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THE

CATACOMBS OF ROME,

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BY THE REV.

W. H. WITHROW, M.A.

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.

HODDER AND STOUGHTON,
27, PATERNOSTER ROW.

MDCCCLXXXVIII.

Hazell, Watson, and Viney, Ld. Printers, London and Aylesbury

PREFACE.

The present work, it is hoped, will supply a want long
felt in the literature of the Catacombs. That litera-
ture, it is true, is very voluminous ; but it is for the
most part locked up in rare and costly folios in foreign
languages, and inaccessible to the general reader
Recent discoveries have refuted some of the theories
and corrected many of the statements of previous
books in English on this subject ; and the present vol-
ume is the only one in which the latest results of
exploration are fully given, and interpreted from a
Protestant point of view.

The writer has endeavored to illustrate the subject
by frequent pagan sepulchral inscriptions, and by
citations from the writings of the Fathers, which
often throw much light on the condition of early
Christian society. The value of the work is greatly
enhanced, it is thought, by the addition of many
hundreds of early Christian inscriptions carefully
translated, a very large proportion of which have
never before appeared in English. Those only who
have given some attention to epigraphical studies can
conceive the difficulty of this part of the work. The de-
facements of time, and frequently the original imper-
fection of the inscriptions and the ignorance of their

6 Preface.

writers, demand the utmost carefulness to avoid errors
of interpretation. The writer has been fortunate in
being assisted by the veteran scholarship of the
Rev. Dr. McCaul, well known in both Europe and
America as one of the highest living authorities in
epigraphical science, under whose critical revision
most of the translations have passed. Through the
enterprise of the publishers this work is more copi-
ously illustrated, from original and other sources, than
any other work on the subject in the language ; thus
giving more correct and vivid impressions of the un-
familiar scenes and objects delineated than is possi-
ble by any mere verbal description. References are
given, in the foot-notes, to the principal authorities
quoted, but specific acknowledgment should here be
made of the author's indebtedness to the Cavaliere
De Rossi's Roma Sotterranea and Inscriptio7ies Chris-
tiana, by far the most important works on this fas-
cinating but difficult subject.

Believing that the testimony of the Catacombs
exhibits, more strikingly than any other evidence, the
immense contrast between primitive Christianity and
modern Romanism, the author thinks no apology
necessary for the somewhat polemical character of
portions of this book which illustrate that fact. He
trusts that it will be found a contribution of some
value to the historical defense of the truth against
the corruptions and innovations of Popish error.

CONTENTS

800k Jfirst.

THE STRUCTURE AND HISTORY OF THE CATACOMBS.
Chapteu Page

I. The Structure of the Catacombs n

II. The Origin and Early History of the Catacombs. 49

III. The Disuse and Abandonment of the Catacombs. 120

IV. The Rediscovery and Exploration of the Cata-

combs 150

V. The Principal Catacombs 164

§ook Second.

THE ART AND SYMBOLISM OF THE CATACOMBS.

I. Early Christian Art 203

II. The Symbolism of the Catacombs 225

III. The Biblical Paintings of the Catacombs 282

IV. Objects found in the Catacombs 362 . /

gook CJnrtf.

THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CATACOMBS.

I. General Character of the Inscriptions 395

II. The Doctrinal Teachings of the Inscriptions. . . 415 ^/"

III. Early Christian Life and Character as read in

the Catacombs 453

IV. Ministry, Rites, and Institutions of the Primitive

Church as Indicated in the Catacombs 506

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Fig. Page i Ftg

i. Entrance to Catacomb of 25,

St. Priscilla 12 26,

2. Entrance to Catacomb of

St. Prsetextatus 16 27.

3. Part of Callixtan Cata-

comb 17 2S.

4. Gallery with Tombs ... . 18

5. Interior of Corridor 20 29.

6. Loculi — Open and Closed 23

7. Tomb of Valeria 24 30.

8. Arcosolium with Perfo-

rated Slab 25 31.

9. Plan of Double Chamber. 26 32.

10. Section of Gallery and 33.

Cubicula 27 34.

11. Suite of Chambers 28

12. Vaulted Chamber with 35.

Columns 29

13. Cubiculum with Arcoso- 36.

lia 30

14. Section of Catacomb of 37.

Callixtus 32 38.

15. Cubicula with Luminare. 35 39.

16. Gallery in St. Hermes. . 42 40.

17. Part of Wall of Gallery 41.

in St. Hermes 42

18. Slab in Jewish Catacomb. 5T 42.

19. Epitaph of Martyrus. . . . 66 43.

20. Reputed Martyr Symbol, 77 44-

21. Epitaph of Lannus, a 45-

Martyr 9S 46.

22. Secret Stairway in Cata- 47-

comb of Callixtus. . . . 101 4§-

23. Diogenes the Fossor. . . . 133

24. Fossor at Work 134 49-

Paw

Tombs on Appian Way. 1O5
Plan of Area in Callixtan

Catacomb 171

Plan of Crypt of St. Peter

and St. Paul 1S7

Ciypt of St. Peter and St.

Paul 1 S3

Section of Catacomb of

Helena 191

Entrance to Catacomb of

St. Agnes 195

Mithraic Painting 216

Leaf Point 227

Phonetic Symbol — Leo.. 229
Phonetic Symbol — Por-

cella 230

Phonetic Symbol — Na-

bira 230

Wool-comber's Imple-
ments 231

Carpenter's Implements. 231
Vine Dresser's Tomb .. . 232

Symbolical Anchor 234

Symbolical Ship 235

Symbolical Palm and

Crown 236

Symbolical Doves 237

Symbolical Dove 23S

Doves and Vase 2 , S

Locus Primi 23S

Symbolical Peacock.... 240
The Good Shepherd. ... 245
Good Shepherd with

Syrinx 246

Symbolical Lamb 249

List of Illustrations.

Fig. Page

50. Symbolical Fish 255

51. Symbolical Fish 256

52. Fish and Anchor 256

53. Fish and Dove 256

54. Eucharistic Symbol 256

55. Constantinian Monogram 265

56. Early Christian Seal.... 266

57. Various Forms of Mono-

gram 267

58. Epitaph of Tasaris 267

59. Opisthographse 268

60. Early Christian Seal. . . . 270

61. Monogram and Cross. . . 270

62. The Temptation and Fall 2S4

63. Adam and Eve Receiving

their Sentence 285

64. Noah in the Ark 286

65. Noah in the Ark 287

66. Noah in the Ark, from

Sarcophagus 287

67. Apamean Medal 288

68. Sacrifice of Isaac 2S9

69. Sacrifice of Isaac 289

70. Moses on Horeb 290

71. Moses Receiving the Law 290

72. Moses and the Baskets of

Manna 291

73. Moses Striking the Rock 291

74. Moses Striking the Rock 291

75. The Sufferings of Job.. . 293

76. Ascension of Elijah 295

77. The Three Hebrew Chil-

dren 296

78. The Three Hebrew Chil-

dren 297

79 The Three Hebrew Chil-
dren 298

80. Daniel in the Lions' Den 299

81. The Story of Jonah 300

82. Jonah, Moses, and Oranti 301
63. Jonah and the Great Fish. 302
84. Noah and Jonah 302

Fig. Page

85. Jonah's Gourd 304

86. Adoration of Magi. . . . 305

87. Adoration of Magi. . . . 306

88. Orante 309

89. Supposed Madonna . . . 311

90. Earliest Madonna 312

91. Christ with the Doctors. 324

92. Christ and the Woman

of Samaria 325

93. Paralytic Carrying Bed. 325

94. Woman with Issue of

Blood 326

95. Miracle of Loaves and

Fishes 327

96. Opening the Eyes of the

Blind 327

97. Christ Blessing a Little

Child 32S

98. Lazarus (rude) 330

99. Lazarus (in fresco) 330

100. Lazarus (in relief) 331

101. Christ's Entry into Jeru-

salem 331

102. Peter's Denial of Christ. 332

103. Pilate Washing his

Hands 333

104. Sculptured Sarcophagus 334

105. Painted Chamber 339

106. Oldest Extant Head of

Christ (mosaic) 347

107. God Symbolized by a

Hand 356

108. God as Pope 359

109. Domestic Group in Gilt

Glass 366

no. Reputed Martyr Relic. 371
in. Reputed Martyr Sym-
bol 374

112. Symbolical Lamp 377

113. Symbolical Lamp 378

114. Vases from the Cata-

combs 381

List of Illustrations.

Fig. Page

115. Amphora from the Cat-

acombs 382

116. Earthen and Metal Ves-

sels 383

117. Early Christian Ring.. 385

118. Early Christian Seal... 385

119. Impressions of Seals. . . 386

120. Children's Toys 387

121. Statue of Good Shep- .

herd 390

122. Epitaph of Gemella... 401

123. Epitaph of Ligurius

Successus 402

Fig. Paga

124. Epitaph of Domitius.. 402

125. Epitaph Inverted 404

126. Epitaph Reversed 404

127. Epitaph of Cassta 405

128. Triple Epitaph 405

129. Belicia 500

130. Chamber with Catechu-

mens' Seats 531

131. Baptismal Font 537

132. Baptism of Our Lord. . 538

133. Baptismal Scene 539

134. Fresco of Early Chris-

tian Agape 546

BOOK FIRST.

STRUCTURE AND HISTORY OF THE CATACOMBS.

CHAPTER I.

STRUCTURE OF THE CATACOMBS.

" Among the cultivated grounds not far from the city
of Rome," says the Christian poet Prudentius, " lies a
deep crypt, with dark recesses. A descending path,
with winding steps, leads through the dim turnings,
and the daylight, entering by the mouth of the cavern,
somewhat illumines the first part of the way. But the
darkness grows deeper as we advance, till we meet with
openings, cut in the roof of the passages, admitting light
from above. On all sides spreads the densely-woven
labyrinth of paths, branching into caverned chapels and
sepulchral halls ; and throughout the subterranean maze,
through frequent openings, penetrates the light."*

* Haud procul extremo culta ad pomoeria vallo,

Mersa latebrosis crypta patet foveis. . . . — Peristepkanon, iv.

The origin of the word Catacombs is exceedingly obscure. Father
Marchi derives it from Kara, down, and rvfifiog, a tomb ; or from Kara
and Koifidu, to sleep. Mommsen thinks it comes from Kara and
cumbo, part of decumbo, to lie down. According to Schneider {Lex.

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig1. 1— Entrance to the Catacomb of St. Priscilla.

This description of the Catacombs in the fourth cen-
tury is equally applicable to their general appearance in
the nineteenth. Their main features are unchanged,
although time and decay have greatly impaired their
structure and defaced their beauty. These Christian
cemeteries are situated chiefly near the great roads
leading from the city, and, for the most part, within a
circle of three miles from the walls. From this circum-
stance they have been compared to the " encampment
of a Christian host besieging Pagan Rome, and driving
inward its mines and trenches with an assurance of

Creek.) it is derived from Kara and Kiififir), a boat or canoe, from the
resemblance of a sarcophagus to that object. The more probable
derivation seems to the present writer to be from Kara and kuu tof, a
hollow, as if descriptive of a subterranean excavation. The name
was first given in the sixth century to a limited area beneath the
Church ofSt. Sebastian: " Locus qui dicitur eatacum&as." — S. Greg.,
Opp., torn, ii, ep. 30. It was afterward generically applied to all sub-
terranean places of sepulture. The earliest writers who mention
those of Rome call them cryptiv, or crypts, or eameteria — whence our
word cemetery, literally, sleeping places, from Koi/tau, to slumber.
Similar excavations have been found in Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus,
Crete, the yEgean Isles, Greece, Sicily, Naples, Malta, and France.

Their Structure. 13

final victory." The openings of the Catacombs are
scattered over the Campagna, whose mournful desolation
surrounds the city ; often among the mouldering mau-
solea that rise, like stranded wrecks, above the rolling
sea of verdure of the tomb-abounding plain.* On
every side are tombs — tombs above and tombs be-
low— the graves of contending races, the sepulchres
of vanished generations : "Piena di sepoltura e la Cam-
pagna." \

How marvelous that beneath the remains of a proud
pagan civilization exist the early monuments of that
power before which the myths of paganism faded away as
the spectres of darkness before the rising sun, and by
which the religion and institutions of Rome were entirely
changed. I Beneath the ruined palaces and temples, the
crumbling tombs and dismantled villas, of the august
mistress of the world, we find the most interesting relics
of early Christianity on the face of the earth. In trav-
ersing these tangled labyrinths we are brought face
to face with the primitive ages ; we are present at
the worship of the infant Church ; we observe its rites ;
we study its institutions ; we witness the deep emotions
of the first believers as they commit their dead, often

* These great roads for miles are lined with the sepulchral monu-
ments of Rome's mighty dead, majestic even in decay. But only the
wealthy could be entombed in those stately mausolea, or be wrapped
in those "marble cerements." For the mass of the population co-
lumbaria were provided, in whose narrow niches, like the compart-
ments of a dove-cote — whence the name — the terra cotta urns con-
taining their ashes were placed, sometimes to the number of six thou-
sand in a single columbarium. They also contain sometimes the
urns of the great.

t Ariosto, Orlando Furioso.

% Aringhi, in the elegant Latin ode prefixed to his great work, ex-
claims, " Sub Roma Romam qurerito " — Beneath Rome I seek the
true Rome.

14 The Catacombs of Rome.

J? their martyred dead, to their last long resting-place ; we
decipher the touching record of their sorrow, of the
holy hopes by which they were sustained, of " their faith

^ triumphant o'er their fears," and of their assurance of
the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.
We read in the testimony of the Catacombs the
confession of faith of the early Christians, sometimes
accompanied by the records of their persecution, the
symbols of their martyrdom, and even the very instru-
ments of their torture. For in these halls of silence
and gloom slumbers the dust of many of the martyrs
and confessors, who sealed their testimony with their
blood during the sanguinary ages of persecution ; of
many of the early bishops and pastors of the Church,
who shepherded the flock of Christ amid the dangers of

- those troublous times ; of many who heard the words
of life from teachers who lived in or near the apostolic
age, perhaps from the lips of the apostles themselves.
Indeed, if we would accept ancient tradition, we would
even believe that the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul
were laid to rest in those hallowed crypts — a true terra
sancta, inferior in sacred interest only to that rock-hewn
sepulchre consecrated evermore by the body of Our
Lord. These reflections will lend to the study of the
Catacombs an interest of the highest and intensest
character.

It is impossible to discover with exactness the extent
of this vast necropolis on account of the number and
intricacy of its tangled passages. That extent has
been greatly exaggerated, however, by the monkish
ciceroni, who guide visitors through these subterranean
labyrinths.* There are some forty-two of these ceme-

* Even so accurate and philosophical a writer as the late Professor
Silliman reports on their authority that the Catacombs extend twenty

Their Structure. 15

teries in all now known, many of which are only par-
tially accessible. Signor Michele De Rossi, from an
accurate survey of the Catacomb of Callixtus, computes
the entire length of all the passages to be eight hundred
and seventy-six thousand metres, or five hundred and
eighty-seven geographical miles, equal to the entire
length of Italy, from /Etna's fires to the Alpine snows.

The entrance to the abandoned Catacomb is some-
times a low-browed aperture like a fox's burrow, almost
concealed by long and tangled grass, and overshadowed
by the melancholy cypress or gray-leaved ilex. Some-
times an ancient arch can be discerned, as at the Cata-
comb of St. Priscilla,* or the remains of the chamber for
the celebration of the festivals of the martyrs, as at the
entrance of the Cemetery of St. Domitilla. In a few in-
stances it is through the crypts of an ancient basilica, as
at St. Sebastian, and sometimes a little shrine or oratory
covers the descent, as at St. Agnes, \ St. Helena, J and
St. Cyriaca. In all cases there is a stairway, often
long and steep, crumbling with time and worn with the
feet of pious generations. The following illustration
shows the entrance to the Catacomb of St. Prsetextatus
on the AppianWay, trodden in the primitive ages by the
early martyrs and confessors, or perhaps by the armed sol-
diery of the oppressors, hunting to earth the persecuted
flock of Christ. Here, too, in mediaeval times, the

miles, to the port of Ostia, in one direction, and to Albano, twelve
miles, in another. Visit to Europe, vol. i, p. 329. This is impossible,
as will be shown, on account of the undulation of the ground, and the
limited area of the volcanic tufa in which alone they can be excavated.
The number of distinct Catacombs has also been magnified to sixty ;
and Father Marchi estimated the aggregate length of passages to be
nine hundred miles.

* Fig- I. t Fig. 30. % Fig. 29.

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig1. 2.— Entrance to St. Preetextatus.
vated in the volcanic rock which

martial clang
of the armed
knight may have
awaked unwont-
ed echoes among
the hollow arch-
es, or the glid-
ing footstep of
the sandaled
monk scarce dis-
turbed the si-
lence as he
passed. In later
times pilgrims
from every land
have visited,
with pious rever-
ence or idle curi-
osity, this early
shrine of the
Christian faith.

The Cata-
combs are exca-
abounds in the

neighborhood of Rome. It is a granulated, grayish
breccia, or tufa, as it is called, of a coarse, loose text-
ure, easily cut with a knife, and bearing still the
marks of the mattocks with which it was dug. In
the firmer volcanic rock of Naples the excavations
are larger and loftier than those of Rome ; but the
latter, although they have less of apparent majesty,
have more of funereal mystery. The Catacombs con-
sist essentially of two parts — corridors and chambers, or
cubicula. The corridors are long, narrow and intricate pas-

Their Structure.

sages, forming a complete underground net-work.
They are for the most part straight, and intersect each
other at approximate right angles. The accompanying

V Fig. 3.— Part of Catacomb of Callixtus.

map of part of the Catacomb of Callixtus will indicaLe
the general plan of these subterranean galleries.

The main corridors vary from three to five feet in
width, but the lateral passages are much narrower, often

The Catacombs of Rome.

affording room for but one person to pass. They will
average about eight feet in height, though in some places
as low as five or six, and in others, under peculiar cir-
cumstances, reaching to twelve or fifteen feet. The
ceiling is generally vaulted, though sometimes flat ; and
the floor, though for the most part level, has occasionally
a slight incline, or even a few steps, caused by the junc-

Fig. 4.— Gallery with Tombs,
tion of areas of different levels, as hereafter explained.
The walls are generally of the naked tufa, though some-
times plastered ; and where they have given way are
occasionally strengthened with masonry. At the coi-
ners of these passages there are frequently niches, in

Their Structure. 19

which lamps were placed, without which, indeed, the
Catacombs must have been an impenetrable labyrinth.
Cardinal Wiseman recounts a touching legend of a
young girl who was employed as a guide to the places
of worship in the Catacombs because, on account
of her blindness, their sombre avenues were as famil-
iar to her accustomed feet as the streets of Rome to
others.

Both sides of the corridors are thickly lined with
loculi or graves, which have somewhat the appearance
of berths in a ship, or of the shelves in a grocer's shop ;
but the contents are the bones and ashes of the dead,
and for labels we have their epitaphs. Figure 4 will illus-
trate the general character of these galleries and loculi.

The following engraving, after a sketch by Maitland,
shows a gallery wider and more rudely excavated. On
the right hand is seen a passage blocked up with stones,
as was frequently done, to prevent accident. The day-
light is seen pouring in at the further end of the gallery,
as described by Prudentius,* and rendering visible the
rifled graves.

It is evident that the principle followed in the forma-
tion of these galleries and loculi was the securing of the
greatest amount of space for graves with the least ex-
cavation. Hence the passages are made as narrow as
possible. The graves are also as close together as the fri-
able nature of the tufa will permit, and are made to suit
the shape of the body, narrow at the feet, broader at
the shoulders, and often with a semi-circular excavation
for the head, so as to avoid any superfluous removal of
tufa. Sometimes the loculi were made large enough to
hold two, three, or even four bodies, which were often

* Primas namque fores summo tenus intrat hiatu

Illustratque dies limina vestibuli. — Peristephanon, ii.

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 5.— Interior of Corridor.

placed with the head of one toward the feet of the
other, in order to economize space. These were called
bisomi, trisomi, and quadrisomi, respectively. The
graves were apparently made as required, probably with
the corpse lying beside them, as some unexcavated spaces
have been observed traced in outline with chalk or paint
upon the walls. Almost every inch of available space
is occupied, and sometimes, though rarely, graves are

Their Structure. 21

dug in the floor. The loculi are of all sizes, from that
of the infant of an hour to that of an adult man. But
here, as in every place of burial, the vast preponderance
of children's graves is striking. How many blighted
buds there are for every full-blown flower or ripened fruit !

Sometimes the loculi were excavated with mathemat-
ical precision. An example occurs in the Cemetery of
St. Cyriaca, where at one end of a gallery is a tier of
eight small graves for infants, then eight, somewhat
larger, for children from about seven to twelve, then seven
more, apparently for adult females, and lastly, a tier of
six for full-grown men, occupying the entire height of
the wall. Generally, however, a less regular arrange-
ment was observed, and the graves of the young and old
were intermixed, without any definite order.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to compute the num-
ber of graves in these vast cemeteries. Some seventy
thousand have been counted, but they are a mere frac-
tion of the whole, as only a small part of this great ne-
cropolis has been explored. From lengthened observa-
tion Father Marchi estimates the average number of
graves to be ten, five on each side, for every seven feet
of gallery. Upon this basis he computed the entire
number in the Catacombs to be seven millions ! The
more accurate estimate of their extent made by Sig.
Michele De Rossi would allow room for nearly four mill-
ions of graves, or, more exactly, about three million
eight hundred and thirty-one thousand.* This seems

* In the single crypt of St. Lucina, one hundred feet by one hun-
dred and eighty, De Rossi counted over seven hundred loculi, and esti-
mated that nearly twice as many were destroyed, giving a total of
two thousand graves in this area. The same space, with our mode
of interment, would not accommodate over half the number, even
though placed as close together as possible, without any room for
passages.

22 The Catacombs of Rojne.

almost incredible ; but we know that for at least three
hundred years, or for ten generations, the entire Chris- y
tian population of Rome was buried here. And that
population, as we shall see, was, even at an early period,
of considerable size. In the time of persecution, too, ,
the Christians were hurried to the tomb in crowds. In
this silent city of the dead we are surrounded by a
" mighty cloud of witnesses," " a multitude which no
man can number," whose names, unrecorded on earth,
are written in the Book of Life. For every one who
walks the streets of Rome to-day are hundreds of its
former inhabitants calmly sleeping in this vast encamp-
jment of death around its walls — "each in his narrow
cell forever laid."* Till the archangel awake them
they slumber. " It is scarcely known," says Prudentius,
" how full Rome is of buried saints — how richly her soil
abounds in holy sepulchres."

These graves were once all hermetically sealed by
slab's of marble, or tiles of terra cotta. The former were
generally of one piece, which fitted into a groove or
mortice cut in the rock at the grave's mouth, and were
securely cemented to their places, as, indeed, was abso-
lutely necessary, from the open character of the galleries
in which the graves were placed. Sometimes fragments
of heathen tombstones or altars were used for this
purpose. The tiles were generally smaller, two or
three being required for an adult grave. They were
arranged in panels, and were cemented with plaster, on
which a name or symbol was often rudely scratched with
a trowel while soft, as in the following illustration. Most

0 Compare Bryant's Thanatopsis :

"All that tread
The globe are but a handful to the tribes
That slumber in its bosom."

Their Structure.

of these slabs and tiles have disappeared, and many of
the graves have long been rifled of their contents. In
others may still be seen the mouldering skeleton of what
was once man in his strength, woman in her beauty, or
a child in its innocence and glee. The annexed engrav-
ing exhibits two graves, one of which is partially open,
exposing the skeleton which has reposed on its rocky
bed for probably over fifteen centuries.

iiiijiilliiliffi

Fig. 6.— Loculi — Open and Closed.

If these bones be touched they will generally crumble
into a white, flaky powder. D'Agincourt copied a tomb
(Fig. 7) in which this " dry dust of death " still retained
the outline of a human skeleton. Verily, "Pulvis et
umbra sumus." Sometimes, however, possibly from some
constitutional peculiarity, the bones remain quite firm
notwithstanding the lapse of so many centuries. De

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig-. 7.— Valeria Sleeps in Peace.

Rossi states that he has assisted at the removal of a body
from the Catacombs to a church two miles distant with-
out the displacement of a single bone.* The age of the
deceased and the nature of the ground also affect the
condition in which the remains are found. Of the bodies
of children nothing but dust remains. Where the poz-
zolana is damp, the bones are often well preserved ; and
where water has infiltrated, a partial petrifaction some-'
times occurs. f Campana describes the opening of a
hermetically sealed sarcophagus, which revealed the
undisturbed body clad in funeral robes, and wearing the
ornaments of life ; but while he gazed it suddenly dis-
solved to dust before his eyes. Sometimes the sarcoph-
agus was placed behind a perforated slab of marble, as
shown in the following example, given by Maitland.
The lower part of the slab is broken.

The other essential constituent of the Catacombs,

besides the galleries already described, consists of the

\cubicula.\ These are chambers excavated in the tufa

* Rom. Sott., ii, 127.

t D'Agincourt, Histoire dc tart par Its Monument, i, 20.

% Literally, little sleeping chambers, from euio, I lie down. The
same name was also given to the cells for meditation and prayer at-
tached to the Church of Nola. Paolin., ep. 12, ad Sever.

Their Structure.

Fig. 8.— Arcosolium with Perforated Slab.

on either side of the galleries, with which they commu-
nicate by doors, as seen in Fig. 4. These often bear the
character of family vaults, and are lined with graves,
like the corridors without. They are generally square
or rectangular, but sometimes octagonal or circular.
They were probably used as mortuary chapels, for the
celebration of funeral service, and for the administra-
tion of the eucharist near the tombs of the martyrs on
the anniversaries of their death. They were too small
to be used for regular worship, except perhaps in time
of persecution. They are often not more than eight or
ten feet square. Even the so-called " Papal Crypt," a
chamber of peculiar sanctity, is only eleven by fourteen

The Catacombs of Rome.

feet ; and that
of St. Cecilia
a d j o i n i n g it,
one of a large
size, is less than
twenty feet
square. Even
the largest
would not ac-
commodate
more than a
few dozen per-
s o n s. These
chambers are
generally f a c -
ing one anoth-
er on opposite
sides of a gal-
lery, as in the
annexed plan
of two cubicula
in the Cata-
comb of Cal-
lixtus.

It is thought
that in the cel-
ebration of
worship one
of these chambers was designed for men and the other
for women. Sometimes separate passages to the chapels
and distinct entrances to the Catacombs seem intended
to facilitate this separation of the sexes. Sometimes
three, or even as many as five, cubicula, as in one example
in the Catacomb of St. Agnes, were placed on the same

Fig. 9 — Plan of Double Chamber.

Their Structure.

axial line, and formed one continu-
ous suite of chambers. The accom-
panying section of what is known
as "The Chapel of Two Halls," in
the Catacomb of St. Praetextatus, il-
lustrates this : a is the main gallery,
d a large cubiculum known as " The
Women's Hall," to the right, and
to the left b, a hexagonal vaulted
room with a smaller chamber, c
opening from it. The length of the
entire range from G to F, according
to the accurate measurement of
M. Perret, is twenty-three and a
half metres, or nearly seventy-seven
feet. The larger engraving (Fig.
n) gives a perspective view look-
ing toward the left of the hexagonal
chamber,(D. Fig. 10,) and the smaller
one, c, opening from it. By means
of these connected chambers the
Christians were enabled in times of
persecution to assemble for wor-
ship in these " dens and caves of
the earth," surrounded by the slum-
bering bodies of the holy dead.

'The cubicula had vaulted roofs, and were sometimes
plastered or cased with marble and paved with tiles, or,
though rarely, with mosaic. These, however, were gen-
erally additions of later date than the original construc-
tion, as were also the semi-detached columns in the
angles, with stucco capitals and bases, as indicated in
Fig. 9, and shown more clearly in the following engrav-
ing, which is a perspective view of the lower chamber

The Catacombs of Kome.

Their Structure.

Fig. 12.— Vaulted. Chamber with Columns.

in Fig. 9. The walls and ceiling were often covered
with fresco paintings, frequently of elegant design, to be
hereafter described.* Sometimes, as in some examples
in the Catacomb of St. Agnes, tufa or marble seats are
ranged around the chamber, and chairs are hewn out
of the solid rock.f These chambers were used probably/
for the instruction of catechumens. Occasionally the
cubiciilum terminates in a semicircular recess, as in the
upper chamber in Fig. 9. These probably gave rise to
the apse in early Christian architecture, of which a good
example is found in the Church of St. Clement, one of
the most ancient Christian edifices in Rome. Niches
and shelves for lamps, an absolute necessity in the per-
petual darkness that there reigns, frequently occur, such
as may be seen in Italian houses to-day. Without the
least authority, some Roman Catholic writers have de

* Book II.

f See Fig. 130 and context, where the entire subject is discussed.

The Catacombs of Rome.

scribed these as closets for priestly vestments and
shelves for pictures.

A peculiar form of grave common in these chambers,
as well as in the galleries, is that known as the arcosoliuin,
or arched tomb. It consists of a recess in the wall,
having a grave, often double or triple, excavated in the
tufa, or built with masonry, like a solid sarcophagus, and
closed with a marble slab. These are seen in the plan,
Fig. 9, in the section, Fig. 10, at g and e in Fig.
15, and in perspective in Figs. 11 and 12. Some-
times the recess is rectangular instead of arched, and
is then called by De Rossi sepolcro a mensa, or table tomb.
Sometimes the arch was segmental, especially when
constructed of masonry.* An example of both sorts is

Fig. 13.— Cubiculum with Arcosolia.

seen in the accompanying engraving of a cubiculum in the
Catacomb of St. Praetextatus. The narrow door into the
corridor is also seen, and the stucco capitals and bases
of the columns. In course of time these arcosolia were
* Sec in the Cemetery of St. Helena, Fig. 29.

Their Structure. 31

used as altars for the celebration of the eucharist, and
eventually grave abuses arose from the superstitious
veneration paid to the relics of the martyr or confessor
interred therein. Frequently, also, the back of this
arched recess was pierced with graves of a later date,
often directly through a painting,* in order to obtain a
resting place near the bodies of the saints.

Hitherto only one level of the Catacombs has been
described, but frequently "beneath this depth there
is a lower deep," or even three or four tiers of galler-
ies, excavated as the upper ones became filled with
graves. Thus there are sometimes as many as five
stories, or piani, as they are called, one beneath the
other. These are carefully maintained horizontal, to
avoid breaking through the floor of the one above or
the roof of the one below, the danger of which would
be very great if the strict level were departed from.
For the same reason the different piani were generally
separated by a thick stratum of solid tufa. The rela-
tive position of these levels is shown by the following
engraving, reduced from De Rossi. It represents a sec-
tion of the Crypt of St. Lucina, a part of the Ceme-
tery of Callixtus. The dark colored stratum, marked ]
in the margin, is entirely made up of the debris of ancient
monuments, buildings, and other materials accumulated
in the course of ages in this place to the depth of eight
feet. It has completely buried the ancient roads, except
where excavated, as shown in the engraving. The next
stratum, 11, is of solid grayish tufa. In this the first level
ox piano, 0, is excavated. It is not more than twenty
feet below the surface, and in many places only half
that depth. Consequently its area is comparatively lim-
ited, because if extended it would have run out into the
* As in Fig. 12, and more strikingly in Fig 76.

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 14.— Section of the Catacomb of Callixtua.

open air, from the sloping of the ground in which it is
dug. The next stratum, in, is softer and more easily
worked, and therefore is that in which are found the
most important and extensive piani of galleries. The
cross sections P and X, and the longitudinal section u,
will show how the lower surface of the more solid stra-
tum above was made the ceiling of these galleries, in
order to lessen the danger of its falling. At b will he
observed the employment of masonry to strengthen the

Their Structure. 33

crumbling walls of the friable tufa. The descent of a
few steps, some of which have been worn away, will also
be noticed at u. At iv a more rocky stratum is found,
called tufa lit/wide, below which the ancient fossors*
had to go to find suitable material for the excavation of
the third piano. This was found in stratum v, in which
are two piani at different levels. The lower one is not
vertically beneath that here represented above it, but at
some little distance. It is here shown, to exhibit at one
view a section of all the stories of this Catacomb. The
upper piano, g, consists of low and narrow galleries, but
the lower one, marked rrr, seventy-one feet beneath
the surface of the ground, is of great extent. Several
of the loculi, it will be perceived, are built of masonry,
in consequence of the crumbling nature of the soil.
The three large arcosolia will also be observed. The
floor of this piano rests on a somewhat firmer stratum,
in which is still another level of galleries, fl G S2, ten feet
lower down. This lower level is generally subject to
inundation by water, in consequence of the periodical
rising of the adjacent Almone, the level of which is
shown at a depth of one hundred and four feet, and
that of the Tiber at one hundred and thirty-one feet,
below the surface.

To secure immunity from dampness, which would ac-
celerate decomposition and corrupt the atmosphere, the
Catacombs were generally excavated in high ground in
•the undulating hills around the city, never crossing
the intervening depressions or valleys. There is, there-
fore, no connection between the different cemeteries ex-
cept where they happen to be contiguous, nor, as has
been asserted, with the churches of Rome. Where s

* An organized body of diggers, by whom the Catacombs were ex-
cavated. See Book III, chap. iv.

34 The Catacombs of Rome.

Catacomb has been excavated in low ground, as in the
exceptional case of that of Castulo on the Via Labicana,
the water has rendered it completely inaccessible.

Access to these different piani is gained by stairways,
which are sometimes covered with tile or marble, or
built with masonry, or by shafts. The awful silence and
almost palpable darkness of these deepest dungeons is
absolutely appalling. They are fitly described by the
epithet applied by Dante to the realms of eternal gloom ;
loco cT ogni luce muto — a spot mute of all light. Here
death reigns supreme. Not even so much as a lizard
or a bat has penetrated these obscure recesses. Nought
but skulls and skeletons, dust and ashes, are on every side.
The air is impure and deadly, and difficult to breathe.
" The cursed dew of the dungeon's damp " distills from
the walls, and a sense of oppression, like the patriarch's
" horror of great darkness," broods over the scene.

The Catacombs were ventilated and partially lighted
by numerous openings variously called spiragli, or breath-
ing-holes, and luminari, or light-holes. They were also
probably used for the removal of the excavated material
from those parts remote from the entrance. They were
even more necessary for the admission of air than of
light. Were it not for these the number of burning
lamps, the multitude of dead bodies, no matter how
carefully the loculi were cemented, and the opening of
bisomi, or double graves, for interments, would create an
insupportable atmosphere. They were generally in the
line of junction between two cubicula, a branch of the
luminare entering each chamber, as shown in the accom-
panying section of a portion of the Catacomb of Sts.
Marcellinus and Peter. Sometimes, indeed, four, or
even more, cubicula were ventilated and partially lighted
by the same shaft. De Rossi mentions one luminare in

Their Structure.

Fig. 15.— Section of Cubicula with Luminare.

the recently discovered Cemetery of St. Balbina, which
is not square but hexagonal, or nearly so, and which di-
vides into eight branches, illumining as many separate
chambers or galleries. Sometimes a funnel-shaped
luminare reaches to the lowest piano ; but from the
faint rays that feebly struggle to those gloomy depths
there comes " no light, but rather darkness visible." In
the upper levels, however, some cubicula are well lighted
by large openings. The brilliant Italian sunshine to-day
lights up the pictured figures on the wall as it must have
illumined with its strong Rembrandt light the fair brow
of the Christian maiden, the silvery hair of the vener-
able pastor, or the calm face of the holy dead waiting
for interment in those early centuries so long ago.
These luminari are often two feet square at the top, and
wider as they descend ; sometimes they are cylindrical in
shape, as in the Catacomb of St. Helena.* The external
* See Fig. 29.

36 The Catacombs of Rome.

openings, often concealed by grass and weeds, are very
numerous throughout the Campagna near the city, and
are often dangerous to the unwary rider. In almost
every vineyard between the Pincian and Salarian roads
they may be found, and through them an entrance into
the Catacombs may frequently be effected. After the
persecution had ceased, and there was no longer need
for concealment, their number was increased, and they
were made of a larger size, and frequently lined with
masonry, or plastered and frescoed. In the Catacombs
of St. Agnes and of Callixtus are several in a very good
state of preservation.

We have already seen the contemporary account
of the Catacombs by Prudentius, in the fourth century.
Jerome also describes their appearance at the same pe-
riod in words which are almost equally applicable to-day.
" When I was a boy, being educated at Rome," he says,
" I used every Sunday, in company with others of my own
age and tastes, to visit the sepulchres of the apostles
and martyrs, and to go into the crypts dug in the heart
of the earth. The walls on either side are lined with
bodies of the dead, and so intense is the darkness as to
seemingly fulfill the words of the prophet, ' They go
down alive to Hades.' Here and there is light let in to
mitigate the gloom. As we advance the words of the
poet are brought to mind : ' Horror on all sides ; the
very silence fills the soul with dread.' "'*

It must not be supposed that the features above de-

* " Dum essem Romae pucr, ct liberalibus studiis erudirer, solebam

cum ceteris ejusdcm aetatis et propositi, diebus Dominicis sepulchra
apostolorum et martyrum circuirc, crebroque cryptas ingredi, qua?
in tcrrarum profunda defossse, ex utraque parte ingrcdicntium per
parietes corpora sepultorum, . . . 'Horror ubique animos, simul
ipsa silentia terrent.' " — Hieron. in Ezccli., Cap. xl.

Their Structure. 37

scribed are always perfectly exhibited. They are often
obscured and obliterated by the lapse of time, and by
earthquakes, inundations, and other destructive agen-
cies of nature. The stairways are often broken and in-
terrupted, and the corridors blocked up by the falling in
of the roof, where it has been carried too near the sur-
face, or by the crumbling of the walls, and sometimes
apparently by design during the age of persecution.
The rains of a thousand winters have washed tons of
earth down the luminari, destroyed the symmetry of the
openings, and completely filled the galleries with debris.
The natural dampness of the situation, and the smoke
of the lamps of the early worshipers, or the torches of
more recent visitors, and sometimes incrustations of
nitre, have impaired or destroyed the beauty of many
of the paintings. The hand of the spoiler has in many
cases completed the work of devastation. The rifled
graves and broken tablets show where piety or supersti-
tion has removed the relics of the dead, or where idle
curiosity has wantonly mutilated their monuments.

The present extent of the Catacombs is the result,
not of primary intention, but of the contact of sepa-
rate areas of comparatively limited original size, and
the inosculation, as it were, of their distinct galleries.
This is apparent from the fact that this contact and
junction sometimes take place between areas of differ-
ent levels, causing a break in their horizontal continuity,
like the " faults " or dislocations common in geological
strata. Sometimes, too, this junction between two ad-
jacent areas takes place through a tier of graves, and
evidently formed no part of the original design. These
separate areas were originally, as we shall see in the
following chapter, private burial places in the vine-
yards of wealthy Christian converts, and were early

38 The Catacombs of Rome.

made available for the interment of the poorer members
of the infant Church. In accordance with a common
Roman usage the ground thus set apart for the purpose
of sepulture was placed under the protection of the law,
and was accurately defined, to secure it from trespass
or violation. While the protection of the law was en-
joyed, the excavations were strictly confined within the
limits of these areas, and lower piani were dug rather
than transgress the boundary. But when that protection
was withdrawn the galleries were horizontally extended,
often for the purpose of facilitating escape, and connec-
tions were made with adjacent areas, till the whole be-
came an intricate labyrinth of passages and chambers.
These areas are still further distinguished by certain
peculiarities in the inscriptions, cubicula, and paintings,
and were greatly modified by subsequent constructions.

It has till recently been thought that the Catacombs
were originally excavations made by the Romans for
the extraction of sand and other building material, and
afterward adopted by the Christians as places of refuge,
and eventually of sepulture and worship. This opinion
was founded on a few misunderstood classical allusions
and statements in ancient ecclesiastial writers, and on
a misinterpretation of certain accidental features of the
Catacombs themselves. It was held, nevertheless, by
such eminent authorities as Baronius, Severano, Aringhi,
Bottari, D'Agincourt, and Raoul-Rochette. Padre
Marchi first rejected this theory of construction, and
the brothers De Rossi have completely refuted it. An
examination of the material in which these sand pits
and stone quarries and the Catacombs were respect-
ively excavated, as well as of their structural differ-
ences, will show their entirely distinct character.

The surface of the Campagna, especially of that part

Their Structure. 39

occupied by the Catacombs, is almost exclusively of vol-
canic origin. The most ancient and lowest stratum of
this igneous formation is a compact conglomerate known
as tufa lithoide. It was extensively quarried for build-
ing, and the massive blocks of the Cloaca Maxima and
the ancient wall of Romulus attest the durability of its
character. Upon this rest stratified beds of volcanic
ashes, pumice, and scoria, often consolidated with water,
but of a substance much less firm than that of the tufa
lithoide, and called tufa granolare. In insulated beds,
rarely of considerable extent, in this latter formation,
occurs another material, known as pozzolana. It con-
sists of volcanic ashes deposited on dry land, and still
existing in an unconsolidated condition. This is the ma-
terial of the celebrated Roman cement, which holds
together to this day the massy structures of ancient
Rome. It was conveyed for building purposes as far
as Constantinople, and the pier on the Tiber from which
it was shipped is still called the Porto di Pozzolana.
It is in these latter deposits exclusively that the arenaria,
or sand pits, are found. The tufa granolare is too firm,
and contains too large a proportion of earth, to use as
sand, and is yet too friable for building purposes. Yet
it is in this material, entirely worthless for any eco-
nomic use, that the Catacombs are almost exclusively ex-
cavated ; while the tufa lithoide and the pozzolana are
both carefully avoided where possible, the one as too
hard and the other as too soft for purposes of Christian
sepulture. Sometimes; indeed, as at the cemeteries of
St. Pontianus and St. Valentinus, for special reasons,
Catacombs were excavated in less suitable material ;
but still the substance removed — a shelly marl — was
economically useless, and the galleries had to be sup-
ported by solid masonry. The tufa granolare, on the

40 The Catacombs of Rome.

contrary, was admirably adapted for the construction oi
these subterranean cemeteries. It could be easily dug
with a mattock, yet was firm enough to be hollowed into
loculi and chambers ; and its porous character made the
chambers dry and wholesome for purposes of assem-
bly, which was of the utmost importance in view of the
vast number of bodies interred in these recesses.

The differences of structure between the quarries or
arenaria and the Catacombs are no less striking. To
this day, the vast grottoes from which the material for
the building of the Coliseum was hewn, most probably
by the Jewish prisoners of Titus, may still be seen on
the Ccelian hill. It is said that in those gloomy vaults
were kept the fierce Numidian lions and leopards
whose conflicts with the Christian martyrs furnished the
savage pastime of the Roman amphitheatre. But noth-
ing can less resemble the narrow and winding passages
of the Catacombs than those tremendous caverns.

Nor is there any greater resemblance in the excava-
tions of the arenaria. These are large and lofty vaults,
from sixteen to twenty feet wide, the arch of which
often springs directly from the floor, so as to give the
largest amount of sand with the least labour of excava-
tion. The object was to remove as much material as
possible ; hence there was often only enough left to sup-
port the roof. The spacious passages of the arenaria
run in curved lines, avoiding sharp angles, so as to allow
the free passage of the carts which carried away the
excavated sand. In the Catacombs, on the contrary,
as little material as possible was removed ; hence the
galleries are generally not more than three, or some-
times only two, feet wide, and run for the most part in
straight lines, often crossing each other at quite acute
angles, so that only very narrow carts ran be used in

Their Structitre. 41

cleaning out the accumulated debris of centuries — a very
tedious process, which greatly increases the cost of
exploration. The walls, moreover, are always vertical,
and the roof sometimes quite flat, or only slightly arched.
The wide difference in the principle of construction is
obvious. The great object in the Catacombs has been
to obtain the maximum of wall-surface, for the inter-
ment of the dead in the loculi with which the galleries
are lined throughout, with the minimum of excavation.
The structural difference will at once be seen by com-
paring the irregular windings of the small arenarium
represented in the upper part of Figs, g and 26 with
the straight and symmetrical galleries of the adjacent
Catacomb. Connected with the Catacomb of St. Agnes
is an extensive arenarium, whose spacious, grotto-like
appearance is very different from that of the narrow se-
pulchral galleries beneath. In the floor of this arejiarium
is a square shaft leading to the Catacomb, in which
Dr. Northcote conjectures there was formerly a wind-
lass for removing the excavated material. There are
also footholes, for climbing the sides of the shaft, cut in
the solid tufa, perhaps as a means of escape in the time
of persecution. This arenarium, which was probably
worked out and abandoned long before its connection
with the Catacomb, may have been employed as a
masked entrance to its crypts, when the more public
one could not be safely used. Its spacious vaults may
also have been a receptacle for the broken tufa removed
from the galleries beneath.

Many of these arenaria may be observed excavated
in the hill-sides near Rome ; but except when incident-
ally forming part of a Catacomb, they have never been
found to contain a single grave. Indeed, in conse-
quence of the utter unfitness of the pozzolana for the

The Catacombs of Rome.

purposes of Christian sepulture, the intrusion of a de-
posit of that material into the area of a Catacomb pre-
vented the extension or necessitated the diversion of
its galleries. Moreover, where the attempt has been
made to convert an arenarinm into a Christian cemetery,
the changes which have been made show conclusively
its original unfitness for the latter purpose. The accom-
panying section of a gallery in
the Catacomb of St. Hermes
will exhibit the structural ad-
ditions necessary to adopt an
arenarium for Christian sep-
ulture. The sides of the
semi-eliptical vault had to
be built up with brick-work,
il leaving only a narrow passage

Fig. 16.-Gallery in St. Hermes. [n the middle# The locuH

were spaces left in the masonry, in which the mouldering
skeletons may still be seen. The openings were
closed with slabs in the usual manner, as shown in

Fig- 17.— Part

the elevation, (Fig. 17,) except at the top, where they
cover the grave obliquely, like the roof of a house.
The vault is often arched with brick-work, and at the

Their Structure. 43

intersection of the galleries has sometimes to be sup-
ported by a solid pier of masonry. In part of an an-
cient arenarium converted into a cemetery in the Cata-
comb of St. Priscilla similar constructions may be seen.
The long walls and numerous pillars of brick-work
concealing and sustaining the tufa, and the irregular
windings of the passages, show at once the vast differ-
ence between the arenarium and the Catacomb, and
the immense labour and expense required to convert
the former into the latter.

It has been urged in objection to this theory, that the
difficulty of secretly disposing of at least a hundred
millions of cubic feet of refuse material taken from the
Catacombs must have been exceedingly great, unless it
could be removed under cover of employment for some
economic purpose. It will be shown, however, that
secrecy was not always necessary, as has been assumed,
but that, on the contrary, the Christian right of sepulture
was for a long time legally recognized by the Pagan
Emperors ; and that the Catacombs continued to be
publicly used for a considerable time after the establish-
ment of Christianity on the throne of the Caesars. Dur-
ing the exacerbations of persecution there is evidence
that the excavated material was deposited in the gal-
eries already filled with graves, or, as we have seen, in
the spacious vaults of adjacent arenaria. If the Cata-
combs were merely excavations for sand or stone, as has
been asserted, we ought to find many of their narrow
galleries destitute of tombs, and many of the arenaria
containing them ; whereas every yard of the former is
occupied with graves, and not a single grave is found in
the latter, nor do they contain a single example of a
mural painting or inscription. The conclusion is irresist-
ible that the Catacombs proper were created exclusively

44 The Catacombs of Rome.

for the purpose of Christian buria1, and in no case were
of Pagan construction.

The erroneous theory here combated has arisen, as
we have said, chiefly from certain classical allusions to
the arenaria, and from passages in the ancient ecclesi-
astical records describing the burial places of the mar-
tyrs, as in cryptis arenariis, in arenario, or ad arenas. Some
of these localities, however, have been identified beyond
question, and found to consist merely of a sandy kind
of rock, and not at all of the true pozzolana. In others
a vein of pozzolana does actually occur in the Catacombs,
or they are connected with ancient arenaria, as at St.
Agnes and at Calixtus. In the other instances the
localities are either yet unrecognized, or the expression
merely implies that the cemetery was near the sand pits
— juxta arenariu/n, or in loco qui dicitur ad Arenas.

The mere technical description of the Catacombs,
however, gives no idea of the thrilling interest felt in
traversing their long-drawn corridors and vaulted halls.
As the pilgrim to this shrine of the primitive faith visits
these chambers of silence and gloom, accompanied by
a serge-clad, sandaled monk,* he seems like the Tuscan
poet wandering through the realms of darkness with
his shadowy guide.

" Oitl sen' va per an segreto calle
Tra 1' muro della terra." f

His footsteps echo strangely down the distant passages
and hollow vaults, dying gradually away in the solemn
stillness of this valley of the shadow of death. The

* Unfortunately for Protestant visitors most of the Catacombs are
open for inspection only on Sunday, when the work of exploration
is suspended.

f " And now through narrow, gloomy paths we go,
'Tween walls of earth and tombs." — Inferno.

Their Structure. 45

graves yawn weirdly as he passes, torch in hand. The
flame struggles feebly with the thickening darkness,
vaguely revealing the unfleshed skeletons on either side,
till its redness fades to sickly white, like that fiocolume,*
that pale light, by which Dante saw the crowding ghosts
upon the shores of Acheron. Deep mysterious shadows
crouch around, and the dim perspective, lined with the
sepuchral niches of the silent community of the dead,
stretch on in an apparently unending vista. The very
air seems oppressive and stifling, and laden with the dry
dust of death. The vast extent and population of this
great necropolis overwhelm the imagination, and bring
to mind Petrarch's melancholy line —

" Piena di morti tutta la campagna." f

Almost appalling in its awe and solemnity is the sud-
den transition from the busy city of the living to the
silent city of the dead ; from the golden glory of the
Italian sunlight to the funereal gloom of these sombre
vaults. The sacred influence of the place subdues the
soul to tender emotions. The fading pictures en the
walls and the pious epitaphs of the departed breathe
on every side an atmosphere of faith and hope, and
awaken a sense of spiritual kinship that overleaps the
intervening centuries. We speak with bated breath
and in whispered tones, and thought is busy with the
past. It is impossible not to feel strangely moved while
gazing on the crumbling relics of rnortality committed
ages ago, with pious care and many tears, to their last,
long rest.

"It seems as if we had the sleepers known." J

* " Com' io discerno per lo fioco lume." — Inferno.
t " Full of the dead this far extending field."
J Childe Harold, iv, 104.

46 The Catacombs of Rome.

We see the mother, the while her heart is wrung with
anguish, laying on its stony bed — rude couch for such a
tender thing — the little form that she had cherished in
her warm embrace. We behold the persecuted flock
following, it may be, the mangled remains of the faith- '
ful pastor and valiant martyr for the truth, which at the)
risk of their lives they have stealthily gathered at dead
of night. With holy hymns,* broken by their sobs, they
commit his mutilated body to the grave, where after
life's long toil he sleepeth well. We hear the Christian
chant, the funeral plaint, the pleading tones of prayer,
and the words of holy consolation and of lofty hope
with which the dead in Christ are laid to rest. A mo-
ment, and — the spell is broken, the past has vanished, n
and stern reality becomes again a presence. Ruin and
desolation and decay are all around.

The exploration of these worse than Daedalian laby-
rinths is not unattended with danger. That intrepid
investigator, Bosio, was several times well nigh lost in their
mysterious depths. That disaster really happened to
M. Roberts, a young French artist, whose adventure has
been wrought into an exciting scene in Hans Andersen's
tale, " The Improvisatore," and forms an episode in
the Abbe de Lille's poem, " E Imagination" Inspired
by the enthusiasm of his profession, he attempted to ex-
plore one of the Catacombs, with nothing but a torch
and a thread for a guide. As he wandered on through
gallery and chamber, he became so absorbed in his study
that, unawares, the thread slipped from his hand. On
discovering his loss he tried, but in vain, to recover the
clew. Presently his torch went out, and he was left in
utter darkness, imprisoned in a living grave, surrounded
by the relics of mortality. The silence was oppressive.
* Hymnos et psalmos decantans. — Hieron., I'it. Pamli,

Their Structure. 47

He shouted, but the hollow echoes mocked his voice.
Weary with fruitless efforts to escape his dread impris-
onment he threw himself in despair upon the earth,
when, lo, something familiar touched his hand. Could
he believe it ? it was indeed the long lost clew by which
alone he could obtain deliverance from this awful
labyrinth. Carefully following the precious thread he
reached at last the open air,

And never Tiber, rippling through the meads,

Made music half so sweet among its reeds ;

And never had the earth such rich perfume,

As when from him it chased the odor of the tomb.*

Still more terrible in its wildness is an incident nar-
rated by MacFarlane.f In the year 1798, after the re-
turn to Rome of the Republican army under Berthier,
a party of French officers, atheistic disciples of Voltaire
and Rousseau, and hardened by the orgies of the Revo-
lution, visited the Catacombs. They caroused in the
sepulchral crypts, and sang their bacchanalian songs
among the Christian dead. They rifled the graves and
committed sacrilege at the tombs of the saints. One
of the number, a reckless young cavalry officer, " who
feared not God nor devil, for he believed in neither," re-
solved to explore the remoter galleries. He was speedily
lost, and was abandoned by his companions. His excited
imagination heightened the natural horrors of the scene.
The grim and ghastly skeletons seemed an army of
accusing spectres. Down the long corridors the wind
mysteriously whispered, rising in inarticulate moanings
and woeful sighs, as of souls in pain. The tones of the
neighbouring convent bell, echoing through the stony

* From " L 'Imagination" by Abbe de Lille, MacFarlane's trans-
lation.

f Catacombs of Rome. London, 1852. P. 94, et sea.

48 The Catacombs of Rome.

vaults, sounded loud and awful as the knell of doom,
Groping blindly in the dark, he touched nothing but
rocky walls or mouldering bones, that sent a thrill of
horror through his frame. Though but a thin roof sepa-
rated him from the bright sunshine and free air, he
seemed condemned to living burial. His philosophical
skepticism failed him in this hour of peril. He could
no longer scoff at death as " un sommeil eternel." The
palimpsest of memory recalled with intensest vividness
the Christian teachings of his childhood. His soul be-
came filled and penetrated with a solemn awe. His
physical powers gave way beneath the intensity of his
emotion. He was rescued the next day, but was long
ill. He rose from his bed an altered man. His life was
thenceforth serious and devout. When killed in battle
in Calabria seven years after, a copy of the Gospels was
found next to his heart.

Even as late as 1837 a party of students with their
professor, numbering in all some sixteen, or, as some say,
nearly thirty, entered the Catacombs on a holiday excur-
sion, to investigate their antiquities, but became entangled
amid their intricacies. Diligent search was made, but
no trace of them was ever found. In some silent crypt
or darksome corridor they were slowly overtaken by the
same torturing fate as that of Ugolino and his sons in
the Hunger Tower of Pisa.* The passage by which
they entered has been walled up, but the mystery of
their fate will never be dispelled till the secrets of the
grave shall be revealed.

* Inferno, Canto xxxiii, vv. 21-75.

Their Origin and Early History. 49

CHAPTER II.

THE ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE CATACOMBS.

It is highly probable that the first Roman Catacombs
were excavated by the Jews.* Many Hebrew cap-
tives graced the triumph of Pompey after his Syrian
conquests, B. C. 62. The Jewish population increased
by further voluntary accessions. They soon swarmed
in that Trans-Tiberine region which formed the ancient
Ghetto of Rome. They made many proselytes from
paganism to the worship of the true God, and thus, to
use the language of Seneca, " The conquered gave laws to
their conquerors." f

All the national customs and prejudices of the Jews
were opposed to the Roman practice of burning the dead,
which Tacitus asserts they never observed ; \ and they
clung with tenacity to their hereditary mode of sepul-
ture. Wherever they have dwelt they have left traces

* A deal of fanciful theory has been indulged in as to the origin
of the Catacombs. They have been attributed to a pre-historic race
of Troglodytes, who loathed the light of day, and burrowed like
moles in the earth. Mac Farlane has an eloquent apostrophe to the
old Etrurians, by whom he imagined they were excavated twelve
hundred years before the Christian era. We have seen also how they
were erroneously attributed to the pagan Romans.

t Victoribus victi leges dederunt. On the Tiber, the Tigris, and
the Nile, this saying was strikingly verified. Yet Judaism is an
essentially conservative, not an aggressive, religion. It was un-
adapted for such wide-spread conquests as those of Christianity, or
even of Mohammedism. The ancient mould of thought, having
served its purpose, was broken. Judaism may be said to have died
in giving birth to Christianity.

% Hist., v, 5.

5° The Catacombs of Rome.

of subterranean burial. The hills of Judea are honey-
combed with sepulchral caves and galleries. Similar
excavations have been found in the Jewish settlements
of Asia Minor, the ^gean Isles, Sicily, and Southern
Italy.* So also in Rome they sought to be separated
in death, as in life, from the Gentiles among whom they
dwelt. They had their Catacombs apart, in which not
a single Christian or pagan inscription has been found.
Bosio describes one such Catacomb, which he discov-
ered on Monte Verde, which was much more ancient
than the Christian Catacomb of St. Pontianus in the
same vicinity. It was of very rude construction, and
contained not a single Christian monument, but numer-
ous slabs bearing the seven-branched Jewish candle-
stick, and one inscription on which the word CTNArftr
— Synagogue — was legible. \ It was situated near that
Trans-Tiberine quarter of the city inhabited at the pe-
riod of the Christian era by the numerous Jewish popula-
tion of Rome. It cannot now, however, be identified,
having been obliterated or concealed by the changes
of the last two centuries. Maitland gives the following
Jewish inscription from a MS. collection in Rome. The
figure to the left may be a horn for replenishing the lamp
with oil. The letters at the right are probably intended
for the Hebrew word DW, Shalom, or Peace, so com-
mon in its classical equivalent upon Christian tombs.
The palm branch is a Pagan as well as Jewish and Chris-
tian symbol of victory. The central figure is a rude repre-

* In 1853 a Jewish Catacomb was discovered at Vcnosa, in South-
ern Italy, containing one gallery seven feet high and four hundred
feet long. In 1854 another was discovered at Oria, with many
Hebrew symbols and inscriptions. There were many Jews in Apulia
and Calabria.

t In eo quippe haud ulla, ut in reliquis, Christians religionis
'indicia et signa apparebanL-— Bosio, Rom. Soft., 142.

Their Origin and Early History.

EN6AAE KEI
Ta\ <£AYCTINA

"Here lies Faustina. In Peace."
Fig. 18. — Slab from Jewish Catacomb.

sentation of the seven-branched candlestick which ap-
pears also in bass-relief on the Arch of Titus at Rome.

In the year 1859 another Jewish Catacomb was dis-
covered in the Vigna Randanini, on the Appian Way,
about two miles from Rome. It has been minutely de-
scribed by Padre Garrucci.* In this the graves and
sarcophagi are sunk in the floor as well as in the walls.
They are closed with terra cotta or marble slabs, and are
otherwise similar to those of the Christian Catacombs.
It contains several vaulted chambers, one of which has
some very remarkable paintings of the seven-branched
candlestick on the roof and walls. The same figure is
frequently scratched on the mortar with which the
graves are closed. The dove and olive branch and the
palm are also frequently repeated. Although nearly
two hundred inscriptions have been discovered, not one \
of either pagan or Christian character has been met
with.

The names are sometimes strikingly Jewish in form,
and where the epitaphs refer to the station of the de-

* Cimitero degli Antichi Ebrei Scoperto receiitemente in Vigna
Randatiitii, illustrato da Raffaele Garrucci. 8vo. Roma, 1S62.

52 The Catacombs of Rome.

ceased it is always to officers of the synagogue, as
A.PKONTEC, rulers, TPAMMATEIC, scribes. The fol-
ing examples are from the Kircherian Museum :

S2AE KEITE CAA£2[MH] OYrATHP TAAIA nATPOC CYNA-
TflrHC AIBPEGN EBIS2CEN MA EN EIPHNH KOIMHC1C ATTHC.
Here lies Salome, daughter of Gadia, Father of the Synagogue
of the Hebrews. She lived forty-one years. Her sleep is in
peace. EN9AAE KEITE KYNTIANOC TEPOYCIAPXHC CYNA-
raFHC THC AYrYCTHCIBN. Here lies Quintianus, Gerousiarch
(that is, Chief Elder) of the Synagogue of the Augustenses.
EN9AAE KE1TAI NE1K0AHM0C O APXQN ClBOYPHCIftN KAF
nACI 4>EIAHTOC A1TQN A HMEP MB GAP! ABAABI NEflTEPE
OYAEIC AGANATOC. Here lies Nicodemus, ruler of the Sever-
enses, and beloved of all ; (aged) thirty years, forty-two days. Be
of good cheer, O inoffensive young man ! no one is exempt from
death.

This inscription will recall another " ruler of the
Synagogue " of the same name. Many of the sleep-
ers in this Jewish Cemetery were evidently, from their
names,* Greek or Latin proselytes. Sometimes, indeed,
this is expressly asserted, as in the following :

Mannacivs sorori Crysidi dvlcissime proselyte. — Manna-
cius to his sweetest sister Chrysis, a proselyte.

It may be assumed that this Catacomb was exclu-
sively Jewish, and we know, from the testimony of
Juvenal f and others, that numbers of the Jews inhabited
the adjacent part of Rome, about the Porta Capena
and the valley of Egeria. It is not, however, certain
whether it is the original type, or a later imitation, of the
Christian cemetery. But the Jewish population must
have had extra-mural places of sepulture before the
Christian era ; and it is probable that the early Jewish

* See Fig. iS.

t Nunc sacri fontis nimus, et delubra locantur
Juda'is. — Sat. iii, 13.

Their Origin and Early History. 53

•

converts to Christianity may have merely continued a
mode of burial already in vogue, substituting the em-
blems of their newly adopted faith for those which
they had forsaken ; or, rather — for we find that
they frequently retained certain Jewish symbols, as the
dove, olive branch, and palm — supplementing them
with the emblems of Christianity. De Rossi has ex-
pressed the opinion that the earliest mode of Christian
burial was in sarcophagi, as in the Jewish cemetery
above described.

The date of the planting of Christianity in Rome is
uncertain. Probably some of the " strangers of Rome '
who witnessed the miracle of the Pentecost, or, perhaps,
the Gentile converts of the " Italian band " of Cornelius,
brought the new evangel to their native city.* But cer-
tain it is that as early as A. D. 58 the faith of the

* It is incredible that the Apostle Peter had any share in planting
the Roman Church. If he had, Paul would not, as he does, utterly
ignore his labours. " Only Luke is with me," writes St. Paul, just
before his death ; yet he and Peter are feigned to have suffered on
the same day. The story of St. Peter's twenty-five years' episcopate
at Rome is too absurd to require disproof. The very minuteness of
detail in the legends of St. Peter is their own refutation. In vain
are we shown the chair in which tradition asserts that he sat, the
font at which he baptized, the cell in which he was confined, the
fountain which sprang up in its floor, the pillar to which he was
bound, the chains which he wore, the impression made by his
head in the wall and by his knees in the stony pavement, the scene of
his crucifixion, the very hole in which the foot of the cross was placed,
and the tomb in which his body is said to lie ; they all fail to carry
conviction to any mind in which superstition has not destroyed the
critical faculty. The mighty fane which rises sublimely in the heart
of Rome in honour of the Galilean fisherman, like the religious sys-
tem of which it is the visible exponent, is founded on a shadowy tra-
dition, opposed alike to the testimony of Scripture, the evidence of
history, and the deductions of reason. The question whether Peter
ever was in Rome has recently been publicly discussed under the very
shadow of the Vatican. Verily, Tempora mntantur.

54 The Catacombs of Romz.

Roman Church was " spoken of throughout the whole
world." "Christianity," says Tertullian, "grew up un-
der the shadow of the Jewish religion, to which it was
regarded as akin, and about the lawfulness of which
there was no question ; "* and it doubtless adopted the
burial usages of Judaism.

But even without the example of the Jews the Ro-
man Christians would naturally revolt from the pagan
custom of burning the dead, with its accompanying
idolatrous usages, f and would prefer burial, after the
manner of their Lord. They showed a tender care
for the remains of the dead, under a vivid impression of
the communion of saints and the resurrection of the
body. They seemed to regard the sepulchre as " God's
cabinet or shrine, where he pleases to lay up the pre-
cious relics of his dear saints until the jubilee of glory." J
Even the Jews designated the grave as Beth-ha-haim,
the " house of the living," rather than the house of the
dead. It is probable, therefore, that the origin of the
Christian Catacombs dates from the death of the first
Roman believer in Christ.

Many of the Catacombs were probably begun as

* Nos quoque ut Judaicoe religionis propinquos, sub umbraculum
insignissimx religionis certe licitae. — Ad Nat., i, n.

f Execrantur logos, et damnant ignium sepulturas. — Minuc. Felix.,
Octav., ii, 451. Tertullian declared it to be a symbol of the fires of
hell. Possibly, also, the expense and publicity inseparable from the
practice of cremation made it a matter of necessity for the early Chris-
tians to adopt the less costly and more private mode of subterranean in-
terment. Merivale, indeed, asserts that the early Roman Christians
burned their dead, (vi, 444,) and adduces in support of this strange
theory only the pagan dedication D. M., found on some Christian
tombs. As will be shown, (Book III, i,) these letters were part of a
common epigraphic formula, and give no warrant for this startling
statement.

X Bishop Hall.

Their Origin and Early History. 5 5

private sepulchres for single families ; indeed, some such
tombs have been discovered in the vicinity of Rome,
which never extended beyond a single chamber. They
were excavated in the gardens or vineyards of the
wealthy converts to Christianity, in imitation of that
rock-hewn sepulchre consecrated by the body of Christ.
The following inscription, which may still be seen
in the most ancient part of the Catacombs of Sts.
Nereus and Achilles, seem to refer to such a family tomb.
Another inscription, found in
the Catacomb of St. Nicome-
des, restricts the use of the
sepulchre to the original owner,
and those of his dependents who
belong to his religion — at
[ad] religionem pertinentes

MEAM.

The names of many of the ^
M. Antonius Res[ti]tutus burial crypts commemorate
made [this] hypogeum for these original owners. Among
himself and his [relatives] others thoge of Lucina, Pris-

who believe in the Lord.* ... . ,-. ... .,

cula, and Domitilla are consid-
ered to belong to the First Century, and the two former
to the times of the Apostles. Some of these may have
been originally designed, or afterwards opened, for the
reception of the poor belonging to the Church ; and
thus the Catacombs would be indefinitely extended till
they attained their present dimensions. Tertullian ex-

* It would appear from this inscription that some of the family of
Restitutus were still pagans, and were buried apart from the rest
The early Christians regarded it as unlawful to commingle the heathen
and believers in common burial. St. Cyprian makes it a capital
charge against the heretical Bishop of Asturia, that he "buried his
children in profane sepulchres and in the midst of strangers." See
also Ruth i, 17. Compare Cic, de Leg., ii, 22, and de Off., lib. ii.

ANTONI

• RESTVTV

s •

FECIT • VPO

GEV

• SIBI • ET

SVIS

• FIDENTI

BVS-

IN -DOMINO.

56 The Catacombs of Rome.

pressly declares that the provision made for the poor
included that for their burial — egenis hamandis*

There is reason to believe that, even from the very
first, the Christian Church at Rome contained not a few
who were of noble blood and of high rank. In one of
the apostolic epistles Paul conveys the salutation of
Pudens, a Roman Senator, of Linus, reputed the first
Roman bishop, and of Claudia, daughter of a British
king; f and we know that even in the Golden House of
Nero, the scene of that colossal orgy whose record pol-
lutes the pages of Suetonius and Tacitus, were disciples
of the crucified Nazarene. In remarkable confirmation
of this fact is the discovery in the recent explorations
of the ruins of the Imperial Palace of several Christian
memorials, including one of those lamps adorned with
evangelical symbols, so common in the Catacombs.
Much of the evidence on this subject has been lost by
the zealous destruction of ecclesiastical records during
the terrible Diocletian persecution ; but from inscrip-
tions in the Catacombs, and from the incidental allu-

* Apol. xxxix. The following inscription, recently discovered in the
ruins of Coesarea, a Roman town in Africa, attests the provision
made by wealthy Christians for the burial of their poorer neighbours :

AREAM AT [AD] SEPVLCHRA CVLTOR VERBI CONTVLIT
ET CELLAM STRVXIT SVIS CVNCTIS SVMP TIBVS
ECCLESI^ SANCT7E HANC RELIQVIT Mli.MURIAM,
SALVETE KRATRES PVRO CORDE ET SIMPLICI
EVELPIVS VOS SATOS SANCTO SPIRITV.
ECCLESIA FRATRVM HVNC RESTITVIT TITVI.VM. . . .

A worshipper of the Word has given this area for sepulchres, and
has built a vault at his own cost ; he left this memorial to the Holy
Church. Hail, brethren ! witli a pure and simple heart, Euelpius
[salutes] you, born of the Holy Spirit.

The congregation of the brethren replaced this inscription. . . .

\ 2 Tim. iv, 21. Suet., I'it., Arir., c. 2.S, 29; Tac, Ami., xv, 37.
Sec also 1 >io., lxiii, 13.

Their Origin and Early History. 57

sions of early writers, we learn that persons of the high-
est position, and even members of the Imperial family,
were associated with the Christians in life and in death.
Some of the noblest names of Rome occur in funeral
epitaphs in some of the most ancient galleries of the
Catacombs. There is evidence that even during the
first century some who stood near the throne became
converts to Christianity, and even died as martyrs for
the faith *

But doubtless the preservation and advancement of
true religion was better secured amid the dark recesses
of the Catacombs, during the fiery persecutions that
befel the Church, than it would have been in the sun-
shine of imperial favour, in an age and court unparalleled
for their corruptions. The sad decline of Christianity
after the accession of Constantine makes it a matter of
congratulation that in the earlier ages it was kept pure
by the wholesome breezes of adversity.

The new religion, notwithstanding all the efforts that
were made for its suppression, rapidly spread, even in
the high places of the earth. " We are but of yester-
day," writes Tertullian at the close of the second cen-
tury, " yet we fill every city, town, and island of the
empire. We abound in the very camps and castles,
in the council chamber and the palace, in the senate

* E. g. Flavia Domitilla, the niece of Domitian, and her husband,
Clemens. Their children had been adopted by the Emperor, and
designated as his successors. So near came Christianity to grasping
the sceptre of the Caesars in the first century. Dio Cass., Hist., lxvii,
13. Suet, in Domit., xv. The niece of Domitilla, also of the same
name, suffered exile for the faith, A. D. 97. She gave the land for
the Catacomb which still bears her name.

Marcia, Mammaea, the mother of Alex. Severus, the Emperor Philip,
and Prisca and Valeria, the wife and daughter of the arch-persecutor
Diocletian, either embraced or greatly favoured Christianity.

58 The Catacombs of Rome.

and the forum; only your temples and theatres are;
left."*

It is evident from an examination of the earliest Cat-
acombs that they were not the offspring of fear on the \
part of the Christians. There was no attempt at se-
crecy in their construction. They were, like the pagan
tombs, situated on the high roads entering the city.
Their entrances were frequently protected and adorned
by elegant structures of masonry, such as that which is
still visible at the Catacomb of St. Domitilla on the Via
Ardeatina ; \ and their internal decorations and frescoes,
which in the most ancient examples are of classic taste
and beauty, were manifestly not executed by stealth and
in haste, but in security and at leisure.

There was, in classic times, a sacred character at- J
tached to all places set apart for the purposes of sepul-
ture. They enjoyed the especial protection of the law,
and were invested with a sort of religious sanctity. J
This protection was asserted in many successive edicts,
and the heaviest penalties were inflicted on the viola-
tors of tombs, as guilty of sacrilege. § Reverence for the
sepulchres of the dead was regarded by the ancient
mind as a religious virtue ; and the neglect of the ances-
tral tomb even involved disability for municipal office. ||

* Apol.f c. 37.

% Religiosum locum unusquisque sua voluntate facit, dum mortuum
infert in locum suum. Martian. Digest., i, 8, 6, § 4.

§ Cod. Justin., lib. ix, tit. 19, de Sepulchro Violate, leg. I, 5 ; Cod.
T/ieod., lib. ix, tit. 17. Proximum sacrilegio majores semper
habuerunt. So the poet exclaims :

Res ea sacra, miser; noli mea tangere fata:
Sacrilegae bustis abstinuere mantis. —
■'Touch not my monument, thou wretch ; it is a sacred thing : even
sacrilegious hands refrain from the violation of graves."
|| Xen., Mem., ii, 2, § 13.

Their Origin and Early History. 59

Being situated along the public highway, these pagan
tombs were liable to various pollutions, to which nu-
merous inscriptions refer. Hence the frequent cave
viator — " Traveller, beware ! " — so common in classic
epitaphs. The scriptor parce hoc opvs — "Writer,
spare this work " — sometimes met with, is, as Kenrick well
remarks,* not the address of an author to a critic, but of
a relative of the deceased, entreating the wall-scribbler
not to disfigure a tomb. Electioneering notices were
sometimes written upon these wayside monuments —
a practice which is deprecated in the following :

CANDIDATVS FIAT HONORATVS ET TV FELIX SCRIPTOR

si hic non scripseris — " May your candidate be hon-
oured and yourself happy, O writer, if you write not
on this tomb!" inscriptor, rogo te vt transeas
monvmentvm — " Inscriber, I pray you pass by this
monument."

As these sepulchral areas, often of considerable ex-
tent, were taken from the fields in the vicinity of a
great city, where the land was very valuable for the
purpose of tillage, they were in continual danger of in-
vasion from the cupidity of the heirs or of adjacent
land-owners, but for this legal protection. On many of
the cippi, or funereal monuments, which line the public
roads in the vicinity of Rome, the extent of these areas
is set forth. Some of them are quite small, as is indi-
cated in the following inscription : terrenvm sacra-

TVM LONGVM P[EDES] • X- LAT • p[EDES] • X • FODERE NOLI •

ne sacrilegivm committas f — "A consecrated plot of
earth, ten feet long and ten feet broad. Do not dig
here, lest you commit sacrilege."

More generally the size of the area is expressed, as
* Roman Septdchral Inscriptions, p. 9, London, 185S.

60 The Catacombs of Rome.

in the following : in fronte p[edes] • i.c in agro
p[edes] • x ; that is, " Frontage on the road, nine feet ;
depth in the field, ten feet." This area, small as it is,
was designed for several families. The limited space
occupied by the cinerary urns rendered this quite pos-
sible. Frequently, however, the size was much larger.
An area one hundred and twenty-five feet square would
be of very moderate extent. Horace mentions one one
thousand feet by three hundred,* and sometimes they
greatly exceed this, as one on the Via Labicana, five hun-
dred by eighteen hundred feet, or over twenty English
acres. There were also frequently exhedrce, or seats by
the wayside, for passers-by, who were sometimes ex-
horted to pause and read the inscription, or to pour a
libation for the dead, as in the following : siste via-
tor TV QVI VIA FLAMINIA TRANSIS, RESTA AC RELEGE —

"Stop, traveller, who passest by on the Flaminian
Way; pause and read, and read again!" misce
bibe da mihi — " Mix, drink, and give to me." vi-
atores salvete et valete — "Travellers, hail and
farewell."

These burial plots were incapable of alienation
or transfer from the families for whom they were orig-
inally set apart ; who are sometimes enumerated in
the inscription, or more generally expressed by the
formulae, sibi svisqve fecit, sibi et posteris svis. or
with the addition, libertis libertabvsqve posteris-
qve, that is, "He made this for himself and his family,"
or " for himself and his descendants ; " also " for his freed-
men and freedwomen and their descendants." Sometimes
this limitation is plainly asserted to be, VT ne vnqvam

* Mille pedes in fronte, trecentos cippus in agrum
Hie dabat ; hcredes lnonumentum ne sequcretur.

Hor., / Sat., viii, 12.

Their Origin and Early History. 61

DE NOMINE FAMILIAE NOSTRAE HOC MONVMENTVM EXEAT

— " That this monument may not go out of the name
of our family." The cupidity of the inheritor of the es-
tate is especially guarded against by the ever-recurring
formula, H • m • H • N • S-, that is, Hoc monumentum hozre-
dem 7ion seqiritur — " This monument descends not to the
heir." Sometimes within a stately mausoleum reposed
in solitary magnificence the dust of a single individ-
ual, who in sullen exclusiveness declares in his
epitaph that he has no associate even in the grave,
or that he made his tomb for himself alone — in

HOC MONVMENTO SOCIVM HABEO NVLLVM, Or, HOC SOLO
SIBI FECIT.

The violation of the monument is earnestly depre-
cated in numerous inscriptions in some such terms as
these : rogo per deos svperos inferosqve ne velitis
ossa mea violare — "I beseech you, by the supernal
and infernal gods, that you do not violate my bones."
Sometimes this petition is accompanied by an impreca-
tion of divine vengeance if it should be neglectedj as,
qvi violaverit deos sentiat iratos — "May he feel
the wrath of the gods* who shall have violated [this
tomb.] " Another invokes the fearful curse, qvisqvis
hoc svstvlerit avt laeserit vltimvs svorvm mo-
RiATVRf — "Whoever shall take away or injure this
[tomb] let him die the last of his race."

From a distrust of posterity many erectea their mon-
uments during their life-time, and wrote their own
epitaphs, leaving only a space for the age. This is some-
times expressed by the words, sibi viws fecit, or, se
vivo, se vivis, or even by such solecisms as me viws, or
SE viws. The following records the strange fact of the
erection of a funereal monument by one living person to
* Literally, "the angry gods." t Reinesius.

62 The Catacombs of Rome.

another : semiramiae liciniae qvam loco filiae
diligo ob merita eivs vivvs vivae feci — " To Semira-
mia Licinia, whom I love in place of my daughter : on
account of her merits, alive, I made this to her alive."

These classic usages have been thus detailed because
traces of their influence may be observed in many prac-
tices adopted by the primitive Christians, and because
they furnish an explanation of those remarkable immu-
nities and privileges which the Catacombs so long en-
joyed. These latter were constructed in separate and
limited areas, in like manner as the pagan sepulchres.
De Rossi has given a map of the Catacomb of Callixtus, in
which these areas are accurately defined. They vary
in size and shape, that of the crypt of St. Lucina being
one hundred feet in fronte and one hundred and eighty
in agro, that of St. Cecilia two hundred and fifty
feet in fronte and one hundred in agro, and others still
larger. By the very tenor of the law these areas en-
joyed the same protection as those of the pagan sepul-
chres, of which protection it required a special edict
to deprive them. Even when Christianity fell under
the ban of persecution that freedom of sepulture was
not at first interfered with. Having wreaked his cruel
rage upon the living body, the pagan magistrate at least
did not deny right of burial to the martyr's mutilated
remains. A beneficent Roman law declared that the
bodies even of those who died by the hand of the public
executioner might be given up to any who asked for
them.* So that even the sentence of outlawry against
the Christians did not affect the bodies of the dead.
Indeed, we know from ecclesiastical history that fre-
quently the faithful received the remains of the martyrs

* Corpora animadversorum quibuslibet petentibus ad sepulturam
danda sunt. Digest., xlviii, 24, 2.

Their Origin and Early History. 63

and gave them Christian burial. It was not till the
third century, when the pagan opposition to Christianity
became intense and bitter, that the persecutors waged
war upon the dead. Although both Diocletian and Max-
imian confirmed the decree just cited, it often happened
that, in order that the Christians might not have even
the melancholy consolation of gathering up the martyrs'
bones, and honouring the remains of their fallen heroes,
those sacred relics were denied the rites of sepulture
which were freely accorded to the body of the vilest
malefactor.

These areas, Christian as well as pagan, were under
the guardianship of the Roman Pontifices, who, although
pagans, were actually confirmed in their authority by the
Christian Emperor Constans. In consequence of this
protection the Christians were enabled to conduct their
worship and celebrate their agaptz in the oratories or
other buildings erected over the Catacombs, the ruins
of which are still to be seen at the Catacombs of St.
Domitilla and Sts. Nereus and Achilles, and which to the
popular apprehension would seem to correspond to the
pagan structures for the celebration of funeral banquets.
Even when oppressed and persecuted above ground,
they found a sanctuary beneath its surface, and were
permitted by the ignorance or indifference of their foes
to worship God among the holy dead. So long as their
sepulchral areas were uninvaded the Christians scrupu-
lously abstained from extending their excavations be-
yond their respective limits, digging lower pia?ii instead,
when insatiate death demanded room for still more graves.
But when the ruthless persecutor pursued them even be-
neath the earth, they felt at liberty to transcend those
limits and burrow in any direction for safety or escape.

The Christian inscriptions often strongly deprecate

64 The Catacombs of Rome.

the violation of the graves to which they are at-
tached, in like manner as we have seen in pagan epi-
taphs, and against this crime the Fathers intensely
inveigh. Sometimes the petition assumes a most sol-
emn character, as this : [adivro] vos per c[h]ristvm,

NE MIHI AB ALIQVO VIOLENTIAM \sic\ FIAT ET NE

sepvlcrvm mevm violetvr — "[I conjure] you by
Christ that no violence be offered me by any one, and
that my sepulchre may not be violated." Still more
awful in its adjuration is the following : conivro vos
per tremendvm diem ivdicii vt hanc sepVltvram
nvlli violent* — " I conjure you by the dreadful day
of judgment that no one violate this sepulchre."

Sometimes a most terrible imprecation is expressed,
as in the following :

MALE • PEREAT • INSEPVLTVS
IACEAT • NON • RESVRGAT
CVM • IVDA • PARTEM • HABEAT
SI • QVIS • SEPVLCHRVM • HVNC • VIOLAVERIT —
If any one shall violate this sepulchre,
Let him perish miserably and remain unburied ;
Let him lie down and not rise again,
Let him have his portion with Judas.f

. . . .[emi] gravit ad xpm
. . . .sepvlcrvm violare
. . . .sit alienvs a regno dei.

Has departed to Christ. [If any one dare] to violate this

sepulchre, let him. . . .and be far from the kingdom of God. J

* Both of these are given by Dr. McCaul in his Christian Epi-
taphs of the First Six Centuries, an admirable little volume, my
indebtedness to which will be elsewhere acknowledged. He also
quotes the following from Henzen's Tnscr. Lat. Se/ert. Col., No. 6371 :

PETOABOBIS [VOBIS] FRATRES BONI PER VNVM DEVM NE QVIS VI TI-

TVLO molestet post mortem — " I beseech you, good brothers, by the
one God, that no one by force injure this inscription after my death."

f Aringhi, lib. iv, c. xxvii.

} Sometimes an anathema was invoked upon the disturber of the

Their Origin and Early History. 6$

It is probable that this dread of the violation of the
grave arose, in part at least, from the fear that the disper-
sion of the remains might impede the resurrection of the
body; and also from that natural aversion to the disturb-
ance of the slumbering dust, so passionately expressed
on the tombstone of England's greatest dramatist.*

We sometimes find also the announcement upon Chris-
tian as well as upon pagan tombs, that they have been
prepared while the tenants were yet alive, as in the fol-
lowing: locvs basilionis se bibo fecit — "The place
of Basilio, he made it when alive ; " sabini bisomvm se

BIBVM FECIT SIBI IN CEMETERIVM BALBINAE IN CRYPTA

noba [sic] — "The bisomus of Sabinus, he made it for
himself during his life -time, in the cemetery of Balbina,
in the new crypt." As Sabinus could only occupy one
half of this, the other half was probably intended for his
wife. Observe in the following the beautiful euphemism
for the grave. It is calmly chosen as the last long home,

grave, as in the following interesting example, found in the island of
Salamis, and quoted by Dr. McCaul from Kirchoff, Corpus. Inscript.
Grcuc, No. 9303 : Olaoq aluvtoq ' h.yaduvo<; avayvucrov na*. Ei^/u'ac
kv dvel 6rjKaig idea ekugt^ ?/ftuv. Et 6s rig tuv idluv j] ete/joc rtf
roTififjori auiia Karadsadai svravda naps!; tuv 6vu ?}fiuv, Tioyov 66rj tg>
8s£> koI uvd6e/j.a tjtu [ia.pava.8uv — "The everlasting dwelling of
Agatho, a reader, and Euphemia, in two graves, one for each of us
separately. If any one of our relatives, or any one else, shall pre-
sume to bury a body here beside us two, may he give an account of
it to God, and may he be anathema maranatha."

* It is remarkable that Shakespeare's epitaph should present almost
as uncouth a specimen of epigraphy as any of the barbarous inscrip-
tions of the Catacombs. See the following copy :

Good Friend for Iesus SAKE forbeare
To dice T-E Dust EncloAsed HERe
Blest be T-E Man T spares T-es Stones

And curst be He T moves my Bones.

66 The Catacombs of Rome.

A\RTV R U S

as the " house ap-
pointed for all liv-
ing." (Fig. 19.*)

But there was
another and still

SLZft UIXLTA/VL/D/V

tween the funeral
usages of the pa-
gans and Chris-
tians than any

XqiELEXJTD

O/VVMVIUSINPACF

yet mentioned, Pig. 19- Epitaph from Lapidarian
and one which Gallery.*

greatly contributed to the freedom of action and secur-
ity of the latter. There is abundant monumental
and other evidence of the existence in Rome, in the
time of the later Republic and of the Empire, of certain
funeral confraternities — collegia, as they were called —
much like the modern burial clubs. A remarkable
inscription of the time of Hadrian, A. D. 103, found at
Lavigna, nineteen miles from Rome, on the Appian
Way, gives an insight into their constitution and objects.
With much legal tautology it sets forth the privilege of
this collegium of the worshippers of Diana and the new
divinity Antinous appointed by a decree of the Roman
Senate and people, to assemble, convene, and have an
association for the burial of the dead.f The members

* Maitland reads thus: in christo martyrivs VDOT ANNOS
XCI PLVS MINVS ELEXIT DOMVM VIVVS. IN PACE. — "In Christ.
Martyrius lived ninety-one years, more or less. He chose a home
during his life-time. In peace."

t Collegium salutare Diance et Antinoi, constitutum ex Senatus
Populique Romani decreto, quibus coire, convenire, collegiumque
habere liceat. Qui stipem menstruam confcne volent in funera, in

Their Origin and Early History. 67

of this confraternity were to pay for that purpose a
hundred sesterces at entrance, besides an amphora of
good wine, and five ases a month thereafter,* all of
which was forfeited by the non-payment of the monthly
dues. Three hundred sesterces were expended on the
funeral, fifty of which were to be distributed at the
cremation of the body. If a member died at a distance
from Rome three of the confraternity were sent to fetch
the body. Even if they failed to obtain it the funeral
rites were duly paid to an effigy of the deceased. There
was also provision made for the members dining together
on anniversary and other occasions according to rules
duly prescribed by the collegium.

The names of very many of these collegia have been
preserved, each of which consisted of the members of
a similar profession or handicraft. Thus we have the
Collegium Medicorum, the association of the physicians ;
Aurificum, of the gold-workers ; Tignariorum, of the car-
penters ; Dendrophororum, of the wood-fellers ; Pellion-
ariorum, of the furriers ; JVautarum, of the sailors ; Pab-
vlariorum, of the forage merchants ; Aurigariorum, of
the charioteers; and Utriculariorum, of the bargemen. f

They were frequently also connected by the bond of
nationality or of common religious observance, as Col-
legium Germanorum, the association of the Germans ;
Pastophororum, of the priests of Isis ; Serapidis et Isidis,
of Serapis and Isis ; ALsculapii et Hygeice, of ^Esculapius
and Hygeia. J Sometimes they were Cultores Veneris,
Jovis, Herculis, worshippers of Venus, Jupiter, Hercules,
or, as we have seen, of Diana and Antinous.
id collegium coeant, neque sub specie ejus collegiinisi semel inmense
coeant, conferendi causa unde defuncti sepeliantur.

* The sesterce, or sestertius, was about 2d • 5 farthings, the as about
3d • 4 farthings. The amphora held about six gallons.

t Muratori, torn, ii, classis vii, Collegia Varia. % Ibid.

68 The Catacombs of Rome.

These associations were often favoured with especial
privileges, immunities, and rights, like those of incorpo-
ration, such as the holding of territorial property. De
Rossi has shown, by ample citations, that the emperors,
who were always opposed to associations among the
citizens, made a special exemption in favour of these
funeral clubs.*

By conformity to the constitution of these corpora-
tions the Christian church had peculiar facilities for the
burial of its dead, and even for the celebration of relig-
ious worship. Indeed, it has been suggested, and is highly
probable, that it was under the cover of these funeral asso-
ciations that toleration was conceded, first to the sepul-
chres, then to the churches. Tertullian describes the
practice of the Christian community in the second cen-
tury as follows : " Every one offers a small contribution
on a certain day of the month, or when he chooses, and
as he is able, for no one is compelled ; it is a voluntary
offering. This is our common fund for piety; for it is
not expended in feasting and drinking and in wanton
excesses, but in feeding and burying the poor, in support-
ing orphans, aged persons, and such as are shipwrecked,
or such as languish in mines, in exile, or in prison." f
Thus the Ecclesia Fratrum, the " Congregation of the
Brethren," who restored the funeral monument described
on page fifty-six, J suggests the pagan college of the Fra-

* Trajan regarded with suspicion even fire brigades and charitable
societies, (Pliny. X Epis. 43 et 94,) and forbade the assemblies of the
Christians, but permitted the monthly contribution of the clubs — Per-
mittitur tenuioribus stipem menstruam conferre. Digest., xlvii, 22, I.

f Modicam unusquisque stipem minstrua die, vel quum velit, et si
modo velit, et si modo possit, apponit : nam nemo compellitur, sed
sponte confert . . . Nam inde non epulis . . . sed egenis alendis
humandisque . . . etc. Tert., Apol., c. 39.

X See first footnote.

Their Origin and Early History. 69

tres Arvalesj and the Cultor Verbi, or worshipper of the
Divine Word, in the same inscription, would seem to the
heathen magistrate analogous to the Cultores Jovis or
Cultores Diana of the pagan collegia. Indeed, it is diffi-
cult to decide from the names of some of these associa-
tions whether they were Christian or pagan. Thus we
read of the Collegium convictorum qui una epulo vesci solent
— " The fraternity of table-companions who are accus-
tomed to feast together." De Rossi suggests that there
may be here a covert reference to a Christian community,
and probably to the celebration of the Agape or of the
Eucharist.* Another is the Collegium quod est in domo
Sergice Paulina — " The association which is in the house
of Sergia Paulina." This possibly may have been a
Christian community, like " the church which was in
the house " of Priscilla and Aquila.f

That the primitive Christians availed themselves of
the privileges granted to the funeral associations, is con-
firmed by a discovery made by De Rossi in the Ceme-
tery of St. Domitilla in the year 1865, and already re-
ferred to. At the entrance was found a chamber, with
stone seats like the sc/iola, or place of meeting of the
pagan tombs where the religious confraternity celebrated
the funeral banquet of the deceased. Here the
Christians celebrated instead the Agape, or Feast of
Charity, and the ZVatalitia, or anniversary of the martyrs
who were buried there, just as the pagan associations
commemorated the anniversaries of their deceased
patrons.

The ancient privileges of these collegia were confirmed

by an edict of Septimius Severus about the year A. D.

200. It is a curious coincidence that precisely at this

time Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome, appointed Callixtus

* Bullettino, 1864, 62. f Rom. xvi, 5, 3.

70 The Catacombs of Rome.

to be " guardian of the cemetery," as well as head of
the clergy.* In order to secure to the funeral associa-
tion the protection of the law it was necessary that one
of its members should be appointed agent or " syndic,''
by whom its business should be transacted, and in whose
name its property should be held.f Thus Callixtus be-
came the syndic of the public cemetery of the church,
which still bears his name. De Rossi conjectures that
this was the first cemetery set apart for the use of
the whole Christian community. Hence it was taken
under the care of the ecclesiastical authorities, and
became, as we shall see hereafter, the burying-place
of the Roman bishops, and the especial property of the
church. X

We will now trace briefly the history of those perse-
cutions which glutted the Catacombs with victims, and
at times drove the church for sanctuary to their deep-
est recesses. We have seen that Christianity grew up
under the protection accorded to Judaism as one of
the tolerated religions of Rome. But this toleration
did not long continue. In Rome as well as elsewhere
the new creed was doomed to a baptism of blood. The •
causes of this persecution are not far to seek. The Chris-
tian doctrine spread rapidly, and early excited the jeal-,
ousy of the Roman authorities by its numerous converts
from the national faith, many of whom were of exalted
rank. These carefully refrained from the idolatrous
adulation by which the servile mob were wont to express

* Philosophoumena, ix, n.

\ Actorem sive syndicum, per quern, quod communiter agi fierique
oporleat, agatur, fiat. — Digest., iii, 4, I, § 1.

1 E veramente che almcno fmo dal secolo terzo i fideliabl>ianopos-
siduto cemeteri a nome commune, e che il loro possesso sia stato
riconosciuto dagl' imperatori, e cosa impossibile a negare. — Dc Rossi,
Rom. Sott., torn, i, p. 103.

Their Origin and Early Structure. y i

their loyalty to the imperial monster who aspired to be a
god. Hence they were accused of disaffection, of trea-
son.* They were the enemies of Cassar, and of the
Roman people. f They were supposed to exert a malign
influence on the course of nature. If it did not rain
the Christians were to blame. % " If the Tiber over-
flows its banks," says Tertullian, " or the Nile does not ;
if there be drought or earthquakes, famine or pestilence,
the cry is raised, ' The Christians to the lions ! ' " § If the
pecking of the sacred chickens or the entrails of the sac-
rificial victims gave unfavourable omens, it was attributed
to the counter spell of " the atheists." At Rome, as well
as at Ephesus and Philippi, the selfish fears of the shrine
and image makers, whose " craft was in danger," and the
hostility of the priests and dependents on the idol-
worship, inspired or intensified the opposition to Chris-
tianity, as did also the jealousy of the Jews, who
regarded with especial hostility the believers in the
lowly Nazarene, whom their fathers with wicked hands
had crucified and slain. ||

The terrible conflagration which destroyed the greater
part of the city during the reign of Nero was made the
excuse for the first outburst of persecution against the
Christian community. By public rumour this deed was'

* The dreaded crimen majestatis.

\ Hostes Ccesarum, hostes populi Romani.

% Non pluit Deus, due ad Christianos. — Aug., Civ. Dei, ii, 3.

§ Si Tiberis ascendit in moenia, si Nilus non ascendit in arva, si
coelum stetit, si terra movit, si fames, si lues, statim, " Christianos ad
leones." — Aj>ol.,x. "But I pray you," he adds, "were misfortunes
unknown before Tiberius ? The true God was not worshipped when
Hannibal conquered at Cannae, or the Gauls filled the city."

|| Eusebius describes their activity in bringing wood and straw
from the shops and baths for the burning of Polycarp. Eccl.
Hist., iv. 15.

72 The Catacombs of Rome.

attributed to Nero himself. " To put an end to this re-
port," says Tacitus, " he laid the guilt, and inflicted the
most cruel punishment, upon these men, who, already
branded with infamy, were called by the vulgar, Chris
tians. . . . Their sufferings at their executions," he
adds, " were aggravated by insult and mockery ; for
some were sewn up in the skins of wild beasts, and wor-
ried to death by dogs ; some were crucified, and some,
wrapped in garments of pitch, were burned as torches to
illumine the night."*

During this persecution St. Paul fell a victim, A. D.
64. He was beheaded " without the gate," on the Ostian
Way, and weeping friends took up his bleeding corpse
and laid it, according to tradition, in one of the most
ancient crypts of an adjoining Catacomb, where Euse-
bius asserts that his tomb could be seen in his day.f

From this time Christianity was exposed to outbursts
of heathen rage, and express decrees were published
against it. \ No longer sharing the protection of Juda-
ism, it fell under the ban of the empire. At times the
rage of persecution slumbered, and again it burst forth
with inextinguishable fury. But, like the typical bush
that " flourished unconsumed in fire," the Christian faith
but grew and spread the more. Yet the sword ever im-

* Ergo abolendo rumori Nero subdedit reos et quoesitissimis
poenis affecit, quos per flagitia invisos vulgus Christianos appellabat.
. . . Et pereuntibus addita ludibria, ut ferarum tergis contectilaniatn
canum interierint, aut crucibus affixi, aut flammandi atque, ubi de-
fecisset dies, in usum nocturni luminis urerentur. — Ann., w, 44.

\ A telegraphic despatch from Rome of date January 16, 1S73,
announces that the Pope claims to have discovered the bodies of the
apostles Philip and James. Highly improbable, and of no practical
importance if true. Not the bones of the saints buried centuries
ago, but the spirit which animated them and the principles for which
they died, are the true sources of the church's power.

\ Sulpic. Sever., Hist , ii, 41.

Their Origin and Early History. 73

pended over the church. Sometimes its stroke was for
a time deferred, when the little flock took courage andv
rejoiced ; but often it fell with crushing weight, smiting
the shepherds and scattering the sheep. One of these
periods of rest extended from the time of the Neronian
persecution till near the end of the century, when Do-
mitian, "a second Nero,"* stretched forth his hand
again to vex the saints. During the short reign of the
': justice-loving Nerva " the Christians again enjoyed
repose, so that Lactantius even asserts that they were
restored to all their former privileges.

To the first century De Rossi refers the construction
of at least three or four of the Catacombs. These are,
(1) the Cemetery of Priscilla, excavated, according to
an ancient tradition, in the property of the Roman
Senator Pudens, mentioned by St. Paul, and in which, it
is said, were interred his daughters Pudentiana and
Praxides ; (2) the Catacomb of Domitilla, the grand-
niece of the Emperor Domitian, in which she herself
was buried, together with her chamberlains Nereus and
Achilles, who were beheaded for their steadfastness in
the Christian faith ; (3) the Crypt of Lucina, afterwards
part of the Catacomb of Callixtus, in which some of the
most ancient inscriptions have been found. De Rossi
conjectures that this lady is the same as the Pomponia
Graecina before mentioned, the wife of Plautius, the con-
queror of Britain. (4) De Rossi is also of the opinion
that he has discovered another, and the oldest of all the
Catacombs, dating from the very times of the apostles*
themselves, in that known as the Fons Petri, or the
Cemetery of the Font of Peter, in which tradition as-
serts that he himself baptized. The classical style of the
architecture, frescoes, and graceful stucco wreaths and
* Euseb., Hist. Eccles., iii, 17. A. D. 93-96.

74 The Catacombs of Rome.

garlands, and the character of the inscriptions, all point
to a very ancient period, before art had degenerated, and
before long-continued persecution had banished Chris-'
tianity into seclusion and poverty.

The law of Trajan against secret assemblies, synchro- .
nous with the opening of the second century, gave a
new occasion of persecuting the Church. With such
severity was this done that, according to Pliny, the
deserted temples became again frequented, and their
neglected rites revived.*

The Emperor Hadrian is described by his contempo-
raries as diligently practising the Roman rites, and
despising all foreign religions. f Although he restrained
the tumultuous attacks of the populace upon the Chris-
tians, he nevertheless favoured their legal prosecution. J

The following epitaph given by Maitland com-
memorates a martyrdom of this reign. The last sen-
tence seems to imply that it was erected in a time of
actual persecution ; but no dated example of the mono-
gram which accompanies it appears before the time of
Constantine. The inscription was probably written long

* Prope jam desolata templa coepisse celebrari ; et sacra solennia
diu intermissa repeti. — Epis. ad Traj. Among the most distin-
guished sufferers during this persecution war. Clement, third bishop
of Rome, exiled to Pontus, and, it is said, cast into the sea,
A. D. 103 ; also the venerable Ignatius, bishop of the church
at Antioch, linked by tradition with the Saviour hiivself, as one
of the children whom he took in his arms and blessed. Con-
demned by Trajan to exposure to wild beasts in the amphitheatre at
Rome, a passion for martyrdom possessed his soul. " Suffer me to be
the food of the wild beasts," he exclaimed, " by whom I shall attain
unto God. For I am the wheat of God ; and I shall be ground by
the teeth of wild beasts that I may become the pure bread of Christ."
— Epis. ad Romanes, §§ 4, 5.

f Sacra Romana diligentissime curavit. peregrina contempsit. — Spar-
tian, in Hadrian. A. D. 117-13S.

X Euseb., Hist. Ecclcs., iv, 9. Jus. Mar., Apol., i, 6S, 6q.

Their Origin and Early History. 75

after the death of Marius, or the monogram may have
been added by a later hand :

TEMPORE ADRIANI IMPERATORIS MARIVS
ADOLESCENS DVX MILITVM QVI SATIS VIXIT ^ TJ);
DVM VITAM PRO CKO CVM SANGVINE CON
SVNSIT IN PACE TANDEM QVIEVIT BENE
MERENTES CVM LACRIMIS ET METV POSVE
RVNT I. D. VI.

In Christ. In the time of the Emperor Hadrian, Marius, a young
military officer, who had lived long enough, when, with his blood, he
gave up his life for Christ. At length he rested in peace. The
well-deserving set up this with tears and in fear, on the 6th, Ides
of December.

In this reign also suffered Alexander, bishop of Rome,
whose tomb has been found on the Nomentan Way,
together with Eventius and Theodulus, a presbyter and
deacon.

Under the humane and equitable Antoninus Pius,*
Christianity seems to have enjoyed a partial toleration,
although the edict of Trajan was still unrevoked. Yet
several outbreaks of popular fury against the Chris-
tians took place, and in the very first year of his reign
Telesphorus, the bishop of the church at Rome, suf-
fered martyrdom. f

One of the strangest phenomena in history is the per-
secution of the primitive church by the philosophical
emperor Marcus Aurelius, % whose " Meditations " seem
almost like the writings of an apostle in their praise of
virtue, yearning for abstract perfection, and contempt of
pomp and pleasure. Nevertheless, he was one of the
most systematic and heartless of all the oppressors of
the Christian faith — a faith so much loftier than even

* A. D. 13S-161. f Irenasus, iii, 3, §3. \ A. D. 161-180.

76 The Catacombs of Rome.

his high philosophy, and yet having so much akin, With
the cool acerbity of a stoic, he resolved to exterminate
the obnoxious doctrines. An active inquisition for the
Christians was set on foot, and the odious system of
domestic espionage, which even Trajan had forbidden,
was encouraged. Shameless informers, greedy for gain,
fed their rapacity on the confiscated spoils of the be-
lievers, whom they plundered, says Melito, by day and by
night. Though gentle to other classes of offenders, and
even to rebels, Aurelius exceeded in barbarity the most
ruthless of his predecessors in the refinements of tor-
ture, by rack and scourge, by fire and stake, employed
to enforce the recantation of the Christians ; and every
year of his long reign was polluted with innocent
blood.

From Gaul to Asia Minor raged the storm of perse-
cution. The earthquakes, floods, and famine, the Avars
and pestilence, that wasted the empire, were visited upon
the hapless Christians, who were immolated in heca-
tombs as the causes of these dire calamities. From the
crowded amphitheatre of Smyrna ascended, as in a chariot
of fire, the soul of the apostolic bishop Polycarp. The ,
arrowy Rhone ran red with martyrs' blood. The names
of the venerable Pothinus, of the youthful Blandina and
Ponticus, and of the valiant Symphorianus, will be
memories of thrilling power and pathos to the end of
time. At Rome the persecution selected some of its.
noblest victims. Justin, the Christian philosopher, find-
ing in the Gospels a loftier lore than in the teachings
of Zeno or Aristotle, of Pythagoras or Plato, became
the foremost of the goodly phalanx of apologists and
defenders of the faith, and sealed his testimony with his
blood. With six of his companions he was brought be-
fore the prefect for refusing obedience to the imperial

Their Origin and Early History. 77

decree. "We are Christians," they said, " and sacrifice
not to idols." They were forthwith scourged and be-
headed, and devout men bore them to their burial,
doubtless in these very Catacombs, where their undis-
covered remains may yet lie. In this reign also suffered
the seven sons of St. Felicitas — the tomb of one of whom
De Rossi believes he has found — and St. Cecilia and
her companions, to be hereafter mentioned.*

* The following inscription, referring to the Antonine period, is
given by Maitland, (page 40,) as from the Catacomb of Callixtus.
Although it seems to imply the actual prevalence of persecution, it
is evidently, even if genuine, of later date than the time alleged.
The presence of the sacred monogram, as well as the somewhat florid
and pleonastic style, indicate an origin not anterior to the age of
Constantine, when it became the fashion with outward pharisaism
to adorn the sepulchres of the martyrs, although the truths for
which they died were often treated with neglect :

ALEXANDER MORTVVS NON EST SED VIVIT SVPER
ASTRA ET CORPVS IN HOC TVMVLO QVIESCIT.
VITAM EXPLEVIT SVB ANTONINO IMP QVI VBI MVL
TVM BENEFITII ANTEVENIRE PRAEVIDERET PRO GRA
TIA ODIVM REDDIDIT. GENVA ENIM FLEC
TENS VERO DEO SACRIFICATVRVS AD SVP
PLICIA DVCITVR. O TEMPORA INFAVSTA
QVIBVS INTER SACRA ET VOTA NE IN CAV
ERNIS QVIDEM SALVARI POSSIMVS. QVID MISERIVS
VITA SED QVID MISERIVS IN MORTE CVM AB AMICIS ET
PARENTIBVS SEPELIRI NEQVEANT TANDEM IN COELO
CORVSCANT. PARVM VIXIT QVI VIXIT IN. X. TEM.

" In Christ. Alexander is not dead, but lives above the

stars, and his body rests in this tomb. He ended his lg\ '~, '
,.,,.._ J . . , . puted Mar-

lite under the Emperor Antonine, who, foreseeing that tyr Symbol.

great benefit would result from his services, returned

evil for good. For while on his knees and about to sacrifice to the

true God, he was led away to execution. O sad times ! in which,

among sacred rites and prayers, even in caverns we are not safe.

What can be more wretched than such a life ? and what than such

a death? when they cannot be buried by their friends and relations —

/8 The Catacombs of Rome

The legend of the Thundering Legion, supported as
it is by the medals and the column of Antoninus, com-
memorates, indeed, the deliverance of the Roman army
by a timely shower; but the Emperor ascribed that
deliverance not to the prayers of the Christians, but to
his own appeal to the heathen gods,* and there is
no evidence that he ever relaxed the severity of the
persecution.

The ferocity of the brutal Conimodus f was tempered
by the influence of his concubine, Marcia, and Chris-
tianity spread among the highest ranks ; but persecution

at length they sparkle in heaven. He has scarcely lived who has
lived in Christian times."

Maitland renders the concluding letters, IN. X. TEM, by " In Chris-
tianis temporibus." The furnace seems to indicate that the martyr
suffered death by fire, or, possibly, by immersion in boiling oil — a
mode of punishment which St. John is said to have undergone, but
without receiving any harm.

Another still more apocryphal inscription is given by Maitland,
(page 65.) It is probably of the fifth century. The Pudentiana re-
ferred to is said to have spent her patrimony in relieving the poor
and burying the martyrs.

HOC EST COEMETERIVM TRISCILLAE

IN QVO EXISTVNT CORPORA TRIVM MILLIVM MARTYRVM

MARTVRIO PER ANTONIXUM IMPERATOREM

AFFECTORVM QVOS S. PVDENTIANA

FECIT IN HOC SVO VENERABILI TEMPLO SF.rELIRI.

" This is the Cemetery of Priscilla, in which are the bodies of three
thousand martyrs, who suffered under the Emperor Antonine, whom
St. Pudentiana caused to be buried in this her own place of worship"
— Aicher, Hortus Inscriptionum. More authentic relics of this reign
are the large tiles with which part of the Catacomb of Callixtus is
paved. They all hear the words, opvsdoliare ex traediis Domi-
ni n et figl novis, which, according to Marini, is the stamp of
the imperial manufactory of Marcus Aurelius.

*"Hanc dextram ad te Jupiter, tendo, quae nullius unquam san-
guinam fudit," is the form of prayer given by Claudian. Euseb., v, 5.

t A. D. 1S0-193.

Their Origin and Early History. 79

did not entirely cease. Apollonius, a senator of the
empire, was put to death at Rome, and we read of numer-
ous martyrdoms elsewhere. A Christian inscription
commemorates an officer of Commodus, and Procurator
of the Imperial household, who was " received to God "

RECEPTVS AD DEVM — A. D. 21 J*

On the death of this emperor the persecution raged
with such violence that, according to Clemens Alexan-
drinus, many martyrs were burned, crucified, and be-
headed every day.f Non licet esse vos — " It is not lawful
for you to exist " — was the stern edict of extermination
pronounced against the saints.

Christianity had little favour to expect from a military
despot like Septimius Severus, whose dying counsel
to his successor expressed the principle of his govern-
ment — " Be generous to the soldiers and trample on all
besides."

The revived accusations against the new faith called
forth the bold defence, or rather defiance, of Tertullian,
one of the noblest monuments of the primitive ages. In
this reign the sanctity of the Christian cemeteries was
first violated, and that not at Rome but in Africa, where
the persecution was most virulent. " The mob assails us
with stones and flames with the frenzy of bacchanals,"
says Tertullian ; " They do not even spare the Christian
dead, but tear them from the rest of the tomb, from '
the asylum of death, cut them in pieces, and rend them
asunder." \

* See chap, ii, book iii. f Strom., lib. ii, A. D. 193.

X Apol., 37. Sicut sub Hilariano praeside, cum de areis sepultura*
rum nostrarum adclamassent, arese non sint. — Ad Scap., c. iii.
A. D. 203.

No more pathetic episode is contained in the whole range of the
Martyrology than that of the youthful mother, Perpetua, who suf-

80 The Catacombs of Rome.

After the cessation of this persecution the Church
enjoyed a period of unwonted rest. Although under
the ignoble Heliogabalus the sensual Asiatic worship
of Baal was introduced to Rome, and human sacrifice
was even offered to this Eastern Moloch,* yet the relig-
ion of peace and purity shared the toleration accorded
to the most obscene and cruel rites. The just and ami-
able Alexander Severus inaugurated a new era for
Christianity,! to which he was favourably disposed, prob-
ably through the influence of his mother, Mammsea,
who had enjoyed at Antioch the instruction of Origen.J
He used frequently to quote with approval the Golden
Rule of Our Lord, and caused it to be inscribed on his
palace walls, and also ceded to the Christians a piece
of public ground for the erection of a church. § But
Alexander was only a religious eclectic, honouring what
he thought best in the current systems of belief. Of
this reign is the epitaph of Urban, bishop of Rome,

fered at Carthage under Severus. Few can read unmoved the acts
of her martj'rdom, which bear the stamp of authenticity in their per-
fectly natural and unexaggerated tone, and the absence of miracle.
Young — she was only twenty-two — beautiful, of noble family, and
dearly loved, her heathen father entreated her to pity his gray hairs,
her mother's tears, her helpless babe. But her faith proved triumphant
over even the yearnings of natural affection ; and, wan and faint from
recent childbirth pangs, she was led, with Felicitas, her companion,
into the crowded amphitheatre, and exposed to the cruel horns of in-
furiate beasts. Amid the agonies of death, more conscious of her
wounded modesty than of her pain, with a gesture of dignity she drew
her disheveled robe about her person. She seemed rapt in ecstasy till
by a merciful stroke of the gladiator she was released from her suffer-
ing, and exchanged the dust and blood of the arena, and the shouts
of the ribald mob, for the songs of the redeemed, and the beatific
vision of the Lord she loved.

* Credit et humanas hostias. — Lamprid., Heliogabalus, f A. D. 22X

\ Euseb., Hist. Ecclcs., vi, 21.

§ The site, according to tradition, of St. Maria in Trastevere.

Their Origin and Early History. 81

which has been found in the so-called " Papal Crypt,'
bearing his name and the initial letter of his title —
OTRBANOC E. . . .

The accession of the Thracian savage, Maximin, A. D.
235, was the signal for a fresh outburst of persecution.
To have been favoured by Severus was sufficient to incur
the hate of his murderer. His rage was especially di-
rected against the chief pastors of the flock of Christ.
Pontianus, the Roman bishop, was exiled to Sardinia,
and there slain. Antherus, his successor in this danger-
ous dignity, for his zeal in preserving the records of the
martyrs himself suffered martyrdom a few weeks after
his accession, and was laid in that narrow chamber des-
tined to receive so many of Rome's early bishops, where
a slab bearing his name and title— ANTEPftC • EIII —
has been found. In this reign also suffered the cele-
brated Hippolytus, bishop of Pontus, and author of the
" Philosophoumena."

Under Gordian and Philip a respite was again granted
to the persecuted church. The latter, indeed, is claimed
by Eusebius as a Christian ; but his character and con-
duct are inconsistent with such a supposition.

A violent reaction took place on the accession of
Decius, whose name became an object of execration to
mankind.* He resolved to entirely crush and extirpate
Christianity, whose bishops and churches began to rival
the pontiffs and temples of the gods of Rome. At his
instigation a persecution of unprecedented virulence
raged like an epidemic throughout the empire. The
imperial edicts enforced conformity to the pagan ritual
under penalty of the most horrible tortures. This un-

* A. D. 250-253. Execrabile animal Decius, qui vexaret ecclesiam.
— Lactan., de Mort. Persec, c. 3, 4. He would rather tolerate, he
said, a rival for his throne, than a bishop in Rome. Cypr., Ep. 53.

82 The Catacombs of Rome.

wonted severity produced the first great apostasy of the
primitive church ; and many of the less stable converts
procured exemption from martyrdom by sacrificing to
the gods, burning incense on their altars, or purchasing
certificates of indulgence from the heathen magistrate.*
" Pale and trembling, and more like sacrificial victims
than those about to sacrifice," says an eye-witness, " some
approached the heathen shrines ; but others, firm and
blessed pillars of the Lord, witnessed a good confession
unto death." f The bishops of the church, who, as the
leaders of Christ's sacramental host, bore gallantly the
battle's brunt, were naturally the earliest victims of the
tyrant's rage. Accordingly, at the very outbreak of the
Decian slaughter, the venerable Fabian, head of the
Roman church, perished by decapitation ; and the
Catacombs were glutted with a host of unknown mar-
tyrs. In the very chamber in the Cemetery of Callixtus
to which his mutilated corpse was borne, may still be
seen the Bishop's epitaph — $ABIANOC ' EIII — with the
monogram of his martyrdom, the conjoined letters MTP,
added probably by a later hand. The church seemed

* Called respectively Sacrificati, Thurificati, and Libellatici, of
whom the first were esteemed the most guilty. The indignant rhetoric
of Cyprian expresses his holy horror at this vile apostasy : "They
made haste to give their souls the mortal wound. . . . That altar
where he was about to die — was it not his funeral pile ? Should he
not have fled, as from his coffin or his grave, from that devil's altar,
when he saw it smoke and fume with stinking smell? . . . Thou
thyself wast the sacrificial victim. Thou didst sacrifice thy salvation,
and burn thy faith and hope in these abominable fires" — Nonne ara
ilia, quo moriturus accessit, rogus illi fuit ? Nonne diaboli altare quod
fcetore tcetro fumare et redolere conspexerat, velut funus et bustum
vitre sure horrere ac fugere debebat ? . . . Ipse ad aramhostia, victims
ipsevenisti. Immoh'tsti illic salutem tuam, spem tuam, fidem tuam,
funestis illis ignibus concrem&stL — Dc Lapsis., p. 124.

f Dionysius of Alexandria, in Eusel'., vi, 41.

Their Origin and Early History. 83

paralyzed with fear, and for sixteen months no suc-
cessor was elected. But, undismayed by the tragic fate
of Fabian, Cornelius, allied with some of the noblest
families of Rome, became the leader of the forlorn hope
of Christianity against all the power of the empire.
After a year's episcopate he was first banished and then
beheaded under Gallus, a worthy successor in persecu-
tion of Decius. Through the archaeological researches
of De Rossi have been recovered, first his epitaph —
CORNELIVS ■ MARTYR ■ EP — and then his tomb,
with a Damasine inscription, in one of the most interest-
ing crypts of the Catacombs. Lucius, his successor, in
six months shared his fate, and was buried in the cham-
ber consecrated by the dust of so many martyr-bishops,
where his brief epitaph — AOVKIC — is still legible.

Valerian,* who revived in his own person the ancient
office of Censor, was at first so favourable toward the
Christians that his house, says Dionysius of Alexandria,
was filled with pious persons, and was, indeed, a congre-
gation f of the Lord. This favour was doubtless the
result of the Censor's approval of Christian influence
on public morals. \ In the latter part of his reign, how-
ever, the Emperor passed under the dominion of the
most abject superstition. Through the influence of
Macrianus, a pagan bigot learned in the dark lore of
Egypt, he became addicted to magic arts, and is said to
have sought the auguries of the empire in the entrails
of human victims. § The most relentless decrees were
launched against the Christian church. The bishops,
priests, and deacons were forthwith to be put to the
sword ; all others were to share the same fate, or to be

* A. D. 254-259. t 'E«/cA)?(T/a, Euseb., vii, 10.

% Milman, Hist, of Christianity, Am. ed., Book II., chap. vii.
§ Euseb., Hist. Eccles., vii, 10.

84 The Catacombs of Rome.

punished by exile and fetters.* The holding of assem-
blies, or even entering the Christian cemeteries, was
strictly prohibited A. D. 257.1 By this unwonted inva-
sion of the immemorial sanctity of the sepulchre the
Christians were forbidden even these last refuges from
persecution.

Among the most illustrious victims of Valerian whose
bodies lie in the lowly Catacombs, but whose names live
for evermore, were Stephen I. and Sixtus II., bishops
of the persecuted church, and a number of distinguished
ecclesiastics, as well as many laymen of noble rank. J

Stephen, as the head of the Christian community, was
especially obnoxious to heathen rage. According to the
Acts of his martyrdom he sought concealment in these
sepulchral crypts, § where he was secretly visited by the
faithful, and where he administered the sacraments.
He was traced by the Roman soldiers to his subter-
ranean chapel, but, awed by the mysterious rites, they
allowed him to conclude the service in which he was
engaged. He was then beheaded, with several of his
adherents, || and buried in the Catacomb.

* Ut episcopi et presbyteri et diacones incontinenter animadvertan-
tur, . . . capite quoque mulctentur. — Cypr., ep. 72, ad Succession.

\ Ovdafiuc et-iorai v/nlv rj ovvodovg irouiBat Jj elg tu Kalov/xeva
KOiverr/pia eiaieuai — Dionys., in Euseb., vii, II. Jussum est, ut nulla
conciliabula faciant, neque coemeteria ingrediantur. — Pontius, Passio
Cypriani.

% In Africa, Cyprian, the intrepid bishop of Carthage, after a
stormy episcopate, obtained the crown of martyrdom. On receiving
the sentence condemning him to death, he exclaimed, "God be
thanked!" and went as joyous to his fate as to a marriage feast,
■ — Pontius, Passio Cypr.

§ " Vitam solitariam agebat in cryptis." Of St. Urban it is similar-
ly said, " Solebat in sacrorum martyrum monuments. " — Acts of Cecilia.

\ Baronius : Ann., torn, iii, p. 76. Among his companions in
death was Hippolytus, a Roman convert, of whom a beautiful legend

Their Origin and Early History. 85

Sixtus, the successor of Stephen, within a year re-
ceived the martyr's crown. Like another Daniel setting
at defiance the emperor's decree, he was leading the
devotions of the persecuted flock in the Catacomb of
Pnetextatus, probably because it was less known than the
public cemetery of Callixtus, when he was apprehended
by the fierce soldiery, who had tracked his footsteps
thither. He was hurried away to summary judgment,
brought back to the place of his offence, and there be-
headed, sprinkling with his blood the walls of the chamber.
With him were also executed four of his deacons,* the
monuments of two of whom, Agapetus and Felicissimus,
De Rossi discovered in the very Catacomb in which
they suffered. Sixtus himself was buried in the " Bishops'
Tomb " in the Callixtan Cemetery, where the following
inscription, fragments of which have been found in the
debris, was afterward set up by Damasus :

TEMPORE QVO GLADIVS SECVIT PXA VISCERA MATRIS
HIC POSITVS RECTOR COELESTIA IVSSA DOCEBAM
ADVEXIVNT SVBITO RAPIVNT QVI FORTE SEDENTEM
MILITIBVS MISSIS POPVLI TVNC COLLA DEDERE
MOX SIBI COGNOVIT SENIOR QVIS TOLLERE VELLET
PALMAM SEQVE SVVMQVE CAPVT PRIOR OBTVLIT IPSE
IMPATIENS FERITAS POSSET NE LAEDERE QVEMQVAM
OSTENDIT CHRISTVS REDDIT QVI PRAEMIA VITAE
PASTORIS MERITVM NVMERVM GREGIS IPSE TVETVR

is recorded. His pagan relatives, entrusted with the secret of his re-
treat, supplied his wants by means of their children, a boy and girl
of ten and thirteen years. He one day detained the children in the
hope that their parents would seek them, and thus have the oppor-
tunity of religious instruction from the good bishop. His plan
succeeded, and eventually they with their children were baptized and
suffered martyrdom together ! Baron., Ann., iii, 69. Even though
unauthentic, this story is a type, doubtless, of many incidents which
occurred in the strange social relations of the church in the Catacombs.
* Xistum in cimiterio animadversion sciatis . . . et cum eo diac-
onos quatuor. — Cypr. , Epis., lxxx, ad Succession.

86 The Catacombs of Rome.

At the time when the sword pierced the tender heart of the
Mother [church,] I, the ruler buried here, was teaching the laws
of heaven. Suddenly came [the enemy,] who seized me sitting as I
was. Then the people presented their necks to the soldiers sent
against me. Soon the old man saw who sought to bear away the
palm, and was the first to offer himself and his own head, that impa-
tient rage might injure no one else. Christ who bestows the rewards
of life, manifests the merit of the pastor : he himself defends the
flock.*

Thus seven bishops of the church at Rome fell in
succession by the hand of the headsman, five of them in
the space of eight years — heroic athletes of Christ who,
at the very seat of paganism, as in a mighty theatre of
God, bore the brunt of persecution, and, conquering
even in death, received the martyr's crown and palm.

The accession of Gallienusf restored peace to the
church. His decree granting complete religious tolera-
tion, the restoration of confiscated ecclesiastical prop-
erty, and permission to " recover what they called their
cemeteries,"]; won the gratitude of his Christian subjects.
His character, however, by no means justified the epithet
of " holy and pious emperor " bestowed by Dionysius of
Alexandria. § This was the first formal recognition of
Christianity as a religio licita, or legalized faith, and for
forty years the church enjoyed comparative repose ; at

* Another martyr whose Acts, although disfigured with some gro-
tesque and exaggerated circumstances, contain elements of great
beauty, was Lawrence, a deacon of the bishop Sixtus. Esteeming it
no sacrilege, but rather the highest consecration of the property of
the church, he distributed it in alms among the suffering Christians.
Being commanded to surrender to the emperor the confiscated
ecclesiastical treasure, he presented to the commissioner a number
of aged and impotent poor, saying, "These are the treasures of the
church." After incredible tortures, which form the subject of many
a picture of Roman Catholic art, he is said to have been roasted to
deatli over a slow fire. Ambros., OJficiii., i, 41.

f A. D. 259. \ Euscb., Hist. Ecclcs., viii, 13. § lb., viii, 23.

Their Origin and Early History. 8?

least such repose as was possible while twenty rival
emperors — fantastic things " that likeness of a kingly
crown had on " — struggled for the supremacy, and har-
ried the land with their mutual devastations. During
this period, Felix, the bishop of the Roman church,
who, according to the Liber Pontificalis, was exceedingly
diligent in honouring the martyrs of the Catacombs, be-
came himself a conscript of that noble army, and was
beheaded, in accordance with an imperial decree, as was
also Agapetus, a Christian of noble rank.

The mild and amiable Tacitus * ruled over a turbulent
people only six months. His brother Florian retained
the purple only half that time. Probus, " the just,"
whose name, says his epitaph, expressed his character,!
fell by the hands of his own tumultuous legionaries.
The sensual and abominable Carinus displayed the ex-
travagancies of Heliogabalus, aggravated by the cruelty
of Domitian. In his reign died Eutychianus, whose
epitaph and title— EYTYXIANOC EIIIC— have been
found in the " Papal Crypt " of Callixtus. \

Christianity was destined to undergo a final ordeal

* A. D. 275.

t Probus et vere probus situs est. Obiit A. D. 283.

% Gregory of Tours, writing in the sixth century, asserts that under
Numerian, the brother and contemporary of Carinus, Chrysanthus
and Daria suffered martyrdom in a Catacomb on the Via Salaria.
A number of the faithful being observed to visit their tombs, the
emperor ordered the entrance to be built up and covered with a heap
of sand and stones, that they might be buried alive in common mar-
tyrdom. When their remains were discovered by Damasus, in the
fourth century, he refrained from removing them, and simply made
an opening from an adjacent gallery, that pilgrims to the early shrines
of the faith might behold, without disturbing it, this "Christian
Pompeii." Gregory asserts that these interesting relics were still to
be seen in his day — the skeletons of men, women, and children lying
on the floor, and even the silver vessels (urcei argentei ) which they
used.

88 The Catacombs of Rome.

before it should ascend the throne of the Caesars. The
church must pass once more through the purifying
flames of persecution before it was fit to be entrusted
with the reins of empire. The long peace and temporal
prosperity had fostered pride and luxury, and relaxed
the morals of the Christian community. Schisms and
feuds destroyed the unity of the faith, and the
bishops had begun to aspire to temporal power, and to
assert an unwarranted authority. " Prelates inveighed
against prelates," says Eusebius, " and people rose against
people, assailing each other with words as with darts and
spears."* The blasts of adversity were necessary to
winnow the spurious and false away, and to leave the
tried and true behind. From the fatal slumber of re-
ligious apathy into which the church was falling it was
to be rudely awakened. Its former afflictions sank into
insignificance compared with this great tribulation, which
was pre-eminently called The Persecution by the his-
torian of the times. f

The close of the third century witnessed the strange
spectacle of the government of the Roman world by a
group of men who had climbed to the giddy height of
power from the lowest stations in life. Diocletian,
originally a slave, or at least the son of a slave, reduced
the haughty aristocracy of Rome to a condition of
oriental servility. Maximian, a Pannonian peasant, be-
trayed the savageness of his nature by his bloodthirsty
cruelty. Galerius, an Illyrian herdsman, but exhib-
ited more conspicuously upon the throne of empire the
native barbarity of his character. Constantius was of
nobler birth than any of his colleagues, and he alone
adorned his lofty station by dignity, justice, and clem-
ency. The world groaned under the oppression of its
* Euseb., Hist. Ecclcs., viii, I. f /

Their Origin and Early Histoiy. 89

cruel masters. So exhausting were their exactions that
none remained to tax, says Lactantius,* but the beggars.
The early years of the reign of Diocletian were char-
acterized for the most part by principles of religious tol-
eration. Indeed, his wife and daughter, the empresses
Prisca and Valeria, favoured, if they did not adopt,
the Christian faith, and some of the first officers of the
imperial household belonged to the now powerful sect.f
But even during this period the Christians were not free
from danger. Caius, the Roman bishop, is said to have
lived for eight years in the Catacombs on account of
the persecution, and at last underwent martyrdom in
the year A. D. 296. J Marcus and Marcelianus, two
Roman Christians of noble rank, who have given their
name to one of the Catacombs, suffered about this time.
Others, especially in the army, where the ancient faith
had firmest hold, and where, indeed, Eusebius says, the
persecution began, § endured martyrdom as the valiant
soldiers of Christ. The storm, of which these events
were the precursors, at length burst with fury on the
Christians in the year 303. A series of cruel edicts,
written, says Eusebius, with a dagger's point, |j were
fulminated for the extirpation of the Christian name.^f

* De Mort. Persec, c. xxiii. t Euseb., Hist. Eccles., viii, I.

% Caius . . . fugiens persecutionem Diocletiani in cryptis habitando,
martyrio coronatur. — Lib. Pontif.; cf. Euseb., Hist. Eccles., vii, 32.

§ 'Ek tuv ev orpareiaic udeTicpuv Karapxofiivov tov dnjyuov. — Hist.
Eccles., viii, 1.

|| Vita Const., ii, 54.

Tf The following inscription, found in Spain, and given by Gruter,
Seems designed as the funeral monument of dead and buried Chris-
tianity. But though apparently destroyed, like its divine Author, in-
stinct with immortality it rose triumphant over all its foes.

DIOCLETIAN • CAES • AUG • GALERIO • IN ORIENTS • ADOPT • SVPER
STITIONE CHRIST 'VBIQ- DELETA ET CVLTV DEOR • PROPAGATO •

"To Diocletian, Caesar Augustus, having adopted Galerius in the

90 The Catacombs of Rome.

They were framed with malignant ingenuity, so as to
leave no chance of escape save in open apostasy. All
ecclesiastical property was confiscated. The churches
were razed to the ground, and the sacred scriptures burned
with fire.* All assemblies for worship were prohibited
on pain of death. The clergy of every order were zeal-
ously sought out, and thrust into dungeons designed
for the worst of felons, f The whole Christian com-
munity was outlawed, degraded from every secular office,
deprived of the rights of citizenship, and exposed to the
punishment of the vilest slaves. With intensifying vio-
lence edict followed edict, like successive strokes of
thunder in a raging storm. A universal and relentless
proscription of the Christian name took place. The
truculent monster Galerius, of whom his Christian sub-
jects said, that he never supped without human blood, \
proposed that all who refused to sacrifice to the gods
should be burned alive ; and the fiendish ingenuity of
the persecutors was exhausted in devising fresh tortures
for their victims.

In Italy, and especially at Rome, the work of de-
struction was eagerly carried on by Maximian, an
implacable enemy of the Christians ; and after his death
by the abominable voluptuary Maxentius, in whom the
twin passions of cruelty and lust struggled for the mas-
East, the Christian superstition being every-where destroyed, and the
worship of the gods extended."

* Euseb., Hist. Eceles., viii, 2. The effects of the persecution were
felt even in Britain. (Gildas, de Excid. Britan., in Bingham, viii, 1.)
Alban was the first British martyr at a somewhat earlier date.

t "The dungeons destined for murderers," says Eusebius, "were
filled with bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and exorcists, so that
there was no room left for those condemned for crime." — Hist.
Eceles.

% Nee unquam sine cruore humano ccenabat. — Lactam, de Mort.
Persee.

Their Origin and Early History. 91

tery. These monsters of iniquity revelled in a carnival
of blood, and glutted the Catacombs with victims, some
of the most illustrious of whom will shortly be men-
tioned. On the retirement of Diocletian, satiated with
slaughter and weary with the cares of state, to his re-
treat at Salonica, Galerius continued the persecution
with increased zeal. It was the expiring effort of pagan-
ism, the death throes of its mortal agony. But the
Christian religion, like the trodden grass that ranker
grows, flourished still in spite of the oppression it en-
dured. Like the rosemary and thyme, which the more
they are bruised give out the richer perfume, it breathed
forth the odours of sanctity which are fragrant in the
world to-day. Though the frail and the fickle fell off in
the blast of adversity, the staunch and true remained ;
and from the martyr's blood, more prolific than the
fabled dragon's teeth, a new host of Christian heroes
rose, contending for the martyr's starry and unwither-
ing crown.

But the period of deliverance was at hand. Smitten
by the power of that God whose titles and attributes he
had usurped, the wretched Galerius, amid the agonies of
a loathsome disease, implored the intercessions of the
Christians whom he had so ruthlessly proscribed. With
sublimest magnanimity the church exhibited the nobil-
ity of a Gospel revenge, and obeyed the injunction of
its divine Master to pray for those who persecuted and
despitefully used it. From the dying couch of the re-
morseful monarch came an abject apology for his cruel
deeds; and, in late atonement for his crime, a decree
of amplest recognition of Christianity, and restoration
of the right to worship God. Like the trump of jubilee,
the edict of deliverance pealed through the land. It
penetrated the gloomy dungeon, the darksome mine,

92 The Catacombs of Rome.

the catacomb's dim labyrinth; and from their sombre
depths vast processions of the " noble wrestlers of re-
ligion"* thronged to the long forsaken churches with
grateful songs of praise to God.

But this treacherous calm was soon to be again broken,
The superstitious tyrant Maximin endeavoured to revive
the dying paganism, and to renew the persecution. He
paid Christianity the high compliment of attempting a
complete organization of the heathen priesthood on the
model of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and restored the
ancient worship with unwonted pomp. He prohibited
the assemblies in the cemeteries, and reiterated the
edict of extermination against the Christians, f But the
loathsome death of this brutal voluptuary soon delivered
the church from the most implacable of its foes. From
the distant island of Britain — that ultimate far Thule
of the empire — had arrived the Csesar who should en-
throne the new faith on the seat of its persecutors, and
establish it as the religion of the state, % an event
more perilous to its purity and spiritual power than
the direst oppression it had ever endured. Constan-
tine having overcome the enemies of Christianity,
who were also his own, became its protector, more, it is
easy to believe, either from conviction of its truth or
from policy than on account of the alleged miraculous
vision of the cross of Christ, the presage of a bloody

* Date of Edict, April 30, A. D. 311. Euseb., Hist. Eccles., ix, 1.

t Eusebius gives the edict, taken from a brazen tablet at Tyre, in
which the Emperor speaks of " the votaries of an execrable vanity,
iike a funeral pile long disregarded and smothered, again rising in
mighty flames and rekindling the extinguished brands." Hist, Eccles.,
ix, 9.

\ The courtly panegyrist of Constantine gratefully speaks of him
as a "light and deliverer arising in the dense and impenetrable dark-
ness of a gloomy night." Euseb., Hist. Eccles., x, S.

Their Origin and Early History. 93

victory.* He issued at Milan, A. D. 313, that decree
of full and unlimited toleration f which became thence-
forth the charter of the church's liberties. %

* Eusebius compares the victory of the Milvian Bridge to that of
Moses and the Israelites over Pharaoh and his hosts. Hist. Eccles. ix, 9.

f Daremus et Christianis et omnibus liberam potestatem sequen-
tli religionem quam quisque voluisset — " We give to the Christians,
and to all, the free choice to follow whatever mode of worship they
may wish." — Decree of Milan, preserved in Lactantius, deMort.Persec,
and in Euseb., Hist. Eccles., x, 5.

% In the violent deaths or loathsome diseases of many of their per-
secutors the Christians recognized the retributive judgments of the
Almighty, which were considered so remarkable as to occasion the
special treatise de Mortibus Persecutoriini, attributed to the pen of
Lactantius. Nero died ignominiously by his own hand. Domitian
was assassinated. During the reign of Aurelius war, famine, and
pestilence wasted the land. Decius perished miserably in a marsh,
and his body became the prey of the prowling jackal and unclean
buzzard. Valerian, captured by the Persians, after having served as
a footstool to his haughty foe, is said to have been flayed alive and
his skin stuffed with straw. Aurelian was slain by the hand of a
trusted servant, and Carinus by the dagger of a husband whom he
had irreparably wronged. Diocletian, having languished for years
the prey of painful maladies, which even affected his reason, it is
said committed suicide. Galerius, like those rivals in bloodshed and
persecution, Herod and Philip II., became an object of loathing and
abhorrence, being "eaten of worms" while yet alive. Maximian
fell by the hand of the public executioner ; and Maxentius, in the
hour of defeat, was smothered in the ooze of the Tiber beneath the
walls of his capital. Severus opened his own veins and bled to death.
The first Maximin was murdered ; the second, a fugitive and an exile,
committed suicide by poison, and, according to Eusebius, was so con-
sumed by internal torments that "his body became the tomb of his
soul." Licinius, the last of the persecutors, was slain by his ferocious
soldiery, and his name, by a decree of the Senate, forever branded
with infamy. Thus with indignities and tortures, often surpassing
those they inflicted on their Christian subjects, perished the enemies
of the church of God, as if pursued by a divine retribution no less
inexorable than the avenging Nemesis of the pagan mythology. See
Lactantius. de Mort. Per sec, passim ; Euseb., Hist. Eccles., viii, 17 ; ix,
9, 10 ; Tertul., Ad. Scap., c. 3.

94 The Catacombs of Rome.

The sufferings of the more illustrious victims of perse-
cution are alone recorded in history, which is silent con-
cerning the great army of unknown martyrs, whose names
are recorded only in the Book of Life. The bishops of
the church were ever the first to feel the tyrants' rage.
The episcopal chair was often but the stepping-stone to
the scaffold. Yet faithful shepherds were not wanting
to lead the flock of Christ, and to testify their devotion
to their trust by the sacrifice of their lives. We have
seen how Caius suffered even before the final outbreak
of persecution. Marcellinus, his successor, incurred
the resentment of the tyrant Maxentius, was degraded
to the office of groom of the public stables, where the
horses of the circus were kept, and soon sank beneath
the weight of his miseries and those of the church.*
Marcellus, sometimes confounded with Marcellinus, paid
the penalty of exile for his firmness in maintaining the
ecclesiastical discipline against those who apostatized
from the faith in those times of fiery trial. This event
is recorded in the Damasine inscription:

VERIDICVS RECTOR LAPSOS QVIA CRIMINA FLERE
PRAEDIXIT MISERIS FVIT OMNIBVS HOSTIS AMARVS
HINC FVROR HINC ODIVM SEQVITVR DISCORDIA LITES
SEDITIO CAEDES SOLVVNTVR FOEDERA PACIS
CRIMEN OB ALTERIVS CHRISTVM QVI IN PACE NEGAVIT
FINIBVS EXPVLSVS PATRIAE EST FERITATE TYRANNI*
HAEC BREVITER DAMASVS VOLVIT COMPERTA REFERRE
MARCELLI VT POPVLVS MERITVM COGN'OSCERE POSSET.f

* The church of St. Marcello, in the Corso, commemorates the
scene of his indignities. There is reason to believe that each church
or titulus within the city had its own cemetery without the walls,
over which the presbyter of the title bad jurisdiction. Marcellinus,
as bishop, had charge of the ecclesiastical Cemetery of Callixtus, as
appears from a contemporary inscription.

\ Gruter, Inscrip., p. 1172, No. 3.

Their Origin and Early History. 95

The truth-speaking ruler, because he preached that the lapsed
should weep for their crimes, was bitterly hated by all those unhappy
ones. Hence fury, hence hatred followed, discord, contentions, sedi-
tion, and slaughter; and the bonds of peace were ruptured. For the
crime of another, who in a time of peace had denied Christ, he was
expelled the shores of his country by the cruelty of the tyrant. These
things Damasus having learned, was desirous to relate briefly, that
the people might recognize the merit of Marcellus.

Neither Marcellus nor Marcellinus was buried in the
Catacomb of Callixtus — which, as Diocletian had con-
fiscated all the public cemeteries, was inaccessible to '
the Christians — but in the private crypt of the Christian
matron Priscilla, on the Salarian Way. Eusebius, the
successor of Marcellus, was also banished on account
of the controversy concerning the " lapsed." New light
has recently been thrown on this subject by De Rossi's
discovery, in the tomb of the bishop, of the following
Damasine inscription in a fragmentary condition :

HERACLIVS VETVIT LABSOS [sic] PECCATA DOLERE
EVSEBIVS MISEROS DOCVIT SVA CRIMINA FLERE
SCINDITVR [IN] PARTES POPVLOS GLISCENTE FVRORE
SEDITIO CAEDES BELLVM DISCORDIA LITES
EXTEMPLO PARITER PVLSI FERITATE TYRANNI
INTEGRA CVM RECTOR SERVARET FOEDERA PACIS
PERTVLIT EXILIVM DOMINO SVB IVDICELAETVS
LITORE TRIN ACRIOMVNDVM VITAMQ • RELIQUIT.

Heraclius forbade the lapsed to grieve for their sins. Eusebius
taught those unhappy ones to weep for their crimes. The people
were rent in parties, and with increasing fury began sedition, slaughter,
fighting, discord, and strife. Straightway both were banished by the
cruelty of the tyrant, although the ruler was preserving the bonds of
peace inviolate. He bore his exile with joy, looking to the Lord as
his Judge, and on the Trinacrian shore gave up the world and his life.

The Heraclius mentioned in the inscription is proba-
bly the heretical leader referred to in the epitaph of
Marcellus, previously given. No reference to this event
occurs in any of the ecclesiastical writers, and this

g6 The Catacombs of Rome.

inscription, says Dr. Northcote, is the recovery of a lost
chapter in the history of the church.* The remains of
Eusebius were brought from Sicily, the place of his
exile, by his successor, Melchiades, and interred in the
Catacomb of Callixtus, but not with the other bishops,
the approaches to whose tomb were blocked up with
earth, probably to prevent its violation by the enemies
of the faith. Melchiades, with whom the long suc-
cession of Rome's martyr bishops comes to a close, was
the last of his order who was buried in the Catacombs,
and De Rossi conjectures that he has discovered in the
Cemetery of Callixtus his tomb, and the very sarcopha-
gus in which he lay.f

One of the most illustrious of the lay martyrs of the
Diocletian persecution was the gallant young soldier
Sebastian, who has given his name to one of the most
ancient basilicas of Rome and to the adjacent Cata-
comb, and Adauctus, a treasurer of the imperial palace.
In the Damasine epitaph of the latter occur the fine lines :

INTEMERATA FIDE CONTEMPTO PRINCIPE MVNDI
CONFESSVS XRM CAELESTIA REGNA PETISTI. %

With unfaltering faith, despising the lord of the world, having
confessed Christ, thou didst seek the celestial realms.

* Rom. Sott., p. 172.

t There is a pleasing tradition recorded of Sylvester, the successor
of Melchiades, to the effect that, having fled, on account of the per-
secution, to the caverns of Mount Soracte, the Emperor Constantine
sent for him to receive religious instruction. Seeing the soldiers ap-
proach, as he thought to lead him to martyrdom, Sylvester exclaimed,
" Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation," but was
in a few days installed as bishop of Rome in the imperial palace of
the Lateran. Soracte, once sacred to Apollo and the Muses, but now
to Christ and the saints, is known, in commemoration of this event,
as Monte San Silvestro.

\ Gruter, p. 1171, No. 8.

Their Origin and Early History. cy/

Several of the Christian cemeteries receive their des-
ignation from the martyrs of this period, among others
those of Saints Agnes, Peter, and Marcellinus, of Pan-
cratius, Generosa, Zeno, Soteris, and Quattro Incoronaii,
notice of whom will be more appropriate in the accounts
of their respective sepulchres. History has also pre>
served the names of many other valiant coniessors, who
proved faithful even unto death amid the fiery trials
and cruel mockings and scourgings to which they were
exposed. Among these may be mentioned Cosmo and
Damian, two holy brothers of Cilicia, who practised in
Rome with great skill the healing art, from pure love to
God and to their fellow-men, refusing to receive aught
for their services ; * Simplicius and Faustinus, who were
drowned in the Tiber by the tyrant's orders, and their
martyred sister Beatrice, whose tombs and epitaphs De
Rossi believes he has recovered. \ Most of the legends,
however, of what may be called the Romish mythology
are disfigured by absurd and superstitious additions;
and the martyrs themselves have become the objects of
idolatrous veneration far alien from the spirit of that
primitive Christianity for which they died. J

* Their names and piety are commemorated by two churches in
Rome. Eusebius also records with approbation the story of the
Christian matron Sophronia, wife of the Prefect of Rome, who com-
mitted suicide to escape the polluting embraces of the tyrant Max-
er.tius. Hist. Eccles., viii, 14.

\ Bullettino, January, 1869.

X The following satirical remarks of De Brosses, a Romanist writer,
concerning the supply of relics from the Catacomb of St. Agnes, will
indicate how unauthentic are these objects of veneration : " Vous
poutriez voir ici la capitale des Catacombes de toute la chretiente.
Les martyrs, les confesseurs, et les vierges, y fourmillent de tous
cotes. Quand on se fait besoin de quelques reliquesen pays etranger,
le Pape n'a qu'a descendre ici et crier, Qui de vous autres vent allet
itre saint en Pologne ? Alors s'il se trouve quelque mort de bonne
volonte il se leve et s'en va."

The Catacombs of Rome.

The following inscriptions from the Catacombs are
the only records of the victims of persecution whose
names they bear.

lhNNVfX!l°M

yoctttwo

E-P-s

Pig. 21.— Lannus, the martyr of Christ, rests here. He suf-
fered under Diocletian. For his successors also.

PRIMITIVS IN PACE QVI TOST
MVLTAS ANGVSTIAS FORTISSIMVS MARTYR
ET VIXIT ANNOS P-M- XXXVIII CONIVG • SVO
PERDVLCISSIMO BENEMERENTI FECIT.

Primitius in peace, after many torments, a most valiant martyr.
He lived thirty-eight years, more or less. [His wife] raised this to
her dearest husband, t lie well-deserving.

HIC GORDIANVS GALLIAE NVNCIVS
1VGVLATVS PRO FIDE CVM FAMILIA TOT A
QVIESCVNT IN PACE
THEOPHILA ANCILI.A IF.CIT.

Here lies Gordianus, deputy of Gaul, who was executed for the
faith, with all his family : they rest in peace. Thcophila, a hand-
maid, set up this.*

* From the Catacomb of St. Agnes. The ancient Martyrology re-
cords the conversion of a Roman nobleman of this name in the time

TJieir Origin and Early History. 99

The history of the Catacombs is inextricably inter-
woven with that of Christianity. Their very structure
reflects the character of the times in which they were
made. The absence of constraint or concealment, and
the superior construction and ornamentation of .those
belonging to the earliest times, indicate the comparative
security of the church before it had awakened the
jealousy or fear of the Roman emperors. Their im-
mense extension and crowded galleries testify to the
rapid increase of the Christian community. The altered
character which they gradually assumed, the obstructed
passages, the masked entrances, devious windings, and
devices for concealment or escape, and the rudely
scratched inscriptions and uncouth paintings, betray the
sense of fear and the kindling rage of persecution which
pursued the hunted Christians to these subterraneous
sanctuaries of the faith. Their greater magnificence
and more ornate structure, the costly mosaics, the marble
stairways, and richly carved sarcophagi of the later ages,
tell of the enthronement of Christianity on the seat of
the Caesars, and of the homage paid to the relics and
shrines of the saints and martyrs. And their debased
architecture, barbarous paintings, and progressive ruin
during the later years of their history indicate the grad-
ual eclipse of art, and their final abandonment. We
must therefore carefully determine at least the proximate
date of any particular feature if we would correctly in-
terpret its significance.

of Julian, together with that of his wife and fifty-three members of
his household, and his subsequent martyrdom and burial in the Cata-
combs. It is probable that Theophila had learned in Gaul to write
Latin, though only in those singular Greek characters which, as
Julius Caesar informs us, were used in that country, and that, after
the death of the whole family, she employed some equally unlettered
stone-mason to engrave this remarkable inscription.

ioo The Catacombs of Rome.

The last and most terrible persecution of the church
before its final triumph left abundant evidence of its
violence and lengthened duration in the changes which
contemporaneously took place in the Catacombs. God *
prepared a place for his saints, and hid them in the clefts
of the rock as in the hollow of his hand. When the
public observance of Christianity was proscribed by law
the believers withdrew from the light of day, and in the
inmost and darkest recesses of these subterranean crypts,
by the graves of their martyred dead, enjoyed the con-
solation of religious worship, and broke the bread and
drank the wine in memory of their dying Lord.*

But after the decree of Valerian which forbade the
entering or holding any assemblies in the Christian cem-
eteries, even these retreats were not safe, and the last
sanctuaries of the faith were unscrupulously invaded.
Persecution relentlessly followed the Christians through
the labyrinthine windings of the Catacombs, and vio-
lated the sepulchres of the sainted dead by sacrilegious
tumult and bloodshed. Sometimes the heathen soldiery,
fearing to pursue their victims into these unknown pas-
sages, blocked up the entrance to prevent their escape;
and many were thus buried alive and perished of hunger
in these chambers of gloom. f

An entire change in the construction of the Cata-
combs now took place. They became obviously de-
signed for purposes of safety and concealment. The'
new galleries were less wide and lofty, and the locult
more crowded on account of the greater difficulty of

* De Rossi gives several dated inscriptions of the reign of Diocle-
tian, (Nos. 16 to 28,) thus absolutely identifying the age of those
portions of the Catacombs.

f In Hawthorne's "Marble Faun" there is a fantastic legend of
"The Spectre of the Catacombs," the ghost of an apostate betrayer
of the Christians, which st>" haunts the scene of its hateful perfidy.

Their Origin and Early History.

101

removing the excavated material. At this time, too,
many of the lower piani were made for additional graves
and greater secrecy. The main entrances were blocked
up and the stairways demolished. Sometimes entire
galleries were filled with earth, the removal of which is
the chief obstacle to modern exploration, or were built up
with masonry to obstruct pursuit ; and means of escape
were provided, in case of forcible invasion of these re-
treats. A striking example of this occurs in the Cata-
comb of Callixtus. The ancient stairway was partially
destroyed, the entrance completely obstructed, and
some of the galleries walled up. Narrow passages for
escape were made connecting with an adjacent arenarium,

Fig. 22.— Secret stairway into Arenarium.

and a. very narrow secret stairway constructed from the
roof of the latter to the surface of the ground, as shown
in the section above, which stairway could only be
reached by a movable ladder connecting it with the floor.*

* See plan of this arenarium and stairway in chap, v, fig. 26.

102 The Catacombs of Rome.

It is impossible that the mass of the Christian commu
nity, or even any considerable proportion of it, could ever
have taken refuge in these subterraneous crypts. Their
vast extent and the number of chambers would indeed
permit a great multitude to remain concealed for a time
in their depths ; but the difficulty of procuring a regular
supply of food, the confined atmosphere, and the prob-
able exhalation of noxious gases from the graves — espe-
cially on the opening of a fo'somus, or double tomb, for its
second inmate — seem insuperable obstacles. As it was
the religious leaders of the Christian community who
were especially obnoxious to those in power, they would
be the most likely to seek concealment in the Catacombs,
not from inferiority of courage, but, like the afterward
martyred Cyprian, that they might the better guide and
govern the persecuted church. Hence the examples
before given of bishops and other ecclesiastics lying hid-
den, some for years, in these depths, and visited by the
faithful for instruction or for the celebration of worship *
There is evidence, however, that during the exacerba-
tions of persecution private Christians sought safety in
these recesses, and, burrowing in their depths, evaded
the pursuit of their enemies. Tertullian speaks of " a
lady, unaccustomed to privation, trembling in a vault,
apprehensive of the capture of her maid, upon whom
she depends for her daily food." The heads of Cliris-
tian families, and those most obnoxious to the pagan
authorities, would be especially likely to have the fel-
lowship of the living in order to live in security among
the dead. Father Marchi conjectures that supplies of

* In A. D. 359 Libcrius, bishop of Rome, lay hid for a year in the
Catacomb of St. A^nes, till the death of the Ari.ui Constantius; anil
in A. D. 418 Boniface I. in the Catacomb of St. Felicitas, during the
n surpation of the antipope Eulalius.

Their Origin and Early History. 103

grain were laid up for the maintenance of the hidden
fugitives, and De Rossi describes certain crypts in the
Catacomb of Callixtus which were probably employed
for storing corn or wine in time of persecution. Fre-
quent wells occur, amply sufficient for the supply of
water ; and the multitude of lamps which have been
found would dispel the darkness, while their sudden
extinction would prove the best concealment from at-
tack by their enemies.* Hence the Christians were
stigmatized as a skulking, darkness-loving race, f who
fled the light of day to burrow like moles in the earth.

These worse than Daedalian labyrinths were admi-
rably adapted for eluding pursuit. Familiar with their
intricacies, and following a well-known clew, the Chris-
tian could plunge fearlessly into the darkness, where his
pursuer would soon be inextricably lost. Perchance
the sound of Christian worship, and the softened cadence
of the confessors' hymn, stealing through the distant
corridors, may have fallen with strange awe on the souls
of the rude soldiery stealthily approaching their prey;
and, perhaps, not unfrequently with a saving and sanc-
tifying power. But sometimes, tracked by the sleuth-
hounds of persecution, or betrayed by some wretched
apostate consumed by a Judas-greed of gold, the Chris-
tians were surprised at their devotions, and their refuge
became their sepulchre. Such was the tragic fate of
Stephen, slain even while ministering at the altar; such
the event described by Gregory of Tours, when a heca-
tomb of victims were immolated at once by heathen
hate ; such the peril which wrung from a stricken heart
the cry, not of anger but of grief, Tempora infausta, qui-

* The similar excavations of Quesnel, in Fiance, were long inhab-
ited by both human beings and cattle.

t Latebrosa et lucifugax natio. — Mimic. Felix.

104 The Catacombs of Rome.

bus inter sacra et vota tie in cavernis guidon salvari possi-
mus ! — "O sad times in which, among sacred rites and
prayers, even in caverns, we are not safe ! " It requires
no great effort of imagination to conceive the dangers
and escapes which must have been frequent episodes in
the heroic lives of the early soldiers of the cross.

In the Catacombs more safely than elsewhere could
the Christians celebrate the ordinances of religion,
often under cover of the rites of sepulture, which might
even yet be sacred in the eyes of their enemies. And
next to their funeral purposes this seems to have been
their chief use. For this many of their principal cham-
bers and chapels were excavated, supplied with seats,
ventilated by /uminari, and adorned with biblical or
symbolical paintings. With what emotions must the
primitive believers have held their solemn worship and
heard the words of life, surrounded by the dead in
Christ! With what power would come the promise of
the resurrection of the body, amid the crumbling relics
of mortality ! How fervent their prayers for their com-
panions in tribulation, when they themselves stood in
jeopardy every hour ! Their holy ambition was to wit-
ness a good confession even unto death. They burned
to emulate the zeal of the martyrs of the faith, the
plumeless heroes of a nobler chivalry than that of arms,
the Christian athletes who won in the bloody conflicts
of the arena, or amid the fiery tortures of the stake, not
a crown of laurel or of bay, but a crown of life, starry
and unwithering, that can never pass away. Their
humble graves are grander monuments than the trophied
tombs of Rome's proud conquerors upon the Appian
Way. Lightly may we tread beside their ashes; rever-
ently may we mention their names. Though the bodily
presence <>f those conscripts of the tomb — the forlorn

Their Origin and Early History, 105

hope of the army of Christianity — no longer walked
among men, their intrepid spirit animated the heart of
each member of that little community of persecuted
Christians, " of whom the world was not worthy ; who
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth, . . . being destitute, afflicted, tor-
mented."*

It is impossible to arrive at even an approximate esti-
mate of the number of victims of the early persecutions.
That number has sometimes, no doubt, been greatly ex-
aggerated. It has also, in defiance of the testimony
of contemporary history, been unreasonably minified. f
Tacitus asserts that under Nero a great multitude J
were convicted and punished. Pliny says the temples
were almost deserted § through this contagious super-
stition. Juvenal, Martial, and other classical authors,
notice the extraordinary sufferings of the Christians.
Cyprian, in the middle of the third century, says, " It
is impossible to number the martyrs of Christ." || Euse-
bius, an eye-witness of the last persecution, states that
innumerable multitudes suffered during its prevalence.
After describing their excruciating tortures, he adds :

* Compare the following spirited lines of Bernis :

" La terre avait gemi sous 1-e fer des tyrans ;
Elle cachait encore des martyrs expirans,
Qui dans les noirs detours des grottes reculees
Derobaient aux bourreaux leurs tetes mutilees."

Pohne de la Religion Vengee, chap. viii.

t See especially Dodwell's learned but unsatisfactory Essay, De
Pancitate Martyrum, and Gibbon's laboured extenuation of the sever-
ity of the persecutors.

% Ingens multitudo. — Ami., xv.

§ Jam desolata templa. — Epis., 97, lib. x.

|| Exuberante copia virtutis et fidei numerari non possunt martyres
Christi. — Lib. de Exhort. Martyr., c. xi.

106 The Catacombs of Rome.

" And all these things were doing not for a few days,
but for a series of whole years. At one time ten or more,
then twenty, again thirty or even sixty, and sometimes a
hundred men, with their wives and children, were slain
in one day."* He also describes the destruction of a
Christian town, with all its inhabitants, by fire. \ Lac-
tantius, also a contemporary witness, tells us that the
Christians were often surrounded on all sides and burnt
together. J

It is very remarkable that so few martyrs' epitaphs
have been found in the Catacombs, not more than five
or six altogether, and some of these are not of unques-
tioned genuineness. But this may be attributed to the
humility and modesty of the early Christians, who shrank
from claiming for the sufferers for the truth the august
title of martyr, which they restricted to the one faithful
and true witness, Jesus Christ. " We," said the victims
of persecution at Lyons, " are only mean and humble
confessors."

There do occur, it is true, certain inscriptions of
a memorial character and of later date than the
time of the persecution, some of which commemorate a
large number of martyrs, but they are of little or no
historic value. Such is the inscription to three thou-
sand martyrs in the Catacomb of Priscilla, already
given, § and the following from the Callixtan Catacomb:

MARCELLAET CHRISTI MARTYRES CCCCL — "Marcellaand

four hundred and fifty martyrs in Christ." Ancient itin-
eraries speak of eighty, or even eight hundred, martyrs
buried in one spot in the Catacombs; and Prudentius

* Euseb., Hist. Eccles., viii, 9. + Ibid., viii, 11.

% Universum populum cum ipso p. niter convent iculo concremavib
Lac tan., Instil. Divin.,v, 11 : Gregatim amburebantur. — Ibid.
§ Page 7&

Their Origin and Early History. 107

declares that he saw the remains of some sixty in a
single grave.* But surpassing all the others in exaggera-
tion is an inscription in the church of St. Sebastian
commemorating one hundred and seventy-four thou-
sand holy martyrs, and forty-six bishops, also martyrs,,
said to be interred in the neighbouring Catacomb.
Another ancient tradition asserts that twelve thousand
Christians, who were employed in building the Baths of
Diocletian, were buried in the Catacomb of St. Zeno. f
Piazza asserts that two hundred and eighty-five Chris-
tians were put to death in two days, under the Emperor
Claudius II., A. D. 268, and that more than two thou-
sand were executed for refusing to sacrifice to the image.
of the sun. Indeed, some Roman archaeologists discern
in every palm branch or cup, which are so frequently
found in the Catacombs, irrefragable evidence of the
martyr's tomb. J

Such atrocious cruelty and lavish destruction of life

* Sexaginta illic defossas mole sub una

Reliquias memini me didicisse hominum. — Peristeph., xi.

t The story of the martyrdom of ten thousand Christians on Mount
Ararat, under Trajan, and of the massacre of the Thundering Legion;
consisting of six thousand Christians, by Maximian, are fictions of
later date. In the Church of St. Gerion at Cologne are many re-
puted relics, chiefly heads, of these last. The legendary tendency to
exaggeration in numbers seems irresistible. In commemorating the
slaughter of the Innocents the Greek Church canonized fourteen
thousand martyrs. Another notion, derived from Rev. xiv, 3, swelled
the number to a hundred and forty-four thousand. The absurd story
of the eleven thousand martyrs of Cologne is probably founded on a
mistaken rendering of the inscription vrsvla • ET • xi • mm • vv, inter-
preted, Ursula and eleven thousand virgins, instead of eleven virgin
martyrs. — Maitland, p. 163. A Romish legend, of course exaggerated,
says seventy thousand Christians suffered martyrdom in the Coliseum.

X In Rock's Hiernrgia, a Romanist work, is an account of a Cata-
comb at Nipi, near Rome, in which are said to be thirty-eight mar-
tyr tombs, the epitaph of one of whom plainly asserts his death by de-

108 The Catacombs of Rome.

as these traditions, even if exaggerated, imply, seem
incredible ; but the pages of the contemporary his-
torians, Eusebius and Lactantius, give too minute
and circumstantial accounts of the persecutions of
which they were eye-witnesses to allow us to adopt
the complacent theory of Gibbon, that the suffer-
ings of the Christians were comparatively few and in-
significant. "We ourselves have seen," says the bishop
of Csesarea, " crowds of persons, some beheaded, others
burned alive, in a single day, so that the murderous
weapons were blunted and broken to pieces, and the
executioners, wearied with slaughter, were obliged to
give over the work of blood.* . . . They constantly vied
with each other," he continues, "in inventing new tor-
tures, as if there were prizes offered to him who should
contrive the greatest cruelties." f Men whose only
crime was their religion were scourged with iron wires
or with plumbatce, that is, chains laden with bronze balls,
specimens of which have been found in the martyrs'
graves, till the flesh hung in shreds, and even the bones
were broken ; they were bound in chains of red-hot
iron, and roasted over fires so slow that they lingered
for hours, or even days, in their mortal agony; their flesh

capitation : MARTYRIO CORONATVS CAPITE TRVNCATVS IACET —
" Crowned with martyrdom, having been beheaded . . lies here."

The beautiful terseness of tlie following would seem to indicate their
genuineness: "Paulus was put to death in tortures, in order that he
might live in eternal bliss.''

" dementia, tortured, dead, sleeps ; will rise."

From the following, found on a cup attached to a tomb, it would
seem that the martyr was first compelled to drink poison, which
proving ineffectual, be was dispatched by the sword: "The deadly
draught dared riot present to Constans the crown, which the steel
was permitted t<> offer."

* Euseb., Hist. Erc/es., viii, 9. '.. viii, 12.

Their Origin and Early History. 109

'was scraped from the very bone with ragged shells, or
lacerated with burning pincers, iron hooks, and instru-
ments with horrid teeth or claws, examples of which
have been found in the Catacombs ; * molten metal and
plates of red-hot brass were applied to the naked body
till it became one indistinguishable wound ; and min-
gled salt and vinegar or unslaked lime were rubbed
upon the quivering flesh, torn and bleeding from the
rack or scourge — tortures more inhuman than savage
Indian ever wreaked upon his mortal foe. Men were
condemned by the score and hundred to labour in the
mines, with the sinews of one leg severed, with one eye
scooped out and the socket seared with red-hot iron.
Chaste matrons and tender virgins were given over —
worse fate a thousand-fold than death — to dens of shame
and the gladiators' lust, and subjected to nameless in-
dignities, too horrible for words to utter, f And all
these intense sufferings were endured often with joy and
exultation, for the love of a divine Master, when a single
word, a grain of incense cast upon the heathen altar,
would have released the victims from their agonies.

* Called ungula, from their resemblance to the claws of a beast of
prey.

t See examples of the above named tortures in Eusebius's Hist.
Eccles., v, 2; vi, 41; viii, 14; The Martyrs of Palestine, viii ; and
Lactantius, passim.

On the 22d o. April, 1823, says Cardinal Wiseman, a grave in the
Catacombs was opened, and, beside the white and polished bones of a
youth of eighteen, whose epitaph it bore, was found the skeleton of a
boy of twelve or thirteen, charred and blackened chiefly about the up-
per part. This was probably the remains of a youthful martyr hastily
interred in another's grave, to come to light after the lapse of fifteen
centuries.

Prudentius describes the martyr Hippolytus as torn limb from limb :

Cernere erat ruptis compagibus ordine nullo,
Membra per incertos sparsa jacere situs.

no The Catacombs of Rome.

No lapse of time, and no recoil from the idolatrous
homage paid in after ages to the martyr's relics, should
impair in our hearts the profound and rational reverence
with which we bend before his tomb.

We are left, however, for the most part, without au-
thentic record of the tragic scenes of Christian martyr-
dom. The primitive church, indeed, treasured up these
memories of moral heroism as her most precious legacy
to after times. Clement of Rome, it is said, appointed
notaries to search out the acts of the martyrs ; * and, as
we have seen, Fabian suffered death for his zeal in pre-
serving these records.f But these precious documents
for the most part perished in the Diocletian persecution,
although fragments were probably incorporated with the
later martyrologies. The earlier Acts are the more au-
thentic, and the more simple in character. Those of
later date become more and more florid in style, and are
overladen with the incredible and impossible, till their
historic value is entirely destroyed, except when they
are corroborated by collateral testimony, or by the
monumental evidence of the Catacombs. Prudentius,
attracted to Rome by the fame of these repositories of
the martyrs' ashes, wrote a treatise J on their sufferings,
in which his fervid imagination and rhetorical style
found amplest indulgence. Later writers still further
embellished and exaggerated the original Acts, till the
wildest stories of ancient mythology, or mediaeval le-
gend, were surpassed by the monkish martyrologists.

* Lib. Pontif., c. iv. These notaries were called by the Greeks
bS-vypd&oi or raxvypudoi, that is, short-hand writers. Eusebius says
they reported the extemporaneous discourses of Origen. Hist.
Eccles., vi, 36.

| I lie fecit sex vcl septeni Bubdiaconos, qui septem notariis immi-
nerent ut gesta martyrum fideliter colligercnt. — Lib. Ponti/.

\ The Perhtephanon — "Concerning the [martyrs] crowns."

Their Origin and Early History. 1 1 1

This "holy romance," as Gibbon contemptuously
calls it, becomes little else than a record of the most
astounding miracles, the most horrible tortures, and of
more than human endurance.* It minutely describes
the conflict between the Christian and his heathen
persecutor : hinc martyr, Mine carnifex — here the mar-
tyr, there the executioner. The one wreaks his rage
upon his victim, the other exhibits a stoical endurance
of suffering rivaling that of the American savage at the
funeral stake, or else an insensibility to pain that lessens
the merit of his acts. " It is cooked, turn and eat," f
says St. Lawrence, broiling on a gridiron. He feels no
pain from the vinegar and salt rubbed on his bleeding
wounds. " Salt me the more, that I may be incorruptible,"
says Tarachus to his torturer. He continues to speak after
his tongue is torn out by the roots. The lacerations of
the ungulse assume to the excited imagination the form
of the name of Christ. J Divine odours breathe from
the body, which shines like gold amid the flames that
refuse to kindle upon it. A voice from heaven hails the
invincible conqueror, and his soul in the form of a
dove ascends to the skies. § The undying instincts

* In the thirteenth century many of the stories were collected in
the Legenda Aurea by Jacques de Voragine, an archbishop of Ge-
noa. After the discovery ,of printing the press teemed with this
legendary literature, Flowers of the Saints, Acts of the Martyrs, etc.,
embellished with numerous engravings, representing with horrible
minuteness the Dantean tortures on which the monkish mind loved
to expatiate.

f Assatum est : versa et manduca.
% — Latus ungula virgineum
Pulsat utrimque, et ad ossa secat,
Eulalia numerante notas.
Scriberis ecce ! mihi Domine ;
Quam juvat hos apices \egere.—Periste/>/i., Hymn ix.

§ See martyrdom of Polycarp, Euseb., Hist. Eccles., iv. 15.

112 The Catacombs of Rome.

of nature are flagrantly violated in some of the Acts
A mother rebukes her child for begging a cup of water
while suffering under the rods of the lictors; and while
it is beheaded before her eyes she, alone unmoved, sings
a versicle of thanksgiving.* Often the martyr endeav-
ours to exasperate with taunts and defiance the heathen
magistrate, who gnashes his teeth and rolls his eyes in
impotent rage.f "Be dumb, wretch! O serpent of
darkest mind, a curse be upon thee ! " exclaims St. Boni-
face to his executioner. Vincentius menaces his judge
with the fiery fate of the bottomless pit. \ These Acts
of the Martyrs were appointed to be read in the
churches, § till they were prohibited by the Council
of Trullo, A. D. 706.

The enthusiasm for martyrdom prevailed, at times,
almost like an epidemic. It was one of the most remark--
able features of the ages of persecution. Notwithstand-
ing the terrific tortures to which they were exposed, the
fiercer the tempest of heathen rage the higher and brighter
burned the zeal of the Christian heroes. Age after age
summoned the soldiers of Christ to the conflict whose

* At sola mater hisce lamentis caret,

Soli sereno frons renidet gaudio. — Prudent., Peristeph.
t His persecutor saucius
Pallet, rubescit, ccstuat,
Insana torquens lumina.
Spumasque frendens egerit. — Ibid., Hymn ii.
\ Bitumen et mixtum pice
Imo implicabunt Tart arc. — Ibid.
§ Hence called legends, a word which has in consequence come to
signify the incredible or fictitious. Upon a mere verbal mistake was
founded the account by the mediaeval writers of a most formidable
weapon called the eatomus, which name gave rise to the verbs catomart
and catomizare, to express its use. It was at length discovered that
eatomus was but the Latin form of the Greek adverbial phrase xar
iifiuv, signifying, "upon the shoulders." (Maitland, p. 1

Their Origin and Early History. 113

highest guerdon was death. They bound persecution
as a wreath about their brows, and exulted in the " glo-
rious infamy " of suffering for their Lord. The brand
of shame became the badge of highest honour. Besides
the joys of heaven they won imperishable fame on
earth ; and the memory of a humble slave was often
haloed with a glory surpassing that of a Curtius or Ho-
ratius. The meanest hind was ennobled by the accolade
of martyrdom to the loftiest peerage of the skies. His
consecration of suffering was elevated to a sacrament,
and called the baptism of fire or of blood.

Burning to obtain the prize, the impetuous candidates
for death often pressed with eager haste to seize the palm
of victory and the martyr's crown. They trod with joy
the fiery path to glory, and went as gladly to the stake
as to a marriage feast. " Their fetters," says Euse-
bius, "seemed like the golden ornaments of a bride."*
They desired martyrdom more ardently than men after-
ward sought a bishopric. f They exulted amid their
keenest pangs that they were counted worthy to suffer
for their divine Master. " Let the ungulae tear us,"
exclaims Tertullian, % "the crosses bear our weight, the
flames envelope us, the sword divide our throats, the
wild beasts spring upon us ; the very posture of prayer
is a preparation for every punishment." " These things,"
says St. Basil, " so far from being a terror, are rather
a pleasure and a recreation to us. § " The tyrants were '
armed," says St. Chrysostom, " and the martyrs naked ;

* Hist. Eccles., v, 1.

fMultique avidius turn martyria gloriosis mortibus quaerebant
quam nunc episcopatus pravis ambitionibus appetunt. — Sulpio.
Sever., Hist., lib. ii.

%Apol., c. 30.

§ Gregory Nazianzen. Orat. de Laud. Basil. See also the strik-
ing language of Ignatius. (Euseb., Hist. Eccles., iii, 36.)

114 The Catacombs of Rome.

yet they that were naked got the victory, and they that
carried arms were vanquished."* Strong in the as-
surance of immortality, they bade defiance to the
sword.

Though weak in body they seemed clothed with
vicarious strength, and confident that though " counted
as sheep for the slaughter," naught could separate them
from the love of Christ. Wrapped in their fiery vesture
and shroud of flame, they yet exulted in their glorious
victory. While the leaden hail fell on the mangled
frame, and the eyes filmed with the shadows of death,
the spirit was enbraved by the beatific vision of the
opening heaven, and above the roar of the mob fell
sweetly on the inner sense the assurance of eternal life.
" No group, indeed, of Oceanides was there to console
the Christian Prometheus ; yet to his upturned eye
countless angels were visible — their anthem swept sol-
emnly to his ear — and the odours of an opening paradise
filled the air. Though the dull ear of sense heard
nothing, he could listen to the invisible Coryphaeus as
he invited him to heaven and promised him an eternal
crown." f The names of the "great army of martyrs,"
though forgotten by men, are written in the Book of
Life. " The Lord knoweth them that are his."

There is a record, traced on high,
That shall endure eternally ;
The angel standing by God's throne
Treasures there each word and groan ;
And not the martyr's speech alone,

* Chrys. Horn. 74, dt Martyr.

f Kip, p. 88 — from Maitland, p. 146. Sometimes the ardour for
martyrdom rose into a passion, or indeed an epidemic. Euscbius says,
tffist. Eccles., viii, 6,) that in Nicomcdia "Men and women with a
certain divine and inexpressible alacrity rushed into the fire."

Their Origin and Early History. 115

But every wound is there depicted,
With every circumstance of pain —

The crimson stream, the gash inflicted —
And not a drop is shed in vain.*

This spirit of martyrdom was a new principle in so-
ciety. It had no classical counterpart.! Socrates and
Seneca suffered with fortitude, but not with faith. The
loftiest pagan philosophy dwindled into insignificance
before the sublimity of Christian hope. This looked
beyond the shadows of time and the sordid cares of
earth to the grandeur of the Infinite and the Eternal.
The heroic deaths of the believers exhibited a spiritual
power mightier than the primal instincts of nature,
the love of wife or child, or even of life itself. Like a
solemn voice falling on the dull ear of mankind, these
holy examples urged the inquiry, " What shall it profit
a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own
soul ? " And that voice awakened an echo in full many
a heart. The martyrs made more converts by their
deaths than in their lives. " Kill us, rack us, condemn
us, grind us to powder," exclaims the intrepid Christian
Apologist ; " our numbers increase in proportion as you
mow us down." J The earth was drunk with the blood
of the saints, but still they multiplied and grew, glori-
ously illustrating the perennial truth — Sanguis marty-
rum semen ecclesice.%

* Inscripta Christo pagina immortalis est,
Excepit adstans angelus coram Deo.
Et quae locutus martyr, et quae pertulit :
Nee verbum solum disserentis condidit,
Omnis notata est sanguinis dimensio,
Quae vis doloris, quive segmenti modus :
Guttam cruoris ille nullam perdidit. — Peristeph.

\ The pagans called the martyrs (liadavaToi, or self-murderers.

\ Tertul., Apol., c. 50.

§ As early as the middle of the second century Justin Martyr says,

* 1 6 The Catacombs of Rome.

Christianity, after long repression, became at length
triumphant. The church on the conversion of Con-
stantine emerged from the concealment of the Cata-
combs to the sunshine of imperial favour. The legend
of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus strikingly illustrates
the wondrous transformation of society. These Chris-
tian brothers, taking shelter in a cave during the Decian
persecution, awoke, according to the legend, after a
slumber of over a century, to find Christianity every-
where dominant, and a Christian emperor on the throne
of the Caesars.* The doctrines of Christ, like the rays
of the sun, quickly irradiated the world. f With choirs
and hymns, in cities and villages, in the highways and
markets, the praises of the Almighty were sung. \ The
enemies of God were as though they had not been. §

" There is not a nation, Greek or Barbarian, or of any other name,
even of those that wander in tribes or live in tents, among whom
prayers and thanksgiving are not offered to the Father and Creator
of the universe in the name of the crucified Jesus." The decree of
Maximin states that almost all men had abandoned the worship of
the gods and joined the Christian sect : Lxidhv unavrac avdpuirovq,
KaraXsi<p6eiarf(; t//c tu>v 6e£)v OprjaneLa^, rw Wvei tuv Xpioriavuv avfi/ie-
fiiXoTac. Euseb., Hist. Ecclcs., ix, 9. Lucianus of Antioch says that
before the last persecution the greater part of the world, including
whole cities, had yielded allegiance to the truth — Pars pa?ne mundi
jam major huic veritati adstipulatur ; urbes integrae ; etc. — Trans,
of Euseb. by Rufinus.

* Even the sanguine imagination of Tertullian cannot conceive the
possibility of this event. " Sed et Coesares credidissent super Chnsto,"
he exclaims, "si aut C;esares non essent seculo necessario, aut si et
Christian! potuissent esse Csesarcs." — A/>o!., c. 21.

f Old ricr/Xiov fioXjj. — Euseb., Hist. Ecclcs., ii, 3.

% Ibid., ix, 1 ; x, 9.

§ Ibid., x, 4. Literally, " They are no more because they never
were." In his eloquent oration on the renovation of the cathedral
of Tyre Eusebius applies, with remarkable elegance and propriety,
the promises of Scripture concerning t lie restoration of the exiled
Jews from Babylon and the final establishment of the church of

Their Origin and Early History. 1 17

The Lord brought up the vine of Christianity from a
far land, and cast out the heathen, and planted and
watered it, till it twined round the sceptre of the Caesars,
wreathed the columns of the Capitol, and filled the
whole land. The heathen fanes were deserted, the
gods discrowned, and the pagan flaraen no longer offered
sacrifice to the Capitoline Jove. Rome, which had
dragged so many conquered divinities in triumph at its
chariot wheels, at length yielded to a mightier than all
the gods of Olympus. The old faiths faded from the
firmament of human thought as the stars of midnight
at the dawn of day. The banished deities forsook their
ancient seats. They walked ho longer in the vale of
Tempe or in the grove of Daphne.* The naiads bathed
not in Scamander's stream nor Simois, nor the nereids
in the waters of the bright ^Egean Sea. The nymphs
and dryads ceased to haunt the sylvan solitudes. The
oreads walked no more in light on Ida's lofty top.

O ye vain false gods of Hellas !
Ye are vanished evermore !

Long before the recognition of Christianity as the
religion of the empire its influence had been felt per-
meating the entire community. Amid the disintegra-
tion of society it was the sole conservative element —
the salt which preserved it from corruption. In the
midst of anarchy and confusion a community was being
organized on a principle previously unknown in the

God (Psa. lxxx ; xcviii ; Isa. lii ; liv) to the condition of Christianity
in his day. The above citations are given almost in his very words.

* A few years after the death of Constantine the Emperor Julian
found at this celebrated shrine of Apollo, on the festival of the god,
instead of the hecatombs of oxen and the crowds of worshippers
which he expected, only a single goose, and a pale and solitary priest
in the decayed and deserted temple. — Gibbon, ii, 448, Am. ed.

u8 The Catacombs of Rome.

heathen world, ruling not by terror but by love ; by
moral power, not by physical force ; inspired by lofty
faith amid a world of unbelief, and cultivating moral
purity amid the reeking abominations of a sensual
age.

Yet this mighty energy thus at work eluded the no-
tice, or excited only the disdain, of some of the keen-
est observers and greatest thinkers the world has seen.
Classical literature contains only a few short notices of
that religion which was transforming the age. A galaxy
of philosophers and historians, gazing mournfully at the
seething mass of moral putrefaction around them, and
profoundly conscious of its apparently cureless evil,
treated as contemptible the most powerful moral agent
in the world — that regenerative principle which was to
reorganize society on a higher type than ever was known
before.* The kingdom of heaven cometh not with
observation, and paganism seemed entirely unconscious
of its impending doom.

But this wonderful influence, which accomplished so
much, seemed at length strangely to lose its power, and
did not fulfil the regenerative work which it began. It
failed to check the degeneracy of the age or to avert
the dissolution of the empire. The many crimes of
that colossal orgy cried to heaven for vengeance. The
taint was too inveterate to be eradicated ; the evil was
immedicable ; Rome was already effete and moribund.
It was weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Therefore the inexorable penalty, which evermore fol-
lows wrong, as a shadow its substance, was suffered to
descend. An awful Nemesis, like an avenging Fate,

* See a thoughtful essay on this topic in Froude's Short Studies oh
Great Subjects, First Scries.

Their Origin and Early History. 1 19

overtook the great and wicked city in its pride and
guilt ; and the mystical Babylon of the West, reeking with
sensuality, idolatry, and blood, soon beheld the Goths
at her gates, and the Huns within her walls.*

* The church itself experienced many corruptions before the date
of Constantine. Among the recent converts from paganism a crop
of heresies sprang up. " When the sacred choir of the Apostles,"
says Hegesippus, {aptid Euseb., iii, 32,) "had passed away, then the
combinations of impious error arose by the fraud and delusion of
false teachers." The schisms of Marcian and Novatian, Valentine
and Montanus, early rent the Christian community. The exclusive
ecclesiasticism of Cyprian, the episcopal assumptions of Victor, and the
secular ambition and rapacity of Paul of Samosata, were portents
of the spirit which afterward bore such bitter fruit. That pride and
luxury had begun to invade the simplicity of primitive times, which,
when the church basked in the sunshine of imperial favour, so com-
pletely withered its spiritual power.

120 The Catacombs of Rome.

CHAPTER III.

THE DISUSE AND ABANDONMENT OF THE CATACOMBS.

From the period of the Edict of Milan, A. D. 313, a new
era opens in the history of the Catacombs. Christianity, ,
emerging from those gloomy recesses where she had so
long hidden in darkness, walked boldly in the light of
day. She laid aside her lowly garb, put on the trap-
pings of imperial state, and at length, unhappily, ex- *
changed her primitive simplicity for worldly power and
splendour. But therein was her danger. The shadow
of that power shed a upas influence over the church.
The unhallowed union between the bride of heaven
and a sinful world gave birth to corruption and religious
error. Pampered when subservient to the policy of the
Caesars, she soon became its willing instrument, and
stained her snowy robes by complicity with imperial
vice. Christianity became at length " a truth grown
false," and men, to use the fine figure of D'Aubigne, for-
saking the precious perfume of faith, bowed down before
the empty vessel that had contained it.

The influence of Constantine seems to have been
fraught with more of evil than of good to the new relig-
ion that he espoused. He appears to have adopted the
Christian name from expediency rather than from con- '
viction, and, stained with the kindred blood of wife
and son and nephew, ill deserves the title of Saint, be-
stowed in fulsome adulation by a venal church. Even
the priests of the false gods, aghast with horror at his
crimes, exclaimed, " There is no expiation for deeds

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 121

like these." He used both pagans and Christians, both
orthodox and heretics, as instruments for his political
purposes. His object seems to have been rather to raise
and strengthen a hierarchy of ecclesiastical supporters
than to assist the cause of truth ; and he imposed on
the organization of the Greek and Latin churches that
monarchical and secular character which they have
ever since retained.'*

The transfer of the seat of empire from the Tiber to
the Bosphorus left Christianity to develop itself at Rome
less trammelled by imperial influence ; and, perhaps, in a
less corrupt form than in the East. After the edict of
toleration, the places of worship which had been closed
or destroyed during the persecution were opened, or,
rebuilt with a magnificence rivalling that of the ancient
temples. But the Catacombs still continued invested
with a deep and pathetic interest, as the cradle of the
faith, the refuge of the church during the storm of

* Zosi/mis. His profession of Christianity provoked the scorn of
the apostate Julian. — Ibid.

Scott compares him to a prodigal who strips an aged parent of the
ornaments of her youth in order to decorate a flaunting paramour. But
New Rome shared the decline of the mother city, as a graft taken
from an old tree partakes of the decay of the parent stem. As the
ancient liberties died out, the gorgeous but degrading despotisms of the
East usurped their place. The emperors assumed the style and titles
of gods. The most unmanly adulation was at length lavished on the
slave or herdsman elevated by capricious fortune to the throne of the
world. At the time of the princess Anna Comnena this degradation
seems to have reached its nadir. "Your Eternity" was the blas-
phemous epithet of the ephemeral puppet flaunting for a moment in
the livery of infamy. " If I may speak and live," whispered with
bated breath the titled slave — Prospathaire, or Acolyte — who stood
nearest the throne, shading his eyes with his hands, as if overpowered
by the effulgence of the imperial countenance. The rude Latin
Crusaders made short work of these lofty titles and this solemn
etiquette.

122 The Catacombs of Rome.

calamity, and the sepulchre of the saints and martyrs.
Hence numerous basilicas or oratories were erected
over or near the entrances of the ancient cemeteries in
honour of the holy dead.

On the full recognition of Christianity the necessity
for subterranean sepulture ceased ; hence it fell gradu-
ally into disuse, and was superseded by burial in or near
the now numerous basilicas. Even the Roman bishops
were no longer interred in the so-called Papal Crypt,
but in churches above ground ; and this example was
soon generally followed. " The inscriptions with con-
sular dates," says Dr. Northcote, "probably furnish us
with a sufficiently accurate guide to the relative pro-
portions of the two modes of burial. From A. D. 338
to A. D. 360 two out of three burials appear to have
taken place in the subterranean portion of the ceme-
teries, while from A. D. 364 to A. D. 369 the proportions
are equal. During the next two years hardly any notices
of burials above ground appear, but after that subter-
ranean crypts fell rapidly into disuse."*

It is a remarkable circumstance, here indicated, that
in the years A. D. 370 and 371 a sudden and general re-
turn to subterranean sepulture took place. This change
has been very satisfactorily explained by the contem-
porary history of the Catacombs. Great injury had
already been inflicted on these ancient sepulchres by
the practice which had become prevalent of erecting
basilicas, more or less sumptuous, over the tombs of the ,
illustrious martyrs of the age of persecution. \ As the
ecclesiastical authorities shrank from disturbing their

* Roma Sotterranea, pp. 95, 96. During the lifetime of Constan-
tine subterraneous sepultures seem to have been generally prevalent.

f These were called martyria or memoria. See Euseb., Vit.
Const., iii, 48,

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 123

remains it became the custom to excavate the ground
down to the level of their graves. As these were often
in the lower levels of the Catacombs, hundreds of graves
were sometimes destroyed in these excavations and
constructions.* Damasus, bishop of Rome from A. D.
358 to A. D. 384, who was indefatigable in his efforts to
protect and, where possible, to restore the Catacombs,
endeavoured to prevent this wholesale destruction of
these sacred crypts. He explored many of the galleries,
which, to preserve inviolate the martyrs' graves, had
been blocked up with earth and stones during the period
of persecution. He cleared outf and enlarged the pas-
sages leading to the more distinguished tombs, and con-
structed ample flights of stairs for the accommodation
of the numerous pilgrims to these sacred shrines. He
lined many of the chambers with marble slabs, con-
structed shafts for the admission of light and air, and
supported the crumbling walls and galleries, where
necessary, with piers and arches of solid masonry. He
also composed numerous metrical inscriptions in honour
of the martyrs, which were engraved on marble in a
singularly elegant character. There are few of the
Catacombs in which traces of his restorations or adorn-
ments are not to be found.

The piety or superstition of the wealthy converts
to Christianity led them to enlarge the subterranean
chapels and martyr-tombs, and to decorate them with

* The effects of this practice are apparent at S. Agnese fuori h
Mura, erected over the tomb of the virgin martyr, and at San Lorenzo,
where the galleries of the Catacomb of Cyriaca have been exposed
and in part destroyed.

\ In extending the Catacombs for the purpose of burial it was
sometimes found easier to cut new galleries at a higher level, using
the bed of earth in the old as the floor of the new. Sometimes the
new galleries cut right through the loculi of the old.

124 The Catacombs of Rome.

costly marbles, frescoes, mosaics, stucco ornaments, and
vaulted roofs. The contemporary tombs and monu-
ments were also on a scale of magnificence before
unknown ; and the inscriptions assumed a florid and
inflated character far different from the simplicity of
the primitive ages. The architecture and paintings also
indicate, with the increase of wealth and luxury, the
decline and fatal eclipse of art.

To the period of Damasus belongs the description,
by Prudentius, of the shrine of Hippolytus, .part of
which has been already quoted.* " That little chapel,"
he continues, "which contains the cast-off garments
of his soul, is bright with solid silver. Wealthy hands
have put up glistening tablets, smooth and bright as a
concave mirror; and, not content with overlaying the
entrance with Parian marble, they have lavished large
sums of money on the ornamentation of the work." It
was during the period of the labours of Damasus that
the revived interest in the Catacombs was so strikingly
manifested by the sudden return to the subterranean
mode of burial, and that many of the tombs and chapels
received their most elaborate adornment. \

The perversion of a natural instinct, beautiful and
praiseworthy in itself, became the root of much evil
in after times. Our hearts are irresistibly drawn toward

* Chap, i, p. ii. To the same period belongs the description of the
Catacombs by Jerome, quoted on page 36. Jerome at one time acted
as secretary to Damasus.

f St. Ambrose, about this time, censures the constructing of costly
sepulchres, as if they were to be the receptacle of the soul instead of the
body. — Frustra struunt homines prctiosa sepulchre, quasi ea animse,
nee solius corporis, receptacula essent. — De Bono Mortis.

Basil urges men to prepare their funeral by works of piety while
they live. "For what need have you," he asks, " of a sumptuous
monument, or a costly entombing?" — //.">/. /'// Dh/ites.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 125

the place where lie the remains of the dear departed
in the last long sleep of death. Although we know
that only the slumbering dust is there, we love to medi-
tate above their graves, and seem there to hold closer
communion with their spirits than elsewhere. Es-
pecially would the early Christians be drawn to the
tombs of their fathers in the faith, many of whom were
also their fathers in the flesh, whose saintly patience or
glorious martyrdom had hallowed their memory for
evermore. They would naturally be led to adorn and
beautify their sepulchres, and in pious devotion to med-
itate and pray beside their honoured remains. This
innocent, and even laudable, practice gradually, and per-
haps inevitably, led to abuses. The admiration of the
martyr's faith and patience and heroic spirit gradually
intensified into superstitious veneration for his body,.-'
blood, bones, ashes, clothes, staff, or any personal relic.
Judaism regarded the touching of aught connected with
the dead as involving a ceremonial pollution ; but Chris-
tian ideas invested even the crumbling dust of the mar-
tyrs with especial sanctity.

The first clear evidence that we have of this feeling
is in the case of Ignatius, who suffered under Trajan,
A. D. 107. Perhaps from a fear that superstitious rev-
erence might be paid to his remains, he prayed that the
wild beasts might become his sepulchre, so that nothing
of him might be left.* His desire was only partly ful-
filled, for " the larger and harder bones remained,
which were carried to Antioch and kept as an inesti-
mable treasure left to the Church by the grace which was
in the martyr." f Eusebius speaks of the charred
remains of Polycarp as "more precious than the richest

* Ignat., Ep. ad Rom., § iv. Euseb., Hist. Eccles., iii, 36.
f Acts of Martyrdom, § xii.

1 26 The Catacombs of Rome.

jewels, and more tried than gold."* The martyrs
blood was esteemed a talisman of especial power. A
sponge saturated therewith was sometimes worn as a
sacred relic, and it may be as a supernatural amulet,
by their friends or relatives. Prudentius describes the
spectators of the martyrdom of St. Vincent as dipping
their clothes in his blood, that they might keep it as a
sort of palladium for successive generations :

Crowds haste the linen vest to stain
With gore distilled from martyr's vein,
And thus a holy safeguard place
At home, to shield the future race.f

In the account of the death of Hippolytus, he de-
scribes the gathering of his mangled limbs with a
minuteness too revolting for the poetry even of martyr-
ology. % With a refinement of cruelty, the persecutors
of Gaul cast the remains of the martyrs of Vienne to
the dogs, and guarded their lifeless bodies for days, in
order to deprive the Christians of the melancholy sat- '
isfaction of paying the last sad rites of burial to any
fragments that remained. §

The primitive Christians justly discriminated between
the reverence due to the martyrs and the adoration to
be rendered only to the Supreme Being. " We worship
Christ as the Son of God," says the church of Smyrna,
"but the martyrs we deservedly love as the disciples -
and imitators of Our Lord."| "We do not build tem-

* Hist. Eccles., iv, 15.

f Plerique vestem linteam
Stillante tingunt sanguine,
Tutamen ut sacrum suis
Domi reservent posteris. — Peristepli., v.
\ Hie humeros, truncasque raanus ct brachia, ct ulnas,

Et genua, et crurum fragmina nuda lcLjit. — Ibid., iv
§ Euseb., Hist. Eccles , v, 1. || Ibid., iv, 15.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 127

pies to our martyrs as gods," says Augustine, " but only
memorials of them as dead men whose spirits live with
God ; nor do we erect altars or sacrifice to our martyrs,
but to the only God, both theirs and ours."* But the
enthusiastic feelings of the people at length failed to
make this proper distinction, and many even of the the-
ological writers of the day, not foreseeing the disastrous
consequences to which the practice would lead, were
carried away with the popular current.

One form which this veneration took was that of fes-
tivals in honour of the martyrs. " By a noble metaphor,"
says Milman,f " the day of their death was considered
that of their birth to immortality." J The church of
Smyrna celebrated the anniversary of their martyred
bishop's passion "with joy and gladness as his natal
day." § Tertullian asserts that the practice has the au-
thority of apostolic tradition. || These festivals were at
first kept with religious solemnity, accompanied by the
celebration of the eucharist, often in the rock-hewn
chambers of the Catacombs, where a thin tile separated
the dead in Christ from the devout worshippers who
commemorated the passion of their common Lord.
During the ages of persecution this was a rite of deep
and touching significance. Frequently his partaking of
that feast was the recipient's own consecration to the
martyr's death. But after the peace of the church it
often degenerated into a scene of excess and vulgar
revelry, more like the pagan banquets for the dead than

* Nos martyribus nostris non templa sicut diis, sed memorias sicut
hominibus mortuis, quorum apud Deum vivant spiritus, fabricamus ;
nee ibi erigimus altaria, in quibus sacrificemus martyribus, sed uni
Deo et martyrum et nostro. — De. Civ. Dei, xxii, 10.

•J- Hist, of Christianity, book iv, c. 2.

\ Hence called Natalitia, TevedXia.

§ Euseb , Hist. Eccles., iv, 15. || De Coron. Mil., c. ii.

128 The Catacombs of Rome.

a Christian solemnity. Indeed, they were avowedly
employed in ignoble appeal to the baser appetites,1 as
counter-attractions to the pagan feasts, to induce the
poor to attend the festivals of the church.* This
degradation of an originally praiseworthy practice, and
the intensifying and abject superstition to which it led,
provoked the taunts of the heathen and the censure of
the more devout and thoughtful Christians. The philo-
sophic Julian recoiled from the adoration of relics as
from pollution. Another pagan writer contrasts the
veneration of obscure martyrs' names, hateful to the
gods and to men,f with the refined and poetic cultus of
Minerva and Jupiter. \ Vigilantius, the Spanish pres-
byter, strongly condemns the " ashes worshippers and
idolaters ; " while, on the other hand, Jerome magni-
fies the sanctity of these relics, "around which," he
says, " the souls of the martyrs are constantly hovering
to hear the prayers of the supplicant." After in vain
trying to restrain their abuses and excesses, the ecclesi-
astical authorities were at length compelled to suppress
these festivals.

The reverence paid to the relics of the martyrs had two
remarkable and contrary effects. Having led in the first
place to the adornment of their sepulchres, it ultimately
caused their destruction and spoliation. In consequence
of this feeling it became an object of ambition to share
the resting-place of those who had been so holy in life
and so glorious in death. Hence new graves were
often excavated in the back of the arcosolia, cutting

* Diesque festos, post eos, quos relinqucbant, alicnos in honorein
sanctorum martyrum vel non simili sacrilcgio, quamvis simili lu\u
celebrantur. — Augustin., Epis. xxix. See a] o Boldetti, Osservasiom
iopra i cimitiri dci SS. .Mtirtiri, p. 46.

f Diisque hominibusque odiosa nomina. — Aug., F.pis., xvi. |

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 129

through the beautiful frescoes with which they were
adorned, and mutilating or destroying the paintings.*
The ciibicula were also defaced, their symmetry injured,
and their construction endangered by similar imprudent
excavations.

Numerous inscriptions inform us that many persons
secured this privilege during their lives, as the follow-
ing examples : in crypta noba retro sanctos emervm
se vivas balera et sabina (sic) — " In the new crypt be-
hind the saints : Valeria and Sabina bought it for them-
selves while living." EN0AAE IIATAEINA KEITAI
MAKAPft EN XflPtt — " Here lies Paulina in the place
of the blessed." Another inscription of the period of
Damasus tells of one who was buried " within the
thresholds of the saints, a thing which many desire and
few obtain."f Sometimes the name of the saint 01
martyr is mentioned, as in one which records the pur-
chase of a grave, " at the tomb of Hippolytus, above
the arcosolium" % and another at that of Cornelius. § So
also the tomb of Cecilia was separated from that of one
of the primitive bishops by scarcely an inch of rock.
Great injury was thus done to the Catacombs by the
indiscreet devotion of those who observed this practice.
Many pilgrims to the graves of the martyrs, deriving,
they thought, a spiritual benefit from proximity to their
sacred dust, took up their abode in little cells beside
their graves while alive, and shared their sepulchres in
death. In answer to the inquiry of his friend Paulinus
of Nola, whether it was a profit to the soul that the body

* See Figs. 12 and 76.

f " Intra limina sanctorum, quod multi cupiunt et rari ac-
cipiunt."
% "At Ippolytu super arcosohu,'' (sic.)

§ ' Ad Santum Cornelium." See also the epitaph on p. 132.
9

130 The Catacombs of Rome.

should be buried' near the shrine of some saint,* Au-
gustine wrote a special treatise f in justification of the
practice ; although how the martyrs help men, he con-
fesses, is a question beyond his understanding. We
have already seen the very strong opinion entertained
on this subject by Jerome, the contemporary of Augus-
tine. More in accordance with reason and scripture is
the sentiment contained in the epitaph of the arch-
deacon Sabinus, lately found at San Lorenzo :

NIL IVVAT IMMO GRAVAT TVMVLIS HAERERE PIORVM

SANCTORVM MERITIS OPTIMA VITA PROPE EST

CORPORE NON OPVS EST ANIMA TENDAMVS AD II.I.OS

QVAE BENE SALVA POTEST CORPORE ESSE SALVS.J

It nothing helps, but rather hinders, to stick close to the tombs of

the saints ; a good life is the best approach to their merits. Not with

the body but with the soul must we draw nigh to them ; when that is

well saved it may prove the salvation of the body also.

Even Damasus, who, if any ought, might claim sepul-
ture with the sainted dead, shrank from disturbing their
remains, and was buried in a tomb above the Catacomb
of Callixtus. Of the subterranean crypt he says :

HIC FATEOR DAMASVS VOLVI MEA CONDERE MEMBRA
SED TIMVI SANCTOS CINERES VEXARE PIORVM.
Here I, Damasus, confess I wished to lay my limbs, but I feared
to vex the holy ashes of the saints.

The desire for communion with the holy dead con-
tinued throughout successive generations. Multitudes
of pilgrims still visited the shrines of the martyrs, and,
after the wont of travellers, left traces of their presence
in the numerous graffiti which are written on the walls.
Some of these are names of classical form, as Leo, Fe-

* " Apud sancti alicujus memoriam."

f De Cunl pro Mortuis Gerendd, writ'en about A. I") jn.

X BtiUcttino J.S64. 3?.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 13 1

lix, Maximus, Theophilus ; others, written in less acces-
sible places, are of later date and of foreign character,
Spanish, British, or German, as Ildebrand, Ethelred,
Lupo, Bonizo, Joannes. The names are frequently
accompanied with the letters Pb., or Presb., the indica-
tion of the ecclesiastical grade of the writer.

Many of the loftiest dignitaries in church and state,
popes and prelates, princes and nobles, kings and
queens, and even some illustrious wearers of the impe-
rial purple, continued to be brought, often from afar,
throughout the period of the Middle Ages, to lie in
death as near as possible to the hallowed dust of the
early martyrs and confessors of the faith. Among them
were some stained with blood, who hoped to expiate
their crimes by their religious austerities, and to enter
paradise through the intercession of the saints near
whose remains their bones were laid. Several petty kings
of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, some expelled by their
subjects or rivals, others flying from the post of duty,
muttered their prayers and counted their beads in the
crypts of the Catacombs, and were buried in their vicin-
ity. The following are a few of the more illustrious,
taken from the list of the Abbe Gaume : * Popes Leo I.,
Gregory I., II., and III., Leo XL ; the Emperor Hono-
rius and Mary his wife, Valentinian and Otho II.;
Cedwalla, king of the West-Saxons ; Conrad, king of the
Mercians ; Offa and Ina, Saxon kings, with Eldiburga,
wife of the latter ; the Empress Agnes, Queen Charlotte
of Cyprus, and the Countess Matilda, who so enriched
the papal see by her donations. These were buried,
not in the Catacombs, but in the basilicas erected over

* Les Trois Romes, torn, iv, p. 39. Aringhi gives a similar list in
his chapter, De imperatoribus ac regibus, qui apud Vaticanum sepul-
ture tiaditi sunt. — Roma Subterranea, lib. ii, c. 9.

I $2 The Catacombs of Rome.

them, which were considered to share their sanctity.
Thus, as St. Chrysostom remarks, referring to the tradi-
tion concerning the sepulchres of St. Peter and St.
Paul, kings laid aside their crowns at the tombs of the
fisherman and the tentmaker.*

During the latter part of the fourth and the beginning
of the fifth century the management of the Catacombs
seems to have been no longer in the hands of the eccle-
siastical authorities, but under the control of the fos-
sors,f with whom the bargain for interment was made
by the friends of the deceased. Numerous inscriptions
occur in which this bargain is recorded, together with
the names of the buyers and sellers, and sometimes
those of the witnesses to the contract, and even the price
that was paid, as in the following examples : costat

NOS EMISSE IANVARIVM ET BRITIAM LOCVM ANTE
DOMNA EMERITA A FOSSORIBVS BVRDONE ET MICINMO ET

mvsco ratione avri solidvm vn semes (sic) — " It is un-
questionable that we, Januarius and Britia, bought a
place in front of [the tomb of] Lady Emerita J from the
fossors Burdo, Micinus, and Muscus, for the con-
sideration of one solidus and a half of gold " — (about

$7.) EMPTVM LOCVM A BARTIMISTVM VISOMVM HOC EST
ET PRETIVM DATVM A FOSSORE HILARO ID EST FOLN
. . . PRESENTIA SEVERI FOSS. ET LAVRENT — "The

place bought by Bartimistus, that is, a bisomus ; and
the price paid to the fossor Hilarus, 1400 follcs, (about
$5 65,) in the presence of the fossors Severus and Lau-
rence." The fossors also probably prepared and engraved
the funeral slabs, as seems to be implied in the follow-

* Chrys., Quod Christus sit Dcus. c-ec legend, p. 186.
\ From fudere, fossum, to dig.

% Saint Emerita suffered martyrdom dining the Valerian perse
cution.

Their Disuse and Abandonment.

133

ing: locv marmarori (sic) qvodrisomvm — "A quad-
ruple tomb [bought] of the stonecutter."*

In the following illustration from the Catacomb of
Callixtus the fossor is seen standing in a cubicidum lined
with graves, and surrounded by the implements of his
labour. On his shoulder is the mattock with which he

Fig. 23.— Diogenes the Fossor.

dug the friable tufa, and in his hand the lamp with the
spike by which it was fastened to the rock while he
worked. At his feet lie the compasses for marking out
the locidi, and over his head we read the simple epitaph,

* Jerome strongly censures the making merchandise of the resting-
places of the dead — Qui sepulchra venditant, et non coguntur ut ac-
cepiant pretium, sed a nolentibus etiam extorquent. — Quast. Heb. in
Gen. xxiii.

134

The Catacombs of Rome.

" Diogenes the fossor, buried in peace on the eighth
before the calends of October."

The accompanying engraving from Aringhi shows the
fossor actively engaged in excavating the vaulted gal-
lery by the light of the
lamp suspended near him.
The marks made by the
mattocks, in the manner
here shown, may be seen
in the walls of the passages
as plainly as though the
fossor had but just ceased
his labours.

After a brief return to
subterranean burial in the
time of Damasus the prac-
tice fell rapidly into dis-
use, and after A. D. 410
scarcely a single certain
example can be found. In
that fatal year the blast of
the Gothic trumpet, start-
ling the ear of midnight *
in the streets of Rome, proclaimed its capture by the
hosts of the stern Alaric. Amid the social and civil
commotions that .accompanied the breaking up of the
empire, there was neit» er time nor means to adorn the
sepulchres of the saints, and the Catacombs fell into in-
evitable neglect and decay. Of this year not a single
sepulchral inscription remains, a striking indication of
the anarchy and confusion prevailing, when even the
customary honours were not paid to the dead.

* " Nocte Moab capta est, nocte cecidit mums ejus ! " exclaim';
Jerome. — Ad Principiam.

Fig. 24— The Fossor at Work.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 135

Like a mighty deluge sweeping away and overwhelm-
ing the art and civilization of the South, came the inva-
sion of the barbarous hordes of the North ; yet like a
deluge fertilizing and enriching the soil, and leaving
germs of future fruitfulness behind. Having conquered
the world with its arms and corrupted it with its vices,
the mighty fabric of the Roman empire lost internal
strength and cohesion, and began to crumble to pieces.
The secret causes of its dissolution had long been stealth-
ily at work, and its fall at last was utter and complete.
Thrice in the space of three years (A. D. 408, 409, 410)
Rome was besieged by the hosts of Alaric, and, in vain
purchasing respite by a costly ransom, she was at last
given up as a prey to the bold, eager, and greedy sav-
agery of the North. The pillage of the world, accu-
mulated during a thousand years of conquest, left,
however, little pretext for violating the resting-places
of the dead. As the rude soldiery gloated with hungry
eyes on the lavish gold and silver, the precious jewels
and sumptuous vestments on every side, they recked
little for mere works of art, and many a porphyry vase
and priceless statue was wantonly shivered by barbarian
battle-axe. Nevertheless, the conqueror respected the
basilicas of the apostles and the sacred vessels of their
shrines, declaring that he made not war upon the
saints*

But succeeding conquerors were less scrupulous or
more rapacious. Five times in the course of the fifth
century, and as often in the sixth, the Eternal City,
" that was almighty named," was besieged by her im-
placable foes. The churches were plundered of the
massy plate and other treasures, and even the dim crypts

* Gibbon, iii, 283. Am. Ed.

136 The Catacombs of Rome.

of the Catacombs echoed the clanging tread of the
armed soldiery as with sacrilegious hands they stripped
the shrines of the saints of their costly adorning, and
rifled the graves of the dead in search for hidden
treasure.* Each successive invasion to which Rome
was exposed renewed these scenes of desecration and
robbery. The Huns, the Goths, the Lombards, and,
later, the Normans and Saracens, were rivals in spoliation
and destruction.

During the intervals of peace the Roman pontiffs en-
deavoured to restore the Catacombs and re-adorn the
martyr shrines, which were still the objects of pious
veneration. They were also used during the barbarian
invasions, as during the pagan persecutions, as places
of refuge. Boniface I., having been for some time
concealed in the Catacomb of Felicitas, afterwards elab-
orately ornamented it. Symmachus and Vigilius were
also especially diligent in their care for the Catacombs.
The latter restored many of the Damasine epitaphs
which had been destroyed. f We read also of popes of

* The following lines by Pope Vigilius, A. D 537, describe this
event :

Dum peritura Getce posuissent castra sub urbem,

Moverunt Sanctis bella nefanda prius,

Totaque sacrilego verterunt corde sepulcra,

Martyribus quondam rite sacrata piis.

" Whilst the Goths had placed their camp, soon to perish, before the
city, they first waged unhallowed war against the saints, and with
sacrilegious mind destroyed whole sepulchres once solemnly conse-
crated to the pious martyrs."

During the fifth and sixth centuries cemeteries were opened within
the walls in consequence of the peril of venturing beyond the gates.

f DIRVTA VIGILIVS NAM POSTHAEC PAPA GEMISCENS

IIOSTIBVS EXPVLSIS OMNE NOVAVIT OPVS.— InSCT. ill LatmtH.

1,1 Pope Vigilius, afterwards lamenting the demolished monuments,
renewed the entire work after the expulsion of the enemy."

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 1 37

the sixth and two following centuries restoring the ceme-
teries and making provision for the celebration of the
martyrs' festivals at their subterranean shrines. The
sculpture and frescoes of the period of course exhibited
the depraved taste and debased execution of the times.

A new element of destruction came now into play.
This was the wholesale translation of the bodies of the
saints from the Catacombs to the churches of the city,
in order to save them from profanation by Astolphus
and his sacrilegious Lombards. These pious robbers ran-
sacked and systematically despoiled the ancient ceme-
teries, and carried off the relics of the martyrs. Pope
Stephen III. thereupon published a letter from St. Peter
himself menacing with eternal damnation the violators
of these hallowed tombs. These spiritual terrors, how-
ever, were found insufficient to protect the sacred relics.
The work of translation was resumed, and Pope Paul I.
records the removal in A. D. 761 of the bodies of over
a hundred " martyrs, confessors, and virgins of Christ,
with hymns and spiritual songs, into the city of Rome."
He complains also of the neglect into which the Cata-
combs had fallen. Their deeper recesses were given
up to owls and bats, and nearer the entrance the prowl-
ing fox or jackal found a covert. There, too, the Cam-
pagnian shepherds frequently folded their flocks, and
"converted the sacred places into stables and dung-
hills." They became, also, the lurking places of thieves
and debtors, outlaws and bandits, who took refuge in
their tangled labyrinths.

AVe have observed the practice in the fourth century
of building churches over the martyrs' tombs. The
natural reverence for their remains soon passed into a
superstitious veneration and belief in their miraculous
efficacy. Even such acute minds as those of Origen,

138 The Catacombs of Rome.

Chrysostom, and Ambrose seem infected with this su-
perstition.* It soon became considered essential to the
consecration of a church that it should be hallowed by
some holy relics. These were placed not only on the
altar, but in the sides of portals, to be kissed by the
devout on entering. f The furnishing of these relics
became a gainful trade. St. Augustine complains of
certain vagabond monks who went about selling relics
of the martyrs, if indeed martyrs they were. J In con-
sequence of this practice a Theodosian law of the year
A. D. 386 forbids the removal of any body that was
buried, or the tearing asunder or sale of the remains of
a martyr. § In consequence of the number of spurious
relics, the fourth Council of Carthage, in A. D. 401,
prohibited the use of any whose genuineness could not
be authenticated. | Martin of Tours narrates how he
discovered, by summoning the ghost of a so-called mar-
tyr, that the revered relics were only those of a common
thief.T The Empress Constantina wrote to Gregory

* These Fathers quoted such passages as 2 Kings xiii,2r ; Eccles.
xlviii, 13, 14 ; xlix, 10-15 ; Acts v, 15, and xix, n, in proof of the
efficacy of relics.

f Hence in the celebration of the mass the priest kisses the altar
and invokes pardon " by the relics of the saints that are there." — See
Missal. Optatus tells of a lady who used to kiss the relics of he knew
not what martyr, if martyr it were, before communion. — Ante spirit-
ualem cibum et potum, os nescio cujus martyris, si tamen martyris,
libare dicebatur. — Oper., lib. i.

\ Membra martyrum, si tamen martyrum, venditant. — Aug., Jt
Oper. Monach.

§ Humatum corpus nemo ad alium locum transferat ; nemo mar-
tyrem distrahat, nemo mercetur. — Cod. Theod., De Sepulckris Viola-
tis, leg. 7.

I Onmino nulla memoria martyrum probabiliter acceptetur nisi aut
ibi corpus, aut aliqu.x certe reliqux sint. — Cone, Car/A., v, C<t>i. 14.

Tf Sulpitii Severi, Vita Martini, cap. viii. Julian recoiled from
relic worship as from the stench of dead men's bones, lie compared

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 139

the Great, at the end of the sixth century, for the head
of St. Paul, in order to consecrate a new church. He
replied that he could not divide the bodies of the saints,
and declared that the danger of invading their tombs
was sometimes even fatal.* But this pious reverence
gave place to a more mercenary spirit, and the trade in
relics became a traffic of infamy and disgrace. Not
only were the bodies of the so-called martyrs torn asun-
der and their limbs sold to diverse and distant places,
but with sacrilegious fraud the relics of favourite saints
were multiplied till as many different cities claimed to
have their only true and genuine heads, arms, or bodies,
as contended for the honour of being the birth-place of
Homer.f

These relics were endowed in popular apprehension
with most miraculous powers. They emitted a delight-
ful fragrance that ravished the senses. A fleshless skull
declared the name and martyrdom of its owner. The
bones of St. Lawrence moved in their grave to make
room for those of another saint. The liquefaction of a
martyr's blood may still be witnessed by the faithful on
the anniversary of St. Januarius at Naples. % If we
may credit numerous traditions, these wonder-working

the churches to whited sepulchres full of rottenness and of all un-
cleanness.

* Greg. Max., Epis. iv.

f At the time of the Reformation the reputed fragments of the true
cross, it is said, would have freighted a large ship. The relics of the
saints were hawked about the country from house to house by ped-
lers who farmed their sale, paying a percentage to the church or
abbey to which they belonged. D'Aubigne's Hist. Ref., i. c. 3.

% On one occasion the blood refused to liquefy, on account, said
the priests, of the malign influence of the French. The French gen-
eral sent word that unless the miracle took place within an hour his
cannon should blow the church about their ears. The blood liquefied
immediately.

140 The Catacombs of Rome.

human remains healed the sick,* raised the dead, and,
more difficult still, converted heretics to the true faith.
Nay, the mere contact with the branded or handkerchief
from the martyr's tomb, the filings of his chains, or the
oil from the lamp before his shrine, communicated spir-
itual as well as physical benefit. These sacred relics
possessed a talismanic power to protect from evil. They
were borne into battle to avert the hurtling death and
to blunt the edge of the sword. They were affixed to
towers as a safeguard against the thunderbolt, f They
were inlaid in the crowns and regalia of kings, \ and
worn in rings and amulets as prophylactics against poi-
son or disease, and they lent an awful sanctity to the
oath taken upon the altar. §

* The affidavit of its subject attests the miraculous cure, probably
of hysteria or hypochondria, recently wrought by a relic from the
Catacombs at the Hotel Dieu in Montreal, Canada.

f A nail of the true cross, says Gregory of Tours, thrown into the
Adriatic by Queen Radegunda, made it thenceforth one of the safest
seas to navigate instead of one of the stormiest. — De Gloria Mar-
tyrum. Of another, Constantine made a bit for his horse.

% The Iron Crown of Lombardy the Roman Congregation of
Relics has declared to be a sacred talisman, being made of a nail of
the Crucifixion, although the first authentic mention of it occurs in the
midnight of the dark ages, A. D. 888. From the time of Charles V.
no sovereign ventured to wear this sacred crown till Napoleon, seek-
ing to consecrate his usurped authority, with his own hand placed it
on his head at Milan, A. D. 1805, with the vaunting words, " God
hath given it me ; let him take heed who touches it." — Dieu me Fa
dotutee ; gave a qui la tone he. It was carried off from the cathedral
of Monza by the Austrians in 1859.

§ On marble tablets in the Church of St. Prassede, in Rome, is an
enumeration of its precious treasures, among which are a tooth of St.
Peter and one of St. Paul, part of the chemise of the Virgin Mary —
de camisia beata Maria Virginis, part of Christ's girdle — decingulo
D. N. yesit Christi, part of Moses' rod, some of the earth on which
Christ prayed, also of the reed and sponge, three spines of the crown
of thorns, part of the towel with which he washed his disciples' feet

Their Disuse and A baudonmeut. 1 4 1

The slender historical evidence on which idolatrous
homage is paid to these relics is seen in the case of the

part of the swaddling clothes— ^V7«;«.r — in which he was wrapped at
his nativity, and part of the seamless robe — de veste inconsutili.
The whole of this robe was formerly exhibited at Treves, where the
deluded votaries of this Christian idolatry invoked its intercession in
the formula, " Holy Coat, pray for us ! " In the year 1854, in the of-
ficial " Gazette of Vienna," it was announced that the tooth of St.
Peter, given by Pius IX. to the Emperor of Austria, would be for
four days exposed to the sight and homage of the faithful. Before
the Reformation these relics were still more puerile and absurd, and
calculated to provoke a smile or sneer as the humourist or the cynic pre-
dominated in the observer. At the Church of All Saints at Wittem-
berg, says D'Aubigne, were shown a fragment of Noah's ark, some soot
from the furnace of the Three Hebrew Children, and nineteen thousand
other relics. At Schaffhausen was exhibited the breath of St. Joseph
that Nicodemus had received in his glove. At Wurtemberg might
be seen a feather plucked from the wing of the archangel Michael.
{Hist. Ref., i, c. 3.) Heywood, in his interlude of " The Four
P's," one of whom was a Pardoner, among his " relykes," enumerates
" Of All-hallowes (that is, All-Saints) the blessed jaw-bone," the
great toe of the Trinity, and others in which is a still stranger mix-
ture of absurdity and blasphemy. (See " Inquiry into the Origin of
the Reformation," by the present writer, in Evangel. Repos., London,
Eng., Feb., 1865.) Augustine says the dung-heap on which Job sat
was still visited in his day ! In St. Peter's at Rome is exhibited a
coin said to be one of the thirty pieces of gold (?) for which Judas
betrayed his Master. They were made, according to the legend, by
Terah, Abraham's father, who was a famous artificer under King
Nimrod. They were the price of the field of Ephron, and also the
coins with which Joseph was bought, and with which his brethren
purchased corn in Egypt. Despite the anachronism, Moses is said to
have given them as a dowry to the Queen of Sheba, who presented
them to Solomon. Nebuchadnezzar, it is alleged, carried them away,
and the Magi brought them back as an offering to Christ. Finally
Mary cast them into the treasury of the Temple, whence the priests
gave them to Judas for his perfidy. (See Bingham, xiv, 4, § 18.)

The stone upon which the sovereigns of England are crowned is,
according to a venerable tradition, that which formed Jacob's pillow
at Bethel.

In the cathedral of Genoa is deposited the wonderful cup known

142 The Catacombs of Rome.

so-called " Saint Theodosia of Amiens." Her epitaph,
found in a Catacomb near the Salarian Way, reads as
follows :

AVRELIAE THEVDOSIAE

BENIGNISSIMAE ET

INCOMPARABILI FEMINAE

AVREUVS OPTATVS

CONIVGI INNOCENTISSIMAE

NAT • AMBIANA.

Aurelius Optatus to his most innocent wife Aurelia Theudosia, a
most gracious and incomparable woman, by nation an Ambian.

The Congregation of Relics decided that Theudosia
was both a saint and martyr, and a native of Amiens.
Her remains were solemnly conveyed to that city, and
on the 12th of October, 1833, they were received with
the utmost magnificence by no less than twenty-eight
mitred prelates and fifteen hundred other ecclesiastics,
placed in a gorgeous shrine, and honoured as in ancient
times they honoured a tutelar goddess. Cardinal Wise-
man preached on the occasion, and compared the re-
moval of her remains to her native place to that of the
patriarch Joseph's bones from Egypt to Canaan ; and
Bishop Salinis commended the homage of her relics

in history as the Holy Grail, which in times of yore was the object of
so many knightly quests, and more recently the subject of so many
stately epics. It was a vessel composed of a single emerald origin-
ally, (so runs the legend,) the marvellous cup wherewith Joseph di-
vined— the cup put into the mouth of Benjamin's sack. It was also
the mystical cup of wisdom of Solomon, and, at length, that out of
which Christ partook of the Last Supper. Hence its name, San
Greal, that is, sanguis realis, the real blood. Joseph of Arimathea
brought it to Britain, but it mysteriously disappeared in consequence
of thelaxnessof the times, llow it came to Genoa docs not clear] v ap-
pear. From the time of Wolfram von Eschenbach, a minnesinger of
the thirteenth century, down to Tennyson and Lowell, this has been
a favourite subject of poetry. See an article on the legend, by the
writer, in Harpers Weekly, Feb. 5, 1S70.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 143

" because the martyrs are, after Jesus Christ, also
Christs to open heaven to mankind."*

By this practice of the translation of relics Rome
broke the chain of positive evidence, and destroyed the
tender and pathetic associations connected with the re-
mains of the sainted dead. The martyr's tomb, in its
original position and undisturbed, is an object of in-
tensest interest ; but removed to some distant church
or abbey and redecorated with florid adornment or
theatrical finery, his alleged relics provoke only skep-
ticism or contempt. Indeed, so little attempt at proba-
bility is there in the names given to these relics that a
Romanist writer, the Abbe Barbier de Montault, con-
fesses that the greater part of the bodies found in
the Catacombs wanting proper names have received,

* As recently as the year 1870 the alleged relics of a newly discov-
ered St. Aureliana, a virgin martyr of the third century, who is sup-
posed to have been a member of the family of the Roman emperor
Aurelian, were transferred, with many religious ceremonies, from the
Catacombs to Cincinnati, in the United States. In the Roman
Catholic cathedral at Buffalo, N. Y., is a slab from the Catacombs
with the inscription, DP-PEREGRINVS XII KAL-MARTIAS
Q-VIXIT-M — " Peregrinus, buried the twelfth day before the
calends of March, who lived . . months." He was, therefore, an in-
fant ; yet he is claimed to be a martyr, and a wax figure of an adult
man with gaping wounds exhibits the alleged mode of his death. At
its feet is placed what is said to be a phial of the martyr's blood. In the
same church are also what is described as " a large piece of the true
cross on which trickled the sacred blood of Christ," and " particles
of the bones of Saints Peter and Paul and of many other holy martyrs."

Maitland quotes an account from Mabillon of the reverence paid to
a certain St. Viar, founded on the discovery of a stone bearing the
letters S • VIAR. This was, however, found to be a fragment of the
inscription PRAEFECTV S -VIAR VM-" Curator of the Ways."
There is absolutely no warrant whatever for such assumptions as these.
There is not in the whole range of Christian epigraphy a single con-
^mporary inscription of unquestioned genuineness which can lead to
the identification of the remains, name, and date of a primitive martyr.

144 The Catacombs of Rome.

when they were exposed to public veneration, names at
haphazard, which have only a vague or general signifi-
cation, as Felix, Fortunatus, Victor.*

We return from this digression to the mediaeval his-
tory of the Catacombs. The efforts of Stephen III.,
Adrian I., and Leo III., in the eighth and ninth cen-
turies, to restore their ancient honour and magnifi-
cence, were unavailing. The tombs of the saints were
continually being abandoned and destroyed. The
translation of the sacred relics was renewed with in-
creased energy. Pope Paschal I. was the most zealous
agent in the prosecution of this work. An inscrip-
tion in the church of St. Prassede, which he built for
their reception, records the translation thither of 2,300
bodies in a single day, July 20, A. D. 817. Successive
popes continued to remove cartloads of relics from the
Catacombs in order to enhance the dignity or sanctity
of the churches which they built or restored, and as an
evidence of their own pious zeal. At this period, prob-
ably, the multitude of relics were borne to the Pantheon,
since known as St. Maria ad Martyres —

Shrine of all saints and temple of all gods
From Jove to Jesus. f

* Le plupart ties corps saints trouves dans les Catacombes man-
quant de noms propre, ont recu lorsqu'on les exposes a la veneration
publique, des noms de circonstance, qui n'ont qu'une signification
vague ; comme Felix, Fortunatus, Victor. — Annee Liturgique d
Home, p. 151.

f Childe Harold. Boniface IV. is said to have previously trans-
ferred twenty-eight cartloads of relics from the Catacombs to (his
place. He thus, as we read in barbaric verse on his epitaph in the
crypt of St. Peter's, purified the shrine of all the demons, and dedi-
cated it to all the saints :

" — Templa . .
Delubra cunctorum fuerant qua? demonomm (sic)
I lie expurgavit Sanctis cunctisquc dicavit."

Their Disuse and Abandonment. T45

These perpetual spoliations of the Christian ceme-
teries led to the rapid destruction of many of their gal-
leries and chambers, and to their final abandonment
like a worked-out mine — a mine, too, which had been
the source of greater riches to the church than treas-
ures of silver or gold. In the removal of the relics of
the martyrs the principal motive for the protection or
adornment of the Catacombs was taken away, and dur-
ing the gathering darkness of the Middle Ages they
speedily passed out of the knowledge of mankind. In
a few of those in the immediate vicinity of some church
or monastery a subterranean chapel was still kept open,
and an occasional mass was celebrated on the presumed
anniversary of the martyr whose name was associated,
often erroneously, therewith ; or some zealous and ad-
venturous pilgrim might even penetrate their obscure
recesses. But a blight had fallen on the once beautiful
Campagna. Desolation, pestilence, and death brooded
over the deserted plain. Through the natural dilap-
idations of time, and the spoliations of Saracens, Nor-
mans, and Greeks, who successively invaded Italy andj
wasted the country with fire and sword, the basilicas
and oratories of the Byzantine period crumbled to de-
cay or were destroyed, and the monasteries were de-
serted ; their cowled and sandaled occupants, long the
sole custodians of the Catacombs, taking refuge within
the city walls. The rains of a thousand autumns and
the frosts of as many winters caused the crumbling of
the luminari, the falling in of the roofs, and ruin of the
galleries. The knowledge of the past was lost in the
gathering gloom of the dark ages, so that in an enumer-
ation of the Roman Catacombs in the fourteenth cen-
tury only three are mentioned, and these were connected

146 The Catacombs of Rome.

with some church. In the fifteenth century but one,
that of Sebastian, was known.

Yet there is evidence that some of the galleries were
accessible, and were used for dark and sinister purposes, ^
in keeping with their gloomy and desolate character.
During the lawless period from the eleventh to the fif-
teenth century, when faction and civil war and anarchy
laid waste the country, and even the classic mausolea
above ground were converted into armed fortresses,
these gloomy vaults became the rendezvous of insur-
gents and conspirators, who feared no betrayal of their \
bloody secrets by the silent sleepers in their narrow
cells. In their dark recesses were concocted those
" treasons, stratagems, and spoils " that desolated the
land. Frequently armed bands of the retainers of hos-
tile houses — the Montagues and Capulets of the day —
met in these subterranean battle-grounds, and the war-
cry of Guelph and Ghibellinc, of Colonna and Orsini,
rang through the hollow corridors, disturbing the quiet
of the graves. Bloodshed and cruelty often desecrated
the spot sacred to religion and the ashes of the sainted
dead. Petrarch thus describes these unhallowed uses
of the Catacombs :

They are become like robbers' caves,
So that only the good are denied entrance ;
And among altars and saintly statues
Every cruel enterprise is planned.*

During the period of the " Babylonish Captivity," when
the Papal See was removed from the banks of the Tiber

* Quasi spclunca di ladron son fatti,

Tal ch' ;l luion solamente uscio si chiude ;
E tra le altari, e tra statue ignude,
Ogni impressa crudel par che si tratti.

Canzone xi.

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 1 47

to those of the Rhone — from the protection of the for-
tress of St. Angelo to the castled heights of Avignon —
the decay of every thing pertaining to the church in
Italy was precipitated. The city of Rome, which de-
pended for its prosperity entirely upon its ecclesiastical
pomps and pageants, became impoverished and almost
deserted. The Campagna changed to a wilderness, and
the entrances to the Catacombs were choked with rub-
bish or overgrown with tangled thickets and gigantic
weeds. Many of these entrances were also walled up by
the civic authorities to prevent their becoming the re-
sort of robbers, and for the safety of the inhabitants.

During the short and tumultuous career of that strange
reformer, Colonna di Rienzi, (1347-1354,) some of the
hidden crypts are mentioned as the scene of the plots
and counterplots of that troublous time ; and, like the sew-
ers and Catacombs of Paris during the Revolution, and
the cloacae of Rome in time of proscription and civil war, .
they became places of refuge and concealment. On the
eve of his massacre Rienzi was urged to seek safety in
those ancient sanctuaries of the persecuted church, but
he replied, as Nero is said to have done thirteen centu-
ries before, that he would not bury himself alive.*

With the exception of these rare allusions there is
little mention of the Catacombs in the chronicles of the
Middle Ages, and they became in course of time virtually
unknown. They were not, however, entirely unvisited.
The cemetery of Sebastian was never quite forgotten,
but was always open to pilgrims ; and even in the

* This ancient use of the Catacombs has not been forgotten in
modern times. That intrepid pontiff, Pius VII., rather than yield to
the demands of the first Napoleon, threatened to retire to those
gloomy recesses which had sheltered so many of the primitive
bishops.

148 The Catacombs of Rome.

darkest period there seem to have been some who, in-
spired by devotion or curiosity, penetrated the most
accessible crypts, and left inscribed upon the walls the
date of their visit. Thus, in one place we find a record
of a bishop of Pisa and his companions who visited the
Catacombs early in the fourteenth century. Another
graffito, with the names of three persons and the date
A. D. 1321, reads thus : " Gather together, O Christians,
in these caverns, to read the holy books, to sing hymns
in honour of the saints and martyrs who, having died in
the Lord, lie buried here ; to sing psalms for those who
are now dying in the faith. There is light in this dark-
ness. There is music in these tombs."*

On one of the graves were found a small silver-gilt
coronet, with the date A. D. 1340, and a palm leaf
worked in silver. In another crypt are written six
names — German, in Latinized form — with a cross after
each, and beneath, the date A. D. 1397. f They were
probably a company of German priests on a pilgrimage
to the Eternal City and its sacred shrines. In two or
three cubicula in the Catacomb of Callixtus are graffiti
recording the visits of certain Franciscan friars in the
fifteenth century. Brother Lawrence of Sicily, over
date January 17, 145 1, records that with twenty others
he had come to visit the holy place. J In 1467 some
Scottish pilgrims, § and two years after an abbot of
St. Sebastian, with a large party, || left records of their
visits to this Catacomb. The names of Pomponio Leto
and other literati of the Roman Academy have also
been found in several of the crypts. These men, how-

* MacFarlane, p. 36. f Ibid., 49, 50.

\ " Fuit laic ad visitandum sanctum locum istum."
§ "Quidem Scoti liic fucrunt."
I " Cum magnd cometivA."

Their Disuse and Abandonment. 149

ever, although the avowed lovers of antiquity,* were
enthusiastic only in the pursuit of heathen learning, and
justly merited the reproach of being more pagan than
Christian. With the exception of such infrequent and
transient visits, it would appear that this priceless treas-
ury of Christian archaeology and legacy of the primitive
church to the present age was completely forgotten till
it was revealed to the eyes of a wondering world by the
explorations of the sixteenth and following century.

* " Unanimes antiquitatis amatores."

150 The Catacombs of Rome.

CHAPTER IV.

THE REDISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF THE
CATACOMBS.

It would seem that the rediscovery of the Catacombs
was providentially reserved to a period especially adapted
for their profitable study. In the fullness of time, when
the great Reformation was emancipating the minds of
men from the trammels of superstition, and long-vener-
ated beliefs and usages were being compared with the
still older primitive faith and practice, this marvellous
testimony of the purity, simplicity, and piety of the
early church was unveiled. These Christian evidences,
which have no parallel save in the sacred scriptures
themselves, after having been sealed up during the dark
ages of ignorance and superstition, were brought to light
in a period of intellectual quickening and revived clas-
sical learning, which stimulated the minds of men to
the study of the past and to the rescue from oblivion of
the priceless remains of antiquity. The newly-invented
printing-press and the engraver's burin preserved the
record of much that has since perished ; and Roman
archaeologists, seeking in the monuments of antiquity
for. corroboration of papal doctrine and practice,
brought to light the disproof of their existence in the
early ages of the church. A rejection of this testimony
would invalidate all monumental evidence, whether sa-
cred or secular, concerning the past.

The rediscovery of this subterranean city took place

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 1 5 1

in the year 1578. Some labourers digging pozzolana in
a vineyard on the Salarian Way came suddenly upon an
ancient cemetery,* with its paintings, inscriptions, sar-
cophagi, and graves. The event produced a profound
sensation in Rome. The city was amazed, says Baro-
nius, who himself examined and described the newly-
discovered Catacomb, at finding beneath her suburbs
long-concealed Christian colonies, f These ancient
shrines became again favourite places of devotion. Here,
among others, St. Charles Borromeo and St. Philip Neri
spent whole nights in prayer.

The earliest systematic explorers of the Catacombs
were Alfonso Ciacconio, a Spanish priest, and Philip de
Winghe and Jean l'Heureux, % two Flemish laymen.
The voluminous MSS. and drawings of the two former,
however, were never published, and they lie buried in
those vast cemeteries of literature, the libraries of Rome,
Naples, Brussels, and Paris. The valuable MS. of
l'Heureux, the result of twenty years' labour, although
ready for publication, and even licensed for printing, in
1605, remained unprinted for two centuries and a half,
when it was given to the public by Padre Garrucci under
the appropriate title of Hagioglypta.% Such a length-
ened period between licensing and publication is prob-
ably unparalleled in literary history.

* The Catacomb of St. Priscilla.

f Ipsamet urbs obstupuit, cum abditas in suis suburbiis se novit
habere civitatis Christianorum colonias. — Ann. Eccl., ann. 130. It is
singular that in the very year of their rediscovery Onophrius Pavin-
ius, an Augustinian friar, published an account of the Christian
cemeteries entirely from the ancient documents of the church. Only
three of them were then accessible, those of Sebastian, Lawrence, and
Valentine.

\ Grecised into Joannes Macarius.

§ Paris, 1856.

152 The Catacombs of Rome.

To Antonio Bosio, a native of Malta and an advocate
by profession, belongs the honour of first unveiling to
the astonished gaze of Europe the wonders of this vast
city of the dead. He has well been called the Colum-
bus of this subterranean world. Inspired and sustained
by a lofty enthusiasm, he spent six and thirty years
groping among those gloomy corridors, deciphering the
half-effaced inscriptions, and making drawings of the
remains of early Christian art. So habituated did he
become to this troglodytic existence that the Cim-
merian gloom of the Catacombs was more grateful
to his eyes than the light of day, which dazzled and
almost blinded him. His labours were prodigious, and
often both severe and perilous. He had frequently
to force a passage with his own hands through the ac-
cumulated rubbish of centuries, and was constantly in
danger, in the zeal of exploration, of being lost in the
windings of the galleries, from which danger he had
some narrow escapes. In his great work he describes
himself as rushing along with breathless haste, the de-
sire with which he burned adding wings to his weary feet.
Again he is creeping serpent-wise through the low and
crumbling passages, consoling himself for the difficulty
and discomfort by the thought that this lowly attitude be-
fitted the humble and reverent spirit in which a place con-
secrated by such memories ought to be approached. But
he was rewarded for all his toil by the discovery of " pic-
tures bright with the colours of yesterday, and characters
still sharp and angular from the primeval graving tool."

The elder D'Israeli has cited Bosio as an illustrious
example of the enthusiasm of genius. " Taking with
him a hermit's meal for the week," he remarks, " this
new Pliny often descended into the bowels of the earth
by lamp-light, clearing away the sand and ruins till

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 153

some tomb broke forth or some inscription became
legible, tracing the mouldering sculpture and catching
the fading picture. Thrown back into the primitive
ages of Christianity amidst the local impressions, the
historian of the Christian Catacombs collected the me-
morials of an age and of a race which were hidden be-
neath the earth."*

The literary industry of this pioneer explorer was
immense. He carefully examined all the Latin, Greek,
and Oriental Fathers ; all the ecclesiastical records,
canons, and decrees of councils ; the lives of the saints,
the acts of the martyrs — everything, in fact, which could
illustrate the history of the Catacombs and of the early
church. The result of these labours is seen in the bulky
MS. volumes, of many thousand pages, written with his
own hand, which are still extant in the Oratorian Li-
brary at Rome. He was not permitted to see the pub-
lication of his great work, in which was disclosed to the
world the wonderful terra incognita Tying so long hidden
beneath the busy life of the Eternal City, but died while
writing the last chapter. It was too valuable a contri-
bution to Christian archaeology, however, to remain un-
published, and it was given to the world, under the ap-
propriate title of " Subterranean Rome," f in the year
1632, or five years after its author's death.

This book contains an admirable topographical ac-
count of each cemetery which he had explored, taking
in order the great consular roads leading from the city.
Bosio's attempted identification of the cemeteries and

* Essay on the Literary Character. Eng. ed., p. 144.

f Roma Sotteranea, ope)-a postnma di Antonio Bosio composta
disposta ed accresciuta da Giovanni di Severano, Sacerdote delta Con-
gregazione dell' Oratorio. Roma, 1632.

MacFarlane and Kip are in error as to the period of Bosio's labours,
antedating them about thirty years.

154 The Catacombs of Rome.

principal tombs and shrines described in the ancient
ecclesiastical records is not always sufficiently accurate.
He is rather uncritical and confused in his arrangement,
although honest and, in matters of personal observation,
exact. His work is of great value as giving an account
of many crypts and monuments, and copies of many
paintings which have perished through the decay or
vandalism of the last two hundred years, or whose posi-
tion has been forgotten. Among these is the Jewish
Cemetery before mentioned, of which no evidence is
extant save Bosio's description. His name, written in
his own peculiarly bold style, is met with in many of the
newly opened galleries of the Catacombs, showing that he
had previously explored those parts since filled with
earth.

Many objects of priceless value have been lost since
Bosio's day by the desultory and unsystematic excava-
tions of private and independent explorers. These
were conducted, not upon a system of enlightened
archaeological research, but upon mere caprice ; and
were guided too often by a superstitious zeal for the
identification and translation of the relics of the saints,
or by the more sordid motive of trafficking in their re-
mains, or of pillaging the gold and silver with which
some of the more illustrious shrines were still adorned.
In this quest many paintings, sculptures, and inscriptions
were destroyed or defaced of which no record has been
preserved. After the year 16SS the excavations were
pursued under pontifical supervision, though often ne-
glected through indifference or embarrassed by want of
funds.

In 1 65 1 a Latin translation of Bosio's great work*
* Roma Subterranea novissima post Ant. Bosium et yoan. Seve-
ranum, Ronue, 1651. Two vols. fol. It is sa'd that there ai

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 155

was published by Padre Aringhi, a learned Oratorian
priest, who added numerous important discoveries of his
own. This book has been largely consulted in the
preparation of these pages, collated, of course, with
more recent and more accurate explorers.

The Catacombs were now frequently visited by trav-
ellers, who have left a record of their impressions in
their published works. Among these were two distin-
guished Englishmen, John Evelyn and Bishop Burnet.
The sturdy Protestantism of the latter, rejecting the
unwarranted inferences drawn by the Roman archaeolo-
gists from this testimony of the primitive ages, was be-
trayed into an unjust skepticism as to the character of
that testimony. He does not scruple to affirm that
" those burying places that are graced with the pompous
title of Catacombs are no other than the puticoli men-
tioned by Festus Pompeius, where the meanest sort of
the Roman slaves were laid," and that they did not
come into the possession of the Christians till the fourth
or fifth century.* A more careful or more candid ex-
amination of those early evidences of Christianity would
have shown him the error of this statement, in which
he has been followed by Misson, a French Protestant,
and by some other writers.

In 1 68 1 Bertoli published an interesting work on the
sepulchral lamps of the Catacombs f with numerous il-
lustrations ; but a more valuable contribution to the
literature of this subject was a collection of Christian

two copies of this work in America. Aringhi's version, being in
Latin, is better known out of Italy than the Italian treatises of Bosio,
Boldetti, or Bottari.

* " Letters from Italy in 16S5 and 16S6." Rotterdam. Pp. 209.

\ Li antic hi htcerni sepolcrali figurante raccolte dale cave setter-
ranea e «rotte di Roma. Roma, 1681.

156 The Catacombs of Rome.

epitaphs * by Raphael Fabretti, for many years custodian
of these sacred crypts, who prevented the wholesale de-
struction of the inscriptions by their careless removal.
The learned Benedictine, Mabillon, personally examined
the evidences of the Catacombs, and wrote a treatise
concerning the reverence of the unknown saints. f This
led to the publication, under the patronage of Clem-
ent XI., of a theological and apologetic, rather than
scientific, treatise on the cemeteries of the holy martyrs
and early Christians of Rome, \ by Marc Antonio Bol-
detti, the successor, for thirty years, of Fabretti, as cus~
tode of the Catacombs. But in his case, as in that of
several other Roman archaeologists, theological zeal was
allied with antiquarian enthusiasm, and sometimes im-
paired or destroyed the value of his researches.

Gruter's vast collection of ancient inscriptions, § pub-
lished early in the century, and more especially that
of Muratori, || were valuable contributions to Chris-
tian epigraphy. The learned Jesuit, Marangoni, pre-
pared the material of a systematic work on the topo-
graphical principle of Bosio, when the labour of nearly a
score of years was destroyed by fire. " It seems," says
De Rossi, recording the event, " that the literary history
of the Catacombs is but an Iliad of disaster and irrep-
arable losses."

The next name of distinction that we m-eet in connec-
tion with this subject is that of Bottari, equally versed
in profane and sacred antiquities. His great work on

* Inscriptionum antiquarian qi/ie in adibus paternis asservantur
etc. Roma;, 1702.

\ De Cultii Sanctonn/i Ignotorum.

% Osservazioni sopra i cemeteri dei SS. Martiri ed antichi eristiani
di Roma. Roma, 1 720.

§ Insaiptiones Antiqua. Amstelodami, 1707.

[) Novus Thesaurus Veterum Insaiptionum. Mediolani, 1739.

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 157

the sculpture and paintings of the Catacombs * was is-
sued from the Vatican press, under the patronage of
Clement XII., during the years 1 737-1 754. Other ar-
chaeologists, among whom we may enumerate Buonar-
rotti, Mamachi, f Marini, Lupi, Zaccaria, % Danzetta, §
Olivieri, Borgia, and others, illustrated the subject in vari-
ous works during the eighteenth century. The establish-
ment of the Christian Museum in the Vatican by Bene-
dict XIV. greatly facilitated the study of these antiqui-
ties. The taste for archaeological research, however,
even among ecclesiastics, was principally confined to the
remains of pagan antiquity ; and amid the many mu-
seums of Rome only one was devoted to the Christian
monuments of the primitive ages, of which such vast
treasures lay buried in the earth.

During the present century important contributions
have been made to the literature of the Catacombs by
D'Agincourt,|| Rostell,!" Raoul-Rochette,** the Abbes

* Sculture e Pitture Sacre estratte dai Cimeteri di Roma. Roma.

f His Originum ct Antiquitatum Christianorum, Roma, 1749-51,
treats especially on the sarcophagi of the Catacombs.

% This celebrated Jesuit projected a work " On the Use of Ancient
Christian Inscriptions in Theology." See Migne, Cursus Completus
Theolog., vol. v, pp. 309. etc.

§ Danzetta continued Zaccaria's plan. His work, which he called
Theologia Lapidaria, left unfinished, was undertaken by Oeatano
Marini, who spent many years collecting materials to embrace the
first ten centuries. He was interrupted by the French Revolution,
and his thirty-one volumes of MS. in the Vatican are an unfinished
monument of his learning and industry.

I In L'Histoire de L'Art par les Monumens. Six vols. fol. Paris.
D'Agincourt came to Rome intending to spend six months in the
study of this subject, but its fascination so grew upon him that it occu-
pied the remaining fifty years of his life.

T[ In Bunsen's Beschreibung der Stadt Rom. Stuttgard, 1 830.

** Memoire stir les antiquites Chretiennes des Catacombes. {Mem. di
YAcad. des Inscr., XIII) See also Tableau des Catacombes.

158 The Catacombs of Rome.

Gaume * and Gerbet,f Bishop Munter,J Cardinal Mai,§
and especially Padres Marchi || and Garrucci.

Cardinal Wiseman, in his beautiful tale of Fabiola,^[
attempts to rehabilitate the primitive ages in the garb
of modern Romanism. He brings together from widely
different periods the legends and traditions, often based
on very scanty evidence, which are most favourable to
the claims of ultramontanism, and thus completely de-
stroys the historic value of the work, rendering it in
essence, as it is in form, a mere romance.

The most magnificent contribution to the literature
of the Catacombs, at least in point of artistic excellence
and costliness, is the superb work of M. Perret,** in six
huge folio volumes, with some five hundred coloured
drawings, two thirds of which were never before copied,
and as many facsimile inscriptions. It was prepared
under the direction of the French Academy of Inscrip-
tions, and by a vote of the Legislative Assembly of the
French Republic of 185 1 a grant of one hundred and
eighty thousand francs was given to defray the cost. No

* In Les Trois Routes.

\ Esquisse de Rome Chrtticniu.

% Sinnbilder mid Kunstvorstellungender Alten Christen. Altona.

§ Vetemm Scriptornm Nova Collectio. Roma, 1831.

I Monumenti delle Arti Crist iane Primitive nella Metropoli del
Qistianesimo. Roma, 1844. The political troubles of the year
1S48 prevented its completion. The theological zeal of this writer,
however, has in many cases biassed his judgment. " In every page
of his work," says a critic in the Edinburgh Review, (January, 1S59,
Am. ed. ccxxi, p. 48,) " an exuberant desire to find evidence in sup-
port of the later Romish doctrine among these records of the primi-
tive church predominates over every other consideration."

Tf London, 1857.

** Les Catacombes de Rome, par Louis Ferret. Six vols., fol. Paris,
1852-57. This book costs in the United States $600. Only three
copies are known to be in America. One of these is a gift from the
late emperor of the French to the parliamentary library of Canada.

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 159

expense was spared in its production. An able corps of
artists and architects were employed for several years
in the undertaking. The galleries and cubicula are
represented in elaborate drawings, plans, and sections,
and many of the frescoes are copied full size. In these
latter, however, the artists have injudiciously endeav-
oured to reproduce the original force, colour, and expres-
sion, instead of giving facsimiles of the faded, and often
half-obliterated, paintings. Many of the pictures have,
therefore, a pre-Raphaelite beauty, which destroys their
value as accurate representations of the art of the Cat-
acombs. It is to be regretted that the letter-press which
accompanies these plates is not more worthy of the gen-
eral magnificence of this splendid work. " It is strung
together," says the writer already quoted,* " without
discrimination or critical research, and conveys a very
inaccurate notion of the results which scientific inquiry,
as opposed to mere ecclesiastical tradition, has now
reached." We have rarely ventured to make a state-
ment on its authority unless corroborated by more
authentic testimony, but many of its accurate draw-
ings of subterranean architecture enhance the value
of these pages.

All previous explorers, however, are left far behind
by the invaluable labours of the Cavaliere De Rossi, the
present custode of the Catacombs, and head of the Ro-
man archaeological commission. His profound knowl-
edge of Christian antiquities, his unchallenged candour
and honesty of statement, his patience and ingenuity
in exploration, his scientific method, accurate observa-

* Edinburgh Review, January, 1859, p. 48. De Rossi speaks with
tenderness of this superb edition — la grandiza edizione — which, in
spite of its defects — mal grado i suoi difetli — is a valuable contribu.
tion to the literature of the Catacombs.

160 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion, and careful deductions, place him far beyond any
of his predecessors in this fascinating but difficult field
of inquiry. While, however, his statements of facts
may always be relied upon, his theoretical conclusions
must sometimes be received with caution, in conse-
quence of that seemingly inevitable tendency in Roman
Catholic writers to discover ancient evidences in favour
of their modern belief and practice where they can be
found by no one else.

The Catacombs are now placed under the jurisdiction
of the Roman Cardinal Vicar, assisted by a commission
of sacred archaeology appointed by the present pontiff.
As far as the comparatively limited means at their com-
mand will allow, they zealously prosecute the excavation
and exploration of this subterranean Rome with a sys-
tematic method which has already been attended with
remarkable success, and which promises the most happy
results in the future. From its crumbling ruins, paint-
ings, decorations, and inscriptions of different ages, De
Rossi reconstructs its history, often with the greatest
minuteness and fidelity. His Roma Sotterranca * con-
tains a general history of the Catacombs on the principle
adopted in this volume, and a particular analysis of that
of Callixtus, embodying his most important discoveries.
The learned author is also publishing a complete col-
lection of all the Christian inscriptions of the first seven
centuries found in the vicinity of Rome. The first
volume f contains all those with consular dates, which

* Roma Sotlerranea Cristiana. Roma, 1864-67. Four vols, fol., two
of text and two of plates, which are of great fidelity. The text is
from the Vatican press. The plates bear the imprint Venesna.

\ In script} ones Christiana Urbis Roma Sept i mo Sicculo Antiqui-
ores. Romae. One vol. fol., 1857-61. It is dedicated to the present
pope, "Another Damasus, who has brought to light the monuments
of the martyrs. . . . overwhelmed wuh ruin." — " PioIX., Pont. Max,

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 161

are invaluable as fixing the chronology of the Catacombs
and as evidences of doctrine, showing its gradual cor-
ruption in later times. . De Rossi also edits a bimonthly
journal — the Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana — in which
the new discoveries are announced.

Dr. Maitland has the honour of being the first English
writer on this subject, with the exception of the inci-
dental allusions of travellers like Evelyn and Burnet.
His admirable volume on the " Church in the Cata-
combs " is one of great interest, but having been writ-
ten thirty years ago is quite out of date ; and the recent
discoveries of De Rossi and others have shown some of
its conclusions, especially on the origin of the Cata-
combs, to be erroneous. His chapters on religious art
and symbolism are of permanent value, and the theo-
logical bearing of these Christian evidences has been
discussed with great candour and moderation.

In 1852 Mr. MacFarlane published a small volume
giving a popular account of the Catacombs, making no
reference, however, to their doctrinal teachings. " I
have," he says, "carefully avoided controversy." The
Rev. J. W. Burgon's " Letters from Rome " contain
some valuable chapters on this subject. The Rev. J.
Spencer Northcote, D.D., a Roman Catholic clergy-
man, published in 1857 a compendious "Account of
the Burial-places of the Early Christians in Rome,"
compiled chiefly from Padre Marchi, whose strongly
Romanist views he fully adopted. In conjunction with
the Rev. W. R. Brownlow, M.A., he published in 1869

alteri Damaso, qui monumenta martyrum, . . . minis obstructa in
lucem revocat." Both of these works, which embody the result of the
most recent explorations, have been laid under tribute in the prepara-
tion of these pages. Several of the illustrations are from the same
sources.

1 62 The Catacombs of Rome.

the results of De Rossi's labours in a condensed form,
with reduced copies of many of his plates. With
the same reserve as in the case of his former volume,
this is a valuable contribution to the literature of
this subject.* More recently the Rev. W. B. Mar-
riott, B.D., has written a work entitled "The Testi-
mony of the Catacombs," consisting of three mono-
graphs illustrating the development of the cultus of
Mary, the gradual encroachments of the papal see,
as indicated in Christian art, and a critical analysis of
the celebrated Autun inscription.

In America, the Right Rev. Wm. Ingraham Kip, D.D.,
published in 1S53 a little book of a popular character,
giving an account of the Catacombs, chiefly from Mait-
land, MacFarlane, and Aringhi. The authorities on
which it is based, however, have since been superseded,
and some of the views which they held disproved by
recent discovery.

The only remaining work to be mentioned as illustrat-
ing this subject is an admirable volume on Christian
epigraphy f by the Rev. John McCaul, LL.D. The
learned author's expansions, interpretations, and emen-
dations of the frequently elliptical, obscure, and un-
grammatical inscriptions of the Catacombs and other
early Christian cemeteries, and the reconstruction from

* Roma Sotterraea. London, 1869. 8vo.,pp. 414. It sells in New
York for about $16 00.

f "Christian Epitaphs of the First Six Centuries," by the Rev. John
McCaul, LL.D., President of University College, Toronto. To-
ronto and London, 1869. Dr. McCaul was previously well known
to the archaeological world by his learned volume on Brittanno-Ro-
mano Inscriptions, a work which lias elicited the commendations of
the highest critical authorities in Europe. The writer of these pages
has been greatly assisted by his veteran scholarship and critical re-
vision of the text.

Their Rediscovery and Exploration. 163

a few mutilated fragments of important historic evi-
dence, seem to the uninitiated more a sort of divination
than a process of reasoning.*

* Among the smaller treatises on the Catacombs, and separate ar-
ticles in the encyclopaedias and journals of higher literature, may be
mentioned the following, most of which have been consulted in the
preparation of these pages : Remusat, Musee Chretien de Rome ; Re-
vue des Deux Motides, Juin 15,1863; Revue CIi7etienne,Mai, 1864;
Jehan, Diet, des Origin, du Christ., pp. 212, 89 ; Martigny, Diet, des
Antiq. Chret., p. 106; Bouix, Theologie des Catacombes, Arras, 1864;
Piper, Mythologie und Symbolik der Chrisllicheu Kunst, Weimar,
pp. 184, 51, and Die Graven Schriften der A /ten ten Christen in Evang.
Kallendar 1855, p. 27, 1827, p. 37/ Edin. Rev., January, 1859, and
July, 1864 ; Conlemp. Rev., September, 1866, and May, 1872 ;
Monumental Theolog)1, by Prof. Bennett, in Meth. Quar. Rev.,
January and April, 1871 ; M'Clintock and Strong, Cyclopccdia, in verbo.
In the History of Sacred Art in Italy, by C. L. Hemans, son of the
poetess, are two interesting chapters on the Catacombs, and valuable
notes of ancient a.rt,passim. Seymour's Mornings with the jfesuits has
some interesting paragraphs on this subject, as has also Prof. Silliman's
Visit to Europe. The Rev. Wm. Arthur, M.A., has an able Exeter
Hall lecture on the Catacombs. In Murray's Hand-Book of Rome,
ed. of 1867, is some interesting information on this topic. In Har-
per's Mag., April, 1865, is a popular article by Prof. Greene, U. S.
Consul at Rome. In Schaff' s Ch. Hist., 1, § 93 ; Killerfs Anc. Ch., pp.
348-351 ; Stanley's Eastern Churches, and Wihrian, passim, are inter-
esting references to the subject. In Westcrop's Hand-Booh of Ar-
cheology, London, 1S67, and in the Diet. Epig. Chretienne, Paris,
1852, are valuable contributions on the epigraphy of the Catacombs.
Didron's Iconographie Chretienne, Paris, 1841/ Lord Lindsay's Hist,
of Art, London, 1847 , Lubke's History of Art, London, 1869 ; Mrs.
Jameson's Sacred Art, Tyrwhitt's Christian Art and Symbolism, and
Hare's Walks About Rome, have also been laid under contribution.

164 The Catacombs of Rome,

CHAPTER V.

THE PRINCIPAL CATACOMBS OF ROME.

Before leaving this division of our subject we will
take a rapid survey of the more remarkable of that vast
system of Christian cemeteries that engirdles the city
of Rome. It will be more convenient to notice them in
topographical order, beginning with those on the Appian
Way, and sweeping around the city to the north-west,
over the great roads on the borders of which the Cata-
combs are chiefly situated. The ground near these roads
is honeycombed with sepulchral excavations, to which
there are said to be six hundred entrances scattered
over the Campagna. Bosio found them in almost every
vineyard near the Salarian Way. In some of these the
peasants keep their wine, although their fears prevent
them from venturing far from the mouth ; and some-
times villas fall in through the subsidence of the
soil.

The various groups of crypts have been known by
different names at different periods, or even at the same
period ; and it is sometimes difficult or impossible to
disentangle the conflicting accounts, and to identify the
cemeteries to which the ancient names were applied.
The original records — the martyrologies and the Li for
Pontificalis* — are sometimes utterly unreliable, and the

* This book, so often referred to, has been ascribed to Damasus
but much of it is unquestionably of much later origin. While much
of its information is valuable, more of it is quite unauthentic.

The Principal Catacombs.

165

very existence of the saints and martyrs whose lives are
recorded is often exceedingly apocryphal ; and even if
their traditions are in the main correct, it is in many
cases doubtful if they are buried in the Catacombs
which bear their names. Frequently, however, these
traditions are confirmed by inscriptions and other mon-
umental evidence, which establish beyond doubt the
identity of the Catacomb, as in the case of that of
Callixtus and others which we shall notice.

Pig. 25— Tombs on Appian Way.

Southeastward from the ancient Porta Capena of the
city of Rome stretches the celebrated Appian Way, the
most remarkable of those vast arteries of commerce
along which flowed to the most distant provinces the
vital currents from the great heart of the empire. This
" Queen of Roads," * as it was proudly called, was lined
on either side by the stately tombs in which reposed the

* " Qua limite noto
Appia longarum teritur Regina Viarum." — Stat. Sy!., II, 2.

1 66 The Catacombs of Rome.

ashes o£»the mighty dead. * " The history of Christian
Rome," says Padre Marchi, f " gives to this same
road titles of glory incomparably more solid, just, and
indisputable. We are forced to acknowledge it as the
queen of Christian roads by reason of the greater num-
ber and extent of its cemeteries, and still more by the
greater number and celebrity of its martyrs." Under
the present pontiff this historic highway has been ex-
cavated and opened for travel as far as Albano ; and
one may now traverse that avenue of tombs on the very
causeway on which Horace and Virgil, Augustus and
Maecenas, Cicero and Seneca, must often have entered
Rome. But it is invested with a profounder interest as
the way by which the great Apostle of the Gentiles
approached the city, " an ambassador in bonds," to
preach the gospel in Rome also, and to finish his testi-
mony by a glorious martyrdom. By this very road also,
according to an ancient tradition, his body was stealth-
ily conveyed by night and deposited in an adjacent Cat-
acomb ; and here wended many a mourning procession

* Often mere vulgar wealth exhibited its ostentation even in death
by the magnitude and magnificence of these tombs designed to per-
petuate the memory of their occupants forever. But, as if to rebuke
that posthumous pride, they are now mere crumbling ruins, often de-
voted to ignoble uses, the very names of whose tenants are forgotten.
Many of them, during the stormy period of the Middle Ages, were
occupied as fortresses. More recently that of Augustus, on the Cam-
pus Martius, was used as an arena for bull-fights, and as a summer
theatre, where Harlequin played his pranks upon an emperor's grave.
Some of the tombs have been converted into stables, pig-styes, or
charcoal cellars. The cinerary urn of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus,
was long used as a measure for corn. In many a vignarolo's hovel in
the Campagna swine may be seen eating out of sculptured sarcoph-
agi, and in the imperial halls where banqueted the masters of the
world they hold their unclean revels. " Expendc Hannibalem," says
the Roman satirist, " quot libras in duce summo invenies?"

\ Monumenti delle Arti Cristiane Primitive, p. 73.

The Principal Catacombs. 167

bearing to those lowly crypts the remains of Rome's
early bishops, martyrs, and confessors.

The ancient Porta Capena, with the dripping aque-
duct above it,* have disappeared, and the fountain of
Egeria, trampled by cattle, is no longer the haunt of
nymph or naiad. Passing through the modern Sebastian
gate and crossing the classic Almo, the traveller reaches
at a short distance the little church of Domine quo
vadis, with which is connected one of the most beau-
tiful legends of the martyrology.f

About a mile and three quarters from the city he
comes to Vigna Animendola, on the doorway leading to
which is a marble tablet with the words ccemeterivm
s. callixti. Beneath this vineyard lies the celebrated
Catacomb of Callixtus, of which we propose to enter
into a somewhat detailed description, as it will give

* Substitit ad veteres arcus, madidamque Capenam.

— Juv., Sat., iii.

f The legend asserts that as the Apostle Peter was leaving Rome
in the early dawn, in order to escape martyrdom, he met Our Lord
bearing his cross, and, throwing himself at his feet, exclaimed,
Domine quo vadis — " Lord, whither goest thou ? " In accents of
tender rebuke the Master answered, Venio Romam iterum crucifigi
— " I am going to Rome to be crucified again." Stung with contrition
and remorse, the disciple, according to the tradition, returned to the
city, and there was crucified — by his own request with his head
downwards, as unworthy to share the same mode of death as the Lord
whom he had denied. In the neighbouring church of St. Sebastian
is a white marble slab bearing impressions said to have been made
by the feet of Our Lord. The story is first mentioned by Origen, who
applies it to St. Paul. St. Ambrose substitutes St. Peter, but the
precise spot was not fixed till the fifteenth century ; and Aringhi, in
the seventeenth century, is the first who mentions the impression of
the feet in " that stone most worthy, more valuable than any precious
jewel." This white marble slab is certainly very unlike the dark
gray porphyry of the Appian pavement, and the irregular depression
in its surface bears slight resemblance to human feet. But no his-
torical difficulties are too great for the devout credulity of Rome.

1 68 The Catacombs of Rome:

greater definiteness to the general conceptions already
received, and will serve as a typical example of the
origin and history of the Catacombs in general.

In the year 1849 De Rossi found in a cellar in this
vineyard a broken marble slab with the mutilated in-
scription ELIVS • MARTYR, and at the beginning the
upper part of the letters RN. He immediately conjec-
tured that this was a fragment of the tombstone of
Cornelius, a Roman bishop of the third century, whose
sepulchre would probably be found not far off. At his
persuasion the pope purchased the vineyard, and the
archaeological commission began the work of excavation.
They were rewarded by some of the most remarkable
discoveries which have yet been made.

The cemetery is situated between the Via Appia and
the Via Ardeatina, which are connected by narrow
cross-roads. De Rossi has prepared a map of the prin-
cipal part of it, divided into fifteen rectilinear and gen-
erally rectangular areas. The dimensions of these
areas are not fractional but round numbers, as 100, 125,
150, and 250 feet, which cannot be the result of accident,
and, with other evidences, indicate that they were, like
similar pagan sepulchral areas, originally so many sepa-
rate places of burial. When brought under the eccle-
siastical control of Callixtus, about A. D. 200, they
probably received one common name, became struc-
turally united, and were used as a public cemetery
of the church.

The first of these areas which we reach on entering
the vineyard is that known as the crypt of St. Lucina.
It has a frontage of one hundred feet on the Via Appia,
and an extension in agro of two hundred and thirty feet.
The limits of this area are exactly defined by the pres-
ence of a small pagan hypogceum on each side, which the

The Principal Catacombs. 169

Christians dared not undermine. In the centre, near
the road, is a massive monument, shown in the section
of this crypt, Fig. 14, which De Rossi conjectures to have
been a Christian mausoleum,* quoting Tertullian f as a
witness that they had monumenta et mausolea at a very
early period. % This is more probable from the fact that
the property belonged to the noble Roman family of the
Cascilii, with which Cicero was connected, many of
whose tombs were found in the neighbourhood. This
probably explains its vicinity to the stately mausoleum
of Caecilia Metella. The names of many Caecilii and
other noble Roman families are also found on epitaphs
in this crypt. This was unquestionably one of the most
ancient areas of the Catacombs.

In this area, in 1852, the remaining portion of the epi-
taph of Cornelius was found at the foot of the tomb to
which it evidently belonged, in a gallery of unusual
width.

This tomb is flanked by pilasters covered with fine
white stucco, and a mutilated inscription in the well-
known manner of Damasus commemorates its adorn-
ment by that pontiff. Numerous g?-affiti indicate that
this was a favourite shrine. Faded frescoes of Cornelius,
Cyprian, and two other bishops, wearing the stole, ton-
sure, and nimbus, are attributed by De Rossi to the
ninth century. Beside the tomb is a short column of
masonry, covered with stucco, which probably sustained
an altar or the vase of oil in which tapers were anciently
burned before the shrines of the martyrs ; § indeed, the

* Rom. Soft., ii, 367. -J- De Resurrect. Carnis., c. 27.

\ Rom. Sott., i, 210.

§ The Council of Elvira, A. D. 305, forbade the burning of wax
tapers by day in the cemeteries of the dead — Cereos per diem placuit
in ccemeterio non incendi. Cone. Elib., can. 34.

I/O The Catacombs of Rome.

fragments of such a vase have been found among the
rubbish of the tomb. Among the relics sent by Gregory
the Great to Queen Theodelinda, according to the list
still extant in the cathedral of Monza, said to be in the
handwriting of that pope, is one ex oleo S. Comelii, which
must have come from this spot.

When the area of Lucina became crowded with tombs
another of the same size was opened about a hun-
dred yards off. It contains the celebrated " Papal
Crypt," the tomb of St. Cecilia, and other monuments
of the greatest interest. We will give a somewhat de-
tailed account of the construction and successive changes
of this area, following the skilful analysis of De Rossi,
who has given accurate plans, sections, and measure-
ments of the whole. It extended, as is shown by the
dotted lines in the accompanying plan, two hundred
and fifty feet along the narrow cross-road marked M N,
and one hundred feet in agro. This would, in the
first place, be secured as a burial-ground by the
Christian owner with the proper legal forms, which, we
have seen, protected the places of sepulture from inva-
sion or disturbance till the times of the later persecution.
Openings were then made from the surface at A and B,
and stairways constructed reaching to a depth of thirty-
nine feet. These stairways were partly lined with brick-
work, but were chiefly cut in the solid tufa. The walls
were coated with fine stucco, white and firm — an evi-
dence of antiquity — and ornamented with bands of
a bright red pigment. The original steps were cov-
ered with marble, but they were afterwards restored
with masonry. The upper part, indicated by dotted
lines, is destroyed to the depth of ten feet, and there is
evidence of the complete obstruction of the passage,
doubtless during time of persecution. The stairway 15

The Principal Catacombs.

171

has been used as a wine store, and is obstructed by a
wall and a smaller transverse stairway.

An ambulacrum or gallery was first excavated around
the sides of the area, and several cross passages, as D,

rzn\f

Is w

M^S

A3 /\

rs— *—^5g3m^:/,Aiy--* N

Fig. 26.— Part of Cemetery of Callixtus.

E, F, G, H, I, constructed. The walls are thickly lined
with graves, and in places the floor has been lowered to
give room for still more loculi. At D, C, the fossors
finding the wall to crumble, had to strengthen it with
masonry, and to desist from lowering the floor of the

172 The Catacombs of Rome.

gallery. Hence the latter is not level, but has, in places,
steps which have been worn to an inclined plane. The
increasing demand for graves led to the formation of the
cubicula Kx to A6, as well as others in the interior of the
area. Many of these are decorated with frescoes, and A3
is known as the Capclla dei Sacramenti, or Chapel of the
Sacrament, on account of its so-called liturgical paint-
ings. A4 has a coloured marble floor of symmetrical de-
sign, and A6 has a large sepolcro a mensa lined with
marble and flanked with marble pilasters. The iron
bars which supported the table tomb may still be seen.
There are many Greek as well as Latin inscriptions in
these galleries, and some of the tiles which close the
loculi bear the stamp of the emperors M. Aurelius and
Commodus, which fixes the date of this area. Some
of the passages are entirely paved with such tiles. Nu-
merous niches for lamps also occur. At F a well was
excavated which still contains water. It is furnished
with foot-holes, that a man might descend in order to
clean it out. This is common in other wells in the
Catacombs.

The ever-pressing necessity for graves compelled the
fossors at length to attempt the construction of galleries
on a lower level. Accordingly we find a stairway,
H, H2, of thirty-four steps leading down from the gal-
lery H. The rock, however, through which this stair-
way descends is no longer the firm tufa granolare of the
upper level, but a very friable stratum of pozzolana,
which made it necessary to protect the walls with brick-
work. Finding this stratum of great depth, they exca-
vated a horizontal passage, and a still further narrow
experimental cleft, as it were, in search of firmer rock,
but soon abandoned the attempt, failing to find any
suitable for sepulture. The few graves they made had

The Principal Catacombs. 173

to be built of brick-work ; and in one of these was found
a little terra cotta sarcophagus, containing the body of
an infant. This shows the utter unfitness of the pozzo
/ana beds in which the armaria are excavated for the
construction of the Catacombs. We have seen that
about A. D. 200 Callixtus became the guardian of this
cemetery, which seems to have then become the burial-
place of the bishops of Rome instead of the crypts of
the "Vatican as previously. According to the Liber
Po?itificalis, out of eighteen bishops from Zephyrinus to
Sylvester, that is, from A. D. 197 to A. D. 314, no less
than thirteen were buried in this cemetery. This Cal-
lixtus was originally a slave, afterwards elevated to the
highest ecclesiastical dignities, including the episcopate
itself — a proof of the superiority of the church to all
social distinctions. According to Hippolytus, the un-
doubted author of the recently discovered Philosophou-
mena, he reached that dignity by dishonourable means,
by fraud and guile. He was at one time banished by
the emperor to the mines of Sardinia for embezzling
moneys intrusted to his care, and on his return lapsed
into heresy bordering on pantheism, or at least was
charged with that offence. But although the character
of Callixtus shows the nascent corruptions of the church
of Rome even early in the third century, it should not
prejudice us against the cemetery called by his name.
He himself is interred elsewhere,* and the holy con-
fessors and martyrs who slumbered here have consecrated
the place forever with their hallowed dust.

Toward the middle of the third century, as we have

* He was killed by being thrown out of the window of his house
in a popular tumult in Rome. His body was cast into a well, and
afterwards secretly conveyed to the cemetery of Calepodius, on the
Via Aurelia, in the immediate vicinity.

174 The Catacombs of Rome.

seen, even the cemeteries themselves were not secure
from invasion by the persecuting tyrants. When the
protection of the law was withdrawn, the public stair-
ways A and B, Fig. 26, were blocked up and partially
destroyed, new passages, B2 and B3, were opened into
the adjacent arenarium for the entrance and escape of
the Christians, and a very narrow and steep secret stair-
way, X4, was constructed from the roof of the latter to
the open air, requiring a ladder, which might be re-
moved to cut off pursuit, or the assistance of friends for
entrance or departure.* We have here an affecting in-
stance of the perils to which the persecuted Christians
were exposed when hunted through these gloomy crypts
by their cruel pagan foes. The difference between the
straight and narrow galleries of the Catacombs and the
wide and unsymmetrical windings of the arenarium
will be remarked. Connexions were also formed with
adjacent areas at S, Ci, C2, and Bi, sometimes break-
ing directly through the loculi and cubicula. The ut-
most economy of space was now observed, every avail-
able foot of wall being occupied ; the inscriptions be-
come more rude, indicating poverty and oppression ; and
the stucco or marble ornaments give place to rude
carvings of the tufa itself into cornices, columns, and
capitals. Some of the cubicula are made of larger size,
as if for worship, sometimes six or eight-sided, and oc-
casionally with apsidal recesses.

During the terrible period of the Diocletian persecu-
tion, when the cemeteries were confiscated by the
heathen government, the Christians, in order to prevent
the profanation of the more sacred sepulchres, and espec-
ially that of'the bishops, filled up the principal galleries
with earth at immense expense and labour. Much of

* See section of this stairway in Fig. 22.

The Principal Catacombs. 175

this still encumbers the passages and forms the chief
obstacle to their exploration. On the cessation of the
persecution some of these galleries leading to the prin-
cipal crypts were cleared out by means of cylindrical
shafts made for the purpose ; and sometimes new gal-
leries were excavated in the tufa above the old ones,
the floor of which was formed of the consolidated earth
in the former gallery. Where this earth has been re-
moved the height of the two galleries is, in places, twenty
feet, filled with graves to the top, the upper part being
much narrower than the lower. The obstructions in
the stairways A and B were also removed and the stairs
renewed.

We have seen that Damasus was indefatigable in his
restoration of the Catacombs. It might, therefore, be
expected that this important area would give evidence
of his labours. Such evidence is found in a broad
stairway of fine masonry, not shown in Fig. 26, made to
accommodate the crowds of pilgrims who thronged to
those sacred shrines, the " Papal Crypt " and tomb of St.
Cecilia. This stairway was discovered by De Rossi in
1854, entirely blocked up with an immense mass of earth
and rubbish, as were also the chambers to which it led.
The removal of this was a work of great expense and
labour. The vestibule, L, which we first enter, is con-
structed entirely of masonry, and is lighted by a large
luminare. Its plastered walls are covered with graffiti>
an indication that we are approaching a spot held in
especial sanctity by the ancient church.*

These casual records of the generations of pilgrims

who have visited the tombs of the primitive bish

ops, martyrs, and confessors, have proved in many

* Here were also found a number of polygonal basalt paving-
stones, evidently from the roadway above.

176 The Catacombs of Rome.

cases of great importance, and are. in the words of De
Rossi, " the faithful echoes of history, and infallible
guides through these subterranean labyrinths." But
they are sometimes also, as we shall see hereafter,
indications of the corruption of doctrine, and of the
nascent belief in human mediation between man and
God.

It is somewhat of a disappointment to find, on enter-
ing this celebrated sanctuary, (L] in the plan,) that in-
stead of being a veritable relic of the third or fourth
century, most of the masonry is only a few years old.
When an entrance was effected into it in TS54, which
could only be done through the luminare, it was found
in a ruinous condition, filled with earth, broken brick-
work, and rubbish of every sort. When this was removed
the vault gave way, and had to be almost entirely rebuilt
and lined with masonry. The chamber itself is com-
paratively small, being only about eleven by fourteen
feet. It has a barrel roof, and is lighted by a large
luminare. The pavement was of marble, and covered
graves made beneath it. On each side are eight large
loculi, the lower row of which has spaces to contain sar-
cophagi. The walls were formerly lined with marble,
and had semi-detached marble pillars, the bases of
which still remain. At the end opposite the entrance
is a large scpolcro a mensa, in front of which is a dais
elevated two steps. In this dais are four sockets to
receive the bases of as many short pillars which sup-
ported a marble table standing out from the wall, as
unlike as possible to a modern Roman altar. The whole
was surrounded by a low parapet of marble lattice work,
fragments of which have been disinterred from the debris
that encumbered the spot.

In this little chamber no less than eleven Roman

The Principal Catacombs. 177

bishops of the third century are recorded to have been
buried, and others in its immediate vicinity, when per-
secution or other reasons prevented their being laid in
its sacred inclosure. As we have already seen,* De Rossi
has recovered in the rubbish of this chamber what he
conceives to be the original epitaphs of five of these
bishops, and presumptive evidence of the presence of
others. St. Sixtus, indeed, is frequently mentioned in
the graffiti as he to whom especial reverence was here
paid, and De Rossi found in this crypt fragments of
his epitaph which we have previously given. f The fol-
lowing Damasine inscription was discovered by De Rossi
among the debris of this chamber in one hundred and
twenty fragments, and with great skill and learning re-
constructed and restored to the wall.

HIC CONGESTA IACET QVAERIS SI TVRBA PIORYM
CORPORA SANCTORVM RETINENT VENERANDA SEIWLCHRA
SVBLIMES ANIMAS RAPVIT SIBI REGIA CAELI
HIC COMITES XYSTI TORTANT QVI EX HOSTE TROPAEA
HIC NVMERVS PROCERVM SERVAT QVI ALTARIA CHRISTI
HIC POSITVS LONGA VIXIT QVI IN PACE SACERDOS
HIC CONFESSORES SANCTI QVOS GRAECIA MISIT
HIC IVVENES PVERIQVE SENES CASTIQVE NEPOTES
QVIS MAGE VIRGINEVM PLACVIT RETINERE PVDOREM
HIC FATEOR DAMASVS VOLVI MEA CONDERE MEMBRA
SED CINERES TIM VI SANCTOS VEXARE PIORVM.

" Here, if you would know, lie heaped together a whole crowd of

holy ones.
These honoured sepulchres inclose the bodies of the saints,
Their noble souls the palace of Heaven has taken to itself.
Here lie the companions of Xystus, who bear away the trophies from

the enemy ;
Here a number of elders, who guard the altars of Christ ;
Here is buried the priest, who long lived in peace ;
Here the holy confessors whom Greece sent us ;

* Tp. 81-83. t rP- s5. 86.

178 The Catacombs of Rome.

Here lie youths and boys, old men and their chaste offspring,
Who chose, as the better part, to keep their virgin chastity.
Here I, Damasus, confess I wished to lay my limbs,
But I feared to disturb the holy ashes of the saints." *

An ancient itinerary states that eighty, or, according
to one account, eight hundred, martyrs are buried in
this part of the Catacomb ; and in the corner of this
very crypt is a pit of remarkable depth, probably the
polyandria, in which were " heaped together a whole
crowd " of the victims of persecution.

Besides these restorations of Damasus, there is evi-
dence of successive decorations of this celebrated
shrine down to the period of Leo III., at the end of the
eighth century. So great have been the changes thus
caused that De Rossi confesses that it is impossible to
say what was the original character of the chamber.

Adjoining the " Papal Crypt " is that of St. Cecilia,
(O, Fig. 26,) to which we pass from the former through
a narrow doorway in the rock. This is one of the largest
cubicula in the Catacombs, being nearly twenty feet
square, and is flooded with light by a large luminare.
The chamber, which gives evidence of having been greatly
enlarged from its original dimensions, was once lined with
marble and mosaic, as were also the sides of the doorway
and the arch above. It has also been frequently adorned
with paintings, a sure indication of its especial sanctity.
Among these are a large head of Our Lord, of the Byzan-
tine type, with a Greek nimbus, in a semicircular niche,

* The old brick building with three apsides and a vaulted roof,
near the entrance to this crypt, long used as a gardener's storehouse,
has been claimed as the basilica which Damasus provided for the
burial of himself, his mother, and sister ; but it was more probably
the fabricia for worship or the celebration of the agape, or simply for
the guardian of the Catacomb.

The Principal Catacombs. 179

and a full-length figure of St. Urban in pontifical robes,
with his name inscribed. Both of these, De Rossi thinks,
belong to the tenth or eleventh century. Another pic-
ture, probably of the seventh century, of a richly attired
Roman lady with jeweled bracelets and necklace, is
conjectured to represent St. Cecilia. A large recess in
the wall next to the " Papal Crypt " is thought to have
held her sarcophagus. De Rossi and his English editors
seem to accept substantially the Romish legend of this
celebrated martyr. Protestant readers, however, will
take the liberty of rejecting the miraculous part of the
story as an invention of the fifth century, when the le-
gend first appears.

St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, according to her rather
apocryphal Acts was a maiden of noble rank — ingenua,
nobilis, clarissima. She sang so sweetly that the angels
descended to listen to her voice; and to her is ascribed
the invention of the organ, which is therefore her attri-
bute in art. She was betrothed to Valerian, a pagan of
patrician rank, yet had vowed to be the spouse of Christ
alone. She confessed her vow to Valerian on her mar-
riage-day, and assured him that she was ever guarded
by an angel of God, who would avenge its violation.
He promised to respect her vow if he might behold her
celestial visitant. She told him that his eyes must be
first illumed by faith and purged with spiritual euphrasy
by baptism, and sent him to St. Urban, then hiding in
the Catacomb of Callixtus, who instructed and baptized
him. On his return he found Cecilia praying, with an
angel by her side who crowned her with immortal
flowers — the lilies of purity and the roses of martyrdom.
His brother Tiburtius came in, and, struck with the
heavenly fragrance, for it was not the time of flowers,
he also was converted and baptized. Refusing to

1 80 The Catacombs of Rome.

sacrifice to the pagan gods, the brothers both received
the crown of martyrdom.*

Cecilia herself was reserved for a more glorious tes-
timony. By order of the Roman prefect she was shut
up in the caldarium, or chamber of the bath, in her own
palace, which was heated to the point of suffocation.
After a whole day and a night she was found unharmed.
No sweat stood upon her brow, no lassitude oppressed
her limbs. A lictor was sent to strike off her head.
Three times the axe fell upon her tender neck, but, as
the law forbade the infliction of more than three strokes,
she was left alive though bathed in blood. For three
days she lingered, testifying of the grace of God and
turning many to the faith ; and then, giving her goods
to the poor and her house for a church forever, she
sweetly fell asleep. Her body was placed in a cypress
coffin — very unusual in the Catacombs, it is doubtful if
a single example was ever discovered — and buried in
the cemetery of Callixtus, "near the chapel of the'
popes."

But miracles ceased not with her death. In the trans-
lation of the martyrs from the Catacombs by Pascal I.,
in 817, the remains of Cecilia were overlooked. The
saint appeared to the pope in a vision and revealed the
place of her burial. f He sought the spot, and found her
body as fresh and perfect as when laid in the tomb five
centuries before ! He placed it in a marble sarcopha-
gus under the high altar of the church of St. Cecilia,
which he rebuilt upon the site of her palace.

In the year 1599, or nearly eight centuries later, Car-

* About A. D. 230, say the Acts, although the Christians then en-
joyed profound pi

\ An antique fresco at St. Cecilia represents the apparition of the
martyr to the pontiff as he slept in his throne on St. Peter's day.

The Principal Catacombs. 181

dinal Sfondrati, while restoring the church, discovered
this ancient sarcophagus. It was opened in the presence
of trustworthy witnesses, and there, say the ecclesiastical
records of the time, vested in golden tissue, with linen
clothes steeped with blood at the feet, besides remnants
of silken drapery, lay the incorrupt and virgin form of
St. Cecilia in the very attitude in which she died.*

It is difficult to know what proportion of truth this
legend contains ; but, like many other of the Romish
traditions, the large admixture of fiction invalidates
the claims of the whole. Its sweet and tender mysti-
cism, however, lifts it out of the region of fact into that
of poetry, and almost disarms hostile criticism. f The
excessive praise of virginity indicates a comparatively
late origin. On the festival of St. Cecilia, the 22d of
November, her tomb is adorned with flowers and illu-
mined with lamps, and mass is celebrated in her subter-
ranean chapel by a richly appareled priest — strange con-
trast to the primitive worship with which alone she was
acquainted. In a sarcophagus discovered near her

* In an arched recess under the high altar of St. Cecilia is a beau-
tiful marble statue of the saint in a recumbent posture, by Stefano
Maderna, accompanied by the following inscription :

EN TIBI SANCTISSIMAE VIRGINIS CAECILIAE IMAGINEM QVAM IPSE
INTEGRAM IN SEPVLCHRO IACENTEM VIDI EADEM TIBI PRORSVS
EODEM CORPORIS SITV HOC MARMORE EXPRESSI.

" Behold the image of the most holy Virgin Cecilia, whom I myself
saw lying incorrupt in her tomb. I have in this marble expressed for
thee the same saint in the very same posture of body."

f The modern additions have less claim on our reverence. The
skeptical will see no reason why the remains of Cecilia should defy
the laws of nature for fourteen centuries, when after only two those
of Charles Borromeo, also a saint, which are exhibited at Milan arrayed
in costly gold-embroidered robes and sparkling with gems, reveal
only a black and decaying head and eyeless sockets, the skin shriveled
and ruptured and the shrunken lips parting in a ghastly smile.

1 82 The Catacombs of Rome.

tomb were found the remains, it is assumed, of her hus-
band Valerian and his brother Tiburtius, who had
manifestly been beheaded ; and also those of the prefect
Maximus, who was converted by their martyrdom and
was himself beaten to death by plumbatce. The skull of
the latter was found broken, as if by such a weapon, and
its abundant hair matted with blood !

Other definite areas of this Catacomb have been
recognized and their outlines defined. Indeed, Father
Marchi asserts that this is " the colossal region of Roma
Sotterranca, all the rest being only small or middling
provinces."* About a hundred yards from the "Papal
Crypt " is the tomb of another celebrated martyr and
bishop, St. Eusebius; the graffiti on the walls, the stair-
way, and the decorations of which attest the reverence
in which it was held. While digging here in 1856, De
Rossi found the important epitaph of Eusebius before
given, f

Intimately connected with this are also the adjacent
cemeteries of St. Soteris, a virgin martyr of the same *•
family from which Ambrose was descended ; and that of
St. Balbina, of vast extent, in several pt'a/ii, and on a v
scale of unusual grandeur. These are as yet only par-
tially explored, and promise the richest results to future
examination. That of St. Balbina has many double, and
even quadruple, atbiatla, and the largest and most regu-
lar group of subterranean chambers that have yet been
discovered, all lighted by one large hexngonal shaft.
They were evidently excavated for worship, not foi
sepulture. This Catacomb was enlarged and beautified
by Mark, bishop of Rome, in A. D. 330, who was buried
in a basilica erected over these tombs.

These several areas were at first all distinct properties.
* Monumen. Art. Crist. Prim., p. 172. \ Page 95.

The Principal Catacombs. 183

and as carefully restricted within their respective limits
as would be buildings above ground. When, however,
the sepulchres of the Christians, no longer protected by
law, were invaded by the persecutors, the different areas
were connected by a vast and bewildering labyrinth of ,
cross passages for the purpose of facilitating escape and
of furnishing additional space for interment. As the areas,
even when contiguous, were often at different levels, a
good deal of ingenuity was exercised by the fossors in
effecting a junction of the different galleries; though
often they had to break through locitli and cubicula for
that purpose. Thus the area we have described so fully
is five feet lower than that which is adjacent on one
side, which enables us to determine its exact limit.

We will now take a more rapid survey of the other
principal Catacombs of Rome.

Nearly opposite the cemetery of Callixtus, on the
Appian Way, is that of Prsetextatus. One of the en- ^
trances, situated in the Vigna Molinari, is represented
in Fig. 2. A well-worn stairway, trodden by the feet of
pious generations, leads to subterranean galleries of
considerable extent. It is celebrated as the scene of
the martyrdom of St. Sixtus and his deacons, A. D. 259 ;
and as the burial-place of two of them, Felicitas and
Agapetus, commemorative epitaphs of whom have been
found. Their tomb, accidentally discovered by some
labourers in 1857, presents the unique example of a large .
square crypt, not hewn out of the rock but built of solid
masonry, and formerly lined with marble. This is ex-
plained by the ancient record that the Christian matron
Marmenia constructed their tomb immediately beneath
her own house. A Damasine epitaph of Januarius, who
suffered under Aurelius, A. D. 162, has also been found
here In this cemetery, too, occurs that suite of

1S4 The Catacombs of Rome.

chambers, with a hexagonal apartment, known as the
chapel with two halls, represented in section and per-
spective in Figs. 10 and n.

Especial interest attaches to the Catacomb of St. Se-
bastian from the fact of its being the only one of which
any knowledge was retained during the darkness of the
Middle Ages. During that obscure period it was known
in all the ancient documents as the Cotmeterium ad cata-
cumbas, and has given their generic name to this vast
system of subterranean sepulchres. Lying beneath the
property of the Augustinian monks, it enjoyed religious
protection in the rudest ages, and was open to the oc-
casional pilgrims to the sacred places of the Eternal
City. It is also that which is most frequently visited by
modern travellers, being accessible without the special
permission which must be obtained for exploring the
other Catacombs. It is situated on the Appian Way,
about two miles from the Sebastian gate. A stately
basilica was erected over the entrance to the Catacomb,
it is said in the time of Constantine. A part of the
original building which yet remains is claimed to be
still older, dating from the first century. With this pos-
sible exception, few traces of the ancient structure now
exist, the present building having been erected in 1611
by Cardinal Scipio borghese. The church is very rich
in paintings, sculptures, and relics, among which are the
reputed head of Callixtus, arm of St. Andrew, and body
of St. Sebastian, the impressions of the Saviour's feet
in the stone from the Appian Way, and the very chair
in which St. Stephen received the crown of martyrdom,
and which was sprinkled with his blood !

This Catacomb takes its name from the Christian
martyr Sebastian, who suffered during the Diocletian
persecution, The story of his martyrdom is one of

The Principal Catacombs. 185

great beauty ; but, as is the case with most of these
legends, its historic value is invalidated by the miracu-
lous episodes of his history. According to the " Acts
of St. Sebastian," this young and gallant officer was a
native of Narbonne, in Gaul, who held the high rank
of commander of the praetorian guard of Diocletian
and Maximian. His access to the emperors enabled
him to offer a powerful protection to the persecuted Chris-
tians, which he did not fail to extend. Two of his fellow-
soldiers, Marcus and Marcellinus, were about to recant
their profession, when Sebastian exhorted them to stead-
fastness with such fervour as to nerve them for martyr-
dom and convert the judges and all present. For his
own fidelity to the Christian faith he was transpierced
with arrows and left for dead. He recovered, however,
either through the pious care of the Christian matron
Irene, or through the special grace of the Virgin. Un-
deterred by his recent experience, he presented himself
before the emperor, upbraided him for his persecution
of the Christians, and foretold his death. He was im-
mediately seized by the command of the tyrant and
beaten to death with clubs in the hippodrome of the
palace, A. D. 286. His body was ignominiously thrown
into the Cloaca Maxima, or main sewer of Rome, in
order to deprive it of Christian burial. But the place
where it lay being revealed in a dream, his remains
were rescued from their loathsome and unconsecrated
grave, and piously interred in the Catacomb which
bears his name

The indignities that he suffered have been more than
compensated by the honours paid his relics. Over his
tomb the high altar of the church blazes with lights
and jewels, and a marble effigy of the saint pierced with
arrows commemorates his martyrdom. The genius of

1 86 The Catacombs of Rome.

Berini, Guido, and the Caracci, has glorified his memory
in deathless painting and in " animated bust."*

Connected with the church is an irregular semi-sub-
terranean building, where, tradition asserts, the bodies
of St. Peter and St. Paul for a time reposed. It would ap-
pear, according to the legend, that upon the martyrdom
of these " princes of the apostles " the oriental Chris-
tians sent for their hallowed remains as belonging of
right to them as their fellow-countrymen. Their bodies
were conveyed thus far from their original sepulchres
when a violent storm prevented the accomplishment of
the sacrilegious act, and the Roman Christians re-interred
the sacred relics in this chamber, where they remained,
according to one account, a year and seven months, or,
according to another, forty years. \

The present structure dates probably from the time
of Liberius, in the middle of the fourth century. The
indefatigable Damasus made a marble pavement — fecit
platoniam — and seems to refer to the legend in the fol-
lowing rather unclassical metrical inscription :

HIC HABITASSE PRIVS SANCTOS COGNOSCERE DEBES
NOMINA QVISQVE PETRI PARITER PAVLIQVE REQVIRIS
DISCIPVLOS ORIENS MISIT QVOD SPONTE FATEMVR
SANGVINIS OB MER1TVM CHRISTVMQVE PER ASTRA SEQVVTI
AETHERIOS PET1ERE SINVS ET REGNA PIORV.M
ROMA SVOS TOTIVS MERVIT DEFENDERE C1VES
HAEC DAMASVS VESTRAS REFERAT NOVA SIDERA LAVDES.
"Here, you must know, that saints once dwelt. If you ask their

* This striking object of Christian art has been known, says Mrs.
Jameson, to cause in Italian women a devotion leading to hopeless
passion, madness, and death. (" Sacred and Legendary Art," in loco.)
The soldier saint is regarded as a sort of Christian Apollo, banishing
disease and pestilence.

•)• Pope Gregory I. first mentions the story, circ. A. D. 600, as a
reason for refusing to send the head of St. Paul to the Empress
Constantina.

The Principal Catacombs.

187

names, they were Peter and Paul. The East sent disciples, as we
willingly acknowledge. The saints themselves had, by the merit of
their bloodshedding, followed Christ to the stars, and sought the home
of heaven and the kingdoms of the blest. Rome, however, obtained
to defend her own citizens. These things may Damasus be allowed
to record for your praise, O new stars of the heavenly host.

Church of
St.Sfbast/aa/

Fig. 27— Plan of Crypt of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Figs. 27 and 28 show the plan and perspective of
the crypt. D is the chamber and E the subterranean
vault. Around the wall are twelve arcosolia, in front
of which runs a low stone seat. In the centre is an
opening in the floor widening into a vaulted and fres-
coed marble tomb about six feet square and as many
deep. Here, according to tradition, the two great
apostles lay side by side in death ; and to this spot was
especially given for many centuries the name Catacumbce.

A door out of the left aisle of the church leads to the
Catacomb proper. This, having been so long open, has
been despoiled of every object of interest, and nearly
all the monuments and inscriptions have been removed

iSS

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 28.— Crypt of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

to the museums of the city. Though of considerable
extent, it is not nearly as large as some others. Pre-
vious to De Rossi's exploration of the Catacomb of Cal-
lixtus in 1854 it was confounded with that cemetery,
but he has shown that opinion to be erroneous.

Nearly opposite the church of St. Sebastian is situ-
ated the Jewish Catacomb discovered in 1859 in the
Vigna Randanini, and already in part described. The
principal entrance is an open chamber, originally vaulted,
with a floor of black and white mosaic and walls of .
masonry. A peculiarity in this cemetery is the number
of deep graves in the floor capable of containing sev-
eral bodies, and the number of sarcophagi, some of
which are finely carved and gilt. The seven-branched
candlestick frequently occurs on the walls and tombs.
This Catacomb has been often rifled, and the gal-
leries are strewn with marble fragments of its monu-

The Principal Catacombs. 189

ments. Most of the inscriptions have been dug out of
this debris and affixed to the adjacent walls. At the
other entrance, on the Appian Way, are raised stone
seats, intended, it is thought, as resting-places for the
bearers of the dead.

Not far from this cemetery, but fronting on the Via
Ardeatina, is one which De Rossi concludes upon very,
good evidence to be that of Domitilla, grand niece of
the emperor Domitian, of whose banishment and prob-
able martyrdom for the Christian faith we have already
spoken. The entrance is an elegant structure of fine
brickwork with a cornice of terra cotta, built in the
slope of a rising ground and close by the roadside.
Connected with the entrance are external chambers, in
one of which is a well, which were designed, it is con-
jectured, for the custodian of the Catacomb, and for
the holding of the religious services connected with the
burial of the dead and the anniversaries of the martyrs.
A spacious vestibule within contains recesses once oc-
cupied by several large sarcophagi, fragments of which
still remain. The entire roof and walls are covered
with the most exquisite arabesques and graceful land-
scapes, as well as biblical paintings, in the style of the
best classic period. It is evidently the monument of a
family of wealth and distinction.

Connected with this Catacomb is that of Nereus and
Achilles, the chamberlains of Domitilla, who suffered
martyrdom in the second century. A broad and hand-
some stairway leads down to the supposed tombs of the
martyrs in the lower level of the Catacomb. To facil-
itate the visits of pilgrims to these shrines the galleries
have been widened and lined with masonry, probably
by John I., A. D. 523. There are two principal
pia/ii, in the lower of which is a large chamber

190 The Catacombs of Rome.

paved with marble and lighted by a luminare of unusual ,
size, reaching to the surface of the ground. A large
proportion of the inscriptions are Greek, or Latin in
Greek characters, which circumstance refers the date *
of this Catacomb to a period when Greek was still re-
garded as a sort of sacred and official language of the
church.

On the Via Labicana are several interesting Cata-
combs. About a mile and a half from the city is that
of Peter and Marcellinus, the former a priest and the
latter an exorcist of the time of Diocletian, who with
other martyrs are said to be buried here. The entrance
to the Catacomb is from a church built in the ruins of
the ancient structure traditionally called the mausoleum *
of Helena.

This tradition has given its name to the interesting
Catacomb of Helena discovered in 1838 in the Vigna
del Grande, about a quarter of a mile further along the
Via Labacana. It was evidently constructed after the
peace of the church. The marble stairway, mosaic
pavements, and elegant stucco ornaments betray an
imperial magnificence impossible during the age of per-
secution, and which is found in no other Catacomb.
The similarity of style and material to that of the con-
tiguous tomb of Constantia, the sister of Helena, indi-
cates a synchronous construction. The entrance to the
Catacomb is by one of those brcvissimce ccclcsice, or ora-
tories for meditation and prayer, which were early erected
near most of the cemeteries, now generally in ruins.
As shown in the illustration, the descent is by an easy
stairway and an inclined plane to a vaulted gallery with
mosaic pavement, in which are arcosplia with brick arch-
es. The galleries are of great width, and the luminari will
be observed to be cylindrical in shape. One of these.

The Principal Catacombs.

I9I

it will be seen, is choked with rubbish. The double
entrance indicated is in accordance with the ancient
usage, especially in subterranean assemblies, of separat-
ing the sexes. The same purpose is effected within the

^--^^J'gfj ' gT| gf jii tar j

.......... ■ sMtfmizm

Fig. 29— Section of Catacomb of Helena.

crypt by balustrades, and even by parallel galleries
to the same chamber. This Catacomb is remarkable
for the number of its luviinari, arcosolia, cubicula, and ,
mosaics. A variety of marble, glass, and terra cotta
vases have also been found, as well as numerous coins
and medals of the Constantinian period.

About three miles from Rome on this road, in the
Vigna del Fiscale, is the Catacomb of i Santi Quatro, or
Quatuor Coronati, the Four Crowned Ones, as they are
called. They are said to have been Christian sculptors,
who, for refusing to exercise their art in the service of
idolatry, suffered martyrdom under Diocletian. Iron
crowns, set with spikes, were forced upon their heads,
and they were then scourged to death with plumbatce.
Ten miles from Rome in this same road is the Cata-
comb of St. Zoticus, also honoured as one of the prim-
itive martyrs.

On the Via Tiburtina, about ten minutes' walk from
the Porta di San Lorenzo, is the Catacomb of St. Cyriaca, ,
named after a Christian matron of noble family, who
founded it in her own land in the year A. D. 258. Dur-

I92 The Catacombs of Rome.

ing the thirty-two years of her widowhood she employed
her vast wealth in ministering to the necessities of the
saints, and finally herself received the crown of martyr-
dom. Here it is said the body of St. Lawrence was first
interred, and afterward removed to the neighbouring
church, where it is still revered with devout superstition.
The excavations made to insulate the ancient basilica
of San Lorenzo, and to enlarge the cemetery at present
in use, have laid open a number of galleries of this
Catacomb, exposing the long hidden loculi and paintings
to the light of day. The style of the ancient inscrip-
tions and those of the modern necropolis, which, in ac-
cordance with a decree of the pope, are all in Latin,
may be compared ; not greatly to the advantage of the
latter, notwithstanding the rigorous censorship they
must first undergo. This Catacomb, with others, was ex-
plored and described by Bosio two centuries and a half
ago. On the opposite side of the road is the cemetery
of Hippolytus, commemorated in the verses of Pruden-
tius in the fourth century.

About a mile and a quarter from the Porta Pia, on the
Via Nomentana, is situated the Catacomb of St. Agnes.
The legend of this saint is one of the most beautiful in
the martyrology, and has been preserved with peculiar
fulness of detail by St. Ambrose in his treatise de Vir-
ginibus. The youthful martyr was the daughter of rich
and noble Roman parents, and is described in the Acts
that bear her name as being of a sweet and tender
beauty. Being sought in marriage by the son of the pre-
fect of the city, she rejected his suit ; declaring in a
strain of impassioned eloquence her espousals to a bride-
groom nobler, richer, and more beautiful far than any
of earth, who had betrothed her by the ring of his faith,
and would crown her with jewels to which earthly gifts

The Principal Catacombs. 193

were dross — a bridegroom so fair that the sun and
moon were ravished by his beauty, and so mighty that
the angels were his servants.* She thus betrayed her
attachment to the cause of Christ, and was forthwith
put to the torture in order to compel her recantation of
the faith. With touching naivete the Acts relate that no
fetters could be found small enough for her wrists. As
the crowning ignominy to which her maiden modesty
could be exposed, she was sent to the place of shame —
ad locum turpitudinis j but her unshorn hair flowed in
golden waves to her feet, forming a perfect veil, and
the eyes of the gazers on her degradation were smitten
with blindness. Having been first cast into the flames,
which, it is said, played harmlessly about her, she was
publicly beheaded in the amphitheatre, and overcom-
ing the feebleness of her age and sex, thus received the
crown of martyrdom at the tender age of thirteen,
A. D. 303. f

* Discede a me fomes peccati . . . quia jam ab alio amatore prse-
venta sum, qui mihi satis meliora obtulit ornamenta, et annulo fidei
suae subarravit me, longe te nobilior, et genereet dignitate. — Ambros.,
Epis. 34.

f Damasus at the end of the fourth century thus commemorates the
event in one of his metrical inscriptions, now in a lateral aisle of the
basilica of S. Agnese fuori le Mura :

FAMA REFERT SANCTOS DVDVM RETVLISSE PARENTES
AGNEN CVM LVGVBRES CANTVS TVBA CONCREPVISSET
NVTRICIS GREMIVM SVBITO LIQVISSE PVELLAM
SPONTE TRVCIS CALCASSE MINAS RABIEMQVE TYRANNI
VRERE CVM FLAMMIS VOLVISSET NOBILE CORPVS
VIRABVS IMMENSVM PARVIS SVPERASSE TIMOREM
NVDAQVE PROFVSVM CRINEM PER MEMBRA DEDISSE
NE DOMINI TEMPLVM FACIES PERITVRA VIDERET
O VENERANDA MIHI SANCTVM DECVS ALMA PVDORIS
VT DAMASI PRECIBVS FAVEAS PRECOR INCLYTA MARTYR.

"Fame reports that the pious parents formerly brought back Agnes
when the trumpet had resounded the funeral chants ; that suddenly

194 T^* Catacombs of Rome.

She is frequently represented in art ; sometimes, in
allusion to her name, with a lamb as her attribute. In-
deed, after Christ and the Apostles, no figure is more
common.* The den of infamy in which she was exposed
to shame became changed to the Christian sanctuary of
S. Agnese in Piazza JVavone, one of the most beauti-
ful churches in Rome. A subterranean cell of peculiar
sanctity is said to have been the scene of her degrada-
tion and deliverance. She was buried in a garden a
mile from the city, and Constantia, the daughter of Con-
stantine, having been healed at her tomb of a danger-
ous malady, that prince erected over her body the church
of S. Agnese fuori le Mura, which is one of the least
altered and most beautiful examples of the imperial
basilicas. A long flight of stairs, whose walls are cov-
ered with inscriptions from the adjacent Catacombs,
leads down to the church, which was constructed on a
level with the reputed tomb of the saint. f

Many noble Roman families chose the place of their
sepulture near the tomb of so illustrious a martyr. Con-

the maiden left the bosom of her nurse, and willingly spurned the
threats and rage of the cruel tyrant, when he resolved to burn her
noble body in the flames ; that she overcame her intense fear with
her feeble strength, and spread her luxuriant hair over her naked
limbs, lest the face of a perishing man might behold the temple of
the Lord. O holy one, ever to be honoured by me, sacred ornament
of modesty, illustrious martyr, I entreat that you aid the prayers of
Damasus."

* Jameson, Sac. and Leg. Art., p. 381. According to St. Jerome,
in the fourth century her fame was in all lands.

f Here on the Festival of St. Agnes, January 21, is performed the
ceremony of blessing two lambs, the emblems of the innocence and
of the name — Agnus, a lamb — of the child-martyr. From the wool
of these lambs are woven the pallia, which, after lying on the so-
called tomb of St. Peter, are distributed by the pope to the great
church dignitaries as emblems of office.

The Principal Catacombs.

195

stantia herself was there interred, and soon after two
other daughters of Constantine, Helena, the wife of
Julian, and Constantina, the wife of Gallus. Having died,
the former at Vienne in Gaul, the latter at the extremity
of Bithynia, they were brought from the west and the east
to rejoin their sister sleeping near this celebrated saint.
This region became, in fact, the fashionable cemetery
of the great during the fourth century ; as is still evi-
dent from the superior regularity and spaciousness of
the corridors, and the more laboured execution although
inferior style of the paintings. Thus was formed in
course of time the vast Catacomb of St. Agnes.

Fig. 30.— Entrance to the Catacomb of St. Agnes.

The entrance to the cemetery is situated in a deli-
cious valley about a quarter of a mile from the church, in
view of the storied hills which have been celebrated by
Martial and Pliny, and near the ruins of a pagan temple.
Behind are the gray walls and towers of Rome, and on
every side spreads the solemn expanse of the Campagna.

196 The Catacombs of Rome.

All is graceful and picturesque in the landscape, " and
it is not," says Perret, " without a pious tenderness * that
the charm of the place blends in the soul of the pilgrim
to the shrine of the Christian heroine." The stairs by
which the descent is made date probably from the time
of Constantine. The graves on either side of the some-
what spacious gallery have long been rifled of their
contents. Several of these from their size were evi-
dently designed for bisomi. The consular date, A. D.
336, on a tomb attests the age of this part of the Cata-
comb. One suite of chambers near the entrance, but in
the lower and therefore more recently constructed //tf/w,
has received the title of the Basilica. The larger cubicu-
lum has two tufa seats at the side, and one more elevated
for the presiding presbyter. The altar, probably a small
movable one of wood, if any at all, must have stood before
the presbyter. On the opposite side of the gallery is a
chamber, divided by columns and an arch, supposed to
have been for the females of the assembly, or perhaps
for the catechumens not yet admitted to the celebration
of the eucharist. A connected series of five chambers has
been found, and one cubiculum, called the scuole grande,
will contain seventy or eighty persons. Much of the
architecture, however, is debased, indicating the de-
cline and eclipse of art in the fifth or sixth century.
Another chamber is known as the Lady Chapel, or
Crypt of the Virgin, on account of the so-called
picture of the Madonna which it contains;! and a
third as the Baptistery, from the presence of a spring
of water, supposed to have been used in baptismal
rites.

One feature of especial interest associated with this

*"Attendrissement." — Les Catacombes dc Rome, torn, ii, p. 52.
f See Fig. 90.

The Principal Catacombs. 197

cemetery is its connexion with an adjacent arenarium,
or sand pit. This is situated near the basilica of St.
Agnes, and overlies part of the Catacomb. It consists
of a series of large and gloomy caverns utterly unlike the
sepulchral crypts below. A stairway leads down to the
Catacomb, and also a deep shaft with foot-holes cut in
the rock for climbing. Probably this was the only way
of escape in time of persecution. There is also ap-
parent evidence of the existence of a windlass, by which
the excavated tufa was raised, and either deposited in
the arenarium or carted away. This cemetery has been
carefully examined by Padre Marchi, who has published
a plan of an area of about seven hundred by five hun-
dred and fifty feet. The united length of the passages
in this part is about two English miles. Yet Father
Marchi says this area is only about one eighth of the
whole Catacomb, the aggregate extent of whose streets
would, therefore, be fifteen or sixteen miles.

Just without the Porta Pia on this Nomentan Way, is
the little Catacomb of Nicodemus. At the third mile,
we read in ancient records, was that of Ostrianus or
Fons Petri, as it was called, from a tradition that Peter
once baptized there. It has not, however, been satis-
factorily identified. Nearly six miles from the city is
the so-called Catacomb of Alexander, bishop of Rome
A. D. 1 1 7-1 20, who, according to the Liber Pontificalis,
suffered martyrdom by decapitation on this spot under
the emperor Hadrian, together with the presbyter Even-
tius and the deacon Theodulus. Here were discovered
in 1853, below the level of the Campagna, the ruins of
an ancient basilica erected in honour of these martyrs.
In the roofless structure was found a sarcophagus bear-
ing the name of Alexander, and probably once contain-
ing his ashes. The graves here are less disturbed than

198 The Catacombs of Rome.

in the Catacombs nearer Rome. This cemetery was
used for sepulture comparatively late, as the language of
some of the inscriptions indicates a decided approxima-
tion to modern Italian. In 1857 the foundations of a
large church, designed to include the whole of the an-
cient structure, were laid with great pomp by the present
pontiff.

The Salarian Way is exceedingly rich in Christian
cemeteries. Prominent among these is the Catacomb
of St. Priscilla, one of the noblest monuments of the
primitive church. It is of interest also as that whose
accidental discovery in 1578 led to the unveiling of these
vast treasuries of Christian antiquity. The entrance is
beautifully situated amid embowering verdure, in the
vineyard of the Irish college, about two miles from the
Porta Salara.* Tradition asserts that this cemetery was
dug in the property of the senator Pudens, mentioned
by St. Paul ; and a crypt called, from the language of
its inscriptions, the Cappella Greca, is alleged to be the
sepulchre of his daughters Pudentiana and Praxedes,
and other members of that distinguished Christian fam-
ily. If so, this is the most ancient Catacomb yet dis-
covered. The classical style of the architecture, fres-
coes, graceful stucco reliefs, and garlands, and the
character of the inscriptions, all point to a period before
art became degraded and the church oppressed. Some
of the galleries are exceedingly long and straight, and
one is the most extensive yet discovered. Its prin-
cipal crypt is remarkable as being regularly built of
masonry, and without the usual loculi in the walls, being
evidently designed for the reception of sarcophagi —
another proof of its high antiquity. A portion of this
cemetery has been constructed with great labour in an
* See Fig. 1.

The Principal Catacombs. 199

ancient arenarium, and shows how unsuited these exca-
vations were for the purposes of Christian sepulture.
Long walls of solid masonry and numerous pillars
of brick work have been built for supporting the
roof and giving space for loculi. A large shaft for re-
moving pozzolana has been transformed into a luminare
by being bricked up to about half its original dimen-
sions. Only one of the four piani in which the Cata-
comb is constructed being easily accessible, it has been
but partially explored. The ancient records assert that
Marcellinus and Marcellus, martyr-bishops of the church
in the time of Diocletian, are buried here ; also Crescen-
tianus and Silvester; and we have already seen the
memorial inscription of three thousand other martyrs,
whose remains are said to hallow these sacred crypts.

On this same road are the Catacomb of St. Felicitas,
with three piani of galleries much dilapidated ; that of
Thraso and Saturninus, of considerable extent but diffi-
cult of access ; and the crypt of Chrysanthus and Da-
ria, in which these martyrs were blocked up alive by
command of the Emperor Numerian. On the old Sala-
rian Way is the Catacomb of Hermes, who is said to
have suffered in the time of Hadrian. It is partially
constructed, as we have seen, in an arenarium, and con-
tains the largest subterranean church yet found, with
remarkable mosaics of Daniel and of the resurrection of
Lazarus in the vaulting of the roof.

There are comparatively few Catacombs of interest on
the northwest bank of the Tiber, owing to the smaller pop-
ulation of that part of Rome in ancient times. We shall
briefly enumerate the more important. On the Flaminian
Way is the cemetery of St. Valentinus. On the Aure-
lian Way are those of Agatha, Pancratius, and Calepo-
dius. The latter, the reputed burial place of Callixtus

20O The Catacombs of Rome.

and of many martyrs, is beneath the church dedicated
to Pancratius — the English Pancras — and on the sup-
posed scene of his sufferings. On the Via Portuensis,
near the city, is the Catacomb of Pontianus, a patrician
Roman of the third century. It is remarkable for the
very perfect subterranean baptistery to be hereafter de-
scribed. On the Ostian Way, near the basilica of S.
Paolo fuori le Mura, is the ancient cemetery of Commo-
dilla, or Lucina, in which tradition asserts that the body
of the apostle Paul was laid after his martyrdom. It
is in a very ruinous condition, most of the galleries be-
ing choked up and impassable ; but here Boldetti found
the two oldest extant inscriptions. On this road also is
the Catacomb of St. Zeno, in which were said to be
buried twelve thousand Christians employed in building
the Baths of Diocletian.

On the Vatican Hill, now crowned with the grandest
temple in Christendom, is said to have existed the old-
est Christian cemetery of Rome. Tradition asserts that
the remains of St. Peter were interred on this spot, on the
site of an ancient temple of Apollo, and near the alleged
scene of the apostle's martyrdom in the circus of Nero,
and that hither they were restored after their removal to
the crypt of Sebastian.* Here also ancient ecclesiastical
documents record the burial of ten of the Roman
bishops of the first and second centuries ; f after which,
we have seen, the Catacomb of Callixtus became their

* This is probably " the trophy on the Vatican," mentioned by
the Roman presbyter Caius. quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., ii, 25.
When Heliogabalus made his circus on the Vatican the body was said
tohave been again transferred to St. Sebastian ; but it is impossible to
unravel the tangled accounts of the ancient documents.

f On this spot De Rossi says was discovered in the seventeenth
century the sepulchre of the very first bishop after Peter, (?) bearing
simply the name LINVS.

The Principal Catacombs. 20 1

chief place of burial. The series of papal interments
in this place again begins with that of Leo the Great,
A. D. 461. In the dim crypts beneath the high altar
of St. Peter's are shown the tombs of most of his suc-
cessors, many of them far removed in life and character
from the lowly Galilean fisherman.*

We cannot better conclude this necessarily imperfect
survey of these ancient Christian cemeteries than by
quoting the following passage, though characterized by
a somewhat fervid rhetoric, from " Les Trois Romes "
of the Abbe Gaume : " Here is the glorious monument,"
he exclaims, " of the faith and charity of our fore-
fathers ! This work of giants was completed by a com-
munity of poor men, destitute of resources, without talent
as without fortune, incessantly persecuted and frequently
decimated. What, then, was the secret of their power?
This is the problem suggested by the sight of the Cata-
combs in general, and of the Catacombs on the Appian
Way in particular. The solution is in one word —
Faith. This power — unknown to the ancient world,

* Of especial interest to English-speaking visitors to this shrine of
departed greatness will be three urns containing the ashes of " James
III.," " Charles III.," and " Henry IX.," as they are designated, the
last princes of the unfortunate house of Stewart. The third of these,
Henry Benedict Maria Clement, second son of James the Pretender,
took orders at Rome, was advanced to the purple, and during the life-
time of his brother, Charles Edward, was known as Cardinal York.
On the death of his brother he assumed the regal style of Henry IX.,
King of England. The usurpation of Bonaparte caused his flight to
Venice, where, aged and infirm, the descendant of a line of kings
sank into absolute poverty. His successful rival for the British
throne, George III., learning his deplorable situation, generously set-
tled on him an annuity of ^4,000, which he enjoyed till his death in
1807, at the age of eighty-two. With the worn old man, dying upon
a foreign shore, passed away the last survivor of the ill-starred dy-
nasty which has contributed through successive generations so many
tragic and romantic episodes to the drama of history.

202 The Catacombs of Rome.

and too little recognized in the modern world — this faith,
was the lever by which the early Christians could re-
move mountains, and turn and change the universe.
With one hand they constructed in the bowels of the
earth a city more astonishing than Babylon or the
Rome of the Caesars ; and with the other, seizing on
the pagan world in the abyss of degradation into which
it was plunged, they raised it to the virtue of angels,
and suspended it to the cross."

BOOK SECOND.

THE ART AND SYMBOLISM OF THE CATACOMBS.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY CHRISTIAN ART.

The conditions under which Christian art was culti-
vated in the early centuries were eminently unfavourable
to its highest development. It was not, like pagan art,
the aesthetic exponent of a dominant religion, enjoying
the patronage of the great and the wealthy, adorning
the numerous temples of the gods and the palaces and
banquet chambers of the emperors and senators, com-
memorating the virtues of patriots and heroes, and body-
ing forth the conceptions of poets and seers. There
was no place in the Christian system for such repre-
sentations as the glorious sun-god, Apollo, or the lovely
Aphrodite, or the sublime majesty of Jove, which are
still the unapproached chefs cFceuvre of the sculptor's
skill. The beautiful myths of Homer and Hesiod were
regarded with abhorrence, and the Christians were ex-
pressly forbidden to make any representation of the
supreme object of their worship, a prohibition which in
the early and purer days of Christianity they never
transgressed.

Nevertheless, the testimony of the Catacombs gives
evidence that art was not, as has been frequently as-
serted, entirely abjured by the primitive Christians on
account of its idolatrous employment by the pagans.

204 The Catacombs of Rome.

They rather adopted and purified it for Christian pur-
poses, just as they did the diverse elements of ancient
civilization. It was not till increasing wealth and the
growing corruptions of the church led to the more lav-
ish employment of art and its perversion to superstitious
uses that it called forth the condemnation of the Fathers
of the early centuries.

The art of any people is an outgrowth and efflores-
cence of an internal living principle : and as is the
tree so is its fruit. An adequate representation of its art
being given, we may estimate, at least proximately, the
moral condition of any age or community. It is the
perennial expression of the phenomena of humanity.
The iconography of the early centuries of Christian-
ity is, therefore, a pictorial history of its develop-
ment and of the successive changes it has under-
gone.* The corruptions of doctrine, the rise of dog-
mas, the strifes of heresiarchs and schismatics, are all
reflected therein, f

The frescoes of the Catacombs are illustrations, in-
estimable in value, of the pure and lofty character of
that primitive Christian life of which they were the off-
spring. They were the exponent of a mighty spiritual
force, " seeking," as Kugler remarks, " to typify in the
earthly and perishing the abiding and eternal." J The
very intensity of that old Christian life under repression
and persecution created a more imperious necessity for
a religious symbolism as an expression of its deepest
feelings and as a common sign of the faith. Early Chris-

* M. Didron's Iconographie Chrbtienne is a valuable contribution
on this important subject.

f In the beautiful figure of Pressense\ all art is an ^Eolian harp,
shivering with the breezes that pass over it.

% Handbuch dcr R'uttstgeschich/e, p. xii.

Early Christian Art. 205

tian art, therefore, was not realistic and sensuous, but
ideal and spiritual. It sought to express the inner es-
sence, not the outer form.

Christianity has nothing to fear from the comparison
of these remains of its primitive art with those of the
pre-existing art of paganism. As little has Protestantism
to fear their comparison with the monuments of that de-
based form of Christianity into which the early church
so soon, alas ! degenerated. On the one hand may be
seen the infinite contrast between the abominable con-
dition of society under the empire and the purity of life
of the early Christians ; and on the other, the gradual
corruption of doctrine and practice as we approach the
Byzantine age. The exhumation of Pompeii and the
recent exploration of the Catacombs bring into sharp
contrast Christian and pagan art. While traversing the
deserted chambers of the former " two thousand years
roll backward," and we stand among the objects familiar
to the gaze of the maids and matrons of the palmy days
of Rome. But what a tale of the prevailing sensuality,
what a practical commentary on the scathing sarcasms
of Juvenal, the denunciations of the Fathers, and the
awful portraiture of St. Paul, do we read in the polluting
pictures on every side. Nothing gives a more vivid
conception of the appalling degradation of pagan society
in the first century of the Christian era than the disin-
terred art of that Roman Sodom. Amid the silence and
gloom of the Catacombs we are transported to an en-
tirely different world ; we breathe a purer moral atmos-
phere ; we are surrounded by the evidences of an
infinitely nobler social life ; we are struck with the
immeasurable superiority in all the elements of true
dignity and grandeur of the lowly and persecuted Chris-
tians to the highest development of ancient civilization,

206 The Catacombs of Rome.

The decoration of these subterranean crypts is the
first employment of art by the early Christians of which
we have any remains. A universal instinct leads us to
beautify the sepulchres of the departed. This is seen
alike in the rude funeral totem of the American savage,
in the massive mausolea of the Appian Way, and in the
magnificent Moorish tombs of the Alhambra.* It is
not, therefore, remarkable that the primitive Christians
adorned with religious paintings, expressive of their faith
and hope, the graves of the dead, or in times of persecu-
tion traced upon the martyr's tomb the crown and palm,
emblems of victory, or the dove and olive branch, the
beautiful symbol of peace. It must not, however, be
supposed that the first beginnings of Christian art were
rude and formless essays, such as we see among bar-
barous tribes. The primitive believers had not so much
to create the principles of art as to adapt an art already
fully developed to the expression of Christian thought.
Like the neophyte converts from heathenism, pagan art
had to be baptized into the service of Christianity.
" The germs of a new life," says Dr. Ltxbke, " were in
embryo in the dying antique world. Ancient art was the
garment in which the young and world-agitating ideas
of Christianity were compelled to veil themselves."!
Hence the earlier paintings are the superior in execu-

* One of the earliest indications of human existence on the planet
is a sepulchral cave in the post-pliocene drift at Aurignac, in France,
in which are evidences of the celebration of the funeral banquet and
other sepulchral rites. " The artificially closed Catacomb," says Dr.
Wilson, " the sepulchred dead, the gifts within, the ashes and dobris
of the last funeral feast without, .... all tell the ever-recurring story
of reverent piety, unavailing sorrow, and the instinctive faith in a
future life which dwells in the breast of the rudest savage." — " Pre-
historic Man," by Daniel Wilson, LL.D., Toronto University, p. 84.

f " History of Art," by Dr. Wilhelm Liibke, vol. i, p. 275.

Early Christian Art. 207

tion, and manifest a richness, a vigour and freedom like
that of the best specimens of the classic period. Their
design is more correct, their ornamentation more chaste
and elegant, and the accessories more graceful than in
the later examples. These shared the gradual decline
which characterized the art of the dying empire, be-
coming more impoverished in conception, stiff in man-
ner, and conventional and hieratic in type, till they sink
into the barbarism of the Byzantine period.

This is contrary to the opinion which has till recently
been entertained. Lord Lindsay asserts of the paint-
ings of the Catacombs that, " considered as works of
art, they are but poor productions — the meagreness of
invention only equalled by the feebleness of execution
— inferior, generally speaking, to the worst specimens of
contemporary heathen art."* But this characteriza-
tion was the result of imperfect acquaintance with the
subject. Indeed, he speaks of the Catacombs as " for
the most part closed up and inaccessible, and the
frescoes obliterated by time and destroyed." But re-
cent discoveries have brought to light many important
examples which completely disprove his depreciatory
estimate. In many of the newly opened crypts the
colours are as fresh as if applied yesterday ; and, as re-
gards style and execution, the frescoes of the Catacombs
" approach," says the eminent art critic, Kugler, " very
near to the wall paintings of the best period of the em-
pire."! No one can look through the magnificent vol-
umes of Perret without being struck with the grace,
vigour, and classic beauty of many of the paintings there
reproduced. It is admitted that the French artists have
" touched up " the faded colours, and some of the pic-

* " History of Christian Art," vol. i, p. 39.
f Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte, p. 14.

208 The Catacombs of Rome.

tures may be better termed restorations than accurate
copies ; but they are nowhere accused of being false to
the general character and spirit of the originals.

The antiquity of these better specimens of Christian
art is still further confirmed by their being found in the
oldest crypts of the Catacombs ; and, like the architec-
tural character of these more ancient chambers, they
indicate the publicity of their construction and their legal
protection. In the later excavations, on the contrary, the
paintings are few in number, and inferior in type and
execution — an evidence of the persecution and impov-
erishment of the Christians as well as of the decline of
art. The more celebrated shrines, it is true, were repeat-
edly decorated at successive periods down to the ninth
century ; * but the times of these decorations may be
approximately estimated by internal evidence, as the
presence of the Constantinian monogram, of the \rX*
.^nimbus, f and other characteristic signs testify, /(s.

Early Christian art thus sprang out of that
which was pre-existing, selecting and adapting what was
consistent with its spirit, and rigorously rejecting what-
ever savoured of idolatry or of the sensual character of
ancient heathen life. It stripped off, to use the figure
of Dr. Lubke, what was unsuitable to the new ideas,

* Mr. J. H. Parker refers to the fifth or sixth century many paint-
ings which De Rossi ascribes to the second or third. These eminent
authorities represent two extremes of opinion. Probably the truth
lies between them.

\ No example of the former is known before A. D. 312. The nim-
bus is given to Our Lord in the fourth century, to angels in the fifth,
but did not reach its widest application till the seventh. (Martigny,
Diet, des Antiqs. Chret.) It was employed in ante-Christian pagan
art, both Egyptian and classical. In Byzantine art it is a symbol of
power and of office, and was therefore given alike to Pharaoh, Saul,
Herod, Constantine, Judas, the apocalyptic Dragon, and Satan.
Sometimes that of Judas is black. (Didron, Iconog. Chrit. in loco.)

Early CJiristian Art. 209

and retained the healthy germ from which the tree of
Christian art was to unfold in grand magnificence. As
Christianity was the very antithesis of paganism in
spirit, so its art was singularly free from pagan error.
There are no wanton dances of nude figures like those
upon the walls of Pompeii, but chaste pictures with fig-
ures clothed from head to foot ; or, where historical
accuracy required the representation of the undraped
form, as in pictures of our first parents in the garden of
Eden, or of the story of Jonah, they are instinct with mod-
esty and innocence. Pagan art, a genius with drooping
wing and torch reversed, stood at the door of death, but
cast no light upon the world beyond. Christian art, in-
spired with lofty faith, pierced through the veil of sense,
beyond the shadows of time, and beheld the pure spirit
soaring above the grave, like essence rising from an
alembic in which all the grosser qualities of matter are
left behind. Hence only images of hope and tender
joy were employed. There is no symptom of the de-
spair of paganism ; scarce even of natural sorrow.

Independent statues were in the first ages rarely if
ever used.* There seemed to be greater danger of
falling into idolatry in the imitation of these, in which
form were most of the representations of the heathen
deities, than in the employment of painting ; and it
was against the making of graven images that the pro-
hibition of Scripture was especially directed. f Their
fabrication, therefore, was especially avoided. Indeed,
sculpture never became truly Christian, and even
in the hands of an Angelo or a Thorwaldsen failed
to produce triumphs of skill like those of Phidias or

* Certain Gnostic images will be hereafter mentioned.

\ Ex. xx, 4. 5^5 is a carved image, from the root ^0^, to cut, or

carve.

2io The Catacombs of Rome.

Praxiteles. Christian graphic art, however, in its noblest
development far surpassed even the grandest achieve-
ments of which we have any account of the schools of
Apelles and Zeuxis. Christianity is the embodiment of
the gentler graces ; paganism, in its purest form, that
of the sterner virtues. The former finds its best expres-
sion in painting, the latter in sculpture.

The first Christian paintings were light and graceful
sketches, after the manner of the older classic art; and
but for the substitution of a Christian for a heathen con-
ception— a biblical scene or character, as Daniel in the
lions' den, Jonah, or the Good Shepherd, or some strik-
ing Christian symbol — it would be difficult to distinguish
them from contemporary pagan pictures.* While the
principal figure gave an unquestionably Christian char-
acter to the whole, the accessories, divisions of space,
colouring, and general treatment were quite in the
manner of the antique. Garlands, festoons of flowers
and vases of fruits ; graceful arabesques, luxuriant vines,
grapes, birds and genii ; ideal heads, masks, and fabu-
lous animals ; hunting, vintage and harvest scenes, and
pastoral groups ; personifications of the hours, seasons,
rivers, and the like, made up the entourage, or formed
part of the picture. Thus the roof of a crypt in the
most ancient part (probably of the first century) of the
cemetery of Domitilla is completely covered with
branches trailing in graceful curves with exquisite natu-

* These pictures were generally on smooth white plaster, and in
beautiful bright colours, for the most part in spaces limited by lines
of vivid blue, yellow, or red, or by bands of Egyptian-like lotus or
lily pattern. If on the ceiling, they were in lunettes similarly divided.
These bands frequently run around the loculi and arcosolia, and di-
vide the walls into panels. Occasionally the latter are covered with
a reticulated or lattice-like pattern in bright, opaque colors. The
paintings are now often much faded and defaced.

Early Christian Art. 211

ralness, and entirely free from the conventional restraint
and geometrical symmetry which indicate the subsequent
decline of art. Among the branches flit birds, and
winged genii like little cupids. Another specimen of
great beauty, of the second century, in the Catacomb
of Prsetextatus, exhibits a well drawn harvest scene, with
wreaths of roses, vine, and laurel, and with birds flitting
about their nests. A fresco of the Good Shepherd and
an inscription attest its Christian character. The dra-
pery and drawing of the figures in the earlier examples
are also exceptionally good.

Several of the Christian symbols were common also
to pagan art ; as the palm, the crown, the ship, and
others to be hereafter mentioned. They acquired, how-
ever, under Christian treatment a profounder and nobler
significance than they ever possessed before. But there
are other and more striking examples of the adoption,
when appropriate to Christian themes, of subjects from
pagan art. Orpheus charming the wild beasts with his
lyre is a frequently recurring figure in the Catacombs,
ar.d is referred to by the Christian Fathers as a type of
Him who drew all men to himself by the sweet persua-
sive power of his divine word. The victory of Our
Lord over death and hell, and probably an ancient inter-
pretation of his preaching to the spirits in prison,* may
have found a sort of parallel in the beautiful legend of
the faithful lover seeking in the under-world the lost
Eurydice bitten by a deadly serpent ; while, at the
sound of his wondrous harp, gloomy Dis was soothed,
Ixion's wheel stood still, Tantalus forgot his thirst, and
the stone of Sisyphus hung poised in air.f The Orphic

* I Pet. iii, 19.

f The Mediaeval conception of Christ's "Harrowing of Hell" and
delivery of our first parents, ruined through the guile of the serpent,

212 The Catacombs of Rome.

verses were also said by the Fathers to have contained
many true prophecies concerning Our Lord. These,
however, like the testimony of the Sibyls, were pious
forgeries of post-Christian date.

Another fable of the pagan mythology reproduced in
early Christian art is that of Ulysses and the Sirens. A
sarcophagus in the crypt of Lucina represents the
" much-planning " wanderer of Ithaca, bound to the
mast, deaf to the blandishments of the rather harpy-
like daughters of the sea, and so sailing safely by. Max-
imus of Turin, in the fifth century, explained the ship
of Ulysses to be " a type of the church, the mast being
the cross, by which the faithful are to be kept from the
seductions of the senses. Thus," he says, " shall we be
neither held back by the pernicious hearing of the
world's voice, nor swerve from our course to the better
life, and fall upon the rocks of voluptuousness."*

These reminiscences of pagan art are more frequent
in the sculptures of the sarcophagi, in which the classic
type seems more persistent than in the paintings. Thus,
in a bas-relief, in the Lateran Museum, of the ascent of
Elijah in the fiery chariot to heaven, by a strange solecism
Mercury is represented standing at the horses' heads.
This was probably the result of an unconscious imitation
of some heathen design. On a sarcophagus from the
Catacomb of Callixtus, in a harvest scene, is what seems
to be a representation of Cupid and Pysche. This,
however, was found buried beneath the floor, and bore
indications of having been coated with plaster, as if in
concealment of the heathen figures. On others have

is a striking analogue of this myth. Compare also Bacon's rather
fantastic explanation of this legend by the principles of natural and
moral philosophy. See his "Wisdom of the Ancients," chap. xi.
* Horn, i, De Cruce Domi>ii.

Early Christian Art. 213

been observed bas-reliefs of Bacchus attended by cu-
pids, fawns and satyrs, the unfortunate Marsyas, the
desertion of Ariadne, and the return of Ulysses. It is
probable that some of these incongruities resulted from
the sarcophagus having been carved by a pagan artist,
inasmuch as sculpture was less likely to be practised by
the Christians than painting. Indeed, some of these
subjects, offensive to Christian feeling, have been care-
fully defaced with a chisel, or turned to the wall ; as one
in the crypt of Lucina, on which is a bacchanalian scene,
while on the rough side, exposed to view, is inscribed the
Christian epitaph. The sarcophagi of Constantia and
Helena, daughters of Constantine, now in the Vatican
Museum, bear vintage and battle scenes and Bacchic
masks ; and on that in which the Emperor Charlemagne
was buried, probably of pagan origin, is represented the
rape of Proserpine. On the gilded glasses of the Cata-
combs, some of which were evidently employed for fes-
tive purposes, pagan influence also appears in such
representations as Achilles, Hercules, Daedalus, Minerva,
the Graces, Cupid and Psyche, Neptune with his trident,
and a river-god as the symbol of the Jordan.

Even in distinctively Christian subjects it is some-
times apparent that the artist had not freed himself from
the influence of pagan types. Thus the Good Shepherd
is represented with the short tunic and buskins of the
Roman peasant, and often with the classic syrinx or
rustic pipes, probably from some reminiscence of the
popular rural deity, the god Pan. In the Lateran Mu-
seum is a manifest example — the sarcophagus of Pau-
lina— of a pagan sculpture having been adapted as a
Christian Good Shepherd. In a bas-relief of Jonah,
in the Vatican Library, the classic influence is seen
in the Triton blowing his horn, and Iris floating over

214 The Catacombs of Rome.

the vessel with her fluttering scarf, to indicate the sub-
sidence of the storm. The ship is like the barges that
navigate the Tiber, and the sea-monster that swal-
lows the recreant prophet is like that which menaced
Andromeda.

Christianity thus preserved amid the wreck of an--
cient civilization some germs of classic art, over
which she brooded till they quickened under the more
genial influences of later times. She became thus, as
Dr. Liibke remarks, the mediator between the antique
heathen life and the art of modern Christendom. That
distinguished critic, Raoul-Rochette, has, however, at-
tributed to pagan types too great an influence on the
art of the Catacombs, and almost denies the latter all
originality or distinctiveness of treatment ; and he is
certainly quite in error in speaking of the almost pagan
physiognomy of the decorations of the Catacombs.*
He was misled in forming these opinions in part by cer-
tain monuments in the Catacomb of Praetextatus, dis-
covered and described by Bottari, and at first supposed
to be of Christian origin. f This opinion, however, has
been since refuted in an able monograph on the subject
by Padre Garrucci.J

The exceptional and unique character of these mon-
uments deserves a somewhat detailed examination.
They occur in a gallery of the Catacomb, not far from
the Appian Way. In the vault of an arcosolium is a
representation of Venus — a subject never found in early

* " La physionomie presque payenne qui ofTre le decoration des
Catacombes de Rome." — Discours Surl'origine des types imitatifs
del Art du Christianisme. Paris, 1S34, p. 96.

f Sculture e pitture sagre, etc., t. iii, pp. 193, 21S.

\ Le Jl/ystere de Syncretism? Phrygien dans les Catacombes Roman
de Pretextat. [Nouvelle Interpretation) Paris, 1854.

Early Christian Art. 215

Christian art — accompanied by two genii as infants.
Near these are the following epitaphs of a pagan priest
and his wife :

NVMENIS ANTISTES SEBASIS VINCENTIVS HIC [EST]
QVI SACRA SANCTA DEVM PIA MENTE CO[LVIT].

Here lies Vincentius, a priest of the deity Sebasis, who with pious
mind has observed the sacred rites of the gods.

VINCENTI HOC OLIM FREQVENTES QVOD VIDES*
PLVRES ME ANTECESSERVNT OMNES EXPECTO
MANDVCA BIBE LVDE ET VENI AD ME
CVM VIVES BENEFAC HOC TECVM FERES.

O Vincentius, many formerly in crowds, as you here see, have gone
before me ; I await all. Eat, drink, play, and come to me. While
thou livest act well : this thou shalt bear with thee.

The arcosolium to which this is attached contains the
remarkable paintings represented in the accompanying
engraving. f The first picture to the left represents the
death of Vibia, wife of Vincentius, and is labeled ab-
reptio • vibies • et • descensio. She is depicted as being
borne off by Pluto, to indicate that her death was pre-
mature. The god is standing upright in his quadriga,
conducted by Mercury and holding in his arms the form
of Vibia. In the original picture, issuing from an urn at
the foot of Mercury, is seen the river Acheron, by
which Pluto is about to descend to the infernal regions,
as indicated by the word descensio.

At the top of the vault is represented the judgment of
Vibia at the tribunal of Pluto. The god is seated on
his throne, with his wife Proserpine, and over their heads

* Another reading is :

HIC ORO NE INQVETES QVOT VIDES.

f Fig. 31, from Perret, torn, i, planche Ix. The description in the
text is translated from his account, founded on Garrucci. See also
Tre sepolcri con pitture ed iscrizioni appartenenti alle stiperstizioni
pagane del Bacco Sabazio e del Persidico Mi Ira. Napoli, 1852.

2l6

The Catacombs of Rome.

EaHy Christian Art. 217

are written the words dispater and abracvra — titles
of the deities. To the right of the throne we see three
fates — fata • divina — and to the left Vibia preceded by
Mercur) — -mercvrivs • nvntivs — and accompanied by
Alcestis, the heroine of conjugal love. The figures all
have their names written above their heads.

The principal painting of the series, that in the tym-
panum of the arch, represents the introduction of Vibia
to the banquet of the blessed. This is shown in the
left hand corner of the picture, and is designated indvc-
tio • vibies. She is introduced by a youthful figure
crowned with flowers, and holding in his hand a floral
wreath. His name — angelvs • bonvs — the good mes-
senger— is perhaps less an indication of Christian
influence than of the Greek and Oriental ideas which
have presided over the whole of these scenes. Vibia
next appears seated at the banquet in the midst of those
who have been judged worthy of the recompense of the
good — bonorvm • ivdicio • ivdicati. They are ranged
around a crescent-shaped table formed of cushions, and
wear festive crowns upon their heads. In the foreground
are seen the servants.

The fourth scene, to the extreme right of the vault,
represents the funeral banquet in honor of Vibia. It is
given by her husband Vincentius, who is designated by
name, to the priests of Sebasis, over whose heads are
written the words, septe • pii • sacerdotes. All these
paintings, not only by their inscriptions, but by their con-
ception and treatment, demonstrate their pagan origin.
They are not in any sense or degree Christian ; nor is
there any reason to infer, as has been asserted, that they
are of Gnostic execution, but decidedly the reverse.

But how are we to account for the presence of this
pagan monument within the limits of a Christian cem-

218 The Catacombs of Rome.

etery ? There are two things to be observed, says M.
Ferret, in explanation of this circumstance. First, the
ai'cosolium is not exclusively Christian in character. M.
de Saulcy has given examples of several Jewish and
pagan tombs in the form of arcosolia* In the second
place, there is nothing strange in a family practising an
oriental rite, like the worship of Mithras — which with the
Phrygian and Isiac mysteries were widely prevalent in
Rome in the early Christian centuries — having a private
place of sepulture, as this seems to have been. It is
situated near the Appian Way, from which there was
probably a separate entrance. Near by is a pagan
columbarium which now forms one of the entrances of
the Catacomb, of which it seems part equally with the
gallery containing this tomb. This space may possibly
have been originally usurped from the Christian ceme-
tery ; but it is more probable that the gallery and tomb
were independently constructed, and that the fossors
came unexpectedly upon it in their excavations. This
conjecture is confirmed by the indications of its having
been subsequently shut off, but the obstructions have
long since been removed. It is impossible to admit that
the Christians, in contempt of the sacred usages of the
primitive ages, have commingled their sepulchres with
those of the pagans. f

But Christian art, though affected by pagan influ-
ence, did not servilely follow pagan types. It intro-
duced new forms to express new ideas, or employed
existing forms with a new significance ; just as Chris-
tianity itself introduced new words, or gave new mean-
ings to old ones, not only in the classic tongues but
in every language which it has adopted as the vehicle
of its sublime truths. It created a cycle of symbolical

* Voyage dans les terres bibliqucs, pi. 5. \ Petrel, i, p. 44.

Early Christian Art. 219

types of especial Christian significance ; and became
more enriched and enlarged in its scope by allegorical
representations of religious doctrine, and by illustrations
of Old and New Testament history and miracles. But
Christian art soon lost that freedom of treatment which
it inherited from its classic parentage, and fell into fixed
and conventional forms, which were endlessly reiterated.
"Before many years," says Maitland, "the empire of
imagination passed away, and the genius of art, with
'torch extinct and swimming eye,' had to mourn over
the introduction of the hieratic style which, wherever
it has appeared throughout the world, has cramped and
almost annihilated the inventive faculty." Like the
hieroglyphs of Egypt and of India, or like the picture-
writing of the lost races of Central America, though in
a less degree, the objects of Christian art became not
so much representative as symbolic. Individual genius
can only struggle hopelessly with the shackles of a con-
ventional system. From the freedom of nature it sinks
into a servile copyism which can hardly be called art at all.
Yet the symbols of the Catacombs, though often rude
and uncouth, must not provoke our contempt. They
fulfilled their purpose no less fully than the triumphs of
art in the Camera Raphaele or the Sistine Chapel. They
were addressed not to the external sense, nor to the
critical taste, but to the inner eye of the soul and to
the sublime faculty of faith. They were not mere
representations of the outward semblances of things,
but suggestions of eternal verities which transcend the
limits of time and space. The rudely scratched anchor
told of a hope that reached forward beyond this world
and laid hold on the great realities of the world to come ;
the dove spoke of the brooding peace of God, which
kept the heart and the mind amid persecution and afflic-

220 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion with the power of an everlasting life ; and the palm
iwas the symbol of the final victory over death and hell.

When the age of persecution passed away, this child-
like and touching simplicity of Christian art gave place
to a more ornate character. Called from the gloomy
vaults of the Catacombs to adorn the churches erected
by Constantine and his successors, it gradually devel-
oped into the many-coloured splendour of the magnificent
frescoes and mosaics of the basilicas. It became now
more personal and historical, and less abstract and doc-
trinal. The technical manipulation became less under-
stood, and the artistic conception of form more and
more feeble, till it gradually stiffened into the immobile
and rigid types which characterize Byzantine painting.
It exhibited the weakness not of infancy but of decrep-
itude, and might almost be called the last sigh of art
till its revival after the long slumber of the Middle
Ages. It is of importance, however, as enabling us to
trace the development of religious error, and the intro-
duction of unorthodox additions to Christian belief, and
as showing the slow progress toward image worship. It
demonstrates the non-apostolicity of certain Romish
doctrines, the beginning of which can be here detected.
It utters its voiceless protest against certain others
which are sought for in vain in the places where, accord-
ing to the Roman theory, they should certainly be found.
Where still employed in the Catacombs, art shared the
corruption and degradation above described.

It is to this period that most of the condemnations
of art, or rather of its abuse, in the writings of the
primitive Fathers must be referred. Toward the close
of the fourth century Augustine inveighs against the
superstitious reverence for pictures, as well as the grow-
ing devotion to the sepulchres, which he says the church

Early Christian Art. 221

condemned and endeavoured to correct.* His contem-
porary, Epiphanius, stigmatizes the employment of
painting as contrary to the authority of Scripture. f
About the same time Paulinus of Nola made use of
biblical pictures for the instruction of the rude and
illiterate multitude who visited the shrine of Felix.
" Perhaps it may be asked," he says, " for what reason,
contrary to the common usage, I have painted this sa-
cred dwelling with personal representations ? . . . Here
is a crowd of rustics of imperfect faith, who cannot read,
who before they were converted to Christ used profane
rites, and obeyed their senses as gods. I have, there-
fore, thought it expedient to enliven with paintings the
whole habitation of the saint. Pictures thus traced
with colours will perhaps inspire those rude minds with
astonishment. Inscriptions are placed above the paint-
ings in order that the letter may explain what the hand
has depicted." \

The feeblest intelligence might rise through the ma-

* Novi multos esse sepulchrorum et picturarum adoratores . . .
quos et ipsa ecclesia condemnat, et tanquam malos filios corrigere
studet. — Aug., de Morib. Eccl. Cathol., lib. i, c. 34.
I Contra auetoritatem Scripturarum. — Epiphan., ad "Johan. Hierosol.
\ Forte requiratur, quanam ratione gerendi
Sederit haec nobis sententia, pingere sanctas
Raro more domos animantibus adsimulatis.

Turba frequentia hie est
Rusticitas non casta fide, neque docta legendi.
Haec adsueta diu sacris servire profanis,
Ventre Deo, tandem convertitur advena Christo.
Propterea visum nobis opus utile, totis
Felicis domibus pictura, illudere sancta- :
Si forte attonitas haec per spectacula mentes
Agrestes caperet fucata coloribus umbra,
Quae super exprimitur titulis, ut litera monstret
Quod manus explicuit.

— Paulin., De Felice Natal. Carm., ix, vv, 541, et seq.

222 The Catacombs of Rome.

terial to the conception of spiritual truth.* But this
ecclesiastical employment of art speedily became the
source of religious corruption and the object of super-
stitious worship. At length it provoked the stern icon-
oclasm of the Isaurian Leo and his successors, and
was formally prohibited by the general Council of Con-
stantinople in the eighth century. Even early in the
fourth century the Council of Elvira, as if with a pres-
cience of the dire result that would follow, prohibited
the use of pictures in the churches, " lest that which
was worshipped and adored should be painted on the
walls." f

The iconoclastic spirit, however, was principally
directed against graven images, which were regarded
as the special objects of idolatry. The earliest ex-
amples of these have been attributed to the Gnostics,
who so strangely blended the doctrines of Chris-
tianity with pagan superstition. They claimed to possess
contemporary images of Christ from the collection of

* Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem
Quam quassuntoculissubjecta fidelibus. — Hor.,afc Arte Poeticd.

Mens hebes ad verum per materialia surgit
Et, demersa prius, hac visa luce resurgit.

— On door-way of St. Denis, Paris.

During the Middle Ages much religious truth was doubtless con-
veyed by these storied basilicas or " gospels in stone." Of St. Mark's,
Venice, Dr. Guthrie says, " It is not more remarkable for its oriental
splendour than for the flood of gospel truth set forth to all eyes in
the mosaics that cover and adorn its domes and walls. . . . Here the
grand central, saving doctrine, the glory of Paul and hope of sin-
ners, 'Jesus Christ, and him crucified,' is exhibited with wonderful
fulness and fidelity." In A. D. 4S3, Pope Sixtus dedicated to the
people of God — plebi Dei — the mosaics of S. Maria Maggiore at
Rome, executed for their instruction.

f Placuit picturas in ecclesia esse non debere, ne quod colitur ant
adoratur in parietibus depingatur, — Cenci!. Eliber.t A. D. 305, c. 36.

Early Christian Art. 223

Pontius Pilate ! But doubtless, like the alleged statue
of Christ at Ccesarea Philippi, mentioned by Eusebius,*
even if they had any reference to Our Lord at all, they
were of much later date. According to Augustine,!
the Carpocratian heretics had similar images ; and Mar-
cellina, who belonged to that sect, exhibited in the
Gnostic church at Rome figures of Christ, Paul, Ho-
mer, and Pythagoras. In a similarly eclectic spirit
the emperor Alexander Severus placed among his lares
the images of Our Lord and Abraham, with those of
Orpheus and Apollonius.J

Mosaic, which in classic times was used only for the
decoration of floors, was employed in Christian art in
the more honourable task of adorning the walls of the
stately basilicas and churches. This intractable ma-
terial was not adapted for the delineation of objects re-
quiring delicacy of expression, but was admirably suited
for representing strongly pronounced types and solemn
figures of Christ and the saints, analogous to those in the
stained-glass windows of gothic cathedrals and minsters.
Hence the mosaics, and gradually all Byzantine art, stiff-
ened into an expression of severity and gloom, filling the
mind of the beholder with solemnity and awe.§ This
character is still strikingly seen in the art of the Greek

* Tovtov 6e tov uvdpiavTa eluova rov 'lrjoov Qepsiv e/.eyov. — Hist.
Eccles., vii, 18.

f Sectae ipsius (Carpocratis) fuisse traditur socia qusedam Marcel-
lina, qure colebat imagines Jesu et Pauli, et Homeri et Pythagorae,
adorando incensumque ponendo. — Aug., de Hceresib., c. vii ; cf. Iren.,
advers Hares., i, c. xxv, § 6. Rochette figures one of these Gnostic
tessarae or amulets with a head of Christ and the wordXPISTOS, ac-
companied by the symbolic fish.

% In larario suo . . . Christum, Abraham et Orpheum, et hujus-
modi ceteros, habebat ac majorum effigies, rem divinam faciebat.—
Lamprid., in Alex. Sever., c. xxix.

§ Lubke, vol. i, p. 316.

224 The Catacombs of Rottie.

church, especially in Russia, where there is an intense
and superstitious reverence for pictures, known nowhere
else. Many of the churches are completely covered
with paintings, which are valued, not for their execution,
for they are often hideously ugly, but as a sort of talis-
mans on account of their supposed religious sanctity.*
Thus art, which is the daughter of paganism, relapsing
into the service of superstition, has corrupted, and often
paganized, Christianity, as Solomon's heathen wives
turned his heart from the worship of the true God to
the practice of idolatry. Lecky attributes this degra
dation of style to the latent Manicheism of the dark
ages, to the monkish fear of beauty as a deadly tempta-
tion, and to the terrible pictures of Dante, which opened
up such an abyss of horrors to the imagination. But by
means of this mediaeval art, imperfect, and even gro-
tesque as it often was, would be brought vividly before
the minds of the people of a rude and barbarous age an
intense conception of the scenes of Christ's passion, and
a realistic sense of the punishment of the lost.

It will be convenient to treat the art of the Catacombs
under the two heads of symbolical and biblical paint-
ings, and to discuss separately the gilt glasses and other
objects of interest found in these crypts. De Rossi
divides the subject into symbolical, allegorical, biblical,
and liturgical paintings ; but some of these divisions,
as for instance, the last, assumes the whole question of
the purport and interpretation of these pictures.

* Stanley's Eastern Churches, passim.

Their Symbolism. 225

CHAPTER II.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE CATACOMBS.

Primitive Christianity was eminently congenial to re-
ligious symbolism. Born in the East, and in the bosom
of Judaism, which had long been familiar with this uni-
versal oriental language, it adopted types and figures
as its natural mode of expression. These formed the
warp and woof of the symbolic drapery of the tabernacle
and temple service, prefiguring the great truths of the
Gospel. The Old Testament sparkles with mysterious
imagery. In the sublime visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel, move strange creatures of wondrous form
and prophetic significance. In the New Testament the
Divine Teacher conveys the loftiest lessons in para-
bles of inimitable beauty. In the apocalyptic visions
of St. John the language of imagery is exhausted to rep-
resent the overthrow of Satan, the triumph of Christ,
and the glories of the New Jerusalem.

The primitive Christians, therefore, naturally adopted
a similar mode of art expression for conveying religious
instruction. They also, as a necessary precaution in
times of persecution, concealed from the profane gaze
of their enemies the mysteries of the faith under a veil
of symbolism, wnich yet revealed their profoundest
truths to the hearts of the initiated. That such disguise
was not superfluous is shown by the recent discovery of
a pagan caricature of the Crucifixion on a wall beneath

the Palatine, and by the recorded desecration of the

226 The Catacombs of Rome.

eucharistic vessels by the Apostate Julian.* To those
who possessed the key to the " Christian hieroglyphs,"
as Raoul-Rochette has called them,f they spoke a lan-
guage that the most unlettered as well as the learned
could understand. What to the haughty heathen was
an unmeaning scrawl, to the lowly believer was eloquent
of loftiest truths and tenderest consolation.
%> Although occasionally fantastic and far-fetched, this
symbolism is generally of a profoundly religious signifi-
cance, and often of extreme poetic beauty. In perpet-
ual canticle of love it finds resemblances of the Divine
Object of its devotion throughout all nature. It beholds
beyond the shadows of time the eternal verities of the
world to come. It is not of the earth earthy, but is
entirely supersensual in its character, and employs ma-
terial forms only as suggestions of the unseen and spirit-
ual. It addresses the inner vision of the soul, and not
the mere outer sense. Its merit consists, therefore, not
in artistic beauty of execution, but in appositeness of
religious significance — a test lying far too deep for the
apprehension of the uninitiate. It is perhaps also in-
fluenced, as Kugler remarks, in the avoidance of real-
istic representation, by the fear which pervaded the
primitive church of the least approach to idolatry.

Great care must be observed, however, in the inter-
pretation of this religious symbolism, not to strain it
beyond its capacity or intention. It should be with-
drawn from the sphere of theological controversy, too

* When persecution ceased, this veil of mystery was thrown off and
a less esoteric art employed ; but even when Christianity came forth
victorious from the Catacombs, symbolical paintings celebrated its
triumph upon the walls of the basilicas and baptisteries which rose in
the great centres of population.

f Memoire stir Us antiqiritks Chrktienncs Jes Catacombes. {Mini, de
PA cad. dts /nscr., XIII.)

Their Symbolism. 227

often the battleground of religious rancour and bitter-
ness, and relegated to that of scientific archaeology and
dispassionate criticism. An allegorizing mind, if it has
any theological dogma to maintain, will discover sym-
bolical evidence in its support where it can be detected
by no one else.*

One of the most striking circumstances which im-
presses an observer in traversing these silent chambers
of the dead is the complete avoidance of all images
of suffering and woe, or of tragic awfulness, such as
abound in sacred art above ground. There are no
representations of the sevenfold sorrows of the Mater
Dolorosa, nor cadaverous Magdalens accompanied by
eyeless skulls as a perpetual memento mori. There are
no pictures of Christ's agony and bloody sweat, of his
cross and passion, his death and burial ; nor of flag-

* Sometimes this superzealous interpretation leads to absurd mis-
takes. Aringhi devotes two folio pages to the explanation of certain
figures which occur in the inscriptions of the Catacombs, which he
calls representations of the human heart. He illustrates the subject
with much sacred and profane learning, and with many quotations from
the Scriptures, the Fathers, and classic authors. Another archaeol-
ogist, Boldoni, suggests that the figures signify the bitterest sorrow
of heart — dolorem cordi intimtun ; and another believes them to be
representations of a heart transpierced with a thorn, the symbol of
profoundest grief. These mysterious figures, whose hidden meaning
was sought with such empty toil — arcanam significationem inani la-
bore investagarint, says De Rossi — were, however, nothing more than
the leaf-decorations employed in both pagan and Christian inscrip-
tions by way of punctuation ! See the following example :

BERPIO0IWPACE

Fig. 32.— To Berpius, (.or Verpius,) in Peace.

228 The Catacombs of Rome.

ellations, tortures, and fiery pangs ol martyrdom, such as
those that harrow the soul in many of the churches and
picture-galleries of Rome.* Only images of joy and peace
abound on every side. These gloomy crypts are a school
of Christian love and gentle charity, of ennobling thoughts
and elevating impulses. The primitive believers, in the
midst of their manifold persecutions, rejoiced even in
tribulation. "There is no sign of mourning," says
d'Agincourt, " no token of resentment, no expression
of vengeance ; all breathes of gentleness, benevolence,
and love." " To look at the Catacombs alone," says
Rochette, "it might be suppQsed that persecution had
no victims, since Christianity has made no allusion to
suffering." There are no symbols of sorrow, no appeals
to the morbid sympathies of the soul, nothing that could
cause vindictive feelings even toward the persecutors
of the church ; only sweet pastoral scenes, fruits, flow-
ers, palm branches and laurel crowns, lambs and doves ;
nothing but what suggests a feeling of joyous innocence,
as of the world's golden age.

The use of pictorial representations appears often to
have been a matter of necessity. Many of the Chris-
tians could understand no other written language.
Numerous inscriptions, by the extreme ignorance mani-

* See especially the church of S. Stefano Rotondo, where is a chron-
ological series of martyrdoms, represented in all their direst horrors,
from the crucifixion of Our Lord to the reign of Julian. Among
other grotesqueries is a picture of St. Dionysius walking in full epis-
copal robes at the head of a procession, holding his head, streaming
with blood, in his hands !

The desire to find martyrs has led over-zealous antiquarians to dis-
cover instruments of torture in the implements of trade commonly
represented on the gravestones of the Catacombs. The adz and saw
of the carpenter are made to do duty in some sensational tale of chop-
ping and sawing of a Christian sufferer, and the baker's corn measure
is transformed into a martyr's fiery furnace.

Their Symbolism. 229

fested — the wretched execution, grammar, and spelling
— show the lowly and unlettered condition of those who
affixed them to the walls.* The relatives of the de-
ceased would naturally desire some token by which they
might recognize, in that vast and monotonous labyrinth
of graves, the tomb of their departed friend. To those
ignorant of letters an inscription would but ill subserve
this purpose. Hence we often find some pictorial repre-
sentation, either with or without an accompanying
inscription, on the tomb. These were sometimes rude
figures having a phonetic correspondence to the name
of the deceased, and sometimes the emblems of his
trade. Of the former kind are the following examples
copied from the walls of the Lapidarian Gallery :

PONTIVS • LEO • SE • BIVO • FECIT . SIBI
ET PONTIA • MAZA • COZVS • VZVS. (sic.)
FECERVNT • FILIO • SVO • APOLLINARI • BENE
MERENTI-

" Pontius Leo made this for himself while living. He and his wife
Pontia Maxima made this for their well-deserving son, Apollinaris."
Fig. 33— Phonetic Symbol.

The friends of Leo were probably unable to read this
inscription, whose atrocious latinity betrays the igno-
rance of the mason by whom it was executed, and there-
fore had engraved upon the stone the rude outline of a
lion, the symbol of his proper name.

Another slab bears the outline of a little pig, the picto-
rial translation of the somewhat singular name Porcella.
* See Figs. 122 to 12S, and context.

230 The Catacombs of Rome.

It was, perhaps, a term of endearment, like the obsolete
English "Pigsney."

PORCELLA HIC DORMIT IN P-
Q- VIXIT ANN • III • M • X • D • XIII-

" Here sleeps Porcella in peace. She lived three years, ten months,
and thirteen days."

Fig. 34— Phonetic Symbol.

In like manner the tombs of Dracontius, Vitulus, and
Onager, bear respectively a dragon, a steer, and an ass,
the phonetic synonymes of these names. These figures
may in some cases be a mere pictorial paronomasia, but
the explanation above suggested is the more probable
one. In the following example this is almost asserted :

NABIRA IN PACE ANIMA DVLCIS

QVI VIXIT ANOS XVI • M • V-

ANIMA MELEIEA

TITVLV FACTV

APARENTES SIGNVM NABE. [sic]

" Navira in peace ; a sweet soul, who lived sixteen years and five
months ; a soul sweet as honey ; this epitaph was made by her
parents. The sign, a ship."

Fig. 35.— Phonetic Symbol.

More frequently the figures had reference to the trade
or occupation of the deceased, as in the following epi-
taph, probably of a wool-comber, found by Dr. Mait-
land built into the wall of the Piazzo di Spagna, in
Rome. Many important funeral tablets, both Christian
and pagan, have been thus employed for the commonest

Their Symbolism.

231

purposes. The objects in the engraving are probably
the shears, comb, ladle, and an unknown instrument
used for cleansing wool.

" To Veneria, in peace."
Pig. 36.— Wool-Comber's Implements.

The following, from the Lapidarian Gallery, indicates
the trade of a carpenter. The saw and adz are very
like those now employed :

BAVTO ET MAXIMA SE VIVI
FECERVNT.

' To Bautus and Maxima. They made this during their lifetime."
Fig. 37.— Carpenter's Tools.

232

The Catacombs of Rome.

On another slab is a figure, probably of a vine-dresser,
in a short Roman tunic, standing near a wine cask, the
symbol of his occupation. He appears to be starting
to the field with his mattock on his shoulder, and in his
hand is a wallet containing, perhaps, the provision for
the day.

GAVDENTIO FECERVM FRATRI
QVI VICSIC ANNIS XXVIII • M • VIII • D • XVII

" To Gaudentius. His brothers made this. He lived twenty-eight
years, eight months, seventeen days."

Fig. 38.— A Vine-Dresser's Tomb.

In the Catacomb of St. Agnes is a fresco of husband-
men carrying a wine butt on their shoulders, the mean-
ing of which is probably the same. Mr. Hemans rather
fantastically interprets this symbol as implying concord,
or the union of the faithful bound together by sacred
ties, as the staves of the cask are by its hoops.* Mait-
land translates it as standing for a proper name. We
have seen examples representing fossors at work,f and
Fabretti figures the slab of a sculptor, exhibiting the man-
ufacture of sarcophagi. Other examples occur, in which

* Sac. Art, p. 43. f Fi>;s. 23, 24.

Their Symbolism. 233

the fuller's tomb is indicated by mallets, the shoemaker's
by shoes or lasts, the baker's by loaves, the wood-feller's
by an axe, the grocer's by scales, and the like, although
the meaning of some of these figures is questioned.
Didron, however, presses this interpretation of these
symbols much too far, making the dove, fish, anchor,
and sheep, only the emblems of the occupation of the
fowler, fisherman, sailor, and shepherd, respectively,
thus doing violence to the acknowledged canons of
epigraphic criticism to be presently indicated.*

But by far the larger proportion of these symbols have
a religious significance, and refer to the peace and joy
of the Christian, and to the holy hopes of a life beyond
the grave ; and many of them were derived directly from
the language of Scripture. They were often of a very
simple and rudimentary character, such as could be
easily scratched with a trowel on the moist plaster.
or traced upon the stone. They were sometimes, how-
ever, elaborately represented in excellent frescoes or
sculpture.

* Such symbols were not peculiar to Christian tombs. There were
many pagan examples of a similar character. Thus a cultrarius, or
cutler, has knives ; a pullarius, or poulterer, a cage or coop of chickens ;
a tabellarius, and postman, a writing case ; and a marmorarius , or
mason, a mallet and chisel, on his tomb. Sometimes a shop, with
customers bargaining, is shown. A bag or purse signifies an agent ;
money, a banker ; and the like. The ascia or axe, so common on
Roman tombs, probably represents a sacrificial instrument. Anal-
ogous to these are the sphere and cylinder engraven on the tomb of
Archimedes, and the square and compasses on modern masonic mon-
uments. In the Armenian cemeteries a hammer, trowel, last, scales,
and shears, indicate the grave of a carpenter, mason, shoemaker,
grocer, or tailor. In the Cemetery de 1'Est, at Paris, animals act-
ing mark the tomb of the French fabulist, La Fontaine ; masks, that
of Moliere ; a palette or brushes, that of a painter. See also the
naval and military trophies on the tombs of many distinguished
sailors and soldiers.

234

The Catacombs of Rome.

The beautiful allusion of St. Paul to the Christian's
hope as the anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
is frequently represented in the Catacombs by the out-
line of an anchor, often rudely drawn, but eloquent with
profoundest meaning to the mind of the believer. It
assured the storm-tossed voyager on life's rough sea
that, while the anchor of his hope was cast " within the
veil," his life -bark would outride the fiercest blasts and
wildest waves of persecution, and at last glide safely
into the haven of everlasting rest. This allusion is
made more apparent when it is observed how often it is
found on the tombstones of those who bear the name
Hope, in its Greek or Latin
form, as EAIIIC, EAIIIAIOC,
SPES, etc. In the accompany-
ing example it is displayed on
a Christian patera. This sym-
bol is not unknown in classic
art. It occurs on a ring from
Pompeii, in the Museum of

Naples, with the word EAIIIC,

fj0pe Fig. 39.— Symbolical Anchor.

Of kindred significance with this is the symbol of a
ship, which may also refer to the soul seeking a country
out of sight, as the ship steers to a land beyond the hori-
zon. Sometimes it may be regarded as a type of the
church ; and in later times it is represented as steered
by St. Peter and St. Paul.* The symbol of " the heaven-

* Fig. 112. This symbol is designated by modern Italians La
Navicella di San Pietro — the Bark of St. Peter. From the fan-
cied resemblance of the body of the church to a ship, or from
the above allusion, the word nave, applied to that part, has been
derived as if from navis, a ship. May it not possibly be from rah;.
a temple ?

Tlieir Symbolism.

535

bound ship " — t\ vavg ovpaodpafiovoa — is mentioned by
Clement of Alexandria as being in vogue in the second
century. This figure was used also in pagan art as an

emblem of the
close of life, and
may still be seen
carved on a tomb
near the Nea-
politan Gate of
Pompeii. In the
Catacombs the
execution of the
symbol is often
Fig. 40.— Symbolical Ship. exceedingly

rude, the design being apparently copied from the
clumsy barges of the Tiber. The mast and yard some-
times present a vague imitation of the cross.* The ac-
companying figure is from the Lapidarian Gallery of
the Vatican. f

The palm and crown are symbols that frequently
occur, often in a very rude form. Although common
also to Jewish \ and pagan art, they have received in
Christian symbolism a loftier significance than they ever
possessed before. They call to mind that great multitude

* " Arbor quaedam in navi," says St. Ambrose, " est crux in ecclesia."
•j- Compare the following beautiful passage from Tertullian, in which
the metaphor is elaborately carried out : " Amid the reefs and inlets,
amid the shallows and straits of idolatry, Faith, her sails filled with the
Spirit of God, navigates ; safe, if cautious, secure, if intently watch-
ful. But to such as are washed overboard is a deep, whence is no out-
swimming ; to such as run aground is inextricable shipwreck ; to such
as are engulfed is a whirlpool, where there is no breathing in idol-
atry. All its waves suffocate ; every eddy drags down to Hades. — De
Idol., c. 24.

X Compare 2 Esdras ii, 44, 45. See ante, Fig. 18. The palm ap-
pears on the coins of Simon Barchocab.

236 The Catacombs of Rome.

whom no man can number, with whom Faith sees the dear
departed walk in white, bearing palms in their hands.
The crown is not the wreath of ivy or of laurel, of
parsley or of bay, the coveted reward of the ancient
games ; nor the chaplet of earthly revelry, which, placed
upon the heated brow, soon fell in withered garlands to
the feet ; but the crown of life, starry and unwithering,
the immortal wreath of glory which the saints shall wear
forever at the marriage supper of the Lamb. They are
the emblems of victory over the latest foe, the assurance

that

The straggle and grief are all past ;
The glory and worth live on.

The palm and crown conjoined, the latter encircling
the sacred monogram, are represented in the accompa-
nying example from a slab in the Vatican Library.

Fig. 41— Symbolical Palm and Crown.

The palm has also been claimed, but, as we shall see,
without any warrant whatever, as the emblem of the
martyrs and the designation of their tombs.

One of the most beautiful symbols of the Catacombs
is the dove, the perpetual synonym of peace. Indeed,
that word is frequently annexed to the figure as if to
show more distinctly its meaning, as in Figs. 42 and 43.*
The innocence and purity of the dove make it an ap-
propriate emblem of the souls of departed Christians,
soaring beyond the defilements of earth to the peaceful

* See also Figs. 15, 77, and 82. The figures are often very con-
ventional, and look more like geese or ducks than doves.

Their Symbolism.

237

blessedness of heaven.* It is, therefore, in allusion to
this thought sometimes accompanied by the words,
anima innocens, anima simplex — "innocent soul," "sim-
ple soul." Perhaps there may be also a reference to
the admonition of Our Lord, " Be ye, therefore, . . .
harmless as doves." The gentleness and tender affec-
tion of these beautiful birds make them an emblem of
endearment in every age, as is strikingly seen in the
frequent allusions of the matchless Song of Songs. It
may, therefore, be often employed in the Catacombs with
reference to the domestic virtues of the deceased, and
to the mutual constancy of husband and wife. The
expression, palumbus sine felle — " a dove without gall " —
is often applied in Christian epitaphs to the departed,
especially in its diminutive form — -palumbulus sine felle —
on the tombs of little children, as if the bereaved parents
presented their babes to the Lord, like the turtle-doves
and young pigeons of the ancient Jewish offering of
infant consecration.

" In the Peace of God."
Fig. 42.— Symbolical Doves.

The dove generally bears in its beak or claws an olive
branch, the sign of the assuaging of the waters of Divine
vengeance from the face of the earth. (See Fig. 43.) It

* See Psa. lxviii, 13. In Mediaeval art the soul is represented is-
suing from the mouth of the dying or flying through the air in the
form of a dove. One example bears the inscription — animiz inter-
fectorum — the souls of the slain.

238

The Catacombs of Rome.

is, then, as Tertullian expresses it, " the herald of the
peace of God."

PAX

Fig. 43.— Symbolical Dove. Fig. 44.— Doves and Vase.

Sometimes it is seen drinking out of a vase, or peck-
ing at grapes or olive berries, a symbol of the soul's
enjoyment of the fruits and refreshing draughts of par-
adise.* (See Figs. 44 and 45.) As seen sitting on the
arms of the cross, f the dove is an appropriate symbol
of the peace with God purchased by the death of Our
Lord Jesus Christ. The dove in a cage may imply the

l^ocVipKIMI $$

" The place of Primus."
Fig. 45.— Dove Eating Olive Berries.

* See the common epigraphic expression, IT1E EN 9E£2 — " Drink in
God," and the language of Augustine concerning a deceased friend —
" Jam ponit spirituale os ad fontem tuum, Domine, et bibit quantum
potest." — Con., ix, 3.

f See Figs. 60 and 106. " The doves which perch upon the cross,"
says Paulinus, " show that the kingdom of God is open to the simple " —
Quaeque super signum resident cceleste columbre
Simplicibus produnt regna patcre Dei.

Their Symbolism. 239

faithful tinder persecution, or the soul imprisoned in
the body.

The dove was also used in the Catacombs as the sym-
bol of the Holy Spirit in representations of the baptism
of Our Lord, and is described by Paulinus as similarly
employed in the church of Nola.* Tertullian f applies
toward the ecclesiastical edifice the expression, columbtz
domus — " house of the dove " — possibly, however, with
reference to the dove-like religion and character of the
Christians. In Mediaeval art the Holy Spirit, under
the form of a dove wearing a cruciform nimbus, the
symbol of divinity, is represented brooding over the face
of the waters of primeval chaos, inspiring the prophets
and saints, and even nailed to the cross above the cruci-
fied body of Our Lord. This sacred emblem of the
Paraclete, the Divine Comforter, by a monstrous viola-
tion of propriety was emblazoned upon battle-flags, and
the Holy Name given to a military order and to ships
of war.J

* Per columbam Spiritus Sanctus fluit. — Ep. ad Sever.

\ Contra Valentin., c. iii. Sometimes a gold or silver dove was
placed over the altar, (Bing., viii, 6, § 19,) as is still occasionally seen
even in Protestant churches. In the Middle Ages churches and abbeys
were named from this symbol, as Santa Columba and Sainte Colombe,
the church of the Holy Dove. They were also dedicated to the Holy
Ghost under the title of Saint Paraclete, Santo Spirito, and Saint
Esprit.

% According to an apociyphal Gospel, the Holy Ghost under the
form of a dove designated Joseph as the spouse of the Virgin Mary
by lighting on his head ; and in the same manner, says Eusebius, (vi.
20,,) was Fabian indicated as the divinely appointed bishop of Rome.
According to a singular legend, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
was present at the Council of Nice, and signed the creed that was
there framed. In the Arthurian legend a snowy dove accompanied
the apparition of the Holy Grail. In the fifteenth century a pigeon
which lighted on the tent of Edward III., at Calais, was thought to be a
manifestation of the Holy Ghost. {Attmoires de Phil, de Commutes,

240

The Catacombs of Rome.

This emblem was also used in pagan art. The light-
winged coursers who drew the airy chariot of Venus
were doves. From the oaks of Dodona doves uttered
oracles of the future. A dove was also the celestial
messenger of Mahomet. The olive, too, was sacred to
Minerva, and as the symbol of peace was woven into the
victor's crown.

Other pagan types were employed, but with a new and
nobler Christian significance. Thus the peacock, the
proud bird of Juno, frequently appears in the Cata-
combs, not as the symbol of the all-seeing eye of God,
in imitation of the pagan myth of the hundred eyes of
Argus, but as the emblem of immortality.* Associated
in meaning and frequent-
ly confounded in form
with the peacock was the
phoenix, the marvellous
story of whose rejuvenes-
cence from the ashes of its
funeral pyre Clement of
Rome recounts with un-
faltering faith, f Lactan-
tius makes it the theme

of an elaborate poem, J

j n-. , ir •*, -4. Fig. 46.— Symbolical Peacock,

and TertulJian cites it as

a striking illustration of the resurrection of the
dead. § It was also considered a type of the new
birth and of eternal felicity. The cock, generally as-
sociated with St. Peter, || is interpreted as the symbol

iv, io.) Seven doves hovering around the head of Our Lord or the
Virgin Mary symbolize, in Mediaeval art, the seven-fold gifts of the
Spirit.

* See Figs. 46, 89. \ Ep. ad Corinth., § 25. % De Phanice.

§ De Resurrec. Cam., c. 13. \ See Fig. 102

Their Symbolism. 241

of unsleeping vigilance ; it is, perhaps, also an emblem
or suggestion of the remorse of the apostle for his
denial of his Lord.

Another adaptation of classic symbolism is the employ-
ment of the stag, the attribute of Diana, as the emblem of
the Christian thirsting after the living waters. It is gener-
ally represented drinking at a stream, probably in allusion
to the Psalmist's panting after God as the hart after the
water-brooks.* The hare sometimes occurs, an appro-
priate type of the persecution of the Christians, hunted
amid those secret burrows in the earth like rabbits in
their warrens. The horse is interpreted as symbolizing
eagerness or speed in running the Christian race, or, per-
haps, the course of life happily accomplished ;t and the
lion, fortitude of soul, or, from the notion that he slept
with open eyes, vigilance against the snares of sin. \ It
is remarkable that the dog, a pagan symbol of fidelity,

* Psa. xlii, 1. See Fig. 132. f See Fig. 115.

\ In later art this figure is used as an emblem of the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, and is sometimes represented as opening the apoca-
lyptic book with seven seals. The four living creatures of John's
vision, (chap, iv, 6, 7,) the lion, calf or ox, eagle, and man or angel,
and the tetramorph figure of that of Ezekiel, (chap, i, ver. 10,) became
symbols of the four evangelists, and also of Christ.

In mediaeval art uncouth and grotesque figures — " Gorgons and
hydras and chimeras dire" — took the place of the bright and
genial symbols of the Catacombs. To the terrified imagination
of the age all nature swarmed with malignant and demoniac be-
ings, which were bodied forth in the dragons and griffins, and mon-
strous forms and faces that haunt the gothic minsters and abbeys, es-
pecially in the northern countries of Europe, where the savageness of
nature is reflected in the weirdness of art. Yet even in its distorted
grotesqueness, this art proved its moral superiority to the gay and joy-
ous spirit of heathenism. The intense consciousness of sin and evil,
and of the mortal struggle of the human soul with the powers of dark-
ness which it manifested, is essentially nobler than the frivolous sen-
sualism of ancient art and life, without hope or fear of the future.

242 The Catacombs of Rome.

never occurs except as accessory in hunting scenes of
manifestly heathen type ; probably on account of the
abhorrence of this, to them, unclean beast, by the Jews,
who so largely impressed their characteristics on Chris-
tian thought and feeling.* The serpent, a common
pagan symbol, and with the cock the attribute of ^Escu-
lapius, nowhere appears but in the scene of the temp-
tation of Eve by the " Old Serpent, the Devil."

The vine is an appropriate symbol of the intimate
union of the believer, and Christ, and the olive tree of
a life fruitful in good deeds, or of the church, in whose
sheltering arms all souls may find rest, as the fowls of
the air in the boughs of a tree. Flowers and fruits may
be the emblems of future beatitude ; and a loaf, of the
bread of life or of the holy eucharist. The fountain is
a type of the living waters, and the lyre, of the influence
of the Divine Orpheus. The lamp and the light-house
are the emblems of spiritual illumination through the
gospel. The balance may refer to the just dealing of
the deceased, or perhaps to the final judgment and the
Eastern notion of psychostasy.f The house probably
indicates the tabernacle of the body, or perhaps the
last long home of the grave, or the house not made with
hands on high. Most of the symbols, however, refer
to the person and work of Christ, as the central and

*See Job xxx, I ; Psa. xxii, 16 ; Matt. vii,6; Phil, iii, 2 ; Rev. xxii, 15.

f Compare the prophecy of Belshazzar's doom — Dan. v, 27. To
this the weighing of the fates of Achilles and Hector in the Iliad is
analogous. (McCaul, 49.) Several of these symbols are often associ-
ated together. Thus, on a slab bearing date A. D. 400, are crowded
the Constantinian monogram, the balance, mummy, candelabrum with
seven lights, a house, and fish. On a marble ambo at Ravenna are
six series, ten in each, of sheep, peacocks, doves, stags, ducks, and
fishes. Whether symbolical or not, the selection is a remarkable
parallel to many of the figures of the Catacombs.

Their Symbolism. 243

dominating idea of the church of the Catacombs.
Some of these are of such importance and of so
frequent occurrence as to demand a more detailed
examination.

One of the most striking and beautiful of these sym-
bols is that which represents Christ as the Good
Shepherd, and believers as the sheep of his fold. While
the doves, as we have seen, may be regarded as emblem-
atic of the beatified spirits of the departed, the sheep
more appropriately symbolize those who, still in the
flesh, go in and out and find pasture. Suggesting the
thought of that sweet Hebrew idyl* of which the world
will never grow tired ; which, lisped by the pallid lips
of the dying throughout the ages, has strengthened their
hearts as they entered the dark valley ; and to which
Our Lord lent a deeper pathos by the tender parable
of the lost sheep — small wonder that it was a favourite
type of that unwearying love that sought the erring and
the outcast and brought them to his fold again. With
reiterated and manifold treatment the tender story is
repeated over and over again, making the gloomy crypts
bright with scenes of idyllic beauty, and hallowed with
sacred associations.

This symbol very happily sets forth the entire scope
of Christian doctrine. It illustrates the sweet pastoral
representations of man's relationship to the Shepherd
of Israel who leadeth Joseph like a flock, f and his in-
dividual dependence upon him who is the Shepherd and
Bishop of all souls. \ But it especially illustrates the
character and office of Our Lord, and the many passages
of Scripture in which he represents himself as the
Good Shepherd, who forsook his eternal throne to seek
through this wilderness-world the lost and wandering

* Psa. xxiii. f Psa. lxxx, i. % I Pet. ii, 25.

244 The Catacombs of Rome.

sheep, to save whom he gave his life that he might bring
them to the evergreen pastures of heaven.

This subject undergoes every possible variety of treat-
ment and is endlessly repeated — rudely scratched on
funeral slabs, elaborately sculptured on sarcophagi,
moulded on lamps and vases, graven on seals and rings,
traced in gold on glass, and painted in fresco, generally
in the most prominent and honourable position, in the
vaulting of the chambers and tympana of the arcosolia*
The Good Shepherd is generally represented as a youth-
ful beardless figure in a short Roman tunic and buskins,
bearing tenderly the lost sheep which he has found and
laid upon his shoulders with rejoicing. This is evidently
not a personal image, but an allegorical representation
of the " Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep."
He is generally surrounded, as in Fig. 47, by a group
of fleecy followers, whose action and attitude indicate
the disposition of soul and manner of hearing the
word. Some are listening earnestly ; others are more
intent on cropping the herbage at their feet, the types
of those occupied with the cares and pleasures and
riches of this world. A truant ram is turning heedlessly
away, as if refusing to listen ; and often a gentle ewe
nestles fondly at the shepherd's feet or tenderly caresses
his hand. An early Christian writer, contemporary with
this primitive art, furnishes an interpretation of these
pictures. He compares the poor of this world to sheep
in a barren desert ; finding no allurements here below,
they seek after those things which are above. The rich,
on the contrary, are like sheep in a pleasant pasture, with
heads and hearts always intent on the things of earth.
Frequently a shower of rain, or of water from a rock —
the emblem of the dews of grace or the waters of sal-
* See Fig. 105.

Their Symbolism. 245

vation — falls, abundantly on the listening sheep, scantily
on those that are feeding, not at all on the one that is
turning away.

Fig. 47— The Good Shepherd.

Sometimes the sheep appears to nestle with an ex-
pression of human tenderness and love on the shep-
herd's shoulders ; in other examples it is more or less
firmly held with one or both hands, as if to prevent its
escape. In a few instances the fold is seen in the back-
ground, which seems to complete the allegory. Fre-
quently the shepherd carries a staff or crook in his
hand, on which he sometimes leans, as if weary beneath
his burden. He is sometimes even represented sitting
on a mound, as if overcome with fatigue, thus recalling
the pathetic words of the Dies Irce :
Queerens me sedisti lassus.

Occasionally he is represented with a musical instru-
ment, like the classical syrinx or Pan's-pipe, in his hand,
as in Fig. 48, as if to indicate the sweet persuasive in-
fluence of his word. In allusion to this thought Greg-
ory Nazianzen remarks, " The Good Shepherd will at
one time give his sheep rest, and at another time lead

246

The Catacombs of Rome.

and direct them, with his staff seldom, more generally
with his pipe." In a fresco in the Catacomb of St.
Agnes the shepherd's tenderness and pity are contrasted
with the mercenary harshness of the hireling who careth
not for the sheep, and who rudely seizes by the leg one
that struggles to get free, while the Good Shepherd
merely calls his sheep, and they hear his voice and fol-
low him. Sometimes an Orpheus, to whose lyre the
sheep seem to listen with pleased attention, takes the
place of the Good Shepherd.

Fig. 48— Good Shepherd with Syrinx.

Sometimes the shepherd is represented as leading or
bearing on his shoulders a kid or goat instead of a sheep
or lamb. This apparent solecism has been thought a
careless imitation of pagan figures of the sylvan deity
Pan, who frequently appears in art in this manner. It
is more probable, however, that it was an intentional
departure from the usual type, as if to illustrate the

Their Symbolism. 247

words of Our Lord, " I am not come to call the right-
eous, but sinners to repentance," and to indicate his
tenderness toward the fallen, rejoicing more over the lost
sheep that was found than over the ninety and nine that
went not astray. It was also, probably, designed as a
protest against the rigour of the Novatians in refusing
reconciliation to penitent apostates. Sometimes Our
Lord, thus symbolically represented, is accompanied by
one or more of his disciples, as under-shepherds to
whom is given command to feed the flock of Christ, over
which the Holy Ghost had made them overseers.

In the Catacomb of St. Agnes is a remarkable fresco
of a lamb between two wolves, over which is written
the word seniores, evidently an allegorical representa-
tion of the story of Susanna and the elders, and in
mystic form an image of the church surrounded by per-
secution, or an illustration of the words of Our Lord,
" Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves."

The figure of the Good Shepherd has been a favourite
symbol in every age, and was common in pagan art.
Mercury was worshipped under the name Criophorus,
or the Ram-bearer, and was thus represented in paint-
ing and statuary.* More frequently the god Pan appears
under that figure, generally bearing in his hand the sim-
ple instrument to which he has given his name. The
Roman poets employ this sweet pastoral image in their
beautiful eclogues f to illustrate the shepherd's tender
care for his flock, gently bearing the lambs in his arms
or on his shoulders, recalling the inspired language in
which Isaiah depicts the Almighty's loving-kindness to-
ward his people. J From this outward resemblance be-

* Pausanias, lib. x.

f Tibullus, Eleg., ii, n, 12 ; Calpurn., Eclog., v, 39. % Isa. xl, n.

248 The Catacombs of Rome.

tween the pagan and Christian themes, Raoul-Rochette
has imagined that the frescoes of the Catacombs were
careless imitations of the heathen type, overlooking
their distinctively Christian interpretation. But the
naked fauns dancing with the nymphs of pagan art, as
in the tomb of the Nasos, are infinitely removed from
the sweet and tender grace of the Christian " Pastor
Bonus." Tertullian, in the second century, speaks of
chalices on which were paintings of the Good Shepherd
and the lost sheep.* Eusebius says that Constantine
placed a statue of this subject in the forum of Constan-
tinople. It also appears in mosaic at Ravenna, A. D.
440, and in a Catacomb at Cyrene in Africa. f

But Our Lord is sometimes represented as a lamb in-
stead of a shepherd. % Indeed, this symbol is no less\

* Patrocinabitur Pastor, quern in calice depingitis. A parabolis lice-
bit incipias, ubi est ovis perdita, a Domino requisita et humeris ejus
revecta. — De Pudicit, ii and x.

f The later Christian poets also celebrated this tender theme. In
lines whose lyric cadence charm the ear like a shepherd's pipe
Thomas Aquinas sings :

Bone Pastor, panis vere, Tu qui cuncta scis et vales,

Jesu, nostri miserere, Qui nos pascis hie mortales

Tu nos pasce, nos tuere ; Tuos ibi commensales

Tu nos bona fac videre, Cohseredes et sodales
In terra viventium. Fac sanctorum civium.

Another Mediaeval hymn runs sweetly thus".

Jesu dulcissime, e throno gloria?
Ovem deperditam venisti qucerere !
Jesu suavissime, pastor fidissime,
Ad te O trahe me, ut semper sequar te i

I In a distich accompanying an Agnus Dei in the church of St,
Pudentiana at Rome, both characters are ascribed to Our Lord :

Hie agnus mundum restaurat sanguine lapsum,
Mortuus et vivus idem sum, pastor et agnus.

Their Symbolism.

249

appropriate than the one just considered, and has
equally the sanction of Scripture. The manifold sacri-
fices of the tabernacle and temple all pointed to the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the true
Passover of mankind. The immaculate purity, gentle-
ness, and divine affection of the Redeemer, and his
patience under affliction and persecution, make this
beautiful symbol an appropriate type of his innocence
and sufferings as he was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and, as a sheep dumb before its shearers, opened not
his mouth.* In the devout recognition of Our Lord by
John the Baptist, f and in the sublime visions of the
Apocalypse, \ he is thus fig-
uratively represented ; and to
this divine Lamb is chanted
evermore the song of praise
and honour and thanksgiv-
ing-§

In the accompanying en-
graving from a sarcophagus
in the Lateran, of the fourth
or fifth century, the lamb,
wearing the nimbus in which
are inscribed the sacred mon-
ogram and the letters Al-
pha and Omega, the emblems

of divinity, is standing upon

Fig-. 49.— Lamb as Symbol of
Christ.

" This Lamb restores the lost world with his blood. Dead and living,
I am but one ; I am at once the Shepherd and the Lamb."

Paulinas beautifully says : " The same Lamb and Shepherd rules us
in the world who from wolves has made us lambs. He is now the
Shepherd of those sheep for whom he was once the victim Lamb."
—Epis. iii, a J Florent.

* Isa. liii, 7- f John i, 19. \ Rev. v, 6. § Ibid., v, 12.

250 The Catacombs of Rome.

a hillock, perhaps intended for Mount Zion,* from
which flow four streams, probably the " river of water of
life, . . . proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb," and dividing toward the four quarters of the earth.
These streams are also variously interpreted as signi-
fying the four evangelists, and the four rivers of para-
dise, f On a sarcophagus of later date Our Lord is
represented in human form with a scroll in his hand,
standing on a mound from which the four mystical
rivers flow, and by his side a lamb bearing a Latin
cross on its head. On either side are lambs, personi-
fications of the apostles, to whom he is giving the
final commission to preach in all lands the gospel con-
tained in the scroll which he holds, and to baptize
with the sacred waters at their feet. Sometimes
twelve lambs are represented approaching one in
the centre, as in frescoes in St. Clement's at Rome, and
at Ravenna. On a gilt glass patera in the Vatican Li-
brary the lambs are seen to issue from Jerusalem and
Bethlehem, as indicated by their names written above,
and to approach Mount Zion, from which flow the
four evangelical streams united in the mystical Jordan.
This is perhaps emblematic of the twelve tribes, or
of the gentiles coming from the east and west to drink,
of the water of life. Paulinus describes a mosaic in

* " And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion." — Rev.
xiv, 1.

\ Paulinus thus describes a mosaic of this subject at Fondi, (hJ/>/s.
xii, ad Severum .)

Petram superstat, ipse petra ecclesiae,
Ex qua sonori quatuor fontes meant,
EvangelisLe, viva Christi flumina.

" Standing upon a rock is lie who ishimself the Rock of the church,
and from this go forth four voiceful streams, evangelists, the living riv-
ers of Christ."

The Agnus Dei is still often seen on altar cloths and tombstones.

Their Symbolism. 251

his basilica of Fondi, where a cross symbolical of Christ
was placed on the rock, and two flocks, of sheep and
goats respectively, stood around it. " The shepherd
turns away," he says, "the goats on the left, and em-
braces with his right hand the well-deserving lambs."*
This was perhaps the first of that series of art-presenta-
tions of the last judgment which culminates in the tragic
terrors of the Sistine Chapel.

Sometimes a milk-pail is represented near a lamb, or
hanging on a crook by its side, or even resting on its
back. Sometimes also it is carried by the Good Shep-
herd. This has been magnified without due evidence
into a symbol of the eucharist. It might more natu-
rally be regarded as an emblem of the blessings of sal-
vation, set forth by Isaiah under the figure of wine and
milk, or it may refer to the soul's being fed with the
sincere milk of the word.

On the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus in the crypts
of St. Peter's, of date A. D. 359, are exhibited several
scenes from scripture history, which will be hereafter
described. In the spandrels of the arches over these
is a series of bas reliefs, in which lambs are naively
shown as enacting other scriptural scenes. In one a lamb,
the personification of Moses, strikes a rock from which the
water bursts forth, and another receives the law from the
hand of God. Three lambs in a fiery furnace represent
the three Hebrew children in the furnace of Nebuchad-
nezzar. Our Lord is symbolized by a lamb on whose
head another, personifying John the Baptist, is pouring

* Et quia celsa (crux) quasi judex de rape superstat,
Bis geminae pecudis discors agnis genus hsedi
Circumstant solium ; laevos avertitur haedos
Pastor et emeritos dextra complectitur agnos.

— Epis.yi\\, ad Sitlpic. Sever.

252 The Catacombs of Rome.

the waters of baptism, while the Holy Ghost in the form
of a dove breathes divine grace. A lamb, the personi-
fication of Christ, multiplies the loaves, and brings forth
Lazarus from the grave.

One of the most remarkable and important, in its theo-
logical significance, of the symbols of the Catacombs
is that of the fish. It is one of the oldest in the entire
hieratic cycle. It is found accompanying the first dated
inscription which bears any emblem whatever,* and
nearly a hundred examples occur which are attributed
to the first three centuries. It was also one of the first
to be discontinued. During the fourth century it rap-
idly fell into disuse, and by the beginning of the fifth
had almost entirely disappeared from religious art.f

The abandonment of this remarkable figure may be
explained by its mysterious and anagrammatic charac-
ter. It is a striking illustration of that disciplina arcana
of the primitive church which employed signs whose
secret meaning its heathen foes could not understand.
When the age of persecution passed away there was no
longer the necessity to conceal under allusions and em-
blems, known only to the initiated, religious truths which
were openly proclaimed on every hand. Hence this
purely conventional sign fell into disuse.

This symbol probably derived its origin from the fact

* A. D. 234. De Rossi, Inscript. Christ., No. 6. (See Fig. 52.) Of
course, there may have been many earlier whose precise date we can-
not determine.

f In later art, indeed, the figure sometimes occurs on baptismal
fonts, in mosaics, and in architecture, but probably as a mere orna-
ment, without any religious meaning. In Byzantine art it is unknown
except as a natural representation, for example, of fish swimming in
the water, or, in frescoes of the last judgment, as restoring human
limbs which they had devoured, illustrative of the passage, "And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it." — Rev. xx, 13.

Their Symbolism. 253

that the initial letters of the names and titles of Our
Lord in Greek — 'Irjaovg Xpiorog, Qsov Tide, StoT^p, Jesus
Christ, Son of God, the Saviour — make up the word
IX9T2, a fish. " This single word," says Optatus, " con-
tains a host of sacred names."* The same word also
occurs acrostically in the initial letters of certain so-
called Sibylline verses quoted by Eusebius f and Au-
gustine,J which were doubtless of Christian origin. The
symbol is first mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, §
and probably had its origin in the allegorizing school of
Christianity which sprang up in that city. ||

There appears also to have been an allusion in this
figure to the ordinance of baptism. "We are little
fishes," says Tertullian, " in Christ our great fish. For
we are born in water, and can only be saved by contin-
uing therein," % that is, through the spiritual grace of
which baptism is the visible sign. " This sign," says
Clement, " will prevent men from forgetting their origin."
" He (that is, Christ) is that fish," says Optatus, " which
in baptism descends in answer to prayer into the bap-
tismal font, so that what was before water is now called,

* Piscis nomen, secundum appellationem Grsecam, in uno nomine
per singulas literas turbam sanctorum nominum continet '1X9 Y2,' quod
est Latine, Jesus Christus, Dei Filius, Salvator. — Optat., Cont. Par-
men., lib., iii.

f Orat. Const, ad Ccet. Sanct., § 18. % De Civ. Dei, xviii, 23.

§ Pcedag., lib. iii, cap. ii. The symbol also occurs in a Christian
Catacomb at Alexandria, and at Cyrene, in Upper Egypt.

|| The Jewish Christians of that city would be already familiar with
this mode of coining significant titles, which is illustrated in the name
of their national heroes, the Maccabees, said to be made up of the
initial letters, ^tti of their battle cry, fnj-ji fcinJfcO fritti""1^
— "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?"

Tf Nos, pisciculi secundum IX6YN nostrum Jesum Christum, in
aqua nascimur, nee aliter quam in aqua permanendo salvi sumus. —
De Baptismo, cap. i.

254 The Catacombs of Rome.

from the fish, (a piscc,) piscina."* Even the mythical
fish mentioned in the apocryphal book of Tobit,f occa-
sional pictures of which occur in the Catacombs, is
interpreted by some of the Fathers as typifying Our
Lord. " That fish which came alive out of the river to
Tobias," says Augustine, " whose heart, (liver,) consumed
by passion, put the demon to flight, was Christ." J

This sacred sign was also regarded as an emblem of
the sufferings of Our Lord and the benefits of his atone-
ment. " The Saviour, the Son of God," says Prosper
of Aquitania, " is a fish prepared in his passion, by whose
interior remedies we are daily enlightened and fed. "§
" IX0T2 is the mystical name of Christ," says Augustine,
"because he descended alive into the depths of this
mortal life as into the abyss of waters." || " The fish in
whose mouth was the coin paid as the tribute money,"
says Jerome, "was Christ, at the cost of whose blood
all sinners were redeemed." Origen merely speaks of
him as " figuratively called the fish." ^ " Thus this sym-
bol became," says Dr. Northcote, "a sacred tessera, em-
bodying with wonderful brevity and distinctness a

* Hie (sc. Christus) est piscis qui in baptismate per invocationem
fontalibus undis inseritur ut quae aqua fuerat a pisce etiam piscina
vocitetur. — Epis. Milevitanus. The piscina is now the basin in
which the sacred vessels are washed.

f See chaps, vi and xi.

\ Est Christus piscis ille qui ad Tobiam ascendit de flumine vivus,
cujus jecore per passionem assato fugatus est diabolus.

§ Dei Filius, Salvator, piscis in sua passione decoctus, cujus ex
interioribus remediis quotidie illuminamur et pascimur. — De Promts.
et Pnvdic. Dei, ii, 39.

|| IXGY2, in quo nomine mystice intelligitur Christus, eo quod in
hujus morlalitalis abysso, velut in aquarum profunditate vivus. — De
Civ. Dei.

\ Xpiarbc 6 rpoiUKuc Xeyouevoc 'I^fliJc. — Opp. ed. Bened., torn, iii,
p. S84.

Their Symbolism. 255

complete abridgment of the creed — a profession of
faith, as it were, both in the two natures and unity of
person, and in the redemptorial office, of Our Blessed
Lord." *

Few symbols, if any, were more common than this.
It occurs rudely scratched on funeral slabs, painted in
the cubicula, sculptured on the sarcophagi, moulded on
lamps,! engraven on rings and seals, J carved in ivory,
mother-of-pearl, and precious stones, and cast in bronze
or glass. These last, often pierced in order to be worn
like an amulet, were frequently given to the neophyte
at baptism to remind him of the privileges and obliga-
tions which it conferred, and they are often found buried
with the dead. One of these has engraved upon it the
word SQ2AI2 — " Mayest thou save us ; " and a sepulchral
lamp, besides representations of fishes, bears the word
IX8T2, and, as if in explanation, the cyphers A. £2., IH.
X0. 2OTHP— that is, The First and the Last, Jesus Christ,
the Saviour. A slab, on which are engraved two fishes
and an anchor, bears the inscription, IX6Y2 ZftNTftN —
"The fish of the living." Sometimes this sacred sign is
inscribed on pagan tombstones used to close the locult
of the Catacombs, in order to give them a Christian
character. Frequently the execution is exceedingly
rude, as in Fig. 50 ; occasionally it is of a more artistic
form, as in Fig.
51. It seldom ~^- — ~~-"~ ~Z\\

occurs alone, / ^^ ^^

however, but as-
sociated with

, „,".'. FiS- 50— Symbolical Pish,

other Christian

* Rom. Sott., p. 210. Probably the aureole of Mediaeval art de-
rived its name of vesica piscis from this symbol.
f See Fig. 113. % See Fig. 11^

4 1035

256

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 51.— Symbolical Fish.

emblems, as the anchor or dove, (see Figs. 52 and 53,)

as if to indicate that
the deceased rests in
Christ, in hope and
in peace. Sometimes
the fish bears a wreath
in its mouth, perhaps
in allusion to the crown which Christ will give to all his

saints. Didron ob-
jects to applying
these symbols to
Christ, because the
fish does not wear
the nimbus. But
the nimbus was not
worn at all at this
early period ; such

Fig. 52.— Fish and Anchor.

From the Catacomb of Hermes. Earliest dated
example, A. D. 234.

a criterion is therefore inadmissible.

Fig. 53— Fish and Dove.
From the Catacomb oj St. PrisoOla,

This sa-
c r e d fish
is sometimes
represented,
as in Fig. 54,
from the
crypt of St.
Lucina, bear-

ing what seems to be a basket of bread and a flagon of
wine on its back, or occasionally a
loaf of bread in its mouth. In these
cases there is probably a reference
to the bread of life which Christ
breaks to his disciples, or possibly
to the holy eucharist. Sometimes

a bird is pictured as deriving nourishment from the

Fig

54.— Eucharistic
Symbol.

Their Symbolism. 257

mouth of a fish, the symbol of a soul receiving refresh-
ment from Christ. The eucharist is also thought to be
indicated by frequent representations of a fish and bread
on a table, sometimes with a figure in prayer standing by ;
and also by a picture of seven persons eating a repast
of bread and fish together, probably Christ dining with
the disciples by the sea-shore after his resurrection.

Melito of Sardis speaks of Our Lord under the fig-
ure of a fish broiled on the fire of tribulation.* A mys-
tical interpretation was also given to the loaves and
fishes multiplied by Christ for the feeding of the multi-
tude, as indicating the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit and
the dispensations of the law and the gospel. f

A remarkable Greek inscription, found about thirty
years ago in an ancient Christian cemetery at Autun, in
France, throws much light on the profound religious
significance of the symbol of the fish. % Its date, as in-
dicated by the character of the epigraphy, in the opin-
ion of the most eminent Critics, is about the year 400. §
The language is of Homeric purity and vigour, which is
accounted for by the fact that Autun was, during the
fourth and fifth centuries, a sort of " French Eton," where
Greek, the tongue "of Homer and the gods," was sed-
ulously cultivated. The following is the text as restored

* Piscis . . . Christus tribulationis igne assatus. Compare the
phrase of Augustine — Piscis assus Christus passus.

f Plerique septiformis Spiritus gratiam in panibus definitam, in
piscibus quoque duplicis testamenti figuram intelligendam putant.
— Ambrose, in Luc. ix.

\ This has been minutely examined by Cardinal Pitra — its discov-
erer— Kirchoff, Garrucci, Le Plant, and other eminent scholars. The
monograph of Marriott, its latest editor, is a masterpiece of epigraph-
ical criticism.

§ Cardinal Pitra places it about A. D. 250, but the elongated form
of the letters, of which there is no early example, forbids the sup-
position.

258 The Catacombs of Rome.

and translated by Marriott. It will be perceived that
the word IX0TS occurs acrostically in the initial letters
of the first five lines, and is found four times in the body
of the inscription. It is conjectured that the figure
of a fish was also engraved, though now unhappily oblit-
erated, at both the lower corners, where spaces for it
seem to have been left.

1X9Y0C obpaviov dyLov y'evog, ijTopi oe/iv<',)
XpqoE, AafSuv £u?/v uuftporov tv jipoTioiQ
QEaneoiuv vddruv ttjv gtjv, <pi2.e, fiaXirco ipvx'r/v
'Ydaoiv aevdoti; nXovTodoTov So^i^f,
'ZuTfjpo^ 6' dytuv fieXtT/dia Tidfiftave pptioiv.
"Eoda: TTEivduv IX0YN e^wv Tra?.dp.ai(.
IX0Y1 \Elpaq upapcr "kikaiio SiorroTa SwTcp
Evdv ftoi. ijyrjTijp, ae Xird^ofie, 0wc to davovruv.
'Aaxavdle Trurep, tu '/j.(J nexopia/iive dvp.<j,
2vv firjrpl ylvKepy Kal ttuolv roiaiv hfioiaiv
IX0YN Iduv v'iov [/.vr/oeo TLeicTopiov.

" Offspring of the heavenly Ichthus, [Christ,] see that a heart of holy
reverence be thine, now that from divine waters thou hast received,
while yet among mortals, a spring of life that is to immortality.
Quicken thy soul, beloved one, to ever fuller life, with the unfailing
waters of wealth-giving wisdom, and receive the honey-sweet food of
the Saviour of the saints. Eat with longing hunger, holding Ichthus
[the Divine Food] in thy hands. On Ichthus [Christ] my hands are
clasped ; in thy love draw nigh unto me and be my guide, my Lord,
and Saviour; I entreat thee, thou Light of them for whom the hour of
death is past. My father, Aschandeius, dear unto my heart, and thou,
sweet mother, and all I love on earth, oft as you look on Ichthus
[the holy sign of Christ] so often think of me, rectorius, your son."*

* The epitaph of Abercius, a Phrygian bishop of the second century,
also contains an allusion to the heavenly Ichthus, and probably to the
eucharist, in the lines which we quote:

. . . Tiiaric <5e npoar/ye
Kal Tcapfflr/KC npo<p}jv, 'l\0vv deiaq and nrjyr/c,
Jlappeyidi], Kadapbv, bv idpd^aro TrapOivoc uyvf/'
Kal TOVTOV £7Tt(5(JK£- QiTiOig ladciv fiiu navrbc,
Oh'ov xP'lOTvv Ixovaa, Kepaapa didovaa /ut' uprov.

" Faith brought to us and set before us food, a fish from a divine fount,

Their Symbolism. 259

In this beautiful expression of primitive faith and
hope Romish interpretation has discovered evidence
of prayers for the dead, of the invocation of the Virgin
Mary, the doctrine of transubstantiation and communion
in one kind, and mention of the " sacred heart of Jesus."
Marriott has well shown the grammatical and other dif-
ficulties which these forced interpretations create, and
the absurdity of importing into antiquity " controversial
phrases of comparatively modern theology, utterly un-
known to the early church."

Sometimes, by a confusion of metaphor common to
both pictorial and literary figurative expression, the sym-
bol of the fish is applied to men as well as to Our Lord.
Indeed, this may have been its primary application, and
has the sanction of the scriptural designation of the
apostles as " fishers of men." The Greek liturgy adopts
the same figure, and, in pursuance of the metaphor,
speaks of the rod of the cross, the hook of preaching,
and the bait of charity.* There are also frequent
representations on the sarcophagi and in the frescoes of
the Catacombs, doubtless in allusion to this function of
the Christian ministry, of men drawing fish out of the
water. These, however, must not be confounded with
the occasional fishing scenes copied from pagan art ; and
the symbolical fish must be carefully discriminated from
the dolphins which frequently occur on the sarcophagi,
and from the " great fish " which swallowed Jonah. It is

great and clean, which the holy maiden took in her hand and gave it
to her friends, that they should always eat thereof, holding goodly
wine, giving with bread a mingled drink."

The "holy maiden" is evidently, from the context, as Marriott re-
marks, Faith personified, although Padre Garrucci and Dr. Northcote
regard her as no other than the Virgin Mary.

* We have seen how Tertullian designates believers as little fishes
—pisciculi.

260 The Catacombs of Rome.

remarkable that a bronze image with a chalice and fish
was found at Autun, in the neighbourhood of the in-
scription above given. The figure occurs also on cer-
tain ancient coins, and in representations of the Phoe-
nician Dagon or fish-god.

It is noteworthy that there are in the Catacombs com-
paratively few representations of the cross, that sacred
sign of salvation which in after years became per-
verted to such superstitious uses ; and when it does
occur it is generally in some disguised form, and not in
that by which it is now generally indicated, familiarly
known as the Latin cross. There is probably a twofold
reason for this. The very sanctity of the symbol,
and the detestation in which it was held by the heathen,
conspired to prevent the early Christians from exposing
it to their profane gaze. It is almost impossible to con-
ceive the abhorrence in which the cross was held in the
early centuries by the Greek and Roman mind. It has
for ages been hallowed by the most sacred and vener-
able associations, and invested with the most sublime
and solemn interest as the emblem of the world's re-
demption. It has waved on consecrated banners, and
been quartered on the arms of earth's proudest mon-
archs. It has shone on cathedral spire and dome, and,
emblazoned with gold and costly gems, has gleamed on
many a sacred shrine. It has been marked on the in-
fant brow in baptism, and held before the filming eyes
of the dying ; and has been associated with the deepest
emotions and holiest hopes of the soul.

Not so in the earliest ages of the church. It was then
the badge of infamy and sign of shame — the punishment
of the basest of slaves and the vilest of malefactors. It
was regarded with a loathing and abhorrence more in-
tense than that in which the felon's gibbet is held

Their Symbolism. 261

to-day. Its very name was an abomination to Roman
ears,* and it was denounced by the prince of Roman
orators as a most foul and brutal punishment, an infa-
mous and unhappy tree.f Hence this Christian em-
blem became the object of scoffing and derision by the
persecuting heathen. An illustration of this is seen in
the blasphemous caricature of the Crucifixion, found
upon the walls of the palace of the Caesars and attrib-
uted to the time of Septimius Severus.J It represents a
figure with an ass's head attached to a cross, which
another figure, standing near, salutes by kissing the hand,
or adores in the classical sense of the word. Beneath
is a rude scrawl which has been interpreted thus : 'A/lef-
dfxevog g£J3ste (sic) Qeov — " Alexomenos worships his god,"
probably the sneer of some Roman legionary at a Chris-
tian soldier of Caesar's household. Lucian also contempt-
uously speaks of Our Lord as a "crucified impostor." §
The Christians, therefore, reverently veiled this sacred
sign from the multitude ; but they cherished it in their
hearts, and in times of persecution gladly bore its re-
proach. The early Fathers, both Greek and Latin,

* Nomen ipsum crucis absit non modo a corpore civium Romano-
rum, sed etiam a cogitatione, oculis, auribus. — Cicero, pro Rabirio.

\ Crudelissimum et teterrimum ... arbor infelix, infame lignum.
— Cic, pro Rabirio.

% Now in the Museum of the Collegio Romano.

§ Tbv uvecko?>ottio/i£vov inelvov aotpiarr'/v. — Dc Morte Peregr,

Tertullian mentions as a common heathen delusion the idea that
the God of the Christians had an ass's head. He also speaks of a
heathen picture of a figure having the ears of an ass, hoofed in one
foot, carrying a book and wearing a toga, to which was affixed the in-
scription, " The God of the Christians, born of an ass." — Apol., c. 16.

Probably such caricatures were common. On a slab recently dis-
covered in the Vigna Nussiner is a representation of an ass with the
inscription, " Hie est Deus Hadriani," apparently a satirical allusion to
that emperor's favourable disposition to Christianity.

262 The Catacombs of Rome.

recognize the occurrence of this symbol everywhere
throughout the universe, and expatiate with fervent elo-
quence on its mystical meaning. The points of the
compass, says Jerome, and the fourfold dimensions of
space as mentioned by the apostle,* set it forth. Its
form was assumed by birds in their flight, by men in the
act of swimming and in the attitude of prayer, and is
seen in the masts and yards of vessels. f " The cross,"
says Justin Martyr,J " is impressed on all nature ; there
is scarcely a craftsman but employs the figure of it
among the implements of his industry." It was seen in
the beam and share of the plough, and in the forms of
flowers and leaves. It was typified in countless analo-
gies of Scripture, in the measurement of the ark, the
number of Abraham's servants, the shape of Jacob's staff,
and the roasting of the paschal lamb ; in the rod of Moses,
the seven-branched candlestick, and the wave-offerings
of the temple service ; and it was the hallowed sign
marked in blood on the lintels of the Hebrews' houses.
It healed the envenomed wounds of the serpent-bitten
Israelites in the desert, routed the Amalekites in battle,
and restored to life the son of the widow who gave
bread to the prophet. It was the mark of God on the
saints of Jerusalem, and was to be the sign of the Son
of man in the heavens. The Christians wore the sacred
token like a banner on their foreheads, § and the form
at which men once shuddered, says Chrysostom, be-

* Eph. iii. iS.

f Ipsa species cruris quid est nisi forma quadrata mundi? . . . Aves
quando volant in cethera, form am cruris assumunt ; homo natans per
aquas, vel orans, forma cruris vchitur. Navis per maria antenna cruci
similata sufflatur. — Hieronym. in Mark xv.

% Apol.y i, 72. See also Mimic. Felix, cap. 29.

§ Ego Chrislianus . . . ct vcxillum cruris in mea fronte portans. —
Hieron., P.p. 113.

Their Symbolism. 263

came the badge of highest honour, so that even emperors
laid aside the diadem to assume the cross. " Let him
bear the cross," says Paulinus, "who would wear the
crown."* Christians were known as "devotees of the
cross, "f and this sign of Christ % was employed to hal-
low every act of their lives, their down-sitting and up-
rising, their going out and coming in.§ It was especially
adopted, as several of the Fathers remark, || as the atti-
tude of prayer, and Chrysostom quotes in explanation
the words of the Psalmist, " Let the lifting up of my
hands be as the evening sacrifice."^ Tertullian and
Asterius Amasenus** expressly declare that thus is set
forth the passion of Our Lord.

This symbol acquired at length in popular apprehension
the power of a sacred talisman to banish demons, van-

* Tolle crucem qui vis auferre coronam.

f Crucis religiosi. — Tertul., Apol., 16.

\ Signum Christi, to Kvpianov oj]fi.elov. — Clem. Alex., Strom., vi, II.

§ Ad omnem progressum atque promotum, ad omnem aditum et
exitum, ad vestitum, ad calceatum, ad lavacra, ad mensas, ad lumi-
na, ad cubilia, ad sedilia, quaecunque nos conversatio exercet, frontem
crucis signaculo tenemus. — Tertul. ,de Conn. Mil., c. iii.

|| Crucis signum est, cum homo porrectis manibus Deum pura
mente veneratur. — Minuc, Dial., p. 90. Expansis manibus in mo-
dum crucis orabat. — Paulin., Vit. Amons.,p. 12. Hie habitus oran-
tium est, ut manibus in ccelum extensis precemur. — Apuleius. — Accord-
ing to Eusebius, Constantine was thus represented on the coins of the
empire. — 'ftc avu fiAiireiv dontiv uvaTerafievog Trpoc Qebv, rpowov ei>xo-
uivov. — Vit. Const., 1. iv, c. 15.

Tf Chrys. in Psa. cxli, 2. Compare Paul's expression about " lift-
ing up holy hands" in prayer. — 1 Tim. ii, 8.

** Nos vero non attoleimus tantum, sed etiam expandimus, et Do-
minica passionemodulantes, et orantes Christo confitemur. — Tertul., de
Orat., c. 11. To tov aravpov wu6og ev t<j ox'ifiaTi e^eiKovi^ei. — Aster.,
ap. Phot., cod. 271. This attitude of prayer was also common to the
pagans in their addresses to the Dii Superi, or celestial gods. Hence
Virgil represents ^Eneas as praying with his hands stretched out to
heaven — Duplices tendens ad sidera palmas.

264 The Catacombs of Rome.

quish Satan, avert evil, protect in time of danger or temp-
tation, and to shut the mouths of lions about to devour
the intrepid confessors of the faith.* The sign of the
cross on the forehead and heart, says Prudentius, ban-
ishes all evil, f Another poet of the fifth century recom-
mends the mystical charm as an antidote to diseases of
cattle. Into such superstition had Christianity already
degenerated. %

More common than any other Christian symbol in the
Catacombs is the so-called Constantinian monogram,^ .

* See an instance of this miracle recorded in Eusebius. — Hist. Eccles.,
viii, 7.

f Fac cum vocante somno

Castum petes cubile,

Frontem locumque cordis,

Cruris figura signet.
Crux pellit omne noxium. — Hymn vi.
% Endelechius, Dc mortibus Bovium. In later times the sign of the
cross was used in both Greek and Latin benedictions, which were given
with many puerile distinctions, and with much supposed spiritual ben-
efit.— See Didron, Iconog. Chret., pp. 406-410. The cross has also
given the name to many famous churches, which were frequently cru-
ciform in shape. In France are over a score of cathedrals or abbeys
named Sainte Croix, and in Italy many named Santa Croce. In
Great Britain we have Saint Cross at Winchester, and Ilolyrood in
Edinburgh. The cross was also used to mark boundaries, parishes,
cross roads ; hence the phrase, " to beg like a cripple at a cross." Of
three hundred and sixty wayside crosses once existing in Iona only
one remains. This sign was used to mark the beginning and end of
books, and as a mark of punctuation. It gave validity to legal doc-
uments, and still accompanies the sign manual of ecclesiastical
dignitaries.

Crucifixion was abolished by Constantine out of reverence for the
manner of Our Lord's death.

The cross would scarcely have been publicly employed while this
shameful mode of punishment was practiced. The earlier examples
had probably a baptismal signification as a sign of the faith. Of this
character seem to have been those erected or inlaid by Constantine
in his baptisteries and elsewhere. Only by slow degrees did it be-
come the symbol of the .sufferings of Christ.

Their Symbolism. 265

The first certain example of this is the following, which
bears the date A. D. 331 : *

~pV ASELLVS ET LEA PRISCO PATRI BENEMERENTI IN PACE
QVI BIXIT ANNIS LXIIII MENSIBVS III DIES N XII.

IN SIGNO

Asellus and Lea to Priscus, their well-deserving father, in peace, who
lived sixty-four years, three months, twelve days. In the sign of Christ.
Fig. 55.— Earliest dated Constantinian Monogram.

A somewhat similar form occurs with the date A. D.
291, but De Rossi thinks it is only an ornamental point. f
The following fragment may possibly belong to the year
298, when one of the consuls was named Gallus ; but it
cannot be proved that he is the one mentioned in the
inscription: [vi]xit . . . ^ ... gal . conss. — "He
lived in Christ . . . and Gallus being consuls."!

In the year 339 the second dated example occurs, en-
closed in a circle. In A. D. 341 three examples are
found, and in A. D. 343 it occurs four times in one
inscription. After this it becomes exceedingly com-

* De Rossi, Inscrift, Christ., No. 39.

\Ibid., No. 17.

\ Ibid., No. 26. With true archaeological enthusiasm, De Rossi ex-
claims, " Scarcely any monument in this whole class is worthy of such
observation as this sepulchral fragment. For if indeed this name is that
of Gallus, the colleague of Faustus, behold, what I have ever intensely
desired, I have at length with joy obtained — to see with my own eyes
a certain dated monument which exhibits the celebrated monogram ■&■
before the year 312. Would that I could find the part of the in-
scription that is lost," he adds, " which, if it bore the name of Faus-
tus, I would esteem more precious than gold and gems" — auro contra
et gemmis cariorem cestimarem." But he was not permitted to be
so happy, and it is probable that the Gallus referred to is another of
much later date.

266 The Catacombs of Rome.

mon, and is even employed as a mark of punctuation
between the words.

This monogram is formed, as will be perceived, by the
combination of the Greek characters X and P, the first
two letters of the word XPI2TOS, or Christ. It may,
indeed, be regarded rather as a contracted form of
writing that word than as a proper symbol, just as we
sometimes write Xt. and Xmas. for Christ and Christ-
mas. Indeed, it most probably originated in the prev-
alent practice of contracted and monogrammatic writ-
ing, of which we have so many examples in these in-
scriptions. That the monogram stands for the name of
Our Lord will be apparent from an examination of a
few of the inscriptions in which it occurs, as, for in-
stance, the very first dated example, above given. See
also the following : in pace et in % deo — " In peace
and in Christ God; " bibas in ^ — "May you live in
Christ ; " in ^ victrix, which probably meant " Victrix
(a woman's name) victorious in Christ." Marangoni
gives the accompanying impression of a seal on the
plaster of a grave. See figure 56.

p This monogram soon became almost

/fT^v universal in the Catacombs, on sepul-
O f^C 1^ cnral slabs, lamps, vases, rings, seals,
\/J.\/ weights, gems, etc., and in every con-
fer ceivable modification of form, some of

„ TJ . TT. „ which are shown in the illustration on
Hope in Ilim,

i. c, in Christ. next Page- See also the vignette on title
Fig. 56— Chris- PaSe> copied from an alabaster slab in
tian Seal. the Collegio Romano, originally from
the Catacombs.

Frequently the Greek letters Alpha and Omega ac-
company the monogram, as in numbers 1, 4, and 6 of
.Fig. 5'/, in allusion to the sublime passage in the Reve-

Their Symbolism.

267

Fig. 57— Various Forms of the Constantinian Monogram.

lation descriptive of the eternity of Christ.* Some-
times the order of the letters is reversed, probably
through the ignorance of the artist, as m the accompany-
ing rude example, Fig. 58.
The whole was sometimes
placed obliquely, or even
turned upside down, doubt-
less for the same rea-
son. Even in its simplest
form it was considered suf-
ficient to give a Christian
character to a tombstone Fig. 58— " Tasaris in Christ, the
which had been originally First and the Last."

* Rev. i, 8. Prudentius in his ninth hymn paraphrases the same

thought :

Alpha et fi cognominatus ; ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt, quseque post futura sunt.

In Mediaeval art the letters 6 wvare often inscribed on the cruciform

nimbus indicating Our Lord, in allusion to the scripture, eyu e'i/u 6 <5v

— " I am that I am."

268 The Catacombs of Rome.

pagan. Such inscriptions are called opisthographce, that
is, written behind. In the following example from
Aringhi the letters D. M., for the heathen formula dis
manibvs, — " To the Divine Manes," are partially oblit-
erated, and the consecrating sign substituted instead.

HERCULIO.INNOCENTI

0.^c an m vm

JENTUARJA ALUMNOMERE.
IN PACE

Fig. 59 — Opisthographic Inscription.

This monogram has been supposed to have been
adopted from the celebrated Labarum, or battle-stand-
ard of Constantino, which bore this sacred figure. This
was derived in turn, it was feigned, from the image
which the imperial convert saw, or thought he saw,
traced in the sky in characters of fire brighter than the
noon-day sun, before the battle of the Milvian Bridge.
Probably a solar halo of unusual splendour was magnified
by the eager imagination of Constantine into a token of
divine assistance, and the legend 'Ev tovtg) vina was an
after addition of the credulous historian. The Christian
emblem, according to Prudentius,* was worn upon the
shields and helmets of the whole army as well as on the
imperial standard ; " and so," says Milman, " for the
first time the meek and peaceful Jesus became a God

* Christus purpurcum gemmanti textus in auro,
Signabat labarum, clypeorum insignia Christus
Scripserat : ardebat summis crux addita cristis.

— /;/ Symmackutfi,w. .jfi7-.|8q.

Their Symbolism. 269

of battle ; and the cross, the holy sign of Christian re-
demption, a banner of bloody strife."*

Probably there is allusion to the above mentioned
legend in the following inscription from Bosio :

IN HOC VINCES

SINFONIA ET FILIIS.
In this thou shalt conquer. In Christ. Sinfonia, also for her sons.

On a remarkable sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum
is a representation of the monogram f supported on a
cross and surrounded by a wreath, at which doves are
pecking ; probably a symbol of the souls of the blessed
feeding on the hope of an immortal crown and the
sweetness of eternal bliss. Beneath are crouched two
soldiers, types, it is thought, of the Christian warriors not
yet entered into rest, whose only place of safety is at
the foot of the cross; or they may refer to the Draconii,
or imperial guard of the Labarum, who, according to
Eusebius, passed unhurt amid showers of javelins.

The following enlarged copy of an early Christian seal
exhibits the triumph of the cross over the Old Serpent,
the Devil, while it is the symbol of salvation to the
saints represented by the doves at its foot. In later

* Hist, of Christianity, bk. iii, chap. i. From the time of Constan-
tine the monogram became common on the coins of the Empire.
Valentinian III. and his wife Eudoxia first wore it on the im-
perial crown. In later Greek art the cross is generally accompanied
by the letters IC-XC NIK A, that is, "Jesus Christ is conqueror."
Eusebius describes a statue of Constantine at Rome bearing this
monogram. {Hist. Eccles., ix, 9.)

f See Fig. 104, chap. iv. Paulinus refers to the bitter cross sur-
rounded by a flowery crown :

Ardua florifene Crux cingitur orbe coronse.

— Epis. xii, ad Severum.

270

The Catacombs of Rome.

art the figures of lions, eagles, falcons, peacocks, doves,
and lambs, grouped around the cross, seem to signify
its power to subdue evil pas-
sions and to inspire holy virtues.
The change of the monogram
into the cross was very gradual.
First one stroke of the X be-
came coincident with the verti-
cal part of the P, and the other
at right angles to it, as in No. 6,
Fig. 57. At length the loop of the
P disappears and the Greek cross

Fig. 60.-Eariy Christian results. In the other examples
Seal

of Fig. 57 the cross, if cross it

was at all, was neither in the Greek nor Latin form,
but in that known as St. Andrew's. Finally the lower
arm was lengthened till it assumes the form shown
in the accompanying engraving, which was found on
the grave of a neophyte four
years old. The first dated ex-
ample of a simple undisguised
cross in the Catacombs does not
occur till A. D. 407 ; * but dur-
ing the latter part of the fifth
century it became quite com-
mon. It also became more or-
nate in form, and was frequently
adorned with gems and wreathed
with flowers, especially in the
m-' later bas reliefs. In the fourth
united with the Cross, century it had already become

* De Rossi, Inscrif. Christ., No. 576. Of course there may be
earlier examples which are undated.

Their Symbolism. 27 1

an object of such superstitious veneration as to call
forth the reproaches of Julian and the extravagant
laudation of many of the Christian fathers.* In the time
of Chrysostom the alleged discovery of the true cross
by the Empress Helena was universally received, and
"materialized at once," says Milman, "the spiritual
worship of Christianity." f Its position was revealed in
a vision and its genuineness proved by the miraculous
cures which it performed, as recorded by St. Cyril,
afterward bishop of Jerusalem, a reputed eye-witness of
the event. The precious relic, distributed throughout
Christendom % and in minute portions worn as sacred
talismans, did much to cultivate a spirit of superstition
which culminated in the Romish festivals of the In-
vention and Exaltation of the Cross, and in the hymns
and offices of the church, often bordering, at least, upon
idolatrous homage. § It also led to the conception of

* In later art ingenuity was exhausted in multiplying varieties of
the form of the cross. Besides the ordinary Greek and Latin types,
there was the Resurrection cross, a reed-like shaft with a small cross-
let, generally bearing a banneret ; the Calvary cross, with steps at its
foot ; the crux gammata, or fourfold repetition of the Greek letter
T, the crux gemmata, stellata, Jiorida, etc. There were also innu-
merable minor varieties for which distinguishing names are provided
in the jargon of heraldry.

\ Hist. Christianity, iii, 3. Eusebius is silent concerning this event.

% Helena calmed the Adriatic with one of the nails ; of another Con-
stantine made a bit for his horse ; a portion is annually exhibited at
Rome bearing the threefold title of Our Lord in Hebrew, Greek,
and Latin, the first undecipherable.

§ Witness the following from the Vexilla Regis, addressed to the
material cross : " Hail, O cross, our only hope ! give grace to the pious,
blot out the sins of the wicked " —

O crux, ave, spes unica !
Piis adauge gratiam ;
Reisque dele crimina.

Compare also the following, from the Office of the Invention of the
Cross ; " O cross, more splendid than all the stars, . . . which alone

2J1 The Catacombs of Rome.

the marvelous legend of the cross in the apocrypha!
gospels and ancient traditions.*

wast worthy to bear the ransom of the world ! sweet wood, sacred
nails, bearing so precious a burden, save this people assembled to-
day to sing thy praises." — O Crux, splendidior cunctis astris, . . .
quae sola fuisti digna portare talentum mundi ! dulce lignum, dulccs
clavos, dulcia ferens pondera, salva prresentem catervam in tuis
hodie laudibus congregatam.

This sacred theme has also been the subject of some of the
noblest lyrics of the church, none of which, however, surpass the im-
passioned devotion of the following lines of Savonarola, the Luther
of Italy, whose reform, alas ! was quenched in his own blood.

O croce, fammi loco !
E le mie membre prendi !
Che del tuo dolce foco
II cor e l'alma accendi !
La croce e'l crocifisso,
Sia nel mio cor scolpito,
Ed io sia sempre affisso
In gloria ov' egli e ito !

Cross of my Lord, give room ! give room !

To thee my flesh be given !
Cleansed in thy fires of love and praise,

My soul, rise pure to heaven !
Ah ! vanish each unworthy trace

Of earthly care or pride ;
Leave only graven on my heart

The Cross, the Crucified.

♦According to this legend Adam when sick sent Seth to the gate
of Eden to ask for the healing balm of the tree of life, but the
guarding angel replied that ages must pass before that boon could
be conferred on man. Seth received, however, three seeds, which
he planted by his father's grave, situated on the site of Gol-
gotha. From these sprang the rod of Aaron, and the tree which
gave its mysterious virtue to the Pool of Bethesda, and rising to the
surface at the hour of the passion, became the instrument of the
crucifixion of Our Lord. After that momentous event it was thrown
into the town ditch with the crosses of the two thieves, and covered
with rubbish; but at the intercession of Helena the earth opened,
divine odours breathed forth, the three crosses were discovered, and

Their Symbolism. 273

The cross thus gradually assumed the form in which
it is now generally represented ; but it was a sign of
joy and gladness, crowned with flowers, adorned with
precious stones, " a pledge of the resurrection rather than
a memorial of the passion." * It was like the rainbow in
the cloud to Noah after the flood — a promise of mercy,
not a symbol of wrath. It was not the dead Christ but
the glorified Redeemer that the primitive Church pre-
sented to the imagination. She lingered not by the
empty sepulchre, but followed by faith the risen Lord.
The persecuted saints shared the triumph of His vic-
tory over death and the grave, and felt that because He
lived they should live also.

The early believers carefully avoided, as though
prevented by a sacred interdict, any attempt to depict
the awful scenes of Christ's passion, the realistic treat-
ment of which in Roman Catholic art so often shocks
the sensibilities and harrows the soul. This solemn
tragedy they felt to be the theme of devout and prayer-
ful meditation rather than of portraiture in art. Hence
we find no pictures of the agony and bloody sweat, the
mocking and the- shame, the death and burial of Our
Lord. "The Catacombs of Rome," says Milman,
" faithful to their general character, offer no instance of
a crucifixion, nor does any allusion to such a subject of
art occur in any early writing." f " The passion is not

that of Our Lord was revealed by its curing an inveterate disease
and raising a dead man to life. See also Legenda Anna, De Invert-
tione et Exaltatione Sancttz Cnicis.

The material of the cross is described in the following distich :
Pes crucis est cedrus, corpus tenet alta cupressus,
Palma manus retinet titulo laetabor oliva —
" The foot is cedar, a lofty cypress bears the body, the arms are
palm, the title olive bears."
* Milman, Hist. Christianity, bk. iv, c. 4.

\Hist. Christianity, bk. iv, c. 4. One or two apparent excep-
IS

♦^

274 The Catacombs of Rome.

represented literally," says Dr. Northcote, a strenuous
advocate of 1 oman Catholic views, " but under the veil
of secresy. It is not our Beloved Lord, but some other
who bears his cross. The crown which is placed on
his head is of flowers rather than of thorns, and corre-
sponds better with the mystical language of the Spouse
in the Canticles* than would a literal treatment." f
With this agrees the assertion of the distinguished Prus-
sian archaeologist, Prof. Piper, of Berlin. Speaking of
the series of art representations, belonging to the first
five centuries, of scenes in the life of Our Lord,
which extend from his nativity to his appearance be-
fore Pilate, he says, " Further, however, this series does
not go : the death and resurrection of Christ have not
at all been made the subject of representation in this
period."!

In the fifth century Paulinus of Nola speaks of
Christ as represented by a snowy lamb standing at the
foot of the cross. § Sometimes a lamb bore the cross,
at others it was couchant in the midst of it ; and, as if

tions, as in the semi-subterranean chapel annexed to the church of
St. Sebastian, by their internal evidence — the drooping head, severe
expression, and degraded art — indicate their late origin, Perret thinks
of the twelfth or thirteenth century. Bottari figures one (Tav. 190)
which may possibly belong to the seventh or eighth century.

*Cant. iii, II,

\ Northcote's " Catacombs" p. 130.

\ Weiter aber geht diese Reihe nicht ; Tod und Auferstehung
Christi sind in diesem Bereich gar nicht zur Darstellung gekommen.
— Ueber den Christlichcn Bilderkreis, p. 7. Berlin, 1852. Bishop
Miinter, indeed, asserts that, although it is impossible precisely to de-
termine the first appearance of the crucifix, before the end of the
seventh century the church knew nothing of them — Es ist un-
moglich das alter der crucifixe genau zu bestimmen. Vor clem
Ende des siebenten Jahrhunderts kannte die Kirche sie nicht.—
Sinnbilder, etc., p. 77.

§ Sub crucesanguinca nivco stat Christus in agno. — Epis. xxxii.

Their Symbolism. 275

to bring the sacrificial emblem more vividly to mind,
the lamb was represented as wounded ancT bleeding, an
innocent victim given to an unjust death.*

In A. D. 692 the Quinisextan Council decreed that
,'the historic figure of Christ in human form should be
substituted for paintings of the lamb f — an evidence
that the earlier representations were purely allegorical.
The lamb, however, still continued to be employed, and
it required the reiterated injunction of Pope Adrian, in
the eighth century, to enforce uniformity of usage ; and
even after that time a reversion to the former practice
sometimes occurred.

The oldest extant representation of the crucifixion is
a miniature in a Syrian evangelarium, of date A.D. 586,
now in the Laurentian Library at Florence. The treat-
ment of the subject is exceedingly rude, bordering on
the grotesque. The figure of Our Lord is crowned
with a nimbus and clothed with a long purple robe
The soldiers on the ground are casting lots for his gar-
ments, and the sun and moon look down upon the
scene. A companion picture represents the ascension
of Christ and the effusion of the Holy Spirit.
" These are the oldest pictorial representations," says
Prof. Piper, " of the earthly life of Jesus and of his ex-
altation. ... At a somewhat later period," he continues,
" they appear also in the west." \

Gregory of Tours, about the end of the sixth cen-

* Agnus ut innocua injusto datur hostia letho. — Paulin., Epis. xxxii.

f Christi Dei nostri humana forma characterem etiara in imaginibus
deinceps pro veteri agno erigi ac depingi jubemus. — Concilium Quini-
Sextum, Canon S2.

\ Das sind die altesten Bilder von dem Ende des irdischen Lebens
Jesu und seiner Erhobung. . . . Bald darauf kommen sie bin und
■svieder auch in Abendlande vor. — Uelerden Christlichen Bilderkreis,
pp. 26, 27.

2"jG The Catacombs of Rome.

tury, mentions, apparently as an unusual innovation, a
picture in the church at Narb.onne which represented
the crucifixion of Our Lord.* About the same time
Venantius Fortunatus mentions what seems to have
been a metallic cross bearing the image of Christ. f

The figure of Jesus first appeared standing at the
foot of the cross, frequently with outstretched arms as
if in prayer, which type was common in the eighth
century. Sometimes the bust only was exhibited at the
top of the cross, or even hovering over it. as in a re-
liquary presented to Theodelinda by Gregory the
Great, the head being crowned with a nimbus, but
without any expression of pain.

In the ninth century the form of Christ is raised to
the centre of the cross ; but he is still alive, with open
eyes and head erect, as if to indicate that the divine
nature was not subject to death. The hands are not
nailed, but extended in prayer; the darkened sun and
and moon look down upon the awful tragedy ; but still
a feeling of reverence prevented the depicting of any
expression of suffering on the countenance of the Re-
deemer. It was not till the eleventh century that art
attempted to represent either the agony or death of the
Son of God. % From this time he is exhibited lifeless

* Est et apud Narbonensem urbem pictura qure Dominum nostrum
quasi prsecinctum linteo indicat crucifixum. — De Glor. Ma?:, i, 23.

■(• Crux benedicta nitct Dominus qua came pependit. — Cann., lib.
ii, 3.

% The earliest example of a dead Christ is in a MS. of date A.D.
1059. The oldest mural picture of this awful theme, now so com-
mon throughout Roman Catholic Christendom, and which was pre-
scribed as necessary for every altar by Benedict XIV, 1754, is the
Church of Urban at Rome, and bears the date A. X. R. I. MX I. —
Anno Christi ion. Few of those in the Italian churches are older
than the fourteenth century.

Their Symbolism. 277

upon the cross, his hands and feet transpierced with
nails and a spear wound in his side, from which the
flowing blood sometimes falls on the head of the spec-
tators, as if indicating the efficacy of the atonement ; and
in the thirteenth century the head drops heavily to one
side*

The arrangement of the drapery differs greatly in
these paintings. In the tenth century the form of the
divine victim is entirely clothed with a long robe with
sleeves, the hands and feet alone being uncovered. In
the eleventh and twelfth centuries the robe becomes
shorter and the sleeves disappear ; in the thirteenth
it is reduced to a short tunic ; and in the fourteenth it is
little more than a narrow girdle about the loins, at
which stage it has since remained. The suppedaneum,
or support for the feet, is generally represented. It is
frequently in the form of a globe, or of a chalice.
The support for the body is never shown in art. Some-
times the sepulchre, with the angel and the two Marys,
is seen in the background. One example, in St. John's
Lateran, exhibits the gate of paradise and the tree of
life.

The expression of the face also underwent a change
' — a dire eclipse of woe — no less painful to behold. In
the earlier pictures of the crucifixion the countenance
of the Redeemer is still gentle and benign, the type of
tenderness and truth ; but it gradually becomes more
and more strongly marked with the expression of sor-
row and physical anguish, till all the divine fades away,
and only the human agony of the wan and furrowed
face remains. The serene and joyous aspect which, as

*The inclination of the apse from the axial line in some churches
is said to represent this drooping of the head.

2j8 The Catacombs of Rome.

we shall see, the representations of Our Lord always
wore in the Catacombs, vanishes, and he is depicted as
the " man of sorrows," crushed with hopeless grief,
crowned with thorns, transpierced with nails, and stained
with dropping blood from the ghastly spear-wound in
his side. Art exhausted its power in delineating the
intensest forms of anguished suffering, sinking lower and
lower in the depths of a brutal materiality and ferocity
of treatment of this sacred theme. Even the genius
of Michael Angelo only renders more painful the con-
trast between the tender and pitiful Good Shepherd of
the Catacombs and the relentless Judge of the Sistine
Chapel, menacing the guilty with the thunderbolts of
wrath — a pagan Zeus rather than the Christian God of
Mercy. This striking change but too faithfully repre-
sents the corresponding degradation and materialization
of religious belief.

The crucified Christ was not only depicted in his
dying agonies on earth, but this human anguish is even
introduced into representations of heaven, bringing
gloom upon its glory and sadness amid its joy. The
Divine Father is frequently portrayed as sitting on the
throne of his majesty, and holding in his hand a cross
on which hangs the agonized body of his Son.*

In the East the development of image worship seems to
have been earlier than in the West.f During the eighth
century its corruptions provoked the iconoclastic zeal
of the Tsaurian Leo; and a general council condemned
as idolatrous all symbols of Christ except the holy
Eucharist. \ Their destruction was rigorously prose -

* Didron, Iconog. Chret., pp. 226, 505.

f Die also dem Morgenlande entstammen, says Professor Piper.—
Ueber den Christlichen Bilderkreis, p. 27.
\ The Council of Constantinople, A. D. 754.

Their Symbolism. 279

cuted in the Eastern Empire ; but Gregory II. became
the champion of image worship in the West, and Italy,
adhering to her ancient pagan instincts, substituted this
new idolatry for that which she had abandoned.

The development of the graven representation of the
passion was more gradual than its treatment in graphic
art. This was the work of the sculptors. At first the
figure of Our Lord was merely painted on a flat surface
of wood or metal. This was afterward incised in out-
line, and exhibited in low relief, as on an ivory diptych
of date A. D. 88S in the Vatican Museum. In this the sun
and moon, as genii, hold torches above the cross ; and
by a singular association of ideas, Romulus and Remus,
suckled by the wolf, appear at its foot, probably in allu-
sion to Christ's spiritual subjugation of the Roman Em-
pire.* The treatment of this sacred theme passed
gradually through the stages of basso, mezzo, and alto
relievo, becoming more and more detached, till, in the
fourteenth century, the figure of Our Lord upon the
cross stood out, the , completed and portable crucifix. f
From this, through rapid stages, we arrive at the gross
and ghastly images which abound throughout Roman
Catholic Christendom ; in every church and at every
shrine ; in the homes alike of prince and peasant ; at
the street corners and by the way side ; often in popu-
lar apprehension endowed with the power of weeping,
motion, speech, and working miracles. J By such grada-

* Hemans, Sacred Art in Italy, p. 534.

f See the reliefs upon the marble pulpits of Pisa and Sienna.

% See one at Lucca, ascribed by tradition to the workmanship of
Nicodemus, which was so famous as to be sworn by in the oath, a
favourite one with the Plantagenet kings, " by Saint Vult of Lucca."
Hemans, Sac. Art, p. 534. Another at Naples is said to have spoken
in approval to St. Thomas Aquinas. Perhaps the most revolting ex-
tant representation of Our Lord is one in the Cathedral of Burgos,

280 The Catacombs of Rome.

tions between the soul of man and the living Saviour
came the image of the dead Christ, diverting the thoughts
from the faith in a living Lord to an idolatrous venera-
tion of a lifeless symbol.

Thus, as Dr. Maitland remarks, in painting sight
superseded faith, and in sculpture touch superseded
sight. But still another resource of sensuousness was
to be discovered; and in the year 1223, "when the
world was growing cold,"* as the Roman Church,
with a deeper meaning than it knew, asserted, Saint
Francis of Assis is feigned to have received the
stigmata of the five wounds of Christ, and thenceforth
to have borne about in his body — a living crucifix — the
marks of the Lord Jesus. This miracle was afterwards
frequently repeated; but the Church, seeking amid the
growing darkness of the times to walk by sight and not
by faith, wandered ever further and further from the
central source of light and power, and lost all ability to
communicate to a cold and dying world any spiritual
life and warmth.

The sad lesson of the history we have been tracing
is but too plain. In the early ages, and in the fervent
glow of primitive faith, no outward symbol was neces-
sary to reveal to the soul the presence of the Divine,
or to interpret the profound meaning of the atonement.
The Church required no sensuous image of Him, whom
having not seen she loved, to prevent that love from
growing cold. As the fervour of faith failed she relied
more on the visible sign to quicken her languid devo-

in Spain. It is a stuffed human skin, with a wig of false hair and a
crown of real thorns. Elsewhere are Ecce Homos in wax with
enamel eyes, and other puerile and unartistic modes of treatment of
this solemn theme.

* Refrigerante mundo, says the Roman office for St. Francis' day.

Their Symbolism. 281

tion ; but not till six centuries of gathering gloom had
passed over her head after her fatal alliance with im-
perial power did degenerate art dare to portray to the
eye of sense the death pangs and throes of mortal
agony of the suffering Son of God. In the church of
the Catacombs these images of sadness and gloom have
no place. All is bright, cheerful, and hope^-inspiring.
In the following chapter we shall see that these charac-
teristics are strikingly manifested in all the representa-
tions of Our Lord that there occur.

Note. — We have made no reference in the foregoing remarks to the
pre-Christian crosses, of which so many examples occur. It is not re-
markable that this perhaps simplest of all geometrical figures should
have attracted the notice of many diverse and ancient races, and
even have been regarded as a sign of potent mystical meaning. This
subject has been treated with a good deal of fantastic theory by S.
Baring-Gould, M.A., (Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, pp. 341, et
seq. j) more philosophically by Creuzer, (Symbolek, pp. 16S etseq.,) and
by various travellers and observers of ancient remains in many lands.
Sir Robert Ker Porter mentions the hieroglyph of a cross, accompa-
nied by cuneiform inscriptions, which he saw on a stone among the ruins
of Susa. (Tmvels, vol. ii, p. 414.) Prescott mentions its occurrence
among the objects of worship in the idol temples of Anahuac, (Con-
quest of Mexico, vol. iii, pp. 338-340.) It was found on the temple
of Serapis at Alexandria, which fact was urged by the pagan
priests to induce Theodosius not to destroy that building. (Socrates,
Eccl. Hist., v, 17.) It was probably a Nilometer, or perhaps the so-
called " Key of the Nile," frequently held in the hand of Egyptian
deities as the emblem of life, or the symbol of Venus, probably of
phallic significance. (Tertul., Apol., c, 16.) It is found also on Babylo-
nian cylinders, on Phoenician and Etruscan remains, and among the
Brahminical and Buddhist antiquities of India and China. (Med-
hurst's China, p. 217.) It was also the sign of the Hammer of
Thor, by which he smote the great serpent of the Scandinavian
mythology. On rather slender evidence S. Baring-Gould attributes
its use to the pre-historic lake-dwellers of Switzerland. It was also
found, he asserts, combined with certain ichthyic representations in a
mosaic floor of pre-Christian date, near Pau in France, in 1850. This
example was probably post-Christian.

282 The Catacombs of Rome.

CHAPTER III.

THE BIBLICAL CYCLE OF THE CATACOMBS.

The " Circlo Biblico," or Biblical Cycle, of the Cata-
combs, as De Ro"ssi has called it, partakes of the same
symbolical character as their other art-creations. It
has, for the most part, a twofold object : first, the
literal presentation of certain historical events; and, '
second, a typical or allegorical reference to the spiritual
truths of Christianity, especially to the cardinal doc-
trines of the sacrifice, resurrection, and ascension of
Our Lord. The range of this art cycle comprehends
the grand drama of redemption, from the fall of man
to his restoration through the greater Man, Christ
Jesus ; with the careful avoidance, however, of the
scenes of the passion, which are nowhere exhibited
except under the veil of allegory or symbol. These
numerous and varied biblical representations imply a
remarkable familiarity of the primitive Christians with
the holy scriptures, in striking contrast with the prev- '
alent ignorance of these sacred books in the papal
Rome of to-day. Indeed, these storied crypts must
have been a grand illustrated gospel, impressing upon
the mind of the believer the lessons of holy writ, and
probably furnishing to the catechumens of the faith
and recent converts from paganism a means of instruc-
tion in these sacred themes. The execution may often
be coarse, and the drawing uncouth ; but to the devout
mind this primitive Christian art is invested with a

The Biblical Cycle. 283

profounder interest than all the triumphs of genius in
the galleries of the Vatican.*

In consequence of its symbolical purpose this hier-
atic series is rather eclectic than cyclopaedic in its
character. Of the great variety of available topics,
the number selected for art-presentation was compar-
atively limited ; and the artist, in the treatment of these,
frequently contented himself with the constant and un-
varied reiteration of the same types, which were often
of the rudest and most conventional form. " The in-
cidents that exemplified the leading doctrines of the
faith," says Kugler,f " were chosen in preference to
others." Hence the very fixedness of these doctrines
imparted somewhat of their own character to the pic-
torial representations employed.

Subjects from the Old Testament are more numerous
in proportion to the whole than would have been
anticipated. This is also a result and illustration of
the allegorical nature of the series. " Rome," says Lord
Lindsay, " seems to have adopted from the first, and
steadily adhered to, a system of typical parallelism —
of veiling the great incidents of redemption, and the
sufferings, faith, and hopes of the church under the
parallel and typical events of the patriarchal and Jew-
ish dispensations." \ We can refer in detail to only
the more striking of these biblical scenes. For

* In the bas reliefs of Chartres Cathedral and in other mediaeval
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 i.Soo figures,
often with a touching naivete and simple grace.

\ Handbuch der Kwistgeschichte.

% History of Christian Art, vol. i, p. 47.

284

The Catacombs of Rome.

convenience of treatment we will include here those
sculptured on the sarcophagi as well as those painted on
the walls. The temptation and fall of our first parents
is a frequent subject, and meets with considerable va-
riety of treatment.* They are generally shown as
standing by the tree of knowledge, around which the
serpent coils, and receiving from him the fruit

" Whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world and all our woe."

In the following example from the Catacomb of Cal-
lixtus, the fig-leaf aprons with which they try to hide
their guilty shame indicate that the act of disobedience
has been already consummated.

HIqO*

Fig. 62.— The Temptation and Fall.

* In an ivory diptych, probably of the fourth century, which is fig-
ured in Marriott's Testimony of the Catacombs, is a very spirited bas
relief of Adam in the garden giving the beasts their names.

The Biblical Cycle.

2S5

On a sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum is a bas
relief in which Our Lord, as the representative of the
Eternal Father, is seen standing between Adam and Eve,
and giving to the former a sheaf of grain, the symbol that
by the sweat of his brow he should eat bread, and to
the latter a lamb, that she may work diligently with her
hands in the domestic employment of spinning — the
allotted labour of woman in every age. Perhaps, also,
as Dr. Northcote suggests, the lamb was a symbol and
mute prophecy of " the Lamb of God whom the sec-
ond Eve was to bring forth to atone for all the evil
that the first Eve had brought upon mankind."

Fig-. 63— Adam and. Eve Receiving- their Sentence.

On another sarcophagus in the same museum is a
bas relief of Cain and Abel offering their respective
sacrifices of the fruits of the ground and the firstlings
of the flock. This subject, however, is exceedingly
rare in the Catacombs.

286

The Catacombs of Rome.

One of the most frequently recurring figures in this
series is that of Noah in the ark. This is always re-
peated in one unvarying phase of the most jejune and
meagre character. There is no attempt at historical
representation of the actual scenes of the deluge. In-
stead of a huge vessel riding upon the waves, with its
vast and varied living freight, there is only a small pul-
pit-like enclosure,* in which Noah stands and receives
in his hand the returning dove with the olive branch in
its mouth. The following engraving, which, although
apparently out of perspective, is an accurate copy of a
painting in the Catacomb of Callixtus, is a character-
istic example.

,-:'••->'

II F

Fig. 64.-Noali in the Ark.

Occasionally the position of the patriarch is slightly
altered, as in Fig. 65, from the Catacomb of St. Priscilla ;

* Is there any allusion here to Noah as a "preacher of righteous,
ness ?"

The Biblical Cycle.

287

but this is all the variety
of treatment of which the
artistic genius of the age
seemed capable.

In the bas reliefs the
treatment of this subject
exhibits a still greater de-
gree of degradation and
constraint, as in the fol-
lowing examples from
Christian sarcophagi of the
fourth century.

Sometimes the figure lu-
dicrously resembles the
toy called " Jack in a box,"
w h i c h resemblance is

Fig1. 65— Noah in the Ark.

heightened by the lid being half open and a lock being
carved on the front.

Fig. 66.— Noah in the Ark.

This rude representation, however, was regarded, in
accordance with the exposition of St. Peter,* as a sym-

* 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.

288

The Catacombs of Rome.

bol of Christian baptism ; while the ark was the figure
of Christ's church, in which believers " may so pass the
waves of this troublesome world that finally they may
come to the land of everlasting life." The dove and
olive branch may further imply, that the weary soul,
being justified by faith, found peace with God and en-
tered into endless rest.*

Another favourite subject of
the early Christian artists was
the sacrifice of Isaac, an ap-
propriate type of the greater I
sacrifice to be offered up when,'
in the fulness of the time, God
should provide himself a lamb
for an offering. From this theme
the persecuted Christians doubt-
less often derived spiritual com-
fort amid the fiery trials of their faith to which they
were exposed. It taught also the duty of self-conse-
cration. " May I, like the youthful Isaac," says Paulinus,
"be offered to God a living sacrifice, and, bearing my
wood, follow my Holy Father beneath the cross." f This
subject is repeated, with considerable variety of treat-
ment, both in frescoes and in sculpture. In Fig. 68,
from the cemetery of St. Priscilla, Isaac is seen bearing

Fig. 67.— Apamean
Medal.

* It is difficult to conceive how such a wide departure from his-
toric 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 exe-
cuted. 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,
f Ilostia viva Deo tanquam puer offerar Isaac,
Et mea ligna gercns, sequar almum sub cruce patrem.

The Biblical Cycle.

289

Pig. 68— The Sacrifice of Isaac.

the wood for the sacrifice. In Fig. 69, from the Cata-
comb of Marcellinus, he is already bound, and Abraham
has stretched forth his hand to slay his son, while the
divinely substituted lamb appears from behind the altar.

Fig. 69— The Sacrifice of Isaac.

In several examples a hand stretched forth from on
high seizes the knife to prevent the consummation of
the sacrifice. (See Fig. 107.) It is recorded that
Gregory of Nyssa frequently shed tears on reading
this pathetic story.

Joseph, sold by his brethren and afterward saving

them alive, was a striking type of Him who redeemed

290

The Catacombs of Rome.

with his own blood the guilty race which caused his death.
It is, therefore, a subject that appears with peculiar pro-
priety among the tombs of the primitive Christians.

Several scenes from the life of Moses are delineated
in this biblical cycle. One of these, as sometimes
treated, for classic grace and dignity reminds one of
some noble antique. It is Moses on Mount Horeb
putting off his shoes from his feet. This act is inter-
preted by some of the Christian Fathers* as an emblem
of the renunciation of the world, the flesh, and the devil
demanded of the servants of Christ. The accompany-
ing example, Fig. 70, is from the cemetery of Callixtus.

Fig. 70.— Moses on Mount
Horeb.

Fig. 71.— Moses Receiving the
Law.

Fig. 71, from a sarcophagus in the Lateran, represents
Moses on Mount Sinai receiving from the hand of God
the law, which was to be the schoolmaster to bring

* E. g., Greg. Nazianz., Orat. 42.

The Biblical Cycle.

291

men to Christ. Moses is sometimes exhibited, also, as
breaking the tables of the law on his descent from the
mount.

In the Catacomb of St. Cyriaca is a unique picture
of the descent of the manna — the emblem of the
" True Bread which came down from heaven." It is
seen falling in a copious shower, and gathered in the
vestments of four Israelites. According to Martigny
the accompanying engraving, Fig. 72, from the Cata-
comb of St. Priscilla, and another in the Callixtan Cata-
comb, represent Moses standing among the baskets of
manna gathered in the wilderness. But for the severe
and aged expression of countenance, so different from
the youthful aspect of Our Lord in the frescoes of the
Catacombs, they might be taken for pictures of Christ

Fig. 72— Moses and the Bas-
kets of Manna.

Fig. 73.— Moses Striking the
Rock.

and the seven baskets of fragments left after feeding
the multitude.

292

The Catacombs of Rome.

More frequently recurring than any other scene in
the history of Moses is that of his striking water
from the rock, an emblem of the spiritual blessings
flowing to the church through the sufferings of the
Messiah, " For they drank of that spiritual Rock which
followed them; and that Rock was Christ."* The
illustration in Fig. 73 is taken from a sarcophagus found
in the cemetery of St. Agnes. That in Fig. 74 is from
a fresco of earlier date in the Catacomb of Marcel-
linus.

Fig\ 74.— Moses Striking the Rock.

In two or three of the gilded glasses to be hereafter
mentioned, which are of comparatively late date, this
scene is rudely indicated, and over the head or at
the side of the figure is the word Petrvs or Peter.
From this circumstance Roman Catholic writers have
asserted that in many of the sarcophagal and other rep-
resentations of this event it is no longer Moses but
Peter, " the leader of the new Israel of God," who is
striking the rock with the emblem of divine power — a
* 1 Cor. x, 4.

The Biblical Cycle.

293

Fig.

75.— The Sufferings of
Job.

conclusion for which there is absolutely no evidence
except the very trivial fact above mentioned.*

The sufferings of the pa-
triarch Job form the sub-
ject of a few of these scrip-
tural illustrations. In the
accompanying illustration,
taken from the cemetery
of Marcellinus, he is seen
sitting in his sorrow and be-
moaning the day that gave
him birth. Amid their fiery
trials of persecution the
primitive Christians doubt-
less often found comfort in
contrasting their sufferings
with the still more terrible afflictions of the patriarch
of Uz.

The sarcophagus of Junius Bassus exhibits a bas
relief of Job comforted by his friends. The complaint
of the patriarch that even his wife had abhorred his
breath — so reads the Vulgate translation of Jerome,
which was in use at this period — is grotesquely illustra-

* 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 minis altera monstrat.

Pnefert una Deum patrix, patriam altera vitre.

294 The Catacombs of Rome.

ted by a female figure, who holds a handkerchief to her
nose.*

The victory of the stripling David over the great
champion of the enemies of Israel seemed strikingly to
prefigure the triumph of primitive Christianity over the
colossal paganism to which it was opposed. It was also
the symbol of the victory of Our Lord over a mightiet
foe than the insolent Philistine ; and by some of the
Fathers the stones and sling of the Jewish shepherd lad
were likened to the cross of Christ, by which Satan is
vanquished and his kingdom overthrown. The devout
monarch of Israel was also a recognized type of Him
who was the root and the offspring of David, who should
inherit his throne, and reign over the house of Jacob
forever.

The translation of Elijah was frequently depicted
as being typical of the ascension of Our Lord, which
was regarded as too sacred a theme for direct present-
ment in art. The chariot generally resembles the
classic quadriga. In a sarcophagal example in the
Lateran Museum Elisha is represented as reverently
receiving the mantle of Elijah, the emblem of the
double measure of his spirit that rested upon him. In
the background two sons of the prophets gaze with
apparent astonishment on the scene. Two bears, which
are also indicated, are probably intended for those that
devoured the children who mocked the prophet Elisha
on his way to Bethel.

*Job xix, 17. This subject is also fantastically treated in Me-
diaeval 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. C/irct., p. 158.

The Biblical Cycle.

295

In Fig. 76, from a fresco of earlier date in the Cat-
acomb of Callixtus, it will be seen that graves have
been made in the back of the arcosolium, cutting off the
head of Elijah and the feet of the two lower figures.

According to the
strained mode of in-
terpretation of Roman
Catholic writers on this
subject, the gift of the
mantle of Elijah to his
successor in office is
a type of Christ's be-
stowment of authority
upon St. Peter as the
" Prince of the Apos-
tles," and his espe-
cial representative on
earth. " It would cer-
tainly," says Dr.North-
cote, " have reminded
the Roman Christians
of the pallium, the
symbol of jurisdiction
worn by the bishops
of Rome, and given
by them to metropol-
itans as from the very
body of St. Peter — De
Corpore Sancti Petri." *

A more improbable assumption

* 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 obse-
quium Petri " — in obedience and devotion to Peter.

296

The Catacombs of Rome.

it would be difficult to imagine. Nobler in conception,
which, as well as more scriptural, is the interpretation of
this type given by St. Chrysostom : " Elias, in ascending
into heaven, let his mantle fall on Elisha : Jesus, when
he, too, ascended thither, left the gift of his graces to
his disciples — graces which constitute not merely a
single prophet, but an infinite number of Elishas, much
greater and more illustrious than that one."*

The persecuted saints who dared to encounter death
and danger in their most dreadful forms rather than
deny their faith, found great consolation in the remem-
brance of God's deliverance of his servants in the days
of old. With the bloodthirsty cry of the ribald plebs
of Rome — Christiani ad leones — still ringing in their ears,
and, it may be, with the roar of the savage beasts of
prey crashing on their shuddering nerves, they were
sustained by the thought of the fidelity of those ancient

Fig. 77— The Three Hebrew Children.

worthies who, for their integrity to God, braved the
flames of the fiery furnace and the perils of the lions'
den. The three Hebrew children are generally exhib-
ited with the oriental tiara and tunics. In the forego-
* Horn. ii. In Ascens, Dom.

The Biblical Cycle.

297

ing example from the cemetery of St. Priscilla, a dove is
shown bringing an olive branch, the pledge of victory
and peace.

In Fig. 78, from the cemetery of Hermes, they are
shown as standing in a "burning fiery furnace," whose
flames, though heated seven times hotter than their
wont, play lambently around them without even singe-
ing their garments.

Fig. 78— The Three Hebrew Children.

In the following example from the Catacomb of St.
Agnes the furnace is reduced to a shallow vessel in
which the Hebrews stand unhurt. This has been incor-
rectly interpreted as a representation of martyrdom by
boiling in oil. Its association, however, with the figure
of Daniel in the lions' den, and its general resemblance
to other groups of the same subject, unquestionably

298

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 79— The Three Hebrew Children.

indicate its true
character.

In all these the
expression of
countenance and
attitude of the im-
mortal t h r e e —
more dauntless
than even the
brave Horatii of classic story — as they stand calmly
amid the flames, indicates the presence with them in
their fiery trial of the Almighty Deliverer of his saints.
It is noteworthy, however, that the fourth figure, " like
the Son of God," is never shown in these groups. It
was reserved, as will be hereafter seen, for mediaeval art
to attempt the representation of the Divine.

The faith and heroism of many of the primitive Chris-
tians in refusing to burn incense on the heathen altars,
or to salute the statues of the Caesars, was no unworthy
imitation of the fidelity of these Hebrew youths in
refusing to worship the great golden image set up on the
plains of Dura.

Daniel in the den is generally represented by a nude
figure standing between two lions, with his hands
stretched out as if in supplication, and thereby, says
St. Gregory, conquering the lions by prayer. While,
generally, the type of the deliverance of God's people,
it may sometimes by association have been a memorial
of the Christian martyrs devoured by wild beasts in the
neighbouring Coliseum, whose sands were so often
drenched with their gore. The following fresco from
the Catacomb of St. Priscilla is a characteristic ex-
ample. See Fig. 80.

Sometimes another figure, interpreted as " the prophet

The Biblical Cycle.

299

Habaccuc," is depicted as borne by an angel by the hair
of the head and offering food to Daniel, as described

Fig. 80.— Daniel in the Lions' Den.

in the apocryphal story of Bel and the Dragon. Another
fresco represents Daniel as giving to the monster the
cake which he had prepared for its destruction. The
story of Tobias and the fish, and of Susanna and the
elders, are also illustrated in this remarkable series of
paintings. These last are of interest as indicating a
familiar acquaintance with the apocryphal books in the
early centuries. Figures interpreted as Isaiah, who
seems, like the Magi, to come from afar to lay his gifts at
the feet of Christ, and as Ezekiel in the valley of dry
bones, also occur in the Catacombs.

One of the most common', and, if we may judge from
the style of execution, one of the favourite subjects
of mural and sarcophagal presentation in this biblical
cycle, is the history of Jonah. It is repeated over and ,
over again with a high degree of picturesqueness, and with
greater variety of treatment than, perhaps, any other. It
appears also on lamps, vases, medals, gilt glasses, and

3oo

The Catacombs of Rome.

funeral slabs. The story is generally represented in a
series of four scenes : the storm, and the monster of the
deep swallowing the prophet ; his deliverance from its
horrid jaws, and restoration to land ; his reclining un-
der the shadow of the gourd for refreshment and rest ;
and his gloom and anger when the gourd has withered
away and he lies in his misery beneath the burning sun.
Sometimes the four scenes occupy the four walls of the
cubiculum, or the compartments of a vaulted ceiling ; or
only two may be exhibited, as in the engraving on the
opposite page, from the cemetery of St. Priscilla, in
which Jonah is portrayed as a child issuing from the
mouth of the sea-monster, and afterward reclining under
the booth.

Sometimes the whole history is compressed into one
crowded scene, as in the following example. (Fig 81.)

Fig. 81— The History of Jonah.

The Biblical Cycle.

301

302

The Catacombs of Rome.

The character of the little bark is much like that seen
in pagan frescoes.

In some instances the " ship " is reduced to a mere
boat, and the " mariners ' to a single individual, as in
Fig. 83, from the cemetery of St. Priscilla.

Fig. 83.— Jonah Swallowed by the " Great Fish."

In the following sarcophagal example, (Fig. 84,) the
somewhat startling anachronism of Noah receiving the
dove from the prow of Jonah's vessel appears in the

Fig. 84.— Noah and Jonah.

background. The "sea" is here a narrow stream;
and the "fish," a monster with the head and paws of a

The Biblical Cycle. 303

quadruped, on one side of the boat is swallowing the
disobedient prophet, and on the other is casting him
forth upon the rocky shores. Such solecisms are by no
means uncommon in these groups.

On another sarcophagus in the Lateran Museum the in-
fluence of pagan thought may be observed. The storm
is personified by a triton blowing through a convoluted
shell, and Iris, hovering with floating scarf above the
vessel, indicates the calm which followed the casting
out of the prophet.

The " great fish " in these scenes bears no resemblance
to any living thing. It is generally a monster with con-
torted body, a long neck and large head, sometimes
armed with horns, (see Figs. 81, 82,) probably to distin-
guish it from the symbolical fish, the emblem of Our
Lord, or as a type of " the old serpent, the devil." The
form may have been derived from the mythological rep-
resentations of the marine monster from whose jaws
Andromeda was rescued by Perseus. The latter story,
like that of Deucalion and many others in the Greek
mythology, probably had its origin in holy scripture.

This subject was naturally dear to the early Chris-
tians, inasmuch as it was set forth by Our Lord himself
as a type of his own resurrection and that of his disciples.
Therefore as the persecuted believers met in those sol-
emn and silent chambers of the dead, they inscribed on
the sepulchral slabs which hid the mouldering dust of
the departed from their view, or on the walls of the
cubicula in which they worshipped, this symbol of faith
and hope in the glorious resurrection. It also conveyed
a lesson of sublimest meaning to the primitive Chris-
tians, called to be witnesses for God in a city greater and
more wicked and idolatrous than even Nineveh. It was
a potent incentive to fidelity even unto death. The

304

The Catacombs of Rome.

storm-tossed bark, the ravening monster, and the proph-
et's booth and gourd, were the types of life's rough
voyage, the yawning grave, and the speedy transit to
the bowers of everlasting bliss and the refreshing fruits
of the tree of life.

A long and acrimonious controversy was waged be-
tween Jerome and Augustine as to the nature of the
plant which overshadowed the prophet. Jerome called
it ivy ; but Augustine retained the word gourd of
the older Italic version, and excluded from his diocese
of Hippo the Vulgate version of Jerome containing the
obnoxious translation. It is a curious commentary on
an ancient dispute in the church, and a proof of the
antiquity of the Catacombs, that their frescoes seem to
have followed the older version, and to have given their
testimony against the innovation of Jerome. See Fig. 85,
a copy of a broken sepulchral slab, in which the prophet's
booth is reduced to a single branch of a gourd.

Fig. 85.— Jonah's Gourd.

Here ends this Old Testament cycle, so rich in holy
teaching, all whose types and symbols point to the great
Antitype of whom Moses and the prophets spake. The
New Testament series will in like manner be found to

The Biblical Cycle.

305

cluster around the person and work of the Redeemer ;
to the exclusion, however, of the solemn scenes of the
transfiguration, the passion, resurrection, and ascen-
sion, which are the principal themes of later religious
art ; and without the slightest indication of that idola-
trous veneration of Mary which is the chief feature of
modern Romanism, thus showing how far that church
has departed from the usage of apostolic times.

The first subject of this New Testament cycle is the
manifestation of Our Lord to the Magi by the star in
the east, the sign that the Bright and Morning Star had
risen upon the world.* Over twenty repetitions of this
scene are found in the Catacombs.

The following sarcophagal example, from the Cata-
comb of Callixtus, represents the Magi bearing their
gifts, and led by the star to the place where the young

Fig. 86— The Adoration of the Magi.

child lay. The babe is seen wrapped in swaddling-
clothes and lying in a manger. An ox and an ass stand
near the divine child, probably in fanciful allusion to
that scripture, " The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass
his master's crib ; " as well as in historical illustration of

* Several Romanist writers interpret, with doubtful propriety, a
fresco in the cemetery of St. Priscilla as a representation of the Annun-
ciation. 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.

3o6

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 87.— Adoration of the Magi.

the scene. Joseph and Mary appear in the background
as mere accessories of the group.

In the accompanying engraving of a fresco in the
cemetery of St. Marcellinus the virgin mother is rep-
resented as seat-
ed in the calm at-
titude and dress
of a Roman ma-
tron, holding the
infant Christ in her
arms, but not in the
1^^ least suggesting
the modern Ma-
donna.* The Ma-
gi bring their offerings as the first-fruits of the hom-
age of the world. Sometimes the number is increased
to four or reduced to two, in which case they are
arranged on either side of the Virgin, to preserve the
balance and symmetry of the picture. f The figure of
Joseph sometimes completes the group, but generally

* In the church of the Ara Cceli, 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 Santissimt
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 fete is celebrated by theatrical representations of the
scenes of the Advent. The apocryphal Gospel of the Infancy tends
to popularize this feature of Romanism.

f According to an ancient tradition mentioned by Origen and Leo the
Great the number of the Magi was three. In the mediaeval miracle
plays they are called three gipsy kings, and their names are given
as Caspar, 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 Mar)'. See Clem.
Alex., Peed., ii, 8 ; Origen, c. Cels., i, p. 46; Chrysos., in Matt.;
Jus. Mar., Dial, cum Tryph. ; Iren., c. Heer.% iii, 2 ; Hieron., in Esaiam,
vi, 19; Ambr., in Luc, ii ; Aug., Epiph. Serm,

The Biblical Cycle. 307

as a young and beardless man, in contradiction to the
Romish tradition of his old age, derived from the apoc-
ryphal gospels. These legends supply the theme of
much of the religious art of the fifth and following cen-
turies; but Dr. Northcote admits that "before that
time Christian artists seem strictly to have been kept
within the limits of the canonical books of the holy
scripture."*

A fresco in the Catacomb of Nereus and Achilles,
attributed to the second century, is supposed to be the
oldest extant art-presentation of the Virgin Mary. In
these early pictures she is generally exhibited as veiled,

* 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 sub-
jects 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 in-
scription in Provence: maria virgo minister in templo gero-
SALE. Later legends assert the angelic pre-annunciation of her birth
and her immaculate conception, which has at length become a formu-
lated 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-Evangelinm, Mary was consigned to
Joseph, not for marriage, but for parental guardianship. A num-
ber 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, al-
though some, at least, of the Fathers held a contrary opinion. See Ter-
tul., De Monogamia, c. 8, and De Came Christi.c. 23 ; Neander's
Antignostikus, Whedon's Commentary, Matt, xiii, 55. The word
npuroTOKOv, 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 jiovoycvrig, only bom, would be used, as in Luke
vii, 12 ; ix, 38.

308 The Catacombs of Rome.

and expressing dignity and modesty in her attitude and
dress, and only in her historical relation to the divine
child. Not till later does she appear alone, or even as
the principal figure. Dr. Northcote, indeed, cites one
example apparently of Joseph,* Mary, and the infant
Jesus, concerning which he says that the Virgin does not
enter into the composition as a secondary personage,
but herself supplies the motive to the whole painting. f
In the engraving which he gives, this indeed appears to
be the case ; but in the original, and in the copy given by
De Rossi, \ which shows the entire painting, the figure of
the Virgin is only a very small and subordinate portion
of an elaborate decorative design, and its position is not
upright, as if it were the principal object, but horizontal,
as being only accessory to the main grouping. All these
early presentations of the Virgin Mary, says Mr. Mar-
riott, § occur only in such connexion as is directly sug-
gested by holy scripture, and none of them would
appear out of place in an illustrated English Bible,
so different are they from the Madonnas of Roman
Catholic art.

There are numerous frescoes in the Catacombs of
persons, both male and female, in the attitude of prayer,
hence called Ora/iti, (see Fig. 82,) and the accompany-
ing simpler example from the cemetery of Sts. Peter
and Marcellinus. These are frequently found on sepul-
chral slabs, the sex and apparent age of the Orante
always corresponding with that of the person named in
the inscription. They are generally regarded, therefore,

* De Rossi and some other writers call this figure Isaiah without
any good reason.

\ Rom. Soft., p. 260.

\ Imagines Selects Dcipar<v Virginis, pi. iv. This picture is
thought to be of the sixth century.

§ Test, of Catacombs, p. 27.

The Biblical Cycle.

309

as portraits of the departed, and as probably indicat-
ing that they lived a life of prayer, and died in the
faith. Thus the oranti, in Fig. 82 are thought by Per-
ret to be intended for Pris-
cilla, in whose cemetery it
is found, and her com-
panion.* It is at least most
likely that they represented
the deceased and not anoth-
er, in the same manner as
modern sepulchral effigies,
and as the pictures of fos-
sors, vine-dressers, and
handicraftsmen in the Cat-
acombs. Dr. Northcote at
one time admitted this ex-
planation of these figures.
"We can scarcely err," he
says, "in supposing them
to be the persons, whoever
they were, who were buried
in these chambers, "f But
in his later work on the
Catacombs he says, "Pos-

Fig. 88— Orante.

sibly this conjecture may sometimes be correct, but in
the majority of instances we feel certain that it is inad-
missible; "J and he claims them as representations
of the Virgin Mary, or as symbols of the Church, the
Bride of Christ, whose life on earth is a life of prayer.
This is manifestly the intention, he asserts, when, as

* One of these has a saffron-coloured robe, and soft brown eyes and
hair. The other wears a deep crimson robe with pui-ple stripes. Both
are richly embroidered and bejeweled.

\ Northcote's Catacombs, p. 77. \ Rom. Soft., p. 255.

310 The Catacombs of Rome.

is frequently the case, the figure is found as a companion
to that of the Good Shepherd ; and he gives an engrav-
ing from Bosio of one such, which is catalogued as the
"Good Shepherd and the Blessed Virgin."* But in
referring to Bosio this figure is found to be not the
Virgin Mary at all, but a Christian martyr, as is indi-
cated by the attribute of a plumbata, or leaden scourge,
painted beside her, which is omitted in Dr. Northcote's
engraving, (inadvertently, as he explains ;) and she is
designated by Bosio, Una Donna Orante — a woman in the
act of prayer. And this figure is the only one out of all
figured by Bosio and Aringhi which at all agrees with
Dr. Northcote's description. The others when associ-
ated with the Good Shepherd are either in groups of
two or more, or are mixed with male oranti, the exist-
ence of which Dr. Northcote seems to ignore.

But even if the Virgin Mary were referred to in
these paintings it would prove nothing in favour of
modern Mariolatry. Indeed, nothing could be more
striking than the contrast between these simple praying
figures, undistinguished by any attribute from others of
the pious dead, and the crowned Queen of Heaven re-
ceiving the homage of mankind, of later Roman Cath-
olic art. But that they are such is an entirely gratuitous
and unwarranted assumption ; and with equal propriety,
or rather lack of it, they have been interpreted by
the monkish ciceroni of the Catacombs as symbols of
martyrdom, as portraits of living persons praying to the
dead, and as saints in heaven praying foi men on earth. f

* Horn. Sott '., pi. viii.

\ The circumstance above mentioned is another evidence that no
logical nor historical difficulties arc any obstacle to the devout cre-
dulity of Rome, in discovering proofs of its favourite dogmas where a
rational criticism is unable to find them.

The Biblical Cycle.

3il

In the gilded glasses, to be hereafter described, which
belong to a period of very degraded art, probably from
the fourth to the sixth century, representations of the
Virgin mother
sometimes occur,
recognized by her
name written above
her head after the
Byzantine manner.
She appears either
alone, or between
figures of the
apostles Peter and
Paul. This honour,
however, is shared
by other female
saints, especially by
Saint Agnes. In
one example Mary
wears a nimbus, a
proof of compara-
tively late date.

One fresco in the
Catacomb of Sts.
Thraso and Satur-
ninus has been sup-
posed to have some
reference to the
Virgin Mary. It is
figured in the lu-
nette of the vault

Fig. 89.— Supposed Madonna.

in the accompanying engraving. (Fig. 89.)* It is inter-

* These figures are given in minute detail in Perret., torn, iii,

planches 16 to 20.

On the arch and on the other lunettes will be

312

The Catacombs of Rome.

preted, however, by Bottari, a distinguished Romanist
antiquary, as not a painting of the Madonna at all, but
simply of a family group.

The first art-presentation of the Virgin Mary bearing
any resemblance to the conventional Madonna, which
has been so endlessly reproduced and so idolatrously
honoured throughout Roman Catholic Christendom, is
one in an arcosolium in the Catacomb of St. Agnes,

Fig. 90.— The Earliest Madonna.

(See Fig. 90.) The head of the Virgin is veiled, a neck-
lace of pearls adorns her person, and her hands are
extended in prayer. The infant Christ is not seated,
but standing before her, as is common in a favour-
ite type of the Greek church, especially in Russia — ■
an indication that this was probably painted by a
Byzantine artist, as was most of the later work at
Rome. But even in this picture the early Chris-
tians, unprescicnt of the Mariolatry of the future, would
see the expression only of a loving regard for her who

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 di ■■

The Biblical Cycle. 313

was pronounced the "blessed among women." The
sacred monogram on either side assigns a date not
earlier than the fourth century to this painting; and
Martigny, an eminent Romanist authority, thinks it is
later than the Council of Ephesus, in the fifth century,
—A. D. 431.

By this time a sad departure from primitive ortho-
doxy of belief had already taken place. The blasphe-
mous title Theotokos, Mother of God, since so unhappily
familiar,* had been applied to the Virgin Mary, at first
in protest against the Arian heresy which denied the
divinity of Our Lord, and not in exaltation of his vir-
gin mother. Nestorius strongly objected to the un-
warranted and antiscriptural title, and suggested that
of the mother of Christ. An angry controversy re-
sulted, to appease which Theodosius the younger
assembled the Council of Ephesus. Nestorius was
judged without being heard, degraded from the episco-
pal dignity, and sent into exile ; and the obnoxious
epithet was confirmed through the exercise of fraud and
violence. Flavianus, a member of the Council, actually
died of wounds received in that turbulent assembly ;
and amid these disgraceful scenes was first formu-
lated this dogma, which has been fraught with such
perilous consequences to both Greek and Latin
Christianity.

The artistic embodiment of this doctrine underwent
a rapid decline. The sweet and tender grace of the
virgin mother disappears, the modest veil gives place
to a crown, she becomes vulgarized in expression, jew-
els bedizen her person, the attitude becomes stiff and
lifeless, the countenance darkens and assumes an ex-

* In Byzantine art, pictures of the Virgin Mary are generally in-
scribed with the letters MP 0Y for MHTHP 0EOY— Mother of God.

314 The Catacombs of Rome.

pression of pain rather than that of gentleness and
peace, and the innocent smile of the Divine Infant
gives place to an unnatural severity and gloom. The
beginning of this decline is seen in the Madonna already
described, (Fig. 90,) in which the person of Mary is
adorned with a showy necklace, of jewels. This type
passes by rapid gradations, during the gathering gloom
of the dark ages, into the anguished pictures of the
Mater Dolorosa, bowed down with sevenfold sorrows,
and the gross images of Our Lady of the Bleeding
Heart, her bosom transpierced with a naked sword.*
But even in this is seen the striking moral contrast be-
tween the spirit of Christian and that of pagan art. The
loftiest ideal of the latter is the expression of mere cor-
poreal beauty, while the former exhibits the noblest type
of purity, sorrow, and love the world has ever seen.
With the Renaissance this ideal became the inspiration
of art, and gave birth to those triumphs of genius which
kindle admiration in the coldest nature, and invest with
a spell of pathos and power a dogma which the judg-
ment rejects.

The silence of the primitive Fathers concerning the
worship of Mary is a striking evidence of its non-exist-
ence, and their language when they do speak of her
still more strongly demonstrates that fact. Tertullian
seems to infer her lack of faith in the mission of Our
Lord, and compares her unfavourably with Martha and
Mary.f Prudentius refuses to ascribe to her absolute

* A literal interpretation of the Scripture : " Yea, a sword shall
pierce through thine own soul also." — Luke ii, 35.

f Mater seque non demonstratur adhxsisse illi, cum Marthas et
Marias alias in commercio ejus frequentantur. Hoc denique in loco
(I. uke viii, 20) apparet incredulitas eorum cum is doceret viam vita*.
— De Car in- Clnisti, c. 7.

The Biblical Cycle. 315

sinlessness.* Augustine asserts the natural depravity
of her flesh. f Chrysostom boldly accuses her of ambi-
tion and thoughtlessness,^ and says, " She shall have no
benefit from being the mother of Christ unless in all
things she doeth what is right." § Cyril of Alexandria,
Basil of Csesarea, and Hilary of Poitiers, speak in simi-
lar unequivocal terms, which Petavius, the Roman the-
ologian, says are not fit to be uttered. || The Collyri-
dian heretics, indeed, rendered idolatrous homage to
Mary ; \ but Epiphanius vehemently denounces the prac-
tice as blasphemous and dangerous to the soul. " Let
Mary be held in honour," he says, "but let her not be
worshipped."** Irenseus first points out the fanciful
antithesis between Mary and Eve, which was afterward
so remarkably elaborated in Roman thought and dic-

* Solus labe caret peccati conditor orbis,
Ingenitus genitusque Deus, Pater et Patre natus.

— Apotheosis, 894.

\ Nee sumpsit [Christus] camera peccati quamvis de materna
came peccati. — DePeccatorum 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.

\ $iXoTi/iia nal airovoia. — Horn, in Matt., xii, 47.

§ See the words of Our Lord on this very subject, Luke xi, 2S :
" Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and
keep it."

I " Infanda." — Theol. Dogmat. de Incarn., lib. xiv, c. i.

% These heretics receive their name from the no'k'kvpa, or cake,
which they offered to the deified Virgin. Thus early was a new pa-
ganism 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 Stael has truly said, " The Catholic is the
Pagan's heir."

** lien. adv. Hcereses, lib. iii, c. 33 ; lib. v, c. ig.

316 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion.* Ephraem Syrus and Gregory Nazianzen, indeed,
speak of her invocation in prayer, but this was an honour
already bestowed on numerous other saints. The hea-
then writers, moreover, who accused the Christians of
worshipping a mere man, as they considered Christ,
would surely have brought a similar accusation on ac-
count of the worship of Mary if it were known ; but
we nowhere find that this was done. Indeed, it is prob-
able that the contumely and opprobrium with which
the heathen spoke of the mother of Our Lord may
have intensified into superstitious veneration the loving
reverence with which she was regarded in the primitive
ages. Tertullian quotes the blasphemous pagan epithet,
" the harlot's son," applied to Christ in allusion to his
miraculous birth. f It has been reserved for a gifted
modern poet, as pagan and skeptical in sentiment as
Lucretius, to parallel, or even surpass, this revolting
impiety.J

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."§ No Ave Maria or Ora pro nobis, no
Theotokos or Mater Dei, occurs in any of the subterra-
nean crypts or corridors of the Catacombs. Even the
name Maria, now so commonly applied in varying forms

* See the hymn in the office of the Virgin :

Quod Eva tristis abstulit

Tu reddis almo gcrmine.
Compare also the "Ave maris stella."
f De SpectacuKs, c. 30. % See Shelley's Notes to Queen Mab.
§ Maitland, p. 333.

The Biblical Cycle. 317

to both males and females throughout Roman Catholic
countries, 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.*

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." \
Indeed, Augustine expressly asserts that we are ignorant
of her appearance.^

During the seventh century, along with a progressive
barbarism of treatment may be observed a gradual ex-
altation of Mary in the Roman mosaics to those places
previously devoted to the image of Christ. § In the eighth

* The letters B. M., so frequently recurring in sepulchral inscrip-
tions, have no reference to the Virgin Mary. They stand {ox' Bene
Merenti — To the well-deserving, or Bonce Memorise — Of pious
memory.

f Ut ipsa corporis facies simulacrum fuerit mentis, figura probitatis.
— De Virgin., lib. ii, c. 2.

\ Neque enim novimus faciem Virginis Marise. — De Trin., c. 8.

§ Aringhi (torn, ii, p. 195) copies a crucifixion from the Catacomb
of " Julii Papse," 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

3 1 8 The Catacombs of Rome.

century, according to D'Agincourt, " the homage paid
to her was no longer distinguished from that rendered
to the Lord of all ; "* and the Council of Constantinople
decreed, " that whoever would not avail himself of the
intercession of Mary should be accursed."! ^n extant
pictures of the ninth century she is exhibited in bejew-
elled purple robes as the crowned Queen of Heaven,
receiving the homage of the four and twenty elders and
of the celestial hosts. \ 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.
Clements at Rome.§

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 practi-
cal 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 thro>ne of glory, not to com-
municate lessons about sin and salvation, but to secure some trivial
gain or to recover some lost money.

* Peinture, torn, ii, p. 38.

f Harduin, iv, 430, A. D. 712.

% In the church of St. Cecilia at Rome. The homage of the Vir-
gin was now called virepdovleCa — the highest degree of veneration.

§ 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 naivete the translation of the soul of Maiy as anew-born in-
fant 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.

The Biblical Cycle. 319

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the apotheosis
of Mary is complete. In a fresco at Rome, of date
1 154 A. D., Popes Callixtus II. and Anastasius IV.
are shown embracing her feet in adoration, and trans-
ferring to the human mother the homage due alone
to the Divine Son. She is now worshipped co-ordi-
nately 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 applica-
tion 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 ex-
punged and' that of Mary substituted instead.* 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 ser-
aphim," f throned in glory, sitting on a rainbow, en-
veloped in an aureole, clothed with the sun, the
moon beneath her feet, a crown of stars upon her
head, % and radiating from her person beams of light.

* E. g., Psa. lxviii, 1 ; " Let Mary arise, and let her enemies be scat-
tered." 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."

f The expression of Modestus, patriarch of Jerusalem in the seventh
century.

\ In allusion to the woman in the Apocalypse, xii, 1.

320 The Catacombs of Rome.

the proper attribute of deity.* She is frequently rep-
resented, even in heaven, with the infant Christ in her
arms, a mere accessory to indicate her personality, as if
to show his relative inferiority. f She becomes, too, her-
self 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, % the morning
star,§ and the refuge of sinners ; || and is exhorted to suc-
cor the wretched,^ protect from enemies, receive in the
hour of death,* * and intercede with God for nien.f f She
is endowed with the faculty of omniscience and ubiq-
uity, and is made almost to thrust the Eternal from
his throne by her usurpation of his divine prerogatives. \ %
But this impious blasphemy seems to have culmi-
nated 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

* See a fresco in the Campo Santo, Pisa.

\ In the church of Gesu e Maria at Rome.

^Janua Cceli. § Stella matutina.

I Refugium peccatorum. ^j Succurre miseris.

* * Tu nos ab hoste protege, et mortis hora suscipe.

f f Ora propopulo, interveni pro clero intercede pro ilcvoto femineo
sexu. See also in the " Ave Maris Stella,"
Salva vincla reis,
Profer lumen ccecis,
Mala nostra pelle,
Bona cuncta posce.
See also the " Regina Cneli," and the " Ave Regina Ccclorum."
%X 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 Mar)', invoke Mary."

The Biblical Cycle. 32 1

portraits of well-known harlots, flaunting their mere-
tricious beauty as the personations of the mother of Our
Lord. For his denunciation of these profanations and
of other impieties Savonarola perished at the stake.*

The rapid development of Mariolatry, the great cor-
ruption 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. Re-
moved from human sympathy, inspiring only terror to
the soul, he was no longer Christ the Consoler, but
Christ the Avenger. f Religion was darkened by dismal
bodings of endless doom, and embittered by the fierce-
ness 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

* In the church of S. Maria Maggiore at Rome may be seen a re-
stored mosaic of the adoration of the Magi, in which Mary is repre-
sented, 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.

f See the wrathful image of Christ in the Last Judgment of the
Campo Santo and the Sistine Chapel.

322 The Catacombs of Rome.

rest," was inaudible amid 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 sur-
rounded her. The blending

Of mother's love with maiden purity *

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 Media-
trix 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 Geth-
semane and the cross and passion of Calvary. Hence
Mary has often been regarded as a sort of tutelar divin-
ity 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
coatse, rude age a new ideal of excellence was devel-
oped. 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

* Wordsworth's Efdcs. Sounds, xxi.

The Biblical Cycle. 323

child to those who would attain to the heights of holiness.
Woman was degraded as a being of inferior nature, re-
garded as " a necessary evil," and forbidden, as un-
worthy, 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 rev-
erence and more chivalrous regard.

This example of all womanhood,
So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good,
So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure,*

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 gen-
tleness, and ameliorated the horrors of long dark cen-
turies 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,f 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 litera-
ture, 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 con-
cealed its early beauty and strength beneath deformity
and decay.

* Longfellow's " Golden Legend?

f Dec, 1854. An inscription in St. Peter's commemorates its pub-
lication.

3 24

The Catacombs of Rome.

The other groups of the New Testament cycle are
chiefly scenes in the 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 charac-
ter 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 itera-
tion of type.

The accompanying
bas relief, from the
sarcophagus of Ju-
nius Bassus, (A. D.
359,) is probably in-
tended for Christ
"sitting in the midst
of the doctors, both
hearing them and ask
ingthem questions."*
He is here shown
seated on a curule
chair, wearing a Ro-
man toga, and hold-
ing a half open scroll

in his hand. His feet
Fig. 91.-Christ with the Doctors. rest Qn & gcarf hd<j

by an allegorical figure, probably a personification of
the earth — a conception borrowed from Pagan art.

Frescoes of the baptism of Our Lord occasionally oc-
cur; f but the scenes of the temptation, the subject of

* Luke ii, 46. Such is Didron's opinion.

f Sec Fig 132.

The Biblical Cycle,

325

such grotesque treatment
in mediaeval art, nowhere
appear in the Catacombs.

On a sarcophagus in the
Lateran Museum is an il-
lustration 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.

Christ talking with the |r

woman of Samaria at the

well of Sychar is a subject

that is frequently repeatedFig-92--ChristandtlieWoman
. - . .. . T , of Samaria,

in fresco and relief. In the

accompanying example from a sarcophagus in the Later-
an, a windlass of primitive construction, like those still
common in the
Campagna, is
shown.

The healing
of the paralyt-
ic has been
regarded as a
type of the res-
toration of the
soul paralyzed
by sin. Inge-
nious Roman-
ists have dis-
covered herein
a symbol of

Fig. 93.— The Healing of the Paralytic.

326

The Catacombs of Rome.

" the Sacrament of Penance," and also 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." Some-
times the bed is a mere reticulated frame-work. It is
also shown as in the foregoing example from the Cata-
comb of Callixtus. See Fig. 93.

Our Lord healing the infirmity of the woman with
the issue of blood, who drew nigh and touched the

hem of his gar-
fre-

ment, is a
quent subject of
both sarcophagal
and mural pre-
sentation. In the
accompanying ex-
ample from a bas
relief of the fourth
century the Sav-
iour is apparently

■uttering the
words, " Daugh-
ter, be of good
comfort, thy faith
hath made thee

seen, in confused

Fig. 94.— Christ Healing the Woman
with the Issue of Blood.

whole." In the background is seen, in
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.*

* Numerous references to these veils occur in the Fathers; e.g.,
Paulin., Natal. Felic, iii, 6 : Anna nunc niveis ornantur liinina velis ;
Ilieron., Epitaph. Nepot.; Vela semper in ostiis ; Epiphan., tp ad

The Biblical Cycle.

327

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and
fishes is a theme of frequent treatment in early Chris-
tian 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 bodv to be Fig- 95— The Miracle of the Loaves and

. n.r Fishes,

broken for the life

of the world. Sometimes, as on a sarcophagus in the
Lateran, Our Lord stands between two disciples bless-
ing 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 kneel-
ing 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

, . r „ „ . Fig-. 96.— Christ Opening the

seven baskets full of frag- Byes of the BlincL

ments that remained.

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,"

328

The Catacombs of Rome.

The miracle of opening the eyes of the blind, which
was at once a fulfillment of the ancient prophecies con-
cerning the Messiah and a type of that moral illumi-
nation 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 Cal.
lixtus.

Our Lord laying his hand in
blessing on the head of a little
child, or probably teaching hu-
mility and rebuking the ambi-
tion of his disciples by setting a
child in their midst, is a fre-
quently recurring subject in this
primitive cycle. It was a lesson
which the early Christians of
Figure 97. -Our Lord Rome had often to learn : that
blessing a little Child. , ,. . , , ,

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 righteous-
ness. 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

The Biblical Cycle. 329

of the lost sheep, and a most appropriate symbol of the
Shepherd and 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.* Each of the virgins bears in her
hand the vessel of oil to replenish her lamp ; the fore-
most holds a torch or candle of wax, anciently much
used in Roman marriage processions, f 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 situlce, or holy-water vases, and in
the radiant torch of the foremost figure the tufted asper-
gillum with which the holy water is sprinkled. X

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 glo-
rious doctrine of its immortal existence and of the
resurrection of the body. Amid the gloom of the Cat-
acombs, 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.

* Prudentes quinque virgines olei vasa cum lampadibus deferentes.
— Roma Sotteranea, torn, iii, p. 171.
f Plutarch, Qucest. Rom, % Rock's Hiemrgia, p. 463.

330

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig. 98.— Laz-
arus.

These representations are of every de-
gree of artistic merit, from the rudely
scratched and scarcely intelligible out-
line, to the elaborately sculptured bas
relief on the costly sarcophagus. Of the
former the annexed is perhaps the sim-
plest example to be found. It is of
date A. D. 400.

Lazarus is generally exhibited as a
mummy-like figure, " bound hand and
foot with grave-clothes," standing in a
temple-shaped tomb or cedicula, 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 ac-
companying fresco
from the Catacomb
of Sts. Peter and
Marcellinus.

The figure of
Mary, frequently
of very diminutive
size, setting all pro-
portion at defiance
Fig. 99.-The Raising of Lazarus. js 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

The Biblical Cycle.

331

was Mary Magdalene holding in her hands the " ala-
baster box of very precious
ointment," wherewith she
anointed Our Lord.

Christ's triumphant entry
into Jerusalem, the presage
and symbol of his final vic-
tory in the world and en-
trance as the King of Glory
into the New Jerusalem on
high, occurs with great fre-
quency and considerable va-
riety of treatment. Although
dissociated from this scene
in the gospel narrative, Zac-
chaeus is almost invariably Fi&- lOO.-Raising of Lazarus."
connected therewith in this primitive art, and generally

Fig. 101.— Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

* On an ivory diptych in the Educational Museum at Toronto,
Ca., the raising of Lazarus appears exactly after this primitive type.

332

The Catacombs of Rome.

appears mounted in a tree gazing at the procession.
At times the scene is reduced to its simplest elements ;
at others, as in Fig. xoi, from a sarcophagus in the Lat-
eran, it is more elaborately treated, exhibiting the mul-
titudes spreading their garments, and strewing branches
of palm before the meek conqueror.

Peter's denial of his Master is a theme that is fre-
quently repeated. The cock, whose crowing awoke the
disciple's late remorse, without which it would some-
times be impossible to discriminate the scene, is gener-
ally shown, as in the following sarcophagal example
from the Lateran Museum.

As we have already re-
marked, 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 treat-
ment. The early Chris-
tians preferred to contem-
plate Christ rather as the
victor over death and hell,
than as the victim of suffer-
" The ago-
ny, the crown of thorns,
the nails, the spear," says a distinguished critic of this
primitive art,* " 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 swal-
* Lord Lindsay, Christian Art, vol. i, p. 51.

Fig. 102.-Peter's Denial of [n„ ancj sname
Christ.

The Biblical Cycle.

333

lowe'd up in victory, and the victor 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."

The only scenes connected with the passion, besides
that of the denial, already given, are those which oc-
curred 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 testi-
mony 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 muti-

Pig. 103.— Pilate on the Judgment Seat Washing his Hands.

lated bas-relief in the Lateran Museum, this scene is
exhibited. In the original the face of the irresolute

334

The Catacombs of Rome.

governor seems to express compunction at this perver-
sion of justice to which he is yielding. In the back-
ground is seen the profile of his wife, as though utter-
ing her solemn admonition against the impending crime.
The servant with the ewer and empty basin appears in
conformity with the oriental ablutionary custom of pour-
ing water upon the hands.

In the last compartment to the right of the remark-
able 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 be-
fore Pontius Pilate. The crown
above the head of the latter, if
not a mere architectural decora-
tion, may indicate the reward
of those who confess Christ be-
fore men.

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."* The Constan-
tinian monogram in the central
compartment has been already
described. f To the left is seen
the figure of Christ crowned,
not with thorns, but, as if sym-
bolizing his crown of rejoicing
on high, with a garland of flowers. The last compart-
* Rom. Soft., p. 307. f See Book II, chap, ii, p. 269.

The Biblical Cycle. 335

ment exhibits Our Lord, or, more probably, Simon
the 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."* In one instance the Roman
soldiers are shown smiting Our Lord on the head
with a reed ; f but no nearer approach to the con-
summation of the supreme sacrifice of Calvary is ever
attempted.

Neither are the august themes of Christ's resurrec-
. . ....

tion 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 rep-
resents 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 sarcoph-
agi, namely, the apprehension of Peter, J 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

* Rom. Soft., p. 308.

f According to Romish tradition, the Divine Sufferer received five
thousand stripes during his scourging. This, as they would be in-
flicted by Roman soldiers, would be beyond human endurance, and
was far beyond what Jewish or Roman law would allow.

i Acts iv. ■}.

336 The Catacombs of Rome.

face, and by the Jewish caps, which mark the satellites of
Herod Agrippa. It is 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 no-
where 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 Shep-
herd, and indicated by the inscription — pavlvs pas-
tor apostolvs.* Indeed, this was the especial title of
St. Paul as being " in labors more abundant " than any
of the apostles. f Even on the sarcophagi St. Peter
is only once or twice exhibited as bearing the symbol-
ical 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, in-
stead of Moses, as smiting the rock, implying the opinion
that he was in some sense the representative of the lat-
ter 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 bc-

* Aringhi, Roma Sotterranea, torn, ii, p. 273.

f Hence Augustine asserts that if the name of the apostle is not
expressly mentioned, St. Faul is always understood by this title —
Apostolus cum dicetur, si non cxprimatur quis apostolus non intel-
ligitur nisi Paulas. — Contra duos Epis. Pelage lib. iii, c. 3. The
apostles were sometimes represented by twelve men, but without
any individual distinction.

The Biblical Cycle. 337

tween the two apostles so highly honoured at Rome *
by the strongly marked 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 thought-
ful 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
Galilaean 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 charac-
ter.! It is probable that these types were derived from
authentic tradition if not from actual portraits. J
Eusebius, Augustine, and others of the Fathers, claim

* O Roma felix, quae 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, prsedicator veri-
tatis in universo mundo. — Ibid.

f 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 paint-
ings generally.

\ The scoffing Lucian, who may have conversed with some who wit-
nessed the execution of St. Paul, describes him as " the bald-headed
and long-nosed Galilean, who mounted through the air into the third
heaven " — Ta?.t?.aloc, ava6a?.av~iag, kmppivo^, fc rpirov ovpavbv aepo-
fiaTTjoaq. — Philopatris. Nicephorus and the Acts of Paul and Thecla
describe him as bald — rpMg tt/v Ktbakfiv. The apocryphal Acts and
Malalas add the epithets y't.vniq and x^PtT0C ^-VPIC, sweet, and full
of grace.

338 The Catacombs of Rome.

to have seen representations of these apostles preserved
in painting ; and the reputed portraits alleged to have
been sent by Pope Sylvester to the Emperor Constan-
tine are annually exhibited at St. Peter's for the venera-
tion of the faithful.*

Nowhere in the Catacombs do we find the least sup-
port 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 as-
signed in early Christian art, as it is by the apostle him-
self, to Jesus Christ, the "chief corner-stone, elect,
precious." f

* 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 Charle-
magne, both of whom are kneeling at his feet. Beneath is the fol-
lowing 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 lcavly 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.

f We may here notice the precious Romish relic known as St. Peter's
chair. In June, 1S67, the present pontiff ordered the bronze covering
with which this object of veneration had been concealed for two hun-
dred 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
:ella gt-statoria, in which the popes arc borne in religious processions,
and covered in part with ivory plates on which arc engraved the
labours of Hercules and other scenes. This chair, which is commem-
orated in one of the festivals of the church, Romish tradition asserts

The Biblical Cycle.

339

Fig1. 105.— Painted Chamber in the Catacomb of St. Agnes.*

These biblical pictures, we may here remark, are not
grouped indiscriminately, but are often arranged in a
regular order having reference to their doctrinal signifi-
cation. The walls and ceilings of the cubicula are fre-
quently divided into compartments of geometrical design,

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 ven-
erated in the early centuries. Those who regard the fact of Peter's
presence in Rome as exceedingly hypothetical, and who altogether re-
ject the notion of his episcopal authority, will regard any iefutation
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.)

* It will be observed that in this chamber the Good Shepherd

340 The Catacombs of Rome.

as shown in the preceding engraving of a chamber 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 con-
ceives, to the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist,
De Rossi designates as liturgical paintings certain pic-
tures in the Catacomb of Callixtus.* 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.
I The sarcophagi are almost exclusively occupied with
jscenes 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 com-
partments, divided by columns of more or less orna-
mental 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 foot-
note 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

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 arc
and lambs.

* Rom. Sott., p. 268.

The Biblical Cycle. 341

Museum by Mr. Burgon, and as shown in forty-eight
examples copied by Bosio.*

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 Chris-
tians permitted the adoption of this costly entombment.
The sarcophagi were no longer hidden in the subter-
ranean crypts, but were exposed to view in the vestibules
of the stately basilicas erected above ground. \

Hence, Chrysostom speaks of Constantine being
buried in the fisherman's porch, J and of emperors oc-
cupying the place of porters at the graves of the
apostles. Numerous sarcophagi, however, have been

* Burgon. Bosio. i Burgon. Bosio.

History of Jonas 23 11 | Fall of Adam and Eve 14 10

The Smitten Eock 21 16 I Woman with Issue of Blood.. 8 9

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

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 Catho-
lic 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.

f In ecclesia nullatenus sepeliantur, sed in atrio, aut porticu, aut in
exedris ecclesise. — Council of Nantes, can. 6.

\ Chrys., Horn. 26, in 2 Cor.

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem 6 S

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

342 The Catacombs of Rome.

found in the Catacombs, some even reputed to be of
the first century. These were generally of simpler de-
sign, and adorned only with the series of doubly curving
lines known as wave ornaments. They were frequently
buried in the floor of the cubicula*

The reader, in examining the foregoing representa-
tions of the person of Our Lord,f 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 correspond-
ing change of religious feeling, from the genial cheer-
fulness 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 man-
ner, and not in an historical sense; or, to use the lan-
guage of Lord Lindsay, " as an abstraction, as the'
genius, so to speak, of Christianity."! 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 at-
tempted, 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

* Numerous Christian sarcophagi have also been found at Aries,
Saragossa, Ravenna, Milan, and elsewhere.

The name sarcophagus, JL 'sh-eating, from cap!; and (pdyu, it is well
known, was derived fro.m the supposed quality of the Lapis Asiius,
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.

fScc especially Figs. 47, 4S, 63, 91, 92, 96, 97, and postea
106.

\ Christian Art, vol. i, p. 42.

The Biblical Cycle. 343

of the early Fathers as to the personal appearance of
Our Lord. This opinion was founded upon an erro-
neous interpretation of certain passages of Scripture,
expressive of Christ's voluntary humiliation and abase-
ment. Thus Justin Martyr speaks of his appearance
as ignoble and uncomely.* Tertullian, with his usual
vehemence, asserts Christ to have been devoid, not
only of divine majesty, but even of human beauty, \ to
have lacked grace and dignity beyond all men. J " But
however mean his aspect, however vulgar and dishon-
oured," he exclaims, " he shall be still my Christ whom I
adore." § 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.||

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 counte-
nance and look, or the apostles would not immediately
have followed him ;** and that the effulgence and majesty

*T6v ae l6t) not arifiov (pavevra. — Dial, cum Tryph., 85.

f Adeo nee humanae honestatis corpus fuit, nedum ccelestis clar-
itatis. — De Cam. Chrisii., c. 9.

\ Sed species ejus inhonorata, deficiens ultra omnes homines. —
Contra Marc, iii, 17.

§ Si inglorius, si ignobilis, si inhonorabilis ; meus erit Christus. —
Ibid.

|| 'A?i?iu to e'iSoc avrov ari.fj.ov ekXlttov napa. ;rdvrac Tovg vloii( tl>v
avdpuiruv. — De Nudatione Noe., lib. ii, vol. i, p. 13.

**Nisi enim habuisset et in vultu quiddam et in oculis sidereum,
nunquam eum statim secuti fuissent apostoli. — Epis. ad Princip.
Virginem.

344 The Catacombs of Rome.

of the divinity within, tvhich shone forth even in the
human countenance, could not but attract at first sight all
beholders. * Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa in the
East adopted this nobler conception, as also did Am-
brose 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, f
There was therefore, as M. Rochette remarks, \ and
as Dr. Northcote admits, § no authentic portrait of
Christ recognized by the early church ; nor was any
strictly uniform type adopted. Eusebius, indeed, men-
tions reputed portraits of Our Lord associated with those
of St. Peter and St. Paul ; || but they were apparently
objects of mere local superstition, as was also the
alleged statue of Christ at Caesarea Philippi, in which
he was supposed to be represented as healing the
woman with the issue of blood.* * The earliest acknowl-

* Certe fulgor ipsa et majestas divinitatis occulta, quae etiam in
humana facie velucebat, ex primo ad se venientes trahere poterat as-
pectu. — Hieronym. in Matth., ix, 9.

f Qua fuerit ille facie nospenitus ignoramus : nam et ipsius Domin-
ica? facies carnis innumerabilium cogitationum diversitate variatur
et fingitur, quae tamen una erat, quaacunque erat. — De Trin., lib.
vii, c 4, 5.

\ Tableau des Catacombes, p. 164. §Rom. Sott., p. 252.

\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 Ccnscns, Evang., lib. i,cx.

**This statue, it has been suggested, probably represented the phi-
losopher Apollonius or the Emperor Vespasian, and the suppliant
female figure a personified city or province. Gibbon thinks it iin-

The Biblical Cycle. 345

edged images of Christ were attributed to the Gnostic
heretics, and were honoured with those of Homer, Py-
thagoras, Orpheus, and other heroes and sages by the
eclectic philosophers of Rome.*

The silence of early tradition, as well as of Scripture,
concerning the outward form of the Saviour of man-
kind, seems providentially designed to turn the mind
from a sensuous regard for his person to a spiritual ap-
prehension 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 youth-
ful 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 ex-
pression is of wonderful sweetness and gravity. No
one ever saw him laugh, though he has been often seen
to weep." f

possible that it could be intended for the poor woman mentioned in
the gospel. Eusebius mentions the belief as a mere popular tradi-
tion. " They say that this statue bears the likeness of Jesus" —
Tovtov 6e tov uvdpidvTa emova rov'Xrjaov (pepetv eXeyov. — Hist. Eccl.,
viii, 18.

* Iren., adv. Hczres., i, 25. Aug., De Hczrisib., 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. — M\. Lamprid. in
Vit.Alex. Sev., c. 29.

f Conspectus vultus ejus cum severitate et plenus efficacia, ut specta-
tors amare eum possint et rursus timere. ... In reprehendendo et
objurgando formidabilis ; in docendo et exhortando blandse linguae et
amabilis. Gratia miranda vultus cum gravitate. Vel semel eum
ridentem nemo vidit sed flentem imo. — Fabricius, Codex. Apoc.
Nov, Teste., ie., pars. 301,

346 The Catacombs of Rome.

The oldest extant picture of the head of Christ
treated separately is 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 dif-

Pere Mabillon tells us that one of Christ's tears has been preserved
and peculiarly honoured at Vendome.

John Damascenus, in the eighth centuiy, 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 Caesar 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 fol-
lowing, from a MS. in St. George's Library, Windsor, is a favourable
specimen of the latter :

Salve, Sancta factes

Mei Redemptoris,

In qua nitet species

Divini splendoris.

Impressa panniculo

Nivei candoris,

Dataque Veronicas,

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
Achciropoietes, 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.

The Biblical Cycle.

347

ferent type from the figure of Our Lord in composition
in the frescoes and 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 Abbe Brivati, inspired
the genius of Da Vinci, Raphael, and Caracci.
In the Catacomb of

^m^m.

Sts. Nereusand Achil-
les the head and bust
of Christ form a me-
dallion in the centre
of a vaulted ceiling.
The face is of a noble
and dignified expres-
sion, mingled with be-
nevolence ; but it is
older in aspect, and
probably of consider-
ably later date, than
that here given.
K u g 1 e r , however, Fig. 106.-The Oldest Extant Picture
claims for it priority of °ur LorcL

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 pro-
fessed portraits of Christ, but only allegorical represen-
tations of the Good Shepherd, or a youthful figure re-

348 The Catacombs of Rome.

garded as the abstractions or genius of 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." *

On a terra cotta medallion, found not in the Cata-
combs 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 cor-
ruption 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 pow-
erful 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

*Clcm. Alex., Strom., v.

The Biblical Cycle. 349

accomplished critic, Mr. Hemans, is a large mosaic com-
position 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 evi-
dence of deterioration in the religious ideal, even more
than of decline in the technical treatment peculiar to
the age."* 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 mo-
nastic 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

* 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
Rena;ssance. The winged genii in the Catacombs are rather an imi-
tation 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 thefourhistoric
aspects of redemption through Christ — the Incarnation, Passion, Res-
urrection, and Ascension, as explained in the following monkish
Thyme :

Quatuor haec Dominum signant animalia Christum:
Est homo nascendo, Vitulusque sacer moriendo,
Et Leo surgendo, ccelos Aquilaque petendo.

350 The Catacombs of Rome.

equalled by the meanness of conception of 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 thou-
sand 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 irse, dies ilia,
Solvet sseclum 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 tremendae majestatis," a dread Avenger
striking the imagination with awe, and awakening alarm
and remorse in the soul. All the stern denunci-
ations 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
burnetii up his enemies roundabout." * The great white
throne is set, and from beneath it a flame bursts forth
devouring the guilty objects of his wrath. Like an

* Fsa. xcvii, 3.

The Biblical Cycle. 35 1

angry Jove,* he hurls the thunderbolts of his fury and
blasts with 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 judg-
ment 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 Mediaeval art
with his staff and scrip, his " scallop hat arfd shoon,"
setting out upon his weary, mortal pilgrimage ; re-
turning to heaven as a toil-worn man leaning heavily
upon his staff, f 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

* 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.

[n Mediaeval art Christ is frequently modeled after the pagan yupiter
Tonans.

\ In some quaint French verses accompanying one of these pictures
Our Lord, in giving an account of his journey, in characteristic ac-
cord with the erroneous theology of the times, is made to intimate
that he would fain have avoided the unwelcome task :

" Pere," dist Jhesus, " retourne
Suis a toy, et ai consumme
Ce que faire me commandas
Quant jusou monde m'envoyas,
Dont bien je m' en feusse passe."

— Romant des Trois Pelerinages, A. D. 1358.

352 The Catacombs of Rome.

majesty on his white horse, accompanied by the 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, ar-
rayed 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
jabsence in the former of those gross anthropomorphic
(images of the persons of the Holy Trinity, either to-
gether or separately — except Our Lord under his prop-
er 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 for-
bade 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 Mediaeval art. Origen, Am-
brose, and Augustine unite in prohibiting the represen-
tation 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,* or to conceive it possible that the Divine Being
may be circumscribed by the limits of the human frame. \
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

* Tale simulacrum nefas est Christiano in templo collocate,
multo magis is corde nefarium est. — De Fide et Symbolo, c. 7.

f Nefas liabent docti ejus (ecclesise Catholicas) credere Deum
figurti humani corporis tcrminatum. — Confess., vi, II. See also Orig.
Cont. Cels., 6, and Ainbr. in Fsa. cxviii.

The Biblical Cycle. 353

dove, but for the Father nothing but a voice from
heaven.* Gregory II., the 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. f Such figures were also condemned by the
second Council of Nice. \ 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, invisi-
ble, without material or form, incomprehensible, not to be
circumscribed, nor to be figured by the art of man.§
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 ; || and the learned and judicious Bingham de-
clares 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."**

Some recent Roman Catholic writers, however, assert

* 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.

f Greg. II. , Ep. I, ad Leon. % Act 4. Concil. Nicen., 2.

§ Hapa(j>poavvTjr ilnpag teal aae^tlaq to oxr)liai'i&lv T0 6eiov. k. t. \.
— De Fide Orthodox, liv. c. 17.

Dei qui est incorporeus, invisibilis, a materia remotissimus, figura
expers, incircumscriptus, et incomprehensibilis, imago nulla fieri
potest. ... In errore quidem versaremur . . . impie rursum ager-
emus. ... si vel invisibilis Dei conficeremus imaginem. — Oral. 1 et
2 de Imaginibus.

\ Les defenseurs les plus zeles des images ayant condamne celles-ci ■
i. e., de la Trinite ou de la Divinite. — Dupin : Bibli. Eccles., t. vi, p. 154.
** Orig. Eccles., bk. vi, chap, viii, § 10.
23

354 The Catacombs of Rome.

the contrary of this to be the case, and refer for proof
of the assertion to one or 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 archaeologist, 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."* But he
asserts that a sculptured example occurs on a sarcopha-
gus of the fifth century, from the Ostian basilica of St.
Paul's, now in the Lateran Museum. The group re-
ferred 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, "f 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. "J 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

* Northcote's Catacombs, p. 116.

f Rom. Sott.,p. 300. J Ibid., 301.

The Biblical Cycle. 355

adult figures in the same manner as Dr. Northcote, but
describes the one seated as the Son, the one behind
him as the Father, and the third as the Holy Ghost.*

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 Chris-
tendom, 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 rep-
resentative of the Deity giving the wheat-sheaf to
Adam and the lamb to Eve. Yet we are asked to be-
lieve that in the very next group he is shown, in defi-
ance 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

* Dissertazioni Archeologiche di Raffaelle Garrucci, (Roma, 4to.,
1865,) vol. ii, p. 1.

356

The Catacombs of Rome,

most diminutive size, and not nearly as large as the in-
fant Christ in his mother's arms in the scene of the
adoration of the Magi immediately below ; * 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.

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 heav-
en to Abraham and to Moses
he is only symbolically in-
dicated by a hand stretched
out to stay the knife of the
patriarch, or surrounded by
clouds, as if to show more
strongly its figurative char-
acter, giving the tables of
the law to the leader of Is-
rael. The annexed suggest-
ive example of this treat-
Fig. I07.-God Symbolized by ment of wfcich many others
a Hand appearing to Abra- , '

ham. might be adduced, is from a

sarcophagus in the Lateran. See also Fig. 71, p. 290.

* 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.

The Biblical Cycle. 357

Throughout the whole range of sacred mosaics at
Rome from the fourth to the fourteenth century, accord-
ing to Mr. Hemans, the Supreme Being is never repre-
sented 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 sur-
rounded 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 transfigura-
tion, of the agony in the garden, the passion, and
ascension.*

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 har-
diesse — to depict the Eternal Father under human form.f
M. Didron asserts that it was not till the twelfth cen-
tury that the Divine Being was personally represented, J
being previously invariably indicated by the symbol of
a hand, or by the divine name written in a triangle sur-
rounded by a circle. Previous at least to the earlier of
these dates, the work of creation and other acts popu-
larly regarded as proper to the Father are always repre-
sented as performed by the Son, "who is the image of

* 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 repre-
sented by five infant figures held in a gigantic hand projecting from
the clouds.

\ 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. S50. The interpretation, however, is not certain.

\ Jcottog., Ckrit, pp. 55. 205.

35 8 The Catacombs of Rome.

the invisible God," "by whom also he made the
worlds."* 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 fre-
quently represented also in the gigantic frescoes of the
Byzantine cupolas clothed with awful majesty and bear-
ing the title 0 IIANTOKPATflP, 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. f
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 vari-
ous 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; J and
finally, as Pope, wearing the pontifical tiara and vest-
ments. 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

* 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 AAAM O I7P£2-
TOllAACTOC — " Adam, the first-born," or rather " the first-formed."

f 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.

\ In France the Supreme Beingwas generally represented as King
in Germany as Emperor, and in Italy as Pope.

The Biblical Cycle.

359

a quintuple tiara and robed in alb and tunic, supports a
cross on which hangs the lifeless body of the Divine
Son.

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.* The treat-
* As in an example at the Madeleine at Paris.

360 The Catacombs of Rome.

ment becomes more and more rude, even to the borders
of the grotesque,* 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 cor-
ruption of doctrine.'

But this grossness of treatment reaches its most of-
fensive 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 mythol-
ogy.! In other examples the Trinity is represented by
three harsh stiff and aged figures, % identified by the at-
tributes 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 have seen a picture of the creation in which the Almighty
was i-epresented as a feeble old man dressed in ecclesiastical r-obes,
with a lantern in his hand.

\ 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.

% See on the carved stalls of the Amiens Cathedral, and at Vier-
ridres in the Department de 1'Aube, both of the sixteenth century.

The Biblical Cycle. 361

we may mark the infinite divergence in faith and prac-
tice 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.

362 The Catacombs of Rome.

CHAPTER IV.

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 an-
tiquity, 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 orna-
ment. 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 archaeolo-
gist, Padre Garrucci, has recently exhaustively treated
these remains of ancient art in his elaborate mono-
graph on this subject.* They are also profusely illus-
trated in the magnificent pages of Ferret. f

These glasses are generally mutilated fragments, ap-

* Vetri ornati di figure in oro trovati nei citniteri dei Cristiani
primitivi di Roma raccolti e spiegali da Raffaele Garrucci. — Roma,
1S58.

\ Osservazioni sopra alcuni f ram mend di vast an fie hi di vttro
ornati di figure trovati nei citniteri di Roma, — Firenze,l7l6.

Various Objects Found Therein. 363

parently the 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 back-
ground. 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 frac-
tured. 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 impres-
sions 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 vari-
ous 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 prob-
ably 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

364 The Catacombs of Rome.

the ingenious avarice of the Jewish " dealers in broken
glass," notorious even in the days of Martial,* 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 frag-
ment of a glass plate, with a number of small gilt me-
dallions 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, Daedalus,
Minerva, Mercury, the Three Graces, Cupid and
Pysche, and other groups still less congruous with
Christian thought. Other scenes represent various in-
dustries, 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, fre-
quently accompanied by their children, groups of chil-
dren playing, or sometimes a lady in rich costume, with

* Transtyberinus ambulator,
Qui pallentia sulphurata fractis
Permutat vitreis. — Ep*g-t i. A2-

Various Objects Found Therein. 365

cupids holding her mirror and other toilet adjuncts.
Frequently occurs what seems to be a marriage scene,
with the bride and bridegroom joining hands over an
altar, above which Christ is often depicted as plac-
ing 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 dis-
tinctively 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. Per-
ret 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 posi-
tion 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,

366

The Catacombs of Rome.

without the slightest indication of the superiority of
one over 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, theii
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 repre-
sented, who are discriminated by labels bearing their
names, as Lawrence, Vincent, Sixtus, Callixtus, Hip-
polytus, etc. There are also five or six specimens ex-
hibiting 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 va-
ses with pious
symbols, were
forced to avail
themselves of in-
expert workmen,
or even those
who pursued
other trades."*
The accompa-
nying is a char-
acteristic exam-
ple, from this
author, of the

* Sicche volendo i fedeli adornar con simboli devoti i loro vasi,
erano forzati per lo piu a valersi di artefici inesperti, e che professa-
vano altre mestieri. — De Vetri Cemeteriali,

Figr. 109.— Domestic Group in Gilt Glass.

Various Objects Found Therein. 367

domestic class. It exhibits a husband, wife, and child,
with the motto in Latin characters, pie zeses — " Drink
and live." Between the faces is an object like an an-
cient lachrymatory.

It is probable that these vessels were designed not
for sacramental solemnities, but for occasions of domes-
tic and social rejoicing, as nuptial, baptismal, and anni-
versary 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 conform-
ity 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 pota-
tions 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."*

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 trans-
lated the following examples in this sense : \ dignitas

AMICORVM PIE ZESES CVM TVIS OMNIBVS BIBE ET PRO-

pina — " A mark of friendship ; drink, and (long) life to
thee, with all thine; drink, and propose a toast; " cvm

* Rom. SoU., p. 283. f Ibid.

368 The Catacombs of Rome.

tvis feliciter zeses — " Mayest thou live happily with
thine own ; " or, more freely, " Life and happiness to
thee and thine; " HIE ZE2E2 EN ArA60I2— " Drink
and live among the good."

Sometimes these inscriptions breathe a spirit of pious
congratulation and good-will, as the following from Per-
ret : hilaris vivas cvm tvis omnibvs feliciter sem-
per 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 fes-
tivals " a small cup of wine diluted according to her
own abstemious habits, which for courtesy she would
taste." *

Although it is impossible that all these vessels were
designed for sacramental purposes, yet it is not improb-
able 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 sim-
ilarity of material and ornamentation.! The Liber
J^ontificalis 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. J

* " Unde dignationem sumeret." — Con/., vi, 2. Compare with the
expression dignitas in the previous inscription.

f Pastor quern in calice depingis. — De Pudicit., c. 7. Ips?e picturae
calicum vestrorum, si vel in i 11 is perlucebit interpretatio, . . . et ego
ejus pastoris scripturam haurio qui noti potest frangi. — Ibid., 10.

% Glass chalices are common, indeed it is said universal, at the
present day in the Coptic churches of Egypt. The S<j>i Giral, or re-
puted vessel of the institution of the Lord's Supper, preserved in the
Cathedral of Genoa, is, curiously enough, of glass, of a hexagonal form.

Various Objects Found Therein. 369

It is difficult to determine even the proximate date
of these glasses. 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.*
Other peculiarities of execution are characteristic of
Byzantine art, and a writer in the Revue Chr'atienne
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 indi-
cated is also an evidence of late origin.

Numerous small cups or flasks, known as ampullcc, have
been found affixed to the walls or imbedded in the
plaster of the tombs, frequently containing in the bot-
tom 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 eccle-
siastical authorities received this theory with enthusi-
asm, 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 mar-
tyrdom." Eminent Romanist writers have unflinch-
ingly 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 ; f — another example of the fatal mistake of Rome

* P. 16, first foot note. Both Christ and Mary have the nimbus.
The legend Christus et Istafamis on one example, indicating a tran-
sition into modern Italian, implies a late date.

f Rock's Hierurgia, p. 269.

370 The Catacombs of Rome.

in fortifying truth with the bulwark of falsehood, and
thus shaking our confidence even in that which is real.
The Acts of the Martyrs, indeed, mention the collect-
ing 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 ; * 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. f Moreover, as Mr. Seymour re-
marks, some of these alleged martyr blood-cups are of
a form and exhibit designs unknown till long after the
age of persecution. % In the example on the following
page, given by Aringhi, the inscription is unwarrantably
translated by Romanist epigraphists, " the blood of Sat-
urnius;" 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 Rostell, with whom

* See the epitaphs of Lannus and Gordianus, p. 98.

\ Muratori gives the epitaph of a girl of the age of two years and
twenty days, on whose tombstone this cup was found, and feeling the
absurdity of this theory, but unwilling to controvert the decree of the
Congregation of Relics, he adds ironically, " In these sacred cemete-
ries you especially wonder at two things, namely, that when so many
glass or figured vases occur no mention is made in the inscriptions
of martyrdom ; and especially that infants suffered death on account
of faith in Christ " — In sacris iis ccemeteriis duo potissimum mireris,
Ncmpe quum tot Vasa vitrea aut figulina occurrant, nullam tamen
in ipsis inscriptionibus mortis pro Christo tolerate mentionem haberi,
et praeterea Infantes ob Fidem Christi morti datos fuisse. — Nov,
Tkesaur., Vet. Inscrip., p. 1958, No. 8.

\ Mornings with the Jesuits, p. 222.

Various Objects Found Therein. 371

Fig. 110. Reputed Martyr Relic from the Catacombs.

Rochette agrees, that these cups were sacramental ves-
sels, and that 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 affix-
ing 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 sacra-
ment to the dead, and the burying it in their graves.*

* The Third Council of Carthage in the year 397 forbade this
•practice, because Christ said, "Take and eat," whereas a dead body
can neither take nor eat — Placuit ut corporibus defunctorum eucha-
ristia non detur. Dictum est enim a Domino Accipite et edite : ca-
davera autem nee accipere possunt, nee edere. — Cone. Cath., 3, can.
6. Chrysostom also denounces the practice because the words were
spoken to the living and not to the dead. — Horn., 40, in I Cor. Greg-
ory the Great speaks of the burial of the Eucharist with the dead,
" Jussit communionem Dominici corporis in pectus defuncti reponi
atque sic tumulari." — Greg. Dial., lib. ii, c. 24. Maitland thinks that
these cups were probably depositories for aromatic gums much used
in the interment of the dead.

37- The Catacombs of Rome.

The occurrence of the palm branch engraved or
painted on the tomb was also, as we have seen, de-
clared 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, more-
over, 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.* Other
criteria of martyrdom were also adopted, as the occur-
rence of the laurel and the olive crown, and the appear-
ance 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 fre-
quently occur on the sarcophagi after the age of perse-
cution had passed.

It is remarkable that so few allusions to martyrdom
occur in the Catacombs. In the whole range of the in-
scriptions, 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. Priscillawas 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 mediaeval 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

* " Ergo palma indicium minime Martyri fuit." — The inscription,
which bears two palms, reads thus — LEOPARDVS SE BIBV FECIT.

Various Objects Found Therein. 373

saints by some pious pilgrim of the Middle Ages. In
the Catacomb of Callixtus is a painting of two Chris-
tians standing before the tribunal of a Roman magistrate.
This is probably of the early centuries, but how differ-
ent 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 persecu-
tion, 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 suffer-
ings, nor was any needed, for their intrepid spirit ani-
mated the whole Christian community. D'Agincourt
says he found in thirty years' exploration only one pic-
ture, and that of late and barbarian design, portraying
martyrdom.* Those who themselves stood in jeopardy
every hour did not magnify the merit of the faithful
confession of Christ, whom they considered alone de-
serving 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. f

In the following rude representation, from a slab in
the Lapidarian Gallery, Romish imagination has dis-
covered the outline of a furnace, or of a caldron of

* II n'a rencontre lui meme clans ces souterrains aucun trace de nul
autre tableau representant une martyre. — Hist, de PArt.

f A fresco of the martyrdom of Felicitas and her seven sons, in an
ancient chapel within the Baths of Titus, is not later, according to M.
Rochette, {Mem., de I'Acad. des Inscr., torn, xiii, p. 165,) than the
seventh century.

374 The Catacombs of Rome.

boiling oil in which Victorina was immersed. A com-
parison 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.

BlCTORI /^\NAlN

pace f~\trmt

" Victorina in peace and in Christ."
Fig. 1 1 1— 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.* 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. North-
cote admits that they are often " of doubtful authentic-
ity," 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. "f 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." J Among the most formidable of these
alleged instruments of martyrdom, as well as the most
probably genuine, are the terrible plumbattz and ungulee.
The former were scourges of small chains loaded with

* Aringhi has given an entire chapter on this subject, entitled.
" Martyriorum instrumenta una cum martyrum corporibus tumulo re—
ponuntur." — Rom Sott., i, 29.

f Catacombs of Rome, pp. Ill, 112. % Ibid., p. 187.

Various Objects Found Therein. 375

bronze or lead, with which, it is recorded, the martyrs
were often beaten to death.* 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 plumbatce. In one exceptional
instance given by Bosio,f an orante is represented with
this dreadful instrument of torture lying beside her.
The ungulcB, as the name implies, are iron claws or
hooks, described in the Acts of the Martyrs as em-
ployed 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 unguis; 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 en-
graved 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

* " Flagellum quoddam ad corpus excruciandum," is the phrase
of Aringhi.

f Rom. Soil., p. 387.

376 The Catacombs of Rome.

sufferings of the martyrs. Although it is possible that
some of these relics of 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 ex-
treme rarity of their authentic occurrence.

Vast numbers of lamps have been found in the Cata-
combs, and specimens abound in almost every antiqua-
rian museum. They must have been absolutely neces-
sary 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 cham-
bers or corridors. Those in terra cotta had frequently
handles by which they could be carried ; most, how-
ever, were without either, and were placed in niches in
the tufa near the stairways, at the entrances of the prin-
cipal 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

Various Objects Found Therein.

377

emblem of vigilance, a monition that he should watch
and be sober. They frequently bear inscriptions refer-
ring 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 senti-
ment peculiarly appropriate to those gloomy cham-
bers of death, which
were nevertheless il-
lumined by the glori-
ous hope of a blissful
immortality.

The accompanying
example of a symbol-
ical lamp in the form
of a boat, furnished
with chains and ring
for suspension, is a
characteristic type.*
The figures in the
little bark are inter-
preted by R o m a n
archaeologists as Pe-
ter and Paul — the
pilot of the Galilean
lake as the chief of Fig. 112— Early Christian Symbol-
the apostles holding ical Lamp'

* Ferret, torn, iv, planche 2. The ship was a favourite type of
the church during the Middle Ages. In the church of St. Etienne-
du-Mont, at Paris, is a representation of a vessel crowded with pas-
sengers, among whom the portrait of Francis I. has been recognized.
In an ancient Merovingian MS. missal the same idea is repeated,
only the Holy Spirit is substituted as pilot — Bene gubernatus est
Spiritus Sanctus.

378

The Catacombs of Rome.

the rudder and guiding the fortunes of 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.

Fig. 1 13.— 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 representa-
tion of the seven-branched candlestick. This also
occurs in Christian symbolism, and probably is emblem-
atic, 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

Various Objects Found Therein. 379

accompaniment of burning tapers even amid the blaze
of day. It was also a heathen custom, in the adoption
of which, as in so many other things, the Catholic be-
came the pagan's heir.* Jerome mentions its observ-
ance in his day at the funeral of the famous Lady
Paula. f 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. J 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, § which Vigilantius vehemently denounced as
an imitation of the pagan superstition of lighting lamps
at the graves of the dead.|| "We almost see," he says,

* La Corinne.

\ Translata episcoporum manibus, cum alii pontifices lampadas
cereosque prseferrent. — Hieron., Ep. 27, ad Eustach., in Epitaph.
Paula.

\ Sometimes a single candelabrum bears three hundred and sixty-
five lights, emblematic of the days of the year. More impressive is
a solitary lamp ever burning at some lowly shrine, the type of the
flame of love burning in perpetual adoration on the altar of the heart.
§ Canon., 34.

I The following inscription from Gruter indicates this practice :

QVISQVE • HVIC • TVMVLO

TOSVIT • ARDENTEM • LVCERXAM

ILLIVS • CINERES • AVREA • TERRA • TEGAT.

" Who ever places a burning lamp before this tomb, may a golden
soil cover his ashes."

Lactantius accuses the pagans of burning lights to God as to one
living in darkness, (Institut. Divin., lib. vi, cap. 2.) and the Theo-
dosian Code forbids the custom.

380 The Catacombs of Rome.

" the ceremonial of 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 illu-
mine those whom the Lamb in the midst of the throne
shines upon with the splendour of his glory."* 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,f 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 amphora? 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. Pe-
ter 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,

* Prope ritum gentilium videmus sub prretcxtu rcligionis intro-
ductum in ecclesias, sole adhuc fulgente moles cereorum accendi,
■etc. — Adv. Vigil., ii.

f From ufiipi and 6ipu — on account of the handles on each side of
the neck. They were also called diota, or two-eared, from 6iutti.

Various Objects Found Therein.

381

probably emblematic of the milk and honey given at
baptism, to signify the sincere milk of the word and
the sweets of salvation imparted to new-born babes of
Christ*

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

* Lac significat innocentiam parvulorum. — Hieron., in Esai. lv, 1.
Deinde egressos lactis et mellis prcegustare concordiam ad infantice
significationem. — Ibid., Contr. Lucif., c. 4. See also Tertul., de
Cotvu. Mil., c. 3 ; Clem. Alex., Padagog,, lib. i, c. 6.

\82

The Catacombs of Rome.

Romish ritual. They were more probably 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 consecra-
tion 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."* They have also been regarded as
baptismal vases.

Generally this primitive pottery, ex-,
cept the fictile lamps, bears no distinc-
tive Christian symbol ; yet sometimes it
does, as the accompanying amphora,
the bottom of which has been broken
off. Around the vessel runs the inscrip-
tion, 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.

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, f or sacred
anointing oil. They were more proba-
bly 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

* Nam utique et altare portarent et vasa ejus, et aquam in manus
funderent sarccrdoti, sicut videmus per omnes ecclesias. — Aug., Qu<rst.
Vet. et Nov. Test., qu. 101. See also Cyril, Cateck. Jtfyst., 5, n. t.

f " Renfermcr le Saint-chreme." Tom. i, p. 266.

Fig. 115.— An
Anaphora.

Various Objects Found Therein.

333

medallion is a bust of St. Paul, and on the reverse that
of St. Peter. On the other vessel, besides the busts of
these saints, is that of Our Lord wearing a nimbus, to-
gether 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.

Fig. 116— Metal and Earthen Vessels from the Catacombs.

Among the most interesting objects found in the Cat-
acombs are the rings and seals of the early Christians,
which are frequently combined in one. Tertullian speaks
of the annulus protiubus, 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 ; * and St.

* Cum aurum nulla norat praeter unico digito, quern sponsus op-
pignerasset annulo pronubo. — Apol., c. 6.

384 The Catacombs of Rome.

Agnes declares her betrothal to Christ by the ring of
his faith.* A signet ring was also considered an essen-
tial 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 con-
cerns, she may seal up those household treasures which
might otherwise be insecure. f 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, J " 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 drink-
ing cups."

Signet rings, being ancient symbols of authority, §
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. ||

The ring shown in Fig. 117 bears the sacred mono-
gram 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 ap-

* Et annulo fidei suae subarravit mc. — In Ambr. Ep. 31.
f Clem. Alex., Pedagogy iii, 2. \ Ibl.l.

§ See the example of Pharaoh, Gen. xli, 42 ; and Ahasuerus, Esther
iii, 10, and viii, 2.

|| Pitra, Spicil. Solesm., torn, iii, tab. iii, n. 4.

Various Objects Found Therein.

;85

proaching the vessel and supporting Peter by the hand,
doubtless in allusion to the 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 vavg ovpavodpa-
fiovaa — " the ship in full sail for heaven."

Fig1. 1 17— A Ring from the Cat-
acombs.

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 EATI1C. These are almost the
sole indications of the existence of any Christian ele-
ment in that gay, luxurious city. Other Pompeian rings
bear light Epicurean mottoes, as: EYTYX1 IIANOIKI ©
<J>EPQN — " Good luck to thee, O wearer, and to all
thine ; " AErOYCIIN A 0EAOYCIN AErETQCAN OY MEAIMOI
— " They say what they will ; let them say, I care
not." Another has an engraving of a finger holding
an ear, with the word, MN'HMONEYE — ''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."

386

The Catacombs of Rome.

More frequently than the seal itself occurs its im-
pression in the 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 en-
graving are represented impressions of two of these
seals. In the first is the confession of faith in the divin-
ity of Our Lord by some orthodox Christian, probably
in the time of the Arian heresy. In the second a de-
vout believer declares his hope in Christ.

CHRISTVS EST DEVS. SPES IN EO.

Christ is God. Hope in Him, i. <?., in Christ.

Pig. 1 19.— 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.

Affecting memorials of domestic affection are found
in the toys and trinkets of little children enclosed in
their graves or affixed to the plaster without. The dolls
in the following engraving strikingly resemble those with
which children amuse themselves to-day. They are
made of ivory, and some are furnished with wires, by

Various Objects Found Therein.

387

Fig. 120.— Children's Toys found in the
Catacombs.

which the joints can be worked after the manner of the
modern marionettes. The object in the upper left hand
corner is a terra
cotta vase with a
narrow slit for
receiving money,
like the common
children's sav-
ings banks. Be-
neath it is an
ivory ring. The
other objects are
small bronze
bells, forming
part of a child's
rattle. In the
•Catacomb of St. Sebastian was also found a small
terra cotta horse of rude design, dappled with coloured
spots.

The human affections are the same in every age.
These simple objects speak more directly to the heart
than " storied urn or animated bust." As we gaze upon
these childish toys in the Vatican Museum the centuries
vanish, and busy fancy pictures the weeping Roman
mother placing these cherished relics of her dead babe
in its waxen hands or by its side, as it is laid from her
loving arms in the cold embrace of the rocky grave, and
then, with tear-dimmed eyes, taking a last, long, linger-
ing farewell of the loved form about to be closed from
her sight forever.

Numerous toilet articles have also been found in the
Catacombs, generally in the graves of the dead or cement-
ed by the plaster to the tombs. Many of these have been
plundered and lost; but still a very interesting collec-

388 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion exists in the Vatican Library. AniGng its contents
are long silver or ivory bodkins for the hair, combs of
box or ivory, scent-bottles and boxes of perfume,
broaches, earrings, bracelets, sometimes with keys to
unlock the clasps, and other ornaments in bronze, sil-
ver, or gold.* The simpler manners of the Christian
women, as compared with those of pagan faith around
them, is indicated by the conspicuous absence of the
rouge pots and jars of cosmetics, and many other arti-
cles of luxury, which formed so important a part of the
toilet requisites of Rome's proud dames, and which are
so frequently found in the ruins of Pompeii. The
Christian ornaments, moreover, even after the departure
from the primitive simplicity of manners, were of a very
different character from those of the corrupt civilization
of paganism. Instead of the abominable representa-
tions of heathen art, suggesting every evil thought and
stimulating every vile passion, of which so many exam-
ples occur in the Museum of Naples, only chaste and
modest figures are found ; and even the articles of the
toilet are frequently adorned with pious mottoes. Thus,
on a bodkin for a lady's hair, probably a love-gift to a
wife or betrothed bride, is engraved the beautiful senti-
ment, romvla semper vivas in deo — " Romula, may you
ever live in God." Such a religious art seems an antici-
pation of the day when " Holiness to the Lord " shall
be written upon the bells of the horses.

Small caskets of gold or other metal for containing a

* When the tomb of the Empress Maria, wife of Honorius, was
opened in 1544, a profusion of ornaments and trinkets were found,
from which, it is said, not less than thirty-six pounds of gold were
taken. The Empress Placidia was also interred in similar gorgeous
funeral pomp, which was, however, consumed in 1577 by the acci-
dental ignition of her gold-embroidered robes.

Various Objects Found Therein. 389

portion of the gospels, generally part of the first chap-
ter of John, which were worn on the neck, have also
been found. They seem to have been introduced in
the decline of primitive piety in imitation of the Jewish
phylactery or pagan amulet, and were probably worn
for the same superstitious purpose, to avert danger or
to cure disease. They were condemned by Irenseus,
Augustine, Chrysostom, and by the Council of Laodicea,
as a relic of heathenism.* On a carved figure of a fish,
with a hole drilled through it for suspending it from the
neck, and probably intended for an amulet, is engraved
the word, CQCAIC — " Mayest thou save us." Medals,
coins, and what are described as tessane of hospitality,
by which the early Christians recognized travelling
members of distant churches as sharers of the same
faith, and admitted them to their assemblies and their
homes, have likewise been found. So also have articles
of domestic economy, as spoons, knives, keys, drinking-
cups and shells used as such, and even a metallic kettle
for cooking. Certain articles employed in religious ser-
vice, as a baptismal font, altars, chairs, etc., will be
hereafter described.

This practice of burying with the dead the objects
which they had employed in life was common to the
pagans from the earliest Etruscan times to the most re-
cent heathen sepulture. They interred in the tombs
of the departed every kind of utensil and implement
of trade, and even articles of food. M. Rochette per-
ceives herein a notion, confused and gross though it
may be, of the immortality of the soul, and a proof of
that instinct of man which recoils from the thought of

* Iren., lib. ii, c. 57. Aug., tract 7, in "Joan; serm. 215,
de Tempore. Chrysos., horn, vi, Contr. Judceos, Cone, Laodic,
ran. 36.

390

The Catacombs of Rome.

annihilation.* In like manner, the Christians, although
animated by a loftier hope, and inspired with an assur-
ance of eternal deathlessness, long followed this ancient
custom, even to the extent sometimes of patting the
piece of money in the mouth of the deceased, intended
by the heathen for the payment of Charon. f This was
most probably, in many instances a mere unthinking
conformity to ancient use and
wont. Milman asserts that the
practice of burying money,
often large sums, with the dead,
was the cause of the very se-
vere Roman laws against the
violations of the tombs, in-
asmuch as the government
wished to reserve to itself that
source of revenue. J

In the Christian Museum of
the Vatican is a marble statue
of the Good Shepherd, figured
in the accompanying engraving,
which is believed to be from
the Catacombs. Although the
execution is coarse, yet from
the general style Rumohr
thinks it probably the oldest

Fig. 121 .—Statue of the
Good Shepherd.

* II y avait la une notion confuse et grossiere sans doute de l'im-
mortalite de Tame, mais il s'y trouvait aussi la preuve sensible et
palpable de cet instinct de l'homme, qui repugne a, l'idee de la de-
struction de son etre. — Mem. de TAcad. des Inscr., torn, xiii, p. 689.

f Rochette says that this practice continued down to the time of
Thomas Aquinas, who wrote against it.

% "Gold may justly be taken from the sepulture which no longer
contains its original owner," says the minister of Theodoric to a pro ■
vincial governor ; " indeed, it is a sort of fault to leave idly hidden

Various Objects Found Therein. 391

extant specimen of Christian statuary.* Sculpture
seems to have bowed less willingly than painting to the
new religion, and was much more tardy in laying its \
offerings on the altar of Christianity. It retained also
much of the spirit of paganism, and never became thor-
oughly imbued with Christian sentiment. The colossal
figure of the Galilean fisherman beneath the mighty
dome of his proud mausoleum — that stateliest fane in
Christendom — if not indeed the identical statue of the
Capitoline Jove, is copied from a heathen model.
The majestic Moses of Michael Angelo seems rather
the embodied conception of the cloud-compelling
Phidian Zeus than of the Hebrew patriarch, de-
scribed as the meekest •'of men. Even Thorwald-
sen's sublime figures of Christ and the apostles
exhibit more of the majesty of antique pagan art
than of the meek and tender grace of Christianity.
Sculpture, as M. Rochette well remarks, struck its roots
deeply into the soil of heathenism, and was with the ut-
most difficulty transplanted therefrom. It is essentially
pagan in its character, and is especially adapted for the
expression of the severer virtues. Painting is more in-
stinct with Christian spirit, and is the better fitted for
the representation of the softer graces.

Moreover, the profession of the sculptor was held in
abhorrence on account of its connexion with idolatry.
Tertullian stigmatizes the makers of images as the fos-

with the dead that which might support the living." — Aurum enim
juste sepulcro detrahitur, ubi dominus non habetur ; imo culpae genus
est inutiliter abdita relinquere mortuorum, unde se vita potest susten-
tare viventium. — Cassiod., Var., iv, 34.

* ItalieniscJie Forschtmgeji, vol. i, p. 168. — The subject of early
Christian sculpture is fully treated in a recent work by Dr. Wilhelm
Liibke, entitled Geschichte der Plastik. Two vols. Leipzig: See-
man, 1870.

392 The Catacombs of Rome.

ter-fathers of devils and the procurers of idols.* Pru-
dentius calls Mentor and Phidias the makers and parents
of the heathen gods.f All who were in any wise con-
nected with this unhallowed craft were rejected from
the ordinance of baptism and denied the holy eucharist.J
'* The ancient Christians," Buonarotti truly remarks,
" always kept aloof from these arts, by which they might
have run a risk of polluting themselves with idolatry ;
and hence it arose that few or none of them devoted
themselves to painting or to sculpture, which had
as their principal object the representations of the
gods or the myths of the heathen." § Hence the
almost entire absence of Christian statuary from the
Catacombs. Even the sculptured bas reliefs of the
sarcophagi before described were for the most part the
product of that later period, when Christianity, coming
forth from these subterranean crypts, walked in the light
of day and basked in the favour of princes.

This brief notice of early Christian sculpture would
be incomplete without some reference to the statue of
the celebrated Hippolytus, bishop of Portus, the most
remarkable known specimen of that class. It was dis-
covered by some workmen digging near the church of
San Lorenzo fuorile mura in the year 155 1, and proba-
bly originally stood in the adjacent Catacomb of Hip-

* Qua constantia exorcizabit ahimnos siios, quibus domum suam
cellariam prsestat . . . quid aliud quam procurator idolorum demon-
straris? — De Idol., c. II.

f Fabri deorum, vel parentes numinum. — Pcristeph., x, 293.

\ Constit. Apostol., lib. viii, c. 32.

§ Stettero sempre lontane di quelle arti, colle quali avessero potuto
correr pericolo di contaminarsi colla idolatria, e da cid avvenne, che
pochi, o niuno di essi si diede alia pittura e alia scultura, le quali
aveano per oggetto principale di rappresentare le deita, e le favole de'
gentili. — Buonarotti, De' Vctri Cemeteriali.

Various Objects Found Therein. 39,3

polytus. The martyr bishop is represented as seated
in a sort of episcopal chair. The figure is modelled
with a classic grace and dignity superior to any exam-
ples of the Constantinian period. Indeed, the distin-
guished art critic, Winckelmann, declares it to be the
finest specimen of early Christian sculpture extant. It
was considerably mutilated, but has been skilfully re-
stored, and now stands in the Lateran Museum. On
the base of the chair is engraved a list of the published
writings of Hippolytus,* and also the table which he con-
structed for determining the true period of the Easter
festival. The discovery of an error in this table de-
prived it of much of its value ; and the date of this
monument is probably prior to that discovery, or the
early part of the third century.

Passing allusion should also be here made to the early
Christian diptychs, specimens of which are found in al-
most every antiquarian museum. These were formed
after the model of the imperial and consular diptychs,
or registers of the public officers of Rome. They con-

* These were exceedingly voluminous, and although several of them
have perished, those which remain throw great light on one of the
most obscure periods in the history of the church, and vindicate the
title of Origen of the West, bestowed on Hippolytus by Pressense.
Among his most important works were a commentary on the greater
part ot the Old and New Testament, treatises on Antichrist, on the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit, on Good and the Origin of Evil, on God
and the Resurrection. He was especially noted, moreover, as a vig-
orous and skilful polemic, and wrote against Platonism and Juda-
ism, and, as we have seen, (page 173,) against Callixtus, bishop of
Rome, for his pantheistic heresy. His great work, however, is that
entitled the Philosophoumena. " It is a vast repertory," says Pres-
sense, " reviewing all the doctrinal controversies of the church from
the earliest ages and most obscure beginnings of Gnosticism. Chris-
tian antiquity has left us no more valuable monument than the treat-
ise "On all the Heresies" of Hippolytus, discovered a few years
since among the dusty treasures of a convent of Mount Athos."

394 The Catacombs of Rome.

sisted of tablets of ivory, wood, or metal, folded to-
gether,* and bore the names of the bishops, officers,
or distinguished patrons of the church, and memorials
of the martyrs and holy dead. These memorials were
frequently read in the religious assemblies of the primi-
tive church, especially on the anniversaries of the mar-
tyrs' death. This practice led in course of time to the
invocation of their aid in the Litany of the Saints, and
to other errors of Romanism. The diptychs had also
frequently elaborate bas reliefs of scenes from the
biblical cycle, and in the age of image-worship bore the
figures of the saints to whom a corrupt Christianity had
begun to pay an idolatrous veneration. They became
thus the prototype of the illuminated missal of the
Middle Ages.

* Whence the name, from dinrvxov, twofold ; when several tab-
lets were used they were called -oavtttvxov, or manifold.

BOOK THIRD.

THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE CATACOMBS.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE INSCRIPTIONS.

Few places in Rome are more attractive to the student
of Christian archaeology than the Lapidarian Gallery in
the palace of the Vatican. In this long corridor* are
preserved a multitude of epigraphic remains of the ven-
erable past, shattered wrecks of antiquity, which have
floated down the stream of time, and have here, as in
a quiet haven, at length found shelter. The walls on
either side are completely covered with inscribed slabs
affixed to their surface. On the right hand are arranged
the pagan monuments collected from the neighbourhood
of the city — sepulchral and votive tablets, altar dedica-
tions, fragments of imperial rescripts and edicts, and
other evidences of the power and splendour of the
palmy days of Rome. On the left are the humble epi-
taphs of the early Christians, rudely carved in stone or
scratched in plaster, and brought hither chiefly from
the crypts of the Catacombs. Of greater interest to
: him who would rehabilitate the early ages of the church,
and

To the sessions of sweet silent thought
Would summon up remembrance of things past.f

* It is eight hundred feet in extent, and contains about three thou-
sand inscriptions.

•j- Shakspeare's Sonnets, No. XXX.

396 The Catacombs of Rome.

is this long corridor of inscriptions than any of the four
thousand apartments of that vast palace of the popes,
with their priceless bronzes, marbles, gems, frescoes, and
other remains of classic art. He will turn away from
the noble galleries where the Laocoon forever writhes
in stone, and Apollo — lord of the unerring bow — watches
his arrow hurtling toward its mark, to the plain marble
slabs that line these walls. In the rude inscriptions
here recorded he will discover some of the strongest
evidences of revealed religion and most striking proofs
of the purity of the faith, simplicity of worship, and
uncorrupted doctrines of the early church. Thus prim-
itive Christianity lifts its solemn protest in these halls
of wealth and power, in the very palace of the popes,
against the anti-Christian system of which they are the
representatives.

Here the monuments of pagan and of Christian
Rome confront each other. The spectator stands be-
tween two worlds of widest divergence, and cannot but
be struck with the immense contrast between them.
" I have spent," says M. Rochette, " many entire days
in this sanctuary of antiquity, where the sacred and
profane stand face to face in the written monuments
preserved to us, as in the days when paganism and
Christianity, striving with all their powers, were engaged
in mortal conflict."* On the one side are recorded the
pride and pomp of worldly rank, the lofty titles and
manifold distinctions of every class, from divinities to
slaves. The undying historic names of Rome's mighty
conquerors, the leaders of her cohorts and legions,
mingle with those of the proud patrician citizens, and
alike display on their sepulchral slabs the august array
of praenomen, nomen, and cognomen, which attest their
* Tableau des Catacombcs, p. x.

Character of the Inscriptions. 397

lofty social position or civil power.* The costly carving
and elaborate bas reliefs of many of these monuments
indicate the wealth of him whom they commemorate.
The elegantly turned classic epitaph — with its elegiac
hexameters breathing the stern and cold philosophy of
the Stoa, or an utter blankness of despair concerning
the future, or, perchance, a querulous and passionate
complaining against the gods — shows how the races
without the knowledge of the true God met the awful
mystery of death. The numerous altars to all the
fabled deities of the Pantheon, the vaunting inscriptions
and lofty attributes ascribed to the shadowy brood of
Olympus — " unconquered, greatest, and best " — read,
by the light of to-day, like an unconscious satire on
the high pretensions of those vanished powers. The
fragmentary edicts of the emperors, the numerous mili-
tary trophies, and the records of complicated political
orders, indicate the might and majesty of the Empire in
the days of its utmost power and splendour.

On the other side of the corridor are the humble
epitaphs of the despised and persecuted Christians,
many of which, by their rudeness, their brevity, and
often their marks of ignorance and haste, confirm the
truth of the Scripture, that " not many mighty, not many
noble, are called." Yet these " short and simple annals
of the poor " speak to the heart with a power and pa-
thos compared with which the loftiest classic eloquence
seems cold and empty. It is a fascinating task to spell
out the sculptured legends of the Catacombs — the vast
graveyard of the primitive church, which seems to give
up its dead at our questioning, to bear witness concern-
ing the faith and hope of the Golden Age of Christian-

* Cf. Juv., " Gaudent prsenomine molles auriculae." These are
very rare in Christian inscriptions. See posted.

39^ The Catacombs of Rome.

ity. As we muse upon these half-effaced inscrip-
tions—

Rudely written, but each letter

Full of hope, and yet of heart-break,

Full of all the tender pathos

Of the Here and the Hereafter —

we are brought face to face with the church of the early-
centuries, and are enabled to comprehend its spirit bet-
ter than by means of any other evidence extant. These
simple epitaphs speak no conventional language like the
edicts of the emperors, the monuments of the mighty,
or even the writings of the Fathers ; they utter the cry
of the human heart in the hours of its deepest emotion ;
they bridge the gulf of time, and make us feel ourselves
akin with the suffering, sorrowing, yet triumphant Chris-
tians of the primitive ages.

These inscriptions were found in situ in the explora-
tions of the Catacombs, or were dug up in vineyards in
the vicinity of the city. They have been diligently
collected by antiquarians for the last three hundred
years. Before the year 1578 there were not a thousand
Christian inscriptions extant in all Italy. Of these not
1 one was derived from the Catacombs, and the earliest
jdate was the year 533. With all its boasted veneration
for the past, and professed devotion to the antiquities
of primitive Christianity, the Church of Rome al-
lowed the memory of the Catacombs, the shrine and
sanctuary of the faith in the early centuries, to be as
completely forgotten as the site of Troy ; and even
after their rediscovery many of their principal records
of the past were wantonly destroyed or recklessly lost
through the ignorance or carelessness of their self-con-
stituted guardians and preservers. Numerous invalua-
ble inscriptions have perished from the effects of time ;

Character of the Inscriptions. 399

many have been scattered throughout the public and
private collections of Europe ; and many more have been
defaced or ruined by the feet of generations of wor-
shippers in the churches of whose pavements they
form a part. Bosio describes many monuments ex-
tant in his day of which De Rossi saw only the frag-
ments, and the latter pathetically deplores the destruc-
tion and devastation of those precious relics of Chris-
tian antiquity.*

Christian epigraphy, however, was not altogether ne-
glected during the Middle Ages. A manuscript col-
lection of epitaphs found at Einsiedlen, and attributed
to the ninth century, is partly Christian ; and another,
found at Kloster Newburg, is exclusively so. A man-
uscript in St. Mark's Library at Venice contains about
a hundred and fifty early Christian epitaphs. The
first collection after the revival of letters was made by
Pietro Sabini, and another was published by Onofrio Pan-
vini. Leo X. commanded Raphael, the capo architetto
of St. Peter's, to preserve from injury the inscriptions
— res lapidaria — of the older structure ; but no syste-
matic attempt at their preservation was made till Bene-
dict XIV. appointed Francesco Brambini to that task.
He collected a large number in the long gallery of the
Vatican ; but they were not arranged till the close of
the last century, when 'they were classified by the dis-

* Demolita et horrendum in modum vastata. — Prolegomena to
Inscr. Christ. He has often to complain that he is unable to read
part of the inscription : — Reliqua legere haud potui. Marangoni tells
us that thousands of epigraphs were taken from the Catacombs to the
church of St. Maria in Trastevere ; seven cartloads to St. Giovanni
de Fiorentini ; two cartloads to another church of St. Giovanni in
Rome ; yet there are at present only about twenty in the portico of
the former and not one in either of the two latter churches. See He
man's Sac. Art. in Italy, pp. 58, 59.

400 The Catacombs of Rome.

tinguished archaeologist Geatano Marini at the com-
mand of Pius VI. A new collection was begun in the
Lateran Museum by Padre Marchi, which has been
greatly enlarged and admirably classified and arranged
by Cavaliere De Rossi. There are also other collections
in the Collegio Romano, and in the Kircherian and other
Museums. Many sepulchral slabs are also affixed to
the walls or inserted in the pavement of the churches
of St. Paul, St. Gregory, St. Laurence, St. Mark, St.
Maria in Trastevere, and in a few others in Rome.*

That distinguished scholar and epigraphist, De Rossi,
has passed through the crucible of his critical examina-
tion all the extant inscriptions of the first six centuries
found in the neighbourhood of Rome. In the first
volume of his Inscriptiones Christiana he gives all
those with consular dates, thirteen hundred and sev-
enty-four in number. He designs giving in future
volumes the remainder of the series, classified accord-
ing to their doctrinal, historical, or other character-
istics. He treats the subject with the utmost candour
and moderation, and illustrates these frequently ob-
scure topics with exhaustive and various scholarship.
There are now over eleven thousand of these epitaphs
extant, which number is being continually increased
by the progressive exploration of the Catacombs.
From an analysis of their general characteristics and
appearance the following results are derived.

The inscriptions are generally engraved on marble
slabs from one to three feet long and one foot high,
which are used to close the graves of the dead ; many,
however, are mere scratches on the soft surface of

* The latter works of Fabretti, Muratori, Orelli, Martigny, Cardinal
Mai, and Perret contain numerous examples. These have all been
laid under tribute in preparing these pages.

Character of the Inscriptions. 401

the plaster, hardened in drying ; and some are written
with red or black paint, or, more rarely, with char-
coal. The letters vary from half an inch to four inches
in height, and the incised surface is frequently coloured
with a reddish pigment. Prudentius, alluding to this
practice of chiseling the letters in stone, calls upon the
faithful to " wash with their tears the furrows of those
marble slabs."*

The epitaphs are for the most part written in uncial
characters, frequently without any separation of the
words, f although sometimes they are divided by spaces,
points, or leaves. They frequently abound also in con-
tractions and monogrammatic abbreviations, imposed by
limit of space or economy of labour, as in the following

figure QErcUADOWT

INPKk

Fig. 122.—" Gemella sleeps in peace."

* Nos pio fletu, date, perluamus

Marmorum sulcos. — Peristeph., hymn vii.
f We append the following examples by way of illustration :
CALEVIVSBENDIDITAVINTRISOMVVBIPOSITIERANT
VINIETCALVILIVSETLVCIVSINPA.
Calevius sold to Avinius a place for three bodies, where both Cavilius
and Lucius had (already) been placed in peace. — De Rossi, Inset.
Christ., No. 489.

TPIAKONTAnENTAETHCENGAAEKlTEYIIATIA
exrATHPANTQNIOYKGCTANTiNOIIOAlTICCA.
Here lies Hypatia, thirty-five years of age, daughter of Antonius,
a native of Constantinople. — De Rossi, No. 583.

The originals are more difficult to decipher, but with a little prac-
tice it becomes comparatively easy. Sometimes the letters are of
greatly varying sizes, as in the following :

LoCvSavgvStileCToRis.

The place of Augustus, the Reader.

402 The Catacombs of Rome.

Although sometimes well cut, the inscriptions are
often wretchedly executed, presenting a straggling and
scarce legible scrawl, as in the following examples, the
second of which indicates a transition into the later
cursive character.

Ki9iTsW\momTK^

Fig. 123.—" Ligurius Successus, in peace."

iNf Ac*

DOMITI

IN PACE

LEA FECIT.

Fig. 124.—" Domitius in peace. Lea erected this."*

This ancient epigraphy often betrays extreme igno-
rance, and sets at defiance all the laws of grammatical
construction. The spelling is frequently atrocious, and
the general style and character utterly barbarous, ren-
dering the meaning extremely obscure or altogether
undecipherable. The language was much corrupted
by the foreigners and slaves who formed so large a por-
tion of the population. The later examples are often
marked by the absence of terminal inflexions and the
use of prepositions instead, and by other indications
of the falling to pieces of the stately Latin tongue,
which had been the vehicle of such a noble literature
and such lofty eloquence, and of its degeneracy from

* See, also, the uncouthness of the epitaph of Martyrus, Fig. 19,
and of Tesaris, Fig. 58.

Character of the Inscriptions. 403

the purity of the Augustan era into the mixed dialect
of the Middle Ages, from which the modern Italian has
sprung.*

The barbarous Latinity of the following indicates the
degradation into which the language had fallen :

IIBER QVI VIXI QVAI QVO
PARE IVA ANOIVE I ANORV
M PLVI MINVI XXX I PACE.
Read: Liber, qui vixit cum compare sua annum I. Annorum
plus minus XXX. In pace.

Liber, who lived with his wife one year. He lived thirty years,
more or less. In peace.

Sometimes the inscription is found upside down,
being probably thus placed by one unable to read. In
the following example, from the Catacomb of St. Priscilla,
a dove was afterward added, to correct in part the mis-
take of the ignorant fossor. Probably the epitaph may

* The distinctions of case gradually disappear, the accusative and
genitive are often used indiscriminately, and the former is frequently
substituted for the ablative, as in the following phrases, cum uxorem,
cum fratrem, sine aliquant, pro caritatem, decessit de seculum, etc.
The transition into Italian is indicated by the prefixing the letter *,
as in the words ispuitus, iscribet ; by affixing e, as posuete for po 'suit,
and by the general softening of the pronunciation, as satita for sanc-
ta, meses for menses, and sesies for sexies. The names Stefano and
Filipo have also a very modern appearance.

The misplacing of the aspirate is seen to be by no means a cock-
ney peculiarity, as in the following examples : — Hossa, hordine, Hosi-
ris, helephantus, post hobitum, Hoctobris, heterna, etc. In the follow-
ing the h is omitted : Onorius, ora, omo, ilaris, ospitium, onestus,
oc, and ic. The permutation of the letters t and d, and v and b, is
also common, as adque for atque, and bibit for vivit. We also find
such forms as vicxit, visit, bissit, ovvisse, ioxvixit ; 7nicki ioxmihi ;
pake or pache for pace; opsequia for obsequia ; quisquenti for quies-
centi ; depossio for depositio ; vocitus for vocatus ; pulla for puella /
omniorum for omnium j restutus for restitutus ; pride for pridie ;
que or qae for qua, and the like. Many of these peculiarities, how-
ever, are common to later pagan as well as to Christian inscriptions.

404 The Catacombs of Rome.

have been scratched on the stone by the dim light
struggling through a luminare, but when brought to the
grave it was too dark to see which side was uppermost.

3\.0Q0\d310.5^

Fig. 125 — Inscription upside down.

In one example in the Lapidarian Gallery, repre-
sented in Fig. 126, the inscription is actually written
backwards, like Hebrew text. Probably, as Maitland
suggests, the stonecutter took the impression on marble
from a written copy, and was too ignorant to perceive
that it was, of course, reversed.

HATIXI\nVpAlTNMIVAJJ3

2INDW/W0I[E\2MT3

|M3favHHATlXlv3V^

Fig-. 126.— Reversed Inscription.

Read : Elia Vincentia. qui vixit an . . . ct mesis II, cum Virgin-
is que vixit annu diem.

Elia Vincentia, who lived . . . years and two months, and lived
with Virginius a year and a day.

Most of the early epitaphs are of touching brevity
and simplicity. Frequently only a single word, the
name given in baptism, is recorded on the tomb, as in
Fig. 127, which exhibits also the Christian symbols of
the monogram, cross, and palm.

Character of the Inscriptions.

405

Y cfcirrA ip

Fig. 127.—" Cassta." (sic.)

In Fig. 128 the names of three individuals appear on
the same slab, which is recognizable as Christian only
;by the symbol of the Good Shepherd :

SBP-fMfNA ^/kfll^c^Mfytf

Fig-. 128.— " Septimina, Aurelius, Galymedes."

Frequently the phrase in pace, or dormit in pace,
is added, in attestation of the Christian faith of the de-
ceased, (see Figs. 122-124;) or, more briefly still, the
word locvs is prefixed, as locvs primi — " The place of
Primus,"* as if descriptive of the last long home, the
house appointed for all living.

The later inscriptions are frequently far removed
from this naive simplicity, being' inflated in style and
elaborate in execution, attesting the increased wealth
and growing pride of the Christian community. Of
these we shall hereafter have frequent examples. One
very remarkable series is that executed, under the direc-
* See Fig. 45.

406 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion of Pope Damasus, in the latter part of the fourth
century. He composed numerous metrical epitaphs in
honour of the martyrs, which were engraved in marble
in a singularly elegant decorated character, designed by
his secretary, Furius Dionysius Filocalus, who was also
an accomplished artist. Hence the letters of these
Damasine inscriptions are as distinct a characteristic
in early Christian epigraphy as the celebrated Aldine
type in the bibliography of the revival of learning.
There are few of the Catacombs where these inscrip-
tions have not been found ; and De Rossi has been
enabled thereby to reconstruct some valuable historical
monuments from a few fragments, just as a skilful
anatomist will reconstruct a skeleton from a portion of
the vertebrae. Some of the most important of these have
already been given ; others will hereafter occur. The
Latinity is often of a school-boy mediocrity ; but they
are of great value as determining the identity and eluci-
dating the history of many important Christian tombs.

Most of the epitaphs, as we might naturally ex-
pect, were written in Latin. Nevertheless, a consider-
able proportion are in Greek, to which circumstance
several causes conduced. Although Latin was the lan-
guage of the mass of the Roman population, yet Greek
was also spoken largely by the educated classes. We
know, too, from the pages of Juvenal* and contemporary
writers, that Rome swarmed with numbers of slaves and
others from Greece and Asia Minor, who, although they
might be able to speak Latin, would find it very diffi-
cult to write it. Moreover, Greek seems to have been
in the early centuries a sort of ecclesiastical language
at Rome, just as Latin is now throughout Roman Cath-

* See his " Grccculus esuriens," {Sat., hi, 78,) and the expression.
"In Tibcrem defluxit Orontes." — //'., 62.

Character of the Inscriptions. 407

olic Christendom. It was in this language that the glad
tidings of the new evangel were first declared, and in it
St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Roman church. The
new wine of the gospel flowed from that classic chalice
which so long had poured libations to the gods. Prob-
ably a religious sentiment led to the adoption, even by
those to whom it was unfamiliar, of the language in which
their holiest teachings and highest hopes had been
originally conveyed, and in which the Apostolic Fathers
and the greatest apologists, theologians, and historians
of the early church had fought the battles of the faith.
The responses of the Roman liturgy long continued to
be uttered in this tongue, and traces of this practice
still remain in the Kyrie, eleeson ! Christe, eleeson ! of the
Order of the Mass. This primitive Greek influence
has also left its indelible impression on our language in
such words as church, bishop, presbyter, eucharist, bap-
tism, catechism, liturgy, psalm, and hymn.

Sometimes the humble mourner had to be content
with recording the Latin words in Greek characters,
as in the following examples : AEIBEPE MAHIMIAAE
KOlOYrE AMANTICCIMAE $IKIT EN IIAKE. Read : Libera
Maximillce conjugi amantissimcz, vixit in pace — "To
Libera Maximilla, a most loving wife. She lived in
peace." BENE MEPENTI tlAIE GEOAQPE KYE BIHIT
MHCIC XI AIE2 XVIII. Read : Bene merenti filice Theo-
dora, qui vixit menses XI, dies XVIII — " To our well-
deserving daughter Theodora, who lived eleven months
and eighteen days."*

In copying Latin inscriptions many errors arose from

* Sometimes the two languages are strangely blended in the same
epitaph ; and occasionally we find a Greek inscription in Latin char-
acters, as in the following : prima irene soi. Read : Tlpl/ia
liprjvri 001 — " Prima, peace to thee."

408 The Catacombs of Rome.

the mason mistaking the Roman characters for similar
Greek ones, as A for A, T for T, and the Latin H and P
for the Greek Eta and Rho. The Greek influence is also
seen in the altered inflexion of Latin words, as maritous
for maritos, filies for Jilias, and the like. The proportion
of Greek inscriptions among those before the time of
Constantine is estimated at one eighth.* After that
period it is less, indicating the gradual decline of Greek
influence. In Gaul and the western provinces the pro-
portion is not so great. At Autun there is only one
Greek epitaph.

Of the eleven thousand extant inscriptions only thir-
teen hundred and seventy-four bear dates. The
period of the others can be only approximately de-
termined by a comparison with those whose ages are
known ; by a careful examination of the execution, lan-
guage, and general sentiment, those of earlier date be-
ing less florid and more classical in style ; by the pres-
ence or absence of certain symbols, as the sacred mon-
ogram, of which no example is known before the period
of Constantine ; and by the position in the Catacombs,
those in the lower piani being of later date.

Judging by these criteria, De Rossi has arrived at
the following conclusions : About six thousand of the
epitaphs belong to the first four centuries, and are
from the Catacombs ; the rest were found above ground.
Of these six thousand, about four thousand are before
the year 324 A. D., when Constantine became sole em-
peror.

Only one of the dated inscriptions belongs to the first
century, (A. D. 71,) two are of the second, (A. D. 107 and

* In the dated inscriptions the proportion is less, as the Latin-
speaking Christians would be the more likely to employ the consular
dates as indications of time.

Character of the Inscriptions. 409

in,) and twenty-three of the third; the fourth century
is represented by over five hundred ; the fifth by nearly
as many ; the sixth by about three hundred, principally
in its earlier half; and the seventh by only seven.

Of these dated inscriptions, all before the year 313
A. D., when the edict of Milan gave peace to the church,
are from the Catacombs. After that event subterranean
sepulture rapidly decreased. Of the epitaphs bear-
ing dates between the years 313 A. D. and 337 A. D.,
two thirds are from the Catacombs, and ohe third from
the basilicas and other places of burial above ground.
From A. D. 337 to the time of Julian the proportion of
each was about equal. Of the dated inscriptions of
the last quarter of this century, about one fourth are
subterranean. Of those between the years A. D. 400
and A. D. 410, not one in ten is from the Catacombs,
and after that period not one subterranean example
occurs.* Sometimes, in epitaphs of late date, the name
of the church and the position of the tomb are men-
tioned, as in the following : depositvs in basilica

SANCTORVM NASARI ET NABORIS SECVNDV ARCV IVXTA

fenestra, (A. D. 404,) — " Buried in the basilica of Sts.
Nasarius and Nabor, in the second arch near the win-
dow; " DEPOSITA IN CONTRA COLONNA VII, (A. D. 452,)

— "Buried in the space opposite the seventh column."
The Christian era was not adopted as a note of time
till after the sixth century. The dates of the Roman
inscriptions were therefore indicated by the names of
the consuls for the year, generally written in an abbre-

* Of the four hundred Gaulish inscriptions in Le Blant few bear
dates, and of these none are earlier than the time of Constantine.
The first is of the year A. D. 334 ; the next, at Autun, of the year
A. D. 374. They are also more artificial and rhetorical in style than
those of Rome.

4io The Catacombs of Rome.

viated form.* Frequently the addition VC, for Vir
Clarissimiis — "An illustrious man " — or, in the case of
imperial consuls, DN., for Dominus Noster — " Our Lord "
— also occurs. f In one instance the epithet divvs — " Di-
vine " — assumed by the emperors, is employed in a Chris-
tian epitaph, in unthinking imitation of a heathen formula.

This mode of indicating dates, to which the name
hypatic (from vnarog, consul) has been applied, con-
tinued in vogue till the latter part of the sixth century,
and is the last recognition of that venerable institution,
the Roman consulate. The year of the emperor, which
was enjoined by Justinian, A. D. 537, for the dating of
all public acts, appears after that time.

Towards the close of the fourth century the date is
sometimes indicated by the name of the presiding bishop
of the church at Rome, as svb liberio episcopo, svb

DAMASO EPISCOPO, Or TEMPORIBVS SANCTI INNOCENTII,

the last expression used probably after the death of the
pope named. The names of the bishops of other dio-
ceses than that of Rome are also used, an indication of
the parity of episcopal rank in the primitive ages. Thus
we have in the year A. D. 397 the name pascasio epis-
copo, according to De Rossi, probably the bishop of an
ancient diocese in the immediate vicinity of the city.
In the sixth century the names of certain priests, and
even deacons, were used as local marks of time.

In a large number of inscriptions the day of the
month is mentioned, although the year is not. Cardinal

* For example • POL • II • ET • APR • II • COS, which, expanded, reads
thus : Pollione iterum et Apro iter um Consulibus, that is, 176 A. D.

L • FAB • CIL • M • ANN • LIB • COS— Lucio Fabio Cilone, Marco
Annio Libone Consulibus, that is, 204 A. D. To save space we have
generally omitted the names of the consuls, giving merely the date.

f Sometimes we have the forms VVCC, Viri Clarissimi ; DD.
NN„ Domini Nostri ; and AVGG., or AAVVGG., Attjusti.

Character of the Inscriptions. 4 1 1

Wiseman attributes this to the custom of commemorating
the anniversary of the death of the departed as that of
his birth into a higher life.* But a similar usage is ob-
served also in pagan epitaphs ; and Dr. McCaul has
well remarked! that it is the day of burial that is men-
tioned more frequently than that of death. The date
of birth is seldom given, J but the length of life is almost
invariably indicated, frequently with great minuteness.
Not only are the number of years, months, and days
mentioned, but often, with loving exactness, the hours,
half-hours, and even the " scruples " or twenty-fourths
of an hour, as in the following example : bene me-

RENTI IN PACE SILVANA QVAE HIC DORMIT VIXIT ANN.

xxi. mens. in. hor. iv. scrvplos vi. — " To the well-
deserving Silvana, who sleeps here in peace. She lived
twenty-one years, three months, four hours, and six
scruples." Six scruples are a quarter of an hour.

When the exact number of years was unknown, the ex-
pressions PLVS MINVS, IIAEON EAATTON— "more or less "
— were used.|| Frequently the duration of married life

* Fabiola, p. 146.

\ Christian Epitaphs, Introd., p. xxii, note f . We are indebted to
this masterly prolegomena for several of the illustrations cited.

\ In one example it is minutely indicated thus : Ora noctis • IIII.
• • • VIII Idus Madias die Saturnis lima vigesivia Signo Apiorno, —
" In the fourth hour of the night, the eighth day before the Ides of
May, the twentieth day of the Moon, in the sign of Capricorn."
De Rossi regards this as an astrological horoscope — a relic of heathen
superstition.

|| The greatest age we have observed in Christian epitaphs is nine-
ty-one years. See Fig. 19. The youngest is three months — Mens.
III. We have noticed in Muratori (p. 382, No. 5) the following re-
markable instance of longevity : M. Flavius Secundus Jilius fecit
Flavio Secnndo patri q. vixit ann. CXI I, et Flavice Urbance matri
pice vixit ann. CV. — " M. Flavius Secundus, the son, made this to Fla-
vius Secundus, his father, who lived one hundred and twelve years,
and to his pious mother, (who) lived one hundred and five years."

412 The Catacombs of Rome.

is also mentioned with extreme defmiteness, as in the
following : * silvana niciati marito bene merenti

CVM QVO VIXIT ANNIS TRIBVS MANSIBVS DVABVS HORIS

undecim, — " Silvana to her well-deserving husband
Niciatis, with whom she lived three years, two months,
eleven hours.

The day of the month is generally indicated in the
ordinary way with reference to the divisions of Calends,
Nones, and Ides.f The days of the week are men-
tioned by their usual classical names, as Dies Solis,
Sunday ; Dies Luna, Monday ; Dies Martis, Tuesday ;
Dies Mercurii, Wednesday ; Dies Jovis, Thursday ; Dies
Veneris, Friday ; and Dies Saturni, Saturday. Some-
times, however, the first and last days of the week are in-
dicated by the Christian designations Dies Dominica, the
day of the Lord, and Dies Sabbati, the day of rest.

The Christian inscriptions also habitually ignore all
mention of the birth-place or country of the deceased,
as if in recognition that the Christian's true country is
beyond the grave. \ As if, also, in obedience to the in-
junction to forsake father and mother in order to follow
after Christ, details of family or descent, which are so

Kenrick quotes an epitaph of a child of three and his mother
{mammula) of eighty ; and another of a man of one hundred and
two years, ninety of which were passed without disease. The aver-
age duration of life, according to Ulpian, was thirty years.

* The relationship is generally expressed by such phrases as vixit
mecum, duravit mecum, vixit in conjugio, fecit mecum, fecit cum
compare. McCaul, Christ. Epitaphs, Introd. xv.

f Id., xxvii.

\ Of 5,000 epitaphs in Squier's Index, only forty-five mention the
country of the deceased. See one example, page 401, second foot-
note, and also the following, of date A. D. 388 : Rapttiga, meJicus,
civis Hispantis, qui vixit in pace annos plus minus XX V, — " Rape-
tiga, a physician, a citizen of Spain, who lived in peace twenty-five
years, more or less."

Character of the Inscriptions. 413

conspicuous in some heathen inscriptions, almost never
occur.

Mr. Burgon has briefly expressed the principal points
of contrast between modern epitaphs and those of the
early Christians, as follows : " They never mention the
date of birth,* we seldom omit it. They constantly
record the day of burial, we never. They seldom men-
tion the year of death, we never omit it. We never
allude to burial, they always. They frequently record
the years of married life, we never. In theirs the sur-
vivors appear prominently, even by name, and are some-
times mentioned exclusively. With us the dead are
always named, the living seldom." f

There are among these inscriptions several examples
of opisthographce, as they are called, % that is, Christian
epitaphs written on slabs that had originally borne one
of pagan character. The latter are generally defaced or
obliterated, filled with cement or turned to the wall, or
placed upside down or sideways, so as to indicate their
rejection by the Christian artist. Sometimes, however,
they are still legible, but they have manifestly no con-
nection with Christian sepulture whatever. Some are not
funeral epitaphs at all, and some which are commemo-
rate an entire family, though affixed to a single Christian
grave. The appropriation of heathen monuments for
the reception of Christian inscriptions will appear less
strange when we reflect that the very temples of the
gods have been the quarries from which many of the
churches and palaces of later times were built.

Sometimes, as in the example given in Fig. 59, the
heathen formula of consecration to the " Divine Spirits "

* This is not quite correct.

\ Letters from Rome, pp. 202, 203.

\ From oTvtadioc and ypd<pu, to write again.

414 The Catacombs of Rome.

— D. M., for Dis Manibus — is obliterated, and the sacred
monogram gives the slab a Christian character. Occa-
sionally, however, these letters appear in manifestly Chris-
tian inscriptions, in which case Fabretti and others have
maintained that they were capable of the interpretation
Deo Magno or Deo Maximo — "To the Supreme God."
With still less probability M. Rochette renders them
Divis Martyribus — " To the divine martyrs," for which
expression no countenance is to be found in the entire
range of the Catacombs. Both interpretations are en-
entirely gratuitous suppositions, for which Christian
epigraphy furnishes absolutely no warrant. It is
more probable that they were careless or conventional
imitations of a common heathen formula, which was
occasionally adopted by the Christians without thought,
or perhaps in ignorance of its meaning, just as they also
imitated the winged genii and other classic accessories
of pagan art in the ornamentation of the Catacombs.
Dr. McCaul has suggested that the Roman mortuary
sculptors probably kept sepulchral slabs on sale, as is
often done now, with the common formulas already en-
graved, which were purchased without regard to their ap-
propriateness, and that in filling up the inscription the
Christians sometimes neglected to obliterate the letters
of pagan significance. Possibly, also, some lingering
remnants of heathen superstition may sometimes be in-
dicated by their use.

The letters BM., which frequently occur in these
inscriptions, have been erroneously interpreted as stand-
ing for Beatus or Beata Martyr, for which there is no
authority whatever. They unquestionably indicate the
ever-recurring phrase, both in pagan and Christian
epigraphy, Bene Merenti — "To the well-deserving," or
Bona: Memorial — " Of happy memory."

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 415

CHAPTER II.

THE DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS OF THE CATACOMBS.

"What insight into the familiar feelings and thoughts
of the primitive ages of the church," remarks the learned
and eloquent Dean Stanley,* " can be compared with
that afforded by the Roman Catacombs ! Hardly no-
ticed by Gibbon or Mosheim, they yet give us a likeness
of those early times beyond that derived from any of
the written authorities on which Gibbon and Mosheim
repose. . . . The subjects of the painting and sculpture
place before us the exact ideas with which the first
Christians were familiar ; they remind us, by what they
do not contain, of the ideas with which the first Chris-
tians were not familiar. . . . He who is thoroughly
steeped in the imagery of the Catacombs will be nearer
to the thought of the early church than he who has
learned by heart the most elaborate treatise even of
Tertullian or of Origen."

By the study of the inscriptions, paintings, and sculp-
ture of this subterranean city of the dead, we may fol-
low the development of Christian thought from century
to century; we may trace the successive changes of doc-
trine and discipline ; we may read the irrefragable tes-
timony, written with a pen of iron in the rock forever,
of the purity of the primitive faith, and of the gradual
corruption which it has undergone.

In this era of critical investigation of the very founda-
tions of the faith it will be well to examine this vast body

* Eastern Churches.

416 The Catacombs of Rome.

of Christian evidences as to the doctrinal teachings of
the primitive times, which has been handed down from
the believers living in or near the apostolic age, and
thus providentially preserved in these subterranean
excavations, as a perpetual memorial of the faith and
practice of the golden prime of Christianity.

While we should not expect to find in these inscrip-
tions a complete system of theology, we would certainly
look for some definite expression regarding the religious
belief of those who wrote these memorials of the dead.
We would expect some reference to the lives of the
departed, to the virtues of their character, and to the
hopes of the survivors as to their future condition in
the spirit-world. In this expectation we are not disap-
pointed. We find in these epitaphs a body of evi-
dence on the doctrines and discipline of the primitive
church, whose value it is scarcely possible to over-
estimate. We are struck with the infinite contrast of
their sentiment to that of the pagan sepulchral mon-
uments, and also by the conspicuous absence, in those
of the early centuries and purer period of Christianity,
of the doctrines by which the church of Rome is char-
acterized. We shall also find references to some of the
heresies, which, like plague spots, alas ! so soon began
to infect the church,* and some of which even found
distinguished ecclesiastical patronage.f

The Church of Rome lays especial claim to the tradi-
tions of the early ages and the antiquities of the Cat-
acombs as proofs of the apostolic character of her

* Tertullian says they destroy the soul as fevers do the body. — De
Prascrip. H arctic or nm, c. 2.

\ The Gnostic Marcion sought admission to the Roman presbytery
and Valentine even aspired to the episcopal chair. " Speraverat epis
copatum Valentinus." — Tertull., Adv. Valcnt., c. iv.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 417

peculiar dogmas and usages. But these ancient records
are a palimpsest which she has written all over with her
own glosses and interpretations ; and when the ordeal
of modern criticism revives the real documents and re-
moves the accumulation of error, the testimony of the
past is strikingly opposed to the pretensions of the Ro-
man See and the teachings of Romish doctrine. The
distinguished scholarship, laborious research, and ar-
chaeological skill of such eminent authorities as De
Rossi, Pitra, Garrucci, and other Roman savants, only
furnish the weapons for the refutation of many of Rome's
most cherished beliefs. There are those, indeed, who
carry to these investigations the faculty of seeing what
they wish to see, and what no others can perceive. It not
unfrequently happens, also, that extreme credulity and
superstition are found united with great learning and high
scientific attainments. The effect, however, of the honest
examination of this testimony by a candid mind is seen
in the case of Mr. Hemans, the learned author of " An-
cient Christianity and Sacred Art in Italy." This gen-
tleman, although a pervert from the Anglican communion
to that of Rome, and in strong sympathy with many of its
institutions, as is apparent from his interesting volume,
felt compelled by the historical and monumental testi-
mony of the Catacombs, and of early Christian art and
literature, to retrace his steps, and, however reluctantly
to condemn and abandon the faith he had espoused.

Protestantism, therefore, has nothing to fear from the
closest investigation of these evidences of primitive
Christianity. They offer no warrant whatever for the
characteristic doctrines and practice of the modern
Church of Rome. There is not a single inscription, nor
painting, nor sculpture, before the middle of the fourth

century, that lends the least countenance to her arrogant

41 8 The Catacombs of Rome.

assumptions and erroneous dogmas. All previous to this
date are remarkable for their evangelical character ; and
it is only after that period that the distinctive peculiarities
of Romanism begin to appear. The wholesome breath
of persecution and the " sweet uses of adversity " in the
early ages tended to preserve the moral purity of the
church ; but the enervating influence of imperial favour
and the influx of wealth and luxury, led to corruptions
of practice and errors of doctrine. Her trappings of
worldly pomp and power were a Nessus garment which
empoisoned her spiritual life. Hence the Catacombs,
the rude cradle of the early faith, became also the
grave of much of its simplicity and purity.

In the investigation of early Christian epigraphy,
therefore, the determination of dates is of the utmost
importance, as it is only inscriptions of the earlier and
acknowledged purer period of the church which can
bear authoritative testimony as to primitive doctrine.
We shall, therefore, first examine in chronological order
all those bearing dates earlier than the fourth century
which have any doctrinal significance, and then glean
the evidence of later examples as to the antiquity of
Romanist teachings. We will take the inscriptions as
given in his great work,* by De Rossi, the most eminent
authority on this subject ; but while accepting his facts,
and acknowledging his candour and honesty of research,
which qualities we will seek to imitate, we cannot in all
cases accept his conclusions.

The first dated inscription possessing any doctrinal
character occurs in the year 217.! It is taken from a
large sarcophagus found in the Via Labicana, and is of

* Inscriptiones Christians Urbis Rovuz Septimo Sizculo Antiquiores.
\ The earlier inscriptions express merely the consular dates, and in
one instance only, the name and age of the deceased.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 419

great interest as indicating the lofty social position and
honourable offices of the deceased as a member of the
imperial household, as well as the devout confidence of
his pious freedmen in his spiritual beatification. The
upper portion of the following inscription, that in larger
type, is engraved on the front of the sarcophagus, and
that in smaller characters on the back. The use of a
sarcophagus is an indication of the wealth of the
deceased.

M-AVRELIO-AVGG-LIB:PROSENETI

A CVBICVLO-AVG-
PROC-THESAVRORVM
PROC-PATRIMONI- PROC-
MVNERVM- PROC-VINORVM
ORDINATOADIVO COMMODO
IN KASTRENSE PATRONO PIISSIMO
LIBERT I • B ENEMERENTI
SARCOPHAGVM DE S V O •
ADORNAVERVNT'

PROSENES RECEPTVS ADDEVM ■ V • NON SSA NIA

[PRAESEXTE • ET • EXTRICATO • II
REGREDIENS IN VRBE AB EXPEDITI ONIBVS SCRIPSIT AM

[PELIVS LIB.
— Inscrip. Christ., No. 5.

To Marcus Aurelius Prosenes, freedman of the two Augusti, of the
bed-chamber of Augustus, Procurator of the Treasures, Procurator
of the Patrimony, Procurator of the Presents, Procurator of the
Wines, appointed by the deified Commodus to duty in the camp, a
most affectionate Patron. For him, well-deserving, his freedmen pro-
vided (this) sarcophagus at their own cost.

Prosenes received to God, on the fifth day before the Nones
of — Prsesens and Extricatus (being consuls) for the second time.

Ampelius his freedman, returning to the city from the wars, wrote
(this inscription.)

420 The Catacombs of Rome.

We have here the earliest indication of doctrinal be-
lief as to the condition of the departed. It is not, how-
ever, a dark and gloomy apprehension of purgatorial
.fires, but, on the contrary, the joyous confidence of im-
mediate reception into the presence of God.* The
retention of the pagan title of the emperor, " the dei-
fied Commodus," is an anomalous feature in a Christian
monument, although doubtless it is merely the unthink-
ing imitation of a common epigraphic formula.

Accompanying an inscription of date A. D. 234, is
the first example of the symbols, afterward so common,
the fish and the anchor, but no other distinctively Chris-
tian feature. In the next year, A. D. 235, occurs the fol-
lowing epitaph, in which there is possibly an imimaiion
of immortality in the expression de scbcuIo recessit — " re-
tired from the world," or " from the age." f avrelia

DVLCISSIMA FILIA QVAE DE SAECVLO RECESSIT VIXIT
ANN • XV • M • IIII • SEVERO ET QVINTIN COSS, " Aure-

lia, our very sweet daughter, who retired from the world,
Severus and Quintinus being consuls. She lived fifteen
years and ' four months." The epithet "very sweet
daughter " is peculiarly appropriate to the Christian
character, although common also on pagan tombs.

In the year A. D. 238, on a sarcophagus which bears
the first dated representation of the Good Shepherd,
we find the following touching inscription. It conveys
nothing doctrinal beyond the phrase " most devout," or
" God-loving," expressive of the youthful piety of the

* Dr. McCaul remarks the occurrence of a similar expression in
a pagan inscription given by Muratori, (97S, 979,) as follows : D. M. in
lioc tumulo jacet corpus cxanimis (sic) cujus spiritus inter dcos re-
ceptus est ; sicenim meruit, — " In this tomb lies a lifeless body whose
spirit is received among the gods, for so it deserved."

\ The use of recedo in the sense of " to die " is classical ; but in
the above form it is unknown in pagan epigraphy.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 421

deceased. hpakaitoc o geo4>iaectatoc ezhcen

ETfo)H IIAPA H(fiipa() IT ENOCHCEN HM(e)P(of) IB ... .
5AN0IAC nATHP TEKNfl TATKYTEPfl <*>QTOC KA1 ZS2HC
— " The very devout Heraclitus lived eight years and
thirteen days. He was ill twelve days . . . Xanthias
his father, to his son, sweeter than light and life."
The mention of the duration of the illness is very
rare in these epitaphs. The yearning affection of the
bereaved father is beautifully expressed in the last
clause.

The next example merely gives the consular date,
A. D. 249, and the assurance that the deceased sleeps,
dormit — a distinctively Christian synonym for death.
In the year A. D. 268 occurs a fragment on which one
may with difficulty decipher the inscription by the pa-
rents " to their well-deserving son, who lived twelve
years and eleven months." The chief interest attaches
to the last line : vibas inter Sanctis (sic) iha — " May
you live among the holy ones."

The meaning of the last three letters is unknown.
They have been interpreted as standing for in pace or
et have j but the last rarely, if ever, occurs in Christian
epigraphy. Dr. McCaul ingeniously conjectures that
the last word is intended for sauctissimas, or " most holy
ones," the h being an ill cut m. This natural ejaculation
of the sorrowing friends, of which we shall find occasional
examples, is certainly no indication of the later Romish
practice of prayers for the dead, or of the intercession of
the saints. On this slab are also the first known exam-
ples of the dove, olive branch, and vase.

The next dated inscription, of the year 269, A. D., is
of a very barbarous character — Latin words in Greek
letters, not engraved, but merely painted on the slab.
It is evidently, as is indicated by its wretched grammar

422 The Catacombs of Rome.

and orthography, the production of extreme ignorance.
It requires a strong dogmatic prepossession to detect in
its incoherent language any meaning beyond the attes-
tation of the sanctity of character of the deceased.
After giving the date, it reads thus : AEYKEC • 4>IAEIE
CEBHPE . KAPECCEME . IIOCOYETE . EA . EICnEIPEITQ .
CANKTS2 • TOYfl • Read, Leuces filice Severce carissimoe
posuit et spiritui sancto tuo, — " Leuces erected this (me-
morial) to her very dear daughter, and to thy (sic)
holy spirit."

Nothing further of a doctrinal character occurs till
the year 291, when we find the following barbarous ex-
ample. The grammar and spelling are atrocious, and
the division of the words quite arbitrary : ex virgineo

TVO BENE MECO VIXISTI LIB ENIC ONIVGA INNOCENTISSE
MACERVONIA SILVANA REFRIGERA CVM SPIRITA SANCTA.

Read, Ex virginio tuo bene mecum vixisti libens in co?ijuga
innocentissima Macervonia Silvana. Refrigera cum spir-
its Sanctis — " Macervonia Silvana, thou didst live well
with me from thy maidenhood, rejoicing in most
innocent wedlock. Refresh (thyself) among the holy
spirits."

No candid interpretation can discover in the closing
acclamation any thing beyond the natural expression
of a desire for the happiness of the departed among the
sanctified.

There is nothing, therefore, in any of the inscriptions
of the first three centuries — the ages of the purity of the
faith — which can in the least degree support the assump-
tions of Roman controversialists as to the antiquity of
Romish dogmas. Nor is there any indication of those
dogmas till the latter part of the fourth century, as will
be evident from a brief examination of the principal
inscriptions having any reference to doctrine before

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 423

that period. In the year A. D. 302 we find the follow-
ing beautiful tribute of conjugal and filial affection,
which only, however, attests the high Christian char-
acter of the deceased : domino patri piissimo ac dvl-

CISSIMO SECVNDO VXOR ET FILII PRO PIETATE POSVE-

P..VNT — " To the highly venerable, most devout, and very
sweet father, Secundus. His wife and sons in expres-
sion of their dutifulness have placed this slab."

In the year A. D. 310, in the epitaph of a youth
twenty-two years of age, we find the beautiful euphe-
mism for death, accersitvs ab angelis — " Called away
(literally, sent for) by angels." There is no doctrine of
purgatory here. The Christian soul, like Lazarus, is
borne by angels to Abraham's bosom, and not, like Dives,
to tormenting flames, albeit called of purgatorial efficacy
to supplement the work of Christ. In A. D. 329 oc-
curs the still nobler expression, natvs est lavrentivs

IN ETERNVM ANN XX ■ DORMIT IN PACE " Laurentius

was born into eternity in the twentieth year of his age.
He sleeps in peace."

Sometimes the word natus refers to the new birth of
spiritual regeneration, and admission to the church by
the rite of baptism. Thus, in an example of date A. D.
338, a youth of twenty-four years of age is said to
have been born and died in the same year, though at the
interval of a few months. In A. D. 377 we find the
expression coelesti renatvs aqva — " Born again of
heavenly water."

In the year A. D. 335 the chaste and modest charac-
ter of a Christian matron is commended, without any
suggestion of the Romish notion of the superior merit
of virginity, as follows :

B • M • CVBICVLVM • AVRELIAE • MARTINAE • CASTISSIMAE • ADQVE .
PVDICISSIMAE • FEMINAE • QVI • FECIT • IN • CONIVGIO • ANN • XXIII

424 The Catacombs of Rome.

D • xiill — " To one well-deserving. The sleeping-place of Aurelia
Martina, a most chaste and modest woman, who passed in wedlock
twenty-three years, fourteen days."

The primitive Christians had no doubt of the immedi-
ate happiness of those who died in the faith. They were
incapable of the blasphemous thought that the atoning
blood of Christ was insufficient to wash away their guilt
and that therefore they were doomed to penal fires,

Till the foul crimes done in their days of nature
Were burned and purged away.

All the expressions applied to the death of the right-
eous indicate the assurance of their spirits' peace and
happiness. Thus, in addition to the examples already
given, we have, A. D. 339, bene qvesqventi (sic) in pace
— " Resting well in peace ; " A. D. 339, in pace decessit,
A. D. 349, and A. D. 360, ibit and exibit in pace — " De-
parted in peace;" A. D. 348, reqvievit — "Entered
into rest ; " A. D. 353, pavsabit — " Will repose ; " A. D.
355, qviescit — " He rests," not reqviescat — " May he
rest," as the Romanists write, but the joyful assurance
of present repose in the peace of God ; A. D. 359,
ivit ad devm — " He went to God ; " A. D. 363, sem-
per qviescis secvra — " Thou dost repose forever free
from care ; " A. D. 368, qviencis (sic) in pace conivx
incomparabilis — " Thou restest in peace, incomparable
wife ; " A. D. 369, vocitvs (sic) iit in pace — " Called
away, he went in peace ; " in A. D. 380, we find aeterxa
reqvies felicitatis — "Everlasting rest of happiness."
The Christians, as is asserted in the following, sor-
rowed not as those without hope: ivliae INNOCEN-

TISSIMAE ET DVLCISSIMAE, MATER SVA SPERANS — '" To

the most sweet and innocent Julia, her mother hoping."
The loved ones were " not lost, but gone before : "
praecessit nos in pace — " He went before us in peace ;"

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 425

IIPOAnEAGQN TOT KAG HMAC BIOT — " Having gone be-
fore from our life." Sometimes the body seems to be
regarded as the qlog and fetter of the soul, binding it to
earth, as in the following : absolvtvs de corpore — " Set
free from the body ; " corporeos rvmpens nexvs gav-
det in astris — " Breaking the bonds of the body, he re-
joices in the stars," that is, in heaven.

The entire inscriptions from which extracts are thus
given may be found in De Rossi's Inscriptiones Chris-
tiana, under the respective dates.

The following, of date A. D. 381, rises to loftier poet-
ical flights, though ignoring the metrical divisions,
which are indicated in the copy by parallels :

THEODORA QVAE VIXIT ANNOS XXI M. VII D. XXIII IN PACE. . . . AM-
PLIFICAM SEQVITVR VITAM DVM CASTA AFRODITE | FECIT AD ASTRA
VIAM CHRISTI MODO GAVDET IN AVLA || RESTITIT HAEC MVNDO
SEMPER CAELESTIA QVAERENS || OPTIMA SERVATRIX LEGIS FIDEIQVE
MAGISTRA || DEDIT EGREGIAM SANCTIS PER SECVLA MENTEM || INDE
EXIMIOS PARADISI REGNAT ODORES || TEMPORE CONTINVO VERNANT
VBI GRAMINA RIVIS || EXPECTATQVE DEVM SVPERAS QVO SVRGAT
AD AVRAS || HOC POSVIT CORPVS TVMVLO MORTALIA LINQVENS ||
FVNDAVITQVE LOCVM CONIVNX EVACRIVS INSTANS.

Theodora, who lived twenty-one years, seven months, twenty-three
days. In peace. Whilst following an exalted life, a chaste Venus,
she pursued her way to the stars. Now she rejoices in the court of
Christ. ' She resisted the world, ever following heavenly things. A
devout observer of the law, and mistress of honour, she applied an
illustrious mind to holy things while here in this world. Hence she
reigns (amid) the choice odours of paradise, where the herbage is for-
ever green beside the streams of heaven,* and awaits God, in order
that she may rise to the upper air. She laid her body in this tomb,
forsaking mortal things, and Evacrius, her husband, built the monu-
ment, superintending the work.

The first inscription at all favourable to Romish doc-
trine is the following barbarous example, (A. D. 380 :)
* Compare Wesley —

•' There everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers."

426 The Catacombs of Rome.

HIC QVIESCIT ANCILLA DEI OVEDE
SVA OMNIA PEPENDIT DOMVM ISTA
QVVM AMICI DEFLENT SOLACIVM Q. REQVIRVNT
PRO HVNC VNVM ORA SVBOLEM QVEM SVPERIS
TITEM REQVESTI ETERNA REQVIEM FELICITAS CAVSA MANEBIS.
Read : Hie quiescit ancilla Dei qnce de suis omnibus pependit
domum istam, quam amies dejlent solacitwique requirunt. Pro hac
una ora subole quam superstitem reliquisti. Etema requie felici-
tatis causa manebis.

Here rests a handmaid of God* who, of all her riches, possesses
but this one house : whom her friends bewail, and seek for conso-
lation. O pray for this thine only child whom thou hast left behind.
Thou wilt remain in the eternal repose of happiness.

The yearning cry of an orphaned heart for the prayers
of a departed mother is, however, a slight foundation
for the Romish practice of the invocation of the saints.

Previous to this date we have found not the slightest
indication of Romish doctrine ; and if those doctrines
have been transmitted, as their advocates assert, from
the very earliest ages, it is incredible that they should
have left no trace in the dated inscriptions for nearly
four centuries. After this time, it is true, we find
occasional epitaphs which, rigidly interpreted accord-
ing to the canons of theological criticism, contain
sentiments unwarranted by Scripture ; but these may
be the result of carelessness of expression, or of the
corruptions of doctrine which had already taken place
in the church.

If then those inscriptions which apparently favour Ro-
mish dogmas, of which we know the date, are all of a late
period, we may assume that those of a similar character
which are undated are of the same relative age, and
therefore valueless as evidence of the antiquity of such
dogmas. Dr. Northcote admits the fact, but objects to
this conclusion as founded upon negative evidence ;
* Ue Rossi thinks Ancilla Dei a proper name.

Their Doctrinal Teacliijigs. 427

yet he himself adopts the same line of argument con-
cerning the absence of military rank among the primi-
tive Christians. But we are not left to negative evi-
dence. We have the amplest testimony of a positive
character, which we shall proceed to examine, showing
that even in the fifth and sixth century the vast pro-
portion of the inscriptions are of a highly evangelical
character, and are entirely antagonistic to the most
cherished doctrines of the Church of Rome.

The Christian's view of death is always, in striking
contrast to the sullen resignation or blank despair of
paganism, full of cheerfulness and hope. Its rugged
front is veiled under softest synonyms. The grave was
considered merely as the temporary resting place of the
body, while the freed spirit was regarded as already
rejoicing in the presence of God in a broader day, and
brighter light, and fairer fields than those of earth.
The following examples will illustrate the pious ortho-
doxy of these early Christian epitaphs.

A.BIIT ETHERIAM CVPIENS CAELI CONSCENDERE LVCEM. (A. D. 383.)
She departed, desiring to ascend to the ethereal light of heaven.

LIMINA MORTIS ADIIT
EVTVCHIVS SAPIENS PIVS ADQ BENIGNVS

IN CHRISTVM CREDENS PREMIA LVCIS ABET, (sic) A. D. 393.
Eutuchius, wise, pious, and kind, believing in Christ, entered the
portals of death, (and) has the rewards of the light (of heaven).

DVLCIS ET INNOCES (sic) HIC DORMIT SEVERIANVS SOMNO PACIS. . ,
CVIVS SPIRITVS IN LVCE DOMINI SVSCEPTVS EST. (A. D. 393.)
Here sleeps in the sleep of peace the sweet and innocent Severi-
anus, whose spirit is received into the light of the Lord.

HIC IACET VRBICA SVABIS (sic) SEMPERQ. PVDICA
VIXIT VERBORVM VERA LOQVVTA (sic) IN SEMPITERNALE
AEVVM QVIESCIT SECVRA. (A. D. 397.)

Here lies Urbica, agreeable and ever modest. She lived a speaker
of truth. She rests free from care throughout endless time.

428 The Catacombs of Rome.

NEC REOR HVNC LACRIMIS FAS SIT DEFLERE
CORPORIS EXVTVS VINCLIS QVI GAVDET IN ASTRIS
NEC MALA TERRENI SENTIT CONTAGIA SENSVS. (A. D. 399.)
Nor do I think it right to lament with tears him, who, freed from

the fetters of the body, rejoices among the stars, nor feels the evil

contagion of earthly sense.

PAVSABET {sir) PRAETIOSA ANNORVM
PVLLA {sic) VIRGO XII. TANTVM ANCILLA DEI ET XPI.
Pretiosa went to her rest, a maiden of only twelve years of age,
a handmaid of God and of Christ. (A. D. 401.)

NON TAMEN HAEC TRISTES HABITAT POST LIMINA SEDES
PROXIMA SED CHRISTO SIDERA CELSA TENET. (A. D. 406.)
Nevertheless she occupies not the doleful seats behind the thresh -
old, but inhabits the lofty stars, next to Christ.

HIC REQVIESCET {sic) IN SOMNO PACIS MALA. . . .
ACCEPTA APVT {sic) DEVM. (A. D. 432.)

Here rests in the sleep of peace Mala. . . Received into the presence
of God.

REDDITVR HAEC MERITIS QUAE SINE FINE MANET.

This (life) without end which remains is bestowed for his pious
desert.

In the following epitaph of date A. D. 472, the de-
parted is represented as comforting the survivors with
the thought of the felicity of the blest :

LEVITAE CONIVNX PETRONIA FORMA PVDORIS

HIS MEA DEPONENS SEDIBVS OSSA LOCO
PARCITE VOS LACRIMIS DVLCES CVM CONIVGE NATAE
VIVENTEMQVE DEO CREDITE FLERE NEFAS.
I, Petronia, the wife of a deacon, the type of modesty, lay down my
bones in this resting place. Refrain from tears, my sweet daughters
and husband, and believe that it is forbidden to weep for one who
lives in God.

The early Christians confessed that they were stran-
gers and pilgrims in the earth, and that they desired a
better country, even a heavenly. They felt that, in the
language of Cyprian, the soul's true Fatherland is on
high. This sentiment is expressed as follows, in an

Their Doctrinal TeacJiings. 429

epitaph of date A. D. 493, migravit de hoc saecvlo —
/ "He migrated from this world." Similar is the idea in
the following : felix vita fvit felix et transitvs
ipse — " Happy was the life, and happy also the death," lit-
erally, " the transit ; " hic reqiescit . . qvae a deo inter

EXORDIA VIVENDI DE HAC LVCE SVBLATA EST VT IN

meliore lvmine vivere mereretvr — " Here rests . . .
who was snatched away by God in the very beginning
of life from the light of earth, that she might be worthy
to live in the more glorious light (of heaven)."

The following is a striking protest against the heathen
notions of the future state.

SI MENTIS VIRTVS LVCISQVE SERENIOR VSVS
DEFVNCTO IN XPO REVENIT NON TARTARA SENTIT
CYMERIOSQVE LACOS MERITIS POST FATA SVPERSTES
FVNERIS ET LEGEM PERIMENS TERRAEQVE SEPVLCRIS
ASTRA TENET NESCITQVE MORI SIC LVCE RELICTA.

Since vigour of mind and more serene enjoyment of the light re-
turn to the dead in Christ, she feels not (the pains of) Tartarus, nor
the Cimmerian lakes, by her deserts surviving after death and de-
stroying that law of the grave, (which is) imposed on the sepulchres
of earth, she occupies the stars, and knows not death, having in this
manner left the light.

We find also such expressions as follow : depostvs(^V)
in pace fidei catholice, (sic) — " Buried in the peace
of the Catholic faith," A. D. 462 ; hic. req. in pace
devs, (sic) — " Here rests in the peace of God," A. D.
500; in pace ecclesiae — "In the peace of the church,"
A. D. 523; in pace et benedictione — "In peace and
benediction ; " semper fidelis manebit apvd devm —
" Ever faithful, he shall remain with God," (circ. 590) ;
fatvm fecit — "She fulfilled her destiny;"* reddidi

* The following is the brief biography of some unknown saint at
Naples : servvs dei . . . et ad vita (sic) perbenit (sic,) — " A
servant of God . . . and attained unto life."

430 The Catacombs of Rome.

NVNCDIVORERVM DEBITVM COMMVNE OMNIBVS — "Ihave

rendered now to the Lord of the universe the debt com-
mon to all," A. D. 483 ; zoticvs hic ad dormiendvm —
" Zoticus here laid to sleep ; " dormitio elpidis — " The
sleeping place of Elpis ; " dormivit et reqviescit —
"He has slept and is at rest ; " dormit sed vivir — "He
/ sleeps but lives ; " qviescit in domino iesv — " He re-
poses in the Lord Jesus ; " ivit ad devm — " He went to
God ; " evocatvs a domino — " Called by God ; " accepta
apvd devm — " Accepted with God ; " ETEAEiaeH — " He
finished his life ; " EKOIMHGH — " He fell asleep ; " dama-
lis hic sic • v • d — " Here lies Damalis, for so God wills."
Many of these undated inscriptions are full of Chris-
tian thought, and breathe the strongest assurance of the
happiness of the departed, as the following from the
Lateran Museum :

MACVS PVER INNOCENS
ESSE IAM INTER INNOCENTES COEPISTI
QVAM STAVILIS TTBI HAEC VITA EST
QVAM TE LAETVM EXCIPET MATER ECCLESIA
MVNDO REVERTENTEM COMPREMATVR PECTORVM
GEMITUS STRVATVR FLETVS OCVLORVM.
Macus, innocent boy, thou hast already begun to be among the in-
nocent. Unto thee how sure is thy present life. Thee how gladly
thy mother, the church, (on high,) received returning from this world.
Hushed be this bosom's groaning, dried be these weeping eyes.*

Of similar character are also the following : saloxice
ispiritvs tvvs in bonis — " Salonice, thy spirit is among
the good ; " refrigeras spiritvs tvvs in bonis — " Thou
refreshest thy spirit among the good ; " I1PQT0C EN Arm
ITNEYMATI GEOY EN0AAE KEITAI— " Here in the Holy
Spirit of God lieth Protus;" corpvs habet tellvs
animam caelestia regna — " The earth has the body,
J celestial realms the soul;" TAYKEPON *AOC OY KATE-

* Burgon.

Their Doctrinal TeacJiings. 431

AE*A2 {sic) E2XES TAP META COY nANAGANATON— " Thou
didst not leave the sweet light, for thou hadst with thee
Him who knows not death," literally, "the all-deathless
one ; " agape vibis in eternvm — " Agape, thou livest for-
ever ; " dormit et vivit in pace xo, (sic) — " He sleeps
and lives- in the peace of Christ; " mens nescia mortis
vivit et aspectv frvitvr bene conscia christi —
"The soul lives unknowing of death, and consciously re-
joices in the vision of Christ ; " prima vivis in gloria dei
et in pace domini nostri xr. — " Prima, thou livest in
the glory of God, and in the peace of Christ, Our Lord." *
The glorious doctrine of the resurrection, which is
peculiarly the characteristic of our holy religion as dis-
tinguished from all the faiths of antiquity, was every-
where recorded throughout the Catacombs. It was
symbolized in the ever-recurring representations of the
story of Jonah and of the raising of Lazarus, and was
strongly asserted in numerous inscriptions. As the
early Christians laid the remains of the departed
saint in their last long rest, the sacred words of the
Gospel, " I am the Resurrection and the Life," must
have echoed with a strange power through the long cor-
ridors of that silent city of the dead, and have filled
the hearts of the believers, though surrounded by the
evidences of their mortality, with an exultant thrill of
triumph over death and the grave. This was a recom-
pense for all their pains. Of this not even the malig-
nant ingenuity of persecution could deprive them. Al-
though the body were consumed and its ashes strewn
upon the waters, or sown upon the wandering winds,
still, still the Lord knoweth them that are his, and

* Of the Antiochene Christians Chrysostom writes : " They say not
of the departed 'he is dead,' but, 'he is perfected.'" — Horn, irj
Matt., 68.

43 2 The Catacombs of Rome.

keeps the dust of his chosen. Tertullian ridicules the
heathen for believing the doctrine of metempsychosis
and rejecting that of the resurrection.* " God forbid
that he should abandon to everlasting destruction," he
exclaims, " the labour of his hands, the care of his own
thoughts, the receptacle of his own Spirit ! " f

The hope of the resurrection is often strongly ex-
pressed, as in the following examples :

HIC REQVIESCIT CARO MEA NOVISSLMO VERO DIE
PER XPM CREDO RESVSCITABITVR A MORTVIS. (A. D. 544.)
Here rests my flesh ; but at the last day, through Christ, I believe it
will be raised from the dead.

RELICTIS TVIS IACES IN PACE SOPORE

MERITA RESVRGES TEMPORALIS TIBI DATA REQVIETIO.

You, well-deserving one, having left your (relations), lie asleep in
peace — you will arise — a temporary rest is granted you.

In an epitaph of the year 449 we read, recepta

CAELO MERVIT OCCVRRERE XPO AD RESVRRECTIONEM

praemivm aeternvm svscipere digna — " Received
into heaven, she deserved to meet Christ at the resur-
rection, worthy to receive an everlasting reward." In the
following example from the Catacomb of Naples, Chris-
tian confidence adopts the sublime language of Job :

CREDO QVIA REDEMPTOR MEVS BIBIT (sic) ET NOBISSIMO DIE
DE TERRA SVSCITABIT ME IN CARNE MEA VIDEBO DOM.

believe, because that my Redeemer liveth, and in the last day
shall raise me from the earth, that in my flesh I shall see the Lord.

More briefly is this cardinal doctrine asserted in the
following : ivstvs cvm scis xpo mediante resvrget
— " Justus, who will arise with the saints through Christ."

* Apol.y c. 48.

f De Resur. Cam., c. 9. He mentions the long duration of the
bones and teeth, and quotes the story of the phoenix as an argument-
in favour of the doctrine, c. 13.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 433

HIC IN PACE REQVIESCIT LAVRENTIA QVAE CREDIDIT

resvrrectionem — " Here reposes in peace Laurentia,
who believed in the resurrection."*

The very idea of death seems to have been repu-
diated by the primitive Christians. " Non mortua sed
data somno" sings Prudentius in paraphrase of the
words of Our Lord, " She is not dead but sleepeth."f
Hence the Catacomb was designated the coejneterium,\
or place of sleeping, and the funeral vault the cubicidum,
or sleeping chamber. The dead were not "buried," as
the pagan expressions conditus, compositus, situs, indicate ;
but depositus, " laid down " in their lowly beds till the
everlasting morn should come, and the angel's trump
awake them ; consigned as a precious trust to the ten-
der keeping of mother earth, and " lying in wait for the
resurrection." § The saints were " fallen asleep " in
Jesus, and on the bridal morning of the soul they should
awake with his likeness and be satisfied. The primitive
Christians believed that the power which called a Laz-
arus from the tomb could wake to life again the slum-
bering millions of this valley of dry bones, vaster far

* A spurious epitaph of the fourteenth century, given by Maitland,
p. 82, as genuine, thus fantastically refers to this august theme : qvi
INQVIETVS VIXI NVNC TANDEM MORTVVS NON LVBENS QVIESCO,
SOLVS CVR SIM QVAESERIS (sic) VT IN DIE CENSORIO SINE IMPEDI-
MENTS FAClLivs resvrgam — " I who lived restless, being now
at length dead, rest unwillingly. Do you ask why I am alone?
That in the day of Judgment I may more readily rise without
impediment."

f See also the epitaph given in Book I, chap. iii. — ALEXANDER
.mortvvs non est sed vivit svper ASTRA — " Alexander is not dead
but lives above the stars."

\ Similarly the African Christians called their burial places accu
litoria — " sleeping places."

§ Wiseman, Fabiola, p. 145. Dr. McCaul, however, regards the
expression as simply equivalent to buried.

434 The Catacombs of Rome.

than that of Ezekiel's vision, till they should stand up
upon their feet an exceeding great army.

But this sleep was a sleep of the body only, not of
the soul. The ancient Christians were assured, as we
have seen, of the immediate happiness of those tnat
died in the faith. They believed that being absent
from the body they were present with the Lord ; that
as soon as they passed from earth's living death they
entered into the undying life and unfading bliss of
heaven. Though surrounded by the mouldering bodies
of the saints in Christ, the eye of faith beheld their glo-
rified spirits, starry-crowned and palm-bearing, among
the white-robed multitude before the throne of God.
They admitted no thought of a long and dreary period
of forgetfulness, nor probation of purgatorial fires, be-
fore the soul could enter into joy and peace.

The sublime reflections with which Cyprian con-
cludes his treatise De Mortalitate nobly express the
grand consoling thoughts which sustained the primitive
Christians, and which sustain God's saints in every age.
" We are but pilgrims and strangers here below," he
exclaims, " let us then welcome the day that gives to us
the joys of heaven. What exile longs not for his native
land ? Our true native land is paradise. A large and
loving company expects us there. O the bliss of those
celestial realms where no fear of dying enters ! There
the glorious choir of the apostles, the exulting com-
pany of the prophets, the countless army of the mar-
tyrs, await us. To them let us eagerly hasten. Let us
long to be with them the sooner, that we may the sooner
be with Christ."

What a striking contrast to these holy hopes is the
pagans' blankness of despair concerning the future.
Compared with this assurance of a blissful immortality.

Their Doctrinal TcacJiings. 435

how cold and cheerless is their shadowy elysium, their
unsubstantial visions of the spirit-world ; how terrible
the gloomy Acherontian lake, dark Lethe"s stream, and
Styx, and fiery Phlegethon. Like a gleam of heaven's
sunshine in a benighted age are these rude inscriptions
of the early Christians. Sublimer is their lofty hope,
reaching forward beyond this world, and laying hands
of faith upon the eternal verities of the world to come,
than the imperishable renown of classic sages, or the
Roman poet's vaunting boast of earthly immortality —
Non omnis inoriar.

Even the high philosophy of Greece and the noble
stoicism of the Roman mind afford no consolation to
the soul brought face to face with the solemn mystery
of death. A forced and sullen submission to the in-
evitable is all that they can teach. They shed no light
upon the world beyond the grave, domvs aeterna —
"An eternal home,"* and somno aeternali — "In
eternal sleep," are written on their tombs, frequently ac-
companied by an inverted torch, the emblem of despair.
To them death is an unsolved and insoluble problem.
Their loftiest reasonings lack authority to satisfy the
mind. It is the gospel of Christ alone which dispels
the awful shadows of the tomb, plants the flower of
hope in the very ashes of the grave, and brings life and
immortality to light; which appeases the soul-hunger of
mankind, and meets the yearning cry of the human
heart.

* This phrase is sometimes, though very rarely, inadvertently used
in Christian epitaphs, as also the expression, Tbv uypfiyopov vnvov
Kadevdei — " Sleeps the sleep that knows no waking." Of somewhat
pagan form is the following epitaph of Cardinal Porto-Carero at To-
ledo, Hie jacet pulvis cinis et nihil — " Here lies dust and ashes, and
nothing more."

436 The Catacombs of Rome.

Even the thoughtful mind of Pliny could extract no
comfort from the various theories concerning the future
state, but looked forward to annihilation as the universal
doom. " To all," he says, " from the last day of life is
there the same lot that there was before the first ; nor is
there any more consciousness after death than there was
before birth."* Of Agricola, the wise and good, the
philosophic Tacitus could only say with an incredulous
sigh, " Doubtless if there be a place for the departed
spirits of the just, if great souls perish not with the
body, thou dost calmly repose. "f " That the manes are
any thing," says Juvenal, " or that the nether world is
any thing, not even boys believe, unless those still in the
nursery." J In sullen submission to fate, the pagan sub-
mits to the inevitable doom. When the name has issued
from the fatal urn he leaves forever his woods, his villa,
his pleasant home, and enters the bark which is to bear
him into eternal exile. § The wisest sages can only fan
the embers of their hopes into a flickering flame, and
cry, "Ha! we have seen the fire."

The following are examples of the melancholy and
despairing spirit often breathed by pagan epitaphs :

PRAEVENERE DIEM VITAE CRVDELIA FATA
ET RAPTAM INTERNA ME POSVERE RATE

HOC LECTO ELOGIO IVVENIS MISERERE IACENTIS
ET DIC DISCEDENS SIT TIBI TERRA LEVIS.

* Omnibus a suprema die eadem quce ante primum, nee magis a
morte sensus ullus aut corporis aut animce, quam ante natalem.

f Si quis piorum manibus locus, si non cum corpore extinguuntur
magnre animce,placide quiescas. — Vit. Agric.

% Esse aliquid manes et subterranea regna,

Nee pueri credunt.nisi qui nondum cere lavantur. — Sat., ii, 149.

§ See that saddest but most beautiful of the odes of Horace — To
Delium, II, 3.

. . . Et nos in ceternum
Exilium impositura cymbae.

Their Doctrinal Teachings, 437

The cruel fates have anticipated the term of life, and placed me,
snatched away, in the infernal bark. Having read this elegy pity the
fallen youth and say departing, May the earth be light upon thee.

INFANTI DVLCISSIMO QVEM DII IRATI AETERNO SOMNO

dedervnt — " To a very sweet child, whom the angry
gods gave to eternal sleep." svscipe nvnc conivnx

51 QVIS POST FVNERA SENSVS DEBITA MANIBVS OFFICIA —

" Receive now, O husband, if after death is any con-
sciousness, the rites due to departed spirits." The
hopeless parting of a dying wife is thus expressed : care

MARITE MIHI DVLCISSIMA NATA VALETE " O husband,

dear to me, and dearest daughter, farewell." Or more
briefly we read, ave atqve vale — " Hail and farewell."
Sometimes the desponding view of life is like the bit-
ter experience of the Hebrew moralist, " Vanity of
vanities, all is vanity ! " One such example reads thus :

DECIPIMVR VOTIS ET TEMPORE FALLIMVR ET MORS
DERIDET CVRAS ANXIA VITA NIHIL.
We are deceived by our vows, misled by time, and death derides 1/
our cares ; anxious life is naught.

Of similar character is the following recalling the
complaint of Job, " He cometh forth as a flower and is
cut down : " vive laetvs qvicvnqve vivis vita par-

VVM MVNVS EST MOX EXORTA EST SENSIM VIGESCIT

deinde sensim deficit — " Live joyful who ever thou
art that livest. Life is a small gift. It is scarcely sprung
up when it imperceptibly flourishes and then impercep-
tibly declines." The succeeding example is remarkable
for its misanthropy : animal ingrativs homine nvllvm
est — "No animal is more ungrateful than man." The
inspired apothegm, "We brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out," is illustrated
in the following : ex omnibvs bonis svis hoc sibi svmp-
-Servmt — " Of all their wealth they possess only this

43 8 The Catacombs of Rome.

tomb." We find also the expression, mater genvit me
mater recipit — " Mother (earth) nourished me, she
receives me again," analogous to the declaration of
Scripture, " Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return." Spon gives also the following example : vixi
vt vivis morieris vt svm MORTWS— " I have lived as
thou livest, thou shalt die as I have died." Some-
times the cold consolation is offered that others are
also the subjects of sorrow and death, as dolor talis
non tibi contigit vni — " Such grief affects not thee
alone ; " nec tibi nec nobis aeternvm vivere cessit
— " Neither to you nor to us was it granted to live
forever." Similar to this is a Christian inscription,
EY*YXE1 CEKOYNAE OYAEIC A9AN0T0C — " Be of good
cheer, Secundus; no one is immortal."

More painful even than the gloomy stoicism of many
pagan inscriptions is the light Epicurean tone which
frequently occurs, as in the instance which follows, where
life is compared to a play :

VIXI • DVM ■ VIXI • BENE • IAM • MEA
PERACTA • MOX • VESTRA • AGETVR
FABVLA • VALETE • ET • PLAVDITE .

While I lived, I lived well. My play is now ended, soon yours
will be. Farewell and applaud me.*

In the succeeding example the sentiment is still more
Anacreontic. It breathes the true pagan spirit, Carpe
diem — " Seize the day. Pluck each flower of pleasure as
you pass. Press all life's nectar into one frenzied
draught and drain it to the dregs. Let us eat and drink,

* In a similar spirit the dying emperor Augustus inquired if he had
played his part well in the farce of life, and asked the applause of his
courtiers.

A 6 re upbrov
Kal ndvrtc v/ieig peru xni),lC KTVir^aare.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 439

for to-morroAV we die." Even in the solemn presence
of death, the soul, unawed by the dread shadow of the
future, turns regretfully to the vanished pleasures of
earth, and finds its only consolation in the thought of
their enjoyment.

D • M • TI : CLAVDI • SECVNDI

HIC • SECVM • HABET • OMNIA

BALNEA • VINVM • VENVS • CORRVMPVNT • CORPORA

NOSTRA • SED • VITAM • FACIVNT B • V • V •

To the Divine Manes of Tiberius Claudius Secundus. Here he en-
joys every thing. Baths, wine, and lust ruin our constitutions, but — ■
they make life what it is. Farewell, farewell.*

The following expresses the very essence of coarse
sensualism : qvod edi et bibi mecvm habeo qvod
reliqvi perdidi — "What I ate and drank I have
with me; what I left I have lost." Compare the
moral antithesis of the sentiment expressed by John
Wesley : "What I gave away I have still ; what I kept I
have lost."

Frequently the pagan epitaphs contain an outburst
of scorn or defiance of the unjust gods that sit aloft
and make their sport of human woe, as is seen in the
accompanying examples :

PROCOPE • MANVS • LEBO • CONTRA • DEVM
QVI • ME • INNOCENTEM • SVSTVLIT.
I, Procope, lift up my hands against the god who snatched away
me innocent.

In an epitaph in the Lapidarian Gallery a bereaved
mother in the bitterness of her soul cries out :

ATROX O FORTVNA TRVCI QVAE FVNERE GAVDES
QVID MIHI TAM SVBITO MAXIMVS ERIPITVR
QVI MODO IVCVNDVS GREMIO SVPERESSE SOLEBAT
HIC LAPIS IN TVMVLO NVNC IACET ECCE MATER.

* The Swedish poet Georg St. Jernhjelm ordered to be written on
his tomb the pagan sentiment, vixit dvm vixit LAEtvs — " While he
lived he lived merrily."

440 The Catacombs of Rome.

O relentless Fortune, who delightest in cruel death,
Why is Maximus so suddenly snatched from me?
He who lately used to be joyful in my bosom,
This stone now marks his tomb. — Behold his mother.

Compare also the following : invida libittna filiis
abstvlit patrem — " Envious Libitina snatched away
a father from his children;" victa est ivsticia non
aeqvo ivdice fa'to — " Justice is overcome by that unjust
judge, Fate; " mis iniqvis animvlam tvam rapvervnt
— "To the unjust gods, (who) snatched away thy soul."

But the holy teachings of Christianity revealed to the
weary and heavy laden souls of men, aching with a
sense of orphanage, the loving Fatherhood of God,*
and produced a spirit of meekness and resignation alto-
gether foreign to the pagan mind. Of pathetic interest,
as illustrating this fact, is a Christian fragment of date
circ. A. D. 600, on which we may still read the in-
scription

QVI • DEDIT • ET • ABSTVLIT
.... OMINI ■ BENEDIC ....

The familiar words suggest the imperishable thought,
which has been a source of consolation to bereaved
ones in every age. " Like a voice from among the
graves," says Dr. Maitland, " broken by sobs, yet dis-
tinctly intelligible, fall these words on the listening ear,
' who gave, and hath taken away — blessed [be the
name] of the Lord.' "

We occasionally find pagan inscriptions breathing a
sense of spiritual existence and hope of future life.f
The yearning of the human heart that

Longs for the touch of a vanished hand
And the sound of a voice that is still,

* " God counts even the bristles of the swine," says Tertullian,
" much more the hairs of his children."

f The following proposes a practical test of the existence of spirits:
TVLEGIS ET DVBITAS MANES ESSE SrONSIONE FACTA INVOCA NOS ET

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 441

and the hunger of the soul for communion with the
dear departed in the loving tryst of the silent land are
pathetically expressed in the following prayer of Furia
Spes : peto vos manes sanctissimae (sic) . . . mevm

CONIVGEM HORIS NOCTVRNIS VT VIDEAM ET ETIAM VT
EGO DVLCIVS ET CELERIVS APVD EVM PERVENIRE POS-

sim — " I beseech you, most holy spirits, that I may
behold my husband in the midnight hours ; and also that
I may more sweetly and swiftly go to him."

More common, however, is the feeling of hopeless
severance expressed by the frequent valediction, vale
vale longvm vale — " Farewell, farewell, a long fare-
well ; " or, sadder still, vale aeternvm — " Farewell
forever."

There occur in the Catacombs frequent examples of
acclamations addressed to the departed, expressive of a
desire for their happiness and peace. These acclama-
tions have been quoted by Romanist writers as indicat-
ing a belief in the doctrine of purgatory, and in the
efficacy of prayers on behalf of the dead. The im-
portance of this subject will justify its careful ex-
amination. Many of the examples quoted by Roman
controversialists are not precatory at all, but simply
declarative.* But there are others in which the ex-
pression assumes a distinctively optative form. Some

intelliges — " You who read this epitaph and doubt whether spirits
exist, invoke us, and by our answer you will know."

* Thus in Rock's Hierurgia, a standard Romanist authority, such
expressions as req in pace are explained sometimes in defiance of
the grammatical construction of the context, as signifying " Mayest thou
rest," as if reqviescas, instead of, in analogy with numerous other
examples, "he rests," — reqviescit. Sometimes the cardinal word is
entirely omitted, as in the expression, IN pace et benedictione,
which is quite unwarrantably translated, " May you rest in peace
and benediction."

442 The Catacombs of Rome.

of these may be of comparatively late date, as the graf-
fiti, or inscriptions of pilgrims near the more celebrated
shrines, of which we have seen examples at the so-called
"papal crypt." But others are unquestionably part of
the original epitaphs. We find, for instance, such ex-
pressions as vivas — " May you live ; " vivas in deo, ZHC
EN 0ES2 — " May you live in God ; " vivas in eternvm —
" May you live forever; " eterna tibi lvx — " Eternal
light to thee ; " estote in pace — " Be in peace ; " vivas
inter sanctos — " May you live among the holy ones ; "
vivas in nomine xti — " May you live, in the name of
Christ ; " ZHCHC (sic) IN AEO XPICTO — " May you live in
God Christ ; " vivas in domino zezv — " May you live
in the Lord Jesus;" vivas vincas — "May you live,
may you conquer ; " dormitio tva inter dicaeis,
(AIKA101C) — " May your sleep be among the just ; "

DEVS TIBI REFRIGERET SPIRITVM TVVM REFRIGERET

— "God refresh thee, refresh thy spirit;" EIPHNH COI
— " Peace to thee ; " EN EIPHNH sot TO nNETMA —
" In peace be thy spirit ; " O OEOC ANAnATCH THN
*TXHN EN CKHNAIC ATlilN — " God give thy soul
rest in the tents of the holy." These, it will be per-
ceived, are not intercessions for the dead, but mere
apostrophes addressed to them, as is apparent in
the following : ZQTIKE ZHCAICEN (sic) KTPIfl 9APPI, (sic)—
" Zoticus, mayest thou live in the Lord. Be of good
cheer." They were no more prayers for the souls of
the departed than is Byron's verse, " Bright be the place
of thy rest."

But the wish sometimes takes the form of a prayer
for the beloved one, as MNHC0HC IHCOTC O KTPIOC
TEKNON EM . . . — " Remember, O Lord Jesus, our
child ; " AEOTC XPICTOTC OMNHIOTEC CHIPIT . . .
TOT PE<I> . irEPE IX J^, (Latin in Greek characters,)

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 443

■ — " May the Almighty God Christ refresh thy spirit in
Christ." NHMNH9H EAYTOT Q 0EOC ICTOTC ArNAC (sic)
— " Remember him, O God, among thy lambs ; "
MNHC6HTI KTPIE THC KOIMHCEQC THC AOYAHC COY AN-
AIIAYCON THN *YXHN TOY AOYAOY COY EN TO ^ftTING
EN TO, ANAtYSEQC EIC KOAIION ABPAAM, — " Remember,
O God, the sleep of thy servant ; give rest to the
soul of thy servant in the light, in the refreshment in
Abraham's bosom :" domine ne advmbretvr spiritvs
— " O Lord ! let not (this) soul be brought into dark-
ness ; " MNHC9H AYTOY O OEOC EIC TOYC A1S2NAC — " May
God remember him forever."*

These intense expressions of affection of the ardent
Italian nature f that would fain follow the loved object
— " though lost to sight to memory dear " — beyond the
barrier of the tomb, are surely a slight foundation on
which to build the vast system of mercenary masses for
the dead. And yet they are the only evidences that
keen Roman controversialists can adduce from these
Christian inscriptions of the first six centuries. J And,
be it remembered, these inscriptions were not a for-
mulated and authoritative creed framed by learned the-
ologians, but the untutored utterances of humble peas-
ants, many of whom were recent converts from pagan-

* Sometimes the modernized form of the language indicates the
late origin of graffiti found on ancient monuments, as in the follow-
ing, PREGA ILA PER SILVINA, VIVI ILA NEL DIO CRISTO.

•J- The adoring love of Cicero for his daughter found expression in
the building of a temple to her memory.

% Rock quotes them as "proof" that the primitive Christians be-
lieved that the soul of the deceased might be in an intermediate
state, where the efficacy of such aspirations could reach him, and his
spirit could be refreshed and benefitted by the supplications of his
surviving brethren. — Hientrgia, p. 322. He gives several examples
similar to the above ; but no accumulation of such evidence affords the
slightest warrant for the corrupt practice of the Church of Rome.

444 The Cataco7nbs of Rome.

ism or Judaism, in which religions such expressions
were a customary sepulchral formula. The accompanying
examples indicate the prevalence of this practice in pagan
epigraphy: ave or have vale — " Hail, farewell ; " di tibi
benefaciant — " May the gods be good to thee ; " ossa
tva bene qviescant — " May thy bones rest well ; " sit
tibi terra levis — " May the earth be light upon thee ; "
xaipe etiiaoei— eyapomei — " Rejoice, a safe voyage,
a prosperous journey; " EY*YXEI KYPIA KAI AQH cor
OCIPIC TO *YXPON YAflP — " Be of good cheer, O
lady, and to thee Osiris give to quaff* the cooling
water;"* EN MYPOIC COI TEKNON H *YXH — "In
precious odours be thy soul, my child ; " Hie manes

PLACIDA NOCTE QVIESCANT ET SVPER IN NIDO MAJRA-

thonia cantet aedon — " Here may the manes rest
throughout the placid night, and above thee in her nest
may the Marathonian nightingale sing ; " bene valeas

MATER ROGAT TE VT ME AD TE RECIPIAS VALE — " Fare-
well, thy mother prays, O take me to thyself again,
farewell." f In the Jewish epitaphs these acclama-
tions are much more common than in the Christian in-
scriptions. The following is an example : marcia eoxa
ivdea dormitio in bonis — " Marcia, a good Jewess,
thy sleep be among the good." On many modern He-
brew tombstones are the words, " Let his soul be bound
up in the bundle of life."

Small wonder, therefore, that those Christian converts
who had been brought up in pagan or Jewish supersti-
tion should retain traces of this ancient custom so con-
genial to the sympathies of the human heart, unpre
scient as they were of the baneful results to which it
would lead. Their freedom of language had not yet
been restricted, as Bishop Kip remarks, to the cold
* Burgon. f Ibid.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 445

rules of ordinary logic by the fear of deadly heresy.
We know, indeed, from the testimony of the Fathers,
that mention of the dead was frequently made in the
prayers of the church. These prayers, however, were
often thanksgivings — ^VXV svxaQtarrJQCog — for those who
were asleep in Christ, or commemorations of their vir-
tues for the improvement of the living.* Many of the
Fathers vigorously protest against the idea that the
dead can be benefitted by any prayers on their behalf,
and strongly assert their changeless state in the other
world. f The notion, however, of the efficacy of these
prayers gradually crept into the church ; but that they
were not conceived to procure remission from purgato-
rial flames is evident from the fact that, even at a com-
paratively late period, they were offered on behalf of the
patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and saints, and
even of the Virgin Mary herself, who were all believed
to be in the immediate presence of God. At length
even this tremendous error found entrance into the
church, and gave into the hands of a mercenary hie-
rarchy the keys of heaven and hell.

But in the testimony of the Catacombs is no trace
of that torturing doctrine which hangs the heart on
tenter-hooks of dread suspense, and wrings from the
lacerated affections a dole to a hireling priesthood for

* Ut ex recordatione eorum proficiamus. — Orig. in Rom., xii.
These commemorations of the departed were generally celebrated on
the anniversaries of their death — their birthday as it was called — Ob-
lationes pro defunctis pro natalitiis, annua die facimus — Tertul., De
Coron. Mil., c. 3 ; cf. De Monogam., c. 10.

f Quando isthinc excessum fuerit, nullus jam locus pcenitentise est,
nullus satisfactionis effectus. — Cypr. ad Demet., § 16 ; cf. Greg. Naz.,
de Rebus suis, and Hieron. in Galat., c. 6. The modern Greek church
offers prayers for the dead without believing in the doctrine of
purgatory.

446 The Catacombs of Rome.

the exercise of their ghostly functions in delivering the
souls of the departed from burning flame There is no
hint in their cheerful art and pious epitaphs of the
Dantean horrors, the worse than Sisyphean toil, and
torments more dire than those of Tantalus, under the
intense conception of which for centuries the heart of
Christendom was wrung. No ; the early church believed
the pious dead already to enjoy the ampler life, the
more ethereal air, and sweet beatitude of paradise.*

Associated with the Romish practice of praying for
the dead is that of praying to them. For this there is
still less authority in the testimony of the Catacombs
than for the former. There are, indeed, indications that
this custom was not unknown, but they are very rare
and exceptional. In all the dated inscriptions of the
first six centuries, thirteen hundred and seventy-
four in number, there is only one invocation of the
departed. It is that of the year 380, already given, in
which from the heart of an orphaned and ignorant \ girl,
in the hour of her bitter sorrow and bereavement, is
wrung the cry, pro hvnc vnvm ora svbolem — " O pray
for this, thine only child." The few undated inscrip-
tions of a similar character are probably of as late, or
it may be of a much later, date than this ; and the in-
vocation is almost invariably uttered by some relative
of the deceased, as if prompted by natural affection
rather than by religious feeling. Thus we have such
examples as the following : pete pro filiis tvis — " Pray
for thy children ; " pete et roga pro fratres et so-
boles tvos, {sic) — " Entreat and pray for your brothers

* The doctrine of purgatory was first preached by Gregory the
Great ; and this fiery realm, so rich in revenue of tears and blood,
was afterward formally annexed to the papal dominions by a bulL

f See the barbarous Latinity of the inscription, p. 426.

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 447

and children ; " ora pro parentibvs tvis — " Pray for
thy parents ; " vibas in pace et pete pro nobis — " May
you live in peace and pray for us ; " vibas in deo et
roga — " May you live in God and pray ; " in oration-

IBVS TVIS ROGES PRO NOBIS QVIA SCIMVS TE IN ^ "In

your prayers, pray for us, for we know you (to be) in
Christ." AIONYCIOC NHniOC AKAKOC EN0AAE KEITE
META T£2N ATIQN MNHCKEC9E AE KAI HMQN EN TAIC
AriAIC TMS2N nPEYXAC KAI TOY rAY¥ATOC KAI TPA-
•PANTOC — " Dionysius a spotless infant, lies here with
the saints. O remember us also in thy holy prayers ;
aye, and the sculptor and writer as well." The last
clause is in smaller characters as if an afterthought.*

These few examples among eleven thousand inscrip-
tions, of which the greater number are of post-Constan-
tinian date, are a slight foundation for the vast Roman
system of the invocation of saints. "If this doctrine,"
says Bishop Kip, " so much in unison with many of the
deepest feelings of our nature, had been held by the
primitive church, we should have found it written
broadly and clearly every-where through these epitaphs.
Its proof would not be left to half a dozen inscriptions
among thousands which plainly declare the reverse."
How different from these lowly crypts is a modern
Romish sepulchral chapel, with its ceaseless appeals by

* Some of the examples of alleged invocation of saints given by
Romanist writers are altogether gratuitous assumptions. Thus the
letters P. T. PR. n. s. have been, without the slightest warrant, expanded
thus, Pete pro nobis, "Pray for us." Others are merely requests to
be remembered by the dear departed, as AIONYCIN EIC MNIAN
EXETE — " Have ye in remembrance Dionysius. " The graffiti of
the pilgrims at the shrines of the more celebrated martyrs, in which
are occasional invocations of the dead, are no criteria of primitive
belief and practice, for these are of every age down to comparatively
late mediaeval times. The example in the text is from Burgon.

448 The Catacombs of Rome.

the dead for the prayers of the living, and by the living
for the prayers of the dead ; with its ever-recurring Orate
pro auima, and Maria sanctissima, ora pro nobis. We
search in vain through all the corridors of those an-
cient sanctuaries of the Christian faith for a single ex-
ample of these now universal Romish formulae.

The invocation of saints probably sprang from the
superstitious reverence paid to the martyrs after the
age of persecution had passed. Miserere nostrarwn pre-
ci/ni, " Pitying, hear our prayer," sings Prudentius at the
close of the fourth century in his hymn to St. Vincent.

VT DAMASI PRECIBVS FAVEAS PRECOR INCLYTA MARTYR —

" Illustrious martyr, I beseech thee to aid my prayers,"
writes Damasus about the same period in his epitaph on
St. Agnes; and in an epitaph on his sister Irene he ex-
claims, NOSTRI REMINISCERE VIRGO VT TVA PER DOM-

invm praestet mihi facvla lvmen — " Remember me,
O virgin, that by God's help your torch may give me
light."

Thus was developed in course of time avast celestial
hierarchy endowed with the attributes of Deity,* usurp-
ing the intercessory office of Christ, and rivalling the
polytheism of paganism. The primitive Fathers repu-
diated the worship of any saint or angel, or the inter-
vention of any mediator with God but Christ. " We
worship the Son of God," write the elders of Smyrna,
"but the martyrs we only love." f "We sacrifice not
to martyrs," says Augustine, "but to the one God, both

* Qui lumine Christi
Cuncta et operta vides, longeque absentia ceniis.

— Paulin., Nat. vi
See also the Litany of the Saints in Romish Missal.
Ylbv tov Qeov npooKvvovfiev tovc 6e fidprupag ayanupev. — Euseb^
>v. 35-

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 449

theirs and ours; "* "nor is our religion," he indignantly
adds, "the worship of dead men."f "It is the devil
who has introduced this homage of angels," says Chry-
sostom ; J and the Council of Laodicea, (A. D. 361,)
forbade their invocation as idolatrous and a forsaking
of Christ. §

We now turn from these polemical subjects to the
consideration of the doctrines, common to Christendom,
of the trinity of the Godhead and the divinity of Jesus
Christ. We know from ecclesiastical history that nu-
merous heresies sprang up in the early centuries with ■
reference to these august themes ; but no evidence ac-
cuses the church in the Catacombs of departure from
the primitive and orthodox faith in these important
respects. Frequently, indeed, the belief in these car-
dinal doctrines is so strongly asserted as to suggest, that
it is in designed and vigorous protest against the con-
temporary heretical notions.

The doctrine of the essential divinity of the Son of
God is repeatedly and strikingly affirmed. Not only are
the symbolical letters Alpha and Omega often associated
with the sacred monogram, in allusion to the sublime
passage in the Revelation descriptive of the eternity of

* Nee . . . sacrificemus martyribus, sed uni Deo et martyrum et
nostra. — De Civ. Dei., 22, 10.

f Non sit nobis religio cultus hominum mortuorum. — De Ver.
Relig., c. 55.

\ 'O did/3oAof ra tuv uyyeXuv kneiafiyayE. — Horn., 9.

§ Ot< del Xpiariavovc uyyeTiovg ovofid&iv. — Can., 35. The "saints"
of the primitive church, says Schaff, were the whole body of believers,
and not a narrow spiritual aristocracy, as in the Romish church. The
Council of Constantinople, A. D. 712, decreed that " Whosoever will
not avail himself of the intercession of the Virgin Mary, let him be
accursed." " May God Almighty forgive your sin by the merits of
Our Lady," said Gregory VII. to Beatrice and Matilda. — Harduin
vi, 1235.

45 o The Catacombs of Rome.

Christ, but his name and Messianic title are variously
combined with that of the Deity so as to indicate their
identity. Thus we have the expressions zhchc in deo
XPICTO, {sic) — EN GEO KYPEIQ XEICTG, (sic) — VIBAS
in christo deo — in domino iesv — " May you live in
God Christ — in God, the Lord Christ — in Christ God —
in the Lord Jesus." Or the divine attributes are still
more strongly expressed as follows : AEOTC XPICTOYC
OMNIIIOTEC, (sic) — " God Christ Almighty ; " deo sanc
xro vn lvc, (sic) — " God, holy Christ, only light ; " deo
sanc <g^ vni, (sic) — "To Christ, the one holy God."
We have seen the impression in the plaster of a grave
whereby some orthodox believer, probably in protest
against the Arian heresy, has " set to his seal " that
"Christ is God." Fig. 119, page 386.*

Mention is made of the three persons of the Trinity
separately in several epitaphs in which the deceased is

* We have frequent evidence of the zeal of the early Christians in
the study of the Scriptures. The Bible was not the sealed book that
it is in modern Rome. Jerome counsels that it be frequently read
and scarcely ever laid aside, that it be studied not as a task but for
delight and instruction, and that some of it be learned by heart every
day. — Divinas Scripturas soepius lege, imo nunquam de manibus tuis
sacra lectio deponatur. — Ep. ad Nepotian., 7. Non ad laborem, sed
ad delectationem et instructionem animae. — Ep. ad Demetriad, 15.
Nee licebat cuiquam sororum ignorare psalmos, et non de Scripturis
Sanctis quotidie aliquid discere. — Ep. ad Eustoch, 19.

We find no traces in the early period of the church of the fierce
intolerance and dreadful anathemas that mark modern Romanism.
Tertullian in golden words asserts that liberty of conscience which
a Dominic and Torquemada afterward so ruthlessly trampled under
foot. " It is a fundamental human right," lie exclaims, " that every
man should worship according to his own conviction. It is no part of
religion to compel religion." — Ad Scap., 2. Compare also the wise
words of Cassiodorus : " Cum divinitas patiatur multas religiones
esse, nos unam non audemus imponere. Retinemus enim legisse,
voluntarie sacrificandum esse domino, non cujusquam cogentis im-
perio."

Their Doctrinal Teachings. 451

said to sleep in deo — in christo — in spiritv sancto,
and collectively in the following of date 403, qvin-

TILIANVS HOMO DEI CONFIRMANS TRINITATEM AMANS

castitatem respvens mvndvm — " Quintilianus, a man
of God, holding fast the doctrine of the Trinity, lov-
ing chastity, contemning the world." In later exam-
ples from Aqueilia and other places we find the formulas,

IN NOMINE SANCTAE TRINITATIS PATRIS ET FILII ET

spiritvs sancti — " In the name of the Holy Trinity — ■
of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."*

Patristic evidence informs us that both these doc-
trines were firmly held by the primitive Christians.
The doxologies, benedictions, and baptismal formulae,
of the ancient liturgies are all in the name of the triune
God. The divinity of the three persons and at the
same time the unity of the Godhead are distinctly and

* The pagan Lucian satirizes the Christian doctrine of the Trinity,
" one in three and three in one " — "Ev Ik rpcuv, teal ef £i>oc rpla. — Phi-
lopatr., ad fine. Pliny mentions the Christian worship of Christ as
God, " Carmenque Christo quasi Deo." — Ep. ad Had. In response to
the heathen accusation of worshipping a mere man, a crucified im-
postor— avEGK.o7io-iajiivrjV cotyiOTTjv, (Luc, de Mort. Pereg.,) the
Christians reply that he is also God : Ti'oc nal izaTijp sig a/upo Kviriog
— Clem., Paed., iii, 12 ; " Deus est et Dei Filius, et unus ambo." — Ter-
tu\., Apol., 30. In contrast to Christian monotheism, Tertullian ridi-
cules the polytheism of the heathen, and compares the contests of the
gods in Homer to those of gladiators. — Ad. Nat., 10. Imitating the
keen irony of Isaiah, he exclaims, " You make a cooking pot of Saturn
a frying pan of Minerva. Even the mice gnaw, the spiders defoul
your gods." — Ibid., ii, 12. The trinity of Plato and the Hindoo sages
was a mere speculative subtlety. Tertullian spurned the fusion of
philosophy and Christian doctrine. "Away with such mottled Chris-
tianity," he exclaims. — De Prcescrip. H<zret., c. 7. Compare his
noble confession of faith in God, the eternal Spirit, an incorporeal
essence, the true Prometheus who gave order to the world, conclud-
ing with the noble words, " We say, and before all men we say, and
torn and bleeding under your tortures we cry out, ' We worship God
through Christ.'" — Apol., 17-22.

452 The Catacombs of Rome.

often asserted. This is also affirmed in frequent Chris-
tian inscriptions " to the one God" — deo vno. (sic.)

Such, then, is the testimony of the Catacombs con-
cerning the doctrines of the early believers — a testimony
more favourable to the general character of ancient
Christianity than the writings of the Fathers and eccle-
siastical historians of the times ; probably, as Dr. Maitland
remarks, because " the sepulchral tablet is more con-
genial to the expression of pious feeling than the con-
troversial epistle, or even the much needed episcopal
rebuke." We know, indeed, from these latter sources,
that heresy, strife, recrimination, and mutual anathemas
early disgraced the religion of peace and love. But no
sounds of this profane controversy disturbed those quiet
resting-places of the Christian dead. The expression
of faith and hope and joy and peace — the peace of God
that passeth all understanding — every-where appears.
The stricken and sorrowing believer burst not forth like
the heathen in passionate complainings and impotent
rage against the gods, but bowed in meek submission to
His will who doeth all things well. With devout and
chastened spirit he bore the ills of life, and with calm
confidence and holy joy he met the doom of death,

Not like the quarry slave, at night
Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approached his grave,
Like one who wrapped the drapery of his couch
About him, and lay down to pleasant dreams.*

* Bryant's Thanatopsis.

Social and Domestic Relations. 453

CHAPTER III.

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND CHARACTER AS READ IN THE
CATACOMBS.

The inscriptions of the Catacombs give us many inter-
esting indications of the social position, domestic rela-
tions, and general character of the primitive Christians,
as well as of their religious belief. They lift the veil
of ages from the buried past and cause it to live again, lit
up with a thousand natural touches which we seek in
vain from books. They bridge the gulf of time, and
make us in a sense contemporaries of the early church
They give us an insight into the daily life and occupa-
tions of the ancient believers, of which no mention is
made in the crowded page of history. The winding
Catacombs are the whispering gallery of the bygone
ages. Their humble epitaphs are echoes thrilling with
a deep and tender meaning, too low and gentle to be
heard across the strife of intervening years. In their
touching pathos we seem to hear the sob of natural sorrow
for the loved and lost, " the fall of kisses on unanswer-
ing clay," the throbbings of the human heart in the
hour of its deepest emotion, when the parting pang un-
seals the founts of feeling in the soul. We read of the
yearnings of an affection that reaches beyond the grave,
and hungers for reunion with the dear departed above
the skies ; the expression of an inextinguishable love that
death itself cannot destroy. We see the emblematic
palm and crown rudely scratched upon the grave
wherein the Christian athlete, having fought the fight

454 The Catacombs of Rome.

and kept the faith, has entered into dreamless rest. We
read, too, the records of the worldly rank of the de-
ceased— sometimes exalted, more often lowly and ob-
scure— frequently accompanied by the emblems of
their humble toil.

The very names written on these marble slabs are
often beautifully and designedly expressive of Christian
sentiment or character. Sometimes the correspondence
of name and character is indicated, as in the following :
2IMIIAIK1A H KAI KAABNYM02 — " Simplicia who was
also rightly so-called ; " hic vervs qvi semper vera
locvtvs — "Here lies Verus, who ever spoke verity."
These names were frequently assumed in adult age,
when the convert from paganism laid aside his former
designation, often of an idolatrous meaning, in order to
adopt one more consistent with the Christian profession.
Thus we have such beautifully significant names as
innocentia, " Innocence ; " constantia, " Constancy ; "
prvdentia, " Prudence ; " dignitas, " Dignity ;" decen-
tia, "Comeliness;" peregrinvs, "A pilgrim;" sab-
bat a, " Rest; " anastasia, " The resurrection ; " niSTIS,
" Faith ; " EAIII2 and spes, " Hope ; " ArAilH, " Love ; "
EIPHNH, "Peace;" ArAGH, "Good;" EY2EBI02,
"Pious;" ETKAPniA, " Good fruit;" probvs, " Just; "
felix, "Happy;" fidelis, "Faithful;" fortvnata,
"Fortunate;" vervs, "True;" dignvs, "Worthy;"
casta, " Pure ; " benignvs, " Kind ; " nobilis, " No-
ble ; " amabilis, " Amiable ; " ingenva, " Sincere ; "
venerosa, "Venerable;" gavdiosa, "Rejoicing,"
grata, " Pleasing ; " candidvs, " Frank ; " dvlcis and
TAYKY2, "Sweet;" severa, " Grave; " with the com-
paratives, felicior, nobilior, etc., and the superla-
tives, felicissima, " Most happy; " nobilissima, " Most
noble;" fidelissima, "Most faithful;" DIGNISSIMA,

Social and Domestic Relations, 455

" Most worthy ; " dvlcissima, " Most sweet ; " and the
like*

Sometimes, too, a pious word or phrase was used as a
proper name, as among the ancient Hebrews and the
English Puritans. Thus we have such examples as,
qvod vvlt devs, " What God wills ; " devs dedit,
" God gave ; " adeodatvs f and adeodata, " Given
by God ; " 0EOTOKO2, " God-born ; " GEOAftPA, " God-
given;" deo gratia, " Thanks to God ; " BEO<l>lA02,
" God-beloved; "J renatvs, "Born again;" redemp-
tvs, " Redeemed ; " acceptissima, " Very well pleas-
ing; " bonifacivs, "Well-doer; " EYIIPOSAEKTOS, "Ac-
cepted " or "Acceptable; " and 2J2ZOMENH, " Saved. "§
De Rossi thinks that the expressions, ancilla dei,
" Handmaid of God ; " and serws dei, " Servant of
God," are sometimes proper names.

Some of the names in these inscriptions were proba-
bly given by the heathen in reproach and contempt,
and were afterward adopted by the Christians in humil-
ity and self-abasement. It is difficult to account other-
wise for such names as, contvmeliosvs, " Injurious ;"

* Some of these occur also on pagan tombs.

\ This, it will be remembered, was the name of Augustine's son,
whose early death he so pathetically laments.

\ Compare also the classic names Diodorus, Herodotus, A then a-
dorus, Heliodorus, Apollodorus, Isidorus — the gift of Zeus, of Here,
of Athene, of the Sun, of Apollo, of Isis ; and Diogenes, Hermog-
enes — born of Zeus, of Hermes ; also the beautiful German names
Gottlieb, Gottlob — Beloved of God, Praise God, etc.

§ Compare the Puritan names : Accepted, Redeemed, Called,
More Fruit, Kill Sin, Fly Debate, and even lengthy texts of Scrip-
ture. See Neal's Puritans, ii, 133, third foot note. In New England
graveyards may still be found such names as Assurance, Faith, Hope,
Charity, Patience, Perseverance, and all the cardinal virtues, together
with Tribulation, and others still more ominous. Mi-. Wellbeloved is
the name of a living person. See also the French Bien Aime, etc.

45 6 The Catacombs of Rome.

calamitosa, " Destructive ; " proiectvs, " Cast out ; "
servilis, " Servile ; " and especially such opprobrious ep-
ithets as fimus and stercoria, " Dung " and " Filth." In
the last there maybe an allusion to the words of St. Paul,
(i Cor. iv, 13,) "We are made as the filth of the world,
and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."
Thus the primitive believers bound persecution as a
wreath about their brows, exulted in the glorious infamy,
and made the brand of shame the badge of honour.

A few Scripture names occur, and have a strangely
foreign look amid those of Greek or Latin origin by
which they are surrounded. Thus we have Petrus,
Joannes, Paulus, Stephanus, Rebecca, Elizabeth,
Susanna, and Maria. The extreme rarity of the last,
however, since so popular throughout Christendom, is an
indication that the homage of the Virgin Mary is the
growth of later times.

The names of animals were often applied to both
Christians and pagans, as Aper, Leo, Leopardus, Por-
cella, Muscula, Tigris, Ursus, and Ursa ; and some of
these we have seen pictorially represented on the
tombs.* Other names were derived from the months, as
Januarius, Aprilis, December, etc. ; and even from the
appellations of the pagan deities, as Mercurius, Apolli-
naris, etc. Sometimes the pet name by which the de-
ceased was familiarly known in life is recorded, as
Agnella, " Little Lamb ; " Lepusculus and Leporilla,
" Little Hare ; " Rosula, " Little Rose ; " Jocundilla,
" Merry Little Thing," etc.f

* Compare the funeral totems, the beaver, the bear, or eagle, of
the American Indians. The Greeks also had similar names : Lycos,
a wolf; Moschos, a calf; Corax, a raven ; Sauros, a lizard, etc.

f Sometimes a sort of pun or play upon words occurs, as the fol-
lowing: HIC IACET GLYCONIS DVLCIS NOMINE ERAT ANIMA QVO-
QVE dvlcior vsqve — " Here lies Glyconis. She was sweet by

Social and Domestic Relations. 457

Most of the names, as might be expected, were of
classic origin, sometimes indicating alliance with fami-
lies of senatorial, consular, or even imperial rank. We
find also indications of the custom of adopting the
names of the reigning dynasty. The modern Victorias
and Alberts find their analogues in the Aurelias and
Constantias of the Aurelian and Constantinian periods.
The lofty praenomen, nomen, and cognomen of the pa-
gan epitaphs rarely appear in this Christian series. Only
two or three examples of these triple names occur.
Even two names become uncommon, and persons un-
doubtedly entitled to these distinctions of rank were
recorded only by a single name. Having renounced
the pride of birth, and place, and power, they laid aside
their worldly titles for the new name given in Christian
baptism. Sometimes the names of the deceased are
not recorded in the epitaphs at all, perhaps, as Fabretti
suggests, because they wish them to be written only in
the Book of Life.* For the same reason probably, or
from poverty or ignorance, most of the funeral tiles and
slabs bear no inscription whatever.

These inscriptions frequently give intimations of the
social rank and occupations of the deceased. Some-
times the enumeration of titles indicates exalted posi-

name, her disposition also was even sweeter." heic est sepvlchrvm
pvlcrvm pvlcrae feminae — " Here is the beautiful tomb of a beau-
tiful woman." Much of the paronomasia is lost in translation.
Another conceit is giving the name of the deceased acrostically in
the initial letters of the lines, an invariable symbol of degraded taste.
See De Rossi, No. 677, A. D. 432.

A few examples of Gothic names occur, as Bringa, Uviliaric, Erida,
(is it Freda?) Ildebrand. In Gaul these are more striking, as Ingo-
mir, Hagen, and the like.

* Quia solum in libro vitse describi avebant. — Inscrip, Antiq.,
P- 545-

458 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion and the holding of important offices of trust.
Especially was this the case after the public establish-
ment of Christianity. Many of the later inscriptions
recount in pompous and inflated terms, strongly contrast-
ing with the brevity and simplicity of the earlier exam-
ples, the civil dignities and distinctions of the departed.
We have already seen the epitaph of an Imperial Proc-
urator.* The following are examples of later date.

IVN BASSVS • V- C • QVI VIXIT ANNIS ■ XLII MEN • II IN IPSA PRAE-
fectvra vrbi neofitvs HT AD DEVM — " Junius Bassus, a most dis-
tinguished man, who lived forty-two years, two months. Whilst
holding the office of Prsefect of the City, he, a neophyte, went to God."
(A. D. 359.) ADVENIT HOSPES ROMANVS PRINCEPS IN VRBEM CVI
FVIT hic primvm ivrisconsvltor AMICVS — " The Roman Empe-
ror (Constantine) came a stranger to the City, whose first friend was
this lawyer, hic reqviescint {sic) in pace praetextatvs vi •
ex qvestor scp et FiLiA eivs praetextata cf — " Here rest in
peace Prsetextatus, an illustrious man, ex-quaestor of the Sacred Pal-
ace, and his daughter Praetextata, a most distinguished woman."
(A. D. 486.) IVLIVS FELIX VALENTINIANVS • VC • ET (SP •) EX SILEN-
TIARIO SACRI PALATII EX COM • CONSISTORII • COM • DOM — " Julius
Felix Valentinianus, a man of the highest distinction and considera-
tion,! ex-Silentiary of the Sacred Palace, ex-Count of the Consistory,
Count of the Household Troops." (A. D. 519.)

MAIORVM LONGA VENIENS DE STIRPE SENATOR
AVXISTI MENTIS NOBILITATE GENVS

IVDICIS IMPERIVM SERVANS BONITATE MAGISTRA
CVM TIBI SVBIECTIS TV QVOQVE MILES ERAS

VRBANOS FASCES GAVDENS TIBI ROMA PARABAT. (A. D. 533.)
A Senator, coming from a long line of ancestors, thou didst dignify
thy family by nobility of mind, preserving the authority of the judge
by the power of goodness. Thou wast also a soldier with those sub-
ject to thee, and Rome rejoicing, was preparing for thee the fasces of
the city.

* See chap, ii, p. 419.

f Various titles of honour occur in these epitaphs, generally applied
to the Consuls, occasionally to the deceased, and indicated by initial
letters as above, and as follows: VI. , Vir Ilhtstris, "An Illustrious
Man;" VD., Vir Devotus,ox Devotissimus, " A Devout, or Very De-

Social and Domestic Relations. 459

We have also such examples as scrinarivs patri-
ciaesedis, "Secretary of the Patrician order; " primice-
rivs monetariorvm, " Chief of the bankers ; " argen-
tarivs, "A money dealer;" viator ad aerarivm,
"Sergeant to the Exchequer; " praefectvs annonae,
" Prefect of the market ; " v^estitor imperatoris,
" Master of the imperial wardrobe ;" magister scolae
tertiae, " Master of the Third School ; " medicvs, " A
physician," etc.

The great body of the Christians, however, were of
lowly rank, many of them probably slaves, as most of
the arts of life were carried on by that oppressed class.
It was the sneer of Celsus that " wool-workers, leather-
dressers, cobblers, the most illiterate of mankind, were
zealous preachers of the Gospel ; " but Tertullian re-
torts that every Christian craftsman can teach truths
loftier than Plato ever knew.* The inscriptions of the
Catacombs indicate that not many wise, not many
mighty, joined that phalanx of heroic souls ; but they
teach, too, that the lowliest toil may be dignified and
ennobled by being done to the glory of God. We have
seen represented on the tombs emblems of the occupa-
tion of the carpenter, mason, currier, wool-comber, shoe-
maker, vine-dresser, and fossor. We find also such
records of trade as pistor regionis xii, " A baker of
the Twelfth District ; " ortvlanvs, for hortula?ius,
" A gardener ; " patronvs corporis pastillariorvm,
" Patron of the Corporation of Confectioners ; " primi-

vout Man;" VC, Vir C/arissimus, FC, Femina Clarissima, " A
Most Distinguished Man or Woman ; " VH., Vir Honestus, FH.
Femina Honesta, " An Honourable Man or Woman ; " VSP., Vir
Spectabilis, " A Very Notable Man ; " VP., Vir Ferfectissimus, " A
Most Eminent Man ; " VD., Vir Doctissimus, " A Most Learned
Man."

* Apol., 46.

460 The Catacombs of Rome.

cerivs cenariorvm, " Chief of the cooks ; " horrea-
rivs, " A granary-keeper ; " carbonarivs, "' A char-
coal seller;" popinarivs, "A victualler;" bvbvla-
rivs de macello, " A flesher from the shambles ; "
capsararivs (sic) de antoninia, "A keeper of clothes
at the Antonine Baths ; " qvadratarivs, " A stone-
dresser ; " POLLICLA QVI (h)0RDEVM BENDIT (sic) DE

bia noba (sic,) " Pollicla, who sells barley in the New-
Street ; " IOHANNES VH. OLOGRAFVS (sic) PROPINE ISI-

dori, " John, a respectable man, a book-keeper in the
tavern of Isidorus; " also, less reputable still, vrbanvs
vh. tabernarivs, " Urban, a respectable man, a tav-
ern keeper." This, however, was in the year A. D.
584, when purity of faith and practice had greatly
degenerated. These lowly records are preserved and
studied with interest, when many of Rome's proudest
monuments have crumbled away.*

* It may not be uninteresting to notice some of the trades and oc-
cupations mentioned in pagan epitaphs. They are of a much wider
range than those of the Christians, indicating that the latter were a
" peculiar people," excluded from many pursuits on account of their
immoral or idolatrous character. Besides occupations like those
above mentioned, we find such examples as qvadrigarivs, " A
charioteer;" CVRSOR, "The runner;" MAGISTER LVDI, "Master
of the Games ;" MINISTER pocvli, " Toast master ;" DOCTOR MYR-
MILON. " Teacher of the gladiators," DERISOR, or scvrra coxvivi-
ORVM, " Buffoon, or clown of the revels ; " STVPIDVS GREGIS VR-
banae, " Clown of the city company of mountebanks." We have
also official titles, as nabicvlarivs cvr. corporis maris hadria-
tici, " Commissioner of the Hadriatic Company;" CVRATOR alvei
et RIPARVM MARIS, " Curator of the river channel and sea
banks;" MENSOR pvblicvs, "Public measurer;" vilicvs svpra
IIORTOS, " Steward over gardens ; " caesaris PRAESIGNATOR, " Im-
perial Notary;" invitator, "Agent." We notice, too, others,
as NVMVLARIVS, "A banker;" medicvs ivmentarivs, "Mule
doctor;" medicvs ocvlaris, "Oculist;" exonerator calca-
r.ivs, "Lime dealer;" lanarivs, "Wool-worker;" pectinakivs,
" Comb-seller ; " negotians salsamentarivs et vinf.arivs

Social and Domestic Relations. 461

Very often some phrase expressive of the Christian
character or distinguished virtues of the deceased is
recorded in loving remembrance by his sorrowing
friends. These testimonies are calculated to inspire a
very high opinion of the purity, blamelessness, and no-
bility of life of the primitive believers ; all the more
striking from its contrast with the abominable corrup-
tions of the pagan society by which they were sur-
rounded. With many points of external resemblance to
heathen inscriptions there is in these Christian epitaphs
a world-wide difference of informing spirit. Instead of
the pomp and pride of pagan panegyric, we have the
celebration of the modest virtues, of lowliness, gentle-
ness, and truth. The Christian ideal of excellence, as
indicated by the nature of the praises bestowed on the
departed, is shown to be utterly foreign to that of heathen
sentiment. The following are characteristic examples :

FELIX SANCTAE FIDEI VOCITVS (sic) IIT IN PACE

CVIVS TANTVS AMOR ET CARITAS RETENETVR AB AMICIS IN AEVO

QVI CVM ESSET FVIT SOLACIVS MISERICORS OMNIBVS NOTVS.

Felix of sacred honour, when called away went in peace, whose
love and affection are so warmly cherished by his friends ; who, when

" Salt and wine merchant ; " cvbicvlarivs, " Keeper of the
Couch ; " grammaticvs lectorqve, " Grammarian and reader ; "
comparator mercis svtoriae, " Shoemaker's furnisher ; " fvna-
rivs, "Rope maker;" negotiator lentic • et castreniar • " A
Camp Grocer and Sutler ; " redemptor ab aere, " Contractor in
Brass;" faber ferrarivs, "Iron Worker;" negotiator lvg-
dvnensis Artis, " A Dealer in Lyons wares," not silks, as the phrase
would now mean, but pottery ; exactor tribvtorvm, " Tax gath-
erer;" and the fanaticvs in the temple of Isis, i. e., one hired
to stimulate the zeal of the votaries by wild and frantic gestures,
attributed to the inspiration of the deity. We find also epitaphs
of actors, dancers, pantomimists, of one of whom, a young girl, it is
said, cvivs in octava lascivia svrgere messe coeperat — a
horrible circumstance to mention on her tomb.

462 The Catacombs of Rome.

he was in life was known to all for sympathy with the afflicted and
compassion toward the distressed.

IN SIMPLICITATE VIXIT AMICVS PAVPERVM INNOCEN-
TIVM MISERICORS SPECTABILIS ET PENITENS — " He lived

in simplicity, a friend of the poor, compassionate to the
innocent, a man of consideration and penitent." in-

FANTIAE AETAS VIRGINITATIS INTEGRITAS MORVM GRA-
VITAS FIDEI ET REVERENTIAE DISCIPLINA— " Of youthful

age, of spotless maidenhood, of grave manners, well
disciplined in faith and reverence."

More frequent than any other expression was the
phrase, common also to pagan epitaphs, bene merenti,
— " To the well-deserving," generally indicated by the
letters b. m. But many others of a more distinctively
Christian character occur, as, servvs dei, famvlvs dei,
"Servant of God;" AOTAOC niCTOC 6E0T, "Faithful
Servant of God;" AriOC • GEOCEBEC, "A holy wor-
shipper of God;" TAYKEPAN AriAN, "An amiable and
holy person;" sanctissimvs, "A most holy person; "
anima dvlcis et innocens, " Sweet and innocent
soul ; " amicvs omnivm, " Friend of all men ; " IIACI-
*IAOC KAI OYAENI EXGPOC, " Friend of all and enemy
of none ; " semper sine cvlpa, " Ever without fault ; "
amator pavpervm, "A lover of the poor;" homo
bonvs, "A good man; " stvdiosvs, " Zealous; " spir-
ito sancto, " To a holy soul ; " innocentissimvs,
" A most innocent person ; " and the like. Others are
of a more general character, as honestes recorda-
tiones (sic) vir, " A man worthy to be remembered
with honour ; " AEIMNHCTOC, " Ever to be remem-
bered ; " GEO*lAECTATOC, " The most devout or God-
loving;" mire (sic) sapientiae, "Of wonderful
wisdom;" lavdabilis femina, "A praiseworthy
woman ; " conivx dignissima, " A most worthy wife ; "

Social and Domestic Relations. 463

CASTISSIMAE ADQVE PVDICISS1MAE FEMINAE, " To a most

chaste and modest woman;" mirae pvlchritvdinis
atqve idoneitatis, " Of wonderful beauty and abil-
ity ; " MIRAE INTEGRITATIS et fidei atqve constan-
tiae, " Of wonderful integrity, faith, and steadfast-
ness ; " sapiens pivs atqve benignvs, " Wise, pious,
and kind ; " homo fidei et integritatis opinionis
bonae mentis integrae amicvs amicorvm, "A man
of sound faith and integrity, of good judgment, of a
sound mind, a friend of his friends ; " svabis (sic)
semperqve pvdica vera loqvens, "Agreeable and
ever modest, speaking the truth ; " bonitatis eximiae

ET MIRAE VERECVNDIAE ET VLTRA AETATEM SAPI-

entiae, " Of remarkable goodness and wonderful
modesty, and wise beyond her years ; " anima dvlcis,
innocva (sic) sapiens et pvlchra, " A sweet spirit,
guileless, wise, beautiful; " amatrix pavperorvm (sic)
et operaria, " A lover of the poor, and attentive to her
work ; " fidelis in xpo eivs mandata servans mar-
tyrvm obseqviis devota, " Faithful in Christ, keep-
ing his commands, devoted in attention to the mar-
tyrs ; " pvrvs amicitiae cvltor servator honesti
eloqvio miseros pietate ivvans, "A guileless pre-
server of friendship and observer of honour, helping
the wretched by words and by affectionate care ; " te
carvm svvoles te fixvm sensit amicvs te levitas
torvvm dvlcem cognovit honestvs, "Thee thy son
felt beloved, thy friend attached, thee the frivolous
found stern, but the upright knew to be gentle ; "
EYTEPIIE H TON MOYCflN CYNTPO<i>OC BIGCACA AI1AOC
OCIQC KAI AMEMnTGC, " Euterpe, a companion of the
Muses, having lived simply, piously, and irreproach-
ably." The last is from Sicily, the others are from
Rome. Other examples will be given in treating the

464 The Catacombs of Rome.

domestic and ecclesiastical relations of the primitive
Christians.

In these memorials of the departed we have a strik-
ing portraiture of the Christian graces and domestic
virtues of the early believers. The existence of such a
pure and blameless community in a base and sensual
age is one of the noblest chapters in the history of the
race. It was also an eloquent protest, a living testi-
mony against the abominations of pagan society and
the manifold corruptions which were in the world
through lust. From these the Christian community
recoiled with utter abhorrence, and, in the early centu-
ries, lived unspotted amid surrounding pollution.*

Although some of the pagan epitaphs betray a light
and sportive epicurean vein even in the solemn presence
of death, yet others indicate an appreciation of the do-
mestic and civic virtues, as in the following example :

MIRAE BONITATIS ADQVE INIMITABILIS SANCTITATIS TO-
TIVS CASTITATIS RARI EXEMPLI FEMINA CASTE BONE BITE
ET PIETOSE (sic) IN OMNIBVS . . . VIXIT SINE LESIONE
ANIMI MEI MECVM ANNOS XV. FILIOS AVTEM PROCREA-

vit vii — " Of wonderful goodness and inimitable piety,
of entire modesty, a woman of rare example, of a
chaste, virtuous, and pious life in all things. She lived
with me without any annoyance of my mind fifteen
years, and bore me seven children."

Often they are expressed with admirable brevity, as,
tantis virtvtibvs nvllvm par elogivm, " Of so great
virtue there is no equal praise ; " moribvs pariter et

* Tertullian bases his apology for the Christians on the blameless-
ness of their character, refutes the accusations against them, and
challenges proof. The unworthy members of the community, he
says, are only as moles or freckles on the body, or as a fleecy cloud
on a sunny sky, affecting not its general character. — Ad Nationes, 5.

Social and Domestic Relations. 465

DISCIPLINA CAETERIS FEMINIS EXEMPLVM, " She was

equally in manners and education an example to other
women ; " de cvivs pvdore nemo dicere potvit,
" Against whose modesty no one could say aught ; " *
and this noble testimony to a magistrate, qvid esset

MALEDICERE NESCHT NON TANQVAM, " What it Was to

speak evil he did not even know."

But it is especially in the domestic relations that the
tender and pure affections of the Christians are most
beautifully exhibited. His heart must be callous indeed,
who can read without emotion these humble records of
love and sorrow, which have survived so many of the
proudest monuments of antiquity. In the hour of tear-
ful parting from the dearly loved, the richest affections
of the soul are breathed forth, as the flower when
crushed exhales its sweetest fragrance. These rude in-
scriptions speak to our hearts with a power and pathos
all their own. Their mute eloquence sweeps down the
centuries, and touches chords in every soul that thrill
with keenest sympathy. The far severed ages are
linked together by the tale of death and sorrow — old as
humanity yet ever new. The bleaching skeletons in
their stony beds seem clothed again with human flesh
and warm with living love. The beauty and tenderness
of Christian family life is vividly exhibited — the hallow-
ing influence of religion making earthly love the type
of love eternal in the skies. The tie that knits fond
hearts together becomes the stronger as death smites at
it in vain. The language of affection becomes more
fervent as the barrier of the grave is interposed.

* Compare, in Propertius' elegy on Cornelia, the line
Viximus insignes inter utramque facem.
" I lived spotless from the kindling of my marriage torch to that
■which lit my funeral pyre."

466 The Catacombs of Rome.

Especially is this the case when sorrowing parents
mingle their tears at the tiny loculus of their babe, con-
signed to earth's cold keeping from their loving arms
— their bud of promise blighted, and hope's blossom
withered to bloom only in the skies. The warmest
expressions of endearment are lavished on the tombs
of little children. Thus we have such tender epithets
as dvlcior melle, " Sweeter than honey ; " TAYKYTE-
POC 4>£2TOC KAI ZQHC, " Sweeter than light and life ; "
agnellvs dei, " God's little lamb ; " palvmbvlvs sine
felle, " Little dove without gall ; " parvvlvs inxo-
cens, "Little innocent; " meae deliciae, "My delight;"
dvlcissimvs carissimvs, " Most sweet, most dear ; "
EIPHNH SOI $OPTOYNATH GYrATPI TAYKYTATH, " Peace
to thee, O Fortunata, our very sweet child ; " innocen-
tissimo pavlo qvi • vix ■ m ; x • D • xini, " To the most
innocent Paul, who lived ten months, fourteen days;

ANIMA DVLCIS INNOCVA SAPIENS ET PVLCHRA, " A sweet

spirit, guileless, wise, and beautiful," (a child aged three
years) ; mirae innocentiae ac sapientiae pvero,
" A boy of wonderful innocence and intelligence," (aged
four years.) Sometimes a reference is made to the
brief sojourn of the little pilgrim to life's shores, as
parvm stetit apvd nos, "He stayed but a short time
with us."

The following is from Sicily : ENOAAE KITE (sic) EN
EIPHNH MAPIA EZHCEN ETH MIKPON nPOC B (KAI) ETE-
AEIS29H, " Here lies Mary in peace : she lived a little
more than two years (and) finished her course." Of an-
other it is said, that she died inter manvs parent vm,
" In the arms of her parents." In an epitaph at Naples
is the exquisite utterance of a sorrowing heart : in sous
tv mihi tvrba loos, "In lonely places thou art crowds
to me." Generally, however, the grief of the parents is

Social and Domestic Relations. 467

speechless, and we read merely, parentes fecervnt
filiae, " The parents made (this tomb) for their child,"
or perhaps, mater incomparaeili filiae pecit, " The
mother made this for her incomparable daughter."

Sometimes the praise of the deceased is more elabo-
rate, as in the following, which is probably of late date ;

DALMATIO FILIO DVLCISSIMO TOTIVS INGENIOSITATIS AC
SAPIENTIAE PVERO QVEM PLENIS SEPTEM ANNIS PER
FRVI PATRI INFELICI NON LICVIT QVI STVDENS LITTERAS
GRAECAS NON • MONSTRATAS SIBI LATINAS " To Dal-

matius, a very sweet son, of the utmost genius and wis-
dom, whose unhappy father was not permitted to enjoy
him for seven full years, who, while studying the Greek
language, acquired Latin without being taught."*

Sometimes a natural expression of sorrow occurs, as
parentes dolentes, " The parents grieving ; " pater
infelix, " The unhappy father ; " contra votvm,
" Regretfully; " parentes miseri fvnebris acervitate
(sic) percvssi titvlvm erigi ivsservnt, " The wretched
parents, smitten by the bitterness of her death, com-
manded this tablet to be set up," (a. d. 464 ;) erepta
ex ocvlis genitoris, " Snatched from the eyes of her
parent ; " qvis non dolvit aetati tvae piasqve la-

CRIMAS FVDIT IN TE SPES FVTVRA EXPECTABATVR PER

TE PER TE GLORIA PERENNIS CELERINE FILI, FIDELIS
QVIESCIS IN PACE QVI VIXIT ANN. I. M. VIII — " Who did

not grieve for thy (immature) age and pour affection-
ate tears? In thee was future hope. Through thee,
through thee, O son Celerinus, perennial glory Mas ex-
pected. Faithful one, thou restest in peace, who lived
one year eight months," (A. D. 381).

In the following, of later date, the expressions of
grief are more elaborate and artificial, and indicate the
* The text and translation are as given by Burgon.

468 The Catacombs of Rome.

influence of pagan thought and diction, especially in
the last line :

QVOD DVLCES NATI QVOD CARA PIGNORA PRAESTANT
ABSTVLIT ATRA DIES ET FVNERE MERSIT ACERVO
HAEC MATER ET GENITOR CONSCRIBVNT CARMINA BVSTO
QVO LEGENTI SIMVL REDEAT SVB CORDE FIGVRA
ET SICCATA SAEPE MADESCANT LVMINA FLETV
SIC MEDICATVR AMOR NEC CVRANT CARMINA MANES.
" What sweet children, what dear pledges promise, a dire day-
has borne away, and plunged in bitter death. The father and mother,
together, write these verses on the tomb, in order that to any one
reading, the image may at once return to the soul, and the eyes, long
dry, may moisten with tears. Thus love administers relief, nor do
the spirits care for songs."

No less fervent expressions of affection are employed
toward their adult offspring by surviving parents. In-
deed they are, if possible, still more intense, as if wrung
from the bleeding heart by grief for the fallen column
of the house — the broken staff of their declining years.
In the following, from the Lapidarian gallery, the epi-
thets of endearment are lavishly heaped upon the be-
loved object : adsertori filio karo dvlci innoco

ET INCOMPARABILI QVI VIXIT ANNIS XVII • M • VII • DIEBVS

viii • pater et mater fecer(vnt) — " To Adsertor,
our dear, sweet, guileless, and incomparable son, who
lived seventeen years, seven months, eight days. His
father and mother made this."

Of similar character are the following : pavla cla-
RISSIMA faemina dvlcis bentgna gratiosa FILIA —
" Paula, an illustrious woman, a sweet, kind, and gra-
cious daughter ; " NIMIVM CITO DECIDISTI CONSTANTLY
MIRVM PVLCHRITVDINIS ATQVE IDONEITATIS — " Too

soon hast thou fallen, Constantia, wonderful (example)
of beauty and ability."

Similar evidences of parental affection and grief oc-
cur in pagan inscriptions, though often overshadowed

Social and Domestic Relations. 469

by a deep and dark despair. Thus we read such tender
epithets of little children as filiae dvlcissimae iam
garrvlae bimvlae nondvm — " To a very sweet daugh-
ter now prattling, not yet two little years of age ; "
obseqventissimae filiae — " To a most obedient daugh-
ter ; " MATER MOERENS FILIO EX QVO NIHIL VNQVAM DO-

lvit nisi cvm is non fvit — " The grieving mother to her
son, from whom she never received any pain but when he
was not," — that is, when he died ; parvae bvsta pvellae

THREPTVS PATER FECIT QVIS NON VVLTVM RIGAT LACRI-
MIS MAERORE COACTVS QVIS NON TRISTITIAM PECTORE

concipit — " Her foster-father made this tomb of a little
girl. Who does not moisten his face with tears, compelled
by grief? Who does not cherish sorrow in his bosom ? '

ADOLESCENTVLAE DVLCISSIMAE PATER PIISSIMVS ET IN-

felicissimvs fecit — "To a most sweet young maiden,
her most affectionate and unhappy father gave this
tomb ; " flevit et assidvo maestvs vterqve parens
— " Both the sorrowful parents wept incessantly."

We have also such examples as, mater ad lvctvm et
gemitvm relicta evm lacrimis et opobalsamo vdvm
hoc sepvlchro condidit — " His mother, left to sorrow
and groaning, buried him. moist with tears and balsam,
in this tomb ; " qvae ob desiderivm fili svi piissimi
vivere abominavit et post dies XV fati eivs animo
despondit — "Who, on account of her yearning for her
most affectionate son, hated life, and, fifteen days after
his death, also died."

Sometimes in their passionate grief the heathen pa-
rents reproach themselves for surviving their children,
as in the following.

CRVDELIS IMPIA MATER CARIS SVIS DVLCISSIMIS . . . INFELICISSIMA
MATER QVI (sic) VIDIT FVNVS SVV.M CRVDELISSIMVM QVAE SI DEVM
PROPITIVM HABVISSET HOC DEBVERA (sic) EOS PATI.

4?o The Catacombs of Rome.

The cruel, impious mother, to her dear, most sweet children. The
most unhappy mother, who saw (in theirs) her ozvn most cruel death,
who, if she had had a propitious deity, ought to have suffered this for
them — (that is, have died in their stead.)

HIC IACET EXTINCTVS CRVDELI FVNERE NATVS
VLTIMA VIVENDI QVI MIHI CAVSA FVIT,

Here lies, destroyed by cruel fate, a son, who was my only reason
for living.

Often the expressions in Christian epitaphs of filial
affection to deceased parents are exceedingly tender
and beautiful, as for example : patri dvlcissimo bene-
merenti in pace — " To our sweetest father, well-deserv-
ing, in peace," (A. D. 356) ; tigriti benemerenti. . . .
filivs feci matri — " To the well-deserving Tigris. . . .
I, her son, made this for my mother," (A. D. 393 ;) hoc

TVMVLVM PATRIS FILIVS FIERI VOLVIT CAVSA AMORIS

paterni recordationis — "This tomb of his father
the son wished to be made on account of his remem-
brance of paternal affection ; " te parens soboles

CONIVNXQVE FIDELIS TE MIXTIS LACRIMIS LVGET AMA-

ta domvs — " Thee thy parent, thy offspring, thy faithful
consort, thee a loved home, with mingled tears, lament,"
(A. D. 533.)

HEV MEMORANDE PATER LONGI MIHI CAVSA DOLORIS
OPTASTI IN MANIBVS FILIORVM SAEPE TVORVM
SVMERE ET AMPLEXV DVLCI TENVARE NEPOTVM.
ADFVIT HIS VOTIS EXCELSI GRATIA CHRISTI
FELIX VITA FVIT FELIX ET TRANSITVS IPSE. (\. D. 534.)

Alas, O father, ever to be remembered, cause of long grief to me,
thou didst often desire to die in the arms of thy children, to gently
pass away in the sweet embrace of thy offspring. These wishes the
grace of the exalted Christ fulfilled. Happy was thy life, and happy
also thy passing away.

We find also the epitaphs of foster-parents and
adopted children, showing the exercise, under the influ-

Social and Domestic Relations. 47 1

ence of Christian sentiment, of the beautiful charity of
rescuing foundlings and orphans* from poverty, infamy,
or death. The following example is of date A. D.
392 :

PERPETVAM SEDEM NVTRITOR POSSIDES IPSE
HIC MERITVS FINEM MAGNIS DEFVNCTE PERICLIS
HIC REQVIEM FELIX SVMIS COGENTIBVS ANNIS
HIC POSITVS PAPASANTIMIO QVI VIXIT ANNIS LXX.

" You yourself who reared (us) now occupy a lasting resting-place.
Here you have reached the end that you deserved, of a course fraught
with great perils. Here, in happiness, you take the repose that age
compels. Here is laid foster-father Antimio, who lived seventy
years." f

The conjugal affections especially have their beauti-
ful and tender commemoration. The mutual love of
husband and wife finds in these inscriptions affecting
record, which attests the happiness of the marriage re-
lation among the primitive Christians. Frequently the
bereaved husband recounts with grateful recollection
the fact that his wedded life was one of perfect har-

* Dr. Northcote indeed asserts that " there are actually more in-
stances of alumni among the sepulchral inscriptions of the Christians
than among the infinitely more numerous sepulchral inscriptions of
the pagans." (Page 136.) The accompanying Greek examples are
characteristic of the class : ITPOKAH ePEIITH, " To Procla, an
adopted daughter ;" IIETPOC ePEITTOC TAYKTTATOC EN GE£2,
" Peter, a most sweet adopted son, in God."

The titles mamma and tata, sometimes in their diminutive forms
mamtda and tatula, equivalent to our mamma and papa, occur in
Christian and pagan epitaphs.

\ The expression papasantimio was erroneously translated "most
holy Pope " by Paoli and Fea, but their mistake was long since pointed
out. Maitland, and Bishop Kip who followed him, fell into the same
error. De Rossi severely criticises the former as "most ignorant of
the whole controversy, known even to blear-eyed and barbers." — Totius
controversise, vel lippis ac tonsoribus notse, ignarissimus. — Inscrip.
Antiq.y p. 177. The translation above given is that of Dr. McCaul.

472 The Catacombs of Rome.

mony, unmarred by a single jar or discord — semper

CONCORDES SINE VLLA QVERELA.

The posthumous praise of these Christian matrons
recalls the inspired portraiture of the virtuous woman
of Scripture. The intensity of conjugal grief is shown
by the expressions, male fractvs conivx — " The sore
broken husband; " and gemitv tristi lacrimis deflet
— " He bewails in tears with bitter lamentation." Often
occurs the phrase incomparabilis conivx — " Incom-
parable wife," frequently with the addition, optimae
memoriae — "Of most excellent memory." Sometimes
we find the tender expression, with such depth of mean-
ing in its simple words, qvi amavit me — " Who loved
me ; " also the phrase, carvs svis — " Dear to his friends ;"
or, perdvlcissimo conivgi svo — inadequately ren-
dered, "To her most dearest husband." The utterance
of a grief into the secret of which none can enter but
those who have known its bitterness, is often extremely
pathetic.

The spirit of these inscriptions will be best seen in
the concrete. The following are characteristic exam-
ples : deo fidelis dvlcis marito nvtrix familiae
hvmilis cvnctis amatrix pavpervm — " Faithful to
God, endeared to her husband, the nurse of her fam-
ily, humble to all, a lover of the poor;" bixit MECVM

ANNIS XXII • MENS • IX • DIES V IN QVIBVS SEMPER MIHI

bene fvit cvm illa — " She lived with me for twenty-two
years, nine months, five days, during which time it ever
went well with me in her society; " conivge venerande
bone innocva florentia digna pia amabilis pvdica
(sic) — " To my wife Florentia, deserving of honour,
good, guileless, worthy, pious, amiable, modest."

HIC REQVIESCIT IN PACE TERTVRA CF DVLCIS PETRON'II CONIVX
DEO SERVIENS VNICAE FIDEI AMICA PACIS CASTIS MOKlliVS ORNATA

Social and Domestic Relations. 473

COMMVNIS FIDELIBVS AMICIS FAMILIAE GRATA NVTRIX NATORVM

ET NVMQVAM AMARA MARITO.
" Here reposes in peace Tertura, an illustrious woman, the sweet
wife of Petronius, serving God, of matchless faith, a friend of peace,
adorned with modest manners, affable toward the faithful friends of
her family, a loving nurse of her children, and never bitter to her
husband."

HIC MIHI SEMPER DOLOR ERIT IN AEVO
ET TVVM BENERABILEM VVLTVM FVAT VIDERE SOPORE
CONIVNX ALBANAQVE MIHI SEMPER CASTA PVDICA
RELICTVM ME TVO GREMIO QVEROR

QVOD MIHI SANCTVM TE DEDERAT DIVINITVS AVCTOR.
" This grief will always weigh upon me. May it be granted me to
behold in sleep your revered countenance. My wife Albana, always
chaste and modest. I grieve over the loss of your support, whom our
divine author had given to me as a sacred (boon.)"

In the following a disconsolate husband mourns the
wife of his youth with the pleasing illusion that such love
as theirs the world had never known before : domni-

NAE INNOCENTISSIMAE ET DVLCISSIMAE CONIVGI QVAE
VIXIT ANN • XVI • M • IIII • ET FVIT MARITATA • ANN DVOBVS
• M • IIII • D • Villi CVM QVA NON LICVIT FVISSE PROPTER
CAVSAS PEREGRINATIONIS NISI • MENSIB • VI > QVO • TEM-
PORE • VT EGO SENSI ET EXHIBVI AMOREM MEVM MVLLIS

valii (sic) sic delixervnt — " To Domnina, my most
guileless and sweet wife, who lived sixteen years and
four months, and was married two years, four months,
and nine days; with whom I was notable to live on
account of my travelling more than six months : during
this period as I felt and showed my affection no others
ever loved."

* This example and translation are from Maitland. It will be ob-
served that Domnina must have been married before her fourteenth
birthday. Several notices of early marriages occur, as e. g.
VISCILIVS NICENI • COSTAE • SVAE QVAE FVIT-
ANNOR • P • M • XXXI • EX QVIBVS DVRABIT • MECVM ANNOS XV—

' Viscilius to Nice, his rib, who was of thirty-one years (of age) more

474 The Catacombs of Rome.

Similar expressions of affection are applied by bereaved
wives to their deceased husbands. In the following a
widowed heart dwells with fond complacency on the
thought that no rankling recollection of estranged regard
embitters her remembrance of the lost : agrippina

FECIT • DVLCISSIMO SVO MARITO CVM QVEM VIXIT SINE

lesione animi • annos in et m • x. — " Agrippina made
this to her very sweet husband, with whom she lived,
without jarring, three years and ten months." Of sim-
ilar import is this also : digno meritoqve ivgali meo

TETTIO FILICISSIMO DIACONO • MARCIA DECENTIA DVLCIS-
SIMO MIHI DIEM DEPOSITIONIS LAPIDEMQVE DESCRIPSI •

merito vixit annvs non minvs lxx — " To my husband,
Tettius Felicissimus, worthy and deserving, a deacon.
I, Marcia Decentia, inscribed this stone to him (who
was) most sweet to me, on the day of his burial. He
lived in honour not less than seventy years."

or less, of which she passed with me fifteen years." The use of costa.
loTiixor'vi doubtless an allusion to Genesis ii, 21. We read also of
Felicissima, qvae vixit annvs ex • qvae fecit cvm viro svo an-
nvs xlv — " Who lived sixty years, who passed with her husband
forty-five years;" and of Januaria, L • f-qvae vixit pl-m • ANN •
xxviii • c • maritv • fec ANN xv • m • XI • D • X — " A praiseworthy wom-
an, who lived twenty-eight years, more or less ; she passed with her
husband fifteen years, eleven months, ten days." She was, therefore,
married when about twelve years of age. The earliest date of mar-
liage we have noticed is the following: CONSTANTIAE BENEMERENTI

BERGINIVS CASTAE CONPARAE ■ CVM QVA • FECIT ANNIS VIII. QVE VICSIT

(sic) annis xvin • menses vim • dies xvn. — " Virginius, to the well-de-
serving Constantia, his chaste consort, with whom he lived eight years,
who lived eighteen years, nine months, seventeen days." She was
less than eleven years old when married. It must be borne in mind,
however, that marriage still occurs at a very early age in these south-
ern latitudes, as both sexes attain nubile years much sooner than in
northern climates. But this precocious maturity is followed, especially
in females, by a premature decline. Like the brilliant Bowers of their
own fervid clime, they early bloom and quickly fade.

Social and Domestic Relations. 475

Similar language of mingled love and grief occurs in
pagan inscriptions, but without the chastening influence
of Christian resignation. The domestic life of the Ro-
mans, especially in the days of republican simplicity,
seems to have been remarkably free from discord or
strife. Thus we find frequent record of over half a
century passed in marriage, sine ivrgio, sine aemv-
latione, sine dissidio, sine qverela — " Without con-
tention, without emulation, without dissension, with-
out strife." With ceaseless iteration the virtues of
the deceased are lovingly recorded, as in the examples
which follow : conivgem fidelissimam — " Most faithful
wife ; " optima domina sanctissima — " Best and most re-
vered lady ; " maritae piissimae dvlcisslmae rarissi
mae — " To a most pious and sweet wife of rarest excel-
lence ; " optima et pvlcherrima lanifica pia pvdica
casta domeseda — " Best and most beautiful, a spinner
of wool, pious, modest, chaste, home-abiding ; " vxori
obseqventissimae— " To a most obedient (or obsequi-
ous) wife ; " t. fl. c apito conivgi castissimae piissimae
et de se optime meritae de qva nvllvm dolorem nisi

ACERBISSIMAE MORTIS EIVS ACCEPERAT — " TitUS FlaviuS

Capito, to his most chaste and pious wife, deserving
well of him, from whom he received no cause of grief,
except that of her most bitter death ; " tempivs her-

MEROS CONIVGI CARISSIMAE . . . CVIVS DESIDERIO IVRA-
TVS EST SE POST EAM VXOREM NON HABITVRVM — " Tem-

pius Hermeros, to his most dear spouse, on account of
his love for whom he swore that he would have no
other wife." Once we meet the strange remark by a
husband of his wife, cvivs in die mortis gratias max-
imas egi apvd deos et apvd homines — " On the day of
whose death I gave the greatest thanks to gods and men."
It was probably on account of her release from suffering.

476 The Catacombs of Rome.

In the accompanying epitaph a bereaved widow la-
ments her irreparable loss : conivgi desideratissimo

. . . NVNC NEQVE TE VIDEO NEC AMOR SATIATVR AMAN-
TIS ET CONIVX MISERA FINEM DEPOSCO DOLORI " To

my most deeply regretted husband . . . For neither do
I now see thee, nor is the affection of thy loving spouse
satisfied ; and I, a miserable wife, implore an end of my
sorrow."

Such examples of conjugal affection recall to mind
the immortal love of Alcestis in the Greek myth, dying
for her bosom's lord ; and of Arria, in Roman story, re-
fusing to survive her husband, and having plunged the
dagger into her own breast, with dying smile exclaim-
ing, Pcete,non dolet — " It hurts not, my Pgetus." *

Another interesting class of Christian inscriptions
are those commemorating fraternal affection. The
following are typical examples : ioviano karissimo
fecit (sic) fratres pientissimae (sic) — " To dearest
Jovianus, his most affectionate brothers made this ; "
TQ MAKAPin nATAft HATAAAOC AAEA*02 — "To the
blessed Paul, his brother Hedulalos."

In the accompanying poetical tribute to a sister the
melancholy consolation of mourning the lost is beauti-
fully referred to :

SVME SOROR CARMEN SOLATIA TRISTA (sic) FRATRIS
QVI SOLVS GEMITV HEC (sic) TIBI VERBA DEDIT

QUAE TEGITVR TVMVLO SI VIS COGNOSCERE LECTOR
SVBLIMES GESSITSANGVINIS HAEC TITVLOS

MORIBVS HEC CRISTVM SEMPER COMITATA SVPERSTES
QVEM POST FATA SIBI CREDIDIT ESSE DVCEM.

Sister, take these verses, the sad comfort of your brother, who, in
lonely lamentation, has given these words to you. Reader, if you

* We have also illustrations of the fatal facility of divorce under
the Empire, and of the domestic strife and crime resulting therefrom.
In the following epitaph a discarded wife laments the murder of htr

Social and Domestic Relations. 477

desire to know who is covered by this tomb, she bore names which
told her high descent. She, when alive, always followed, in her con-
duct, Christ, who she believed would be her guide after death.

Frequently members of the same family were buried
in the same grave — lovely and pleasant in their lives,
and in their death not divided. Thus we read of a
brother and sister who died in one day, and were buried
together — vna die mortvi et pariter tvmveati svnt ;
of a certain Antigonus who occupied the same tomb
with his sister — locvm habet cvm sore (sic) sva ; and
of a mother who shared her daughter's grave — felicia
cvm filia in pace ; also of Claudia and Julia, who had
secured their places by the side of their sweet friend
Calpurnia. The same custom sometimes obtains in
pagan sepulture, as indicated by the following epitaph
of a husband and wife who, not to be divorced even in
death, mingled their ashes in one urn :

PARATO HOSPITIO CARA IVNGVNT CORPORA
HAEC RVRSVM NOSTRAE SED PERPETVAE NVPTIAE.

In a prepared rest they join their dear bodies. These are our sec-
ond but our perpetual nuptials.*

Sometimes the funeral tablet was erected by the hand
of friendship, probably when there were none of kin to

child by the usurper of her rights : mater filio piissimo misera
et IN lvctv eternali. veneficio novercae — " To her most affec-
tionate son, the wretched mother, plunged in perpetual grief by the
poison of his step-mother, (raised this slab.) " There is also a curious
inscription written jointly by two living husbands to the same de-
ceased wife, in which she is designated, CONIVX BENE MERENTA (sic) —
" A well-deserving consort," Another slab is dedicated to both the
wife and the concubine — vxori et concvbinae — of a Roman lictor.
* In like manner, with more tender sentiment than we would have
expected in the stolid monarch, George II. was, in accordance with
his own request, laid in death beside his good and gentle consort long
deceased, and the partition between them removed, " that their dust
might blend together."

478 The Catacombs of Rome.

pay this last sad tribute of affection. De Rossi thinks
that which follows one of the most ancient in Rome :

DORMITIONI T. FLA. EVTYCHIO. HVNC LOCVM DONABIT
M. ORBIVS AMICVS KARISSIMVS KARE BALE " As a resting

place for Titus Flavius Eutychius, his dearest friend,
Marcus Orbius, gave this spot. Farewell, beloved." One
fair friend thus commemorates the loss of another :

AELIA VICTORINA POSVIT AVRELIAE PROBAE — " ^Elia Vic-

torina erected this stone to Aurelia Proba." We find also
such expressions as, " Best friend," " Dear and faithful
companion," " Constant in love and truth." Sometimes a
lowly servant or freedman records a master's virtues, as
in the epitaph of Gordianus, erected by his handmaid
Theophila — Y94>HAA ANCHAAA 4-ECIT (j7V) ; and that of
Prosenes, which Ampelius, his freedman, wrote — scrip-
sit ampelivs lib. Another was buried by her sweet
and holy nurse in Christ — 8PEIITEIPAN TAYKEPHN AHAN
EN XPS2.

The duration of sickness, or cause of death, is some-
times, though very rarely, mentioned in Christian in-
scriptions. Thus we have such particulars as perit in
dies v — " He died in five days; " ENOCHCEN HMEPAC IR
— "He was ill twelve days." A pagan epitaph com-
plains of the death of the deceased by magical incanta-
tions : carminibvs defixa iacvit per tempora mvta

VT EIVS SPIRITVS VI EXTORQVERETVR QVAM XATYRAE

redderetvr — " Overcome by charms she lay at times
dumb, so that her spirit was torn from her by force
rather than given back to nature." Another was
snatched away while she too sedulously nursed a sick
husband — dvm fovit nimia sedvlitate virym. An-
other died of internal burnings, which medical skill
was powerless to cope with — ardentes intvs vin-
cere qvos medicae non potvere maws. Of an-

Social and Domestic Relations. 479

other we read that after long- and various infirmities
she is freed from human things — post longas et

VARIAS INFIRMITATES HVMANIS REBVS EXEMPTA EST.*

Like this is the expression in a Christian epitaph — post

VARIAS CVRAS POST LONGAE MVNERA VITAE "After

various cares, after the duties of a long life."

The same spirit which thus commemorated the de-
parted would lead also to the decoration of their sepul-
chres with pious frescoes or elaborate sculpture, limned
or carved often as a last offering of love by the hand
of affection or of friendship — now for fifteen centuries
kindred dust with that whose resting-place it so fondly
sought to beautify.

We should do scant justice, however, to the blameless
character, simple dignity, and moral purity of the prim-
itive Christians, as indicated in these posthumous
remains, if we forgot the thoroughly effete and corrupt
society by which they were surrounded. It would seem
almost impossible for the Christian graces to grow in
such a fetid atmosphere. Like the snow-white lily
springing in virgin purity from the muddy ooze, they are
more lovely by contrast with the surrounding pollutions.
Like flowers that deck a sepulchre, breathing their fra-
grance amid scenes of corruption and death, are these
holy characters, fragrant with the breath of heaven
amid the social rottenness and moral death of their foul
environment.

It is difficult to imagine, and impossible to portray,
the abominable pollutions of the times. " Society,"
says Gibbon, " was a rotting, aimless chaos of sensuality."
It was a boiling Acheron of seething passions, unhal-
lowed lusts, and tiger thirst for blood, such as never
provoked the wrath of heaven since God drowned the
* Several of these examples are translated from Kenrick.

480 The Catacombs of Rome.

world with water, or destroyed the Cities of the Plain
by fire. Only those who have visited the secret muse-
um of Naples, or that house which no woman may
enter at Pompeii, and whose paintings no pen may de-
scribe ; or who are familiar with the scathing denuncia-
tions of popular vices by the Roman satirists and moral-
ists and by the Christian Fathers, can conceive the
appalling depravity of the age and nation. St. Paul, in
his epistle to the church among this very people, hints
at some features of their exceeding wickedness. It
was a shame even to speak of the things which were
done by them, but which gifted poets employed their
wit to celebrate. A brutalized monster was deified as
God, received divine homage,* and beheld all the world
at his feet and the nations tremble at his nod, while the
multitude wallowed in a sty of sensuality. f

Christianity was to be the new Hercules to cleanse
this worse than Augean pollution. The pure morals
and holy lives of the believers were a perpetual testi-
mony against abounding iniquity, and a living proof of
the regenerating power and transforming grace of God.
For they themselves, as one of their apologists asserts,
" had been reclaimed from ten thousand vices." J And
the Apostle, describing some of the vilest characters,
exclaims, " Such were some of you, but ye are washed,
ye are sanctified." They recoiled with the utmost ab-
horrence from the pollutions of the age, and became

* While yet alive, Domitian was called, Our Lord and God — Dom-
inus et Dens noster.

\ A licentious poet, recognizing this moral corruption as the cause
of national decay, exclaims :

Hoc fonte derivata clades
In patriam populumque fluxit.
\ Origen, Contra Cels., i, 67. Cf. Jus. Mar., Apol.y ii, 61, and Tert.
Apol., and Ad. Nat., passim.

Social and Domestic Relations. 481

indeed "the salt of the earth," the sole moral antiseptic
tc prevent the total disintegration of society.

The Christians were daily exposed to contact with
idolatry. The whole public and private life of the hea-
then was pervaded with the spirit of polytheism. Idol-
atrous usages were interwoven with almost every act.
The courts of justice, the marts of trade, the highways
and gardens, the fountains and rivers, the domestic
hearth, and the very doors and hinges, were under
the protection of their respective deities. The imple-
ments of labour, the household utensils, the military
ensigns, the achievements of art, the adornments of
beauty, were all consecrated to idol worship. The daily
meals and rites of hospitality, the social banquets and
public amusements, the common language and saluta-
tions of friendship, had all a religious significance.

The Christians were therefore especially exhorted to
"keep themselves from idols." They believed that
their images were the abodes of daemons who delighted
in the reek of blood and the fetid odour of sacrificia
flesh.* Against image-makers the severest ecclesiasti
cal censures were denounced. They were the fostei
fathers of devils, f to whom they offered not the sacri-
fice of a beast, but immolated their mind, poured the
libation of their sweat, kindled the torch of their
thought, and slew the richer and more precious victim
of their salvation. J The believers might not wreath
their gates, nor illuminate their houses, nor attend
the public festivals, nor witness a sacrifice, nor accept
a heathen salutation, nor sell incense, nor eat meat pol-

* Tertul., Apol, 22.

■j- Fabri deorum vel parentes numinum. — Prudentius, Peristeph.,
Hymn x, 293.
\ Tertul., De Idol, vi.

482 The Catacombs of Rome.

luted with idolatrous lustration.* Thus amid pagan
usages and unspeakable moral degradation the Chris-
tians lived? a holy nation, a peculiar people. "We
alone are without crime," says Tertullian ; " no Christiar
suffers but for his religion." "Your prisons are full,"
says Minutius Felix, "but they contain not one Chris-
tian." And these holy lives were an argument which
even the heathen could not gainsay. The ethics ot
paganism were the speculations of the cultivated few
who aspired to the character of philosophers. The
ethics of Christianity were a system of practical duty
affecting the daily life of the most lowly and unlettered.
"Philosophy," says Lecky, "may dignify, but is impo-
tent to regenerate man; it may cultivate virtue, but
cannot restrain vice." f But Christianity introduced a
new sense of sin and of holiness, of everlasting reward,
and of endless condemnation. It planted a sublime,
impassioned love of Christ in the heart, inflaming all
its affections. It transformed the character from icy
stoicism or epicurean selfishness to a boundless and un-
calculating self-abnegation and devotion. J

This divine principle developed a new instinct of
philanthropy in the soul. A feeling of common broth-
erhood knit the hearts of the believers together. To
love a slave, to love an enemy! was accounted the im-
possible among the heathen ; yet this incredible virtue
they beheld every day among the Christians. "This
surprised them beyond measure," says Tertullian, " that

* The martyr Lucian chose to die rather than to eat things offered
to idols.

\ Hist, of Fur. Morals, ii, 34.

% The Padazozus of Clement of Alexandria was prepared as a
guide or "Instructor" to those who wore striving to free themselves
from pagan customs, and to conform their lives to the Christian
character.

Social and Domestic Relations. 483

one man should die for another."* Hence, in the
Christian inscriptions no word of bitterness even toward
their persecutors is to be found. Sweet peace, the
peace of God that passeth all understanding, breathes
on every side.

One of the most striking results of the new spirit of
philanthropy which Christianity introduced is seen in
.the copious charity of the primitive church. Amid the
ruins of ancient palaces and temples, theatres and baths,
there are none of any house of mercy. Charity among the
pagans was, at best, a fitful and capricious fancy. Among
the Christians it was avast and vigorous organization, and
was cultivated with noble enthusiasm. And the great
and wicked city of Rome, with its fierce oppressions and
inhuman wrongs, afforded amplest opportunity for the
Christ-like ministrations of love and pity. There were
Christian slaves to succour, exposed to unutterable in-
dignities and cruel punishment, even unto crucifixion
for conscience' sake. There were often martyrs' pangs
to assuage, the aching wounds inflicted by the rack or
by the nameless tortures of the heathen to bind up, and
their bruised and broken hearts to cheer with heavenly
consolation. There were outcast babes to pluck from
death. There were a thousand forms of suffering and
sorrow to relieve, and the ever-present thought of Him
who came, not to be ministered unto but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many, was an inspira-
tion to heroic sacrifice and self-denial. And doubtless
the religion of love won its way to many a stony pagan
heart by the winsome spell of the saintly charities
and heavenly benedictions of the persecuted Chris-
tians. This sublime principle has since covered the
earth with its institutions of mercy, and with a passion-
* Apol., c. 39.

484 The Catacombs of Rome.

ate zeal has sought out the woes of man in every land,
in order to their relief. In the primitive church volun-
tary collections * were regularly made for the poor, the
aged, the sick, the brethren in bonds, and for the burial
of the dead. All fraud and deceit was abhorred, and
all usury forbidden. Many gave all their goods to feed
the poor. " Our charity dispenses more in the streets,"
says Tertullian to the heathen, " than your religion in
all the temples." f He upbraids them for offering to
the gods only the worn-out and useless, such as is given
to dogs. J " How monstrous is it," exclaims the Alex-
andrian Clement, " to live in luxury while so many are
in want."§ "As you would receive, show mercy," says
Chrysostom ; " make God your debtor that you may
receive again with usury." || The church at Antioch,
he tells us, maintained three thousand widows and vir-
gins, besides the sick and poor. Under the persecut-
ing Decius the widows and infirm under the care of the
church at Rome were fifteen hundred. " Behold the
treasures of the church," said St. Lawrence, pointing to
the aged and poor, when the heathen prefect came to
confiscate its wealth. The church in Carthage sent a
sum equal to four thousand dollars to ransom Christian
captives in Numidia. St. Ambrose sold the sacred ves-
sels of the church of Milan to rescue prisoners from
the Goths, esteeming it their truest consecration to the
service of God. " Better clothe the living temples of
Christ," says Jerome, " than adorn the temples of
stone." 1 "God has no need of plates and dishes,"
said Acacius, bishop of Amida, and he ransomed there-
with a number of poor captives. For a similar purpose

* Nemo compellitur, sed sponte confert. — Apol., c. 39.

f Hid., 42. % Ibid., 14. £ Paaag., ii, 13.

I Hem. in 2 Tim. " Epitaph, Paula,

Social and Domestic Relations. 485

Paulinus of Nola sold the treasures of his beautiful
church, and it is said even sold himself into African
slavery.* The Christian traveller was hospitably enter-
tained by the faithful ; and before the close of the
fourth century asylums were provided for the sick, aged,
and infirm. During the Decian persecution, when the
streets of Carthage were strewn with the dying and the
dead, the Christians, with the scars of recent torture
and imprisonment upon them, exhibited the nobility of
a gospel revenge in their care for their fever-smitten
persecutors, and seemed to seek the martyrdom of
Christian charity, even more glorious than that they had
escaped. f In the plague of Alexandria six hundred
Christian parabolani periled their lives to succour the
dying and bury the dead. J Julian urged the pagan
priests to imitate the virtues of the lowly Christians.

Christianity also gave a new sanctity to human life,
and even denounced as murder the heathen custom of
destroying the unborn child. The exposure of infants
was a fearfully prevalent pagan practice, which even
Plato and Aristotle permitted. We have had evidences
of the tender charity of the Christians in rescuing these
foundlings from death, or from a fate more dreadful
•still — a life of infamy. Christianity also emphatically
affirmed the Almighty's "canon 'gainst self-slaughter,"
which crime the pagans had even exalted into a virtue.
It taught that a patient endurance of suffering, like
Job's, exhibited a loftier courage than Cato's renuncia-
tion of life.

Out of eleven thousand Christian inscriptions of the
first six centuries, scarce half a dozen make any ref-
erence to a condition of servitude, and of these, as

* Greg., Dial., iii. f Vita Cypr.

% Euseb., H. E., ix, 3.

486 The Catacombs of Rome.

Dr. Northcote remarks, two or three are doubtful. Yet
of pagan epitaphs at least three fourths are those of slaves
or freedmen. The conspicuous absence of recognition
of this unhappy social distinction is no mere accident.
We know that the Christians were largely drawn from
the servile classes, but in the church of God there was
no respect of persons. The gospel of liberty smote the
gyves at once from the bodies and the souls of men.
In Christ Jesus there was neither Jew nor Greek, bond
nor free. The wretched slave, in the intervals of toil
or torture, caught with joy the emancipating message,
and sprang up enfranchised by an immortalizing hope.
Then " trampled manhood heard and claimed his
crown." The victim of human oppression exulted in
a new-found liberty in Christ which no wealth could
purchase, no chains of slavery fetter, nor even death
itself destroy. To him earth's loftiest palace was but
a gilded prison of the soul, his lowly cot became the
antechamber of the skies, and his emancipated spirit
passed from his pallet of straw to the repose of Abra-
ham's bosom.

In the Christian church the distinctions of worldly
rank were abolished.* The highest spiritual dignities
were open to the lowliest slave. In the ecclesiastical
hierarchy were no rights of birth, and no privileges of
blood. In the inscriptions of the Catacombs no badges
of servitude, no titles of honour appear. The wealthy
noble — the lord of many acres — recognized in his lowly
servant a fellow-heir of glory. They bowed together at
the same table of the Lord, saluted each other with the
mutual kiss of charity, and side by side in their narrow
graves at length returned to indistinguishable dust.

* Apud nos inter pauperes et divites, servos et dominos, interest
nihil. — Lactant., Div. Inst., v. 14, 15.

Social and Domestic Relations. 487

The story of Onesimus may have often been repeated,
and the patrician master have received his returning
slave, " not now as a servant, but above a servant —
a brother beloved." Nay, he may have bowed to him as
his ecclesiastical superior, and received from his ple-
beian hands the emblems of their common Lord. The
lowly arenarii and fossors, the rude Campagnian hus-
bandmen and shepherds, and they M of Caesar's house-
hold," met in common brotherhood, knit together by
stronger ties than those of kinship or of worldly rank,
as heirs of glory and of everlasting life.

The condition of the slave population of Rome was
one of inconceivable wretchedness. Colossal piles built
by their blood and sweat attest the bitterness of their
bondage. The lash of the taskmaster was heard in the
fields, and crosses bearing aloft their quivering victims
polluted the public highways. Vidius Pollio fed his
lampreys with the bodies of his slaves. Four hundred
of these wretched beings deluged with their blood the
funeral pyre of Pedanius Secundus. A single freed-
man possessed over four thousand of these human chat-
tels. They had no rights of marriage nor any claim to
their children. This dumb, weltering mass of human-
ity, crushed by power, led by their lusts, and fed by
public dole, became a hot-bed of vice in which every
evil passion grew apace. The institution of slavery
cast a stigma of disgrace on labour, and prevented the
formation of that intelligent middle class which is the
true safeguard of liberty. Christianity, on the contrary,
dignified, ennobled, and in a sense hallowed labour by
the example of its Divine Founder. It consecrated the
lowly virtues of humility, obedience, gentleness, pa-
tience, and long-suffering, which paganism contemned.
It did not, indeed, at once subvert the political institu-

488 The Catacombs of Rome.

tion of slavery, but it mitigated its evils, and gradually
led to its abolition.

One of the noblest triumphs of Christianity was its
suppression of the bloody spectacles of the amphithe-
atre. The early Christians had good reason to regard
with shuddering aversion those accursed scenes within
that vast Coliseum which rears to-day its mighty walls, a
perpetual monument of the cruelty of Rome's Christless
creed. Many of their number had been mangled to death
by savage beasts or still more savage men, surrounded
by a sea of pitiless faces, twice eighty thousand hungry
eyes gloating on the mortal agony of the confessor of
Christ, while not a single thumb was reversed to make
the sign of mercy.* There the maids and matrons, the
patricians and the " vile plebs " of Rome, enjoyed the
grateful spectacle of cruelty and blood. Even woman's
pitiful nature forgot its tenderness, and the honour was
reserved for the vestal virgin to give the signal for the
mortal stroke that crowned the martyr's brow with fade-
less amaranth. These hateful scenes, in which the
spectacle of human agony and death became the im-
passioned delight of all classes, created a ferocious
thirst for blood and torture throughout society. f They
overthrew the altar of pity, and impelled to every excess
and refinement of barbarity. Even children imitated
the cruel sport in their games, schools of gladiators were
trained for the work of slaughter, and women fought m
the arena, or lay dead and trampled in the sand.

* The arena, once crimson with human gore, is now consecrated
by the cross of Christ, and a Christian service is weekly celebrated
on the spot where a pagan emperor sought to crush the infant church.

\ Under Trajan, renowned for his clemency, ten thousand men
fought in the games which lasted one hundred and twenty-three days.
To stimulate the jaded minds of the spectators men were impaled
crucified, and burned to death-

Social and Domestic Relations. 489

From the very first Christianity relentlessly opposed
this horrid practice, as well as all theatrical exhibitions.
The mingled cruelty, idolatry, and indecency of the
performances were obnoxious alike to the humanity,
the piety, and the modesty of the Christians.* They
were especially included in the pomps of Satan which
the believer abjured at his baptism. Hence their aban-
donment was often regarded as a proof of conversion
to Christianity. The theatre was the devil's house, and
he had a right to all found therein. f Christianity, soon
after it ascended the throne of the Caesars, suppressed
the gladiatorial combats. The Christian city of Con-
stantinople was never polluted by the atrocious exhibi-
tion. A Christian poet eloquently denounced the bloody
spectacle, and a Christian monk, at the cost of his life,
protested, amid the very frenzy of the conflict, against
its cruelty. His heroic martyrdom produced a moral
revulsion against the practice, and the laws of Hono-
rius, to use the language'of Gibbon, " abolished forever
the human sacrifices of the amphitheatre."

It is remarkable that so few references to military life
occur in Christian epitaphs, whereas they form a prom-
inent feature in those of heathen origin. In ten thou-

* The De Spectaculis of Tertullian is an elaborate argument con-
cerning the idolatrous origin and character of the theatre. He de-
scribes, in language applicable to much of the " sport " of modem
times, the human wild beasts, passion-blind, agitated by bets, and out
of themselves with excitement. " You have nobler joys," he says to
the Christians. " Be startled at God's signal, roused at the angel's
trump, glory in the palms of martyrdom. Would you have blood
too ? There is Christ's," (sec. 29.) He expatiates on the grandeur
of the spectacle when the world, hoary with age, shall be consumed ;
contrasts with the theatre the sight of poets, players, philosophers, and
kings in agonies and flames ; and exults in the triumph of Christ,"
(sec. 30.)

f Tertul., De Spectac, sec. 26.

490 The Catacombs of Rome.

sand pagan inscriptions analyzed by M. Le Blant, over
five hundred, or, more precisely, 5-47 per cent., were of
military character ; while in four thousand seven hun-
dred of Christian origin, most of which were after the
period of Constantine, only .57 per cent., were military,
or one tenth the proportion of those among the pagans.
But even if in the army, the Christians, whose higher
dignity was that of soldiers of Christ, would be less
likely than the heathen to mention it in their epitaphs.
Although Tertullian inveighs against the military ser-
vice,* he yet admits that the Christians engaged in that
as well as in other pursuits,! and asserts that they were
found even in the camps. J It is probable, however,
that the number in the army was insignificant, and these,
it is most likely, were converted after their enlistment.
There could be little affinity between the bronzed and
hardened ruffians who were the instruments of the reign-
ing tyrant's cruelty, and the meek and gentle Christians.
We know that the latter had often to choose between
the sword and the gospel ; and many resigned their
office, and even embraced martyrdom, rather than per-
jure their consciences. § They could not take the mil-
itary oath, nor deck their weapons with laurel, nor crown
the emperor's effigy, nor celebrate his birthday, nor ob-

* De Idol., c. 19.

\ Navigamus . . . et militamus, et rusticamus, et mercamur. — Apol.
c. 42.

% Implevimus . . . castra ipsa. — Ibid., c. 37. The story of the Thun-
dering Legion, composed entirely of Christians, is unable to withstand
the destructive criticism of modern times. The following is the epi-
taph of a military commander: vitalianvs magister mii.itvm,
qviescit IN domino. We have already seen that of an officer —
dvx militvm — who suffered martyrdom under Adrian.

§ Euseb., //. E., viii, 4. No one in either the civil or military
service of the emperor was eligible for ordination even as a deacon.
— Bingham, Orig. Eccl., iv, 3, sec. I.

Social and Domestic Relations. 491

serve any other idolatrous festival. Hence they were
accused of the dreaded crime of treason, and announced
as the enemies of Caesar and of the Roman people.*
Tertullian repels the charge, and demonstrates their
loyalty to the emperor and to their country.f

Feeling that their citizenship was in heaven, the
Christians took no part in the troubled politics of earth.
" Nothing is more indifferent to us," says Tertullian,
"than public affairs." J If only their religious convic-
tions were unassailed they would gladly live in quiet,
unaffected by civic ambition or by worldly strife.
" Themselves half naked," sneered the heathen, "they
despise honours and purple robes." § But although ac-
cused of being profitless to the state, || they were never-
theless diligent in business while fervent in spirit. " We
are no Brahmins or Indian devotees," says their great
apologist, " living naked in the woods, and banished
from civilized life." ^f They were no drones in the so-
cial hive, but patterns of industry and thrift. Inspired
with loftier motives than their heathen neighbours, they
faithfully discharged life's lowly toils, sedulously culti-
vated the private virtues, and followed blamelessly what-
soever things were lovely and of good report.

In nothing, however, is the superiority of Christianity
over paganism so apparent as in the vast difference in
the position and treatment of woman in the respective
systems. It is difficult to conceive the depths of degra-
dation into which woman had fallen when Christianity

* Hostes Caesarum, hostes populi Romani. — Celsus, lib. viii.
f Christianusnulliusesthostis, nedum imperatoris. — Ad Scapulum,\.
\ Nee ulla res aliena magis quam publica. — Apol., c. 38.
§ Honores et purpuras despiciunt ipsi seminudi. — In Munic. Fe-
Hx, viii.

|| Infructuosi in negotiis dicimur. — Tert , Apol., 42.
f Ibid.

492 The Catacombs of Rome.

came to rescue her from infamy, to clothe her with the
domestic virtues, to enshrine her amid the sanctities of
home, and to employ her in the gentle ministrations of
charity. The Greek courtesan, says Lecky, was the
finest type of Greek life — the one free woman of Athens.
But how world-wide was the difference between the
Greek hetcera — a Phryne or an Aspasia, though hon-
oured by Socrates and Pericles — and the Christian ma-
trons Monica, Marcella, or Fabiola. So much does
woman owe to Christianity ! In Rome her condition
was still worse. The heathen satirists paint in strong-
est colours the prevailing corruptions, and the historians
of the times reveal abounding wickedness that shames
humanity. The vast wealth, the multiplication of slaves,
the influx of orientalism with its debasing vices, had
thoroughly corrupted society. The relations of the
sexes seemed entirely dislocated. The early Roman
ideas of marriage were forgotten ; it had no moral, only
a legal character. Woman, reckless of her " good
name," had lost " the most immediate jewel of her soul."
The Lucretias and Virginias of the old heroic days were
beings of tradition. A chaste woman, says Juvenal,
was a rara avis in terra. The Julias and Messalinas
flaunted their wickedness in the high places of the earth,
and to be Caesar's wife was not to be above suspicion.
Alas, that in a few short centuries Christianity should
sink so low that the excesses of a Theodora should rival
those of an Agrippina or a Julia ! Even the loftiest
pagan moralists and philosophers recklessly disregarded
the most sacred social obligation at their mere caprice.
Cicero, who discoursed so nobly concerning the nature
of the gods, divorced his wife Terentia that he might
mend his broken fortunes by marrying his wealthy
nard. Cato ceded his wife, with the consent of

Social and Domestic Relations. 493

her father, to his friend Hortensius, taking her back after
his death. Woman was not a person, but a thing, says
Gibbon. Her rights and interests were lost in those of
her husband. She should have no friends nor gods
but his, says Plutarch. It was the age of reckless
divorce. In the early days of the Commonwealth there
had teen no divorce in Rome in five hundred and forty
years. In the reign of Nero, says Seneca, the women
measured their years by their husbands, and not by the
consuls. Juvenal speaks of a woman with eight hus-
bands in five years ; * and Martial, in extravagant hyper-
bole, of another who married ten husbands in a month. f
We must also regard as an exaggeration the account
given by Jerome of a woman married to her twenty- third
husband, being his twenty-first wife. J

Nevertheless, God did not leave himself without a
witness in the hearts of the people ; and w» have seen
many illustrations of conjugal happiness in previous in-
scriptions. § But Christianity first taught the sanctity
of the marriage relation, as a type of the mystical union
between Christ and his church ; and enforced the recip-
rocal obligation of conjugal fidelity, which was previously
regarded as binding on woman alone. In their recoil
from the abominable licentiousness of the heathen, the
Christians regarded modesty as the crown of all the vir-
tues, and against its violation the heaviest ecclesiastical
penalties were threatened. This regard was at length
intensified into a superstitious reverence for celibacy. ||

* Sat., vi, 20. \ Epig., vii, 6. % Epist., cxi.

§ The names of Penelope, Andromache, Alcestis, and Antigone
will be forever illustrious types of the domestic virtues.

|| The Fathers frequently contrasted the few heathen vestal virgins
with the multitude of Christian celibates. Tin. Christian emperors
and the early councils resolutely repressed harlotry, drunkenness,
wanton dancing, and immodest plays and books.

494 The Catacombs of Rome.

The absolute sinfulness of a divorce was maintained
by the early councils.* The Fathers admit of but one
cause, that which Christ himself assigns, as rendering it
lawful, t They also denounced second marriage, or
bigamy, as it was called, which excluded from the
clerical order, and from a share in the charities of the
church. \ The marriage relation was regarded as the
union .of two souls for time and for eternity. §

* Cone. Nic, 8 ; Ancyra, 19 ; Laodic, 1 ; Neo Caes., 3.

f Tertul., Contr. Marc, iv, 34, etc.

\ Tertullian wrote a special treatise on the subject — De Mono-
gamia. The injunction that a bishop should be the husband of one
wife was regarded as a prohibition of a second marriage. Some of
the Fathers, however, dissented from this view, as Hermes, {Pastor,
ii, 4) ; Augustine, {De Bono Viduitatis, 12). On many pagan tombs
occurs the word univira — " Once married." There are several ex-
amples of wives in the prime of their youth and beauty devoting
themselves to retirement on the death of their husbands, as the wives
of Pompey, of Drusus, and of Lucan.

§ The beauty and dignity of Christian wedlock are nobly expressed
by Tertullian in the following passage, addressed to his own wife :
" How can I paint the happiness," he exclaims, " of a marriage which
the church ratines, the sacrament confirms, the benediction seals, an-
gels announce, and our heavenly Father declares valid ! What a
union of two believers — one hope, one vow, one discipline, one wor-
ship ! They are brother and sister, two fellow-servants, one spirit and
one flesh. They pray together, fast together, exhort and support one
another. They go together to the house of God, and to the table of
the Lord. They share each other's trials, persecutions, and joys.
Neither avoids nor hides any thing from the other. They delight to
visit the sick, succour the needy, and daily to lay their offerings be-
fore the altar without scruple or constraint. They do not need to
keep the sign of the cross hidden, nor to express secretly their Chris-
tian joy, nor receive by stealth the eucharist. They join in psalms
and hymns, and strive who best can praise God. Christ rejoices at
the sight, and sends his peace upon them. Where two are in his
name he also is ; and where he is, their evil cannot come" — Ad Uxo-
retn, ii, 8. He thus describes the difficulties which a Christian wom-
an married to an idolater must encounter in her religious life : " At
the time for worship the husband will appoint the use of the bath ;

Social and Domestic Relations. 495

The church, following the principle laid down by
St. Paul, strongly opposed mixed marriages with the
heathen ; and the Fathers denounced them as danger-
ous and immoral. Cyprian regards them as a prostitu-
tion of the members of Christ.* Tertullian also desig-
nates them spiritual adultery. f Where conversion oc-
curred after marriage, the Christian partner was exhort-
ed, in the spirit of the apostolic counsel, to strive by
gentleness and love to win the unbelieving companion
to Christ. Thus Monica, the mother of Augustine, and
Clotildis, the wife of Clovis, both brought their heathen
husbands to embrace Christianity.

The rites and benedictions of the church were early
invoked to give sanction to Christian marriage ; \ and
doubtless in the dim recesses of the Catacombs, and
surrounded by the holy dead, youthful hearts must have
plighted their troth, and been the more firmly knit to-
gether by the common perils and persecutions they
must share. Here, too, the wedded pair may have
paced the silent galleries, by holy converse inspired
with stronger faith and more fervent love. How sweet
must discourse of heaven have been in those sunless

when a fast is to be observed he will invite company to a feast.
When she would bestow alms, both safe and cellar are closed against
her. What heathen will suffer his wife to attend the nightly meet-
ings of the church, the slandered supper of the Lord, to visit the
sick even in the poorest hovels, to kiss the martyr's chains in prison,
to rise in the night for prayer, to show hospitality to stranger breth-
ren ? " — Ibid.

* Jungere cum infidelibus vinculum matrimonii prostituere gentil-
lbus membra Christi.

f Ad Ux., ii, 2-9. Jerome says that women married to heathen
become part of that body whose ribs they are. — Cont. Jovin.,\, 5.

i Secret marriages were forbidden, nor might this union take place
without the approbation of the earthly as well as of the heavenly pa-
rent.— Tert., Ad. Ux., ii, 9.

496 The Catacombs of Rome.

depths of earth ! How thrilling those partings when
before another meeting each might win a martyr's
crown.

When the church emerged from the Catacombs the
marriage rites assumed a more festive character, and
were frequently attended with nuptial processions,
songs, music, and feasting. Some of the gilded glasses
previously described seem to commemorate these occa-
sions. Thus we occasionally find representations of the
man and woman standing with clasped hands before the
marriage altar, while Christ crowns the newly wedded
pair. Sometimes the glass used in the marriage rite
was immediately broken, as if to denote the tran-
sient nature of even the highest human bliss. The
innocent festivities of these occasions gradually degen-
erated into convivial excesses ; and, in conformity to
heathen usages, were contaminated by licentiousness
of speech and action unbecoming to Christian mod-
esty. These abuses called for the strong denunciations
of the Fathers and the early councils, and at length
the clergy were forbidden to attend such festivals.
The early Christians were required, in all their enter-
tainments and festivals, by temperance,* by purity, by
piety, to adorn the doctrines of the Gospel. Prayer
hallowed their daily lives, and every act was done to the
glory of God.

In their apparel and households the primitive be-
lievers were patterns of sobriety and godliness. The
pomps and vanities of the world were renounced at
their baptism. They eschewed all sumptuous and
gaudy clothing as unbecoming the gravity and sim-
plicity of the Christian character. Although many by

* " Guard against drunkenness as against hemlock," says Clement
of Alexandria, " for both drag down to death." — Padag., i. 7.

Social and Domestic Relations. 497

social rank were entitled to wear the flowing Roman
toga, yet by most it was regarded as too ostentatious in
appearance ; and, disdaining all assumption of worldly
honour, they wore instead the common pallium or cloak.
They rejected also, as the epicurean enticements of
a world the fashion whereof was passing away, the
luxurious draperies, the costly cabinets and couches,
the golden vessels and marble statuary that adorned the
abodes of the wealthy heathen.

The strong instinct of the female mind to personal
adornment was suppressed by religious convictions and
ecclesiastical discipline : and Christian women culti-
vated rather the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit
than the meretricious attractions of the heathen. " Let
your comeliness be the goodly garment of the soul," says
Tertullian. " Be arrayed in the ornaments of the apos-
tles and prophets, drawing your whiteness from sim-
plicity, your ruddy hue from modesty, painting your
eyes with bashfulness, your mouth with silence, implant-
ing in your ears the word of God, fitting on your neck
the yoke of Christ. Clothe yourself with the silk of
uprightness, the fine linen of holiness, the purple of
modesty, and you shall have God himself for your lover
and spouse."*

" Let woman breathe the odour of the true royal oint-
ment, that of Christ, and not of unguents and scented
powders," writes Clement of Alexandria, warning the
faithful against another heathen practice. " Let her be
anointed with the ambrosial chrism of industry, and
find delight in the holy unguent of the Spirit, and of-
fer spiritual fragrance. She may not crown the living

* De Ciiltn Feminamm, ii, 3-13 : " The wife should weave her own
apparel," says Clement of Alexandria, referring to Prov. xxxi, 10-31.
This is also the etymological meaning of the English word wife.

498 The Catacombs of Rome.

image of God as the heathen do dead idols. Her fair
crown is one of amaranth, which groweth not on earth,
but in the skies."* The simple and modest garb of
the Christian matron is exhibited in many of the repre-
sentations of oranti, or praying figures, in the chambers
of the Catacombs. See one beautiful example from a
sarcophagus in Fig. 88.

With the corruption of the church and decay of piety
under the post-Constantinian emperors came the devel-
opment of luxury and an increased sumptuousness of
apparel. The refined classic taste was lost, and bar-
baric pomp and splendour were the only expression of
opulence. The mosaics in the vestibules of the more
ancient basilicas, and an occasional representation from
the Catacombs of the period of their latest occupation,
illustrate the increased luxury of dress. The primitive
simplicity has given place to many-coloured and em-
broidered robes. The hair, often false, was tortured
into unnatural forms, and raised in a towering mass on
the head, not unlike certain modern fashionable modes,
and was frequently artificially dyed. The person was
bedizened with jewelry — pendents in the ears, pearls
on the neck, bracelets and a profusion of rings on the
arms and fingers. St. Jerome inveighs with peculiar
vehemence against the attempt to beautify the com-
plexion with pigments. " What business have rouge
and paint on a Christian cheek ? " he asks. " Who can
weep for her sins when her tears wash bare furrows on
her skin ? With what trust can faces be lifted to heaven
which the Maker cannot recognize as his workman-
ship ? " f The mosaic portrait of St. Agnes is richly

* Pcedag., ii, 8.

\ Ep. 54 : " Polire faciem purpurisso " he exclaims, " et cerusa ora
depingere, ornare ciftem, et alienis capillis turritam verticem stru-

Social and Domestic Relations. 499

adorned with gems, and even the earliest examples of
the Madonna is bedizened in Byzantine style with a
necklace of pearls.* The following engraving from
D'Agincourt illustrates the tasteless drapery and coif-
fure which awakened such intense patristic indignation.
The simplicity of the funeral rites of the primitive
Christians is indicated by the character of the sepul-
chral monuments of the Catacombs. No " storied urn
or animated bust," nor costly mausolea, were employed
to commemorate those who slept in Christ. A narrow
grave, undistinguished from the multitude around save
by the name of the deceased, or by the emblem of his
calling, or symbol of his faith, and most frequently not

ere." Cyprian suggests that the Almighty might not recognize them at
the resurrection. They should not dye their hair or clothes, as violat-
ing the saying that " thou canst not make one hair white or black ;" and
God had not made sheep scarlet or purple. — De habitu Virginum, 14-
16. " Nevertheless," says Clement, " they cannot with their bought and
painted beauty avoid wrinkles or evade death." Tertullian denounces
their flame-coloured heads, "built up with pads and rolls, the slough
perhaps of some guilty wretch now in hell." — De Velendis Virginities,
ii, 17. " One delicate neck," he says, " carries about it forests and isl-
ands " — saltus et insula ; that is, their price. — Ibid.,\, 9. At the court
of the Eastern Empire, effeminacy and oriental luxury still further
degraded the Christian character. Clement of Alexandria denounces
with indignation the extravagance and vice of the so-called Chris-
tian community of that city. The wealth that should have been de-
voted to the poor was expended in gilded litters and chariots, splendid
banquets and baths, in costly jewelry and dresses. Wealthy ladies,
instead of maintaining widows and orphans, wasted their sympathies
on monkeys, peacocks, and Maltese dogs. — Pad., iii, 4. " Riches,"
he adds, " is like a serpent which will bite unless we know how to
take it by the tail." — Ibid., 6. He compares the Alexandrian women
to " an Egyptian temple, gorgeous without, but enshrining only a cat
or crocodile: so beneath their meretricious adorning were concealed
vile and loathsome passions." The sumptuary laws of the Theodosian
code prohibited the use of gold brocade or silken tissue, (x, tit, 20 ;
xlv, 10.)
* See Fig. 90. See also oranti in Fig. 82.

500

The Catacombs of Rome.

even by these, sufficed, in the earlier and purer days of
the church, for the last resting-place of the saints. As

Fig. 1 129.— Bellicia fedelissima virgo qve vixit annos xviii, («ie.)
Belicia, a most faithful virgin who lived eighteen years.

wealth increased and faith grew cold, more attention was
given to the external expression of grief or regard fot
the departed ; and the chambers, at first rudely hewn
from the tufa, became ornamented with stucco and

Social and Domestic Relations. 501

frescoes, and lined with marble slabs, and the inscrip-
tions became more turgid and artificial. The super-
stitious veneration paid to the relics of the saints in
later days led to the adornment of their sepulchres ;
and during the period of the temporal supremacy of
Christianity, the posthumous ostentation of the rich
was manifested in their costly sarcophagi and funeral
monuments.*

All immoderate grief for the departed was regarded
as inconsistent with Christian faith and hope. " Our
brethren are not to be lamented who are freed from the
world by the summons of the Lord," says Cyprian, "for
we know they are not lost, but sent before us. We may
not wear the black robes of mourning while they are al-
ready clothed with the white raiment of joy. Nor may
we grieve for those as lost whom we know to be living
with God." f Nay, the day of their death was celebrated
as their Natalitia, or their true birthday — their entrance
into the undying life of heaven. The primitive believ-
ers were not, however, insensible to natural affection, as
many of the inscriptions already given fully prove ; but
they were sustained by a lofty hope and serene confi-
dence in God.

The early Christian burial rites were entirely differ-
ent from the pomp and pageantry of grief which char-
acterized pagan funerals. When the spirit had departed,
the body was washed with water and robed for the grave
in spotless white, to represent, Chrysostom suggests, the
soul's putting on the garment of incorruption. In later

* This lapidary extravagance was censured, as seeming to imply
that the sepulchres were the receptacles of the souls rather than of
the bodies. — Ambr., De Bono Mortis.

f Cypr., De Mortal., 20. See also Augustine's pathetic account of
the death of his mother, Monica — Premebam oculos ejus et conflue-
bat in prascordia mcestitudo ingens, etc. — Con/., ix, 12.

502 The Catacombs of Rome.

times costly robes of silk and cloth of gold were employed
for the burial of the wealthy, against which practice Je-
rome strongly inveighs. " Why does not your ambition
cease," he exclaims, "in the midst of mourning and
tears ? Cannot the bodies of the rich return to dust oth-
erwise than in silk ? " * The body was also frequently
embalmed, or at least plentifully enswathed with myrrh
and aromatic spices, after the manner of the burial of
Our Lord. This was especially necessary in the Cata-
combs on account of the frequent proximity of the liv-
ing to the dead. We find frequent allusions to this
practice in the Fathers. f It was a pagan reproach that
the Christians bought no odours for their persons nor
incense for the gods. % " It is true," says Tertullian,
"but the Arabs and Sabeans well know that we con-
sume more of these costly wares for our dead than the
heathen do for the gods."§

The nearest relatives or pious friends bore the corpse to
the grave, and committed it as the seed of immortality to
the genial bosom of the earth, often strewing the body with
flowers, in beautiful symbolism of the resurrection to the

* Father Marchi found, along with some charred bones, supposed
to be relics of St. Hyacinth, some threads of gold tissue, as if the
martyr's remains had been wrapped in this costly material. He also
perceived an aromatic odour on opening some graves. Occasionally
large lumps of lime have been found bearing the marks of the linen
in which they were wrapped. Its caustic nature would hasten the
destruction of animal tissue.

f An cadavera divitum nisi in serico putrescere nesciunt. — Vit.
Pauli. Arringhi has a chapter on the subject, (lib. i, c. 23,) Cadav-
era unguentis et aromatibus condiuntur.

\ Non corpus odoribus honestatis. — Ap., Mimic, p. 35. Jerome
urges the substitution of the balsam of alms-deeds and charity.

§ Thura plane non emimus, etc. — Apol., 42. "You expect your
women will bury your body with ointments and spices," said the
heathen judge to the martyr Tarachus ; to prevent which he con-
demned him to be burned.

Social and Domestic Relations. 503

fadeless summer of the skies.* In times of persecution
the privilege would often be purchased with money of
gathering the martyrs' mangled remains, and bearing
them by stealth, along the pagan " Street of Tombs," to
the silent community of the Christian dead.f Instead of
employing the pagan ntznia, or funeral dirge, and preeficcz,
or hireling mourners, the Christians accompanied the dead
to their repose with psalms and hymns, J chanting such
versicles as, " Return to thy rest, O my soul ; " "I will fear
no evil, for thou art with me ; " " Blessed are the dead
that die in the Lord." § Frequently, as will be hereafter
seen, the agape or eucharist was celebrated at the grave.

The heathen buried their dead by night on account
of the defilement the very sight of a funeral was sup-
posed to cause. The Christians repudiated this idola-
trous notion, and, except when prevented during times
of persecution, buried openly by day, that the living
might be reminded of their mortality and led to pre-
pare for death.

We have thus seen the immense superiority, in all the

* In later times similar rites were paid to the tomb. " We will
adorn the hidden bones," sings Prudentius, " with violets and many a
bough ; and on the epitaphs and the cold stones we will sprinkle
liquid odours." — Cat hem., x.

f See Euseb., H. E., vii, 16 and 22. They were often denied the
privilege. — Ibid., v, I. Eutychianus, a Roman Christian, is said to
have buried three hundred and forty-two martyrs with his own hands.

\ ^taXkovTEq ■xpoTre/j.neTe avrovg, k. t. A. — Constit. Apos., vi, 30.
Hymnos et Psalmos decantans, etc. — Hieron., Vit. Pauli.

§ Chrys., Horn., 4, in Hebr. The following inscription indicates
that the corpse was sometimes brought to the Catacombs some time
before burial ; probably immediately after death, as in Italy it is now
taken to the church. Pecora dulcis anima benit in cimitero Martu-
rorum, vii, idus jful. Dp. Postera die — " Pecora, a sweet soul, came
(was brought) to the cemetery of the martyrs on the 9th of July ; was
buried the following day."

504 The Catacombs of Rome.

elements of true dignity and excellence of primitive
Christianity to the corrupt civilization by which it was
surrounded. It ennobled the character and purified
the morals of mankind. It raised society from the in-
effable slough into which it had fallen, imparted ten-
derness and fidelity to the domestic relations of life,
and enshrined marriage in a sanctity before unknown.
Notwithstanding the corruptions by which it became
infected in the days of its power and pride, even the
worst form of Christianity was infinitely preferable to the
abominations of paganism. It gave a sacredness previ-
ously unconceived to human life. It averted the sword
from the throat of the gladiator, and, plucking helpless
infancy from exposure to untimely death, nourished it
in Christian homes. It threw the asgis of its protection
over the slave and the oppressed, raising them from the
condition of beasts to the dignity of men and the fel-
lowship of saints. With an unwearied and passionate
charity it yearned over the suffering and sorrowing
every-where, and created a vast and comprehensive or-
ganization for their relief, of which the world had before
no example and had formed no conception. It was a
holy Vestal, ministering at the altar of humanity, wit-
nessing ever of the Divine, and keeping the sacred fire
burning, not for Rome, but for the world. Its winsome
gladness and purity, in an era of unspeakable pollution
and sadness, revived the sinking heart of mankind, and
made possible a Golden Age in the future transcending
far that which poets pictured in the past. It blotted
out cruel laws, like those of Draco written in blood,*

* The Christian emperors prohibited the branding of felons on the
forehead on the ground " that the human countenance, formed after
the image of heavenly beauty, should not be defaced." They also
exempted widows and orphans from taxation, and contributed to their
support.

Social and Domestic Relations. 505

and led back Justice, long banished, to the judgment
seat. It ameliorated the rigours of the penal code, and,
as experience has shown, lessened the amount of crime.
It created an art purer and loftier than that of pagan-
ism ; and a literature rivaling in elegance of form, and
surpassing in nobleness of spirit, the sublimest produc-
tions of the classic muse. Instead of the sensual con-
ceptions of heathenism, polluting the soul, it supplied
images of purity, tenderness, and pathos, which fasci-
nated the imagination and hallowed the heart. It
taught the sanctity of suffering and of weakness, and
the supreme majesty of gentleness and ruth.

506 The Catacombs of Rome.

CHAPTER IV.

THE MINISTRY, RITES, AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE
PRIMITIVE CHURCH.

We gain from the testimony of the Catacombs most
important information as to the organization of the
church during the early Christian centuries. We see
on every side records of an efficient ministry of differ-
ent grades and dignities, yet wholly unlike that vast
hierarchical system which claims to be its lineal de-
scendant. We discern also evidences of a well-ordered
administration of the sacraments and ordinances of re-
ligion, simple and unadorned, yet instinct with spiritual
life and power, compared with which the gorgeous rit-
ual and lifeless pomp of Romanism are more akin, in out-
ward form at least, to the pagan homage of the Bona
Dea, or to the mysteries of Mithras, than to Christian
worship. So complete is this testimony as to the min-
istry and rites of the primitive church, that Dr. North-
cote remarks that, '' even if all the writings of the
Fathers had altogether perished, we might almost recon-
struct the whole fabric of the ecclesiastical polity from
the scattered notices of these sepulchral inscriptions."*

The somewhat complex ecclesiastical organization
which we discover was probably a gradual development
with the growth of the church, and not in its entirety
the creation of the earliest times ; the inscriptions re-
ferring to the subject, it must be remembered, being all

* Northcotes Catacombs, p. 140.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 507

or chiefly of post-Constantinian origin. The earlier books
of the Apostolical Constitutions, which are probably
of the second century, say almost nothing about the
different grades of the ministry ; but in the later ones,
probably of the fifth century, a full blown sacerdotalism
appears. Cornelius, bishop of Rome in the middle of
the third century, records the existence of a graduated
clergy like that indicated in the inscriptions of the Cata-
combs,* whose gradations Clement of Alexandria com-
pares to the different ranks of the hierarchy of heaven. \
The highest office in the church of the Catacombs
was that of the bishop — the chief pastor % or overseer of
the flock of Christ. But this position was rather a pre-
eminence of toil and peril than of dignity and honour.
The supreme head of the Roman hierarchy, who lays
claim to the attributes of deity himself, and sits in the
seat of God as his vicegerent and infallible representa-
tive on earth, finds no precedent for his lofty assump-
tions in his humble predecessors of the primitive ages.
These were in reality what he is only in name — servi
servorum Dei. Even the title of bishop occurred but
seldom. Neither Bosio, Fabretti, Boldetti, nor any other
of the early explorers of the Catacombs, found a single
example of it. The tomb of the first Roman bishop
bore simply the name linvs. In the so-called " papal

* Euseb., Hist. Eccles., vi, 43. The hierarchical subdivisions in
the Greek church are vastly more elaborate. Thus we have the pa-
triarch, metropolitan, archbishop, bishop, proto-presbyter, super-dean,
dean, presbyter, proto-deacon, deacon, sub-deacon, and common
priest, besides a host of inferior grades.

\ Strom., vi, 13. " The succession of the early Roman bishops," says
Stillingfleet, " is as muddy as the Tiber itself." — Irenicum, ii, 7. It
is an historical riddle of which it is difficult or impossible to find the
solution.

\ Eusebius gives this very title, noi/if/v, to Cyprian, (vii, 3.) They
were also called npoedooi, Trposarug, and presides, or presidents.

$08 The Catacombs of Rome.

crypt " the title first appears, but in the contracted
form, Em and EITIC^ and without any symbol of superior
dignity whatever. The name of a bishop was first made
a note of time in the latter part of the fourth century,
as in the epigraphic formulas Sub Liberio Episcopo — Sub
Damaso Episcopo — During the episcopate of Liberius,
(A. D. 350-366,) of Damasus, (A. D. 366-384.) But
this distinction was also conferred on other bishops than
those of Rome. Thus, in the year A. D. 397, we find
the expression Pascasio Episcopo. Now, as there was
no Roman bishop of that name, Pascasius must have
presided over some of the adjacent sees, of which we
know that there were many independent of Rome.*

* Hippolytus, bishop of Portus, only fifteen miles from Rome, and
a saint of the Roman calendar, strongly opposed both Zephyrinus
and Callixtus, bishops of Rome. In the fifth century Milan took pre-
cedence of Rome, and many other places were of equal dignity. The
episcopal office was very different from what is now implied by the
name, and its functions varied little from those of the presbyter, save
in the general oversight of a comparatively limited diocese. Thus in
Northern Africa alone were four hundred and sixty-six bishops, be-
side sixty-six vacant sees. Clement, bishop of Rome, (Ep. ad Cor.,
74,) Justin Martyr, and other early writers, seem to imply that the
terms bishop and presbyter were at first permutable. Cyprian, bishop
of Carthage, addresses his clergy as his co-presbyters — compresbyteros.
Jerome, jealous for his order, asserts the original identity of the
offices (idem est presbyter qtii et episcopus) and the gradual develop-
ment of episcopal dignity, from custom rather than from primitive ap-
pointment, (Comment, in Tittim.) Chrysostom asserts the original
convertibility of the titles of bishop and presbyter — ol wpeaftvTepoi to
naXaibv kna'kovvTo aniononoi, ko.1 ol ettcokoxoi irpea^vTepoi. — Homil. i,
in Phil., i. Lord King compares the two to the offices of rector
and curate, (Prim. C/i., c. 4,) but Bingham's High Church notions led
him to magnify the essential difference between the two, (Orig. Ecel.,
ii, 3.) The bishops were elected by the presbyters and the laity joint-
ly. Eusebius states that Fabian was indicated for the office by the
divine portent of a dove descending upon him, (H. E., vi, 29.) They
generally attained this dignity not per saltum, but having passed
through the inferior grades. Cyprian, however, was but a neophyte.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 509

The word papa, or pope, does not occur in the Cata-
combs till at least the latter part of the fourth century.
It appears first spelled pappas, and applied to Damasus,
in the margin of an inscription by that bishop, in honour
of Eusebius.* But De Rossi admits that this is a badly
executed reproduction, of the sixth or seventh century,
of a previous inscription ; so this title may very well
belong to that late period. This is all the more prob-
able from the phraseology of the very first line of this
inscription : damasvs episcopvs fecit evsebio episcopo
et martyri — " Damasus, bishop, (not pope,) to Euse-
bius, bishop and martyr." Hilary (461-467) calls him-
self bishop and servant of Christ — " Episcopus et famu-
lus Christi." In an epitaph of A. D. 523, Hormisdas is
called merely dominvs papa — that is, " honoured fa-
ther," or " pope," which is probably the first application
of this phrase in Christian epigraphy. In another, of
date A. D. 563, John III. is designated as the " most
blessed father John " — Beatissimus papa Joannes. f

But even this title, invested with such awful dignity
and supreme authority in later days, was at first only an
expression of familiar and affectionate respect, not pe-
culiar to the bishop of Rome, nor indeed first applied
to him. Its earliest use is attributed to Dionysius,

Eusebius a catechumen, and Ambrose a layman, when appointed to
the office of bishop. In the course of time, in the East the emper-
ors, in the West the kings, usurped the power of appointment, a
relic of which is seen in the royal conge d'elire in Great Britain, so
strongly satirized by Carlyle, (Latter-day Pamphlets.)

* See ante, p. 95.

f We have already seen that the inscription of date A. D. 392, re-
garded as the epitaph of a " most holy Pope Felix," was in reality
that of a foster-father. See ante, p. 471. The phrase " Apostolic
See," now restricted to Rome, was originally applied to every bish-
op's seat. — Bingham, ii, 2, § 3.

510 The Catacombs of Rome.

bishop of Alexandria, in the latter part of the third cen-
tury.* The Roman clergy address the bishop of Car-
thage in their letters as " the blessed pope Cyprian." \
Tertullian applies the name to any Christian bishop. %
Jerome addresses Augustine, bishop of the little Afri-
can diocese of Hippo, as the Beatissimus papa Augus-
tinns, § and applies the same phrase to the superior of
a monastery. ||

The rapid extension of Christianity in the metropolis
of the empire enhanced the influence and dignity of
the Roman bishops. 1" With the increase of wealth and
decay of piety these dignitaries became ambitious and
worldly, arrogant and aspiring, and laid the founda-
tions of that vast system of spiritual despotism which
for centuries crushed the civil and religious liberties of
Europe. Nevertheless, as late as the end of the sixth
century, Gregory the Great, although zealous for the
episcopal dignity, resents the claim of John of Constan-

* He speaks of his predecessor in office as " our father, (nana,) the
blessed Hereclas." — Eu., H. E., vii, 7. In like manner an epitaph
of an African bishop, of date A. D. 475, designates him " our father
of holy memory " — Sane tee memorice pater noster.

f Ep. 8. Cler. Rom. ad Cler. Cart h.

% De Pudicit., c. 13.

§ Ep. 17, 18, 30, etc.

|| The synonymous title of abbot is still used in this sense. It was
applied to the hermit monks of the Orkneys and Iceland, and gave
the name Papa Strona and Papa Westi-a to islands of the Orkney
group.

\ Optatus says there were forty churches in Rome in the third
century. Ammianus describes the almost regal pomp of the bishops
in the latter part of the fourth century, and records the sanguinary
struggle for the episcopal dignity between Damasus and Ursicinus.
The streets were strewn with the slain, and one hundred and thirty-
seven corpses polluted the sacred precincts of a Christian basilica.
The primitive church stigmatized simony as ^piCTrf/zTropetav, or " sell-
ing Christ."

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 5 1 1

tinople to the title of oecumenical bishop in the strik-
ing words : " This I declare with confidence, that whoso
designates himself universal priest, or, in the pride of
his heart, consents to be so named, he is the forerunner
of Antichrist."* His successors of Rome have not
shrunk from this malediction, but, in assumption of this
universal supremacy, have placed their feet on the neck
of kings, parcelled out empires, and conferred crowns
at their pleasure, f

The next rank in ecclesiastical dignity was that of the
Presbyters. J There was not that distinction in the prim-

* Ego autem fidenter dico quia quisque se universalem sacerdotem
vocat, vel vocari desiderat, in elatione sud Antichristum praecurrit. —
Greg. A/ax., Epis. vii, 7-33.

f Gregory III. (731-741) styles himself " the most holy and blessed
Apostolic Pope" — Sanctissimus ac Beatissimus Apostolicus Papa.
Boniface VIII. adopted the triple-crowned tiara, to indicate the
Pope's dominion over heaven, earth, and hell.

Dante represents the pope as an all-powerful griffin, symbolical of
his spiritual and temporal functions, drawing the triumphal car of the
church. — Purgatorio, Can. xxix. Yet in a fresco of the seventh or
eighth century, of Cornelius, bishop of Rome, he is in no way distin-
guished by costume, insignia, or title from Cyprian, bishop of Car-
thage, who stands beside him.

\ The name was not always indicative of age, but of office, like the
Jewish fiiipt or elders, the Latin senatores, and the Saxon alder-
men.

Rheinwal, Geisler, Neander, and other eminent German scholars,
agree that the term bishop originally was merely the official title of
the presbyter who was chosen to rule or oversee the church ; and that
the latter sat in consistory with the bishop, forming the eeclesiastical
Senate, in which the bishop was simply the presiding officer — -primus
inter pares.

It is worthy of note that the word lepevg, "priest," that is, one who
offers sacrifice, is nowhere applied to any ecclesiastical rank in the
Catacombs, or in the writings of the primitive Fathers. It has been
left for Romanism, and a Romanizing sacerdotalism, to apply to the
Christian minister this phrase, so opposed to the genius of the New
Testament.

■ flO

512 The Catacombs of Rome.

itive ages between their office and that of the bishops
that afterward arose. Bishop Pearson represents their
power and dignity as greater the nearer we ascend to
the apostolic times. Their principal functions were the
administration, in association with the bishops, of the
sacraments, the enforcement of discipline, the preach-
ing of the word, and the pastorate of the church. Their
epitaphs in the Catacombs and basilicas are frequently
very brief, as the following : locvs geronti presb —
" The place of Gerontus, a presbyter ; " positvs est hic
leontivs presbiter (sic) — " Here is placed Leontius, a
presbyter." Sometimes the title is expressed in a con-
tracted form, thus : hic qviescit romanvs pbb. qvi
sedit pbb • ann • xxvin • m • x. — " Here reposes Roman-
us, a presbyter, who sat a presbyter twenty-eight years
ten months."* Boldetti gives the epitaph of acativs
pastor, who was probably a presbyter, his title express-
ing his pastoral office. The following, of date A. D. 471,
which is more elaborate than usual, is of some histori-
cal interest : f

PRESBYTER HIC POSITVS FELIX IN PACE QVIESCIT
CVIVS PVRA FIDES PROBITAS VIGILANTIA SOLLERS
PONTIFICVM CLARO PLACVIT SIC NOTA LEONI
POST LABSVM VT REPARANS VENERANDI CVLMINA PAVLI
HVIC OPERIS TANTI RENOVANDAM CREDERET AVLAM.
*' Felix, the presbyter, placed here, reposes in peace, whose pure
faith, probity, sagacious vigilance, when known, so pleased the illus-

* The letters Pbb., according to De Rossi, stand for Presbyter bene-
dictus.

\ Felix was probably presbyter of the basilica of St. Paul, founded
by Constantine A. D. 324, rebuilt by Theodosius and Honorius,
A. D. 388-395, restored by Leo I., A. D. 440, and again by the pres-
ent Pope, in its ancient dimensions, (four hundred and eleven feet
by two hundred and seventy-nine.) It is one of the noblest basilicas
of Rome.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 5 r3

trious Leo of the pontiffs,* that, repairing the roof of the venerable
St. Paul's after its fall, he trusted to him the renewal of the hall of so
great a work.

It appears that sometimes the primitive presbyters
engaged in secular callings. Thus, an inscription from
the Catacomb of Callixtus reads, AIONYCIOC IIPECBY-
TEPOC IATPOC — " Dionysius, presbyter and physician."
Another, of date A. D. 533, commemorates a deacon,
who was also, perhaps before ordination, a senator and
soldier. One found in Galatia mentions 9E0AGP0C
nPECBYTEPOC KAl APrYPOKOIIOC — " Theodorus, a pres-
byter and silversmith." Hyacinthus, a Roman presbyter
of the third century, was also an officer of the imperial
household. Tertullian complains that some engaged in
idolatrous trades were promoted to ecclesiastical offi-
ces, f Eusebius mentions a presbyter of Antioch who
was head-master of one of the principal schools of the
city. \ Sozomen tells of bishops Zeno and Spiridion,
who continued, the one to weave linen, the other to
keep sheep, after elevation to the episcopal office. § In-
deed, the fourth council of Carthage (A. D. 398) de-
creed that the clergy might devote their leisure to trade
or husbandry, that the church might have greater re-
sources for charity. ||

* According to Bingham, Pontifcx maximus was a title common
to all bishops in primitive times. — Orig. Eccl., ii, § 6.

There is here possibly a paronomasia on the word " Leo," lion of
the pontiffs. There were sometimes several presbyters attached to
one church. See De Rossi, Inscr. Christ., No. 975.

\ Adleguntur in ordinem ecclesiasticum artifices idolorum.— Zte
JdoL, vii.

% Hist. Eccles., c. vii, 29. § Sozomen, i, 27, and vii, 28.

|| Clericus quantumlibet verbo Dei eruditus, artificio victum quse-
rat. — Cone. Cart A., 4, can. 51. The example of Paul, the tentmaker,
who, though asserting the right of the ministry to a support, yet
"wrought with labour and travail night and day," that he might not

5 14 The Catacombs of Rome.

The next grade in ecclesiastical rank was that of the
deacons. They acted generally as assistants of the
bishops and presbyters, especially in the distribution of
the charities of the church.* They also took part in the
administration of the eucharist, but not in its consecra-
tion. Before the appointment of lectors they read, and
occasionally expounded, the Scriptures to the congrega-
tion, like the modern lay preachers. They also acted as
instructors or catechists of the catechumens of the
church. They are frequently designated Levitce, f from
the fancied analogy of their functions to those of the
Levitical order among the Jews. In the church at Rome
there were only seven deacons, in accordance with the
number originally appointed in the church at Jerusa-
lem ; but in other cities the number was not thus lim-
ited.J Of inferior dignity were the vTrodtattovoi, or sub-
deacons, who assisted the deacons in the discharge of
their lower functions, as the care of the sacramental
vessels, and the like.

Several epitaphs of both these classes have been
found among the early Christian inscriptions. They are
generally very brief, as the following: ivl diaconvs- —

be chargeable to the church, will occur to the reader. Chrysostom,
speaking of the rural bishops of Antioch, says : " These men you may
see sometimes yoking the oxen and driving the plough, and again
ascending the pulpit and cultivating the souls under their care ; now
uprooting the thorns from the earth with a hook, and now purging
out the sins of the soul by the word." — Horn, ad Pop. Antioch., xix.
" How glorious to see the gray-haired pastor approach, like Abraham,
his loins girt, digging the ground and working with his own hands."
— Horn in Act., xviii.

*A similar office obtained in the Jewish synagogue, the Ei03"l0
f This was especially the case in verse, as the word diaconus was
unsuitable for hexameters.

\ In Constantinople there were more than one hundred deacons, and
more than ninety sub-deacons. — Justin., Nov., iii, I.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 515

' Julius, the deacon ; " deps • felix • diac — " Felix, the
deacon, buried (Mar. 11, A. D. 435);" locvs exvpe-
ranti diacon — "The place of Exuperantus, the dea-
con." Beneath the church of Sts. Cosmo and Damien
was found the following : hic reqviescit scvs habvn-
dantivs diac et MARTYR — " Here reposes holy Abun-
dantius, deacon and martyr."*

The following are characteristic epitaphs of sub-dea-
cons: HIC QVIESCIT APPIANVS SVBDIACONVS QVI VIXIT

annvs xxxii dies xxvini — " Here rests Appianus, a sub-
deacon, who lived thirty-two years, twenty-nine days ; "

LOCVS MARCELLI SVBD • REG • SEXTAE CONCESSVM (sic) SIBI
ET POSTERIS EIVS A BEATISSIMO PAPA IOANNE QVI VIXIT

ann • plm • lxviii — " The place of Marcellus, a sub-dea-
con of the sixth district, f conceded to him and his pos-
terity by the most blessed Father John, J who lived
sixty-eight years, more or less." (A. D. 564.)

The first rank of the inferior officers of the church
was that of the lectors or readers. It was their duty
to read in the congregations the appointed lessons from
the Holy Scriptures. § The office was held in peculiar
honour, young men of noble family, especially, aspiring
to its dignity. Thus the Emperor Julian, in his youth,
was a reader of the church at Nicomedia, as was also

* This was probably a memorial of a later period than the times
of persecution. The epithet sanctus was not applied till compara-
tively late. The office of deacon, however, was particularly obnox-
ious to persecuting greed. Witness the martyrdom of Lawrence the
deacon, antca.

f Rome was divided into seven ecclesiastical districts correspond-
ing to its seven deacons.

% John III., bishop of Rome.

§ They are mentioned by Tertullian {De Prasciip., c. 41) and
Cyprian, (£/>., 24, 33,) and by many later writers. The office was
possibly derived from the Synagogue.

5 16 The Catacombs of Rome.

his brother Gallus.* Candidates for the office were or-
dained by the ceremony of delivering the Gospels into
their hands. According to one of the Novels of Jus-
tinian,! they were required to be not less than eighteen
years of age, but examples occur of their appointment
as early as seven or eight years old. J Probably the lat-
ter were dedicated by their parents, like Samuel, to the
service of God from their infancy,§ and graduated
through the inferior offices to those of greater dignity
and influence. In the Western church they soon ceased
as a distinct rank, but they lingered in the conventual
orders till a comparatively late period.

The following are epitaphs of lectors from the Cata-
combs and basilicas : eq heraclivs qvi fvit in saecv-

LVM ANN • XVIIII • M • VII • D • XX • LECTOR R • SEC • FE-
CERVNT • SIBI ET FILIO SVO BENEMERENTI • INP " Equi-

tius Heraclius, who was in this world nineteen years,
seven months, twenty days, a reader of the second
district. (His parents) made this for themselves and
their well-deserving son, in peace ; " cinnamivs opas

LECTOR TITVLI FACIOLI AMICVS PAVPERVM — " CinnaillillS

Opas, a reader of the church of Faciolus, a friend of
the poor ; " mirae innocentiae adq • eximiae bonitatis
hic reqviescit leopardvs lector de pvdentiana qvi
vixit ann. xxiiii — " Here rests Leopardus, of wonderful
innocence and remarkable goodness, a reader of the
church of Pudentiana, who lived twenty-four years ; "
hic reqviescit in somno pacis caelivs lavrentivs

* Socrat., iii, I. Sozom., v. 2. f cxxiii, c. 54.

\ Leo X. was a priest at seven and a cardinal at ten. Among the
five hundred clergy destroyed by the Vandal persecution in Carthage
were many infant readers — quam plurimi erant lectores infantuli. —
Victor de Persec. Vandal, lib. iii.

§ On the tomb of a youth of fourteen occurs the words, votvs
DEO, " Dedicated to God."

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 517

LECTOR SANCTAE ECCLESIAE AECLANENSIS QVI VIXIT

annos plm • xlviii — " Here rests, in the sleep of
peace, Caelius Laurentius, a reader of the holy church
of yEclanum, who lived forty-eight years, more or
less."

The acolytes were another class which is discontinued
in the protestant . communion. As the name implies,*
they were the servitors of the church, and had charge
of the lamps and other ecclesiastical furniture. They
were probably the offspring of the increasing pomp and
dignity of the bishops, to whom they acted as personal
attendants, especially in public processions and religious
festivals. The only dated epitaphs of acolytes extant
are of a comparatively late period. De Rossi thinks the
following of the sixth or seventh century. f The sim-
plicity of the primitive church had long since passed
away, (p)ace abvndantivs acol • reg -qvartae tt

VESTINAE QVI VIXIT ANN • XXXIII DEP • INP • D NAT • SCI

marci — " In peace, Abundantius, an acolyte of the
fourth district, of the church of Vestina, who lived
thirty-three years. Buried in peace on the birthday of
St. Mark."

The office of exorcist, from the occult and mysteri-
ous nature of its functions, was one that from the first
was liable to abuse. It appears to have been known in
the synagogue, and even there to have been usurped for
base and venal purposes. \ A battle between supernal

* 'AKoXovdog, " A servant."

\ Cornelius, bishop of Rome in the third century, says there were
in that church forty-two acolytes, (Euseb., H.E., vi, 43 ;) and, accord-
ing to Eusebius, a great number attended the bishops at the council
of Nice.

% See the vagabond Jew exorcists of Acts xix, 13. They were
probably also magicians and soothsayers. Exorcism was common
also among the pagan soothsayers, with whom the Christians were

5 1 8 The Catacombs of Rome.

and infernal powers seems to have been coincident with
the conflict between Christianity and paganism. The
Christians believed the oracles and idols of the gods to be
animated by daemons, who frequently usurped possession
also of human beings. Tertullian,* Origen,f and others
of the Fathers, claim that any private Christian could
exorcise these daemons by faith and prayer. It was
probably a spiritual gift like that of " tongues," which
was granted for a special purpose and afterward with-
drawn, perhaps on account of its abuse. This mysteri-
ous function did not become a distinct office till the
latter part of the third century, when the exorcists were
set apart by special ordination, and furnished with spe-
cial forms of adjuration. This rite was then generally
performed with solemn ceremonial before the baptism
of converts from paganism. It was accompanied by
prayer, insufflation, imposition of hands, and the sign
of the cross, in order to deliver the subject from the
dominion of the Prince of Darkness, and to consecrate
him to the service of God. In later days this office
became subject to frightful abuse, and all the grotesque
and horrible adjuncts of exorcism of the Roman church
— the charms, conjurations, wearing of scapulars and rel-
ics, incensings and sprinklings, were introduced — rites
which find their analogues only in the magical incanta-
tions of the medicine-men of the Caffre Kraal or the

sometimes confounded. It is probable against them that a law of Ul-
pian was directed, condemning those who used incantations, impre-
cations, or, to use the common word of impostors, exorcisms — Si
incantavit, si imprecatus est, si (ut vulgari verbo impostorum utar)
exorcisavit.

* ApoL, 23.

\ Cont. Cels., vii. Gregory Thaumaturgus, the Wonder-worker,
won especial fame by his exploits of this nature. — Socrates, iv, 27.
Antony, of Egypt, could detect daemons by the sense of smell !

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 519

Indian lodge.* "The best exorcism," says Tertullian%
" is by watchfulness and prayer to resist the devil, and
cast out evil thoughts." The following are epitaphs of
exorcists : ianvarivs exorcista — " Januarius the exor-
cist ; " HIC REQVIESCIT • IN • SOMNO • PACIS • CAELIVS «

iohannis exhorcista {sic) — " Here rests, in the sleep
of peace, C^elius John, an exorcist."

The energumens, or possessed persons, were com-
mitted to the especial care of the exorcists, who em-
ployed them in the secular service of the sanctuary, as
sweeping and cleaning the church, "lest idleness should
become a temptation for Satan to molest them." There
is no indication of the existence of this unhappy class
of persons in the church of the Catacombs, at least so
far as monumental evidence is concerned.

A very numerous class in the economy of the prim-
itive church was that of the fossors, or grave-diggers,
by whose labours these vast labyrinths were exca-
vated. They seem to have had especial charge of the
subterranean cemeteries, and we have had numerous
examples of the transfer and sale of graves under their
authority.f They had also a quasi-ecclesiastical rank,
and were subject to ecclesiastical discipline. "The
first order of the clergy," says Jerome, " is that of the
fossors, who, after the manner of holy Tobit, are em-
ployed in burying the dead." J They probably also

* A somewhat analogous practice to the ancient exorcism was that
of touching for king's evil, for which there was a recognized form in
the prayer-book of the time of George II. — De Strwnosis Attrectan-
dis. Charles II. " touched" one hundred thousand persons.

\ See ante, p. 132.

% Primus in clericis fossariorum ordo est, etc. — De Sept. On/. Eccles.
They were also called lecticarii, from their carrying the corpse on .1
lectica or bier, and copiatcz, a word of uncertain origin. Constantine
organized the copiatce into a corporation at Constantinople, where
they numbered four hundred. Compare the Parabolani of Alexandria.

520 The Catacombs of Rome.

assisted the regular clergy in the celebration of the fu-
neral rites. The melancholy office of this pious confra-
ternity, always a sad necessity of humanity, was particu-
larly so to the persecuted church of the Catacombs.

The excavations were evidently under one directorate,
so symmetrica] and uniform is their character. A con-
siderable degree of architectural skill is exhibited in the
construction and adornment of the subterranean chapels,
many of which are of quite ornamental design, and in
the excavation of the multitude of galleries and differ-
ent levels of this vast city of the dead, proving that the
fossors were no mean civil engineers. They were also
probably the artists of the rude inscriptions. The office
seems sometimes to have been hereditary, as we find as
many as three generations of fossors in the same family.
We have seen examples of the numerous frescoes repre-
senting these lowly diggers at work, often like miners,
by the light of a lamp, or surrounded by the implements
of their calling.* The following are characteristic epi-
taphs of this class: maio fossori — "To Maius, the
fossor;" felix fossor vixit annis lxii — "Felix, the
fossor. He lived seventy-two years ; " diogenes • fos-
sor • in • pace • depositvs — " Diogenes, the fossor, buried
in peace."

With these were probably confounded in the earlier
ages the ostiarii, or door-keepers. Their office was one
of great trust and responsibility in times of persecution,
when the Christian worship had often to be celebrated
in secret, and protected from the intrusion of spies or
of the profanely curious heathen. It was their duty to
distinguish between the faithful and scoffers and traitors,
and to give private notice of the secret assemblies
of the Christians. The following inscription of the
* See Figs. 23, 24.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 521

sixth century, as restored by De Rossi, commemorates a
similar office in the basilica : loc • deci • cvbicvlari •
hvivs • basilicae — " The place of Decius, custodian of
this basilica." We have also the epitaph of a mansiona-
ftus, a similar officer.*

* With the increase of wealth and the progress of learning in the
Christian community, the number and variety of clerical offices was
greatly multiplied, and all the paraphernalia of pomp and gorgeous
ritual were added. A multitude of inferior ecclesiastical dependants
hung upon the church, absorbing its strength, corrupting its virtue,
and degrading its character. The knowledge of their very names
and offices has become a difficult task. Thus we have sacristarii,ox
keepers of the sacred vestments and vessels ; cappellani, or attendants
on the altar ; matricularii, or marshals of the public processions ;
staiirophori, or cross bearers ; ceroferarii and thuriferarii, the bearers
of tapers and incense ; and parafrenarii, or coachmen of the higher
ecclesiastics — the latter, according to Mabillon, being themselves reck-
oned among the clergy. There were also ceconoini, or stewards of
church lands ; thesaurii, or treasurers of ecclesiastical funds ; notarii,
or secretaries ; apocrisiarii, or legates ; cancellarii, or chancellors ;
syndici, or syndics ; and hermenentai, or interpreters, chiefly in the
Syrian and African churches, where the congregation used different
languages — speaking to the people in an unknown tongue is a Rom-
ish innovation. Even the offices of highest dignity were indefinitely
multiplied. There were several orders of bishops: — metropolitans,
archbishops, patriarchs, primates, and exarchs; bishops diocesan,
bishops quiescentes, that is, without charges, and titular bishops with
charges in partibus injidelium ; suffragan bishops and chorepiscopi ;
cardinals and vicars general ; and many other officers of lordly titles,
princely wealth, and vast political power. But of these we find no
examples, no prototypes in the epitaphs of the Catacombs, nor in the
lowly pastors of the persecuted flock of Christ in the primitive ages
of the church. The application of the title of pope with its present
signification to the early bishops is a ludicrous anachronism and mis-
nomer, as nothing could be further from the reality than the idea
which it now suggests.

Like the vine, which, twining round some noble elm, seems to en-
hance its beauty, but in time completely stifles its strength in its
strangling embrace, so the rank growth of human institutions has
strangled the life of the goodly tree of Roman Christianity, and

522 The Catacombs of Rome.

An exaggerated commendation of the supposed supe-
rior sanctity of single life has long been a prominent
characteristic of Romanism. A natural corollary of
this notion was the enforced celibacy of the clergy.*
Upon the Procrustean bed of this iron rule Rome has
not scrupled to bind the tenderest and most sacred af-
fections of the human soul. This cherished, but, as all
history proves, most pernicious practice, has been the
secret of much of the marvellous power of the priest-
hood and of the religious orders. The suppression of
the domestic affections but intensified their devotion to
the cause of the church, which took the place of both
wife and child, and engrossed all their thoughts and all
their energies. They became a priestly caste, ani-
mated by a strong esprit de corps superior to the claims
of kindred or of country. But, as might have been
anticipated, this anti-natural system led to fright-
ful abuses and corruptions, and to the most flagrant
innovations.

The notion of the greater sanctity of celibacy was
derived, not from the teachings of our Lord or the
apostles, who recognized the essential purity of mar-
riage ; but probably, as Milman suggests, from the early
heresy of the Gnostics, of which this doctrine was a
prominent characteristic. f " There was no enforced

blighted the promise of its early years. Forms of ritual should be
but the trellis for the support of a spiritual worship ; else, better that,
like the brazen serpent, they be broken in pieces, and, like the body
of Moses, buried in an unknown sepulchre, than become the objects
of idolatrous homage or of superstitious veneration.

* It was a primitive and probably correct opinion that all the apos-
tles were married except Paul and John — Omnes apostoli, exceptis
Johanne et Paulo, uxores habuerunt. — Ambros., ad Hilar. ; Clem.
Alex., Strom., iii ; Euseb., H. E., iii, 30; Orig., Com. in J?om.

f It was probably derived by them from the Essenes and other as-
cetic communities of the East

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 523

celibacy during the first three centuries," says the judi-
cious Bingham.* Indeed, marriage was regarded as
enjoined on bishops, elders, and deacons, by the coun-
sel of St. Paul.f The occasional passages of Scripture,
in which for temporary and special reasons a single life
is recommended, were in course of time wrested from
their obvious meaning to a more general application ;
and in the writings of some of the Fathers, marriage
was regarded as a necessary evil, only to be tolerated
for the perpetuation of the race, and on account of the
infirmity of the weak. It was not till the fourth cen-
tury that the church adopted the doctrine of devils
spoken of by St. Paul as " forbidding to marry." The
earliest ecclesiastical legislation on the subject was at
the Spanish council of Elvira, A. D. 305, which com-
manded ecclesiastics who were married to separate from
their wives — abstinere se a conjugibus sm's — thus ruth-
lessly putting asunder those whom God had joined.
The synods of Ancyra and Neo Csesarea, held ten years
later, and also one of the so-called apostolic canons of
the same date, reversed this decree, and forbade any
ecclesiastic to put away his wife on the plea of religion,
under penalty of excommunication, which action was
confirmed by the great council of Nice. J Successive
attempts to extirpate the tenderest human instincts
only led to their illicit gratification, and to the scandals
arising from the admission of mulieres subintroductce, or,

* Orig. Eccles., iv, 4.

\ 1 Tim. ii, 2, 12 ; Titus i, 6. So the Greek Church still under-
stands him, requiring the marriage of its clergy. Tertullian, Cyprian,
Gregory of Nyssa, Hilary of Poitiers, Spyridon, Synesius, and many
other distinguished ecclesiastics of early times, are recorded to have
been married.

\ Socrat., i, 11 ; Sozom., i, 23. " Marriage is the true chastity,"
exclaimed the aged bishop Paphnutius.

524 The Catacombs of Rome.

in other words, of concubines. So demoralized did the
clergy thereby become, that during the Middle Ages,
as Mr. Lea remarks, " though the ancient canons were
still theoretically in force, they were practically obsolete
every-where."* At length Luther led the great eman-
cipation of the clergy from this burden, so unutterably
grievous to many a tender conscience ; and removed the
stigma of disgrace from those domestic relations which
God, who setteth the solitary in families, so signally
blesses.

There is no trace of the ascetic spirit or celibate
clergy of the Church of Rome in the inscriptions of the
Catacombs. On the contrary, numerous epitaphs com-
memorate the honourable marriage of members of every
ecclesiastical grade. Thus, in the highest rank, Gruter f
gives the following, which is thought to be that of Libe-
rius, bishop of Rome, who died A. D. 366, and who
was sometimes known by the name of Leo :

HVNC MIHI COMPOSVIT TVMVLVM LAVRENTIA CONIVX
MORIBVS APTA MEIS SEMPER VENERANDA FIDELIS

* Sacerdotal Celibacy, p. 162. The satirical songs, tales, and
scandalous anecdotes concerning the celibate clergy, and the denun-
ciations of their vice by successive councils, attest the social deprav-
ity caused by this system. The ascetic depreciation of woman led
also inevitably to her moral degradation. She was described by some
of the monkish writers, who thus slandered the memory of their own
mothers, as a noxious animal, the very essence of evil and gate of
hell, whose beauty was a lure of the devil and perpetual temptation
to sin, and her very presence a contamination. The tenderest family
ties were severed at the fancied call of duty. In Roman Catholic
countries woman is still immured with almost oriental jealousy, and
is denied the intellectual emancipation her sex elsewhere enjoys. She
may not enter the most sacred places of Rome, nor visit the pope,
except in mourning. There is no music for the female voice in the
service of the papal chapel.

\ Innrip. Antiq., \>. 1173.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 525

INVIDIA INFELIX TANDEM COMPRESSA QVIESCIT
OCTOGINTA LEO TRANSCENDIT EPISCOPVS ANNOS.
My wife Laurentia made me this tomb ; she was ever suited to my
disposition, venerable and faithful. At length disappointed envy lies
crushed ; the bishop Leo survived his eightieth year.

De Rossi gives the following, of a bishop's son, of
date A. D. 404. The relationship is boldly acknowl-
edged, and not yet disguised under the phrase nepos or
nephew : victor in pace filivs episcopi victoris civ-
itatis vcrensivm — " Victor, in peace, son of Bishop
Victor, of the city of the Ucrenses." The following,
of date A. D. 445, was found at Narbonne : rvsticvs •
epis • epi • bonosi • filivs .... " Bishop Rusticus, son
of Bishop Bonosus."

There are also numerous inscriptions in which pres-
byters and deacons lament the death of their wives,
"chaste, just, and holy." "Would to God," exclaims
a writer in the Revue Chr'etienne, " that all their succes-
sors had such." The following are examples : gav-

DENTIVS • PRESBYTER • SIBI ET CONIVGI SVAE SEVERAE
CASTAE HAC (sic) SANCTISSIMAE FEMINAE " GaudentiuS

the presbyter, for himself and his wife Severa, a chaste
and most holy woman; " locvs basili presb et felici-
tati eivs. ..." The place of Basil the presbyter, and
of Felicitas, his (wife)." Observe also the tender recog-
nition of family ties in the following : olim presbvteri

GABINI FILIA FELIX HIC SVSANNA IACET IN PACE PATRI

sociata — " Once the happy daughter of the presbyter Ga-
binus, here lies Susanna, joined to her father in peace."
We have already seen the epitaph of " Petronia, the
wife of a deacon, the type of modesty," with whom
were buried two of her children.* The following, of

* See ante, p. 428. The following is from Salonce : FL • ivlivs
DIACONVS ET AVRELIA MERIA CONIVX EIVS HOC SARCOFAGVM {sic)

526 The Catacombs of Rome.

similar character, is accompanied by the epitaph of a
deacon on the same stone, probably the husband whoso
tenderly lamented the loss of his faithful consort.

LETITAE CONIVX SEMPER MIHI GRATA MARIA
EXITVS ISTE TVVS PROSTRAVIT CORDA TVORVM
PERPETVAS NOBIS LACRIMAS LVCTVMQVE RELINQVENS
CASTA GRAVIS SAPIENS SIMPLEX VENERANDA FIDELIS
COMPLEVIT TVA VOTA DEVS TE NAMQVE MARITVS
TE NATI DEFLENT NEC MORS TIBI SVSTVLIT VLLVM.

Maria, the wife of a deacon, ever well-pleasing to me. That de-
parture of thine prostrated the hearts of thy friends, leaving perpet-
ual tears and grief to us. Chaste, grave, wise, simple, venerable,
faithful. God fulfilled thy wishes ; for thee thy husband, thee thy
children bewail, nor did death bear any away from thee. (A. D. 451.)

Epitaphs are also found indicating the prevalence of
marriage in the inferior ecclesiastical ranks, as in the
following examples : clavdivs atticanvs lector et
clavdia felicissima conivx — " Claudius Atticanus, the
reader, and Claudia Felicissima, his wife ; " * ianva-
rivs exorcista • sibi • et • conivgi • fecit — " Janua-
rius, the exorcist, made this for himself and his wife ; "

TERENTIVS • FOSOR • (ttV) • PRIMITIVE («V) • CONIVGI •

et • sibi • — " Terentius, the fossor, for Primitiva, his
wife and himself."

The primitive church early availed itself of the ser-
vices of godly women, a sort of female diaconate, for
the administration of charity, the care of the sick, the
instruction of the young, and of their own sex, and to
carry the light and consolations of the gospel into the
most private and delicate relations of life, for which

sibi vivi POSVERVNT — "Flavius Julius, a deacon, and Aurelia Me-
ria, his wife, while living, erected this sarcophagus for themselves."
See, also, the epitaph of Tettius Felicissimus, p. 474.

* The following is from the island of Salamis : Ohog aiuvtof,
'kyaduvoi; avayvuvTov nal Ev<pr]fxiac ..." The everlasting dwelling of
Agatho, a reader, and Euphemia. . . ." She was probably his wife.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 527

these gentle ministrants possessed facilities denied to
the other sex. They are frequently mentioned in the
writings of the Fathers under the names of dtdnovoi*
deaconesses, vidua',, widows, or ancillce. Dei, handmaids
of God. In apostolic times they were required to be
of the mature age of sixty years ;f but widows, and even
the unmarried, were subsequently admitted into this
class as early as forty, % or even twenty, § years of age.
The unmarried, however, assumed no vow of perpetual
celibacy, |j nor of conventual life, but lived privately in
their own homes, employed in offices of piety and mercy.
The growing esteem of celibacy, however, in the fourth
and fifth centuries, invoked ecclesiastical censure for
the abandonment of the lofty vantage ground of virgin-
hood ; *[ but the Imperial law granted liberty of mar-

* Thus, St. Paul calls Phoebe a (haKovoc, translated " servant," of
the church at Cenchria. — J?om.,xvi, i. The Christian ancillce quce
ministrtz dicebantur, whom Pliny tortured, were probably of this
class.

f I Tim. v, 9.

\ Concil. Chalcedon, c. 14.

§ Tertul., de Veland. Virgin., e.g. Olympias, a Christian matron
of Constantinople, of noble rank, widowed at eighteen, became a
deaconess, and devoted her immense fortune to charity. She was
long the devoted patroness of the persecuted Chrysostom.

|| Cypr., Ep., 62.

^[ The Fathers are enthusiastic in the praise of perpetual virginity.
" It has the higher dignity, as vessels of gold and silver compared to
earthenware," says Jerome. — Adv. Jovin. " The thirty-fold increase
of Scripture," he asserts. " refers to marriage, the sixty-fold to widow-
hood, but the hundred-fold to virginity." — Ad Ageruchiam. "Mar-
riage replenishes earth," he adds ; " but virginity, heaven " — Nup-
tise terram replent, virginitas paradisum. " These sacred virgins are
the necklace of the church," says Prudentius, " and with these gems
she is adorned " — Hoc est monile ecclesiae ! His ilia gemmis comi-
tur ! — Peristeph., H., 3. They became in a mystical sense the spous-
es of Christ, and Jerome blasphemously addresses the mother of
Eustochium as the mother-in-law of God — Socrus Dei esse ccepisti

528 The Catacombs of Rome.

riage, if the order had been entered before the age of
forty. How different the practice of Rome in binding
young girls, in the first outburst of religious enthusiasm,
or the first bitterness of disappointed hope, by irrevoca-
ble vows to a death-in-life, and indissolubly riveting
those bonds, no matter how the chafed soul may repu-
diate the rash vow, and writhe beneath the galling yoke.
The consecrated virgin of the early church, instead of
the ghastly robings, like the cerements of the grave, in
which the youthful nun is swathed, the symbol of her
social death, wore a sacrum vrtamen, or veil, differing but
little from that of Christian matrons, and a fillet of gold
around her hair. The custom, now part of the Romish
ritual, of despoiling the head of its natural adorning, was
especially denounced by some of the ancient councils.

There are several of the early Christian inscriptions il-
lustrative of these various classes of consecrated women,
of which the following are examples : oc • ta • vi • ae •
ma • tro • nae • vi • dv • ae • de • I. — " To the matron Octa-
via, a widow of God ; " hic qviescit gavdiosa cf ancil-
la dei qvae vixit annos xl et men v — " Here rests
Gaudiosa, a most distinguished woman, a handmaid of
God, who lived forty years and five months," (A. D.

447) ; IN HOC SEPVLCHRO REQVIESCIT PVELLA VIRGO

sacra b • m • Alexandra — " In this tomb rests a girl, a
sacred virgin, Alexandra, well deserving ; " hoc est
sepvlcrvm sanctae lvcinae virginis — " This is the
sepulchre of the holy virgin Lucina" — this, however,
may not indicate a special class. aestonia virgo
peregrina qvae vixit annos xli ; et • ds • viil {sic) —

— Ad Eustoch. Both Jerome and Chrysostom, however, acknowl-
edged, and unsparingly lashed, the evils to which the celibate system
in their time had led. " She is the true virgin," says the latter, " who
careth for the things that belong to the Lord."

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 529

" ^Estonia, a travelling virgin, who lived forty-one years
and eight days " — she was probably a member of a dis-
tant church, received on a letter of recommendation ,
fvria helphis {sic) virgo devota — " Furia Elpis, a
consecrated virgin." In the fifth century this consecra-
tion sometimes took place at an early age, as the following
example, of date A. D. 401 : prie (sic) ivnias pavsabet

{sic) PRAETIOSA ANNORVM PVLLA (sic) VIRGO XII TANTVM

ancilla dei et christi — " On the day before (the Cal-
ends of) June Pnetiosa went to her rest, a young maiden
of only twelve years of age, a handmaid of God and of
Christ."*

There is no trace in the inscriptions of the Catacombs
of that ascetic spirit from which, in the fourth and fol-
lowing centuries, sprang the strange phenomena of
monachism, with its important influence for blended
good and evil on the future of Christendom. That
was rather the result of the decay and corruption of
primitive Christianity, and of the despair of mankind as
to its regenerative power upon the world. Hence,
multitudes fled from the immedicable evils of society
to the solitude of the desert or the mountain, f Prim-
itive Christianity, on the contrary, was eminently
cheerful and social in its character. It consecrated
the family life, and developed, to a degree before un-
known, the domestic virtues.

The care of the primitive church for the religious
teaching of the young and of heathen converts is

* In one example, of date A. D. 525, we find the phrase nonnae
ANCILLAE DEI, in which we see, perhaps, the origin of our word nun.
Jerome had previously applied the word nonncE to either widows or
virgins professing chastity. — Ad Eustoch,, c. 6.

f See article on " The Rise of Monachism," by the present
writer, in London Quarterly Review, October, 1873.

530 The Catacombs of Rome.

abundantly exemplified in the inscriptions of the Cata-
combs. The catechumens, or learners, as the word
signifies — the " Cadets of Christianity " — were a dis-
tinctly recognized class for whose instruction especial
provision was made. It consisted of the children of
believers born in the church, and therefore peculiarly
under its care ; and also of converts from paganism,
who needed to be weaned from their errors, and taught
the doctrines of Christianity before admission to the
sacraments of baptism and the holy eucharist. For
the latter, as a safeguard against the rash assumption
of the Christian vows and the danger of subsequent
apostacy, a certain probation was prescribed.* The
candidates were taught the Holy Scriptures, and a formal
confession of faith, probably similar to the ancient
creed in which the Christian belief of the church has
for so many centuries been expressed. These instruc-
tions were given by the bishop himself as chief cate-
chist; and also by the presbyters, deacons, lectors, and
other members of the inferior ministry. Deaconesses
and aged women acted as instructresses of their own
sex ; and one of these was always present during the
questioning of the female catechumens by the male
catechists.

The following engraving represents a chamber in the
Catacomb of St. Agnes, which, it is conjectured, was
employed for the instruction of the female catechu-
mens. On either side of the doorway are seats or
chairs hewn out of the solid tufa, which were probably
occupied by the catechist and the presiding deaconess,
The low stone bench running around the remaining walls

* This was not of uniform duration. The Council of Elvira,
(c. 24,) indeed, prescribed two years, but the length of the period
varied in different places.

Primitive Rites and Institutions.

53i

of the chamber would conveniently accommodate the
audientes, or hearers, as they were called.

'Fig. 1 30.— Chamber in the Catacomb of St. Agnes, with seats
for Catechists and Catechumens.

Some Roman Catholic writers have asserted that these
chambers were confessionals : but the chairs are too far
apart if one was for the confessor and the other for the
penitent, especially with an open door between ; and
too near, from the liability of the confessions being
overheard, if each was a confessional ; and in either
case the necessity for the stone bench cannot be con-
ceived. In some chambers, probably for the male cat-
echumens, there is only one tufa chair, no deaconess
being present.

Another curious chamber in the Catacomb of St. Ag-
nes communicates with the one adjacent to it by a

532 The Catacombs of Rome.

circular opening cut through the tufa wall about breast-
high. It is conjectured that this was for the purpose
of allowing the catechumens to hear the public instruc-
tions of the faithful without witnessing the celebration
of the sacraments. The zeal of the candidates would
thus be the more inflamed,* that they might be found
worthy of admission to the fulness of Christian privi-
lege and to the sacred mysteries hidden from the unin-
itiate and the unworthy. The following epitaph from
the Lapidarian Gallery commemorates a youthful cate-
chumen : VCILIANVS BACIO VALERIO OVE BISET . (sic) ANN

vim • men • vni • dies xxii catecvm — " Ucilianus to Ba-
cius Valerius, a catechumen, who lived nine years, eight
months and twenty-two days."

The ordinance of baptism receives several illustra-
tions from the monumental evidences of the Catacombs.
There are numerous epitaphs of neophytes — a term ap-
plied only to newly baptized persons — which indicate
that this Christian rrte was administered at all ages from
tender infancy to adult years ; in the latter case the sub-
jects being probably recent converts from heathenism.
The following are examples of this class : teg • candidis
neof Q • vxt • m • xxi — " The tile of Candidus, a neo-
phyte, who lived twenty-one months ; " fl • iovina •

QVAE • VIX • ANNIS • TRIBVS • D • XXX • NEOFITA • IN

pace — " Flavia Jovina, who lived three years and thirty
days, a neophyte, in peace ; " mirae indvstriae adqve

BONITATIS . . . INNOCENTIA PREDITVS* FL • AVR • LEONI .
NEOFITO QVI VIXIT ANN VI • MENS • VIII DIES XI . . . " In-

nocentia Preditus to Flavius Aurelius Leo, a neophyte
of wonderful industry and goodness, who lived six years,
eight months, eleven days ; " romano neofito bene me-

* " Tanto ardentius concupiscantur, quanto honorabilius occultaiv
tur," says Augustine, of this very practice. — In yohan., 96.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 533

RENTI QVI VIXIT • ANNOS • VIII • D • XV • REQVIESCIT IN

pace — " To the well-deserving neophyte Romanus, who
lived eight years and fifteen days; he rests in peace."
We have already seen the epitaph of Junius Bassus, who
died a neophyte at the age of forty-one, and shall pres-
ently observe other instances of adult baptism.* We
find also the epitaph of " two innocent brothers, one
a neophyte, the other, one of the faithful."

* The following resume of the principal patristic evidence on the
practice of infant baptism is corroborated by the testimony of the
Catacombs. We omit the passages from Clement and Hermes Pas- QL* I
tor, which imply its prevalence in the first century, as being rather
vague. Justin Martyr, about A. D. 148, speaks of persons sixty and
seventy years old who had been made disciples of Christ {tfiadriTEvdi^aav,
the very word employed in Matt, xxviii, 19,) in their infancy, {Apol.,
2,) and compares the rite of baptism to that of circumcision. — Dial,
c. Tryph. Irenseus expressly speaks of " infants, little ones, children,
youth, and the aged, as regenerated unto God," which phrase he else-
where applies to baptism — Infantes et parvulos, et pueros, et ju-
venes, et seniores. — Lib. ii, c. 39. Tertullian, indeed, in the third
century, recommends the delay of baptism, especially in the case of
infants — Cunctatio baptismi utilior est, pnecipue tamen circa par-
vulos— an indication of the Montanist heresy, into which he fell,
which regarded post-baptismal sins as inexpiable. — De Baptis., c. 18.
The practice, however, continued, and Origen expressly asserts that
little children were baptized for the remission of sins (Parvuli bap-
tizantur in remissionem peccatorum — Horn., 14, in Luc.,) which
custom, he says, the church handed down from the apostles — Ec-
clesia ab apostolis traditionem suscepit. — Id., in Rom., v. 6. When
the question arose, in the third century, not whether baptism should
be administered to infants, but whether it should be administered
before the eighth day, Cyprian and a council of sixty-six African
bishops unanimously decreed that the rite should be denied to none,
even in earliest infancy — Universi potius judicavimus, nulli hominum
jiato misericordiam Dei et gratiam denegandam. — Cypr. Ep. 59, ad
Fidum. "And this," says Augustine, " is no new doctrine, but of
apostolic authority " — Nee omnino credenda, nisi apostolica esse tra-
ditio. — De Genesi ad Literam., x. The later Fathers abound in
similar testimonies. The infant children of heathen converts were
baptized immediately, and the older ones when instructed. — Cod.

534 The Catacombs of Rome.

In course of time the rite of baptism degenerated into
a superstitious charm, and was regarded as a mystical
lustration which washed away all sin and was essential
to salvation.* This change probably resulted from a
reaction against the Pelagian heresy, which denied the
necessity of baptism, and from the rhetorical exaggera-
tion by the Fathers of the spiritual efficacy of this sac-
rament.f The church of the Catacombs, while duly
administering the rite of baptism, did not, after the man-
ner of the Church of Rome and other modern extreme
sacramentalists, invest it with regenerative power, nor

Justin., i, II, Leg. 10. Orphans, foundlings, and even the children
of heathens, received this sacred rite. At an early period the eucha-
rist was administered to infants, which was of necessity preceded by
baptism.

* Hence, when a person died unbaptized, a living substitute some-
times received the rite in his stead. Fulgentius indeed asserts, that
unbaptized children, even if they die " in uteris matrum," are pun-
ished with everlasting punishment in eternal fire — ignis seterni sempi-
terno supplicio puniendos. — De Fide ad Petr., 27. But he alone of
the Fathers expresses this abominable opinion. Augustine and Am-
brose, though insisting on the importance of baptism, admit that the
faith and repentance — fidem conversionemque cordis — of those who
die while piously preparing therefor may suffice in its stead. — Aug.,
de Bap., iv, 22.

f In bold and unwarrantable metaphor some of the Fathers speak
of the waters of baptism as changed in mystical transubstantiation
into the very cleansing blood of Christ.

The prevalence of the Montanist heresy, which regarded as inex-
piable all sins committed after baptism, led many to postpone its re-
ception, although this practice was strongly censured by the church.
Thus, Constantine remained a catechumen till his sixty-fifth year, and
received baptism — " e/iufidij," says Sozomen, (ii, 34.) literally, "was
initiated," — just before his death. An inscription at St. John's Lat-
eran asserts his baptism by Sylvester many years previously : cox-
STANTINVS PER CRVCEM VICTOR A S. SILVESTRO BAPTIZATVS CRVCIS
gloriam propagavit: but Dr. Dollinger has shown the entirely
mythical character of the legend. — Fables respecting the Popes, etc.,
hy Jn. G. Ign. Von Dollinger. 1S72.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 535

regard its involuntary omission as excluding the body
from consecrated ground and the soul from heaven.*

Sometimes, by a beautiful metonyme derived from its
spiritual significance, baptism is indicated as the palin-
genesis, or new birth, of which it is the appropriate sym-
bol. The following is a characteristic example of this
usage : . . . caeleste renatvs aqva (sic) — ..." Born
again of heavenly water," (A. D. 377.) \ We read also
of a certain Mercurius, who is described as a boy born
and dying in the same year, aged twenty-four. The
allusion is to the spiritual regeneration symbolized by
baptism. With reference to this he was but a boy —
puer — at the time of his death. J This rite was also
called illumination, and we find in the Catacombs the
epitaphs of persons said to be thus " newly illuminated."

The testimony of the Catacombs respecting the mode
of baptism, as far as it extends, is strongly in favour of
aspersion or affusion. All their pictured representations
of the rite indicate this mode, for which alone the early
fonts seem adapted ; nor is there any early art evidence of
baptismal immersion. It seems incredible, if the latter
were the original and exclusive mode, of apostolic
and even Divine authority, that it should have left no
trace in the earliest and most unconscious art-record,
and have been supplanted therein by a new, unscript-
ural, and unhistoric method. It is apparent, indeed,
from the writings of the fourth and fifth century, that
many corrupt and unwarranted usages were introduced
in connection with this Christian ordinance that greatly

* See the epitaph of an unbaptized catechumen already given.

fin a Christian epitaph from Aquileia, of date A. D. 734, we
find the scriptural formula — ex aqua et Spu renatus — " born again of
water and the Spirit." — Muratori, Nov. Thesaur., p. 1849.

X See McCaul, Christian Epitaphs, p. 64.

536 The Catacombs of Rome.

marred its beauty and simplicity. It is unquestionable
that at that time baptism by immersion was practised
with many superstitious and unseemly rites. The sub-
jects, both men and women, were divested of their
clothing, to represent the putting off the body of sin ;
which, notwithstanding the greatest efforts to avoid it,
inevitably provoked scandal. They then received tri^fr^
immersion, to imitate, says Gregory Nyssen,* the three
days' burial of Christ ; or, according to others, as a symbol
of the Trinity. The rite was accompanied by exorcism,
insufflation, unction, confirmation, the gift of milk and
honey, the administration of the eucharist even to in-
fants, the clothing in white garments, and carrying of
lighted tapers, to all of which a mystical meaning was
attached.

But in the evidences of the Catacombs, which are the
testimony of an earlier and purer period, there is no
indication of this mode of baptism, nor of these dra-
matic accompaniments. f The marble font represented
in the accompanying engraving, now in the crypts of St.
Prisca within the walls, is said to have com« from the

* De Bapt. Christ.

f Cyprian argues for the validity of baptism by sprinkling, when
immersion is inconvenient, as in the case of the sick, prisoners, etc.,
as follows: " In baptism the spots of sin are otherwise washed away
than is the filth of the body in a secular and carnal washing, in which
is need of a bath, soap, and the like. The heart of the believer is
otherwise washed ; the mind of man is cleansed by the merit of faith "
— Neque cnim sic in sacramento salutari delictorum contagia, ut in
lavacro carnali et seculari sordes cutis et corporis abluuntur, etc. —
Ep. ad Magnum.

Thus, we read that St. Lawrence baptized with only a pitcher of
water — urceum afferens cum aqua — and by pouring water on the head
of the subject — fundit aquam super caput. — Acta Laurcntii. Ter-
tullian also speaks of the " aspersion of. water " in baptism — asper-
ginem aquae. — De Panitent., 6.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 537

Catacombs, and to have been used for baptismal pur-
poses by St. Peter,
himself; in corrob-
oration of which
legend it bears the
somewhat apocry-
phal inscription —

SCI • PET • B APTISMV -

(sic.) The tradition
at least attests its
extreme antiquity ;
and its basin is
quite too small for
even infant immer-
sion. Other fonts

have been found in

, c ., , Figr. 1 3 1 . -Baptismal Font,

several of the sub-
terranean chapels, among which is one in the Catacomb
of Pontianus, hewn out of the solid tufa and fed by a
living stream. It is 1/45 metres long, "92 metres wide,
and i-ii metres deep, but is seldom near full of water.
It is obviously too small for immersion, and was evi-
dently designed for administering the rite as shown
in the fresco which accompanies it. (See Fig. 132.)
The following inscription, from the Lapidarian Gallery,
seems to have come from some such font, and perhaps
contains a reference to the scripture, " Arise and be
baptized, and wash away thy sins :" corporis et cordis

MACVLAS VITALIS PVRGAT ET OMNE SIMVL ABLVIT VNDA

— " The living stream cleanses the spots of the body as
well as the heart, and at the same time washes away
all (sins)."*

* The so-called benitiers, or holy water vessels of the Catacombs,
were, it is likely, in some cases at least, baptismal vases. The Rom-

538

The Catacombs of Rome.

Fig-. 132— The Baptism of Our Lord.

Immediately over the font in the Catacomb of Pon-
tianus is the elaborate fresco of the baptism of Our
Lord, figured above. He is represented standing in

ish " holy water " is probably copied from the aqua lustralis of the
pagans, which stood at the door of the temples, and into which the
worshipper on entering and leaving dipped his fingers. In striking
annlo^y to Romish usage, the pagan priest sprinkled the multitude
with the holy dew by means of an aspergillum, or light brush —

Idem ter socios pura circumtulit unda

Spargens rore levi.

Primitive Rites and Institutions.

539

the river Jordan, while John pours water upon his head,
and the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove.
An angel stands by as witness of the rite, and in the
foreground a stag, the emblem of a fervent Christian,
is drinking at the pure stream.*

In a very ancient crypt of St. Lucina is another par-
tially defaced baptism of Christ, attributed to the sec-
ond century, in which St. John stands on the shore
and our Saviour in a shallow stream, while the Holy
Spirit descends as a dove. On the sarcophagus of Juni-
us Bassus Christ is also symbolically represented as bap-
tized by affusion.
The annexed
rude example
from the Cata-
comb of Callix-
tus, probably of
the third century,
also clearly ex-
hibits the ad-
ministration o f
the rite by pour-
ing.f It is ac-
companied by a representation of Peter striking water
from the rock, an emblem, according to De Rossi, of
the waters of baptism sprinkling the sinful souls that

* The nimbus and other characteristics indicate the comparatively
late date of this picture. De Rossi thinks it not earlier than the sev-
enth or eighth century. The ravages of time since the above was
copied by Bosio have defaced part of the angel figure. In a similar
group in a Latin MS., of the ninth century, the river Jordan flows
from two vessels held by two boys. In another group at Monza, of
the seventh century, the baptismal water pours from a vase held in
the beak of the divine dove upon the head of Christ.

\ The figures are a light umber, the falling water a pale blue.

Fig. 133.— Baptismal Scene.

540 The Catacombs of Rome.

come thereto. A similar example also occurs in the
cemetery of St. Prastextatus.

In ancient sarcophagal reliefs in the Vatican are
representations of small detached baptisteries of cir-
cular form, crowned with the Constantinian monogram.
These were necessarily of sufficient size to accommo-
date the number of persons who were baptized at one
time, generally at Easter,* and were placed outside of
the basilica to indicate the initiatory character of baptism
as the entrance to the church of Christ. f In the early
mosaics representing baptismal scenes, the rite is invari-
ably administered by affusion, as in the baptistery of
San Giovanni at Ravenna, in the beginning of the fifth
century, in Sta. Maria in Cosmedin, at Ravenna, in the
beginning, and in the ivory relief on the episcopal chair
of Maximinus, at the end, of the sixth century. J So,

* The neophytes laid aside their white baptismal robes, or albs, on
the Sunday after Easter, hence called Dominica in albis. In the fol-
lowing inscription Pascasius, a neophyte of six years, is said to have
received baptism on Easter eve, and to have laid aside his albs one
week thereafter in the tomb : percepit xi kal. maias et albas svas

OCTABAS (sic) PASCAE (sic) AD SEPVLCHRVM DEPOSVIT. (A. D. 463.)
Dr. McCaul notes a striking analogy to Christian forms of expres-
sion in an epitaph describing pagan initiation : arcanis perfvsioni-
bvs IN aeternvm renatvs — " Born eternally by secret sprinklings."
The sprinkling was that of the blood of a bull or ram, dripping on
the bodies of the recipients of the lustration through perforations in
a platform beneath which they stood. — Christian Epitaphs, p. 57.

f Although these in after times became vast buildings, with ample
provision for baptismal immersion, in the earlier ages they were quite
small ; and, according to Smith's Classical Dictionary, the baptister-
inm was "not a bath sufficiently large to immerse the whole body,
but a vessel or labrum containing cold water for pouring on the head."
— Art., Baths. Eusebius speaks of baptisteries without the church
" for those who require yet the purification and the sprinkling:
(neptfipavrfipiov) of water and the Holy Spirit." — E. II., x, 4.

\ I am indebted for these references to the Rev. Prof. Bennett,
D.D., of Syracuse University, late of Berlin, Prussia.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 541

also, a later example in the Lateran basilica represents
Constantine kneeling naked in a laver, and Sylvester
pouring water on his head.* This is also the method
indicated in several medals, bas reliefs, frescoes, and mo-
saics, in almost every century from the fourth, through
the Middle Ages, indicating a continuous tradition, even
when immersion may have been practised, of a different
mode of baptism.

The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was the most
sacred and consoling rite of the primitive church. It
was at once the emblem of the Christian's highest hopes,
and the sublime commemoration of the ineffable sacri-
fice on which those hopes depend. It was the focus in
which concentrated all their holiest thoughts, kindling
the whole soul into a flame of adoring love.f It was the
central act of worship, around which all their solemn
devotions gathered, and to which they all looked.
The sublime thought of' the atonement of Christ and
of salvation through his death, shone ever star-like over
their souls, illumining even the sepulchral gloom of
these subterranean crypts. Daily,J or as often as the
vigilance of their foes in times of persecution would

* Ciampini, Tab. ii, Figs. 3, 4.

\ In later times the devout Bernard of Clairvaux thus eulogizes
the eucharist : " It is," he exclaims, " the medicine of the sick, the
way of the wandering ; it comforts the feeble and delights the strong ;
it cures disease and preserves health ; it makes man more submissive
to correction, stronger to labour, more ardent to love, wiser in fore-
sight, prompter in obedience, more devout in thanksgiving. It ab-
solves from sin, destroys the power of Satan, gives strength for
martyrdom, and, in fine, brings every good." — Costeri. Institut. Ckr.,
lib. i, c. 6. It was also described as " the bread of angels, spiritual food,
the life of the soul, the perpetual health of the mind, the antidote of
sin, and pledge of future glory."

% Alicubi quotidie alicubi certis intervallis dierum. — Aug., 7V., 26, in
Johan. It was. in a special sense, the " daily bread of the soul."

542 The Catacombs of Rome.

permit, the faithful met in the silent halls of death, far
from the " madding crowd's ignoble strife," to nourish
and strengthen their souls for fiery trial, and often for
the red baptism of martyrdom, by meditation on the
passion of their Lord and partaking of the emblems of
his death.

Therefore, in ever-recurring and appropriate symbol-
ism, was this holy rite set forth upon the walls of the
Catacombs. Its direct representation, however, was
carefully avoided ; and its sacred meaning was hidden
from the profane gaze of the heathen under a veil of
allegory and emblem, which was, nevertheless, instinct
with profoundest significance to the initiated. Thus,
we find representations of seven men eating bread and
fish, which are interpreted as the repast of the disciples
by the sea-shore when Our Lord manifested himself in
the breaking of bread, and, indirectly, as symbols of
the holy eucharist.* They are not at all analogous to
the pictures of pagan funeral banquets, to which they
have been compared, but which are entirely foreign to
Christian thought. The miracles of turning water into
wine, and of the multiplication of the loaves, were also re-
garded as types of the eucharist, which was, doubtless, fre-
quently symbolized under these figures. We have seen a
copy of the remarkable fresco, twice repeated in the Cat-
acomb of St. Lucina, of a fish bearing a basket of bread
on its back, and in the midst what seems to be a chalice
of wine.f This is considered one of the most ancient
emblems of this sacred rite. This view derives singular
corroboration from a passage in Jerome, which speaks of
carrying the body of Christ in a basket made of twigs,

* " Christ who suffered is the fish which was broiled," says St. Au-
gustine— Piscis assus, Christus passus.
+ See Fig. 54.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 543

and his blood in a chalice of glass.* The eucharist is
also evidently symbolized in the representations of fish
and sheep carrying small loaves of bread in their mouths.
These are sometimes marked with a decussate cross,
as was done to facilitate fracture during administration.
The first Christian altars were tables of wood, which,
in times of persecution, could be easily removed from
house to house in which worship was celebrated. The
entire absence of any thing corresponding to the pagan
sacrificial altar was made the subject of heathen re-
proach, f In a painting found in the Catacomb of Cal-
lixtus, which Dr. Northcote describes as " the sacrifice
of the Mass, symbolically depicted," a man stands with
hands outstretched, as if in act of consecration, over a
three-legged table, on which are bread and a fish, while
opposite stands a female figure in the attitude of prayer.
In an adjoining chamber a precisely similar table is
represented, but without the accompanying figures.^
These tables were placed, not against the wall like a
Romish altar, but set out from it, so that the ministrant
could stand behind it looking toward the congregation.

* Nihil illo ditius, qui corpus Domini canistro vimineo, sanguinem
portat in vitro. — Ep. 4, ad Rustic. The communion was thus con-
veyed to those who through sickness were absent from its public cel-
ebration.

f Curnullas aras habent? — Minuc, Octav. Non altaria fabricemus,
non aras. — Arnob., Contr. Gentes. The Christian altars were called in-
differently, Altare, ara Dei, mensa Domini.

\ In the Lateran basilica, which is claimed as the head and
mother of all the churches of Rome — caput et mater omnium ecclesia-
rum — is an altar which tradition asserts St. Peter made with his own
hands, and employed for the administration of the Holy Sacrament,
The legend attests at least an ancient opinion as to primitive
usage. Originally only one altar was permissible in a church, but
under Romish influence the number increased to as many as twenty-
five, as at St. Peter's.

544 "Ihe Catacombs of Ronu.

In the " papal crypt " of the Callixtan Catacomb the
sockets for the four feet of the table thus set out from
the wall are distinctly visible, and Bosio and Boldetti
both found examples of altars standing in the middle
of the cubicida. This was also their position in the old-
est basilicas of Rome.

In the sixth century a general council decreed that
the altars should be of stone. This transition had al-
ready taken place in the Catacombs, and arose from the
employment of the slab covering the grave in an arco-
solium for the administration of the eucharist. This
practice led to an increased veneration for the relics
of the saints ; and soon the presence of these relics
became essential to the idea of an altar.* To this
custom Prudentius refers in his hymn for Hippolytus'

day.

" Ilia sacramenti donatrix mensa, eademque

Gustos fida sui martyris apposita :
Servat ad aeterni spem Judicis ossa sepulchro

Pascit item Sanctis Tibricolas dapibus.
Mira loci pietas, et prompta precantibus ara."

" That slab gives the sacrament, and at the same time faithfully
guards the martyr's remains ; it preserves his bones in the sepulchre
in hope of the Eternal Judge, and feeds the dwellers by the Tiber
with sacred food. Great is the sanctity of the place, and it offers a
ready altar for those who pray."

After the consecration of the elements by the pres-
byter or bishop, the communion in both kinds was ad-
ministered to the faithful by the deacons in the formula
of its institution which we still use.f The consecrated

* In three or four instances bronze rings are attached to the slab, a?
if to allow its removal for a second interment, or perhaps to give a
view of the relics of the saint.

f Tertullian carefully guards against the literal interpretation of the
words of Christ, " This is my body," by the addition, " that is, a fig-

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 545

elements * were sent to any who were sick, by the hands
of deacons or acolytes, as is still the practice in the
Greek and Armenian churches. In the Acts of St. Ste-
phen, we read of a young martyr who chose to be beaten
to death by a Roman mob, rather than disclose the
sacred treasure entrusted to his care. This practice in
time degenerated into the superstitious administration
of the viaticum as a preparation for the soul's journey
to the spirit-world. Some of the gilt glasses, before
described, are thought to have been used as patens and
chalices for the celebration of the eucharist. With the
increasing wealth and more gorgeous ritual of the
church, gold and silver vessels, adorned with costly
gems and rarest workmanship, took the place of the
humbler material of the primitive ages.f

Another beautiful institution generally associated with
the celebration of the eucharist in primitive times is
that of the agape, or love-feast. In a subterranean
chapel in the Catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter is an

ureof my body " — figura corporis mei. — Adv. Marc, iv, 40. Augus-
tine and others of the Fathers also discriminate between Christ's
spiritual and corporeal presence.

* They were called eulogia, that is, blessing or benediction. In the
Jewish cemetery is a representation of sacred loaves, probably pass-
over cakes, marked EYAOriA. The Christian representation of a
cup doubtless frequently refers to the " cup of blessing " — To irorr/piov
rf/q ev?,oylag — mentioned by St. Paul. — 1 Cor. x, 16.

f There is not in the whole range of early Christian epigraphy the
slightest indication of the Romish doctrine of Transubstantiation ;
which, indeed, as Dr. Maitland remarks, "was not distinctly broached
till the ninth century." Some of the earlier poets, however, and the
more rhetorical of the Fathers, allude to a mystical presence of Christ
in the eucharist, bordering on the modern Romish conception.

The council of Elvira forbade the acceptance of any gift for the
administration of the sacraments. How different from Rome's mer-
cenary tariff for the celebration of masses for the dead !
35

54^

The Catacombs of Rome.

exceedingly interesting representation of the observance
of this custom, shown in the following engraving.

Fig. 134.— Ancient Agape.

Three guests, it will be perceived, sit at the semicir-
cular table, at the ends of which preside two matrons
personifying peace and love, with their names written
above their heads. An attendant supplies them with
food from a small table in front, on which are a cup,
platters, and a lamb. The inscriptions, according to
Dr. Maitland, should be expanded thus : irene da cal-
da[m aqvam] — "Peace, give hot water; " and agape
misce mi [vinvm cvm aqva] — " Love, mix me wine with
water ; " the allusion being to the ancient custom of
tempering wine with water, hot or cold.

Numerous other representations of this devout feast
at which Love and Peace preside attest its general ob-
servance. It would be a touching symbol of Christian
unity to the persecuted saints, and would unite still
closer hearts bound together by common dangers and

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 547

a common hope. All the distinctions of rank were then
forgotten. Gathering by stealth in these subterranean
crypts from the imperial palace and the lowly abode of
poverty, they break bread together in the solemn pres-
ence of the dead in token of their common brotherhood
in Christ. The slave of a Roman master, but the freed-
man of Christ, and the patrician convert, the intellec-
tual Greek and the once bigoted Jew, together

Celebrate the feast of love,
Antedate the joys above.

This beautiful institution, first mentioned by Jude as
the "feasts of charity,"* was usually observed in con-
nexion with the eucharist, though not necessarily a part
of it. It dates from the earliest period of the church, \
and its corruptions among the Corinthians called forth
the sharp rebuke of the Apostle Paul. J

Tertullian thus describes its character in the second
century : " Our supper, which you accuse of luxury,
shows its reason by its very name ; for it is called agape,
which, among the Greeks, signifies love. It admits of
nothing vile or immodest. We eat and drink only as
much as hunger and thirst demand, mindful that the
evening is to be spent in the worship of God. We so
speak as knowing that God hears. After washing our
hands and bringing lights, each is asked to sing to God
according to his ability, either from Scripture or from
his own mind. Prayer also concludes the feast." § He
calls it also a supper of philosophy and discipline, rather
than a corporeal feast. At the close collections were
made for widows and orphans and for the poor, many
of whom would be thrown out of employment by their

* Talc aydnaic . — Jude, 12. f Acts ii, 46 ; vi, 2. % 1 Cor. xi, 16-34.

§ Ita saturantur, ut qui meminerunt etiam per noctem adorandum

sibi esse; ita fabulantur, ut qui sciunt Daminum audire. — Apol., 39.

548 The Catacombs of Rome.

renunciation of idolatrous trades ; also for prisoners and
for persons who had suffered shipwreck.* It is doubtless
the agape which Pliny describes as " the common and
harmless meal " f of the Christians, and at which, ac-
cording to Lucian, their " sacred conversations "J were
held. Clement of Alexandria calls the agape " the
banquet of reason, a celestial food, and the supper of
love; the pledge and proof of mutual affection." §

The primitive church carefully guarded the celebra-
tion of the eucharist and agape from the pryings of idle
curiosity or the perfidy of heathen malevolence, lest
the name of God should be blasphemed, or the goodly
pearls of salvation be trampled beneath swinish feet.
But this very secresy and mystery became the occasion
of the vilest slanders and aspersions. The Christians
were accused of celebrating these rites with the most
abominable orgies — feasting on human flesh and infants'
blood, and committing nameless crimes of still deeper
dye. "They charge us," say the martyrs of Lyons,
"with feasts of Thyestes, and the crimes of CEdipus,
and such abominations as are neither lawful for us to
speak nor think." The blameless believers were de-
nounced as the very dregs of society, a skulking and
darkness-loving race, meeting by night for profane con-
juration and unhallowed banquets, as despisers of the
gods, haters of mankind, and mockers at holy things, ||

* Jus. Mar., Apol., ii ; Socrat., Eccl. Hist., v, 22 ; Orig., in Ep, ad
Rom., xvi, 16.

f Cibum promiscuum et innoxium. — Ep., lib. x, ad Traj.

% upol Xoyoi. — Peregrinus.

§ Ptzdag., ii.

I Qui de ultima fcece collectis imperitioribus et mulieribus credulis
sexus sui facilitate labentibus, plebem profanre conjurationis institu-
unt : quee nocturnis congregationibus et jejuniis solennibus et inhu-
manis cibis non sacro quodam sed piaculo fcederantur, latebrosa et

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 549

and were confounded with pestilent sorcerers who
in midnight caves practiced their foul incantations
against human life.* These accusations arose partly,
it is probable, from distorted accounts of the holy
communion of the body and the blood of Christ,
interpreted as a literal partaking of the corporeal sub-
stance ; partly from the vile practices of the Carpocra-
tians and other heretics ; but chiefly from the malice
of the heathen themselves, judging the character of the
Christian mysteries from the obscene orgies of Venus
and Bacchus.

Tertullian indignantly resents the vile calumnies, and
shows them to be monstrous and absurd. " We are
•daily beset by foes," he exclaims, "we are daily be-
trayed, we are often surprised in our secret congrega-
tions; yet who ever came- upon a half-consumed corpse
among us, or any other corroborations of the accusa-
tions against us ? " f He retorts upon the heathen the
charge of infanticide, human sacrifice, and unnatural
crimes, and contrasts therewith the purity of the Chris-
tian character. Minucius Felix also attests the mod-
est and sober character of the Christian feasts, which
they celebrated with chaste discourse and chaster
bodies. %

In course of time the agapce lost in great measure
their religious character, and were employed for the
anniversaries of the martyrs, and for marriage and

iucifugax natio . . . deos despuunt, rident sacra. — Minuc. Felix, Octav.
Odio humani generis convicti sunt. — Tac, Ann., xv. 44.

* Malifica superstitio. — Suet., Neron., 16. Comp. Hor., Sat., i,8.

f Quotidie obsidemur, quotidie prodimur, in ipsis plurimum cceti-
bus congregationibus nostris opprimimur. Quis unquam taliter vagienti
infanti supervenit? — Apol., c. 7 ; comp. ad Nat., i, 10-15.

% Casto sermone, corpore castiore. — Minuc, Octav.; comp. Orig..
Cont. Ce/s., vi., Jus. Mar., Apol., i, 2.

550 The Catacombs of Rome.

funeral occasions.* They were still further desecrated
by their substitution for pagan festivals, in order, as St.
Augustine remarks, " that the heathen might feast with
their former luxury, though without their former sac-
rilege, "f These "pious hilarities" thus degenerated,
in the fourth and fifth centuries, into convivial banquets
and wanton revelry — a scandal and disgrace to Christen-
dom, and provoked the indignant censure of the Fathers.
"It is absurd," says St. Jerome, " to honour with feast-
ing the saints who pleased God with their fasts." St.
Augustine vehemently condemns those " who inebriate
themselves in honour of the martyrs, and place even
their gluttony and drunkenness to the account of re-
ligion."! "These drunkards persecute the saints as
much Avith their cups," he says, " as the furious pagans
did with stones." § The good bishop of Nola, greatly
scandalized at these semi-pagan revelries, painted with
holy pictures the church of St. Felix, that as the igno-
rant peasants gazed more they might drink the less. It
has been suggested that probably the pious figures in
the gilt glasses of the Catacombs were designed for the
same purpose ; but many of their mottoes were of a
highly convivial character, calculated rather to promote
the revelry in which they were doubtlessly employed.
Both the natalitia and the agapcz at length became so
obnoxious in character as to excite the taunts of the

* Agapse natalitise, agapse connubiales, and agapse funerales.
The pagans, not unnaturally, regarded the latter, like their own funeral
banquets, as designed to appease the manes of the dead. They would
doubtless think the same of the modern mortuary masses.

f Non simili sacrilegio, quamvis simili luxu celebrarentur. — Aug.,
Ep„ 29.

\ Qui se in memoriis martyrum inebriant. — Aug., Con/. Faust., xx,
21, Voracitates ebrietatesque suas deputant religioni. — De Morilr.
Eccl., i, 34. § Enarr.y in Fsa. lix.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 551

pagans and the condemnation of the more devout and
thoughtful Christians. The abuse of the latter beauti-
ful institution became so intolerable that it became the
object of repressive decrees of successive councils till
it was finally abolished. The council of Elvira (A. D.
305) prudently forbade the presence of females at these
nocturnal meetings in the Catacombs.* That of Lao-
dicea (A. D. 361) enacted that the agapce should not
be celebrated in churches. The council of Carthage
(A. D. 397) forbade the clergy attending them, and
the council of Trullo (A. D. 706) prohibited their cel-
ebration at all, under penalty of excommunication.

This beautiful symbol of Christian unity was revived
in spirit by the founder of Methodism ; but, to guard
against the corruptions into which it had previously
fallen, the elements of its celebration were restricted
to bread and water. A similar custom is also observed
among the Moravian brethren, from whom, probably,
Wesley borrowed it. It has also been transmitted from
primitive times by the Nestorian Christians of the Mal-
abar coast. f

We have thus endeavoured to give a faithful tran-
script of the testimony of the Catacombs relative to
primitive Christianity. We have seen how consonant it
is with the teachings of Holy Scripture, how opposed to
all the institutions and dogmas of Rome. We have
only to compare the buried relics of the past with the
living present above ground to see at a glance the in-

* Placuit prohiberi, ne fceminse in coemeteriis pervigilent, eo quod
saepe sub obtentu religionis latenter scelera committunt.

f Among other traces of primitive Christianity among the latter
are their married clergy and abhorrence of images. " We are Chris-
tians, not idolaters." they said to the Jesuit missionaries, who pre-
sented for their homage images of the Virgin Mary.

552 The Catacombs of Rome.

finite contrast between the church of Christ and that
of Antichrist. Could the simple bishops of the primi-
tive ages behold the more than regal state and oriental
pomp in which, surrounded by armed halberdiers, amid
the blare of martial music and thunder of the guns of
St. Angelo, their successor of to-day rides in his golden
chariot from his stately palace to the majestic fane of
St. Peter — the grandest temple in the world — they would
feel it difficult to perceive therein any resemblance to
their own humble and often persecuted estate, or to the
pure and spiritual religion of the meek and lowly Naz-
arene. Could they witness the almost idolatrous hom-
age which he receives, throned in state, tiaraed with a
triple crown, presenting his foot for the humiliating
osculation of bishops, cardinals, ambassadors, and pil-
grims from every land ; could they behold him summon-
ing from the ends of the earth the prelates of Roman
Catholic Christendom to record a decree of his per-
sonal infallibility and freedom from human error ; they
would regard as blasphemous these unhallowed assump-
tions, and denounce, as the prophetic Antichrist, him
who laid claim to these awful attributes.*

Above the lowly sleepers in the crypts of the Vatican
swells the mighty dome which Michael Angelo hung
high in air ; lofty chant and pealing anthem thrill
through the vast expanse ; polished shafts of porphyry,

* The name of Pius is substituted for Deus in one well-known
Latin hymn. Another pentecostal hymn to the Holy Spirit is ad-
dressed directly to the present pontiff. The growth of this dogma
of infallibility, the distinguished French ecclesiastic, Pere Gratry, as-
serts, "was utterly gangrened with imposture." The stultification
of the human intellect was never more strikingly exemplified than in
the dictum of Bellarmine : Vera sunt vera et falsa sunt falsa ; sed si
ecclesia dixit vera esse falsa et falsa esse vera, falsa sunt vera ct vera
sunt falsa.

Primitive Rites and Institutions. 553

jasper, and costliest marble gleam around ; priceless
paintings and rarest sculpture by the hand of genius af-
ford a still richer adorning ; at an altar blazing with gold
and gems a human priest in many-coloured vestments
daily repeats, as he dares assert, the ineffable sacrifice
of Christ ; from four hundred cross-crowned campaniles
baptized and consecrated bells ring forth the hours of
prayer ; at a thousand shrines the multitude adore, they
vainly think, the real presence of the Redeemer ; and
perfumed incense evermore ascends, not to the many
gods of the Pantheon, but to the still more numerous
saints of the Roman calendar. But we feel that all the
kingdoms of the world, and all the glory of them, were
a poor compensation for the loss of the primitive sim-
plicity, purity, and spiritual power of the humble service
of the Catacombs. We turn away from the gorgeous
ritual and hollow pomp to those lowly crypts where the
Christian hymn of a persecuted remnant of the saints
ascended from beside the martyr's grave, as the truer
type of Christ's spiritual temple upon earth. In these
chambers of silence and gloom we find the evidences of
that undying life of Christianity which we seek in vain
amid the living death of that city of churches and of
priests — the Apostolic See of Christendom — the vaunted
seat of Christ's vicegerent upon earth. With a deeper
. significance than that with which it was first uttered, we
adopt the language of Tertullian, and exclaim, id esse

VERUM, QUODCUNQUE PRIMUM ; ID ESSE ADULTERUM,
QUODCUNQUE POSTERIUS.*

* Adv. Praxean.

INDEX.

Abraham, frescoes of, 289.

Acclamations to the departed,
441-443 ; pagan do., 444.

Acolytes, 517.

Adam, fall of, 224 ; receiving sen-
tence, 225.

Adornment, female, 497, 498.

Agape, the, 545 ; abuse of, 550 ;
suppressed, 551.

Agnes, St., Catacomb of, 192-197 ;
legend of, 192, 193.

Altar, 543, 544 ; altar lights, ori-
gin of, 378, 379.

Amphitheatre, games of, 488 ;
suppressed, 489.

Ampullae, or blood cups (?), 369.

Anchor, symbolical, 234.

Anthropomorphism, 352-361.

Appian Way, 164-166.

Arcosolia, 25, 30.

Areas, sepulchral, 37, 56, note f,
168-171, 183 ; pagan do., 59, 60.

Arenaria, 38-44, 197, 199.

Art, early Christian, 203, et seq. ;
compared with pagan do., 205,
209-213, 391, 392, 480; first
employment of, 206, 208 ;
sprang out of pagan do., 206-
208 ; character of, 210, 211 ;
pagan influence in, 210—214,
240-243, 303, 364, 388, 391,
480, 505 ; becomes florid, 220 ;
avoidance of passion of Christ
or martyrs, 227, 273, 274 ; joy-
ous character of, 228 ; symbol-
ism in, 325, et seq., see "Sym-
bols " ; Virgin Mary in, see
"Mary"; Christ in, see
"Christ"; God and Holy
Ghost in, see " Anthropomor-
phism " ; domestic art, 364-366.

Autun, ichthyic inscription at,
257-259.

Baptism, 532-541 ; subjects of,
532 ; patristic evidence con-
cerning, 533, note ; mode of,
535, et seq.

Biblical Cycle, 282, et seq. ; sub-
jects of, see Figs. 62-103 ;
grouping of subjects, 283, 339,
340 ; relative frequency of oc-
currence, 341, note *.

Bishops, 507-511, 524, 525 ; com-
pared with presbyters, 508, note
*, 511, note %; see "Martyr
Bishops," and " Pope."

Bosio, 152-155.

Burial clubs, pagan, 66-68 ; Chris-
tian, 68-70.

Burial near martyrs, supposed ef-
ficacy of, 128-132.

Burial, subterranean, why adopted,
50, 54 ; discontinued, 122 ; tem-
porary return to, 122, 123.

Cain and Abel, 285.

Callixtus, Catacomb of, 167-183 ;
history of, 173.

Carpenter, implements of, 231.

Catacombs, origin of word, II,
note ; described by Prudentius,
11, 124 ; by Jerome, 34 ; present
appearance of, 12, et seq., 37,
44, 45, 195 ; associations of, 13,
14, 45, 46, 201 ; extent of, 14,
and note, 15 ; entrances to, 15,
16, 170, 189, 191, 195 ; struc-
ture of, II, et seq., 168, et seq. ;
galleries, 16-19 > loculi, 19-24 ;
cubicula, 24-31 ; different lev-
els of, 31-33 ; luminari, 34, 35
origin of, 37, 38, 49, and note*,
55, 56, note *, 58, 200; not pa-
gan arenaria, 38-44 ; geology
of, 16, 39 ; perils of exploring,
46-48 ; Jewish, 49-53, 188 ; not

556

Index.

offspring of fear, 58 ; protected
by law, 62, 63 ; those of first
century, 73 ; reflect history of
the church, 99-104, 124, 136,
137 ; a refuge from persecu-
tion, 84, 87, note %, 100-104 ;
secret stairway in, 101, 174 ;
disuse and abandonment of,
150, et seq.; restoration and
adornment of, 124, 136, 137 ;
spoliation of, 137, 154 ; destruc-
tion of, 145-147 ; Mediaeval
employment of, 146, 147 ; pil-
• grimages to, 136, 148, 175, 176 ;
re-discovery and exploration of,
150, et seq. ; literature of, 151-
163 ; present control of, 161 ;
principal ones, account of, 164,
et seq. ; of Callixtus, 167-183;
of Praetextatus, 183 ; of Sebas-
tian, 184 ; of Domitilla, 189 ;
of Nereus and Achilles, ib. ;
of St. Helena, 190 ; of St. Cy-
riaca, 191 ; of St. Agnes, 194-
197 ; of Alexander, 197 ; of St.
Priscilla, 198 ; art of, 203, et
seq., see "Art" ; Mithraictomb
in, 214-218 ; symbolism of, 225,
et seq. ; Biblical Cycle of, 282.
et seq. ; gilt glasses, etc., of,
362, etseq. ; inscriptions of, 395,
et seq. ; doctrinal teachings of,
415, et seq. ; evidences concern-
ing Christian life and character,
453, et seq. j (for last six see in
verbis) ; summary of testimony,

551-553-

Catechists, 530-532.

Catechumens, ib.

Cecilia, St., crypt of, 178 ; legend
of, 179-181.

Celibacy of clergy, not a primitive
practice, 522-524 ; praise of,
527, 528 ; practice of, 529.

Character of early Christians, 461-
463,481, 482 ; of pagans, 464,
479-481 ; see "Persecutions."

Charity, early Christian, 483-485,
504.

Christ, youthful aspect of, in art,
342, and note \ ; traditional ap-
pearance of, 343-345 ; patristic

testimony concerning, 343-345 ;
early images of, 345, and note *,
346-348 ; miraculous images of,
345, note f ; degradation in art-
representations of, 347-352.

Christians, early, rank of, 56, 57,
and note *, 89, 169, 417, 45S-
460, 480 ; calumnies against,
548, 549-

Christianity, spread of, 57, 116-
119 ; persecutions of, 70, et seq.,
see in verbo ; triumph of, ibid.,
496 ; purifies morals, 480 ; cul-
tivates charity, 483-485 ; pro-
tects life, 485 ; elevates slaves,
486, 487 ; suppresses games,
488, 489 ; raises woman, 491-
493 ; moral triumphs of, 504.

Clement of Alexandria, quoted,
384, 385, 497, 49S, and note f.

Clergy, orders of, 507 ; in Greek
church, ib., note *; bishops,
507-511, 524, 525 ; presbyters,
511-513, 525; deacons, 514;
subdeacons, 515 ; lectors, 515,
516; acolytes, 517; exorcists,
517-519 ; multiplication of, 521,
note ; non-celibate, 522-526.

Confessional, reputed, 531.

Conjugal affections, early Chris-
tian, 471-474 ; pagan do., 475,
476.

Constantine, 92, 120, 121.

Constantinian monogram, 465 ;
genesis of, 466-468 ; various
forms of, 267-269 ; becomes
cross, 270-273, see " Cross."

Cornelius, tomb of, 169.

Cross, true, relics of, 139, note f,
140, notes f, \ ; legend of, 271,
272, and note ; rare in Cata-
combs, 260 ; pagan abhorrence
of, ib. ; caricature of, 261, and
note § ; recognition of in na-
ture, etc., 235, 262, 263 ; sup-
posed mysterious power of, 263,
264 ; pre-Christian, 2S1, note.

Crucifixion, not represented in
early Christian art, 273 ; sym-
bolically indicated, 274 ; first
example of, 275 ; art develop-
ment of, 275-281.

Index.

557

Crucifix, genesis of, 279, 280.
Cubicula, 24-29, 339, 531.
Cyprian, quoted, 82, 434 ; death
of, 84, note \.

Damasus, 123, 175, 406.

Daniel in the lions' den, 298, 299.

Dates of Catacombs, 73 ; of in-
scriptions, 408-410, 416, et seq.

David and Goliath, 394.

Deacons, 514; wives of, 474, 526.

Deaconesses, 526-530.

Deaths of persecutors, 93, note %.

Decius, persecution under, 81.

De Rossi, 159, 160, 399,400,406.

Diocletian, persecution under, 89,
and note ^[, 90.

Diptychs, 393, 394.

Divinity of Christ, taught, 449, 450.

Doctrinal teachings of Catacombs,
415,^ seq. j see "Purgatory,"
" Resurrection," " Trinity," etc.

Dolls, etc., found in Catacombs,

387. .

Domestic relations, evidence con-
cerning, 465, et seq.; parental
relations, 466-468 ; pagan, do.,
468-470 ; filial do,, 470 ; conju-
galdo., 471-474; pagan do., 475,
476 ; fraternal do., 476 ; friendly
do., 476.

Domine Quo Vadis, legend of,
107, note *.

Domitilla, Catacomb of, 55-57,
and 57, note, 189.

Doves, symbolical, 236-239, 404.

Elijah, 294.

EneTgumens, 519.

Epigraphy, Christian, literature of,
399, 400 ; examples of, 401, et
seq.; see "Inscriptions."

Eucharist, symbols of, 250, 252,
542 ; celebration of, 541-545.

Filial affection, early Christian, 470.

Fish, symbolical, 252-260, 378 ;

the word a sacred anagram,

252 ; an allusion to baptism,

253 ; a tessara, 255, 389 ; a eu-
charistic symbol, 256 ; Autun
icththyic inscription, 257-259.

Fonts, baptismal, 537, 538.

Fossors, 132-135, 519, 526.

Fraternal affections, early Chris-
tian, 476.

Funeral rites, Christian, 499-502 ;
pagan do., 503.

Future state, doctrine concern-
ing, 417-431 ; pagan do., 436-
444-

Galerius, 91.

Galleries of Catacombs, 16, et seq,

Gallienus, 86.

Gaume, Abbe, on the Catacombs

201.
Gilt glasses, early Christian, 362

subjects represented in, 364-

367 ; convivial inscriptions of,
3°7> 368 ; some sacramental

368 ; dates of, 369.

God in art, 352-361 ; alleged sar-
cophagal example of, 354-356
symbolized in Catacombs by
hand, 290, 356.

Good Shepherd, the, symbol of
Christ, 245-248 ; statue of, 390.

Graffiti, pagan, 59, 60 ; Christian,
130, 148, 174, 175.

Graves, see " Loculi."

Greek language, use of at Rome,
406, 407.

Hand as symbol of God, 293, 356.

Hebrew children, the three, 298,
299.

Helena, St., Catacomb of, 196.

Heresy, growth of, 119, note.

Hippolytus, statue of, 392 ; char-
acter of, 393.

Horse, symbolical, 382.

Iconoclasm, early, 222.

Ichthyic inscription, 257-259 ;

Ichthyic symbol, see " Fish."

Ignatius, martyrdom of, 74, note
*, 125.

Image worship, 222-224.

Imprecations, pagan, 61 ; Chris-
tian, 64, 65.

Inscriptions, early Christian, gen-
eral character of, 395, et seq.;
associations of, 398 ; collection

558

Index.

and classification of, 398-400 ;
literature of, ib. ; rude exam-
ples of, 66, 98, 238, 267, 268,
401,^/ seq. ; barbarous Latinity
of, 403, and note *, 407, 422,
426 ; inverted, 404 ; reversed,
ib. ; brief, 23S, 401-405 ;
Greek, 406, 407 ; dates of, 40S-
410, 416, et seq. ; notes of time
in, 410-412, 508 ; doctrinal
teachings of, 415, et seq., see
" Purgatory," etc. ; concerning
future state, 417, et seq.; pa-
gan do., 436-444; cheerful
character of, 427, 430, 443, 452 ;
concerning the doctrine of the
resurrection, 431 ; concerning
Christian life and character, 453,
et seq. ; names, expressive, 454-
457; pagan do., 455, note J;,
457 ; puritan do., 455, note § ;
evidence of early Christian char-
acter, 461-463 ; of pagan do.,
464; of domestic relations, 465,
et seq. ; of parental do., 466-
468 ; of pagan do., 468-470 ; of
filial do., 470 ; of conjugal do.,
471-474 ; of pagan do., 475,
476 ; age of marriage, 473, note
* ; fraternal relations, 476 ;
friendly do., 476 ; evidence con-
cerning clerical orders, 506, et
seq., see "Clergy" ; concerning
Christian rites and institutions,
432, et seq., see " Rites."

Invocation of saints, first exam-
ples of, 426, 446-449.

Isaac, sacrifice of. 288, 289.

Jerome, quoted, 36, 450, 498, 502.
Jews at Rome, 49 ; their Cata-
comb, 50-54, 188 ; epitaphs of,

53-
Job, fresco of, 293.
Jonah, story of, 299-304.
Joseph, 290.
Justin Martyr, 76.

Kip, Bishop, on the Catacombs,

162.
Labarum, legend of the, 268.
Lactantius, De Mort.Persec, 93,

note \.

Lamb, symbol of Christ, 249, 250.
Lamps, early Christian, 376-379.
Lapidarian Gallery, 395.
Lawrence, St., martyrdom of, 86,

note * ; tomb of, 192.
Lazarus, raising of, 329-331.
Lectors, 515, 516, 526.
Literature of the Catacombs, 151-

163.
Loculi, 19-21 ; number of, 21 ;

how closed, 22, 23 ; contents of,

23, 24 ; made during life, 65 ;

sale of, 132.
Love-feast, see " Agape."
Luminari, 34, 35.

MacFarlane, on the Catacombs,
45, 161.

Magi, adoration of, 305, 306.

Maitland, on the Catacombs, 161.

Marcus Aurelius, character of,
75. 76.

Mariolatry, no trace of in Cata-
combs, 305, 306, 310, 316, 323;
development of, 312-323.

Marriage, references to, 304, 305,
471-474. 494-496 I pagan do.,
475. 476. 492> 493 ; age of, 473,
note *.

Marriott, on the Catacombs, 162.

Martyr bishops of Rome, 81-87,
94-96.

Martyrdom of Ignatius, 74, note
* ; of Polycarp, 76 ; of Per-
petua, 79, note % ; of Lawrence,
86, note*; (see antea and pos-
ted); the passion for, 11 2-1 15 ;
effects of, ib. ; references to,
372 ; symbols of, 17, 369-375.

Martyr epitaphs : — of Marius, 75 ;
of Alexander, 77, note * ; of
Sixtus, 85 ; of Marcellus, 94 ;
of Eusebius, 95 ; of Sebastian,
96 ; of Lannus, 98 ; see 106, et
seq. ; of St. Agnes, 193.

Martyrologies, 110-112.

Martyrs, number of, 105-108, 178 ;
sufferings of, 108-112 ; festivals
in honour of, 127 ; adornment of
tombs of, 123, 124 ; spoliation cf
do., 128, 137, 145 ; reverence for,
123-128 ; burial near, 128-132 ;

Index.

559

pilgrimages to tombs of, 136,
148 ; veneration of martyr relics,
124-128 ; translation of, 137,
142, 143, note *, 144, notes *,\.

Mary, Virgin, legends of, 307 ; in
art, 305-314 ; miraculous im-
ages of, 317, note § ; assump-
tion of, 218, and note § ; hymns
to, 320.

Maximin, persecution of, 81.

McCaul, Dr., on early Christian
epigraphy, 162, note f, 163,414,
421, 541.

Mithraic monument in Cata-
combs, 214-218.

Mosaic, 223.

Moses on Horeb, 290 ; on Sinai,
ib. ; striking rock, 291, 292.

Ministry, rites, and institutions of
primitive church, 506, et seq.,
see "Clergy," and " Rites."

Names, early Christian, expressive
character of, 454, 455 ; pagan
do., 455, note %, 457.

Neophytes, 322, 323, 540.

Nimbus in art, 208, note f.

Noah, story of, 286-288.

Northcote, on the Catacombs, 161.

Objects found in Catacombs, 362,
et seq. ; see " Gilt Glasses," etc.
Opisthographse, 268, 413.
Oranti, 308-310.

Pagan epitaphs, 59-62, 396, 397,
413, 414, 434-441, 460, note,
469, 475-478.

Pagan influence in art, see " Art."

Paganism, decadence of, 117 ; so-
cial condition of, 479-481.

Paintings, see " Art," " Symbol-
ism," and different subjects of.

Palm and crown, symbolical, 230 ;
reputed sign of martyrdom, 372.

" Papal Crypt," 170-178.

Parental affection, early Christian,
466-468 ; pagan do., 468-470.

Paul, St., martyrdom of, 200 ; in
art, 336-337, and notes ; see
" Peter and Paul."

Paulinus of Nola, quoted, 221.

Peacock, symbolical, 240.

Perpetua, martyrdom of, 79, note %.

Perret, his great work on the Cat-
acombs, 158, 159.

Persecutions, early, cause of, 70,
71 ; Neronian, 71 ; Domitian,
72 ; Aurelian, 76 ; of Commo-
dus, 78 ; of Severus, 79 ; of
Maximin, 81 ; Uecian, 81, 82,
Valerian, 83, 84 ; Diocletian,
88-91 ; extent of, 105-108 ; vir-
ulence of, 108-113.

Peter, St., at Rome (?), 53, and
note * ; denying Christ, 332 ;
apprehension of, 335 ; in art,
337 ; cultus of, 338, and note * ;
relics of, 53, note * ; font of,
537-

Peter and Paul, crypt of, 186-188 ;
in art, 336, 337, 365, 367.

Piani, of Catacombs, 31-33.

Pilate, 333, 334.

Polycarp, martyrdom of, 76.

Pope the, 509, 511, and notes.

Prayers for dead, unknown in
earliest times, 421 ; first exam-
ple of, 442, 443 ; prayers to the
dead, 446-449.

Praetextatus, Catacomb of, 183.

Presbyters, 5 1 1-5 13 ; sometimes
had secular employment, 513,
and note || ; married, 525.

Prudentius, quoted, 11, no, 115,
124.

Purgatory, unknown to early
Christians, 420, 423, 424, 445,
446.

Relics, worship of, 124-126, 138-
143, 544; traffic in, 138, 139 ;
supposed efficacy of, 140 ; gro-
tesque Mediaeval do., ib., notes
\, %, § ; reputed martyr do.,
369 ; misinterpretation of, 141-
143, 37o.

Resurrection, doctrine of, 430-433.

Rings from Catacombs, 284.

Rites and institutions of primi-
tive church : — marriage, 471-
474 ; funeral, 499-503 ; baptism,
532-541 ; eucharist, 541-545 ,•
Agape, 545-551 ; see in verbis.

560

Index.

Romanism, unsupported by early
Christian epigraphy, 416-418,
422-424 ; first trace of, 425,
426, 442, 445, 446, 521-524;
compared with primitive Chris-
tianity, 551-553.

Rome, fall of, 134, 135.

Romish misinterpretation of relics,
141-143 ; of leaf points, 227 ;
of blood cup (?), 370.

San Greal, the, 141-142, note.

Sarcophagi, 334, 340-342, and
342, note *.

Seals, early Christian, 266, 270,
384-386.

Sebastian, Catacomb and legend
of, 184, 185.

Sepulchral areas, 56, note *, 59, 60.

Sepulchres, pagan, 13, note *, 58
sacredness of, 58-63, 69 ; Chris-
tian, sacredness of, 63-65, 69
violation of, see in verbo.

Sepulture, pagan, 13, note *, 49
58-61, 66-68, 169, 389, 390
503 ; Jewish, 49-54 ; Christian
499-503.

Ship, symbolical, 230, 235, 377.

Slaves and slavery, 486, 487.

Soldiers, 489, 490.

Stag, symbolical, 441, 538.

Stanley, Dean, on the Catacombs,

415- .

Symbolism, 204, 225, et seq. j in-
terpretation of, 226.

Symbols, phonetic, 229, 230 ;
trade do., 231-233, 374 ; sym-
bolical anchor, 234, 235 ; ship,
235. 377 i crown and palm, 236 ;
dove, 236-239 ; peacock, 240 ;
phoenix, cock, ib. ; stag, 241 ;
horse, ib., and 382 ; lion, hare,

241 ; vine, balance, 242 ; Good
Shepherd, 243-248, 390 ; lamb,
249-251 ; fish, 252-260, see in
verbo ; cross, 263-281, see in
verbo; God symbolized by
hand, 290, 356.

Tertullian, quoted, 79, 235, 45*1

489, 494, 497, 547.
Time, notation of, 410-412.
Thundering Legion, 78, note *.
Toilet articles from Catacombs,

385,386.
Tombs, violation of, see in verbo ;

sacredness of, 58-63, 69.
Toys from Catacombs, 387.
Trades, symbols of, 231-234, 274 ;

recorded in epitaphs, 459, 460 ;

pagan do., 460, note *.
Trinity, alleged representation

of, 354-360 ; doctrine of, 449-

452.

Valerian, persecution of, 83.

Vases, early Christian, 380 ; bap-
tismal, 3S2.

Veronica, the, 346, note.

Violation of tombs, 59, 61, 64, and
note %, 65, and note *.

Virginity, praise of, 527, 528, and
notes.

Virgin Mary, see " Mary."

Virgins, epitaphs of, 52S.

Wiseman, his "Fabiola," 158.
Woman, pagan degradation of,

490-493 ; Christian elevation
. of, 493-495, and notes ; apparel

of, 497, 498.

Young, the, care of primitive

church for, 529, 530,

THE END.

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