The daily gazette., 1876-03-01
THE FEC: OF OUR SAVIOUR.

was painter, snd that he painted a
portrait of our Lord, which was hand |
ed down through the ages of the
church. We need hardly say that this |
is simply a legend. The most ancient |
picture of our Saviour is the so called |
Veronica portrait, in St. Peters church |
at Rome. Tradition says that Veronica |
is the woman whom Christ healed of |
an issue of blood. That on his way to
Calvary she, with adoring love, wiped
the bloody sweat drops from His face
with her veil. He rewarded her love
by printing with the blood drops His |
picture on her veil. The legend is ,
first spoken of in the fourth century.
1t is said that seven different Roman |
Catholic churches claim to have it,
They hold that the original veil had |
seven folds, 80 that each can possess a |
fold with perfect picture. And the |
portrait which st. Luke is said to have |
painted is said to be in the Benedietine |
convent of Vallambrosa, in Spain
Il is painted on panel of cypress |
wood, and must be very old. The fea-
lures of our Lord are strongly marked:
1.-THE face is long, the eyes large bright
and mournful, with dropping eyelids
and aIched brows." Some of the ear
lier paintings of our Saviour give Him
| a sorrow stricken countenance. Their
authors evidently caught their inspira-
ton chiefly from the.53d chapter of
| Isaiah. They represent Him as "a man
of sorrow and acquainted with grief"
| Paintings representing His arraign-
ment before Caliphas and PLATE. His
crucifixion and His decent from the
cross, gave him face full Of divine
agony.
Ali the painters give our Saviour the
face OF person in His early prime,
lfull of beaignity, patience, and calm,
heroic endurance. The hair of His
face seems to be fine and neither thick
nor long. Tho hair of His head is
long, parted in the middle, covering
His ears and flowing upon the neck
somewhat after the yle Of the ancient
Nazarites. On the scarcophagus or
tomb of Junius Bassus, at Rome, who
died in $50, there is picture Of our
Saviour which represents Him las of
youthful, almost of childish appearance
with flowing hair, beardless chin and
the face ( that classic type which is
so familiar to ALL"
On certain ancient goblet, found
, in the tomb of Eutychia, "hsppiest of
women," as she is called, there is h
representation of the resurrection Of
Lazarus, in which our Saviour looks
Youthful, with curlcd hair and beard
less face.
In the catacombs Of st. Sebastian, at
Rome, tho early Christian martyrs,
who sought refuge there, graved and
lpainted pictures of their Lord, fol-
whom they suffered, on the rock walls
of their dark dwellings. There all the
pictures of our Saviour's face are Of
the same general type, showing that
through that dark and trying period a
common idea OF his personal appear
ance must have prevailed. On the
rock ceiling Of the fourth chamber
from the entrance is one of the best
preserved pictures. Here the face
is oval, the brow lofty and smooth, the
eye -brows arched, the expression Pc
culiarly grave and mild. The hair is
parted in the middle, and flows in curls
to the shoulders, the beard is scanty,
short and divided or forked, and the
appearance that of man between
thirty and forty years old"
I ST. Jerome says that our SaviOur's
"face was heavenly, and that from his
leycs the hidden Godhead flashed
forth" AS the gedly man lived three
hundred and fifty years after Christ,
he must have drawn on tradition, hie
faith and pious Imagination for his
description.
ST. John of Damascus wrote to the
Emperor Thcophilus, that "Jesus. the
Son of God, was tall and stately, of
grave and earnest manner, with large,
tender eyes, and hair which curled al
the ends, of golden brown color, like
ripe wheat, and that His head was
bowed somewhat forward.
| Probulous Lentulus is said TO have
| lived at the time of Christ, and to
have been employed about the person
Of Pontius PLATE. The following de-
scription of the personal appearance
and character of our Saviour is credit
ed to him, which he Is said to have
written 10 the Roman senate. We
cannot youch for its sauthenticity. The
first authent c record of i: is found in
the writings of st. Anselm, A. ID. 1107
| We have seen two versions of it. The
first is as follows:
PRUBULUs LENTuLUs. HIS LITTER TO
The SENATE OF ROME.
There appeared in these our days a
man of great virtue named Jesus
Christ. who Is yet living amongst us,
and of the G1ntiles Is accepted for a
ororhet of truth, but His own disci-
| pies call Him the Son of God; He
rails. the dead and cures all manner OF
diseases; a man of stature somewhat
tail and comely, with very reverent
countrnauce, such as the beholder |
my both love and fear; His hair is OF
Il chestnut color full ripe. plain to His
ear ~ her c. downwards it is more orr.
ent, cur ny and waving about His
shoulders; in ,he middle of His head is
n seem or partition of His hair like
the Naz ,ritrs. His forehead smooth
and very delicate; His face without
\ b'emish, bear lified with lovely
| rel; his nose and mouth 30 formed as
nothing can he reprehended; His look
innocent and mature; His eyes gray, |
clear, and quick; in reproaching He
l. ,ibie; i, admonishing, courteous
nd fair spoken; pleasant in converse