Evening star., 1898-12-24

called, is really the imprint of face, the
dead face on which it was laid. The like
ness discerned through the imprint is a
drawing made originally on the cloth, and
1t is the likeness of Christ.
These are few Of the many witnesses
which tell the same story. There are many
more of them, all showing that the likeness
which the Christians of the fourth century
delighted to emblaZon on the walls Of their
baS1liCas was not new invention, but 1t
had been the consolation of their fore
fathers during the dark period of their per-
secution. The pale, beautiful face that had
overshadowed the graves Of the martyrs,
which had looked down upon the nlaltitudes
Of worshipers in the stately basilicas, was
the same face that Christ had borne into
the grave three days before His resurrec-
ton. So this verisimilitude of Him had
been in the catacombs for three centuries
before 1t arose to live forever.
Adept Portrait Painters.
In looking over the treasures brought
from the metropolis of Antinoe to Paris last
year one could feel oneself transported in
to the society Of those Romans in old
Egypt. Indeed, the Roman world was de-
voted to the art of portraiture, and even
in the lowest pictures of the decadence,
even when there is no art, there Is always
a graphic likeness. That the early Chris
tans could not be any different from the
rest of the Romans of that period is shown
combs bearing very individual portraits of
the apostles There are many such exam
Piles Of direct portraiture Of men whose
names were familiar to the Romans Of the
first century and who are mentioned in the
epistles, which show that portraiture, as
distinct from symbolic or Imaginative art,
was not only lawful, but was practiced by
the immediate followers of the apostles.
Thus we find the people accustomed to
commemorate by portraiture not only their
heroes, but their friends and members of
their family. When banded together in the
worship of a new hero, one greater than
any they had known before and endeared
to them by stronger tie-that of love-one
known personally to many Of them and of
whose likeness they could have obtained
authentic information. how could they have
helped but find solace and comfort in pre-
serving his cherished likeness! And, in
deed. we see these people, driven to the
catacombs, proceed at once to cover the
walls and engrave upon their sacerdotal
vessels to bury with their martyrs, pic
lures representing the life, actions and at
tributes of their hero. 1t is too much to
ask us to believe that the likeness they
painted on their walls. engraved upon their
chalices and buried with their dead was
sham.
Reasons Reality Has Been Questioned
As to the singular objection that has been
raised regarding the authenticity Of the
likeness that in the early days Of Christian
fty the belief in the divine nature of Christ
was SO universal, so absolute and so over
whelming that men did not dare to repre-
sent Him In His human form, but through
emblems and symbols, it seems an absurd
theory when one confronts 1t with the facts
which Sir Wyke Bayliss enumerates. No
doubt at times the portrait of Christ as
man has been regarded with suspicion by
the theoogians, who were afraid that the
full recognition of the divinity Of Christ
might be impaired by dwelling upon the
human side of Him and lead to idolatrous
practices. But, all the same, the likeness
which never had been lost, but only OBJ
scured by symbolism, was brought forth
from the catacombs and stamped on the
arches of the basilicas as triumphant
declaration in the sight of all men that it
was to be cherished forever as one of the
essential elements in the evidences of the
Christian religion.
AUGUST F. JACCACI