indsay, _Sketches of the History of
Christian Art_; Martigny, _Dictionnaire des Antiques
Chretiennes_; Perate, _L'Archeologie Chretienne_; Reber,
_History of Mediaeval Art_; Rio, _Poetry of Christian Art_;
Lethaby, _Medieval Art_; Smith and Cheetham, _Dictionary of
Christian Antiquities_.

RISE OF CHRISTIANITY: Out of the decaying civilization of Rome sprang
into life that remarkable growth known as Christianity. It was not
welcomed by the Romans. It was scoffed at, scourged, persecuted, and,
at one time, nearly exterminated. But its vitality was stronger than
that of its persecutor, and when Rome declined, Christianity utilized
the things that were Roman, while striving to live for ideas that were
Christian.

[Illustration: FIG. 17.--CHAMBER IN CATACOMBS, SHOWING WALL
DECORATION.]

There was no revolt, no sudden change. The Christian idea made haste
slowly, and at the start it was weighed down with many paganisms. The
Christians themselves in all save religious faith, were Romans, and
inherited Roman tastes, manners, and methods. But the Roman world,
with all its classicism and learning, was dying. The decline socially
and intellectually was with the Christians as well as the Romans.
There was good reason for it. The times were out of joint, and almost
everything was disorganized, worn out, decadent. The military life of
the Empire had begun to give way to the monastic and feudal life of
the Church. Quarrels and wars between the powers kept life at fever
heat. In the fifth century came the inpouring of the Goths and Huns,
and with them the sacking and plunder of the land. Misery and
squalor, with intellectual blackness, succeeded. Art, science,
literature, and learning degenerated to mere shadows of their former
selves, and a semi-barbarism reigned for five centuries. During all
this dark period Christian painting struggled on in a feeble way,
seeking to express itself. It started Roman in form, method, and even,
at times, in subject; it ended Christian, but not without a long
period of gradual transition, during which it was influenced from many
sources and underwent many changes.

ART MOTIVES: As in the ancient world, there were two principal motives
for painting in early Christian times--religion and decoration.
Religion was the chief motive, but Christianity was a very different
religion from that of the Greeks and Romans. The Hellenistic faith was
a worship of nature, a glorificati