er the Apollo, and of Judith under the Minerva.
Another mixture of sacred and profane conceptions is to be found in
the names of some of our Roman churches,--as S. Maria in Minerva, S.
Stefano del Cacco (Kynokephalos), S. Lorenzo in Matuta, S. Salvatore
in Tellure, all conspicuous landmarks in the history of the
transformation of Rome.

I shall mention one more instance. The portrait bust of S. Paul, of
silver gilt, from the chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum, was loaded with
gems and intaglios of Greek or Graeco-Roman workmanship, among which
was a magnificent cameo with the portrait-head of Nero, which had been
worn, most probably, by the very murderer of the apostle.[17]

[Illustration: Ancient Candelabrum in the church of SS. Nereo ed
Achilleo.]

In the next chapter I shall speak of ancient temples as museums of
statuary, galleries of pictures, and cabinets of precious objects. I
need not describe the acceptance and development of this tradition by
the Church. To it we are indebted for the inexhaustible wealth in
works of art of every kind, of which Italy is so proud. But in the
period which elapsed between the fall of the empire and the foundation
of the Cosmati school, the Christians were compelled, by the want of
contemporary productions, to borrow works of art and decorative
fragments from temples, palaces, and tombs. The gallery of the
Candelabra, in the Vatican museum, has been formed mostly of
specimens formerly set up in churches. The accompanying cut represents
the candelabrum still existing in the church of SS. Nereo ed Achilleo,
one of the most exquisite and delicate works of the kind. The Biga, or
two-horse chariot, in the Vatican, was used for centuries as an
episcopal throne in the choir of S. Mark's. In the church of the
Aracoeli there was an altar dedicated to Isis by some one who had
returned safely from a perilous journey. This bore the conventional
emblem of two footprints, which were believed by the Christians to be
the footprints of the angel seen by Gregory the Great on the summit of
Hadrian's tomb. Philip de Winghe describes them as those of a _puer
quinquennis_, a boy five years old.[18] This curious relic has been
removed to the Capitoline Museum.

The indifference with which these profane and sometimes offensive
works were admitted within sacred edifices is astonishing. The high
altar in the church of S. Teodoro was supported, until 1703, by a
round _ara_, on the rim of which the following