THE IDEAL ROMAN FIGURE OF CHRISTTHE IDEAL ROMAN FIGURE OF CHRIST
The portrait head of Jesus in the Sancta Sanctorum.The portrait head of Jesus in the Sancta Sanctorum.
Ancient writers have left but little information about the personal appearance of the Saviour; and the vagueness of their accounts proves the absence of a type which was universally recognized as authentic. Many documents concerning this subject must be rejected as forgeries of a later age. Such is the pretended letter of Lentulus, governor of Judæa, to the Senate, describing the appearance of Jesus. In the same way we should regard the images attributed to Nicodemus and Luke, and those calledacheiropitæ(not painted by human hands), like the famous one of the chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum,[167]the first historical mention of which dates froma. d.752, when Pope Stephen II. carried it in a procession from the Lateran to S. Maria Maggiore, to obtain divine protection againstAistulphus. Garrucci questions whether it may not be that of Camulianus, described by Gregory of Nyssa; or a copy of the image alleged to have been sent by the Saviour himself to Abgar, king of Edessa,[168]with an autograph letter. Must we consider these and other portraits, like the "Volto Santo" in the Vatican, as fanciful as the old youthful Roman type of the Good Shepherd? There can be no doubt that in some provinces of the East, like Palestine, Syria, and Phœnicia, the oral traditions about the personal appearance of the Saviour were kept for many generations. It is also probable that the tradition was confirmed by some work of art, like the celebrated group of Paneas (Bâniâs). With regard to this, Eusebius says that the woman with the issue of blood, grateful to the Saviour for her cure (Mark v., 25-34), caused a statue, representing Him in the act of performing the miracle, to be set up in front of her house; that it still existed when he wrote, and was held in great veneration throughout Palestine and the whole East. Sozomenos adds that Julian the Apostate substituted his own statue for it, but that the imperial image was struck by lightning. This excited the wrath of the pagans to such an extent that they destroyed the group of Christ and the Woman, which Julian had caused to be removed. Cassiodorus, Rufinus, Kedrenos, and Malala, assert that the head was saved from destruction. It has been suggested that the group did not represent the woman at the feet of the Saviour, but a conquered province kneeling before the Roman emperor and addressing him as her Saviour (ΣΩΤΗΡΙ). But this explanation seems more ingenious than probable, because it implies that Christians, Eusebius included, had mistaken the portrait of a Roman conqueror for that ofChrist, which would have been so different in type, dress, and attitude. At all events, the belief that the group of Bâniâs was a genuine likeness was general in the fourth century. Eusebius contributed to make it known in the Western world; and to this diffusion we probably owe the second type of the Saviour's physiognomy, the bearded face, the large impressive eyes, the hair parted in the middle, and falling in locks on the shoulders.[169]
To this type belongs the bust discovered four years ago in the "locus ad catacumbas." According to an ingenious hypothesis of Bottari, adopted by de Rossi, the Paneas group is represented on the Lateran sarcophagus, engraved by Roller in the second volume of his "Catacombs," plate 58.
The Cemetery of Cyriaca. This, the principal cemetery of the Via Tiburtina, was excavated in the hill above the basilica of S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura. It is the one with which I have had most to do, because the building of the new Camposanto, together with the sinking of the foundations of the new tombs, has been the occasion of frequent discoveries. One of the characteristic features of Cyriaca's cemetery is the large number of military inscriptions from the prætorian camp which were used to close the graves, the name of the deceased Christian being engraved on the blank side of the slab. On December 23, 1876, a landslide of considerable extent took place along the southern face of therock in which the catacombs are excavated, in consequence of which many loculi, arcosolia, and painted cubicula were laid open. I happened to witness the accident, and was able to direct the exploration of the graves. Among the objects discovered, I remember a pair of silver earrings, a necklace of gold and emeralds, sixteen inches long, clay objects of various kinds, gladiatorial and theatrical lamps, and nine Christian tombstones. One of them was engraved on the back of a slab from the prætorian camp, containing the roster of one hundred and fifty soldiers from the twelfth and fourteenth city cohorts (cohortes urbanæ). Each individual has his prænomen, nomen, and cognomen, carefully indicated, together with the names of his father, tribe, and country. The men are grouped in companies, which are indicated by the name of their captains, such as the "company of Marcellus" or the "company of Tranquillinus," with the consular date of the year in which Marcellus and Tranquillinuswere in command of that company. Another part of the same roster, engraved on a slab of the same marble and size, and containing many more names, was found a century and a half ago in the same place, and removed to the Vatican Museum.
Landslip in the Cemetery of Cyriaca.Landslip in the Cemetery of Cyriaca.
One of the tombs, discovered during the following January, seems to have belonged to a lady of rank. A gold necklace and a pair of opal earrings were found in the earth which filled the grave. Relatives or friends of the occupants of the cubiculum had written on the plaster words of affection and devotion, such as "Gaianus, live in Christ with Procula;" "Semplicius, live in Christ."
Inscription from the tombstone of a dentist.Inscription from the tombstone of a dentist.
It is to be regretted that, in order to make room for the daily victims of death, the municipality of Rome should be obliged to turn out of their graves the faithful of the third and fourth centuries who were buried in the neighborhood of S. Lorenzo. In 1876 I witnessed the discovery of a section of the old cemetery at the foot of the hill of Cyriaca. The tombs were mostly sarcophagi, with reliefs, the subjects of which are taken from the Bible. One of them, carved in the rude but pathetic style of the fifth century, represents the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Egyptian hosts, led by Pharaoh, following closely on the Jews. The waves are closing over the persecutors, just as the last of the fugitives emerges safely on the land. The "column of fire" is represented, according to the Vitruvian rules, with base and capital; and the costumes of the warriors of the Nile are those of Romangregarii, or privates, under Constantine. Another sarcophagus shows the Virgin Mary, with the infant Saviour in her arms, receiving the offering of the Eastern kings. A third represents a sort of pageant of court dignitaries of one of the Valentinians. Besides these and many other pieces ofsculpture seventy-two inscriptions or fragments of inscriptions were dug up, mostly from the pavement of a ruined chapel, one of the seven by which the basilica of S. Lorenzo was surrounded in ancient times.
Inscription from the grave of Alexander, a dentist.Inscription from the grave of Alexander, a dentist.
Surgeon's instruments; relief on a tombstone.Surgeon's instruments; relief on a tombstone.
Another inscription, discovered in 1864, deserves attention on account of the instruments which are engraved upon it. It is a fragment from the tomb of a dentist named Victorinus, or Celerinus, with the representation of the instruments he used in extracting teeth. Such representations are by no means rare on gravestones. The other two specimens reproduced here are also from the catacombs. Alexander was a dentist; the unknown owner of the other slab was a general surgeon, yet the symbol of dentistry occupies the prominent place in his display of tools. In my experience of Roman or Latin excavations, in which thousands of tombs have been brought to light, I have hardly ever met with a skull theteeth of which showed symptoms of decay, or evidence of having been operated upon by a professional hand. Specimens of filling are even more rare than those of gold plating. Of this latter process we have now a beautiful sample in a skull discovered in the excavations of Faleria, and exhibited in the Faliscan Museum at the Villa Giulia, outside the Porta del Popolo. The gold socket or plating of three molar teeth is still in excellent condition. And here I may recall the ancient law, mentioned by Cicero (De Leg. ii. 24), which made it illegal to bury a body with gold, except such as had been used in fastening the teeth.
The Cemetery ad Duas Lauros(of SS. Peter and Marcellinus).[170]To the left of the second milestone of the Via Labicana there was an imperial villa, namedad Duas Lauros(the two laurels), where the empress Helena was buried by Constantine, and Valentinian III. was murdered when playing with other youths, in 455. Adjoining the tomb of the empress, which was described in chapter iv., pp. 197 sq., were two cemeteries,—one above ground, belonging to the "Equites Singulares," or body guards; the other, below. The latter was the largest of the Via Labicana, and was known in early Church annals under the same name as the imperial villa. In 1880-82 a third and deeper network of galleries was excavated for the sake of extracting the pozzolana, the beds of which support the tufa and the catacombs excavated in it. Some damage was done to the tombs, but the Italian proverbNon tutto il male viene per nuocereproved true once more on this occasion. The excavation of the catacombs, which is generallya difficult and costly work, and sometimes impossible, when the owner of the ground above them objects to this form of trespassing on his estate, here became an easy matter, the earth being simply thrown into the sandpits from the catacombs above. The discoveries made on this occasion, added to the descriptions and drawings left by former explorers, give us a thorough knowledge of these labyrinths. The impression which they make at first is rather poor; but this is due chiefly to the ravages committed by early explorers.
The inscriptions are few and not particularly interesting, excepting one, which was discovered in 1873, and is written in excellent style: "Aurelius Theophilus, a citizen of Carrhæ, a man of pure mind and great innocence, at the age of twenty-three has rendered his soul to God, his body to the earth." His native city, the Haran, or Charan of the Bible, where Abraham lived, is known in Church annals as one of the strongholds of paganism in Mesopotamia. When Julian the Apostate led the Roman armies against the Persians, in 362, he halted for some time at Carrhæ, to perform impious and cruel sacrifices in the sanctuary of Luno. A description of the crime is given by Theodoretus in Book III. ch. xxvi. At that time Carrhæ, in spite of its devotion to the old religion, had a bishop named Vitus, who died in 381, and was succeeded by Protogenes. According to Theodoretus, he succeeded in "cultivating that wild field which had been covered with idolatrous thorns." Aurelius Theophilus was probably a contemporary of these events, as the inscription on his tombstone belongs undoubtedly to the end of the fourth century. There are also a few inscriptions scratched on plaster, by pilgrims who visited the three historical crypts of Marcellinus and Peter, Gorgonius, and Tiburtius. To save devout visitors the trouble and dangerof crossing the labyrinths, each of these crypts was made accessible directly from the ground above by means of a staircase. Thegraffitiare found mostly on the sides or at the foot of these staircases, or else on the door-posts of the crypts themselves.
The historical and religious associations of this catacomb are summed up and illustrated in a beautiful picture representing the Saviour with S. Paul on his right and S. Peter on his left: and, on a line below, the four martyrs who were buried in the cemetery, Gorgonius, Peter, Marcellinus, and Tiburtius, pointing with their right hands to the Divine Lamb on the mountain. The heads of the two apostles are particularly fine, and the shape of their beards most characteristic. This well-known fresco, preserved in cubiculum no. 25 of Bosio's plan, was discovered in 1851 by de Rossi, in a curious manner. Having obtained from padre Marchi permission to carry the excavations towards the cubiculum, and finding that the work proceeded too slowly for his impatience, he crept on his hands and feet for fifty yards along the narrow gap between the ceiling of the galleries and the earth with which they were filled, and reached the cubiculum nearly suffocated. Here, by means of a skylight which was not obstructed by rubbish, he found that the place was used as a deposit for carrion, as the half-putrefied carcass of a bull was lying under the famous fresco.
Many cubiculi were painted by one artist, whose power of invention was rather restricted. He has but two subjects: the story of Jonah, and the Symbolic Supper. Of this last there are four representations, all reproduced from the same pattern, of which I give an example. A family consisting of father, mother, and children, are sitting around a table, upon which theιχθυςor fish is served; the banquet is presided over by two mystic figures, Irene or Peace on the left,Agape or Love on the right. The head of the family addresses Peace with these words: "Irene, da calda!" and Love, "Agape, misce mi!" The last words are easily understood: "Give me to drink," the verbmescerebeing still used in the same sense in Tuscany, where a wine-shop is sometimes called amescita di vino. The meaning of the wordcaldais not certain. There is no doubt, as Bötticher says, that the ancients had something to correspond to our tea: but thecaldaseems to have been more than an infusion; apparently it was a mixture of hot water, wine, and drugs, that is, a sort of punch, which was drunk mostly in winter.[171]The names written in charcoal above the principal inscriptions in this illustration are those of Pomponio Leto and his academicians.[172]
The Symbolic Supper.The Symbolic Supper.
Another artist distinguished himself in these catacombs,not from skill in design and color, but from the beautiful subjects chosen by him for the decoration of the walls and ceilings of three cubiculi,—compositions which may be called "The Gospel Illustrated." They have been admirably described and reproduced by photographs and in outline by monsignore Joseph Wilpert, in his book referred to in the note on page 354. The intuition of this learned man in detecting paintings which have been effaced by age, dampness, and smoke is fully appreciated by students of Christian archæology: but on this occasion he accomplished a realtour de force. When, on December 19, I entered the cubiculum no. 54, in which the paintings are, and he began to point out to me outlines of figures and objects, I thought he was laboring under an optical delusion; I could see nothing beyond a blackened and mouldy plaster surface. My eyes, however, soon became initiated to the new experience, and able to read the lines of this curious palimpsest. The dark spots soon grew into shape, and lovely groups, inspired by the purest Christian symbolism, appeared on the walls. There are thirteen pictures, representing the following-named subjects: the annunciation, the three magi following the star (which is shaped like the monogram[Symbol: Chi-Rho]), their adoration at Bethlehem, the baptism of our Lord, the last judgment, the healing of the blind, the crippled, and the woman with the issue of blood, the woman of Samaria, the Good Shepherd (twice), the Orantes (twice).
The catacombs of SS. Peter and Marcellinus have another attraction for students. Poor as they are in epitaphs and works of art, they contain hundreds of names of celebrated humanists, archæologists, and artists who explored these depths in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and made record of their visits. When one walks between two lines of graves, in the almost oppressive stillness of the cemetery,with no other company than one's thoughts, the names of Pomponius Letus and his academicians, of Bosio, Panvinio, Avanzini, Severano, Marangoni, Marchi, and d'Agincourt, written in bold letters, give the lonely wanderer the impression of meeting living and dear friends; and one wonders at the great love which these pioneers of "humanism" must have had for antiquities, to have spent days and days, and to have held their conferences and banquets, in places like these.
In chapter i., page 10, of "Ancient Rome," I mentioned Pomponio's Academy, and its visits to the crypts of Callixtus. Since the publication of my book, the subject has been investigated again and illustrated by Giacomo Lombroso[173]and de Rossi.[174]It appears that after the trial which the Academicians underwent at the time of Paul II., and their unexpected liberation from the Castle of S. Angelo, they decided to turn over a new leaf. From a fraternity which was pagan in manners and instincts, which had made itself conspicuous by the use of profane language, and by the celebration of profane meetings over the tombs of the martyrs, they became the "Societas literatorum S. Victoris et sociorum in Esquiliis," a literary society under the patronage of S. Victor and his companion saints, namely, Fortunatus and Genesius. Theirpontifex maximusbecame a president; theirsacerdosa priest, whose duty it was to say mass on certain anniversaries. The most important celebration fell, as before, on April 21, the birthday of Rome. We have a description by an eye-witness, Jacopo Volaterrano, of that which took place in 1483: "On the Esquiline,[175]near the house of Pomponius, the society of literary men has celebrated the birthday of Rome. Divine service was performed by Peter Demetrius of Lucca; Paul Marsus delivered the oration. The dinner was served in the hall adjoining the chapel of S. Salvatore de Cornutis," etc. In 1501, after the death of Pomponius, the anniversary meetings were held on the Capitol; the solemn mass was sung in the church of the Aracœli, while the banquet took place in the Palazzo dei Conservatori. The convivial feast of 1501 was not a success. Burckhardt describes it assatis feriale et sine bono vino(commonplace and with no good wine).
Was the conversion of the Academicians a sincere one? We believe it was not; they manifested under Sixtus V. the same feelings which had brought them to justice under Paul II.
In the calendars of the Church of Rome only one name is registered on April 21, that of Pope Victor. His alleged companions, Fortunatus and Genesius, were singled out of old, disused calendars of the church of Africa, unknown to the Latins. Why did the academicians select such enigmatic and obscure protectors? The reason is evident. Genesius was chosen because his name suggested an allusion to thegenesis(natalis) or birthday of Rome; Victor and Fortunatus, likewise, were considered names of good omen, with a suggestion of the Victory and Fortune who presided over the destinies of ancient Rome.
Under the protection of these alleged saints, Pomponius and his friends worshipped, and celebrated the birthday of Rome, and the goddesses connected with the city.[176]
This state of things did not wholly escape the attention of contemporary observers. One of them, Raffaele Volaterrano, expressly says: "Pomponius Lætus worshipped Romulus and kept the birthday of Rome; the beginning of a campaign against religion (initium abolendæ fidei)."
The Roman academy found the means of keeping faithful to its traditions, and to the spirit of its institutions, in spite of the reform of its statutes. Victor, Fortunatus, Genesius, in whose honor divine service was performed on April 20, did not represent to the initiated the saints of the Church, but the fortunes of ancient Rome, its founder, thePaliliæ. Still, we are not yet able to discover whether all this was done simply out of love and admiration for the ancient world, under the influence of the Renaissance of classical studies; or from hatred and contempt of Christian faith:initium abolendæ fidei.
THE END.
INSCRIPTION COMMEMORATING THELUDI SÆCULARESCELEBRATED IN THE YEAR 17, B. C.
TEXT AS EDITED BY MOMMSEN
(See Chapter II., pp. 73-82)
For the names of individual arches, basilicas, catacombs, churches, forums, palaces, piazzas, statues, streets, temples, tombs, and villas, see the headings,Arch, Basilica, Catacombs, Churches, etc.