eld since the time
of Sergius II.,--the grave of S. Peter,--and upon it the golden cross
of Constantine. On hearing of the discovery, Pope Clement VIII.,
accompanied by cardinals Bellarmino, Antoniano, and Sfrondato,
descended to the Confession, and with the help of a torch, which
Giacomo della Porta had lowered into the hollow space below, could see
with his own eyes and could show to his followers the cross, inscribed
with the names of Constantine and Helena. The impression produced upon
the Pope by this wonderful sight was so great that he caused the
opening to be closed at once. The event is attested not only by a
manuscript deposition of Torrigio, but also by the present aspect of
the place. The materials with which Clement VIII. sealed the opening,
and rendered the tomb once more invisible and inaccessible, can still
be seen through the "cataract" below the altar.

[Illustration: THE TWO BASILICAS OF S. PAUL The original structure of
Constantine in black, that of Theodosius and Honorius shaded]

* * * * *

Wonder has been manifested at the behavior of Constantine towards S.
Paul, whose basilica at the second milestone of the Via Ostiensis
appears like a pigmy structure in comparison to that of S. Peter.
Constantine had no intention of placing S. Paul in an inferior rank,
or of showing less honor to his memory. He was compelled by local
circumstances to raise a much smaller building to this apostle. As
before stated, there were three rules which builders of sacred
memorial edifices had to observe: first, that the tomb-altar of the
saint in whose honor the building was to be erected should not be
molested or moved from its original place either vertically or
horizontally; second, that the edifice should be adapted to the tomb
so as to give it a place of honor in the centre of the apse; third,
that the apse and the front of the edifice should look towards the
east. The position of S. Peter's tomb in relation to the circus of
Nero and the cliffs of the Vatican was such as to give the builders of
the basilica perfect freedom to extend it in all directions,
especially lengthwise. This was not the case with that of S. Paul,
which was only a hundred feet distant from an obstacle which could not
be overcome,--the high-road to Ostia, the channel by which the city of
Rome was fed. The road to Ostia ran _east_ of the grave; hence the
necessity of limiting the size of the church within these t