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L
I. I
Lorl
SOL.-\S, O. P., B. .A..
l'HE
BRSILICR Of S. CLEMENTE
IN I
O
IE
(Second Edition)
'VITH (-)1 ILL n
T R.A T I 0
8
G ROTTÀFERRAT
RO :\I
TIPO(
IL\FL\ IT.-\LO-ORIE
T.-\LE .. 1-;.
ILO ".
191-1
1-;. CLE)IEXT E
Attenta relatione K obis a Revisoribus facta, nt praesens
opus typis detur permittimus.
ROlllae. fa JIar/ii. 1914.
Fr. HYACIKTHGS l\Ia COR:\nER, 1\1. G., O. P.
DIPRDI.\Tl'"R
Fr. ALHER'lTS LEi'lDl. Ord. Pra'd.
Il\IPRDIATL"R
FRAKClscrs F ABERI. Yic. rrbi
_\d:-l':-:-or.
MAR 1
1960
TO
I
HIS EI\lIKEKCE CARDINAL 0' CONNELL
\.RCHBISHOP OF BOSTON"
CARDIXA.L TITULAR OF S. CLE
IEXTE
THIS "rORK
IS GRATEFULLY AXD RESPECTFTTLLY
DEDICATED
PREFATORY LETTER I
OF
COl\DI. PROFESSOR HORACE lVIARUCCHI
JIy dear Fr. ]{o/all,
I haye read the proof-sheets of
our book on the
Basilica of s. C/eulellte ill ROJ/te ,vith great interest.
and I offer JOu nl
sincere congratulations on the
important ,york JOu have produced.
S. Clemente is a great Inonument, and although it
has been described b
y Fr. )[ullool
y. b
y de Ro
si. bJ "ril_
pert and by others too, since the discoyery of the sub-
terra nean Basilica, it neve rtheless called for further
treatInent in a complete monograph ,,,hich should take
account of recent ðtudies on the subject. and ,vhich
should afford a practical and scientific guide to a place
which is visited by every cultured person desirous of
kno,ving sornething about the great Christian Inemories
of our City. The Basilica of S. 0] emente is indeed one
of thp lnost characteristic monUlnents in Rome. COffi-
1 To the First Edition.
VIII
PREF-\.TORY LETTER
prising, as it does, a luarvellous series of cunstructions
superimposed one upun the other and embracing a
period of not less than fourteen centuries. l\foreover,
as is already known, beneath the sùbterranean Basi-
lica ,ye can see the very ancipnt "Talls of a building
of the second or third century before Christ. Above
these ,valls rose a hous
of the first century of the
Enlpire
this became a << DOluestic Church >> (Eeclesia
dOlllestiea) in the .Apostolic times, and it is probable
that here Clelnent - the disciple of S. Peter - as-
seJubled the faithful of Rome. At a still higher level
,vas constructed the Basilica of the period of Con-
stantine of ".hich
. JeroIne TIlakes mention
this Ba-
silica preserved S. Clement's house as a SanctuarJ
. And,
tinallv, above the ruins of the Basilica, abandoned after
..,
the sack of ROIne by Robert Guiscard in 1084, ,vas
erected the church of the Iniddle ages ,yhich is in use
today. This succession of buildings, this truly << archaeo-
logical stratification >>. expresses a nlar,Tellous historic-
al sJTnthesis.
.L.\buve the ruins of the military trophies of the ,var-
like Republic rose Imperial Rome, and here ,ve see
the elegant buildings of the first period of the Empire
covering the severe Republican ,valls. In Imperial Rome
".a.8 inaugurated the ue"T Faith, the civiliser of the
,yorld, and Iluperial Rome ,vas steeped in the blood
of the 3Iartyrs. The ancient Titulus CleJllelltis is a
PREI<'ATORY LETTER
IX
elic of the dars of the _
postles and Inal'ks tlH
beg'in-
ting of the persecutions. But tht?rf' l'ose o'
er idolatry
he 1 ictoriolls banner of Constantine, and the Enlpire
lecalne Christian, al1d un the prinlitÏ\Te Orator
r of the
I '1ælian rose the Iunjestic Ba
iliea of tlll
fonrth century.
I At a later period when thp invasions of the har-
)arians had been stellllned, and the Byzantine yoke
t. t,
)rokeu. the rapacJ
clllergecl trhullphant. And on the
,ld ,vall..; of 8. Clenlente. l'tìcol'ds of Constantine. "
e
lave l'eprt?scnted Xicholas L, thp preeur
or uf Hilde-
)rand. and tht? (ôiyiJi
er of the Slav peoples: and also
ueo I r-. ,vho saypd ItnlJ
fronl thc
aracens. The g'lo-
'iou-; ,york of HildplJrand estahlishes the triunlph of
he Popes. The Crusades. the first tnlmpet call of
,vhich had been
ounded b.y Hildebrand,
et frpe the
EIul
Land, and 1ye find in the Basilica of S. Clenlentp,
'econstl'ucted b.y Popp Pa
chal II., a h'iulnphal mo-
lllluent of that great event. namelJr: the << Apotheosis
Jf the Cross >, in the apse.
Such a splendid monument then as S. Clenlente,
which recalls such glorious melllories, and ,yhich at the
ame time cuntains precious ,yorks uf both ancient and
Iuecli:('yal art. ,yell deserved to be treated apart. The
\l'isitor to this church Ilatul'all
,vi
hes to be put in
pu
ession of all the fact:-,. ...-\.nd this ,yas inlpossible in
such a book as that fUl'uished br Armellini ,vho treats
of S. Clelnente in conjunction ,yith other Ruman chur-
2
x
PRE
'AT()RY LETTER
che
: neither dill it fall ,yithin the
cupe of the author
of the ,york ,yhich forlns the III. Y.ul. of the EIll/lellts
(t
ll'clléolo.qie cllrétiellllP 1.
In
our ne,v ,york
'ou have exanlÏnfld and described
all the details in a luanneI' ,yhich It-
aYes nothinO' to
be desired b
the learned visitor eager to hecome
full
- a('q uninted ,vith both the Sl1htelTanean Basilica
and the church of the Iniddle ages.
-\lld in desuribing those frescoes and 11lOnUJUents
of the prin1itive basilica ,yhieh have been tht
:-;nhject
of recent stn(lie
-ou have nlailltained a prudent l'e-
ser,-e ìn not adn1Ï tting too hastily ee J'tain ne,,- ex-
plana tiolls. R()
ne of these n8'Y theories are Yer
- iIu-
portant. such as tha 1 of 3Iol1signor "....ilpcrt ,yho spes
the << Last .J udgu1ent >> represented in the frpsco on the
right ,yall: though others haye preferrf'd to :o,ee in it
the << )Iartyrdoll1 of
. Catherine )) and the seene of a
<< Coul1\Jil )). It is 'Tery probablp that 3Ionsignor '\'ï1-
})erfs interpretation is the true olle: but I think it
,yell to point out tha t this "f
r
interpreta tion ,vas
suggested bJ
other archaeolugists soon after the di
coY-
er
y of the frpsco fift
JTear
ago. (
ee Chris/tiches
Kllllstblatt. 185
), ll. 1
. pag. çu>) 2.
1 H. 3[al'ucchi. Basiliqlles et É.qlises de Rome. De
cl{.f'. I. Ed.
1902: II. Ea. 1 HOB.
:2 In the L Ed. of the BasilifJ/les (1902). I accepted Fr. )Iul-
looly\; opinion as to the Conneil. hut Ill
note of inten.ogation
PHEFATORY LETTER
XI
I aJl1 g-lad to spe also that
ou haye not bpen too
read
to accept the stn tement that De Rossi "
as in
error regarding the tOlnb of S. CJ'Til ,,-hich he. sup-
ported by an ancient legend, believed to he at the
apsidal end of the basilica, to the rig'ht of the altar
(that is to the right of the celehrant). Indeed it is
Inore probabl(\ that that JlIOnument ,vonld stand in a
plaee of honour neal' the altar than. as sonle ,vould
ha ,-e it, in the narthex w"hich is. as it ,vere, outside
the ehurch pl'OpPl". It i
certain. ho,vever. that at the
lo,ver end of tha basilica and near the spot indicated
b
De Hossi there is a figure represented on the ,vall
,vith the namp of S. U.vril
ritten besid.. it. You there-
fore do ,veIl in Ipaving' this q nestion open.
Your hook then. ,vhich manifests
our thorou
'h
kno,,-leclge of the suhject of ,,"hich it treats, \vill be
not onl.,
exceedingly useful but indispensable to all
,vho ,vish to make a carefLII stLld,
of the O'l'eat Basi-
.
lica. The Inan
T photographic illustration
too \vith ,,-hich
you have enl'ichpd it \yilllnak8 it welcome not only to
.
show'"ed that I considered it donhtful (see page 2H8). In the
II Eù. of the saUlt' ,york (lSJ09) p. 2H8, I preferred the inter-
pretation no,v giyen by )lonsignol' 'Vllpel't, but the printer
omitted to iuld aftpr the \vorùs <<Le mart
yre de Ste. Cathe-
rhw )) the ,vords << d'après Ie P. )Iullooly _. 1 notice ,vith intp-
rest that yon think it possihle that t\vo fl'escoes "
ere painted
at different dattc.s on this ,vall: and perhaps the uutrtyrdonl of
S. Cathel'ine formed the subject of one of them.
XII
PREPATURY LETTER
those ,vho have ah'eac1
visited or intend to visit
S. Clemente, but to everyboc1
T intere
ted in Christian
art and archaeolog
.
In conclusion, I earnestl
T hopfl that the effort
of
the energetic COlnmittee clealing ,yi th the question
of removing the ,vater froln the lo,vest portions of
S. Clenlente, including the DonlÎlliclllll Gte/llell/is and
the 3Iithraic spelaelll1l inaccessible for so ]nan
y
ears,
,,
ill soon be cro"ned ,vith sllccess 1.
Oncfl more let me conO"ratulate vou most heartilv
.
on the excellent work "hjch you ha ve produced.
Believe me. dear Fr. :x olan,
Yours devotedl
HORACE 3IARUCCHI.
Rome, 21 Febrllar,lJ 1910.
1 That difficulty has no"\-v heen 8o}yeÙ by His Eminence
Carùinal O' Connell Archbishop of Boston and Cardinal Titular
of S. Clemente - See Third Part of this "\-vork (II edition).
'==.
t!-É
.A.UTHOR'S PREI-;ACE
(to Second Edition).
III our IH'efaee to the fi]'
t edition of this ,vork
"ye said tha tour Inain object in puhlishing the book
,,-as to giYf\ to the pubb1ic as conpise and accuratf\ an
aceount of the Basilica of 8. CleUlentp as our 1'0Ul'ce:s
of reliable infol'lnation pernlitted. X atnrallJT, it is the
saIne 11lotive tha t urges us tu produce thi
edition. in
the preparation of \yhich \ve ha ve bepn much helped
by additional studJ
and observation. and 11luch en-
coul'aged by tho great popularit
y \yith ,vhich the fir
t
edition. 1l0'V exha u
ted, ,yas recei \'ed.
In this history of su nni(!ue a monument as S. Cle-
Inente - seated as it is upon the ruins of pagan an-
tiquity and gathering ,vithin its folds the treasures of
Christian art and archaeolog
T for a period of
nearlJ'" nineteen centuries -, ,ve have endeavoured
not only to explain the
e treasures t.aken in themselv-
es, but also to she,y thelll as parts of a great ,,,hole.
a ,,
hole \vhich bears liying ,yitne
to the teaching
of the Church fronl thp .Â.postolic tiInes do\vn through
the ages to our o\vn da.y.
"T e ,vish to thank J1r. .Â.ndersun for the kindness
\vith ,vhich he prepared for us 1nanr of the photo-
gra phs reprod ueed in this ,york.
L. X.
s. Clemente, Rome.
Ff'a:'òt of S. Thoma... of Aquin.
7 ::\Iarch HH!.
COXTEXT8
Prefator;y Letter of COJllIll. H(>I:.-\('E )IARUCCHI, Profpssor
of _\Tchaeolog.y . Page VII
-\uthor":.; Preface.
. ÀIII
HISTORICAL I
TROI){TCTIO
. - R. Clpnwnt. Pope and Jlar-
t:,
r. - Different stl"11cture
at
. CleulCnte - Date
of destruction of the fourth centur.y hasilica. and of
the erection of the prespnt one
1
First Part.
THE P}{E
EXT BA:-:ILlt'A. - Its atrium and PropJTlon. plan.
payeuleut - CHOUL - Card. )Iercllriu8
)Ionogram
of Pope .J ohn II. - Dato of choir - Title - << Do-
lniniculll >) - AUlh08 - Transennap
7
HIf
H AL'l'AH. - l3aldaechino - S. Ignatius, }Iart;rr Bis-
hop of Antioch. 2-1
..APSE. - Episcopal Chair - Date of lllosaic ornamenta-
tion of the apse - The Triumph of the Cross - De-
scri})tion of mosaic ol'nanleutation 27
CH\PEL OF THE B. S.-\CRA)IE
T. - Frescoes: S. Prancis
of Assisi. 8. Charles BOrl'Ollleo. .J cremias and Isaias
XVI
COXTF.,XTS.
- )lOllluuent to Cardinal ".... enerio - T,,
o pillars of
ancient altar. Picture of the B. '....irgin and Divine
Child and S. .J ohn thp Baptist. - TOlUb of Card.
Henr
y of
. Allosio - TOlUh of Card. Canali. page
9
CHAPEL OF S. JOHX THE I3APTI:ST. - Statue of the Buint
by SiInOlHJ. -- }\-escoes - )Ionuluents to Carùinal
Roverella and
rchhi
hop Brusati 4-1
CHAPEL UF SSe CYRILL A
D l\IETHODICS. - It
erection -
Frescoes - The bvo Saints - Theil- life - Their
,york - The,Y bring tbe relics of 8. Clpllwnt to Hmue
- Their death; their re
tillg placl' -17
Ralusùen lllonmllent - Sepulchral tablet to Card. Ghi-
nuccins ;)7>
CHAPEL OF S. I)O
lIXlC. - Frescoes representing miraclps
of the ::3aint . . 3U
CHAPEL 01-' S. CATHCIUXE OF ALEXAXDIUA. - The Saint
- '}Iasaccio - Beato ...<\ngelico - Frescoes by l\[asac-
cio - Tbe Annunciation - )IartJTdOln of S. Cathe-
rine - Crncifixion - S. Ambrose, etc. - Picture of
the )Iadonna by Hassoferrato Fresco of S. Chri-
stopher . . :>7
)Ionument to Card. Capisncco )[onument to Bar-
tholollH"v. Count de Basterot - Sl'pulchral slah to
Isabella :\1.
trozia - Slab to Peter A.
"ulgenato -
Sepulchral slahs to Cardinal Vincent Laurens and
.\.lo;rsins Gnarnerins. H1
Tablet recordin
gift of Biblical Houk
in the eighth
centur
.
Tahlet ,vith part of S. Greg-oQ
thp <freat's bOJuil,Y 011
S. Servlll ns
92
n:>
COXT.EXT
.
XYII
IKSCRIPTIO:X RECOI{IHX(';- HE
TORATI0X JIADE BY POPE CLE-
:\IEXT XI. - That restoration - Prescoes: SSe C;yril
and )Iethodius -
.
(1ITlIlus -
. Ignatius being
condenlJwd to death - Departurf' of S. Ignatius for
HOllie - )lart;yrdOlll of
. Ignatius S. Clenlent
iYing the yeil to Flayia Domitilla :\Liracle of
S. Clement - Translation of hi
relic
. Paintings on
the ceiling, Ohler frescoes. Atrium of Hw Sacrist
Page. 97
Second Part
SrRTERRAXEAK R.-\XILIVA. - StainYa
r leading to suhtcr-
raneall hasilica. Inscription b
Fr. )Iullool
- Da-
nlasClle inscriptions - Pope S. Siricius - Statue of
S. Peter as the Hood :Shepherd - 8tatne of 3lithras -
Bust of thp Snn-god - Sepulchral slah bearing the
nanles of Popes Gregory VI. and Kichola
II . 107
BASILICA. - Plan of fourth centur;y basilica - K arthex
or porch - Fre
coe
in the Xarthex - Fresco of Our
Sayiour, Archangels. and 8aints - l\Ion
ignor 'Yil-
perfs brochure on thp fre
coes in S. CleIl1elltp - The
relics of 8. Cyril and S. )If'thodius. 11-1
FRESCO OF )IIRACLE AT TO:\IB OF S. CL-_
IEXT IN THE SEA etc.
Legend - Rust of S. Clell1C'ut - Beno de Rapiza
"r otive inscription 131
THE FO(TH VOTIYE FRESCOE:--;. - Their datf' - Tlwir value. 137
THE CHLRCH AND PICTuRIAL ART. 1-10
FRESCO OF THE TRAXSLATIOX OF S. CLE
IEXT'S RELICS. -
Frcscops of events related in the Passio C1Pl/lelltis. 1!
,TIll
('()"TE
TI-;.
S -\RUOPH.-\ta. .A
D LAPIDARY I
scluPTlO
S etc. I
THE
XARTHEX - T,,
o ancient Frescoes .
page 1-16
KORTH ...-\I
LE. - TOlllh of Fr. )Iullooly Fr. :\Iullooly
and his ,york in the discoYer
of the ancient Lasiliea. 131
Columns separatin
north aisle' fl'olll Jutye - Piers of
the original construction - Frescues on the right ,vall
- Fresco of the Last .f udgment ('?) - Our Lad
etc.
in the niche - fh'afiti - Other frescoes on this ,yall
- )lutilateù fresco of Our Sayiour - )lural inscription, 136
Fresco uf Descent of Out' Sayiour into Litnho - Fre-
sco of a monk or pope - "Talls in lower church -
-\ncient apse - ..JIclIloria uf S. Clenlente . 173
XA VE. - Pil'l's built by Fr. )lnllool,v. The ancient hasilica
as it 'Vêl:-; it thousand years ago 17-1
FRE
uo 01<' THg
I-;S(DIPTION Ol<' THIIJ B. V-IR<HN. - )10n-
signor 'Vllpert's opinion rpgarding this fre:,co. Fre-
coes of the Crucifixion - The holy ,,
omen at the
Tomh - Descent into Limbo - )Iarriage f'east at
Can a - S. Prosppr of ...
quitainp -- Vat.. of th(,
é fre-
sCOes
176
Columns separating naye from left aisle
ancient pavement
Fragments of
188
FRE
UI) O
' S. ALEXlCS etc. - The t;ainfs history . 188
Frescoes of S. G-iles. S, Blai:-;e, S. Antoninu:-., and the Pro-
phet Daniel 1<)7
FRE
co OF 8. CLE
IE
T CELEBR.-\TI
G )l.-H:;
. H. Clelllent
l'nthroned by S. Peter - - Pope S. Cleuwnt's placl> in
the order of ..\postolic succession - ::Sisinius . H,S
('()
TE
TI';. XIX
LEFT ....-tISLE. - Frescot's rl'lH'csl'utiug subjects takèu frolll
the Dialogues of
. Gl'cgOl'
T - j."resco of S. Peter's
crucifixion - tngels. Saints etc. - Fresco of S. Cyril
- )Ionsignor ,\rilpt'l't's opinion - S. Cyril administer-
ing baptislll-
. C.yril's tmnh according to De Rossi page 208
Third Part.
THE A
ClEXT WALL
. - Kin
l
- or Imperial'? .
223
S. CLE)IENT'S RousE. TOIuLs-Rmllains of
-\nimals sacri.
ficed to )Iithras - c DO'([
l('e
I" OR URATORY 01" H.-U
T
CLE)[E
T - The importance of this Oratory - Its his-
tory - The amhulacrum 2'2i>-
THE 'rE)IPLE OF :\IlTHRAs. - Dl>seription of the teulple
,,,ith it::; altar - )Iosai(;
. Ho,y this Oriental super-
stition found its 'Ya
r into thl' hOHse of
. Clement,
and ho,v it disappeared theretrOlll 237
Cardinal O'Conneli and his Illunificellee to,varùs 8. Cle-
lllente. his Titular church. The draining of and e'\:ca-
yati0ns at H. Clemente. 246
Appendices.
....-\ PPEXDIX I. - The !!reat Slav pilgrilllage to S. Clelllente
in 1881 . 251
-tPPE
DIX II. - << The Scpptic's DreaIll " 239
[LLnSTR...-\.TIOXS
1. ''''-ie,v of Church and Conyent of
. Clemente ,vith the
Coliseum etc. in the rear Frontispiece
2. l::5ection she,ving the various stratifications in S. Cle-
mente .
page
3. Prophylon of Atrium of
. Clenlente
-1. Atrium of S. Cle:mcnte .
:J. Ground Plan of Atriunl and Present Basilica
6. Interior of the Present Church
7. :\Iosaie pavement. and Choir . . . . .
s. )Ionogram of Pope .J ohn II. Capitals and beam bear-
ing the naUle of Cardinal )Iel'curins
9. Episcopal Throne .
10. Apse of the Present Chureh
11. The Triumph of the Cross
12. )IonlUllent to Cardinal ".... enerio .
13. )Ionument to Cardinal Roverella . .
1-1. Apse of Chapel of SSe CYTil and }Iethodius
15. Frescoes: The _
nnunciation - Archangel Gabriel. (:
Ia-
sacci o)
16. The
-\nnunciation - The B. V. )Iary. pI a-
saccio}
17. The CrucIfixion. plasaccio)
4
10
11
13
16
18
21
28
31
35
41
45
-19
62
63
65
x}..u
ILLnSTRATIO
S
18. Frescoes: S. Cathf'rine of A lexandria disputing ,vith
the Doctors. (.
Ia8accio) . })agf'
1R S. Catherine reproving tIll' idolaters. ()[a-
saccio)
2U. S. Catherine converts thE' EIHpress. )[al'-
t
Tdoln of the Empress. (:Mi1saccio) .
21. _\n ang-el deliyers
. Catherine from tor-
tnre at the ,,-heel. ,)Iasaccio) .
22. Head of
. Catherinae f
rasaccio) .
23. )[art
Tdoll1 of S, Catherine:
ll(
is being
entOluùed U]1
Iount Sinai.
)Iasaccio) .
2!. 8. Amhrose in the cral(le. (
[asaccio) .
23. S. Ambrose being proclaiIl1ed Bishop. pla-
saccio)
26. Death of S. Âlubrose: ()lasileeio)
27. The fOllr Evangelists ,vith the foul' Doctors
of the Church. ()lasaecio).
28. Picture of the )Iadunna. (8a
sofel'rato) .
20. Fresco of S. Christopher,
30. Basilica of S. Clenwnte before 1715 .
31.
tatue of
. Petpr as (< Oood
heplH'rd " .
32. Statup of
lithra
.
133. Bust of the
un-god .
34-. Ground Plan of Suhterranean Rasilica .
35. Frescoes. Our
aviour.
-\.rchangels, anù
aints .
3ü. :::-5hrine of S. C'lement in the Sea, etc.
37. Translation of S. Clemenfs Relies.
3
. Heaù of Flavius Clemens (".J) .
39. Fr. .J osepb
I lIllool:r. O. P. .
-10. Frescoes: Our ::5aviour, B. Vir
in )lar
r. etc.
.11 .:\lmlonna and Diyine> Infant .
u
72
73
76
,...-
"
O
82
b3
83
87
90
03
o
111
112
113
117
123
133
III
1;)0
1;)-1
lHO
109
ILLt:'STRATIOX:o;
XXIU
42. Frescoes: The Last .J utlgment - The Damned ('?) page 1US
-13. The Last .r lld
ment The Elect (','t. 1U9
4-1-. ()llr Rayiollr . 17
-1;).
-1().
-17.
De
cent into LillI 110 . 17ß
A_:.-
umption of tlw B. \.... :Uary . liS)
The Crucifixion. Hol,\T \\T 0111pn at the Sepul-
du'e. Descent into Limho. 31arriage Fpast
at Cana. 183
-18.
in.
30.
8. Prosper of _\q uitaine. lH7
S. Alexius 191
8. Hiles. 8. lllaÏðe. 8. Antoninus. Thp Prophet
Danh'l .
tn(j
5-)
R. CIl-'lllent entlu'unetl hy H. Peter.
. Cle-
Jllent f'elehrating )Ias
. Sisiniu
201
8uIJjects from the << Dialogues )> of 8. Gre-
;)1.
.
OO
53. Crucifixion of S. Peter. Angels. Saints. 8.
CJTil beforp tho Emperor
lichael III. :H3
51. Baptism h
T immersion .
19
5;). Renw.ins of aniIllals sacrificed to 3Iithras
H
5U. Stuccoed vaulting- of tlw D()/JliJliclllJI ClnJll'lltis
32
57. The Temple of 3Iithras 2R9
5K Pagan Altar. :21
59. Cardinal O' Connell _ 2-lS
(iO. Atriunl of S. Clemente during the
laY Pilgrimage
(1881)
61. Interior of the Church during the Slay Pilgrinmge
(tH
t) .
2:>2
-<')
.....};)
ø
i
THE BASILICA or S. CLEMENTE
IN ROME
HISTORICAL IXTRODUOTIO
The Basilica of S. Clementé,
ituated in the ,ria
S. Giovanni behveen the Coliseum and S. John Late-
ran's, may be
aid ,vithout fear of exaggeration or
contradiction to be one of the most remarkable, one
of the most ancient, and one of the most important in
the Eternal City.
S. Olement, Pope and l\Iartyr, to ,vhom the church
is dedicated, belonged to a noble family, probably to
the Imperial family of the Flavians. According to the
Liber PO/ltificalis, his father ,vhose name was Faustus
or Faustinus Ii ved in the Cælian Region. Clement ,vas
baptised, and ordained Deacon and Priest, and eyen
consecrated Bishop, bJ S. Peter whose third succes-
sor 1 he becalne in the L\postolic See. He is appar-
1 We shall speak in the Second Part of this work of Pope
s. Clement's place in the order of . postolic succession.
:2
THE BASILICA OF
. CLEMEKTE IN ROME
ently the <( Fello\v-Iabourer >> to ,vhom S. Paul alludes
(Philip. IV, 3). The ver
first document belonging to
Christian history outside the pages of Sacred Scrip-
ture was \vritten bJ" Pupe S. Clement. In his Epistle
to tile Cor;'ltllians Olelnent speaks. even in the lifetime
of the Apostle S. J ohu, in the nalne of the Church of
Rome, and in it he manifests the Supreme _Authorit
-
vested in her by her Divine Head. This Letter, ,vhich
S. Irenaeus styles <( must forcible >> and << efficacious >>.
\vas "Titten to the Corinthians to heal the \vounds in-
flicted by schism and strife with \vhich thety ,yere then
afflicted. OleJnent ,vas banished by the EIllperol' Trajan
and condeInned to ,york in the marble quarries in the
Crimea "'here, according to his Acts 1 J he sllffpred Inar-
tyrdoIll b
? being cast ,,
ith an anchor round his neck
into the Black Sea, about the
ear 10U. "rhile his tOlllb
,vas in the Crimea a .l.lIellloria ,vas erected to hhn in
his o,yn house at ROlne ,,
here the Christians held
their reunions. Of this house or D011I;,tlClllJI CleJJ/ellÜ.s 2
1 Regarding S. Clmnent ,,'e have authentic and legendar.y
documents. To the former belongs his Letter to the Corinthialls
(published b
r Patritius Junius, Oxford. 1633, by Bl':rennios, t87ö.
by Lightfoot. and othcrs). To the latter belong the RecogJlitio-
nes, the Pselldo-Clel1lelltillae. and the Acts. The Recogllitiones are
mentioned b
? Origin at the beginning of the third centul'
;
and the Acts \vcre cOlnpiled in the sixth or :seventh centur
r.
When referring- to the h'gendary litcrature ""Te do not intend
to attach more importance to it than is due to legends.
2 See note p. 21.
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HISTORICAL IKTRODGCTIOX
:)
,ve shaH speak in dptail in the tllird part of this book.
The relics of S. Clelnent ,vere brought to Rome in 867
ber SS. Cyril and
Iethodius and deposited in the Ba-
silica erected in the fourth centtu"JT over the DomilliclllJl.
The feast of the Saint in solemnly celebrated at S. Cle-
mente, on the 23 rd of
ovc1l1ber.
The pre
ent church ,vas for centuries identified in
the Ininds even of the learned ,,-ith the primitive basi-
lica of the fourth century. _\.rchæologists up to the middle
of thp nineteenth centurJ b
lie\-ed that in part it re-
tained the primitive forln, and regarded it as the per-
fect t.ype of a Constantinian Basilica. Thpy ,vere right
in believing it to have the priInitive fornl and tJ pe,
but the.r erred in thinking tha t it ,vas itself either the
ancient church, or tha t it stood upon its site. TheJT
little suspected ,vhat treasures la.)" hidden beneath the
church they adlnired, until the labours of one, ,,
hose
antiq uarian ardour and archæological genius made him
a ,yorthy contemporarJ r and intimate friend of the
great De Rossi, brought to light, after nearly eight
centuries of oblivion, monuments ,vhich carry us back
not only to the fourth century, but to the daxs of
S. t;lement hhnself a nd of the Apostles, nay even to
centuries before the Christian era.
...-\.fter JTears of
tud'y and investigation. and of con-
jecture ","hich ,vith time ripened into conviction that
the present beautiful chuI'ch of S. Clemente ,yas not
6
THE BASiLICA OF H. VLE)IE
TE IX R()
\1E
the ancient basilica so fre(IUently Inen tioned In early
history, Fr. l\Iullool
T, Prior of the Irish Dominicans
in Rome, began those resf\arches ,vhich so successfully
resulted in giving back to the ,yorid the Subterranean
Basilica ,vith its walls of the ag'e of Constantine: the
l\Iithraic Cave of the second or third (òentur
.; the
stuceoed lJfelJlOria or ÐOl1lÍll;cllln Gte/nell/is of the first
centurv; and, lasth?, the massive tufa construetion
,vhich belongs tu the da.ys of Tarquin the Prond. or
perha ps even to those of Servius 1'ullius. Thus ,,,ithin
the precincts of 8. Clemente ,ve have an impurtant
and almost unique exaulple of nlonuluental stratifica-
tion. "
e shall. then. begin ,vith the present chnreh
and thuE, ,vorking dO'YIl\vards, shall deal ,vith each
of the periods in order.
FIRST PART
'I'HE PRESENT CHURCH
In detern1ining thp datp uf the present church \ve
get little a
sistance fro1l1 books; but it has been aptly
said that << the stones of ROlnp have a voice
and speak >). To them therefore \ve turn in
order to hear \vha1 they havp to tell us in their o\vn cold
t.<
but significan1. ',yay. _\ slab discovered by Fr.
Iullooly
in the pavement of the subterranean church and no\v
affixed to one of the ,,-aIls there bears an inscription
,vith the name
of Popes Gregory 'TI. and Nichalas II.
,,,ho began their respective Pontifieates in 104-4 and t03
.
,vhile an inscription on the marble episcopal throne in
the apse of the present church tells us that the work
(of the building: of the church) ,vas begun and COln-
pleted by CRl'dinaÌ Ånast:=ttiu
, Titular of the church.
Uatt-'.
8
THE BASILICA OF S. CLEMENTE IN ROME
Pavinius also tells us that Cardinal ...tnastatius built
the church of S. Clemente, and that he died in 1123 1 .
'The ancient church, therefore, must have been de-
stroJTed, and the pre
ent one erected behveen the
years 1039 and 1125. In the
year 1084 thi:o, part of
ROJlle was laid ,vaste hJ
the soldiers of Rohert Gui-
scard. ,vhen he entered the Eternal City to relieve
Pope Gregory VII. (Hildebrand), then being besieged.
in the Castle of S.
\.ngelo, b
the Gerlnan Emperor,
HenrJT IV. Guiscard, to effect his pnrpose, set fire
to the City: and. ,ve are told. the conflagration ,vas
so great that the flames s,vept everything a'Y3JT. from
the Lateran to the Flaminian Gate 2 . The ancient
chur('h of
. Clemente 111USt have been involved in
1 ..A.ccording to Payinius, Cardinal Ánastatius ,vas "buried
in S. CleInente. A slab, no\V in the Capitoline l\Iuseum - Hall
of inscriptions at the left of entrancp - seems, from the in-
scription ,vhich it hears. to have covered the tOlub of a certain
Peter to 'VhOIll
\..Imstatius entrusted the building of the Ba-
silica. and who seems to ha.ve been also huried in S. Cle-
luente. Prof. Lanciani (G: Destruction of Ancient Rome :Þ p. 126)
sa
s: G: The reconstruction of 8. Clemente ,vas undertaken,
after the ,vithdra,va.l of Robert Guiscard, b;v Cardinal
\.na-
statius, who dietl in 11
6. or 1128. leaving the completion of
the ,york to Cardinal Pietro Pisano :Þ.
:! During' our excavations this .Yf'ar for the draining of
.
Clemente (to },p referred to later on.
,ve found. at a dl'pth of
thirt.'
feet helo," the
urface of the present ''''la Labicana. a
qllantit.'T of charrpd ,vood lnh.ed up with blackened mortar
and brick - traces. no doubt, of the Guiscard fire.
THE PRE
EXT CHURCH
9
this destruction. l
ut. in 10
t
) Pope Paschal II. ,vas
elected in the conclave held in S. Clelnente. If ,ve
assume that this election took place in the present
church, ,ve ma
assign its erection to the period
behyeen 108-1 and 10H
L TJH
ehurch "
as certainly
('ompleted br 11
8, for its dedication took place on
the 2G Jlav of that Year.
The primitive arrangements of a Christian Ba-
silica have been faithfully reproduced in the present
church. First, it. has an atrium, or court
'ard sur-
rounded by porticues. This atrium, ,vhich intervenes
bet,veen the church and the street, is entered by a
door,va
- overhung by a prop.lj/oll or ante-porch, con-
structed in the form of a projecting arch ,yhich rests
on four marble columns, hvo of \vhich are engaged
to the ,vall and hvo standing free from it. The prOpl/IOll
of S. Clemente ,yhich dates froln about the
ear 1100
is one of the finest existing sppcimens of its kind.
In the middle of the atrium is a calltltarus or foun-
tain. elublematic of that living ,vater of the Scriptures
,,
hich
pringeth up unto life everlasting. The qua-
drangular atriuHl ,vhich. frum the fourth to the se-
venth centur
", served for liturgical purposes, nalnelJ r
for the divisions of catechumen
and penitents, is
rean
" not a necessary adjunct of the eleventh cen-
tur
basilica. but rather the preservation of an inte-
resting page of the histor
" of the discipline of the
10
THE B.-\SILIl'A OF :So CLE)IEXTE l
W))IE
early Church. Our ntriulll of S. Clemente. in :-;0 far
as it is quadl'ipol'ticoed. enjoys the honour of being
-
't
AI
1/
".....
(rot. _\ndpl'snn)
Pl'op
Ylon of Atrium ot S. Clenlente (c. 1100).
unique, as it is the only one of it
kind that has
survived the ,,"reck of ag'es.
. \
I
\
\/
\'\
\.; ,
I
I
.."
.....
.....
.\. Entranee to .\trium
H. Atrium.
hùù. Quadriporti(.u
.
('. Entranl'e to ConTent.
R Fountain in Atrium.
D. Nave,
E. ('hoir.
1. 2. Ambone!';,
3.
Iarble
ereen.
-1. Rigll Altar,
1.<'. Presb
.ter
- and Tri-
'une,
5. Episeopal Tllrone.
6. I. S. 9. 10. Chapels of
;. John, B. Sacrament,
;. Catherine of Alexandria,
;. Dominic, and :S:S. C
'ril
,nd l\1ethodius.
a. Side entrance to the
'hureh from tll{> Yia S, Gio-
yanni.
ù. Entrance to the Sa-
'risty and Subterranean
-:Jasilica.
,. "
7
6
,
Q
<4
1:]
t:J
o
ü
E
'8
o
,
.
e
I
I
'!)
\!
a.
:)
,
" ----">
-.>
o
8
"6
.... .
JID.
,/
r
"
,/
ß
...
Ground plan of Atrium and of pre!5ent Basil
'"
,
j
, "I
" " ,'V
" \'<:\ ,
...' ,,'\,
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', \
" It- \.I. "
'" "
,., 'It., 'þ __
:'
- '," - ...
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.
':.
,."
..... ..
It '
....
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. .j
"""
.
.
:1
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s::::
rr1
9-J
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o
.,-4
o
H
.....
c::
.::
Ii:
....
ð
THE PRE:-;E
T t'Hl"HCH
17
Thp portico at the imlnedia.te entrance to the
church is composed of foul' antique colulnns sustain-
ing an arched canopJT: the lateral porticoes a.re ar-
chitraved. Three uf the columns of the façade portico
are of granite. and one of cl]JollillO, t\VO having Co-
rinthian and two Ionic capitals. The church consists
of a nave and hvo aisles: thp nave being divided
froln the aisle on either side by eight colulnns and a
pier. fivp of the colulnns are of Parian marble. four
of \"hh.h are fluted: fiyp of X un1Ïdian; three of
ql'allitello: t,yO of oriental granite: and one of bigio.
On entering the church froln the cloister by the
great or principal door 1 the eJTe is at once arrested
by the beautiful pavelnent of the style kno,vn as opus
sectile c01l1prising yarious patterns. This style. it \yould
Seeln. is thp result of a blending of the best elelnents
of the B,\ zantine and ear1r Roman schools. <<In no
school of Ohristian art )>, says Prof. l\.. L. Frothin-
ghaln,2 "are the payelnellts of such hnportance as in
the ROlnan. Y o\vhere else in an early Christian or
mediaeval church does the eve instinctively seek the
v
ground for a design and material that shall harmon-
ize with and enrich the effect of the interior." This
is certainly true in the case of S. Clelnellte.
t/ .
1 The door no,v used b;r the public is that on the .Via
S. Giovanni: it ,vas opened by Sixtu8 V (1585-90).
2 << The l\Ionuments of Christian Rome >>, p. 171.
3
18
THE RAMLIC.-\ 01<'
. CLE
IE
TE IX RO:\II<j
Then the choir or Se/lolft calltorll/Il \"ith its gra.
ceful spiral Pascbal candlestick inlaid Schola
,,-ith mosaic, and it:; elevated alnLones, C:1ntorulU.
.t.-
J
.
...
,I
! j
I
r
(fot. Comm, ('. Tf!IH'l'alli).
Section of church shf'\\ring lllOsaic paYeIuent and choir.
all brought froIH the lower church. attl'&lct attention.
In the posse
sion of its original <{ Schola Cantorlun >>,
R. Cielnente again stands unique. for here alone
diel the spirit of the Renais..;anee respect the
THE PRESEXT CH
HCH
lÇ}
ancient liturgical choir. The great marble panels of
the choir are decorated ,vith carved ,vreaths, crosses.
and one conspicuous 1110l1ogram frequentlr repeated.
On thp jalnbs or piers behveen the panels are engraved'
the fish, the doye, and the vine-branch, HO familiar
to thp yisitor to the ea tacolnbs, and symbolising re-
speetiYel
r Christ, peace, and the holy Eucharist. The
n1arble panel at either side of the entrance to the
choir is enriched ,,,ith lllosaics at the expense of the
monogral11 \vhich once adorned it. The author of the
mOllogral1l referred to apparently did not foresee the
puzzle that he ,vas setting to archaeologists in ages
lnan
centuries rp1110ved from his o\vn. or he \yould
haye left his name 1110re legibly ,vritten. Ho\veyer.
gue
ses have been made b
different authorities.
and supported by more or less ("ogent argulnents. in
fayuur, no\y of Xicholas I. (8õ8-
67), no\v of John 'TIll.
(87
-R82). and. finall.y, of John II. (532-535) \vho seenlS
to have the greatest claim to be regarded as the author
of the lnollogram in <1 uestion. In deterlnining the llalne
of hin1 to \vhom the monogralll refers. \ve are fixing
the datp of the erection of the choir; henee the in-
terest attaching to the solution of the difficulty. The
great arg'ulnent in favour of John II. is thp existence
of an inscription on one of the marble bealns under
20
THE BASILICA OF S. CLE:\IE
TE I
RO:\IE
the panels to the ,vest of the Gospel alubo ,vhich runs
as follo-\ys:
ALT..-\.RE TIEl DS SAL-va HOR)IISDA PAPA t
)IEROURIUS PB CU)! SOCIIS OFFERT.
fJl fliP Pontificate of Pope Hormisdas, .l.1Ierl'llrillS tlte Priest
lritll "is companiolls ojJèrs all altar to Thee 0 God.
ÅI
o on the capital of one of the exquisitelJ r
culp-
tured pillars that decorate the 1110nument of Cardinal
'T enerio near the chapel of the Blessed t;acralnent.
is another inscription, ,vhich reads thus:
t SERBUS Dú:\lIXI 1\!EHCURIUS PB t
SOE ECCESIAE CATHOLICAE OF}-'.l
It is believed that thes
pillars at one time :,up-
ported the Ciboriul11 or haldacchino ,vhich the Priest
31ercnrius ,vith his colleagues had erected, and that
the ciborhull and altar stood in the lo,ver church. Pope
1 Since the )fHS. of thi
,york have been sent to pl'es
, we
have founù embedded in the floor of the Oratory of H. Cle-
mente in the course of the excavations recently re
luned there,
a fragluellt of t:;culptureù marble "rith the foUo,Ying- part
of
an inscription.
. RIUS CL
. . . . TER.
:x 0 doubt the three ,vord
of which these fragments of
inscription formed part are: InercuRIlJS CLementis presb
yTER.
Hpnce ,YO have in this furthm' evidence of Cardinal ::\lercu-
riu
' care for his Titnlar Church: hut ,ve cannot yet t;i\Y ,,,hew
ther the 'work to ,,
hich the above inscription refers ,vas exe-
cuted in the Ol'ator.r itself. or in the basilica overhead.
THE PRE
ENT C'HCIU'H
21
s. Horn1Ïsdas governed the church frolll
)14 to 3
a.
and Jlercurius ,vho ,vas Cardinall)rie
t of B. Clell1ente
,vas elected Pope in J3
, taking the nanll
of John II.
).L
-If t"
".
...
y
-4'
...
l
I,
I
-
"T' e learn of his fllection to the Papac
y from a cele-
brated inscription ill the church of S. Pietro in 'Tincoli:
.JOAXXE
COGNO:\IEXTO :\[ERCITRIL"S EX SAN-
CT
-\.E ECCLESIAE RO:\lANAE PRESBYTERIS
( )RDIN ATTIS EX TITULO 1 SAXCTI CLE:\IEXTIS
AD GLORIA)I POXTIFICALE:\! PRO:\IOTUS.
1 Ho,,? the terni <<title>> came to be applied to churches.
it is difficult to sa
. '\Te kno,y (Gen. xx,rI[!. 18) that Jacob
set up a stone for a Title in the hol;y place ,,,here he had the
yision: but the first Christians did not call their meeting places
(t title:s )). They held their asselublies in private honses: such
,nlS the Cenacle at Jerusalem. and the other places of reunion
nwutioned in the ....
cts of the Apostles (I. 13. X. 9. XX. 8) :
hence it is that ancient oratorif's ,,,ere called << DOluestic Chur-
ches)) (Ecclesiae Domesticae). SubsequentlJ
the places of sacred
2-2
THE BASILICA OF S. CLE)IENTE IN ROME
John II therefore seems to be the person ,vhose
monogranl decorates the luarble screen of which thp
classical style agrees, according to experts, far better
,vith the sixth than ,vith the ninth century. the period
,vorship ,vere ordinary (hvelling-houses ,,-hich ,yen' wpH
adapted for such usp from their constructioJl ,vith atrium. tri-
clininm, etc., ,,-here the different categories of christians Iuight
be conveniently arranged. These honses ,vere called {< Houses
of the Church :& (DOlllllS Ecclesiae), and, later. .when the part
allotted to sacred .,vorship proper "
as separa ted fro III tlw rest
of the house, this part ,vas called the << House of 00(1 :& (Dol/ulS
Dei) or Dominiclllll, the place ,,-here the christians Inet the Lord,
such ,vas tho DominiclllJl Clementis (See Prof. :\larucchi. Bosi-
liqlles et É.qlises de Rome. pp. 9-11. aud )lons. Ducll(
sne
Origines dll Culte Cllrétien, ch. XI r. '- .At the beginning of
the second centur
", Pope Evaristus
112-121) established
Titles, that is. he divided ROHle into Parishes, to the churches
of ,,
llÌch he gave the nalne of Title. In tbe fifth centur.v, ,ve
find the first authentic list of the Roman Titles of ,,-hich there
,,-ere then t,,-enty-five. S. CleInente being one of thenl. It is
even probable that the Title of S. Clemente. that is tilt' << Do-
n1Ïnicuul Clementis:&, ,val-; estahlished b
" Pope Evaristus.
In -1.,19, Pope S. Leo the Great
ent the Priest Rene of the
<< title>> of 8. Clemente to represent him at the Council of
Epbesus (Hefele, Histoire des COllcile..,. t, II. p" 56û.t. Each
Title ,vas served hy a regularly organized bod;y of clergy
of \vhom the first Pripst ,,-as styled Titular. and th.. others
his Socii or companions. for instance << )Iercurius and his ('0111-
panions :&. Today the Titles of the Bm.;ilicas in Rome correspond
,,
ith those of the SaCl"ed College, IUlnlel.r Cardinal Priest and
Carùinal DeacoJl. The Basilica of S. ClemPIItp has the Title of
Cardinal Priest. and can hayo as Titular only a Cardinal of
that rank in the Sacred Collegè.
THE PRESE
'1' CHl'RCH
2
of thp other clailnants.
IoreoYer the fact of John II
IH1Yina erected an altar in S. Clement9 ,,
hilp Titnla r
ö
of thp church Inakes it Yer
possible that he ,,'ould.
during hi
Pontificate, take it special intere:st in tll is
basilica, and cOlnplete the "
()rk ,,
hich he began as
Cardinal. The choir. thpl1. ,,
ould hayp been erectell
bet"
een 332 and 335.
On the left.
idp of the choir is the Gospel AluLo
\vith its double staircase; on the right is that of the
Epistle, and the Lectern froln \yhich, facing east"
ards.
are read the Lessons or Prophecies of the Old Testa-
ment on the feast of Chrishnas, on HolJ Saturdar.
the ,rigil of Pentecost, the Saturday beforp Trinitr
Sunday
etc. Tn the possession of this Lectern or third
Aluho the choir of 8. Ulelnente is ahnost unique.
.A,-Inho froln xvxßx[vctv, << to a
celld >>, called also Pldpi-
t11111. TL"ibnnal etc. Thp Anlho see Ins to ha\-e come into
use early in the hi
tory of the Church. The
OJ Alii ho.
Council of Laodicea (
71) forbaclo anyone to
cha ut or recite \vho ,va
not qualified to ascend the ",,-.\.mbo.
S. Ålubl'ose and S. John Chrysostoln are kno,vn to haye
preached fro In ÀUlbos.
. C
yprian
peaks of the Gospel
being' read froln the _
mbo, so do the Liturgy of S. Basil,
the )Iilan 3Ii:ssal. and the Ronlan Ordo
\vhile the 01e-
lnentine Liturgy says that, froin the Ambo the Deacon
dismissf'd the Catechumens 1
BrightInan, t, I. page 3,
2! TIUj BASILLCA OF S. (,LE)IE
TE IN RO)IE
The AInhos of S. Clemente, S. Laurence outside the
"TaIls, S. )Iaria in Coslnedin, and S. Pancratius are
the Jnost ancient in Rome. Pope Benedict XIII.
})reached from the Gospel Ambo in S. CleJnente. The
Ambos of S. Olemente are used today for the same
}JUI pose and in the saIne Inanner as the
",vpre four-
teen centuries ago, thus teRtifyng to the uniformity of
the Catholic Church thrùuO'houf. the course of aO'es.
../..-\.:-., "
e pass through the choir on our 'Ya
r to the
High Altar our attention is attracted br t\VO beautiful
Transennae or lattice-,york screens. There
are three buch panels in the choir; but ",ve
doubt if theJ
are in their proper place, for ,ve should
rather think that these Transennae ,vere placed in
front of the relics of the Inal't
rs under the altar in
the lower church and are thus sometiInes referred to
as <<fenestellae confessionis >>. or openings in the
<< Confessio >>, through ,,
hich pilgl'ÏJns could behold
and touch the tombs of the nlart
rs.
TranS(llllla(\.
D
High Altar.
",.. e ha\
e now J'pached the << Oonfession >>. ana the
High Altar raised oyer the l'plies uf S. Clpluent Pope and
THE PRESEXT CHCRCH
2j
)lart
r; and of S. Ignatius. )Iart
r Bishop of Antioch.
Of S. OleUlent 've bave alreadJ
:-;poken.
S. Ignatius. bishop of ..A..ntioch in 8J
ria. 'vas condelnn-
ed to death by Trajan a bout thp Jyear 107. He ,vas
brought to R.Olne and exposed to ,vild beasts in the
arena of the ColisPUlll ,yhere he "
a
devoured b.r lions,
nothing of hiIn being left, but the larger '-" .
I . IgnatIu!o\.
bunes \yhich were deYontl
gathered up and
carried in tritlluph to Antioch. That city fell into the
power of the Saracen
in HB7. and the relics of the
)Iart
T \vere brought back to HOlne and deposited in
S. Clemente. Hi:s feast is solemlll
celebrated in this
church on the 1 st of February. Tradition
;ays that
" t.
Ignatius ,va
the littlp child 'VhOlll the Saviour took
and placed before the Apostles (8. )Iatt. X-VIII. 2)
when he exhorted theln to he as little ehildren.
S. Ignatius ,vas a disciple of the .Apostles. and
the author of an epistle addressed to the R(Hl1an
Church, on ,vhich he hesto\vs the titlp of c< President
of the
ocietJ
of Love )>. B
this epistle he announees
to the Christia ns at Rome his cOluina' thither as a
Christian confessor condelnned to death: and in his
exhortation and instruction to them he sa
s: (< But
not as Peter and Paul do I cOIDllland J
ou: theJ
,vere
.....\.postles, I aln but a capti ve of Christ )). S. Ignatius
here alludes to the preaching and teaching of the
Princes of the
\.postles in HOlue.
2ö THE R.-\
lLlCA OF S. CLE)IEXTE IX HenlE
The celebrant of the l\Iass at, the High Altar faces
the east, that is, hp looks to\vard:s the principal door
of the church. Over the Altar, supported by four paco-
nGzzetto columns, rises the baldaccltillo or cibol'io. so
called because fl'Uln its roof ,vas suspended the duve-
shaped golden or silyer vase containing thp Bles
ed
Sacralnent, the cibns or food of life. The
haill. or
at least part of it. from ,,,hieh the Dove ,vas :sus-
pended, as ,veIl as the rod", and rings ,vhich cíHTipd
the veils that sUl'roun(h
d the altar and sac.'ed ,.essel
are still ill sitll. The Blessed SaCl'alnent ,vas not pre-
ser,.ed in Tabernacles, such as \ye have toda,y. before
the first half of the sixteenth cellttu'J
, and ,ve o,ve
their int.'oductioll to the zeal and pi
t,v of a hol
Do-
luinican, Fr. Tholnas 8tella, \vho founded the Confra-
ternity of the Blessed Sacrament in 153H, one of the
ohjects of ,vhich Oonfraternit,y ,vas t.o provide in the
churches ,vhere it ,vas established a becorning habit-
ation for the Gorl. of the holy Eucharist.
The anchor, is represented on the tYlnpanuul of
the baldaccl1illo and in front of thp altar-reliquary].
The harmonious proportions existing between the
1 It is believed that S. Clement instituted thé <<Apostolic
X otaries 1> on ,vhose seal thc anchor is represented.
TH
PRE
EXT ('Ht'W'U
27
High Altar and the arch of the -,-\pse are so exquisite
that no one can fail to notice and admire theIll.
I
The apse.
In the centre of the apse is the episcopal throne
proper to the Cardinal Titular ,vho alone maJT use it.
This is the chair bearing the inscription alluded to
and ,,
hich runs thus:
t .AXASTATIUS PRESBITER CARDIXALIS
HUJUR TITULI HOC OPU8 CEPIT ET PERFECIT.
ÂllastasillS Cardinal Priest of this Title begllll and compl-
ded tllis lfork.
On the ,vall over the seats of the priests are paint-
ed the 8a.viour and the Blessed .Virgin surrounded
bJ
the
\.postles ,vho are separated frolll one another-
by palIn trees. This is belie\ed to ùe the "Tork of
Giovenale da Celano (1400).
,,-po e have no,v come to the most important monu-
lllent in the Basilica, the beautiful mosaic of the apse..
.Among archaeologist::, there is a difference of opinion
,vith regard to its date. Some belipve it to belong-
28 THI'; HA
lL'eA OF
. t.:LK\lE
TE IX RO
lE
to the bpgilllling of thp fourteenth century, and, frOlll
the perfcetioll of the ,york. think that it must have
betOn executed h
Giotto. Others refer it to the
eal'
-- ,. }:!'
.
.-,
\
.c
<,
..
--,
F >,
I
I ;I:1 I ,I
....l
I '\
::-
(fot. And('rson).
Epi
copal Throne.
12Ç}Ç}. hasing thpir reason for so doing on the inscrip-
tion over the little Gothic tabernacle in the ap
e;
but this tfl bernacJe has no connection ,,
ith the mosaic
composition of the apse, nor òoes the inscription
give an
hint tv tha t effect. Others, again. hold that
the ,york belongs to the earlJ
part of the Ì\yelfth
.centur.,-. and to baye been done under Pope Paschal II.
THE PIU:SJ;;
T CHl'RCH
29
(10Ç)
1 - 1118 ). ,,,hose election to the Apostolic
See took pla('e in S. Cleluentp. R,et'ent
cientific
examination of the lllosaic decoration
eenlS to con-
fil'lll this opinion. \vhil'h is heLd bJY Profe:-;
or 3Ia-
rUl'chi, ,,-ho sa's that the Pope pl'obabl
T \vished
to COIUUleluorate and pCl'petnatp in this ap
e the
triulnph of the Crusader
in the conquest of J eru
a-
lelll in 10
)H.l )Ionsignor ""'-ilpert. ,,,ho has made a
special study of this subject. also believeb that the
det'uration of tbe apse 'Ya
cOlnpleted before the
dedication of the ch nrch in 11
8. 2 Speaking of this
apse. Prufe
or ...L L. Frothingham sa
rs: <<And
-et,'
in a fe"T
'ears, still under Paschal II, the apse of
s. Clelnente ,,,a
proànced. a ,york ,,,hich in its
essentials is based on old Ronutn h'aditions. and in
its techniqup is ahnost. perfect. In its general design
it figures the vine, representing the redeenled Churt'h,
,,-hose spirals co\-er the ap::,e, and Christ the Redeemer
on the Oross in the centre: the luain difference
bet"
een this and the early Christian interpretation
of the scene being the substitution uf the human
figure for the lamb on the Oross. The earthl r Para-
dise and the .ri vel' Jordan at thp ba
e. ,,,ith their
1 <<Un Ricordo della PrÏlna Crociata. in Roma >>.
2 "Teare a,vare that )Ionsignol' 'Vilpert in his great "
ork
on the
rt of the 3Iiddle Ages (suon to be published) is deal-
ing specially with this subject.
o
THE B.\
ILlCA OF s. CLE
IE:\TE IN ROME
abundance of anitnal and sJ
mbolic life are purely
.classic in idea and even in technique, whereas the
little figures of nlediaeyal creation that are inter\yoyen
in the spirals are of heavy ROlnane:-,que type. Onl
r
,on the face of the apse. \vhere the large figures of
SSe Peter and Paul, SSe Olenlent and La\vrence. 100ln
up in distinct contrast, do ,ve see a touch of Byzan-
tine influence ill theil' heing seated instead of stand-
ina )).1
h
Above the arch of the apse is the bus1 of our
aY-
iour represented \vith a book in His left hand, ,vhile
His right is raised in the aet of blessin.[. The. four
Evangelists are represellted bJ"' their respective enl-
blelns 2: SSe )la tthew and 31a rk are on the right of
the Saviour. and Oil the left SS. J Ohll and Luke. To
the left of the arch is S. Petpr (.AGIOS PETRUS) instruct-
ing S. Clelnent:
'-
RE8PICE PRO)ll
SU)I CLE
IE
S A
IE TIEl XU)!.
Clemellt behold Christ promised by me to .11011.
S. OJell1ent is represented \vith his feet 011 a hoat
.around \vhich fish are swimming. rrhis obyiuu
l
al-
1 << The )Ionuments of Christian Rome J) p. R
O.
1 Ezechiel. chap. 1. Y. 10 - <<And as for the likenes
of
their faces: there ,vas the face uf a man and tllè face of a lion
on thp right shIp of all the four: and the facE' of all ox, on tht'
left side of all the four: and the faee of all eagle 0' er all the
-four )).
tfJ
. ..... .M.
,
15
BV/JLvN
\
\'O
" ·
+O
'
.. "1 >
.
.
B
.,. .
f.
I
- ,,-
!.1 tit
\ "
II .
\
'. "":.4...
\1 '4\. \
1".. .,
-.
..
,.,,- .'
.,.
.."....,
.."
# .
.'--'
I
.-"
_J'l!<!
-1--
.10-
....J
'i
.
:
. .
b
;.
....
-
o
;:..
::
Õ
.-
ã)
......
--
:0-;
o
Q;I
T.
Õ
To
:..
"g
.....
.2
THE PRESE
T CHURCH
3a
ludes to the manner of his martJTrdom. On the right
of the arch is S. Paul (AGIOS PAULUS) familiarly
teaching 8. Laurence regarding the Cross:
DE CRUCE LÅURE
TI P.AULO FAl\IULARE DOCENT!.
s. Laurence is represented ".ith a Cross in his left
hand and ,yith his feet on a gridiron under \vhich a
fire is burning, S. Laurence having suffered martyr-
dom bJ
being roasted on a gridiron, about the Jear
25;1. Again on the left. belo". S. Peter, is Jeremias
holding in his hand the scroìl of hi
secretary, Baruch:
HIC EST DS XOSTER ET X. E8TI)[ABITUR
ALIUS ABSQ. ILLO. 1
This is our Lord alld 110 other shall be accoullted of In
comparison lritll llim.
Below J e::emias is J erusalem. Under S. Paul, on
the other side, is Isaias ,vith the inscription:
VIDI DO}II
U)I SEDENTE1\l.SUP. SOLIUl\I. 2
f sall" tlte Lord sitting upon a tllrone.
Below Isaias is Bethiehelll.
A border runs round the apse ,yith the inscription:
GLORI...-\ IN EXCELSIS DEO SEDENTI SUP.
THRONUl\I ET IN TERRA PAX HO:\IINIBUS
BO
AE V.OLUNTATIS.
Glory be to God on /zi,qh sittillg upon a tltrone
alld on earlll
peace to men of good ll'Íll.
1 Ba ruch, III, 36.
2 Isaias, VI, 1.
4
34 THE BASILlUA OF
. CLE:\lEXT
IN R())IE
Along the helllic cle over the laulbs is in
cribed:
ECCLESIAl\I CHRISTI ''"ITI
1)IILABI)IUS 1ST I t
DE LIGNO CRUCIS .JACOBI DEl'S. [G
ATIIQ. IX-
SUPRA SCRIPT I REQUIESCUKT CORPOHE CHRI-
STI t QUA)I LEX AREXTE)L SED CRUX F
\CIT
ESSE ''"IRENTE)L
,yhich, freel
'" translated. means:
The Church of Christ Ire liken to tlta! cine.
JVlzidl tlte Lair pare/led but the Cross makes .qrecn to shiue.
Of tlte lfood of Christ, of James a tootlt, and of fgnace
fll tile bod.1f of tltis Christ /lave fOlllld a restÍlllJ plare. .
The representation of the Cross rah;ed up in the
apse for ndoration ex{'ited
till further the devotion of
the faithfnl froIH the fact that a portion of the True
Cross ,vas contained in it. The union too of our di-
"Vine Lord ,vith His saints, and of His Passion ,vith
theirs, ,vas forciblr represented by placing a relic of
an Apostle and of the
Iartyr Bishop of _tntioch ,vith
the True Cross in the Crucifix itself.
....\. broad border runs round the inner edge of the
concave portion. The ornalnentation of this border con-
8ists of rich fruitful vines and ears of corn ,vhieh spring
frou1 a vase at either end and rise tu
ether to,vards
the Oonstantinian monogl'anl of Ohrist A ::R w
in the centre. The grapes and ears of corn are
J
IU-
bolic of the Eucharistic species. Be]o,v the Illonograln
a string of beach, in suspended. and belo,v this again is a
,vavy irridescent circle indicating, it is said, th
opening
x
.
-:-WÇ1,
-
"
.
-
,.
'..... -.
'*-.
."t
--- "
.....
.it .'
-..
.- @)"
.
..J
'".
7"1-.
r
.
\.
... \ '
"
",
.........
;-...
,
..
......
- : ,. I
't
.
\ 1--
-
"
\
\
it .
'\.,: .
,
\ I ' '
\.
:) . .;.. .1 .
.. .
....., .
\ " i
.... , '\ j
I . ,;.
I , " j
'" "
..
, .
,
\
"
" \'
';
,-.....
::r , .-,-,. f. 1')-,-
'. --.:
, \' ..:i i' -
.
.
. .
\\.
"'-
-, ,......
'
" .^--.
,}
....
\
I'
(
...
,
'-
....
' "
.
.. -j
. _"
\ '-I- \""
. .t
l"
:\t
..
I ,
:
"- .-II
.;
'.,
,
. <.:- oÁ..-
11 ",..---
, -R1
éii'1F'TÁl:
Vj E CVNiwCO
T
VT..
T
r.
-i'
.
'!
.....
,....;;
II!
(rot, Anderson).
Thè Triumph of the Cros
.
THE PREREKT CHrRCH
7
of the heayens: fro1l1 it stretches forth a hand holding
a ,vreath en1hlematic of On1nipotence 1. The Cross, the
great centre piece of the ,,
bole. let do,vn as it ,vere
from the hand of the Aln1Íght
, takes root upon the
earth and rising frolH alllÏdst ,yondrous foliage spreads
itself abroad a
the m
stic vine in bold and graceful
curved lines over the ,vhole area of the hemicycJe. The
Saviour of the ,,,orld hangs fastened b
fonr nails to
the Cross beside ,yhich stand the Blessed Virgin and
thf' Beloyed Disciple. On the four extremities of the
Cro
s are hvelve doves. s
'mbols of the .A.postles. A
little hart is feeding at thp foot of the Cross: it is
s
n1 boIie of the baptized, and i
regarded as hostile
to the
erpent ,,,hich. according to an old popular
belief, it ate ,,,ith hnpunity 2. The serpent, too. is there
amidst the foliage from beneath \vhirh are gushing out
four strealns of ,vater s
mbolisillg the four rivers ,
yhich
flo,ved through Paradise. FroD1 them hvo thirsfy stags
are drinking': they represent the desire of the faithful
to be united \vith God: <<Quemadmodum desidera t
ceryus ad fontem aquarun1. ita desiderat anima mea
1 This l)ortion of the al)se C'orresponds exactl
r in de:sign 'with
the :same :section of the a p:s
of S. }laria in Trasteyere. the
church frOln ,,-hich S. Dominic transferred the first colon
r of
nUlls ,,
hieh he established at S. Sisto 'VecC'hio. in the A p-
pian \y a
.
2
ee Aringhi, RO/llrt Soften.., 1., p. 381.
38 THE BASILICA OF 15. CLK\IE
TE IN RU)!g
ad Te, Deus )> (Ps. XLI., V. I.) <<As the hart pant-
eth after the fountains of ,vater, so Iny soul pantf\th
after Thee 0 God )>.
In the ,vaters of the sh'ealll behind the
tag
are
pelican
, and behind these again are the peacocks of
the Ca taconlbs. s
m bols of iInlllortalitJ
' On either sid
,vhpre thf\ rivers ar8
nYallo,Yed up bJT the earth. the
Good
hepherd is feeding his sheep. In a linf\ ,,,ith
the foot of the Crobs arp the four great Doctors of
the Church ,vith the name of each inscribed beside hillI.
On the right RS. Ambro
e and Gregor
T, and ou the
left
S. Jerome and A.ugu
tine 1. The lo,ve
t portion or
horizontal band of the half dome is occupied b
T twelve
lalnbs repre
enting the hvel ve Apostles, ,yhile the
)I
stic Lamb, the
avionr of mankind, stands on a
hill in the centre \"ith a golden circle round His head.
To,vards Hin1 all of thelll arp- turued. They are repre-
sented as passing behveen the hvo {"ities - Bethlehem
and Jerusalem-symbolic respecti vely of the hirth aud
death of the Dh'ine Redeelller. and the Churches
springing from the hvo La,vs, the Old and thf\ X f\'T :
1 Sonle author
of guide book
po
itiYely state that thes.e
are four Donlinicans. They do not kno,,' apparently that the
nanles of the four Doctors are ,yritten undcrneath ; and perhaps
erroneon
ly think that t;. Ulem
ntc helonged to the Domini-
cans at the time that the ap
è wa
decorated. It was not till
1667 that S. Clemente ".as handed over to the Domillican
.
TH
l'RE
g
T ('HlTI{l'H
39
Jerusalem signifJing the Church of the Circuillcision
Ecclesia ex Ci/'Clllllcisiolle) the Church of the Je,vs : and
Bethlehelll
ignif
ing that of th
Gentiles, Ecclesia ex
Gelltibus. O\Tel' the arch of the gate of the city of Beth-
lehe1n i:-; portrayed a child, tlH"\ Divine Child ,ve pre-
sunIe, ,yhile over the gate of the cit
of Jeru..,alem is
repre
ented a Uru
. and on the
te}Js a eock.
The artist fills every pa l't of the graceful ,,'indings of
the vine \"ith an adtnirable vaript
of birds and flo,v-
ers ".hich, no douht. are intended not for Juere orna-
111enta tioll but to teach by s
Tmbuls. Thus terminates
the ,york in ,vhich a great artistic genius has so vi-
vidly depicted for us in colour::; the 1nost hrilliant. and
in execution the 11108t suece
sful. mosaic representa-
tion of the great m
.stery of our Redenlption.
Chapel of the B. Sacrament.
On the left of the apse is the Chapel of the Ros-
ary, used no,y as the Chapel of the Blessed Sacralnent.
This chapel, ,,-hich ,vas constructed in 1617 1, has an
altar-piece b
y Conca (lö76-17(-)4:), representing the
Ia-
1 See De Bhrgo. Hibernia ÐomÙlÍcallll, }), -10B. The chapel
".as first dedicated under the title of Our Lad.'
's :x ativit.'
. and
in 1715 ,vas changed for that of (
ueen of the Rosary.
40 THE BASILICA OF S. CLE:\IEKTE IN RO::\IE
donna and Child giving Rosaries to S. Dominic and
S. Catherine. The picture is ,veIl designed and adlnirably
executed. On the left wall of the chapel is depicted
S. Francis of Assisi reeei ving the
tiglnata on )Iount
Alvernon; and on the right is S. Charles Borromeo
distributing alms to the poor. Both pictures are the work
of the school of Caracci (1533-1619). Over the entrance
to the chapel are represented Isaias and Jeremias.
Outside the chapel, to the left, is the lnonument to
Cardinal Venerio of Recanati ,vho ,yas created Uar-
Monument dinal by Six tus IV ,vith the Title of S. Ole-
to lnente, and ,vho died in 1479. T,,'o beau-
Card. YfnerÎo. t . f I . 11 f h . I I b I d
1 U pI ars
one 0 'Y IC lIas een a rea
r
referred to as containing th
name of Cardinal )Ier-
curius, adorn the monument. They are sculptured ,vith
vine-tendrils and ,vith birds pecking a 1 the grapes. The
capitaJs are admirable speciInens of fine pierced-,,"ork.
It is believed that these pillars are two of the four
,vhich supported the baldacclLino over the High Altar
in the lower church; but ,,,here the other hvo are ,ve
cannot say nor do 've kno,y where these t,yO '''ere durin g '
tI ,
the period behveen the destruction of th
lo,ver church
at the end of the eleventh century and the erection of
the monUlnent to Cardinal Venerio at the end of the
fifteenth.
On a pilaster oppo
itP this InonUlnent is a pleasing'
picture, bJ' anr..unkno,,'u artist. of the Bles
ed Virgin
é
'n .
;;... :
.. ...
.. .....
TnT""
1!'YTno .nyW"lfnl
t.r
"
J
.,
i.'
} . ,
)
.'
,
ct (.
,........
'- '- -
. ' .,(
---"'7.
\.'" .
.1:
llil
>NOll .
,
..
CAfIIIoC{:lNI j(DMA
l\Ionument to Cardinal Venerio.
THE PRESE
T CHURCH
-13
and Child and S. John. The children arp playing to-
gether and onr BLessed Lady, kneeling ,vith her hands
joined, looks earnpstly at them ,,
hile angels are scat-
tering ro
es over their heads. rrhis picture ,vas used
as the altar-piece duting the tiIne that 1he chapel "
as
dedicated to our Lad."
of th
:Yativity.
On the floor near the picture is the tomb of Car-
dinal Henry of S. 4c-\JLosio ,vho died in 1450. An ins-
cription on a pilaster tells us ,,,ho thio.; illustrious Car-
dinal ,vas.
Bebveen the tOlllb of Cardinal Allosio and the
monument of Cardinal \r enerio is another tomb,
that of Cardinal Francis Canali who ,vas Bishop of
Tivoli from 1820 to 1827. In It;34 he wa
created
Cardinal ,vith the Title uf S. Clemente ,vhere he ,vas
buried on his death in 1835. During the excavations
of thf\ Subterranean church the coffin containing' his
remains ,vas fonnd interred in the débris. It is strange
that thp burial of this Cardinal and others in the actual
filling-up material of the lo,ver church gave no clue
to or suggested no conj ecture as to the existence of
that church.
c5
4-1 THE BA
ILICA OF
. CLE)[F.
TE I
RO)IE
The Chapel of S. John the Baptist.
On thp right of the apse is thp Chapel of S. John
thp Baptist ,,
hose statue in Inal'ble bJ Shnone, the
brother of the great Dunatello (X\T centnrJ), is over
the altar. On the left ,vall is painted the Baptist re-
proaching Herod for having' married his brother's ,vife:
and on the right is represented the
aint's decapita-
tion. and next it ,ye see his head beinp: given on a dish to
the dancing girl. This chapel is vaulted, in a manner
rare in RÜIne, ,,,ith ,,,hite glazed terra-cotta
unk panels.
In the centre of ,vhich is a rose ill alto riliero.
Outside the <:hapel are hvo 11lonumouts ,yhich. 1ike
that of Cardinal .Venerio. are ve1'JT good speeiJnpns of
MOllument Renaissance ,york. e"peeiall
the larger
to Card. one, that of Cardinal Ro\yerella, ,vhich
KOTerelln.
bears the date 1476 and i
supposed to
have been executed by Gioyanni Dahnata and
-\.ndrea
tI
Bregno. The Cardinal is repre:sented in a recumbent
po:sture \vith hvo angels keeping watch over hhn, OUP
at his head the other at his feet. .At the top of the
arch over the monlunent is God the Fa thér surrounded
b.v angels, and helu\v them the Bles:"\ed Virgin with
the Divine Infant on her knees and t".o angels be:side
theIne On the right. S. Peter is presenting the Cardinal
to our Lord and His Blessed )Iother: S. Paul is at
t.&) J.U-'UUi
UW.IU
,
..
I
,.. . "
)
. ..
,. ,.-
... 41.'
",:!, J \.
...
"t \J \
\
1'Þ.".1
' ,
;J." .,
I .
-.Ir.. . 1\
a
t
\'
'"
\"
t t
'.'
( '"
\ .
-If'"
... I 1
-r.J 1:" j '"
CAPACClbli RQM
)Ionnment to Cardinal Roverella
THE PKESEXT CHURCH
47
the oppusite side. T\vo exquisitel
carved candelabra,
in bas-relief; form a border for the
ides of the mo-
nument: and the sarcophagus is highlJT decorated ,vith
yer\? oTaceful arabesl l ues and ,,#ith sYlnhol
of the
'" b
finp art
of ,vhich it ,vould appear the Cardinal ,vas a
generous patron. There are hvo angels at the base
of the tOInb. one on either side. admirablJ
designed
and executed.
Jlonument The other tomb is that of John Fran-
to cis Brusati, nepho"r of Cardinal R,oyel'ella.
Arch. Urllsati.
\ 1 b . h f '-T. . . C It
anu _"l.1'C 1 IS op 0 .n iCoSla ill J1)l'uS.
is the "
ork uf Luigi Capponi.
--
Chapel of SSe Cyril and Methodius.
Off the right aisle is the chapel of SSe CJ
l'il and
Iethodius elaborately adorned \yith frescoes executed
by
ignor Xobili in 1886. The erection of this chapel
"
a" begun in 188:.? by desire of Pope Leo XIII. The
Sovereign Pontiff and Bishop StroSS1113J''T shared hehv-
een theJu the expenses of the ,york. In the apse
.
Pope Leo is depicted presenting the church to our
divine Lord 'Vho is seated on a throne. S. C.,rril is stand-
ing on the right and 8. )Iethodius on thp left. both
in episcopal robes. Oyerhead are represented the Eter-
nal Father and the Holy Spirit. On the right ,vall is
..18 THE BASILICA <n'
. CLE),lE
TE I
ROME
thp scene of 88. C
rril and )lethodins standing hefore
Pope Adrian II. and a Council of Bishops, and an
-nyer-
ing the charges brought against them of attenlpting
to introduce noveltie
into the liturgy of the Church.
The fresco on the left ,vall represents the translation
of the bod v of S. C\Tril to the church of S. Cleluente.
.. t;
The four E\Tangelists and an
el
adorn the dOlne.
___l short notice of the two great saints to ,,,horn
the chapel is dedicated Inay not be out of place here.
Con
tantine C..\Til ,vas horn atThessalonica
of a Senatorial Ronlan fan1Ïly a t the close
of the eighth. or in the earlcy part of the ninth century.
He "
as called (( the Philosopher)) on account of his
rare talents and aptitude for learning'. He kne"
the
Greek. Latin,
lavonian, and Turkish languages intÌlna-
tel
T. He is said to have speciall
T learned the last-nanled
that he might become the apostle of those peoples ,vho
spoke it, niunely the Huns, Chazari, and Tartars. "....hile
at Pontus, ,,-hither he ,vent to learn the Turkish tongue,
he heard of the :shrine built in the sea bJ angelic hands
to contain the body of the luartyred Pope S. Cleluent.
He also leaened that on the anniversary of the Baint's
Inartyrdom the "aters of the sea used to recede to
allow the people to walk in pilgrimage to the shrine,
but that for five centuries this miracle had not taken
place. Feeling an inspiration to search for the relics
of the martyr he persuaded the Bishop of Pontus to
s. e,Til.
.
\
\,
,
". " ,
'"..,..... \
"
\: \
...
\
I t
,
, j
I
I
..
...
. ,
-':'"
\
4,
\
-
, .
Â" ....
..
'. -
'if 1
f r
,O
-.
,
...
to
(fot. .\udf'rsnu).
Apse of Chapel of SSe C,yril and
[pthodills. (
OBILl).
;)
THE PRESEKT CHl"nCH
31
acconlpanJ
hinl. The result. ,ve learn fronl Gaudericu
]
of ,r elletri ,yho i
heHpYûd to have heard the relation
froIll the lllouth of CJ
ril him
elf. He saJ
S: << Taking
ship on a cahn daJ
' under the g'uidance of Christ,
they ,vent their ".ar... aud sailing ,vith great devo-
tion and confidence, ,vith h
.1l1n
and pra
ers. the
reached the island in \vhich they supposed the holJ
lnartvr's body to be. The\
then went round about it.
It; t. .
and
eal'ched ,,,ith a great Jllauy lights. and ,vith in-
crpasing earnestness in their holy praJ'er::;. and then
began verJ anxiousl-" and unren1ittingly to dig' in the
IllOl1nd \vhere so great a treasure ,vas suspected to
l'éSt. After 1vorking there for SOlne tillle and ,vith
llluch holJ
desire, on a sudden as if God ,vould she,y
them a brilliant
tar. one of the precious nUlrtJ
r's rihs
shone forth. At this spectacle all ,vere filled \vith
inllnense exultation, and not ,vithout SOlne excitement,
theJ- llO'V vied ,yith each other in digging out the
earth Inore and Inore, and then in due tiIne his sacred
hpad also a pppared, and, after a little ,vhile ag'ain,
behold the \vhole bod
,vas found. by degrees and at
inter,-als. as it \ypre ont of a nU1l1ber of parcels of
holr relics. ....-\nd, last of all. there appeared the anchor
,vith ,vhich he had heün east into the deep.
\.ftpr the
1 Gaudericus ,vas Bishop of ,r elletri in the reign of Pope
fohn ''''111 (87:!-
2).
5:2 THE BASILICA OF S. CLE
IE
TE l
ROJIE
Bi
hop had celebrated the hol
r
Iysteries on the spot,
the holr lnan lifted the chest of sacred relics upon his
o,vn head and bore them to the ship; they then trans-
ported the treasure (Glorianl) to the metropolis. On
the follo,,'ing ulorning the entire population asselnbled,
and, taking up the chest of sacred relics, bore it round
the city ,vith much thanksgiving, and coming to the
greater Basilica honourably deposited them there >> 1.
In 848 the Chazari, descendants of the Huns, at tha.t
time settled on the Danube, sent to the Elnperor )Ii-
chael III. for apostles to teach them the faith of Christ.
Cyril ,vas charged ,vith the ilnportant mission, and
iInulediately began his apostolate ,vhieh ,yas cro,yued
,yith the highest success. Having instructed and bap-
tized the ChaIn together ,yith his ,vhole nation, and
having COl1unitted the mission to the care of pions
and zealous pastors, he returned to Constantinople,
passing on his ,yay through Pontus "There he obtained
from the Bishop the relics of S. Clement. These he
after,vards ahvays carried about ,vith him on his u1Ïs-
sionary journeys until he finally hrought them to Rome.
Cyril's se00nd mis
ion ,vas to the Bulgarians in
,vhich he ,vas joined by his yonnger brother l\Iethodius.
Saint From Bulgaria the missionary brothers
)Ietho(UII
. ,vent on to Bohemia and :\Ioravia, [tnd are
1 Rondinini. S. Clem
ns Papa et Jlart.lJr (1706), pp. !7-H.
THE PRES};J:\T CHURCH
:>3
regardpd as the Apostles not onl
of theso countries.
but of all or nearly all those in \vhich the t;layonic
tongue is spoken. Streduwski. in his Sacra Jloral'iae
Historia, styles SSe CJTril and l\Iethodius the Apostles
of 3Ioravia. Bohemia, Silesia. Cazaria, Croatia. Cir-
cassia. Russia, Dahna tia. Polonia, Carinthia, and
Carniola.
. Cvril is said to have inyentpd the
t-
Sl:lyonic alphabet; and both brothers translated the
Go
pels and the
Iissal into that language. For daring
to use suell a language in the Offiee and Litnrg'J
of
the Church the.v incurred the displeasurp of thp Arch-
bishops of
alzburg and )Ietz, ,,,110 cOlnplained of the
novelty to Pope Kicholas I. (
58-8()7). Nicholas invited
the hvo apostles to ROIllP and expressed his desire that
they ,vould bring \vith them the relics of S. CI
ment.
The 111en of tlod hastened to ans,,'er the sumll10ns:
but Pope .Kicholas died before their arrival. His snc-
cessor ,Adrian II. (
67 -t;72) on hearing of their approach
to the Eternal Citr ,vent out ,vith his clergy to lueet
thelll and to honour the precious treasure \vhich they
,yere bringing ,vith theln to Rome. The relics of S. Cle-
luent ,vere received ,vith great joy and placed under
the Hig'h Altar in the Basilica raised to his nlelnorJ
.
Pope _tdrian ,,,ith a Council of Bishops and Clerg'y
heard thedefence\"hich CJTril and
Iethodius had to Inake
to the charges brought against them. So conyincing and
full of \visdolll \vere the arguments ,vhich the
aints
:")! THE BASILICA OF S. CLE)IE
TE I
R(n[t
used to justify their actions, tha t thc
'" "'"ere declared
not onl
free from censure, but their zeal ,yas highly
approved. It "'"a:s not ho,yever until thp reig-n of Adrian's
successor, John 'TIlL, that the priyilege ,vas forlnallr
granted to 3lethodins, then Archbishop of 3lorayia, by
,vhich the Slays ,vere permitted to use their o"
n lan-
gnage in thp liturgy of the Church. a priyilegp ,,
hieh
they enjoy to this dar, and ,vhich they exercisp pyen at
S. Clelnente "Then they come in pilgrimagp to HOlne 1.
Pope ...-\.drian consecrated the hyo brothers Bis-
hop
. Cy)'il died in Rome in t;lj
j. and ,vas burietl in
S. Clelnente. 3lethodius died in 8Sõ, but the place of
his death is uncertain. SOffiP "writers maintain thil t he
died in Rome and ,vas buried ,yith his brother in
S. CleJupute: ,,
hile others SilJT that he died in )[orayia.
Joannes Dubravius, speaking of the per
eclltion excited
by S\yatoplnk against )lethodius. says: << Tho Bleððed
)Iethodius heing- unable tu tolerate thp destruction of
his flock returned agai n to R(Hne ,yhere he died. and
,vas buried in the church of S. Clelllente )) 2. B t1 t in
the Acts of the Archiepiscopal Curia of Olmutz. pu-
hlished in löö9, it is stated in the part on the sfàries
of Biðhop:-, of )lol'ayia and ebpecially of Olmutz. that
<(
. 3lethodius ha ying- been appointed by the H()l
Spe,
1 Rce .....-tppenl1ix 1. for an account of the
reat Slay pilgrim-
age at
. Clemente in 1
t;1.
'2 Historia B()ltcmiae, Ek. II.
THE PRESEXT CHCRCH
55
Bisllop of 3Iuravia and Pannonia. took up his resi-
dence a t Velehadria, then tlH-
Capital of IT pper 310-
raYla. ,,-here also lived the Prince S,vatopluk. Here
,yas a luagnificent church dpdicated to the Ble..,sed
'Tirgin, and in it the Blessed _\IethoilillS ,,-as buried >> 1.
'T elehadria ,yith its church fell into ruin in the course
of tiIne; but no record can be found as to ,,-hat became
of the body of 3Iethodiu
. Perhaps the relics of the
Saint ,vere brought to Rtnne on the destruction of the
chureh in ,yhich the
. \vere. according to the Acts
quoted, first int3rred. In the Second Part uf this ,york
we
hall speak fnrther on the relics of SSe CJ
ril and
Methodius.
Behveen the t'hapel uf SS. C \'ril and )lethodius and
the door leading to the Sacri ..;tJ'Y is [I Hlonument to
Frederick Alnbrose RJillnsden of Huddersfield, England,
and his ,yife. This lllonllluent "YilS erected in 187 J and
first stood ,yhere the entra llCP tu S. C
Tirs chapel no,v
is, and thus placed, it \yas opposite a sÍlnilar monu-
ment in the left aisle.
X ear the door leading to the
acristy is a sepulchral
tablet on the ,vall bearin
the follo\ving inscription:
HIERO:XY)IUS GHIX
CCIUS 8TEPH
XI PA-
TRITII SEXEXSIS F. - A .JITLIO II P.:\1. IX
SACRA LATERA
E
. CO
CILIO CU)I PRI)IIS
1 Card. Bartolini, Jlemorie Storiclle. Criticize. Al'clleologi eke
dei SSe Cirillo e Jleto , dio pp. 183-!.
;)() THE BASILICA OF S. ('LEl\IE
TE IK HO:\IE
DHIBTTL"S - S1TH LEOXE X
\D HEXRIClJ)I
BRrrA:NXIAE REnE)l XU
TIGS - EPISCOPL"S
'TIGORXIES. C
.\)I. APOSTOLICA E CLERICrS
ET AITD. GE
ERALIS - A13 HADRIANO V"I. AD
)IELITEX. ECCLESI
I, )IOX AD ASCULA NIT)1
TRAXRLATITS - A p
.\ ULO III. CARD. CREA-
TUB, .APOSTOLICIS BRE'TIB-eH, REFOB)IAX-
D
E CURIAE - TRIDEXTI
O COXCJLIO C'OX-
VOCAXDO. ORDI:XA
DOQUE PRAEFECTU
-
POSTRE:\IO AD P....\CE)I CUXCILIAKJ)A)1 IX-
TER CAR()L U)I CAERARE)I. ET PIL\:XCISCU
1
GALLIAE REGE)I E LATERE LEGATU:::; - PO
T
EO REG IE TAXT1S IX REErs
A '-AT
.\)[ OPE-
UA)I IX AEDE TITULI SITI H. S. E.
OB. AXXO SAL. )IDXXXXI - DIE III JULII.
ø
Chapel of S. Dominic.
At the foot of th
right aisle is the Chapel of
S. Dominic encrusted ,yith rich and varied marbles.
This chapel, a('cordil1g to De Burgo 1, \yas originally
dedicated to the HolJ Cross; hut according to Rondi-
nini 2 ,vho quotelS Del Sodo for his authority, it ,,,as
dedicated to S. Cvril. It ,yas restored about the veal'
1713 bv Cardinal Tholnas )[aria Ferrario o. P.. Ti tu-
lar of the church, ,yl1o had the cancel1a, ::;uch as still
encloses the other chapels. reuloved and the ,,,aIls de-
corated ,yith pictures l'f'pl'e:s
ntill
scenes fl'Oln the
1 Hibernia DOlJlillicanrt, (17H2) p. 1-03.
:! S. ClnnclIs Papa d Jla , l't.lJr (170ü) p. 3R7.
THE PRESEXT UHrRCH
57
lifp of S. Dominic. T,yú of the three pictures then
painted, namely those on the side ",valls. :suffered so
much from thp dalnp during the next ten
ears that
Pope Benedict XIII on thp occa
ion of a visit to
S. Clenlente in 172(j ordered h\yo lie'" pictures to be
painted, and a fu:ss made outside the chapel to remove
the cause of the dalnp. The altar-piee(! l'epre
ents
S. Dominic in ecsta:s
and
npported b
angels: the
painting on the rig'ht walll'epl'eSeut... the 8aint restor-
ing to life a ßla:o,oll ,vllo had been crushed to death
by the fall of a vault at S. 8isto \T ecchio; and that
on the left ,vall represents the
aint ,,"ol'king a similar
miracle in favour of thp Joung Prince X apoleon Or-
sini. ...\11 these paintings are believed to be the ',"ork
of Sehastian Conca (It)7G-176J).
ø
Chapel of S. Catheri ne,
Virgin and Martyr.
In the left aisle is the Chapel of S. Catherine, -Vir-
gin and )IartJ'r. Catherine 'Ya
a noble lad
of Ale
-
andria ,vho at an early a g e deyotecl hersplf to..! . t
.., a III
to the study of the liberal al'ts. Her learn- eatherine.
ing ,vas Pq naIled on IJT b,v her sall('tit,'
' and so great
,vas her zeal that she even endeavoured to convert
;-)
TIlE B.\
ILI('.-\ of
. CLE.UE:\'TE I
RO:\II<]
the EnlperOl' 3[:lxilllin to the true Faith. The Enl-
perol" astunished :1 t the ,visdoln she displa
Teà, hat!
her arl'estefl, :1nr1 sent for the most learned lnell to
reason ,vith ht'r in the hope of inducing her to ,yor-
ship idols: I nt the ('ontl'ary happened, for the ".isdom
of CatherilH\ who ".as then but eighteen y(\ars old. so
confot1 nrled the lrill'ned Doctors that they all renounced
theiL' errol'S a lid elnbraeed the Faith of Christ. At
this the Elllperol' becalne 80 enraged that he ordered
the In to he put to death. and C'aused Catherine to be
itnprisoned for eleven days ",ithout food or drink.
DUI'Ïng her ilnprisonment, )IaxiInina the wife of the
Elllperor and PorphJTrius the General of the arlllJT vi-
sited hel' and ,verp so conyinced bJ
her teaching that
theJT too believed and sufferedlnart
rclom for the faith.
The Emperor's rage nu,v kne,y no bounds anf! he ordered
Un therine to be tortured on the ,,
heel; but here too
he ,vas foiled, for it n
els caIne and broke into pieces
this in
trulnent of torture. Catherine ,va
finall
con-
demned to dip b.y the
'Yord. Thus she gave up hûr
beautiful soul to God, and her body ,vas borne b
- an-
gels to Jlount Hillai in Arabia nnd there interred.
This chapel ".as painted b
l\Iasaccio (14D:?-144ß).
.L-\nother ehapeL still exbting. that of Pope
ichola..; ,... in
the \Taticnll. ,vas painted about the sanle tillle
Masaccio
and bJ'" an <( .L.\.Ttist Baint >). a DOlninican Friar,
H. .\ngdi\
o. Beato A.llgelieo cIa Fie
ole (lßH7-1453).
THE PH.E
E
T ('HnWH
91
Both al'tiðt'3 had Juueh in eOllllllon until )Ia
a0cio
ei1me to R,(Hne. for both had been brought up in the at--
mospherc of Christian art at Florenee. But ,vhile the dp-
votional feelings of Beato .A.ngelico ,,,ere illten:siiied by
his \'i
it to 1hp Eternal Cit
-. thosp of )Iasaccio deterior-
ated, rOI" fl'oln constantl
"
tudyillg the relnaill
of pa-
gan art in ROHle. he 'vas b
tra
ea into a desire for a
purelJ
Ill,lterial perfection, to wldeh he gave expres..
sion in the cha pel of thp Cannine at Florence afteL>.
hib rf>tUl'll to that eit
.. TIllIS 3Iasaccio nla
. be re-
garded as the Father of th
Rpna:ssance in art; but
Beato Ång:elico Ih'ed and died the faithful exponent
of all tha t 'ya
be
utifLtl in Clu'istiau art. << He mn
t >>,-
says 31ichelangelo. << h 1. ve seen in visio'l the hea--
venly bcenes that came froln his bru
h >>. The tomb of
this great artist is to be seen ill the Basilica of Nanta
3Iaria sopl'a
Iinel'\
a at ROlne. a church ,vhich \Y:llooì
designed b
. hvo other DOlllÎnican artists. Fl'a 8isto
and Fra R,
stOl'O. "Then Jlasaccio, ho\vever, paintetl the
chapel of t;. Catherine he 'Ya
still the christia]
al-tist
a
his \york there proyes, and if it falls short of th:l t of
his great ('ontelnporary at the Vatican, it yet po
sesses-
a perfection of it
own for ,vhich SOlne of his achnirers
,vould rank hiln even higher than the << Àrtist 8aint >>.
Of the particulars of 3Iasaccio's life little more is,
kno,vn than that. as ,r asari tells llS, he ,vas origi nallr
named TOlnlnaso or )Iaso, and that the reproachful
-60 THE HAMLICA OF
. CLEl\lE
TE Hi" IH))IE
accio ,,-as added on al'count of his total neglect of all
the external relation
of life. in his exclu
ivp devotion
to art.
'hough his ,york in the chapel of S. Catherine
has suffered lnuch frolll time and from retouching. yet
it is a pleasure to turn to it and catch
uch gliInpses
of the llHtster lnind and hand as \ve find in the adlnir-
ahle foreshortening of the drooping head of the dying
Saviour and in that he:ld of
. Catherine ,,'hich. for
s\Yeetlle
',,; of expression and beautJ\ could hal'dlJ
be
,slll'pa
sed.
O\
er the entrance to th,"} chapel on the outside is
represented the AJlnUllciation; our Lac1.v at prayer in
an arcade reeehel-, the angers salutatioll. Under the
.arch are painted the Ì\yelve Apostles. On thp "
all be-
hind the altar is the Crucifixion. The pea-
{'rnrifixi 011
cefulland
capp in the hackground repre-
sent
tlH
repos p of that "
orld ,,'hic11 the Creator llleant
for peace. On the left of the Saviour ,,
p see the demon
violentl
dragging a'Ya
the soul of the thief who re-
viled our Lord, while on the righ t an angel receives
that of the repentant one. She to ".hOlll Jllllch had
been fOl',qil'ell because shp loved lllllCh elnbraces the
Cr()
s. beside ,yhich the Beloyed Disciple stands
,yeeping. The s\\'or<1 of SOlTO'V has pierced the heart
,of the Yil'gin-)Iother. and. ,yorn out b
suffering, sht}
faints in the :U'1l1S of the 'YOlllpn
uppor1ing her. The
indivirl(1alit
. of the painter's con('eptioll is strongly
'
. -
....
.
, ,
" '
.,
c - P\ØtN..
.(rot. Alinari),
The Anllulleiation: Ål'changpl Gahrh'l. PLUL\CCIO).
"
r;;AP . II'
.
,
"
(rot. AlinarO,
'flle AJlJllu!.ciatkn: the E. Y. )lm}-. (:\I.A
AC(,IO).
'-
....
.
-
- t,;'
.-
"
-
,
.
)
'-""".r..
'\
..
. I
,
.....
.,.. ',,",
o
:J
<
"fJ.
<
--
...:
Õ
.>:1
....-4
."""
Co)
:.t
o
c;
..::=
;
4'.
"&
0
f ..-
c1 S
6
THE PRESE
T CHrRCH
67
marked in the boy ,,,ith the basket and the group of
four lnen of ,,,hOIl1 onp is pointing to the Cross ,,,hile
the others seem to listen.
On the ,vall to thp left is depicted the lnart
yrdom
of S. Catherine. The Saint in the presence of the Em-
peror disputes ,vith the learned Doctors
MartJrtlom
of of _\Jexandria on the l\lysteries of Reli-
s. (iatberin
gion. She cunyerts them, and the con-
sequence of their conversion is seen in the fierJ
death
tu ,,
hich theJ
are doolned, ,,,hi1e the holy virgin exhorts
them to perseverance. Higher up on the ,vaU she is
been reproving the idolaters; then in another scene
she is conversing from her prison ,vindo,," ,vith the
Empre&s "horn Bhp also convprts. The Elupress, too,
suffers for the Faith ,yhich she has just embraced,
and an angel receives her sou1. Catherine's turn has
ntH" cOlne, and the enraged 3laximin condemns her
to be tortured on the ,,-hee1. hut an angel appears
and breaks that engine, the fraglnents of ,yhich ,vound
the executioners ,,,hne Catherine escape
unhurt. ",... e
next see the Saint kneeling ,vith her neck bared ,,-hne
the axe in the executioner's hand is raised to deal
the deathblo\y to that noble virgin, noble b
birth,
noble by reason of her great inteUect, but noblest in
thp pussession of virtues \vhieh ,yon for her the Inar-
tyrOs crO'''l1. A slnall but ver"r dplicatelr-desiglled fresco
68 THE BA:-,ILICA OF S. CLE)IE
TE IN ROME
sho,ys the angels laJ'Ting her in the tomb on the sum-
mit of Sinai.
The subjects on the opposite side have been deta-
ched from the "
all, put on canvas and replaced. in
order to preserve them from the dalup ,yhich had al-
ready considerably affected them. The one near the
altar represents the inundation of Alexandria as a
punishment for the death of the martyrs ,von to the
faith by S. Catherinp's eloquence. The others refer
to S. Ambrose. In one he is represented as a child
in the cradle: in another he is being proclaimed Bi-
shop: ,,"hile the third shews him on his death-bed.
On the vault are painted the four Evangelists
""ith their emblems, and the four Ductors of thp Church.
The present altar in this chapel ,vas erected
in 1819 by Cardinal Benedict :N aro, Titular of the
church, ,vho ,vas buried at the back of the altar, and
whose body is no,,,, interred under the floor of the
subterranean church, the coffin having been found, like
that of Cardinal Canali, during the excavations.
On the altar is a ver'y s,veet and devotional pic-
ture of the JIadonna by Sa:ssoferrato (1605-1685). John
)Iadunna Baptist Salvi, surnamed Sassoferrato from
b)r the place uf his birth, is bpecially faulous
Sassoferrato for his pictures of the )Iadonna ,y hOlll he
delighted to represent as the simple Hanchnaid of the
..
of
J
. .
I
I
\ .
't , ..
(fot, Brogi),
S. Catherine of AleÅandria di!:-;puting ,,
ith the Doctor
.
pr.A:-jACCIO).
.
..
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(rot. Brogi).
An angel deliyers S. Catherine from torture
at the ,,-hf'el. ()[A
ACCIO).
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(rot. Anderson),
Head of S. Catherine. (
I.-\S.-\CCIO).
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(rot. Bro
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:
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)Iat't
"'Taom of
. Catherine.
Her interment on )Iount Sinai. (:\IASACCIO).
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(rot. nl'()
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The four
Yangelists
.with the fOlll' Doctors of the Church. ()L-\S.-\CCIO).
",,"
,
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CAPACCI
I ROV
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The 3Iadonua (SAS
O}<'ERRATO).
THE PRESE
'T CHrHCH
9f
Lord 1. S,vl"etnes of expression. }uunility. and Inod-
esty, are pOl"traypd untIer a siInple garb. In Sassofer-
rato ,ve eatch the last ra
s of the Christian sehool of
painting. ,yhich. after thp death of HaphaeL began its
declining course uutil it becallle ahnost extinct in thp
vulgarities anò extraxagancies of thp se\Ten
eenth cen-
tlll'J
' \V"- e ha,Te thu -; hrough t togpther in this chapel
hvo artists, one tht:} Pather of the Henaissalu'e, the
other the last exponent of that Chl'istiau art tu ,yhich
the Renaissance spirit pru,-ec1 so fatal.
On tht') pier to the left outside the chappl is a
fresco of B. Christupher ,,'ho suffered }nart
rdonl III
Lycia uJ111er the, ElnpPl'ol' Dacius.
Affixed to thp ,vall ou the rig'ht of thp side en-
trancp to the church is a Inarble slab bearing an
eulogitun to John
\.Ilthony Capisnl
co, Cardinal Titular-
of the church. ,,-ho died in 15{-)
.
In this left aislp is the InOllUlnent all'cadJ'
referred
to as corrpsponding to the oue in the right aisle 2. It
,vas erected in 1874 to the Inelnory of Bartololllew
Count de Basterot and his ,vife. The Count ,vas born
in Dublin, a:ld his 1l1othel'\, U:llne \vas Adelaide
1 Sassofernlto's famous pietlll'e of our Lad,v of the Hos-
ar,v \vith 8. Dominic awl S, Catherine is in the church of
. Sahina.
These two monuments are ('lltiI'(.I,v out of hHl'mOn
with the'
st,rIe of the ehUl'ph.
'92
THE BASiLICA OF :-;. ('LK\IEKTE IX R())TM
Û' Brien. N ea r this 1110nUment bpÍ\yeen hvo pillar
, is a
slab on thp ground to the nlemorJ
of Isabella Crescia
l\lelioris Strozia ,yho died in 1562. On the pier behveen
this aisle and the naye is a slab to Peter Ant. Salve
Fulgenato, an Auditor of the Rota, ,vho died in 1628.
In the Iniddle of the naye is a
epulchral tablet
to Vincentius Laureus, Cardinal Titular of S. Clemente,
,vho died in 1592
and another to his nephe,v Aloysius
Guarneriu
,vho died in 15B5.
On the ,vall to the left of the principal entrance
to the church is a slab containing au inscription which
l"ècords a gift nlnde bJT Gregory. Titular of the church.
.of books of the Old and Xe"
Te
talnents. It runs as
follo'Y8 :
HISR.\.HELITH'r
DU. OFFEREBAT pOPT--r..rs RrRI
ALlrs (lrIDEl\I ACRrl\I. ALlrs :SAJIQL
.\RGEXTrl\I
(ìrID_\)I ('OQrE AES, QrIDA)I YERO PILOS CAPRARLJI
l
FELIX ArTEJI EGO GREOORlrH PRDrrs P BR, AL)L-\E
8EDl
APO
TOLICAE HrJrSQTr: TTTTLJ GEREXS
('rRAJI AC HEATI, SrPRE)lrS Cl
IE:SS CLE)IEXTIS
OFFERO DE TrIS, HAE(' TIEl XPE THESACRIR
'TE)IPOnIRr
-8l"H
H ZA('CH.\RIAE PRAEsrLIS
l
DII
PER JIARTYRE)I ET SAJ.
CTl
I. PAR'
A l\IlSrS('LD.\ TrF)I
CLE)IEXTEl\l cr.Irs l\lERITIS )IEREAR DELIl'TIH ('.-\..RERE
ATQl
.\.D BEA'fA)I AETERSA)I IXGREnI YITAJI.
AI
T] QU .\XTFJI HABE
, REGNIDI YALET COEI
ORT
1.
SrS('IPE HOS DOl\llKE, YELUT Ju:srTA YIDrAE QrAE
O,
YETERIS
OY H
rE TE
'I' .UIE
TORrn DEXIQrE LIBRO
.()(JTATErf'HrJI. REOrl\I. PtL-\LTERlú
1. AC PROFET.\Rl
l
SALOJIO-XE
I. E
nRA)I. HTtTORIARUJI ILLH'O PLEXOS,
REQrIRE HYLLABARrl\1. LE('TOH 8EQlr:
'I'L\)r H.\Rr}I.
'he la
t line is engraven on a different qualit
.of Inarble ,yhich she,ys that th(ì inseriptioll is incom-
(rot. Brogi).
--
I I
'.
I
I'
A. ,
S Christupher,
"-è .
THI<
Pla:HE
T CHl'RUH
9:>
plete. The nalne of Pope
. Zacchar,'. 1 enables us to
fix thp
ighth c
ntnrJ" as the date of the inscription.
as he reigned frolll 741 to 7j
2.
On thp upposit
,vall is a luarhle slab containing
part of
. Gregory tlIp Greafs hOluilr on
. Servulus.
",.. e give it here:
IX EA PORTICU QUAE ET;XTIBL"8 AD ECCLESIA)"[
BEATI CLEl\[E:XTIS EST PERVIA, FUIT QUIDA":\I SER-
'-ULU
.NO)lIXE, QUE)I
lULTI YESTRU:\J )[EC1 T )1 KO-
'-ERUNT REBL"f:5 P. UPER. )IERITIS DfVES, QUE)[
LOSGA AEGRITUDODISSOL''''ERAT.NA)IA PRL\IAE''''A
AETATE US(
TTE
\D FIXE:\l '-ITA E PARALITICUS J A-
CEBA T . . . HUIC AD SER\"'IEXnU)l
IATER CU:\l FHA-
TRE ...-\DERA T ET Q1 T IDQ1 T ID EX ELEEl\[OSYX A PO-
TUIS8ET AC'CI1->ERE, HOC EORU:\I l\l
\
IBUS PAUPE-
RIBUS ER()G
-\BAT. NEQUAQUA
I LITER.AS XO-VER
T,
SED 8C'RIPTURAE SACHAE SIBI:\IET CODICES E:\rERA T.
ET RELIGIOSU
QUÙ
QDE IX HOSPITALITATE)I SU.
SCIPIEXS HOS CORA:\I HE LEGERE SI
E IXTER:\IIS-
SIOXE FACIEBAT. FACTU1\IQUE EST UT, QUASTU)l AD
)IE1'SlTI
Å)I PROPRIAl\I PLEXE SA CRA)I SCRIPTURA_)1
DISCERET, CU1\I, SICUT DIXI. LITERAS FUXDITL"S
IG
OR
-tRET ST1TDEBAT IN DOLORE SE:\lPER GRATl
-\S
AGERE HY1\IXIS DEO ET LA1- T DIBrS DIEBUS ET KOC-
TIBUS -Y ACARE. SED CU:\! J A)l TE:\IPUS ESSET UT
TANTA EJUS P ATIENTIA RE)IUSERARI DEBUISSET,
)IE:\IBRORU:\l DOLOR AD VITALIA REDIIT. CU:\IQUE
SE .TA
l l\IORTI PROXI)IU:\l
GXO-YIT, PEREGRIXOB
\-IROS A TQT;E IX HOSPITALIT...
TE)I SUSCPTOS A D)IO-
1 C'fr. Bartolini. Di S. Zaccaria Papa, Ratisllo}Ja; 187H. p. :261.
2.The sIal, hearing th;
inscription ",,
as fonnù b;r chance
in the conrse of a restoration nlade b;y Cardinal Albani, Titu-
lar of the Church. in
727 (See Libel" }'ollti[., Bianchini's Ed.).
96
THE BASILICA OP
. CLE)IENTE I
R(nIE
:STTIT UT STTRGEREXT. ET CU)l EO PSAL)IOS PRO EX.
PECTATIONE EXIT-cS SUI DECANTARENT. CU}IQUE
EIS ET IPSE 1IORIENS PS.ALLERET VOCES PSALLEN-
TIU:\I REPE
TE CO)lPESCUIT CU:\! TERRORE l\IAGNI
CLA:\IORIS DICE
S: TACETE. NU:\IQUID NO
AUDITIS,
QU_
NT
E RESO
-\:NT LAUDES IN COELO? CUl\IQUE
AD E
SDE)ILAlTDESQUAS INTUSAUDIERAT, AURE}I
CORDIS I.NTENDERET, SA
CT_A ILLA A:YI)IA A CARNE
80LUTA EST.
(s. (;'REGOR. LIB. I. )IOR. HOM. XV. N. V.) 1
This homily serves for the lessons of the Second
tI
N octurn of the feast of S. Servulus. celebrated at S. Cle-
mente on the
3ra. of December. The folltHying is a
translation of the part given above:
In tile porch at the ell trance of S. Clemellt"s chllrch. Ser-
mlla.-;, Itltom J, and mall.lJ of YOll too. knell', passed his da.1J s .
He If{tS poor ill this Ifor/d's wealth. bllt rich ill Itearenl,l/ treaSll-
res. he If{tS para
lJsed {rom !tis infancy alld Irllatever Ite cOlild
get ill tlte lI'a,l/ of alms he distributed to tile poor bI! tlte hands of
hi.ç mother alld brother Idw attended him. He had had no edllca-
tiOll. bllt he had bOll.qltl tile books of tlte Sacred Scriptures and
had them contÍllllali,l! read to lIim b.1J piolls persolls to IdlOJIl he
l/ave llOspitalit.lJ. Aud tlllls il came abollt tltat tllO , IIlJh as f lla
'e
said. altogether Itit/lOllt educatioll, Ite .lJet acquired a deep kl101rledge
of Holy Scripture, accordÙllJ, of cOllrse. to !tis capacit.lJ. fll /tis 811f-
{eril1.fJ s he lIever ceased, either da.1J or niglzt, to l/Ù'e t/tanks to God
and :
Ùll} His praises. Bilt l('hell the timp arrÙ'ed for him to re-
cPÙ'e tlie relNtrd of liis patience, tlte paral.1Jsis spread from /tis
limbs to his filal oq}alls. And Il'Ilell Ite tllliS perceÍl'ed tltat lie ll'aS
near deatlt Ite (t!'
kerl tlte pil.qrillls and those IdIOm he /tad lodgillg
1 The reference shoulù. we believe, be as follo'v
:
s. r;regor. Hom. X V. ill EVGllg.
THE PRESENT CHURCH
97
Irilll him. to arise aud siug Psalms Ifilll him ill preparation for
his departllre. A1ld as the dyillg man salll1 u'itll them Ite sllddenly
i1lterrupted tltelJl sa,1Jing. ill imperiolls tOiles: Hllsh! Do YOIi /lot
Ileal' tile melodies of tlte "earellly choir? .And Idulst !tis !teart tllllS
stroc'e to catch those straills of praise Il'fzicll he Itad ileaI'd, Ite
e,\'pired.
O'
er the prilleipal door of the church, in
ide, is
the follo\villg inscription record
llg the restoration
nladp by Clenlent XI in 1713:
AKTIQUISSI)IA)f H
\:XC ECCLESIA)I
QU...\E PEXE
()LA
-\E-VI DA)IXI8 IXVICTA
PRISC_<\ RTT)I unnIR B
\SILIC AR {T:\I
_FOR:\IA)I ADHUC SER'T
\T
EO IP
O IX LOC() AEDIFICAT
\)I
AC IX TITUL 1T)[ R. R. E. PRESB. CA RD. ERECTA)l
UBI S. CLE)IEXTIS P
\PAE ET )lART, P ATERXA DO:\IU8
FTTISSE CREDITUR
\ SAKCTO GHEGORIO )IAGXO
GE)IIXI
HIC HABITIS HO)[ILIIS
ET 8ACRA QUADRAGESI)IALI ST_-\TIOXE
CO:XDECORA T A:\f
CLE:\lEXS XI. POXT. }[AX.
IPSO A
XI""'ERSA RIAE CELEBRITATIS
EJ-cSDE1[ S. CLE)lEKTIS DIE
AD CATHOLIC
\E ECCLESIAE REGI)IEN ASSUl\IPTUS
IX ARGU)IEXT1T)[ PRAECIPUI IX EU1\l CULTUS
I
STA UR
\ 'TIT OR
A \TITQUE
\XXO SALBTIS )IDCCX'.... PO
TIF. XV.
The folIo,,-ing i:s a tra.nslation uf the above inscription:
Tltis fer,1J alldent church, almost the ollly one that. llnchanged
by tile rarages of time. still preserDe,.. tile form of the old basilicas
ill tltis City,. built llpOIl tlte ver.11 spot Il'leerr tlte paterllal Itollse
of s. Clement. Pope alld JIal'tyl' is belierrd to flare stood, and
8
98
THE BASILICA OJ<' S. CLK\IENTE IN RÛ)IE
gllïlllJ a Title to a Cardillal Priest of tlte Hol.lJ Romall Ch1lrl'II,-
hOlloured b.1J S. Gre.qor,1J tlte Great Idtll tlfO homilies lrlliell Ite deli-
cered I'ere: alld by the 1101.'1 Statioll of Lutf - the Supreme Po II tiff
Clemellt Xf., elected to ,qore/'Il tlte Catholic Church 011 the rer,lJ ff-
ast of tlte same s. Clemcllt, ill tokell of Itis particular defotiofl
to him, restorer! alld orllameltfed ill tlte .rlear of saltation 1 ï 1.5. tlip
fifteelltll of Ilis POlllt/ieate. 1
The re:;toration and ornalnentation referred to
are not, it must be regretted, ill keeping ,,'Hh the stJ
le
of the church
but ,vhat is especially to be laluented
is the substitution of the heavy car\Ted flat ceiling for
the simple open timber roof 2 such as "-e see today
in the ehurch of S. Sabina. The stucco ornalllents
over the arches of the nave as ,veIl as the fres
oes
on the clere
to
'JT ,valls and o\
er the principal door
also form part. of this restoration. "... e give the frp-
scoes in the foll(HvinO' order 3.
o
On the ,,-all over the principal door are the figur-
es of SSe C
ril and )Iethodius. S. OJTil on the right
of the entrance and S.
lethodius on the SSe C)Til
left. Both are d.>essed in episcopal robes; allt]
)[t-'t II. f)tIi II s.
both ,veal' the Greek Palliulu. and hold in
1 This inscription sho,,'s that Pope ClelllPnt XI. in common
"'yith others, regarded the npper chnrch as the ancient one;
-which ürroneous opinion. as "
e IHlye already stated, }-'r. 3Iul-
lool
r cOlTect-ðd hJ
his discoyerJ.
The old open J'oof ,york tsee page U91
till exi
ts a ho,-e
the heav;r coffered ceilill
. Tllt'rc are also some frescol>s at
the gahle end above the apse.
3 }"'or a pictorial illustration of thes.} frcscoes
e(> << Thc Basi-
lica of 8. Clemente in Rome, illw;;trated. )} (8, Clemente - 1 fl'ane),
"\
".
\...
"
"
iæ
-
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Basilica of
. Clmllente before 1713.
. li:ONO'" -
:--.--.-,
THE PRE:-;"
XT CHI'RCH
101
their hands the Greek Orozier. These are the ".ork
of Pietro Rasina.
The first -Fresco on the clerestory ,valL to the riO'ht
Jj v b
of the principal entrance, repre
ents the death of S. Ser-
yulus. b
" Ohiari (1634-1729), a Roman ar- Death
tist and pupil of Oarlo 3Iaratta. The 8aint of
is represented sittiTIg on a pallet li
tening s. S(l)"Tnlns.
to a luan ,,'ho is reading the Scripture
, a pilgriIll
kneels before hhn. and t,vo other lnen stand 100kinO'
at hiIn; his aged lllother lean
on her staff. and an
angel i
distributing bread to the poor.
The seeund fresco. bJ- Piastrini. represents the EU1-
peror rrrajan sentencing S. Ignatius to
So Igna ills
be sent to ROlne to be de, oured by ,yild !S(lutt-'11 CNI
beast::; for the entertainment of the people, to d(lath.
in the Ooliseum. T,yo
oldiers ho1d his riuht hand
b
,vhile the left is }Jointed heaven".ards.
The third fresco by Giacomo Triga represents the
hvo )IadJ
r Bishops, S. Ignatius and S. Pu- Del)artur(l
lvcarp the disciple of
. John, embracing
I of t .
v .:". gna IUS
each other. ,yhile the rude soldiers endea- for Rome.
your to hurr.'
a,va.v 8. Ignatiu
. ,yho is in chains, to the
ship in thp bac:kground. In front of a building, behind
the saints, is a group of lnen and "'Olnen, SOlne of
,,,horn are engaged in conversatioll. The cOlnpositioll
of this picture is very g'uod and it is tastefull
exe-
cuted.
102 THE BASILICA UP s. CLE:\IE
TE I
UO)IE
The fourth and last. fresco on this side, b
. Pier-
leone Ghezzi (1674-1753), gives the closing scene of
the holy Bishop's lif
. 8. I
natius longed to land at
)[artfr(lom Pozzuoli on the spot hallo\ved b
the
of footprints of S. Paul; but. as ,ye are told,
s. Ignatius 1 d I h . O . H
a strong ga e rove tIe s Ip to st1a. e
reaehed Rome on thp last da
-s of the games. and
,vas presented, \vith the Elnperor"s letter, to the Pre-
fect. He \vas inlmediately taken to the Flavian ...\In-
phitheatre or Oolh;eulll, ,vhere four lions ,yere let loose
upon him, and instantly all that remained of that he-
roic servant of God \vere the larg'er bones, ".hich
arp now yenerated undpr the High
\ltar in the ehurch
of S. Clement.
..:\Jl the frescoes on thp clerestory ,vall to the left
refer to S. Clelllent.
s. Clenwnt The fir
t represents the Saint giving
and .,'la"fia the yeil to Flavia DOlllitilla ,yho is kneel-
))omitilla.
ing before him. This is the ,vork of Pie-
tri Pietl'o (1 665-'?).
The :;econd by Sebastian Oonca (1676-1764) repre-
sents S. Clement cau
ing ,vater to gush from a rock
during his exile in the Orimea ,,,here he ,vas condeluned
to labour in the marble quarries. The miracle is re-
corded in the first Responsory of the Office of the
Saint as follo,vs: (( At the pra
er of S. Cle- JIira('le
ment there appeared to hÜn the Lanlb of of
G ;] f ..::J "'"'T l f I .. f S. Clellwnt.
-rOu, 'roIll unller H lose eet a 1 vlng oun-
THE PRESE
T CHCRCH
103
tain flo\vs, the gushing of the stream lllakes glad the
CitJ
of God. I sa,v upon the mountain the Lalllb
btandinO' >>.
b
The third fresco represent:s the martyrdolll of
S. Clement. The Pope is seen on a precipice over the
ea ,vith an anchor fastened to his neck. Mart)T(lom
T,vo men are holding it ,vhile an officer of
cOllllnands the soldiers to hurl Clement S. Clenlt'ut.
into the "
aves. An angel appears above bearing a
palm branch. This picture is believed to be the ,york
of Gio'Tanni Odazzi (1663-1731).
Thp last fresco represents the translation of the
relics of S. Clement. The Saint is laid on the bier in
hi:s pontifical robes. At his head are two
torch-bearers, ,vhile the Pope and his at-
tendants
tand at his feet; above, angels
are hoyering in the air. Odazzi is also
the painter of thi
picture 1.
All the frescoes described are tolerably fair spe-
cimens of that feeble, mechanical, and conventional,
school of \vhich Carlo )Iara tta "'.vas the chief.
On the ceiling of the left aisle Pietro Rasina has
represented the Coronation of the Blessed -Virgin: ,vhile
Translation
of
s. CI
ment's
reli cs.
1 'Ye differ from Fr. l\lullooly ,yith regard to the painters
of !'1.ome of these frescoes. basing our reason for so doing on
a nlanuscript on the subject seen by us in the Vatican Library,
Code.\: rat., n. 8633. pp. -17>-6 b .
10! TH
BASILICA OF R. CLE)[EXTE IX ROl\IE
Pictllre
on that of the right ai
le the saIne artist
has depicted the Glory of S.
ervulu&.
X either of these pictures is deserving of
much prai
e. On the ceiling uf the nave is a good
picture b.r Chiari representing the << Apotheosis )) or
Glory of S. Clelnent. Thp fureshortening of this paint-
ing' is adulirable, the probleul of representing' on a
horizontal snrfacfl a person in the act of ascending
or llluving :uIHvards perpendicularly, is solved in a
nlasterlv manner.
t.-
011
Ceiling
The ,valls of the chul'ch "\vere covered ,vith fres-
coes before the resturation Blade bJ" Pope CleUlent Xl.
in 1713
but the pictures had at that tÏ1ne becoll1e
so llluch dalnaged that the subjects of thenl could onl
r
be recoO'nised ,vith O'reat difficulty: they ,vere con-
o 0 t.- t.-
sequently condenlned to destruction, the unl.r ones
thai. escaped being those of Isaias and J erelnias over
the entrance to the Blessed SaCl'alnent Chapel, the
frescoes oyer the Episcopal throne in the apse, and
thu:se on thp
ablf\ end aboyp the prpsent flat ceiling.
It ,yould appear that these frescoes ,vere painted about
the year 1400, fur, according to Rondinini (170ß, p. 31ß),
there existed beneath SOllIe of the pictures in the right
aisle the follo,ying inscription: << Si vis pietol'is no-
men cugnoseere lector, de ,r etere IT rhe 1 J u vellalis est
1 The prCSl'nt Urvieto.
TIn] I'RESEXT ('Hlï
CH
10;)
nOillell ejus >>. << If
Y()U ,,'ish. rpader. to lino,,' the nallle
of the painter, Giovenale of the Old Citr is his Halue >>.
This is the S:l1ue Giovenale ,vho painted the frescoes
in the apse. and ,vho, according to )Iillinus, lived
about thp
?ear 1400. The loss of these frescoes. indi-
stinct as theJ ,vere, lHust be regretted no less than
thp other changes Inado at this period: and the artist
and archaeologbt of toàaJ ,volùd cel'tainlJ r prefer to
see upon the walls ø,en a fragment of fresco than a
coat of ,vhite-,vash 1.
"or e have no,v finished the upper church. To de-
scend to the subterranean hasilica ,ve pass through
the atrium of the
acrist
? ,,,here are to be seen plans
of the different strata of buildings here and of their
relations to one another. There are also copies of all
the fres('oes in the lo,ver chnr('h, a coloured plan of
the 3Iithraic Telnple, and a representation of the vault-
ing and Ornalllf'ntation of the :stuccoed Oratorr of
S. Clelnent, as ,veIl as a lnarble bust of Fr. Joseph
IullooIJ". O. P.. who disl"overed and exca yated the
subterranean church.
1 For it dpscription of the frescoes ,,-hich have lJl'en coyer-
ed oyer or destroJ
ed see Code.\: rat. malll/script 110. .9023, in
,-r atican Lihrary.
#
SECO
D PART
THE SUBTERRANEAN BASILICÀ
FrOIH the atrium of the SacristJ
a wide and
,veIl-constructed :stair\vay of Ì\venty-t,vo steps, made
in 18öö of .A.lban peperillo. leads to the Subterranean
basilica. The first ohject that attracts the attention
of th
visitor as he descends is the follo\ving inscrip-
tion on a marble slab:
P
TER
.AS AEDES - -4
. D. CLEXENTE .APU
.
TOLORU
I PRIXCIPIS DISCIP1JLO ET SUC-
CESSORI - SACRA RELIGIOXIS CULTUI DE-
Y()T
S-PETRI. PAULI. BARN
B
-\E, APOSTOL-
ORU)I PRECIBUS; BIXIS GREGORII )IAG
I
COXCIOXIBL"S; ET DEBELLA:ND.
E PELA-
GI
X.AE HAERESI 8. ZUSL\II PO:NT. COX.
CILlO CELEBRES: ''''EXERAXDIS L YP
.ANIS
SAXCT< )R1T)I - CLE)[ENTIS PU:NT. FLA VII
CLE)IEXTIS VIRI COKS. IG:NATII -4
TIO.
CHI 31. )1. - SER'
LLI C. KECXOX CYRILLI ET
108 THE BASILICA 01-'
. ('LE)IE
TE IX RO)[E
JIETHOnII 8L...
''''ORUJI Apn
T. DJTA TAS -
TEJIPORU::\I LXC1TRIA Lü
Gn SAEC1TLOR1 T )I
TR
CTU IG:XOTAS - FR. JOSEPH )I1TLLOOL'
ORD. PRAED. PROV"INCIAE HIRERXIAE -
HUJUS COE:XOBJI PRAESER - FEI
ICITER
DETEXIT JIENSE SEPT. JIDCCCLY"II - .L-\G-
GEST.L-\
)IACERIES REJICfVERE IXSTITUIT-
SAC'RAE ARCHAEOLOGI...-\E COETUS RE)l
ALI(
UA)lDIU COXTIXUA V"IT - RELICTAJI
PRAESES RESU
IPSIT PER}-'ECIT. SCALA
AD HYPOGEU
1 COXDIDIT - ARC-CS ET
FORNICES t;USTI:XEXD
\E SUPERIORI BASI-
LICAE EREXIT - PECUXIA AD TANT1J)l
OPUS CO
L...
TA - A PIO IX POXT. OPT.
Jl...
X. - ET JIUXIFICIS U:NIV"ER
I ()RBIS
LARGITORIBUS.
PIUS IX PONTIFEX OPTIJIlT
)IAXIJIU
-
H
-\KC DIVI CLEJIEXTI
JIEJIORIAJI - KüX
RIXE DEl XUl\I1XE IX''''EXTAJI - (
lT ATER
IKVISIT.
AN. DO:\I. )IDC('('LXYIIr.
The follo\"ing is a transla tion of the a bove in-
scription:
Tlte paterllal residellce of s. Clemellt tlte disciple alld SllC-
{:essor of tlte Prillce of tllp Apostles. dedicated hll himself to tlte
.serrice of fl-od, IlOllolired b.1J tlte pra!Jers of tlte Apostles Peter,
Paul, alld Barllabas, hll lil'O homilies of s. r;re.qor.1l tile Great,
by tlte COllllcil held b.1J Pope S. Zosimlls to combat tlte Pela-
giall heresy, e1lriched b.1J tlte relics of Saillts Clem ell t, Pope,-
Flarills Clemells, of COllsular rallk: 1.qllatills of Alltioch: JIar-
t.'lrs.. Sernllrls, COllf' 8sor.. Cyril alld JIetllO dill S. ...lpostle.o.: of tlte
Sial's - Bllt ill COl1rse of time Ile.qlected.. lllld 1lI1k1l0ll'1l fOl" mallll
celltllries. IUlS fortllllatel.1J discorered ill September 18.jÎ b.1J Fa-
ther Joseplt JIllllool.1J O. P., a member of tlte Irish Pro rill ce. He
he.qftll the Ifork of e.\'cal'atioll. The COlllmissioll of Sacred Arc/weo-
THE SLBTERRANE.A
BASILICA
109
10.fJ!/ cOlltillued it for a tilJll'. He resumed alld completed it. He'
cOllstructed the stairs leadill.f/ to the subterranean c/lllrclt, a1ld
tlle pil'rs alld arc/ll'S wltich support the Tipper one. The e.\'jJellses-
lrere defra!/cd by a sllbsid.'1 to fllP .f/reat ll'ork
granted b!/ Pope
PÙIS fX" alld b!/ sTibscriptiolls receivcd from all parts of tlte
lforld.
The JIemorial of S. Clement, fOlllld, not Ifit/lOllt Dirille Í/lspi-
ratioll. ll'aS fOllr times cisited b.'1 Pope PillS Lt.
186R Á. D.
On the ,valls to the right and left of the stairs
are fraglnellts of inscriptions in the \yell-kno,vll Dama-
sene character 1. Those on the right ,vall namasel1e
are so few and disconnected that their nlean- IJl
cril)tiollS.
ing cannot be ascertained. The
'" seem to belong to
three different metrical lines, and De Rossi thought
that at least one of them formed a part of some he-
xalneter verses composed b
S. Danu\su8 in honour
of S. Clement. Those on the left ,vall, ho,vever, have
not baffled the extraordinary genius of that renowned
archaeologist who has supplied in italics the letters
1 8peaking of another inscription by Pope Danlasus - that
on the tomb of Pope S. Corneliub, the nUlrtyr - Cardinal
'Yiseman (<< Fabiola >>, p. 153) says: << Ho\v is this authorship
traceable? ,'" ery easil
r. Not only do 1ve kno\v that this holy
Pope (Pope g, Damasus) took pleasure in putting verses,
\vhich he loved to \vrite, on the tombs of martyrs, but the
number of inscriptions of his yet extant exhibit a particular
and very elegant fmom of letters. kno\vn among antiquarians
b;y the nallIe of << Damasian >>. >>
110 THE BASILICA 01" S. CLE)IEXTE IX RO)[J'J
that are "
anting. The restored inscription runs as
follo,vs:
Salro SIRif'Ío epIRCopo ECCLesiae saJldae G. A.
PRÂeSBYTER sal/do )l
.tRT-YRi c1emel/ti hOC
CO/llit dedicatlllJl 1.
The pieces of lnarble containing th e letters in Da-
masene character ,vere found in various part
of the
upper and lo,yer (-hurches; but the inscription, indi-
cated bJ" their being arranged in one line, sho\vs that
the
r must have originall
" stood side by side, proba b-
ly on a screen similar to that which surrounds the
.choir in the upper church. No,v, EpiscOPllS Ecclesiae
Sanctae 2 can be used only of a Pope, and the only
Pope in ear1r times in ,vhose name the sJ
nable SIR
occurs is Siricius; thus \ve have in them a record of
some restoration or addition made in the ancient ba-
silica by Pope S. Siricius \vho governed the church
from 384 to 398; the church having been built. if not
in the tinle of Constantine as is generallJT belieyed,
at least early in the fourth century. for
. J erOlne,
the SecretarJ
of Pope S. Dalllasus. lnentious it as
having already existed .,Olne tÍIn e before his daJP:
1 See De Rossi - << Bullettino di Archeologia Cristiana ..
e-
condit Serie (1870-5) I. p. 1.,1.7.
2 The Pope adùs to his name -when signing the acts of a
General Council EpiscO]JllS Ecclesiae CatlLO/icae, as being Uni-
versal Bishop.
THE Hl"RTERRAXEAX RAHILlC.-\
111
<< K o lllin is ejus (S. Ulelnentis) meulorialn usque hodie
ROlnae exstructa ecclesia custodit )). B. J erOlne wrote
thus about the year 3
)2.
On a Inarble bracket at the foot of the stairs is a
mutilated statu(\ of S. Peter as the <<Good Shepherd )),
,vhich ,vas found in the old OratorJ
or Do- Statue
1Jliniclllll of :s. Clelnent durinO' the eXcaya- of S. P
t{1r.
tions. Such a statue seems to he not only rare but
uniqup either in ROlne or out of
it, for though bas-reliefs repre-
senting S. Peter in the qualitJ
of
Pastor Bonll:': or Good Shepherd
ha ,e been found in the catacolnbs
and on :sarcuphagi, so far as ,ye
are a,vare, no other statue bas
pver been discovered. The crispy
b air and beard and furro,yed
cheeks, so ,veJl kno"'n to archaeo-
logists as characteristic of
. Peter,
leave no doubt as to ,yhom it
represents. A facsimile of this
sta tue, as it ,vas when ,vhole,
stands on anuther bracket. Behveen both are hvo
plaster casts of the marble pillars referred to ,vhen
treating uf the upper church. ,vith the nalne of Car-
dinal )lercul'ius carved on the capital of one of them.
Over these. fixed into the ,vall, is a cast of the beam
rrTR\S
P.\5IDR'eON\ S
112 THE BASILICA OF S. CLEJIE
T}1} I
ROJIE
in the choir of the upper church bearing the name
of the
ame Cardinall\Iercurius. On the lauding at the
foot of the stairs is a plaster cast of th
pagan altar
",
.
4\..
,
"t
..
.'j _'-1' _\
Ir<.
,.. '.
.
.
.- \
'.}
"
CAPACCINI ROW.
Statue of )[ithras.
in the JIithraic Temple; on a bracket in the corner is
a statue of the pagan deity, )Iithras, reprpsented L'ising
from a rock Dells ex petra. This statue is t'Yent
y-five
inches high and represents the deity frolll the knees
THE :o;CRTElnL\
EA
RA:O;ILICA
113
uIHvard:s elnel'ging from a rock and ,vearing a Phrygian
cap. Xear it i
the marble bust of the Sun-god. Both
pieces of sculpture "
ere found in the Temple of )Iithras;
-..
.-
-
"
C/l.P" nùM:"
rot. .\linari
Bnst of the Snn-god.
and to the telnple of )Iithraci. no,v happil
- delivered
from the ,va ters ,vhich for forty )-rears had inundated
it, these inter'esting; pieces of sculpture arp no,Y about
to be restor
d.
9
114 THE BASILICA 01.... s. CLEJIEKTE IK RO
lE
From this landing ,ve descend by five steps to the
Xarthex. On the wall to the right Ht the foot of this
stair is the slab with the sepulchral inscT"iption of the
eleventh century ,vhich ,vas found over a gTave in
the narthex near the entrance to the nave. The in-
scription runs thus:
SUBTUS HAC TERHA NRA SEPULTA SUXT
)IEBRA - NEPTIS CU
I AY"A DULHCI Z...-\-
EPE v"'OCATA - PETRUS ET DARIA BIOLA
SI)lULQ. )IARIULA - CU)l HIS QUIB. AD-
JUNCTIS ALlIS TRIB. - I
AL. l\LAD. vB
DUL HC. TEP. GREG . -VI. PP. IXD. IIIIX -
AXN. J. NIKL. pp, OB o . }HARIA . . . . . .
IND. IIIX - 1\1.
EBT. D. X'
Il I.
Ollr remains lie belleath t/tis ,.;pot Zal/epe ll'lt/t Iter .qralld-
motller Dlllltci, Peter alld Daria, Biola, alld little J1arll l['iUl
IdIOm t/tree others are buried. DIll/lcÎ died Oil tile 1st of JIa.1J Ù,
the re
ql1 of are.qor.1J 1'1., iI/diction 1 tlie ,çi.\'tll. JIar/1 died ill the
first !Iear of tlzr re(qll of Pope ...Viclwlas, indictioJl tlte serelltlt.
thr 1RfJl of September.
'Ve are now in one of the first Christian Basilicas
constrllctpd in ROlnp, and the oldest in existence. The
Greek ,yord B
crtÀtx
in its Latin forln, Basilica, means
a royal hall or placp of justice. Tire R.olllans took the
idea of a <( basilica>> fronl the Greeks. and the first
to appear in th(, Oity of the Caesars ,Y:lS constructed
in
\. u. C. :)ß
by Cato the Elder (Jlarclls Portills)
1 ..An indiction is a cycle of fifteen
ear
.
THE S"GBTERRANEAN BASILICA
113
and hence called the Portian Basilica 1 . The Basilica
Julia, the remains of ,vhich are still to be seen in the
Roman Foruln, ,vas built bJ Julius Caesar under the
direction of 'Titruvius and ,vas used not only for tr.ying
cases-at-Iaw, but also for the reception and audience
of foreign ...\.lnbassadors. It ,vas supported bJT one hund-
red lnarble colulnns in four ro\vs and enriched ,vith
decorations of gold and precious stones. Pagan Rome
possessed manJ
other great basilicas. In Ecclesiastical
parlance thp word is elnploJTed to denote a church of
great magnificence. and in such a sense S. J erOlne.
s. ...\Jnbrose.
. Augustine, and other early \vriters use
it. The Christian basilica \vas, it is no"T believed, con-
structed after the style of a Roman house rather than
OJ
after that of a civil basilica. Recent discoveries show
that the R,olnan house had a vestibule or atrium with
a fountain ill the centre; a peristJ
le or portico, sup-
ported by columns; a tablinllnl or reception hall; and,
at each side of the tablilul1Jl. a passage leading to the
garden 2. K o,v this is the general disposition of a Con-
stantinian basilica. The visitor entered through a court-
J.ard or atrium having a fountain in the centre, then a
portico or narthex supported bJ columns, and finally pas-
1 It ,vas situated in the neighbonrhood of the Curia. ROIuan
Forum. anù near ,vhere the
rch of Septimills Severus no,v
stands.
;2 See Prof. )Iarucchi. Basiliqlles et Eglises de Rome, p. 17.
A. Entrance to the Subterranean Basilica.
B. :x arthex.
D. Xorth aisle,
C. :x ave.
E. South aisle.
FF. Site of marble enclosure of ancient choir.
G-GG. Apse of subterranean Basilica.
H, Tomb of S. ()Tril according to De RO!'si.
II. Passage leading to the walls of the Imperial
and Republican or Kingl;y Periods,
a. Altar.
bhb. Modern pilasters from which spring vaults
supporting the paY"ement of present church.
1. Fresco of the Last Juclgment - The Damned (?).
2. Siche of the )Iadonna.
. The l
ast .Judgment - The Elect (1),
J. )lutilated figure of Our Saviour.
5. Crucifixion of S. Peter etc.
6. Baptism by immersion.
,. :Seenes from the DiaZo.flues of S. Gregor)
.
8. Installation of S. Clement b
T R. Petpr.
. Clement celebrating Mass, Sisinius.
9, 10. S. Antoninus. Daniel in the lions' den.
11. Life, death, and recognition of S, Alexius.
12, 13. S. Giles. S, Blase.
U. S. Prosper.
1:'). The Crucifixion.
16. The hol)T women at the Sepulchre, descent
into Limho, and marriage feast at ('ana.
17. Assumption of the B, V. ::\Jary.
18. Translation of S. Clement's ReliC's,
19. Shrine of S. Clement in the Sea.
20. Our Saviour, Archangels, and Saints.
21, 22, Heads of unknown personages.
23. The descent into Limbo.
/
\
[f",
.
,
f:1 '0 r
0
:;;: == -=-=-- ----z -
-:: - -
- 1 --
r---
1
1
tt
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(;:... L-')l-
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)
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c- :-
,)
I'(I
I.
('1
; 0: - ()
':c
:.1 <) fi
- ;t Q
,
\
Y "'
"o
:o-:.j EjJ- -q; c
t:J
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rcr.
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L;
lJ
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i
'-'
9-J-1C
""
I
1')- --..; 'l1
. B
íl
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r"Jn"
t
!.;.L \:Ii.
.
E
"-+--
3"
-::"1
;:
D
5
-
'1:
"yaU.... of ancient
Ba!iiilica.
"\Yails supporting
upper church.
(U
o ('j
:1\Iodern
pila
ter:,..
Ground Plan of the Subterranean Basilica.
THE SLBTERI{A
EA
BASILICA
119
::,ed into the hasilica itself 1. This ,vas simple and grand;
in forlTI it ,va
an oblong consisting of a nave separated
froln an aisle at either side bv a row of cululnns from
II
,vhich, in many instances, sprang arches to support
the \valls that sustained the roof. ..At the extreme end,
opposite the door. ,vas an apse \vith the altar, and a
Presb!/terill/JI 01' place for the priests. To this descrip-
tion the ancient basilica of B. Clelnente exactly cor-
ti
responded, and sueh is the forlll -which it retains today
after an existeu('e of nearlJ sixteen centuries. TiIne and
eirCUlllstances have. ho,vever, so!ue,vhat encumbered
and cOluplicated that form by the addition of pieces
of masonry the origin and us
of \vhich we shall. as
far as ,ve can, explain as ,ve proceed.
The X arthex or porch ,va..; allotted to the Catechu-
lnens and penitents ,vho. in the earlJT histot,y of the
Church, ,vere pernlitted to ab:sist. at the
Xartlwx.
Diyine services, but outside the basilica
proper. The catechulnens occupied the extremities.\yhile
the centre \vas r
served for the penitents. It ,vas in
the narthex of 8. Clf-Hnente, not however in the garb
either of eatechurnen or of penitent, that the beggar,
Saint Seryulus, passed his life: th'lt hUlnble servant
of God ,vhonl Pope S. Gregory the Great (590-604)
honoured bJT preaching the panegyric or hOlnily, part
1
ee }->lan of present hasilica. page l3.
120 THfiJ BASILiCA OF S. CLE:\lEXTE IX RO:\IE
of which \ve have alreadJ" quoted. Originallr, this
narthex ,vas divided froln the nave by four pillars,
three of ,,
hich are :-;till ill sitfl. In the course of time 1
these pillars were found not to be anJ
longer suffic-
iently strong to bear the ,,'eight of the portico, and
the spaces between them were filled up. ,vith masonry,
leaving only the space bet\veen the hvo centre ones
open as an entrance to the church. The ,valls were
after-\vards adorned ,vith frescoes. The space behveen
the two pillars on the opposite side of the narthex
was also filled up in the saIne \vaJ
.
On this \vall is painted a fresco ,vhich represents
our divine Lord sitting on a throne the foot-stool of
Our which, and carved hpads on the elbow
Saviour, etc. rests, are faintly distinguishabJe ,vith the
help of a strong Jight. To the right of our Saviour
are the Archangell\Iichael and S. .Andre"
the .Apo:stle;
the Archangel Gabriel and S. Clelnent are on the left.
The names of the Arehallgels are ,vritten horizontally
1 Anastasius the Librarian says that Pope Adrian I (772-7H;))
restored the Basilica of S. Clelnente, at a tÏIne ,yhen such a
restoration "
as much needed
but ,,
e cannot Sêl.r ,,'hethel' the
pillars wel'e strengthened at this timè. The ,,-all on ,,'hich the
fresco of the Assumption appears ,,-as certainly huilt before 833.
According to the Libel" Poult/ira/is (Dnc1lC'sne. Ed. II. p. 108),
the basilica of S. Clemente suffered from the earthlluake of
-l7.
and the ,valls "\vere then streng'tlwnpd ,,,here reinforcement
became necessary.
THE I-;rßTERRAXEAN ßASILICA
1:11
oyerhead. those of the Saints verticallr at the sides.
Standing before our Sayiour are hyo unnalued ecclp-
I
;iastics. Tht' elder. ,vho is believed to be B. CJTril, is
tonsured and ,veal'S a beal"d; he hulds in his right hand
the book of the Gospels, the left hand is open and
extended to,vards our 8aviour. He is affeetionatelv
t
guarded by the Archangel Gabriel ,vho has one hand
l"esting' on his
houlder: 8. Clelnent. ,yho has alsu a
book in his left hand, makes ,vith his right a gesture
of recolnmendation of him to 'VhOlll he is indebted for
the honour paid to his relics. The younger ecclesiastic,
believed to be S. l\Iethodius. holds a chalice in his hands
\vhich are covered ,vith a ,,'hite veil. He is elean-sha ven,
after the luanneI' nf the Latins. and tonsured. Behind
him stands the Archangel 3lichael, and beside hinl
S. -,--\.ndre,v. Beneath the ,vhole gronp is a liturgical
inscription in five lines, the greater part of ,yhich has
unfortunatpl
disappeared: but enough ,vas still legible
in the tiIne of Fr. 3Iullool
" to enable him and De Russi
to conclude that it must be a funeral inscription. << It
(the fresco) ,vas PY'identl
T meant >>, says Fr. l\Inllool
,
<< for a grand comlnemorati ,e picture of S. C
ril: and
,vas probab]
an a1tal
- piece. framed as it is bet,veen
hvo pillars >> 1.
)Ionsignor "rilpert. in his work. Le Pitture della
1 Fr. )IIl11ool;y, S. Clement Pope and JIal't.lJl', and !tis Basi-
lica in Rome. 2nd Ed. (1273), p. 303.
12-2 THE BASILICA OF
. CLE
[E
TE I
R()}IE
Basilica P,.ÙJlitira fii S. Cle/llellte 1, speaks at
unle
length of this fresco. He believes ,vith Fr. )lullooly
and De Rossi that the hvo unnalned ecclesiastics are
SSe CJril and )Iethodius. and thinks that the fresco Inarks
the tomb of S. Cyril: but the learned archaeologi:st has
gone more intu detail than his predecessors, and. frOll)
an anaIJsis of the picture and inscription. concludes
that the scene contains all the elements of a <( Parti-
cular Judgment )). \Ve have, he sa
""s 2. the deadlnan
peccatori (
ee inscription) desiring eternal rest and the
cOlnpanionship of the saints; .we have his patron saints
recommending their client to thp Saviour, the <( Just
Judge )), "rho, in the act of pronouncing sentence,
makes ,vith His right hand the distinctive gesture 3 used
in speaking. The sentence cannot be other,vise than
favourable since the person being judged is placed
under the protection of 1\vo great saints, SS. Andrp,v
and Clement, the former being the Patron of Greece
1 This is the only "'ork of l\Ionsignor 'Yilpert that ,,'C
quote. so henceforth ,ye
hall give onl.y the page "rhen refer.
ring to it.
.J P 9 ,4
- ago iJy.
Fr. )lullooIJ"" interpreted this gestnre to be the l)lpssing
according to the Greek rite. The blessing in the Ori
ntal rite
hs given "rith the first. second. and fourth fing-ers extended (as
in our fresco); "rhHe. according to the "r estern manner, the
thumb. fore, and luiddle fin
ers are extended. Both methoùs
are found in earlJ
illuminated mannscripts, and on Celtic mo-
nUluents.
. ... '
_ oJ.. ::-' .
. \-
\':
\\ \. <
\;,
,-
, 1'"
,,
",-.'" '"" '
-:-' '-' .;....
. .....'
.t'
-'
(
\/
. .';-
i:-
1
'?'f l .
" .
.
,.
...
-
...
"
;. .,' ,-'
--'
. ": \. -
,.'.
. "
, . ;t I
..,..
".
..
l';
r, ,'
, .;. -,J
<#
. , 'S\
... .
... ""',
,.;;
,
..
(.'
'"'1
". ---
,.1.-.:
l'
..,..
.L-...l '
. "'-
:."
..:-.. -. -Y, '!'1r!
..'
a."",
'"'
.
........
..
,
" ..
...
...
---
...
" ..
.'\' \,,) " ..
.. \ '\..
t. .
---5::
;--
t
.:\.
:-. '
.
'-.. ,.,... "-
)0 ":}J .....""""
4:-
.
. , ..
\.." A..Þ
... ,..
... ""...
t.. ..
::,. .\
\..
-.. 't
.... "., .
'"-0:';':"'1.:t:
;( 1--....f ;l
,
.4/ :.....
þ.A... t:,
- --
)
'-.
.;J .
.... .'.J )
)"
..
'. "J:'
..;... ..
-
%,""
'..
.. ,.:
-
-/
.;
-- .....
...... " .....
, \.
\'
--
:'
...
.
,""-
.
"
..-
.. .
.'
....
. '"
1 .
, "
.....<
. '\
,,
oi('- '"
...
.':"'i\ .
. '.'.
"'.,;
-i
:;
....-4
-
-:ñ
\.
' ,
ê
:!.
:;
..-
....
?
-<
"\
::
.s
z
W.
;;
-....;. ,
TH E
l"BTEHR.A
E.-\
BAMLICA
1;!
to ,yhil'h nat.ion O
\Til b210nged. and tlu:} latter. one
\vho is indebted to hin1 a utl shows his gra titnde b
the bolieituns gesture ,vh ich he lllakes on hi
behalf..
Ha ,'ing described thp person Lt'fore the J udg'p and
concluded that it is B. CJTiL
IonsignoJ" "
ilpert goes
on to expl'e
s hi
belipf that tlip pi(òtnre and inscrip-
tion decoraTed the prÏIlliti ,.e tOlllb of the :-;aint. The-
Le,qgelldn Ilnlic(1 sa
-:s tha t 8. C
Til "
as buried in
<<Locello )IarJnoreo >} or lllarble
areophagus. th e
height of ".hich. al'cording to 3Ionsignor 'Yîlpert,
,vould occup
a hout 0: Sjm úr about ;
J inches
of the ,vall, the Yer.\T part ,yhieh ib ,vithunt ::,tncco or
plaster, and ahove which thp funeral inscription ap-
pears. "
e giye here the inscription a
reconstructed
bv
IonsiO'nor ""'-il } )ert. indieatinO' in larue tV l }e the
0 0 0
letters ,,
hich
till reJnain. and in
qnall tJ-pe his tfn-
tativt? restoration:
Line 1.
-1.
. . . . . . . . . . De US
. preCES X osf H
S
,fila lIIi
('rltfio)
. e.wlluli. III C y ril/lis ,"' E
f l}ll fo
( ill IIiO 1I0mi ' ...., ....:" ' -
- --
R r}Jl TL
OR e IJI
Oülefate lactetllr.
. pe,. jesllIJl c1lrisfll)I DO)IiXllIJl 1I0.
fRll)I QUI
Y. eXTlIRE(lIs) est Ü('rlll1l.
3. ... lector dic: d('/l.'
drt c!/ril/o PECCATORI RE-
QT:iem aefer Xalll .
lII ell. 1
2. .... AC
3.
1 ..Å pra;yer (Collectio) identical in substance ",ith this is to.
be found in the c )Ii:::,sa Sacerdotis Defuncti:. or mass for a
dead prit'st in the c
acralllentariulll Gallicarulll :.. It is HS fol-
126 THE RA
ILIC.-\ 01:' S. CLE:\IEXTE IX l{O
II<
}Ionsignur "Tilpert thinks ]nureo'
er that the inscription
,vas eOlnposed b
the Saint hiInself, for, he argues. no
one else, not even his inveteratfl enelllV ,vuuld. in a
t.
funeral inscription, have used the terlll (( sinner )) in
describing une ,,
ho, like S. UJTril, had devoted hillu
elf
and all his energies to one single idea, tha t of \vin-
ning the
lav people to the faith uf Christ, and cunse-
quentlJ to civilization.
Fr. 3Iulluoly says 1 that under this picture a tOll1b
of brick ,va.., disco'
ered on the 10 th of Februarv 18ü8
tI
containing the skeletons of hvu 111en of 1110re than or-
dinarv size. << Can these )), he asks, << be those of the
tI
t" 0 lllissionarv saints 'I )). .L\.s far as ,ve kno,v , only oné
tI tI
document, the Duchesne Inanuscript. states the place
,vhere, in the church of S. Ulell1ent. the bod
T of
. Cy-
ril ,vas laid. According to it, Pope _\.drian II. (8G7 -87
)
had thp hoc1
\
of thp Saint placed in the marble ,-.;ar-
cophagus .prepared for hiInselt and interred it in the
basilica of
. Clenlentp at the right side of tlte a/tal' 2.
SOlne regarri this position as corresponding ,vith the
right side of thp entrance to the l'hureh and thus. prob-
lo\ys: ÐellS qni confiteutinm te portio es dêfllnctorlllll, prel'es
JlOstras, quas in Saeel'dotis tni illa depositione deferimus, pro-
pitiu8 e.ralldi. llt qui nOluilie tuo lllillistel'iulll fidele depPllllit,
perpetua Sauetornm sol'Íetate ladet/lr. efr. .:\labillon, JIliselim
Italirlllll I, 2, p. B8!: )Ionsignor 'Vilpert, p. 37. note -1.
1 Page 306.
2 The italics are ours.
THE F;UBTEHRAKEAN BASILIUA
127
ably. to that part of the Xarthex ,,"here the picture
in question is. In support of this opinion 1Ionsigllor
\V"ilpert adds that the chapel of
. Dominic in the
upper church ,,,hich ,vas forluerlJ dedicated to S. CJril,
and under the altar of ,vhicb his relies appear a t SOllIe
time to ha ye been placecl and there venerated, is sit-
uated over this par1 of the X arthex 1.
icolò
igllorilL Secretarr of the H,oluan People,
who "Tote, SOlne tiJne before the
ear li1
O, a Belalio
or list of the relics venera ted in ROlne in his tiJne,
Inentiono.; tlH
relies of
. CJ
ril alnollg
t tho:se pre:sel'v-
en in the church of S. Clenlente 2.
POlnpeo U gonio, in his ,vork on the Clliese 81(1-
ziollali di BOllia published in 1588, speaking of the
relics in the Ba:silica uf 8. Clenlente, sa
s: \, The body
of B. Cyril, Apostle of JIoravia, Sia vonia. and Bohenlia.
is under thp altar of the chapel near the
acristr >>.
This altar can be no other than that at present
dedicated to S. Donlinic.
Franee:sco del Sodo. in a manuscript Codex in the
'Tatican Librar
, quoted b
Rondinini (p. 337). states
that in his tilne a chapel "
as erected 3 to S. Cyril
1 It
eèms to us unlikel
that the bod
of such a great
Saint .would be interred in the Portico, ,vhich is outside the
chnl'ch proper: and to l'ogard this position as at the right Hide
of the altar seeIns rather far-fetched.
2 This luanuscript is in the Colonna archives.
:{ Del 80do probably lueans a restoration, for the chape.
seems to have heen already in existence.
128 THE B.-\SILICA OF S. CLE:\IENTE I
RO:\IE
at the right side of the entrance to the basilica ,,
here
the body of the Saint reposes.
Baronius in his notes on the ROlnan 3IartJToiogy
saJTs that the sacred relics of SSe Cyril and 3Iethodius,
,vho died in Rallle and were buried in S. Clelnente,
'''ere, he had heard. recently found in all ancient
chapel in that church.
Giacomo Coleta
ays that :S
. Cyril audl\Iethodiu
died in R,ome and that their bodies repose in the church
of S. Clement ,,,hose body they had brought from
Cherson to Rome 1.
OUavio Pancirolo in his ,vork Tesori llascosti nella
Cittå di RO/JU1, published in 1626, asserts that the
bodies of SSe Cyril a nd )Iethoùiu
arf-> buried in
S. Ulemente 2.
In a Inanllscript book, cOlllpiled in the form of a
diar
, and pntitled <<N onnullae Authenticae super Sa-
cri
Reliq uiis Sanctorulll >>, preserved in the Archi yes
of the Roman \Ticariate. I have recently found, under
date 18 August 17
J8, an entry to the effect that the
relics of 8S. C, ril and 3Iethodius. ,vhich ,vere enclo
ed
u
in a marble urn pre
erved under the altar of S. Do.
Ininie in the Basilica of S. Clemente, ,verp. on that
date, tra nsferred - an Iri
h DOlllinican Father being
1 Coleta. 1ll.1J rico sacro, tom. '-III, p. 296. ])otp 1.
2 t3ee Card. Dom. Bartolini. JIl'lJIoric S. C. Arch. dei SSe Ci-
rillo e .Jletodio, capo IV.
THE SCBTERRANE.-\N BASILICA
12!)
pl'e
cnt - frOll1 S. Clemente to the church of 8.
laria.
in 'Tallicella (Ohiesa Nuova), and placed besidfl the
relics of S. Philip Xeri in that church. And, under
date 27 AuO'ust. 1798. that the ::;ame relics ,vere, on
'
that da
. brought hack to the church of S. Cleluente,
and once more placed under the altar of
. Dominic.
'''"riting in 1881, Cardinal Bal'tolini - in the 'york
alread
T citpd. pp. 1 B3-7, sa
s that the reliûs of
S. OJ
ril
and )[ethodius ,vere venerated at R. Clemente up to
the tilue of thp unfortunatp French occnpation of Rotne
in 17
8. During that dìsaster, he continues. ,vhich ,vas
the beginning of many social evils ,vhich haye no,y
for nearl
it century oppressed us, the Basilica of
8. Clenu:}ute, together \vith other ROlnan churches. was
profaned by those republican hordes, and became the
barracks of military luarauders \vho plundered ,,
hat-
eyer was rich and artistic in the sacred edifices. They
even ,yent so far as to extract from their sepulchres
thfl bodies of the Cardinal Titulars buried in the
Churches, and broke into pieces the slabs ,vhich re-
corded their history and their acts... In these sac'rile-
gious outrages, the venerable remains of the Apostles
of the Slavs - SSe Cyril and 31ethodius - ,vere also
cattered and Inixed up \vith the bones of the Cardinal
Titulars in
. Olemente.
I T llfol'tunately, Cardinal Bartolini does not give
us his authority for these statenlents. and they are not
10
130 THE BASILICA O}' S. CLEMENTE lK RO:\[E
supported by the letters I of Fr. John Connolly. O. P.
t<
(second Bishop of :x e,v York) ,,,ho ,vas l'esident at
S. Clemente at the tiIne of the
'rench occupation of
Rome and all through it even np tu the trear 1814.
and is. no doubt. the Irish Don1Ïniean Father referred
to above as present at the translation of the relics
of SSe Cvril and )Iethodius to the eh nr
h of S. 3Iaria
t.-
in ,.,. alIi cella. Fr. Cunnoll
, "\vriting to Bishop Plunkett
of
Ieath in 3Ia1'ch 17
'8, sa
8: << The French have
seized on and sold eYerJ
thing belonging to the En-
glish and Scotch Colleges here>>. But fite lllontbs after
this date the relics. as ,ve haye seen, existed at S. Cle-
mente. .Again in J anuar
1800. a.fter the French had
left Rome, Fr. Connolly "Tites: <<B\
havino' ohtained
L
leavp frolll thp Repuhlic to open the church (of S. Cle-
mente) after its suppression. and serve the public in
it a:s chaplain and confesso)'. ,vithout any elllohnnent.
I have sa,'ed it from destrnction, as also the convent
and library )). Fr. Connolly ,vould surely have done
t, t.- t,
ever
thillg possible to save such precious relics a:s tho:se
of 88. UJ
ril and
Iethodius ,,,ere theJ" e"X:posed to
the outrages luentioned b
y Cardinal Bartolini a:s cOln-
mitted upon them. "Thile not denJ
ing thp. possibility
of profanation. ,ve prefer to think that the relie:s are
1 See << The Irish Dominicans in BOllle
. pp. j(j-37.
THE SrBTERRAr\EAK BASILICA
131
still In
. Clemente, and to hopp that theJ \vill one
day be discovered.
t.
Tomb of S. Clement In the sea, etc.
There are hvo other large frescoes in thp narthex
both of ,vhich refer tu 8. Clenlent. The one nearer
the entrance consisted origillall
of three compart-
ments. of ,vhich onl
hvo rPluain and a sinall frag-
ment of the third. This latter occupied the upper pa-
nel and apparently perished during' the construction
of the present church. The inscription \vhicb accom-
panied the subject of this panel is :still legible:
IX :\IARE SITBl\IEBSU:\f TU)IUL U P
-\RAT
KGELUS ISTU)I.
All aI/gel prepares tlie tomh sufJllle1:qed Í11 the sea.
T\yo feet can still be seen in the fresco; they are.
tI
probably, those of the angel. Judging frolll thp sub-
jects that follo,v \ve are inclined to suspect that the
missing panel contaillPd a representation of the mar-
tyrdonl of S. Cleluent for 'Vh01U the angel is prepar-
ing the tOluh.
. Clelnent, as 've have said. ,vas exil-
ed to the CriInea and cundeluned to \vork in the
marble quarries there, and he ,vas subsequentlJ
lllar-
132 THE RARILICA OF S. CLE)IE
TE I
R<HUJ
t
red b
being thro,vn into the Blapk Sea ,vith an
anchor tied round his neck. Gregor
T of Tours tells ns
that, according to tradition, the speetators of the
mart
rdoln \yere deeply grieved that the
'" could not
recover his bod
T, and the
Legged God to let thelll
kno,v ho\y it could be found, The Lord heard their
pra
Ters and consoled thelll by causing the sea to re-
tire, thus enabling then1 to follo"T the receding ,vaters
til] they reached the Yer
- spot ,,'here the body of
the hol
'" nlart
T lacY enshrined in a temple built. hy
angelic hands. For hvo centurie
after. on the anni-
versarr of the sainfs death, and during the octave, a
siInilar reflux of the ,vaters took place, a nd the
hrine
,vas visited b
'" the pious inhabitants of the Chersonese
and b
T 111any pilgrilns. Once on tht' last tlay of the
octave a lad
'" left her child inad '7ertent1J
behind her
in the tpmple. and disco,-ered her mistake only when
she had reached the shore and ,,
hen it 'vas too latè
to return for the ll1issing babe :1,:0, the ,vaters had al-
l'eadJ begun to rise and the telnple had become inae-
ce
sible. The
orro,ving 1110the1' gave up her onlJT child
for lost, and on the follo,ving anniversa['y returned to
the templp in the hope of finding at least the bones of
her dear little one: but to her inexpressible joy she found
her child alh
e and ,veIl qll the steps of the telnple.
In the spcond or central cOll1partInent uf the fresco
this temple is de}Ücted with an altar ,,'hich is covered
"'-
,
v.C
Ll.
......"
...
,
,
\
ì
...........
..\
. "I
,
. .. . .
't'
}
J...
..
.
.,...,
'"
l'
Rhl'Ïlole of :::-;, Ch'llH'nt in tlIP
L'a.
. ..
'9
-......
rr'
,
!f
-i
d
\.
I
...
....
"
,'"
....
J
'It
THE I"l'RTERl{A
EA
BASILICA
13.
,,-ith a ,vhite cloth and on ,,,hicb are hvo lighted cand-
les. Three lalnps are suspended frOlll the ceiling, and
from the eanopy over the altar hang t,vo curtains gra-
cefullv arranO'ed. On the left is a cit,
; fronl one of
fJ b oJ
its gates a procession issues headed h
'" the Bishop
,,-bo hold" the Crozier in hi
left h:tnd. ,,"hile the right
i:-; open and raised to hi
hrt'ast: this gesturp and
the expres-sion of his countenance seem to indicate
surpl'i
f\ at sdlllething ,vhich hp llnexpectedl;y 'v it-
nes'Ses. The Bishop, ,,-ho is apparellt]
,. going to the
telnple to celebrate ]na
s. is acconlpanied h<\
his assist-
ants in the yesÍInents proper to their order. O,'er
the gate of thf\ city is "Titteu CER
OX.A (Cherson).
T,vo scenes are repl'espnted ill the space between the
Bishop and the altar. Onp dppict
a Inuther stooping
to tal\..e up her child ,,-ho is stretching ou1 his little
arlUS to elubl>ace her, above the ,YOlnan are "Titten
the ',"urds: )ITTLIER \'1] )IT A (,vido,,-), and beneath
the child: PUER (bo
). I n the other
cent:. the
anle
'YOlnan i
een standing ,vith the child ill her arnl'S.
This luiracle, nalnelv thf\ findinO' of the child alive
fJ
and ,,
ell after a year's sulHuersioll in the ',-ateI'. is
probahl
T the cause of the Bishop's surprise. At the
hothHu of the panel is the inse1'Ïption:
IXTEGER ECCE J
-\CET REPETIT (
TTE)I PRE-
YTA ..\lATER.
Be/wid ImllllJ't he lies IdIOm his J'etllJ'lIill!l motller seeks.
136 THE BABlLICA OF R. CLE:\lENTE IN ROME
Rehveeu the central and lo\ver panel is a beautiful
border 1 on ,vhieh four doves arp painted. These hvo
panels are united at the centre b
" a ,veIl-executed
medallion of S. Clement.
The third or lo,yer panel contains pictures of the
donors of the fresco, 13eoo De R,apiza and his falnil
,
,vho
ol'l'onnd the llledalliou of the saiot. and are re-
presented as offering voti ye candles. Beno ,vith his
daughter .AJtilia and her governess, ,,,hose nalllP COUl-
lnences ,,,ith the sJ"llable GE, stand on the right of
the saint
at the left are thp Laay )lary DO)[X A
" "
)L.\RIA. and a boy ,,,hose nalne is given as Clelnent
PTTE R [TL TT
CLE)[EXS. A t the sanle
ide is the '0-
tiye inscription:
IX XO)IIXE DXI EGO BEXO DER
.\PIZA
p
\)IOIrE BEATI CùE)IEXTH3
ET REDE:\IPTIOXE AXI
IEE PIXGERE FECIT.
fll tilt> ll{[me of tile Lord /, Bello De Rapi.za. for fll" 10,."
of flte Blp88ed Clemellf alld fliP salratioll of /JIll SOli/ {'ailsI'd it
to be pa Í/:fpd.
1 This border has been exactl.'
reproduced in the fresco
OYer the Cardinal Titular's Chail' in the apst-' of the upper
church. a circumstance 'Y}lÎch leads u
to SUSPf'ct that at least
the narthex of the lo"'er c>hurc>h "'as still accessible ,,-hen the
laÍf'r fl'pseü "'as painted in the X.Y centlu'
r.
TIlE Sl"BTERIL\:\Ji
A
RA
ILICA
137
Belo,,- the llH-,dí111ion in the forul of a el'OSS are
written thp ,yords:
)1
E
PRECE QlTEHEXTE
E
TOTE XüCIY A
CA '
EX
'rg
SPr' kill.fJ me ill p/'a.'/l' /' bl'lra I'l of Ii Ill't fill tit ÍlIfJ....
)f(
The votive pictu res.
There are four votive pi<.tn Lies in this church,
three of ,,,hich rela tp to 8. Clelnent. and one to
S. Alexius. The donor of thp last-l11entioned is un-
kno".n: the one referring to the rrranslation of the rel-
ics of
. Ulelnent )vas gi, en b
? 1\Iaria )[acellaria
and 1\vo. the one just described, and another repre-
:senting
. Clelnent celebrating 1\Ia
:-,. are the gift of
Beno de Rapiza. It is difficult to detern1Ìne pxactly
the dates of the various frescoes in thp
suhterranean church: hut fro In the
nh-
jects "hich the
represent and fronl an exan1Ïnation
of the ,valls on ".hich theJT are painted. ,vp ean assign
the votive series. ,vhich seems to haye been executed by
natp.
138 THE BA.:>;ILICA OF S. eLE:\IEXTE IX R(HIE
one and the same artist and to have been the last paint-
ed, to the period behveen 867 and 1084. Thfk Translation
of thE? relics of S. Clement ,vhich is the subject of one
of the series took place in 867, and therefore could not
have been represented earlier; and the
ubterranean
church ,vas destroJ'ed in 1084 after ,yhich no frescoes
could have been IJainted there. Dp Rossi ,vas of opinion
that the earthquake \vhich shook some of the pillars of
the basilica of S. John La.teran in 896 extended to
. Cle-
mente, and he assigns to that date the injul'Jr sustain-
ed bJ
the cohun ns ,,-hich ,vere after,yards strengthen-
ed by brick piers on ,yhich the vaintings in question
"'"ere executed 1. Again. in the fresco of the T 1'a nsla-
tion of S. Clement's relic." \ve find Pope Xicholas I.
represent9d, instead of his
llCCE?SSOr Adrian 11.. for
Pope Nicholas ,vas dead ,,"hen the e,-ent took place.
From this anachronisrn Dp Rossi 2 al'O'ued that thl:} fre-
=--
sco is not likely to ha ,'e heen rnade until SOlne tiIl1e after
the death of both Pontiffs.
Iuratori too, the great au-
t
ority on l\Iediaeyal Italy, la s do,vn the follo,ving
rule as to the use of the co,qllo/llen or
nrname: << In Italy
1
ome of the pillars at least must have been stren
theJled
hefore this date for the fresc>o of the Assumption is painted on
one of the brick piers in question. and this fresco 'nl
execute
ed during tlH' Pontificate of Leo I V (
!7.
;);j).
2 c Bnllettino (Ii
l'cheologia Cristiana "> secolHla serie-
I. -pp. 14,0-1.
THE ReBTERRA
:EAN BASILICA
139
cognolnens or surnames "-ere introduced b.y a slo\v pro-
ce
: theJ" ,,"p,re \-ery rare in the tenth. not so unfre-
q uellt in the elevPllth, and COlnmon in the hvelfth cen-.
tur
"'. The ,r enetians "-ere the first to use thelTI; but
among the HOlnalls even in the eleventh eentur.y ther
,,-ere extremelJ
rare >>. \'T e cannot therefore place these
frescoes, on ,,-hich the snrlHune De Rapiza occnrs, ear-
lier than the elpventh century. The researehes. too. of
Corvisieri on the Ancient Fanlilies in R.olue have led
that author to assign the risp of the De R,apiza fanlilr
to thp S:llne eleventh eentnry. Thp hrilliancJT also of
the colouring at the tiIne ,,,hen these frescoes "pere
discoypred, fifty Jears ago, is an arlditional confirlna-
tion of De Rossi's opinion that they \vere exeeuted
h()rtl
- before the destrllctioll of the n Ilcipnt hasilica 1.
The rleterll1Ïnation of the date of these frescoes is
intpresting not lnerelr from an archaeologiea 1 point of
vie\", hut also from the intrinsic value of the pain-
tings themselves. <<These frescues >>, saJ'
s Fr. )lul1oo-
l
2, << are a link in religious art, especially as being
votive pictures, by \yhich \ve can trace the ideas ,,,hieh
pre\Tailed \vhen the catacombs had fallen into desue-
tude. "Tithout a single symbol of the cataconlbs. or
1 K 0 unfinished frescoes ,vere found in the ancient basilica,
a fact fronl ,vhich ,ye infer that the ,york of decoratiI!g the
,vnlls of that hasilica "pas completed before its destruction.
Page 43.
l!O THE BASILICA OF 1';. CLK\IE
TE IN RO
IE
.a single figllre ÏIllitated froIH thein 1, the
T cO.:ltain å
distinct, forined, and characteristic school of painting.
The ideas elicited frolll thenl do not contradict the
-catacolnbs. And. froll1 the point of vie,y of art, the
-.
.as e0111polSitions, are superior to any ,ve possess in
the catacolnbs_ 'Yîth a.ll their defects of dra,ving and
perspective. thp colon I-ing is pleasing
the
T tell us
their story ,veIl; and they exhibit a g rou l )inO' a nd lno'
e-
" '"
ment for ,,
hil'h ,ve
eek in vain in the catacollibs.
or indeed in 1110st, of the paga n frescoes ,yhich ha, e
'COllle do\vn to us >>_
11 1 r. 31ullool.,- believed that the
e 'Totive pietlll>es
represent a distinct a nd characteristic sehool of paint-
ing: but ,ve prefer to think tha t they represent thp
beginning of that glorious Hchool \vhieh. less than a.
.centul'
la.ter) ,yas to produee thf> beautiful mo
aic
apsp in the upper (-hurch. and \vhich \vas to reach its
perfection in Pietro Cavallil1i and Giotto.
Onl" frescoes at S. Cieinente. both votive and
other\Yise, have a
pecial interest far us a..; valnablp
.didactic cOinpositions, the subjects of ,vhich ,,-ere not
chospn ,vithout a purpose. and that purpose \vas to
instruf't the faithful in the truths of our religion. They
1 There is one excl'ption. On the pier on which S. Clement
if-; I'epresput(ò(l celehrating mass. there is, at the side. a paint-
ing of Daniel in thf> lions' den, a subject frequentl.y llH't 'with
in the Catacolllbs. thou
h SOlllp,yhat differentl.r treateù,
THE
CBTERRA
EAS BASILICA
141
were painted. ,ve luust reluen1ber. in ages long heforp
the invention of printing, ".hen the great lnasses of
the peopl
'''ere una blp to read and thel'eforf\ had to
be instructed other\vise than bv the use of books.
"
<< Painting )), then. as 8. Gl'e
or.'
thp Great :so aptlr
expre:,:,ed it, <<,va
for the uneduca ted ,,-ho can onlr
look, ,,,hat "Titill
' is for those ,vho can read >>. .L\nd
ho,v luanv therp are even in our days \vho will onI\'" look..
""
even though they ha-ve the ea pauit
:r to read. Th(! truths...
too, \yhich these frescoes ,vere intended to teach cen-
turie:s ago, art-' the SèUnf> toda
and ".ill b(! the
alne
for ever. The frescoes represent the teaehing of the-
Church throughout thp ages on the suhject
,vhich
theJ
depict: and the choice and arrangelnent of such
subjects \vere deterlnined bJT the traditions and legis-
lation of the Church, the art alone heing the ,york
of the artist. Frolll thp earlJ- ages of Cll ristianitJ
\ye
find the
"'athers and Doctors of the Uhur(.h extollin
r
the importance of pictorial art in representing the
acto,; of thf\ luartyrs, the lives of the
aints, and thp
principal n1J'
steries of religion. S. J erolue, S. Augustine.
S. John Chr.\sostoln. S. Paulinus :x olan us,
. Gregor
the Great, and many other earl
" Fathers have all
eulogised thf\ value uf art in this respect. And we'
find the second Council of Nice. held in the year 787,
t.
making special legislation regarding the religious
cOlnposition of ,yorks of art; and this, let it be noted...
142 THE RA:SILICA OF S. CLEl\[EXTE IX RO:\[E
,vas the verJ'" time ,,"hen the iconoclastic heresr, begun
and fostered by the Eastern Elnperors, especiall
by
Leo the Isaurian, 'vas ".aging destructive ,val' against
iInages and the use of images, ,vhether pictorial or
sculptured. in the East. The Church, therefore, not
only in the early centuries of its existence ,,'hen it
decorated the tOJnbs of its martyrs in the catacombs,
but all through the lniddle ages as the frescoes of
S. Clemente testif.,r, and do,vn to our 0\\"11 da
T as nearly
all the churches and art galleries of Europe bear
testimon
?, has ever been the patron and prOJlloter of
art and of all that is noblest in art, dedicating it to
the bublim(
mission of teaching the Q:reat truths of
Christianity.
t;
D
Translation of the relics of S. Clement.
".. e are inclined to think that the fresco represent-
ing the Translation of the relies of
. Clelnent, ,vhich
is the other yotÏ\?e picture in the narthex. ,vas also
tripartite or conlposed of three cOlupartments. a nrl that
the third or upper compartment :suffered the sallIe fate
as the corresponding part of the other frescoes 1. ""'e
1 It is plain that the upper part of the ,yaIls of thi
an-
cient church ".lS renlOyed, nlOst likel.r at the tiIne of the con-
1-
( .' . r
,..' ,i t'
1
:"
1
4
y,
).
. ,-
-
<r: . .1iÌ;\
'f
J, ,
"'
,I .'
.. '1
I , ,
',..
.- -- 1-:1
.. t'f'
f
r
-
J'
! ' 0> 04 . '1...:.1" ..
- · ... - L.. ..... . -. ..
....' ....;'
-:;:;- A
+ AVC AVATK:M iO fE1\TVI\.Pr
iëOLAOIMNIS mVINtS . DAROMAT IB.$ '--tÑ
".j
+ EGO MARIA AC _ EL1..AR\
p--
j
.
-;
. J
"'$,",
.. '
t
\.
1'" . +
.
; r
./I.1' -
,I.
-I'" "
."......,.
DJOANIME. MF..EIEC.P. .R.tG'
'"
....
-
. \.4t
., ,.
"
Translation of S. Cletuent's Relics.
THE SrBTEnRAN.EA
BA
ILIVA
1-1;)
think. too, that the missing panel represented the dÜscov-
erJ of the relies of S. Clement by S. CJ?riI, and ,ve should
thus have represented in this church. a
De Hos:-;i and
Iollsignor "
ilpert ren] ark, the series of events re-
la ting to S. Clenlen t, mentioned in the Passio 1. Thp
extant fresco represents the translation from the 'T atican
of the relics of S. Clement 2 ,,-hich ,verf' brought to ROlne
br S
. Cyril and :
\Ipthodius at the clo:se of the Jear
867 and received bJT Pope .Adrian II. ,vho had then1
placed in the basilica raised to the memory of the
saint. An anachronism, alreadJ referred to. occurs there-
fore in the portraiture of :Nicholas I. instead of his
succe
80r Adrian II. S. Clement, placed on a bier, ,,-ith
head and shoulders and palliulll exposed, is being borne
bJ? four persons. T,vo persons are s"ringing censers in
the air, one at either end of th
bier ,v}lÍch is being
followed by tIle Pope in Pontifical vestments. The
Pontiff is attended b
y
S. Cyril and l\Iethodius and
aecolllpanied by his cros
-bearer and crozier-bearer,
and also by bishops and clerg
". Three other crosses
witl] spangled banners are being carried behind the
Pope. The Pontiff is again represented celebrating mass
truction of the present church. This appears from the mutilated
figures at the top of so many of the frescoes.
1
ee
lombrizio, Vita Sanet., I vol., p. 193, and Funk Pa-
Ires Apostolici. [I
p. 30.
=! De Ro
si thought that this fresco represented the trans-
lation of S. C;yril's relics; but thi
opinion seems untenable.
11
l-1fi THE BASILiCA OF 1". ('LE
IEKTE [
RO)lIo;
in the basilica as thp head of the procession arrive
there. 1
he luissal is open before hiIn at that }Hlrt u
thf' Canon of thp )Iass: Per olllllia saecllla saecllloJ'llJII
pax DO/Hila" sit SelJlpel'. Four laJnp
arC'
nspendp(
frolll the ceiling, three oyer the Pope's head and OUt
on his right. lJnderneath the picturp is the inscription
HLTC A YATIOAXO FERTlIR PP. XH.:"oIL-\U
l.:\IXIS QD. ARO)IA'fIRTTS SEPELrV'-IT.
Hitlter frol1/ tllC raticaJi iR horlle, J"'icllOla.
beilllJ Popc, lritl.
diriJU' "l/JIlIl.Ç; (tlip bodl/) lrllÍell Tlf' buried lritlt aromatics.
...\.. simple but beautiful border separates this In-
scription froll1
nother containing' the nall1e of the
donor:
EHO )I-,-
BIA )IACELLARIA P. TI
lOHE 1)E[
BT RE)[EDIO AXI)[E
rEE HEC' P. (T, R. }"'. C.
f, JIlll'/1 JIaecllaria. from tile fear of (rod and for tile ....'at-
vation of 111/1 srml /tad thi..... paillted.
Sarcophagi, lapidary inscriptions) etc.
X ear the picture of the 1
ranslation of S. Clclnent's
relics is a Inarhle sar('ophagus containing the relnain
of a man and 'YOlnan, supposed to be Bello De Rapiza
and )[aria: another, opposite thi
. contain
those of
THE :-'lTBTERIL\.
.E.-\X H.\SILICA
1-17
a IHan. Beside the end ,,-all of the narthpx a nd pa-
rallel to it is a slnall coffin also containin
' human bones.
.AJ the fresco of S. U
Til is a laJ'g'e terra-cotla coffin
,vhieh, as Fr. )Iullool
. tells ns (p. Bl0). l'ontained tht>
hod
- of a bi:shop or Initred ahhut. but the InOlnent
it ,vas exposed to the air. thp hnnlan fOI'In. ,,'hieh
seelned likp a cob,veh, disapppared, X ear this is a
small sarcophagus ,,-ith a pagan inscriptioll: it COll-
tained the hOlle
of a littlp boy or a girl. possibl
a
Christian. for ,,-e kno,v that the Chl'i
tians sOIHetinH
s
appropriated pagan :sareopha
'i for the purpose of in-
tel'lnent. Thp inscription runs:
D. :\1.
JULI
\.E C. FIL.
FELICIT
\TI
PIRJT() nULCIISI:5I)IO
DEFU
CTO AC'ER,ro
QUAE YIXIT A
XO UXO
3IEXSIBTTS XI DIEB. TRIBUS
FECERUXT JTTLIA \rERXA
ET FELIC'ITAR PAREXTEH
I)IILITER ACERYI ET
IXFELICISSl31 I .
Oppositp the door-,vay leading: to the na ,Te is a
large nlarble slab. set into the ,yall. ,vith the in-
scriptioll :
)IIRE IXSOCEXTIAE IEXX ARlO ,..-. P. Q1 T I
VIXIT AX. Ll l\IEXS. ,..- D. XXV N A}l
)IECU31 Y-IXIT AX. XX,..-
[EKS. ,..- D.
XX""- SIXE A LIQUA DISCORDIA ATTT COX-
TROYERSIA FLORESTI
-t UXOR BEXE-
)[EREXTI IX PACE FECIT ET SIBI DEPO-
148 THE BA
ILICA OJ.' s. CLE:\IE
TE I
ROME
SITUS PRID . IDUS JTJNII URSO ET POLE-
)110 1 D. P. FLORENTIA NO
IS AUG. QUE
VIXIT ANNIS V ('?) 1\1. X. VIX1T SUPER
)IARITU}I SUU.:\I ANNUS III :\1. II. IN
PACE.
De Rossi in his Inscl'iptioJles Christiallae gÏ\
es only
a part of this inscription, as the slab ,vas broken and
only about half of it had been found at the time
,,
hen the great archaeologist published that ,vork.
Another slab, ,vhich has been put on pivots so
that it may be easily turned, has an inscription on
both sides, the one pagan, the other christian. The
pagan one is as follo,vs:
D. )1.
I . AUR. SABINUS CUI
-'UIT ET SIGNU
l
VAGULUS INTER INCRE}IENTA COAE-
QUALIU
I SUI TE:\IPORIS VITAE INCOl\I-
P.ARABIL1S DULCISSI
[US FILIUS.
The christian une run
:
f
c5
SURO IX. PACE QUESQE
TI
EUTICI
.\
US FRATER FECIT.
f5
ø
,
1 Ursus anl1 Polemiu8 "
ere Consuls in 3BS.
THE SUBTERRANEAN BASILICA
1-19
Inserted in the ,vall of the narthex are seyeral
other inscriptions and fragments of inscriptions. :-,ome
of \vhicb are pagan, others christian: there are also
exqui
itely sculptured heads, capitals, and pieces of
lnarble candlesticks. fraglnents of colulllns and lllosaic
pavements, and tiles \vith the name of the Juaker and
of the eon
Hds.
Before leaving the narthex therp is one other fre-
sco to he noticed. It is on the old ,vall near the en-
trance to the right
or north, aislp, and is painted on
the brick. Dp R.os
i believed it to represent
"lavius
Clelllens. It lllay eyen be a represflntation of Pope
S. Ulement. The person seem
to hold in his left
hand an open book. The fres("o is thought to belong
to the old Ronlan
chooI. and to have been executed
soon after the construction of the church in the fourth
century. On the fresco. scratched on the plaster behveen
the bricks. is an inscription ,vhich has puzzled the
in
enuit
of paleographers to decipher.
On the opposite ,vall, under the "\k
light, ,vas the
head of a feluale person \yith a halo: this ,vas supposed to
represent Flayia Domitilla the ,yife of Flavius Cle-
mens, and to have been painted in the fourth 1 or fifth
centur
. O\ving to the action of the damp on thi::, ,vall
1 Since the halo does not appear to have been represented
so early as the fourth century, ,ye cannot assign this fresco to
that period.
150
THE HARILHJA OF
. CLE)[E
TE I
RO:\lE
the fresco has no'" cOlnpletely disappeared: but for-
tunatp]y a cop
of it remain
. ,,
hieh n1a
- be seen
. {oCr:'!'.. """!-'
. . . . .
I . .;.... .Ji!"!II' " .
w
..
,
..."," ......,........,,
.
..iI.if'
"'.
io
'b. ". >
,
".
...' --
..... t. ". .
...'
. ,. '
.
.).. '...,.... .
. ....;.:-. .
. ..... . -:Jt'!
1
;y-' -.; .. \. ...,....;....... <f/Itiq
ß,;.
., ß"
,...
.;...
. , ,. . .,
.1
.
;..
. ,
'"
A
t\,
\....y ..,. >.
"__A'"<
.
" J ' ...
'i.
),
.
-"1t"
. (It
...
Ii..:.
l'
\,
.,'" fJ:'"
."'"
.
"
hrl'f
'\.,;
-',A'
JI .
:..\....i ..
.,It
:t.
.r.("
'.,.
. (
..
r
Ý
.
# ,
.. t
. ,.
4
'-A'
, t
'. \
T it
. '1:
, .'P....
r l till;;:; 1""-
<'I.;'I.
_ ".\;.-. _.. :or. -
'
.r- r .
;.;,1:..A.Jl J
,.. "..
. "'
.
.;:
f . f(
'
",4 't'
"l r
;: ' , ' ." .;;... 1
.
. .-t. ......y -,.
r"" ;p
r.J'< ....",. '. t, ;It
-
-- . '_;' .
--' -
't. . '" . '"
I ....
J;;. S! ,{
t
.
. ;'j;
, ,
"'\
.
..
....;,.-,...., .
...- . ....
"-' . ,.
oil>
(rot. AlHl('r
oll).
10.
Flayiu
Clemens ('!).
over the door leading to the present chul'eh from the
atriulll of the
acristJT.
)f(
THE St'HTERRA
E.\
R.-\:-;ILW\
1õ1
North aisle.
Entering the right or nOl'th aisle "p ))("\l'('eh'e on
the ground :l largp Inal'ble slab thp inscription on ,vhich
infornl
us that underneath lie the l>eUlitins uf Pl'. 31ull-
uolJ
,vho dipd on the
3th of J unp 1880. In the wall
to the righ1 ,ve notice that a b.'each had hpen Inade
through the fresco and after\vards bricked up. This is
the point at ,vhich Fr. )1ullooly fi.'st entered the ::-,ub-
terranean church ,,,hen prosecuting his search for it.
\Y" e should not con .;ider our histury uf this church
eOluplete if \\ye did not sax sOluething about it'o\ disco,'-
el'
and the discovprer; a lld this point UÎsc on " r r
of our ,york nlav be the most a l ) I H'o l )riate to.! t t of
L ,..,11 ) prrau{1an
for that purpose. Lest. mOl>eO\rer, \yha t ".e Uasilic"a.
hould sa
migh1 appeal' partial, \ye gi ,.e the ,yords of
a. distingllished En
lish Bishop 1, no\y dead l ,yho ,vas
intiInatelJT acquainted with Fr. )1ullool
T and. being
hinu;elf an arehaeologist, a ppre<:iated the "
ork \yhich
the great DOlniniean accomplished at 8. Olelnellte:
<< It ,vas so far back )), he :says. <<as 1
4R that
Pl'. 31 ull 0 olJY first suspected that the beautiful church
of S. Clelnentp "
as nut the ancient Basilica so fre-
fluently lnelltioned in parlJ
history. His study of the
1 Right Hey. Dr, Bro,,-nlo\\-, BilShop of Clifton.
152 THE RASILICA OF S. CLK\lEKTE IN ROME
topograph
r uf this part of ROl1H\ and his Juinute
exalnina tion of the marbles in the choir, led him to
the conclusion tha t the ancient DOJJ1Ùl;ClllJl of S. Cle-
mente lllUSt be sought for either beneath, or else in
the neighbourhood uf the present church. The revo-
lution of 1848 obliged hilll to defer his intended in-
vestigations, and even w"hen happier times came, va-
rious circuillstances combined to prevent their being
carried out. The good Prior, hlHvever, persevered in
his detern1Ïnation to sift the matter to the bottOlll,
and, to use his o,vn ,vords: 'In process uf tiIne, ,,-hat
had been but conjectures ripened into convictions, and,
in 1837, the researches ,vere comlnenced b
" opening'
a passage through a chamber containing some remains
of ancient ,valls, and thence through another, quadran-
gular and vaulted. Here, having made an aperture in
the ,vall, and renloved a quantit
,. of l'ubbish to the
depth of fourteen feet. \ve discovered three COhUllllS
standing erect, ;n sitll, and sonle fragments of frescoes
representing the Inart
rdoln of S. Catherine of .L-\le-
xandria, and a group of nineteen heads, \vith an
equally poised balance 1 : and the inscription. ,vritten
vertical1y :
STA TERA)l .A l
G ET )I( )DIU3f JTì8TU
I.
These discoveries relnoved all doubt as to the site
1 That is, scale
on a horizontal linf'.
,
..
"
-....
..
Pro .J ospph )[nllool.v. O. P.
THE
l"HTEI{H.\
E.\
HA::;ILU'A
1 ;);"')'
and exi
tenep of tlH
primitiYP Basiliea '. Fr. )Iullooh r ...
p. l
H (First Ed.).
(( The dis"-
uver
" of this a neient Basilica >>. thp Bi-
shop continues, << could not have heen luade bJr one-
better qualified to appreciate it than 1-'... JIulloolJ
Fr. Jlullooly. ...-\.t once a -Religious, an ar- o. P.
chileologi
t. and a man of bnsiness. his antiq narian
a l'dour lleyer llrges hiln to treat ,,,ith disrespect the-
1l1onUluen1s of a later age. nor doe:s his devotion to
the traditions of the place Inake him shut his eJ
es to.
anv discoyer,., ho,ypyer inconsistent ,vith those tradi-
'- ..
tion
; so that ,ve are equally Hure of haying eyer
vestige of antiq uit
faithfully and jpalously preserved
to us, and of feeling that the Inediaeval and even Inore
nlodern beauties of his church ,yill neyer be
acrificed
to an inconsiderate enthu
ia
ln for ilneicnt l'emainso-
''''''hile ,ve call attention to the archaeological importance
of th
discoyeries, ,yhieh, as De Rossi saJs, Ire Oll'e fo-
fIfteen years of ill'lefat(qable labollr Oil tlte part of flip
/llerito,.ioll:i Irisll DO/JtilliclIll, (Bullett, p. l;{O), \ve Hlust
not forget our tribute of praise to the prudence ,vith
\vhich these excavations ,,,ere accolupIished. Thp pre
nt
church stood on a foundation of cOlnpacted rubbish. ,vith
\vhich the ahandoned Basilica had been pnrp()
el
. fill-
ed up; and all this had to be relnoved before the-
ancient Basilica could be luade accessible to the pub-
lif'. Jlore than one hundred and thirh- thou
and eart-
L
15ö THE BASILICA OF S. CLE:\lEKTE IN ROl\1E
loads of rubbish had to be carried out in baskets. and
brick vaults and arches had to be constructed in order
to support the upper church. Fr.
IulJooIJ- engaged
the services of Cav. Fontana, a ROlllan architect, and
-the ,yhole of this difficult and delicate undertaking ,vas
.aeeomplished \vithout a single aceident. Pope Pius IX..
in 18{j6. ,vas conducted bJ
the enterprising Prior
through the subterranean church, ,vhich had heen bur-
ied and forgotten for so many centuries: the lle,y
High .AJtar "
as eonseerated by Cardinal Guidi O. P.
on JanuarJ r the ROth 1868 1 , and the relics of S. Clell1ent
and S. Ignatius of Antioch ,vere carried in solelnn
processio n round the .f1-'la vian Amphitheatre. The pro-
gress of the excavations has attracted great attention
in ROlne; and it has been InainlJ
through the sub-
:stantial tokens of their interest in the "
ork. left by
Catholics and Protestants alike, that Fr.
Iullool
T
has been pnabled to bring his labours to so suceessful
:an issue >> 2.
The right aisle was divided from the llayp b
T eight
.colull1ns of ,yhich seven are still ill situ. The first. of
verde antique, is of ]narvellou
beaut
.,.
.and ver.v relnarkable for its yermillion
(10IumIlS.
1 Cardinal Guidi also con!5ecrated the high altar of th....
present church.
:2 Dublill Re1iÍell7, Oct. 1871, pp. 103--1. f'or a sketch of the
lifl> of Fr. 3Iullool.y, O. P.. and an account of his ,york at
S. Clemente. see << The Irish DOlninicalls in ROlue >>. Chap. ""II.
.(S. Clemente).
THE SLHTERRA
EA
BASILICA
157
spots ,vhich vary its surface of vivid green and pure
,vhite; it is considered an unique speciInen of its-
kind in Ital
. The second is of Parian marble: the
third Hnd fourth of :x un1Ïdian; hvo others are of oriental
granite: and the seventh of Settebasi of the rarest
qua1it
.
ome of these COhUllllS have been d<!prived
of their capitals. Their ,vant of uniforn1ity both in
height and diametre sho\vs that th
must have been
taken. according to the custom of the tiInes, from va-
rious edifices of au earlier period, perhaps frolll por-
ticoes or pagan temples 1. Springing frolll these col-
umn
are arches ,vhich
upport the right or northern
,vall of the upper church - the subterranean basilica
being wider than the upper bJ the ,vidth of this aisle,
,vhich is eighteen feet six inches. The columns lnight
appear to stand upon a uniform plinth running along
the aisle; but, in fact, it is a brick ,yall of the Inl-
perial period. The three ,valls ,,,hich run along the
length of the church, hvo behveen the aisles and the
na ve, and one ,,-ithin the nave ,yere built in the ele-
venth century in connection ,vith the foundations of
the upper church. and chiefly out of the débris of
ruined temples and broken statues. At either end of
the walls between nave and aisles are T shaped piers
1 Constantine. writing to a certain Bishop. says: c Let me
kno.w .when the plans of the church are completed. so that I
may order the columns for it to be collected from everywhere >>..
u
1;)
THJ;} BASILICA OF s. CLE)IF.
TE IX I{())IJ;
.of InasonrJ
belo:1ging to the original construetion. All
these piers \vpre once covered \yith frescoes. bu1 fronl
.sOl11P of thenl the paintings ha \-p no\y ahnost elltÍl'eI.\
disappea red.
The \\
hole of the right ,ya.ll seenlS to have been
coverpd \"ith paintings, and. in SOUIC cases at least.
eyen ,,,ith :l dOllble la
Yer of fl'esco. COIllpal'ath-el
lit-
tle of all this artistie tl'easure 1l0\\r exists. hut ,,,hat \ve
Ita ve is Yer.'
interesting. 'rhe fresco on that part of
the ,vall nearer the entrance \vas though t h
Fr. 3I111-
looly. \"ith \"horn Profe
sor 3Iarucchi agreed. to I'epre-
sent the Inart
Tdolll of B. Cathprine of .Alexandria:
,yhih:\ that on the other sitlf\ of the nieht.. }u-" believpd
to represent the Council held in R. Clenlente nnder
Pope ZosiInns in 417. for the cundelllnation of the Pe-
lag'ian hpretic Celestius 1 . Jlonsignor "
ilpert. ho,ve\.er.
does not agree \\"ith Pl'. )Iunool
..s iuterpretation of
these 1\vo subjpct
. The paintings in the niehe uffer no
diffi('nlt
.. 'rhis niche ,vhich is six feet high. three \vidp.
.and sunk into thp ,vall to the depth of eightepn iu-
1 In -117. Popp S. ZUSilllllS wrote to
. Aug1l8tin(
and tht"
_\Jl'ican Bishop:-; about the Pelag-ian heretic Celestiu!5, \vho had
appeared lwfore a Coußeil at Honlf'. << "
e !"at ". he sa;,
s, << in
the Basilica of S. Clemente, for he. imbued \\"ith the teaching
()f Blessed Peter the Apostle. had corrected ancient errors ,,-itlt
.sueh allthol'it.y. and had nlade sueh progress, that the Faith
.which lw had learned anù tang-ht he also eonsl.l'rat....a h,y his
llHlrt;vrdolll)) (Constant. ROlli. COllt. Ep., p. H!3).
1
- ') It.
,
\
"
, ,
'\
\
.:r:
--.1-. -."I
......
-
..-
..
.;:.
I
\-
....
\
t
'\ "
--
III
:::z
@
t
J
I
.. ;: ,t co 1
....---. t;;;'..
...... T- _ ." q
::::- t..
'"-;:'
......
-
-
-
--
-
--
-
1-
"
i'
1
..
. . (
, ",,\
..
\ .
,
--
-.:
-
-
1
I_
, ....,...
--L....
-1-
,-=:f
\-
Our Saviour, B. Ylrgin, etc,
THE :-:l'BTI<:IU:"\
E.\
R.\:-;ILIC.\
un
ehes. contains. $\VS Fr. JIlllloolv 1. thp re l n'csentati\
es
v v
of thp Christian "
orlrl: <<Chri
t in His [nCal'Jlate Xa-
tlll'
aud in His p:lorJ: His lUlIuacnlate 3Iother, angels..
virg.ins. mnl'tyrs. Inen. in
trnnlf'nts of Ilis PI'o\'idpnce
and heirs of His lu'olnise )). Our Lad
T \Yith the Di-
vine Infant in her :trlns is the centI.al fig'UI'P of thp gronp
in the <.>I'o\yn of thp uiche is a luetlallioll of OIU' ])i\Tinp
Lorrll'adiant \"ith O'lol'v. On the
idp to tllp l'Ï!.?'ht of the
0...,
Bles"ied Yîrgin is the head of
. (httherine of ....-\lpxaudJ'ia.
al1(1 011 thp left that of
. Enpheluia of Chah'pdon. Belo,,,
8. Catherine is Ahl'a halH brandishing' a sword \"ith his
right hand. \vhile in the left he holds a chalice of blood.
and froln cl circle over his head a sho\ver of blood is
falling 2. On the opposite side is Isaac being' clefpndod
bJ- an angel. At the left of the throne on \vhich our
Blessed Ladr is seated aro four horizontal Ii ne.., of
grafiti containing the llanll
s:
t ,T u_-\x. PRE
B.
ROSA
BIT
-\LI
t 8
\ HBTO PRESB. ;{
1 Page 203,
2 The plaster containing the representation of the chalice
aud shower of blood fell off soon aftpr the discoYer:,
.
3 It Hef'lllS to have been an ancient custOlll for the pl'iests
and pious faithful to "Tite th
ir nmnes where the holy Racri-
fice had been offered. On the frescoes represpnting Pope
S. Cornelius. and 8. C,yprian) in the catacOInù of 8. Callistn:-:,
may still b
read, scratched on the lllortitr in characters of the
12
162 THE BASILICA OF 8. CLEME1'\TE IX ROl\IE
Professor Jlarucchi thinks that this beautiful bJ
zantine
picture of the
ladonna belongs to the sixth I or per-
haps to the fifth century. .Another laJ
er of plaster ,vith
a fresco of the 1\Iadonna covered this. but it fell off
immediately after the di:seovery.
lonsignor "rilpert devotes an interesting chapter
of his little ,york to his interpretation of the subjects
at either side of the niche. He argues forcibly, and
to our mind rather convinci:n
)y, that the three COln-
parhnents ,vith the niche as centre-piece form one com-
})lete scene of the << Lat Judgment >> 2 cOlnprising : the
Resurrection. the Judgment itself, and the Exit from
the Judglnent.
Setting aside, but not rejecting, the possibilit
r of
two subjects of different date:s cOlllmingling here, we
gi ye brieflr the learned archaeologisf s interpretation of
the ,vhole scene. The part to our right ,vhich Fr. )Iull-
oolJ believed to represent the luartJTrdom of S. Cathe-
seventh century. the names of visitor
to the tOlnbs of these
saints. The names of t".o priests are ,vritten thus:
t LE O pnB
JOA:\
-rrS PHB-:-
1 It luight .well belong to that period of the sixth century
"w hen Pope.J ohn II. decorated the church of S. Clell1ent
,,'ith
the c Schola CantoruIll '1>, &c.
2 _\s earlJ" as 1859 this scene "was believed to be a repre-
sen tation of the Last Judgment. See )!unõz, ]{uoru Bllllett.
(1907, p. 309) C/zristliches Klllltsblatt. 1859, n. 12. p. 96.
")"
..,
,
' ,
- \
"" ','
"'I "
'
.
" '"
,'J
...
,
,'\.., '--
t
...
..... ""':
t
"
t
J- ::",,,
;l .
.
,
.
1.
.
(fot. .Anderson).
Blessed v"'lrgin and
Divine Infant.
,
.....
THE 1S1.."BTERRAXEAX BASILICA
16;)
rine. he interprets to h
hell, the damned. and the
delllons
and the lettel'
K..l.. "Tritten high up in the
picture, \vhi('h Fr.
lullooly r(>ad as the first letters of
I\.Á
.leri/le 1\Ionsignor ""'ilpert regards as the first let-
ters of KAipllas J and the Jetters AX close by, are. he
thinks, the first of
\.NllllS ; bence he infers that Herod
and Judas eannot he far off. Satan hinlself ,,,ith the
cloven foot and human body is tu be seen at the right
of the breach in the ,vall, near ,,,hat Fr. l\IullooIJ
re-
garded as S. Ca therine beill
' tortured a t the \vheel,
but ,,,ha t :Uonsig'uor "Tilpert interprets as one of the
damned torluented by a berpen t. On the If\ft of the
nichë, l\Ionsignol' 'Yîlpel't sees, instead of a Conncil
scene, tlle Celestial CitJ
and its inhabitants. The Hllgels,
and ,vith theJn the Årchangel Raphael. are around the
niche calling the dead to judglnent. Above the niche
and the cOlnpartments L'Îght and left of it, are seated
the hvelve Apostles on t"
eIYe thrones judging, ,,
ith
the Divine Judge, the dead risen frolll their tOlllbs. Of
this portion of the freseo \Jnly the lo,ver parts of three
thrones and the feet of three or foul' of the Apostles
are
till preserved. Underneath. and separated froln
them by a black line, are to be seen at the right of
the Divine Judg'e the blessed in the heavenly Jerusa-
lem, and on the left the damned in hell. The niche in
the centre indicates the place of an altar, and sepa-
1'a tes heaTen froln hell. 'fhe principal figures in the
löH THE BASILICA OF S. CLK\IE
TE IN RO)IE
ni
he have an intimate relation \yith the holy Sacri-
fice of the 3Iass. In the recess is the Blessed Vir<J'in
,vith the Divine Child.; the Saviour of the world is
at the
ummit of the arch
\vhile the \valls are in great
part occupied \,yith the sacrifice of Abraham the accept-
ed t
rpe of the bloody sacrifice on Calva.rJT, as also
of the unbloody sacrifice of the )Iass. It is, continues
Jlonsignor "rilpert. a sublÏ1ne concppt to put so pro-
minently, in a picture of the << Lnst Judgment )), the
sacrifice of the Jlass; to separate heaven froIll hell
b
T means of the altar and the most solen1n type of
the Passion.
Jlons. 'Vii pert thinks that thi
fresco was painted
In the time of Pope Leo IV., about the year
30, and
is. consequently, older,
JT t\VO centuries, than the old-
est fresco of the << Last Judgment )) hitherto kno\vn,
that namely of S. George's in the Island of Richenau
in Lake Constance, \vhich 'Ya
painted about the middle
of the eleventh centurJT. Henee our fresco is, he saJ
s,
of gl>eat value both in general for mediæval iconogra-
ph
r, and in particular for the subject ,vhich it repre-
sents: and. ,,-e rnay add. that buth the historian of
Christian art, and the theologia n engaged in the de-
fence of Catholic truth are indebted to it I.
1 ..An artist of the ninth ecntllry named )!ethoùius (not
H. )lethodius tlip brother of t-;. C
Til. also of the ninth cen-
tury) painted a telTif
Ting << Last .J ndgment>> for the Bulga-
11'
.
..
...
{
f'
.' ...
, I
.,.;1 ;.iI.
,\ ,..
....
...
.._:tJIL..-", ""-
"-
>a:
.,. 1
10> "
t
..
1f
}
:J ·
,.
".
t'
1
-,
...,
it >>
\
"
"
..
.
,
'tli
.;;ø
,
>
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, - .
...
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, .,
it'
"
i-, 1":,
. ,.\
\
ts.
, .
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.>o
.
.J'
If
,...
....
.,
....i
'.
'-'
....
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-
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=
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H
Q;I
..=I
I
t>
3
THE
LBTERI{A
K-\
BASILICA
171
Be
ond this last fl"'-
8CO and as far as the ancient
tribune of thp chnl'eh the ,vall ,vas covered ".ith a
series of subjects. probably it lin
uf
aillts, such as
,,
e st.ill see in the chuL"ch of Banta :\Iaria Autiq na in
the RUlnan Foruln. the fL'èscoes uf ,,'hich belong, it
is believed, to tlu}
alne period as the ea rlier one
uf 8. Clenlente. and ,,
ere pr()hahl
execut
d by the
same artist. or salnp school of a 1.tistS.
.AscendinO' by three ste } )s to th(' trihunp ,yhere re-
(;
mains of the old pavernent still exist. ,vp spe on th
,vall to the righ1 a la.>ge figul'e uf our Divine Lord,
but the head and -.;houlders are ,va uting. He is ,yearing
sandals and stalldin<r on a 1 . e,velled fobtstoul. In His
ö ·
left hanrl Hp holds a hook 011 ,yhich the fin<rers uf
1"'"'
His right re
t. 'rhis fresco ,,
as it pparentl
' painted
over anothpl' repre
enting an identical
llhject, for
above the book referred to appear
another book
held in the right hand of another figure. pr()habl
uf
the Saviour.
Farther on and near the stairs leading to the am-
bulacrum and thp old ,valls is an inscription of ,yhich
onl
the follo\ying part can be deciphered:
QUI
QTT[
HA
:\lEl S())nXI
LITEUAS
LEG ERIS LECTUR DIC IX DIn-XO ,J( )AXXI
31ISEHERE DEUS.
rians.
s this 3Iethodins is 811 pposeu to ha\
e \yorked also in
ROffiC'. it is possiblp that ht' is the painter of Olll' fl't'sco on the
same suhject.
172 THE BA:-;ILICA 01<' S. {'LE:\IK\TE I
RO:\fE
1rlIOcrer reads these letters of 1//.'/ llame let him saIl: (ind
JWl'e mercy on 111l1rortll.1l .Jolm.
On a pier at the oppo
ite side of the aisle are
fragments of O]'IUIJ11t'n t in fresco. ,!'he fresco is ,yithiu
.. 1
..
'<<
r r:
...,
-..
1.4.
-
."
J
"":.
,
"
-
I
.
,
.
- " . ft.i-
..1 f'
ß
. .
j v
1"'"
/lit.' ht"'!.
: ,
-
f'
\.
'
'A. > .. ,-, , < ;.
: '#
k '
t ,,
t:
..,f
..
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I
.
,'
.. .
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...:
;,)
. a.,.
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'!
,ì
..
..;.
,-- ..
- ..
...) .111
. ':., 11.'\
f
..
Our Saviour.
an enclosure ,,-hich Inay be the relnains of a sacristv,
.and ,ve kno,y that such sacristies existed. in the earl
"
THE sCBrERRA
EA
BA
lLICA
173
christian basilicas clo
e to the apse, occuPJ
ing a po-
sition ahnu
t identieal ,vith the modern lateral apses
situated at the end of the side aisles and flanking
thp p1'Íllcipal ap
e. On the other side of thi:s pier,
"'I
'" .,
, fi
f\
.. j
\
I
II.
'!P'\. :
(rot. _\.nderson),
Dt'SCPIl t in to l.âm hOe
\
t
.,
"
.'.'
"
\\V
1....
that is, un the sic1p facing the nave. is
a fresco of our 8a viour in Limbo. He
J)(
C('llt
into
Limbo is surrounded b
y a ves;ca and holds the
Cross in His left band. ,\
hile ,vith the right He grasps
the hand of Adaln, arollnd ,vhonl are to be seen little
faces. ...t largp hand, probahly that of Eve, is ,,;tl'etched
out to\vards the Redeemer. The rest uf this picture
17-1 THE BASILICA OP S. CLK\[E
TE IX IU))[I<]
to the right has disappeared ,vith the plaster on ,,
hich
it ".as painted. The left foot of our Saviour presses
on Satan ,vho is spitting' fire and holding Adam b
thp
foot. Here we have rppresented the triumph of our
Divine Saviour over Satan.
On the left of the last picture is a venerable person
,,
ith a hook in his lëft hand: the right is open alid
raised to his hI'east. l:>J'ofessol' )1a rucchi thinks that it
represents a Pope; but 3Ionsigl10r "
ilpert is of opinion
that it is a 111onk, )JrobablJ
an abbot, ,vho had selected
this place for his tOlub 1.
The ,vall to Ollr lpft ,vas huilt in the eleventh cen-
tur
to support the ro,v of coluJnns bet"
epn the nave
and right aisle of the upper church, and it is contin-
ued into the ancient apse. The nave of the subterra-
nean church being equal in ,vidth to both nave and right
aisle of the present church (52 ft. 3 1/2 in.). its apße ,vas
therefore larger than tha1 of the latter, hence an apsidal
or sen1 icircular foundation had to be cunstructed in
the subterranean church for the support of the apse in
1 A nlOnaster
r "
as attached to the Ba'iilica of S. Clemcnte
in the ninth century, and .:\Ionsignor 'Yilpprt. p. f>O. thinks that
s. CJ
ril died a nlOllk of this nlonastel'
.. Pope 8. Gregol'J Hw
Great (590-UU-1) gave the Beneùictine monks charg
of tlw Basi-
lica of S. ClelIlCnte: these were succeeclecl b,y Canons, ,,-ho in
turn
vere succeeded bJ
the monks of S. Ânlhl'osP ad K em us.
After the suppression of these monks bJ- Pope Urban .VIII, the
monastery allll basilica ,verp handed oyer to the Idsh Dominicans.
THg SrBTERRA
EA
BASILICA
17;)
the upper church. "..... e ha ve consequentlJ'
hvo apses
in the ancient church, but only one, nanlel
- its own
proper one. interests us here.
'é:;J
Ancient apse and nave.
LeaYing the frescu of the Descent into Lhnbo we
pass through a uarro,v passage into the aneient apse,
the brick,york of \yhieh belongs to the time of Con-
stantine. Turning to our left through an opening in
the eleventh ceTItur
,yall ,ve reach a pas
age behveen
the ancient and lllodern apses. Here. through an iron
grating in the floor. \ve
ee part of the great palace
,vithin \vhich, and direct
- beneath us. i
the << Domi-
niculll Clementis )).
,y. e no\v pass into the eleventh centur
apse \vith
its high altar, built b
Fr.
Iullool
r and consecrated
by Cardinal Guidi, O. P. in 1868. Extending from the
altar to about the 11liddle of the na ye are hvo ro,vs
of piers, six in each, ,,-hich "'"ere built during the
excavations to sustain the \veight of the marble choir
in the upper church. In this part of the na-ve ]na
be
seen the raised site of that choir ,vhich once adorned
it, and \vhich n01\Y contributes to the beaut
of the
upper church. In front of the altar is a marble slab
liö TH
BA:o'lLlCA 0];' S. CLK\II!;NTg IX H.())[B
indicating thp existence of a Ulortuary vault under-
neath. construe-ted also by :r'r.)Inlloolr. Four other
piers in a single 1'O'Y cOlllplete the
upport of the
nave of the pre
ent ba.
ilica.
To appreciatp the size a nd grandeur of thi
old
nave, ,ve should stand at the entrance to it frolll the
narthex and try to ill1agine it ,vithont all tho
e
tacks
of 111as()nr
T ,vhich no,v uece",sill'ily encuHlber it
ides
and centrp: ,yp Innst tl'V and reeall in fanc\
the old
tI .
p:H.ious apse ,vith it
high a ltar the beauty of ,,,bich
111aJ' be infel'l'ed fl'oln the hvo pillars ,,'hieh alone rp-
maiLl. "r e Innst relueluher. too, that the bpautifullnarble
choir of thp upper chlll>ch once stood hel>e. ,,-ith the
other lllaJ'hles in exquisite desig'll ,,
hich adol'upd the
floor. OnIJ" thus can ,ye forlll a 11 adequaJp picture of
thp a Llcipnt ha..,i I ica as it ,vas a thollsa Lld J'ears ago.
"
Fresco of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin.
nn uUt' of th{:l w.alls built behvt'en thp pillars se-
pa rating the nal'thex froln the l1ilve, and on the side
facing t.he nave, is a fl'e
eu the
ubject of ,vhieh causes
some little clifficlllt
T. Pro 3Iullooly and Professor l\Ia-
THE !')rBTERRA
EA
H.ASILICA
177
rucchi interpreted it as representing the ....-\.:::;:::;uluption
of the Blessed 'Tirgin, ,vhile Jlonsignor 'Vilpert 1 thinks
that it repre:::;ents the .Ascension of our Divine Lord
into Heaven. a sllbject ,vhich 'Ya
. he sa
Ys. a favouritp
one in luediæ\Tal art. The opinion of .:\Ionsignor 'Yllpert
is not b.y anJ- lneans original 2. but his it nal.rsis of the
picture is. \ve belie\Te, peculiar to hÎlnself. He
a.rs
that Leo I\T. ,vho, according to the inscription. had
thp pictul'e painted, did no Inore than add the t\VO la-
teral figures and t11p
tone representing the tOlub in
the eentl'e. The picture then, accortling to :\Ionsignor
"Tilpert, originallJ
represented the L\.scensioll, and
Leo IV. lnade a change by introducing hvo lle'v fi-
gures and a tOlnb ; and he adds. logically pnough. that
Leo's inscription is consequently exaggerated. But if
Leo did no more than Inake the additions attributed
to him. i., it not sufficientlJ
e\yident that he Inade thelll
for a purpose, ,ybich could be no other than to con-
vert the picture of the Ascension into that of the A.s-
slunption, otherwise \vhJT introduce a tOlnb'? Taking
the fresco therefore as it :-;tands, "Te mnst regard it,
even in the light of Jlonsignor ,,-r-ilperfs interpretation,
1 Page 57.
2 P. Raffaele Garrucci (<< :5toria dell' Årte Cristiana J) -
VoL III
1876). .whom l\Ionsignor 'Vilpert seems to follow in
his treattnent of many
ontroYerted subjects in art. also held
that this picture represents the Ascension.
13
178 THE BASILICA OF S. CLEME
TE IN ROME
as representing, since the ninth century, the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin. Thp fact, too, that the posp of
the t,vo lateral figures - SSe Leo and Vitus - is dif-
ferent from that of the Apostles does not militate in
the least against our interpretation of the subject,
for it is a general principle. adu1itted in regard to
mediæval art. that figllres ,vhich are foreign to the
scene have a different pose froll1 that of those proper
to it. Hence the immobiJity of the figures of SSe Leo
and Vitus, in contrast to the gesticulating attitude of
the other figures of the scene.
In the fl"esco, our
aviour is seated on His starry
tf
throne surrounded by
vesica supported b
four an-
gels. In His left hand He holds a book ,vhilp His right
is open and extendi:d. Belo,,
a ee the .Apostles "rho,
finding the tOlnb empty. are gazing in various attitudes
of elnotion and surprise on her who is being taken
up to,vards heaven. B. Vitus ,vith the circular nimbus
and holding' a sluall cross in his ha nd stands at the
extreme end to our right: his nalne SOS -,TITUS is
,vri tten verticallr neal" his head. ..At the correspondin
extremitJr to the left is Pope S. Leo I r-. (847-8;)3), ,,,ith
the square nÎlllbus ,,,bich indicates that thp Haint was
living at the timp the picture ,vas painted. His nalne :
S
SCT[SSI)IU8 DO)!. LEO (Q)RT PP. nO
IAXUB
'wc
.......
;.
.. "Ir
t
t .
(; I . p.
.þ . .J..
..
.",
-'tè ...
\. -
.'
,. ...
. -l
...
\ ,
,. ''':..
.... d
p:
a:>
,.Q
...
0
:::
;:)
......
--
.to;; Q.,
"" S
-"'- T=
""-
/ .
m
n
,. Q)
. r " .. _ .
--=--
..:'
-
"' +r
)
-n
-;;-
"'-- ' 0
J1
.,no
<:>
-...
.:
THE f'PBTERRANEAK BA
ILICA
181
is ,vritten near his head. Belo,,," the picture is the
inscription:
QUOD H.AEC PRAE CUXCTIS SPLEKDET
PICTLTR.A DECORE C01\IPOXERE RAKC
STUDUIT PRAESBYTER ECCE LEO.
That this pictllre may olltshine tile rest Ùl beallt.'1 be/wid! t/ir
priest Leo laboured to compose it 1 .
s. Leo seems to have had a particular devotion
to the luystery of the A
sumptiün. for he ordered the
octave daJ" of that feast to be observed with great
solelnnity ; ,vhereas according to the L;ber PO/ltzfiea/is
it had not been so kept before his tÏ1ne in Rome. "Thile
still a simple priest Leo 'wa
attached to the Church
of the Quattro Coronati near S. Clemente. and "vhen
Pope he made the latter basilica the recipient of many
rich presents; hence ,ve can understand why he put
up this fresco here 2.
1 )Ia
r ,,'e not infer from this inscription that other pictur-
es existed in the basilica at the timf' that Leo laboured to
make tltis one outshine the crest J) in beauty"?
'2 It may be of interest to some of our readers to kno,v
that I{ing Alfred the Great, the only English Sovereign to
receive unction in Rome from the hands of the Pope, received
it from Pope S. Leo IV"., in 833.
182 THE BASILICA uF S. CLK\[E
TE l
RO)IE
On two narro,v fillets running parallel to the above
inscription are scratched the names:
HIER. EGO JIERCrRICS, MERceRIUS FRESH. PETRU
LLRI
:-;A.
TTRsrR PRESB. xx.
SOYE:\IRRI:S OBlIT KALAL EO
t SALBIGS PRESB. FLORI. PLORCS: PRE ';B. S. THEODORI 1.
.TOA
:SES PRESB. DE TITU . EGO Rrp
u
PRESB.
YES. DO)!. CLE)IESS FRESH. GEORGII:-S,
EGO JIERCURU;S PRESH.
The priests John and Salbius may be the samp
,yho scratched their n::unes in the niche of the 3Ia-
donna in the north aish-'.
.J
',I 'ß-
,.u.
Frescoes of the Crucifixio n, etc.
To the right of the fresco of the Assumption is one
of the T shaped pier..; of the original construction; on
the t\yO
ides facing the nave,a series of subjects is
painted. First ,ve have the Crucifixion in \vhich Our
Saviour is represented fastened to the Cross and still
alive; His Blessed Jlother is appealing to
Crucif'ixion
Hhn; while
. J ohu, ,vith the Gospel roll,
stretches out a supplicating hand. Belo\y this, in a se-
parate panel. ,vas another picture of ,vhich only a very
1 S. Theodore at the foot of the Palatine Hill.
I . '-
I I
\ .....
"
.....1
)
)
...
, ..'
'1 '"
I
"........ """
" tu
, -- -.---
-J
'./ .l
1
Ì\"
, m
The Crucifixion. - Holy ,y O1uen at the Sepulchre.
Descent into Limbo. -
lHrriage Feast at Cana.
THE
rRTERHAXEAN BA
ILICA
183
Sillall fragillent 1l0'V reluaills. At right angles to these
are three subjects in three different panels. 'rhe one at
the top repres
nts the hol
"'OIllen at the Holy 'rom
n
TOlllb of Our
aviour before ,,-hieh a lanlp at tlw
lÞ nlch r
is burning: an angel at thp uther sid
in-
forln
the hol
T 'YOIllen that the )Iaster i
not there,
<< He is risen. He is not her
>> (
. )[arh. XY1, H). Both
'YOIUell ha ve the nimbus and hold boxes in their hands.
apparentlr containing the bpices and the oinÍlnent
,vhere,Yith to anoint their Beloved. In the centre panel
is our
ayiour, surrounded bJ the vesica, J)pSCf'nt
deseending into Limbo. He is grasping by into Limbo
the hand
\.daln ,vho beeln
to be reclining ,,
hile Eve
is standing ,Yith both hands stretehed out to,vards the
Redeelner supplicating for herself the fruits of Hi
Pas:sion and Death. In the lo,ver compartIllent is de-
picted the )Iarriage feast at Cana. [n the centre of the
g rou l J is our
ayiour ,vith the nimbus and
)Iarriuge
f
ast raJTs; beside HiIn stands His Ble
sed
at Can a l\Iother. alsu ,,-ith the nÏInbu
; and to her
left is apparentl
the nlaster of the feast; the word
a,.chit,.icÜll11S is ,vritten yertically above his IH:
ad. It
!
probable that other pictures representing mysteries
or miracles of our Divine Lord ,vere painted in the
upper portion of the pier.
It is difficult to determine the date of these fre-
scoes; but the
are thought to belong to the period
l
U THE BASiLICA OF S. CLK\IEXTE l
RU)[E
behyeen the seventh and n1Ïddle of the ninth centuries.
They 'Yer
certainlJT painted before that of the _\.s-
sumption for tha t, part of the pier against ,,
hich the
,vall ,yith th(! frcsco of the .L\sslunption "
as built
contains trace
of fresco at a point ,,
here
omp :stones
have been renloved at the junction of pier and "yall.
",,--\.t the end of the
aIne pier, bet\veen the Ila\'e and
left aisle, is represented
. Prosper of ",,-lquitaine.
S. Prosper, born about tlu"} J-ear 40a..
s. l)roSl)
r.
,vas it disciple of S. .Allgll
tine, and one
of the greatest opponents of the Pelagian heresy.
-\.bout thp
rear 4H:1 he "Tote a poenl entitled <( The
Ungrateful >>, by ,,,hich he Ineant the senli-pelagians
\vho ,,-ere ungrateful to divine grace, though they
\vere not then cut off frOIn the communion of the
Church. This work, tht-' masterpiece of the Saint ,vho
,vas the author of many valuable cOlnpositions, is
written in excellent Yerse. In it he sa,\Ts that the See
of Peter, fixed at Rome, presides over the \rhole
,vorld, possessing hy religion ,,-hat it (R,olue) had never.
subdued by arms. 1 \V-hen
. Leo the Great ,vas chosen
to fill th
See uf Peter in the year 440, he inyited
S. Prosper to Rome and made him his secretary. Our
1 c Pe
tenl snLeunteIll priIna recidit
edi
Roma Petri, quae pastoralis honoris
Facta caput Jllu]l(lo, qnicquid non possidet armis.
Religione tenet :1>. Carmen c De Ingratis :1>.
TH E
CBTEI{RA
E.-\
R.\
lLl(J.-\
It-W
fresco rell1Ïnd., llS of the a wfLll seelles w hi('h Rome
,,
itne:,sea at this epoch. \vhen it 'Y.'S invaded br At-
..
S
P
R
o
5.
PE
R1
V
r--... -...
...'
...
'-- I "
. ..........
,-'
,:1' .'.
*I ;....
',
I ROMP.
....
:I
. Prosper of Aqnitaine.
tila and Genseric. a !ld of the successful efforts of Pop
S. Leo to avert the terrible evils ,vhich thPD beset
the Eternal Cit)
and Italy in general]. Of thpse events
1 Th(-> final salvation of Italy at this epoch is one of the
grandest and most solemn events in history, and is inseparably
linked ,,
ith the name of the great Pope S. Leo I.
18R THE BA
II..ICA OF
. CLE)lEXTE IX RO:\IE
S. Prosper has been the Inost eloquent and reliablp
chronicler.
The nave ,vas separated froIll the left aisle bJ- eight
columns. only five of ,,,hich remain, and of these, hvo
are broken and enlbedded in brick piers on ,vllich the
t,vo relnaining votive pictures, one uf S. Alflxius, and
the other of S. Clelnent celebrating )Ias
, are painted.
Tw'o of the other three columns are of beautiful bigio
marble, one is plain, and the other of spiral forIn.
In front of the picturfl of
. ...-\.lexiu:s, on thfl floor,
is a marble slab ,vith the inscription:
DEPOSITUS LEO:YAS "\'"1 K
L, FEB, IX PACE.
Here are also fragments of thp old payelnent, some
of the exquisite designs of ,,,hich are still traceable.
fany saints have trod that ancient pavelnent froln
the days uf Pope S. Danlasus to those of Pope S. Gre-
gory VII.
D
Fresco of S. Alexius.
The fresco of S. Alexius is diyided into three com-
})artments. In the upper one our Divine Sayiour is
THE
"BTERIL-\
EA
HARILICA
189
seated on a rich th l.one holding in His hands a book
on ,vhich i
"Titten:
FORTIS UT '
IXCULA )[ORTI
Strollg as tlte bOllds of drat/I.
s. 3Iichael is on Hio.; right and S. Gabrifll on the left
both holding thurible
.
. CleUlent is at the extreme
right of our Sa\Tiour and S. Xicholas at the extrelnflleft.
TIH-' upper portion of this fl.esco also has disappeared.
The lo\vest panel contains ornaJnell tal ,york of rare
taste and bpaut
. Flo,yers, and fruits, and birds of the
richest plulnage forn1 the priupipal ðuhjpcts of the eoffi-
po
ition. An exquisite scroll separa tes this froln the
central panel ,vhich contains the histor
of
. Alexius.
.llexius ,ya
the son of a rich noble Ro-
s. .Alexills
ma u Seaator nalued Euphen1ianus ,vito oc-
cupied a
umptuous palace on the .A ventine Hill ,Y}lÍch
looked dO\Vll, at one side. upon thfl Tiber at tIlt"} Ripa
Grande, the port of ancient HOlne, and at the other
upon the Circus )[axiInns. thp Palatine Hill, and the
Coliseum, ,vhile a,vaJ'" in the distance rose up the hills
of Latium. In this palace .Alexius ,vas horn to,vards
the end of the fourth centurJ.... R,eared in affluence,
and at liberty to enjoy all thp pleasures that ,vealth
cOlùd pro(.ure. the JTouHg scion of that great house
bighed rather for a life of quiet. and uf retirement;
hut his 'Yordl
-lninded parellt
, disregarding his o,vn
190 THE BASILICA OF
. {'LE:\IEKTE IN R03IE
,vishes, persuaded hinl to lllarrJ. K 0 sooner ho,vever ,vas
the marriage con tracted than Alexius, OyerCOllie b
the long-cherished desire to he alone and to be ,,,ith
God, fled froIn his palace, his wealth. and his bride.
and soug'ht instead au austere. a poor. an PI'enlitieal
life ,vhich he found and eIuhraced in a hnt near the
church of our LadJ
at. Edessa, "'here he li\'ed for lnany
years. At length hp returued to his father's house.
not as a prodigal but as a holy HIPudieallt begging
for a plaC'è ,,-hereon to la
his head. and at the
(une
titne resohTed ou continuilJg his austerp IlIa nner of life,
His parents not recog:nising their onl
child. received
hiIn into their palace "'here he passed the renlainder
of his Jife, taking his seant.\
rest under the staircase.
until death re\'ealed to his parents the ehild of their
affections. and to his ,vife the object of her long ex-
pectation. As he la
Oil his he<l uf death the bells of
the neighbouriug church began to toll of their o,vn
accord, and Ellphemianus. startled h
this ]uarvellons
occurrence, sought an explanation of it fl'Olll the Pope
,vho callIe hilns\
lf in person to sep the holr pilgl'iIn
,yho ,vas. apparentlJ', the object of the Ini.'aculous tol-
ling uf the hells. ...\Jexius had gi \'en up his soul to
God ,yhell Pop(' Boniface arl'i"ed: hut hp still held in
his hand "
Íth the fil'In grasp of death a Jlutnuscript
,vhich the Pope a)oue sueceeded in l'plpasÍllg. He read
it and it eOIl tained an account of thp life of the pil-
! .
. I ..
1'1 G'
" 19 e '110'1.
)
1\' ".
'f) .... .....
-.-
j ..f
t .
'\
..
..
,-
...
"
r "
l _ t \
..., , j
J
., ----
" -
t
-- ... -", ..
"
.. ..
- II.
..
..
,fot. A.nderson)
. Alexius.
THE SLTBTERRAXI<.:.-\X BASILICA
193
grim \vho wa
then, and not till then when death had
already c
aiIned him for its own, recognised bJT father,
mother, and ,vile. Thus ended the life of Alexius \vho,
for haying renounced all the riches and pleasures of
the world for the sake of Jesus Christ, ,vas reputed
mad by his friends ana acquaintances; but he bequeath-
ed to the ,vorld and to the City of the Pope's in
particular an imperishable name, and to hiIn has been
dedicated, on the site of his father"s palace on the
Aventine, a church ,vhich is as heautiful as it is inter-
esting, and in 'v hich is still preserved part of the
stairs under ,,
hich the saint died. His feast is kept
on the 17 th of July.
In the picture "
e see .AJexius in the garb of a pil-
grim "rith ,vallet and staff lneeting Euphemianus who
is on horse-back and followed by 1\vo attendants. The
pilgrim is evidently begging hospitality, and Euphe-
mianus in repl
y is pointing to,vards thp palace, from
the balcony of which a lady is looking out. The next
scene represents the pilgriIn lifeless, and Pope-Boni-
face (B...PHA TIUS) ], who is attended by his clergy
and cross-bearer, is leaning over him and blessing ,vith
one hand \vhile with the other he is extracting a lnanu
cript from the hand of the dead man. Euphemianus
"\vith surro,vful countenance stands close by. The third
1 S. Boniface I. governed the Church from 418 to 423.
14
19-1 THE BASILICA OF 8. CLE:\[E
TE IX RO:
IE
scene represents the Pope standing erect ,,-ith a scroll
In his hand bearing the \vords:
VEXITE AD 1\IE O)lXES QUI LABOR.ATIS.
Come to me all lloll that labollr.
AptJy is the text chosen. for in fron1 of the Pope the
body of .A.lexius. no\v recognisl'd by all. is placed on
a bier, ,,-hile his bride, the saIne \Vh0I11 \ve see look-
ing from the balcon
? in the first scene. kisses his
cheek no,,- cold in death. Behind her stand the parents
in a frenzJ- of grief. Thus the suene concludes.
The last hvo scenes are represented as taking place
apparentJ
in a church from the vault of \vhich four
lamps are suspended. Alexius and the Pope are repre-
sented \vith the ninlbus. 'rhe pall oyer the hier is 01'-
nanlented ,,,ith birds and crosses. Beneath the picture
in a single line are the \yords:
NON P.AT. AGXOSCIT :\IISERERI Q. SIBI PO-
SCIT. PAPA TENET CART-
f. Y.IT A. QUE NUX-
TIAT ARTA)I. 1
The father does /lot recolJllÍse him lrllO seeks charity. The Popp
holds tile scroll 11'Ilicli tells fliP story of the hfe he has led. :!
1 In this inscription we havft a striking' eXaIuple of the
terseness "\vith ,yhich the subject of the picture ,vas explained
by the painters of the middle a
es.
2 S. Alexius is the subject of Cardinal 'YlseJnan's delight-
ful little dralna c The Hidden Gem :I). For a time critics doubt-
ed the 8tor
T of S. Alexius
our fresco proves that a thousand
years ago the story ,.vas not doubted.
t, I ;
. t '\ . f
P'
.
..... .,
:. .....-...
IÞ :: ..
..J
., 0 " ,
J
.,:
't.
"
. '" \ ,\lIt. , ...
.......
\\ m
, \ i ,
I! i
....
5.BlASIVS. oS S. OA L.
(i) . .
.:
" .,
.
s. Giles. - S. TIlais('. - S. A ntoninlls. - The Prophet Daniel.
THE 1'1'BTERIL\XEAX n.\SILICA
1!)7
The left side of t.hi
pier is also fl'éscoed. and i
divided into three cOlnpHrtnlents, the upper one of,vhich
contains part of the figure of S. Egidiu
or
Uilt>
.The cPlltral one represents S. Blaise
(Blasius) extracting' a thorn froln the throa t of a child
,yho is attended b
T an afflicted Illothpr.
s. IUa i Sf-'.
R. Blai
e ,vho:se fpilst is f'elebl'ated on
the Hrd of Januar
\ is yenerated e"peeiHll
hJ per-
son
suffprillg frollt throH t trouhles. .L
n (lxqui
ite little
border of honeJ-suckle bPparates this froBl the lo\ver
panpi in \"hich a ,,'olf is repl'e:spnted bearing
nvay
a pig, a detail to ,yhich referelL('t' is nlade in the life
of 8. Blaise.
s. Gil(1s.
The corresponding
idé of the next pier also
contains a series of three frescoes. The upper C0I11-
partInent repre
ents s. ÅntoJ.inus clre
sea in
acer-
dutal ve
hnents. It is difficult to sa
which uf the var-
ious l11art
r::; of this llalne i
here depiet- S. Auto-
ed: hut fronl its close proxinlÏt
r to the first niulls.
occupants of thp Chair of Peter in thp fresco on the
front of the salnp pier, it lna,r he supposed to be the
S. Antoninus ,vho ,vas Inart red in the reign of Du-
mitian. In tht' centre panel is thp Prophet Daniel dress-
ed in the ROlllan toga and having the ephod J)auie!
on his breast. He ib in pra
er ,vith hands in the
outstretched and eJ
es raised to,yards hea '-en liOlls'den.
'while hvo lions jlunp at his feet. In the lu,yer cUlllpart-
198 THE BA::;ILICA OF S. CLE)IE
TE l
RO)IE
ment, ,vhich is separated from the central b
an arti:stic
border. a dell containing a group of five lions is re-
presented: four of them \vith open mouths and fero-
cious aspect are in the act of springing up\vards. and
they thus form an admirable contrast to the serenity of
the Prophet. These five lions and the t,,
o in the centre
panel are so badly dra\vn that Fr. ::\Iullooly aptly says
that the artist can nevel' have seen a lion. The last hvo
series of frescoes belong to the same date and are the
\york of the same artist as the two great yoti ve pictures
,vith \vhich they are respectivelJ
associated.
ø
Fresco
of S. Clement celebrating Mass, etc.
"r e have no" c0l11P to the last of the votive fres-
coes. and one of the hest preserved and IllOst iJnpor-
tant in the basilica. Like the others it is tripartite.
and in it also
}}art of thp upper compartlnent is nlÎss-
ing. But enough renlains to enable us to kno\v the
subject, and Jlonsignor "rilpert has even been ahle to
reconstruct the ,,
hole pieture frolll "rhat still exists.
It contains a t least nine fi.
nres, the nameS uf four of
THE
{.ßTEI{l{A
EA
RA
ILIC.-\.
lU9
,vhich are given.
. ClenH?nt ,yerl ring the palliuln, i&
seated on a rich throne in the centre, ,Y
1Ïle the Prince
of the ...Jtpostles \vhu is turned to\vards hÍIn has the
left foot on the foot-stool of the tl1 rone, and seCUlS to
be investing'
. Ulement ,vith the
uprelne authoritJr.
Behind S. Peter stanrls Linus in ephwopal robes, and
behind hÍln again another Bishop. At the left of 8. Ole-
Incllt is Olet
ls, also in episcopal \TesÍlncnts. a ud he
seenu; to bp assisting 8. Peter. Behind Oletns stands
another Bishop, and at. either cxtl'enH
end stands a
ROßlan suldier. Beneath the throne are the ,vords:
8CR ('ILE)IEXS PP.
s. Clemellt, Pope.
J..lceording to the Libel' POlltijicalis, S. Peter con-
secrated Linus and Oletns Assistant Rishop
but Ole-
11lent he not only cOll-;etJrated but also designated as
his successor. This sCt'ue then agrees ,yith the account
in the Libel' POlltificalis and \vith the opinion said to be
h
ld bJ
Tpl.tullian 1 and other
that S. Clement ,vas the
first successor of S. Peter in the _\.postolic See. But on
the other ha nd ,ve have the authority of several of the
1 Tertllllian does not appear to have stated positively that
S. Clement ,vas tlw immediate snccessor of S. Peter. He says
that 8. Clenlent "ras ordained by S. Peter. De Praescr. Haer. 32
(
\. D.
OOt.
200 THE BASILICA OF S. CLE)lENTE I
RO)IE
Fathers of thp Church, as ,yell as the Canon of the )Ia
.
for putting Clement in the third and not in the first place
after S. Peter. S. Irenaeus, ,vho ,vas thp di3ciple of S. Po-
lycarp \vho was in turn the disciple of S. .J ohn the
Evangelist, says of S. Clement: <( In the third place 1
after the Apostles the Roman Episcopate received Cle-
ment, \vho had seen the Prince'S of the Apo
tles, had
associated with them. had listened to their sermons.
and had the _\po
tolic tradition before his eyes )>. Cia-
conius. Oldoinus, and others. say that S. Clement w"as
nominated by S. Peter as his immediate successor. but
either through hunlility or divinp inspiration he did
not accept the dig:nit
.. until after the mart
"rdoln of
Cletu
. The exap,t order of the parly Pontiffs after
S. Peter is at present impossible to determine, but
,vriters of Ecclesiasti{'al history generally n1akp Cle-
ment, the fourth occupant of the Apostolic See.
The central compartment of thp fresco represents
the interior of a church from the archps of ,vhich spven
lamps are suspended. One uf thesp lamps. namely that
over the altar. is circular in shape and contains seven
lights. symbolising. probably. the seven gifts of the
Holy Ghost. _\.nastasius the Librarian. ,,"ho lived in
the ninth centnr
T. speaks of such a lanl})
s. C](ìm
llt
cplehrating and calls it PHAR UJI rlllll ro/'olla.<< A pha-
MaBS. ros with a CrO\Vll >>, a cro,vn from its shape.
1 The italics are ours.
\
.J
,
-
I I = --- I ,
r-_
f i
1
, t
.
.,
... I
"
I ,r
.
. .L
. '
{f I
ã\ '1;
{
j , .
.. I
,
\,
-T
1)- }
..
. ..1 li1 .
-
,
.
.., p- \4
J1IÞ
t..
'\-
(fot. .Anclel':-;on
s. Clewf>nt l'nthrmwd h.'
S. Peter.
S. Clement celebrating )Iass. - Sisinills.
THl<J :5rBTERR.-\
E.-\
BASILICA
203
and a pharos 01' light-house frolll its i11ulllina tiug po,ver,
and saJ
s that it ,vas in co III III on nsp in Chri
tiall chur-
ches. S.Clem
nt in pontificall'obes and ,yith the lllaniple
behven the thumb and fore-finger of th
left hand. is
officiatinO' at the altar, over ,vhich his nalne
C.s CLE-
1""'\
JIEXS PAP L1 is ,vrittell in th
forlll of a cro
s. On the
altar, ,vhich is coyered ,vith a ,vhite cloth, are the luis-
sal, chalice, and paten. The mibsal is open, and on one
page are ,vritteu the ,,,ords: DOIJlÙUIS co!JiSi'IlIII ,vhich
the saint is in the act of pronouncing ,vhile his ha nds
are extended as is done todaJ hy the celehrant a t the
same words of thp 1Ias:s. OD thp other page are the
,vords: Pax DOl/lilli sit selllper robisclllIl ,,,hich the
saint hiInself is believed to ha,rp introduced into the
liturgJ
. At the right of 8. Clenlent are t".o hishops.
,vith croziers in their hands. also a deacon and sub-
deacon. ...\.11 are tonsured, alid the subdeacoLl holds the
tlllll'ibl
:1nd incense boat. In f.'ont of the Ininister:-; are
a lllan and ,voluan hoth holding in their hands lig'ht-
eel t,,,isted tapers, called bJT Anastasius Kerostota. The
nallle BEXO is ,,,ritteD beside the luan ,,,horn ,y
re-
cognise as the donor of the pictur
of the << -'Iiracle
at the TOlnh of 8. Clement >> : the lady b 31..-\ RIA. his
,vife, as ,ve learn fornl the inscription:
EGO BEXO DE RAPIZA CU )I
-\ RIA UXOR :\lEA
P. A)IORE DEI ET BEATI CLE)IEXTIS.
204 THE BASILICA OF S. CLEMENTE IX ROME
and then "\yritten vertically at the right are the letters:
P. G. R. F. C.
It Beno Dç Rapiza and m.l} 111fe iifary, fOI' tile lore of God
alld S. Clement callsed it to be painted.
On the left of the altar in the picture is a group
of persons two of whonl are speeiallr prolninent and
haye their names THEODORA and SISIXITTS "Titten
at their feet.
Iombritius and other earl v "
riters tell
t-
us that Theodora ""yas the "\yife of
isinius and that
bot h \vere attached to tlu-' court of the Emperor N er\ya.
that they ,vere convert.ed to the true faith br S. Cle-
ment, and after,vards suffered 111art
rdom. In the sceup
b
fore us Sisinius seems to be blind and is being led
out of the chureh by an attendant. Of this scene and
of its continuation in the lo\ver panel we find the fol-
lo,ving explanation in the so-called Jla/'
lj/'iTl/Jl Gle/llell
!l.s 1 : On a certain daJ
,vhile Theodora "yas assisting at
the
Iass of 8. Clplnent h
,,
hOlli shp had been con-
verted to the faith of Christ, her unbelieving husband
,Sisinius ,vith his servants entered the church.
isinius
came to nlock; but. at the prarer of S. Clenlent, the
Inocker ,vas instantly struck blind and deaf
and rea-
lising the punishmpnt he had received for his nnhol
y
1 It ,vas ,yritten probabl
r in the time of Constantinp the
Great.
ee Fl1nk
Patres Apostolici, vol. II. pp. 30-33.
'rHE
UBTERR.AXEAX BA
ILICA
201
intrusion he ordered bis servants to lead him out im-
mediatel.y. They promptlr prepared to obe
T but could
not find an exit, al,d after ,vandering for SOUle tinle
round the church ther caIne to the place ,vhere Theo-
dora ,vas praying, and i nforlued hpr of all that had
happened. Theodora ,vithollt changing' her po
ture-
begged Goll to ha ve pit
on thenl and to perInit theln
to depart. Having finished her prayer, she turned to.
the serVH nts aud bade tll("\ffi to conduct her husband
home. At the conclusion of the service Theodora made
knlHvn to 8. Clelnent the affliction that had befallen
her husband. and besought his assistance. The saint
prayed, and sight and hearing "
ere restored to Bisi-
nius; but that ungrateful man, in return for the fayour,
accused the :saint of being a Inagician and of exercis-
ing' his art for evil purposes. .And being deterlllined
on having revenge he commanded his ::,ervants to seize
Clement and bind him fast; but the mini
ter
of this
base injunction became at that moment so confounded
that they took hold of a column instead, and this the
p
dragged hither and thither believing "yith their ma-
ster that it ,vas the B. Clement. Tbp saint, seeing their
ne,y blindness and confusion said to Sisinius: <<Ðll-
ritia corr!t.s tili ill lopÙles COlll'erSa est quia elliJJI lapides
V17tas esse deos lapides trahere sortitus es >>. - <<The-
hardness of Jour heart has been turned to stones
20B THE BASILICA OF S. l'LK\lE.\TE I
RlHIE
because J
ou believe stones to be gods,
"ou arc con-
demned to drag stones >>.
The pagan Sisinius being still Inore enraged b
r
this fresh disappointtnent resolyed to destro
Clement
and to lnake him an eXHnlple for all lnag'icians; hut
the saint, fillpd ".ith compassion for the still Inentall
.
blind Sisinius, set hiInself to prëty ,vith Theodora tha t
her husband l11Ìg'ht be enlightened. To,vards evening
a venera ble luan appeared to Theodora and addre:ssed
her thus: << Because of YOU, 8isinius ,vill be healed
t.
(in soul) that the ,yords of In
- brother Paul ll1a
. be
fulfilled; for the llllbeliel'Ùt.q husband is sallctified by
the believin,r; ll'lfe >>1. 8isinius. struck ,,,ith renlor:se,
sent for Clement 'VhOl11 he receivedlllost kindl
T, and
,vhOln he begged to instrnet hinl in the truths of re-
liQ'ion. a.nd he ".ith all his house-hold elnbraced the
faith of Christ.
In the picture ".e see the blind
isinius being led
out of the church: and in the lo,,
er panel w"e see the
servants blindlr dragging' about thp colull1n ,,'hich theJ"
believe to be POpt' S. Clelnent. O,.er the figure to the
left are the ,vords in corrupt Latin:
F
LLITE DE RETO COLO PALO CARYOXCELLE
"yhich ma v be trH nsla ted :
t.
Oet behind [dtll a lel'cr Carrollrelle,
1 I Cor. ''''II. 1-1.
THE S CBTERRAKEAX BASILICA
207
Over the second figure are the \yords:
ALBERTEL TRAI
PIIIl, Albertel
and over thp third:
C08)L\ RIS
and hehveen Coslnaris and Sisinius. ,,,ho occupies the
extrelne l>ight arp the ,yords:
..FILl DELLE PUTE TRAITE.
\"hich for their grossness do not hear translation. Oyer
the colnmm are the ,yords:
DL"RITIA)l CORDI
VESTRI8
AX
TR.AERE
)lERUISTI.
Because of tlte hardness of !Iour hearts !IOII llafe merited to
drall' stones.
....\.ll the:se expre:s:sions 1 Seeln to have been addresspd
to the seryants by Sisinius.
...\ handsome ::;croll divides the lo,yer fron1 the cen-
tral panel.
1 These forms are interesting to the philological
tudent as
exemplif:ring the transition fronl Latin to Italian. In fact they
may be regarded as the earliest kno"
n Italian inscriptions.
6 6 6
20
THE BA
ILICA OF :so CLE)IE
TE I
R(nIE
Left Aisle.
III the left aisle on the ,y
ll over the entrance fron1
the narthex ,vere painted several
ubject:s sOlne'of ,yhich
haye altogpther disappeared. Of those that remain ,ye
haye at the left a monk ,vith the nimbus: he carries
a book in his hands. .A.t the top near the centre is
the lo,yer half of a figure representing a n Archbishop
or a Popp vested in pontifical robes. The centre is oc-
cupied by a series of subjects taken fl'oln the Dialo-
glles of s. Gregory (I, I. C. II. III) as 've learn from
an inscription in the panel containing the fir::,t of the
series. This picture represents Libertinus, a monk of
the Benedictine
\.bbey of Fondi: his Abbot is begg'ing
his forgiveness for having unjustly treated him. Over-
head are the ,yords:
UBI
BB, LIBERTINO VE
TÅ PETIT.
1J7lere !liP Abbot seeks forgiveness from LibertÙlllS.
The next panel to the right represents the saIne
Libertinü.s raising a dpad child tu life b
the tuuch
of a shoe belon,g'ing to Onoratus a former holy abbot
of the monastery. In the third conl partment "e have
the stor
y" of another holr Inonk, the gardener of the
same Inonaster
. of Fondi. ,vho, dhseovering that a
thief had been stealing the vegetables, eommanded a
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THg SrRTERRAXEAK BASILICA
211
serppnt to guard the gap by ,,,hich the offender found
entrance. The thief on his next visit ,vas so frighten-
ed at behulding the monster obstructing his })assage
- -
that he sturn bled and fell amongst the bushes "There he
,vas found b
the guod monk. The 1l1onk, hu,ypver, on]
'"
Inildl
T reproved him and gave him permission to take
,,,ha.t vegetables he neflded. even tplling hinl to return
a nd ask for more ,,,hen in need of theln; but never
aooain to take them bv stealth. Only fraQ'lnents of thp
t-. c->
last subject exist.
D
Crucifixion of S. Peter, etc.
Thf' ,vall at the oppositf' end of this ni:..;lf' ,vas also
covered ,vith fresco, the purit
of the sQTle of \vhieh.
as far as \ve ('an judge from thp fragments that reJnain.
makes their ruined condition llluch to be deplored. 'rhe
subjects appear to ha\Te been arranged in threehoJ'izontal
lines. vd1Ïch triplf' division is a relnarkable feature of
the frescoes in S. Clemente. The figures are placed in
thf' panels :singl
"'. in }Jairs.l or in groups. An orna-
lllf'ntal border occupies thf' lo,ver portion of the fre-
sco, and is divided into cúnlparhnents, in tlH-
eentrf'
of each of \"hieh is a large globe. \vith four slnaller
212 THE BAI:;ILICA OF S. CLE
fE
TE I
R<))IE
ones occup
Ting the four corners. Birds resembling the
stork are at either side of the large globe and are peck-
ing at somf\thing ,vhich is being let do,vn froln above.
'Ve know that the stork is :symbolic of the regular life,
because it COlnes and goes at regular intervals, and its
position here, feeding on the substancp ,,
hich is de-
scending from the upper panels occupied b
T saints,
is, perhaps, s
Tn) bolical of the po'werful exanlple of the
saints in nourishing the regular life.
At the tvp of the fre:sco t,yO feet tied to a cross
indicate S. Peter's crucifixion. <<"Then thou wert J
oung-
er >>, said our Saviour to Peter. <( thou used to put
on thJ o,vn girdle, and ,valk ,vherever thou didst
,,"ish: but ,vhen thou shalt be old, thou must hold out
thy hands and sonle one else shall put on thJ girdle
and lead thee where thou dost not ,vish )>. 80me veal'S
1.1
later, after S. Peter had gone to his re"Tard, S. John,
who narrates the prophecy I, adds, just as if the fact
,vere alreadJ kno,yn to all the ,vorld: (( He (Jesus)
said this to sho,," the kind of death bJ ,vhich S. Peter
,vas to glorifJT God )>. For that death ,vas to be a vio-
lent one, one against ,yhich nature recoiled, and by
crueifixion; he ,vas hound by hands other than his
o,vn, and he ,vas called on to stretch out his arnlS
and die as his )Iaster had died, ,,,ith hands expanded
1 s. John. XXI. 18-19.
J.
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THE :seBTERRA
E.\
H.\
LLICA
;!15
on the cro
s. But not altogethpr in the :saln(--' manner:
for, at his o,vn request. a request made lest he should
seem too presumptuous in d
ring thf\ '
et'
r self:san1t:'
death as the Redeelner, and granted onlJT too loeadilr
because it "'as Inore cruel, Ppter "'as crucified ht'ad
do\vll\vard:s 1. Beside this scene to the right is a vener-
able tonsured head bearing the nilll hus. At the ex-
trelne lpft are hvo beautiful heads of angels. In a cir-
cle in the cent.re of the ftOesco are 1 hp feet and part
of the body of rt small animal, believed to represent
the Jlystic Lamb. To the rig'ht of this in a separatp
pauf\l is the lower part of a figure erect and ",ith one
hand open and ex.tended. Behind this is part of ano-
ther figure kneeling or reclining, and above the latter
is a beautifully executed head of an angel. To thp
right a
ain the head and part of the body of another
ang'el, and still fllrther to the right, in a sepal'a te panel.
is the head and part of the bod
T of a saint. )Ionsi-
gnor 'Vilpert 2 interprets the reclining figurp to re-
1 The Prince of the .A postles ,vas martyred closf' to the
spot no"\v occupied b.y his tomb in the great basilica dedicated
to hiln. There are SOllIe "vho
throngh ignorance or prejwlice.
attempt to deny that S. Peter was eYf'r in R01ne: hut, to use
the ,vords of the le__rned Prof. Lanciani (<< Pagan and Christian
Rome >) p. 123), for the archaelogist the pl'esence and execution
of SSe Peter and Paul in ROIne are facts established be
ond
a shado"\y of doubt by purely 11l0nUuleutai evidence.
'2 Page 24:.
216 THE R..\.SILICA OJ<' S. CLK\IENT
} IK ROME
present ,T aeob sleeping on the ground, and he think
he sees beside hinl the ladder and the angel overhead
ascending it. The ladder is. he sa.rs, the sJ
lnbol of
mart.yrdolll ,,
hieh leaùs the lnartyrs directly to Christ:
and ,veIl thèrefore has thf' artist placed J acob's ladder
in this scene in relation ,vith a martJ
rdom, nalllely
that of
. Peter. l\Ionsignor "Tilpert sees un the ,,
hole
of this ,vall scenes of the harlllony behveen the Old
and :Y e"
Testalnents.
The subject to the left, saJ
s Fr. )IullooIJ
1, is quite
gone. It had been replaced bJT a panel of very infer-
ior exe cution. "ore say <<replaced>> because it seelllS
scarcel.r possible that this painting almost grotesque
in character could have been originally placed side hJT
side ,vith the other ,veIl-executed figures. The subject
is a crO'\vned emperor seated on a throne under a can-
opy; s. C
Til, ,vi th the nÍlnbus, kneels before the em-
})eror. His name Cyril i
,vritten YerticallJ
behind hÍln.
The Illonarch seelUS Ly the action of his left hand
to be addressing t\vo persons "Tho are standing behind
the saint. 3Iust pruba bl.r the fresco represents S. Cy-
.
ril's parting audience ,vith l\Iichael III, to \VhOlll, in
84
, the Chazari uf thp Danube had sent an embass.r
asking for priests; the Emperor is here represented
directing the J\.lllbas
adors to take care of the chosen
1 Page 239.
THE :-;LBTERRAKEAX RASILIUA
217
misaioner. Fr. :\lulluoIJ" also relllark:-, that the spiral
columns and the capitals behind the Elnperor are pre-
cisel
the saIne as those repre
ented on either side of
the picture in w"hich 8. C
ril appears ill the narthex.
Belo,y tht:' E1nl)eror are the lettprs ...-\L)I.. but ,yhat
they signif.r \ve cannot saJ
.
)Ionsignor "Tilpert. ho\YPv
r. is not satisfied \yith
Fr. )IulloolJ"'s interpretation of this picture. He says
that it is repugnant to think tha t a saint should kneel
before an elllperor ,yho "
as nicknilllled the << Drunkard ))
(Ubbriacone): further that S. CJ
ril "
as not called
Cyril but Constantine at the tiIne that the Inissioll
"
as entrusted to hiIn: and still further that the person
kneeling is not a lnan but a \YOlnan as luay he seen
frol11 the cape orna.lnented \vith pearls and precious
stones, il feature ,vhich in ancient christian art of the
fifth century characterized the costumes of noble ladies
and children. And, finally, he cavils at the inscription
ACIRIL behind the kneeling figure; of this inscription
De R()
si remarks (Boll., 18ö3. p. 13) that the first
three letters, ACI, are clear and almost entire (cltiare
e quasi ill/ere) and that the fourth, R, is half obliterat-
ed (/Jlezzo svanita). But )lon
ignor 'VIlpert suspects
that De Rossi erred \yith regard to the damaged letters
on account of his predilection for the nalne CJ'
ril ,vhose
relics he was seeking.
But since. in Jlonsignor "rilpert's opinion, De Rossi
218 THE BA
ILICA OF
. ULE)IENTE I
Rc))IE
- the )laster of Al'charologi
ts - ,vas not aboye suspi-
cion, may not )Ionsignor 'Yîlpert hiI11self be buspected
of SOl11e little partialitJ, SOI11e little pet theory such as
the combination here of scene
relating to the Old and
e'Y Testalnents, for he regards the k.leeling figurc
as representing Esther pleading for her people before
King Assuerus (E
ther 'TIll. 3)"? These Old and X e,v
Testalnent scenes l11nst, for
lonsignor 'YîJpert. appear
at any cost, even at the price of cOllsistencJ
, and the
siulple act of kneeling before an emperor ,,
hich he
found repugnant in the case of a 111Ïssionary priest ,vho
,vas being entrusted b
that emperor "ith a lui!',sion
to the infidels, does not strike hiIn as unbecolning in
a queen and one too ,yho (since the figure in question has
the niInbus, the sYlnbol of sanctity) had the reputation
for sanctity. Again, since De Rossi spoke onl.r of four
letters being dama.ged, ,vher>pas the inscription contains
six, of ,vhich the last t,vo
that is [L, caused no doubt.
:Y o,v assulning that De Hossi "'as prej udiced in the COln-
pletion of the first four letters, three of ,,
hich ,,,ere clear
and all/lost elltire and therefore not SO susceptible of be-
ing Hlisinterpreted, ho,v are the last two letters. namely
IL, to be dispòsed of"/ And ".here can the 1 be found
in the name of Esther'? If. again, Cyril ,vas not called
CJTl'il ,vhen he undertook the mission to thp Chazari,
he ,yas kno,vn as Crril ,,,hen the picture ,vas painted.
He ,vas even kno,vn as S. CJyril, a.nd a saint is represented
.--
...,
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+
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Baptisnl by immersion.
THE SUBTERRA
EAN BASILICA
221
here, for ,ve see the nimbus. SureI
T this is sufficient to
account for the name Cyril instead of that of Constan-
tine 1 Fr. Jlullooly's interpretation seeUlS to us, therefore,
to be the more likely. if not the true one.
The subject at right angles to this on thp left" all
represents an ...trchbishop ,yith ,vhat seems to be a
Greek pallium; he is baptising. by imlnersion, a
oung
man. From its position, says Fr. Jlullooly 1, next to
the picture representing the beginning of CJyril"s first
mission it 1nay probably represent the baptism of the
Cham of the Chazari. or of Rastices, Duke of Bavaria,
or again of Borgois 'Iichael, Duke of Bohemia: for
all these ,,"'ere converted by S. Cvril and his brother
t- tJ
S. )1ethodius 2. The rest of this ,vall seems to have
been frescoed, but no trace of painting no,y exists.
Beside the last fresco is a proj ecting enclosure of
brick ,vhich 1nay have been an altar in a lateral
chapel, as traces of a large enclosure still exist here.
De Rossi supposed it to have been the original 1no-
nument prepared to receive the marhle chest contain-
ing S. C.,rril"s body when removed from the ,ra_
1 Page 2-10.
2 l\lonsignor Wilpert. p. :26. thinks it is Pope S. CI
lllent
who is here administering Baptism.
-')
..;.1.;.1-
THE BASILICA OF
. CLE)lE"KTE IN ROME
.tican for interment in 8. Clemente. It is situated at
<( the right side of the Al tar >>, and seems to us the
place that \yoltld be selected for the interlnent of the
,bod
" of 8. C
ril.
14
.10:"
D
:r
It, ,... I .
A .W / "'''''':'_
THII
D P 1 \RT
l"HE l\NCIEKT \\T ALLS
Fronl the ,vest end of the left ai
le a narrow 8tair-
case, !-\in1Ïlar tu and serving the sanle purpose a:s that
\vhich ,ve haye lloticed in the right aisl
. lead:-, to a
passagp
õ inches ,vide behyeen ,yalls of diff
rent con-
struction and of different periods.
"Then tll(
exeavatiolls had reached the ,vest end of
the right aisle it ',yas found that thp brick in the lo\ver
part of the ,yest ,vall "
as of far superior qualit
to
that in the upper part, and the ground having been
exeavated to a depth of fourteen feet it ,vas still further
discovered that the ancient basili('a stands on the ruins
of III uch earlier structures, and that the right or north
,vall of the subterranean l'hul'eh rests npon a titanic
structure of great lnasses of tufa. This gigantic ,vall
n1akps a right angle just before reaching the north ,yest
224: THE BASILICA OF S. CLEMENTE I
RO:\IE
corner of the basilica, and is continued across the
church, exactly beneath t.he place where the ancient
altar must have stood, thus leaving behveen itself and
the ,vest ,val] the narrow passage referred to. An im-
mense cornice of travertine binds these masses of tufa
together just as in the Cloaca .J/a.rima, and the ,vhole
construction bears the stamp of the a.ge of the Kings.
Some archaeologists hold that we 11ave here part of
the ,vall with which Servius Tullius surrounded Rome,
,yhile other
as
ert that these remains must have form-
ed part of some important building, perhaps the pa-
lace of Tarquin the Proud, or the Government Jlint
in the early days of the Republic. The large chambers
under the subterranean church, constructed of great
blocks of tufa, certainly indicate the existence of SOllIe
important building; but what precise purpose that
building served must reInain a mJTsterJT until the exca
vations, no,y so happily resumed, be prosecuted further.
The ,valls haye been traced 98 feet from north
to south and over 400 feet from east to ,vest ,vithout
finding a termination either way; and, according to
Fr. )Iullooly, they are still buried in the ground at a
depth of about twentr feet. \X.r e may infer froIll this
ho'y low must have been the level of Rome in the
age of the Kings.
The lower portions of the ,vest wall. ,vhich corres-
ponds ,vith the cord of the apse, are of the finest
HO(;
E OF
. CLE:\IE
T
:2
;j
bl'iekwor1i of the Imperial tÏ1nes. 'rhi'j "':lb probablJ
the outer "'all of Ch'lnenfs p:ll:ll'e. \vithin ,,'hich is
the DOlltilliclll/l úr Orator
of the Saint. situated under
the apse. aud the adjoining 3Iithr:lie tPlnpl(?
_L
JJ
HOUSE OF S. CLE
IEXT
Å door\YaJ
1 in the ".est wall of the left aislp
lead
to :1 "paeious
ta ir\Ya
' of 11101'0 than t".entJ'
steps descending to the :lpal'Ílnellts of a fine ROlllan
d\veHing-house. Fr. )IuJlool
T. after the excavation:-,
lllade here h
hinl ill 18üH. belie,.ed that there ,vpre
onl
y. hventJ
step
in thb aneient stajrwaJ
. and therefore
regarded the floor a t the hottolll of the hventieth :step
a
the level of the origina] floor of S. Clelnenfs house.
But. during the course of our ex
avations heQ:un
,vithin the sanle hou
e les
than a luonth ago. the pre-
sent "Triter, after a luiul1te stlld
of the kno,vn part
of this house and its surroundinO's and after haviua re-
0
moved the temporar
T flour contructed bJ
Fr. 3IuUooly's
immediate sucees
or in the Priorship of 8. Cleluente,
1 This dool'"\va:r seelllS to have been closed up before the
eleventh centur,y, pl'01Jably in the ninth centuTJT.
16
2:26 THE BAHILLCA OF H. CLE:\IEXTE IX ROME
felt. that the original floor 111Ust bp sought for at a
still lo,ver level. Begiuning. therefore, at the base of
the t,ventieth
tep to delve deeper. ,,'e found a hvent
y-
first step. and a hYent
--second, and a proll1Íse of a
hYent
.-third. At this point ,,-ateI' began to peep at
us fro1l1 beneath. and
o therp renuliupd but to clf'ar
a,va
. to the depth of a bout hvo and a half feet. the
floor which ,,-as regarded hv Fr. Jlulloolv as first cen-
'
tUl'
, but ,vhich ,,-e believe to bplong to thp fourth.
....-\.fter relllOying the la
er of old R,Oluan cement, ,,-hie-h
,vas. as hard as flint and ,,'hich co\-el'ed the floor to
a depth of about six inC'hes. ,,-e C:Hue upon SOlne square
and SOllIe oblong enel\)sures surrounded b.,- light ,valls
constl'uctpd of brick. of pieces of tufa. and fraglnents
of Inarble, and coverpd ,,-ith a la
'er of plaster. r!'hese
enclosures, especial1r thp oblong ones, seenled y.pr
like tonlbs; and at once the question suggested itself:
'Yere theJ' Christian tOInbs? The thonght of a Chri-
stian tomb in a first centurr Roman house not olllJ
:n,'oke a Inore Ih-eI
interest. but inspired a,,"'e and reve-
l'ence in the treatnlPnt of ever
v cubic inch of filling-
up Ina tel'ial ,,,hie h ,,-as no\v to be renloved. It ,,-as
not
.et a month since all this part had been under
,,-a tel'. and no"- the earthr Iuaterial reIllained a nla.,s
of soft IllUd. Carefull.y, and bit b.,
bit ,vere the COll-
tent
of these enclosures reIno,'ed. Thpre seelned to
have been no order or arrangenlent in the lllatel'ials
-.D
;....
-:5
'....
o
r-:::
-'
'-'
.....
.J:.
Ä
,
;:;
XI
8
8
-
.....
o
\
.-
.s
--
::J
:.>
..-.
Õ
ü
Hon
E OF fo;. CLE:\IEXT
22
,vhich filled up these t01nb-like receptaeles: pieces of
terra-cotta tile
. frngments of tufa nnd of marble,
part of a phial, a fe,y fraglllents of verr fine terra-
cotta ,ases.
lamp ::;uch as those fountl in the Oa ta-
c01nh8 but ,,,ithout any 8J-mhol - Ohristian 01' other-
,,
ise -. hUllpS of carbonised ,vood reduced no,,, to
a soft hlnck pulp, and a qnantit
of anÍInal bones.
principnll
head-bones, '''ere fouud Inixed up toge-
ther in one of these enclosnres. 80J11(:1 of the bones
are large ja\,,-bOnés Jllost of ,,,hieh are furnished
,,,ith "
ell- } )reserYed t(:1eth. and 1\vo very larO"P ,yild
:--
boar tusks ,vith a nUluber of sJ11allel' ones also fornl
part of the collection.
It no\\ became apparent lhat ,vhatever InaJ
have
been the original use of these tOJnb-like enclosures.
they ,,-ere last used as receptacles for the bones of
anÏInals - of the aniInals. nu doubt, "yhich had been
sacrifieed to the pag'an cleit
T
Iithl'as, for the apart-
Illent in ,,-hich these bones ,,,ere found adjoins. on
one side, an :1Jllhulacrulll ,,,hich seeJns to have :serv-
ed as a kind uf atrÏtUIl to the temple of
Iithras,
eonstrncted ahout the third centur
and probabl
in
the tÍIlle of the fierce pprsecutions ,vhen Ohristian
Oratories ,vere freel
T confiscated and handed oyer
to pagan ,vorshippers. It therefore seems be
ond
doubt that this room ,vas used as a deposit for the
bones uf the anÍInals sacrificed to l\Iithras. But \vhe-
230 THE BASlJ.ICA OF 1'\. U LE)[E
T E IX RO)IE
the I' the apparent tOlubs ,yere once th(\ tUlubs of
Christians and aftel'\vards defiled by the ,vors hippel's
of
Iithras cannot be deternlined until, at lea
t. the
exca"ations \\yill have been pushed further. One thing
,ve kno,v, ho,vever, and thi
on the evidence of the
greate
t living authorit.r 1 on the subject, is that our
collection of bones of a nilnal
acrificed to 3Iithras
i
the largest and lllOSt interesting ever discovered.
Thus, in the
e tOlnbs, "
e have found a part of
the
keleton of
Iithraisln - a po\verful paga It ('ult
that died of inanition sixteen eenturies ago 2.
"..,. e give here a reproduction of a photograph
,vhich \ve have nutde of all sllch bones so far unear-
thed at
. Clelnente. l'eser\Ting for another 'Yorl
a
fuller notice of the di
eo\-er
.
I.Jeaving this 1'00111 at the foot of the stair
- a
room ,vhich hel'etofol'P had no other interest than
that it ,vas one of a large nUlnber in the house of
S. Clelnent - ,,
e pass into the adjoining chaillher
of much larger dilnensions, and kllo,vn a
thp <<Do-
lninicum CleJnplltis )).
1 )Ir. Franz CUlllOnt.
:! It is a fact ,velL ,vol'thy of 1l0tiCf' that ,,-hile Christian-
ity, even in its infancy, throye on
tate opposition and pcr-
secution. the IStnrd
T, full-
rown. powerful )Iithl'aism llÏ(.d on
the ,vitllllrinval of Stah> snpport.
D
. . : . .. .
THF. D(ßn
IUC)1 ULE)TEXTIS
THE <<DO:\IIKICU
l CLEl\IENTIS>>
The (( I)on1Ïniculn Clelnentis>> ,,-ith its vaulting of
stucco decorations is
ituated undpr the apse of thp
;:,ubterl'anea n basilica a nd occupies with regard to it
the sanle position ,vhich. in the \r atican basilica, is
occupied bJ
the Confession of S. Peter, and in so IDallJr
other a neien1 ehurches by the
hrines of the saints to
,vhose Inelnor
the
,,
ere erected. Heading therefore
. J erollH"s notice of
. Clelll
nt. ,yhich ,yas ,vritten
at thp end of the fourth centurJ
and ,vhich concludes
,,,ith the ,yords: (( Xon1Ìnis ejus lllelJIOr;fl1Jl usque hodie
ROllla exstrncta ecclesia custodi t )) 1, it is hard to
rp..,ist tht-' conviction that thp JlelJlu/,;o here luentionpli
is none other than this chalnber. The question then
arises: Hu\\- can it be a JlelJlOl';n of:l luart
TPd Pope
,vhose relics renlained in the Cl'Ìlnea until the ninth
centur
'? Before giving it db'pct ans\\-pr to this (lue-
stion it Ina
- be opportune to refer to an inscription
on a brollze plate n ttached to one of the collars ,vorn
by
la ,res. One
ide of this plate 2 hears the ,,'ords:
TEXE )IE QUIA FUG. ET REBOCA )IE
'
ICTORI ACOLITO A DO:\IIXICU CLE)IEXTIS
1 Dr ri,.is Jill/sf,.., c. XY.
This was in the mn
enm uf Lelio Pa
qnilini (see Fr. )[nl
lool;v. p. 179).
i
Fabl'etti. lllscript.. p. :d
n, 3ßj,
:!;j! THE H.\SlLIC.-\ OF
. CLIDIEXTg I
W"IE
llold me fast fol' I a/ll a /,ll/[(lll"{l,Tl: and returll IJN> to riclo/'
tlte (/('ol,'lte of tlte D01JlÍllicllm of Clemellt.
These badges of ::;laYer
Y are sought for III '"Lun In
the ins
'l'iption
of th(J ('ataconlh
: hut in this eað
there
is nothing illcoll",istent ,vith the ele'Tating influpucp of
Christianit
., for thes
bronz
plates ,vpre substitnteà.
ill accordance ,vith an earI
' la,,- of Constantine. for
the deg'1'acling pl'aeti(.e of hrandin
' ::;Iayes on the fore-
head. The point ho,yPYpl' to ,,'hich "
Fe ,vish to fl]'a,,'
it ttention is tha t ,T"ietol'. the o\yuer of the sia ye. does
not style hilllself AcoIytns Bn...:.ilicae or Pilllli S. Cle-
luentis (though S. Ulemente ,vas probahl
a Titll/US at
the tiIne). but Acolytus a DOlllÍllicll Clel/lell/is. Of a 11
the inscJ'Íptiolls fonnd in Ro]ue tuuching priests. dea-
cons, and other u1inistel'b of the sanctuar
". this is the
onlr one \yhich calls a church b\T the nalne DOI/l ill i-
C/llIl 1. This appellation, as S. Cypria 11 tpstifies 2. ,,'as
used ill the da
'
of per
ecntion to denote the })lace
,vhere thf' Ohristians asselllblecl for divine ,yol'ship:
hut. after the rniddle of the fourth centnry. neyer
appears on ROlnan inscriptions. Thus ,ye a l'e again (,Oll-
fronted ,,
ith it church of
. Olelnent ill the time of
Constantine, and kno"TIl b,y th(J nppella tion given to
Ohristian places of ,yorship in the ages of persecution.
X o,y this is not to be ,yundpred n 1. for the ROlna Il
1 RèL
note Part 1. page 21.
:! De Ope et Ele1Jl. n. 19. III D01JlilliClllJl sint' s(l(,l'Ifitio rPllls.
THE DO)II
LCC\I CLE)IE
TlS
23-:>
Church, Cyell in its official capacitJ'". possessed certain
loca /'elTgiosa or places of ,yorship before th
publica-
tion of the falllous Edict of 3Iilan in ;)12, bv Uon-
'"
stantine and J
icinins. Snch loca ,.e"
f}iosa were found
genel'ally ,vithin the palaces of distingnishpd converts
to the Paith of Christ. ,vht) alhnv(ìd pa I.t of the
interior of their grea.t houses to be adapted to t h
requil"en12nts of the litlll'
Y' and for thp as:,emblies
of the faithful I. 'rhcse places of ,,'orship as hnd heen
in prÏ\'nte hOllses l'(>tainpd, aftor th
peal'e of thp
church, the nalnes of thp falnilies in "'hose hOll
e tJH
T
had been. such as S. Pudentia na.
. Uel'ilin. et('.. and
it ,vas not the l'UStOlll in tho fourth cen tury to eaH a
church or an oratory after the l1alne of it saint nnl(ìs
it ,ya... built in that
ainfð o,yn house or o,Ter his
sepulchre.
. Clement's sepulchl'
being in thp Crilllea.
,ye aL>e thus led to the conclusion that the DOl/tiniclll/1
ClelJlellti.
forJued 01' contained part of the hOUS8 onee
o<,cupiecl by
. Cleillent himself. Conseq upntlJ T the Jle-
1/lorin of S. Clpll1ent. ,,,ith its stucco Ornallleuts of the
first or second century, so carefull
T preserved heneath
the apsp of th(ì bnsilica, is no other than an ilpartulel1t
of thp house inhahited by hinl {{ ,vho..,e name i
in the
'"
book uf life >>, (Philipp. rv. H) 2
1 Eusebius ((< Rist. Eccles '>. Bk. "....111. c. 17.) tells ns that
Galerins gave orders in ß11 for the restoration to the Christian
of those houses where they had been accustOlued to asst'luble.
See De Rossi. << Bnllpttino di .Archeologia Cristiana))
l'-
conda
erie, I. pp, 1?);3-1üK
236 THE BASILICA OF
. ULE:\IEXTE IX RO:\IE
"r e kno"
., tOO. that Popp S. Evaristus (112-1
1.
A. D.) erected Titles in ROlne, and S. Clelnente is
mentioned in the earliest kno,vn authentic li:st of
Titles. Such Titles" ere erected in those places ,,-here
the faithful. froln the earliest da
-s of Christianit
,
had heen accustonled to asseInble for the celebration
-of the di, ine m
steries.
This Orator
T and the adjoining chalnbers ,yel'p
acces
ible for a fp,,- years after their discovery: but in
1S7=! the ,,-ater began to rise there, and ill 1882 the
then Prior. Fr. l\Iullool
"s suC'cessor, raised the flooring
of the Orator
- and that of the entrance to it ,yith the
hope of keeping it
till acce
sible and of perlnitting
the
IithraÏ1ll to be seen from it: but the la hour proved
fruitless for the ,vater continued to rise until the ne'v
floor lay four feet and that of the 1\IithraÏ1n a bout
'"
.eight feet belo,y the surface of the ,va tpl'.
The Ol'ator
is separated frolll an alJlbulac/'lllJl or
pas:sage -
feet long and (j feet 10 in. ,,-ide - b
two
piers frolll ,yhich three arches spring'. These arche., at
thp tiIne of the dis('oYer
,,-ere filled up ,vith brie'1\:-
,,-ork. Enlbedded in the piprs are t,yO square pilasters of
Parian rnarhle ",ith debased Corinthian capitals ,,'hich
contrast strongl
y \vith the classical st
-le of the
tueco
vault and :seern to be the "
ork of a later period, perhaps
of the third centur.,-.
In the passage, near the pilast(>]'s, is a fragluellt of
THE T.E:\1PLE OF )IITHRA
2ß7
a large colullln of.x umiclian nlarble sllnk into the pa-
vement. The preci
e use of this l"ohl1l1l1 is not kno,vn ;
but it seems to U
, frúm its position. to ha '-e been
u
ed in connEction ,,-ith the celebration of the Jli-
thraic lllvstel'ies. Beside it ,vas found the ...-Ira or altar
t.
which is no,y in the )lithraie teln pIe. The appearance
of this })ag'an altar in so close pl'oxÏ1nitJ to a christian
temple caused no little
urpl'ist' "yhen first discovered;
but the surprise yanished ,yhen, on breaking through
a bricked up door'YaJ
in the ,vall OPI)o
ite. and remov-
ing the earth ,yhich filled the chanlher to ,yhich it led,
it ,vas found that a pagan temple :stood at the other
:side of th
passage.
Q
THE TE
IPLE OF
IITHRAS
This chaulber seelns to haye been delihel'atelr
trausformAd into a cave for the pelebr:1 tion of the 31i-
thraic nl
Ystel'ies. It is thirt
feet long and t"-ent
? feet
,vide, and ha
a vaulted roof ,yhich i:s pierced by eleven
Il11Jlinaria or skJ
lights. Some of them are round. sonlH
square, and all "ere decorated ,yith lllosaics, ,yhile
mo
aic ba nds also run round the \valls a1 the side
and end::,; the rest of the yaulting is decor:! ted with
small stones Ílnitating the roof of a grotto 1. The :si-
gnificance of these socalled hllJlillaria is not ('leal';
1 )11'. Franz Cumont. the greatest living authority on )Ii-
thraislll, hasjust vh;jted S. Clemente, and for the first time has seen
23
TIUJ BASILICA OF R. CLE)IE
TE l
RO)IE
the nlullber elevell i;;;; no doubt symbolical, but of
tJ
,,-hat. "e cannot sa
.. At the extrelnp end of the
cave, ,vhere another cloor-'Ya
T seenlS to have been
filled up. is a niche high up in the ,,-alI, where.
no doubt the statue of 3Iithras stood in pride of
place. BeltHY tlH
niehe is a slllall square eavit.,
huilt
of brick. It Jna
have contained ,yater for L'eligious
purification, or perhap:-, it s
rYed as a rpceptacle for
the blood of victÏIns. X ear it on the floor. there still
relua ins a portion of an a Itar in front of ,,,hieìt is a
slllall round piece of marble sunk into the pavelnent
and upon ,vhich hurned. it is supposed. the sacred
fire that ,vas kindled in the :--:l11all
quare fUl'llacps
facing eaeh other In the side of the benches.
In the centrp of the floor is no". the altar ,yhich
,yas fuund in the passage out
ic1e the t(ìlllple: hut ,ye
doubt if it is in its proper position. as ,,,e ra ther think
that it should he near the place of saerificp ,,-hieh
,yas probably at the entrance to thp cave. The upper
part of the aUa I' has disappt
ared 1. but as it :sta nds it is
four feet high, hvo feet five inchps across the front and
back. and hventy inche
along the sidé
. On the frout
-of it is the background of a grotto. in the centre uf
,,-hich is represented the TaurobolÙlln or sacrifice of
,our tmnple of 3Iithras. 'which hé pronounces the most pprfect
as ,v('t discoYP1'ell.
1 "... e have just discovered, in ,,,hat ::,eems to he a tourth
centur:r floor in the Üratol'
of S. Clement.
ome .of tIll' mi
-
sing pads of this altar.
.,.
.......
-.
..,,-
......
...d
,:)
:...
..:.:
,.....
....
....-4
-'
--
:::
=-
--
'L
:::
::
.-
--=
::::
....
---
-
'L
....
....-4
.......
'.
.....
o
....
:,)
-
.=..t
;:j
f
:..
8
...-:
.
17
Þ'"
0,
......
.,.-
..
...;:;;
.-
....
-
L
4(
/I:
ïï:
ð
ð
THE TE)IPLE UF \nTHRA:.,
213
the hull. l\Iithras i
clad in a
hort tunic ,vith his
chlalJ1Js or cloak floating' over his left shoulder, and
"Tearing a PhrJgian cap. He has his left knee on -the
bull stretched on the ground before him, and he is
holding him h
y thp nostrils \vith the left. hand ,vhile
he plunges a dag'ger into hÏ1ll ,vif.h the right. .A dog
and a serpent lick the blood that flo,vs trickling from
the ,,"ound. T\vo genii clothed like 3Iithras stand at
either '-\ide as his assistants, one lvith an erect torch
to indieate the rising snn, ::\Iithras being regarded as a
olar deity: the other ". ith a hn,yel'pd tOl'eh to indica tp
thp setting sun. On thp edges on thp upper part of
the represented grotto are frag-n1entarJ
figures of the
sun ana 1l10on. On th
baek of the altar a serpent is
represented.
Along the side walls are raised platforms ascended
bJ three steps from the ends near the entrance. rrhe plat-
forms ,vhich are six fept ,,
ide and threp feet three inches
froln the ground are not level like those found in other
l\Iithrain1s, but form an inelined plain to\vards the ,vall. I
It is difficult to sa
,,'hat purpose theJ served. De Rossi
suggests that the
- ,,-ere Triclinia on ,,'hich the guests
reclined ,vhile participating in some sacred feast. This
is br no means hnprobable, for in the lUithraic mys-
1 The benches of the
1ithraim recently discovered at the
Baths of Caracalla also form an inclined plain.
2-l-! THE BASILICA OF S. CLE)IEXTE I
P.O)lB
teries there "-as a profane ÌInitation of thp 8aCra1l1cnt
of the Bles-.;ed Eucharist 1. Along thp outer extrenÚty
of these benches is a depressed edgp on ,,-hich are
ix semicircular niches. three on the right and three
on the left. Thev '''ere for1l1el'h
('oyered ,,-ith Inarble,
<- t;
fl'agnlents of ,vhich
till remain. In the JIithl'aÏJn at
O
tia there is a siInilar pdge on ,vhich ,yere plae
)d,
it is supposed, lalnps. fire Ya
es. and sInal! altars of
tel'l'a-cotta.
In the ('orner at the right of the present entrance
,vas found the Inarble bust of apollo, the sun-god. In
thp samp curner. and running np through the yault-
ing, is a large tel'l'acotta tube.
.L<\. C;PPllSJ conta.ining thp in
cription C.A.1 T TE
ACR...
,,-as founel in the telnple. Calltus ,yas Olle of the appel-
lations of 3[ïthras. and :sÍlniIal' s
lnbol:s have heen
found in other Jlithraic teluples.
There can be no doubt a
to this having been a
Jlithraic
pelaeuln, but the question presents itself:
Ho,v did thi
Oriental superstition find a IHnne in :,uch
close proxÍInity to a church of the age of Oonst:1utine,
and actuall
T communicating ,vith the most sac-red
pot
in that church, the JlelJlol'Ùt of S. Clenlent"l The :\Ii-
1 An excellent .work on the )Iithraic "... orship is that by
)1. Franz CnnlOnt: Pe.vtes et 1Il0JIlllllCiltS li.fJu,.és rclatlfs all C/llfe
de Jlitllra, 2 yols. in 4 0 , Brllxelles. 1
96-1899.
THE TEMPLE OF MITHRAH
2J:>
thraic \vorship held it
ground in ROlue and e
pe-
ciall
" in private houses until H
)-!. o.lIld had this been
a private hou
e belonging' to }>t:>rsous of that sect,
they ,,"ould certainly have ne,-er been disturbed in their
idola trous practices, nor have fOI'feited the possession
of their housp until the end of the fourth centur
-.
The onl
a tisfactory solution of the question is the
supposition of De Rossi that this
pelaenln or rather
the stuccoed ('hiullher ('ollllected ,vith it, was one of
the Loca Religioso restored to thp nhristialls b.y Con-
stantine, as ha villg been originallJT their property aud
used bJ? them for Christian worship.
Supposing. therefore. that this stuccoed chanlber
,vas used by
. Clement as a place of a
embIJ? for
the << Church in his house >>, and after his exile and
lnartyrdom reg'arded ,vith still greater veneration b
r
ROlnan Christians as his JlelJlOrio, it ,vould be Just one
of those places likely to be marked out for confisca tion,
and it ,,
a.s actuall
?, in the second or third century,
defiled b
the
Iithraic 8pelaeum. to which it or at
least a part of it ",vas made to serye as vestibule l . The
Christians ,,
ould still relnember the spot as the D01J/;-
/liclllll Clelliellt;s, and it ,yould be one of the first sac-
red places that S. )Ielchiades ,,"ould claim as of rig'ht
1 The excavations at present heing carried on at S. Cle-
111ente are proving abundantl
the correctness of this supposition.
246 THE BASILICA OF S. CLK\IEXTE I
RO)IE
belonging to the Christians, \vhell 3Iaxentius decreed
the restoration of the Loca Ecclesiastica (S. Aug.. Brev.
Coli. fl11/1 Donat., III, 34).
#
I n the first edition of this \vork (published in
1910) \ve had to lament that the
acred Oratory of
the mart
red Pontiff S. Olement, a spot once hallo"r-
ed by the footprints of S. Peter. 8. Paul. S. Bar-
nabas, and many other illustrious marh
r'3 and heroes
of the P rimitive Ohllreh. and \yhich
a'Y the struO'o'le
o
bet\veen paganislll and Christianit
T, and \vhich ,yit-
nessed the victorJ'" of the Oro
s of Ohrist o,er the
polJTtheisJll of the HOlnan empire proclaimed b
. the
grand fourth century basiliea overhead. ,ve had to
lalnellt, I sa
T, that this Oratory ,ya
thpn as it had
been for the hvent
--five preceding 'year
, closed alike
to the pious pligl'illl and the stndiou'S archaeologist,
o\ving to the vast quantity of ,yater by ,yhich it ".as
inundated. Today, ho\veyer, our tone is changed - chang-
ed from lamentation to exultation - thanks to the
princelJ- lnunificence of the present gTea t Cardinal
Titular of 8. Clemente, ,yho
p love for art and ar-
chaeology, and his apprpciation of the historic 'Talne
of
. Olemente are equallp
only by his generosit
.
llI
E)lL
EX('E, C-UIDIXAL 0' ('OX
ELL,
ARf'HRI8HOP OF BOSTOX, AXn
(JARDIXAL TrTrL.All OF S. CLEJIEXTE.
\\
C.-\RI>lXAL O' COXXELL
2-lH
In Xovf\luber 1
11. ei2'hteen lle\y Cardinals ,Yer
eL'flat-
ed b
Pope Pins X, one of \yhOII1 \vas .L\l'chhi
hop
O' C01lllflll of 130
ton. 8. Clelnelltü 'vas then, fortuna-
tel
, ,,
ithout a Cardinal Titular, and to Cardinal
O' Connell it ,vas a
igned as hi
Titlp. On the Rth De-
eClubel' of the saIne year, his Elllineuce took pos-
sessioll of hi
Titular Chur(Oh. In his address he told
the vast concourse of people, asseUl hIed on t hp occa-
sion
of hi
great dplight on JHtvillg" ]'Pc
Ï\'ed. and of
his gratitude to the Hol
T Fathflr for haYing a
si-
ned hin!.
. UI
melltp as his Title; hut he said not
a word of ,\.hat he intended to do for S. Cleluente.
Hi
Eluinence. ho,,
eYer. JUl(l vel'
Y noble intentions
on that point, and, before leayillg ROllle, made hinl-
self thoroughly acquainted of thp condition of his
Titular Church, and of tbe Ineans b.y which it could
be rescued from the destruetion ,vith ".hieh it ,vas
threatened b
the vast quantity of ,vater lying in its
lo\vest structures. [n Fphrnary 1912, the Uardinal re-
turned to Boston, and on Easter-dav a letter caIne
0-
to the ,vriter of the
e pages hringing from hi
Ell1Ï-
nence thp jo
ful tidings that the ,york of draining
S. Clementp ,vas to be begun at once, and that he
\yould bear the expenses. The "-ork invohTcd the cut-
ting of a tunnel froln a point in a large cloaca at
the far side of the Coliseum. near the .L-treh of Con-
stantine. to S. Oielnente, a distance of about seyen
250
THE BASILICA OF S. CLE
IE
TE LN RO
IE
r
.
hundred JTards, and at a depth var
Ting froln thirtJT to
forty-fi ve feet belo,v the surfa.ce of the road. The
tunnel ,vas begun on the 10 th June 1912. and, after
overcoming difficulties ,yhich at tiInes seemed ahnost
insurmountable, it. is 1l0'V c0l11plcted: the "Tater ,y hich
inundated H. Olelnente has gone off into the Tiber
and passed into history, and the splendid tunnel or
<< Elni
arÏlull Clelllentinulll })
ta nds a great monu-
Inent to a great Cardinal, ,yho, since the da.r
of
3Iercurius in the sixth, and
-\n3statius at the begin-
ning of thp Í\v(\lfth century, must be ranked as the
TIlost beneficent of the 111an.v great Oardinals of S.
Olelnente.
4-\s a separate ,york is no,v being published on the
draining of S. Olemente, I shall here say no more on the
subject than to express the hope that the excayations
,vhich the removal of the ,vater has no,y rendered pos-
sible may be able to be successfllll,
continued so that
() ()
the archaeological treasures ,yhich still lie buried in the
depths of
. Olemente 1113Y soon be brought to light.
o
.
-L-\ P P t
I) I X
I.
The great Slav Pilgrimage 1.
(July 1881).
In September 1880 Pope l
eo XI II i
sned an ency-
elical in which he spoke of the great labours of SSe Cy-
ril and )lethodius and of the great veneration in ,vhich
theJ ".ere held bJ. the 81a, peoples: aud he decreed
that their feast should henceforth be cplebrated through-
out the "yhole church on the 3 th of Jul
". The Pontiff
also deterInined to have the feast on the foIlo,ving July
celebrated ,,,ith grea t Iuagnificence: and this for two
reasons, first to gi,e hunour to the t\yO great apostles,
secondl
to bring the different Sla vonie peoples to-
gethel- su that they might be strengthened in the true
1 For the storJ
of this pilgdmag-e ,ve are indebted to a.
nmnnscript account ,vdtten hy an eye,vitness.
'232 THB RA1>;ILICA OF S. ULEMEXTE II\" ROME
Faith and in their obedient'
to the See of Peter. for
these peoples had been and were being subjected to
matl
v dangers in these respects bJT Russian. Prussian.
and Turkish persecution. A great pilgrimage to the
Eternal Oit
was then arranged for in Russia. .A.ustria.
Poland. Bohemia, Croatia.
Ioravia, Dalmatia, Carinthia,
Bosnia, Herzuguvinia. and Bulgaria. Tht> rich of course
L::::-
...
.
.
LoI"
L.. rm nOMA
E. C. DE'vlin.
A trium of
. Clemente
dnrin
the
lav Pilgriulage (18tH).
CaJllt> at their own expense, but thp pOOl' ,,,ho ,vere
desirous of joining the pilgriInag,'e '''ere assisted br
diocesa n eollections marl e for tha t purpose. To,vards the
end of June 1881 the piJgrims started on their journey.
and on thp last daJ
of the month, more than one thou-
sand three hundred pilgrinls, of WhOlll between three
and four hundred ,,,ere priests, had arrived ill Rome.
.-\ PPEXDIX I.
233
They ,,,ere of all eontlitions uf life. fl>oln the Polish
prince a nel noble to the Croatian ppasa nt a Ilcl l
osnia.n
Jlluunta.ineer.
8. Clelnente ,va" naturally selpetpfl as thp seenp of
t.
thp celebrations. ana due preparatiolls ha(l heen lnade
there for the uccasion. A huge a,vning was stretched
1\
,,\ j
I
I
'1,
II
r ,
4'\
I ii
)
, iI'"
:l
d
.
If". .",
I \
.1" .
1'.. ï
, .
t'
)1. .A. E. Deylin.
Interior uf the Church
during the
hl\
Pilgl'Ï1mlg'p (1 N'H).
oyer the cloister, and in the ('entre ,va", placed thp
tatue representing 88. CJ
l'il and
Iethodiu
. Three
altars were ereetecl at each side uf the entrance to th('
church, \vhile the ,valls of the cloister "rere hung ,vith
rich tapestries bruught frolll the Vatican. On the front
of the church and under the a,vning ,vere placed in-
scriptions in the five principal
la vonic languages, and
25-1 TH:g BAISILI(jA OF ::;. CLE
IEXTE IX RO
[E
festoons of flo,vers ,vere gracefull
uspended behveen
the pillars. The interior of the church "
as decorated
on an elaborate scale. .L\. dozen largp wax candles.
.costing hYent
-fiYe francs each, ,vere placed at regular
interyals on the marble ,valls of tht-' choir, ,vhile fuur
hundred smaller ones ,vere arranged \vithout inter-
ruption all round the cornice of the church. .A triple
band of cloth of gold \vas ,vound round the pillars
while red silk curtains, trÏJnmed ,vith gold. ,,'ere
us.
pended fl'om the arches. The side ,,'alls ,,,ere c01l1plete-
Iv covered ,,,ith red stuffs, and the clere""torv ,vall
v
"\vere decorated ".ith blue and gold up to the very
ceiling. A large painting of SSe C
ri1 and )lethodius
was placed in the arch of the trihune. Three parts of
the church and the ,vhole of the cloister ,vere reseryed
exclusÏ\
ely for the pilgriIns.
Sunda
., )IolJdaJ
' Tuesdar, and 'Vednesday, the
3 rd , 4 th . 6 th . and (-)th of Ju1
,vpre the four da
s fixed
for the celebrations. On each of these dars the l\Iass
of SSe C
Til and ::\Iethodius ,vas cplebratecl by all.
and froln earlJ
morning till to,vards nuon all the
altars ,vere occupied. The Pontifical High )Iass un
Sundar ,vas celebrated at eight oclock, in the
lavonic-
Ruthenian rite, h
the .Archhishop of Leopoli. and a
serm311 in Huthenian ,vas preached bJ
his Coadjutor.
The Jlass and Sel'lnOn lasted four hours, that is. from
-eight to twelve ocluck. In the Greek rite there is but
APPEXDIX I
25;)
one
Ia
s in every church, one priest celebrates and
the others assist. _All the assistant priests go to COJll-
munion; before cOlnmunicating they ,vash their hands
and then advance to,vards the altar in single file sing-
ing all the titne a siInple bui beautiful Alleluia. Each
priest ,yho a..,sists takes the chalice into his hands and
so l'pceives the Precious Blood, hut the student
re-
ceive it frolll a golden spoon.
DUl'ing this luass the ehurch presented a must pié.-
turesq ue appearance for it ,vas fillpd ".ith Slav pil-
grims dressed in their different national costumes. rrhe
Bosnians and Herzogoviniaus "
ere all tall, thin, ,yirr
men. and of a swal'th
cOlnplexion. Their heads were
shaven in front, but theJT ,vore their hair verJr long
behind and it fell gracefully over their shoulders. Ther
wore red turbans, short. parti-colQul'ed jackets ,vithout
sh
eves, verJ- large sa
hes. coloured trousers, and fan-
cifully ornalliented shoes or buskins. The.r seemed to
affect gold chains and earings. The piety of these men
,vas most relnarkable. TheJ devoutlJT recited the Ros-
ary nearlJ
all the time. The Bulgarians ,,
ere dressed
in a sOlue"rhat similar though perhaps simpler manner.
They ,yore a red fez with a blue tassel. a short blue
jacket, and ,,'ide blue trousers. 'l'heir heads were not
shaven but they ,yore their hair close cut, and also
wore moustaches. The Dalmatians "
ere tall like the
Bosnians. but stouter. rr'hose in better circumstances
2,36 THE BAI":ILICA OF
. CLE)IEXTE I
RlßIE
'yore blue jackets and blue trou
ers, theJ'
also had lit-
tle scarlet cap:s. and disp]a
ed i.t, ('onple of ro'Y
of
littlt à g'ilt balls do,vn the front of their jacket. The
poorer people" ere content "Tith ::,ilver gilt balls. The
)loravians \vere distinguished from an the others by
thin ,,,hite linen
leeves, and even some ,yorp trousers
of the saIne InateriaL Thp lo,yer ela:sses alJJong' the
Poles. Croats. Huthellians, and Bohemians 'VOl'e long
coats conling dO'Vll to their knpes, and very high
boots. The jackets ,,-orn by the C1'oato.; ,,,ere usually
coloured.
lost of thelll ,yore their hair long alld loo:se-
ly hanging over their foreheads. A Polish prince and
several Polish l10blelllen acctnnpa uied the pilgJ'Ï111-
aO'e. and one of thesp noblenlen ,vas dressed in the
national costume. He 'Yore a b]ue coat of so ganzJ
a
texture a
to permit the inner garnlents to be seen
through it; these latter \verp of ,,"hite silk ('overed
,yith enlbroidel'Y. His attire ,vas completed bJ a J
el-
lo,y fur cap, a beautiful Rash, high red hoots, and a
long
'Yord in a je,yelled scabbard. lIardly any of the
,,"OIllen on the pilgrimagfà ,vere relnarkahle for pecu-
liaritr of dress.
...\t six oclock a yprJ
long sernlOll ,vas prpaehed in
Polish, ,vhich \vas follo,ved br YespeJ's ill the Latin
rite, sung bJT the Pope's o,vn choir, the
i:stine. The
singing ,va
of course very beautiful, but vespers
APPENlJIÅ I
257
were so long that the pilgrims did not leave the church
till nine oclock I.
On .1\Ionday there \vere about eighty mas
es eele-
brated by the pilgriul priests. The Pontifical High
)Iass, ac(Oording to the
lavonic-Bulgarian rite, "
as
sung by
lonsignor Xilo Isvour ,vho had previously
been a schismatical Bishop of the Greek Church, but
,yho, nine years before his appearance at S. Clelnente,.
l!ad become a Catholic and brought his \vhole diocesp
into the trup fold ,vith hiIn. A
el'lnon ,vas preached
in Slavonic during the lnass. ....--\.t six oclock another
sermon ,va:s preaehed in Bohenlian, and ,vas follo,'-ed
by vespers in the Latin rite sung by the Sistine Choir.
Tuesda
T, the 5 th of July, being the feast of 88. CJrril
and )Iethodius, the pilgrims ,,
ere In ore than ordinarily
enthusiastic and devout. Befure nlidday one hundred and
thirty Jnasses had been celebrated at 8. Clelnente. At
eight oclock the Pontifical High )Ia
s ,vas celebrated
by Jlonsignor Stro
slnayr. Bishop of Bosnia. ,vho also
preached the sermon in Croatian. -'"\t midday an au-
(lienee ,vas given by the Holy Father to all the pil-
grims. "....hen the Pope appeared, borne on the Sedia
Gestatoria. his face ,vas beaming ,vith sl1liles, and as
1 Th08e .who lin.>d in or visite{l Rome before the JIotll pro-
prio of Pope Piw.. X. on Sacred )Insic appearpd ,,,ill readily
believe the length of the Solemn Ve!:.;pers in those days in the
Eternal City.
18
23
THJ<j BASiLICA OF
. CLE:\IE
Tg IX n.o.:\[E
he passed along he bles
ed the kneeling- IlluItitude
again and a
'ain. "Theil he had arrived at the throne.
l\Ionsignor BtrossmaJTr read all address to .which thp
Holy Fa t.her replied in his O\VIl paternal a nd spirited
TI1anner. Then all the piJgriIns a.ppI'oached hvo b,Y t,yO
and ki
sed the Pope'
foot, after ,,'hieh thp
' presented
Hi
Holiness ,vith half a luilliOl1 francs.
\.t half past
five there ,vas a sernlon in Italian fullo,ved b
' vespprs.
:Fe [JeUl/l} and Benediction of the Blessed
acralllent.
"
hen the ,vhoh
fUllction ,vas o\.er and ßlost of the
people had left the church, a nUluber of Polish pil-
griuls \vho ".ere kneeling in the centre of thp na ve
began to sin]: vel'
beautifully, then a Polish priest ad-
dres
ed thelll for SOI11t' tilne, aftpr which he hrought
them into the choir ,vherp the.r resunled the sing'ing.
He then ga V(
thenl the relic- of 8. UJTil to kiss. After
this tll(?J
departed.
On ".... ednesda
, the Pontifi('al High .l.\Iass ,vas
Ullg
in the HOlnan rite. Aftpr luass all ,vent to the .Vatiean
-where thp pilgriIns gïlYP nlu
i('al selections, and re-
citations in tl}(
various 81a y languages before the Pope.
Next dar theJ aU returned to their homes 1.
1 It ,vas during this pilgrimag-e that arrangements ".erè made
for the erection ill 8. CleIlleutc of the Chapel to
. C;yril and
)!ethoùiws.
APPEXDIX IL
:2:>9
II.
The Sceptic's Dream 1.
It \\
a
tllt:} Festival of H. Clement. I \vas at ROlne,
and \vand
ring \vith a friend among the
tatel
- ruins
of the Coli
eum. The gentle antulunal breeze brought
to our ears the sound of distant chul'c-h ht'lls. <<It is
<< tÎ1ne to go to
. Clelnenfs )) said Iny friend. << are
<<
ou not coming \vith me"? )). << No. thank
-un >>. I re-
plied. << the church it
elf is intpresting I grant
'ou,
<< from its ancient architeeture and fl'esc()f}
. hut as a
<< work of art alone, at least to me. The legendarJT
<< nleanings of thp paint:ngs 011 its walls. are to lue as
<< m, thical as thp hi&to
y of Homulus and Relnu
. X 0,
v
<< I leave such puerilitie.: to \YOP1
1l and children. '>
<< I will not a ttolnpt to argne "ith YOU )), \yas the an-
s\ver, <<but)), opening: his English Pra
-er-book. <<ha ,-iug
<< seen
"'"ou at the English
eryice last
undaJT. I fan-
<< cied
-ou might venerate a ell urch in ,vhich the 1'e-
<< nlaius repose of a
aint comnlOlllora t2d by our COlll-
<< lllunion )). and he pointed to the line in the Kalen-
dar. Inarked :YOL 23. S. Clement Bp. and )Iart
"'"r.
<<
Iy deal' fello\v >>, I ans\vel'ed. << all COHllllullions are
1 BJ"'" )1. H.
260 THE BASILICA OF 1-;. CLK\[E
Tg IN Rn
IE
<< much the sanle to Ine. I went to church last Sunda
r
<< because the rest of my part
did so; but J
ou must
<< not take for granted in consequence that
uch is m
?
<< habit. Christianity Inav have effected much, I do
" "
<< nut saJ it ha
not, but eivilizn tione ha
done more.
<< and ,ve of the l
}th centur
"', the age of free thought
<< cannot again put ourselves in leading-strings. Luuk
<< at these piers. ,vas this gigantic pile erected by Christ-
<< ians"? After all. ,ye are a
t of pigmie
eompared
<< to those whonl .you ,vould terln our less enlightened
<< progenitors. The very
tone
of Horne hav
a voice >>.
<< Yes >>, he ans,vered. << buf like the ,vriting on Bal-
<< thassar's walL there is onl
r one trup interpretation >>.
So saJing, he left me, and sitting do,vn on a stone,
half ,yorn a"-:1Y hy the knees of pil
rims, I lazil
-
watched the da,ys and listened to their ca,ving, as
theJ'? flp,y in and out of the upper arches until over-
cOlne ,vith dro,v
iness, I fell asleep. and drealnt, and
this "ras my drea In :
I dreamt that I ,vas aloll(î. pacing up and do,vn
one of the aisles in the church of Clenlent. ,vhen sud-
denl
, I felt, ,vithout at first seeing all
rthing. that
sonH
one ,,-as near nle. I turned my head, and sa,v
that, closp besidp nle, stood a shado"ry figure, ,,-ho:se
features I could nut distinctlJ
discern. the ,,-hole forlll
being en ,"eloped in a kind of luist; but a voice, differ-
ent fron1 any I had e\
er kno,vn, fell on IDJ'r ear:
APPEXIHX II
261
<< E\
en the
tones of Rome speak )). it said. <<colne
<< ,yith me, and I ,vill tell ,you ,yhat theJ
sa
)). An
un
een po,yer seemed to constrain Ine to follo,v lUJ"
conductor, and I hastened after the shado"
J
forlll.
io\vn the flight of steps ,yhich led to the subterranean
church. << Yon reject as false all rOil cannot see ,vith
<<
onr bodily eJ
es )), it said. is it not so 1
-\.ll nn-
<< ,,-ritten trndition is the salllP to you - a collpction
<< of idlp tales; and luuch even that
You
ee,
You de-
<< clare to be interpolatpd, if it dops not exactlJ
agree
<( ,yith
our O\VU ideas of ,yhat is reasonable. AnI I
<< not l'igh t'?)) 1 ho,ved 11l,\Y head in assent. << Y Oll con-
<< sider ROIllUlus and Relllus a" mythical personages:
<<
"on doubt ,vhether such a patr'iot as Horatius Cocles
<< e\>er existed, except in the poet's brain: but JYou be-
<< lie' e. do JTou not. that there "
ere such monarchs as
<< S ero and Trajan'?)) I bow"ed again. "Thr do
ou be-
<< lipve in them'? Perhaps the
- perhaps none of the
<< socalled Caesars eyerreally Ii \
ed )). I murmured some-
thing ahout the testimon
- which not one. hut sP-
yeral histories g'a \ye to their existence, recording their
deeds. entering into minute descriptions of their verJ
cha l'acters -- also, th at even the buildings in Rome
added further confirlnation. << Yet
ou ha\
e allo"yed
<< the doubt to euter into J
our nlind. ,yhether Christ-
<< ianitJ
itself is of divine origin. and
ou actually
<<
neer at those ,,,"ho venerate. ,,,ith reverential affec-
262 THE BASiLICA OF S. CLE)IEXTE IX R())IE
<< tion. the lnartvrs ,,
ho ,von their Crl)'Vn by eluhrac
<< ing den th in its lllost terrible shapes. rather than
<< apostatize >>. << I never sneered at a 11lart
T hÍ1nself
<< in ,vhatever caUSfl >). J hastil
answered. << truth, :-,elf-
<< de,'otton. self-denial, lllust ahYaJ
s cOllllnand respect )>.
<< Look un thi
. then )>. the figurp replied. << but first
<< cast from '
our lnilld sep } )ticism ana frÏ\yolitv. whi(th
<< as poisonous exhalations interpos p between
ou and
<< the teuth. Herp J
ou see the installation of 8. Ulelllpnt,
<< the tel/oIl' labourer of 8. Paul. as Bishop of Rome:
<< here again, he is celeh)'ating the HolJ
Eueha rist : see
<< the altar. pa ten, chalice. the vel'r ,yords in thp open
<< book, the saine as those useel daily in the Hervice of the
<<Church. "Till not ,vha t has been accepted alirays
<<aud ece/:/jlrlzere have a little ,,-eight ,,,ith
un in
<<helping to pro\
e the truth of OhristianitJ 1 Yon
<< ha '-e seen these hefore. J
ou ha vp adlll ired the depth
<< of expression in thp faces, the freshness of colourillg,
<< the graee of tlH
l1raper.\
, but tho
e the
repre-
<< bented ,yere to YOU a
myths. Yet not in one. but
<< in )llall
books. these Aets of thp nun>t.'
r
are re-
<< corded, and no'y these walls. decorated IH r the a)>t
<< of Ulore than a th()u
a nd .VPiI 1'S ago. corrohorate
<<their tp
tilnonJ. You a(hnire self-denial in t hp a b-
<< stra(ôt: hel"P
ou find it in realitJ
. IIere s.
\Jexius,
<< le:l\Tin
' bride and parents anrl. affluPllce. goes fOl,th
<< to lead a life of self-alJllegation. and putting his hand
APPENDiX II
203
to the plough. until death, look:; not back. IIere
again you haY
the apo
tolic ,vords fnlfillpd and the
:< unbelieving' hu:;hand con,'erted h
the believing ,vife.
Louk do,vll belo,,' into the chaulberb. turned h.v
:< S. Cleluellt into a retreat for pra
er: he. the noble
:< Ronlan. fOl'::,aking the gorgeonsne::,s of an inlperial
r court, to labour ,vith Pa nl the ag'ed. one ,vho ,vrought
:< ,vith his 0"-1) hands for his liying, and a prisoner.
:< Is not that self-dpvotiol1 "? ".... alk round and round this
,< ancient I3a
ilica,
-on ,yill find the sanle btor
' on efll'h
<< fresco; all unite in silentl
' but effeetllall
- }H'paeh-
{< iog the ::;alue doc-trine - death to the ,vorId. in order
<<to attain to life in that ,,,hieh shall ne"er pas
<< awa
r. Aboye ns, but beneath the high altar, repose
{< all that is 11lortal of H. Uleluent a nd
. Iglla tins.
<< 'Yhv ".ere they InarÌ\Ts'? Becau:;e they lo,'ed the
t. tI t,. t
<< truth hptter than their liye:s. Beeansp the ancient
<< HOlnaL1
, the eonquerurs of the "'orld. delig'hted to
<< :;ee an aged luan, against ,,-hUIlI 110t a \vhisper of
<( slander could be breathed. turll to pie('es b
" ,yild
{< beasts, or as hp himself expressed it: <<I :nll thf
,vheat
(< of Christ. I lnust therefore he ground and broken
<< bJ
the teeth of wild beasts. that I Inay becolne His
<< pure and spotless hi'ead )). A fe"
'ears ago, and those
(< blessed relics ,vere borne in triumph through the
<< arena, once flo,ving \vith his blood. and the stones
<< ,yhich echoed to Deatlt to tlte Christialls resounded
26-1 THE BASILICA OJ<' s. CLEME
TE l
RO}IE
<< to the glorious Te DeIUJl. """hat has effected this
<< change, froln bloodshed to peace, from the cr
uf
<<the heathen persecutor to the triumphant song of
<< the Christian'? Has civilization '?
0, a thuusand tilnes
<< no. A Fisherlnan of Galilee, a J e,v of Tarsus, a fe,v
<< disciples. some of theln weak ,yomen and striplings,
<< have ,,'on a grander victory than ever did _\.lexander
<< or 4-\.ugustns. Rome conquered the "
orld, but thf\Y
<< conquered Rome. And J
our boa
ted reason. what
<< dues it sa
'? Does it not bo,y to the Almighty Po,,"er
<< ,yhich alone could effect this marvellous change .? Is
<< not Christianity divine '? Do not the verJ
stones of
<< ROlne attest it.? Do not the '"aIls of Sail ClelJlell te
<< and of the Coliseuß1 suffice alone, ",.ithout any other
"
<< proofs, to bear requisite testimon
l" to the truth, ,,"hich
<< the Church, ,vaterecl by the blood of martyrs, teaches '?
<< Oh! ,vretched, miserable doubter, be sceptical no
<< longer. You arl ll1ire him who dies, for a principle,
<< ho,vever faulty: venerate those who looked for no
<< applause of Inau, but an unfading ,vreath in Heaven.
<< You profess to love truth. Think of those ,vho sealed
<< their testilnony to it ,vith their blood, sooner than
<< thro\y a fe\v grains of incense before an iInperial
<< irnage. Yon feel rour hpart glo,y ,,
ithin you, while
<< listening to the histories of Clelnent, a nd C
Til. and
<< Alexius. and their patient self-denial. \Ya \'er then no
<< Inure, unstable lnurtal. Learn from these old walls
APPE1\IH'( II
(jj
<< and decaying paintings tIH_
ptpl'ual tl'ltth
t.hp
(--'10-
<< qupntl
, though 8iLpntlJ
proclaiIn. and
eal'
hellet'l.
<< may be, in
our distant houle, far a\va
' fl'ollt thi:s
<< City of lnartyl's. .rou ,,,ill l'enlpmber ,,,ith tha.ukful-
<< npss as the Feast of S. Clpluent ccnues round in the
<< ChuI'ch's year, the lesson thpy taught you. Y ps. thpsf\
<< vpry ,valls, hidòen for eentul'ips. hay
no\y. a
it
<< ".ere. bepll brongh t to light to add J
et a t
'l
tilllOllJ
<< to tlIp a wful fact. in this age of illconsistpnl'J
and
<< inerpdnlit.J r . fast glidin
' [roIn the Inind of Ulan. that,
<< t.his sphere is not to I'evoh e for ever. tha t a paga II
<< morality is not sllfficipnt to cleansp its COITllption.
<< that tllt
Tllost virtuous hpathen that eyer lived la('kpd
<< that consoling faith in a ClImnluuion of
aillts. whi('h
<< shelh; it soft. henignant light on the tlrparipst path
<< trud hJ a Christian. and so died, as he lived. ,vithout
<< that peace, ,,,hi('h the highest honours of earth fail to
<< bes hnv )).
'rhe voice ceased, and I a,,"oke. Thp sliJ'" 'was still
a clondle:s:s azure, the d
nn.; ,verp sti 11 ('a wing aho, (--'
me, all around appeared the same, I alone ,vns differ-
ent, and a:s I walked frunl the grea t
nl1phithpatl'e. [
turned once more for a last look at the central Cross,
that holy s
'"mbol
o dearl
loved by the early Christ-
ians, that even on their very tiles they engraved it:
üü THE B.\SlLICA OF S. CLE:\lENTE IN RO:\>lE
and I felt tha t I tuo had been conquered by its power,
011 the spot "'here the martyrs ,yon their crown.
" )la{le ('o-lH'ir
,yith Christ in glor
v,
His celpstial hliss they share:
)J a)' tl](',Y no,v hefore Him bending
Ht.>lp ns OInvard by their prayer:
rrhat, thi
weary life cOlupleted,
And it
flepting trials past,
\y p ma
' win eternal glory
I II om' 1'1 a ther's HOllIe at last >>.
(Ð
-- -."
NOLAN, Louis.
Basilica of St.
Clemente in Rome.
NA"
5620
.S3N6
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