Pagan and Christian Rome |
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altar Ancient Rome apostles Appian apse archæological archeologia cristiana Augustus basilica beautiful belonging body bronze building built Bullettino di archeologia buried Callixtus Capitoline Capitoline Museum cardinal catacombs cemetery chapel Christ Christian church Clement coffin columns Constantine Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum cross crypt death decorated described discovered discovery Domitian Domitilla emperor engraved epitaph erected excavations faith feet fourth century fragments frescoes Giovanni graves Gregory Hadrian honor hundred imperial inscription Jupiter Lateran Liber Pontificalis loculi Lorenzo marble Maria martyrs mausoleum Mausoleum of Augustus Maximus memory mention modern monument mosaic Nero original Ostia pagan painted palace Palazzo Paul pedestal persecution Peter Petronilla Piazza Pietro pilgrims pontificate Pope Porta portico Pudens Pudentiana represented Roma Roman Rossi sacred Salaria sarcophagus Senate shrine side statue stone Suetonius tablinum temple Tiber tion tomb tombstone took Vatican Via Cornelia Via Latina Via Salaria Villa walls
Popular passages
Page 190 - When Nero perish'd by the justest doom Which ever the destroyer yet destroy'd, Amidst the roar of liberated Rome, Of nations freed, and the world overjoy'd, Some hands unseen strew'd flowers upon his tomb: Perhaps the weakness of a heart not void Of feeling for some kindness done, when power Had left the wretch an uncorrupted hour.
Page 127 - Vatican. The Circus was the scene of the first sufferings of the Christians, described by Tacitus in the well-known passage of the ' Annals,', xv., 45. Some of the Christians were covered with the skins of wild beasts, so that savage dogs might tear them to pieces ; others were besmeared with tar and tallow, and burnt at the stake ; others were crucified (crucibus adfixi), while Nero, in the attire of a vulgar Auriga, ran his races round the goals.
Page 125 - ... almost a case of conscience to affirm or deny a priori those facts, according to their acceptance or rejection of the tradition of any particular church. This state of feeling is a matter of the past, at least for those who have followed the progress of recent discoveries and of critical literature. There is no event of the Imperial age and of Imperial Rome which is attested by so many noble structures, all of which point to the same conclusion — the presence and execution of the apostles in...
Page 126 - Nomentana; when the 29th of June was accepted as the anniversary of St. Peter's execution; when sculptors, painters, medallists, goldsmiths, workers in glass and enamel, and engravers of precious stones all began to reproduce in Rome the likeness of the apostle at the beginning of the second century, and continued to do so till the fall of the Empire — must we consider them as laboring under a delusion, or conspiring in the commission of a gigantic fraud?
Page 210 - ... is a line of heads of the Popes carried all round the church above the lower arches. Larger than life, white solemn faces, they lean, each from his separate niche, crowned with the triple tiara, and labelled with the name he bore. Their accumulated majesty brings the whole past history of the Church into the presence of its living members. A bishop walking up the nave of Siena must feel as a Roman felt among the waxen images of ancestors renowned in council or in war. Of course these portraits...
Page 260 - To the adorable, blessed soul of L. Sempronius Firmus. We knew, we loved each other from childhood : married, an impious hand separated us at once. Oh, infernal Gods, do be kind and merciful to him, and let him appear to me in the silent hours of the night. And also let me share his fate, that we may be reunited dulcius et celerius.
Page 123 - from a strictly archaeological point of view, avoiding questions which pertain, or are supposed to pertain, to religious controversy. "For the archseologist the presence and execution of SS. Peter and Paul in Rome are facts established beyond a shadow of doubt by purely monumental evidence.
Page 74 - Heavy vapors hung over the springs, and tongues of flame were seen issuing from the cracks of the earth. The locality became known by the name of the fiery field (campus ignifer), and its relationship with the infernal realms was soon an established fact in folk-lore. An altar to the infernal gods was erected on the borders of the pool, and games were held periodically in honor of Dis and Proserpina, the victims being a black bull and a black cow.
Page 50 - Nel gran fior discendeva, che s'- adorna Di tante foglie, e quindi risaliva Là dove il suo amor sempre soggiorna.
Page 229 - Ciedwalla went to Rome, and received baptism of Pope Sergius, and he gave him the name of Peter, and in about seven days afterwards, on the twelfth before the Kalends of May, while he was yet in his baptismal garments, he died; and he was buried in St.