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CHRISTIAN ART AND SYMBOLISM.*

THE unconscious testimony of early Christian art and symbolism, as to the doctrines and practices of the early Church, is of very great value. A very attractive and judicious treatment of this whole subject is that contained in the volume under review. It discusses the art, architecture and symbolism, the manuscripts, coins, gems, medals and inscriptions and the like, of the early Christian Church throughout the East and West.

Special light is thrown on these subjects by the revelation of the Catacombs. It is not true, as has sometimes been asserted, that art was entirely abjured by the primitive believers, on account of its idolatrous employment by the pagans; it was rather baptized into the service of Christianity. The very intensity of that old Christian life, under repression and persecution, created a more imperious necessity for a religious symbolism. Of those unknown artists it may be truly said: "They never moved their hand till they had steeped their inmost soul in prayer.".

A universal instinct of mankind leads us to beautify the sepulchres of our departed. It is not, therefore, remarkable that the primitive Christians adorned, with religious expression of their faith and hope, the graves of the dead, or traced upon the martyr's tomb the palm and crown, the emblems of victory, or the dove and olive branch, the perpetual symbol of peace. This symbolism is generally of a profound spiritual significance, and often of extreme poetic beauty. In perpetual canticle of love it finds resemblances of the Divine object of its devotion throughout all nature. The rudely drawn figure of an anchor, the symbol of that hope which is the anchor of the soul, is one which most frequently

occurs.

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Associated with this in thought is the symbol of a ship, the emblem of souls' abundant entrance into the haven of everlasting rest. It is often extremely rude, being evidently copied from the clumsy barges that navigated the neighbouring Tiber. The palm branch and the crown often occur, emblems of the Christian's victory over the world, and of his crown of everlasting life. One of the most beautiful of these symbols is the dove, generally with the olive branch in its mouth-"the herald of the peace of God"—frequently accompanied by the word " pax," or peace.

Another very common symbol is that of Christ as the Good Shepherd and believers as sheep and lambs, calling up the thought of that sweet Hebrew idyl, the twenty-third Psalm, and of our Lord's tender parable of the Lost Sheep. Small wonder that it was a favourite subject of the ancient Christian artists.. Over and over again is the sweet story repeated, making the gloomy crypts bright with soft pastoral scenes, and hallowed with sacred associations. Frequently some of the sheep are represented as listening earnestly, others are intent on cropping the herbage, a truant ram turns heedlessly away, and often a gentle ewe nestles fondly at the Shepherd's feet, types of different dispositions of soul and of the manner of hearing the Word.

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History of Early Christian Art. By the REV. EDWARD L. Curts, D.D. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Toronto: William Briggs. Pp. vi-360.

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It was, therefore, used in time of persecution as a sign of recognition among believers, like the signs of Freemasonry. It is remarkable, and in striking contrast to modern Romanism, that the figure of the cross SO seldom occurs in the Catacombs, and then only as modification of the sacred monogram or combination of the first two letters of the name of Christ, X and P written together, sometimes with the Greek letters A and 2, in allusion to the sublime passage in Revelation, "I am Alpha and Omega.

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Another series of pictures are those known as the Biblical paintings. These are representations of the principal events of Old and New Testament history. Indeed, these storied crypts must have been a grand illustrated Bible, impressing upon the minds of the believers the lessons of Holy Writ-all the more necessary from the prevailing ignorance of letters. The following subjects are treated in this early Christian art: The temptation and fall of our first parents, and their banishment from the Garden; the death of Abel; Noah in the Ark, always receiving the dove with the olive branch-generally very rude and conventional, the Ark being reduced to a mere box, in which Noah stands; the sacrifice of Isaac, type of the greater sacrifice of Christ, a frequent and favourite subject; Joseph sold by his brethren; Moses putting off his shoes from his feet, receiving the tables of the law, and striking the rock in Horeb; the sufferings of Job, the translation of Elijah, the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the lion's den-types of the fiery persecutions of the early Christians.

Perhaps more common than any other subject is the story of Jonah -the type of our Lord's resurrection from the dead, and a lesson of sublimest meaning to the primitive believers called to be witnesses for God in a city greater and more wicked and idolatrous than even Nineveh. The "great fish" bears

no resemblance to any living thing. It is generally a dragon-shaped monster with contorted body, long neck and large head, sometimes armed with horns, perhaps as a type of "the old serpent," the devil. In this example the problem is how the somewhat corpulent prophet is going to get down the narrow neck of the monster. Yet this is the general type. In one of these the sea is reduced to a narrow stream, the "ship" to a small boat, and the " fish," a monster with the head and paws of a bear, on one side is swallowing the disobedient prophet, and on the other is casting him forth on the rocky shore.

By a somewhat startling anachronism, Noah, receiving the dove from the prow of Jonah's vessel, appears in the background.

The New Testament cycle consists almost exclusively of scenes from the life of Christ, to the exclusion, however, of the sublime events of the transfiguration, the passion, resurrection and ascension, which are the principal themes of later religious art; neither is there the slightest indication of that idolatrous veneration of Mary, which is the chief feature of modern Romanism, thus showing how far that system has departed from the usage of apostolic times. The first scene is the adoration of the Magi, but Mary only appears as an accessory to the Divine Child and not as the central figure. Not till the middle of the fifth century does anything resembling the modern Madonna appear.

In the inscriptions the name of the Virgin Mary does not once occur. No "Ave Maria, Ora pro Nobis," or "Mater Dei"- Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for us"-is found in the Catacombs. How striking a contrast to modern Roman Catholic art and Romish churches, where her name everywhere abounds, her image is elevated as the supreme object of worship, and her aid is invoked as the mother of God, the Refuge of sinners and Gate of Heaven.

The whole subject of the worship

of Mary and its gradual development is treated with great fulness of detail in our volume on the Catacombs.* Among the other New Testament subjects are Christ disputing with the doctors, talking with the woman of Samaria, healing the paralytic, the sick woman, and the blind man, multiplying the loaves, blessing little children and raising Lazarus to life. The latter was an especial favourite with the early Christians. It spoke to their deepest feelings and inspired their loftiest hopes. The treatment of the subject was often very rude, but it was eloquent with sublimest meaning. Lazarus is represented by a mummy-like figure standing in a niche. Mary, frequently of very diminutive size, setting all proportion at defiance, is often seen crouching in gratitude at the feet of Christ.

The triumphal entry into Jerusalem; the denial of Peter, and Pilate on the judgment seat seeking to wash out the damning guilt of that Judean murder, are the latest scenes depicted in the life of Christ. There are no representations of the agony and bloody sweat, the cross and passion, the death and burial, the resurrection and ascension, such as meet one on every side in Roman Catholic churches. These were too august and solemn themes for pictorial representation of St. Stephano Rotundo.

Protestantism has nothing to fear from the closest investigation of these evidences of primitive Christianity. They offer no warrant whatever for the characteristic doctrines and practice of the modern Church of Rome; there is not single inscription, or painting, or sculpture, before the middle of the fourth century that lends the least countenance to her arrogant assumptions and erroneous dogmas. The

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wholesome breath of persecution and the "sweet uses of adversity" in the early ages tended to preserve the moral purity of the Church. But the enervating influences of imperial favour, and the influx of wealth and luxury, led to corruptions of practice and to errors of doctrine. Hence the Catacombs, the rude cradle of the early faith, became also the grave of much of its simplicity and purity.

Another striking contrast between the art of the Catacombs and that of the Church of Rome, is its sedulous avoidance of those gross and anthropomorphic representations of the Eternal Father, which are common in the latter. We have seen pictures of the Deity as the God of battles, armed with bow and spear, as crowned like a king or emperor; or finally as Pope, wearing the pontifical tiara and vestments; also as the Ancient of Days, under the form of a feeble old man, bowed down by the weight of years, leaning heavily on a staff, or reposing on a couch after the labours of creation; or more absurdly still, with a lantern in His hand creating Eve from the side of Adam. We have seen the Trinity represented by three harsh, stiff, aged figures, enveloped in one common mantle, jointly crowning the Virgin Mary in Heaven; or, still more grotesquely by a three-headed figure, or a head with three faces, like the image of Brahma in the Hindu mythology. No such offence against piety and good taste is found in the Catacombs. Where the Almighty gives the tables of stone to Moses on Sinai, or arrests the hand of Abraham about to slay his son, He is represented only by a hand stretched from heaven, generally surrounded by clouds, as if more strongly to indicate its purely symbolical character.

*The Catacombs of Rome and their Testimony relative to Primitive Christianity, by the Rev. W. H. Withrow, D.D. New York: Hunt & Eaton. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Cr. 8vo, 560 pages, 134 engravings. $1.00. This book has reached its sixth English edition.

Price

THE BARREN GROUND OF NORTHERN CANADA.

Pike is able to write: "September 27th was a red-letter day, marking the death of the first musk-ox.' Naturally this first specimen made a great impression on Mr. Pike's mind, and he describes the appearance the animal presented with great precision:

IN the extreme north of Canada it was so far successful that Mr. there is a triangle of land enclosed by the Arctic Sea, the Mackenzie River, and the Black River. The base of this triangle is formed by the coast line between the mouths of the two rivers, and its apex by the Great Slave Lake. On the shores of this lake the Hudson's Bay Company have two stations, Fort Resolution and Fort Reliance. The district of the lake has long served as a basis for Arctic exploration on the main land, and the sterile region to the north is full of memories of Hearne, Mackenzie, Franklin, and Black. But although the courses of the two

rivers and the outline of the Arctic coast have been made known by the efforts of these heroic adventurers and their successors, the interior country remains still practically unexplored.

During the two years Mr. Warburton Pike remained in northern

Canada he made Fort Resolution his

headquarters. From this point he undertook frequent excursions into the Barren Ground, in the course of which he endured dangers and handships sufficient for a lifetime. From conversation with the officers of Hudson's Bay Company, he had heard of "a strange animal, a relic of an earlier age," that was still to be found roaming the Barren Ground. His informants could tell him nothing of the musk-ox, as the animal is named, from personal experience. All that was known had been gathered from the reports of Indians. Once or twice enthusiastic sportsmen had attempted to reach the musk-ox country, but they had been unsuccessful. "To try and penetrate this unknown land, to see the muskox, to find out as much as he could about their habits and the habits of the Indians who go in pursuit of them every year," this, Mr. Pike tells us in his preface, was the object of his journey.

His first expedition was undertaken in the autumn of the year 1889. Although it was very short,

level ground he walked with a curious "In crossing an occasional piece of rolling motion, probably accounted for by the waving of the long hair alinost to the ground and gives the on the flanks; this hair reaches legs such an exaggerated appearance of shortness that, at first sight, one would declare the animal incapable head was carried high, and when he of any rapid motion. The shaggy finally pulled up at sight of us, within forty yards, with his neck slightly arched and a gleam of sunshine lighting up the huge white boss formed by the junction of the horns, he presented a most formidable appearance."

The first success was followed up by a winter expedition of five weeks' duration. Mr. Pike then returned to Fort Resolution for Christmas; but in the following summer he made a third expedition to the Barren Ground, in which he was accompanied by Mr. Mackinlay, who was in charge of the fort, and some other white men.

Late in the autumn of 1890 Mr. Pike formed the intention of crossing the Rockies, and so making his way to the Pacific. It was in carrying out this intention that Mr. Pike met with an experience which threatened to be deeply tragic, and which forms the culminating adventure of the narrative.

It is difficult to praise too much the brevity and strength of Mr. Pike's work. There is something Homeric in the directness and simplicity of his style. At the same time, by eschewing the pernicious habit of breaking up the narrative by the insertion of dates, he has avoided

making his book a mere diary. These descriptions are admirable. To begin with, we will take that in which Mr. Pike looks forth for the first time upon his strange Canaan :

We sat down at the top of the hill and took our last view of the Great Slave Lake. Looking southward we could see the far shore and the unknown land beyond rising in terraces to a considerable height, and very similar in appearance to the range we were on. Ahead of us, to the north, lay a broken, rocky country, sparsely timbered and dotted with lakes, the nearest of which, a couple of miles away, was the end of our portage; a bleak and desolate country, already white with snow, and with a film of ice over the smaller ponds. Three hundred miles in the heart of this wilderness, far beyond

the line where timber ceases, lies the land of the musk-ox, to which we

were about to force our way, depending entirely on our guns for food and for clothing to withstand the intense cold that would soon be upon us. pair of hawks overhead furnished the only signs of life, and the outlook was by no means cheerful."

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Mr. Pike has much to say about the half-breed Indians with whom he was largely associated, and in particular of a certain King Beaulieu who acted as his chief guide. The fact that his relations with these people were, on the whole, amicable, says much for Mr. Pike's tact and courage. But the character of these strange beings is relieved at times by a quaint humour and an unexpected sentiment. When they sat smoking over the camp-fire King showed himself curious about the Grand Pays (as he called the outside world) and its ways; but, while listening to all that was said, he held his own views all the same. In particular he refused to believe that the Queen was a greater person than the governor

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of the Hudson's Bay Company. "No," he said; she may be your Queen, as she gives you everything you want, good rifles and plenty of ammunition, and you say that you eat flour at every meal in your own country. If she were my queen, surely she would send me sometimes half a sack of flour, a little tea, or perhaps a little sugar, and then I should say she was indeed my queen."

One opinion which he held was tained that the habit of eating three ingenious but peculiar. He maininstead of by the stomach, as he regular meals-eating by the clock called it was much more greedy than gorging when meat was plentiful and starving at other times, as he and his people did.

that he was guilty of a "stupid act Mr. Pike, while frankly admitting in attempting to cross the Rockies so ted of any errors of judgment in the late in the year, claims to be acquitactual conduct of the expedition which so nearly terminated in his death and that of his four companions.

On December 12th the party were on the banks of the Parsnip River, within forty miles of Fort Macleod and safety. Struggling against extreme cold, starvation and fatigue, all five men ultimately succeeded, on December 27th, in reaching an inhabited cabin alive. I finish the story in Mr. Pike's words:

"I pushed open the door, and shall never forget the expression of horror that came over the faces of the occupants when they recognized us. We had become used to the hungry eyes and wasted forms, as our misery had come on us gradually, but to a man who had seen us starting out thirty-two days before in full health the change in our appearance must have been terrible. There was no doubt we were very near the point of death."-Fortnightly Review.

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