediately have followed him;[577] and that the effulgence and

majesty of the divinity within, which shone forth even in the human 344

countenance, could not but attract at first sight all beholders.[578]

Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa in the East adopted this nobler

conception, as also did Ambrose and Augustine in the West. The latter

exclaims, “He was beautiful on his mother’s bosom, beautiful in the

arms of his parents, beautiful upon the cross, and beautiful in the

sepulchre;” although he admits that the countenance of Christ was

entirely unknown, and was painted with innumerable diversities of

expression.[579]

There was therefore, as M. Rochette remarks,[580] and as Dr. Northcote

admits,[581] no authentic portrait of Christ recognized by the early

church; nor was any strictly uniform type adopted. Eusebius, indeed,

mentions reputed portraits of Our Lord associated with those of St.

Peter and St. Paul;[582] but they were apparently objects of mere

local superstition, as was also the alleged statue of Christ at

Cæsarea Philippi, in which he was supposed to be represented as

healing the woman with the issue of blood.[583] The earliest

acknowledged images of Christ were attributed to the Gnostic heretics, 345

and were honoured with those of Homer, Pythagoras, Orpheus, and other

heroes and sages by the eclectic philosophers of Rome.[584]

The silence of early tradition, as well as of Scripture, concerning

the outward form of the Saviour of mankind, seems providentially

designed to turn the mind from a sensuous regard for his person to a

spiritual apprehension of his saving grace. The spurious epistle of

Publius Lentulus, an imaginary contemporary of Christ, which is of

uncertain and probably late date, contains the first written

portraiture of Our Lord, which already indicates a departure from the

generally youthful type of the Catacombs. “His countenance,” says this

account, “is severe and expressive, so as to inspire beholders at once

with love and fear.... In reproving or censuring, he is awe-inspiring;

in exhorting and teaching, his speech is gentle and caressing. His

expression is of wonderful sweetness and gravity. No one ever saw him

laugh, though he has been often seen to weep.”[585]

The oldest extant picture of the head of Christ treated separately is 346

a profile brought from the Catacomb of Callixtus, now in the Christian

Museum of the Vatican, and figured in the engraving on the following

page. It is in imitation of mosaic, about life-size, and of a different

type from the figure of Our Lord in composition in the frescoes and 347

sculptures of the Catacombs. He is portrayed as of adult age, his

calm, smooth brow shaded by long brown hair which is parted in the

middle and falls in masses on the shoulders. The eyes are large and

thoughtful, the nose long and narrow, the beard soft and flowing, and

the general expression of countenance serene and mild. This became the

hieratic type of many of the noblest pictures of later Italian art,

and, according to the Abbé Brivati, inspired the genius of Da Vinci,

Raphael, and Caracci.

[Illustration: Fig. 106.--The Oldest Extant Picture of Our Lord.]

In the Catacomb of Sts. Nereus and Achilles the head and bust of

Christ form a medallion in the centre of a vaulted ceiling. The face

is of a noble and dignified expression, mingled with benevolence; but

it is older in aspect, and probably of considerably later date, than

that here given. Kugler, however, claims for it priority of origin.

Both of these were probably of the latter part of the fourth century,

and were executed not by the Christians of the purest ages of the

church, but by those who had begun to walk by sight and not by faith.

The primitive Christians, we have seen, had no professed portraits of

Christ, but only allegorical representations of the Good Shepherd, or

a youthful figure regarded as the abstractions or genius of 348

Christianity. “We must not,” says a Father of the second century,

“cling to the sensuous, but rise to the spiritual. The familiarity of

daily sight lowers the dignity of the divine, and to pretend to

worship a spiritual essence through earthly matter is to degrade that

essence to the world of sense.”[586]

On a terra cotta medallion, found not in the Catacombs themselves, but

in the rubbish near the mouth of the cemetery of St. Agnes, is a head

of Our Lord of the same general type as Fig. 106, but of much superior

execution. The face is of exquisite beauty, and is characterized by a

sweet and tender grace of expression. But with the decline of art and

the corruption of Christianity this beautiful type disappeared, and a

more austere and solemn aspect was given to pictures of Christ.

Although the technical means of execution were diminished, and the

rendering of form became more and more incorrect, yet for powerful

effect, strength of character, and depth of feeling, Christian art

exhibited resources beyond any thing to be found in the Catacombs. It

burst the narrow limits in which it was there confined, and found

ample scope in the frescoes and mosaics of the stately basilicas which

were everywhere rising. In those vast and shadowy interiors the

principal figure was that of Christ, surrounded by saints and angels,

looking down upon the worshippers with awe-inspiring power, holding in

his left hand the book of life, and raising his right in solemn menace

or warning.

The first example of the art-presentation of Christ under this stern

and sullen aspect, according to that accomplished critic, Mr. Hemans, 349

is a large mosaic composition of the fifth century in the Ostian

basilica of St. Paul. The colossal figure of the Saviour dominates

over every other object, with an effect at once startling and

repulsive. “Nor can we help,” says Mr. Hemans, “seeing in this

strangely unworthy conception the evidence of deterioration in the

religious ideal, even more than of decline in the technical treatment

peculiar to the age.”[587] Of this character is the head of Our Lord

in the crypt of St. Cecilia. The expression is grave, the eyes large

and solemn; the book of the gospels is in his hand, and his head is

surrounded by a nimbus in the form of a Greek cross.

This type became more and more rigid and austere as the gathering

shadows of the Dark Ages mantled on the minds of men. The gloomy

asceticism of the monastic orders also left its impress on the art of

the period, especially in the East, where the Basilian monks too

faithfully illustrated the stern, austere judgments of their founder

concerning the person of Christ. The rudeness of execution of this

Byzantine school was only equalled by the meanness of conception of 350

the harsh, stiff and blackened portraits of Our Lord, in which he was

exhibited as emphatically “a man of sorrows and acquainted with

grief.”

Toward the close of the tenth century art sank into its deepest

degradation as the long night of the Dark Ages reached its densest

gloom. The year one thousand was regarded in popular apprehension as

the date of the end of time, and of the final conflagration of the

world so intensely realized in the sublime hymn,

Dies iræ, dies illa,

Solvet sæclum in favilla.

The excited imagination of mankind, brooding upon the approaching

terrors of the Last Day, found expression in the sombre character of

the art of the period. The tender grace of the Good Shepherd of the

Catacombs gave place to the stern inexorable Judge, blasting the

wicked with a glance and treading down the nations in his fury. Christ

was no longer the Divine Orpheus, charming with the music of his lyre

the souls of men, and breathing peace and benediction from his lips,

but the “Rex tremendæ majestatis,” a dread Avenger striking the

imagination with awe, and awakening alarm and remorse in the soul. All

the stern denunciations of the Hebrew prophets and the weird imagery

of the Apocalypse found intensely realistic treatment in art. Christ

smites the earth with a curse, and consumes the wicked like stubble.

“A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round

about.”[588] The great white throne is set, and from beneath it a

flame bursts forth devouring the guilty objects of his wrath. Like an

angry Jove,[589] he hurls the thunderbolts of his fury and blasts with 351

the lightning of his power. The angels tremble in terror at his frown,

and even the intercession of the Virgin Mother avails not to mitigate

the dread displeasure of her Divine Son. Down to the period of the

Renaissance the tragic scenes of the last judgment continue to be

favourite subjects of art treatment, and exhibit some of its most

remarkable achievements; but not all the genius of Orcagna or of

Michael Angelo can reconcile our minds to the savage sternness and

ferocity of the frescoes of the Campo Santo and the Sistine Chapel.

Christ is also frequently depicted in Mediæval art with his staff and

scrip, his “scallop hat and shoon,” setting out upon his weary, mortal

pilgrimage; returning to heaven as a toil-worn man leaning heavily

upon his staff,[590] or showing to the Father sitting on his throne

his wounded hands and side. He is also seen, as in the sublime vision

of St. John, riding in majesty on his white horse, accompanied by the 352

armies of the sky; as trampling beneath his feet the lion and dragon,

and as chaining death and hell. In Greek art, especially, he is

exhibited as a throned archbishop, arrayed in gorgeous vestments,

receiving the homage of saints and angels, or offering the sacrifice

of the mass as the great High Priest entered into the holiest of all.

One of the most striking contrasts between the art of the Catacombs

and that of later times is the entire absence in the former of those

gross anthropomorphic images of the persons of the Holy Trinity,

either together or separately--except Our Lord under his proper human

form--of which the latter, in striking offence against piety and good

taste, exhibits so many painful examples. In the earlier ages a solemn

reverence forbade the attempt to depict the Eternal Father or the Holy

Spirit except by means of symbolical types. The universal testimony of

Christian antiquity is opposed to this practice so common in Mediæval

art. Origen, Ambrose, and Augustine unite in prohibiting the

representation of the Deity by any material object. The latter

declares it to be impious for any Christian to set up such an image in

the church, and much more to do it in his heart,[591] or to conceive

it possible that the Divine Being may be circumscribed by the limits

of the human frame.[592] Paulinus of Nola, in his account of the

symbolism of the Holy Trinity in the church of St. Felix, describes

Christ as represented by a lamb, the Holy Spirit by a dove, but for

the Father nothing but a voice from heaven.[593] Gregory II., the 353

champion of image-worship, denies that it is lawful to make any

representation of the Divine nature, but only of Our Lord, his mother,

and the saints.[594] Such figures were also condemned by the second

Council of Nice.[595] John Damascenus, a zealous defender of the

images of Christ and the saints, yet declares it is as great impiety

as it is folly to make any image of the Divine nature, which is

incorporeal, invisible, without material or form, incomprehensible,

not to be circumscribed, nor to be figured by the art of man.[596]

Urban VIII. ordered all representations of the Trinity to be burnt,

and Benedict XIV. forbade the depicting of the Holy Ghost in human

form. Dupin asserts that the most zealous defenders of images have

condemned these;[597] and the learned and judicious Bingham declares

that “in all ancient history we never meet with any one instance of

picturing God the Father, because it was supposed that he never

appeared in any visible shape, but only by a voice from heaven.”[598]

Some recent Roman Catholic writers, however, assert the contrary of

this to be the case, and refer for proof of the assertion to one or 354

two sarcophagal bas reliefs of the fourth or fifth century. One of

these represents Cain and Abel bringing their gifts to an aged and

bearded figure sitting on a stone, who is interpreted by the Romanists

as the Omnipotent Jehovah. But that distinguished archæologist, Raoul

Rochette, himself a Romanist, opposes this view. “I doubt,” he says,

“the reality of this explanation, contrary to all that we know of the

Christian monuments of the first ages, where the intervention of the

Eternal Father is only indicated in the abridged and symbolic manner

proper to antiquity, by the image of a hand.”

The other alleged sculpture of the Godhead requires more careful

examination. “The Holy Trinity,” says Dr. Northcote, “is nowhere

represented, as far as I know, in the paintings of the Catacombs.”[599]

But he asserts that a sculptured example occurs on a sarcophagus of

the fifth century, from the Ostian basilica of St. Paul’s, now in the

Lateran Museum. The group referred to consists of three bearded

figures of advanced age, and of grave and strongly-marked features.

One of these, whom Dr. Northcote designates “the Eternal Father, the

source and fountain of Deity,”[600] is seated in a raised chair or

sort of throne. Behind the chair stands another described as

representing the Holy Ghost, and in front of it the third, identified

as the “Eternal Word.”[601] At the feet of the latter are two

diminutive figures, one standing, the other prostrate, said to

represent the creation of Eve from the side of the sleeping Adam.

Padre Garrucci, who has published a monograph on this subject,

identifies none of the adult figures in the same manner as Dr. 355

Northcote, but describes the one seated as the Son, the one behind him

as the Father, and the third as the Holy Ghost.[602]

We can accept neither of these explanations, both of which are so

strongly opposed to the entire spirit and character of early Christian

art. The formulization of the doctrine of the Trinity by the Council

of Nice, in that noble creed which still expresses the faith of

Christendom, left, it is true, its impress on Christian art and

literature. Both in pictorial representation, and, as we shall

hearafter see, in inscriptions, is there a recorded protest against

the Arian heresy which at this period convulsed and rent the church.

De Rossi cites eight examples in early Christian art which he

conceives to have reference to this doctrine; but in seven of these it

is indicated by the association of the sacred monogram with the

triangle, the symbol of tri-unity, and the eighth is the unique and

anomalous bas relief under discussion.

We have seen that Christ is uniformly exhibited in this primitive art

as youthful and beardless; and on this very sarcophagus, side by side

with this so-called sculpture of the Trinity, he is thus seen as the

representative of the Deity giving the wheat-sheaf to Adam and the

lamb to Eve. Yet we are asked to believe that in the very next group

he is shown, in defiance of the uniform practice, as heavily bearded

and of advanced age; and that the Almighty Father, who is

substitutionally represented by the Son in the adjoining scene, is

here exhibited, as well as the Eternal Spirit, in human form. Another

remarkable discrepancy also occurs. The so-called figures of Adam and

Eve are of most diminutive size, and not nearly as large as the infant 356

Christ in his mother’s arms in the scene of the adoration of the Magi

immediately below;[603] and of these the prostrate figure supposed to

represent the sleeping Adam is considerably the smaller of the two,

and of the more feminine aspect. This incongruity is the more striking

from the immediate proximity of the adult figures of Adam and Eve, to

which the smaller ones bear no resemblance. The whole group seems to

correspond better to Solomon’s celebrated judgment concerning the

living and the dead child than to the creation of Eve.

[Illustration: Fig. 107.--God Symbolized by a Hand appearing to

Abraham.]

So careful, indeed, were the early Christian artists to avoid any

representation of “the King eternal, immortal, invisible,” that in the

scenes where God spake from heaven to Abraham and to Moses he is only

symbolically indicated by a hand stretched out to stay the knife of

the patriarch, or surrounded by clouds, as if to show more strongly

its figurative character, giving the tables of the law to the leader

of Israel. The annexed suggestive example of this treatment, of which

many others might be adduced, is from a sarcophagus in the Lateran.

See also Fig. 71, p. 290.

Throughout the whole range of sacred mosaics at Rome from the fourth 357

to the fourteenth century, according to Mr. Hemans, the Supreme Being

is never represented except symbolically by means of a hand, usually

holding a crown over the head of Christ, the Virgin, or the saints. In

later art the hand is sometimes surrounded by a cruciform nimbus, to

indicate more clearly its divine character. It is also seen stretched

out from heaven in pictures of Christ’s baptism and transfiguration,

of the agony in the garden, the passion, and ascension.[604]

It was long before the most audacious hand dared to represent in

painting or sculpture the omnipotent Jehovah or the infinite Spirit,

who sustain and pervade the universe. M. Emeric David says that the

French artists of the ninth century had first the “happy

boldness”--_heureuse hardiesse_--to depict the Eternal Father

under human form.[605] M. Didron asserts that it was not till the

twelfth century that the Divine Being was personally represented,[606]

being previously invariably indicated by the symbol of a hand, or by

the divine name written in a triangle surrounded by a circle. Previous

at least to the earlier of these dates, the work of creation and other

acts popularly regarded as proper to the Father are always represented

as performed by the Son, “who is the image of the invisible God,” “by 358

whom also he made the worlds.”[607] Christ is also painted as

commanding Noah to build the ark, as conversing with Abraham, and as

speaking to Moses out of the burning bush. He is frequently

represented also in the gigantic frescoes of the Byzantine cupolas

clothed with awful majesty and bearing the title Ο ΠΑΝΤΟΚΡΑΤΩΡ, the

Almighty; but the addition of the letters |IC XC|, the contraction for

Jesus Christ, assure us that it is not the Father but the Son who is

meant.

But the literal conception of the age was not content with a

symbolical indication of the Deity. By degrees the arm as well as the

hand was portrayed, and art, gradually growing bolder, attempted the

representation of that face which inspiration declares no man can see

and live. But at first it is the face alone that is shown.[608] Then,

with progressive daring, the bust and upper part of the body are

painted as reaching forth from the clouds, and finally the entire

figure appears under various aspects and in different characters. The

Almighty is represented armed with sword and bow, as the God of

battles; as crowned, like a king or emperor;[609] and finally, as

Pope, wearing the pontifical tiara and vestments. In the following

example from a stained-glass window of the sixteenth century, at

Troyes, in France, the everlasting Father, throned in glory, crowned

with a quintuple tiara and robed in alb and tunic, supports a cross on 359

which hangs the lifeless body of the Divine Son.

[Illustration: Fig. 108.--God the Father as Pope.]

The omnipotent Jehovah is sometimes portrayed as “the Ancient of

Days,” under the form of a feeble old man bowed down by the weight of

years, and fain to seek support by leaning heavily on a staff, or

reposing on a couch after the labours of creation.[610] The treatment

becomes more and more rude, even to the borders of the grotesque,[611] 360

and the conception becomes mean, coarse, and vulgar, till all the

Divine departs and only human feebleness and imbecility remain,

indicating at once the degradation of taste, decline of piety, and

corruption of doctrine.

But this grossness of treatment reaches its most offensive development

in the impious attempt to symbolize the sublime mystery of the Holy

Trinity by a grotesque figure with three heads, or a head with three

faces joined together, somewhat after the manner of the three-headed

image of Brahma in the Hindoo mythology.[612] In other examples the

Trinity is represented by three harsh stiff and aged figures,[613]

identified by the attributes of the tiara, cross, and dove, enveloped

in one common mantle, and jointly crowning the Virgin Mary in heaven,

whose flowing train the angels humbly bear. By this degradation of

Deity and exaltation of Mary we may mark the infinite divergence in 361

faith and practice of the modern church of Rome from the simplicity,

purity, and orthodoxy of the ancient church of the Catacombs, as

evidenced by that primitive art and symbolism whose priceless

monuments we have been examining.

[477] In the bas reliefs of Chartres Cathedral and in other

mediæval churches, a biblical cycle somewhat analogous in

character to that of the Catacombs is represented. In the former

case the whole drama of time from the creation of the world to

the last judgment is set forth in a series of pictures in stone

comprising 1,800 figures, often with a touching _naiveté_

and simple grace.

[478] _Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte._

[479] _History of Christian Art_, vol. i, p. 47.

[480] In an ivory diptych, probably of the fourth century, which

is figured in Marriott’s _Testimony of the Catacombs_, is a

very spirited bas relief of Adam in the garden giving the beasts

their names.

[481] Is there any allusion here to Noah as a “preacher of

righteousness?”

[482] 1 Pet. iii, 20, 21. The dove is the symbol, says

Tertullian, of the Holy Spirit bringing the peace of God after

the mystical lustration of the soul in baptism.--_De Baptismo_,

vii.

[483] It is difficult to conceive how such a wide departure from

historic truth took place in these representations. It has been

suggested that they were copied from some pre-existing type, upon

which this form was imposed by the conditions of space in which

it was executed. Such a type occurs in the celebrated Apamean

medals, of date A. D. 193-211. See Fig. 67. It probably

commemorated the Deucalion deluge; and the design was apparently

modified by the Christian artists to represent the preservation

of Noah.

[484] Hostia viva Deo tanquam puer offerar Isaac,

Et mea ligna gerens, sequar almum sub cruce patrem.

[485] _E. g._, Greg. Nazianz., _Orat._ 42.

[486] 1 Cor. x, 4.

[487] Paulinus of Nola, in the beginning of the fifth century,

describes in spirited lines certain paintings analogous to those

of which we have been speaking, but including some subjects not

treated in the Catacombs. Among these are the passage of the Red

Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host, Joshua and the

ark of God, Samson bearing away the gates of Gaza, the Israelites

crossing Jordan, and the pathetic episode of Ruth and her

sister-in-law, the one following and the other forsaking the

stricken Naomi, the emblem, as the worthy bishop remarks, of

mankind, part deserting, part adhering to the true faith:

Ruth sequitur sanctam, quam deserit Orpa, parentem;

Perfidiam nurus una, fidem nurus altera monstrat.

Præfert una Deum patriæ, patriam altera vitæ.

[488] Job xix, 17. This subject is also fantastically treated in

Mediæval art. In a Byzantine MS. of the ninth or tenth century

Job is exhibited as sitting in lugubrious melancholy amid the

ruins of his house, while Satan is dancing before him in fiendish

joy over the desolation he has caused, and is torturing his

victim with a red-hot goad. Didron, _Iconog. Chrét._, p. 158.

[489] _Roma Sotterranea_, i, 310. The newly elected pope

receives the investiture with the words, “Receive the

_pallium_, to wit, the fullness of the apostle’s office.”

_Pallia_ are sent to foreign bishops from the tomb of St.

Peter, and those who receive them keep them “_in obsequium

Petri_”--in obedience and devotion to Peter.

[490] Hom. ii. _In Ascens. Dom._

[491] Several Romanist writers interpret, with doubtful

propriety, a fresco in the cemetery of St. Priscilla as a

representation of the Annunciation. True to its gentle genius,

the art of the Catacombs passes over the tragical scenes of the

Slaughter of the Innocents, whose horrors later art has delighted

to portray.

[492] In the church of the Ara Coeli, at Rome, is a miraculous

image of the infant Christ, carved, it is said, out of wood from

the Mount of Olives, and painted by St. Luke. It is known as the

_Santissimo Bambino_, or Most Holy Babe, and is taken in its

state-coach to visit the sick. At one time it received more fees

than any physician in Rome. Its fête is celebrated by theatrical

representations of the scenes of the Advent. The apocryphal

Gospel of the Infancy tends to popularize this feature of

Romanism.

[493] According to an ancient tradition mentioned by Origen and

Leo the Great the number of the Magi was three. In the mediæval

miracle plays they are called three gipsy kings, and their names

are given as Gaspar, Melchior, and Belshazzar.

The early Fathers all refer to the adoration of the Magi as a

proof of the divinity of Our Lord, not as any homage to Mary. See

Clem. Alex., _Pæd._, ii, 8; Origen, _c. Cels._, i, p. 46;

Chrysos., in _Matt._; Jus. Mar., _Dial. cum Tryph._; Iren., _c.

Hær._, iii, 2; Hieron., _in Esaiam_, vi, 19; Ambr., _in Luc._,

ii; Aug., _Epiph. Serm._

[494] _Rom. Sott._, p. 261.--One of these devout fictions, known

as the _Proto-Evangelium_, and attributed to St. James, was the

source of those legends of the early life of Mary which furnished

so many subjects to Italian art. According to this tradition she

was dedicated while yet an infant to a religious life, and

remained till twelve years of age in the temple, where she was

daily fed by angels. See an inscription in Provence: MARIA VIRGO

MINISTER IN TEMPLO GEROSALE. Later legends assert the angelic

pre-annunciation of her birth and her immaculate conception,

which has at length become a formulated dogma of the church,

though contrary to the opinion of the ancient Fathers. (Kayes’

_Tertul._, p. 386 and _postea_.) St. Joachim and St. Anne, her

parents, are invoked in the Missal, which also asserts her

freedom from original sin, an exemption shared only by Our Lord,

John the Baptist, and Jeremiah.

In her youth, says the _Proto-Evangelium_, Mary was consigned to

Joseph, not for marriage, but for parental guardianship. A number

of suitors claimed her hand, but the apparition of a dove flying

from the top of Joseph’s rod indicated the divinely chosen

spouse. In course of time, in consequence of the growing superior

regard for celibacy, the legends of her perpetual virginity were

developed, although some, at least, of the Fathers held a

contrary opinion. See Tertul., _De Monogamia_, c. 8, and _De

Carne Christi_, c. 23; Neander’s _Antignostikus_, Whedon’s

_Commentary_, Matt. xiii, 55. The word πρωτότοκον, _first-born_,

applied to Jesus, Matt. i, 25, implies a second born afterward,

as in Rom. viii, 29, “first born of many brethren;” otherwise the

word μονογενής, _only born_, would be used, as in Luke vii, 12;

ix, 38.

[495] De Rossi and some other writers call this figure Isaiah

without any good reason.

[496] _Rom. Sott._, p. 260.

[497] _Imagines Selectæ Deiparæ Virginis_, pl. iv. This picture

is thought to be of the sixth century.

[498] _Test. of Catacombs_, p. 27.

[499] One of these has a saffron-coloured robe, and soft brown

eyes and hair. The other wears a deep crimson robe with purple

stripes. Both are richly embroidered and bejeweled.

[500] Northcote’s _Catacombs_, p. 77.

[501] _Rom. Sott._, p. 255.

[502] _Rom. Sott._, pl. viii.

[503] The circumstance above mentioned is another evidence that

no logical nor historical difficulties are any obstacle to the

devout credulity of Rome, in discovering proofs of its favourite

dogmas where a rational criticism is unable to find them.

[504] These figures are given in minute detail in Perret, tom.

iii, planches 16 to 20. On the arch and on the other lunettes

will be seen the “great fish” and the prophet Jonah, the Good

Shepherd bearing a goat, not a lamb, on his shoulders, and the

ever-recurring peacocks and doves.

[505] In Byzantine art, pictures of the Virgin Mary are generally

inscribed with the letters ΜΡ ΘΥ for ΜΗΤΗΡ ΘΕΟΥ--Mother of God.

[506] A literal interpretation of the Scripture: “Yea, a sword

shall pierce through thine own soul also.”--Luke ii, 35.

[507] Mater æque non demonstratur adhæsisse illi, cum Marthæ et

Mariæ aliæ in commercio ejus frequentantur. Hoc denique in loco

(Luke viii, 20) apparet incredulitas eorum cum is doceret viam

vitæ.--_De Carne Christi_, c. 7.

[508] Solus labe caret peccati conditor orbis,

Ingenitus genitusque Deus, Pater et Patre natus.

--_Apotheosis_, 894.

[509] Nec sumpsit [Christus] carnem peccati quamvis de materna

carne peccati.--_De Peccatorum Meritis et Remissione_, lib. i,

c. 24. He further beautifully says: Solus unus est qui sine

peccato natus est in similitudine carnis peccati, sine peccato

vixit inter aliena peccata sine peccato mortuus est propter

nostra peccata.--_Ibid._, c. 35.

[510] Φιλοτιμία καὶ ἀπόνοια.--_Hom. in Matt._, xii, 47.

[511] See the words of Our Lord on this very subject, Luke xi,

28: “Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and

keep it.”

[512] “Infanda.”--_Theol. Dogmat. de Incarn._, lib. xiv,

c. i.

[513] These heretics receive their name from the κολλύρα, or

cake, which they offered to the deified Virgin. Thus early was a

new paganism substituted for that which was passing away. In

modern Rome, cook-shops are dedicated to Mary under the title of

“Our Lady of Cakes and Sugar-Plums,” thus literally “baking cakes

to the Queen of heaven,” like the idolaters of Palestine

denounced by the prophet. Madame de Staël has truly said, “The

Catholic is the Pagan’s heir.”

[514] Iren. _adv. Hæreses_, lib. iii, c. 33; lib. v, c. 19.

[515] See the hymn in the office of the Virgin:

Quod Eva tristis abstulit

Tu reddis almo germine.

Compare also the “Ave maris stella.”

[516] _De Spectaculis_, c. 30.

[517] See Shelley’s Notes to _Queen Mab_.

[518] Maitland, p. 333.

[519] The letters B. M., so frequently recurring in sepulchral

inscriptions, have no reference to the Virgin Mary. They stand

for _Bene Merenti_--To the well-deserving, or _Bonæ

Memoriæ_--Of pious memory.

[520] Ut ipsa corporis facies simulacrum fuerit mentis, figura

probitatis.--_De Virgin._, lib. ii, c. 2.

[521] Neque enim novimus faciem Virginis Mariæ.--_De Trin._,

c. 8.

[522] Aringhi (tom. ii, p. 195) copies a crucifixion from the

Catacomb of “Julii Papæ,” in which Mary appears crowned with a

nimbus, and bearing, after the Byzantine manner, the label

DEI GENETRIX--Mother of God. It was probably painted by

a Greek artist of late date. The miraculous images of Mary are

too numerous to mention. Among these are the winking Madonna of

Rimini; that of St. Peter’s, which shed blood when struck; that

of Arezzo, which wept at the profanity of some drunkards;

another at Rome, which shed tears at the invasion of the French;

stranger still, one at Lucca, which transferred the infant Christ

from one arm to the other to preserve him from danger; and one

mentioned in the Fablieux of Le Grand, which, when a scaffold

broke, stretched forth a painted arm to rescue from death the

artist to whom she owed her existence! The practical and undevout

curiosity of the Czar Peter of Russia exposed the fraud of one of

the weeping Madonnas of the Greek church by the detection of a

reservoir of water behind her eyes. In popular legend, also, Mary

has often come down from her throne of glory, not to communicate

lessons about sin and salvation, but to secure some trivial gain

or to recover some lost money.

[523] _Peinture_, tom. ii, p. 38.

[524] Harduin, iv, 430, A. D. 712.

[525] In the church of St. Cecilia at Rome. The homage of the

Virgin was now called ὑπερδουλεία--the highest degree of

veneration.

[526] This legend is first mentioned by Gregory of Tours in the

sixth century, (_De Gloria Mart._, lib. i, c. 4,) next by John

Damascenus in the eighth century, but is most fully detailed in

the _Legenda Aurea_ in the fourteenth. Some of the earlier

paintings represent with touching _naiveté_ the translation of

the soul of Mary as a new-born infant to heaven, where it is

received in the arms of her Divine Son. In later art the

assumption is more literally represented, and Mary is received

and crowned by the three persons of the Holy Trinity, while

angels bear her train. Bodily assumption was also attributed to

John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.

[527] _E. g._, Psa. lxviii, 1: “Let Mary arise, and let her

enemies be scattered.” On one of the principal churches of Rome

may still be read the awful perversion of Scripture: “Let us

therefore come boldly to the throne of Mary, that we may obtain

mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

[528] The expression of Modestus, patriarch of Jerusalem in the

seventh century.

[529] In allusion to the woman in the Apocalypse, xii, 1.

[530] See a fresco in the _Campo Santo_, Pisa.

[531] In the church of _Gesù e Maria_ at Rome.

[532] Janua Coeli.

[533] Stella matutina.

[534] Refugium peccatorum.

[535] Succurre miseris.

[536] Tu nos ab hoste protege, et mortis hora suscipe.

[537] Ora pro populo, interveni pro clero intercede pro devoto

femineo sexu. See also in the “Ave Maris Stella,”

Salva vincla reis,

Profer lumen cæcis,

Mala nostra pelle,

Bona cuncta posce.

See also the “Regina Coeli,” and the “Ave Regina Coelorum.”

[538] She has been actually designated the Fourth Person of the

Trinity. In Rome there are twenty-seven churches dedicated to

Mary for one dedicated to Christ.

“In dangers, in difficulties, in doubts,” says the Roman Breviary

“in the abyss of sadness and despair, think of Mary, invoke Mary.”

[539] In the church of S. Maria Maggiore at Rome may be seen a

restored mosaic of the adoration of the Magi, in which Mary is

represented, with a golden nimbus and tunic, as sitting on a

chair of state higher than that of the Divine Child. But in

copies of the original mosaic of the fifth century, made two

centuries ago, (Ciampini, _Vet. Mon._, i, p. 200,) Mary is

standing, without any nimbus or other sign of honour, by the side

of Christ, who, attended by angels, occupies the throne. This was

evidently a vindication of the divinity of the Son of Mary

against the heresies of the Arians, which has been perverted by

modern Romanists to an exaltation of the Virgin to co-equal

honours with the Son of God.

The figure of Mary as the Queen of heaven in the church of St.

Nicholas at Rome is said by Papebrocius, a Roman authority, to

have been originally intended for Our Lord, but afterward altered

to the Madonna, a significant illustration of the substitution of

her worship for that of her Divine Son.

[540] See the wrathful image of Christ in the Last Judgment of

the _Campo Santo_ and the Sistine Chapel.

[541] Wordsworth’s _Eccles. Sonnets_, xxi.

[542] Longfellow’s “_Golden Legend_.”

[543] Dec., 1854. An inscription in St. Peter’s commemorates its

publication.

[544] Luke ii, 46. Such is Didron’s opinion.

[545] See Fig. 132.

[546] Numerous references to these veils occur in the Fathers;

_e. g._, Paulin., _Natal. Felic._, iii, 6: Aurea nunc niveis

ornantur limina velis; Hieron., _Epitaph. Nepot._: Vela semper in

ostiis; Epiphan., _ep. ad. Johan. Hierosol._: Inveni vela pendens

in foribus. They were used also at the entrance of Pagan schools,

“to conceal,” says Augustine, “the ignorance that took refuge

within.”

[547] Prudentes quinque virgines olei vasa cum lampadibus

deferentes.--_Roma Sotteranea_, tom. iii, p. 171.

[548] Plutarch, _Quæst. Rom._

[549] Rock’s _Hierurgia_, p. 463.

[550] On an ivory diptych in the Educational Museum at Toronto,

Ca., the raising of Lazarus appears exactly after this primitive

type.

[551] Lord Lindsay, _Christian Art_, vol. i, p. 51.

[552] _Rom. Sott._, p. 307.

[553] See Book II, chap. ii, p. 269.

[554] _Rom. Sott._, p. 308.

[555] According to Romish tradition, the Divine Sufferer received

five thousand stripes during his scourging. This, as they would

be inflicted by Roman soldiers, would be beyond human endurance,

and was far beyond what Jewish or Roman law would allow.

[556] Acts iv, 3.

[557] Aringhi, _Roma Sotterranea_, tom. ii, p. 273.

[558] Hence Augustine asserts that if the name of the apostle is

not expressly mentioned, St. Paul is always understood by this

title--Apostolus cum dicetur, si non exprimatur quis apostolus

non intelligitur nisi Paulus.--_Contra duas Epis. Pelag._, lib.

iii, c. 3. The apostles were sometimes represented by twelve men,

but without any individual distinction.

[559] O Roma felix, quæ duorum Principum

Es consecrata glorioso sanguine;

Horum cruore purpurata ceteras

Excellis orbis una pulcritudines.

--_Office for the Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul._

St. Paul is designated the illustrious doctor, the vase of

election, the teacher of the nations, and preacher of truth

throughout the world.--Egregie doctor Paule, vas electionis,

doctor gentium, prædicator veritatis in universo

mundo.--_Ibid._

[560] Of these types are the portraits on a bronze medal found in

the Catacomb of St. Domitilla, in the so-called tomb of Sts.

Peter and Paul at St. Sebastian’s, and in the early sculptures,

mosaics, and paintings generally.

[561] The scoffing Lucian, who may have conversed with some who

witnessed the execution of St. Paul, describes him as “the

bald-headed and long-nosed Galilæan, who mounted through the air

into the third heaven.”--Γαλιλαῖος, ἀναφαλαντίας, ἐπίῤῥινος,

ἐς τρίτον ουρανὸν ἀεροβατήσας.--_Philopatris._ Nicephorus and the

Acts of Paul and Thecla describe him as bald--ψιλὸς τὴν

κεφαλήν. The apocryphal Acts and Malalas add the epithets

γλυκύς and χάριτος πλήρης, sweet, and full of grace.

[562] The cultus of Peter, the result of the growing conception

of his primacy, was developed to a degree second only to that of

Mary. Its extent and character in the ninth century are indicated

by a mosaic in the _triclinium_ of San Giovanni di Laterano at

Rome, in which the apostle, seated on a lofty throne, with the

keys of heaven and hell lying in his lap, is bestowing the

_pallium_, or symbol of ecclesiastical power, on the most holy

lord, Pope Leo--so he is designated--and the standard of battle

on the Emperor Charlemagne, both of whom are kneeling at his

feet. Beneath is the following prayer, addressed to Peter as to

God: BEATE PETRE DONA VITA LEONI PPE BICTORIA CARLO REGI DONA,

“Blessed Peter, give life to Pope Leo, and victory to King

Charles.”

This religious cultus culminated in the erection of that noblest

of all earthly temples, raised to the honour of a lowly

fisherman, and in the idolatrous homage paid to the great bronze

statue cast from that of Jupiter Capitolinus, if it be not indeed

the identical statue of the heathen deity transformed into that

of the Christian apostle and Romish saint.

[563] We may here notice the precious Romish relic known as St.

Peter’s chair. In June, 1867, the present pontiff ordered the

bronze covering with which this object of veneration had been

concealed for two hundred years to be removed, and the chair was

found to be a solid oaken structure with iron rings, by which it

could be carried like the _sella gestatoria_, in which the

popes are borne in religious processions, and covered in part

with ivory plates on which are engraved the labours of Hercules

and other scenes. This chair, which is commemorated in one of the

festivals of the church, Romish tradition asserts to be that in

which St. Peter sat while exercising episcopal authority at Rome,

and in which it is presumed he was borne in state, like those

haughty pontiffs who claimed to be his successors. It is supposed

to have been preserved during the ages of persecution in the

crypts of the Catacombs; indeed, tradition identifies the

Catacomb of Ostrianus on the Appian Way as the scene where this

relic was venerated in the early centuries. Those who regard the

fact of Peter’s presence in Rome as exceedingly hypothetical, and

who altogether reject the notion of his episcopal authority, will

regard any refutation of this legend as superfluous.

An inscription is shown said to have been engraved by St. Peter

himself, also the font at which he baptized! (See Fig. 131.)

[564] It will be observed that in this chamber the Good Shepherd

occupies the position of prominence and dignity in the

compartment over the _arcosolium_, balanced by Daniel in the

lions’ den and the three Hebrews in the furnace. On the left hand

is a shelf for lamps, magnified in Romish imagination into a

credence table for supporting the elements of the eucharist. In

the ceiling are _oranti_ and lambs.

[565] _Rom. Sott._, p. 268.

[566] Burgon. Bosio.

History of Jonas 23 11

The Smitten Rock 21 16

Apprehension of Peter 20 14

Miracle of the Loaves 20 14

Giving Sight to the Blind 19 11

Change of Water into Wine 16 8

Raising of Lazarus 16 14

Peter’s Denial 14 8

Daniel in the Lions’ Den 14 7

Paralytic Healed 12 7

Creation of Eve 11 2

Sacrifice of Isaac 11 9

Adoration of the Magi 11 8

Fall of Adam and Eve 14 10

Woman with Issue of Blood 8 9

Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem 6 8

The Good Shepherd 6 9

Noah in the Ark 5 6

Christ before Pilate 5 6

Giving of the Law 4 6

The Three Hebrew Children 4 3

Moses Taking Off his Shoes 2 2

Elias Taken Up to Heaven 2 3

Nativity, with Ox and Ass 1 4

Christ Crowned with Thorns 1 1

It will be seen that there is only one example of Christ crowned

with thorns, and in that the harshness is removed by the

substitution of a garland of flowers. How different from modern

Roman Catholic art, in which the scenes of the passion are

endlessly repeated! In pagan sarcophagi we find, instead of these

sacred themes, crowded battle-pieces, with processions of

warriors, chariots, horses, maskers, mythological groups, vintage

scenes, etc. See the sarcophagi of the Empress Helena and of

Constantia in the Vatican Museum, and before described.

[567] In ecclesia nullatenus sepeliantur, sed in atrio, aut

porticu, aut in exedris ecclesiæ.--_Council of Nantes_, can. 6.

[568] Chrys., _Hom._ 26, _in_ 2 _Cor._

[569] Numerous Christian sarcophagi have also been found at

Arles, Saragossa, Ravenna, Milan, and elsewhere.

The name sarcophagus, _flesh-eating_, from σάρξ and φάγω, it is

well known, was derived from the supposed quality of the _Lapis

Assius_, a stone of Assos in Asia Minor of which they were

originally made, of corroding and consuming dead bodies, as

ascribed to it by Theophrastus and Pliny.

[570] See especially Figs. 47, 48, 63, 91, 92, 96, 97, and postea

106.

[571] _Christian Art_, vol. i, p. 42.

[572] Τὸν ἀειδῆ καὶ ἄτιμον φανέντα.--_Dial. cum Tryph._, 85.

[573] Adeo nec humanæ honestatis corpus fuit, nedum coelestis

claritatis.--_De Carn. Christi._, c. 9.

[574] Sed species ejus inhonorata, deficiens ultra omnes

homines.--_Contra Marc._, iii, 17.

[575] Si inglorius, si ignobilis, si inhonorabilis; meus erit

Christus.--_Ibid._

[576] Ἀλλὰ τὸ εἶδος αὐτοῦ ἄτιμον ἔκλιπον παρὰ πάντας τοὺς υἱοὺς

τῶν ἀνθρώπων.--_De Nudatione Noe_, lib. ii, vol. i, p. 13.

[577] Nisi enim habuisset et in vultu quiddam et in oculis

sidereum, nunquam eum statim secuti fuissent apostoli.--_Epis. ad

Princip. Virginem._

[578] Certe fulgor ipsa et majestas divinitatis occultæ, quæ

etiam in humanâ facie relucebat, ex primo ad se venientes trahere

poterat aspectu.--_Hieronym. in Matth._, ix, 9.

[579] Qua fuerit ille facie nos penitus ignoramus: nam et ipsius

Dominicæ facies carnis innumerabilium cogitationum diversitate

variatur et fingitur, quæ tamen una erat, quæcunque erat.--_De

Trin._, lib. vii, c. 4, 5.

[580] _Tableau des Catacombes_, p. 164.

[581] _Rom. Sott._, p. 252.

[582] _Hist. Eccl._, vii, 18. From this frequent association

St. Paul as well as St. Peter was frequently regarded as being

both among the original disciples. “Justly do they deserve to

err,” says Augustine, speaking of this mistake, “who seek Christ

and his apostles, not in the holy volumes, but on painted

walls.”--_De Consens. Evang._, lib. i, cx.

[583] This statue, it has been suggested, probably represented

the philosopher Apollonius or the Emperor Vespasian, and the

suppliant female figure a personified city or province. Gibbon

thinks it impossible that it could be intended for the _poor_

woman mentioned in the gospel. Eusebius mentions the belief as a

mere popular tradition. “_They say_ that this statue bears the

likeness of Jesus”--Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν ἀνδριάντα εἰκόνα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ

φέρειν ἔλεγον.--_Hist. Eccl._, viii, 18.

[584] Iren., _adv. Hæres._, i, 25. Aug., _De Hærisib._, c. viii.

The Emperor Alex. Severus, we have seen, had one of these images

of Christ in his _Lararium_, with those of Abraham and

Orpheus.--Æl. Lamprid. _in Vit. Alex. Sev._, c. 29.

[585] Conspectus vultus ejus cum severitate et plenus efficacia,

ut spectatores amare eum possint et rursus timere.... In

reprehendendo et objurgando formidabilis; in docendo et

exhortando blandæ linguæ et amabilis. Gratia miranda vultus cum

gravitate. Vel semel eum ridentem nemo vidit sed flentem

imo.--Fabricius, _Codex. Apoc. Nov. Teste._, 1e., pars. 301.

Père Mabillon tells us that one of Christ’s tears has been

preserved and peculiarly honoured at Vendôme.

John Damascenus, in the eighth century, records the legend of a

miraculous contemporary portrait of Christ which healed Agbarus,

King of Edessa, of a mortal disease. It was till recently

honoured in the church of St. Silvester at Rome.

The miraculous image known as the Veronica is claimed to be the

actual impression of the Saviour’s features made on the veil or

handkerchief of a devout Jewess, who piously wiped his brow as he

toiled along the way to Calvary. This image she brought to Rome,

where it cured Tiberius Cæsar of the leprosy, and was afterwards

presented to the Emperor Charlemagne. It is now publicly

worshipped in St. Peter’s with the utmost devotion and splendor.

The name is probably derived from the label _vera icon_ or

_icona_--a true image--commonly attached to pictures of Our

Lord. It was also given to the pious Jewess, who is identified as

the niece of Herod. A colossal statue of St. Veronica adorns St.

Peter’s fane, and the event is celebrated in sacred art and pious

verse. The following, from a MS. in St. George’s Library,

Windsor, is a favourable specimen of the latter:

Salve, Sancta facies

Mei Redemptoris,

In qua nitet species

Divini splendoris.

Impressa panniculo

Nivei candoris,

Dataque Veronicæ,

Signum ob Amoris.

Of equally apocryphal character are the _Volto Santo_, exhibited

during Holy Week at St. Peter’s, and the portraits attributed to

Nicodemus, Pilate, St. Luke, or to celestial artists. One of the

_Acheiropoietes_, or pictures made without hands, almost

blackened with age, and of the Byzantine type, is thrice a year

exhibited at the Lateran palace at Rome.

[586] Clem. Alex., _Strom._, v.

[587] _Sacred Art in Italy_, p. 212. The Mosaics of this century

in the adoration of the Magi at S. Maria Maggiore, before

mentioned, is the earliest example of the appearance in art of

the figures of angels, those sublime creations that glorify the

canvas of the artists of the Renaissance. The winged genii in the

Catacombs are rather an imitation of classic types than of a

Christian significance.

The symbols of the four evangelists--the angel, lion, ox, and

eagle--are unknown in the Catacombs, and first appear in the

fourth century. Sometimes these symbols have reference to the

four historic aspects of redemption through Christ--the

Incarnation, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension, as explained

in the following monkish rhyme:

Quatuor haec Dominum signant animalia Christum:

Est homo nascendo, Vitulusque sacer moriendo,

Et Leo surgendo, coelos Aquilaque petendo.

[588] Psa. xcvii, 3.

[589] In the austere drama of Dante Christ receives the title of

Sovereign Jove:

O summo Giove,

Che fosti ’n terra per noi crocifisso.--_Purgat._, canto vi.

In Mediæval art Christ is frequently modeled after the pagan

_Jupiter Tonans_.

[590] In some quaint French verses accompanying one of these

pictures Our Lord, in giving an account of his journey, in

characteristic accord with the erroneous theology of the times,

is made to intimate that he would fain have avoided the unwelcome

task:

“Père,” dist Jhésus, “retourné

Suis á toy, et ai consummé

Ce que faire me commandas

Quant jus ou monde m’envoyas,

_Dont bien je m’en feusse passé_.”

--_Romant des Trois Pélerinages_, A. D. 1358.

[591] Tale simulacrum nefas est Christiano in templo collocare,

multo magis is corde nefarium est.--_De Fide et Symbolo_, c. 7.

[592] Nefas habent docti ejus (ecclesiæ Catholicæ) credere Deum

figurâ humani corporis terminatum.--_Confess._, vi, 11. See also

Orig. _Cont. Cels._, 6, and Ambr. in Psa. cxviii.

[593] Pleno coruscat Trinitas mysterio;

Stat Christus in agno; vox Patris coelo tonat;

Et per columbam Spiritus Sanctus fluit.

See a valuable note on the doctrine of a Trinity in Classic and

Hindoo mythology in Whedon’s Commentary, vol. ii, p. 77.

[594] Greg. II., Ep. i, _ad Leon._

[595] Act 4. Concil. Nicen., 2.

[596] Παραφροσύνης ἄκρας καὶ ἀσεβείας τὸ σχηματίζειν τὸ

θεῖον. κ. τ. λ.--_De Fide Orthodox._, l. iv, c. 17.

Dei qui est incorporeus, invisibilis, a materia remotissimus,

figuræ expers, incircumscriptus, et incomprehensibilis, imago

nulla fieri potest.... In errore quidem versaremur ... impie

rursum ageremus ... si vel invisibilis Dei conficeremus

imaginem.--_Orat. 1 et 2 de Imaginibus._

[597] Les défenseurs les plus zelés des images ayant condamné

celles-ci _i. e._, de la Trinité ou de la Divinité.--Dupin:

_Bibli. Eccles._, t. vi, p. 154.

[598] _Orig. Eccles._, bk. vi, chap. viii, § 10.

[599] Northcote’s _Catacombs_, p. 116.

[600] _Rom. Sott._, p. 300.

[601] _Ibid._, 301.

[602] _Dissertazioni Archeologiche di Raffaelle Garrucci_, (Roma,

4to., 1865,) vol. ii, p. 1.

[603] Dr. Northcote describes a bearded figure standing behind

the chair of Mary as a representation of the Holy Ghost. Surely

the more natural interpretation is that it is intended for Joseph.

[604] Ezekiel speaks of the manifestation of God by a “hand sent

unto him.” Ezek. ii, 9. The inspiration of Isaiah, and the divine

judgments inflicted on Ananias and Sapphira, are thus indicated.

In a Greek painting at Salamis, executed as late as the

eighteenth century, the souls of the righteous in a state of

beatitude are represented by five infant figures held in a

gigantic hand projecting from the clouds.

[605] _Discours Sur les Anciens Monumens_, pp. 43, 46. The

instance he refers to occurs in a Latin Bible presented to

Charles the Bold in A. D. 850. The interpretation, however, is

not certain.

[606] _Iconog. Chrét._, pp. 55, 205.

[607] In a Greek painting of as late date as the twelfth or

thirteenth century, Christ, indicated by the letters |IC XC|, is

represented as stretching out his hand over a prostrate figure

labeled ΑΔΑΜ Ο ΠΡΩΤΟΠΛΑϹΤΟϹ--“Adam, the first-born,” or rather

“the first-formed.”

[608] In one of these a winged head with cruciform nimbus,

surrounded by a chaos of stars and planets, utters the word FIAT,

and the earth with its inhabitants are called into being.

[609] In France the Supreme Being was generally represented as

King, in Germany as Emperor, and in Italy as Pope.

[610] As in an example at the Madeleine at Paris.

[611] We have seen a picture of the creation in which the

Almighty was represented as a feeble old man dressed in

ecclesiastical robes, _with a lantern in his hand_.

[612] See a fresco by Andrea del Sarto at St. Salvi, Florence,

two of the fifteenth century at Perugia, and an engraving in a

copy of Dante printed at Florence in A. D. 1491. In an example

given in Ames’ Typography, a triangular jewel is appended to the

three-faced head, the inscription on which attempts to explain

mathematically the mysterious doctrine of the unity in trinity.

This mystery was also symbolized by the shape of some of the

ancient monasteries, by the number of their cloistered inmates,

by the genuflections of the service and the parts of the liturgy;

and even the bell and

“The rope with its twisted cordage three

Denoted the scriptural Trinity.”

Sometimes the Holy Spirit is represented by a dove proceeding

from the mouths of the Father and the Son, or even nailed to the

cross with Christ.

[613] See on the carved stalls of the Amiens Cathedral, and at

Vierrières in the Department de l’Aube, both of the sixteenth

century.

CHAPTER IV. 362

GILT GLASSES AND OTHER OBJECTS FOUND IN THE

CATACOMBS.

Ever since the re-discovery and exploration of the Catacombs in the

sixteenth century they have been a vast treasury from which, as from

an inexhaustible mine, have been derived innumerable relics of

Christian antiquity, many of them of inestimable value. Among these

are a number of gilt glasses of curious design and remarkable

interest, lamps, vases, rings, seals, toys, trinkets, and various

objects of domestic use or ornament. Collections of these relics are

found in most of the great museums of Europe, especially in those of

the city of Rome. An account of the more important of them will be

given in the present chapter.

Reference has already been made to the numerous fragments of gilt

glass found in the Catacombs, which so remarkably illustrate Christian

life in the primitive ages. In the last century, Buonarotti described

all the specimens then known. The distinguished archæologist, Padre

Garrucci, has recently exhaustively treated these remains of ancient

art in his elaborate monograph on this subject.[614] They are also

profusely illustrated in the magnificent pages of Perret.[615]

These glasses are generally mutilated fragments, apparently the 363

bottoms of drinking-cups, and occasionally of the dish-like shape of

the classic _patera_. They vary in size from about one to four or five

inches in diameter. The design is executed in gold leaf on the bottom

of the cup, so as to appear through the glass on the inside, and is

occasionally beautifully relieved by a dark purple background. It is

protected by a plate of glass, fused upon the lower surface so as to

become a solid mass, like the glass paper-weights with enclosed

ornamental designs which are so common. The pictures thus hermetically

sealed are indestructible so long as the glass is not fractured. These

vessels were apparently affixed at the time of burial to the soft

plaster of the grave; but the thinner portion, standing out from the

cement, has almost invariably been broken, while the thick part,

imbedded in the plaster, has been preserved. Sometimes even the solid

bottoms of these vessels were fractured in the effort to detach them

from the walls, and frequently impressions in the cement indicate

where they were affixed. They are rarely found _in situ_, having been

destroyed or carried off by successive generations of explorers or

plunderers. The most important collection is in the Vatican Library.

In the British Museum are some thirty specimens; in the museums of

Paris, Florence, and Naples, a less number; and a few others in

various private collections. The entire number extant is only three

hundred and forty. In the course of a quarter of a century De Rossi

discovered but two fragments of these glasses. This extreme rarity is

doubtless owing to their excessive fragility, and probably also to

their being destroyed in large quantities to procure the gold they

contain. In some of the extant examples portions of this gold has been

removed by inserting a knife between the plates of glass. Perhaps

the ingenious avarice of the Jewish “dealers in broken glass,” 364

notorious even in the days of Martial,[616] may have largely

contributed to the destruction of these curious remains of Christian

antiquity.

It was thought that the manufacture of these glasses was known only at

Rome; but in the year 1864 a fragment of a glass plate, with a number

of small gilt medallions bearing scriptural representations imbedded

in it, was discovered beneath the surface of the ground near the

church of St. Severin at Cologne; and in 1866 another of similar

character was found, accompanied by some charred bones, in a stone

chest near the same place.

Buonarotti regarded these fragments as having all formed part of

sacramental vessels; but the character of the designs seems frequently

to preclude that idea. Several of these are derived from the fables of

pagan mythology, and seem to indicate, if not heathen origin, at least

the influence of pagan types. Among them are found the figures of

Achilles, Hercules, Dædalus, Minerva, Mercury, the Three Graces, Cupid

and Pysche, and other groups still less congruous with Christian

thought. Other scenes represent various industries, as men sawing,

planing, and carving wood; a ship-builder with his men at work; a

tailor, druggist, and money-coiner, in their respective shops. Hunting

scenes, men boxing, and charioteers encouraging their horses, also

occur. A more numerous series represent domestic groups, portraits of

husband and wife, frequently accompanied by their children, groups of

children playing, or sometimes a lady in rich costume, with cupids

holding her mirror and other toilet adjuncts. Frequently occurs what 365

seems to be a marriage scene, with the bride and bridegroom joining

hands over an altar, above which Christ is often depicted as placing

crowns on their heads. Sometimes is expressed in gilt letters the

beautiful wish VIVATIS IN DEO--“May you live in God.” In one

instance it is a winged cupid that bestows the crown.

The majority of the scenes, however, are of a distinctively Christian

character, comprising most of the subjects in the symbolical and

biblical cycles already described; but from the conditions of space,

which are often exceedingly limited, the design is frequently of a

very rudimentary type. In the large _patera_ of Cologne the medallions

contain the separate parts of different groups, which are only

intelligible as a whole. Besides the ordinary scenes from Old and New

Testament history there is a unique example of the triumph of Christ,

in which he appears in fulness of glory holding the globe of

sovereignty; while opposite to him stands a figure, interpreted by

Garrucci as Isaiah prophesying the advent of the Light of the World.

Perret also figures one example of Christ on the cross, with Mary and

John beside it, which he thinks is later than the sixth century.

Another class exhibits representations of the Virgin Mary, generally

in the attitude of prayer, either alone, or standing between St. Peter

and St. Paul, which position is also often occupied by St. Agnes or

some other female saint. More frequently recurring than any other

figures are those of St. Peter and St. Paul. They are found on eighty

out of three hundred and forty specimens figured by Garrucci, or

nearly one fourth of the whole. They appear generally as busts side by

side, without the slightest indication of the superiority of one over 366

the other, Peter being often on the left instead of the right, which,

according to the Romish theory of his primacy, he should always

occupy. Indeed, their perfect parity in dignity and honour is implied

in the single crown sometimes suspended over their heads, or by their

simultaneous crowning by Christ, who appears between or above them.

Other saints are also represented, who are discriminated by labels

bearing their names, as Lawrence, Vincent, Sixtus, Callixtus,

Hippolytus, etc. There are also five or six specimens exhibiting

Jewish symbols, the ark of the covenant and the rolls of the law. From

the technical difficulties in the employment of a rather intractable

material, as well as from the general decline of art, the execution is

often uncouth and stiff. “The faithful,” says Buonarotti, “desiring to

adorn these vases with pious symbols, were forced to avail themselves

of inexpert workmen, or even those who pursued other trades.”[617] The

accompanying is a characteristic example, from this author, of the

domestic class. It exhibits a husband, wife, and child, with the motto 367

in Latin characters, PIE ZESES--“Drink and live.” Between the faces is

an object like an ancient lachrymatory.

[Illustration: Fig. 109.--Domestic Group in Gilt Glass.]

It is probable that these vessels were designed not for sacramental

solemnities, but for occasions of domestic and social rejoicing, as

nuptial, baptismal, and anniversary festivals; and for the celebration

of the Agape, or love-feast, after it had lost the religious character

it possessed in early times. Hence the selection of a comparatively

gay and mundane class of subjects; some derived from pagan art, and

others implying a conformity to the fashionable follies and amusements

of the world, and indicating a decline of piety and corruption of

manners.

Garrucci thinks, from the large proportion of glasses bearing the

effigies of St. Peter and St. Paul, that those at least were used in

connexion with the feast in honour of these saints, which in the

fourth and fifth centuries was celebrated in Rome as a public holiday,

with much of the vulgar merriment with which the peasants of the

Campagna keep their _festa_ to-day. Mr. Brownlow hints the

possibility that the “idea of restraining the potations of the Roman

Christians, by depicting figures which could only be seen to advantage

when the glass was empty, suggested the use of these gilded

cups.”[618]

The festive purpose for which many of these vessels was designed is

indicated by the convivial character of the inscriptions they bear.

Mr. Brownlow has translated the following examples in this sense:[619]

DIGNITAS AMICORVM PIE ZESES CVM TVIS OMNIBVS BIBE ET PROPINA--“A mark

of friendship; drink, and (long) life to thee, with all thine; drink,

and propose a toast;” CVM TVIS FELICITER ZESES--“Mayest thou live 368

happily with thine own;” or, more freely, “Life and happiness to thee

and thine;” ΠΙΕ ΖΕΣΕΣ ΕΝ ΑΓΑΘΟΙΣ--“Drink and live among the good.”

Sometimes these inscriptions breathe a spirit of pious congratulation

and good-will, as the following from Perret: HILARIS VIVAS CVM

TVIS OMNIBVS FELICITER SEMPER IN PACE DEI ZESES--“Joyfully mayest

thou live with all thine; happily mayest thou live forever in the

peace of God.” Augustine, describing in his Confessions the devout

celebration of the anniversaries of the saints by his mother, Monica,

says she used to bring to the festivals “a small cup of wine diluted

according to her own abstemious habits, which for courtesy she would

taste.”[620]

Although it is impossible that _all_ these vessels were designed for

sacramental purposes, yet it is not improbable that some of them were

used as patens and chalices in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

Tertullian speaks of the representation of the Good Shepherd on the

sacred cup in a manner which seems to imply similarity of material and

ornamentation.[621] The _Liber Pontificalis_ states that glass patens

were in use in the third century. When these were superseded by gold

and silver vessels they would not improbably be placed as memorials on

the tombs of departed saints.[622]

It is difficult to determine even the proximate date of these glasses. 369

From the degraded character of their art they are evidently of a

comparatively late period. Garrucci and some other writers, indeed,

assign them to the third or fourth century; but from the occurrence of

the nimbus, and for other technical reasons, Marriott attributes many

of them to the fifth or sixth century.[623] Other peculiarities of

execution are characteristic of Byzantine art, and a writer in the

_Revue Chrétienne_ asserts that there is not a single example of this

mode of treatment known to belong to the Roman period. The striking

corruption of doctrine and practice indicated is also an evidence of

late origin.

Numerous small cups or flasks, known as _ampullæ_, have been

found affixed to the walls or imbedded in the plaster of the tombs,

frequently containing in the bottom a reddish deposit. This Bosio

concluded was dried blood, and therefore asserted that these cups were

irrefragable proofs of the martyrdom of the persons to whose graves

they were attached. The Roman ecclesiastical authorities received this

theory with enthusiasm, and in the year 1688 issued a decree that,

“The Holy Congregation of Relics, having carefully examined the

matter, decides that the palm and vessel tinged with blood are to be

considered most certain signs of martyrdom.” Eminent Romanist writers

have unflinchingly asserted, without the least corroboration of their

theory from contemporary evidence, that these cups were filled with

the martyr’s blood and affixed to his grave;[624]--another example of

the fatal mistake of Rome in fortifying truth with the bulwark of 370

falsehood, and thus shaking our confidence even in that which is real.

The Acts of the Martyrs, indeed, mention the collecting of their blood

in napkins, sponges, or veils, to keep as a talisman and heirloom at

home; but never of its preservation in a cup, or burial beside their

graves. This symbol does not occur on the tombs of some who were

unquestionably martyrs;[625] and some who have it, from their extreme

youth, or from some other reason indicated by the inscription, cannot

have belonged to that honoured class.[626] Moreover, as Mr. Seymour

remarks, some of these alleged martyr blood-cups are of a form and

exhibit designs unknown till long after the age of persecution.[627]

In the example on the following page, given by Aringhi, the

inscription is unwarrantably translated by Romanist epigraphists, “the

blood of Saturnius;” instead of, in analogy with numerous other

inscriptions, “the place [_locus_] of holy Saturnius.”

The chemist Leibnitz analyzed the red deposit in these vessels, and

found that it was composed of organic matter, but does not hazard the

assertion that it is blood. It has been suggested by Röstell, with whom

Rochette agrees, that these cups were sacramental vessels, and that 371

the sediment was the lees of wine, which would yield a similar organic

residuum. The desire to express fellowship with the departed in the

celebration of the Agape, or the Eucharist, which often took place

beside their graves, may have led to the custom of affixing these

vessels to the tombs and replenishing them with wine. We know that

this yearning of the human heart led in course of time to the offering

of the sacrament to the dead, and the burying it in their graves.[628]

[Illustration: Fig. 110. Reputed Martyr Relic from the Catacombs.]

The occurrence of the palm branch engraved or painted on the tomb was 372

also, as we have seen, declared by the Congregation of Relics to be a

certain sign of a martyr’s tomb. But this was a common symbol of

victory both among the pagans and Jews, and therefore was naturally

adopted by the Christians in token of their being “more than

conquerors” through Christ, without any reference to martyrdom. It is

found, moreover, on graves posterior to the times of persecution, on

those of children, and even on a tomb which a man had prepared for

himself while yet alive. Muratori, who gives this example, though a

devout Romanist, says the palm was by no means a sign of

martyrdom.[629] Other criteria of martyrdom were also adopted, as the

occurrence of the laurel and the olive crown, and the appearance of

_oranti_ on the tombs; but the former are also common to paganism, and

in Christian epigraphy adorn the graves of very young children, and

the latter frequently occur on the sarcophagi after the age of

persecution had passed.

It is remarkable that so few allusions to martyrdom occur in the

Catacombs. In the whole range of the inscriptions, as before observed,

only five, some of which may be spurious, commemorate martyrs, or less

than one in two thousand. The pictorial representations of this event

are less frequent still. In the cemetery of St. Priscilla was

discovered a terra cotta bas relief of the martyrdom of St. Sebastian,

but evidently of late date: the soldiers are armed with cross-bows,

and are clad apparently in mediæval plate armour. This subject has at

all times been a favourite theme of Italian art, and this relief may

have been left at the shrine of the saints by some pious pilgrim of 373

the Middle Ages. In the Catacomb of Callixtus is a painting of two

Christians standing before the tribunal of a Roman magistrate. This is

probably of the early centuries, but how different from the gross and

bloody martyr-pictures in the church of _S. Steffano in Rotondo_ in

Rome. On one of the gilt glasses, executed long after the days of

persecution, is a group supposed to represent Isaiah sawn asunder, and

in one of the Catacombs is a scene thought to indicate the martyrdom

of Hippolytus. The pictures of Daniel and the three Hebrews indicate

rather the triumph than the trial of God’s saints.

The martyrs left no outward memorial of their sufferings, nor was any

needed, for their intrepid spirit animated the whole Christian

community. D’Agincourt says he found in thirty years’ exploration only

one picture, and that of late and barbarian design, portraying

martyrdom.[630] Those who themselves stood in jeopardy every hour did

not magnify the merit of the faithful confession of Christ, whom they

considered alone deserving of the title of “Faithful and True

Witness.” No sacred litany entreated St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, St.

Vincent, and all holy martyrs, to pray for them; nor is any such

inscription found in the whole range of the epigraphy of the

Catacombs.[631]

In the following rude representation, from a slab in the Lapidarian

Gallery, Romish imagination has discovered the outline of a furnace,

or of a caldron of boiling oil in which Victorina was immersed. A 374

comparison with other similar figures indicates that it is intended

for a corn measure filled with grain, the sign of the trade of an

ancient meal merchant.

[Illustration: “Victorina in peace and in Christ.”

Fig. 111.--A Reputed Symbol of Martyrdom.]

In the Vatican Museum are certain truculent-looking objects, said by

the Roman custodians to be instruments of torture taken from the

graves of the martyrs.[632] But the locality in which they were found

is seldom recorded, which deprives them of much of their historic

value; and many of them are probably fictitious. Dr. Northcote admits

that they are often “of doubtful authenticity,” and that “many look

more like domestic utensils, and seem to be of Etruscan workmanship.”

“These,” he adds, “were probably never taken from the Catacombs at

all.”[633] Others have too modern an appearance to admit such a

supposition, and look rather, as Maitland suggests, as if “taken from

the chambers of the Holy Inquisition.”[634] Among the most formidable

of these alleged instruments of martyrdom, as well as the most

probably genuine, are the terrible _plumbatæ_ and _ungulæ_. The former

were scourges of small chains loaded with bronze or lead, with which, 375

it is recorded, the martyrs were often beaten to death.[635] Aringhi

and others have affected to discover on the mouldering skeletons of

the early Christians, after the lapse of fifteen hundred years, the

marks made by these _plumbatæ_. In one exceptional instance given by

Bosio,[636] an _orante_ is represented with this dreadful instrument

of torture lying beside her. The _ungulæ_, as the name implies, are

iron claws or hooks, described in the Acts of the Martyrs as employed

for lacerating their flesh. The dreadful wounds they inflict are

referred to by Prudentius in his account of the martyrdom of St.

Vincent: “One covers with kisses the double furrows of the _ungulæ_;

another is glad to wipe the purple stream from the body.”

In the Catacomb of Calepodius was discovered an iron-toothed comb

considered to have been similarly employed in torturing the martyrs;

in the crypts of St. Alexander, among other iron instruments, was

found a long narrow ladle, which it is thought was used in pouring

molten lead down their throats; and in the cemetery of St. Agnes an

iron hook, designed, as Aringhi conceived, for dragging their bodies

after death. In the Vatican Museum is also a pair of iron forceps,

with horrid trenchant teeth and the remains of wooden handles,

probably employed in pinching and tearing the flesh of the helpless

victims of heathen rage. A similar forceps is sometimes engraved on a

funeral slab, where, in accordance with analogous examples, it

probably indicated the trade of the deceased as a smith. The genius of

primitive Christianity was averse to recording the circumstances of

the believer’s death, and made slight allusion to the sufferings of

the martyrs. Although it is possible that some of these relics of 376

persecution may be genuine, yet it is difficult to conceive how the

Christians could obtain from the pagan authorities these instruments

of torture, or why they should bury them with the martyred dead; and

these considerations will account for the extreme rarity of their

authentic occurrence.

Vast numbers of lamps have been found in the Catacombs, and specimens

abound in almost every antiquarian museum. They must have been

absolutely necessary to dispel the darkness of these gloomy crypts, so

as to render them safe for the solemnizing of funeral rites, for

worship, or for sanctuary from oppression. They are of varying

material and design, but are for the most part of terra cotta of the

ordinary antique pattern and of common workmanship. Many, however,

were executed in bronze or iron, often with considerable taste and

skill. Some of these had bronze chains by which to suspend them from

the ceiling of the chambers or corridors. Those in terra cotta had

frequently handles by which they could be carried; most, however, were

without either, and were placed in niches in the _tufa_ near the

stairways, at the entrances of the principal galleries, at the angles

of the corridors, and in the _cubicula_ used for purposes of worship.

These lamps generally bore some Christian symbol, as the sacred

monogram, the Good Shepherd, the palm, fish, or dove, and not

unfrequently the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. Sometimes the lamp

itself was made in the shape of a boat, the emblem of the church

voyaging through a stormy sea to the shores of eternity; of the mystic

fish, whose representation entered so largely into primitive art; of a

dove, the symbol of the believer’s guilelessness and purity; or of a

cock, the emblem of vigilance, a monition that he should watch and be 377

sober. They frequently bear inscriptions referring to the five

virgins, or to the source of true spiritual illumination, the divine

word, which is a lamp unto the feet and a light unto the path. On one

example occurs the legend, QVASI LVCERNAE LVCENTI IN CALIGINOSO

LOCO--“As a light shining in a dark place,” a sentiment peculiarly

appropriate to those gloomy chambers of death, which were nevertheless

illumined by the glorious hope of a blissful immortality.

[Illustration: Fig. 112.--Early Christian Symbolical Lamp.]

The accompanying example of a symbolical lamp in the form of a boat,

furnished with chains and ring for suspension, is a characteristic

type.[637] The figures in the little bark are interpreted by Roman

archæologists as Peter and Paul--the pilot of the Galilean lake as the

chief of the apostles holding the rudder and guiding the fortunes of 378

the church. The tablet on the mast bears the inscription--DOMINVS

LEGEM DAT. VALERIO SEVERO EVTROPIO. VIVAS--“The Lord gives the

word. To Valerius Severus Eutropius. May you live.”

Fig. 113 exhibits a lamp from the Catacombs, on the upper part of

which the ever-recurring ichthyic symbol is repeated, and on the

handle the sacred monogram of the name of Our Lord. The lamp is

replenished at the central opening. They sometimes burn with two or

three lights. See also the terra cotta lamp with handle and medallion

in Fig. 114, and the hanging lamps shown in Figs. 23 and 24.

[Illustration: Fig. 113.--Symbolical Lamp from the Catacombs.]

A lamp figured by Perret has the sacred monogram surrounded by the

heads of the twelve apostles. On another found in the Jewish Catacomb

is a representation of the seven-branched candlestick. This also

occurs in Christian symbolism, and probably is emblematic, as has been

suggested by Dr. McCaul, of the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit of

divine illumination.

The necessary use of lights in the funeral solemnities of the church

in the Catacombs was probably the origin of the Romish usage of

burying the dead with the accompaniment of burning tapers even amid 379

the blaze of day. It was also a heathen custom, in the adoption of

which, as in so many other things, the Catholic became the pagan’s

heir.[638] Jerome mentions its observance in his day at the funeral of

the famous Lady Paula.[639] Several others of the later Fathers

mention the same practice.

From the illumination of the subterranean chapels was also derived the

custom of burning altar lights, which early became prevalent, and

which is so striking a feature of modern Romanism.[640] The first step

in this direction seems to have been the practice of burning tapers

before the shrines of the martyrs in the Catacombs, probably for the

convenience of pilgrims to their tombs, which practice was continued

in the churches erected over their remains. The Council of Elvira

forbade the custom,[641] which Vigilantius vehemently denounced as an

imitation of the pagan superstition of lighting lamps at the graves

of the dead.[642] “We almost see,” he says, “the ceremonial of 380

the heathen introduced into the churches under the guise of

religion--piles of candles lighted while the sun is shining.... Great

honour do such persons as do this,” he adds, “render to the blessed

martyrs, thinking with miserable tapers to illumine those whom the

Lamb in the midst of the throne shines upon with the splendour of his

glory.”[643] In the fifth century, however, the custom of thus

striving to do “vain honour to the Father of lights” had become

established.

Numerous terra cotta vases of varying size and shape have been found

in the Catacombs. Some of these were quite large, and were probably

used for holding water or wine for the fossors, or perhaps for the

refugees from persecution. The first vase in the engraving on the

following page, which is exactly the shape of the classic

amphora,[644] is over three feet high. The acute termination at the

bottom was set in a stand or stuck in the ground, so that the vessel

stood upright. Many amphoræ have been found in this position in the

cellars of Pompeii. The upper right hand object is furnished with a

spout, and an opening for replenishing the vessel. That in the lower

right hand corner is a lamp with a handle for carrying it, ornamented

by medallion heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. The small flasks in the

centre of the engraving are of enamel and purple glass, about an inch

high, probably for holding precious unguents. These miniature vases

were sometimes made of agate, and were occasionally in the shape of a

bee-hive, probably emblematic of the milk and honey given at baptism, 381

to signify the sincere milk of the word and the sweets of salvation

imparted to new-born babes of Christ.[645]

[Illustration: Fig. 114.--Earthen Vessels from the Catacombs.]

Some of these vessels are shallow basins rather than vases, (see

above, and also Fig. 116,) which have been interpreted by Roman

Catholic writers as _benitiers_, or holy-water vessels employed

in the services of the Romish ritual. They were more probably 382

ablutionary basins for the use of the fossors, summoned from their

grimy labour to assist in the funeral solemnities; or, possibly, for

the symbolical washing of the hands by the primitive bishops and

presbyters before the consecration of the eucharist, which is

mentioned by several of the Fathers as a fulfilment of that Scripture,

“I will wash mine hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar, O

Lord.”[646] They have also been regarded as baptismal vases.

Generally this primitive pottery, except the fictile lamps, bears no

distinctive Christian symbol; yet sometimes it does, as the

accompanying amphora, the bottom of which has been broken off. Around

the vessel runs the inscription, VINCENTI PIE ZESE--“Vincent,

drink and live.” On the lower part are three conquering horses,

probably in allusion to the name Vincent. Above the horses is the

inscription, AEGIS OIKOYMENE ZEP, written backwards.

[Illustration: Fig. 115.--An Amphora.]

The tall vessels shown in Fig. 116, which are of silver with gold

coating, are described by Perret as designed for holding the holy

chrism,[647] or sacred anointing oil. They were more probably used for

containing the wine for the eucharist, for which they were of

sufficient size, as the subterranean assemblies could not be very

numerous. On the large medallion is a bust of St. Paul, and on the 383

reverse that of St. Peter. On the other vessel, besides the busts of

these saints, is that of Our Lord wearing a nimbus, together with the

sacred symbols of the cross, doves, and lambs. The nimbus, the form of

the cross, the material, and the style of execution, indicate a

comparatively late date. Some of the vessels we have described were

doubtless employed also in the celebration of the Agape.

[Illustration: Fig. 116.--Metal and Earthen Vessels from the

Catacombs.]

Among the most interesting objects found in the Catacombs are the

rings and seals of the early Christians, which are frequently combined

in one. Tertullian speaks of the _annulus pronubus_, or ring of

espousal, the wearing of which was the only use of gold known to the

Roman women in the days of primitive simplicity;[648] and St. Agnes

declares her betrothal to Christ by the ring of his faith.[649] A 384

signet ring was also considered an essential part of the bridal outfit

of a newly wedded wife, and that not for ostentation, says Clement of

Alexandria, but that, being entrusted with the care of domestic

concerns, she may seal up those household treasures which might

otherwise be insecure.[650] But these rings must be freed from every

trace of idolatrous superstition, and bear only Christian symbols. “On

our signet rings,” says the writer just mentioned,[651] “let there be

seen only a dove, or a fish, or a ship sailing toward heaven, or a

lyre, or an anchor; for those men ought not to engrave idolatrous

forms to whom the use of them is forbidden; those can engrave no sword

and bow who seek for peace; the friends of temperance cannot engrave

drinking cups.”

Signet rings, being ancient symbols of authority,[652] were also worn

by bishops as a sort of badge of office, and as a pledge of their

spiritual espousal to the church of Christ. A curious episcopal ring

worn by St. Arnulf, bishop of Metz, in the sixth century, exhibits the

well-known ichthyic symbol.[653]

The ring shown in Fig. 117 bears the sacred monogram accompanied by

the significant Alpha and Omega. In the seal, or intaglio, copied in

Fig. 118, the ship of the church is represented as borne by the

symbolical fish, while doves, the emblem of the faithful, perch upon

the mast and stern. In naive blending of the literal with the

figurative, Our Lord in bodily presence is seen approaching the

vessel and supporting Peter by the hand, doubtless in allusion to the 385

trial of his faith on the Sea of Galilee. The identity of both figures

is indicated by the names written overhead. Two other apostles row the

vessel, and a third lifts up his hands in prayer. It was doubtless a

seal of this character to which Clement of Alexandria alludes as

bearing the ναῦς οὐρανοδραμοῦσα--“the ship in full sail for heaven.”

[Illustration: Fig. 117.--A Ring from the Catacombs.]

[Illustration: Fig. 118.--A Seal from the Catacombs.]

On some signet rings in the Museum of Naples, found in the ruins of

Pompeii, are the Christian symbols of the mystical fish, palms, and

the anchor of hope, or the synonymous word ΕΛΠΙϹ. These are almost the

sole indications of the existence of any Christian element in that

gay, luxurious city. Other Pompeian rings bear light Epicurean

mottoes, as: ΕΥΤΥΧΙ ΠΑΝΟΙΚΙ Ο ΦΕΡΩΝ--“Good luck to thee, O wearer,

and to all thine;” ΛΕΓΟΥϹΙΝ Α ΘΕΛΟΥϹΙΝ ΛΕΓΕΤΩϹΑΝ ΟΥ ΜΕΛΙΜΟΙ--“They

say what they will; let them say, I care not.” Another has an

engraving of a finger holding an ear, with the word, ΜΝΗΜΟΝΕΥΕ--“Remember.”

Other Roman rings bear such mottoes as, AMO TE AMA ME--“I love thee,

love thou me;” PIGNVS AMORIS--“A pledge of love;” VNI AMBROSIA VENENVM

CAETERIS--“To one nectar, to others poison.”

More frequently than the seal itself occurs its impression in the 386

plaster of the graves, either to express some Christian sentiment, or

as a means of recognizing a tomb which bore no other mark. The stamp

of coins, or even shells, stuck into the plaster, were used apparently

for the same purpose. In the following engraving are represented

impressions of two of these seals. In the first is the confession of

faith in the divinity of Our Lord by some orthodox Christian, probably

in the time of the Arian heresy. In the second a devout believer

declares his hope in Christ.

[Illustration:

CHRISTVS EST DEVS. SPES IN EO.

Christ is God. Hope in Him,

_i. e._, in Christ.

Fig. 119.--Impressions of Early Christian Seals.]

Other seals bear such pious mottoes as DEVS DEDIT--“God gave;” VIVAS

IN DEO--“May you live in God;” SPES IN DEO--“Hope in God;” PEDE

SECVNDO--“May you succeed happily.” Vast numbers of tiles bearing

impressions of the die upon them are found, but these are merely the

stamps of the imperial brick kilns, with the names of the reigning

sovereigns.