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DG 807.4 .S324 1873 ^ Scott, Benjamin, 1814-1892. The contents and teachings of the catacombs at Rome |
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https://archive.org/details/contentsteachingOOscot_0
THE CONTENTS AND TEACHINGS
CATACOMBS AT ROME.
GALLERIES OF THE CATACOMBS.
THE CONTENTS AND TEACHINGS
OF
THE CATACOMBS
ROME:
A VIXDICATIOy OF PURE AJfD PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN 1 TV, AXD AN EXPOSURE OF THE CORRrPTIONS OF POPBET, DERIVED FROM! THK
^ejjukhml l^mains of tin (Karlg C^hristian.^ at llomc.
'Now I saw iQ my dream, that at the end of the valley lay bloc J, bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of men ; . . . . and while I was musing wliat should be the reason, I espi d a little before me a cave, where two giants. Pope and Pagan.
dwelt.' — JOHK BUNTAN
BENJAMIN SCOTT, i'.R.A.S.,
CHAMBERLAIN OF THE ^CITY OF LONDON, AND HONOEABY SECRETARY O; THE WORKING iltN's EDUCATIONAL UNION.
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO 1873.
PlilCE FOUR SEILLIhQS.
vi
DIAGEAMS.
79 Gladiatorial Combats — Bas-reliefs from Pompeii. (The first sub- ject represents a Bamnite defeated by a Mirmillo. The former lowers his sword-arm, and implores his life of the people ; his ad- versary is impatient to despatch him. The second shows a Mirmillo falling, being mortally wounded by a Saynnite.
Mit^trattbe nf CataromB^ at 2K0me.
Nos.
80. A Galleey, with Tombs — The large grave on the left is a Bisomum,
or Grave for two.
81. Tombs and Slabs.
82. FossORS — Inscriptions relating to. Also, Painting of one with his
Implements, etc.
83. Phonetic Symbols, referring to Names.
84. Symbols referring to Trades and Occupations.
85. The same.
86. RELiaiOTTS Symbols — The Monogram of Christ.
87. Sfndeies — " The Fish Symbol ;" Inscription with the word ixOvs ;
Crown and Palms ; Lamp found in the Jews' Gallery ; Inscrip- tions with the Jewish Candlestick.
88. Eeligiotts Symbols — Doves; " Heavenward- sailing Ship ;" Anchor.
89. Insceiptions — Christian and Pagan contrasted.
90. Martyrs' Epitaphs— (four).
91. Praying Figures — Bellicia and the Apostle Paul.
92. Painting of Love Feast, also Cups.
93. Pas Eeliees — 1, Noah and Jonah ; 2, Jonah.
94. Fresco Painting— Daniel and the Lions.
95. Bas Eeliees — 1, The Eaising of Lazarus ; 2, Elijah taken up into
Heaven.
96. Eepresentations of " the Good Shepherd."
97. Bas Eeliees — Pilate washing his Hands ; the Three Youths in the
Furnace at Babylon.
98. Petee Denying his Loed, and the Cock Crovs^ing.
99. Paintings — The Miracles of the Loaves and Fishes, and the Water
changed to Wine.
100. Bas Eeliees — Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac ; Moses receiving the Tables of the Law.
The usual allowance to Subscribers and the Trade.
W. THOENj Depositoey, 28, Pateenostee Eow.
PHEFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
The following pages contain the substance of four Lectures^ delivered before an audience composed of working men ; this statement will sufficiently account for tlieir style. Gratified by the interest excited on their delivery, encouraged by several partial friends to give them a more enduring form, influenced by a knowledge that they were useful to some who heard them, and a hope that they may yet be serviceable to the class for whose benefit they were prepared, the writer has (amidst many distractions, arising from engagements of another character) committed them to the press.
He will be gratified if they shall in any degree serve to direct attention to a subject too much overlooked in this inquiring age — the 'primitive condition of the Divine institution of Christianity — particularly as exemplified by the inscriptions and works of early art in the Museums of Europe. Buried in ponderous and expensive folios, expressed in either foreign or dead languages, or locked up in the treasuries of distant antiquarian collections, the subject was inaccessible to the general reader, until the publication of the learned and deeply interesting
Vlll
INTRODUCTION.
work of Dr. Charles Maitland, " The Church in the Catacombs.^^ Of the merits of that work it would be impertinent in the writer to speak. He may, however, be permitted to express the deep obligation under which he lies, as one of the public, for the pleasure and profit which it has afforded him ; he desires also gratefully to ' acknowledge the facilities which Dr. Maitland has kindty rendered in the preparation for the press of this little work, in which the writer has attempted to effect for the working-classes that which the Doctor has so admirably accomplished for the reading public in general. In every case in which '^The Church in the Catacombs^' has been quoted or referred to, the second edition has been used.
London^ A'prilj 1860.
CONTENTS.
LECTUEE I.
PAGANISil.
" The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." Psalm Ixxiv. 20.
The Augustan age — PAaAXiSii, polytheistic — Character of Pagan gods- Effects of Pagan worship — Paganism sacerdotal — Ceremonial — Impure — Cruel — Human sacrifices — Burning Children to Moloch — Human sacrifices in Grreece, Rome, etc. — In the East — Assyrian cruelty — Human sacrifices among the Hindoos and Chinese — The northern nations of Europe — Mexico — Africa — South Sea Islands — Origin of sacrifices — Infanticide in Greece and Eome — Condition of female sex — In Hindostan — Among the Jews — Polygamy — Widow-burning in India — Destruction of female children — General depravity — Character of rulers at Rome — Moral state of the people — Cruel sports — Gladia- torial combats — Slavery — Bondage among the Jews — Objection an- swered— Slavery of Greece and Rome— Social and moral condition recapitulated — Improvement Pages 1 — JG
LECTURE II.
CHEISTIAXITT.
" To give light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death." — Luke i. 79.
Pagan gloom and despondency— A deliverer anticipated — " The desire of all nations" — Arrival of the Messiah — His story — His doctrine — Cheistianitt — An innovation on Judaism and Paganism — A con- trast between Paganism and Christianity — Dignity of labour — Chris- tianity at Rome — Paul's arrival there — Persecution of Christianity commences — The Catacombs — Construction and origin — Occupied by Christians — Galleries of described — Lost sight of — Closed — Re-opened in 16th century— Works on the contents of the Catacombs — Lapidarian Gallery — Tombs or graves — Pagan and Christian inscriptions con- trasted— Improvement — Power of pure Christianity— Objections re- plied to — Slavery as practised by professing Christians — Serfdom in Russia and Slavery in the L^nited States now abolished— Conclusion
Pages 47—90
X
CONTENTS.
LECTURE nr.
THE CATACOMBS. , " They wandered in dens and caves of the earth." — Hkb. xi, 39.'^
The Early Christians unlearned— Style of inscriptions — Fossors —Symbols used by Eai'ly Christians — Phonetic symbols — Trade symbols — Religious symbols — The Monogram — the fish, dove, crown, palm- branch, etc. — Jews at Rome in time of the Apostle Paul — Jews' Gallery in Catacombs — Martyrs' graves — Inscriptions upon — Praying figures —Posture in prayer — Simplicity of Early Christians— Love- feasts — Conclusion Pages 91 — 113
LECTURE IV.
POPEEY — DEBASED, OE SPUEIOTJS CHEISTIANITY.
"I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast having seven heads and ten horns
The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth And the
woman which thou sawest is that gbeat city which reigneth over the kings of the earth."— Kev. xvii. 3, 9, 18.
Christianity corrupted — Popeet tested by history — By Scripture — By the contents of Catacombs — Sources of corruptions of Christianity — Sacer- dotal priesthood — Ministers of religion — Sacrifices and altars — Demon or spirit worship— Many mediators — Manufactured Martyrs— Manu- factured saints — Relics — Purgatory — Indulgences — Sale of pardon
Purgatory, a Pagan device — Reading the Scriptures — Fine arts in the Catacombs— OZ^? Testament history illustrated — Ifew Testament illus- trated— Christ's miracles recorded — His sufi'erings not depicted— Abuse
of symbolism — Representations of God — Spirit of Christ's religion
Cursing and persecuting — The Inquisition — Spirit of the Christians of
the Catacombs — Recapitulation of argument — Come out of Rome
Objections answered — Improvement . . , Pages 114 — 168
LECTURE 1.
PAGANISM.
" The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty." — Psalm Ixxiv. 20.
Thej subject of oiir present course of lectures introduces us to the period called the Augustan Age.'' This era, commencing with the reign of Augustus Cassar, born about 63 B.C.J and comprising that of his immediate successors, was greatly distiuguished for the flourishing state of litera- ture and learniug, and the successful cultivation of the fine arts.
•Julius Cassar, the great uucle and predecessor of Augustus_, had_, by his victorious arms, rendered tributary to Rome all the surrounding nations ; and the Roman Empire, on the accession of Augustus, was almost co- extensive with the known world.
The religion of all these nations, with the single ex- ception of the Jew^s, consisted of Paganism , in some form or other, which was also the religion of Imperial Rome. With her arms she had carried her gods, and promoted their worship ; or with politic tolerance, had adopted the gods of other Pagan nations into her Pantheon. Farthest India, Scythia, Southern Africa, and China, although un- conquered, and consequently untributary to Rome, were Pagan also. Notwithstanding the deities worshipped in these countries differed in name, their attributes and
1
2
PAGAN I sir.
characters can be easily identified witli tliose revered in the Roman Empire.
The Pagan system was polytheistic, that is^ many gods were worshipped. These deities were generally repre- sented under some human form^ such as Jupiter, king of Olympus, and some score of other reprobates, whose names are doubtless familiar to you — Jupiter, Mar?, Mercury, Neptune, Bacchus, Yulcan, Juno, Yenus, and others, presiding over fighting, thieving, lust, debauchery, and drunkenness, with some few who personified domestic and civil virtues. These, together with deified kings, heroes, and freebooters, fi)reign gods, such as Isis of the Egyptians, and minor divinities or demigods, who pre- sided specially over certain countries, cities, rivers, seasons, and groves, made up the list to hundreds, the lords many and gods many,^' to whom homage was rendered by the civilized world at the period to which I allude.
Authors innumerable could be quoted to prove the number and the wortlilessness of these divinities. One writer of the period satirically remarks, " it is easier to find a god than a man.^'* Livy, speaking of Athens, the chief city of Greece, says it was " full of the images of gods and men, adorned with every variety of material and with all the skill of art/^f while another writes, on every side there are altars, victims, temples, and festi- vals.''^ J But not only did they worship every god whom they had invented, but in their feeling after a true God, ^^if haply they might find Him,^^ conscious that there must be some one more worthy of their regard than the wortliless creations of their own corrupt imaginings, they
* Petronius, Sat. xvii. f Livy, 45, 27.
X Lucian Prometh., Book i. p. 180.
CHARACTER OF PAGAN GODS.
3
added to thousands of altars by erecting some to the Unknown God."
This fact is familiar to you from the statement in Luke^s Acts of the Apostles/^ which is fully confirmed by Pagan writers.* The Apostle PauFs spirit " was stirred within him when he saw the city'^ of Athens ^^full of idols^' (Acts xvii. 16, margin); and in his address to the Athenian court of Areopagus, lie tells them, I perceive that ye are altogether devoted to the worship of the gods, for as I passed hither and belield your gods that ye worship, I found an altar with this inscription. To the Unknown God^^ (Acts xvii. 22, 23). As at Athens so was it at Eome, the world^s capital, for we are told, on the authority of Minutius Felix, they build altars to iinknowm divinities/^
Such, then, was the polytheistic or pantheistic nature of the Pagan system, and now a few words upon the character of these gods, and the nature of the worshij) rendered to them ; and here I must premise that the subject forbids that I should be explicit. Sufiice it to remark that there is no crime, however abominable, that was not imputed to them. In the words of Pope, their characters may be justly summed up —
*' Gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust, Whose attributes were rage, revenge, and lust."
* Lucian, in his " Philopatris," uses the form of oath, " I swear hy the Unknoicn God at Athens ;" and again he says (chap. xxix. 180), "we have found out the Unknown God at Athens, and worshipped him, with our hands stretched up to heaven." Philo- stratus says (in Yita Apollo, vi. 3), " and this at Athens, where there are even altars to the unknown gods." Pausanius (in Attic, cap. 1) says that " at Athens there are altars of gods, which are called the unknown ones." Diogenes Laertius mentions also these
4
PAGANISM.
As with the gods, so with the system with which they were identified, and its effects upon its votaries. I will judge that system out of the mouths of Pagans themselves. Aristotle* advises that statues and paintings of the gods should exhibit no indecent scenes, except in the temples of such deities as preside over sensuality/^ What must have been the state of things to render such advice need- ful, and what the state of mind of an enlightened Pagan who could justify such an exception ?
Petronius t informs us that temples were frequented, altars crowned, and prayers offered to the gods, in order that they might render agreeable unnatural lusts. The moral Seneca,t revolting at what he witnessed around him, exclaims, in the sight of such things, How great is now the madness of men ! they lisp the most abominable prayers ; and if a man is found listening, they are silent ; what a man ought not to hear, they do not hlitsh to relate to ihe gods.'^ Again, ^' if any one considers what things they do, and to what they subject themselves, instead of decency, he will Qnd indecency ; instead of the honourable, the unworthy ; instead of the rational, the insane.'' And to crown the testimony of Pagans as to the character and effects of their own system, Plato declares, man has Slink helow the basest of the brutes.''
Well might the Apostle Paul, in writing to Rome at the very period to which I refer, paint the fearful picture contained in his first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, which is fully borne out, as we have seen, by the testimony of Pagan writers. AVell might he attiiljute it all to the
altars, and ascribes their origin to a period of pestilence (riled in Barnes* Notes, Acts xvii.)
* Politica, vii. 18, ed. Schn'^ider,
t Cited in Thokick's " luilaence of Heatlienlsin."
MOEALITY OF PAGANISM.
system of their religion, and the character of their gods, that they " changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things ; wherefore God also gave them np to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts/^ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient ; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousn^ss, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, deceitful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, dis- obedient to parents, without understanding, covenant- breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerci- ful/^ * What a catalogue ! It would have been sufficient for me to have quoted it, to have proved my point ; but as there may be some among you who have not investi- gated the satisfactory evidence upon which the authen- ticity of the inspired writings rests, I have thought it best to place the combined testimony, Pagan and Christ ian, before you. Let me ask of you the favour that you will, at your leisure, read attentively the chapter from which I have quoted ; it will assist you to appreciate a contrast which I shall have occasion to introduce in a subsequent lecture.
Respecting the character of ancient Pagan idols and idolatry beyond tlie bounds of the Eoman Empire, we have not the same amount of information, but sufficient evidence exists to prove that oriental Paganism was equally degraded and degrading with that of Greece and Rome. Unchanged to the present hour, we can study it by actual observation ; I will only quote one passage upon this point, from a public document laid before * Pvum. i. 23, 24,28-31.
6
PAGANISM.
Parliament by a resident magistrate of Lo^er Bengal.* Speaking of the Tvorship of tlie goddess Kale^ he says. The murderer, the robber, and the prostitute, all aim to propitiate a being whose worship is obscenity, and who delights in the blood of man and beast, and. without imploring whose aid no act of wickedness is committed/^ There were, doubtless, exceptions to this rule. Some few of the gods personified virtues, and some men were found better than the system w^hicli prevailed ; but these exceptions w^ere rare indeed, and stand out upon the records of the times with a lustre the more brilliant in consecjuence of their infrequency. These men were virtuous, by reason of spaiks of heavenly light not quite trampled out of their fallen nature ; they were virtuous in sjjite of their religious system, and not because of it. Dionysius of Halicamassus says, There are only a few who have become masters of philosophy ; on the other hand, the great and unphilosophic mass are accustomed to receive these narratives (the lives of the gods) rather in their worst sense, and to learn one of two things : either to. despise the gods as beings who wallow in the grossest licentiousness, or not to restrain then.selves even from what is most abominable and abandoned, when they see the gods do the same.'''' f
Such, then, were the gods of Paganism; such the natural effects of their character upon their votaries.
* H, Oakley, Esq., cited in "Philosophy of Plan of Salvation."
t " It is absolutely impossible to write in detail of the shocking depravities of the old heathen world. The very rottenness of its sepulchre vfWl ever most surely guard its own dreadful mystery. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which were done of them in secret. The reader need not be told how heavily charged with all kinds of moral death a religion must have been whose divinities were lechers, sots, fratricideSj harlots, and pander? ;
HUMAN SACRIFICES.
7
I would next observe tliat the system of Paganism, like that of the Jews, was sacerdotal, that is, it was
its temples sacred brothels, the less scandalous alone of which could be tolerated within the walls of cities (Yitruvius, i. 7) ; its s^pectacles, the merciless gladiatorial shows, or scenes too impure for a soldierly Cato to witness ; its processions, those of the Phallics ; its altars not guiltless of human blood; its festivitie?, the Bacchanalia, the Saturnalia, the Floralia, the Cotyttia; its ritual vice, and its ministers of both sexes — but a veil must be thrown over their too warm devotion to their strictly sacerdotal functions. In the age of Augustas, marriage was rapidly growing into disuse, and had to be propped up by liberal bounties from the state. "Where the tie existed at all, it was for the wife an indenture of servitude, she was the drudge ; concubines and courtezans were the friends of her lord. E^'en this is the brighter side of the picture. There is not one of the odious vices for which the unclean Canaanites were doomed to extirpation, and the Cities of the Plain weltered in the fiery storm, which does not soil the portrait, handed down by history, of full many a ruler, statesman, poet, and philosopher of classic Greece and Eome. The fretting leprosy was everywhere. Few, inc'eed, of any rank in society escaped the plague, and the invention of monstrous pleasures was studied as a science, and followed as a thriving trade. Cruelty was as rampant as sensuality. Slavery was universal, and the dread power of life and death which the law gave to masters was sure to be no idle prerogative in the hands of men who gloated for days together over the dying throes of the gladiators."
"The aspirations of a Socrates were not those of the millions. The masses rather sought to gain the aid of their gods in the attainment of their, at best, animal and often devilish desires. They anointed, crowned, and kissed the images in which they saw and handled the divinities themselves ; they regaled their nostrils with incense, and their appetites with the quivering limbs and smoking blood of the victims ; they pledged them in cups of wine, whirled round them in frantic dances, or gashed themselves with knives, to coax or tease them to patronize some worldly scheme or other, even some filthy intrigue or murderous plot. In times of public calamity, the gods weie dragged forth from the gloom of
8
PAGANISM.
administered bj a priesthood — among the Pagans male and female — who stood between the people and their deities, offered their prayers, performed sacritices, inter- preted signs and omens, and communicated the will of the gods, besides exercising certain judicial functions.
The worship consisted in tlio performance of certain ovtvjard ads or rites ; was, in other words, exclusively external or ceremonial : of preaching or the inculcation or teaching of morals, there does not exist a trace.^ The rites comprised sacrifices, offerings, prayers, burning incense, pilgrimages to sacred places or shrines, pro- cessions in honour of the gods, abstinences, mortifications, penances, observance of festivals, and frequently vicious practices as above hinted.
These rites were costly, requiring a sacrifice on the part of those w^ho performed them, according to position in life, and were suited to bestow more upon the rich than upon the needy. They were not only sometimes abominably impure, but oftentimes harharoiij'1 1/ cruel. Upon the impurity of the ceremonies it is impossible and unlawful to speak ; nor would the statements be credited when made, unless the authorities were cited at length. Suffice it then to say, that whatever Christianity may or may not have done, one of its effects is apparent ; it has banished the general knowledge and even the names of crimes then publicly committed, which not only reflected no general discredit on those who practised them, but, as
the temples and laid on couches in the streets, that they might the better see, and be moved bj the tears of the whole population. IVorship was mavipidation, arid prayer an exercise of the lungs, not o f the heart." — " The Free Church of Ancient Christendom," by Basil H. Cooper, B.A., pp. 31, 32, 20.
* Vide Dr. Smith'd " Dictionary of Antiquities," article Su- rerdos.
HUMAN SACRIFICES.
9
forming part of tlieir religious rites^ were in some cases obligatory^ and in others accounted honourable and meri- torious. It is a mercy the languages are dead in which such thiugs are written ; but assuredly we do not well to forget the lessons which they teach.
I said the Pao-an rites were often barbarously criicJ. I referred chiefly to the practice of offering human sacri- fices, which practice, so far as history has brought intelli- gence down to us, appears to have been universal. It is not known when this abomination was first introduced, but it was certainly very early in the world's history ; the Canaanites, more than 3300 years since, certainly prac- tised it, offering their offspring to the idols of Canaan, to Moloch especially.* It was evidently one of the crimes assigned by the Almighty as the reason for the destruction of that people : " Thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass
through the fire to Moloch For all these
abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled; that the land spue not you out also, Avhen ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you^^ (Lev. xviii. 21, 27, 28).
It may be needful to explain to some of you, that the expression in our Bibles, to pass seed tlirougli the fire to Moloch,^^ means to burn children to that divinity ; f upon this point no doubt exists. Moloch, Molec, Malcom, or Milcom, as he is variously called, was the planet Saturn deified^ and his worship existed chiefly among the Canaanites, Ammonites, Carthaginians, and Phoenicians. He was represented by a statue of brass, under the form
* Deut. xviii. 9, 10.
t Compare Di ub. xii. 31, xviii. 10 ; 2 Kings xvi. 3, etc, with Ps. cvi. 38; Jer. vii. 31, xix. 5; Ezek. xvi. 20, 21.
10
PAGANISM.
of a human being witli tlie head of a bull ; the arms of the figure being extended forward_, but declining towards the earth ; children were placed by their fathers in the hands of the idol, and falling thence into a furnace were burned to death; drums and trumpets drown- ing their cries. Sometimes the idol was hollow, and heated to redness by fire placed within, in which case the child was burned by the heated hand of the figure. [ 74. ]
In spite of the strongest prohibitions of this crime by the Almighty, it was occasionally resorted to by the Jewish kings and people, especially in the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh. The idol was erected in the valley south of Jerusalem called IJinnom, but termed, in con- sequence of the practice of this abomination, Tophef, or Drums, in reference to the drums beat to drown the cries of the innocent victims.* The place became, conse- quently, so abhorrent to the more recent Jews that they applied its name, Ge-hinnom, or Gehenna, to the place of punishment in a future life. So that, in the estimation of these Jews, it only required the practice of Pagan abomi- nations to constitute a hell upon earth. t
And novv let us pause for a minute while I extract a lesson, in passing, from this Pagan superstition. I see fathers and mothers present. I am a parent myself. What think you, fathers, what say you, mothers, could you bring yourselves to offer'^your children to Moloch if you were living in Pagan times, and were unvisited with the light of Christianity, received or reflected ?
* 2 Kings xxiii. 10 ; Isa. xxx. 33 ; Jer. vii. 31, 32, xix. 4—14. t Diodorus Sic, xx. 24; Easebius Pr^p. Evaog., iv. c. 16; Juhn's Bib. Antiq , ar t. 410.
HUMAN SACRIFICES.
11
" A thousand voices answer ' ISTo ! * Ye clasp your babes and kiss ; Your bosoms yearn, your tears o'erflow,
Yet ah ! — remember this : The infant trained alone for earth May live, may die, to curse its birth ; Is this a mother's love ?
" A parent's love may prove a snare ; The child she loved so well, Her hand may lead with gentlest care
Down the smooth road to hell ; Nourish its frame, destroy its mind Thus do the blind mislead the blind, E'en with a mother's love."
The application will be apparent to you — the idolater of old brought his child to the flames, and after a few minutes of suffering_, its spirit winged its flight to the presence of its God. Fear not/^ says the Saviour, "those that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.''^ If we, by our neglect, by our counsel, or (what is more influential than either) by our example, destroy the souls of the children committed to us^ how will the comparison stand between ourselves and the ignorant and inhuman votaries of Moloch, in that day, when all alike, whatever their advantages or their disad- vantages, must render an account of their stewardship ?
But I pass from this digression to consider further the practice of offering human sacrifices. And first among the civilized and philosophic Greeks. Agamemnon, king of Mycene, offered up his daughter Iphigenia to obtain a favourable wind to cross a sea not wider than the British Channel, and a human sacrifice was offered again on his return. The Athenians and Massalians annually offered a man to Neptune. Menelaus, king of Sparta, being
12
PAGANISM.
detained by contrary winds^, offered up two Egyptian cliildren. Histor}^ allows it to transpire, tliat many of the Grecian states offered linman victims previously to undertaking an expedition or a war. At Eliodes, a man was offered to Chronos (agreeing witli Molocli) on tke 6tli of July, annually ; at Salamis, a man was offered in March, annually ; at Chios and Tenedos, a human victim was annually torn in pieces. Erecthens sacrificed, in Attica, his daughter ; Aristides sacrificed three nephews of the king ^f Persia; Tliemistocles sacrificed several noble persons. These men were not savages, bear in mind, but accounted wise, just, and benevolent in their day. In Thessaly, human sacrifices were offered ; the Pelasgians, in a time of scarcity, offered a tenth of their rJiildren ; in the Crimea, and among the Taurians, everij stranger shipwrecked, instead of receiving the rights of hospitality, was sacrificed to Diana ; her temple in Aricia was always served by a priest who had murdered his predecessor, and the Lacedemonians yearly offered her human victims, until the time of Lycurgus, who changed the custom into the sacrifice of flagellation, but boys were often whipped to death.
And to pass from the Greeks and their neighbours to Imperial Home; histor}^ incidentally acquaints us witli the fact that although probably less frequent, yet human sacrifices existed, and may be traced for many centuries. It was a custom to sacrifice annually thirty men, b}' throwing them into the Tiber, to obtain prosperity for the city. Livy mentions that two men and two women were buried alive to avert public calamities. Plutarch relates a similar sacrifice ; and Caius Marius offered his daughter Calpurnia to ensure success in an expedition against the Cimbri. It is true a law was passed (b.c. 96)
HUMAN SACEIFICi:?.
13
to put a stop to the practice, but this only proves that the custom existed. Besides which, the Pagan priest was oftentimes stronger than the civil magistrate, and the custom was not abolished although the law was promul- gated, for numerous instances are mentioned, even as late as A.D. 300, nearly 400 years after the passing of the law.*
From Greece and Eome let us proceed to other nations of a"ntiquity, and inquire what in this respect were the practices of Paganism.
Among the Tyrians the king frequentl}" offered his son to procure prosperity ; that this was the custom also among the Moabites, we gather from Scripture. In 2 Kings iii. 27, we read, on the occasion of the defeat of the king of Moab by the combined armies of Judah and Israel, " then he (king Mesha) took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering on the wall."" In New Testament times, Pilate mingled the blood of certain Galileans with his sacrifices. The Carthaginians followed the practice most extensively. On extraordinary occasions, multitudes of human victims were offered ; thus, during a battle between the Sicilians and Carthaginians under Amilcai-, the latter remained in the camp offering sacrifices to the deities of his country, and consuming upon one large pile the bodies of numerous victims. f Again, when Agatliocles was about to besiege Carthage, its inhabitants, fearing that their misfortunes were attributable to the anger of Saturn, because- they had offered him children of slaves and
* Yide Miihleisen's " Genuine and Spurious Rehgion," vol. ii. chap. iv. ; and Home's " Introduction to the Scriptures," voL i. chap, i., notes.
t Herod., lib. vii. c. 167.
14
PAGANISM.
foreigners only, instead of noble children, sacrificed two hundred children of the best famiHes to propitiate the offended deity, and three hundred citizens voluntary immolated themselves on the same occasion.* On another occasion, to celebrate a victory, the same people immo- lated all the handsomest of their captives, and the flame of the pile was so great that their camp was burned. t TertuUian, a Christian writer, says, that human sacrifices were common in Arcadia and at Carthage in his own day, even so recently as the third century of the Christian era.
And now to glance at the East. In Egypt, human victims were offered, and their ashes scattered over the land to procure fertility ; red-haired men were selected. During the dynasty of the Hyksos, Manetho states, three were sacrificed daily, that is, over 1000 in a year; among the Persians we learn, incidentally, that the same practice prevailed. On the occasion of Annestris, the wife of Xerxes, reaching the age of fifty, fourteen children were buried alive as a thank-offering to the gods. J With respect to the Assyrians, we do not possess as yet sufficient infor- mation as to their mythology to say with certainty that human sacrifices formed a part of their religious system ; but the recent discoveries on the site of Nineveh, and the recovery of the written Assyrian language, by the exertions of Colonel Eawlinson, disclose the fact that gods were wor- shipped, to whom, in other countries, human victims
* Diodorus Sic, xx. c. 14. t lb. XX. c 65.
J Besides the authorities already cited, numerous testimonies, drawn from classic authors, may be found in Harwood's " Intro- duction to the New Testament," Bryant's "Analysis of Antient Mythology," and Dr. Leland's " Advantage and ]S"ecessity of the Christian Eevelation."
172
ASSYRIAN CRUELTY. TONGUES TORN OUT. &C.
175
ASSYRIAN CRUELTY. EYES PUT OU-T 8< c .
HUMAN SACRIFICES.
15
were offered.* That the Assyrians formed no exception to the rule as regards the cruelty of Paganism, is evident, as representations of flaying alive and other atrocious acts pf cruelt}^, form part of the decorations of their royal palaces. [172 and 175.]
With regard to the Hindoos and Chinese, it will be more satisfactory to quote their existing or recent practices, as few of their ancient writings have come down to us. Of the Hindoos, even under European sway, we find it recorded in official documents — the public registers of Bengal — that in the matter of widow-burning alone, be- tween the years 1815 and 182 1, that is in about ten years, 5997 widows were burned alive; and the cruelty is still practised in parts beyond the influence of British rule. Drowning and burying alive are also common. Among the Chinese^ children are, in Tunquin, sacrificed by cutting in two or by poison ; and in Laos^ on founding a temple, the work is cemented by the blood of the first stranger who passes. Children are also thrown into the rivers_, as sacrifices to the water.
To come nearer home, let us inquire concerning the practice among the Pagans of northern Europe. Materials are scarce from which to ascertain facts, but from these abundant evidence of the practice, in all its malignity, may be eh cited. Harold, the Saxon king, slew two of his sons in order to obtain a storm to wreck the fleet of the Danes. In Russia, as late as the tenth century, a man was chosen by lot and sacrificed to appease the anger
* Kawlinson's " Outlines of History of As^^yria." The same researches disclose ihat the worship of the goddess Milytta pre- vailed, whose rites consisted of revolting obscenity. The same remark applies to Babylon.
PAGAN IS il.
of tlie gods. In Zealand, ninety-nine persons were annu- ally sacrificed to the god Swan-to-wite ; in Denmark, the same number of men, horses, cocks, and hawks. The Scandinavians sacrificed every captive to Odin. The Slavonian priests not only slew human victims, but drank their blood. The mode of destroying life differed, but the principle was the same, and appears to have been universal. The Galli killed with the stroke of an axe, so administered as not to deprive immediately of life, but to obtain con- vulsions in the victim by means of which omens could be obtained ; the Celts laid their victims on an altar, and opened the breast with a sword ; the Cimbri ripped up the bowels ; the Norwegians knocked out the brains with the yoke of an ox ; the Icelanders pierced the victim with arrows. In Britain, a wicker figure in the human form was filled with victims and burned.* [75.]
The details are not only revolting but, I fear, weari- some. I cannot, however, consider this part of the subject complete without glancing at countries which may be classed with, those of antiquity, notwithstanding almost nothing is known of their ancient history, for their religion is now, or was until very recently, in every sense Pagan, and it is safe to conclude ][t was the same at the period to which I more particularly^refer. I allude chiefly to the continents of America, Africa, and tho islands of the Pacific. In Mexico, the crime of sacri- ficing human victims appears to have reached its utmost development; no author estimates the number of tho victims annually at less than 20,000, and some carry the number as high as 50,000. On great occasions the number slaughtered became really appalling. At the dedication of th.e great temple Huitzilo-polchh, in the * Miihleisen, vol. ii. chap. 4.
HUMAN SACKIFICES.
17
year 1 186, the prisoners, who had been long reserved for the purpose, ranged iu files, formed a procession nearly two miles in length ; the ceremony lasted several days, and 70,000 are said to have perished. The companions of Cortez, the conqueror of Mexico, counted 136,000 skulls at one of their temples. When Montezuma, the last emperor of Mexico, was asked why he had suffered the republic of Tlascala to maintain her independence, he replied, '-That she might furnish me with victims for the gods."*^* On the occasions of seasons of drought, to pro- pitiate Theloc, the god of rain, children were sacrificed, dressed in fine robes, decked with the early blossoms of the spring. As they were carried along in litters to the place of slaughter, writers state that the cries of these innocents would have moved the hardest hearts. Not so ! they could not affect the hard hearts of the Pagan priests, w^ho, like the votaries of Moloch, drowned their cries with noisy music and chanting. To crown the picture, these innocent victims were generally bought by the priests from their po 07' parents ; and parents were found to sell their offspring. This was also the case with ancient Paganism. t Witlioid natural affections'* is indeed the true verdict of the inspired Apostle before referred to. But I must be brief in my remaining review of Pagan cruelty. The Fantih, and many other tribes of Africa, offer human sacrifices every new moon. In Ashantee, the worship of sharks and snakes is accompanied by human sacrifices in their most appalling forms. J The late king of Ashantee gave directions for the slaughter of 6000 slaves at his funeral, which hideous testament was put in execution. In every * Prescott's " Conquest of Mexico."
t Miihleisen's " Genuine and Spurious Eeligion," vol. ii. p. 299. X Hutchinson's " Western Africa."
2
18
PAGANISM.
discovered island of the Pacific the practice was found to prevail. At Otaheite^ appalling numbers were slaughtered: the eye of the victim being first taken out to present to the king. At the Marquesas Islands^ among the inhabi- tants of Palliser's and Harvey Islands, and of New Zealand_, they not only sacrificed their enemies, hut devoui^ed them.
It forms no part of my plan in this course of lectures to enter upon the inquiry, how the offering of sacrifices, and particularly human sacrifices, became universal. Suffice it to remark, in passing, that there is scarcely any practice of Paganism but may be traced to some founda- tion of truth. Thus sacrifices, whether oflfered by the Jews or the Pagans, recognized three great truths : firstly, that man had offended his God ; secondly, that some atonement must be offered, or recompense made to satisfy offended law; and, thirdly, that a vicarious atonement would suffice, that is, an innocent victim would be accepted in the place of the sinner himself. These ideas appear to have existed universally ; there is hardly a corner of the world in which they cannot be traced. They doubtless originated in the Divine communication made to man, in the earliest state of his existence, as to the method which had been devised for effecting reconciliation between fallen man and his offended Maker. The truth became corrupted, but conscience, by arousing incessantly man's guilty fears, prevented its being entirely lost. Feeling his need of a costly offering, and losing sight of the most costly of all offerings vvbi jh God had engaged to provide, man sought in the sacrifice of human life, which all value so highly, to provide an offering adequate to his guilt ; and thus arose a practice of sacrificing " the
INFANTICIDE.
19
fruit of tlie body fur the sin of the soul/^ It is not, how- ever, the origin of Pagan ideas, but the state of the Pagan world which is the subject of our lecture.
I must now iuquire, very briefly, if such were the re- ligious rites, what was the social and moral condition of Pagans at the period under review ?
The voice of history, fairly listened to, making all allowances for poetical hyperbole and philosophical mis- representations, asserts most unequivocally that the social condition of the people was wretched and degraded in the extreme.
Infanticide, the practice of destroying young children, prevailed almost as universally as those practices to which I have just alluded. Not in barbarous countries only, where it is still prevalent, such as India and China, and among some of the American tribes — where the digging of the grave by the mother precedes the birth of her child — but I refer again to polished Greece and civilized Rome.
Among the Athenians and Gauls, the laws authorized parents to destroy their children. At Sparta, the laws' of Lycurgus required the father to bring the child before an examining committee, and if found deformed or weakly, it was cast into a deep cavern near Mount Taygetus. Aristotle says, " it is necessary to expose (that is, to leave to perish) weak and sickly children, to prevent too rapid an increase of citizens.''^ Plato, in his ^' Model Republic/' provides that children likely to prove weakly should not see the light. So at Rome, the laws of Romulus gave parents authority to put their children to death. Erixo and Arius, Roman citizens, each flogged his son until he
20
PAGANIS^r.
expired.* Tertullian affirms ^'^ tliey exposed their sons, drowned them^ or allowed them to perish by famine or by dogs/' Cicero and Seneca both speak of the practice incidentally but treat it as a matter of course, without censure or even without comment. Terence describes one Chromes as " a man of universal benevolence/' but never- theless represents him as commanding his wife to expose her new-born infant, and flying into a passion with her for committing the painful and unnatural duty to another.f
* Seneca, de Clem., i., 4, 15.
t Yide Miihleisen, ii. chap. 4 ; also a paper in the " Leisure Hour," No. 8, 1852.
Child murder, particularly female infanticide, is thus referred to by a modern writer, Thomas Bacon, Esq., F.S. A., author of "Fir.^t Impressions and Studies from Nature in Hindustan," in a paper on Benares, in the "Oriental Annual," 1839, pp. 92—94:— " The revoltinor crime of infanticide was at one time carried to a great height in Benares and the adjacent districts; and there cnti be little doubt, by the account of the Mussulmans, that it is still occasionally practised, in defiance of the active measures for its
prevention adopted by the Government The great
supporters of this iniquitous practice were formerly the B,r,jh- •poots, the Rajhkomars, and the Ra.jhvansis, among whom a sintjle female infant was never permitted to exist ; nor did they consider their destruction as an act of sin or cruelty, though I am unable to believe, as many have affirmed, that they regard the sacrifice as an acceptable offering to the gods. It appears rather to have originated in convenience, on account of the ruinous expense attending their marriage, and to have been practised without fear of offence to the deities, for their belief is, that the souls of those daughters who were thus destroyed were eventually returned to them in the persons of sons; and when this did not appear to be borne out by the birth of a male child, it only followed that Siva was displeased, and conciliation was resorted to, until a son should really be born to them. In these cases it was usual to seek pro- pitiation by placing the next female infant in the hands of the
INFANTICIDE.
21
I cannot leave this subject without quoting the testimony of a vn-iter^ which will be the more valuable,, as he strove to paint heathenism in bright colours at the expense of Christianity. Gibbon writes thus : The exposure of children was the stuhhorn and ijrevailing vice of antiq^idfy ; it was sometimes prescribed, often permitted, almost always practised with impunity, even by nations who
Brahmin?, to be solemnly sacrificed in the temple of the Genesa, whereby that god might be moved to compassion for the babe and be induced to intercede with Siva for the future birth of male children to the parents. It is easy to perceive -whence this delu- sion had its commencement, since a handsome douceur to the immolating priests was an indispensable part of the ceremony, which in all respects differed from the method of destruction pri- vately used. In the latter place the operation was performed with very little former expense, by what the Hindoos call drinldng ndlk. So sooner had the sex of the infant been ascertained, than a caldron of warm milk was brought into the apartment where the mothei lay, and after prayers for the child's return in the form of a son, the little innocent was immersed in the milk, and held down until life became extinct, and then it was carried to the Ganges and thrown into the stream. When, however, the deed was committed to the Brahmins to be executed by way of sacrifice to Genesa, the poor babe was carried to the temple, and, being laid upon its back, was, after certain diabolical ceremonies, destroyed by the club of the inhuman /a/j/r." [76.]
The Eev. T. H. Home, in his admirable and learned work, " Introduction to the Study of the Holy Scriptures," states that '* not fewer than ten thousand children are computed tj be thus murdered (i.e., by abortion or after birth), in the single province of Bmgal, every month" (vol. i. p. 18). Speaking of China, he says : " Polygamy universally prevails, as also the cruel practice of ex- posing infants to perish ; not fewer than nine thousand of whom are computed to be annually destroyed at Pekin, and the same number in the rest of the empire" (vol, i. p. 19). See authorities referred to in that work for these statements.
PAGANIS^kl.
never entertained tlie Roman ideas of paternal power; and the dramatic poets^ who appeal to the human heart, represent with indifference a popular custom which was palliated by the motives of economy and compassion."
Let us next inquire what was the social condition of the femcde sex.
* Gibbon, in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," thus writes of the condition of children under the Roman laws: — "In his father's house he (the son) was a mere thing ; confounded by the laws with the moveables, the cattle, and the slaves, whom the capricious master might alienate or destroy, without being re- sponsible to any earthly tribunal (chap. xUv. p. 367). According to his discretion, a father might chastise the real or imaginary faults of his children by stripes, by imprisonment, by exile, by sending them to work in chains among the meanest of his servants. The majesty of the parent was armed with the power of life and death, and the examples of such bloody executions, which are sometimes praised and never j^umshed, may be traced in the annals of Rome beyond the times of Pompey and Augustus" (chap. xliv. p. 368). Such is the testimony of an enemy to Christianity to the cruelty of Paganism ; now mark his undesigned testimony to the amelio- rating and humanizing nature of Christianity in these respects : — "The Roman Empire was stained ivith the blood of infants, till such murders were included by Valentinian and his colleagues in the letter and spirit of the Cornelian Law" (chap, xliv, p. 371). This was about the year a.d. 438, after the triumph of Christianity, temp. Valentinian III.
An illustration of the treatment of children, at the height of Rome's civilization, may be found in the case of the execution of Sejanus, ^ew2J. Tiberius. His children, a boy and girl, too joung to partake of his guilt, were condemned to death with him. The girl, with infantine simplicity, asked what she had done, and pro- mised never to do it again, but neither youth, sex, nor innocence could shield her; in compliance with a vile custom, she was first ravished, then put to death. The bodies of both children, being dragged through the streets, were cast itito the Tiber. — See Ferguson's " Roman Republic," vol. v. p. 35L
CONDITION OF WOMEN.
23
"Woman was everywhere considered as inferior to man. In Hindostan, in China [ 76 ], and in the South Seas, female infants are still destroyed for this reason. In northern Bengal, /emaZe infants are suspended in baskets to the branches of trees, and perish by ants, flifes, and birds of prey. So much for the female sex in infancy ; but in after years, if she survived, woman was degraded to the lowest level. Aristotle writes, Women are a kind of monsters — the beginning of degeneracy of our nature.^^
Polygamy, that is, the practice of having many wives at the same time, although forbidden by the laws of some countries, was nevertheless universally prevalent. I need not point out to you that this practice is evidently con- trary to nature, which provides an almost absolute equality of the sexes. Neither need I say that it is a practice peculiarly degrading to woman, treating her as if she were incapable of the affectionate attachment which so distinguishes her sex ; affording her no opportunity of centering her affections upon one object, furnishing her, at best, with a divided heart.
Woman was defined by the laws of Rome, not as a person hut as a thing, and if the title to her were wanting, she could be claimed like other moveables * She was treated as the slave of man, not his helpmate, companion, and best friend ; was bought, sold, exchanged, betrothed, married, divorced, and separated from her children, with- out consent, often without mercy, as suited the caprice of her master — I cannot term him her husband ; who could lawfully put her to death, even for sipping his wine or using his keys.f
* Gibbon's " Dedine and Fall," chap. 44, p. 373. f Plin. Kat. Hist., xiv. 14; Plutarch, p. 57-
2i
PAGANISM.
It may not be unprofitable to listen to the living testi- mony of one who has witnessed the condition of woman under the influence of modern Paganism.* ^' Truly/^ he says, '^''the life of an Indian female, from the cradle to the' grave, is one of misery. Have we not heard the melancholy tale of the little one betrothed in early childhood to one who feels no interest in her, and on whom she looks only with awe ; from her wedding-day compelled to live a poor, down-hearted, abject slave ; wait- ing on her lord in silent and submissive servitude, perform- ing every menial office without one syllable of thanks or comfort; and on that awful day when death removes her tyrant, compelled to hum with him, a living holocaust, or to sit down beside him in the toinh whilst the earth covers them ahoue.-f [77.]
^^Or, again : have we not heard of India's daughters in the south, casting aside the feelings and tenderness of womanhood, and acting the Pey-adi in their demon- worship, with all its horrible accompaniments, drinldng the life-blood of the slavghtered victim even to intoxication, and whirling round in her unnatural frenzy till she sinks exhausted on the ground — herself the victim of her own
* Dr. Yidal's Sermon for the Society for Promoting Female Education in the East.
t " Between the years 1815 — 1820 there came under the notice of the Bengal Government the cases of no less than 62 girls under the age of eighteen, who were thus cruelly destroyed. The ages of these poor girls were as follows :— 14 were seventeen years old; 1 was sixteen and a half years ; 22 were sixteen years ; 6 were fifteen years ; 2 were fourteen years ; 2 were thirteen years ; 10 were twelve years ; 1 was ten years ; 3 were only eight years of age." ("The Pioneers, or Early Christian Missionaries of Bengal." G. Gogerly.) This barbarous custom of Suttee was abolished by Lord William Beutinck in 1830.
HINDOO
suttee:.
CONDITION OF WOMEN.
25
wild and terrible imaginiDgs and of that evil spirit to wbicli she has .devoted herself? When questioned as to the prospect of her soul^ her vacant answer is^ ^ My soul^ my mother? What soul have I? I am a woman; no, my mother^ no ; I am hut a tooman.'
Once more : let us direct our eyes more eastward, to the teemino- multitudes of China, that land of dwarfed and stunted promise ; how is it with the female there ? Oh ! what a tale of woe does that single fact reveal, which meets us on the very threshold_, which stares us in the face the moment we set foot upon her shores ; I mean the prevalence of horrible infanticide, by which the female infant is consigned to death as soon as born, murdered without compunction, as the almost unavoidable necessity attaching to its sex. Where it is accounted a disgrace and a misfortune to he the father of a Jemcde child — where two such children out of every four fail victims to this terrible delusion, what can we expect with reference to the lot of the survivors ? Thus debased, despised, counted unfit to live, a disgrace and reproach to the family of which she ought to be the ornament and honour, the Chinese female may be well described as joining her lament to those of her Mahometan and Indian sisters. ' Is it nothing: to you, all ye that pass by ? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow^ which is done unto me.'^^
I could weary you with tales of cruelty and of blood- shed, arising from the Pagan view of the social position of woman. But enough has been said, I trust, to satisfy you that woman, at least, has been a gainer wherever she has escaped from the influence of Paganism. But yjou may imagine that, as I have dwelt upon the misery of childhood and womanhood under Paganism, I have little
26
PAGANISM.
to say concerning tlie social and moral condition of society ganerally.
In every picture tliere are points which first arrest our attention, from the strength with which they stand out from the canvas. It is so with regard to the picture which history and literature have left of the times when Paganism was everywhere triumphant. As we begin to read, we are struck by isolated acts of cruelty or injustice towards certain classes, and particularly towards the help- less ; continuing to peruse and to reflect, we are im- pressed with the general depravity, misery, and degrada- tion of the whole of society, from the emperor to the slave j and reasoning upon the matter, we arrive at the certain conclusion that, had not all ranks and classes- and both sexes been alike degraded, a loud, indignant protest from some class must have been heard rising above the wails of misery and the frenzied shouts of their bacchanalian orgies.
But you will require something in the shape of facts, to enable you to come to a verdict upon this statement. I will furnish you with a few illustrations, gathered from a field which would yield a plentiful crop of like baneful testi- monies ; first, referring to the rulers and governors, then to the common people or freemen, and, lastly to the slaves.
The histories of the lives of the Roman emperors, their families, and connections, with few and therefore re- markable exceptions, exhibit all the vices of which fallen nature is capable ; could their biography be written in the Newgate Calendar of our day, it would blacken its pages. As these emperors were frequently raised to the imperial purple by the voice of popular election, or that voice ratified and confirmed their appointment, it will be
CHARACTEE OF RULERS.
27
obvious that they reflect tlie social condition of tlie masses who assisted them to rank and dignity. Not to appear invidious in making a selection, I will briefly enumerate the crimes attributed to a few of the first and greatest of the Caesars.
Julius CgesaTj the successful soldier and talented general_, slew in war^ mostly waged for the advancement of himself and the gratification of his inordinate ambition, upwards of eleven hundred thousand me?i,* and corrupted, according to the statement of a talented Frenchman who has reviewed his life, one half of the ladies of rank and influence at Eome. " Ctesar,''^ says he, " who destroyed the agents of his crimes if they failed in address ; Csesar,
the husband of every wife, has
been accounted a great man by the mob of writers ; the talents of this singular man, and the good fortune which constantly attended him till the moment of his assassina- tion, have concealed the enormity of his actions. t
Augustus, one of the best of the emperors, was guilty of heartless adultery and gross licentiousness ; his only daughter, Julia, became infamous for her abandoned con- duct, for which she was banished by her father, to the influence of whose example her corrupt actions must be attributed.
Tiberius, who succeeded Augustus, was a monster of cruelty, intemperance, and debauchery. " Not only his relations and friends, but the great and opulent were sacrificed to his ambition, cruelty, and avarice ; and there was scarcely in Rome one single family that did not re- proach him for the loss of a brother, a father, or a husband. He at last retired to the island of Caprese, on
* Piatt's "Universal Biography," vol. i. p. 651. t M. Ophellot, " Melanges Philosophiques."
28
PAGANISM.
the coast of Campania, where he buried himself in un- lawful pleasures. In his solitary retreat he proposed rewards to such as invented new pleasures, or could pro- duce luxuries. He disgraced himself by the most un- natural vices and enormous indulgences, which can draw a blush even upon the countenance of the most de- bauched and abandoned."^ His intemperance was such, that it was wittily observed by Seneca, "that he was never intoxicated but once in his life, for he continued in a perpetual state of drunkenness from the time he gave himself up to drinking until the last moment of his exis- tence/^
Yet Tiberius, with his predecessors Juhus and Augustus, and many of their successors, were, after death, rui.sed to tlte vanh of god^, and icorsldp^ed as dicinities at Rome. If such were thy gods, Eoman citi- zens, what must have been the condition of yourselves ?
Caligula, next in succession, committed the most atro- cious acts of impiety, cruelty, and folly. He began his career of wickedness by murdering several of his rela- tions, senators, and people of rank. He openly married his own sister Drusilla, and on her death caused divine honours to be paid in temples built to her. For his favourite horse he erected a palace, with a marble stable and ivory rack, and fed him with gilt^ barley out of a golden cup. He introduced his said horse to the temple in the vestments of the priest of Jupiter, and caused sacrifices to be offered to himself, his wife, and his steed. He married several wives, whom he pat away one after another. Cruelty became in him an inordinate habit ; he gave directions for a murder on one occasion, in these
* Piatt's "Universal Biography," vol. i. pp. 709—711.
CnARACTER OF EULERS.
words^ Strike in such a manner that he mm/ feel hlmseif die.^^ On another occasion he exclaimed^ Would to heaven that the Eoman people had but one head, that it might be struck off at a blow He seems, as Seneca observe?^ to have been brought forth by nature for the express purpose of showing how much mischief could be effected by the greatest depravity^ supported by the highest power.
Claudius^ apparently by nature of a weak and inoffen- sive turn of mind, commenced his reign so as, in some degree^ to i*edeem the character of his chiss, and to win the respect of the Eoman people ; but his wife Messalina supplies us with an illustration of the social and moral condition of the high-born at that period^ which might be considered as wanting in the person of the emperor. Her name has become infamous in relation to all that is abandoned in her sex ; she was no less noto- rious for cruelty, which her influence over the emperor enabled her to perpetrate in his name. It would be tedious to enumerate all her acts, suffice it to state the members of his own family whose deaths she procured : Appius Silanus, who married the emperor's mother-in- law, Silanus and Pompey, his sons-in-law, and his two nieces, the Livias. Suetonius, also informs us, tliat thirty- five senators and above three hundred kuights were executed by Claudius. The most extraordinary event in his reign was the puhlic i.iarriaqe of Messalina, the empress, to a young noble named Silius, during the temporary absence of the emperor at the sea- coast. That abandoned woman, not content with the most undis- guised display of her fondness for her paramour, had
* Piatt's " Universal Biography,'' vol. ii. p. 10.
30
PAGANISM.
resolved to show lier contempt for all ordinary decency by this step ; they were married in sight of the whole city, with all the accustomed nuptial ceremonies. What must have been the moral condition of the people who couldj complacently and without excitement to riot, wit- ness such conduct in high places ? Messalina having been put to death, the emperor married his niece, who endeavoured to emulate Messalina's conduct, and even- tually poisoned her imperial husband.*
Nero succeeded Claudius, and most appropriately closes my catalogue. He appears to have attained an eminence in all that is disgraceful to human nature, which has never been surpassed. He frequented, nightly, in dis- guise, all the scenes of debauchery which Rome contained, acted publicly at the theatre, contended in a state of nudity at the public games, and before the assembled people displayed the most abominable conduct which it is possible to conceive, and is impossible to describe. He caused Rome to be set on fire in different places, and during several days enjoyed the dreadful scene to which his atrocious barbarity had given rise, playing upon a lyre on the top of his palace, and singing the destruction of Troy. To crown all, this monster having failed in a deliberately -planned scheme for drowning his own mother, caused her to be assassinated.f
Such were the first emperors of Rome ; were I to continue the scrutiny further it would but weary and disgust, and the result would be generally the same. Although a Titus, a Nerva, or a Trajan happily arise at intervals to vary the history, yet a Domitian, insisting
* Piatt's "Universal Biography," vol. ii. p. 4. t Piatt's "Universal Biography," vol. i. p. 717, etc.; vol. ii. pp. 10—12.
CHARACTER OF RULERS.
31
npon being styled God/^ but addicted to incest and killing flies ; a Commodus, wbo dishonoured all liis sisters^ and cut off the noses of Lis courtiers under pretence of sLaving them ; a Caracalla^ who murdered his wife and his own brother in his mother^s arms ; and a Helioga- balus_, w^ho chose a senate of abandoned women_, and exalted his horse to the dignity of the consulate^ but too completely confirm my statements regarding the moral and social condition of ' those who bore rule in Kome.
The general condition of society may be gathered from what has preceded. The Romans, as a people, must have been strangely corrupted, to have been incapable of protecting themselves from such detestable vice and tyranny, practised by so many of their emperors ; ex- treme degeneracy of the people must have deprived them of all right principles, morals, and sentiments, before such excesses of absolute power could have taken place. If there be anything of generous and masculine public opinion exhibited, it has been generally found sufficient to make the laws of society and the requirements of decency respected, even in states not so free as was ancient Rome.
The moral state of a populace may be conveniently estimated by the mode in which the hours of relaxation are spent, and by the character of the amusement suited to the popular taste. In this respect history aff'ords abundant evidence of the degraded morals of the Roman people. Their amusements consisted chiefly of public games, carried forward in their spacious amphitheatres, which were almost invariably accompanied either by gross indecency or by frightfal cruelty and waste of life. With
PAGANISM.
respect to tlie first class of representations, it will be sufficient to state tliat riots on more than one occasion took place, when, out of respect to common decency, reformation of this abuse was attempted.
A few words on their cruel sports, and particular!}" the (jlaJiatorial comhats, will not be uninstructive.
In the earliest records the practice of slaying do- mestic animals, captives, or slaves at the tombs of departed kings and chieftains may be traced, and it appears to have existed in many nations widely separated from one another. Indeed, to the present day the practice prevails among many of the American-Indian and African tribes, and numerous examples might be cited from the funereal rites with which Achilles honoured the pyre of his friend Patroclus, and the funereal pile of the king of Assyria, mentioned by Diodorus, on which all the king^s wives were burned, to that of the Hindoo suttee, and the burial of the mother of the king of Ashantee in 1817, w^hen three thousand human beings Avere immolated.
The practice, however, was so congenial to the tastt s of a cruel populace, that it became a matter of oiavsemf.nt, and these games were common at Rome, even in tLe period of the republic; while under the emperors they assumed a magnitude which astonishes and almost passes belief.
They consisted of contests waged betw^een brute beasts, or between men and wild beasts, and gladiatorial combats between man and man. Various buildings were set apart for these cruel exhibitions; and the Flavian Amphitheatre, now known as the Colosseum, the largest building the world has seen, capable of seating a hundred
CRUEL SPORTS.
33
thousand persons^ was specially dedicated to this fiendish sport.
And first with respect to tlie animal comhafs, it is astonishing to read of the nnmber of animals wantonly excited against one another and slain. As early as the year 251 B.C., the slaughter of one hundred and forty-two elephants in the circus is mentioned.* In the year 168 B.C., sixty- three panthers, and forty bears and elephants made sport for the Romans ; f from this time combats between elephants and lions, lions and bulls, bears and elephants, etc., recur so frequently, that it would be tedious to recite the instances. The evil, however, increased in magnitude as the empire advanced, as may be gathered from the almost incredible number of animals said to have been slaughtered. A hundred lions were exhibited by Sulla and destroyed by javelin- men. J At games given by Pompey, B.C. 55, immense numbers were put to death, among which are mentioned six hundred lions and twenty elephants. Julius C^sar, in his third consulship, B.C. 45, gave an entertainment of the kind, which lasted five days, in which giraffes were first intro- duced, and men from Thessaly combated with infuriated bulls. The hippopotamus, rhinoceros, crocodile, and rattle-snake were introduced by subsequent emperors to vary the sport. At the consecration of the grand amphi- theatre of Titus, Jive tliousand wild beasts and four thou- sand tame animals were killed ;§ while Trajan, celebrated among Roman emperors for his clemency, on the occasion of a victory over the Dacians, slaughtered as many as eleven thousand animals in the rejoicings which followed. ||
* Pliny, Nat. Hist., viii. 6. f Livy, xxxix. 18.
X Seneca de Brev. Vit. 13. § Suet. Tit. 7 ; Dion. Cass., Iv. 25. II Dion. Cass., Ixvii. 15.
3
3i
PAGANISM.
But tlie half has not been told ; numerous as were the animals put to death in these games_, they were as nothing compared with the multitudes of human heings who were slaughtered in cold blood to satisfy the unnatural and depraved craving for scenes of bloodshed and cruelty. Passing over all reference to those who fell in the combats with wild animals^ I proceed to consider the gladiatorial combats^ conducted solely by men. [78, '<9.] The combatauts were generally captives taken in war^ slaves^ or condemned criminals, though frequently free- born citizens entered the lists for hire.
As they fight/^ says a modern writer, ^' the spec- tators narrowly and eagerly watch each blow ; when one is wounded, the exulting cry, ' Hahet, Jiahet' (he has it, he has it), rings through the amphitheatre. If the wound be so severe as to disable him, he lowers his arms in token of defeat ; then, raising his hand, looks up to the people with mute, imploring gaze, asking them to spare his life. If he has acquitted himself very well, or has in any way won the favour of the spectators^ his request may perhaps be granted ; but when their passions and thirst for blood have been excited, or if he have shown any signs of fear, his death is inevitable. The people give the well-known fatal signal by turning up their thumbs. As he rolls his dim, despairing eyes along the crowded benches, and meets only the merciless gaze of men and women, from whose hearts every vestige of pity has been effaced, he yields himself to his fate. The conqueror plunges his sword into the breast of his old companion ; the blood gushes forth and dyes the sand ; the attendants come in, strike a hook into the mangled corpse, drag it out, strew fresh sand or sawdust over the spot ; a showier of perfumed w^aters refreshes the specta-
MORAL DEPRAVITY,
35
tators j tlie bets which have been won or lost are settled^ and then the sports begin again ; and the same scene is repeated through the whole day, and often for many days in succession. Sometimes^ to render the sports more attractive, the lihelli (handbills) announced that they would he ^ sine missione/ that is, that no defeated gladiator would be spared.''^ Lipsius, the great authority on this question, reckons that the combats of the amphi- theatre cost from twenty to thirty thousand lives per months and adds, that no war ever waged has caused so much slaughter as these games. When we reflect that the throng of eager spectators included all classes, from the emperor to the meanest slave — the knight, the senator, the priest, the matroD, the vestal virgin — all the pomp and refinement with all the rudeness and brutality of the empire — swelled the crowd which flocked to glut its eyes with blood, and to exult in the cries and groans of the wounded and the dying — we shall feel no difficulty in estimating the moral condition of the people under the influence of Paganism in the refined and civilized Au- gustan age.*
The limits of a single lecture render it impossible to allude to all the evils resulting from the Pagan system ; the following illustrations of moral depravity may be, however, adduced. f Profane swearing was commended, if not by the precepts, yet by the example of the best heathen moralists — particularly Socrates, Place, and Seneca, in whose works numerous oaths occur. Many of them not only pleaded for self-murder, as Cicero, Seneca,
* Vide Smith's " Dictionary of Eoman and Greek Antiqui- ties," articles Venatio, Bestiarii, and Gladiatores, and a paper in the Leisure Hour, 1852, No. 6.
f Home's Introduction, vol. i., pp. 13, 14.
36
PAGANISM.
and otliers,* but carried about witli tliem the means of destruction , of wliicli tliey made use ratlier than fall into the hands of their adversaries^ as did Demosthenes, C'ato, Brutus, Cassius, and others. Truth was of small account among many, even the best of heathens; for they taught that, on many occasions, " a lie teas to he preferred to the teuth itself/'' In support of this start- ling statement, Mr. Horne quotes many passages from Pagan writers.
One more statement with respect to the moral and social condition of mankind under the Pagan system, and my case is closed.
Slavery, the practice of buying, selling, and holding in bondage human beings, was universal throughout the Pagan world.
You will meet me with an objection, possibly, upon this head, by reminding me that slavery was permitted by the Almighty under the Jewish dispensation. It is perfectly true that a modified bond-service was permitted under the Mosaic economy, but the institution differed most essentially from that which prevailed in Pagan nations.
Slavery among the Jews could arise, legally, either from captivity in war, insolvency, or from inability to make restitution in case of theft. In the first case, it is very doubtful whether modified bondage was not a mer- ciful practice in the age in which Moses lived. The horrible mutilations and other cruelties practised on captives were so universal among the Gentile nations, that bondage among the Jews would be a preferable state of existence. In the other cases referred to, slavery * Seneca, De Ira, lib. iii. c. 15.
SLAVERY.
87
was permitted by way of punishment,, just as fraudulent insolvency and theft are punished among ourselves by deprivation of liberty.
Man-stealing, that is^ taking an individual by force (except in the cases above alluded to)^ and selling him into slavery^ or retaining him as a slave^ is severely re- primanded by the law of Moses^ and made punishahle ivith death.
And with respect to the condition of those who could legally be detained in bondage under the Jewish law^ the following most important modifications of the insti- tution mark the position of the bond-servant as infinitely superior to that of the slave who groaned under the iron bondage of Pagan taskmasters.
They were to be treated with humanity (Lev. xxv. 39 — 65)^ and the injunction is enforced by the powerful argument, For unto Me,'' says God, ^'the children of Israel are servants, they are My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt.^^ They were not to be punished severely ; and, in case of the death of a ser- vant, the master was amenable to punishment (Exodus xxi. 20, 21). If a master injured a bond-servant in eye, tooth, or member, he was to receive his freedom (Exodus xxi. 26, 27). They were to enjoy rest and religious pri- vileges on every Sabbath-day and festival, so that, at least, one-seventh of their time was redeemed from labour (Exodus xx. 10; Deut. v. 14). They were to be invited to certain feasts (Deut. xii. 17, 18, etc.) They were to receive adequate subsistence (Deut. xxv. 4, etc.) The master was bound to provide for the marriage of a female servant, to take her to himself, or betroth her to his son (Exodus xxi. 8, et seq.) No servant of Hebrew
* Exod. xxi. 16 ; Deut. xxiv. 7.
38
PAGANISH!.
origin could be obliged to serve more than six years, after wliicli time lie must be dismissed witli bis wife, and presents of considerable value (Exodus xxi. 2 — 4 ; Lev. XXV. 1 — 17). Even before the expiration of the six years, they might redeem themselves, or be redeemed by another, by purchase adequate in amount to the remain- ing years of service (Lev. xxv. 47 — 55). On the year of Jubilee, at the sounding of the silver trumpets, all He- brew servants or slaves were to be emancipated (Lev. xxv. 40, 41). Slaves of Hebrew birth were permitted to hold property, as may be learned from Lev. xxv. 49, and 2 Sam. ix. 10; and, lastly, a fugitive slave from another nation, who sought refuge among the Hebrews, was to be received and treated kindly, and not to be forcibly sent bac'k again (Deut. xxiii. 15, 16).
We see, then, that slavery, as it existed among the Jews, was, to those of Hebrew descent, little more than servitude or apprenticeship among ourselves ; while the foreigner, taken captive in war, received better treat- ment than he could have expected in such times, had he fallen into the hands of Pagan idolaters ; with the privi- lege of admission to the benefits of union with God^s people, by right of circumcision, which was to be admi- nistered to him, and the enjoyment of a Sabbath of rest, and kind treatment, enjoined and enforced by the laws which regulated his master^s conduct.
Nor must it be overlooked that the Mosaic economy was both temporary and imperfect (Heb. vii., viii., and xi., passim) ; and as our Lord explained that divorce "vyas permitted by Closes on account of hardness of heart, S(^ a modified bond- service was doubtless permitted on account of covetousness, which, in such times, would have resulted in gross cruelty and great destruction of
SLAVERY.
39
life, unless it liad been permitted a more convenient and merciful exercise in tlie retention of the services of cap- tives.
Concerning slavery, as practised by professing Cliris- tians, a few words will be necessary in the next lecture.
And now I proceed^ very briefly, to depict the con- dition of slaves under Pagan masters, particularly in Greece and Eome.
The practice appears to have been universally per- mitted and approved ; not one philosopher has been found to object to it in its grossest forms : many of tlie more cele- brated philosophers are known to have kept slaves them- selves. Even Plato, in his " Perfect State,^^ desires onh' that Greeks should not be enslaved. In Attica, a district not larger than an English county, there were at one time 150,000 slaves j while history informs us that at Rome, one Scaurus had 8000 slaves ; and a Roman senator in the reign of Augustus, dying, left, with other property, 4116 slaves. In the reign of Julius Ci^sar, the slaves were more numerous than the freemen, and the proportion afterwards assumed so alarming au aspect, both in Greece and RoQie, that slaves were forbidden to wear a distinguishing dress, lest it should acquaint them with the fact of their numerical superiority. By the laws of Rome they were considered chattels -/^ were bought, sold, exchanged, without restraint ; could be punished at the pleasure of their master, and put to death by him at his own will. They possessed no legal tights, any more than a horse or a cow may be said to have leofal rio-hts, and whatever treatuient thev received, could not appeal to any court of law, unless some humane
40
PAGANISM.
citizen allowed the appeal to be made in liis name. The property of the slave was the property of his master. I cannot say that the wife of the slave was his master's property also^ for the Roman law considered the slave incapable of legal marriage, and therefore he had no wife ; his children belonged to his master, and were sold or exchanged, as it pleased him. If examined at law, his testimony must be extorted by torture.
It is true that laws were made to restrain cruelty to slaves, and to ensure to them adequate sustenance ; but as the slave had no right of appeal to the law, of what use could the law be to him ? Some of these laws show the abject condition to which he was reduced : one law obliges masters to give each slave one pound of corn daily ; another restrains mutilation of their persons, their limbs, and tongues ; another prohibits the compulsion of slaves to combat with wild beasts at the shows, and requires for that purpose the license of the judicial authorities ; another law forbids the forcible subjection of female slaves to prostitution ; while it transpires that one Pollio, a knight in the time of Augustus, and a friend of that emperor, was reprobated^' for his irregular conduct, in throwing slaves alive into a pond to feed lampreys for his table.* It was a practice with men of rank to keep slaves in a state of nudity, chained up at the doors of their dwelliugs — your equals and mine, in the sight of God, possessed of mental powers and im- mortal souls — converted into watch-dogs. The story of Lazarus, which you read in the New Testament, is no exaggerated picture, when applied to Rome at the height of her civilization. Moreover, the dogs came and licked
* Art. Pollio Vedins, Lempriere's " Classical Dictionary."
SOCIAL AND MORAL CONDITION.
41
his sores. •'^ Dogs, more merciful tlian man, when his mind is altogether alienated from God. This is no libel. The office of the chained, wounded, and hopeless crea- tures was to warn the household in case of attempted assassination (a daily occurrence at that period). As gratitude could not, of course, be expected to influence the slave, fear was resorted to as a motive ; it was death to the watch-dog if the master fell. The slave had the option of death by the assassin, if faithful, or death by his master, if silent ; and history mentions, incidentally, two such cases, in one of which two slaves suffered, and in the other, the four hundred slaves of Pedanius Secundus were put to death.*
*' Slaves to be lash'd and tortur'd and resold, Or maim'd or murder'd for a fine of gold. Helots degraded, scarce esteem'd as man. Having no rights, for ever under ban, Were half the world when ancient Homer sung, And wit and wisdom flowed from Plato's tongue. Slaves were the swarming multitudes of Rome, Having no hope, no thought of better doam ; — Fetter'd in body and enslaved in mind, Their mental eyeballs sear, and dark, and blind, They crawl'd mere brutes, and if they dar'd complain, Were lash'd and torturd until tame again " f
But I must gather up my subject to bring it to a conclusion.
I have set before you the leading features of Paganism,
* Tacitus, Annal. xiv. pp. 42 — 44. The principal facts regard- i ng slavery have been gathered from Jahn's "Archseologia Biblica," the Cyclopaedia of the Society for Diffusing Useful Knowledge, and Maunder's " Scientific and Literary Treasury," article Slavery. Also Home's Introduction, vol. i. pp. 12, 13.
t Dr. Mackay's "Hope of the World."
42
PAGANISM.
the system wliicli swayed tlie world in tlie Augustan age. I have told you somewhat of the cliaracter of that system; its pantheistic, sacerdotal, and ceremonial nature. I have hinted at the gross obscenity and spoken of the flagrant cruelty of its rites. I have endeavoured to convey a just idea of the moral and social condition of the world under its influence ; its effects upon the morality and the happiness of children, females, rulers, people, and slaves.
The picture is indeed a dark, a revolting one ; any one who attentively and thoughtfully reads the history of those times, must become convinced that mankind, with few exceptions, had become as degraded, as sinful, as ignorant of truth, as cruel, as vindictive, and withal as vjretclied, as it is possible to conceive. Eevenge, public and private, had come to be accounted virtue. ^Yar, bloodshed, and violence conferred the highest glory ; shame and decency, both public and private, were well- nigh lost ; the cruelty and ferocity of the people were such, that the blood shed for their gratification would have more than satiated a community of tigers.
Things which in our days would create a riot if attempted, then created riots when 'prevented; while man had universally enslaved his fellow-man. With all this the greatest insecurity of life existed ; all went armed everywhere, a needful precaution, for assassinations and poisonings were of daily occurrence, and men were not ashamed to ask of the gods to speed the dagger or the poison bowl. Thinking men were longing, hoping, and looking, they knew not to whom, for deliverance, being filled with terror or with loathing at what they witnessed. Every Pagan god they could invent, or borrow from conquered nations, had his altars and his temples, and
IMPEOVEMEXT.
43
wa.s supplicated for relief ; from tlie likeness of cor- ruptible man and birds and four-footed beasts/^ they descended to deify tlie very sinls and seu'ers, diseases, jxissions, vermin, and vices, until all hope of remedy appears to have been given up.
Plato's opinion has been already quoted — ''men had sunk lower than the basest of the brutes/' Pliny writes : Nothing certain upon earth is to be found,, and nothing- is found so miserahle yet so proud as man.'' Tacitus anticipates the end of the worlds ''on account of the corruptions of mankind.'' Seneca writes : "J// is replete with crime, and vice everywhere ahounds. More evil is committed than can possibly he healed; ihe struggle and confusion are becoming more desperate, while lust daily grows into sin ; shame is rapidly declining ; veneration for what is pure and good is unknown ; every one yields to hi^ own lusts. Vice no longer hides in secret, it is made piihlic to cdl eyes ; depravity has so far advanced, that innocence has become not only more rare, hut is now a thing alto- gether [JXKNOWN.-"*
And what is the lesson ^vhich we learn from the sub- ject of to-nig]it's lecture ?
That neither learning, nor civilization, nor philo- sophy, NOR ALL OF THEil COMBINED, CAN OF THEMSELVES MAKE PEOPLE EITHER VIRTUOUS OR HAPPY.
Contrasted with our own times and country a marked difference is observable, both as it regards morality and the social condition of all classes : there is now more of security, of virtue, of solid comfort and happiness in society, in families and with individuals. I am not pre- pared to-night, even if time permitted, to enter into the
* Seneca, De Ira, ii. cap. 8.
44
PAGANISM.
question^ '"''to wliat is tliis difference to be attributed?^'' but I will siraply observe that^ whatever it may be, it is not civilization, not the cultivation of arts and of letters, not the study of philosophy ; for, observe, all these had arrived at the greatest perfection in the ancient world, when the greatest depravity and wretchedness prevailed. The Augustan age has become proverbial, as I stated in the outset, for the encouragement given to the fine arts, to literature, and to learning. We have no sculptors whose works can compare with those of Phidias and Praxi- teles ; no architecture which can exceed in excellence the Parthenon at Athens, or the Forum at Rome ; no epic poet like Virgil ; no lyrical poet to excel Horace ; of original and profound thinkers we have none like Plato and Seneca ; no historians more gifted than the Plinys, than Tacitus, than Sallust, than Plutarch; no actor like Roscius, nor orator to excel Cicero.
Our amehorated condition, then, must be attributable to some other influence than that of mere learning, or civilization, or cultivation of the arts ; and the lesson, so far as we can learn it to-night, appears to be that the world by wisdom (philosophy) knew not God.'' ^
The remarks of a recent writer,t applying to the great Assyrian empire, which had well-nigh passed away before Rome was founded, are so applicable to the case of Rome and of Grece, and to all the Pagan empires of antiquity, and are withal so suited for the consideration of ourselves, in these days, that I quote them as an appropriate conclusion and improvement to this lec- ture : —
* 1 Cor. i. 21.
t " Nineveh : its Rise and Ruin." By Rev. J. Blackburn, p. 142, second edition.
lilPEOVEMEXT.
45
" It is plain that human nature amongst the Assyrians was not^ physically or intellectually^ in an infantile or dwarfish state. If we contemplate their figures upon the sculptured panels in our Maseum^ we must acknowledge their frames were finely developed^ and that they have the aspect of a brave and noble race, fitly compared by the prophet to lions, in their terrible presence and majestic bearing. And if we mark their intellectual progress, as seen in their discoveries in astronomy, their taste in art, their knowledge and skill in manufactures, their power and prowess in arms, we must confess that they betray no signs of intellectual feebleness. And yet, with all these advantages, what were they ? Avaricious, lewd, drunken, lawless, oppressive, cruel. The scenes of re- finement, splendour, and magnificence which surrounded them gave, perhaps, grace and dignity to their man- ners, but no purity to their characters, nor kindness to their hearts. Like all the great nations of antiquity that surrounded or succeeded them, they were the victims of ignorance and vice, of war and despotism. The first object of all governments — the happiness of the people — was never considered by their rulers ; and consequently they were used as the tools of sanguinary princes and idolatrous priests, who placed national happiness and glory in martial spoils and constrained proselytes. The slavery they imposed upon their miserable captives must often have been more bitter than death. It is, in fad, plain from all history, whether of nations or individuals, that the hnoidedge of arts and letters is not sufficient to renew the heart or life of those who cultivate them. Emi- nent attainments in both have been made by men destitute of moral sense, and the slaves of every low, selfish, de- grading vice. They have lived amidst the loveliest scenes
46
PAGANISM.
of nature and of art ; all tlie soft and elevating influences of tlie beautiful and the sublime have fallen upon them in vain ; and the fairest countries have witnessed the foulest crimes. Whilst_, then^ we rejoice in the progress of art, science_, and literature amongst ourselves, and are thank- ful to witness museums and menageries, picture-galleries, and schools of art, parks, and pleasure-gardens, provided for the people — and admit that these occupations may divert their attention from grosser and more grovelling pursuits — yet we hold that all these are compatible with proud, selfish^ sensual, and godless hearts, manifesting both misanthropy towards their fellow -men and a haughty rebellion against the Most High. It is by the influ- ence OE Divine truth alone that men are to be rk-
STOEED TO a HAPPY CONFOEMITY TO THE MOEAL CHARACTER
OP God.
LECTUEE 11.
CHRISTIANITY.
" To give light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death." — Luke i. 79.
Our last lecture closed amidst the gloom and shadows of Pagan darkness. We left man^ who had shut his eyes to the light of natural religion — or that which may be learned of God from Nature — and with whom the last glimmering of primeval revelation had gone out, groping his way in almost utter hopelessness of finding any light to guide his forlorn footsteps. We listened to the complainings and forebodings of virtuous men ; we noted the reckless depravity of the bad. It is now my office to inform you that, amidst all that called for despondency and despair, there existed, nevertheless, a very prevalent anticipation of deliverance — an almost universal looking or waiting for a deliverer. It is true this idea was undefined, and con- sequently imperfectly appreciated, but it was generally entertained among all the nations whose literature has, to any extent, come down to us ; and, what is more worthy of remark, the expectation had reached its height at the Augustan age — the period to which I particularly refer in these lectures.
The H'mdoos were expecting another Avata, or incar- nation of their chief god, and that Avata a most important one as it regarded the destinies of the human race. Among the Persians, who followed the teaching of
48
CHRISTIANITY.
Zoroaster, their Sosiosh, Man of the World/' was ex- pected. The Chinese, according to Confacius, were " to look for the holy one from the west." The Pythian oracle among the Greeks and the Etruscan priests in Italy had alike predicted their own overthrow. The Sybil prophetess had spoken of the coming of the Lord of the earth.* Chaldean astrologers travelled, as you know, to Judea, prepared with kingly gifts to offer to the expected de- liverer.f Herod, the governor of Judea, entertained the same expectation, and consulted the council of the Sanhe- drim as to the birth-place of this great One ; being in- formed that the Jewish prophet had foretold it should be at Bethlehem, he sent and killed all the young children there, hoping to compass his destruction. Devout Jews, such as Simeon and Anna, were waiting in the Jewish temple for his appearance, convinced that the time was at hand. J
So we see that ancient writers gave currency to the tradition ; crafty Pagan priests and * pretended prophets worked up the popular belief into feigned communications from heaven ; cruel rulers dreaded that which all antici- pated ; and holy men and women waited for the " con- solation of Israel" and of the world. All of them, good and bad, are witnesses of a prevalent anticipation of coming interference in the aflPairs of men.
But Rome is more especially the field of our inquiry ; and as she has left to our times a large mass of literature, we may expect to find there especial reference to this looking for deliverance from evil. Suetonius, the Roman historian, says : An ancient and settled persuasion prevailed, throughout the East, that the Fates had de-
* Miihleisen's " Genuine and Spurious Keligion," vol. i. p. 185. t Matt. ii. 1, 2. X Luke ii. 25—35, 36—38.
A DELIVERED ANTICIPATED. 49
creed some one to proceed from Jiidea, who should attain universal empire.* Tacitus writes : " Many were persuaded that it was contained in the ancient books of their priests, that at that very time the East should pre- vail, and that some one should proceed from Judea, and possess the dominion. ■'■'f Josephus and Philo both state that there existed the same expectation.
About the time when Augustus was born — some sixty years B.C. — the anticipated coming of a king, a con- queror, or a deliverer had even passed into a proverb — was referred to in the senate, and was the theme of the poets.
Yirgil wrote a Pastoral complimenting the Roman consul Pollio on the birth of a son, whom, in the spirit of flattery, he describes as the predicted deliverer. The substance of the Pastoral is said to have been borrowed ^< from a prophecy deUvered by the Sybjl. The following lines form part of a translation of the ode : —
" The last great age, foretold by sacred rhymes, Eenews its finished course : Saturnian tirues Roll round again ; and mighty years, begun From their first orb, in radiant circles run. The base, degen'rate, iron off*spring ends ; A golden progeny from heaven descends. The father banish'd virtue shall restore ; And crimes shall threat the guilty world no more. The son shall lead the life of gods, and be By gods and heroes seen, and gods and heroes see. The jarring nations he in peace shall bind. And with paternal virtues rule mankind." J;
As another indication of this prevalent expectation,
* Suet., Vespasian, cap. 4. f Tacitus, Annals, v. 13.
i Yngil, fourth Pastoral.
4
50
CHRISTIAXITY.
Uie Emperor Augustus^ born about this time^ "having his nativity cast by Nigidius Figuhis, an astrologer and mathematician^, it was predicted of him that he should be T-ord of the earth; he was deitied during his lifetime by liis flatterers, temples were erected to hhn, and his worship established ; his name, originally Octavianus, was altered to Augustus, sacred, and in the Greek, to Sehastos, adorable. Our eighth month still bears his name.
Such were the prevailing longings of good men, the fears of bad men, and pride of ambitious men, respecting the advent of a king and deliverer. These anticipations explain, at the same time that they confirm, the prophecies of Scripture delivered long before the event, particularly the prophecy of Haggai, 520 years before Christ: "For thus saith the Lord of Hosts : Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake (agitate) all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come.''"^
In the physical world, it has often been noticed that the most intense darkness precedes the first dawning of the day : in the course of the world^s history, it has fre- quently happened that the period of the greatest discord and confusion has been but the harbinger of prosperity and peace. It was so with the era to which our lectures refer : the uncertainty and perplexity of mind, the dark- ness of the moral atmosphere, and the violence of the storms of human passions, were about to usher in the dawnings of light, purity, and peace.
It is now about 1877 — 8 years ago (a few months more
* Haggai ii. 6, 7.
THE MESSIAH.
51
or less) J* but certainly in the reign of Augustus Caesar, that a most remarkable person appeared in this our world, ^ and wrought an extraordinary innovation upon existing systems. By birth and station he ranked as an artizan — one of your own class, so the Evangelists inform us ; tradition has added, perhaps correctly, that he pursued, with his reputed father, the trade of a carpenter; and our English version of the Bible has endorsed the tradition.
The world, as I have told you, was then intently awaiting the coming of some great one ; but it was cer- tainly not looking for his advent in the lower ranks of life. The appearance I allude to attracted, therefore, little attention. His birth was, however, remarkably attested by prodigies, such as the appearance of an un- usual star, and visions of angels. It happened at the period pointed out by Daniel ;t at the place indicated by MicahjJ at the time of a census of the inhabitants of Judea, taken by Augustus, the Roman emperor. This registration disclosed officially the fact that, both by the niother^s and the reputed father's side, he was of the lineage of the royal house of David, of the tribe of Judah, of the family of Abraham : all of which had been distinctly predicted in the Jewish Scriptures.
It is not my intention to detail the remarkable facts connected with His birth, life and death ; many of you are fully acquainted with them, and all of you have the
* Jesus Christ was born from about four to six years before the commencement of the common Christian era — at what period of the year is not known. The error in the computation of the period occurred about a.d. 527. Vide Archbishop Usher's " Chronology," also Dr. Kitto's " Daily Bible Illustrations," Life and Death of our Lord, 29th week, 6th day, under Matt. ii. 1.
t Daniel ix. 25-27. + Micah v. 2.
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CHRISTIANITY.
fullest facilities for informing yourselves concerning tlieni. He claimed to be no less than the Son of God; to be one with Godj in short, ^'the desire of all nations/^ the Messiah, the expected deliverer of Jews and Gentiles. It forms no part of my purpose to enter upon tbe argu- ment as to the truthfulness of these claims. Some of you admit them, with all their consequences, and pos- sibly some of you do not, or may not have fully investi- gated the foundations upon which they rest. You will all of you feel that it is a question too important to hurry over or to treat slightly; nor could the evidences be brought fully before you in the course of a single lecture. At other times, in other places, I affectionately advise you, if you have not done so already, to study the sub- ject with humble and teachable minds. The investiga- tion of such a subject is surely not unworthy of any one of you, nor, indeed, of the highest human intelligence ; for some of the loftiest intellects which have conferred lustre on our species have undertaken the study, and submitted unreservedly to His claims.
It is rather with the historical facts, and the doctrine which Christ introduced, that we have to do; and with these, of necessity, treated very briefly.
He asserted, then, that His mission was undertaken to heal and to save a sin-stricken world ; that He might be a light to those who sat in darkness, and lead all those who would follow His guidance to peace, to holi- ness, and to heaven. He lived, so far as the facts of His life have been communicated, only to do good to the bodies and souls of men, and to propagate, inculcate, and explain His doctrines. He associated with the hum- ble, the illiterate, the needy, and the sinful. He refused kingly honours when ofl'ered to Him, and discountenanced
THE MESSIAH.
53
all ideas of worldly rule or aggrandizemeutj as unsuited to His kiiigdom_, which He explained to be spiritual in its nature. He died (contrary to the expectation of all His followers) as a malefactor^ by the hands of the Roman government^ at the instigation of His disap- pointed countrymen^ the Jews — as He^ and the prophets before Him^ had oftentimes predicted. At His deaths as at His birth, prodigies occurred, such as an earthquake, and a supernatural darkness at a period when no eclipss of the sun, according to the laws of Nature, could pos- sibly happen;* which prodigies were reported to the authorities at Rome.f
And, to render his story the most remarkable in ' the world^s history (irrespective of its importance in a religious aspect), He forsook the grave, as predicted, in
* All eclipses of the sun must happen at the time of new moon. Jesus Christ was crucified at the Feast of the Passover, always celebrated at the full moon.
t That the prodigies which attended the Crucifixion did not pass without notice at Bome is certain, notwithstanding the statement to the contrary made by Gibbon, in his " DecUne and Fall of the Eoman Empire" (vol. ii. p. 379). That false state- ment has been dealt with at length, and annihilated by Mr. Hart- well Horne, in his " Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Scriptures" (Unabridged Edition, vol. i., chap, iii. p. 187). It may be useful, however, to cite here the two authorities which are most conclusive upon this point. Th-e dark- ness and earthquake are both expressly referred to by Celsus, the bitter and acute adversary of Christianity, as facts which he was unable to deny (" Origen contra Celsum," lib. ii. 55, p. 94) ; and TertuUian, in addressing his Pagan adversaries, asserts, without fear of contradiction, "at the moment of Christ's death, the light departed from the sun, and the land was darkened at noonday; ivhich wonder is related in your own akna.ls, and is 2)reserfed in vouii ARCHIVES TO THIS DAY " (Tertullian, "Apol.," c. 21).
CHRISTIANITY.
spite of a Roman guard, and appeared to His friends and followers repeatedly during forty days, and then disap- peared from their sight.
The reality of these facts has been testified as no other events of history were ever confirmed. In no less - than five separate histories were they recorded by those who were eye-witnesses ; while many other books, written by parties to the transactions, refer to tnd confirm their truth. And what is even more remarkable, the witnesses of these facts travelled over land and sea to spread the intelligence, without any of the usual motives which in- fluence men, and with no personal interests to serve ; who gained nothing hy their assertions hut "persecution, scorn, and contempt; and vho, the greater iiart of them, laid down their lives gladly as witnesses to the truth of their statements.
I repeat that no single fact of history has been so abundantly verified as the facts connected with the life and death and resurrection of Christ ; and he that re- jects these truths must be prepared to credit — firstly, that at least some one hundred and twenty individuals entered into a conspiracy to propagate a falsehood, with nothing to gain by it, but, on the contrary, prepared to undergo loss of all the world values, even life itself ; secondly, that such parties, although guilty of falsehood, inculcated and practised virtue, unusual and extraordi- nary for such, or indeed for any times ; thirdly, that all of them persisted in the assertion of a falsehood until death, without disclosing the nature of the conspiracy which existed, or the deceptions they had practised; and, fourthly, that many of them sealed their witness with their blood, when confession of their error, had it been such, would have saved their lives.
A CONTEAST.
55
Who is tlie credulous man, think you ? He who Jiccepts a statement supported by all the eye-witnesses^ iaid uncontradicted by those who would have contra- dicted if they could ; or the man who disbelieves every one, but behoves in all the extraordinary consequences which I have shown must result from falsehood, had it existed ?
I must now leave the facts relating to the inti'oduc- tion of Christianity, and consider, also very briefly, the nature of the doctrine, or teaching, introduced by Christ; in other words, the character of the system termed Chris- tianity. This, it will be observed, admits of no argu- ment as to its reality. Although much misunderstood, and, it may be, misrepresented, Christianity is a fact of which no one has been bold enough to deny the exist- ence.
And first I would remark, that Christianity consti- tuted a wondrous innovation upon the views of the world, both Jewish and Pagan. It was no adaptation, no mere reformation; no compromise was entered into. The language of Christ, on more than one occasion, was to the effect, " Behold, I make all things new.^^ He ex- plained to his astonished followers, by figures, that as new wine could not conveniently be put into perishing- skins, and as it would be inappropriate to patch up, with new cloth, worn-out garments, so His system was to supersede and set aside those systems which were decayed, had waxed old,^^ and were ready to vanisli away.''-' The religion of Christianity, in short, effected a revolution, and cannot be viewed in the light either of a. restoration, a reformation, or a reconstruction.
It formed an entire contrast to existino- Pao-anism ; aii
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CHRISTIANITY.
outline of tlie leading features of tlie two systems will convey to your minds a clear perception of their strong antagonism.
Paganism was^ as already explained, ]joJytlieisiic; Christ taught that God was one.
Paganism represented God in the likeness of visible ohjects, such as ^''corruptible men and birds, and four- footed beasts, and creeping things.''^ Christianity repre- sented Him as a Spirit, "whom no man hath seen or can see;^^ '^eternal, immortal, invisible.
Paganism was in its services formal, external, ceremo- nial, and local. Christ taught that henceforth religion would be acceptable only as it was spiritual and of the heart. " They that worship must worship Him in spirit and in truth "for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.^^
Paganism was esseutially sacerdotal. Christianity teaches that a mediatorial and sacrificial priesthood, is no longer needed ; that Christ had opened "a new and living way " of access to God, and invited all His fol- lowers to come unto God directly " throngh Him.''
Paganism, like Judaism, appointed continually recur- ring sacrifices for transgression. Christianity teaches that " Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many,^^ and " by one offering He had perfected for ever them that are sanctified."
For cruel, costly, and cumbersome rites and offerings, Christ substituted faith, with love to God and love to man.
In lieu of purch.ased pardon, attainable among Pagans by means of costly offerings, Christ offered salvation and pardon /ret^/// to the poorest, "without money and
DIGNITY OF LABOUR.
57
witlioiit price/^ Wliile Paganism initiated only the v'eaWiy, the ivise, or the toorthy to its mysteries, Christ ordered His message to be carried especially to tlie poor, to the sinful, and the simple, and Himself set tlie example.
So far from sanctioning immorality or sensnaJify, wliich Paganism encouraged and promoted, Christ taught that even the thoughts of the heart should be watched and controlled, and that the guilty emotion in- dulged was equivalent to sin in action; and He pro- nounced His blessing, and the promise of a sight of God^s presence, to the ''pure in heart.''
So far from sanctioning cruelty, Christ taught, ''Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.^'
So far from honouring revencjc or haired, so universal with Pagans, Christ taught the, till then unheard of, doctrine, " I say unto you, love your enemies ; do good to them which hate you and pray for them that despite- fully use you and persecute you."^ He led the way in this difficult path by praying for His murderers, ''Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do/^
So far from justifying murder by way of retaliation, accounted meritorious among Pagans, Christ taught that to be angry, without just cause, with a brother, the irri- tating word, and the unkind judgment, all ivere classed hy Him wiili the deprivation of life.
To sum up : war, aggressive or revengeful, blood- shedding, rapine, oppression, slavery — almost the entire practices of Paganism — Christ unequivocally condemned. He cut up by the root all excuse for such practices, by the commands, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy- self "whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even s;o to them;^^ and when one asked Him
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for the definition of the term, neighbour/' He answered by a parable, Your bitterest foe.''
I have given you necessarily a very brief and imperfect sketch of the facts connected witli the founding of Chris- tianity, and the character of the system so called. And here I would say to you, as wor'king men, do not consider It any indignity, but rather an honour, to be termed by that name ; labour is honourable, more honourable than idleness, even though it be dignified by titles and gilded by wealth. God has shown respect for honest labour, by creating man fitted for it, and by making him miserable without it; by appointing our common progenitor to " dress and to keep^"* the garden in which he was placed; and, above all, hj permitting His Son to pass the greater part oj- His life on earth, in the workshop of a Jewish artificer.
" Sixty centuries have failed to teach The dignity, the beauty, and the joy, The piety and usefulness of work ! 'Tis but excess of labour that is pain — Just as excess of food, or wine, or rest. Or any blessing that mankind abuse."
Never believe any who shall tell you that God inflicted the curse of labour on man ; his organization, »muscular and nervous, contradicts it, your own experience denies it, and, above all, the Word of God repudiates the state- ment. The ground has been cursed for man^s rebellioji, and his labour, as you well know, is often excessive and ill-requited, but there is more of mercy than of judgment in that labour still.
But to proceed: Christianity, born in Judea, very soon reached Rome, the world^s metropolis. The exact time of its arrival there is unknown, but it is not im-
* Yiie Sermon on the Mount, and Xew Testament, _23a6'6'i//i.
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50
probable tliat it was carried there by some of tbose three thousand Christians,* the fruits of Peter's address on the day of Pentecost^ when he exercised the high privilege conferred upon him of unlocking the kingdom of heaven" by the preaching of Christ crucified to that crowd of converts from every nation under heaven/^ t \Ye are distinctly informed that there were amongst his hearers strangers of Rome — Jeivs and proselytes/^ that is_, Jews from Eome_, native born, and proselytes from among the Eomans to Judaism ; and if any of these were converted, they would immediately carry Christianity to Rome on their return thither. Be this as it may, it is quite clear that there were Christians at Rome in the reign of Claudius, or about a.d. 52, say within tsventy- five years of the death of Christ. For Suetonius, a Pagan writer at Rome, says the Jews raised tumults at Rome at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ, of whose death he, as a Pagan, was ignorant), and were banished accordingly by the Emperor Claudius. J This Pagan testimony agrees exactly with the statement made by Luke, § that Paul, the apostle_, found at Corinth, in Greece, "a certain Jew named Aquila, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla ; because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Home J' That Aquila and Priscilla were Christianized Jews, previously to their departure from Rome, there can be little doubt, for their conversion at Corinth is not mentioned ; they associated with Paul in their daily labour as tent-makers ; were the means of instructing Apollos in the " way of God more
* Acts ii. 41. t Acts ii. 5.
X Suetonius, Claud., c. 2 5 : '* Judceos, impulsore Chresto assidue tiimultuantes, Roma expulit." § Acts xviii. 1, 2.
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perfectly assisted Paul in liis apostolic labours, arid Lad a clmrcli in their house.*
Christianity, then, and persecution on account of it, had both found place at Rome in the reign of Claudius within twenty-five j^ears from the death of its founder. Some five or six years later, about 57 to 59 a.d., the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Rome, called by us the Epistle to the Romans.'" In this letter lie speaks of his strong desire to visit them, and tbanks G-od that tlieir faith is spoken of throughout the whole world ;^^t the concluding portions of the letter,
sends his Christian salutations to so many persons and households, that it is quite clear that Christianity had not been then very recently established, and, moreover, that it had made some progress at that time in Rome.
It may not be very important to ascertain the exact period when the religion of Christ began to be known at* Rome, but it will, I think, be interesting to show its early introduction there, and the opposition it created in the reign of Claudius, when we come to consider the local position of the Catacombs, to which I must presently refer, and couple all the facts with the circumstances related concerning the first arrival of the Apostle Paul at the Imperial city.
About two years later than the date of his letter, Paul visited Rome, as related in the Acts of the Apostles, as a prisoner under course of trial, he having appealed to Nero the then Roman emperor. If you will refer to the map of the Mediterranean Sea, you will notice the course which the Apostle took in his voyage to Rome, as recorded in the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles ; from jMelita or Malta, where he suffered shipwreck, to Syracuse
* Compare Acts xviii. 2, 3, 26 ; Rom. xvi. 3 — 5 ; and 1 Cor. xvi. 19. t Rom- i- 8» 10, 11.
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61
on the coast of Sicily^ where he tarried three days ; thence to Rhegium_, the southern point of Italy ; thence to Puteoli, and so onwards to Appii Forum^ " the market- place of Appius/^ about fifty-six miles^ and to the " Three I'averns/^ about thirty miles from Eome. These two ]jlaces were situated on the Appian Way, a road lead- in o" south, from Rome. You will notice that Christian
o
brethren came to meet him even as far as Appii Forum/^ that is_, fifty-six miles on the road,* a cir- cumstance remarkably indicating the affection of these early Christians for the Apostle. Now it was under and along the line of this Appian Way, which Paul traversed ■ in his journey to Eome, that the Catacombs — the hiding- places of the early Christians — had been excavated.
Looking to the fact of the opposition to Christianity manifested in the reign of Claudius, the circutii stance stated by Paul, that no man stood by him, hut that all forsook him at his first examination before Nero,t and the admission of the Jews at that very place and period, for as concerning this sect, we know that everywJiere it is spolcen against/' ^ I think I may assume that even at that early period the Christians, influenced by a regard for their safety, had commenced taking refuge from popular dislike, Jewish opposition, and the persecution of the Roman Government, in these subterranean fastnesses, which have been found to extend at least fifteen miles from Rome in the direction of the Appian Way. This is, at all events, an interesting speculation, and may account for these poor people being able to meet Paul at so great a distance from Rome.
We are not, however, left long to conjecture as to the state of things as it regarded Christianity at Rome. The * Acts xxviii. 15. f 2 Tim. iv. 16. I Acts xxviii. 22.
02
CHRTSTJANITY.
storm of persecution, so repeatedly predicted by their Lord and Master_, was about to break upon His followers^ and before the close of the sanguinary reign of the monster Nero, they were doubtless glad to take refuge in these " dens and caves of the earth/^
It is not my intention, in these lectures, to follow the history of the Christian Church at Rome in its early struggles, and to narrate the persecutions which it ex- perienced ; it will be suflScient for me to state, that the first well-authenticated instance of persecution occurred under Nero, about the year a.d. 64, soon after PauFs first visit. Tacitus narrates the circumstances very fully, and, being a Pagan, regards the Christian sect from that point of view. In the tenth year of Nero the city was nearly destroyed by fire, which continued burning eight days, and out of fourteen divisions only eight remained entire. So great was the indignation of the populace, who charged Nero with having intentionally caused the fire, that he found bribes to men and offerings to the gods alike use- less, and with the view of appeasing the people, he attributed the crime to the despised Christians. These are the words of Tacitus : —
*^ The infamy of that horrible transaction still adhered to him. To suppress, if possible, this common rumour, Nero procured others to be accused and punished with exquisite tortures : a race of men detested for their evil (?) practices, who were commonly known by the name of Christians. The author of this sect was Christus, who in the reign of Tiberius was punished with death as a crimi- nal by the procurator Pontius Pilate. At first those only were apprehended who confessed themselves of this sect, alterwards a vast multitude discovered by them ; all of whom were condemned, not so much for the crime of
PAULAS ARRIVAL AT ROME.
63
burning tlie city as for tHeir enmity to mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to expose them to derision and contempt. Some were covered over with the skins of wild beasts^ that they might be torn to pieces by dogs ; some were crucified ; while others, having been daubed over with combustible materials, luere set up as lights in the night-time and thus burned to death. For these spectacles Nero gave his own gardens, and at the same time exhibited there the diversions of the circus, until at length these men, though really criminal and deserving exemplary punishment, began to be commiserated as people who were destroyed, not out of regard to the public welfare, but only to gratify the cruelty of one man.'^*
At his second visit to Rome, Paul was put to death bv Nero. From this date onwards, history identifies the Christians at Rome with the Catacombs there. The per- secutions were repeated again and again, under different emperors, during several centuries, and many of the edicts authorizing the persecutions commence with a prohibition to enter and take refuge in these hiding-places — the rescript of Valerian and Gallienus, for instance ; at the close of a persecution, Gallienus gave the Christians a formal licence to return to the Catacombs. t
But it is time for me to introduce you to this cradle of Christianity at Rome; to take you by the hand and lead you through its tortuous windings, explaining what appears mysterious, directing your attention to that which is interesting, gathering instruction as we proceed, and closing with such moral improvement as the circumstances are calculated to afford. * Tacitus, Annal. xv. c. 44.
t Maitland's " Church in the Catacombs," p. 38 ; Eusebiiis, Hist. Eccles. ib. vii. c. 13.
CHEISTIANITY.
The word catacomb means literally a subterranean excavation, but has been applied in recent times to excavated places of burial ; the extensive quarries in the vicinity of many large cities having been used for such purposes. Thus, at Syracuse, Alexandria, Naples, and Paris, as well as at Rome, there exist extensive excava- tions used as receptacles for the dead. Those at Rome, however, exceed all others in extent^ and surpass them in interest.
In the latter days of the Republic, and daring the reigns of the first Csesars, the city of Rome increased exceedingly in extent and magnificence. It was the boast of Augustus that " he had found Rome brick, and had left it marble.^' To procure the material necessary for these public works the soil around the city was quarried in many directions. The material obtained was a soft, sandy stone, of volcanic origin, termed tufa and fuzzolana.
There were other excavations in Rome — those of the Esquiline Hill, outside the gate of that name ; from these pits sand was obtained, used for making cement, as recom- mended by Vitruvius, the architect, as preferable to all others for that purpose.* These sandpits of the Esquiline Hill must not be confounded with the excavations, chiefly south of Rome, called the Christian Catacombs, as it is clear that the former were never used as Christian ceme- teries, but were receptacles for the bodies of Pagans. At the period to which I refer, it was the custom for the Pao-an Romans to burn their dead, and to preserve only the ashes. Those, however, who perished by the hand of the law, by lightning, and also suicides, were forbidden the usual rites of burial : while the lower orders of the people, and slaves, could not afford the honours of a * Maifcland, pp. 24, 25.
81
TOMBS & INSCRIBED SLABS.
THE CATACOMBS.
65
funeral pile. Their bodies were therefore cast without cereraony down these pits^ where they putrefied, much to the annoyance of the inhabitants of Home ; and the pits were termed, accordingly, puticulce, from the Latin word, which signifies to putrefy. These Esquiline pits were evidently closed in the reign of Augustus,* before the introduction of Christianity to the world, and therefore they contain only the bodies of Pagans, and will not be referred to again in these lectures.
I return now to the consideration of the Catacombs — the excavated galleries which were used, as hiding or burial-places, exclusively by the Christians, as appears by the inscriptions, and b^; the fact of the dead having been buried there entire in separate graves, and neither reduced to ashes nor heaped together in pits, like the bodies of Pagans.
We will set out on our journey along one of the high roads which lead out of Rome, the Via Flaminia, the Via Ostiensis, or perhaps, better than all, the Via Appia, and visit the extensive Catacombs named after St. Sebastian, which lie in that quarter. We enter through a low, dark doorway, upon an aisle, which divides into branches run- ning in various directions, all losing themselves in the darkness which envelops objects at the distance of a few feet; but we will light our candles and torches, and proceed cautiously, attended by a guide who knows some- thing of the intricate windings of the labyrinth. [80-] The galleries are about eight or ten feet hi^h, and from four to six feet in width. Tombs, rifled of their contents or from which the slabs which closed them have been removed, yawn around you, tier above tier in never-ending succes-
* Horace, Satires, i. 8.
5
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CHRISTIANITY.
sion : here is one larger than others — it is a hisomum, or grave for two ; here a passage branches off to the left — it is unsafe to traverse, for the puzzolana has fallen in blocks ; on the rightj another has been walled up with masonrj, as a measure of precaution, as strangers have strayed, lost their way, and never been heard of. We arrive at a part of the gallery so obstructed with rubbish, that we must crawl on hands and knees, if we would further explore in this direction. But here are rough and dan- gerous stairs descending ; they lead to a lower labyrinth of galleries and crypts, and if we explore these, we shall find a third and sometimes a fourth range of excavations, one below the other. Here is a wider space, at the junction of four branching galleries, it is slightly domed at the summit ; and there is a chain which once suspended a lamp ; and there are tombs arranged with more regard to order, and inscriptions which speak of holy men and women, and rude sculptures and primitive paintings of Scripture subjects. It is a place of gathering, where the early Christians met to worship their God and Saviour. But what is it makes the air fresher, the breathing more easy here ? the atmosphere does not taste so hot and dusty and earthy. Look, there is an air-hole and a glimmer of day- light from above ; it is one of the luminaria cryptce or shafts, which lighted and ventilated these subterranean abodes, and which are still found at intervals perforating the soil about the Campagna, near Rome, indicating the extent and direction of the ramifying galleries beneath.
You will be glad now to ascend to the upper air while I tell you somethins: of the extent of these Cata- combs. Some of the cemeteries contain galleries which extend probably two or three miles, with branches in all
GALLERIES DESCRIBED.
67
directions^ and no one now living is personally acquainted witli more than a small portion of them. A German traveller of the last century says_, that to visit all parts of the Catacombs of St. Sebastian_, would be to under- take a icalJc of twenty miles, and that he thought^ that if the length of all the passages, crypts, and galleries could be summed up and put together, there might be one hundred miles of this subterranean Rome ; but, in his time, many of the galleries were walled up, several bewildered persons having perished in them.* It is clear that all the Catacombs have not as yet been discovered and explored; for during the French occupation of Rome, further discoveries have been made and are still makino-, and very large collections of drawings and of works of art have been recently brought to Paris by M. Ferret, an enterprising French architect. f
And now as to the occupation and contents of the Catacombs. They were used, as I have before stated, as places of refuge from the storm of persecution, which, commencing at or about the time of Xero, beat upon tlie first followers of Christ, and, with some few intervals, raged during the first three centuries, until it finally ceased, a.d. 311, by an edict of Galerius. That emperor was dying of a frightful and incurable disease, which neither physicians nor Pagan idols could alleviate. Having sent to the Christians to request them to pray for him, he issued the edict referred to, which closed the Pagan per- secution of Christianity in the Roman empire. During this
* Keyster's "Travels in Germany," quoted in Macfarlane's " Catacombs of Rome."
t M. Perret has been engaged six years in these researches. Yide Athenceujn, No. 1250, Oct., 1851.
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CHRISTIANITY.
period of persecution, they were likewise used as places of sepulture for those Christians who resided in them, as well as_, doubtless_, for many who_, aboveground, died in the faith of Christ.
Upon the issue of the edict of Galerius, and the pro- fession of Christianity by Constantino,, which almost imme- diately followed, a great change necessarily took place as it regarded the use of the Catacombs. No longer a pro- scribed and persecuted race, the Christians came forth from their hiding-places, enjoyed the light and breathed the pure air of heaven ; while those who henceforth visited the Catacombs, did so from a feeling of venera- tion for the martyrs and holy men whose bodies were there interred ; and with a degree of superstition, easily accounted for, worshipped at their tombs in the Catacomb chapels, surrounded by the remains of the Christian dead ; or they sought a grave for those whom they loved among the resting-places of those persecuted Christians, whom they regarded with so much veneration. We shall be pre- pared, then, to meet with two classes of monuments in our search : those which were deposited by the defenceless Christians during the first three centuries ; and those which were placed in the Catacombs, after the toleration of Christianity, by those who visited them, to decorate the tombs and chapels in honour of the martyrs. Auiong the first we shall expect to find much which speaks of a pure, primitive, uncorrapted faith ; and we must not be sur- prised to find occasionally among the latter some indica- tions of that declension from primitive faith and practice which distinguished the era of the Churches worldly pros- perity, and which became so apparent and marked in the succeeding centuries.
The establishment of Christianity at Rome was soon
THE CATACOMBS_, THETR OCCUPATION.
69
followed by the irruption of those barbarous hordes who overthrew the ancient city^ Home. In their search after treasure, thej ransacked the graves of the Catacombs, so far as they were accessible, and from this period they be- came deserted ; all knowledge of their windings being lost, except to banditti, thieves, and debtors, who resorted to and made them a terror to the peaceful and well-disposed.
"War, civil commotion, and social discord continued at Rome for many centuries. The entrances to the Cata- combs became lost by the falling in of the earth, the growth of trees and rank vegetation; from time to time, some of them were also closed up with masonry, to pre- vent the galleries being used by robbers or conspirators against the government.
About the middle of the sixteenth century, say about a thousand years from the period of their being used as Christian cemeteries, interest being excited concerning them and theii- contents, many of them were again opened and explored. About the year 1585, under Pope Paul III., some of the Catacombs were cleared of rubbish, cleansed, and lighted up. At this time, a controversy, respecting relics, was waging in the Romish Church, and much attention was consequently directed to the contents of the rediscovered Catacombs. Antiquarians pursued their inquiries with intense interest. Bosio, an Italian, spent more than thirty years — from the year 1567 to 1600 — in exploring the galleries, collecting antiquities, and copy- ing inscriptions, paintings, etc. He died while completing his great work called Roma Sotterranea (Subterranean Rome), published after his death, and translated into Latin by Aringhi.
In 1720, another valuable work was published by Boldetti, on the subject of the contents of the Cata-
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CHRISTIANITY.
combs ; this indefatigable explorer also spent more than thirty years of his life in these underground investiga- tions. Bosio and Boldetti were followed hj others in this branch of study^ such as Bottari_, Marangoni, and Fabretti, Italians; and MM. d^Agincourt and Faoul Eochette, Frenchmen : the former of whom repaired to Eome to spend six months in the study^ but found it at once so attractive and so vast^ that he remained there ffty yearsy and died while arranging his materials for a work published after his death.
All these works_, written either in a foreign or dead language^ and accessible only to those who could resort to public libraries,, are little known to Englishmen ; grati- tude is due therefore to Dr. Charles Maitland for making the subject accessible to us by the publication^ in our own language, of his learned and deeply interesting work, The Church in the Catacombs.''*
"It is difficult/' says that writer, "now to realize the impressions which must have been made upon the first explorers of this subterranean city ; a vast necropolis, rich in the bones of saints and martyrs; a stupendous testi- mony to the truth of Christian history, and, consequently, to that of Christianity itself ; a faithful record of the trials of a persecuted Church. * * * * must now
have recourse to the museums of Eome and the works of antiquarians to understand the appearance of the Cata- combs at that time, from the removal of everything portable to a place of greater security and more easy access, as well as from the difficulty of personally ex- amining these dangerous galleries."
* "The Church in the Catacombs ; a Description of the Primi- tive Church of Eome, illustrated from Sepulchral Remains." Longman & Co., I cndon.
LAPIDARIAN GALLERY.
71
The monuments^ inscriptions^ and antiquities removed from the Catacombs are chiefly deposited in the Vatican Museum at Rome. The Christian Museum there contains many sarcophagi, bas-reliefsj inscriptions, and medals ; but the most valuable collection of inscriptions is that of the Lapidarian Gallery, or Gallery of Stones, a long corri- dor in that museum, the sides of which are completely lined with slabs plastered to the walls. There is a marked contrast, however, between the two walls of this corridor and the emotions which they are calculated to excite in the minds of the thoughtful. On the right hand are arranged Pagan inscriptions; while opposite to them, appear more than three thousand epitapbs of the ancient and primitive Christians.
" I have spent,^^ says Raoul Rochette, " many entire days in this sanctuary of antiquity, where the sacred and profane stand facing each other 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. And were it only for the treasure of impressions which we receive from this immense collection of Christian epitaphs, taken from the graves of the Cata- combs and now affixed to the walls of the Vatican, this alone would be an inexhaustible fund of recollections and enjoyment for a whole life.^^*
The inscriptions in this and the adjoining museums are the witnesses which I shall call to testify to the Paganism of the past and the Christianity of the present, during the remainder of this course.
It must not be concluded, however, that the three thousand inscriptions of the Lapidarian Gallery are all the inscriptions which have been preserved to us. Seventy ^ Eaoul EocheLte, " Tableau des Catacombs," p. ]0.
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CHRI-STIANITY.
thousand are estimated to have been contained in the Catacombs^ and removed or copied at different times^* and many hundreds have been very recently discovered.
The inscriptions are chiefly upon slabs of stone or marble, used to close the graves in the walls of the galleries before referred to. Here are representations which will convey good ideas of the graves and slabs. [ 81. ] In one grave the skeleton is almost entire ; in the other, a little dust alone remains, reminding us of the sentence pronounced upon our perishing bodies : Dust thou art, and unt-o dust shalt thou return.^^
The inscription reads upon the upper grave : — VALERIA SLEEPS IN PEACE. On the lower slab the palm-branch of triumph is rudely scratched.
The slabs average generally from one to three feet in length; the letters upon them are from half an inch to four inches in height, and are scratched or cut in the stone, and the indentation usually filled in with Vene- tian red.
You will easily distinguish, among the illustrations which I shall exhibit to you, the facsimiles, or exact re- presentations, from those which are mere copies of inscrip- tions, by noticing the rude and irregular forms of the letters in the former.
I have thus drawn a picture of Paganism ; have endea- voured to describe to you Christianity as it was introduced by its Founder — the Christianity of the New Testament. I have taken you down into the hiding-place of some of its earliest professors ; I must defer to a future lecture some explanations of inscriptions and signs, which would,
* Maitland, p. 16.
lA^SCRIPTIONS CONTRASTED.
73
without such explanation, be to you mysterious and unin- teresting; but I desire to point out to you a contrast which those silent witnesses, the tombstones of the early Christians, enable us to draw between the two systems called Pagan and Christian.
In nothing is the contrast between the two systems so striking as in the spirit in which death is regarded by the professors of the two faiths : with the Pagan it is ex- tinction of existence, the terraination of all that is de- sirable, and a feeling of disappointment or revenge is manifested against the Great Disposer of life and death ; with the Christian all is peace, hope, anticipation of happiness, and indication of triumph. It has been well said, turn where you will in the Catacombs, all is peace, PEACE, PEACE, everywhere.
Let me take a few Pagan and Christian epitaphs to illustrate this observation. [ 89. ]
Pagan.
I, PROCOPE, LIFT UP MY HANDS AGAINST GOD, WHO SNATCHED ME AWAY INNOCENT. SHE LIVED TWENTY YEARS. PROCLUS SET UP THIS.
Christian . (Fragment.) WHO GAVE AND HATH TAKEN
BLESSED OF THE LORD
WHO LIVED-YEARS...;.
IN PEACE, IN THE CONSULATE OF
Here the Pagan inscription regards death as an injury, calling for resentment against God ; and man^s puny arm is raised against the Great Arbiter of the universe. The Christian epitaph, although a fragment, speaks a different language — that of implicit submission, resignation, and peace. The remainder,^^ says Dr. Maitland, of this inscription has been destroyed, as far as perishable mar- ble is concerned ; but the immortal sentiment which pervades the sentence supplies the loss. Like a voice from among the graves, broken by sobs^ yet distinctly
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CHRISTIANITY.
intelligible^ fall the words upon the ear:* 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away^ blessed be the name of the Lord/ ^'
We are reminded by this early Christian tombstone of a practice^ which has become common in our Christian graveyards,, of inscribing texts upon tombs : —
"His name, his years, spelt by tli' unletter'd muse, The place of fame and elegy supply: And many a holy text around she strews, To teach the rustic moralist to die."
Again ; contrast the following inscriptions : — [ 89. ]
Pagan.
CA1U8 JULIUS MAXIMUS, (AGED) II YEARS AND V MONTHS.
0 RELENTLESS FORTUNE, DELIGHTEST IN CRUEL DEATH, WHY IS MAXIMUS SO SUDDENLY SNATCHED FROM ME? HE WHO LATELY USED TO LIE JOYFUL ON MY BOSOM. THIS STONE NOW MARKS HIS TOMB. BEHOLD HIS MOTHER.
Christian.
PETRONIA, A DEACON'S WIFE, THE TYPE OF MODESTY.
IN THIS PLACE I LAY MY BONES; SPARE YOUR TEARS, DEAR HUSBAND AND DAUGHTERS, AND BELIEVE THAT IT IS FORBIDDEN TO WEEP FOR ONE WHO LIVES IN GOD. BURIED IN PEACE ON THE THIRD BEFORE THE NONES OF OCTOBER, IN THE CON- SULATE OF FESTUS.
In the Pagan inscription is heard the voice of repining and despondency ; the mother weeping for her child^ " and will not be comforted^ because he is not.''' In the Christian epitaph^ all this is reversed ; the mourning husband and daughters are consoled by the conviction that the deceased " lives in God/' and are called upon to dry their tears^ under the assurance — as it is beautifully expressed, both on the tomb and by the Apostle — that
Maitland's Church in the Catacombs," p. 14.
INSCRIPTIONS CONTRASTED.
75
the Christian should not weep as those Pagans who have no hope of immortahty. ^' But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerDing them which are asleep, that ye sorroiu not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also irJiich sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.'^*
Where can a stronger contrast in sentiment be found ^ than exists between the Pagan and Christian monuments upon this point? Paganism, notwithstandiog the allu- sions of her poets to Elysian fields beyond the dark waters of the Styx, had no certain hope of immortality ; out of many thousands of epitaphs still extant in cabinets and museums, not one well-authenticated allusion to a settled conviction of immortality can be found. t Cicero, mating to a friend suffering from bereavement, hesitates to suggest consolation arising out of the belief in the immortality of the soul ; all he can say is, " though we may conjecture something respecting this immortality, it is a subject so completely in doubt, that I dare not present it to you as a real and genuine subject of consolation/^
An epitaph given by Dr. Maitland shows how the Pagan prospect was bounded by this earth, and life was looked upon as a drama which, when acted out, ended all. It reads : —
* 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14.
t In a work, published as these sheets were issuing from the press, The Free Church of Ancient Christendom," by Basil H. Cooper, BA., this statement is abundantly confirmed. " The author has not lighted upon a single clear example of the kind, amongst the selection of upwards of 750 sepulchral marbles given in the work of Zell ; nor has he met with one such of undoubted and purely heathen origin in the only portion of Bockh's great work, the ' Corpus Inscriptionum Graecorum,' torn, i.— iii." (p. 17, note.)
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CHRISTIANITY.
WHILE I LIVED, I LIVED WELL MY DRAMA IS NOW ENDED: SOON YOURS WILL BE. FAREWELL, AND APPLAUD ME.
How different the sentiment of the following, from the Catacombs, in which the separate existence and happiness of the soul are regarded as certainties : —
NICEPHORUS, A SWEET SOUL IN REFRESHMENT.
Again : —
LAURENCE TO HIS SWEETEST SON SEVERUS, THE WELL-DESERVING, BORNE AWAY BY ANGELS ON THE VIITH BEFORE THE IDES OF JANUARY.
The same idea is beautifully illustrated by the follow- ing inscription on the tomb of a martyr, who suffered under the Antonine persecution, which commenced about the year a.d. 160. The original is decorated with the monogram of Christ, and olive-branch, and also exhibits a pot containing fire — perhaps referring to the manner of his death : —
ALEXANDER IS NOT DEAD, BUT LIVES ABOVE THE STARS, AND HIS BODY RESTS IN THIS TOMB. HE ENDED LIFE UNDER THE EMPEROR ANTONINE, WHO, FORESEEING THAT GREAT BENEFIT WOULD RESULT FROM HIS SER- VICES, RETURNED EVIL FOR GOOD. FOR WHILE ON HIS KNEES AND ABOUT TO SACRIFICE TO THE TRUE GOD, HE WAS LED AWAY TO EXECUTION.. OH, 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. AT LENGTH THEY SPARKLE IN HEAVEN. HE HAS SCARCELY LIVED, WHO HAS LIVED IN CHRISTIAN
TIMES.
Respecting this interesting monument, Dr. Maitland remarks : ' He lives above the stars, and his body rests in this tomb there is faith in this joining together, as
INSCRIPTIONS CONTRASTED.
77
things equally tangible and matter of fact, tlie place of liis spiritual abode, and the resting-place of his body. There are also other points in the inscription worthy of notice. The first words, ^ Alexander is dead/ after lead- ing us to expect a lamentation, break out into an assur- ance of glory and immortality; the description of the temporal insecurity in which the believers of that time lived ; the diflBculty of procuring Christian burial for the martyrs, with the certainty of their heavenly reward ; and the concluding sentence forcibly recalling the words of St. Paul — ^as dying, and behold we live.^'^* Truly these inscriptions throw more light than all the Commen- taries upon one passage of Scripture : — " Christ hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." ^ In another respect, the Pagan and Christian inscrip- tions, standing face to face, in the Lapidarian Gallery, are most illustrative of the two religions of which they are the silent exponents. On the Pagan side is found a proud array of names. The nomen, prcenomen, and cognomen ; and of titles, hereditary, imperial, civil, military, and mu- nicipal. " Further on, the whole heaven of Paganism is glorified by innumerable altars, where the epithets, ' un- conquered, greatest, and best,^ are lavished upon the worthless shadows that peopled Olympus. The first glance at the opposite wall is enough to show, that ' not many mighty, not many noble,^ were numbered among those whose epitaphs are there displayed ; that these records, in almost every instance, are ^ the short and simple annals of the poor.^ The Christian convert deemed it sufficient to be recognized by that name which belonged to him as a subject of the heavenly kingdom.^' " Till the number of Christians increased so as to render a further
* Maitland's " Church in the Catacombs," p 40. f 2 Tim. i. 10.
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CHRISTIANITY.
distinction necessary, the Christian name alone was re- coided in tlie cemetery/^*
Witness the following simple inscriptions : —
THE PLACE OF PHILEMON. VIRGINIUS REMAINED BUT A SHORT TIME WITH US. THE PLACE OF SEVUS. MARTYRIA, IN PEACE. THE DORMITORY OF ELPIS. PRIMA, PEACE BE TO THEE. ZOTICUS LAID HERE TO SLEEP. CEMELLA SLEEPS IN PEACE.
And now you will agree with me that it is high time that I bring my lecture to some practical conclusion. Allow me, for a minute, to recall the subjects we have been considering, before I attempt to deduce the improve- ment of which they are susceptible.
We spoke of the doubts and gloomy forebodings of human nature, groping, in the midst of " darkness which might be felt," for light and hope of deliverance. I told you of intense desire and high anticipation of coming- help from above. I pointed out to you the fulfilment of all hopes and anticipations in the rising of ^' the Sun of Eighteousness, with healing in His wings the advent of ^' a light to them which sat in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide their footsteps into the way of peace." I contrasted the teaching of' this Deliverer with the * Maitland's "Chuich in the Catacombs," pp. 12, 15.
IMPROVEMENT.
79
Pagan teaching of old. I spoke of His new and startling doctrine spreading even to Rome, the world^s capital, I hinted briefly at its rough reception there, and the cruel treatment of its unoffending professors ; of the victory which their steadfast faith and patient endurance wrought over the powers of the earth. You accompanied me to view their ancient underground dwellings, used as hiding- places_, chmxhes^ and sleeping -places.''"^ We together explored their dark and winding galleries, noticed their tombs and inscriptions, by which they told the simple tale of confiding faith and unshaken hope in a crucified Lord and Master ; their conviction of union with Him, and ^•'sure and certain hope of a resurrection from the dead.
And what do we learn from all this ?
I would have you notice, if you have not done so already, the irresistible, the stupendous power of pure Chris- tianity ; and, noticing that, ask yourselves if it be not of Divine origin ?
Reflect, for a few moments, on the state of the con- tending parties and systems at Rome, in mortal conflict, during the occupation of the Catacombs. On the one side were arrayed all the powers of the world — the Roman emperors, whose will dictated law to the earth ; a power- ful army; all the wealth of Rome; all the learning of the Augustan period; all the intellect of philosophy and science "falsely so called a priesthood, whose influence extended to the bounds of the Roman empire, and whose power perhaps exceeded even that of the emperor him- self; all the rulers; the great majority of the people; and the prestige of high antiquity in favour of a religion which was admirably adapted to the human heart.
* The name *' ceoietery," i.e., sleeping -placet was first used by the Christians of the Catacombs.
80 CHRISTIANITY.
*
On the other side we find a few poor, illiterate, despised outcasts, hiding in 'Mens and caves of the earth/' without arms, or refusing to use them ; decimated by persecutions repeated again and again ; opposing their enemies, not with carnal weapons, but blessing and pray- ing for them; and yet we find one emperor after another declaring that they were "incorrigible " or, in other words, invincible.
Agoiu and again edicts went forth to exterminate them from the earth; and inscriptions were set up to celebrate and perpetuate the supposed success of the persecutions. Here are two which have been preserved by antiquarian writers : —
-DIOCLETIAN, C/ESAR, AUGUSTUS, HAVING ADOPTED CALERIUS IN THE EAST; THE SUPERSTITION OF THE CHRISTIANS BEING EVERYWHERE DESTROYED, AND THE WORSHIP OF THE GODS PROPAGATED.
Again : —
DIOCLETIAN, JOVIUS, AND MAXIMIAN, HERCULEUS, C/ESAR, AUGUSTUS. THE ROMAN EMPIRE HAVING BEEN ENLARGED THROUGHOUT THE EAST AND THE WEST, AND THE NAME OF THE CHRISTIANS, WHO WERE OVERTHROW- ING THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, BLOHED OUT. *
Never in the world's history was there found a more striking instance of the short-sightedness of man, and the irresistible working of the providence of God. Within ten years from the reign of Diocletian, the " su- perstition every where dest7'oyed/' and the tiame blotted out/' became the prevailing, the established religion of the Roman Empire. The seed cast into the ground, im- bued from the first with Divine life, and watered con-
* According to Gruter, these inscriptions were found upon two columns in Spain. They are quoted in Neauder's " General
OBJECTION ANSWERED.
81
tinually by the Divine blessing, sprang all at once into observation, asserting its power, and overturning tlie decaying system v^^liich impeded for a time its upward progress.
But you may object, perhaps, — If Christianity is Divine, why did it not arrive earlier in the world ? To this I must reply very briefly, that God is Sovereign : He doeth as He will in • the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth." No one may rea- sonably say unto Him, What doest Thou ? "
But, beyond this general reply, I think there are reasons apparent why the coming of Christ was delayed.
I would ask you, was there no wisdom displayed in. delaying Divine help until man had proved to his hearths content his own helplessness ?
Man is so proud, so self-sufficient, that surely it was befitting that he should try a religion of his own — should
Church History," i. 210. In the original language they are as follow : —
DIOCLETIAN . C^S. AVG. . GALERIO . IN . ORI ENTE . ADOPT. . SVPERS • TITIONE . CHRIST. VBIQ. . DELETA . ET . CVL TV . DEOR. . PROPAGATO.
DIOCLETIANVS . lOVIVS . ET MAXIMIAN . HERCVLEVS . C^S. . AVG.
AMPLIFICATO . PER . ORIENTEM . OCCIDENTEM . IMP. . ROM. . ET
NOMINE . CHRISTIANORVM . DELETO . QUI . REMP. . EVER TEBANT.
6
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CHRISTIANITY.
be filled witli his own devices, before interference in his behalf was attempted. Bo we not so deal with the self- willed among ourselves ? " Let them go their own way/' say we, " try their own remedies ; and, when they dis- cover that they require help, they will gladly accept it.-*' I do think, my friends, that when a few more thousand years have rolled away — and with God they are but as one day — that all will admit that the troubled infancy of this world, its moral disorder, and its yearnings for order and peace, will not have been without their uses ; as the chaotic upbreakings of the earth's physical surface in past ages are now ministering to our wants, our comfort, and to human advancement. I could, if time permitted, show you that the period selected for the mission of Christ was admirably adapted for the purpose contem- plated : in that the world had come to be under the rule of one emperor, whose policy tolerated all religions, so that Christianity was carried, in its early days, even to the burning sands of India and to the snows of Siberia ; in that the Jewish Scriptures and prophecies had been ti'anslated into Greek, and the literature of that polished nation had been extensively diflfused over the world ; in that the troubles which had fallen upon Palestine had distributed the Jews into " every nation under heaven.-" All these circumstances concurred to further the spread of Christianity, while they indicated that the fulness of time had come.'"
Or you may, some of you, perhaps object — If Chris- tianity was from God, why did it not cast down Paganism at once and destroy it on the spot ?
God does not work so, either in the moral or the physical world. The earthquake and the tornado are not His usual but His extraordinary agencies. Why He
OBJECTION ANSWERED.
88
does not so work is not for us to determine; we can watch_, however, and trace His working in Nature, and we shall find it agree with His dealings in Providence. God is in no haste (if I may use the expression). His time is not limited like man^s, who, if he have aught to do, must ^' do it with all his might," for " the night Cometh when no man can work.'^ But it is not so with God; eternity is before Him, and He works, to our senses, deliberately , hut surely and irresistibly.
Let us consider an illustration of His method of working.
Insignificant insects are diligently piling atom upon atom ; ages pass away, and their work is gradually rising to the top of the waters, lifting up itself a coral reef above the foaming waves; sea-birds alight on it, and sea-weed is flung upon it, and contribute to the forma- tion of a soil ; volcanic action, deep seated beneath, is heaving gradually the surface into hill and dale. A bird drops a seed here, a wave casts up another there. The graceful palm, the useful bread-fruit, and the grateful orange spring up, and a forest diversifies the scene.
But thousands of years have passed away since the animalcules began their task.
Look again : a drifted canoe is borne out of its accus- tomed course ; the island is peopled ; the inhabitants are naked, savage, idolatrous, bloodthirsty. Another thousand years wing their flight.
Again the scene changes : a strange sail is in sight, a boat puts ofi" — civilized men are landing ; they make overtures of peace and of reciprocal barter. The inha- bitants clothe themselves, and erect convenient dwellings; a written language is being constructed. A printing- press is set up ; the Book of Truth is printed, read.
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CHRISTIANITY.
acted upon. They have " cast their idols to the moles and to the bats they have thrown down their blood- stained altars ; they have converted their " swords into ploughshares^ and their spears into pruning-hooks.'^ GoD^s PURPOSE IS COMPLETE ; lut it Tias occujjied j^erhaps six thousand years to bring it about.
Count not, then, Grod^s years as you would number the few days allotted to yourselves. The Lord is not slack as men count slackness.''^ Let us beware of at- tempting to measure with our puny lines the depths of infinity and the length and breadth of eternity, remem- bering that
" His judgments are a mighty deep,
Where plummet of archangel's intellect Could never yet find soundings, but from age To age, let down, drawn up, then thrown again, With lengthened line and added weight, yet fails : For still the cry in heaven is, ' Oh, the depth ! ' "
Learn, then, that when God works none may hinder Him, but He will work like an Eternal God nevertheless. Thus worked He, and thus works He still, with regard to Christianity, the Divinely-appointed agency for this world^s regeneration. It has cast down the Paganism of the Roman Empire ; it is now at work upon other evils to which I must refer in my concluding lecture. In the words of our Lord^s parable, the leaven cast into the meal is at work, until the whole is leavened. It is actively engaged upon Eastern and Western Paganism, and is undermining and supplanting false religion and superstition all over the world.
" Its wakening smiles
Have broke the gloom of Pagan sleep ;
The Word has reached the utmost isles ; God's spirit moves upon the deep.
EFFECTS OP CHRISTIANITY.
85
Already, from the dust of death,
Mau, in his Maker's image, stands ; Once more he draws immortal breath,
And stretches forth to heaven his hands."
In conclusion, let me bespeak your gratitude for what Christianity has done for us. It would have done more, but for the reasons I shall assign in my last lecture ; but its beneficial effects are too apparent not to demand grateful acknowledgment.
Paganism amongst us has been cast out, with its cruelty, human sacrifices, and revolting rites. The horrors of war have been mitigated. In lieu of child- murder, carried on systematically, we have asylums for mothers in the hour of trial, for foundlings, orphans, the ragged, the starving and the forsaken. Mercy is now extended to the poor, the outcast, and the abandoned. We have refuges for the erring, the idiot, and the de- mented ; hospitals for the wounded, the sick, and the dying. Suicide and revenge, once accounted honourable, are now disgraceful and illegal. Woman has been lifted to the level she was designed to occupy ; instead of the drudge and slave of man, she is now, with us, his equal, the ornament and the happiness of his home. And with respect to yourselves, as forming part of the great mass of the people, how has Christianity improved your posi- tion, your moral character !
Had you lived in those days of Pagan darkness, how would you, my friends, have amused yourselves this evening ? Instead of listening to a lecture, which, by your attention, I conclude, has been interesting, you would, in all probability, with your families, have been gloating over scenes of bloodshed, or indulging unfeel- ing ears with the cries and groans of the helpless, the
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CHRISTIANITY.
wounded^ and the dying ; have been shouting, perchance, for The Christians to the lions or would have rioted, perhaps, because some fresh victim, to be torn with the ungulce,"^ had been denied to you. You and I, but for God^s grace, might have been equally callous to human suffering with human nature of old ; and this very even- ing we might have given, again and again, the signal to despatch a fellow-mortal, already so miserable, that death would hardly be regarded as a foe. Or, if illuminated by the light of the Gospel shining in our hearts, you and I might have occupied the more enviable position as vic- tims, to make sport for a short hour for all ranks and classes of Pagan Rome.
You will remind me that slavery is still practised in some countries by professing Christians, attended by many of its most revolting features. I have not for- gotten it j who could ignore the painful fact ? The incon- sistency is so glaring, that it is difficult to determine whether feelings of astonishment or of shame predominate in the breast of the Christian who regards it. The oppo- nent of Christianity may well point his finger at such an exhibition ; but I must beg his candid attention to one or two statements, which he in fairness must listen to before he comes to a decision hostile to Christianity, founded on such inconsistency.
No sooner had Christianity attained to worldly power, than it directed itself to mitigate evils which it could not immediately subdue. 'J'he manumission — that is, liberation — of slaves, was esteemed so honourable in the Christian, that the first Christian emperor dignified the
* Instruments of iron, resembling a claw or hand, used for tearing and lacerating the flesh.
SLAVERY.
87
act by requiring that their emancipation should be an- nounced hij the bishop before the assembled Ghurch. Many honours have been^ since that day, bestowed upon Church dignitaries by the powers of the earth. What higher dignity than this could be conferred by them on a mi- nister of Jesus Christ ?
The institution of slavery fell throughout Europe, not with a sudden crash, but gradually, before the ad- vance and extension of Christianity. No one can put his finger on the period and say, Then and there ended slavery but slavery, in Western Christian Europe at least f is extinct.^ In the Augustan age, out of twenty- eight millions of Europeans, at least half of that number are estimated to have groaned under the most cruel bondage. Athens, the most refined city in the world — the boasted home of freedom — at the height of her pros- perity, possessed 421,000 inhabitants^ 400,000 of whom vjere slaves, f Of the numerical predominance of slaves over freemen at Rome, I have already spoken. Where are they now ? If you travel from the Pillars of Her- cules to the Danube, from the Icy Cape to the foot of Italy, not one is to be found. We can afi'ord to bear with the taunt of the opponent of Christianity, having such a fact to appeal to ; but I have another to point out no less conclusive.
Christianity, as you will learn, kept not its first estate. The fine gold became dim, and many of the old evils crept back to afflict mankind; amongst them slavery,
* This Lecture was delivered before the abolition of serfdom in the Eussian Empire, by which 25,000,000 serfs, who had neither wives, children, or property to call their own, were liberated in the year 1862.
t Lecture by Professor Alison, on the " Influence of Chris- tianity." London : Seeleys, 1852.
88
CHRISTIANITY.
like a bird of evil omen^ scented tlie corruption^ and re- turned to its congenial pursuits. Tlie slave-trade with Africa sprang up^ and a legalized traffic in flesh and blood v^as carried on by many nations professing Chris- tianity. Not_, however_, to be acquiesced in silently, as to Pagan times ; the advocates of the wrong were doomed to listen to the murmurs, the complaints, and, afterwards, the indignant declamation, the withering denunciation, of Christian patriots and statesmen. The Statute 3 & 4 William IV., chapter 73, was the proud result, passed on the 28th August, 1833. By this Act, slavery, previously unlawful in Britain, became illegal throughout her vast dominions. Let me request you to bear in mind this statute — as Englishmen you may well indulge an honest pride that you can identify yourselves with such a mea- sure. It furnishes a striking comment on the power of Christianity. A nation taxing itself voluntarily, almost unanimously, to the amount of twenty millions of pounds, in order ihat it might be for ever free from the crime of slavery, conferred upon itself, by that act, more real dig- nity and glory than it acquired by its conquests by sea and land — all its accumulated triumphs of science, lite- rature, and commerce.
Slavery is now repudiated by all the European States (Spain excepted), and treaties of mutual co-operation exist between them for its prevention. It requires not the prophet's vision to foretell its early downfall elsewhere ; its chains are loosening, its yoke is falling from the neck, before the silent but irresistible force of Christian opinion. Whether its abettors will have the wisdom to perceive their peril and avert their own ruin, or whether they will be involved in the coming destruction of slavery, is for themselves to determine by timely action.
SLAVERY.
89
As certainly as the sun rising dispels the midnight vapours, so certainly luill the extending doctrine of the Sun of Righteousness proclaim ^' liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are hound.'' *
If Christianity has eflPected such changes in the habits, tastes_, and condition of men ; if it has accomplished all that I have indicated in this lecture — and my conscience acquits me of having at all overstated its results — then I would say_, in conclusion, do not let us lightly reject its claims to be Divine, or be ungrateful for what it has already effected. Eather let us evince our gratitude by studying more earnestly its character, and drinking more deeply of its spirit, depending unhesitatingly upon its power to accomplish ultimately all that it came to pjerform.
* This was first written in 1851. The fall of slavery in the United States, predicted as above, was, in the good providence of God, accomplished as a result of the Civil War by which the blind advocates of slavery destroyed themselves, and brought about the liberation of four millions of slaves. The Constitu- tional Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified by the States, and on the ISth of December, 1865, proclamation was issued ac- cordinsjly. The following beautiful poem was written by J. G. Whittier, on hearing the bells ring on that happy occasion : —
LAUS DEO !
It is done !
Clang- of bell and roar of gua Send the tidings up and down.
How the belfries rock and reel,
How the great guns, peal on peal, Fling the joy from town to town.
Pang, 0 bells !
Every stroke exulting tells Of the burial-hour of crime.
Loud and long that all may hear
Ring for every listening ear Of Eternity and Time !
CHRISTIANITY.
Let us kneel : God's own voice is in that peal,
And this spot is holy l' round. Lord forgive us ! What are we, That our eyes this glory see,
That our ears have heard the sound ?
For the Lord
On the whirlwind is ahroad ; In the earthquake He has spoken :
He has smitten with his thunder
The iron walls asunder, And the gates of brass are broken !
Loud and long, Lift the old exulting song ;
Sing with Miiiam by the sea : He hath cast the mighty down ; Horse and rider sink and drown ;
He hath triumphed gloriously !
Did we dare
In our agony of prayer Ask for more than He has done?
"When was ever his right hand
Over any time or land Stretched as now beneath the sun !
How they pale, Ancient myth, and song, and tale.
In this wonder of our da}s. When the cruel rod of war Blossoms white with righteous law,
And the wrath of man is praise !
Blotted out !
All within and all about Shall a freslier life begin ;
Freer breathe the universe
As it rolls its heavy curse On the dead and buried sin !
It is done !
In the circuit of the sun Shall the sound thereof go forth.
It sliall bid the sad rejoice.
It shall give the dumb a voice, It si. all belt with joy the earth !
Ring and swing Bells of joy ! on morning's wing
Send the song of praise abroad : With a sound cf broken chains Tell the nations that He reigns
Who alone is Lord and God !
LECTURE III.
THE CATACOMBS.
"They wandered in dens and caves of the earth," — Heb. xi. 38.
My last lecture extended to such lengthy that I was con- strained to postpone mention of many interestiug points connected with the Catacombs. I propose bringing them before you this evening, previously to replying to a com- mon objection_, which must occupy our attention during the remainder of our course.
When you call to memory the statement of the Apostle Paul,* that Dot many wise (learned) men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble were called/' to pro- fess Christianity, you will be prepared to hear that the inscriptions of the Catacombs are not to be studied as models of classic elegance ; on the contrary, they are often rude in the extreme, and betray ignorance of letters in those who dictated, as well as in those who executed the work.
In one case the inscription has been entirely reversed, excepting the letter w, so that it must be spelt backward to make sense of it. It is an epitaph set up to Elia ViNCENTiA, THE WIFE OF ViEGiNius ; the husbaud, if hving, must have been unable to read, and he does not appear to have had any friend capable of pointing out the blunder.
* 1 Cor. i. 26.
92
THE CATACOMBS.
Orthograpliy^ or spelling, is generally found very defec- tive_, and the grammar is often as bad as the spelling, and consequently the meaning is frequently difficult to de- termine. B is very commonly put for v. One specimen will suffice for an example. [ 82- ]
The inscription, of which I show you a fac-simile, reads thus :
SABINl BISO . " MUM SE BIBUM
FECIT SIBI IN GYMI lERIUM B^AnBINAE IN CRYPTA NOBA.
The meaning is, " The bisomum (grave for two) of Sabi- nus; he made it for himself during his lifetime, in the cemetery of Balbina, in the new crypt."*^
Here h is put for v in hihum, um is put for o as the termination of that word, which should be vivo ; cemeterio is spelt cymiierium ; halhiyioe had been spelfc correctly, ex- cepting that the I is upside down, but some ill-informed critic has interpolated an r and an /, which has made matters worse ; while in the last word nova, the v is again displaced by a I shall not dwell longer upon the literary part of the subject, as more important and interest- ing matter demands our attention. I will only observe, that words dictated in Greek are often found written in Roman letters, while Roman words are sometimes written in Greek letters, and occasionally the languages are oddly mixed.
Thus : Peima Irene soe is Greek couched in Latin letters, meaning " Prima, peace to thee/'
It does not appear to have been a general practice to
sab;a/i Biso
rEOT^lBllNCrWf
EMPTVM lOCUM A BARTEMISTVM VlSOMVMHOC-EST-ETPRE>IVM DATVMAFOSSORI -H I LARO-ID- EST
FoIai
rOSS-ET- LAV RENT
rX3 0 PRKENTIA SEVERI
A FOSSOR- WITH INSCRIPTION.
SYMBOLS RELATING TO N A M E. S
FOSSOKS.
93
place dates upon the gi-avestones ; many of them, how- ever_, give the names of the Roman Consuls in office, by which names the date can be ascertained, as lists of the Consuls have been preserved to our times. The earliest slab containing the consular date appears to have been set up A.D. 98 — that is, about sixty-one years from the death of Christ ; the next is dated a.d. 102, about the period of the death of the beloved Apostle John ; another is inscribed a.d. Ill ; and others, various dates, of the second, tliird, and fourth centuries. It must not be con- cluded that no Christians were buried in the Catacombs before the year 98, but that no earlier date has been left upon record. Thousands of graves contain nothing more than a name, and some symbol of faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection.
A body of men existed whose office it was to construct the graves and regulate all matters relating to interments. They were called /os507'.s, or sextons ; probably they were originally the sand-diggers and quarrymen^ converted to Christianity by witnessing its effects upon those who professed that faith, brought as they were into close and immediate contact with its persecuted professors and martyrs. They became afterwards a regularly organized body of excavators and guides, and had charge pro- bably of the lamps which have been found in niches at certain intervals, and not only made tombs, but sold and conveyed them.
Here is a painting from the cemetery of Calhstus. The inscription at the top reads [ 82. ] —
DIOGENES THE FOSSOR. BURIED IN PEACE ON THE EIGHTH BEFORE THE KALENDS OF OCTOBER
94
THE CATACOMBS.
In one hand lie holds a pick^ in the other a lamp^ fur- nished with a spike to drive into the rock ; on the ground are his cutting implements, hammer, and compasses for marking out the graves ; the recess behind him is lined with tombs, covered with slabs ; at his feet is an open grave ; while the Grreek X (Chi) on his dress, the initial letter of Christ, indicates his Christian profession, and the doves with olive-branches the peace in which he rests.
Here is another slab, from which we learn that the fossors sold and conveyed the graves, and we gather something of the prices paid for them : [ 82. ]
THE PLAGE BOUGHT BY BARTEMISTUS, THAT IS, A BI80MUM, AND THE FRIGE PAID TO THE FOSSOR HILARUS.THE SUM OF FOURTEEN HUNDRED FOLLES, IN THE PRESENGE OF THE FOSSORS SEVERUS AND LAURENCE.
This perfect but very concise form of conveyance might be studied with advantage by our modern conveyancers. The price paid for the grave in our money would be £1 2s. 7d.
I have told you already that not many learned were gathered to Christ in the earlier ages of the Church, con- sequently very many could not read the inscriptions. How, then, were friends and survivors to distinguish the graves of those they loved and mourned ? They availed themselves of the use of pictures, symbols, or signs. This is very clear, for the connection of the symbol with the name or trade of the person buried is easily traced in many cases. For instance, here are four epitaphs of this kind, each of them having some representation as a symbol in addition to the inscription. [ 83. ]
NAVIA IN PEAGE-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.
TRADE SYMBOLS.
95
Now iiavis is the Latin for ship, and a ship is repre- sented as the best phonetic symbol for Navira. Again :
PONTIUS LEO MADE THIS FOR HIMSELF WHILE LIVING. HE AND HIS WIFE, PONTIA MAXIMA, MADE THIS FOR THEIR WELL-DESERVING SON APOLLINARIS.
Here leo is the Latin for lion^ and a lion is used accord- ingly to point out the tomb of Pontius Leo and his son. Again : here are two casks, and the inscription :
DOLIENS THE FATHER TO JULIUS HIS SON.
•
Bulium is Latin for cask, a cask is put to symbolize the name of Doliens.
Once more : here is an inscription with a pig, and we find it is the tomb of a little girl named Porcella, which means in Latin a little pig. It reads :
HERE SLEEPS PORCELLA IN PEACE; SHE LIVED THREE YEARS, TEN MONTHS, THIRTEEN DAYS.
Roman Catholic writers have invented many super- stitious stories to account for these S3'mbols, which they regarded as evidences of martyrdom. The spread of learning since the last century has dispelled, however, much of this ignorance.
It was a common practice with many nations of anti- quity to represent the pursuits of life, tools, or working implements, upon the tombs of the dead; and also to place such articles in the graves. This accounts for many such articles found in graves in the Catacombs, and also for another class of symbols represented on the grave- stones, referring evidently to the trades and occupations of the deceased.
Here is a gravestone with the inscription [ 84 ] —
BAUTO AND MAXIMA MADE THIS DURING THEIR LIFETIME.
96
THE CATACOMBS.
A saw, cliiael, and adze evidently tell that a Bauto was a carpenter by trade.
Anotlier, with two mallets and a knife, is evidently the grave of one engaged in a trade which cannot, however, be fixed with any certainty. It reads : —
CONSTANTIA, BURIED IN PEACE, ON THE LORD'S DAY THE SIXTH BEFORE THE KALENDS OF JULY, IN THE FIFTH C:NSULATE OF HONORIUS AUGUSTUS WHO LIVED SIXTY YEARS, MORE OR LESS. TO THE WELL-DESERVING, IN
PEACE.
The date of this grave, a.d. 402, long after the per- secutions ceased, proves that the symbols had nothing to do with martyrdom.
A broken slab, with the simple inscription, the place OF ADEODATus, has representations of the implements of a woolcomber.
Another, to veneria, in peace, would indicate that she was in the same trade ; a very common one at Eome, where almost all classes wore woollen garments.
Another gravestone is erected to the wife of a shoe- maker, two slippers being scratched thereon. The in- scription, the first line of which is missing, reads [ 85 ] :
TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS, SIX MONTHS, ELEVEN DAYS, AND EIGHT
HOURS. MARCIANUS, TO HIS MOST WORTHY WIFE, IN PEACE.
An ancient bushel-measure, filled with grain, scratched upon another stone, would seem to indicate that it closed the grave of one who dealt in corn. It reads :
VICTORINA, IN PEACE, AND IN CHRIST. One more illustration upon the subject must suffice.
TRADE SYMBOLS.
97
A slab represents a stonemason at work upon a sarco- phagus; a boy is helping him, by working the drill em- ployed in boring the stone ; the other implements of the trade are on the ground ; and the finished sarcophagus, with a name on it agreeing with the name in the inscrip- tion, informs us that Eutropus was engaged in the trade of a sculptor and maker of sepulchral monuments. He stands in a praying attitude, with a cup in his hand. The inscription, which is in Greek, reads :
THE HOLY WORSHIPPER OF COD, EUTROPUS, IN PEACE. HIS SON MADE THIS. HE DIED ON ThE TENTH KALENDS OF SEPTEMBER.
It would be an interesting inquiry, but beside my pur- pose, to ascertain how far these endeav^ours to inscribe, symbolically, names and professions led to the general adoption of family s^^mbols, such as crests and armorial bearings ; which very commonly consist of some allusion to or play upon the family name or occupations. This practice— subsequently reduced into system, as the science of heraldry — has usually been attributed to the inscribing of symbols on the shields of those who engaged in the Crusades in the Holy Land during the middle ages ; but it is quite evident the practice was not then originated, but merely revived, for traces of it exist not only in the Catacombs at Rome but upon the tombs of the Armenian Christians to this day ; it was adopted by wealth}^ families in the Augustan age ; by Mecsenas, for instance, whose crest was a frog, and may be detected in the graves of the kings of Egypt, and on the cylinders and seals of ancient Assyria,
I must now proceed to explain another and most in- teresting class of symbols universally prevalent in the
7
98
TETE CATACOMBS.
Catacombs, namely, tliose whicli relate to tlie reliijlous helief of the early Christians.
Ignorant as they mainly were of both reading and writing, and persecuted for their faith in Christ, it was obviously necessary that some symbol should be found which should enable them to express their belief, and be at the same time unintelligible to their persecutors. Hence arose the use of two common symbols ; one of which is called the Monogram (that is, one character composed of more than one letter), and the other is called the Fish. It is thought that the monogram came first into use, but its signification being discovered, it was no longer capable of shielding the Christian tombs from insult and desecration ; the other more occult symbol was consequently employed.
The monogram, in its earliest form, consisted only of the two Greek letters, X (Chi) and P (Rho), the initial letters of XPISTO^^ the Greek name of Christ. These letters were like our X and P, and we find the X with the P drawn standing within it, Thus :
Here is a rude illustration, which reads
TASARIS, IN CHRIST, THE FIRST AND THE LAST. [ 86 ]
The monogram is here used for " Christ/^ and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega being added to it to express " the first and the last,^^ as the titles of the Lord Jesus Christ, adopted by Himself in the Book of Revelation.^'
Here is another example of the sj-mbol, and also of the prevailing ignorance upon literary points. A frag- ment of stone containing part of a date, the first before
* Kevelation i. 8, 11, etc.
RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS.
99
THE IDES_, lias the monogmmj with, the Alpha and Omega^ surrounded by a circle, which device the sculptor has re- presented upside (loicn.
Observe also two other forms of this symbol_, each of them surrounded by a circle, evidently intended to ex- press belief in the eternity of Christ, the circle being a significant and very ancient symbol of eternity in use among the ancients. In the one case the monogram is represented simply with the Alpha and Omega ; in the other case, the letters e s D E i s are found encircling the monogram, which is supposed to signif}^ CJiristus est Deiis (Christ is God).
A. transition from the Greek Chi to the upright cross was likely soon to be suggested, as representing symboli-
Dcally the instrument of our Lord^s cruci- fixion. This took place in course of time, ^MH. M^^Mi and is seen frequently on more recent monu- ments j the head of the Rho being affixed to the upper limb of the cross. Thus : Two instances I point out to you; one, of them simple, the other enclosed in an equilateral triangle, supposed to signify the faith in the doctrine of a Triune God.*
The other symbol, which had reference to the faith in Christ, was a fish — difficult to unriddle, had it not been that inscriptions with the Greek word I%5f9, a fish, as well as the representation itself, occurred, pointing out that the significance rested with the letters of tJie word, as as well as with the object itself. The explanation is that the word is formed from the iuitials of the Greek words describing the names, titles, and office of the Lord Jesiis
* This instance is derived from Twinings's " Early and Mediaeval Christian Art."
100
THE CATACOMBS.
Cliristj viz., Irjcrov^ XpicrTo^;, ©eov Tlos, Scorrjp (Jesus Christy Son of God, the Saviour).
Here are illustrations from tlie Lapidarian Gallery ; one of the Fish, and the other of the word IX0T2, on uu inscription, which reads : [ 87 ]
iK*0Y2 (IN CHRIST). TO THE GOOD AND INNOCENT SON OF PASTORUS WHO LIVED X YEARS AND Nil MONTHS,
You will recollect that I referred to the fact of Jews being in Kome at the period of the introduction of Christianity there, and to the statement of Suetonius that they raised tumults respecting that faith. The concluding chapter of the Acts of the Apostles informs us of the same fact, for Paul, on his arrival at Rome,t sent for the Jews, and reasoned with them on the subject of Christi- anity; but finding them generally averse to its receptioD, he turned to the Romans, saying, ^' Be it known there- fore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.''^ Now, it may be interesting to you to know that, unlikely as it may appear, the Catacombs afford evidence of this state of things; that Jews were at Rome ; that, being confounded with the Christians, naturally enough they participated in their persecutions, and sought refuge with them in the Catacombs, but, nevertheless, kept themselves apart from the Christians as it regarded their religious services.
In one of the galleries on the Via Portuense, con- taining no Christian inscription whatever, there was found by Bosio a lamp, having on it a representation of the golden candlestick of the Temple of Jerusalem, and upon the wall over it the word Synagogue, in Greek letters.
* K ignorantly for X.
t Acts xxviii. 17—28.
86
RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS.
EELIGIOUS SYMBOLS.
101
evidently indicating the place of meeting for Jewish worship. [ 87 ] It is clear^ notwithstanding, that some of Jewish origin were converted to the Christian faith^ for there has been found, an exceedingly curious epitaph, " written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latiu/^ which doubtless marks the resting-place of a Christianized Jewess. The inscription in Greek letters reads here lies Faustina. At the foot is a very rough attempt to inscribe the Hebrew Shalom, peace. The Jewish candlestick is in the centre the slab, on one side an oil- vessel, and on the other a palm-branch. The explanation would seem to be, that a Jewess, upon conversion, took as her Christian name the Latin Faustina, and her friends at her death recorded upon her tomb her Hebrew origin, as well as her Christian faith.
In another instance, a female with a Jewish name, Eliasa, sets up a slab to the memory of a Roman hus- band, SoRicius, inscribed
TO OUR GREAT COD-ELIASA TO SORICIUS.
The centre of the slab exhibits the monogram of Christ, with the ends of the side branches turned up to form the figure of the candlestick, ingeniously combining, in a small compass, as in the former case, the idea of Jewish origin with Christian belief.*
The phonetic and trade symbols, and those which ex- pressed faith in Christ, were not by any means the only symbolic figures made use of. In an ignorant age, it was needful to express in signs many things which in our times are conveyed without difficulty in writing.
* See Maitland's " Church in the Catacombs," pp. 76 — 78 and 210.
MATITYRS^ GKAVES.
103
mentioned in tlie Book of Revelation. Tliere is no reason to conclude tliat tliese symbols marked particwlarly tlie graves of martyrs ; the reference is to tlie triompli of the Christian over sin, the world, and the devil, rather than over the weakness of the flesh in the hour of persecution.
Here is an illustration, in v.hich the monogram of Christ is surrounded by the palin-branches of triumph, and surmounted by a crown, which shows to whose strength the victory was attributed by these early Chris- tians.
The inscription reads : [ 87 ]
FLAVIA JOVINA, WHO LIVED THREE YEARS AND THIRTY DAYS, A NEOPHYTE. IN PEACE. DIED THE II BEFORE THE KALENDS.
In closing this account of the symbols used by these illiterate Christians, I must guard myself against being understood as approving of the use of symbolical repre- sentations of Divine things. A vast amount of idolatr}^, both in Pagan and in professing Christian countries, can be traced to the use of symbols, which are quite un- necessary now that education is so universal.
I now proceed to notice the subject of martyrs' graves. The Christian will always take a deep interest in all that concerns those who, at any period of the world^s history, have laid down. their lives rather than surrender the faith and hope of the Gospel, and deny the Lord who bought them; but particular interest attaches to those who sus- tained the brunt of the conflict with the powers of dark- ness in the infancy of Christianity. Unfortunately, ignor- ance and superstition have done much to render researches into the subject distasteful to many, and difficult to all. Every scratch on a gravestone has been construed into a
104
THE CATACOMBS.
sign of martrydom, every symbol of trade into an imple- ment of torture, and every bone found into a martyr's remains. Sucli was the zeal and sucli the ignorance of the professors of the Eomish faith when the Catacombs were re-opened, that a great part of the bones found were carried away as precious relics, to sanctify, as it was believed, the churches in which they were deposited. Of Christians, therefore, whether martyrs or otherwise, very few remains are to be found. Happily, the search for bones was more zealously pursued than that for inscrip- tions j and we can well spare the Romanists the bones, as they have permitted us to draw sermons in stones'' from the inscriptions which have been preserved, and which, being printed, are now imperishable.
There is reason to believe that very few perfect in- scriptions relating to martyrs now exist ; indeed, it does not appear to have been the practice of the early Christians to obtrude their own sufferings upon others; their inscrip- tions almost always point to a glorious immortality, and seldom dwell upon present or past suffering. The idea expressed by the Apostle* appears to have been ever before them : For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal w^eight of glory." ''Peace'' is inscribed on thousands of graves j " Suffering'' on but very few. With the excep- tion of a few fragments, on which the word ^'Martyr" appears, and the case of Alexander already alluded to (page 76), there have been found in the Catacombs only four well-attested instances of inscriptions alluding to martyrdom.
Here are fac-similes of two and copies of two. Let
* See 2 Cor. iv. 8-18.
martyrs' graves.
105
me speak of the copies first. One displays the palm- branch and monogram of the Saviour. The Emperor Adrian's name fixes the date at about the year a.d. 130 : [90]-
IN THE TIME OF THE EMPEROR ADRIAN, MARIUS, A YOUNG MILITARY OFFICER, WHO HAD LIVED LONG ENOUGH, WHEN WITH BLOOD HE GAVE UP HIS LIFE FOR CHRIST, AT LENGTH HE RESTED IN PEACE. HE WELL-DESERVING SET UP THIS WITH TEARS AND IN FEAR, ON THE SIXTH BEFORE THE IDES OF . IN CHRIST.
This inscription was evidently erected in a time of actual persecution, " in tears and in fear."
Here is another inscription set up by a martyr's widow, telling, in few and touching words, of the suffer- ings of the flesh, and also of the pangs which must have racked the bosoms of those united in bonds of the tenderest affection. A class of suffering perhaps the most actually felt, but too much overlooked in our con- sideration of martyrs' trials in all ages.
PRIMITIUS IN PEACE. AFTER MANY TORMENTS, A MOST VALIANT MATRYR. HE LIVED THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS, MORE OR LESS. HIS WIFE RAISED THIS TO HER DEAREST HUSBAND, THE WELL-DESERVING.
Here, again, is a fac-simile of an inscription found by Boldetti; it is the sole known record in the Catacombs of the fearful Diocletian persecution. Its value is increased by the letters E p s, proving that the slab closed the actual resting-place of Lannus and his family. It reads :
LANNUS, CHRIST'S MARTYR, RESTS HERE. HE SUFFERED UNDER THE DIOCLETIAN PERSECUTION, (E. P. S,) THE CRAVE IS FOR HIS POSTERITY. The last inscription, of which I show you a fac-simile.
106
THE CATACOMBS.
is of too mucli interest to be passed over without a more detailed notice.
It is written in an unusual Greek character, but tlie words are Latin. It reads :
HERE LIES GORDIANUS, DEPUTY CF CAUL, WHO WAS EXECUTED FOR THE FAITH, WITH ALL HIS FAMILY. THEY REST IN PEACE. THEOPHILA A HANDMAID. SET UP THIS,
A palm-brancli is added at the foot.
This epitaph, discovered by Aringhi in 1650, has caused much learned speculation. Why it should have been written in Greek characters unlike all others in the Catacombs, and why a maid-servant from Gaul (ancient France) should write in Greek at all, have been questions difficult to decide. It is thus satisfactorily explained by Dr. Maitland. f
'''About thirty years after the time of Aringhi, Mabillon crew attention to an observation made by Julius Caesar, } that the Gallic Druids were accustomed to use Greek letters in their secular transactions, and that they had the management of the education of youth. This accounts for Theophila^s Greek, some letters of which can scarcely be admitted within the pale of the standard alphabet. She afterwards learns Latin, but only by ear; this ill- assorted learning does not enable her both to write and speak any one language. Theophila has one resource, to express Latin words in Druidical Greek letters : in this v. ay she contrives to record the martyrdom of her master. We are here met by a difficulty : we have made out,
* Hic GoRDiAXUs Gallle xuxcius jugulatus peo fide. CUil
FA:UILIA TOTA; QUIESCrXT IX PACE, THEOPHDLA AXCILLA EECIT.
t " Church in the Catacombs," pp. 134—136. ;|; CcEsar, De Bello Galileo, lib. vi.
MARTYRS^ GRAVES.
107
npon the streiigtli of an obscure inscription^ the story of a lloman legate^, a man higli in office^ martyred for tlie faith. We have placed the incident in Rome, and fixed upon the Catacombs as his burial-place. We have given him a household, and, in particular, a faithful Christian handmaid, who raises a monument to his memory. But does history contain no notice of so remarkable an occur- rence ? Aringhi, who discovered the epitaph, knew of none. About ninety years before Aringhi wrote, Surius published a manuscript, entitled ^ The Martyrdom of St. Gordianus.^ In this tract is described the conversion of a Eoman nobleman named Gordianus, through the preach- ing of Januarius the presbyter, who suffered in the time of Julian ; also, the baptism of Gordianus and his wife Marina, together with a large part of his household, amountiug to fifty-three persons. Gordianus was mar- tyred, and his body exposed before the temple of Minerva, from which indignity it was soon rescued by one of the household, who buried it in the Catacombs, in the Latin Way. A coincidence more complete can scarcely be desired."
The almost filial affection of this Christian maid- servant for her martyred master reminds us strongly of Mary of Bethany, her love for the Saviour and her fearless avowal of her faith when she anointed Him in the house of Simon the leper ; * while the notoriety which has been given to the loving and courageous act of Theophila the handmaid reminds us also of the prediction of the Saviour on that occasion: ^^Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.^^
* Matt. xxvi. 6—13.
108
THE CATACOMBS.
The Catacombs contain many representations of men and women standing with their hands outstretched ; which figures were supposed by Roman Catholics to iudicate the graves of martyrs. It is clear^ however, that the assump- tion is unfounded, and that the position of the figures re- presents rather a sentiment than a fact ; the standing with hands outstretched being the universal posture for prayer in the early Church at Rome.
I show you two representations, out of a great many which have been preserved [ 91 ] ; one is that of a female, and the other represents the Apostle Paul. If you look also at the sarcophagus of Eutropus [ 85 ], before alluded to, and at Daniel in the Lion^s den [ 94 you will perceive that both are represented in the same attitude.
This posture in prayer was common to both Pagans and Christians, as may be seen by reference to Virgil, a Pagan poet, as well as to TertuUian, a Christian writer. The latter, in his Apology, says : For the emperors we supplicate the true, the living, the eternal God, in whose power they are : to whom they are second, after whom first. With hands extended, because harmless ; with heads uncovered, because not ashamed ; without a prompter, because from the heart we ask long life and every blessing
for him Then, while we stand ijraijing before
God, let the lingular tear us, the crosses bear our weight, let the flames envelope us, the sword divide our throats, the beasts spring upon us ; the very posture of a praying Christian (i.e., erect, with hands outstretched like a cross) is a preparation for every "punishment/'^
Christians in the Catacombs are universally repre-
* Tertullian, Apol., cap. 30.
PRAYING FIGURES.
92
LOVE-FEAST. FRESCO PAINTING.
POSTURE IN Pi'vAYEK.
100
sented as praying in this position^ tlie practice of kneeling in prayer having been introduced as a genei^al practice at a later date.* This fact affords valuable corroborative evidence of the antiquity of the sculptures and works of art found in the Catacombs ; for^ had fraud been attempted to be practised_, it would have displayed itself by incon- sistencies similar to those which declare so unequivocally certainly literary forgeries professing to be works of the early Church.
Do not suppose that because I have pointed out to you the primitive practice of the Church, as it regards the posture for devotion^ that I attach any weight to the position of the body, or sympathise with those who treat such matters as essentials of Christianity. It is lamentable to reflect how often Christian has been estranged from Christian, in consequence of a different practice as it re- gards the form in which a spiritual worship should bo rendered. Religion has long ceased to be a matter of time, or place, or posture, as it was among lagans ; it is now of the heart and not of the knees, luhether bent or
* According to the authorities cited in the E,ev. Lyman Cole- man's "Antiquities of the Christian Church" (p. 100), the practice of kneeling in public prayer was introduced as a penance, hneeliuq being termed the less penance, in distinction from prosf ration, pre- scribed for greater offenders ; standing in prayer was denied to those who were under the Church's censure, it being esteemed the prerogative and privilege only of consistent believers. It is easy to trace the connection between the original practice of causing penitents to kneel, and the feeling of humility so generally connected with the kneeling posture in more modern times. Kneeling in prayer was absolutely forbidden on the Lord's day and on the Sabbath day, that is, the Saturday. See great variety of authorities cited in that work, under chapter x., section 12, notes 2 — 11.
110
THE CATACOMES
iinhent. Three thousand years have been insufficient to teach men the truth promulgated, even in the days of Samuel the prophet, that the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the ouhvard appearance, hut the Lord loolceth on the heart J' ^
The inscription, which is affixed to one of the slabs under consideration, reads —
BELLICIA, A MOST FAITHFUL VIRGIN WHO LIVED EIGHTEEN YEARS. IN PEACE. ON THE FOURTEENTH BEFORE THE KALENDS OF SEPTEMBER.
Bellicia is represented clothed in the dress then proper to unmarried females, the stola instlta, or fringed cloak. In the other case, the only inscription is —
PAUL . PASTOR . APOSTLE.
Here the primitive simplicity of the early Church is observable ; no prefix of Saint had then been added to any of Christ^s followers exclusively, but the term was applied, as in the Scriptures, to all alike who were sancti- fied by a true and living faith in Him.f Neither do we find any '"'nimbus,'^ or " glory,^^ or ^^aureole^^ sur- rounding the head of the Apostle, nor indeed the head of any Christians represented in the Catacombs. The practice. Pagan in its origin, had its commencement amongst Christians in the fifth century. J The simple
* 1 Sam. xvi. 7.
t See Rom. i. 7 ; 1 Cor. i. 2 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ; Eph. i. 1 ; Phil. i. 1 ; Col. i. 2, etc., etc. There are fifty-seven instances in the New Testament, in -which believers, as a class, are called " Saints," but no instance of the term applied to an individual to separate him from other believers.
J The earliest instance extant of the nimhus, i.e., circle sur- rounding the head, as used by Christians, is found in a church at Eavenna, built in the fifth century ; it is affixed to a figure of
LOVE- FEASTS.
Ill
and scriptural titles of " pastor^^ or slieplicrd, and " apostle/^ with a cross indicating union with Christ, were considered sufficient distinction for the great Apostle of the Grentiles, in a city in which some of his so-called apostolic successors have permitted to be attributed to them the titles and prerogatives which belong to God.
It is interesting to notice that, among other primitive practices of the early Church, the Catacombs afford illus- tration of the agapoB, or love-feasts. This practice is twice referred to in the New Testament : 2 Peter ii. 13, and Jude, 12th verse. It consisted of a social meal, generally connected with the reception of the Lord's Supper, in imitation of the example of our Lord and His disciples, who partook of the Passover Supper imme- diately before the institution of the Christian ordinance.* The love-feast usually formed part of the festival on the occasion of baptism or marriage, and was observed also at burials. In process of time, excesses were committed and abuses crept in, until the feasts were first banished from the Churches, and subsequently altogether abolished in Europe, t In the early ages of the Church, these meetings doubtless promoted Christian intercourse and brotherly love. Tertullian gives a particularly favourable
Christ. — See Twiniog's "Early and Medio3val Christian Art,'' plate 15, fig. 9, and plate 93, fig, 1. — Illustrations of it, as used hjf Farjans, may be seen in Pompeii, where it is aSixed to the head of Circe and others. — Vide " Library of Entertaining Knowledge — Pompeii," vol. ii. pp. 92, 93, and amusing note as to its origin. * Ignatius, Epist. ad Srayrn., c. 8.
t It is interesting to notice that the practice was found to exist among the Nestorian or Chaldean Christians of Central Asia, by Dr. Asahel Grant, and appears never to have been interrupted fciuce apostolic times. — Yide Dr. Grant's *' Nestorians," p. 57.
112
THE CATACOMBS.
picture of tliem in his Apology.* He represents the meal as frugal and temperate ; the conversation conducted under the conviction that God was present ; prayer was offered, tlie Scriptures read and explained, and hymns sung ; the kiss of peace and brotherhood, and a collection for those who were in want, accompanied the ceremony. It appears likely that the custom of celebrating wakes over dead bodies, as practised in Ireland and elsewhere, may be traced to this observance. The practice of holding feasts of charity has been of late years revived by some bodies of Christians, particularly by the Methodist Churches, and as "the cup which cheers but not ine- briates'^ has been wisely substituted for the wine-cup, excess is avoided, and the practice is not exposed to the odium which once rested on it.
Here is an interesting painting, representing one of these feasts, found in a subterranean chapel in the ceme- tery of Marcellinus and Peter. [ 92- ]
Three guests are seated at table ; a young man sup- plies food from a table in the centre, while two matrons appear to preside ; personifying, as the inscription would infer, " Peace'^ and " Love.''^ On the table are seen a lamb, bread, and a cup, and a wine-flagon stands on the ground. Over the heads of the presidents are two con- tracted Latin inscriptions, which read peace, give hot WATER. LOVE, MIX FOR ME, referring to the almost uui- versal custom in those days of drinking wine mixed with water, t
At the side of this painting are represented two cups, found elsewhere in the Catacombs, referring doubtless to the Lord^s Supper ; one of them contains cakes of bread.
* Apol., p. 93. t Yide " Church in the Catacombs," p. 268.
LOVE-FEASTS.
113
I have now fulfilled my promise^ by explaining to you tbat which is difficulfc and bringing before you that which is most interesting in relation to the inscriptions in the Catacombs; and now allow me, in conclusion, to say, admire the wise providence of God in His doings with re- gard to this subject.
He prepared beforehand a hiding-place for the Truth, a cradle for His persecuted church ; or rather, I should say. He caused the Roman Emperors unwittingly to do so. Before Christianity arrived at Rome, the extensive quarries, which afterwards became the Catacombs, were excavated ; but beyond this it is certain that some of the Roman Emperors condemned Christian soldiers to hard labour in digging sand and stone. This was the case in the reign of Maximian, and tradition states that the baths of Diocletian were built with material procured by the Christians.* This practice made these Christians acquainted with the intricacies of the galleries, and thus enabled them, in times of violent persecution, to become guides to those who resorted to these subterranean refuges, and facilitated that which must have been a dangerous and difficult task — the supply of the sufferers with food. We learn thus how God can make the wrath of man to praise Him,^^ ^^and the remainder of wrath^^ He can restrain. t
* "Church in the Catacombs," p. 34. f Psalm lxx\i. 10.
8
LECTURE IV.
POPERY ;
DEBASED, OR SPURIOUS CHRISTIANITY.
" I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast .... having seven heads and ten horns .... The seven hea-ls are seven hills, on which the woman sitteth .... And tlie woman which thou sawest is that Great City, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." — Eev. xvii. 3, 9, 18.
I NOW arrive at my concluding lecture^ and apply myself to ansv^er an objection which has been made, and nc-t without some plausibility — If Christianity is a Divine remedy, why has it not effected more completely its mission by removing evils which still afflict our world V
That it has accomplished enough to vindicate its Divine character, I think will be conceded by most of you who have listened attentively to my preceding statements. That it might have effected more^ I cannot deny ; that it will accomplish more, I fully believe ; but I think that you are entitled to an answer to the objection I have in- dicated, and shall proceed to supply one/ so far as my humble ability and limited time will permit.
Now, my answer to the objection is, simpl}' — Chris- tianity WAS CORKUPTED, AND IS, TO A GEEAT EXTENT, COR- RUPTED STILL.
To make use of a familiar figure, the Great Physician left behind Him ^prescription adequate to the remedy of
POPERY.
115
the evils of a sinful aud wretched world. It gave evi- dence of its efficacy hy its wondrous effects when first administered ; but it was tampered with : one ingredient was omitted here, another was added there, until it bore little resemblance to the original, which at last was put quite out of sight. Little wonder, then, that it ceased to cure !
The question arises. How do you prove this ? I answer by bringing forward evidence as to the original treatment ; the gravestones op the Catacombs will be MY witnesses. They have furnished us with a contrast with Paganism ; they shall witness to the existence of a primitive, a pure, and an efficacious Christianity. As we call an aged man to prove, at law, a practice sanctioned by long usage, so we summon these silent witnesses, who will step forth from their hiding-places of from fifteen to eighteen centuries, and speak of the religion of Christ.
I am not about to speak of men but of a system ; I assert that a bastard, debased, spurious Christianity has usurped very extensively the place of the genuine faith. Xot that I believe that there has ever been a time since its introduction when true Christianity has not had some sincere and true professors, but rather, admitting that true Christians have, in different places and under different names, held fast their faith in Christ, and formed a Church, whose names are recorded in heaven yet 1 assert that a very wide- spread and general apostasy has prevailed throughout the length and breadth of professing Christendom, which has for many ages substituted a spurious for a genuine Christianity, even as it was clearly predicted in the passage placed at the head of this lecture and elsewhere in the sacred Scriptures.
Now, adhering to this figure, I ask, how would you
116
POPERY,
proceed to try a piece of doubtful coin which I might tender to any of you in the way of business ? You will wisely submit it to such tests as you may possess. You ring it : has it the sound which nature has given to silver ? You place it between your teeth : is it soft or hard ? You pass it through a gauge : do jou. find it of the standard thickness ? You weigh it : is it due and lawful weight ? If you still doubt, you can look it closely in the face : does it really look what it professes to he ? If not, submit it to a still closer scrutiny, assisted by such tests as the chemist will supply, to detect the counterfeit, if it be one.
Now, in all this you would do wisely ; and should we not be equally, nay more, anxious to bring to the strictest test all that which claims to be genuine Christianity, so as to discover the spurious form, if it exist ?
Now, we have the means at hand to test that which I assert is debased Christianity. We can try it by History, and inquire what have been the practices of its professors — what its effects on the comfort, the happiness, the morality of mankind. History tells a tale of oppression, cruelty, persecution, avarice, and ambition, committed in the name of Christ and His religion ; of conversion at the point of the sword ; of confession extorted by the rack ; of slaughter and destruction carried on against both infidels and Christians, in the name of Him who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.''' The system of Avhich I speak is charged by history with these and many other grievous crimes ; that it has caused and fomented war and bloodshed ; has deposed kings, and absolved their subjects from their allegiance ; pro- moted treason and rebellion, effected revolutions to aug- ment its power ; that it has ever persecuted, when it was strong enough to persecute with impunity and effect ;
TESTED BY HISTORY.
117
that it has invented more tortures, and exercised more ingenuity and refinement in cruelty, than any other system the world has heard of, not excepting ancient Paganism itself*.
It is charged by history with falsehood the most un- blushing, frauds and forgeries the most indecent, impos- tures the vilest. It is charged by history, and stands convicted now before all eyes, as the great enemy to human liberty and progress. Liberty of speech it denies wherever it has the power. Liberty of inquiry it forbids ; take the cases of Copernicus and Galileo — one of whom was excommunicated, and the other died in the Inqui- sition, for pursuing scientific inqu'ry. Liberty of the subject to share in Government it has thwarted. Liberty of the press it has always shackled. Liberty of conscience it laughs to scorn. The most stupendous and brilliant woi^ks of human genius are closed and forbidden to those who submit to its thraldom. With true consistency, it has iucluded in its list of prohibited books The Word of God. Science, literature, a free press, free conscience, and the Bible being alike forbidden, the system of which I speak stands condemned by the voice of history, as a gigantic political conspiracy against the happiness, the purity, the liberty, and rights of mankind.*
As claiming to be from God, this system should be tried by God's Word. We can test it therefore by Scrip- TURE — can weigh it in the balances of the Sanctuary. You have the balances in your own hands ; weighed in them, as it has been, again and again, it will be found grie- vously wanting. It is needless, however, to press this
* A concise outline of this subject will be found in a little work published by the Heligious Tract Society, "The Testimony of History against the Church of Rome."
118
POPERY^
point_, for the standard of comparison having been re- moved out of siglit by tliose who would pass the spurious article, tliey by this their own act of withholding the Scriptures from their followers, admit that their system cannot stand the test of God^s Word.
Now, it is not my intention to undertake this analysis either by the aid of history or of the Bihle — time would not permit my doing so with any advantage, and indeed it has been done most effectually by others. But refer- ring only to those tests incidentally, it is my purpose rather to make use of the inscriptiovs, sculptures, and paintings of the early Christians^ in my reply to the objection which, we have in view.
And here you must allow me to remark that it is exceedingly difficult to name and to define exactly this system of which I speak ; just as it would be impossible to denominate and classify all kinds of spurious coin in circulation amongst us. It has assumed different forms in different ages and countries, and does so still. It corrupts the truth in proportion as it is furnished with facilities for so doing by the darkness ofignoranc3 around it. It is by no means exclusively confined to one pro- fessing Christian Church, but, in different degrees, does afflict, or may afflict, several organiza,tions of professing Christians. Its name is legion, but its principles are one. But though difficult to define in all its workings, this system can be traced home without difficulty to its source. •Tust as disease of contagious or virulent character is usually accompanied by sickness of a modified but kin- dred type — the cholera, for instance, which sprang from its bed in the Ganges, and spread around the world, with
TESTED BY HISTORY.
119
its attendant maladies — so this evil system of wliicli I speak can be traced to its origin^ altliongli its accumulated consequences can never be fully defined.
The chief guilty "the head and front of this offend- ing/' lies at the door of Papal Eome.
In speaking henceforth of Popery, Rome,, Romanism, or of Roman Catholicism, as it is absurdly called,* I must again state that I speak of a system, and not of persons. There may be, and doubtless are, many who are identified outwardly with this system who are not, in heart;, of it ; just as there may be, and doubtless are, those who do not profess to hold with this system, and yet, in spirit, their principles are one with it. I con- demn the system, as I believe it contrary to Christ and His Gospel, and the greatest hindrance to the triumph of His religion on the earth ; but I entertain no animosity towards the victims of the system. We may pity, and even love, the victim, while w^e denounce the system. We show no ill-will tow^ard the slave when we denounce the evils of slavery ; so I would be clearly understood as speaking with all Christian affection of those who are deluded by the falsehoods of Popery, while I use the words which truth compels towards the system itself.
It will be clear that, if I confine myself to the evi- dence furnished by the inscriptions, I shall not be able
* The word Catholic means imwersaZ; while Eome, and that which belongs to it, is local. Eoman Catholic, therefore, is a con- tradiction in terms, beiug equivalent to "universal local" — an absurdity. There can be but one universal or Catholic Church, and that is confined to no nation, or kingdom, or people, or tongue : it is " the Church of the firstborn, whose names are re- corded in heaven " (Heb. xii. 23) ; those who compose it are known there only with certainty.
120
POPERY,
to point out every error in the Eomish system : a complete body of divinity cannot be expected to be extracted from gravestones. It is remarkable, indeed I may say provi- dential, that in this case so much can be gathered from such a source.
I will endeavour, so far as my limited time will permit, to make plain to you how so great a corruption of the truth as I have indicated came about.
The corruption of Christianity arose from various causes.
I need hardly say Christianity suffered from the in- herent corruption of the human heart; but as it was specially adapted to meet this evil and overcome it, we must find some other cause which acted upon the instru- mentality itself, and rendered it feeble in its operation.
Then : Christianity suffered from the persevering and unceasing efforts of those who sought to mingle with it expiring Judaism. Unable to comprehend the spiritual character of Christ's religion, they strove to bring it into subjection to the ceremonial law, which was intro- ductory to it — the Schoolmaster" dispensation, as Paul terms it ; of this evil you can read for yourselves in the Acts of the Apostles, and in almost all of Paul's Epistles.
Christianity likewise suffered from the speculations^ the refined subtleties of Greek and Roman philosophy.
Against all these sources of corruption the Scriptures warned the early Church, as well as Christians of all times. Again and again we find Paul expressing his fears, his anxious solicitude on these points. " I fear,'' says he, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be cor- rupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Again : *^ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
A SYSTEM.
121
vain deceit, after the traditions of mcri, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.""*
Notwithstanding repeated warnings, tlie Church be- came corrupted from the simplicity of Christ's teaching, by reason of the influences I have just alhided to ; but that corruption was as nothing compared with that which arose from another source, the attempt to harmonize Chris- tianity and Paganism.
That no such attempt should be made while the two religions were in actual conflict is likely enough ; but, when Constantino became favourable to Christianity, and both religions were tolerated, that which before was im- possible now became practicable, and men were found who, from well-meant but mistaken motives, urged such a compromise as desirable.
Augustine thus writes : When peace was made, the crowd of Gentiles (Pagans) who were anxious to embrace Christianity were deterred by this — that whereas they had been accustomed to pass the festivals in drunkenness and feasting before their idols, they could not easily con- sent to forego these most pernicious yet ancient plea- sures. It seemed good, then, to our leaders to favour this part of their weakness, and for those festivals which they relinquish to substitute others in honour of the holy martyrs, which they might celebrate with similar luxury, though not with the same impiety/' t ^ passage in Fos-
* All reference to the effects, for good or for evil, produced upon Christianity by its connection wiih the secular power is ad- visedly omitted ; I entertain decided views on this point, but I conceive I shall most conduce to the usefulness of this little work by silence, on this occasion, upon a point so differently viewed by Christians.
t Augustine, Epist. 29.
122
POPERY.
brokers Encyclopa3dia informs us of tlie same fact, with more of detail. " The heathen were much delighted with the festivals of the gods, and unwilling to part with those delights ; and therefore Gregory (Thaumaturgus), who died A.D. 2Gd, and was Bishop of Xeociesarea, to facilitate their conversion, instituted annual festivals. Hence the festivities of Christians were substituted for the Baccha- nalia and Saturnalia ; the May games for the Floralia (games in honour of Flora) ; and the keeping of festivals to the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and divers Apos- tles, in the room of the solemnities at the entrance of the sun into the signs of the zodiac, according to the old Julian calendar.'^ *
Of the truth, in the main, of these ste.tements there can be no doubt, as evidences of the coincidence of Chris- tian festivals wiih traces of Pagan practice remain to this day.t
I think I have said enough to satisfy you that there were causes enough at work to corrupt Christianity. I now proceed to the proof of the fact, from the evidence furnished by the Catacombs. In proceeding with the argument, my first object will be to satisfy you that the Cliurch of Rome does not now resemhle the primitive Chris- iian Church ; while, incidentally, I shall point out that the corruptions generally consisted in the introduction of
* Fosbroke's " Encyclop£edia of Antiquities, Classical and Mediasval," vol. ii., pp. 571—591.
f For instance : The name of Easter, from the Saxon goddess "Eastor;" the ceremonies practised in Cumberland, Scotland, Ireland, etc., on St. John's Eve, which consist of offering cakes to the sun, and sometimes passing children through the smoke of a bonfire ; the use of the Druid symbol, the misletoe, at Christ- mas, and of buns on Good Friday ; and, in Roman Catholic countries, the Carnival, or modern Saturnalia, at Easter, etc., etc.
CHRISTIANITY^ HOW CORRUPTED. 123
Pagan iDradices and ideas into the Christian system. The proof must often be of a negative cliaracter j no evidence being found of a practice^ it may reasonably be assumed tliat it did not exist^ provided it be such a practice as^ under the circumstances^ would have left traces of its existence.
And, first, with respect to the ministry of the Gospel. Various orders of men were, from the earliest ages of Christianity, set apart for ministering the Word of God and prayer, and for guiding, instructing, and edifying the Churches. These ministers of the Churches were of various orders, and were styled by different names. Respecting the standing, style, and office of these minis- ters in primitive times, much diversity of opinion exists among Christians, and much external division of the Churches unhappily arises from this cause. I am not about, then, to enter on this debatable ground, nor to raise questions upon points which, to my mind, appear to be of minor importance. The ordinary ministers of the early Church are termed, both in Scripture and elsewhere, bishops — otherwise overseers or superin- tendents ; presbyters — otherwise elders, ministers, pas- tors; and deacons — otherwise church stewards or ser- vants.*
Now, what I would have you notice is that, amongst all these terms applied to Christian ministers, there is no
* No reference is here made to the extraordinary ministrations of the Gospel in early times by apostles, prophets, or evangelists. In giving the names by which the ordinary ministers of the Gospel were called, I must be understood as being altogether silent upon the question of the number of distinct offices, and how far one name was used interchangeably for another.
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POPERY.
reference at all to a priesthood. To my mind, tlie most iufluential corruptions of Christianity arose from the gradual introduction of the idea of a mediaiorial sacrifi- cial officer, similar to the priest of the Jewish or the Pagan economy. It is clear that no such institution can be traced to any teaching of our Lord, or of His inspired Apostles, who never, in the New Testament, speak of any priesthood in the Christian Church but in a sense which includes every true believer united to Christ — the last, the great, the High Priest of our 'profession/' * Now, this is not an unimportant point, as it might, at first sight, appear ; for if a priesthood (I speak of the office in the Pagan or Jewish sense) be granted, then a train of consequences follow — as, indeed, they have fol- lowed, to the grievous corruption of " the simplicity that was in Christ/'
A sacerdotal priesthood being granted, an altar must follow, and usurp the place of a table in the Sapper which Christ appointed ; a sacrifice must accompany the altar, as it has done in the recent Church of Rome ; and sacer- dotal and mediatorial officiators at the altar must step between the believer and his great High Priest, who encouraged all to come unto the Father through Himself. In this way Christ, in the Pomish Church, is dishonoured ; His office of Priest and Mediator is ignored ; His perfect sacrifice, offered once for all,'' is continually re-offered, as it is alleged, in that Church; His people are taught to confess to, and to rely upon, their fellow -sinners for for- giveness, while they possess the inestimable privilege of personal access to Himself.
* See all the passages in the ISTew Testament, in which the words " priest " or " priesthood " are used in reference to Chris- tiauity, viz., 1 Peter ii. 5 ; ii. 9 ; Uev. i. 6 ; v. 10 ; xx. 6.
CHRISTIANITY^ HOW CORRUPTED.
125
" For now one offering, ne'er to be renew'd,
Hath made our peace for ever. This now gives
Free access to the throne of heavenly grace. No more base fear and dark disquietude :
He who was slain — the accepted victim — lives, And intercedes before the Father's face."
In making these remarks upon wliat I consider to be a great fundamental corruption in the Church of Rome, I have no intention of reflecting upon the name of priest assumed by ministers of certain of the Re- formed Christian Churches, provided the idea be not im- ported with the name. Unhappily, for the elucidation of this point_, the poverty of the English language affords us no term which answers to the sacerdotal office of the Jews or Pagans ; * and the word priest, which is merely a contraction of presbyter, an elder, is the only English word we have to convey ideas altogether dissimilnr. Upon this point, rather than express my meaning in my own words, I would quote those of one who dignified the office to which 1 refer. f "Deeply as Rome dishonours Christ as the Prophet, she still more deeply dishonours Him as the Priest of His people. Take away the priestly office of Christ, and the Gospel is the Gospel no more ; for nothing, therefore, should we be more jealous, than for the sole, sovereign priesthood of Jesus. This, Rome miserably mangles. She does so, in the first instance, by perpetuating a pretended order of priests, to co- operate with Christ in His priestly functions — an order, in her view, just as essential to salvation, as is the great High Priest of our profession. I enter my protest most
* 'lepevs in the Greek, and Sacerdos in the Latin, t The Very Kev. Canon Stowell, M.A., Lecture, " Popery : How it Dishonours Christ."
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POPERY.
solemnly and deliberately against the idea tliat, under tlie Gospel, there is any such character on earth as what is properly" called a ^'^ricst. Human priesthood belonged to a symbolical, material economy, which is passed ; it belonged to the letter, it does not belong to the spirit. Priests, in the proper sense of the word, are no more ; they ceased when the true Priest came. It were happy if, by our own beloved Church, the word ''priest^ had never been used, because it is liable to misconstruction ; though every candid scholar well knows that in her Rubrics the word is never employed in its ancient mean- ing ; it is but pvpshyter shortened to iiresteVj and then, for condensation's sake, to iiriest. That the Church uses the word in no other sense must be evident to every unbiassed mind ; because she uses it inter clianrieahly with the word minister, clearly indicating that one term is used as the equivalent of the other. In vain have the inge- nuity and sophistry of those who, while their foot is within our pale, have their hearts within the pale of Rome, striven to torture the use of the word priest into an indication that our branch of Christ's primitive Church holds anything like the wretched figment of Rome, that a sacrificing priesthood is still in existence. Rome has transmuted the simple evangelist, the herald of grace, the apostle or messenger, the pastor or shepherd, the fisherman casting his net to catch souls, the steward of the household that should give the servants their portion of meat in due season — into a splendid sacrificing sacer- dotal hierarchy. And, if you ask me, whence sprang the monstrous structure of popish heresy and enormity ? I answer, from priestly ambition,'"
Upon this important point, which I trust I have cleared from difficulty, what say the inscriptions in the
SACERDOTAL PETESTHJOD.
127
Catacombs at Eome ? No such terms as answers to the sacerdotal officer of the Pagans or the Jews has been found. The names used to designate Christian ministers are those I mentioned as being used in the Scriptures, viz., bishops, presb3^ters, pastors, deacons ; while lectors, i.e., Scripture readers, fossors, i.e., sextons, and exorcists, who took part in baptisms, have been also found as officers in the early Church.
Settle then, my friends, as you will, the particular form of Church government which you conceive to come nearest to the primitive type ; form each of you, as nearly as you can, correct ideas as to the offices, style, and functions of the various orders of the Christian ministrj^ ; regard all faithful ministers of Christ as holding an office the most dignified and honourable, and esteem them very highly for their work sake but be careful not to derogate from the honour which belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to Him continually as your Great High Priest — man^ to sympathize with your infirmity, and God, able and willing to pardon your sin. Regard Him as the great sacrifice offered for you, and look for no other. Behold Him as the great Mediator of the Nevf Covenant, who ever liveth to make intercession^^ for you. Value His ministers for their instruction and their guidance ; hut rely on Christ for the salvation of your souls.
" I other priests disclaim,
And laws and offerings too :
None but the bleeding Lamb
The mighty work can do. He shall have all the praise, for He Hath loved, and lived, and died for me."
As the Church of Rome has altered the character of the
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Christian ministers^ so she hasvaried their condition; " for- bidding to marry/^ as was predicted of a coming apos- tasy.* Thus a virtue was made of constrained celibacy. Nothing of this kind had been introduced in apostolic times. The New Testament tells us that Apostles and Evangelists were married men_,t while Paul expressly asserts his liberty in this respect, J and enjoins that a Christian minister should be the husband of one wife.§
The Catacombs declare unequivocally that the practice of the Roman church is novel, and prove that all orders of the clergy in primitive times were accustomed to marry. Dr. Maitland has furnished us with examples of inscrip- tions applicable to each order. ||
Here are several, gathered from many, which prove this point ; and firstly, a Bishop's epitaph : —
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 80TH YEAR.
Again : a presbyter's epitaph : —
TH: PLACE OF BASIL THE PRESBYTER, AND HIS (WIFE) FELICIThS, THEY MADE IT FOR THEMSELVES.
Again : the epitaph of 2i preshijter's daughter : —
ONCE THE HAPPY DAUGHTER OF THE PRESBYTER GABINUS. HERE LIES SUSANNA, JOINED WITH HER FATHER, IN PEACE.
The epitaph of a deacon's wife I have already given (p. 74). I need not here repeat it.
* 1 Tim. iv. 3.
t 1 Cor. ix. 5 ; Matt. viii. 14 ; 1 Pet. v. 13 ; Acts xxi. 9.
+ 1 Cor. ix. 5. § 1 Tim. iii. 2, 11, 12 ; 1 Titus i. 6.
H Church in the Catacombs, pp. 247 — 251.
THE SACRIFICE OP THE MASS. 129
Here is reference to the wife of an exorcist : —
JANUARIUS THE EXORCIST MADE THIS FOR HIMSELF AND HIS WIFE.
Again : the epitaphs of a lector snad afossor, and their wives.
CLAUDIUS ATTICIANUS, A LECTOR, AND CLAUDIA FELICISSIMA, HIS WIFE. TERENTIUS THE FOSSOR, FOR PRIMITIVA HIS WIFE, AND HIMSELF.
It will hardly be needful for me to tell you, after what has been said respecting a sacerdotal priesthood, that there can be no more sacrifice for sin in the Christian Church. The sacrifice of the mass had not then been invented, nor indeed was it thought of until the ninth century, that is, some four hundred years after the Cata- combs were closed. You will be quite prepared to hear that no trace of any such sacrifice can be found in them. And so with respect to an altar in this sense. A Chris- tian poet, Prudentius,* who wrote in the fourth century, speaks of the table {mensa) on which the sacramental elements of bread and wine were placed in the Catacomb chapels, and he only uses the word altar {ara) when he is referring to prayer and praise, which is spoken of in Scripture under the figure of a spiritual sacrifice. f
How the table became the slab which closed the grave of a martyr, how the tombstone became elevated into an altar, and how in course of time the simple commemo- rative supper became a sacrifice — a meal became a mass, it would be unprofitable to narrate in detail. Such changes, however, took place, and such continues to be the corrupt practice of the Church of Rome. The Re- formed Churches, however, have retraced their steps,
* Church in the Catacombs," p. 342. f Heb. xiii. 15.
9
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and follow the scriptural and primitive practice of ob- serving tlie Supper as instituted by their Lord; have discarded the unmeaning and inappropriate altar, and have reinstated the primitive table.
Am I not justified in affirming that^ in all these respects_, a great departure has taken ]3lace from the simplicity which was in Christ/^ and that the Church of Rome presents us with a corrupted^ paganized form of Christianity ?
I now pass to another point. Rome not only dis- honoured Christ as it regarded His office of Priest,, but by degrees she exalted one human being after another^ to share in the dignity of His office as Mediator. Apostles^ martyrs, the Virgin Mary, disembodied spirits of men and women, also angels, she clothed with the omni- present attributes of God, and taught that they should be addressed in prayer as intercessory mediators. This corruption of Christianity, the introduction of demon or spirit -worship, can also be directly traced to a Pagan origin — the regard shown, and worship often rendered to the Divine Manes, or disembodied spirits of great men, supposed to be deified under that system.
That such an error should have crept in very early in the history of Christianity is not to be wondered at, when we consider how the primitive Christians were cir- cumstanced ; retaining naturally some of the traditional ideas of Paganism, and associated as they were in the Catacombs with the remains of those they loved and honoured in life.
On the gravestones of their hiding-places we read the history and discern the first buddings of this cor- ruption, but it did not reach its height until long
SAINT MANUFACTURE.
131
after the Catacombs were closed as Christian ceme- teries.* First came a pious sentiment breathed in prayer over the grave, and rudely scratched upon the stone by the hand of a loving and mourning friend — ^^such as —
SWEET FAUSTINA MAY YOU LIVE IN COD.
ZOTICUS, BE OF GOOD CHEER.
BOLOSA, MAY COD REFRESH THEE,
Then, having thus accustomed themselves to address the dead, came the next step in the declension — the expression of hope that the departed, being in Christ, might use his influence on behalf of those left behind in the flesh.
The only inscription of this character in the Lapi- darian Gallery reads : —
CENTIANUS, A BELIEVER, IN PEACE, WHO LIVED XXI YEARS, Vlll MONTHS, AND XVI DAYS, ALSO IN YOUR PRAYERS PRAY FOR US FOR WE KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN CHRIST,
Then came actual praying at the grave of the de- parted, and seeking an interest in his intercessory prayers, which evidently began to be practised before the end of the ffth century ; then followed, naturally enough, when the light of the glorious Gospel came to be hid, the removal of the bones of the deceased to sanc-
* "In the Lapidarian Gallery (if it be not rash to pronounce summarily upon the contents of so vast a collection), the name of the Virgin Mary does not once occur. Nor is it to be found o?ice in any truly ancient inscription contained in the works of Aringhi, Boldetti, or Bottari. Should any exception be discovered, it will not weaken the astonishing contrast existing between the ancient and mediaeval churches in this particular." — " Church in the Catacombs," p. 333.
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tify some church, and to render efficacious the prayers offered near them ; last of all came the worship of the image, or 'picture of the deceased_, and the idolatry of the degraded and ignorant Pagan was revived in all but the name. Well says Dr. Maitland_, the Pantheon at Eome, originally devoted to Jujpiter and all the gods, was dedi- cated to the Virgin Mary and all the saints : the building seemed to be Christianized^ but in truth it was Chris- tianity that was Paganized. Provided men are wor- shipped there^ it matters little by what names they are invoked.^^*
My friends^ so easy is it to descend when we have once entered upon a downward course. Let us cling more closely than we have ever yet done to spiritual worship^ never forgetting the promise of the Great Me- diator to those who believe on Him : " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name He will do it for you and that it is declared in inspired Scripture that ''He ever liveth to malce intercession for us.''
But I have not yet done with saint worship ; in the lowest depth which we have explored, there is even '' sl deeper still.'''' The Church of Eome having abandoned the guidance of the Holy Scriptures, forsaken '' the e^uide of her youth/^ and forgotten '' the covenant of her God/^ she appears to have been left to fall into error so palpable and obvious, that it might act as a warning to deter Christ^s true followers from being allured by her blandishments or deceived by her lofty pretensions.
From the worship of the disembodied spirits, the mortal remains, and then the representations of saints, she fell into the absurdity of setting up imaginary mediators, who never had any real existence at all. The statements * " Church in the Catacombs," p. 301.
MANUFACTURED MARTYRS.
133
whicli I 'shall bring before you would,, under other and less serious considerations, provoke laughter ; but they might well draw tears on behalf of ignorant and fallen human nature j they are derived all of them from Roman Catholic writers.
The origin of this error also can be traced to the remains found in the Catacombs of Rome.
Mabillon, speaking of these remains, says, There are dug up two sorts of bodies, the one with neither name nor inscription, the other with one or both. Saints of the first kind have names given them by the Cardinal Vicar, or by the Bishop, who presides over the Pontifical Chapel. Saints of this description are said to be bap- tized
But poor human bones were not only made into saints, and named, but they were many of them elevated into martyrs as well. A " Holy Congregation of Relics,'' held in the year 1668, issued a decree : ^^The Holy Con- gregation having carefully examined the matter, decides that the palm and vessel (cup) tinged with blood are to be considered most certain signs of martyrdom. The in- vestigation of other symbols is deferred for the present.'' f-
While antiquarians are at issue as to the substance found staining certain cups placed in the graves, being divided in opinion between wine, blood, and fragrant spices, " the Holy Congregation" steps in and settles the matter, by raising the owners of the graves to the crown of martyrdom; it exhibits unlooked-for moderation and wisdom in postponing " for the present " the considera- tion of the other symbols.
Raoul Rochette tells us of one of these manufactured
* Mabillon's Posthamous Works, vol. ii. pp. 251, 287. t '* Church in the Catacombs," p. 174.
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martyrs^ and_, altliougli a Romanist^ expresses grave doubts as to tlie genuine cliaracter of the article. This new saintj adopted so recently as 1803^ was transported from Rome to Perugia; on his gravestone was repre- sented a pair of forceps,, and the words — D. M. s. (Sacred to the Divine Manes — a Pagan formula).
BERNERUS LIVED XXlll YEARS AND VII MONTHS.
On this inscription M. Pochette remarks^ '''' In the absence of any certain signs of Christianity ^ this instru- ment may be considered as belonging to his profession. Bernerus therefore may have been a poor hlacksmith, Christian if you will, or Pagan, which supposition accords better with the character of his epitaph, excepting for the vessel of blood (?) found in his grave, which is con- sidered an indubitable sign of Christian sanctity.''^ *
Poor Bernerus — or more probably Yenerius — was doubtless a Pagan blacksmith, and is now " indubitably^' a martyr in glory — let us charitably hope that he is so ; at all events, let us learn to be careful how, with our fallible judgments and ignorance of men's hearts, we follow such examples, and exercise God's prerogative of separating and distinguishing saints from sinners, other- wise than by God's test ; t and let all Christians be thankful that their acceptance or rejection will not de- pend upon guessing antiquarians, or even a " Council of Relics," but rather that it is surely written, The Lord hioweth them that are His/' J
Two more instances of blundering in this unholy work
* Memoires de 1' Academie des Belles Lettres et d'Inscriptions, torn, xiii., cited in " Church in the Catacombs," p. 181.
f " By their fruits ye shall know them," Matt. vii. 16, 20. + 2 Tim. ii. 19.
MANUFACTURED SAINTS.
135
of making mediators are mentioned by Mabillon, and quoted by Dr. Maitland.* One blunder^ you will per- ceive,, arose from ignorance of the Latin grammar^ and tlie otlier from a defective knowledge of Roman anti- quities.
An inscription was found in the Catacombs : D. M. (To tlie Divine Manes — a Pagan formula)
JULIA EUODIA THE DAUGHTER MADE THIS TO HER CHASTE AND WELL- DESERVING MOTHER, WHO LIVED LXX YEARS.
Never was a saint more carelessly manufactured ; not knowing, or not lieeding, tlie difference between the nominative and dative cases, the finder of the inscription concluded that the grave contained the i^mains of Julia Euodia, and established Saint Julia Euodia accordingly. This occurred at Tolosa; but the light of the Latin grammar subsequently dispelled the illusion, and deprived Julia of her saintship, by showing that it was not her tomb, but that of her ^' chaste and lu ell -deserving mother.^'
The other case was equally unfortunate. An ancient fragment of stone having been found inscribed thus, S. VIAE, it^was taken to be the epitaph of a Saint Viar, and certain well-meaning persons, says Dr. Mait- land, ^''nothing daunted by the singularity of the name, or the total want of evidence in support of his sanctity, boldly established his worship.^^ Having subsequently applied to Pope Urban for indulgences (that is, remission of punishment for sin on account of prayers addressed to the saint), the antiquarians, those troublesome people,
* Church in the Catacombs," pp. 182, 183.
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SO diflScult to satisfy without full inquiry, sent for tlie stone, wlien it was immediately found to be a fragment with part of the title of Surveyor of the Highways ; the S being the last letter in Prcefedus/^ and the VIAE, being the four first letters of Viarum ; it formed, doubtless, part of a milestone. f
Another instance must be quoted, because it shows a boldness of invention which throws these individual instances into the shade. If any of you have been to Cologne, on the Rhine, or have read of that ^^holy city,^^ you will know that it is unrivalled for the number and sanctity of the remains of saints, apostles, and prophets which it possesses — a huge museum of mouldering anatomy, useless alike to the living and the dead, and only commemorative of the weakness, darkness, igno- rance, and superstition of the human mind;^^ thus writes a recent traveller. Dr. James Johnson. The Doctor is incorrect, however, in saying that the remains are use- less alike to the living and the dead/^ the dead are, doubtless, beyond the reach of their influence, but the living reap a fine harvest from the gifts of the super- stitious ; and the payments made, I am ashamed to say, by curious Protestants, who constantly visit this bone- house, are sufiicient to keep swarms of priests and monks in idleness and luxury, and to perpetuate, if continued, fraud and superstition to the end of time. The Doctor
* Or the genitive or plural of Curator Viarum, an office fre- quently referred to in the Catacomb inscriptions. — See " Aringhi, Roma Subterinea," vol. ii., pp. 338, 339, etc.
f The lecturer, to make this plain to an uninformed audience, should copy the inscription thus, as a diagram: PrcEfeduS YIARwrn, or CuratoriS VIARwm. The same remark applies to the inscrip- tion next referred to.
SAINT MANUFACTURE.
137
himself admits tliat he was silly enough to spend some days and dollars in exploring these mummeries indeed, keeping a bone-shop is the best business going in that holy city. It would be quite impossible for me to enumerate all the wonders of this kind that it contains ; suffice it to say, that there is some of the milh of the Virgin Mary, the head of the Apostle Peter, ^' les en- trailles^' of Queen Mary de Medicis, and the skulls of the three wise men who offered gifts and adoration to the infant Saviour. I need not say that the brains of the wise men are not at Cologne, but the skulls are as empty as the heads of those who pay for a sight of them.
But all these relics are inconsiderable, compared with the vast collection in the Church of St. Ursula; here repose the mortal remains of a vast ^' army of martyrs no less than the bones of eleven thousand English virgins. How they came there is somewhat uncertain, and state- ments respecting their history are very contradictory. It is reported that they were on their voyage to Rouen, and either took the veil, or sacrificed their lives, to avoid marriage with the barbarous Huns, who then possessed the city. What eleven thousand young, unmarried ladies had to do at Rouen at all, or why, in such times, or indeed at any time, they forsook the shelter of the maternal roof, and in what fleet they crossed the sea, are points upon which history does not inform us. There are the bones, however ; the Church of Rome has deter- mined their sanctity, and instituted a service to their honour.*
* The Salisbury Breviary of 1555 (that is, service-book of that diocese previous to the Reformation) gives the following prayer for the feast of the eleven thousand virgins : *' 0 God, who, by the glorious passion of the blessed virgin, thy martyrs, hast made
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All tliis history of the eleven thousand virgin saints and martyrs is, doubtless, to be traced to the same origin as the other instances which have been brought forward — an incorrect rendering of an obscure inscription.
There is nothing/^ says Dr. Maitland, " to contra- vene the supposition that the whole story is founded upon a mistaken rendering of the inscription — Ursula. . et . XI . MM . vv — interpreted ' Ursula and eleven thousand virgins/ ms>ie2idi of Ursula and eleven virgin martyrs' * Indeed, in a list of relics, published in the year 1117, some of the remains of the eleven virgins are mentioned ; these bones had not then increased, as they did after- wards, a thousand-fold.
I am fearful that I have wearied you with the recital of these instances of saint-manufacture, and conclude this part of the subject by informing you, very briefly, of a well-known invention of a saint, still worshipped by the Church of Rome, notwithstanding the forgery has been rendered apparent, and has been exposed by learned men of that faith. I refer to the case of St. Yeronica, whose name and existence are derived from the words Vera icon (a true likeness), formerly inscribed under pictures which purported to be representations of Christ. These certified copies came in time to be called Veronicce, and were known by that name to Christian writers. It was not until the fourteenth century that Rome con-
this day a holy solemnity to us, hear the prayers of thy family ; and grant that we may be freed by the merits and intercessions of those whose feast we this day celebrate," etc. (" Church in the Catacombs," p. 163). Nothing could more clearly prove that the Church of Rome makes intercessory mediators of saints than this passage.
* " Church in the Catacombs," p. 163.
SATNT MANUFACTURE.
139
structed out of legends^ based upon the ignorant use of the word Veronicee, the saintship and history of Saint Veronica^ and established her worship. There is a colossal statue of this supposed saint in St. Peter^s, at Rome ; a prayer, issued by Pope John XXII., in which the representation of Christ is addressed, obtains for those who use it ten thousand days^ indulgence. " The hand- kerchief of Saint Veronica is publicly worshipped in Rome on stated occasions, and the ceremony is performed with the utmost splendour j no part of the Romish ritual is more calculated to strike the imagination." *
Alas ! " how has the faithful city become an harlot ! " In place of the worship of her Lord and Saviour, we find the Church, whose faith was spoken of throughout the world,-*^ f and whose early professors joyfully went to the flames, the beasts, or the torture, rather than com- mit the remotest act of idolatry, now glorying in her shame, tendering homage and worship to departed saints, disembodied spirits, and disentombed remains of mor- tality, even imaginary men and women, who exist only in the lying legends she has invented.
Said I not truly that the religion which Rome pre- sents to her votaries is a debased, paganized, spurious form of Christianity ?
I have spoken of the dishonour done to Christ by the Church of Rome, as it regards his office of Priest and Mediator. I have also hinted at the dishonour done to the sacrifice which He ofi'ered of Himself, by the in- stitution of a perpetually-recurring sacrifice, that of the mass. I now come to speak of dishonour done to Him
* Church in the Catacombs," pp. 160, 161. f Eom. i. 8.
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by another doctrine introduced by the Church of Rome, that which teaches that there is a lourgatory, in which Christians,, after death, are cleansed or purged from the temj)oral punishment due to them. I need not pause to convince you that in Scripture there is no foundation for such doctrine. Complete, immediate pardon and salva- tion are there offered to ail true believers iu Jesus Christ, without any reservation ; not on account of their merits, but by virtue of the perfect sacrifice which Christ oiffered for them. We are assured that " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin;^'* the sacrifice was com- Ijlete — "a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world.-'^ t
Now Eome" asserts the insufficiency of that sacrifice, and tells us, that what the Saviour could not do, and did not do, her priests have power to accomplish, that is to release suff'ering souls from punishment. This is a serious subject, and not to be spoken of lightly. The Bible speaks of two states or conditions after death : one of everlasting destruction from the presence of God, and the other of eternal and unalloyed happiness. No inter- mediate state, such as the Romish purgatory, is ever re- ferred to. Those who are blessed enough to attain to heaven are assured that its blessedness is immediate and complete. Absent from the body, present with the Lord,^-* is the Scripture doctrine. J
No such comforting doctrine to pardoned sinners is held out by the corrupt system of which I speak. To the believer Rome can only promise that, when '^absent from the body,^^ the soul descends, for a period more or less
* 1 John i. 7.
t Communion Service of the Church of England. + 2 Cor. V. 8.
SALE OP PARDON.
141
protracted^ into purgatorial flames_, there to make up in punishment that which was deficient in the atonement made bj Christ. This false doctrine places in the hands of the priest a power such as no earthly potentate possesses ; over the ignorant and superstitious he wields the powers of the world to come-/' he assumes the pre- rogative of Christ, who openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.^^ * In fact, this doctrine places in the hands of the priest the key of the prison-house, and he has not been loath to use it as the key to this world^s treasure. To teach that there was a purgatory, that the duration of the detention there is un- certain, that it can be shortened or prolonged at the will of the priesthood, is the most daring assumption of power, and, at the same time, the most profitable scheme of priest- craft, which the world has witnessed.
But you will ask me as to the extent or duration of this assumed punishment due to Christians. I can only answer the question by informing you of the amount of remission of this punishment, which diverse Popes have awarded, by way of indulgence, on certain prescribed terms. This will give you some idea of the probable extent of this purgatorial process, and of the comfort which Christians dying in that Church must enjoy in the prospect of death.f
Pope John XXII. granted on one occasion 300 days of pardon ; Pope Boniface to all who say a lamentable contemplation for our blessed Lady,^^ etc., seven years and forty Lents of pardon. John XXII., on another
* Eev. iii. 7.
f I gather these instances of indulojence or remission of punish- ment from the " Collection of Records," in Part II. of Bishop Burnet's " History of the Eeformation," pp. 38 — 58.
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occasion^ oflPered 3000 days of pardon. Another indul- gence granted by five holy fathers, Popes of Rome, con- confers 500 years and so many Lents of pardon. Pope Boniface YI. was more indulgent still, and granted, for the repetition of certain prayers called Agnus Dei, 10,000 years of pardon. Pope Sixtus, in consideration of a prayer to be devoutly repeated before the image of the Virgin, granted 11,000 years of pardon. Burnet men- tions another case, in which there was granted to all them that before this image of pity devoutedly say five Paternosters, five Ave-Marias, and a Credo, piteously beholding those arms of Christ's passion, 32,755 years of pardon j and Sixtus the Fourth, I*ope of Rome, hath made the fourth and fifth prayer, and hath doubled his foresaid pardon;'' that is, he extended his forgiving power to 65,510 years. What, let me ask, comes of the forgiveness of all sin by the blood- shedding of Christ, if there can remain to believers (Christians, mark you), sixty- five thousand years of ijurgatorial punishment ?
I need hardly point out to you that this doctrine re- introduces that which Christ condemned and denounced — the sale of ]oardon, for pardons and indulgences are sold in the Church of Rome to those who can pay for them.* Among Pagans, the rich could procure that which the poor could not; but the Gospel of the Saviour was to be communicated to the poorest without money and without price ;" and, when John the Baptist sent from his prison to inquire as to the truth of the Messiah's claims, Christ pointed, as evidence, to the novel fact that ^''the poor have the Gospel preached to them." The religion of Jesus Christ, in its pure form, is a religion
* See a little work entitled " The Religion of Money," by Eoussel. Seeleys and Co.
PtJRGATOKY.
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especially for the jpoov man ; and you may be certain that is spurious religion which exacts a toll as the condition of entering heaven. The most costly sacrifice which could be offered has been slain for you_, and if you offered all the gold which the world contains^ it would be but dross, and valueless, compared with the nnsearchahle riches of Christ. Obtain an interest in that offering ; " hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering and you may laugh to scorn all the idle and crafty tales of a pur- chasable exemption from purgatory.
Before I state what the Catacombs tell us of purga- tory, allow me to inform you that this Romish doctrine does not even possess the merit of originality ; it is a clumsy but crafty imitation of a Pagan idea, which is as clearly written in the ^neid of the Pagan Virgil, as if that poet had been a Roman Catholic. He thus writes : —
"ISTor death itself can wholly wash their stains ; But long-contracted filth e'en in the soul remains. The relics of invet'rate vice they wear ; And spots of sin obscene in every face appear. For this are various ^penances enjoined ; And some are hung to bleach upon the wind ; Some plung'd in waters, oihQrs pur q'd in fires, Till all the dregs are drain'd, and all the rust expires. Then are they happy, when by length of time The scurf is worn away of each committed crime ; No speck is left of their habitual stains. But the pure ether of the soul remains." *
And now for the witness of the Catacombs. Of all the doctrines of which I have to speak, none would so certainly have been referred to on gravestones as the doc-
* "^neid," Dryden's Version, Book vi , pp. 998—1011; see Original, Book vi., pp. 736 — 747.
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trine of purgatory, if any sucli ideas had then been en- tertained by tbe early Christian Church. What expres- sions of desire for the prayers and alms of the liWng to extricate souls from the flames would have been inscribed ! Now what is the fact ? No mention ivliatever, not even the most incidental reference to the state of purgatory ^ has been found in the Catacombs. In God. In Cheist. In Peace. In Refreshment. In the home op the Eternal God. Borne Away by Angels. Resting. Sleeping. It is Forbidden to Weep. He Lives above the Stars. Such are the invariable echoes of the galleries of the Catacombs. No condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus'^ ^'Absent from the body, present with the Lord" ^'Having a desire to depart and be with Christ." Such were the doctrines and the faith of the early Christians. They believed in the gracious words once spoken to a poor_, wretched sinner, snatched from a sinful world and ignominious death, to grace the Saviour^s triumphant entry into the world of spirits, there to show Himself a Redeemer, " mighty to save " — This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise."
Again, I ask, am I not justified in saying that a cor- rupt, a debased, a spurious, a Paganized Christianity has been introduced? That each of the corruptions to which I have referred — the sacerdotal priesthood, the sacrifices, the mediators many, the doctrine of purgatory — are to be attributed mainly to the reintroduction of Paganism, to the dishonour of primitive and vital Christianity ?
You were told, in the outset of this lecture, that of which you were doubtless well aware — that Rome practi- cally shuts up the Holy Scriptures to her followers. It is needless to detain you by attempting to prove that which
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I am convinced you all believe — tliat the Scriptures con- tain commands and encouragements to read^ to searcli^ and to understand what is contained in them, according to the ability which God shall confer upon each one of us.
Now_, that which we believe and practise on this point was the belief and practice of the early Church. The Bereans were commended for searching the Scrip- tures.* Timothy was congratulated that he had known them from cJiildhoodj and enjoined to give attention to reading them.f But we are not confined to Scripture for proof of this fact. I have already quoted the words of Tertullian (p. 112), who lived in the second century : he informs us that at love-feasts '^the Scriptures were read and explained." Also, Justin Martyr says, " Upon the day called Sun-day, J all that live either in city or country meet together at the same place, where the writ- ings of the apostles and prophets are read, as much as the time will give leave. ■'^ §
The fact, also, of the office of lector (reader) existing proves that the public service of religion consisted largely of Scripture-reading. But the fact is so notorious that the Scriptures formed the chief study of the early Chris- tians, that it must be quite unnecessary for me to say more, except it be that every Christian writer of the first
* Acts xxvii. 11. t 2 Tim. iii. 15, 16; 13.
X The apologist is addressing Pagans, and therefore uses the Pagan term " Sun-day " {Dies Solis). It were well that this term were less used amongst us, and that the primitive term, and that used in the Scriptures and found in the Catacombs, were substi- tuted for it, viz., " The Lord's Day " {Dies Domini). la times in which the Divine origin of the institution, and the perpetual obligation of its observance, are brought into question, the change would neither be unmeaning nor without its effects.
§ Justin Martyr's " First Apology."
10
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three centuries quotes largely from the Scriptures,, wliich he must have possessed ; indeed^ it has been asserted with much truth, that if the sacred writings had been lost or destroy edj nearly the whole could have been re- covered from the Christian writings of the first three centuries.
But you will inquire — What say the Catacombs on this point ? The evidence is as abundant and satisfactory as could be desired. The galleries of the Catacombs afford us fictorial illustration of the fact. Christian artists of the Catacombs drew upon Scripture history for their inspiration ; it was the only history they were ac- quainted with or cared to know.
Were we altogether in ignorance of the early develop- ments of Christian art at Rome, there would be four things which we should picture to ourselves as probabili- ties in relation thereto : —
First'l^ Considering the abundance of suitable ma- terial, the perfection to which the fine arts had attained, and the national aptitude of the Romans for sculpture, we should expect to find traces of art left, even by the humble Christians of the Catacombs.
Secondly. We should expect to find that their religion formed very much the theme upon which they exercised their artistic genius.
Thirdly. Amidst persecution, suffering, and uncer- tainty of life, we should expect that they would select such subjects as would depict them own position, or shadow it forth by the parallel suffering or triumphs of others.
Fourthly. Reflecting that they were many of them Pagans by education, we should be prepared to expect some blending of ideas. Pagan and Christian, in the de- signing of their works of art.
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Now it is interesting to discover tliat in all these respects tlie fine arts^ as developed in the Catacombs^ answer exactly to tlie conditions wliich we sliould have predicted concerning them. Much artistic merit in treat- ment and execution is often apparent ; Scripture history- is almost invariably the subject of illustration. The suf- ferings of God's people^ or their deliverances from death^ are the predominant topics (with matchless delicacy of feeling tlieir own are n-ever obtruded) : while Pagan incon- sistencies occasionally peep out, affording gratifying ai- teria of the genuine character of the works discovered.
I now proceed to review some few of these interesting works of art, remarking very briefly upon each in passing, and, first, of the Old Testament subjects.
Noah, delivered in the ark, the type of those who had sought refuge in the Christian Church, was not likely to be forgotten. He is very often represented, generally in the act of receiving the dove with the olive-branch, sig- nifying peace, hope, and reconciliation. Here is one representation of him [93], which may be taken as a specimen of a very numerous class. The ark is reduced to a mere chest, and the patriarch is alone. The artistes type is evidently derived from a Pagan coin then in existence,* and as it was his intention to convey an idea or sentiment, and not to produce an historical painting, it was more easily accomplished by representing Noah and the bird only, than by surrounding him with his family and the representatives of the aiiimal world.
Next to Noah, perhaps Jcnah is the general favourite. His history was considered typical of death and the re- surrection. " In subterranean chapels,^^ says Dr. Mait- land, when the living were separated from the dead by
* The Apamean medal.
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a mere tile or slab of stone^ and sometimes liable to be mingled with tliem by the violence of tlieir enemies, even before the conclusion of their worship, the hope of a future b'fe naturally occupied a prominent place in their creed
* * * and all that could help a trembling faiih to seize the joyful reality was eagerly adopted. Jonah escaping from the whale, or reclining beneath the gourd, may be everywhere seen ; at first scratched on the walls, and afterwards sculptured on the sarcophagi. In the emblem of a risen saint, the sins and sorrows of the original hero were forgotten. * * * But there is yet further meaning in this oft-repeated sculpture : ' a greater than Jonah is here.^ It was the Divine application of this figure to the death and resurrection of Christ that gave to it peculiar interest ; for, by a happy inference, the Church saw, in the rising of her Head, the certain resuscitation of his members. In this small fragment of marble the Christian of ancient times traced his own career; his passage from the unstable ele- ment too well expressing his present life through the gate of death, not inaptly represented by the terrible monster, suffered to engorge though not to retain his prey.''*
Here [ 93 ] are two representations of Jonah, one of them combined with that of Noah just referred to ; they are both of them sculptured on sarcophagi. The upper drawing represents his ejection from the ship into the mouth of the great fish, and his subsequent escape from
• the sea monster. The lower sculpture shows his escape from the jaws of the fish to repose peacefulh", which is well told, beneath the overhanging gourd. The whole is evidently symbolical, emblematical, and not strictly his-
* " Church in the Catacombs," pp. 303—305.
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torical. The very roch to which Jonah clings has pro- bably reference to the common Scripture emblem for Christ.
Here are other Old Testament subjects, all of which will bear a similar explanation. Daniel delivered from the lions,, a fresco painting [ 94 ] ; also the three youths, unharmed, in the furnace at Babylon, from a fragment of a sarcophagus ; they are represented in the attitude of prayer, before referred to [ 97 ] ; and Elijah's triumphant entry into heaven in a chariot, his mantle, disproportionate in size, descending to Elisha, who, to tell the story of his comparative youth, is represented as a child [ 95 ] . This latter subject exhibits great boldness of treatment as a work of art. All these subjects are of a cheerful and encouraging class. The ancient Church never repre- sented scenes of a painful character : the deliverance of a Jew from the lions of Babylon was preferred to the de- struction of a Christian by those of the Colosseum; and the three Hebrews preserved from the rage of Nebuchad- nezzar was a more consolatory subject than the victims of Neronian cruelty wrapped in pitchcloth, and used as torches to illuminate the circus.^^*
And now to pass from the Old Testament to the New : there is no occasion to reiterate the observations made, for they are also applicable here. The raising of Lazarus from the dead is a very frequent subject upon sarcophagi ; its appropriateness is at once apparent. Here is an in- stance [ 95 ] in which the Eoman-shaped tomb and the mummy of Lazarus after the Egyptian fashion, show the Pagan artist, or, at all events, Pagan ideas. At the feet of the Saviour is a figure^ either Mary the sister of
* Church in the Catacombs," p. 311.
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Lazarus, or it may possibly be intended to represent the latter, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes.''^
A great variety of our Lord^s miracles are found re- presented. Here are two [ 99 ]j intended for the mira- cles of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and changing of the water into wine at Cana of Galilee.
It was one of the arguments of the infidel school of the last century, that if the early Christians had believed in the miracles of Christ, they would more frequently have appealed to them in their controversies with their Pagan adversaries. Much learning and ingenuity is exer- cised, upon the reply to this objection, by Dr. Paley, in his Evidences of the Truth of Christianity.''* Had the Doctor been as well acquainted with the Christian Catacombs as some are in the present day, he might have spared himself some labour, and cut very short the argu- ment, by pointing to the sculptured ^'evidences'' cut in the rock with an iron pen for ever.
Christ in his Scripture character of the Good Shep- herd,'' is a very favourite decoration of the Catacombs. In three representations which I show you, the subject is slightly varied [ 96 ] . He is represented carrying home the lost, the tender, or the weakly sheep. He is habited in the Roman dress. In one case the Pagan '' Pan's pipes " are represented to indicate his office ; in another you will notice the monogram on the head, to remove all doubt as to the person intended. You will observe, also, the great diversity of age and personal appearance in these representations. It is evident that the Christians of the early Church never attempted any likeness of their Divine Master, of whose appearance, although traditional
* Part III. chap. v.
95
THE RAISING OF LAZARUS, & ELIJAH TRANSLATED.
36
THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
EARLY CHRISTIAN ART.
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accounts may liave been transmitted^ no reliable likeness had been preserved.
As with regard to their own sufferings, so the early Christians appear to have been equally indisposed to dwell upon those of their Lord. The best and most plausible reason which can be assigned for this conduct is,, that the Christians of that day regarded, more than we have done in after ages, the sufferings of Christ and of his people as matter for glorying. The Apostles counted themselves liappy that they were permitted to suffer persecution for the sake of their crucified Saviour ; and Paul could ex- claim, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Chnst V They looked upon such subjects in a cheerful light, as matters for rejoicing ; it was a much later and colder age which introduced the painful representations of the sufferings of Christ's human nature, to aid flagging and almost expiring faith.
Amongst the very few allusions to the last hours of our Lord upon earth are two, which I show you [97^ 98] : one of them represents Pilate, his wife, and an attendant ; the former is washing his hands after the Oriental mode, as related by ^latthew (chap, xxvii. 24). The subject would seem, as Dr. Maitland suggests, to have reference to the declaration of our Lord^s freedom from guilt, I am innocent of the blood of this just person and by in- ference, the innocence of the Christians, as it concerned the charge of treason brought against them by their Pagan persecutors.
The other sculpture is from a sarcophagus, the subject being Peter denying his Master, and the cock crowing. This work of art is of a date somewhat later than the time of Constantine, as one of the Roman Basilicfe, or courts of Justice — made over to the use of the Christians
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in tliat reign as places of worship^ — appears in tlie back- ground. These buildings serve to point out tlie origin of ecclesiastical arrangements wbich have since then come very generally into use.*
Although incidentally referred to^ as in the t"wo cases pointed out, it does not appear that the early Christians ever took pleasure in portraying the actual scenes of suf- fering through which their Lord and Saviour passed. It is uncertain whether this arose from a repugnance to represent scenes in which his human form must have figured prominently^ and which, considering also his divine nature, prompted by reverent feelings, they shrunk from attempting, or whether, as has been already sug- gested, they overlooked to a great extent the sufferings of Christ in their earnest appreciation of the glory that followed.
The monogram, already explained, or a cross of two lines scratched on a gravestone, were at first the simple modes adopted for expressing faith in a crucified Lord. The transition from the simple to the elaborate, the peaceful to the horrible, is well traced in the following extracts : — The primitive symbols were also as rudi- mentary as they were cheerful : tivo crossed lines recorded the whole story of the Passion. In course of time, faith begins to cool ; the sculptor finds it necessary to suggest rather more strongly the meaning of the symbol. About
* The origin of the arrangements of ecclesiastical architecture will be found fully and satisfactorily examined in Dr. Maitland's " Church in the Catacombs," 2nd edit., pp. 339—349. The Cata- comb chapel and the Eoman court of law having each of them contributed its share towards the development of church archi- tecture, this point was reached in the fourth century ; towers and spires were added at a later date.
.MIRACLES OF OUR LORD.
EARLY CHRISTIAN ART.
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the year 400^ there appears at the foot of the cross a white lamb ; by the help of this sacrificial emblem^ man- kind contrives to remember the atonement for three # hundred years longer. In the year 706 the Quinisextan Council took away the lamb^* and painted in its place a living man, at first seen standing beneath tho cross_, with arms extended as if in prayer. This affecting repre- sentation seems to have lasted out that century. In the ninth the painter raised Christ to the transverse beam ; the darkened sun and moon now appear above the cross ; but He still prays with hands unconfined. In the tenth century Christ is first represented as dead, the nails being driven into the hands and feet. About the thirteenth the head drops on one side. * * * The painter haviDg developed the symbol of the Passion from the simple cross to the complete painting, was followed by the sculptor^ who beginning in the eleventh century with a mere bas-relief^ in the fourteenth arrived at the poidahle crucifix. This ivas material enough: faith had been super- seded by sight, and sight by touch.'^-f We learn in passing what I have before hinted at, the danger of employing symbols in relation to Divine things ; there is a tendency in man, evidenced by his history in all ages_, to abuse the use of symbols and incur peril of idolatry.
I close this reference to the fine arts of the Catacombs with a quotation, which well and concisely sums up all that I have stated. " On the whole, it may be safely assumed that the Catacombs^ destined to be the sepulchre
* 82nd Canon.
t The symbolism was further degraded, and the living crucifix, with its '* stigmata" or five wounds, was eventually produced by the Church of Eome. — The " Church in the Catacombs," pp. 204 -208.
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of the first Christians, for long periods peopled by mar- tyrs, decorated during the persecutions of the Church and under the immediate dominion of sad thoughts and agonizing duties, do really offer on all sides nothing but heroism in the historical pictures, and in the purely orna- mental part nothing but graceful and cheering subjects ; as representations of the vintage, of pastoral scenes, of love-feasts, of fruits, flowers, palm-branches, laurel crowns, lambs, doves, and does ; in a word, nothing hut ivhat suggests a feeling of joyous innocence — such as the world hiew when it was young — and charity, such as the Larah of God first brought into the world. Here are no figures agonizing on the cross, no pictures of the cross and passion, the agony and bloody sweat, the precious death and burial. For the crucifixion you must go to other cemeteries, which were not decorated in the first ages of Christianity. In the midst of their agitated lives, and in contemplation of a painful death, these first converts of the faith regarded the grave only as a sure and short road to eternal ]iaj)2nness. Far from associating with it images of torture and horror^ they endeavoured to enliven the tomb with bright and cheerful colours ; to present death under the most agreeable symbols, to wreathe it with foliage and flowers. In these dark crypts, among all these funereal fragments and remnants of the dead, you see no sinister symbol, no image of distress and mourning, no sign of resentment, no expression of hatred or revenge ; on the contrary, all these objects breathe sentiments of composure, gentleness, afiection, and bro- therly love. * * * Also in the first churches, when pictures were attempted upon the walls or cupolas, the subjects were all taken from Holy Writ. The painters who worked above ground had the same source of inspi-
EEPEESENTATIONS OF GOD.
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ration as the artists who decorated these Catacombs ; and that soiirce was the Bible.
That word reminds me of the point at which we had arrived in tracing the corruption of Christianity in the Romish system^ when I commenced the digression upon the fine arts in the Catacombs.
I think I may now return to our argument^ and ask you whether_, in withholding the Scriptures from the people, and keeping them in ignorance of that which is the Christianas chai'ter — the inspired Word of God — the Church of Rome has not again afforded evidence that she has substituted a debased for a primitive and pure Chris- tianity j the Scriptures themselves, the early Christian writers, and the Catacombs of Rome being our wit- nesses ?t
Before leaving the subject of the fine arts in the Catacombs, one more testimony they will afford against a practice which Rome has introduced to her infinite dis- honour, that of representing, like her Pagan predecessors,
* Macfarlane's " Catacombs of Eome," pp. 124 — 26.
t Farther evidence of the possession of the Scriptures by the early Christians is to be found in the fact that there were, in times of persecution, persons who gave them up, who were termed tra- ditors accordingly, i.e., traitors to God, who had committed to their custody a sacred gift. Traditors were, by their act, con- sidered as lapsed persons, that is, apostates from Christianity. At a synod held at Cirta, in Numidia, for instance, one Paul was deposed from his office as a traditor, and upon proceeding to con- secrate a successor, it appeared, unhappily, that others present had committed the same crime. Optatus de Schismat. Donatist. lib. i. p. 39 ; Augustine Cont. Cresc, lib. iii. cap. 26 — 28. Many other references to the offence of giving up the Scriptures are contained in the writings concerning the early Church. See also the testimony of Fenelon (a Roman Catholic), Q^uvres S'pirituels, tom. iv., p. 241.
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the great God — the eternal, immortal, and invisible Jeliovah — under the form of "corruptible manJ'' The early Christians, although with all reverence and delicacy of feeling they portrayed their Lord in human form, never ventured to design God the Father in the likeness of flesh. In cases in which the subject required allusion to the interference of God, they hinted at it by intro- ducing a symbolical hand. Here are two instances [100] : in one of which Moses is represented taking the tables of the Law from a hand veiled in " clouds and darkness in the other, the outstretched hand of God is represented as interposing to stay the sacrifice of Isaac by the patriarch Abraham. This symbolic hand became the germ from which sprang the disregard of the Second Commandment, which grew with the growth of Romish corruption, until it became so flagrant and apparent, that it became necessary for that Church to drop, as she did, the command from the Decalogue. There is found in a French MS. of the ninth century, a representation of God the Father as an aged man — precisely the Jupiter of the Pagans revived. In two MSS. of the Apocalypse, of the fourteenth century, one of which is in the British Museum, there appear representations of Christ, as a lamb standing on its hind legs, and taking the book with the seven seals from " Him that sat upon the throne,^' represented in each case as a man. These subjects would be ridiculous if they were not painfully blasphemous ; it is quite out of the question afibrding illustrations of them.* In later times this ofience became more frequent ; and in Roman Catholic churches both pictures and carvings to this hour afford evidence that God^s laws are dis-
* See Twining's *' Symbols and Emblems," Plate xi., figs. 3 and 5.
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regarded and set at nought in this, as in other respects. If any of you were to cross the Channel to Calais, and visit there the chief church, you would see a representa- tion of the Virgin Mary as a young woman, Christ as a young man, and the Eternal Father as an old man, and the Holy Spirit as a dove. You will picture to yourselves that the Virgin would be represented as offering adoration to the representations of the persons in the Trinity — no such thing ; the Divine persons are crowning the head of the Virgin. And so at Paris, in the church called The Madeleine,^^ God the Father is represented as a man reclining on a couch. The Eternal Jehovah, who faint- eth not, neither is weary,^^* is actually represented talcing rest after the fatigues of creation ! ! Wherein is such a system better than that of the Pagans of old? Is not that a deeply -debased Christianity, if Christianity it can be called, which substitutes such religion for the spiritual worship of a Spirit God. In this respect also I would have you notice that the Catacombs witness clearly against Romanism that it is neither primitive nor pure.
One more illustration of my argument, and I conclude. In nothing was the religion of Jesus Christ more distin- guished from all that the world had then known of reli- gion, than in its loving and Messing spirit. Its existence was based upon an act of love unparalleled. In love to God and to human nature all its laws are included and summed up. Those laws, as expounded by their Great Author, forbade cursing, and enjoined blessing ; bless, and CURSE not.''' With severity of reproof unusual with the meek and gentle Saviour, He condemned the sjnViY of persecution when it appeared in the behaviour of his dis-
* Isaiah xl. 28.
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ciples. " Ye hioiv not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of Man is not come to destroy men^s lives, hut to save them/'^ was his reply, wlien tliey suggested tlie pro- pagation of Ms Gospel by other means than by kindly persuasion and the force of Christian example.
This is not the spirit in which his religion has been set before the world by the recent Church of Rome. Alas ! in this respect especially, she has shown herself the parent of unfaithful daughters,]- who have often followed her pernicious example, and persecuted those who differed from themselves. But Rome stands pre-eminently con- spicuous as a cursing and a fersecuting Church; she curses systematically, awfully, in terms which I dare not repeat to you. And with respect to persecution and blood- shedding, she has emulated her Pagan predecessors, and earned for herself the character accorded to her in Inspired Writ, ^' drwiken ivith the hlood of the saints." It would weary you were I to attempt even to enumerate the slaughter she has committed in the name of the reli- gion of the loving Jesus. In the valleys of Piedmont, Switzerland, the Tyrol, and Bohemia, the blood of Albi- genses, Yaudois, Yfaldenses, and others who protested against Rome^s corruptions, was poured out like water. In the sixteenth century, France affords an illustration of the fiendish spirit of persecution; men, women, and children were indiscriminately slaughtered by the sword, by hanging, roasting over slow fires, cast from high rocks, or upon pikes. Sucking infants, who could not know their right hand from their left, were not spared, but killed with bludgeons before the eyes of their mothers ;
* Luke ix. 55, 56.
f " The Mother of Harlots," or unfaithfulness, she is called in Holy Writ.
rERSECUTlNG_, CURSING.
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nor did tlie sex of woman shield her. On one occasion five hundred women were forced into a barn, which was set on fire, and all were destroyed. This was but de- sultory and ineffectual persecution ; a design was formed, deliberately, for the utter extinction of pure religion in France, and carried out on the 24th August, 1572, and lasted seven days. It is known by the name of the Mas- sacre of St. Bartholomew ; more than 5000 persons were slaughtered in Paris, and at least 20,000 more in other parts of France. The Pope rejoiced in this bloody deed, publicly returned thanks to God for its success, and con- gratulated the French king on the accomplishment of a purpose so long meditated and go happily executed.'^ He even struck a medal, on which he represented him- self, Gregory XIIL, on the obverse, and on the reverse the Massacre, with the inscription, the slaughter of THE HUGONOTS, 1572.''^* Our own country has not escaped, although it has been, by God's mercy, visited more leniently than others. The Netherlands were literally drenched in blood. The Duke of Alva boasted of having put to death 18,000 Protestants in six weeks, and the whole number massacred in that country, solely on account of their religion, fell little short, if at all, of 100,000. In Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, turn where you will, you will read the history of Rome's authority in letters of blood.
The Inquisition — an institution established to put a stop to the Reformation — has, since its establishment, sacrificed its hundreds of thousands, or, as some writers assert, its millions of victims ; the total will never b
* This medal is described in the Numismata Pontificum Romanorum," torn. i. p. 336.
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known nntil the earth shall disclose her blood, and no more cover her slain.-'^ Carrying on its proceedings in darkness and secresy — violating the sanctity of domestic life, and even of connubial attachment, in obtaining its victims — condemning without a charge, and often without a hearing — by fearful tortures, extorting evidence to incul- pate and bring into the same condemnation those who are nearest in relationship or dearest in affection — it appears, in my humble judgment, the masterpiece of Satan's cruelty ; permitted to exist only to warn us to come out of^^ and keep clear of Eome and her system. And think not, my friends, to deceive yourselves by saying, " This is an old story, and a state of things long past and gone.''^ Tell me which of the persecuting and cursing canons of Rome has been repealed, and my charity will be prepared to admit that she has changed her character ; let me see that, although unrepealed, she has ceased to use them, and I will, even then, admit it. But her bloody statutes are on her books ; her persecuting pictures adorn the walls of the Pope^s palace; her sanguinary medals are in the Pope^s collection ; and blood is even now on her hands in the middle of the nineteenth century. England was once a persecutor for conscience sake. On her statute books were laws enjoining the burning of heretics ; the imprisonment, multilation, and execution of non-con- formists ; she sanctioned the use of the torture to extort evidence. Had these laws remained unrepealed, how could she have replied to the charge of persecution and cruelty ? But Eome, in this respect, since she fell, is unchanged and unchanging. Even while I address you, her recognized organs are justifying persecution, and in- timating that she still thirsts for blood. I will not read to you what Protestants say of Rome, but I will read what
LOVING SPIEIT OP EAELY CHURCH. IGl
Rome, speaking in the Univers/^ her recognized organ on the Continent, says about us.*
A heretic, examined and convicted by the Church, used to be dehvered over to the secular power and punished with death. Nothing has ever appeared to us more natural or more necessary. More than 100,000 perished in consequence of the heresy of Wicliflfe ; a still greater number by that of John Huss; it luould not he possible to calculate the bloodshed caused by the heresy of Luther, and it is not yet over. After three centuries, ive are at the eve op a eecommencement.-'^
And now, what say the Catacombs to the spirit of their Christian occupants ? Surely, if ever there were men entitled to curse, to retaliate, and to revenge, it was these poor outcasts ; proscribed for no crime, persecuted and put to death, without law, without trial, and without mercy. But mark the fact, not one word of hatred, re- venge, dislike, is ever expressed against their persecutors and enemies ; not even a stray scrawl is to be found on the walls of their prison, implying a desire to retaliate, to curse, or to avenge. Such inscriptions as the following ha,ve been found, but they breathe a different spirit : —
MAXIMINUS, WHO LIVED XXIII YEARS; FRIEND OF ALL MEN.
IN CHRIST, ON THE FIFTH BEFORE THE KALENDS OF NOVEMBER SLEPT CORGONIUS, FRIEND OF ALL, AND ENEMY OF NONE.
The history of their triumph under Constantino tells the same tale. When released from the persecutions of
* Yide "L'Uuivers," August, 1851. Also articles written in August, 1872, the tercentenary of the massacre of St. Bartho- lomew, justifying that act.
11
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the Pagans, and armed with the powers of the State, they turned not those powers against their enemies and persecutors ; they were more busied in the manumission of slaves, and in putting down the bloody games of the circus, than in recording or revenging the injuries they had received. Would that it were in the power of the historian to trace the same line of conduct in after times !
Again, I ask, am I not justified in asserting that Christianity has been corrupted; that the Romish system has largely borrowed the cursing, persecuting, and blood- thirsty spirit of Paganism ? that for the Christian religion of the Catacombs and the Bible, there has been sub- tituted a false, a spurious imitation, which does not bear the impress of the Divine original ?
To the objection, If Christianity is a Divine institu- tion and remedy f why has it not effected more completely its mission hy removing evils which still afflict our world ? " I have replied, " Because Christianity was
CORRUPTED, AND IS, TO A GREAT EXTENT, CORRUPTED STILL/^
Had time permitted, the proof could have been much extended, but I have preferred confining myself to the fundamental errors of the system ; all others matters are mere accessories and sequences. I have made plain, I trust, that these fundamental corruptions consist in a derogation from the honour, a usurpation of the rights of the Lord Jesus Christ, by setting aside his teaching and infringing upon his various oflflces : of Priest, by sub- stituting an unauthorized priesthood ; of Saviour, by supplying a supplementary sacrifice ; of Mediator, by adding a host of unnecessary intercessors ; of Prophet, by withholding the inspired Word of God. And, as a
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consequence^ Rome having reverted to the Pagan system in all these respects, she has naturally come to display the worst features of Pagan spirit.
Why this corruption of truth, and consequent sus- pension of the hopes of the world, has been permitted, I again repeat it is not for us to determine. Suffice it to reply, that it was forehiown and clearly predicted, and that the true Church of Christ, from the days of the Apostles to this hour, has known the fact, and been con- soled also by the knowledge that the destruction of the system is also determined upon, and that it will be sudden, fearful, and complete.*
In this view of the subject, how important is it for us to understand clearly the principles of the system, so as to keep clear of its corruptions ; for the Word of inspira- tion, in telling of its coming judgment, informs us also of a " YoicQ^' which is loudly to sound, and which even my feeble and unworthy utterance may be permitted even now to swell : Gome out of her, my 'people, that ye he not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.'^ t
The number of those who still submit themselves to the teachings of Rome is very great, and she has many admirers who in secret bow the knee to her without openly professing it. This being so, it may be asked by some of you, "How comes it that so many are deceived, and
* See "Apostolic School of Prophetic Interpretation," by Dr. Maitland, in which the belief that Rome is the predicted Babylon of the Apocalypse is shown to have been the faith of the Christian Chnrch in every age.
f Rev. xviii. 4.
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claim for Romanism that it is 'primitive^ Jioli/j universalj and a]iostolic ?
I must first remind you that a numerical majority (even if Rome possessed it) could not determine a question of truth or error. When Christianity arrived in the world_, Paganism was all but universal : that fact did not^ however_, prove Paganism true and Christianity false. At the present moment it is believed that the worshippers of Buddha in India and China outnumber the professors of any other religious sect_, but you will perceive that that fact cannot determine the truth of Buddhism. Thus the number of those who are deceived by error cannot con- vert error into truth. And so with regard to pertinacious reiteration of a statement : a falsehood^ however often re- pestedj is a falsehood still. The Ephesians of old con- tinued by the space of two hoars to reiterate Great is Diana of the Ephesians^" without establishing the dignity of their imaginary divinity. The progress of truth is ever slow^ while error moves with rapid steps : the reason is obvious; error is seized upon by those who ask no evidence^ while the searchers after truth, hitherto a small minority of mankind_, adopt it only after delibe- rate examination.
I will tell you, however, another secret of the power of Romanism. I have said that a falsehood, however often reiterated, can never become truth ; but it is also a lamentable fact, that by the constant reiteration of a^ false- Jioodj it acquires in our iintliinMng world the force of truth. This is the reason why the system I speak of has so many adherents, notwithstanding its flagrant depar- tures from primitive and pure Christianity. It is un- happily the case in this world of ours, both in commerce
FALSEHOOD.
165
and m religion^ tliat the corrupted, debased, adulterated article passes too frequently for the genuine and the pure, upon the word of the loudest and boldest asseverator.
This tendency in falsehood to pass unchallenged and the true reason of its success are so well stated by a living poet, that I cannot forbear quoting him : —
" Build a lie — yes, build a lie,
A large one — be not over tender ; Give it a form, and raise it high,
That all the world may see its splendour ; Then launch it like a mighty ship
On the restless sea of men's opinion, And the ship shall sail before the gale
Endued with motion and dominion.
Though storms may batter it evermore,
Though angry lightnings flash around it, Though whirlwinds rave, and whirlpools roar,
To overwhelm and to confound it. The ship shall ride, all wrath of time
And hostile elements defying : The winds of Truth are doubtless strong,
But great 's the buoyancy of lying.
And though the ship grow old at last.
Leaky, and water-logged, and crazy. Yet still the hulk endures the blast,
And fears no weather, rough or hazy ; For should she sink, she'll rise again.
No strength her rotten planks shall sever ; Give her hut size and (he ivorst of lies
May float about the world for every *
I must, however, conclude with a remark or two * Dr. Mackay.
166
POPERY.
by way of lessons wliich we may derive from the subject we Lave been considerinor.
o
First. I will suggest another answer with which, from to-night_, you may be furnished, when Romanists ask you, as they are very fond of doing in their ignorance, " Where was your religion before the Reformation?" There have been two answers usually given to this question ; one of them distinguished by its wit, and the other by its sound- ness. The first reply is, in fact, a counter- question — Where was your face this morning, before you washed it Now, this reply I do not recommend you to use. I would rather advise you to reply, It was in the New Testament]^-' where, if your faith be sound, it will assuredly be found. But from to-night you can reply also, It ivas in the Catacombs of Rome.'' There was primitive and pure Christianity, and that will be "primitive, holy, universal, and apostolic religion which resembles it.
Then, secondly, notice the wise providence of God with regard to the preservation of the antiquities of the Catacombs. Hidden from the world during a thousand years, they came forth just as the corruption of Rome was complete and the reformation from error commenced, as important witnesses in the controversy which was hence- forth to be maintained ; but the state of learning was not then favourable for the full development of their testi- mony. The Popes, however, preserved the stones in their museum ; eminent antiquarians (Roman Catholics) copied and published the inscriptions, and thus preserved them from being lo?t, until this day, when the enemy coming in like a fiood," Christians are permitted to lift
IMrROVEM£NT.
1G7
them up as a standard against error and false religion. This is not the first time in the world's history that a culprit has treasured up the evidence wJiicli has ultimately proved the means of his conviction.
Lastly. If you loould hiow Cliristiawty, learn it from the Bible. Which of you, having the option of drinking at the fountain-head of the river, or of slaking your thirst from its turbid and polluted waves after it has scoured some mighty city, would not rather prefer the pure crystal draught from the unpolluted source ? Study, then, this Divine institution, where its features are truth- fully delineated in the pages which record the words and actions of its Divine Founder, and attend the teaching of those who draw water the purest from these wells of salvation.'^ Do not be so unwise or so unjust as to con- demn that which is in itself pure and holy, and calculated to make you unspeakably happy, because some have forged counterfeits, and passed them for the true. You act not so with respect to the secular affairs of life. Money still possesses its value, and fine gold is still esteemed by you, notwithstanding it is sometimes counterfeited by baser metal. Pictures by eminent artists command and main- tain their price, even though copies, unworthy of the original, are abroad. Oh! that it were thus with regard to the more important concerns of our souls. We take up, unthinkingly and without examination, anything pre- sented to us as the religion of Christ, and either reject it altogether, because of some unattractive and repulsive feature which belongs not to it, or, if receiving it, we render homage to some distorted representation, to the dishonour of the Divine Originator.
168
POPERY.
May it be your lot and minej so to learn Clirist from tlie inspired reflection He has left behind Him, that we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, may be changed into the same likeness from glory to glory, e^en as by the Spirit of the Lord/^*
* 2 Cor. iii. 18.
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ni4GR4.M (Physiology.)
No. 54 and 55 Human Skeleton [double size, 6 feet by 4 feet).
56 Organs of Mastication, Dt^glutition, &c.
57 Organs of Digestion, — gullet, stomach, &c.
58 Organs of Circulation, — heart, showing valves, &c.
59 Organs of Circulation and Respiration.
60 Organs of Sensation, — brain, nerves, &c.
61 The Skin, its Structure and Appendages.
62 Effects of Tight Lacing.
63 Effects of Intemperate Use of Alcoholic Liquors.
See also Nos. 487 to 491.
(Houses in the East.)
64 Booths made of Branches -Feast of Tabemaclei.
65 Progress of Architecture — Huts, Capitals, &c.
66 Windows — Balconies, Kiosks, &c , of Eastern Houses.
67 Oriental Doors (Arabic) with writing thereon.
68 Ground Plan ani Section of Oriental House.
69 Court of Oriental House,— interior view.
70 Eoofs of ditto — House-tops, Dome, and Minaret.
71 Tents, various; and Booth of Hurdle-work.
72 Cave-dwelling— interior.
73 Rock- dwellings in Edom or Petra— exterior.
(Cruelties of Idolatry, Pagan Practices.)
74 Offering Children to Moloch.
75 Druid Sacrifice as described by Caesar.
76 Child Murder in Indian Temple.
77 Hindoo Suttee, or Widow-burning.
78 Dying Gladiator in the Colosseum.
79 Gladiatorial Combat — Bas-reliefs from Pompeii.
See also Xos. 272 and 275.
3
DIAGRAM (The Catacombs at Rome, and Early Chzistianity.)
Ko. 80 Gallery, with Tombs, in the Catacombs at Rome.
81 Tombs and Slabs in diito.
82 Fossors — Inscriptions relating to, in ditto.
83 Phonetic Symbols, referring to names in ditto.
84 Ditto — referring to Trades and Occupations.
85 Ditto ditto
86 Religious Symbols — Monogram of Christ.
87 Suncbies — Fish Symbol — Crown and Palms, &c.
88 Religious Symbols — Doves, Ship, Anchor.
89 Inscriptions — Chrstian and Pagan contrasted.
90 Epitaphs of Four Martyrs.
91 Praying Figures — Bfllicia and the Apostle Paul.
92 Painting of Love Feast, and Cups
93 Bas-reliefs — 1, Xoah and Jonah ; 2, Jonah.
94 Fresco Painting — Daniel and the Lions.
95 Bas-reliefs — 1, Raising of Lazarus ; 2, Elijah's Translation.
96 Representations of ''tt e Good Shepherd."
97 Bas-reliefs — Pilate Wa>hing his Hands ; Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, in the " Fiery Fm-nace."
98 Bas-relief — Peter Denying his Lord.
99 Paintings— Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, ditto of Water changed
into Wine.
100 Bas-reliefs — Abraham and Isaac ; Moses receiving the Tables of
the Law.
(Mechanics.)
101 The Lever and its Applications.
102 The Pulley, the Wheel and Axle
103 The Inclined Plane, Wedge, and Screw.
(Optics— The Telescope.)
104 The Human Eye.
105 Refraction of Light, with Section of Lenses,
106 Refracting Telescopes — The Galilean and the Terrestrial.
107 Great Refracting Telescope at Cambridge
108 Reflecting Telescopes — The Newtonian and the Cassegrainian.
109 Lord Rosse's Great Reflecting Telescope.
(Astronomy— The Nebulae.)
110 Yarious forms of Nebulce.
111 The Nebula in Hercules.
112 The Dumb Bell Nebula.
113 The Crab Nebula
114 and 115 The Whii-lpool, or Spiral Nebula, double size.
(Optics— The Microscope.)
116 External View of a Compound Microscope.
117 Internal Arrangement of its Lenses
118 Works of Nature and of Art, contrasted.
119 Yarious Objects Magnified.
120 Cheese Mite, Crustaceous Animalcules, &c.
121 Yarious Animalcules.
4
DIAGRAM (Life in Australia,)
No. 121 The Voyage— Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope.
122 Emigrant Ship arriving at Sydney.
123 Australian Farm, Sheep Washing.
124 Going to the Diggings.
125 Gold Washing at ditto.
126 Escort of Gold ; Native Police.
128 Natives and Native Hut.
129 Corrobory, or Dance of Natives.
130 Animals and Birds of Australia.
131 Trees and Plants of Australia.
(Homes in the East and Domestic Arrangements.
132 Sitting Postures amongst Orientals.
133 Throne and Chairs — Assyria.
134 Throne and Chairs— Egvpt.
135 Tables from Egypt and Assyi'ia.
136 Washing Hands— Oriental Method.
137 Modes of Eating in the East.
138 Sleeping Accommodations — Oriental.
139 Mode of Grinding Corn in the East.
140 Oriental Lamps and Oven.
141 Water and Wine Skins in the East.
(Astronomy— Comet.)
142 Two Views of the Comet of 1853.
See also No. 251.
(Locomotion— Travelling in the Old Times.)
143 Saxon Chariots or Wheel Beds.
144 Saxon Waggon, and Lady on Horseback.
145 Female Horsemanship in the 15th Centurj.
146 Horse Litter of 14th Century.
147 Qneen Isabella of France in her State Litter.
148 Travelling Waggon of 14th Century.
149 Pack Horses and Drivers.
150 State Coaches of Queen Elizabeth and her Attendant
151 Coaches of 1616 and 1696.
152 Carriages of the Eeign of Queen Anne.
153 Modern Stage Coach.
154 Railway Train— Night.
(For Illustration of High Numbers in Astronomy
155 One MiUion Points, 10 ft. by 10 ft.
(Ruins of Nineveh.)
156 Human-headed Winged Lion, from Nineveh.
157 Slab from Nineveh, Sennacherib before Lachish.
158 Architectural Ornaments, &c.
159 Assyrian Temple, Nimroud.
160 Pottery, Helmets, &c.
161 Jewish Captives, imploring mercy of Sennacherib.
162 Eagle-headfd Human Figure, Nisroch.
163 Nirarod, the " Mighty Hunter."
164 King in War Chariot, fording a River.
165 Transport of Winged Bull by Assyrians.
166 King Hunting Lions, Religious Symbols.
167 Sieges, with Mounds, Battering Ram, &c.
5
DiAGKAii (Ruins of Nine-veh.— continued.)
No. 168 Transport of Winged Bull, by Mr. Layarcl ; Mound of Nimroul.
169 Banquet of Wine.
170 Heads of Slain counted.
171 Map of the Tigris, with Site of Nineveh.
172 Cruelty to Captives, Tongues torn out, &C-.
173 .Restored Exterior of Assyrian Palace.
17-i Archive or Record Chamber at Kouyimjik.
1 75 Eyes of Captive put out by King of Assyria.
(The Literary History of the Bible.)
176 Writing on Stone — The Rosetta Stone.
177 Picture Writing from Karnak, Thebes.
178 Ancient MSS. and Writing Materials.
179 Multiplication of Copies— Scriptorium and Scribe.
180 Multiplication of Copies— Printing Press.
181 The Burnt Roll, or the Scriptures destroyed.
182 Bible Biu^ing at Paul's Cross.
183 Wycliff before Archbishop Courtenay.
184 The Bible Chained, as read in the Crypt of St. Paul's.
185 The Death of the Venerable Bede.
186 Luther finding the Bible in the Library at Erfurt. ]
187 Luther Translating the Bible into German.
188 Search for New Testaments at Oxford.
189 Bible Society's House and Warehouse.
190 Interior View of St. Paul's, Jubilee of Bible Society.
See also No. 199, and Nos. 492 to 498.
(The Reformation in England.)
191 Cardinal Wolsey going in Procession to the King's Chapel.
192 Burning of John Brown the ^Martyr's Feet.
193 Worshippers at the Altars of St. Thomas and the Virgin.
194 Exposure of the Inner Machinery of the Rood of Kent.
195 Legates Presiding at the Court for Divorce of Queen Catherine.
196 Monks Carousing at Newstead Abbey.
197 Parliament submitting to Cardinal Pole.
198 Burning of Ridley and Latimer at Oxford.
199 The Bible and the Printing Press.
(Geology.)
200, 201,202 Triple size. Section of the Earth's Crust. .
203 Order of the Various Geological Systems and Strata.
204 Fossils of the Clay-slate, Grauwacke, and Silurian Systems.
205 Section of the London Basin, with Artesian Well.
206 Fossils of the Devonian, or old Red Sandstone.
207 Fossils of the Carboniferous System.
208 Fossils of the New Red (Triassic) System.
209 Fossil Flora of the Oolite and immediately Antecedent Systems.
210 Fossil Shells and Fruit from the Lias, Oolite, and Wealden.
211 Fossil Saui-ians from the Oolite.
212 Fossils of the Chalk Formation.
213 Fossils of the Tertiary Series.
214 Fossils of the Superficial Strata.
See also No. 448 : also Nos. 23 i to 239.
6
DIAGRAM (The Fulfilled Prophecies.)
No. 215 The Arabs ; their wild independence.
216 The Arabs ; Dwellings in Tents.
217 View of the Ruins of Petra (Edum).
218 Babylon — the Birs Nimroud.
219 Babylon— the Miijelibe, &c.
220 Tyre, Ruins of, from a Photograph.
221 Tyre, View of the Port.
222 Egypt, her desolation — Thebes or No.
223 Egypt, Sole Remains of On, or HeliopoUs.
224 Jews and Jerusalem— Place of "Wailing.
225 Bas-relief Irom the Arch of Titus at Rome.
(The Seven Churches in Asia.)
226 The Isle of Patmos.
227 Ephesus, Ruins of.
228 Smyrna.
229 Pergamos, Ruins of.
230 Thyatira, Site of.
231 Sardis, Remains of.
232 Philadelphia, Site of.
233 Laodicea, Ruins of.
(Volcanoes and Volcanic Action.)
234 Vesuvius from the Bay of Naples.
235 Stromboli, Night View of, during Eruption.
236 Jorullo, a Crater near Mexfco, thrown up September 29, 1759.
237 Crater of Kirauea, Owhyhee.
238 Air Volcanoes, near Carthagena, South America.
239 Geysers, or Boiling Fountains of Iceland.
(Astronomy— The Solar System.)
240, 241 Solar System, Section of, double size.
242 The Sun, with comparative sizes of the Planets.
243 Comparative Sizes of the Sun, as seen from various Planets.
244 The Moon, its Telescopic Appearance.
245 Venus, Mercury, Mars.
246 Jupiter and Moons.
247 Saturn, with the other Planets (showing relative sizes).
248 The Tides.
249 The Seasons.
250 Eclipses of Sun and Moon — Law of Shadows.
251 Comets, Various.
See also Nos.. 142, 375, 376, 385, 386, and 402. (Egypt and its Monuments.)
252 Map of Ancient Egypt, Nubia, &c,
253 Hall of Columns, Kamak, Thebes.
254 Pyramids and Sphinx.
255 Temple of Abou Simbel (Exterior).
256 Temple of Abou Simbel (Interior).
257 The Sitting Statues of Amunoph III.
258 Temple of Edfou (Interior).
259 Tomb at Beni Hassan (Exterior).
260 Tomb of Psammeticus, discovered by Belzoni.
261 Section showing Construction of a Pyramid.
7
DiAGEvM (Natural History— HVIammaliaO
No. 262 Order Bimana— Man.
263 Skeletons of Bimana and Quadrumana,
264 Order Quadrumana — Monkeys.
265 Order Carnaria — Bats.
266 Order Carnaria— Shrew, Mole, &c.
267 Order Carnaria— Lion, Tiger, &c.
268 Order Carnaria— Bear, Wolf, Fox, &c.
269 Order Marsupialia — Kangartio, &c.
270 Order Rodentia— Squirrel, Hare, Porcupine, &c.
271 Order Edentata— Sloth, Ant-oaler,
272 0)der Pachydermata— Elephant, Pihinoceros, &.c.
273 Order Pachydermata — Horse, Zebra, &c.
274 Order Ruminantia— Deer, Buffalo, &c.
275 Order Ruminantia — Gii-affe.
276 Order Cetacea— Whale, Dolphin, &c.
See also Nos. 130, 440, 485, and 486.
(Remains of Pompeii J
277 Restoration of the City of Pompeii.
278 Remains of the Forum at Pompeii.
279 Circus or Amphitheatre at Pompeii,
280 The Large Theatre at Pompeii..
281 Remains of the Public Baths.
282 Suburban Villa.
283 Restored Interior.
284 Street of Tombs.
285 Baker's Shop, &c.
286 Vessels and Implements.
(Dxuidism.)
287 Druid Cromlech.
See also Nos. e. h. 3, e. h. 4, and e. h. 8.
(Je-wish Tabernacle.
288 Camp of the Israelites (at rest) with the Tabernacle. 288a Ground Plan of the Camp of the Israelites.
289 Interior of the Tabernacle.
290 Brazen (Copper) Altar of Bumt-Ofifeiing, &c.
291 Brazen Laver, with Priests Washing.
292 Table of Shew bread, &c.
293 Golden Candlestick, with Ministering Priest, &c.
294 Ark, Mercy-seat, and Cherubim, &c.
295 Order of March of the Israelites.
See also Nos. 321, 478, 480, and 481.
(Cities of Palestine.)
296 Modern Jerusalem, from the Mount of Olives.
297 Bethlehem— Hills of Moab in Background.
298 Nazareth.
299 Tiberias, with the I-ake of Galilee.
300 Samaria, Ruins of.
301 Hebron (Mamre, Kirjath-Arba).
302 Bethany.
303 Nablous (Neapolis), anciently Shechem and Svchar.
304 The River Jordan.
See also 344, 480, 481; also large View of Jerusalem, N(e. 325—328.
8
BiAGBAM (Mountains of the Bible.)
No. 308 Mount Ararat.
309 Mount Lebanon.
310 Mount Sinai, with view of the Convent.
311 Mount Hor, with Tomb of Aaron.
312 Mount Carmel.
313 Mount Tabor.
314 Mount of Olives.
See also Xos. 368 and 481.
(Types of Sczipture.)
315 A Lamb Sacrificed.
316 Noah's Ark.
317 The Priest Melchisedec.
318 The Passover.
319 The Manna.
320 The Rock in Horeb.
321 Aaron, the High Priest.
322 The Brazen Serpent.
(Palestine.)
323, 324 Map of Palestine, double size.
(Jerusalem.)
325, 326, 327, 328 View of Modern Jerusalem, from Photograph, 12 feet by 4 feet.
(Travels of the Apostle Paul.)
329, 330 Dovhie size Map of the 1st and 3rd Journeys of the Apostle. 329a, 330a Map of the 2nd, and of the last Voyage of the Apostle Paul, double size.
331 Tarsus.
332 Damascus.
333 Antioch, Syria.
334 Antioch, Pisidia.
335 Thessalonica.
336 Athens.
337 Corinth.
338 Miletus.
339 Chart of South Coast, Crete, and View of Fair Havens.
340 Chart and View of St. Paul's Bay, Malta.
341 Puteoli.
342 Rome.
343 Coins, Illustrative of Paul's Travels.
344 Csesarea Palestina.
(Dr. Livingstone's Researches and Discoveries in Africa.)
345, 346 Map of Dr. Livingstone's Journeys, double size.
347 The Victoria Falls.
348 Adventure with a Lion.
349 Trap and Pit for Game.
350 "Women with Egg-shells.
351 A Court Presentation.
352 Reception of Missionaries.
353 River Scenery,
9
(Dr. Livingstone's Researches and Discovexies in Africa—
DiAGiiAM continued.) No. 354: Scenery, with Euphorbias.
355 Loanda.
356 Eock Scene.
357 Adventure with Buffaloes.
358 Heads of Natives, &c.
(Ancient British History.)
B H 1 Costume of Ancient Britons before Roman Invasion.
E H 2 British War Chariot and Weapons.
E H 3 Arch Druid and Group of Druids.
E H 4 Stonehenge.
E H 5 Landing of Julius Csesar.
E H 6 Caractacus before Claudius.
E H 7 Boadicea haranguing the Confederated Britons.
E H 8 Massacre of the Druids.
E H 9 Heads of Roman Emperors.
E H 10 Britons Lamenting the Departure of the Romans. See also No. 287.
(The Steam Engine.)
359 Early forms of the Steam Engine.
360 Savery's Engine.
361 Atmospheric Engine.
362 The Boiler.
363 The Cylinder, Piston, Condenser and Parallel Motion.
364 The Governor Crank and Eccentric.
365 Action of ordinary Condensing Engine.
366 Marine (oscillating) Engine.
367 Locomotive Engine.
See also No. 154.
368 The Mount op Olives (from a JPhotograjph.)
( Astronomy —Remarkable Co nstellations .)
370 Beta Persei.
371 Omicron Ceti.
372 The " Coal Sack " and " Southern Cross."
373 ''Hercules."
374 " The Pleides."
( A stronomy— Eclipses .)
375 Total Solar Eclipse.
376 Phases of Solar Eclipse.
See also No. 250.
382 The English Church at Jerusalem (from a Photograph) , (Astronomy— Comets.)
385 Comet of 1858.
386 Telescopic Appearances of ditto.
See also Nos. 142, 251, 402.
(The Book [Bible] and its Missions.)
387 Thibet.
388 Burmah and the Missionary Judson.
389 Inscribed Rock of BeiiisLUu.
10
Di\GBi.M (The Book [Bible] and its "Sflissions-continuedj
No. 390 Dagon and Nebo.
391 Constantinople.
392 Cclporteur at Dughctejiik.
393 Burning of Hebrew MSS. in Spain.
394 Swiss Colporteur in the Alps.
395 Sketch of Mount Castellazzo and Street of Latour.
396 Xiglit Class for Scripture reading in Poitou.
397 The Nestorian Christians.
398 Sales to Sunday Scholars of Manchester.
399 Swiss Peasants purchasing Bibles.
400 Bible-readers in old St. Giles's.
401 Modern Bible-readers in St. Giles's.
(Astronomy— Comets.)
402 Orbits of Comets an^l Conic Sections.
See also 142, 251, 385, 386 and 402.
(The Pilgrim Fathers of New England.)
403 Barrow and Gree iwood in the Clink Prison.
404 Martyrdom of John Peury.
405 Map — Xorth East part of England.
406 Site of Manor house at Scrooby,
407 Austerfield Church, Standish (Chapel, &c.
408 Delfthaven — Scene on the Maese.
409 1'he May-flower " and " Speedwell" in Dartmouth Harbour.
410 Cape Cod Harbour and the " May-flower."
411 Plan of New Plymouth Bay, New England.
412 Eelics of the Pilgrim Fathers.
(Ethnology— the Unity of the Human Species.)
413 Skulls of Biraana and Quadrumar a.
414 Bases of Skulls — Man and Ourang-Outang.
415 Types of races — Caucasican, Arab, Moor, Mongolian.
416 Types of races — N. American, Malayan, and Central American.
417 Types of races — Terra del Fuegan, Negro, Bushman, Tasmanian.
See also 262, 263 and 264.
(The Pilgrim's Progress— Part 1.)
418 Pilgrim sets out from the City of Destruction.
419 Pilgrim meets Obstinate and Pliable.
420 The Slough of Despond.
421 Pilgrim meets Evangelist.
422 Pilgrim at the Wicket Gate.
423 At the Interpreter's — The Fire of Grace.
424 Ditto — The triumph of Eesolution.
425 Christian at the Cross.
426 Simple, Sloth, and Presumption.
427 Christian asleep in the Ai'bour.
428 Christian and the Lions.
429 Christian at the Palace Beautiful.
430 Christian in Conflict with Apollyon.
431 The Giants Pope and Pagan.
432 Christian and Faithful at Vanity Fair.
433 Demas and the Hill Lucre.
11
DIAGRAM (The Pilgrim's Progress -Part 1— continued.)
No. 434 Christian and Hopeful at Doubting Castle.
435 The Pilgrims shown the Celestial City.
436 The River of Death.
437 The Pilgrims ascend to the Celestial City.
(Egypt and the Bible.)
438 Illustrations of the Bible— Agricultural.
439 Ditto — Horticulture and Vintage.
440 Ditto — The Chase, fowling and fishing.
441 Ditto— Spinning, "\\"eaving, &c.
442 Ditto— Brickmaking and Pottery.
443 Ditto — Working in Metals, <fec.
444 Ditto — Tanning, Cai^ieutry, and Statuary.
445 Ditto — Military Affairs.
446 Ditto— Music.
447 Ditto — Funerals.
See also Nos. 259 and 260.
(Coal Mining.)
448 Sections of Sti-ata — Coal basins, Faults, Dykes, &c.
449 Colliery Buildings, Coal Shaft, Workings.
450 Ventilation « Safety Cages, Lamps, &c.
451 Miners at "Work.
452 ]\[odes of Excavating and Screfning.
453 Coal-trains and Shipment of Coals.
See also Xos. 203, 201, 207, 209.
(Life and Ministry of our Lord.)
454 The Infancy of Jesus— Tbe Wise Men Offering Gifts.
455 The Youth of Jesus — in the Temple with the Doctors.
456 Jesus announced as the Christ — "Behold the Lamb of God.'"'
457 The first Miracle at Cana.
458 The first Cleansing of the Temple.
459 Jesus calls four Disciples,
460 The Lame Man at the Pool of Bethesda,
461 The Apostles sent forth.
462 The Widow of Nain — Her Son raised to Life.
463 The first Parable— The Sower.
464 Jesus feeds Five Thousand.
465 Jesus the " Bread of Life."
466 The Transfiguration,
467 Jesus Blesses little Children,
468 His Triurr phant Entry into Jerusalem.
469 The last Supper.
470 Jesus Crucified — the Piercing of His Side.
471 His Ascension.
(Wanderings of the Israelites between Egypt and Canaan.)
472 Map of Arabia Petraea — the Scene of the Wanderings.
473 Departure from Egypt.
474 Suez — the Ancient Arsinne,
475 Jebel Attaka. on the Red Sea — Supposed Site of the Crossing.
476 Wady Mokatteb— the Written Valley,
477 Wady Feiran and Mount SLrbal.
12
(Wanderings of the Israelites between Egypt and Canaan—
DIAGRAM continued.) No. 478 Plain Er-Rakur— the Encampment before the Law was delivered.
479 Akaba (Ezion Gaber) on the Elanitic Gulf.
480 Ruins of Shiloh — Resting-place of the Tabernacle in Palestine.
481 Zion and the City of David — final resting-place of the Ark of the
Covenant.
See also Nop. 310, 311, 288 to 295 inclusive.
(The North American Indians.)
482 Indian Mothers, Cradles, &c.
483 Indian Picture Wriling.
484 Indian Chiefs in full dress.
485 Buffalo Hunt.
486 Animals — Beaver, Grizzly Bear, "Wolf, Rocky Mountain Sheep, w M 30 Dog Carioie or Sledge.
w M 31 " Medicine " or " Mystery" Man. w M 32 Indian Council.
M 36 Dying Indian attended by Medicine " Man.
M 38 Missionary Halting at Night.
M 39 Mission Church in. Winter.
M 40 Dying Indian attended by Missionary.
(Physiology— The Human Foot.)
487 Bones and Ligaments of the Foot.
488 Muscles and Tendons of the Foot.
489 Exercises of the Foot.
490 Feet of Animals contrasted with Human Foot.
491 Proper Treatment of the Foot.
(Critical History of the Text and Versions of Holy Scripture.)
492 Fac-similes from Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus.
493 Ditto, from Codex Alexandruus and Codex Ephroemi Rescriptus.
494 Ditto, from Codex Ebnerianus No. 105, and Codex Malabaricus
(Hebrew).
495 Ditto, from the Samaritan, Pentateuch, from Synagogue at Nablous
496 Ditto, from tl;e Codex CJottonianus and the Moeso-Gothic and
Anglo-Saxon Versions.
497 Ditto, from the Biblia Pauperum.
498 Specimens of Wycliffe's and Tyndale's Versions.
See also Nos. 176 to 180 ; 187, 189 and, 190.
(Hindostan and the Hindoos.)
M 52 Temple at Madura.
M 53 Interior of ditto.
M 55 Village Temple,
w M 5 Sacred Bull at Chumandi.
M 56 Brahmins,
w M 1 Bramha.
w M 2 Vishnu.
>y M 3 Siva.
M 63 Kali.
M 26 Gonesa.
M 27 Serpent Worship,
w M 4 Churning the Sea.
L M 9 Family Sacrifices.
L M 15 The Churrock Poojab.
13
DiAGEisi (Hindostau and the Hindoos— continuedj.
No. M 6 Self torture.
77 The Suttee— Widow Burning.
M 28 Death of Hindoos on the banks of Ganges.
M 30 Itinerant Preaching.
M 29 Christian Village.
L M 10 Brahmin renouncing Caste.
M 57 Hindoos addressed by Christian Teacher.
M 31 Women bringing presents of ric e
M 62 View of Delhi,
w M 6 Tippoo's Mausoleum,
w M 7 Palanquin Travelling.
I. M 16 Procession of J uggemauth.
L M 17 Sc ene ou the Ganges.
M 51 Hindoo School near Madras. See also Nos. 76 and 77
(Large Map of India, Quadruple Size, 8ft. by 6ft.) Large Map of the World, 10ft. by 6ft.
(China and the Chinese.)
M 68 Pekin fi'om the North.
M 69 Canton from the Eiver.
"w M 31 Joss-house.
L M 12 Hong-Kong and town of Victoria.
■\v M 33 Street in Victoria (Hong-Kong)-
M 70 Tiger of AVar, Soldiers and Mandarin.
M 18 Buddhist Priest at his Devotions.
L M 13 Missionary Preaching in Buddhist Temple.
M 64 Funeral Procession.
M 65 Opium Smokers' Den.
M 66 Wedding Ceiemony.
M 67 Tract Distribution.
(New Zealand and the New Zealanders.)
M 71 Map of N. Zealand, with views of N. Plymouth andWellington.
M 72 Auckland.
M 73 Duiiedin, Otago.
w M ll Travelling in the Bush.
M 9 Head of New Zealand Savage,
w M 43 War Dance.
M 32 War Canoes.
M 10 Dead Chief Lying in State.
M 33 Attack upon Missionaries.
"W M 45 Distribution of Scriptures.
M 35 Dying Christian Chief.
M 34 Missionary Meeting. (Buzmah— the Propagation of the Gospel Society's IHXissions.)
M 86 Shevav Dagon Pagoda, Rangoon.
87 Porch'of ditto.
88 Mission School, Mandalay.
89 Clergy House, Mandalay.
90 Native Gharries at Entrance of Burmese Pagoda.
91 King's Palace, Mandalay.
92 Pagoda at Amarapoora.
93 Kyoung at Foot of Mandalay Hills.
14
(The Melanesian Mission-Propagation of the Gospel Society. )
DIAGKAM
No. M 94 Map of the Melanesian Group of Islands. '
95 Parsonage on Mota.
96 Native Hut on Mota.
97 The ]ate Bishop Patteson's House, Chapel, &c.
98 The College Buildings, St. John's, Auckland.
(lYEissionary Subjects.)
A variety of Diagrams and Pictures, in addition to the above, may also be had to illustrate the Missions of the " Church Missionary Society," the "London Missionary Society,'' and the " Wesleyan Missions."
In hand, a set on " History of Pitcairn Island."
The Diagrams are 3 feet by 4 feet in area, or some multiple thereof; printed on cloth ; adapted for distant inspection, coloured for gas or candle- light, and are both durable and portable. Although arranged in sets, they may generally be obtained singly.
Single Diagrams — i. e., having one number attached — are sold at 3s. each ; double, treble, and quadruple Diagrams in proportion. When required, they can be provided with frames and eyelets for convenient suspension.
The usual allowances to Subscribers to the Union and to the Trade. N.B. All transactions are for ready money.
WILLIAM THORN, Depositary,
28, Paternoster Bow, London, E.C.
^^OTE. — Detailed Lists forwarded on receipt of a Halfpenny Postage Stamp.
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