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Curiosities of Christian History.
CURIOSITIES OF
CHRISTIAN HISTORY
PRIOR TO THE REFORMATION
BY CROAKE JAMES
_Author of "Curiosities of Law and Lawyers"_
Methuen & Co.
18, BURY STREET, LONDON, W.C.
1892
_All rights reserved_
Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.
PREFACE.
History is often a dreary study except to a few experts; and yet the
Christians of to-day naturally wish to know more about their predecessors
in the old time before them. There is always much difficulty in separating
what to them must be interesting from masses of detail which do not touch
their sympathies.
From the time of Christ to the epoch of the Reformation there were no
Dissenters--only traitors and heretics, who were deemed unworthy to live
in the same world and to breathe the same air as Emperors, Popes, and
Bishops. But the Christian temperament can be traced through all the
centuries--whether the devout people of the period were martyrs or
hermits, monks, nuns, or friars, pilgrims or crusaders, priests or
warriors. The same aspirations, misgivings, trials, and difficulties
existed then as now, though the trials and difficulties may now be less.
The best people of to-day may be trusted to recognise a touch of their own
kindred amid all the varieties of time and place and circumstance which
make up the past.
I have here collected from many histories, annals, chronicles, and
biographies, far and wide, some particulars of the interesting persons,
episodes, and events from the Christian's point of view during the first
fourteen centuries. The literature of so many ages is vast, and the things
now deemed of most interest are overlaid with heavy material. But I have
left out all the miracles--most of the wordy war of doctrines--most of the
atrocities of persecutors and inquisitors. I have only culled a few
flowers; I have only tried to snatch from oblivion a few brief memorials
which may suggest wholesome thoughts and inquiries to modern Christians of
every denomination.
C. J.
TABLE OF MATTERS.
CHAPTER I.
THE VIRGIN MARY, HOLY FAMILY, CHRIST, AND THE CRUCIFIXION.
Heathen Knowledge about the Virgin, 1; Simeon's Great Age, 2;
Portraits of the Virgin, 2; Marriage of Joseph and Virgin Mary, 3;
Massacre of Innocents, 4; Flight to Egypt, 5; Holy Family Leaving
Egypt, 6; Assumption of Virgin Mary, 7; Christ Learning Alphabet, 9;
Joseph and Jesus as Carpenters, 10; Christ's Baptism, 10; Portraits of
Christ, 11; King Agbarus, 12; Christ's Preaching, 13; Sentence on
Christ, 14; Christ Appearing to James, 14; Forms of Crosses, 15; The
Holy Cross, 15; Thieves at Crucifixion, 16; Soldier who Pierced the
Saviour's Side, 17; Legend of the Cross, 17; Stations of Cross, 18;
Crown of Thorns, 19; Apocryphal Gospels, 20; False Christs, 21;
Septuagint Bible, 21; English Versions of Bible, 22.
CHAPTER II.
THE DISCIPLES AND APOSTLES OF OUR LORD.
Death of the Apostles, 23; Apostles who were Married, 23; St. Matthew
and St. Mark, 24; St. Luke and St. Bartholomew, 25; St. Thomas and St.
Simeon, 26; St. Timothy and St. Barnabas, 27; St. Titus, St. Philip,
and St. Andrew, 28; James and John, 29; St. John the Apostle, 30; St.
John and his Partridge, 31; St. John's Last Days, 32; St. John and
Edward the Confessor, 33; St. James the Less, 33; St. James the Great,
34; St. Peter and St. Paul, 36; Deaths of St. Peter and St. Paul, 37;
St. Peter when in Rome, 38; Churches of St. Peter and St. Paul at
Rome, 39; If St. Paul in Great Britain, 40; Judas Iscariot, 41.
CHAPTER III.
CHRIST'S CONTEMPORARIES--CLIMATE AND SCENERY OF PALESTINE.
Sages of Greece and Rome on Christian Prodigies, 42; Zacharias and
John the Baptist, 44; Pontius Pilate, 45; Herod the Great, 46; Mary
Magdalene, 47; St. Martha, 48; St. Veronica, 48; Hillel, 49;
Sanhedrim, 49; Working Man in Christ's Time, 50; Pharisaic Niceties,
50; Sieges of Jerusalem, 50; Antioch, 51; Palestine Explorations, 52;
Jordan to the Dead Sea, 53; Sea of Galilee, 53; Sources of Jordan, 54;
Waters of Merom, 55; Rivers of Damascus, 55; Populousness of Galilee,
56; Climate of Palestine, 57; Mount Hermon, 57; Lilies of the Field,
58; Wayside Fruits and Flowers, 58; The Birds, 59; Wild Beasts and
Animals, 60; Jerusalem, 60; Nazareth, 61; Capernaum, 62.
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY CHURCH CUSTOMS, FASTS, AND FESTIVALS.
Church History Divided into Ages and Periods, 63; Apostolic Church,
64; The Millennium, 64; Community of Goods, 65; Emblems of Christians,
66; Christian Names, 66; Auricular Confession, 67; Religious Riots,
68; Preaching much Applauded, 68; Dress and Appearance of Clergy, 69;
Priests and Deacons, 69; Early Bishops, 70; The Pastoral Staff, 71;
Ancient Churches, 72; Deaconess, 72; Liturgy, 73; Ritualism, 74; The
Mass, 74; Ancient Church Service, 75; Organs and Bells, 76; Separation
of Sexes, 77; Praying for the Dead, 77; Sin-eaters at Funerals, 78;
Praising the Lord Day and Night, 78; Christmas Day and Easter Day, 79;
Festival of All Saints, 80; Holidays and Feasts, 80; Feast of the Ass,
81; The Boy Bishop, 81; Miracle Plays, 82; Passion Plays, 82; Festival
of the Rose, 83; The Millennium, 84; Church Building Age, 84; Round
Towers, 85; Worship of the Virgin, 85; Truce of God, 86; Number Seven
in Scripture, 87; A Jubilee Year, 87; King's Prayer for Rain, 89; The
Black Death, 90; Dancing Mania, 91; Monk Flagellants, 91; Extravagant
Dress, 92; Telling Fortunes, 93.
CHAPTER V.
DIFFICULTIES WITH PAGANS, JEWS, IMAGE WORSHIP, AND CIVIL POWERS.
The Name of Christian, 94; Early Pagan Riot, 94; Early Christians and
Slavery, 95; The First Persecution, 96; How Christians Appeared to
Pagans, 97; Shows of Wild Beasts, 97; Testing Fidelity of Christians,
98; Constantine the Great, 99; Standard of the Cross, 100; Dream of
Constantine, 100; Constantine Preaching, 101; Last Illness of
Constantine, 102; First Church Council, 102; Silencing the Pagans,
103; How to Refute a Heretic, 103; Julian the Apostate, 105;
Theological Disputes, 105; Controversy about the Trinity, 106;
Athanasius, 107; Sermon on the Trinity, 108; Against Demolishing
Temples, 108; First Demolishing of Temples, 110; Image at the Palace,
111; St. Martin of Tours, 112; The King of the Goths, 112; Attila,
King of the Huns, 113; Vandals Sacking Rome, 114; Justinian, 115;
Mahomet's Knowledge, 115; Oak of Geismar, 116; Pope Defending Rome,
117; Forged Decretals, 118; Separation of Greek and Latin Churches,
119; Jew and Christian, 119; Julian Inciting the Jews, 120; Hating the
Jews, 121; Golden Age of Judaism, 121; The Pope and the Jews. 122; The
Jews of York, 122; Jews Crucifying English Boy, 124; The Black Death,
124; Jews Stealing the Host, 125; Torquemada's Zeal, 126; Jewish
Physicians, 127; Converting a Jew, 128; Controversy about Image
Worship, 129; The Iconoclasts, 130; John of Damascus, 131; Claudius of
Turin, 133; Trying to Convert Image Worshippers, 134; Empress Irene,
135; Empress Theodora, 135; Image Worship in Spain, 136; Pope
Hildebrand, 137; St. Thomas Aquinas, 137; The Popes as Temporal
Princes, 139; Rienzi, 139; Last Hours of the Roman Empire, 140;
Election to Holy Roman Empire, 141.
CHAPTER VI.
MARTYRS, HERMITS, ANCHORITES, AND RELICS.
Martyr Valeria, 142; St. Thecla and Polycarp, 143; St. Felicitas, 144;
The Martyrs of Lyons, 144; St. Cecilia, 145; Perpetua, 146; St.
Ursula, 146; St. Barbara, 147; Potamiana, 147; St. Genes the Actor,
148; Genesius, 148; St. Alban, 149; Didymus and Theodora, 149; St.
Cyprian and Justina, 150; St. John Chrysostom, 150; St. James
Intercisus, 151; Martyr for Image Worship, 151; Huss the Bohemian,
152; Joan of Arc a Modern Patriotic Martyr, 153; Joan's Mission, 153;
Joan taken Captive and Burnt, 159; Outbreak of Hermit Zeal, 160; First
Monastic Life, 160; St. Antony, 161; Hermit Visiting, 161; Hermit and
Grapes, 162; Hermit's Courtesies, 162; Hermits' Quarrel, 163;
Political Economy of Hermits, 163; The Wise Sayings of St. Pambo, 164;
A Hermit's Olive Tree, 164; Macarius, 165; St. Martin of Tours, 165;
Dorotheus, the Architect, 166; St. Poemen, Prince of Hermits, 167; St.
Moyses, Water-carrier, 167; Hermit's New Austerities, 168; St.
Carileff, 169; First Saxon Hermit, 169; St. Guthlac, 170; St. Simeon
Stylites, 171; A Pillar Monk, 171; St. Herbert of Derwentwater, 171;
St. Ethelwald at Farne, 172; English Queen Consulting Hermit, 174;
Conscientious Hermit, 174; St. Bartholomew of Farne, 175; French King
sends for Hermit, 176; Consecration of Hermits and Recluses, 177; St.
Methodius the Martyr, 177; Miracles of Saints, 178; Local and Patron
Saints, 179; St. Geneviève, 179; Reverence for Relics, 180; Secrecy in
Removing Relics, 181; Capturing Holy Relics, 181; Stealing Relics,
182; Defending his Relics, 183; Forgery of Relics, 183; How to Flatter
a Relic Worshipper, 184; Empress Begging for Relics, 185; If Genuine
Relics, 185; The Crown of Thorns Pawned and Sold, 186; King of France
shows Holy Cross, 187; Blood of Christ at Westminster, 188; St.
Stephen's Relics, 188; St. Dunstan, 189; John Huss on Relics, 190;
Crucifix During the Plague, 190; Purchasing the Head of St. Andrew,
191; Pilgrimage to Walsingham, 191; Pilgrimage in Switzerland, 192;
Pilgrims to Canterbury, 192.
CHAPTER VII.
THE FATHERS.
Origen, 194; St. Ambrose, 194; St. Jerome, 197; St. Jerome's
Reflections, 198; St. Jerome with Lion and Ass, 198; Deathbed of St.
Jerome, 199; St. Jerome's Epistles, 199; St. Chrysostom's Eloquence,
200; St. Chrysostom on Monkery, 201; St. Augustine Witnessing
Miracles, 202; Vision of St. Augustine, 203; St. Augustine's Faith in
Dreams, 203; St. Cyril of Alexandria, 204; Some Notions of the
Fathers, 204.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE MONKS AND THEIR WAYS.
Origin of Monachism, 206; Miracles of Monks, 207; Philosophy of
Monkery, 207; Motives for Monks, 208; Weak Side of, 208; St. Benedict,
209; The Reformers of Monkery, 209; Early Difficulties, 210; Advice to
Monks, 211; A Monk Denounces Ferocity, 211; Making the Monks Work,
212; Improvements, 212; Monk at Court, 213; Monks First Drinking Wine,
214; Charlemagne about Monks, 214; Leaving Court to be Monk, 215; Monk
going to Court, 215; The Reason of so many Monasteries, 216; Life in a
Convent, 216; A Day's life in Monastery, 217; Routine of English
Monks, 218; Arrangements of an Abbey, 218; Monks and Friars, 219;
Friars and Priests, 220; Enmity between Monks, 220; Monks Disliked by
Clergy, 220; Monk who Wanted to be an Angel, 221; Death of Abbess at
Aries, 221; Cædmon, Monk Poet, 222; Monk Sleeping too long, 223; Abbot
lecturing his Monks, 223; The War of the two Abbots, 224; Monks and
Gregorian Chant, 225; Those who Pillage Monks, 225; Monks to Live
Frugally, 226; Monk's Burial, 227; Sick Monks, 227; Monks Honour Rich
Men, 228; Good Lessons of the Monks, 229; Pope Inviting a Fellow Monk,
229; Order of Friars, 230; Cinderella of the Convent, 230; Nuns at
Sempringham, 231; Compunctious Visitings of Monks, 232; Monkery Worked
Out, 232; War of the Nuns of Basle, 233; Stealing another Monk's Food,
234; Monks Deciding on Creeds, 234; Monk Interceding for Prisoners,
235; How Carthusians Acquired a Site, 235; Luther at his Old Convent,
236; Monks and Polite Letters, 236; Literature about Saints, 237;
Scriptorium in St. Gall, 237; Beautiful Manuscripts, 238; Penmanship
of Monks, 239; Monasteries as Museums, 239; Embroidery of Nuns, 240;
Monks at Missal Painting, 241; Music and Illuminating, 241.
CHAPTER IX.
PROSELYTISING MONKS AND PREACHERS.
Nun Converts the Iberians, 243; Fourth-century Missionary, 243; Sermon
by St. Patrick, 244; Monk Warding Off Locusts, 244; First Planting the
Cross in England, 245; Pope Gregory and England, 246; Impression on
Saxon King, 247; Methodius Preaching, 247; Apostle of Switzerland,
248; St. Eligius, 248; Anschar the Apostle, 249; St. Neot, Cornish
Saint, 250; Conversion of Russia, 251; Bishop Otto, 251; Norbert and
Clerical Vices, 252; Fulk, 252; St. Dominic's Zeal, 253; St. Francis
of Assisium, 254; St. Francis tending the Lepers, 254; The Stigmata of
St. Francis, 255; Biography of St. Francis, 256; St. Antony of Padua,
256; English Friars Disdained Shoes, 257; Raimund Lull, 258; St.
Ignatius of Loyola, 259; St. Vincent de Paul, 260; Mediæval
Missionaries, 261; Friar Startling Judges, 261; The Schoolmen, 262;
Friars on Useless Ornaments, 262; Friar on Fashionable Vices, 263;
Denouncing Female Headdresses, 263; Savonarola, 264.
CHAPTER X.
FAMOUS MONKS AND MONASTERIES.
A Monk with a Genius for Monkery, 266; St. Ninian, the Scottish Saint,
267; St. Mungo, 267; Monk Absenting Himself from Prayers, 268; Death
of St. Benedict, 269; St. Columba of Iona, 269; Death of St. Columba,
270; The Monk Columban, 271; St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, 272; St. Chad,
273; St. Hilda, Abbess, 274; The Abbey and Monks of St. Gall, 274; The
Venerable Bede, Monk and Historian, 275; St. Cuthbert Admitted Monk,
275; The Body of St. Cuthbert, 277; Deathbed of Venerable Bede, 278; A
Warrior Duke becomes Monk, 280; The Swiss Abbey of Einsiedeln, 281;
St. Meinrad, a Monk of the Alps, 282; Croyland Abbey Burnt, 283; Nuns
of Coldingham, 283; Monks of Cluny, 281; St. Dunstan, Archbishop, 285;
Monks of St. Bernard, 285; Chancellor becomes Monk, 286; Deathbed of
Abbot Turketel, 286; Monk Nilus, 287; Monastery of Bec, 289; Fire at
Crowland Abbey, 290; Monks of Vallombrosa, 291; A Monk Transcriber of
Holy Books, 292; A Monk Musician, 293; Training of Monk Bishop, 293;
Monk Abelard and Nun Heloïse, 294; Abelard and St. Bernard, 295;
Abelard's Last Days, 295; Order of Carthusians, 296; Order of
Cistercians, 297; St. Bernard as a Young Monk, 297; St. Bernard as
Abbot, 298; St. Bernard's Miracles, 298; Bernard and his Sister, 299;
Bernard and Peter the Venerable, 300; Schoolmen of Middle Ages, 301;
Deathbed of Abbot, 302; Visions of Sister Hildegard, 302; Travelling
to Rome, 303; Portrait of Abbot Sampson of St. Edmundsbury, 304; Monks
Rebuilding their Altar, 305; Abbot Harassed with Cares, 306; Annoyed
at Visit of the Legate, 307; Deathbed of Princess, 308; Stealing St.
Antony's Psalm Book, 308; Monk for a King, 309; Elizabeth of Hungary,
310; Panic among Saracens, 310; Fancies of the Starved Monk, 311;
Monasteries of Mount Athos, 312; Monks of La Trappe, 312; Certosa
Monastery, 313; Catherine of Siena, 314; Monks of Lucca, 314; Thomas
à Kempis, 315; Peter of Alcantara, 316; Visions of St. Theresa, 317;
The Emperor Monk, 318; Emperor Monk's Dress, 319; His Apartments, 319;
Detestation of Heretics, 320; Interest in Clock-making, 321; His
Confessor, 321; His Choir, 322; At Dinner-time, 323; He Celebrates his
own Funeral, 323; Funeral Sermon on Emperor Monk, 324.
CHAPTER XI.
SOME BISHOPS, KINGS, POPES, AND INQUISITORS.
Unity of the Clergy, 326; Supremacy of Pope, 326; Election of Popes,
328; Dress of Cardinals, 328; The Degraded Bishop, 329; Emperor and
the First Abdication, 330; Bishop Building Workhouse, 330; Bishops
Striving for a Site, 331; How Bishops were Made, 331; Fifth-century
Bishop, 332; Putting Down Soothsayers, 338; Bishop Releasing
Prisoners, 334; The King of the Gauls, 334; Pope Getting Rid of
Pestilence, 335; Choosing Archbishop, 335; Pope Gregory and the
Emperor, 336; John the Almsgiver, 337; Giving a Bishop a Horse, 338; A
Christian's Scruples, 339; A Model Churchman, 339; Why Pope's Foot
Kissed, 340; Agobard of Lyons, 340; St. Swithin, 341; King Alfred,
341; King Alfred's Love of Reading, 342; Bishop at Head of Troops,
343; Two Scapegrace Popes, 344; The Ugliest Archbishop, 345; Bishop
and Emperor's Jokes, 345; King Canute, 346; Peasant Rebuking Bishop,
347; St. Margaret of Scotland, 348; Death of William the Conqueror,
348; English King Marrying Nun, 350; Awaking Bishop for Mass, 351;
Anselm, Archbishop, 351; Saracen King by Divine Right, 352; Archbishop
Turstin, 353; King John and the Bishop, 354; St. Thomas à Becket, 355;
Monk Describes Papal Interdict, 356; Pope Punishing Kings, 357; Candid
Friend to Pope, 358; Excommunication of Emperor, 359; Emperor
Retaliating on Pope, 360; Pope's Clerks Extorting Money, 360; Aerial
Music at Bishop's Death, 362; Fool Posing Theologians, 362; Hermit for
Pope, 363; Philip the Fair and the Pope, 364; Pope of Fourteenth
Century, 365; Wicliff, the Reformer, 365; The Popes at Avignon, 366;
The Rival Popes, 367; Three Popes at one Time, 368; Pope John XXIII.,
370; Owl Attending a Council, 370; Sale of Indulgences, 371; Bishop
Inviting his Old Master, 372; Sultan who Abdicated, 372; Pope Nicholas
V., 373; Fop Elected Pope, 374; Pope Leo X., 375; Turning Pagan into
Christian Monuments, 376; The Inquisition, 377; Spanish Inquisition at
Work, 379; Torquemada, 379; An Auto-da-Fè in Spain, 380; Assassination
of Inquisitor, 380; Cardinal Ximenes, 381; Irrepressible Heretics,
382; Waldenses, 382; Lawyer for Pope, 383.
CHAPTER XII.
SACRED LEGENDS.
Lives of Saints, 385; Christian Legends, 385; How Legends Grow, 386;
Thundering Legion, 387; The Theban Legion, 387; The Divining Rod, 387;
St. George and the Dragon, 388; St. Christina, 389; St. Christopher,
389; Hallelujah Victory, 391; Prophecies of Merlin, 391; Devil Showing
a Book, 392; Wandering Jew, 392; St. Sabas, 393; Theophilus and the
Devil, 393; Holy Grail, 394; Seven Sleepers, 394; Little Blind Herve,
395; Supper of St. Gregory, 395; St. Gregory Releasing Trajan, 395;
St. Bega, 397; St. Fructuosus and the Doe, 397; Pope Joan, 398; Bishop
Hatto, 398; St. Conrad, 399; The Piper of Hameln, 399; Lady Godiva,
399; Sacred Fire in Greek Church, 400; Superstitions of the Greek
Church, 401; Prester John, 401; Loretto, 401; King Richard I.'s Story,
402; St. Francis and his Love of Birds, 403; Bonaventura, on St.
Francis, 405; St. Antony Preaching to the Fishes, 406; St. Roch, 407.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CRUSADERS AND PILGRIMS.
Monk Historian on the Crusades, 408; Crusades Beneficial, 408;
Practice of Pilgrimages, 409; Early Travels in Palestine, 410; Ways of
Pilgrims, 410; Peter the Hermit, 411; Pope Urban II., 413; Hunger for
Earth of Palestine, 413; Getting Rid of Spies, 414; Discovering the
Holy Lance, 415; Testing a Doubtful Point, 417; First Sight of
Jerusalem, 417; Assaulting Jerusalem, 418; Capturing Jerusalem, 419;
First Visit to the Holy Places, 419; A Second Crusade, 420; French
Queen as Crusader, 421; St. Bernard on his Crusade, 422; Bringing
Relics, 422; Another Crusade, 423; Emperor's Crusadership, 423; Fulk
of Neuilly, 424; Death of Richard I., 424; French Pillaging
Constantinople, 425; Crusaders against Heretics, 425; The Albigenses,
427; Children's Crusade, 428; Preaching of Crusade, 428; Escaping the
Crusader, 429; Master of Hungary, 430; Deathbed of St. Louis, 430;
Crusaders on their Way Home, 431; Bequeathing a Heart as Crusader,
432; Knights Templars, 433; Faith in Providence, 434; Columbus
Crusader, 435; Numbers of Crusaders, 436; Greek Church, 437.
CHAPTER XIV.
SOME GREAT CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS.
Early Church Architecture, 438; Coptic Church, 439; Spires, Towers,
and Dimensions of Cathedrals, 440; Gothic Cathedrals, 440; Altar, 441;
Incense and Holy Water, 442; St. Peter's at Rome, 442; The Sistine
Chapel, 443; Genoa and Turin, 444; Milan, 445; Florence and Pisa, 446;
Naples, 447; Santiago Compostella, 448; Leon, 449; Seville and Toledo,
450; Cordova and Amalfi, 451; Valencia and Oviedo, 452; Paris,
Marseilles, and Strasburg, 453; Amiens, 454; Rheims and
Aix-la-Chapelle, 455; Treves and Antwerp, 456; Cologne and St.
Petersburg, 457; Vienna and Constantinople, 458; Mosque of Omar and
Jerusalem, 459; Bethlehem, 460; British Churches and St. Paul's, 461;
Canterbury and York, 463; Durham, 465; Winchester and Oxford, 466;
Peterborough, 467; Salisbury and Wells, 468; Other English Cathedrals,
469; Welsh Cathedrals, 471.
CHAPTER XV.
THE SACRED PAINTERS AND COMPOSERS.
Pictures in Churches, 472; Monk Painter, 472; Pictures in Monasteries,
473; Sacro Monte, 473; Images in Spain, 474; Cimabue, 475; Bishop's
Ape Takes to Painting, 475; Painter's Critics, 477; Nuns Criticising
Artist, 477; Brother Artists Rivals, 478; Painter Affronting Angel,
479; Angelico, 479; Bronzes for the Gates of Paradise, 480; Old
Painters' Perspective, 481; Monks Overfeeding Artist, 481; A Clumsy
Crucifix, 482; Killed by a Sight of Gold, 482; Artist Deceiving Birds
and Beasts, 483; Finding a Model, 483; A Divine Artist, 484; Leonardo
da Vinci's Last Supper, 485; Raphael's Pictures, 487; A Last
Masterpiece, 489; The Inquisition on Sacred Art, 490; Painting Face of
Christ, 491; Assisting Artist with Prayers, 492; Michael Angelo, 492;
Vargas's Devotion to Sacred Art, 496; Titian's Head of Christ, 496;
Diffident Artist, 496; Rubens's Great Pictures, 497; Monks Getting a
Bargain of Picture, 498; Velasquez's Crucifixion, 498; How Monks Got
Pictures, 499; The Divine Murillo, 499; Cano's Picture of the Virgin,
500; A Painter Incautiously Watching Effects, 501; Origin of Church
Bells, 501; Sanctity of Bells, 502; Chimes on Church Bells, 502; The
Swiss Horns, 402; Early Church Music, 503; Singing in Church, 503;
Origin of Singing in Church Service, 504; The Organ in Church Music,
504; Augustine Converting the Britons with Music, 506; The Earliest
Hymns, 506; Monk Musicians, 506; Nicholas Peregrinus, 507; Heresy
Propagated by Music, 507; The Pope Reforming Church Music, 508;
Singing the Miserere, 508; Luther's Church Music, 509; Originator of
Oratorios, 509; The Heaven-born Composer of Anthems, 510; First
Impressions of Handel, 511.
FLOWERS OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
_THE VIRGIN MARY, HOLY FAMILY, CHRIST, AND THE CRUCIFIXION._
HEATHEN KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE VIRGIN MARY.
According to an ancient legend, the Emperor Augustus Cæsar repaired to the
sibyl Tiburtina to inquire whether he should consent to allow himself to
be worshipped with Divine honours, which the Senate had decreed to him.
The sibyl, after some days of meditation, took the Emperor apart, and
showed him an altar; and above the altar, in the opening heavens, and in a
glory of light, he beheld a beautiful Virgin, holding an Infant in her
arms; and at the same time a voice was heard saying, "This is the altar of
the Son of the Living God." Whereupon Augustus caused an altar to be
erected on the Capitoline Hill, with this inscription--"_Ara primogeniti
Dei_"; and on the same spot in later times was built the church called the
_Ara-Coeli_, well known, with its flight of one hundred and twenty-four
marble steps, to all who have visited Rome.
This particular prophecy of the Tibertine sibyl to Augustus rests on some
very antique traditions, Pagan as well as Christian. It is supposed to
have suggested the "Pollio" of Virgil, which suggested the "Messiah" of
Pope. It is mentioned by writers of the third and fourth centuries, and
our own divines have not wholly rejected it; for Bishop Taylor mentions
the sibyl's prophecy among "the great and glorious accidents" happening
about the birth of Jesus.
LEGEND ABOUT SIMEON'S GREAT AGE.
It is related that when Ptolemy Philadelphus, about two hundred and sixty
years before Christ, resolved to have the Hebrew Scriptures translated
into Greek, for the purpose of placing them in his far-famed library, he
despatched messengers to Eleazar, the high priest of the Jews, requiring
him to send scribes and interpreters learned in the Jewish law to his
court at Alexandria.
Thereupon Eleazar selected six of the most learned rabbis from each of the
twelve tribes of Israel, seventy-two persons in all, and sent them to
Egypt, in obedience to the commands of King Ptolemy; and among these was
Simeon, a priest and a man full of learning. And it fell to the lot of
Simeon to translate the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. And when he came to
that verse where it is written, "Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear
a Son," he began to misdoubt in his own mind how this could be possible;
and after long meditation, fearing to give scandal and offence to the
Greeks, he rendered the Hebrew word _Virgin_ by a Greek word which
signifies merely a _young woman_. But when he had written it down, behold,
an angel effaced it, and substituted the right word. Thereupon he wrote it
again and again; and the same thing happened three times; and he remained
astonished and confounded. And while he wondered what this could mean, a
ray of Divine light penetrated his soul. It was revealed to him that the
miracle which in his human wisdom he had presumed to doubt was not only
possible, but that he, Simeon, "should not see death till he had seen the
Lord's Christ."
Therefore he tarried on earth by the Divine will for nearly three
centuries, till that which he had disbelieved had come to pass. He was led
by the Spirit to the Temple on the very day when Mary came there to
present her Son and to make her offering; and immediately taking the Child
in his arms, he exclaimed, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in
peace, according to Thy word."
PORTRAITS OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
Nicephorus Callixtus says that the person of the Virgin Mary was described
by Epiphanius, who lived in the fourth century, and who derived the
particulars from his predecessors. He said: "She was of middle stature;
her face oval; her eyes brilliant and of an olive tint; her eyebrows
arched and black; her hair was of a pale brown; her complexion fair as
wheat. She spoke little, but she spoke freely and affably; she was not
troubled in her speech, but grave, courteous, tranquil. Her dress was
without ornament, and in her deportment was nothing lax or feeble."
Mrs. Jameson says that Raphael's "Madonna di San Sista," in the Dresden
Gallery, comes nearest to her notion of the Virgin.
AN EXACT PORTRAIT OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
In the College of Jesuits at Valencia a picture of the Virgin by Juanes is
looked upon with immense admiration. The tradition runs that Father
Alberto was on the eve of the Assumption waited on by the Blessed Virgin
herself, who required him to cause her portrait to be taken in the dress
she then wore, which was a white frock or tunic, with a blue cloak; and
Christ was to be represented also in the design as placing a crown on her
head, while the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove hovered over the group.
Alberto therefore gave the commission to Juanes, who, appreciating the
honour, devoutly set himself to work, and put forth all his skill on the
composition. The first sketch did not please Alberto; but the Father
assisted the artist so effectually with his prayers, that at last the
artist's pencil seemed to succeed at every stroke; and in the end the
Father, taking credit himself for much of the work, was highly pleased
with the happy result. During the work Juanes was one day seated on his
scaffold finishing the upper parts of the picture, when the structure gave
way, and he was in the act of falling, when the Holy Virgin stepped
suddenly out of the canvas, and, seizing his hand, preserved him from
instant death. This being done, the Blessed Virgin returned to her canvas,
and has continued there ever since, all the supplicants and worshippers
who look on it devoutly believing in this being an exact counterpart of
the original. This great artist died in 1579; and Valencia contains many
of his masterpieces, for he ranks high in the school of Raphael.
THE MARRIAGE OF JOSEPH AND THE VIRGIN MARY.
The legend of the marriage of the Virgin Mary is thus given in the
"Protevangelion" and the "History of Joseph the Carpenter": "When Mary was
fourteen years old, the priest Zacharias inquired of the Lord concerning
her what was right to be done; and an angel came to him and said, 'Go
forth and call together all the widowers among the people, and let each
bring his rod (or wand) in his hand; and he to whom the Lord shall show a
sign, let him be the husband of Mary.' And Zacharias did as the angel
commanded, and made proclamation accordingly. And Joseph the carpenter, a
righteous man, throwing down his axe and taking his staff in his hand, ran
out with the rest. When he appeared before the priest and presented his
rod, lo! a dove issued out of it--a dove dazzling white as the snow--and
after settling on his head, flew towards heaven. Then the high priest said
to him, 'Thou art the person chosen to take the Virgin of the Lord and to
keep her for Him.' And Joseph was at first afraid, and drew back; but
afterwards he took her home to his house, and said to her, 'Behold, I have
taken thee from the temple of the Lord, and now I will leave thee in my
house, for I must go and follow my trade of building. I will return to
thee, and meanwhile the Lord be with thee and watch over thee.' So Joseph
left her, and Mary remained in her house."
THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.
Milman says that the murder of the innocents by Herod's orders is a
curious instance of the reaction of legendary extravagance on the plain
truth of the evangelic history. The Greek Church canonised the fourteen
thousand innocents; and another notion, founded on a misinterpretation of
Rev. xiv. 3, swelled the number to one hundred and forty-four thousand.
The former, at least, was the common belief of the Church, though even in
the English Liturgy the latter has in some degree been sanctioned by
retaining the chapter of Revelation in the "epistle for the day." Even
Jeremy Taylor admits without scruple or thought the fourteen thousand. The
error did not escape the notice of the acute adversaries of Christianity.
Vossius was the first divine who pointed out the monstrous absurdity of
supposing such a number of infant children under two years in so small a
village.
THE ANGEL GUIDING THE VIRGIN TO EGYPT.
The journey of the Holy Family to Egypt, being about four hundred miles,
must have occupied five or six weeks. It is related in the legend as
follows: "We are told that, on descending from the mountains, they came
upon a beautiful plain, enamelled with flowers, watered by murmuring
streams, and shaded by fruit trees. In such a lovely landscape have
painters delighted to place some of the scenes of the flight into Egypt.
On another occasion, they entered a thick forest, a wilderness of trees,
in which they must have lost their way had they not been guided by an
angel. As the Holy Family entered this forest, all the trees bowed
themselves down in reverence to the Infant God; only the aspen, in her
exceeding pride and arrogance, refused to acknowledge Him, and stood
upright. Then the Infant Saviour pronounced a curse against her, as He
afterwards cursed the barren fig tree; and at the sound of His words the
aspen began to tremble through all her leaves, and has not ceased to
tremble even to this day."
HEROD HEARING OF THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT.
Another legend about the journey of the Holy Family to Egypt is this:
"When it was discovered that the Holy Family had fled from Bethlehem,
Herod sent his officers in pursuit of them. And it happened that when the
Holy Family had travelled some distance, they came to a field where a man
was sowing wheat. And the Virgin said to the husbandman, 'If any shall ask
you whether we have passed this way, ye shall answer, "Such persons passed
this way when I was sowing this corn."' For the Holy Virgin was too wise
and too good to save her Son by instructing the man to tell a falsehood.
But, behold, a miracle! For, by the power of the Infant Saviour, in the
space of a single night the seed sprang up into stalk, blade, and ear, fit
for the sickle. And next morning the officers of Herod came up, and
inquired of the husbandman, saying, 'Have you seen an old man with a woman
and a Child travelling this way?' And the man who was reaping the wheat
replied, 'Yes.' And they asked him again, 'How long is it since?' And he
answered, 'When I was sowing this wheat.' Then the officers of Herod
turned back and left off pursuing the Holy Family."
THE PALM TREE AND THE HOLY FAMILY.
One of the most popular legends concerning the flight into Egypt is that
of the palm or date tree which at the command of Jesus bowed down its
branches to shade and refresh His mother; hence, in the scene of the
flight, a palm tree became a usual accessory. In a picture by Antonello
Mellone, the Child stretches out His little hand and lays hold of the
branch; sometimes the branch is bent down by angel hands.
Sozomen, the historian, relates that, when the Holy Family reached the
term of their journey and approached the city of Heliopolis, in Egypt, a
tree which grew before the gates of the city, and was regarded with great
veneration as the seat of a god, bowed down its branches at the approach
of the Infant Christ. Likewise it is related (not in legends merely, but
by grave ecclesiastical authorities) that all the idols of the Egyptians
fell with their faces to the earth.
THE HOLY FAMILY AND THE WILD BEASTS OF THE DESERT.
The "Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew" contains the following (chapter xix.): "In
like manner lions and leopards adored the Child Jesus, and kept company
with the Holy Family in the desert. Whithersoever Joseph and Blessed Mary
went, they went before them, showing the way and bowing their heads; and
showing subjection by wagging their tails, they adored Him with great
reverence. Now, when Mary saw lions and leopards and various kinds of wild
beasts coming round them, she was at first exceedingly afraid; and Jesus,
with a glad countenance, looking into her face, said, 'Fear not, mother,
because they come not to thy hurt, but they hasten to come to thy service
and Mine.' By these sayings He removed fear from her heart. Now, the lions
walked along with them, and with the oxen and asses and the beasts of
burden which carried necessaries for them, and hurt no one, although they
remained with them; but they were tame among the sheep and rams, which
they had brought with them from Judæa, and had with them. They walked
among wolves, and feared nothing, and no one was hurt by another. Then was
fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophet, 'Wolves shall feed with
lambs; lion and ox shall eat chaff together' (Isa. xi. 6-9; lxv. 25).
There were two oxen also with them, and a cart, wherein they carried
necessaries; and the lions directed them in their way."
THE HOLY FAMILY LEAVING EGYPT.
Jeremy Taylor says, as to the pagan idols, as follows: "The Holy Family,
on their departure for Egypt, made, it is said, their first abode in
Hermopolis, in the country of Thebais; whither, when they first arrived,
the Child Jesus, being by design or providence carried into a temple, all
the statues of the idol-gods fell down, like Dagon at the presence of the
ark, and suffered their timely and just dissolution and dishonour,
according to the prophecy of Isaiah: 'Behold, the Lord shall come into
Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence.' And in the
life of the prophet Jeremy, written by Epiphanius, it is reported that 'he
told the Egyptian priests that then their idols should be broken in pieces
when a Holy Virgin with her Child should enter into their country.' Which
prophecy possibly might be the cause that the Egyptians did, besides their
vanities, worship also an infant in a manger and a virgin. From
Hermopolis to Maturia went these pilgrims in pursuance of their safety and
provisions, where it is reported they dwelt in a garden of balsam till
Joseph ascertained by an angel the death of Herod."
THE BOY CHRIST ON LEAVING EGYPT.
St. Bonaventure, a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who died 1274,
wrote a Life of Christ, which is or was much read by all good Catholics,
and which contains the following: "The next morning, when the Holy Family
are ready to set out on their journey from Egypt, imagine you see some of
the most respectable matrons of the city and the wiser part of the men
come to accompany them out of the gates. When they were out of the gates,
the Holy Joseph dismissed the company, not suffering them to go on any
farther, when one of the wealthiest of them called the Child Jesus, and in
compassion to the poverty of His parents bestowed a few pence upon Him;
and the rest of the company, after the example of the first, did the same.
Compassionate here the confusion of the Divine Child, who, blushing, holds
His little hands out to receive what the love of poverty has reduced Him
to want. Pity likewise His holy parents, who share with Him His confusion;
and think on the great lesson here set you when you see Him who made the
earth and all that is in it make choice of so rigorous a poverty and so
penurious a life for His blessed parents and Himself. What lustre does not
the virtue of poverty receive from their practice! And how can we behold
it in them without being charmed to the love and imitation of the like
perfection! After returning thanks to their company and taking their
leave, they proceeded on their journey."
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
It was usually believed that the Virgin Mary lived to a great age, and her
death is unknown. It was a tradition that she was assumed to glory without
dying. The practice of praying to her has been traced as far back as the
second century. In the fourth century a sect called the adversaries of
Mary rose up and affirmed that she had, after the birth of Christ, several
children by Joseph. On the other hand, a sect honoured her as a divinity
and offered cates to her.
THE DEATH OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
The legend of the death and assumption of the Virgin Mary was to this
effect. One day an angel appeared to the Virgin, bringing her a branch of
palm gathered in Paradise, and saying that it was to be carried before her
bier, for in three days her soul should leave her body. The Virgin then
asked that the Apostles might be reunited before she died, so as to
witness her death, and she asked that no evil angel should harass her
soul. The angel agreed, and returned to heaven; and Mary lighted the
lamps, and prepared her bed, and waited for the hour. At that instant,
John, who was preaching at Ephesus, Peter, at Antioch, and all the other
Apostles dispersed throughout the world, were suddenly caught up as by a
miraculous power and came into her chamber. The palm branch was put in
John's hand, and he wept bitterly. At the third hour of the night a mighty
sound filled the house, and a delicious perfume filled the chamber. And
Jesus appeared Himself, accompanied by an innumerable company of angels,
patriarchs, and prophets, all surrounding the bed of the Virgin and
singing hymns of joy. Jesus presented a crown to His mother; and as the
angels sang and rejoiced, her soul left her body, and was received into
the arms of her Son, and they ascended into heaven. The Apostles looked
up, beseeching her to remember them when she came to glory. The body of
the Virgin remained on earth; and when three of the virgins washed and
clothed it in a shroud, such a glory of light surrounded it that though
they touched they could not see it, and no human eye beheld those sacred
limbs unclothed. The Apostles took up the body reverently, and placed it
on a bier. John carried the celestial palm before the procession, and
Peter sang the 114th Psalm, in which the angels joined. Her soul then
rejoined the body, and she ascended to heaven as the angels were blowing
their silver trumpets, singing as they touched their golden lutes, and
rejoicing as she rose. One disciple, Thomas, was absent; and when he
arrived soon after, he would not believe in the resurrection of the
Virgin, as he would not formerly believe in that of Christ. He desired
that the Virgin's tomb should be opened before him; and when it was
opened, it was found to be full of lilies and roses. Then Thomas, looking
up to heaven, beheld the Virgin bodily in a glory of light, slowly
mounting towards heaven. And she, for the assurance of his faith, flung
down to him her girdle, the same which is to this day preserved in the
cathedral at Prato. And there were present at the death of the Virgin
Mary, besides the twelve Apostles, Dionysius the Areopagite, Timotheus,
and Hierotheus; and of the women, Mary Salome, Mary Cleophas, and a
faithful handmaid whose name was Savia. When Thomas went as an apostle to
the East, he entrusted the precious girdle to one of his disciples. After
the lapse of a thousand years, one Michael, a crusader, fell in love with
the daughter of a Greek priest, who had the custody of the girdle, and she
got it as a dowry, and brought it with Michael, whom she married. It was
thus that it came to be deposited in the cathedral at Prato, where it
still remains.
CHRIST LEARNING THE LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET.
There is a legend in the "Gospel of the Infancy" to this effect. When the
Holy Family had returned from Egypt, our Lord being then about seven or
eight years old, Mary was exhorted to send her Son to school. And although
she knew perfectly that He required no human teaching, she complied. She
brought Him to a certain schoolmaster whose name was Zaccheus, and the
schoolmaster wrote out the alphabet for Him, and began with the first
Hebrew letter, saying, "Aleph." And Jesus pronounced after him "Aleph."
Then the master went on to the second letter, saying, "Beth"; but Jesus
said, "Tell me first what means this letter 'Aleph,' and then afterwards I
will say 'Beth.'" But the schoolmaster could not tell Him. And Jesus began
to teach him and to explain the meaning and the use of all the
letters--how they were distinguished, why some were crooked and some were
straight--until Zaccheus the schoolmaster stood in astonishment, and
exclaimed, "Was this Child born before Noah? for, behold, He is wiser than
the wisest man, and needs no teaching."
HOW JESUS RAISED A BOY TO LIFE.
The "Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas" has the following (chapter vii.): "One
day, when Jesus went up on a certain housetop with some children, He began
to play with them. But one of the boys fell through the back door, and
immediately died. And when the children saw it, they all fled; but Jesus
remained on the housetop. And when the parents of the boy that was dead
had come, they said to Jesus, 'Truly thou didst make him fall.' And they
laid wait for Him. But Jesus, going down from the housetop, stood over the
dead child, and called with a loud voice the name of the child: 'Sinoo,
Sinoo! arise, and say if I made thee fall.' And suddenly he arose and
said, 'No, Lord.' Now, when his parents saw so great a miracle which Jesus
did, they glorified God and adored Jesus."
JOSEPH AND JESUS AS CARPENTERS.
The "Arabic Gospel of the Infancy" has the following (chapter xxxix.): "On
a certain day the King of Jerusalem sent for him and said, 'Joseph, I wish
thee to make me a throne of the measure of the place where I have been
used to sit.' Joseph obeyed, and immediately after he put his hand to the
work; he remained two years in the palace, until he had finished making
the throne. But when he had it removed into its place, he perceived that
on each side it was two spans shorter than the proper measure. On seeing
this the king was angry with Joseph; and Joseph being greatly afraid of
the king, passed the night supperless, and tasted nothing whatever. Then
he was asked by the Lord Jesus why he was afraid. 'Because,' said Joseph,
'I have lost all that I have done for two years.' The Lord Jesus said to
him, 'Fear not, nor lose heart; but take thou one side of the throne, and
I will take the other to set it right.' And when Joseph had done as the
Lord Jesus had said, and each had pulled on his own side, the throne was
made right, and brought to the exact measure of the place. When this
prodigy was seen, they who were present were amazed, and praised God. Now,
the wood of the throne was of that kind which was celebrated in the time
of Solomon the Son of David--that is, variegated and diversified."
CHRIST'S PRAYER AT HIS BAPTISM.
The following is said by Jeremy Taylor to be a current version of this
prayer: "O Father, according to the good pleasure of Thy will, I am made a
man; and from the time in which I was born of a Virgin unto this day I
have finished those things which are agreeable to the nature of man, and
with due observance have performed all Thy commandments, the mysteries and
types of the law; and now truly I am baptised; and so have I ordained
baptism, that from thence, as from the place of spiritual birth, the
regeneration of men may be accomplished. And as John was the last of the
legal priests, so am I the first of the evangelical. Thou therefore, O
Father, by the meditation of My prayer, open the heavens, and from thence
send Thy Holy Spirit upon this womb of baptism; that as He did untie the
womb of the Virgin and thence form Me, so also He would loose this
baptismal womb, and so sanctify it unto men, that from thence new men may
be begotten, who may become Thy sons, and My brethren, and heirs of Thy
kingdom. And what the priests under the law, until John, could not do,
grant unto the priests of the New Testament (whose chief I am in the
oblation of this prayer), that whensoever they shall celebrate baptism, or
pour forth prayers unto Thee, as the Holy Spirit is seen with Me in open
vision, so also it may be made manifest, that the same Spirit will adjoin
Himself to their society in a more secret way, and I will by them perform
the ministries of the New Testament, for which I am made a man; and as the
high priest I do offer these prayers in Thy sight."
This prayer was transcribed out of the "Syriac Catena" upon the third
chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, and is by the author of that Catena reported
to have been made by our Blessed Saviour immediately before the opening of
the heavens at His baptism, and that the Holy Spirit did descend upon Him
while He was thus praying; and for it he cites the authority of St.
Philoxenus.
PORTRAITS OF CHRIST.
It is singular that there are no authentic portraits of Christ in
existence. The evangelists do not think it necessary to make any
statements as to Christ's personal appearance. Origen, born 186, seems the
earliest writer who notices that subject, and he says the Saviour had no
external beauty. But the Fathers and the artists have all insisted that
His countenance must have corresponded to His character. A letter supposed
to have been written by Lentulus, a friend of Pilate, to the Roman Senate,
professes to describe the personal appearance, but some doubt its
authenticity. It was preserved, and first came to light among the writings
of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, who lived in the eleventh century.
Another description is contained in the writings of St. John of Damascus,
who flourished in the eighth century, and he professes to have known from
earlier writers that Jesus had "eyebrows that joined together, beautiful
eyes, curly hair, black beard, a yellow complexion, and long fingers like
His mother." Others say that St. Luke was a painter, and Nicodemus was a
sculptor, and thus that some portraits must have existed. It is also said
that Pilate took secretly a portrait of Christ. There is also a legend
that King Agbarus wrote a letter to Christ, asking for a visit to cure him
of leprosy, and at all events for a portrait; and that Christ answered
that He could not visit him, having other work to do, but He would send a
disciple who would cure him. And St. Thomas did so. Others add that Christ
sent His portrait on a handkerchief to Agbarus. Again, there is a legend
about Veronica and her handkerchief, which had a portrait miraculously
impressed, and which she preserved.
EARLY DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE.
The letter purporting to be written by Publius Lentulus, a friend of
Pilate, to the Roman Senate, and preserved in St. Anselm's writings, if
not genuine, is supposed to have been fabricated as early as the third
century, and is as follows: "In this time appeared a man who lives till
now--a man endowed with great powers. Men call Him a great prophet. His
own disciples term Him the Son of God. His name is Jesus Christ. He
restores the dead to life, and cures the sick of all manner of diseases.
This man is of noble and well-proportioned stature, with a face full of
kindness and yet firmness, so that the beholders both love Him and fear
Him. His hair is the colour of wine, and golden at the root--straight and
without lustre--but from the level of the ears curling and glossy, and
divided down the centre, after the fashion of the Nazarites. His forehead
is even and smooth; His face without blemish, and enhanced by a comely
red; His countenance ingenuous and kind; nose and mouth in no way faulty.
His beard is thick, of the same colour as his hair, and forked in form.
His eyes are blue and extremely brilliant. In reproof and rebuke He is
formidable; in exhortation and teaching, gentle and amiable of tongue.
None have seen him to laugh; but many, on the contrary, to weep. His
person is tall; His hands beautiful and straight. In speaking he is
deliberate and grave, and little given to loquacity. In beauty surpassing
most men."
KING AGBARUS WRITING A LETTER TO CHRIST.
Eusebius, who died about 338, mentions the legend about King Agbarus, who
sent to Christ by the hand of Ananias, his footman, a letter inviting Him
to Edessa, saying that he had heard of the cures performed by Christ, and
that he earnestly desired to be cured of a disease. Our Lord replied that
He could not come, for His mission to the Jews must be fulfilled; but
after His Ascension He would send one of His disciples, who would cure him
and all that were with him. Nothing further is known, except that St. John
of Damascus, writing in the eighth century, alluding to the story, says
that Agbarus also requested Christ's picture as a means of cure. Others
say Agbarus sent a painter to take the likeness, but he found an
insurmountable difficulty in the light which beamed from the Lord's
countenance. Christ, knowing the thoughts of the messenger, took His robe,
and, pressing it to His countenance, a perfect portrait was left upon it;
and this was sent to King Agbarus, who was cured thereby. Others add that
Ananias, in conveying the portrait, had occasion to stop at Hierapolis,
and, fearing to lose it, hid it among some bricks; but a supernatural
light surrounded the place, and the image was also copied on a brick lying
near the cloth, and this brick was also preserved. The original cloth
afterwards found its way to Constantinople, another to Rome, and another
to Genoa. The replica of the cloth is shown in St. Sylvester's, in Rome.
CHRIST'S NOVEL STYLE OF PREACHING.
Dr. Jortin thus happily describes the novel, striking, and permanent
beauty of Christ's style of preaching: "In the spring our Saviour went
into the fields and sat down on a mountain, and made that discourse which
is recorded in St. Matthew, and which is full of observations arising from
the things which offered themselves to His sight. For when He exhorted His
disciples to trust in God, He bade them behold the fowls of the air, which
were then flying about them, and were fed by Divine Providence, though
they did not sow nor reap nor gather into barns. He bade them take notice
of the lilies of the field, which were then blown, and were so beautifully
clothed by the same power, and yet toiled not, like the husbandmen who
were then at work. Being in a place where they had a wide prospect of
cultivated land, He bade them observe how God caused the sun to shine and
the rain to descend upon the fields and gardens, even of the wicked and
ungrateful. And He continued to convey His doctrine to them under rural
images, speaking of good trees and corrupt trees--of wolves in sheep's
clothing--of grapes not growing upon thorns, nor figs on thistles--of the
folly of casting precious things to dogs and swine--of good measure
pressed down, and shaken together and running over. Speaking at the same
time to the people, many of whom were fishermen and lived upon fish, He
says, 'What man of you will give his son a serpent, if he ask a fish?'
Therefore, when He said in the same discourse to His disciples, 'Ye are
the light of the world: a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid,' it is
probable that He pointed to a city within their view, situated upon the
brow of a hill. And when He called them the salt of the earth, He alluded
perhaps to the husbandmen who were manuring the ground; and when He
compared every person who observed His precepts to a man who built a house
upon a rock, which stood firm; and every one who slighted His word to a
man who built a house upon the sand, which was thrown down by the winds
and floods,--when He used this comparison, it is not improbable that He
had before His eyes houses standing upon high ground, and houses standing
in the valley in a ruinous condition, which had been destroyed by
inundations."
THE SENTENCE ON CHRIST.
St. Basil affirms that the high priest caused the Holy Jesus to be led
with a cord about His neck; and in memory of that the priests for many
ages wore a stole about theirs. But the Jews did it, according to the
custom of the nation, to signify He was condemned to death.
Jeremy Taylor says that it cannot be thought but the ministers of Jewish
malice used all the circumstances of affliction which in any case were
accustomed towards malefactors and persons to be crucified; and therefore
it was in some old figures we see our Blessed Lord described with a table
appendent to the fringe of His garment, set full of nails and pointed
iron, for so sometimes they afflicted persons condemned to that kind of
death. And St. Cyprian affirms that Christ did stick to the wood that He
carried, being galled with the iron at His heels and nailed even before
His execution.
CHRIST APPEARING TO JAMES.
Jeremy Taylor says that after the resurrection Christ appeared also unto
James, but at what time is uncertain, save that there is something
concerning it in the Gospel of St. Matthew which the Nazarenes of Berea
used, and which it is likely themselves added out of report; for there is
nothing of it in our Greek copies. The words are these: "When the Lord had
given the linen in which He was wrapped to the servant of the high priest,
He went and appeared unto James. For James had vowed, after he received
the Lord's Supper, that he would eat no bread till he saw the Lord risen
from the grave. Then the Lord called for bread; He blessed it and brake
it, and gave it to James the Just, and said, 'My brother, eat bread, for
the Son of man is risen from the sleep of death.'"
By this it would seem to be done upon the day of resurrection; but the
relation of it by St. Paul puts it between the appearance which He made to
the five hundred and that last to the Apostles, when He was to ascend into
heaven.
THE VARIOUS FORMS OF CROSSES.
The early Christian writers even in the second century treated prominently
the cross as a symbol of the faith, and it came to be held in high honour.
The precise figure of the cross, however, is somewhat doubtful, and
various forms have been accepted less simple than that now so familiar.
There are modifications according to particular countries and places.
One cross resembles the Hebrew letter T, there being no upper limb above
the horizontal line. The Greek Cross is a cross where the four limbs are
of equal length. The Latin Cross is that commonly used by Christians, the
lower perpendicular limb being at least twice the length of the upper
limb. The Cross of the Resurrection has a small banner attached to the
upper portion, and the lowest perpendicular limb is much longer than the
other three. The Cross of the Baptist has also a smaller scroll attached
in like manner. The Patriarchal Cross, or Cross of the Holy Sepulchre, was
a Greek Cross brought from the East by the Crusaders, also called the
Archbishop's Cross and the Cross of Lorraine, and it has two transverse
bars, one shorter and above the other. The Papal Cross is like the last,
but has three transverse bars. The Greek Cross, known in mediæval times as
St. Andrew's Cross, consists of slanting bars, instead of perpendicular
and horizontal. There are other fanciful forms of cross, called the Cross
of Jerusalem, having a small lip at the end of four equal limbs. The Irish
Cross, or Cross of Iona, has a circle placed over the upper part of the
cross. There are pectoral crosses more or less fanciful, worn as relics
and ornaments of dress.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE HOLY CROSS.
When Constantine triumphed over his enemies by the miraculous power of the
cross, he resolved to build a magnificent church in Jerusalem. His mother,
St. Helena, then resolved, though eighty years old, to go herself to
discover the identical cross there. On her arrival none could tell where
it was, as the heathens, it was thought, purposely concealed it from the
Christians by burying it under heaps of rubbish, building over it a temple
of Venus, and placing there a statue of Jupiter. But Helena persevered,
and pulled down these pagan erections, and at a great depth discovered
three crosses, and also the nails used and the label or superscription. A
difficulty then arose as to which of the three was the cross on which the
Saviour was hung. To solve this doubt, Bishop Macarius suggested that the
three crosses should be carried and shown to a sick and dying lady. Two of
the crosses having produced no effect, the third, on being touched by her,
cured the patient at once. St. Helena on this was delighted, and built a
church on the spot where the cross was found, and she carried part of the
cross to Constantinople to her son Constantine: another part was sent to
the church at Rome. St. Helena died the same year, in 326. The board on
which Christ's title was printed in red letters was about twelve inches
long, and was sent to Rome. The main part of the cross was inclosed in a
silver shrine, and given to be kept in Jerusalem by St. Macarius in the
church which Helena and Constantine built there. St. Paulinus said that
though chips were almost daily cut off from the cross and given to devout
persons, yet the sacred wood suffered no diminution. And pieces were taken
to all the ends of the earth. The church at Jerusalem was called the
Basilica of the Holy Cross.
THE NAILS OF THE CROSS.
The nails of the cross were traced with great devotion. Calvin said there
were fifteen. There was one at Rome, one at Sienna, one at Venice, one in
the Church of the Carmelites in Paris, and some in other places. A
practice arose of filing part of the nail and touching a true nail with
other nails, and so giving a kind of sanctity to those. St. Gregory the
Great and other popes sent raspings of the chains of St. Peter as relics
in the same way. As to the true nails of the cross, it was said St. Helena
threw one into the Adriatic Sea to allay a violent storm from which the
ship was sinking, whereon the storm at once ceased. St. Ambrose said that
Constantine the Great fixed one of the nails in a rude diadem of pearls to
be worn on great occasions, and he put another in the costly bridle of his
horse as a protection in time of battle.
THIEVES AT THE CRUCIFIXION.
There is an ancient tradition that, when the Holy Family, travelling
through hidden paths and solitary defiles, had passed Jerusalem and were
descending into the plains of Syria, they encountered certain thieves, who
fell upon them; and one of these would have maltreated and plundered them,
but his comrade interfered and said, "Suffer them, I beseech thee, to go
in peace, and I will give thee forty groats, and likewise my girdle,"
which offer being accepted, the merciful robber led the Holy Travellers
to his stronghold on the rock, and gave them lodging for the night. And
Mary said to him, "The Lord God will receive thee to His right hand, and
grant the pardon of thy sins."
And it was so: for in after-times these two thieves were crucified with
Christ, one on the right hand and one on the left; and the merciful thief
went with the Saviour into Paradise. The scene of this encounter with the
robbers, near Ramla, is still pointed out to travellers, and still in evil
repute as the haunt of banditti. The crusaders visited the spot as a place
of pilgrimage; and the Abbé Orsini considers the first part of this story
as authenticated, but the legend concerning the good thief he admits to be
doubtful.
THE SOLDIER WHO PIERCED THE SAVIOUR'S SIDE.
There is a legend that the soldier who pierced the Saviour's side, whose
name was Longinus, was struck with wonder and remorse, and exclaimed,
"Truly this man was the Son of God!" He was therefore the first of the
Gentiles to be converted. As soon as he had lifted his blood-stained hands
to his face, his eyesight, which for years had been weak, was healed. He
repented, was baptised, and was for twenty-eight years an ardent
missionary. He was then ordered to sacrifice to the false gods, and on
refusal said he longed to become a martyr, and told the governor, who was
blind, that he would recover his sight only after putting him to death.
Accordingly, Longinus was beheaded, and the governor had his sight
restored, and became himself also a Christian. St. Longinus, as the
first-fruits of the Gentiles, is painted by the artists, and he became the
patron saint of Mantua; and the spear with which he pierced the Saviour's
side is preserved among the treasures of St. Peter's at Rome.
THE LEGEND OF THE CROSS.
A Life of Christ published in 1517 at Troyes told the following story.
When Adam, after being banished from Paradise, in his old age felt the
approach of death, he sent Seth to Paradise to ask the archangel who kept
the gate to give him a balsam that would save him from death. Seth with
difficulty traced the way, and on reaching it was transported with wonder
and rapture at the dazzling beauty of the scene, and the music, and the
glittering sword of the cherub. He had not courage to remember his
message; but the angel read his thoughts, and told him that the time of
pardon had not yet come, and that four thousand years must roll on before
the Redeemer would open the gate to Adam. Nevertheless, as a token of
future pardon, he allowed Seth a glimpse of the interior of Paradise, and
of the mighty tree on which redemption was to be won. The cherub gave Seth
three seeds of this tree, which were to be placed in the mouth of Adam
when buried. This was done a few days after Seth's return, when Adam died
and was buried. Out of this grave rose a cedar, a cypress, and a pine.
Moses had a rod of one of these trees. The cedar, after many ages, was
that of which the Cross of Calvary was made. It was carried off on the
plundering of Jerusalem to Persia, but was recovered by Heraclius on
September 14th, 615, the day afterwards commemorated as the Feast of the
Exaltation of the Cross.
THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS.
The painters of sacred subjects for churches used to divide the stages of
the Crucifixion into seven, and latterly into fourteen. The first
importation of the stations into Europe was said to be by a citizen of
Nuremberg, who returned from a pilgrimage to the Holy City in 1477, and
soon after engaged Kraft, a friend of Albert Dürer, to execute seven
sculptures for stone pillars to be erected in the city of Nuremberg. The
fourteen stations afterwards came to be entitled as follows: (1) Jesus is
condemned; (2) Jesus takes the cross; (3) Jesus falls for the first time;
(4) Jesus meets His blessed mother; (5) Simon the Cyrenian appears; (6)
Jesus meets St. Veronica; (7) Jesus falls for the second time; (8) the
daughters of Jerusalem; (9) Jesus falls for the third time; (10) Jesus is
stripped of His garments; (11) Jesus is nailed on the cross; (12) Jesus
dies on the cross; (13) Jesus is laid in the arms of His blessed mother;
(14) the entombment.
THE CROWN OF THORNS, THE SPONGE, AND THE BLOOD.
Not only the cross, but the crown of thorns, also had its history. The
crown of thorns had been preserved for several centuries at
Constantinople, and had been pledged to the Venetians for a large sum of
money, as is stated afterwards in more detail. The crown of thorns was at
last given by the Emperor Baldwin II. to St. Louis, King of France, in
acknowledgment of the king's contributions to defend the holy places, and
he redeemed it from the Venetians. It was carried in a sealed case by holy
religious men from Venice into France; and St. Louis and his family, and
prelates and princes, met the holy treasure five leagues beyond Sens. The
king and his brother were barefoot and in their shirts, and were bathed in
tears, and a great procession followed them. It was ultimately lodged in
La Sainte Chapelle, the exquisite Holy Chapel at Paris, built for the
purpose of receiving it. A part of the cross was also afterwards received
and added to the deposit there. The holy sponge used at the Crucifixion
was shown at Rome in the church of St. John Lateran tinged with blood. The
holy lance was kept at Jerusalem with the main part of the cross. It was
afterwards buried at Antioch to preserve it from the Saracens. It was at a
later date taken to Jerusalem, and then to Constantinople. It was said the
Emperor Baldwin pawned the point of it to raise money, and it was redeemed
by St. Louis of France and taken to the Holy Chapel in Paris. At a later
date, in 1492, the Sultan sent the lance as a present to Pope Innocent
VIII., stating that the point was in the possession of the King of France.
The blood of Christ was also shown in some places, particularly at Mantua.
THE PAWNING OF THE CROWN OF THORNS (A.D. 1213).
This pawning was as follows. When Baldwin II., Emperor of Constantinople,
was hard pressed in 1213, Gibbon relates that the crown of thorns had been
preserved in the Imperial Chapel of Constantinople. In his absence the
barons of Romania borrowed a sum of 13,134 pieces of gold (about £6,567)
on the credit of the crown. They failed to repay the loan, and a rich
Venetian, Nicholas Querini, undertook to satisfy the impatient creditors,
on condition that the relic should be lodged at Venice, to become his
absolute property if not redeemed within a short and definite period. The
barons apprised their sovereign of the hard treaty and the impending loss;
and as the empire could not redeem the crown, Baldwin was anxious to
snatch the prize from the Venetians, and to vest it with more honour and
emolument in the hands of the most Christian king, Louis IX. of France.
The king's ambassadors, two Dominicans, were despatched to Venice to
redeem and receive the holy crown, which had escaped the dangers of the
sea and the galleys of Vataces. On opening a wooden box, they recognised
the seals of the Doge and barons, which were applied on a shrine of
silver, and within this shrine the monument of the Passion was enclosed in
a golden vase. The reluctant Venetians yielded to justice and power. The
Emperor Frederick granted a free passage. The King of France and his court
advanced as far as Troyes, in Champagne, to meet with devotion the
inestimable relic. It was borne in triumph by the king himself, barefoot
and in his shirt; and a free gift of 10,000 marks of silver reconciled
Baldwin to his loss. The success of this transaction tempted Baldwin to
offer, with the same generosity, the remaining furniture of his chapel. A
large and authentic portion of the true cross, the baby linen of the Son
of God, the lance, the sponge, and the chain of His Passion, the rod of
Moses, and part of the skull of John the Baptist, were purchased by Louis
IX. for 20,000 marks, and lodged in Sainte Chapelle in Paris.
THE APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
Certain books have been written and circulated in the early ages of
Christianity which professed to recite events not mentioned in the Four
Gospels or New Testament. Though all are spurious and of uncertain
authorship, there is, nevertheless, great interest in some of the
incidents; and as they were so extensively read by early Christians some
account of these is acceptable to all readers of sacred subjects. Though
in all ages treated with contempt by the authoritative teachers in the
Church, it is easy to comprehend how they came to attract so much notice,
for there is an air of simplicity and verisimilitude in some of the
incidents, and of course no human being is in a position to affirm or deny
the substance of the things thus recorded. Milman says these legends can
still be traced in some of our Christmas carols. One of these apocryphal
gospels is called the "Protevangelion, or Gospel of James," who was one of
the sons of Joseph the carpenter, and it records incidents of the
childhood of Jesus. The existence of this gospel is traced to the fourth
century. Another is the "Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, or of the Infancy of
Mary and of Jesus," supposed to be written in the fifth century. Another
is the "Gospel of the Nativity of Mary." This was fathered upon Jerome,
and supposed to be written in the fifth century, and it was much read in
the Middle Ages. Another is the "History of Joseph the Carpenter,"
supposed to belong to the fourth century. Another is the "Gospel of
Thomas, or Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus," said to be written about the
middle of the second century. Another is the "Arabic Gospel of the
Infancy," ascribed to the fifth or sixth century. There is also a
professed correspondence between Jesus and King Agbarus, part of which is
said to belong to the sixth century and part to the third century. There
is also the "Gospel of Nicodemus, or Acts of Pilate," supposed to be
written in the second century. There are also Letters and Reports of
Pilate and Herod about Christ, professing to narrate facts and incidents
of that time. All these gospels or legends abound in miracles and
prodigies, some of them very puerile. A translation was published of the
above-mentioned legends by B. Harris Cowper in 1867.
FALSE CHRISTS IN DIFFERENT AGES.
False Christs began to appear early, as is mentioned in St. Luke and by
Josephus: Jortin mentions other successors. In the reign of Adrian one
Barcohab pretended to be Messias. In 434 one Moses Cretensis promised,
like Moses, to divide the sea at Crete and deliver the Jews there; and
some people, when commanded by him, actually cast themselves into the
waves and perished. Again, about 420, the time of Socrates the historian,
another impostor appeared. Again, in 520, one Dunaan; one Julian in 529;
one Mohammed in 571; another, a Syrian, in 721. In 1138 another in France;
in 1157 another in Spain; in 1167 another in Fez. In Arabia, in 1167,
another appeared, and was brought before the king, who asked the pretender
what sign or miracle he could show in attestation of his power. The man
replied, "Cut off my head, and I will return to life again." The king took
him at his word, and the head was cut off, but it never was put on again
nor life restored. Again, another appeared in Persia in 1174; another in
Moravia in 1176; another, who was also an enchanter, in Persia in 1199;
another in Spain in 1497; another in Austria in 1500; another in Cologne
in 1509; another in Spain, burnt by the Emperor Charles V., in 1534;
another in the East Indies in 1615; another in Holland in 1624; another in
Smyrna in 1666, named Sabbatar Sevi, who raised great expectations;
another in 1682, named Rabbi Mordecai, a German Jew.
THE SEPTUAGINT BIBLE AND NEW TESTAMENT.
Vast difficulties surround the settlement of the orthodox list of books of
the New Testament. The Old Testament was not used as a name in the time of
Christ; but the sacred books, or the Law and the Prophets, were the modes
of reference, these being read regularly in the synagogues as part of the
ceremonial of public worship. In the third century before the Christian
era, the Old Testament was translated into Greek, or at least was begun to
be so, in order to meet the wants of the Greek-speaking Jews. Ptolemy II.
is said to have asked the high priest at Jerusalem to select skilful
elders to make the translation, and a copy was to be deposited in the
library at Alexandria. Some think the word "Septuagint" implied that there
were seventy translators; others that it only meant that the work was
approved by the Alexandrine Sanhedrim. The translation is said to be
defective in several passages. The Septuagint came soon to be the standard
version, as Hebrew had become almost an unknown language even to the Jews
of Palestine. The dates and order of the Gospels have also given rise to
interminable controversies. The Apostles all gave oral recollections of
the facts of Christ's life and sayings. The expression "New Testament" did
not come into use until the latter part of the second century. A canon was
at length settled, though the date is uncertain, expressing the authentic
collection of Christian Scriptures. And yet the earliest known list of
books of the New Testament was not discovered till the seventeenth century
in the Ambrosian Library at Milan, and the original of it was said to be
of the date of 150 A.D.
ENGLISH VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE.
Mr. Dore says that there is no English Bible known to be in existence
earlier than the fourteenth century. But the Psalter and other portions of
the Old and New Testament were translated from the Latin into English at
various times between the seventh and fourteenth centuries. Three versions
in English of the Psalter bear a date soon after 1300. The first entire
Bible in English was the work of Nicholas de Hereford and John Wycliffe,
about 1380. Tyndale's New Testament was printed in English about 1525, and
he died in 1537. Coverdale's Bible in the English language was published
in 1535. The Genevan Version, published in English at Geneva in 1560, by
its singular rendering of Gen. iii. 7, is commonly known as the Breeches
Bible. A Roman Catholic translation into English of the New Testament was
published at Rheims in 1582, and later at Douai, on the removal of the
Roman Catholic College to the latter place. King James I.'s new
translation of the Bible, called the Authorised Version, was first
published in 1611.